I have seen a good many astonished natives in my time but never a more
astonished one than my boy Tom that evening after supper, when
staggering to my feet and lurching unsteadily I bade him in thick and
indistinct accents to go into the store and fetch some new blankets for
my two guests to sleep on. When on his return, I cursed him roundly,
and threw an empty bottle at his head, taking good care however that it
shouldn't hit him, then subsided on to the floor to all outward
appearances in the last stage of helpless intoxication, poor Tom must
have thought the end of the world had come. This, of course, was part
of the programme as drawn up between myself and Jan Boom.
In every other particular I had scrupulously observed it even to the
severe laming of my unfortunate horse. Poor beast! but then what were
the passing sufferings of a mere animal, when issues such as this were
in the balance! I had got through the morning joining in the pretended
search, and it was while thus engaged that I found an opportunity of
imparting to the other two our plan of rescue.
"By the Lord!" exclaimed Kendrew, "I never heard such an extraordinary
thing in my life."
"The thing is, can we swallow it?" was Falkner's remark. "These niggers
are such infernal liars."
"Well. I'm going to follow it up, even if I go alone," I said.
"Who the devil said you were going alone, Glanton?" he answered gruffly.
"Look here, we rather hate each other, but you can't say that up there
in Zululand, for instance, I ever backed down."
"Certainly I can't, Sewin," I said. "What I can say is that in any sort
of scrap there's no man I'd rather have alongside than yourself. And as
for hating each other, it's only natural you should hate me I suppose,
but I've never returned the compliment."
"Well we'll knock hell out of someone to-night anyhow," he said. "Now
let's have all particulars of the scheme."