[Chapter 19]: Lost In The Forest.
On the way up, Lisle met with a very unpleasant adventure. He and Hallett had been sent out, with a small party of men, to enter the bush and drive out any of the enemy who might be lurking, for the purpose of attacking the carriers and rear guard. They went some distance into the bush but, though they came upon tracks that had recently been cut, they saw none of the enemy. Some men were planted on each of these paths; and the two officers, who had followed one a little distance farther into the bush, were on the point of turning, when they heard men cutting their way through the undergrowth behind them.
"Hide, Hallett!" Lisle exclaimed, "they must be enemies."
As noiselessly as they could they took refuge in the thick bush and, a minute later, saw a strong party of the enemy crossing the road that they had just passed along. There were several hundred of them. Some thirty or forty halted on the path. The others continued to cut a track through and, in five minutes, a scattered fire was opened, showing that they had come in contact with the troops. The fire was kept up for some time, and then died away; whether because the troops had retired, or because the natives had turned off and taken some other line, they could not be sure. Later they heard very heavy firing abreast of them, and guessed that the Ashantis had followed some other path, and come down on the convoy.
Peering through the bushes, from time to time, they found that those who had halted on the path were still there, probably in waiting for some chief or other who was to take command of them.
"We are in a nice mess, Bullen," said Hallett. "By the sound the convoy is still moving on, so how we are to rejoin them, I don't know."
"Yes, we are certainly in a hole and, if these fellows stop here till night, I see no chance of our being able to move. The slightest rustle in the bushes would bring them down upon us, in no time. The firing is getting more and more distant every moment and, no doubt, a big body of the enemy have engaged our fellows.
"I have been in a good many tight places, but I think this is the worst of them. Our only course, so far as I can see, is to wait till nightfall; and then, if these fellows still stick here, get into the path again, and follow it up till we come to some path going the other way. Then it will be a pure question of luck whether we hit upon the enemy, or not. If we do, of course we must fight till the last, keeping the last shot in our revolvers for ourselves. I have no intention of falling into their hands alive, and going through terrible tortures before I am put to death."