r the corporal and the men he had relieved returned,
and silence settled down upon the hilltop.

It was a trying time for Jack and his friends. Crouching behind the
mound of earth, with their eyes glued upon the Boer spies in front, they
expected them to make some attempt upon the guns at any moment. But an
hour dragged slowly past, and then another, and the officer was on the
point of shouting to his men to close in, when Piet Maartens was again
seen to make use of his glasses.

"Wait a moment," Jack whispered, placing his hand upon the young
officer's arm to restrain him. "They are moving now, and the fun will
begin."

An instant later, having satisfied himself that there was no one about,
Piet Maartens slipped stealthily to the side of one of his fellow-spies,
and, extracting something from his haversack, approached one of the
guns. There was a faint click, then a few seconds of silence, which was
followed by a metallic "clang". Once more he returned to his comrade,
and approached another gun. And all the while Jack and his friends
looked on in breathless silence. In all, there were twelve weapons
belonging to the Field-Artillery, and each in turn Piet Maartens
visited. Then he returned to his former position, and, having looked
round in all directions, gave a soft whistle. At the signal the other
spies joined him, and immediately disappeared over the brow of the hill
and climbed down the opposite side. Instantly the young officer rushed
up to the guns, accompanied by Jack and Guy, and, drawing his revolver,
shouted "Look out, men!"

The next moment a ring of soldiers leapt to their feet, and with fixed
bayonets faced the party of Boer spies.

"Lay down your arms, Piet Maartens. It's all up, and if you lift a hand
you will all be shot like dogs!" Jack shouted, rushing forward at the
same time and presenting his rifle at his old enemy's head.

A snarl of rage escaped from the Boer's lips, and he made a frantic
effort to unsling his rifle; but long before he could get it free the
circle of soldiers rushed in and knocked all three to the ground. A
minute later they were being marched towards the town, surrounded by a
strong party in charge of a subaltern.

"Now we'll have a look at the guns," exclaimed the officer. "Sergeant,
bring along a lantern and a couple of men, and don't attempt to touch
the guns till I have inspected them. Come and help me, Somerton. I
expect that beggar has placed a char