Whenever I found we were approaching dangerous ground,
I used quickly to change the conversation, which perhaps was wise, as I
was but one in a mighty host.
FOOTNOTES:
[32] Two thousand Englishmen dead.
[33] Not to be confounded with General Louis Botha.
CHAPTER X
EXCHANGED FOR A HORSE-THIEF--BACK TO MAFEKING AFTER TWO
MONTHS' WANDERINGS
"Hail, fellow! well met!"--SWIFT.
Next morning I was awakened at 6 a.m. by Mr. Drake knocking at my door,
and telling me I was to be ready in half an hour, as Colonel
Baden-Powell had consented to exchange me for Petrus Viljoen. This
exchange had placed our Commanding Officer in an awkward position. The
prisoner was, as I stated before, a criminal, and under the jurisdiction
of the civil authorities, who would not take upon themselves the
responsibility of giving him up. Under these circumstances Lord Edward
Cecil had come forward and represented to Colonel Baden-Powell that it
was unseemly for an Englishwoman to be left in the hands of the Boers,
and transported to Pretoria by the rough coach, exposed to possible
insults and to certain discomforts. He even declared himself prepared to
take any consequent blame on his shoulders, and, being the Prime
Minister's son, his words had great weight. As a matter of fact, Petrus
Viljoen was anything but a fighting man, and could be of very little
service to our enemies.
Pages:
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159