I glanced round at the little group of men, every face wearing the same
serious aspect; then I lowered my eyes to continue my task of trying to
restore Denham to his senses, while the moments glided by, and many
shots were fired at our position; yet there was no change in the
officer's condition.
"He isn't dead--is he?" said one of the troopers. "Dead? No!" I cried
angrily; but even as I spoke a chill of horror ran through me, for the
utterly inanimate state of my new friend suggested that the shock of the
blow might have been fatal.
"But he doesn't seem to have a spark of life in him, poor chap!"
"He'll recover soon," I said as firmly as I could, and determined to put
the best face upon the matter.
"But we can't wait for `soon,'" cried another man impatiently. "In less
than a quarter of an hour the Doppers will be down upon us, and then
it's either a bullet apiece or prisoners."
"We must carry him down to where the Colonel is with the rest of the
troopers," I said. "No, no. Set him on a horse."
"He can't possibly sit a horse," I said firmly; "and if you put him on
one it will take two men to keep him in his place."
"We can't spare them," cried the first man who had spoken. "We want all
our rifles to be speaking as we retire."
Just then a thought struck me.
"He must be carried," I said.
"It can't be done, sir," was the reply. "The men can't be spared. One
of us must have him in front of the saddle as we retreat."
"No, no," I said. "Here, wait a minute.--Joeboy!" I shouted, and,
shield and assagai in hand, the black dashed to my side as if to defend
me from some attack.
"Can you carry this officer on your back down the valley, Joeboy?" I
said.
"Um!" was the prompt reply. "You take my spears."
"Yes. Hang them to my saddle," I said. "Quick!"
The next minute I helped to raise the insensible man carefully on to the
black's broad back as he bent down on one knee, Denham's arms being
placed round Joeboy's neck; and then, at his request, the wrists were
bound together with a sash.
"Now," I said, "can you do it?"
"Um!" was the reply; and, without a word being uttered by way of order,
the man rose softly to his feet and set off at a slow, steady walk down
towards the little force of mounted rifles waiting, a couple of miles or
so away, to receive our news.
No sooner were we well out of the cover which had sheltered us than the
firing increased, showing that our movements were under observation; but
the pattering shots, which seemed to strike every spot save where we
moved at a pace regulated by Joeboy's steady walk, had no effect upon
the discipline of the little party. The sergeant, a middle-aged man,
like a Cornish farmer, now took the command. He ordered half the party
to follow close after their wounded officer, and halted the second half,
who stood dismounted and covered by their horses, to reply to the
enemy's fire.
Instead of checking the shots, our reply seemed only to increase them;
but we had the satisfaction of knowing that the fire was concentrated
upon us, and that Lieutenant Denham and his bearer were running no risk
of being brought down. This was kept up for fully ten minutes, during
which our friends had got some distance. Then the order was given to
mount; and, giving our horses their heads, we went in single file
clattering along the stone-strewn and often slippery track, followed by
a scattered shower of bullets, horribly badly aimed, for we had taken
our enemies by surprise.
We could not go very fast; but the pace was fast enough to overtake our
companions soon, who formed up under the best cover they could find,
leaving us room to pass and ride on to where Joeboy trudged manfully on,
and then draw rein and walk our horses, listening to the pattering of
the Doppers' bullets and the steady and regular reply of our men.
"Has he moved or spoken, Joeboy?" I said anxiously as I rode alongside.
"Um!" replied Joeboy.
"'Fraid he gone dead, Boss Val."
"No, no!" I said, laying my hand against Denham's neck. "I believe he
is only stunned. Are you getting tired?"
"Um!" growled the great black. It seemed wonderful what expression he
could put into that one ejaculation, which sounded now as if he were
saying, "Tired? No: I could go on like this till dark."
I said no more, but fell back into my place, where I found the next man
eager enough to talk.
"They brag about the Boers' shooting; but I don't think much of it, nor
of ours neither, if you come to that. I don't wish any harm to them who
made all this trouble; but I should like for our boys to bring down a
man at every shot. It would bring some of the rest to their senses. I
say, you don't think young Mr Denham's going home, do you?"
"No," I said sharply. "I think he only wants getting on to a bed, to
lie till the shock of his hurt has passed away."
"Yes, that's it," said the trooper; "bed's a grand thing for nearly
everything. I never knew how grand it was till I came on this business
and had to sleep out here on the stones. You haven't begun to find out
what it is to be away from your bed at times."
"I've slept out on the veldt or up in a kopje scores of times," I
replied, "and have grown used to it."
"Oh!" said my companion, glancing at me to see if I was telling the
truth. Then, apparently satisfied, he continued: "I wish those who made
this war had to do all the fighting. I'm sick of it."
"Already?" I said.
"Yes; I was sick of it before we began to hit out. What's the sense of
it? Here am I, five-and-twenty, hale, hearty, and strong, trying to get
shot. But of course one had to come. I mean to make some of them pay
for it, though."
"But you volunteered."
"Of course. I say, though, I don't wonder at you making a run for it.
Nice game to have to fight on the enemy's side! I should like that--oh
yes, very much indeed! My rifle would have gone off by accident
sometimes and hit the wrong man. I say, though, oughtn't the Colonel to
hear all this firing, and come up to help us?"
"That's what I've been thinking," I replied. "I should be very glad if
we saw him on ahead. But we must have a couple of miles to go yet to
join them--mustn't we?"
"Yes, quite that; but, my word!" cried my companion, "they're going it
now. They're firing shots enough to bring down every one of our
rear-guard."
"Yes; and it will be our turn again directly, when they trot on."
"They ought to be here by now," continued my new comrade. "I don't
believe they'll come."
"Why?" I said anxiously.
"They'll all be shot down."
"Nonsense," I said. "Listen; those are their rifles replying."
"I suppose so," was the reply, given thoughtfully. "But what a strange
echo the hills give back here!"
"Yes," I said. "That's why it's called Echo Nek."
"I suppose so; but--but--Here, I say, those are not echoes we can hear
now."
"Nonsense! What can they be, then?"
"Some one else firing. Can't you hear? It sounds from right in front."
"Well, that's how echoes do sound. The reports come down the pass and
strike against the face of the rocks, and are reflected off."
"That's all very nicely put, comrade," said the young man, "and I dare
say it's scientific and `all according to Cocker,' as my father used to
say; but you're not going to make me believe those are echoes we can
hear right in front. Now, you listen."
I did as he suggested, and the rattling of the Boers' rifles came
plainly enough, their many reverberations, as the reports seemed to
strike from side to side, almost drowning the feeble replies of our own
men. Then, after a perceptible pause, fresh reports were heard, and
certainly these seemed to come from some distance away in front.
"There!" cried my companion triumphantly. "What do you say to that?"
"That the shots echo again from some high hills in front."
"Boss Val," cried Joeboy just then, and I touched Sandho with my heels,
making him spring on to where the big black was straining his neck to
look back, but trudging steadily on all the while.
"What is it, Joeboy?" I said anxiously. "Has he moved or spoken?"
"Um! Not said a word; but some one shooting over-over."
He nodded his head in the direction we were going, and now I grasped the
fact that I had before doubted--namely, that firing was going on in our
front.