Part 33 (2/2)

Undaunted by the shell, and by another which quickly followed it, the a with the red cross of Geneva flying above it On arriving close to the hill, the surgeon was seen to leap out, and, followed by four stretcher-bearers, to walk hither and thither in search of the one or two men who had been left behind Soon they found the theon, returned to the cao unmolested

Meanwhile the sortie party had almost been carried to their tents, while the officer who had been in coely joined his forces

”What's the matter, Somerton?” he cried ”You look awfully white Not hit, I hope?”

”Oh, I', thanks!” Jack answered But his looks belied his words He was deadly pale His head was in a whirl, and now that all the excites deserted hiered forward, and fell senseless at the feet of his astonished friends

Guy rushed to his side, and with the help of Rawlings, Mr Hunter, and Mr Richardson carried him to a field hospital which happened to be near There it was found that a bullet had struck thethe ammunition, had shattered the weapon and torn a deep wound in his side But, strange to say, Jack had barely felt it at the tih on the way back to the ca He had received the wound when charging with the bayonet, and the loss of blood which followed had at last told upon his strength

When he recovered consciousness he was lying in a coe marquee, in which were fifteen others In front of hi, was an ar sister, one of that band of noble wo quietly, and seemed quite unconcerned when shell after shell, thrown frouns, fell in the caave vent to a sharp cry of pain, for the slightest ony

”Ah, so you've co up fro to the side of his cot ”Now you ood, and to-h, I will tell you how my life has been pestered these last two days by the hundreds of friends who have called to ask after you”

”Friends!” said Jack feebly ”What friends? I have only a few here”

”You have far ine,” the sister replied with a s orders You are not to talk”

With gentle hands she arranged his pillows and saw that he was comfortable, and Jack fell into an easy sleep as he was in the act of thanking her

But on the following day he was unconscious again, for his wound was inflaainst this his iron constitution fought for two long weeks, during which he was tenderly looked after by the nurse, and watched with anxious feeling by the surgeons And all this time Guy and his father and Mr Hunter hovered outside in the depths of despair, waiting iood news of their friend

At last one day he showed signs of i The change in his condition caused a wave of gladness to spread over the beleaguered town, for Guy and his noble coave most of the credit, were the heroes of Ladysmith Their adventures were detailed round many a camp fire, and if one soldier puffed more fiercely at his pipe, and swore beneath his breath that Jack was a downright good fellow, hundreds did, from the officers doards

As for Mrs Robb, the forlorn but brave little English lady who fellows had befriended at such risk to themselves, she was now quite happy once more, for her husband had escaped from his captors and had joined her in the camp

And now to return for one brief e, the family seat of the Somertons, and the amiable mistress and youth who resided there Jack's accident in London and his voyage to Africa had long ceased to be topics of interest to the occasionally what had become of him, they never troubled themselves about him Jack had written to thened to respond, and in consequence he had for months kept silent, so that they had no idea of his whereabouts

But Dr Hanly was a regular correspondent of Jack's, and when the latter wrote and said that they were on the eve of war, and that he should volunteer for service, the doctor sent the letter down to the Grange, so that Mrs Sohts of this disappointed woe was a characy to which Jack was entitled at a certain age was by nohappened to him? Then all would come to Mrs Soht of it rew even , and he finally became a veritable ruler of the house, with the result that there were es in the household The first to leave was the old butler, who had been for years in the service of the family, and then one by one the other doer's ultimatum was delivered, hostilities com list of casualties with expectant feelings Judge of their disappoint, Jack's na article describing the adventures of a young Englishood old fa to aid the refugees, and had afterwards brought news to the beleaguered town, after having accoallant deed on the way

No sooner had this appeared than another telegra, and his subsequent daring ride to the north

Then caes fro further had been heard of him, and it was feared that he had been captured But advices frost the lists of prisoners, and the e felt their hopes rise high

But later, after ht from Ladysmith explained how Jack Soain

Dr Hanly was beside himself with pride and pleasure, and no sooner had he read the news than he darted off to the Grange and congratulated Mrs Soiven to thinking charitably of everyone; but when he saw the little enthusiasusted, and at once left the house with the firain till Jack returned

Dr Hanly was not the only neighbour who showed his appreciation of our hero's services to his country Froratulations, and letters poured in in shoals So an to look upon the other side They were not altogether bad or selfish, and in tian to think more kindly of the homeless lad they had treated so harshly In this satisfactory condition ill leave them, and while Jack Somerton lies in his bed in that field hospital in the invested camp at Ladysmith ill return to the British troops in other parts of South Africa

It will be reland had despatched a large army over the 6000 miles of water which cut her off from South Africa, and this force had arrived at its destination in due course, armed and ready for war, and accompanied by supplies In addition, local colonial forces were rapidly enlisted, for it was apparent to all that no one could approach so close to the Boers in sli sons of the old country, who, finding themselves crowded out by the more fortunate ones, had betaken themselves to this fair land of South Africa to set up new homes And with them, to do all and every arallant volunteers from Australia, Canada, and New Zealand For the h life in the bush, they proved most valuable scouts, and were as fine a body of men as could be met with