The Third R. Austin Freeman Megapack. R. Austin Freeman
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men and the dead officer were borne off by the three native servants. Meanwhile Osmond took possession of the prisoner—just as one of his guards was preparing to cut his throat with a large and very unofficial-looking knife—and, rapidly pinioning his arms with the leading-rope, held him up with his face towards the enemy; in which position he served as excellent cover, not only for Osmond but also for the two Hausas, who were able to keep up a brisk fire over his shoulders.
In this fashion Osmond and his two supporters slowly backed after the retreating party. The firing from the bush practically ceased, since the enemy had now no mark to fire at but their own chief; and though they continued to follow up, as the moving bushes showed, their wholesome respect for the Snider rifle—with which the Hausas were armed—prevented them from coming out of cover or approaching dangerously near.
In less than a quarter of an hour the open space by the river was reached; and here Osmond’s retreat was covered by the rest of the party, who had crossed the river and had taken up a safe position in the bamboo thicket, whence they could, without exposing themselves, command the approaches to the bridge. The two Hausas were turning to run across the log when Osmond noticed a large basket of produce—containing among other things, a number of balls of shea butter—which one of his carriers had dropped in retreat.
“Hi!” he sang out, “pick up that basket and take him across,” and then, as a new idea suggested itself: “Put those balls of shea tulu in my pocket.”
The astonished Hausa hesitated, especially as a Mauser bullet had just hummed past his head, but when Osmond repeated the order impatiently he hurriedly grabbed up the unsavoury-looking balls of grease and emptied them into Osmond’s pocket. Then he turned and ran across the bridge.
Osmond continued to back towards the river, still holding the struggling Zippah close before him as a shield. Arriving at the end of the bridge, he cautiously sat down and got astride the log, pulling his captive, with some difficulty, into the same position, and began to wriggle across. Once started, Zippah was docile enough; for, with his pinioned arms, he could not afford to fall into the swirling water. He even assisted his captor so far as he was able, being evidently anxious to get the perilous passage over as quickly as possible. When they had crept about a third of the way across, Osmond took one of the balls of shea butter from his pocket and, reaching past his prisoner, smeared the mass thickly on the smooth surface of the log; and this proceeding he repeated at intervals as he retired, leaving a thick trail of the solid grease behind him. Zippah was at first profoundly mystified by the white man’s manoeuvres, which he probably regarded as some kind of fetish ceremonial or magic; but when its purpose suddenly dawned on him, his sullen face relaxed into a broad and appreciative grin, and as he was at length dragged backwards from the head of the bridge, through the opening into the dark bamboo thicket, he astonished the besieged party (and no doubt the besiegers also) by letting off a peal of honest African guffaws.
A CERTAIN DR THORNDYKE [Part 2]
CHAPTER X
BETTY’S APPEAL
As the prisoner was withdrawn by his guard into the dark opening of the thicket, Osmond halted for a moment to look back across the river. Not a sign of the enemy was to be seen excepting the pall of smoke that hung over the wooded shore. But the reports of unseen muskets and rifles and the hum of slugs and bullets warned him of the danger of exposing himself—though he, too, was probably hidden from the enemy by the dense smoke of the black powder. Accordingly he turned quickly and, plunging into the dark tunnel-like passage, groped his way forward, unable, at first, to distinguish anything in the all-pervading gloom. Presently he perceived a little distance ahead a cluster of the great bamboo stalks faintly lighted as if by a hidden fire or torch, and a moment later, a turn of the passage brought him in view of the light itself, which seemed to be a rough shea-butter candle or lamp, set on the ground and lighting up dimly the forlorn little band whose retreat he had covered.
This much he took in at the first glance. But suddenly he became aware of a new presence at the sight of which he stopped short with a smothered exclamation. Stockbridge, sitting beside his dead comrade, had uncovered his wounded leg; and kneeling by him as she applied a dressing to the wound was a woman. He could not see her face, which was partly turned away from him and concealed by a wide pith helmet; but the figure was—to him—unmistakable, as were the little, dainty, capable hands on which the flickering light shone. He approached slowly, and as Stockbridge greeted him with a wry grin, she turned her head quickly and looked up at him. “Good evening, Mr. Cook,” she said, quietly. “What a fortunate chance it is that you should be here.”
“Yes, by Jove,” agreed Stockbridge; “at least a fortunate chance for us. He is a born tactician.”
Osmond briefly acknowledged the greeting, and in the ensuing silence, as Betty methodically applied the bandage, he looked about him and rapidly assessed the situation. Stockbridge looked weak and spent and was evidently in considerable pain, though he uttered no complaint; the wounded Hausas lay hard by, patiently awaiting their turn to have their injuries attended to, and the carriers crouched disconsolately in gloomy corners out of the way of chance missiles. A continuous firing was being kept up from the other side of the river, and slugs and Mauser bullets ploughed noisily through the bamboo, though none came near the fugitives. The position of the latter, indeed, was one of great natural strength, for the river made a horse-shoe bend at this spot and the little peninsula enclosed by it was entirely occupied by the bamboo. An attack was possible in only two directions; by the bridge, or by the path that entered the thicket at the other end.
“Well,” said Osmond, as Betty, having finished the dressing, transferred her attention to one of the wounded Hausas, “here we are, safe for the moment. They can’t get at us in here.”
“No,” agreed Stockbridge. “It’s a strong position, if we could stay here, though they will probably try to rush the bridge when it’s dark.”
Osmond shook his head with a grim smile. “They won’t do that,” said he. “I’ve taken the precaution to grease the log; so they’ll have to crawl across carefully, which they won’t care to do with the Hausas potting at them from shelter. But we can’t stay here. We’d better clear out as soon as it is dark; and the question is, which way?”
“We must follow the river, I suppose,” said Stockbridge, in a faint voice. “But you’d better arrange with the sergeant. I’m no good now. Tell him he’s to take your orders. Our carriers know the country.”
The sergeant, who had witnessed Osmond’s masterly retreat, accepted the new command without demur. A guard was posted to watch the bridge from safe cover, and the carriers were assembled to discuss the route.
“Now,” said Osmond, “where is the next bridge?” There was apparently no other bridge, but there was a ford some miles farther up, and a couple of miles below there was a village which possessed one or two of the large, punt-shaped canoes that were used for trading across the lagoon.
“S’pose dey no fit to pass de bridge,” said the head carrier, “dey go and fetch canoe for carry um across de river.”
“I see,” said Osmond. “Then they’d attack us from the rear and we should be bottled up from both sides. That won’t do. You must get ready to march out as soon as it is dark, sergeant. Your carriers can take Mr. Westall’s body and some of the wounded and the sound men must carry the rest. And send my carriers back the way they came. There are too many of us as it is.”
“And dem muskets and powder, dat we bring in from the villages?” said the sergeant. “What we do wid dem?”
“We must leave them here or throw them in the river. Anyhow, you get off as quickly as you can.”
The sergeant set about his preparations without delay and Osmond’s carriers departed gleefully towards the safe part of the country. Meanwhile Osmond considered the situation. If the enemy obtained canoes from the lower river, they would probably ferry a party across and attack the bamboo fortress from front and rear simultaneously. Then they would find the nest empty, and naturally would start in pursuit; which would be unpleasant for the helpless fugitives, crawling painfully along the