"I cannot say," said he. "Either my brother is pursued by the Germans, or a fight is taking place between them and the Black Dog—in which case I may be robbed of my revenge."
They divided the night into three watches. Peter Klein, they knew, they could not trust in any responsible position requiring strong nerves and presence of mind. They set the man to the most menial tasks—chopping wood, cooking, and repairing the ancient defences.
All night the firing in the valley continued; by daybreak it was near at hand. They could see the figures of the Germans racing across the valley, advancing in extended order or else in small groups which at that distance resembled families of mice.
That afternoon a small reconnoitring-party of the enemy ascended the hill upon which stood the fort. The defenders lay in hiding behind the parapet, determined not to show themselves, not to disclose their hiding-place, unless it was certain that the Germans intended to occupy the hill-top.
They waited till the eleventh hour. The enemy was not twenty paces from the ditch when Fernando rose to his feet, and cried out in the German language, ordering them to halt on peril of their lives.
At the same time, he raised his rifle to his shoulder and sent a bullet over their heads. As one man they turned and fled, racing towards the forest, and were lost to sight.
It was from that moment that the siege commenced. Their place of refuge became a citadel encompassed on every hand by a hostile force. The Germans gathered round them in companies, and day and night strove to induce the garrison to surrender. It was trench warfare in the heart of the African wild.
[CHAPTER XX—Honour among Thieves]
The Germans soon found that it was impracticable to attempt to capture the fort by a direct frontal attack in daylight. The slope of the hill was so steep that it was possible to ascend only by way of a path which was covered by the rifles of the defenders. Apparently they had no artillery at their disposal.
At first they charged up this path after the manner in which they were wont to hurl themselves upon the lines of trenches in Poland and in Flanders. They were swept down like chaff. Owing to the narrowness of the way they were obliged to advance upon the fort in single file, and as each man appeared before the loopholes he paid the price of his daring.