the case, I shall feel in no way aggrieved, and shall serve just as
cheerfully under his orders as I hope you will under mine so long as I
command you."

There was a general chorus of "No fear of that, Chris. We all know you
well enough to be sure that we have made a good choice. We knew it
before we left Johannesburg, but your pluck in walking up to that Boer
with his loaded rifle clenched the matter."

"Well, we shall see," Chris said. "I shall do my best, but, as I said,
the moment you want a change I shall be ready to resign; and now I think
that we may as well turn in. It is nine o'clock, and we must be up at
daybreak. Squads number one and two will each furnish a man for the
first watch, taking the first on the list alphabetically. At eleven they
will be relieved by two from squads three and four; then one and two
furnish the next pair, and so on. Four watches will take us on till
daybreak. The two of each squad who will be on duty to-night turn in to
the same tent together, then the others will not be disturbed."

The blankets were spread in the little shelter tents, and all except the
two men on duty were soon asleep. Chris had a tent to himself, there
being an odd number, and an extra waterproof sheet had been carried for
this purpose. Before leaving Maritzburg twenty-two poles, a little
longer than cricket stumps, had been made under Chris's direction. They
were shod with iron, so that they could be driven into hard ground. At
the top was a sort of crutch, with a notch cut in it deep enough to hold
another of the same size. Twenty-two other sticks of the same length
were to form the ridgepoles. Half these were provided with a long brass
socket, into which its fellow fitted. The whole, when they were
accompanied by the spare horses, would be packed with their stores and