At length one evening, when we were sitting on the stoep after supper,
we descried a rider approaching on a very tired horse. Rushing to the
gate, we were handed letters from Mafeking. It can be imagined how we
devoured them. They told of three determined attacks on the town on the
third day after I had left, all successfully repulsed, and of a
bombardment on the following Monday. The latter had been somewhat of a
farce, and had done no damage, except to one or two buildings which, by
an irony of fate, included the Dutch church and hotel and the convent.
The shells were of such poor quality that they were incapable of any
explosive force whatever.[26] After nine hours' bombardment, although
some narrow escapes were recorded, the only casualties were one chicken
killed and one dog wounded. An emissary from Commandant Snyman had then
come solemnly into the town under a flag of truce, to demand an
unconditional surrender "to avoid further bloodshed." Colonel
Baden-Powell politely replied that, as far as he was concerned,
operations had not begun. The messenger was given refreshment at Dixon's
Hotel, where lunch was laid out as usual. This had astonished him
considerably, as presumably he had expected to find but few survivors.
He was then sent about his business. Gordon, who imagined me at
Setlagoli, concluded his letter by saying the Colonel had informed
General Cronje of my presence at Mrs. Fraser's, and begged him to leave
me unmolested. This news, which had come by a _Daily Mail_
correspondent, on his way South to send off cables, was satisfactory as
far as it went, and we at once despatched a trusty old nigger called
Boaz with a tiny note, folded microscopically in an old cartridge-case,
to give the garrison news of the surrounding country. This old man
proved a reliable and successful messenger. On many occasions he
penetrated the cordon into the beleaguered town, and during the first
two months he was practically the sole means they had of receiving
news. His task was of course a risky one, and we used to pay him £3 each