Smyrna times., 1902-12-03

Il will PROMISE" she said as size
went back to her work.
Weeks passed, and one day as father
and daughter stood in the door listen
ing to the distant rumble of cannon
from the north the girls keen ewes
caught sight of red uniforms and fash
Ing arms on the narrow highway.
Father. the English are comingr'
she said with gasp.
"God, but is Il yol" he shouted. GLOW
many, girl; IT," Iany?"
''HundreCs.'
And they ride this way to capture.
burn and destroy! Daughter, do you
remember your promise?'
Il do, father"
Then bar the door, shutter the win
dows and raise the flag of Kloofman
to the roof. War has come to us at
last and am glad. We will show these
Englishmen how old and young, men
and women, can fight and die for lib
erty. All, my old eyes can dimIy see
them now, and feel like shouting and
laughingw
1t was a raiding party of 500 British
cavalry, accompanied by half a bat
terry. They were seizing horses, oxen
and carts for transportation, but neither
burning nor destroying. But for the
| sight of the flag of defiance fluttering
above the farmhouse they might have
| cleared the fields and sheds and passed
on. That flag meant that a score or
/ nj ho6 ,,,l
meant to make a fight of it. AS
skirmishers pressed forward two rifles
were discharged and a soldier threw
up his arms and fell upon the grass.
| A hundred men were dismounted and
advanced, and for a quarter of an hour
they fired briskly at doors and win
dows. At intervals a rifle cracked in
response to the bark of a carbine, and
at each a soldier went down to rise no
more. A flag Of truce was sent for
ward with a demand for surrender,
and 1t was KlOofman who unbarred
the door and stood bareheaded in the
open and called out:
"Go back and say that we shall fight
to the death. Jacob Kloofman had no
son to send to the front and he was
too old to go himself, but when war
comes to his own door he will show
you English how a burgher can die for
liberty and his homer
'The foolsp' muttered the colonel as
he received the message. 1T is a
stone house, and there may be twenty
men inside of it with rifles, but a few
shells from the guns will make ruins
of the place. My compliments to Cap
tain Davis and tell him to open fire al
once"
Five minutes later the three rifeC
guns were hurling shell at the ole
farmhouse. The missiles tore their wa!
through the roof and entered by dool
and windows. The soldiers cheereC
and looked for speedy surrender. Thert
was no longer any rife firing, but thu
flag did not come down, When thu
guns had fired three or four rounds
apiece, white flag was sent forward
again. No one appeared in defanc
this time. The man who bore it wake,
straight to the house and peered il
through the terrible gaps left by tn,
smells. linen he slowly returned ant
reported to the colonel:
''No one to answer. sir. think the,
must all be dead"
The dismounted men moved up. le'
by the colonel. No hostile bullet greet
ed them. In a circle and with carbine
ready they closed in on the battere
house. At length the colonel and on
Of his aids entered with Their hats i
their hands. and the colonels voice ha
a catch in it as he said:
Men, uncover! Tie defenders Of thi
house We're an old man and a youn
girl. father and daughter. and the
were torn to death by the shells. Ii
them be buried with our own dead an
with all the honors, and God rest the
soulsp'