SPION KOP
"It is almost a pity that you did not commandeer two ponies and saddles
while you were about it," Chris laughed, as they set off again feeling
all the better for their meal. "We only want that to complete our
outfit."
"You should have mentioned it before I started, Chris. There is no
saying what I might not have done; and really, without joking, a pony
is one of the easiest things going to steal when there are Boers about.
They always leave them standing just where they dismount, and will be
in a store or a drinking-place for an hour at a time without attending
to them."
"It is not the difficulty, but the risk; for even if a thief gets off
with a pony, he is almost sure to be hunted down. It is regarded as a
sort of offence against the community, and a man, whether a native or a
mean white, would get a very short shrift if he were caught on a stolen
horse."
"Yes, I know. Still, for all that, if I could come upon a saddled pony,
and there was a chance of getting off with it, I should take it without
hesitation as a fair spoil of war."
"Yes, so should I, for the betting would be very strongly against our
running across its owner; and in the next place, it would greatly
increase our chance of getting safely through. It is the fact of our
being on foot that will attract attention. We could walk about a camp
full of Boers without anyone noticing it, but to walk into the camp
would seem so extraordinary, that we should be questioned at once. A
Boer travelling across the country on foot would be a sight hitherto
unknown."
"There I agree with you; and I do think that when we get to Helpmakaar,
which we can do to-morrow evening if we make a good long march
to-night, we had better see if we can't appropriate a couple of ponies.
We can walk boldly into the place, and no one would notice we were
new-comers. There are sure to be ponies standing about, and it will be
hard if we cannot bag a couple. Then we can ride by the road south from
there to Greytown, and after crossing the Tugela, strike off by the
place where we had the fight near Umbala mountain, which would be a
good landmark for us, and from there follow our old line back to
Estcourt. It would be rather shorter to go through Weenen, but there
may be Boers about, and the few miles we should save would not be worth
the risk."
They made a long journey that night, slept within seven or eight miles
of Helpmakaar, and started late in the afternoon. When near the town
they left the main road, passed through some fields, and came into the
place that way, as had they entered by the road they were likely to be
questioned. Once in the little town, they walked about at their ease.
It did not seem that there were any great number of Boers there, but
the town was well within the district held by them, and such loyalists
as remained were sure to be keeping as much as possible without their
houses. In front of the principal inn were nearly a score of Boer
ponies, but the lads considered it would be altogether too risky to
attempt to take a couple of these, as their owners might issue out
while they were doing it; however, they stood watching. For some time
there was a sound of singing and merriment within, and for a quarter of
an hour no one came out.
"If we had taken a couple of ponies at first," Sankey said savagely,
"we might have been two miles away by this time."
"Yes; I don't know that it is too late now. Wait till they strike up
another song with a chorus, none of them are likely to leave the room
while that is going on, and it will drown the sound of hoofs."
There were few people about in the streets; and even had anyone passed
as they were mounting, he could not tell that they were not the
legitimate owners.
"If anyone should come out," Chris said, "don't try to ride away. We
should have the whole lot after us in a minute, and it is not likely we
should have got hold of the fastest ponies. Besides, they would shoot
us before we got far. So if anyone does come out and raises an alarm,
jump off at once and run round the nearest corner, and then into the
first garden we come to. We should be in one before they could come
out, mount their ponies, and give chase. Once among the gardens we
should be safe. If the man who comes out does not shout we would pay no
attention to him, but ride away quietly. If the ponies don't happen to
belong to him or some friend of his, he would not be likely to
interfere, for he would suppose that we were two of the party who had
left the place without his noticing them. But if he gives a shout, jump
off at once, and rush round the corner of the nearest house."
They waited for a minute or two, and then two Boers came out, mounted a
couple of the ponies, and rode quietly down the street. At that moment
another song was struck up. "That is lucky. If anyone comes out and
sees us mounting he will take us for the two men who have just ridden
off." Then they strolled leisurely across the street, took the reins of
two of the ponies, sprang into the saddles, and started at a walk,
which, twenty yards farther, was quickened into a trot. The two men had
fortunately gone in the other direction. Once fairly beyond the town,
they quickened their pace. "Now we are Boers all over," Chris said
exultantly; "but there is one thing, Sankey, we must be careful not to
go near any solitary farmhouse. There must still be some loyal men left
in these parts, and if we fell in with a small party of them the
temptation to pay off what they have suffered might be irresistible."
"Yes, Chris; but they certainly would not shoot unless certain of
bringing us both down, for if one escaped, he would return with a party
strong enough to wipe them out altogether. However, we need not trouble
about that for the present, though no doubt it will be well to be
careful when we are once across the Tugela."
"Well, we shall be there long before morning; it is not more than
seven-or eight-and-twenty miles."
They rode fast, for it was possible that when the loss of the ponies
was discovered someone who might have noticed them go down the street
might set the Boers on the track, and in that case they would certainly
be hotly pursued. The ponies, however, turned out to be good animals,
and as the lads were at least a couple of stones lighter than the
average Boer, they could not be overtaken unless some of the ponies
happened to be a good deal better than these.
After riding at full speed for eight or nine miles, they broke into a
walk, stopping every few minutes to listen. They knew that they would
be able to hear the sound of pursuit at least a mile away, and as their
ponies would start fresh again, they were able to take things quietly.
So sometimes cantering sometimes walking, they reached the river at
about one o'clock in the morning. On the opposite bank stood the little
village of Tugela Ferry. Here there was a drift, and there was no
occasion to use the ferry-boat except when the river was swollen by
rain. It now reached only just up to the ponies' bellies; they
therefore crossed without the least difficulty, and after passing
through the village, left the road, and struck off across the country
to the south-west. When four or five miles away they halted at a donga,
and leading the ponies down, turned them loose to feed, ate their
supper, and were soon asleep.
It was no longer necessary to travel by night, and at eight o'clock
they started again. They kept a sharp look-out from every eminence, and
once or twice saw parties of mounted men in the distance and made
detours to avoid them. So far as they were aware, however, they were
not observed. The distance to be ridden from their last halting-place
was about thirty-five miles, and at one o'clock they were within five
miles of Estcourt. On an eminence about a mile in front of them they
saw a solitary horseman.
"That is evidently one of our scouts," Chris said. "I dare say there is
a party of them somewhere behind him. If I am not mistaken I can see
two or three heads against the sky-line--they are either heads or
stones. We should know more about it if the Boers hadn't bagged our
glasses when they took us."
Two or three minutes later Sankey said, "Those little black spots have
gone, so they were heads. I dare say they are wondering who we are, and
put us down either as Boers or as loyal farmers, though there cannot be
many of them left in this district."
Presently from behind the foot of the hill six horsemen dashed out. The
lads had already taken the precaution of taking off their hats and
putting on forage-caps again.
"It is always better to avoid accidents," Chris said. "It would have
been awkward if they had begun to shoot before waiting to ask
questions, especially as we could not shoot back. They are Colonials;
one can see that by their looped-up hats, which are a good deal more
becoming than those hideous khaki helmets of our men."
The horsemen had unslung their guns, but seeing that the strangers had
their rifles still slung behind them with apparently no intention of
firing, they dropped into a canter until they met the lads.
"Who are you?" the leader asked. "Do you surrender?"
"We will surrender if you want us to," Chris said; "though why we
should do so I don't know. We belong to the Maritzburg Scouts, and were
taken prisoners, being both wounded, eight or nine days ago; and, as
you see, we have got away."
"I dare say it is all right," the officer said; "but at any rate we
will ride with you to Estcourt."
"We shall be glad of your company, though I don't suppose we shall be
identified until we get to Chieveley. Will you please tell us what has
taken place since we left?"
"That, I think had better be deferred," the officer said dryly. "We
don't tell our news to strangers."
"Quite right, sir."
"It is evident that you are not Dutch," the officer went on; "but there
is more than one renegade Englishman fighting among the Boers, and
except for your caps you certainly look as if you belonged to the other
side rather than to ours."
"Yes, they are Boer coats, Boer ponies, and Boer guns," Chris said. "We
have taken the liberty of borrowing them as they borrowed our guns and
field-glasses. Whether they borrowed our horses we shall not know till
we get back. You see," he went on, opening his coat, "we still have our
uniforms underneath. Who is at Estcourt now? Ah, by the way, we are
sure to find some officers in the hospital who know us."
The officer by this time began to feel that the account Chris had given
him of himself was correct, and when they arrived at Estcourt it was
rather as a matter of form than anything else that he accompanied him
to the hospital. Upon enquiry Chris found that among the wounded there
was one of the naval officers he had travelled with from Durban. Upon
the surgeon in charge being told that he wished to see him, he was
allowed to enter with the officer. The wounded man at once recognized
him.
"Ah, King," he said, "I am glad to see you again. Have you brought me
down a message from Captain Jones or any of our fellows?"
"No; I am very sorry to find you here, Devereux, but I am glad to see
you are getting better. I have really come in order that you might
satisfy this gentleman, who has taken me prisoner, that I am King of
the Maritzburg Scouts."
"There is no doubt about that. Why, where have you been to be taken
prisoner?"
"Oh, it was a fair capture. I was with one of my section caught while
out scouting, and have got away in Boer attire, and as we were riding
in we met this officer's party some five miles out, and not unnaturally
they took us for the real thing instead of masqueraders."
[Illustration: "PRESENTLY FROM BEHIND THE FOOT OF THE HILL SIX HORSEMEN
DASHED OUT."]
"I can assure you that King is all right," the sailor said. "He came up
in the train with three of his party from Durban."
"Thank you," the officer said with a smile. "I am perfectly satisfied,
and was nearly so before I came in here. Well, I wish you good-day,
sir, and hope we may meet again," and shaking hands with Chris he left
the tent.
Chris remained chatting for a few minutes more with the sailor.
"I suppose there is no great chance of getting a bed here?" he said, as
he rose to go. "We have had two pretty long days' ride, and I don't
care about going on to Chieveley."
"Not a chance in the world, I should think."
"Well, it does not matter much. We have been sleeping in the open for
the past five nights, and once more will make no difference. We are
just back in time, Sankey," he said when he joined his friend outside.
"Devereux tells me that there is a big movement going on, and that a
severe fight is expected in a day or two. He hears that the baggage
train has been moving to Springfield, so that it will be somewhere over
in that direction; and I suppose we are going to move round to Acton
Homes and force our way into Ladysmith through Dewdrop. You know, they
say that it is comparatively flat that way."
They got rid of their long coats and fastened them to their saddles;
then led their ponies to the station, and leaving them outside entered.
An enterprising store-keeper had opened a refreshment stall for the
benefit of the troops passing through, or officers coming down from the
front to look after stores or to visit friends in hospital. Chris had
explained their position to Devereux, and the latter had said: "Then I
suppose they have eased you of all your money?"
"Yes; they did not leave us a penny."
"There is my purse with my watch in that little pocket over my bed," he
said. "You must let me lend you a sovereign till I see you again." And
Chris had thankfully taken the money.
They now had what to them was a gorgeous feast; some soup, cold ham,
and a bottle of wine. They gave what little remains they had of bread
to the ponies, and then led them a quarter of a mile out of the town
and camped out with them there, the Boer coats coming in very useful.
The next morning they started at daybreak, and arrived at their camp at
Chieveley just as their friends were sitting down to breakfast. They
were received with a shout of welcome, and a torrent of questions was
poured upon them.
"I will leave Sankey to tell you all about it," Chris said. "I must go
and report myself to Brookfield and get our names struck off the list
of missing. I shall not be five minutes away."
The captain received Chris as heartily, though not so noisily, as his
comrades had done.
"We have been very anxious about you," he said, after the first
greeting. "When we came back to the point where you left us, and did
not find you there, we thought there might be some mistake, and that
you had ridden on. We picked up all the others, but were not uneasy
until we got into camp, and found that you did not return. Then two of
your friends took fresh horses and rode out again, taking two of your
blacks with them. The blacks found the place where you had left us, and
following your tracks down came on your horses. Then they went on till
they saw the river in front of them. The blacks traced your footsteps
along near the bank till they came to a spot where there was evidently
a drift, as a road was cut down to the water on both sides. They then
crawled along till they could look down into the road. They were some
time away, and returned with the news that they had seen below them on
the road a patch of blood and the mark of a body in the mud, another
step they said had gone down to the water, and had not come back.
Crawling along by the edge of the bank they found some empty
cartridges. They said whoever had been up there had crawled once or
twice to the edge above the sunken road where the other was lying, and
that he had then gone back from the river and afterwards down into the
road. A little farther there seemed to have been a fall, and then two
men with big feet came to the spot, and, they asserted, carried the one
who had fallen there down to the other; but they could not see what had
happened then, for it was evident that the Boers were in force on the
other side of the river, and they dared not go down farther to examine
the tracks. Enough had been seen, however, to show that you must both
have been wounded. It was pretty certain that you had not been killed,
for if so the Boers would not have troubled to carry your bodies across
the drift. Now, Chris, let us hear your story."
"If you don't mind, Captain Brookfield," Chris said with a smile, "I
will put off telling it for another half-hour. The fact is, breakfast
is ready, and I have only had one square meal since I went away, and
that was yesterday at Estcourt."
"Go, by all means," the captain laughed. "I breakfasted half an hour
before you came in, and forgot that it was possible that you had not
done so." It was a full half-hour before Chris returned, and when he
did so he left Sankey still telling the story of their adventures,
which had made very little progress, as he had declared that he could
not enjoy his breakfast if he was obliged to keep on talking all the
time. When Chris, on his part, had told the story to Captain
Brookfield, the latter said:
"I can't say that I am altogether surprised to see you back, though I
certainly did not expect you for a long time, for I felt sure that if
you and Sankey were not seriously wounded you would manage to give them
the slip before you got to Pretoria; and I thought we should hear the
first news of you at Durban, for it would be shorter and easier for you
to make your way down again to Lorenzo Marques than to follow this
line."
"We should certainly have gone that way if we had not escaped until we
were near Pretoria, but it was a great deal easier to slip away from
the waggons than it would have been if we had been once put into the
train. I hope, sir, we have not been returned as missing, for it will
have frightened our mothers terribly if we have been."
"No; I thought that there was no occasion to give your names until you
had been away for a month. If you were not heard of by that time, I
should consider it certain that you were dead or at Pretoria. I knew
that, as you say, it would be a terrible shock to your mothers if they
were to see your names among the missing; while it could do no harm to
anyone if I kept it back for a month, and put you down as missing the
first time after the corps were engaged. Well, you are just back in
time for a big fight, though we are not likely to take any part in it.
It is supposed to be a secret as to the precise position, but orders
have been privately circulated this morning. Dundonald with the regular
cavalry, the Natal Horse, and the South African Light Horse went on
four days ago, with one or two other colonial corps, and occupied
Springfield, and the baggage train followed them; and after occupying
the place, instead of waiting for infantry to come up, he moved on to a
river. Some of his men, with extraordinary pluck, swam across and
managed to bring the ferry-boat over under a very heavy fire. Then a
number of them crossed, scattered the Boers like chaff, and took
possession of a rough hill called Swartz Kop, and held it till support
came up. It was a capitally managed affair, and one cannot but regret
that the same care was not shown at Hlangwane. We are to go on this
afternoon, but as we are not in Dundonald's brigade I expect that our
duty will be, as it was in the last fight, to guard the baggage."
"But what will Dundonald's brigade do?"
"The general opinion is, that they will push round to Acton Homes. I am
not sure that the whole force is not going that way. It would be a
grand thing if it could be done; but I doubt whether the train could
carry enough stores, for it would be a long way round, and we should
probably have to fight two or three times at least, and it might take
us five or six days."
"Then most of the infantry have gone on already?"
"Yes, Hart's and Hildyard's brigades have marched straight from Frere.
By the way, did you hear of the Boer attack on Ladysmith on the night
of the 6th?"
"No; that was the night we were at Glencoe. On our way up we did hear
some very heavy firing. At least, we were not certain that it was
firing, and rather thought it was a distant thunder-storm."
"The firing began at two o'clock in the morning," Captain Brookfield
said, "and was so heavy that everyone turned out. It lasted four hours,
and there was no doubt that the Boers were making a determined attack.
Everyone wondered that we did not at once make a diversion. When the
day broke it could be seen that numbers of mounted Boers were hurrying
off from their camps among the hills towards Ladysmith, but it was not
until two in the afternoon that five battalions of infantry marched
down towards Colenso, and the naval guns opened in earnest on their
lines. It had the effect of bringing the Boers scurrying down again to
their trenches. Our fellows marched in open order and worked their way
nearly down to Colenso, which was more strongly garrisoned than it had
been at the time of our last attack. No doubt they had seen us
preparing to advance, and strongly reinforced the garrison. Our guns
were taken a long way down, and at six o'clock their trenches were
bombarded; then it came on to rain, and the Boers ceased to fire, and
at seven o'clock our men turned into camp. The firing in Ladysmith had
ceased some time before that."
"And what had taken place there?" Chris asked anxiously, "for I know
the place has not fallen or we should have heard of it."
"No, they beat the Boers off splendidly. However, they had hard work to
do it, for the heliograph flashed a signal at about nine o'clock in the
morning to say that they had so far beaten off the enemy, but were much
pressed. We heard the next day that this had indeed been the case.
Caesar's Camp had been taken and retaken several times--by our men at
the point of the bayonet, by the Boers, by rushing up in overwhelming
numbers. It is said that we have twelve hundred casualties, and the
Boers at least fifteen hundred, of whom a large number were bayoneted.
They say the loss fell chiefly upon the Free Staters, who were put in
the front by the Transvaal people. They fought pluckily, and several of
their commanders were among the killed. I should think that they would
hardly try it again. A native got through two days afterwards with a
despatch. We have not heard what it contained, but we fancy from what
has leaked out that our defences were very weak."
"We ought to take a lesson from the Boers," Chris said. "I saw
something of their trenches as we went up the railway valley, and they
are wonderful."
"Yes, we must do the Boers the justice to say that they are not afraid
of hard work. Ever since they first came here they have been at work
everywhere every day in the week, including Sundays. Of course, as we
are not standing on the defensive, there is no occasion for us to
construct works to the same extent; but I cannot myself understand why
we do not throw up batteries for our guns, pushing forward zigzags
every night, and advancing the batteries until we can plant all our
naval and field guns within a hundred yards of Colenso, when we should
be able to smash their entrenchments in no time, and effectually cover
an advance across the bridge or one of the drifts. When I was in the
army it was always said that the next war would be fought with the
spade as much as with the rifle, but so far we have seen nothing
whatever of the spade, except just by the guns. We were also taught
that strong positions held by steady troops armed with magazine guns
and supported by good artillery were absolutely impregnable against
direct attack. I grant that Dundee and Elandslaagte, and Belmont and
Enslin on the other side, seemed to contradict that idea, but our
experience here is all the other way; and if we keep on knocking our
heads against those hills I suppose the axiom is likely to be finally
confirmed."
"Then you don't think that we are going to fight our way into
Ladysmith, Captain Brookfield?"
"Not direct into Ladysmith. Possibly we may work our way round; but
after what we saw of the fire from their position, trench above trench,
and miles upon miles in length, my own conviction is, that allowing to
the utmost for the gallantry and devotion of our men, we shall never
win our way across those hills."
"Then we move off at two o'clock, sir?"
"Yes, fresh batches of waggons are going on, and we are to escort them,
and if we reach Springfield by to-morrow night we may think ourselves
lucky, for some of the officers who went with the first lot have come
back, and say that the roads are simply awful--there are dongas to be
passed where the waggons sink up to their axles--and that at one point
ninety oxen were fastened to a single waggon and could not pull it out
from a hole in which it was sunk, and there it would be now if one of
the Woolwich traction engines hadn't got hold of it and drawn it out.
They are doing splendid work, and if the War Office authorities can but
take a lesson to heart, the next war we go into we shall have five
hundred of them and not a single transport animal. They would cost
money, no doubt, but they would eat nothing and drink nothing; they
would only require to be oiled and cleaned occasionally to keep them in
order, and when they were wanted they would do the work without our
having to hunt the world over for transport animals. They would save
their cost in one war; there would be a thousand drivers and stokers
instead of twenty thousand camp followers; it would not matter whether
the country was burnt up dry or deep in grass, they would drag their
fuel with them; and would save the artillery horses by dragging the
guns till they were in the neighbourhood of an enemy. It might not look
so pretty or picturesque as the present system, but it would be
enormously more useful, and in the long run vastly more economical. I
should like to see Kitchener put at the War Office with authority to
sweep it out; Hercules in the Augean stable would be nothing to it."
Chris laughed at the earnestness and vehemence with which the commander
spoke.
He went on. "I am an old army man, and have been as staunch a believer
in army traditions as any man, but I tell you fairly that I am
disgusted at the amount of routine work, delay, and, if I may use the
word, priggism, that I see going on. I am not surprised that the
Colonials to a man are convinced that they would manage matters
infinitely better if they were left to themselves. They would harass
the Boers night and day, sweep their plundering parties out of the
land, make a circuit no matter how far into Zululand, and come down
behind and cut the line of railway, and blow up the bridges, and worry
them out of the colony. I don't say they would succeed, but I am sure
they would try, and I believe firmly that five thousand mounted
Colonials fighting in their own way would relieve Ladysmith and clear
Natal sooner than we with thirty thousand shall do. I am not saying
that they would succeed in a Continental war, though they would
certainly harass and bother any regular force four times their own
strength. To succeed they would require guns and a greater degree of
discipline than they have got, but such a force would be absolutely
invaluable as an assistant to a regular army. Don't repeat what I say,
Chris; there is a good deal of soreness of feeling on both sides
already, and I don't want any utterance of mine to add to it. Still, I
can assure you it has been a relief to me to let the steam off."
At the appointed hour the Maritzburg Scouts and another Colonial corps
started with a train of two hundred waggons, and with immense exertion
made eight miles before it became dark. The men were more often on foot
than in their saddles, sometimes roping their horses to the sides of
the waggons to aid the oxen, sometimes putting their shoulders to the
wheels, or working with a score of others with railway sleepers that
had been brought for the purpose, to lever the axles out of deep holes
into which the wheels had sunk.
"I don't think I ever knew what it was to be really dirty before,"
Field said, as they finally dismounted and prepared to camp. "I thought
I did know something about mud, but I can see that I did not. I feel
that I am a sort of animated pie, and could be cooked comfortably in an
oven. If we could but get a big fire and stand round it, our crust
might peel off; and I really don't see any other way. There is one
advantage in it, and that is that we shall be able to skirmish, if
necessary, across either a sandy or muddy country, without the
possibility of our being made out more than fifty yards away by the
keenest-sighted Boer. What do you propose, Captain Chris? If there were
running water near, the course would be clear. We would lie down by
turns, and be rolled over and over, and thumped with stones, and rubbed
with anything that came handy till we were in a state of comparative
cleanliness."
"Why running water?" Chris asked. "Why not a pond?"
"A pond!" Field said, contemptuously. "Why, sir, before our section
alone was washed, the water of anything short of a lake would be solid."
There was a general burst of laughter.
"Well, Field, you do us almost as much good as a wash," Peters said.
"Anyhow, we are better off than the others. We have got our tents and
our spirit-lamp, and can have our tea with some degree of comfort,
which is more than the others will be able to do. Now, as we have not
running water, I think we might as well scrape as much of this mud off
as we can."
"I would almost rather remain as we are," Field said. "Hitherto I have
felt rather proud of our appearance. As we only got our uniforms when
we came up here, and have always had our tents to sleep in, we looked a
great deal cleaner than the average. Now we shall be conspicuous for
our dirtiness."
"In spite of what Field says, I will adopt your suggestion, Peters. We
had better help the Kaffirs to get up our tents first," Chris said,
"then we can do the scraping while they are getting our supper ready.
It is very lucky that we had the water-skins filled before starting. We
should hardly taste the tea if it had been made from water from any of
these spruits."
The tents were erected, and then jack-knives were taken out; and giving
mutual aid to each other, they succeeded in removing at least the main
portion of the mud. That done, they sat down to supper. Fortunately,
the rain that had come down steadily the greater portion of the day had
now ceased, and with a tin of cocoa and milk, and some fried ham and
biscuits, they made an excellent meal. Their less fortunate comrades
brought their kettles, which were boiled for them one after another,
until all who had waited up in hopes of their turn coming had been
served. As they carried tea and their ration bread, they were able to
make a fairly comfortable meal, instead of going supperless to bed,
which they would otherwise have done, as few would have cared after
their hard work to go out into the veldt to gather soaked sticks, which
they would hardly have been able to light had they found them. A small
ration of spirits and water was given to each of the five natives, and
then the lads crept into their tents feeling that after all, things
might have been much worse.