So at length they came to the main river into which this tributary flowed, and camped there thankfully, believing that if any pursuit of them had been undertaken, it was abandoned.

At least Alan and the rest believed this, but Jeekie did not.
On the following morning, shortly after dawn, Jeekie awoke his master.
"Come here, Major," he said in a solemn voice, "I got something pretty show you," and he led him to the foot of an old willow tree, adding, "now up you go, Major, and look." So Alan went up and from the topmost fork of that tree saw a sight at which his blood turned cold.

For there, not five miles behind them, on either side of the river bank, the light gleaming on their spears, marched two endless columns of men, who from their head-dresses he took to be Asiki.

For a minute he looked, then descended the tree and approaching the others, asked what was to be done.
"Hook, scoot, bolt, leg it!" exclaimed Jeekie emphatically; then he licked his finger, held it up to the wind and added, "but first fire reeds and make it hot for Bonsa crowd." This was a good suggestion and one on which they acted without delay.
Taking red embers, they blew them into a flame and lit torches, which they applied to the reeds over a width of several hundred yards.

The strong northward wind soon did the rest; indeed with a quarter of an hour a vast sheet of flame twenty or thirty feet in height was rushing towards the Asiki columns.