y knew they had only fifteen seconds to
reach some place of shelter. Bomb-proof shelters were improvised, caves
were dug by the side of houses, and into these the inhabitants ran,
with more speed than ceremony, when those bugle notes were heard.

It was, however, felt unsafe to allow the women and children to remain
longer in the town, and by the kindness of the De Beers Company they
were lowered into the mines, and there for a full week they lived. Among
the rest the families of the Baptist and Wesleyan ministers were lowered
there. It happened that these two reverend gentlemen met in the street
shortly after the descent of their families, and on parting the Baptist
said to the Methodist--all unconscious of the suggestiveness of his
statement--'Good-bye, my friend; we shall soon meet again either above
or below!'

It was no laughing matter, however, to the thousands of women and
children living day and night in the mine tunnels some eight or twelve
thousand feet below the surface. Theirs was a pitiable condition, and
how much longer they could have held out had not help come it is
difficult to say.

All this time the Kimberley searchlight was night by night searching the
neighbourhood lest any Boers under cover of the darkness should approach
the town; and for most of the time, by heliograph or searchlight, the
authorities were in communication with Lord Methuen on the other side of
those forbidding kopjes. And yet help came not, and the situation was
becoming desperate.

=Various Forms of Christian Work during the Siege.=

In the first place refugee relief work was attempted and successfully
carried out. Large numbers had fled for refuge to Kimberley when war was
declared, and many of these were penniless. A fund of some L3,000 was
raised, and a committee composed of all the ministers of the town
carried out the work of relief. Throughout the siege all the ordinary
services with one or two exceptions were maintained, and though the men
for the most part were on duty, yet the congregations were remarkably
good and the men were present whenever they could get away.

The Wesleyan Church has eight churches in Kimberley. As soon as the
military camps were formed, the Rev. James Scott organized services for
the troops. The Rev. W.H. Richards, the Presbyterian minister, gladly
joined in the work, and united Presbyterian and Wesleyan services were
held.

The hospital work was effectively done, and Miss Gordon (the m