"
Jack was called up, and on being told what was required, at once agreed
to accompany them.
No time was lost. Chris and his three companions mounted, and with the
Kaffir running alongside they set off at a trot. Keeping to the north of
east, they rode on for some two miles, Jack leading the way with as much
ease as if it had been daylight. When they had, as they calculated, come
upon the ground the Boers must have passed over, they turned south, and
kept on until they saw the dark mass of Talana on their right, and made
towards it. On this side the hill sloped gradually, while on that facing
Dundee it was extremely steep and strewn with boulders. They were now
going at a walk, and they soon came upon an immense gathering of
waggons, carts, oxen and ponies, crowded without any order, just as they
had arrived two hours before. "There is no fear of our being detected,"
Chris said in a whisper, "and we can't do better than stop here. There
is no getting the horses through this crowd, and if we did manage to do
so there would be no getting them back, certainly not in a hurry. You
had better lie down beside them, it is not likely that any Boers will be
coming up or down. If the whole camp is like this there is not the
slightest fear of our getting caught.
Pages:
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120