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In England and over all British South Africa the escape created as
much interest as it did in Pretoria. Because the attempt showed
pluck, and because he had outwitted the enemy, Churchill for the
time became a sort of popular hero, and to his countrymen his
escape gave as much pleasure as it was a cause of chagrin to the
Boers.
But as days passed and nothing was heard of him, it was feared he
had lost himself in the Machadodorp Mountains, or had
succumbed to starvation, or, in the jungle toward the coast, to
fever, and congratulations gave way to anxiety.
The anxiety was justified, for at this time Churchill was in a very
bad way. During the month in prison he had obtained but little
exercise. The lack of food and of water, the cold by night and the
terrific heat by day, the long stumbling marches in the darkness,
the mental effect upon an extremely nervous, high-strung
organization of being hunted, and of having to hide from his
fellow men, had worn him down to a condition almost of collapse.
Even though it were neutral soil, in so exhausted a state he dared
not venture into the swamps and waste places of the Portuguese
territory; and, sick at heart as well as sick in body, he saw no
choice left him save to give himself up.
But before doing so he carefully prepared a tale which, although
most improbable, he hoped might still conceal his identity and aid
him to escape by train across the border.
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