A protection, it would be impossible for the Baris to approach
by the favourite river-bed, without being exposed to a deadly fire from
the long line of sentries.
I therefore selected a position commencing far beyond my line of posts,
and entirely commanding the river-bed for a distance of several miles.
The soldiers were delighted with the plan suggested. I arranged that
before daylight on the following morning, they should occupy the
positions assigned in parties of two men if sniders, or three if
muskets, at intervals of one hundred paces; thus the country would be
protected by a chain of guards perfectly concealed from view.
I gave orders to the officers commanding the two stockades to carry out
this system throughout the neighbourhood, so that it would be impossible
for any enemy to move without falling into an ambuscade.
At daybreak I was up, and as usual drank my coffee and smoked the
morning pipe. At that time my wife and I occupied a tent outside the
stockade, beneath the most magnificent tamarind-tree that I have ever
seen. From this spot we had a clear view of the country. On the west of
the plain, two miles distant, rose the mountain of Belinian. On the east
was park-like land interspersed with fine ornamental timber, through
which the river winded. For about a hundred acres around the camp, the
high dhurra had been cut down; therefore the view was uninterrupted.
Everything was perfectly still at this early hour; the birds were only
beginning to chirp, and the vultures were just lazily assembling to see
if they could discover one more morsel at the slaughtering-place of the
preceding day.
No one would have suspected that the entire neighbourhood was occupied
by sharpshooters, for a distance of some miles. The wily Baris had
delighted in their leopard-like tactics, which had given them several
opportunities of inflicting loss upon the troops. They now commenced
their daily occupation, and started in small but numerous parties from
their distant villages, for the purpose of waylaying any stragglers. The
sun rose, and with my telescope I observed natives about half a mile
distant on the other side of the river; sometimes these people
disappeared in the high dhurra; every now and then they reappeared; then
again they were lost to view. They were stealthily approaching for the
purpose of occupying their positions for concealment. These wily Baris
imagined that we were, as usual, keeping on the alert around the camp,
but they had no idea that the leopard was himself so near the hidden
snare.
Suddenly a puff of white smoke shot rip from the bright green grass on
the other side of the river-bed - then another, followed by the reports
of two rifles!
