“There is no drift here,” Chris said.
“If there had been there would be a pass cut
or worn down on the other side. Now let us push
on, but don’t show yourself more than you can
help, any Boer lurking on the other side could hardly
miss us. A hundred and fifty yards, I should say,
is about the width.”
After walking some little distance along they suddenly
came upon another break in the bank.
“There is a break opposite, Sankey. Ten
to one this is a drift. The question is, how
deep is it? You can see the river is not as high
as it was by four feet, and I dare say that it will
be lower yet if we get another week of fine weather.
It’s very important to find out. I will
try to ford it; it’s hardly likely there are
any Boers so far down, but have your rifle ready,
and keep a sharp look-out on the opposite side.”
A minute later they went down the slope. “Keep
back under the shelter of these bushes as soon as
I go in, Sankey.” Then he stepped into the
water and waded out. In a few yards it was up
to his waist; then it deepened slowly. He was
a third of the distance across when two rifles cracked
out from some bushes on the opposite bank. Chris
felt a sudden smart pain in his ear. He instantly
threw himself down in the water, and diving, made
for the shore, allowing the stream to take him down.
Swimming as hard and as long as he could, he came for
a moment to the surface, turning on his back before
he did so, and only raising his mouth and nose above
water. He took a long breath and then sank again,
swimming this time towards the shore. His breath
lasted until he was in water too shallow to swim farther,
and, leaping to his feet, he dashed up the bank and
threw himself down. He heard two bullets hum close
to him, but the Boers had not been looking in his
direction, and only caught sight of him in time to
take a snap shot. He crawled along through the
high, coarse grass, feeling very anxious as to what
had become of Sankey. He had heard the report
of the Boer rifles, but there came no reply from his
friend, who would assuredly have been lying in shelter
in readiness to shoot as soon as he saw a flash on
the opposite bank. Could he have forgotten to
take cover the instant he himself entered the water,
could he possibly have remained standing there watching
him? Two shots had been fired: one had certainly
hit his ear; had the other been aimed at Sankey?
He crawled along until he came to the point where
he could see down on to the road. To his horror
Sankey was lying there on his back.
PRISONERS
The exclamation that burst from Chris’s lips
as he saw Sankey on the ground was answered by another
from his friend.
“Thank God that you are there, Chris. I have
been in an awful state about you. I saw you go
down into the water just as I was bowled over.
I made sure that you were killed, and I was in a state,
as you may imagine, till I heard two more shots.
That gave me a little hope; for as you had not been
killed in the first, you might have escaped the others.”
