Apparently the safety-bolt was missing from all of them, making them when loaded as brittle as an eggshell.

This young lady and her mother were certainly very anti-Boer in their sympathies, though terribly afraid of allowing their feelings to be known.

All that day and the next they spent in the laager, looking after the injured _pere de famille_, whom, by the way, I got quite friendly with, but who, I think, was rather relieved to see his family depart.

I rather regretted them, as Miss Hoffman used to bring me a lot of gossip overheard in the laager, where she assured me public opinion was running very strongly against me, and that all were of opinion the General should certainly not allow me to join my friends in Mafeking.
The morning dragged on.

It was a hot, gusty day, and I found the shelter of my poky little room the most comfortable resting-place, although instead of a chair I had but a wooden case to sit on.