A Dash from Diamond City | Page 7

has all gone in at one ear and out at the other. You see, I devote so much time to music. That and my work at the office keep me from taking much notice of other things. Politics, for instance, and the rumours of war. Do you think it at all likely that there will be any fighting, West?"
"I can't say," was the reply; "but we're going to be perfectly ready for the Boers in case there is, and it's quite time we were off, Ingleborough, if we intend to answer at the roll-call."
"Hah! Yes," cried the young man addressed. "Better come with us, Anson."
The latter shook his head, and his companions separated from him at the gate.
"Better come," said Ingleborough again. "Join, and then you'll be on the spot if we do form a band."
"Oh no!" said Anson, smiling. "You make up your minds at headquarters to form a band, and then, if you like, I'll come and train it."
"He's a rum fellow," said West, as the two young men fell into step.
"Ah," said Ingleborough roughly, "I am afraid Master Anson's more R. than F."
"More R. than F?" said West questioningly.
"If you must have it in plain English, more rogue than fool."
"Well, I fancy he isn't quite so simple as he pretends to be."
"Bah! I'm not a quarrelsome fellow, but I always feel as if I must kick him. He aggravates me."
"Nice soft sort of a fellow to kick," said West, laughing.
"Ugh!" ejaculated Ingleborough, and his foot flew out suddenly as if aimed at the person of whom they spoke. "Don't know anything about diamonds! What things people will do for the sake of a bit of glittering glass! Look here, West, for all his talk I wouldn't trust him with a consignment of stones any farther than I could see him."
"Don't be prejudiced!" said West. "You don't like him, and so you can only see his bad side."
"And that's all round," replied Ingleborough laughing. "No; I don't like him. I never do like a fellow who is an unnatural sort of a prig. He can't help being fat and pink and smooth, but he can help his smiling, sneaky manner. I do like a fellow to be manly. Hang him! Put him in petticoats, with long hair and a bonnet, he'd look like somebody's cook. But if I had an establishment and he was mine, I should be afraid he'd put something unpleasant into my soup."
"Never mind about old Anson," said West merrily, "but look here. What about that illicit-diamond-buying? Do you think that there's much of it taking place?"
"Much?" cried his companion. "It is tremendous. The company's losing hundreds of thousands of pounds yearly."
"Nonsense!"
"It's a fact," said Ingleborough earnestly; "and no end of people are hard at work buying stolen diamonds, in spite of the constant sharp look-out kept by the police."
"But I should have thought that the licences and the strict supervision would have checked the greater part of it."
"Then you'd have thought wrong, my boy. I wish it did, for as we are going on now it makes everyone suspicious and on the look-out. I declare that for months past I never meet any of our people without fancying they suspect me of buying and selling diamonds on the sly."
"And that makes you suspicious too," said West quietly.
Ingleborough turned upon him sharply, and looked him through and through.
"What made you say that?" he said at last.
"Previous conversation," replied West.
"Humph! Well, perhaps so."
CHAPTER FOUR.
RUMOURS OF WAR.
The Diamond-Fields Horse had drilled one evening till they were tired, and after it was all over, including a fair amount of firing, the smell of blank cartridges began to give way to the more pleasant odour of tobacco smoke, the officers lighting their cigars, and the privates filling up their pipes to incense the crisp evening air.
"I'm about tired of this game," said one of a group who were chatting together; "there's too much hard work about it."
"Yes," said another. "Someone told me it was playing at soldiers. I don't see where the play comes."
"Look at the honour of it," said another. "We shall be defending the town directly from an attack by the Boers."
There was a burst of laughter at this, and when it ended the first speaker broke out contemptuously with: "The Boers! We shall have to wait a longtime before they attack us."
"I don't know so much about that," said the man who had spoken of the attack. "I believe they mean mischief."
"Bosh!" came in chorus.
"Ah, you may laugh, but they've got Majuba Hill on the brain. The idiots think they fought and thrashed the whole British Army instead of a few hundred men. Here, Ingleborough, you heard what was said?"
The young man addressed left off chatting with West and nodded.
"You went to Pretoria with the superintendent