'How much farther, Oorn Paul?'
But before answering, Vecht, Generaal Jan Paulus Leroux eased himself
around in the saddle and looked back along the commando of one thousand
burghers he was leading to a rendezvous at his laager in the mountains.
They rode in a solid mass that clogged the floor of the valley, bearded
men in a motley of dark homespun clothing, on ponies shaggy in their
winter coats, yet Jan Paulus felt pride swell in his chest as he looked
at them. These were the bitter, enders, veterans of half a hundred
fights, men forged and tempered in the furnace of battle, razor, sharp
and resilient as the finest steel. Then he looked at the boy beside
him, a boy in years only for his eyes were old and wise.
'Close now, Hennie.
'Eccles, we'll halt here. Water the horses.
Loosen the girths but don't off saddle No fires but the men can rest
and eat.
'Very well, sir. ' 'I am going forward to have a look at the laager.
While I am away I want you to issue an extra hundred rounds of
amunition to each man. Check the Maxims. I should be back in two
hours.
'When will it be, sir?'
'We'll move forward at dusk, I want to be in position to attack as soon
as the moon rises. You can tell the men now.'
As Sean and Nonga left the column and moved on foot up the valley, two
men watched them from the ridge. They lay on their bellies among the
rocks. Both of them were bearded. One of them wore a British
officer's Sam Browne belt over his patched leather jacket, but the
rifle that rested on the rock in front of him was a Mauser.
'They send spies to the laager, ' he whispered, and his companion
answered in the Taal.
'Ja, they have found it.
'Go! Ride quickly to Oom Paul and say for him that we have three
hundred khaki ripe and ready for the plucking. ' The other Boer
grinned and wriggled backwards, working his way off the skyline. Once
below it he ran to his pony and led it down into the grass which would
muffle its hoof, beats, before he mounted.
An hour later Sean returned from his reconnaissance.
'We've got them, Eccles,' he grinned savagely at Saul and Eccles.
'They're about two miles ahead in a hidden basin of hills.
He squatted down and smoothed a patch of earth with the palm of his
hand. 'Now here is the way we'll do it.' With a twig he drew quickly
in the dirt. 'This is our valley. Here we are. This is the laager,
hills here and here and here. This is the entrance to the basin. Now,
we'll place two Maxims here, with a hundred men below and in front of
them like this. I want you, ' Abruptly his earthen map exploded,
throwing dirt into his eyes and open mouth. 'What the bloody, ' he
mouthed as he clawed at his face but the rest of it was lost in the
blast of the Mausers.
Through streaming eyes Sean looked up at the ridge. 'Oh my God!'
A fire haze of gunsmoke drifted across it like sea spray on a windy
