pal?" she whispered.

"That is my pal now." He struck another match, and flared it, and screened
it with his big hand, and showed the light again, and repeated the
manoeuvre three times. "That is my pal now--and I have said to him 'No
news to-night'; but to-morrow night and the night after, and so on for
many nights to come, I shall be out there where he is, and after you have
called me and I have answered, just as he has done, you will tell me what
there is to tell. Can you spell your language?"

"Pretty middlin', Walty deer, though not as I could wish, owin' to me
'avin' to leave Board School in the Fif' Stannard when father sold up the
'ome in drink after mother went orf wiv the young man lodger. Some'ow, try
all I could, I never ..."

"Hou jou smoel! With our Boer people, when men speak, the women listen;
but you English ones chatter and chatter! Remember that this match-talk
goes thus: For the letter A one flare, and hide the light as you saw me
do just now. For B, two flares, and hide the light; for C, three, and
hide; for D, four, and hide; and so on ... It is slow, of course, and
matches will blow out when you do not want them to, and a cycle-lamp or a
candle-lantern would be easier to deal with, but for the verdoemte
patrols. Do you understand? Say now what I say, after me. For the letter A
one flare and hide. For B ..."

He put her through the alphabet from end to end; she laboured faithfully,
and pleased her taskmaster. He grunted approvingly.

"Zeer goed! See that you do not forget. And remember, you are to listen
and watch, and tell me what you hear and see. If you are obedient, I will
marry you--by-and-by."

He gave her a clumsy hug in earnest of endearments to come.

"But if you do not please me"--the grip of his heavy hand bruised her
shoulder through the thin, flowery "blowse"--"I will punish you--yes, by
the Lord! I will marry a fine Boer maiden who is the daughter of a
landrost, and who has got much money and plenty of sheep. And you can give
yourself to any dirty verdoemte schelm of an Engelschman you please, for I
will have none of you! To-morrow you shall have a paper showing you how to
tell me very many things in match-talk, and earn much money to buy
presents for my nice little Boer vrouw. Alamachtig! what is this?"

"This" was the hard, cold, polished business-end of a condemned Martini
poked violently out of the blackness into the Slabbertian thorax.

"Not in such a 'urry by 'arf, you