In the grip of the Mullah: A tale of adventure in Somaliland

by F. S. Brereton

"They will descend from the hills, master, of that I am sure; for the chiefs whom I observed in conversation with our follower were men from the highlands, without doubt."

"Then I propose that we divide our forces," said Jim, after a thoughtful pause. "Will you, Tom, stay here, and defend the zareba with one half, while I take the other? Then, with Ali Kumar to help me, I shall creep up the pass, and select a spot where the road is narrow and difficult. There we shall lie down and wait for the tribesmen. If they come down in force, and do not turn back when we call to them, we will empty our rifles into their midst; and I think that if we are careful in choosing the site, we ought to be able to do a large amount of execution. That, I take it, is the only way to persuade those people to leave us alone."

"I'll willingly do as you say, Jim, old boy," Tom answered readily, wondering as he did so at the coolness and foresight shown by his young companion. "Your plan sounds an excellent one, and the only suggestion I have to make is that you should shout loudly as you return, or you may be drawing our fire upon you. You see, these native followers of ours are excitable fellows, and hearing the sound of people approaching, and being in fear of an attack, they would blaze recklessly into the darkness."

"Then I'll be careful to call out your name, Tom, and you will be able to explain to the men that all is well. Now I'll be off, as these tribesmen may appear at any moment, though I fancy it is too early for them yet. They will probably wait till the early morning, when we ought to be in our deepest sleep, and should therefore fall easy victims. But, thanks to Ali Kumar, we have been warned, and if we do not take advantage of that fact, we shall have only ourselves to blame. Good-bye, and don't get fidgety if I do not return for some hours, for, as I have just said, we shall probably have to wait a considerable time before they put in an appearance."

Nodding coolly to his companion, Jim rose to his feet, and silently crossed the zareba to the spot where the followers lay sleeping. One by one, those who were armed with rifles, and could be trusted to stand by their master in a position of danger, were aroused and cautioned to keep silent. At length fifteen were collected, and with these and a sufficient quantity of ammunition Jim stole out from the zareba, and took the narrow and rough road which led to the pass. He left Tom busily engaged in instructing the remainder. These were also armed with rifles now, though they were less expert than their comrades. Still, at close range they could be trusted to give a good account of themselves, and to aid in keeping the enemy at a distance. Then the sentries were brought in closer to the wall of thorns, and ordered to lie down, so that they should be invisible to the enemy, for while they were standing the rays of the moon falling upon their tall figures threw long shadows, which would soon have drawn the fire of the tribesmen.

Thanks to the brightness of the night, Jim and his little party had no difficulty in picking their way, for every boulder, and each nullah, or ravine, stood clearly outlined. They were soon at the bottom of a gentle ascent, which marked the beginning of the pass. But here the road was broad, and would have been difficult to defend.

"They would manage to slip round us," said Jim in Ali Kumar's ear, taking note of the surroundings. "I want to get to a part where the pass narrows to a few yards only. If we can find such a position, we shall pile boulders across the road, and post our men behind them. Then every shot we fire will tell, for these Somalis who are about to attack us will certainly come in force, and as they will not be expecting danger until they reach the bottom of the gorge, they are likely to be marching in close order. That will be our chance, and if it occurs, we will make the most of it."

"I know of a position which will suit your wishes, master," answered Ali. "Often have I made my way by this road, so often indeed that I could find the path during a darker night than this is. We must keep on for another quarter of a mile, as you English people speak of distance, and then we shall find that the hill to the right and left of us closes in suddenly, as if about to obstruct our further progress. I think that, at some time, years ago perhaps, a river must have forced its way from the highlands through these hills on its way to the plains below and to the sea. Whatever the cause, the crags are cleft in twain a little way above us, so that a road is possible. Half a mile farther on the land recedes as suddenly as it runs together here, and by marching for an hour one finds one's self again in the midst of a sweeping plain, but this time far higher than before."

"It sounds as if it would prove a likely place," said Jim, eagerly, "so let us push on, I am in a fever to get our men into their positions, for if these tribesmen happened to advance now instead of later on, our plans would be ruined, and we ourselves should be in a very dangerous fix."

Striding ahead through the darkness, Jim encouraged his followers to greater exertions by the example which he set them. So rapidly did they walk, that barely ten minutes had elapsed before he became aware that the gorge in which they were was narrowing. Soon he could see black walls of rock on either hand, and a moment or two later it seemed as though the road itself had suddenly come to an end. Nothing but pitch black darkness could be seen before them, while the path at their feet was buried in obscurity, the rays of the moon having been cut off by the steep cliffs. But a careful search revealed the interesting fact that there was a broad cleft in the wall in front of them, through which the road passed on its way to the highlands.