And then Royce caught a faint sound like the rustle of leaves in the wind.
A few minutes' walking proved that John was right. The track made a sharp bend. On the left of it the ground fell away steeply to a river valley, down which a stream was tumbling rapidly, no doubt to join the Yo somewhere to the east.
Royce's drooping spirits took a joyous leap, for the path led down to a frail swinging bridge which spanned the stream. It was made of plant rope, and looked too slight to bear the weight of more than a few men at a time. The possibilities of the situation flashed upon his mind.
It was clear that the stream was not fordable at this spot, otherwise there would be no bridge. The African native never puts himself to unnecessary trouble. It was equally clear that the bridge was not strong enough to bear the weight of horses; therefore the mounted men would not cross here, but must go either to the right or to the left to seek a ford. Best of all, on the side of the track remote from the stream, the ground rose so steeply as to form almost a precipice. Here, if anywhere, an attempt to throw the party into confusion might succeed, and the idea of a plan to do even more than that had already suggested itself to Royce.
Would he be able to carry it out? Success depended on many conditions—the arrangements of the raiders, the nerve and quickness of his own men, a hundred and one chances. At any rate, it was worth attempting.
"Gambaru," he said to the second Hausa, "climb up to the top there, and watch for the enemy. Lie down behind a bush, so that they will not see you. When you are sure what they are going to do, slide down and tell me. John, come down to the river with me."
On reaching the bridge, Royce first ran across it to test its strength, then took out his pocket-knife, and cut as many of the plant ropes as he dared without bringing the whole structure down. John looked on in amazement.
The bridge took off from a low cliff on either side of the stream. The banks were overgrown with thick tall bushes and reeds.
"You can hide there?" said Royce, pointing to the vegetation beneath the nearer end of the bridge.
"Hide plenty all same, sah," replied John, looking puzzled and a little uneasy.