As they bent forward, peering into the sulphur-charged mist, those facing east and west beheld a mass of indistinct forms clustered before them. Those facing north and south saw hazy figures gliding from pillar to pillar.
Three more minutes, and the vapour had cleared sufficiently for them to grasp that they were surrounded completely, by a foe clothed in some kind of scaly armour. They waited in grim silence for the fumes to clear thoroughly, so that they might know what force they had to encounter.
At last they could see the four corners of the walls, also the open passages by which the crowd had entered so noiselessly.
Two of the pillars at each end had been rolled aside, leaving gaping cavities where they had stood.
Facing them, and leaning on their spears, stood a double row of upright figures, with metal helmets on their heads and chain armour on their bodies, arms, and legs. Round the waist of each was a short kilt of leopard-skin, which reached to the knees.
They were well-formed warriors, nearly all of them as tall as the Kaffirs. Their skins were of a warm copper tint, with dark eyes and long flowing tresses.
Not a beard was amongst them, while their features were fine and pronounced, with straight noses, full lips, and oval faces. They were determined-looking and fierce, yet unmistakably youthful and handsome.
Ned glanced from their faces to their breast-plates, and then he shouted—
“Boys, after the snakes we have a regiment of amazons to face. Oh, come, this is hard lines! We cannot fire on women, even though they are amazons. We must manage them in some softer way, or else capitulate with our best grace.”
His words broke the spell of silence that had been upon them. Clarence and Fred burst out laughing, while the Matabeles and Basutos grinned broadly and displayed their ivories.