Then the three of them started, and arriving at the door of my house,
which was about a hundred yards away, were of course challenged by the
sentries.

"Heeren," said Marie, "the commandant has given us leave to bring
food to my husband, whom you guard within. Pray do not prevent us from
entering."

"No," answered one of them gently enough, for he was touched with pity
at her plight. "We have our orders to admit you, the Vrouw Prinsloo and
the native servant, though why three of you should be needed to carry
food to one man, I don't know. I should have thought that at such a time
he would have preferred to be alone with his wife."

"The Vrouw Prinsloo wishes to ask my husband certain questions about his
property here and what is to be done while he and her men are away at
the main camp for the second trial, as I, whose heart is full of sorrow,
have no head for such things. Also the Hottentot must have orders as
to where he is to get a horse to ride with him, so pray let us pass,
mynheer."

"Very good; it is no affair of ours, Vrouw Quatermain-- Stay, I suppose
that you have no arms under that long cloak of yours."

"Search me, if you will, mynheer," she answered, opening the cloak,
whereon, after a quick glance, he nodded and bade them enter, saying:

"Mind, you are to come out by ten o'clock. You must not pass the night
in that house, or we shall have the little Englishman oversleeping
himself in the morning."

Then they entered and found me seated at a table preparing notes for
my defence and setting down the heads of the facts of my relations with
Pereira, Dingaan, and the late Commandant Retief.

Here I may state that my condition at the time was not one of fear, but
rather of burning indignation. Indeed, I had not the slightest doubt
but that when my case was re-tried before the great council, I should be
able to establish my complete innocence of the abominable charges that
had been brought against me. Therefore it came about that when Marie
suggested that I should try to escape, I begged her almost roughly not
to mention such a thing again.

"Run away!" I said. "Why, that would be to confess myself guilty, for
only the guilty run away. What I want is to have all this business
thrashed out and that devil Pereira exposed."

"But, Allan," said Marie, "how if you should never live to have it
thrashed out? How if you should be shot first?" Then she rose, and
having looked to see that the shutter-board was