"Well, Jack, what do you think of doing now?" asked Mrs Hunter, as soon
as the incidents of Talana Hill and Elandslaagte had been narrated. "Do
you intend to do as you had arranged, or will you stay here? I have
already put my name down as a nurse, and Wilfred is longing to accompany
you to Kimberley, or wherever you decide to go. A letter reached us
yesterday from Mr Hunter, in which he says he is to be allowed to
remain for the present at Johannesburg, but for how long he cannot tell.
Wilfred is to do as he likes, he writes, and since every loyal man in
the colony is needed, I will not attempt to dissuade him from joining
the troops. England is fighting for freedom and peace, but also for the
Uitlander population, and in my opinion every one of those capable of
bearing arms should help in the good work."
"I am going straight up to Kimberley, Mrs Hunter," Jack replied, "and
have already taken a passage to Port Elizabeth, whence I shall go by
train as far as De Aar, if that is possible. Once I reach that place I
shall ride during the night, and endeavour to slip into the town. Of
course the Boers are all round it by now, but others I have no doubt
will be able to slip in and out, and I mean to do the same, and once
there I shall volunteer as a despatch-rider. It will be exciting work,
and suited to my tastes, and the fact that I know the country well all
round, and between Kimberley and Mafeking, will help me considerably.
If Wilfred likes to come, we will make the attempt at slipping in
together, but after that he will have to stay in the town till it is
relieved."
"That will suit me, Jack, old chap," Wilfred replied eagerly. "The
garrison is not likely to sit down and do nothing. There will certainly
be exciting times, sorties and so on, and I should like to join in it
all. When shall we start?"
"The ship sails in three days, Wilfred. We will telegraph down for a
berth for you. By the way, you will want a good mount. One pony will
be sufficient."
"Then I am already set up," said Wilfred. "Our friends here told me
they could let me have a reliable pony whenever I liked to ask for him.
Since coming down here I have obtained a complete campaigning kit and a
Lee-Metford rifle and bayonet. So I am ready to set off just whenever
you like."
Three days later, therefore, the two lads--or rather, young fellows they
should be called, for both stood well above five feet nine inches in
their boots, and were broad-shouldered and muscular in proportion--set
out for Durban, and having embarked there, arrived in due course at Port
Elizabeth, having had a pleasant sail.
An hour after landing they were in the train, and after many long stops
and tedious delays arrived at De Aar, a town where there was a small
force of troops, and which was likely before long to be a station of
some importance, for it was filled with vast military stores, and
truck-loads were still arriving.
Here they learned that the Boers had already crossed the Orange River
and were invading Cape Colony.
Jack and Wilfred took up their quarters for the night at a small hotel,
and having washed, and enjoyed a hearty meal, they lit up their pipes
and strolled through the town.
Then they returned, and were chatting with the owner of the hotel when a
stranger, to all appearance an English colonist, entered, and without
invitation joined in the conversation.
"Warm evening, landlord!" he exclaimed. "The kind of evening that makes
one thirsty! Let me have a bottle of something good, and perhaps these
gentlemen will join me. All Englishmen are comrades in these times."
Jack and his friend were naturally surprised, but they had already
experienced that sense of brotherhood in the colony now that war had
commenced, and rather than offend the stranger they consented to join
him, with an expression of their thanks. A moment later the landlord
returned with the liquor, and as he placed it on the table and prepared
to draw the cork of the bottle which contained it, deliberately nudged
Jack, and nodded significantly at the stranger, whose back happened to
be turned. Jack was puzzled, but passed on the nudge to Wilfred; then
the three sat down and chatted. For half an hour the stranger plied his
two guests with all sorts of seemingly careless questions, casually
asking them where they were going, and whether they belonged to the
volunteers. But the nudge the landlord had given had warned Jack and
his friend to be on the alert, and to all the questions they gave
incomplete or totally incorrect answers. Then the stranger left, and
the landlord came from behind his counter and explained the mystery.
"I don't know what you two are here for, or where you are going," he
said, "and if you will take my advice you will keep everyone you meet in
the same ignorance. That fine chap is a Boer spy, paid with Pretoria
gold, and I can tell you this whole colony holds heaps more like him.
So my advice is, keep all your own affaire to yourself. Supposing you
two wanted to get into Kimberley, and had told him so, thinking him to
be a colonist, as he certainly looks, he'd have set the Boers on your
trail, and you'd find yourselves prisoners before you could look round."
Jack and Wilfred took the warning to heart. They had heard that spies
were to be found everywhere, even in England itself, so lavishly had the
Transvaallers spent their money, and so carefully had they prepared
their plans. But they had never met one before, and to find him in the
guise of a loyal colonist was a surprise, though, if they had only given
the matter a thought, they would have seen that that was the most
probable appearance he would assume.
On the following morning Jack and his friend paid their bill and rode
off from the hotel.
"I vote we go in the opposite direction from Kimberley, and take the
road for Hanover," said the former as they trotted out of the yard.
"That spy may be somewhere about. Yes, there he is! Good-day to you!"
he shouted. "We're off. See you to-night, perhaps."
The stranger shouted back "Good-day!" and watched them ride out of the
town.
"Now he'll sneak off to the hotel and ask the landlord whether we are
coming back," laughed Wilfred, "and I'll be bound our friend will answer
that we are. Well, we ought to get away from him easily enough. Look,
Jack! there are two other fellows riding ahead of us. Let us slip into
this farm and hide up in an outhouse. If he really is a spy he will
follow before long, and we will let him pass and slip off in the
opposite direction."
Accordingly they turned into the farm, and having entered a cattle kraal
which was close to the road, they glued their eyes to the chinks between
the boulders of the wall, and waited to see what would happen. Five
minutes later there was a sound of galloping hoofs, and to the intense
delight of Jack and Wilfred, their host of the previous evening
clattered past, with his gaze fixed on the two distant horsemen, who
were now almost out of sight.
A little later they emerged from the kraal, and, crossing the road,
cantered off across the veldt in the direction of Kimberley. For ten
miles they kept on without a halt. Then they drew aside from the road
to Hope Town, which they had lately followed, and bivouacked in a dense
copse of eucalyptus-trees.
"Now, Wilfred," said Jack, "out with that piece of beef we brought with
us. I'll get a fire alight, and we'll have a good meal. Probably it is
the last good one we shall be able to eat for some time, and cooking it
will help to pass the hours between this and nightfall. We'll push on
then, and we shall have to go carefully, for there are numbers of Boers
hereabouts."
Wilfred at once opened his haversack, while Jack gathered a few twigs
and lit a fire between some boulders. Slices of beef were cut, and
having been toasted in front of the blaze, were placed on pieces of
bread and eaten with great relish. Then they lit up their pipes and
smoked, one or other of them occasionally getting up to have a good look
round.
Late in the afternoon Jack sighted some horsemen, and as these might be
a party of the enemy, the fire was trampled out, and the two crawled to
the edge of the trees and looked out. The road ran within twenty feet
of them, and very soon ten men, who were undoubtedly Boers, passed by
them, laughing, and evidently quite unconscious of the presence of two
of the hated Rooineks. And in the centre of the group of horsemen was
the English colonist who had made himself so agreeable to them the night
before.
"Ah! there is no doubt about his being a scoundrel," whispered Jack.
"Well, we shall know what to do if we meet him in an English town after
this; and if I happen to ride this way with despatches I shall certainly
call at De Aar and warn them there. Now I think we may as well take it
in turns to have a sleep. We'll start again at nightfall and cover
about fifty miles. Then we'll lie up in a quiet spot I know of, and the
following night we ought to get through to Kimberley."
"All right, Jack! you turn in, and I'll take the first watch," answered
Wilfred jovially. "I'll wake you in a couple of hours."
Accordingly Jack lay down, and, like a hardened campaigner, fell asleep
at once. Two hours afterwards Wilfred took his turn, and after a short
nap was awakened. Then, saddling their ponies, they turned out of the
eucalyptus-trees and started on their long ride.
Before dawn they were securely hidden in a donga, in the midst of a
group of small but steep boulder-strewn kopjes, and there, feeling
secure from observation, they lay down in their blankets beneath the
shade of a huge rock and fell asleep.
When darkness fell again they proceeded on their journey, and a few
hours later swam their ponies across the Modder River. It was risky
work, but to have attempted to cross by the railway-bridge or at the
drift (ford) would have led to certain discovery, for both places were
closely watched by the Boers. Instead of that, they had made a wide
detour, and crossed at a bend in the river where the stream ran very
slowly. Then they turned their faces towards Kimberley, and pressed
forward, hoping to reach the beleaguered town an hour or more before
daylight.
They were now in a country overrun by Boers, and they therefore rode in
silence, with their bayonets fixed and the magazines of their rifles
filled, but without a cartridge in the breech, for the accidental
pressure on a trigger might easily have betrayed them. Five miles
farther on, the flash of the search-light caught their eyes as it slowly
swept a broad beam across the veldt surrounding the town.
"Turn to the left--quick!" whispered Jack. "Now get in under this
boulder. It would never do to stand out in the open. That light would
show us up at once."
A minute or two later the electric beam had passed by, and they pushed
on once more.
"That is Frank Russel's farm over there," said Jack, a quarter of an
hour later, as a house loomed up on their left. "He is evidently
standing by his property, and trusting to the Boers to leave him alone,
for you can see the lights in his windows--Hold on a moment, Wilfred!
What was that? I thought I heard shouts."
"Sounds to me like a concert or something of the sort going on,"
answered Wilfred, pulling up alongside Jack and listening intently.
"Yes, I'm sure of it; there are a lot of fellows singing together."
"Then they must be Boers, Wilfred! Frank Russel is an oldish man,
steady and quiet, and he would never think of entertaining a party of
rowdies, especially if they belonged to the enemy. He held a good
position at home, but something caused him to come out here with his
wife, where he has lived for about twenty years, cattle-ranching and
farming. Tom Salter and I have had a cup of tea with him many a time.
His wife is dead, and he has a rather pretty daughter, who runs the home
for him. I wonder what is going on over there? Frank is loyal to the
backbone, and would never think of harbouring one of England's enemies."
"Ho, ho! There's a girl there, and a pretty one too, is there, Jack?"
Wilfred chuckled. "Well, if you think that something is happening to
them we may as well go over and investigate."
"Just what I think, Wilfred. I don't like the look of things. Either
Frank has changed his mind and gone into Kimberley with Eileen, or the
Boers are ill-treating them. Keep close beside me, and we'll see what's
up. I know every foot of the ground round here, and will see that we do
not fall into a trap."
Jack at once touched his pony with his heel, and in absolute silence the
two moved forward towards the farmhouse. It consisted of one small
building, surrounded by a neat English flower-garden, and lying isolated
in the middle of the veldt, the outhouses and sheds for cattle being at
least a mile away.
As they rode up to it on the soft noiseless turf, the sound of
uproarious singing became louder, and was interrupted by bursts of
hoarse laughter.
"Hold on to my ponies," whispered Jack, when they had reached the edge
of the garden. "I'll be back as soon as I've seen what is going on."
Slipping to the ground, he passed the reins to Wilfred, and, climbing
the iron railing which fringed the garden, stole across the beds towards
the house. At the door a number of ponies were standing, knee-haltered,
and picking the grass from the borders of the garden. Jack got close up
to them and made sure that they were animate belonging to the Boers.
Then he crept up to one of the windows, and peered in beneath the blind,
which was only partly drawn.
The sight which met his eyes caused him to give a start, while an
exclamation of anger escaped his lips, for Jack was a kind-hearted lad,
and to see anyone wantonly inflicting pain upon a fellow-being, or
indeed upon any dumb animal, was hateful to him, and doubly so when, as
in this case, it was a helpless girl who was being tormented.
As he looked into the room, which was lit by a hanging lamp, he saw
Eileen Russel standing, violin in hand, in the opposite corner, the very
picture of terror, grief, and despair, playing an air which had been
popular in Johannesburg a few months before; while, seated round a
table, in all sorts of attitudes, were ten men, shouting the chorus in a
mixture of Dutch and English which grated on his ear.
Jack watched them closely, and recognised with another start that the
man in the centre, leaning back in his chair, with his legs upon the
table, was none other than the dapper English colonist who had
questioned them so closely at De Aar.
Satisfied with his inspection, he slipped back again, and a moment or
two later stood by Wilfred's side.
"We're going to stop here for a little while," he said shortly.
"There's a bit of bullying going on over there. Bring the ponies round
into the garden, and we'll tie them up at the back of the house."
Wilfred looked searchingly at his friend, but recognising from the
resolute tone that Jack meant every word he said, he sent the ponies
ahead, and soon had them at the back of the farmhouse.
"Look here, Wilfred," said Jack brusquely, as soon as the animals were
fastened to the rails, "there's a scandalous piece of business going on
in there. That spy fellow from De Aar is chief of the gang of Boers,
who are ill-treating Eileen Russel. She and her father have shown me
many a kindness, and I am going to repay it. There are ten of them
altogether. If you don't like the job you can slip outside and wait
till I've done with them."
"Of course I like it," Wilfred whispered back indignantly. "Shut up,
Jack! If there's a row on, of course I shall help you!"
"Then, come along, but don't do anything till I give the word."
Stealing across to the window, they raised their heads and looked in, to
find the Boers in much the same position, except that most of them were
drinking the contents of long tumblers of whisky and water, which "Tim",
a faithful Zulu servant of the Russels, had just placed in front of
them. Eileen had stopped her playing, and stood in her corner looking
like a hunted animal, while tears trickled down her cheeks.
"Here, you black animal! Go and fetch me some more drink," shouted the
Boer leader at this moment. "Do you hear? Get away with you! Now,
Miss--what's your name, play `God Save the Queen!' You'll not have many
opportunities of doing so after this, for England's going to the wall,
and that old tune will soon be forgotten. Now then, strike up, and let
it be sharp and merry."
The spy gave vent to a coarse laugh, shouted once more at the trembling
girl, and gulped down a glass of spirit which "Tim" placed close to his
hand at that moment.
But, like her father, this delicate English girl was loyal-hearted and
true to her beloved queen and country. Her head, which had drooped
before this, was now held proudly erect in the air; she faced her
tormentors steadily, and in a voice which scarcely quivered, refused to
play any more for them.
"No," she said firmly, "I will not play our national anthem for you.
You would only jeer at it, like the cowards you are. One of these days
you and all your countrymen shall be proud to call yourselves subjects
of our queen, and will sing in all earnestness that sacred song you now
ask me to play!"
"None of your threats! Do as you're told!" snarled the Boer leader
angrily. "It will be many a long year before your queen claims a single
one of us as a subject; but let me tell you, miss, it will be only a
very few minutes before this ugly-looking thing does you a mischief, if
you refuse to play `God Save the Queen'!"
As he spoke the villain snatched a Mauser pistol from his belt and held
it pointed at Eileen's head.
Jack's teeth ground together, and, quickly slipping a cartridge into his
rifle, he covered the Boer leader, and was on the point of pressing the
trigger when Tim, the gallant Zulu boy, his eyes glaring with rage,
rushed at the man and struck him from his chair. He was seized at once,
and held in front of the villain who had dared to threaten Eileen, who
again lifted his Mauser, placed the muzzle against the poor fellow's
head, and held it there a moment, so as to prolong the agony of fear,
ere he pressed the trigger and sent Tim to his last account.
That pause proved the latter's salvation, while to the Boer it meant a
sudden death. Jack, who had kept him covered, thrust the end of his
rifle through the glass and fired, dropping the villain in his tracks.
Then shouting: "Give it to them, boys!" he opened his magazine and
poured a hail of shot into the house, taking care to miss Tim and Eileen
Russel.
Startled by the shot and alarmed by Jack's shout, which seemed to show
that there were many there besides himself, the Boers started to their
feet and rushed through the door. A minute later they were flying away
across the veldt, leaving four of their number lying dead upon the floor
of the farmhouse.
Jack and Wilfred at once ran round to the door, which stood wide open,
and stepped in.
"Don't be frightened, Eileen," said the former soothingly. "Those
cowards have bolted, and you are safe for a time at least. What has
happened to your father?"
"Ah! is that you, Jack Somerton?" the poor girl asked in a dreamy way,
as if she were not quite certain that her eyes had told her
correctly--"Jack Somerton, the young Englishman who used to come here
with our old friend Tom Salter?"
"Yes, it's Jack all right, Eileen," he replied. "Now tell me how those
villains happened to find you here alone."
Eileen Russel stepped forward from her corner, and, grasping Jack by the
hand, gazed searchingly into his face, as though she was still uncertain
of his identity. Then she suddenly sat down in a chair, and, hiding her
face in her hands, sobbed as if her heart would break. But it was
merely the reaction after the terrible hour of torment she had suffered,
and, cheered by a gentle pat on the back from Jack's strong hand, she
soon regained her composure and dried her eyes.
"Father is here, Jack," she exclaimed eagerly. "He is down below in the
cellar, where Tim and I hid him. He is wounded--badly, I fear. Those
Boer cowards rode up here just before daylight, and ordered Father to
come out and be taken before their leader. Father asked what they
wanted with him, and they shouted back that this part of English
territory had been annexed by the Boers, and that as an old inhabitant
he was bound to fight for them now that he was no longer a subject of
the queen."
"`Get away from here at once,' Father shouted back, as soon as he had
heard what they had to say. `I am a British subject, and shall be to
the end. None of your republics or presidents for me! Clear off, all
of you; and if one of you dares to attempt to come in I will shoot!'
"The Boers laughed at his threat, and attempted to beat in the door, but
Father was as good as his word, and shot one of them at once. The
others poured a volley into the house, and one of the bullets passed
through the wall and wounded Father in the shoulder. Then the Boers
made a rush, and began to force the door open, and as we knew that they
would have little mercy for Father, Tim and I hid him away in a cellar
down below, which he had constructed to keep stores and ammunition in.
Then we lowered the trap-door and placed the table over it.
"They broke in a few minutes later, but, failing to find him, thought he
had escaped through the window. Then they forced me to play my violin,
and just as I thought they would shoot Tim or myself, the leader fell
dead and the others ran for their lives."
"Well, you are safe for the present at least," answered Jack. "Sit down
there, Eileen, and rest yourself. We will get your father up again.
Those fellows will not be coming back yet awhile, so that we need not
fear a surprise. Now, Wilfred and Tim, lend a hand and pull up this
trap."
A minute later the table had been removed to one side, and Jack was
clambering down into the cellar, Tim lowering the lamp after him. On
the boarded floor he found Frank Russel lying upon his back, and making
feeble efforts to rise, for the reports of Jack's rifle had roused him
from unconsciousness.
"Where am I? What has happened?" he asked. "Hallo! is that you, Jack!
Where's Tom Salter?"
Then he suddenly remembered the Boers and sat up with a jerk.
"Ah! what has become of those brutes?" he demanded, clutching at the
rifle which had been placed beside him, while his face flushed red with
rage.
"Now don't worry about them," said Jack kindly. "They've bolted, and
Wilfred and I arrived here just in the nick of time. Let us get you up
on top and look at the wound. When that is seen to, we will discuss the
situation."
Frank Russel was still too much dazed to offer any resistance, and was
soon carried up the ladder and laid on a bed. Then Jack opened up the
seams of his jacket, and cut away the shirt over his left shoulder. A
close inspection showed two little blue wounds, the size of a pea, one
in front, and one behind where the Mauser bullet had made its exit.
There had been scarcely any loss of blood, and luckily no bones broken.
Eileen meanwhile had produced a basin of cold water and a soft towel,
and with this they dressed the wound and bandaged the shoulder. A stiff
glass of spirits pulled Frank Russel round, and now that he was over the
first shock, he very quickly became himself again, for he was as hard as
iron, and accustomed to the rough life of a colonist. Ten minutes later
he was standing up lighting a big pipe, and even using his left hand, so
little pain did his wound give him.
"Now tell me all about it, Jack Somerton," he said, puffing big clouds
of smoke into the air with the greatest satisfaction.
As soon as the brutal action of the Boer spy and his friends had been
narrated, and followed by a description of their flight, Frank Russel
sprang to his feet and shook Jack and Wilfred heartily by the hand.
"My lads," he said in a husky, trembling voice, "you've won the deep
gratitude of old Frank Russel. I'd sooner see every Boer in Africa dead
than hear that one of them had ill-treated my darling child. Ah! she's
all I have left since the wife went to her home above, and a good,
dutiful, and loving girl she is! Come here, Eileen dear, and kiss your
father. You've had a close shave, and but for these brave Englishmen
that brute would have murdered you. And Tim, too, has proved a faithful
boy. Well, he shall not regret it, for from this day he shall never
have a fear for his old age. I will give him sufficient to ensure his
independence.
"But now we have other things to think about. Kimberley is closely
besieged, and though we are only five miles away we are surrounded by
hosts of Boers. They will be back here soon, and then it will be all up
with us."
"Why not ride off at once?" asked Wilfred. "There are four of the Boer
ponies outside, and Jack and I have our own."
"It would be useless," replied Frank Russel, with a vigorous shake of
his head. "Those fellows have already warned the whole district, and by
this time we are closely surrounded. Look away over there. That small
light is their signal, and it is flashing a message in the darkness
which every Boer can read. No, I fear it is all up with us. I'm sorry,
lads; you two would have got in safely if you hadn't come along in this
direction and helped us in our trouble. If there was a chance of your
succeeding now, I'd say go at once and leave us. But there isn't, not
the slightest, and it's only fair to say so."
"We must make the best of matters as they are," remarked Jack coolly.
"A week ago I was in a fix which was every bit as awkward. I'm not
going to be shot or taken prisoner yet awhile if I can help it, and if
you all feel the same I propose we make a fight for it."
"Ah, I'd fight if I had a chance!" growled Frank Russel. "But it's no
use here. They would be a hundred to one against us."
"Wait a minute, Mr Russel," exclaimed Wilfred, who had an unbounded
faith in his friend's sagacity. "Let us hear what Jack has to say. I'm
like him, and don't mean to fall into the Boers' hands without a
struggle."
"Ah, well! what is it, Jack?" answered Frank. "But you'd best be quick
about it, for those fellows will be getting close to us by this."
"I've said I am going to make a fight for it," exclaimed Jack, "and I
mean to do so, for from what I have seen and heard, our enemies have the
greatest dislike to attacking in the open. It is too risky for them,
and is apt to lead to fatal consequences, as I have already been
compelled to show them. Now this house stands clear out on the veldt.
There is not even a boulder within half a mile of us, and therefore no
cover. It is true that at close quarters a Mauser bullet will pierce
these walls, but at long range it will not come through. Let us make a
stand here. But, first, have you plenty of cartridges, Frank?"
"Heaps, lad, heaps! 'Pon my word, I like this idea of yours! But where
is it going to end? We've a pump and water in the house, and plenty of
food and ammunition; but we cannot hope to keep them out for long, and
they are certain to rush us in the darkness."
"Yes, they will do that," Jack agreed, "but they have got to get inside
the house before they can hurt us, and we shall have something to say to
that. Now before talking about the means of defence, let us send Tim
off to Kimberley. He is the only one who could possibly get through.
That will be our only hope. We are in the direction of the railway, and
not too far from the town for a sortie to reach us. Now, Tim, will you
go?"
Tim at once signified his willingness.
"Then off you go!" exclaimed Jack. "Quick! There is not a moment to be
lost! When you get into the town ask for Tom Salter, and get him to
take you to the `Baas'. Tell him what trouble we are in, and ask for
help to be sent us."
The plucky Zulu boy at once stepped to a corner of the room, snatched up
an assagai with an enormous blade, and, shaking a farewell with it,
darted out through the doorway.
"Jack, you're one of the right sort!" exclaimed Frank Russel when Tim
had disappeared. "I've looked at this idea of yours from every side.
If they take us now or later on it won't make much odds to me, for they
will treat me as a rebel; while you two and Eileen will just be
prisoners. We've a chance of beating them off till help reaches us, and
so sure as I'm a true Englishman we'll have a try at it.
"You've settled the matter up to this, so go on with it. I'm an older
man, and perhaps more used to these fellows, but I'm sure you could beat
me in slimness. Now out with it, lad, or those Boers will be on us
before we are ready."
"Very well, then," Jack replied, "let us set to work. We must break up
some of this furniture. We want a couple of hammers, a saw, and some
big nails. Have you got them?"
"Yes, close handy, Jack. Eileen, fetch the bag, like a good girl, and
bring the axe along."
"Now break up the table and nail the boards across the window, Wilfred,"
continued Jack. "Frank and I will see to the door. It must be firmly
closed. Wait a minute, though, our ponies may be of some use to us. I
will slip out and bring them in."
Jack opened the door and ran round to the back of the house. A minute
later he returned and led in the three ponies, taking them to a small
kitchen. Then he brought in two of the Boer ponies, and drove the
others out of the garden on to the veldt. That done, he shut the door,
bolted it, and nailed two heavy uprights against it. A quarter of an
hour later all the windows were firmly barricaded, a niche about three
inches wide having been left between the planks through which the rifles
could be pushed. Then with an auger he drilled a number of holes
through the walls all round the house, driving three of them so as to
form a triangle, the sides of which he completed with a chisel, thus
forming apertures about five inches high and as much in breadth, which
would give them a good view across the veldt.
"Now we're ready," he said, when all was at last completed, "and I
expect we shall have the Boers here soon. Eileen, you had better go
down into the cellar, I think, so as to be out of danger."
"Thank you, Jack!" she answered calmly. "This house will require every
rifle we have to defend it. I have used one many a time, and I shall
stay up here and help you."
"Brave girl, and it's like you, dear!" exclaimed Frank Russel. "Stay if
you wish, for we'll not deny that three is a small number to garrison
this place. I suppose we had better take our posts now. One at each
wall will be the thing. Remember, it's steady, quiet shooting we want,
and only use the magazine when they make a rush. That will be our
trouble. It wants more than three hours before we shall get daylight,
and until then we shall have to trust to our ears to tell when the Boers
get close to us."
"Have you got a bell here?" Wilfred suddenly asked.
"Yes, there is one in the kitchen," Eileen answered, "and the handle is
just outside the door. We are the only colonists hereabouts who possess
such a thing."
"Then we'll beat them yet!" cried Wilfred. "They are certain to ride
into the garden through the opening in the rails. Open the door, Jack;
and give me a long piece of string, someone. I'll slip outside and run
it from the bell-handle to the rails and across the opening. Then the
first man who rides in will jerk it, and the bell will give us a
warning."
"Good, lad, good!" exclaimed Frank Russel with a grunt of satisfaction.
"That will just save us. Set about it as quick as you can."
Five minutes later Wilfred had carried out his plan, and not content
with running a cord from the bell-handle across the opening into the
garden, he passed others completely round the railings, so that anyone
attempting to climb them, or pass through them, would almost certainly
come in contact with one or other of the strings and warn those inside
the house. Then he joined his friends again, and the door was safely
nailed up as before.
About half an hour later, when the night had lifted a little, there was
a faint tinkling of the bell, and Jack, who had chosen a position
commanding the front of the house, caught sight of a dusky figure at the
opening to the garden. His rifle spoke out instantly, and with a shriek
of pain the man disappeared.
After that there was silence for many minutes, and then the bell jerked
feebly once or twice, and afterwards pealed loudly.
"There are a crowd of them in front of me," whispered Jack. "Give me a
hand here, Wilfred, and leave Frank and Eileen to watch the rest."
Wilfred at once darted across the floor, and, peering through a
loophole, saw a number of dusky figures hurrying into the garden through
the opening, while others suddenly appeared against the sky-line, and
then became almost invisible as they climbed over the railings and
jumped amongst the flowers.
"Let them have it with the magazine," Jack whispered again, and waiting
a moment for Wilfred to prepare, he aimed at a bunch of the enemy
pouring into the garden, and discharged shot after shot amongst them.
Meanwhile, Wilfred fired at the figures climbing the railings, while
sharp reports from the side and back of the house told that Frank and
Eileen were also engaged.
Once their magazines were empty, it took only a few moments to replenish
them, and again they poured a stream of bullets through the loopholes.
But the Boers had already had sufficient. With shouts and shrill cries
of fear they disappeared in the darkness, leaving many of their number
dead or wounded in the garden.
"That will make them more careful next time," muttered Jack. "I wonder
what their next move will be!"
He had not long to wait, for almost before he had finished speaking
there was a roar of musketry all round, and a hail of bullets flew
through the house, piercing the walls as if they were merely composed of
paper, and sending splinters flying in all directions. It was decidedly
unpleasant, but all escaped by the greatest luck, the only injury
sustained being a flesh wound by Jack. The bullet had passed through
the calf of his leg, but so unimportant was it that a handkerchief tied
round it was amply sufficient to staunch the blood which flowed, while
the pain was so little that he scarcely felt it then, though later on he
suffered considerably.
"Lie down, all of you!" shouted Frank at this moment. "They will be
giving us another volley."
All threw themselves on the ground close to their loopholes, through
which they stared out at the veldt, which was now becoming more visible
every moment.
A second later another storm of bullets tore through the house, while
others struck the iron roof above, giving rise to an alarming noise.
For five minutes the fusilade continued, and then suddenly ceased.
"To your posts!" cried Jack. "They will hope to have killed or wounded
all of us, and will make a rush."
Sure enough, a host of Boers now appeared in the growing light, running
towards the house, and into them all four rifles poured a stream of
lead, each shot of which, though hastily fired, was carefully aimed. At
such close quarters it proved disastrous, and though a few of the bolder
spirits amongst the enemy did manage to reach the house, the majority
were either struck down or retired precipitately. For those who were
attempting to kick in the door Jack's Mauser pistol still remained, and
he emptied it amongst them without pity.
At any other time the fact that he was taking human life, and sending
fellow-beings to a last and sudden account, would have shocked him and
filled him with lasting remorse. But now it was different. He had seen
a crew of powerful men injuring and threatening a helpless girl. For
that alone they deserved punishment, part of which had been summarily
meted out to them. But the remainder had escaped, to return with other
comrades, all enemies of the queen. They would not hesitate to take the
lives of those who so gallantly defended the farmhouse, and he in turn
would not spare a single one of them. Jack hardened his heart, and
calmly loaded the magazines of his weapons again, in preparation for the
next assault.
But they had read the Boers a severe lesson, and those of them who had
escaped the hail of bullets fled from the neighbourhood of the little
farmhouse, and, flinging themselves upon their ponies, galloped away
across the veldt till well out of range of fire. Then they pulled up
and collected together, solemnly swearing that, come what might, they
would subdue those few English opposed to them, and wreak a fearful
vengeance on their heads. The pluck and dauntless determination of the
little band they fully recognised and admired; but they had already
killed or wounded some forty or more of their brothers, and a price must
be exacted for those lives.
With sullen and determined looks they parted to surround the house,
while a few were despatched for reinforcements, and for guns with which
to splinter the walls behind which the defenders lay.
Meanwhile Jack and his friends stood grimly at their posts, thankful for
the breathing-space allowed them, and for the daylight which was fast
stealing across the veldt. At last the day broke completely, leaving
the plain in front of them partially obscured in a thin grey mist. But
a few minutes later a golden glow lit up the eastern sky, and in course
of time first a rim and then the whole of the morning sun rose above the
steep spires and pinnacles of the range of mountains beyond the Vaal
River, and poured a flood of warmth across the lonely veldt. Instantly
the mist cleared away, and a glorious day had dawned.
"Now our first duty is to give the enemy permission to remove their dead
and wounded," exclaimed Frank. "Let us pull down one of these boards
and shout to them."
Accordingly a plank was wrenched from one of the windows, and a white
flag waved through the opening. A Boer horseman at once galloped up,
and, riding into the garden, reined in opposite the window.
"You can remove your dead and wounded," said Jack, who had agreed to act
as spokesman, so that Frank Russel should not appear. "Only ten of you
must come for them, and on no account must anyone be armed. We will
give you an hour to do the work. After that we shall fire on anyone who
approaches."
The Boer courteously expressed his thanks, and at once rode away.
Five minutes later a wagon was driven up to the railings, and the party
who had come to pick up the dead and wounded entered the garden.
Those inside the house sat down at their loopholes and kept a close
watch, for they had heard before of Boer treachery and slimness, and
more than one incident of the abuse of the white flag had been clearly
exposed during the opening days in Natal. As they watched they hastily
ate a meal, and having finished looked to their rifles.
All this while the unhappy men who had been wounded were being gently
conveyed to the wagons, and Jack and his friends pitied them, and
admired them for their fortitude. Scarcely a groan did they utter.
They bore their sufferings patiently and in silence, and won the
unstinted sympathy and praise of those who, by the fortune of war, had
been the cause of their trouble.
At last all were removed, the search-party retired, and the young Boer
who had at first replied to the white flag trotted up to the window and
once more expressed his thanks. Then he turned his horse and galloped
away, leaving the four inmates of the farmhouse to resume the desperate
and one-sided struggle.