Across the Cameroons Part 17

At last Harry deemed it safe to call a halt.

Klein, who was still running like one possessed, had to be stopped by force. He would not desist from flight, until Jim Braid had tripped him up. Harry, followed by Fernando, came upon them shortly afterwards.

"See," cried Harry, pointing to the east, "there comes the dawn! In half an hour it will be daylight."

"Do you know where we are?" asked Braid, turning to the guide.

"Yes," said the man. "We are towards the Maziri frontier. I recognize the mountains on the sky-line. There is a good place near at hand where we can hide, and where--even if we are discovered--we will be able to hold our own for many days."

"Let us go there," said Harry. "But where is your brother?"

No one answered. They peered into the faces of one another. The younger guide was missing.

Fernando, the man who had sworn an oath to kill the Black Dog, lifted his hands to his mouth and let out a long-drawn howl which was like that of a jackal, and which carried far in the stillness of the morning. It was a signal that his brother knew of old. Three times he repeated it, and each time lifted a hand to his ear, and stood listening expectant.

No answering cry came back. A death-like silence reigned over the valleys and forests and the mountain-side.

"He is lost?" asked Harry.

"He may have taken the wrong direction in the darkness. He may have been struck by a bullet. Who can tell? These things are in the hands of G.o.d."

"He may be somewhere near at hand," said Braid, hoping for the best.

Fernando shook his head.

"If Cortes is alive he is far away; otherwise he would have heard my signal. At any rate we can do no good by waiting here. We must push on; the day approaches. As I said, I know of a place where we shall be safe."

As the grey light extended from the mountain-tops to the valleys, Fernando led them to a kind of ancient fort, constructed of great stone boulders and surrounded by a deep ditch. In the parapet of this fort there were loopholes through which to fire, and in the centre, well screened from observation, was a small hut made of the branches of trees. The redoubt stood on a sharp pinnacle of rock commanding a wide stretch of country on every hand. It had doubtless been constructed centuries before, when there was a more advanced stage of civilization in the heart of Africa. Indeed, it is from this bygone civilization that the Maziris themselves trace their origin.

As the daylight increased they were able to take in their surroundings.

Many miles up the valley, it was just possible to see a little village, which, Fernando a.s.sured them, was in Maziriland itself. Some distance to the west was a great forest which extended as far as the eye could reach.

Harry looked around him in amazement.

"But this place is almost impregnable," he cried. "Four resolute men could hold it against hundreds."

"Is there water here?" asked Braid, turning to the guide.

The man pointed to a small spring which bubbled up to the surface near the door of the hut.

"I will tell you the story of this place," said he. "Years ago a party of six Maziris sought refuge in this fort, which was built in the olden times, when the Ancients crossed the deserts from the east. For eight months those six men held the army of one of the Cameroon kings at bay.

They had laid in a great store of food. They made the defence even stronger. Time and again they beat back the attack."

"And in the end?" asked Jim.

"In the end four of their number were killed, but the other two escaped."

"Escaped! How did they escape?"

"You will not believe me, but it is true. They escaped underground--like moles."

"Underground!" cried the two boys, echoing the man's words in their astonishment.

"Yes," said the guide. "All those months they had been digging a tunnel. The hill is composed of a very soft kind of rock; and they had brought spades and picks from Maziriland. Day and night they worked, until at last the tunnel became a mile in length, extending from the inside of the fort into the very heart of the forest."

"Where is the entrance?" asked Harry.

"It is here."

The man led the way to the hut. The floor was covered with rushes, and these he gathered together in his arms and piled in a great heap before the doorway. Underneath was a circular piece of wood, like that which is often found on the top of a well. Lifting this, Fernando pointed to a flight of steps that led down into impenetrable darkness.

"They went this way?" asked Harry.

"Two escaped by way of the tunnel, whilst a third, who was already dying, covered up the entrance with rushes. When their foes got in they found only four men--dead. And they believed that they had been held at bay during all those months by four men instead of six."

"Does your brother know of this place?"

"Yes; and if he is alive he will guess where we have gone. He will come to us by way of the tunnel. If he is dead----" And Fernando shrugged his shoulders.

During that day and the next they saw nothing of the Germans; but Fernando protested that it would not be safe to push on towards Maziriland, since the enemy was certainly in the district. Also they still hoped that Cortes would return.

During these days they were not idle. Jim Braid was left behind in charge of Peter Klein, who could not be trusted to hold his own in case of sudden attack, whilst Harry and Fernando departed into the forest by way of the tunnel.

The long journey through the subterranean pa.s.sage was one of the most unpleasant experiences that Harry Urquhart ever had in his life. Not only was the place pitch dark, but water had filtered through the walls and lay here and there in pools upon the floor. These pools had grown stagnant, and the air was humid, tainted with the foulest smells.

At last, they came forth into the forest. There, for two days and one night, they collected a great store of provisions. They dared not fire their rifles, but there was no necessity to shoot. The forest abounded in ground-nuts and various kinds of fruit. Also, Fernando knew where the natives set their traps, and the two devoted their time to robbing these, until finally they had sufficient supplies to last for several days--rabbits, small hog-deer, and many kinds of birds.

They were obliged to make three journeys to the fort with all the provisions they had obtained, since it was not possible to carry a heavy load through the narrow, stifling tunnel.

On the third day they set to work cutting up the meat and drying it in the sun. Sun-dried meat is uncommonly tough, but it has this advantage--it will keep for many months.

That evening they heard a shot far away in the distance. It was followed by another, and yet a third, and towards midnight the whole valley was alive with musketry.

"What is it?" asked Harry of the guide.

The man shrugged his shoulders.

"I cannot say," said he. "Either my brother is pursued by the Germans, or a fight is taking place between them and the Black Dog--in which case I may be robbed of my revenge."

They divided the night into three watches. Peter Klein, they knew, they could not trust in any responsible position requiring strong nerves and presence of mind. They set the man to the most menial tasks--chopping wood, cooking, and repairing the ancient defences.

All night the firing in the valley continued; by daybreak it was near at hand. They could see the figures of the Germans racing across the valley, advancing in extended order or else in small groups which at that distance resembled families of mice.

That afternoon a small reconnoitring-party of the enemy ascended the hill upon which stood the fort. The defenders lay in hiding behind the parapet, determined not to show themselves, not to disclose their hiding-place, unless it was certain that the Germans intended to occupy the hill-top.

They waited till the eleventh hour. The enemy was not twenty paces from the ditch when Fernando rose to his feet, and cried out in the German language, ordering them to halt on peril of their lives.

At the same time, he raised his rifle to his shoulder and sent a bullet over their heads. As one man they turned and fled, racing towards the forest, and were lost to sight.