Then we -that is,the Buffaloes-moved down the tip of the tongue and took our stand in reserve,about one hundred yards behind the last line of the Grays,and on slightly higher ground.Meanwhile we had leisure to observe Twala's entire force,which had evidently been reinforced since the morning attack,and could not now,notwithstanding their losses,number less than forty thousand,moving swiftly up towards us.But as they drew near the root of the tongue they hesitated,having discovered that only one regiment could advance into the gorge at a time,and that there,some seventy yards from the mouth of it,unassailable except in front,on account of the high walls of boulder-strewn ground on either side,stood the famous regiment of Grays,the pride and glory of the Kukuana army,ready to hold the way against their forces as the three Romans once held the bridge against thousands.They hesitated,and finally stopped their advance;there was no eagerness to cross spears with those three lines of grim warriors who stood so firm and ready.Presently,however,a tall general,with the customary head-dress of nodding ostrich plumes,came running up,attended by a group of chiefs and orderlies,being,I thought,none other than Twala himself,and gave an order,and the first regiment raised a shout,and charged up towards the Grays,who remained perfectly still and silent until the attacking troops were within forty yards,and a volley of tollas,or throwing-knives,came rattling among their ranks.
Then suddenly,with a bound and a roar,they sprang forward with uplifted spears,and the two regiments met in deadly strife.Next second the roll of the meeting shields came to our ears like the sound of thunder and the whole plain seemed to be alive with flashes of light reflected from the stabbing spears.To and fro swung the heaving mass of struggling,stabbing humanity,but not for long.Suddenly the attacking lines seemed to grow thinner,and then with a slow,long heave the Grays passed over them,just as a great wave heaves up and passes over a sunken ridge.It was done;that regiment was completely destroyed,but the Grays had but two lines left now;a third of their number were dead.
Closing up shoulder to shoulder once more,they halted in silence and awaited attack;and I was rejoiced to catch sight of Sir Henry's yellow beard as he moved to and fro,arranging the ranks.So he was yet alive!
Meanwhile we moved up on to the ground of the encounter,which was cumbered by about four thousand prostrate human beings,dead,dying,and wounded,and literally stained red with blood.Ignosi issued an order,which was rapidly passed down the ranks,to the effect that none of the enemy's wounded were to be killed,and,so far as we could see,this order was scrupulously carried out.It would have been a shocking sight,if we had had time to think of it.
But now a second regiment,distinguished by white plumes,kilts,and shields,was moving up to the attack of the two thousand remaining Grays,who stood waiting in the same ominous silence as before,till the foe was within forty yards or so,when they hurled themselves with irresistible force upon them.Again there came the awful roll of the meeting shields,and as we watched,the grim tragedy repeated itself.But this time the the issue was left longer in doubt;indeed it seemed for a while almost impossible that the Grays should again prevail.The attacking regiment,which was one formed of young men,fought with the utmost fury,and at first seemed by sheer weight to be driving the veterans back.The slaughter was something awful,hundreds falling every minute;and from among the shouts of the warriors and the groans of the dying,set to the clashing music of meeting spears,came a continuous hissing undertone of "S'gee,s'gee,"the note of triumph of each victor as he passed his spear through and through the body of his fallen foe.
But perfect discipline and steady and unchanging valor can do wonders,and one veteran soldier is worth two young ones,as soon became apparent in the present case.For just as we thought that it was all up with the Grays,and were preparing to take their place so soon as they made room by being destroyed,I heard Sir Henry's deep voice ringing out above the din,and caught a glimpse of his circling battle-axe as he waved it high above his plumes.Then came a change;the Grays ceased to give;they stood still as a rock,against which the furious waves of spearmen broke again and again,only to recoil.Presently they began to move again -forward this time;as they had no firearms there was no smoke,so we could see it all.Another minute and the onslaught grew fainter.
"Ah,they are men indeed;they will conquer again,"called out Ignosi,who was grinding his teeth with excitement at my side."See,it is done!"Suddenly,like puffs of smoke from the mouth of a cannon,the attacking regiment broke away in flying groups,their white head-dresses streaming behind them in the wind,and left their opponents victors,indeed,but,alas!no more a regiment.Of the gallant triple line,which,forty minutes before,had gone into action three thousand strong,there remained at most some six hundred blood-bespattered men;the rest were under foot.
And yet they cheered and waved their spears in triumph,and then,instead of falling back upon us as we expected,they ran forward,for a hundred yards or so,after the flying groups of foemen,took possession of a gently rising knoll of ground,and,resuming the old triple formation,formed a three-fold ring around it.And then,thanks be to God,standing on the top of a mound for a minute,I saw Sir Henry,apparently unharmed,and with him our old friend Infadoos.Then Twala's regiments rolled down upon the doomed band,and once more the battle closed in.