ON THE EVE OF BATTLE
Ridgeway looked at his watch as he drew up to the torch bearers. It was
then ten minutes after ten o'clock. In all probability the entire force
of the enemy had landed upon the coast and was already on its way toward
the village. He realized that these savages, friend and foe, knew
nothing of the finer stratagems of warfare. Their style of fighting was
of the cruel kind that knows no science, no quarter. A new commander had
come to revolutionize the method of warfare for at least one of the
armies. It was to be a case of strategy and a new intelligence against
superior forces and a surprised ferocity.
He was somewhat amazed to find that none of his troopers had attempted
to leave the village before he was there to lead. This, when he thought
of the eagerness and bloodthirstiness of the men, was certainly a fair
promise of submissiveness on the field of battle. To be sure, the
restraint was almost unendurable to the fierce fellows who had caught up
their shields and spears long before he came in from the river. The
excitement was intense, the jabbering frightful. Here, there, everywhere
danced the frantic warriors, tossing their weapons in the air and
screaming with a loyalty that savored very much of impotent rage.
"Heavens, I'd give little for a man's life if he crossed these devils
to-night," thought Hugh as King Pootoo detached himself from the horde
and raced unmajestically over to meet him, almost, forgetting to
prostrate himself in his frenzy. Grossly exaggerated by the flare of the
torches, the spectacle was enough to strike terror to the strongest
heart. The king subdued himself sufficiently to grasp the meaning of
Hugh's signs and set about to bring order out of chaos--a difficult task
for even a king. Gradually the excitement subsided and the band stood at
rest, awaiting the command to move to the hills across the river. They
reminded Hugh of dogs he had seen. We all have held a chunk of meat high
above a dog's nose and we have seen him sit in enforced patience, hoping
for the fall thereof. And we all know that after a certain time he will
throw patience to the winds and leap frantically upward in the effort to
secure the prize.
A force of fully one hundred young fellows was to be left in the village
as a guard against disaster in case the enemy should force its way
through the pass. Lady Tennys was to have a bodyguard, even though it
crippled the fighting force at the front. The men comprising this
reserve did not relish the plan, but their objections were relentlessly
overruled by the white Izor and King Pootoo. With sulky heads they
seated themselves as directed near the temple they were to protect with
their lives.
It required but a few minutes of time for Ridgeway to find that his
little army was ready to move. After some hesitation he went to the
temple door to bid farewell to his fellow-castaway. She was still
leaning against the doorpost and did not move as he approached.
"We're off now," he said as he came up. "Don't worry, little woman;
we'll come home victorious as sure as fate. See these fellows? They are
your guard, your own soldiers. You can command them to do as you wish."
"Mine?" she asked slowly, as if not comprehending.
"Yes; they are the Lady Tennys Reserves," he said, smiling. A glad light
suddenly broke in her eyes, her face brightened and her whole mien
changed from despair to delight.
"Thank you, Hugh. I shall never forget you for this. You will never know
how happy I am to have these men to do my bidding. If it is necessary I
will show you that a woman of England can fight as valiantly as her
brothers, the bravest men in all the world." In her eyes there were
tears as she uttered these words,--tears of courage and pride.
"Would that I could have you by my side all through this fight. There is
an inspiration in your very gentleness that could make me do prodigious
deeds of valor. But, good-by, Tennys! I'll be back for lunch to-morrow!"
he cried as he dashed away. He could look into those swimming eyes no
longer and restrain a certain impulse that was trying to force him into
the liberation of an entirely unnecessary bit of sentiment.
"Good-by, Hugh! Don't be careless. What will the Reserves be worth to me
if you are killed? I shall pray for you, Hugh--every minute of this
awful night I shall pray for you."
"God bless you," he called back from Velvet Valley, his brain whirling
with the wish that he had kissed her and the fear of the result had he
made the attempt.
A few minutes later he sent his jacket back to the temple. It was his
most valued possession. Had he seen the look of tenderness in her eyes
as she hold up the worn, blue jacket; had he seen her kiss the blue
cloth impulsively, he would have been thrilled to the bone. But had he
been there to observe the startled, mystified blush that rose to her
brow when she found that she had really kissed his coat, he might have
been as perplexed as she over the unusual act.
With heart beating violently and nerves strung to their highest tension,
Ridgeway led the way to the river. He was as confident of victory as if
he were returning from the pass with the result out of doubt. Reaching
the river, his men plunged into the water and swam across, not waiting
for the canoes. He and the king were rowed over, meeting the swimmers as
they came up from the bank, dripping and puffing. Again the march was
resumed, and within fifteen minutes the band was at the foot of the
hills. Here Hugh called a halt.
With Pootoo and a dozen men he went forward to take a look down the long
gorge. All torches were extinguished and absolute silence was enforced.
The scouting party failed to hear a sound except the cries of night
birds and their own heavy breathing. All nature seemed to be resting for
the struggle that was to come.
Six fleet fellows were sent over the hills to skirt the edge of the pass
for its full length, a mile or more. They were to wait at the opposite
end until the enemy revealed its approach and then hurry back with the
alarm. Returning to the waiting army, Hugh and the king began the work
of assigning the men to their places. Two hundred were stationed in the
trenches and behind the breastworks at the mouth of the pass, ready to
intercept those of the enemy who succeeded in escaping the boulders and
spears from the hilltops. These men stacked their spears behind them and
then, at the command of the king, who had been instructed by the Izor,
laid themselves upon the ground to sleep. This was an innovation in
warfare so great that open rebellion was threatened. The novices in
civilized and scientific fighting were fully convinced that the enemy
was nowhere in sight and that they would be called when the proper
moment came.
Then came the manning of the four hundred boulders on the top of the
hills. All along the line of heavy rocks men were stationed with
instructions to roll them into the pass when the signal was given, Both
sides of the pass were lined with these boulders, The king was as near
in ecstasies over the arrangements as one of his nature could possibly
be. He prostrated himself a dozen times before the wonderfully clever
genius who was in command, twice bumping his head against exceedingly
hard rocks that he had been unable to see when he began his precipitous
collapse to reverence.
It was after midnight before the army in ambush was ready for the
conflict. Hugh was amazed to find the men cool and submissive, obeying
every order that he managed in some way to convey to them. With
everything in readiness there was nothing to do but to wait for the
crisis, so he threw himself on the grass at the top of the highest point
on the ridge near the opening to the valley, and tried to sleep.
While he reclined there, thinking of a sweet-faced woman and her
Reserves, fully eighteen hundred warriors were stealthily coming up from
the sea. Six wakeful sentinels were waiting for them.