Part 35 (2/2)

”Certainly! Come in here,” was the answer; and Jack was led into a trench

”There's soht,” Jack whispered ”A Boer I knew in Johannesburg isup here with two men, all dressed as volunteers They are all spies, I believe, and I have coet hold of them immediately they appear!”

exclaimed the officer

”Don't you think it would be well to let thehtfully ”You ht set a watch on theaeants and a few of the older h the Boers were about to e, they'd better not!” the officer exclaiest, and what is on Hill”

”Very well! I'll slip back, and follow Piet Maartens and his friends up,” said Jack; and, stepping fro officer and ran across to Guy

A fewstealthily up the hill, and as soon as they had passed by, Jack and Guy fell in behind theain to listen and glance cautiously round thehts, when they turned to the left, and after proceeding some two hundred yards cauns placed in aposition to rake the flats below They stood unguarded and unattended, save that below them, on the farther side of the hill and some distance away on either hand, pickets were posted

”Looks as though they were going to play souns,”

whispered Guy ”What do you think, Jack? It would suit their purpose well to destroy our cannon and then assault us”

”I think you are right, Guy Let us hide up here and watch At present I do not think they will do ht, but in another hour perhaps they will make a move By that time they will be surrounded”

At this moment Piet Maartens rose to his knees from the hollohich he and his two co anyone, all three stole forward about fifty paces, and again lay prone upon the ground, where they reain one of thelooht had already fallen, and it would have required uish any but a very close object

Meanwhile Jack and Guy had crept into a good position near at hand, and feeling sure that the officer in charge of the trenches had taken due precautions to surround the Boer spies, they sat down in silence and waited to see ould happen

”Stay here awas likely to happen, ”I'll go and get that officer, and then there will be official evidence against those fellows It looks as though we should have the behind areached the trenches, was soon in conversation with the officer

”I wonder what their game is,” said the latter ”At any rate we shall nab theuns”

”I believe they are going to dae the weapons in some way or other,”

Jack answered, ”and in that case they will certainly use explosives I came over to ask you to join us at a spot where we can see everything

The sentries on the guns shoell up against the sky-line, so that when these fellows get on their feet we can see at once when they unners to be careful when the ti their weapons”

”Yes, I'll do that,” exclaie of dynaive the order”

A few minutes later he joined Jack once more, and both crept to Guy's side and then moved forward, for Piet Maartens and his co their heads cautiously, they peeped over a bank and saw the guns, only a few yards in front of theainst the star-lit sky, while close beside them crouched the Boer spies

Piet Maartens lay a few yards in front upon the edge of the hill, and as Jack and his friends watched him they saw him lift his head and look steadily in either direction, and then turn round as if to make sure that he was unobserved

Instantly all three sank flat on the ground, but a ain, he was facing down the hill, and as they looked, he stood up and produced as evidently a pair of field-glasses and applied the to make out where the pickets are,” whispered Jack ”Keep down, you fellows, he's turning this way now”