By this time a young Boer, with rifle slung across his back, had placed on a table a lighted candle which was jammed into the neck of a bottle, and was looking round for chairs. A second later five men entered, and one of them they recognised at once as a prominent Boer general, the commander of the burgher forces in Natal. Another was evidently a Frenchman on the directing staff, to whom the others showed rough deference.
Meanwhile Mrs Robb had flown to the cot again and stood bending over it, ready to protect her child.
“Leave the room, woman!” the general said harshly. “Now,” he continued, turning to the man who had brought the light, “fetch chairs and benches, and form the court. You can bring in the food or prisoners, whichever is ready first.”
The Boer saluted like a clumsy plough-boy and disappeared, to return with two others bearing chairs. They placed the table close beside the cupboard, and a few moments later the general and his staff were seated behind it, the former being in the middle.
“I am hungry,” the general suddenly exclaimed, “and hope the food will not be long in coming. Then we must eat our meal and get this business done as soon as possible, for we have many miles to ride to-night. But, wait! Look in that cupboard, Fritz. Perhaps there is something there in the way of food on which we can commence.”
Jack and Guy heard the words with feelings of despair, and still stood silent, rooted to the spot and with their hearts pulsating violently. To reach the cupboard the man addressed as Fritz had to go round the table; and as he was doing so, and had stretched out a hand to pull open one of the doors, there was a joyful shout from the men sitting round the table, and a burgher appeared bearing horn mugs and a plate, on which was a joint of cold meat.
“Never mind, Fritz; we shall do better with this,” the general cried, and immediately began to carve the meat placed before them.
As for Jack and Guy, they had braced their muscles, and were on the point of bursting the cupboard door open and making a wild rush for the window, when the man dropped his hand at the general’s words, and turned to help at the table. It was a narrow squeak, and the two young fellows breathed deeply with relief, while beads of perspiration appeared upon their foreheads and trickled down their faces. But they were still in a precarious position, and remained in silence watching the party of men in front of them.
A few minutes later there was a stamping of feet in the front room of the house, the door opened, and a big bearded Boer stepped up to the table, and, leaning with one hand upon it in a most free-and-easy fashion and removing a big pipe from his lips, said something to the general.
“Ah, the prisoners are outside!” exclaimed the latter; “and now, Monsieur Villebois-Mareuil, I will show you how we deal with these Rooineks. These are not like the brave soldiers who are fighting against us. They are chicken-hearted fools, who will fight for neither side. But they are burghers of the Transvaal, and have received the voting rights. Therefore they shall do their utmost for us, their brothers, in these days of difficulty. March them in, and let them be surrounded by a strong guard, for there is no saying what reckless act an Englishman is not capable of. You have seen it for yourself, monsieur, for have not the British troops times out of number attacked us from the open and been mowed down by our rifle fire?”