AN OLD ENEMY
Arriving at Bloemfontein in the evening, they first went to an hotel,
and having engaged rooms, and seen their horses put up, Yorke proceeded
to the house of the Dutch gentleman to whom the letters Mr. Chambers
had given him were addressed. On sending one in he was shown into the
sitting-room, where Mr. von Rensburg presently joined him.
"You are the bearer of this letter, Mr. Meyring, from my friend, Mr.
Chambers?"
"Yes, sir, and of this also, which I did not care to give into any
hands but your own."
Mr. von Rensburg took it a little surprised. The first had been so
simple and matter-of-fact that he had not suspected for a moment
that Yorke was not, as it stated, an employé at the mine. He looked
scrutinizingly at Yorke when he had read the second letter.
"I will not ask who you are, Mr. Meyring, or whether that is your real
name. It is just as well not to know more than I can help. I understand
you want to cross into Cape Colony, and may be glad of my advice as
to the best road to take. In the first place, may I ask how you came
here--by rail?"
"No, sir, we drove. I have a friend with me, and it is open to us
either to drive from this point, or, as we have two horses, to ride, or
to go on foot, though naturally we would rather not adopt the last plan
if it could be helped."
"That I can well understand," the other said with a smile; "and indeed
it would be the worst method; it would be far more natural for you
to be driving or riding than going on foot. Now, tell me exactly how
you stand. You, I see, are dressed as a young farmer in comfortable
circumstances. How about your friend?"
"He is dressed as a farm-hand, sir; and I have also a Kaffir with me to
look after the horses."
"Is your companion Dutch?"
"Yes, sir."
"You are not, I think. You speak Taal very well, but I fancy I can
detect that it is not your own language."
"That is so," Yorke agreed; "but I am glad to say that you are the
first person who has noticed it."
"I am not surprised at that, for you really speak it very well; it is
more the tone of your voice than anything wrong in the language--or I
may call it the dialect--that is noticeable."
"I have learned it partly from books, sir, but chiefly from conversing
in it almost entirely for six months."
"You must have the knack of learning languages if you have picked it
up so well in so short a time. You have only arrived here to-day, I
suppose?"
"Yes, sir, half an hour ago."
"From Johannesburg?"
Yorke made a gesture of assent.
"You were, I suppose, intimate with Mr. Chambers?"
"I can scarcely say that I was intimate with him, but my man--for he is
my servant as well as my friend--happened to overhear a plot to murder
Mr. Chambers and loot his house, and he, with my Kaffir, Mr. Chambers
and myself, gave the ruffians so warm a reception that there is not
likely to be a repetition of the attempt."
"Were they a strong party?"
"There were twelve of them, and only two got away alive. The really
dangerous part of the affair was that the three men in the house were
also in the plot; but we had tied them up before the others arrived."
"That was a very thorough piece of business indeed," Mr. von Rensburg
said, more warmly than he had spoken before; "and I can well
understand now that my friend Chambers should be anxious to aid you
in any way. Will you tell me a little more about it? You are not, I
suppose, pressed for time."
"Not at all, sir;" and Yorke related more fully the incidents connected
with the affair.
"It was a fortunate escape for Mr. Chambers. No doubt those scoundrels
thought that he had money in the house. They would hardly have gone in
such numbers if it had only been a question of ordinary robbery. And
was your employment at the mine confined to this exploit?"
"Entirely, sir; but as the house stands on the mine property, Mr.
Chambers said when he wrote the letter that he could say with a good
conscience that I had been employed there."
"I have one question to ask: Are you personally known to anyone here?
I mean, is there anyone whom you would be likely to meet who would
recognize you?"
"No, sir, I don't think there is anyone here likely to have seen me
before. And if there should be anyone, I am sure he would not know me
in my present disguise."
"I asked the question," Mr. von Rensburg went on, "as in that case
there is no occasion for me to make any instant decision as to the
route you had better take. If there had been any danger of your being
recognized I should say you had better start to-morrow morning early,
but as it is, we can take our time about it."
"I am in no very pressing hurry, though I should be glad to be on the
other side of the Orange River as soon as I can. I have already been
away nearly seven weeks."
"I can guess pretty well who you are, Mr. Meyring," the other said with
a smile, "though I don't want to know. I should certainly be glad if
you would take up your residence here while you remain, but I think it
is better that you should not. I am not very popular here at present,
because I opposed the Free State taking part with the Transvaal. I
can call upon you at your hotel very well; because then, should there
be any question, I can simply show the letter you first sent me in,
and say that I know nothing more than that. I don't think it at all
likely that any question will arise, and my coming to see you will be
an advantage to you rather than otherwise, for it will show that you
are not altogether an unknown person. I will this evening think over
what people I know on the different roads, where parties of our men are
stationed, and how you had best proceed."
"Thank you very much, sir. At what hour are you likely to call?"
"We will say ten o'clock. I will bring a good map I have with me--or,
no, I had better merely call and ask for you, and then bring you here.
It would look strange if you were to ask for a private room, and we
certainly cannot talk that over in the public room. They will not know
that you have been here to-night, and you had better send your man
with this letter again in the morning. Tell him before the landlord,
or anyone else, that he is to take the letter to me, and say that you
have arrived, and will call upon me at any hour that is convenient in
reference to the business."
This programme was carried out, and at ten o'clock Yorke was standing
at the door of the hotel when Mr. von Rensburg came up. He went into
the hotel without noticing Yorke, and said to the landlord: "You have a
Mr. Meyring staying here, have you not?"
"Yes, sir; he was outside just now." He went to the door. "There he is,
sir," he said, pointing to Yorke.
Mr. von Rensburg went up to him. "My name is von Rensburg, Mr. Meyring.
I did not know when I should be disengaged, so did not send an answer
to the letter you brought, but I am free now, and if you will come with
me to my house, we will talk over the business you mentioned, and see
which commando you had better join."
"Thank you, sir! I am naturally anxious to lose no time. I should
certainly prefer joining the force which is likely to be engaged
soonest." The innkeeper and two other men lounging near heard what he
said, and paid no further attention to them as they walked off.
Once in Mr. von Rensburg's parlour the latter said: "It will not be
an easy matter to get through. The drifts are all guarded, both on
the Orange River and the Riet. Of course the nearest way is through
Petrusburg and Jacobsdal, but I put that out of the question. Then
there is the road through Fauresmith and across the Orange at Zoutpans
Drift, but that also is a long way round. I believe that as good a way
as any would be to take the Boshof road across the Modder at Truters
Drift. From there a road keeps along for three miles north of the
Modder, and leads finally to Kimberley; it cuts the road from Boshof
to Jacobsdal. But at that point there are strong forces to prevent the
British from trying to make a detour that way. These are the names of
the various commandos there, and at Jacobsdal, and at the drifts across
the Orange.
"The safest way, though longer in miles, would be to go south to
Bethulie, as if you were going to join the commando at Steynsburg,
or better still, Colesberg. Once past Colesberg you would find no
difficulty in making your way to De Aar. I could help you more that way
than any other, because I could get a pass for you, and your horses,
your servant, and the Kaffir, direct by rail to Colesberg; so that
really you would not lose so much time as you might think, for from
Colesberg to De Aar is not much more than half the distance that it is
from here to Jacobsdal. The Philippolis commando is there."
"I know the country on the other side of the Seacow River," Yorke said,
"and once past Colesberg could make my way easily enough. I would much
rather choose that line. Once at De Aar I should not have much more
than a hundred miles to ride to the Modder, even if I could not get up
by train."
"Then I will see the officer in charge of the railway arrangements, and
find out when a train is going down to Colesberg with ammunition and
supplies, and if he is not taking any horses down, will get him to put
on a truck for your animals. What do you mean to do with your cart?"
"Mr. Chambers said I could do anything I liked with it. It would only
be in my way now, for the tracks beyond Colesberg west are as much as
horses can manage. Besides, I should find it more difficult to get away
from the town in a vehicle than on horseback."
"Well, if I were you I would speak to the innkeeper; he would be likely
to know someone who would want to buy it. If not, you had better
leave it with him, and tell him that you are so anxious to get to the
front that you do not care about wasting time here looking about for
a purchaser; and ask him to sell it for you, and to keep the money
until you return for it. You must appear careful about it, for no Dutch
farmer, however well off, would throw away the value of a good cart.
You had therefore better ask him to write to you at the post-office,
Colesberg, telling you what sum he has sold it for."
"As he knows that I have come here, sir, I might ask him to hand the
money over to you, as you have kindly offered to remit it to me."
"Yes, it would be as well to seem as anxious as possible. When I come
round this afternoon to tell you the result of my enquiries about the
trains, I will look at the cart."
"It is a very good one, sir, of Cape Colony make, and it only wants
repainting to appear quite new."
"In that case I will tell the innkeeper that if he does not know of
anyone who will buy it at once, I will give you the sum he and I may
value it at, and if at the end of a week he doesn't find a purchaser at
that price, I will take it myself. A cart more or less makes but little
difference, and you may as well have the money as let the innkeeper put
it in his pocket."
"But the money ought to go back to Mr. Chambers, sir."
"It will be much more useful in your pocket than in his. He gave you
the thing to do as you liked with, and certainly will not expect to be
paid for it, and would be hurt rather than pleased at the money being
sent to him. No doubt you will find uses for it."
The innkeeper, however, knew of a trader in the town who wanted a good
cart, and the matter was arranged in a few minutes. There was a train
going that evening, and with an order signed by the military secretary
at Bloemfontein for Gert Meyring and Hans Bernard, both going to join
the Philippolis commando at Colesberg, accompanied by a Kaffir boy, to
travel by military train, they started that evening. It was an open
truck, but as they had brought blankets and horse-rugs in the cart,
for sleeping on the veldt, they preferred the night journey to being
exposed to the scorching rays of the sun all day. It took some fifteen
hours to cover the distance between Bloemfontein and Colesberg. After
getting the horses out of the truck, they saddled them, slung their
rifles and bandoliers over their shoulders, strapped the blankets
behind the saddles, and then rode into the town, which was little more
than a long single street extending along the bottom of a very narrow
valley.
Peter had been most reluctant to leave his rifle behind him at
Bloemfontein, and had been allowed to bring it, saying that if he
were questioned he could say that it was a spare rifle belonging to
Yorke. As it was notorious that in the battles of Graspan and Belmont
many of the richer Boers had been attended by servants, who loaded
spare rifles, and so enabled them to keep up a steady fire, Yorke had
consented, as at the worst it could but be taken away for the use of
some Boer with an inferior weapon, and he felt that the time might come
when it would be well that Peter should be able to give efficient aid.
A good many armed men were in the street, but they paid no attention
to the new-comers. Yorke avoided the principal inn, where the field
cornet of the commando would probably have taken up his quarters, and
alighted at another of less pretension.
"Have you a room disengaged?" he asked the landlord on entering.
The landlord looked doubtful.
"I don't want to commandeer a room," Yorke went on; "I pay for what I
have."
The landlord's face brightened. "Yes, I have a double-bedded room
vacant."
"That will do, though I should have liked two single ones. My native
boy will of course sleep in the stable with the horses. If you will
show me my room he will carry up my spare rifle and blankets there. We
shall want a meal at once, for we have but just arrived by train from
Bloemfontein."
The meal was a good one, and after it was eaten Yorke went to the bar;
the landlord was standing behind it. "I will pay for our meals as we
have them," Yorke said, "and for the room for to-night. I don't know
when I may be off, and I may be sent suddenly away, so that it is as
well to keep things squared up. So please add the charge for the stable
and food for the horses."
The landlord made out the bill, and when he had paid it Yorke said, "I
should like to have a talk with you. It is difficult to get news at
Bloemfontein as to what is going on down here, and as I have only just
arrived, I am altogether ignorant as to the situation."
"If you will come into my parlour behind the bar I will tell you what I
know."
"I dare say you have some good cigars?" Yorke asked when they were
seated.
"Yes, but I don't sell many of them at present."
He took a box out of a cupboard, where it was hidden under some corks
and dusters. Yorke took out two, handed one to the landlord and lighted
the other himself.
"You are English, I see."
"Yes, we are mostly English here--worse luck just at present."
"I am English too," Yorke said, speaking for the first time in his own
language.
The landlord looked at him in astonishment. "I should never have
thought it," he said. "You speak Dutch ever so much better than I do,
and you look like a Boer all over."
"Yes, I am disguised. I have made my way down from Johannesburg, and I
want to get through the Boer lines. That is what I want to talk to you
about. Where are they now? First, tell me what has been done here."
"Well, on the 1st of November the Boers came in here, and had their own
way for two months. Then on the 1st of January General French came up
and surrounded the place, and there was fighting in the hills for two
or three days; but the Boers captured a company of the Suffolks who
attacked a hill outside the town, and they were afterwards reinforced
so strongly that, after repulsing one attack, French retired, and
things have been quiet since. The English hold Molteno. A good many men
have gone down that way."
"Do you know what commandos are here now?"
"They are principally Colonial rebels, some from the west and some from
the south."
"You have the Philippolis commando here, have you not?"
"We had till yesterday, and then they were summoned to go to
Steynsburg, for they say that one of our columns is advancing against
Dordrecht."
"That is lucky, for my railway pass says that I am going to join that
commando. Now that I find they are gone I cannot report myself, and
therefore escape questioning. How many Boers are there in and around
here?"
"From a thousand to twelve hundred."
"How have they been behaving?"
The landlord shrugged his shoulders. "They take pretty well what they
want, and give bits of paper which they say will be paid when the
war is over; they mean, out of the money they expect to get from our
government as an indemnity. Of course we don't look at it in that
light, and only keep them in the hope that they will be a proof of the
losses that we have suffered, and that our government will take them up
when they finally thrash the Boers."
"And where are these twelve hundred men?"
"There are three or four hundred of them on the hills round the town.
They have got some guns there, to keep us in order, as they say. Most
of the others are wandering about in bands, and plundering the farms of
the loyal settlers. I fancy they have some small parties out towards
the west, keeping a sharp look-out lest a force should come this way
from De Aar; but I think they trust chiefly to their getting news from
the Dutch farmers between Hanover and the railway there."
"Then my best way, undoubtedly, would be to cross the Seacow River
either by the road leading north-west to Hopetown, or from that to
Philipstown, or by the third road to Hanover. The north road is least
likely to be watched, as any force from De Aar would certainly come
either through Philipstown or through Hanover."
"You seem to know the country well," the landlord said in surprise.
"I do not know it on this side of the river; I know it pretty well on
the other; and once across, I have little fear of being captured. Who
is the field cornet in command?"
"Moens; he is in command of the party on the hills, and, I believe,
generally of them all."
"It is as well to know, though I don't want to see him; but when I once
get outside the circle of hills I can tell any Boers that I may fall in
with that I am ordered by him to watch the banks of the river."
"How long do you mean to stay?" the landlord asked.
"It is two o'clock now," Yorke said; "I would rather not go till
to-morrow. I should like to see a little of the country, and the horses
have only had a day's rest after eight days' hard travelling, so I will
go out into the town and see where the road I intend to go by leaves
it. I shall want to buy some things for the journey, for I cannot
reckon upon getting to De Aar in much less than three days."
"I will get you anything you want," the landlord said. "I have plenty
of bread and meat in the house, and could put a couple of bottles of
good wine into your saddle-bag."
"Thank you; that would be best, especially as I shall want the meat
cooked. There are three of us, and as we sha'n't have much else, we can
do with at least two pounds a day each, and about the same quantity of
bread. We shall want a bag of mealies for the horses, they wouldn't
pick up much on the veldt. I have got six water-bottles, which it will
be as well to fill before we start, for we may cross the river in a
hurry, and there is not much chance of finding water in any of the
spruits. We have got tin mugs, and the only other thing we require is
some tobacco; I forgot to lay in a supply at Bloemfontein. Can you pick
up a pony for my Kaffir?"
Yorke now went out and joined Hans, who was waiting for him in the
street. Looking carelessly at the shops as they went along, they made
their way out of the town, and, having been directed by the innkeeper,
struck off by the road they intended to follow without having to ask
any questions. They went about half a mile and then returned, as it
would have seemed unnatural for them to be seen walking farther.
"I think we know as much as we need about it now," Yorke said. "We may
as well go back to the inn. It is quite evident that we are not likely
to be asked any questions here, nor, indeed, as far as I can see,
anywhere, unless we come upon an outpost."
They loitered about the streets for an hour. No one spoke to them, for
the Boer force there was composed of men from various parts of the
Colony, as well as from the Free State, and as they were to a great
extent unknown to each other, a fresh face excited no attention. Yorke
on their return found the landlord had bought a stout pony for Peter.
Half an hour later Peter ran into their room.
"Baas," he exclaimed, "there are three Boers looking at our horses.
They say that one of them is stolen."
Yorke and Hans caught up their rifles and bandoliers and ran downstairs.
"I was rubbing them down, baas, in the yard when they came in, and one
of them pointed to the brand on the horse you ride and said he knew it.
Then they asked who was my master, and I said, 'Mr. Meyring'; and he
said, 'I have reason to believe that this horse is stolen from a friend
of mine. If he is in the inn tell him to come here.'"
The yard was at the back of the house, with a gate opening into a
lane behind it. As they entered it Yorke started involuntarily, for
he recognized in one of the men who was standing by his horse his old
enemy Dirck Jansen; it had never occurred to him that, as Richmond lay
but some eighty miles from Colesberg, this was the point Dirck would be
most likely to make for as soon as it was seized by the men of the Free
State. Fortunately Dirck's back was towards him and he did not notice
the momentary pause.
"Where did you get this horse, sir?" Dirck asked authoritatively.
"I am not accustomed to be questioned in that tone," Yorke said
quietly. "I have had the horse for some months. I had it at Pretoria."
"It has been stolen," Dirck said angrily. "It belonged to a neighbour
of mine near Richmond. I have seen him riding it, and I know well that
he would never have sold it. I don't say that you stole it, I simply
say that it was stolen; and unless you can prove to me that you came by
it honestly, I shall take it."
"I am not in the habit of carrying receipts about me for months," Yorke
said; "nor do I show them to the first stranger who rudely asks for
them. My man here can confirm what I say, that I have had the animal
for more than six months."
The calmness with which Yorke answered him still further excited the
passionate young Boer, and he turned suddenly upon Hans, on whose face
there was a broad grin of amusement.
"You insolent young lout," he exclaimed, "how dare you laugh when your
betters are talking!" and he brought down his heavy whip upon his head,
knocking off his hat, and almost striking him to the ground. "Ah!" he
exclaimed, as he saw his face plainly, "I know you now. You are the
fellow who ran away from Allnutt's farm. Now I understand it. This no
doubt is--" and he turned towards Yorke. But before the name was out
of his lips, Yorke sprung at him, and with the same blow that had once
before proved so effective, knocked him off his feet, his head striking
heavily on the pavement of the yard.
His two companions raised a shout, and would have thrown themselves
upon Yorke, but Peter, who had scarcely taken in the purport of the
conversation, sprang upon one of them and grasped him by the throat.
Hans had, as he recovered from the blow he had received, snatched
his rifle from his shoulder, and grasping it by the muzzle, met the
other Boer with a sweeping stroke, which caught him on the temple, and
prostrated him apparently lifeless on the ground.
"Hold that fellow tight, Peter," Yorke said sharply; "choke him if he
struggles.
"Hans, fetch one of the picket ropes from the stable. Now, tie Dirck
up, hand and foot, tightly, and shove my handkerchief into his mouth.
That will do for the present; we will fasten him more securely
afterwards. Now, help me to carry him into the stable. That is right.
Drop him down in this empty stall. Now another rope, and then we will
tie the fellow Peter has hold of. Peter, slacken your hold a little, he
is black in the face. Now, round his legs first, Hans. That will do.
Now, Peter, we will drag him into the stable; there is no fear of his
shouting for a minute or two. Now, Hans, for your man; I rather fancy
you have killed him. We can't help it whether you have or not. Now you
can tie them more securely, and gag Dirck and Peter's man effectually.
We need not trouble about the third; if he does come round, it won't be
for a long time. Now we will drag them to the farthest stall, so that
if anyone happens to look into the stable, he won't notice them unless
he enters. Now, Hans, run upstairs and fetch down the blankets and
things. You saddle the horses; I will look in and pay for the horse and
other things the landlord has bought for us."
"You have got the things for which I asked you, landlord?"
"Yes, they are all in this basket."
"Thanks, I will pack them in my saddle-bags at once. I am off in a
hurry. I have just been recognized by one of these Boers, and haven't
a minute to lose. Let me know what I owe you altogether. I will pack
these things while you are making out the account. Where is your Kaffir
boy? he is not in the yard."
"I have sent him into the town on an errand."
"Well, when he returns, will you manage to send him somewhere else that
will keep him from going to the stables for the next hour. I have a
particular reason for wishing that no one shall enter them for at least
that time. It is just as well that I should not tell you why."
The landlord nodded. "The best thing you can do, sir, is to lock the
door and bring me the key, in case any Boers ride up and want to put
their horses there. I may mislay it for a quarter of an hour. If
they are only staying for a short time, they will probably content
themselves with leaving the horses in the yard when they find they
cannot get into the stables."
"Thank you very much. I think an hour will give us a fair start, for
at any rate we could not be overtaken before it gets dark."
Five minutes later Yorke and Hans rode out into the yard, followed by
Peter, and were soon clear of the town. They now put their horses into
a trot, the native keeping eight or ten lengths behind. They slackened
their pace a little as they passed between two hills, on which parties
of Boers were posted. There was nothing unusual in their riding out to
join the scouting parties, and no attention was paid to them. When well
beyond this point, they again quickened their pace.
"It is a pity you did not kill Dirck, Master Yorke," Hans said; "he
will always be a trouble."
"I could not kill him in cold blood, Hans; though, if it had been a
fight, I should have done so without hesitation. He has tried to kill
me twice, and I should feel myself perfectly justified in taking his
life. However, we can congratulate ourselves on having got out of that
scrape so easily. If the alarm had been given, nothing could have saved
us. You and I would have been denounced as spies, and shot without the
semblance of a trial. We will endeavour to cross the river to-night, if
we can get down to the bank without interruption. If we were to meet
any party now, our story that we have just joined the commando, and
have been sent by Moens on outpost duty to begin with, would do as long
as we are posted on the river. But this would hardly be good enough if
we cross, especially as we do not know whether any parties are beyond
it; and as we may have a lot of them out in pursuit of us in half an
hour, we cannot risk being detained. Besides, it will be quite dark by
the time we get there, and naturally we should wait till morning before
crossing the river. So we will go on till we believe we are about a
mile from it, and then turn off, strike the river, and if it is too
dark then to choose a place for crossing, wait till morning. But if
we don't find the banks too steep, we will swim the horses over. I
sha'n't be comfortable until we are on the other side.
"We need not worry ourselves, but will let the horses go at their own
pace, so as to be fresh if we are chased. Besides, if we are going at a
leisurely pace, we shall not attract any particular attention should we
be seen by the scouts on the neighbouring hills."
They went at a fast canter now.
"I am afraid that it is too light to go on," Yorke said, when he
guessed that they were within three miles of the river. "We will turn
off to the left, and when we get to a place where we cannot be seen
from any of the hills, we will halt till it is nearly dark, then we
will turn back, recross the road, and keep along on the north side
of it. If anyone in search of us comes along and questions the Boer
outposts, if they get any information at all, it will be that we were
seen to turn off to the left of the road, and they will think that we
intend to cross either by the Hanover Road, or that of Philipstown, or
to swim the river between them. Of course that would be our natural
line to De Aar, and it is at these points their scouts will be most
vigilant, for any hostile movement would come from De Aar, and not from
the north road through Petrusville. This is so evident, that I have
great doubts whether they would even place a guard at that crossing."
This plan was carried out. Recrossing the road after dark, they kept
close to it, pausing and listening occasionally for the sound of
horsemen.
"They have gone by other roads," Yorke said. "Now, Peter," he went on,
"you have better ears than any of us, and your footsteps will not be
heard. We will keep half a mile behind you, and will lead the horses.
When you get near the river, you must go very cautiously, and find out
whether there are any men on guard there. When you have discovered
that, run back with the news. Of course, if no one is there, we shall
come straight on and cross. If there is a guard, we will turn to the
right and strike the river a mile higher up, and cross if we can."
Peter at once set off at a run, the others following at a leisurely
walk. In half an hour he rejoined them.
"No one is there, baas, and the water is low, and we can cross the
drift easily enough."
"That is good. We will push on at once, then, for if those fellows in
the stables were discovered soon after we left, we may have a party in
pursuit of us along this road, as well as the others, even now."
They mounted and went on at a trot to the river. It was of some width,
but it was not too deep for the horses to ford. They had gone a quarter
of a mile on the other side, when Peter said, "Listen, master, horses
coming." They drew rein, and sat listening for two or three minutes.
They could hear nothing. Then there was a low sound, which rapidly
increased in volume until it came to an abrupt halt. Then on the still
night air they could hear a volley of execrations.
"They have reached the river. We only had ten minutes to spare," Yorke
said. "I don't think they will pursue us any farther, as they cannot be
sure that we have come by this road, though they must have learned from
the men on the hills that we started for it; but we might easily have
crossed to the Philippolis side after we got out of sight. At any rate,
they know that they would have no chance of catching us to-night, as we
should only have to move two or three hundred yards off the road to be
well out of sight. Now, Peter, tear up one of the blankets and muffle
the horses' feet; they could hear us a long way off in the stillness."
"I will do that, baas; but they too angry and talk too much to hear us."
"That is likely enough, Peter; but there is nothing like being on the
safe side."
Five minutes sufficed to muffle the feet of the horses, and then they
continued their journey, keeping on the road, sometimes going at a
trot, and sometimes walking, until they had covered, they calculated,
some twenty miles from the river. Then they moved off a few hundred
yards, opened the saddle-bags, and had a good meal, gave the horses
a feed of mealies, and lay down for the night. They were on the move
again at daybreak. Yorke had decided to go on as far as the little
stream called the Hondebloss, where they could give the horses a drink
and fill up the water-bottles, which they had not had time to do before
leaving, though fortunately they had watered their horses at the small
stream that runs through Colesberg. It was possible that there might
be a Boer force at Petrusville, and therefore he determined to strike
due west from the river for Potfontein Siding. The distance was too far
to be traversed in a day, without the risk of knocking up the horses.
Consequently they camped out on the veldt that night, and arrived at
the little railway-station the next morning.
Here they found a company of militia, whose officer at first regarded
them with some suspicion. Yorke had, however, that morning stowed away
his wig as before, and Hans had cut off the long fringe of hair under
his straw-hat, and on stripping off his coat and flannel shirt, Yorke
showed the khaki uniform underneath, with shoulder-strap with the
badges showing the number of his corps. The story, too, that he had
escaped from Pretoria was recognized to be true.
"You will have to ride up to the Modder, there is no getting into a
train here. Troops are passing up every day. I suppose you know that
Lord Roberts has now arrived to take the command. He reached Cape
Town on the 10th of January. Lord Kitchener came with him as chief of
his staff. We expect them to come through in a few days. Our troops
have been pouring up fast. No doubt there will be a forward movement
directly he arrives. It is a frightful nuisance being stuck down here
guarding the line. So you have come down from Pretoria? How did you
manage to get away?"
"It is a long story," Yorke replied. "I shall have time to give it
to you at full length presently. As Lord Roberts has not yet come
up, I shall give my horses a couple of days' rest. They have made a
tremendous journey. We drove from Pretoria to Bloemfontein, averaging
nearly fifty miles a day, got a lift in the train down to Colesberg,
and have come from there in two days."
"They certainly deserve a rest then before going ninety miles from here
to the Modder."
"I wish I could get a lift in a train. Our horses have done very heavy
work lately. We should have three days' ride of thirty miles each to
the Modder; it would be much pleasanter for us to be able to go by
train than have to ride all the way."
"I am afraid I cannot manage that," the officer said. "Quantities of
stores are going up, and lots of Kaffirs accompany them to help handle
them and do heavy work. If you had been on foot, of course you could
have gone, but we have no empty trucks we could put on for the horses.
And now I suppose you are hungry. We have nothing but bully beef to
offer you. There is no getting up stores at present, and we have none
but our rations."
"Thank you. I breakfasted before starting. I have some five or six
pounds of excellent cold beef, which I hope you will join me in eating.
I have also a couple of bottles of wine and a tin of biscuits."
"That is reversing the usual order of things," the officer laughed.
"However, we are not men to stand on ceremony. At any rate, we will add
your fare to ours."
An hour later Yorke sat down to a meal with the three officers of the
detachment; and he then related the story of his escape from Pretoria,
and, without alluding to the treasure, told how Hans had overheard the
plot to attack the house of the English president of one of the mines,
and how they had defeated it.
"You may well say that your man is a good fellow, and that native
of yours also. Your servant is eating his supper now with the
non-commissioned officers, and by the laughter, I have no doubt he is
giving them his account of his adventures."
The next two days were spent quietly in resting the horses, and
with good feeding they were again fit for travel. On the following
morning they mounted early and rode to Orange River Station. Yorke was
hospitably entertained by one of the officers of a regiment stationed
there, while Hans and Peter were equally well looked after. Two days
afterwards they rode into the camp on the Modder River.