"They will do splendidly," Yorke said, turning to Hans. "But when they start scouting in earnest, and want to get up anywhere near the Boers, they will have to take off those blue clothes of theirs; their own skin won't show as much on the sand and rocks as those clothes will." After waiting for an hour they mounted and rode slowly forward. They were joined as they passed through a dip in the sand-hills by five men from one flank and four from the other; there was not time for those who had gone farther to get back. The party rode on slowly, and were gradually overtaken by the others. All reported that they saw no signs of the enemy. They were again sent forward to search hills to the front, those who had before gone to the farther hills this time taking those nearer. So the work continued all day, and in the afternoon they halted at a deserted farmhouse, where they passed the night, four Kaffirs being thrown out as patrols. Yorke had no fear of being surprised, but thought it as well to accustom the men to behave as if an enemy were near. For a week the work continued, being now carried on more in earnest, as they were near the river. As the colonel had suggested, their scouting was farther south than Yorke had before been. "You know," he had said, "that there is no idea at present of their crossing the Orange River between Zoutpans Drift and Philippolis, so you had better watch the line between Seacow River at its junction with the Orange to Hanover, as it is across this line that bands that had crossed at Bethulie Bridge or Norvals Pont into Cape Colony might advance west to cut the railway between De Aar and Richmond Road station." The country was very hilly here, and the Kaffirs were divided into parties of two, each having his appointed station. One was always to remain at the look-out, the second to scout down to the river, and when required, to fetch provisions from the farmhouse, which served as Yorke's head-quarters. CHAPTER VI THE ADVANCE The work was carried on steadily. The Kaffirs used their ponies only to carry them to the point at which they commenced work. Here they would be left while the natives proceeded on foot, scouted all day, returning to their mounts late in the afternoon, and generally arriving at the farm as the evening was closing in. For this work they had entirely given up the clothes with which they had been furnished, and went about in the scanty attire worn by Kaffir boys on a farm, or in the ragged garments in which they had been engaged. Thus they were able to obtain information from the Kaffirs at the farms, pretending either to have come from the little native communities settled on the river bank, or to have left the Orange Free State because of the troubles, and to be on the look-out for work.