the greatest
dangers, escaped without a scratch, while the enemy, in spite of the
fact that they had been under cover throughout, lay dead and dying in
large numbers.

Strange to relate, a letter from an English officer fell into
Dietlof's hands some weeks later, and in glancing over it his eye fell
on the words, "Lieutenant Pilkington is also dead--you know that
famous cricketer."

And still later Hansie heard from her brother that one of the seven
men, Field-cornet von Zulch, who afterwards joined him as prisoner of
war in the Ahmednagar Fort, told him that he had received a letter
from Lieutenant Pilkington's mother, begging for more particulars of
her son's last moments.

Many wonderful experiences were related, many glimpses given into the
conditions of commando life. The young man dwelt lightly for a moment
on his hardships and privations, saying, "Mother, do you know those
woollen Kaffir blankets with yellow stars and leopards, and red and
green half-crescents?"

"Yes," his mother answered expectantly.

"Well, I once had a pair of trousers made of that material."

Everyone laughed.

"But there are worse things than _that_," he continued; "unmentionable
horrors--things you pick up in the English camps and can't get rid of
again----"

Hansie understood.

"You will find a tin of insect-powder in that wonderful Indian juggler
of a portmanteau," she said, "and don't forget to use the blank
exercise-book."

The thirty minutes were over, and they were considerately left alone
for a few moments----

CHAPTER XII

THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS

For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with
great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I
hid My face from thee for a moment; but with
everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith
the Lord thy Redeemer.--Isa. liv. 7 and 8.

The hand which holds my pen to-day trembles.

From the beginning it was not my intention to touch upon the
Concentration Camps, but this story of the war would be incomplete
without at least a brief outline of that which played so important a
part during the war.

After the occupation of Pretoria, and when it was found that
hostilities, instead of coming to an end, were continued under what
the English called a system of "guerilla" warfare, and that the Boer
forces, instead of being compelled to surrender through starvation or
exhaustion, continued to thrive and increase in numbers, the m