"Well, sir, I have thought over things the greater part of the last day and night, and the conclusion I have come to is, that I should prefer above all things to go out to Bechuanaland and join my uncle. My reasons are best expressed, I think, by the last part of my uncle’s letter to me." He showed the letter to Mr. Brimley-Fair, who read it carefully. "Well," said the house-master, "there is a great deal in what your uncle says, and you are certainly restricted in your choice of a profession or business. Still, your ideas may alter. Don’t be in a hurry." "No, sir," the boy went on firmly, "my mind is quite made up, and I don’t think anything will alter it. My uncle’s life, which I know a good deal about, will, I am certain, suit me better than any other occupation. I should like it above all things. Of course I shall hear what my Aunt Effie--Miss Hardcastle, I mean--has to say, but I am convinced I shall not change my opinion." Miss Hardcastle came down from the north during the following week, and Guy’s future was again seriously and thoroughly discussed. In the end, all three parties--Miss Hardcastle, Mr. Brimley-Fair, and Guy Hardcastle--agreed that he, Guy, could not do better than go out to his uncle and take up the life of a farmer in South Africa. Guy left that term, to the general regret of his schoolfellows, his house-master, and, a much more important personage, the headmaster of the school. In the following September, having chosen his modest kit and belongings, as advised by his Uncle Charles, Guy sailed for South Africa in the fine Cape liner, the _Tantallon Castle_. He had an excellent passage, and landed at Cape Town in the second week in October. *Chapter II.* *BAMBOROUGH FARM.* At Cape Town Guy was met by his uncle, who had come down country to welcome him. The greeting was an affectionate one on both sides, for uncle and nephew were much attached to one another. "My word, Guy," said Mr. Blakeney, as he shook his nephew by the hand, and looked him up and down, "you have grown since I saw you at home two years ago. What height are you now?" "Five foot ten, uncle," returned Guy, smiling; "and my weight is eleven stone four. I don’t want to grow any taller."