as--to hold the river
bed and banks on each side of the drift! To give up all idea of
command, and, instead of seeking the nearest high ground, which comes
as natural to the student of tactics as rushing for a tree does to a
squirrel, to take the lowest ground, even though it should be all
among thick cover, instead of being nicely in the open.

No, it was absolutely revolutionary, and against every canon I had
ever read or heard of; it was evidently the freak of a sorely tried
and worried brain. I would none of it, and I put it firmly from me.
But the more I argued to myself the absurdity of it, the more this
idea obtained possession of me. The more I said it was impossible, the
more allurements were spread before me in its favor, until each of my
conscientious objections was enmeshed and smothered in a network of
specious reasons as to the advantages of the proposal.

I resisted, I struggled, but finally fell to temptation, dressed up in
the plausible guise of reason. I would hold the river-bed.

The advantages I thus hoped to obtain were--

Perfect concealment and cover from sight.

Trenches and protection against both rifle and gun fire practically
ready made.

Communications under good cover.

The enemy would be out in the open veldt except along the river-bank,
where we, being in position first, would still have the advantage.

Plentiful water-supply at hand.

True, there were a few dead animals near the drift, and the tainted
air seemed to hang heavy over the river-bed, but the carcasses could
be quickly buried under the steep banks, and, after all, one could not
expect _every_ luxury.

As our clear field of fire, which in the north was only bounded by the
range of our rifles, was on the south limited by Waschout Hill, a
suitable position for the enemy to occupy, I decided to hold the top
of it as well as the river-bed. All I could spare for this would be
two N.C.O.'s and eight men, who would be able to defend the south side
of the hill, the north being under our fire from the river-bank.

Having detailed this party, I gave my instructions for the work, which
was soon started. In about a couple of hours the patrols returned with
their prisoners, which were dealt with as before.

For the post on Waschout Hill, the scheme was that the trenches should
be concealed much in the same way as described in the last dream, but
great care should be taken that no one in the post should be exposed
to rifle-fire