In the grip of the Mullah: A tale of adventure in Somaliland

by F. S. Brereton

  CHAPTER XVI

  THE LAST DARING ATTEMPT

  Standing in the centre of the store-hut, surrounded by darkness whichwas so dense that neither could see the other, Jim and his friendconversed for a little in low whispers. Then Jim divested himself of allbut his waistcloth, and tucking into this the folds of linen whichusually encircled his head, in case he should be delayed, and should beexposed to the rays of the sun on the morrow, he declared himself readyto set out.

  "It's a good thing to get rid of all those winding sheets," he said, ashe let the cotton garment drop to the ground, "for they make a manvisible at night when otherwise he would pass unseen. Then, again, bydiscarding them, I shall have less to carry when crossing the river, andshall dry all the quicker afterwards. And that reminds me that I mustcarefully leave my revolvers and ammunition on this side, for, unless Ido so, they will be drenched with water, and become useless."

  "It's a risky thing to go without your weapons, my lad," said JohnMargetson, "and if you take my advice, you will tie them to the top ofyour head, where they will be out of reach of the water."

  "Thank you, that is a better idea," answered Jim. "I shall take one ofthem with me, and leave the other with you as I have promised, dividingthe ammunition between us. Here it is, and there are the cartridges.Have you got them safely?"

  Responding in the affirmative, Margetson took one of the revolvers fromhim, and then placed the reserve ammunition in a fold of his garments.

  "I'm ready now," said Jim quietly. "We quite understand one another, dowe not? If all goes well, I return here with father; if not, I make abolt for it, so as not to betray your hiding-place. Later on I shallreturn to the rescue."

  "That is the arrangement," was the answer.

  "Then good-bye," whispered Jim, extending his hand in the darkness.

  "Good-bye, lad, good-bye, and may you have the success you deserve!"

  A cordial handshake was exchanged, and then the two went to the door.The latch was gently lifted, and the wicket pushed open just far enoughto allow Jim to squeeze through. Another minute and he was outside,standing there in the darkness, listening as the door was closed.

  "Good-bye," he heard his comrade again whisper, and immediately aftercame the low sound of woodwork meeting and a gentle fall of the latch asit dropped into its old position. But Jim made no movement as yet.Standing there beside the wall, he peered into the darkness whichsurrounded him, and listened attentively for some five minutes, so as tomake sure that no one was near at hand. Then he fell upon his hands andknees and made a complete circle of the building, halting at each cornerto listen again. But nothing occurred to disturb his peace of mind, forall in the village seemed to have retired to rest. Even the dogs withwhich all native streets are infested had disappeared for the time, andonly the gentle murmur of distant voices told him that the place wasinhabited at all. Happening to cast his eyes towards the central hut, adim solitary figure trudging disconsolately up and down attracted hisattention, while still farther to the left, and enveloped in a largeblanket, a second sentry squatted in front of the prisoner's door.

  "One on duty at each house," said Jim to himself. "It would be adifficult matter to get rid of the man who is watching father, and if itcan possibly be arranged, I shall make my way in at the back, for theother sentry being so near, he would almost certainly hear the struggleand give the alarm. Hullo! Who's that?"

  As he spoke his eyes suddenly fell upon another figure of giganticproportions, and a few moments' closer observation assured him of thefact that it was the Mullah pacing the narrow roof of his house. Up anddown he went restlessly, muttering to himself as if he were ill at ease.Then with one long look round he disappeared, and soon there was no oneto be seen but the men on watch.

  "And now comes my time," said Jim to himself. "I'll slink away from herein the opposite direction from those fellows, and carry out the firstpart of my undertaking. The night is very dark, and suitable for thework. But it is very still, and the fall of a paddle in the water, themere splash of a hand as one lifts it to swim, will be heard a longdistance away. That being the case, I must float across, propellingmyself by kicking out with my legs beneath the surface. Now here goes!"

  Leaving the dense band of darkness, which seemed to cling to the wallsof the store-house, he crept stealthily away into the night, and, takinga narrow passage which ran behind the huts, quickly placed some hundredyards between himself and the Mullah's dwelling. Then, having waitedagain to listen, he turned at right angles and made his way across thewide open street towards the river-bank. As he walked, feeling his waycarefully before him, for the darkness was great, the ground shelvedaway, at first by degrees, and then more suddenly, till, happening topause for a moment, he heard the gentle wash of water just in front ofhim.

  "The river," he said to himself; "and now for a boat. There are severallying hereabouts, and I ought to have no difficulty in finding one."

  Again he went on his knees in the mud and mire, and groped his way alongby the water's edge. Soon his hand came into contact with some object,and running his fingers along it, he speedily satisfied himself that itwas one of the native craft. In fact, it was a dug-out canoe, patchedhere and there with scraps of goat-skin, and provided with somehalf-dozen paddles of native workmanship, which lay on the bottom.

  "I've an idea," said Jim suddenly, pausing beside the craft as a thoughtoccurred to him. "We arranged that I should take one of these boatsover, but from that it would appear that very few had had a hand in therescue of the prisoner. Now, why should I not take half a dozen? Tiethem by their head-ropes together, and then ferry the whole lot across.When I reach the other side, I'll detach one of the half-dozen, and runit up against the bank so securely that it will not be carried away bythe river; then I'll land and stamp about in the mud till the wholeplace is marked by footprints. When that is done, I'll go elsewhere tillI've got rid of all the craft, and then I'll return and go on with theother portion of my work. Yes, it sounds to me very plausible, for whenthey discover that their prisoner is gone, the Somalis will catch sightof six stranded boats far sooner than they will of one, and, what is offar more importance, they will think that quite a force of men has beenin the village during the night, and will promptly despatch all theiravailable followers to the far side of the river. That will be good forus, for the smaller the number we have to deal with the better."

  Groping carefully about in the darkness, Jim found that three of thenative craft lay side by side, and within a very short period he hadloosely knotted the head-ropes together. Then he crawled still fartheralong the river-bank, and having discovered another, pushed it silentlyinto the water and embarked. To grasp a paddle and use it to pole theboat along was a simple matter, and in this way, using every care toavoid making a splash, he sped silently along, till a gentle gratingtold him that the prow had come into contact with the stern of anothercraft. Five minutes later he was returning with three canoes, allowingthe stream to float them noiselessly along beside the bank. When hereached the spot at which he had left the others, he stepped into theriver, and, wading towards them, tied the whole six together.

  Standing upright in the central one of his half-dozen captures, hethrust the paddle over the stern, and, working it as a ferryman oftendoes when sculling with a single oar, he gradually crossed the stream.Soon the gentle sound of bending rushes fell upon his ear, and he knewthat he was at his destination. Detaching one of the head-ropes, hepulled the canoe well on to the bank, and then trudged backwards andforwards in the soft earth, stamping it with the imprint of hissandalled feet in all directions. Not content with that, he walkedthrough a patch of long grass which fringed the bank, flattening theblades and leaving obvious tracks. There was no need to go stillfarther, for a long stretch of rocky and hard soil ran away from theriver, and upon this nothing but the hoofs of horses would have made anyimpression.

  Six times in succession did he repeat the process, and then, havingsatisfied himself that the signs upon the bank were ample
, he embarkedagain and pushed off, allowing the stream to carry him where it liked.

  "There is a white line farther down," he said to himself, peeringthrough the darkness; "and I remember that from the store-house we couldsee a spot where the water was broken and tumbled. If possible, I shalljam this boat among the rocks, and then it will look as if it had brokenloose from the farther bank. Ah, here we are!"

  Before starting out he had been careful to wrap his revolver andammunition in the long strip of calico which usually did service as ahead-covering, and this he had tied firmly in position with the weaponat the crown of his head and the knot beneath his chin. Certain,therefore, that there was no danger of damaging them by immersing themin the water, he slipped over the edge of the boat at once, and,swimming beside it, directed it towards the centre of the white linewhich he had observed. Soon his hand came into contact with a largeboulder, which was covered with slippery moss, and upon the upper edgeof which was a jagged indentation.

  "Just the thing," he murmured, holding on firmly, so as not to be sweptaway, for the stream at this point came down with great force andrapidity. "I'll pull her on to this until she's fast, and then swimashore."

  Easy though the task seemed, it taxed his strength to the utmost, for,caught by the mass of water which swirled about her, the native craftproved a fractious thing to deal with. She wabbled from side to side,and then, just as her nose was in the right position, her stern floatedout, and, being broadside on, she was borne down on to the white line ofsurf, where she remained for a moment jammed against the boulders. ButJim was not the lad to be easily beaten, and, realizing the difficultybefore him, he waited for one moment to obtain a firm foothold in theshallow water, and then bending beneath the craft, lifted it clear fromthe river. Then he gently lowered it into the position which he hadselected, and, having satisfied himself that it was securely fastenedthere, he turned and began to swim with long steady strokes towards thebank.

  "And now for the second part of the undertaking," he said breathlessly,drawing himself gently from the river, and lying down upon the mud torest. "I'll keep straight up the street, in the shadow of the huts, andwhen I get within sight of the one which shelters father, I shall wait afew minutes to see whether the sentry is wakeful or not. If all isquiet, I shall go to the back and endeavour to cut my way through thewall."

  Accordingly, as soon as he had recovered his breath and regained hisstrength, for the exertion of placing the boats in position had been byno means light, he rose to his feet again, and slowly made his way upthe village street. Arrived within some ten yards of the building whichstood opposite to the Mullah's house, he crouched in the shadow of awall, and remained there, peering into the darkness. At first there wasnot a soul to be seen in that direction, though when he looked a littlefarther to the right the reflection of the watch-fire, which seemed toburn continuously, caught his eye, and against it, dimly silhouetted,and looking ghostly and unreal, was the figure of the warrior who keptwatch over his leader. He was a tall, athletic-looking man, and seemedat the moment to be lost in reverie, for he grasped the shaft of hislong spear near its cruel metal point with both hands, and held his headbent forward. So still did he stand, and so easy and graceful was thepoise of his muscular limbs, that Jim might well have been gazing at afinely carved statue of a Hercules. For five minutes his eye rested uponthe man as if fascinated, and then of a sudden, as the breeze stirredthe folds of the flag which flew from the roof above, causing it toflutter gently, the man awoke from his dream with a start, and began topace restlessly up and down.

  "Number one," said Jim quietly to himself; "he evidently fears nosurprise, and should give no trouble at all. And now for the otherfellow."

  Some minutes passed before he was successful in discerning the outlineof the Somali posted in front of the prisoner's door, but by turning hiseyes away from the reflection of the fire, he was at length able to makeout a huddled figure crouching upon the ground, and apparentlyslumbering deeply.

  "Nothing could be better for me," murmured Jim, in tones ofsatisfaction. "If he will remain like that, and the other fellowcontinue to pace up and down, I ought to get into the hut without muchtrouble."

  Pausing for a second or two to assure himself that his revolver was inposition, he left the shadow of the wall, and slowly, and with thegreatest caution, crept across the open space which intervened betweenhimself and his goal. At last he touched the wall of the hut, and atonce prepared to carry out his design. And now for the first time herealized the loss of his hunting-knife, which he had dropped whenclambering to the top of the store-house. Without it, and in the absenceof something with which to chip a hole in the wall, he was helpless,and at the thought a feeling of despair came over him.

  "What an idiot I am!" he murmured, while tears of vexation filled hiseyes. "I ought to have thought of this before, as any baby would havedone. But it never occurred to me, and this is the result of mycarelessness. But father shall not suffer; for if I cannot make my wayto him through here, I will do so through the door, and chancediscovery."

  With this object in view he slowly crawled round the hut towards theplace where the only entry was situated, and soon the sleeping sentrycame into view as he crouched some three or four paces in front of thehut.

  "What is that?" Jim asked himself the question with a start of surprise,and with a sudden feeling of reviving hope, for now again he was lookingin the direction of the watch-fires, which not only aided him inlocating the position of the sentry, but also showed something--aglimmer upon the ground where there should have been darkness alone.

  "Was it the sword which the sentry placed beside him before he fellasleep, or was it merely some stray piece of metal upon which thefirelight fell?"

  Lying there full length in the shadow, Jim thought the matter out, andfinally, emboldened by the fact that the man made no movement, and bythe recollection that iron was a metal of great value to the Somalis,and was not likely to be flung carelessly about, he left his position,and advanced stealthily like a cat about to pounce upon its prey. It wasa moment of excitement, for as he neared the man, keeping his eye fixedall the while upon him, some alteration in the reflection of thewatch-fire caused him to turn his head, and there, stalking into thedarkness as he walked his solitary beat about the Mullah's hut, came thewarrior who kept watch there. Again his figure was silhouetted sharply,and, in spite of his dangerous position, Jim found himself vaguelywondering what was the man's height and age, and what kind of an athletehe was. Indeed, so strangely does one's mind wander in the mosthazardous circumstances, that straightway Jim's thoughts carried himback to the football field at school, and in a senseless way he began tofind a place for this brawny warrior in the team. But a moment later theman had vanished into the reflection of the flames again, and there wasthe slumbering sentry upon whose sword he had designs. Two pacesforward, and Jim's fingers lit upon the handle, and began slowly,cautiously, to withdraw the weapon.

  The sleeper stirred, and ground his teeth, as though his dreams were notof the sweetest, then he awoke with a start, and raised his head. But hewas quickly reassured, for again, trudging from the dim light beyondinto the darkness, came his comrade, head poised proudly in the air, andspear resting upon his shoulder. With a grunt of satisfaction the manbehind whom Jim lay settled his head upon his breast once more, and gavehimself up to sleep without restraint.

  A minute later our hero was behind the hut, and with the weapon graspedin both hands was attacking the wall fiercely, as though life itselfdepended upon his exertions. Chip! chip! At every thrust the point ofthe steel bit into the hard sun-baked clay, and sent splinters of itflying. Another lunge, and a mass of the material detached itself andfell to the ground, with a sound which, though not loud, caused Jimsuddenly to stop his efforts and crouch again, fearful that he had beenoverheard. But a glance round the corner of the building showed him thesentry still asleep, with his comrade continuing upon his round.

  Chip! chip! chip! Resuming his labours, Jim kept prodd
ing at the walltill quite a respectable amount had fallen. Then of a sudden, as he gavea still stronger thrust, he felt the mass before him give way, and thepoint of the weapon went through into the interior with a grating sound.

  Had anyone heard the noise? Was that someone stirring? Perhaps it wasthe prisoner, his dear father, who had guessed that rescue was at hand;or perhaps it was the sentry.

  Something fell upon Jim's listening ear, and instantly he suspended hislabours, and, crouching at the foot of the wall, waited to see whatwould happen.

  Yes, it was undoubtedly the man who had been sleeping before the door;for suddenly a stooping figure came shuffling round the building,peering suspiciously into the darkness, as if something had disturbedhis rest and caused alarm.

  Would he be seen? Was it possible that by lying flat there upon theground he could have escaped the attention of the Somali warrior? And ifnot, then how was he to act?

  Rapidly did Jim allow the thoughts to flash across his mind, and then,before an answer could come to him, indeed long before he could collecthis scattered wits, the man suddenly caught sight of him, and, raisinghimself erect, prepared to shout an alarm. There was no time forhesitation, for had a sound escaped the lips of the sentry, flight forthe prisoner, for Jim, and for John Margetson, would have been out ofthe question; their fate would have been hopelessly sealed. Andtherefore, prompted by the danger, and scarcely realizing how, Jimsprang upon the man, and, grasping him by the throat with one hand,plunged his weapon into his chest. Twice in succession did he deliverthe blow, and then, still clutching his opponent, he fell with him tothe ground, and lay there, overcome by his feelings and by thenarrowness of his escape.

  JIM SPRANG UPON THE MAN.]

  "If the second man has heard the struggle, we are done for," gasped Jim."But perhaps he was on the farther side of the Mullah's house, and ifso, he may be unaware of the fate which has befallen his comrade. Butsupposing he notices his absence and comes to find him?"

  The thought set him trembling, for he was thoroughly unhinged by theevents of the last few moments. As he reflected upon the matter,however, and realized how much depended upon his coolness and decision,resolution came to him at once, and straightway rising to his feet, hetumbled the body of the dead warrior on one side, and took possession ofhis blanket. Then casting its folds about him, resting the man's spearjauntily upon his shoulder, and carrying the sword in one hand, he beganto saunter round the dwelling. A few paces brought him to the front,where he caught sight of the second man walking slowly upon his beat,and approaching him from the farther side. And now was the time whenJim's courage was tested to the utmost. Had he shown any fear, or had heturned about in the foolish endeavour to escape the attention of thesentry, all his plans would have been upset. The impulse was there tomake him cast his blanket to the ground and fly for his life; he feltthe longing to get away from the place, to free himself from the danger,and then, putting the temptation aside, he boldly stepped onwards, and,arriving opposite the door, paused to look sleepily about him.

  "The night is dark, comrade, and it is lonely work tramping hither andthither," said the tall warrior, coming to a halt some feet away fromhim. "This watching is a weary trial, and my heart sickens at it. Ratherwould I be abroad with my brothers in search of the runaways, or,better, galloping upon my horse against the zareba which the insolentinvader has erected on the fringe of the desert. It maddens me to knowthat our warriors are fighting there, and that at this moment they arerushing to the attack with victory before them. And then, what loot! Theman who came hither from the farther side of the Hoad, and who was oncea follower of the infidel, has told us of the camels and horses thataccompanied the expedition, and of the rifles and ammunition. My mouthwaters at the thought that one of these guns might fall into my hands,for with it I feel that I alone could beat back these British troops whoare to advance against us. But an evil fate has placed me here to keepwatch when there is no need for it. In these peaceful times, and when nodanger is to be feared, the old women of the village could carry out theduties as well, and better than I. However----Hark! Listen to that! Youhear the faint and distant sound of firing which reaches us upon thestill night air. Did I not say that our comrades were even now advancingto the attack?"

  As he spoke, Jim stood still, looking at him, and puzzling his brains toknow how to act. That the man was addressing him he fully realized, butwhether asking a question or merely making a few commonplace remarks, hecould not guess, as he did not understand the language. To haveattempted to respond would have been sheer madness, and yet what was heto do? Happily for him, a gust of wind swept along the village street atthis instant, and, falling upon the watch-fires, sent a burst of smokeand embers whirling in his direction. A second later a fit of coughingtook hold of him, and leaning upon his spear, he struggled with it tillthe tears were forced to his eyes. Then, as if that had been sufficientanswer, he yawned loudly, and began to trudge the beat again, till thehut hid him from the sentry. No sooner was he out of sight than he ranto the other side, and, throwing himself upon the ground, crept to theend of the wall and looked out across the open space which separated himfrom the Mullah's residence. There was the warrior who had justaddressed him, still standing in a listening attitude; but whether hewas surprised at his comrade's action or not, it was impossible tostate. However, that his suspicions had not been aroused was quicklyevident, for, coughing and spluttering, as a second gust swept the smokein his direction, he, too, moved away, and had soon disappeared fromsight.

  "Now is my opportunity," thought Jim, "and I shall never have anotherlike it. Whilst he is behind the Mullah's house I must make a rush forthe prison, and, by George, I'll do it!"

  Darting round the angle of the wall, he undid the fastenings of the doorand slipped into the hut. He had just time to pull the door to when thesentry came into sight again. But nothing had disturbed him, that wasapparent, for he continued his leisurely walk without a pause andwithout a glance in the direction of his comrade.

  "Father! Father! Where are you? I'm here, your son, Jim, come to helpyou," whispered our hero, repeating almost the same words as he had usedwhen making the acquaintance of John Margetson.

  There was a movement at the end of the hut, and he could hear someonestir, but for more than a minute there was no other sound. Then a voicebroke the stillness, and a question was asked in tones with which Jimwas familiar.

  "Who is that? Did someone say 'Jim?' My boy whom I left away in oldEngland?"

  "Hush! Yes, I am here. Don't make a sound for your life, father! I shallcome close up to you."

  Creeping across the hard-beaten floor, Jim groped his way through thedarkness, and very soon found himself beside the prisoner. Their handsmet in a firm and loving clasp, while each kissed the otheraffectionately upon the cheek.

  "My boy! My dear, dear lad!" was all that Colonel Hubbard could say forsome minutes. "Who could have thought it possible? Who would have dreamtthat such a thing could have occurred? It seems incredible, and I cannotbelieve that it is true. But--yes, I am pressing your hand, and I knowby your voice that it is really you. Thank God that you have come!"

  "I'm here right enough," whispered Jim, feeling already as though a loadhad been removed from his mind. "But, now about escaping. I am indisguise, and have come here from the store-hut of the Mullah, which isclose at hand. There John Margetson and I have been hiding, and it is tothat spot that I intend to take you now."

  "John Margetson! I know him well, for we met on more than one occasion.How comes it that you have made his acquaintance, my lad? Are you, then,a prisoner, too?"

  "No, father, but I found my way to his hut, thinking that you werethere, and that the Mullah possessed only one white slave. It was abitter disappointment, but this makes up for it all. Now I hope to carryboth of you away with me to our zareba, which lies away on the fringe ofthe desert."

  "Rescue us both! Zareba! I don't understand; I am bewildered!" exclaimedColonel Hubbard, still pressing his son's hand. "But you mus
t tell meall about it later on; for the present, let me know what I am to do, forI am completely in your hands. What is this store-house? And why shouldwe retire to it?"

  Placing his lips close to his father's ear, Jim hurriedly whispered anaccount of his recent doings, and told him how it was that thestore-house had been pressed into their service.

  "And now, father," he continued, "it only remains for us to escape fromthis without observation, and reach John Margetson. If we are onlysuccessful in that, we have arms and ammunition there which will enableus to protect ourselves if necessary, and make a good fight for ourlives; and, in addition, I have just arranged a ruse which should sendthese Somalis off to pursue us in the wrong direction. If they fall intothe trap, we shall say good-bye to this village, and make our way to thezareba. Are you ready?"

  "Ready, ay, and willing."