presently I thought that about a hundred yards down the slope
beneath us in the dim light I caught sight of ghostlike figures flitting
from tree to tree; also that these figures were drawing nearer.

"Look out!" I said to Robertson on my right, "I believe they are
coming."

"Man," he answered sternly, "I hope so, for whom else have I wanted to
meet all these days?"

Now the figures vanished into a little fold of the ground. A minute or
so later they re-appeared upon its hither side where such light as there
was from the fading stars and the gathering dawn fell full upon them,
for here were no trees. I looked and a thrill of horror went through me,
for with one glance I recognised that these were _not the men whom we
had been following_. To begin with, there were many more of them, quite
a hundred, I should think, also they had painted shields, wore feathers
in their hair, and generally so far as I could judge, seemed to be fat
and fresh.

"We have been led into an ambush," I said first in Zulu to Umslopogaas
immediately in front, and then in English to Robertson.

"If so, man, we must just do the best we can," answered the latter, "but
God help my poor daughter, for those other devils will have taken her
away, leaving their brethren to make an end of us."

"It is so, Macumazahn," broke in Umslopogaas. "Well, whatever the end of
it, we shall have a better fight. Now do you give the word and we will
obey."

The savages, for so I call them, although I admit that cannibals or not,
they looked more like high-class Arabs than savages, came on in perfect
silence, hoping, I suppose, to catch us asleep. When they were about
fifty yards away, running in a treble line with spears advanced, I
called out "Fire!" in Zulu, and set the example by loosing off both
barrels of my express rifle at men whom I had picked out as leaders,
with results that must have been more satisfactory to me than to the two
Amahagger whose troubles in this world came to an end.

There followed a tremendous fusillade, the Zulus banging off their guns
wildly, but even at that distance managing for the most part to shoot
over the enemy's heads. Captain Robertson and Hans, however, did better
and the general result was that the Amahagger, who appeared to be
unaccustomed to firearms, retreated in a hurry to a fold of the ground
whence they had emerged. Before the last of them got there I loaded
again, so that two more stopped behind. Altogether we had