Early the next morning the transport with the Nigerian troops
anchored off the town. The work of disembarkation began at once.
Five of the newly-arrived officers were appointed to the
commissariat transport service. The three others--of whom Lisle, to
his great satisfaction, was one--were appointed to the command of
companies in the Nigerian force. This distinction, the commissioner
frankly informed him, was due to his being the possessor of the
V.C.
Having nothing to do that day, Lisle strolled about the town. There
were a few European houses, the property of the natives who formed
the elite of the place; men for the most part possessing white
blood in their veins, being the descendants of British merchants
who, knowing that white women could not live in the place, had taken
Negro wives. These men were distinguished by their hair, rather than
by their more European features. Their colour was as dark as that of
other natives. Lisle learned that such light-coloured children as
were born of these mixed marriages uniformly died, but that the dark
offspring generally lived.
All the small shops in the town were kept by this class. With the
exception of the buildings belonging to them, the houses of the
town were merely mud erections, with a door and a window or two.
The roofs were flat, and composed of bamboos and other branches;
overlaid by a thick mud which, Lisle learned, not unfrequently
collapsed in the rainy season. Nothing could be done at that time
to repair them, and their inhabitants took refuge in the houses of
their friends, until the dry season permitted them to renew their
own roofs.
The women were of very superior physique to the men. The latter
considered that their only duty was to stroll about with a gun or a
spear; and the whole work of cultivating the ground, and of
carrying burdens, fell to the lot of the women. Many of these had
splendid figures, which might have been the envy of an English
belle. Their great defect is that their heels, instead of going
straight to the leg, project an inch or more behind it. From their
custom of always carrying their burdens on their heads, their
carriage is as upright as a dart. Whether the load was a heavy
barrel, or two or three bananas, Lisle noticed that they placed it
on the head; and even tiny girls carried any small article of which
they might become possessed in this manner.
Curiously enough, the men had no excuse for posing as warriors; for
the Fantis were the only cowardly race on the coast, and had
several times shown themselves worthless as fighters, when the
Ashantis made their expeditions against them.
A narrow valley ran up from the sea, in one part of the town, and
terminated in a swamp behind it. Here the refuse of the place was
thrown, and the stench in itself was sufficient to account for the
prevalence of fever. Here were the accumulations of centuries; for
the Dutch governors, who were frequently relieved, had made no
effort whatever towards draining the marsh, nor improving the
sanitary condition of the place; nor had the British governors who
followed them shown any more energy in that direction. Doubtless
the means were wanting, for the revenue of the place was
insufficient to pay for the expenses of the garrison; and so the
town which, at a very moderate expenditure, might have been
rendered comparatively healthy, remained a death trap.
As soon as the Nigerian troops had landed, Lisle reported himself
to their commander. He was at once put in charge of a company, and
began his duties. When, two days later, they marched up the
country, he felt well pleased with his command; for the men were
for the most part lithe, active fellows; very obedient to orders
and ready for any work, and evidently very proud of their position
as British soldiers. They had for the most part had very little
practice in shooting; but this was of comparatively little
consequence, as what fighting they would have to do would be in the
forests, against a hidden enemy, where individual shooting would be
next to impossible.
The Adansi had risen, three days after signing the treaty. Two
Englishmen, going from Bekwai to Kwisa, on their way were fired
upon, and the terror-stricken carriers fled. Their loads were lost,
and they themselves just succeeded in escaping to Kwisa.
Captain Slater, who was in command there, was much surprised to
hear of such hostility, so soon after the signing of the treaty;
and he started with twenty-six men to investigate the cause. He was
attacked at the same place--one soldier being killed and ten
wounded, while two were missing--and he was obliged to retire to
Kwisa. Sixty Englishmen of the Obuasi gold mines, on the western
frontier of the Adansi, sent down for arms, and were supplied
without any mishap.
Illustration: Map illustrating the Ashanti Campaign.
Colonel Wilkinson telegraphed orders to a force, which had started
two days before, to halt at Fumsu until he joined them with the
newly-arrived contingents. Colonel Willcocks now had four hundred
and fifty men, under Captain Hall, at Kwisa and Bekwai; Captain
Slater a handful of men at Kwisa; Colonel Wilkinson a company at
Fumsu; Colonel Carter the two hundred soldiers just landed on the
line of march, and three hundred men from Northern Nigeria. Nine
hundred reinforcements were known to be on their way. The force was
scattered over a hundred and forty miles, and numerically only
equal to the garrison they were going to relieve. The carriers were
utterly insufficient for the transport.
The newly-arrived troops, with Colonel Willcocks and his staff in
front, rode out of the town on the morning of the 5th of June. A
drizzling rain was falling, but this soon ceased and the sun broke
out. The road lay over low scrub-covered sand hills. It was a fair
one, with the exception of bad bits, at intervals. The first day's
march was a short one, as much time had been lost in getting the
carriers together, and loading them up.
They halted that evening at Akroful. The place afforded but little
accommodation. Five white officers slept together in one small
room. There was a storm during the night, but the sky had cleared
by the time the troops started in the morning.
They now entered a very different country. It was the belt of
forest, three hundred miles wide, which ran across the whole
country. Great as had been the heat, the day before, the gloom of
the forest was more trying to the nerves. Except where the road had
been cleared, the advance was impeded by the thick undergrowth of
bush and small trees, through which it was impossible to pass
without cutting a path with a sword. Above the bush towered the
giants of the forest--great cotton trees, thirty or forty feet in
circumference, and rising to the height of from two to three
hundred feet. Round the tops of these many birds were flitting, but
in the underbrush there was no sign or sound of life. Thorny
creepers bound the trees together.
In the small clearings, where deserted and ruined villages stood, a
few flowers were to be found. Here, also, great butterflies flew
about.
The moist air, tainted with decaying vegetation; the entire absence
of wind, or of movement among the leaves; the profound silence,
broken only by the occasional dropping of water, weighed heavily on
the spirits of the troops. Under foot the soil was converted into
mire by the recent rains; and glad, indeed, were all, when they
reached Mansu.
From this village, as had been the case at the previous halt,
numbers of the carriers deserted. In order to get on, therefore, it
was necessary to send out to the surrounding villages, to gather in
men to take their places; and at the same time a telegram was sent
down to Cape Coast, requesting the commandant there to arrest all
the men who came in, and try to punish them as deserters. It was
some satisfaction to know that they would be flogged, though this
did not obviate the inconvenience caused by their desertion.
Mansu was a pleasanter halting place than the two preceding ones.
It was surrounded by a clearing of considerable size; and contained
two bungalows, which served as quarters for the officers. The
soldiers got abundance of firewood from the forest, and the place
presented a picturesque appearance, after nightfall, with its
blazing fires and their reflection on the deep circle of foliage.
The march had been a depressing one, to the officers; but the
native troops did not seem to find it so, and chattered, sang, and
danced by their fires. Three of the officers found it difficult to
swallow their food; but Lisle and another young officer, named
Hallett, with whom he had been a special chum on board ship, made a
hearty meal and, after it was finished, set out together for a tour
round the camp, to assure themselves that everything was going on
satisfactorily.
"This must be very different from your experience in the Tirah,"
Hallett said.
"Yes; to begin with, it was generally so cold at night, even in the
valley, that we were glad of both our blankets and cloaks; while
among the passes it was bitter, indeed. Then, too, the greater
portion of the troops were white and, though they were cheerful
enough, their spirits were nothing to the merriment of these
natives. Then the camps were crowded with animals, while here there
are only these wretched carriers; and almost every night we were
saluted with bullets from the heights, and lay down in readiness to
oppose any sudden attack.
"I suppose we shall have to do the same, when we get into the
enemy's country, here. That is really the only similarity between
the two expeditions. The country, too, was mountainous and, except
in the valleys, there were few trees; while here we tramp along in
single file, through what is little better than a swamp, and only
get an occasional glimpse of the sky through the overhanging
foliage. Of course it is hot in Northern India, very hot sometimes;
but it is generally dry heat, quite different from the close, muggy
heat of the forest. However, they say that when we have once
ascended the Adansi hills, matters will be better."
"I hope so, Bullen. I found it so close today that I would gladly
have got rid of all my clothes, which were so drenched with
perspiration that I could have wrung them. We shall have other
things to think about, however, when we get across the river; for
you don't think of minor inconveniences when, at any moment, a
volley may be poured into you from the bushes."
"Yes, the idea is rather creepy; but they say that the Ashantis
always shoot high--the effect of the enormous charges they put into
their muskets--so that the harm done bears no proportion, whatever,
to the noise. I expect our Maxims will come in very useful for
clearing out the bush; and I doubt if the Ashantis will be able to
stand for a moment, against our bayonets, as they have no weapons
of the sort."
"No, but a good many of them are armed with spears, which are a
deal longer than our muskets and bayonets. They are not accustomed,
however, to work together. Each man fights for himself, and I feel
convinced that they would not stand a determined charge," Hallett
said.
"It is all very well to talk about a charge; but how are you going
to charge through the bush, where every step has to be cut?
However, I suppose our fellows can get through as well as they
can."
"It would be horrid work, Bullen, for some of these creepers are a
mass of spikes, which would pretty nearly tear a man to pieces, as
he was forcing his way past them in a hurry."
"Yes, that is not a pleasant idea; but I own that, if what they say
about the stockades they have formed is true, they will be even
more formidable than the bush; for our little guns will make no
impression upon them. They say that these are constructed with two
rows of timber, eight feet apart; the intervening space being
filled up with earth and stones so that, if they are well defended,
they ought to cost us a lot of men before we carry them."
"Well, tomorrow we shall be at Prahsu. They say it is a fine open
camp, as it was completely cleared by Wolseley's expedition. Of
course, bushes will have sprung up again but, fast as things grow
in this climate, they can hardly have attained any great height;
and we shall have no difficulty in clearing the place again. There
is a good rest house at the place, I hear, and we sha'n't be pigged
in, as we were at Akroful."
"Why should they build a better house there than at the other
stations?"
"Because, when the river is full, there is no way of getting
across; and one may have to wait there for a fortnight, before it
falls."
On the afternoon of the next day Prahsu was reached, after a march
of twenty miles. The greater part of the house was found to be
occupied by offices and stores. Fortunately, however, two or three
tents had been brought along. The troops soon ran up huts of
bamboos and palm leaves and, as there was a small native village
close by, all were soon able to sleep in shelter.
The Prah was found to be full of water. It was here about a hundred
and fifty yards wide, and circled round three sides of the
position. There was no bridge, but two old wooden pontoons were
found, relics of the last expedition; and these, with the aid of
two old native canoes, were the only means of crossing.
On the morning after their arrival a despatch, dated May 24, was
received from Captain Hall. It gave the details of his attack on
Kokofu. Some thousands of the enemy were round that place and, in
his opinion, no advance could be made to Coomassie till this force
was destroyed.
An hour or two later another runner came in, this time from Kwisa.
The despatch he brought gave details of the fighting the force at
this place had had, in trying to effect a junction with Captain
Hall.
The column advanced rapidly. In any place where the bush was
particularly thick, volleys were fired into the undergrowth by a
few men of the advance guard; for it had been found by experience
in Nigeria that, if fired upon, natives generally disclosed their
presence by replying.
They went on, unmolested, until they neared the village of
Dompoasi. The natives of this town had sworn a solemn oath, to
prevent any reinforcements from going up to Coomassie; and they had
erected a stockade, six feet high. This was built in zigzag shape,
so that a flanking fire could be kept up from it. It was about four
hundred yards long, with both ends doubled backwards, to prevent an
enemy from turning the position. In the rear was a trench, in which
they could load in perfect shelter. Seats had been prepared on the
neighbouring trees, for riflemen; and the undergrowth was left
untouched, so that there should be nothing to excite suspicion.
The stockade did not run across the road, but parallel to it, the
distance varying from twenty to thirty yards. Thus, anybody coming
along the path would notice nothing unusual, though he himself
would be easily seen by the defenders. A road had been cut, at the
back of the entrenchments, so as to give a line of retreat to the
defenders. On the northern side of the village, a similar stockade
had been constructed.
Captain Roupell--who commanded the advance--became aware, from the
numerous tracks and footprints, that the enemy must be in force in
the neighbourhood, and advanced cautiously. He did not observe the
stockade, however, so well was it hidden among the bushes. Just as
they reached the farther end of it, a tremendous fire was opened.
Captain Roupell was wounded, and many of the men also killed or
wounded.
For a moment the troops were paralysed by the hail of lead. Then
they replied with their rifles, and two Maxims and an eleven
pounder were got to work. Captain Roupell, in spite of his wound,
worked one of the Maxims, Lieutenant O'Malley the other, and
Lieutenant Edwardes the gun. Captain Roupell was again dangerously
wounded, and Lieutenant O'Malley so severely wounded that he was
forced to discontinue fire.
Lieutenant Edwardes, although he was hit early in the action, stuck
to his gun. The gun team were all lying round, either killed or
wounded, and he ran home the shells with a stick. He was, shortly
afterwards, shot in the left arm. This incapacitated him from
serving his gun; but he went and worked a Maxim, with his right
arm, till a shot in the face compelled him to have his wounds
dressed.
Colonel Carter was wounded in the head, and handed over the command
to Colonel Wilkinson, who was himself slightly wounded at the back
of the head. The men fell fast. The seven pounder and the other
Maxim were completely isolated, some distance up the path. The
existence of the stockade was only discovered as the undergrowth
was cut away by the rain of bullets.
The officer commanding D company--which had been the rear guard all
this time and, consequently, had not suffered--was in hammock with
fever, and Colour Sergeant Mackenzie was in command. At this moment
Mackenzie came up, and asked leave to charge the enemy. His
proposal was at once sanctioned, and when half of his company had
arrived they charged the stockade, other soldiers and officers near
joining them. The enemy could not stand this determined attack,
evacuated their position, and took to flight.
The force now prepared to retire, and this operation they performed
in an orderly manner. Seven European officers had been wounded, and
there were ninety casualties. Indeed, if the enemy had not fired
too high, the column might have been annihilated.
Orders were sent, to Colonel Carter, telling him to remain where he
was till reinforcements should arrive. A telegram was also sent to
Captain Hall, instructing him to despatch a company to increase the
garrison at Kwisa. In the meantime two companies of the troops on
the Prah were ordered to proceed, instantly, to the relief of
Kwisa, under the command of Captain Melliss and, to Lisle's
satisfaction, some of his company were to form part of the force.
They started at two in the afternoon, but it was four before they
got across the Prah; and they could only march ten miles that
evening, which they did through a pouring rain. An early start was
made, next morning. By eight o'clock they reached Fumsu, which was
held by a company of soldiers under Quartermaster Sergeant Thomas;
who informed them that all the troops ahead were perilously
situated, short of food and ammunition, and crippled with
casualties. He tried to dissuade them from going farther, saying:
"You are simply walking into a death trap. It is not fighting, it
is murder. I am sure you will never get there, with only a hundred
men and all these carriers."
However, orders had to be obeyed. The carriers were so limited in
number that only a few days' food could be taken to the Kwisa
garrison, if all the cartridges were to go on. A hundred extra
rounds were served out to each man, in addition to the hundred he
already had; so that there was no risk of running short, and the
carriers would be relieved of much of the weight of the reserve,
and could therefore carry up a larger amount of provisions. A hasty
meal was eaten, and then they stepped forward for the twenty miles'
march before them.
During the halt, they found out how the natives signalled. A gun
was fired from the forest, the signal was repeated farther on, and
continued to the next war camp. An estimate was given of the number
and composition of an enemy by the number of guns fired. The force
learned, afterwards, that their departure from Prahsu had been
signalled in this way to the Adansis; and only the darkness and
pouring rain, which delayed the enemy's movements, had saved the
column from attack.
When the march was continued, therefore, the greatest precautions
were taken against an ambush. A small party of twelve men marched
ahead of the advance guard, and fired occasional volleys. Where the
undergrowth was unusually thick, scouts moved abreast of them,
cutting a way with their sword bayonets. The difficulties were so
great that the column moved only three-quarters of a mile an hour.
The carriers struggled on, carrying their burdens with surprising
cheerfulness, staggering over the slippery mud, and frequently
falling. The gun carriers had the worst time of all, for the parts
into which these weapons divide are too heavy for single loads; and
have to be carried, swung on bamboo poles, by four men--but often,
at the acute bends in the path, the whole burden had to be
supported by two.
Nevertheless, the column managed to advance. The river Fum was
rising, but was still fordable, and they crossed it, with
difficulty. It was now necessary to give up scouting, and depend
entirely on the volleys of the men in front to discover ambuscades.
One or two deserted or thinly populated villages were passed. Then,
after two hours of this trying tramp, the advance guard came upon
the Fum again; but at this point its volume and width were more
than doubled. The river was rising rapidly, and there were no trees
that could be cut down, with the sword bayonets, long enough to
throw across.
At last, by good luck, at some distance farther down a native canoe
was found, caught in the branches of a fallen tree. It was a clumsy
craft, but it was better than nothing. Two native hammock boys and
two soldiers took their places in it, and set out for the other
side. When it reached the centre of the stream, however, an eddy
caught it and, in an instant, it capsized.
Captain Melliss at once plunged into the river. He was a strong
swimmer, and had gained the Royal Humane Society's medal for saving
life at sea. His strength, however, had been taxed by the climate,
and he had to call for aid. Luckily, no one was drowned. The
intense chill, caused by the sudden immersion in almost ice-cold
water; and the bites of the ants that swarmed over them, as they
made their way back through the undergrowth from the spot where the
canoe had been washed ashore, threatened an attack of fever; but
this was averted by a change of clothing, a glass of neat spirits,
and a dose of quinine.
It was now agreed that nothing could be done, and the force marched
back to Fumsu. They recrossed the river, by means of a rope
stretched from bank to bank, and arrived long after dark.
Next day it was determined to make another trial but, for a long
time, no one was able to suggest where a crossing of the swollen
river might be effected. It was clearly impossible to build a
bridge but, after much discussion, it was agreed to make a raft. It
consisted of a platform of planks, built across empty barrels; and
was lashed together by the only rope at the station. A couple of
natives took their places upon it, with long poles; but their
efforts to push against the strong currents were quite unavailing.
Then something went wrong with the rope and the raft gradually
sank, the men swimming ashore.
On examination it was found that, not only were the leaking casks
gone, but the rope that tied them together. The situation now
appeared more hopeless than before.
It was Lisle who suggested a possible way out of the difficulty. He
was wandering about the deserted native huts, when it struck him to
see what the mud walls were composed of, and how the roofs were
supported. Drawing his sword, he cut a large hole in one of the
walls and, to his surprise, discovered that they were strengthened
by lines of bamboos, which were afterwards plastered over. It
seemed to him that these bamboos, which were extremely light as
well as strong, would be very useful material for a raft, and he
communicated the idea to Captain Melliss.
"You have solved the difficulty, Captain Bullen; there is no doubt
that these will do admirably."
In a few minutes the whole of the little force, and carriers, were
occupied in pulling down the huts. The question arose, how were the
stakes to be tied together? While this matter was being discussed,
Lisle said:
"Surely we can use some of the creepers. The natives tie up bundles
with them."
The suggestion was at once adopted. Creepers were cut in the
forest, and four bundles of bamboos were tied up, with cross pieces
of the same material; so that they could be carried by four men,
like a hammock. Four of the loads were similarly tied up. The
telegraph wire was torn down from the trees, on the bank on which
they were arrested; and the nearest insulator on the opposite side
was broken by a shot, so that the wire hung down to the water in a
gentle curve, the next insulator being fastened to a tree at a
considerable distance. One end of the raft was then attached to
this wire, by a noose that worked along it; and this contrivance
enabled the swiftest streams to be triumphantly crossed, the loads
of rice, meanwhile, being kept dry. The success of the experiment
created a general feeling of relief.
On that day, an escort of fifty soldiers and some more ammunition
came in, to reinforce the little garrison at Fumsu. The full number
asked for could not be spared, as a rumour had arrived that the
enemy would endeavour to cut off the carriers, who were making
their way up from the coast.
Next morning a start was made at an early hour. Four rivers had
been crossed, and five miles of the advance had been accomplished,
without an enemy being seen; and the troops began to hope that they
would reach Kwisa without further molestation. However, in mounting
a steep rise, after crossing a river, a heavy fire was suddenly
opened on them; and they had their first experience of the nature
of the ground chosen by the enemy for an ambuscade.
The path zigzagged up the hill and, while the movements of the
troops could be seen by the natives on its crest, dense foliage
prevented the men toiling up it from obtaining even a glimpse of
the enemy. Volleys were fired both to right and left. The enemy
replied by firing volley after volley, and the shower of leaves
showed that the bullets were flying high. It was difficult for the
officers to control the extended line, and the scattered soldiers
marching among the carriers were altogether out of hand, and fired
recklessly.
At last, however, this was checked. The advance guard had suffered,
but their fire had quelled that of the enemy. A rush was therefore
made, the ambuscade carried, and the enemy put to flight.
Captain Wilson was, unfortunately, killed in the engagement. His
body was put into a hammock and taken to Fumsu, a march of
thirty-three miles. The force then returned to the Prah with the
wounded, leaving only a small garrison of fifty men, under a
British corporal.
It was a terrible march. The river had swollen, and the crossing
took hours, many of the troops and carriers not arriving until the
following day.
"Well, Bullen, how does this campaign compare with that in the
Tirah?"
"It is infinitely worse," Lisle said. "We were only once or twice
bothered by rivers, the country was open and, when the enemy
crowning the hills were turned out, we were able to go through the
passes without much opposition. We certainly often went to bed
supperless, but on the whole we did not fare badly. At least we
were generally dry and, though the cold was severe, it was not
unbearable. At any rate, it was better than marching through these
forests, in single file, with the mud often up to one's knees.
Above all, the air was fresh and dry, and we had not this close
atmosphere and this wet to struggle against.
"These fellows fight as well as the Afridis do, but are nothing
like such good shots. If they had been, we should have been
annihilated. I would rather go half a dozen times, through the
Tirah, than once through this country.
"I think it is the darkness in the woods that is most trying. We
are all bleached almost white; my uniform hangs about me loosely. I
must have lost any amount of weight."
Both of the young officers had received wounds, but these were of
so slight a nature that they had been able to keep their places.
"I wonder what the next move will be. At any rate, we shall be in
clover at Prahsu, and be able to get into condition again by the
time we make another move. Plenty of stores are sure to be lying
there, while I expect that Hall and Wilkinson will be on pretty
short commons."
"Well, I suppose it is all for the best."
One day they came upon a swollen river, which was so deep as to be
unfordable, and the column were brought to a halt. The Pioneers, on
being questioned, were of accord that it would take at least two
days to build a bridge. There was a long consultation, and it was
agreed that, unless something could be done, the column must retire
for, by the time the bridge was built, the supply of food would be
exhausted.
"If we could get a wire across," the engineer officer said, "we
certainly could build the bridge in less time than I stated."
"I will try to carry it across, sir," Lisle said. "I am a strong
swimmer, and I think I could do it."
"Yes, but the Ashantis are all on the opposite bank. You would be
picked off before you got halfway across."
"I would try after dark. Once I got the wire across and fixed,
enough men could cross, with its assistance, to clear the other
bank of the enemy."
"You would find it very hard work tugging the wire across, Bullen.
The stream would catch it and, as it is as much as you can do to
swim the current without any drawback, it would certainly carry you
down."
"Yes, sir; but if I asked for a volunteer, I should find one
without difficulty."
"Well, Mr. Bullen, if you volunteer to try, I shall, of course, be
very glad to accept the offer; especially as, if you keep tight
hold of the wire, the stream will only send you back to this bank."
As soon as it was known that Lisle was about to attempt to swim the
river, several volunteers came forward; and from these he selected
one of the Sikh soldiers, not only because he was a tall and
powerful man, but because he could give him orders in Punjabi. As
soon as night came on, the preparations were completed. A length of
wire, that would be sufficient to cross the river, was laid out on
the bank from the spot that seemed to offer most advantages for a
bridge. In this way, as they swam out the line would go with them,
and they would be swept across the river by its pull, until they
touched the bank opposite to where the other end of the line was
secured.
Lisle took off his tunic, putties, and boots; and the Sikh also
stripped himself to his loincloth, in which he placed his bayonet.
Lisle unloaded his revolver and put it into his waistband, at the
same time placing in his pocket a packet of twenty cartridges, in a
waterproof box.
"You would swim better without those things, Bullen."
"No doubt, sir; but I want to have some means of defence, when I
get across the stream. Some of the enemy may be lurking there,
now."
"Before you start I will get the Maxim to work, and sweep the
opposite bank. When you get ashore fasten the end of the wire to a
tree, and then give a shout; we will stretch it tight on this side,
and I will send a half company over, without delay. That ought to
be enough to enable you to retain your footing, until we join you."
When all was ready, Lisle fastened the end of the wire round his
body. The Sikh was to take hold a yard or two below him, and aid
him as he swam. Then they stepped into the water, and struck out.
They had swum only twenty yards, when the Sikh cried out, "I have
cramp, sahib! I can swim no longer!" and he let go his hold of the
wire.
Rapidly, Lisle thought over the position. It was very important to
get the wire across. Now that the Sikh had gone, he felt that it
would pull him under; on the other hand, the brave fellow had
volunteered to go with him, and he could not see him drown before
his eyes. He accordingly slipped the loop of the wire over his
head, and struck out with the stream.
So rapid had been the course of his thoughts that the man was still
within some fifteen yards of him. He could see him faintly
struggling and, swimming with long, steady strokes, soon overtook
him.
"Put your arm on my shoulder," he said; "I will soon get you
ashore."
The Sikh did as he was told, and Lisle turned to make for the shore
they had left. To his dismay, however, he found that the centre
current was carrying him to the opposite side. As soon as he found
this to be the case, he ceased his efforts and allowed himself to
float down. Doubtless the Ashantis would be on the watch, and any
movement in the water would catch their eyes.
He could hear their voices on the bank and, occasionally, a shot
was fired over his head. He felt sure, however, that he was still
unseen; and determined to float quietly, till the course of the
current changed, and brought him back to the side from which he
started. He felt the Sikh's grasp relaxing, and threw his arms
round the man's neck.
A quarter of an hour passed and then, to his dismay, he saw that he
was close to the bush, on the wrong side of the river. He himself
was getting rapidly weaker, and he felt that he could not support
the weight of the soldier much farther. Accordingly he grasped a
branch that overhung the river, pulled himself in to the shore, and
there lay at the edge of the mud.
When he recovered his breath, he began to calculate his chances.
The bush overhead seemed very thick, and he resolved to shelter
there for a time. Occasionally he could hear the sound of voices
close by, and was sure that the Ashantis were in force there.
His companions would, he was sure, regard him as dead when, on
pulling on the wire, they found that it was loose; and after the
failure of this attempt to establish a bridge, would probably start
on their return march, without delay. He had, therefore, only
himself to rely upon, beyond what assistance he could get from the
Sikh, when the latter regained consciousness.
He poured a little spirits into the man's mouth, and presently had
the satisfaction of seeing him move. Waiting until the movement
became more decided, he said:
"You must lie still; we are across on the Ashanti side. They don't
know we are here and, when you are able to move, we will crawl down
some little distance and hide in the bushes. We must hide in the
morning, for I am sure that I could not swim back to the other
side, and certainly you could not do so. We are in a tight place,
but I trust that we shall be able to get out of it."
"Do not encumber yourself with me," the Sikh said. "I know you have
risked your life to save me, but you must not do so again. What is
the life of a soldier to that of an officer?"
"I could not get across, even if I were alone. At any rate, I am
not going to desert you, now. Let us keep quiet for an hour, then
we shall be able to move on."
An hour passed silently, and then Lisle asked:
"How are you feeling, now?"
"I feel strong again, sahib."
"Very well then, let us crawl on."