A SKIRMISH WITH CANNIBALS 



It was useless to stand by Karetese, for he was past help, 

 and, in spite of my attempts to staunch his wounds, he 

 lay in a pool of blood. I saw ahead of us a hillock, some 

 two hundred yards away, and decided to dash for it and 

 make the last stand there, if necessary. We plunged 

 into the long grass again, every second seeming a lifetime, 

 as we sped onwards to the small mound. 



Juma was labouring hard with the tent. Feeling at 

 the moment that such a thing was superfluous, since the 

 likelihood of my ever requiring it again appeared ex- 

 tremely doubtful, I ordered him to drop it, which he 

 gladly did. Covering our retreat I turned round every 

 now and again, and sent shots at the numerous heads that 

 bobbed up in the grass, and thereby dissuaded for the time 

 being those who were intent on following us up. 



On gaining the crest of the hillock I turned round in 

 time to see three forms dart out of the matamma and 

 rush to the prostrate form of Karetese, who had just 

 sufficient strength to give vent to a feeble yell as one 

 brute raised his spear and dashed the blade into the boy's 

 body. Poor devil ! he gave a convulsive shiver and then 

 was still. The other two fiends used their spears like 

 axes, and hacked at him in a terrible way. They were 

 standing bunched together engaged in their butchery, 

 I dropped on my knee, but for the moment the bolt of 

 the .350 seized, in another second I was ready. Taking 

 careful aim I fired ; the report cracked loud through the 

 country, one of the brutes, who had just raised his spear 

 to deliver another blow at the body of the boy, with a 

 shriek reeled and fell on his face like a log ; the soft- 

 nosed bullet had done its work. The other two seeing 

 this dropped also ; but I knew from experience of native 

 fighting down in Zululand that it was a game of bluff. 

 However, No. 1 had a soft-nosed bullet in him, and he 

 was finished. I had drawn my first blood for the day 

 and avenged Karetese. In the pause that ensued after 



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