ng his mother heard was that he had been arrested and
removed to the Rest Camp. (_Arrest_ Camp, some people called it!)

He was very independent and refused to take the oath of neutrality,
which, strange to say, he had hitherto avoided, and it would certainly
not have been to his taste had he known that his mother had been to
the Military Governor to intercede for him.

The result of that interview was not satisfactory. He would only be
released on signing parole.

This, Mrs. Malan thought, he would certainly refuse to do.

"We were treated with marked kindness," she continued, "and this may
be taken as proof that the English are not aware of the _real_ facts."

The two women laughed in mutual understanding of their conspiracies.

"Still this leniency may be only a blind, Hansie. It is painful not to
know _how much_ the enemy knows."

"What will you do if Captain Naude and Mr. Greyling come in to-night?"
Hansie asked.

"Shelter them, of course!" was the undaunted reply.

* * * * *

That night as Hansie lay on her sleepless pillow, she felt as if all
the batteries of the gold mines were thumping on her heart.

Mrs. Malan's last words to her rang continually in her ears:

"Willie Botha will be executed without a doubt."

But before day dawned Hansie's heart was at rest and she slept, for
she had solved the problem in her mind.

She would go to General Maxwell and plead with him for the life of her
friend.

He was human and tender-hearted, that she knew, and she would tell him
how an innocent young life hung in the balance, how the lives of both
mother and child would be imperilled if such a cruel fate befell the
father. If her pleadings were of no avail, she would offer to give,
in exchange for his life, the name of one well known to her as a
dangerous enemy to the English.

And when she had made sure of his release, hers would be the name she
would reveal.

During the dark days which followed Hansie found her strong support in
the thought of this resolve.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 4: The writer was misinformed on this point. After the age
of fourteen, boys are liable to be executed.]

CHAPTER XXVIII

HANSIE EARNING THE VOTE

Events moved quickly in those days.

The conspirators had hardly had time to recover from the shock of the
recent arrests, they were just beginning to wonder what would happen
if their unsuspecting friends from commando walked into the