generals. You are all just Privates and things
'Gee, man, Dirkie! why you always got to spoil things?' you shut your
mouth, Brian.' Dirk sensed mutiny, and quickly he diverted their
attention.
'Come on, let's go and get ammo.
'Dirk took the long route down the sanitary lane. This way he was
unlikely to meet adults and have any of his force seconded to serve
elsewhere at wood chopping or gardening under parental control.
'Peaches are nearly ripe,' Nick commented as they passed the Pye
orchard.
'Another week, ' Dirk agreed, and crawled through the hedge into the
Van Essen plantation that spread down to the Baboon Stroom.
'There they are!' someone shouted as they emerged from the trees.
'Boers, General!
Out on the right, busy along the bank of the river was another bunch of
small figures-sons of the Dutch families in the district.
'I'll go and talk to them,' Dirk said. 'You go for ammo.
They trotted off towards the river and Dirk called after them: 'Hey,
Nick, get me a good dollop of clay.
'All right, My Lord.'
With all the dignity of a general, officer and a peer of the realm Dirk
approached the enemy and stopped a short distance from them.
'Hey, Piet, are you ready yet? ' he asked haughtily. Piet Van Essen
was his second cousin twice removed. A chunky lad but not as tall as
Dirk.
'Ja. ' 'The same rules?' Dirk asked.
'Ja, the same rules. ' No clothes, ' Dirk warned him.
'And no throwing with stones,' Piet shot back.
'How many you got?' Dirk began counting the enemy suspiciously.
'Fifteen-same as you.'
'All right then,' Dirk nodded.
'All right then!'
Nick was waiting for him below the bank. Dirk jumped down beside him
and accepted the large ball of blue clay that Nick handed him' It just
right, Dirkie, not too wet.
'Alright let's get ready.'
Quickly Dirk stripped off his clothing, pulled the belt from the loops
of his pants and buckled it around Ins waist to hold his spare lats.
'Hide the clothes, Brian,' Dirk ordered and surveyed his naked
warriors. Nearly all of them still retained the almost WOManly shape
of youth; undeveloped chests, protruding stomachs and fat white
buttocks.
'They'll come down the river like they do every time,' Dirk said.
'This time we're going to ambush them. ' As he spoke he kneaded a
handful of clay into a ball and spiked it on to the end of the lat.
'Me and Nick Ill wait here-the rest of you on top of the bank in those
bushes back there He was looking for a target to practise on, and found
it in a water tortoise which was laboriously climbing the far bank
-watch that old skilpad. ' He interrupted himself; stepped forward
with his right hand holding the lat thrown back, then whipped it
