"If you will step inside, Mr. Chambers, I will explain matters," Yorke said, stepping forward. "There is no occasion for the slightest uneasiness, and I have taken the steps you see not to alarm the ladies of your family."
Mr. Chambers was still further surprised at this address by a stranger, who, in spite of his attire as a Dutch farmer, was evidently English.
"Who are you, sir?" he asked, "and what is the meaning of this extraordinary conduct?"
"My name is Harberton. I am a lieutenant in the 9th Lancers, and was, when I was captured by the Boers, acting as one of General Pole-Carew's aides-de-camp. You have, no doubt, heard to-day of my escape last night from one of the prisons at Pretoria. I think that is sufficient introduction."
"Quite," Mr. Chambers said, holding out his hand and shaking that of Yorke; "I congratulate you on your escape. And now, will you explain to me why you have thus fallen upon my servant?"
He walked into the dining-room and shut the door.
"Before you answer my question, Mr. Harberton, I must ask if you are in need of refreshments?"
"Not at all, sir. I will now give you an account of this business."
And he related how Hans had overheard the plot to capture the treasure with the aid of Mr. Chambers's own servants, and how they were at that moment already gathering round the house.
"Fools!" Mr. Chambers said. "They would have, no doubt, taken my life, and murdered my wife and daughters, but the gold they would never have got. I will explain that afterwards. You have indeed rendered me an inestimable service, and I thank you with all my heart, in my own name and in that of my family. So you have all these rascals of mine tied up safely?"