"Well, no," said Ingleborough, with a little laugh; "seeing that the Boers are after us, I think it will be safer to follow it down from the other side."

"Very well! What shall we do--get down and wade?"

"I would rather keep dry," replied Ingleborough. "Let's wait till the ponies have drunk sufficient, and then try if it is safe enough for them to walk across. I think it will be, for you can hear how shallow it is!"

"Yes," said West; "close in here; but what is it farther out?"

He stood up in his stirrups and followed the reflection of the stars for some distance.

"It's a big river, Ingle," he said, "and it would be madness to try and ford it in the dark."

"Very well; let's get a good drink as soon as the ponies have had their share, and then follow the river down till we come upon a place where they can graze and we can rest."

This plan was followed out, the ponies being hobbled at a spot where there seemed to be plenty of feed, while amongst the dense bushes and rugged stones which barred their way a snug resting-place was soon found, where, after cautiously making their way down to the river bank and allaying their thirst, the fugitives lay down to rest, listening to the sound of falling water not far away. Then, in perfect forgetfulness of Boers, despatches, and all the dangers of their way, both dropped into the deep sleep produced by exertion--a sleep which lasted till the sun was once more beginning to flood the earth with light.

CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN.

ROUGH WORK.

It was the sound of a deep breath which put an end to West's slumber, and he opened his eyes to lie staring at two more, big, brown, soft, and peaceful-looking, not a foot away from his own.

It was some moments before full wakefulness came and he realised where he was, and that it was his pony, well-fed and rested, mutely asking him whether he was not going to mount and ride off again.

It was then that the thought of danger a.s.serted itself, and he raised his head and looked sharply around, to see that they were amongst stones and bushes where; the bank went precipitously down to a beautiful winding river flowing amongst abundant verdure. Close by him lay Ingleborough, still fast asleep, and beyond him the other pony, still cropping away at the rich green growth which sprang up among the stones.

Then, as far as he could see, West made out nothing but the beauty of the spot upon which they had stumbled in the darkness of the night. He rose to his knees stiffly enough, and was in the act of getting upon his feet, realising that the beautiful greenery formed a riband on either side of the river, beyond which was the open veldt, when he dropped down again to reach out and grasp Ingleborough's shoulder, for in his rapid glance he had caught sight of a party of mounted men out in the full sunshine about half-a-mile away. They were walking their horses, and it seemed for certain to be the whole or a portion of the enemy of the previous day, for he recalled, what had not struck him at the time, that one of the Boers was mounted upon a grey horse, and one of the others he could see from where he watched was similarly mounted.

"Plenty of grey horses about, of course!" he muttered; "but this seems to be the one I saw yesterday."

"What's the matter?" said Ingleborough.

"Hist! Keep quiet!" replied West. "The Boers are upon us! Look!"

Ingleborough rose cautiously, took a long earnest look through his gla.s.s, and put it back.

"Yes, there they are," he said coolly; "there's that chap again on the white pony. Good job we didn't try to ford the river in the darkness.

Why, we should have been swept away."

West glanced for a moment in the direction of the stream, and grasped the truth of his companion's words, before scanning their position and taking it in at once.

"We can't get over yonder," he said quickly.

"No," replied Ingleborough. "That cuts two ways. Neither can they attack us from that quarter; so our rear is safe."

"We shall not be able to escape north," continued West.

"No; we are shut in there."

"Nor yet south, for they would pick us off easily before we could get through the rough ground to gallop away."

"Quite right, lad; and they are advancing on our front. Noll, my boy, there is only one thing to be done."

"What is that?"

"Turn that patch of rocks there into our fort, and hold out till they've shot us down, or we've shot them, or they've made us surrender."

"What about provisions?"

"Plenty of water," said Ingleborough coolly, nodding towards the river.

"We're nearly famished now."

"Yes, lad! I certainly feel as if I could peck a bit of something if I had the chance. But come, there's no time for talking. There's a ready-made fort for us, and the next thing is to get the ponies into cover. I say, I was right! I knew that the enemy would stick doggedly to our trail till they ran us down."

"Look here!" cried West: "I'm going to crawl to those rocks and try and cover you while you follow with the ponies."

"No need," replied Ingleborough; "the poor things have eaten till they can eat no more, and they'll follow us right enough. Let's try and get under cover before we are seen."

West hesitated for a moment, for the thought arose that the Boer party might ride away and try to find a ford, but a glance showed him that in the brief period which had pa.s.sed since he awoke and saw them the enemy were much nearer, and, following his companion's example, he began to crawl on all-fours towards the clump of rocks pointed out, the horses quietly following them.

They had about fifty yards to go through a cover of bushes and lumps of rugged stone, but before they were half-way there West cried impatiently: "I don't like it; the Boers must see the horses directly.

Let's mount and make a dash for it."

"Very well!" replied Ingleborough quietly. "Perhaps it would be best!"

"Then as soon as you are up we must ride towards them till we are clear of these bushes, and then off we go to the right."

"Good; but it must be sharp work, for of course they will see us the moment we are up!" answered Ingleborough.

"We must risk it, Ingle," said West. "We never could keep them at bay.

Let's have action: it would be horrible to be lying behind a rock with the sun beating down upon us. Now then, get hold of your rein!"

There was a few moments' pause while the pair crept alongside of their ponies. Then West drew a deep breath and cried: "Mount!"

As he uttered the word he glanced over his pony's back at the advancing enemy, and saw that they had caught sight of the two animals, halted, and were in the act of taking aim at them. But neither West nor Ingleborough paused, raising a foot to the stirrup and being in the act of springing up, when the reports of about a dozen rifles rang out, and West's rein was jerked out of his hand as he was thrown upon his back, while his pony made a series of tremendous bounds, the last of which took it into the river with a plunge of about a dozen feet right into a deep pool. The water splashed on high, glittering in the sunshine, and the next minute the unfortunate beast was floating slowly away towards the swift current, just feebly pawing at the water, and on raising its head it fell again with a heavy splash.

"They can shoot well!" said Ingleborough coolly.

West turned his gaze from the dying pony, irritated beyond measure by his companion's easy-going coolness, and then saw the full extent of their trouble, for Ingleborough's pony had sunk upon its knees and then lain gently over upon its side, to die instantly without a struggle, one of the Boers' bullets having pa.s.sed right through its brain.

"Might have been worse!" continued Ingleborough. "They did not hit us!

Come along, lad! They can't see us now. Follow me, and let's creep to the fort. Keep down, lad; keep down."

West had involuntarily dropped on all-fours as Ingleborough spoke, and none too soon, for another dozen bullets came rattling over them, cutting the twigs and spattering amongst the rocks, while several pa.s.sed close to them with a buzzing sound.

"There!" cried Ingleborough the next minute. "No question now about what we're going to do. Here's our fort; there's plenty of water; and the Boers have shot our provisions ready for us. We must cut some of the meat up for biltong, and eat as much as we can while the rest of it is fresh."