nd to Colonel Edwardes of the Imperial
Light Horse. In accordance with this order the troops detailed got under
arms very quietly, taking all the ammunition they could carry, but
leaving their horses and cumbersome equipment in the lines, for Sir
Archibald had wisely resolved that all taking part in this expedition
must march the five miles out, and get back as best they could on foot,
neither troop horses nor officers' chargers being allowed to join the
column. Lord Ava, who is attached to Brigadier-General Hamilton's staff,
happened to be a guest of the Light Horse. Getting an inkling of some
mysterious movement, for which officers were arming themselves like
their men with rifles, he stole away to get a night free from galloper's
duties, shouldered a Lee-Enfield, crammed a bandolier full of
cartridges, and came back in time to join the ranks before they marched
off.

It was then past ten o'clock; the crescent moon was "sloping slowly
towards the west" behind a bank of dark clouds, and in another hour the
faint light would have gone, giving place to a gloom that makes rocks,
trees, rough knolls, and deep dongas one shapeless black. General
Hunter's instructions were brief and simple, silence being the point
most strongly insisted on. For the rest, Imperial Light Horse and
Carbineers, to whom he entrusted the attack, were to follow their guides
and keep line if possible. These two corps contributed about one hundred
men each. The Border Mounted Rifles, Natal Volunteers, and a small field
force of Colonel Dartnell's Border Police, making altogether about four
hundred, were to be in reserve, the Border Mounted furnishing supports
and pushing them up the hill as each step in the ascent was gained. The
fourteen guides, with Major Henderson of the Intelligence branch as
staff officer, went ahead, and then the column moved off silently, the
order being passed from section to section in whispers. The Boers, five
miles off, would not have heard if a full band had played the
adventurous six hundred out; but we know that there are Boer emissaries
still in camp who might, by preconcerted signal, have given the alarm if
the unusual movement had aroused them and their suspicions. It was well,
therefore, to let such sleeping dogs lie. So the column marched in
silence along town roads, where nearly every house is deserted, and deep
dust muffled the tread of many feet until they were clear of the town,
and passing our outposts on Help