Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 130: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

By L. PATRICK GREENE S far as Oom Piet van Slyke was con- A cerned, the war of 1899-1902 had never ceased, and he chose to ignore the fact that Boer and Briton were living together in peace, prospering, creating a new land and a new nationality; he gave no credence to the fact that the words Boer and Briton were passing out of the language, giving place to a new word— Africander—embracing both peoples. Oom Piet believed that a Boer was a Boer— and the chosen of God; a Rooinek was a Rooinek—and a verdoemtie lying hypocrite to be shot on sight like aasvogels, hyenas and other vermin. He was one of the old “ irreconcilables.” Narrow, bigoted, he hated with a grim im- placability. Had he been allowed to follow his inclinations, Oom Piet would have gone with Kruger into exile and there have died with that much maligned four times Presi- dent of the Transvaal. But Oom Piet was not allowed to go with the aged Kruger, neither was he able to carry on a warfare against the “ invaders ” single-handed—though for a time he es- sayed to do just that. But lack of food and ammunition, the number of enemies opposed to him, and advancing old age drove Oom Piet to seek the seclusion of his farm. There he was forced to confine his hatred to the curses and maledictions which he daily called down upon the heads of such English as had taken up land in the neighborhood. Once one of them, a newcomer, lost on the veldt, sought refuge at Oom Piet’s home- stead. Him Oom Piet stripped of his clothes, gave him accurate directions for reaching his own farm, and drove from the place. That incident would have seen the end of Oom Piet had not some of his own people succeeded in persuading the Englishman to 920 CoOnnicooolkSse©