But if there was nothing dastardly in this, neither was there anything heroic, since I was proof against that kind of deadliness if Bob was not.
On the other hand, the whole character of my mission was affected by the decision at which I had now arrived.

There was no longer a necessity to speak plainly to anybody.

That odious duty was eliminated from my plan of campaign, and the "frontal attack" of recent history discarded for the "turning movement" of the day.

So I had learnt something in South Africa after all.

I had learnt how to avoid hard knocks which might very well do more harm than good to the cause I had at heart.