y.

"Well, I think it would," I said--"and from the cool daring of the
thing."

"And what about your horse? That would be enough to betray you."

"No take Sandho," said Joeboy, who had been listening attentively.

"Of course not," I said. "We should walk right across to the Boer
lines, getting off as soon as it was dark."

"Why not go in disguise as a minstrel?" said Denham banteringly--"like
King Alfred did when he went to see about the Danes? Have you got a
harp, old chap?"

"No," I said coolly.

"Well, it doesn't matter, because I don't believe you could play it.
But a banjo would be better for the Doppies, or--I have it--an
accordion! Haven't one in your pocket, I suppose?"

"Why can't you be serious?" I said.

"I am, old fellow. Banjo, concertina, or accordion, either would do;
and if you could sing them one or two of their popular Dutch songs it
would be the very thing."

"Don't banter," I said dryly.

"Then don't you propose impossibilities. There, they are cooking supper
again, so let's get down and see about a bit of--ahem! you know.
Whatever it is, we must eat. I almost wish I were a horse, though, and
could go out on the veldt and browse on the herbage. Here, I say, I've
got a far better Utopian scheme than yours."

"What is it?" I replied quietly, for I felt that he was going to chaff
me.

"Well," he said, "it's this. You know how imitative monkeys are?"

I nodded.

"Then all we have to do is to make a ring of our men round the kopje
there, and drive the baboons into the court here. From the court we
could turn them into one of the passages between the walls, stop up the
ends, and capture the lot."

"To eat?" I said sarcastically.

"Eat, man? No; to drill, and teach them to forage for us, just as the
Malays teach the monkeys to pick coco-nuts for them."

"Drill them? Ah! there is a baboon called a `drill.' Yes, go on," I
said.

"We could send them out every night, and they'd come back laden with
mealies for us; and there you are."

"Nice evening, gentlemen," said Sergeant Briggs, who had just climbed
to our side. "I've been using the Major's glass. My word! they've got
wagon after wagon loaded with stores across yonder. Is there any way of
cutting out one or two, for we must not go on living upon horse?"

I looked hard at the speaker, and then at Denham, and the result was
that we astonished the Sergeant, for both Denham and I burst out
laughing, and Joeboy smi