‘Oh, I see, that means, of course, that if they had succeeded, and had subjugated the Transvaal with the assistance of Johannesburg, they would have been English or even Imperial troops, and would have been honoured and owned by England; now that they have been defeated, of course, they are only an irresponsible band of British subjects, for whom and whose deeds nobody is responsible. I have even heard that some Englishmen assert that Jameson’s men are really mostly Afrikanders, that is because they have been defeated.’ ‘But, Steve,’ said Harrison, ‘do you really mean to say that one hundred Boers actually defeated Jameson?’ ‘I will swear that no _more_ than one hundred Boers took part in the Battle of Doornkop; that would be on the safe side, for I _know_ that there were less,’ said Steve. ‘Of course, there were nearly or fully a thousand Burghers in the vicinity of Krugersdorp, but they were all too far away to take part in the fight. Some parties of them were guarding the various roads, so that if Jameson did escape at Doornkop he would have been pulled up at some other spot. Others again were watching the road to Johannesburg, so that if Johannesburg _did_ send any help to Jameson, _they_ would have had somebody to look after them before they could join forces with the invaders. And lastly, as a matter of fact, a party of Burghers was preparing to take Jameson by storm, and was only prevented from doing so by Jameson’s hoisting the white flag and surrendering.’ ‘Very interesting and spicy indeed,’ remarked Hastings in an ironical, unbelieving way. ‘Yes, indeed, and in spite of the spice, hardly to the taste of some people,’ retorted Steve. ‘Well, your Government has managed to overcome Jameson, as I believe, by force of numbers, and because Jameson’s men were starved, fatigued and out of ammunition; but it remains to be seen whether the same game can be played with Johannesburg, which is prepared and well armed and provisioned. That will be a nut too hard for your Government’s knuckles to crack.’ ‘To answer your first assertion first. I have already stated that Jameson really had the force of numbers at Doornkop. As to being starved, they had, as I happen to know from their own men, plenty of provisions, and found at regular intervals buildings placed there for the purpose, in which provisions in plenty for man and horse were found. In fact, one man told me they found tables laid ready and laden with food; they had only to sit down and eat. As to fatigue, the majority of the Burghers travelled as far in half the time as Jameson’s troopers did, and that without preparation and without much provision. The assertion that the Chartered troops were out of ammunition when they surrendered is the most foolish of all; for I can tell you that the Government took a rich booty in ammunition alone. In fact, more ammunition was taken from Jameson, than the Boers possessed when they began the war against England in 1880.’