her."

She told him in a few words what had happened at Harmony, and the
steadfast face opposite her, so calm and strong, grew more grave as
she proceeded.

"This is very serious," he said at last; "then the fact of their being
in town, and the route they had taken, must have been known to the
enemy yesterday. That is why we found the drift guarded. But do not be
downcast. I am sure they got through unharmed, for there has been no
commotion of any sort in town. I always know when prisoners have been
taken. We must be thankful they were not discovered in your house."

Hansie nodded, and the quiet voice went on:

"You are in no danger now----"

But the girl broke in impetuously:

"Oh, that does not trouble me at all, but I would give my life to know
that those men were with General Botha now. I am only anxious about
them."

"I am not," he answered. "The Captain is a man of vast experience.
This was not his first visit to Pretoria. Venter has been five times
in Pretoria and nine times in Johannesburg under the same conditions.
Brenckmann, too, can speak of unique experiences--but I can bet you
anything that _he_ will never come in again."

"Why not?"

"Oh, he had an awful time here. There are khakis and handsuppers
living all round his house, to some of whom he is well known by
sight. It was found necessary to conceal him, and for three days and
two nights the poor boy was stowed away in a tiny attic, just under
the corrugated-iron roof and hardly large enough to hold a man. There
he lay in the suffocating heat of those endless days, only coming out
at night for a few hours like the bats and owls. No, he won't trouble
us again!"

Before she left she told him what had been arranged about a sign on
the gatepost and asked van der Westhuizen to warn her friends of the
"inner circle" that Harmony was no longer a safe place to visit,
begging them to keep this information to themselves, "because," she
added, "the enemy must not know that we know." Later on she hoped to
see him again when the time approached for Naude to come again, but
she advised him not to visit Harmony unnecessarily, as much would
depend on him in the event of a raid on Harmony and the transportation
of its inhabitants to other regions.

I can only say in conclusion of this chapter that the friends of the
"inner circle," Mrs. Malan, Mrs. Joubert, Mrs. Armstrong, Mrs. Honey,
and a few others, bravely scorned the idea of avoiding Harmony.

"Why