"What is it, Peter?"
"Horsemen coming, baas, many horsemen."
Yorke ran to the other side of the hut. He could see nothing at first, for the night was fast closing in, and he had just said that in another quarter of an hour it would be dark enough to make a start, but soon he saw a dark mass which was fast approaching. For a moment he stood irresolute, then he shouted, "Hurrah! they are friends. They are riding abreast; if they were Boers, they would be riding anyhow; pull the stones away from the door."
The mass halted as he spoke, then two horsemen galloped forward towards the hut.
"Who is there?" a voice shouted in English.
Yorke opened the door, darting out, placed himself on the side facing them. "Despatches from the Modder!" Then, feeling certain that the Boers, two hundred yards away, would not be able to make out his figure in the gloom, he called to Peter, and together they ran forward. A number of shots were fired, but these whistled overhead. The Boers had also doubtless heard the approaching horse, and were firing in their direction, forgetting for the moment the two men who had all day kept them at bay. In a couple of minutes Yorke and Peter joined their rescuers.
"I am glad indeed to see you, sir," an officer said as he came up. "We have heard firing going on all day, and could make out that it came from this point; but as we did not know how many Boers were on the kopje we could not go out to see about it till it became dusk. Are there only you and the native?"
"That is all."
"Then we may as well be off at once, for though I don't[Pg 153] think the Boers can make us out at this distance, we may get a stray bullet among us at any moment. Will you mount behind me?"
"Thank you. I will run alongside and keep hold of your stirrup leather."
"Very well. We will break into a walk as soon as we are out of range of those rascals, then you shall tell me the news."
He gave the order, and the troop faced round and went off at a trot, which they maintained until the Boer fire had entirely ceased.
"Tell me how you got through their lines. Is it possible that you and that native alone have kept the Boers off all day? The firing sounded heavy at times, and we thought that they must have a considerable force there. After the first outburst it was for the most part only a dropping fire."
"There were about a hundred of them I should say," Yorke answered. "I happen to be a very good shot, and the Kaffir is a very fair one, and the consequence was they very soon learned that it was death to show a head. Some mounted men came out first, but I waited till they were within two hundred yards, and four of their horses went back riderless. They did not show again, and it has been a duel ever since between us and the men on the hillside, all the advantage being with us, as the loopholes through which we fired were but a couple of inches wide at the opening. We stopped their rush at once, and they have been in hiding ever since."
"We heard that Lord Methuen was advancing to our relief. How far is he off?"
"He crossed the Modder River the day before yesterday."
"As near as that is he?" the officer exclaimed. "Then we may indeed expect to see him soon. Was there fighting there? We thought we heard a faint rumble on that day, but it might have been thunder at a great distance."
"He has fought three battles, the first at Belmont, the[Pg 154] second at Graspan, and the third on the Modder. The battle on the Modder was very severe, and lasted the whole day. I am afraid you won't see him here as soon as you expect. We have had upwards of a thousand casualties in the three fights. He had only about ten thousand troops with him, and after the way the Boers fought on the Modder he will not march until he is joined by the reinforcements coming up, as their position at Spytfontein is said to be very strong. I think it will be twelve days or a fortnight before he moves forward. Five or six regiments are on their way up, and some heavy naval guns. Stores are being pushed forward as fast as possible. The trains can only run during the daytime, as the Dutch along the line might at any moment pull up a few rails or blow up a culvert, so that, even if the general did not wait for reinforcements, he would have to wait for stores and ammunition. Our three batteries fired away nearly all they had, and the consumption of ball cartridge was also very heavy."
"Then the Boers fought stoutly?"
"They fought stoutly, but as they were all in deep trenches, and we scarcely caught sight of a man during the whole time, there was no very great credit in that. We have heard from prisoners that the Free Staters were for the most part placed in rifle-pits on the south side of the river, and as this had been dammed and rendered unfordable, they had no choice in the matter; but they did give way at last, and this compelled the whole force to fall back; the Transvaal men were never really attacked. It was only on our left that there was a possibility of our advancing."
"So we have lost a thousand altogether," the officer said—"about ten per cent of the total strength. That is pretty heavy fighting; but I suppose a considerable proportion were only wounded."
"Yes; and the doctors say that Mauser bullets do not make very serious wounds unless they hit a vital point.[Pg 155] I know that they are quite surprised at the rapidity with which many of the wounds are healing, and that men seem to be recovering from injuries which they at first believed to be mortal. What corps is yours?"
"We are the Kimberley Light Horse. We are three hundred and fifty strong."
"I suppose you are all right here at present?"
"Oh, yes! The Boers must be fighting a great deal better against Methuen than they are doing here. They annoy us a bit by throwing shell into the town, and they have cut off the water-supply, have raided a lot of waggons and cattle, and blown up the De Beers dynamite magazine, which is a great loss, as it will put a stop to most of the work at the mines. The last was the result of the mayor's timidity about an explosion, but if the dynamite had been taken down into the mines it would have been in absolute safety.
"The water seems the most serious item."
"Well, it is not as serious as it looks. A lot of water comes into one of the mines, enough to keep a big pumping-engine at work, and anyhow there is sufficient to supply our animals with drinking water, though the authorities have had to forbid its use for watering gardens and that sort of thing. What were the first battles like?"
"They were the same in each case. The Boers were entrenched on kopjes, and as we could not leave these in rear we had to storm them. The fighting lasted a very short time, but the Grenadiers in the first fight, and the Naval Brigade in the second, lost very heavily. The Modder was quite different. The Boers were hidden in the bushes that fringed the river, and they had on rising ground behind a number of guns. The fighting began at five o'clock in the morning, and it was not until nearly five in the evening that the regiments on our left got across the river. They maintained themselves there till dark, and the Boers, fearing that the whole force would cross in the middle of the night and cut off their retreat, retired silently, and carried off their guns. We won[Pg 156] the passage of the river, but it was in no way a decisive victory. And so you have had no fighting yet?"
"Very little. On the 25th we made a sortie with one troop of our men and some of the Cape Police. Forty of our fellows stormed one of their redoubts, and we brought in thirty-three prisoners. That was encouraging, and though Major Scott-Turner, who commanded us, was wounded, he led us out again the day before yesterday. We could just hear a low rumble, and guessed that Methuen was fighting, so we thought it would be well to keep the Boers round here and prevent their sending reinforcements to Spytfontein, but I expect the Boers had thought that we would be likely to make some such move, for they were prepared for us. We gained ground at first, but they were soon on the spot in great force, and the rifle-fire was terrible. Poor Scott-Turner was killed and twenty-one of our fellows, and twenty-eight wounded. So it was a bad affair altogether, and I don't think we shall try any more sorties of that kind.
"If it hadn't been for that I dare say we should have come out directly we heard your firing; but after our experience of their Mauser fire, it would have been folly to get within range of an unknown strength of Boers posted on a hill. So we waited till there was a fair chance of our succouring whoever there might be without running any extraordinary risk, but we had an anxious day of it. It did not seem that any considerable force could have got through, and yet it was evident that, whoever it was, was able to hold his ground. We could make out that little hut with the glasses, and it seemed to us that it was the point against which the Boers were firing, though at that distance we could not see the smoke of your rifles, firing as you did from the side facing the hill."
They had by this time reached the line of defence.
"Now, sir," the officer said, "if you will mount my horse one of the troopers will ride with you to the commandant's quarters, and will bring my horse back with him."
[Pg 157]
The colonel was in his office. During the greater part of the day he passed his time at the look-out at Wesselton mine. It was erected on the top of the mine head-gear, a hundred and twenty feet above the level. This lofty look-out commanded a view of the whole country round. Yorke was shown in at once.
"I have the honour to be the bearer of a despatch from Lord Methuen, sir," Yorke said as he came.
"You have managed to get through the Boers? You have done well indeed. Did you come alone?"
"I came with this Kaffir scout. He is one of a small party under my orders. He has been two years at work here and knows the country well. I should never have got through without him, and he has stood by me most bravely all day."
"Ah! then it was your firing that we have been hearing. The officer in command of the Light Horse sent a message to say that he intended, with my permission, to go out as soon as it was dusk, to ascertain, if possible, the cause of firing, and bring off any party who might be defending themselves against the Boers. Of course I was willing that he should do so, but, anxious as we were, I could not run the risk of losing a number of men by sending out a force by daylight. Take a seat, sir, while I go through the despatch."
"The general evidently thinks," he said, when he had read it, "that we know what has been taking place outside. We know nothing beyond the fact that a column under Lord Methuen was advancing from the Orange River Station. Now, I shall be obliged if you will give me full information as to what happened between the time he left and his arrival on the Modder."
Yorke gave a full account of the movements and battles.
"The Boers are making a much stouter resistance than I expected of them," the colonel said, when the story was brought to a conclusion. "Now, tell me, if you please, how you managed to get through here."
[Pg 158]
Yorke then described his adventure.
"Very good indeed, sir; admirably done. You and your Kaffir must be good marksmen indeed to have, as you say, killed eighteen of them and wounded twelve others."
"The distance was short—not over two hundred yards. As we were in almost perfect shelter, and they had to expose themselves to fire at us, we could scarce miss hitting them. And now, sir, I have a message to give you privately. The despatch was, I think, intended to be made public, should you think fit to do so, as an encouragement to the inhabitants, and, moreover, if it fell into the enemy's hands, it could do no great harm. I have a verbal message from General Colville, who is in command while Lord Methuen is temporarily disabled. He told me that I was to give it to you privately, as it would not be desirable that everyone should be aware of it. It was to this effect, that after the desperate resistance offered by the Boers at the Modder River, and the fact that only a portion of their force was engaged there, it is quite possible that the attack upon the very strong position they hold at Spytfontein may fail, and in that case there may be a long delay, as the attack could not be renewed until large reinforcements arrive from England. He is therefore anxious to know exactly how matters stand here—what stores and food you have, and how long you consider that you can possibly hold out. Upon that his movements will necessarily depend. If you are approaching the period when starvation would oblige you to surrender, another effort to relieve you must at whatever cost be made; if not, he would not repeat an operation which, even if successful, can only be effected at immense loss, and might lead to his being in turn beleaguered here."
"I can quite understand his anxiety on that score," Colonel Kekewich said. "As to holding the place, I have no fear whatever. We have five hundred Lancashires, three hundred and eighty Kimberley Rifle Volunteers, ninety-five men of the Royal Artillery, and one hundred and eighteen Diamond[Pg 159] Field Artillery. Of cavalry we have three hundred and fifty Kimberley Light Horse—they were armed and are paid by Rhodes—three hundred Cape Police, and one hundred and fifty Diamond Field Horse. Besides these we have a town guard, which comprises the greater part of the able-bodied men, about two thousand eight hundred. So that altogether we can oppose any attack with four thousand eight hundred men, all of whom could, I am sure, be trusted to fight their best. But I do not think there is any chance of the Boers attacking us. They believe they can starve us out, and, of course, they could do so in time; but I feel sure that we can hold out for some months. The De Beers people got up a quantity of provisions before the line was cut, and a large firm at Cape Town also sent up great supplies.
"We have cattle enough to go on for some time, and when they are used up we must take to horse-flesh. I will obtain a rough account of our stores for you to-morrow. It will be best for you to learn it by heart, for if the Boers, who have, I fancy, no idea how we are supplied, were to learn the facts, they might move away for a few days to strengthen Cronje at Spytfontein; and in the event of Lord Methuen failing to break through, might see that they were but wasting their time here, and, leaving enough to keep Methuen in check, might send some five thousand men on a raid into the Colony; whereas at present we are keeping that number idle here. I suppose you won't be starting again at once?"
"No, sir; I am feeling pretty well done up, for I have not had much sleep since the night before the attack on the Modder; and besides, I should like to see the defences, so that I could explain the situation to Lord Methuen."
"I will lend you a copy of my plans, Mr. Harberton. I say lend, because it would not do for you to take it out of here, for it would be very valuable to the Boers if it were to fall into their hands. I will place a horse at your disposal to-morrow. I am sorry to have kept you talking all this time; you must be famished."
[Pg 160]
"No, indeed, sir. I brought a tin of meat and some bread out with me."
"Ah, well, you will be all the better for dinner, and mine must be ready by this time. I hope you will join me. There is a bed upstairs at your disposal. I will tell them to give your boy something to eat, too."
As soon as dinner was over, Yorke went to bed and slept till next morning, when, obtaining a permit, signed by the commandant, authorizing him to go wherever he pleased, he made a tour of the forts round the town. Several of these were placed on the great heaps of debris from the mines, and commanded a wide view over the country. These heaps were very steep on the outward face, and it had not been deemed necessary to erect any serious works on the crests, but breast-works of stone had been thrown up to protect the men from rifle-fire should the Boers venture to make an attack. The ground round the town had been cleared of the houses which would interfere with the line of fire. Native huts had all been levelled, and the bushes cleared away, so that the enemy would have to cross the open and be exposed to musketry and artillery fire. This was a great advantage from the point of view of defence; but on the other hand, it was an equal disadvantage to the British when they made sorties against the enemy, as the latter could lie hidden among the bushes, while our men had to advance across the open.
Search-lights had been established on the lofty top of one of the mine-works, and at night swept the circle of cleared ground, so that it was impossible for the Boers to crawl up to make a sudden attack. Barricades had been formed across all the streets leading out of the town, and no one was allowed to pass in or out after nightfall. It was hoped that in this way the Boer sympathizers in the town would not be able to carry news to their friends outside. In spite of these precautions, however, there is no doubt that throughout the siege the enemy were aware of all that was done. In the town itself, there were few visible signs of the bombardment,[Pg 161] though here and there a house in ruins showed that a shell had burst inside. The town was full of people, for although some of the wealthiest men had left before the siege began, their places were filled by hundreds who came in from the houses outside the line that was to be held, and from the farming stations in the surrounding country.
Many, too, had moved in from the outlying suburb of Kenilworth, and from that part of Beaconsfield which would be most exposed to the fire of the Boer guns. Numbers of Kaffirs had also come in. So far, the bombardment had effected comparatively little damage, for the Boers had not as yet brought up their big guns. Nevertheless, most of the inhabitants had erected some sort of shelter, with bags filled with earth, and roofed with timber, over which more sand-bags were placed. Underground shelters could not well be constructed, for the soil was but eighteen inches deep, and below it was the solid rock. It was intended that directly the enemy began the bombardment in earnest with heavier guns, the women and children should be lowered into the mines, where they would be perfectly safe from harm.
Yorke was out the whole day taking notes of everything he saw, in order to be able to report as fully as possible. He was accosted by many officers, and warmly invited into their mess-rooms. He could not refuse these invitations, as he knew how intensely anxious all were to hear the news from outside, and especially the accounts of the fighting. He took Peter with him on his rounds, pointing out everything to him, so that if he himself were captured on his way out, and the Kaffir escaped, he would be able to give as much information as possible to the general. On returning to dinner at the commandant's, he found the list of the stores in readiness.
"You understand this is only approximate, Mr. Harberton. A great many of the residents have stores of their own; having, as soon as it was evident that we were going to be cut off, bought a large supply from the store-keepers for their own use. As you will see, the only item in which we are likely to[Pg 162] fail is preserved milk. Unfortunately the Boers managed to drive off all our milch cows a day or two after they closed in, and we have only the tins left to rely upon. It is not of much importance to the men, but were the supply to run out, I fear it would be very trying for the young children. With that exception you will see we are fairly supplied for three months, possibly for longer, as, of course, the rations will be reduced if we find that we are not relieved."
Yorke spent two or three hours that evening learning by heart the items of the list. Then he put the figures down in the order in which they stood. These without a key would furnish no information, and he had no fear of forgetting what each group referred to. In the morning he asked the colonel which side of the town he considered would offer the best chance of getting through unobserved.
"Do you mean to go on foot or on horseback? Of course I will furnish you with two horses if you decide on riding."
"I should be glad of them if I were once through the Boers, sir; but there would be so much greater chance of my being seen if mounted, that I should much prefer going on foot.
"I think you are right. In any case, it will be best for you to make to the north-east, leaving by the road to Boshof, which goes out close to the De Beers mine. The Boers have an entrenchment on Tarantaalrand Kop, on its right, and one on Tafel Kop, on its left; but they are less likely to be watchful on that side than they are on the south or west, as it would be in those directions that any messenger or despatch-rider would be most likely to go. What time do you propose starting?"
"At nine o'clock, sir. It will be quite dark by that time."
"Very well; then I will get a troop of cavalry to go out towards Kamfers Dam, and will open fire from the guns on that side. Of course they will be told not to push the attack home, but to retire as soon as the Boers begin to fire hotly.[Pg 163] In that way the attention of the Boers on the kopjes you have to pass will be attracted, and you will have a better chance of getting through unseen. I will, of course, order that the search-light shall not be directed near the road that you are travelling, but it shall play frequently on the two kopjes; the beam will pretty nearly blind the men up there. The best eyes cannot stand the glare of a search-light long, and when it is turned off, can see nothing for some time. So I think that, what with that and the attack on the other side, you will be able to make your way through, if you have luck. Of course you will not go as far as Boshof, and once past their lines, you will journey due south. In that way you will strike the Boshof and Jacobsdal road. When you do so, your course will be west, with a little south, which will lead you into your camp without going near their lines at Spytfontein and Magersfontein had better have a good look at my map. It is not as accurate as it ought to be, but it will at least be of some assistance to you. Have you a compass?"
"Yes, sir; but it is of no use at night unless one is quite sure that there are no Boers near, as the striking of a match may be seen a very long way."
"I will give you some American matches. They are beastly things, with a lot of sulphur in them, but they have the advantage that they do not strike with a sudden flash like most English matches, especially the safety-matches. There is only just enough phosphorus to light the sulphur, but, without allowing the flame to catch the wood, they will give enough light to let you see your compass. I don't say that it would be safe to strike one of them if there was a Boer within a hundred yards. But I do not think that the light would be seen half a mile away, especially as you would naturally strike it in the heart of a bush or in the shelter of a clump of rocks. Of course there is no chance of your getting back to camp before daylight, for the morning begins to break soon after five o'clock."
[Pg 164]
"Thank you, sir! I shall be very much obliged for the matches; they would certainly prove most useful."
Yorke did not care to walk about much, as he had a hard night's work before him, and he spent the day in one of the forts which was exchanging an occasional shot with a Boer battery, chatting with the officer in command.
"The Boers are shocking bad shots," the latter said. "You are in much more danger of being hit when they are not firing at you than when they are aiming at you. They direct their fire principally at Wesselton Mine, in the hope, no doubt, that shells will go down the pit and damage the pumping-gear, for if they should succeed we should find it very difficult to maintain our water-supply, as it would all have to be carried up from the mine by hand. Not a single shot has fallen within a hundred yards of it. They have damaged the houses a good deal in the line of fire, but they have never been able to give their guns the right elevation. I fancy their powder is by no means good, and is very uneven in quality. Sometimes it will carry a good deal beyond the mine, and at other times falls short of it."
"You have a good supply of shell, have you not?"
"Yes, a very fair supply; and the De Beers people have begun casting some, and have turned out some very fair specimens. They are rougher than British work, no doubt, but they serve the purpose very well, and we can make as good practice with them as with our own. Ah, here comes the man himself! He often comes up here for a look-out. I don't think he gets on very well with the commandant, but the people here swear by him, and his presence is an immense encouragement to us all; and there can be no doubt that with the resources he has at his back, with a whole army of well-trained mechanics of all sorts, and machinery, to say nothing of his miners and Kaffirs, he is a host in himself."
battles
YORKE GAVE A FULL ACCOUNT OF THE BATTLES.
As he spoke Rhodes himself came up. Yorke looked with interest at the man who is the Napoleon of South Africa—a square-built man, with a smoothly shaven face except for a[Pg 165] thick moustache, with hair waving back from a broad forehead, strong and determined chin and mouth, somewhat broad in the cheeks, giving his face the appearance of squareness, light eyes, keen but kindly; altogether a strong and pleasant face.
"Good-morning!" he said to the officer; "things seem pretty quiet to-day. Our fight three days back could not be called a success in itself, but it must have given the Boers a higher respect for our fighting powers, and made them dislike more than ever the idea of trying to attack us. I do not think I know your face, sir," he went on, turning to Yorke. "I thought I knew all the officers in the place."
"I only came in the day before yesterday, in the evening, bringing despatches from Lord Methuen to Colonel Kekewich."
"A gallant action, sir," Mr. Rhodes said, holding out his hand to him. "Of course I heard about it, and of your plucky defence all day till the Kimberley Horse went out and brought you in. I heard at the mess of the Diamond Field Horse yesterday that you had been there an hour before, and given them an account of Lord Methuen's three battles. If you have nothing better to do, sir, perhaps you will kindly tell me the story. We had better sit down on these sand-bags. The commandant sent me a copy of your report, but that, of course, gave no details."
Yorke gave a full account of the battles.
"It does not seem to me," Mr. Rhodes said when he had finished, "that there can be sufficient scouting. Of course I am not a military man, and know nothing of the handling of the troops. But certainly before attacking a place I should have taken steps to find out the exact position of the enemy, and, as far as possible, their strength. This could have been done by a handful of mounted men. Now, tell me a little more as to how you got through."
Yorke much more briefly gave the account of his journey.
"And now, Mr. Harberton—for such, I hear, is your[Pg 166] name—will you tell me how it comes that so young an officer was entrusted with such hazardous work. First of all, would you mind telling me something about yourself. I like to know the ins and outs of things. Believe me, I am not asking from mere curiosity."
Yorke felt that in this strong able man he might find a valuable friend, therefore he gave him a sketch of his reasons for leaving England.
"So you were at Rugby!" his hearer broke in. "I am a public-school boy myself, you know, and there is always a fellow-feeling among public-school boys, even if they were not at the same school. You came out to a cousin, you say, and that is some eight months ago. What did you do with him?"
"I looked after his farm a bit, but the greater part of my time I spent in learning to shoot and to speak Dutch."
"Do you speak Dutch well?"
"Well enough to pass in ordinary conversation, sir. I had a Dutch boy as a companion, and as my cousin's wife was Dutch, that language was principally spoken in the house."
"And why did you leave?"
"I should have gone anyhow, sir, because, from what I heard from the Dutch who came there, there was certain to be war; and as I could ride well, had made myself a good shot, and could speak Dutch and a little Kaffir, I thought I might be useful in the scouting way. If I had not been able to enlist in such a corps I should have enlisted, if possible, in the regular cavalry. But I left suddenly. I was shot at by a young Boer, a relation of my cousin's wife, who was jealous because I had beaten him in a shooting match. His ball went through my hat, and I naturally fired back in return, and the bullet struck him in the chest. They did not think that the wound would be mortal, but my cousin thought it better that I should go at once, as the fellow had many friends round him who would certainly take the matter up."
[Pg 167]
Then he related how he had obtained a commission in the latter corps, and had gone up with Colonel Pinkerton; and had ridden out dressed as a Dutchman, as they went up the line, to obtain information as to the sentiments of the Africanders; and how in the same disguise he had gone with the Dutch lad who had accompanied him, among the Boers, and had learned that the commando was going south, and that there was no intention of attacking De Aar; how twenty Kaffirs had been placed under him, and had done what scouting was possible on the way up to the Modder.
"I see that you have plenty of intelligence, as well as grit, Mr. Harberton. When this war is over come to me; you are the sort of man I want, and I promise you that you will find me a good friend."
"Thank you very much, sir!"
"No, you have to thank yourself," Mr. Rhodes said. "A lad who will learn Dutch in six months, instead of contenting himself with sporting and amusement, as too many young fellows who come out here do, who will undertake dangerous enterprises, and carry them through as successfully as you have done, is certain, in any case, to make his way, and deserves to do so. I am a hard worker myself, and I am only too glad to have men round me with clear heads, a capacity for work, and, in a pinch, plenty of pluck and decision. All these you have shown. You have come out at a younger age than most men, and have already highly distinguished yourself. Don't be foolish and take a commission if it is offered to you, at any rate not for a permanency. It is a poor business, and unless you have an income of your own, it would be as much as you could do to keep your head above water until the time when you might become a captain. In Rhodesia you will by that time be in a position that a colonel might envy."
"Thank you, sir. I had no thought of taking a commission where I could render but little service except as an interpreter, and did I take it I should certainly resign at the[Pg 168] end of the war. I came out here to push my way, and be able to help my mother and sisters to some extent, in the event of the death of my father, whose income as a clergyman will, of course, expire with him, and who can now only afford to insure his life for a small sum. Therefore I most gratefully accept your very kind offer, and when this business is ended will come to you, and be only too glad to accept any post that you may think me fit for."
They had been alone during this conversation, as the officer in command of the battery had left them to attend to his duties when they first sat down to talk. Mr. Rhodes now rose, and shook hands with Yorke; then, nodding to the officer, said, "I shall be up again this afternoon if the Boers make any fresh move," and strolled away. Yorke dined that evening at the mess of the Kimberley Horse, but left directly the cloth was removed, and having said good-bye to Colonel Kekewich, started with Peter, an officer accompanying them to pass them out through the lines. Already there was a sound of musketry away near Kamfers Dam; the Boer guns joined in, and the battery at which he had passed the morning replied to their fire.
"That will occupy their attention on the kopje near this road, Peter. We will keep along close to it as far as we can. It is all open veldt, and as far as I can make out, the foot of the kopjes is at least two or three hundred yards from it, so that walking will be a good deal easier than it was coming here. But mind, if we are surprised, Peter, you are to follow my orders and make a bolt for it at once. As long as the ground is open like this I can use my own eyes, and I wish you now to fall back and walk thirty or forty yards behind me. It is of no use our both being captured. I have given you a copy of the figures that I have put down, and have gone through them over and over again with you, so that you know what each of them means. I have also told you the message Colonel Kekewich sent me, which you are to repeat to the general when you get back to[Pg 169] the Modder. When we have got well past the Kopjes you can come up to me again, but until we do so keep well behind, and if I am suddenly pounced upon make straight off. We have agreed that you can follow me and help me if there is a chance of making my escape, but I hardly think that such a chance would occur. However, that I must leave to you. But you must remember that you are not to follow me long, not more than a day or two, for it is all-important that the message should get to the Modder as soon as possible."
"If it is your orders, I must obey them," the Kaffir said, "but I don't like it, baas."
"Never mind that, Peter; we all have to do things we don't like sometimes. Now, drop back."
Yorke had before leaving the lines again muffled his boots, and he walked along fast, feeling confident that he should get through unobserved. He was walking close to the road, and was within four or five hundred yards of the kopjes, when he took to it again, as there were some clumps of bushes in front of him. Suddenly he fell on his face with a crash, his foot having caught against a wire stretched tightly some six inches above the ground. Before he could spring to his feet a dozen men rushed out from the bushes and seized him.
"Run, Peter, run!" he shouted, and then said as the Boers raised him to his feet, "I surrender."
Several of them raised their rifles and faced towards the road by which he had come, thinking that he might be followed by a strong force. After waiting for three or four minutes two of them ran forward cautiously, but returned in five minutes, saying that there was no sign of any one there.
"But this man shouted to someone. Whom did you shout to?" he asked Yorke roughly.
Yorke shook his head. He thought it best to profess ignorance of Dutch. The man repeated the question in English.
"It was a Kaffir," Yorke answered. "He was coming to[Pg 170] show me the way across the country when we had passed through your lines."
"You are a spy, then," the man said fiercely.
"Not at all," Yorke replied. "If it were daylight you could see by my uniform that I am an English officer. If I had come as a spy I should have disguised myself. But I preferred coming in uniform, so that if I were captured I should have a right to be treated as a prisoner of war."
"That is for the field cornet to decide," the man said grimly. "Now, come along with us."