The Scout Page 10

Page 10
                                                                   Chapter 12

As he approached the Boer stronghold, Piet pieced together the story he would tell. The truth, but not the whole truth would be best, he thought as he strode towards the two husky young guards. One of them recognised him and a broad grin split his young bearded face as he shouted, "Van Rieneeck, where the fuck have you been.? The old man's been waiting for you. Go on through, Otto will take you to him."

He followed Otto, the clump of their boots sounding very loud on the bare wooden floorboards, and halted before the closed door. Otto rapped smartly and a moment later Piet heard the familiar voice shout, "Come." Otto threw open the door and said,
"Van Riebeeck has arrived sir."
"Has he indeed, show him in then Prinsloo." Otto stepped briskly aside and Piet saw De Wet sitting at a desk. Feat gripped him and his legs seemed to turn to water. "Don't stand there like an idiot, come here, you've a lot of explaining to do." Piet shuffled forward and stood before the desk. "You were expected two days ago, where the hell have you been.?"
"I...." Piet began and dried up. The old man's fits of temper were legendary and when crossed he was known to make liberal use of his sjambok. Indeed the heavy rhino whip lay there now, curled on the desk beside the general. Piet began again, haltingly, but gained confidence as he got into his stride. De Wet did not interrupt but sat calmly listening. When he had finished, there was a long silence and Piet began to sweat. De Wet suddenly snapped, "Why didn't the farmers kill you right away?" Piet's heart sank, this was the question he was dreading.
"They said that they were going to amuse themselves before they slit my throat."
"Why would two run-away farmers want to torture another Boer? You are not telling me the truth, are you, Van Riebeeck?"
"Yes sir, I mean, I don't know sir."
"They had no intention of tortuing you, did they, so what did they mean by 'amuse themselves' eh Man?" Unable to reply, Piet could only shake his head.
"They intended to commit an unnatural act with you, didn't they? Piet felt himself trembling and he could only shake his head again.
"Don't lie to me Van Riebeeck, they were going to abuse you, weren't they?  De Wet shouted.
Piet managed a nod and De Wet said, more calmly,
"Ah, so that was it, the filthy scum. And did they?" Piet was now visibly shaking and tears pricked his eyes as he stared at a point above De Wet's head.
"Answer me, Man, did they?" De Wet roared
"Y..Yes," Piet managed to whisper faintly. De Wet rose to his feet and yelled,
"What? Speak up, Did they? Piet took a steadying breath,
"Yes Sir" and lowered his head.
"Filthy abominations, you killed one and you say the leopard took the other?"
"Yes Sir." Not daring to look up, Piet heard the general give a deep sigh.
"Considering how unlucky, or shall we say careless, you'd been on this mission, that was a stroke of luck."
"Yes Sir."
"It was also fortunate, that you were able to free yourself afterwards. Though its not surprising really. Most farmers can't manage anything more advanced than a granny knot." Piet raised his head and the general said,
"This whole matter is most unsatisfactory and we'll deal with it later. Can you swear that you were not compromised by the Khakis?"
"Yes sir."
"Very well. Be so kind as to bring in my aide from the outer office." Piet opened the door and the young aide came bustling in, notebook and pencil in hand. He sat in the chair beside the desk and the general looked at Piet.
"Well have your report now, Mr Van Riebeeck."

De Wet listened intently and when Piet had finished, asked some very shrewd questions, which he answered, with growing confidence. But when the general finally sat back and stared balefully at him, he felt a stab of unease. "Thank you, that was excellent. Now we must deal with the matter of your capture and the consequences." Piet began to sweat again,when the general turned to his aide
"That will be all. See if you can find Reitz and have him come here immediately." The young man left and De Wet said,
"We will say no more about your treatment at the hands of the farmers but we cannot ignore the matter of your seizure and interrogation by the British. Piet was now really frightened. His eyes strayed to the sjambok and he guessed that Reitz must be some big thug who was going to string him up and flog him. De Wet reached into a drawer, drew out a document, and began to read, ignoring the big bearded man standing before him. The minutes ticked by inexoraby until at last there was a loud knock on the door. Piet started violently, then gaped in amazement as the door opened to reveal Reitz.

The big, broad-shouldered, bearded figure standing in the doorway, eyeing him warily, was the man he'd fucked back in the summer.
"Ah, come in Reitz and close the door," the general said. As the man complied and strode over to stand beside him, Piet ran his eyes over the muscular body, which he remembered so well. He was also pleased to see that, like himself, he wore no underdrawers. He got a fleeting glimpse of the clearly discernable half-hard cock in the tight trousers before he lifted his eyes to meet Reitz's gaze.
He opened his mouth  to speak but something in the man's dark blue eyes warned him to silence.

De Wet looked at the two husky men standing before him with their arms behind their backs and their legs apart. Both the same height, dark, bearded and virile, they could have been brothers, he thought as he addressed Reitz,
"Van Reibeeck here fell into the hands of the enemy on his last mission but luckily, for all concerned, he was able to escape before he was made to divulge any information." De Wet paused, and looked each man squarely in the eye, before continuing,
"Although the bravery and loyalty of both of you were never in doubt, your behaviour has, for some time, given me grave misgivings." The scouts exchanged nervous glances and the general went on,
"Your devil-may-care attitude and insistence on riding alone on missions will no longer be tolerated. Is that understood?" Both men nodded.
"In future you will ride together. With your combined skills, you should hopefully, be able to keep each other out of trouble. Piet felt an enormous surge of relief and turned to look at Reitz. His eyes regarded the general gravely but from the way they puckered at the corners, Piet guessed that the neatly trimmed beard hid a small smile.