Part 34 (1/2)
This looked suspicious.
They were obviously holding a consultation, but had lowered their voices so as not to be heard by whoever might be inside. Then about a score of them, leaving the others, came a little nearer.
”Ho, Gumbega,” called out one, hailing the storekeeper by the nearest approach to his name that the native tongue could roll itself round.
”Are you from home that your gate is all barred up and made extra strong?”
”No, I am here,” replied Grunberger, in obedience to a whisper from Lamont. ”But that was done by the captain's orders.”
”The captain! What captain?”
”The captain of about a hundred men who arrived here yesterday. Look at all the rifles.”
There was no mistake as to this. Rifle barrels protruded through the c.h.i.n.ks so that the whole of that side of the stockade seemed to glisten with them. The savages were obviously nonplussed. A strongly defended place containing a hundred well-armed whites--or even half that number-- const.i.tuted a nut which, large as their own force was, they did not care to crack--at any rate not just then. So without a word those who had come forward returned to the main body, and the whole impi resumed its way, taking care to let them see, however, that it had no intention of drawing any nearer to the place.
”Come out and look, Lucy,” said Clare, who had been dividing her attention between watching what was going on and trying to rea.s.sure her terrified sister. ”It's a splendid sight, and we don't get an opportunity of seeing a big Matabele regiment on the march every day, and in full war-paint too.”
”A splendid sight! Ugh, the horrible wretches! I never want to set eyes on them again.”
And the speaker shuddered, and stopped her ears as though to shut out the receding thunder of the marching song.
”But, Mrs Fullerton, there's nothing to be frightened of,” urged the storekeeper's wife. ”They're going right away.”
An idea struck Clare. Going outside, the first person she ran against was Lamont.
”Piers,” she said in a low tone, ”where are they going?”
”I suspect they are making straight for Gandela.”
”Will they--take it?”
”No reason why they should, if only Orwell and Isard have condescended to act on my repeated warning, and put the place into a state of defence.”
”And if not--?”
He looked at her for a moment without answering. Then he said--
”In that case these will have things all their own way.”
”How awful!”
”Well, we must hope for the best.”
”What if we had started to return there to-day?” she said suddenly, ”We should have had to reckon with these. The mules are in no condition to travel out properly, and they could soon have overhauled us.”
”Ah!”
Then she subsided into silence. Even her courageous spirit had fallen upon a kind of reaction. The morning had been so bright and happy, and now a shadow of horror and gloom seemed to have darkened upon the land.
Bloodshed, ma.s.sacre everywhere, would it never pa.s.s? The other seemed to read her thoughts.