It was at this moment that I heard a far-away and unaccustomed sound, and asked Hans what he thought it was.
"A gun, Baas," he answered anxiously.
Well might he be anxious, for as we both knew, no one in the neighbourhood had guns except ourselves, and all ours were accounted for.

It is true that we had promised to give the majority of those we had taken from the slavers to Bausi when we went away, and that I had been instructing some of his best soldiers in the use of them, but not one of these had as yet been left in their possession.
I stepped to a gate in the fence and ordered the sentry there to run to Bausi and Babemba and make report and inquiries, also to pray them to summon all the soldiers, of whom, as it happened, there were at the time not more than three hundred in the town.

As perfect peace prevailed, the rest, according to their custom, had been allowed to go to their villages and attend to their crops.

Then, possessed by a rather undefined nervousness, at which the others were inclined to laugh, I caused the Zulus to arm and generally make a few arrangements to meet any unforeseen crisis.

This done I sat down to reflect what would be the best course to take if we should happen to be attacked by a large force in that straggling native town, of which I had often studied all the strategic possibilities.