“What—the Boers’ plan?”
“Yes; don’t you see? They’ll come right in so as to be within easy shot of our grazing grounds.”
“Oh!” I exclaimed, “I never thought of that. Of course; and if the horses and cattle are driven out, they’ll be able to shoot them down till we haven’t a beast left.”
“Nor a bit of beef. It’s to force us to surrender—a regular siege.”
It was rapidly getting dark then; and we soon learned that our ideas of the Boers’ ruse were the same as those entertained by our chiefs.
Upon the strength of the closer approach the sentries were doubled, and by means of the wagons the entrance to our stronghold was barricaded in a more effectual way; but we were not to be allowed to rest with a feeling of security that night. In about a couple of hours after our return a shot was fired by one of the sentries, then another, and another; and the men stood to their arms, on foot, ready for an attack by the enemy. In a few minutes, however, the news ran round that the sentries had fired at a dark figure creeping along under the wall inside the courtyard after repeated challenges; and, later, the news spread that the sentry on guard over the prisoner was lying insensible and bleeding from a great cut on the back of his head, and that Captain Moriarty was nowhere to be found.