Into the Unknown: A Romance of South Africa

by Lawrence Fletcher

  CHAPTER FIVE.

  THE FORLORN HOPE.

  In one corner of this vaulted room--for such it certainly looked--waspiled a stack of firewood, whilst several strips of dried flesh hunginvitingly against the wall, and three or four large stones lying handyhad evidently been used as seats by the former occupants of the cavern.

  Amaxosa now proceeded to light a fire; but Grenville stopped him, justas he was about to thrust his torch into a mass of dry wood and leaves,urging the unwisdom of the proceeding.

  "Let not the Inkoosis fear," replied the Zulu; "the smoke travelsthrough a hole in the roof of the cave and comes out through a heap ofreeds in an evil-smelling fever swamp on the high lands above, and whichno man will willingly approach; and if the smoke be seen, it will but betaken for the evening mists rising from the marsh. Besides all this,the night is now dark outside; let the Inkoosis look--the words ofAmaxosa are true."

  Grenville went down the passage and looked out, only to find that theirguide was perfectly right, and that night had indeed cast an unusuallyblack mantle of protection round them.

  This being so, they enjoyed to the full a good warm feed, accompanied byhot coffee from their own little store; and then placing Myzukulwa onguard, a precaution which no fancied security would induce Grenville toforego, the party lighted their pipes, and disposed themselvescomfortably round the fire to listen to Winfield's narrative.

  This was short, but to the point. He had been gold-prospecting near thefoot of the Pass with his party of seven men, his daughter also beingwith him, and had been surprised one night by about threescore Mormons,who at once murdered his men, but saved Winfield's life and hisdaughter's because he offered a heavy ransom.

  "You see, gentlemen," he said, "my little girl had been with me for fiveyears, and I had forgotten, God forgive me! that she was growing up intoa fine young woman. I had been at my work for ten years, and betweengold and diamonds I had done so well that I'm afraid I thought of littleelse. I imagined I could buy these rascals off. My daughter, I nowsee, they kept for their own vile ends, and, unfortunately for me, theysoon found out that I was the very man they were short of in theircommunity, for, let me tell you, this secret territory of theirs isliterally bursting with mineral wealth of all kinds, which they have noidea how to work. Over and over again they have pressed me to jointheir abominable brotherhood and become one of them, offering me instantdeath as an alternative; but I knew I was much too useful to be killedout of hand, and I laughed in their faces. That blackguard Levert waspositively the first man who ever really tried to injure me, and he tookme by surprise when we were out on a prospecting trip--he had beenimportuning me to give him my daughter in `marriage'! and I haddetermined to shoot her dead before I would accede either to his or anyMormon's wishes in that respect.

  "Fortunately every woman is safe here for a full year, unless shechooses to marry of her own accord, and after that time the consent ofher nearest relative is sufficient, whether the poor creature wills orno. Now we have been here just ten months, so have still some littletime before us--that is, if you gentlemen are, as I understand, willingto assist me in liberating my little girl from the Novices' Convent inthe Mormon town which lies about a dozen miles from here." And the poorfellow looked at Grenville and Leigh with a half-inquiring and whollyimploring expression on his face.

  The cousins were deeply touched by Winfield's evident anxiety about hisdaughter; neither, however, spoke--but both reached forward and warmlyshook hands with him, and as they did so Grenville saw the tears springto his eyes. Rightly interpreting their silent sympathy, he went on--

  "And now, gentlemen--"

  "One moment, old fellow!" interjected Leigh; "this is Dick Grenville,who `bosses our show,' as, I suppose, our unwelcome neighbours wouldcall it, and I am his lazy cousin Alfred Leigh; so do, for goodness'sake, call us Leigh and Grenville, and drop that `gentlemen' palaver--itsounds a bit off in a cavern, don't you know."

  Winfield bowed to the cousins over this unceremonious and characteristicintroduction, and then again took up the thread of his story.

  "I was going to say that I feel certain you are quite safe in trustingyonder Zulu; he hated his brutal masters even more than I did, and Isuspect he only interfered to-day because he knew that if he did not doso his own skin would pay the forfeit. He once escaped, and was atlarge for upwards of three months, and I suppose he must then haveunearthed this hiding-place. He killed one of the guards who stood inhis way, and was to have been shot when retaken; but the Holy Threerelented at the last moment, on the score of his being such an excellenthunter with native weapons--a great consideration with these people, asthe stock of ammunition which has sufficed them for fifty years isgetting rather low. They got a dozen barrels of powder out of my littlecamp, and thought they had found a treasure, but, unfortunately forthem, it was fine blasting powder, which blew half a dozen of theirrotten old shooting-irons to pieces, and opportunely hurried two oftheir biggest ruffians into the nether world."

  A discussion then ensued, in which Grenville closely questioned theirnew ally, and received answers which gave him a very fair idea of theirpresent position and prospects, and confirmed him in the knowledge thattheir party would never be permitted to leave the Mormon territory aliveif those gentry had their own way. "Only one man," said Winfield, "evergot away alive, and he, curiously enough, must have escaped two or threedays before you got in. He was a very decent man, and a great agitatorfor reform, and was consequently popular with many of the people, butparticularly obnoxious to the Holy Three and their immediate satellites,the Avenging Angels."

  Grenville obtained an accurate description of this fortunate (?)individual, and had little difficulty in convincing Winfield that theman in question--or, rather, all that remained of him--now hung rottingignominiously upon a cross near the great stone stairway.

  "That explains their coolness over it all," said Winfield. "I told theguards that he would be back in two months' time with an army to reducethem, but they only laughed, and said `they guessed their little countrywas just about impregnable,' and they were glad to see the last of him,for he was only a nuisance."

  "Well," said Grenville at last, "the best thing you can do now you'vehad a smoke and relieved your mind, Winfield, is to go to sleep, for youstand much in need of rest after your long exposure and involuntaryfast. I'll have a chat with the Zulus now, and, if they consent, Ipropose to lie hidden here for a couple of days, so that you can getyour strength up. So pray turn in at once--you too, Alf." And leavingthe pair to make their rough beds of dried leaves, he joined the Zulus,who were talking earnestly together in the doorway of the cavern.

  Amaxosa was quite confident that their place of shelter was altogetherunknown to the Mormons, as they had never been able to find him untilone evil day when they had stumbled across him a score of miles from thespot they now occupied. Asked whether there was any way out of thecountry, he said "No"; he had most thoroughly searched for a means ofexit, and had concluded that the white people were witch-finders, whogot in and out by flying over the mountains.

  On being asked how he was brought in, he said he did not know, as he wasknocked senseless with a blow from the butt-end of a rifle before he wascaptured, and had been expected to die for a week thereafter. Myzukulwahad told him the story of their entry into this wonderful country, andhe (Amaxosa) was "very willing to follow and to fight for such great andwise white chiefs, and would be their man to the death." Grenville thenbestowed some tobacco upon his new ally, and, after a hearty handshake,sent both the brothers to lie down, whilst he himself took the firstwatch, and cudgelled his brains as to the further movements of the wholeparty. Three hours later, when he knocked the ashes out of his pipe andlay down to rest, after having seen Amaxosa on guard, and given himstrict orders that no fire was on any consideration to be alight duringthe daytime, Grenville's mind was quite made up.

  They must carry off Miss Winfield by a _coup de main_ in the course ofthe next few days, occupyi
ng the interim in choosing out and victuallingone or two exceptionally strong positions between their present refugeand the great stairway. They must hold each of these as long as waspossible, falling back by degrees, and, after fighting their ultimateposition to the last gasp, endeavour to take the foe by surprise, andcircumvent--or, if needful, cut their way through--the guard, which, hehad no doubt, was already rigidly posted in the subterranean roadway,and so regain the Pass and the outside world.

  The plan was dangerous to a degree, but was in fact the only one whichoffered the slightest chance of success; their own act had brought theminto this mysterious country, and nothing short of supreme audacity andthe most determined bravery could carry them out again. Moreover,Grenville was quite resolved not to go away empty-handed. Granted thatthe place really was, as Winfield had said, simply alive with gold, hemeant both Leigh and himself to have a lion's share--not that either wasgreedy of fortune, but both, as younger sons of old families, had keenlyfelt the snubs of wealth, and it would truly be a grand thing if theycould fill their pockets out of nature's inexhaustible stores.

  Their present position, except by trenching advisedly upon theirsupplies, was untenable for any length of time; this had come out in thecourse of Grenville's questions to Amaxosa.

  "Why," he had asked, "have we seen no game, not a living creature of anykind, with the exception of a few birds, and yet you and the InkoosWinfield talk of hunting?"

  "Because of the great black gulf and the dark River of Death," was theanswer; and Grenville had been given to understand that this wonderfulcountry was absolutely cut in two, from side to side, by a yawningabyss, forty to fifty feet across, through which, some three hundredfeet below, flowed a sluggish and inky-looking stream of incalculabledepth, thoroughly meriting the Stygian name bestowed upon it.

  This awful chasm, which intersected the country for over eighty miles,was cleverly spanned in three places, equidistant about twenty miles, bystout but narrow wooden bridges; and these were jealously-guarded nightand day, the nearest one to the present hiding-place of the party beingalso the bridge most adjacent to the Mormon stronghold, which went bythe name of East Utah. It was one of these bridge guards that Amaxosahad slain in order to cross the gulf and, as he--poor fellow!--thought,regain his freedom.

  On further consideration, and after an early breakfast, the partydecided to change their quarters that very night, for, much to theirsurprise, it proved that Amaxosa had stowed away, in a cave close by,sufficient dried flesh to keep a small army going for months; this ledto inquiry, and it came out that an enterprising Mormon had obtained thesanction of the Holy Three to conveying himself and his belongingsacross the bridge and into the veldt, where he expected to findexcellent pasturage for his cattle, there being no animals of any kindon the outer side of the chasm. This herd the Zulu had looted mostsuccessfully, without the Mormon having an idea where a round dozen ofhis finest beasts had gone; and so disgusted was he thereat, that aftera trial of one month he again betook himself to the inner lands, _minus_the pick of his herd. The meat thus feloniously obtained, Amaxosa hadcarefully dried and laid up--with most unusual forethought for one ofhis colour--against a rainy day.

  Just before sunset, therefore, the whole party, bearing as much driedflesh as they could conveniently carry, took leave of their comfortableshelter, and cautiously retraced their steps to the glade where Leverthad met his death, and where they found his body still lying, just asthey had left it.

  It being no part of Grenville's new programme that the corpse should bediscovered as yet, it was hastily concealed; and then, rapidly passingon, the party reached the open veldt just before sunset, rested thereuntil the moon rose, and two hours later were safely entrenched in aspot which had previously impressed itself upon Grenville's retentivememory as being singularly adapted for a sustained defence in the eventof a protracted siege.

  Their new shelter consisted of a curious-looking table-topped rock,quite fifty feet high and some thirty yards in length by about as manyin breadth. From inside this rock flowed a small stream, which, as inthe case of the cave they had just deserted, obtained exit through arent about four feet wide in the massive wall of stone. In the interiorof this rock, which was hollowed out into two separate caves ofsingularly angular and distorted appearance, the water welled up cool,fresh, and clear as crystal. The floor was of sandy gravel, and therock, which was apparently of ironstone formation, had evidently been atone time struck by lightning, and was rent in every direction, in such away as to leave most convenient loopholes for shooting through.

  Altogether, it was a very strong place indeed, stood alone in a forestglade with six hundred yards of clear ground on every side of it, theonly cover being low scrub; yet it was only one mile from the edge ofthe veldt, and perhaps twenty from the great stairway. Wellprovisioned, and with such weapons as theirs to defend it, and havingregard to the fact that the place could only be entered by one man at atime, it might well be considered absolutely impregnable.

  Here the party rested for the night, keeping guard by turns, andspending the whole of the next day in piling up firewood and timberjoists, by which they could ascend twenty feet above the level of theoutside ground, so as to scour the scrub, if needful, for any lurkingfoes; and also in putting up a sort of earthwork inside the rock,wherever the loopholes were too numerous to be required.

  Night again put a welcome period to the labours of the party, and afterbreakfast on the following morning Grenville called all together, toldthem that the time for decided action had arrived, and unfolded his planof operations, as follows.

  At sunset the two Zulus were to set out and travel all night, and bydawn he calculated that they would--though taking a wide detour, toavoid the risk of premature discovery--have had time to reach thefurthermost bridge across the great canon, and hide themselves amongstthe trees which at that point bordered the veldt. Both men were to liecarefully concealed there until shortly after sunset; but the moment itwas fairly dark they were to approach the bridge, and contrive to letthemselves be seen hanging about, as if desirous of crossing. Thismethod of procedure would, Grenville felt sure, cause the guard greatuneasiness, and result in his firing the signal rockets, and calling upthe main body to effect the capture or destruction of the audacious foe.

  Unless they were regularly set upon, the Zulus were not to indulge theirinclinations for fighting, but, once having seen the fiery signalsascend, were to use the utmost despatch in regaining, by the most directroute, the neighbourhood of the central bridge. Here they were to awaitthe return of Grenville and his party, accompanied, if successful intheir attempt, by Miss Winfield, when the united body would make adesperate effort to reach the Table Rock, or, if too hard pressed togain that desired haven, would find sanctuary in Amaxosa's cave. If thestratagem, however, took the Mormons in as completely as Grenvilleexpected, his own party would have a start of at least two hours, andthis would probably enable them to get right through to the rock.

  The plan was undoubtedly clever, and one, moreover, which gave promiseof success; and having been discussed in all its details, it wasunanimously adopted. The Zulus were recommended to rest and sleep allday, and at sunset were despatched as arranged, the white men in themeantime occupying themselves in completing, and if possible amplifyingstill further, the natural defences of their rocky fortress.

  The Zulus were armed, as usual, with their spears Myzukulwa willinglyrelinquishing his revolver to Winfield, who had also possessed himselfof the rifle and ammunition of which the party had despoiled AbiramLevert.

  Grenville accompanied Myzukulwa and Amaxosa as far as the edge of theveldt, and impressed upon them the desirability of deceiving the bridgeguard, if possible, as to the number of their persons; for, heexplained, "if the main body of Mormons see but two signal rockets, theywill suppose them to refer to Amaxosa and the Inkoos Winfield unarmed,and will only send on a few men to capture them; whilst if three rocketsare fired, they will conclude at headquarters that it is our own party-
-it being clearly their habit to send up a rocket for each foe sighted onthe outer veldt--and will send on all the men they have on the spot."Then, wishing the brothers good luck, Grenville returned to the rock.The night was passed quietly by the party, which was now again reducedto its original, and, as Grenville said, fortunate number, Leigh addingjocularly that he would back their "dauntless three" at long oddsagainst any Mormon trio in East Utah, the Holy Three preferred.

  The next day was spent by the white men in examining their weapons withanxious care, after which they rested and smoked, waiting with feverishanxiety for the declining sun to set them on their way. At last thetime came, and, after feeding well, the trio shook hands all round, andstarted out upon their desperate enterprise, for such it most certainlywas. Three men against the whole Mormon community, which numbered,according to Winfield, probably a thousand able-bodied men, besideswomen, children, and youths, and was by no means deficient in subtletyof intellect.

  The little party pushed forward in ominous silence, keeping carefullyunder cover, and about three and a half hours later saw all securelyhidden in a patch of scrub which impinged upon the veldt a short milefrom the central bridge, whereupon, before the darkness fell, as it didalmost directly after their arrival, they could perceive _two_ sentinelsstanding smoking and chatting together; and it was a saddeningreflection to the trio that these men, at present in the full enjoymentof life, must of necessity die before the bridge would be free for theirown purposes.

  The minutes dragged on their weary way with leaden feet, and Grenville'swatch marked half an hour after sundown, when a shout from the bridgebrought the whole party to its feet as one man, just in time to see arocket dissolve in mid air into myriads of lovely shooting stars. Ascore of seconds later this was followed by a second rocket, whilstimmediately afterwards, to Grenville's infinite delight, a third ofthese shining messengers winged its fiery way across the heavens.

  Over the silent veldt the Englishmen could hear the Mormon guardstalking in excited tones, but suddenly both parties gave vent to onecommon cry of astonishment as a fourth rocket swiftly sailed up into theazure vault, and was instantly succeeded by a fifth, after which perfectstillness reigned for a full minute; then, all at once, a vivid streakof fire shot up like a flaming arrow from the Mormon city, nowcomparatively close at hand, and a moment later its many-hued stars werevieing with the glittering constellations of the sky. The answeringrocket had been fired, and the Avenging Angels were on their way.