Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1900-01-10

tong" or dried beef ration, his rifle
and ammunition and proceed ut once
= 50 therendezvous, thence Ito proceod
against the fierce aad warlike Zulns,
who had again raided the Transvaal.
Farmer Putter sa ldled mp and hurried
of, as his first duty was, but first he
called to him Piet his son, and SOL
:emnly spoke to him. -.
s'Sop of mine, said the farmer.sol-
dier, you are not yet man tall enough
to face the Zulu impis in open field,
but to your care I give mein rrouw
and your little sister Greta and Pre-
torius, your brother. You must, if
need be, play mans part for, since
the two gold prospectors left the farm
ut the sign of war, there is none to
take command of the Kafir servants
but you" y
Then Piet said without bravado:
"You may trust my father, for,
though I be not a man, still I am
: Boer."
SO the farmer rode away, and Plet,
thus promoted to command, Withdrew
into the sitting room, aud almost at
once his troubles began. His first care
was to clean and load al firearms.
These hung on the walls, and some
were old-fashioned aail without am;
muniton to it them. But Piet's eye,
seeking his own pet light rife, which
inc had won in shooting match against
all boys of his age for many=miles
round, missed it. He was startled,
for it is almost criminal to meddle
with another mans glory-his rife,
and he sought Pretorius to see if that
ambitious youth had taken it down
Pretorius had it not, and Piet ran out
to call Maluln, native servant, with
sudden fear in his SOUL; Malula did
not come at the call, and Piet, with a
pale face, thought for moment, and
then, taking his old gun and belt,
leaped bareback on horse, without
, word to alarm the family, and rode
(; off unseen at gallop. He rode to
the cornfield, where the native labor
ers should have been working. The
green corn waved in the wind deserted.
Nota man was in sight. He dashed
to the meadows down the valley,
where the herders should have been
with the cattle. Here, in spite OF him
self, tears sprang to his eyes, for the
cattle were gone, and the herders
were absent. The great grassy fields
were silentas were those, of corn.
They have deserted us, as soon as
z my fathers back was turned, = cried
Pet il dismay. And they we're not.
6s i,ssa general 8 ri rising. ing.
among the Kafir tribes?a A 4
AT that thought he trembled, but he
had still yigor enough TO ride to the
top of q kopje near by. From the
peak he had a view of much country,
and saw a cloud OF dustiar away, which
he guessed was made by the stolen
cattle. -
sNeveri mind" said Piet; .''if we
beat the zulus we shall get them back
with interest alti .yi7f
Then he dug his heels into his
horses ribs and dashed down the
hillside. He had seen, half mile
away, black figure moving swiftly
across the yeldt, and the sun glanced
from something borne on his shoulder
"a gun, Malula. Before the traitor
servant was aware of pursuit, Piet
was within 400 yards of him. Then
the Kafir heard the horse's }hoofs and.
turned. For q moment the black
seemed inclined to run. but changed
his mind as the boy shouted to him
angrily. Malula deliberately raised
the stolen rife to his shoulder. Piet
threw himself from the horse, as bull
let whistled over the vacant saddle.
The boy. already hunter, replied,
with but hasty glance through his
sights, and Malula uttered howl md
{; staggered and fell to the ground struck
in the chest. Piet felt q spasm of
2 horror. deer a-plenty had he shot,
but never till;now man, 80 that his
heart forg dash, stood astill, and his
: own face uasSd deathlike. sHe rode
slowly up to Malula, and found the
Kafir writhing in death agony. Piet
= again dismounted and. attempted to
offer aid, but the savage repulsed him.
With look Of hate he glared at the
boy, and cried in his own tongue:
~ 81 am one, but tonight cone the
Zulu, and no white thing on the farm
shall live. For mine there shall be ten
deaths. I"
- -, So he died, glorying in the hope of
q speedy revenge, and the Boer boy,
leaving him, recovered his new rife
and rode slowly and mournfully home
) ward. Here his troubled mother met
him.
'.Piet," she said, "the Kafirs have
left us.
ST know" said he, and looked into,
her brave face, and told her what had
!, happened and what Malula had said
of the nearness of the zulus.
'If my father had known it, !" said
her son, she would not have left US. %
'sHe was eonmandeered, said the
Boer wife. 'Tt was his duty. Country
first-always, my SON."
''But," said Piet, in much pertrr-
baton, '.my father did not think the
blacks WOULD ny. he thouSnt tnat
they, Basutos, would fight their old
enemy, the Zulu. If these come, what
are We to do? Shall we leave the.
farm and trek to- Van Boeven's?"
The BcSr mother pressed her lips
with frown of pride.
'sTlat was notiwell said, my son"
she answered. "Oom Putter said
Stay AS he obeyed his general and
went, so we shall obey him, and stoy
and fight till he comes"
It was Roman speech. Even MS
the words came from her mouth, she
looked round and saw Piet, aswell-
grown boy Of Is years; Greta, child
OF IL; little Pretorius, and the baby
goodly garrison to defend the hearthl
But she saw that hearth-she saw the
dear walls her husband had built to