oemfontein to Pretoria. Fighting nearly every day
and marching at least thirty miles a day, on _one biscuit_. There was
no water to be had! Will you believe that for three days not a drop of
water passed my lips? And I heard the other fellows say, not once, but
a thousand times, 'Would to God that a bullet find me before night!'
Our tongues were hanging from our mouths and our lips were
cracked----"

"Stop!" Hansie cried, putting her hands to her ears. "I do not want to
hear another word. These things cannot be helped, and your officers
suffered too!"

"The officers! When at last the water-carts came, we had to stand
aside and watch while bucketsful were being carried into the tents for
their _baths_!"

There was silence again.

"If I were an English soldier, I would run away," Hansie said.

"I've had enough, God knows, and when I get home I mean to leave the
Army and take up my old work--carpentering. The war can't last very
long. England is mighty--but I wish the bloomin' capitalists would
come and do the fighting, if they want this country and its
gold-mines."

"There are only a 'few marauding bands' left, so the English say,"
Hansie answered bitterly. "But remember what I tell you now. South
Africa will be soaked in blood and tears, and a hundred thousand
hearts will be broken here and in your country, before the mighty
British Army has subdued those 'few marauding bands.'"

The soldier's face grew troubled once again.

It was a good, strong face--a patient face--and it bore the marks of
much suffering, endured in silence and alone.

He rose and took off his cap.

"You've been very good to me, miss. I wish I could be of some use to
you."

"Run away from Lord Kitchener!" she said, laughing. "I would be very
sorry indeed if you fell by the hand of one of my brothers."

He looked at her sympathetically.

"How many brothers have you in the field?"

"God only knows," she answered sadly. "There were two left when last
we heard of them. The third has been made a prisoner."

The soldier took his leave and Hansie lost herself in reverie.

And when at last she roused herself, she wrote with rapid pen:

"Two Tommies have been in our garden, catching butterflies----" We
know the rest.

* * * * *

That afternoon about ten or twelve young people assembled in the
garden and were later joined by several members of the Diplomatic
Corps--Consul Cinatti, Consul Aubert, and Consu