I am as hungry as a hunter, but it
would destroy all the pleasure of the banquet if we had to munch dry
bread with nothing to wash it down." After walking two miles farther
they came upon the stream and going fifty yards up it, so as to run no
risk of being disturbed, they sat down and enjoyed a hearty meal.
CHAPTER XIV
SPION KOP
"It is almost a pity that you did not commandeer two ponies and saddles
while you were about it," Chris laughed, as they set off again feeling
all the better for their meal. "We only want that to complete our
outfit."
"You should have mentioned it before I started, Chris. There is no
saying what I might not have done; and really, without joking, a pony is
one of the easiest things going to steal when there are Boers about.
They always leave them standing just where they dismount, and will be in
a store or a drinking-place for an hour at a time without attending to
them."
"It is not the difficulty, but the risk; for even if a thief gets off
with a pony, he is almost sure to be hunted down. It is regarded as a
sort of offence against the community, and a man, whether a native or a
mean white, would get a very short shrift if he were caught on a stolen
horse."
"Yes, I know.
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