"I say, who's cracked now?" I said.
"Well, I believe I am--half," he replied. "I say, Val, I would like to
go with you."
"What! upon such a mad expedition?" I said.
"Yes. It doesn't look so mad when you come to think a little more about
it. Look here; I know. I'll go as a Dutch driver."
"You'll stop along with your troop, and I'll ask the chief to let you
come to my help in the morning when we're coming along with the wagon--
if--if we carry it off."
Denham was silent for a few moments before he said any more. Then, with
a sigh:
"Yes, you might do that; but I should have liked to be in the thick of
the business."
Many of the men went hungry to bed that night, and Denham and I lay
talking for long enough before sleep came; but when it did, nothing
could have been more restful and refreshing.
We rose at the "Wake up" to find that there had been no alarm in the
night, and our first act was to climb to the top of the wall and use a
glass, to see that the Boers wore in the same positions, and the
outposts were just riding in, so that I had some insight as to the way
in which the enemy guarded their front during the night.
"Here, I say, look!" cried Denham suddenly. "You ought to have gone
last night."
"Why?" I asked as I took the glass; and then, "Oh!" I exclaimed in a
tone of disappointment.
"Yes, you may well groan," cried my companion. "Why didn't the chief
let you go?"
There was good reason. We could see plainly enough that the Boers were
unloading the wagons, and the Kaffirs hard at work carrying bags which
no doubt contained mealies or flour. To me the sight was maddening, for
it now seemed one of the easiest things in the world for us to have
captured and carried off one of the laden wagons.
"There, it's of no use to cry after spilt milk," said Denham, with a
groan.
"Nor is it of any use to despair," I replied as I watched the unloading.
"Perhaps they may leave one of the wagons full."
"Oh, they will, of course!" said Denham mockingly. "They'll pick out
the best one, containing a nice assortment, and label it, `Reserved for
the use of the Natal Light Horse. To wait until called for by Don
Quixoto Valentino Morayo and his henchman Sancho Panzo Joeboyo.' I
never thought of that."
"Let's go and report what we have seen," I said bitterly; and we went
and found the Colonel.
"Humph!" he said shortly; "unfortunate." That was all.
Then the day glided by, with our men always on the alert, their only
work being to man the walls and keep a sharp lookout while the horses
were driven out to graze; but though the Boers showed in force in
different directions, they made no attack. In spite of a false alarm or
two, the poor brutes managed to pick up a pretty good feed; though,
considering the work they had to do, it was poor and unsustaining as
compared to corn.
As for the men, they made the best of things; but several knots gathered
together trying to allay the desire for different food by the agency of
their pipes. However, instead of endeavouring to get accustomed to the
food pretty plentifully prepared for their meals--other two horses
having to be shot on account of their wounds--some of the men preferred
to fast; and it was these men who discussed the probability of the
Colonel making a dash again that night, to cut a way through and escape.
Sergeant Briggs favoured this idea.
"I hope the chief will make another try to-night," he said to Denham and
me. "The Boers mean to starve us out; and in another day or two all the
fight will be gone out of the poor lads."
However, the sun often peeps out on the cloudiest days; and towards
evening, just when we were feeling most despondent, Joeboy came up to
Denham and me just as we were going up to our old place of observation,
glass in hand. As we mounted, it was to see the horses led in, with the
guard behind them; the lines of the enemy being descried very distinctly
in the horizontal rays of the low-down sun. Denham was using the glass
and making comments the while.
"There's a famous great gap out yonder," he said, "just to the right of
where we saw those unlucky wagons, Val. I will just go and tell some
one. The enemy will not be likely to fill it up; and I believe we might
go softly that way and make a dash through.--Oh, you disgusting,
sybaritish, gluttonous brutes! I always did think the Boers were pigs
at eating. Look at their fires all along their lines. Here are we
starving, and they're doing nothing but cook and eat--eat--eat."
I took the glass and looked at the opening he had noticed, but said
nothing, remembering how terrible was our experience on the previous
occasion. I saw too--as enviously as my companion, but in silence--how
the fires were sending up their clouds of smoke in the clear, calm air
all along the line, telling of preparations for the coming meal.
"The empty wagons are gone," I said at last.
"If you say wagon again I shan't be able to contain myself," cried
Denham passionately. "I don't want to kick you, Val; but I shall be
obliged. Look here, if I feel as bad to-morrow evening as I do now,
I'll mount and desert to the Boer ranks."
"Not you," I said.
"But I will, just for the sake of eating as much as ever I can. Then
I'll desert again and join our own ranks."
"Why, Denham--" I exclaimed excitedly, and then I was silent.
"Why, Denham--" he replied.
"Wait a minute," I cried; "let me make sure."
"Sure of what?" he said, growing excited in turn on hearing the elation
in my voice.
"Wagons!" I cried.
"Ah, would you?" he shouted. "Didn't I say that if you spoke of wagons
again--"
"One--two--three--four--five--six!" I cried, with the glasses to my
eyes. "Hurrah! There's a fresh lot coming into camp, right into that
opening you saw. Be quiet and let me watch"--for Denham had given me
such a slap between the shoulders that I nearly dropped the glass.
"Say it again, old man--say it again."
"There's no need," I replied. "Yes, I can make them out quite plainly--
six wagons, with their long teams of oxen and black drivers and
forelopers. You can see the black bodies and white cloths."
"I don't want to see them," cried Denham wildly. "I'll take your word.
Six teams of oxen!--that's all beef. Six wagons!--that means bread.
There, you be off and tell the Colonel you're going to start; and I'll
see about the troop that's to follow and bring you in. I say, pick out
a wagon of meal; not one of mealies. I don't know, though. Couldn't
you bring both?"
"There's plenty of time," I said.
"Time? The Colonel ought to know by now. Here, give me that glass."
"Be quiet," I said, angry with excitement. "I want to watch and make
sure where the wagons are drawn up."
Denham ceased speaking, and during the next half-hour I watched till I
had seen tin; six wagons drawn up pretty close together, and their black
drivers moving about attending to the oxen; now all grew faint and
indistinct, then completely faded out of sight; not, however, until I
had made up my mind that I could go straight away from the old fort and
find the place, though there were minutes when the task in the dark
seemed impossible.
Turning to Joeboy, who had twice looked through the glass, I asked:
"Do you think we could find those wagons in the dark?"
"Um? Joeboy could," he replied promptly. "Go right straight."
I breathed more freely then, and suggested to Denham that I should go
and report to the Colonel what I had seen.
"Yes; at once," he said. "Come along; and I want to have command of one
of the troops sent out to bring you in."
We had commenced the descent when Denham stopped me.
"Look here," he said; "I have a good thought. We ought to arrange some
signal to let me know your whereabouts when you are returning with the
wagon."
"I haven't got it yet," I said.
"No, but you're going to get it," he said confidently; "and I want to be
able to come to you with fifty men, and to make sure of bringing you in.
Now then, what will your signal be? Because, if I hear it out on the
veldt we can ride straight off to you. Can you yell like a hyena?"
"No," I said promptly. "Joeboy can."
"Wouldn't do," said my companion, upon second thoughts. "Those beasts
are singing all over the place sometimes, and they might lead us wrong."
"So would the cry of any animal."
"Yes," said Denham thoughtfully. "I don't know, though. Here, can you
suggest something?"
"I can't do it; but Joeboy can roar like a lion splendidly."
"Wouldn't that scare and stampede the bullocks?"
"Oh no," I said; "the cry would cheat the Boers, perhaps; the bullocks
would know better--wouldn't they, Joeboy?"
"Um? Big trek-ox laugh, and say `Gammon,'" replied the black, showing
his glistening teeth.
"Very well, then; when you are getting within earshot let Joeboy give
three roars half-a-minute apart."
"Right," I said.--"You understand, Joeboy?"
"Um? Yes, Boss Val."
"Here, give us a specimen," said Denham. "Don't make a bully row. Just
roar gently so that I shall know it again."
Joeboy dropped upon his hands and knees, placed his lips close to the
surface of the wall, and a low, deep, thunderous roar seemed to make the
air quiver and shudder. Directly afterwards there was an excited
stamping and neighing amongst the horses.
"That'll do splendid," whispered my companion. "Three times, mind.
Hark! they're talking about it all over the place. There'll be an alarm
directly about a lion getting into the laager."
By the time we had reached the spot where the officers made their bare,
unsheltered camp, the alarm had already died away; and, after being
challenged, we had leave to advance.
The Colonel heard what we had to say in silence, and then remained for a
minute or two without speaking.
"It is a very risky and daring business, Moray, my lad," he said; "but
we are in a desperate strait. I did mean to make another dash for
liberty to-night; but since this piece of good fortune has turned up
I'll wait twenty-four hours and see what you do. If you succeed I
promise you that--"
"Please don't promise me anything, sir," I said quickly. "Let me go and
try my best. If I fail--"
"And the Boers take you prisoner," said the Colonel quickly, "I shall,
like every one in the corps, thank you all the same for a very dashing
and plucky venture.--As for you, Denham; yes, certainly. Take fifty
men, and go out to meet him and bring him in. You need not, of course,
start till well on towards morning; and when you are gone I shall order
out nearly all the rest of the force to your support, so as to bring you
all in, if you are pressed."
"Thank you, sir," I said eagerly; but Denham replied in rather a grumpy
tone, for he was all on fire to begin doing something almost at once.
"Then I may start when I like, sir?"
"Certainly, my lad. Of course you will take your rifle?"
"Yes, sir."
"Take two revolvers instead of one. You may want them at a pinch; but
you must depend upon scheming in this, and not on strength. By the way,
there are a few biscuits in my haversack; you can take them."
"Oh no, sir--" I began; but he interrupted me.
"Take them," he said shortly, and in a way that meant a command; but I
compromised the matter with my conscience by only taking half.
I now left the Colonel's quarters with Denham and Joeboy, and only
waited till it was as dark as it seemed likely to be before having a few
final words with my companion and Briggs, who were the only men in the
secret of what was about to be undertaken. Then, filling my
water-bottle and placing the biscuits in my pocket--after Denham had
refused a share--I saw that my bandolier was quite full of cartridges,
slung my rifle, and placed one revolver in its holster-pocket and thrust
the other in my breast. We now walked towards the well-barricaded
gateway, gave the word, and Joeboy and I stepped out, with Denham and
Briggs; but stopped to shake hands with Denham, who held mine tightly.
"Good luck to you, Val, lad!" he said softly. "Don't take any notice of
what I said before--I mean of all that cold water I poured on your
scheme. It's splendid. Go in and win; and when you're half-way back,
or if you're pursued, make old Joeboy fill his bellows and roar. I'll
come to your help, even if there's a thousand Doppies after you."
"I know you will," I said warmly as I returned the pressure of his hand.
"There, good-bye."
"Good-bye, old boy! You'll do it. Oh! I wish I were coming too."
"Good-bye, Mr Private Moray," said Briggs softly, in his deep tones.
"I wish you everything in the way of luck. You'll do it, my lad, I
know.--Here, Joeboy, you stick to your boss."
"Um! Me stick to Boss Val--um!--alway."
"Good-bye," I said again, trying to free my hands, for Denham and the
Sergeant each held one tightly and in silence.
At last, as we stood there in the darkness, they let my fingers slip
through theirs, and I stepped out into the open, following Joeboy's
steps, for he at once took the lead, without making a sound.
"Ah!" I said to myself, after drawing a very long breath, "this is
going to be the most exciting thing I ever did."