ere equally exhausted after
a long twenty-four hours' marching and fighting. He gave his weary
soldiers some hours' rest, and then, abandoning seventy-eight of his
wagons, he pushed on before daylight for the farthest off of the three
fords (Wolveskraal Drift). Could he reach and cross it before his
enemies, he was safe. The Klipkraal Drift had in the meanwhile been
secured by the Buffs, the West Ridings, and the Oxfordshire Light
Infantry after a spirited little action which, in the rapid rush of
events, attracted less attention than it deserved. The brunt of the
fighting fell upon the Oxfords, who lost ten killed and thirty-nine
wounded. It was not a waste of life, however, for the action, though
small and hardly recorded, was really a very essential one in the
campaign.

But Lord Roberts's energy had infused itself into his divisional
commanders, his brigadiers, his colonels, and so down to the humblest
Tommy who tramped and stumbled through the darkness with a devout faith
that 'Bobs' was going to catch 'old Cronje' this time. The mounted
infantry had galloped round from the north to the south of the river,
crossing at Klip Drift and securing the southern end of Klipkraal.
Thither also came Stephenson's brigade from Kelly-Kenny's Division,
while Knox, finding in the morning that Cronje was gone, marched along
the northern bank to the same spot. As Klipkraal was safe, the
mounted infantry pushed on at once and secured the southern end of
the Paardeberg Drift, whither they were followed the same evening by
Stephenson and Knox. There remained only the Wolveskraal Drift to block,
and this had already been done by as smart a piece of work as any in the
war. Wherever French has gone he has done well, but his crowning glory
was the movement from Kimberley to head off Cronje's retreat.

The exertions which the mounted men had made in the relief of Kimberley
have been already recorded. They arrived there on Thursday with their
horses dead beat. They were afoot at three o'clock on Friday morning,
and two brigades out of three were hard at work all day in an endeavour
to capture the Dronfield position. Yet when on the same evening an
order came that French should start again instantly from Kimberley and
endeavour to head Cronje's army off, he did not plead inability, as many
a commander might, but taking every man whose horse was still fit to
carry him (something under two thousand out of a column which had been
at least fiv