pon its
knees, pitching the rider over its head, and rolled over upon one side,
kicking wildly, and trying twice before it was able to rise to its feet,
when it stood, poor beast! with hanging head; while its rider was seen
crawling away, to stop at last and begin firing.

_Crack_! again, and one of the Boers fell forward on the neck of his
mount and dropped his rifle, while his frightened pony galloped on,
swerving off to the right.

_Crack! crack_! two more shots were fired without apparent effect, and
then two more at intervals, each with good, or bad, effect. In one case
the rider threw up his arms and, as his pony tore on, fell over
sidewise, to drop with his foot tight in the stirrup, and was dragged
about a hundred yards before he was freed and his mount galloped away.

The other shot took effect upon a pony, which stopped dead, to stand
shivering, in spite of the way in which the Boer belaboured it with his
rifle, seeming to pound at it with the butt to force it along. But it
was all in vain--the poor brute's war was over, and it slowly subsided,
its rider springing off sidewise, to drop on one knee, as he tried to
shelter himself behind the animal; but he was not quick enough, for
Dickenson's rifle was resting upon a tuft of thorn, perfectly steady, as
he covered his enemy. _Crack_! and another tiny puff of smoke. The
noise and the greyish vapour were nothings out in that vast veldt, but
they meant the exit of a man from the troublous scene.

They meant more; for, as he saw the effect, the leader of the Boers
shouted an order, and his men swerved off right and left, presenting
their ponies' flanks to the British marksmen, who fired rapidly now, and
with so good aim that two more ponies were badly hit, their riders
leaping off to begin running after their comrades as hard as they could,
while a third man fell over to one side, lay still for a few moments,
and then struggled into a sitting position and held up his hands.

"Don't fire at him!" cried Dickenson excitedly, and none too soon, for
one of the men was taking aim.

"Ha!" said the sergeant grimly as the Boers galloped back. "That'll
take some of the bounce out of the gentlemen. One of them told us that
our men didn't know how to shoot. I dare say if we'd had their training
we might be able to bring down springboks as well as they can."

"Yes; capital, capital, my lads!--Well, sergeant, I think we may go on
again."

"No, sir, no!" cried the