I have said that the salute of the horsemen who advanced to meet Vander
Roey's band was answered by a corresponding movement from the latter.
Each party moved along its path in stern silence. They met at the foot
of the lull, and then palm met palm, as though sealing a sullen but
determined compact.
Vander Roey's countenance proclaimed evil tidings. No one liked to ask
him questions; besides, the very advance of the pilgrims over the hills
was a signal that hope was lost. Lodewyk was the spokesman, while
Vander Roey and his wife rode forward with Vanbloem, a son of the
settler introduced in the early chapters of this work. He was young,
active, brave, and clever. Each of these two men had much to tell the
other.
Lodewyk strode on declaiming--Vander Roey told again how he had been
turned from Sir John Manvers's door with scorn.
The colonists had sympathised with him at the insult, but what could
they do? All hope of redress of grievances was over, and no better time
could be chosen for _trekking_. The troops were marching towards
Kafirland. Sir John was as bewildered as a bird in a mist. Here were
men--pointing to Lyle and Brennard--who could tell them that the eyes of
England, and France, and Holland were upon them. Lyle was a patriot,
had suffered in the cause of patriotism; he had been cast upon the
shores of Africa for a great purpose. They already knew the services
that Brennard had rendered them; well, Lyle had been an able colleague--
his plans had proved his ability; through his means arms and ammunition
had been safely conveyed through various branches of the colony; every
Boer was armed, every honest man was roused to a just sense of his
forlorn and degraded position; but the time had come--if they were
permitted to go in peace, well and good; if not--
"Ah! if not," said Lodewyk's brother, "we will dress ourselves in
thunder, and mark a boundary-line for ourselves with blood."
They reached the bivouac: it was more wretched than the last. The
plains were saturated with water from the heavy rains which had
prevailed on the eastern flats. There were but few tents or
wagon-tilts, and these were ragged and damp, serving as poor coverings
to the sickly, shivering wretches beneath.
Lyle's first salutation from a sallow man, who sat making a coffin for
his wife and baby, was, "Welcome to the place of graves." He passed on;
some squalid children in rags were stirring up a pool of stagnant water
to find frogs; an agueish woman with parched lips remonstrated with them
for troubling the waters; she wished to slake her thirst. Two women
were grinding corn between stones, others looked greedily on. There was
neither milk nor bread. Some wretched sheep, lately brought in by a
foraging party, awaited their doom--they had been earned at great cost;
three men lay dying of their wounds; in truth, it was a sorry sight.
Poor Gray was more disheartened than ever. The Boers had begun to look
upon him with a suspicious eye; it was evident he was not a volunteer.
He felt that he was despised, and his heart died within him. He sat
down upon an old pack-saddle; he looked so weary, so dejected, that
young Vanbloem's wife took pity on him. She was an Englishwoman. She
spoke kindly to him in his own language. The deserter could have wept,
but for very shame.
"Come hither," said she, "you poor young Englishman; has your country
done you any wrong, that you should turn rebel? You look miserable
enough in mind and body, but I can give you something for your heart to
rest upon,--see here."
She raised a canvass screen, and showed him Amayeka fast asleep.
Amayeka had found a kind heart, and trusted it.
Gray's face shone with sudden light.
Anne Vanbloem dropped the screen: "There," said she; "it is good for you
to know she is safe; be satisfied with that for the present."
Poor Amayeka! Vanbloem was the man who had rescued her from the
torture, and his wife "had compassion on her."
Gray would have given much to have poured out his heart to the young
Dutchman; but Vander Roey's disastrous mission and its results had
fanned the flame of rebellion to such a height, that no one could expect
to meet with a hearing who was not resolved on freedom, or on fighting
for it; besides, Gray knew that his confession might draw on him the
imputation of cowardice, and then--alas for resolution!--here was
Amayeka, the only being on earth who truly loved him.
Doda was as philosophical on discovering that his daughter was in safe
hands as he would have been had he heard that she had died by torture.
In the latter case, he would have excused his apparent want of feeling
by alleging that grief was useless--a Kafir has as little idea of
gratuitous sorrow as gratuitous labour.
Brennard expected that Zoonah would bring them news from the colony, and
it was resolved in council that, on the arrival of the scouts from
different points, if the intelligence of each agreed with the other, the
bivouac should be entirely broken up.
Vander Roey had brought some supplies with him, and parties were formed
to obtain provisions from the hunting-grounds. In these expeditions
Gray redeemed his character for skill and courage, albeit he was no
longer strong and lithe of limb as he had been.
He saw little of Amayeka. Anne Vanbloem had her own plans about her,
and changed the subject whenever Gray alluded to her. He saw, however,
that the young Boeress meant kindly, and was obliged to content himself
with that idea.
Anne and Gray were left together one afternoon; he had been assisting
her in carrying goods from her tent to the wagons, which were to move
towards the Modder River on the morrow with various stores and a strong
escort of the Boers, Vander Roey's object being to advance gradually
beyond the colony, and to give battle, if driven to such an alternative,
in a position of which he knew the advantages. Thus the elder men,
women, children, goods, and arms, were sent off from time to time by
small divisions. The Kafir scouts, and five or six more traders from
the British settlements, were anxiously expected; and, although the
Boers did not contemplate success on the side of the savages in the
present strife in Kafirland, they knew that the warfare would be such as
to harass the troops, and keep them employed for a considerable time.
In the mean time he despatched his message of defiance to Sir John
Manvers.
"It is very clear, young man," remarked Anne Vanbloem, "that your heart
is not in this business."
"I am a miserable creature," replied the poor young deserter; "my heart
is, indeed, quite opposed to the treachery I am called upon to join in."
"And mine also," said Anne; "I do not see my way; but, by God's help,
Vanbloem shall have no part in this war."
It may be believed that Lyle improved every hour of his new acquaintance
with Vander Roey. He ascertained from the chief that the great body of
the Dutch had formed a settlement near a river, which, it was necessary
to cross ere the English could satisfy themselves of the existence of
the great Salt Lake. The Boers and aborigines had explored this part
long ago [Note 1]; but men of science professed themselves unbelievers
on this point. Lyle showed his colleagues the advantage of such a
position, and stirred up the rest of the unfortunate wanderers into the
belief that it would be as unavailing as cowardly to yield without a
struggle. Rumours had reached Lyle and Brennard of the prospect of Sir
Adrian Fairfax's return to South Africa, but they determined on keeping
this to themselves.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The scouts came in, Zoonah among them; Lyle took the latter aside, and
learned from him how he had hovered about the neighbourhood of Annerley,
holding daily parleys with his little sister--the traitress!--how she
had brought him back the assegai, and related the issue of its
discovery.
"Ha! ha!" thought Lyle, laughing bitterly; "they know now that I am not
at the bottom of the sea, as they hoped."
The reports of the scouts encouraged some and daunted others.
On the one hand, Sir John Manvers was harassed by the Kafirs--on the
other, Sir Adrian's sudden appearance in the heart of the country struck
terror into the minds of the less resolute.
The season of dewy mornings and bitter nights was fast approaching,
sickness was increasing in the camp; Lyle, Brennard--all the English
traitors, in fact--urged Vander Roey to retire to the north-eastward
without delay. With his usual policy, the former had contrived to send
forward a member from almost every family, and thus all had an interest
in falling into a position where they might make a stand against the
British forces.
The chill dawn of an April morning saw the bivouac again broken up, and
by noon the plain was vacant.
Vanbloem rode in the rear with a heavy heart--he was beginning hourly to
repent; Gray was beside him. Each knew what was passing in the other's
mind, but neither spoke.
It was midnight; the wanderers had halted at the foot of a bill on the
site of an old mission station--part of the house still remained. The
rain fell in torrents, a few stunted bushes were all that afforded
shelter to the poor pilgrims of the desert.
Gray heard his name called.
It was Vanbloem--he came for help; he had removed his wife into the
dilapidated building--Amayeka was with her; ere long he hoped to behold
his first-born; but he was in dismay at the sudden pain and peril of
Anne, who, hurried by the journey, and terrified at the prospect of her
husband leaving her, had been brought sooner into her trouble than she
expected.
Gray assisted Vanbloem in removing certain comforts from his wagon to
the deserted mission-garden; Amayeka came out under the dripping trees,
and received them from her master's hand, for the poor girl was now in
the capacity of a domestic.
God was gracious. Vanbloem held a living girl in his arms ere the night
had passed; but it was impossible for his wife to be removed, and he
would not leave her desolate.
How Lyle cursed the woman!
"Oh!" thought Gray, "that I might stay with them, and wait my doom from
the hands of my countrymen."
He liked Vanbloem; he had told him his history, and now proposed
remaining with him, and stating to Vander Roey his resolution not to
turn traitor.
"And," said Vanbloem, "what reply do you expect?"
"Perhaps," said Gray, very quietly, "he may order me to be shot on the
spot."
Vanbloem looked at the young deserter. "You are no coward," thought he.
"You are wrong," he continued, speaking aloud; "he would not shoot you,
but they would brand you with a coward's name. I pity you from my soul.
May God have compassion on you, and help you! I see the finger of
Providence in what has just occurred to myself. I will remain in the
desert with my wife and Amayeka."
Gray led the young Dutchman to a retired spot, and poured forth his
whole soul to him.
"I leave Amayeka," said he, "to you and your kind English wife; tell her
never to forget poor Gray, the deserter."
Vander Roey felt that Vanbloem would never join his band again. They
parted friends, however, the latter resolving, if opportunity required
it, to act as intercessor between the Government and his countrymen.
Sir Adrian was indeed utterly confounded at hearing that Lyle was alive,
at liberty, and at work in such a field. His career from the time he
had left the Cape had been, as I have shown, short and mischievous. He
had been foremost as a Chartist leader, had organised bodies of men in
Wales and Cornwall; but had, at a fortunate moment for his country and
the people he had misled, been seized by the Government, tried, found
guilty, and transported, ere the wretched men under him had recovered
their breath, after their frantic but useless demonstrations.
Well, there was enough work before Sir Adrian for the cleverest and most
active of governors. In front were thousands of savages at war with
troops and colonists; to the north-eastward, with a space between of 400
miles, through a difficult country, was a sullen, determined enemy, well
prepared with arms and ammunition, bent alike on revenge and the
establishment of privileges "dearer to these Boers than life."
Mr Daveney soon found that it would be madness to attempt proceeding
with his family to the more civilised districts. He therefore contented
himself by forming a little encampment of his own, some fifteen miles
from Sir John Manvers's. Major Frankfort, having received an offer of
active employment from Sir Adrian, had joined the division on the banks
of the Buffalo River. Ormsby was in command of a detachment of his own
corps, under Sir John.
Here we must leave our friends for a short time. The good master of
Annerley set to work upon the erection of a temporary dwelling, round
which was drawn a _cordon militaire_. His advice and assistance would
have been of the utmost advantage to Sir John Manvers, but
circumstances, which shall hereafter be explained, prevented their
holding any but necessary communications with each other, and no
alternative was left the General but to harass his savage antagonists
till they were compelled to sue for peace.
Meanwhile many Boers in the lower districts, hearing that Vander Roey
was on his way to join those who had already _trekked_ beyond the
boundary, deserted their farms and bivouacs, and on coming up with him
learned that he had resolved on halting in a position where he might
give battle to the British forces, or pause in security till the
helpless part of the community had reached a more habitable tract of
country.
It was to Gray a melancholy thing to hear so many English voices among
those who came, day by day, into the rebel camp. Most of these were
deserters like himself; but, unlike him, alas! they entered with zest
into the prospect of battle with their fellow-subjects.
It was June, but not like that balmy month in England. All day long a
blinding shower of snow had been falling; it was bitterly cold, and a
cruel north-east wind drove the storm before the Dutch videttes of
Vander Roey's camp, who, posted on a stony ridge, kept the look-out for
a reconnoitring party, long expected.
Night drew on; rain and sleet veiled the prospect; the videttes
descended the ridge, and joined their comrades round the great bonfire,
which was no easy matter to keep up, from the scarcity of wood.
Wrapped in their heavy coats, with hats flapped over their brows, their
arms at hand, the red light of their pipes irradiating their bearded and
swarthy faces, the rebels listened to the alternate tirades of Lyle and
Brennard.
It was these two connoisseurs in human nature who had taken care that
there should be plenty of tobacco among the stores of the bivouac. The
Boers they knew would make the better listeners for this solace.
It was a scene fit for a painter of the wild and picturesque. Rising
abruptly in front was the stony ridge, the outline dimly marked against
the murky sky; two or three ragged tents and as many wagons were drawn
close to the fire, which, from time to time, emitting its fitful light,
shone on none but angry or anxious faces.
Vander Roey paced restlessly up and down between his wife's wagon and
the fire. Madame Vander Roey was the only woman in the bivouac. She
sat with the curtains of the wagon drawn aside, listening for the
approach of expected horsemen. The wind had died away, and the sleet
continued to fall noiselessly. The silence of nature was alone
disturbed by Lyle's voice declaiming, and by an occasional challenge
from sentinels. The two little bushboys, Lynx and Frolic, wrapped in
skins and coiled up under the wagon, peered with their sharp eyes into
the mist.
"Here they come," said Lynx. Frolic laid his ear to the earth,
satisfied himself that horses' feet were beating the ground at a
distance, and announced the fact to his mistress, who called Vander
Roey.
He was already by her side.
"Who comes there?"
"Who goes there?" shouted sentinel number one; it was repeated by number
two, and in an instant the rebels were on their feet.
"Who comes there?"
"Friends!" and about a dozen horsemen galloped in hot haste down the
stony acclivity.
The foremost threw himself from his horse: it was Hermanus the
stutterer; the light from the fire shone upon his face; in his endeavour
to speak, he made hideous grimaces. Lynx and Frolic laughed. Lyle
kicked the one aside, and struck Lynx such a blow with his rifle, that
the boy was stunned for a few minutes, but recovered to gibber and
curse--he had learned to swear in English.
The riders brought word that Sir Adrian was on his way to attack the
rebels, if they were unwilling to listen to terms. The Kafirs were
coaxed into quietude for a while, that Sir John Manvers might follow the
Governor, if necessary, with a _corps de reserve_; it was clear that all
other political questions were to be laid aside, that a heavy blow might
be struck against the Boers.
Vander Roey had never anticipated the sudden appearance of Sir Adrian
and his troops in the heart of the country, nevertheless there seemed
nothing for it now but to fight or surrender, and the cunning English
traitors implicated in the rebellion, men who had nothing to lose,
persuaded him, through Lyle and Brennard, that to yield at once would be
to draw on themselves greater odium, and as heavy a penalty as though
they resisted the law to the death.
"Let it," said Lyle, addressing Vander Roey, in the presence of his
wife, "be only a feint of resistance, if you will, but do not, after all
your proclamations and messages to that insolent General, throw down
your arms as soon as you face the troops; they will laugh, at you,
despise you, and you will deserve to be beaten like a dog."
Vander Roey could not help reminding Lyle, that it was he who had
dictated his very last "message" to Sir John Manvers, to the effect
that, "as Sir John, had not written to Vander Roey, the latter should
answer him as he chose, and that his determination now was to fight, to
conquer, or to die."
Lyle laughed scornfully, raising his voice, and thus gathering a crowd
round him, while Madame Vander Roey, undaunted, but anxious, watched her
husband's countenance by the light of the wagon lantern.
"It is well for you to talk thus," said Hermanus the stutterer, who,
once set going, could talk glibly; "you may run away in the scuffle, and
you know you cannot escape justice if we yield--you are speaking in
favour of your own interests. I say it is folly to fight now,--make a
truce."
"Never," shouted Vander Roey, suddenly kindling with anger, as he
remembered his contemptuous, dismissal from Sir John Manvers's
residence. "Fight or fly,--which shall it be, my friends? Speak, for
before daylight we must be up and doing."
He raised his lofty figure to its utmost height and looked round, his
wife leaned anxiously over his shoulder; the lantern, swinging to and
fro, showed the expression on the face of each; hers was anxious, yet
fearless; his brows were knit, his eyes flashed, and he added, "Let the
majority decide; remember my watchword is still `War--war to the
knife!'"
The English traitors sent up their hats in the air, and cheered the
leader, and all the young Boers did the same. Our convict had taken
care that not a youth should leave the force; within a circle of two
miles behind the strong ridge there were four hundred good men and true,
between the ages of twenty-five and thirty; the whole force amounted to
eight hundred, and few of the oldest had reached the age of fifty.
Lyle turned to congratulate Madame Vander Roey on her husband's
decision; the curtains of her wagon were closed--he lifted a corner, her
head, covered with her scarlet handkerchief, was almost buried in the
cushions of her bed; by the light of the lantern he could see her whole
frame was shaking with emotion, and stifled groans issued from her lips.
He dropped the screen with a sneer; "She will come to her senses
by-and-by," muttered he; and he was right. At dawn, in spite of a wind
which cut like razors, she was busied with Hermanus and others at the
stores hidden in the rocks.
Lyle and Brennard took charge of the "Cape Smoke," and served out to
every man his _sopie_. The _spirits_ of the bivouac were never suffered
to flag.
The horsemen had been sent on with all speed to the larger encampment of
Boers, Vander Roey's party being in front, to defend and keep possession
of the strong ridge, along which, at intervals, the few guns the rebels
possessed had been ranged. To the guns were attached the number of men
necessary to work them. Gray had yielded passively enough to Lyle's
orders on the subject, but that very apathy made the latter more
suspicious of his victim. Unnoticed by the deserter, he watched him
narrowly, and, all-daring and subtle as he was, felt baffled in his
conjectures as to the probable issue of Gray's forced enlistment in the
rebels' cause.
The position taken up by Vander Roey was the strongest in the whole
country, being a succession of hills covered with large loose stones.
In his front rose the ridge, surmounted by a natural rampart, rendered
more complete by the art of deserters from the corps of Sappers and
Miners. In the rear was a stream, lined with rushes and long reeds,
fordable to those well acquainted with its depths, but offering no easy
passage to British infantry. The line of fire extended a full mile.
At dawn of day, the videttes reported the appearance of a mounted
reconnoitring party from the enemy's force, and within half an hour
every man was at his post; Gray taking his place at the gun he was to
serve.
Lift aside the curtain of that wagon, reader, and see within, a woman
kneeling and praying in an agony. Ah! how many there are, who dare
unseen dangers, who even meet the reality of peril with flashing eye, a
fevered cheek, and brow unblenched, but who, in the dread pause between
plan and action, quail at the loud beating of their own hearts!
For months, Madame Vander Roey had looked forward to some such moment as
this--she was accustomed to scenes of danger, she had been present at
those strifes in cattle-lifting which are the common occurrences of a
South African settler's life; but this sudden call to arms against men,
whom her father had been wont to term his "white brethren," rang on her
ear like a knell, and a presentiment of evil overpowered her for the
moment.
Still she was persuaded that her husband was right, and she knelt down
and implored help and mercy from Him who is "the Father of the
oppressed."
Reassured after her devotions, she assumed the costume she had lately
worn in camp, and leaving the wagon, untied her horse from the wheel,
saddled and bridled it herself, and mounting it without assistance, rode
along the foot of the hill, inspecting the defences with a steady eye
and considerable judgment.
Her dress was simple enough, a long stuff petticoat serving her for a
habit, her face being shaded by a large straw hat, with the ostrich
feather depending from it. It was typical of the times, was that
drooping plume, soiled and saturated as it was with the cold mist of
that sad morning. Her horse, handsome, fleet, and with that easy action
so peculiar to the mountain steeds of Africa, looked somewhat the worse
for scanty rations; and her face, once so radiant with health and joy,
wore a look of intense anxiety, as, on hearing a murmur among the Boers,
she glanced in the direction indicated by their gestures, and saw her
husband heading the large force which he had gone forth to meet, and
descending the low ridge on the other side of the stream. It was
traversed in silence, and, hurrying forward somewhat irregularly, they
spread out in extended order.
In twenty minutes each had his station assigned him. Madame Vander Roey
dismounted, and took hers beside her husband, to the right of the
granite rampart. Gray stood as steady as the rock that screened him.
Brennard assumed the command of the left wing. Lyle occupied the centre
of the line, where there was a slight bend, and thus he was enabled to
watch both flanks, and keep a close eye on Gray, to whom, as he fell
into his place, he addressed a few words.
"Gray," said Lyle, "do you intend to do your duty?"
"By God's help, I will," was the reply of the young deserter, in a tone
of confidence quite unexpected by the Mephistophiles of the wilderness.
The latter looked at him, sneered, but was satisfied; and then, with his
head bent below the ridge, scrambled over stone and scrub, reached his
post, and there knelt down, his rifle ready for work, and his eye fixed
on the line of march by which the troops were expected.
But rain and sleet still occasionally veiled the prospect in vapour.
The report of the videttes was questioned in its accuracy by some, and
each man strove to pierce the mist, and give the first warning of the
enemy's advance.
A death-like silence reigned throughout that expectant company.
At length the clouds slowly and almost imperceptibly lifted, and here
and there some new feature in the scene developed itself--a solitary
bush, the carcass of an ox, or a grave covered with stones--and,
finally, two mounted men, soldiers of the Cape cavalry, moving leisurely
forward, and, as May would have said, evidently _spenning_.
"By heavens!" exclaimed Lyle, "they see us, and have turned to report.
Confound that fellow Gray, he has run out the gun too far, and these
Totties [Hottentots; particularly those of the Cape corps] have
distinguished its black muzzle among the grey rocks."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
It needed no oaths to confirm the truth of his statement--the
reconnoitrers had faced to the rear so suddenly, that there seemed but
little doubt as to the cause of the movement, and a few minutes decided
it.
As the sun came up, the veil of mist was rent in twain, and fully
disclosed to view a small body of English troops, under the command of
Sir Adrian Fairfax. Lyle unslung his spy-glass, took a deliberate view
of the encampment, and, closing the telescope in haste, exclaimed,
"Every tent is struck--the advance-guard is on the march."
The word passed to the right and left.
Vander Roey, white as death, but steady as ever, glanced his eye, now
along the line, now forward, now in the rear. His spies had evidently
been mistaken as to the strength of the force; and now reason whispered
him that his chance of success was small, but he had much dependence on
his position. It was perfect in every way, whereas the British forces
were on open, stony ground; they were new to the locality, and well worn
with a march of thirty miles, which they must have made within twelve
hours.
But, as the troops advanced, it appeared that a manoeuvre of Lyle's had
answered his purpose for the present. To the extreme right, where a
road cut the ridge in two, he had placed several men, who were only to
affect concealment. It was to this point that the attention of the
advance-guard was evidently directed, for, instead of making a forward
movement, they took an oblique path, intent on attacking the detached
party to their left, who were fully prepared to retreat within a narrow
gorge, capable of containing some twenty men, and defended by a gun
placed at the opening.
Poor Gray was guiltless of running out his piece of ordnance, as Lyle
imagined--the error lay with a less practised hand, but the circumstance
turned the fortune of the hour; for the Boers, misled by the diagonal
march of the soldiers, were somewhat off their guard, and, in imagined
security, watched the forces of the Government.
It was curious and painful to Gray to hear the cool way in which the
deserters of the party made their observations on the scene before them.
"Ha!" said one, who knelt beside him, gazing intently through a fissure
in the rock, "they have got up a company of the old Ninety --th; that
rascal Zoonah said they were to remain in garrison."--An oath or two
filled the space--"they know this part of the country."--"Matthews and
Wilton, and you, Jem Blaine, you belonged to it."--"How they march!"
said Jem Blaine; "they are as fresh as when I saw them at drill at
Graham's Town;"--and the last oath was uttered heartily, and in thorough
good humour, as a strange touch of pride in his old corps brought the
red colour to his hard brown cheek. "By --, there's my old captain,
Frankfort. Well done, grenadiers; well done, old fellows--step out.
Look sharp, Frankfort. Oh! I see he is a staff man. God bless you,
old fellow; if you had not been on leave when I had my last lark, I
should have been marching with you now. You would have recommended me
to mercy;" and then Jem Blaine sat down, turned his back upon the
fissure, and would look no more.
Standing up, leaning on his long roer, his hat at his feet, and great
drops of perspiration on his broad forehead, Vander Roey followed the
troops with his eye. The mist had not yet quite cleared off, but he
could distinguish the rear of the division. He saw that the force was
small, but well chosen, but he said nothing.
"They have no artillery," said a young Boer.
Vander Roey made no reply, but watched his wife, who was looking through
a telescope beyond the division.
In another moment Madame Vander Roey exclaimed, "They have artillery; I
see a gun advancing."
She handed the telescope to her husband.
First came the division, consisting of infantry and a small body of Cape
cavalry. The Boers had gained heart at sight of this little force, and
Vander Roey took it as a sign of the Governor's contempt of his enemy;
still he could scarcely believe that the great Sir Adrian Fairfax would
head a mere handful of men; and, therefore, he did not exult
prematurely. "Were this the only force," said he to his wife, "we
should powder them to dust in an hour."
But it was not the only force. The mists hanging to the westward still
screened the barren landscape far in rear of the troops, but ere the
latter had moved half a mile across the broken plain, there emerged, as
from the clouds, four "coal-black steeds," of great power. These drew a
deadly weapon, and, following them, were two slender pieces of ordnance,
the nature of which was incomprehensible to the unfortunate Dutch, who
soon, however, learned what a rocket could do from their English
opponents. Added to these was a strong body of infantry, and a troop of
cavalry, protecting the artillery.
Vander Roey's courage and presence of mind did not forsake him. He saw
at once the advantage to be gained by the false move the enemy was
making. His plan was to attack him on the broken ground, up which the
infantry must move in skirmishing order, in the endeavour to dislodge
the Boers on the left.
It seemed clear that the General had no idea of the strength of the
rebel forces, and, believing that infantry would rout them out, was bent
on bringing the wretched men to terms without using the artillery or
charging with his cavalry.
But while nearly a mile distant from the stony ramparts, that looked so
still and lifeless, Sir Adrian called a halt. Lyle watched him
narrowly; the General conversed for a few minutes with Frankfort, who
next rode into the ranks, and brought with him some old sergeants of the
corps. It was evident that a council of war was held; it lasted but a
few minutes, yet time was thus given for the artillery to advance.
Still it was considerably in rear of the front division, and Lyle was
slightly baffled in his conjectures.
Brennard would have had Vander Roey open out his guns upon the infantry
as they drew near the rebels' right flank, but at this instant Vander
Roey hesitated, and the opportunity was lost. Had the rebel chief
followed this advice, he might have conquered, and retired far to the
north-east; but his heart failed him at the thought of dealing death
from a masked battery on the soldiers.
Probably he would have felt differently had Sir John Manvers headed the
enemy, and Lyle, in that case, would have urged a death-blow without
hesitation.
Steadily, although the ground was more broken at every step, the British
infantry pursued their march; slowly after them moved the cavalry and
guns.
"See," exclaimed Madame Vander Roey, who no longer needed a telescope,
"they march still, but there is some stir among them. The tall man on
the _skimmel_ (sorrel) horse is flying backwards and forwards from the
ranks to the General, from the General to the ranks, and now he gallops
to the rear with orders; the artillery halt again, and the skimmel rider
dashes back in spite of stones and stunted bush."
The troops suddenly halted, their bayonets glittered in the morning sun
as they changed their position, and they paused for an instant within
gun-range of both ridges.
This was the moment Vander Roey had anticipated; piles of loose stones
still lay between the two divisions of the British forces; the ground
was scarcely practicable for cavalry or artillery. At this juncture the
rebel chief turned to the rugged valley in the rear, and lifting his hat
from his feet, waved it three times. Five hundred rebels started up
from among the reeds and rushes of the river, from behind the great
stones, and from the natural caverns at the base of the hills. In rear
of the left battery sprung up a hundred others. The summit of each
ridge was carefully manned with the deserters, some from the artillery,
some from the line, all armed with roers; and mingled with these were
many traders and wandering thieves.
Sir Adrian's consultation with the old soldiers of the Ninety --th had
caused him first to pause, and next to alter his movement. These
experienced fellows had detected first the muzzle of Gray's six-pounder,
next a Boer's hat, which, albeit nearly the colour of the stone near
which the head leaned, was easily discerned by accustomed eyes. These
two indications were quite sufficient to point out the real position of
the rebels, and Sir Adrian changed his route accordingly.
"Sit there till I come for you," said Vander Roey to his wife, taking
her by the arm, and placing her in a hollow some feet below the rampart,
with a gun above her; he leaned over her, placed his hand on her
shoulder, looked sorrowfully into her face, and uttering in a tender
tone the words "Poor wife, poor wife!" dashed down the hill, sprung on
his horse at the foot of the ridge, and galloped to the front of the
rebel band.
Some of the Boers, like Vander Roey, were mounted, but many were on
foot. The latter were speedily and silently formed into parties
commanded by the horsemen. Each division was still screened by the
ridge, and Vander Roey's plan was to rush out upon the enemy when he
should have begun to mount the acclivity. The larger division of the
British troops remained halted, and it was plain that Sir Adrian had no
idea of the strength of the rebel forces.
But the General learned his mistake soon enough. Scarcely had the
infantry advanced many paces up the steep and rugged hills, ere, with a
shout of defiance, the rebel Dutch dashed out from their ambush. The
road between the ridges was narrow. Horse and foot made a simultaneous
charge, and pouring the fire from their long roers right and left with
unerring aim, laid many a gallant fellow low.
Staggered at the unexpected appearance of five hundred men in a body,
uncertain too of the numbers concealed behind the formidable rampart
above, the infantry drew back. Sir Adrian galloped forward, a bullet
took the peak from his forage-cap, he met the retiring infantry: he saw
the madness of attempting to charge on such ground, and gave orders to
retreat beyond gun-range till the artillery should come up, and be put
in position.
Lyle laughed aloud.
The Boers, having expended their fire, retired before the infantry had
time to return it with any kind of precision; five of the Dutch,
however, lay stretched in their blood, and many came back wounded.
The scene now, with the exception of the dead and wounded scattered
about, presented the same appearance as at first--the British troops
forming for the advance, the ridges silent, and apparently unpeopled.
Madame Vander Roey, implicitly obedient to her husband's orders, sat
where he had placed her, and with eyes of stone watched the sharp angle
at the base of the ridge. The Boers came back in masses. She saw not
Vander Roey; he was the very last, and then he turned and fired a
parting shot at one gallant soldier who had lingered in rear of his
company, and who paid the penalty of his imprudence--the roer's bullet
laid him dead among the rocks.
Having thus crippled the infantry, a great point was gained, for foot
soldiers were the only people who could work in such a position; and as
for the artillery, the ground was equally against that, or cavalry,
following up what it might begin. So thought the Dutch; "but," thought
Lyle and Gray and some twenty others, "they have never seen rocket
practice!"
"How d--d passive that fellow Gray looks," said Lyle to Brennard, as the
latter, during the awful pause, held a parley with his colleague.
"I never could make him out," replied Brennard, indifferently. "I think
the fellow is half a fool."
"He is no knave, certainly," said Lyle, contemptuously.
The British force now began to move, in that determined way which proved
it was in earnest, and having reached the points whence the artillery
could work against the enemy, again halted.
Lyle saw that the humane Sir Adrian was still awaiting a signal for
peace, and what was his horror, his rage, when he saw Gray rise from his
kneeling position, and leap on the rough parapet before him. There
stood the young deserter, unarmed, erect, motionless, undaunted.
Then Lyle, furious beyond control, raised his rifle, and fired; the ball
struck the poor youth, who fell forward, and rolled down the face of the
ridge into a rocky hollow, his blood marking his descent.
"Frankfort," said Sir Adrian, "what can be the meaning of that?"
"I cannot tell, Sir," replied Major Frankfort; "the man who so suddenly
rose to our view was either a coward and panic-stricken, or a traitor to
the cause he has enlisted in."
"I rather think," said Sir Adrian, "he is some poor victim enlisted
against his will, who chose to die rather than fight against us. He
must have been sure that either we or his own party would have shot him
after such a manoeuvre."
And then, too much occupied to give a second thought to the unfortunate
young man, Sir Adrian proceeded to inspect his force.
But Lyle's shot was received by Brennard as a signal, and forthwith he
poured forth a volley from his flank. That to the left of the troops,
and the right of the Boers, followed his example; but they miscalculated
their distance, and did little mischief; it was returned, however, by a
hearty salute of grape-shot, which, however, did little harm among the
Dutch. Screened from their opponents, they affected to treat it with
contempt, and Vander Roey, having dismounted and joined the line above,
took off his hat, and gave an exalting cheer.
Then Lyle, and the gunners under him, made the great gun roar, as Lynx
and Frolic described it, sitting at their mistress's feet, and laughing
impishly at the deadly game playing before them.
A sharp tongue of flame, and then a great volume of smoke, burst from a
gap in the ridge, and the ball, moving swiftly through the air, fell
into the very centre of the troops, and made a vacant space, where it
burst.
The broken ground, the masked battery, the uncounted enemy, all were
forgotten in the moment of indignation which followed this assault. Sir
Adrian waved his cap, and advanced with his staff, but not too rapidly,
giving time for the guns to work their way. The infantry proceeded in
extended order. Another tongue of flame, another volume of smoke,
threatened more mischief; but at this the force quickened its pace
marvellously, and the ball fell harmlessly in the rear.
"Down the Trongate, my boys!" shouted an old grenadier of the Ninety --
th,--the regiment was composed chiefly of Renfrewshire-men--"down the
Trongate!" [Note 2] and away went the brave fellows over the rocky
plain as steadily as though moving at the double along the peaceful
streets of the old town of Glasgow.
This experienced little body of tried men, led by a cool-headed officer,
were directed to their extreme left, where, it will be remembered, Lyle
had placed a small party, which, by affecting concealment, was to divert
the attention of the troops. In rear of this, it will also be
remembered, was a gun fixed in the narrow jaws of a gorge. If a passage
could be made over this ridge into the gorge, the gun, which was
immovably fixed in the rocks, could be brought to bear upon the rebels
themselves.
On the first grand movement of the troops, this smaller rampart was
abandoned to a very small force, and as there were no guns to spare, was
defended by roers and rifles. British soldiers, however, were not to be
daunted even by these unerring weapons; unencumbered by their knapsacks,
in lieu of which Sir Adrian had ordered them to substitute light
haversacks, they persevered in spite of the dropping fire which slightly
thinned their ranks, and gradually working their way through the stones
and scrub, took possession of the _rossjies_ (ridge), and speedily
dislodging the besieged, scrambled down towards the gorge, and poured
such a volley of musketry into it, as made the poor defenders of the
pass cast their arms from them, and cry aloud for quarter.
The gun was instantly taken in hand, and, not without difficulty,
brought to bear upon the right flank of the rebels in the rear, several
of the Boers being detained in the gorge by the guard of the Ninety --
th, who knew that, without this precaution, the roers and rifles above
would pour their fire upon them.
Lyle, standing in the bend of the rossjies, saw by this manoeuvre of the
old soldiers that all chance of defence was lost, and at once rushed
towards Vander Roey, and advised him to meet the forces on the plain.
The manoeuvre would have answered, had the Boers been organised for
battle face to face with the foe; but the plan of operations had been to
begin on the defensive, and retire behind a succession of these
rossjies, till they reached a river impassable save at a ford difficult
to pass except by practised men.
It was not long before Madame Vander Roey found herself the only tenant
of the stony hill; the battery was deserted, but below were ranged a
party of Boers, who, contriving to keep out of sight or the soldiers in
the gorge, stepped out one by one, and, taking with sad precision, shot
several. This insolence the Ninety --th attempted to return by firing
the gun, but the ball fell innocently among the stones in the valley.
Again a Boer advanced, and lifted his roer--it was Hermanus the
stutterer, one of the most determined--but this time the soldiers were
beforehand with him; ere he had time to lift his roer, he was stretched
bleeding on the stones.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Madame Vander Roey watched the action from the very edge of the parapet.
Amid the din, the smoke, the groans of dying men and horses--a strange
adjunct in that picture of strife and agony--was the figure of the
rebel's wife; her long skirt falling far below her feet over the rocks,
giving her the appearance of supernatural height, her head uncovered,
and all her sable tresses streaming in the wind.
Many a stout heart quailed at first view of this singular apparition, as
the sun, opening his crimson chambers behind it, threw out the tall form
in bold relief between the rocks and sky.
On either side of her were crouched her impish pages, Lynx and Frolic,
immovable and unappalled, as she was apparently.
But, ah! that woman's heart was beating as her eyes followed the plumed
hat, which towered above the rest, and was always foremost.
The Boers had now all dismounted, and were fighting hand to hand, muzzle
to muzzle, with the troops. Even the guns could not work, for the
artillerymen had been the first to fall, and the rockets had had no
opportunity for use.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
But there is a lull in the strife; Madame Vander Roey sees her husband
fall--he is seized, not by the enemy--but Brennard flings the wounded
chief across his swift steed, mounts it, and, with his burden bleeding
before him, gallops furiously to the rear.
"Vander Roey has fled!--has fled!--has fled!" passes from mouth to mouth
among the rebel ranks--they break asunder, fall into disorder, and
retreat. In vain Lyle attempts to rally them--he sees that he must run
like the rest, or fail into the hands of a governor from whom he must
expect justice rather than mercy.
But he is cool, as usual, selects the swiftest horse at hand, gallops a
few paces through a shower of bullets, turns, faces the troops, takes
aim with his rifle, and brings down the man next Frankfort--he marked
this "fellow on the staff" for his prey--again retreats--again pauses
between the ridges to fire, and finally dashes like lightning beyond the
range of the gun in the gorge.
The poor rebels, caught in that trap, became at once prisoners of war;
they surrendered unconditionally, and were sent to the rear with the
wounded.
The British troops pursue, the guns are limbered up, and dragged through
the rocky pass; the Boers succeed in crossing first the stream, and next
the stony neck beyond, and Lyle again posts a strong line of defence
along another natural rampart; but Sir Adrian is better prepared now for
the attack.
A long streak of light shoots upward from the river's brink, and,
breaking far forward towards the sky into a thousand golden drops, falls
among the fugitives, scattering them apart, and strewing the rough
ground with bleeding corpses!
Madame Vander Roey had turned to watch the retreat of her husband; she
tried to descend the ridge, but her heart sickened and her limbs failed
her; she sunk, terror-stricken and shocked, upon the stone where her
husband had bid her wait for him.
She was found there that afternoon. Lynx and Frolic brought some old
soldiers of the Ninety --th up the slope; they spoke in Dutch, and
begged her to go with them to the wagons in the rear; but she told them
her husband had bid her wait for him there.
But he never came; the kind soldiers brought her provisions, but she
would accept nothing at their hands.
She sat there through the day, still watching the combatants, as the
English pursued the Dutch from ridge to ridge.
The sun went down amid the vapours that rose from the conflict; night
fell moody and dark; the din of battle was succeeded by the whistling of
the wind through the rocky passes; the sleet began to drive; the dress
of the miserable watcher was saturated with damp, but she was reckless
of bodily discomfort. The mind, for many months wound up to a pitch
beyond its powers, gave way, "started aside like a broken bow," and,
helpless and "infirm of purpose," she continued to keep the vigil till
nature was exhausted, and she fell insensible upon the cold earth.
She awoke to consciousness under the kind hands of an English surgeon;
she was lying on a couch in a comfortable marquee, Anne Vanbloem and
Amayeka were watching beside her--a baby slept on Anne's lap--Amayeka,
mournful but very quiet, sat sewing at the opening of the tent. Madame
Vander Roey could see far out upon the plain; she pressed her hand to
her eyes, looked again, collected her scattered memories, and recognised
the position of a former bivouac; it was occupied now by the tents and
wagons of the English. Soldiers were lying on the ground, or passing to
and fro, or engaged in merry games, or singing beside the scanty fires.
The air came in cold, but dry and balmy; it gave her strength to rise
and look around, and to question Anne.
And then she learned that Vander Roey was dead.
She waited many minutes before she uttered any remark, and then she
said--
"Did they take him prisoner?"
"No," replied Madame Vanbloem; "he died of his wounds among his own
people."
"It is well!" said the widow, and, turning her face from the light, she
never spoke again.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note 1. The lake lately discovered is said to have long been known to
the Dutch. Pretorius, the rebel Boer, will not allow travellers to pass
through his settlements to explore the locality.
Note 2. A story is told of the regiment, which was composed of many men
from Glasgow. Being checked in their charge in battle, an old soldier
cried out, "Down the Gallowgate, my boys," and away they dashed.