The Kopje Garrison Part 30

"Yes, sir."

"Then bring it here. Thrust it in under the stone at this natural crevice."

"Why?" said Captain Roby sharply.-"Here, sergeant, try higher up."

But before the words were fully uttered the sergeant had driven the chisel-edge of the iron bar into the horizontal crevice about on a level with his knees, with the result that the men cheered so loudly that they drowned the angry curse which escaped the Boer's lips. For, to the surprise of all, no sooner had the sergeant pressed down the wedged-in bar than it acted as a lever would, lifting one corner of the stone so that it slipped away, the great block turning easily upon a central pivot, and leaving an opening some four feet high and just wide enough for a man to pa.s.s through.

"The light, sergeant.-Bayonets, my lads!" shouted Lennox, springing forward; but his cry was mingled with one from the prisoner, who yelled out:

"Fire, Dirck; fire! Never mind yourself; blow them all into the air."

It was an order which was full of suggestion, coming as it did so soon after the cowardly attempt to kill the colonel and his chief officers; but not a man shrank from the task before him, nor hesitated to take the risk, whatever it might be. Lennox was in first, closely followed by the sergeant, lantern in his left hand, iron bar in his right, ready to strike down the first man who resisted, while the light was directed here and there in eager search for bag or barrel that might contain the elements of destruction.

The lantern lit up one of the typical caverns of the country, so many of which have been utilised for strongholds by the Matabele, Mashona, and other chiefs, and Lennox found himself in a rift of the stone which ran right up overhead, a vast crack which the light of the lantern was too feeble to pierce, while away to the right ran a low-roofed pa.s.sage, striking off almost at right angles, but only to zigzag farther on and die away in the darkness.

"Bayonets, lads!" cried Lennox again; "the other man must be down here."

"Look out!" cried Captain Roby, who was close behind. "Mind that open lantern there. Hi, sergeant! is there any sign of powder or dynamite?"

"No, sir," cried the non-com sharply, as he held the lantern as high as he could and made its light play in every direction. "All a bam to scare us, sir. No, no!" he yelled. "Keep back, every one. Up here, sir, in this hole. There's a bag that looks like those we found. Take the lantern, Mr Lennox, sir."

"No," cried the young officer; "keep it, and light me. The other fellow can't get away; we'll have him afterwards. Here we are," he continued, reaching up to a niche and drawing out a powder-bag. "Will you have it pa.s.sed out, Mr Roby?"

"Yes: take hold, one of you.-Captain Edwards."

"Here you are."

"See that the powder-bag is put well out of the prisoner's reach. He is fast bound, but he might try to play us some trick."

"Yes, all right," said the captain; and then to the two men left on guard by the prisoner, "Keep a sharp eye on this man; don't let him stir."

"No, sir," was the reply; and then the order was given for the powder to be guarded.

As the captain returned it was to meet a man bearing out another bag, and he entered the cavern in time to see Lennox draw out another, and again another, till eight had been dragged out of the place into which they had been packed and carried out into the open air.

"Why, Lennox, man," he said laughingly, "you handle those bags as if they were tea. Aren't you afraid that some of them will explode?"

"Not he," said d.i.c.kenson, who was looking on and holding up the second lantern. "No danger. I'm here. I've been watching so that he shouldn't light a cigarette."

There was a t.i.tter from the men near, and Captain Roby cried impatiently, "Why, there's enough to have blown the top off the kopje and destroyed the big gun."

"Thoroughly, I should say, wedged-in there as it was," said d.i.c.kenson. "How much more is there, Lennox?"

"That's all," was the reply. "No, no. There's a great rift here to the right, full too."

"Hand it out, then, quickly," said Captain Roby. "Be careful there with your rifles; if a man lets his off by accident we shall all be blown to atoms."

"They'll take care," said Captain Edwards; "eh, my lads?"

"Rather, sir!" said the sergeant grimly; and all worked hard and carefully avoided the lanterns, till Lennox announced that the second rift had given out its last bag.

"Yes, that's all," he said; "but I want to know how they got it up here."

"They managed to get it up in the dark," said Captain Roby. "There, you may open a lantern now. Is there any sign of a train, Lennox?"

"Not the ghost of one. But I expect our friend meant to blow up the gun and do as much damage as he could besides. We were none too soon. Now what about the other? he must be in here somewhere. Shall I lead on, sir?"

"Yes," said Captain Roby sharply. "Take the sergeant with one lantern and ten men. I'll follow with the other lantern and ten more. You, Captain Edwards, keep a guard over the powder and the prisoner. Of course your men will be ready to receive any one trying to escape after avoiding our search."

"Right," was the answer; and sword in one hand, revolver in the other, Lennox and d.i.c.kenson began their advance into the maze-like cavern, closely followed by the sergeant holding the lantern well on high so that its rays kept on flas.h.i.+ng from the men's bayonets.

"Keep your eyes well skinned, Drew, old chap," whispered d.i.c.kenson, "and never mind your revolver. You're sure to miss in a place like this.-You behind, lads. The bayonet, mind, whenever our friend here makes a rush; he must be stopped."

There was a low murmur of a.s.sent from the men, and then, with eyes and bayonets gleaming strangely in the dancing light, the party moved steadily on into the weird darkness of the cave.

Chapter Fifteen.

The Plot that Failed.

The searchers' way was now a narrow crack such as might have been formed by some mighty convulsion of nature which tore apart a gigantic ma.s.s of stone, the fracture running here and there where veins of some softer material had yielded, to be separated sometimes only two or three feet, and at others opening out to form rugged chambers as much as twenty feet in extent, whose roofs ran up so high, that the dim light from the lanterns failed to reach them. Here and there were niches and crevices which were carefully searched in the expectation of their proving to be hiding-places; but the men, who forced their way in without hesitation, failed to obtain any result.

Upon reaching one which seemed to be the deepest, d.i.c.kenson, who was first to notice it, paused to shout, "Now, Dirck, old chap, come out and surrender before we fire."

"No, no," cried Lennox; "how do we know but what there may be quite a store of powder farther in?"

"But it looks such an awkward place," said d.i.c.kenson. "A fellow with a bayonet might keep a regiment at bay."

"Yes," said Lennox coolly; "it looks awkward, but come on."

As he spoke he pushed by, sword in hand, and began to explore the suspicious-looking rift.

"Oh, come; play fair," cried d.i.c.kenson. "I was first."

"Come along," said Lennox, with his voice sounding smothered.

"Oh, very well," grumbled d.i.c.kenson. "Bring the lantern, sergeant. We may as well see ourselves skewered."

He plunged in hastily, closely followed by the lantern-bearer, and as it seemed to be an extremely likely hiding-place, the rest of the party were halted ready to give a.s.sistance. But at the end of a minute the lantern had shown that it was a blind lead, and the explorers hurried back, and the advance was continued through narrow crack and rough opening, till the lights threw up the blank stone where the rift suddenly contracted.

"Why, here's the end of the cave!" cried Captain Roby. "We must have pa.s.sed him somewhere."

"Then he is hiding somewhere high up on a shelf by the roof."

"No, no; look here," cried Lennox, stepping in advance. "Lantern-quick!"

Sergeant James stepped forward to where the young lieutenant was standing by a rough opening in the floor of the cavern, and upon the light being directed downward, to the surprise of all, the rugged branch of a small tree could be seen lowered down into a sloping position, with its boughs cut short off to form rough steps, their regularity suggesting that they were near akin in their growth to those of a fir, and affording good foot and hand hold to any one wis.h.i.+ng to descend.