Chapter 40 Trouble
The surveillance lasted for three days before Anton and Li De met all four suspects.
Rock only participated in the first day. On the second day, Rock and Henry went to the Governor's Palace to survey the environment and develop a security plan.
In fact, it was not the Governor's Palace. Alfred Milner did not even live in the Governor's Palace. Instead, he lived in a castle-style manor on the outskirts of Cape Town. The banquet was held in the manor. Rock and his party could not even enter the manor. The security in the manor was handled by Alfred Milner's servants, and Rock and his party were only responsible for the peripheral security.
Because they were going to the suburbs, Rock finally had the opportunity to show Henry his riding skills, which surprised Henry.
"When we were in the Huayong Camp, we often went hunting on weekends, and sometimes we played polo in the barracks. I was a polo master." Rock boasted proudly to Henry.
In fact, it’s not really bragging, because Rock is indeed a polo master. What Rock wants is the feeling of being able to brag to Henry anytime and anywhere, which is something that only friends can do.
"How dare you say that you are a polo master in front of me? You probably don't know how good I am at polo." Henry would never admit that Rock was a polo master, although Rock's riding skills were indeed good.
Hunting and polo are the favorites of British aristocrats. Although Henry is just a small sheriff, he also has aristocratic blood. It's just that by Henry's generation, the bloodline has become very weak, so Henry has to go to the Cape Colony to make a living.
Speaking of European aristocratic bloodline, it is definitely a confusing account. The famous Belgian Prince Amedeo claims to have bloodline of eleven countries. I am afraid that even he himself can't figure out how his bloodline is mixed. This is the result of intermarriage between aristocrats.
"Not now, let's try it some other day. I really want to see how good your polo skills are." Rock would never admit defeat. Let's give it a try. Who's afraid of who?
"Let's make a deal first. Whoever loses will treat us to a meal at the Table Mountain Bar." Henry had a bet. The Table Mountain Bar might not be the best bar in Cape Town, but it was definitely the most expensive bar. It was said to be opened by the lover of the brother-in-law of former colonial Prime Minister Cecil Rhodes. It was normal for the relationship to be complicated. Anyone who could do big business had some connection. Even when Rock set up a scam at the dock to cheat money, he had to arrange several policemen to be on standby at any time.
"It's settled!" Rock challenged. It was normal for friends to drink together after playing ball. The drinks in the Table Mountain Bar were a bit expensive, but they were worth the money.
I have to say that the scenery in Cape Town is still very good. It seems that in Rock's impression, Africa is a desolate and barren land. In fact, it is not the case at all. It is North Africa that is desolate. Central Africa and South Africa are very rich. Even North Africa has countless oil buried underground. The Cape Colony is even richer in mineral resources. The richness of gold and diamond mines is among the best in the world.
Even without talking about the minerals, the Cape is a pleasant place. Along the way, there are endless vineyards and dense woods on the roadside, lush green mountains in the distance, and occasionally Cape Dutch-style buildings built by the Boers in the vineyards. Most of those buildings have white walls and graceful curves, which make people imagine what it feels like to live in such a pleasant environment.
The only thing that made Rock feel bad was that the road conditions were really bad. It was better in the city of Cape Town, as many roads had been hardened. But outside the city, the road conditions were extremely bad, with bumpy ruts and horseshoe prints . Fortunately, there has been little rain in Cape Town recently. If it had been a rainy winter, it would be hard to imagine how muddy the road would have been.
Rock thought so because he was used to how convenient transportation was in the 21st century. The Republic, known as the "infrastructure maniac", even had village roads paved with cement. The traffic conditions were really a world apart from those of this era.
Henry didn't have so many regrets. Perhaps because he had seen too many pristine environments, Henry didn't even look at the scenery around him. He was still thinking about how to save his face.
"Locke, how good are your hunting skills?" There was a hunting rifle hanging next to Henry's saddle. It seemed that he was well prepared and would enjoy it when he had the chance.
Rock also brought a rifle, but it was not a shotgun, but a Lee Enfield.
"Definitely better than you!" Rock is confident in himself. No matter how busy he is at work, Rock will take time to go to the training ground and fire dozens of bullets, so Rock's shooting skills have always been very good.
Henry is not so diligent. In all the time he has been in contact with Henry, Rock has never seen Henry go to the training ground. Most of the time, Henry sleeps in the office.
It was really sleeping. Rock felt that Henry's biological clock was reversed. He slept when he was working and went out to have fun after work, thanks to the Cape Town bars that were open all night. They were more unrestrained than in the UK. Bars in the UK were generally not allowed to sell alcohol after 11pm. Before the amendment of the law in 2005, it was even illegal to sell alcohol after 11pm. When Prince Harry got married, the British government made an exception and allowed all bars in the UK to be open on the weekend of Prince Harry's wedding and sell alcohol until 1am. This was even called a "welfare."
"Fuck, looks like I need to teach someone a lesson." Henry blurted out. This was a good sign. The fact that he could swear casually proved that Henry had begun to regard Rock as a friend, or at least as someone with whom he could talk on an equal footing.
It is really important to be able to have an equal dialogue. Indians regard themselves as the British's "first loyal dog", but the British have never been kind to Indians. There are even some British officials in the police station who don't talk to Indians at all.
Of course, it is not just the Indians who are discriminated against. The British who don't speak to Indians also don't deal with Chinese police officers. They are even unwilling to communicate with Boer police officers, even though those Boer police officers are also white.
"Come on, come on, I'll give you the gun, you come and shoot." Rock did not take advantage of Henry. The hunting rifle was not as good as the small-caliber rifle in terms of range or accuracy.
"I don't need yours, I have a gun!" Henry pulled out his shotgun arrogantly, pointed the muzzle to the sky and fired a shot.
boom!
Not to mention the accuracy and range, the sound was indeed quite loud, scaring away countless wild birds on the roadside.
Henry fired the shot suddenly, and Rock had no time to stop it. Just after the gunshot, Rock indeed found someone in the manor not far away looking over here.
It's hot. We've caused trouble. The governor lives in the manor. It's okay if we just shoot and scare the wild birds on the roadside, but it will be troublesome if we scare the governor.
