he answered, 'I would that thou stoodst against me man to man,

and we would see,' and again he turned to go still laughing.
'Thou shalt stand against me man to man, be not afraid,' replied

Umslopogaas, still in the same ominous voice. 'Thou shalt stand
face to face with Umslopogaas, of the blood of Chaka, of the

people of the Amazulu, a captain in the regiment of the Nkomabakosi,
as many have done before, and bow thyself to Inkosi-kaas, as

many have done before. Ay, laugh on, laugh on! tomorrow night
shall the jackals laugh as they crunch thy ribs.'

When the Lygonani had gone, one of us thought of opening the
basket he had brought as a proof that Flossie was really their

prisoner. On lifting the lid it was found to contain a most
lovely specimen of both bulb and flower of the Goya lily, which

I have already described, in full bloom and quite uninjured,
and what was more a note in Flossie's childish hand written in

pencil upon a greasy piece of paper that had been used to wrap
up some food in: --

'Dearest Father and Mother,' ran the note, 'The Masai caught
us when we were coming home with the lily. I tried to escape

but could not. They killed Tom: the other man ran away. They
have not hurt nurse and me, but say that they mean to exchange

us against one of Mr Quatermain's party. I will have nothing
of the sort. Do not let anybody give his life for me. Try and

attack them at night; they are going to feast on three bullocks
they have stolen and killed. I have my pistol, and if no help

comes by dawn I will shoot myself. They shall not kill me.
If so, remember me always, dearest father and mother. I am very

frightened, but I trust in God. I dare not write any more as
they are beginning to notice. Goodbye. -- Flossie.'

Scrawled across the outside of this was 'Love to Mr Quatermain.
They are going to take the basket, so he will get the lily.'

When I read those words, written by that brave little girl in
an hour of danger sufficiently near and horrible to have turned

the brain of a strong man, I own I wept, and once more in my
heart I vowed that she should not die while my life could be

given to save her.
Then eagerly, quickly, almost fiercely" target="_blank" title="ad.凶猛地，残忍地">fiercely, we fell to discussing

the situation. Again I said that I would go, and again Mackenzie
negatived it, and Curtis and Good, like the true men that they

are, vowed that, if I did, they would go with me, and die back
to back with me.

'It is,' I said at last, 'absolutely necessary that an effort
of some sort should be made before the morning.'

'Then let us attack them with what force we can muster, and take
our chance,' said Sir Henry.

'Ay, ay,' growled Umslopogaas, in Zulu; 'spoken like a man, Incubu.
What is there to be afraid of? Two hundred and fifty Masai,

forsooth! How many are we? The chief there [Mr Mackenzie] has
twenty men, and thou, Macumazahn, hast five men, and there are

also five white men -- that is, thirty men in all -- enough,
enough. Listen now, Macumazahn, thou who art very clever and

old in war. What says the maid? These men eat and make merry;
let it be their funeral feast. What said the dog whom I hope

to hew down at daybreak? That he feared no attack because we
were so few. Knowest thou the old kraal where the men have camped?

I saw it this morning; it is thus:' and he drew an oval on the
floor; 'here is the big entrance, filled up with thorn bushes,

and opening on to a steep rise. Why, Incubu, thou and I with
axes will hold it against an hundred men striving to break out!

Look, now; thus shall the battle go. Just as the light begins
to glint upon the oxen's horns -- not before, or it will be too

dark, and not later, or they will be awakening and perceive us
-- let Bougwan creep round with ten men to the top end of the

kraal, where the narrow entrance is. Let them silently slay
the sentry there so that he makes no sound, and stand ready.

Then, Incubu, let thee and me and one of the Askari -- the one
with the broad chest -- he is a brave man -- creep to the wide

entrance that is filled with thorn bushes, and there also slay
the sentry, and armed with battleaxes take our stand also one

on each side of the pathway, and one a few paces beyond to deal
with such as pass the twain at the gate. It is there that the

rush will come. That will leave sixteen men. Let these men
be divided into two parties, with one of which shalt thou go,

Macumazahn, and with one the "praying man" [Mr Mackenzie], and,
all armed with rifles, let them make their way one to the right

side of the kraal and one to the left; and when thou, Macumazahn,
lowest like an ox, all shall open fire with the guns upon the

sleeping men, being very careful not to hit the little maid.
Then shall Bougwan at the far end and his ten men raise the

war-cry, and, springing over the wall, put the Masai there to
the sword. And it shall happen that, being yet heavy with food

and sleep, and bewildered by the firing of the guns, the falling
of men, and the spears of Bougwan, the soldiers shall rise and

rush like wild game towards the thorn-stopped entrance, and there
the bullets from either side shall plough through them, and there

shall Incubu and the Askari and I wait for those who break across.
Such is my plan, Macumazahn; if thou hast a better, name it.'

When he had done, I explained to the others such portions of
his scheme as they had failed to understand, and they all joined

with me in expressing the greatest admiration of the acute and
skilful programme devised by the old Zulu, who was indeed, in

his own savage fashion, the finest general I ever knew. After
some discussion we determined to accept the scheme, as it stood,

it being the only one possible under the circumstances, and giving
the best chance of success that such a forlorn hope would admit

of -- which, however, considering the enormous odds and the character
of our foe, was not very great.

'Ah, old lion!' I said to Umslopogaas, 'thou knowest how to lie
in wait as well as how to bite, where to seize as well as where

to hang on.'
'Ay, ay, Macumazahn,' he answered. 'For thirty years have I

been a warrior, and have seen many things. It will be a good fight.
I smell blood -- I tell thee, I smell blood.'

CHAPTER VI
THE NIGHT WEARS ON

As may be imagined, at the very first sign of a Masai the entire
population of the Mission Station had sought refuge inside the

stout stone wall, and were now to be seen -- men, women, and
countless children -- huddled up together in little groups, and

all talking at once in awed tones of the awfulness of Masai manners
and customs, and of the fate that they had to expect if those

bloodthirsty savages succeeded in getting over the stone wall.
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 intervals
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, standing 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