CHAPTER XIII
A NARROW SHAVE
"John, send a man to fetch Kulana," said Royce. "It is time we were off."
Before the Hausa dispatched by John had gone out of sight, he met Kulana hurrying back from the northward post to which he had been sent to watch the progress of the enemy.
Kulana reported that a small party of Tubus had caught sight of him as they emerged from a clump of trees some distance away. They had pursued him and almost run him down when the rush of stampeding elephants caused them to wheel their horses and flee for their lives. He himself only escaped being trampled to death by taking shelter behind a large tree, where he had remained until the storm swept by.
Learning from John that the course taken by the elephants was almost the direction of the fort, Royce had an idea.
"Why not follow in the track of the elephants?" he said to Challis. "They will clear the Tubus off our line of march, at least for a time, and if we march rapidly we may get through before they have rallied."
"We can try, but I doubt it," replied Challis. "The elephants are going at such a thundering speed that they are miles away by this time, and the Tubus won't have any reason to be afraid of them. Still, there's nothing else to be done, and we had better start at once."
In a few minutes the baggage was loaded on to the released prisoners, and the party set off, John leading the way with Royce and half the Hausas, the carriers following, and Challis with the rest of the armed men bringing up the rear.
There was no difficulty in following the track of the elephants. It was as though a tornado had swept over the country. A path several yards wide had been cut through the scrub and the thin forest. Tall grass and shrubs had been crushed flat, saplings broken off like matchwood. Only large trees had survived the rush, and the ground was strewn with the lower branches of these.
Royce went a good distance ahead of the carriers. They marched as quickly as possible, but, laden as they were, their pace did not exceed the rate of two and a half miles an hour. If the fort, as Royce believed, were still about five miles away, he could not but confess to himself that Challis's doubt was justified. He repressed his anxiety and impatience, keeping as careful a lookout as the nature of the country permitted.