"No. I have my orders to stay here; though, of course, no attack was anticipated. Here I'll stay, Brenda, and do my duty. I have a dozen men, and in this house I daresay we can hold out until our advance guard arrives. I am not afraid for myself, but for you."
"Dearest, do not be afraid for me. I would rather be here than in the camp. If we are to die, we die together."
"I won't die; neither shall you. We'll baffle Van Zwieten yet! So far, fortune has been on our side. Now go to sleep. I must attend to my duty!"
Brenda obeyed. She was worn out with emotion and fatigue; so much so that she could not sleep. She lay flat on her back on the hard sofa, staring at the whitewashed ceiling, on which the flicker of the dying lamp made the shadows dance. Harold had taken away the lamp in case the steady light should attract attention from the outside. If Van Zwieten was about it was not improbable that he would fire where he saw a light. Brenda hoped with all her soul that he would not return. She could not bear to think that she had been the means of bringing Harold and his men into peril. But she sadly feared that, knowing where she was, the Dutchman would bring up some of the enemy, who were not far away, and would try to capture the farmhouse before the advance column came up. Full of the thought of it, worn out by anxiety and excited by the novelty of the situation, she could not close her eyes, but tossed and turned on her hard couch, longing for the daylight. The suspense was almost unbearable.
The hours passed slowly. Now and then Harold would come in to give her a word of comfort; and she always replied with a bright smile and a cheerful word.
The men in the other parts of the house relieved each other in watching. Captain Burton had honestly told them what they might expect. There was nothing to be gained in minimising matters. Each man--there were a dozen of them--had his rifle and revolver with a few rounds of cartridges. It was obvious they could not hold the place against any prolonged attack on account of their shortness of ammunition. But if the Boers did not commence operations until dawn, as it was improbable they would do, they on the other hand, would not have much time. Warren's column was on the march, and would be there betimes in the morning, and then the enemy would be forced to fall back on their entrenchments among the mountains unless they chose to run the risk of capture by the superior force. On the whole, Harold felt sanguine that he and his men would come out of it all right. And there was always the chance that Van Zwieten might not bring up his force, or that he might make overelaborate preparation, and thus delay the attack if he did. At worst, he could rely upon the arrival of the column very shortly.
He determined that, when all was safe, he would send Brenda back to the camp. That done, he could march forward to the relief of Ladysmith with a light heart. Twice Brenda had escaped this man. She should do so a third time.
Toward dawn the rain ceased and the thunderclouds rolled away, leaving a clear and starry sky. There was no moon, but the surrounding objects were faintly outlined in a kind of luminous twilight. The animals about the house commenced to wake and sniff the morning air. Burton went on to the veranda and looked out on the wild waste veldt, uncanny in the cold light of early dawn. He could discern no sign of an approaching enemy. Nevertheless, he felt anything but easy in his mind, and determined on a definite course of action. If Van Zwieten did come he would find the bird he wanted to capture flown beyond his reach. Captain Burton returned to the sitting-room and woke Brenda from the uneasy slumber into which she had fallen.
"Dearest!" he said, sitting down and drawing her to him, "I have a presentiment that Van Zwieten will attack this house, and I want to put you beyond his reach. I will send you forward with one of my men. There is a horse here which I can get from the Boer woman. He will take you to the advancing column and you will be sent back safely to the camp."
But she flatly refused to do this. "I won't leave you here to be shot. I know you can't come yourself, and I won't go without you. I suppose we could not all leave the place?"