Part 5 (1/2)
”I've never seen any of it!” said the previous speaker. ”Bah! Rubbis.h.!.+
They drive us out of South Africa! Why, that would mean taking Rhodesia too.”
”Of course,” replied Ingleborough, ”and that's what they believe they are going to do.”
”With popguns?”
”No,” said Ingleborough gravely; ”but with their rifles. Do you know that they can at any time arm a hundred thousand men with the best magazine-rifles in the world?”
”No!” came in chorus. ”We don't.”
”And that they have a magnificent force of artillery, which includes such guns as would dwarf any that we could bring against them, thoroughly outrange ours, and that in addition they have a great number of repeating-cannon--Maxims and Nordenfelts? Above all, they have a vast supply of ammunition.”
”Where did they get it from?” cried one.
”The moon,” shouted another, and there was a roar.
”The fellow's a regular Boer himself,” shouted a man behind; and there was a hiss raised, followed by a menacing groan, which made West's blood tingle as he closed up to his friend's side.
”The old story,” said Ingleborough contemptuously, ”You can't bear the honest truth.”
”Yes, we can,” cried one of the men; ”but we can't bear lies. Do you think we are fools to believe your c.o.c.k-and-bull stories about magazine-rifles and guns that would dwarf all that the British Army could bring up against the Boers?”
”You can do as you like about believing,” said Ingleborough coldly. ”I have only told you what I learned for myself when I was staying in Pretoria.”
”And do you mean to tell us that the Boers have guns like that?”
”I do,” said Ingleborough.
”Then where did they get them?”
”From the great French and German makers, From Creusot and Krupp.”
”And how did they get them up to Pretoria?”
”From the Cape and Delagoa Bay.”
”What nonsense!” cried another voice. ”Their arms and ammunition would have been stopped at once. What do you say to that?”
”The Boers are slim,” said Ingleborough. ”Hundreds of tons of war material have been going up-country for years as ironmongery goods and machinery. They have a tremendous a.r.s.enal there, and they mean to fight, as you'll see before long.”
The hissing and threatening sounds ceased, for there was so much conviction in the tone adopted by the speaker that his hearers began to feel uneasy and as if there might be something in the declarations, while, upon Ingleborough turning to West with: ”Come Oliver, let's get home!” the little crowd of volunteers hedged the pair in, and the man who had been the most ready to laugh laid a hand upon his arm.
”Hold hard a minute,” he cried frankly. ”I felt ready to laugh at you and chaff all your words; but I'm not going to be a dunder-headed fool and shut my eyes to danger if there really is any. Look here, Ingleborough: are you an alarmist, or is there really any truth in what you have said?”
”It is all true,” replied the young man calmly.
”Well, then, I for one will believe you, my lad; for, now you have spoken out as you have, I begin to put that and that together and I feel that the Boers have been playing dark.”
”They have been playing dark,” said Ingleborough warmly, ”and I should not be surprised to hear any day that they had declared war and found us anything but prepared.”