“Yes; it was generally thought that the reformers had been boasting.”
“That was the general impression, and so I also thought before I came to Johannesburg and was initiated.”
“Had they this number of weapons?” asked Ned.
“Yes; more than that number, as you will see presently.”
“Then why did the cowards hold back and allow Dr Jim to be defeated?”
“Because, firstly, they had a majority of cowards amongst them; and, secondly, because they were not properly organised, and the leaders were afraid to trust their men. Now, however, we have altered all that. Come with me, and you will see our arsenal.”
He opened the door of a wardrobe which stood at the side of the wall, and, pulling out the drawer first, he touched a secret spring, and immediately the bottom moved up and showed them a flight of stairs underneath.
“This is the way down. You go first, while I close the entrance.”
He had only to pull back the drawer from the inside, and the aperture was securely fastened, wardrobe door and all.
He struck a wax vesta, and showed them their course down the steps, which were like the steps down to the stoke-holes of an ocean liner.