Finally, about five
o'clock they went away, much to the relief of their hostess; not,
however, before the latter had shrewdly guessed the real object of their
visit, which was to find out about myself. Report had reached them that
Mafeking was in the hands of the Dutch, that the only survivor of the
garrison had escaped in woman's clothes, had been wandering on the veldt
for days, and had finally been taken in here. "Ach!" said the old
_vrow_, "I would be afraid to meet him. Is he really here?" This remark
she made to Mrs. Keeley's brother, who could hardly conceal his
amusement, but, to reassure her, displayed the cart and mules by which I
had come. If in England we had heard of the arrival of a "unicorn" in an
aeroplane, we should not have shown more anxiety or taken more trouble
to hear about the strange creature than did they concerning myself.
Their curiosity did not end here. What was Mr. Keeley doing in Mafeking?
Was he fighting for the English? How many head of cattle had they on
the farm? And so on _ad libitum_. Mrs. Keeley, however, knew her friends
well, and was quite capable of dealing with them, so they probably spent
an unprofitable day.
On another occasion an English farmer named Leipner looked in, and gave
us some information about Vryburg. This town was absolutely undefended,
and was occupied by the Boers without a shot being fired.
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