With Roberts to Pretoria: A Tale of The South African WarHenty, G. A. (George Alfred)
General
With Roberts to Pretoria: A Tale of The South African War
Henty, G. A. (George Alfred)
South African War, 1899-1902 -- Juvenile fiction
Mr. Chambers went out with Yorke to the stables and showed him the
horses that he was willing to have despoiled of a portion of their
tails, and this, with a pair of scissors that the girls had lent him,
Yorke speedily accomplished. They then saddled Mr. Chambers's favourite
horse, and he at once started. He was away an hour and a half, by
which time, amid a good deal of laughter and merriment, the hair had
been sewn and glued into Hans's straw-hat. Yorke had also got out his
wig and put it on, and even Mrs. Chambers, shaken as she still was by
the incidents of the night before, joined in her daughters' hearty
laughter at the changed appearance of her two guests.
"The police will be here at twelve, Mr. Harberton, therefore, if you
have now made up your mind to start to-day, it would be as well that
you should be away before they arrive. You know I should be delighted
if you would stop a few days, but as you said that you would very much
rather be off this morning, I shall not try to persuade you to do so."
Half an hour later all was ready for the start. Mr. Chambers had taken
Hans aside. "You have done me a great service," he said. "The present
is not a time when it is safe to be travelling about with much money
in your possession, especially when you are wanted by the authorities,
and if you were searched, and found to have a sum of money that did not
accord with your apparent position, you would not only lose the money,
but your liberty as well. Therefore, I do not propose to make you a
gift at the present time, but I engage myself to pay to you the sum of
five hundred pounds whenever you may wish to buy a farm or otherwise
settle down after the conclusion of the war."
Hans's eyes opened with surprise. "I only did what my master told me,
sir."
"You did more. Your astuteness in listening to the conversation of the
rascals who were talking in that drinking-shop was no doubt at first
a mere matter of curiosity, but the fact that you communicated it at
once to Mr. Harberton enabled him to take the steps which defeated the
plot; and you bore your share in the fight itself. My name is well
known, I think, throughout South Africa, and, as I may be away from the
country when you wish to draw the money, here is a promissory note,
undated, undertaking to pay three months after presentation the sum of
five hundred pounds on the duly certified signature of Hans Bernard;
and with it is this letter, saying that I have handed you this bill
in consideration of the very great service that you rendered me in
discovering and thwarting an attempt on my life. That letter can do you
no harm if found upon you. When the war is over you can, at any time,
hand that note to the bank here, or to any of its branches in Natal,
or to its agents. They will require the signature of Mr. Harberton, or
some other person known to them, and will then place the money at your
disposal as soon as they have communicated with the bank here."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account