At first I thought the enemy must be firing in
the streets, so loud were the reports, owing to the atmosphere and the
wind setting in a particular direction. The cause of these volleys was
more difficult to discover, and, as our men never replied, it seemed
somewhat of a waste of ammunition. Their original cause was a sortie
early in the siege, when Captain Fitzclarence made a night attack with
the bayonet on their trenches. Ever afterwards an animal moving on the
veldt, a tree or bush stirred by the wind, an unusual light in the town,
was sufficient for volley after volley to be poured at imaginary foes.
By nine o'clock these excitements were usually over, and half an hour
afterwards nearly every soul not on duty was asleep, secure in the
feeling that for every one who reposed two were on watch; while, as
regards Colonel Baden-Powell, he was always prowling about, and the
natives revived his old Matabele nickname of "the man that walks by
night."
CHAPTER XI
LIFE IN A BESIEGED TOWN
"There is a reaper whose name is Death."--LONGFELLOW.
We celebrated Christmas Day, 1899, by a festive luncheon-party to which
Colonel Baden-Powell and all his Staff were invited. By a strange and
fortunate coincidence, a turkey had been overlooked by Mr. Weil when the
Government commandeered all live-stock and food-stuffs at the
commencement of the siege, and, in spite of the grilling heat, we
completed our Christmas dinner by a real English plum-pudding.
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