Settlers and Scouts: A Tale of the African Highlands

John pressed on now even more rapidly. Though he had met with no natives on the way, he could not be sure that some of the fugitives had not outstripped him along another route....

"You have to be up to snuff, sir," said the Bengali, "in dealing with gentlemen of business capacity. Wasama is a very good chap: I have high opinion of his honesty, et cetera;...

For a little while all went well. Where the banks were low and free from tall trees the level rays of the rising moon threw a faint light upon the water, enabling Ferrier to use...

They marched on, with intervals for rest, but without food, for the rest of the day. The country became more and more hilly as they proceeded, but the Swahili, who led the way,...

And then, helpless in the tree, the old man had had the agony to see the Swahilis dig up the ivory which had lain so long concealed: his ivory, the recovery of which had been hi...

John had every reason to be satisfied when he took stock of the results of the action. The enemy had been thoroughly routed, with considerable loss: he had no men killed, and on...

The hill was about two miles away, and by the time he reached it he was so fatigued with trudging over the shelterless plain under the fierce sun that he was glad to throw himse...

All preparations being made, John told the men to sleep. He would keep watch until the moment for departure came. He walked round the enclosure to make sure that no ammunition o...

All at once Bill halted and bent towards the ground. There were the unmistakable pug marks. Following the track with his eyes, but without moving from the spot, after a few mome...

"He said it was quite impossible for him to pursue the even tenor of his way while you, his boss and patron, were in parlous circs. and durance vile. I'm beginning to think the...

More than once Mr. Halliday set off in the daytime with John and the Wanderobbo, who was now a frequent visitor to the farm, to track the lions and if possible hunt them down. T...

All who had rifles accompanied him to the edge of the belt of trees, and at his word fired together at the enemy, who had halted as if undecided what to do. Another volley flash...

It was slow work, and not without its anxieties for the white men. Every now and then John heard a gulping sound behind, and knew that some one was afraid. Once or twice he halt...

"Well, I suppose it all depends on what you are used to. We'll discuss the pros and cons of vegetarianism when we're out of this and have got a full choice of either food. At pr...

"Man, you're a tenderfoot," said Mr. Gillespie, laughing. "You must have a cook. Your men would all mutiny if you didn't. I don't mean that he would cook for them; they'll have...

John had had an inkling of the difficulties of droving, but the reality turned out to be immeasurably worse than the anticipation. The animals, being young, could not be driven...

Mr. Halliday reassured him on that point, and the two stood for a few minutes exchanging notes. The South African said that he had been much attracted by what he had seen of the...

All being at last ready, Mr. Halliday set out on his second journey, which took him nearly four times as long as the first, owing partly to a certain turbulence among the Swahil...

"No, sah; no Juma to-day, sah," said Coja. "Him berry much 'fraid to come heah, 'cause of Lulu, sah. Him show him face, ha! ha! she give him what for, sah."

"All we can do," he said, "is to push on as fast as we can and trust to the breastwork. The worst of it is, the men can't defend themselves without exposing their heads to the e...

The present story completes a series of three books in which I have endeavoured to give impressions of life in the immense region known as Equatorial Africa. The scene of _Tom B...

(Note: that speech, correct in diction, is not quite correct in fact; 'Tis a literary fiction, managed with consummate tact. So the other classic writers, Livy and Thucydides, D...