d
to draw the cork of the bottle which contained it, deliberately nudged
Jack, and nodded significantly at the stranger, whose back happened to
be turned. Jack was puzzled, but passed on the nudge to Wilfred; then
the three sat down and chatted. For half an hour the stranger plied his
two guests with all sorts of seemingly careless questions, casually
asking them where they were going, and whether they belonged to the
volunteers. But the nudge the landlord had given had warned Jack and
his friend to be on the alert, and to all the questions they gave
incomplete or totally incorrect answers. Then the stranger left, and
the landlord came from behind his counter and explained the mystery.

"I don't know what you two are here for, or where you are going," he
said, "and if you will take my advice you will keep everyone you meet in
the same ignorance. That fine chap is a Boer spy, paid with Pretoria
gold, and I can tell you this whole colony holds heaps more like him.
So my advice is, keep all your own affaire to yourself. Supposing you
two wanted to get into Kimberley, and had told him so, thinking him to
be a colonist, as he certainly looks, he'd have set the Boers on your
trail, and you'd find yourselves prisoners before you could look round."

Jack and Wilfred took the warning to heart. They had heard that spies
were to be found everywhere, even in England itself, so lavishly had the
Transvaallers spent their money, and so carefully had they prepared
their plans. But they had never met one before, and to find him in the
guise of a loyal colonist was a surprise, though, if they had only given
the matter a thought, they would have seen that that was the most
probable appearance he would assume.

On the following morning Jack and his friend paid their bill and rode
off from the hotel.

"I vote we go in the opposite direction from Kimberley, and take the
road for Hanover," said the former as they trotted out of the yard.
"That spy may be somewhere about. Yes, there he is! Good-day to you!"
he shouted. "We're off. See you to-night, perhaps."

The stranger shouted back "Good-day!" and watched them ride out of the
town.

"Now he'll sneak off to the hotel and ask the landlord whether we are
coming back," laughed Wilfred, "and I'll be bound our friend will answer
that we are. Well, we ought to get away from him easily enough. Look,
Jack! there are two other fellows riding ahead of us. Let us slip into
this fa