sposed of--the
Directors in person superintending the sale and wielding the ladles. The
supply did not at first correspond with the demand; thousands who had
assembled with their jugs were turned away disappointed. The great
things expected from the Kitchen were realised; the excellence and the
flavour of the broth surpassed expectations. The ordinary meat ticket
sufficed, and its presentation at the Kitchen entitled the holder to as
many pints of soup as (and in lieu of) the number of meat rations for
which the ticket was good. The fame of the broth travelled far.
Egg-cup-fuls of the liquid were exultingly passed round to the wary,
suspicious ones; and these proud sceptics by extending to it the charity
of their silence most eloquently admitted the groundlessness of their
horsey apprehensions.

The visit of an envoy from the Boer camp aroused a good deal of
curiosity. What did he want? The Colonel would never tell. But there was
much sinister speculation abroad which, taken in conjunction with the
unabating activity of the Boers, was the reverse of comforting. The
unconditional surrender of the town had, it was whispered, been demanded
in explicit terms, and with equal explicitness refused. The consequence
of this refusal was the thought uppermost in every mind. The gentlemen
outside were numerically stronger than ever, and more at ease, too. They
had--if report ever spoke truly--intimated to the "Volunteer" camp, in
some way not explained, that they had just returned from their Christmas
holidays; that their absence accounted for the "quiet time" we had been
enjoying; but that they would presently be giving us "beans." They
certainly know how many make _five_; and their facetiousness in close
proximity to a large British Column was beyond us.

There was yet another pronouncement to complete the eventfulness of the
day, and to cause a lull in the domestic warfare waged against the
Colonel and his Ironsides. By dint of hard work day and night the great
thirty-pound gun constructed by De Beers was finished at last. Big
things were expected from it; the surprise and consternation it was
likely to create was a pleasing reflection. The construction of such a
piece of ordnance in the middle of a desert was considered something to
be proud of, and that reflected credit on the genius of Mr. Labram, who
had planned it. Long Cecil (as it was called), in all its pristine
perfection, was submitted to the public gaze, and was at o