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Updated: June 13, 2025
There remained only Fourie to be dealt with. Fourie, late Major in the South African Defence Force, possibly the most fanatical of all the rebels, appears to have been a man of character and proved courage. Having got away at the action at Hamanskraal, he and his younger brother were moving about in the veld with ex-Major Pienaar and a moderate force.
"H'm," returned the General, "some of your burghers have made so masterly a retreat that they have already got to Newcastle, and I have just wired Field-Cornet Pienaar, who is in charge, that I should suggest to him to wait a little there, as I propose sending him some railway carriages to enable him to retreat still further.
There was a silver cigarette-box beside me, and I saw that it had been won by Percival Appleton, Esq., of the St Bede's Club, in a golf tournament. I had to keep a firm hold of Peter Pienaar to prevent myself bolting out of that house. 'Well, said the old man politely, 'are you reassured by your scrutiny, Sir? I couldn't find a word.
The bridge had already been mined, the guns placed in position, and everything made ready to give Pole-Carew and the Guards a worthy reception; but fate decided otherwise, and General Pienaar, with some two thousand men, crossed the frontier, needless to say with what deep regret thus reducing by one-fifth our forces in the field, a loss which would have been avoided had Steyn's advice been taken and guerilla warfare begun after Machadodorp.
The day before we had seen a good battle in the clouds when the Boche plane had crashed, and a Transvaal machine-gun officer brought the report that the British airman had been Pienaar. 'Well done, the old takhaar! he cried, and started to yarn about Peter's methods.
The end of regular warfare had been reached; it was imperative that an entire change of tactics be adopted. Steyn was for beginning the guerilla system immediately, in which he was supported by Gravett, Pienaar, and Kemp; Kruger, however, determined to defend the railway to the last. The British lost no time in following up their success.
We were dressing when a man in a lieutenant's uniform came in with a paper in his hand. He was a fresh-faced lad of about twenty, with short-sighted spectacled eyes. 'Herr Brandt, he called out. I nodded. 'And this is Herr Pienaar? he asked in Dutch. He saluted. 'Gentlemen, I apologize. I am late because of the slowness of the Herr Commandant's motor-car.
Coetser himself, with the few of his men who had fairly decent horses, preferred to follow Botha, who by this time had begun his trek from Hectorspruit, and left General Pienaar in charge of Komatipoort.
I was on the right track, and I jammed that down in my mind and vowed never to forget it. The last word was with Peter Pienaar. Scaife's men would be posted now, but there was no sign of a soul. The house stood as open as a market-place for anybody to observe.
'I have a notion that there is more at the back of this than appears. We will investigate the antecedents of Herr Pienaar. And you, too, my friend. On you also we have our eye. I did the best thing I could have done, for what with anxiety and disgust I lost my temper. 'Look here, Sir, I cried, 'I've had about enough of this.
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