t cut up from the river drift, and the horseman now
advancing along this had come out through the quince hedge almost upon
them. In him they recognised Adrian De la Rey.

"_Daag_, Aletta. I have only just heard you were home again," he said
in Dutch, as he sprang from his horse and shook hands with her. But
Colvin did not fail to notice that the young Boer's greeting of himself
was markedly cold, not to say grim.

"So ho!" said he to himself. "That is the way the cat jumps? I see."
Then aloud, "What sort of rifle have you there, Adrian?" For the latter
was clad and armed as though for the chase, and had a bandolier full of
cartridges slung round him.

"One of the new kind," was the crisp reply. "A Mauser. _Ja_, you can
kill a man at thousands of yards with this."

"So you could, if you could only see him," was the perfectly
good-humoured reply.

"I shall see him plainly enough, at whatever distance. _Ja_, at
whatever distance," repeated the young Boer with meaning; and, looking
as black as thunder, he turned his back upon the other in rather a
pointed manner, and began to converse with his cousin.

"Yet," said Colvin to himself, "yet we have always been the best of
friends. But that would prove a very awkward customer if--Yes," he
repeated, always to himself. "If--"

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Note 1.

"Speak, Bronkersspruit,
With pride speak out;
Call Potchefstrom by name.
Pretoria and Langnek's Pass,
Ingogo and Majuba,
Where our Deliverer was with us,
Proclaim them all together."

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Note 2.

"Our freedom's flag Give now its praise, `Four colours' hold in renown;
It waves above the Republic. No force, intrigue, no politics Of Kafir,
Briton, Jingo clique, Shall e'er that flag again haul down."

CHAPTER ELEVEN.

LOVE--AND SOME SPORT.

"You are in no hurry to go on, are you, Colvin?" said Stephanus De la
Rey, while they were at breakfast. "Because, if not, we might take guns
and go down to the _hoek_. It's swarming with duiker and blekbok."

"Haven't got my gun along, Stephanus, and Aasvogel won't stand fire."
The speaker deemed he had grim reason to know that, and exchanged a
glance with Aletta, who had looked up quickly, at the allusion.

"Oh, that is soon got over. You can have your pick of four horses that
will, and you can either take my shot-