for days, and had finally been taken in here. "Ach!" said the old
_vrow_, "I would be afraid to meet him. Is he really here?" This remark
she made to Mrs. Keeley's brother, who could hardly conceal his
amusement, but, to reassure her, displayed the cart and mules by which I
had come. If in England we had heard of the arrival of a "unicorn" in an
aeroplane, we should not have shown more anxiety or taken more trouble
to hear about the strange creature than did they concerning myself.
Their curiosity did not end here. What was Mr. Keeley doing in Mafeking?
Was he fighting for the English? How many head of cattle had they on
the farm? And so on _ad libitum_. Mrs. Keeley, however, knew her friends
well, and was quite capable of dealing with them, so they probably spent
an unprofitable day.

On another occasion an English farmer named Leipner looked in, and gave
us some information about Vryburg. This town was absolutely undefended,
and was occupied by the Boers without a shot being fired. The ceremony
of the hoisting of the _Vierkleur_[27] had been attended by the whole
countryside, and had taken place with much psalm-singing and praying,
interlarded with bragging and boasting. He told me also that some of the
rumours current in the town, and firmly credited, reported that Oom Paul
had annexed Bechuanaland, that he was then about to take Cape Colony,
after which he would allow no troops to land, and the "Roineks" would
have been pushed into the sea. His next step would be to take England.
Mr. Leipner assured me the more ignorant Boers had not an idea where
England was situated, nor did they know that a great ocean rolled
between it and this continent. In fact, they gloried in their want of
knowledge, and were insulted if they received a letter in any tongue but
their own. He related one tale to illustrate their ignorance: An old
burgher and his _vrow_ were sitting at home one Sunday afternoon.
Seeing the "predicant"[28] coming, the old man hastily opened his Bible