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diff --git a/39912.txt b/39912.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 7d8e1ba..0000000 --- a/39912.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6993 +0,0 @@ - TOM WILLOUGHBY'S SCOUTS - - - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost -no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it -under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this -eBook or online at http://www.gutenberg.org/license. - - -Title: Tom Willoughby's Scouts - A Story of the War in German East Africa - -Author: Herbert Strang - -Release Date: June 03, 2012 [EBook #39912] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: US-ASCII - - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TOM WILLOUGHBY'S SCOUTS *** - - - - -Produced by Al Haines. - - - - -[Illustration: Cover art] - - - -[Illustration: REINECKE FLUNG UP HIS ARM.] - - - - - TOM WILLOUGHBY'S SCOUTS - - _A STORY OF THE WAR IN GERMAN EAST AFRICA_ - - - BY - - HERBERT STRANG - - - - - _ILLUSTRATED BY WAL PAGET_ - - - - - HUMPHREY MILFORD - OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS - LONDON, EDINBURGH, GLASGOW - TORONTO, MELBOURNE, CAPE TOWN, BOMBAY - 1919 - - - - - PRINTED 1918 IN GREAT BRITAIN BY R. CLAY & SONS, LTD., - BRUNSWICK STREET, STAMFORD STREET, S.E. 1, AND BUNGAY, SUFFOLK. - - - - ---- - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER I--TANGANYIKA - CHAPTER II--PARTNERS - CHAPTER III--THE VOUCHER - CHAPTER IV--TRAPPED - CHAPTER V--A FRIEND IN NEED - CHAPTER VI--MWESA'S MISSION - CHAPTER VII--TOM SEIZES THE OCCASION - CHAPTER VIII--REINECKE RETURNS - CHAPTER IX--A DELAYING ACTION - CHAPTER X--A BREATHING SPACE - CHAPTER XI--TOM'S NEW ALLIES - CHAPTER XII--THE DESERTER - CHAPTER XIII--HUNTED - CHAPTER XIV--THE TRAIL - CHAPTER XV--THE BACK DOOR - CHAPTER XVI--DRAWN BLANK - CHAPTER XVII--A GERMAN OFFER - CHAPTER XVIII--A GOOD HAUL - CHAPTER XIX--BELEAGUERED - CHAPTER XX--RAISING THE SIEGE - CHAPTER XXI--WILLOUGHBY'S SCOUTS - - ---- - - - - - LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - -Reinecke flung up his Arm (See p. 193) . . . . . . _Frontispiece_ -Tom took careful Aim and fired -Tom makes a Diversion -Mwesa flung Himself on the Arab - - - - -CHAPTER I--TANGANYIKA - - -Among the passengers who boarded the _Hedwig von Wissmann_ at Kigoma on -Lake Tanganyika, one June day in 1914, there were two who engaged more -particularly the attention of those already on deck. The first was a -tall stalwart man of some fifty years, with hard blue eyes, full red -cheeks, a square chin, and a heavy blond moustache streaked with grey. -He stepped somewhat jerkily up the gangway, brought his hand stiffly to -his brow in response to the salute of the first officer, and was led by -that deferential functionary to a chair beneath the deck awning. - -The second presented a striking contrast. Equally tall, he was slim and -loosely built, with lean, sunburnt, hairless cheeks, a clean upper lip -that curved slightly in a natural smile, and brown eyes that flashed a -look of intelligent interest around. He walked with the lithe easy -movements of athletic youth, turned to see that the porter was following -with his luggage, a single travelling trunk and a rifle case, and -satisfied on that score, picked up a deck-chair and planted it for -himself where the awning would give shade without shutting off the air. - -Both these new arrivals wore suits of white drill, and pith helmets; but -whereas the elder man was tightly buttoned, suggesting a certain strain, -the younger allowed his coat to hang open, showing his soft shirt and -the cummerbund about his waist. - -The gangway was pulled in, a seaman cast off the mooring rope, and the -vessel sheered off from the landing-stage with those seemingly aimless -movements with which a steamer, until she is well under way, responds to -the signals from the bridge. In a few minutes the _Hedwig von Wissmann_ -was heading southward down the lake, on her three-hundred-mile voyage to -Bismarckburg. - -The younger of the two passengers lit a cigarette and unobtrusively took -stock of his fellow-travellers. The tall man before mentioned was -already puffing at a long black cigar, and a steward, with marked -servility, had placed a glass of some lemon-coloured liquid on a table -at his elbow. Beyond him four men of middle age, also provided with -cigars and glasses, were playing cards, not in dignified silence, like -Sarah Battle of immortal memory, but with a sort of voracity, and a -voluble exchange of gutturals. Sitting apart, smoking a dark briar pipe, -sat a grizzled and somewhat shabby passenger who, though the brim of his -panama was turned down over his eyes, had nevertheless watched and drawn -conclusions about the two strangers. - -"H'm! Public school--nineteen, perhaps--griffin--nice lad--clean," his -disjointed thoughts ran. "T'other fellow--Potsdam--goose step--beer -barrel--don't like the breed." - -For a while he sat smoking, giving a little grunt now and then, and now -and then a glance at the young Englishman. Presently he heaved himself -out of his chair, tilted back his hat, and waddling a few steps, planted -himself with legs apart in front of the youth. - -"Harrow or Rugby, sir?" he said without preamble. - -"Neither, sir," replied the other with a smile. "I was at quite an -obscure grammar school--not a public school in the--well, in the swagger -sense." - -The old man's grey eyes twinkled. - -"H'm!" he ejaculated. "Don't get up." He took a chair that stood -folded against one of the stanchions and drew it alongside. - -"Name, sir?" - -The youth looked into the face of his questioner, saw nothing but -benevolence there, and thinking "Queer old stick!" answered-- - -"Willoughby--Tom Willoughby." - -"H'm! Not Bob Willoughby's son, by any chance?" - -"My father's name was Robert, sir." - -"Takes after his mother, I suppose," the old man murmured to himself, -but audibly. "Hasn't got Bob's nose. I knew him," he went on aloud. -"Saw in _The Times_ he was gone: sorry, my lad. Haven't seen him since -'98, when I was in Uganda. Haven't been out since; wanted to run round -once more before I'm laid on the shelf. Going to Rhodesia, I presume?" - -"No: only as far as Bismarckburg: my father was interested in some land -on the edge of the Plateau." - -"German land, begad!" - -"Well, you see he was partner with a German: went equal shares with him -in a coffee plantation seven or eight years ago." - -"H'm! Why didn't he stick to mines?" said the old gentleman in one of -his audible asides. "And you step into his shoes, I suppose?" - -"Not exactly, sir. He left his property to my brother and me jointly. -We decided that Bob--he's twenty-four--had better stick to the -commission business in London, and I should come out and learn planting, -or at any rate see if it's worth while going on; the plantation has -never paid, and it's lucky for us we don't depend on it." - -"Never paid in eight years? It's time it did. What's your German -partner about? I'm an old hand; my name's Barkworth, and I was a friend -of your father. My advice is, if your coffee hasn't paid in eight -years, cut your losses and try cotton." - -"It may come to that; that's what I'm out to discover; but my brother -thought it at least worth while looking into things on the spot with Mr. -Reinecke----" - -"Curt Reinecke?" said Mr. Barkworth abruptly. - -"Yes." - -"I know him--or did, twenty years ago. _He's_ your partner. H'm!" He -blew out a heavy cloud of smoke. Tom looked at him a little anxiously. - -"Mr. Reinecke has had a lot of bad luck, sir," he said. "He was always -hoping the tide would turn, Bob suggested that he might be incompetent, -but my father had complete confidence in him." - -"Reinecke incompetent! Bosh! He's clever enough." - -There was something in Mr. Barkworth's tone that caused Tom to say-- - -"I've never met him myself, and I should really be glad of any -information, sir. You see, it's rather awkward, dealing with a man old -enough to be my father, I mean, and----" - -"Yes, of course. Reinecke is a clever fellow; I've nothing against him, -but I recommend you to go carefully. I don't like him, but then I don't -like Germans." - -"I can't say I do," said Tom. "I spent a year in Germany. But I've met -a few jolly decent chaps, and seeing that my father thought so highly of -Mr. Reinecke----" - -"You're predisposed in his favour. Naturally. Well, keep an open mind. -Don't be in a hurry to decide. That's an old man's advice. I'm nearly -seventy, my lad, and the older I get the more I learn. With people, -now--there's the man who falls on the neck of the first comer, and -wishes he hadn't. There's the man who stiffens his back and freezes, -and then finds that he's lost his chance of making a friend. Don't be -like either: 'prove all things'--and men--'and hold fast to that which -is good.' H'm! I'm beginning to preach: sure sign of dotage.--You -haven't seen a view like that before." - -It was indeed a new and an enchanting experience to Tom Willoughby, this -voyage on the vast lake, or inland sea, that stretches for four hundred -miles in the heart of equatorial Africa. Looking eastward to the nearer -shore, he beheld a high bank richly clad with forest jungle, fringed and -festooned with lovely creepers and climbing plants. Below, the blue -waters, tossed by a south-east breeze, broke high upon a wilderness of -rugged rocks; above, masses of cloud raced across the green heights, -revealing now and then patches of bare brown rock, now and then the -misty tops of distant mountains. The coastline was variegated with -headlands, creeks, and bays; southward could be discerned the bold -mountainous promontory of Kungwe. Here and there Arab dhows with their -triangular sails and the low log canoes of native fishermen hugged the -shore; and birds with brilliant plumage glittered and flashed as they -darted in and out among the foliage or swooped down upon the surface in -search of food. - -Tom feasted his eyes on these novel scenes until a bugle summoned the -passengers to luncheon. He would have found it a slow meal but for his -new friend. They were placed side by side at some distance from the -captain, the intervening seats being occupied by the Germans. The -planters talked shop among themselves, and Tom was amused at the -obsequious gratitude they showed to Major von Rudenheim, the newly -arrived German officer, when he dispensed them a word now and then, as a -man throws a bone to a dog. The major had the place of honour next the -captain, whose bearing towards him was scarcely less deferential. -Through the meal the two Englishmen were almost ignored by the rest. -Afterwards, however, when the planters had returned to their cards and -Major von Rudenheim and Mr. Barkworth had both disappeared, Captain -Goltermann came up to Tom where he sat alone on deck. - -"Fine country, Mr. Villoughby," he said pleasantly. "I hope you like -zis trip." - -"Thanks, captain, it's quite charming; but I'm not what we call a -tripper." - -"So! It is business, not pleasure, zat bring you? But zere shall be -pleasure _and_ business, I zink. If I can assist you----" - -"Thanks again. I expect Mr. Reinecke to meet me at Bismarckburg." - -"Mr. Reinecke! He is great friend of mine. You are lucky to go to -him--as pupil, perhaps?" - -It seemed to Tom that the amiable captain was trying to pump him, and he -smiled inwardly. - -"I daresay I could learn a good deal from Mr. Reinecke," he said, -guardedly, but with great amiability. - -"Zat is certain. He is a most excellent man of business, and as a -planter zere is no one like him. Zat I ought to know, because I carry -his goods. Yes, truly, many fine cargoes haf I carried from -Bismarckburg to Ujiji. Zere vill vun vait me, vizout doubt. Yes, my -friend Reinecke is ze model of efficiency--of German efficiency. Ze -English are great colonists--so! no vun deny it; and zey are proud zey -know how to manage ze nigger--yes? But I tell you--you are young man--I -tell you your countrymen cannot make ze nigger vork---ve Germans can." - -Tom was to learn later the methods by which the Germans achieved that -desirable end: at present he was slightly amused at the Teutonic -self-satisfaction of the speaker. It was so like what he had -encountered during his year in Stuttgart. - -"Ze German kultur," the captain proceeded--"it is carried verever ze -German go. Yes; viz our mezod, our zystem, ve create for our Kaiser a -great empire in Africa. In ten, tventy year ze Masai, ze Wanyamwezi, ze -Wakamba, ze Wahehe, and all ze ozers--zey shall become Germans--black -Germans, but ze colour, vat is it? It is of ze skin; I speak of ze -soul, sir." - -At this moment there was a great hubbub on the lower deck forward, where -a motley assortment of natives and Indian traders was located. The -captain hurried away; the planters left their cards and flocked to see -what was happening. Tom followed them. Looking over the rail, he saw a -young negro being dragged along by two petty officers, who cuffed and -kicked him between their shouts of abuse. They hauled him on until they -stood below the captain, and then explained in German that they had -found him hidden among some bales of cargo: he had not paid his passage -and had no money. - -"Throw him overboard," cried the captain. The planters laughed. - -"Only a stowaway," said one, and their curiosity being satisfied, they -went back to the awning. - -Whether the captain had meant what he said or not, he had turned away, -and the officers were apparently about to carry out the order. Tom, -understanding German and knowing something of Germans, was nevertheless -amazed. Acting on the impulse of the moment he hurried after the -captain. - -"I say, captain, I'll pay for the boy," he cried. "Let him go." - -Captain Goltermann smiled. - -"Ze nigger? You are good Samaritan, sir. Vell, it is your affair, not -mine. Pay if you please; you fling money avay." - -He called to the officers, who gave the boy a parting kick and shot him -into the midst of the crowd of shouting negroes before them. Tom paid -the passage money, and went back to his chair. Had he made a fool of -himself? It was really absurd to have supposed that the Germans would -have drowned the boy. "I wonder what Mr. Barkworth would say?" he -thought. And then he sprang up and hastened to find the purser: he had -suddenly remembered that if the boy had no money for his fare, neither -could he pay for his food. "No good doing things by halves," he -thought. He told the purser to charge the boy's keep to him, adding: -"and don't make a song about it." - - - - -CHAPTER II--PARTNERS - - -Tom Willoughby's first impression of Curt Reinecke had an element of -surprise. Conspicuous on the landing-stage at Bismarckburg was a thin -wiry man of middle height, clad in the loose white garments affected by -planters, with a large white linen hat, its brim turned down -helmet-wise. The coppery hue of his face was accentuated by a huge -white moustache, which projected at least two inches beyond the outlines -of his shaven cheeks. He might have passed for a South American -president. - -"That's Reinecke," said Mr. Barkworth, as he stepped on to the gangway -in advance of Tom. "Hasn't altered a jot. His moustache was white -twenty years ago; and he was as bald as a bladder. Good-bye, my lad: we -may meet again: we may not: God bless you!" - -Mr. Barkworth had already explained that, as the _Hedwig von Wissmann_ -would remain two or three days at Bismarckburg to unload, he was going -to complete his journey to Kitata in Rhodesia by sailing boat. They -shook hands cordially and parted. - -It was impossible for Reinecke to mistake the lad he had come to meet. -Among the passengers who landed there was none so young as Tom, no other -who bore the stamp of Englishman. Reinecke came up to him with a smile, -lifted his hat, revealing for an instant his smooth pink crown, and -said-- - -"Mr. Villoughby, vizout doubt. A tousand hearty velcomes." - -"How d'you do, Mr. Reinecke?" responded Tom. "Glad to meet you." - -"Ve shall go to ze hotel for to-day; I shall see to your baggage. -To-morrow ve go to ze plantation. Zat zhentleman you part viz--I zink I -know his look, but his name--no, I do not remember: it is--no, it vill -not come." - -"Barkworth." - -"Ach! So! Barkvorce. Yes, of course, of course; I remember: it is -long ago----" - -He stopped abruptly, and gazed after the broad shambling figure with a -look that Tom could not fathom. Then he turned to Tom again, begged him -to excuse his absence for a moment, and went up the gangway on to the -steamer. Returning after a minute or two, he explained that he had -arranged for Tom's baggage to be sent to the hotel, and had invited -Captain Goltermann to visit the plantation while the vessel remained in -harbour. - -"I can gif you good shootings," he said, smiling again. "You English -are all good sports, eh? And my friend ze captain also is expert viz ze -gun." - -Tom felt that he had nothing to complain of in the warmth of his -reception, and glowed with anticipation of diversifying his business -inquiries with sport of a kind new to him. - -He learnt that the plantation lay at a distance of about twenty miles -from the lake-side, on the Tanganyika Plateau, and could only be reached -by a rough path over the hills, impassable for wheeled traffic. But he -would not be expected to walk. The journey would be done by _machila_, -which turned out to be a light canvas litter slung on a pole and borne -by two strapping natives. Reinecke had brought three pairs of porters, -in addition to a dozen who would convey certain bales of stores which -had come by the steamer. It was thus a large party that left early next -morning, the three white men in their litters going ahead, the porters -following at some distance under the charge of an Arab overseer armed -with a long whip. - -Within half an hour of leaving the port the path entered hilly country, -much overgrown with forest vegetation. The air was still, hot and -humid, and Tom, though this novel means of locomotion, over rough -ground, had its discomforts, reflected that he would have been still -more uncomfortable had he walked. Innumerable insects buzzed around, -seeking to pierce the protective curtains that enclosed him. Through -the meshes of the muslin he saw gigantic ferns, revelling in the moist -shade of huge trees, festooned with lianas and rattan. He heard monkeys -chattering overhead, the soft notes of doves and the shriller cries of -partridges and guinea-fowl; and but for the teeming insects he would -have liked to spring from his litter and go afoot, where every yard -brought some new beauty, some novel form of life, to view. After three -hours the caravan halted, for the purpose of refreshing the Europeans -with cool lager beer from bottles carried in ice-packs by one of the -natives. It was drawing towards evening when they arrived at a clearing -beyond which there was a dense and impenetrable thorn hedge about eight -feet high. The path led to a wooden gate set in the midst of the hedge. -This Reinecke opened with a key, and he stood back with a smile and a -bow as he invited Tom, now on his feet, to enter. - -"Zis is our estate," he said. "Vunce more I bid you tousand velcomes, -and I vish your visit bring us good luck." - -"Thanks very much," said Tom, noticing at the same time that Reinecke's -eyes were fixed on the peculiarly stolid face of Captain Goltermann. - -"Yes, viz better luck you shall be rich man in a few years, Mr. -Villoughby," said the captain. "Zere is no man zat knows like my friend -Reinecke ze--ze----" - -"Ze ups and downs of coffee," suggested Reinecke. "A good season--yes, -zere shall be zree or four tousand kilos ze acre; but a bad season--ah! -disease come--who can stop it? Vat physician haf ve for ze cure? -Zen--ah! it break ze heart." - -Tom looked about him with interest. As far as he could see, extended -row on row of coffee plants in straight lines about six feet apart. -Between them, at the same interval, were dug shallow pits some eighteen -inches deep. He had arrived just at the time when the fruit was ripe, -and a number of negroes were busily picking it from the bushes. Here -and there among them stood tall Arab overseers, all armed with whips. - -Presently the party came to a couple of machines resembling cider -presses, which Reinecke explained were pulpers for separating the beans -from the reddish pulp that covered them. Then they passed two large -brick vats, in one of which the beans were fermented, in the other -washed and dried. Beyond these were sheds where the coffee, now ready -for market, was stored and packed. And then, in a separate clearing, -laid out like a European garden, they came to Reinecke's bungalow, a -brightly painted structure of wood, with a long verandah and a thatched -roof. A table was laid on the verandah, and a few minutes after his -arrival Tom was seated with his host and his fellow-guest at a meal, -prepared and served by native servants, which reminded him, with a -difference, of the meals he had known the year before, when his father -had sent him to Germany. - -Finding that Tom understood German, Reinecke conversed in that language, -dropping into English now and then to explain technical terms. He -related to his interested guests the story of the plantation: how the -land was first cleared by cutting down the timber and uprooting the -bush: how this was burnt and the ashes mixed with the soil: the months -of hoeing: the sowings in the seed beds: the planting out of the -seedlings in November, when the rains began: and the tedious three -years' waiting before the young plants started to bear. Those three -years he had utilised by planting a thorn fence about the whole clearing -of some hundreds of acres. Tom supposed that this fence had been -erected to keep out wild beasts, for depredations by human marauders -were not to be feared in a district where German authority was -established. Reinecke assented; but Tom was to discover before many -days were past that the fence had another, even a sinister purpose. - -The next two days were spent very agreeably in shooting expeditions into -the wild country beyond the plantation. Captain Goltermann turned out -to be a crack shot, and the greater number of the antelopes and -buffaloes which the sportsmen brought down fell to his gun. Tom was all -anxiety to get a shot at a lion or even an elephant, which Reinecke told -him were to be found in parts of the Plateau; but the Germans were -indisposed to take the long journeys that were necessary to reach the -habitats of these more dangerous game: Goltermann's visit was to be only -a short one. - -One trifling incident of these days was to have an important bearing on -Tom's fortunes. Captain Goltermann had shot an antelope, but, with less -than his usual skill or luck, had only wounded it. Determined not to -lose his prey, he followed, accompanied by the others, over a stretch of -hilly country, dotted with bush, tracking the animal by its blood-stains -into a deep nullah through which a stream flowed. The sportsmen caught -sight of it at last, drinking at the border of a lake, the source of the -stream. Goltermann had just raised his gun to give the _coup de grace_ -when the antelope suddenly sank into the water and appeared no more. - -"We have provided a meal for a crocodile," said the captain with a -shrug. "The slimy sneaking reptile!" - -"It was bad luck for you, Goltermann," said Reinecke. "The beast was -hopelessly trapped; there's no exit from this end of the nullah. Our -long tramp for nothing!" - -Naturally, it was not until the captain had left that Tom broached the -business that had brought him from England. - -"Now that we have come into my father's property," he said on the third -morning at breakfast, "my brother and I thought it just as well that I -should take a trip out and see things on the spot. He explained that in -his letter." - -"Naturally," said Reinecke. "It is what I should have done myself." - -"Of course," Tom went on, "I've only had a year's business training--in -Germany, by the way: and I know nothing whatever about coffee: but I -know two and two make four, and I'm sure if you'll be good enough to go -into things with me, I'll soon get the hang of them. If the plantation -can't be made to pay, there's only one way out--sacrifice our interest. -On the other hand, if there's a chance of success, I thought perhaps I -might stay on here and become a planter myself: it's a life I think I -should take to." - -"Excellent," said Reinecke. "I am very glad you have come. And if you -can suggest some means of making the place pay--well, need I say I shall -be delighted. What with poor crops and low prices, and the heavy costs -of carriage, it is difficult to wring from it even the small, and I -confess unsatisfactory margin which I have been able to show since the -plants came into bearing." - -It crossed Tom's mind that this pessimistic attitude was hard to square -with Captain Goltermann's enthusiastic praise of Reinecke, and his -remarks on the valuable cargoes that he had carried; but he remembered -Mr. Barkworth's advice to "go carefully," to "keep an open mind," and at -present he had no material on which to form a judgment. Nor could he -yet decide how to estimate Reinecke. The German had been cordiality -itself. He had left nothing undone for his guest's comfort; his manner -had every appearance of frankness; yet Tom was conscious in himself of -an instinctive reserve, a something undefined that held him back from -complete confidence. - -"You will see the books, of course," said Reinecke, rising to unlock his -desk. "They are kept in German, but after your year's training in -Germany that will be no difficulty to you. Here they are: the stock -book, the cost book, the ledger: on this file you will find the vouchers -for the quantities of beans we have shipped from Bismarckburg. My clerk -is very methodical: he is a nigger, but trained in Germany, and in -spirit a true German: you will find all in order. I will leave you to -examine them at your leisure, and anything you want explained--why, of -course I shall be delighted." - -Tom spent the rest of the morning in digesting the figures that Reinecke -had placed before him. It was a task that went against the grain; he -hated anything that savoured of the part of inquisitor; but he reflected -that it was purely a matter of business, and being thorough in whatever -he undertook he bent his mind to the distasteful job, resolved to get it -over as quickly as possible. - -As Reinecke had said, everything was in order. There were records of the -total quantity of beans produced; he compared the vouchers for the -consignments with the entries in the stock book, and found that they -tallied. The other books gave him the costs of production, which -included wages, provisions, upkeep of buildings and so on; duplicates of -the invoices dispatched with the goods to a firm in Hamburg; records of -bills of exchange received in payment, and the hundred and one details -incident to an export business. Balance sheets had, of course, been -sent to his father: here was the material on which those sheets were -based, and everything confirmed the position as he already knew it: that -the plantation did little more than pay the not inconsiderable salary -which Reinecke drew as manager. His and the Willoughbys' shares of the -profits were minute. - -Tom could only conclude that Captain Goltermann, knowing nothing of the -details of management, had drawn erroneous conclusions from the facts -within his knowledge. His vessel conveyed a certain number of bags up -the lake at certain seasons: that was all. It was easy for a seaman to -make mistakes in such a matter. If so, then, what was wrong? Were the -costs too high in proportion to the out-turn? Was the acreage under -cultivation too small? Was there something faulty in the methods -employed? Tom felt that these questions carried him beyond his depth. -Would it not have been better to send an expert to make the necessary -investigations? That might still have to be done: meanwhile here he was; -he must learn what he could, spend a few months in getting a grip of -things, keep Bob at home informed, and then go back and consult with -him. - -When Reinecke returned to lunch, Tom complimented him on the perfect -order in which his books were kept, and frankly told him the conclusion -to which he had come. - -"That means that I must trespass on your hospitality for some months, at -any rate," he added. "I shall see the results from this season's crops, -your preparations for next, and fresh sowings, I suppose. Of course I -can't expect to learn in a few months what has taken you years." - -"That is so," said the German, and Tom fancied that there was a shade -less cordiality in his manner, which was perhaps not to be wondered at -in view of the prospect of having a stranger quartered on him for an -indefinite period. "Still," Reinecke went on, "it is with knowledge as -with wealth. The heir inherits thousands which his father has -laboriously amassed; the pupil enjoys the fruits of his master's long -and concentrated study. I think you will be an apt pupil." - -He said this with so pleasant a smile that Tom dismissed his feeling of -a moment before as unwarranted, and reflected that Reinecke was really -taking things with a very good grace. - -Next day he accompanied Reinecke to the outlying quarter of the estate -where the workers were lodged in huts and sheds constructed by -themselves. They were shut off from the outer world by the ring fence, -which consisted of quick-growing thorn bushes so closely matted as to -form a practically impenetrable barrier many feet thick. There were -more than a hundred adult negroes, men and women, employed on the -plantation. A number of children playing in front of the huts stopped -and clustered together in silent groups when the two white men appeared. - -"I suppose the workers get a holiday sometimes?" said Tom, whose -schooldays were only eighteen months behind him. - -"Of course," said Reinecke. "There are slack times, in the early part -of the season between the hoeings, when there is little to be done." - -"But I mean, they go away sometimes?" - -"Why should they? Where should they go? There is only the forest, and -the port. They would be eaten in the forest; they would eat up the -port." Reinecke laughed at his joke. - -"Then they are practically prisoners?" - -"My dear Mr. Willoughby, this is Africa. In Europe you put fences round -your cattle: the negroes are just cattle. Break your fences, and your -animals stray and are lost. So with the niggers." - -"But that is slavery." - -"Words! words!" said Reinecke lightly. "They are no more slaves than the -apprentices who are bound to their masters for a term of years. They -are indentured labourers. They are paid; and there's not a man among -them but accumulates enough to make him rich when his time is up." - -"They can go to their homes, then, when their time is up?" - -Reinecke shrugged. - -"As they please," he said. "They have a long way to go. See, Mr. -Willoughby, I give you a page from German colonial history. Twenty -years ago, in our early days, our brave pioneers of empire had enormous -difficulties to contend with. There was one savage tribe, the Wahehe -some two hundred miles north of us here, that resisted our civilising -mission with especial pertinacity and violence. On August 17, '91, they -gained a victory over our much-tried soldiers. They dispersed as we -approached, but when the column of Captain von Zelewski was passing -through a rugged and densely-grown country it was attacked along its -whole length by thousands of the treacherous dogs. Zelewski was among -the first to fall; taken at a disadvantage his column was almost -annihilated. Ten Germans, sir--ten Germans, I say, as well as over -three hundred askaris and porters, were slain. The gallant Lieutenant -von Tettenborn fought his way back with a few survivors to Kondoa, and -thence reached the coast." - -"We've had many incidents of that sort in India and elsewhere," said -Tom. "I suppose there was a punitive expedition?" - -"There was, sir; but not until three years had passed. For three years -those treacherous swine were allowed to flout the German might. Then, -in October '94, we captured and destroyed Iringa, their principal -village, and were again attacked in the woods on our way to the coast. -Some of the petty chiefs held out against us for years, but the German -destructive sword is very sure. Finally they were terribly subdued, and -some hundreds of them were transported into this Tanganyika country and -compelled to earn their living by peaceful toil. My people here are -Wahehe. I have one of the very chiefs who opposed us--one Mirambo, a -great hunter in his youth. I need not say that I find his woodcraft -very useful when I go hunting. By the way, he carried Captain -Goltermann's gun the other day. And now you see, Mr. Willoughby, how -well off these people are. They might have been treated as rebels; they -might have suffered as prisoners of war. Instead, they are indentured -labourers, engaged, for pay, in producing a useful commodity--with no -profit to their employers, mark you. My dear sir, it is philanthropy." - -Tom did not venture to say what he thought. In these early days it was -useless to enter into a dispute with Reinecke. But to his British way -of thinking the condition of the labourers was simply slavery, however -the German might seek to disguise it, and he would make it his business -to find out for himself the natives' point of view. If they were -contented with their lot, it would be folly to disturb them. But if -not--and he remembered the whips he had seen in the overseers' hands--a -new system must be introduced, with or without Reinecke's consent. - - - - -CHAPTER III--THE VOUCHER - - -During the next two or three days Tom went about the plantation, -watching the negroes at their work of picking and pulping the fruit. -Reinecke left him in perfect freedom to go where he pleased, and see -anything and everything. The natives worked industriously: there was no -lack of talk and laughter among them, no indication of discontent or -ill-treatment. Tom's misgiving was dissipated; he concluded that the -overseers' whips were wands of office rather than instruments of -correction. The negroes gazed at him with a certain curiosity and -interest. Some smiled, in unconscious response to the charm of his -expression, of which he was equally unconscious. One of them, he -noticed, a lad apparently about seventeen, looked at him with a peculiar -intentness. Once, when, in lighting his pipe, he dropped his box of -matches, the young negro sprang forward, picked it up, and handed it to -him with a sort of proud pleasure that so trifling a service hardly -accounted for. - -"Thanks," said Tom, and the lad's face beamed as, admonished by a severe -look from the overseer with whom Tom had been talking, he went back to -the bush which he had left. - -"I hope you will pardon my leaving you so much to yourself," said -Reinecke one day. "There is little to be learnt at this season, except -what you can see with your own eyes. In seedtime, if you still favour -me with your company, I shall have more opportunities of giving you -definite instruction. And now what do you say to a little relaxation? -Shall we go shooting to-morrow?" - -"I shall be delighted." - -"Very well. I will give orders that Mirambo and another man shall -accompany us to-morrow. We shall find wild geese and snipe at the stream -a few miles south; possibly a hippo, if, like most youngsters, you've a -fancy for big game." - -When they started next morning, Tom looked at the German's gunbearer -with a good deal more attention than he had shown previously. It was -strange that this humble negro had once been a chief. Mirambo was a -well-built man past middle life, quick in his movements, and with large -eyes of piercing brilliance. With him was a youth whom even a white -man, not easily able to distinguish one negro from another, could hardly -fail to recognise as his son. Reinecke gave them their instructions in -their own tongue, and with a bullying manner that Tom secretly resented. -They received them silently, with an utter lack of expression, -displaying none of the interest or alacrity which an English gamekeeper -would have shown in similar circumstances. - -The party of four set off, the negroes leading. Their destination was -one of the rare streams that traverse this part of the Plateau, and make -their way in devious course and with many cascades to the great lake -below. The morning was still young. By starting early, Reinecke had -explained, they would make as large a bag as the men could carry before -the midday heat became oppressive, and after a brief rest could stroll -leisurely back to a late lunch. Tom reflected that this attitude -evinced no great enthusiasm for sport, and concluded that Reinecke was -really rather a good fellow in taking so much trouble for the sake of a -guest. - -It was not until they were well in the forest that Mirambo showed any -animation. The instincts of the old hunter awoke. His keen eyes moved -restlessly, alert to mark the spoor of beasts in the woods and on the -open park-like spaces dotted with acacias, euphorbias, and the wild -thick bushes known as scrub. At one spot he became excited, pointing to -fresh marks in the soft soil. - -"The tracks of a wart-hog," Reinecke explained. "The beast evidently -went to his hole not long ago." - -"I've never seen one," said Tom. "Couldn't we track him and have a -shot?" - -"We couldn't carry him home. We're out for birds. Still, I daresay the -niggers could dispose of him. You can try your hand if you like." - -To Tom's surprise, the negroes, instead of following the tracks in the -direction in which the animal had apparently gone, went in the opposite -direction. - -"They're going away from him," he said. - -"No, no," said Reinecke with a smile. "Speak low--or better not at all: -he's close at hand." - -He halted, bidding Tom stand by with his rifle ready cocked. The two -negroes stole forward, and within about fifty yards posted themselves -one on each side of a hole in the ground. Then together they began to -stamp heavily with their feet, uttering no sound, and keeping their eyes -fixed on the hole. Wondering at this strange performance, Tom looked -inquiringly at Reinecke, who shook his head and signed to him to be on -the alert. Presently there appeared in the hole the ugly tusked snout -of a wart-hog. He grunted with annoyance at his slumbers having been -disturbed by a shower of falling earth, heaved his ungainly body out, -and began to trot away on his short legs directly across the white man's -line of fire. - -"Now!" murmured Reinecke. "Behind the ear." - -Tom shouldered his rifle, took careful aim, and fired. But whether -owing to excitement, or to the fact that the animal, through his -protective colouring, was almost indistinguishable from the background -of brownish bush, his shot missed the vital spot and inflicted only a -gash in the shoulder. The infuriated animal wheeled round and charged -across the open space. But he had covered only a few yards when a -well-planted shot from Reinecke's rifle stretched him on the ground. - -[Illustration: TOM TOOK CAREFUL AIM AND FIRED.] - -"Don't take it to heart," said the German, noticing Tom's crestfallen -expression. "Everyone misses his first shot at a wart-hog. I remember -a famous sportsman once having to dodge round a tree for a quarter of an -hour to escape the tusks of a beast he had only wounded. Better luck -next time." - -"But why didn't he charge the negroes? He passed within a few inches of -them." - -"They stood a little way back from the hole, you noticed; and besides, -the beast is very short-sighted. You were surprised that all the tracks -apparently lead away from the hole instead of towards it. That's not -cunning, as it was in the case of that cattle-stealer, wasn't it? in -classical story who pulled oxen into a cave by the tails. It's sheer -necessity. That hole was once the dwelling of an ant-bear; the wart-hog -had appropriated it. But his head and shoulders are so much bigger than -the rest of him that he has to go in tail first." - -The negroes had rushed to the animal as soon as it fell, lifted the head -slightly, and tied it to one of the hind legs with thongs of creeper. -Then Mirambo tore a strip from his white loincloth and attached it to -the wart-hog's horns. - -"That's to scare vultures away until our return," said Reinecke. "In -the rainy season myriads of flies would be at the carcase already, but -in this dry weather it will probably not suffer much before the niggers -get back to cut it up. Hyenas and other scavengers don't prowl till -night. Now let us get on." - -The negroes, whose pleasure is always rather in the quarry than in the -chase, were delighted at having secured, without trouble to themselves, -a quantity of fresh pork to carry home, and went on with alacrity to the -stream a few miles away. Here, in the course of a couple of hours, the -two white men had shot as many geese, quail, and guinea-fowl as the -negroes could conveniently carry slung about their bodies, with the -prospect of the addition of a good many pounds of hog's flesh later. -Tom was disappointed of his half-cherished hope of bagging a hippo; but -his morning's sport had been sufficiently exciting to form an -interesting part of his next budget of news for his brother. - -A negro carried the mail to Bismarckburg once a week, and Tom had -already dispatched his first letter, giving a description of the -plantation and a running account of his experiences so far. He had -confined himself to statements of fact, saying nothing about the -problems he found himself faced with--the character of Reinecke and the -conditions of the negro labour. Until he should have arrived at -definite conclusions on these matters he felt that it would be unwise to -trouble his brother with them. - -In his second letter he related further sporting expeditions, in some of -which he had been accompanied by Reinecke, in others only by Mirambo and -other natives. He had shot several hartebeeste and waterbuck, which -Mirambo was accustomed to skin and cut up on the spot. On these -occasions Tom was tempted sometimes to question the negro directly about -the conditions of his employment; but he was held back by a sense of -loyalty to Reinecke. Pending further light on the man himself, he would -rely solely on his own observations. - -It was at the end of the third week of his stay that the first really -disquieting incident occurred. Reinecke had gone to Bismarckburg, and -Tom, having time on his hands, had made up his mind to write a long -letter home. Going to the desk to get some paper, he discovered that -the drawer in which he had usually found it was empty, and he tried the -drawer below. This, however, would not open fully: it stuck half way. -He put his hand in, thinking that something had probably become wedged -between the upper part of the drawer and the one above. It was as he -had supposed. By pushing in the drawer a little, he was able to work -out the obstruction, which turned out to be a paper, half folded and -much creased. On the portion that was not folded down he saw a series -of figures like the numbers on the vouchers which were kept on a file. - -"An old voucher," he thought; and unfolded it to see if it were worth -keeping. To his surprise it was dated Nov. 17, 1913, and evidently -belonged to the series which he had examined in connection with the -accounts of the past year. But that series had corresponded exactly with -the entries in the stock book--or had he made a mistake? To reassure -himself he got out the file, turned to the vouchers for November, and -once more compared them with the book. There was no discrepancy. The -book showed that on Nov. 17, 1913, a consignment of 1000 kilos was -shipped on board the _Hedwig von Wissmann_, and there was a voucher -corresponding. The voucher he had just found was for a consignment of -1000 kilos. - -This was odd. The numbers on the two vouchers were consecutive: clearly -they did not refer to the same consignment. Yet there was only one -entry of that date in the book. If one had been a duplicate or a carbon -copy of the other, the matter would have been easily explicable; but -both were originals, and written in the same clerkly hand. - -Troubled, for it was impossible to crush down a suspicion, Tom put the -voucher into his pocket, and went out into the plantation. - -"I'll write to Bob to-morrow," he said to himself. At the back of his -mind there was the feeling that he might have more to say than he had -expected. - -Reinecke was in good spirits when he returned about sunset. - -"I've just made an excellent contract with a dealer representing a new -house," he said. "He'll take all next season's crop, at a good price. -I hoped your visit would bring us good luck, and this is the best." - -"Capital news," said Tom. The German's manner was so frank and cordial -that he was almost ashamed of his suspicion. "By the way, I found this -to-day: it was stuck between two drawers. Is it any good?" - -He handed Reinecke the voucher, folded. The German opened it, and said -instantly, with a smile-- - -"At last! I wondered what had become of it. It is a voucher I lost, -and I got the shipping clerk to give me another. You found that on the -file all right?" - -"Yes." - -"You don't know how I worried about that lost voucher. And you found it -wedged between the drawers? Extraordinary way things have of -disappearing! Well, we don't want it now. But I'm glad you found it." - -He tore it across and threw the pieces into the waste-paper basket. - -"Now for dinner," Reinecke went on. "I hope your appetite is as good as -mine. And how have you put in your time to-day?" - - -The German's explanation was so natural and reasonable, so ready, his -manner so free from embarrassment, that Tom was for the moment quite -reassured, and chatted unconstrainedly until bedtime--and Reinecke -appeared to take great pleasure in making him talk. But later, in the -privacy of his room, some rather troublesome questions suggested -themselves. Was it not unlike a shipping clerk to issue a duplicate -without writing "duplicate" upon it? How was it that duplicate and -original bore consecutive numbers, when at least two or three days must -have elapsed between them? It was very odd that no consignment from -another firm should have been shipped in the interim. And then suddenly -Tom flushed. "By George!" he thought. "I'm hanged if the duplicate -hasn't got the earlier number!" - -Then he wondered whether he was not mistaken. Saying to himself, "I must -find out for certain," he went back to the living-room to examine the -fragments in the waste-paper basket. He passed the door of Reinecke's -room, and heard his host splashing within. - -The basket had been emptied. - -The discoveries he had made kept Tom awake during a good part of the -night. They were very disturbing. Reinecke's explanation had been -plausible enough, and it was possible Tom was mistaken in his -recollection of the numbers on the vouchers. But the German's haste in -disposing of the contents of the basket bred an ugly suspicion. Were -there other such "duplicates" in existence? Did the books account for -only a part of the consignments? Had Reinecke, in fact, been -systematically robbing his partners? Tom felt worried and perplexed. -Here, thousands of miles from home, young and inexperienced, he was -hardly in a position to deal with a clever rogue, if Reinecke was in -truth a rogue; and he wished that he had some older person at hand, some -one like blunt, rugged old Mr. Barkworth, to whom he could turn for -advice. He was not likely to find any help among the Germans in -Bismarckburg, and inquiries of the shipping clerk would probably be -fruitless. Of course, he might question Reinecke's own clerk, but that -course had very obvious disadvantages. - -He concluded that he could do nothing at present except mention the -matter in his next letter to his brother, and be more than ever alert in -studying his host. To play the part of detective was abhorrent, but -there seemed to be no help for it, and he writhed inwardly at the idea -of living under the same roof with a man whom he distrusted but with -whom he must try to keep up an appearance of friendship. - -When the next mail day came, his feeling of mistrust prompted him to -give his letter into the hand of the negro postman just as the latter -was starting. Reinecke's correspondence was as usual placed in a -padlocked bag. The man had gone about a mile on his way from the -plantation when Reinecke overtook him, carrying two letters. - -"I forgot these," he said. "Put down your bag." - -He unlocked the bag, dropped his letters into it, and took up the -voucher slip bearing the number of letters enclosed; this would be -signed at the post office and brought back with the incoming mail. - -"That letter of Mr. Willoughby's had better go in too," he said. "Give -it to me." - -The man took it from the folds of his loincloth, and Reinecke appeared -to drop it into the bag. In reality he put it into his pocket. Having -altered the figures on the slip, he relocked the bag and dismissed the -man. Twelve hours later the postman returned and delivered his bag as -usual into his master's hand. - -Next day, in going about the plantation, Tom, as was natural enough, -sought the negro, to ask him whether he had duly posted the letter -entrusted to him in so unusual a manner. But he could not find the man, -and on asking where he was, learnt that he had been sent on an errand to -Bismarckburg. It was nearly a fortnight before he returned to the -plantation, and by that time Tom was no longer in a position to make any -inquiry of him. - - - - -CHAPTER IV--TRAPPED - - -"You talked of slavery," said Reinecke one day. "Our niggers were no -better than slaves! Have you seen anything to confirm that rather -scandalous suggestion?" His tone was lightly sarcastic. - -"If you mean any signs of positive ill-treatment, none," said Tom. (He -was not aware that Reinecke had given the overseers strict orders not to -use their whips while the Englishman was on the spot). "But I had -always understood that the negro is naturally a cheerful person----" - -"Well!" interrupted Reinecke. "Don't they laugh enough? Don't they -make noise enough?" - -"The youngsters do make a great row," Tom confessed smiling; "of course -children always are noisy and happy; they don't understand. But the -older men seem rather apathetic. Apart from actual ill-treatment, of -which I do you the justice to say there's no sign, the mere loss of -liberty must be horribly depressing. You admit that they can't leave if -they want to." - -"Not at all. Some have at times cut a way through the hedge. They've -repented of it." He smiled grimly. "But now, what would be a -convincing proof to you that things here are after all not so bad?--that -the life has some attractions, even for the freedom-loving negro?" - -"The return of one who had escaped, I suppose." - -"That's a proof I can hardly give you, because the few who have -escaped--or run away, as I should put it--have either been caught and -brought back or have no doubt come to grief in the forest. But I can -give you an instance of a nigger coming here of his own accord, and -being apparently quite content to remain." - -"Indeed!" - -"Yes; and, strangely enough, he arrived on the same day as you. You -won't suggest that _you_ are the attraction?" - -Tom resented this unmannerly remark, still more the tone in which it was -uttered, but he said nothing. - -"As you may imagine," Reinecke went on, "I don't know all the people. -My Arabs look after them. And I shouldn't have known anything about -this voluntary slave but for the fact that I mistook him for Mirambo's -son, and one of the overseers corrected me. It appears that when we -landed our stores from the _Hedwig von Wissmann_ that day, we were one -porter short, and this fellow, a sturdy lad, was hanging about and -appeared to have nothing to do. He was engaged and came up with the -others and stayed on--works well, and is quite cheerful, I'm told. He's -astonishingly like Mirambo's boy. Some of these niggers claim to be -descended from their old kings or chiefs: Mirambo himself does; and it's -quite possible that this youth comes of the same stock. There's a -jotting for your note-book, if you are making notes, and I daresay you -are." - -Again there was a covert sneer in the German's tone. Tom felt that he -would soon have to quarrel with his host. As soon as he should have -come to a definite conclusion about the man's integrity he would cut his -visit short. - -It seemed, indeed, as if Reinecke was determined to make him feel that -he had overstayed his welcome. Once or twice, when he asked that -Mirambo or his son might accompany him shooting, Reinecke declared that -he could not spare any of the men; it was the busiest time of the year, -not a time for amusement. - -"But there's no reason why you shouldn't go alone, if you find idleness -boring," he added once. "There are no dangerous beasts in our immediate -neighbourhood. I'd only warn you not to go too far." - -Tom was glad enough to take him at his word. While the fruit-picking was -going on, there was nothing for him to learn, and Reinecke had been so -ungracious lately that companionship was impossible. So he went -occasionally into the woods alone, never straying more than a mile or -two from the plantation, and taking even more pleasure in quietly -watching the smaller animals--the tree-lizards, chameleons, -iguanas--than in shooting pigeons or teal. His hope of big-game hunting -was apparently to remain unrealised. - -One day on returning he found Reinecke in a particularly good humour. - -"I have had a visit to-day from a high German officer, Major von -Rudenheim," he said: "an excellent soldier. He came on the boat with -you, of course: did you have the pleasure of conversing with him?" - -"No. He seemed to me too much of what we call a big pot." - -"True: our German officers are very much above civilians. In any case, -however--you are not aware that I hold the rank of Captain of Landwehr? -So we met, as it were, on equal terms, though he is a step higher in -rank. And I have another piece of news for you. Eland have been seen -near that small lake where we shot buck with Captain Goltermann, you -remember. Would you like to add elands' horns to your trophies?" - -"I should indeed," replied Tom, again wavering in his estimate of -Reinecke. "He really isn't a bad sort at times," he thought. - -Next morning happened to be mail day, and as Reinecke had letters to -write, Tom feared that he was to be disappointed. But the German was -again in excellent temper. - -"You can start without me," he said. "I shall be through with my -letters in an hour or so, and I'll follow you and meet you near the edge -of the lake--you remember, by that fallen tree where we ate our lunch. -Don't startle the game away: it will be a little practice in stalking -for you. I'll bring the men along with me." - -Tom set off, determined to show that the woodcraft he had picked up -during the past few weeks was not inconsiderable. He reached the -appointed spot, and ventured to cast about in various directions, -without, however, finding any traces of the eland. Returning to the -rendezvous, he was there joined by Reinecke, alone. - -"I'm afraid the bird has flown," he said ruefully. "I haven't seen a -sign of them." - -"I will show you," replied Reinecke with a smile. "We shall have to -stalk them, and we'll see what we can do without Mirambo's assistance. -He'll bring up some men presently to carry home the game." - -He set off along a faint native track, so long disused and so much -overgrown that Tom by himself would hardly have discovered it. They -pushed their way through the vegetation, and after about a quarter of an -hour Reinecke whispered to Tom to stop and be careful to make no noise. - -"We ought to find our quarry in a glade just ahead," he said. "I'll go -on: follow when I call." - -He disappeared among the undergrowth. In a few minutes Tom heard a -shot, then a faint call, and hurried eagerly on. The track widened a -little, and Tom was quickening his steps when he suddenly felt the earth -give way beneath his feet, and next moment found himself lying at the -bottom of a deep pit, amidst a litter of earth and brushwood, and -conscious of a sharp pain in the calf of his left leg. Almost stunned -by the fall, he lay for a moment or two scarcely able to realise what -had happened. Then he shouted for help. - -There was no answer. All was silent except for the hum of insects and -the rustling of some small animals which his sudden descent upon their -lair had disturbed. He shouted again, more loudly; then, supposing that -his voice from the depth of the pit had not penetrated to Reinecke's -ears through the vegetation above, he reached for his rifle, which lay -beside him, and fired a couple of shots into the air. Not yet seriously -uneasy, he stooped to see what caused the pain in his leg, and found -that it had been gashed by one of some half-dozen sharp-pointed stakes -that were planted in the bottom of the pit. - -"A native game-pit," he thought. "Reinecke might have warned me." - -Standing up, he discovered that his right ankle was sprained. - -"They'll have to carry me home," he thought, "and the sooner the better; -the stuff here must have been rotting for years. I wish to goodness -Reinecke would come." - -Once more he shouted, then tried to scale the wall of the pit; but this -was perpendicular, and it was evidently a case of cutting notches in -it--a tiresome job to a man who could scarcely stand. It struck him that -he had better bind up the gash in his leg as well as he could. When the -men came he would get them to carry him to the lake and bathe the wound. -How lucky it was that he had escaped with only one wound, and that in no -vital spot! Looking at that ugly array of spikes, he shuddered at the -thought of the hideous injuries they might have inflicted. - -While tying his handkerchief tightly round his leg he shouted from time -to time. Was it possible that Reinecke had met with a similar -misfortune? For the first time Tom felt really uneasy. Reinecke's call -to him had been very faint, and had not been repeated. If they were -both in the same predicament there was no hope of relief until the -negroes came up from the plantation. To make sure of their not missing -him, he shouted and fired at intervals, until almost all his cartridges -were gone. Still there was no response. - -He looked up the wall of the pit. It was eleven or twelve feet high. -If only he could raise himself high enough to get his arms on the edge, -the rest would be easy. It should not take very long to cut a few -notches in the earth: one of the spikes would form a serviceable tool. -He worked one out of the ground, and rose to his feet, wincing with the -pain that shot through his sprained ankle. To his chagrin, the earth of -the pit wall was friable. It crumbled as he drove the spike into it; so -far from making a hole that would afford him a firm foothold, he -succeeded only in breaking down a part of the wall. - -"Fairly trapped," he thought, and sat down again to ease his aching -legs. - -His watch announced midday. The men ought to have arrived by this time. -They would carry food and drink, and he was very thirsty. The -rendezvous was well known to them: surely they had not mistaken -Reinecke's instructions. And then at last he was startled by a suspicion -that sprang up suddenly in his mind--a suspicion so horrible that he -strove to crush it. Reinecke might have lied to him about the vouchers; -was he villain enough to have decoyed him deliberately to this cunningly -concealed trap--deliberately schemed to clear finally out of his path -the man whom he regarded as a stumbling-block on his way to fortune, the -discoverer of his crimes? - -The thought, terrible as it was, would not be stifled. Tom recalled the -gradual changes in the German's manner--the descent from almost -excessive cordiality to stiffness, sarcasm, positive rudeness: then the -sudden return to geniality, the apparent eagerness to indulge his guest. -For the first time he was struck with the peculiar arrangements for the -day's shooting expedition--the sending him on alone, the absence of -gunbearers. This train of thought, once started, was carried on -remorselessly by Tom's active imagination. Granted the man's intention -of putting him out of the way, how easily one detail fitted into -another! How naturally the Englishman's disappearance could be -explained! It was known to every one on the plantation that he had -sometimes gone shooting alone. Reinecke could say, and his statement -could be corroborated, that his guest had started alone on this morning, -he himself being engaged with correspondence. He had followed later, -according to arrangement, but had failed to meet the Englishman at the -appointed spot. He had searched for him, and after some days had found -the poor fellow's remains at the bottom of an old, long disused -game-pit. How plausible the story would be! Bob, thousands of miles -away, would grieve: the story might get into the papers: people would -read the paragraph, perhaps sigh, and pass on to a scandal nearer home, -or to the latest news of the trouble in Ireland. In a few weeks Tom -Willoughby would be only the shadow of a name. - -Impatient with himself at the length his imagination had carried him, -Tom shouted again, fired off another cartridge--the last but one. "I -must keep one for emergencies," he thought. He made another attempt to -cut holes in the wall, and threw the spike from him in disgust at the -second failure. It occurred to him to heap up debris at the foot of the -wall, to form a mounting block; but at the stirring of the putrid mass -innumerable insects, beetles, reptiles, foul nameless things issued -forth, causing him to shudder with loathing, and to shrink at actual -pain from their bites and stings. Overcome with nausea, he retreated to -a far corner where this creeping population had not been disturbed, and -for a time, weary as he was, sickened by his increasing pain, he leant -against the wall, rather than sit down again, until sheer fatigue -compelled him to make an uneasy seat of his slanted rifle. - -With the passage of time his thirst became a torture, and the shouts he -uttered ever and anon sounded cracked and harsh from his parched throat. -A sort of lethargy settled upon him: not a stoic resignation, a calm -acquiescence in fate's decree, but a numbness of the senses and the -mind. For a time he was scarcely conscious of pain, of the things -moving at his feet, of the gradual cooling of the air as evening drew -on. Then he roused himself with a start, and heedless of stings and the -loathsome touch of obscene creatures, he gathered up heaps of rotted -leaves and twigs and the litter that had fallen under him, and began -with frantic energy to pile them against the wall. His weight crushed -them into half their former bulk, and he fell exhausted on the futile -pillar. - -Night came on. Alternately he dozed, and awoke to a sharpened keenness -of apprehension. Now and then he heard noises above--the harsh -persistent note of the nightjar, the hollow melancholy scale of the -hornbill, the horrid whine of hyenas prowling in quest of prey and -calling to one another with increasing frequency as the night stole -towards dawn. A sudden raucous cry, apparently near at hand, caused him -to seize the spike for defence in case some unwary beast should stumble -into the pit. Once he beheld a pair of eyes, glaring with greenish -light upon him from the brink. He uttered a hoarse cry: the eyes -disappeared: and he seemed to hear a creaking rustle among the trees -above. - -Slumber again sealed his senses, and when he awoke, the pale misty light -of dawn threw green rays into his prison. His limbs were numb with -cold. His dry throat gave forth only a whistling croak when he tried to -shout. Scarcely able to move, he watched the mouth of the pit and the -sunlight filtering through the foliage and dispersing the mist. -Listless, unconscious of the flight of time, he was just aware of the -lengthening day as a sunbeam climbed down the side of his prison. All -at once he was shaken into attention by a sound overhead, and while he -was feebly trying to call, a shadow fell across the opening. A man's -form appeared, and with a gasp of unutterable thankfulness he saw -Reinecke peering down upon him. He struggled giddily to his feet: -surely the bitterness of death was past. - -But what was Reinecke saying? What words were these, that struck upon -his ear in spasms, as it were? - -"You came to spy ... enjoy your visit ... mad English ... war with -Germany ... learn what it means to provoke the German." - -He tried to collect his bewildered senses. It was Reinecke. What was -he talking about? "Expedition to conquer Rhodesia ... months before I -return ... a safe resting-place ... gather remains ... nothing but bones -... white bones." - -Had Reinecke gone? The voice had ceased; the sunlight fell unchecked: -and Tom, in a last flash of illumination before the darkness of -unconsciousness enshrouded him, realised that Reinecke had betrayed him -and had left him here to die. - - - - -CHAPTER V--A FRIEND IN NEED - - -On the previous evening, when the day's work on the plantation was over -and the workers had returned to their homes, a young negro left the -large dwelling which he shared with a number of other unmarried men, and -betook himself to the hut where Mirambo was supping with his family. - -"Have you eaten already, Mwesa?" asked the old hunter. - -"No. I am not hungry. He has not come back." - -The lad's eyes were wide with anxiety. No one could have failed to -notice how strongly he resembled Mushota, the slightly older lad -squatting by his father's side. - -"Has the Leopard come back?" - -"He came back at midday. The Antelope will never come back." - -"Why so, Mwesa?" - -"There has been whipping to-day." - -Mirambo's face clouded. There had been no whipping since the Antelope, -as Tom Willoughby was known among the negroes, had come to the -plantation. The Leopard was their name for Reinecke. The negro is very -shrewd, and it had not needed certain information brought by Mwesa to -make the people connect the cessation of corporal punishment with the -presence of the young stranger. That information, however, given first -to Mirambo, had spread through the whole community, and was talked of -freely among themselves. But it had never reached the ears of the Arab -overseers: oppression is always met by secrecy. Neither they nor -Reinecke knew that the young negro who had marched from Bismarckburg -among the porters, and had remained a willing worker on the plantation, -was not the chance recruit he had seemed to be. The stowaway of the -_Hedwig von Wissmann_ had come of set purpose; and when Reinecke -sarcastically asked Tom whether he supposed his attractions accounted -for the boy's staying on, he had unwittingly hit upon the truth. Mwesa -had stayed as a starved and beaten dog will stay with one who has been -kind to him. - -Quite unaware of the interest he had excited among these simple negroes, -Tom had been watched, all his movements commented on, from day to day. -Whether by observation or by instinct the negroes knew that there was -some intimate connection, obscure to them, between him and their -taskmaster. They judged that the young Englishman was an object of -respect or fear to the German, for Mwesa had told them that he was -English and that the English did not whip their workers, except perhaps -in punishment for crime. The Leopard had some reason for drawing in his -claws. - -Mwesa, like others, had seen the Englishman start, unattended, with his -gun. He had done so before: those who saw him go marked the fact as -they marked all that he did, but thought no more about it--except Mwesa, -who watched all day for his hero's return. He had noticed, moreover, -the going and the coming of Reinecke, also with his gun; and he had been -troubled when the German returned alone, and when at sunset the -Englishman was still absent. - -"The Leopard has killed," said Mirambo after an interval of gloomy -silence. - -Mwesa burst into tears. - -When he left the hut later, after eating a bowl of manioc, he carried a -long sharp knife. Stealing along behind the huts, he made his way in -the darkness to a remote spot, climbed up into a tree, and disappeared. -Half an hour later he crept back to Mirambo's hut, restored the knife, -which the man would have to account for next day, and then returned to -his own lodging, and slipped in unperceived by his fellow inmates. His -exit was prepared, but no negro travels willingly by night. - -Next day, at the time when the negroes had their midday meal, he was -about to make his escape from a place no longer endurable to him, when -he caught sight of Reinecke leaving by the gate, again unattended. -Mwesa looked around; no one else was in sight. He shinned up the tree -he had climbed the night before. A few minutes later he was running -like a wild animal through the scrub outside the fence. He posted -himself among the trees at a spot where he could not fail to see -Reinecke as he left the gate. When the German had passed, the negro -followed him with the stealth of one come of a long line of hunters, -tracking him over the course he had pursued on the previous day, without -revealing himself by so much as a rustle among the leaves or the crack -of a fallen twig. - -As Reinecke approached the pit, no guardian spirit told him of the -watcher whose eager face was looking at him out of a frame of green -foliage, whose keen ears pricked up as he heard his master speaking to -some one below him. When the German, his eyes alight with malign -triumph, turned to retrace his steps there was nothing to show that he -had been found out; the face had disappeared. Nor could Reinecke -suspect that he was dogged back to the plantation, and that when the -gate had closed upon him, a negro lad, lithe as a young antelope, -bounded back to the pit, and peered anxiously into the depths. - -Tom had relapsed into a state of half-consciousness. He was roused by a -voice, and looking up, saw a black shiny face gazing down upon him. Two -rows of white teeth parted, two big eyes danced with delight when they -saw the white man glance upward. - -"Sah, sah!" called the voice. - -"Who are you?" Tom murmured faintly. - -"Me Mwesa, sah; me come back bimeby, you see." - -The lad ran back into the forest. Tom lay as in a dream. Who was this -negro that spoke negro's English, and had called him "sah"? He had -never heard any of Reinecke's slaves use English, yet what negro in -these parts could be other than one of Reinecke's slaves? Where had the -boy gone? What was he going to do? Tom felt almost too weak and -listless even to hope. - -After what seemed a very long time the negro came back, carrying a long -green rope which he had plaited from strands of creepers. His face -beamed with excitement and joy. Making one end of the rope fast to a -sapling that grew near the edge of the pit, he threw the other end down -and laughed when he saw that a long coil lay at the bottom. Then he -swarmed down until he stood over Tom, and exclaimed: - -"Sah climb; all right now." - -"Who are you?" Tom asked again. - -"Me Mwesa. No talk now: talk bimeby. Dis bad place." - -But climbing was easier said than done. Tom was amazed to find how weak -he was after only twenty-four hours' confinement in the pit. "Have I so -little staying power?" he thought. But twenty-four hours in heat and -squalor, without food or water, with a wounded leg and a sprained ankle, -and a mind racked with anxiety and foreboding, would have put a tax on -the strongest. - -He found himself unable to climb. Whereupon Mwesa knotted the rope -about his waist, swarmed up the rope again, and hauled until sweat -poured from his body. As soon as Tom was safely over the brink, the lad -let himself down once more into the pit, and returned with Tom's rifle -and a couple of the sharpened stakes. - -"Come 'long, sah," he said: "me find place." - -Tom allowed himself to be helped along, asking no questions, content for -the present to have regained freedom after the horrors of the past -twenty-four hours. Mwesa led him along the old native track, in the -opposite direction from the plantation. Presently they came to a brook -tumbling over rocks. Here he bathed his aching limbs and drank deep -draughts. - -"Where are you taking me?" he asked. - -"No savvy, sah: all right bimeby," replied the boy. - -They started again. Mwesa kept carefully to the track, tracing it -unerringly even where it was almost obliterated. The forest was thick -all round, and Tom, at another time, might have felt uneasy at this -apparently aimless wandering. Now, however, one way was as good as -another, so long as it did not lead back to the plantation. - -Mwesa had no doubt guessed that the track would sooner or later lead to -a clearing. After more than an hour's painful walk, Tom found himself -at the edge of what had once been an open space, but was now an expanse -covered with scrub and forest trees of recent growth. - -"Stay dis place, sah," said the negro. - -Tom was ready to stay anywhere. He sank down on the ground, and lay, -resting and watching the further proceedings of his rescuer. The lad -cut down a number of young pliable branches, trimmed them to the same -length, and stuck them into the ground in a circle, at equal intervals -apart, bending them at the top until all met. Then he wound long grasses -and tendrils of creepers in and out around the whole circumference, -until in a surprisingly short space of time he had fashioned a rough and -ready circular hut at the corner of the clearing, which was almost -completely hidden by rank growths of vegetation. He smiled with pride -in his handiwork when he invited Tom to enter. - -"Come back bimeby," he cried, and darted away into the forest. When he -returned he brought a wild gourd full of water and a handful of berries. - -"No can get nuffin else," he said deprecatingly. - -"They will do very well," said Tom, who indeed could have eaten sawdust -after his long fast. "Now tell me who you are, and how you found me, -and why you are helping me." - -The smile that spread over the lad's face awoke in Tom a dormant memory. -Surely this was the boy who had rushed so eagerly to pick up his -match-box a day or two after he had reached the plantation. - -"Sah sabe Mwesa, Mwesa sabe sah," said the negro, happily. - -"Save! What do you mean?" - -"On boat, sah: German man kick, say frow me in water: sah pay cash, all -right all same." - -"Oh!" exclaimed Tom, feeling a touch of embarrassment. That little -unconsidered act of kindness had surely not won such devotion as to -bring the boy into slavery for his sake? "Tell me about yourself," he -said. - -The negro's story, told in his strange English, took a long time in the -telling, so roundabout was the course of the narrative, so much broken -by explanations and cumbered by trifling details. But the gist of it, as -understood by Tom, was as follows-- - -Mwesa was the son of Miluma, once a notable chief of the Wahehe, and one -of those who had sustained for a long time the resistance of his people -to the Germans. At length he had fallen into the enemy's hands, and had -been among the first batch of labourers who had cleared the ground for -Reinecke's plantation. Miluma's wife and two of his children had died -under their hardships, and the chief, left with Mwesa alone, had fled -with the boy, and, more lucky than other negroes, had neither been -recaptured nor killed in the forest. He had fallen in with an English -trader, with whom he had taken service, accompanying him in his journeys -through the country of the Great Lakes, and living at other times among -his native household at Zanzibar. Mwesa, only a few years old at the -period of the escape, had at first remained in Zanzibar during his -father's absence, but at the age of twelve he, too, had travelled with -the Englishman's caravan, and had picked up a smattering of English as -well as of the dialects of the tribes through whose countries he had -passed. - -Then his father died, the Englishman returned to Europe, and Mwesa, now -seventeen, was left alone in the world. Having a little money in his -possession, he bethought him of his uncle Mirambo, whose large family -had prevented him from escaping at the same time as Miluma, and of whom -his father had often spoken. He would return to the plantation, see if -his uncle were yet alive, and perhaps help him, or any of his family who -were still living, to escape with him to British territory. He took -passage in a dhow that was sailing down the lake, but the vessel had -been blown ashore, and the shipwrecked crew and passengers robbed of all -they possessed by predatory natives. Mwesa and one other had got away, -and after an adventurous journey had arrived at Ujiji. Learning there -that a steamer was expected at Kigoma, Mwesa had made his way to the -port and smuggled himself on board. - -On arriving at Bismarckburg he had found that the young Englishman who -had befriended him on board the vessel was going to the plantation which -was his own goal, and had at once sought employment among the porters. -It seemed to him that the presence of an Englishman was a good augury -for the success of his mission. He had remained at the plantation, -always on the watch; and it was not long before he suspected that -Reinecke had a grudge against his benefactor. Slight signs that might -have escaped the notice of anybody who had not a personal interest in -the Englishman had betrayed to him and to Mirambo the real feelings of -the German; and Mwesa had now a double motive: the rescue of his uncle -and the care of the white man. For the sake of the latter uncle and -nephew had concealed their relationship, awaiting the day when, as they -expected, the Englishman would leave. On that day they, too, would go. -But the crisis had come in an unforeseen manner. The disappearance of -the Englishman and Reinecke's strange movements had intensified their -suspicions, and Mwesa had stolen out to discover what the German had -done with his guest. - -Tom thanked the boy warmly for what he had done for him. He was a good -deal troubled in mind, and passed many hours of the night in that grass -hut in anxious meditation on his position. Mwesa had rescued him from a -lingering death, but to what end? If it was true, as Reinecke had said, -that Britain was at war with Germany, that already a German expedition -against Rhodesia was in preparation, the immediate future was very -black. He dared not go to Bismarckburg; the nearest British territory -was forty or fifty miles away; how was it possible to accomplish so long -a journey through difficult country and hostile people? At present, -indeed, his injuries precluded even a much shorter journey. Until he -should have fully recovered he must remain in hiding. How was he to -subsist? There was game in the forest, no doubt plenty of vegetable -food in the shape of berries and nuts, though only a native could -distinguish the edible from the poisonous. Mwesa would help him--but -Mwesa was himself a complication. Tom felt that, the boy having done so -much for him, he was bound to consider the boy, and Mirambo; his lot -seemed to be knit with theirs. It would not be just to appropriate -Mwesa, and leave his relatives in the slavery from which the boy had -come to deliver them. Yet how helpless he was to do anything either for -them or for himself! - -He fell asleep with these problems all unsolved. When he awoke the boy -was gone. Tom supposed that he was seeking food, but as time slipped -away and Mwesa did not return he grew uneasy. Then, however, common -sense asserted itself. The boy who had already dared so much, who had -built him a hut and brought him food, would not desert him. There must -be some good reason for his absence. - -A little after mid-day Mwesa came back, looking more pleased with -himself than ever. A rabbit dangled from his waist; slung over one -shoulder was a native grass bag stuffed with cassava; in one hand he -carried an axe, in the other a sporting rifle, which Tom recognised as -the property of Reinecke. Mwesa threw his load down, and emptying his -bag, revealed, under the cassava roots, a number of cartridges. He -chuckled with delight. - -"You have been back to the plantation?" said Tom. - -"Yes, sah: me go back; nobody see." - -He went on to explain that there were strange doings at the plantation. -Reinecke had called the negroes about him, and told them that war had -broken out between England and Germany; that the Germans were going to -seize all the English lands in Africa; that he himself was a great -officer in the German army, and had been ordered to turn every -able-bodied man into a soldier. The gathering of the crops being -finished, such work as was necessary on the plantation must be done by -the women and the older men. He was going to Bismarckburg to arrange -for supplies of arms. During his absence the overseers would exercise -the men. - -Taking advantage of the excitement that followed this announcement, -Mwesa had managed to possess himself of the articles with which he had -come laden. - -"Me now sah him boy," he said gleefully. - -Tom looked at him with a ruminating eye. It was well to have a companion -in this forest solitude, and he felt instinctively that Mwesa's fidelity -might be relied on. But was he entitled to involve the boy in his own -misfortunes, or to separate him from his new-found relatives? He -reflected that the boy would be useful to him in helping him to find his -way into British territory; and when Mwesa emphatically assured him that -he was determined not to go back to the plantation, or to be drilled to -fight against the English, he made up his mind to accept the service -thus volunteered. - -"Very well, Mwesa," he said, "you are my boy. Whatever comes, we will -share it." - -Mwesa was already skinning the rabbit, and Tom having a box of matches, -the boy kindled a fire and prepared to cook a meal for his new master. -Meanwhile Tom took earnest thought for their future. Until he had -recovered from his injuries it would be hopeless to attempt to reach -Abercorn; but it struck him that to remain in his present position, only -a few miles from the plantation, might be dangerous. Reinecke might -revisit the pit, and finding it no longer tenanted, would almost -certainly hunt for him in the neighbourhood. It was necessary to find a -secure refuge where he could rest until he was able to undertake the -journey. Almost as soon as the idea occurred to him, he remembered that -he had passed this way with Reinecke and Goltermann, on the day when he -had first made distant acquaintance with crocodiles. The nullah and the -lake in the hills lay a few miles to the east. The former, with its -windings, its overhanging rocks, its patches of dense scrub, would -furnish a safe hiding-place. Game was plentiful in the adjacent forest; -the lake would be an unfailing water supply; and though he would have to -guard against falling a prey to the reptiles that infested its shores, -Mwesa's knowledge of their ways would no doubt serve him well. The -neighbourhood was wholly uninhabited, and it was so far from the -plantation that Reinecke and his people were unlikely to visit it. - -Could he find it? Having gone there only once, before he had had any -experience of forest travel, he knew that unassisted he would have been -completely at a loss. But he hoped that Mwesa would discover the track -leading to it, and when, as he ate his dinner of roast rabbit, he -mentioned the matter to the negro, the latter instantly started up and -ran off in the direction Tom pointed out. In twenty minutes he was -back, and declared with his invariable smile that he had found the -track. He proceeded to dismantle the hut and to obliterate the traces -of the fire; then, loading himself with their few possessions, he begged -Tom to lean on him and make for their new home at once. - -Tom limped along, anxious to reach the nullah before night. On the way -Mwesa told him more about the morning's scene at the plantation. -Reinecke had boasted that the English were to be driven into the sea. -All their possessions would become the booty of the Germans, and the -Wahehe, if they served him faithfully, should share in it. They had -once been great warriors; now they would learn how to be askaris, and -under German leadership do great deeds and amass great riches. The -negroes had listened to him in silence; and only when he had left them -did their sullen discontent find expression. They remembered that they -had always fought against the Germans, not for them; and some of the -elder men said they would rather fight against them again. But there -was no open revolt; cowed by years of oppression, devoid of leadership, -they could only accept their destiny. - -With great difficulty Tom managed to drag himself along for two or three -miles; then he declared that he could go no farther. It was already -late in the afternoon. Mwesa at once constructed a temporary hut, and -there they passed the night. - -Next morning, after again covering their tracks as completely as -possible, they set off again. Even with Mwesa's support, Tom could only -crawl along at the rate of little more than a mile an hour. The almost -disused hunter's path was sometimes hard to find: here and there it was -overgrown with thorns through which Mwesa had to cleave a way; and in -the middle hours of the day the humid heat was so oppressive that Tom -had to take long rests. Towards evening, however, they came suddenly -upon a dip in the ground which Tom thought he recognised. - -"Run ahead," he said to Mwesa, "and see if the nullah is in that -direction." - -The boy sprinted away, returning in a few minutes. - -"All right, sah!" he cried. "All right ober dah." - -They went on. Emerging from the forest, they crossed an expanse of -scrub and came to the mouth of the nullah, which was like a deep cutting -in the hills. A thin stream trickled down the middle: Tom could not -doubt that the lake must be only a few hundred yards farther, and, in -spite of his fatigue, he struggled on to make sure that he had reached -his destination. There at last was the lake, still, not a breath of air -bending the rushes on its banks, or stirring the trees on the island in -the centre. - -Mwesa had just time to rig up a slight shelter of branches near the -margin of the lake before darkness fell. He cooked some manioc for Tom -and himself; and when Tom sank into heavy sleep, the boy kept watch all -night by the fire. - -In the grey light of dawn, when Mwesa also was asleep, Tom was awakened -by a rustling at the entrance of the rude hut, across which Mwesa had -thrown a rough barrier of thorns as a defence against a chance marauder. -Starting up on his elbow, he saw dimly some dark shape apparently edging -its way between the lower part of the barrier and the ground. For a -moment or two he was unable to distinguish what it was; then he gave a -sudden shout, seized the shot-gun which lay by his side, sprang to his -feet and fired. - -Awakened by his shout, Mwesa had jumped up and come to his master's -side. There was a violent commotion in the thorny barrier. Next moment -the slight hut collapsed, and both occupants were half buried by the -boughs. Extricating themselves from the tangle, they peered out at the -interlaced branches of thorn. Nothing was to be seen. - -"Wat dat noise, sah?" whispered Mwesa. - -"I think I saw the snout of a crocodile," replied Tom. - -Mwesa clicked in his throat, caught up his axe, and rushed out. But the -crocodile had disappeared. - -"He berry much 'fraid, sah," said the boy, when he came back. "Gun make -him berry sick. He go tell no come dis way no more: oh no!" - - - - -CHAPTER VI--MWESA'S MISSION - - -Tom could not help laughing as he surveyed the ruins of Mwesa's little -building, and the negro himself put his hands on his hips and roared -with merriment. - -"Silly fella tink all same proper house," he said, alluding to the -crocodile. "Me show him." - -It was clear that their first task, if they were to remain for any -length of time in this spot, must be to construct a more substantial -dwelling, and after a light breakfast they set forth to survey for a -site. Tom found that his long tramp on the previous day had caused his -injured ankle to swell, and he could only get along by hopping on his -sound foot. Fortunately he had not far to go before lighting on a -suitable situation in a spot above the shore of the lake, where a few -isolated trees in the form of a rough circle enclosed a clear space some -twenty yards across. Here, after bathing his ankle and tying his -handkerchief tightly about it, he sat down to watch Mwesa set about -building him a "proper house." - -The boy cut down with his axe a number of straight saplings, trimmed -them, cut them to the same length, and then planted them in a circle in -the centre of the space. After a search along the banks of the stream -he returned with a load of withies cut from tough creeping-plants. With -these he bound the upright poles together: first in the middle, then two -feet below, and finally the same distance above. He worked with such -astonishing speed that early in the afternoon the framework of the new -hut was complete, standing up like a cage or a circular crate. After a -short rest he started on the roof. He gathered together a number of -flexible saplings, which he laid down on the floor of the hut so that -they radiated from the centre like the spokes of a wheel. Then he -fastened the ends together, lifting the saplings one by one until the -structure resembled the ribs of an inverted Chinese umbrella. When it -was finished he drew the loose ends together, turned it upside down, and -pushed it up through the open roof space, the ends, when released, -resting on the tops of the poles. The skeleton of the hut was complete. - -Tom envied the boy's dexterity. All his measurements had been made with -the eye alone, and Tom reflected that the work would have occupied a -white artisan, provided with a foot rule, probably twice or thrice as -long. Mwesa promised that another day's work would finish the job. - -Next day he filled up the interstices between the poles with damp mud, -which he carried in his wallet from the edge of the lake. He left a -space about three feet square at the entrance; and built up with mud, in -the interior of the hut, a long bench some three feet high. The mud -dried rapidly in the heat of the day, and when the bench had hardened, -he mounted upon it, and wove long grasses in and out among the rods -composing the roof, until this was fairly impervious. It would give -slight protection against heavy rain, but the rainy season was not yet -due, and Tom agreed that the hut would form a very serviceable shelter -during the short time he expected to occupy it. - -It occurred to him, however, to suggest a means of doubly securing -themselves against intruders, human or other. The trees surrounding the -open space could be turned into an effective zariba by planting poles -between them, and interlacing the poles with strands of prickly thorn. -Mwesa fell in with the notion at once, but this was a much longer task -than the construction of the hut had been, and in fact it occupied him -off and on for nearly a week. - -Meanwhile the food he had brought from the plantation had long been -consumed, and he spent part of every day in snaring birds or small -animals for the subsistence of himself and his master. It appeared that -vegetable food was not to be obtained in this part of the country, and -Tom grew somewhat uneasy as to the effect of an uninterrupted diet of -flesh. He was uneasy, too, about his injuries. The wound caused by the -spike was healing well, but the swelling of his ankle was but little -reduced, and it gave him great pain to hobble even a few yards. It was -clear that without the ministrations of his faithful and indefatigable -boy he would starve. - -Often as he lay at night, on rushes strewn upon the bench, listening to -the cries of night-birds, the bark of distant hyaenas, the coughs of the -crocodiles in the lake, the grunts and snarls of beasts that came -prowling around the zariba, but never attempted to penetrate it, scared -by the fire kept constantly burning within the enclosure--as he lay -listening to these eerie sounds he pondered plans for the future. His -dearest wish was to make his way to the frontier as soon as he was fit -to travel, and to join the British forces which, he supposed, were -gathering to resist the German invasion. The news that Germany and -Britain were at war had scarcely surprised him. Recollections of what he -had heard and seen during his year in Germany seemed to give -corroboration enough. He remembered in particular one young German -baroness, who had been to school at Cheltenham, and was continually -boasting of what the Germans would do when "the Day" came. He -remembered, too, how his father scoffed at the warnings of those who -foretold that Germany was only awaiting an opportunity for making her -tiger-spring, and how he and his brother had been rebuked for heeding -the "alarmists." And now the Day had come at last. He wondered what -spark had exploded the European powder-barrel, what pretext Germany had -alleged for the attack which, he believed, she had long been secretly -cherishing and preparing for. In the only letter he had received from -England since his arrival, Bob had said nothing of trouble brewing. -Whatever the ostensible reason was, he had no doubt the war had sprung -from Germany's lust for world-power, and with the easy confidence which -too many Englishmen felt in those early days, he believed that the -British Navy would square accounts with the Germans before many months -had passed. He did not know that Germany had cast her gauntlet in the -face of half the world, did not suspect that she had already set the -bases of civilisation staggering. - -As for Africa, he took it for granted that German possessions would soon -be wiped off the map. It would have been difficult for a true-born -Englishman to think otherwise. All that he wished and hoped for was -that he might reach Rhodesia before the last act was played. - -When about ten days had slipped away, and even Mwesa had nothing to -occupy him except the daily search for food, Tom began to fidget for -news. He was still unable to walk without pain; inaction irked him, and -ignorance of what was going on at the plantation and beyond gave him a -fit of the blues. His despondency did not escape the keen eyes of the -negro, who at last asked what was troubling him. - -"I want to know things, Mwesa," he answered: "what Reinecke is doing, -whether fighting has already begun--all sorts of things. And I want to -get away from here and join my own people." - -The boy's anxious expression cleared; his eyes brightened. - -"Me go; one day, two, me come back tell sah," he said. - -"Do you think you could go safely?" - -Mwesa looked hurt at the suggestion. Had he not already stolen in and -out of the plantation? Why should his master suppose that he could not -do it again? He would set off at once, as soon as he had provided food -and water for a day or two, and he would come back stuffed with news. - -The boy was so eager that Tom let him go. He took nothing but his wallet -and a knife. By nightfall he would reach the plantation. There he -would learn all that was to be learnt from Mirambo: his master would be -only one night alone. - -It was not till the dense blackness of night brooding over the nullah -deepened his feeling of solitude that Tom doubted whether he had done -right. The boy might not return: who could tell what mischance might -befall him? In daytime he might escape the many perils of the forest; -but what if he were discovered in his furtive passage of the thorn fence -and impressed into the ranks of the recruits? "Without Mwesa what will -become of me?" The troublesome question gave Tom no rest as he lay in -the hut, listening to the outer noises to which darkness adds mystery -and horror. Alone, almost helpless, what could a white man do in the -wilds of Africa? Tom was not ordinarily a victim to "nerves"; but the -series of shocks he had recently suffered had quickened his imagination -in proportion as it had reduced his physical vigour, and the sensations -of that night were one long nightmare. - -At dawn, limp and haggard, he got up, crawled out of the hut, and sat -down with his back against a tree-trunk, listening for the return of the -negro boy. He heard rustlings among the trees, the call of a quail, the -snorting grunt of some animal prowling round the zariba. But neither -rustle nor footfall caught his ear when Mwesa suddenly appeared at his -side. - -"Come back all right, sah," said the boy cheerfully. - -"But how? I didn't hear you. How did you get in?" - -"Climb tree, sah; come like snake." - -He had dropped thus into the enclosure to avoid making a gap in the -fence. As before, he came laden with food. Welcome as this was, Tom -was more eager to have his tale of news; but before Mwesa would relate -his discoveries, he produced from his wallet, with much show of mystery, -a small bundle with a covering of leaves tied with grass thread. -Opening this with an expression of great solemnity, he displayed a lump -of some substance olive-green in colour, and of the consistency of -putty. - -"Good medicine, sah. Mirambo my uncle: berry clebber pusson. Me make -sah well." - -Dropping to his knees he unwound the handkerchief from Tom's injured -ankle, pinched off a small portion of the plastic medicament, and rubbed -it gently over the joint, muttering strange words. It gradually -softened to a greenish oil. When the joint was thoroughly anointed, the -boy bound it again with the handkerchief, jumped up, and, smiling away -his look of intent earnestness declared: - -"Sah, one time better; two time better; t'ree time all same well." - -Then he unslung from his shoulder a small iron cooking-pot, and sat down -to tell his news. - -At the plantation drill was in full swing. Some askaris had come from -Bismarckburg under the charge of a German non-commissioned officer, the -former as guards and examples, the latter to train the new recruits. -Drill went on all day and every day, the German giving his commands in a -Bantu dialect which was hard to understand, with the result that he -frequently lost his temper. The negroes who were slow were stimulated by -the whips of the overseers. A few rifles had been brought, and some of -the quicker men were already being trained in aiming and sighting: as -yet they had fired no shot. They were all sullen and resentful; but -cowed by the presence of the armed askaris and in constant fear of the -whip, they gave no utterance to their feelings in face of their -taskmasters, pouring out their hearts only in the seclusion of their own -huts and sheds. - -Reinecke himself was now seldom at the plantation. Mirambo believed -that he was busy at headquarters at Bismarckburg. The askaris had said -that a great force was being prepared to attack the English in Abercorn, -and had boasted of the terrible things they were going to do and the -great riches they would soon enjoy. They told of many battles won in -the white man's country far away; of many great cities which the Germans -had taken; how the King of England and his war chiefs had been hanged by -the people, enraged at defeat. Soon there would not be a single -Englishman in the whole of Africa. - -"Do they believe that stuff?" said Tom. "It's all nonsense." - -Mwesa was not at all sure that he had not believed it himself, for how -was a simple African to deny what was told him with such assurance? -Indeed, even among the Germans, settlers and soldiers alike, in those -early days of the war, no rumour was too fantastic to find easy -credence. Conceit is a hotbed for credulity. But Tom's vigorous -assertion that it was all nonsense was enough to convince Mwesa. - -"Dey silly fellas, sah," he said scornfully. "Mwesa him English: he know -all right." - -Tom knew nothing of the relative strength of the British and German -forces in East Africa; but having a Briton's invincible faith in the -British Navy, he could not believe that the German colony, cut off from -Europe as it must be, could really measure itself against the resources -of the British Empire. But he remembered how, in the past, British -carelessness and want of foresight had bred disasters only painfully -retrieved, and he felt no little anxiety as to how far Northern Rhodesia -was prepared to resist the expedition which the Germans were organising. - -He was only the more eager to join his fellow-countrymen, and take his -part in the fight, if fight there was to be. At school he had been -colour-sergeant in the cadet corps, and looked back with reminiscent -pleasure on the field days, when, in the intervals of business, he had -munched apples in a farmer's orchard or solaced himself and his squad -with junket in a dairy. "Rummy," he thought, "if all that swat were to -turn out useful after all. But here it will be minus the apples and -junket." - -This being his state of mind, he was doubly curious about the healing -properties of the stuff"--Mirambo's plasticine, he called it--that Mwesa -had brought from his uncle. He was aware almost at once of a lessening -of the pain in his ankle. After the second application the swelling was -sensibly reduced; within a week he found himself able to walk freely. -Mwesa took the cure as a matter of course. - -"What's the stuff made of?" Tom asked him. - -Mwesa shook his head gravely. - -"Berry good medicine: Mirambo him savvy all same." - -And that was all that Tom could get out of him. - - - - -CHAPTER VII--TOM SEIZES THE OCCASION - - -Tom had many occasions during the next ten days to rejoice in the -possession of an excellent servant. Mwesa was everything in -turn--hunter, cook, valet, hospital orderly; and in every capacity he -was efficient. His snares and traps stocked the larder; the grain, he -had brought from the plantation was eked out with wild fruits gathered -in the forest; and out of the one simple cooking-pot he produced as -great a variety of good things as a conjurer out of a hat. Always with -the same gravity and the same muttering of spells, he anointed and -massaged Tom's ankle daily, and never failed to sing the praises of his -uncle Mirambo. His constant cheerfulness acted as a tonic on his -master's spirits, and with reviving health Tom felt braced to endure -whatever hardship the future might bring. - -At last the day came when he declared that he was ready to start for -Abercorn. He had talked over his plans with Mwesa, handicapped, -however, by the fact that neither he nor the negro knew the route or the -character of the country to be travelled. The extent of his information -was that Abercorn lay somewhere to the south-west, and from a hazy -recollection of a map glanced at during his voyage from England he -guessed that the town was forty or fifty miles away. Under the most -favourable conditions he could hardly hope to cover that distance in -less than three days: if the country was specially difficult the journey -might last even weeks. - -It was unfortunate that Reinecke's plantation lay across the direct -route. In order to avoid it, he must make a considerable detour, which -would add he knew not how many miles to the journey. And then he would -have to cross the main German road connecting Bismarckburg on Lake -Tanganyika with Neu Langenburg about twenty miles north-west of Lake -Nyassa. This, the only practicable highway, might be crowded with -transports and would certainly be patrolled; but he hoped by careful -scouting to discover some part of its great length where, either by day -or by night, he could safely make the crossing. - -Deciding to attempt a start at dawn on the following day, the two made -their simple preparations. Mwesa stuffed into his wallet all the edible -fruits he could gather, and after cooking the last meal, took his pot to -the lake, and washed it thoroughly. He filled with water a couple of -gourds, one of which he fitted with a grass thong for slinging over -Tom's shoulder. Tom cleaned his rifle, bathed in the lake, keeping a -wary eye open for crocodiles, and washed out his only shirt, with a sigh -for the contents of his travelling case, now, he supposed, appropriated -by Reinecke. - -They were about to turn in early that evening when Mwesa jumped up -suddenly and darted out of the low entrance to the hut. Tom, surprised, -followed him, and found him standing in an attitude of expectancy just -outside. A few moments later he heard a human cry, faint and muffled, -as if coming from a great distance. Mwesa was greatly excited. - -"Two time," he cried, turning his head in the direction from which the -sound had come. - -"You heard it before?" Tom asked. - -Mwesa held up his hand enjoining silence. They waited. A minute or two -passed; the cry was repeated, and Mwesa, still more excited, said: - -"Mhehe call; man belong me." - -"One of your own people! It must be some one from the plantation. -Answer him ... No, wait. Reinecke may be setting a trap for us. Perhaps -he has visited the pit and discovered my escape, and guesses I may be -somewhere in the forest." - -Again they heard the cry. - -"Who knows you are with me, besides Mirambo?" asked Tom. - -"Mushota, no more, sah. Mirambo say no tell: berry wise man, Mirambo." - -"Then I think we had better answer: it may be Mirambo himself. But we -will not call here; let us get away from the hut. It will not do to -risk bringing an enemy here." - -It was now nearly dark. Adopting Mwesa's precaution, they climbed one -of the trees that formed the boundary of their enclosure, dropped to the -ground outside the zariba, and made their way into the nullah. The cry -was repeated once more; this time it was louder. When they had walked -nearly a quarter of a mile down the nullah, Tom ordered Mwesa to answer, -and the boy let out a curious series of notes, like the dropping scale -of the hornbill. There was a shout in response. - -"Mushota, sah," cried Mwesa, his big eyes gleaming. "He say what place -me be." - -"Tell him." - -Mwesa directed his cousin, and in a few minutes the lad, so strangely -like him, came bounding along in the middle of the watercourse. The two -negroes embraced, and Mushota, his features and arms working with -excitement, poured out a story in a torrent of clicks and gurgles, every -now and then glancing at Tom, who stood a little apart. - -Mwesa's expressive countenance showed that the story affected him -deeply. He turned to his master, and seemed to strive to find English -words in which to repeat what he had heard. - -"Come, let us get back to our hut," said Tom. "We can only just see to -find our way. You can tell me all about it as we go." - -Tom had two natural gifts rare in one who was little more than a -schoolboy--patience and sympathy. He could be stiff enough with his -equals in rank and education; but with this faithful negro lad, -ignorant, struggling to express himself in a strange and difficult -language, he was so patient that Mwesa's stumbling utterance became more -coherent as he told Mushota's story, and Tom was able to grasp its -essentials. - -It concerned Mirambo. The old hunter, once a chief and a warrior of -renown among his own people, had not taken kindly to the methods of the -German drill-sergeant. Day after day he had been flogged by the -overseers for slowness of movement or some other fault in drill, and at -last the German sergeant, who had hitherto left punishment to the Arabs, -had kicked the man in the presence of the whole company of recruits. -Mirambo had retaliated with a swift blow that knocked the German off his -feet. The sergeant, when he got up, was on the point of shooting the -negro; but the head overseer, interposing, explained that Mirambo was -Reinecke's best hunting man, and the sergeant had then ordered him to be -chained up until Reinecke returned from Bismarckburg. Only a few days -before, a negro had been shot for a similar offence, and Mushota feared -that his father would suffer the same fate. Knowing the whereabouts of -the white man who had befriended his cousin, he had stolen out at midday -when even the indefatigable German rested, and had come to beg the -m'sungu to save his father. - -"But why come to me? What can I do?" asked Tom, astonished at the -confidence with which Mwesa put his cousin's plea. It was almost -laughable that they should seek help of him, a fugitive, one whom -Reinecke had tried to kill, a single man without resources in an enemy's -country. - -"Sah English," exclaimed Mwesa. "Sah savvy big medicine, white man -medicine. Sah boss, no fear." - -Touched by this childlike faith in the power either of the English name -or of "white man medicine," which he supposed to mean some magic art, he -was at a loss what answer to make. He was willing enough to help, but -quite unable to see how. It seemed best to temporise--to refrain from -immediately dashing the negroes' hopes, and to explain to them presently -how impossible was the feat besought of him. - -"We will talk it over in our hut," he said, and was then sorry he had -deferred the inevitable disappointment, for Mwesa clapped his hands and -laughed, and said to Mushota a few words that set him laughing too. His -caution had only strengthened their belief in him. - -The two negroes chattered together the rest of the way to the hut, and -Tom was left to his by no means pleasant reflections. How could he -break the unpalatable truth to these simple souls? What would be the -effect on them? He could enter into their feelings through the -recollection of an incident of his own childhood. His father had -promised him, a child of five, the present of a horse, and he remembered -the bitter tears he shed when the horse turned out to be a wooden toy -instead of the expected creature of flesh and bone. The negro is always -a child. - -And then he found himself thinking: "Why not risk a visit to the -plantation? It's running my head into a noose, perhaps; but after all I -owe to Mwesa I may at least show him that I'm ready to do what I can. -He can get in and out: why shouldn't I? Reinecke is absent. I don't -suppose he ever confided to the Arabs his pleasant intentions with -regard to me; perhaps I might venture to tackle them (provided the drill -sergeants aren't about), and get them to release Mirambo.... What tosh! -of course that's impossible: still, I might at least reconnoitre, and -I'll be hanged if I don't." - -It was dark when they reached the hut, but the slight glow from the fire -that Mwesa had kept always burning in the enclosure revealed to Tom the -look of hopeful contentment on the faces of the two negroes. They all -squatted at the entrance, and Tom asked: - -"When will Reinecke be back?" - -Mwesa translated to his cousin. The answer was, "To-morrow night." - -"How many Germans are at the plantation?' - -"One: the other had accompanied Reinecke." - -"And how many askaris?" - -"Six; the others had gone to Bismarckburg." - -Tom pondered this information. He had no chance if he was caught; the -likelihood of his being able to release Mirambo had almost vanished. -And what if the man, by some lucky stroke, were released? Would he -consent to escape without his family? There were five in all: the -larger the party, the more difficult to evade pursuit. "It's all -utterly hopeless," thought Tom. "They will see it for themselves if I -go and talk to them on the spot." - -He told the boys what he proposed to do, at the same time warning them -that no good would come of it. The promise overshadowed the warning: -the m'sungu would go; every other good thing would follow. Half vexed, -half amused by what seemed sheer unreason, Tom bade them sleep: perhaps -with morning they would see facts as they were. - -Before the glimmering dawn had penetrated the nullah, when the -four-footed creatures had slunk to their dens and the birds were -beginning to stir, the three clambered down on the outside of the zariba -and started on their long tramp. Tom wished to reach the plantation -before mid-day; he would then perhaps see for himself how the German -drilled his dusky recruits. - -On arriving in the neighbourhood of the plantation, Mwesa struck off to -the left, and led the way stealthily through dense bush where there was -no path, and none but himself could have found the track of his own -previous journeys. They came presently to the stream that supplied the -plantation with water. Climbing down the steep moss-covered bank, they -crept quietly along the bed until they reached the thorn fence, which -formed an impenetrable barrier across the stream. In the bank, just on -the outside, Mwesa pulled aside a curtain of rank grass, revealing a -hole scarcely larger than a drain pipe. Mushota crawled into it, Mwesa -signed to Tom to follow him: he himself entered last, having remained to -see that the grass fell naturally over the entrance to this narrow -tunnel. - -The passage through the tunnel took less than a minute, but Tom felt -almost suffocated before he reached open air again. He said to himself -that it was like crawling in a grave. Some day, he thought, the earth -will fall in; he wondered that such a tunnel, made with no art, had not -collapsed long ago. Its inner end opened into the hollow trunk of a -tree. Climbing until his eyes were on a level with a small hole scooped -out of the wood, he looked out upon the plantation. - -The tree was a few feet within the thorn fence. Some little distance to -the left were the huts and sheds occupied by the negroes. In front of -these was the broad, clear, level space that was the usual playground of -the children and the promenade of the elders when work was done. Now, -however, no children sported upon it. Some sixty sturdy negroes, ranging -in age from sixteen to forty and upwards, were drawn up in ranks. At -each end hovered an Arab overseer with his whip. And facing the -recruits, some yards away from them, stood the German sergeant, a stiff, -thick-set, bull-necked soldier, differing from hundreds of his kind whom -Tom had seen in Germany only in his uniform, which, more suited to the -African climate, was less complimentary to the sergeant's tight figure. -The sergeant bellowed an order, in words that seemed to be German -acclimatised; the negroes hesitated, then, each interpreting the command -in his own way, became a mob instead of a half company. The German -stamped and roared; the overseers cracked their whips; and the scared -recruits scrambled back somehow into their original formation. - -The sun beat fiercely down upon the scene, and the perspiring sergeant, -a martyr to duty, drew a finger round the inside of his coat collar and -tried again. Brandishing the light cane he carried, he hurled abuse at -the negroes in his hybrid dialect, and having thus let off steam, -repeated his sharp words of command. It was evident that he was -attempting to teach the recruits how to form extended order from fours, -and Tom almost sympathised with him as the men blundered in the simplest -movements. They appeared to be unable to distinguish "right turn" from -"left turn"; and even those who had once moved correctly seemed to be -unable to remember for five minutes what they had learnt. - -"Mirambo no dis place, sah," whispered Mwesa over his shoulder. - -The words recalled the purpose of his visit. Mirambo was no doubt tied -up in the hut which Reinecke used as a jail for refractory labourers. It -was at the further end of the row of huts, in full view from every part -of the parade ground. An askari was standing at ease outside it. Tom's -sense of the hopelessness of any attempt at rescue was deepened. Surely -Mwesa himself must realise it. Sorry as he was, Tom felt that there was -nothing to be done. - -A sudden commotion drew his attention once more to the drilling. The -sergeant, incensed by the repeated blunders of one particularly stupid -negro, had lifted his cane and dealt the man several vicious cuts across -the face. Yelling with pain and rage, the victim had sprung upon the -sergeant, hurled him to the ground, and seized him by the throat. Two -of the overseers had just rushed to the spot, and were dragging the -negro from the prostrate German. There was much chattering and -excitement among the other recruits and the negroes who were looking on -from the huts. - -The sergeant rose stiffly to his feet, and with apoplectic fury ordered -the Arabs to tie the culprit hand and foot. As they were doing so, Tom, -who had been boiling with indignation at the German's brutality, had one -of those sudden inspirations which are often turning-points in a career. -Bidding the two lads follow him, he clambered up to the fork of the -tree, let himself down to the ground on the rear side, and ran, under -cover of a line of bushes, until he was some thirty yards nearer the -body of recruits. Then, stiffening himself, he emerged into the open, -rifle in hand, and advanced with quick martial strides across the parade -ground. Until that moment he had not been seen; the sergeant and the -Arabs had their backs towards him; but the sudden silence that fell upon -the negroes as they beheld the young m'sungu, who had been absent so -long, followed by the two boys, attracted the German's attention. He -swung round to see what it was that all eyes were fixed on so intently, -and stared with amazement when, from the lips of the tall young white -man within a few paces of him, came the sharp command in German-- - -"Sergeant, release that man." - -The instinct of military obedience on which Tom had reckoned did not -fail. The sergeant saluted; at a word from him the Arabs released the -negro from his bonds; the recruits broke their ranks and rushed towards -Tom with yells of delight, and from the dwellings along one side of the -parade ground the whole negro population, men, women and children, -trooped forth shouting welcome to the m'sungu, and utterly regardless of -the overseers. The sergeant's authority had vanished. A few seconds -before he had had behind him the prestige of German rule; in yielding to -the command of an Englishman (whom he did not yet know as an Englishman) -he had become a thing of naught to these impressionable Africans. - -[Illustration: TOM MAKES A DIVERSION.] - -Before he had collected his muddled wits he was surprised to hear that -he was under arrest, and found himself on his way with two of the Arabs -to the jail hut, under guard of two of his own askaris. Tom, wondering -how long the man's stupefaction would last, followed to the hut, ordered -Mirambo to be released, and the door to be shut and bolted. - -As he turned away, he saw one of the overseers bolting across the parade -ground in the direction of the gate. - -"After him, Mwesa," he cried, and the boy, who had followed him like a -shadow, instantly darted after the runaway, accompanied by a troop of -his fellow negroes. The Arab, whose whip had formerly been a terror to -them, was chased across the plantation, and, just as he reached the -gate, was seized by a score of sinewy hands and hauled back with yells -of triumphant glee, to join the other prisoners in the lock-up. Tom, -with Mwesa as interpreter, ordered Mirambo to collect all the men on the -parade ground, and there wait for him. Then, astonished and a little -intimidated by his own success, he hurried to the bungalow. Reinecke -was expected to return that evening. It was now past noon; within the -next five or six hours there must be some hard thinking if this -unexpected development was to be turned to the best account. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII--REINECKE RETURNS - - -At the bungalow the native servants received Tom with smiles of welcome. -It seemed that Reinecke had given out that his guest had gone away only -for a time; that the war, a distant and unreal thing to them, could have -turned apparent friends into enemies was as yet beyond their -comprehension. Quickly and cheerfully they prepared a meal; and while -Tom enjoyed food that, after the experiences of the past weeks, was -incredible luxury, he bent all his wits to the solution of the amazing -problem with which he was now faced. - -Here he was, within a few minutes transformed from a fugitive and a -wanderer into the absolute master of several hundreds of negroes. His -lightest word would be law to them. The simple people were incapable of -perceiving how precarious was his authority; to them he was just the -m'sungu whom they admired and who had at a stroke altered the conditions -of their existence. - -The sergeant and three of the Arabs were for the present safely locked -up. The remaining overseers, somewhere in hiding, could not leave the -plantation, the gate being locked, to give warning to Reinecke on his -homeward way of what had occurred. The askaris, always submissive to -authority, probably took the newcomer for a German officer, and supposed -the sergeant to have been guilty of some fault. And as for the negroes, -there were something over a hundred able-bodied men who before long -would have been askaris in the German service--unwilling recruits, but, -in spite of their difficulties with drill, the raw material of excellent -soldiers. That, at any rate, must be prevented. - -How? Only by the immediate migration of the whole community. "A large -order," thought Tom, knitting his brows. Yet not so difficult as it -first appeared. These negroes had no possessions that they valued -except their cooking-pots. Their natural life was the free open -existence of the forest and the plain; they could build themselves huts -in a day, and needed no furniture. The implements of their plantation -work would be useful to them until they had made for themselves bows and -arrows. A race of hunters, they would not want for food; besides, there -were the plantation stores which could be conveyed away. - -But in what direction could they go? Bismarckburg was only twenty miles -distant; some ten miles nearer was the road to Neu Langenburg, no doubt -studded with German military posts, and patrolled. As soon as the -mutiny became known, a force would be dispatched from Bismarckburg, or a -telegram sent along the road warning any troops that might be moving up -for the projected attack on Abercorn. Thus a migration into British -territory would be impossible. The Wahehe country was far to the north, -within the German boundaries; there could be no safety for them there. -For the moment the problem seemed to be, to find a temporary refuge in -some spot difficult of access, where the people might dwell in -comparative security until the course of events became clear. - -What better place could there be than the nullah he had lately left? It -was within easy marching distance, yet far enough away, for while only -about fifteen miles from the plantation, it was nearly twice that -distance from Bismarckburg, and in the heart of the forest. Between its -steep banks a much larger body than these few hundred people might take -shelter. It was near water; the forest provided food to supplement what -might be removed from Reinecke's storehouses. Within this natural -fortress, strengthened by such art as the negroes under guidance were -capable of, they might bid defiance to any but a well-equipped force, -which circumstances might not allow the Germans to organise, and which -in any case it would take time to set on foot. In the interval he might -attempt to get into communication with the British beyond the border. - -After half an hour's cogitation Tom had made up his mind. To ward off -suspicion among the servants, he ordered them to hasten preparations for -the meal which Reinecke would expect on his arrival, then hurried back -to the negroes' quarters, his brain busy with his plans. - -It was fortunate that he had in Mwesa a quick and efficient interpreter, -and in Mirambo a devoted henchman whose former rank in his own country -lent him authority with the rest of the natives. Through these two, -uncle and nephew, he made arrangements for the exodus with a celerity -that surprised himself. And if his brother Bob had been able to -transport himself on a magic carpet to this spot in Central Africa, that -hard-headed man of business would no doubt have been amazed at the -qualities shown in this emergency by one whom, in his elder-brotherly -attitude, he was accustomed to call "the kid." The truth is, of course, -that some people are happily born with the gift of organisation, though -it may lie dormant, unsuspected, until occasion rouses it. - -Tom's first measure was to arrange for the immediate evacuation of the -women and children. Led by Mushota, and escorted by a band of the elder -men, they were to leave the plantation and push on as far as possible on -the way to the nullah while daylight lasted. At nightfall they would -camp, and their escort would be at no loss to protect them until the -dawn. Nor would they go empty-handed. Each woman, each child, would -carry such household gear as would be useful, together with provisions -for a meal or two. - -While the women were merrily making their preparations, Tom got the men -together, and set them to empty the store-sheds; to bring all the -foodstuffs into the open, and divide them up into loads, under the -direction of the men who were accustomed to serve as porters to and fro -between Bismarckburg and the plantation. In one of the sheds, whose -padlocked door he forced open, he was delighted to find the Mauser -rifles which had recently been imported for the arming of the new -recruits, together with a stock of small-arm ammunition. He set Mwesa -to discover which of the men had had musketry instruction by the German -sergeant, and arranged that these should have the rifles and a few -rounds of cartridges when the packing was finished; and he warned them -that if they fired without orders the rifles would be taken away and -they would have to carry extra loads--a threat that was likely, he -thought, to prove effectual. There were enough rifles to arm also a few -of the older men, like Mirambo himself, who had had previous experience -of firearms; and though their experience dated back a good many years, -and the Mauser was a very different weapon from the old trade musket -which they had formerly handled, he had no doubt that with a little -practice they would soon outdo many of the recruits, whose instruction -could not yet have been carried very far. - -The half-dozen askaris looked surprised when they were ordered to lay -down their arms and assist in the baling of the food; but Tom's air of -assured authority imposed upon them, and they appeared to have no -suspicion that he was a usurper until the women and children were ready -to march out. It was not till then that Tom, feeling in his pocket for -the duplicate key of the gate which Reinecke had given him, discovered -that he had lost it, probably in his fall into the pit. The only other -keys were in the possession of Reinecke and the principal overseer, and -the latter, arrested in his attempt to escape, was locked in the -prison-shed. Tom went to the shed to get this man's key, opened the -door, and was amazed to find the place empty. All three Arabs and the -German sergeant were gone. They had wrenched away some of the poles -that formed the rear wall of the shed, and escaped unnoticed in the -bustle attending the preparations for departure. - -This discovery gave Tom an unpleasant, even an alarming shock. The loss -of the key was a small matter; the gate could be forced; but if the men -were already well on the way to give the alarm to Reinecke, as was only -too likely, the whole scheme of escape was in danger of being utterly -ruined. Without an instant's delay Tom hurried back, selected a dozen -men whose build promised fleetness of foot, armed them with hoes and -mattocks, and ran with them down to the gate, intending to burst the -lock with a rifle-shot. He found, however, that the Arab, in his haste -to escape, had left the key in the lock. The gate was open. Tom -dispatched the natives along the road to capture the runaways. At this -hour Reinecke was probably within eight or nine miles of the plantation, -a distance which his bearers would take at least four hours to cover; -but if the fugitives reached him, he would no doubt spring from his -machila and hurry forward on foot, accompanied by his armed askaris. It -seemed, then, that the evacuation of the place must be completed within -three hours at the most. - -Luckily the women were ready, and Tom ordered them at once to set off. -It was then that the askaris became suspicious, and began to put their -heads together; but Tom stamped out any spark of mutiny that might have -been kindled by separating the men, and assigning to them places among -the natives who were now preparing to mount their loads. Disarmed, with -armed men around them, the askaris dared not disobey; and within a few -minutes after the departure of the women they were marching out among -the first contingent of the Wahehe, each bearing a weighty bundle upon -his head. Mirambo had selected the steadiest of his fellows to form -this first band, who were to follow the women, lay down their loads at -the proposed camping place, and then return at once for more. Meanwhile -the other three overseers had been rounded up, bound, and placed under -guard: there must be no more fugitives. - -While Mirambo was superintending the packing of the remainder of the -stores, Tom was wrestling with another problem. Reinecke would arrive -about sunset. He would find the gate locked as usual, and the silence -of the plantation would not awaken suspicion, for work hours were over, -and he would suppose the workers to have returned to their distant -quarters, out of earshot from the central road and from the bungalow. -But as soon as he reached the bungalow the fat would be in the fire. He -would expect the principal overseer and the German sergeant to be -awaiting him, to give in their reports. Not finding them, he would send -one of the servants to fetch them. In ten minutes, or little more, all -would be known. What would he do? Perhaps lead his askaris in pursuit, -perhaps dispatch a runner to the nearest post on the Neu Langenburg road -to bring up reinforcements. In either case the flight of the people -would be harassed; they might be caught before they had reached their -defensive position. Tom saw that to gain time was of prime importance. - -How could he gain time? It would be possible to ambush Reinecke and his -party in the woods close to the plantation. Even if they had been -warned by the fugitive overseers and the sergeant, they would probably -not suspect that the Englishman would attempt, with untrained natives, -to trap seasoned soldiers. But an ambush would involve the necessity of -firing without warning, and Tom was too raw at the game of war to adopt -so cold-blooded a course. - -Another idea suggested itself which, hazardous as it seemed, had a -certain attractiveness that commended it to Tom's sense of sport He -called up Mwesa. - -"What does Reinecke do when he comes back from Bismarckburg with -askaris?" he asked. - -"Him eat all too much," replied the boy. - -"Yes, but I mean what does he do before that? Where does he dismiss the -askaris?" - -"Dey all go to house, sah; stand outside; den he make um say one, two, -three; den dey go home." - -Tom gathered that Reinecke was accustomed to hold a sort of inspection -parade before dismissing the men to their shed several hundred yards -away. From his own experience he knew the method of procedure with the -porters. These brought their loads to the bungalow; the goods were -checked off by Yakoub, the native clerk, then carried to the -store-sheds. - -"Very good, Mwesa.... Here come my scouts--without prisoners. See what -they say." - -The twelve men he had sent in pursuit of the runaways reported that they -had run almost to Bismarckburg--a typical native exaggeration at which -Tom smiled. They had seen Reinecke and his party coming slowly up the -road: neither the overseers nor the sergeant were with them. Since the -African has no measure either of time or distance Tom could not discover -exactly how far away Reinecke was when the men saw him; but on his -asking when the party would arrive, the spokesman pointed to the sun and -then stooped and moved his hand along just above the ground. - -"At sunset, as I thought," said Tom to himself. "Then we have about two -hours." - -An hour later the second contingent of the people left, well loaded up. -Tom locked the gate behind them, then set forty men whom he had retained -to remove all litter and other traces of the exodus from that portion of -the road which must be traversed in approaching the bungalow. This done, -he gave rifles and a round or two of ammunition to twenty of the men, -and ordered the other twenty to arm themselves with implements of their -daily work. It still wanted half an hour of sunset. Tom allowed the -men twenty minutes to make a good meal; then he divided each band, -posting ten riflemen and ten of the others in the bushes near the gate, -and the rest under cover in the grounds of the bungalow, where they -commanded the open space in front of the entrance. This last -disposition was made very stealthily, in order to avoid attracting the -attention of the household servants, who, however, were busy in their -outbuildings at the back, making final preparations for their master's -dinner. - -Having given his men their orders, Tom entered the bungalow, clapped his -hands for one of the servants, asked him if dinner was ready, and -reminded him that Herr Reinecke always liked a drink as soon as he -returned home. - -"Take it to the dining-room," he said, "and one for me too." - -He then went into the room Reinecke used as an office, opened a drawer -in which there was usually kept a revolver, assured himself that it was -loaded, and taking it to the dining-room, slipped it half underneath the -edge of a wide fruit dish. The servant brought in two large tumblers of -a claret-cup of Reinecke's invention. Tom drank his off, then sat down -and helped himself to a confection of rice and fruit. But now that the -critical moment was approaching he found himself without appetite. To -steady his nerves he lit a cigarette, and changed his position slightly, -so that he had a good view through the window of the approach to the -bungalow. - -Tom was smoking his fourth cigarette, and the brief twilight of -Equatorial Africa was already half spent, when he heard the tramp of -marching men, and saw the expected party filing into the grounds of the -bungalow. First came two askaris, then Reinecke and a native N.C.O., -then a number of porters with bales on their heads, finally a dozen -askaris. Reinecke was in uniform--white helmet and tunic, khaki -breeches, and leggings. - -The number of askaris was greater than Tom had looked for. He noticed -that the hand that held his cigarette was trembling a little, drew a -long breath, and waited. The atmosphere seemed to be highly electric. - -Reinecke ordered the askaris to halt and ground arms, the porters to lay -down their loads. Then he called for Selim and Sergeant Morgenstein, -who ought to have been awaiting him, and cursed them volubly in German. -He shouted a few words in Bantu to the native corporal, and strode into -the bungalow. He was evidently in a bad temper. - -Turning into the dining-room he gasped and started back. Tom dropped -his cigarette into the ash-tray, laid his hand near the butt of the -revolver on the table, and, smiling grimly, said-- - -"No. I'm not a ghost, Herr Reinecke--nor a skeleton." - -Reinecke, standing in the doorway, had quickly recovered himself. - -"So!" he laughed. "But it is clear: you are a fool." - -"I _was_ a fool--to trust you," said Tom, standing up. - -"You _are_ a fool--to come back here," said Reinecke, with another -laugh. He advanced a step into the room and laid his helmet on a chair. - -"That's as may be. You will consider yourself my prisoner, Herr -Reinecke." - -The German stared, then with a derisive guffaw, cried-- - -"Your prisoner? Are you a madman as well as a fool? Ha! ha!--your -prisoner! We are at war: yes, you realise it. But _your_ prisoner! -Why, you foolish child, don't you realise that you are _my_ -prisoner?--that I can have you shot as a spy?--that that is exactly what -I shall do?" - -"We seem to be talking at cross purposes." Tom grasped his revolver, -and with a quick movement pointed it at the German's head. "Not a word," -he added swiftly, as Reinecke, after a moment's paralysing astonishment, -was turning towards the door, and at the same time fumbling for the -revolver slung across his shoulder. "Understand: if you call out, or -make a single suspicious movement--drop your hands, sir--I shall fire, -and if I fire it will be a signal to my men who are waiting to settle -accounts with your askaris. Take off your pistol strap: lay it on the -table: your left hand, please: be careful not to touch the button." - -Reinecke, taken all aback--what did the Englishman mean by "my -men"?--removed his strap and laid it on the corner of the table Tom -pointed to. - -"Now your sword-belt." - -The German obeyed. - -A servant came through the inner door carrying dishes. - -"Not yet," said Tom: "we are not quite ready." - -The servant smiled, started as he saw the revolver in Tom's hand, then -backed hurriedly. - -"Remain in the kitchen till I call," added Tom. "Now, Herr Reinecke, you -will precede me--I am not bluffing--to the place where my men are -hidden. I don't wish to kill your askaris, but any madness on your part -will provoke a volley from my men. It will avoid trouble, then, if you -order yours to pile arms. Remember this revolver. If you make a -mistake in the word of command it will be fatal to you as to them. Lead -on." - -The German turned without a word. Outside, the askaris were standing at -ease: Yakoub, the native clerk, had just finished checking off the -porter's loads. Reinecke ordered the askaris, in a voice unlike his -own, to pile arms and reassemble two deep. At Tom's bidding he told -Yakoub to go to his hut and remain there. A call from Tom brought Mwesa -bounding from behind a shrub. - -"Get the men to collect these arms," said Tom. - -The negroes came from their hiding place and seized upon the askaris' -rifles. The amazed porters, standing by their loads, broke out into -eager questioning, and the replies set them shouting, laughing, leaping -with glee. The askaris, equally astonished, looked in a puzzled way -from Reinecke to Tom, and made no resistance when the Wahehe were -ordered to tie their hands behind their backs. Reinecke, standing -within a yard of Tom, gnawed his moustache in impotent rage. - -"Keep these men under guard," said Tom, and Mwesa summoned forth the -concealed riflemen. "Now, Herr Reinecke, you shall have your dinner. -Make the most of it. It will be a long time before you get such a meal -again." - - - - -CHAPTER IX--A DELAYING ACTION - - -Damocles, at the sumptuous banquet of Dionysius of Syracuse, no doubt -ate with a very good appetite, for Dionysius was his friend, and the -sword hanging over his head at the end of a single hair was merely a -playful illustration of the insecurity of princes, and no object of -fear. It may be supposed that the Greek, sitting within reach of the -weapon held by a resolute hand, would have found the dishes offered him -savourless, or his throat perhaps too dry for degustation. Curt -Reinecke, however, was a German. He flashed one evil look at the tall, -grim young man who sat, grasping a revolver, across the corner of a -table opposite; then he bent his eyes upon his plate, and applied -himself with customary ardour to the appeasement of nature's cravings. -The servant went to and fro, silent, scared. - -"Get ready to come with me, Mirami--you and the rest," said Tom when the -man had brought coffee. "Light all the lanterns you have." - -Reinecke had not spoken during the meal, complete _ab ovo usque ad -mala_. Now, however, having gulped down his coffee, and the liqueur -which the admirable Mirami served as usual, though with shaking hand, he -cleared his throat and hesitatingly put a question. - -"Where are you--are we--going?" - -"That you will see." - -The German, primed to attempt a parley, sat back in his chair, and said, -in the manner of one appealing to good sense: - -"The frontier is closed. It would be madness to attempt to cross the -Neu Langenburg road." - -"You might be shot by your own countrymen, you mean?" - -"What I mean," rejoined Reinecke, generously ignoring the insinuation, -"is that you are playing a fool's game. You have the whip hand now; you -have, I suppose, raised a mutiny among my people----" - -"Our people, they used to be: they are mine now." - -"Ach! what folly it is!" said Reinecke, with a gesture of impatience. -"You are in German country; within a few miles there are hundreds of -well-trained troops; are you mad enough to think that these raw blacks, -who hardly know one end of a rifle from the other, can reach British -territory? It is impossible--impossible." - -"Well?" - -"Then why attempt the impossible? Look at the matter reasonably, -calmly." - -"I don't think I am agitated, Herr Reinecke. But go on." - -"The position--what is it? You British are outnumbered. You have no -forces equal to ours, even as they are; and I tell you we shall have ten -times as many in a few months. Paris has fallen: your empire is broken -up: your navy is defeated----" - -"Come now, Herr Reinecke, don't draw the long bow." - -"I assure you the news has gone all over the world," said Reinecke -emphatically. "What can you do? We shall shortly capture Abercorn: -already we have taken Mombasa and Nairobi; there will soon be no more -British East Africa. It is certain. Well now, I make a proposition. I -wish to be fair. The plantation is of course confiscated; it will now -be mine, solely. That is the fortune of war. But you are young, -hot-headed. I would do something for the sake of my late partner. -Abandon this folly, then, while there is time; and I give my word to -send you safe into British territory." - -"And you make that proposition to me!" cried Tom, enraged by the mention -of his father: "you, the man who has systematically robbed your partner, -falsified the books, tried to murder me! I should be a fool indeed if I -placed reliance on the word of a man like you. Save your breath, Herr -Reinecke.... Ah! it is time for us to go." Mwesa had just appeared in -the doorway. "Get up! don't try any tricks: I have given you fair -warning." - -Mwesa had come to report the return of the first contingent of Wahehe. -They had established a camp some eight miles from the plantation. - -"Very well," said Tom. "Let them take up as many of the remaining loads -as they can carry. I shall soon be with you." - -He clapped his hands. Mirami entered. - -"Bring the lanterns, you and your fellows, and meet me at the front -door," said Tom. - -Then, urging Reinecke before him at the muzzle of his revolver (and the -German seemed to be genuinely astonished at the rejection of his offer), -Tom went out to his men. The askaris he ordered to join the ranks of -the carriers, each man with a load. To the household servants were -given light articles, such as candles, matches, paraffin, drugs. Among -the supplies just brought from Bismarckburg were some cases of -ammunition. These were entrusted to their original bearers. By the time -the party was ready to start, the plantation had been pretty well -ransacked of all portable and useful stores. - -Darkness having now fallen, the column was headed by two men carrying -lanterns. In turn came the porters, two more lantern bearers, the three -Arab overseers under guard of riflemen, then Reinecke, followed -immediately by Tom and Mwesa, and finally two lantern bearers. Apart -from their use in lighting the way, the lanterns gave confidence to the -natives, for whom a night march had nameless terrors. - -So strange a procession, at dead of night--the lights flickering on the -trees, the negroes chattering in loud tones to keep their courage -up--must have startled the furred and feathered inhabitants of the -forest. Birds clattered out of the foliage, insects swarmed around the -lanterns; no four-footed beast came within sight. - -It was about midnight when they arrived at the camp, pitched on one of -those wide bare spaces which break the continuity of the upland forest. -Fires had been kindled at several points of the circuit. Within was a -scene of great confusion--women, children, and bales of goods lying -helter-skelter. Hopeless of evolving order at this hour, Tom contented -himself with posting three sections of six men each as sentries on the -southern border of the camp, where alone danger might be feared. An -attack seemed to him improbable. The plantation had been cleared of -men; and even if the fugitive Germans and Arabs had succeeded in -reaching a German post, there was little chance of an armed force coming -up while night lasted. Nevertheless, the sense of responsibility and -the need of keeping a close watch on Reinecke, whom, out of respect for -the white man's dignity, he had left unbound, prevented Tom from getting -any sleep. Indeed, few of all those there encamped, except the -children, closed their eyes. The negroes, for all their weariness, -talked excitedly, hour after hour, of the wonderful change that the -m'sungu had wrought in their lives, and speculated on the fate in store -for their late master. Watching them, Tom could not help questioning -within himself whether he had done right, whether they would be able to -defend and maintain their new-won freedom; but with the hopefulness of -buoyant youth he dismissed his doubts, resolving that, so far as lay in -him, nothing should be left undone to safeguard them. After all, -British territory was only forty miles away. - -An hour before dawn the camp was astir. Everybody was fed: then, just as -light was stealing over the scene, the women and children were sent off -under escort, scouting parties dispatched southward; the unarmed men -gathered their loads and departed. Mirambo and a score of the elder men -with rifles accompanied the latter, with orders not to allow the askaris -to approach within half an hour's march of the nullah. They were to -drop their loads at a convenient spot and return under guard for more. -Tom remained at the camp, keeping the prisoners and the remainder of his -armed men. - -It was about two hours after the departure of the women: the carriers -had not yet come back: when Tom heard a faint sharp sound from -southward, which, unexpected as it was, he believed to be a rifle-shot. -For some few minutes there was no repetition of the sound: then there -came half a dozen cracks in succession, a little nearer--unmistakably -the reports of rifles. Tom at once dispatched two men to follow in the -track of the scouts and see what was happening. It seemed unlikely that -a German force had already been dispatched in pursuit of him; but it was -clearly necessary to be prepared for any contingency. - -The shots had roused some excitement among the Wahehe; Reinecke and the -Arabs did not disguise the spring of hope. Tom recognised that his men -were ill-fitted to cope with trained troops, in the open or even in the -bush. The nullah, on the other hand, about six miles away, offered many -facilities for defence, and his plan had been to post his non-combatants -far up towards the lake, and to employ the men to strengthen the -position below. He had reckoned on being unmolested for a whole day, -and the shots gave him not a little uneasiness. The progress of the -laden carriers would necessarily be slow: it was essential that the -enemy, if enemy it was, should be delayed at least until the stores had -been safely conveyed to the nullah. He must fight and run. - -Hoping that it might turn out to be a false alarm, he nevertheless sent -forward a runner to urge the carriers to their utmost speed; then -selected a score of the older men, who in their day had fought the -Germans, and ordered all the rest to hurry on with as much as they could -carry of the remaining stores. Mwesa he kept as interpreter. - -As soon as the camping-place was clear, he sent Reinecke and the Arabs -on, guarded by half a dozen men, and followed closely behind them with -the rest of his party, to discover a suitable position for making a -first stand if pursuers were really on his tracks. He had been marching -less than half an hour through the forest when some of his scouts -overtook him, and reported that a large force of askaris, under German -officers, was pushing on at great speed. Knowing the hopelessness of -getting from the natives a sound estimate of the enemy's numbers, he -asked no questions, but pressed forward as rapidly as possible for -another ten minutes. Then, on the further side of a comparatively clear -space, about two hundred yards long and twice as wide, he saw a dense -belt of trees, fringed by low bushes, which seemed to offer advantages -for a delaying action. There he decided to await the enemy's arrival. - -He looked at his watch. Allowing for the slow pace of the children and -the laden men over difficult country, he calculated that the head of the -straggling column had probably covered two-thirds of the distance to the -nullah. It would be at least another hour before they reached its -entrance, and a second hour before the people and the stores were far -enough up to be out of harm's way. The question was, then, could he -check the pursuit for two hours? - -By the time he had posted his men just within the belt of trees, where -they commanded the whole space in front, he had been rejoined by all his -scouts. The report of the last comers was even more alarming than that -of the first. According to them, a great throng of ferocious askaris, -like a swarm of wild bees, was dashing on with the speed of antelopes. -Though he was aware of their habit of exaggeration, Tom was conscious of -a consuming anxiety, but had self-command enough to present a calm and -smiling front to the natives, in whom the least sign of wavering on his -part would have started a panic. Through Mwesa he gave them the order -not to fire until he whistled, resolving at the same time to cut himself -a wooden whistle at the first opportunity. - -The men had been posted barely twenty minutes when, through the thinner -woodland on the opposite side of the clearing, Tom caught sight of a few -scattered negroes in uniform. "Scouts feeling their way forward," he -thought. The askaris moved rapidly, but cautiously, flitting from tree -to tree in a series of short rushes. Marking one of them, Tom fired. -The man instantly slipped behind a trunk; his fellows had all -disappeared. - -Analysing later his frame of mind at the moment of firing, Tom had to -admit that his aim had been intentionally bad, and justified his action -with the excuse that his object was merely to delay the enemy. At -bottom, however, he was really loth to kill his man--a feeling which -has, no doubt, seized many a young officer in his first fight. In after -days he often debated with himself and discussed with others how far -humanity is compatible with war, and the conclusion that he came to was -that war must be abolished, or humanity would perish. If man must kill -man, whether the agent be bullet, shell, bomb, poison gas, or any other -abomination, logically there is nothing to choose between them: the vile -thing is war itself. But at this moment he had no time for reflection: -he acted purely from a humane instinct, not realising what war meant, -ignorant of the methods in which the enemy was prepared to wage it. - -His ill-aimed shot had not been without effect. The enemy had vanished, -and Tom's men, in their simplicity, whooped with delight. Tom however, -was under no delusion. One or more of the askaris had no doubt stolen -back through the wood to report that they were in touch with the -fugitives; the rest were still lurking among the trees. - -As the minutes passed without further movement, Tom's anxiety increased -in proportion with the natives' elation. What numbers had he to deal -with? Would his little force of untrained men be swept upon and -overwhelmed? He would have been spared a period of racking suspense if -he could have divined the facts which he was not to know till much -later. Sergeant Morgenstein and the Arabs, having escaped from the -plantation, did not take the twenty-mile road to Bismarckburg, but -struck southward to the highway to Neu Langenburg, a distance only half -as great. On this road they met a half company of askaris marching -towards Bismarckburg. The German officer in command, on learning what -had happened at the plantation, tapped the telegraph wire and asked for -instructions. Ordered to make a forced march and deal with the -mutiny--what resistance was to be expected from a mob of undisciplined -blacks?--he pushed on to the plantation, only to find it deserted. -Darkness forbade instant pursuit; but at the earliest glimmer of dawn he -started to follow up the very plain tracks of the absconded rebels. - -It was perhaps twenty minutes after the disappearance of the enemy -scouts when Mwesa detected a movement deep in the thin woodland -opposite. Tom fixed his eyes intently on the spot the boy pointed out, -and presently saw several forms moving forward amid the brushwood. There -were signs that others were coming up behind them. They were scarcely -distinguishable in the shade of the trees, and darted so quickly from -cover to cover that even a crack shot could hardly have picked them off. - -Tom felt that an attempt to check the advance while the enemy were still -in the wood would be sheer waste of ammunition. The most of his men had -not handled fire-arms for years; they had probably lost whatever skill -they might once have had; the younger men had only begun their musketry -course. He must at least wait for the inevitable rush across the open; -then, perhaps, the negroes, unskilled though they were, might be lucky -with some of their shots. If the enemy were in no great strength, the -mere show of resistance might achieve his end--delay. - -The askaris, finding their advance unopposed, gained confidence, were -less careful in taking cover, and presently formed up in line just -within the forest fringe. Suddenly a white helmet showed itself above -them, a little in their rear; a word of command rang out, and the -askaris, twenty strong, charged with a wild yell in double line across -the open. Tom gave a shrill whistle, marked his man and fired. His -shot was followed by a ragged volley from his men. This time his aim -was true; one or two askaris fell to the shots of the negroes; the rest -wavered, and at a second volley scurried back into the forest, losing -another on the way. - -Tom had not fired a second time, but had watched the forest. It was -plain from movements he observed there that the German had held part of -his force in reserve. The slight losses suffered in feeling for the -opposition had probably reassured him as to the character of the -resistance he had to meet; the next attack would be made in strength. - -Ignorant of the numbers opposed to him, Tom thought it prudent not to -await a second attack, and gave his men the order to retire quietly. -They marched on for about half a mile, and then came to a rocky ridge -flanking the track, which it commanded for a considerable distance. -Here Tom determined to make a second stand. - -It was nearly half an hour after he had posted his men before there was -any sign from the enemy. Then he heard in the distance the sharp crackle -of a volley, followed by shouts. He guessed that the askaris were -charging across the open space under cover of strong rifle fire. -Abruptly the sounds ceased, and Tom could not help chuckling as he saw -in his mind's eye the blank faces of the askaris when they found their -entrance into the forest unopposed. - -But he remembered that he had a German officer to deal with. A trained -soldier would be put on the alert by the disappearance of his enemy. He -would probably suspect that he was being lured into a trap, and Tom -desired nothing better. The German would feel his way forward -cautiously, slowly, fearing an ambush in every gloomy spot. He might -take an hour to cover the distance of a few minutes' walk. - -Tom seized the opportunity of making good his retreat to the nullah. -Putting on their best speed, the little party overtook the tail end of -the column of carriers at the spot where the askaris had been ordered to -drop their loads. Now that he was himself able to keep an eye on them, -Tom made them mount their bales again, and march on towards the nullah. -He left two good men to watch for the enemy, and followed with the rest. - -Tom with his rearguard of riflemen had come within half a mile of the -nullah when Mushota came bounding along the column towards him, jostling -any carrier who was in his way. The lad spoke excitedly to Mwesa, who -turned a crestfallen face to his master and said-- - -"He gone; all same run away." - -"Who?" - -"Old massa, sah." - -"Reinecke?" - -"Yes, sah. He grab rifle quick, fella no can do nuffin. He shoot one -man, den go bang into forest, no can catch him. He gone sure nuff." - -Tom's manner of receiving the news was a surprise to the negroes. Far -from being agitated, storming, threatening punishment for the unwary -guards, he smiled. Reinecke's escape was in a certain degree a relief -to him. It had been necessary to remove the German from the plantation; -but after the people had reached the nullah he would have been an -incubus. - -"Good riddance," thought Tom. "I hope I have seen the last of him." - - - - -CHAPTER X--A BREATHING SPACE - - -On arriving at the entrance to the nullah, Tom found that Mirambo had -already herded the women and children beyond the first bend, something -less than a quarter of a mile away, and was superintending the bestowal -of the stores still farther up, on natural ledges in the steep bank. - -At the southern extremity the nullah was about sixty yards wide. In the -middle a shallow stream rippled over the rocky bottom, disappearing in -places beneath tangled masses of vegetation. Trees of many kinds grew on -the steep walls, acacias and euphorbias predominating, and on both sides -of the stream there were many patches of scrub, mimosa, and thorn, -rendering the passage by no means easy. But these natural obstacles -must be supplemented by art if the place was to be made even tolerably -secure, and Tom lost no time in putting the necessary works in -operation. - -He first posted a score of riflemen in the scrub about two hundred yards -south of the nullah, putting Mirambo in charge of them, with orders to -fire one volley if the enemy appeared, and then to withdraw. Next he -set all available men to clear away, with the tools brought from the -plantation, all the bush that grew thickly in front of the entrance, in -order to give a field of fire. The negroes, many of whom had been -employed in clearing the ground for the plantation, were experts at the -job, and when more than a hundred men work with a will the result is -almost magical. In half an hour the space was free from every stump and -root. - -Allowing them a few minutes for rest, during which the men who had -shared in his delaying action delighted the rest with very tall stories -of their prowess, he set them to fell a number of trees with which to -construct a barricade across the entrance. While they were thus -engaged, Mwesa came to him. - -"Haroun say want speak, sah." - -"Haroun is one of the overseers, isn't he? Well, bring him down." - -Mwesa soon returned with one of the prisoners, whom Tom knew by sight--a -tall, lean Arab, with strongly marked features and piercing eyes. -Addressing Tom very humbly in broken German, he begged to be allowed to -take service with him. He had not been long in Reinecke's pay; indeed, -he had been reluctant to accept employment with the German; nay more, he -had actually been forced to do so, for he was headman of an Arab village -on the Great Lake, and his village would have been destroyed if he had -not obeyed the call of the German "big master." - -Tom did not much like the look of the man, but, true to Mr. Barkworth's -counsel to "keep an open mind," he decided not to stand on mere -prejudice; and after learning from Mwesa that the Wahehe had nothing -against this latest comer among the overseers, he accepted the Arab's -offer, and instructed him to superintend the erection of the barricade. - -Time would not allow of the construction of a regular stockade, with -poles properly cut and trimmed, and deeply planted in the ground. It -seemed to Tom that the most effective barrier that could be quickly -raised would consist of small trees with their foliage, set as closely -together as might be, with their crowns pointing outwards, in the form -of a rough _chevaux de frise_. The men were set to work on those lines. -Some felled or uprooted young trees from the slopes of the nullah, -others hauled them to the bottom, and a third gang arranged them side by -side across the entrance. Meanwhile a party of boys was employed in -cutting brushwood and piling it here and there among the trees where the -foliage was thin. A single gap was left on the east side as a gateway -for the scouts. - -The work had only just been roughly accomplished when a scattered volley -from Mirambo's party apprised Tom that the enemy had at last appeared. -Immediately afterwards he saw his men running back from the line of -bushes, and they had no sooner gained the entrance to the nullah than a -regular volley flashed from the cover they had just left. - -Tom posted his men along the inner side of the barricade, ordered them -to kneel, pass the muzzles of their rifles through the brushwood, and -fire at the legs of the enemy askaris when he gave the word. Haroun the -Arab begged to be entrusted with a rifle: but Tom, remembering another -of Mr. Barkworth's maxims, "Prove all men," refused the request until he -should have tested his new recruit. A turncoat has to win confidence. - -The enemy, however, did not repeat their volley. Apparently they were -daunted by the aspect of the barricade which had sprung up so -unexpectedly, and which, in the distance, looked formidable enough. -Their hesitation to storm it was reasonable, especially if they were in -no great strength; and Tom, though he could see nothing of them through -the screen of bushes, had come to the conclusion that the vast number -his scouts had reported was a figment of their lively imagination. No -German, in command of any considerable body of disciplined men, would -have been so sluggish in following up a horde of untrained negroes. - -Near the barricade the sides of the nullah sloped up steeply, but were -easily scalable. It occurred to Tom that the enemy might wait until -nightfall and then attempt to turn his position. That, however, would -involve obvious difficulties and dangers; the German could hardly afford -to divide his force, if it were indeed a small one. At any rate such an -operation could be defeated by unremitting vigilance, and meanwhile -there was all the rest of the day, supposing his conjecture were well -founded, in which to push on with his defensive works. Posting, then, -some of the riflemen under cover of the vegetation on either slope, Tom -set the other men to fill up the gaps in the barricade. They worked -with the eagerness of those who have faith in their leader, and before -the sun set Tom had the satisfaction of seeing his wall complete--a -rough, slight defence, indeed--but likely to be effective against -nothing worse than rifle fire. - -By the time darkness fell, he had begun to realise that the position of -a commander-in-chief is not one to be coveted. In his own small sphere -he had had, as he frankly put it to himself, quite enough of it. The -physical and nervous strain of the last few days; the sense of -responsibility for the welfare of the people who had so readily put -their trust in him; above all, perhaps, the want of sleep; had almost, -in his own words again, knocked him out. Yet he dared not even sleep -while the enemy was at hand. Without him the Wahehe would be simply an -unorganised mob. There was nothing for it but to reconcile himself to -another wakeful night, to ensure that his sentries were alert, and to -leave the organisation of the people, in their retreat up the nullah, to -a hoped-for leisure. - -The night passed undisturbed, except for false alarms. Unaccustomed to -night watching, the negroes more than once declared that they heard -footsteps, and even saw faces. One of them fired off his rifle in -nervous excitement at the dangers his imagination had conjured up. -Their fears proved to be baseless; and in the morning, when Tom warily -climbed the slope to a point from which he could overlook the ground -beyond the bushes, there was no sign of the enemy. A little suspicious, -he sent Mushota out to creep round the position, and, if the enemy had -indeed decamped, to follow them up and see what they were about. In an -hour the lad returned, elation beaming from his broad smiling face. He -reported that the askaris were marching swiftly back towards the -plantation; in fact, they were running away! Tom did not contradict -him: the belief that the enemy had fled would encourage the people; he -himself thought it likely enough that they had been recalled for more -important work than rounding up a gang of mutinous recruits. But -Reinecke had escaped, and Reinecke, he felt sure, would never rest until -he had made a bid for vengeance on the man who had committed the crime -that a rascal never forgives--found him out. - -"Pity he's gone, after all," thought Tom. - -Now that no immediate danger was to be feared, he allowed himself the -indulgence of a couple of hours' sleep, leaving Mirambo in charge. -Refreshed by this all too brief rest, he went up the nullah to see how -the greater part of his people were getting on. Not at all to his -surprise, he found that nothing whatever had been done by way of -organisation. The negro at best has little initiative, and these -emancipated slaves, in unfamiliar surroundings, had taken no thought -except to feed themselves, which they had done uncommonly well. Tom was -not prepared to follow his mother's prescription with a new housemaid: -give free run until they made themselves ill. Economy might be vitally -necessary: he saw that his first task must be that of food controller. -He called up Reinecke's head servant, a fat negro from one of the coast -tribes. - -"I want you to listen to me, Moses," he said. "You see what has -happened. I have brought the people away for two reasons: first, to -free them, then to prevent the men from fighting for the Germans. You -are no longer Herr Reinecke's servant, but my prisoner--unless you like -to take service with me. I tell you frankly I can't pay you, at -present; but the Germans are going to be beaten, you understand; don't -make any mistake about that; and when I get to Abercorn I will pay you -your full wages, and something extra if you serve me well. Think it -over." - -Now Moses, like all the other servants, had fallen under the spell of -Tom's personality. To put it shortly, Reinecke frowned, Tom smiled. -Further, he had been greatly impressed by the stories told him by the -Arabs and by Mirami: the moral victory over the German sergeant and the -humbling of Reinecke were events that specially struck a negro's -imagination. If all Englishmen were like this one, it was not at all -incredible to Moses that the Germans would be beaten indeed. Why not -serve the Englishman, then--and get extra pay? It seemed worth trying. - -Moses thought it over while Tom was counting the rifles and cases of -ammunition. His choice was made. - -"Very well," said Tom, when the man came to him. "Now I want you to -take stock of the provisions, and tell me how long they ought to last if -we are careful. The people have been helping themselves freely, I see. -We can't have that." - -Tom's use of the plural flattered the negro's self-importance. He set -about his first task with alacrity, and reported presently that the food -would last six or eight weeks if the women were kept in order. Tom -delighted him by arranging that each head of a family and each -independent man should come to Moses once a week for his supply of food. - -"We'll see how it works," he thought. - -He had made up his mind to release and dismiss the askaris; they would -only be so many useless mouths to feed. But when he told them they were -to go they looked by no means pleased. They gazed blankly at him and at -one another, then withdrew in a knot and talked among themselves. -Presently one of them came back, and said that none of them wished to -go. They hated the Germans: they would rather serve the Englishman. - -Tom looked at them squarely. - -"Don't make any mistake," he said. "You will not have an easy time if -you stay with me. You will have to work hard." - -The man asked if they were to fight. - -"I can't tell you that. You will not have rifles, at any rate, until -you have shown that you are faithful." - -Would they have to drill? - -Tom smiled. He had watched recruits in barrack-yards in Germany, and he -made a shrewd guess that the African askari did not find the German -drill-sergeant a very gentle taskmaster. - -"You may have to do my drill," he said. "You don't know what that is? -Then you had better stay a few days and look on while I drill the -Wahehe. If you don't like it, you shall be free to go." - -The askari's artless question drew Tom's thoughts to a survey of his -position. He had brought the people away. For the present, apparently, -they were safe. What course was he to lay down for them and for -himself? He was handicapped by ignorance of what was happening on the -border forty miles away. From a remark let fall by Reinecke during that -unforgettable dinner in the bungalow he surmised that the British in -Northern Rhodesia were likely to be on the defensive at the opening of -the campaign. The Germans, he knew, had a much larger military force on -the frontier, and from what Reinecke had said, they were energetically -raising new levies among the natives. It would be unlike the British, -an extraordinary break-away from their traditions, if they were not -taken by surprise, not slow in waking up, not tenacious and successful -when fully aroused. - -Tom's conclusion was that he must sit tight. He might try to open up -communications with the British, with a view either to a dash across the -frontier, or to joining them if they should advance into German -territory. Meanwhile, though for some reason unknown the small force -that had followed him up had drawn off, he was virtually besieged. His -first task, then, was to put his position into as thorough a state of -defence as was possible, and to establish such order among the little -community as would further his ultimate design. - -"And I've got all my work cut out," he thought, somewhat drearily. Then -he smiled as he remembered his brother. "Wouldn't Bob grin! By George, -though, if we're at war Bob will want to be in it! Of course he will! -The business will go to pot. What a rum world it is!" - - - - -CHAPTER XI--TOM'S NEW ALLIES - - -The more Tom thought over the probabilities of the case, the less likely -it appeared to him that the Germans, if engaged in serious operations on -the frontier, would spare a force for dealing immediately with mutineers -who might be rounded up at leisure. At the same time the situation was -so uncertain that he could not afford to neglect the opportunity of -preparing for a possible attack. It was equally important that he -should get timely notice of the enemy's approach, and that could be -secured only by starting an efficient system of scouting. As soon as he -had dealt with the askaris, therefore, he got Mirambo to choose a dozen -active and trustworthy young men, and arranged that they should go out -in parties of six on alternate days, to reconnoitre as much ground south -of the nullah as they could cover between dawn and dark. He could not -yet entrust them with rifles uncontrolled: they had no other arms than -the agricultural implements; but while the first six were absent, the -second could fashion wooden spears which would suffice for protection -against wild animals. There were no villages in the immediate -neighbourhood of the nullah, or between that and the plantation, so that -collisions with hostile tribes were scarcely to be feared. - -Tom then passed to the consideration of the problem of the camp. -Accompanied by Mirambo and Mwesa he explored the whole length or the -nullah between the bend and the lake, a distance of perhaps half a mile. -The width varied a good deal; the sides were almost perpendicular; and -the stream, being the outflow from an upland lake, descended in a series -of cascades. At present there was little volume of water; but in a -couple of months, with the opening of the rainy season, the level of the -lake would rise, and what was now a trickling rivulet might become a -raging torrent. Tom hoped that by that time his occupation of the -nullah would be at an end. Preparing for the worst, however, he came to -the conclusion that the ground on either side of the stream would be an -insecure camping-place, and decided to plant his temporary village -around the spot where he and Mwesa had found a refuge a few days before. -It was in the heart of a wood, where the nullah broadened out to more -than three times its average width, and was defended on the northern -side by the lake. The building of huts would take a considerable time, -because the wood must be cleared of beasts, and the able-bodied men must -be employed in completing the defences lower down the nullah; but -certain parts of the work could be done by the younger women and the -elder children. - -While some of the people were engaged in preparing this _ex tempore_ -village, Tom set others to strengthen the barricade across the nullah. -As he watched them, it occurred to him that the position would gain in -security if he used the stream to form a moat, and he at once started -two gangs digging at the extreme ends of the breastwork, a foot or two -in front of it. At the close of the next day the moat was finished--a -ditch six feet broad by four deep, extending right across the nullah -except where the stream flowed in the centre. A man might easily leap -over it, but his leap would land him amid the branches of the trees. It -would be useful in checking a rush, especially if it were unnoticed -until the enemy were actually upon it; and when, on its farther side, a -number of low bushes and clumps of long grass had been planted, Tom -found by experiment that the water was not seen until he came within -half a dozen yards of it. - -The defences of the slopes right and left then engaged Tom's attention. -There were not enough trees on the spot to form effective barricades, -and the only means of checking the enemy if they scaled the low heights -was to dig trenches. The labour would be long and toilsome, for the -ground must first be cleared of the brushwood; but in no other way could -the enemy be prevented from swarming down into the nullah. At the end -of a week the western and eastern slopes, for about thirty yards from -the end of the nullah, were each scored with a deep trench, fortified -with a parapet constructed of the earth that had been removed. - -A second line of defence might be necessary, and for this there was no -better position than the bend of the nullah, nearly half a mile to the -north. The sides being here steep, almost perpendicular, it was -impossible to haul trees from the forest above for a breastwork like -that at the entrance; so Tom had the bed of the nullah cleared of cover -for a space of about two hundred yards, and a trench with a strong -parapet carried from side to side. - -The work was still unfinished when one day the scouts, for the first -time, reported that they had sighted the enemy. About ten miles away -they had seen a band of young natives marching towards Bismarckburg in -charge of a German officer and a small party of askaris. It seemed -clear that these negroes were recruits for the German forces, and Tom, -relying on the scouts' statement that the askaris were few in number, -decided to make an attempt to prevent the natives from being turned into -what Captain Goltermann had called "black Germans." - -The party, when sighted, was marching very slowly, following a native -path that wound through dense bush, and crossed the track between the -plantation and the nullah. Tom calculated that if he started at once he -would arrive at a position where he might ambush the enemy just before -they reached the road to Bismarckburg. With his untrained men he could -not risk a stand-up fight; but he hoped that the advantage of surprise, -if the patrol was really so small as the scouts declared, would enable -him to achieve his end without fighting. - -Selecting twenty of the men who had been with him in his little action -in the forest, he led them out, with Mwesa, and followed rapidly on the -heels of the scouts. In about an hour and a half they came to the spot -he had fixed on, and while he posted the men in the bush on both sides -of the track, he sent the scouts to worm their way eastward and watch -for the enemy. The interval before they returned was long enough for -the men and himself to regain breath. It was perhaps half an hour later -when they came quietly through the brushwood with news that the enemy -were in sight. - -At the place where Tom had posted himself the track ran fairly straight -for more than a hundred yards, and he was able to take stock of the -party with which he had to deal while it was still distant. First came -two unarmed natives, evidently guides; then a German non-commissioned -officer; behind him two German privates, followed by a string of -negroes. The tail of the party was out of sight. - -Seeing how few were the armed men at the head of the column, Tom -instantly resolved on a bold course. His own men were concealed among -the bushes; they had their orders. He stepped out on to the track, -accompanied only by Mwesa, just before the negro guides reached him. -They halted in surprise, and looked round towards the German thirty -yards behind. - -"Tell them to come on, Mwesa," said Tom. - -The boy called to them, and they at once hastened on. Tom spoke to them -in German, but they evidently did not understand him. Meanwhile the -German sergeant had quickened his step, and hearing German on the lips -of the stranger, he approached unsuspiciously, halted, clicked his heels -together, and waited, as a well-trained subordinate will, for his -superior to address him. - -"Halt your men, Sergeant," said Tom. - -The sergeant started. Quicker-witted than the sergeant whom Tom had so -easily disposed of at the plantation, he detected a foreign accent in -the stranger's speech. Tom gave him no time to consider. - -"Your life depends on your keeping cool," he went on quickly. "Don't -make a sound. Keep your arms still and face me. The bush on both sides -is lined with troops who will fire at the slightest hostile movement. -Halt your men." - -The sergeant hesitated for the fraction of a second, then called to the -privates a few yards away to pass word along the column. - -"They are halted," he said; "but there is something I don't understand -here." He looked incredulously around him. "I don't know who you are, -but if you are bluffing----" - -"Let me convince you." - -Tom parted a clump of thick bush on one side of the track, disclosing a -negro kneeling, with his rifle pointed straight at the German. In a bush -on the other side, nearly opposite, he showed another man. Moving -half-a-dozen paces down the track he revealed yet another man, finger on -trigger, to the astonished sergeant. - -"Your position is quite hopeless, you see," Tom went on. "You had -better surrender quietly. Give me your revolver." - -The German threw a glance over his shoulder at the privates, standing at -the head of the column of negroes. - -"At once! Don't hesitate!" said Tom. "Your men will be shot down if -they attempt resistance. Your revolver." - -The man handed over the weapon sullenly. - -"Now tell those men of yours to come forward one at a time and lay their -rifles down on the track in front of me. Don't say another word." - -The sergeant gave the order. The men, with a look of mingled curiosity -and wonderment, advanced, laid down their rifles, and at Tom's command -walked a few yards along the track, then halted. - -"Mwesa, go and tell those natives to come past me, slowly, and then turn -into the bush and wait. Tell them nothing else.... You have men at the -rear?" he added to the sergeant. - -"Yes." - -"Who are they?" - -"Askaris." - -"How many?" - -"Twenty." - -"Then when they come up behind the negroes you will give them the same -order as you gave your Germans. Stand here by me." - -The negroes, all strong young men, defiled past Tom in silence, their -eyes wide with anxiety and dread. He counted sixty. In their rear came -the twenty askaris. One by one they laid down their rifles and passed -on, looking with surprise at their officer's glowering face. - -"That is all?" asked Tom. - -"All." - -"Then we will go. Give me your whistle." - -The sergeant unslung the whistle from his shoulder. Tom blew a shrill -note, and his men started out of the bush and lined up on the track. The -German cursed when he saw that they were less in number than his own -men; Tom felt that he would have writhed had he known that none of them -was trained. At the present moment he was lost in wonderment at the -fact of a young white man, in German territory but clearly not a German, -having at his command negroes who were just as clearly not German -askaris, but possessed German rifles. - -The order of the march home was quickly arranged. Half Tom's men went -ahead, carrying the captured rifles. They were followed by the -liberated natives, who, imagining that they had only exchanged one -servitude for another, trudged on in gloomy silence. Tom's motive in -not dismissing them at once was to link them to the British cause by -means of the impression which he hoped they would gain from his -defensive measures at the nullah, and he knew that they would break away -the moment they realised that they were free. Behind them marched the -askaris, then five more of his riflemen escorting the German privates. -He kept the sergeant by his side, and the rear was brought up by Mwesa -and the rest of his men. - -The capture of a German prisoner gave Tom an opportunity of learning -something of the course of events on the frontier. He considered how -best to open up the subject with the sergeant, and decided that perfect -frankness would probably serve him best. - -"You are naturally surprised, Sergeant," he said, "at finding an -Englishman on your side of the border." - -"An Englishman!" growled the sergeant. "I thought you were a Belgian." - -"Indeed! Are you at war with Belgium too?" - -"There is no Belgium. It belongs now to the Kaiser." - -"Dear me! I understand that Paris has fallen: you have therefore France -and Britain against you; but Belgium--did she break her neutrality? - -"I don't know anything about that; but I do know that Belgium and half -France are now in our hands; your Navy is defeated; and London will soon -be at our mercy." - -"You make me tremble! And what about Abercorn?" - -The sergeant blinked. - -"London is rather far away," Tom went on. "I am much more deeply -interested at present in places nearer at hand. You were going to -attack Abercorn, I understood. No doubt you took it as easily as your -troops took Paris." - -The German's frown relieved Tom of his anxiety. Smiling, he continued: - -"Come now, Sergeant, you may as well tell the truth, you know. You have -nothing to lose by it. You found Abercorn a harder nut than you -expected, eh?" - -"You seem to know a lot," said the German gloomily. "Did you come -across from Rhodesia?" - -"No: I came from Kigoma on the _Hedwig von Wissmann_." - -"Ach!" - -"What is the matter?" - -"There are always misfortunes; we can't win everything." - -"You don't mean to say----" - -"I mean to say that the other Wissmann boat, the _Hermann von Wissmann_, -allowed itself to be surprised at Sphinxhaven on Nyassa." - -"And was captured? Really we must take that as a set-off against your -defeat of our Navy--in the North Sea, I suppose. But to come back to -Abercorn." - -"You know as well as I do that we were beaten off. The English were -four to one: what else could be expected?" - -"I see! That explains why you have been ranging the country for -recruits. But I understood that your forces in East Africa hopelessly -outnumbered the British." - -"So they do, but not everywhere. In the north we have cut the Uganda -Railway, captured Mombasa and Nairobi, and are sweeping the English into -the sea." - -"Well, they'll be quite at home there! It's our native element, you -know. These successes must console you for your failure at Abercorn: -they'll lighten your captivity, Sergeant." - -"That is true," said the German, blind to irony. "And I shall not be -your prisoner long." - -"I hope not, I'm sure." - -"It was a trick. You would never have beaten me in fair fight; and the -English, when they win at all, only win by trickery. Everybody knows -that." - -"Trickery, and superior numbers, as at Abercorn! Don't you think the -Kaiser had better throw up the sponge, then? It would save trouble." - -The sergeant was so much horrified by the suggestion that he launched -out into a violent denunciation of England and all things English, and -painted a dismal picture of the dismembered British Empire. Tom let him -run on: he had heard something like it in Germany, and had taken it -then, as he took it now, as the raving of impotent envy. He would -probably have listened to the German with less serenity had he known to -what lengths the pitiless logic of militarism had carried the Kaiser's -helots on the stricken fields of Europe. - -They were welcomed at the nullah with shouts of joy by the people, who -had thronged behind the barricade and on the slopes. Astonishment sat -on the faces of the Germans when they were admitted by the single -gateway and marched up the nullah, past the trench, to the village -growing by the lake. - -"You keep us here, with niggers?" said the sergeant. - -"Yes: until I have the pleasure of escorting you to Abercorn," replied -Tom. "You are white men: I don't want to have to tie you up: but I -shall do so unless you give me your word not to attempt to escape." - -To avoid the ignominy of being kept in bonds the Germans gave their -parole readily enough. Tom arranged with Moses for their rations, then -returned to the rescued negroes whom he had left under guard lower down. -They, meanwhile, had been regaled with stories, freely embroidered, of -what the m'sungu had done, and when he appeared among them their -downcast expression had been replaced by looks of hope. He learnt from -Mwesa that they had been collected from several villages to the -eastward, near Lake Rukwa, some fifteen miles away. Mwesa brought to -him a young negro whom he introduced as the son of M'setu, the chief of -the largest of these villages. - -"Tell them they can all go home," said Tom. "This young man may take his -father a message from me. The Germans will no doubt raid the villages -again for men. It is not likely I shall be able to help them a second -time. M'setu, then, had better march away with all his people into -British territory and remain there until the war is over." - -The negroes laughed, leapt, embraced one another when they heard that -they were free. Without delay they poured out through the gate and -flocked away towards the east. Not even the chief's son stayed to thank -their rescuer. But the incident had a strange sequel two days -afterwards. About midday one of the scouts came running back to report -that a large body of spearmen, led by a great chief, was marching -through the forest in the direction of the nullah. They were not on a -warlike expedition, for behind the chief three men led each a goat, -which could only be intended as peace-offerings. - -"Go and see who they are, Mwesa," said Tom. "They are not to come -across the clearing until I know what they want." - -Presently Mwesa returned, smiling with even more enjoyment than usual. - -"Him M'setu, sah," he said: "come for talk with sah." - -"Very well. Bring him along; he can come in with six of his men: the -rest remain outside." - -Mwesa ran back into the forest, and soon reappeared at the side of a -powerful negro of middle age. A throng of negroes about a hundred -strong followed him to the edge of the clearing. There at his order -they squatted in a long line, and the chief himself, accompanied by his -son and five other men--three of whom led milk-white goats bleating -dolefully--marched at Mwesa's heels towards the gate, where Tom stood -waiting. - -"Him M'setu, sah," said Mwesa, by way of introduction. - -Tom at once stepped forward and grasped the chief by the hand, an act -which brought a smile of pleasure to the face of his six companions and -a shout from the men watching intently two hundred yards away. - -M'setu began to speak. After one sentence he paused, looking to Mwesa -to interpret. - -"Him say sah him fader and mudder," said Mwesa. - -Tom acknowledged the compliment with a smile. - -The chief began again, inquiring after Tom's health, the health of his -father, mother, wife, children, cattle, and so on, until Tom felt rather -overwhelmed by his politeness. By and by he came to business. - -"Him say berry glad sah him good send back men all same. Him say bring -goats for sah him pot, berry nice goats. Him say come alonga sah: what -for? sah kill all dem Wadaki, so M'setu him came alonga sah kill Wadaki -all same." - -"You mean that I am to kill all the Germans, and he will come and help?" - -"Dat just what M'setu say," said Mwesa, delighted that his master had -understood him so well. - -"Well, you must tell him that that's not my job. I couldn't rid the -country of Germans if I tried, but the British will come across the -border by and by and eat them all up. Tell him that." - -M'setu's response was very long-winded. The gist of it was that he -expected another recruiting visit from the Germans. He had heard that -they had been thrown back across the border by the British, and was -therefore not inclined to go to the trouble of removing all his people -from their villages, but would rather stay and defend himself, with the -assistance of the m'sungu, who had already rescued his young men. - -Tom was a good deal perplexed how to deal with this ingenuous offer of -an alliance. M'setu's warriors, armed only with spears, would be wiped -out by a single machine-gun, and Tom could do nothing to help them: -outside his nullah he would be as much at the Germans' mercy as they. On -the other hand, the chief's men, familiar with a wider stretch of -country than the Wahehe from the plantation, could do inestimable -service as scouts, and might give him early warning of movements of -which otherwise he would be unaware. Through Mwesa he explained as -clearly as he could the difficulties of the situation, and in the upshot -made an arrangement with M'setu by which the chief guaranteed to provide -a company of skilled scouts, and Tom in his turn promised to lend -assistance to M'setu if he was threatened, and in the last resort to -give his people shelter in the nullah. - -M'setu departed, well satisfied with the result of his interview. - -"What time sah eat goats?" asked Mwesa. - -"Eat them! I'm not going to eat them," said Tom. "Take them up to -Moses and tell him to look after them. We'll have some milk by and by." - - - - -CHAPTER XII--THE DESERTER - - -"Come now, Reinecke, you have been away two months or so. What is the -truth of things? We are fed here with what I am convinced are false, or -at any rate too rosy, reports. Coming from the centre you ought to be -well informed, and I want to know exactly how matters stand." - -Major von Rudenheim bent forward and fixed his hard blue eyes on -Reinecke. They were sitting in the major's quarters. Reinecke had just -returned from a mission which had carried him right across the country, -and after delivering dispatches at headquarters had lost no time in -visiting his friend the major. - -"What is the truth?" said Reinecke, flicking the ash from his cigar -irritably. "Who knows? They said that Paris would fall before the -British Army got across the Channel; now it is said that Paris has not -fallen, though the British Army has been annihilated." - -"And the Fleet?" - -"The British are skulking in their harbours and won't fight. We have -bombarded most of their commercial ports out of existence, but they had -been laying in such enormous stocks of food in anticipation of the war -that it will take a year or so to starve them out. So it's said." - -"But surely if the ships won't fight we command the sea and can bring -them to terms. It ought to be over by Christmas." - -"Yes, the Kaiser is to eat his Christmas dinner in London. But the fact -is, Major, we're living on rumours. The British smashed up our wireless -installation at Dar-es-Salam, and we haven't had any really authentic -news from Germany since a fortnight after war broke out. As for this -country, we are not doing so well as we ought to have done. We've taken -some places inside their frontier, but they've put up a surprisingly -good defence, and at present it's stalemate. Apparently they are -bringing troops from India----" - -"In spite of our Fleet?" - -"Yes, in spite of our Fleet. Tirpitz deserves to be cashiered." - -"But, my good friend, if they can get reinforcements and we can't, where -are we? And then, I thought the English had to send troops to India to -put down the rebellion there. Isn't that true?" - -"I don't know what's true. I'm sick of the whole thing. Here's my -plantation going to rack and ruin: that wretched young cub of an -Englishman having the audacity to run off with my workers; and when I -ought to be bringing him to book I'm packed off to Tabora. Heaven knows -what has happened in my absence." - -"I know a little, too. Your young cub is a pretty lively one, and has -pretty good claws. A few days after we were beaten back at Abercorn----" - -"That's true, then. I didn't believe it." - -"What could be expected when all our best troops are in the north? We -were outnumbered." - -If Major von Rudenheim believed what he said, he must have been -singularly ill-informed. On September 5, when the Germans attacked the -little town of Abercorn, its defenders were forty members of the native -police, its commandant the postmaster. There happened to be a -machine-gun at hand, and this was so well manipulated by the postmaster, -Mr. Bisset (who might have been expected to be more at home with the -telegraph instrument) that the tiny garrison was able to hold off the -enemy, four times its strength, until reinforcements of Rhodesian -planters arrived. Mr. Bisset's name deserves to be recorded on the -illustrious roll of civilians turned soldiers who have at critical -moments helped to make and to save the British Empire. - -"As I was saying," the major went on, "a few days after our unlucky -reverse at Abercorn, your young cub pounced upon one of our recruiting -patrols and carried every man of them to his lair somewhere in the -forest." - -Reinecke swore a good old German oath. - -"It's not true," he declared. - -"You forget yourself, Captain," said Rudenheim, severely. "I am not a -Berlin newspaper, or even the Wolff bureau." - -"I apologise, Major, but really--a German patrol, with German soldiers?" - -"A sergeant, two privates, and I don't know how many askaris. They all -vanished." - -"Then it can't be known that this English pighead captured them: how -could it?" - -"My dear captain, a recruiting patrol recruits. These unfortunate -Germans were returning with their bag--how large I don't know: your cub -released them all. When the patrol was some days overdue, a party was -sent out in search. They found the villages towards Lake Rukwa -absolutely empty of able-bodied men, which seems to show that this -British lion-cub has set up a pretty efficient system of scouting, or -the niggers could hardly have had warning. But by adopting the usual -methods they wrung the story out of one of the old men, burnt down a few -houses, and returned with the news." - -"And you hunted the wretch?" - -"We had something better to do. The English, reinforced by Belgians, -have kept things rather lively on the frontier, and we have had no men -to spare for cub-hunting." - -"But--but--it is preposterous; it is an insult to the German flag; to -allow a nest of mutineers to exist--yes, and to make raids--within a -couple of marches of a German town. The young fool is alone----" - -"With all your plantation hands, I understand." - -"Raw niggers----" - -"But armed with Mausers we can ill spare." - -"They don't know butt from muzzle." - -"Possibly your cub is not such a cub after all. The English schoolboy -nowadays has a cadet's training, I believe. Perhaps this youngster -might drive a little military gumption even into the nigger's wooden -head." - -"Really, Major," cried Reinecke impatiently, "you speak as though--as -though you think the English good for something, whereas we all know -they can't possibly be. They've no efficiency; they're slack; they----" - -"Yes, we've been told so," the major interposed drily. "It's just -possible that we're mistaken--believe what we want to believe. And I've -seen this boy, remember." - -Reinecke got up and stalked about the room. - -"It is absurd; it is scandalous," he cried. "A young whippersnapper -kidnaps our men, defies us, lowers the prestige of the German name, -makes us a laughing-stock----" - -"Stay, stay, Captain. You are a little intemperate. A friendly word of -warning: don't talk like that outside this room. It's unwise, unsafe, -if you value your commission. I go so far as to say you are -unreasonable. You allow personal feeling to warp your judgment. Your -dislike of this young Englishman, however natural in the -circumstances--" Reinecke flashed a keen look at the speaker--"must not -blind you to the facts of the situation. As I have explained, we have -been hard pressed on the frontier. The Englishman, it appears, has an -extraordinarily strong position----" - -"Where is he?" - -"They talk of a nullah----" - -"I know it. It was in my company he learnt of it." - -"That must be very annoying." - -"Not at all, it is good news. Strong? Why, it is a cul-de-sac. At the -north it is blocked by a lake. The cub has trapped himself." - -"You are a little impatient, Captain. I was about to tell you that a -half company of askaris went in pursuit of him the same night he left -your plantation--while you were making your way here. You left next -morning, you remember, or you would have known that our men were checked -in the forest----" - -"Checked? By a horde of untrained niggers?" - -"Commanded by your cub of an Englishman. They were checked; only -temporarily, of course; the lieutenant did not know what force he had -against him, and acted with prudence as a good soldier should. But when -he pushed on to the nullah, he found that fortification had already been -begun. The entrance of the nullah was defended by a formidable -breastwork, and to capture the place would have taken a longer time than -he had to dispose of: he was under orders for Abercorn." - -"But surely----" - -"Let me finish, Captain. There was a breastwork, as I say; and I am -very much mistaken if between then and now the boy has not added to his -defences. It is a mistake to despise one's enemy, Reinecke, even an -Englishman. Lieutenant Obermann's opinion--and he is a good man, you -know--is that the nullah, properly defended, could not be reduced by -less than a couple of companies of good troops--unless it could be -surprised; and since the fellow draws scouts from all the niggers in the -neighbourhood there's little chance of that. Two companies could not be -detached from our frontier posts without a risk which the colonel was -unwilling to run. He is not blind to all the considerations you put so -forcibly just now; but his decision was, to wait until the general -situation eased, then to take measures to stamp out your Englishman and -his mutineers as one would destroy a nest of vipers." - -"Yes, hang the lot." - -"The Englishman?" - -"Why not? He is a spy. The spy's fate is to be hanged." - -"Quite so. And I am sure we can depend on you, Captain, to supply a -good rope--even for your partner." - -Reinecke turned angrily towards the major, whose attitude throughout the -interview had been very unsatisfactory, and in whose tone he had caught -a hint of contempt. But the explosion that seemed imminent was -prevented by a knock at the door and the entrance of the major's -servant. - -The man saluted formally, and announced that an Arab was enquiring for -Captain Reinecke. - -"Send him in," said the major: "unless you would prefer to see him at -your own quarters, Captain." - -"No. Why should I meet an Arab secretly?" said Reinecke with -irritation. "Let him come in." - -There entered a lean, haggard Arab, in worn and tattered dress, with one -arm in a sling. He bowed to the officers. - -"Haroun!" cried Reinecke. "I hardly knew you ... It is one of my -overseers, Major ... Where have you been?" - -The man, in his broken German, poured out a long story, which keenly -interested the officers in different ways. He said that, after having -been removed from the plantation, he had been forced to take service -with the Englishman, and been cruelly treated by him. Lifting his -tunic, he turned his back, and displayed a few weals. He escaped, and -was fired at and wounded in the arm. After several terrible days in the -forest, he had managed to crawl into Bismarckburg, and what with hunger -and pain was now at the point of death. - -"Flogging a German subject!" cried Reinecke. "Another nail in the -Englishman's coffin." - -"A knot in the noose, let us say. Your Arab had better have something -to eat: he may then tell us a good deal that we want to know. His arm -can be attended to afterwards. He is not so near death as he thinks." - -The man was given into the charge of the major's servant, to be fed. - -"Your Englishman, I suppose, dealt with the Arab as he had seen him deal -with your niggers," remarked the major. - -"He saw nothing of the kind," replied Reinecke with an air of malicious -triumph. "While he was at the plantation I forbade the use of the whip. -You see, Major?--the English boasted humanity is sheer cant and -hypocrisy: what we do openly they do on the sly." - -"Hardly that, Reinecke. You forget there are German prisoners in the -nullah. They probably saw the flogging." - -"And shared it, I daresay. The English are capable of any atrocity. -But we shall find the man useful, Major. Nothing could be better. And -the nullah is so near that though the rains have started we might crush -the vipers soon: there'll be a pause in the operations on the frontier." - -The Arab returned, refreshed and clean. Reinecke questioned him eagerly, -and drew from him many details of what had happened since the flight -from the plantation. The German prisoners, he said, had been placed on -the island, where a hut had been built for them. Food was conveyed to -them on a raft. As the man described the defensive works at the nullah, -Reinecke drew a rough diagram in his pocketbook, and marked the -positions of the trenches and the camp. - -"The youngster has a good headpiece," said the major, looking with -interest at the diagram. "His name? Willoughby? I'm afraid we can't -claim German ancestry for him." - -"A machine-gun will smash him," said Reinecke. - -"A machine-gun would not be very effective against defences like these, -and it would be a terrible business to get up anything heavier across -such country, at any rate while the rains are on. He seems to have made -good use of his time during the last two months in training his niggers, -and unfortunately has won over our trained askaris. A frontal attack -would be very costly, my friend." - -"I can show another way into the nullah, Herr Major," said the Arab. - -"Why didn't you say so before?" cried Reinecke. "Where is it?" - -"The Herr Hauptmann will take me back into his service?" - -"Dog, would you bargain with me? By your own confession you deserted to -the enemy." - -"I was compelled." - -"You deserted all the same. Deserters are shot. Your only chance of -escaping the penalty is to assist us--to show us the way into the -nullah. You'll do that, and if you fail you'll be shot." - -The Arab protested that he was sure of his ground, and would faithfully -lead the troops to an entrance into the nullah which was at present -wholly unsuspected by the Englishman. He described its position, and -Reinecke's eyes sparkled with anticipation as he turned to Rudenheim and -said-- - -"We have him, Major! We'll capture the place at little cost, and -then---- Haroun, go and show the doctor your arm, and come to my -quarters to-morrow." - -"A moment," said the major. "You were flogged: what for?" - -The Arab appeared to be for a moment disconcerted by the German's swift -question. Then he answered: - -"Because I would not work as hard as the Englishman wished, Herr Major." - -"So! You may go ... The man is a liar, Reinecke. You will find that -there's nothing much wrong with his arm, if anything at all. All the -same, that northern entrance is genuine enough, I think; and we must -certainly catch your cub. But I don't think we'll hang him; he's the -kind of man I like to make a prisoner of war." - - - - -CHAPTER XIII--HUNTED - - -Major von Rudenheim's surmise that "the cub" had been busy was correct: -Tom had never before been so fully occupied, and, as he afterwards -confessed, he had never been happier in his life. - -The northern end of the nullah had now the appearance of a prosperous -native village. Tom had felt certain misgivings on the score of -cleanliness and health; but he found that the Wahehe, like all tribes -that inhabit inland and mountainous districts, away from the corrupting -influences of the coast, were tidy and orderly, and under the authority -of their old chief, Mirambo, the people settled down to a comfortable -existence. The one drawback was the limited range of movement; but even -in this respect the people were little worse off than they had been on -the plantation, and their rooted belief that before long the Germans -would be utterly driven from the country gave them bright hopes for the -future. Moreover, the women and children in a native village rarely -stray far from their homes, and as for the men, they had movement -enough. - -To begin with, Tom organised a regular body of scouts, incorporating -some of his own men with those furnished by his new ally, M'setu. Always -keeping in mind his alternative ultimate designs, either to trek into -British territory or to hold his ground until the British overran the -border, he determined, when the scouts became proficient, to patrol the -whole country between the nullah and the Neu Langenburg road. The -defeat of the Germans at Abercorn was very heartening: clearly they were -not to have the easy conquest that Reinecke had apparently expected. At -the same time, it was only too likely that their preparations were much -more advanced than the British, and he could not hope that the Germans -would yield the largest and most precious of their colonial possessions -without a bitter struggle. It was also certain that the enemy would at -some time or other make a serious effort to crush this mutiny; and -while, in such a vast and well wooded country, he could not have -commanded every possible avenue of approach even with ten times as many -men as were available for scouting, he would at least make reasonably -sure that any movement of the enemy on the main tracks should be -reported to him. - -At first he sent out one of the Wahehe with each of M'setu's men, and -practised them in watching the movements of small parties of M'setu's -people within a few miles of the nullah. Presently, in order to increase -the number of his fighting-men, he accustomed M'setu's men to scout -alone. By degrees he extended their field of operations until at length -he had established a definite chain, or rather network, of -scouting-posts commanding the principal tracks from Bismarckburg, and -especially the main frontier road to Neu Langenburg. Within a month no -enemy force or convoy could move along the frontier without Tom's -hearing of it. - -The reports were at first brought to him by runners, and reached him -many hours late. Could he not devise some means of saving time and -exertion alike? He remembered having read, in a book of travels, how -the natives of the mountainous interior of New Guinea were accustomed to -shout news from height to height. The hills to the south of his own -position would lend themselves admirably to a similar system, and after -a few rather heart-breaking experiments he succeeded in teaching the -negroes to adopt this plan. Each prominent hill was given a name; the -man stationed at any particular post had to shout the name to the next, -and within a very few minutes Tom at the nullah learnt that a message -had been dispatched by a scout perhaps forty miles away. - -Meanwhile he practised the fighting-men in aiming and sighting and fire -discipline, giving his commands by means of the whistle borrowed from -the German sergeant. These exercises were performed, not only in the -nullah, but on the ground cleared in front of the barricade and also in -the forest. His stock of ammunition would not allow of much target -practice, and he ruefully owned that the greater part of the men could -not be expected to become good marksmen. It was more profitable to -spend time in giving them cohesion in simple field movements. He -divided them into sections of sixteen, and got up sham fights in the -forest: one party advancing, the other retiring. At first the men whose -part it was to retire refused to do so, and even came to blows with the -attackers: why should they withdraw before men no better than -themselves? But after a time they entered into the spirit of the game, -and showed considerable aptitude. - -Tom found the askaris useful in the course of his various exercises. At -first, when he practised his men in the nullah, the askaris looked on -with disdain, and roared with laughter at the mistakes made by the -negroes. But by degrees they grew interested; they commented among -themselves on the contrast between the Englishman's patience and good -temper and the rough treatment they had suffered at the hands of their -German drill sergeants. Tom, though he affected to disregard them, was -all the time keenly watching, and there came a moment when he suddenly -turned to them and asked for two volunteers to show the Wahehe the -correct way of kneeling to take aim. As he had expected, they were -flattered; every man wished to serve as a model. For some days he did -not apply to them again, and noticed a certain restlessness and -disappointment among them. At length he allowed them to act regularly -as guides and markers, but did not admit them definitively to the ranks -of his fighting-men until they came to him in a body and begged to be -taken fully into his service. They were Sudanese, like the majority of -the German native troops. Many of their people were fighting in the -British ranks: they preferred his drill to the German; and they were -ready to vow fidelity to him. - -"What about pay?" asked Tom. "I have no money." - -They replied that in the nullah they had no use for pay, but no doubt he -would pay them when he had the money--an English promise was good. Tom -was rather doubtful of the wisdom of trusting men who so suddenly -changed their allegiance, and he suspected that at the slightest -set-back they would desert him. On the other hand, these trained men -might serve as good stiffening for his untried troops, and ultimately he -decided to incorporate them with the garrison of the nullah, but not to -allow them to leave it until he had some clear proof of their loyalty. - -As time went on, he became somewhat worried about two matters--the -approach of the rainy season, and the food supply. The foliage of all -the trees had turned red, a sure sign, according to Mwesa, that the -rains were at hand. The lake would fill, the stream would become much -swollen: would he be flooded out? What would be the effect of the damp -upon his health and the health of the people? Hitherto there had been -no sickness except minor ailments, which he had treated with such drugs -from Reinecke's stores as he knew the use of. Ague and malaria were -only names to him, but they stood for something terrible--the more -terrible because unknown. He had a good stock of quinine, the great -stand-by, he understood, in tropical climates; he would watch for the -first sign of fever, and then dose freely. Fortunately one of the Arab -overseers had been accustomed to doctor the workers on the plantation, -and this man was gratified by being appointed health officer to the -community. - -The food question was an even greater difficulty, for while all might -not be sick, all must be fed. The provisions brought from the -plantation were running low: and though these had been supplemented by -small animals trapped in the forest and by occasional gifts from M'setu, -these sources were too precarious to be relied on. In order to ease the -situation, Tom at last made a habit of going into the forest for a day's -hunting once a week, leaving Mirambo in charge of the nullah. M'setu's -people were excellent beaters and knew the likeliest places for game; -the Wahehe were born hunters; but he could not afford to let them use -his ammunition indiscriminately, and when they accompanied him they were -armed only with spears. Everything depended on his own gun. In the -course of these shooting expeditions he brought down several head of -eland, hartebeest, and rhinoceros, the last being a special favourite -with the people. The game was cut up and carried home by his own men and -by M'setu's people, who were sufficiently paid for their services by the -present of certain portions of each day's bag. - -It was after one of these expeditions that Tom had had to take -disciplinary measures with Haroun. The rationing system, after a little -trouble, had worked well. Moses had proved himself to be thoroughly -honest, and every one had his fair share. After a time Moses began to -suspect that some one was pilfering. Small quantities of food -mysteriously disappeared. A watch was kept; Tom called the people -together and warned them that any one who acted against the common -welfare must be punished; but the thief was not detected until, made -bold by success, he forgot caution, and was caught red-handed by Moses. -On returning from a day's shooting Tom learnt that the culprit was the -Arab who had volunteered his services on the first day at the nullah. -In such a man the crime could not be taken lightly, and Tom ordered the -man half a dozen strokes of the whip. - -A few days afterwards Haroun disappeared. The sentries on guard day and -night at the barricade declared that the Arab had not passed them. The -nullah was searched; no trace of him could be found. Some of the people -reported that, after the whipping, he had sulkily held himself aloof, -and used to wander alone by the shore of the lake. At length it was -generally believed that he had fallen victim to a crocodile, and his -fate was a fruitful topic of conversation among the Wahehe. - -One day, accompanied by Mwesa and some two-score beaters and carriers, -Tom set off to shoot. The rains had just begun, and Mirambo had told -him that with the filling and overflowing of the streams animals would -certainly be found on the swamps thus created. He had usually gone -either north or east, as being least likely to encounter enemies in -those directions. On this occasion, however, he struck to the west, in -order to reach low-lying ground where, according to M'setu's huntsmen, -at this season of the year game was plentiful. - -A couple of hours' march through the forest brought him to an extensive -hollow, covered only with scrub and tall grass, and already showing -signs of becoming the impassable swamp which would result from a few -weeks' rain. The beaters, marching quietly ahead, soon made signs that -they had sighted game, and presently, through the grass, Tom saw the -long dark form of a rhinoceros placidly browsing. Stealing round to -leeward, he gradually approached the animal until he was within easy -range, fired, and had the satisfaction of seeing his quarry fall at the -first shot. - -The report of his rifle had startled another beast that was wallowing in -a pool near by. It rose, sniffed around, then made off with lumbering -but rapid gait across the hollow towards a belt of woodland on higher -ground. Tom hurried in pursuit with his beaters, leaving Mwesa to guard -the animal he had already shot. - -The chase was a long one. The rhinoceros, before it recovered from its -alarm, plunged through a long stretch of forest and scrub, and was found -at last resting in a narrow glade bordered on the further side by tall -bushes. Again Tom brought down the beast, this time at his second shot. -The natives, with cries of delight, were rushing forward to skin and -dismember it for transport when, without warning, there came from the -bushes beyond the sharp crack of several rifles, bullets sang through -the air, and two of the beaters fell. The rest bolted into the bush on -either side, and Tom, a little less precipitately, was about to follow -them when he saw a number of German askaris emerge from cover opposite, -with Reinecke at their head. - -Reinecke's eyes were already gleaming with triumph. He shouted a word -or two which Tom could not catch, and then fired his revolver. In face -of odds, Tom had already started to make good his escape: but when he -heard the German's bullet whistle past him, he snatched out his -revolver, wheeled round, and fired. Reinecke flung up his arm, stopped -short, and yelled to the askaris at his heels. Tom sprinted across the -few yards of open ground, dashed into the bush, and ran, at first -blindly, for he heard the askaris close behind: one or two of them were -shooting at random in the hope of hitting him as he ran. - -He was fleet of foot, and guessed that he could easily outstrip the -askaris, laden with their service packs. The danger was that he might -lose his way in the forest. All his men had disappeared; they would -probably find their way back to the nullah without difficulty. It was -important, however, that he should not be long behind them, for if they -should report that he was captured or killed, the people might be seized -with panic, and all his work be overthrown. He had left the glade at a -different point from that at which he had entered it, and so could not -follow the track made by his men. But fortune favoured him. He had not -pushed his way far among the trees when he struck a game track, along -which, if the askaris also did not discover it, he could make still -swifter progress than they, hindered by the bush. - -Some few minutes later, the track brought him to a small stream: it had -no doubt been trodden by animals in quest of water. He jumped into the -stream, ran a short distance in the same direction as the current, then -made a long jump into a clump of low shrubs on the right bank. Replacing -as well as he could the disarranged vegetation, so as to give no clue to -his pursuers, he plunged once more into the bush, in the hope of coming -by and by upon a cross track that would lead towards the nullah. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV--THE TRAIL - - -Never before had Tom been alone in the bush. On the few occasions when -he had gone shooting alone, during his sojourn in Reinecke's bungalow, -he had always followed well-defined tracks. Since then, Mwesa or -Mirambo or some other native had been with him. But now he had no -guide, and he was seized with a feeling of helplessness. Rain had begun -to fall, and the obscure sky could not be read for the points of the -compass. Brushwood grew to his knees; thorn bushes threw out tentacles -that caught at his clothes and tore his flesh. Dodging obstructions, he -sometimes found that he had only worsened his plight, and was forced to -tear a way for himself at the cost of bleeding hands. Rarely he came to -open spaces; then he quickened his pace, though his wet boots dragged -heavily upon his feet. Once, in crossing a grassy glade, he sank over -his ankles in morass, and swerved hastily into the bush again, to avoid -being engulfed. - -Presently, stopping to rest, he thought he heard voices, and hoped that -they came from his own men. He dared not call, nor even move towards -them, until he was sure whether they were friends or foes. The voices -came nearer. At all costs he must learn who the speakers were, and he -sprang up into a leafy tree from which he might get a view of the -country around. Spying out cautiously through the foliage, he saw a band -of men pushing their way up a bush-covered slope not a hundred yards -from his perch. Through the heavy rain he could not at first -distinguish them; but as they approached he recognised the deserter, -Haroun, leading a couple of askaris. Behind them, out of the bush, -emerged Reinecke with his arm in a sling, a younger officer by his side, -and a line of askaris following in single file. He shrank back into the -tree, dreading lest they should pass immediately beneath him and some -sharp-eyed man discover him. But they topped the slope some distance -away and passed out of sight. - -"I have come in the right direction," he thought. "They must be bound -for the nullah." - -Waiting a little, to make sure that no more of the enemy were coming, he -slipped down from the tree, and with infinite caution followed in their -track. If this led indeed towards the nullah, he would presently be on -ground that he knew, and might circumvent them and arrive first. He -felt somewhat perplexed. The Arab Haroun had certainly betrayed him: -why, then, had Reinecke set out with no more than thirty or forty men? -Had Haroun so little respect for the defences of the nullah as to -imagine that they could be stormed by so small a force? Had Reinecke so -much contempt for his ability to train the negroes as to believe that -forty askaris were more than a match for three times their number as -well armed as themselves? He set his lips grimly: if such were their -ideas, he would promise them a rough disillusionment. - -For some time he followed them up, always with the greatest caution. At -length the sound of voices ahead told him that they had halted. He -stopped at once. The rain had almost ceased. In a few seconds he heard -a rustling and the squelching of boots not far in front of him, and he -dived into the bush at the side of the track and watched. Two askaris -tramped past him, in the direction from which they had come. They walked -unconcernedly: no suspicion of his presence had brought them back. -What, then, was their errand? - -Reinecke's party was still halted. Tom heard now and then the lower -tones of the Germans mingling with the high-pitched voices of the -askaris. What were they waiting for? After perhaps twenty minutes -voices came from the other direction. The two askaris reappeared, -followed by a string of native porters, some carrying what appeared to -be the material of a tent; others, boxes and bales of provisions; -others, lumps of freshly killed meat. The explanation of the delay -flashed upon Tom. The game he had killed had been cut up; the two -askaris had been sent back to hasten the march of the porters. "I might -have been nabbed," Tom thought. - -When the porters joined the waiting askaris, a German voice gave the -order to march. After a short interval Tom emerged from his place of -concealment and followed. On reaching the spot on which they had -halted, he found that it was skirted by a track evidently made not long -before--almost certainly the path by which his men had come from the -nullah that morning. To his surprise, Reinecke and his party, instead of -pursuing this track, as they might have been expected to do if their -destination was the nullah, had swerved northward and marched through -the pathless scrub. - -Tom was standing at the angle between the two tracks, hesitating whether -to follow the enemy or to take the shortest cut home, when a rustle -among the bush behind him caused him to face round quickly, revolver in -hand. His eyes fell not on an enemy, but on the ever-smiling -countenance of Mwesa. - -"Savvy me find sah all right," said the boy, quietly. - -"You saw Reinecke?" asked Tom. - -Mwesa nodded. - -"Haroun too, sah. Him no eat up: how him get away?" - -"The sentries must have been napping, I suppose. But how did you come -to find me here?" - -"Me hear shoot," he said. "Me run find sah: rhino no matter. Sah gone: -ebery one gone--all 'cept fellas what cut up nudder rhino. Ah! Mwesa -savvy all same. Me run back dis way: savvy sah come dis way bimeby." - -Tom reflected that the boy's optimism had been justified by a lucky -accident. - -"Where are the men?" he asked. - -"No savvy, sah. 'Spect dey all run home quick." - -"I hope so. Now, these Germans--I thought they were going to our -nullah, but it seems that they are not. What is their game? Any -suggestion, Mwesa?" - -Mwesa did not understand the word, but he tried to look as if he did. -Tom, however, did not expect from him any explanation of Reinecke's -movements: he was trying to puzzle out one for himself. The sides of -the nullah were too precipitous to afford an entrance: and though the -enemy might do a little damage by firing from the top down into the -camp, that could easily be defeated by moving the people to well-covered -places where shots could not reach them. As a means of capturing the -position such a course was absurd. Yet Reinecke could hardly intend a -mere reconnoitring expedition: his men were equipped as for fighting, -and it appeared from the amount of baggage carried by the porters that -he expected to camp for at least one night. - -Unable to guess at the German's design, Tom came to the conclusion that, -even at the cost of a certain uneasiness among his people, he had better -follow up the enemy, and see for himself the direction of their march: -that might throw some light on their object. With Mwesa he set off in -their tracks, keeping a good look-out ahead for laggards, and stopping -frequently to listen. - -It was just after one o'clock. Tom was both tired and hungry. His -clothes were sodden, and the atmosphere was like that of a Turkish bath. -The track wound in and out through the scrub, and presently among forest -trees; and it had evidently been traversed before, for no one absolutely -strange to the country could have found so well the easiest passage -through the scrub. - -After walking for nearly two hours, at so slow a pace that no more than -four miles could have been covered, Tom found that the track led through -the middle of a wooded ravine, which trended, as nearly as he could -judge, to the north-east. The ground sloped gradually upwards, and in -the distance Tom detected the march of the enemy by the swaying of the -bushes and tall grass through which they passed. - -He advanced with still greater caution, and well it was that he did so, -for in a few minutes the path emerged into a narrow rocky defile, only -sparsely covered with vegetation, and here two askaris were posted as -sentries. A little beyond them the porters had laid down their loads. -Looking out from behind a screen of bushes, Tom saw the askaris and -their German officers marching ahead. - -Avoiding the sentries by plunging into the bush that skirted the defile, -Tom and the negro lad hurried on after the enemy. Well screened by the -foliage, they could afford to quicken their pace until they overtook -them, and thenceforward kept pace with them. After about ten minutes -they discovered that the party had again halted. The men were sitting on -boulders and slabs of rock: the German lieutenant sat a little apart. -Reinecke and the Arab had disappeared. - -Then Tom noticed that the defile seemed to end in the air, as if it had -arrived at the brink of a cliff. Creeping cautiously through the bush -above the narrow path, they came to the top of the rise and looked over. -It was not a cliff, as Tom had supposed; but a somewhat steep and rocky -slope, dotted here and there with patches of coarse scrub. Down this -slope two figures were moving: Haroun the Arab led, Reinecke was only a -few paces behind him. - -When they came to the foot of the slope they halted, and talked somewhat -excitedly together. Haroun pointed forward and downward; Reinecke -stooped, looked over the edge of the slope, shook his head and -apparently flew into a rage. Thereupon the Arab went alone over the -brink, descended slowly, and passed out of the watchers' sight. Reinecke -sat down in a fissure, in the attitude of waiting. - -Tom had observed these movements at first with nothing more than a -certain impersonal curiosity; but a suspicion of their meaning began to -dawn when Haroun disappeared. The air was misty; from the spot where he -crouched nothing was visible beyond the margin of the slope except the -grey sky. But Reinecke, where he sat, evidently saw something more. -Every now and again he bent over, following the progress of the Arab, -and also, as it appeared, taking much interest in the scene below. - -"We are above the nullah," thought Tom. "That fellow Haroun must have -discovered a way out and in. Our position is to be turned. My word!" - -Some twenty minutes passed. Haroun's head reappeared at the edge of the -slope. He spoke to Reinecke volubly, using his hands in free gestures, -as though demonstrating a point. The German appeared to be convinced. -He got up, stepped over the edge with the aid of the Arab's hand, and -followed the man slowly out of sight. - - - - -CHAPTER XV--THE BACK DOOR - - -"Run back and see if the askaris are still there," said Tom to Mwesa. - -The lad darted away through the bush that clothed the top of the bank of -the defile. Returning in a few minutes, he reported that the enemy had -not stirred from their position. - -"Then we will go on. Keep close to me." - -They made their way carefully down the slope. At the bottom they peeped -over. A narrow cleft zigzagged down the face of a steep cliff, for the -most part bare rock, but with trees and bushes growing here and there -where soil gave them roothold. This vegetation and the windings of the -cleft hid Reinecke and the Arab from sight; but several hundred feet -below they could just discern, through the mist, the still surface of an -expanse of water. - -Mwesa's eyes opened wide with surprise. - -"Don't speak," whispered Tom. "Yes; I think it is our lake." - -Reinecke's purpose was now clear to him. He acquitted his sentries of -negligence. Haroun had evidently discovered a hitherto unsuspected -means of egress from the nullah; on his information Reinecke had brought -up his askaris to take the position in reverse, but before committing -them to the enterprise had gone down to test the Arab's veracity. It -would take him a long time to climb down the steep and rugged cleft, -hampered as he must be by his wounded arm: still longer to climb up -again. What would he do when he returned? Would he at once order the -attack? Daylight would last just long enough: a night attack was -impossible; no sane person would attempt to descend by so precipitous a -path in darkness. Would he camp for the night, and attack with the -dawn? It seemed to Tom that he would hardly wait unless delay were -unavoidable, for there was the chance that rain would fall again, and a -tropical storm that might continue for days would render his scheme -hopeless. No doubt his decision would depend on the result of his -observations below. - -To what point in the nullah the cleft led, Tom had at present no -knowledge. It might descend to the lake side, or wind away to some spot -farther down. He thought rapidly over the courses open to him. He -might make his way back through the ravine, plunge into the bush, and -hurry along parallel with the nullah until he gained the entrance. -Thereby he might provide against the threatened attack and perhaps take -measures for a counterstroke. But one consideration told heavily -against this idea. At his best speed he could hardly expect to reach -the barricade before dark, and meanwhile Reinecke, if he found the -secret way so easy as Haroun had apparently declared, might have led his -men into the nullah, taken the people by surprise, and overcome what -resistance they were able to make without their leader. - -What alternative was there? If Reinecke once rejoined the askaris -waiting in the defile nothing could avail to check him. It was -impossible to slip past him on the narrow cleft, and organise the -defence while he returned for his men. Could he be prevented from -returning? Without him the German lieutenant would probably hesitate to -risk a plunge into the unknown. Tom thought that Mwesa and himself -should be a match for Reinecke and the Arab; but if a cry or a shot -reached the ears of the men waiting above, all would end in disaster. - -The only chance of success seemed to lie in following Reinecke down the -cleft and lying in wait for him at some spot where he could be taken at -a disadvantage. Tom hurriedly whispered his plan to Mwesa, then stepped -down into the cleft and began his careful descent. - -The frequent windings of the narrow gully, the patches of vegetation, -the boulders that stood up here and there, rendered detection from below -unlikely; but Tom moved very warily, peering round every corner, every -bush and rock, listening for voices or footsteps. The lower he and the -negro descended, the more cautious they were. Once or twice Tom -slipped, and had to catch at a tree or a shrub to prevent himself from -slithering down. No such mishaps befell the barefooted negro, and Tom -wished that his soles were so hardened as to enable him to discard his -boots. Step by step they crept downward. Presently they caught sight -of the opposite side of the nullah, a rugged precipice looming through -the mist, with a portion of the lake cut off at its base. A little -farther down Tom stopped suddenly. Twenty or thirty feet below him -Reinecke and the Arab, side by side, were lying on a big rock that -appeared to jut out from the cliff, and were peering down. No doubt -they were hidden by the rock from the sight of the people below--how far -below Tom could not tell, for the camp and the lowest stretch of the -cleft were invisible to him. - -Mwesa, clutching his knife, looked expectantly at his master. Tom could -have shot the two men where they lay; but apart from a natural -repugnance to killing them unawares, he knew that the sound of shots -would rise to the party above and put them on the alert. Whatever he -did must be done without noise. - -Drawing Mwesa back, he led him some little distance up the cleft until -he came to a shallow recess, partly concealed by a patch of bush. Here -they could wait until the men below reached them in their upward climb. -Tom withdrew behind the bush, bidding Mwesa stand a little forward and -watch: his dark body would be less likely to attract the eyes of the -climbers. - -It was some time before they heard slow footsteps on the cleft below -them, and then ejaculations from Reinecke complaining of the steepness -of the ascent. Then Mwesa reported that the German had rounded a bend; -the Arab was just behind him. Tom drew the lad back behind the bush. - -"Deal with Haroun," he whispered, "when I have dealt with Reinecke." - -The two men mounted slowly. Tom waited until the German had come within -two or three paces of him, then stepped out into the middle of the -narrow path. Reinecke, a foot or two below him, looked up. His face -paled beneath the bronze: he recoiled, and fumbled for his revolver. -Before he could grasp it Tom sprang at him, and with one deftly aimed -blow on the point of the chin hurled him against the side of the cleft. -He fell like a log. At the same moment Mwesa darted past his master, -and flung himself on the Arab, who had halted in consternation at the -sudden onslaught. He stepped back, warded off Mwesa with his arm, and -turned to escape down the cleft. Before he had taken three steps the -negro had recovered himself, and plunged his knife into the Arab's back. - -[Illustration: MWESA FLUNG HIMSELF ON THE ARAB.] - -So swiftly, so silently had things been done that no sound could have -reached the ears of any one who had chanced to be within a hundred -paces. - -Tom bent down over the German. He was unconscious. Strange fate, that -had made him for the second time the captive of the man he had wronged! - -"Watch him," said Tom to Mwesa. "Call me if he revives before I come -back." - -He went down the cleft until he reached the rock on which the men had -lain. Climbing it, he looked over upon the huts fifty or sixty feet -below, the lake near by, and a considerable stretch of the nullah. -There were signs of excitement among the people, who were gathered in -knots, talking and gesticulating. The German prisoners, standing in -front of their hut in the middle of the island, evidently suspected that -something had happened, some emergency had arisen, for they were -shouting, beckoning to the men nearest the margin of the lake. - -"I had better reveal myself at once," thought Tom. - -He stood up on the rock, put his whistle to his lips, and blew the -signal for "Fall in." The voices, the movements, of the people ceased -as by magic. They looked around in amazement, facing down the nullah, -from which direction numbers of the fighting-men came running. These -asked eagerly where the m'sungu was: they had heard his whistle; he must -be among them again. But no one had seen him. Again the whistle -sounded. Some of the men glanced upward, and saw Tom standing on the -rock. For one moment they were transfixed with surprise; then a great -shout broke from their lips; the women and children flocked around them, -leaping and screaming with excitement and joy; and Tom wondered what -effect the hubbub would have on the enemy waiting in the ravine. - -Signalling that he would soon be with them, he returned to the spot -where he had left Reinecke and Mwesa. The German gave signs of -returning consciousness. In a minute or two he opened his eyes and -stared dully up into Tom's face. Recollection came to him gradually; he -tried to rise, his hand again seeking his revolver. The holster was -empty; Mwesa had taken that weapon, and also his sword. - -"You are my prisoner," said Tom. "We will now go down to my camp." - -Reinecke cursed him. - -"You strike a one-armed, helpless man," he said. "You treacherous -hound!" - -Tom was taken aback by this strange accusation. He had had so little -experience of the German soldier that he did not understand that curious -attitude of mind which views everything a German does as right and -proper, but the same thing done by others as infamous and base. The -charge of treachery from the man who had trapped him, left him to die, -and only a few hours before this moment had fired at him when he too had -been taken unawares, struck him dumb. Then, curtly, impatiently, he -said: - -"Come, we will waste no time. You can walk, I think. Mwesa, lead on. -Find the way into the nullah. Follow him, Herr Reinecke: I shall be two -paces behind you." - -Mwesa scampered down the steep descent like a young roe: the others -followed more prudently. When Tom arrived at the rock from which he had -viewed the camp, Mwesa was not to be seen. But a moment later his -laughing face showed round the base of the rock, like a child playing -peep-bo. - -"Dis way, sah," he cried; "dis way." - -At one side of the rock was the top of a narrow channel that wound down -the face of the cliff. So steep was this latter that not even a mountain -goat could have scaled it safely; but Nature had so carved the channel -that it formed a zigzag pattern, like those paths which the art of man -has cut in precipitous cliffs at popular resorts on our coasts. Down -this rough path the two men followed Mwesa, hidden from the sight of -those below by the contour of the cliff. - -About twenty feet above the ground the zig-zagging ceased, and the -channel took a sheer drop, almost entirely concealed by bushes. While -Tom, standing on a ledge of rock, wondered how the final descent was to -be achieved, Mwesa had found the way. Clinging to the tough stems and -branches of the bushes, he went down a few feet, then stopped and turned -his face upward. - -"Ladder here, sah," he called. - -The Arab had, in fact, so bent the branches and stems, and so connected -them by means of strands of creepers, as to form a light ladder that -spanned the last dozen feet of the descent. Hidden by the overgrowing -vegetation, it might have been passed and repassed hundreds of times -without being discovered. - -Mwesa clambered down, and bounded among the excited people who had -clustered in expectation of the m'sungu's reappearance. After a minute -or two, Reinecke emerged from the foliage, and stood glowering, an image -of sullen rage, upon the negroes who had once owned him master. Fingers -were pointed at him, yells of derision mocked him: even the children -strutted in front of him, as if to vaunt their freedom. One of the elder -men stepped forward with menacing gestures: but he was checked by a -stern command from Tom, who had just appeared. He was hailed with -renewed shouts of triumph; some of the people threw themselves at his -feet, as slaves bow to their lord. Tom's lips quivered; he felt a lump -rise in his throat. Then he called to Mwesa, who was pouring out an -eloquent story to the crowd surrounding him. - -"Go down to the barricade," he said. "See whether the guards are at -their posts, and bring Mirambo to me." - -He signed to the people to fall back to their huts, and beckoned to -Moses, who had been hanging on the outskirts of the crowd, looking with -a somewhat nervous and sheepish air at his late master. - -"Give Herr Reinecke some food," said Tom. "Herr Reinecke, you will -remain where you are for the present. You cannot escape: if you make an -attempt you will be shot. I will give you proper quarters presently." - -The German responded with a glare of venomous hate, and turned away. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI--DRAWN BLANK - - -When Mirambo came up, hard on the heels of Mwesa, he too fell on his -face and greeted Tom with an air of mingled humility and gratitude. In -the absence of the m'sungu his position had been a difficult one. The -men of the hunting party had come dropping in singly and in small -groups, and the story they told, magnifying the numbers of the enemy, -had struck consternation and fear into the hearts of the people. If the -m'sungu was gone, what would become of them? Who would tell them what -to do? How could they deal with white men's war-power without a white -man to help them? Some of the weaker-kneed among them had talked of -fleeing from the nullah and betaking themselves to M'setu, and it had -needed all Mirambo's authority to check the panic. He had reminded them -of what the m'sungu had already done: how he had escaped the snares of -Reinecke, quelled the German drill-sergeant with a look, led them forth -with Reinecke himself a prisoner, shown them how to fortify the nullah, -driven back the enemy. Surely one who had done all this would not now -fall a prey to the evil men; surely he would come back to them. - -Strangely enough, as Tom thought, the old chief's arguments had been -strongly backed by the askaris, who, as fighting-men, were held in -respect by the Wahehe. They expressed the utmost confidence that the -m'sungu would return, and declared for holding the nullah at least until -it was definitely known what had become of him. No doubt their motive -was complicated by fear of the consequences if they fell into German -hands and were treated as deserters; but Tom did not know this, and when -he heard of their loyalty he abandoned his last objections, and resolved -to incorporate them in his fighting force. - -He listened to Mirambo's story, interpreted by Mwesa, only for a minute -or two, for there was work to be done. During Mwesa's absence he had -rapidly made his plans. The German askaris in the ravine above had -almost certainly heard the shouts which had greeted his arrival. Their -officer would send men forward to discover the meaning of the shouts, -and what had happened to Reinecke and the Arab. They would no doubt -move with caution, and, unfamiliar with the ground, would take some time -in scouting over the rough, steep slopes, and would probably hesitate to -adventure into the cleft which dropped deep into the unknown. If they -came so far as to find the body of Haroun, they were more likely to -hasten back with the news than to court danger or death themselves by -descending lower. What action, then, would the lieutenant take? He would -wish to learn his superior officer's fate, probably come down with his -men, and, if he discovered the passage into the nullah, might risk an -attack. - -Tom felt that he must first guard against this. Getting Mirambo to -choose a dozen of the best shots, he sent them up the ladder, with -orders to post themselves in the cleft behind bushes or boulders, and -fire at the enemy if they appeared. Though outnumbered, with the -advantage of position and surprise they could probably check the -descent. In case they should be driven back, he ordered Mirambo himself -to hold thirty men under cover near the margin of the lake, and at the -same time to keep Reinecke under guard. Mirambo was the last man in the -world to be overcome by any German blandishments. - -The non-combatants--old men, women and children--must be protected from -harm. He ordered them to withdraw some little distance down the nullah, -out of range of fire either from above or from the ground at the foot of -the cliff. - -For himself, he had resolved on a venturesome, if not a risky, course. -There were still a few hours of daylight left--long enough to lead a -force out of the nullah, along the foothills above, to the ravine where -the enemy were encamped. The probabilities were that, met by rifle-fire -as they descended the cleft, they would hesitate to press an attack -against unknown numbers, and make their way back to headquarters to -report the disappearance of their captain and the necessity of larger -forces. Tom thought that with luck he might reach the mouth of the -ravine in time to ambush them, cut them off, and capture them all. His -men being only partly trained, he would need perhaps twice as many as -the enemy numbered, which meant almost all the Wahehe who were able to -shoot. But his new-born confidence in his askaris led him to adopt the -bold course of leaving them to defend the southern end of the nullah. -It was scarcely likely that another hostile force was approaching in -that direction: Reinecke had probably been confident of an easy victory -through the back door. Yet nothing should be left to chance; and the -defence of the barricade might be safely entrusted for a few hours to -the askaris and the remnant of the Wahehe, with Mirambo and his party at -hand as reinforcements in case of need. - -Tom lost no time in making these arrangements, and an hour after his -return he led some eighty men out through the barricade, swung round to -the right, and climbed the foothills over which the course of the ravine -lay. - -"They'll have to carry me back," thought Tom, before he had walked a -mile. "Didn't know I was so fagged." - -Tom, indeed, had been drawing rather heavily on his physical reserves, -and to-day for the first time weariness warned him against overdoing it. -Now, more than ever, was it necessary that he should not break down, for -he felt certain that the difficulties of his people were only beginning. - -Having already been on his feet for eight or nine hours, he found that -march of a few miles, at the close of the day, more exhausting than he -would have imagined. The country was broken and hilly, now bare rock, -now soft spongy ground cumbered with tangled vegetation and overshadowed -by forest trees. But the chance of trapping the force that had been -sent to trap him sustained his spirits; and the mind can, for a time, -compel the body to feats beyond its normal strength. His men, fresh, -vigorous, inspirited by the return of their leader and the recapture of -Reinecke, marched on with eagerness to reach their goal: their -enthusiasm was itself a stimulant to him. - -There was no path along those rugged, wooded foot-hills. The sun was -blanketed by the rain-laden sky. It was possible only to guess their -course; and Tom, seeing by his watch that little more than half-an-hour -of daylight was left, began to fear that darkness would surprise him -before he should have struck upon the ravine. But at this very moment of -misgiving he was almost at the edge. A few yards farther brought him to -a sharp declivity. He ordered his men to halt, advanced with Mwesa -through the low-growing trees, and looking cautiously to right and left, -beheld the long hollow that was his journey's end. - -It appeared to him that he had hit the ravine at a spot half-way up its -length. None of the enemy was in sight. The askaris, if they remained -where he had last seen them, were probably some distance to the right; -the sentries at the mouth of the ravine must be three or four hundred -yards to the left. These latter must be secured if his plan was to have -full success; so, returning to his men, he chose four to accompany him -and Mwesa, and hastened along through the scrub near the brink of the -ravine. - -Scouting with circumspection, he arrived at the place where the steep -sides fell to the level of the surrounding country. The sentries were -not where they had been. He sent Mwesa to worm his way across under -cover of the bushes and to see if he could track the men to another -post. The boy returned sooner than he had expected. - -"Fink all gone, sah," said he. - -"The sentries, you mean?" - -"All fella askaris, sah. All gone, no fear." - -"How do you know?" - -Mwesa looked down at Tom's feet. - -"Dey hab got big boots like sah. Sah come see." - -Tom went down with him into the midst of the long grass and the bushes -that covered the centre of the ravine. Broken twigs and branches and -long swathes of trampled grass marked the recent passage of men, and -Mwesa pointed out on the damp soil the impressions of heavy boots, and -showed him that in the freshest the heels were up, not down, the ravine. -A few minutes' investigation in both directions placed it beyond doubt -that, not long before, a body of men had marched westward into the -forest. - -"Too late!" muttered Tom. "But we must make sure. Mwesa, scout along -to the cleft. Be quick, for it will be dark soon." - -He returned to his party, dragging his weary limbs. In twenty minutes -Mwesa came back, hot and breathless. - -"All gone, sah. Haroun him stay: big birds dey find him." - -Tom shuddered. The vultures were already at work. "Come, let us get -back," he said. "Get some of the men to make a _machila_. I can't walk -another step, and we can't venture the climb down in the dark." - -With two rifles and some pliant tendrils a litter was soon constructed, -and reclining on this Tom headed the march home. He was tired and -disappointed; the men were crestfallen: some asked why the m'sungu did -not pursue the askaris. But Tom was in no condition to follow up the -enemy, even if his reason had favoured the idea. He could only guess at -what had happened: that the lieutenant, alarmed by the distant shouts, -had gone forward, discovered the dead Arab, inferred that Reinecke also -had come to grief, and concluding that the game was up, had withdrawn -his men hurriedly and in something of a panic. To pursue in darkness -would be folly. Tom consoled himself for his disappointment with the -reflection that, after all, more prisoners would have been a -nuisance--so many more mouths to feed, and a burden to the guards. - -The homeward journey was slow and laborious: only by the touch of their -bare feet could the Wahehe distinguish in the darkness the tracks they -had made as they came. Tom slumbered a part of the way, and when, at a -late hour, they regained the nullah, he waited only to hear that nothing -had disturbed the peace and to arrange for Reinecke's accommodation -during the night, before seeking his hut and throwing himself, worn out, -upon the mattress of plaited grass which some of the women had made for -him. - -Next morning, after ten hours' unbroken sleep, he rose, a little -stiffly, to face the work of another day. - -"First job, to dispose of Reinecke," he thought. - -The German was in a furious temper. - -"You wish to kill me," he cried, when Tom came to him. "You put me in a -wretched native hut, without a fire, without blankets, to perish of -cold, to be struck with ague. As a prisoner of war--you call it war?--I -demand proper treatment, according to international law." - -"I don't know anything about international law," said Tom; "common law -and common sense would set you dangling from a tree, I suspect. But I'm -not your judge. While you're here you'll be treated like the other -prisoners. You'll join them on the island yonder." - -"I must have a separate hut. In Germany officers and men are never -lodged together: it is forbidden." - -"We are not in Germany," said Tom, curtly. "The hut is large enough to -hold you all: there's no room on the island for another, even if time -could be spared to build it. If you feel contaminated by the company of -fellow Germans you can spend your leisure in making for yourself a -partition: there's plenty of material on the island. You can then live -in your own first-class compartment: the men will probably prefer it." - -Reinecke was patently surprised. The young cub, as he might have put -it, seemed to have suddenly grown up. Even at that last dinner in the -bungalow Tom had not taken quite this tone with him. He said no more at -the moment: his thoughts were his own. In a few minutes he was punted -across the lake on the raft, and left on the shore of the island to -introduce himself to his fellow captives. Tom smiled as he watched them -salute him, then step hastily aside as, without returning their salute, -he pushed his way into the hut. In a few moments he came out and, -gnawing his moustache, gazed across at the village, and up the side of -the nullah. His lips moved: then he wheeled round and re-entered the -hut, whence he emerged no more that day. - -It was a busy day for Tom. He saw that the failure of Reinecke's -expedition was sure to provoke the Germans to a serious attempt to deal -with him. They would no longer hold him lightly, and suppose that he -could be snuffed out by a handful of Askaris. When they came, they -would come in force. It might be in a day or two; it might be perhaps -after a week or more; much would depend on the state of the weather. -Were the interval long or short, it must be utilised to the full in -strengthening his position. - -An obvious precaution was to establish scouting posts between -Bismarckburg and the scene of the previous day's adventures. Tom went -over the ground with some of M'setu's men who were in his regular -service as scouts, and fixed on two well-wooded knolls that commanded -the track leading to the ravine. He surveyed the ravine itself with a -view to fortifying it--or rather of blocking the way to the cleft--and -came to the conclusion that this would involve too much labour, even if -it could be achieved with any success. A more feasible scheme was to -form barricades of rocks and trees at various points on the narrow -cleft. These, held by a few men, would interpose awkward obstacles to -any force that attempted to attack by the newly discovered back door. - -Tom set some of his men to work at once in erecting three barricades, -some thirty yards apart. Then he clambered down by the ladder, and -realising that that ingenious contrivance would hardly bear the strain -of frequent use, gave directions that it should be strengthened. By -this means communication between the nullah and the cleft above would -always be safe: while in the event of his men being forced back and -followed by the enemy, the ladder could be cut away, leaving the -attackers in the air, so to speak, nearly twenty feet above the ground. - -All day the sky threatened rain, and distant rumbles of thunder were -heard; but the storm held off until these preliminary measures had been -carried out. Soon after dark the heavens opened. Thunder growled, -cracked, bellowed: the air was one vast shaking noise. A vivid glare -rose up from the horizon until all the world seemed on fire. Great -bursts of light, now in one quarter, now in another, shot through the -sky like gigantic squibs; and dazzling streaks of jagged brilliance rent -the firmament. And then, in the midst of this wonderful phantasmagoria, -it was as if the fire-maker set out to quench the universal -conflagration. Down fell the rain, in sheets, in torrents, in cascades -of hailstones as large as eggs. The people cowered, shivering, -shrieking, in their huts. Out of the boiling lake the stream poured in -angry flood, hissing and raving like a maddened beast let loose. -Tingling in every nerve, Tom watched the amazing storm for hour after -hour: what were man's puny battles compared with this titanic conflict -of the elements? And it was only when the thunder died away in sullen -mutterings, and the lightning gave pale flickers and tired gleams, but -still the rain roared unceasingly--it was only then that Tom became -alive to the very practical question: would huts, stores, barricades, -all be washed away? - - - - -CHAPTER XVII--A GERMAN OFFER - - -For the rest of the night Tom got no sleep. Listening to the rush of the -torrent through the nullah he waited anxiously for the dawn. As soon as -there was light enough, he went out to see what havoc the storm had -wrought. The worst anticipations were not realised, but the damage was -serious enough. Some of the huts were broken down; one or two of those -nearest to the stream had been washed away; the defences at the bend -almost obliterated; and the barricade of trees at the entrance of the -nullah showed many gaps. But the slope of the ground and the depth of -the channel had been sufficient to carry off almost all the overflow -from the lake, and there seemed to be no danger of the village on the -higher ground at the north end being flooded out. The prisoners' hut on -the island had suffered nothing except from leaks in the roof, and these -Reinecke had at once set his subordinates to repair. - -The rain had ceased, and as soon as it was possible to dig, Tom ordered -his men to reconstruct the damaged defences. More trees were packed -into the barricades, the ditch outside it was widened and deepened; the -trenches on the slopes were recut and strengthened, and a communication -trench was dug from each to the bed of the nullah, so that their -garrisons could be reinforced at need, under cover from the enemy's -fire. The trench and parapet at the bend were also restored, and at -each end, some twenty-five feet above the bed of the nullah, a small -blockhouse of rocks was erected, in which half a dozen men, through -apertures left for rifle fire, could enfilade any attacking party that -advanced on either bank of the stream. - -Tom had hitherto made no attempt to communicate with the British -authorities beyond the border. He reflected that their hands were full, -and while he was in no immediate danger he hesitated to embarrass them. -Now, however, when it was clear that the Germans would make a serious -effort to deal with him, and major operations were interrupted by the -rains, he resolved to try to get a message through to Abercorn, -explaining his position. He wrote on leaves from his pocket-book a -brief account of what he had been doing, made a copy, gave the -duplicated messages to two of the best scouts from M'setu's contingent, -and sent them off on successive days. The papers, which they carried -folded in their loin-cloths, were addressed "The Commanding Officer, -Abercorn." A single man should be able to cross the hills and the Neu -Langenburg road without much risk of being caught. The journey might -take three or four days, so that it would be at least a week before an -answer could be received, even in the most favourable circumstances. - -Several days passed, on most of which rain fell. Feeling pretty sure -that the enemy would not attack in such weather, Tom took every possible -advantage of the breathing space, improving the defences, drilling his -men, and shooting game in the neighbourhood, in order to eke out his -fast diminishing stores of food. He also practised his scouts in the -system of shouting messages, and was not much surprised to find that -some of his posts had been deserted: it was hardly to be expected that -M'setu's men, undisciplined negroes, would show fortitude enough to -remain at their stations in pelting rain-storms. But since it was of -vital importance that the scouting should be efficient, he considered -how best to surmount the very real difficulty that had manifested -itself. After a good deal of thought, he decided to reduce the number -of posts, retaining only those that commanded the main routes, and to -have these frequently inspected by Mirambo or some other trustworthy -native. With Mirambo he himself made a round of the posts--a task that -occupied him for two days--and as the result of this personal visit -found himself able to devise a simplified scheme that promised to be -successful. - -The outermost line of posts was established on the hills north of the -Neu Langenburg road, in such spots that any movement on about twenty -miles of its course must be seen by at least one of his men. Taking -this line as the base of a triangle, and the mouth of the nullah as the -apex, he arranged for posts to be held along the sides, and also on -perpendicular lines to the sides from the base. While he thus somewhat -narrowed the area that was watched, he concentrated observation on the -quarters from which danger was most to be expected, and, needing fewer -men, was able to give them shorter spells. - -On returning one day from a shooting expedition, he learnt that messages -had been received not long before from a scouting post near the Neu -Langenburg road. The first message was that an armed party had been -seen marching from the direction of Bismarckburg; the second, that the -party consisted of two white officers with a number of askaris, and had -struck into a track which would lead past Reinecke's plantation to the -nullah. One of the askaris carried a white flag. - -"Parlementaires," thought Tom. "They want to negotiate? Well, I must -hear what they have to say." - -For a moment he thought of going out at the head of a party of his men -to meet the enemy; but reflecting that he had no precise information of -their number, and that their object might be to lure him from his -defences, he decided to remain behind the barricade. - -Presently another message came through his chain of scouts, announcing -that the strangers had just passed a post about ten miles from the -nullah. After some two hours and a half he learnt that they were now -within five miles. Thereupon he ordered his men to take up their -allotted positions behind the barricade and in the trenches, and sent -Mwesa to the nearest scouting post, about two miles distant, to watch -for the enemy's coming, and to run back and tell him how many they were. -Mwesa was the only negro whom he could trust to form even an approximate -estimate of their number. - -In due time the lad came back with the report that the askaris were no -more than twenty. Reassured that no attack was intended by so small a -force, Tom awaited their arrival with composure. - -"But they mustn't come too close," he thought, "or they'll see too -much." - -He scribbled in German a note on a leaf from his pocket-book-- - -"Mr. Willoughby presents his compliments," he wrote, "and has the honour -to say that he, with ten men, will meet the recipient of this note, also -with ten men, at the edge of the forest, three hundred yards from his -position. Any attempt to advance across the clearing will be resisted." - -"Run and give that to the commanding officer," he said to Mwesa, "and -come back with his answer." - -"Him say no come back," said Mwesa, looking uncomfortable. - -"Not at all. He won't prevent you. Be quick." - -The boy ran off, disappeared in the forest, and in twenty minutes was -seen speeding back again. - -"You have an answer?" asked Tom. - -"Him look at paper, den laugh and talk to other man; me no savvy what -say. Den he tell me all right." - -"In English?" - -"Yes, sah, he talk English same as me." - -It was not long before a party of men emerged from the forest beyond the -clearing, and halted. There were ten askaris, one of whom carried a -white flag; and in the tall German accompanying them Tom recognised the -officer who had been his fellow-passenger on the _Hedwig von Wissmann_ -months before. - -Collecting the ten men whom he had already chosen, Tom passed out -through the barricade and advanced to meet the German. - -"Good day, Mr. Willoughby," said Major von Rudenheim, saluting. "You -will remember me, no doubt. We were on board the _Hedwig von Wissmann_ -together." - -"I remember you, Major," replied Tom, a little puzzled by this tone of -friendliness; "but I was not aware that I had come within your line of -vision." - -"Oh yes, I saw you," returned the major with a slight smile, "and I have -heard a good deal about you since. But you have got yourself into a -very awkward position, young man." - -He spoke in the tone a benevolent uncle might have used towards a small -boy. - -"Yes, your people have found it awkward," said Tom, smoothly. - -"You take me too literally, Mr. Willoughby. But youth is often -adventurous, and thoughtless; you do not quite realise the consequences -of your rash actions. It is a pity that a private quarrel should have -led you to take steps which bring you into conflict with the military -power. The outbreak of war, of course, made you a public enemy; but if -you had not been in such haste to pay off old scores it would have been -easy to arrange for your departure into British territory." - -"I assure you, Major, what you call a private quarrel had nothing -whatever to do with my action. We will leave my private affairs out of -the question. As you say, I became a public enemy. Well?" - -"You do not understand, perhaps, that we should be justified in treating -you as a spy." The major's tone was not quite so friendly now. - -"I don't understand what you are driving at," said Tom, bluntly. -"Hadn't you better come to the point?" - -A flicker of annoyance passed over the German's face. It vanished -instantly, and when he spoke again it was in the suave tones he had -employed at the beginning of the interview. - -"I come to make a reasonable--a friendly arrangement. There are certain -Germans, I believe, in your hands. I am not sure whether----" - -"To save time--I have a sergeant, two privates, and Mr. Reinecke." - -"Ah! And also certain askaris----" - -"Africans, not Germans." - -"But in our service, therefore Germans. Also a number of natives who -were being recruited for our army--potential Germans. Now, since it is -obvious that you cannot maintain your position indefinitely, you will no -doubt see the reasonableness of the proposal I put to you, namely, that -you surrender the German subjects you hold as prisoners, in exchange for -a safe-conduct for yourself and any twelve men you may select, to the -British lines." - -"And the rest? Besides the men, I have many women and children. What -will you do with them?" - -"That will be in the discretion of my superiors. The non-combatants will -no doubt return to their employment, from which they were enticed away. -As for the able-bodied men, technically they are mutineers and liable to -be shot. But in consideration of their ignorance they may possibly be -pardoned and allowed to re-enlist." - -"It is hardly a _quid pro quo_, is it?" said Tom. "You must be aware -that I could at any time during the past two or three months have made -my way to the British lines with all my able-bodied men without a -safe-conduct. You propose that I should save my skin at the expense of -handing back those poor creatures to the slavery they have been glad to -escape from?" - -"What are the niggers to you, Mr. Willoughby? The war, _ipso facto_, has -dissolved your partnership with Mr. Reinecke. Your interest in the -plantation and its workers has lapsed." - -"Far from it: my interest in the workers is greater than ever. I -enticed them away, you say; and believing that, you invite me to betray -them! Upon my word, Major von Rudenheim, those who sent you with an -invitation like that must have so low a standard of honour that I should -prefer not to trust to any assurances on their part." - -"You impeach my honour, sir?" cried the German, with an angry glare. - -"I take it that you are obeying orders, Major," replied Tom, quietly. -"Those niggers, as you call them, are under my protection: I say that -any one who proposes that I should abandon them on the terms you offer -holds _my_ honour very lightly. I don't think there is anything more to -be said." - -"Only this, sir. You reject a reasonable offer: I have not stated the -alternative. The niggers are under your protection! It will not serve -them. They will be exterminated, and you----" - -"Yes?" - -The major laughed. - -"You will fall--on the field of honour!" he said with a sneer, "or be -captured and shot." - -And with that he turned on his heel and strode off at the head of his -men. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII--A GOOD HAUL - - -The interview with Major von Rudenheim left Tom soberly reflective. -There could no longer be the least doubt that he was to be attacked. -The attempt to come to terms with him seemed to show that the Germans -were now under no illusions as to the strength of his position, and -wished to avoid operations which must involve the employment of a larger -force than the objective, from a strictly military point of view, -warranted. But their prestige was at stake throughout the whole region. -The native tribes, always restive under their galling yoke, would run -out of hand when it became generally known that the German power was -being set at defiance by an Englishman with a handful of negroes, and -that Germans were held in captivity. The menace of a great rising of -the blacks would grow increasingly serious, and the higher authorities, -having proved the uselessness of light measures, would now organise an -expedition in strength. - -Tom felt confident in his ability to hold his own behind his defences, -provided they were not attacked by artillery; and the country between -the nullah and Bismarckburg, at all times difficult, was now rendered so -much more difficult by the rains that the transport of guns would be a -formidable undertaking. It might prove to be impossible. In that case -the attack should fail. Tom had under his command a hundred and -forty-seven able-bodied men, of whom a score were trained askaris, some -fifty Wahehe were fairly efficient with the rifle, another thirty could -handle fire-arms well enough to do considerable execution at short -range, and the remainder were expert with the spears they had made for -themselves. Behind their fortifications, each man would perhaps be -equal to three outside. - -On the other hand, the difficulties of the defence were serious enough. -Provisions were running perilously low; if the nullah were besieged, the -end must come in about ten days. There was, further, the question of the -wounded. Casualties were bound to occur; the medical stores brought from -the plantation would be of little use in dealing with gunshot wounds: -there were no surgical appliances whatever. If Tom had known beforehand -what he was to learn before many days had passed, he might have met -Rudenheim's offer with a counter-proposal, instead of rejecting it -outright. New to warfare, he was ignorant of what fighting with modern -weapons means; but he foresaw suffering, and felt some uneasiness in -contemplating a possible long casualty list. - -It was time to dispatch another messenger to Abercorn. Neither of his -former messengers had returned; possibly neither had got through; but -with the crisis imminent it was right to put the position clearly before -the British authorities. He adopted the same plan as before: sent -duplicate notes on successive days, announcing his expectation of -attack, and stating his determination to resist as long as his -provisions lasted. - -Feeling it unwise to leave the nullah himself, he allowed Mirambo to -lead short shooting expeditions in the neighbourhood, to replenish the -larder. He devoted all his own energies to the maintenance and -strengthening of his fortifications, the drilling and exercising of the -men, and the allotment of duties to the non-combatants. Of these last -every man, and many women, had their definite tasks--to bring food and -ammunition to the fighting-posts, to remove and tend the wounded, and so -on. - -His plan of defence was to post twenty men on the cleft at the north end -of the nullah, in case the enemy should again attempt an entrance by the -"back door," and to employ all the rest in the nullah itself. Seventy -men were told off to hold the first line--the barricade and the trenches -on the flanks; the remainder, in support, were to man the communication -trench, which led to a fold of the cliff face about a hundred and fifty -yards in the rear, and gave complete cover from enemy fire. - -Waiting for critical events always puts a strain upon even the -stoutest-hearted. A schoolboy dreads the interval between the "call-up" -and the headmaster's thrashing more than the thrashing itself. The -soldier in the trenches knows more of the agony of fear when he awaits -the word of command than when he is actually going "over the top." As -day followed day, and no message came through the chain of scouts, Tom -found constant activity the only sedative for his overstrung nerves. - -Two little incidents relaxed the tension. One morning, just as he was -leaving his hut, he heard a terrible shriek from the lake side. Rushing -forward, he saw, near the brink, a woman waving her arms frantically, -and calling to a little toddling child, who was wading in the shallow -water towards a bright flower a few yards away. In an instant Tom saw -the cause of the mother's agitation. Just beyond the glowing blossom, a -few inches above the surface, lay what appeared to be a log of greenish -wood. Tom sprang into the water, caught up the child, and darted back; -and the seeming log sank with a gurgle and disappeared. Crocodiles had -been rarely seen since the occupation of the nullah; apparently they had -been scared away by the noise of so many people, which, however, had now -lost its terrors for them. Tom gave the child back to his grateful -mother, and, using one of the few phrases in the Wahehe tongue that he -had picked up, bade the woman be careful. - -It was in the afternoon of the next day that one of the messengers, sent -out more than a week before, returned: the other was never seen again. -The man was very proud of his success, and exhibited a small brass rod -given him as a reward by the m'sungu in Abercorn. Tom was more -interested to learn whether he had brought an answer to his message, and -the negro produced from his loin-cloth a small dirty envelope. Tearing -it open, Tom took out the still dirtier folded scrap of paper, which he -recognised at once as a leaf from his own pocket-book. One side bore -his message, now almost illegible; on the other he read the few words-- - -_Hold fast._ - _T. Burnaby, Major._ - -"He's short of paper, I suppose," Tom thought; he learnt later that in -the army a superior officer writes his reply to a communication from a -subaltern on the back. "But he might have said a little more. Doesn't -promise anything. Cold comfort, Major Burnaby. Yet it _is_ comfort -after all. He wouldn't say 'hold fast' if he didn't think there was a -chance. Still, I'm glad I sent a second message: hope he gets it." - -Towards ten o'clock on the fifth morning after the interview with Major -von Rudenheim, Tom was superintending work on the parapets of the -trenches when a message came from the nearest of his scouting posts. -From hill to hill had been shouted the news that a large column of white -men, askaris and porters, was marching along the Neu Langenburg road -from the direction of Bismarckburg. - -"At last!" - -Tom's exclamation had something of relief, from the strain of suspense; -something of anxiety, for what was to come. It was not certain, of -course, that the nullah was the enemy's objective, but he must act as if -it were. Within a few minutes every man had gone to his allotted post. - -The source of the message was a hill many miles to the westward of the -track by which Rudenheim had come. Two hours afterwards it was reported -that the column had reached that track, but had halted in a glade beside -the road; the men had thrown themselves on the ground. - -"They're taking a rest after their hilly march," thought Tom. "Or -perhaps they intend a night attack." - -But a few minutes later another message suggested a different -explanation. From the further-most eastern post came word that a -smaller party was marching from the direction of Neu Langenburg -westward. It was formed mainly of porters, with a number of askaris and -two white men. Was it not a fair inference that the junction of the road -with the northward track had been appointed as rendezvous for both the -columns, and that either the one was before its time or the other was -late? - -Tom made a rapid mental calculation, congratulating himself on the -personal knowledge of the road he had obtained in the course of his -round of inspection of the scouting posts. When the second column was -sighted (that is, only a few minutes before he heard of it), it must -have been nearly thirty miles from the rendezvous. Now, the spot where -the first column had halted was not the point on the Neu Langenburg road -that was nearest to the nullah. Some ten miles east of it there was a -scouting post closer to the nullah by about five miles; but the way to -it, though shorter, was much more arduous, and for that reason was not -at all likely to be chosen by the Germans as the route to their -objective. It seemed to Tom that by a rapid march with a light force he -might reach this spot on the road before the eastern column, and, given -favourable circumstances, prevent this column from joining the other. He -had a rosy vision of snapping up the stores it was conveying, with the -result that the threatened attack on the nullah would be at least -delayed, while his own resources would be increased. - -There were two risks to be taken into consideration: the first, that the -western column might not await the arrival of the eastern before -resuming its march to the nullah; the second, that the road between them -would be so closely patrolled as to render intervention impossible. The -scouts, however, had not reported the passing of patrols; and as to the -first risk, it seemed unlikely that the officer in command would make -any further movement until his force was complete. The prize was great, -in Tom's eyes well worth the risk, and after a few minutes' cogitation -he determined to "put his fate to the touch." - -Choosing forty of his best men to accompany him, with Mwesa and two of -M'setu's scouts, and leaving Mirambo in charge at the barricade, he -started southward. The route he must follow led over very hilly -country, covered in parts with forest, through which it might sometimes -be necessary to cleave a way. For this purpose he had ordered some of -his men to bring axes and bill-hooks, though he hoped that the scouts, -knowing the district thoroughly, would find a practicable track, and so -avoid the delays which cutting a path must involve. - -It was fortunate that since the great storm the rainfall had been light; -otherwise much of the ground would now have become swamp, and put him at -a disadvantage compared with the enemy on the well-kept high road. Tom -had always been known among his friends as a good "foot-slogger," and, -hardened as he now was by constant exercise, he had no difficulty in -keeping up with his lithe and limber guides. The party covered the -first twelve miles in less than three hours, over a track that ran -almost due south from the nullah, and was very little obstructed. Then, -however, they came into broken country, with steeper ascents and -descents and thicker vegetation, where the pace was necessarily -slackened. Once or twice the men had to use their implements, and Tom -chafed at the delay; but he let no sign of impatience escape him, and -found a few cheery words of praise a potent stimulus to his willing -negroes. - -Presently they came to a hill-stream flowing southward. An idea struck -Tom. - -"Does this stream cross the high road?" he asked. - -The scouts replied through Mwesa that it did. - -"Then is there a bridge?" - -He learnt that a bridge spanned the stream some distance east of the -post for which he had been making. The stream, which was much swollen -after a period of heavy rain, had cut a deep and wide channel, and -sometimes rose to within an arm's-length of the bridge. Now, however, -the rainfall for some days having been slight, it was likely that the -water was two men's height below the trestles of which the bridge was -made. - -This information caused Tom to change his objective. Instead of -continuing along the forest track that led directly to the scouting -post, he followed the course of the stream, and in some twenty minutes -came in sight of the bridge far below. Calling a halt, he sent one of -the men to the scouting post on a hill-top invisible from his present -position, to inquire of the man stationed there whether he had seen -anything of the enemy's columns, or of patrols. The scout's report -being reassuring, Tom led his party down to the road, through the -brushwood, rank grass, and bushy shrubs that lined the bank of the -stream. - -The ground within twenty yards of the road had evidently been at some -time cleared of the taller growing vegetation, no doubt to destroy -cover. But the lesser plants had sprung up only the more thickly, -furnishing safer cover even than the larger shrubs and trees above. - -Tom's first idea had been to have the bridge hacked down. This would -have effectually checked the march of the columns along the road, and -the stream was here so wide and deep, and its banks so steep, that the -enemy could not have crossed it until the bridge had been repaired. -Second thoughts raised an objection to this obvious measure. The column -would almost certainly be preceded by an advance guard, who would -discover that the bridge was broken and give warning. The main body -would halt, and Tom would have no chance of getting possession of the -stores without a fight. Ignorant of the strength of the column, he dared -not risk exposing his small force of comparatively untrained men in the -open. Unless he should see a fair prospect of dealing the enemy a -"knock-out blow," he would do much better to keep his men out of sight, -and remain content with having prevented the two columns from joining -forces and thus delayed their advance on the nullah. But this would be -only partial success: something more was wanted for complete -satisfaction; and an examination of the bridge suggested to Tom what -seemed a better way. - -Having first sent a couple of scouts in each direction along the road to -guard against surprise, he set three men with axes to cut nearly through -two of the piles supporting the bridge, one up, the other down stream, -just on the water line. A dozen others he sent a few yards along the -stream to weave two long, stout ropes from rushes and creepers. Expert -at this work, the natives in the course of an hour or so had completed -two serviceable ropes about thirty yards in length. Tom tested them by -means of an impromptu tug-of-war; then, the axe-men having long finished -their part of the job, he himself attached the ropes to the weakened -piles by means of bowlines in the notches and allowed them to sag into -the water. At intervals he weighted them with stones in order to keep -them below the surface, and carrying the free ends up stream, hid them -in the vegetation at the foot of the bank. All these operations near -the bridge were carried out by men wading in the water, in order that no -tracks on the ground should betray them to the enemy scouts. - -Tom had only just completed his preparations when the scouts he had sent -eastward came running back with news that the enemy column was in sight. -There were two white officers, and an innumerable company of porters and -askaris The negro's inability to estimate number was a constant worry to -Tom: anything above ten might be reported as a host. - -Withdrawing all his men about fifty yards up stream, and posting them -under cover of the rushes, he gave them precise orders as to what they -were to do when he blew his whistle. Until then no one was to whisper -or make the slightest movement. Each man held his rifle with bayonet -ready fixed. When he had proved that all were invisible from the road, -Tom found a spot where, concealed himself, he had a clear view of the -bridge. - -He hoped that the period of waiting would not be long, for stillness and -silence taxed the negroes more than anything else he could have demanded -of them. Already there were signs of restlessness among them when, -about half an hour after they had taken up their positions, he caught -sight of two figures some distance away, approaching through the bush at -the edge of the cleared space skirting the road. An urgent whisper -reduced the Wahehe to stillness again. The two askaris came on quietly, -pausing now and again to peer into the thickets beyond the clearing. -Just before they reached the bridge they stepped into the road, and were -joined by two more askaris who had emerged from the bush on the other -side. The four men crossed the bridge together, separated at the -western end, and pursued their way in couples as before. - -A few minutes later four files of askaris followed. At a short interval -came a connecting file, and then the main body, which consisted of two -parties of askaris marching in fours, with a gang of porters between -them. With each party there was a German N.C.O. Tom rapidly estimated -that the askaris numbered about sixty in all. - -When the first party reached the bridge, they broke step and formed two -deep to cross. Tom waited until about twenty had gained the other side, -then blew his whistle. The Wahehe sprang to their feet. Ten of them -fired a volley at the enemy who were upon the bridge, then charged -through the thin scrub upon those who had crossed and, startled by the -shots and the cries, had wheeled round at the sharp order of their -sergeant. Meanwhile twenty men, with Tom at their head, had dashed -straight towards the road in the other direction until they had a clear -view of the second party beyond the porters, then halted, fired one -volley, and charged with the bayonet. At the same time, two groups of -five rushed to the spot where the ends of the ropes lay hidden, seized -them and hauled with a will. The nearer pile collapsed; the farther held -until all ten men tugged at the same rope. Then it snapped like the -other, and the whole central part of the bridge fell with a crash into -the stream, carrying with it one or two of the rear files of the -askaris. - -Surprise is halfway to victory. Even European troops could hardly have -avoided confusion, however short-lived, when suddenly beset at close -quarters by an unsuspected enemy. The German sergeant who had crossed -the bridge hardly had time to bring his men into line before the Wahehe, -yelling the war-cry of their tribe, were among them. They were severed -from the other party by the broken bridge and the crowd of -panic-stricken porters, who flung down their loads and fled -helter-skelter into the bush. The sergeant and one or two more stood -firm and were cut down; the rest turned and bolted across the road, -seeking safety in the woods. - -Meanwhile the sergeant in command of the second party, being farther -from the bridge, had had a few seconds longer to prepare to meet the -attack. Before Tom reached him he had halted his men, formed them up -hurriedly, and ordered them to fix bayonets. But the time was all too -short. The men were still fumbling when the impetuous Wahehe at Tom's -heels had surged from the clearing on to the road. Tom made straight -for the sergeant, and thrust at him with his bayonet. The German deftly -parried the stroke, but before he could himself take the offensive Tom -swung his rifle over and brought the butt up swiftly against his -opponent's chin. The man fell like a log. His askaris did not await the -touch of cold steel. Some flung up their hands, others took to their -heels, the yelling Wahehe panting behind them. Tom became alive to the -danger of his own men scattering in the pursuit and losing themselves in -the forest. With loud blasts of his whistle he sounded the signal for -recall. Some of the men obeyed instantly, but many minutes had passed -before all returned, and the weapons of most of them bore witness to the -work they had been doing. - -Tom lost no time in taking stock of the situation. A few of the askaris -had been killed by rifle-shots, a few by bayonets. About twenty were -wounded, twelve so seriously that it was clear they could not be moved. -Rather more than twenty had surrendered. One of the German was killed, -the other lay where he had fallen. All the rest of the column were -scattered through the bush. - -Examining the loads dropped by the porters, Tom found that about half -consisted of food, half of small-arm ammunition, both valuable booty. He -distributed the bales among the unwounded prisoners and some of his own -men, and sent them off at once on the return march to the nullah. For -the wounded he could do nothing. He ordered those who were slightly -injured to revive the sergeant with a dash of water from the stream, and -to render first aid to their helpless comrades, knowing that help would -be forthcoming from the western column as soon as fugitives had reported -the disaster. - -By this time the last of the Wahehe had rejoined, and Tom set off on the -return journey, soon overtaking the carriers. He pressed the pace as -much as possible, though the risk of being pursued was slight. Late in -the afternoon, tired but jubilant, his men marched into the nullah, amid -exultant shouts from their fellows who manned the defences and the -non-combatants who crowded about them as they conveyed their spoils to -the village. - -Tom discovered that only three of his men had been slightly wounded. - -"Almost a bloodless victory," he said to himself. "What wonderful -luck!" - -But the negroes, discussing the affair far into the night, did not speak -of luck. They talked of "white man's medicine," and assured one another -that their particular white man had better "medicine" than any one else -in the world. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX--BELEAGUERED - - -Tom's first business was to examine his spoils of war. Besides a -considerable quantity of maize and other foods intended for the askaris, -there was a case containing coffee, condensed milk, tinned fruits, -biscuits, and a few bottles of wine--articles which were very welcome -additions to his private larder. Still more welcome were the boxes of -ammunition. One small case held a couple of dozen metal objects whose -use he did not know; but unscrewing the top of one of them he saw what -he took to be combustible material of some kind, and confirmed his guess -with a lighted match. These flares, he thought, might prove very useful -in case of a night attack. - -A commander's chief preoccupation, perhaps, is to divine the intentions -of the enemy. What would the column from Bismarckburg do? Its officers -had no doubt learnt within an hour or two what had happened to the -eastern column, and it seemed probable that the disaster would have -deranged their plans. In the course of the afternoon Tom received a -message from the scout who had been stationed on the hill overlooking -the enemy's halting place. The man reported that a number of the -askaris had climbed the hill on different sides, and he had withdrawn to -the next post northward. Tom guessed that the German commander had -suspected the presence on the hill of scouts who had given him away, and -had wisely determined to get rid of them. The post having been thus -abandoned, the enemy's movements could not be known at the nullah until -they had come within sight from the next post. That, however, was more -than twenty miles away, and Tom expected to receive warning of their -approach in ample time to prepare for them. He conjectured that they -would make no move until they had replaced the supplies of which they -had been deprived. - -He was not one to sit with folded hands, idly waiting. Next day, taking -advantage of his largely increased stock of ammunition, he spent a good -many hours in giving his men rifle practice. Owing to the nature of the -position, firing, when the attack came, was likely to be at point blank -range, so that it was unnecessary to instruct the mass of the natives in -the mysteries of adjusting sights. But in view of the possibility of -having to fall back up the nullah, he gave special instruction in long -range firing to a score of the men who had had former experience with -firearms. - -More than once he had wished for the companionship of a man of his own -race. Mirambo was a devoted lieutenant, but consultation with him could -only be carried on through Mwesa, and his range of ideas was as limited -as the boy's command of English. Tom felt the lack of an equal, a man -of like upbringing and education, with whom he might have had those long -and intimate talks in which mind reacts on mind with mutual helpfulness. -More than ever he wished it now. An advancing enemy should be harassed; -but Tom dared not leave the nullah himself, and neither Mirambo nor any -other native had the cool judgment and the self-control necessary in the -commander of even a disciplined force, much more in one who had only -half-trained negroes under his leadership. Pitted against well-drilled -askaris under capable German officers, the Wahehe would be hopelessly -overmatched; they would almost certainly be outflanked and cut off, and -Tom could not afford to lose men. Under a white man the risks would not -have been so great. But it is idle to long for the impossible, and Tom -realised that the only safe course was to keep the men with him. He -gave orders to his scouts to fall back upon the nullah when the enemy -advanced, but slowly, and noting their progress from point to point. - -It was on the third day after the little action at the bridge that his -furthermost scout reported the enemy were on the move. They had marched -two miles along the track from the spot on which they had encamped -beside the Neu Langenburg road. There was a great host of askaris, a -great host of porters, and several white men. Some of the porters were -dragging a long green bottle on wheels. - -A long green bottle on wheels! - -Tom felt a sinking at heart. What could this be but a field gun? The -hosts of askaris did not dismay him: their numbers were, no doubt, -exaggerated by the natives as usual; but he recognized that his -barricade of trees would be a poor defence against shell-fire. There -was little time to improvise adequate protection; but he set almost the -whole of his men to work at once in digging a deep trench a few yards -behind the barricade. - -At intervals during the rest of the day came further reports of the -enemy's progress. Their advance was slow; it was clear that they could -not reach the nullah before nightfall, and after their long march they -would not make an immediate attack. Leaving a strong guard at the -barricade, Tom went to his hut to fortify himself with sleep for what -the next day might bring forth. But he found it impossible to rest. -Now that the critical moment was approaching, his mind went over and -over the situation. Had he left undone anything that might have been -done? What would be the effect of shell-fire on his men--aye, and on -himself? What were the enemy's plans? Would they, after battering down -his outer defences, make a fierce charge into the nullah, relying on the -defenders' demoralisation by the bombardment? Thinking over these and -other questions, he felt that he had done all he could: the rest was on -the knees of the gods. - -Very early next morning he made a round of inspection, then issued -through Mwesa his final orders. At the first sign of hostile action the -men were to take up their allotted positions. He warned them that they -must expect something worse than rifle bullets; but none were to leave -the trenches without permission. - -To give notice of the enemy's approach, he had posted scouts on the top -of the sides of the nullah. But the first intimation came not from -them, but from the enemy himself. About midday there was a dull boom in -the south. A few seconds afterwards a shell burst with a shattering -explosion on the hill face. A cry of astonishment and fear broke from -some of the Wahehe; but Tom, in the centre of the trench with Mwesa at -his side, calmed them by asking whether they supposed the shells would -destroy the sides of the nullah. The response was an outburst of -mocking laughter. It was a big noise, said the men; but the result had -been only the fall of broken branches and fragments of rock. All was -well. - -The bombardment was continued and maintained steadily throughout the -day. Some shells fell harmlessly on the steep sides of the nullah, -others in the stream or among the bushes some distance up, others on the -clearing outside. One struck the barricade, scattering boughs and twigs -and making a gap; but none entered the trenches, and no man was hit. By -the end of the day the natives had become indifferent to the -bombardment, laughing and joking as they watched the smoke and the -splinters which did them no harm. With sunset the shelling ceased, and -movement in the lower part of the nullah became once more possible. So -far, none of the enemy had been seen, and Tom wondered how the gunners -had been able to range with even approximate accuracy on their unseen -target. He never knew that Major von Rudenheim had not considered the -bearing of a flag of truce inconsistent with the taking of careful -measurements, by means of which he had fixed on several spots in the -forest whence the nullah might be shelled at known ranges. - -It seemed to Tom hardly likely that the enemy would attempt a night -attack before they had ascertained how much damage their gun had done. -Nevertheless, he kept a large number of men under arms all night, -relieving them every four hours. Two of the askaris were selected to -light the captured flares and throw them over the barricade if the enemy -made a move. In the middle of the night Tom snatched a few hours' -sleep, leaving Mirambo in command; and when, shortly before dawn, on -returning to his post, he learnt that no sounds had been heard from -beyond the clearing, he felt sure that not even a reconnaissance had -been attempted, or it would have been detected by the negroes' sharp -ears. - -It was a misty, drizzly morning, and the trees at the edge of the forest -two hundred yards south of the nullah loomed through the murk only as a -blurred mass. Tom gave orders to his scouts, before they climbed to -their watch-posts above, to be specially vigilant. About seven o'clock -a shell burst just behind the trench, and three of his men were slightly -injured by splinters. The fact that the shell exploded before the boom -of the gun was heard, showed that the gunners had drawn nearer during -the night. This was the opening of a bombardment that continued for -about three hours. Again little damage was done, most of the shells -falling many yards behind the barricade. - -Suddenly the firing ceased. The scouts, sharp-eyed though they were, -had reported no movement among the trees, when there came the shrill -blast of a whistle. Tom had posted himself with his men at the -barricade, and he was just able to see, through the mist, a compact line -of askaris break from cover. There was no attempt at skirmishing; the -enemy rushed straight across the clearing towards the mouth of the -nullah. Twenty yards behind them came a second line, and with these Tom -saw the white helmet of a German officer. - -He had given orders that no man was to fire until he sounded his -whistle; but it was too much to expect that all his negroes, in the -excitement of what was to many of them their first action, would -exercise the self-control of disciplined troops. Only one of them, -however, let off his rifle, and the single shot, fired at random, was -hailed with a derisive yell by the askaris. Tom waited until they were -half-way across the clearing; then he blew his whistle. Along the whole -length of the barricade burst a shattering volley, not perfectly in -time, but aimed low, as Tom had instructed. At so short a range the -effect was inevitable. The first line of the assailants was broken; -groans mingled with the shouts; the survivors wavered. The German -non-commissioned officer from behind ran among them, threatening them -with his revolver, and under this stimulus they charged forward, with -the second line at their heels. - -Now Tom gave the signal for a second volley. The enemy were barely fifty -yards away. Many of them dropped; some flung themselves on the ground. -The few who struggled on found themselves baulked by the unsuspected -moat; and the German having fallen, and no supports being at hand, they -turned and fled. Before they reached the cover of the trees another -storm of bullets swept upon them. - -The Wahehe gave rein to their jubilation. They shouted, pranced, slapped -their thighs. Some wished to dash out from the barricade in pursuit of -the enemy; but Tom sternly ordered them to stand to attention. He was -as much pleased as they were that the first assault had failed; unlike -them, he knew that this was only the beginning of things. But it was of -good omen for the future. Brief though the engagement had been, it had -weakened the enemy in numbers, whether seriously Tom, ignorant of their -reserves, could not tell. It had encouraged his own men; best of all, -it had proved their steadiness. The three shots they had fired were all -that their magazines contained; now that he could trust them not to -waste ammunition, he could allow them to keep their magazines full. - -For more than an hour there was no sign of a renewal of the attack. -Then, however, the bombardment was resumed. It would appear that while -the defenders' attention was wholly taken tip with repelling their -assailants, some of the enemy, unseen in the rear, must have "spotted" -for the gun, for the shells now began regularly to pierce the barricade, -exploding on impact, and tearing away masses of the leafy boughs. -Crouching at the bottom of the muddy trench, the Wahehe suffered no hurt -except bruises and abrasions from splinters of wood and metal; and Tom -resolved to have the breaches in the barricade repaired during the -night. - -But nightfall did not bring a cessation of the bombardment. Every few -minutes throughout the night the shells cut new gaps. Work was -impossible. Tom guessed that the enemy's object was not merely to -prevent repairs, but to wear the defenders out by breaking their rest -and keeping them constantly on the watch. In one way, however, the -persistent bombardment was a source of satisfaction to him. While the -shells continued to fall, there was no likelihood that the enemy would -again assault. The prospect of a night attack had caused him much -anxiety, for the negro's morale is never at its best in the dark; -further, in darkness and confusion the weight of numbers would tell -heavily against him. - -Tom knew nothing about artillery, and began to feel a certain contempt -for the gun, so slight was the material damage done by its shells. It -was not, however, a field gun, but a small mountain gun, more easily -transportable than a larger weapon. After the bombardment had continued -for some hours neither he nor the men were much disturbed by the shell -bursts, and he felt more and more confident of his ability to hold his -own. - -But when daylight came again he discovered that the enemy had had -another purpose in their shelling. The bombardment continued. The -scouts from their high posts above reported that they saw men's heads in -the ground on the further side of the clearing. Unable to make out what -they meant, Tom climbed the side of the nullah under cover of the bushes -until he reached the trench, and cautiously looked out across the open -space beyond the barricade. Some thirty yards in advance of the edge of -the forest, on the level of the ground, he saw the heads of several -askaris moving up and down. At one moment a dozen heads were in sight, -the next some of them disappeared, only to bob up again a few seconds -later. - -"By George, they're digging," he said to himself. - -Quite ignorant of all military operations except those simple manoeuvres -learnt in the course of field days with his school cadet corps, he was -at first at a loss to understand why the enemy were digging a trench -which was apparently to extend from the forest to the nullah. He had -perhaps heard the word sap, but it conveyed nothing to his mind. It was -not long, however, before he guessed the meaning of this unlooked-for -movement. The enemy were digging a means of approach by which they -would avoid the inevitable losses of a rush across the open, and the -bombardment during the night had been designed partly to cover the -sounds of their tools. - -Watching intently, he noticed that the direction of the enemy's trench -was not a straight line towards the barricade, but a series of short -zigzags, obviously to minimise the risk of interference by enfilading -fire. - -"I ought to try to stop that little game," he thought. - -He lifted his rifle, and took a shot at one of the moving heads. -Instantly they all sank down; whether he had hit he could not tell; and -a fusillade burst from the trees on the other side of the clearing. For -some minutes he saw no more of the diggers; then a head and shoulders -showed for a moment, a little nearer than the nearest head had been -before. - -"I can't stop them, apparently," he thought, "but I can delay them." - -Hurrying down to the trench behind the barricade, he sent a dozen of his -best marksmen, including a couple of the askaris, to the position he had -left, with orders to fire at the diggers whenever they appeared. At -their first shots there was another fusillade from the forest; then an -interval of about a quarter of an hour during which the enemy was -silent, though Tom's men continued to snipe. After that the enemy, -having located the position of the trench, began sniping in turn; but -the men were so well hidden that they suffered no loss. Presently, -however, a shell burst a few yards above the trench, scattering -splinters upon its occupants; and a few minutes later another shell fell -plump on the parapet at the northern end, killing two men and wounding -several. Tom at once withdrew the snipers from their position, and sent -them into the similar trench on the other side of the nullah. From this -they sniped for a considerable time before they were again detected, and -when shells began to fall there also, Tom removed the men to comparative -safety in the bed of the nullah. The wounds inflicted by the shells -were so severe that he did not feel justified in exposing his willing -soldiers to injuries which he was unable to deal with satisfactorily. - -The sniping being thus put an end to, and a sortie being out of the -question, Tom had to reconcile himself to the inevitable. The -bombardment slowed down, either because the enemy were satisfied that it -had crushed opposition, or maybe to save ammunition. Several times -during the day Tom went up to his observation post, and noted the -progress of the zigzags. The sap was so narrow that the enemy would -have to advance in single file, and he thought his men behind the -barricade would have an easy task in shooting them down when the attack -came. - -Next morning, however, he saw with something like dismay that the enemy -had dug a trench across the clearing, parallel with the barricade, and -about eighty yards from it. The full meaning of their work was now -clear to him. They would reach the trench by means of their zigzag path. -When the word was given, they would swarm out, and though their first -wave must suffer from the defenders' fire, the distance they had to -cover was so short, and they could be so safely reinforced, that they -might overwhelm the defence by sheer weight of numbers. Some of the -survivors of the first attack had come near enough to the barricade to -see the moat, and no doubt, when the enemy attacked a second time, they -would be prepared to meet that not very formidable obstacle. - -All that day Tom anxiously awaited the assault. After a quiet morning, -the gun opened fire, and for two hours pounded the barricade, until it -was breached in many spots. When the shelling ceased Tom expected the -attack to follow immediately; but minute after minute passed, and his -scouts gave no sign of any movement among the enemy. Taking advantage -of this inaction, Tom set some of the men to fill up the gaps in the -barricade, but they had no sooner started work than the enemy's snipers, -unseen among the trees, began to pick them off. It was clear that the -issue of the struggle would depend on the fighting capacity of the men, -and not on the strength of the defences. - -For the past two days the weather had been dull but dry, and Tom found -himself longing for a downpour of rain, which would flood the enemy's -approaches. His anxieties were the greater through his ignorance of -their numbers. Since the first attack he had seen none of them except -the sappers; whether the men biding their time in the forest were -scores, hundreds, or even thousands he was utterly unable to guess. If -he had known the German's contempt for "cannon-fodder" he might have -suspected that their numbers were not very great, for a German officer -with large resources would hardly have drawn off at the first check. - -Darkness closed down upon the nullah. Tom dared not leave his post, -weary though he was. Lying on a heap of twigs he waited, wondering what -the night would bring forth. - - - - -CHAPTER XX--RAISING THE SIEGE - - -Midnight passed: the still hours stole on; and Tom was dozing when Mwesa -roused him. - -"Noise dis way, sah," said the boy. - -Tom sprung up. From the direction of the forest came slight sounds. -The enemy were on the move. He sent to the trenches above the men -detailed to hold them: the rest he ordered to their posts behind the -barricade. Their movements were silent. - -The sounds from without were so faint that it was clear the enemy hoped -for a surprise. Presently they ceased altogether, and Tom guessed that -the men had assembled in their trench and only awaited the word. At -each end of the barricade he had placed an askari with flares and -matches. - -The silence was brief. Suddenly a whistle sounded. The air was rent -with a great shout as the enemy askaris leapt from the trench and surged -forward towards the barricade. Instantly Tom gave a signal; two blazing -flares soared over the barricade and fell on the ground beyond, lighting -up a wide space around them. Peering through a gap, Tom saw the line of -black men pressing on. Some carried axes, others oblong -hurdles--pontoons for throwing across the moat. Only a few seconds after -the signal for the attack had been given, another whistle cut the air. -From the barricade and the trenches above rifles flashed, and there were -gaps in the ranks of the assailants. In the pressure of a moment like -this regular volleys were impossible: each man fired as fast as he -could. - -In spite of their losses the enemy pushed on with scarcely a check. -They had not yet fired a shot. Some crossed the moat with flying leaps -and began to hack at the barricade with their axes. Others rushed over -on the hurdles, and thrusting their rifles into the gaps, fired at -random. The defenders here, having emptied their magazines, lunged at -the foremost assailants with their bayonets, while the men in the raised -trenches kept up a hot fire on the supports rushing up behind. But the -stream seemed never to slacken. If a man fell back from the barricade, -another took his place. A big askari forced his way through a gap, and -wounded two men before he was transfixed by Mirambo's bayonet. Almost -before the bayonet could be withdrawn others of the enemy came through -at the same spot, and Mirambo and the men about him found themselves -engaged in a fierce hand-to-hand struggle. The same thing happened at -many parts of the defences, and though for every man who got through two -or three had been hurled back into the moat or among their comrades, it -was clear that by pressure of numbers the Wahehe must soon be -overwhelmed. - -Tom created a temporary lull in the attack by emptying his revolver on -the largest group of the askaris. The flares having now gone out, he -took advantage of the darkness to sound the signal for withdrawal, and -his men, obedient to their training, rushed back into the trench and -reloaded. From beyond the barricade the enemy were pouring a hot fire -upon the higher trenches, and Tom knew by the sounds that there were -still large reserves to deal with. Coming to the conclusion that the -position at the entrance of the nullah could not be held much longer, he -sent the greater part of his force to take up new positions at the bend, -retaining a few to fight a rearguard action. But it appeared either -that the first ranks of the enemy were exhausted, or that they had had -orders not to push forward into the nullah at once after the entrance -had been won. Their officers, who had not yet come into view, probably -suspected that the nullah might have many traps and pitfalls for their -men in the darkness, and reckoned on an easy conquest in daylight. At -any rate there was no immediate pursuit, and within half an hour Tom had -withdrawn all his men into the trench at the bend. - -A few minutes afterwards a flame burst out at the entrance, spreading -across the nullah from side to side. The enemy had set fire to the -shattered barricade. None of them were visible in the glare: it seemed -that, content with having forced the outer defence, the main body had -had returned to their trench to await the dawn, now near at hand. - -When Tom numbered his men, he found that thirteen were missing, and some -thirty were wounded, many of them lightly. He felt a pang at the -thought that some of the thirteen were lying seriously wounded on the -field, but it was impossible to search for them. - -He realised that he was now in the last ditch. If the enemy once rounded -the bend, the village on the high ground a quarter of a mile beyond -would be exposed to their fire, and for the sake of the non-combatants -it would be necessary to yield. True, given time, another trench might -be dug across the nullah, and the enemy's advance delayed again there; -but his men were too weary to start digging at once, and, in any case, -it was unlikely that the work could be completed in the short hour -before dawn. There was nothing to be done but to hold the trench as -long as possible, and inflict such losses on the enemy that they would -be compelled to await reinforcements before attempting a final assault. -They might even be satisfied with having captured the entrance, and -leave the rest to time and famine. Escape was impossible, for, knowing -of the "back door," they would certainly take care to block exit that -way, which could easily be done by posting a few men at the head of the -narrow cleft. - -What hope was there of relief from the British border? In reply to his -note a Major Burnaby had bidden him "hold fast," a message that seemed -to hold some slight promise of help. Would that help come in time? If -the enemy were in sufficient strength, a few hours might see the defence -overwhelmed and the little community at the mercy of the conquerors. -How many days was it since he had received Major Burnaby's message? -Three?--or four? He could not tell. He had lost count of time. So -obsessed had he been with the problems of the defence that he had given -scarcely a thought to what might have been passing in the village. Moses -had kept the fighting men supplied with food, sending down carriers -under cover of night. The men on guard at the cleft had reported that -all was well, and the single sentry who kept watch on the island prison -had sent word that the firing had at first caused some excitement among -the prisoners. They had grouped themselves on the shore, gazing down -the nullah, talking to one another--all but Reinecke, who had stood -apart from the rest, and sometimes walked up and down with quick -impatient footsteps, twirling his long white moustache. Tom had not -seen how the sound of the shells had caused the women and children to -huddle together and sit cowering and moaning in their huts. He had not -heard their wails when word came that such-and-such were dead, nor their -croons of pity and tenderness as they did their little best for those -who were wounded. All his thoughts were centred on the one pressing -problem: how to hold out, to wear down the enemy, to gain time. - -When morning dawned he looked anxiously down the nullah. Its downward -slope enabled him to survey its whole length to the entrance without -unduly exposing himself. He saw a few figures moving about where the -barricade had been, but between him and them none of the enemy was in -sight. The vegetation on either side of the stream, growing to the -bases of the precipitous sides, would shelter hundreds: had any of them -crept up towards him under this cover during the night? He could not -tell; nor dared he send out scouts to reconnoitre. - -Presently he saw that the men at the entrance had been joined by two -white officers. The Germans, who had kept in the background while the -askaris fought at the barricade, had now come forward to inspect the -position and direct the further operations. Their intentions were soon -made manifest. There was a burst of smoke from the middle of the burnt -barricade, and a shell exploded on the cliff-side just behind the -trench. Tom at once withdrew his men to the cover of the bushes beyond -the bend, leaving only a handful in the trench to fire if any of the -enemy showed themselves within effective range. The bombardment thus -opened did not greatly disturb him. The bend effectually protected his -men from harm, and the gun was not of a calibre large enough to demolish -the trench, of which only a portion was visible to the gunners. Some -damage was done to the parapet on the eastern side, but the enemy's -object was clearly to intimidate the defenders, for the futility of -their shots, in a material sense, must have been clear to them. - -It was clear, too, that they had learnt to respect the quality of the -defence opposed to them. They gave no sign of an intention to advance in -the open. The bombardment was vigorous and sustained, but except for -the few figures moving about the gun at the entrance, not a man of them -was seen. This inaction seemed ominous to Tom. He could not think that -they meditated another night attack, for, unfamiliar with the ground, -they would be at a disadvantage in darkness. Was it not more probable -that, relying on the bombardment to distract the defenders and to drive -them under cover, they were creeping through the brushwood nearer and -nearer to the trench, and would by-and-by make a rush, with the hope of -profiting by surprise? This was the movement that he most dreaded, -because the result must depend absolutely on the numbers opposed to him. - -Just after mid-day the bombardment suddenly ceased. For a few minutes -there was a breathless silence in the nullah: nothing was heard but the -gurgling of the stream. Then the storm broke. From the bushes on each -side, within a hundred yards of the trench, burst a swarm of men at the -double. Tom had already summoned his men to their posts in the trench, -and the masses of the enemy had covered only a few yards when they -encountered a hail of lead from the parapet. In spite of many gaps in -their crowded ranks they dashed forward with ferocious yells, and -pressed the charge up to the very edge of the trench. There, however, -they came under fire from some of the best marksmen, whom Tom had -stationed in the block-houses and also in the bushes on higher ground in -the rear. They reeled under the double fire; a few who sprang over the -parapet into the trench were bayoneted or clubbed; the rest turned and -fled panic-stricken into the cover they had lately left with such -confidence, many of them falling to the shots of the triumphant Wahehe. - -In the silence that followed, Tom was startled by sounds of firing from -the north. It flashed upon him that the Germans had arranged a -simultaneous attack on the cleft. The guard of twenty men he had posted -there, behind their barricades, ought to be able to hold their own on -ground so favourable to them; but Tom at this moment felt that he must -see for himself how they were faring. The repulse of the main attack -gave him at least a respite: he would not be absent more than thirty or -forty minutes; so leaving Mirambo in command, he hurried up the nullah. - -On the way he was met by Moses himself, running to tell him that the men -above had sent word that the enemy was upon them, and asking that the -m'sungu would come to their assistance. Knowing the nature of the ground -they were defending, Tom guessed that the support they craved was rather -moral than material. He did not care to send for reinforcements to -Mirambo, who might yet be hard pressed; but as he passed through the -village he collected half a dozen men who had been slightly wounded in -the first action, and ordered them to follow him up the ladder. Unknown -to him they were joined by the armed sentry who patrolled the lake-side -opposite the island. The man afterwards explained that he was tired of -watching prisoners, and wished to have his share in useful work. - -Tom found, as he had expected, that the men guarding the cleft had no -reason to be alarmed. Posted behind the first of the barricades -commanding a difficult passage along which the enemy must come in single -file, they could have held the position indefinitely. It appeared that -the sight of a white officer among the askaris who had emerged from the -end of the ravine had struck them with dread: how could black men stand -against a m'sungu? They hailed Tom's arrival with shouts of delight. -Being for once unaccompanied by Mwesa, he was unable to cheer them with -words; but he managed to make them understand by signs that he trusted -them, stayed with them for a few minutes while they fired at the enemy, -who showed no eagerness to risk the perils of advancing against a -position so formidable; then, confident that all was safe in this -quarter, at any rate for a time, hastened back to where the danger -threatened. - -Just before he came to the rock from which the lake was visible, he -heard shouts of alarm and excitement from below. Surely the enemy could -not already have broken through? There had been no firing. Hurrying -down at some risk of a fall, he halted at the rock in amazement at an -extraordinary drama that was being enacted. - -Between the island and the shore a crazy raft was rocking in the water, -under the paddles, rough branches of trees, wielded in desperate haste -by the German prisoners. From Tom's high position the reason of their -frantic exertions was only too apparent. He could see far into the -clear water of the lake. About the raft it was alive with crocodiles. -The hideous reptiles swam round and round, sheering off where the water -was churned by the paddles, but pushing their snouts on to the edges of -the raft where the paddlers stood. - -The scene would have been laughable but for a possible element of -tragedy. The raft was so slight, evidently so hastily put together, -that it dipped now on one side, now on another, under the strokes of the -paddles or the pressure of the crocodiles' snouts. Water poured over -it. The men dared not shift their positions, for every moment -threatened to make it capsize. Divided between anxiety to gain the -shore and the urgency of beating off their horrid foes, they used their -futile paddles, now for propelling the raft, now for smiting the -reptiles' heads. - -"The madmen!" thought Tom. "How do they suppose they can escape? But -where is the sentry?" - -Women and children, shouting and screaming, thronged the shore, but -there was no armed man among them. - -Tom watched the scene as if fascinated. The positions of the men on the -raft had evidently been arranged with care to ensure its balance, which -was disturbed from moment to moment by the violence of their blows. In -spite of all, they were making progress towards the lake-side. Suddenly, -in a moment, Fate said her last word to Curt Reinecke. Intending to -strike a snout that had just slid on to the raft almost at his feet, he -overreached himself, the raft tilted, and he was in the water. The -shriek that rose from the unhappy man rang long in Tom's ears. At the -spot where he had fallen there was a furious swirl as the crocodiles -crowded together, and disappeared into the depths of the lake. - -For a moment Tom was paralysed with horror. Then collecting himself, he -hastened down to the lake, and summoned the women to assist him in -launching the large raft on which food was taken to the prisoners. -Reinecke's fate had given the others a short respite. Before the -reptiles returned to the surface the Germans had transferred themselves -from the one raft to the other, and pale, cowed, trembling mortals, were -paddled to the shore. - -Tom had no time to question them, or to inquire about the missing -sentry. The sound of scattered shots drew him at his best speed towards -the trench. When he reached it, he found that his men were sniping at -individual askaris who were hurriedly making their way, not up, but down -the nullah. Surely the enemy were not withdrawing? - -"Me hear shots long way off, sah," said Mwesa, running towards his -master excitedly. - -Tom thrilled from top to toe. - -"Are you sure?" he asked. - -"Sure nuff, sah. Mirambo he say no: old ears, sah, no can hear, same as -me." - -Tom wondered. Could it be true? Was the long-expected relief coming at -last? Could there be any other explanation of distant firing? He -strained his ears for the welcome sound. He gazed towards the end of -the nullah. There were certainly signs of activity there. And then -came the sound that could not be mistaken. Somewhere to the south rapid -rifle fire was going on. - -For a few moments all other feelings were submerged in overpowering -thankfulness. Then the possibilities of the situation struck upon his -mind. It was clear that some of the enemy had been withdrawn to meet -this attack in their rear. Had they all gone? Had the conquest of the -nullah been wholly abandoned? That must be put to the test. - -He sent Mirambo out with a dozen sharpshooters to feel his way down the -nullah. Stealing along under cover of the bushes, the men had gone -nearly two hundred yards before the sound of shots reached the trench. -A scout hurried back to report that the whole of the enemy force was -retreating. Tom instantly collected all his remaining fighting men, and -led them down after Mirambo's party. - -Presently another scout came with the news that the enemy had not all -left the nullah, but had manned the old trench just within the -barricade. Tom felt his way forward cautiously through the bush, and -overtook Mirambo where he had halted about a hundred yards from the -trench. Southward the crackle of rifle-fire was growing louder and more -distinct. It would be a pity to lose an opportunity of routing the -troops who still remained in the nullah, dispirited as they must be by -the knowledge that a fight was going on in their rear. - -Tom jumped at the chance of employing against the enemy the manoeuvre -which the enemy had unsuccessfully employed against him. He ordered the -greater part of his men to creep through the trees and bush on each -side, taking care to avoid making the least noise, and to halt when they -came within fifty yards of his old trench, now manned by the enemy. At -the same time, to divert attention, he sent word to the men he had left -at the bend to fire a shot occasionally, aiming at the cliffs. - -When all was ready he gave the signal, and with a vociferous whoop -eighty men sprang from their places of concealment and followed him in a -whirlwind dash upon the trench. The askaris there, taken aback by this -sudden charge of an enemy who had hitherto stood wholly on the -defensive, had no ears for the commands of their German lieutenant. -Without pausing even to fire one volley, they sprang out of the trench, -sprinted over the ruins of the barricade, leapt the moat or crossed by -the hurdles, and fled helter-skelter into the forest, flinging away -their arms as they ran. - -Tom's men dashed after them in a flush of enthusiasm; among the pursuers -none were nimbler or more excited than the captured askaris. Tom -shouted to them to take the fugitives prisoners, and not to use their -weapons except against those who resisted. As for himself, he put every -ounce of what little energy remained to him into the chase of the German -officer, who, finding himself deserted by his men, had shown a clean -pair of heels. Tom was up with him before he gained the forest. The -German, aware that he was outrun, suddenly swung round and half raised -his arm to fire his revolver. But he was a shade too late. Tom hurled -himself upon him with all the impetus gained in his sprint across the -clearing, struck the revolver from his hand with his left fist, and with -his right dealt the officer a smashing blow on the chin that sent him -headlong backward with a crash. - -Leaving him to be picked up by some of the older and less fleet-footed -of the negroes, Tom hurried on towards the sounds of firing. He had no -need to go far. Fugitives from the nullah had reached their comrades, -who were falling back before a force of white men and Rhodesian police -advancing on a wide front. Realising that they were between two fires, -the enemy gave up the hopeless struggle, and scattered to right and -left, seeking safety in the pathless forest. The firing ceased, and -within ten minutes of leaving the nullah Tom was grasping the hand of a -tall bronzed Englishman who bore a major's crown upon his sleeve. - -"Tom Willoughby, I suppose," said that officer, looking with a quizzical -smile into the tired brown eyes on a level with his own. - -"You're Major Burnaby?" - -"Yes. A nice little scoop, eh? Now, we've no time to lose. Take me to -your nullah. Your people must trek at once. We've cut the wires on the -Neu Langenburg road. Two detachments half a mile apart are holding a -place clear for our crossing. With luck we'll get through before they -send up troops from Bismarckburg. But we must hurry." - - - - -CHAPTER XXI--WILLOUGHBY'S SCOUTS - - -An hour later a singular procession marched southward through the -forest. At the head went a number of Msetu's scouts, with an advanced -guard of strapping Rhodesian planters, young and middle-aged. Behind -these, a detachment of Rhodesian native police, their broad black faces -shining. Then, a happy throng of women and children, each bearing a -bundle. These were followed by a number of white men and black, all -wearing bandages about an arm or a leg or the head. Then, twenty or -more couples of native soldiers with the Red Cross upon their sleeves, -carrying field ambulances on which lay still, bandaged figures, white -and black. Next, four Germans, among whom the stiff bulky form of Major -von Rudenheim was conspicuous, and thirty odd askaris--prisoners guarded -by Rhodesian police. Then Major Burnaby, with Tom Willoughby, Mwesa in -close attendance behind. Then a large body of native porters, stepping -lightly under the heavy burdens on their heads. Following these marched -the whole body of the Wahehe fighting men, led by Mirambo; six of them -drew a mountain gun; and finally, at an interval, the rearguard of -British planters, volunteers in the service of the Empire. - -There is no need to relate the details of their uneventful journey. -Next day, in a pelting rainstorm, they crossed the Neu Langenburg road, -where their numbers were increased by two small detachments of Rhodesian -police under British officers, whose watch upon the road had not been -molested. Late on the third day the procession, weary, drenched, but at -the top of high spirits, filed up the hill into the little town of -Abercorn. - -It is perhaps worth while, however, to record two conversations. - -When the arrangements for the evacuation of the nullah had been made, -Major Burnaby had leisure for a little talk with Tom Willoughby, over a -bottle of excellent hock from the case Tom had captured on the Neu -Langenburg road. - -"Oh, that's all right," said the major, in response to Tom's warm -expression of thanks. "You owe it to my old father-in-law, you know--Mr. -Barkworth." - -"Indeed!" - -"Yes: he took a fancy to you on the boat. Dear old man! His heart's as -young as it was when I first met him in Uganda twenty years ago--when I -was about your age. He was mightily perturbed about you when we got -word that the mad dog had broken loose. Wrote off at once to Reinecke, -whom he knew long ago, asking him to pass you across the border with a -safe-conduct, and became quite ill when Reinecke replied that you had -been accidentally killed. He gave a very circumstantial account of your -accident, by the way." - -"He was a good liar," said Tom. - -"Was?" - -"Yes, he's dead--horribly. He came to attack me, and I collared him and -put him on the island in the lake. I suppose he grew impatient when he -heard the firing, couldn't wait for the end, and got his -fellow-prisoners to make a sort of a raft. Our sentry deserted his post, -with the most praiseworthy intentions, and Reinecke took advantage of -his absence to launch the raft. He was attacked by crocodiles; Reinecke -lunged at one, and toppled over. I saw the whole thing: the -recollection makes me sick." - -"Poor devil! He was a tricky sort of fellow, according to Mr. -Barkworth." - -Tom related the incidents that had led to his occupation of the nullah. - -"He deserved no better fate," remarked Major Burnaby at the close of the -story. "Fellows like him make one unjust, perhaps--I mean, one would -rather not regard him as a typical German. Unhappily his countrymen are -doing their best to make the name of Germany odious." - -"What are they doing, sir? What's the war about? Of course I've heard -nothing." - -Major Burnaby gave an outline of the public events that led to the -war--events which all the world knows. - -"But the real origin of the war is Germany's tigerish greed," he said. -"One can understand that a great nation, flushed with unexampled -success, conscious of power and the possession of many good qualities -which only an ass would deny, should look with a certain envy and -jealousy on our little islands as the owners of a world-wide empire. -There are wrong-headed and sentimental people at home who make excuses -for her, ask how we could expect her to be content with the present -position of things, say we deny her means of expansion, and so on. But -they shut their eyes to the fundamental contrast between Germany and -ourselves. Our Empire is a gradual, almost an accidental, growth: much -of it has been so to speak thrust upon us: you've only to read history -to know that. We have taken up the burden of rule in barbarous -countries, or countries like India and Egypt, where civilisation had -decayed, and which but for us would be either bear's gardens or hotbeds -of slavery and oppression. I don't say that our motives have always -been of the purest or our methods always the best; but I do say that we -have never, as a state, set before us the deliberate aim of grabbing -what doesn't belong to us, forcing all civilisations into our particular -mould, and subjugating all other nations by sheer brutal terrorism. -That is what Germany is doing. She hasn't a notion of honour. She was -bound to respect the neutrality of Belgium; a few days before she threw -her troops across the frontier she assured the Belgian Government that -she had no intention of doing so. She forced on the war when Austria -was hesitating, simply because she thought she saw a unique opportunity -of gaining a quick and easy victory, smashing Russia, smashing France, -grabbing valuable territory, filling her coffers with millions of -foreign gold, and reaching a position in which every country in Europe, -and ultimately in the whole world, would be her very humble tributary. -She will allow nothing to stand in her way: no treaties, no scruples of -honour, no considerations of humanity. She is simply Brute Force -personified; the whole nation has gone mad in the worship of militarism; -and she will never come to a better mind, there will be no security in -this unhappy world, until her idols are broken by the application of the -same force in overwhelming measure. That's our job, my dear fellow, and -we must go through with it, whatever the cost." - -The other conversation took place in a planter's house at Abercorn. Mr. -Barkworth had just heard from Tom's lips the full story of all that had -happened to him since their parting on the landing stage at -Bismarckburg. - -"H'm!" ejaculated the old man. "Tom," he said, turning to his -son-in-law, "he's your namesake. Eh? Tom's a good name--better than -riches! Young Tom must have a commission, eh? Want to fight, young -Tom?" - -"Not particularly, sir. I mean, I don't want to fight; but there's only -one thing to be done with a bully--hit him hard. That seems to be the -position; and I'll do my best." - -"Sound doctrine, my lad. I'm a man of peace; but I read of a Man of -Peace who once flogged a pack of rascals out of the Temple of Jerusalem. -No soft words; but stinging whips. Please God, we'll whip Germany into -good behaviour. But now, the practical point. Infantry? Cavalry? -Artillery? What's it to be?" - -"He seems rather good at organising scouts," Major Burnaby put in. - -"H'm! Scouts very useful when we get seriously to work in those wilds. -Willoughby's Scouts, why not? What do you say, young Tom?" - -"I couldn't wish for anything better, sir. The Wahehe will be a -nucleus: they're very keen." - -"They'll follow you like faithful dogs. I know them! Well, old Tom, -you'll arrange it. Smuts is coming: fine fellow, Smuts: I know him. -Willoughby's Scouts must be ready-- - - - 'TOM WILLOUGHBY'S SCOUTS.'" - - - - - PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY - RICHARD CLAY & SONS, LIMITED, - BRUNSWICK ST., STAMFORD ST., S.E. 1, - AND BUNGAY, SUFFOLK. - - - - - ---- - - - - - A FEW STIRRING ROMANCES - - By HERBERT STRANG - - -The Air Patrol - -A story of the North-West Frontier. - -Illustrated in colour by CYRUS CUNEO. - -In this hook Mr. Strang looks ahead--and other books have already proved -him a prophet of surprising skill--to a time when there is a great -Mongolian Empire whose army sweeps down on the North-West Frontier of -India. His two heroes luckily have an aeroplane, and with the help of a -few Pathan miners they hold a pass in the Hindu Kush against a swarm of -Mongols, long enough to prevent the cutting of the communications of the -Indian army operating in Afghanistan. The qualities which marked Mr. -Strang's story, "The Air Scout," and won extraordinarily high -commendation from Lord Roberts, Lord Curzon, and others, as well as from -the _Spectator_ and other great journals, are again strikingly -displayed; and the combination of thrilling adventure with an Imperial -problem and excellent writing, adds one more to this author's long list -of successes. - -"An exceptionally good book, written moreover in excellent -style."--_Times_. - -"'The Air Patrol' is really a masterpiece."--_Morning Post_. - - - -The Air Scout - -A Story of National Defence. - -Illustrated in Colour by W. R. S. STOTT. - -The problems of National Defence are being discussed with more and more -care and attention, not only in Great Britain, but also in all parts of -the Empire. In this story Mr. Strang imagines a Chinese descent upon -Australia, and carries his hero through a series of exciting adventures, -in which the value of national spirit, organisation, and discipline is -exemplified. The important part which the aeroplane will play in -warfare is recognised, and the thousands of readers who have delighted -in the author's previous stories of aviation will find this new book -after their own heart. - -LORD ROBERTS wrote:--"It is capital reading, and should interest more -than boys. Your forecast is so good that I can only hope the future may -not bring to Australia such a struggle as the one you so graphically -describe." - -LORD CURZON writes:--"I have read with great pleasure your book, 'The -Air Scout.' It seems to me to be a capital story, full of life and -movement: and further, it preaches the best of all secular gospels, -patriotism and co-operation." - -"We congratulate Mr. Strang on this fine book--one of the best fighting -stories we have read."--_Morning Post_. - - - -ROMANCES BY HERBERT STRANG - - -Palm Tree Island - -Illustrated in Colour by ARCHIBALD WEBB. - -In this story two boys are left on a volcanic island in the South Seas, -destitute of everything but their clothes. The story relates how they -provided themselves with food and shelter, with tools and weapons; how -they fought with wild dogs and sea monsters; and how, when they have -settled down to a comfortable life under the shadow of the volcano, -their peace is disturbed by the advent of savages and a crew of mutinous -Englishmen. The savages are driven away; the mutineers are subdued -through the boys' ingenuity; and they ultimately sail away in a vessel -of their own construction. In no other book has the author more -admirably blended amusement with instruction. - -"Written so well that there is not a dull page in the book."--_The -World_. - - - -Rob the Ranger - -A Story of the Fight for Canada. - -With Illustrations in Colour and Maps. - -Rob Somers, son of an English settler in New York State, sets out with -Lone Pete, a trapper, in pursuit of an Indian raiding party which has -destroyed his home and carried off his younger brother. He is captured -and taken to Quebec, where he finds his brother in strange -circumstances, and escapes with him in the dead of the winter, in -company with a little band of stout-hearted New Englanders. - -General Baden-Powell, in recommending books to the Boy Scouts, places -"Rob the Ranger" first among the great scouting stories. - - - -One of Clive's Heroes - -A Story of the Fight for India. - -With Illustrations in Colour and Maps. - -Desmond Burke goes out to India to seek his fortune, and is sold by a -false friend of his, one Marmaduke Diggle, to the famous Pirate of -Gheria. But he escapes, runs away with one of the Pirate's own vessels, -and meets Colonel Clive, whom he assists to capture the Pirate's -stronghold. His subsequent adventures on the other side of India--how -he saves a valuable cargo for his friend Mr. Merriman, and assists Clive -in his fights against Sirajuddaula--are told with great spirit and -humour. - -"An absorbing story.... The narrative not only thrills, but also weaves -skilfully out of fact and fiction a clear impression of our fierce -struggle for India."--_Athenaeum_. - - - - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TOM WILLOUGHBY'S SCOUTS *** - - - - -A Word from Project Gutenberg - - -We will update this book if we find any errors. - -This book can be found under: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/39912 - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no one -owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and -you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission -and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth in the -General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and -distributing Project Gutenberg(tm) electronic works to protect the -Project Gutenberg(tm) concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a -registered trademark, and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, -unless you receive specific permission. 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