came on. From the
position in which our tent was pitched it was impossible for an attack to
be made upon us in the rear, and this circumstance fortunately allowed
of undivided attention to the movements of the hill-men whom we saw
creeping silently forward.
"Wait till the first one of them gets to the opening of our tent,"
whispered Denviers to me; "and while I deal with him shoot down the
second. Keep cool and take a steady aim as he rises from the grass, and
whatever you do, don't miss him."
[Illustration: "HE SULLENLY FLUNG HIS PONIARD DOWN."]
I held my pistol ready as we waited for them to come on, and each
second measured with our eyes the distance which still separated us.
Twenty yards from the tent the foremost of the hill-men took the kris or
bent poniard with which he was armed from between his teeth, and held
it aloft in his right hand as he came warily crawling on a foot at a time
followed by the others, each with his weapon raised as though already
about to plunge it into our throats. It was not a very cheering spectacle,
but we held our weapons ready and watched their advance through thy
grass, determined to thrust them back.
I felt my breath come fast as the first hill-man stopped when within
half-a-dozen yards of the tent and listened carefully. I could have easily
shot him down as he half rose to his feet, and his fierce eyes glittered in
his swarthy face. Almost mechanically I noticed the loose shirt and
trousers which he wore, and saw the white turban lighting up his
bronzed features as he crept right up to our tent and thrust his head in,
confident that those within it were asleep. The next instant he was
down, with Denviers' hand on his throat and a pistol thrust into his
astonished face, as my companion exclaimed:--
"Drop your weapon or I'll shoot you!"
The hill-man glared like a tiger for a moment, then he saw the
advantage of following Denviers' suggestion. He sullenly flung his
poniard down, gasping for breath, just as I covered the second of our
enemies with my pistol and fired. The hill-man raised his arms
convulsively in the air, gave a wild cry, and fell forward upon his face,
dead!
The third of those attacking us dashed forward, undaunted at the fate of
the one he saw shot down, only to be flung headlong on the grass the
next instant before the tent, with Hassan kneeling on his chest and the
point of the Arab's sword at his throat.
The rest of the enemy did not wait to continue the combat, but rose
from the grass and dispersed precipitately over the plain, making for
the limestone bridge across the river. I rushed forward to Hassan's
assistance, and bound the captive's arms, while the Arab held him down
as I knotted tightly the sash I had taken from my waist. Then I made for
the tent, to find that Denviers had already secured the first prisoner by
lashing about him a stout piece of tent rope. My companion forced his
captive from the tent into the open plain, where we held a whispered
conversation as to whether the two prisoners should live or die. The
safer plan was undoubtedly to shoot them, for we both agreed that at
any moment our own position might become a critical one if the rest of
the horde made another attempt upon us, as we fully expected would be
done.
However, we finally decided to spare their lives, for a time at all events,
and while Hassan and Denviers led the captives across the plain, I
brought from the tent part of a long coil of rope which we had and
followed them. As soon as we neared the river bank we selected two
suitable trees from a clump growing there and lashed the prisoners
securely to them, threatening instant death if they attempted to signal
their whereabouts to any of the hill-men who might be lurking about.
"Get our rifles and ammunition, Hassan," said Denviers to the Arab.
Then turning to me, he continued: "We shall have some tough fighting
I expect when those niggers return, but we are able to hold our own
better out of the tent than in it." Hassan brought our weapons, saying as
he handed them to us:--
"The sahibs are wise to prepare for another attack, since the enemy
must return this way. They have not gone off towards the far mountain
peaks, but crossed yonder limestone bridge instead."
"What do you understand from that movement?" Denviers asked
Hassan.
"The sound which we heard at first came from the strange city of which
I spoke," he replied. "Some of
Continue reading on your phone by scaning this QR Code
Tip: The current page has been bookmarked automatically. If you wish to continue reading later, just open the
Dertz Homepage, and click on the 'continue reading' link at the bottom of the page.