Now, neither Langley nor Whitson had the remotest idea of visiting
Pietermaritzburg. It is necessary, of course, for the reader to know
where they did intend going to, and how the intention arose; but before
doing this we must deal with some antecedent circumstances.
Langley was most certainly the most boyish-looking man in the force. He
had a perfectly smooth face, ruddy complexion, and fair hair. He was of
middle height, and was rather inclined to stoutness. He was so fond of
talking that his comrades nicknamed him "Magpie." A colonist by birth,
he could speak the Kaffir language like a native.
Whitson was a sallow-faced, spare-built man of short stature, with
dark-brown beard and hair, and piercing black eyes. His age was about
forty. He had a wiry and terrier-like appearance. A "down-East" Yankee,
he had spent some years in Mexico, and then drifted to South Africa
during the war period, which, it will be remembered, lasted from 1877 to
1882. He had served in the Zulu war as a non-commissioned officer in one
of the irregular cavalry corps, with some credit.
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