Before doing so,
however, I thought that it might be well to try and produce a moral
effect upon the advancing enemy. In my hand I held a Winchester
repeating carbine, but the distance was too great for me to use it with
effect, so I turned to Gobo, who was shivering with terror at my side,
and handing him the carbine, took my express from him.
"The enemy was now about three hundred and fifty yards away, and the
express was only sighted to three hundred. Still I knew that it could be
trusted for the extra fifty yards. Running in front of Wambe's soldiers
were two men--captains, I suppose--one of them very tall. I put up the
three hundred yard flap, and sitting down with my back against the rock,
I drew a long breath to steady myself, and covered the tall man, giving
him a full sight. Feeling that I was on him, I pulled, and before the
sound of the striking bullet could reach my ears, I saw the man throw up
his arms and pitch forward on to his head. His companion stopped dead,
giving me a fair chance. I rapidly covered him, and fired the left
barrel. He turned round once, and then sank down in a heap. This caused
the enemy to hesitate--they had never seen men killed at such a
distance before, and thought that there was something uncanny about the
performance. Taking advantage of the lull, I gave the express back to
Gobo, and slinging the Winchester repeater over my back I began to climb
the cliff.
"When we reached the projecting angle all the loads were over, but
the tusks still had to be passed up, and owing to their weight and the
smoothness of their surface, this was a very difficult task.
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