They were on the move at the first sign of daylight, and Potchefstroom was still asleep when they drove through. At eight o'clock they crossed the Vaal and drove into Reitzburg. A couple of Boers came up and asked them where they came from, but were quite satisfied with the answer, "From Potchefstroom," as they considered that if they had been allowed to pass through there, their journey must be a legitimate one. [Illustration: ONE OF THE BOERS THEY HAD SPOKEN TO SAUNTERED IN.] "We have a pass from the chief of the police at Johannesburg, if you would like to see it." "No," one of the men replied. "If it is good enough for them in the Transvaal, it is good enough for us. I suppose you are going down to the army?" "Yes, we want to do our share of the fighting." "Quite right. You must lose no time or you will be too late." "So I suppose, by all they say," Yorke replied. They thought it as well to wait for an hour to feed the horses and take a meal. Leaving Peter to look after the horses, and see that nobody touched the guns and other articles in the cart, they went into a small inn. While they were eating their meal one of the Boers they had spoken to sauntered in. "Was there any news at Johannesburg?" "No, not particular. Things are very quiet there." "You did not hear, did you, of any escaped prisoners being caught?" "We did hear that one of the English officers had got away from the jail." "Yes, that is what I mean. They telegraphed to us here from Pretoria; but of course he would never come down this way. Still, we had to obey orders and keep a sharp look-out. If he had come this way he would have been caught. I expect, however, he went east; but he could not get far. They say he was quite a young chap, with close-cropped hair." "Well, their young officers cannot have learned to talk Dutch, so there ought to be no difficulty in catching him," Yorke said. "But he has got a Dutchman with him, and I suppose he himself won't open his lips, but the Dutchman will do his talking for him." "Hans, you had better say something," Yorke laughed, "or possibly you may be taken for this British officer." "I don't look much like a British officer with a cropped head," Hans said, "and I talk my own language better than I do English by a long way." "Oh! I knew you could not be the man," the Boer said. "Still, I am glad to see that you are Dutch as well as your master. There might be questions asked, and now I can swear that you are both Africanders. It will satisfy anyone questioning me as to who has been along. I don't see myself what occasion there is for making a fuss about one officer getting away when we shall soon have all their army prisoners. It gives everyone a lot of trouble." "Will you have a glass of spirits?" Yorke asked.