Settlers and Scouts: A Tale of the African Highlands

by Herbert Strang

"Well, there's bush pretty well all round, but the ground's clearest on the east side. There's a gap in the bush there which would be the best road."

"We'll make for that, then. But look here, you're dead tired, and you'll want all your strength to-morrow. Get a sleep: I'll see to everything and wake you when the times comes. What are your men, by the way? Swahilis?"

"No, most of them are Bantus of one sort or another. I've got one Swahili; he's headman; and two or three Wakikuyu, strapping fellows who can shoot."

"That's all right, then. Now go to sleep like a good chap, and don't worry."

It was so long since Ferrier had enjoyed a good night's rest that he thankfully availed himself of the presence of a white man capable of taking command. John immediately set about his preparations for the sortie. He ordered the porters to make their loads ready as quickly as possible, discarding everything that was heavy or cumbersome and likely to impede rapidity of movement. Thinking over the position, he decided that the best plan would be to issue from the boma on the east side as if to pass through the gap. This movement, if detected, would probably draw the enemy to both sides of the gap, where they would wait in the bush, thinking they had the safari ambushed. But before reaching the gap he proposed to turn sharp off to the right, seizing a tongue of woodland jutting southward which he had noticed from his post of observation in the wood. Beyond that he could not make any plans, but must trust to the inspiration of the moment and the nature of the ground.

All preparations being made, John told the men to sleep. He would keep watch until the moment for departure came. He walked round the enclosure to make sure that no ammunition or anything else of value had been left, inspected the spot where the boma had been cut to allow the egress of the party, and then sat down on the tent, which it had been decided to leave behind.

Shortly before six o'clock he woke Ferrier, and Coja woke the men, who shouldered their loads, and the whole party moved silently across the enclosure. Some of the men removed the piece of the boma which had been previously loosened, and John led the way out. There was a slight mist over the ground, which favoured the escape. They had covered about two hundred yards in safety when there was a loud shout from both the camps of the enemy, proving that a determined watch had been kept, and that their departure had been discovered. A few shots were fired, and John caught sight of two or three black figures darting among the trees of the wooded tongue towards which he intended to march; but the absence of a general rush seemed to show that his anticipation was being justified, and that the enemy were swarming from their camps to the two sides of the gap. John threw himself down on a knoll and sent two or three shots into the woodland to check any movement of the enemy to station themselves there, which would be fatal to his plan. The result of his firing was that the men who had been scouting there rushed away to join their comrades in the bush skirting the gap.

Now that the party was fairly out, John asked Ferrier to take the lead, while he brought up the rear with Coja. Ferrier at first demurred to this arrangement, protesting that the greatest danger would lie in the rear, and he didn't see why he should not share in it.

"You shut up," said John, with friendly brusqueness. "We haven't time to argue. We can settle that afterwards. Don't go above a walking pace: if they think we are bunking they will make a rush for us, and we must avoid that at all costs. On you go: wheel to the right when you come opposite the end of the wood."

Ferrier obediently went on with the unarmed porters and his six men who had rifles, including the one captured from the sentry, John and Coja marching behind with the man who acted as messenger, turning every now and then to guard against a rush, and not hurrying their pace though shots were dropping at unpleasantly close quarters. There were loud shouts from the enemy lining both sides of the gap when they saw the safari suddenly sweep round to the right towards the spur of woodland. Several men on the northern side at once broke cover and began to rush across the gap. John saw that the best service he could do was to hold this portion of the enemy's force in check until the woodland was reached, and so reduce their striking strength. The question was, could he and Coja and the one other man with him make things so hot for any of the enemy who tried to cross the gap that they would hesitate until it was too late? Another question which he dared not think about was whether the men with Ferrier would be steady enough to meet the attack from the southern portion of the enemy, which they could hardly escape. Telling Coja and the Baganda to shoot steadily, he took aim from behind a bush at the first man who crossed the gap, and dropped him. Coja aimed at the man immediately behind, but missed. A second shot from John, however, brought him down, and his companions, firing into the midst of a group of half-a-dozen who were following their leaders, gave a shout of delight when they saw two other men fall, and the rest immediately turn tail and scamper at full speed back to cover.