and say
that they are going to drive all the Rooineks, as they call us English,
into the sea, quite forgetting that if we had not helped them the savage
tribes around them would have overrun their country and turned them
out."

"Will they drive us into the sea?" I asked.

"What do you think?" said Denham, with a laugh. "Do you think we are
the sort of people to let a party of rough farmers turn us out of Natal,
just because they have been stirred up to fight by a gang of political
adventurers? Is your father going to give up his farm that he has spent
years of his life in making out of the wilderness?"

"What?" I cried angrily. "No! I should think not."

"Well, that's bringing it home to you, my lad. I said your father's
farm. His is only one instance."

"It isn't as if we wanted to turn the Boers out," I said.

"Of course not. All we want is for them to behave like peaceable
neighbours, and obey the laws. They want what they call freedom, which
is as good as saying that English laws make people slaves. We don't
feel much like slaves--do we?"

"Is that the reason they are at war with us?"

"Something of that kind," said the Lieutenant, "as far as I understand
it. All politics, and they are the most quarrelsome things in the
world. People are always fighting about them somewhere."

"But--" I began.

"Oh, don't ask me," said my companion; "that's as much as I understand
about it. All I say is that it's a great pity people should be shooting
at one another over what ought to be settled by a bit of talk. But, I
say, look out. What does that mean? Halt!"

The men drew rein on the instant, as I looked forward, expecting to see
a puff of white smoke ahead, for Joeboy suddenly dropped down behind a
block of stone high up in front, and from there began to make signals,
just as if he were out in rough ground with me on the veldt and had
sighted game.

"He has seen the Boers," I said excitedly. "Look! He says there are
hundreds of them."

"No, he doesn't," said my companion gruffly; "he's only flourishing his
arms about like a windmill gone mad."

"But that's his way of signalling a big herd of game," I said, "and--"

Before I could say more, _puff, puff, puff_ arose the tiny white clouds
of smoke, followed by the cracking of the rifles, taken up by the echoes
till there was a continuous roar; while _phit, phit, phit_, bullets
began to drop about us, striking the stones, and others passed ove