yourself, and perhaps that accounts for people disliking spies with
a more deadly hatred than that which they bestow on a man who drops
bombs from an aeroplane indiscriminately on women and children, or who
bombards cathedrals with infernal engines of war.

Nobody could say that my native spy in South Africa, Jan Grootboom,
was either a contemptible or mean kind of man. He was described by one
who knew him as a "white man in a black skin," and I heartily endorse
the description.

Here is an instance of his work as a field spy:--

Jan Grootboom was a Zulu by birth, but having lived much with white
men, as a hunter and guide, he had taken to wearing ordinary clothes
and spoke English perfectly well: but within him he had all the pluck
and cunning of his race.

For scouting against the Matabele it was never wise to take a large
party, since it would be sure to attract attention, whereas by going
alone with one man, such as Grootboom, one was able to penetrate their
lines and to lie hid almost among them, watching their disposition and
gaining information as to their numbers, supplies, and whereabouts of
their women and cattle, etc.

Now, every night was spent at this work--that is to say, the night was
utilised for creeping to their positions, and one watched them during
the day. But it was impossible to do this without leaving footmarks
and tracks, which the sharp eyes of their scouts were not slow to
discover, and it very soon dawned upon them that they were being
watched, and consequently they were continually on the look-out to