CHAPTER TWENTY.
A WARLIKE EXPEDITION AND A VICTORY.
It was excessively dark that night when we set forth on our expedition.
The scout from whom we had already ascertained so much about theintended movements of the enemy also told us that they meant to set outat a little before midnight and march on the village by a certain route.Indeed, it was very unlikely that they would approach by any other, asthe jungle elsewhere was so thick as to render marching, especially atnight, very difficult.
Jack therefore resolved to place the greater proportion of his troops inambush at the mouth of a small gully or dell a few miles from theenemy's camp, where they were almost certain to pass. But with a degreeof caution that I thought highly creditable in so young andinexperienced a general, he sent out a considerable number of the mosttrustworthy men in advance, with instructions to proceed with thestealth of leopards, and to bring back instant information of any changeof route on the part of the foe.
The troops placed in ambush at the dell above referred to werePeterkin's hundred musketeers, supported by Jack's spear and bow men. Iwas ordered to advance by a circuitous route on the camp itself with myfifty musketeers, followed by my small company of spearmen. Myinstructions were, to conceal my men as near to the camp as possible,and there await the first discharge of firearms from the dell, when Iwas to rise, advance upon the camp, utter a terrific shout when withinfifty yards, rush forward to within twenty-five yards, halt, pour in onewithering volley of blank cartridge, and charge without giving my mentime to load.
Of course I could not speak to my men; but this was a matter of littleconsequence, as they were now well acquainted with our three words ofcommand, "Forward," "Halt," and "Fire," and fully understood that theymust under all circumstances follow their leader. I knew well enoughthat there must be no little danger in this arrangement, because theleader would necessarily be always in front of the muzzles of the loadedguns. But there was no help for it, so I resolved to act upon my usualprinciple--namely, that when a thing is inevitable, the best thing to dois to treat it as being unavoidable.
Having conducted my men stealthily and successfully to the vicinity ofthe enemy's camp, though with some difficulty, owing to the almostimpenetrable nature of the jungle through which we had to pass in makingthe detour necessary to avoid falling in with the attacking force, weproceeded to advance to within as short a distance of it as possiblewithout running the risk of being discovered. This was not difficult,for the men left to guard the camp, supposing, no doubt, that theirpresence in that part of the country was not suspected, had taken noprecautions in the way of placing sentries; so we quickly arrived at thefoot of a small mound about sixty yards or so from the encampment. Atthe foot of this mound I caused my men to lie down, giving them tounderstand, by signs, that they were on no account to move until Ishould return. Then I crept alone to the brow of the mound, andobtained a clear view of the camp.
The men who should have guarded it were, I found, busily employed incooking their supper. There were, perhaps, upwards of a hundred ofthem. To my great satisfaction, I observed the captives sitting near tothe fire; and although at so considerable a distance from them, I feltcertain that I recognised the figures of Mbango and Okandaga. Hasteningback to my men, I endeavoured to give them as much information aspossible by means of signs, and then lay down beside them to await thesignal from Jack's party.
Although the attack of both our parties was to be simultaneous, thefirst shot was to be fired by our troops in the dell. I will thereforedescribe their part of the engagement first. Jack described it to meminutely after all was over.
On reaching the dell Jack disposed his forces so as to command the onlyapproach to it. The hundred musketeers he placed in a double rowdirectly across the deepest and darkest part. The spearmen he dividedinto two bodies, which he posted on the flanks of the musketeers amongthe bushes. He then showed the rear rank of the latter how to pointtheir pieces over the shoulders of the men in the front rank at a givensignal, but carefully reiterated the order not to touch a trigger untilthe word "Fire" should be given.
"Now, Peterkin," said Jack, when these dispositions had been made, "itis time for you to get ready. Makarooroo and I can manage thesefellows, so you have my permission to go and play your own independentpart. Only let me warn you to remember your last exploit in this way,and see that you don't do yourself a damage."
"Thanks, noble general, for the permission," answered Peterkin, "ofwhich I shall avail myself. In reference to your advice, I may remarkthat it is exceedingly valuable--so much so, indeed, that I would adviseyou not to part with it until asked for."
With that Peterkin ran into the jungle, and was soon lost to view.
On gaining a sufficient distance from the men, he took off the greaterpart of his clothes, and wound round his person several pieces oflight-coloured cotton that he chanced to have with him, and some piecesof old newspaper. Then he decked his head with leaves and raggedbranches, as he had done before in the haunted cave, making himself, inshort, as wild and fantastic a looking creature as possible--the onlydifference between his getting-up on this and the former occasion beingthat he was white instead of black. For he wisely judged that a whitedemon must naturally appear infinitely more appalling and horrible to anegro than one of his own colour.
The two cones of moistened powder, however, which he had prepared forthis occasion, were very much larger than the former, and had beenfitted into two wooden handles, or cups, for safety. With these in hishands, he crept to the top of a steep, sloping mound or hill near theentrance to the dell, and considerably in advance of the troops. Herehe sat down to await the approach of the enemy.
There is something very eerie and awe-inspiring in a solitarynight-watch, especially if it be kept in a wild, lonesome place.Peterkin afterwards told me that, while sitting that night on the top ofthe mound, looking out upon a plain, over which the enemy were expectedto approach, on the one hand, and down into the dark dell where ourtroops were posted, on the other hand, his heart more than once misgavehim; and he could not help asking himself the questions, "What if ourplans miscarry? What if our united volley and cheer, and my demoniacdisplay, should fail to intimidate the negroes?" Such questions he didnot like to dwell upon, for he knew that in the event of failure aregular pitched battle would be fought, and much blood would certainlyflow.
While indulging in such thoughts, he observed a dark form glide past thefoot of the mound on which he lay, and vanish in the obscurity of thedell, which was so surrounded by crags and rocky places covered withunderwood that no light could penetrate into it. At first he wasstartled, and thought of giving the alarm to his comrades; but on secondthoughts he concluded the person must have been one of his own scoutsreturned with news; at all events, he felt that one man could do no harmworth speaking of to so large a party.
Presently he observed a large band of men coming over the plain towardsthe entrance of the dell. These, he felt assured, must be the enemy;and he was right. They came on in a large, compact body, and werewell-armed; yet, from the quick and unguarded manner of their approach,he could perceive that they suspected no ambush.
They entered the dell in a confused though solid and silent body; andPeterkin could observe, by the dim light, that they were led by one man,who walked in advance, whom he rightly judged to be the Portugueseslave-dealer.
The time for action had now come. He examined the points of hispowder-cones, to ascertain that they were dry, then held a match inreadiness, and listened intently to the footsteps of the foe.
I have already explained that Jack had drawn his musketeers across thedell, and placed the spearmen in the jungle on both flanks. They werearranged in such a way as to form three sides of a square, into whichthe unsuspecting enemy now marched. Jack allowed them to approach towithin thirty paces of his musketeers, and then gave, in a loud, deep,sonorous tone, the word--"Hip! hip! hip!"
The compound cheer and yell that instantly
followed the last hip was sotremendous, coming, as it did, from all sides except the rear, that theenemy were absolutely paralysed. They stood rooted to the earth, asmotionless as if they had been transformed into stone.
Jack raised his hand, in which he held a bunch of white grass that couldbe distinctly seen in the dark.
Every muzzle was pointed on the instant, but not a sound was heard savethe click of a hundred locks.
The sound was familiar to the enemy, although never before heard at onemoment in such numbers. They started; but before a step could be taken,the word "Fire" was given.
Instantly a sheet of flame swept across the entire dell, and the unitedcrash of a hundred guns seemed to rend the very earth. The surroundingcliffs reverberated and multiplied the horrid din, while, led by Jack,cheer followed cheer, or rather howls and yells filled the air, and keptawake the echoes of the place.
The enemy turned and fled, and the shrieks to which they gave utteranceas they ran betokened the extremity of their terror. It wanted but onetouch to complete their consternation, and that touch was given whenPeterkin, lighting his powder-cones, showed himself on the mound,dancing in a blaze of fire, and shrieking furiously as the horrifiedtide of men swept by.
In the midst of his wild orgies, Peterkin acted an impromptu andunintentional part by tripping over the brow of the hill, and rollingdown the steep declivity like a fire-wheel into the very midst of theflying crew. Jumping hastily up, he charged through the ranks of thefoe, flung the two hissing cones high into the air, and darting into thejungle, hid himself effectually from view.
Meanwhile Jack still held the bunch of white straw aloft. Every eye wasfixed on it, but not a man moved, because it remained stationary. Thisabsence of pursuit in the midst of such appalling sights and soundsmust, undoubtedly, have added to the mystery and therefore to theterrors of the scene.
Suddenly the white bunch was seen to dart forward. Jack, who nowconsidered the enemy almost beyond the chance of being overtaken, gavethe word, "Forward!" in the voice of a Stentor, following it up with"Hip, hip, hurrah!" and the whole host, musketeers and spearmen in amingled mass, rushed yelling out upon the plain, and gave chase to thefoe.
"Not so badly done," said Jack, with a quiet laugh, as he laid his handon Peterkin's shoulder.
"Why, Jack, how did you find me out?"
"Easily enough, when it is considered that I saw you go in. The flameof your wild-fire indicated your movements pretty plainly to me,although terror and amazement no doubt blinded the eyes of every oneelse. Even Mak's teeth began to chatter when he saw you perform thatsingular descent of the hill, and no wonder. I hope no bones have beenbroken?"
"No; all right as far as that goes," replied Peterkin within a laugh;"but I've lost a good deal of skin. However, it'll grow again. I'mglad it's no worse. But I say, Jack, do you think our fellows won'tovertake these rascals?"
"No fear of that. I took care to give them a good start, and if therebe any truth in the generally received idea that terror lends wings, I'mpretty sure that each man in the enemy's ranks must have obtained theloan of several pairs to-night. But have you heard the sound of Ralph'sguns?"
"No; the din here was enough to drown anything so distant."
"Well, we must away to him as fast as we can. I expect that poor Mak isoff before us."
"But you'll wait until I put on my clothes?" said Peterkin, hasting backtowards the place where he had undressed.
"Certainly, lad; only look alive."
Soon afterwards they left the place together.
While this was going on at the dell, I, on hearing the first shot, gavethe word "Forward!" in a low tone. My men instantly rose and followedme, and I could not, even at that anxious moment, help admiring theserpent-like facility with which they glided from bush to bush, withoutthe slightest noise. We descended a hill, crossed a small brook, andapproached to within thirty yards of the camp without being discovered.
Suddenly I leaped on the top of a hillock, and shouted at the utmostpitch of my voice the single word "Halt!"
On hearing it all the men in the camp sprang to their arms, and stoodgazing round them with looks of consternation.
My next word was, "Fire!"
A firm, tremendous crash burst from among the bushes, and my singleperson, enveloped in smoke and flame, was, I believe, the only objectvisible to those in the camp.
"Hip, hip, hip, hurrah! forward!" I shouted; and with a ferocious yellwe poured like a whirlwind upon the foe.
The same result that had occurred at the dell took place here. Theenemy never awaited our charge. They fled instantly, and so great wastheir terror that they actually threw down their arms, in order tofacilitate their flight.
On gaining the camp, however, I found, to my sorrow, that we had donethe thing only too vigorously; for we had not only put the enemy toflight, but we had also frightened away those whom we had come todeliver!
At this point in the engagement I came to learn how incompetent I was tocommand men in cases of emergency, for here my presence of mind utterlyforsook me. In my anxiety to capture Mbango and his friends I orderedan immediate pursuit. Then it occurred to me that, in the event of mymen being successful in overtaking the fugitives, they would instantlymurder them all, so I tried to call them back; but, alas! they did notunderstand my words, and they were by this time so excited as to bebeyond all restraint. In a few minutes I found myself left alone in theenemy's camp, and heard the shouts of pursued and pursuers growinggradually fainter and more distant, as they scattered themselves throughthe jungle.
Seating myself by the fire in a state of mind bordering on despair, Iburied my face in my hands, and endeavoured to collect myself, andconsider what, under the circumstances, should be now done.