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Updated: June 12, 2025
The stars were at their brightest, and a growing pallor towards Hankey heralded the moon. The watch on the rat-holes had been maintained, but the watchers had shifted to the hill slope above the holes, feeling this a safer firing-point. They squatted there in a rather abundant dew, fighting the damp with whisky.
`Old Hankey Pankey' got us all ashore the same afternoon the admiral's orders came; and, early the next morning, nearly four hundred strong now, just double our former strength, we marched off up country towards the scene of our defeat at the hands of the Somali chieftain Abdalah, on the occasion of our previous trip inland.
This `old Hankey Pankey' was forced to do, much against the grain, a moment or two later on, Captain Oliver having been driven off from the right attack, thus leaving both our flanks now exposed as well as our front to the fire of the Somalis, who once more rushed out from the stockade upon us. "We must retire, my lads," cried the captain in a hoarse voice, the words coming out with almost a sob.
"Stand by!" roared `old Hankey Pankey' from his perch on the top of Larry's shoulders, noticing our hasty retreat from the left of the stockade, our fellows indeed rushing back in their scurrying flight into the midst of the centre column and mixing it up into irretrievable confusion. "Steady there! Face round, my men, stand firm!"
"That is so, Mrs. Hankey. I'm afeared there isn't much religion about him. He don't even go to church on a Sunday, let alone chapel; though he is wonderful charitable to the poor, I must admit." Mrs. Hankey pursed up her mouth. "And what are works without faith, I should like to know!"
As Elisabeth had surmised, the entertainment on this occasion was pork-pie; and Mrs. Hankey, a near neighbour, had also been bidden to share the feast. So the tea-party was a party of four, the respective husbands of the two ladies not yet having returned from their duties at the Osierfield.
On the way home, after the tea-party was over, Christopher remarked: "Old Mother Bateson isn't a bad sort; but I can't stand Mother Hankey." "Why not?" "She says such horrid things." He had not yet forgiven Mrs. Hankey for her gloomy prophecies respecting Elisabeth. "Not horrid, Chris.
"And so she ought; I'd have slapped her if she hadn't, and richly she'd have deserved it." "It's a comfort as Mr. Tremaine's mother is in her grave," remarked Mrs. Hankey, not a whit behind the others as regards shocked sensibilities; "this would have been a sad day for her if she had been alive." "And it would!" agreed Mrs. Bateson warmly.
The admiral informed our captain that he was about to proceed inland through the province of Teita with this formidable column; and that he, `old Hankey Pankey, was to assemble as strong a force as he could muster from the ships under his command and with a second column thus formed he was to start from Malindi and work in a south-westerly direction, when the two bodies would meet, completely hemming in the Arabs.
"That may be," said Captain Hankey; "but the beggars who have been at work here wore only on the lookout for loot, I think though, perhaps, they may have murdered the crew and passengers of this vessel, too, for all we know. However, to make matters sure, we'll look out for them!" "Aye, aye, sir, that will prevent any mistakes," said Mr Gresham, with a laugh.
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