Hendricks the Hunter Part 25

"Don't be afraid, Kalinda. They shan't hurt you," said Percy; "I am sure my father will not let them take you away."

As they hurried on they saw the Zulus making signs to them to bring back the boat. It was evident that the savages had perceived how the fugitives had escaped them.

"You may beckon and shriek and howl as much as you like," cried Rupert.

"We are not going to allow you to murder these people if we can help it."

Without paying further attention to the Zulus, they hurried on to the house, where they found Captain Broderick.

Percy at once introduced Kalinda and Mangaleesu to his father, telling him how much he and Denis were indebted to them.

"We come to crave your protection, O White Chief," said Mangaleesu.

"Our enemies are seeking our death, and if we are turned away I fear that we shall be overtaken."

"I promise to afford it you, my friends," said Captain Broderick. "They dare not drag you from my house by force, and I will not allow them to enter."

"There is no time to be lost then, for they are very close to the bank,"

said Rupert. "I will go and see what they are about."

Captain Broderick led the chief and his wife into the house, while Rupert hastened to where he could watch the Zulus. They were doing as he feared they would; nearly half the band were already in the stream, stemming the current, shouting and shrieking, to keep away the crocodiles, while the other half were preparing to follow. The current was carrying them down, but not very rapidly, so that they would land at a point not far below that on the opposite bank from which they had started.

He at once returned to report what he had seen. Captain Broderick had by this time come back to the front of the house. There were fortunately two white men, as well as the Hottentots, and several faithful Kaffirs within call. He ordered Rupert at once to bring out the arms and put them into the hands of the Kaffirs, whom he knew he could trust. The white men had brought their rifles, and by the time the Zulus had landed, he had a dozen men, besides himself and Denis and his two sons, ready to defend those to whom he had promised protection, should their enemies attempt to take them. Having drawn them up on the inside of the moat in front of the house, he waited to see how the Zulus would proceed. As soon as they had landed and shaken themselves dry, they looked about as if expecting to see the fugitives; then guessing that they had taken shelter in the farm, they advanced towards it, until they came in sight of the force prepared to receive them. Their leader, a chief of some consideration, judging by the cow-tails hanging round his neck, and the feathers in his head-dress, advanced and began an address to Captain Broderick.

"The Zulus and the white men are brothers," he said. "The enemies of the one are the enemies of the other. How comes it then that I see the white chief in arms against us? We have long been seeking one who is a traitor to his country, and who has defied our king Panda, the lion of the world, and I desire to know whether he is still flying across the country, or has been received into the house of our friend. If he has, we demand that he may be delivered up to us forthwith, to be treated as he deserves."

Captain Broderick listened patiently until the chief had come to an end.

"I wish to be friends with the Zulus, as well as with all the people among whom I live," said the captain. "I have no desire to protect any one because he is an enemy to the Zulus, but I cannot allow any injury to be inflicted on persons who have rendered essential service to those dear to me. There is no one in this house I can consent to deliver up to you, and therefore if you expect it you must go away disappointed. I have said it, it is useless to ask more."

The chief, on hearing this, looked very angry, and muttered something which Captain Broderick could not understand. The Zulus appeared doubtful how to proceed; at length Captain Broderick spoke to them.

"To show you that I wish to be friends, if you are hungry, I will feed you," he said. "You shall have a heifer, which I was going to kill to-night, but you must retire with it across the river, where you can feast as you desire."

This promise had evidently a good effect on the Zulus. They saw, indeed, that they were not likely to gain anything by force from a white man, who was well prepared to repel it, and was not to be intimidated.

They accordingly shouted out, "Give us the heifer. We will go."

On this Captain Broderick ordered one of the Hottentots to bring out the animal from a shed at a short distance off. The Hottentot obeyed the order with evident unwillingness; indeed, the poor animal seemed to know, by the way it walked, the fate prepared for it. As it approached, the Zulus rushed forward to seize it, for they considered it rather gained by their own prowess than as a gift.

"We take the heifer because we want food; but understand, we do not abandon the right of search for the fugitives who have rebelled and deserve death," said the chief, turning to Captain Broderick.

Having thus delivered himself, he stalked off with his followers to the bank of the river, when, plunging in, they waded and swam across the stream, driving the heifer before them.

Rupert hurried down to watch them. They went on for some distance to a sheltered spot under the hill, where shortly a fire was seen blazing up, evidently for the purpose of cooking the heifer. As it continued burning brightly for some time after darkness had set in, there was no doubt that the Zulus were enjoying themselves, and intended to remain there till the morning. Captain Broderick was too well accustomed to Kaffir warfare to trust to them, and thinking it possible that they might attempt to surprise the farm during the night, he kept a vigilant watch, and ordered his little force to remain under arms until it was ascertained to a certainty that they had taken their departure from the neighbourhood.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN.

UNPLEASANT NEIGHBOURS.

Some hours of the night had pa.s.sed, but still the fire in the distance was seen burning as brightly as ever. It showed that the Zulus were awake, and probably banqueting on the meat of the heifer given to them.

Whether they would go away or remain in the neighbourhood was doubtful.

Although they had accepted the gift, Captain Broderick thought it probable that they had some treacherous intentions, and would, at all events, make an attempt to get hold of Mangaleesu and Kalinda: perhaps even now a party might be stealing across the river with that object in view, intending to make a sudden rush at the house, should they find the garrison off their guard.

Captain Broderick therefore ordered his men to keep under arms, while he sent two of the Kaffirs, on whom he could rely, to watch along the bank of the river. He had little fear of their crossing above the falls, as the current there ran with great rapidity, and they would have had to make a wide circuit over difficult, almost impa.s.sable ground. Still, to escape the risk of being taken by surprise, he placed a sentry to watch on the northern side of the palisade, where a platform had been erected for the purpose. Meantime Percy, who had wished to keep guard with the rest, was persuaded by his mother to go to bed.

"You will better be able to do your duty, should any work be required, when you have regained your strength," she observed. "Should the Zulus attack us, which I don't think probable, I will call you. You can then take your part in the defence."

"And what are you and the girls going to do, mother?" he asked.

"We will load the muskets, and tend any who are wounded," she answered, in a firm voice. "Rose and Maud propose to keep a look-out round the palisade, lest any of the enemy should steal up and attempt to take them in the rear; while Biddy will not fail to play her part in some way or other."

"I wish that Hendricks and Crawford, with that gallant little fellow Lionel, had arrived," observed Percy. "I cannot help thinking that some accident may have happened to them, or they would have been here before now. They and the servants would have added greatly to our strength.

Indeed, I don't think the Zulus, if they were here, would venture to attack us. I have not, by the bye, told you much about Lionel, mother."

"No; but your friend Denis has, and he described to us the gallant way in which you saved the boy from being drowned or destroyed by a crocodile," answered Mrs Broderick.

"I was too glad to be of service to Mr Hendricks, who had treated my friend Crawford and me so kindly in letting us accompany him, besides which, I had a strong liking for the young fellow, whom I should have been very sorry to have lost. I first fancied that he was either the son or nephew of Mr Hendricks, but he afterwards told me that he was neither the one nor the other, but that he had been rescued by Hendricks during a trip he made some years before into Zululand."

Percy went on to give an account of Lionel's history. Mrs Broderick listened with deep attention, and inquired the age and appearance of her son's friend, which Percy described.

"Did you ever hear, Percy, that your youngest brother, during the journey we made in coming here, was lost? We always supposed that he perished with his nurse, who was killed and thrown into the river by the savages. Her body was discovered some time afterwards, though our child's was never found."

"Do you know, mother, I cannot help thinking that Lionel must be that young brother of mine," exclaimed Percy. "I am aware that I ought not to raise your hopes, but I felt drawn towards him from the first; and, as Denis will tell you, he very soon learned to speak English. He remembered a lady he felt sure was his mother, and a tall gentleman he supposed to be his father, although he had no recollection of how he came into the hands of the Zulus. It is strange that he should have been found in the kraal of Mangaleesu, who is now here. He, however, can give very little information as to Lionel's history, as he was brought to the kraal by another tribe who were afterwards destroyed.

Besides Lionel, Mangaleesu and his wife are the only inhabitants of the whole kraal who escaped. Denis, however, knows the exact particulars better than I do, as he joined Hendricks the very next day, and has been with Lionel nearly ever since."

Mrs Broderick, on hearing this, could scarcely restrain her agitation.

She naturally at once felt sure that her child's life had by some wonderful means been preserved. Her impulse was to hurry forthwith to gain more particulars from Denis, and to talk over the subject with her husband, but she felt that it would be wrong to draw off their attention from their duties, engaged as they were in guarding the house. She then thought of visiting Mangaleesu and Kalinda, who had been placed in a small room at the back of the house. She knew enough of the language to speak to them; but Percy a.s.sured her that they would not be able to give her more information than he had done.

"I don't know that Denis can do so either," he added. "We must wait until Hendricks and Lionel himself arrive, and we are sure to hear of them in a day or two, unless some accident has happened, and I don't know why we should expect that."

Poor Mrs Broderick's heart sank within her as she thought of the possibility that such, notwithstanding Percy's hopes, might have been the case. She could not but believe that Lionel was her long-lost boy, and she longed with all her mother's heart for his arrival. She would know him by his features, and by the tone of his voice, and she recollected two small marks on the shoulders of her boy, which, if found upon Lionel, would leave no doubt as to his ident.i.ty, as that must satisfy others as well as herself.

Though she wished Percy to go to sleep, she could scarcely refrain from continuing to talk with him on the subject. At last his incoherent answers, and finally his total silence, showed her that he was slumbering soundly. She went to her daughters' room to give them an account of what she had heard. They all three were unanimous in believing that the brave boy Denis had been speaking to them about was their brother. They had heard the history of little Walter's loss, although they never alluded to it, and they had often observed a shade of melancholy pa.s.s over their mother's countenance, which they guessed was owing to her thinking on the subject.

The night pa.s.sed slowly away. Captain Broderick was unwilling to trust entirely to any one, except to himself and his son Rupert, or to his young guest, who he at once saw possessed all the qualifications of a good soldier. Either one or the other went occasionally to the point whence the Zulus' camp could be seen. Their fire was burning as brightly as ever, and for some time appeared to be increasing. It diminished however in size just before daybreak, when one of the scouts returned reporting that he had crossed the river, and not finding any of the enemy moving about as he had expected, had got so close to their camp as to be able to calculate the number of persons a.s.sembled. He was certain that a portion only of the force which had pursued Mangaleesu had crossed the river, or otherwise that their numbers had since been greatly augmented.

Hearing this, Captain Broderick strongly suspected that they would again present themselves and demand the delivery of those whom he felt in honour bound not to give up. He counted the cost. He was aware that they might ravage his fields and carry off many of his cattle, but he had resolved not to yield to their demands. His first care was to put the farm in a more complete state of defence. He immediately sent off one of his men to obtain further help from any white settlers or Kaffirs who were able to come. With those remaining, he at once commenced putting up the palisades which have been mentioned, placed in readiness for the purpose. The uprights were so formed that the horizontal beams or planks could be fitted into them without the use of nails, while they were supported from the inside by beams placed at an angle to serve as b.u.t.tresses. Near to the top of the wall was a platform which ran round the whole of the palisades, and served as a rampart from which to fire down on an enemy. Such a structure would have been easily destroyed by fire, but the deep trench which ran in front prevented that danger, and the wooden wall was thus well calculated to resist any attack which the Zulus were likely to make against it. Inside the fortifications, for so they might be called, was a large barn, containing a good supply of fodder for the cattle, while in the house provisions of various descriptions were stored. While some of the men were employed in putting up the defences, the Hottentots were sent off to drive in the more valuable of the cattle, so that they, at all events, might be preserved, while the Zulus in revenge might make a raid on the unprotected part of the farm, and destroy or carry off what they could lay their hands on. Considerable progress had been made before daybreak, but still much remained to be completed, and it was hoped that until this was done, the Zulus would not cross the river.

Captain Broderick at first contemplated the possibility, with the force he hoped to have under his command, of preventing them from crossing by attacking them while they were in the water; but then again, they might possibly, expecting to be opposed, divide into two or more parties, and while he was engaged with one party, the others might get across. He was also unwilling to commence hostilities, and considered it wise to throw the responsibility of so doing on the Zulus. He therefore with unabated energy continued the preparations for defence.

There was little doubt that if the Zulus meditated an attack, they would send scouts to watch what was taking place in the farm. He was thankful, therefore, when soon after daylight the Hottentots arrived with the choicest of his horses and oxen. In a short time also several Kaffirs came dropping in, two or three at a time; some with muskets, but others armed only with their a.s.segais and shields, though they were mostly accustomed to the use of firearms. They immediately joined those labouring at the fortifications. They were followed by three white settlers, two of whom were Dutch Boers, the other an Englishman; hardy borderers of a low cla.s.s, who, having suffered from the Zulus in former years, held them in utter detestation.

Before the day was many hours old, the fortifications on the farm were complete. Captain Broderick had a great desire to avoid hostilities, and he hoped, should the Zulus come, that they, on seeing at once they had no chance of success, would retire.

He had set an example to his men by working harder than any of them; and at length, overcome with fatigue, he had retired to the house, desiring Rupert to summon him immediately, should the scouts return, or anything of importance occur. Denis insisted on keeping company with Rupert on the platform, whence a good look-out could be obtained over the surrounding country.

"I got so sound a sleep the first two nights after I came here, that I did not feel at all inclined to go to bed," he said, as they walked to and fro. "Not that I think there is much chance of having a visit from those Zulus; for, from what I know of them, I suspect that as soon as they find we are prepared to give them a warm reception, they will turn tail and go the way they came."