had vaulted lightly into the saddle, and was riding away towards the
nearest gate which lay to the east. He had chosen this purposely, for
had the Boers obtained an inkling of the direction in which he was to
ride, the telegraph wire which was at their service between the two
beleaguered towns would have warned all the burghers to look out for
him. At the gate he was challenged, and on giving a special pass-word,
which he had been instructed to use, a lamp was flashed for a moment on
his face, and he was allowed to proceed.

"Good luck to yer, mate!" said the sentry who had received the
countersign. "Give our best respects to the chaps up north, and tell
them we're having a fine time down this way. Ta, ta, old horse! Mind
the palings as you go out; they are a bit inclined to scratch yer."

"So long, Joey!" laughed Jack cheerfully, recognising the sentry as one
of the volunteers he had met the night before.

Cantering on he carefully avoided the high fence of barbed wire, and,
riding through an opening in it, was almost immediately challenged by a
picket, and was compelled to pull up suddenly, to find a couple of
bayonets pointed at his chest.

"Gently, boys!" he called out in a low voice. "You'll be sticking those
things through me next time. I'm Jack Somerton, and `Buller' is the
pass-word."

"Right; `Buller' it is," was the answer. "Pass on, Jack, and go easy
when you get half a mile away; there's a lot of our dear Boer friends
prowling about over there."

Jack thanked the man for his advice, and cantered on again. Then he
pulled up, dismounted, and led his pony along over the grass, pausing
every now and again to listen and search the darkness in all directions.
At this moment the search-light from the town was suddenly turned on,
and passing well above his head was flashed across the veldt in front of
him, and then all round till it fell upon the same spot again.

Jack stopped where he was and followed it carefully with his eyes.
Again it flashed round the town, and then was suddenly cut off, leaving
everything in absolute darkness. Springing on his pony, Jack touched it
with his spurs and galloped ahead, and did not draw rein again till he
had ridden a good five miles. Then he dismounted for a few minutes, and
having allowed the animal sufficient time to rest, jogged on at a gentle
canter, the most comfortable pace at which to cover a long distance.
There was no difficulty about keeping in the rig