The next moment Major Flinders and Black William appeared in sight, and with a wild shout of delight Tom jumped over his barricade and ran to meet them.
The Major looked very grave when he examined poor George’s wounds, for he at once saw that they were of a serious, if not of a highly dangerous, character—such, in fact, as called for skilled treatment. If the boy’s life was to be saved, it would be necessary to procure medical assistance as soon as possible. Now the nearest place where Major Flinders could make certain of finding a surgeon was Fort Crause, a small town and military post situated some thirty-five miles to the east-north-east: and to Fort Crause he resolved to carry the lad without any delay.
“We must start at once, you and I, Tom,” said the Major, as he scribbled a few hasty lines on a leaf torn from his pocket-book. “William will take this note back to Weston; I have briefly related what has occurred, and told him to join us at Fort Crause.”
“And what is to become of Patrick Keown and the horses, father? Are they to follow us, or wait until we return to the Gamska?”
“Keown will come on with Weston, and we shall have to change our route, and return home by the upper road to Tulbagh. Now, my boy, jump up, and we will place George in your arms; you must hold him in as easy a position as you can. There—now raise his head a little more; that will do! I will lead the horse.”
To convey a wounded person thirty miles on horseback under a burning South African sun is a very dangerous experiment; and, had George Weston been taken the whole distance under such circumstances, he would certainly have suffered severely, and probably not have survived the journey; but happily, before they had gone very far, they fell in with an empty mule-waggon returning to Fort Crause, to which George was immediately transferred, and thus he travelled in comparative comfort.
A week later Major Flinders and Tom, with the servants and horses, made a fresh start, and at the end of five days marched into Rondebosch; but George Weston was detained at Fort Crause for more than a month, and of course his father remained to look after him. At first the doctor gave but faint hopes of his recovery—for inflammation set in, and it was feared that tetanus would supervene; but in the end, youth and a famous constitution gained the upper hand, and George was able to rise from his sick-bed.
When, at length, he and his father returned to Rustenburg Farm, they found to their satisfaction that the Major had disposed of the young horses for nearly double the price he paid for them; so, after all, “Kicking Jan” did not dissipate all the profits of the expedition, but when every expense had been allowed for there still remained a good round sum to be placed to the credit of the firm of “Flinders, Weston, and Sons.”