Part 39 (2/2)

Here he found that all was bustle Loyal to the heart, the inhabitants of this old town had forthe Government authorities Relief coe the funds sent out froood in lessening the sufferings of the poor people who had fled at the co and other parts of the two republics, bringing with them only ealth they could carry

Hospitals had been arranged in various public buildings, and in these, ladies--high-born, rich, and poor--worked with a will At the front their services were not wanted, for the as a stern and sanguinary one in which only men could take a part; but here, out of sound of the cannon's roar, they were doing a noble work, and while theysoldiers, at the sa hearts, and distracted in sohts, for scarcely one of them but had souered cauns

Aine hat joy and tears she greeted hies sent her by her husband In a twinkling the news that someone had arrived who had recently escaped froh the town, and nurses flocked from every hospital to interview him

Poor Jack! Naturally a bashful lad, especially where ladies were concerned, it proved aordeal for him, and far more so than his intervieith the correspondent But at last he satisfied theood news to give Then he said good-bye to Mrs Hunter, proes to Wilfred, and oncethe train, set out for Durban

Here he was fortunate enough to find a transport sailing for Cape Town, and that night was again at sea

CHAPTER NINETEEN

JACK FINDS A SWEETHEART

When Jack ca the port of Durban, it was to discover that the transport on which he had obtained a passage was conveying a e--one of the chief officers on the staff of the commander-in-chief in Africa Like Jack, this staff-officer had recently journeyed froh he was a stranger to our hero, yet, to Jack's surprise, no sooner did he catch sight of him than he stepped briskly towards him, and with outstretched hand addressed him in the iving Jack's hand a hearty shake, and s at his evident astonishment, ”this is a pleasure! I knew, of course, that you were leaving Chieveley for Lord Roberts's force, but did not iether As it is, it will saveyou at the other end Youfriend, that you have made quite a reputation for yourself as a colonial despatch-carrier and scout, and I have been instructed to make use of your services if you feel so disposed Are you ready to do soPoynter got through from Ladysmith, and I may tell you that it is a service of a similar nature for which ant you now”

”Certainly, sir,” Jack answered with a flush ”I a in the nature of despatch-carrying or scouting that iven es so much the better, for I have friends in there whoain”

”Then, my lad, this is the very job to suit you!” the staff-officer exclaimed ”Shortly put, the service which you are asked to undertake is this--ride to Kimberley and carry a letter and verbal instructions to its co and most important movement afoot But I will tell you about it later, e arrive at the Modder River It is a great satisfaction to hear that weI should like,” Jack re that his new acquaintance did not care, for some reason, to discuss the ed the conversation

Soon they descended to the saloon for breakfast, and from that day until they reached the Modder River below Kiether

While they are being swiftly conveyed along the South African coast ill leave the, and return for a few land to view ersfontein, Stor, and Colenso found her like one in a dream ”Was it true,” she asked herself, ”that her brave and hitherto invincible troops had been thus hardly dealt with by a horde of men ere little more than uncivilised peasants? Could it be a fact that the Boer forces were far uns and ammunition they were so abundantly supplied that our cannon and the shells we fired were swaed? Could these facts be true?” It was almost ih the truth was, the reality of it all quickly dawned upon the country The beginning of the war had found our h to a successful issue, and now, instead of weeping over past failures and the ill-luck which had attended their troops, they nified silence and watched patiently to see what the Government would do

The latter instantly ordered out uns, and, in addition, they called upon the ready volunteers and the yeomanry for their aid And hat result? There was a rush to obey the call to arms Beneath the calm surface of a business life there lurked in the hearts of our young , to throw off the trammels of an office desk and take rifle in place of pen Men flocked froe or infir in the s and poured out their gold

The city of London, ever foreanised and equipped a force of 1400 men and sent them to the front by means of private subscription alone; and all over the country funds were provided to furnish sturdy yeomen for the war

Then, too, our colonies, not to be outdone, sent other contingents ofthe vastness of the task before her, despatched Lord Roberts of Kandahar--the famous and ever-popular ”Bobs”--and Lord Kitchener of Khartouenerals, to the Cape to assuhten the labours of General Buller, already sufficiently engaged in the struggle to relieve the invested town of Ladysmith

While the I equipped and hurried on board transports for Africa, accouns, let us once ela and join the gallant and determined men under, the command of General Sir Redvers Buller

Foiled in their frontal attack, they were far fro the invested town of Ladysht-out preparations, the arnable Boer positions These stretched soes on the northern side of the Tugela, and to turn the ene ade of cavalry under Lord Dundonald, two-thirds of our force advanced against the Boer right flank, and captured and covered with their guns Potgieter's Drift A pontoon bridge was rapidly thrown across, and over this the advance was steadilyforward stubbornly behind a cloud of cavalry, and having to fight almost every foot of the way

On January 20th the division under Sir Charles Warren, a general of great African experience, had reached and occupied the southern crests of a high table-land stretching to the western hills of Ladysed and took at the point of the bayonet a huge hill known as Spion Kop, the key of the Boer position

It was a daring feat, and was perfor equal to that shown by our lads at the heights of Alma, when the Russian hordes were scattered and chased away as a disordered rabble

But ill-luck again attended our efforts On our side the slope of Spion Kop was so steep that it was scarcely possible to scale it, while to hoist guns of large calibre to the top was an impossibility On the summit our troops manned the Boer trenches, and for a whole day kept back the enereat force And all the tiun that could bear from their other positions poured in a continuous hail of exploding shell, converting Spion Kop into a veritable inferno, in which noWithout many batteries of powerful cannon the position was untenable, and after a heroic and stubborn resistance our brave soldiers withdrely and in perfect order

Then the whole force retired on the Tugela, and while theto the northern bank of the river at Potgieter's Drift, and entrenched theh the Boer position and relieve their comrades in Ladys , the losses in killed, wounded, and e proportion of the casualties, an illustration, if a sad one, of the glorious dash and courage shown in leading their men