"I could show him how to work it in five minutes," Yorke said; "and if he cannot shoot himself, he could load as fast as I could fire." The officer smiled. "I fancy if you get cut off, Mr. Harberton, your best plan would be to tie a handkerchief to your rifle in token of surrender. Possibly they might then content themselves with taking you as a prisoner of war, while if you were to shoot some of them, the others would not be very likely to respect your uniform." "I don't want to fight, certainly," Yorke said; "and I should not think of resisting unless I saw a chance of doing so successfully, as, for instance, if I were seen and chased by two or three mounted Boers when I was getting near our own lines." "Yes, in that case the rifle might be useful. The Boers have considerable respect for a single man with a good rifle in the open. However, I hope you will get through unobserved. You certainly will have more chance to-night than you would otherwise have, for they will be even more tired than our men, as they probably marched all night to Spytfontein. Moreover, they have their wounded to attend to, and will, no doubt, be very much down in the mouth at being turned out here, where they felt absolutely certain of holding their own. Still, Cronje could not have had anything like all his force here, and some of the men who stopped in their lines will be sent out to watch the roads to-night, lest we should push forward a brigade to relieve Kimberley." On going out, Yorke found that the Kaffirs had arrived with his horse. "Peter," he said in Dutch, "I am going to try to get into Kimberley. I want you to go with me. I have chosen you for two reasons; in the first place, because I know that you are a good man; and in the second, because you are the only one of the party who has been in the town, for you told me that you had worked there for two years. Are you willing to go? It is a very dangerous business, for if we are caught, the Boers are not likely to show us any mercy." "I will go, baas," the man said, speaking as usual in Dutch. "If you can go I can; if you are killed I will be killed." "Your danger is greater than mine, Peter. I shall be in uniform; and they may take me prisoner, but they would be certain to shoot you." The Kaffir nodded. "Shoot me, sure enough, baas; but I will go with you. You will go in the dark, I suppose? How could you find your way if you were alone? You could not keep on the road. The Boers are sure to keep watch there." "I feel that, Peter. If it were not for that I would not risk anyone else's life. I mean to ride the first part of the way. Jack, you will go with us so far and bring my horse back, and take it to Major Rimington's lines. I shall give you a letter to Hans to tell him to look after you all till I come back." "Cannot I go with you too, baas?" the man asked.