'Ay, that I will. Go on; you are being left behind.'
He cast one glance at us, and accompanied by his staff galloped
off to join the advance, which by this time was fording the little
brook that now ran red with the blood of the fallen.
As for Umslopogaas and myself, we left that dreadful field as
arrows leave a bow, and in a few minutes had passed right out
of the sight of slaughter, the smell of blood, and the turmoil
and shouting, which only came to our ears as a faint, far-off
roaring like the sound of distant breakers.
CHAPTER XXI
AWAY! AWAY!
At the top of the rise we halted for a second to breathe our
horses; and, turning, glanced at the battle beneath us, which,
illumined as it was by the fierce rays of the sinking sun staining
the whole scene red, looked from where we were more like some
wild titanic picture than an actual hand-to-hand combat. The
distinguishing scenic effect from that distance was the countless
distinct flashes of light reflected from the swords and spears,
otherwise the panorama was not so grand as might have been expected.
The great green lap of sward in which the struggle was being
fought out, the bold round outline of the hills behind, and the
wide sweep of the plain beyond, seemed to dwarf it; and what
was tremendous enough when one was in it, grew insignificant
when viewed from the distance.
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