"I want Mrs. Burton, and I want you!"
"You shall have neither--or, at best, our dead bodies."
The other man changed colour. "Don't be a fool, Burton," he said. "I have a number of men here, and you must give in. Surrender, and I promise you that you shall go free."
"And my wife?"
"I can't let her go," Van Zwieten said sullenly. "I have risked too much for her sake to do that. She must come with me!"
Captain Burton stepped forward a pace, but he still kept on the verandah. His orderlies stepped forward, also stolid and courageous. "You villains," said Burton, savagely, "how dare you make such a proposal to me? If it were not for the flag you carry I would shoot you where you stand. If I were only one of your lot I should do so in spite of it! I hope to God that I shall kill you! And I will some day. You have insulted my wife for the last time, you scoundrel!"
"I never insulted Mrs. Burton, as she will tell you herself," the Dutchman said coolly. "And she will not be your wife long. I shall claim her as mine over your corpse."
"Do so if you can! But I want no more talk. Retire your men."
"Surrender to the President of the Transvaal Republic!" was the counter demand.
"I hold this house for Her Majesty the Queen. I refuse to surrender."