the sounds of firing still continued as ronald mervyn, with his party of burghers, rode at the top of their speed towards mr. armstrong's house. as they neared it a number of kaffirs were seen gathered round it. as these perceived the approach of the horsemen there was a movement of flight, but a chief who was with them, seeing the smallness of the force approaching, called upon them to stand, and they at once gathered to meet the advancing horsemen.
"halt," ronald shouted as he pulled up his horse a hundred and fifty yards from the house, "there are a couple of hundred of them; we shall be riddled with spears if we charge them, and shall throw away our lives without being of any assistance to our friends. dismount, lads, and tie your horses up to the trees. don't tie them too firmly, for if they make a rush we must ride off and then return again. now each get behind a tree and open a steady fire upon them. let each pick out his man and don't throw away a shot. don't all fire together. let the man on the right fire first, and then the one next to him, and so on, so that two or three of the right hand men can be loaded again before the last on the left has emptied his rifle."
a second or two later the first rifle spoke out and a native fell. shot after shot was fired and every bullet told. the two chiefs were among the first who fell, and their loss to some extent paralysed the advance of the natives. some of them ran back to the shelter under the house, but forty or fifty of them with loud shouting rushed forward.
"give them one volley," ronald shouted, "and then to your horses."
every loaded gun was discharged; the men unhitched their horses, sprang into their saddles, and dashed off. all were accustomed to load on horseback, and as soon as the cartridges were down and the caps on, ronald led them back again. the natives were this time holding the orchard. ronald took a sweep as if to cut them off from the house, and, afraid of being separated, they ran back to rejoin their comrades. a volley was poured in, and then a charge was made upon them, sword and pistol in hand.
for a minute or two there was a sharp fight. many of the natives were shot or cut down, while several of the burghers received assegai wounds.
a large body of natives were running up to the assistance of their comrades, when the six men of the mounted rifles rode up. the advancing natives paused at the sight of the soldiers, and before they could make up their minds to advance, the greater portion of those who had occupied the orchard were killed.
"draw off fifty yards," ronald said, "and reload rifles and pistols."
this was done, and several steady volleys poured into the kaffirs.
"that will do," ronald said; "they are beginning to slip off. now we will charge straight down upon them; i and my troopers will cut our way through and enter the house. there is fighting going on in there still. do you, gentlemen, take our horses as we dismount, and ride off, and then open fire again on the rascals from a distance. we shall be able to hold the house if we can once enter."
the plan was carried out. with a desperate charge they burst through the natives round the door. ronald and the troopers sprang to the ground, and threw the reins of their horses to the colonists who caught them and rode off again.
"close the door behind you," ronald said, as he sprang forward into the passage, which was crowded with natives. the troopers followed him, closing and barring the door behind them. there was a sharp fight in the passage, but ronald's two revolvers and the rifles of his men were more than a match for the natives, and in two or three minutes the last of them fell.
"close and bar all the shutters," ronald shouted, as he rushed into the dining-room, over the bodies of eight or ten natives lying inside.
his appearance was greeted with a hearty cheer, and mr. armstrong and three or four others ran in through the door of an inner room.
"thank god we are in time," ronald said, grasping mr. armstrong's hand.
"thank god, indeed," the farmer replied. "we have had a hot time for the last hour."
"miss armstrong is not hurt, i hope?"
"no, she has escaped without a scratch, and i think that that's more than any of the rest of us can say."
"i must see about my men now," ronald said; "will you get all the shutters downstairs fastened and barred?"
ronald ran out and found that his men had just succeeded in clearing the house. they had found several kaffirs upstairs engaged in the work of plundering. some of them had been cut down, whilst others had jumped from the open windows. as soon as the shutters had been fastened, ronald and his men took their places at the upper windows and opened fire upon the natives, who were already drawing off. the fire of the defenders of the house was aided by that of the burghers, and the retreat of the natives soon became a flight, many dropping before they were out of range of the rifles. as soon as the natives were fairly in retreat ronald again went downstairs, where he found mr. armstrong and the other defenders of the house engaged attending upon the wounded. ronald looked round the room.
"my daughter is in there," mr. armstrong said, pointing to the inner room. "she has behaved splendidly through it all, but she broke down when she found that the danger was over. i think you had better leave her alone for a few minutes."
"no wonder!" ronald said, as he looked round the room. seven or eight natives lay dead close to the doorway, three or four others in other parts of the room, three white men and two women also lay dead; and on the ground lay a table-cloth, broken plates and dishes, and the remains of a feast. mr. armstrong and four other farmers were now engaged in attending to each other's wounds, and binding them up with bandages made out of strips of the table-cloth.
"i was never so pleased in my life," mr. armstrong said, "as when i heard the first sound of your guns. who you were i could not of course make out, but i supposed it must be a party from one of the villages which had got news of the attack on us here."
"it is partly so, sir," ronald said. "we have six of our men besides myself, and fourteen or fifteen burghers joined us as we came along. i hear them riding up to the door now. i am sorry to say that no more were to be obtained, for the attack has been general, and i fear that three parts of the villages along the frontier have been destroyed, and their inhabitants massacred. fortunately we arrived in time to save the place where we were before encamped, and to rescue a few of those at the next village. but at fully half the farmhouses we passed the work of massacre had already been carried out."
the front door was now opened, and the burghers entered. ronald found that two of the party had been killed in the charge up to the house, and that most of them had received more or less serious wounds in the fight, while three of the rifles had also been pierced with the assegais. he himself had been struck by a spear that had glanced off his ribs, inflicting a nasty flesh wound, while another assegai had laid open his cheek. mary armstrong and two other women now came out from the inner room and assisted in dressing the wounds, while the men who were unhurt carried the bodies of the kaffirs who had fallen in the house some distance away, while those of the white men and women were placed side by side in another room. they then got buckets of water and soon removed the pools of blood from the floor.
"now, mary," mr. armstrong said, "will you and your friends get a fresh table-cloth out, and bring in some cold meat and bread and anything else that you can lay your hands on, for our brave friends? the rascals can't have had time to find out our cellar, and though i don't think any of our party want anything to eat, a draught of spirits and water will be acceptable all round."
"not for those who are wounded, father; tea will be better for them, i am sure."
"perhaps it will, my dear."
the women were glad of something to do. one of them was the wife of one of the farmers who had fallen, but she, too, in a dull mechanical manner, aided mary armstrong and the other, and as soon as the place was made quite tidy, six or seven children, of different ages, were called out from the inner room.
ronald and the troopers did justice to the food, for they had ridden upwards of sixty miles, and had had nothing to eat save a piece of hard biscuit before starting.
"now," mr. armstrong said, when their appetites were appeased, "tell us by what miracle you arrived here just in time to save us. i thought all the troops in the colony were somewhere near fort cox, at least that was the news that came to us yesterday."
"so we were, sir," ronald said. "a column advanced from there yesterday morning, and were attacked by the kaffirs in the gorge of the keiskamma and some twenty or thirty killed and wounded. it occurred through the treachery of the kaffir police, all of whom deserted last night. some parties were sent off the first thing this morning to warn the border settlements, but i am afraid that very few of them arrived in time. we shall have terrible tidings, i fear, of this day's work everywhere."
"you are in command of this party?"
"yes; i got my corporal's stripes the day before yesterday, and i was lucky enough to be chosen to command this detachment, as i knew the country; and now, sir, how did this business begin here?"
"we were at dinner," mr. armstrong said, "when without the least notice, just as we had finished, there was a rush through the door. all my friends had brought their rifles with them, and the instant the kaffirs entered we knew what was up. those who could caught their rifles, others snatched up table-knives, and the fight began. as you saw, several of our party were killed at once, but the rest of us made such a good fight with our clubbed rifles and knives that for the moment we cleared the room, then two of us held the door while the rest fell back into the inner room, where, fortunately, all the children were at the time, for the table was not large enough to hold us all, and they had had their meal first.
"directly those who got in there recapped their rifles—for we found that our rascally hottentot servants had removed the caps while we were at dinner—thompson and i, who were at the door, fell back. then, you see, matters were easy enough. two of us were posted at the door of the inner room, and the moment a native showed himself inside the door of this room he was shot down. of course we had shut the shutters of the inner room directly we entered, and one of us kept guard there. i don't think the kaffirs would ever have forced their way in; but no doubt, as soon as they had stripped the house of everything valuable to them, they would have set it on fire, and then we should have had the choice of being burnt out here or being speared outside.
"i need not say that we had all agreed that it was a thousand times better to die here than to trust ourselves to those fiends, who always put their prisoners to death with atrocious tortures. anyhow, my friends, we owe our lives to you, for sooner or later the end must have come to us. now what are you going to do? you do not think of pushing on any further, i hope."
"no, i think that would be useless," ronald said. "the massacre is apparently universal, and evidently began at the same time all along the line. we should be too late to warn any one now. still," he said, rising suddenly from his seat, "we might not be too late to rescue them. there may be other parties holding out. i hadn't thought of that, and we had better push on further."
"i doubt if our horses can go any further," one of the men said. "mine could scarcely carry me for the last five miles."
"yes, that is so," ronald said. "i think my horse is good for another twenty miles, and the horses of our friends the burghers are quite fresh, so i will leave you here and ride on with them. you will, of course, keep a sharp look-out; but i do not think it likely that they will renew the attack. they must have lost between fifty and sixty men. i will ride on with the burghers to the last settlement along this line. it is not, i think, more than twenty miles further. we will sleep there and return the first thing in the morning. by that time, mr. armstrong, you will, i suppose, be ready to move into town."
"yes, i shall be ready by that time," the farmer said. "i sent off four loads of wheat yesterday morning, and the waggons will be back to-night. i will pack everything i want to take, and we shall be ready to start by the time you return. of course, i shall drive the cattle with us—that is, if there are any cattle left to drive."
"i saw them in the kraal behind the house as we rode up," ronald said. "i suppose the kaffirs thought they might as well finish with you first, and they could then divide the cattle among them at their leisure."
"well, that's good news," the settler said. "i made sure they were all gone. but don't you think you have done enough for to-day?"
"yes; don't go any further," mary armstrong added.
"i feel that it is my duty to go, miss armstrong. i would much rather stay, i can assure you, but it's possible some of the garrisons may be holding out."
"yes, we are wrong to ask you to stay," mr. armstrong said; "but just wait a minute, my horses are kraaled with the cattle. i will bring one round and change the saddles; it will be a pity to founder that splendid horse of yours. you see he has got a lot of english blood in him, and can't go on for ever like our cape horses."
five minutes later, mounted on a fresh horse, ronald started with the burghers. every farm they visited exhibited a spectacle of desolation; many had been forsaken some time previously, but they had been broken into, and, in many cases, fired. in others, the bodies of the occupants were beneath the embers of their homes; in a few the settlers had not been taken unawares, and stains of blood round the buildings showed that they had sold their lives dearly, and inflicted considerable loss on the kaffirs before they had succeeded in bursting open the doors. in one little cluster of three or four houses, the bodies of men, women, and children lay scattered about; but one stoutly-built farmhouse, inhabited by a boer farmer and six sons, had resisted all the attacks of the kaffirs. the natives had drawn off before the arrival of the troops. the boer stated that he intended to see it out.
"two of my sons," he said, "have already driven off the cattle and horses. i have got a couple of cows in milk in the shed adjoining the house, and i shall bring them inside at night. the kaffirs will never beat down my shutters or door, and one of us will watch by turns, so that we will give it them hot if they do venture to come on; but i think they have had pretty nearly enough of us."
this was the only house where a successful resistance was made, and on getting to the last station the party bivouacked near the ruins of the house, and, placing two men on guard, were soon asleep. they were undisturbed till morning, and mounting as soon as it was daylight, rode back to mr. armstrong's station. three waggons had arrived late the night before, and with the assistance of the troopers were already loaded with furniture and other effects.
two of the burghers offered to assist mr. armstrong in driving his cattle and horses to king williamstown. the party was accompanied by the other settlers and their families, several of whom had saved their waggons and animals, as the kaffirs had made their first attack upon mr. armstrong, knowing from the hottentot servants that the settlers from three or four of the adjoining farms would be gathered there. their defeat, therefore, had saved not only mr. armstrong's, but the other farms from pillage. very warm were the thanks that the settlers, before starting, bestowed upon ronald and the troopers, and ronald, as soon as the caravan had started, rode somewhat thoughtfully off with his men to the first place he had visited.
here they found that the kaffirs, after they had left, had made a determined attack upon the place, but had been beaten off with much loss after several hours' fighting. the settlers were now, however, occupied in preparing to leave their farms, as the attack might at any moment be renewed, and perhaps with overwhelming numbers. the party of mounted police remained in the village until the following morning, as their horses, after their heavy work on the previous day, were not fit to take the long journey back to the camp. on the following morning they saw the settlers fairly on their way, and then galloped off to rejoin their corps at fort cox.
as they ascended a piece of rising ground within a mile of the fort, and obtained a fair view of it, they reined in their horses simultaneously. the fort itself appeared silent and deserted, but at a distance of a few hundred yards from it they could see a large number of men moving about.
"those are not soldiers," ronald exclaimed, "they must be kaffirs. by jove, the place is absolutely besieged. look at the puffs of smoke. yes, there can be no doubt about it. i expect the column has gone out again, and the kaffirs are trying to take it before they return. well, lads, it's too late in the afternoon now for us to do anything. we had better ride back two or three miles and then camp for the night. in the morning we must try and find out what has taken place, and where the troop have got to."
all agreed that this was the best plan, and they accordingly rode quietly back, as for aught they could tell keen eyes might be upon them. they did not attempt to halt until it was quite dark, when they turned off at right angles to their former course, and after riding for about a mile, encamped in a clump of bushes. they had plenty of cold meat with them, for the settlers had, before starting, filled their haversacks. there was, therefore, no occasion to light a fire, which, indeed, they would in no case have done, as, should a kaffir catch sight of a light, he would assuredly bring an overpowering force down upon them.
"we will have two out on sentry, and relieve guard every hour," ronald said, "but we can eat our meal in comfort first. there is no fear of their coming down upon us at present, at any rate."
the manner in which he had led them in the attack on the kaffirs had greatly impressed the men, and they yielded as ready and willing obedience, as if their corporal had been an officer. after the meal was over, ronald placed a sentry on each side of the bush.
"i will relieve you at the end of an hour," he said. "keep your ears open. i shall go out for a bit and reconnoitre, and mind you don't shoot me as i come back. i will give a low whistle, like this, when i get near you. if you hear any one approaching, and he doesn't whistle, challenge, but don't shout too loud, or you might be heard by any kaffirs who may be in search of us. if he don't answer, challenge again, and then step into the bushes. if he comes on, and you are sure it is a man, fire; but don't fire if you have the slightest doubt, for it might be a stray animal, and your rifle might bring the kaffirs down on us."
during the greater part of the night, ronald moved about, keeping about a hundred yards from the clump, and returning every hour to see the sentries changed. towards morning, having heard nothing to lead him to suppose that there were any kaffirs in the neighbourhood, he returned to the bushes, and threw himself down for a couple of hours' sleep. at daybreak, they were in the saddle again, and approaching as near as they dared to the fort, they concealed themselves, and presently succeeded in capturing a kaffir woman who was out collecting sticks. one of the troop knew a little of the language, and from her they learnt that the greater part of the soldiers had marched away on the previous morning, and also gathered the direction they had taken. keeping up a vigilant look-out, they rode in that direction, and presently met a detachment of the 91st and their own troop of the rifles marching back to fort cox.
the force was under the command of colonel somerset, the colonel of the cape mounted rifles. captain twentyman, to whom ronald reported himself, rode forward at once to the colonel with the news that fort cox was invested by the enemy. ronald was sent for, and questioned as to the strength of the kaffirs. he said that owing to the position from which he had seen them, he only commanded a view of a portion of the ground. there appeared to him to be seven or eight hundred men so far as he could see, but, of course, there might have been double that force on the other side.
"well, i think we ought to push forward at once," the colonel said to the officer commanding the infantry. "the governor is in the fort, and the force for its defence is a very small one. at any rate we must try to relieve him."
the troops were halted for half an hour, and as the news soon spread that the kaffirs were beleaguering fort cox, and that they would probably have to fight their way through, they formed up with alacrity as soon as the order was given. the cape mounted rifles went out in skirmishing order, ahead of the infantry, keeping a vigilant look-out for lurking foes. the men had learned from ronald's party of the massacre at the border settlements, and were burning with impatience to get at the enemy.
after marching two miles, the column came to a spot where a broad belt of wood extended across the country. as the mounted men approached this, several assegais were hurled from the bushes. the cavalry replied with their rifles, and then fell back upon the infantry, who advanced with a cheer against the wood. half the cavalry were dismounted, and, handing their horses to their comrades, advanced on foot. ronald was one of those who remained behind. keeping up a heavy fire at their invisible foe, the 91st advanced into the wood. the troopers with the horses listened anxiously to the sound of the fray—the rattle of musketry, the loud reports of the kaffir rifles, and their shrill yells, amid which a british cheer could be occasionally heard.
"it's hot work in there, corporal," lieutenant daniels said. "too hot to be pleasant, i should say. judging by the yelling, the wood must be full of kaffirs."
"i should think so too, sir," ronald agreed. "i fancy each kaffir is capable of doing an immense amount of yelling; but still, as you say, the wood must be full of them to make such a terrific noise as that."
a quarter of an hour passed, and then the rifles emerged from the wood. those with the horses at once galloped forward to meet them, and soon all were in the saddle. ronald heard captain twentyman, who had led the dismounted party, say to the lieutenant:
"there are too many of them, daniels; the wood is crowded with them. take half the troop and draw off to the right, and i will take the other half to the left. the 91st will fall back directly. as they come out, prepare to charge the kaffirs in flank if they pursue them."
now the redcoats began to appear at the edge of the wood. they were in pairs, and every two men were carrying a wounded comrade. presently the main body came out in regular order with their faces to the enemy. with yells of triumph the kaffirs poured out from the wood. the rifles fidgeted in their saddles for the order to charge, but lieutenant daniels had his eye upon the other wing of the troop, and captain twentyman did not give the order to advance until he saw that the kaffirs were so far out upon the plain that they could not get back to the wood before he would be upon them. then he gave the order to charge, and as his men got into motion, lieutenant daniels gave the same order. as he saw the cavalry sweeping down, colonel somerset gave the word, and the 91st poured a tremendous volley into the kaffirs, and a moment later the two bodies of cavalry swept down on their flank. with a yell of fear the kaffirs ran for the wood, but numbers of them were cut down before they could gain shelter. then the cavalry fell back and joined the infantry. it was found there had been a desperate hand-to-hand struggle, bayonets against assegais. two officers and twenty privates had been killed, and a great many of the men wounded. they afterwards learned that the kaffir loss in killed had exceeded two hundred.
the party then fell back and rejoined colonel mackinnon. there was now an anxious consultation, when it was decided that as fort cox could probably resist all attacks of the enemy, it would be better not to attempt an advance to its relief until a junction had been effected with the other columns, which were now at a considerable distance away. on the 31st, the news reached them that that morning the governor, with a small body of cape mounted rifles, had made a dash right through the enemy, and had ridden to king williamstown, twelve miles away, where he had at once issued a proclamation calling upon the colonists to rise en masse to assist the troops to expel the gaikas from the amatolas, while a force of fingoes was at once ordered to be raised.
in the meantime, the kaffirs were plundering and destroying all over the country. the settlers entirely abandoned their farms; and the roads to williamstown, grahamstown, and beaufort were blocked with the great herds of cattle driven in. the news came that the gaikas had been joined by the t'slambies and tambookies, numbering not less than 15,000 men; and it was reported that an influential chief—kairie—who could put 10,000 men in the field, was preparing to make common cause with the rebels. the hottentots of the london missionary station at cat river, who had for years been fed and clothed by the government, and put into free possession of a beautiful and fertile district, joined the kaffirs, and took a leading part in their attacks on the settlers. their example was speedily followed by the so-called christian hottentots at the missionary settlements of shiloh and theopolis.
against such overpowering forces as were now leagued against him, the governor could do nothing with the small body of troops at his disposal, and was forced to remain inactive at williamstown until reinforcements could arrive. he contented himself, therefore, with throwing supplies into forts cox, white, and hare, this being accomplished only after severe contests with the natives. bodies of kaffirs had now completely overrun the colony, rendering even communication between the towns dangerous in the extreme, unless sent by messengers escorted by considerable bodies of troops.
on arriving at king williamstown, ronald mervyn was greatly disappointed to find that the armstrongs had gone on to grahamstown. he found a letter awaiting him from mr. armstrong, saying that he was very sorry to leave without another opportunity of thanking him for the immense services he had rendered him, "but," he said, "my daughter, now that it is all over, is terribly shaken by all she has gone through, and i think it necessary to get her to a place a little further removed from all this trouble. i shall probably leave for england before long. i hope to see you before we go, but, if not, i will write to you, giving you our address in england, and we shall both be very glad to see you if you return, as i hope you will, and that before long. we shall never forget how much we owe you."
"perhaps it is better so," ronald said, as he finished the letter. "it would only have made it harder for me if i had seen her again. for if there is one thing more certain than another, it is that i can never ask any woman to be my wife."
the cape town rifles were before long joined by two troops from cape town and elizabeth town, and were continually employed in escorting convoys and carrying despatches. a batch of twenty recruits also came up to fill the vacancies that had already been made by the war, and to bring the troops engaged up to their full force. one of the four men who joined captain twentyman's troop gave a slight start of surprise as his eyes fell upon ronald mervyn. he looked at him several times, and a slight smile stole across his face.
"who is that corporal?" he asked one of the troopers.
"corporal blunt," the man said; "and a fine fellow he is, too. he led a small detachment of our men splendidly in an affair down by the kabousie river. why do you ask? have you ever seen him before?"
"no," the man said, carelessly; "but he reminded me of some one i knew at home."
"he is a first-rate soldier," the man said, "and i expect he will get the first vacancy among the sergeants. we all think he has been an officer, though he never talks about it. he's the best-tempered fellow possible, but you can never get him to talk about the past. however, that makes no difference to us."
"not a bit," the recruit agreed. "i dare say he isn't the only one with a queer history in the regiment."
"i didn't say he had a queer history," the man replied, angrily. "he is as good a comrade, and as good a fellow as one wants to meet; there's not a man in the troop grudges his being pushed on."
"i meant no offence," the recruit said. "the man he reminded me of had a queer history, and i suppose that is what put it into my head."
"well, if you don't want your head punched, you had better say nothing against blunt," the trooper grumbled, "either in my hearing or out of it."
the recruit turned away and occupied himself in grooming his horse.
"this is a rum start," he said to himself. "who would have thought of meeting captain mervyn out here? i saw in one of the papers, soon after i came out, the account of his trial. i wonder how i should have felt if i had been standing in his place? so he has changed his name. i suppose he arrived at the cape when i was up the country, and must have enlisted at once, for it's nearly three months since i joined the dep?t, and a draft had only sailed the day before. at any rate it's not likely he will know me; not that he could do me any harm if he did, still it's always useful to know a man and to know something against him, especially when he doesn't know you. if i ever get into a row i can put the screw on nicely."
as the recruit, who had enlisted in the name of jim smith, had expected would be the case, ronald mervyn's eye showed no signs of recognition as it fell upon his face. he thought the new recruit was a strapping fellow, and would be a good man to have beside one in a hand-to-hand fight with the kaffirs; but beyond this he gave him no further thought.
a considerable number of the fingo allies had now arrived at king williamstown. they had no idea whatever of discipline, and looked every bit as wild as their kaffir foes. but there was no doubt they were ready to fight, for they were eager to be led against the kaffirs, who had so long kept them in slavery. they had been armed with muskets, and each carried a heavy knobkerrie. at present they had nothing to do but to sleep and eat, to dance war dances, and to get drunk whenever they could obtain sufficient money to indulge in that luxury.
they were accompanied by their wives, who not only waited upon and cooked for them, but earned money by going out into the woods and bringing in bundles of faggots. numbers of hottentot women were engaged upon the same work, while the men of the same tribe looked after the great herds of cattle, furnished drivers for the waggons, helped in the commissariat stores, and, so far as their lazy nature permitted, made themselves useful.
"if i were the general," ronald said one day to sergeant menzies, "i wouldn't have a hottentot about the place. i believe that they are all in league with the enemy. look how they all went over from the missionary stations, and the farmers tell me they left in the majority of cases on the day before the massacre. it's quite evident that the kaffirs somehow always get information of our movements. how could they have laid that ambush for us at keiskamma river if they had not known the column was going that way? how was it they were ready to attack the detachments that went with provisions to the forts? it could not have been from their own people, for not a kaffir has been near us since the troubles began. i believe it's these hateful little hottentots."
"they are hateful," the sergeant said, "whether they are traitors or not. except the bushmen, i do believe that they are the most disgusting race on the face of the earth, with their stunted bodies and their yellow faces, and their filthy and disgusting ways. i don't know that i should turn them out of the camp if i were the general, but i should certainly order them to be washed. if you get half-a-dozen of them on the windy side of you, it's enough to make you sick."
"i wonder the kaffirs didn't exterminate the little brutes," ronald mervyn said. "i suppose they would have done if it had not been for the dutch first and us afterwards. the missionaries made pets of them, and nice pets they have turned out. it is just the same thing in india. it's the very dregs of the people the missionaries always pick up with."
