But this gentleman had
hardly finished his tale when a decided stir was observable, and we
heard a wire was to hand saying the same De Wet was again on the move,
and that a strong force of men and guns were to leave for the scene of
action by our train to-night. At this juncture, seeing there was no
prospect of any immediate departure, I installed myself comfortably with
a book in the waiting-room, and was so absorbed that I did not even
notice the arrival of a train from Heidelberg, till the door opened, and
my nephew, the Duke of Marlborough, looked in, and we exchanged a
surprised greeting, being totally unaware of each other's whereabouts.
Except for meeting Winston in Pretoria, I had not seen the face of one
of my relations for more than a year, but so many surprising things
happen in wartime that we did not evince any great astonishment at this
strange and unexpected meeting. In answer to my inquiries as to what
brought him there, he told me he was returning to Pretoria with his
temporarily incapacitated chief, General Ian Hamilton, who was suffering
from a broken collar-bone, incurred by a fall from his horse. Expecting
to find the General in a smart ambulance carriage, it was somewhat of a
shock to be guided to a very dilapidated old cattle-truck, with open
sides and a floor covered with hay.
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