it. The troops have nicknamed their camp
Funkemburg."

At this moment someone called out to Guy to pull up, and Rawlings, the
officer who had conducted the sortie which had helped Jack and his
friends back into Ladysmith, came up to the cart.

"Hallo, Jack Somerton!" he cried heartily, shaking him by the hand.
"When are you going to turn out of that hospital and join Guy in our
mess. He tells us you have lots of yarns to give, and he says something
about a girl near Kimberley. When are you coming, old boy? We'd like
awfully to hear all about that little affair."

"Well, I hope to be out in a few days now," Jack replied with a laugh.
"But shut up about that Kimberley business! Guy, what have you been
telling these fellows?"

There was a loud laugh at Jack's expense, and then Rawlings climbed into
the cart and accompanied the two young fellows on their drive.

"I can tell you, Jack," he said, "that you had better hurry up and get
your strength back, for those beggars outside are getting restless
again. Just fancy, they have been firing away at us, and looking into
the camp, for two months now, and, much as they long to take it, they
have only made one feeble assault. We beat them back then, and if they
try the game again I expect we shall give them a better hiding. You
chaps haven't had all the fun to yourselves. We may be shut in here,
but we've drawn a few of old Krugers teeth. We've played that game of
blowing up his guns twice, in addition to that time when we three had
the pleasure of meeting. And we've also upset him a bit by sending out
the cavalry. If it had been a British force investing Boers in
Ladysmith, I'm open to bet a new hat that we'd have turned them out of
it long ago. Just fancy looking on for two whole months! Well, I
expect they will wake up again soon, especially now that Buller has been
checked at Colenso and cannot release us at present. I can tell you,
chaps, it's a beast of a position. You see these hills round here?
Well, the main Boer army, under Joubert, blocks the country between this
and the River Tugela, and that country is choke-full of rocky hills and
kopjes. To reach this camp and set us free the British troops have
first to cross the river, and then they have to fight their way foot by
foot past all those hills, every one of which will have guns mounted on
the summit, and be entrenched from the base up to the guns. It is a
difficult undertaking, and Buller and hi