Mrs. van Warmelo fully expected to see her sons among the number and made preparations to welcome them, for under the roar of cannon the fatted turkey had been killed and roasted and a large plum-pudding made. Suddenly two men on horseback turned out of the wayside and rode straight up to the gate. "Perhaps these men are bringing us news of our boys," Mrs. van Warmelo said to her daughter, who was watching them with anxiety at her heart. The men dismounted at the gate and walked up to the two women, leading their horses slowly over the grass. No one spoke until the men were a few yards off, when Hansie exclaimed, with unbounded joy and relief, "Why, they _are_ our boys!" With unkempt hair and long beards, covered with dust, tattered and weary, no wonder mother and sister failed to recognise them at first! When the first greetings were over, the young men gave what news they could--stupefying news of the advance of the enemy in overwhelming numbers, and of the flight and confusion of what remained of the Boer forces. "What are you going to do?" their mother asked. "Rest and feed our horses first of all, mother," Dietlof, the elder, replied. "They are worn out and unfit for use. And when we have equipped ourselves for whatever may be in store for us, we must join some small commando and escape from the town. Little or no resistance is being offered by our men, and it is evident that Pretoria will not be defended. All we can do is to escape before the English take possession." Mrs. van Warmelo then told her sons of the retreat of the President from the capital, with the entire Government, by the eastern railway route. The greatest consternation had been caused by this flight at first, but subsequent events went to prove that this was the wisest course which could have been pursued. In this decision the President had been urged by his wife, and Mrs. van Warmelo went on to tell how the brave old lady had said to her in an expressive way, on the occasion of her last visit at the President's house: "My dear friend, do not fear. No Englishman will ever lay his hand on the coat-tails of the President." It is quite impossible to describe the confusion that ensued during the next few days. No one knew what to do; there were no organised Boer forces to join, there was no one in command, and, after long deliberation, the two young men, urged by mother and sister, came to the conclusion that, whatever other men might be doing, _their_ duty was to get out of Pretoria and join whatever band of fighting burghers there might still be in the field. The same spirit of determination not to fall into the hands of the enemy while the Boer Government was free, and could continue organising the war, prevailed amongst most of the men in Pretoria, and daily small parties could be seen leaving the town, in carts, on horseback, on bicycles, and even on foot. Where they were going and when they would return no one knew.