It was shortly after noon when Jack set out from Kimberley on his long
ride to Johannesburg, and as he could not expect to get there before the
afternoon of 11th October, when the ultimatum addressed by President
Kruger to the British Government expired, he determined to ride at a
moderate pace, for he knew that Wilfred would wait for his arrival. But
there was another matter to be considered. An Englishman would now be a
marked man in the Transvaal or the Orange Free State, so that if he
wished to get through undetected, he must choose the darkest hours for
travelling, and lie up during the day.
About five miles out from Kimberley he pulled up, knee-haltered his
ponies, and sat down on a boulder, with a map of the two republics
spread out before him.
"Let me see!" he thought; "I must pick out a route which will be little
frequented just now. The Transvaallers, I know, are rushing west and
north to Mafeking and the northern border, and east and south towards
Natal. The other fellows in the southern state are making down this way
to Kimberley with some of the Transvaallers, and they are certain to
combine at Bloemfontein, coming across country by train. The remainder
go east to Natal. That leaves the Vaal River deserted, and that ought
to be my direction. I will wait here till dusk, and then cut straight
to the right into the Orange Free State, and make for the road to
Hoopstad. From there I must manage to get to the neighbourhood of
Reitzburg, cross the river, and trust to luck to get through the
remaining distance. It will be touch and go, but, dressed as I am, I
ought to have a chance."
And, indeed, looking at Jack anyone might have admitted the same. Clad
in Mr Hunter's old tweed suit, which was a size or two too big for him
across the shoulders and round the waist, but all too short at wrists
and ankles, he looked for all the world like the average Boer. Beneath
his trousers he wore a pair of high riding-boots, round his neck was a
blue woollen scarf, and on his head a dilapidated and weather-beaten
felt hat. Over his left shoulder was a bandolier filled with
cartridges, and hitched over the other, and drawn tight against his back
so that the butt swung well free of his saddle, was his Lee-Metford
rifle. In addition he carried a water-bottle, a mackintosh sheet, with
a hole in the middle through which he could put his head, and his Mauser
pistol, which was comfortably hidden away in its old position.
Extra shoes, or implements for putting them on to his ponies, were not
wanted, for in addition to their many other good points, these shaggy,
unkempt-looking Basuto animals, though never shod, were nevertheless
equally fast over grass or stony ground.
It was still early in the day, and after riding on a few miles, Jack
pulled up again and off-saddled, so as to rest his ponies. Whilst they
set about foraging for themselves, he sat under a large eucalyptus-tree,
pulled out his pipe and lit it, and proceeded to clean his rifle. A few
hours later the shadow in which he sat had lengthened considerably, and
he turned round towards the west to see the sun, which had been
streaming down upon him all the day, just declining behind a far-distant
range of mountains. It was a sight which set Jack moralising, for here,
before his eyes, was a gorgeous scene, a fit subject for any artist.
The sun was sinking in a splendour of gold and purple lights, and the
heavens above it were decked with beautifully red and silver-streaked
blue clouds, against which the jagged broken peaks of the mountains
stood up boldly, while their rugged and boulder-strewn slopes, and the
stretch of rolling veldt below, were already clouded with the shades of
coming night. It was a peaceful scene, and why, thought Jack, should
not all the beings dwelling within reach of it, or, for the matter of
that, dwelling in a country capable of displaying such a prospect as lay
before him, live in peace and good brotherhood with one another and
enjoy it? South Africa was a vast country, so sparsely populated that
one could ride for miles and miles without sighting so much as a roof or
habitation, let alone a man. And yet no one thought of the beauties of
the country. Other and deeper matters vexed their minds, and because
they could not agree they were on the brink of a sanguinary war which
would mean an awful loss of life, and--what then?
"Mr Hunter says it's a case of British supremacy," he murmured. "Yes,
that's what it is, and that is what it shall be when the war is over."
And straightway Jack forgot all about the declining sun, and the
peaceful landscape, and with a curious feeling of elation, which the
thought of coming excitement had given him, knocked the ashes out of his
pipe, jumped briskly to his feet, and set about saddling his ponies.
Half an hour later it was dark, save for a small moon which just gave
sufficient light to show the road. Jack vaulted into his saddle,
hitched his rifle over his shoulder, shook the reins, and cantered off
across the main road running north, and then on over the rolling veldt,
which was just beginning to send forth a few blades of fresh green
grass.
Alternately cantering and walking, and changing from one pony to the
other, he kept steadily on, the unshod hoofs of his animals making no
sound, so that Jack had the advantage of being able to hear anyone
approaching. Five hours later he stumbled upon the road from Kimberley
to Hoopstad, and at once off-saddled to rest himself and his ponies for
an hour.
During that time no one passed, and having eaten a good meal of biscuit
and hard-boiled eggs, he started again, riding along just by the side of
the road, and turning on to it now and again, when the veldt was so
strewn with boulders or cut up by nullahs and deep water-courses as to
make it difficult for him to pick his way.
About half an hour later he heard a low, murmuring sound in the
distance, and in a few moments could plainly distinguish galloping
hoofs. Instantly he turned on to the veldt, and made for a steep kopje
a hundred yards off, amongst the boulders of which he quickly hid both
himself and the animals.
He was not a moment too soon, for just as he got Vic and Prince prone on
the ground, and had seated himself on the quarters of one of them, a
couple of horsemen came spurring up alongside the road, while three more
at that moment galloped round from the farther side of the kopje on
which he was hiding, looking ghostly and white in the faint rays of the
moon. They all pulled up within a few yards of Jack, and one of them,
whom he recognised at once as Hans Schloss, the fat and vindictive
little German, turning in his saddle pointed to the top of the hill, and
cried out: "Ha, my friends, there is the flag, and here we shall all
gather before riding on to kill those pigs of Englishmen in Kimberley!"
"That's so," another voice broke in. "That's the flag kopje, and your
friends the Transvaal burghers will be joining us at midnight. They are
coming through from Bloemhof, and should be here in good time. Then,
Hans, my boy, we shall ride for Kimberley, but as for killing the
Rooineks, that is another matter. We shall not catch them napping.
They are ready, but if the good Lord will give us strength we shall
drive them out. Then, Hans, you shall kill them, and they shall be
filled with fear at the sight of you. Ha, ha! you will frighten them
out of their lives, my brave comrade!"
The Boer chuckled audibly, and Hans Schloss, whose self-conceit and
density were almost as pronounced as his fatness, failed to see the
thinly-veiled sarcasm, and joined in heartily, dropping one hand upon
his thigh and assuming such an attitude of importance that his
companions roared at the sight.
"Two days more, and we shall be over the border," another of the Boers
cried, when the laughter had died down, "and then there will be good
work for all of us. For years we have waited, and now our dreams are to
be realised. Even now most of the Uitlanders will have left us, and
those who have not gone are hurrying as fast as possible to the
frontiers. Well, they had better do so, for after 11th October it will
be an evil day for any of them should we catch them. Only a few who
have permits signed are to be allowed to stay, and those we will set to
work at native labour. It will be more fitted for them."
"Yes," chimed in another with a hoarse chuckle, "they shall be set to
work at our trenches, and if an English bullet should pick them out,
then all the better. But softly, Carl! In two days' time we shall be
rid of the Rooineks, 'tis true, but they are a stubborn nation, and
these boys they send against us are filled with pluck. Our leaders have
asked us to believe otherwise, but we, who have lived in the towns, know
that it is not always so. They will fight us, and to the death. But we
shall beat them, and then what a prospect there will be before us!
Ourselves one of the big Dutch states of Africa, we shall have ships
upon the sea, while here the natives will slave to dig out the gold and
diamonds. Independence is a great thing, but for us who have seen
something of the world besides a lonely farm, wealth and riches in
abundance are more to be desired. And we shall get them by the help of
these Kafirs, while we live the same old peaceful life. Then we shall
sail over to London--if England still exists--and our old enemies will
be glad to welcome the Boer millionaires who have come to visit them and
help them with their gold."
What other wild dreams this bearded young man would have spoken of is
difficult to guess, for at this moment a commando of Boer horsemen
trotted up on the road. Within five minutes all had halted, and were
seated upon the ground or boulders lying thickly everywhere, smoking
their pipes and conversing in loud tones while they waited for the
arrival of their friends who were following them, and for the burghers
from the Transvaal who were to join with them in attacking Kimberley.
All this time Jack had remained silently amongst the huge splintered
rocks tumbled haphazard on the kopje, listening with all his ears, and
ready at a moment's notice to slip away and gallop for his life. He was
in a precarious position, even more so than when a prisoner in the
magazine near Volksrust. For here he was surrounded by a band of men
armed to the teeth and ready for war, and only too willing to wreak
their vengeance on the hated English. Glancing up at the top of the
kopje, he noticed now what he had failed to see before, a broad flag,
the vierkleur, flying from a post wedged between the rocks. A few
seconds' consideration showed him that his best course was to lie
quietly where he was, without attempting to move, unless some Boer
happened to discover him. His ponies lay as if dead upon the ground,
and were not likely to betray him except by snorting or answering the
neighs of other animals, and to guard against this he rapidly passed the
thong employed in knee-haltering them round their muzzles, effectively
preventing them from making a sound.
Minutes passed, dragging terribly slowly for Jack, but at last there was
a distant shout, and a few moments later a commando, about five hundred
strong, rode silently across the veldt and pulled up on the road.
Almost at the same instant a large force of men and wagons came up on
the road from Hoopstad, and after all bad exchanged greetings, and a
brief prayer had been recited by one of them, who was evidently in
command, they scrambled into their saddles and set off at a walk.
Jack watched them file past, in threes and fours, and in any kind of
order. Then came the wagons, drawn by long spans of patient, toiling
oxen, showing clearly in the white moonlight, so that several large
pieces of cannon were visible. More wagons followed, heaped high with
shell and cases of ammunition, while others contained sacks of flour and
mealies, and a few Boer women who had cast in their lot with their men
folk, and had come to act as cooks. There were also a few Kafir
servants and drivers; while in rear of all rode a small body of bearded
men, joking and laughing uproariously, and evidently in the highest
spirits at the prospects before them. Jack gave them half an hour to
get well away, and to make sure that there were no stragglers following.
Then he cast off the thongs from the muzzles of Vic and Prince, and was
soon cantering along by the side of the road as before in the direction
of Hoopstad. By four in the morning, when the clouds in the east were
beginning to brighten, he had ridden some sixty miles, and was within
fifteen of Hoopstad. He now searched about for a secure hiding-place,
and presently came across an isolated farm standing a few miles back
from the road. Leaving his ponies hidden upon the side of another
convenient kopje, he stole forward, and soon reached the building.
There was no one about, not even a dog, and he at once boldly walked up
to the door. It was locked, but a window he tried was unlatched, and
Jack at once squeezed through it and drew up the blind. The farmhouse
consisted of two large rooms, a kitchen and a bedroom, and both were
empty.
"Ah, all gone to the war!" thought Jack. "This place will suit me
perfectly. It's well away from the road, so that no one is likely to
come near, and if anyone does, he will find the door locked, and will
probably go away at once."
Unlocking the door, he went out and fetched his ponies, leading them
into the farmhouse, and stabling them in the kitchen. Then he searched
about in the few outhouses, and having discovered some straw and oats,
came back and made his animals quite comfortable. Another journey
procured water for them, and then, locking the door once more and
pulling down the blind, Jack first indulged in a much-needed meal, and
then lay down in a bed in the sleeping-room.
When he awoke the sun was already more than half-way overhead, and as
soon as it was dark he set out again, and by early morning had reached
the neighbourhood of Reitzburg. Here he was forced to camp in the open,
in a thick belt of scrub composed of acacias and mimosa shrubs, for
there was no comfortable farmhouse available. But it was much the same
to Jack. He enjoyed a good meal, watered Vic and Prince, knee-haltered
them, and once more lay down to sleep.
Early on the following morning, as day was beginning to break, he rode
round to the back of Johannesburg and pulled up at Mr Hunter's house.
No one was to be seen, so he stabled his ponies, and then knocked loudly
at the door.
"_Who's_ that?" Mr Hunter shouted from above; and then, when Jack had
made himself known and had been admitted, cried in astonishment: "Good
heavens, my boy! I did not expect you for two days at least, and
perhaps not then, for I asked you to do an almost impossible thing.
However have you managed to get here? My letter can only have reached
you on the 9th at the earliest, and here you are at dawn on the 12th.
But come in, my lad; you must be tired out, and will want a good sleep."
"Yes, I am a little done up," Jack admitted. "I have been riding ever
since dusk yesterday, and did the same for two whole nights before that.
I have ridden every inch of the way from Kimberley, through Hoopstad
and Reitzburg, and my legs and back are so stiff that I can scarcely
move them. I think I'll have a hot bath if I can get one, and then get
Tom Thumb to rub me down with oil. A good tuck-in and a small nip of
brandy will set me up again, and after a few hours' sleep I shall be fit
to start for the border."
Accordingly Jack jumped into a hot bath, and was well rubbed with oil.
After that he partook of a good meal and at once turned in between
beautifully-clean sheets, to which, down Kimberley way, he had been a
total stranger, except when he and Tom returned from one of their
expeditions.
Almost before his head was on the pillow he was fast asleep, and when he
woke again, feeling wonderfully refreshed, it was already getting dusk.
"Ah, there you are!" cried Mr Hunter with satisfaction, when he made
his appearance in the dining-room. "Now I will tell you what has
happened since the ultimatum, and indeed since war became a certainty.
On October let the governments at Pretoria and Bloemfontein called up
their burghers, and since then our streets have been filled with men,
all on their way to the front, armed and supplied with ammunition, and
trusting to an iniquitous system of commandeering to obtain other
necessaries. No one's property has been safe, and we in Johannesburg
have suffered, I believe, more heavily than any others. My store has
been practically denuded of its contents, so that I now congratulate
myself on having cancelled all expected consignments of goods from
Durban for the past three months, and having cleared all goods remaining
here as rapidly as possible. Some of my friends have not been so
fortunate, and have lost everything valuable to men about to embark in a
campaign. Horses have been seized everywhere, and there again I have
been wise in time. Two weeks ago I sent over the four-wheeled cart and
four good horses to Ted Ellison's farm, ten miles out from here. They
will be perfectly safe there, for Ted married a Boer girl five years
ago, and she is a good little woman, who would gladly see all this
trouble over and a British government here, with the usual peace and
good order.
"At the present moment my stables are cleared of everything save your
two ponies, and they will be safe till you start, for the Boers have
twice paid me a visit, and have commandeered every saddle and horse I
had left."
"I'm glad to hear about the team and cart," said Jack thoughtfully.
"But why not take the train down to the border. Surely Kruger and his
friends will grant all refugees a safe-conduct?"
"Safe-conduct! A precious fine conduct they are giving us! Thousands
of poor creatures are clamouring to be taken down, and have been doing
so for these past three days. But what can you expect, Jack? It is a
single line to Natal, and every inch of it is occupied in passing down
trains laden with burghers. The refugees are quite a secondary matter,
and by all accounts are experiencing cruel times. All available
carriages are packed with Boers, and our poor country-people have to do
as best they can in open cattle trucks or coal wagons.
"Then every station is crammed with armed and excited Transvaallers, who
have committed all sorts of detestable acts. I know this is the case,
for Joe Pearson, who works on the railway in ordinary times, watched
train after train of refugees passing through one of the stations. The
older Boers are quiet and well conducted, but it is the younger men who
have committed these excesses. Threatening to shoot helpless passengers
is the least of them. They have actually kept the poor people in the
sidings for as many as twenty-four hours, absolutely preventing their
leaving the trucks to obtain food or water. It is really terrible. The
unhappy women and children, who form a good proportion of the refugees,
have been exposed to the weather for three days between here and Laing's
Nek, and you can imagine what that has meant, for you yourself
experienced the heavy rain last night. I hear one or two of the
children died on the way down.
"It is dreadfully sad, terribly sad. But there is one consolation,
England will demand a just retribution when the time comes.
"That is why I have decided to send Mrs Hunter down by road, rather
than let her run the risks of the journey by train. The horses are good
ones, and ought to get you to Volksrust quicker than the rail; that is,
of course, if they are not commandeered. If that were to happen, I
suppose you would have to get to the nearest station. But I can leave
that to you, Jack. You have an old head upon those broad shoulders of
yours."
"I'll do my best, never fear, Mr Hunter," Jack exclaimed. "And now
about starting. I suppose we had better do so at once. Mrs Hunter can
ride Vic, and Wilfred and I will take it in turns to get on Prince's
back."
"Yes, I think you had better go at once, my lad. Mrs Hunter is ready,
and Tom Thumb carried over a hamper of provisions to Ted Ellison's last
night. All I shall ask you to carry is this bag of notes and gold-dust.
Wilfred has another, and Mrs Hunter a third. I shall stay here to
look after the house and property, and to keep an eye on the mines. I
have already asked for a permit, and ought to get it, as I am one of the
oldest residents here."
"By the way, Mr Hunter," said Jack suddenly, "this is the 12th. Has
the war begun yet? I suppose it has, as these Boer fellows seem to have
been in readiness long ago.
"Yes, it has already opened with a sharp affair with an armoured train
below Mafeking, and I am sorry to say our boys, under Captain Nesbit,
V.C., were taken prisoners. The news has only just reached us, but it
appears they made a gallant stand before they were taken, and accounted
for a few of the Boers. They were running up from Kimberley to
Mafeking, and suddenly came upon a part where the rails had been broken
up. It was a regular trap, for the enemy had their guns already laid
for it, and used them freely. Well, it is just the opening incident of
a long campaign, that is all."
By now it was quite dark, and after a tender farewell from her husband,
Mrs Hunter and the two lads, Jack and Wilfred, slipped round to the
stables.
A few minutes later the door was opened silently, and they issued out on
to the veldt, Mrs Hunter and Wilfred mounted respectively upon Vic and
Prince, while Jack walked alongside.
An hour and a half later Ted Ellison's farm was reached. The heavy
spring-cart was already standing in the yard, with the hamper stowed
inside, and it took very little time to put the team in and hook up the
traces.
"Now, Wilfred," said Jack, who had all this time been thinking how best
to arrange matters so as to ensure their safe arrival in Natal, "you hop
up there and take the reins. When you get into the road, keep the team
at a steady trot, and if anyone shouts to you in Dutch, answer them, and
keep rattling on. You know their lingo, and that should be a great
advantage. I am going to keep some way ahead of you, and shall scout on
one side of the road first and then on the other. If you hear a whistle
like this"--and Jack gave a low but peculiarly piercing and
long-drawn-out whistle, which he had learnt from Tom Salter--"pull up at
once, and wait till I tell you the road is clear. If I whistle twice,
turn on to the veldt, and whip up till you are well away from the road."
Having given his directions, Jack vaulted on to Prince's back, and,
leading Vic, turned away from the farm, after thanking Ted Ellison and
his wife, who heartily wished them a safe journey.
For three miles they went at a slow pace, Jack riding close beside the
cart. Then they struck across the main wagon-road to Natal, and Jack at
once cantered ahead on the veldt. To all appearances he was a young
Boer burgher bound for the wars, so that even if he did happen to run
across anyone, he was not likely to be recognised in the darkness as an
Englishman. Beneath his coat he still wore his bandolier, and his
pistol under his waistcoat, while his rifle was firmly strapped to the
side of the empty saddle on Vic's back.
Mile after mile passed by without a single Boer appearing. Then the
sky, which had been open up to this, became banked up with clouds, and
very soon a heavy storm broke, thunder roared, and large, jagged forks
of lightning flickered everywhere, lighting up the lonely road running
across the veldt. Then the rain began to pour down in a heavy deluge.
Wilfred and Mrs Hunter were well provided with waterproofs, and Jack by
this time was enveloped in his large mackintosh, only his head and his
broad-brimmed hat being exposed, while the ends of the rubber sheet fell
over his pony's neck and quarters, and completely protected his legs.
Suddenly, as he was cantering silently along on the veldt, the only
sounds being the noise of the thunder and the squish, squish of the
ponies' feet, a brilliant flash of lightning seemed to pierce the ground
some yards behind him, and almost instantly a hoarse voice cried out:
"Wie gaat daar?"
He cantered on, and a moment after heard Wilfred answer the hail, for it
was evident that Jack himself had escaped discovery, while the team and
cart, trotting along on the open road, had been shown up by the flash.
Then there was a second hoarse hail, and an order for the cart to pull
up. But Wilfred paid no heed, and instead whipped up his horses, and
sent them flying down the road.
Jack meanwhile had turned to the left and then ridden back, well away
from the road, till he was on a level with the cart. Then he turned
towards it and pulled up. As he did so a second flash showed Wilfred
standing up and using his whip freely, while two mounted Boers were
galloping along on either side of the leaders, vainly endeavouring to
pull them up. At last, however, finding themselves unsuccessful, and
stung to madness by Wilfred's whip, one of them lifted his rifle and
fired at the near leader, bringing the animal to the ground like a
stone. The others stopped at once, almost throwing Mrs Hunter and
Wilfred out of the cart.
Seeing that there was likely to be trouble, Jack at once reached over
and unstrapped his rifle. Then he galloped up to the cart, to find that
Mrs Hunter had been roughly dragged on to the road, while the second
Boer was hastily lashing Wilfred to the wheel of the cart. What his
intentions were was evident, for at that moment he completed the
lashing, strode away a few paces, and lifted his rifle to his shoulder.
"Stop that!" shouted Jack, pulling up close to him. "We are refugees
and deserve fair treatment!"
In an instant the Boer, who was a fierce young fellow, swung round and
fired point-blank at him, the bullet cutting a streak from the brim of
his hat.
Jack's answer was even more rapid. His rifle spoke out, and the Boer
dropped prone on the road. Then he swung round just in time to duck and
escape a second bullet from the other Boer, and before the latter could
load again, Jack's Mauser pistol had safely reached his hand beneath the
mackintosh, and the muzzle of it just showed at the edge in front,
directed straight for the man's head.
"Drop your rifle!" he said sternly. "That's it! Now take off your
cartridge-belt! That will do! Stand over there in the road! Now,
Wilfred," he said, turning to his friend, "as soon as Mrs Hunter has
set you loose, back the cart away from the leader and cut the harness.
Then drive on, and I will catch you up."
"Move on up the road in front of me," he continued, addressing the Boer,
"and if you attempt any tricks I'll put a bullet through you!"
The young Boer evidently understood every word, for with a downcast air
he set out along the road in the direction of Johannesburg, with Jack a
couple of yards behind him. A mile farther on, when the storm seemed to
have reached its height, and the thunder was roaring overhead in long,
continuous claps, Jack quietly pulled up, turned on to the veldt, and
galloped back, leaving his prisoner still marching on in blissful
ignorance.
When he arrived at the scene of the recent conflict he dismounted,
picked up both of the Boer rifles and bandoliers, and, mounting again,
galloped away into the veldt, where he smashed the butts against a
boulder.
"That fellow is safe to return as soon as he finds I have slipped away,"
he thought, "and if I left the rifles the chances are he would follow
and stalk me. That will settle him at any rate."
Once more he cantered on, and caught up the cart about two miles along
the road. Wilfred at once pulled up, and the two young fellows held a
consultation.
"It was a piece of bad luck all through," said Jack, with an exclamation
of disgust. "If there had been light enough I should have seen those
fellows, and could have warned you so as to avoid them. That flash of
lightning just spoilt our chances. If it hadn't been for that we should
have got through. One thing is certain too, that if we had given in to
them, and pulled up when they ordered us to do so, we should have had
our cart and horses commandeered, and then we should have been in a nice
pickle."
"That's just what I thought," answered Wilfred. "I knew it meant that
we were prisoners, or that the cart and team would go, so I held on and
gave them a taste of the whip when they came alongside. My word,
though, it was a precious near shave for us! I very nearly went flying
on to the horses' backs. But as it is, neither of us is hurt, thanks to
you, Jack, old boy!"
"Well, it was a near shave," agreed Jack. "That Boer's bullet has cut a
long slice out of my hat. I was sorry to shoot the poor fellow, but he
brought it on himself, and certainly deserved it, for he meant to kill
you. But now, about the other man. I took him up the road, and on the
way back broke the rifles. I noticed, too, that both their horses had
scampered away on to the veldt. For all that he is now on his way to
the nearest station, and before two hours have passed the news will have
been telegraphed down the road to Yolksrust, and the Boers will be on
the look-out for us. What are we to do? We are sure to run our heads
into a trap if we go on in this direction."
"Why not bear to the right and strike into the road for Villiersdorp in
the Orange Free State, and from there to Harrismith?" asked Mrs Hunter.
"I have driven along it more than once. We can cross the Vaal by the
drift (ford), and by taking that route shall put the Boers off the
scent."
"That's a capital plan, Mrs Hunter!" cried Jack. "What do you think,
Wilfred?"
"Yes, I quite agree with Mother," Wilfred answered. "The Villiersdorp
road will be the one for us, and once we get into the other state we
shall be comparatively safe from molestation, for the burghers there are
not nearly so bitter against us as are these Transvaallers."
Accordingly the cart was driven off the road to the right, and then
across the veldt in a south-westerly direction. Soon they bumped across
the railway, and before dawn were on the other road. Driving along it a
little way they came to a part which was covered with kopjes, and here,
within easy distance of the road, they made a halt, pulling the cart
into a deep donga (big water-course), where it was completely hidden.
Alongside it they stretched out their mackintoshes on the sodden ground,
and having waited till the day had broken, and satisfied themselves that
no one was about, they lay down and fell asleep.
Three nights later they were in the neighbourhood of Harrismith without
having met with any adventure of note upon the way, and on the following
night they drove past Albertina, where they discarded the cart, leaving
it for the first comer to appropriate, and pushed forward to Van
Reenen's Pass in the Drakenberg mountains. This they knew was already
watched by a force of Free Stater Boers, but they were looking more for
an invasion from Natal than for refugees endeavouring to slip through
from their own country.
Jack scouted ahead, and having found the pass free of men, went back and
informed his companions. Then they pushed on again, Wilfred leading one
of the three horses and riding another, while Mrs Hunter boldly clung
to the back of the third. A pitch-black darkness and heavy rain again
favoured them, and they slipped through the pass and down to the plain
below unchallenged.
Two hours later the welcome hail "Who goes there?" in healthy English,
greeted them, and having shouted back "Friends", they halted and waited
for the cavalry patrol to give them permission to go on.
Soon afterwards they were in Ladysmith, and had found rooms at the
hotel, where their arrival after their long and adventurous drive caused
quite a sensation. But all three were too tired to do much talking.
They snatched a hasty meal, and retired to bed, where they were soon
sleeping the sleep of exhaustion.
There was no need for them to rise at dusk and set out again, for they
were now in the British camp and in British territory, so that when Jack
did wake, late in the afternoon, he rolled over again and dozed off for
more than two hours longer. Then he turned out, shook Wilfred, who was
asleep in a bed in the same room, and, accompanied by him, crossed the
camp and indulged in a swim in a large pool of water where many of the
soldiers were bathing.
"Now, what is the order?" cried Jack, when they had returned to the
hotel and had sat down to dinner with Mrs Hunter, in a room in which
many of the officers were dining. "I suppose you will go down to
Pietermaritzburg or Durban, Mrs Hunter, and if Wilfred will escort you
there, I will stay here for a day or two, and then make across to
Kimberley. There may be something going on here during the next few
days, and if so I should like to be in it."
"Yes, that is what I shall do, Jack," Mrs Hunter replied. "I have
friends at 'Maritzburg, and will join them to-morrow. Probably any
wounded there may be--and I fear there will be many of them, poor
fellows, before long--will be sent down there to the hospitals, and if
so I shall occupy myself in nursing them. I have had some experience,
and I dare say everyone willing to act the good Samaritan will be
welcomed."
"Then I will take you down there, Mother," said Wilfred, "and after that
will go with Jack if I may. Father told me it was more than probable
that he would be ejected from the Transvaal before long, for he has no
direct connection with the mines. In that case he will come south, and
I shall wait here on the chance of his doing so. We shall hear from him
before long, and if he is able to remain in Johannesburg I shall go
across to Kimberley and join Jack."
"Very well, then, I shall expect you some day, but I think you will have
to wait for the relieving force," Jack said. "Kimberley is already
closely invested, I have no doubt, and you would have no chance of
getting in, for you do not know the country. I do, however, and now
that I have had such practice at long-distance riding, I shall slip in
if I can, and then volunteer to carry despatches either south to De Aar,
or north to Mafeking. Later on, if the town is not relieved--and a long
siege seems to be expected,--I shall get out again, and see whether I
cannot join one or other of the relieving-forces which are certain to be
sent. For the present I shall rest here a little while."
Accordingly Jack made himself at home, and on the following day, when
Wilfred and Mrs Hunter had departed, he turned out into the camp, and
was not long in making friends with a number of young officers, and with
some of the soldiers.
Ladysmith he found was much like other towns in the district. Its most
prominent building was the Town Hall, round which there were clusters of
stores and verandahed houses, mostly with tin roofs, which reflected the
rays of the sun like a number of large mirrors. In and about the
houses, and around the town, was a more or less treeless, open plain,
while surrounding it on every side were ridges and mountains which had a
most imposing effect.
Jack was soon in conversation with a young captain of the gunners, and
with him he made a tour of the camps, thoroughly enjoying the sight of
all the tents, wagons, and guns, and the hundreds of khaki-clothed
soldiers bustling about in their shirt sleeves preparing the mid-day
meal All seemed to be in the very cheeriest of spirits, and as Jack and
his new friend passed amongst them he heard many a laughing allusion to
"Old Crujer" and the Boers.
In one corner of the camp a game of football was going on, and the
combatants, selected from two of the British regiments, were playing in
their shirt sleeves with as much keenness and energy as they would have
displayed at home before a crowd of onlookers. Here, however, there
were only a few officers watching the game, and a sprinkling of other
"Tommies", smart, healthy-looking men, smoking their pipes and
cigarettes, and making the most of the few days of ease which remained
before a sterner struggle would demand all their strength and courage.
"Fine boys, aren't they!" remarked the captain. "They are never so
happy as when they are kicking a football, or joining in some sort of
sport. I dare say if we have to stay here very long we shall hold a
gymkhana, a kind of athletic meeting on a large scale, and then Tommy is
in his element. Ah, they are jolly good fellows, and it's a real
pleasure to serve with them!"
Soon after this Jack said "Good-bye!" and returned to his hotel, where,
after luncheon, he again turned in for a sleep, for he had ridden some
four hundred miles in little more than a week, and still felt the effect
of the fatigue.