“I thought I saw some horsemen, and I am right, I see four, but only one is a white man, the other three are black. Two of them look very like those we sent away from here, and the other is apparently a chief.”
Rupert took the glass from his brother. “You are right!” he exclaimed. “They are riding fast, and keeping clear of the Zulu camp, which they probably discovered from the height, and think it prudent to avoid. We will go down and meet them. Percy, do you remain here on guard. You need not rouse up our father, but if you see anything suspicious, send down and let him know.”
Saying this, Rupert, followed by Denis, hurried down. They made their way over the drawbridge to the spot where the boat was concealed, and pulled across to the opposite bank, towards which the horsemen came galloping at full speed.
“Why, there’s our friend Crawford,” cried Denis, “and there are Umgolo, old Vermack, and Matyana. They’ll bring us news, I hope, of Hendricks and Lionel.”
Crawford, immediately dismounting, began to take the saddle off his horse. “Thank you, my friends, for coming to meet me,” he said; “you’ve saved me from a wetting, and perhaps from the jaws of a crocodile. Excuse me for being somewhat in a hurry; but the fact is that the old Dutchman who escorted me here thinks that the Zulus out there would like to get hold of our party, to retain us as hostages till you deliver up a runaway chief who has taken refuge here.” He was unbuckling the girths as he spoke, and now, with the saddle on his arm, was stepping into the boat when he recognised Denis. “What, my dear fellow, is it you yourself, safe and sound!” he exclaimed, as they warmly shook hands, “I am delighted to see you. The messengers who came from this place told us of your arrival; for until then we were in great anxiety about you and Percy. How did you get here?”
“I’ll tell you all about it as we pull across,” answered Denis; “but we have no time to lose. See, there come a whole party of Zulus scampering towards us, and whether or not old Vermack was right in his conjectures, I don’t suppose that they are coming with any friendly intentions.”
As he spoke, he and Rupert shoved off, the Boer and the Kaffirs, who did not dismount, driving his horse before them across the river.
While Rupert and Denis pulled, Crawford sat in the sternsheets, more than once turning his head to ascertain how near the Zulus had got. He and his companions on horseback had distanced them so much that he and Denis had time to exchange a few words.
“You gave us a tremendous fright, I can assure you, Denis,” said Crawford. “Hendricks sent in all directions to look for you; and when the body of poor Gozo was found, it was feared that you had met with the same fate. He was so dreadfully cut up, that I thought he would have abandoned his expedition and gone back to Maritzburg.”
“I am sorry to have caused the fine old boy so much trouble,” answered Denis. “He may be certain that it was very much against our wish, and I know that I wouldn’t again go through what we did for a good deal. But, faith, those black fellows are getting mighty near; and if they happen to have a musket or two among them, they may shoot one of us. Pull away, Rupert!”