serving with heart-felt
emphasis that he wished himself back once more in "La Belle France,"
which he had only left two short months ago. The Dutchman, not
understanding what he was saying, kept on the thread of his story,
interrupting him without any compunction. It was one of the most curious
meals at which I have ever assisted. That afternoon these officers were
removed to safer quarters in gaol while a house was being prepared for
their reception.

As after-events proved, Eloff's attack was the

Boers' last card, which they had played when they heard of the
approaching relief column under Colonel Mahon,[35] and of his intention
to join hands with Colonel Plumer, coming from the North. After lunch,
two days later, we saw clouds of dust to the south, and, from
information to hand, we knew it must be our relievers. The whole of
Mafeking spent hours on the roofs of the houses. In the meantime the
Boers were very uneasy, with many horsemen coming and going, but the
laagers were not being shifted. In the late afternoon a desultory action
commenced, which to us was desperately exciting. We could see little but
shells bursting and columns of dust. One thing was certain: the Boers
were not running away, although the Colonel declared that our troops had
gained possession of the position the Boers had held, the latter having
fallen a little farther back. As the sun set came a helio-message:
"Diamond Fields Horse.--All well. Good-night." We went to dinner at
seven, and just as we were sitting down I heard some feeble cheers.
Thinking something must have happened, I ran to the market-square, and,
seeing a dusty khaki-clad figure whose appearance was unfamiliar to me,
I touched him on the shoulder, and said: "Has anyone come in?" "We have
come in," he answered--"Major Karri-Davis and eight men of the Imperial
Light Horse." Then I saw that officer himself, and he told us that,
profiting by an hour's dusk, they had ridden straight in before the moon
rose, and that they were now sending back two troopers to tell the
column the way was clear. Their having thus pushed on at once was a
lucky inspiration, for, had they waited for daylight, they would
probably have had a hard fight, even if they had got in at all. This
plucky column of 1,100 men had marched nearly 300 miles in twelve days,
absolutely confounding the Boers by their rapidity.

We heard weeks afterwards how that same day of the relief of Mafeking
was celebrated in London