Wolvehoek in
expectation of its end.

The drive had been made, De Wet had doubled, and now the base of the
triangle was flowing in upon him, fully confident of success at
last. And the base was in part made up of the South African Light
Horse, and Carew and Weldon were of that Horse, and they rejoiced
accordingly.

Nightfall of the sixth found the quarry well inside the triangle,
and the South African Light Horse drawn up in a straight line
running westward from Lindley. The officers slept in their boots,
that night, and every trooper held himself tense in his blankets,
ready to cease snoring at an instant's notice. And far away to the
northward, the moving search-lights carved the frosty darkness with
their blinding cones of light.

Weldon was ordered out on picket duty, that night. All day long, he
had ridden hard, until even the zeal of Piggie had begun to flag.
Nevertheless, as the broad stripe of yellow reluctantly died out of
the western sky, his excited brain denied to his tired muscles the
sleep which they demanded. Accordingly, it was a relief when his
orders came, and he found himself advancing cautiously out into the
shadowy veldt.

Contrary to his usual mood when on picket, Weldon had no sense of
loneliness, that night. Reaching away from him on either hand was
the huge enclosing wall of humanity, pacing to and fro on picket
duty, guarding the blockhouses, patrolling the wire fences between.
Every man was alert to his duty; every nerve was taut with the
consciousness that somewhere within the cordon was the leader who
heretofore had escaped them, that each man was a link forged in the
endless chain which was stretched around the invisible enemy. And,
meanwhile, the starless sky and the waiting chain were equally
silent and equally freighted with mystery. And the future seemed
full of portent and very near.

Then, as the midnight hour swung past him, Weldon heard the rustle
of a quiet footfall. It was Captain Frazer's voice that answered his
challenge.

"I was looking for you, Weldon," he added.

"For anything especial?"

"No. I felt restless and couldn't sleep, so I thought I would go the
round of the pickets. They said you were out here. Where is Carew?"

"In my sleeping-bag. I don't encourage him for a neighbor just now.
He draws too much fire."

The Captain laughed softly.

"He is an unlucky beggar. Eight, nine, how many times is it that he
has been hit? He ought to engage a private nurs