ld be in the field against
us. What would you think of giving Puckie a rifle and sending him out to
fight? Boer prisoners have told me that the courage of these boys could
be relied on; they were often braver, and would stick to a position they
had been placed in longer than the men. They showed traces of the
experience they had been through, though. Not only in being deeply
tanned and more or less ragged and thin, but by an unmistakable
expression (in many instances) in their faces and in their eyes; a
dilated look, as of one who sees something appalling before him, and
braces himself to face it out. Considering what it is to be exposed to
lyddite and shrapnel fire (the absolute hell of din and concussion
besides rain of bullets), one doesn't wonder that it leaves marks on
young faces.

R. and I rode eastward through the hills in the Golden Gate direction,
meeting parties of Boers, waggons, Cape-carts, &c., coming straggling
in. It reminded me of the road to Epsom on a Derby morning. There is
some pleasure in meeting Boers on these terms. "Good morning. How are
you? A pleasant morning for a ride, is it not?" "Good morning, sir; it
is fine now, but I think we shall have rain later." That's what I like.
There's nothing like a little urbanity.

Towards the end of a long valley we come to some signs of defensive work
that interest us. The Boers evidently expected to be able to await our
advance here before they found their retreat was cut off. They have
thrown up some shelters. We noticed from afar off several very
conspicuous stone sangars, but coming close, we were surprised to find
that they were made of stones loosely put together with big chinks, very
flimsy and frail, and much too high for their purpose, too. They
evidently were not intended for shelters at all. What were they there
for? We looked carefully round, and at last the meaning of the device
struck us. A hundred yards to the right the ground dropped sharp,
leaving an edge; here was the real position and the natural cover. We
walked over, and found the usual little hollows and inconspicuous
stones arranged. Here was where their riflemen had lain, with a view
right up the valley. And the meaning of those conspicuous edifices was
now plain. Stuck up on the bare brow, plain to be seen at 2000 yards,
they were simply meant to draw our fire. The smokeless Mausers would
have told no tales, and I have no doubt that, if the attack had come
off, the device would ha