adquarters.
The following day news came through that the Imperial Light Horse and
the Natal Carbineers had been engaging Kemp before and since dawn;
almost cornered, he was making a final dash for the border to get into
German South-West. It was an anxious time; each minute brought a fresh
rumour as to the fighting and the thousands of men Kemp had got
together for his desperate move. Our staff returned before dark,
reporting an eventless day, with intermittent fighting. On the 28th the
Staff went out in motors as far as Rooidam. They returned with bad news
in the early afternoon. After a prolonged rearguard action Kemp had
succeeded, taking over to the Germans with him a force which was said
to be far greater than had been supposed. (Need I add that after events
showed there had been gross exaggeration?)

I offer, with reserve, the following ingenious explanation of Kemp's
escape; it was told me later by several who saw the action. Near the
end of his terrific trek through from the North-Western Transvaal to
the German outpost for which he was making, Kemp was hotly pursued by
the loyalist troops. His men were exhausted. Half of them were
dismounted. All his horses were spent. In these conditions he was
forced to the most trying form of fight--the rearguard and flank
action. With his goal practically right ahead, he reached three of the
parallel large sand dunes with which the veld around Upington is
scattered. They were on his left flank. He swerved into them. Hotly
pursued, he crossed two, and under the lee of the second left a party
of good shots. Then, cantering away over the third, he doubled round on
his tracks and with his exhausted followers made for the German
outpost. When the Union troops came up they were ambushed at short
range, and the check they got just served the fleeing rebel. In the
pursuit afterwards our parties found traces of buried rations for
horses and men. These had been provided with German thoroughness.

The second phase of the Free State Rebellion was a pantomime more than
anything else; a week's pantomime acted in the open veld in rain that
never stopped. It was the most miserable week I have known. We left
Upington on the 29th of November, reaching Kroonstad, Orange Free
State, late next evening. Here the Commander-in-Chief was met by
General Smuts, Minister for Defence; a consultation took place, and as
a result we left by train for Bethlehem in the evening. Our arrival
was timely, too