"I've heard you make that sort of remark before,Quatermain.""Well,I mean it now.Do you know,I very much doubt if one of us will be alive to-morrow night.We shall be attacked in overwhelming force,and it is exceedingly doubtful if we can hold this place.""We'll give a good account of some of them,at any rate.Look here,Quatermain,the business is a nasty one,and one with which,properly speaking,we ought not to be mixed up;but we are in for it,so we must make the best of it.Speaking personally,I had rather be killed fighting than any other way,and now that there seems little chance of finding my poor brother,it makes the idea easier to me.But fortune favors the brave,and we may succeed.Anyway,the slaughter will be awful,and as we.have a reputation to keep up,we shall have to be in the thick of it."Sir Henry made this last remark in a mournful voice,but there was a gleam in his eye which belied it.I have a sort of idea that Sir Henry Curtis actually likes fighting.
After this we went and slept for a couple of hours.
Just about dawn we were awakened by Infadoos,who came to say that great activity was to be observed in too,and that parties of the king's skirmishers were driving in our vedettes.
We got up and dressed ourselves for the fray,each putting on his chain armor shirt,for which at the present juncture we felt exceedingly thankful.Sir Henry went the whole length about the matter,and dressed himself like a native warrior."When you are in Kukuanaland,do as the Kukuanas do,"he remarked,as he drew the shining steel over his broad shoulders,which it fitted like a glove.Nor did he stop there.At his request,Infadoos had provided him with a complete set of war uniform.
Round his throat he fastened the leopard-skin cloak of a commanding officer,on his brows he bound the plume of black ostrich feathers worn only by generals of high rank,and round his centre a magnificent moocha of white oxtail.A pair of sandals,a leglet of goat's hair,a heavy battle-axe with a rhinoceros-horn handle,a round iron shield covered with white ox-hide,and the regulation number of tollas,or throwing-knives,made up his equipment,to which,however,he added his revolver.The dress was,no doubt,a savage one;but I am bound to say I never saw a finer sight than Sir Henry Curtis presented in this guise.It showed off his magnificent physique to the greatest advantage,and when Ignosi arrived,presently,arrayed in similar costume,I thought to myself that I never before saw two such splendid men.As for Good and myself,the chain armor did not suit us nearly so well.To begin with,Good insisted upon keeping on his trousers,and a stout,short gentleman with an eye-glass,and one half of his face shaved,arrayed in a mail shirt carefully tucked into a very seedy pair of corduroys,looks more striking than imposing.As for myself,my chain shirt being too big for me,I put it on over all my clothes,which caused it to bulge out in a somewhat ungainly fashion.I discarded my trousers,however,determined to go into battle with bare legs,in order to be the lighter in case it.
became necessary to retire quickly,retaining only my veldtschoons.This,a spear,a shield,which I did not know how to use,a couple of tollas,a revolver,and a huge plume,which I pinned into the top of my shooting-hat in order to give a bloodthirsty finish to my appearance,completed my modest equipment.In addition to all these articles,of course we had our rifles,but as ammunition was scarce,and they would be useless in case of a charge,we had arranged to have them carried behind us by bearers.
As soon as we had equipped ourselves we hastily swallowed some food,and then started out to see how things were progressing.At one point in the tableland of the mountain there was a little koppie of brown stone,which served for the double purpose of headquarters and a conning tower.
Here we found Infadoos surrounded,by his own regiment,the Grays,which was undoubtedly the finest in the Kukuana army,and the same which we had first seen at the outlying kraal.This regiment,now three thousand five hundred strong,was being held in reserve,and the men were lying down on the grass in companies,and watching the king's forces creep out of Lo o in long,ant-like columns.There seemed to be no end to those columns -three in all,and each numbering at least eleven or twelve thousand men.
As soon as they were clear of the town,they formed up.Then one body marched off to the right,one to the left,and the third came slowly on towards us.
"Ah,"said Infadoos,"they are going to attack us on three sides at once."This was rather serious news,for as our position on the top of the mountain,which was at least a mile and a half in circumference,was an extended one,it was important to us to concentrate our comparatively small defending force as much as possible.But,as it was impossible for us to dictate in what way we should be attacked,we had to make the best of it,and accordingly sent orders to the various regiments to prepare to receive the separate onslaughts.
