Their chief and the elders of the village had desired to take the cautious part and remain aloof; but their counsels had been overborne by the younger men, who had insisted on marching out to see the white lion-killer and medicine man.
It was an opportunity too good to let slip. In the ruddy light of the bonfires, Challis put his men through their evolutions.
Spurred by the desire to impress the strangers, the men excelled themselves. The result was that the newcomers clamoured to be allowed to join the forces of the great medicine man, and Challis found himself stronger by nearly a hundred vigorous, able-bodied young men.
The only drawback to this accession of strength was the necessity of devoting more days to training. Challis was so anxious about the welfare of Royce and his little party that he sent a scout next day to approach the neighbourhood of the fort and discover whether the Tubus were still in position there.
He set to work at once with the new men, selecting forty to join his spearmen and making pikemen of the rest. These latter he posted as a rear rank three feet behind the front rank, giving them spears three feet longer.
The new men picked up the simple drill quickly, having models in the original company. But before Challis had time to perfect them, his work was put to a sudden test.
In the intervals of training his men, he had made a point of studying the surrounding country with an eye to its suitability for attacking or defensive operations.
The cave was situated in a hilly, rocky district, difficult for horsemen, but well adapted for defence against a mounted force. The side from which it could be most easily rushed was from the direction of the nullah which had been the scene of his adventure with the lions.
A little below the spot at which this incident had taken place the nullah disappeared. The stream which flowed through it in the rainy season ran in a broad shallow channel, easily fordable, with a rocky hill on one side and a practicable path along the dry margin of the bed of the stream.
About two miles from the cave the rocky ground on the right of the stream ended in a swamp, formed by overflowings of a little river which Challis had satisfied himself was identical with the stream that flowed past the base of the hillock on which the fort stood. Into this river the shallow stream emptied itself.