of that, and on
getting into a cab she soon became aware of being followed by two men
on bicycles.

This was rather exciting, and Hansie actually enjoyed the chase.
Instead of urging her cabby to whip up his horses, she gave him
instructions to go as slowly as possible, well knowing that it would
be more difficult for any one on a bicycle to follow a crawling cab
unnoticed than to pursue a more swiftly moving vehicle.

When she reached Harmony and paid her fare she saw, out of the corner
of her eye, that the men dismounted before the War Office.

"Were you followed home?" was her mother's first question.

"Yes, indeed," she replied, laughing; "they are near our gate at this
very moment, and I can just imagine them going to the sergeant-major
presently, asking questions about the people living here. And I am
quite sure his answer will be, 'Bless you, no. Those two ladies are
quiet and well-behaved, and you don't suppose they could be carrying
on any of _that_ business under my very nose!'"

Hansie's diaries had all been removed to an office in town and placed
in a _safe_ safe. All safes were _not_ "safe" in those days, but this
one belonged to a man who was known as a model of good behaviour
throughout the war. White envelopes, diaries, copies of official
dispatches from the field, all had been removed from Harmony, except
the "White Diary" which lay open on her writing-table, and to which we
owe a detailed account of the stirring events of September 1901.

What it naturally did not contain was accurate information of the
arrest of the other Committee members and their subsequent
experiences.

Trusted friends were beyond her reach, and she had to content herself
with what information she could gather from men "about the town," but
this information, verified by what she was told by the men concerned
long after the war was over, will give the reader a fair idea of the
events of this period.

Not only Mr. Botha, but all the members of the Secret Committee had
been arrested that night, and two days later the staggering tidings
came of Mr. Jannie Joubert's removal to the Rest Camp, where
"political prisoners" were detained.

Now indeed fears of a speedy raid on Harmony were justified.

Their fellow-conspirators were all in the hand of the enemy, and
although they trusted them implicitly, and knew there was no one
amongst them base enough to betray his friends, they had no reason to
think that the people who had b