for some time they continued their journey, meeting everywhere with the grossest incivility on the part of the boers; in many places they were refused water at the farms, and warned at once off the land, and mr harvey had the greatest difficulty in keeping his own temper and restraining the boys from resenting the language of the boers.
one day, as they were riding along, two boers on horseback halted on an eminence near the road and addressed taunting remarks to them; they made no answer, but continued their way. they had not gone a hundred yards when one of the boers deliberately took aim and fired at them; the ball passed between dick and mr harvey and struck one of the natives walking just in front of them, killing him upon the spot. this was too much. mr harvey and the lads wheeled their horses, unslung their rifles, and fired at the boers, who were galloping away. one of them at once dropped from his saddle, shot through the head; the other reeled, but, retaining his seat, galloped off at full speed.
“this is a bad business, boys,” mr harvey said; “we could not help it, but it will bring trouble upon us. now let us branch off from the road we are following, and make for leydenberg; we are within three days’ march of that place. there is an english garrison there, and justice will be done. if we push on straight for standerton, we shall be overtaken and probably killed before we get there.”
the bullocks’ heads were turned towards the southeast, and at the best pace the teams were driven across the country. several large native kraals were passed in the course of the day, and after a march of nearly double the ordinary length the caravan halted for the night on the banks of a stream. a sharp watch was kept all night, but nothing particular happened.
just as they were about to inspan the oxen in the morning some fifteen or twenty men were seen approaching at a gallop. the oxen were at once driven again to the laager, and every man seized his arms. the dutchmen halted at a distance of a hundred yards, and then three of them rode up to the caravan.
“what do you want?” mr harvey said, advancing on foot in front of the waggons, while the lads and the three hunters stood, rifles in hand, behind them.
“we summon you to surrender,” the boers said; “you have murdered mr van burer and wounded mr schlessihoff.”
“we have done nothing of the sort,” mr harvey answered. “we were going quietly along the road when those men insulted us; we passed on without answering. after we had gone a hundred yards they fired at us, narrowly missed me, and killed one of my men. we fired back, and with the result you have named. we are quite ready to answer for our conduct, and when we get to leydenberg we shall at once deliver ourselves up to the magistrate, and report what has occurred, and you can then bring any charge you want to make against us.”
“you will never get to leydenberg,” the boers said scoffingly; “we are your magistrates and judges; we want no english law here. once for all, will you surrender?”
“we certainly will not,” mr harvey replied, “and if you molest us it will be at your peril.”
without another word the boers turned their horses’ heads and rode back to their comrades; upon their joining them the whole rode some little distance to the rear, and then divided, half turning to the left, the other to the right.
“what on earth are they going to do?” dick asked in surprise.
“they are going to surround us,” mr harvey said; “they will dismount and leave their horses in shelter. now, lads, out with all the bales of skins and pile them up under the waggons.”
all hands set to work, and soon under each waggon a thick breastwork of bales was erected, reaching nearly up to the floor, leaving only enough space to see out of and fire; the three whites and the hunters took station, one under each waggon, the teamsters and other natives being distributed round the square. quickly as they had laboured, the preparations were not complete, when from a brow, at the distance of about a hundred yards from the laager, a shot was fired, the bullet burying itself with a thud in one of the bales of skins; almost instantly from every point in a circle round other shots were fired, and the splintering of wood and the dull sounds, as the shots struck the barricade, told how accurate was their aim.
mr harvey’s orders had been, “don’t throw away a shot. when you see the flash of a rifle, aim steadily at that point; the next time a head is lifted to take aim, hit it.” the natives were ordered on no account to fire, unless the boers attempted to close, but to lie quietly under shelter of the defences. in consequence of these orders not a shot replied to the first volley of the boers; but when the second round commenced, puffs of smoke darted from beneath the waggons. dick and tom knew that their shots had been successful, for the heads at which they had aimed lay clearly in view, and no discharge came from the rifles pointed towards them. the other shots must have passed near their marks, and after this first exhibition of the shooting powers of the defenders, the boers became much more careful, firing only at intervals, and shifting their ground each time, before they raised their heads to take aim. so the whole day passed, a dropping fire being kept up on both sides. the defenders were convinced by the end of the day that seven or eight of the boers had fallen, but their places had been more than filled by new-comers who had been seen galloping across the plain towards the scene of conflict. on the side of the defenders no casualties had occurred.
towards evening the fire died away, and tom and dick joined mr harvey.
“what will they do next?”
“i don’t know, dick; the boers are by no means fond of exposing themselves to danger, as has been proved over and over again in their fights with natives. they must have suffered already a great deal more than they bargained for, and are no doubt heartily sick of the job. they may try a rush at night, though i question whether they will do so. i rather imagine that their tactics will be to besiege us until we are driven to make a move, and then to attack us by the way. fortunately the stream is close at hand, and we can get water for our cattle. still, there must be an end of it at some time or other.”
blacking now crept under the waggon.
“massa, what you say?—me think the best plan will be for me to crawl out and run to chief mangrope; his place twenty miles away; he always hate the dutch, and refuse to pay tribute; several times they have sent parties against him, but he always beat them off. blacking tell him that de boers attack english, and that if he come down and help drive them off you give him one team of fine oxen,—he come.”
“i think your plan is a very good one, blacking; but do you think that you can get through?”
“get through those stupid boers? easily,” blacking said contemptuously.
“very well, blacking; then, as soon as it is dark, you had better start.”
blacking nodded and withdrew, and an hour afterwards stole out from the camp.
as soon as night fell the boers opened fire again, this time aiming entirely at the end of the waggons nearest the water, evidently with the intention of rendering it difficult to procure water from the stream.
mr harvey and his companions answered by firing at the flashes. as they hoped that rescue would arrive ere long, mr harvey did not permit any one to go outside shelter to fetch water, as the animals had been watered in the morning the first thing, and could, if necessary, hold out until the following night.
just as daylight was breaking a tremendous yell was heard, followed by a hasty discharge of muskets; then there was the sound of horses’ hoofs galloping at full speed, and then, headed by blacking, two to three hundred natives came up to the camp. the chief himself was among them. mr harvey had on several occasions traded with him, and now thanked him warmly for the welcome aid he had brought him.
the boers were already far away, each man having run to his horse and galloped off, panic-stricken at the sudden attack. the oxen were at once inspanned, two being taken from each team and presented to the chief, together with a large bale of cotton in return for his assistance. the caravan then started, and after a march of sixteen hours arrived at leydenberg.
“it is an awful nuisance,” dick said to tom on the march, “our being obliged to come round here. if everything had gone straight, i calculated that we might be at home by christmas-eve. now, goodness only knows when we shall arrive; for, as likely as not, we may be kept here for days over this row with the boers.”
the moment they arrived at leydenberg mr harvey, accompanied by the two lads and the three native hunters, went to the house of the magistrate. that gentleman had just finished his dinner; but on being told that his visitors’ business was urgent he asked them to be shown in. the hunters remained outside, and the lads followed mr harvey into the house.
“i have come to make a complaint against some boers,” the trader said.
“then i can tell you beforehand,” the magistrate put in, “that your mission is a vain one. outside this town i have not at present the slightest authority. complaints reach me on all sides of outrages perpetrated by the boers upon english settlers and traders. strong armed parties are moving about the country; and although i will of course hear anything that you have got to say, with a view of obtaining redress when things settle down again, i cannot hold out any hope of being able to take action at present.”
“i have scarcely come to you, sir, with the idea of obtaining redress, but rather of stating my case, in case the boers should bring a complaint against me.”
the trader then proceeded to relate the circumstances which had occurred: the wanton attack upon them in the first place, the murder of one of their servants, the killing of one and the wounding of the other of the aggressors, the subsequent attack upon their camp, and their relief by mangrope.
“i think you have got remarkably well out of the affair, and although the attack of the boers has cost you the life of one of your followers and twelve oxen, as you have killed eight or ten of them you have made matters more than even, and have, moreover, given them a lesson which may be useful. i will take down your depositions, as it is as well that your friends here, and the hunters you speak of, should testify to it. it is hardly likely that i shall hear any more of the matter; the boers were clearly in the wrong, and in any case they would not be likely at the present moment, when the country is in a state very closely approaching insurrection, to seek redress in an english court. fortunately 250 men of the 94th regiment leave here to-morrow morning, on the way to pretoria. their road will, for some distance, be the same as yours; their colonel is at the present moment in the next room with several of his officers, and i will request permission for your waggons to follow his baggage-train. thus you can keep with him until the road separates, by which time you will be well out of the district of the boers who attacked you. you will, i suppose, go through utrecht and keep the eastern road, as that will be shorter than going round by standerton and newcastle. if you will wait here for a few minutes, i will speak to the colonel.”
in a short time the magistrate returned, saying that mr harvey’s six waggons might join the baggage-train of the 94th on the following morning.
at eight o’clock the 94th marched from leydenberg, and mr harvey’s waggons fell in the rear of the column. as they had a considerable amount of baggage and stores, the column would not proceed at a faster rate than the ordinary pace of the bullock-train.
when the column was once on the march, the colonel rode down the line and entered into conversation with mr harvey and the lads, who were riding with him, and after having heard the narrative of the fight with the boers, he said to the lads, “you have had a baptism of fire early.”
mr harvey smiled.
“they have had some very much more serious fighting in the country north of the limpopo; besides, they were both present at isandula, kambula, and ulundi.”
“indeed!” the colonel said; “then they have seen fighting. perhaps you will ride on with me to the head of the column again; we have a long day’s march before us, and if your young friends will give us some of their experiences it will while away the time.”
the four cantered together to the head of the column, where the doctor and one or two other officers were riding. after a word or two of introduction the colonel asked the lads to tell them how they came to be at isandula, and how they escaped to tell the tale.
“you had better tell it, dick,” tom said; “you are a better hand at talking than i.”
dick accordingly proceeded to relate their adventures during the zulu war, and the story excited great interest among the officers. when the column halted for the day, the colonel invited mr harvey and the lads to dine at the mess, and would not listen to any excuse on the ground that their clothes were better suited for travelling among the native tribes than for dining at a regimental mess.
the dinner was a very pleasant one, and after the cloth had been removed and cigars were lit, mr harvey, at the colonel’s request, related their adventures north of the limpopo.
“your life is indeed an adventurous one,” he said, when the trader had finished. “it needs endurance, pluck, coolness, and a steady finger on the trigger. you may truly be said, indeed, to carry your lives in your hands.”
“our present journey has been an exceptionally adventurous one,” mr harvey said, “and you must not suppose that we are often in the habit of fighting our way. i have indeed on several occasions been in very perilous positions, and some other evening, before we separate, i shall be glad, if it will interest you, to relate one or two of them.”
“by the way,” the colonel said, when they took their leave, “remember, the word for the night is, ‘newcastle.’ you will probably be challenged several times by sentries before you get to your waggons, for, although there is no absolute insurrection at present, there is no saying when the boers may break out. they will hardly think of attacking a body of troops marching peaceably along; still, it is as well to neglect no precautions. if you are challenged, ‘who comes there?’ you will reply, ‘friends.’ the sentry will then say, ‘advance and give the word.’ you walk forward and say, ‘newcastle,’ and you will pass all right.”
the march was continued for four days. at the end of this time they arrived at the spot where the direct road for pieter-maritzburg through utrecht left that which they were following.
“look here, lads,” mr harvey said; “this road will take you considerably out of your way. if you like you can follow the column for another couple of days. you will then cross the south road, and can there leave them and gallop on by yourselves to standerton in one day, and home the next. that will take you back by the 23rd; whereas, if you go on with me, you will not be back by new year’s day. we are getting now to a part of the colony where the english element is pretty strong, and the boers are not likely to be troublesome; so i shall have no difficulty in passing down with the waggons. you can tell your fathers that we have had a most satisfactory trip, and i expect when i have sold our goods at durban they will have good reason to be content.”
the lads gladly accepted the offer; they were longing to be at home again, and especially wished to be back by christmas.
the colonel on hearing of the arrangement heartily invited the lads to mess with the regiment for the time that they continued with them, and offered to have a spare tent pitched for their accommodation.
