A BOER ROMANCE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2412, 24 May 1900, Page 59

A BOER ROMANCE.

FROM FACTS SUPPLIED BY A SOLDIER'S LETTER.

The Boer is usually described as a soine,whal dull and singularly undemonstrative m.-n, and it, is hard to think of such an'" individual as a victim of 'the little god of Love, but Cupid is as busy in Africa as elsewhere, and Piet has his tender moments

We had been called up about two hours bsfore daylight to go on a scouting expedition. Something had come to the ears of the Colonel that made him suspicious, but our orders ■were not very definite, excepting that we were to give a little attention to a farm-house about two miles off, after covering a stretch of 12 miles in a crescent

The ride was uneventful. If the Boers were anywhere in the hills they were not anxious to make their presence known, and when the -Boer wishes to keep himself dark li 3is like a rabbit in its burrow, you need to hunt for him. with a ferret.

Not a sign of an enemy did we discover, "and the greyness of dawn was in the pky r.-hen " Bricks,'' the lieutenant, called a halt, and we discovered the farm-house looming, dark and shapeless, a little to the right

" Clark, Purcell, Byrne," said ilie lieutenant, " follow me a.s quietly as you can. The rest remain where you are, and m-.ke no noise."

We dismfunt'-d and followed "Bricks,"' approaching the house as warily as if we had been burglars intent on cracking a crib. We listened at the windows and the doors, but heard no noise. Our officer tried the kitchen door, and it opened. We stole in without a sound.

In a room to the right an old couple were sleeping. They were not disturbed. Puicell and Byrne pas-sed into other rooms', and I went on to the pailour, my hand on my revolver butt all the time. " I turned the nob and the lock clicked. There was a fierce exclamation as the door opened. The faint light 01 dawn was in the -room, and for a second 1 saw two figures sitting on chairs by the table near the nuddle of the room, a man and a girl. The girl's head" rested on the man's shoulder, his arm was about her waist.

I had scarcely realised the situation when thfi man sprang at me. Almost mechanically I fired, snd he staggered back a space, but came at me again, and we clinched and stiuggled. The next moment the other chaps were with me, and we had our prisoner down and trussed in no time. He was a Boer soldier; his rifle was in the corner, his bandolier on the table. The lieutenant brought a light, and we saw our prisoner distinctly. He was a big, handsome youngster, very fair, and looking like the picture of old Vikings in the storybooks. His sweetheart, or wife, I don't know which, was a neat little woman of the Marguerite type. She stood looking at us with frightened eye? and a grey, grave face, but did not speak ~ word. All the chattering was done by the old couple, who danced in in their night-gowns, jabbering Dutch like two furies. The officer gave his orders briefly, and we took our man up, and half-dragged, halfcarried him towards the horses. He was strong, and gave us some trouble, but we got him away all right, and left him in charge of the boys while we had a bit of a trot round the outhouses.

We discovered nothing, and returned. The prisoner was lying on his back with his arms tied, a big Yorkie standing guard.

"We'll give him your horse, Clarke," said the lieutenant.

I brought Darkie up, and at that moment a figure slipped from behind a little clump of bushes near at hand, and faming to our prisoner started cutting fiercely at the rope with whicb he was tied. Yorkie's" rifle jumped to his shoulder, and

' his f.r.ger was on the trigger, but /ti. ' iieu« tenant made one wild running jump dv the big fellow and sent him sprawling. " It's the woman, yon fool !" yelled "Bricks."' .So iv was. The plucky little beggar had dressed herself in a boy's suit and made a game attempt to rescue her sweetheart. It was a very narrow shave for her ; Yorkie's bullet missed her head by an inch, and killed Byrne's mare dead as a, door nail. ! Byrne and Purcell grabbed the girl, and held- her back, and " Bricks," who has a good deal of pretty sentiment in him, in spite of his apparent toughness, after mounting the prisoner on my horse, went to her and spoke kindly. j "Do you understand English?" he said. The girl, who evidently expected that something terrible was about to happen, nodded her he;ul slowly. " Well, your friend here will not be hurt, my girl. He is our prisoner; he will "be kept till after the Avar, but no harm will come to him." Then our chaps rode away, and Byrne and I. following on foot, looked back, and saw the little Boer standing motionless in the dull light' of the early dawn, straining her eyes to see the last of her lover as ho was borne away across the veldt.