This had astonished him considerably, as presumably he had expected to find but few survivors.
He was then sent about his business.

Gordon, who imagined me at Setlagoli, concluded his letter by saying the Colonel had informed General Cronje of my presence at Mrs.Fraser's, and begged him to leave me unmolested.

This news, which had come by a _Daily Mail_ correspondent, on his way South to send off cables, was satisfactory as far as it went, and we at once despatched a trusty old nigger called Boaz with a tiny note, folded microscopically in an old cartridge-case, to give the garrison news of the surrounding country.

This old man proved a reliable and successful messenger.

On many occasions he penetrated the cordon into the beleaguered town, and during the first two months he was practically the sole means they had of receiving news.