"Now, what"s to be done, Guy?" he asked, shutting the gla.s.ses with a snap and slipping them into the case. "We are fairly surrounded now, and this will be the hardest part of our journey."
"Humph! It doesn"t look over promising," Guy answered slowly. "But we"re going to get through, old chap! Luck has been on our side up to this, and will be yet. Remember, if it had been any other Boer who caught you when trying to slip out of the farm, all our plans would have been hopelessly ruined. Ladysmith cannot be more than seven miles from here, and during the darkness we must manage to get through these fellows and reach our friends."
"We"ll do it!" Jack answered shortly; "and now, as there seems to be no need for us both to keep awake, I propose that we take it in turn to have a snooze. But first of all, we"ll have breakfast and a smoke."
Accordingly, taking the greatest pains to keep below the boulders and not expose themselves to anyone who might be on the plain below, they breakfasted off some bread which they still had left, and washed it down with water. Then they lit their pipes, and smoked for an hour or more.
As soon as darkness had fallen again, they picked up their rifles and stole down the hill on to the veldt. Then, keeping slightly to the right, they marched on in silence, listening for sounds of approaching footsteps and ready at a moment to stand back to back and defend themselves.
But no one appeared to disturb them, and they pushed on steadily for five miles till they found themselves on a slight eminence and close to a farmhouse which they had seen from their hiding-place that morning.
They were on the point of moving on and stealing past it, when a groaning sound caught Jack"s ear, and he stopped abruptly, detaining Guy with a tug at his coat.
"What was it?" he asked. "I heard a groan, or something of the sort.
Did you hear anything?"
"No, nothing," Guy answered.
"Well, let us wait a moment and listen."
Standing perfectly still, and almost holding their breath, they craned their heads in the direction from which the sound had come, and strained their ears to listen for it.
There was deep silence for a minute, and then a low, sobbing groan broke the stillness, seeming to come from the interior of the house.
"What is it, Guy?" Jack asked again; and then, as the sob was heard again and broke into a loud wail, he blurted out in a hoa.r.s.e whisper: "There"s something wrong there. Come along, and let us find out what"s the matter."
Creeping noiselessly across the ground, they reached the house, and skirted all round it till they came to the back, where a broad stream of light showed through a window. The window was wide open, and as they stood watching it the sobbing wail once more reached their ears, and told them that they were close to some woman in distress.
"Come along, Guy. We"ll see what is up," Jack whispered, and at once stole forward and looked into the room.
The sight which they witnessed was one which neither will ever forget.
Over the figure of an infant, sleeping peacefully in a cot in the middle of a dismantled room, was a distracted woman, weeping bitterly, with big sobs which showed her to be heart-broken. At any other time she would have been described as a comely woman, for she had young and pleasant features and was tastefully dressed. But now grief seemed to have utterly unhinged her mind, and she bore upon her face deep lines of sorrow and despair which would have made the hardest villain pity her.
Jack was on the point of risking all and calling to her, when a change of temper seemed to alter her. From a grief-stricken woman she suddenly became a tiger, and, leaving the child, flung her arms wildly into the air and called down the wrath of heaven upon those who had injured her.
She stopped abruptly, and, catching sight of Jack looking at her through the window, rushed to the cot, and, turning to face him like a hunted animal, exclaimed: "What do you want? You have taken my husband; do you now want my child? Come a step nearer, and I will kill the boy rather than let him fall into your hands!"
"We are friends, and English like yourself," Jack answered soothingly.
"We are escaping from the Boers, and on our way to Ladysmith pa.s.sed close by and heard you. Tell me what has happened."
For a minute or more the lady stared at him as though her senses had gone, then she stepped forward and clasped him by the hand.
"Then help me," she urged eagerly. "If you are Englishmen help one of your countrywomen who is in deep distress. My name is Robb, and my husband and I took this farm five years ago. Now the Boers say they have annexed this part to the Transvaal, and have dragged my husband off to work in the trenches for them. It is awful. Help me to reach Ladysmith with my child, and G.o.d will bless you!"
"There, there!" said Jack soothingly. "We will take you with us, never fear, and before long you and the child shall be amongst friends. How long will it take you to get ready?"
"Half an hour," Mrs Robb answered; "and while I am preparing you can have a meal. Open the cupboard at the end. There is some meat and bread on the top shelf."
Jack and Guy willingly accepted the invitation, for they had not had too much to eat on their journey from Pretoria. Accordingly, opening the cupboard, they sat down on the floor with their backs to the wall, and tackled the welcome meal provided, while Mrs Robb left them and went into the front of the house to collect the things she required to take away with her.
A few minutes later she returned hurriedly, banged the door, and put out the light. "Quick!" she said. "About fifty Boers have ridden up, and are entering. Fly for your lives!"
Next second the door was again burst open, and a light shone through from the front room.
Jack and Guy were crossing the floor at the moment, hoping to escape from the window, but voices which they suddenly heard outside showed them that their flight was cut off in that direction.
"Surrounded!" Jack muttered harshly. "Into the cupboard, Guy!"
It was their only chance; and, rushing across to it, they had squeezed themselves and their rifles into it before the man bearing the light had entered the room. It was one of those roomy cupboards often to be found in old country-houses at home, and once in it, Jack and Guy deposited their weapons on the floor, and, standing there behind the doors, glued their eyes to the c.h.i.n.ks, of which there were many, and looked out to see what was happening.
By this time a young Boer, with rifle slung across his back, had placed on a table a lighted candle which was jammed into the neck of a bottle, and was looking round for chairs. A second later five men entered, and one of them they recognised at once as a prominent Boer general, the commander of the burgher forces in Natal. Another was evidently a Frenchman on the directing staff, to whom the others showed rough deference.
Meanwhile Mrs Robb had flown to the cot again and stood bending over it, ready to protect her child.
"Leave the room, woman!" the general said harshly. "Now," he continued, turning to the man who had brought the light, "fetch chairs and benches, and form the court. You can bring in the food or prisoners, whichever is ready first."
The Boer saluted like a clumsy plough-boy and disappeared, to return with two others bearing chairs. They placed the table close beside the cupboard, and a few moments later the general and his staff were seated behind it, the former being in the middle.
"I am hungry," the general suddenly exclaimed, "and hope the food will not be long in coming. Then we must eat our meal and get this business done as soon as possible, for we have many miles to ride to-night. But, wait! Look in that cupboard, Fritz. Perhaps there is something there in the way of food on which we can commence."
Jack and Guy heard the words with feelings of despair, and still stood silent, rooted to the spot and with their hearts pulsating violently.
To reach the cupboard the man addressed as Fritz had to go round the table; and as he was doing so, and had stretched out a hand to pull open one of the doors, there was a joyful shout from the men sitting round the table, and a burgher appeared bearing horn mugs and a plate, on which was a joint of cold meat.
"Never mind, Fritz; we shall do better with this," the general cried, and immediately began to carve the meat placed before them.
As for Jack and Guy, they had braced their muscles, and were on the point of bursting the cupboard door open and making a wild rush for the window, when the man dropped his hand at the general"s words, and turned to help at the table. It was a narrow squeak, and the two young fellows breathed deeply with relief, while beads of perspiration appeared upon their foreheads and trickled down their faces. But they were still in a precarious position, and remained in silence watching the party of men in front of them.
A few minutes later there was a stamping of feet in the front room of the house, the door opened, and a big bearded Boer stepped up to the table, and, leaning with one hand upon it in a most free-and-easy fashion and removing a big pipe from his lips, said something to the general.
"Ah, the prisoners are outside!" exclaimed the latter; "and now, Monsieur Villebois-Mareuil, I will show you how we deal with these Rooineks. These are not like the brave soldiers who are fighting against us. They are chicken-hearted fools, who will fight for neither side. But they are burghers of the Transvaal, and have received the voting rights. Therefore they shall do their utmost for us, their brothers, in these days of difficulty. March them in, and let them be surrounded by a strong guard, for there is no saying what reckless act an Englishman is not capable of. You have seen it for yourself, monsieur, for have not the British troops times out of number attacked us from the open and been mowed down by our rifle fire?"
"That is so," answered the French mercenary. "They are a fine race to fight against; for though I detest them to a man, they are lion-hearted, and the best troops the world can show. Look at their discipline. It is superb. But we shall beat them, and then what joy there will be in the Transvaal, my friend!"
A minute later the prisoners who had been spoken of were marched into the room in the centre of a strong guard of armed Boers, and the latter, opening out, halted in front of the table, and stood on either side and behind the two Englishmen who were in their charge.
Jack and Guy stared across at them, and both gave a violent start, which might easily have betrayed them had not the attention of Boers and prisoners been otherwise engaged.
"That is Father! My G.o.d, what will they do with him?" Guy whispered fiercely, grasping Jack firmly by the wrist.
"And the other man is Mr Hunter, my old friend from Johnny"s Burg!"
answered Jack in a low voice. "Steady, Guy! You will let them hear you. Keep quiet, man! If we are found, we can be of no use to them; but if we remain silent, we may be able to rescue them."
Jack gripped his friend by the arm and whispered the words into his ear, for the excitement of seeing his father had proved almost too much for Guy, and he was on the point of rushing from the cupboard.
But Jack"s commanding tones stopped him, and a moment later he was calm again.
"Prisoners, you are brought before me for refusing to fight for the cause," the general now began. "You are burghers of the Republic, and have disobeyed the call of your country. What have you to say?"
Jack and Guy listened attentively, and then looked across at the prisoners. Both were absolutely calm, and stood there, in front of the table, with an air of stubborn determination and courage which showed that, come what might, their minds were made up on one subject.