Part 44 (2/2)

”There are two ladies looking for Harmony,” he said. ”They are at the front gate and want to see you.”

Hansie immediately went out and met two girls, strangers to her, coming up the garden-path.

”Good evening,” she said. ”Do you wish to see my mother?”

”Who are you?” was the somewhat unexpected but perfectly natural question.

”I am Miss van Warmelo. Do you want any one here?”

”Yes,” one of them replied in a hurried and mysterious way. ”There are two men at your garden gate and they want to see Mrs. van Warmelo.”

”Won't you ask them to come up to the house?” Hansie asked. ”You can't very well expect my mother to----”

”Oh yes, she must,” the other broke in hurriedly; ”it is all right--she knows them. They will tell her themselves what they want.”

”Wait here a moment. I will call my mother.”

Hansie had some trouble in persuading her mother to leave the house.

”I am not going down to the gate to see any men,” she said. ”Let them come up to me.”

”They won't, mother. It is no use. There is something behind this.

They are either our own spies or the English are setting a trap for us. Be on your guard, but come out into the garden.”

Sorely against her will Mrs. van Warmelo hurried out of the house, where she gave the girls a cool and haughty reception, saying:

”I don't understand this. Will you be good enough to ask your friends to come up to my house if they wish to speak to me?” And with that she turned back to the house alone.

Girl No. 1 said, ”I think I had better go and fetch them, they are waiting near the wire fence,” and walked rapidly down the path, while Hansie followed slowly with girl No. 2, asking many questions, but getting none but the most unsatisfactory replies.

When they reached the gate, girl No. 1 had disappeared altogether and there was no sign of the men. Hansie thought this very suspicious, and was about to turn to her companion with an impatient remark, when she suddenly said something about going to look for girl No. 1 and disappeared too, leaving Hansie standing alone at the gate with her troubled reflections.

Men and girls had now disappeared for good it seemed, and, after what seemed an endless time of waiting, she decided to go back to the house, when she was suddenly joined by her mother, now thoroughly alarmed.

”It must be a trap, dear mother,” she whispered. ”I can't make it out.

Ah, here is some one coming at last”--but then her heart stood still, for a tall English officer, with helmet on and armed to the teeth, advanced, saluting the two ladies in the pale light of the young moon.

”Naude,” he whispered, stretching out his hands to them.

Captain Naude in an English officer's uniform! Thank G.o.d, thank G.o.d!

In a moment all was happy confusion.

The Captain introduced his corporal, Venter, warmly took leave of girls No. 1 and 2, thanking them gratefully for services rendered by them that night, and then the four people sauntered up to the house, talking loudly as they pa.s.sed the sergeant-major's tin ”villa” on the other side of the fence.

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