The Diamond King – Excerpt 10
Thank god! it worked, in a relatively short time, riders appeared leading what appeared to be my horse. Did this mean Henrik had gotten home safely, I prayed this was so. I knew none of the men, but the way they sat their horses and their rough camaraderie suggested to me that these men like myself were ex- Commando’s. They were well armed and had that quiet confidence that only a seasoned warrior possesses.
The leader or spokesman of this band stated that they were hired by Mynheer de Klerk, the Father of my friend Henrik, to find me and return me to him, dead or alive. I explained that I was extremely grateful to Mynheer de Klerk, but I had been away fighting for three long years and needed a few days to get my affairs in order, I would then happily seek out Mynheer de Klerk and thank him personally.
My answer appeared to satisfy them, for when we reached the turn off for my township, they raised no objections, but left me with directions on how to find the de Klerk’s. I thanked them gratefully for possibly saving my life, but they just shrugged and rode away. They had known I was in no danger, but had quite happily taken de Klerk’s money. I didn’t blame them, they like me had chosen the wrong cause and would now have to suffer for it.
When I arrived back at the settlement, most of the buildings were in darkness, but for one, the pub, ran by Nathan Goldstein, the Jew. Goldstein was the type of man I personally despised, he behaved as if he were one of us, but whilst the rest of us were away fighting for a cause, he and his cronies were helping themselves to the profits from our mines. The gold that we had toiled and sweated for.
(C) Damian Grange 2019
