Project Gutenberg's A Dash from Diamond City, by George Manville Fenn

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Title: A Dash from Diamond City

Author: George Manville Fenn

Illustrator: F.A. Stewart

Release Date: May 4, 2007 [EBook #21305]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A DASH FROM DIAMOND CITY ***

Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England

A Dash from Diamond City, by George Manville Fenn.

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The setting is South Africa, during the Boer war. Two young men are
sent from Mafeking with important despatches which they have to get back
to the General at Kimberley, travelling through Boer-occupied country,
and meeting with many mishaps. Just before they finally arrive they are
both severely wounded, and are unconscious for a fortnight. Luckily the
despatches, which had been sewn into a jacket, now filthy and
blood-stained, are still to be found, though there had been the idea
that the jacket would most probably have been thrown away, as it wasn't
at first anywhere to be found.

There are other threads in the story, for instance there's one about
illicit-diamond-dealing, and of course we meet Boers and Kaffirs, as
well as English people.

There is the usual well-written sequence of tense moments we get from
this author. A good read, and a nice audiobook if you prefer that.
NH
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A DASH FROM DIAMOND CITY, BY GEORGE MANVILLE FENN.

CHAPTER ONE.

THREE WHITE ONES.

Tick, _tap, tap_--_tap, ticker_--_ticker--tapper_--_tapper_;
_tick_--_teck, tacker--tap_ went a typewriting machine, and
_scratch_--_scratch_ went two pens, in one of the minor offices
connected with that vast wealth-producing industry known as the De Beers
Diamond-Mines, where, seated at desk and table, three young men were
hard at work, one manipulating the typewriter, one writing a letter, and
the third making entries in a fat leather-covered book with broad bands
and a big letter distinguishing it upon the back.

The words: "minor office in a diamond-mine," naturally suggest wealth,
Turkey carpets, french