Tom Willoughby's Scouts

n and children beyond the first bend, something less than a quarter of a mile away, and was s

rees of many kinds grew on the steep walls, acacias and euphorbias predominating, and on both sides of the stream there were many patches of scrub, mimosa, and thorn, rendering the passage

set all available men to clear away, with the tools brought from the plantation, all the bush that grew thickly in front of the entrance, in order to give a field of fire. The negroes, many of whom had been empl

ighted the rest with very tall stories of their prowess, he set them to fell a number of trees with

ay want s

overseers, isn't he?

, he begged to be allowed to take service with him. He had not been long in Reinecke's pay; indeed, he had been reluctant to accept employment with the German; nay more, he had actua

not to stand on mere prejudice; and after learning from Mwesa that the Wahehe had nothing against this latest comer

set as closely together as might be, with their crowns pointing outwards, in the form of a rough chevaux de frise. The men were set to work on those lines. Some felled or uprooted young trees from the slopes of the nullah, others hauled them to the bottom, and

he enemy had at last appeared. Immediately afterwards he saw his men running back from the line of bushes, and th

ire at the legs of the enemy askaris when he gave the word. Haroun the Arab begged to be entrusted with a rifle: but Tom, remembering another

esitation to storm it was reasonable, especially if they were in no great strength; and Tom, though he could see nothing of them through the screen of bushes, had come to the conclusion that the vast number

e indeed a small one. At any rate such an operation could be defeated by unremitting vigilance, and meanwhile there was all the rest of the day, supposing his conjecture were well founded, in which to push on with his defensive works. Posting, then, some of the riflemen under cover of the vegetation on either s

the sense of responsibility for the welfare of the people who had so readily put their trust in him; above all, perhaps, the want of sleep; had almost, in his own words again, knocked him out. Yet he dared not even sleep while the enemy was at hand. Without him

und beyond the bushes, there was no sign of the enemy. A little suspicious, he sent Mushota out to creep round the position, and, if the enemy had indeed decamped, to follow them up and see what they were about. In an hour the lad returned, elation beaming from his broad smiling face. He reported that the askaris were marching swiftly back towards the plantation; in fact, they were running away! Tom did n

ne, after all

ise, he found that nothing whatever had been done by way of organisation. The negro at best has little initiative, and these emancipated slaves, in unfamiliar surroundings, had taken no thought except to feed themselves, which they had done uncommonly well. Tom was not prepared

the Germans. You are no longer Herr Reinecke's servant, but my prisoner--unless you like to take service with me. I tell you frankly I can't pay you, at present; but the Germans are g

stories told him by the Arabs and by Mirami: the moral victory over the German sergeant and the humbling of Reinecke were events that specially struck a negro's imagination. If all Eng

as counting the rifles and cases

k of the provisions, and tell me how long they ought to last if we are carefu

ted presently that the food would last six or eight weeks if the women were kept in order. Tom delighted him by arr

ow it works,

ere to go they looked by no means pleased. They gazed blankly at him and at one another, then withdrew in a knot and talked among themselve

d at them

u will not have an easy time if you st

d if they we

t have rifles, at any rate, until y

ey have

any, and he made a shrewd guess that the African askari did

at is? Then you had better stay a few days and look on while I

y miles away. From a remark let fall by Reinecke during that unforgettable dinner in the bungalow he surmised that the British in Northern Rhodesia were likely to be on the defensive at the opening of the campaign. The Germans, he knew, had a much larger military force on the frontier

y should advance into German territory. Meanwhile, though for some reason unknown the small force that had followed him up had drawn off, he was virtually besieged. His first ta

remembered his brother. "Wouldn't Bob grin! By George, though, if we're at war Bob will