My one idea being to get through the zone of
fire, I paid no attention to his remonstrances, and soon reached a safe
place. The Boers only learnt these detestable volleys from our troops,
and carried them out indifferently well; but the possibility of their
occurrence, in addition to the projectiles from "Creechy," added greatly
to the excitement of an evening stroll, and we had many such episodes
when walking abroad after the heat of the day.
In January, Gordon was laid up by a very sharp attack of peritonitis,
and was in bed for over a week in my bomb-proof, no other place being
safe for an invalid, and the hospital full to overflowing. When he began
to mend, I unfortunately caught a chill, and a very bad quinsy sore
throat supervened. I managed, however, to go about as usual, but one
afternoon, when I was feeling wretchedly ill, our hospital attendant
came rushing in to say that a shell had almost demolished the
convalescent home, and that, in fact, only the walls were standing. The
patients mercifully had escaped, owing to their all being in the
bomb-proof, but they had to be moved in a great hurry, and were
accommodated in the convent. For weeks past this building had not been
shot at, and it was therefore considered a safe place for them, as it
was hoped the Boer gunners had learned to respect the hospital, its near
neighbour.
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