Quick as thought he sprang upon his companion, striking the presented rifle upwards with a blow from his own, and then grasping the infuriated man by the collar.
"None of that!" he cried fiercely in Dutch.

"Cornet or no cornet, I'm not going to stand by and see a cowardly murder done! We've got to fight, brother burghers, but we'll fight like soldiers and men.

Our name's been stained enough by what has been done already." "Here, you'd better go and fight for the rooineks," cried the discomfited Boer fiercely.
"I'm going to fight for my home and country, brothers," cried West's defender, "the same as you are: not help to murder a helpless boy who has behaved like a brave man." The portion of the force who had seemed disposed to side against the speaker were disarmed by his words, and there was a general cheer at this, while the cause of the trouble growled out: "You're a traitor to your country, and the commandant shall hear of this." "No, no, no, no!" came in chorus.

"Serves you right." West made no resistance now, as his defender signed to him to give up his rifle, which, plus the bandolier, was handed over with a sigh, Ingleborough's having already been taken away.
The next thing done was to search the prisoners' pockets--watch, purse, and pocket-book being taken away, but the inner belts containing the greater part of their money were entirely overlooked, while West stood breathing hard, his face wrinkled up and an agonising pain contracting his heart, for the Boer who had defended him unbuttoned the flap of his haversack, thrust in his hand, and brought out a couple of cake loaves, and then, one after the other, two carefully wrapped-up sandwiches, standing for a few moments with them in his hand, hesitating, while Ingleborough, who had recovered his senses, darted a meaning look at his suffering companion.
"It's all over with our expedition!" he said to himself.

"Why didn't poor Noll eat his sandwiches ?" The moments were as agonising to him as to West, who could only stand in silence; but, having become somewhat versed in the tricks of those who fought the law through his friendship with Norton, an idea crossed his mind, and turning in a faint appealing way to the Boer who seemed to be holding in suspense the scales of success and failure, he said: "Don't take our bit of provisions away! We're prisoners; isn't that enough ?" The Boer fixed him with his eyes, noted his pallid face and the blood trickling down from the cut caused by his fall, and then, as if satisfied and moved by a feeling akin to compassion, he nodded his head, thrust the cake and the sandwich-like papers back into West's haversack, and let it swing again under the young man's arm.
"Lucky for them we're not hungry!" he said, in his own tongue, "or we shouldn't have left them much." "Why don't you make them eat it ?" cried the man who had fired.