Colin supplied that information.
The old man shook his head.
"It is unlikely—very," he replied. "There were reliable reports that Jan was busy near Bloemfontein for several weeks after the Vryburg hold-up. He could not be in places two thousand miles apart within a few hours."
"No," rejoined Colonel Narfield. Then, turning to Colin, he said: "Show Mynheer Van der Wyck your talisman, and see what he thinks of it."
The old farmer took the swastika and held it at arm's length. Then, unable to see the characters on it, he pulled out a magnifying-glass.
"One of the drawbacks of old age," he explained. "Although I can see things very clearly at long distances—few men on the veldt can discover a hartebeeste quicker than I—it is close work that troubles me. Ah, this is rather a rare piece of work—copper and gold. The shape is fairly common. You will find similar articles amongst all the Kaffir tribes, from the Cape right up to Mashonaland and Matabeleland. Beyond that it is not so common, although I haven't had so much to do with the natives beyond the Limpopo River, so I may be wrong. Where did you find it, Colin?"
"Someone gave it to me when the mail-boat was nearing Cape Town," replied the lad, not caring to mention that the donor bore the name of Van der Wyck. "It has proved very useful at times when dealing with the natives."
"I can understand that," agreed Piet Van der Wyck. "It is a pity it has been dented."
"Dented!" echoed Colonel Narfield. "Where?"
"Oh, that," replied Colin carelessly. "That was a sort of accident the other day."