The covenant - James A. Michener [423]
'I understand, Oom Paul.'
'Ja, now that's good, Jakob. Let's have some coffee while you tell me about Paulus de Groot. How's the old devil these days?'
Jakob was fifty-five years old that February, a man of medium height, heavy build and deliberate movement. He was delighted at the prospect of traveling to the Cape in a first-class carriage and at government expense, for he had never seen the Trianon of his ancestors and looked forward to meeting its occupants.
He conducted his interviews in Cape Town first, and was pleased to find that the wealthy Du Preez had not forgotten their links with his family. They were most congenial when recalling those days when the first De Pres shared the Trianon vineyards with the Van Doorns. 'We've both moved a long way.' But when he discovered their attitude toward participation in a possible war, he was unhappy to learn that they had no interest whatever in taking up arms to defend the Boers.
'Don't misunderstand us, Van Doorn. We have much sympathy for the republics, but not for war. Look at what we have here. It's all come since the English arrived. I realize you might not like the Uitlanders as neighbors, but damnit, man, you Boers wouldn't know how to handle gold. Not even with all the Hollanders and Germans you bring in to run your government.'
Jakob tried to argue that the freedom not only of the northern Boer but of the southern Afrikaner, too, would hang in the balance: 'That is, if war comes. You Cape Afrikaners would certainly' They cut him off: 'We have all the freedom we need here in the Cape. More than you seem to have up north. You may not believe this, but we like it here. We won't march in your armies.'
A schoolteacher named Carolus Marais invited Jakob to walk with him to see various Afrikaner establishments in the area: schools, big churches, solid homes built on the slopes of Table Mountain. 'Our forefathers never
did so well under Dutch rule. We elect our people to Parliament, protect ourselves from the Englishmen. We don't want war.'
'Neither do we!' Jakob exploded. 'But suppose the English force it on us. Surely, if you have any decency or courage, you'll support the republics.'
'Would you ride out in some silly war, at your age?'
'Of course. And the other burghers at Venloo, we'd ride with our commando if they call us. We'd lose everything if we didn't.'
'Then you'd be very foolish. You and I can gain everything we want from the English without firing a shot. They have laws, Van Doorn. They're a great people for putting everything down in laws. And when they do, they obey them.'
'But always on their own terms.'
'Jakob, be sensible! We Cape Afrikaners are fighting our own war, not with German guns and Boer commandos. With the laws the Englishmen give us. Go listen to our clever politicians in the House and you'll learn how to keep the English rulers on the run.'
After eight days of this, it dawned on Jakob that Pretoria's hopes of a Cape Afrikaner uprising were pointless. These sturdy people with their schools and coffeehouses and politics were not interested in supporting a rebellion.
'Wait a moment!' Du Preez protested when Jakob voiced his disappointment. 'At first you asked, "Will you support the republics?" Of course we'll support them. We'll argue your case in Parliament. We'll speak out for you in every meeting. We'll back you up with letters in our newspapers.'
'But will you support us with arms?'
'Good heavens, no!'
He did locate three young Afrikaners who offered to volunteer, but when he asked around about them he learned they were a bunch of ruffians unable to hold a job with any respectable English firm. The schoolteacher, Mr. Marais, said, 'I was unlucky enough to have two of them in my school. They're wild, like old Rooi van Valck.'
'Maybe that's what we need.'
'Good heavens, no! There are plenty of decent Afrikaners here who'd want to help you keep your independence.