Part 67 (2/2)
Yellow-skinned Hottentots; dark Korannas; tall, light-coloured b.a.s.t.a.r.ds; every shade and kindred of the race which though inferior to them in many respects, yet looked upon themselves as the natural foes of the Kafirs, and with far more sympathies of rule, of civilisation, or rather semi-civilisation, and even of blood, with the white man, for few indeed but had some drops of white blood in them. Even two or three specimens of the ape-like Bushmen found part in the motley gathering--wiry, active little rascals, with skulls hard as iron and the agility of cats--and one and all by virtue of their white strain, and the weapons wherewith they had been supplied; and confidence in their leaders, felt themselves immeasurably superior in prowess to the naked tribesmen against whom they were burning to be led. Not a few of the older men--wrinkled, shrivelled-looking, sinewy creatures, but game to the backbone--had been rebels in the war of '50, when the old Cape Mounted Rifles, then composed of such fellows as these, had gone over in a body to the enemy, and, bearing in mind the salutary lesson they had been taught, both by their ill-chosen friends and their deserted employers, were now only too ready to retrieve the past, and to avenge themselves upon the treacherous savages who had then misled them. They were mostly plucky; fair shots and reliable at a pinch; but, as yet, in a state of indifferent discipline; and it required all their leader's prompt.i.tude and firmness to lick them into anything like decent shape. His first address to them was short and to the point.
”Now, men,” he said, in the ordinary Boer Dutch, which was their mother tongue. ”We are going out to fight--to fight in real earnest, and not to play. I have seen fellows I would far less sooner command than I would you, for I know you can hold your own against any number of these rascally Gaikas. Many of you are good shots, I know, and we'll soon have plenty of opportunity of peppering Jack Kafir handsomely, I promise you. Remember, we are going to fight--and to fight we must always be in a state of readiness and of order, because we are in the enemy's country and never know when we may have him down upon us. Now, mark my words.
Any man who gets drunk, or is found asleep at his post, shall have six dozen well laid on with a couple of new _reims_, as sure as my name's Claverton, and the second time he'll be shot. Mind, I'll stand no hanky-panky. When we get home again you can get on the spree as much as you like; in camp, steadiness is the order of the day. Your rations you'll get just as I get mine, neither better nor worse. I shall ask no man to go where I won't lead him, and now we'll just go and thrash Jack Kafir into a c.o.c.ked hat--yourselves and Mr Lumley and I. So we understand each other. I am commanding men, not fools or children-- isn't it so?”
”Ja, kaptyn--ja!” they cried, cheering him vociferously. ”We shall show you we are all men--good men and true.”
”That's right. Now I am going to let you elect your own sergeants and corporals, and, having elected them, by Jove, you'll have to obey them.
I should recommend, for choice, Gert Spielman, Cobus Windvogel, Dirk Hesler,” and he ran through a list of about a dozen of the most trustworthy veterans, knowing full well that those who were elected would be devoted to him, and those who were not, scarcely less so for his having recommended them. And thus having got his corps into working order, and, in fact, it became more manageable every day, Claverton and his lieutenant journeyed with light hearts towards the seat of war.
”These fellows will turn out a very creditable lot, or I'm much mistaken,” remarked Lumley, as they were advancing through one of the defiles of the Amatola. ”They are cool and reliable at a pinch, and not susceptible to panic like the Fingoes. I'd rather have fifty of them than five hundred Fingoes.”
”I quite believe it,” a.s.sented Claverton. ”Some of them are tough customers, and once beyond the reach of grog they're all right.”
”Yes. Look at that old Gert Spielman, for instance,” pointing to a shrivelled, little old Hottentot, with a skin like parchment. ”He's a dead shot. The infernal old scoundrel was a rebel last war, and only escaped hanging by the skin of his teeth. I suspect he's drawn a bead with effect many a time on poor Tommy Atkins in those days. Well, now-- if occasion offers--you'll see he'll turn out to be one of our best men.”
”No doubt. But I say; this is a queer place, and the sooner we get through it the better.”
They were threading a long, narrow defile. Overhead the forest-covered slopes rose to the sky, and down to the path stretched the jungly bush-- dense, tangled, and apparently impenetrable. Great yellow-wood trees here and there reared their grey, ma.s.sive limbs, from which the lichens dangled, above the lower scrub, and monkeys chattered, and birds flitted screaming from the road as the troop moved forward. Some fifteen or twenty of the men had horses of their own, and these, Claverton, like a prudent commander, had thrown forward as scouts, if not to clear the way at any rate to give warning of any a.s.semblage of the foe threatening to oppose their progress--which they could easily do, being as quick of eye and as agile of limb as the Kafirs themselves. But no sign of obstruction was encountered, and soon, emerging from the gorge, they found themselves in more open country, bushy still, but not densely so-- indeed, such that in the event of attack the advantage would not be wholly on the enemy's side.
VOLUME TWO, CHAPTER TWELVE.
”THE LAND IS DEAD.”
For two days ”Claverton's Levy” has continued its march farther and further into the disturbed country, meeting, as yet, with no opposition.
Now and again, far away on a hill-top, like a black speck, would be descried the form of a Kafir scout watching their movements, and on two or three of these occasions shots had been fired, though futilely, for at present the wily foe was showing a discretion eminently the better part of valour, and kept his distance. Deserted kraals and mealie-lands, here and there even the ruins of a once prosperous homestead, tell in significant, if voiceless testimony, that the ”land is dead” indeed; and no sign of life is visible along the path, save for the occasional presence of the wild creatures of the waste, who, for their part, lose no time in getting out of the way of this quaint-looking crew. Once, indeed, a number of Kafir women came into the camp with a plausible tale of how they were fleeing from the rebels, and were on their way to join their husbands and fathers in the colony, who were loyal to the Government, and wouldn't the white captain give them rations to carry them on their road? But Claverton, who saw through the trick, had ordered them out of camp at once, threatening to make prisoners of the lot if they were even within sight half an hour later. He knew they were spies--these confiding creatures--sent in by the enemy to see how great a fool the white chief was, and to report accordingly; but in the present instance they found him in no sense a fool at all.
Very careful and precise has Claverton been in the matter of guard; visiting the sentries himself, and that often. Indeed, there has been a tendency among the men to growl a little--always in secret, for they have already begun to look upon their leader with no inconsiderable awe--at the extra precautions he takes in posting rather more than the absolutely necessary number of guards. Very careful and precise is he in matters of discipline, although, within limits, the men are allowed and encouraged to make the time pa.s.s as cheerfully as possible; and many are the yells of laughter round the evening camp-fire over the antics of some yellow-skinned monkey; or another discourses the sweet music of a Dutch Hottentot song to the accompaniment of a concertina and a battered old fiddle, for they are fond of music in their way, are these light-hearted, scatter-brained half-breeds--their own music, that is--a weird, shrill, bag-pipish chorus, unparalleled in its discordant monotony. But at a given time all lights out, and woe to the delinquent who should think it safe to begin ”trying it on” in this or any other respect. So the corps is in capital order for its rough work, and, thanks to the carefulness of its leaders, runs no more jeopardy than that provided by the ordinary chances of war--which, indeed, is fully sufficient.
And now the troop is halted in a hollow, by the side of a small stream-- at this season nearly dry--dry, that is, in places where it should run, though there are several deep pools of standing water very inviting on a morning like this, for, though not yet high, the sun is making his rays disagreeably felt. Around, for a distance of about half a mile, the slopes are dotted with _spekboem_ and aloes; the straight, p.r.i.c.kly stems of the latter looking like an array of dark Kafirs stationed about in the s.h.i.+mmer of the rising heat. It is the third morning of their march, and to-day they expect to reach the main body; meanwhile, having been on the move since dawn, they are halted for breakfast.
As usual, the sentries have been carefully posted, for their leader has noticed among his men a certain tendency to carelessness, in proportion as their advance is made without sign of opposition, and, knowing their characteristics and their failings well, his watchfulness never relaxes.
And now, as the sun s.h.i.+nes pleasantly down, on this cloudless morning, the men sit and lounge about, taking their well-earned rest ere the word is given to set forward again. Some are cooking their breakfasts and those of their fellows; others lie about smoking their pipes and indulging in drowsy gossip; some lying on their backs, with their ragged hats between their faces and the son, are fast asleep; while others are still splas.h.i.+ng merrily in one or two of the water-holes, diving into the water or sitting on the brink basking in the sun. Claverton himself has just returned from his bath, and stands, in scanty attire, looking placidly round upon those under his command, in their various att.i.tudes of ease and restfulness.
”Not much use tubbing if one has to walk a hundred yards after it,” he is saying. ”One wants to go in again directly one gets here.”
”Yes,” answers his lieutenant, dreamily. ”By the way, I was thinking what we should do if Jack Kafir were to make a sudden rush on us while we were splas.h.i.+ng away down there. But I don't believe we shall get a glimpse of the beggar until--”
Bang!
A shot is heard just over the brow of the rise about seven hundred yards off. It rings out on the still morning air with a sharp clearness that is startling, and immediately it is followed by a second. The effect is like magic: loungers sit bolt upright, sleepers wake, those in the water scurry out, and all eyes in camp are turned in the direction of this unlooked-for alarm.
”Kaptyn, Kaptyn--Kyk dar so!” [Captain, Captain--Look there!] cries one of the sergeants, a wiry little Hottentot of some sixty summers. But even before his warning is uttered Claverton's quick eye has caught the cause of alarm, and more, has mastered the fact that nothing but the utmost coolness and determination will save every soul in that camp from destruction. For the whole ridge is alive with Kafir warriors, swarming over the brow of the hill like a crowd of red ants; on they come, straight for the camp, evidently with the intention of carrying it by a rush. A man is fleeing before them as hard as ever he can run-- apparently the sentry who has fired the shot--but he has a small start and they are gaining upon him. Suddenly he falls, then disappears, pierced by a score of a.s.segais, and the crowd pours over him.
”Steady, men--steady!” cries Claverton, his clear voice ringing like a trumpet. ”Every man to his place. No one to fire before the word is given.”
And now the state of discipline into which the corps had been brought, bore its fruit, as, quickly and without flurry, each man knew exactly where to find his rifle and ammunition, and found it--for the arms had been placed separately in a circle, not piled--and now, inspired by their leader's coolness, every man stood armed and ready, only waiting the word of command. Once or twice Claverton detected signs of flurry and scrambling; but a word or two thrown in, and an invincible coolness--which could not have been greater had they been on parade, instead of waiting the furious onslaught of a savage horde, rus.h.i.+ng down at a pace which three minutes at the outside would bring right upon them--instantly had the effect of restoring order.
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