Chapter 37. To Clear The Kopje

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_ CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN. TO CLEAR THE KOPJE

As a rule, the garrison at Groenfontein after the posting of the watch settled itself down for a quiet night's rest, for experience had taught that there was very little to fear in the shape of a night attack. This was foreign at first to the Boers' idea of warfare. They knew well enough that they were strongest in defence, and acted accordingly. Every place they held was turned into a hive of cells, in which they lurked, stings ready. It was generally some kopje covered with loose stones, cracks, and crevices, while the open portions were soon made formidable with loopholed walls of loosely built-up stones. If their resting-place was in the more open country, it was a laager whose walls were the wagons, banked up and strengthened with stakes, thorn bushes, and a terrible entanglement of barbed galvanised iron wire.

Attacks had been made on the fortified village and the kopje at early morning, but never pushed home; and all through the occupation the tactics of the general in command had been the harassing of the British regiment with shell fire and clever marksmanship from cover, so constant and so dangerous that the wonder to the English officers was that the enemy had not long before fired their last cartridge away.

But upon this particular night something more was fully expected. The English scouting parties had brought in the information respecting the reinforcements to the Boer corps, so that when a Zulu, who had been a very faithful hanger-on to the British force, came in full of eagerness that afternoon to announce that the Boers meant to attack in force, the colonel, though always ready to doubt the information received and the possibility of the black spies' surmises being correct, felt that he was warranted in making every preparation; and this was set about in a calm, matter-of-fact way.

Judging that the attack would be in the form of a surprise directed at the kopje, possession of which would render the village perfectly untenable, the two field-guns posted in the most commanding position in the village were hauled up to appointed places on the kopje to strengthen the big captured gun, and the major portion of the troops were marched up to the well-fortified lines there, the colonel intending to hold the rocky elevation himself, leaving the defence of the village to the major, who was to keep the enemy who attacked in play there as long as seemed necessary, and then retire along the well-fortified path which connected village and kopje, where the principal stand was to be made.

The great natural advantages of the rocky mount had not been neglected. From the first the colonel had looked upon it as a little inland Gibraltar in which he could bid defiance to ten times the number of the enemy that had been attacking him, so long as food and ammunition lasted; and to this end he had, directly after the discovery of the entrance to the cavern, supplemented the stores found there by removing all they had from the village, and making additions from time to time whenever suitable captures were made; while, greatest prize of all, there was the inexhaustible supply of pure cold water, easily enough obtainable as soon as proper arrangements were made.

Hence it was that the little English force was always ready, the plans for the defence arranged, and nothing remained to be done but for the various defenders to march quietly to their appointed places.

Consequently, after the watch-setting, the orders were given, and party after party moved silently through the soft darkness, till by the brilliant starlight each battery was manned and the trenches which commanded the probable approaches to the kopje lined, while the same precautions were taken in the village, where wall and hut had been carefully loopholed; and then all was ready. The men lay down in their greatcoats and blankets to snatch such sleep as they could get, as it was anticipated that several hours would probably elapse before the attack--if any--was made.

"I was in hopes," said Dickenson when all was ready, "that we should be up yonder, ready to cover the gunners. It would be a treat to play Boer and show them what firing from behind stones is like. Something new for them."

"But we shall not stay here very long if they do come," replied Lennox.

"No; we understand all that. Been drilled into us pretty well. But it strikes me that, according to the good old fashion of nothing occurring so likely as the unexpected, if they do come it will not be to where we are waiting, but from somewhere else."

"Where else can they come from?" said Lennox sharply.

"Oh, don't ask me," said Dickenson, laughing. "I'm not a Boer: how can I tell? They'll have hatched out some dodge. Got a balloon all the way from Komati Poort, perhaps, and about three o'clock they'll have it right over the top of the kopje, and if we had been up there I dare say we should have found them sliding down ropes like spiders."

"Highly probable," said Lennox dryly.

"Ah, you may jest; but you see if they don't come crawling right close up like so many slugs on a wet night. The first thing we shall know will be that they are there."

"Ah, now you are talking sense."

"But I don't guarantee that it's going to be like that," said Dickenson quickly, "so don't be disappointed."

"I shall not be. I'm ready for anything."

"Good, lad. That's the way to deal with the Boers. I've learnt that: for they certainly are the trickiest fellows going. I say--"

"Hadn't you better leave off talking now?"

"Only whispering. I was going to say that the major's here with us, and has put Edwards in command of both companies."

"But Roby's with him?"

"Yes; but Edwards is boss. I shouldn't have felt comfortable with our convalescent at the head of affairs."

"You need not have minded. Roby's as brave as he is high."

"May be; but he has that bee in his bonnet still. I half believe that old Emden's wrong after all."

"In what way?"

"He said the bullet just ploughed through Roby's scalp and pressed down a bit of bone. I believe he has the bullet in his head."

"Absurd!" said Lennox.

"Oh no. Likely enough. They came buzzing along, too, like swarming bees. That would account for what he said about you."

"Be quiet," said Lennox sharply. "If the enemy comes to-night I want to tight, and not to think about that."

"All right. I hope they will come; it will be a waste of sleep if they don't. Bah!" he added after a long-drawn yawn. "They won't come--they know better. These nigger spies see a few men on ponies, and away they run to say they've seen a big commando, and hold out their hands for the pay. Take my word for it, there'll be no fighting to-night."

It seemed as if Dickenson was right in his surmise, for the time glided on, with the stars rising to the zenith and beginning to decline. The heavens had never seemed more beautiful, being one grand dome of sparkling incrustations. The atmosphere was so clear that it seemed to those who lay back watching as if the dazzling points of light formed by the stars of the first magnitude stood out alone in the midst of the transparent darkness, while the shape of the kopje was plainly marked out against the vivid sky.

"Too light for them," said Dickenson after a long pause.

"They will not come till morning.--Who's this?"

"Roby."

He it was, the tall figure in a greatcoat coming close up to stop and speak to Sergeant James about being watchful, and then passing on without a word to his juniors. Roby came in the same quiet, furtive manner three times over during the night, twice being in company with Captain Edwards, who stopped to have a few words with Lennox and Dickenson as to the probability of an attack; but Roby stood aloof.

"And a good job too," said Dickenson after the last occasion. "I don't want to be malicious, though it seems so, about a man who has just got over a bad hurt; but I do hope the Boers will come, and that he will be wounded again--"

"Shame!" said Lennox angrily.

"Perhaps so; but you might have let me finish--wounded again; not a bullet wound, but a good cut that will bleed well and take the bad blood out of him. We should hear no more of his fancies."

"Drop that," said Lennox sternly; and then, to change the conversation, "Surely it must be getting near daybreak."

"Oh no; not yet. Let's have another walk round, and a word with the men."

This, one of many, was carried out, the young officers finding that there were no sleepers, the men not on the watch having, from the expectation that if there were an attack it would be about daybreak, instinctively roused up, every one being fully on the alert.

Lennox winced more than ever now as he stood in the trench they expected to be the likeliest, from its position, for the attack, for its capture would give the enemy a good point for further advances; and Captain Edwards had pointed it out to the major as being likely to be rushed, with the consequence that this part was the most strongly held, and the supporting party placed near.

And now, as Dickenson began whispering to his men, Lennox felt more bitterly than ever how thoroughly Roby's charge had gone home. For whenever he spoke to one of the watch the answer was abrupt and cold, while with his companion the men were eager and ready to be questioned.

Everything possible had been done to guard against surprise, and the communication with the chain of outposts was constant; but the surprise came from where it was least expected, and just when the friends were standing together in the redoubt, with Dickenson grudgingly owning that the stars were perhaps not so bright.

"The night has passed more quickly than I expected it would," whispered Lennox. "Can't you feel what a chill there is in the air?"

"Ugh--yes!" said Dickenson, with a shiver. "It's quite frosty out here."

"And a hot cup of coffee would be a blessing," said Captain Edwards, who, with Roby, had returned again.

"Yes," said Dickenson; "a good fire would warm us up."

"There it is, then," said Captain Edwards excitedly, for without a warning from the outposts, between which the Boers had crawled in the darkness unheard, a tremendous burst of firing was opened upon the kopje, the enemy having made their way up by inches till they were well within reach of the defending lines--so close, in fact, that for the time being the big guns were useless, their fire at such close quarters being as likely to injure friend as foe.

"Stand fast, my lads!" cried Captain Edwards. "We shall have them here directly.--Now, gentlemen, you know what to do. Ah! I thought so;" for a scattering fire was opened by the outposts, who, according to their instructions, began to fall back to take their places in the line ready to resist the attack upon the village.

Lennox felt stunned by the suddenness of the attack, and ready to confess that their trained troops were in nowise equal to the enemy in the matter of cunning; for, as if by magic, the wild fire ran completely round the kopje, which, contrary to expectation, had become the main object of attack, and in a short time the flashing of the rifles and the continuous rattle told plainly enough that by their clever ruse the Boers had completely surrounded the kopje, cutting the British force in two.

Certainly a portion of them had been led between two fires--between that of the village and that from the eminence; but the British fire was hindered by the danger of injuring their friends, and in a very short time the major grasped the fact that it was waste of energy to try and defend the village, which was only lightly attacked, and quite time for him to retire and lead his men to the support of the colonel.

His orders had hardly been given to the various centres to fall back from the trenches and houses held, when the agreed-upon signal flew up from the top of the kopje in a long line of light, followed by the bursting of a rocket, whose stars lit up the cloud of smoke rising round the mount.

Everything had been so well planned beforehand that there was not the slightest confusion: the men fell back steadily to the village square, leaving the Boers still firing out of the darkness into the defensive lines; and then, as steadily as if in a review, the advance was made to cut through the investing crowd, which, facing the other way, was keeping up a tremendous fire.

The signal for the advance was given with another rocket fired from the square as a warning to the colonel to cease firing on their side; and then the men steadily commenced their arduous task, the leading company going on in rushes, seizing the shelters, pouring in volleys, and driving the Boers before them and to right and left, in spite of their determined resistance to hold that which they had surprised by rising, as it were, as Sergeant James afterwards said, right out of the earth.

The holders of the village under the major numbered pretty well half of the total force remaining to the colonel, and, led by the major himself, two companies went at the strong force of the enemy drawn across their way, like a wedge, in spite of the concentrated fire delivered by the desperate men, who had to give way. The second body was under Captain Edwards, and Roby and Lennox and Dickenson had the dangerous post of bringing on the single company that formed the rear-guard.

The start was made without a man down. Three or four had slight wounds, but in the rear-guard not a man had been hit, while for some distance after quitting the redoubt they were still exempt. But the leading company was beginning to suffer badly: men kept on falling or staggering out to seek shelter in trench, rifle-pit, or behind boulder, and for a while the battle raged fiercely and but little progress was made, a crowd of the enemy pressing up from either side to take the places of those who fell or were beaten back, till the order was given in a lull to fix bayonets.

Then for a few brief moments the firing near at hand almost ceased, so that the metallic rattle of the little daggers being affixed to the rifle muzzles was plainly heard, to be followed by a hearty British cheer given by every throat from van to rear, the men's voices sounding full of exultation as, with the bugle ringing out, they dashed forward.

There was no working forward by inch or by foot now; the Boers gave way at once, and the broad column dashed on, dealing death and destruction to all who, in a half-hearted way, opposed their progress. It was quick work, for there was less than a couple of hundred yards to cover to be through the Boer line and reach the shelter of the rough stone walls and huge boulders which formed on that side the first defences of the kopje.

In the wild excitement of those minutes Lennox was conscious of cheering his men on, as with bayonets at the ready they dashed on toward the main body, driving back the Boers who were trying to close in again after being beaten back by the first rushes. Men were trampled under foot in the half-darkness, friends and foes alike, for it was a horrible business; but the men, in their wild excitement, cheered and cheered again till they were brought up by the first rugged wall and received with another burst of cheers from the holders of the bristling line of rifles and bayonets who were lining it.

"Through with you--over with you!" shouted the major.--"Here, help those poor fellows in.--Where's Captain Edwards?"

"Here he is," panted Dickenson, as he half-carried, half-dragged his brother officer to an opening in the wall.

"Tut, tut, tut!" ejaculated the major. "Here, Captain Roby, take full lead there on the left. Captain Roby!--Who has seen Captain Roby?"

"I did," said Captain Edwards faintly. "Shot down at the same time as I was."

"Ah-h!" roared the major. Then excitedly: "Where about?"

"A hundred yards away, perhaps. Shot down leading the left company in the charge. I--I was trying to help him along when I went down too."

"Killed?" said the major.

"No; bullet through the thigh."

"We must fetch him in. Here; volunteers!"

Lennox leaped on to the wall in the pale grey light of the fast-coming day, and as he stood there, stooping ready to leap down, fully a score of rifles sent forth their deadly pencil-like balls from where to right and left the Boers were crouching.

Down he went, to pitch head first, and a sound like a fierce snarling ran along the sheltered side of the stone wall; but as the men saw him spring to his feet again and begin to run they were silent for a few moments, as if in doubt as to what their young lieutenant meant; for Dickenson sprang on to the wall, trying hard to balance himself on the loose top where bullets kept on spattering, as he roared out, with his voice plainly heard above the rattle of the Boers' rifles, "Look at the coward! Running away again! Volunteers, come on!"

There was a curious hysterical ring in his loud laugh as, with the bullets whirring and whistling about him and a cross fire concentrated upon where he stood, he too leaped down, to begin running, while a burly-looking sergeant literally rolled over the wall, followed by two more men from the rear company, all plainly seen now dashing towards where Lennox was running here and there among the dead and wounded which dotted the sloping ground, before stopping suddenly to go down on one knee and begin lifting a wounded man upon his shoulder.

"Well," cried the major, "he's the queerest coward I ever saw. I wish the colonel was here."

His words brought forth a tremendous cheer from all who heard them, but the major turned upon the men angrily.

"Shoot, you rascals, shoot!" he cried; "right and left. Keep down the savages' fire if you can."

For, unmoved by the gallant actions going on in front, brave men setting death at defiance--as scores of others had done all through the war--in the noble endeavour to save a wounded man's life, dozens of the Boers began firing at the rescue party, heedless of the fact that their bullets crossed the narrow way traversed by the little force in their dash from the village to the kopje, and now horribly dotted by the wounded and dying of both sides who had fallen in the desperate encounter.

Yells and shouts arose from both sides as the bullets took effect among friends; but in their mad hate against those whom they called the British rooineks, the Boers fired on. Fortunately, for the most part the wielders of the Mauser were not calmly lying down behind stones, with rests for their rifles, but were crowded together, nervous, agitated, and breathless with running, so that their bullets were badly aimed during the first minute or two. Directly after, they were startled by the hail poured upon them from the whole line of men behind the great wall--a hail of lead beneath which many fell never to rise again, while the greater part devoted themselves to seeking cover, crawling anywhere to get under the shelter of some stone.

The roar, then, that greeted the little party struggling back was not from British throats but from British rifles, which for the time being thoroughly kept down the enemy's fire, till Lennox and Dickenson bore the insensible form of Roby right up to the wall, followed by Sergeant James and his two companions, each carrying a wounded comrade on his back.

And now, without ceasing their firing, the line cheered till all were hoarse, while four men sprang over to Roby's help, the others being tumbled over, to be seized by willing hands.

It was quite time, for both Lennox and Dickenson were spent--the former sinking upon his knees to hold on by one of the stones; Dickenson bending forward to try and wave one hand, but dropping suddenly across Roby's knees.

"Wounded?" cried the major excitedly, as he bent over Lennox directly he was lifted in, the last of the four.

Lennox opened his fast-closing eyes and stretched out his right hand to feel for Dickenson's, in vain. Then, with a sigh, he looked up at the major and touched his left arm, his breast, and his neck. "Yes," he said faintly, "the coward has it now."

"Bearers here," cried the major, and he turned to direct his men, for he was needed.

The Boers were coming on again in short rushes, regardless of the terrific fire poured upon them in the faint light of day, and a perfect hail of bullets was flying to and fro. And not only facing the village, but all round the kopje, where the enemy had in several places secured a footing and were utilising the stone defences prepared by the colonel's men, but of course from the reverse side. It had this good effect, though; it condensed the British force, giving them less ground to defend; and for the next two hours wherever a Boer dared to show enough of himself to form a spot at which to aim, a bullet came.

The losses were terrible on both sides, for the attack was as brave as the defence; and even when the two small guns were brought into action, to send shells hurtling wherever the continually increasing enemy were seen to approach in clusters, the attack went on.

"It's of no use, major," said the colonel at last, as they stood together; "they mean to have the place."

"What!" said the latter officer fiercely. "You don't mean surrender?"

"My dear fellow, no: not while there's a cartridge left."

"Ha!" sighed the major. "You gave me quite a turn."

"I meant, if this keeps on we shall lose as many men as if we brought it to a head. Besides, they'll hold on to the parts they've got, and keep creeping nearer."

"You mean the bayonet at once?"

"Exactly," said the colonel. "Off with you; take one side and I'll take the other. We must clear the kopje before the heat comes on."

"Yes," said the major, with a grim smile; "and the lads must want their breakfast now."

The men in each trench rolled up their sleeves as they heard the order given to fix bayonets again, and, leaping over the defences, rushed forward, to be staggered a little by the enemy's fire; then, with a cheer, on they went, the sun glistening upon the line of pointed steel.

It was more than the Boers could bear; defence after defence was vacated, and, soon after, the result of charge after charge was followed by a headlong flight which soon spread into a panic. It was "_Sauve qui peut_," uttered in Boer Dutch; while the failure of the daring attack was completed fast by the emptying of the rifle magazines among flying men, and the shots from the three guns, which had their opportunity at last.

A stand was made in the village, which was obstinately held for a time by two big commandos which had come upon the ground too late to be of much service; but in spite of a pom-pom, a Maxim, and a heavy howitzer, the big gun on the top of the kopje silenced their fire before sundown, by which time their heaviest piece was destroyed, the village burning, and the two commandos in full flight.

Then came the flag of truce for permission to carry off the wounded and bury the many dead.

It was about this time that Doctor Emden looked to the colonel and said:

"Awful! Poor fellows! I don't know where to turn to first." _

Read next: Chapter 38. The Doctor's Diplomacy

Read previous: Chapter 36. "What A Brick!"

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