"Now you can get up, you hulking ruffian. I am going to give you a
lesson in civility. Oh, you won't get up? Well, it will make no
difference to me," and he proceeded to give the howling Boer a
tremendous thrashing. "There," he said, when his arm was tired, "you may
get up and go, and I hope that the lesson will do you good. Now, Cairns,
we will search the house. It is likely enough he has a lot of rifles
hidden somewhere, and perhaps when we have gone he may go and fetch some
more of his class. We may as well possess ourselves of them."

The seven lads went into the house, paying no further attention to the
Boer. In spite of the fury of the women, they searched the house
thoroughly, and in a large case in a disused room they found twelve
Mauser rifles, with a thousand cartridges. They then took a basket and
filled it with bread, and emptied the milk from two large pans into a
pail.

"We are not thieves and robbers, like your people," Chris said to the
women, as he threw five shillings on the table. "Your man has been good
enough to tell us that he will be in Maritzburg with the Boers in a
week's time. Therefore, as war has been declared, the muskets are lawful
spoil taken from a rebel. Now, boys, let's be off."

The cartridges were divided among them; then, with the thirteen guns,
the basket, and pail, they started to rejoin their friends. "Well, that
is a fair capture to begin with," Chris said. "As far as we are
concerned, the war has begun. The Boer has made off, I see. I should not
be surprised if we hear of him and some of his friends again. However,
now we are well armed they can come as soon as they like."

Great was the joy among the women and children when they returned with