Part 13

John pressed on now even more rapidly. Though he had met with no natives on the way, he could not be sure that some of the fugitives had not outstripped him along another route. For the most part he kept to the river, striking off here and there to avoid wide sweeping curves, as the prisoner indicated. Presently he saw in the distance a bold bluff rising to a hundred feet above the plain, and stretching across the line of march. The fort, said the prisoner, lay a short distance beyond the bluff, which was cut in two by the river. Up the side of the bluff wound a steep pathway, and at the top a look-out was constantly stationed, except at night, when he was withdrawn into the fort. From this high post the plain could be seen for miles. Knowing how keen is the negro's sight, John called a halt before it was likely that his party had come within the range of vision. The rest of the journey must be performed in the dark. He led the men into the bush at some distance from the river, so that they should not be seen by any one who might pass either to or from the fort. Again he impressed upon them the necessity for silence.

At nightfall, refreshed by the rest, they started once more, confident of being able to approach the bluff unobserved. An hour's march under the pale light of the stars brought them to its foot, and John heard the noise of water rushing swiftly through the gorge. The pathway, said the prisoner, started from a spot very near the river-bank. Even with his directions it proved by no means easy to find in the darkness, and when at last they lit upon it, and John began the ascent, it was scarcely less difficult to keep to the track. Bill fell on his knees and groped along it with his hand, saying when he arose that it had not been made originally by men, but trodden by game descending from the hills to the plain.

Coming at length, after a tortuous and toilsome climb, to the summit, John paused to take breath and to look about him. Below on his left he could now see the foaming river racing through the gorge. Beyond, the ground sloped gradually to the plain. There was no sound save that of the swirling water, no sign of the presence of men. He went on, until he came once more to the brink of the river, and a mile further on saw gleaming in the starlight a broad pool, in the midst of which rose a dark mass. This, said the prisoner, was the island and fort, and at the upper end of the pool the river ran down swiftly, but not so swiftly as below.

Striking off to the right towards a belt of woodland, John led his party until they came opposite the island. It was dark and silent: no one would have supposed that the fort held men. John could see an irregular path leading from the shore to the island. This, said the prisoner, was a line of rocks flung down into the water, and so narrow that only one man could walk along it at a time. There was a gap between the island and the end of the causeway. The prisoner explained that a bridge was thrown over the gap to enable men to enter and leave the fort, the wall of which came to within a few feet of the shore of the island. At night the bridge was drawn up.

John stood to consider his next move. His purpose in bringing the prisoner was to use him as a decoy to draw the garrison from the fort. He was confronted with a difficulty. The man could not walk. He would be useless as a decoy unless he could advance along the causeway so far as to bring him within hearing of his fellows. The bullet was still in the man's leg; John wished he had thought of probing the wound before; it was impossible to do it now. The negro is a hardy animal, stolid under pain. John promised to give the man a handsome present if he would leave the litter and go with a message to the fort. The man agreed with such alacrity as to suggest an intention of treachery, but John provided against that. He had the prisoner bound to him by a cord about his ankle, and showing him his revolver, he explained what the result would be if he did anything but what he was told to do. He carefully instructed the prisoner in the part he was required to play, repeating his words so that he could not mistake. Then, having placed the remainder of his party under cover of the wood, he set forth with the negro.

There was now a light in the fort, and the glow of a fire. Clearly somebody was awake. The two men walked down to the edge of the pool, and on to the causeway, the guide limping painfully, but uttering no murmur. John walked close behind him, so that he might not be descried from the fort. They had gone about half-way along the causeway when a voice rang out from some point ahead. The prisoner gave an answering shout. John's nerves were at too high a tension to permit of his feeling amusement at the greetings that were exchanged.

"Is it well?"

"It is well."

"Ah!"

"Ah!"

"Um!"

"Um!"

"Have you eaten well?"

"We have eaten well.

"Ma!"

"Ma!"

"Mum!"

"Mum!"

Civilities being thus completed, they got to business. The prisoner recited the story with which he had been prompted, so glibly that a white man might have doubted its veracity. He said that he brought good news. The brave warriors (meaning Juma's party), under their brave leader, had sacked the msungu's farm and the neighbouring village, and made much plunder, so vast a quantity, indeed, that they were exhausted in carrying it. He had been sent in advance to order thirty men to issue forth and help the weary warriors in conveying their spoils up the bluff.

"It is dark," said the sentry.

"It is the leader's command," was the reply. "He will be like a raging lion if you delay."

Another voice was heard within the fort. In a few moments the sentry cried--

"We come."

"Ah!" said the prisoner.

"Ah!" echoed the sentry.

Then, before the garrison could issue from the gate and lay the bridge across the gap, the prisoner cried that he would hasten back and inform Juma that the men were coming. He turned, and followed John along the causeway until they reached the shore. Then the two hurried across the open to rejoin the ambushed party. The prisoner, who had borne up stoically hitherto, collapsed with pain before they reached the wood; and John, alarmed lest his stratagem should be defeated at a moment when success seemed assured, set the man upon his back and ran into shelter. A few minutes afterwards he saw a line of men, headed by a Swahili in a white garment, come across the causeway from the fort, and turn to the right along the path leading to the bluff. John was tingling with excitement. All was going well: would his luck hold? The men's voices faded away in the distance. He gave them ten minutes; then bidding his men follow him closely, he ran down to the shore, and on to the causeway. As he expected, the bridge had been left spanning the gap in readiness for the laden safari. Waiting only to see that the men were close at his heels, John dashed over the last few feet, straight into the fort. A dozen men were squatting in a group about a small fire in the middle of the compound. They looked up as they heard the tread of men, but before they could spring to their feet, before, indeed, their slow minds suspected that anything was amiss, they were bowled over by the rush of twenty sturdy savages with a white man at their head, and lay in shaking terror on the ground, howling for mercy.

John had ordered his men to do no killing. They were surprised, but obeyed. Shouting for silence, he called to the panic-stricken garrison to march out of the fort. They sprang up and fled like a flock of terrified sheep, out of the gate and along the causeway, yelling as they ran. When the last was gone, and none but his own men were left in the place, John caught up the bridge and drew it in. The capture of the stronghold had taken three minutes.

CHAPTER THE SIXTEENTH--Juma is Reinforced

Flushed with his bloodless victory, John ordered his men to make up the fire, and set two to watch at the gate; then, carrying a roughly-formed torch, he proceeded to an examination of the stronghold which was so imposing to the native imagination. It was a poor enough place estimated from a European point of view. It consisted simply of a circular space on a low mound about thirty yards in diameter, enclosed by a rude stone wall rather less than the height of a man. The island itself was an irregular oval. At the eastern end the wall came to within a foot or two of its shore; north and south the interval was little greater, the ground sloping steeply down to the edge of the pool. Westward it fell away less rapidly, though even here the angle was considerable. The island was no more than sixty yards at its greatest length, and from forty to fifty in breadth. The bridge sloped up from the end of the causeway to the gate, which was itself some feet lower than the ground within the fort. Just within it, on each side, a canoe was laid against the wall. Within the enclosure were a number of grass huts, set at intervals of a few yards apart.

Having surveyed the place as well as he could by the uncertain light of his torch, John searched the huts. He found in the largest of them, which he guessed to be Juma's, two of his rifles, a number of old muskets, a miscellaneous collection of cartridges, most of which would not fit the rifles, shot of all shapes and sizes, one or two old swords, and a curious assortment of articles, mostly useless, which Juma and his men had no doubt purloined when on safari. Among them were broken boots, a fancy waistcoat in tatters, several condensed milk tins, some pewter spoons, a field-glass case, and an empty whisky bottle. These things, valueless to a European, would be treasure untold to the natives, and John was glad that his promise of loot would not be nullified. There was also a fair quantity of grain food, but no meat.

"I think I'm a bit of a fool," said John to himself, when he had seen all there was to be seen. "What have I come for after all? I've got back our property, to be sure; but what then? I can't demolish the fort before Juma arrives. I can't go back at once, because the men couldn't stand it. It looks as if I shall have to hold the place, for a day at least; and if those beggars come up in any numbers and manage to cross the pool I shall be pretty hard put to it to defend a hundred yards of wall. Ah well! I'm in for it now. The best thing I can do is to get out as soon as possible."

He arranged for a watch to be kept up during the remainder of the night, and then threw himself down on the ground near the fire, not to sleep, for the negro is an untrustworthy sentry, but to turn things over in his mind. He remembered the store of ivory which Bill wished to recover, and would have been willing to help the old man; but when he considered the matter he concluded that it would be sheer lunacy to venture with his handful of men into the country of a tribe that had been strong enough to annihilate a large and well-armed Arab safari. There was no reason to suppose that the "bad men" were any less powerful now than they had been then.

"And suppose I got the ivory," he thought, "how the dickens could I carry it? The men have got quite enough to carry, what with the loot here and the things left with Charley. Judging by the weight of billiard balls a single tusk of ivory would be a pretty heavy load for two or three men, and we might be two or three weeks getting back. Bill will be upset, without a doubt, but I can't help that. A good rest, and then start for home: that's my ticket."

Pondering further, he came to the conclusion that there might after all not be the need for haste that he had at first imagined. Juma's men were thoroughly disheartened, no doubt; the garrison at the fort had been turned adrift; they had lost the greater part of their firearms and ammunition and all their stores of food, and it was probable that for the present they would have enough to do to find subsistence without wasting their energies in attacking either him or Ferrier. His own men had been marching or fighting, with only a few hours' sleep, for two days; a long rest was necessary for them; so he decided, before he fell into a half-doze from which the least sound would have roused him, that he might look forward to spending a day or two in the fort before he need set off to rejoin Ferrier.

At dawn he was up, and went to the gate to look round. None of the enemy were in sight, except his wounded prisoner, whom he saw hobbling across the causeway. In the excitement of the attack he had clean forgotten the man, who, he remembered with compunction, must have been all night in the wood, hungry, a prey to terror and pain. He let down the bridge and admitted him at once.

"Let me look at your leg," he said.

Removing the bandages, he saw that it was a case for desperate remedies.

"You must let me cut the bullet out," he said.

The man made no objection. John opened his knife and carefully washed the sharpest blade; then ordered two of the men to hold the patient, and began to probe the wound as gently as he could. The bullet was imbedded in the flesh where there was no danger of his severing an artery. He soon found the bullet, and setting his teeth, started the first surgical operation of his life. He had a steady hand: the man lay inert as a log, without wincing or even groaning; and in a few minutes he had extracted the bullet, feeling a vast admiration for the big fellow's fortitude. Having bathed and bound up the leg, he gave the man some food, and saw him in a few minutes fall asleep. John drew a good augury from this little incident. The man had sought him, and not his own master; John took it, perhaps superstitiously, as an indication that he, and not Juma, would, as he put it, "come out on top."

He sent out Bill, with one of the men, to look for the enemy. They returned early in the afternoon, reporting that they had failed to see either the men who had been ejected from the fort, or the larger party under Juma's command. Bill judged from the tracks that the former had scattered, some to the south to meet their friends, others to the east.

In the daylight John confirmed his overnight examination of the fort. He saw now that there were rapids at both ends of the pool, and sighed for leisure to do a little fishing, guessing that such a river would provide good sport. But he had something more serious to think about. After their night's rest the men were less fatigued than he had expected, so he saw no reason to defer the destruction of the fort. His purpose was to rase the wall, and hurl into the pool the stones of which it was built. They were piled loosely one upon another without cement or mortar, and he thought that it would be a light job to remove them; but it turned out to be a much more troublesome business than he had supposed, and when, after two hours' work, he saw how little had been accomplished he felt rather troubled. At the same rate it would take two or three days to complete the work. He had no gunpowder to spare for blowing up the wall; and he wished neither to remain so long absent from Ferrier, nor to be found on the spot when Juma returned, as he assuredly would do.

A little while after Bill had returned from his reconnoitring expedition he suddenly cocked his ear towards the south-east and in a moment declared that he heard the sound of fire-sticks. The men were chattering, and John fancied that the Wanderobbo must be mistaken. He called for silence, and all listened intently, but could hear nothing except the slow gurgle of the water in the pool and the far-away rumbling of the rapids below.

"Do you hear it now?" he asked.

"No," Bill replied; "but I did hear it."

John had by this time so much respect for the Wanderobbo's acuteness of hearing that he felt it unwise to neglect this statement. Bidding the men to sort out all the provisions the fort contained, with the idea of carrying a portion with him when he left, and burning the rest, he left the place with Bill, after giving strict orders that the bridge should be taken up behind him, and not replaced over the gap until his return, unless he should send back a message by Bill. The two crossed the pool and set off at a rapid pace towards the bluff. They were half-way to the summit when Bill declared that he again heard shots. They quickened their pace, and on reaching the top, where a wide expanse of the plain was outstretched before them, they looked carefully all round the southern horizon, keeping under cover. They could see the river winding along between its verdurous banks, and when they lost sight of the shining water they could still trace its course by the fresher green of the vegetation. The plain was covered for the most part with grass, with patches of scrub and clumps of woodland here and there. In the far distance they descried a herd of antelope feeding, but for some time saw no other living creature, beast or man.

All at once both started. In the still air, above the sound of the swirling water beneath them, they heard distinctly six shots. One of them, Bill declared, was that of the msungu's rifle, though John was utterly unable to understand how he could distinguish it from the others. Some seconds afterwards Bill lifted his hand and pointed in a south-easterly direction, saying that he saw smoke among the trees. John looked eagerly in the same direction, but could see nothing. Unluckily he had left his field-glass with Ferrier. Presently he heard more shots, in rapid succession. Clearly there was fighting going on; the natural inference was that Ferrier's party was engaged, and since only he, Coja, and Said Mohammed could use rifles, the number of the shots showed that his opponents must possess firearms. It was equally clear that Ferrier, if it was indeed he, had left the spot where it had been arranged that he should await John's return, and he must be either pursuing or pursued. The conclusion was irresistible that for some unforeseen reason he had found himself compelled to advance towards John.

Anxious on his friend's behalf, John decided instantly that he must set out at once to join hands with him. He sent Bill back to call the men from the fort, telling him that they must bring the ammunition and rifles for those who could use them. He himself would start towards the firing, pointing out to Bill the general direction in which he would go. He knew that the men, being rapid marchers when not carrying loads, would not be long in overtaking him. The fort must be left unguarded, but there was no help for it; the matter of immediate urgency was to reinforce Ferrier.

While Bill sped back to the fort, John scrambled down the bluff and hurried over the plain. As he proceeded the sounds of firing became ever clearer, and when he had covered about two miles at a swinging pace he could also hear shouts.

He had come almost to a thin belt of forest when he saw figures approaching among the trees. Dropping down behind a bush, he eagerly watched them. At the edge of the forest they came clearly into view, and he saw that they were black men, marching in single file, rapidly, in spite of heavy loads. From behind them came at short intervals the still louder crack of rifles, and the more voluminous shouts of men. In a few moments he recognized them as men of his safari, and rose to meet them. His figure suddenly appearing above the bush startled them, and they instantly dropped their loads with yells, and began to run away. But a shout from him dispelled their fright; they turned, and hastened towards him, leaving their loads, however, where they had thrown them.

When they met him they told him in accents of terror that the msungu was fighting with a great host of bad men. Two or three showed wounds they had received. John ordered them to return to their loads and take them up, and then to look out for the party following him. He hurried forward into the wood, and half-a-mile further on came upon Ferrier with the rest of the safari, slowly retiring before a horde of savages. He had supposed that the "great host" of which the porters had spoken was an exaggeration born of their panic, but he saw that Ferrier and his men were, in fact, holding at bay a crowd of natives, among whom he perceived the white garments of Swahilis. Ferrier had Coja on his right and Said Mohammed on his left, each at a few yards' interval, the remainder of the party, armed only with bows and arrows, being spread out on each side over a considerable space to avoid the risk of being outflanked. They were retiring slowly, taking cover behind trees, picking off any of the enemy who showed themselves. Ferrier himself was a dead shot now that he had recovered the full use of his arm. Several men had fallen to his unerring aim. What execution Coja and Said Mohammed did John never knew; but their shots had been effective in daunting the enemy, who had not dared to come too near, or to make a rush. With a little more courage and generalship the savages, vastly outnumbering the safari, could have swept round them and had them at their mercy; but the young Canadian had hitherto managed to hold off the bolder spirits who pressed him in front, and the others followed on without as yet attempting a flanking movement.

"Good man!" cried John, as he hastened to Ferrier's side. "My lot are coming up. We had better get out of this wood, or they'll be all round us."

They retired more quickly. It was time, for when they reached the plain, they saw that parties of the enemy, who had at last realized that they were losing opportunities, had crept round to right and left. John instantly sent a shot among the nearer crowd, causing them to scatter. Then, perceiving that another party had slipped by and was hastening in pursuit of the porters, he called some of the bowmen, who were mightily encouraged by his arrival, and set off in chase. Another shot sent this party flying. John saw that the river would form an excellent defence to the left flank of his little force, and running back to Ferrier, he asked him to edge nearer to it.

"If we can only manage to keep them off until our men have had time to climb the bluff, we can make a bolt for it," he said. "Up there among the boulders we can hold our own against any number."

They retired slowly towards the belt of trees fringing the river. By the time they reached it Bill came up with the party from the fort. This reinforcement, together with the more advantageous position of the retiring force, served to check the pursuit. The enemy were not courageous enough to dash past them within range, though their numbers were so great that they could easily have afforded the loss of a few men. The only means they had of slipping past safely and overtaking the safari was either to make a wide detour across the plain, which would have given John's party time to reach the bluff before them, or to cross the river and make their way through the trees on the other bank; but the current here was swift enough to make fording dangerous. So they adopted neither course, but followed sullenly in the track of the party, firing at times, but never diminishing the distance between them.

Every now and then John crept out from cover to watch the progress of the porters. To his impatience they seemed to move extraordinarily slowly, and indeed their speed was much less than when he had first seen them, for they had reached the beginning of the ascent, and were tired with carrying their heavy loads. He could see them toiling up the bluff, not in a close line, but far apart, the rearmost being nearly half-a-mile behind the leader. At length he saw with relief that the last man was within a few yards of the summit.