The Great White Queen Part 31

The Dagomba scouts, travelling before us, splendid fellows, all eyes and ears, who could detect the slightest indication of an enemy's presence far or near, whether it were the broken twig at one's feet or the sudden rising of a bird in the distance, kept us well informed of all transpiring on every side. For a hundred miles we marched through the Arab chieftain's land without any of its inhabitants dreaming of the presence of a hostile force, and it was only by our sudden descent one night upon the small walled town of Torola, which we sacked and burned, that they were awakened to the truth.

But ere the news could spread to Koussan, about forty English miles distant, we, by a forced march, had already reached the capital. Making a dash upon the place by night with our Maxim and Hotchkiss guns, the garrison were completely taken by surprise, nevertheless so well were its high white walls defended, that our forces were driven back with severe loss.

Undaunted however, Kona, who placed himself at the head of our Dagomba allies, backed by the well-armed soldiers of Mo, made a second a.s.sault upon a point that had been indicated by our spies as weaker than the others. The fighting was desperate, and the sight, viewed from where I was standing with the reinforcements, was one of exceeding grandeur.

Night was rendered almost bright as day by the constant flashing of guns, and the noise of the tumult ever increasing sounded high above the constant roar of artillery. Suddenly, as I gazed across the plain to where the sharp conflict was proceeding, a brilliant blue flash blinded me and an instant later a deafening explosion caused the ground to tremble, while the red light of the guns gleamed through the increasing veil of smoke, and I saw that our men had successfully placed a mine beneath that portion of the fortifications near where they were fighting, and it had been fired, effecting a great breach through which they next moment poured, engaging the defenders hand to hand.

Soon afterwards a signal light flashed thrice, as had been agreed, and six thousand men, including myself, sped over the plain to reinforce our comrades. Soon, clambering over the fallen masonry where the enormous breach had been made, I found myself with my sword, the one I had used in the conquest of Mo, hacking right and left, endowed with a strength that only came to me in moments of intense excitement.

The dash we made was indeed a brilliant one. The Arab defenders were, we found, fully equal to us in numbers and were withal magnificent soldiers, for in the broad squares of the city their cavalry, with their white flowing robes and heavy curved swords, committed frightful havoc in our ranks, yet in such numbers had we clambered into the great chieftain's stronghold that they became gradually hampered in the streets and, unable to manoeuvre, were compelled to dismount and engage us in combat. The fight proved an even more desperate and b.l.o.o.d.y one than that which resulted in the dethronement of the Naya. So equally matched were the forces, that the struggle raged with frightful ferocity, each side determined to secure the victory. In the old Moorish-looking streets, so narrow that two a.s.ses could scarce pa.s.s abreast, there were encounters more desperate than any I had ever witnessed, for the soldiers of Samory and the fighting-men of Mo, the two most fierce and valiant forces in the whole of the African continent, were pitted against each other.

Cutting our way forward, I found myself at last beneath the high whitewashed wall of the great Djamaa Thelatha Biban, or Mosque of the Three Gates, one of the most ancient in the city. I recognised it by its fine dome standing out white against the flame-illumined sky, and remembered that when a captive in the hands of the brutal Arab ruler, Omar had translated to me the fine Kufic inscription on its handsome facade, recording its construction by Mohammed Ibn Kheiroun el-Maaferi in the second century of the Hedjira. For a moment I paused under its handsome entrance of black and white marble, when suddenly Kona rushed towards me, crying:

"Quick, Master! Fly for thy life, here, across the square!" and as he tore away as fast as his long black legs would carry him, I followed wondering.

Scarcely had we reached the opposite side of the great market-place when a deafening roar sounded, and an instant later, as I turned, I saw the great dome crack, tremble and collapse, together with the high white minaret, while the whole of its facade fell out with a terrific crash in the opposite direction. Our men had blown up the princ.i.p.al mosque in Samory's capital, an action which increased tenfold the rage of our fierce fanatical enemies.

With loud yells they fell upon us from every quarter, when a few minutes later they realised what had been done, and during the next hour the conflict became terrific. Hundreds were struck to earth by bullets and swords, and it appeared to me, striving as I was in the midst of the smoke and heat of battle, that the longer we fought the more numerous became the defenders, and the less our chance of success. Yet slowly we had succeeded in cutting our way from the city wall up the hill crowned by the great white Kasbah, or fortress, which const.i.tuted Samory's palace, and were now actually within sight of it. Fiercely exerting every muscle we fought to attain our goal, but so desperate was the defence, that time after time our forward movement was prevented, and we were compelled to fall back bleeding and frustrated. In these valiant attempts to reach the walls of the Kasbah there fell, at a low estimate, fully five hundred of that portion of the force to which I had attached myself.

With reinforcements we might have flung back the defenders, yet separated as we had been into small bodies during the earlier manoeuvres, fighting was now taking place in every part of the city, no two bodies being able to unite their forces.

To thus cut us off one from another had, no doubt, been the tactics of the defenders, for we afterwards learnt that in many instances the smaller of our gallant little bands had been slaughtered literally to a man.

At last, however, my worst fears began to be realized, for the defenders, receiving reinforcements, swooped suddenly down upon us, and with their swords and those sharp double-edged knives they carried in their belts, wrought frightful havoc among us everywhere, while upon us another body poured a terrible fire from their long-barrelled rifles.

As result of this, although we made a spirited stand, once again we were compelled to fall back in confusion, leaving many dead and dying upon the stones. Suddenly I heard Kona's well-known voice behind me uttering the fierce war yell of the Dagombas, and next instant we found to our satisfaction that a great body of his dark oily-faced warriors had come to our relief. The reckless and savage manner in which they fought a few moments later was astounding, and it was certainly due to their courage and strength that the Arabs were first forced back and then cut to pieces and utterly routed.

This, however, did not carry us much further towards the Kasbah, for when within an ace of gaining its walls, another body of Arabs swept across the great square with its clump of date-palms, and with cries of rage attacked us vigorously with rifle and sword. The combat again became terrible, and in it I received from a big, raw-boned Arab a severe sword-cut over the left wrist that caused me excruciating pain. Still I fought on, although half fearing that our expedition was ill-fated. We had believed Samory's capital practically denuded of troops, and of such strenuous opposition as that offered we had never dreamed.

But the a.s.sertion of the West Coast tribes that the soldiers of the mystic land of Mo know not fear is certainly true, for never once did they falter, although the citadel seemed absolutely una.s.sailable by reason of the fierceness and strength of its defence.

Through the dark night hours we had fought on revengefully, and when dawn spread the grey glimmering light disclosed the terrible result of the deadly fray. Dead and wounded lay everywhere, and through the suffocating smoke the fire of the rifles now seemed yellow where in the darkness it had appeared blood-red. By some means the Arabs rallied their forces, and I confess that the sight of the overwhelming numbers opposing us caused my courage to fail. Swiftly and unrelentlessly the attack upon us was delivered, and with such vigour that our van fell back, weak and decimated. Suddenly, without warning, a sound above the din broke upon our ears, startling us.

The rapid cackling was unmistakable, and involuntarily I burst into a good old-fashioned English cheer. One of our Maxims had been tardily brought into play!

Ere a few moments had elapsed the Arabs, having already had a taste of the terrible effect of the deadly weapon during the recent campaign against the French and English, stood panic-stricken. Their hesitation proved fatal. Under the hail of lead they were mowed down, and ere the remainder could recover from their astonishment a second weapon was brought into play, riddling their ranks with showers of death-dealing missiles.

CHAPTER x.x.xIII.

THE HAREM SLAVE.

A DOZEN times were we driven back by overwhelming numbers of Arabs, but as many times we dashed forward again, determined to strike a fatal, irrisistible blow at the power of the egotistical and fanatical chieftain whose depredations had earned for him the appelation of "The Pirate of the Niger." Every nation in Western Africa, save the dwellers in the mystic land of Mo, existed in daily fear of raids by his ruthless armed bands, who, travelling rapidly across desert and forest, devastated whole regions, seizing cattle, laying waste prosperous and fertile districts, burning towns and villages, and reducing their weaker neighbours to slavery. Indeed, no bodies of armed men throughout the whole of the great African continent, including even the Tuaregs, were so reckless in their attacks, or so fiendish in their wholesale butchery of those who resented the ruin and devastation of their homes. It was therefore scarcely surprising that this brigandish horde, whose power even European nations failed to break, should throw themselves into the conflict with reckless enthusiasm, and repel our attack by the exertion of every muscle.

In point of numbers we were much inferior; our superiority existed only in our arms. Their old-fashioned bronze field-pieces, flint-lock pistols and long-barrelled Arab guns, although deadly weapons in the hands of such expert shots, proved no match against such irresistible appliances as the Maxim, the Hotchkiss, or the modern English-made rifle. This fact very soon became apparent, for although the fierce battle raged for many hours, and Samory himself, in yellow robe, and mounted upon a snow-white stallion, gorgeously caparisoned, could be seen urging on his hordes to valiant deeds, we nevertheless everywhere made a firm stand at various points of vantage, and by no effort were they able to dislodge us.

When the sun rose, red and fiery through the veil of smoke, the increasing weakness of the defence was visibly demonstrated by the manner in which the entrance to the Kasbah was guarded. The great doors of iron were closed and barred securely, and on the walls the crimson fezes of the defenders showed in profusion, but presently Kona, as we drove back the soldiers of Al-Islam almost for the hundredth time, shouted the order to storm the citadel. With one accord we made a mad, reckless rush an instant later, and carried on by the thousands of my comrades behind, I found myself slashing to right and left under the high, sun-blanched walls of the enormous fortress. Kona, appearing a giant even among his tall Dagombas, gave one the impression in those critical moments of a veritable demon, filled as he was with a mad excitement and knowing that upon the success of our a.s.sault depended the result of the expedition.

Towering above his fellows, his long spear in hand, he seemed to lead a charmed existence, swaying to and fro among whistling bullets, whizzing arrows, flashing swords and whirring spears. His own weapon he dyed in the blood of his adversaries times without number, for where he struck he never failed to kill. His aim was unerring, and his courage that of a lion of his native forest.

In those furious moments I escaped death only by a miracle. As I dashed forward to seek shelter beneath the ponderous wall, a tall Arab, with long brown hairy arms, swung his curved sword high above his head and brought it down with such force that had I not dodged him just in time, he would have smashed my skull. Lowering my rifle quickly till its muzzle almost touched his flowing garments, I fired, but unfortunately the bullet pa.s.sed beneath his arm-pit, and flattened itself against the wall.

Again, muttering some fearful imprecation in Arabic, he raised his gleaming blade, and, unable to fire at such close quarters, I was then compelled to use my rifle to ward off his attack. For an instant we struggled desperately, when suddenly he gave his sword a rapid twist, jerking my weapon from my hands and leaving me unarmed at his mercy.

His features broadened into a brutal grin as, noticing me fumbling for my pistol, he again raised his razor-edged Moorish blade, and holding it at arm's length, gave one vigorous slash at me. Pressed forward towards him by men engaged in mortal conflict behind me, I could not evade him, and was about to receive the full force of what my adversary intended should be a fatal blow, when suddenly a savage spear struck him full in the throat, and stuck quivering there.

Instantly his sinewy arm fell, the heavy sword dropped from his nerveless fingers, and he stumbled backward and fell to earth like a log.

"Thou art safe, O Master!" a voice cried cheerily behind me, and turning, I saw that the man who had thrown his spear and saved my life was Kona.

Shouting an expression of thanks I bent, and, unable to recover my lost rifle in the frightful _melee_, s.n.a.t.c.hed up the dead Arab's sword that had so nearly caused my death, then fought on by my deliverer's side. His wounds were many, for blood was flowing from cuts and gashes innumerable in his bare black flesh, yet he appeared insensible to pain, striving forward, gasping as he dealt each blow, determined to conquer.

The fight continued with unabated fury--the bloodshed was horrible. The open square before the gate of the Kasbah was transformed into a veritable slaughter-yard, the stones being slippery with blood, and pa.s.sage rendered difficult by the corpses that lay piled everywhere. At last, however, while engaged in another warm corner, the shrill, awe-inspiring war cry of the Dagombas again sounded above the tumult, and turning, I saw that by some means our men had opened the great gate, and that they were pouring into the s.p.a.cious courtyards that I so well remembered.

Our a.s.sault, though fiercely and savagely repelled, was at last successful. We were entering the stronghold of Samory, and had achieved a feat that the well-equipped expeditions of the French and English had failed to accomplish.

The Arabs during the next quarter of an hour struggled bravely against their adversity and fought with a dogged courage of which I had not believed them capable. Soon, however, finding themselves conquered, they cried for quarter. Had they known the peculiar temperament of the Dagombas and the soldiers of Mo, they would never thus have implored mercy. But they cried out, and some even sank on their knees in the blood of their dead comrades, uttering piteous appeals. But the Arabs of Samory had never shown mercy to the Dagombas or the people of Mo, and consequently our army, in the first flush of their victory, filled with the awful l.u.s.t for blood, treated their cries with jeers, and as they advanced into court after court within the great Kasbah walls, they fell upon all they met, armed or unarmed, men or women, and ma.s.sacred them where they stood.

The appeal shouted time after time by Kona to view our victory in temperate spirit and spare those who submitted, was disregarded by all in this wholesale savage butchery. The scene within the Arab chieftain's stronghold was, alas! far more horrible than any I had witnessed during the revolt in Mo. Guards, officials and slaves of Samory's household were indiscriminately put to the sword, some of the men being hunted into corners and speared by the Dagombas, while others were forced upon their knees by the soldiers of Mo and mercilessly decapitated. The door of the great harem, long ago reputed to contain a thousand inmates, including slaves, was burst open, and in those beautiful and luxuriant courts and chambers the whole of the women were butchered with a brutality quite as fiendish as any displayed by the Arabs themselves. The handsome favourites of Samory in their filmy garments of gold tissue and girdles of precious stones were dragged by their long tresses from their hiding places and literally hacked to pieces, their magnificent and costly jewels being torn from them and regarded as legitimate loot. Women's death-screams filled the great courts and corridors; their life-blood stained the pavements of polished jasper and bespattered the conquerors.

The Dagombas, finding themselves inside this extensive abode of luxury, where beautiful fountains shot high into the morning sunlight, sweet-smelling flowers bloomed everywhere and sensuous odours from perfuming-pans hung heavily in the air, seemed suddenly transformed into a demoniac horde bent upon the most ruthless devastation. They remembered that times without number had the Sofas of Samory burnt their villages and towns, and carried hundreds of their tribesmen away as slaves; they were now seeking revenge for past wrongs.

As, nauseated by the sight of blood, I witnessed these awful atrocities, I reflected that the curse of Zomara, uttered solemnly by Omar when Samory had sold us to the slave-dealers, had at last fallen upon the Arab chieftain.

Omar had prophesied the downfall of Samory, and his utterance was now fulfilled.

Screams, piercing and heart-rending, sounded everywhere, mingled with the fierce war-shouts of our savage allies, as, time after time, some unfortunate woman in gorgeous garb and ablaze with valuable gems was discovered, dragged unceremoniously from her hiding-place to the great court wherein I stood, her many necklets ruthlessly torn from her white throat and a keen sword drawn across it as a butcher would calmly despatch a lamb. Then, when life had ebbed, her body would be cast into the great basin of the fountain, where hundreds of others had already been pitched.

In other parts of the Kasbah a similar ma.s.sacre was proceeding, none of those found therein being allowed to escape; while an active search was everywhere in progress for Samory himself.

From where I stood I witnessed the breaking up of the Arab ruler's throne, and the tearing down of the great canopy of amaranth silk under which Samory had reclined when, with Omar, I had been brought before him.

The crescent of solid gold that had surmounted it was handed to Kona, who broke it in half beneath his heel as sign of the completeness of his victory. Then, when the destruction of the seat of the brutal autocrat was complete, the _debris_ with the torn silk, and the long strips of crimson cloth, whereon good counsels from the Koran were embroidered in Kufic characters of gold, that had formed a kind of frieze to the chamber, were carried out into the court by fifty willing hands, heaped up and there burnt.

While watching the flames leaping up consuming the wrecked remains of the royal seat of the powerful Arab ruler, a woman's scream, louder than the rest, caused me to look suddenly round at the latest victim of the Dagombas' thirst for vengeance, and I beheld in the clutches of half-a-dozen savages, a young woman, dragged as the others had been by her fair, unbound hair towards the spot where each had, in turn, been murdered. She was dressed in a rich, beautiful robe of bright yellow silk, embroidered with pale pink flowers, but her garments were bedraggled with water and blood, and her bleeding wrists and fingers showed with what heartless brutality her jewels had been torn from her by her pitiless captors. She struggled frantically to free herself, but without avail, and one of the savages, noticing a magnificent diamond bangle upon her ankle, bent, and tried to force it off.

Just at that moment, in endeavouring to twist herself free from their clutches, her fair face became turned towards me and her deep blue, terrified eyes for an instant met mine.

Next second I uttered a cry of recognition. Yes, there was no mistake about that flawless complexion, those handsome features or those wondrous eyes, the mysterious depths of which had enthralled me, as they had done Omar.

It was Liola!

With a bound I sprang forward, tearing at the knot of savages and shouting to them to release her. At first they only grinned hideously, no doubt thinking that I desired her as a slave, and as they had decided that all should die without exception, in order that their conquest should be rendered the more complete, they were in no way disposed to obey my command. At last I succeeded in arresting their progress, when the man who had attempted to wrench from her ankle the diamond ornament shook his long, keen knife threateningly at me, while the others yelled all kinds of imprecations. Not liking his fierce att.i.tude, and knowing that in the heat of victory they were capable of turning upon friends who attempted to thwart them, I drew back, and as I did so he flung himself upon one knee and raised his knife over Liola's foot.

Instantly I saw his intention. He meant to hack off her foot in order to secure the bangle, a horrible proceeding that had been carried out more than once before my eyes within the past hour. There was, I knew, but one way to save her, therefore without hesitating I drew my revolver and fired at him point blank.

The ball pierced his breast. With an agonized cry he clutched for a moment wildly at the air, then fell back dead.

My action, as I fully expected it would, aroused the intense ire of his companions and all released Liola, now insensible, and sprang at me, their ready knives flashing in the sunlight. I was compelled to fly, and had it not been for Kona, who, standing some distance off watching the reduction of Samory's throne to ashes, took in the situation at a glance, sped in their direction, and ordered his men to stop and tell him the cause, I should undoubtedly have lost my life. As their head-man his word was law. Then, glancing at the inanimate form of Liola, who, having fainted, had been left lying on the blood-stained pavement, he recognized her as Goliba's daughter, and in a dozen words told his men that she was the betrothed of the young Naba of Mo, and that I, his friend, had saved her.

The savages, aghast at this statement, and recognizing how near they had been to murdering the beloved of the Naba Omar, rushed towards me penitent, urging that they might be forgiven, and declaring that their conduct, under the circ.u.mstances, was excusable. They had, they said, no idea that they would find in the harem of their enemy Samory the betrothed of Mo's ruler, and I also was compelled to admit myself quite as astounded as themselves. Therefore in brief words explanations and forgiveness were exchanged and I rushed across, and with the ready help of Kona and his men endeavoured to restore her to consciousness.