A New Bill Adams.

Pahiatua Herald, Volume IX, Issue 1199, 26 February 1902, Page 4

A New Bill Adams.

“ A small engagement, reported from Keitfontoin, where a patrol of Transvaal Carbineers came into touch with twenty of the enemy, was magnified into a big engagement. I was told the true story of tho great battle (writes Edgar Wallace in the Daily Mail) and how a mistake has arisen, and got hack to Elandsfon tein by means of a convenient train that had happened to be coming tho right way. “ Ere was them " said Atkins, indicating “them ” with the butt ot his rifle on tho station platform, “and thero was us ” “us ” being

by weighing machine, “ Tho capin ’e says, I think we’ve got ’em now

me lads. All I want now is somoono to volunteer now to go round that kopje and see if they’ve got anyone awaitin' bo'ind to give us ’oil as soon as we move on ’em. I want, ’o sez a trustworthy, reliable man, ’e sez- ono that knows 'e’s dooty and is an ole soldier, ’o sez ; none of your three months servico boys. An’ Sergeant Jones that’s my Sergeant—’e sez ; send Barker ’’ sez, ’e’s a good soldier, ’o sez—l hate my liamo, added Atkins, modestly. “ 1 daresay,” said a sarcastic listener. “ And did you go ?” “ I did ” replied Atkins, “ and—” “ 1 suppose your face frightened ’em ” suggested the interrupter. “ Shut up. Go oil Cocky." This from tho audience. <

“ Well I crawlH and 1 creeps, a-’i<ling bo’ind bushes and rocks till I gets beside the kopje, an' wen I looks round there was their nibs a sitting waitin' for the capin to como on. Nigh on sevon 'undred I should say. As soon as 1 seen ’em 1 nips back to the caplin, and 1 sez “ There is about 800 burjers a waiting for you there sir. And ’o sez; “'Ow many ?’’ •• Eight undred ” f says, j “Did you oount, ’em?” ho sez “ Yessoz I, as boldaa brass. •- Well it strikes me ” he sez, Barker, you've got second sight, 'e sez, “an’ if tiler's “eight 'undred Boors round | there I’ll eat my hoots, ’o sez. Any 'ow wo got tho squadron divided into llu'uu sections, un’ one went to

the leit, tho other to tho right, and the other straight a'ead. Well bimeby wo giv’ a yell an’ charged on the kopje, an’ sure ’nough they started firin’ from tho top, only it was’nt wat you’d call an ’eavy fire, but just a klik-klok klik-klok, just about as fas'; as I can say it. Well bimeby, up went a white flag, an’ me and Jimmy Sparks went up with our rifles at tho ready—you bet your life on that—and there wore three wounded Boers an’ two diad ’uns, and the rest of tho commam.o was gone. Then tho captin came up and starts questionin’ the wounded ones—that one, said Atkins pointing to one of the prisoners, seated with his arm in a sling on a bundle of blankets—“ an’ then ’e asks ’in, what they call the kopje—the name of it, 1 mean—an' the Boer, ’e sez : ‘Baboon’s Kop,’ *e sez. ‘ Are there any about ’ere ? ’ sez the captin, 1 Lois,’ sez this ’ere Boer ; ‘ look over there,’ and may I be if there wasn’t a young thousand of ’em chatterin’ an’ jorring along a ridge noar by. So the captin’ ’o laughs, an’ sez : ‘Oh

Barker,’ ’e sez ’wheie’s them eigli ’undred Boors ?’ e sez. ‘ Didn you notice they ’ad tails !’ ’e sez."