“That is all done,” he said to his friends.
“Now we will get rid of our remaining stores
which the men brought up yesterday. I propose
that instead of selling them we divide them into three
and send them down to the three cavalry messes.
I am sorry we have not a few bottles of spirits left,
but the tea, and chocolate, and sugar, and so on, will
be very welcome to them.”
The six natives carried the things down, and brought
back with them notes of warm thankfulness from the
colonels.
“How about our saddles, Chris?”
“We can take them with us to Maritzburg.
We can hand over the kettles and so on, and the waterproof
sheets, to Brookfield’s men who remain here,
and the blankets can be given to the natives when we
get there.”
The next day, after a hearty farewell from Captain
Brookfield and their comrades, who sent them off with
a ringing cheer, the party started, marching by the
side of one of the waggons that had brought up stores;
in this they placed their saddles and blankets.
When they arrived at Chieveley they had no difficulty
in getting a place in a covered truck. In this
they travelled to Maritzburg. Here they stayed
for three or four days; then, after making a handsome
present in addition to what they had promised to the
natives, and further gladdening their hearts by giving
them their blankets, Chris and those who were going
down said good-bye to Carmichael and his party, with
hopes that they would all meet again at Johannesburg
before long. Three or four whose friends had remained
at Durban stayed there, the rest took passage together
for Cape Town.
At Maritzburg Chris had found a letter awaiting him
from his mother, saying that his father had a fortnight
before joined her there, as the Boers had commandeered
the mines and had ordered him to leave, as he would
not work them for their benefit and so provide funds
for the support of the Boer army. She said that
they intended to leave at once for England, and that
he was to follow them when he gave up his work with
the army. He therefore, with Field, Brown, and
Capper, continued the voyage straight on to England,
and joined his parents in London, where he enjoyed
a well-earned rest, his pleasure being only marred
by the necessity for telling the story of his adventures
again and again to the relations and friends of his
parents.
