"General Cronje could no longer withstand the torture of so many people. He was forced to surrender to the enemy. We laid down our weapons. The English continued their offensive, while the Boers began to retreat on all fronts. So, here I am, already a prisoner. Part of the prisoners were sent to Saint Helena Island. Others were sentenced to be executed without trial. I was among them.
What troubled me the most was that after two years of fighting for justice and defending the republic of a heroic people, was to be executed like a criminal by the enemy. It became night. Countless stars shining on the clear sky. I remembered Georgia, my home, my elderly mother... my relatives... my friends.
Once, Villebois told me that they write a lot about you in French and often in American newspapers as well, so perhaps now they'll publish the news of my execution. If this story is also printed in Russian newspapers and, through their help, my mother finds out about the tragic end of my life, it will be a true nightmare for the old woman. The memory of my mother made me sad. I took out the picture of her from my pocket, which I always carried with me, and, under the moonlight, I gazed at it. I remembered my beloved homeland which was far away.
The dawn broke.