Perils in the Transvaal and Zululand

I was taken ill. The farm must lieat no very great distance. Perhaps you may be able to tell me where itis."

  "You going there!" ejaculated Rudolf with more animation.

  "Yes, I was going there, and I want to go there now."

  "It will not be fit for you to go for a long time yet," returned theDutchman, relapsing into silence, from which he could only be roused tomake monosyllabic replies. A minute or two afterwards, indeed, chancingto see his uncle in the distance, he got up and went to join him.

  George was perplexed, but the demeanour of his hosts had puzzled himfrom the first. He saw, however, that they meant kindly by him, andsupposed that Rudolf was simply afraid that he might bring on a relapseby venturing on a long ride in his present weak condition. He knew,indeed, he was not fit to make the attempt yet. Impatient, therefore,as he was to rejoin his mother and sister, he resolved to remain quietfor a few days more. He was more ready to do this, because he felt hisstrength returning to him every day, and it was evident from Rudolf'smanner that his stepfather's house lay at no great distance.

  He was a good deal surprised when, on the following evening, RudolfKransberg, who had been absent all day, returned to Malopo's Kloof, butwith a companion. He was sitting alone in the arbour, the time for oldKransberg's pipe having not yet arrived, when a well-known figuresuddenly presented itself, and the voice of Redgy Margetts greeted him.

  "Hooray, old fellow! this is glorious indeed! Why, here have we beenscouring the country for you for weeks past, and your mother andThyrza--your mother and your sister," added Redgy, correcting himself,"have put off going into mourning for you day after day, only becausethey couldn't bear to think you were dead. And here have you been aliveall the time, only twenty miles from us. Old Kransberg, they say, neverholds any intercourse with his neighbours, and it must be so, or he musthave heard of the hue and cry that has been raised. Matamo had goneback to Horner's Kraal, and we only heard from some people in Heidelbergof his having parted company with you somewhere near Koodoo's Vley. Wesearched the whole country, Hardy and Haxo and I, and some of LudwigMansen's men, and we found at last the skeleton of your horse; we knewit by your saddle. And by the spring, where it was quite clear you hadcamped for the night, there were the remains of one of the most venomoussnakes in the country. We were afraid you had been bitten by it, andhad staggered somewhere into the bush and died. There would have beensmall chance for you, they said, if it had bitten you. But it doesn'tmatter, happily, what we thought, only I should like to know if you areable to tell me the true history of the matter."

  "You shall hear presently," said George. "But first of all I want toknow about my mother. Is she looking well?"

  "Well, I never saw her before, you know," said Redgy, "and of course shehas been in great distress about you; but as regards looks, I'm sureshe's an extremely handsome woman, and she will soon now be at her bestagain. You should have seen what a difference there was in her when wefound out all about you from young Kransberg."

  "Young Kransberg," repeated George. "I supposed he guessed the truth,then, from what I told him yesterday, and rode over to tell you aboutme."

  "Hem! no," said Margetts shortly; "that wasn't the object of his visit.He didn't know that you were in any way connected with Mrs Mansen--didn't know what your name was indeed. He only mentioned quite casuallyat dinner that a young Englishman had been found close to his uncle'shouse, nearly two months ago, who had been seized with a bad attack ofmarsh fever. We all caught at it at once, and felt almost sure, fromhis description, that the person of whom he had been speaking must beyou. But Mrs Mansen couldn't bear to be kept in suspense a moment, andI offered to ride over here the moment dinner was over; and RudolfKransberg," added Redgy with something of a chuckle, "was obliged toaccompany me."

  "Well!" said Rivers. "But there's plenty more I want to know. Ihaven't seen my sister since she was quite a child. She must be grownup now."

  "Yes, she is grown up," assented Redgy shortly. "And she promised to bepretty?"

  "That's a matter of opinion," said Redgy with evident embarrassment."Some people, I believe, do think her so."

  "But you don't, eh?" said George, glancing at him in some surprise."But never mind that, I shall soon be able to judge for myself. Thereare other things I want to know about. What has become of--of theVander Heydens?"

  "Oh, they are all right," said Margetts. "Vander Heyden recoveredrapidly, and got home in three weeks after the time you left us. Theirplace is only a few miles from Umtongo. They have been continually overthere to see your mother and sister. Miss Vander Heyden and Miss Rivershave struck up a very close friendship, and I must do Vander Heyden thejustice to say that nobody has been more active in the search after youthan he was."

  "He's a good fellow," said George, "though he is a Dutchman, and hatesthe English, and is as proud as Lucifer into the bargain. Well, andHardy--what of him?"

  "Hardy is at Pieter's Dorf--that's the name of Vander Heyden's place.He has designed a capital house, which they have already begun building.It will go on all the faster now that the search for you is happilyover. Well now, it's my turn, George, to ask questions. Do you thinkyou are strong enough to be moved? Mr Mansen proposes to send over hislight bullock waggon for you. Of course you couldn't sit in the saddlefor twenty miles, and won't be fit to do so for some time yet. But youmight be able to bear the motion of the waggon. You look quite asstrong as Vander Heyden did, and you haven't so far to go."

  "I should think I certainly might," said George. "I don't know whetherit is in consequence of seeing you and hearing your good news, but Ifeel ever so much better than I did this morning."

  "Very good," said Margetts. "Then I will ride back at once and tellthem to send the waggon. It will take one day to come here, then youcan go back the next. That will be the day after to-morrow, you know."

  "Very good. I must of course consult my kind host. But I don't fancyhe will make any difficulty. We shall have to arrange, also, what I amto pay him for my lodging and nursing. I must have been a considerableexpense, as well as trouble to him."

  Margetts took his leave, and George went in quest of Mynheer Kransberg,whom he found in his usual seat in his summer-house. He listened insilence to George's proposed arrangements, as well as to his thanks forthe great kindness shown him. But when his guest inquired how muchmoney was due for the lodging and attendance he had received. MynheerKransberg answered quietly,--

  "There is nothing due. This is not an inn."

  "I am aware of that," returned Rivers, colouring a little, for he hadentertained the idea that all Dutchmen were eager to make any profit intheir power, and had spoken accordingly. "But I must have occasionedsome considerable outlay, and besides have given your servants andyourself and nephew, a great deal of trouble," he pursued.

  "We do not, any of us, grudge it," said the old man in the same tone asbefore. "We do not want money for doing a simple act of Christiancharity. You have rendered me your thanks--that is enough."

  "I do indeed render them most heartily," said Rivers, "and I shall neverlose the recollection of your generous kindness."

  During the journey in Farmer Mansen's ox-waggon, which occupied nearlythe whole of the day, he had time to reconsider the opinion which he hadformed respecting the Boers, and which had been very much the same thatis entertained by Englishmen generally. There is undoubtedly a strongprejudice felt against them. They are believed to be selfish,cold-blooded, and cowardly,--harshly oppressive to the helpless, butdescending to falsehood and trickery in their dealings with those whomthey dare not openly defy. A good deal of disgust also is felt at thestrictness of their religious profession, which is thought to beinconsistent with their harsh and worldly conduct.

  That there is some truth in these censures is not to be denied. Theyhave been for many generations slaveholders, and no nation ever yetescaped the degradation which that most odious of all customs entails.Slaveholders become inevitably selfish, unjust, and bru
tal, and inclineto become cowardly also. It is the coward only that oppresses the weak,and they who habitually oppress the weak cannot but become cowards. Butthe Boers have virtues to which justice has not been done. They arekind-hearted and generous to all except the blacks. No nation exceedsthem in industry, in simplicity of life, and in the practice of domesticvirtues. The profound respect rendered to parents, the faithfulaffection subsisting between husband and wife, the anxious care bestowedon their children, the loyal attachment and devotion to their country,might put to shame many who are