The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-08-13
UNDER THE K0PJE.
a story of Early Days in south
Afrlcu.

on the village roads looked up from the
work Weaflly He removed his broad felt
hat ana brushed tic sweat from his red
dencd brow and his checks ana neck. sun
burned almost TO b,ackness. Ills Kahir
onarges naued in their task and their
Razc followed his. In thu clearly bright
African air the threatening g-ay stone
walls OF the strong jail, built COMMAND
ingly on a high. big-bw.dered Ko2Je.
loohod close at hand, although COOL
mile away. VI, burg. The tiny capital Of
the British territory. lay to the left. hail
bound. silent street deserted in the fur
mace neat. two rows OF glarins houses with
roofs ana walls of pa.vau.zcd non.
suddenly a qui1k-eyei Kanr cried:
"Bu ors'' and pointed to the flagstaff IN
front Of the jail. With a grunt Of relief
the white man swung his rife 20 his Shout
der, and the Kafirs threw their tools into
the wheeiharroWs. There fut cred up the
head OF the hagstaff a red flag. the sign
TO all outside working parties to return.
But to-day work ceased at o cock and
the convlcts were not marched directly 90
the jail, but to a small lake beneath the
Kopje, where twice week they lavtaI
themselves. An instant change look place
IN the manner Of the prisOnCrs. They joked
as tlCE feIt lutH DalTOWS IN a shed, and
trotied forward 50 quickly as to incon
venitnce the r warden. y big. glossy black
man, his fine figure concealed by the Or s
OH clothes, led the way, hummng as he
went, in low, sing song, Pleasant melody,
n chant Of war lines. The others took il
up; one threw h S hands above his head
ana skipped sttp Of the war dance.
Easy, Sixpence"' Growled the guard
Easy, you big rascal"
The big kalliir in the lead slowed up
and turned with grin 10 the white man
pointing a ringer down gre at red throat:
''Ba-a-s! TabacH' he murmured
The guard threw him piece Of tobacco.
which the kaffir cleverly caught and slap
ped into hts mouth AT once the four or
five other Kaflir of the gang turned, and.
reading good nature in their sentry's face.
held out their hands muteiy
Like babies for candy" unused the Eng
lishman. as he distributed the small luxu-
ries, They're a rum lot. Not one of
them in for less than three years and that
fellow SiXpence a lifer, and by Jove. TO see
them laughing now without a handcum In
the CROWD of en-, you'd think them school
boys going 10 swimming"
They reached the little lake. shallow at
the banks. deep in the center, where a
rushy, marshy island lay more water
than mud. The other working parties had
foregathered, and Sixpence and his com
rades, each aimed with a piece OF SOAP
ming. spiuttering, playing in the cool pond
like boys. The white guards leaning on
their rifles. stood. at intervals, round the
bank. In tie shadows a group of blacks
danced a mock war dance. naked as monk
eys. advancing and retiring with fantastic
arms, grooming the hum Of the impis. Then
II was difficult. almost impossible for the
guards to distinguish each his own men.
In their convict clothes. each prisoner had
some distinguishing mark; stripped. bob
bing their Lack ana wooly heads in the
wafer. there was tantalizing likeness
among AL the swimmers. After a time
they began TO come out. one by one ana
dress. Then guard made his gang fail
In and marched them up the kopje 10 the
prison gates. Another followed. and anoth-
or, uniil the village guard was left last to
bring in his men lie was young and re-
Gently employed by the town; he could not
talk the native dialects, and now he was
much perturhed. for he could give to him
self no explanation Of the evident fact that
there WAS none left. in the water, and yet
he was one man short. The Ka1irs only
ch1ttered and laughed at him, enjoying
the excellent joke. His eye anxiousy
searched the surface of the lake; there was
rothng there The rushes on the mud
bank could barly have concealed a RABBIT
Hoping that SiXI~nce, the missing man.
had, in mischief--for the Kafiirs abounded
in malicious IriCks-slipped away with an
TO the jail. where he reported what had
happened.
The warden of the jail received the re-
port without comment or rebuke, but
promptly seized a riffs from the rack,
left the other prisoners TO be shut up
in the cells by a few guards and took the
rest at run to The lake. Meanwhile the
gang had hardly left the bank of the
pond before, in the gathering dusk. there
was rustic among the scant PUSHES of
the mudbank. The mud stirred, and from
the soft bed where it had been entirely
Immersed leaving only the face to the
air, arose the black form OF Sixpence.
Silently he slipped into the water and
swan ashore, as silently, his broad face
stretched in a joyous grin. He stayed
for no covering. but crawied up the steep
banks, stopped down as low as he could
and ran away across the stony bluffs
which surrounded the prison. He had not
gone a hundred yards before the guards
came running down 10 the lake ana saw
him. The warden shouted to him TO halt.
but SixpenCe ran more swiftly, yet not
In a direct line. In a lghtnng-like Zig
gag course he darted from right to left
obiquely always onward, but in such
short. swift lacks that he was almost an
impossible target. Five guns were aimed
al him; five guns swerVed mOmentarily
right and left TO find a mark before they
were fired. Sixpence waved his hand mer-
yond the bluffs unhurt A Zulu servant
led down two saddled horses, but the
warden looked at the setting sun and
shrugged his shoulders
mo use" he said. "Itn be dark in ten
minutes. aua the black fellow will be hid
den somewhere. l suppose you know he
was i'm for mauslaughter?"
The village guard hung his head.
90. l don't blame YOU" said the warden
solder hands than you can be taken in
/ suppose he buried himself In the mud
or course, there viii be am inquiry"
There was. but a very short one. held in
the tail. In the middle OF it laundering
demand for admittance was made with a
knobkerry on the outer gate. The guard
who opened the wicket led Sixpence before
the court OF inquiry, as cheerful and fat
and with as broad smile as ever He ex-
planned TO the court that he had been home
had suffered from homeslckness had en-
ioyed himself and was gladly back again
VERY little food over there" he said
he