The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Kopje Garrison, by George Manville Fenn

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Title: The Kopje Garrison
A Story of the Boer War

Author: George Manville Fenn

Illustrator: W. Boucher

Release Date: January 26, 2009 [EBook #27897]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE KOPJE GARRISON ***

Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England

The Kopje Garrison, by George Manville Fenn.

CHAPTER ONE.

HOW DREW LENNOX AND BOB DICKENSON WENT A-FISHING.

They did not look like fishermen, those two young men in khaki, for
people do not generally go fishing with magazine-rifles instead of
fishing-rods--certainly not in England. But this was in South Africa,
and that makes all the difference. In addition, they were fishing in a
South African river, where both of them were in profound ignorance as to
what might take their bait first; and they were talking about this when
they first reached the bank and saw the swift river flowing onward--a
lovely river whose banks were like cliffs, consequent upon ages of the
swift stream cutting its way downward through the soft earth, while here
and there clumps of trees grew luxuriantly green, and refreshed the eyes
of the lookers-on after a couple of months spent in riding over the drab
and dreary veldt.

"Tackle isn't half strong enough," said the younger of the two, who was
nearly good-looking; in fact, he would have been handsome if he had not
always worn so stupid an aspect. "Think there are any crocodiles here?"

"Likely enough, Bobby."

"S'pose one of them takes the bait?"

"Well, suppose he does!" said the other, who resembled his companion,
minus the stupid look; for if the keen, dark-grey eyes were
truth-tellers of what was behind them, he was, as the men in his company
said, sharp as a needle.

"S'pose he does!" said the young man addressed as Bobby--otherwise
Robert Dickenson, second lieutenant in Her Majesty's --th Mounted
Infantry. "Well, that's a cool way of talking. Suppose he does! Why,
suppose one of the great magnified efts swallows the bait?"

"Suppose he does. What then?"

"Why, he'll be more likely to pull me in than let me p