They seemed,
however, to have some doubts of the nature or vulnerability of our
horses. At the head of our new assailants was one sophisticated enough
to be able to call out, "Walk, white fellow, walk;" but as we still
remained immobile, he induced some others to join in making a rush at
us, and they hurled their jagged spears at us before we could get out
of the way. It was fortunate indeed that we were at the extreme
distance that these weapons can be projected, for they struck the
ground right amongst our horses' hoofs, making them more restive than
ever.
I now let our assailants see we were not quite so helpless as they
might have supposed. I unslipped my rifle, and the bullet, going so
suddenly between two of these worthies and smashing some boughs just
behind them, produced silence amongst the whole congregation, at least
for a moment. All this time we were anxiously awaiting the arrival of
Gibson and Jimmy, as my instructions were that if we did not return in
a given time, they were to follow after us. But these valiant
retainers, who admitted they heard the firing, preferred to remain out
of harm's way, leaving us to kill or be killed, as the fortunes of war
might determine; and we at length had to retreat from our sable
enemies, and go and find our white friends.
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