"We are burghers of the Transvaal, it is true, general," Mr Hunter answered in a firm voice, "and we are ready to do our duty by that Republic at any time but this. Against the natives, or the Portuguese, or even your own kith and kin, the men from the Orange Free State, we were prepared to fight, but when you tell us to bear arms against our own flesh and blood we refuse to obey you at all costs."
"Yes, and I"ll go one further," burst in Guy"s father impetuously, and with a total disregard for the consequences; "if we had been able we would have joined our comrades, the English troops, and fought there in their ranks against you."
"You are a bold, but a foolish man," the general answered, laying down his knife and fork with which he had been busy. "I will give you both another chance. Will you go to the trenches and do your duty like men?"
"We have already refused," Mr Hunter replied shortly. "Is that not enough?"
"Very well, then, you shall be put there by force," the general exclaimed harshly. Then, turning to the Boer in command of the guard over the prisoners, he said: "Remove these men, and take them straight to the gun hill nearest to the English camp, and tie them there to the wheels of the gun. That shall be their punishment. They will not fire on the Rooineks, but the Rooineks shall fire at them. It is a fitting reward. Perhaps, my friends, if you live through to-morrow you will be glad to change your minds. Believe me, it is far pleasanter to lie behind a rock and pick off the foe than to be tied up in the open and exposed to the lyddite sh.e.l.ls which your barbarous British gunners employ."
Meanwhile the prisoners listened calmly to their fate, and Mr Hunter bowed when the general had finished speaking.
They were then hurried out of the room, and some ten minutes later the Boers followed them.
The stamp of hoofs and the clanking of stirrups and bits told Jack and Guy that the Boers were on the point of leaving, and were then having their horses brought round for them. There was a hoa.r.s.e command, and next second the whole party galloped off, leaving the house deserted save for the two young fellows and Mrs Robb and her infant child.
"Phew! I want some air after that," exclaimed Jack, thrusting the door open and stepping into the room.
"Yes, it was a pretty tight corner," Guy agreed; "but, Jack, our difficulties seem to increase the closer we get to Ladysmith. First you get caught as you climb through the window of the hospital, then Piet Maartens and his fat German friend try to arrest us, and now we are pledged to help this poor lady, while my father and your friend are being hurried away to their death."
"Well, and what of it?" cried Jack. "Look here, Guy. We are not going back on our word. We will take Mrs Robb and her child safely into Ladysmith, and before I go there I shall rescue Mr Hunter and your father. What is to prevent us? The hill must be near by, and at night-time will have few upon it. You stay here and I will go out in search of it. It must be the one straight in front of this house, for that is certainly the nearest to the British camp."
"Nonsense! Stay here indeed!" Guy answered hotly. "If you are ready to risk your life for a friend, Jack, I am fully prepared to do the same for my father. I shall come with you. That"s agreed, and also that we help this lady. Now, how is it all to be done?"
"It is already midnight," Jack answered thoughtfully. Then turning to Mrs Robb he said, "How far is it to this gun hill, Mrs Robb? You have heard that two prisoners were to be taken there?"
"Yes; I listened outside," Mrs Robb replied. "Just fancy their thinking of such a brutal act! The hill they are being taken to is two miles or more away, and from there to Ladysmith is a matter of three miles. I know the ground well, and could lead you."
"The difficulty is this," continued Jack. "To go to the top of the gun hill, set the prisoners free, and return here would take such a time that the day would have dawned before we could get near Ladysmith. If we make straight for the camp and leave you and the child there, it will be too late then to attempt a rescue, and to-morrow will settle their fate."
"Then I can tell you what to do," exclaimed Mrs Robb. "I will lead you to the hill where your friends are to be tied, and will accompany you nearly to the top. Then you must help the prisoners, and as soon as they are free, we will all strike straight across for the camp, and endeavour to pa.s.s through the pickets."
"Good! That is the very ticket!" Guy cried excitedly. "We cannot find this hill without you, and as we are all bound for Ladysmith, we will go together."
"Yes, it"s the best way," Jack agreed. "Are you ready to start now, Mrs Robb?"
"Yes, perfectly," the plucky English lady replied.
"Then give me the child. I will carry him."
Mrs Robb placed the sleeping infant in Jack"s strong arms, and, s.n.a.t.c.hing up a small bundle, blew out the candle, and led the way out of the house, followed by her two stalwart protectors.
It was still intensely dark, so by a hurried arrangement Jack and Guy each linked an arm in one of Mrs Robb"s, and thus, guided by her and helping her over the rough ground, they pressed forward at their fastest pace, knowing well that there was much to be done ere morning.
For an hour they trudged on, and then suddenly halted, and hastily concealed themselves in a small copse of trees. They were barely in time, for a moment later some twenty Boers rode slowly by, making no sound on the gra.s.sy plain.
"Those are the men who were told off to tie them to the guns," whispered Jack. "At least I expect that is who they are, and if so we are lucky once more."
"I"m sure that the man riding in front is the Boer who was in charge of the two prisoners," Guy answered. "Come along, Jack. They have gone on sufficiently far now."
"No, not yet. We will not ruin everything for the sake of a few minutes, Guy. Let them get well ahead and then we will move on. How near are we to the hill now, Mrs Robb?"
"Quite close, Mr Somerton," the English lady answered. "If I guide you on about three hundred yards farther you will be at the foot, and there I will stop and wait for you. How shall I know that it is you when you return?"
"I will whistle like this," Jack answered, giving a low whistle. "Of course, if you hear firing, or any row going on on top, you will know that we have caught a tartar, and that our hopes of reaching the camp are over. In that case you had better slip back to the farm."
"Ah, it will not be that!" Mrs Robb answered with confidence. "We deserve a better reward than that, and I feel sure that G.o.d will see us through this trouble safely. May He permit us to reach the English camp with your friends, and may He in His goodness grant that my poor husband be restored to me!"
"Amen, amen!" Jack and Guy answered huskily.
"Now it is time to be moving on, Guy," said Jack, and, linking arms once more, they left their shelter and pushed on without a halt till they reached the base of the hill.
It was rough and boulder-strewn, and had extremely steep sides. Its summit was faintly defined against the star-lit sky, and, looking up, the two young fellows fancied that they could make out the form of a gun.
"Now we will leave you here, Mrs Robb," Jack said, "but we must first find some place in which you can hide. Let us move along here to the left."
Cautiously creeping through the gra.s.s and bushes, and in and out amongst the boulders, it was some time before they came across a likely spot.
But at last they plunged into a dense growth of mimosa bush and fern, and this they decided would form a suitable hiding-place.
Jack handed the child to its mother, and placed the bundle by her side.
Then he whispered: "Wait here for us, and remember, do not answer any other signal than the one agreed upon. Good-bye! I hope we shall be back soon."
"Good-bye! oh, good-bye, you two brave boys!" Mrs Robb whispered.
With a hasty shake of the hand Jack and Guy left this brave and tender-hearted woman kneeling on the veldt, with the child held in her arms, and her lips moving as she offered up an earnest prayer for their safety.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN.
SAVED FROM AN AWFUL FATE.
"Let us stop here a few moments, Guy," said Jack, when the two had advanced some twenty yards from the mimosa clump in which they had left Mrs Robb and her infant to wait for them. "That is evidently the gun up there at the top, and tied to the wheels are, I suppose, Mr Hunter and your father. Now how are we going to rescue them! It isn"t likely that the Boers will have left them unguarded. You can see for yourself that there is a camp away there on the left, for their fires are burning brightly. And in addition to the men there within easy call, there are certainly others near the gun."
"Yes, there are sure to be pickets close to the top, for the garrison of Ladysmith might make a sortie at any moment," Guy answered in a low whisper. "In Pretoria I heard that more than one gun had been put out of action in that manner. But about these pickets--we must slip between them. They are not likely to be awake at this hour. About three o"clock in the morning finds them astir."
"Very well then, unsling your rifle, Guy, but do not load it. If there is trouble you can open the magazine in a moment, but with a cartridge in the breech, and the bolt pulled back, the slightest touch on the trigger would ruin all. Are you ready? Then keep close behind me, and if any of the Boers challenge I will leave it to you to answer them."
"Trust me, Jack, old boy," Guy whispered back. Then, feeling for his friend"s hand, he gave it a cordial grasp, which was returned as eagerly with a squeeze which almost made him cry out with pain. "If things go wrong, Jack," he said earnestly, "we"ve been good pals. You"re a real brick, old man!"
"Things are not going wrong," Jack answered grimly. "I"m going to get them both away, or I"ll know the reason why!"
For a moment longer the two young fellows stood facing one another in the darkness, gripping each other by the hand in a manner which said better than words could do that they were determined on one thing at least, and that was to be true to one another to death. Then Jack whispered, "Come along!" And, followed closely by Guy, he commenced to climb the steep and rugged side of the hill.
At any time it was no easy task, but now, when the displacement of a stone, or a footstep upon a piece of exposed rock, would easily have betrayed them, it was a matter of the utmost importance that only soft and gra.s.sy spots should be selected to put their feet upon.
By this time both were on hands and knees, and, feeling carefully in front of him, Jack wound from side to side, sometimes going a considerable way out of the direct course in his endeavour to find soft ground.
It was a long and tedious climb, but at last they were within fifty feet of the summit, where they came to a halt and looked cautiously round.