ingling feeling goes up his spine. There is a
hush! No one speaks. The whole essence of vitality strains to listen.
A faint whir crescendoes rapidly into the shrill whoop of a
steam-siren, and a great balloon-shaped cloud of smoke and dust has
already arisen from amidst the marching mass of men ahead. There is no
sign whence came the shot. Nothing can be more peaceful-looking than
the shoulders of these hills lying bathed in the quiet morning light.
There is no sign of an enemy. Sharp words of command ring out while
the cloud of smoke and dust is still hanging in the air, and in a
dazed and mechanical way he finds himself deploying over the ground,
which shakes with the gallop of cavalry as they spread out fan-like on
either side of the road. The artillery rattle and jolt over the
stones, and the limbers toss like little punts towed through a choppy
sea. His company advances in extended order across the stony ground
tufted with grass, and are ordered to lie down. The captain says,
"Any men who have got anything to eat, let them eat it now." He has a
piece of bread in his haversack, but feels no inclination to eat that
dry and crumby stuff; but he is thirsty, and takes a long and deep
pull at his water-bottle. The sun has already become very hot. The
artillery has already got into action on the left, and is engaged in a
duel with the Boer gunners. The minutes of waiting seem hours to him.
Then all the men watch with keen interest an officer with a red-banded
German cap galloping towards them. The result of his arrival is an
order for them to advance up the gradual slope of this rounded hill.
Just as he starts there is a light keen whistle in the air overhead
like the call of a bird, then another and another. Instinctively he
feels that these are made by bullets flying overhead. As he goes on an
occasional one rings with a sharp bitterness in its tone, and he ducks
his head as one might duck to the swish of a riding-whip near the
face. They go with knees and backs bent, and he longs for the order
to halt and lie down again. A fellow drops out alongside of him, but
he does not look to see what has happened--he is afraid to look. Just
when they have reached the crest of the hill, and when the whistling
sounds have become more plentiful than ever, they are ordered to lie
down again. Looking through the streaky stems of grass immediately in
front of him, he can see a similarly shaped hill about 1200 yards
away. It looks absolu