Tired out by their long march on insufficient food, the men were in no condition to withstand a determined attack; and Royce felt that all was lost if Goruba pushed on at once at the head of his men.
But apparently Goruba had no such intention. He led his men, indeed, almost to the base of the hillock; but then, discovering that the retiring party had entered the fort, he swung round to the left, rode along the bank of the stream, and disappeared among the trees a quarter of a mile away.
"That gives us a breathing space," said Royce. "It won't last long. If Goruba was savage at finding me alone here, he will be still more enraged now. Besides, he can't afford to own himself beaten. If the natives in the district were to learn that the dreaded Tubus are not invincible, his prestige would be gone. You may be sure that he is determined to destroy us."
"This place is half in ruins," said Challis, who had thrown himself down, and looked pale and worn. "If he came on in earnest, we should be wiped out. He must have three or four hundred men with him."
"It's clear that he has learnt respect for our rifles. And he needn't hurry. All he has to do is to invest us, and in a short time he can starve us out. Our food won't last more than about ten or twelve days, however economical we are. I see John is getting a meal ready. When the men have had a feed and a rest, we had better set some of them to strengthen our defences."
"It's very lucky that we have got our camp equipment."
"Yes; I only wish we had a few more spades. We must build up an earthwork where the walls are broken down, and with only three spades it will take a long time."
"And the Tubus can snipe the men as they work."
"I don't think they will do much damage. Their weapons appear to be poor, and they are certainly not good shots.... I'm sorry I led you into this mess, Tom."
"Tosh! I'm glad. I've had a very easy, comfortable life up to the present, and I'm inclined to think too much comfort is bad for one. Hardship and danger test a man, and it's up to us to show that we've something of the old British spirit left."
Here John came up with some tinned meat on an enamelled plate and a few biscuits.
"Boys want water, sah," he said. "Very dry."
"Perhaps there is a well in the place," Challis suggested.
"I'll go and see," said Royce. "Stay where you are—you need rest more than I do."
In a courtyard in the centre of the fort he discovered a well, but it was filled up with rubbish.
"There's nothing for it but to go down to the stream," he said, returning to Challis.
"A risky job, in full view of the Tubus," his friend answered.
"We must chance that. Without water we can't hold out a day. If only two or three creep down on the north side they may escape notice. All the Tubus appear to be on the south."
"We two had better do it, with John."
"Not a bit of it! John shall go, and Gambaru; but only one of us. It won't do for both to risk being potted."
"Well, I'll go," said Challis. "You are the boss; besides, you're a better shot than I."
"But, hang it, man! you've already been wounded, and I'm without a scratch. Your job is to get perfectly fit again in the shortest possible time. John, go and collect all the things that will hold water. There's our collapsible pail; you can take a meat tin or two. Hunt about the place on the chance of finding something else."
"Look here, Hugh," said Challis, rising, "I insist on taking a hand."
"Rot, I tell you! If I'm boss, you'll have to obey orders."
"I won't!"
"Mutiny, by Jove! This won't do, Tom. To settle matters without squabbling, we'll toss for it. Heads, I go; tails, you."
He spun a coin.
"Tails!" cried Challis.
"Done you! It's heads," said Royce lifting his hand.
"I might have known it—you always win the toss," Challis grumbled.
"Yes, I was born lucky," said Royce equably. "But you shan't be unemployed. Keep an eye lifting; if you see any attempt to interfere with us, you know what you must do."
John meanwhile had collected all the vessels of any size that would hold water. In addition to the collapsible pail, he had two empty meat tins which he had connected by a cord. In one of the rooms of the fort he had found a few earthenware pots, some broken and useless, one perfect, two or three with the handles chipped off.
"A rather miscellaneous lot," said Royce, viewing the collection. "But they'll do. Just sling a cord round the necks of those that have lost their handles, John. We'll take two apiece. They'll hold enough for the present."
Their preparations were soon completed. Royce carried the pail and the two meat tins; each of the Hausas had two earthen vessels hanging by a cord over his shoulders.
Royce led the way through the building to the dilapidated wall on the north side.
"Take a good look round," he said to John. "Do you see any of the Tubus?"
John scanned the prospect from left to right. Far to the left was a patch of woodland; then a stretch of open country dotted with bushes, extending to another clump of trees almost in their front. To the right of this the ground was again open, up to the forest from which they had recently emerged.
"No Tubus, sah," said John. "Dey all plenty afraid."
"I hope they are. Now then, down to the stream with me. It will only take ten minutes there and back."
They climbed over the broken wall, and ran down the hill, making use of the sparse bushes for cover. Meanwhile Challis, unknown to Royce, had brought all the rest of the Hausas except one to the north side, and posted them there with their rifles. The last man he had left at the south side to keep a watch on the clump of trees behind which the Tubus had withdrawn.
Royce had gone three parts of the way down the hill when there was a shout in the distance, followed by a shot. He glanced ahead quickly, but none of the enemy was to be seen. A little patch of smoke hung over the trees about a quarter of a mile beyond the stream.
"They mean to surround us, then," he thought.
He quickened his pace, dodging from bush to bush, and calling to the Hausas to hurry, taking all possible cover. Since the enemy had not yet come out into the open, there might be time to fill the vessels and return before there was any serious danger.
The three men dashed down to the stream, dipped their vessels, and in less than half a minute turned back to ascend the hill. Another shot rang out, and from the wall above a volley flashed.
"Good man!" thought Royce.
Then he became aware that one of the meat tins was leaking badly. By the time he reached the fort all the water it contained would have run away.
"Botheration!" he said to himself, quite forgetting his danger in the annoyance caused by this discovery.
But a moment later he knew that the danger was even greater than he had supposed. From his left came a din of lusty shouting. He heard a single rifle-shot, farther away than the volley which had just been fired. The meaning of it flashed upon him. The main body of the Tubus, warned by the shout and the shots, had left the position to which they had retired, and were dashing across the open to attack the fort on the south side.
Behind him, too, the enemy was coming on. Looking over his shoulder, he saw that a small band of horsemen has issued from the wood and were galloping towards him.
"Quick, boys!" he cried.
But the weight of the vessels and the awkwardness of carrying them caused them to make slow progress up the hill. Shots began to fly around them. There were answering volleys from the wall of the fort, but Royce knew by the sound that some of the men who had fired before had been recalled to defend the south side.
With the Hausas he staggered on, panting for breath. It seemed a miracle that he had not yet been hit. If the Tubus had dismounted and taken aim, not one of the three would have been left alive. But, true to their fighting method, they fired recklessly as they rode, no doubt hoping to ride the fugitives down.
At his right hand Royce heard a crash. A bullet had struck one of the earthen vessels carried by John. It was shattered. The loss of weight released the pot at the other end of the cord, and this, too, fell to the ground and was shivered to fragments.
Next moment Gambaru, who was a few paces ahead of Royce, staggered and fell. A yell of triumph rang out behind, and the Tubus rode through the stream and dashed up the hill in pursuit undaunted by the shots of the diminished band at the wall.
Gambaru did not rise. John, after his vessels had been broken, had run on, and was now almost at the wall. Royce did not hesitate. Water was precious, but more precious was the life of a man. Setting down the pail and the tins, he ran to Gambaru, stooped over him, and, discovering that he was wounded in one of his legs, helped him to rise, and assisted him to limp up the hill.
During these few moments the enemy, though the pace of their horses was checked by the incline, had rapidly diminished the gap between them and their expected victims. They had ceased to fire. It was only a question of seconds and the white man would be a prisoner in their hands.
But Royce was warned by their exultant shouts Glancing for a moment behind, he saw a dozen ferocious negroes within twenty yards of him.
"Crawl up!" he said to Gambaru.
Then, drawing his revolver, he turned to face the enemy.