The Fingoes, however, were as much frightened as my men had been, and ran away in the opposite direction; so when my fellows had been sufficiently scratched and blown by making their way through the prickly underwood, unmolested by all except their own fears (and the thorns), they soon retraced their footsteps, and could be seen in twos and threes peeping from the outskirts of the jungle to know whether the coast had become clear. On getting them together again, I made a speech, and so enlarged upon their ridiculously discreditable behaviour, that they swore, one and all, that they would never so commit themselves again. To put their courage to the test, I determined to encamp that night where this occurred--in the middle of the bush. This was rather hazardous; but I counted upon the danger of Fingo marauders to keep them together, and in my own bold attitude to keep the latter off. My position was a strange one; and as I lay that night upon a gun-carriage, having for companions Waine moaning over the pains in his back, and Happy Jack muttering threats of courts-martial, I thought, if Providence did not intervene, the thread of my existence would possibly snap somehow. The night passed off calmly enough, and the next morning saw us safely on the other side of the bush; and that evening we encamped at a farm belonging to Mr Bruckyer, a Dutch settler from Haarlem--which town, by the way, was the home of my forefathers in King William III.’s reign; therefore, being somewhat akin through ancestral associations, we soon became good friends. This gentleman not only furnished my corps with an abundance of farm produce--accepting only our thanks in return--but also took charge of seven men who were incapable, from illness and sore feet, of continuing with the column. These men were afterwards sent on in a waggon to Fort Beaufort, some hundred and twenty miles off, to rejoin the corps. Mr Bruckyer again refused all remuneration. CHAPTER V. THE DUTCH AND ENGLISH SETTLERS--FIRST TRIAL OF THE MINIE AT THE CAPE--I PART WITH HAPPY JACK--MARCH INTO GRAHAM’S TOWN--THE OFFICERS OF THE CORPS--COLONEL CLOËTE--SHORTCOMINGS OF THE SERVICE--THE COMMISSARIAT ORDERED TO FORT BEAUFORT--ARRIVE AT HEADQUARTERS. As a rule, I found the settlers--English and Dutch--a fine, generous-hearted set of people; and many of them who read these lines may, I hope, think with pleasure of the happy times we passed together. It was a great relief to get rid of my sick men, as I had no medical man with the corps; and the only medicines or pharmaceutical knowledge I possessed were gleaned from a small medicine-chest I had purchased at Port Elizabeth. It was one of the ceaseless threats of Happy Jack that I had had a man flogged without a medical man being present, and without having remedies at hand in case of accident.