Perils in the Transvaal and Zululand

hadthought that the English had been anxious to find out pleasant quartersfor them. But I am afraid the English thought of one thing only, andthat was clearing them out of their old abodes.

  "Yes," he resumed; "the Dutchman has made himself comfortable enoughhere, if John Bull will only leave him alone. But that John Bull is toophilanthropic to do--ha, Mansen?"

  "There is no talk of annexing the Free State, is there?" asked oldLudwig with a smile.

  "Why, no, Ludwig. The annexation of the other hasn't proved anencouraging experiment, or I think it likely that it would have beenproposed."

  "Well, sir," observed George, "that annexation took place with the freeconsent of the Boers, and it was designed in kindness to them."

  "Was it?" returned Mr Rogers; "I have my doubts about that latter. Nodoubt the Boers agreed to it, or rather didn't object to it, at thetime. But it was very much like pulling a drowning man out of thewater, on condition of his being your bond-servant for evermore. Hewould agree rather than be drowned, but I doubt whether you could callthat his free consent. It was rather his forced consent, to my mind."

  "What would you have had England do, sir?" asked Redgy.

  "Help the Transvaal out of its difficulties, without insisting onannexation," answered Mr Rogers. "The policy would have been as wiseas it would have been kind."

  "And you would have given them their independence back when they askedfor it after the Zulu war, I suppose?" said Margetts. "Would you giveit them now?"

  "I should certainly have given it on the occasion you name, when theyasked for it. It had then become clear that they did not really desirethe annexation; and the only reasonable ground there could have been forit was shown by that request not to exist. I think compliance wouldhave been as wise as it would have been just, and would have gone far tosmooth away all difficulties. It is, of course, a very different thingnow. England cannot give to armed menace what she has refused topeaceful entreaty. Compliance would be even worse than the previousrefusal."

  "Well, sir," urged Margetts, "no one, to be sure, could think that theBoers would ever really get the upper hand in a regular war withEngland. I speak with all possible respect to Mr Mansen, but that issurely impossible."

  "No one who understands the strength and resources of the two countriescould think it possible," returned Mr Rogers. "But the Boers possessvery little information on the subject, and the coloured races stillless. They would all think that England yielded now, because herweakness, not her magnanimity, obliged her. But I still trust therewill be no war. Enough of this. What is it you have been looking at sointently, Thyrza, for the last ten minutes?"

  "I think it is a man on horseback," said Miss Rivers; "but the object isso far off that I cannot distinguish what it is."

  She pointed as she spoke to a black speck, on the road that led fromWinberg to Newcastle, which was moving towards them.

  They all watched it for several minutes, and then Mr Mansen said, "Youhave a long sight, Thyrza. It _is_ a horseman, and he is riding fast.He will pass almost close to us."

  "It is an English soldier, or a man who has been one," exclaimed Riverspresently; "there is no mistaking his seat on horseback."

  The rider continued to approach until he had arrived almost immediatelyunder the spot where they were sitting. Then George and Redgy startedup, simultaneously exclaiming, "It is Hardy, I declare! let us go downand speak to him."

  CHAPTER TWENTY THREE.

  Rivers and Margetts hurried down the steep descent without pausing topick their way, and reached the bottom just as the traveller, whosehorse was evidently tired out, passed them at a broken-winded canter,which was the utmost speed, apparently, to which the unlucky animalcould be urged.

  "Hallo!" shouted George,--"hallo, Hardy, if it really is you! Here aretwo old friends of yours, who would like to have some talk with you, ifyou can spare them the time."

  The horseman drew his rein in evident surprise.

  "What! Rivers, Margetts!" he exclaimed. "Well, this is a piece of goodluck. I was just thinking that the best thing I could do would be toride round by Dykeman's Hollow and ask you to help me. What brings youhere?"

  "Oh, we have been confined within the bounds of Rogers' property forseveral weeks, and we made up a party to-day to come here, more forsomething to do than anything else."

  "And why are you confined within the bounds of Dykeman's Hollow?" askedHardy; "and who has confined you?"

  "Well, it is more prudence than necessity," said George. "We don't wantto provoke the Dutchmen to attack us."

  "You talk riddles," said Hardy, "but I have no time to solve them. Canyou tell me where Praetorius,--the great man among the Boers,--can youtell me where he is to be found?"

  "I don't know with any certainty," said George; "I expect he has gonesouthward with the others."

  "Southward! what do you mean?" exclaimed Hardy hastily. "What can hehave gone south for?"

  "Well, he didn't tell me," said Redgy, "but I think I can form a prettygood guess for what he has gone. It is to attack the English troops."

  "English troops!" repeated Hardy in evident anxiety and alarm; "whatEnglish troops? I did not know that there were any in thisneighbourhood."

  "We hear that Sir George Colley is marching to the relief of Praetoriawith, some say 1000, some 1500 men. Mr Rogers thinks he has got as faras Newcastle, if not still farther north," said Rivers.

  "The relief of Praetoria!" again cried Hardy. "Is Pretoria besieged?Do you mean that the rebellion has actually broken out?"

  "No doubt of that," replied Margetts; "that is an old story now. TheEnglish have for two or three weeks past been besieged by the Boers inall the large towns,--Praetoria, Potchefstroom, Standerton,--and therehas been sharp fighting in several places. About the end of December,250 men belonging to the 94th Regiment were killed or taken prisoners atBronker's Spruit, near Middelburgh."

  "How did that come about?" asked Hardy.

  "Well, I suppose Colonel Anstruther didn't know that there was anychance of his being attacked,--didn't know, in fact, that any outbreakwas likely to take place,--or his neglect of precautions would seem tobe of a piece with what we remember. He was marching, with a number ofwaggons and 250 men, as Redgy said, along the road, his train being halfa mile long, when, at a place called Bronker's Spruit, two Dutchmen rodeup to him and handed him a paper, which was found to be a letter fromJoubert, who calls himself the Boer General. It stated that war hadbeen declared between the Republic of the Transvaal and England, andcalled on him to surrender his men and waggons. I suppose ColonelAnstruther hardly thought that the summons was seriously meant; at allevents, there was no superior force visible, to which he would be unableto offer resistance, and he only replied by forming his men in columnand desiring them to move on, but--"

  "But Joubert had planted his sharpshooters under cover everywhere round,and they opened their fire on the soldiers before they knew of theirpresence."

  "That was it, certainly. In ten minutes half the men had been shotdown. They were entangled in a marsh, and had not been able to getsight of any enemy to shoot at in return."

  "Exactly; and then, I suppose, Colonel Anstruther surrendered?"

  "Precisely; that is what he did, and he and his surviving men were takenprisoners."

  "He could do nothing else. But I am afraid this will prevent any goodbeing done by my mission. You say this occurred some weeks ago?"

  "Yes," said Margetts; "the catastrophe near Middelburgh took place onthe 28th of last month, and this is the 28th of January."

  "Why, the 28th of last month was just about the time when I set out forBloemfontein!" cried Hardy. "It is most extraordinary that I neverheard this before!"

  "What have you been to Bloemfontein for?" asked Rivers.

  "I was sent there by the authorities at Natal," answered Hardy, "inconsequence of a message from the Colonial Office in England. TheColonial Secretary wanted to come to terms with these Boers. I supposehe thought (
as every one else thought) that the annexation had been amost foolish procedure, and that it would be better to come to somereasonable understanding with the Boers than keep up an irritatingquarrel with them."

  "Small blame to him for that," said George. "Well, go on."

  "He thought that Brandt, the President of the Orange Free State, wouldbe a good person to mediate between us and the Boers, and he sent mewith a letter to him."

  "Did you see him?" asked Margetts.

  "Yes; I had two