With Roberts to Pretoria: A Tale of The South African War

by G. A. Henty

"I should say, sir, that it would be best for me only to ride for a few miles, then to dismount and make my way on foot. If you will allow me, I will send a note by the orderly who fetches my horse to two of my Kaffirs bidding them accompany it here—one of them especially is a very shrewd fellow—their eyes and ears are much better than mine. I should send one of them back with my horse, and take the other with me. I have a compass, but it would be of no use in the dark; and I might lose my bearings altogether if by myself, for I could not venture to strike a match."

"It would be a very good plan, Mr. Harberton. Please write your note at once, I have already sent for a mounted orderly."

Yorke at once wrote a note to Major Rimington, or the officer commanding in his absence, begging him to send the two Kaffirs, Ugly Jack and Long Peter, with the orderly, who would bring back his horse. While the orderly was away he studied the map, and when the officer returned from head-quarters with the despatch, which was written in small characters on a strip of thin paper, he learned it by heart. It stated that the army had, after its engagement, crossed the Modder, but that it could not advance until joined by reinforcements now on their way. It asked for any intelligence that might be gathered by the besieged as to the Boers' position and force, and enquired as to the state of provisions in the town, and how long, in case the army failed to arrive, they could maintain themselves. It stated that large reinforcements were on their way out, and that Buller had, so far, failed to relieve Ladysmith, but hoped that he would soon do so, and that the Boers were making but little way in the invasion of Cape Colony. It added: "The bearer will give you further details as to the state of affairs." It was directed to Colonel Kekewich.

After the business was concluded, Yorke was invited to join the staff at lunch, which he was not sorry to do. When this was finished, he was asked to dine with them also, as he would not be able to start till after dark.

Many of the Boer rifles had been picked up, and great quantities of ammunition, which had been left in the trenches, collected. The arms were to be destroyed, and Yorke, at luncheon, asked the officer to give him an order for the Kaffir who was going with him to take one of them. "It is quite certain," he said, "that if we are caught, they will shoot the native, whether he is armed or not, and I think the man ought to have a chance of at least trying to defend his life."

"I will give you an order for him to take one, but it had better be put in my office till you start, or he would have trouble with every officer he met. I think that, as you say, it is only fair to give the man a chance, though I don't suppose it will be of much use to him, for he is not likely to be a good shot even with an ordinary rifle, and he would know nothing of the working of a Mauser."

"I could show him how to work it in five minutes," Yorke said; "and if he cannot shoot himself, he could load as fast as I could fire."

The officer smiled. "I fancy if you get cut off, Mr. Harberton, your best plan would be to tie a handkerchief to your rifle in token of surrender. Possibly they might then content themselves with taking you as a prisoner of war, while if you were to shoot some of them, the others would not be very likely to respect your uniform."

"I don't want to fight, certainly," Yorke said; "and I should not think of resisting unless I saw a chance of doing so successfully, as, for instance, if I were seen and chased by two or three mounted Boers when I was getting near our own lines."

"Yes, in that case the rifle might be useful. The Boers have considerable respect for a single man with a good rifle in the open. However, I hope you will get through unobserved. You certainly will have more chance to-night than you would otherwise have, for they will be even more tired than our men, as they probably marched all night to Spytfontein. Moreover, they have their wounded to attend to, and will, no doubt, be very much down in the mouth at being turned out here, where they felt absolutely certain of holding their own. Still, Cronje could not have had anything like all his force here, and some of the men who stopped in their lines will be sent out to watch the roads to-night, lest we should push forward a brigade to relieve Kimberley."