With Wolseley to Kumasi Part 14

d.i.c.k patted him on the back, for he had long ago seen that Johnnie was a faithful fellow, and had taken his master into his special favour. He did not trouble to seek the cause, but knew that it was a fact--the little man had been proving his devotion to him in a hundred ways since they two had been left alone at the goldmine. But had Johnnie been asked, he would have quickly supplied a reason.

"Me lob Ma.s.sa d.i.c.k," he would often murmur to himself. "He not like some of dese white men who comes to de coast. Dey velly young often-- jest like him--and dey tink dat dey oh so much finer dan de poor black man. So dey am; but no need kick and swear at um. Ma.s.sa not like dat.

He say, 'please, Johnnie,' nice and friendly, when he want him food.

And he never forget 'tank you, Johnnie.' Dat what me like. Me work for man like dat. And ma.s.sa velly fine young fellow. He brave. He make friend eberywhere--same's Ma.s.sa Pepson and de fat Dutchman. Dey his broders, who lob him same's Johnnie."

It was a clear explanation, and no doubt was perfectly truthful.

Indeed, there is little doubt that a little more thought on the part of the white man would often result in better relations between himself and the man of darker complexion. Youth and inexperience are no excuse for harsh dealing and bitter words, for sneers and open scoffing. The black man needs special treatment. He can be ruled easily and well. He can be made a faithful and contented servant, and there are none more fitted to be his masters than are Englishmen. But whatever the black may be, he is a fellow human being, and deserves common kindness and courtesy, till he has proved himself unworthy of either; and a little care in such matters--more care than is always given--would perhaps lead to better relations in our Indian dominions.

"Me go wid de first lot, den," said Johnnie. "Time ma.s.sa reach de launch she hab steam fit to bust."

"Then off you go to the hut, and bring me along that drum of kerosene oil we use for the miners' lamps. Wait, though. I'll go with you."

He trudged off to the hut, and there for a quarter of an hour he and the little black stoker were hard at work, feeling sure that the miners would meanwhile hold all secure. Indeed, there was little to fear, for the moon was still up, though it was now close to the summit of the tree-tops, and would soon fall below the forest and be hidden. Still, while it was light, movement on their part, or on that of the enemy, would be madness.

"Now, Johnnie, smartly does it, as the sailors say," cried d.i.c.k, as they entered the hut. "We will have that small lantern alight, and then we will commence operations. I am going to lay a little supper for Master James Langdon, expert thief and murderer. I will leave him a little legacy which will hardly please him. Got the lantern? Then bring all the picks and spare mining tools. Bring everything, in fact, likely to be of use in the mines, and now held in our stores. Pile them in the centre of the floor here close to the drum."

The native looked up in astonishment, but flew at once to carry out the order. It took very little time, indeed, for the stores held in the hut were not very large or diverse. There were just sufficient spare parts to replace a few breakages--enough, in fact, to keep the mine going in its then primitive condition, and till it had shown whether it was valuable or not. The various articles were dumped down in the centre of the hut, while d.i.c.k busied himself with throwing there all the odds and ends of clothing hanging to the walls, sc.r.a.ps of paper, and inflammable articles.

"Now for the gold," he said. "We have it in bags already, and have merely to divide it. Let me see. There are twelve miners, and they, with our two selves, make fourteen. Subtract two, for the chief and myself, who remain behind, and that leaves twelve. Twelve bags, Johnnie, do you hear?"

The native grinned. He began to see a joke in all this hurry and bustle. He darted towards the store of gold, which was kept in small canvas bags, and helped d.i.c.k to divide it up. There was not a large quant.i.ty, though the mine had done remarkably well. Still, so rich is the ore in Ashanti that, thanks to the work of the miners and d.i.c.k's care, the store was of great value.

"Me laugh, ha! ha! ha! You see de face ob dat half-white sc.u.m," cried Johnnie. "He lob de gold. He say now to himself, 'me soon wring de neck ob all dem fellers, and special of de white man whom me hate like pisin. Yes, me turn dem out, and den me set oder boys to work. Yes, fine game me play. Get shaft dug, ground open, all de labour done. Den walk in, find house, plenty gold, stockade, gun, eberyting.' Golly! he make bit mistake dis time. He find nest clear, p'raps. All de eggs cooked, de old birds flown 'way, and all velly hot. No gold, no food, noding. Him cuss and swear. Him rabe. Him say, 'hang dat d.i.c.k Stapleton. Me kill um by little inches when me hab de feller.' How Johnnie like to stay and see him go crazy."

"Thank you, I'd rather be far away," said d.i.c.k, with a laugh. "Mister James Langdon is a gentleman who would kill me with less compunction than he would tread on a beetle. No, thanks. No staying for me."

"No Johnnie, neider, tank you all same, ma.s.sa. Me get to de steamer, and yo see. When yo come, she fairly jumpin', so ready to go. Yes, me break up de oder boats and hab all ready. Make no trouble. Johnnie know what to do."

"Then let's place these bags in a row just inside the door of the stockade," said d.i.c.k. "We'll put the lamp there, too, so that the light cannot be seen outside, but so that the men can distinguish the bags.

Then, as they retire, they will pick one up and go up the hill. That's all clear. Come along."

Ten minutes later they had laid the wealth of the gold-mine at the door of the stockade, and each man had been brought to the position and been given full instructions.

"You can trust the matter to them entirely, white chief," said the leader of the miners. "You must have seen that they are honest, and besides, all have an interest, and if one happened to be a robber, the others would soon arrest him."

"Then I will complete my arrangements. I see that the moon is almost down. Has there been any movement amongst the enemy?"

"They have crept a little closer," was the answer. "We did not fire, as it did not seem necessary. They have drawn in their circle out here in front, and I believe that they have brought one or two men from the crest."

It was comforting news, for if the enemy's position were known, the task of the defenders would be easier.

"They know that our case is desperate," thought d.i.c.k, "and they have come in closer to keep us in. They will not make a rush themselves after what I heard them say. Then at the very first our men should be able to locate them and drive them back. Good! Now for the last preparation."

He went off to a corner of the stockade, and came staggering back with a small barrel over his shoulder, while Johnnie followed with a square case.

"Place it there carefully," said d.i.c.k, as they arrived close to the gate. "Now break it open, and unpack the contents."

The materials in the box were rapidly exposed to view, and one by one they handled rockets of enormous size, detonators, and fuses, for an a.s.sortment of explosives had been brought to the mines. d.i.c.k took the end of a pick and pried the lid off the cask. Then he tore off his hat.

"Hold," he said to Johnnie. "That's right, and keep well away from the lamp. It's gunpowder, and would send us up to the sky. That's the way, Johnnie; now put the barrel down and hold the hat."

He had filled his hat with the s.h.i.+ning black grains, and now he arranged the barrel a few feet within the stockade, covered it with an old cloth which he had saturated with kerosene, and then placed the rockets and other explosives on top. Meanwhile the lamp was kept at a respectful distance. By now the moon had fallen below the tree-tops, and already the light had faded to such an extent that it was difficult to see more than a few feet. It was time to begin moving, and again a call brought all the garrison to the gate.

"This is the bomb which I hope will help us," said d.i.c.k, a grim smile on his lips. "Look at it there, gunpowder and bombs. Very well, then; I have showed it so that you will not stumble on to it. Let each one now lie down at the gate. When I give you the order you will all file out, and on your return you will find the gold bags where they are now, and the lantern beside them. Each will take a bag and retire to the back of the stockade. There one of your chiefs will be waiting for you, and he will give you the direction. You will make for the forest and the boats. A last warning. Do not get too close to the enemy. You know their position, and can creep sufficiently near to make your shots tell.

Shout to one another, and make it appear as though a rush were about to be made. In a quarter of an hour you can begin to retire. Come back, firing slowly. When you meet me I will send the word to each. Then slink off at once. Now, Johnnie, the drum of kerosene."

He took the cap full of gunpowder, and began to lay a train, spilling the black grains in a thick line across the gra.s.s towards the hut. He ran it in through the door, faking care to keep the train well to one side where his feet would not touch it. Then he emptied what remained in a pile in the very centre. And meanwhile Johnnie carried the lamp, giving just sufficient light to show the way, and holding it as far from his barrel of kerosene as possible. And now there remained but two things to do. There were a few drops of water left in the bottle, drops to which the black had drawn d.i.c.k's attention without avail. He took them now and threw them on his little heap of powder, stirring the ma.s.s with his fingers, and kneading it till he had the substance soft and sticky. Then he arranged it in the shape of a pyramid, and, having made his "devil," carried it into the far corner of the room. He still had a few grains of powder left, and these he ran as a train from the devil to the clothing and odd stores which lumbered the floor.

"Finished," he said at length, surveying his work with much pleasure.

"Now the oil."

Taking the drum, he pulled the cork out of the bung-hole and let the contents pour over the heap in the centre of the hut. He threw some over the walls, saturating every corner save the one in which the devil was placed. Then, carefully avoiding the train, he emerged from the hut, crossed to the gate and repeated the same process, spreading the inflammable fluid all round the rockets and detonators there, and taking it to the walls of the stockade, where he again threw the contents on the woodwork. That done, he put the drum down, and placed the lamp close to the bags of gold.

"Mind," he said, lifting a warning finger, as he stood in the light, "you each take a bag and go. You leave the lamp burning, remember that.

I shall want it to fire the train."

It was time to move. By now the moon had sunk completely, and dense darkness reigned over the surrounding forest and the neighbourhood of the stockade. Our hero looked closely at his men. There was an air of suppressed excitement about them, but he could see no trace of fear.

Indeed, these miners had already proved that they possessed courage, and though they were not like their countrymen, for ever practised in the arts of war, yet they had fair knowledge, as their behaviour had already shown. Each carried a rifle in his hand, while a bag of cartridges dangled across his shoulder. In addition, the short sword which every Ashanti man wears, hung from the waist, ready for hand-to-hand fighting.

They sat on the ground in a circle, talking in whispers and waiting for the signal.

"Time to move," said d.i.c.k, easily. "Open the gates, chief."

Silently and stealthily, as if they were so many ghosts, the party issued from the stockade, and soon our hero, the two chiefs, and Johnnie, were alone.

"Five minutes after the first shot is fired you will move," said their young leader. "It will take three more to reach the crest, and then--"

"It shall be cleared," whispered the chief, with determination in his voice. "My comrade and I have sworn that we will slay all who lie there. Trust to us to do the deed without a sound, and to return in time. We will make sure that none are left to spy upon us."

Five minutes pa.s.sed slowly, and still there was no sound. Though the four peered from the stockade, intent upon piercing the darkness, and observing the movements of their comrades, there was nothing to be seen.

The ground outside might as well have been untenanted. It was trying work waiting there for the sound of a shot. The seconds were like minutes, so slowly did they seem to go. d.i.c.k could hear his own heart thudding, could hear the deep breathing of the chiefs, while ever and anon the weak rays of the lamp showed him the white of Johnnie's eyes, as he turned them towards the sky. Ah! It was a shout which broke the trying silence.

A shout of alarm, coming from the lips of one of the enemy. And quickly following upon it came the sharp report of a rifle and a human scream, the cry of some unhappy native who had been hit. After that there was a medley of calls and loud reports. Shouts and cries of rage and excitement came from the enemy, rifles flashed and roared, while the muzzle-loaders of the Ashanti attackers bellowed as they sent their load of slugs towards the stockade. The air above the enclosure sang with missiles of every description. Angular pieces of lead and iron, bullets of excellent formation, ironstone pebbles and pieces of broken rock, hissed over the hut and stockade in answer to the fire of the defenders.

"Excellent!" said d.i.c.k, as he stared from the gateway. "They are doing well. If I were not aware of the movement being carried out, I should say that the garrison was making a sortie, or an attempt to break out, and that they were trying to find the weakest spot in the ring thrown round them. Listen to the calls of the enemy, and hark! there goes a whistle."

Above all the sound came the shrill signal, perhaps blown by James Langdon himself.

"It may be a recall to the men on the crest," he whispered. "Chief, it is time for you and your comrade to move."

"We go. In a few minutes you shall hear from us, white chief."

d.i.c.k turned to see the two brave Ashantis pa.s.sing out of the stockade.

In a moment they were gone, and, like their comrades, they made not a sound. He and Johnnie were left alone to listen to the firing and the shouts outside, and to strain their ears for some noise, a shout perhaps, the firing of a rifle, to tell them that the chiefs had been discovered. But no signal came from the direction of the crest, they had no intimation of the fate which had befallen the plucky two, till of a sudden a figure rose at their feet, causing both to start back.

"I am sent by my leader," said a voice. "The crest is clear. There were two of the enemy there. They are dead."

d.i.c.k could hardly believe his ears, and the news took a load from his mind. If all was clear on the crest, then it was time to set the others moving. He swung round and addressed Johnnie.

"You stay here till the bags are gone, then follow," he said. "I am going to join our comrades in front."