Immediately after we had settled upon the outline of our plan of action as suggested by Umslopogaas, Mr Mackenzie sent for four sharp boys of from twelve to fifteen years of age, and despatched them to various points where they could keep an outlook upon the Masai camp, with others to report from time to time what was going on. Other lads and even women were stationed at intervals6 along the wall in order to guard against the possibility of surprise.
After this the twenty men who formed his whole available fighting force were summoned by our host into the square formed by the house, and there, standing7 by the bole of the great conifer, he earnestly addressed them and our four Askari. Indeed, it formed a very impressive scene—one not likely to be forgotten by anybody who witnessed it. Immediately by the tree stood the angular form of Mr Mackenzie, one arm outstretched as he talked, and the other resting against the giant bole, his hat off, and his plain but kindly8 face clearly betraying the anguish9 of his mind. Next to him was his poor wife, who, seated on a chair, had her face hidden in her hand. On the other side of her was Alphonse, looking exceedingly uncomfortable, and behind him stood the three of us, with Umslopogaas’ grim and towering form in the background, resting, as usual, on his axe10. In front stood and squatted11 the group of armed men—some with rifles in their hands, and others with spears and shields—following with eager attention every word that fell from the speaker’s lips. The white light of the moon peering in beneath the lofty boughs12 threw a strange wild glamour13 over the scene, whilst the melancholy14 soughing of the night wind passing through the millions of pine needles overhead added a sadness of its own to what was already a sufficiently15 tragic16 occasion.
‘Men,’ said Mr Mackenzie, after he had put all the circumstances of the case fully17 and clearly before them, and explained to them the proposed plan of our forlorn hope—‘men, for years I have been a good friend to you, protecting you, teaching you, guarding you and yours from harm, and ye have prospered18 with me. Ye have seen my child—the Water-lily, as ye call her—grow year by year, from tenderest infancy19 to tender childhood, and from childhood on towards maidenhood20. She has been your children’s playmate, she has helped to tend you when sick, and ye have loved her.’
‘We have,’ said a deep voice, ‘and we will die to save her.’
‘I thank you from my heart—I thank you. Sure am I that now, in this hour of darkest trouble; now that her young life is like to be cut off by cruel and savage4 men—who of a truth “know not what they do”—ye will strive your best to save her, and to save me and her mother from broken hearts. Think, too, of your own wives and children. If she dies, her death will be followed by an attack upon us here, and at the best, even if we hold our own, your houses and gardens will be destroyed, and your goods and cattle swept away. I am, as ye well know, a man of peace. Never in all these years have I lifted my hand to shed man’s blood; but now I say strike, strike, in the name of God, Who bade us protect our lives and homes. Swear to me,’ he went on with added fervour—‘swear to me that whilst a man of you remains21 alive ye will strive your uttermost with me and with these brave white men to save the child from a bloody22 and cruel death.’
‘Say no more, my father,’ said the same deep voice, that belonged to a stalwart elder of the Mission; ‘we swear it. May we and ours die the death of dogs, and our bones be thrown to the jackals and the kites, if we break the oath! It is a fearful thing to do, my father, so few to strike at so many, yet will we do it or die in the doing. We swear!’
‘Ay, thus say we all,’ chimed in the others.
‘Thus say we all,’ said I.
‘It is well,’ went on Mr Mackenzie. ‘Ye are true men and not broken reeds to lean on. And now, friends—white and black together—let us kneel and offer up our humble23 supplication24 to the Throne of Power, praying that He in the hollow of Whose hand lie all our lives, Who giveth life and giveth death, may be pleased to make strong our arms that we may prevail in what awaits us at the morning’s light.’
And he knelt down, an example that we all followed except Umslopogaas, who still stood in the background, grimly leaning on Inkosi-kaas. The fierce old Zulu had no gods and worshipped nought25, unless it were his battleaxe.
‘Oh God of gods!’ began the clergyman, his deep voice, tremulous with emotion, echoing up in the silence even to the leafy roof; ‘Protector of the oppressed, Refuge of those in danger, Guardian26 of the helpless, hear Thou our prayer! Almighty27 Father, to Thee we come in supplication. Hear Thou our prayer! Behold29, one child hast Thou given us—an innocent child, nurtured30 in Thy knowledge—and now she lies beneath the shadow of the sword, in danger of a fearful death at the hands of savage men. Be with her now, oh God, and comfort her! Save her, oh Heavenly Father! Oh God of battle, Who teacheth our hands to war and our fingers to fight, in Whose strength are hid the destinies of men, be Thou with us in the hour of strife31. When we go forth32 into the shadow of death, make Thou us strong to conquer. Breathe Thou upon our foes33 and scatter34 them; turn Thou their strength to water, and bring their high-blown pride to nought; compass us about with Thy protection; throw over us the shield of Thy power; forget us not now in the hour of our sore distress35; help us now that the cruel man would dash our little ones against the stones! Hear Thou our prayer! And for those of us who, kneeling now on earth in health before Thee, shall at the sunrise adore Thy Presence on the Throne, hear our prayer! Make them clean, oh God; wash away their offences in the blood of the Lamb; and when their spirits pass, oh receive Thou them into the haven36 of the just. Go forth, oh Father, go forth with us into the battle, as with the Israelites of old. Oh God of battle, hear Thou our prayer!’
He ceased, and after a moment’s silence we all rose, and then began our preparations in good earnest. As Umslopogaas said, it was time to stop ‘talking’ and get to business. The men who were to form each little party were carefully selected, and still more carefully and minutely instructed as to what was to be done. After much consideration it was agreed that the ten men led by Good, whose duty it was to stampede the camp, were not to carry firearms; that is, with the exception of Good himself, who had a revolver as well as a short sword—the Masai ‘sime’ which I had taken from the body of our poor servant who was murdered in the canoe. We feared that if they had firearms the result of three cross-fires carried on at once would be that some of our own people would be shot; besides, it appeared to all of us that the work they had to do would best be carried out with cold steel—especially to Umslopogaas, who was, indeed, a great advocate of cold steel. We had with us four Winchester repeating rifles, besides half a dozen Martinis. I armed myself with one of the repeaters—my own; an excellent weapon for this kind of work, where great rapidity of fire is desirable, and fitted with ordinary flap-sights instead of the cumbersome37 sliding mechanism38 which they generally have. Mr Mackenzie took another, and the two remaining ones were given to two of his men who understood the use of them and were noted39 shots. The Martinis and some rifles of Mr Mackenzie’s were served out, together with a plentiful40 supply of ammunition41, to the other natives who were to form the two parties whose duty it was to be to open fire from separate sides of the kraal on the sleeping Masai, and who were fortunately all more or less accustomed to the use of a gun.
As for Umslopogaas, we know how he was armed—with an axe. It may be remembered that he, Sir Henry, and the strongest of the Askari were to hold the thorn-stopped entrance to the kraal against the anticipated rush of men striving to escape. Of course, for such a purpose as this guns were useless. Therefore Sir Henry and the Askari proceeded to arm themselves in like fashion. It so happened that Mr Mackenzie had in his little store a selection of the very best and English-made hammer-backed axe-heads. Sir Henry selected one of these weighing about two and a half pounds and very broad in the blade, and the Askari took another a size smaller. After Umslopogaas had put an extra edge on these two axe-heads, we fixed42 them to three feet six helves, of which Mr Mackenzie fortunately had some in stock, made of a light but exceedingly tough native wood, something like English ash, only more springy. When two suitable helves had been selected with great care and the ends of the hafts notched43 to prevent the hand from slipping, the axe-heads were fixed on them as firmly as possible, and the weapons immersed in a bucket of water for half an hour. The result of this was to swell44 the wood in the socket45 in such a fashion that nothing short of burning would get it out again. When this important matter had been attended to by Umslopogaas, I went into my room and proceeded to open a little tin-lined deal case, which contained—what do you think?—nothing more or less than four mail shirts.
It had happened to us three on a previous journey that we had made in another part of Africa to owe our lives to iron shirts of native make, and remembering this, I had suggested before we started on our present hazardous46 expedition that we should have some made to fit us. There was a little difficulty about this, as armour-making is pretty well an extinct art, but they can do most things in the way of steel work in Birmingham if they are put to it and you will pay the price, and the end of it was that they turned us out the loveliest steel shirts it is possible to see. The workmanship was exceedingly fine, the web being composed of thousands upon thousands of stout but tiny rings of the best steel made. These shirts, or rather steel-sleeved and high-necked jerseys47, were lined with ventilated wash leather, were not bright, but browned like the barrel of a gun; and mine weighed exactly seven pounds and fitted me so well that I found I could wear it for days next to my skin without being chafed49. Sir Henry had two, one of the ordinary make, viz. a jersey48 with little dependent flaps meant to afford some protection to the upper part of the thighs50, and another of his own design fashioned on the pattern of the garments advertised as ‘combinations’ and weighing twelve pounds. This combination shirt, of which the seat was made of wash-leather, protected the whole body down to the knees, but was rather more cumbersome, inasmuch as it had to be laced up at the back and, of course, involved some extra weight. With these shirts were what looked like four brown cloth travelling caps with ear pieces. Each of these caps was, however, quilted with steel links so as to afford a most valuable protection for the head.
It seems almost laughable to talk of steel shirts in these days of bullets, against which they are of course quite useless; but where one has to do with savages, armed with cutting weapons such as assegais or battleaxes, they afford the most valuable protection, being, if well made, quite invulnerable to them. I have often thought that if only the English Government had in our savage wars, and more especially in the Zulu war, thought fit to serve out light steel shirts, there would be many a man alive today who, as it is, is dead and forgotten.
To return: on the present occasion we blessed our foresight51 in bringing these shirts, and also our good luck, in that they had not been stolen by our rascally52 bearers when they ran away with our goods. As Curtis had two, and after considerable deliberation, had made up his mind to wear his combination one himself—the extra three or four pounds’ weight being a matter of no account to so strong a man, and the protection afforded to the thighs being a very important matter to a fighting man not armed with a shield of any kind—I suggested that he should lend the other to Umslopogaas, who was to share the danger and the glory of his post. He readily consented, and called the Zulu, who came bearing Sir Henry’s axe, which he had now fixed up to his satisfaction, with him. When we showed him the steel shirt, and explained to him that we wanted him to wear it, he at first declined, saying that he had fought in his own skin for thirty years, and that he was not going to begin now to fight in an iron one. Thereupon I took a heavy spear, and, spreading the shirt upon the floor, drove the spear down upon it with all my strength, the weapon rebounding53 without leaving a mark upon the tempered steel. This exhibition half converted him; and when I pointed54 out to him how necessary it was that he should not let any old-fashioned prejudices he might possess stand in the way of a precaution which might preserve a valuable life at a time when men were scarce, and also that if he wore this shirt he might dispense55 with a shield, and so have both hands free, he yielded at once, and proceeded to invest his frame with the ‘iron skin’. And indeed, although made for Sir Henry, it fitted the great Zulu like a skin. The two men were almost of a height; and, though Curtis looked the bigger man, I am inclined to think that the difference was more imaginary than real, the fact being that, although he was plumper and rounder, he was not really bigger, except in the arm. Umslopogaas had, comparatively speaking, thin arms, but they were as strong as wire ropes. At any rate, when they both stood, axe in hand, invested in the brown mail, which clung to their mighty28 forms like a web garment, showing the swell of every muscle and the curve of every line, they formed a pair that any ten men might shrink from meeting.
It was now nearly one o’clock in the morning, and the spies reported that, after having drunk the blood of the oxen and eaten enormous quantities of meat, the Masai were going to sleep round their watchfires; but that sentries56 had been posted at each opening of the kraal. Flossie, they added, was sitting not far from the wall in the centre of the western side of the kraal, and by her were the nurse and the white donkey, which was tethered to a peg57. Her feet were bound with a rope, and warriors58 were lying about all round her.
As there was absolutely nothing further that could be done then we all took some supper, and went to lie down for a couple of hours. I could not help admiring the way in which old Umslopogaas flung himself upon the floor, and, unmindful of what was hanging over him, instantly sank into a deep sleep. I do not know how it was with the others, but I could not do as much. Indeed, as is usual with me on these occasions, I am sorry to say that I felt rather frightened; and, now that some of the enthusiasm had gone out of me, and I began to calmly contemplate59 what we had undertaken to do, truth compels me to add that I did not like it. We were but thirty men all told, a good many of whom were no doubt quite unused to fighting, and we were going to engage two hundred and fifty of the fiercest, bravest, and most formidable savages in Africa, who, to make matters worse, were protected by a stone wall. It was, indeed, a mad undertaking60, and what made it even madder was the exceeding improbability of our being able to take up our positions without attracting the notice of the sentries. Of course if we once did that—and any slight accident, such as the chance discharge of a gun, might do it—we were done for, for the whole camp would be up in a second, and our only hope lay in surprise.
The bed whereon I lay indulging in these uncomfortable reflections was near an open window that looked on to the veranda61, through which came an extraordinary sound of groaning62 and weeping. For a time I could not make out what it was, but at last I got up and, putting my head out of the window, stared about. Presently I saw a dim figure kneeling on the end of the veranda and beating his breast—in which I recognized Alphonse. Not being able to understand his French talk or what on earth he was at, I called to him and asked him what he was doing.
‘Indeed,’ I said, ‘then I wish that you would do it a little more quietly.’
Alphonse retreated, and I heard no more of his groans64. And so the time passed, till at length Mr Mackenzie called me in a whisper through the window, for of course everything had now to be done in the most absolute silence. ‘Three o’clock,’ he said: ‘we must begin to move at half-past.’
I told him to come in, and presently he entered, and I am bound to say that if it had not been that just then I had not got a laugh anywhere about me, I should have exploded at the sight he presented armed for battle. To begin with, he had on a clergyman’s black swallow-tail and a kind of broad-rimmed black felt hat, both of which he had donned on account, he said, of their dark colour. In his hand was the Winchester repeating rifle we had lent him; and stuck in an elastic65 cricketing belt, like those worn by English boys, were, first, a huge buckhorn-handled carving66 knife with a guard to it, and next a long-barrelled Colt’s revolver.
‘Ah, my friend,’ he said, seeing me staring at his belt, ‘you are looking at my “carver”. I thought it might come in handy if we came to close quarters; it is excellent steel, and many is the pig I have killed with it.’
By this time everybody was up and dressing67. I put on a light Norfolk jacket over my mail shirt in order to have a pocket handy to hold my cartridges68, and buckled69 on my revolver. Good did the same, but Sir Henry put on nothing except his mail shirt, steel-lined cap, and a pair of ‘veldt-schoons’ or soft hide shoes, his legs being bare from the knees down. His revolver he strapped70 on round his middle outside the armoured shirt.
Meanwhile Umslopogaas was mustering71 the men in the square under the big tree and going the rounds to see that each was properly armed, etc. At the last moment we made one change. Finding that two of the men who were to have gone with the firing parties knew little or nothing of guns, but were good spearsmen, we took away their rifles, supplied them with shields and long spears of the Masai pattern, and took them off to join Curtis, Umslopogaas, and the Askari in holding the wide opening; it having become clear to us that three men, however brave and strong, were too few for the work.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
2
countless
|
|
| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
awed
|
|
| adj.充满敬畏的，表示敬畏的v.使敬畏，使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
savage
|
|
| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
savages
|
|
| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
intervals
|
|
| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
kindly
|
|
| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
anguish
|
|
| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
axe
|
|
| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
squatted
|
|
| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
boughs
|
|
| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
glamour
|
|
| n.魔力，魅力；vt.迷住 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
melancholy
|
|
| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
sufficiently
|
|
| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
tragic
|
|
| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
fully
|
|
| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
prospered
|
|
| 成功，兴旺( prosper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
infancy
|
|
| n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
maidenhood
|
|
| n. 处女性, 处女时代 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
21
remains
|
|
| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
bloody
|
|
| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
humble
|
|
| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
supplication
|
|
| n.恳求，祈愿，哀求 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
nought
|
|
| n.／adj.无，零 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
guardian
|
|
| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
almighty
|
|
| adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
mighty
|
|
| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
behold
|
|
| v.看，注视，看到 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
nurtured
|
|
| 养育( nurture的过去式和过去分词 )； 培育； 滋长； 助长 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
strife
|
|
| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
foes
|
|
| 敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
scatter
|
|
| vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
distress
|
|
| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
haven
|
|
| n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
cumbersome
|
|
| adj.笨重的，不便携带的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
mechanism
|
|
| n.机械装置；机构，结构 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
noted
|
|
| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
plentiful
|
|
| adj.富裕的，丰富的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
ammunition
|
|
| n.军火，弹药 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
fixed
|
|
| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
notched
|
|
| a.有凹口的，有缺口的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
swell
|
|
| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
socket
|
|
| n.窝，穴，孔，插座，插口 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
hazardous
|
|
| adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
jerseys
|
|
| n.运动衫( jersey的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
jersey
|
|
| n.运动衫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
chafed
|
|
| v.擦热（尤指皮肤）( chafe的过去式 )；擦痛；发怒；惹怒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
thighs
|
|
| n.股，大腿( thigh的名词复数 )；食用的鸡（等的）腿 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
foresight
|
|
| n.先见之明，深谋远虑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
rascally
|
|
| adj. 无赖的，恶棍的 adv. 无赖地，卑鄙地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
rebounding
|
|
| 蹦跳运动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
pointed
|
|
| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
dispense
|
|
| vt.分配，分发；配(药)，发(药)；实施 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
sentries
|
|
| 哨兵，步兵( sentry的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
peg
|
|
| n.木栓，木钉；vt.用木钉钉，用短桩固定 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
warriors
|
|
| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
contemplate
|
|
| vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
undertaking
|
|
| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
veranda
|
|
| n.走廊；阳台 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
groaning
|
|
| adj. 呜咽的, 呻吟的 动词groan的现在分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
slay
|
|
| v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
groans
|
|
| n.呻吟，叹息( groan的名词复数 )；呻吟般的声音v.呻吟( groan的第三人称单数 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
elastic
|
|
| n.橡皮圈，松紧带；adj.有弹性的；灵活的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
carving
|
|
| n.雕刻品，雕花 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
dressing
|
|
| n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
cartridges
|
|
| 子弹( cartridge的名词复数 )； （打印机的）墨盒； 录音带盒； （唱机的）唱头 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
buckled
|
|
| a. 有带扣的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
strapped
|
|
| adj.用皮带捆住的，用皮带装饰的；身无分文的；缺钱；手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词)；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
mustering
|
|
| v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的现在分词 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |