y his master.

"Now, Somerton," said Jack's jovial friend, whose name was Turner, "join
me in a lemon-squash and a cigarette. It's a funny combination, but I
find it agrees with me, and I'm sure it's far better for one than
drinking spirits as many fellows do."

Jack gladly agreed to do so, and soon they were lolling back out of the
heat of the sun, puffing their cigarettes, for that was a habit which
Jack had already learnt to appreciate, and chatting about their
respective doings for the past few months.

"So you're up in the Transvaal with Mr Hunter, and under the eyes of
the Boers, are you?" said Turner, when he had heard how Jack had been
employing his time. "Well, I dare say you fellows up there know more
about affairs than we do here; but there are going to be ructions, awful
ructions, I feel sure, and if I were you I should get ready to leave at
a moment's notice."

"Yes, everyone says the same, Turner," replied Jack, "and from what I
can understand, trouble is certain to follow. Some say it will lead to
war, and others say it is likely to be merely a kind of storm in a
tea-cup. Whatever happens, though, I expect I shall stick to
Johannesburg till the Hunters clear out I've thrown in my lot with
theirs, and I couldn't very well leave them, you know. Besides, I am
not anxious to do so.

"If matters come to a head before August, then I shall stay in the
country and see the trouble through; if not, why, I suppose I shall have
to go back to England and begin to cram for the army, a grind which I
don't fancy at all."

"Then the chances are you will be in the thick of it, Somerton, for by
August there will either be war, or old Kruger will have knuckled under.
I can tell you this, at any rate: the Boers have been arming for years,
and if I were in your shoes I should certainly smuggle in some weapon, a
revolver for choice. And mark my words, you'll have need of it before
long or I'm a Dutchman! Now what do you say to a spin round the town or
down to the quays?

"Joko! We want a couple of `rickshaws'. Bustle up and fetch them!"

Jack and his friend were soon bowling along through the streets of
Durban, and spent a pleasant afternoon together.

On the following day Jack called on the agents again, and having come to
an agreement with them, and arranged that the goods should be despatched
by the train which left for Johannesburg the next morning, he sauntered
through the town in the direction of his h