There it was in the stop press...! His first thought was: 'The Boers are committing suicide.' His second: 'Is there anything still I ought to sell ?' If so he had missed the chance--there would certainly be a slump in the city to-morrow.

He swallowed this thought with a nod of defiance.

That ultimatum was insolent--sooner than let it pass he was prepared to lose money.

They wanted a lesson, and they would get it; but it would take three months at least to bring them to heel.
There weren't the troops out there; always behind time, the Government! Confound those newspaper rats! What was the use of waking everybody up?
Breakfast to-morrow was quite soon enough.

And he thought with alarm of his father.