I was roused up by the great skin-rug being jerked off me. I tried to
rise, but sank back, just able to repress a groan, and stared wildly at
the four bearded faces looking down at me. The curtains at front and
rear had been thrown back, and the sun was shining in from the front,
the horizontal rays striking right through the wagon. For a few moments
I was so much confused and stupefied by sleep that I could not grasp the
meaning of the scene. Then like a flash it all came. These four Boers
were going to lead us out to execution--to be shot--the fate of spies!
I set my teeth, and felt as if getting hardened now. My eyes turned to
Denham, who was seeking mine. He did not speak, but nodded and smiled
faintly, the look giving encouragement. Clenching my teeth, together, I
mentally vowed I would not let him be ashamed of me.
Just then my attention was diverted by one of our morning visitors, who
differed in appearance from the others. He was better dressed, wore his
hair short, and his moustache and beard were clipped into points. His
hands, which he laid upon my shoulders, were white. To my surprise,
this man examined my head, with its bandages and traces of injuries.
Then he looked hard in my eyes, and turned me a little over to examine
my tightly-bound wrists and ankles. Next he examined Denham in the same
way, my comrade gazing straight away, with his brow knit and lips
tightened into a thin red line, but he never once glanced at the
examiner.
"Well," said the latter, rising from one knee, "even if they are spies,
you need not treat them as if they were wild beasts."
"Captain Moriarty's orders," said the Boer, whom I recognised as my
captor of the previous night.
"Bah!" growled the other angrily. "You are soldiers now; act like
them."
I was listening with a feeling of gratitude that this man spoke
differently from the others, and he saw my eyes fixed upon him.
"Do you speak German?" he asked sharply.
"No," I replied; "but I understood you just now."
He nodded, and then turned to the others to speak in a low tone. The
result of this was that two of the men knelt down and set our arms free,
placing them before us, for they were perfectly numb and dead. Mine
looked as if the thongs had cut almost to the bone, the muscle having
swollen greatly.
The party then went out at the back; but my captor, who was last, turned
back and said:
"There are two sentries with loaded rifles at each end, and they have
orders to fire."
"What did he say, Val?" asked Denham as soon as we were alone.