Part 33 (1/2)
They were near at hand now, however: the mountains far and near shone with the fiery telegraphs of the warrior tribes. The master of the house summoned his people to arms, and bade the women and children come from the wagons to the interior of the building. It has been shown that the settlement was backed by hills, intersected with gullies or kloofs; one of these, by which Zoonah had approached, was wide and dense: it will also be remembered that redoubts had been thrown up; but the s.p.a.ce enclosed was so vast that there were barely sufficient hands to defend all points in rear. The front was well protected by a fortification of wagons, drawn up in line with great precision; from these wagons the settlers were able to check the enemy in his advance; and a small six-pounder, brought in former days from an abandoned fort, filled the gap between the steps and the avenue.
In rear of the house, within the trellised pa.s.sage, was a little _corps de reserve_ of young men and matrons, the latter being in charge of spare ammunition, and provided each with a brace of pistols, which they had earned the use of by experience. It was of course certain that the Kafirs would make their first attack on the cattle, and as the herdsmen at sunset were driving in the animals from their pastures, the enemy poured down the hills in hundreds; by this cunning manoeuvre they at once cut off the communication between the settlement and the cattle herds; indeed the latter, of whom some were Kafirs, mostly deserted, the Hottentots flying off to conceal themselves where they could--they were not worth following while plunder was to be got; so the poor cows and oxen and bleating sheep were driven off by the detachment of the enemy told off for the purpose, and the others advanced, their dark faces reddened with ochre, their crane plumes waving, and their a.s.segais and muskets ready poised for the onslaught.
Mr Daveney had adopted the wise precaution of dividing his flocks and herds, only sending half to pasture at a time; for, with so large a population to feed, and at such a distance from any emporium of provisions, it was necessary to husband the stock with peculiar care.
Thus the kraals in rear of the vineyard were tolerably well filled at present, and the chief object now would be to keep the enemy at bay, lest he should carry the redoubt, and rush in upon the cattle.
But few shots had been exchanged between the herdsmen and the Kafirs; but, as the marauders carried off the plunder in triumph, a chief appeared, clad in leopard skin, and riding a n.o.ble white charger.
Advancing at a smart canter, he was cheered by the cry of ”Izapa,”--”Come on”--from the hill-sides, and, followed by those who had a.s.sisted in capturing the cattle, he pa.s.sed the left of the buildings, turned sharp with his face towards the kraals, and bade his people advance; they did so, made a dash at the redoubt, were suffered to set foot on the top, and were received with a rattling volley of musketry, which tumbled them within the defences sooner than they had bargained for. A shout of laughter rose from the Annerley garrison, a yell of defiance burst from the savages.
Then the chief on the white charger drew back, rallied his forces, paused for the reinforcements which rushed down the hills in all directions, lighting their brands at the fires as they pa.s.sed, and having formed them in a phalanx, of which he was the centre, the ma.s.s pressed forward, shouting their wild war-cry, and brandis.h.i.+ng aloft their weapons of steel and flame. The blaze on the mountain slope gave all this a demoniacal aspect; the horrible screams, the excited, rampant gestures of the Kafirs, the dropping fire of musketry from Annerley, and the occasional hearty English cheer answering the war-cry, all combined to make as terrific a scene as the most imaginative eye or ear could conceive.
As yet the enemy reserved his fire.
Two women stood suddenly face to face in the entrance-room of the house.
”My sister, my little sister!” shrieked the girl.
”My child, my child!” gasped out the elder.
”I left her beside you sleeping in the wagon,” said the girl.
”I woke frightened,” said the pale mother, ”and thought you had taken her--you did, you did--where is she?”
”I laid her beside you,” again answered the girl.
The elder one burst through the group that crowded the room, and put her hand to the door-latch. Ormsby stood sentry there. ”No one can pa.s.s,”
said he; ”the house is closed while the enemy advances.” The woman raised her hands imploringly, her lips moved, and she had just power to articulate the words, ”My child!” Ormsby's heart had been softened by gentle companions.h.i.+p--he opened the door, the pale woman rushed upon the stoep, flew down the steps--soon they heard her laughing hysterically; ”Let me in, let me in,” she cried. Ormsby opened the door again, and she entered, bearing her infant in her arms. Something followed her overhead; a sharp whizz made all draw back; the door was slammed to, but not before a bullet had buried itself in the wall beyond--the little child pointing to the splintering bricks, with a merry laugh.
Then the occupants of Annerley knew that the enemy encircled the settlement; the shots soon began to answer each other swift and sharp.
That part of the building which was commanded by the hill in the rear was defended by a wall of earth some twelve feet high; fortunately, the hill sloped abruptly and was lower than the rest, so that there was no great range for a.s.segais, and the enemy's shots were fired at random-- they told, however, among the cattle, and the chief on the white horse, watching his opportunity, made a dash at a side gate, and succeeded in forcing an entrance to the kraals between the vineyard and the redoubt.
The confusion that followed is indescribable; the settlers fearing to fire on the besiegers, lest they should kill the cattle; the beasts lowing, the sheep bleating, horses flying about wild and terrified, and the Kafirs yelling, whistling, shouting, and goading the frantic animals forward with their weapons, till they fairly succeeded in clearing the stock-yard, the spectators on the ridges above dancing about between the fires, and mocking at the poor settlers, four of whom had fallen, severely, if not mortally, wounded.
May was flitting about, perfectly reckless of the flying bullets, and when the Kafirs cheered their comrades, he would wait for a pause, and then set up a laugh of derision, crying out, ”Shoot higher, shoot higher;” while, in fact, the b.a.l.l.s were whizzing many feet above the heads of those at whom they were aimed. Now May would crouch behind the redoubt, single out his man, get him in a certain position, where the fires glaring on brim lit him up as a mark, and then, with an original remark, a grin, and a gibber, would bring him down, draw a long breath, cut a caper, and anon, lying at frill length, would load his musket in the dark, and go to work again, _con amore_.
The enemy in front meanwhile were busy in trying to dislodge the poor farm-people, who had tied their _span_ (team) oxen to their wagons, and drew closer every moment to the building. Frankfort stood on the stoep directing the defence, and striving, by keeping the Kafirs at bay, to prevent bloodshed as far as possible; but the chief on the white horse, having seen the cattle from the kraals safely whistled off, resolved, in the true spirit of rapacity, to have more, and, with a phalanx of his warriors, advanced at a rapid pace up the avenue.
Then Frankfort, standing on the upper step of the stoep, said, in a clear, calm, but most decided tone--
”Man the gun.”
And four men, who had been trained to the deadly exercise, took their stations.
The firing from the wagons ceased; in the rear all was comparatively still, for the enemy was resting on his arms, and the settlers were carrying in their wounded. The Kafirs, unprepared for the reception it was deemed necessary to greet them with, came up, quivering their a.s.segais, and shouting their war-cry. In their imagination, the settlers were paralysed--they were within seven hundred yards of the wagons.
”Fire!” said Frankfort.
The word rose strong and clear above the savage chorus.
A dazzling flas.h.!.+--a wreath of smoke--a roar--a sharp sound of a ball cleaving the air, and the dark ma.s.s of human beings burst asunder like a splintered oak.