Samba: A Story of the Rubber Slaves of the Congo

by Herbert Strang

  CHAPTER XVIII

  Elbel's Barrels

  The negro looked by no means comfortable as he clambered up the steepside of the gully from the bed of the stream and approached the fort.There was no gate in the western face, and the man seemed somewhatuncertain what to do. But perceiving that he had a note in his hand,Jack ordered Lepoko to lean over the wall and take the paper on thepoint of a spear.

  "Now let's see what he has to say," said Jack, unfolding the paper."Listen, Barney. 'Having returned with a force sufficient tore-establish law and order in this part of the Congo State, I call uponyou instantly to surrender the camp which you have constructed withoutpermission on the territory of the State. The negroes who are with youare subjects of the State, and will be dealt with by me in accordancewith the powers that I possess. You, being a foreigner, will be takento Boma, to be tried under due form of law by the State Courts.'"

  "Which means quick murder for the niggers, sorr, and slow murder foryou. Don't answer his impidence, sorr."

  "Oh, I must answer. We can't let things go by default, and we can goone better than he, Barney. He hasn't copied his letter, you see.It's very lucky I've got a duplicate book; who knows?--these documentsmay come in handy some day."

  He wrote a brief reply, saying that he was not aware there was anythingillegal in constructing a suitable camp on ground leased from theSociete Cosmopolite; that, on the other hand, the natives who hadsought shelter with him complained of treatment which was clearlyagainst all law and justice; and that in these circumstances heproposed to remain where he was. When this note reached Elbel, he readit to the two white men with him, laughed, put it in his pocket-book,then returned with his party down the stream.

  "A pretty little farce!" said Jack. "He knew what my answer would be;all he wanted was a chance of examining our defences."

  "Sure he didn't get much for his trouble. He'd have to be a dealtaller to see much uv us, sorr."

  During the rest of the day Elbel was seen in the distance on varioussides of the camp making further observations. From a point on theslope above he could overlook part of the enclosure, and what heobserved from there through his field-glass evidently gave him food forthought, for before sunset he marched all his men down the stream,followed cautiously by Imbono's scouts. These reported by and by thatthe enemy had encamped about two miles away. The white men had tents,the natives were cutting branches to form temporary shelters. Foragershad been sent out in all directions. Jack knew that they would dolittle good. There were no people to harry, all were within his walls,and the crops around the villages had been gathered in. But thisdearth was not likely to affect the besiegers for the present; for thescouts reported that some of their canoes had now come up the riverloaded with stores.

  Jack concluded from the fact of Elbel being in command that theAdministration of the Congo State had not yet seen fit to intervene andequip an expedition under regular military officers. The SocieteCosmopolite, in fact, an extremely wealthy corporation, had determinedto root out this source of disaffection and revolt within itsterritory. The force commanded by Elbel represented practically thewhole military establishment of the Company. He had no doubt receivedtelegraphic authority from Europe to undertake the expedition, andcould rely on the ultimate support of the State Government, whichmeanwhile would prefer the work to be done by the Company's troopsrather than magnify the affair by employing its own forces.

  It soon became clear to Jack that the lesson of his previous reversehad not been lost on Elbel. For a time, at least, there was to be norepetition of the rushing tactics that had proved so disastrous. Twodays passed, and he had made no move. Scouts reported that he wasbusily engaged in building and fortifying his camp. The site chosenwas a good deal nearer to Ilombekabasi than the first night's bivouac.It lay in a hollow somewhat more than half a mile from the cataract--inthe face of an equal or inferior enemy, a very dangerous position,commanded, as it was, on almost all sides by the heights around. Butit was sheltered from rifle-fire from the fort, and had a good watersupply from a brook that fell some distance below into the stream thatflanked Jack's settlement. Elbel could afford to ignore itsstrategical weakness by reason of his greatly superior numbers. ForJack could not occupy the rim of the hollow without drawing most of hismen out of the fort, thus leaving it open to attack; and in any case,with only forty-five rifles, he could not do much to endanger a campheld by two hundred.

  Ilombekabasi and Surrounding Country, showing Elbel'sFirst Camp in Foreground]

  These reflections passed through his mind as he pondered on theinformation given by the scouts. His constant preoccupation during thepast months with problems of attack and defence had given rise to ahabit of looking at every move or incident in its military bearings.

  "I wonder whether the fellows in the army class would envy me or pityme most!" he thought.

  Elbel attempted nothing in the way of fortification for his camp excepta light stockade--with his superior numbers defensive work seemedalmost a superfluity. By comparing the reports of various scouts--who,as usual with negroes, were somewhat erratic in their ideas ofnumber--and by his own observation through his field-glass, Jackconcluded that Elbel had, in addition to his two hundred rifles, aboutfive hundred spearmen. Jack himself had, in addition to his forty-fiverifles, three hundred spearmen. The mere numbers were, of course, noreal index to the proportionate strength of the two forces. Inordinary circumstances, indeed, the spearmen might almost be neglected;the striking power was to be measured in rifles alone. But Jack hopedthat, with the drill and discipline his men had undergone, it would beproved that a determined fellow behind a spear was still by no means acombatant to be held lightly. Had not the Arabs of the Soudan shownthis? He had no little confidence that, when the time of trial came,his three hundred spearmen would prove every whit as staunch as thedervishes who broke the British square at Abu Klea and threw away theirlives by the thousand at Omdurman.

  On the second morning after Elbel's appearance Jack found that picketswere posted all round the fort. Clearly it was no longer safe to sendout scouts, at all events by daylight. The danger was littlediminished after dark, for fires were lit at various points and aregular patrol was established.

  "I don't care about sending out any of the men now," said Jack toBarney. "If one of our fellows was caught, his fate would be horrible.It's to prevent scouting, I suppose, that Elbel has posted men roundus."

  "Might it not be to prevent reinforcements from reaching us, sorr?"

  "Not likely. There are no people for scores of miles round, and thecountry indeed is mostly virgin forest. The only reinforcement likelyto reach us is my uncle's contingent, and their arrival is sure to beadvised all along the river for days or perhaps weeks in advance; andthat's one of my worries, Barney. I don't want Uncle to fall intoElbel's hands, but how can I stop it?"

  "Send a couple of men off to meet him, sorr, and tell him of thedanger."

  "I might do that, perhaps. But, as you see, they'd have to run thegauntlet of Elbel's forest guards. Elbel either wants to catch myuncle, or he has got some scheme of attack in preparation which he'sanxious we shouldn't discover. Whichever it is he means to keep usbottled up."

  Jack was sitting at the door of his hut with Barney, talking by thelight of a small fire. Samba had been hovering about for some time,waiting, as Barney thought, until the time should come for him to curlhimself up as usual at the entrance to the hut after his friend theIrishman had entered. The conversation ceased for a moment, Jackbending forward and drawing patterns on the ground with his stick.Samba came up and began to speak.

  "Begorra, massa," he said, "me can do."

  "What can you do, my boy?" asked Jack, smiling a little at theexclamation Samba had adopted from Barney.

  Samba struggled to find words in the white man's puzzling tongue. But,recognizing that his small stock of phrases was insufficient, he ranoff and fetched Lepoko.

  "Me tell massa all same," said the in
terpreter, when Samba had spokento him. "Samba boy say, sah, he lib for go out see fings for massa.He no 'fraid. He go in dark, creep, creep, no 'fraid nuffin nobody.He lib for see eberyfing massa want see, come back one time say allsame fings he see."

  "No, no, it's too dangerous. Samba is the very last of my people Ishould wish to fall into Elbel's hands."

  Samba laughed when Lepoko repeated this to him.

  "He no 'fraid Elobela," said Lepoko. "He hab got foot like leopard,eye like cat, he make Elobela plenty much 'fraid. Want go plenty much,sah; say Mboyo one fader, massa two fader; two times he want go."

  "Shall we let him go, Barney?" asked Jack doubtfully.

  "To be sure I would, sorr. He's gone through the forest and cheatedthe lions and tigers and all the other beasts and creeping things,ivery wan uv 'm a mighty power cleverer than Elbel."

  "Barring the lions and tigers, I think you're right, Barney. Well, ifhe's to go we must do all we can to help him. Could he get down thegully side, I wonder?"

  "He say dat plenty good way, sah. He lib for swim like fish, gothrough water, come back all same."

  "We'll let him down by a rope, Barney, and we'll place Mboyo at thestockade in charge of it; he'll have the greatest interest in seeingthat the boy goes in and out safely. And look here, I've heard Sambaimitating the cries of various animals; he'd better arrange with Mboyoto be ready for him when he hears a certain cry. And he must carryenough food with him to last a day in case he is prevented from gettingback. If he's out more than one day he must fend for himself; but Ifancy, after what he has already been through, at least it'd be a verybare country where he couldn't pick up enough to keep him going. He'sa splendid little fellow."

  "That's the truth's truth, sorr; and sure, whin we leave this haythencountry, he'd better come back wid us to London, sorr. Wid him wanside uv me an' Pat the other, I'd be on me way to be Lord Mayor, bedad!"

  Thus it was arranged. With a tinful of food slung about him, Samba waslet down by a rope from the stockade, and crept in the darkness downthe gully. A few minutes later, from some point on the other side,came the strident call of a forest-beetle twice repeated, and Mboyoknew that his son was safely across.

  When morning broke, Jack saw that the pickets were placed as they hadbeen on the previous day. He could easily have disposed of several ofthem, either by rifle fire or by a quick sally; but even at the presentstage he had a great reluctance to open hostilities, which must involvemuch bloodshed and suffering. He resolved to bide his time, knowingthat so far as food supply was concerned he had enough for at least acouple of months, and was in that respect probably better placed thanElbel, while the secret of the water supply with good luck would escapedetection. Now that the purpose of the tank was known, Jack's prestigeamong the natives, great as it had been before, was much enhanced, andthey had added to their stock of songs one in which the wonderfulprovidence of the Inglesa in arranging that the daily water should notfail was glowingly extolled.

  The day passed undisturbed. Jack was puzzled to account for theenemy's silence. Elbel must have a scheme in preparation, he thought.What could it be? Jack had heard a good deal of hammering going on inthe camp below, the sound coming faintly on the breeze; except for thatthere was no sign of activity; and the hammering was sufficientlyaccounted for by the work of finishing off the construction of the camp.

  Before turning in for the night he went to the spot where Mboyo wasposted, to learn whether anything had been heard of Samba. While hewas there, he caught the low rasping notes of the forest-beetle.

  "Samba n'asi!"[1] cried Mboyo, springing up.

  He lowered the rope over the stockade. In a few moments it was gentlytugged, and soon Samba slipped over the stockade and stood beside Jack.He had an interesting report to make. In the forest, he said, a largenumber of men were tapping certain trees for a resinous gum, which wasbeing run into small barrels. It was the work of making these barrelsthat had caused the continuous hammering Jack had noticed.

  "Good boy!" said Jack. "I suppose you are very tired now, Samba?"

  No, he was not tired; he was ready to go out again at once ifLokolobolo wished. But Jack said he had done enough for one day, andbade him go to sleep.

  "So that's their game!" said Jack to Barney, when all was quiet."There's only one use for resin here, and that's to fire our fort, andthey can't intend to make fireballs, or they wouldn't take the troubleto make barrels. They want barrels for carriage, and that means thatthey intend to bring the resin here. They can't shy barrels at thenatives' huts, and so much of the wall is stone that it won't easilycatch fire. What else is there inflammable?"

  "There's the blockhouses at the corners, sorr."

  "You're right. They are going to fire the blockhouses. I'm sorry nowI didn't make 'm of stone as I intended. But we had enough troublewith the wall, and the natives are so little used to stonework thatperhaps after all they'd have made a poor job of it."

  "Sure, I don't see how they are going to get near enough to do anydamage, sorr. They can't come up under fire. Do the spalpeens thinkthey'll catch us napping, begore?"

  "Can't say, Barney. We must wait and see. The sentries are arrangedfor the night, eh?"

  "They are that, sorr. 'Tis mighty hard to keep the niggers awake; notwan uv 'm but would see the inside uv the guard-room pretty often ifthey were in the Irish Fusiliers. But Samba and me just take turns togo the rounds all night and keep 'm stirring, sorr; and 'twould be alucky man that got across into this place widout a crack over the head."

  The full purpose of Elbel was seen earlier than Jack had expected. Alittle before dawn Makoko, who had been on duty at the gate in thenorthern wall, hurried down to say that he had heard a sound as of anumber of men marching for some distance up the hill above the fort.Jack accompanied him back, gently reprimanding him on the way forleaving his post. Judging by the sounds, there was unquestionably alarge body of men on the move. They were approaching as quietly asnegroes can; it is not an easy matter to persuade a force of black mento keep perfect silence.

  While Jack was still with Makoko, another man came running up from thesouthern end of the fort and reported that he had heard the sound ofmany men advancing up the stream. Clearly a serious attack wasintended at last. Sending word to Barney to remain on the _qui vive_at the southern wall, Jack waited anxiously for the glimmering light ofdawn to reveal the enemy.

  At last he could see them. They took little pains to concealthemselves. Elbel's riflemen were assembling on the ridge of the slopeabove. Among them were men carrying each a small barrel on hisshoulder. They must have made a wide circuit from their camp below sothat their movements might not be suspected until they were well inposition.

  The word was rapidly passed round the fort. In a few seconds every manwas at his appointed place. The women and children had been bidden toremain in their huts, for a part of the enclosure being exposed to firefrom the slope above, it would have been dangerous for any one tocross. Barney and his men at the southern wall were protected fromthis fire in their rear by the huts. At the northern wall Jack stoodon a narrow platform by the gate, similar to that which he had used athis former camp near Ilola. His riflemen were posted below him, halfof them at loop-holes left at intervals in the wall, the remainder justbehind, ready to take their places at the word of command.

  Jack was surprised to feel how little flustered he was. Theresponsibilities of the past months had bred self-control, and thecapacity to grasp a situation quickly and act at once. And constantwork with the same men, whom he had learned to know thoroughly, hadcreated a mutual confidence which augured well for their success whenput to the test.

  A glance assured Jack that the main attack, if attack was intended,would be made by the riflemen. The spearmen in the valley of the riverwere designed to create a diversion and weaken the force available tooppose the principal assault. Barney could be trusted to hold his ownagainst them.

  So little did the enemy, having g
ained the position above, seek toconceal their movements, that Jack was tempted to salute them with avolley that must have done great execution--the range being scarcelytwo hundred yards. But Elbel seemed to know by instinct the feeling bywhich Jack would be animated. He evidently counted on being allowed tofire first. And indeed there was little time for Jack to consider thematter, for even as he made a mental note of the enemy's bravado, heheard a word of command given in a loud voice, and saw Elbel emergefrom a small clump of bushes at the edge of the gully. The wholeforce, except ten men carrying barrels, flung themselves flat on theirfaces; and Jack had only time to give a rapid warning to his men when ascattered volley flashed from the line of prone figures, the bulletspattering on the stone wall like hail on a greenhouse.

  Next moment the men with the barrels dashed forward, some making forthe blockhouse above the gully, others for that at the opposite end ofthe northern wall. Through the clear space between the two parties theriflemen continued to fire as fast as they could reload. It was clearto Jack that Elbel expected the fire of his two hundred rifles, addedto the unexpectedness of the movement, to keep down the fire of thedefenders long enough to enable the barrel men to reach theblockhouses. But in this he was disappointed; nothing but a direct andcombined assault on the wall would have gained the time he required.His rifle fire from a distance was quite ineffective. Jack had orderedhis men to keep out of sight, and to fire through the loop-holes in thewall, aiming, not at the riflemen lying on the ground, but at the mensprinting with the barrels. Consequently, when the twenty-five rifleswithin the fort replied to the first volley, three of the runners fellon the one side and two on the other, their barrels rolling down theslope, some over the edge into the gully, others towards the copse onthe east.

  The other men, seeing the fate of their comrades, thought of nothingbut their own safety. They dropped their barrels and rushed back. Buteven then they did not take the safe course. Instead of scattering andso lessening the chances of being hit, the two parties joined, and ranup the slope in a compact group. None of them reached the line ofprostrate riflemen who were still blazing away ineffectually at thewalls and blockhouses. The unfortunate men were caught in full flightand fell almost at the same moment, each man struck by several bullets.

  Not till then did Jack allow his riflemen to turn their attention tothe enemy's firing line. But one volley was sufficient. Elbel sawthat his scheme had totally failed, and his position was untenable.Not a man of his opponents could be seen; his men had only smallloop-holes to fire at, and the average negro is not a sufficiently goodmarksman to be formidable in such conditions. The defenders, on theother hand, found the enemy an excellent target; for, by someinexplicable piece of folly, Elbel had not ordered them to seek coverbehind the many rocks and boulders that were scattered over the ground.He had lost all his barrel men and several of his riflemen, and withinfive minutes of the first volley he drew off his troops.

  A yell of delight from the stockade followed his retirement. The menslapped their thighs and shouted "Yo! Yo!" until they were hoarse.The women and children poured out of the huts and danced about withwild enjoyment. Imbono's drummer banged with all his might. Some ofthe boys had made small trumpets of rolled banana leaves, and tootledaway to their hearts' content, the sound being not unlike that made byblowing through tissue paper on a comb. Amid all the uproar Pat'sjoyous bark acclaimed the success.

  "Faith, sorr, 'tis real mafficking, to be sure."

  "Not quite, Barney. There's nobody drunk."

  "True, an' the haythen sets an example to the Christian. There are nogrog-shops here, praise be, wan at this corner and wan at that, totempt the poor craturs."

  "I only hope they're not shouting too soon, Barney. We haven't donewith Elbel yet."

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