mpt to stand. A long
pause followed at Pretoria, broken by occasional small alarms and
excursions, which served no end save to keep the army from ennui. In
spite of occasional breaks in his line of communications, horses and
supplies were coming up rapidly, and, by the middle of July, Roberts
was ready for the field again. At the same time Hunter had come up from
Potchefstroom, and Hamilton had taken Heidelberg, and his force was
about to join hands with Buller at Standerton. Sporadic warfare broke
out here and there in the west, and in the course of it Snyman of
Mafeking had reappeared, with two guns, which were promptly taken from
him by the Canadian Mounted Rifles. On all sides it was felt that if
the redoubtable De Wet could be captured there was every hope that the
burghers might discontinue a struggle which was disagreeable to the
British and fatal to themselves. As a point of honour it was impossible
for Botha to give in while his ally held out. We will turn, therefore,
to this famous guerilla chief, and give some account of his exploits. To
understand them some description must be given of the general military
situation in the Free State.

When Lord Roberts had swept past to the north he had brushed aside the
flower of the Orange Free State army, who occupied the considerable
quadrilateral which is formed by the north-east of that State. The
function of Rundle's 8th Division and of Brabant's Colonial Division was
to separate the sheep from the goats by preventing the fighting burghers
from coming south and disturbing those districts which had been settled.
For this purpose Rundle formed a long line which should serve as a
cordon. Moving up through Trommel and Clocolan, Ficksburg was occupied
on May 25th by the Colonial Division, while Rundle seized Senekal, forty
miles to the north-west. A small force of forty Yeomanry, who entered
the town some time in advance of the main body, was suddenly attacked
by the Boers, and the gallant Dalbiac, famous rider and sportsman, was
killed, with four of his men. He was a victim, as so many have been in
this campaign, to his own proud disregard of danger.

The Boers were in full retreat, but now, as always, they were dangerous.
One cannot take them for granted, for the very moment of defeat is that
at which they are capable of some surprising effort. Rundle, following
them up from Senekal, found them in strong possession of the kopjes at
Biddulphsberg, and received a check i