't be done, Mr Denham, and you know it
as well as I do."

"No, I don't," said my companion stubbornly. "It ought to be done.
Once we were all through, the enemy would take to flight."

"Once we were all through," said the Sergeant, with a grim chuckle; "but
that's it. How many would get through? Now, just put it another way,
sir. Say there's only six or seven of them out there, and there's one
on our side. That's about how it stands as to numbers. Very well; say
you lead that charger of yours out. The Boers see what's going to
happen directly, and the minute you're up in the saddle they begin to
fire at you--the whole seven."

"You said six," cried Denham.

"Six or seven, sir. Well, let it be six. Don't you think it very
likely that one out of the six Doppies would manage to hit you?"

Denham frowned and remained silent, while Joeboy sat all of a heap, his
arms round his knees, watching the Sergeant, and I saw his ears twitch
as if he were trying hard to grasp the whole of the non-com's theory.

"You think not, sir?" continued Briggs. "Well, I don't agree with you.
They'd hit you perhaps before you got far; they'd hit you for certain,
you or your horse, before you got close up; and let me tell you that the
chances would be ever so much worse if we were galloping up to them in
line."

"Yes, you're right, Sergeant," said Denham slowly. "It would be murder,
and the chief couldn't, in justice to the men, call upon them to charge.
But they'd follow us," he added excitedly.

"Follow their officers, sir? Of course they would, and some of 'em
would get through."

"Gloriously," cried Denham.

"Well, I suppose some of those fine writers who make history would call
it glorious; but I should call it horrible waste of good stuff. It
wouldn't do, sir--it wouldn't do, for there'd be nothing to gain by it.
If we could make an opening in the enemy's lines and put 'em a bit into
disorder, so as to give a chance for another regiment to slip in and
rout 'em, it would be splendid; but to do it your way would be just
chucking good men's lives away."

"Yes, yes, Sergeant; you're right, and the Colonel's right, and I'm all
wrong. I know better; but my head got so knocked about by that renegade
Irishman and my fall down that hole that it doesn't work right yet."

"I know, sir," said the Sergeant, nodding his head. "When you talk in
that bitter way I know it isn't my brave, clever young officer speaking;
and I say t