As the afternoon wore on, an extreme nervousness came over all at Harmony, a feeling of tense anxiety which no words can describe, and was betrayed in a restless flitting through the house, arranging something here, peering through the blinds at the camp of the Military Mounted Police.
Unconsciously voices were lowered and final instructions given in hushed tones.
Only a few hours remained of the Captain's visit to Harmony and much had still to be arranged.
The tension was broken by the arrival of Mrs. Malan, with large parcels containing the articles of clothing, etc., ordered by Naudé—hats, boots, riding-suits, soap, matches, salt, and a number of the small necessities of life. This gave the women something to do, for everything had to be sorted and made up into smaller parcels as compactly as possible, while Naudé donned a surprising quantity of clothing and disposed of various articles about his person.
In the excitement of the moment Captain Naudé, while he was dressing, must have forgotten to take off a waistcoat lent to him by Mrs. van Warmelo and clearly marked D.S. van Warmelo.
This caused her a great deal of anxiety for some days after the departure of the spies.
Had Naudé reached the commandos in safety or had he fallen into the hands of the enemy with the tell-tale waistcoat on?
They wondered and speculated, but as the days went by and no startling reports convulsed the town, they once again settled down—not to the same old sense of security as far as they were personally concerned, but to the comforting conviction that all was well with their friends.
Their own fate—but this is coming presently.
Mrs. Malan did not stay long, and there were fortunately no unexpected visitors that afternoon—except, strange to say, the English colonel who had all but ceased his visits and was on this occasion entertained by Hansie and her mother in turn.