e of the Parijs commandos and Veldtcornet Louwrens, and
Matthijs De Beer, and the men. With these and my staff we would not
number more than sixty or seventy all told.

I at once gave orders to these veldtcornets to meet me at a certain
place, and they were there by the appointed hour.

My intention was to deliver a flank attack upon the English while they
retreated during the night; for, as they only numbered five hundred men,
I felt sure that they would not care to remain thirty miles away from
their column, but would fall back upon Bethlehem.

In the afternoon I marched to within a short distance of Reitz, in order
to discover the enemy's plans; then, immediately after sunset, I sent a
few burghers quite close to the town, with orders to meet me again at a
certain point about two thousand paces to the south, and to inform me
whither the enemy were going to march. The scouts returned at ten
o'clock that night, and reported that the enemy was on the march towards
Harrismith. In order to reach this town they would have to start by the
Bethlehem road, from which the Harrismith road forks, at about eight
thousand paces from the town.

Our horses stood ready up-saddled; I had only to give the order to
mount.

I meant to cross the Bethlehem road and go to a deep hollow which I knew
of near the Harrismith road; then, when the English appeared against the
horizon, we would fire at them.

But my scouts had blundered. The English were not going to Harrismith
after all. For as we came to the Bethlehem road, we nearly stumbled over
them. They were riding quietly along only a short distance from us. As
we were galloping they knew of our proximity before we were aware of
theirs, and when we were less than two hundred paces from them they
opened fire.

"Charge, burghers!"

They all heard me, but they did not all obey. About fifty of the most
valiant of them galloped straight at the enemy. The rest fled.

After a short but fierce engagement we were forced to retire, as six of
our men had been hit. Fortunately, their wounds were but slight, the
most severe being that of my son Isaac, who had been shot through the
leg below the knee.

We rode away a short distance, and saw looming through the darkness a
company of horsemen approaching us from Reitz. I thought at first that
they were some of my own burghers--the ones who had taken to their
heels--but it turned out to be General Wessel Wessels, who was nearer
than I knew wit