n front
of them gave evidence that the officer in charge of the supporting
troop had risen to the occasion. If he had been a better soldier, he
might have lain low, and let the fugitives entice their pursuers after
them to their own destruction. But this had not occurred to the youth
who had recently changed the pestle and mortar of a chemist's
dispensary for the sword of a mounted infantry leader, and he did his
best, in a suitably excited manner.

The Tiger's story was interesting. "Just as you halted at the farm,
sir, I caught sight of the glint of a rifle on the top of the hill
which we had sent the troopers to occupy. As I knew that it could not
be our own men, I at once realised that we were in for it. They had
seen us coming. I knew that the troopers were lost men--the Boers
would let them blunder up the kopje, and when they arrived at the top,
utterly blown and useless, would disarm them without firing a shot.
Everything now depended upon the chance of my having escaped notice.
It was impossible to warn you without firing my rifle, so I looked
round to see if I was being stalked. I could see no one on my track,
so I just lay still and waited developments at the farmhouse. I saw
the girl throw the milk, and I then calculated that a shot placed
between you and the men would so disconcert them for the moment that
you could be able to get away.

"As soon as you turned, the fat was into the fire, and I found that
they were lying up for us all round. It was a mercy that they never
spotted me before I fired. I suppose they concluded that five went
with the flank scouts instead of four only. Anyhow, there must have
been quite thirty of them, and we now know that they are there."...

"Well, young feller!" said the brigadier when the Intelligence officer
reported himself, "what has all the shooting been about?"

He listened to the story, and remained thoughtful for a moment. Then
he handed the Intelligence officer a message, which ran as follows:--

"From De Wet Expert, Hopetown, to O.C. New Cavalry Brigade, Prieska or
vicinity.

"De Wet was at Strydenburg last night. Repeat to," &c.

_Brigadier._ "What do you think of that?"

_Intelligence Officer._ "We have lost a big thing. But may we not be
in the right position to-night? It seems to me that I must have run my
head right into them."

_B._ "I am afraid not. We have just touched up the 'red herring'; but,
great Scot! what a chance has been taken from me. Argu