in which he was living was
attacked by a commando, and with the usual consequences. All the males
who had reached puberty and the elder women, were shot or cut down; the
girls and children carried off into bondage.

Kobo's fate had at first been very doubtful. He was just on the very
verge of what was considered manhood, and the sword of more than one
Dutchman was raised to cut him down. But he was, luckily for himself,
rather short of stature, and it was ultimately resolved that he should
be spared. He was taken to the southern part of the colony, and became
the slave of a Dutch farmer residing near Oudtshoorn. Here he remained
for several years, until he had quite grown to manhood. According to
his own statement, which it would be reasonable to receive with some
degree of caution, he was treated with the utmost injustice and cruelty
by his masters--ill-fed, overworked, and kicked and cuffed without any
reason, whenever his employers chanced to be out of temper.

But there was no remedy for his wrongs. It was in vain to appeal to the
law, which would hardly entertain his complaint at all, and would have
done nothing to protect him, even if he could have made out his case.
To have offered resistance would have been the extremity of folly, as it
would only have brought down increased suffering upon him; and to have
attempted escape, would have been almost certain death. It was a long
distance to the border of the Bechuana country; and the fierce
bloodhounds kept by the whites would have overtaken and torn him to
pieces, before he could have gone the twentieth part of the way. There
was nothing for it but to bear it patiently.

It chanced that there was a man residing in Oudtshoorn, who was of
European, but not Dutch, descent. He was believed to be an Englishman,
who for some unknown reason had chosen to leave his own country. He
took some notice of Kobo, whose appearance and manner pleased him; and
gradually the Bechuana confided to him his history, the cruel hardships
he endured, and the anxious longing which possessed him to regain his
freedom. Andrews, as the Englishman was called, listened attentively to
his story, and then advised him to wait patiently for a few weeks more,
when an opportunity he desired might present itself. Andrews was a
secret agent of the English Government, and knew that an army and fleet
were soon going to be sent out to attempt the seizure of the Dutch
colony. If this should