With Buller in Natal
by
G. A. Henty

Part 1 out of 6

Produced by Tony Hyland, Charles Franks and the
Online Distributed Proofreading Team.

WITH BULLER IN NATAL

[Illustration: "CHRIS SPRANG AT HIM."]

WITH BULLER IN NATAL

OR, A BORN LEADER

BY

G. A. HENTY

PREFACE

It will be a long time before the story of the late war can be written
fully and impartially. Even among the narratives of those who witnessed
the engagements there are many differences and discrepancies, as is
necessarily the case when the men who write are in different parts of
the field. Until, then, the very meagre military despatches are
supplemented by much fuller details, anything like an accurate history
of the war would be impossible. I have, however, endeavoured to
reconcile the various narratives of the fighting in Natal, and to make
the account of the military occurrences as clear as possible.
Fortunately this is not a history, but a story, to which the war forms
the background, and, as is necessary in such a case, it is the heroes of
my tale, the little band of lads from Johannesburg, rather than the
leaders of the British troops, who are the most conspicuous characters
in the narrative. As these, although possessed of many admirable
qualities, had not the faculty of being at two places at once, I was
obliged to confine the action of the story to Natal. With the doings of
the main army I hope to deal next year.

G. A. HENTY

CONTENTS

I. THE BURSTING OF THE STORM

II. A TERRIBLE JOURNEY

III. AT THE FRONT

IV. DUNDEE

V. THE FIRST BATTLE

VI. ELANDSLAAGTE

VII. LADYSMITH BESIEGED

VIII. A DESPERATE PROJECT

IX. KOMATI-POORT

X. AN EXPLOSION

XI. BACK WITH THE ARMY

XII. THE BATTLE OF COLENSO

XIII. PRISONERS

XIV. SPION KOP

XV. SPION KOP

XVI. A COLONIST'S ADVENTURE

XVII. A RESCUE

XVIII. RAILWAY HILL

XIX. MAJUBA DAY

XX. LADYSMITH

ILLUSTRATIONS

"CHRIS SPRANG AT HIM"

CHRIS OFFERS HIS SERVICES TO SIR PENN SYMONS

CHRIS AND HIS COMPANIONS SCOUTING

"BOTH RIFLES CRACKED AT ONCE"

"THERE WAS A TREMENDOUS ROAR AND A BLINDING CRASH"

"WITH A SHOUT OF TRIUMPH THE TWO BOERS RAN DOWN"

"PRESENTLY FROM BEHIND THE FOOT OF THE HILL SIX HORSEMEN DASHED OUT"

THE NAVAL GUNS ON MOUNT ALICE

"ONE OF THE BOERS HELD UP HIS RIFLE WITH A WHITE FLAG TIED TO IT"

THE RELIEF OF LADYSMITH

[Illustration: SOUTH EASTERN AFRICA]

WITH BULLER IN NATAL

CHAPTER I

THE BURSTING OF THE STORM

A group of excited men were gathered in front of the Stock Exchange at
Johannesburg. It was evident that something altogether unusual had
happened. All wore anxious and angry expressions, but a few shook hands
with each other, as if the news that so much agitated them, although
painful, was yet welcome; and indeed this was so.

For months a war-cloud had hung over the town, but it had been thought
that it might pass over without bursting. None imagined that the blow
would come so suddenly, and when it fell it had all the force of a
complete surprise, although it had been so threatening for many weeks
that a considerable portion of the population had already fled. It was
true that great numbers of men, well armed, and with large numbers of
cannon, had been moving south, but negotiations were still going on and
might continue for some time yet; and now by the folly and arrogance of
one man the cloud had burst, and in thirty hours war would begin.

Similar though smaller groups were gathered here and there in the
streets. Parties of Boers from the country round rode up and down with
an air of insolent triumph, some of them shouting "We shall soon be rid
of you; in another month there will not be a rooinek left in South
Africa."

Those addressed paid no heed to the words. They had heard the same thing
over and over again for the past two months. There was a tightening of
the lips and a closing of the fingers as if on a sword or rifle, but no
one replied to the insolent taunts. For years it had been the hope of
the Uitlanders that this would come, and that there would be an end to a
position that was well-nigh intolerable. Never before had a large body
of intelligent men been kept in a state of abject subjection by an
inferior race, a race almost without even the elements of civilization,
ignorant and brutal beyond any existing white community, and superior
only in the fact that they were organized and armed, whereas those they
trampled upon were deficient in both these respects. Having no votes,
these were powerless to better their condition by the means common to
civilized communities throughout the world. They were ground down by an
enormous taxation, towards which the Boers themselves contributed
practically nothing, and the revenue drawn from them was spent in the
purchase of munitions of war, artillery, and fortifications, so
enormously beyond the needs of the country, that it was no secret that
they were intended not only for the defence of the republic against
invasion, but for a general rising of the Boer population and the
establishment of Dutch supremacy throughout the whole of South Africa.

The Boer government was corrupt from the highest to the lowest. The
president and the members of his family piled up wealth to an enormous
amount, and nothing could be done without wholesale bribery. The price
of everything connected with the mining industry was doubled by the
supply being in the hands of monopolists, who shared their gains with
high state officials. Money was lavished like water on what was called
secret service, in subsidizing newspapers to influence public opinion
throughout Europe, and, as it was strongly suspected, in carrying on a
propaganda among the Dutch in Cape Colony, and in securing the return of
members and a ministry secretly pledged to further in every way the aims
of the Presidents of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. The
British and other aliens were not only deprived of all rights of
citizenship, but even freedom of speech and the right of public meeting
was denied them; they were not allowed to carry arms except by a special
license, their children were taught in Dutch in the schools, they had no
right of trial by jury; judges who had the courage to refuse to carry
out the illegal behests of the president were deprived of their offices,
and the few editors of newspapers representing the Uitlanders--as all
men not born in the state were called-were imprisoned and their journals
suppressed.

Intolerable as was such a state of things to a civilized community, it
might have been borne with some patience had it not been that the
insolence of their masters was unbounded. Every Boer seemed to take a
pleasure in neglecting no opportunity of showing his contempt for the
men whose enterprise and labour had enormously enriched the country, and
whose superior intelligence he was too grossly ignorant to appreciate. A
Boar farmer would refuse a cup of water to a passing traveller, and
would enforce his refusal by producing his rifle immediately if the
stranger ventured to urge his request. Of late the insolence of the
Boers had greatly increased; the manner in which England had, instead of
demanding justice with the sternness and determination that the
circumstances called for, permitted her remonstrances to be simply
ignored, was put down as a consciousness of weakness. And having now
collected arms sufficient not only for themselves but for the whole
Dutch population of South Africa, the Boers were convinced that their
hour of triumph had come, and that in a very short time their flag would
float over every public building throughout the country and the Union
Jack disappear for ever.

The long discussions that had been going on with regard to a five or
seven years' franchise were regarded with absolute indifference by the
Uitlanders--even the shorter time would have afforded them no advantage
whatever. The members from the mining districts would be in a hopeless
minority in the assembly; and indeed, very few of those entitled to a
vote would have cared to claim it, inasmuch as they would thereby render
themselves citizens of the republic, and be liable to be commandeered
and called upon to serve in arms, not only against the natives, upon
whom the Boers were always making aggressions, but against England, when
the war, which all foresaw could not long be delayed, broke out.

For months the negotiations went on between President Kruger and Mr.
Chamberlain, the British colonial minister, and the certainty that the
Boers were bent upon fighting became more and more evident. Vast
quantities of rifles, ammunition, and cannon poured into the Transvaal,
their passage being more than winked at by the Dutch ministry of Cape
Colony.

It was that day known that President Kruger had thrown off the mask of a
pretended desire for peace, and that an ultimatum had been telegraphed
to England couched in terms of such studied insolence that it was
certain war must ensue. The greatest civilized power on earth would have
shown less arrogance towards the most feeble. Not only was England
called upon to send no more troops to South Africa, but to withdraw most
of her forces already in the country, and this by a state that owed its
very existence to her, and whose total population was not more than that
of a small English county.

The terms of that ultimatum had just become known in Johannesburg, and
it was not surprising that it had created an intense excitement. All had
long felt that war must come, and that at an early date, but the step
that had now been taken came as a surprise. From all appearances it had
seemed that the negotiations might be continued for months yet before
the crisis arrived, and that it should thus have been forced on by the
wording of the ultimatum showed that the Boers were satisfied that their
preparations were complete, and that they were in a position to overrun
Natal and Cape Colony before any British force capable of withstanding
them could arrive. England, indeed, had been placed in a most difficult
position. The ministry were not unaware of the enormous preparations
that the Boers were making, and had for some time past been quietly
sending out a large number of officers and a few non-commissioned
officers and men to the Cape. But so long as there was a hope that the
Boers would finally grant some redress to the Uitlanders, they could not
despatch any considerable number of troops, for had they done so they
would have been accused not only on the Continent, but by a section of
Englishmen, of forcing on a war with a weak state, whereas in point of
fact the war was being forced on by a country that most erroneously
believed itself to be stronger than England. The Boers of the Transvaal
knew already that the Orange Free State would join them at once, and
believed firmly that every Dutchman in Natal and Cape Colony would at
the signal take up arms.

Presently a gentleman detached himself from the crowd in front of the
Exchange, and joined a lad of some sixteen years old who was standing on
the other side of the street.

"Well, father, is it all true what they say?" the latter asked--"that
Kruger has sent such an ultimatum to England that war is certain?"

"It is quite true, Chris; war is absolutely certain. Kruger has given
the British Government only two days to reply to the most insolent
demand ever addressed to a great power, and worded in the most offensive
manner. I imagine that no reply will be given; and as the ultimatum was
sent off yesterday, we shall to-morrow morning be in a state of war."

"Well, father, there is no doubt what the result will be."

"No doubt whatever as to the final result, but I am afraid things will
go very badly for a time. I am glad, very glad, that Kruger should have
sent such an ultimatum. It cannot but be accepted as a defiance by all
England; and I should say that even the opposition, which has of late
continually attacked Mr. Chamberlain, will now be silenced, and that
Government will be supported by all parties."

After a quarter of an hour's walk they arrived at home. It was a
handsome house, for Mr. King was one of the leading men in Johannesburg.
He had come out with a wife and son ten years before, being sent by some
London capitalists to report to them fully upon the prospects of the
gold-fields. Under his advice they had purchased several properties,
which had been brought out as companies, and proved extremely valuable.
He was himself a large holder in each of these, and acted as manager and
director of the group. "What is the news, Robert?" his wife asked, as he
and her son came in. "I have had three or four visitors in here, and
they all say that there is quite an excitement in the town."

"It has come at last," he said gravely; "war is inevitable, and will
begin in twenty-four hours. Kruger has sent one of the most
extraordinary demands ever drawn up. He calls upon England to cease
sending out troops, and to speedily recall most of those now in South
Africa, and has given two days for a reply, of which one has already
expired. As it is absolutely certain that England will not grant this
modest request, we may say that the war has begun. I wish now that I had
sent you and Chris down to Durban a fortnight ago, for there will be a
fearful rush, and judging by the attitude of the Boers, I fear they will
make the journey a very unpleasant one. As we have agreed, it is
absolutely necessary that I should remain here. There is no saying what
steps the Boers will take with reference to the mines; but it is certain
that we must, if possible, keep them going--not for the sake of the
profit, which you may be sure Kruger will not allow to go out of the
country, but because if they were to be stopped it would cost an immense
deal of money to put them in working condition again, especially if, as
is likely enough, the Boers damage the machinery. I shall do as little
work as I can; and the Boers will not, I fancy, interfere with us as
long as they can benefit by the working. For myself, I would risk any
loss or damage rather than aid in supplying them with gold, but for the
sake of our shareholders in Europe I must do my best to save the mines
from destruction. Indeed, if I don't work them, probably they will do so
until the end is at hand, and will then do as much damage as possible.
You know we have agreed on this point." "Yes, I suppose it is best,
Robert; but it seems terrible leaving you alone here, and I shall be in
a perpetual state of anxiety about you."

"I don't think there is any occasion for that; as long as I am working
the mines and they are taking the gold, which no doubt they will have to
repay when our army are masters here, they will not interfere with me.
They treat us badly enough, as we know; but they love the gold even more
than they hate us, so I have no fear whatever as to my personal safety.
I am afraid, dear, that for a time things will go very badly with us.
Already we know that commandos have gone forward in great strength to
the frontier, and I should not be surprised if the whole of South Africa
rises; at any rate, the Boers are confident that it will be so.
Gladstone's miserable surrender after our disasters at Laing's Nek and
Majuba have puffed them up with such an idea of their own fighting
powers and our weakness, that I believe they think they are going to
have almost a walk over. Still, though it was certain that we should
have a hard time whenever war came, we have been hoping for years that
England would at last interfere to obtain redress for us, and we must
not grumble now that what we have been so long expecting has at last
come to pass. I believe there will be some stern fighting. The Boers are
no cowards; courage is, indeed, as far as I know, the only virtue they
possess. In the long run they must certainly be beaten, but it will only
be after very hard fighting."

"What do you think they will do, father?"

"I can't say what they will do, but I am sure that what they ought to do
is to merely hold the passes from Natal with enough men for the purpose,
and to march their whole force, broken up into half a dozen columns,
into Cape Colony. There is no force there that could resist them, they
would be undoubtedly joined by every Dutchman there, and I am convinced
that the Africander ministry would at once declare for them, in which
case England would have to undertake the tremendous work of conquering
the whole of South Africa afresh, for certainly she could not allow it
to slip from her hands, even if it should prove as stern a business as
the conquering of half India after the Sepoy Mutiny. Now to business.
Fortunately we sent down your clothes and everything we had of value to
our friends the Wilsons, at Durban, six weeks ago. What you have
remaining you must leave behind to take its chance. You will be able to
take no luggage whatever with you. We know how terribly the trains have
been packed for the past fortnight, and a week ago almost all the
carriages were commandeered for the use of the troops going south.

"You must take with you a basket of provisions, sufficient, if
necessary, for two or three days for you both. There is no saying how
long you may be on your way to the frontier; once beyond that you will,
of course, be able to obtain anything you want. But you need expect no
civility or courtesy from the Boers, who, indeed, would feel a malicious
pleasure in shunting you off into a siding, and letting you wait there
for any number of hours. You must mind, Chris, above all things, to keep
your temper, whatever may happen. You know how our people have been
insulted, and actually maltreated in scores of cases, and in their
present state of excitement the Boers would be only too glad to find an
excuse for acts of violence. I was speaking to you about it three days
ago, and I cannot impress it too strongly upon you. I have already given
you permission to join one or other of the corps that are being raised
in Natal, and if anything unpleasant occurs on the road, you must bottle
up your feelings and wait till you get a rifle in your hand and stand on
equal terms with them."

"I promise that, father. I think, after what we have had to put up with
here, during the past two or three months especially, I can bear
anything for these last few days."

"Yes, Chris; but it will be more trying now that you have your mother
under your charge. It is for her sake as well as your own that I impress
this so strongly upon you. Now, will you go down at once to the railway-
station and enquire about the trains? I shall go myself to the manager
and see whether I can get him to make any special arrangement in your
mother's favour, though I have no great hopes of that; for though I know
him well, he is, like all these Dutchmen in office, an uncivilized brute
puffed up with his own importance."

Chris started at once, and returned an hour later with a very
discouraging report. The station was crowded with people. No regular
trains were running, but while he was there a large number of cattle-
trucks had been run up to the platform, and in these as many of the
fugitives as could be packed in were stowed away. As soon as this was
done the train had started, but not half the number collected on the
platform had found room in it. His father had left a few minutes after
him, and presently returned.

"From what I can hear," he said, "there is no chance whatever of your
being able to get any accommodation, but must take your chance with the
others. Viljoen told me that except the waggons there was not a carriage
of any sort or class left here, and that there was no saying at all when
any would return; but that even if they did, they would be taken for the
use of the troops going south. All he could say was that if, when I came
down to the station with you, he is there, he will see that you go by
the first waggons that leave."

"That is something at least," Mrs. King said quietly. "I certainly do
not wish to ask for any favour from these people, and do not want to be
better off than others. I have no doubt that it will be an unpleasant
time, but after all it will be nothing to what great numbers of people
will have to suffer during the war."

"That is so, Amy. And now I think that the sooner the start is made the
better. The rush to get away will increase every hour, and we shall have
the miners coming in in hundreds. Many of the mines will be shut down at
once, though some of them will, like ours, continue operations as long
as they are allowed to."

"Make your basket, or bag, or whatever you take your provisions in, as
small as possible, mother. I saw lots of baggage left behind on the
platform. You see, there are no seats to stow things under. I should say
that a flat box which you can sit on would be the best thing. And you
will want your warmest cloak and a thick rug for night."

"I have a box that will do very well, Chris. Fortunately we have plenty
of cold meat and bread in the house. I shall not be more than half an
hour, Robert."

In less than that time the party were ready. Chris's preparations had
been of the simplest. He carried over his arm a long, thick greatcoat,
in the pocket of which he had thrust a fur cap and two woollen
comforters. He had also a light but warm rug, for he thought it probable
that he might not be able to be next to his mother. He had on his usual
light tweed suit, but had in addition put on a cardigan waistcoat, which
he intended to take off when once in the train. In his pockets he had a
couple of packets of tobacco, for although he seldom smoked, he thought
that some of it might be very acceptable to his fellow-passengers before
the journey was over. He wore a light gray, broad-brimmed wide-awake,
with a white silk puggaree twisted round it, for the heat of the sun in
the middle of the day was already very great, and would be greater still
when they got down to Natal. The box, which a Kaffir servant put on his
shoulder, was about eight inches deep and a foot wide, and eighteen
inches long.

"What have you in it, mother?"

"Two tin bottles of cold tea, each holding a gallon."

"I should hardly have thought that we wanted as much as that."

"No; but there may be many women who have made no provision at all,
thinking that we shall at least be able to get water at any of the
stations we stop at. I have a small tin mug, and that joint of meat; the
rest of the box is filled up with bread-and-butter. I have cut it up and
spread it, so that it packs a good deal closer than it would do if we
put the loaves in whole."

Mr. King had his wife's thick-wadded winter cloak and a rug over his
arm, and a small hand-bag with a few necessaries for the journey. Mrs.
King was in her usual attire, and carried only a white umbrella.

"We look as if we were starting for a picnic rather than a journey that
will last three or four days," she said with an attempt at gaiety.
"There is one comfort, we shall have nothing to look after when we get
to the end."

Chris walked on ahead to let his father and mother talk together, for
although all arrangements had been discussed and settled during the past
two or three days, there was much they had to say to each other now that
the parting had come. The lad was a fine specimen of the young
Uitlander. A life passed largely in the open air, hard work and
exercise, had broadened his shoulders and made him look at least a year
older than he really was. He was a splendid rider and an excellent shot
with his rifle, for his father had obtained a permit from the
authorities for him to carry one, and he could bring down an antelope
when running at full speed as neatly as any of the young Boers. Four
days a week he had spent in the mines, for his father intended him to
follow in his footsteps, and he had worked by turns with the miners
below and the engineers on the surface, so that he might in the course
of a few years be thoroughly acquainted with all the details of his
profession.

The last two days in each week he had to himself, and with three or four
lads of his own age went for long rides in search of sport. A couple of
hours every evening were spent in study under his father's direction. He
was quiet in manner, and talked but little. He deeply resented the
position in which the British population in the Transvaal were placed,
the insolence of the Boers towards them, and their brutal cruelty
towards the natives. The restraint which he so often found it necessary
to exercise had had no slight influence on his character, and had given
a certain grim expression to the naturally bright face. Many had been
the discussions between him and his friends as to the prospect of
England's taking up their cause. Their disappointment had been intense
at the miserable failure of the Jameson raid, which, however, they felt,
and rightly, must some day have a good result, inasmuch as it had
brought out the wretched position of the Uitlanders, who, though forming
the majority of the population, and the source of all the wealth of the
country, and paying all the taxes, were yet treated as an outcast race,
and deprived of every right possessed by people of all civilized
nations.

They had wondered and fretted at the apathy with which the enormous
warlike preparations of the Boers were regarded at home, and the fact
that they were permitted to become a formidable power, capable of
offering a desperate resistance even by the armies of England; whereas,
before they had been enriched by the industry and enterprise of the
immigrants, they had been in danger of being altogether wiped out by the
Zulus and Swazis, and had only been saved by the interference on their
behalf of the British power. Thus, then, while the war-cloud had been
slowly but surely gathering, the lads had watched the approaching crisis
with delight, unmingled with the anxiety and foreboding of the
capitalists, who, without doubting what the end must be, were sure that
enormous losses and sacrifices must result before their deliverance from
Boer oppression could be obtained.

The scene at the station was an extraordinary one. Men, women, and
children of all ranks were crowded on the platform; the greater
capitalists, the men whose fortunes could be counted by hundreds of
thousands, had for the most part left, but many who in England would be
considered as rich men had remained in the town till the last moment, to
make their final arrangements and wind up their affairs. With these were
well-to-do storekeepers, with their wives and families, together with
mining officials, miners, and mechanics of all kinds. Piles of baggage
rendered movement difficult, for many had supposed that the regular
trains were still running, and that they would be able to carry away
with them the greater portion of their belongings. The scenes at the
departure of the previous trains roughly awakened them to the fact that
all this must be abandoned, and women were crying and men cursing below
their breath at this last evidence of Boer indifference to the
sufferings of those by whose work they had so greatly benefited. Mr.
King soon found that the manager was still there, but on speaking to him
he shrugged his shoulders, and said:

"I do not see what I can do. Look at the crowd there. When the waggons
come up there will be a rush, and I have no men here to keep such a
number in order."

"I see that, Mr. Viljoen, but if you would send a man with us to where
the waggons are standing in readiness to come up, my wife could take her
place then."

"Yes, I will do that at once. You had better go with her outside the
station, and the porter shall take you on from there. If you were to get
off the platform here and walk up the lines, others would notice it, and
there would be an immediate rush."

He called to one of the porters on the platform, and gave him
instructions, and in a few minutes Mrs. King was seated on her box in
the corner of a truck, which, with a few others, had a covered roof,
although it was entirely open at the sides. In the next half-hour eight
or ten others, who had been similarly favoured by the manager, joined
them. All these were known to the Kings, and it was a great relief to
them to find that they would travel together, instead of being mixed up
with the general crowd. They had packed themselves together as closely
as possible, so that when the train became crowded there should be no
room for anyone to push in among them. Among the party was John Cairns,
a great chum of Chris's. He and his father and mother had been waiting
for two hours at the station, and he told him that there were seven or
eight of their companions there.

"We will take our seats on that side," Chris said, "and as we move in
shout to them to join us. It will be a great thing to get as many people
we know in here as possible."

Presently the train began to move. Fortunately, at the spot where it
drew up, a group of their acquaintances were clustered together, and
these all managed to get into the truck, which was speedily filled up
until there was scarce standing-room. Three minutes later the train
moved on. A great number were left behind, although everyone made as
much room as possible, women especially being helped in after the trucks
seemed absolutely choke-full. As soon as the train was fairly in motion
many of the men climbed up on to the roofs of the covered waggons,
thereby relieving the pressure below, and enabling all the women to sit
down. Others ranged themselves along the sides, sitting on the rail, and
so minimizing the space they occupied. But even with all this, the women
were packed inconveniently together. All, however, were so much pleased
at their good fortune in having got away that there was no complaining
or grumbling. That the journey would be a long one, all knew; but at
least they had started, and would soon be a free people in a free
country. Chris and his friends had been among the first to climb up on
to the roof, and they sat down in a group at one end of it.

"It is going to be pretty cold here to-night, and desperately hot to-
morrow," Chris said; "but we can put up with that. I would stand it for
a month rather than stop any longer among these brutes." There was a
general murmur of agreement.

"Thank heavens," one of them said, "the next time we meet them will be
with arms in our hands. We have a long score to pay off, and we shall, I
expect, have plenty of chances. The Boers are boasting that they will
soon drive the last Englishman out of South Africa, and seem to regard
it as a sort of general picnic. They will find out their mistake before
they have done."

"Still, we must not think that it is going to be a picnic our way,"
Chris said. "They have quite made up their minds that every Boer in Cape
Colony and Natal will join them at once. If they do, it will be a very
long business to put them down, though I have no doubt it will all come
right in the end. Do you know anything about the others?"

"I know that Peters and Carmichael and Brown went off with their people
last night, but I don't know about the others."

"Capper and Willesden and Horrocks went yesterday," another lad said.
"Sankey and Holdsworth were on the platform, and no doubt got into
another truck.

"There are seven of us here," Chris said, "and as six have gone on, that
makes thirteen certain, and there are eight more to come. Most of us
will stop at Pietermaritzburg, but I suppose some, whose friends are
going straight home, will go down with them to Durban."

"There will not be many who have to do so," another said. "Sankey's
people and Carmichael's are going to Cape Town, but, so far as I know,
all the others will stay and see it out either at Maritzburg or Durban.
Do you think that we should take any others with us, Chris?"

"I don't think so. You see we all know each other, and it would be a
nuisance having fellows with us of whom we know nothing. They might not
pull with us, while we have been so much together that there is no fear
of our having any disagreement. I think we have all pretty well settled
that it will be much better to act by ourselves, instead of joining any
of the corps that are sure to be formed down there. Still, if we knew
one of the men getting up a corps--and some of our people are pretty
sure to do so--I do think it would be a good plan to join, if they would
accept us as a sort of independent troop, ready to act with them when
there is any big fighting, and to go about on our own account at other
times. You see, none of us will want any pay. We shall all furnish our
own horses and arms, and shall therefore be on a different footing from
men who have to draw pay and be equipped at the public expense; and I
don't see why any officer commanding a troop in one of these corps
should object to our joining him on those terms. But anyhow, I feel sure
that we should be able to do a great deal more good by being free to
move where we liked, and to undertake expeditions on our own account,
than if we were to act in a more regular manner."

There was a general chorus of agreement.

"Now, how long do you think it will be before we cross Laing's Nek? Of
course we ought to be there by to-morrow morning. It is only a hundred
and fifty miles, and at fifteen miles an hour, which is about their
usual rate of travelling, we should cross the frontier at two o'clock,
for it was about four when we started. But there is no saying. My father
thought we ought to take four days' provisions with us; I think we could
hold out for that time."

"You don't mean to say, Chris, he thought it possible we might be as
long as that?" "He did think so, Peters. He considered that we might be
shunted off very often to let trains with men and stores for the troops
go on ahead of us."

"Well," the other replied, "I don't care so much for myself, though I
don't say that it would be lively to be stuck up here for four days and
nights, but it would be awful for the women; and I should say that very
few of them have got more than enough provisions for a day. Still, of
course, if we are shunted at a station we shall be able to buy things."

"I am not so sure of that," Chris said. "You know what the Boers are at
their best; and now that they believe the time has arrived when they are
going to be the absolute lords of all South Africa, they are so puffed
up that there is no saying what they may do to show their hatred and
contempt for us. And whatever happens, you fellows, you must keep your
temper. My father spoke to me very strongly about it. You must remember
that they will not mind what they do, and would shoot any of us down on
the smallest excuse, knowing well enough that we are helpless, and that
it is unlikely any enquiry would ever be made, or anyone punished even
if they shot a dozen of us. We must remember that we intend to pay off
old scores later on, and that we mean to do it with interest."

CHAPTER II

A TERRIBLE JOURNEY

Twenty-four hours had gone, and not half the distance had yet been
covered. The night had passed painfully to all those in the waggons, for
though most of the women had provided themselves with wraps of one sort
or another, the cold was severe. This, however, was less felt than the
cramped position in which all had to sit on the floor, unable to move or
to stretch their legs, the only change obtainable being by standing up.
The pressure was most felt in the open waggons, where the men as well as
the women were packed together so closely that even sitting down was
impossible. Some slight relief had been afforded by the men on the
covered waggons taking as many from the uncovered trucks as could lie
down there with them; but as the latter were by far the more numerous, a
comparatively small number of men could be so entertained.

For a time the rising of the sun afforded some relief, but as it gained
in power the position of the fugitives became almost unbearable. The
stoppages were frequent, and at all the stations the Boers from the
neighbourhood had assembled, some from curiosity, but the majority to
wait for the trains that were to take them to the front. Although
sometimes detained for three or four hours, the passengers were not
allowed to alight. The men, indeed, at times, by common impulse, sprang
out, but were soon forced to take their places again, some of the Boers
using their heavy whips over their heads and shoulders, while others
with pointed guns prevented any attempt at retaliation. Men, and even
women, crowded the platform, jeering and cursing those in the waggons,
menacing them with their whips and snatching at such trinkets, and even
cloaks as took their fancy. The men were all several times searched for
weapons, and made to turn their pockets inside out, the contents being
unceremoniously transferred to those of the Boers. Chris and his
companions would have taken their places below with their friends, but
these implored them not to do so, being afraid that they would be
enraged beyond endurance, and might in their anger say or do something
that would give an excuse to the Boers to use their rifles, which they
so often pointed threateningly at women as well as men. It was only when
the train was in motion that food and drink were passed up from below,
as these too would assuredly, had they been seen, have been confiscated
by the brutal tormentors.

When they steamed into Standerton in the afternoon, the distress of the
women and children for water was so great that men determined at all
costs to endeavour to get some for them. As if by one impulse, when the
train came to a standstill outside the station, they jumped out and made
for the little village. But here all refused to give or sell them water
or food, and in a few minutes a large party of Boers rode in, and
falling upon them with their whips, drove them back to the train. Had
they been armed the men would assuredly have resisted till the last,
although certain to be killed, so mad were they with passion. As it was,
it would have been throwing away their lives, without a chance of even
avenging themselves on their assailants. As they reached the waggons and
climbed into their places again, several had broad blue weals across
their faces, while many more were smarting from the cuts they had
received on the body. Chris and his companions had got out when the
others did so, but had not followed them. Their supply of water and cold
tea was not yet exhausted, as most of the ladies had made preparations
for a journey of two or three days, and Mrs. King and the mothers of the
other lads begged them not to go.

"The Boers are only waiting for an excuse to use their firearms," Mrs.
King said, "and whatever happens you had better stay here. You can do no
good by going." So, reluctantly, they had again taken their places on
the roofs of the carriages, and sat there with their pulses beating and
their fists clenched as they heard the shouts and the cracking of the
heavy whips in the village, and presently saw the men running back,
pursued by their cowardly assailants. Two or three of the lads were so
enraged at the sight that they would have jumped down had not Chris laid
a restraining hand on them.

"Wait your time," he said in a hard voice. "We can't repay them now, but
we will remember this when our turn comes."

The Boers, as they rode up, leapt from their horses, and with shouts of
exultation walked along the waggons, striking at the men, hurling every
epithet of contempt and hatred at them, and even spitting at them. Many
of the women were also struck as well as being grossly insulted.

"And these scoundrels call themselves Christian men, and their friends
speak of them as simple pious farmers! I call them, both from their
appearance and their actions, as unmitigated a set of ruffians as are to
be found on the face of the globe," Cairns exclaimed passionately.

They were indeed as unsavoury in appearance as they were brutal in
manner. Water is scarce in the Transvaal, and is used most sparingly for
all purposes of cleanliness. The Boer sleeps in his clothes, gives
himself a shake when he gets up, and his toilet is completed, unless on
very exceptional occasions when he goes outside the door to the water-
cask, fills his hands with water, and rubs them over his face.

Four times in the year, however, the Boers indulge in a general wash
before starting with their wives and families for four or five days'
stay at the nearest town to attend the services of the church and to do
their quarter's marketing. In dress the Boer is almost universally
slovenly, his clothes hang about him stained and discoloured by long
usage. In the majority of cases he is altogether without education, and
very many Boers are scarcely able to sign their names. Most of them wear
beards and long unkempt hair. But in point of physique they are fine
men, tall and powerfully, though loosely, built, but capable of standing
great fatigue if necessary, although averse to all exercise save on
horseback. All are taught to shoot from boyhood, and even the women in
the country districts are trained in the use of firearms, for it is not
so long since they lived in dread of incursions by the Zulus and Swazis.

There was no attempt whatever at uniformity of dress. Most of the men
wore high riding boots. Some of the young men from the towns were in
tweed suits, the vast majority wore either shooting jackets or long
loose coats; some were in straw hats, but the elder men all wore large
felt hats with wide brims. They were all, however, similarly armed with
rifles of the best and most modern construction. Their general
appearance was that of a large band of farmers of the roughest type and
wholly without regard for their personal appearance.

It was fully an hour before the train moved again. Then it was shunted
on to a siding while the Boers entrained with their horses on a long
line of waggons which had just come up, and which started on its way
south as soon as they were on board. Then the emigrant tram crawled on
again. There was another night of wretchedness, and in the morning they
arrived at Volksrust, the frontier town. Here they were again closely
searched for arms, and what provisions remained among them were
commandeered, or as the emigrants called it, stolen. However, they knew
that their troubles were now nearly over, and did not grumble when they
were informed that the train would go no farther, and that they must
make their way on foot to Newcastle.

They were told tauntingly that they might find some of their friends
there if they had not already run away, and that if they stopped at
Pietermaritzburg for a week they would have another journey down to
Durban as prisoners. All were too glad to get out of the clutches of the
Boers to utter complaints which they knew would be useless, and they
went off at once. The prospect was not, however, a pleasant one.
Newcastle was nearly thirty miles away, but they hoped that at least
they might obtain shelter and rest and food for the women at some of the
scattered farms. At first their progress was slow, for after being for
more than two days and a half packed up like cattle, they had almost
lost the use of their limbs; but gradually the pace was accelerated. Men
took the little children on their shoulders, others helped the women
along. Charlestown, on the British side of the frontier, was already
occupied by the Boers, who hooted and abused them as they passed
through. At Laing's Nek there was a Dutch commando with some guns.

Two miles on the women could go no further, and they halted at a large
farmhouse which had been deserted by its owners. All the men, however,
who were alone, determined to push on at once to Newcastle, and promised
they would send vehicles of some sort to take them on if they could
possibly be obtained. Mrs. King and the other ladies authorized them to
pay any sums demanded.

Thankful indeed were the tired women when they reached the farmhouse.
They found the doors unfastened, as the farmer knew that were he to lock
them the Boers would certainly batter them in when they arrived, and
would probably do greater damage to the furniture left behind than if
they had obtained an entry without trouble. The men soon found the wood-
shed, and in a short time great fires blazed in every room. The bedding
had been carried away, but utterly worn out as they were, the women were
only too glad to lie down on rugs and cover themselves with their
cloaks. The men gathered in the lower room and talked for some time
before thinking of going to sleep. There was scarce one who was not
determined to join one of the volunteer corps being raised at Durban and
Maritzburg, and to avenge the insults and ill-treatment to which they
had been subjected. The long-smouldering animosity towards the Boers had
been fanned during the past three days into a fierce fire, and even
those who had not before thought of taking part in the struggle were now
as eager as the others to do so.

In the morning all were astir early. Had they been supplied with food
they would have waited until waggons came out from Newcastle, but these
could hardly arrive until evening, and at any moment the Boer advance
might commence. They therefore determined to move on early, for if they
met the waggons half-way these could return with them at once to the
town. It was desirable to start as soon as possible so as to get well on
the way before the heat of the day was at its fullest. Accordingly by
six all were in movement. The long night's rest had done them good,
still more so the thought that by the end of the day they would be among
friends, and they were disposed to laugh and joke over their present
situation. All the men had cut themselves heavy cudgels from the stock
of firewood, and the fact that they were not as before wholly
defenceless was no slight gratification to them. Even the ladies spoke
confidently of being able to walk the twenty miles to Newcastle should
they not meet vehicles coming to fetch them. They could go ten miles now
and then halt till the sun was setting, and after such a long rest could
certainly go on to Newcastle.

"I am afraid, mother," Chris said as they started, "that what seems so
easy now will be too much for many of the women. We started without
breakfast, and unless we can get something by the way I doubt if many
will reach the town to-night. Of course for the men it is nothing. Very
often when I have been out on the veldt and have started early, I have
had nothing till I got back late in the evening. What are you wearing
that veil for, mother? I saw that you pulled it down over your face
yesterday afternoon. I suppose you did it to keep the dust out of your
eyes, but there is none now."

"I had a reason for doing it, but I can put it up now."

She lifted the white veil to its usual place round her hat; as she did
so, Chris uttered a sharp exclamation as his eye fell on a bluish-red
mark across her face.

"You don't mean to say, mother," he said in a tone of horror, "that one
of those scoundrels struck you?"

"They struck a good many of us, Chris, and there was no reason why I
should escape more than another."

The lad's face grew white.

"Why did you not call out? I would have--"

"I know you would," she interrupted gently, "and so of course I did not
cry out. You had all had enough to try you to the utmost, and I was not
going to risk your life by letting you know what had happened. It
flashed across me at once that if you had seen it happen you would have
been down from the roof in an instant and struck the man. Had you done
so, your fate would have been sealed, you would have had half a dozen
bullets in your body; therefore, I simply dropped my veil, and I can
assure you that the smart of the Boer's sjambok gave me less pain when I
felt that you knew nothing of it."

Chris walked along silently for a minute or two; then he said quietly:
"Thank you, mother. I am sure it would have been as you said. I could
not have helped it. No one could see his mother struck without
interfering."

"I can understand that, dear; but it would have been a poor consolation
for me had you been killed in endeavouring to right a wrong that I could
very well put up with, and shall forget in a week."

"I suppose so, mother. I should not so much mind if I only knew the
fellow's name, or even knew him by sight, so that I might possibly have
the chance some day of settling accounts with him."

They walked on until eight o'clock, and then rested under the shade of
some rocks. Fortunately there had been some rain two days before, and
they had been able to quench their thirst at a little stream that came
down from the hills. There were in all some thirty women and eighteen
men.

"Look here, Harris," Chris said, "there is a farmhouse over there, and
as I see cattle and horses, it evidently is not deserted. Let us go and
see if we can get some bread and some milk for the women."

"All right!"

The other lads were quite ready to go also, and they walked across to
the house, which stood some half a mile away. As they approached it a
Boer came out. On seeing them he re-entered it, and appeared again with
a rifle.

"I am afraid we shall get nothing here," Harris said. "The Dutchmen in
Natal are only waiting for the Boers to advance to join them."

"Well, we will try anyhow," Chris said doggedly. "I dare say that you
are right; but Boer or no Boer, if there is any food in that house I
mean to get it."

They went quietly on. When they were within fifty yards the Boer shouted
to them to go back.

"We have some women and children with us," Chris replied, continuing to
advance. "They are exhausted from want of food and fatigue, and we have
come to ask for some bread, and if you have it in the house, some milk."

"If the house was full of both you should not have a crumb of bread or a
drop of milk. Halt! I say, or I will put a bullet into you."

Chris did not heed the command.

"We have plenty of money to pay you, and are willing to give ten times
its fair price."

He was now within ten yards of the farmer. The latter burst into a
torrent of abuse, and was in the act of raising his rifle when Chris
sprang at him. The Boer, who had no idea that this lad would venture to
attack him, discharged his rifle almost at random, and the ball passed
through the brim of Chris's hat. An instant later his heavy stick fell
on the Boer's head, and levelled him to the ground.

"Now, Harris," he shouted, "do you and the others go into the house, and
first of all bring me out one of these fellows' whips. Cairns, pick up
his rifle, and reload it. Sankey, do you and the others keep guard at
the door, and don't let those viragoes out"--for three women had just
appeared, and were cursing with a fluency that Billingsgate would have
envied.

Harris had already come out with a heavy whip by the time Cairns had
reloaded. Chris took it and said to the Boer, who, in view of the
formidable sticks the lads carried, had thought it best to lie quiet;

"Now you can get up, you hulking ruffian. I am going to give you a
lesson in civility. Oh, you won't get up? Well, it will make no
difference to me," and he proceeded to give the howling Boer a
tremendous thrashing. "There," he said, when his arm was tired, "you may
get up and go, and I hope that the lesson will do you good. Now, Cairns,
we will search the house. It is likely enough he has a lot of rifles
hidden somewhere, and perhaps when we have gone he may go and fetch some
more of his class. We may as well possess ourselves of them."

The seven lads went into the house, paying no further attention to the
Boer. In spite of the fury of the women, they searched the house
thoroughly, and in a large case in a disused room they found twelve
Mauser rifles, with a thousand cartridges. They then took a basket and
filled it with bread, and emptied the milk from two large pans into a
pail.

"We are not thieves and robbers, like your people," Chris said to the
women, as he threw five shillings on the table. "Your man has been good
enough to tell us that he will be in Maritzburg with the Boers in a
week's time. Therefore, as war has been declared, the muskets are lawful
spoil taken from a rebel. Now, boys, let's be off."

The cartridges were divided among them; then, with the thirteen guns,
the basket, and pail, they started to rejoin their friends. "Well, that
is a fair capture to begin with," Chris said. "As far as we are
concerned, the war has begun. The Boer has made off, I see. I should not
be surprised if we hear of him and some of his friends again. However,
now we are well armed they can come as soon as they like."

Great was the joy among the women and children when they returned with
the much-needed refreshment.

"I was getting very anxious about you, Chris," his mother said. "We
heard the man fire. But where have you got all these rifles from?"

"The owner of the farm is a Boer, mother, and as he told us, a rebel. As
he began the affair by putting a bullet through my hat, and abusing us
and our nation heartily, we took the liberty of searching his house,
with good success. I need not say that he did not give us this bread and
the pail of milk of his own free-will, but I left the money for them."

His mother had turned pale when he said that a bullet had gone through
his hat, but she said nothing.

"What became of the man?" she asked. "You did not kill him, I hope?"

"No, mother; I contented myself with thrashing him with one of his own
whips until my arm ached."

There was enough bread for all to have a slice. The women and children
had as much milk as they could drink, the rest was divided among the
men. The extra rifles were given to those who could best use them. In
half an hour the women said that they were ready to go on again, and
that they would rather do that than wait, for they greatly feared that
the Boer might gather some of his friends and attack them. Feeling
greatly strengthened and refreshed, they started at a good pace. They
had gone about a mile when Sankey said to Chris:

"Look, there is a party of mounted men across the valley."

"Then we had better plant ourselves among the rocks, and let the unarmed
men go on with the women and children, and take shelter a bit farther
on. I don't suppose they will venture to attack us when they find, to
their disgust, that we are armed with as good rifles as their own. They
have a great respect for their lives."

Accordingly the seven lads and the six men with rifles at once took up a
position among the rocks. The rest of the party went forward two hundred
yards and then took shelter also. The Boers, feeling certain that the
party was unarmed, did not trouble themselves to open fire at a
distance, but rode forward in a clump at full gallop.

"They are about a thousand yards away now," one of the men said. "We may
as well give them a volley."

The thirteen rifles flashed out almost simultaneously. There were, as
they had counted, sixteen Boers. Five horses fell, three others galloped
off riderless, and the party broke up and rode off at full speed in
various directions.

"I don't think we need trouble any more about them," said Sankey's
father, who, was one of the party, as he rose to his feet. "You may be
sure that several of those who got away carried bullets somewhere about
them."

As they turned to rejoin their friends there was a general exclamation
of satisfaction, for two large waggons were seen coming along the road.
In ten minutes the women and children, with all the older men, were
comfortably seated and on their way to Newcastle. Chris and his party
accompanied them on foot so as to form a rear-guard. "We have won our
first battle," Chris laughed.

"But for you there would not have been any battle at all," Field said.
"I don't think any of us would have gone forward after that fellow
warned us back had you not done so."

"I was determined to get some milk for the children," Chris said, "and
would have gone forward even if I had been alone. I don't think I ever
felt such a satisfaction as I did in thrashing that Boer. One of them
struck my mother across the face, you know, in the train, and though it
was not the same man, I feel better now that I have taken it out of
someone."

At Newcastle they found a small British force, and learned that there
were four or five thousand troops at Dundee. Trains were still running,
and after only an hour's delay at Newcastle to obtain a meal, the whole
party went on. Late that evening they arrived at Colenso. Mrs. King and
the ladies and gentlemen of the party had decided to sleep there, but
hearing on the road that the little town was crowded with fugitives from
the Transvaal and the farms near the frontier, they determined to
continue the journey to the capital, which they reached the next
morning. The lads had quite decided upon their course before starting,
and had arranged with their parents to remain at Maritzburg. The general
opinion was that the British force at the front could not possibly
maintain itself, but that as soon as the invasion began in force they
must fall back, as the Transvaal Boers would be able to attack them in
front and on the right flank, while the Free Staters would pour down
through Van Reenen and De Beers Passes and make straight for Ladysmith,
and so threaten their line of retreat.

There were a few indeed who still believed that the Boers would stand
entirely upon the defensive so far as Natal went. They would occupy the
formidable passes through the Drakensberg and await attack there, while
they would invade Cape Colony at many points and raise the Boer
population. However, the general opinion was that they would advance
into Natal in great force, and in that case it was doubtful, indeed,
whether Sir George White could oppose them successfully north of
Maritzburg. He might even, it was thought, be obliged to fall back to
Durban until reinforcements arrived from England. Already there was a
rush to the offices that had been opened for the volunteer corps. Many
of the fugitives from the Transvaal had joined, as had most of the young
farmers who had been obliged by the hostility of their Dutch neighbours
to abandon their homes in the north of Natal, while numbers of all ranks
in Maritzburg, Durban, and other towns were giving in their names. All
the lads who had come down with Chris had some time before obtained
their parents' consent to join a volunteer corps, or form one among
themselves, and as it was evident that the crisis was at hand no
objections were raised to their doing so at once. Mrs. King would go
down to Durban with her friends, so that there was no need for her son
to accompany her.

It had been agreed by the other lads that they would all meet at ten
o'clock at the hotel where Chris put up, and the party mustered in
greater strength than had been expected, for they found that the boys
who had preceded them had all waited in the town, and were stopping at
the various hotels. They too had been as badly treated by the Boers as
the last arrivals, and were all eager to begin work.

"There is no getting a private room here," Chris said, "so we had better
go outside the town and talk things over." As they went they chatted
over their adventures on the road, and great satisfaction was felt among
those who had not been present on hearing how Chris had thrashed the
Boer, and had gone tip to him in spite of his threat to shoot. At their
last meeting at Johannesburg they had elected him their captain, but he
had at the time refused to accept the post, saying that it would be
wiser to decide that afterwards, as one of the others might show himself
better fitted for the position. However, their first step when they sat
down by the bank of the little river outside the town was to again elect
him by acclamation.

"Very well," he said, "as you all wish it I will accept the post. I
suppose we are well provided with funds. Our fathers all said they would
find our outfit, and money enough for all expenses." There was a general
assent. "Well, we start better than we had expected, for we have
thirteen rifles: twelve of them are Mausers, the other we will sell; so
we shall have to buy nine others. That had better be done this morning,
for we may be sure that there will be a rush to the gunsmiths' shops. In
the next place we must each buy a saddle and saddlery. We have agreed
that we will not have any approach to uniform; because, as we all speak
Dutch, we shall be able to pass unobserved, if necessary, among them.
But I have been thinking it over, and it seems to me that if we have
nothing of the sort we shall run the risk of being shot by our own men."

"What are we to do, then, Chris?"

"I think that we had better get flat caps, like the fatigue caps our
soldiers wear. They can be carried in our pockets inside our shirts when
we are in the neighbourhood of the Boers, and when we are riding
anywhere near our own troops we can put them on instead of our felt
hats. It would alter our appearance altogether when riding in groups,
and even at a distance we could hardly be taken for Boers."

All agreed that it would be an excellent plan.

"We shall, of course, have bandoliers for our cartridges, and haversacks
for our provisions and spare packets of ammunition. Not an hour must be
lost in getting these things. I hear that Captain Brookfield, who came
up to Johannesburg last year and stayed a fortnight with us, has raised
a corps, which he has named the Maritzburg Scouts. I will call upon him
this afternoon and tell him that there are one-and-twenty of us, all
somewhere about my age, and that we mean fighting; and that as we all
speak Dutch we think we can do more good by scouting about on our own
account than by joining any regular corps; but that at the same time we
should like, if there was anything like regular fighting, to place
ourselves under the orders of an officer like himself. It is rather
difficult to explain, you know, but I think he will understand what we
mean. We should be, in fact, a section of his troop, acting generally on
independent service, either scouting, or going in among the Boers and
getting intelligence, trying to blow up bridges, and engaging looting
parties--for we may be sure that the Boers will be scattering all over
the country plundering.

"Of course I shall say, if he won't accept us on those terms, we shall
do as we best can on our own account; but that as we don't require pay,
and will provide ourselves with all necessaries, we do not see that we
should be any burden when we join him. I propose that we meet here again
this afternoon, and I hope that by that time we shall all have got our
mounts and saddlery. I hear that many of the loyal farmers north have
driven their animals down here, and are only too glad to sell the horses
at the usual prices. Mind, the clothes we have now won't do; we must get
them of farmer fashion. Don't go together to any shop, but let each
choose for himself; we don't want anything like uniformity of pattern.
The stuff must be strong. We shall each want a couple of blankets; one
of these, with a slit cut in the middle to slip over the head, will
serve as a greatcoat. Now, let us be off! To save trouble, I should say
that we had each better put a certain sum, say twenty pounds, to go into
a fund for general expenditure--food and ammunition, and that sort of
thing--into one of the banks, and we can draw upon that as we require
it."

"I should say, Chris," Sankey said, "that we had better put all our
money into the fund. Our people are all going to pay for our outfit, and
you know they have agreed to give us a hundred pounds each to last us
through the war. It is of no use carrying money about with us. I think
we should agree to pay it all into the common fund, and that at the end
of the business what remains is to be divided among those of us who go
through it."

"I think that is a good plan, Sankey. Certainly we cannot all expect to
come out alive, and that arrangement will save all trouble about money."

On going back into the town they learned that a large farmer had
encamped two miles away, with a big drove of cattle and a couple of
hundred horses, many of which were fine animals, and it was agreed at
once that Sankey, Carmichael, and Peters should hire a buggy and drive
over there and choose twenty-one good horses. Harris and Field undertook
the purchase of the rifles, and Chris went to the office which Captain
Brookfield, who had been an officer in the English army had taken. He
had sent in his name, and was at once shown in.

"Well, Chris," he said cordially as he entered, "I am glad to see you.
You have grown and widened out a good deal since last year. I suppose
your father and mother have both come down with you?"

"My mother has come down, sir, but my father thought that he ought to
remain behind to look after the mines."

"Have you come here to enlist?"

"Not exactly, sir, and yet I have to a certain extent;" and he told the
officer of the little corps that had been formed among his companions at
Johannesburg.

"A very good idea. Speaking Dutch, as you say they all do, they ought to
do good service as scouts. But why have you come to me?"

This Chris explained.

The captain laughed. "I suppose the fact is, Chris, you think that you
will be able to see and do more if you are altogether independent of
other people's orders."

"Perhaps that is it, sir; but if there is any cavalry fighting we should
much rather be under orders. Such a small corps would look ridiculous
marching out by itself."

"Well, I don't see any reason why you should not carry out your plan. It
would certainly be better that you should have some--what I may call--
official sanction. All the men in our corps are paid five shillings a
day, and as your troop would serve under different conditions, you can
to a certain extent dictate your own terms. I will, if you like, accept
you as an independent corps, attached to my command when with me, but at
other times free to scout and to act as you choose; but mind, I cannot
be responsible for any scrape that you get into. You might call
yourselves the Johannesburg section of the Maritzburg Scouts,
maintaining yourselves at your own expense, and drawing neither pay nor
rations."

"Thank you very much, sir; that is just what we want."

"Then, if you will bring your companions here this evening, I will swear
you in. I shall administer a different oath to you from that which the
others take, and merely pledge you, when under my orders, to obey them,
with permission to withdraw from the corps when you choose. And indeed,
receiving no pay or assistance from government, you would naturally be
free to do so."

Leaving Captain Brookfield, Chris went and bought his clothes, bandolier
and belt, and saddlery, and then returned to the hotel and told his
mother how he had got on, and that a horse and rifle would, he hoped, be
obtained that afternoon.

"It seems to me a terribly dangerous business, Chris; but as your father
agreed to it, of course I need say no more. I have a cheque for five
hundred pounds for my expenses and yours."

"Father gave me a hundred before I started, mother; that will more than
pay for my outfit. I don't know what we shall do for the horses, but
there will certainly not be much over."

"Yes, I know, Chris; and he told me to hand you over another hundred
when I went to the bank, which I shall do this afternoon."

CHAPTER III

AT THE FRONT

At five o'clock the lads from Johannesburg again met and reported the
result of the afternoon's work. The nine Mauser rifles had been bought,
and six thousand rounds of ammunition had been purchased. This appeared
an excessive amount, but as there might be a difficulty in obtaining
this ammunition, they bought up all that could be found in the town.
Peters and his party had chosen the horses for the troop. The farmer was
a well-known breeder of good stock, and was glad to dispose of some of
them at a fair price in order to lessen their number. He had already had
several enquiries from corps that were being raised, but the prices were
higher than could be paid for ordinary troopers, though several had been
bought by officers. The lot the lads had picked out had been put aside,
and they had given the farmer fifty pounds earnest-money, to hold them
till the next morning.

"They are as good a looking lot of horses as I ever saw," Peters said,
"in fact, by a long way the best. I always heard that he was one of the
largest breeders of good horses in South Africa. He had eight or ten
extraordinarily good ones, but, of course, he wanted extra prices for
these; but from the rest--and he has some three hundred of them--he let
us choose any we liked at one price, and I think I can say that we shall
be as well mounted a corps as any out here. Of course we avoided the
showy-looking horses, and chose those specially suited to the country
and likely to be fast. Mr. Duncan had several thoroughbreds from home,
and there is no doubt that his stock has benefited by it; they are all
of the country type, sturdy and compact, and yet somewhat finer in the
limb than any I ever saw in the Transvaal. We were delighted with them."

All the lads were accustomed from childhood to horses, but those Chris
had selected as the committee of inspection were admitted by their
friends to be the best judges of horseflesh in the party, their fathers
being wealthy men who always bought the finest horses money could
obtain.

"We will go over in a body to-morrow," Chris said, "and pay for them and
bring them back. We are lucky indeed to have got hold of such a good
lot. Are they pretty even animals, Peters?"

"Yes, I really don't think there is anything to choose between them."

"Well then, the fair way will be, to make one-and-twenty tickets with as
many numbers and fasten one to the mane of each horse, then we will put
another twenty-one numbers into a hat and draw them; in that way
everyone will be satisfied. Those of you who have not got their money
from their people had better ask them for it this evening, so that we
can settle up to-morrow for the horses and rifles and ammunition. The
hundred pounds we have each been promised will well cover all our
expenses up to the moment we start, and I should think leave us with
something like twenty pounds apiece in pocket, but all we have and the
other hundred for future expenses we had better put into the bank here
to-morrow. We must arrange for four of us to sign cheques, each cheque
to be signed by two, but we had better give them all our signatures so
that in case what we can call the finance committee of four are all
killed or taken prisoners there will be no bother about having fresh
signatures to arrange about." "Well," Sankey said, "we might as well
settle that at once. I propose that Field, Carmichael, Capper, and, of
course, you form the committee." As no amendment was offered, this was
at once agreed to.

"What time did you say that we would come over to fetch the horses?"

"About ten o'clock."

"Well, will you all be at my hotel to-morrow at half-past eight with
your money? Then we will all sign our names on paper the committee
first; afterwards they shall go with me to the bank and pay all the
money in, give them the list of signatures, and tell them that until
further notice two of the four first names will sign the cheques, but
that should circumstances prevent any two of them being able to do so,
others will sign instead. The account had better stand as the
Johannesburg Scouts. When we have arranged that we will hire a couple of
light waggons and start. Have you all got your saddlery?"

"Yes."

"Well, we will take it with us, and then we can ride the horses back. I
will get the tickets made out."

As soon as the bank opened in the morning, Chris and his three
companions presented themselves, and had an interview with the manager,
who was somewhat surprised when twenty-one cheques and cash to the
amount of three thousand five hundred pounds were handed in, each member
having deducted the amount paid for saddlery and clothes. "We wish the
account to stand in the name of the Johannesburg Scouts, and cheques
will be signed by two of the four names standing first on this list; but
as casualties may occur, you will please accept any of these signatures.
Our little corps will form part of the Maritzburg Scouts, but in money
matters we keep to ourselves, being all volunteers serving without pay."

The manager ran his eye over the cheques. All the names were well known
to him as those of prominent men at Johannesburg, and the great majority
had already accounts at his bank, as all had some time previously made
arrangements for drawing money in case of necessity.

"I suppose, Mr. King," he said, "that as you and your friends represent
the corps, you are all young men?"

"We are all boys," Chris answered with a smile, "but we are old enough
to do men's work, and in the Transvaal the Boers are commandeering all
boys two or three years younger than we are."

"Well, I congratulate you all both on your patriotism and your pluck,
Mr. King, and I have no doubt that you will do good service."

Receiving a cheque-book, they drew two hundred pounds for current
expenses, and then going back to the hotel found the two Cape-carts and
their companions ready, and the saddlery already stowed away. On
arriving at the farm all were highly pleased with the horses their
comrades had selected. They had on the way agreed that it would be a
good plan to buy four others to act as pack-horses, and to furnish them
with remounts in case any of their own were shot. These were to be sent
into the town by two Kaffirs, whom they arranged to take into their
service, for the farmer said at once, when they asked him that he could
very well spare them, as he would be parting with a considerable number
of his horses and cattle, and would not require so many hands as he had
at present. The two men he chose for them were both active young
natives; they made no objection to the exchange of masters, and, indeed,
seemed pleased at the thought of going with them to fight the Boers, who
were universally hated by the natives.

A cheque was given to the farmer for their purchase, then the horses
were chosen by lot as agreed, and were at once saddled and mounted. They
had all been partially broken in, and as the boys were good riders, they
were after a little preliminary struggle soon at their ease, and, taking
a couple of hours' sharp ride through the country, returned on good
terms with their mounts. Two or three hours were spent in teaching the
horses to stand steady as soon as the reins were thrown over their
heads, this being a training to which all horses in the Cape are
subjected. Then they rode back to the town and arranged with a farmer
near it to picket their horses in one of his meadows, and for their feed
while they remained there. The rest of the day was spent in laying in
their supplies. The rifles and ammunition were paid for, pack saddles
bought for the four spare horses, a brace of revolvers purchased for
each member, haversacks ordered for the whole party, and bags to carry a
supply of grain for each horse. In the evening they went out to the
farm, and after discharging their rifles a few times fed their horses.

This they repeated in the morning, so as to familiarize them with the
sound of firearms; then they saddled and mounted them, and after riding
for half an hour drew up in line, as Captain Brookfield, who had sworn
them in on the previous afternoon, was to inspect them at eight o'clock.
They had all put on their working clothes, bandoliers and belts, and
high boots, and the captain on his arrival, after closely inspecting
them, expressed his strongest approval of their appearance.

"I really congratulate you, Mr. King," he said, "on having command of
twenty such serviceable-looking young fellows. As they all can ride,
and, as you tell me, can all shoot, they ought to do really good
service, and I should be well pleased if all my troop were composed of
such good material. From the fact that you can all speak Dutch, and most
of you Kaffir, you will have great opportunities of obtaining
information, and can, in case of need, pass as young Boers. In fact, I
may say that there is some danger of your being mistaken for them by our
men. I should take you for them myself, except that you all look
brighter and more wide-awake than Boers generally do; but an
artilleryman could hardly be blamed if he plumped a shell among you at a
distance of two or three thousand yards."

"We thought of that, sir;" Chris turned to his band, "Change caps!" All
pulled field-service caps from their pockets, took off the soft felts,
rolled them up and forced them into their valises, and put on the caps.

"That is excellent!" Captain Brookfield exclaimed. "That certainly
alters your appearance altogether, and as far as your figures could be
made out through a glass, it could be seen that you are an irregular
body of some sort. And this can be still more plainly seen if, as I
should advise you, you always ride in fours when you are approaching our
lines; there will then be little chance of a mistake being made. Where
did you pick up all those horses?"

"We bought them yesterday from a farmer named Duncan, who has brought
them down from his place near Dundee."

"Ah! that accounts for it; he is one of the best-known horse-breeders in
the colony. I had not heard that he had come down."

"He only arrived two days ago, sir. We were fortunate to hear of it, and
some of us rode over early yesterday and were lucky enough to secure
them."

"You were lucky. There are several mounted corps being formed here and
at Durban, and horses will go up in price rapidly. Where is he
staying'?"

"About a mile and a half farther out, sir. If you want horses I should
think that you had better go on at once, for he told me that he had sold
sixty yesterday, but that very few of them were anything like as good
horses as these."

"No. People are subscribing handsomely, but we cannot afford to mount
our troopers on such horses as these. A good many gentlemen have found
their own horses, and of course will be well mounted; but a good, sound,
country horse is all we can afford for the others; they are excellent
for ordinary work, though, of course, not so fast as yours, nor quite so
big. Your horses have all a strain of English thoroughbred blood, and if
you should at any time have to ride for it there would be little chance
of the Boers overtaking you, though some of them are very well mounted,
for the two things a Boer will spend money on, are his horse and his
rifle. And when do you start?"

"We are going to-morrow morning. I went to the station-master yesterday
evening and arranged for trucks for the horses to be attached to an
early train to Dundee. We want to get up in time to see the first of it,
and we should lose three days if we were to travel by road."

"That is the right spirit, and I wish I could go with you; but my troop
will wear a sort of uniform, Norfolk jackets and riding-breeches, and
the outfitters are so overwhelmed with orders that it will be another
couple of days at least before they are ready. Then the men must have
two or three days' drill before they start; I am still short of horses,
so I will ride on and see Duncan. I want thirty-five more, and as yet,
although subscriptions are coming in well, we are still a good deal
short of our requirements. However, I dare say I shall be able to make
some arrangement with Duncan, as I shall probably have enough to pay him
in full by the end of the week. Altogether, I don't suppose I shall be
ready to start for another ten days, and unless the Boers delay their
advance I am afraid that I shall not get to Dundee."

"Do you not believe that we shall be able to hold the town?"

"I hardly think that there is a chance of it, and I am sure we made a
mistake in sending a portion of the force there. I know the premier was
most anxious that our troops should be posted as far north as possible,
in order to save the loyal farmers from plunder. If the position were
stronger and impossible to be turned, the case would be different; but
it is not strong, and can be turned on each flank. If the Boers march to
attack General Symons, who is in command there, he may possibly beat
them off; but as they can advance towards Ladysmith either from the Free
State on one side or the Transvaal on the other, he and his troops would
be cut off, and the loyal farmers would be plundered just as much as if
Symons had remained at Ladysmith. I fancy all the military men think
that a grave mistake has been made, and that General White should not
have exposed half his force to disaster. Besides, the position of
Ladysmith is no more defensible than that of Dundee. The Tugela would be
the natural line of defence, but even that could be turned by troops
from the Transvaal going through Zululand, and the line of the river
would be very difficult to defend by a force of less than twenty
thousand men. However, we shall see how the thing works out--how
enterprising the Boers are, and how warmly the Free Staters throw
themselves into the work."

"You think that we shall have a hard time, Captain Brookfield?"

"Yes, I think that is certain, even if Cape Colony keeps quiet, which I
am very much afraid it will not do. If it rises, it will take all the
strength of England to put it down. Well, I wish you all luck. I can
assure you I feel proud of my Johannesburg section, and I shall be glad
when you join me."

He shook hands with the whole of the lads and then rode off.

"The train starts at eight o'clock," Chris said. "We had better get our
good-byes over to-night, get some breakfast if we are able to do so at
half-past five, and meet here at six. We ought to be at the station at
least an hour before the train starts. We shall not only have to get the
horses into the trucks, which is certain to be a troublesome business,
as they are altogether new to it, but we shall have to see to our other
stores and belongings. I have arranged that we shall travel with the
horses, so that we can each stand at the heads of our own animals, and
if they are very wild, we can blindfold them until they become
accustomed to the situation. I have bought a couple of trusses of hay
from Thomas, and he will send down two of his native boys to the
station. I should advise you all to put some food into your haversacks,
there is no saying how long we may be on the road."

"What sort of trucks are they, Chris?" "They have high sides, but no
roofs. Of course I would rather have had roofs, but the station-master
could not provide any waggons with them. But he showed me these, and as
the sides are quite high enough to prevent the horses getting out, they
will do very well."

The saddles were taken off and piled together. There was no chance of
rain, so they were left uncovered. The lads then walked back into the
town. There was, of course, a sad parting that evening between Chris and
his mother, but she bore up well. She knew that hundreds of other women
were parting with husbands or sons, and she felt that, as the main cause
of the war was to rescue the Uitlanders in the Transvaal from the
oppression of the Boers, it behooved all the fugitives from that country
to do their utmost.

In the morning the lads all arrived punctually at the rendezvous. The
horses were fed to the accompaniment, as usual, of pistol shots. Then
they were saddled up, the valises the lads had brought down with them
were strapped on, and with their rifles slung behind them they rode to
the station.

It was, as they had expected, a long and troublesome business to get the
horses into the trucks, but at last this was managed. Nose-bags were put
on, with a few double-handfuls of grain, then one trooper was left to
each two horses, while the rest saw to their bundles of blankets, their
stores of tea, sugar, and flour, preserved milk, cocoa, bacon, and
tinned food. A couple of frying-pans, and a canteen of tin cups and
plates, a knife, fork, and spoon each, and two kettles, completed their
outfit. They had put their soft felt hats in their valises, and were all
in their flat fatigue caps.

The train was a long one, but the carriages with it were empty, for
while the trains from the north were closely packed, there were few
persons indeed proceeding up country. The trucks, however, were well
filled, as great quantities of stores were being taken up, some to
Ladysmith, and others for the force at Dundee. The horses soon became
accustomed to the motion, and their masters took the opportunity of
familiarizing themselves with them, by talking to them, patting them,
and giving them pieces of bread and an occasional lump of sugar. The two
Kaffirs had brought on the pack-horses four water-skins and a couple of
buckets, and in the heat of the day the horses were allowed a good
drink, while their masters, whose haversacks had been filled by their
friends, enjoyed a hearty meal, washed down by tin mugs full of
champagne.

They were in the highest spirits, although the meal was taken under
difficult circumstances, for all were seated on the upper rails of the
trucks, there being no room for them to sit down among the horses. The
plates were all packed up, and fingers and teeth served for knives and
forks, which was the less important since chickens were the staple of
the meal; and these had been cut up before starting. Many were the jokes
that passed along the line. All felt that it was the last experience
they were likely to have of civilized food, and that it would be a long
while before champagne or any other wine would fall to their lot. The
Kaffirs, who had each charge of two spare horses, enjoyed themselves no
less, for they had a fair share of the provisions of their masters, and
were in a high state of contentment with their prospects.

There was a halt of an hour at Ladysmith. Many of the officers and
soldiers gathered at the station, their work for the day finished, and
the arrival of the train being always an event of some importance in the
little town. They were amused and interested at the party of young
fellows who alighted to stretch their legs and get a change of position.

"Which is your leader?" a major asked Field.

"The one talking to an officer. His name is Chris King."

"Is he chosen because he is the oldest of you?"

"No, that has nothing to do with it. We are all within a year of the
same age. We have all been chums and friends, and have hunted and shot
together, and he is the one we elected as our leader, just as you would
choose the captain of a cricket club. We all come from Johannesburg,
find our own horses, arms, and outfits, and ask nothing whatever from
the government; and as we speak Dutch, and all know more or less Kaffir,
we fancy we can make a good deal better scouts than your cavalry, who
can't ask a question of a Boer or get information from a native."

The major laughed. He saw that the lad a little resented the joking tone
in which he had asked the question.

"I have no doubt that you are right," he said, "and I am quite sure I
should like half a dozen of you as subalterns. When did you come from
Johannesburg?"

"We left there about a week ago, and as we were only at Maritzburg three
days, we have not lost any time."

"Indeed, I think that is a record performance. Of course you are all
looking forward to your first skirmish; I can assure you we are."

"We had our first on the way down here, when we were between Newcastle
and the frontier. Four or five of us went to a farmhouse to try and get
some food and milk for the women and children. It was a Boer's place,
and the fellow came out with a rifle and warned us off. We went forward,
and he took a shot at King when he was quite close to him, but
fortunately the bullet only went through his hat. Chris knocked him down
and gave him a tremendous thrashing with his own whip. Then we took some
provisions and paid for them, and searching the house, found twelve
Mauser rifles and a lot of ammunition. We took these off without paying
for them. The Boer had made off while we were searching the house, and
he and some twenty others pursued us, not dreaming that we were now
armed. However, we gave them a volley, and emptied three saddles and
killed three or four horses, and they moved off without trying to make
our further acquaintance."

"Well done, lads!" the officer said warmly, "that was an excellent
beginning, and I have no doubt that you will follow it up well."

Similar conversations were going on all along the platform, and when at
last the lads again took their places in the trucks, a hearty cheer was
given them. The sun was setting when they arrived at Dundee. It was a
larger place than Ladysmith, as there were some coal-mines in the
neighbourhood, and a considerable number of men were employed in them.
Like Ladysmith it is situated on a plain dominated by hills. The camp
was some little distance out of the town. An officer was at the station
with a party of men to receive the stores brought up by the train. Chris
at once went up to him and saluted.

"We have just arrived, sir; we are a section of the Maritzburg Scouts,
acting independently. As we are all from Johannesburg, and find our own
horses, equipment, and food, provide our own rations, and, of course,
serve without pay, we propose to scout on our own account, and as we all
speak Dutch well, I think that we may be useful in obtaining
information. We shall, of course, search the country in whatever
direction may be considered most useful."

"I have no doubt that you will be of good service, sir," the officer
said.

"I suppose we can camp anywhere we like."

"I should think so. As you do not draw rations, it can matter little
where you post yourselves; but I don't think that you will be able to
get tents to-night."

"We shall not want them, sir; we have each a large waterproof sheet, and
intend to use them as tentes d'abri. I suppose I had better report
myself at the headquarters of the general?"

"Yes, that would be the proper thing. The camp is a mile and a half
away; if you follow the Glencoe railway, you cannot miss it."

As soon as the horses were detrained and the baggage packed, the little
party mounted and left the station, and choosing a piece of unoccupied
ground a few hundred yards away, proceeded to unsaddle and picket the
horses, while Chris rode away to the camp accompanied by one of the
natives to hold his horse there. He had no difficulty in finding it, and
dismounting, walked to the group of head-quarter tents. His appearance
excited a good deal of amusement and some chaff from the soldiers he
passed. He looked, indeed, like a young Dutch farmer in his rough
clothes, and his rifle, and a bandolier of cartridges. Seeing a young
officer close to a tent, he asked him which was that of the adjutant-
general.

"He is there talking to the general at the door of his tent. Do you wish
to speak to him?"

"I should be glad to do so," Chris replied. The officer walked across
and informed the colonel that Chris wanted to speak to him.

"Bring him across, Mr. Williams," the general himself said. "He is
evidently a young farmer, and possibly brings in some news of the
enemy's movements."

The lieutenant returned to Chris and led him up to the general.

"You have some news that you wish to give us, sir?" Sir Penn Symons
said.

"No, general; but I hope to be able to do so to-morrow."

He then stated his position and the nature of his command.

"We are all very well mounted, sir," he went on, "and as we all speak
Dutch, hope to be useful. At any rate, we shall be no trouble to you, as
we draw neither rations nor pay. We think we can pass anywhere as Boers;
that is why we have not adopted any uniform."

"I have no doubt you will be of service," the general said, though I
hardly think that you will pass as Boers with those caps."

"We have all wide-brimmed hats to use while we are scouting, general;
but we carry these too, so that on our return towards your lines we can
be recognized even at a distance as not being Boers, and so avoid being
fired at."

"Yes, that is a very necessary precaution. I will have officers
commanding cavalry and artillery detachments warned, that a section of
Maritzburg volunteers are dressed as farmers, but may be known in the
distance by having caps similar to the ordinary infantry field-service
caps.

"Well, sir, I shall be glad if you will to-morrow ride to the south,
following the river, and endeavour to find out whether the Boers have
any considerable force in that direction, either on this side of the
river or the other, I may tell you that five of the Natal police were
captured on the evening of the 13th at De Jagers Drift. The Boers have
been in possession of Newcastle for the past three days, and they are
certainly crossing the passes from the Free State. You must be very
careful, for they have scouting parties across the river almost as far
as the Tugela. However, we hardly expect any serious struggle for
another week or ten days; for all the accounts are to the effect that
the Boers are still very deficient in transport, and that for the past
week those at Laing's Nek, and the other passes, have been very much
straitened for provisions. It would be as well for you, while you are at
Dundee, to come over once a day to report your doings, and to receive
orders as to the point where we most need information. Have you gone
into lodgings in the town?"

"No, sir. We have waterproof sheets that form tentes d'abri, and we
prefer being with our horses, which were only bought a few days ago; so,
as we shall not have much opportunity of sleeping otherwise than in the
open for some time, we thought it as well to begin at once, especially
as the weather looks threatening, and the horses, being unaccustomed to
be picketed, might pull up the pegs and get loose were there a heavy
rain."

"You seem to be well fitted for the work, and to set about it in the
right spirit."

"We have all been accustomed to hunting expeditions, sir, when we have
often been out for some days, so that we understand how to shift for
ourselves, though we are new to campaigning."

"What rifles have you? that does not look like a Lee-Metford." "No,
general, it is a Mauser. We captured twelve of them, at a Boer's
farmhouse three or four miles this side of Newcastle six days ago. He
fired at us, and though his bullet only went through my hat, we thought
ourselves justified in searching his house."

[Illustration: CHRIS OFFERS HIS SERVICES TO SIR PENN SYMONS.]

"Certainly you were. We heard that there had been a skirmish on the
road, and learned the particulars from one of those who took part in it,
and who stayed here for two or three days before going down the country.
He said that four or five young gentlemen, who were coming down with a
party of women and children from Volksrust, had gone to a farmhouse to
try and get food, milk, and bread for the females. The Boer farmer
insulted them, and shot at one of them when but two or three yards away;
he had been tremendously thrashed by the young fellow, and they returned
laden with a good supply of milk and bread, and twelve rifles and a lot
of ammunition that they had found at the farm. And with these they and
some of the men had beaten off an attack of a score of Boers without any
loss to themselves."

"Yes, general, that was our party; we had sent forward for some waggons,
and got into Dundee two hours after the skirmish; and as there was a
train just going we went on at once, and reached Maritzburg the next
morning, where we were joined by some of our party who had come down the
day before. As we had made all our plans before leaving Johannesburg, we
were able to start this morning, which was the third after our arrival
there."

"You were prompt indeed," the general said with a smile, "and must have
needed money as well as brains."

"We had all obtained leave of our families, general, and were well
provided with funds to carry us through the campaign if it lasts for a
year. We wanted to be in time for the first fight."

"I think yours was the first fight, except that a few shots were
exchanged between our scouts and the Boers on the morning after the
ultimatum expired. Now, sir, if you should at any time be in want of
necessaries I shall be glad to supply you; but I cannot furnish you with
ammunition, as the Mausers carry a smaller bullet than our rifles."

"Thank you, general, but we have enough to last us for a considerable
time, having brought up six thousand rounds."

"A good provision indeed," the general laughed; "enough to last you
through half a dozen pitched battles. I shall be in the town at six
o'clock to-morrow morning, and shall be pleased to inspect your little
corps before you start."

"I thank you, general; we shall all be very proud to be inspected by
you."

Then saluting he returned to his horse and rode back to Dundee. He was
pleased to see that the eleven little tents had been erected strictly in
line, that the horses were all standing quietly at the picket-rope, and
that two of the troop were placed as sentries. A large fire was blazing
in front of the tents, the two natives were squatting by it, the kettles
were swung over it, and a joint of meat was roasting there. Two or three
of the lads were standing talking together; the rest had gone into the
town. Cairns came up to him as he dismounted.

"Have you heard the news, Chris?"

"No, I have not heard any particular news."

"I was at the station a quarter of an hour ago, and a telegram had just
been received that the Boers were, when it was sent off, entering
Elandslaagte station, and were in the act of capturing the passenger
train that was standing there. The message stopped abruptly, as no doubt
the Boers entered the room where the clerk was at work at the needles."

"By Jove we are in luck!" Chris said. "Of course that was the train that
had to leave three hours after us. If we had stopped for that, the
horses, rifles, and kit would all have gone, and we should now be
prisoners. It is serious news, though, for it is evident that not only
are they marching against us in front, and on both flanks, but have cut
our communications with Ladysmith. There can be no doubt that, as
everyone said there, it was a mistake to send General Symons forward
here, as it was almost certain that with four regiments, three batteries
of artillery, a regiment of cavalry, and a few hundred of the Natal
police and volunteers, he could never maintain himself here. Why, we
heard at Ladysmith that a column had gone out the day before towards
Besters station, as the news had come in that they were even then in the
neighbourhood. It was a false alarm, but it was enough to show that the
Boers were likely to be coming down and cutting the railway in our rear.
General Symons told me that he did not expect any general advance of the
enemy just yet, because he heard that their transport was incomplete,
and that they were very short of provisions. But I don't think the want
of transport would prevent their advancing. We know well enough that the
Boers think nothing of going out for three or four days without any
prospect of getting any more provisions than they carry about them,
unless they have the luck to bring down an antelope. And as Utrecht and
Vryheid and Newcastle are all within a few miles of us, and the Free
Staters have already come down through some of the passes of the
Drakensberg, they must be within an easy ride of us; and if they are in
force enough to drive us out of this place, they must know they would
find themselves in clover, for we heard at Ladysmith that there were
provisions and stores for two months collected here."

CHAPTER IV

DUNDEE

After picketing his horse, Chris went into the town. He found the
streets full of excited people, for the news that the railway had been
cut was serious indeed, and the scene reminded Chris of that which he
had witnessed in the streets of Johannesburg but eight days before. Only
eight days! and yet it seemed to him as if weeks had passed since then.
So much had been done, so great had been the changes. As at
Johannesburg, a considerable portion of the population had left, seeing
that, although the troops might for a time defend the town, the Boers
were certain to cut the line of railway. Work at the coal-mines had been
pushed on feverishly of late, for strangely enough there was no store of
coals either in Dundee itself or at any of the stations down to Durban,
and the authorities had only woke up a few days before to the fact that
coal would be required in large quantities for the transports on the
arrival of the troops. But now all this was to come to a stop. The hands
would be thrown out of employment, and the town would become stagnant
until it was captured by the Boers, or until an army arrived of
sufficient strength to clear Natal of its invaders. That evening many
who possessed vehicles started by road for Ladysmith, feeling that in
another twenty-four hours it might be too late.

At seven o'clock, as had been arranged when they arrived, all the
members of the band met at the bivouac for supper. There was a general
feeling of excitement among them. They had known that hostilities must
soon begin, but to find that the line had already been cut, and that the
enemy were closing in in all directions, came almost as a surprise.
This, however, in no way prevented them from enjoying their meal. After
it was over they held, at Chris's suggestion, a sort of council. He had
already told them what the general had said to him, and that they were
to be inspected in the morning. As their saddlery was all new, there was
nothing to be done in the way of burnishing buckles and rubbing up
leather. As Chris remarked, all that would be necessary was an hour's
work in the morning grooming their horses.

"Now," he said, "that the work is going to begin, we must draw up a few
rules, for, volunteers though we are, we must have some regulations. In
the first place, I find that the troops all parade in order of battle
before daybreak, so as to be able to repel a sudden attack or move in
any direction that may be required. If it is necessary for them, it is
still more necessary for us, and I think that it should be a standing
rule that we are all ready to mount at daybreak. Sentries must be posted
at night, however safe we may feel. I think there should be two,
relieved every two hours. There will he no hardship in that, as each
would only go on duty every other night. In the next place, I think
there should be what they call an officer of the day, who would
generally be in charge of the arrangements, see that the Kaffirs
attended to their horses properly, and so on. You see, we shall not be
always acting together, but might sometimes be broken into four troops,
in which case one in each five should command. I think the same lot
should always keep together. What do you think? Would it be better that
in each group of five one should be in charge each day, or that each
group should choose one to act as non-commissioned officer?"

There was no reply.

"What do you think yourself, Chris?" Sankey asked after a pause.

"You are as well able to judge as I am," he replied. "I think that it
would perhaps be the best way to write down the twenty names and put
them in a hat, and draw them one by one. The first five should be number
one squad. I don't know whether that is the right word, but anyhow it
will do for them. The next five number two, and so on. Then each five
can vote whether they would prefer alternate commands, or to choose one
of their number as permanent non-commissioned officer. If they prefer
this, they must then ballot as to which among them shall be leader. If
you can think of any way that you would like better, by all means say
so."

All agreed that the plan that he proposed should be adopted. Four groups
were first chosen. Before they proceeded to the next step, Peters said:

"Of course I am quite game to carry it out as you suggest, Chris, but
don't you think it would be a good plan to let the final decision stand
for a week or two, each taking the leadership of his group in rotation?
At the end of that time we should be better able to make a choice than
we can be now."

"I think that is a very good idea, Peters. What do you all say? Will you
each take your turn alphabetically for the present, and at the end of
fifteen days, when each of you have led three times, you can decide
whether each squad shall choose a permanent leader or go on as you have
begun."

All at once agreed to the proposal. They felt, good friends as they
were, that it would be very difficult to decide now.

"Very well, then, it shall be so," Chris said. "To-morrow we shall
certainly do some scouting, but in a day or two you may be shut up here;
and until we get away there will be no scouting to be done. We must have
some signals. Suppose we are scattered over two or three miles, we may
want to assemble, and must be able to signal. I thought of it before we
started from home, and put down in my pocket-book the sort of thing that
I fancied would be wanted. I will read it out to you."

He stirred the fire into a blaze and then read:

"One shot followed by another and a third, with ten seconds between
them, will mean 'Enemy seen on the right'; with twenty seconds between,
'Enemy seen on the left'; then, after a pause, two shots in quick
succession will mean 'Enemy in strength'; three shots will be 'Small
party only'; one shot, followed at an interval of ten seconds by two in
succession, will mean 'Retire to the point agreed on before we
separated'; followed by three shots in quick succession, will be 'Close
in to the centre'. We can think of others afterwards, but I think that
will do to begin with. I know that you have all pocketbooks, so take
down these signals at once."

"We ought to know where you will be," Field said, "so that we could
rally round you ready for the next order."

"That might be so; therefore we had better fix on three shots in quick
succession, followed in ten seconds by a fourth. The sound will be
sufficient to let you know pretty well where I am, and you will on
hearing it, join me at once. Are there any other suggestions?"

There was silence and then the books were closed.

"I cannot too strongly impress upon you all," Chris said, after they had
chatted for some time, "the necessity for being extremely cautious. We
know how slim the Boers are, and how accustomed they are to stalk game;

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With Buller in NatalbyG. A. Henty

Part 1 out of 6

With Buller in Natal
by
G. A. Henty