CHAPTER XIX

POSSIBILITIES AND PROBABILITIES

Steve and the rest of the guard hurried their prisoners forward towards Pretoria, as they feared a rescue. Rumours of such a rescue were not wanting. During the night the guard received information that a party of rebels had left Johannesburg, presumably to rescue Jameson. Proper precautions were taken, but it proved unnecessary. Johannesburg had evidently had enough of fighting (?).

Many stories have been circulated of the bravery (?) of the Johannesburg soldiers. It is told how bands of volunteers left the golden city with the avowed object of teaching the Boers a lesson, and of relieving or rescuing Jameson. But it is also told how these martial bands did not proceed far beyond the suburbs of the town, having seen what to their terror-stricken eyes appeared to be parties of Boers, but what proved later on to have been either troops of their own cattle or parties from their own city.

However, the prisoners were all safely brought into Pretoria, without any attempt at rescue. The men were encamped on the racecourse about a quarter-of-a-mile out of town, under guard, while the officers were kept in safer quarters in what is locally known as _The Government Hotel_, and there they were kept until the authorities had decided what should be done with them, and until they were ultimately sent by rail to the Natal border and handed over to the Imperial Authorities.

Steve was now once more at home. He was surprised, even though he expected something of the sort, to see the squares and outskirts of Pretoria covered with the tents and waggons of the various commandos, and his heart swelled with pride and joy as he viewed the brave men, who at a moment’s notice had left all and hurried in answer to the call of duty to defend country and liberty.

He took frequent walks out amongst the various commandos, and made many friends amongst the Burghers, unknown to him up to now. He found them, unless excited by remarks of recent events, in a happy and frolicsome mood. ‘Just like a troop of happy children out for a holiday,’ as he remarked to a friend. The Burgher out on commando is always full of fun and frolic when off duty or guard. Various games of skill and strength are indulged in during the day, while the evenings are spent in reminiscences of the past: stories of Kaffir campaigns, of the war against England, and of the hunting field, passes round. The younger men would sit and listen attentively and respectfully as their elders related adventures, dangers and difficulties experienced during the early years of the _voortrekkers_. The old men would feel young again as they told of the dangers of the chase; of how they hunted the elephant, the lion, the buffalo, the rhinoceros, in the days when such game roamed the country in plenty, and could be found almost without searching for. How the young men regretted their ill-fortune, which caused them to be born too late to participate in such stirring times. How they wished that they might have lived fifty years ago instead of in these tame, prosaic days, when one had to take a three months’ journey to see a rhinoceros or a lion, and when an elephant could only be seen in a circus show.

* * * * *

It is Monday night, 6th of January 1896. It is the night when the great National Union meeting should have been held under the chairmanship of Charles Leonard. The meeting is being held, but only a committee meeting; but alas and alack Charles Leonard is not here to take the chair. Charles Leonard is in Cape Town. Poor Charles Leonard. The body may have been willing, but the heart was _too_ faint. Such is ever the fate of braggarts. While danger is yet far away, great deeds are talked of--then the braggart is a hero; and, alas for human credulity, the braggart will always find those who will believe in him. It is not everybody who can read the heart of man in his face, or from his tongue, and, least of all, the _public_. How easily the PUBLIC--the _people_--as a whole, will allow a boasting, a glib-tongued, plausible braggart to lead them by the nose. How disgusting it is for a student of human nature to see a man thus lead a crowd of credulous people to believe in him, to make a hero of him, to accept his statements for gospel, and all because the man has a plausible appearance and can TALK.

Johannesburg for a time believed in Charles Leonard!

Now the National Union Committee, self-styled _Reform Committee_, by others called the _deformed_ Committee, was holding a meeting--to do what? To decide upon what they should do in reply to President Kruger’s ultimatum, in which they were given twenty-four hours to lay down their arms and surrender unconditionally.

But the meeting is strictly private; it is not for the public to hear the bitter recriminations amongst the Committee because of blunders and mistakes of the few leaders, nor the regrets of those who had allowed themselves to be flattered into joining a movement which, in their hearts, they knew to be wrong and condemnable; therefore we shall not report the proceedings, but content ourselves that we shall know the result of their deliberations soon, within twenty-four hours.

After Steve had safely conducted the prisoners into their place of confinement, his first act was to report himself as ready for duty, in case of need, to his own field cornet, after which he went home, had a bath, and a good sleep before tea-time.

The members of the amateur debating society are gathered together once more. The debate goes on every night now. The burning questions of the day are eagerly discussed, and everyone present airs his views of what _ought_ to be done, what _he_ would do if he had the control of affairs. Truly the amount of wisdom (?) wasted in this manner is really alarming. It is a pity that the wisdom, knowledge and statescraft exhausted in this private and useless manner could not be bottled up and labelled, to be used as occasion requires. Such bottled-up knowledge may even become a marketable commodity, if some great inventor would only find out how it is to be preserved. Edison might take the hint one of these days.

How easy it would make it for public men and statesmen to buy a little wisdom on certain subjects, especially when in a dilemma. How easy it would be, say, for Mr Chamberlain to buy a bottle of wisdom on ‘Home Rule for the Rand,’ or for President Cleveland on ‘Venezuela Affairs,’ or for President Kruger on ‘How to deal with the Uitlanders,’ or for Charles Leonard on ‘The safest way to play the game of doubling on the hounds,’ or for Rhodes on ‘How to make the Afrikander Bond an Imperial bond (to make him Emperor?),’ or even on ‘How to make Rhodesia pay.’ So many uses could be found for such bottled wisdom and knowledge.

Of course, I know that books and papers generally serve as bottles to contain and preserve much of this same wisdom and knowledge, but so much of it goes to waste, so few have the opportunity or means to so preserve their own knowledge.

We will at least preserve a little of the knowledge and statescraft exuded at this evening’s conversation in the sitting-room of Steve’s boarding-house. It will, at least, serve to show the tendency of public feeling during this time, when public feeling ran high.

‘Hillo, Steve! Well, I am hanged! is it yourself or your spirit I see? Well, at least, your hand feels mortal enough.’ It was Harrison who spoke, shaking Steve heartily by the hand.

‘Well, I _am_ glad to see you chaps again,’ said Steve, as he shook hands all round, ‘and you too, Keith, old fellow? When did you return, I did not expect to see you here before to-morrow.’

‘Oh, when you were gone, we did not seem to enjoy ourselves, so we returned; we have been here since Friday.’

‘You are very flattering to pretend that you value my company so much. Of course, you were curious to know what was going on here, and therefore you returned,’ said Steve, laughing.

‘Well, I suppose you are partly right; we could hardly stay there quietly in the veld without news, while we knew that history was being made at the rate of a hundred miles an hour, and as you had _skedaddled_, we soon followed suit, only we came in an orderly and comfortable way, and did not start on _shank’s_ pony as you did,’ replied Keith.

‘I suppose you returned by the way you went. Well, I think every man to his taste. I wanted to be in at the death; you preferred a more quiet, neutral position. I don’t blame you; every man must do as his conscience tells him.’

‘And how did you fare, Steve? You might give us a relation of your adventures,’ begged Harrison.

Steve gave a rough outline of his adventures since he left the party on the Vaal River, and when he told them that he was present at, and participated in, the Battle of Doornkop, he was plied with questions from all sides, to which he replied as best and as modestly as he could.

‘How many Boers were there against Jameson, Joubert?’ queried a late arrival (who was also a professed Boer hater), named Hastings. Steve had noticed his antagonism towards the Government of the country, and was not at all well disposed towards him.

‘Well, if you wish to know how many Boers were or are against Jameson, I could not tell you exactly; but if I had a copy of the last census papers I might be able to give you some idea of the number. If it will help you, however, I may tell you that _every_ Boer or Afrikander (as we call them) in South Africa is against Jameson.’

The others present laughed at this little sally of Steve’s.

‘Of course, you know, I don’t mean who is against him in principle, I mean how many Boers (or Afrikanders as you prefer to call them) _fought_ against Jameson.’

‘Oh, why did you not say so then? Well, I will draw it as mild as possible,’ said Steve, with some sarcasm, which he could hardly conceal, ‘so as to save your feelings; for if I were to give you the exact number, you would not believe me and would think I was trying to bluff you. Well, there were no more than one hundred Boers actually fighting against Jameson and his band at the Battle of Doornkop.’

‘Bah! you must think I am a green ’un. Do you think I will believe that one hundred Boers could defeat eight hundred drilled English troops, and armed with artillery too? Tell it to the marines.’

‘Oh, so you _do_ call them English troops?’ asked Steve.

‘Well, of course, they are not Imperial troops actually, but they are mostly Englishmen, and have been drilled and disciplined by English officers, and on the English principle, but are not British troops.’

‘Oh, I see, that means, of course, that if they had succeeded, and had subjugated the Transvaal with the assistance of Johannesburg, they would have been English or even Imperial troops, and would have been honoured and owned by England; now that they have been defeated, of course, they are only an irresponsible band of British subjects, for whom and whose deeds nobody is responsible. I have even heard that some Englishmen assert that Jameson’s men are really mostly Afrikanders, that is because they have been defeated.’

‘But, Steve,’ said Harrison, ‘do you really mean to say that one hundred Boers actually defeated Jameson?’

‘I will swear that no _more_ than one hundred Boers took part in the Battle of Doornkop; that would be on the safe side, for I _know_ that there were less,’ said Steve. ‘Of course, there were nearly or fully a thousand Burghers in the vicinity of Krugersdorp, but they were all too far away to take part in the fight. Some parties of them were guarding the various roads, so that if Jameson did escape at Doornkop he would have been pulled up at some other spot. Others again were watching the road to Johannesburg, so that if Johannesburg _did_ send any help to Jameson, _they_ would have had somebody to look after them before they could join forces with the invaders. And lastly, as a matter of fact, a party of Burghers was preparing to take Jameson by storm, and was only prevented from doing so by Jameson’s hoisting the white flag and surrendering.’

‘Very interesting and spicy indeed,’ remarked Hastings in an ironical, unbelieving way.

‘Yes, indeed, and in spite of the spice, hardly to the taste of some people,’ retorted Steve.

‘Well, your Government has managed to overcome Jameson, as I believe, by force of numbers, and because Jameson’s men were starved, fatigued and out of ammunition; but it remains to be seen whether the same game can be played with Johannesburg, which is prepared and well armed and provisioned. That will be a nut too hard for your Government’s knuckles to crack.’

‘To answer your first assertion first. I have already stated that Jameson really had the force of numbers at Doornkop. As to being starved, they had, as I happen to know from their own men, plenty of provisions, and found at regular intervals buildings placed there for the purpose, in which provisions in plenty for man and horse were found. In fact, one man told me they found tables laid ready and laden with food; they had only to sit down and eat. As to fatigue, the majority of the Burghers travelled as far in half the time as Jameson’s troopers did, and that without preparation and without much provision. The assertion that the Chartered troops were out of ammunition when they surrendered is the most foolish of all; for I can tell you that the Government took a rich booty in ammunition alone. In fact, more ammunition was taken from Jameson, than the Boers possessed when they began the war against England in 1880.’

‘I don’t believe it,’ asserted Hastings.

‘Well, I can say this much, if Steve says it is so, and that he saw it himself, I will believe it, for I have never known him to tell a lie,’ said Keith.

‘I don’t believe Steve _can_ tell a lie,’ approved Harrison.

Steve went on, as if he was unconscious of the interruption. He never lost his temper.

‘As to Johannesburg, I am not a betting man, but I am willing to go a little bet that Johannesburg won’t fight. If Johannesburg cared to face the Burgher forces, she would hardly have allowed Jameson to be defeated and captured without at least an effort to rescue and assist him. No, my boy, Johannesburg has no fighting men. It is all bluff. Of course, there are a few brave men in Johannesburg, who, for a righteous cause, would certainly be able to give a good account of themselves. But brave men would hardly consent to be lead by a Leonard or such as he. No. I will tell you the position in a few words.

‘The great amalgamator wanted to amalgamate the Transvaal and Rhodesia for the sake of the Rand goldfields. The plan of campaign was to send a few men to the Rand to preach rebellion and revolution.

‘The next thing would be to strengthen the Rand people by sending outside help, for the Rand by itself could do but little, and, besides, would not always be willing to do exactly as ordered by their would-be leaders. The best outside help at hand was obtainable from Rhodesia; by sending troops from Rhodesia, which really is British territory, would embroil England in the matter, and thus England would be forced to take a hand in the game. It was hoped that if England once took a hand in the game, she would play to suit the cards of her only great privy councillor in South Africa. Now the outside help has been nipped in the bud and England is disowning the whole plot (of course it having failed so far). Thus Johannesburg is isolated and divided amongst themselves, one party being for revolution, one party being for the present Government. Do you see any chance for the Reform Committee to continue their foolish plot? Say, now, for instance, they did persist in trying their strength against the Government. In a week the Government would lay Johannesburg in ruins, or if the Government wanted to be merciful and spare the innocents in the town, in three months they would be starved out if they were not driven to surrender by thirst long before then. No, Johannesburg could stand neither a siege nor an attack from the Burghers. Their only hope for success (England) has failed them.’

‘How do you know that England may not even yet take a hand in the game on her own account? The Transvaal is a blot on the face of the South African map as far as England is concerned, and it has been believed all along that England has only been waiting for an excuse to step in and once more take possession of the country.’

‘Well, I do not believe England will try such a trick. Firstly, because I believe England as a power and Englishmen as a nation have yet some honour left. Secondly, even if England did wish to forget honour and treaty obligations, not to speak of right, justice and the right of nations. I say, even if England did wish to do so, I believe she _dare_ not do so. She dares not, because the glaring injustice would arouse the world against her. It would be an injustice more glaring than the Armenian atrocities even, for from the Turks everybody expects injustice, oppression and cruelty, while from England one would expect at least common justice. From England one would expect that she would recognise her own treaties, for England is supposed to be, and has always been believed to be, a highly civilised power. England is a Christian country, and England is governed on Christian principles. Should England forget her old traditions of fairplay, justice and honour, the rest of the world would pull her up much sharper than they would Turkey.

‘Then leaving out the rest of the world, England would have her hands fairly full in South Africa alone, should she enter upon such an unjust war. If she fights the Transvaal under present circumstances, she would have to fight the Free State, which has already called out a portion of her Burghers to be ready in case of emergency. She would have to fight the entire Afrikander nation in South Africa, including many Uitlanders, or people of foreign birth, and even many Englishman of long residence in South Africa who have learned to value self-government and deprecate Downing Street Government.’

‘Why, _do_ you believe for a moment that the whole Afrikander nation could beat England?’

‘I believe that if England were FREE, and willing to put out her full strength against the Afrikander nation, that she would conquer in the end, for every Afrikander Burgher killed would leave a vacancy in their ranks; while, if one British soldier is killed, two could always be found to take his place. But even if England is able to put out her full might against us, it would be a long and bloody struggle. For every Burgher killed three or four British soldiers would bite the dust. In his native land, and amongst his native hills and mountains, the Boer can take long odds against himself. Then the fight will be on land and not on the sea, where England is supreme. Then again the Boers will always choose their own battlefield, and you ought to know by this time that a Boer knows how to choose a battlefield to his own advantage. The British forces would only be attacked where their superior numbers and arms would be of no advantage. In short, it would be a warfare on the guerrilla system, in which the Boers excel all other nations, and by the time England had conquered the Afrikanders (if she did conquer them), which will only be when at least half of them have been killed; by the time she had conquered them, I say, thousands, if not tens of thousands, of English soldiers will have perished in the South African veld by the bullet or by starvation. Now, I come to the chief reason why England does not _dare_ to undertake such an unjust war, or rather I should say, why the English _Government_ does not dare to do so: And that is because the British people, being a free people, with a voice in their own Government, would never allow their Government to undertake such a cruel--to both sides--and unjust war, and have thousands of their soldiers and relatives killed, all to please a few grasping millionaires such as Rhodes and Beit, or a few conspiring, speculating attorneys, etc., who wish to obtain power as well as riches.’

Steve became quite eloquent in his earnestness.

‘Do you think, then, that England will leave everything to the Boers to do as they think fit? Will she, do you think, allow your Government to shoot down her subjects in Johannesburg, without giving them aid? or if Johannesburg surrenders to the ultimatum, unconditionally, would England allow the Boers to shoot the Reform Committee as rebels, which would probably be done if nothing was done to prevent it?’

‘If it were done, it would only be what they deserve. But it will _not_ be done, at least, not without a fair trial. You may be sure the Government is not going to do anything rash, and sacrifice all the advantages they have obtained. Everything will be done legally and according to the laws of the country.’

‘It remains to be seen,’ said Hastings, walking out whistling, giving Steve to understand that he had had enough argument for once.