The Luck of Gerard Ridgeley Part 28

Gerard replied that he thought there must be at least five hundred.

Besides the large kraal there were two smaller ones under the rocks at the further end of the hollow. There was only one approach to the place, and they used to boast that by ma.s.sing at this point they could hold their own against any odds. He had already sketched on the ground an elaborate map of the place.

"Good!" said Sobuza, grimly. "Life is full of deceptions, and that is one of them, as they shall find out. Listen, Jeriji. You may spare yourself the trouble of carrying Jandosi's 'word' to the king. You asked against whom we were out. Well, we are the king's hunting-dogs, and the Igazipuza are the game."

Gerard stared as though he could hardly believe his ears. He had thought the whole population of the northern country, including these among whom he had fallen, was in league with that evil and bloodthirsty clan, if not actively in membership with it. But the armed warriors around him had actually been sent forth to suppress it. Then he remembered how different was their bearing and demeanour to that of his late enemies. There was no boisterous swash-bucklering savagery about these. They were king's troops, the flower of the Zulu nation, they and their chiefs, even as the Igazipuza were the sc.u.m.

"It is as I say," went on Sobuza, smiling at his air of incredulity.

"The Great Great One has long borne with this rebellious dog of his, and these were his words to us, to me Sobuza the son of Panhla, second in command of the Udhloko, and to Gcopo, the third _induna_ of the Ngobamakosi," designating the chief at his side, whose magnificent physique had struck Gerard the moment he arrived--

"'There sits among the mountains in the north, a dog who dares call himself by my name [Note 1]--who dares to insult the majesty of my state by his miserable imitation of the same; who gathers around him all the evil-doers of the nation, and levies tribute from my subjects, and kills and plunders men of nations between whom and myself there is peace, so that I am in danger of becoming embroiled by their ill-doings. Moreover these claim the power of immunity from harm by sundry abominable practices abhorrent in the eyes of the People of the Heavens, [Note 2.], and make it their boast that they drink the blood of men. To such lengths have these _abatagati_ carried their enormities, that not only is there no longer peace or security for any who dwell near the northern border on either side thereof, but there is a danger that men may be led to think this dog greater than his master.

"'Further, this dog who calls himself lion, plots that one day he may roar where the Lion of the Zulu roars alone. Now shall he feel the Lion's paw, for the time has come when such disturbances and such abominations shall cease out of the land.

"'Now, Sobuza, and you Gcopo, pick from the Udhloko and the Ngobamakosi one thousand of your best warriors, half from each--for I hear these _abatagati_, who call themselves blood-drinkers, are numerous and hold a strong place--and go up against them. If they dare to resist _eat them up_--every man who bears a weapon--otherwise, slay only the dog who calls himself Ingonyama, also Vunawayo, and all who hold rank or standing among this pestilent clan. The remainder, with their women and cattle, drive before you hither. Burn their kraal that no stick or straw be left, and return here by the sixth day from this. Depart.'

"Such were the words of the king to us, Jeriji. _Whau_! We leaped up shouting the _bonga_ [Note 3], and that same evening we left Undini, as you see us. By this time to-morrow there will be nothing left of the Igazipuza kraal but its smoke, and the vultures of the northern heights will be gorged. It is good that you have fallen in with us, Jeriji, you who are familiar with the place. We will strike them at dawn to-morrow, and Jandosi shall be brought out alive. See--the sun is nearly down.

Then we will march."

"I am very hungry, Sobuza," said Gerard.

The chief started. Zulus on a war expedition seldom eat more than once a day, and that in the morning. Then he laughed, and gave orders accordingly.

"It is war rations," he said, as some dried meat and mealies stamped to a kind of flaky paste were produced.

The first was rather "high," but Gerard was, as he had said, very hungry, and fell to, untroubled by overmuch fastidiousness. While thus engaged he heard a voice say in a jaunty, bantering tone--

"_Saku bona, 'mlungu_! Surely we have met before."

The group of chiefs had temporarily left him, to supervise the few simple preparations for their march. Looking up he saw a young Zulu, unringed, who stood there, laughing all over his face. The features were familiar, but Gerard, who had seen so many natives of late, could not quite locate them.

"Have you any more guns to sell, _Umlungu_?" said the young fellow, roguishly.

And then Gerard knew him in a moment.

"Nk.u.mbi-ka-zulu," he said, holding out his hand to show that he bore no ill-will from their previous very decided misunderstanding. "Why, how is it that you are here?"

"_Ha_!" said the other, with a laugh, "I am in the Ngobamakosi regiment.

I am going to help 'eat up' the Igazipuza."

"Well, Nk.u.mbi, you wanted that double gun badly. Listen to me now.

Jandosi is in the midst of those Igazipuza, and when we attack them they may rush upon him and kill him. If you are the first to reach his side that double gun shall be yours. I promise it."

"What if the gun is broken in the battle?"

"Then you shall have as good a one. Only collect some of your companions, and manage to get near Jandosi when we attack, and that gun shall be yours."

"You are a straight man, _Umlungu_, and I believe your word. I will try and win the gun." And then a short and sharp mandate from his superiors interrupting him, the young warrior turned away abruptly to fall into his place in the ranks.

Note 1. "The Lion" was one of the t.i.tles of the Zulu kings.

Note 2. "Izulu" means "the Heavens."

Note 3. A royal acclamation demanded by Zulu etiquette on such occasions, and which generally consists in a string of extravagant t.i.tles.

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO.

THE TWO EMISSARIES.

The long sound sleep he had had stood Gerard in good stead as he fell into the march of the _impi_--whose work was indeed cut out for it, for it would take all the hours of darkness before them, and rapid marching at that, to get into position by earliest dawn, that being the time appointed for falling upon the Igazipuza kraal. But these picked men of the king's troops seemed thoroughly up to their work. Hour after hour they marched, with no sign of flagging, ever the same swift elastic stride, and lucky indeed was it for Gerard that he was in excellent condition or he might have found serious difficulty in keeping pace with them.

There was another thing, too, that stood him in good stead--the foresight of Dawes to wit, which had provided against the very emergency in which he had been placed. More than half of his rifle and revolver cartridges had been done up in several rolls of the most completely watertight wrapping, waxed at the seams. He might have to swim more than one river, Dawes had reasoned. It was as well to be prepared for every contingency. So here he stood, provided with a supply of dry cartridges; and as by this time he was an adept at that sort of thing, he had employed the few minutes of daylight before setting out on the march in taking his weapon to pieces and carefully drying and greasing the mechanism.

Hour followed hour, and still the _impi_ kept on its way. Now and again a brief halt of a few minutes would be called, in order to take a rest and a pinch or two of snuff, then on again; now through jungly tracts of gra.s.s and forest-belts, now over spurs of rugged and desolate mountain ranges, now splashing through quaking reedy mora.s.ses, where the deep boom of the bull-frog rose above the more treble croak of his smaller kin, and the will-of-the-wisps glinted in many a sickly blue corpse-candle. On, unflagging, strode those iron warriors, grim, silent angels of Death, speeding through the night.

"We are not far from the place now," said Gerard at length, touching Sobuza's arm. "Just beyond that spar the slope leading up to the entrance to the hollow begins."

It was the last hour of the night, that dark and chilly hour which precedes the dawn. They had entered that forest-belt which had been of such service to Gerard in first throwing off his enemies, and now Sobuza had convened his subordinate chiefs around him to hold a council of war.

This was not a lengthy process, for the plans had been already laid.

These were simplicity itself. The _impi_, in compact formation, was to advance swiftly to the ridge overlooking the hollow, then to charge down upon the kraal, throwing out "horns," so as to surround the latter. The inhabitants, thus utterly taken by surprise, would probably offer no resistance; but any who did were to be slain without mercy. Everything depended upon the successful carrying out of the surprise part of the arrangement, otherwise a severe and b.l.o.o.d.y battle might be reckoned on; for the Igazipuza were not made of the stuff which would submit to be "eaten up" without a struggle. Moreover, in their own stronghold they would prove a terribly formidable enemy, and the king's troops were only twice their number, odds which the advantage of the ground would go far to neutralise.

"_Whau_!" muttered Sobuza, taking a final pinch of snuff and rising to his feet. "I fear we are not going to have things all our own way.

Ingonyama is no fool, still less is Vunawayo. They may believe you were eaten by the alligator, Jeriji, or they may doubt it; but if they think there is the least chance of you having escaped, they will be upon their guard. Now, if you had been taken and brought back, our work would have been easy. Only," he added, with a humorous twinkle in his eyes, "it might not have been so easy for you. We might have arrived too late."

The words struck a chill into Gerard's heart. What if they had arrived too late--too late as far as his friend was concerned. He hoped and prayed not, and then an outlet to his impatience came in the mandate that was issued for the advance.

And now, as the grey light of dawn broke over the earth, Gerard was able for the first time to obtain a view of the barbarous but splendidly disciplined host in whose midst he was to fight to-day. Debouching from the forest-belt in the most perfect order came this pick of the king's troops, marching in four companies. Two of these consisted of _amakehla_ or ringed men, and the great war-shields borne by these were white, or nearly so; for this was the draft out of the Udhloko regiment, a part of the royal corps, warriors of long training and experience, mostly middle-aged. The other two consisted of young men, unringed, carrying shields of all sorts of colours, black-and-white, red-and-white, black or red, but none entirely white. These were the Ngobamakosi warriors, fiery young fellows, burning to be led against some enemy, no matter who, in order that they might prove their valour and thus win distinction. The leader of these, Gcopo, walked with Sobuza during the march, and the towering stature of the two chiefs was conspicuous even in that muster of splendidly built men.

Beyond their shields and weapons, there was little or no attempt at martial display or personal adornment; for this being an expedition against their own countrymen, though on a large scale, came more within the category of a police undertaking than an _impi_ sent forth to war, and thus ceremonies and paraphernalia which would have figured in the latter event were dispensed with. But bound round his head, every man wore a narrow strip of hide; the Udhloko, white; the Ngobamakosi, red.

This was to distinguish them from the Igazipuza, and that they should not fall upon each other by mistake in the thick of the battle. Thus viewed against the open hillside, marching in splendid order, a forest of bristling spears and tufted shields, a thousand eager and disciplined warriors burning for action, the _impi_ was an imposing sight indeed, and Gerard felt his heart thrill at the consciousness of going into battle for the first time with such men as these.

Suddenly a gasp of wonderment went like a wave through the ranks. All came to a standstill, and every eye was turned upon the same point.

There, bounding down the hillside, making straight for the _impi_, came two men, Zulus. Who were they? Runaways? Refugees? Some of the trader's people who had escaped? Such were among the conjectures that rose to the minds of the astonished spectators. But, as they drew nearer another and deeper gasp of wonder heaved through the _impi_, for on forehead and chest of the approaching warriors was now discernible the red mark of the Igazipuza.

On they came, bounding like bucks, heading straight for the _impi_, and it was seen that they were young men and unringed, and fully armed with shield and a.s.segai. The king's troops watched them in grim silence.

"We are Igazipuza, the cubs of the Lion. Who are you?" began the spokesman, as the two pulled up within twelve paces of the foremost rank of the Udhloko. An ominous and threatening growl greeted these words, and spears quivered.

"Whelps of the dog, say rather," exclaimed a deep voice. "Drop your weapons and advance."

They laughed, those two. Standing before one thousand men, who had come forth expressly to slaughter them and theirs--they laughed.