“The Boers are puffed-up with conceit,” he said gravely, “and they believe that their victory at Majuba Hill has made them invincible; but all the same they’ve got some level-headed men amongst them, and I believe before long that it will come to a fight and that they will fight desperately.”
His hearers laughed.
“What for?” shouted one.
“To drive the British out of South Africa, seize Cape Colony and Natal, and make the country a Dutch republic.”
There was a momentary silence before someone cried: “I say, Ingleborough, are you going mad?”
“I hope not,” said the young man quietly. “Why?”
“Because you are talking the greatest bosh I’ve heard for months!”
“I don’t think I am,” said Ingleborough gravely. “I know that the Boers are terribly inflated with vanity and belief in themselves, but they have wisdom in their heads as well.”
“I’ve never seen any of it!” said the previous speaker. “Bah! Rubbish! They drive us out of South Africa! Why, that would mean taking Rhodesia too.”
“Of course,” replied Ingleborough, “and that’s what they believe they are going to do.”