r a short period longer he
would be handsomely rewarded. But, said the dignified savage, "he bad
man--always bad man, telling d----d Dutchmens always. Boss give me
gun, no more telling Dutchmens!" The Intelligence officer pacified the
man by promises of an execution in the near future, and then went to
the brigadier with the information and an earnest conspiracy against
the guide's life. However, the evidence was not conclusive enough for
the brigadier. "What proof have you that it is not all a plant on the
part of your friend, Mr Intelligence? Besides, I would never hang a
white man on the evidence of a black. I am bad at the 'black-cap'
game, but I'll tell you what I will do. I don't want any more of this
guide; tell him that we are going to Kimberley, and that he can go
back to Orange River at once; write a letter to the De Aar
Intelligence coves, and tell them we are bound for Kimberley, seal it
heavily with sealing-wax, and then, if your 'pal' is the bandit you
represent him to be, he will read it and send it to De Wet to-night.
If he is not a knave he will deliver it some time to-morrow night,
when we shall be out of the ken of the De Aar folk, and the lie won't
matter." And so it was arranged....

It has been pointed out earlier in this narrative how often De Wet has
owed his freedom, and incidentally his life, to the leaning of the law
of chances in his favour. Times without number a sequence of
extraordinary circumstances has conspired to defeat the best-laid
plans which have been made to enmesh him. It is not intended to deny
that the man was possessed of a peculiar genius which constantly of
itself freed him from the dangers to which he was exposed. But beyond
this there were instances, not so rare as the world would believe,
when his genius failed him, and it was upon these occasions that
Providence stepped in and furnished a balance against which it was
impossible for human endeavour to prevail. It will never be maintained
that in the present case the brigadier had divined an infallible
scheme. But, as will be seen, the operation of circumstances so
dovetailed with the brigadier's appreciation of the situation, that
though no certain opportunity was foreseen of seizing the arch
guerilla in his bed, yet there was every promise that he would be
forced to play a hand with the cards against him,--a circumstance
which no Boer--not even De Wet--liked or understood. One such a chance
had presented itself before,