Part 15 (1/2)

The weeks that followed this passing through of the first band of defenders of their ”'arths, 'oraphically put it, while returning thanks for attentions received during their sojourn, constituted to Doppersdorp a period of theand sensational report was of daily occurrence, borne s of ruht and leading, notwithstanding its huge importance in the eyes of its citizens, was yet without such an appliance of raphic cos were kept alive, and everybody was happy!

And things were kept alive, with felicitous results

To begin with, there arose a large deood for the store-keepers, who booked orders briskly; for the farlish, were particular as to the quality of their weapons, but at such a juncture were less so as to price, as long as they were quickly supplied So great consignments of rifles, and revolvers, and ammunition, were slowly and painfully hauled up to Doppersdorp frohted So too were the Governent, if the first, was not the only h the townshi+p; and did not each and all require forage and rations?

Again, the , distinctly to the advantage of the coy of the local youth in the shape of nightly drill Such energy was thus better utilised than in taking to pieces the vehicle of so unguarded in an accessible spot, or in balancing a beaainst the door of so off a selection of volunteers upon active service to the front; and, whereas these consisted, for the most part, of rowdy and undisciplined spirits, their absence could not fail to be advantageous to Doppersdorp What their respective coht be found to say on the istrate was bitten with the prevailing death-or-glory fever; but alas! his proposal to turn out the whole district under arms at a day's notice, and to lead it in the field at the service of the Government, provided the requisite leave and Field-coranted him, was nal ingratitude--curt refusal, to wit, bordering on snub So having sworn for about five minutes upon the perusal of this reply, cheery little Peter Van Stolz lounged into the clerk's office, and having once more delivered hieneral, and that of the Cape Colony in particular, lighted his pipe, declared that he didn't care a damn, and that, after all, he'd be the sa away his accu on unvaried trek-ox, instead of running down to Cape Town to put in the sa a particularly good time So he stayed at home perforce, to direct the labours of the Civil establishment of Doppersdorp, which, in common with most of those in the border districts, were very much swelled by the outbreak of hostilities

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

A LIMED TWIG

Roden Musgrave was seated in his quarters, alone

It was a dark, rainy night, and rather a cold one A snug wood fire burned in the grate, and this he was loath to leave, although it was ed conscience into alloould prove the necessary sedative, was s bed But just as he had risen to carry out that intent, there came a knock at the back door

The house, we have said, was a very small one--two roo-room, and two at the back, a storeroo away lu into the sitting-room and kitchen respectively Towards the latter Roden nowthe while; for the knock had been a stealthy one--unmistakably so--and of as faint a nature as was compatible with audibility at all As he paused to listen, Roden laughed gri, and was just turning away to leave it unanswered when it was renewed, and with it, his ear caught the bass whisper of a Kaffir voice This put another light on the case A ht be involved

”What do you want?” he said, suddenly throwing open the door The light he carried fell upon the forrinned

”Why, it's To the lantern to the ood-hu ”Well, Toht? If it's another coainst your _baas_, you'll have to wait till to-morrow, my boy”

This, in allusion to a past case of disputed wages, wherein Tom had summoned his Hebraic e had still kept hirinned and shook his head It was no case of the kind, he declared, and his manner was mysterious Would the _baas_ let his shut the door? He had so very important to discuss Roden, impressed by the mysteriousness of his manner, complied without hesitation Yet, in all probability, it was some co into an ox

Seen in the light of the rooht visitor was a sturdy, thick-set Kaffir, of ht, with a peculiarly open and honest countenance He was dressed in the ordinary slop clothes of a store or stable-boy, eniously repaired with twine or bits of _rei this, Roden was prepared for so character--if true, that is--for there were extensive Teh peaceful on the whole, were not ient upon hostilities in the Transkei, and radiating a the tribes within the Colonial borders

No revelation of a dark and bloody plot, however, no intelligence of a secret , was destined to fall upon Roden's official ears; for speaking in Boer Dutch with a little indifferent English, his knowledge of both tongues being too limited to admit of the vast amount of parable and circumlocution ith he would have approached the subject in the fluency of his native language, the Kaffir readily caun, not the beautiful new one which he took out to shoot bucks with, explained Tom, with avidity, but an old one which loaded in the old-fashi+oned way The _Baas_ wanted to sell that gun, yet no one would buy it He, Tom, had seen it more than once on _Baas_ Tasker's auction sale, but nobody would bid so much as a pound for it

Now, all this was perfectly true Roden did own such a piece, a heavy, old-fashi+oned un of its day, and shooting true as true could be with rifled or shot-barrel But its day had gone by While there was a brisk demand in Doppersdorp at that ti weapons; at muzzle-loaders nobody would so much as look

Even as the other had said, he had un, but in vain A Boer now and again would pick it up as it lay in Tasker's auction roo it critically for a moment would replace it with a ood _roer_”

would be his verdict, his experienced eye taking in that much ”An excellent _roer_ in its day, but its day is passed; ant breech-loaders now” While soht's apprentice, with no experience whatever of firearas-pipe”

Rean to see through this fellow's drift

”The _Baas_ wanted to sell this gun,” continued the Kaffir, but nobody would offer anything for it Nohy not sell it to hiht; no one had seen him come inThat was because he had coht

”And what do you want to do with it, Toot it?”

_Au_! It was not for himself He was not in want of it It was for his brother He would give ten pounds for it, ten pounds down in hard cash

”That settles thehim on ”If it's for your brother, I won't have any more to say Two in an affair of this sort is one too many But three; oh no!

That deal won't come off, Tom”

The Kaffir looked profoundly disappointed, then h--