A SOLDIER OF THE QUEEN.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVII, Issue 146, 20 June 1906, Page 3

A SOLDIER OF THE QUEEN.

(SHORT STORY.)

(By James 0. Pagan.)

STOFFEL BOTHA, a young Boer, lay flat and motionless in the long withered grass that waved among the boulders. It was almost dark. In the hollow before him in dim outline lay the town of Rustenburg, garrisoned by British soldiers. The colonel in command of these troops was reputed to be one of the cleverest officers who at that time wore the Queen's uniform in South Africa. So it was not to be wondered at that young Stoffel was highly gratified when his chief, having singled him out from a number of sharpshooters, gave him verbal commission to "snip" the colonel with the utmost despatch consistent with his own safety. In this way it came to pass that on the evening of July 21, 1900. young Stoffel found himself inside the town limits and within easy '"snipping" distance of the colonel's headquarters. Full of veldt craft and resource, the young Boer had selected his hiding place in an orchard with the greatest nerve and cunning imaginable. He knew the colonel by sight as well as by reputation. He was a man of the highest personal character, and his renown as a fighter went hand in hand with the enviable reputation of being one of the kindest hearted and gentlest mannered men in the service. At the same time che colonel's proverbial good luck and some of his queer pranks and eccentricities gave rise to a number of stories in which he figured sometimes as a hero and sometimes as a sort of buffoon. But war is war, and Stoffel was well aware that a snipper had no time to spend in thinking about the virtues of his intended victim. The moon was beginning to show itself over the hilltops, so Stoffel busied himself in watching a number of faint figures that appeared every once in a while on the verandah of a residence which he took to be the colonel's headquarters, It was a sultry evening, and Stoffel concluded the colonel was receiving his callers out of doors on the piazza. So intent was the young Boer in watching the movements of these shadowy figures that for some time he remained unaware of the arrival of a strange nocturnal visitant. Over the northern horizon there quivered up in the darkness a long , , trembling stream of light which peered hither and thither in a nervous, inquisitive manner that was almost human.

The great beam appeared to linger in one place just long enough to make note of its discoveries, and then with a sudden jerk it was up and away on some other mission. From his hiding place Stoffel wat.ehed it dodging in and cut among the kloofs, then it swung around, and he could see dark figures on the hillside opposite digging and hauling and throwing up trenches, and finally it dropped plumb among the houses that he was watching.

Far a second or two the young Boer I was dumbfounded. Right in front of ■ him. on the verandah, in the full glare \of the searchlight., stood a man who resembled the colonel, apparently as much surprised a≤ himsalf at the unexpected illumination. But Stoffel. who was possessed of all the cunning and self-control of a born hunter, was not long in taking in the situation and steadying his nerves. Hugging the stock of his Mauser to his cheek he quickly focused the sight with deadly accuracy upon the officer's breast. ; But at that moment the colonel's lu-ck came between him and the snipper, i the town was again in darkness, and the fickle searchlight -was skimming along the edge of the horizon, twenty miles away. With an exclamation of disgust Stoffel fell back into his hiding place.

Tea minutes later, just as the young Boer ws- preparing- to renew his investigations, a man rose as if out of the ground before him., and pushing a revolver into his face he remarked, in a quiet tone, though with considerable em- ; phasis: —

\ "Drop that gun! Up with your i hands." I Stoffei obeyed, tcr he could feel the j cold steel pressing against his forehead. '■ "Who are you?" inquired the voice. I "A Boer," replied Stoffei. ''Ah," continued the man with the pistol, "you aro a =j.y, I suppose, or a snipper Come forward a little, where I can look you over. Why. bless my soul, you seem to be a mere boy! What ia

your age?' , Stoffei had recognised the colonel, and i concluding that thj game was up, he reI plied respectfully: : '"Seventeen years. sir."

I "And your name 1" "Stoffei Botha."' i "'You speak good English. You come I from the Cape?" ; "Yes. sir; from tbe PaarL' , J "'Well." continued the colonel, "I sup- \ pose you are aware of the penalty that is attached to this kind of business? ! What have you to say for yourself?'' J The colonel ?pok«- so quietly, almost j sympathetically, Stoffei could "not quite i understand it- He nad made up his mind I to be defiant, an-.i ta take his punishment ; like a man. but the colonel's kindly voice : and manners were factors he had made no preparation to mert. However, after a moments reflection he replied: "Well, sir, you might tell the old folks I die,! game, that's all." "Tell them that you were condemned I to death as a spy. that you were shot : and thrown into a nameless grave? Is ! that your messagf ?" said the colonel" making a motion to the boy that he might lower his hands. Ihe youns Boer made no reply, so the colonel continued: j "You spoke of your old folks, where are they ?" "At home," rc.pl> d Stoffei. "I am the j last of the boys. The war has swallowed J five of us. Now it is my turn. But I I am not afraid to -lie, even in this way." I The colonel lowered his pistol and stuck it into his belt. Tnen he looked thoughtfully at his young prisoner for a few seconds, and, finally having made up his ■ mind what to do, he said to him: "Look here, young fellow, I am going to trust you. You will not try to escape, on your honour—your promise? i Well, that will do. Now pick up your i gun and come along." i Together they crossed the orchard ithen walked up the main street of the I town for a short distance, and finally en- : tered a house, which proved to be the colonel's own residence. Stoffel's amazement was increased when bis captor mii vited him to make himself at home, to wash hi? hands an A to prepare for a little supper. Before long the colonel himself waited upon his prisoner, and the young Boer. hungry as a hawk, yet hardly knowing w -.ether to call hin.self asleep or awake! Ifd full justice to the colonel's hospital-

ity. After the mesl the colonel busied himself in mak-ing tfa guest comfortable for the evening. Ilia kindly attentions were by no means thrown away upon Stoffel, and by degrees he was able to draw from him considerable information in regard to hi* borne and Ms family in tht Cape Colony. After awhik the colonel said to him: "To-night you will sleep under this roof* Stoffel. " Meanwhile, I will give you something to look at and to think about." Then the colonel brought forward a portfolio containing a number of photographs and pen and ink sketches and displayed a few of them on the table before his young prisoner. Placing hia hand gently upon the boy"s shoulder he said to him: ''Here are some rough drawings of my own, Stoffel. Please look them over. When you mentioned your old folks at home you spoke to my heart in a touching manner. Some ot those sketches are mere scrawls, but they are glimpses of the old place and of the old folks far away over the sea. Such as they are they are precious to mc. i •'Believe mc, Stoffel, it make an awful difference to the old folks whether you are shot in this war or return in safety to the old home. To illustrate this. I am going to draw a little sketch before your eyes which you may take away with you in your pocket, and, if you will, in your heart also. Your home is in the Paarl, you say. I know the neighbourhood well. Your old folks live alone on the farm; the girls all married, the boys all dead, all but you. Now watch mv hand.

"A few lines and a little shading, and there you have the old farmhouse. Now let us add a few outbuildings, a paddock behind the house, an orchard to the right, and to the left a clump of magnificent blue gum trees. In the distance the old Dutch church and rows of white cottages among vineyards and avenues of tall poplars. Am I right. Stoffel f

"Well., here in the yard in front of the house stands your old Hottentot servant. He has just been aroused from his noonday nap in the sun. With the instinct and hearing of an ostrich he has heard the clatter of a horse's gallop far away in the distance, where the waggon road winds across the plain. The horseman had drawn nearer and nearer. The old Hottentot is crazy with delight, and as we can see him in the picture he is frantically calling to the folks in the house to come and see for themselves. Now, Stoffel, a little patien-ce and a. few more scratches and our picture will be complete.

"Your old father now stands at the door. He has just caught sight of you, and he is trembling with emotion. You notice his crutch has fallen unheeded to the ground. The inspiration of a great joy and of greater love has given him strength. His only boy! He forgets his infirmities, and will totter forward to meet you. But see. your old mother, with anxious solicitude, is holding him back with one hand, while with the other she is dashing the tears from her eyes. It i 3 now a complete picture, my boy, and you can almost hear the dogs barking and the bells ringing a welcome to the young patriot, home again from the war.

"Yes, Stoffel. I tell you, it makes all the difference in the world to the old folks at home whether 3-ou return or not. !J

At this point the young Boer interrupted the speaker,, and with deep emotion exclaimed:

'"Enough, colonel! I Understand you only too vrtll." \

"Well, then,"' said the colonel, "just another word. The lesson is for mc as well as for you. Man's inhumanity to man is a great sorrow that girdles the earth and touches us aJL This war ia a terrible scourge, to you. a young Boer, as it is to mc, a soldier of the queen. "Now, listen. At daybreak you will find a. horse ready for you at the door. I will also provide yoa with an escort, who will conduct you in safety through the lines."

Upon hearing these words? Stoffel covered his face with his hands. The colooel continued:

"Your freedom carries with it no conditions. But if you happen to think of it you might tell commander, De Wet. that if he ever gets a chance to do a kindness to any of our fellows one of his own men will. I think, be on hand to thank him for it. Now, good-bye, and may God bless yon."

When Stoffei looked up the colonel was leaving the room. On the table before him was the drawing of his old home. It was all so real, so touching, and yet the experience of the evening had been <o inconceivably strange. Across the top of the drawing was written the following:

"A touch of nature makes the whole world kin.

BADEN POWELL, 1900."

After reading this inscription Stoffei dropped back into his chair and sobbed like a child.

Before noon on the following day he was safe with his comrades among the hills