"This is an old friend of yours, then, Denham?" continued the Colonel.
"Oh yes," replied the Lieutenant. "His father, Mr Moray, was a most
kindly host to me during a long shooting expedition, and I am very glad
to have his son with us. I hope, sir, you will place him in the same
troop as I am."
"Certainly," said the Colonel, who then turned to me in a frank, bluff
way, and held out his hand.
"Glad to have you with us, Mr Moray," he said; "and I beg your pardon
for being so rough with you. Your appearance was a bit suspicious,
though. But what about this black fellow?"
"He is my servant, sir," I replied.
"Humph! But we can't allow privates in this corps to bring their
servants. It is not a picnic nor a shooting expedition."
Some one who heard these words cried "Oh!" loudly.
"I beg your pardon, gentlemen," said the Colonel, smiling; "it is. I
should have said this is not a hunting expedition. We all have to rough
it."
"I beg pardon, Colonel," said Lieutenant Denham, giving me a quick look.
"Private Moray meant to say the black had been the servant at his home.
I had forgotten the man. I remember him now. He was a good hunter and
manager of the bullock-wagon we took up the country."
"Yes, sir," I said eagerly; "and most useful in all ways."
"Be able to forage a little for game--eh--if we run short of food?"
"Oh, yes, sir!" I cried.
"That will do, then; let him stay with us."
Joeboy was straining his ears to catch every word, and I saw his face
light up as he caught my eye, and he gave his assagai a flourish.
"Yes," said the Colonel dryly, for he had had his eye upon the big
athletic black; "but tell him that he must obey orders, and not be
getting up any fighting upon his own account."
"He'll obey me, sir," I said, speaking so that Joeboy could hear; and he
looked at me and nodded.
"That incident is over, then," said the Colonel sharply. "Now, Mr
Denham, take a dozen men and continue the advance. We know now the
meaning of last night's firing; but see what you can find out about the
strength of the party holding the pass. Be careful of your party. We
are good shots; but recollect they are better, and I want information,
not to see you bring back half-a-dozen wounded men."
"I'll be careful, sir;" and ten minutes later, to my surprise and
delight at the way in which my position had altered during the last
half-hour, I was riding close behind Lieutenant Denham, while, proud of
his position, Joeboy was on in front, his knowledge of the pass we had
just descended being most valuable at such a time, the probabilities
tending to point out that he might be able to get well up to right or
left of the track and gain a pretty good idea of the strength of the
Boers without drawing a shot, whereas the sight of the horsemen, we
felt, would have been the signal for a shower of bullets.