In every part, too, galloping about singly or in knots, were mounted Boer patrols, searching every foot of the country, and making it a practical impossibility for anyone to slip across it unseen.
Still farther south the tops of other hills could be seen, and as Jack looked at them through his glasses there were two sudden bursts of smoke and flame, closely following one another, while the faint reports which reached him almost a minute later told him that another day of bombardment had commenced for the troops in Ladysmith.
“Now, what’s to be done, Guy?” he asked, shutting the glasses 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.