"Willingly, sir. I give you my word of honour that I am not sent out on any such mission. I was simply told to make my way to the Modder, and, so far from trying to make out your arrangements, my great object was to try to avoid coming near any of you."
"What he says is true, I am certain," the Boer said in Dutch to his companions. "I am sure by his face that he is not lying. It is a shame to have sent a lad like this on such an errand. However, I will send a strong letter with him in the morning to the commandant at Boshof, and assure him that there is no question whatever that this young officer's story is true, and that he is entitled to be treated as a prisoner of war. We have not gone into this fight in order to kill as many Englishmen as possible, but because we want to help our friends of the Transvaal to keep their independence; and I for one hope that there will be no more bloodshed than necessary. Young fellows like this simply do what they are ordered, just as we do.
"Of course we both do our best when we are fighting. Certainly we have no ground for animosity against England; she has always kept her engagements with us, and we have been just as independent as if there were no one in South Africa but ourselves. We have always been good friends with the English who live among us. Once it comes to killing spies they could kill a hundred of our men to every one we could kill. We know everything that passes in Natal or Cape Colony from our friends there, and it is only natural that they should want to know what is passing among us. If we shoot a man on the ground that he is a spy, they may shoot hundreds of Dutch, who are sending us news from among them. We have not heard of their shooting one; and I say if we find an Englishman doing what so many of our men are doing let us stop his work by imprisoninghim until the war is over. If the Transvaalers like to act differently we cannot help it. They hate the English. Why, I don't know, for they have all got rich at their expense. Still, they do hate them.
"Before this began I was as good friends with my English neighbours as I was with my own people, and I see no reason for any change. They are not fighting us; it is we who are fighting them. I don't say that Steyn was wrong in joining our kinsmen across the Vaal; that is his business and that of the men we elected. Anyhow, we are bound by them; we and the Rooineks have got to shoot each other till one of us gives in. I am sure we shall all do our best to win. We have shown them that we can fight, and they have shown us that they can fight; but when it comes to shooting in cold blood I will have nothing to do with it. In the first place, because I call it murder; and in the second, because where the English have got one man sending them information from our side, we have got a thousand doing the same from theirs. We should be fools indeed if we were to set an example and take one life, for our action might entail the shooting of all our friends in the colonies."
"There is a good deal in what you say, mynheer," one of the others agreed, "and I am sure you are right. For my part, when I see our shell bursting in there, I often say to myself, 'It is the women and children that are suffering from this.' Let us fire at their forts—though I don't see that that does much good—but leave the peaceful people alone; they won't give in because a few hundred women are killed. It does not seem as if we should take the town by force. At any rate, we have made no attempt to do so at present, and are not likely to. We shall starve them into surrender, and might just as well leave them alone till they have eaten their last crust. For my part, I think we ought to have made a rush and finished the business directly we got here. We should have lost a good many men, but that would have been the end of it. The end will come just the same, but we shallhave killed many women and children and some soldiers, and we shall have lost in the long run as many as we should have done if we had attacked the place before they had time to build their forts and prepare for us."
"I don't see the use of keeping up this fire myself, Isaak," the field cornet said; "but again, that is not my business, my orders are to hold this kopje, and I mean to do so. My heart aches whenever I see a shell burst in the middle of the town, but our commandant has got to account for that, not I. It is time now for the men on the hill to be relieved, and let the next two to go on guard duty get their rifles, and keep watch over this lad. I have no fear of his trying to escape; but you say he had another with him, for all that we know there may have been three or four, and they may try to crawl in and get him off."
The idea that Peter might attempt this had already occurred to Yorke, and he sincerely hoped that the Kaffir would not do so. One of the men brought an armful of straw and put it down for him between two rocks. Here he lay down. The two men told off sat themselves on the ground in front of him after lighting their pipes, and in a short time all was quiet. Yorke soon went off to sleep. In the middle of the night he was startled by one of his guards leaping to his feet and shouting "Who's there?"
"What is it, Jans?" the other said.
"I heard the rattle of a stone over there on the right;" and he again challenged.
No answer came.
"It was only a hare," the other grumbled. "Don't fire, Jans, whatever you do. We shall be rousing everybody, and a nice temper they would be in with you for disturbing them."
"I don't believe it was a hare," the other said. "It sounded like a rock that had shifted its place when someone trod on it. It was too big a stone to move with the weight of a hare. Well, if I hear anything else I will send a bulletin that direction, whether it wakes the camp or not. You heard what the field cornet said. Someone may be trying to get in to help this lad to escape."
Yorke lay awake for some time, and then, as everything remained quiet, he went off to sleep again. In the morning he breakfasted with the field cornet, and had a bowl of cocoa and milk, with bread broken into it.
"Now," the latter said when he had finished, "I must send you on to Boshof. If I could have my own way, lad, I would send you back into the town, and you could tell them there that we are keeping a sharp look-out, and that it is of no use any one trying to get through. But I can't do that; I must send you off to Boshof. Four of my men have to go there to buy provisions, and they will look after you. I have written a letter to the commandant, and hope that he will treat you well. They won't be starting until this afternoon, as they will sleep there and come back in the morning. Of course they will ride, and you can have one of my ponies. Mind," he went on with a smile, "it will be the slowest of the lot I have, for your promise not to escape expired this morning. The four men will all be on better ponies than yours, so it will be of no use your trying to get off."
"I sha'n't try," Yorke laughed; "even if they could not overtake me, they could shoot my pony. I don't want to be made a target for four of your rifles. My chance has not arrived yet. When it does, I shall take it."
At three o'clock the party started, the field cornet shaking hands warmly with Yorke, and saying as he mounted: "I am sorry we caught you, lad. You could have done us no harm if you had got round to your people at the Modder. Though, perhaps, you are lucky in not being able to get farther, for you might fall into the hands of the Transvaalers, and, although they are our friends, I must acknowledge that they are a pretty rough lot."
"I am very much obliged to you for your kindness, foryou have treated me as well as our men would have treated you if you had fallen into their hands."
A minute later he was riding along the road with two of the Boers on each side of him. The distance was some five-and-twenty miles, and, sometimes walking, sometimes cantering, they reached the town between six and seven. Yorke had chatted cheerfully to one of his guards, who spoke English, feeling apparently but little anxiety as to his position.
"Where do you suppose they will send me?" he asked.
"The orders are to send all prisoners to Pretoria; but most likely, in the first place, they will send you to Bloemfontein, and from there you can be taken up by rail. All the prisoners taken in Natal are sent up that way—not, of course, through Bloemfontein, but by the line through Standerton. I don't suppose you will be there very long, for, of course, as soon as we have driven all your soldiers out of the country, we shall send the prisoners after them."
"Don't count your chickens before they are hatched," Yorke laughed. "The war has been going on two months, and you have not done much towards it yet."
"No," one of the guard admitted, "but we have killed thousands and thousands of your troops in Natal, and we shall finish with those on the Modder directly they advance again. All our people in Cape Colony are only waiting for orders, when they will rise to a man. We are expecting every day to hear that Ladysmith has fallen. Then Joubert will drive your people to take to their ships at Durban. We shall leave enough men here to starve your garrison, and shall then march to Cape Town with the Transvaalers. We don't expect any fighting on the way, because our people will have risen and captured the place long before we arrive there."
"It all sounds easy enough, doesn't it? But at present you see, you have not taken Ladysmith; you have not defeated Buller's army; you have not starved Kimberley; you havenot even taken Mafeking; and the Dutch in Cape Colony have not risen. When all these things have happened, you may find it clear sailing. But you must remember that, although you were all prepared for war, Britain was not. At present we have not more than fifty thousand men here, and you have found it difficult to deal with them. She could send, and will send, if necessary, five hundred thousand more."
"That would be a big lot," the Boer said doubtfully; "but with the Dutch in Cape Colony we should not be afraid of them."
"Well, you have seen that they can fight, anyhow," Yorke said. "You have the advantage in all being mounted, and in the nature of the country; that is all in your favour while we are attacking you, but it would be in our favour were you attacking us. Besides, I don't see what you men of the Free State have to do with it. If we were driven out, and you had a republic, Kruger would be president, and the Transvaal the master. You were a great deal better off as you were. You know, everyone knows, how hard their government is. Kruger and his people would keep all the riches for themselves. Do you think that you would get a higher price for your cattle, and would be in any way better off for the change?
"I think that you would not; there would be monopolies of everything, as in the Transvaal. You would have to pay twice as much for the goods you wanted to buy as you do now. Perhaps you do not know the story of the monkey who took a cat and made it pull the chestnuts out of the fire for him. Well, I think that if you drive us out of South Africa, you will find that the Transvaal would be the monkey, and the Free State the cat. If we win, which is possible, unlikely as it seems to you, you will certainly lose your independence, for, without a shadow of cause of complaint, you have wantonly taken up arms against us. You will have lost a great number of lives, and be worse off thanyou were at the beginning, though nothing like so badly off as if you had been under Kruger. You know very well that under our rule the Dutch in Cape Colony have nothing to complain of. The government are Dutch, the Dutch have as free a voice as the English in electing their assembly and making their own laws; and we may be sure that were the Free State annexed, you would, after a time, be as free as are the Dutch in our colony."
"It is a bad business," one of the men said. "I wish Steyn and Reitz had been anywhere before they dragged us into it. However, now we are in it, we have got to go through with it, but I can tell you a good many of us would not have come out on commando but that we had to choose between doing so and being shot. Well, I hope that it will soon be over one way or other, and that I can get back to my farm."
"Who is commandant at Boshof? Is he a Transvaaler or a Free Stater?"
"One of our people. He is a good man, and is a brother-in-law of our field cornet. Most of us are Free State men about here. Many of those round Kimberley, and two-thirds of those at Spytfontein, are Transvaalers, but the main part of their force is in Natal."
Then the subject of the conversation was changed. The Boers asked many questions about Britain, showing astounding ignorance of its distance from the Cape, and the population.
"But Russia, Germany and France are all going to invade Britain," the Boer said, "and I hear that they are going to divide it between them; so what you say about so many troops coming over here is all nonsense."
Yorke laughed. "There is no more chance of those three countries combining against us than there is of their flying; but if they did, we should not be afraid of them."
"Why, I hear that they have all got very much bigger armies than you have."
"That is true enough; but our navy is larger than all theirs put together, and they would have to thrash that before they could do anything."
"Why couldn't they march their armies into England and leave your fleet alone?"
"Because Britain is an island, and there are more than twenty miles between it and the nearest point of France; so that as long as our fleet is master of the sea, they can do nothing. Even if they did beat our fleet, they would have to get ships to cross in. It requires a tremendous number of ships to carry a big army with horses, artillery, and stores. All the ships of France collected at one spot could not carry an army across capable of beating ours. Russia has practically no ships at all, so her troops could do nothing; and at the worst, although Germany could send more men over than France, there is no need to fear her, for she would never join France and Russia against us. She is not good friends with France, and not very good friends with Russia; and if Britain were conquered, France and Russia would next turn their attention to her. Russia and France might join against us. Russia could do us no harm in Europe, and could not aid France in any way except by attacking us in India. So practically, France is the only power that could, if she wanted to, help you. And as we could smash her fleet up in a month after war began, she would have nothing to gain and everything to lose by siding with you. At present, however, she has not the slightest idea of doing anything of the sort. It is nothing to her whether the Transvaal is independent or not. She has large interests in the gold-mines, and would lose a great deal of money if the Boers were successful."
"We have Frenchmen fighting for us, and Germans."
"No doubt you have; but in every country there are a certain number of people ready to fight anywhere, if they are paid for what they do. The sort of men who are fighting for you, would rob your farms just as readily as theyare robbing the farms of British settlers; they are the scum of France and Germany, and will be a source of more trouble than advantage to you. Don't build your hopes on foreign assistance, you have yourselves to depend upon and yourselves only. As long as Kruger can lay his hand on all the gold from the mines, he can buy men and guns from Europe; but that won't last, for most of the miners have gone, and once we take Johannesburg there is an end to that."
"You will never do that."
"That is for the future to show," Yorke said. "You thought that we should never cross the Modder, but we have done it. You thought that you were going to march to Durban a fortnight after the war began, but you have not done it. You thought that you were going to take Ladysmith, Kimberley, and Mafeking in a week, but you have done none of these things yet. So you see the unexpected happens sometimes; and my opinion, though, I may be wrong, is that in three months we shall be at Johannesburg. But we have an old saying in England, 'May difference of opinion, never alter friendship,' and there is no reason why we should not each enjoy our own opinion without quarrelling about it. You and the British have always been good friends and have got on comfortably, and there is no reason why you should not do so again, when these troubles are over."
On arriving at Boshof, they found that the commandant had ridden over to his farm, five-and-twenty miles away, and would not be back until eight or nine o'clock. The place was about the usual size of country towns in the Free State. It contained a church, a town-hall, a school, and perhaps two hundred houses. The inhabitants speedily gathered as the party rode in, eagerly asking for news as to the progress of the siege. Some of the men looked sullenly and threateningly at Yorke, but for the most part little animosity was evinced, many of the women even looked with pity towardshim. Among the population the war was regarded as practically over, for they had been told that Buller's army had been annihilated and that tremendous losses had been inflicted upon Methuen, with only about half a dozen casualties among their own men, and had heard that the capture of Britain herself by Russia, if not already accomplished, was but a matter of days. They were a little puzzled why Kimberley had not yet fallen, but were confident that the final attack upon it was only deferred until Methuen's army was annihilated.
Here was a specimen of the men with whom their own big and brawny relatives had to fight—a mere lad, without a hair on his face, who ought to be at home with his mother. No wonder the Boers had gained such magnificent victories. It was nothing short of madness that such soldiers should be sent to fight against the invincible champions of the country. It was not their fault, poor fellows, for had not authentic reports reached the town showing how the British soldiers had had to be ironed and intoxicated before they could be got on board a ship, and how many had cried like children at being compelled to fight so far away from home. Therefore, when Yorke was lodged in the lock-up of the town, one woman brought a bowl of milk to the barred window, another some fruit, and a third a plate of meat and some bread, for they believed that, having come from Kimberley, he must be in a state of starvation, while many said a word or two of pity and consolation. Although he pretended not to understand their words, Yorke was touched and at the same time amused by their comments.
"Poor young fellow," one said, "I don't suppose he is much younger than my Paul, though he is not half his size; they must be very hard up for soldiers when they take a lad like this."
"The men who brought him in said that he was an officer," one of them said.
"An officer!" the other repeated in surprise, "no wonder we beat them so easily, when they have boys like that as officers. Why, all our field cornets and officers are big men and the wisest in their districts; what chance could such a lad have against them? And if this is an officer, what must the soldiers be like?"
Several times the two men on guard outside the door told the women to go away, but they soon returned.
"I wonder what has become of Peter," Yorke thought to himself. "I expect he was on the look-out somewhere among the rocks this morning, and waited there till he saw me ride by. He would know that he could do nothing against four mounted men. I hope that by this time he is well on his way towards the Modder. As they say the landdrost here is a good fellow, and a brother-in-law of my friend of last night, I don't think there is any chance of harsh treatment; and by the time I have gone another stage all questions about my being a spy will have died out, and it will be supposed that I was captured in a sortie or something of that sort."
At nine o'clock the key grated in the lock, and, the door opening, the two Boers on guard told him to follow them. He was conducted to a small room, where the landdrost and two or three of his friends were seated.
"So you brought this man here prisoner; you caught him trying to get out of Kimberley? I hear you have a letter for me?"
"Yes, mynheer, here it is!"
He read it through and then passed it to his companions.
"A young chap trying to carry a despatch," he said, "walked right into the arms of Odental's men. He had no time to make resistance—not that it would have done him any good. There is evidently nothing to do but to send him to Pretoria."
"You feel sure that he is not a spy, landdrost?"
"As if people would send out a lad like that as a spy! He is evidently just fresh from England. What could he want to spy about? The people in Kimberley can see for themselves where our forts are; if they wanted to send out a spy they would have chosen somebody who could speak Dutch. Besides, he has got his uniform on, the first Dutchman he met would have made him prisoner. You need not wait any longer," he went on to the men who had brought Yorke in, "I will give you a letter in the morning to my brother. Now, sit down, young fellow, and tell us who you are, and how you came to undertake this business. How long have you been out from England?"
"Seven or eight months."
"I suppose you were with your regiment at Cape Town?"
"I joined it there," Yorke said, "but I did not come up the country with it. I am a good runner and a fair rider, so I volunteered to come up to Kimberley. As the war seemed likely to last some time, and I wanted to join my regiment, I got leave from the commandant there to make off, and, as Field Cornet Odental no doubt told you, he entrusted me with a despatch; this I gave to the field cornet, as I knew that I should be searched; besides, it was necessary to show that I was going out on military business, and not as a spy. But it contained only a number of figures, which may have referred to certain words in a book, or been a military cipher, that no one but the writer could understand."
"They would be sure to write in cipher," the landdrost said; "it would not have been safe to send a message that we could read, if we caught you."
The landdrost had been warm when he returned from his ride and had thrown up the window. Suddenly a rifle was thrust in, and a voice in Dutch called out, "Hold up your arms or we shoot!"
The men, astounded at his sudden threat, did as they were ordered.
"Gentlemen," Yorke said quietly, "I suppose that some of my friends have heard of my capture, and that a partyhas got through. I am heartily obliged to you for your kindness, landdrost, and I only leave you because the journey back from here is a good deal shorter than it would be from Pretoria. I will take your guns for the present, but you will find four of them outside after I have gone; the other I may want on the journey. Good-evening!" And taking the five guns from the corner in which they were placed, he carried them out, shut the door, and turned the key. He paused a moment outside, extracted the cartridges from four of them, removed the bolts and put them in his pocket; the other, and a bandolier, he slung over his shoulder.
"Thank you, men," he said in a loud voice. "Now, then, I will shut the window down. One man had better stand on each side of it, and if anyone attempts to open it or come out, put a bullet in his head."
He then closed the window. He did this because, had Peter stepped forward to do it, the Boers would have seen that he was a Kaffir. As soon as he had done it he said, "Thank you, Peter. Now, which way?"
"Round the corner of the next house, baas. Now, you follow me. I know all the streets. No fear of my tumbling over wire;" and he laughed. They started at full speed, took several turnings, and in three minutes were outside the town. Before they got there, however, they heard a loud shouting.
"They have gone to a back window, or perhaps to one upstairs. They would be sure to think of that when they got over the shock. Are we going right for the Modder?"
"Yes, baas, this is the way. But the sky is very dark. There is going to be a storm, I think. I am afraid we shall not be able to go very straight."
"That does not matter, Peter. I have still got my compass and matches. I had them in my tobacco-pouch. That and a handkerchief are the only things they left me. You managed that splendidly, Peter. You did well not to showyourself in the light. They would have been so furious to think that they have been held up by a native, that even your rifle would not have kept them quiet."
"I could have shot the five one after the other, baas."
"You might have done so, Peter, but the sound of firing would have brought the whole town out at once. Besides, I should have been very sorry, for the landdrost was a very civil old fellow, and I should have been grieved if harm had come to him. I don't know that there is any fear of pursuit," he said, after they had run for more than an hour.
"No fear at all, baas. The Boers do not like riding about at night, especially when there is a storm coming on. Besides, they know very well that they have no chance of catching you in the dark. To-morrow morning they will send out in all directions. We must get away as far as we can."
In a quarter of an hour the storm burst upon them, the rain coming down in torrents, the wind blowing fiercely. They had now fallen into a jog-trot, and as Yorke had looked at his compass when the first drop fell, they were able to keep on without delay, for they could steer their course by the direction of the wind and driving rain. Half an hour, and the storm ceased as suddenly as it had begun. The Kaffir had been running a yard or two ahead of Yorke, for the latter could see nothing, while the former was able to make out any bush in their way. From the view he had obtained of the country when he came into the town the lad knew that there were no kopjes for a long way round it, and that the only danger was of falling into a spruit.
When the sky cleared and the stars shone out there was no longer any fear of accident, and sometimes walking, and sometimes trotting, they held on their course until morning broke. They had travelled, they calculated, nearly thirty miles. The last four or five had been over comparatively broken ground, being a continuation of the hillsthrough which they had passed on their way to Kimberley. They hid up on the side of a rocky kopje, and when it was light made out the road from Boshof to Jacobsdal about a mile to their right.
"There is a little town in the distance," Yorke said looking south. "That must be Wesselton. I don't think that is more than eight miles or so from the river. What we have got to do is to get round that place, keep a bit to the right of the road till we are close to the river, and then strike due west. Of course the most dangerous point is where we cross the road from Jacobsdal to Kimberley. Once past that we are safe, except that they may have scouts out towards our camp, to give them notice of any move that might be made against Jacobsdal. They say that a strong force is there, who intend, of course, to try and cut the railway in our rear when Lord Methuen moves forward. Now, the best thing we can do is to take a few hours' sleep."
In a few minutes he was sound asleep. The Kaffir slept lightly, and every half-hour or so lifted his head and looked out over the road towards Boshof. Yorke awoke about midday. Peter was at that moment looking out.
"Do you see anything on the road, Peter?" Yorke asked.
"No one now, baas. Three hours after you went to sleep two Boers rode past going fast. I expect they were sent from Boshof to say that you had got away. Three hours after that more than twenty men came the other way. When they got to the plain they separated, and rode about searching the country as they went."
"Looking for us, no doubt," Yorke said. "Well, they won't find us, but it shows the alarm has spread. We shall have to be very careful now, Peter. Where is that food you bought at Boshof? I did not feel hungry last night, but my appetite has come back again this morning. If we go to that boulder fifty yards to the right we shall be in the shade."
"Better stay where we are, baas. The Boers are accustomed to hunt, and have got very good eyes, almost as good as ours. They might see us."
"But you said that there were none of them along the road now."
"That is so, baas, but there may be some of them on the hills hiding among the rocks. They would feel sure that we should come this way, and no doubt while some went out on the plain, some climbed up there in hopes of seeing us move."
"Quite right, Peter; it is no use throwing away a chance. We will stop where we are and put up with the sun."
"We have no meat, baas; I knew very well there would be no chance of cooking it. I have got a bag of biscuit and a bottle of whisky."
"Have you got your water-bottle?"
"Not left him behind, baas."
"Well, then, I will have some water, and when I have drunk half of it you can pour a little whisky in the rest for yourself."
"Whisky bad thing, baas, but very nice."
"It may be nice in small quantities for those who like it. I don't like it. I never touch it if I can help it. It is the ruin of half your people, and you know it is against the law to give it to you."
"Against the law, baas but we can always find plenty of men ready to sell it for good money."
"They are bad men, Peter. The harm they do is very great. That is why so many of your people are in rags, though they can earn pay when they are willing to work. They will only labour for three or four days, and then spend pretty well all they have earned on spirits, and be drunk the next three."
"That is true, baas. Peter do that very often. Big fool, Peter! Often tells himself so when he gets sober. But when he gets money he smells spirit, then he makes fool of himself again."
"Well, you had better make up your mind to give it up altogether, Peter. You are getting good pay now, and ought to have a lot of money saved by the end of the war—enough to go back to your own people and build a kraal, and buy cattle, and exchange some of them for a wife."
"That true, baas. Peter will try not to be big fool again."
"Well, then, you had better begin to try at once, and drink your water without mixing whisky with it."
Peter's face fell, and he heaved a long sigh.
"Now, just suppose, Peter, that at Boshof you had opened that bottle of whisky. I have no doubt that if you had begun it you would have drunk almost all of it, and by the time you got sober you would have found me a long way towards Pretoria."
"That is just what I said to myself," Peter said with a laugh. "I take that bottle out of my pocket four or five times and look at him. But each time I took it out I said to myself, 'Peter, if you take out that cork you know what it will be. You will get drunk, and the Boers will carry your baas away.'"
"Well, Peter, you fought the battle and mastered yourself, and there is no reason why you should not do it again. It is better to be a free man than a slave."
"How slave, master?" Peter asked puzzled.
"Every man is a slave who allows himself to be mastered by drink. It is of no use to say, 'I will only have a drop.' It is ten times more difficult to stop then than it is at first. Now, Peter, you have done me a great service—a very great service, but I shall have done you quite as good a one if I can persuade you to give up drink altogether. Then when I part from you, I shall be always able to think of you as doing well among your own people, instead of working in rags somewhere for a day's pay."
"Peter will try, master; he will try hard. Every time he smells gin, he will say to himself, 'Baas Yorke tell me, that ruin me if I touch it; and him say true, I will not touch it.'"
"That is right, Peter."
"Shall I smash the bottle now, baas?"
"Smash it when we get into camp. It is good for medicine, but very bad as drink. We may have to sleep near the river, and perhaps in wet clothes. Besides, it is better for you to carry it with you without touching it. You see that you have begun to get the better of it. I shall not say no to you if you ask me for some, but it will please me very much if you don't. Now, let us eat our biscuit."
When they had finished their simple meal, Yorke said: "I have had my sleep out, and it is evident that you cannot have slept much, therefore you may as well get a good sleep before we start. I will keep watch."
Late in the afternoon. Yorke saw the Boers straggling back. They had no doubt come to the conclusion that he and those with him were not hiding out on the plain.
"They will probably place extra men on the watch during the night," thought Yorke, "to make sure that we do not pass through Wesselton. We had better keep to the left of that place, because they will think it more likely that we should turn off to the right, as that would be our natural course in making for the Modder. However, I cannot think that they will take any great trouble to look out for us, except on the road through these hills, for they cannot be sure that from Boshof we did not work round the other side of Kimberley, and try to return to the town from the west."
CHAPTER XI
MAGERSFONTEIN
AS soon as it was quite dark, Yorke and his companion were again on their way. It was toilsome work. They kept, as well as they could judge, a mile from the road, butit was a very rough piece of country. There were steep hills to climb and descend, tracts of boulder and rock to be crossed, and had it not been for the keen-eyed native, Yorke would have found it impossible to make his way. Fortunately the night was starlit, and this enabled them to keep their direction without having recourse to the dangerous expedient of striking a match. Presently the country became less rough and hilly.
"I think we have passed the range, Peter, and Wesselton cannot be very far off. Keep a sharp eye on the look-out for lights. Directly we see them, we shall know exactly what our position is. We have taken a very long time to cross the hills, and I want to sight the river before daylight. We are sure to find bushes or willows growing by the bank where we can hide."
Half an hour's walking, and Peter said in a low voice, "There are lights, baas," pointing somewhat to the left of the track they were taking.
For a time Yorke could not discern anything. Then a light shone out and disappeared almost instantly. "That is somebody carrying a candle or lamp across a room," he said. "I am much obliged to him, whoever it is. The road cannot be far to the right, so bear more the other way. If there are any Boers about they would probably feel sure that we should strike off to the right."
Making a detour, they presently left the town behind them, and kept on due south. They had no fear whatever of anyone being on watch beyond Wesselton, and therefore stepped out boldly over the slightly undulating ground. Once or twice Yorke struck a match and looked at his compass, to be sure that they were keeping their course.
"I think we are near the river now, baas," Peter said at last.
"What makes you think that, Peter?"
"Smell the water."
"Do you, Peter? I did not know that it had any smell."
"Yes, baas. Oxen and deer and sheep all can smell it. Oxen always quicken their pace when they get near a pool."
"That would seem to show that you are right, but still I don't think there can be any smell; but there may be more damp in the air near water, and their senses in that way are more delicate than that of a white man. As you say you think we are near water I have no doubt you are right. Anyhow, I hope you are, for I have knocked the skin off my shins in half a dozen places among these rocks, and I have pretty nearly twisted my ankle as often, so I shall be glad enough to lie down. I certainly had several hours' sleep yesterday, but that did not make up for the loss of sleep the night before; besides, my feet are getting very tender. I have not walked, in all the months I have been out here, as much as during these two nights."
"Baas walks very well. No Dutchman ever walked half as far as you do."
"Perhaps not, Peter; they never use their legs. A Boer would get on a horse if he only wanted to go fifty yards to fetch anything. I used to be a good walker, but on the farm I got to be almost as lazy as the Dutchmen."
A quarter of an hour later a line of bushes rose in front of them.
"That looks as if the river were near."
"Just on other side of the bushes, baas."
So it turned out, and after climbing down to it, taking a long drink, for they had emptied their water-bottles before starting, they took a mouthful of food and lay down among the bushes.
"There is not the least occasion to keep watch," Yorke said. "It will be morning soon, and if either of us wake, we can peep out from the edge of the bushes and see if there are any Dutchmen in sight. If there are not, we can sleep on as long as we like."
Yorke did not wake till the sun was almost overhead. The native was crouching down near the bushes.
"Well, Peter, do you see anything?" he asked.
"I have seen Boers at that house there going in and out. They just rode in, waited half an hour, and rode away again. They did not look about at all; just paying a visit."
"We did not see the house last night, though we must have passed very close to it."
"We did not look for houses, baas, we looked for river."
"But as there are horses and cattle grazing about, I wonder we did not startle some of them. They must have been farther away from the house. They would have been sure to move if we had passed near them."
"Some came near here this morning, baas. Grass longer here. When river high, spread over country near."
"Well, as long as they don't enter the bushes, it does not matter, Peter. If they did, and came upon us, they would be startled, and gallop away, and if any Boer happened to be looking from that house, he might saunter down here to see what caused their fright."
The day passed quietly, and as soon as it was dark they were in motion again.
"Our course is a very little to the south of west," Yorke said. "Now we are quite safe till we approach the road from Kimberley to Jacobsdal. Once past that, it is only about ten miles to the railway, and by following the latter we shall reach the camp. But we can't go in till morning, for we have not got the countersign, and so should run the risk of being shot by one of our tramp pickets."
Four hours' tramp took them to the road. They could hear, as they approached it, a murmur of voices, and moved away to the right and walked for some distance before attempting to cross it.
"The Boers evidently have parties thrown out to give notice of any force approaching from our camp," Yorke said, in low tones. "We shall have to be very careful, for there is no saying where they are posted, and they may extend almost up to the railway."
"Yes, we must take care, baas. If only two or three, we shoot them; if more of them, they shoot us. I go first, you come a little after me, baas. If there are Boers, they are sure to be talking, keeping themselves awake; if not talk, sure to be asleep, then we pass them safe."
"Yes, if you don't happen to tread on them."
"No fear of that, baas. I can see little shrub twenty yards away. I see body of big Boer farther than that."
Trusting implicitly to the sight and hearing of the Kaffir, Yorke followed some ten paces behind him, having his rifle now in his hand ready for use. They bad gone a quarter of a mile, when suddenly on their left there was a movement, and a voice said, "Wake up, Philip! there is something moving."
"It is only a deer or a hare," the other said sleepily.
"No, it isn't," the man replied angrily. "If it had been a wild animal it would have dashed away when I spoke; instead of that, the noise stopped. It was footsteps, I could almost swear; most likely one of the rascally Kaffirs going to the Rooinek camp with news. We will soon see. Come along this way; that is where the sound came from."
Yorke had crouched down as soon as he stopped, and saw that the native had done the same. In a minute he saw the outlines of two dark figures.
"I can see you!" the Boer who had first spoken shouted. "Who are you, and where are you going? Answer, or I put a bullet through your head."
Yorke did not believe that he was seen, but he knew that if the Boers advanced two paces farther they would make him out, and the first intimation he would have that they did so would be given by a rifle bullet. It was a question of life or death, and accordingly he took a steady aim and fired. The man he aimed at fell without a cry. As he pulled the trigger Yorke threw himself flat upon the ground, and it was as well that he did so, for the other Boer fired wherehe had seen the flash of his rifle. Almost at the same moment another rifle was discharged, and the Boer dropped his gun, and with an oath ran off at full speed. Peter was by Yorke's side before the latter could get on to his feet.
figures
IN A MINUTE HE SAW THE OUTLINES OF TWO DARK FIGURES.
"Are you wounded, baas?"
"No; by the sound the shot went through my water-bottle. Two inches lower and I should have had it in the hip."
"I was aiming at the same man as you," the native said, "till you fired and I saw him fall, and before I could change my aim the other man had fired. I was just too late to stop him."
"It was a good thing that you hit him, Peter, for if you had not done so he would have fired again. No doubt his magazine was full, and the next shot might have done its business. I had not time to think when I threw myself down; if I had done so I should have dropped with my head towards him, and then I could have fired again, but I went down sideways, and so for the moment could not use my rifle. You hit the other man in the arm, I think, for his rifle dropped, he did not throw it down. Now, we must run our hardest, Peter. Do you hear them shouting? We may as well go straight on as any other way. By the row they are making they seem to be all over the place, so it is no use trying to avoid them."
Keeping close together now, they ran at the top of their speed, changing their course occasionally when they heard voices ahead of them. The noise was all in their favour, for it completely drowned the slight sound made by their footsteps, and served as a warning to them of the position of the various outposts. They maintained their pace for nearly a mile. The sounds were all behind them now, so they broke into a walk, which they maintained until they came upon the line of railway.
"We will walk along on the other side of this. Keep yourears open, Peter, and listen for the slightest movement. I don't know how far our outposts are thrown out, and I want to stop before we get near them."
They had walked some three miles, when Peter said:
"Stop, baas. I heard a noise; I think a soldier is stamping his feet to warm himself."
"All right, Peter. I am sure we cannot be very far off now, so we will wait till morning. We can sleep till broad daylight."
Three hours later the native touched Yorke.
"Sun is just up. Shall we go on now?"
"Certainly. We will sling our rifles again. If we have them in our hands the sentry might think it wiser to fire at once, without asking questions. However, now that he can see my uniform, I have little fear of that, but it is as well to be on the safe side."
As they approached they could see that the sentry called to a comrade close by, for another at once joined him. When they came within a hundred yards the sentry challenged.
"An officer with despatches from Kimberley," Yorke replied.
"You can come on for a bit," the soldier said, "but I shall not let you pass farther until an officer comes."
"I have a permit from General Colville to enter and pass the lines."
"Then you can come on, but don't touch those guns of yours till I have seen your permit."
The sentry was justified in being doubtful, for many of the Boers had adopted khaki-coloured clothes, and at a very short distance Yorke might well have been mistaken for one of these.
"That is all right, sir," the soldier said, when he had read the permit. "We are obliged to be careful, you know; and if you had come before it got light I could not have let you pass without the countersign."
"You were quite right to stop me," Yorke said. "It is because I knew that I could not get in without the countersign that I have been sleeping for the last three or four hours a quarter of a mile away. Did you hear any firing in the night?"
"I did not, sir; but the man I relieved told me that he had heard three shots over to the right, and we were charged to be extra vigilant."
"You need not be so any longer. One shot was fired at me as I came through some Boer outposts a couple of miles this side of the road from Jacobsdal. The others are the two shots we fired. There are a good many of the Boers about, but we got through safely."
"Is Kimberley all right, sir? You said you came from there."
"Yes, they can hold out for some time."
"They won't have to hold out long, sir. We shall be there before another week is over, I hope."
"I hope so too," Yorke agreed, and then he and Peter walked on.
He followed the line of railway. There were two or three strong posts upon it, but seeing that he had been allowed to pass by the most advanced sentries, no questions were asked him. Nearing the river, he turned off and proceeded at once to head-quarters. On arriving there he was told that General Colville was dressing, and would be out in a few minutes.
"Shall I take your name in, sir?" the orderly asked.
"No, I will wait till the general is ready."
In ten minutes General Colville came out with General Pole-Carew, and on seeing Yorke, said heartily:
"So you are back, Mr. Harberton. We got our searchlights to work last night for the first time, and got into communication with Kimberley. They have been flashing signals for some days, but we have not been able to answerthem until now. Last night we asked, 'Has messenger arrived?' and we got an answer, 'Yes, and left two days ago.'"
"Then I am afraid my report will be of little use to you, sir."
"On the contrary, we are most anxious to hear it. There are fellows in their ranks who have served with us, and one or more of these can doubtless read our signals. We have only asked them if they could hold out until we arrive, and they said 'yes.' We abstained from asking any further questions, for from prisoners we hear that the Boers feel sure that Kimberley cannot hold out much longer. Now, in the first place, what is your report?"
"This is all I have brought, sir. Colonel Kekewich was afraid that I might be caught on my way out, consequently I only put down, as you see on this slip of paper, his estimate of the amount of stores. It will not take me five minutes to write out the names of the various articles to which the figures refer."
"And were you caught?"
"Yes, and this paper was examined; but they could make neither head nor tail of it, and threw it on the ground and I recovered it."
"Well, just complete that list, then, and I will take it in to Lord Methuen, who is, I am happy to say, going on well. But first, you can answer me generally, how long can they hold out?"
"I should think, sir, for three months. Some items may run short, but in general Colonel Kekewich was of opinion that the stores available were considerably greater than those indicated by the figures, as most of the residents had laid in private stores before the town was altogether cut off."
"That is most satisfactory. We may be sure that they won't have to wait so long as that. If you will write out the list at once I will take it in to Lord Methuen, and afterthat you can give me an account of how you got in, and how you got away after once being caught by the Boers."
Yorke wrote out the list.
"Very good indeed, much better than I had expected. I see you have put a query behind the number of shell. What does that mean? There can be no private store of shell."
"No, sir; but the De Beers people have set to to manufacture them, and have begun to turn them out rapidly. They have already been tried, and the gunners can make as good practice as with our own."
"Good indeed. I see that there is a mark after the number of the guns."
"Yes, sir; the De Beers people have begun making a long gun. They heard that the Boers are bringing up a hundred-pounder, and they hope that the one they are making will have a longer range than that piece, although I believe it is not to carry so heavy a shot."
The two officers left the room with the list; General Colville returned in a few minutes. "Lord Methuen will see you," he said. "He would like to question you himself."
Yorke followed him into another room. Lord Methuen was lying on a couch.
"I congratulate you upon your safe return, Mr. Harberton," he said. "It has been a most hazardous service, but the news you have obtained has been invaluable. We dared not question Kimberley about their store of provisions, for if their answers were understood by the Boers they would see that their chance of reducing the place by hunger was so slight that they might decide to abandon the siege and to march away into the Colony, which is the thing of all others we wish to prevent."
"Colonel Kekewich saw that, sir," Yorke said; "and that is why he would not give me any written details."
Lord Methuen asked many particulars as to the defences of Kimberley, the effect of the Boer bombardment, and the temper of the population. "Did you see Mr. Rhodes?"
"Yes, sir."
"How does he get on with the commandant?"
"I think, sir, from what I heard, that there is some friction between him and the military authorities, but nothing serious at all. All the resources of the mines have been placed by him in the hands of the authorities. He is employing a large number of Kaffirs in making roads, and these he pays and feeds, which is a great relief to the authorities; for they have twice tried to send the Kaffirs out of the town, but both times the Boers have compelled them to return, no doubt because they think that the more mouths there are to feed, the sooner the provisions will be exhausted."
"And now, Mr. Harberton, tell us how you managed to get into the town and to return here."
Yorke related his adventures.
"You have been fortunate indeed," the general said, "and have had three very narrow escapes—in the first place, at that hut which you defended so stoutly; in the next place, when you were first taken prisoner; and lastly, in getting through the Boer lines this side of Jacobsdal, to say nothing of your escape at Boshof. Your Kaffir must be a stout fellow."
"He is, sir. Without his assistance I should by this time be a long way on my road to Pretoria."
"Well, your services have been most valuable, and I shall have great pleasure in recommending you for a commission if you would like to take one."
"I thank you very much, sir. I should feel it a great honour. And even if I resigned at the end of the war it would be all my life a gratification to have received the Queen's commission."
"I suppose you would prefer the cavalry?"
"Yes sir."
"Well, then, I will recommend that you be gazetted to the 9th Lancers. The colonel will be glad to have you; what with casualties and illness he is short of subalterns. You have been very favourably reported before for your expedition from De Aar across the Orange River, and there can be no doubt that my recommendation will be acceded to at once."
"May I ask what I am to do with the twenty Kaffir scouts who have been working under me?"
"You had better hand them over to Major Rimington. He will know how to employ them."
"Will you see, general, that Mr. Harberton is put in orders as provisionally appointed second lieutenant in the 9th Lancers, but detailed for special duty as extra aide-de-camp to General Pole-Carew?"
"Thank you," that officer said. "I shall be very glad to have him, for I am one short already. Mr. Lucas is down with fever of some sort, and the doctor says that if he does not get better he must send him off to the base hospital. I think Mr. Harberton would be much more useful with me than he could be with his regiment. I will ride over with him to the Lancer Camp and introduce him to the colonel."
"Thank you; that would be best. When telegraphing home to-day, will you say that Mr. Harberton, second lieutenant in the Cape Town Riflemen, has been provisionally appointed second lieutenant 9th Lancers for very distinguished services in carrying despatches into and out of Kimberley and upon other occasions? That will settle the matter at once, and we shall have an answer in two or three days?"
"Have you a horse, Mr. Harberton?" General Pole-Carew asked as they left the house.
"Yes, a very good one; but it is at Rimington's camp."
The general turned to the orderly who was holding his horse and his own. "Hand your horse to this gentleman; he will return it to you in half an hour. Wait here till he does so."
The Lancers were encamped a mile away to the north. Some of the tents had now come up. From one of these the colonel came out, and the sentry at the door told him that the general was approaching.
"Good-morning, colonel!" the latter said as he dismounted. "I have come to introduce to you Lieutenant Harberton. Lord Methuen has telegraphed home recommending him for a commission in your regiment. The provisional appointment will be in orders this morning. He has won the commission by carrying a despatch into Kimberley and returning with a message from Kekewich at, I need not say, immense risk. He has performed other meritorious services. He has been hitherto a lieutenant in the Cape Town Rifles, and has been attached to Rimington's Corps. I am afraid, however, that at present you will derive no benefit from his services, as I have commandeered him as one of my aides in place of Lucas, who is ill. He speaks Taal like a native."
"I should have been very glad to have him, sir, for I am short of officers. But no doubt, speaking Dutch as he does, he will be still more useful to you."
"Yes, none of my staff speak the language well. I should think that it would be a good thing for you to ask Rimington to let you have one or two of his men. You might find them of great advantage with scouting parties, when we once move again. If you like, I will ask him myself; I am going to his camp now."
"Thank you! It would certainly be of great use, and of course such a request coming from you would be complied with at once."
"I will leave you here, Mr. Harberton. I shall not want you to-day, and you may as well get acquainted with the officers of your regiment. Lucas may rejoin again soon, and then you may join them. At any rate, when you ride over here with a message it would be more pleasant for you to be acquainted with them.
"I shall feel obliged, colonel, if you will send one of your men to head-quarters to hand over the horse Mr. Harberton is riding to the trooper he will find waiting there. His own horse is at Rimington's camp; it is only a quarter of a mileaway. No doubt he will be going over there presently, as he has been attached to them for some little time.
"You will come in this evening, Mr. Harberton, and take up your quarters with my staff. I believe there is still an empty room; if not, they will find one for you close by."
"We are just going to sit down to breakfast, Mr. Harberton," the colonel said. "It will be a good opportunity for introducing you to the officers, and we shall all be glad to hear how you got into Kimberley, and what you found there."
Five minutes later Yorke was sitting down to breakfast at a long table formed of packing cases and a rough board. He had been introduced to the officers, and at the colonel's request had taken his seat next to him. After the meal was over he gave an account of his adventures in entering and leaving Kimberley.
"Well managed indeed!" the colonel said. "That Kaffir of yours must be a capital fellow."
"He is, sir, and I should be very sorry to part with him; I have a Dutch trooper with me as my servant, but I can take him in to look after my horse."
"I will take him, if you don't want him, and he will come," one of the captains said. "I have a boy I took on at Orange River, but he is of no use at all. Of course you can have him again if you join us."
"Thank you; but I would not part with him on any account, after what he has done for me; I shall certainly keep him with me as long as I remain out here, and shall see that he is completely settled before I go home. Besides, I should need him again if I ever am sent on another expedition."
After breakfast the Lancers went out to make a reconnaissance towards Magersfontein, and Yorke walked over to Rimington's camp. Hans ran out to meet him.
"So you have returned, Master Yorke! I have not slept for the last two nights, I have been so anxious about you."
"Yes, I got through all right, Hans. I was held prisonerfor twenty-four hours, but Long Peter got me out. I will tell you all about it later."
"You are going to stay here now, I hope?"
"No. General Pole-Carew has put me on his staff. You are to come with me as an orderly."
"I am glad," Hans said. "I don't care what I do so long as I am with you."
"You have been getting on all right, I trust, while I was away. I hope the Kaffirs have behaved well?"
"Yes; they have been out twice in the direction of Jacobsdal, but they could not get near the place. The Boer outposts are a long way out."
"Yes, they nearly shot me last night. We ran right into the middle of them."
They were by this time close to the camp, and some of the officers joined Yorke.
"Have you been into Kimberley?" they asked at once.
"Yes. I met with no difficulty until I was nearly there, but managed to get in after a skirmish. I had worse luck getting out, for I was caught. However, my Kaffir came to the rescue, and I got back without much trouble."
"And how are they getting on there?"
"They can hold out for a long time, and are, I think, quite strong enough to beat off any attack that can be made upon them. I think the Boers know it too, for they have made no serious assault, though they keep on firing."
"I suppose you are coming back to us now?"
"No, Lord Methuen has recommended me for a commission in the Lancers, and General Pole-Carew has put me on to his staff, as one of his aides has fever."
The others congratulated him warmly. "I thought you would get a commission," one of them said, "when I heard that you had undertaken to get through to Kimberley. I am sure you deserve it, for it must have been beastly dangerous work."
Yorke remained in the camp an hour, and had to tell hisstory over again. He arranged with the colonel that the Kaffir scouts should remain with him until he had spoken to the head of the Intelligence Department, who might wish to employ them himself, and then he and Hans mounted and rode into the camp on the Modder. Long Peter was sitting quietly where Yorke had left him. The latter told him of the changes that had taken place.
"Of course I shall take you with me, Peter, and the horses will be in your special charge. Hans will look after other matters. After what we have gone through together, I shall always keep you with me as long as I remain out here, unless, of course, you yourself wish to leave me."
"I shall never want to do that, baas. You have treated us all well, as if we had been your children, and now we have fought the Boers together, I hope always to be with you. I have got some money, and I will buy a pony, so as to be able always to keep up with you. I can buy one for a pound after the next battle."
"Do not do so till I tell you, Peter. I know that Kaffir boys always do ride when they go with their masters, but I do not know whether it would be the proper thing for officers on the staff. At any rate, do nothing till I tell you. When it is necessary you should have a horse, I will buy one for you."
Having arranged this matter, Yorke remained with his regiment until the evening. There was nothing for him to change in his uniform, except to fasten metal badges showing the number and name of the regiment to his shoulder-strap. He could not obtain the red tabs which were the badge of the staff for the collar of his jacket. After dinner he rode back to head-quarters, where he found that a room had been got ready for him.
Troops were now arriving. The 12th Lancers had come up, and a battery of Horse Artillery. The Highland Brigade, consisting of the 2nd Black Watch, 1st Gordons, 2nd Seaforths, and the 1st Highland Light Infantry, next day cameinto camp, and the artillery were further reinforced by four howitzers. The line of communications had been strengthened by the Canadians, Australians, and several line regiments being posted along the railway from De Aar to Belmont.
On the 9th the Horse Artillery, 9th Lancers, and the heavy naval guns moved forward and opened fire on the stony hills that constituted the Boer positions. All day the guns thundered, searching out every rock behind which it was thought the Boers might be lurking. The naval guns distributed their heavy shell broadcast, the great clouds of yellow smoke showing where the lyddite charges had burst. But the Boers made no reply. Not a gun spoke out in return, not a Boer was visible on the face of the hills—nothing showed where their artillery was, or where their trenches stretched. All in the camp were filled with excitement. It was certain that the time was at hand when they would meet the foe in strength face to face, and, formidable as was the position, no one doubted the result. At the same time the silence of the enemy, the uncertainty as to their strength and position, could not but inspire a certain feeling of uneasiness.
On the afternoon of the 10th the Black Watch, Seaforths, Argyle and Sutherlands, and Highland Light Infantry moved out. The Gordons had only come in that morning, and remained in camp. The 9th Lancers, mounted infantry, and all the artillery accompanied the force. When within three miles of the enemy's position the force halted. It was raining heavily, but there was nothing for it but to lie down upon the wet ground, with one blanket for every two men. At one o'clock in the morning they were on their feet again.
The position held by the Boers was of great strength. The centre, Scholtz Kop, was very steep and lofty; it was close to the line of railway, and Spytfontein station lay at its foot. So strong did it appear, and furnished, as it doubtless was, with artillery, it could only have been carried with immense loss. Some distance to the left were the Magersfontein kopjes, less forbidding and rough than those of Spytfontein, and from these to the river stretched a low hill, covered with bush from eight to ten feet high. Magersfontein once taken would render this hill untenable, and would enable Scholtz Kop to be taken in flank or rear. It was therefore against this point that the attack by the Highland Brigade, under General Wauchope, was to be made.
It was pitch dark when the column started—so dark that it was considered impossible for the men to keep touch with each other marching in line, and accordingly they moved in mass of quarter columns. Strangely enough, not a single scout was thrown out ahead, probably because the general thought that it would be impossible to follow them in the dark, and moreover, that, should they come upon the Boers suddenly and fire be opened, the attack by surprise would be altogether spoiled, and the Boers be fully prepared before the main body could arrive. It is certain, however, that had the usual precautions been adopted the catastrophe that followed would have been avoided. Slowly feeling their way along, the great column, four thousand strong, moved on silently. The men were drenched to the skin, hungry, in doubt as to the nature of the position they had to attack, and oppressed by the darkness and strangeness of the situation.
They were still some distance from the hill when orders were given for the column to open out into line; but instead of being, as their commander believed, a good half mile from the enemy's lines, they were within two hundred yards of them, for the Boers had, with great craft and ability, dug a great trench along the whole face of their position a quarter of a mile out on the plain. No suspicion had been entertained in our camp of the existence of this defence, and the Highlanders had marched unsuspectingly into the trap. As they were in the act of opening out, with the BlackWatch in the centre, the Seaforths to the left, the Argyle and Sutherlands to the right, and the Highland Light Infantry in reserve, a light was flashed on their left by one of the Boers, who had probably kept near the column as it advanced. In an instant a blaze of fire ran along the whole front, and a storm of bullets smote the column. It told most heavily upon the Black Watch. For half a minute the roar of musketry was unceasing, then for a moment it ceased. The Boers had emptied the magazines of their rifles.
It was but a temporary pause, for in a few seconds the fire again burst out. The loss among the Black Watch had already been frightful. General Wauchope had fallen, together with a large number of the officers, and although at first the men had prepared to charge, it was impossible to withstand the fire, and they ran back, spreading confusion in the ranks of the Seaforths, who were still behind them. The latter, however, remained steady. They had naturally suffered less heavily than the corps in front of them, and they stood their ground, lying down and returning the fire of their hidden foes. The Black Watch halted and lay down behind them. As time went on the troops managed gradually to extend, two companies of the Seaforths moving out to the right, while the Argyle and Sutherlands, and the Highland Light Infantry crept farther still to the right in hopes of being able to open a flanking fire on the enemy.