"
"It shall be done," shouted Babemba, "but oh! for the town of Beza
where I was born! Oh! for the town of Beza!"
"Drat the town of Beza!" I holloaed after him, or rather its native
equivalent. "It is of all our lives that I'm thinking."
Three minutes later the Mazitu, divided into two bodies, were running
like hares to encircle the town, and though a few were shot as they
descended the slope, the most of them gained the shelter of the
palisade in safety, and there at intervals halted by sections, for
Babemba managed the matter very well.
Now only we white people, with the Zulu hunters under Mavovo, of whom
there were twelve in all, and the Mazitu armed with guns, numbering
about thirty, were left upon the slope.
For a little while the Arabs did not seem to realise what had
happened, but engaged themselves in peppering at the Mazitu, who, I
think, they concluded were in full flight. Presently, however, they
either heard or saw.
Oh! what a hubbub ensued. All the four hundred of them began to shout
at once.
Pages:
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563
564
565
566
567
568