"Oh, you'll soon be all right. I'll give you a good rubbing by and by with hippo grease; it'll be as good as goose fat, and that's what the old wives use, isn't it?"
Ferrier set the men to work on the bastions, instructing them how to pile the logs and to interlace the branches they had lopped off, so as to form a kind of parapet, the interstices between the branches making natural loopholes.
They were still engaged on this task, about four o'clock in the afternoon, when Ferrier's attention was attracted by movements among the enemy, who formed a dense black mass, with a few white spots, against the background of trees. He thought that the signs of activity portended an attack, and called to some of the men to occupy the one bastion that was finished. They obeyed quickly, carrying John with them at his own order. But it was soon apparent that the enemy were not contemplating an immediate assault. They suddenly threw themselves on the ground in a large circle, three ranks deep, the Swahilis, eight in number, standing at the centre.
"A council of war: what they call a shauri," said John.
It was soon seen that there was a difference of opinion among the assembly. At first the discussion proceeded in a quiet and orderly manner, the sound of voices reaching the fort very faintly. But presently there were clear signs of excitement. Some of the warriors sprang up, and harangued the Swahilis fiercely, brandishing their spears in the direction of the fort. Their voices were raised; the tumult increased moment by moment; and the sound became a continuous roar, like the noise of surf at a distance.
"The allies are at loggerheads," said Ferrier. "They may raise the siege."
The chief of the "bad men" was in fact demanding to know why the Swahilis had brought him and his men on a fool's errand. Where was the promised spoil? In a fort, defended by a wall, a pool of water, and an army led by wasungu. How had the msungu whom they had left in the village, bound and under guard, come into the fort? Surely by magic; and if the wasungu had such wonderful medicine it was useless to attack them.
To this Juma--for it was he--replied that the spoil was indeed within the fort, but the defences were not so formidable as they appeared. The wall had been partly demolished; the pool could be swum, it contained no crocodiles; and as for the men within, it was clear they must be very weak, for they had taken no food into the fort for many days. Nor could they get any; no doubt an attempt had been made that morning, and found to be impossible because of the current. (Such was his explanation of the incident of the raft.) And as for the msungu who had reappeared so mysteriously, it was no magic, but the carelessness of the guards that accounted for that: the msungu must have escaped, and not being afraid of the dark had marched during the night.
This aspersion on the trustworthiness of the guards roused the chief to fury. Springing up, he demanded the instant fulfilment of the promise made to him. He worked himself up to an ecstasy of indignation; his men caught fire from him; and when the tumult was at its height they suddenly wheeled round and, following their chief, began to march off towards their village.
"This looks promising, certainly," said John, who had watched the proceedings closely. "If we could only get out we might even enlist those fellows on our side."