CHAPTER XIII
THE ATTACK
Slowly, and without the slightest appearance of haste or excitement,the three columns crept on. When within about five hundred yards of us,the main or centre column halted at the root of a tongue of open plainwhich ran up into the hill, to give time to the other divisions tocircumvent our position, which was shaped more or less in the form of ahorse-shoe, with its two points facing towards the town of Loo. Theobject of this manoeuvre was that the threefold assault should bedelivered simultaneously.
"Oh, for a gatling!" groaned Good, as he contemplated the serriedphalanxes beneath us. "I would clear that plain in twenty minutes."
"We have not got one, so it is no use yearning for it; but suppose youtry a shot, Quatermain," said Sir Henry. "See how near you can go tothat tall fellow who appears to be in command. Two to one you miss him,and an even sovereign, to be honestly paid if ever we get out of this,that you don't drop the bullet within five yards."
This piqued me, so, loading the express with solid ball, I waited tillmy friend walked some ten yards out from his force, in order to get abetter view of our position, accompanied only by an orderly; then,lying down and resting the express on a rock, I covered him. The rifle,like all expresses, was only sighted to three hundred and fifty yards,so to allow for the drop in trajectory I took him half-way down theneck, which ought, I calculated, to find him in the chest. He stoodquite still and gave me every opportunity, but whether it was theexcitement or the wind, or the fact of the man being a long shot, Idon't know, but this was what happened. Getting dead on, as I thought,a fine sight, I pressed, and when the puff of smoke had cleared away,to my disgust, I saw my man standing there unharmed, whilst hisorderly, who was at least three paces to the left, was stretched uponthe ground apparently dead. Turning swiftly, the officer I had aimed atbegan to run towards his men in evident alarm.
"Bravo, Quatermain!" sang out Good; "you've frightened him."
This made me very angry, for, if possible to avoid it, I hate to missin public. When a man is master of only one art he likes to keep up hisreputation in that art. Moved quite out of myself at my failure, I dida rash thing. Rapidly covering the general as he ran, I let drive withthe second barrel. Instantly the poor man threw up his arms, and fellforward on to his face. This time I had made no mistake; and--I say itas a proof of how little we think of others when our own safety, pride,or reputation is in question--I was brute enough to feel delighted atthe sight.
The regiments who had seen the feat cheered wildly at this exhibitionof the white man's magic, which they took as an omen of success, whilethe force the general had belonged to--which, indeed, as we ascertainedafterwards, he had commanded--fell back in confusion. Sir Henry andGood now took up their rifles and began to fire, the latterindustriously "browning" the dense mass before him with anotherWinchester repeater, and I also had another shot or two, with theresult, so far as we could judge, that we put some six or eight men_hors de combat_ before they were out of range.
Just as we stopped firing there came an ominous roar from our farright, then a similar roar rose on our left. The two other divisionswere engaging us.
At the sound, the mass of men before us opened out a little, andadvanced towards the hill and up the spit of bare grass land at a slowtrot, singing a deep-throated song as they ran. We kept up a steadyfire from our rifles as they came, Ignosi joining in occasionally, andaccounted for several men, but of course we produced no more effectupon that mighty rush of armed humanity than he who throws pebbles doeson the breaking wave.
On they came, with a shout and the clashing of spears; now they weredriving in the pickets we had placed among the rocks at the foot of thehill. After that the advance was a little slower, for though as yet wehad offered no serious opposition, the attacking forces must climb uphill, and they came slowly to save their breath. Our first line ofdefence was about half-way down the side of the slope, our second fiftyyards further back, while our third occupied the edge of the plateau.
On they stormed, shouting their war-cry, "_Twala! Twala! Chiele!Chiele!_" (Twala! Twala! Smite! Smite!) "_Ignosi! Ignosi! Chiele!Chiele!_" answered our people. They were quite close now, and the_tollas_, or throwing-knives, began to flash backwards and forwards,and now with an awful yell the battle closed in.
To and fro swayed the mass of struggling warriors, men falling fast asleaves in an autumn wind; but before long the superior weight of theattacking force began to tell, and our first line of defence was slowlypressed back till it merged into the second. Here the struggle was veryfierce, but again our people were driven back and up, till at length,within twenty minutes of the commencement of the fight, our third linecame into action.
But by this time the assailants were much exhausted, and besides hadlost many men killed and wounded, and to break through that thirdimpenetrable hedge of spears proved beyond their powers. For a whilethe seething lines of savages swung backwards and forwards, in thefierce ebb and flow of battle, and the issue was doubtful. Sir Henrywatched the desperate struggle with a kindling eye, and then without aword he rushed off, followed by Good, and flung himself into thehottest of the fray. As for myself, I stopped where I was.
The soldiers caught sight of his tall form as he plunged into battle,and there rose a cry of--
"_Nanzia Incubu! Nanzia Unkungunklovo!_" (Here is the Elephant!)"_Chiele! Chiele!_"
From that moment the end was no longer in doubt. Inch by inch, fightingwith splendid gallantry, the attacking force was pressed back down thehillside, till at last it retreated upon its reserves in something likeconfusion. At that instant, too, a messenger arrived to say that theleft attack had been repulsed; and I was just beginning to congratulatemyself, believing that the affair was over for the present, when, toour horror, we perceived our men who had been engaged in the rightdefence being driven towards us across the plain, followed by swarms ofthe enemy, who had evidently succeeded at this point.
Ignosi, who was standing by me, took in the situation at a glance, andissued a rapid order. Instantly the reserve regiment around us, theGreys, extended itself.
Again Ignosi gave a word of command, which was taken up and repeated bythe captains, and in another second, to my intense disgust, I foundmyself involved in a furious onslaught upon the advancing foe. Gettingas much as I could behind Ignosi's huge frame, I made the best of a badjob, and toddled along to be killed as though I liked it. In a minuteor two--we were plunging through the flying groups of our men, who atonce began to re-form behind us, and then I am sure I do not know whathappened. All I can remember is a dreadful rolling noise of the meetingof shields, and the sudden apparition of a huge ruffian, whose eyesseemed literally to be starting out of his head, making straight at mewith a bloody spear. But--I say it with pride--I rose--or rathersank--to the occasion. It was one before which most people would havecollapsed once and for all. Seeing that if I stood where I was I mustbe killed, as the horrid apparition came I flung myself down in frontof him so cleverly that, being unable to stop himself, he took a headerright over my prostrate form. Before he could rise again, _I_ had risenand settled the matter from behind with my revolver.
Shortly after this somebody knocked me down, and I remember no more ofthat charge.
When I came to I found myself back at the koppie, with Good bendingover me holding some water in a gourd.
"How do you feel, old fellow?" he asked anxiously.
I got up and shook myself before replying.
"Pretty well, thank you," I answered.
"Thank Heaven! When I saw them carry you in, I felt quite sick; Ithought you were done for."
"Not this time, my boy. I fancy I only got a rap on the head, whichknocked me stupid. How has it ended?"
"They are repulsed at every point for a while. The loss is dreadfullyheavy; we have quite two thousand killed and wounded, and they musthave lost three. Look, there's a sight!" and he pointed to long linesof men advancing by fours.
In the centre of every group of four, and
being borne by it, was a kindof hide tray, of which a Kukuana force always carries a quantity, witha loop for a handle at each corner. On these trays--and their numberseemed endless--lay wounded men, who as they arrived were hastilyexamined by the medicine men, of whom ten were attached to a regiment.If the wound was not of a fatal character the sufferer was taken awayand attended to as carefully as circumstances would allow. But if, onthe other hand, the injured man's condition proved hopeless, whatfollowed was very dreadful, though doubtless it may have been thetruest mercy. One of the doctors, under pretence of carrying out anexamination, swiftly opened an artery with a sharp knife, and in aminute or two the sufferer expired painlessly. There were many casesthat day in which this was done. In fact, it was done in the majorityof cases when the wound was in the body, for the gash made by the entryof the enormously broad spears used by the Kukuanas generally renderedrecovery impossible. In most instances the poor sufferers were alreadyunconscious, and in others the fatal "nick" of the artery was inflictedso swiftly and painlessly that they did not seem to notice it. Still itwas a ghastly sight, and one from which we were glad to escape; indeed,I never remember anything of the kind that affected me more than seeingthose gallant soldiers thus put out of pain by the red-handed medicinemen, except, indeed, on one occasion when, after an attack, I saw aforce of Swazis burying their hopelessly wounded _alive_.
Hurrying from this dreadful scene to the further side of the koppie, wefound Sir Henry, who still held a battle-axe in his hand, Ignosi,Infadoos, and one or two of the chiefs in deep consultation.
"Thank Heaven, here you are, Quatermain! I can't quite make out whatIgnosi wants to do. It seems that though we have beaten off the attack,Twala is now receiving large reinforcements, and is showing adisposition to invest us, with the view of starving us out."
"That's awkward."
"Yes; especially as Infadoos says that the water supply has given out."
"My lord, that is so," said Infadoos; "the spring cannot supply thewants of so great a multitude, and it is failing rapidly. Before nightwe shall all be thirsty. Listen, Macumazahn. Thou art wise, and hastdoubtless seen many wars in the lands from whence thou camest--that isif indeed they make wars in the Stars. Now tell us, what shall we do?Twala has brought up many fresh men to take the place of those who havefallen. Yet Twala has learnt his lesson; the hawk did not think to findthe heron ready; but our beak has pierced his breast; he fears tostrike at us again. We too are wounded, and he will wait for us to die;he will wind himself round us like a snake round a buck, and fight thefight of 'sit down.'"
"I hear thee," I said.
"So, Macumazahn, thou seest we have no water here, and but a littlefood, and we must choose between these three things--to languish like astarving lion in his den, or to strive to break away towards the north,or"--and here he rose and pointed towards the dense mass of ourfoes--"to launch ourselves straight at Twala's throat. Incubu, thegreat warrior--for to-day he fought like a buffalo in a net, andTwala's soldiers went down before his axe like young corn before thehail; with these eyes I saw it--Incubu says 'Charge'; but the Elephantis ever prone to charge. Now what says Macumazahn, the wily old fox,who has seen much, and loves to bite his enemy from behind? The lastword is in Ignosi the king, for it is a king's right to speak of war;but let us hear thy voice, O Macumazahn, who watchest by night, and thevoice too of him of the transparent eye."
"What sayest thou, Ignosi," I asked.
"Nay, my father," answered our quondam servant, who now, clad as he wasin the full panoply of savage war, looked every inch a warrior king,"do thou speak, and let me, who am but a child in wisdom beside thee,hearken to thy words."
Thus adjured, after taking hasty counsel with Good and Sir Henry, Idelivered my opinion briefly to the effect that, being trapped, ourbest chance, especially in view of the failure of our water supply, wasto initiate an attack upon Twala's forces. Then I recommended that theattack should be delivered at once, "before our wounds grew stiff," andalso before the sight of Twala's overpowering force caused the heartsof our soldiers "to wax small like fat before a fire." Otherwise, Ipointed out, some of the captains might change their minds, and, makingpeace with Twala, desert to him, or even betray us into his hands.
This expression of opinion seemed, on the whole, to be favourablyreceived; indeed, among the Kukuanas my utterances met with a respectwhich has never been accorded to them before or since. But the realdecision as to our plans lay with Ignosi, who, since he had beenrecognised as rightful king, could exercise the almost unbounded rightsof sovereignty, including, of course, the final decision on matters ofgeneralship, and it was to him that all eyes were now turned.
At length, after a pause, during which he appeared to be thinkingdeeply, he spoke.
"Incubu, Macumazahn, and Bougwan, brave white men, and my friends;Infadoos, my uncle, and chiefs; my heart is fixed. I will strike atTwala this day, and set my fortunes on the blow, ay, and my life--mylife and your lives also. Listen; thus will I strike. Ye see how thehill curves round like the half-moon, and how the plain runs like agreen tongue towards us within the curve?"
"We see," I answered.
"Good; it is now mid-day, and the men eat and rest after the toil ofbattle. When the sun has turned and travelled a little way towards thedarkness, let thy regiment, my uncle, advance with one other down tothe green tongue, and it shall be that when Twala sees it he will hurlhis force at it to crush it. But the spot is narrow, and the regimentscan come against thee one at a time only; so may they be destroyed oneby one, and the eyes of all Twala's army shall be fixed upon a strugglethe like of which has not been seen by living man. And with thee, myuncle, shall go Incubu my friend, that when Twala sees his battle-axeflashing in the first rank of the Greys his heart may grow faint. And Iwill come with the second regiment, that which follows thee, so that ifye are destroyed, as it might happen, there may yet be a king left tofight for; and with me shall come Macumazahn the wise."
"It is well, O king," said Infadoos, apparently contemplating thecertainty of the complete annihilation of his regiment with perfectcalmness. Truly, these Kukuanas are a wonderful people. Death has noterrors for them when it is incurred in the course of duty.
"And whilst the eyes of the multitude of Twala's soldiers are thusfixed upon the fight," went on Ignosi, "behold, one-third of the menwho are left alive to us (i.e. about 6,000) shall creep along the righthorn of the hill and fall upon the left flank of Twala's force, andone-third shall creep along the left horn and fall upon Twala's rightflank. And when I see that the horns are ready to toss Twala, then willI, with the men who remain to me, charge home in Twala's face, and iffortune goes with us the day will be ours, and before Night drives herblack oxen from the mountains to the mountains we shall sit in peace atLoo. And now let us eat and make ready; and, Infadoos, do thou prepare,that the plan be carried out without fail; and stay, let my whitefather Bougwan go with the right horn, that his shining eye may givecourage to the captains."
The arrangements for attack thus briefly indicated were set in motionwith a rapidity that spoke well for the perfection of the Kukuanamilitary system. Within little more than an hour rations had beenserved out and devoured, the divisions were formed, the scheme ofonslaught was explained to the leaders, and the whole force, numberingabout 18,000 men, was ready to move, with the exception of a guard leftin charge of the wounded.
Presently Good came up to Sir Henry and myself.
"Good-bye, you fellows," he said; "I am off with the right wingaccording to orders; and so I have come to shake hands, in case weshould not meet again, you know," he added significantly.
We shook hands in silence, and not without the exhibition of as muchemotion as Anglo-Saxons are wont to show.
"It is a queer business," said Sir Henry, his deep voice shaking alittle, "and I confess I never expect to see to-morrow's sun. So far asI can make out, the Greys, with whom I am to go, are to fight untilthey are wiped out in order to enable the wings to slip round unawaresand outflank Tw
ala. Well, so be it; at any rate, it will be a man'sdeath. Good-bye, old fellow. God bless you! I hope you will pullthrough and live to collar the diamonds; but if you do, take my adviceand don't have anything more to do with Pretenders!"
In another second Good had wrung us both by the hand and gone; and thenInfadoos came up and led off Sir Henry to his place in the forefront ofthe Greys, whilst, with many misgivings, I departed with Ignosi to mystation in the second attacking regiment.