In the grip of the Mullah: A tale of adventure in Somaliland

  CHAPTER XV

  A CLEVER RUSE

  While Jim Hubbard and his friend John Margetson are hiding in thestore-hut, let us return for a few moments to the coast-line.

  The reader will remember that a Somali levy had been raised andofficered by Englishmen drawn from the various line regiments, and thatthis force had many months before marched into the interior by way ofBohotle, and, dividing into two portions, had left its baggage, itsreserve ammunition and its camels, in charge of the smaller half. Hewill recollect also that the cunning Mullah, aided by information givenby his spies, contrived to elude the larger force, and gloating over avictory which he already counted as his, had thrown himself upon CaptainMcNeill's zareba. Not once, but on three successive occasions was hisfrantic onslaught stemmed by the few men gathered in the zareba. Soheavy, indeed, were the losses amongst the Mullah's following, thattheir enthusiasm and fanatical hate had changed to dismay and secretadmiration for these men whose officers were spoken of as "infideldogs."

  Following upon their defeat at the hands of Captain McNeill and his tinygarrison, the Mullah's horde was split into pieces and scattered in alldirections by the larger half.

  But in Somaliland a holy man has enormous powers of persuasion, and thereader has already learned that the Mullah rapidly gathered hisfollowing together again. Then came the action with Colonel Swayne atErego, where the Somali soldiers, who were enlisted by the "Sirkal,"turned tail and bolted, leaving their comrades to their fate. From thatmoment adherents had flocked to the Mullah's banner, and theirdepredations becoming serious, an expedition was decided upon. Of thisGeneral Manning was given the command, while the force itself was toconsist of Indian troops and of men from the West Coast of Africa.

  Stores, rifles, ammunition, and every article that could be thought of,or that was likely to prove of value in the coming march were collectedat Aden and then sent over to Berbera. And here, when Jim and hisfollowing passed through the town, gigantic preparations were afoot.Already the troops had begun to collect, and the garrison at Bohotle,which had been in residence for some months, and which was sufferingseverely from malaria and from lack of supplies, had been relieved andreplaced by fresh men, while plenty of stores and ammunition for sixmonths had been brought up.

  This advance post having been placed in a condition of readiness, theeyes of those who were responsible for the movements of the troops wereturned in other directions, for it is not always wise to concentrateone's forces. A division of the fighting strength which is about toinvade an enemy's country often disconcerts the adversary, for then he,too, must split his followers, and send some to watch and oppose onehalf of the invaders, while the remainder marches to lie in wait for theother. If this precaution were not taken, it would be a simple matterfor a well-mounted body of men to make a wide detour, and carefullytiming their arrival and attack, to fall upon the enemy in the rear,while their comrades engaged with them in the front.

  Thus was Ladysmith relieved; for when Lord Roberts, with a hastilycollected force, invaded the Orange River Colony, the Boer forces, whichup to then had been concentrated about the heights of Colenso and thebeleaguered camp, were compelled to divide, one portion hastening acrossthe Drakensberg Mountains to join with others about Bloemfontein, whilethe remainder, seeing their hopeless condition, fled before the repeatedand gallant attacks of General Buller, leaving the flag of old Englandstill proudly waving upon the Town Hall of Ladysmith.

  With this thought of a diversion in view, another base was looked for,and Obbia, in the Italian Protectorate, was selected, the consent ofthat nation having readily been obtained. Then an arrangement was cometo with the Abyssinians that they should also march upon the Mullah,getting in behind him, if possible, so that, should he take alarm andraise his camp with the intention of escaping farther into the interioruntil the storm had blown over, there might still be good hope offorcing him to fight, and of capturing him and a goodly portion of hismen.

  Many weeks had been spent in making these arrangements, and so uncertainwas the mind of those who had control of the expedition, that at timesit seemed likely that it would be abandoned for a space. When Jim andhis friend left Berbera, the news of an immediate advance was in theair, but this was contradicted a few days later. Then it was bruitedabroad again, and while he and his followers were resisting the attackof the tribesmen at the ravine, the information became public propertythat within a short space of time the forces would actually advance.

  * * * * *

  As the daylight increased, Jim and his friend went from side to side ofthe store-hut, and taking advantage of the piled-up date-bags, quicklyarranged a convenient look-out, from which they could gather news oftheir surroundings. Some few inches of space had been left between theroof and the supporting walls, whether for the sake of ventilation, orbecause it was the custom of the builders of the country, it would beimpossible to state. But there it was, and, by means of a pile of bags,the two Englishmen found a convenient way of reaching it.

  "We'll keep watch from here all day," said Jim, peering through theopening; "then there will be no fear of a sudden surprise, while we canmake up for our long vigil by a good sleep at night."

  "I agree with you, my lad," was the answer. "We are in a fix here, andunless we keep our wits and our eyes sharply about us, we shallcertainly fall into the Mullah's hands. But here comes the sun, and withit the life of the village will begin."

  As he spoke, the street which passed from end to end of the Mullah'sstronghold was flooded with the rays of the morning sun, the edge ofwhich could be discerned rising in golden splendour over the crests ofthe distant hills. Scarcely had it struck upon the huts and sent longshadows slanting across the ground, when doors opened in all directionsas if by magic, and out into the clear, sparkling air came thevillagers. Children rolled from the dwellings, and began their chatterand play, while a few minutes later the wives appeared, some with jarsupon their heads, which they carried towards the river, while othersproceeded to light fires before their huts, so as to make ready for themorning meal.

  "And now we can expect to see the men-folk," whispered John Margetson."How well do I know their movements, for was not I the first to beabroad during the past three years? It was the duty of a slave, and Icarried it out without failing, for, otherwise, harsh treatment was myreward. If you watch, you will see the warriors do not troublethemselves to work. The few who have failed to take part in last night'ssearch will presently appear, strolling from their huts, and will thenexert themselves so far as to lounge about the street. There is sure tobe much talk about my escape, so they will collect together in groups.Only then, and when they are about to meet with enemies, will you seethem roused to any energy. They will shout to one another, and discussthe question till a quarrel seems imminent. But their anger will quicklysubside, and soon, when the Mullah has shaken the sleep from his eyes,and climbs aloft beneath the flagstaff, they will all turn and salaam tohim, as becomes the followers of such a holy man. Then each will producehis strip of carpet, and, turning to the east, will follow the movementsof their leader as he kneels and prays to Allah.

  "It is a weird and wonderful sight, and their murmured 'Allah, Allah,'will enchant your ears, for the faith and devotion of these Somaliwarriors is very great. An infidel is an odious sight to their eyes, andwere it not that the Mullah might obtain value for my life, I shouldlong ago have ceased to exist. Often has this holy man condescended toapproach me, and endeavour to change my religion. When persuasion was ofno avail, he used threats, and even went so far as to starve me; but,thank God, though I was only a poor heart-broken slave, with never awhite friend to rely upon, I remained resolute, and steadfastly kept tothe teaching of my childhood. And through all these weary months, thatalone has been my comfort. It has given me hope when all seemedhopeless, and has taught me to look forward to this day. But here theycome."

  As he finished speaking, the crowd of native women and children whichnow filled the village street wa
s added to by the appearance of somehundred Somali warriors, who emerged in ones and twos from theirdwellings, all fully armed, for none of these men dreamed of lying downto sleep, or even of walking about in the daylight, without his weapons.Staring at them through his peephole, Jim had a better opportunity ofobserving them than had ever occurred before, and could not but admiretheir height, their fine physique, and their sturdy and independentappearance.

  Of those who lounged before him, very few possessed firearms, and thesewere obviously of a poor and obsolete kind. The remainder bore shieldsand spears, while double-handed swords were thrust in theirwaist-cloths. A few, even, carried bows and arrows.

  "They are of the Midgan tribe, which have joined the Mullah almost to aman," said Jim's friend. "Should it ever fall out that you are woundedby one of their missiles, be careful to withdraw the arrow at once, andask a comrade to apply his lips to the puncture, for it is reported thatthe tips are poisoned. But your revolver should keep them at a distance,while against a rifle their curious weapons should be absolutelyuseless."

  It was at once evident that the exciting incident of the previousevening had had its effect upon the warriors, for, as John Margetson hadpredicted, they gathered together in clumps, and began an animatedconversation. Then, at the suggestion of one of their number, theysuddenly started off to search the village and its surroundings again.Fortunately, however, for the fugitives, no rain had fallen for manydays, and though the mass of men congregated just outside the store-hutwhere Jim's knife had been found, even the sharpest eyes failed todiscover a trace of them, and it never occurred to the warriors thatthose whom they sought so eagerly were even then listening to theirwords with bated breath.

  "Look at the man in the centre," whispered Margetson, touching Jim uponthe sleeve. "By the sound of his voice that is the scoundrel whosuggested that this place should be searched. But he is evidently afraidto air his opinions again, and let us hope that the snubbing which theMullah gave him will keep him from further investigations. Now his headis turned this way, and it is evident that he has still some fondnessfor his own ideas."

  "I confess," answered Jim, "that I do not like the appearance of thefellow. There is no doubt that he is still suspicious, and I should notbe surprised if he came here quietly to see whether or not he was right.If he does, he will have himself to thank for anything that may happento him, for we are not going to allow one man's curiosity to ruin ourhopes."

  "No; nor shall fifty capture us without a struggle, my lad. Recollectwhat I said about my liberty. My mind is fully made up to obtain it atany price. But there they go, and all the better, say I, for it is anuncanny and an uncomfortable feeling to watch a crew of desperate men,such as they are, knowing all the while that they are searching forone's self."

  Satisfied that no good was to be obtained by remaining on the spot wherethe tell-tale knife had been discovered, the Somali warriors went off toanother portion of the village, and, having peered into every likely andunlikely place, returned to discuss the question once more. In themiddle of their conversation, however, the figure of the Mullah suddenlyappeared beside the flagstaff, and instantly each man, woman, and childin the village turned and salaamed deeply to him. Then they scattered totheir various houses, and returning to any suitable position from whichtheir eyes could be fixed upon their leader, while they faced the east,they discarded their sandals and reverently knelt down on their mats.For long did the Mullah remain upon his knees, and when he had finishedhis devotions, he rose slowly to his feet, stepped from the carpet,donned his shoes, and then salaamed deeply. A moment later he facedabout, and lifting his hand for silence, just as he had done on theprevious night, he began to speak to his followers.

  "There is no news of these infidel dogs," he cried, "but they are assurely in our hands as are those others who have formed their zareba inthe desert. Soon I hope to see those who left us last night returning,and meanwhile I command all who have not a duty to do here to leave thevillage and go to aid them in their search. As for the other prisoner,that one who commanded men belonging to the British Government, and whois spoken of in his own language as a colonel, he must be removed fromthe hut in which he now lies and be brought closer, so that he may beplaced under a stronger guard. Not that there is any fear of hisrelease, for we have taken action so early that the plans of theseimpudent people who have come to release him have been altogetherupset."

  In accordance with the orders which they had received, the Somalis whostill remained in the village gulped down a hasty meal, and thenmounting their ponies, set off to join their comrades. Some twenty ormore remained behind and watched them depart, then, while four of themmounted guard over the Mullah's residence, the others proceeded down thestreet, and halted before a hovel which stood at the farther end.

  "They are going to fetch their prisoner," whispered Jim, keeping hiseyes fixed upon them. "Perhaps I shall be able to see him, even thoughto rescue him now is impossible. Ah, they have opened the door, and somehave gone in."

  "Your father is certainly there, my lad," answered his companion. "Andyou must not be surprised if you find him changed to a certain extent,for he has had a hard life of it. As I told you, he has never lost hisspirit, and, careless whether he lives or dies, has never permitted anyone of his guards to ill-treat him. Once, even, when I happened to meethim in the street when carrying a message for the Mullah, he stopped toconverse with me, at which the warrior who was keeping watch upon himcalled him an infidel and a dog, and prodded him with his spear toinduce him to move on. Your father was upon him in an instant, andtearing the spear from his hand, snapped the shaft across his knee, andbelaboured the man till he bellowed. Never have I seen these people soangered. Indeed, had it not been for the Mullah, who seemed always athand at such times to guard his possessions, they would have torn himlimb from limb, to revenge the insult. It was grand to see how theprisoner faced them, spear-shaft in hand, smiling disdainfully at theiranger, and almost inviting them to come on to the attack. By such doingshe has created a feeling of terror amongst his guards, and now, wheneverhe is abroad, not one, but five men follow him, ready to throwthemselves upon him and bear him to the ground, should he make anattack upon them. Here they come, and you can see for yourself the truthof what I say."

  As he spoke those who had entered reappeared with their white prisoner.Then the whole group retraced their footsteps, and marched up the centreof the street. Soon they were so close to the store-hut that thefeatures of every man were visible, and with a thrill of joy Jim caughtsight of his father's face. It was thinner and more bronzed than usual,and perhaps the hair was a trifle whiter, but the prisoner still worethat air of resolution to which his son was accustomed. Catching sightof the Mullah, who had again ascended to the roof of his house, ColonelHubbard called to him in commanding tones, and would have addressed him,had it not been for the men who marched by his side. Hustling himforward, and surrounding him with a hedge of spear-points, they forcedhim towards a circular building, which seemed scarcely large enough tocontain a human being, and motioned to him to enter.

  Longingly did Jim watch his father pass, limping slightly from the woundwhich he had received. Had he dared he would have called out to him, ormade some sign so that the prisoner should know that help was at hand.But he knew that to do so would be worse than madness.

  Having carried out their orders, the group of Somali warriors separated,and all walked away, save one, who squatted down with his spear besidehim and his sword on the ground at his feet, evidently having been toldoff as sentry. A little later one of his comrades approached, bearing agun in his hand, which he handed over to him, together with a horn ofpowder, and a goat-skin bag containing slugs.

  "That shows that they are afraid of your father," whispered JohnMargetson, who, like Jim, had watched the whole scene in silence. "Nodoubt that man has been given orders to fire a gun on the slightestsuspicion of an attempt at escape, so that the others may come to hishelp. But, remembering the Mullah's words, no injury will be
done totheir prisoner if it can possibly be avoided."

  "I've been thinking about that, too," was the thoughtful answer, "and Icannot say that my mind is over comfortable on the subject, forsupposing the Mullah were to hear to-morrow that my friend, Tom Dixon,and the followers who accompanied us from the coast, had beaten off theattack of his warriors, causing them heavy loss, in his anger he mightinstantly give an order to have the prisoner killed. I have had littleexperience of these native people, but everyone tells me that they arefanatical to a degree, and that their hatred of a Christian isextraordinary. In these circumstances, it seems to me that, in spite ofthe Mullah's express orders to the contrary, no white man is at thepresent moment sure of his life while a captive in his stronghold."

  "Hum! Yes, perhaps there is some truth in what you say," repliedMargetson slowly. "But however great the anger of the Mullah might be onhearing of defeat, I know the rascal too well to imagine for a momentthat he would allow a rash and hasty impulse to prompt him to seekrevenge at once by slaying your father, for to do so would be to ruinhis hopes of a hostage in case he himself were captured. He is acunning, long-headed fellow, otherwise he would never have attained tohis present position of prominence. Why, at first, when he started hisdepredations, he was laughed at by the majority of Somalis as a madmanwho would quickly come to an untimely end. But by giving out that he wasa holy man, this Mahomed Abdullah gained many friends, and with theseto help him, and aided by an unscrupulous nature, he punished those whohad formerly jeered at him so severely as to compel them, too, to joinhis ranks. And thus, little by little, and because his journeyings toMecca have taught him more knowledge of the world and more cunning thanare possessed by his ignorant brethren, he has steadily increased hispower over them. But not for an instant has he allowed himself toneglect to take precautions for his own individual safety. If hisfollowers are successful, well and good, for his power at onceincreases. On the other hand, if the day goes against him, this craftyrogue will not grieve for the fate of his adherents, will not care howmany are killed, so long as he is sure of his own safety; for with awhite prisoner or more to offer in exchange, he thinks that his libertywill be assured, and then what is to prevent him from again carrying hisbanner far and wide through the country, and raising another band?"

  "I can see your argument clearly," answered Jim, "but tell me this.However desirous the Mullah may be of keeping his prisoner alive, howcan he guarantee that his followers may not, in their rage at beingdefeated, disobey his orders?"

  "It is a danger which must be faced, my lad, and which I admit is to befeared."

  "That being the case, the sooner we are out of this the better for allof us!" exclaimed Jim with decision. "It seems to me that we have now anopportunity which may never occur again, for we know that very few ofthe Somalis are in the village at the present moment. If the others havenot returned by nightfall, I propose to slip out, and by hook or bycrook to enter that hut opposite."

  "But you would not attempt to escape?" whispered John Margetson, inalarm. "Listen to me, my lad, and do not misunderstand my caution. As Ihave said before, I owe you a debt, and as a first instalment towardsrepaying it I will help you in this matter to the utmost, but think ofthe circumstances for a moment. We know that the country outside isalive with Somali warriors in search of ourselves. It would be madness,therefore, to seek to leave the village when we have already decidedthat here we are in comparative safety."

  "I have thought of it in that way," responded Jim quietly, his decisionunchanged by his friend's argument. "And I quite agree that this is theonly haven for us just now. But why should we two make use of it alone,whilst father remains over there in the hands of the Mullah, and ingreater danger of his life? It has occurred to me that a method might befound for transferring him to this place, and that is what I propose todo to-night."

  Some minutes passed before his comrade ventured to reply, but it wasevident that his thoughts were fully occupied with the question, forthough he still remained on his parapet of date-bags, and still lookedthrough his peephole, his eyes stared vacantly at the village street,the sentry who paced up and down in front of the prisoner's hut, and thebroad strip of flashing silver beyond, which showed where the riverflowed. Suddenly, however, his attention was riveted upon the river, andshifting his position so as to obtain a better view, he looked long andearnestly at it, as though he had made an important discovery. Indeed,so apparent was this that Jim, too, followed his gaze, only to bedisappointed, for the surface of the water was disturbed by nothing buta gentle ripple here and here as the breeze played upon it and ruffledit, or where the current washed against a sunken boulder and caused aneddy.

  "What is it?" he asked in some astonishment. "Something caught your eye,but what it is I cannot imagine."

  "Then I shall tell you. You say that your father must join us here, andwhile agreeing with that, I placed myself for the space of a few secondsin the sandals of these Somali people. When they awake to-morrow, tofind their captive gone, what questions will they ask themselves, whatdirection will they think he has taken? They know that it cannot be thatwhich leads towards the desert, for their comrades are watching outthere, and would certainly have laid hands upon him. Then, where elsecould he have gone? Unless we bait a clever trap for them, they will atonce come to the only conclusion, namely, that he still is here inhiding. Then they will begin to search every house in the village, andour game will be up."

  "That never occurred to me," said Jim, feeling as though his hopes hadreceived a blow. "But what trap could we prepare? How could we put themoff the scent? I cannot see in what way the river can help us."

  "But I can," was the ready answer, given in a voice of confidence."There are small dug-out canoes and rafts drawn up upon the banks, andit seems to me that, were we to take one of them and ferry it across tothe opposite side and land there, stamping our feet in the mud so as toleave obvious tracks, the enemy would at once take it for certain thattheir prisoner and those who had helped him to escape had flown in thatdirection. When the hue and cry is raised in the morning, someone issure to observe that a boat is missing, and a moment's search will showit drawn up on the opposite bank. That, I feel sure, will be sufficientevidence for the Mullah and his friends, and orders will be given forinstant pursuit."

  "Yes, and in addition, those who have been sent towards the desert willbe called in again, and commanded to join their comrades," whispered Jimin tones of exultation. "It is, undoubtedly, a splendid plan, and wewill carry it out, or rather, I will do so, for one will be sufficientfor the job. Having crossed the river, I shall swim back again to thisside, and then creep towards the hut. If possible, I will cut a holethrough the wall at the back, but if the sentry is too alert, as mayvery well be the case, I shall floor him, and then go in through thedoor. What do you think of the plan?"

  "Capital! It will do excellently, my lad. I was about to say that weshould divide the work, but it seems to me that one of us had bestremain here to keep watch, and besides, if both of us were abroad, therisk of discovery would be greater. We shall take it as settled,therefore, that you slip out to-night."

  "One minute, before we leave the matter," said Jim, a thought suddenlyoccurring to him. "We must not be too sure of success, you know, forthere is no doubt that these fellows are thoroughly aroused. Supposing,for instance, that I were discovered, and the alarm given. In that caseI should make a bolt for it, and should not dare to return to this hut,for to do so would be to betray your whereabouts. I should run for theravine in which Ali was to await me, and from there I should make anattempt to reach you both when things had settled down a little."

  "Very well, then, we shall take it as agreed, that if you do not return,I am to wait here until you do. It will be lonely work, but not more sothan I have had to put up with for the past three years. And now thebest thing that we can do is to take it in turn to get some sleep, forwe have had very little of late."

  Accordingly, when they had again regaled themselves with dates and w
ine,Jim lay down, and was soon fast asleep. Three hours later Margetson tookhis place, and he again was aroused after a similar lapse of time.

  "Time to be moving, my lad," said John Margetson, in a low voice,shaking Jim by the shoulder, shortly after evening had fallen. "It hasbeen dark for an hour, and by the time you are ready the village willhave settled, for these folk here keep early hours. Up you get, and makeready."

  In a moment Jim was on his feet once more, and had begun hispreparations for what would, in all probability, turn out to be the mostdaring part of his undertaking.