nd when the latter went to town she and Carlo were invariably
escorted to the gate by the faithful Mauser, who again welcomed them
on their return.

This kidnapping episode had taken place a few months after the British
entry into Pretoria.

A full year had gone by; and Mauser, the kitten, had developed into a
beautiful full-grown cat and was the mother of five mischievous little
ones, grey-striped and very wild, for whom she had made a home in a
deep hollow in the trunk of one of the big weeping-willows, the very
tree under which "Gentleman Jim" had built his small kitchen of
corrugated iron.

It is a stormy night in November 1901, a month remembered by all for
the violence and frequency of its storms.

Hansie is bending over her diary, trying to make her entries between
the crashes with which the house is shaken.

Her mother is lying on a couch near by; her tired eyes are closed, but
she is not asleep. Who could sleep in such a storm?

Perhaps we may be allowed to look over the writer's shoulder.

"Nov. 8th, Friday, 10 o'clock p.m.

"And this terrific storm has been raging for hours! It seems
incredible.

"It was the same last night and the night before. As I write, the roar
of thunder never once breaks off, peal after peal, crash after crash,
vivid, dazzling flashes of lightning, torrents of rain mixed with
hail, and a howling wind.

"Such a night is never to be forgotten.

"One is thrilled and impressed by its magnificence, by its awful
grandeur and its majesty, and yet I think one would go mad if it
continued for any length of time.

"I feel as if _I_ am going mad with the thought of our thousands and
thousands of women and tender little children exposed to all this
fury....

"Where is the God of pity to-night?

"Surely not in our desolate land, not in our ruined homes--_not in
South Africa_!

"The fourth storm within a few hours, each more violent than the last,
is just approaching, and this one threatens to surpass the others in
unabated fury.

"The Lord hath turned His face from us.

"The hand of the Lord is laid heavily upon us. His ear is deaf to our
cries and supplications. I cannot write, my soul is crushed by the
sorrow, suffering, and sin around me....

"I feel better now, but the struggle has been great....

"At the front, fierce blows have been struck lately. Our men are
fighting as they never fought before....

"How the storm rages on! In my sheltered home, safe from the fury