Flushed with his bloodless victory, John ordered his men to make up the
fire, and set two to watch at the gate; then, carrying a roughly-formed
torch, he proceeded to an examination of the stronghold which was so
imposing to the native imagination. It was a poor enough place
estimated from a European point of view. It consisted simply of a
circular space on a low mound about thirty yards in diameter, enclosed
by a rude stone wall rather less than the height of a man. The island
itself was an irregular oval. At the eastern end the wall came to
within a foot or two of its shore; north and south the interval was
little greater, the ground sloping steeply down to the edge of the pool.
Westward it fell away less rapidly, though even here the angle was
considerable. The island was no more than sixty yards at its greatest
length, and from forty to fifty in breadth. The bridge sloped up from
the end of the causeway to the gate, which was itself some feet lower
than the ground within the fort. Just within it, on each side, a canoe
was laid against the wall. Within the enclosure were a number of grass
huts, set at intervals of a few yards apart.
[Illustration: The Pool]
Having surveyed the place as well as he could by the uncertain light of
his torch, John searched the huts. He found in the largest of them,
which he guessed to be Juma's, two of his rifles, a number of old
muskets, a miscellaneous collection of cartridges, most of which would
not fit the rifles, shot of all shapes and sizes, one or two old swords,
and a curious assortment of articles, mostly useless, which Juma and his
men had no doubt purloined when on safari. Among them were broken
boots, a fancy waistcoat in tatters, several condensed milk tins, some
pewter spoons, a field-glass case, and an empty whisky bottle. These
things, valueless to a European, would be treasure untold to the
natives, and John was glad that his promise of loot would not be
nullified. There was also a fair quantity of grain food, but no meat.
"I think I'm a bit of a fool," said John to himself, when he had seen
all there was to be seen. "What have I come for after all? I've got
back our property, to be sure; but what then? I can't demolish the fort
before Juma arrives. I can't go back at once, because the men couldn't
stand it. It looks as if I shall have to hold the place, for a day at
least; and if those beggars come up in any numbers and manage to cross
the pool I shall be pretty hard put to it to defend a hundred yards of
wall. Ah well! I'm in for it now. The best thing I can do is to get
out as soon as possible."
He arranged for a watch to be kept up during the remainder of the night,
and then threw himself down on the ground near the fire, not to sleep,
for the negro is an untrustworthy sentry, but to turn things over in his
mind. He remembered the store of ivory which Bill wished to recover,
and would have been willing to help the old man; but when he considered
the matter he concluded that it would be sheer lunacy to venture with
his handful of men into the country of a tribe that had been strong
enough to annihilate a large and well-armed Arab safari. There was no
reason to suppose that the "bad men" were any less powerful now than
they had been then.
"And suppose I got the ivory," he thought, "how the dickens could I
carry it? The men have got quite enough to carry, what with the loot
here and the things left with Charley. Judging by the weight of
billiard balls a single tusk of ivory would be a pretty heavy load for
two or three men, and we might be two or three weeks getting back. Bill
will be upset, without a doubt, but I can't help that. A good rest, and
then start for home: that's my ticket."
Pondering further, he came to the conclusion that there might after all
not be the need for haste that he had at first imagined. Juma's men
were thoroughly disheartened, no doubt; the garrison at the fort had
been turned adrift; they had lost the greater part of their firearms and
ammunition and all their stores of food, and it was probable that for
the present they would have enough to do to find subsistence without
wasting their energies in attacking either him or Ferrier. His own men
had been marching or fighting, with only a few hours' sleep, for two
days; a long rest was necessary for them; so he decided, before he fell
into a half-doze from which the least sound would have roused him, that
he might look forward to spending a day or two in the fort before he
need set off to rejoin Ferrier.
At dawn he was up, and went to the gate to look round. None of the
enemy were in sight, except his wounded prisoner, whom he saw hobbling
across the causeway. In the excitement of the attack he had clean
forgotten the man, who, he remembered with compunction, must have been
all night in the wood, hungry, a prey to terror and pain. He let down
the bridge and admitted him at once.
"Let me look at your leg," he said.
Removing the bandages, he saw that it was a case for desperate remedies.
"You must let me cut the bullet out," he said.
The man made no objection. John opened his knife and carefully washed
the sharpest blade; then ordered two of the men to hold the patient, and
began to probe the wound as gently as he could. The bullet was imbedded
in the flesh where there was no danger of his severing an artery. He
soon found the bullet, and setting his teeth, started the first surgical
operation of his life. He had a steady hand: the man lay inert as a
log, without wincing or even groaning; and in a few minutes he had
extracted the bullet, feeling a vast admiration for the big fellow's
fortitude. Having bathed and bound up the leg, he gave the man some
food, and saw him in a few minutes fall asleep. John drew a good augury
from this little incident. The man had sought him, and not his own
master; John took it, perhaps superstitiously, as an indication that he,
and not Juma, would, as he put it, "come out on top."
He sent out Bill, with one of the men, to look for the enemy. They
returned early in the afternoon, reporting that they had failed to see
either the men who had been ejected from the fort, or the larger party
under Juma's command. Bill judged from the tracks that the former had
scattered, some to the south to meet their friends, others to the east.
In the daylight John confirmed his overnight examination of the fort. He
saw now that there were rapids at both ends of the pool, and sighed for
leisure to do a little fishing, guessing that such a river would provide
good sport. But he had something more serious to think about. After
their night's rest the men were less fatigued than he had expected, so
he saw no reason to defer the destruction of the fort. His purpose was
to rase the wall, and hurl into the pool the stones of which it was
built. They were piled loosely one upon another without cement or
mortar, and he thought that it would be a light job to remove them; but
it turned out to be a much more troublesome business than he had
supposed, and when, after two hours' work, he saw how little had been
accomplished he felt rather troubled. At the same rate it would take
two or three days to complete the work. He had no gunpowder to spare
for blowing up the wall; and he wished neither to remain so long absent
from Ferrier, nor to be found on the spot when Juma returned, as he
assuredly would do.
A little while after Bill had returned from his reconnoitring expedition
he suddenly cocked his ear towards the south-east and in a moment
declared that he heard the sound of fire-sticks. The men were
chattering, and John fancied that the Wanderobbo must be mistaken. He
called for silence, and all listened intently, but could hear nothing
except the slow gurgle of the water in the pool and the far-away
rumbling of the rapids below.
"Do you hear it now?" he asked.
"No," Bill replied; "but I did hear it."
John had by this time so much respect for the Wanderobbo's acuteness of
hearing that he felt it unwise to neglect this statement. Bidding the
men to sort out all the provisions the fort contained, with the idea of
carrying a portion with him when he left, and burning the rest, he left
the place with Bill, after giving strict orders that the bridge should
be taken up behind him, and not replaced over the gap until his return,
unless he should send back a message by Bill. The two crossed the pool
and set off at a rapid pace towards the bluff. They were half-way to
the summit when Bill declared that he again heard shots. They quickened
their pace, and on reaching the top, where a wide expanse of the plain
was outstretched before them, they looked carefully all round the
southern horizon, keeping under cover. They could see the river winding
along between its verdurous banks, and when they lost sight of the
shining water they could still trace its course by the fresher green of
the vegetation. The plain was covered for the most part with grass,
with patches of scrub and clumps of woodland here and there. In the far
distance they descried a herd of antelope feeding, but for some time saw
no other living creature, beast or man.
All at once both started. In the still air, above the sound of the
swirling water beneath them, they heard distinctly six shots. One of
them, Bill declared, was that of the msungu's rifle, though John was
utterly unable to understand how he could distinguish it from the
others. Some seconds afterwards Bill lifted his hand and pointed in a
south-easterly direction, saying that he saw smoke among the trees. John
looked eagerly in the same direction, but could see nothing. Unluckily
he had left his field-glass with Ferrier. Presently he heard more
shots, in rapid succession. Clearly there was fighting going on; the
natural inference was that Ferrier's party was engaged, and since only
he, Coja, and Said Mohammed could use rifles, the number of the shots
showed that his opponents must possess firearms. It was equally clear
that Ferrier, if it was indeed he, had left the spot where it had been
arranged that he should await John's return, and he must be either
pursuing or pursued. The conclusion was irresistible that for some
unforeseen reason he had found himself compelled to advance towards
John.
Anxious on his friend's behalf, John decided instantly that he must set
out at once to join hands with him. He sent Bill back to call the men
from the fort, telling him that they must bring the ammunition and
rifles for those who could use them. He himself would start towards the
firing, pointing out to Bill the general direction in which he would go.
He knew that the men, being rapid marchers when not carrying loads,
would not be long in overtaking him. The fort must be left unguarded,
but there was no help for it; the matter of immediate urgency was to
reinforce Ferrier.
While Bill sped back to the fort, John scrambled down the bluff and
hurried over the plain. As he proceeded the sounds of firing became
ever clearer, and when he had covered about two miles at a swinging pace
he could also hear shouts.
He had come almost to a thin belt of forest when he saw figures
approaching among the trees. Dropping down behind a bush, he eagerly
watched them. At the edge of the forest they came clearly into view,
and he saw that they were black men, marching in single file, rapidly,
in spite of heavy loads. From behind them came at short intervals the
still louder crack of rifles, and the more voluminous shouts of men. In
a few moments he recognized them as men of his safari, and rose to meet
them. His figure suddenly appearing above the bush startled them, and
they instantly dropped their loads with yells, and began to run away.
But a shout from him dispelled their fright; they turned, and hastened
towards him, leaving their loads, however, where they had thrown them.
When they met him they told him in accents of terror that the msungu was
fighting with a great host of bad men. Two or three showed wounds they
had received. John ordered them to return to their loads and take them
up, and then to look out for the party following him. He hurried
forward into the wood, and half-a-mile further on came upon Ferrier with
the rest of the safari, slowly retiring before a horde of savages. He
had supposed that the "great host" of which the porters had spoken was
an exaggeration born of their panic, but he saw that Ferrier and his men
were, in fact, holding at bay a crowd of natives, among whom he
perceived the white garments of Swahilis. Ferrier had Coja on his right
and Said Mohammed on his left, each at a few yards' interval, the
remainder of the party, armed only with bows and arrows, being spread
out on each side over a considerable space to avoid the risk of being
outflanked. They were retiring slowly, taking cover behind trees,
picking off any of the enemy who showed themselves. Ferrier himself was
a dead shot now that he had recovered the full use of his arm. Several
men had fallen to his unerring aim. What execution Coja and Said
Mohammed did John never knew; but their shots had been effective in
daunting the enemy, who had not dared to come too near, or to make a
rush. With a little more courage and generalship the savages, vastly
outnumbering the safari, could have swept round them and had them at
their mercy; but the young Canadian had hitherto managed to hold off the
bolder spirits who pressed him in front, and the others followed on
without as yet attempting a flanking movement.
"Good man!" cried John, as he hastened to Ferrier's side. "My lot are
coming up. We had better get out of this wood, or they'll be all round
us."
They retired more quickly. It was time, for when they reached the
plain, they saw that parties of the enemy, who had at last realized that
they were losing opportunities, had crept round to right and left. John
instantly sent a shot among the nearer crowd, causing them to scatter.
Then, perceiving that another party had slipped by and was hastening in
pursuit of the porters, he called some of the bowmen, who were mightily
encouraged by his arrival, and set off in chase. Another shot sent this
party flying. John saw that the river would form an excellent defence
to the left flank of his little force, and running back to Ferrier, he
asked him to edge nearer to it.
"If we can only manage to keep them off until our men have had time to
climb the bluff, we can make a bolt for it," he said. "Up there among
the boulders we can hold our own against any number."
They retired slowly towards the belt of trees fringing the river. By
the time they reached it Bill came up with the party from the fort. This
reinforcement, together with the more advantageous position of the
retiring force, served to check the pursuit. The enemy were not
courageous enough to dash past them within range, though their numbers
were so great that they could easily have afforded the loss of a few
men. The only means they had of slipping past safely and overtaking the
safari was either to make a wide detour across the plain, which would
have given John's party time to reach the bluff before them, or to cross
the river and make their way through the trees on the other bank; but
the current here was swift enough to make fording dangerous. So they
adopted neither course, but followed sullenly in the track of the party,
firing at times, but never diminishing the distance between them.
Every now and then John crept out from cover to watch the progress of
the porters. To his impatience they seemed to move extraordinarily
slowly, and indeed their speed was much less than when he had first seen
them, for they had reached the beginning of the ascent, and were tired
with carrying their heavy loads. He could see them toiling up the
bluff, not in a close line, but far apart, the rearmost being nearly
half-a-mile behind the leader. At length he saw with relief that the
last man was within a few yards of the summit.
"Now we'll give them a volley," said he, "and slip away."
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 flashed from the second barrels; then,
withdrawing among the trees, the party ran along in the direction of the
bluff, reloading as they went. Within a few hundred yards they came
without warning upon a band of twenty or thirty natives with two
Swahilis among them. They must have found a means of crossing the
river, hastened along the opposite bank, and then recrossed ahead of
John's party. There was no time for hesitation.
"All together!" shouted Ferrier.
They poured in a volley, emptying both barrels; then, with John and
Ferrier at the head, charged straight at the enemy. The savages,
themselves taken aback by this sudden and vigorous onslaught, were too
much flurried to discharge their weapons. While they still hesitated,
the two white men were upon them, smiting right and left with the stocks
of their rifles, their native followers close at their heels, making the
air ring with their shouts. The savages immediately in the path of John
and Ferrier went over like ninepins; a way was cleft through the group;
several fell to the spears of the natives; the rest turned and fled
right and left with wild yells, some plunging into the river, the others
dashing towards their comrades in the plain.
"Now for a sprint," cried John. "We're not far from the bluff."
They ran as fast as they could through the clinging undergrowth, emerged
from cover when the rising ground told them that the end of their march
was near at hand, and began to climb the steep ascent. The enemy, whose
main body had hurried forward at the sound of firing in the expectation
of finding their quarry engaged with the ambush, were driven frantic at
the sight of their prey escaping them. Plucking up courage at last,
they rushed forward in a yelling swarm, hoping to overcome the little
party which had baffled them while it was still on the lower slope of
the bluff, the path being so narrow that the climbers must go in single
file. In a few brief sentences John ordered the bowmen to climb as
quickly as possible, while with the rest he remained at the foot to
check the rush. The enemy had come within two hundred yards before John
and his companions had time to reload their rifles, which they had been
unable to do during their dash through the undergrowth. But they came
no nearer. A volley brought down several men in the front line of the
mass, if the van of such a wild horde could be called a line. The rest
wavered; while they hesitated the terrible bullets were again singing
among them. It was enough: they broke and fled in disorder, sped by a
flight of arrows from the men who had climbed the bluff and were able to
shoot without the risk of injuring their friends below.
"I think that's the end," said John, panting as much with excitement as
with his exertions. "Up you go, Coja!"
They hastened up the path, Ferrier and John the last two of the line.
When they reached the top, where their men were awaiting them, they
halted to look back over the plain.
"My word! you've done jolly well," cried John, as he saw the dusky
throng halted below. "I had no idea there were so many of them. What
happened, Charley?"
"Yesterday afternoon, just after I had brought in those fellows we left
at our little camp, the beggars made a sudden rush on us, springing up
from nowhere, as it appeared. It was the same lot that we stampeded,
but largely reinforced, and from what my men said, there's no doubt the
newcomers belong to the same tribe I had trouble with when you rescued
me. It was lucky we weren't completely taken by surprise. I had a sort
of notion they might try on something of the sort. I don't believe they
knew at first that you had gone, and their idea was to have their
revenge for the slap we gave them. Juma was among them, Coja told me."
"The blackguard!"
"I had got the boma repaired where we burnt it, so that they couldn't
get in, but they came all round us, keeping under cover, and thinking, I
suppose, that they would starve us out. I felt I was in a bit of a fix.
We might hold our own in the camp for three or four days; but I was
afraid they'd stay there until you came back, and there was such a crowd
of them, as you see, that I didn't see how you could possibly get
through them. It struck me that the best thing I could do was to come
after you and join forces while there was time; so I left the fires
burning and slipped away in the middle of the night, making a detour
round their camp, which they had pitched about a quarter of a mile
up-stream. We couldn't march very fast with our loads, but the men were
very plucky, and it wasn't till this afternoon that the beggars caught
us. We had been fighting for about an hour when you came up, and I was
jolly glad to see you, I can tell you, for they were beginning to press
us very closely, and we couldn't have kept it up much longer. What luck
have you had?"
"I've got the fort: I'll tell you all about it when we get there. By
Jove! there is a lot of them. What are they up to?"
The enemy, numbering, as nearly as John could estimate, more than four
hundred, had given up direct pursuit, evidently recognizing that to
scale the bluff under the rifles of its defenders would be a hopeless
task. They were marching rapidly to the right. In addition to the
fighting men, there was also a large number of men and women carrying
loads, no doubt provisions: these had only just come up with the main
body.
"Is there any other way up the escarpment?" asked Ferrier, anxiously.
"Not that I know of. It looks as if they're going to make a round to
the fort. We had better hurry on."
They turned about and marched rapidly after the men, who were already
some distance away.
"I had begun to demolish the fort," said John, "which is a pity if
they're going to besiege us. Perhaps they've had enough of it, though."
"Can't we repair it?"
"Unluckily we've pitched the stones of the wall into the pool
surrounding it, and I'm afraid we can't fish them up again. It's a good
job we hadn't done much. We were in the middle of the work when Bill
heard your shots. He spotted your rifle; his hearing is amazingly
acute."
"Well, it seems to me that we are in for a nice little campaign. It is
to be hoped your friend Gillespie has started for the farm. I don't
like to think of it being left."
"Let's see. He must just about have got my letter, I should think. I
don't feel very anxious. We had no troubles except from lions and Juma,
and the chief will lend a hand if any wandering tribe turns up, which
isn't likely. No, Charley; the difficulty's here: and upon my word it
looks as if we've got a campaign on our hands, as you say. However, here
we are! There's the fort, and we've got to hold it, my boy."
"Right ho! I only hope it won't be another Ladysmith."
"Can't possibly. Our food won't last a week."
"Oh!" said Ferrier.