The Kopje Garrison Part 22

"Yes, sir; they had left the wagons, but they had carried off the teams."

Chapter Eleven.

The Colonel's Plans.

The effects of the night alarm were dying out, for there was plenty to take the attention of the defenders of Groenfontein every day-days full of expectancy-for a Boer attack might take place at any moment, while every now and then some one at an outpost had a narrow escape; and two men were hit by long-range bullets, fired perhaps a mile away by some prowling Boer who elevated his piece and fired on chance at the buildings in the village.

"Sniping," the men termed it, and all efforts to suppress this cowardly way of carrying on the war were vain, for in most cases there was no chance of making out from what sc.r.a.p of cover the shots had been despatched; while it became evident that, from sheer malignity, the undisciplined members of the enemy's force would crawl in the darkness to some clump of rocks, or into some ditch-like donga, or behind one of the many ant-hills, and lie there invisible, firing as he saw a chance, and only leaving it when the darkness came on again.

The rations issued grew poorer; but the men only laughed and chaffed, ridiculing one another and finding nicknames for them.

Colour-Sergeant James, the st.u.r.dy non-commissioned officer, the back of whose head still showed the blasting effects of the explosion which he had shared with Lennox, was known as the "Fat Boy," on account of the general shrinking that had gone on in his person till he seemed to be all bone and sinew, covered with a very brown skin; another man came to be known as the "Greyhound;" while Captain Roby's favourite corporal, an unpleasant-looking fellow, much disliked by Lennox and d.i.c.kenson for his smooth, servile ways, had grown so hollow-cheeked that he was always spoken of as the "Lantern," after being so dubbed by the joker of his company.

In fact, the men generally had been brought down to attenuation by the scarcity of their food; while their khaki uniforms were not uniform in the least, the men for the most part looking, as Bob d.i.c.kenson put it, "like scarecrows in their Sunday clothes."

"The lads are getting terribly thin, sergeant," said Lennox one day, after the men had been dismissed from parade.

"Oh, I don't know, sir," said the sergeant; "a bit fine, sir, but in magnificent condition. Look at the colour of them-regular good warm tan."

"But the Boers haven't tanned them, all the same, sergeant," put in d.i.c.kenson, who was listening.

"No, sir, and never will," said the sergeant proudly. "As to their being thin, that's nothing; they're as healthy as can be. A soldier don't want to be carrying a lot of unnecessary meat about with him; and as to fat, it only makes 'em short-winded. See how they can go at the double now, and come up smiling. They're all right, sir, and we can feed 'em up again fast enough when the work's done. Beg pardon, sir: any likelihood of a reinforcement soon?"

"You know just as much as I do, sergeant," said Lennox. "Our orders are to hold this place, and we've got to hold it. Some day I suppose the general will send and fetch us out; till then we shall have to do our best."

"Yes, sir, that's right; but I do wish the enemy would give us a real good chance of showing them what our lads are made of."

But the Boers had had too many of what d.i.c.kenson called "smacks in the face" during their open attacks, and seemed disposed now to give starvation a chance of doing the work for them. At least, that was the young officer's openly expressed opinion.

"But they're making a great mistake, Drew, my lad," he said one evening as he and his friend sat chatting together. "An Englishman takes a great deal of starving before he'll give in. They're only making the boys savage, and they'll reap the consequences one day. My word, though, what a blessing a good spring of water is!"

As he spoke he picked up the tin can standing upon the end of a flour-barrel that formed their table, had a good hearty drink, set it down again, and replaced his pipe between his lips. "I used to think that bitter beer was the only thing a man could drink with his pipe; but tlat! how good and fresh and cool this water is, and how the Boers must wish they had the run of it!"

"It helps us to set them at defiance," said Lennox. "They might well call the place 'Green Fountain.' It might be made a lovely spot if it wasn't for the Boer."

"Yes, I suppose anything would grow here in the heat and moisture. I suppose the spring comes gurgling up somewhere in the middle of the kopje."

"It must," said Lennox, "and then makes its way amongst the stones to spread out below there and flow on to the river."

"Seems rum, though," said d.i.c.kenson. "I never did understand why water should shoot up here at the highest part of a flat country. It ought to be found low down in the holes. What makes it shoot up?"

"The weight and pressure of the country round, I suppose," said Lennox. "Hullo! What does that mean?"

"Business," cried d.i.c.kenson, as both the young men sprang to their feet and seized belts and weapons. For the report of a rifle was followed by others, coming apparently from the direction of the kopje near to where the stream came rushing out between two rugged natural walls of piled-up stone. Every one was on the alert directly, fully in the expectation that the enemy we're about to act in non-accordance with their regular custom and make an attack in the dark.

But the firing ceased almost as suddenly as it had begun; and after a time the alarm was traced back to a sentry who had been on duty at the lower part of the west side of the kopje, near by where the water gushed up at the foot of a huge ma.s.s of granite, where the most precipitous part stretched upward half-way to the summit.

Captain Roby's company held the kopje that night, and consequently both of the young officers were present at the tracing of the cause of the alarm, when it seemed to have been proved that it was only false.

The sentry who fired was examined by Captain Roby, and was certain that he had not given any alarm without cause, for he said he had heard steps as of more than one person approaching him as if going to the water.

"And you challenged?" asked the captain.

"Yes, sir; and then all was quite quiet for a few moments, but I heard the sounds again as if they were coming closer to me, and I fired, and there was a rush of feet."

"A party of baboons going down to drink," said the captain contemptuously.

"There have been no baboons seen since we occupied the kopje," said Lennox.

"Perhaps not; but when they were driven off they must have gone somewhere, and what more likely than that they should come back to the spot where they could get water?-Come, my man, you felt frightened, didn't you?"

"Yes, sir," said the sentry; "I was a bit scared."

"And you think now that all you heard was a party of those big dog-like monkeys-eh?"

"No, sir; it was men, and only three or four."

"Ha! How do you know?"

"Because the baboons go on all fours, sir; and I could make out one man standing up as he ran off along the rocky bit of path."

"What! You saw one man?"

"Yes, sir."

"But it was dark?"

"I could see the figure of a man for a moment just against the sky, sir."

"But mightn't that have been one of the apes reared up for the time?"

"Oh no, sir," said the sentry. "I shouldn't mistake a monkey for a man; and besides, they don't wear boots."

"Ah! and do you say these people who came near you wore boots?"

"Well, it sounded like it, sir, for when I fired I could hear the leather squeak."

"Humph!" grunted Captain Roby; and d.i.c.kenson, who was full now of his adventure in what seemed to have been near the same place, spoke out:

"I think there's something in what he says:" and he related his own experience. "At the time, I was so occupied in getting back for something to eat that I forgot all about the matter after dinner. But now this has occurred I begin to feel that the chirping sounds I heard really were signals, and that I did hear voices talking together afterwards."

"Then it must have been Kaffirs sneaking there for water after it was dark."

"But the footsteps?" said Lennox.

"Well, Kaffirs have feet."