Again the first cart passed on, but this time John was not so lucky.
"The pass said one cart," said a voice.
"Yah, yah, one cart," answered another.
John again put on his clerical air and told his artless tale; but neither of the men could understand English, so they went to a waggon that was standing about fifty yards away, to fetch somebody who could.
"Now, _Inkoos_," whispered the Zulu Mouti, "drive on! drive on!" John took the hint and lashed the horses with his long whip; while Mouti, bending forward over the splashboard, thrashed the wheelers with a _sjambock_.

Off went the team in a spasmodic gallop, and it had covered a hundred yards of ground before the two sentries realised what had happened.

Then they began to run after the cart shouting, but were soon lost in the darkness.
John and Mouti did not spare the whip, but pressed on up the stony hills on the Pretoria side of Heidelberg without a halt.

They were, however, unable to keep up with the cart ahead of them, which was evidently more freshly horsed.

About midnight, too, the moon vanished altogether, and they must creep on as best they could through the darkness.