‘Why?’
‘Last night I heard a report, spread by one Captain Thatcher, a despatch rider of Jameson’s, that three hundred Boers were killed, and that Jameson had beaten the Boers.’
‘It is a d——d lie!’ was the impolite but emphatic denial. ‘You can take my word for it that not more than two or three Boers are killed, and one was killed by accident in the dark by his own people, while the Boers have never been beaten yet by Jameson; on the contrary, the Boers have held Jameson in check all along, and have only been waiting for reinforcements and their artillery to carry Jameson and his troopers by storm.’
The reporter here stopped, and sat looking at Steve open-mouthed. The antics of this young man were really amusing, to say the least of it. He had rolled off his horse, and was now lying on his back, kicking his feet in the air, and now he was capering about on the grass, throwing summersault upon summersault, all the while shouting and laughing like one possessed.
‘I say, Joubert, stop that; are you mad? Get on your horse and go on; I have no time to look after a lunatic now, or to take you to the lunatic asylum.’
‘I beg your pardon, old man; I had to do it, or I should really have gone mad from joy, but I am better now,’ said Steve, remounting his horse. ‘Where are you going to?’ he asked of the reporter.
‘Oh, I am off to town to send news to the Pretoria Press, which I represent here. And what do you intend doing?’
‘I wish to join one of our commandos; where shall I find one?’
‘If you will go to the top of that rise there, you will see the whole position. When I came over it, the Burghers were retreating from the railway cutting (which they had occupied during the night) towards that very ridge. I think they intend taking possession of it and the drift, so as to finally stop the progress of the Chartered troops. Good-bye; I must be off to send particulars of our position to our paper. Take care of yourself and keep out of the way of the Maxims.’
What gratitude filled the heart of Steve now when he knew that Captain Thatcher’s story was all lies and invention.