turned into a hive of cells, in which they
lurked, stings ready. It was generally some kopje covered with loose
stones, cracks, and crevices, while the open portions were soon made
formidable with loopholed walls of loosely built-up stones. If their
resting-place was in the more open country, it was a laager whose walls
were the wagons, banked up and strengthened with stakes, thorn bushes,
and a terrible entanglement of barbed galvanised iron wire.

Attacks had been made on the fortified village and the kopje at early
morning, but never pushed home; and all through the occupation the
tactics of the general in command had been the harassing of the British
regiment with shell fire and clever marksmanship from cover, so constant
and so dangerous that the wonder to the English officers was that the
enemy had not long before fired their last cartridge away.

But upon this particular night something more was fully expected. The
English scouting parties had brought in the information respecting the
reinforcements to the Boer corps, so that when a Zulu, who had been a
very faithful hanger-on to the British force, came in full of eagerness
that afternoon to announce that the Boers meant to attack in force, the
colonel, though always ready to doubt the information received and the
possibility of the black spies' surmises being correct, felt that he was
warranted in making every preparation; and this was set about in a calm,
matter-of-fact way.

Judging that the attack would be in the form of a surprise directed at
the kopje, possession of which would render the village perfectly
untenable, the two field-guns posted in the most commanding position in
the village were hauled up to appointed places on the kopje to
strengthen the big captured gun, and the major portion of the troops
were marched up to the well-fortified lines there, the colonel intending
to hold the rocky elevation himself, leaving the defence of the village
to the major, who was to keep the enemy who attacked in play there as
long as seemed necessary, and then retire along the well-fortified path
which connected village and kopje, where the principal stand was to be
made.

The great natural advantages of the rocky mount had not been neglected.
From the first the colonel had looked upon it as a little inland
Gibraltar in which he could bid defiance to ten times the number of the
enemy that had been attacking him, so long as food and ammunition
lasted; and to t