"Well, I grant that's possible," said Denham; "but what about the Boer sentries and outposts? They'd stop you before you'd gone straight away for a hundred yards." "I shouldn't go straight away," I said, "but along by the front; and if we were stopped, Joeboy could tell the outpost we were ordered to change position--to go on to the other end of the line. What would the outpost care or think about it? All he would think would be that a wagon-load of stores was being shifted, and let us pass. Then I should tell Joeboy to begin creeping out towards the east yonder, and keep on till we were out of bearing before striking away for the kopje here. Once we had got clear off we could keep steadily on all through the night, and at daybreak you would be watching for us, and send out a detachment to bring us in." "Splendid, my boy--in theory," said Denham; "but it would not work out in practice." "Think not?" "A hundred to one it wouldn't," cried Denham firmly. "Well, I think it would," I said--"and from the cool daring of the thing." "And what about your horse? That would be enough to betray you." "No take Sandho," said Joeboy, who had been listening attentively. "Of course not," I said. "We should walk right across to the Boer lines, getting off as soon as it was dark." "Why not go in disguise as a minstrel?" said Denham banteringly--"like King Alfred did when he went to see about the Danes? Have you got a harp, old chap?" "No," I said coolly. "Well, it doesn't matter, because I don't believe you could play it. But a banjo would be better for the Doppies, or--I have it--an accordion! Haven't one in your pocket, I suppose?" "Why can't you be serious?" I said. "I am, old fellow. Banjo, concertina, or accordion, either would do; and if you could sing them one or two of their popular Dutch songs it would be the very thing." "Don't banter," I said dryly. "Then don't you propose impossibilities. There, they are cooking supper again, so let's get down and see about a bit of--ahem! you know. Whatever it is, we must eat. I almost wish I were a horse, though, and could go out on the veldt and browse on the herbage. Here, I say, I've got a far better Utopian scheme than yours." "What is it?" I replied quietly, for I felt that he was going to chaff me. "Well," he said, "it's this. You know how imitative monkeys are?" I nodded. "Then all we have to do is to make a ring of our men round the kopje there, and drive the baboons into the court here. From the court we could turn them into one of the passages between the walls, stop up the ends, and capture the lot." "To eat?" I said sarcastically. "Eat, man? No; to drill, and teach them to forage for us, just as the Malays teach the monkeys to pick coco-nuts for them." "Drill them? Ah! there is a baboon called a `drill.' Yes, go on," I said. "We could send them out every night, and they'd come back laden with mealies for us; and there you are."