bugle sounded. "Now for it, then, George?"
As he spoke, the cavalry darted forth from either flank, and swept downwith the force of a hurricane on the disorganised and disheartenedmasses. In an instant the whole body of Zulus broke and fled in alldirections, the horsemen with their sabres plunging among them andmercilessly hewing them down. Even in this extremity the gallant blacksturned again and again on their pursuers, pouring in desultory volleysor hurling assegays, which cost the conquerors many a life. Nor didresistance entirely cease till tracts of broken country were reached,where it was impossible for the cavalry to follow farther. Then theyhalted, recalled the stragglers, and slowly returned over the scene ofthe long encounter, the whole route being heaped with the dead and dyingwith a sad and terrible sameness.
"Well, Vander Heyden," said Rivers, as they lay on their karosses thatevening, too much exhausted with their day's work to raise their headsfrom their pillows, "our vows are fulfilled at last. Cetewayo iscompletely crushed. His army is destroyed, or too widely scattered tobe gathered together again. He will never fight another battle norsummon another council. Now at last we may think of our long-delayedjourney to Zeerust."
"I do not know what the terms of _your_ vow were, Rivers," answered theDutchman, "but mine remains to be fulfilled Cetewayo is neither slainnor captive yet I grant his power is to all appearance broken. But heis a brave and resolute savage, and his people are still devotedlyattached to him. So long as he is alive and at liberty, _my_ vow is notaccomplished. You of course can do as you will. But I am not free todepart at present."
George looked disappointed. "My own resolve," he said, "no doubt, wasto see an end of Cetewayo before I left, and I should not like to setout without you,"--possibly George may have added inwardly, "or withoutAnnchen." But if this was his thought, he kept it to himself. "Isuppose," he added a moment afterwards, "Hardy also will wait toaccompany you."
"No doubt," assented the Dutchman; "and besides, Rivers, I ought to tellyou that, anxious as I am to set out, I should not like to do so at thisseason of the year. Even here the weather is extremely trying,--tryingeven to those who have lived as long in the country as I have. But inthe camp here we have sufficiency of food and firing and shelter, aswell as medical attendance close at hand, if we should want it. None ofthese things are to be had with any certainty in the Transvaal. Itwould be unwise, for you and Mr Margetts at all events, to make theattempt for five or six weeks to come. One of the things that vexed memost last April, when that extraordinary delay occurred, was that I knewthat we could not then set out until the beginning of September. But bythat time, I have no doubt, Cetewayo will have been killed or be aprisoner in our hands."
"I suppose you are right," said George reluctantly. "Well, if I mustremain, I shall try to make part of the force that is sent to catch him.I only hope there will not be as long a delay about this part of theaffair as there was about the march to Ulundi."
The feeling expressed by George was one generally entertained throughoutthe camp. But nevertheless the search after the Zulu king seemed topartake of the same inactivity which had prevailed from the first.Rumours were brought in that Cetewayo, who had refused all the offersmade him, in deep distrust, no doubt, of the good faith of the Englishin making them, had fled into the recesses of a wild primeval forest onthe borders of the Black Umvalosi, known as the Ngome Country. Here itwas almost impossible to pursue him. The scenery was wild, broken,covered with rock and wood, presenting innumerable fastnesses, whichcould only be approached with the utmost caution, and great numbers ofZulus were still lurking in the neighbourhood, quite capable ofexterminating any party which they might surprise unawares. A cordonwas drawn round this district, and the circle gradually contracted; butfor a long time, notwithstanding the rewards offered, and the fact thatnumbers of Cetewayo's bitterest enemies were on his trail, no certainintelligence of his lurking-place could be obtained. At last, on the26th of August, information came in, which indicated exactly where thefugitive was to be found. Major Marter of the Dragoon Guards wasordered to take a squadron of his men, together with some of the nativehorse and a few mounted infantry, to effect the capture. With somedifficulty, Rivers and Vander Heyden were included among the latter.
On the morning of the 27th they set out, the mounted infantry acting asscouts, and the others following. They made their way through wild andpicturesque scenes, where the foot of civilisation seemed never to havetrodden. Here and there the rude pathway was interrupted by mountainstreams, leaping over rocky heights. The horsemen passed under groupsof date palms, mimosas, and euphorbias, the giant trailers dropping frombranch and crag in tropical luxuriance round them; overhead jays andparrots, exhibiting the brightest hues, screamed and croaked; and troopsof monkeys chattered. Every now and then a watchful eye could seevenomous snakes creeping off through the brushwood or making their wayalong the boughs of trees, scared by the sight of the scarlet tunics orthe tramping of the horses' hoofs. It was a strange, bewilderingjourney.
At length they reached a mountain height, from which, at the distance ofa mile or two at the most, a small kraal was to be seen, in which, asthe spies confidently assured Major Marter, the royal fugitive had takenrefuge.
It was a difficult point to approach. The wooded valley in which it wassituated lay at a great depth, more than a thousand feet, it might betwice that distance, below; and if the party should be seen before theywere close to the kraal, escape would be possible into a tangledwilderness, where pursuit would be extremely difficult.
The major made his arrangements accordingly. He caused the dragoons tolay aside their scabbards and all the rest of their accoutrements, whichwould make a rattling noise as they advanced. Then he sent some of thenative contingent and volunteers, among whom George and Vander Heydenwere included, to creep down the mountain-side, keeping carefully out ofsight, and making no noise, until they reached the edge of the stream onthe banks of which the kraal stood. Arrived there, they were to concealthemselves among the dense bushes which fringed the stream, until themajor himself with his dragoons were seen coming up on the oppositeside. Then they were to cross the stream, which a good leap would besufficient to surmount, and surround the kraal. Marter himself led hisDragoon Guards to a point three miles distant, where the slope of thehills was sufficiently easy to allow of their riding down.
George and his companions accomplished the difficult descentsuccessfully, clinging to the baboon ropes,--as a species of longtrailer is called, and swarming down the date palms, all in profoundsilence. The chief danger arose from the incessant screaming of themonkeys, which rose in such a chorus that the adventurers were afraidthat the attention of the occupants of the kraal might be attracted byit. But Cetewayo and his followers either felt confident in thesecurity of the place of their retreat or were over-wearied by theirrecent exertions. George and his companions succeeded in reaching thebank of the stream unobserved. They could see a Zulu soldier or twomoving about, and now and then a woman coming out and going back intothe kraal. But all was listless and dispirited. The alert and watchfulactivity of the Zulus seemed completely to have deserted them.Presently the sound of hoofs was heard, and the Dragoons, sabre in hand,came galloping up. At the same moment George and his comrades rushedfrom their concealment and cleared the little stream at a bound.
The Zulus offered no resistance. It might be that they felt that thestruggle would be hopeless, but it seemed as though all heart and hopehad deserted them. They raised a feeble cry. "The white soldiers arehere, my father! You are their prisoner."
There was a moment's pause, then the door opened, and the huge andsinewy figure of Cetewayo came forth. He looked worn and over-wearied,but he still retained something of his native dignity. George andVander Heyden stepped up on either side, as if to arrest him, but hewaved them off.
"Lay no hands on me," he said, "white men. I am a king; I surrender notto you, but only to your chief."
CHAPTER FIFTEEN.
The
waggons had stopped for the night, the oxen were outspanned, and thenative servants were engaged in knee-haltering their masters' horses,which were then turned into the veldt to graze. They had not yetadvanced far enough into the Transvaal country for any danger to beapprehended from wild animals. George and Margetts, assisted by Hardy,were engaged in lighting two large fires, partly to cook the supper,partly to dispel the chill which they felt creeping over them; for,though winter was now past, and the early spring was usually mild andbalmy, yet after nightfall it is apt to become extremely cold. There isno country in the world, it may be remarked, more liable to sudden andrapid changes from cold to heat, and again from heat to cold, than thatwhich they were now traversing.
They had left Zululand--that is, Vander Heyden, George, and Redgy hadleft it--a day or two after the