It was in the early days of September that Jack and his friend reached
the beleaguered camp of Ladysmith, and found safety there after their
adventurous flight from Pretoria. The former, as has been shown, knew
little about the troops or the movements of the enemy, for he had been
struck down by a serious wound. But he was a strong and healthy lad,
and, once he got over his fever, made rapid progress; so much so that
when Christmas-day came round he was sufficiently well to recline
outside the tent and look on at the camp. The sunlight and the air did
him a vast amount of good, and when the New-Year arrived he was able to
walk with comfort, and was almost himself again.
"Jack, how would you like a drive?" cried Guy on this festive day,
entering the small bell-tent which had now been allotted to his friend.
"I've got the loan of a light cart and a couple of horses, and if you
care to dodge an occasional shell we'll make a tour round the camp and
have a look at the boys. A real good time they are having too, and
there is to be a big football-match this afternoon between the
Highlanders and the Rifles, which will be well worth looking at."
"Just what I should like," Jack answered. "When shall we start?"
"Oh, in half an hour! I'll get the cart at once."
Accordingly, when Guy drove up in a comfortable Cape cart, Jack climbed
into it, and accompanied him round the camp. It proved to be highly
interesting. The huts and houses and the long lines of tents in various
parts were still much the same as when he was last in Ladysmith, but
what was different was the stretch of trenches which had since been dug,
and near which the soldiers lived, ready at any moment to man them and
keep back the enemy.
Ladysmith was for all the world like Aldershot. It was the big camp of
South Africa, and probably for that reason had been garrisoned and held,
when the southern bank of the River Tugela would have been a more
favourable position. For health and the collection of a large body of
men it was certainly not to be beaten. There was ample room for camp
and town, and a wide plain over which cavalry could manoeuvre, and
field-days be practised by the foot regiments. In addition, it was high
land and supplied with excellent water.
But it had obvious disadvantages when held against a besieging force.
With trenches and redoubts the encircling hills could be held, but
beyond these there was a second outer circle, from which a fierce
bombardment could be kept up by the Boers. Guy and Jack drove round the
defences, and noticed that the chief position was to the south of the
camp, at Wagon Hill and Caesar's Camp, and it was near the latter that
Jack's field hospital lay.
Outside, the Boers had mounted big Creuzot guns on several hills, and
from these, ever since the camp was surrounded on October 30th, they had
kept up a more or less severe bombardment, throwing immense numbers of
shells into the town. But the results were not very creditable.
Football and cricket matches were played in full view of the gunners,
while the officers played polo. Occasionally a shell would plump in
their midst and send them all flying, but very little damage was done.
As Guy and Jack drove across towards the northern part a huge shell
pitched just in front of their horses, and, burying itself deep in the
ground, exploded, throwing dirt all over them.
"Shall we go on, Jack?" asked Guy. "Those Boer fellows have spotted us,
I expect. Perhaps you don't feel quite up to it just now that you are
weak after your wound."
"Humbug!" was Jack's answer. "Get ahead, Guy; it's only a chance shot
that will hit us."
"Ah, I thought you'd say that!" Guy continued; "and the majority of
fellows who have been hurt say that had they been out in the open they
could have easily run away. But a few shells have burst in houses and
tents, and some people have been killed. Of course the Boers have
pounded the town, and have even sent a few shots through the big
hospital. At any rate it has been hot work in there, and now all
non-combatants and the women and children live over on the neutral
ground at Intombi Spruit. The troops have nicknamed their camp
Funkemburg."
At this moment someone called out to Guy to pull up, and Rawlings, the
officer who had conducted the sortie which had helped Jack and his
friends back into Ladysmith, came up to the cart.
"Hallo, Jack Somerton!" he cried heartily, shaking him by the hand.
"When are you going to turn out of that hospital and join Guy in our
mess. He tells us you have lots of yarns to give, and he says something
about a girl near Kimberley. When are you coming, old boy? We'd like
awfully to hear all about that little affair."
"Well, I hope to be out in a few days now," Jack replied with a laugh.
"But shut up about that Kimberley business! Guy, what have you been
telling these fellows?"
There was a loud laugh at Jack's expense, and then Rawlings climbed into
the cart and accompanied the two young fellows on their drive.
"I can tell you, Jack," he said, "that you had better hurry up and get
your strength back, for those beggars outside are getting restless
again. Just fancy, they have been firing away at us, and looking into
the camp, for two months now, and, much as they long to take it, they
have only made one feeble assault. We beat them back then, and if they
try the game again I expect we shall give them a better hiding. You
chaps haven't had all the fun to yourselves. We may be shut in here,
but we've drawn a few of old Krugers teeth. We've played that game of
blowing up his guns twice, in addition to that time when we three had
the pleasure of meeting. And we've also upset him a bit by sending out
the cavalry. If it had been a British force investing Boers in
Ladysmith, I'm open to bet a new hat that we'd have turned them out of
it long ago. Just fancy looking on for two whole months! Well, I
expect they will wake up again soon, especially now that Buller has been
checked at Colenso and cannot release us at present. I can tell you,
chaps, it's a beast of a position. You see these hills round here?
Well, the main Boer army, under Joubert, blocks the country between this
and the River Tugela, and that country is choke-full of rocky hills and
kopjes. To reach this camp and set us free the British troops have
first to cross the river, and then they have to fight their way foot by
foot past all those hills, every one of which will have guns mounted on
the summit, and be entrenched from the base up to the guns. It is a
difficult undertaking, and Buller and his troops, in spite of the
greatest bravery, failed in the first step--the crossing of the river--
on December 15th. The heliograph has told us the whole story, and now
we know that the Boers had entrenched the whole of the north bank of the
river for miles on either side of Colenso. You've seen our trenches
here, and can guess how difficult it is to locate them from a distance.
"The Boers, with their usual cunning, had concealed theirs perfectly,
and the heaviest artillery fire failed to make them disclose them.
There was nothing else for it but an assault over an open stretch of
country, just the kind of work that our men are fitted for, but work
which is terribly trying.
"With splendid dash, General Hart's brigade moved forward on the left to
the drift across the river, supported by General Hildyard's brigade,
guns accompanying both. But the drift, which is usually fordable, was
now too deep, for the Boers had dammed the river. Added to that, all
those who crossed were under a terrific rifle fire. Still, our lads did
it, and got to the other side, only to find the position untenable. It
was altogether terribly hot work, and it was soon seen that a frontal
attack could not succeed. Buller recognised it early, and skilfully
withdrew his men.
"But one unfortunate affair happened. The guns galloped forward to
support the infantry, but got so close to the masked trenches of the
Boers that all the horses were shot down immediately, and nearly all the
gunners. They made a gallant fight of it, but they had fallen into an
ambush, and in spite of the desperate efforts made to get the guns away,
only two were saved, the others being captured by the enemy.
"During the battle Colenso was occupied by our troops, but later on was
evacuated. In the evening, after having sustained severe losses in men
and guns, our army retired to its camp. The Boers, too, suffered very
heavily in spite of rocks and boulders.
"It was a check, and a severe check, but our boys went back that night
not a bit disheartened; and now, by all accounts, they are itching to
make another attempt. Meanwhile, here we are, poor little Ladysmith,
surrounded on every side, garrisoned by some 9000 men on half-rations,
with no luxuries, and with typhoid fever and dysentery raging amongst
us.
"It's enough to dispirit anyone, but we are hopeful still; and I
guarantee, if you come to our footer match this afternoon, you will
watch as good a game as you could see at home.
"But mark my words, you chaps. The Boers are getting restless.
Reinforcements are being hurried up-country to Buller, besides extra
guns, and they know very well that he is only getting everything ready
before making another--and let us hope this time successful--attempt.
Their aim and object is to capture this camp before he comes. They are
getting desperate, for to fail to take us will make them the
laughing-stock of the world. But an assault is distasteful to the Boer.
Nothing goes so much against his grain, unless perhaps it is a British
bayonet. But he will try it, and when he does we shall have our work
cut out. There, now you know all about it, and if you hurry up and get
strong, Jack, you'll be able to take a hand in the affair."
"Well, I feel almost fit for a tussle now," Jack laughed, "and if the
camp is assaulted you may be sure I shall get hold of a rifle somehow
and join in the fun."
"I'm sure you will," Rawlings answered heartily. "Such a fire-eater as
you are would be certain to be somewhere in it. But come along to our
mess and lunch. They can spare you from the hospital for once, and I
don't suppose it matters much what you eat, now that you are up and
about."
Jack accepted the invitation, and much enjoyed it, for it was the first
time he had had a repast out of hospital since he came to Ladysmith.
After lunch he was given a big chair and a large cigar, and ordered to
tell the story of the defence of the farmhouse near Kimberley.
He obeyed the order, and had to put up with a good deal of good-natured
chaff. Then he drove off with Guy and Rawlings to the football ground.
It was an exciting and fast game, and was closely contested, there being
little to choose between the smart riflemen and the brawny Highlanders.
The whole camp was there to look on, and evidently the Boers were also
watching through their field-glasses, for in the midst of a severe
tussle, and when the two sides were grouped close together, there was a
screaming noise overhead, and a huge Creuzot shell plunged into the
middle of them, narrowly missing one man's head, and buried itself deep
in the ground.
Instantly the umpire's whistle sounded, and he shouted: "Half-time,
boys!"
A roar of laughter followed, and all the players decamped hastily and
threw themselves on the ground. A second later there was a muffled
roar, sand and earth were driven in all directions, and a large fragment
of shell whizzed across the ground, passed close to Jack's head, and
tore a huge rent in a galvanised-iron shed behind him.
Then the umpire's whistle sounded again, and the game was proceeded
with, one and all treating the matter as a joke.
That evening when Jack got back to his tent he was tired out, but by the
dim light from a lantern he perused, with many a chuckle, the pages of
one of the two papers published in the camp. It was _The Lyre_, and
purported to contain nothing but untruths.
On the evening of January 5th, as Jack was reclining on his chair
looking round the camp with his field-glasses, he noticed that amongst
the men passing to Ladysmith from Intombi Spruit, or "Funkemburg", were
three whose movements were suspicious. They were dressed like colonial
volunteers, and carried rifles. Passing separately across the open
ground, they pushed forward without hesitation, and, once inside the
camp of Ladysmith, walked in the direction of Wagon Hill, where each in
turn disappeared into a hut which had been almost smashed to pieces by
one of the enemy's shells.
Jack watched them, curiously at first, wondering why they did not come
across from the neutral ground together, and what business they had to
be out of the camp; and then suspiciously, for their movements were
peculiar. They looked about them cautiously, and one by one dived into
the hut. Here they remained, and though he fixed his glasses in that
direction for half an hour there was no sign of them, and they did not
even appear when the bugle sounded the "Fall in!" all over the camp, and
the garrison turned out of their tents and formed up for the evening
inspection.
"That is queer!" he muttered suspiciously. "Who can they be? Not
civilians, I am sure, for they have no business over in this direction.
I don't like the look of things, and I'll keep my eyes upon those
beggars."
A few minutes later, as Sir George White and his staff rode on to the
nearest parade-ground and the guard there presented arms to their
commanding-officer, a man slipped out from the back of the hut, and,
having peered in all directions, struck the wall with his rifle. Jack
fixed his glasses upon him and waited. Almost immediately two men
emerged, and having looked about them suspiciously, fell in, and,
shouldering their weapons, marched off towards the heights of Caesar's
Camp, with the one who had first left the hut walking by their side.
"Well, that's rummy!" exclaimed Jack aloud. "What can they be doing? I
suppose they are going to relieve the pickets, or the guards over the
guns. But it is an unusual time. Of course I know that the colonials
take their turn, but they are generally marched up to change guard just
before the evening parade. I'll just watch, and at the same time keep
out of sight, for they will pass close by me."
He promptly entered his tent, and, lying full-length on the ground,
lifted the flap, and again watched the volunteers through his
field-glasses. Soon they were close at hand, and though it was already
getting dusk, something about the figure of the officer caught his
notice, and that, combined with the peculiar manner in which he threw
out his feet, set Jack wondering who he was.
"I'm sure I've had something to do with that fellow before," he
muttered. "Who can he be?"
Jack puzzled his brains, but could not solve the problem, and was on the
point of giving it up in disgust when the merest chance disclosed it to
him. There was a sentry standing in front of an iron hut used as the
paymaster's office, and as the volunteers got opposite him, and just in
front of Jack, the watchful man hailed them and shouted: "Halt! who goes
there?" saluting the party at the same moment by shouldering his rifle.
He was evidently a young soldier, and eager to be considered wide-awake,
or else he would have remembered that it was already dusk and no salute
was required. Still it served Jack's purpose, for a second later "Eyes
right!" and "Gun picket!" was shouted out in a voice which made him
tingle from head to foot and tremble with excitement, for the voice and
the figure together told him that it was none other than Piet Maartens,
his old enemy, who had so nearly proved the death of him in the
Transvaal magazine.
"Good heavens!" Jack exclaimed in astonishment. "What does it mean?
Can he have come over to our side to fight against the Boers? No,
that's impossible. He must be a spy, and, by George! those other men
with him must belong to the enemy too."
Jack sprang to his feet and gazed after the squad of volunteers. Then
he thought for a few moments, and, having determined what to do, he
dived into the tent again, and, snatching up his rifle, ran across to
call Guy Richardson.
"Quick, Guy!" he said, pushing his head into the hut in which Guy and
Mr Hunter lived. "Come out here! I want you both! Bring your
rifles!"
An instant later all were walking rapidly towards the heights of
Caesar's Camp, the southern boundary of the defences of Ladysmith, and a
position of the most vital importance to the garrison, for with the
Boers in possession of it their guns would have forced our troops to
surrender.
"There's some treachery going on!" Jack whispered as they walked along
side by side. Then he explained what he had seen, and told them how
Piet Maartens, and two men dressed presumably as colonial volunteers,
were marching towards Caesar's Camp.
"There is certainly something wrong," Mr Hunter replied hurriedly.
"Now what had we better do! Ah, I know! You two follow them, and I
will go to the quarters of the officer in command of the pickets
to-night and warn him. What can those spies want! Keep your eyes open,
lads. It looks as though our friends were about to make an attempt to
take Ladysmith."
A moment later Mr Hunter was gone, and Jack and Guy hurried on till
they were within sight of the men they were following. It was now
almost dark, and having ascertained the direction in which they were
marching, the two took to their heels, and, making a wide detour, ran up
to the trenches at the top of the hill.
"Wait here, Guy, while I go over and speak to the officer on duty," said
Jack. "I'll be back directly."
Slipping across the turf, he was soon challenged by a sentry and brought
to a sudden stop with the man's bayonet at his chest. Then he was taken
to the officer.
"I've some important news to give you," he said. "Can I see you alone!"
"Certainly! Come in here," was the answer; and Jack was led into a
trench.
"There's something going on to-night," Jack whispered. "A Boer I knew
in Johannesburg is marching up here with two men, all dressed as
volunteers. They are all spies, I believe, and I have come to warn
you!"
"Spies! By Jove, we'll get hold of them immediately they appear!"
exclaimed the officer.
"Don't you think it would be well to let them do whatever they are
coming for," said Jack thoughtfully. "You might set a watch on them,
and as soon as you have found out their game arrest them. I should warn
your sergeants and a few of the older men, so as to be ready. Mr
Hunter thinks it looks as though the Boers were about to make a rush."
"By George, they'd better not!" the officer exclaimed. "But I'll do as
you suggest, and what is more, I'll send a man over to warn the fellows
on Wagon Hill."
"Very well! I'll slip back, and follow Piet Maartens and his friends
up," said Jack; and, stepping from the trench, he nodded to the young
officer and ran across to Guy.
A few minutes later the Boer spies appeared marching stealthily up the
hill, and as soon as they had passed by, Jack and Guy fell in behind
them. They kept steadily on, halting for a few seconds now and again to
listen and glance cautiously round them. Soon they were at the top of
the heights, when they turned to the left, and after proceeding some two
hundred yards came to a stop directly behind a battery of field-guns
placed in a most commanding position to rake the flats below. They
stood unguarded and unattended, save that below them, on the farther
side of the hill and some distance away on either hand, pickets were
posted.
"Looks as though they were going to play some game with the guns,"
whispered Guy. "What do you think, Jack? It would suit their purpose
well to destroy our cannon and then assault us."
"I think you are right, Guy. Let us hide up here and watch. At present
I do not think they will do much, for it is too light, but in another
hour perhaps they will make a move. By that time they will be
surrounded."
At this moment Piet Maartens rose to his knees from the hollow in which
he and his two companions had thrown themselves, and, not seeing anyone,
all three stole forward about fifty paces, and again lay prone upon the
ground, where they remained without a move, save that now and again one
of them raised his head and attempted to pierce the gloom. But the
night had already fallen, and it would have required more than the
unaided eye to distinguish any but a very close object.
Meanwhile Jack and Guy had crept into a good position near at hand, and
feeling sure that the officer in charge of the trenches had taken due
precautions to surround the Boer spies, they sat down in silence and
waited to see what would happen.
"Stay here a moment," said Jack, seeing that at present nothing was
likely to happen, "I'll go and get that officer, and then there will be
official evidence against those fellows. It looks as though we should
have them beautifully."
Leaving Guy crouching behind a mound of earth, Jack slipped back, and,
having reached the trenches, was soon in conversation with the officer.
"I wonder what their game is," said the latter. "At any rate we shall
nab them all, for I have put a circle of men all round the guns."
"I believe they are going to damage the weapons in some way or other,"
Jack answered, "and in that case they will certainly use explosives. I
came over to ask you to join us at a spot where we can see everything.
The sentries on the guns show well up against the sky-line, so that when
these fellows get on their feet we can see at once when they move. By
the way, it would be wise to warn the gunners to be careful when the
time comes for using their weapons."
"Yes, I'll do that," exclaimed the officer. "Who knows! these spies may
fix a charge of dynamite. Wait here a moment while I give the order."
A few minutes later he joined Jack once more, and both crept to Guy's
side and then moved forward, for Piet Maartens and his companions had
crawled closer to the guns. Raising their heads cautiously, they peeped
over a bank and saw the guns, only a few yards in front of them,
standing dimly defined against the star-lit sky, while close beside them
crouched the Boer spies.
Piet Maartens lay a few yards in front upon the edge of the hill, and as
Jack and his friends watched him they saw him lift his head and look
steadily in either direction, and then turn round as if to make sure
that he was unobserved.
Instantly all three sank flat on the ground, but a minute later, when
they peered over the bank again, he was facing down the hill, and as
they looked, he stood up and produced what was evidently a pair of
field-glasses and applied them to his eyes.
"He's trying to make out where the pickets are," whispered Jack. "Keep
down, you fellows, he's turning this way now."
"He can look as long as he likes," chuckled the young officer, "but he
won't see a single man beyond the regular outposts. I ordered all my
fellows to lie flat and remain without a move till they hear me shout."
"That's good," muttered Jack. "Halloa! what's that?"
As Jack spoke, one of the Boer spies gave a low warning hiss between his
teeth, and a second later a corporal and two men swung by in the
darkness on their way to relieve an outlying picket. They had
approached so silently that Piet Maartens was taken by surprise, and was
instantly perceived. But his coolness did not desert him. He instantly
replaced his glasses and challenged.
"Relieving picket," shouted the corporal, and passed on without a halt.
"Pass, relieving picket. All's well," Piet Maartens answered, and,
having waited a minute, again produced his glasses.
Five minutes later the corporal and the men he had relieved returned,
and silence settled down upon the hilltop.
It was a trying time for Jack and his friends. Crouching behind the
mound of earth, with their eyes glued upon the Boer spies in front, they
expected them to make some attempt upon the guns at any moment. But an
hour dragged slowly past, and then another, and the officer was on the
point of shouting to his men to close in, when Piet Maartens was again
seen to make use of his glasses.
"Wait a moment," Jack whispered, placing his hand upon the young
officer's arm to restrain him. "They are moving now, and the fun will
begin."
An instant later, having satisfied himself that there was no one about,
Piet Maartens slipped stealthily to the side of one of his fellow-spies,
and, extracting something from his haversack, approached one of the
guns. There was a faint click, then a few seconds of silence, which was
followed by a metallic "clang". Once more he returned to his comrade,
and approached another gun. And all the while Jack and his friends
looked on in breathless silence. In all, there were twelve weapons
belonging to the Field-Artillery, and each in turn Piet Maartens
visited. Then he returned to his former position, and, having looked
round in all directions, gave a soft whistle. At the signal the other
spies joined him, and immediately disappeared over the brow of the hill
and climbed down the opposite side. Instantly the young officer rushed
up to the guns, accompanied by Jack and Guy, and, drawing his revolver,
shouted "Look out, men!"
The next moment a ring of soldiers leapt to their feet, and with fixed
bayonets faced the party of Boer spies.
"Lay down your arms, Piet Maartens. It's all up, and if you lift a hand
you will all be shot like dogs!" Jack shouted, rushing forward at the
same time and presenting his rifle at his old enemy's head.
A snarl of rage escaped from the Boer's lips, and he made a frantic
effort to unsling his rifle; but long before he could get it free the
circle of soldiers rushed in and knocked all three to the ground. A
minute later they were being marched towards the town, surrounded by a
strong party in charge of a subaltern.
"Now we'll have a look at the guns," exclaimed the officer. "Sergeant,
bring along a lantern and a couple of men, and don't attempt to touch
the guns till I have inspected them. Come and help me, Somerton. I
expect that beggar has placed a charge of dynamite in the breech."
A few moments later a lantern was produced, and, followed by Jack and
Guy, the officer looked closely at the breeches of the guns. At first
there was nothing to be seen. But a close inspection revealed a thin
piece of wire attached to the handle of the breech, passing from there
into the inside of the weapon.
"Don't open it, whatever you do," cried Jack in a warning voice. "It is
a regular trap for the gunners, and the opening of the breech would fire
the charge inside. Snip the wires, and then you will be able to learn
all about it."
A wire nipper was now produced, and the piece attached to the handle
having been cautiously snipped, the breech was opened and disclosed a
charge of gun-cotton inside arranged so that the mere opening of the
handle would pull the wire and explode the charge, and so destroy the
gun immediately.
"Ah, I told you there was a plot on hand!" exclaimed Jack with
satisfaction. "They know that we have guns here, and they sent those
spies in to arrange matters, so that when the rush comes and they attack
the hill, we should be left without a single weapon to fire at them as
they cross the ground below. Well, I fancy we shall be able to open
their eyes. It's getting on for midnight now, and we can expect them
very soon."
"Right you are, Somerton," the officer replied. "There's no mistake
about it. They are going to have a real good try to take us, and,
thanks to you, we shall be ready for them. I'll go off and report the
matter, and meanwhile I'll have all the guns loaded with shrapnel. By
the way, what are you going to do?"
"Oh, Guy and I will give a hand, if we may!" answered Jack.
"My dear chap, every man of us will be wanted, and the more we can get
the better. Come into my trench, if you like. It's certain to be a hot
corner, being so close to the guns."
Jack and his friend eagerly accepted the invitation, and accompanied the
officer back to the trench. Here they were joined by Mr Hunter, and a
few minutes after his arrival some Highlanders and Riflemen put in an
appearance. Then all lay down, while the gunners trained their weapons
upon the flats below, and loaded them with shrapnel. Outposts were
doubled, and every man waited in dead silence for the assault, prepared
to hurl back the attacking Boers at the point of the bayonet.