Копи царя Соломона
Umbopa Enters Our Service
Thiswasourtotalarmament,anddoubtlessthereaderwillobservethattheweaponsofeachclasswereofthesamemakeandcalibre,sothatthecartridgeswereinterchangeable,averyimportantpoint. Imakenoapologyfordetailingitatlength,aseveryexperiencedhunterwillknowhowvitalapropersupplyofgunsandammunitionistothesuccessofanexpedition.
Nowastothemenwhoweretogowithus. Aftermuchconsultationwedecidedthattheirnumbershouldbelimitedtofive,namely,adriver,aleader,andthreeservants.
ThedriverandleaderIfoundwithoutmuchdifficulty,twoZulus,namedrespectivelyGozaandTom; buttogettheservantsprovedamoredifficultmatter. Itwasnecessarythattheyshouldbethoroughlytrustworthyandbravemen,asinabusinessofthissortourlivesmightdependupontheirconduct. AtlastIsecuredtwo,oneaHottentotnamedVentvögel,or"windbird,"andonealittleZulunamedKhiva,whohadthemeritofspeakingEnglishperfectly. VentvögelIhadknownbefore;hewasoneofthemostperfect"spoorers,"thatis,gametrackers,Ieverhadtodowith,andtoughaswhipcord. Heneverseemedtotire.Buthehadonefailing,socommonwithhisrace,drink. Puthimwithinreachofabottleofginandyoucouldnottrusthim. However,asweweregoingbeyondtheregionofgrog-shopsthislittleweaknessofhisdidnotsomuchmatter.
HavingsecuredthesetwomenIlookedinvainforathirdtosuitmypurpose,sowedeterminedtostartwithoutone,trustingtolucktofindasuitablemanonourwayupcountry. But,asithappened,ontheeveningbeforethedaywehadfixedforourdeparturetheZuluKhivainformedmethataKafirwaswaitingtoseeme.
