This is the first time that the Knolly Estate has allowed the great man's memoirs to be published. What follows is the eighteenth chapter of 'The African Adventure'.

Mrs DeVries Pt 2

Bertie was already in the saddle as were the others who’d decided to wait for m e. Those other riderless troopers now with mounts milled about waiting to see what would happen. Monty ordered the majority to ride as escort for the wagons, he then reined in next to me as I was bidding farewell to “Freddie”.

“Well come on then Knolly, she’s got a head start” and we were off charging across the veldt.

This was a horse that loved to run, far cry from the heavy dray horses I had to ride hard back at Walvis Bay and I had the duce of a job trying to stay on. Bertie was soon alongside me head down low over his mounts neck; he looked at me and grinned.

“This is more like it, what !” he yelled across trying to be heard above the wind and thudding of hoof beats.

I thought back to the first time he’d been put on a horse and smiled, that story would do well to be told after dinner.

“I think she likes you Knolly” Bertie yelled once more.

I cupped my hand to my ear “Sorry can’t hear you old chap.” I hollered back “Come on Rupert” (why do people insists on giving such silly names to animals) then dug in my heels and flew after our quarry.

As I have already pointed out she was a superb horsewoman and would have done many a fox hunt or point to point back home proud, plus she knew the lie of the land. She made the mistake of looking over her shoulder to see how close her pursuers were and in doing so her horse somehow wrong footed itself and stumbled. It was the sort of thing that would have put many an experienced rider to the floor but she managed to hang on and bring her floundering horse upright and to a halt throwing up clouds of red dust in the process. I could hear her swearing and cursing long before I trotted up beside her.

Her blue uniform jacket and buff jodhpurs had now taken on the same colour as the surroundings and
her face now took on a ruddy sheen caused by a mixture of the dust and feminine glowing, her horse
too now had rivulets of sweat running through its dust caked coat.

I got off Rupert and helped her down from her mount, she was visibly shaking as she stood there and it grew more and more violent.

“Is everything alright?” I asked concern welling up within my voice as I held on to her.

Then her shaking turn run into convulsions of laughter, it was not the normal female tittering laugh but a great bellyful of a laugh, one I could quite associate with London’s finest ale houses. She tried to speak but all this did was to cause tears to well up and for me to join in, though I cannot for the life of me tell you why. At last she regained some of her composure as others of the Light Horse joined us
and I released the grip I had about her

“The reason I was laughing so much Knolly is that I thought that this was a rather extreme way of trying out one of those new cosmetic mud baths I have read about in the London papers”.

“Quite so Mrs DeVries, and I think you should rest your horse a while, you seem to have quite made your point” I nodded in the direction of the other officers and their mounts, all of whom seemed to be out of breath. Bertie strode up looking as fresh as when he’d started save for the odd fleck of dirt.

“Everything Ok , lovely recovery Mrs DeVries, you must teach me that one.”

She looked Bertie up and down “It would seem Mr Harrison-Harrison that I am now in need of that bath far more than you.”

“Indeed Madam.....I trust that you have an ample supply of hot water or we may need to share?”

She let this question hang in the silence that followed and then with a twinkle in her eye said
“I’m sure you and Knolly are great friends,
but you needn’t share everything.”

Those around us sniggered and then hooted with mirth, Bertie shook his head and smiled.

“You have a rapier edged wit Mrs DeVries and I’m sure you can spar with the best, why even our poor friend Mr Wilde would have a problem with you.”

I stopped laughing and shot Bertie a look , but too late Mrs DeVries had taken the line.

“You and Knolly are friends of Oscar Wilde, why you must tell me more, I adore his work as do many
and it is a great shame such a fine man has ended where he is.”

Bertie blinked out a message >“SORRY STOP IT JUST SLIPED OUT STOP”

“Mrs DeVries, we will gladly tell about the Mr Wilde we knew of on our travels in America, but of his recent exploits we know only what has been printed. Now let me help you back on your horse and we can talk as we ride...yes?”

“A capital idea Knolly , and Mr Harrison -Harrison can take......”

“Oh please call him Bertie, it’s such a mouthful otherwise”

She nooded “In that case you must both call me Elspeth, now lets be on our way we still have a few miles to go .”

The final few miles passed very pleasantly and I for one was glad the riding was no longer hard as I feared greatly for my backside and yearned for a comfortable chair. I inferred as much to Monty who only told me that it was my own fault for joining the Navy. As for Elspeth she soon recovered from her accident and laughed along with Bertie’s and my tales of how we came across Oscar on his tour of the United States and the jolly japes we had at each others expense. Alas of his later indiscretions we didn’t go into, .oh yes we knew what had happened despite what I’d said to her earlier. Oscar had played the fool once too often and Bertie and I now feared for his life, such a waste. Whilst we did not condone his appetites one way or the other , we felt it was his own business. After all society was full of like minds and as long as they kept themselves behind locked doors who were we to interfere. Still I’d enjoyed giving Queensbury a bloody nose (so much for his infernal rules) and telling him to keep it out of others affairs, breaking Oscar out of prison unfortunately just hadn’t come off and it was in retrospect rather good fortune that this mission had come up when it did.

Elspeth for her part was the perfect listener and was attentive to our every word as though she was still not quite sure what to make of the pair of us and whether or not she could trust us. She did let us in on the fact that the money for the Regiment was from selling her ex-husbands Rand holdings for as she pointed out the are plenty of diamonds in Africa but only a few in the world have their own Reigiment to help in a crusade. Bertie asked her about Colonel Nix and why on earth she needed such a man in charge, at first she seemed reluctant to tell us, but then I added the small but amusing fact about his near flogging. Her shoulders once more shook with giggling which as made worse by the hurt puppy look on Bertie’s face.

Hugh Nix had as we had both surmised been one of the those that had helped discover the African Continent, a modern day Conquistador he had hunted and scouted with the best, Zouga Ballentyne and Mungo Bamflyde to name but two. Held up to public ridicule by his great rival Frederick Selous in his bestseller “A Hunters Wanderings in Africa” after passing the port the wrong way around the table he had gone for a long walk into the bush. Selous realising his mistake had gone after him and after two years searching found him a stained gibbering loon proclaiming he’d seen huge terrible lizards (Indeed I remember a piece about this in an edition of the Stiltonion). Zelous felt he’d caused the fellows downfall and to make amends used his influence and found him a place with Rhodes staff. Thus when Elspeth formed the Regiment , Rhodes offered him to help discipline her men.

It made an interesting story and much of it seemed to hold up but I felt there was one piece missing However, I decided to leave it for a moment for in front of us loomed something that looked as if it had been transported from the Home Counties. Before us the suset light was pouring over a level lawn, and tree lined driveway, at the very end of this its flagstaff and weathervane glittering in the light rose a splendid building capped with a central turret. To the right as we looked at it were gardens and fountains, to the left was an archway with clock tower through which seemed to be the stable block and barracks.

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