“Oh!” I exclaimed, and Joeboy half-sprang to his feet, but subsided as I went on:
“War has broken out, the Boers having defied the British Government. It has, of course, all been a surprise to me; but the news is coming in fast. Hodson has been here, and he tells me the English are all receiving orders to go. It is ruin to us, and after making such a home; but, God help us! we must do our best.
“Of course you cannot serve against your own countrymen, and I don’t like your having anything to do with the horrible business; but if you feel that you must join in with our people and act as a volunteer against what is a cruel tyranny, I know you will act like a man.
“I can write no more, and Heaven knows when we may meet again. I shall make for Natal, of course, with as much as I can save out of the wreck—that is, as much as the enemy will let me carry off. Perhaps, though, that will be nothing; and I must be content with getting away with our lives, for I hear that the blacks are getting uneasy, as if they smelt blood; and Heaven knows what may happen if they break out, for the white man is their natural enemy in their eyes, and, friends now, they may be our foes to-morrow.
“God bless and protect you, my boy! Aunt Jenny’s dear love to you, and she is going to help me to hold Bob in, for the young dog is mad to come after you.
“Your father, in the dear old home he is about to quit, perhaps for ever.
“John Moray.
“PS:—Good news, my boy. Joeboy has just come back, in full fighting fig. He will bring this, and some provision for a day or two. I feel sure you may trust him. He has been showing me what he would do to any one who tried to hurt young Boss Val. He is like a big child; but he is true as steel. Good-bye.
“Heaven be with you, my boy!”
That last line was in Aunt Jenny’s handwriting, and there were big blotches on the paper where the ink had run, and over them came a few lines in Bob’s clumsy hand: