n," for they always admired my ferocious
appetite.

It had been a tiring day, and I pretended I was not well; and soon
afterwards I lay down to rest.

I had been sitting up the previous evening till late in the night, and
was therefore in hopes of dropping off to sleep. But whatever I
tried--counting the stars, closing my eyes and doing my best to think
of nothing--it was all in vain.

Insurmountable difficulties presented themselves to me. I had ventured
into an unhealthy, deserted, and worst of all, unknown part of the
country with only 2,000 men. I was told we should have to cover 300
miles of this enteric-stricken country.

The burghers without horses were suffering terribly from the killing
heat, and many were attacked by typhoid and malarial fever through
having to drink a lot of bad water; these enemies would soon decimate
our commando and reduce its strength to a minimum. And for four or
five weeks we should be isolated from the Commandant-General and from
all white men.

Was I a coward, then, to lie there, dejected and even frightened? I
asked myself. Surely, to think nothing of taking part in a fierce
battle, to be able to see blood being shed like water, to play with
life and death, one could not be without some courage? And yet I did
not seem to have any pluck left in me here where there did not seem to
be much danger.

These and many similar thoughts came into my head while I was trying
to force myself to sleep, and I told myself not to waver, to keep a
cool head and a stout heart, and to manfully go on to the end in order
to reach the goal we had so long kept in view.

Ah, well, do not let anybody expect a general to be a hero, and
nothing else, at all times; let us remember that "A man's a man for a'
that," and even a fighting man may have his moments of weakness and
fear.

The next morning, about four o'clock, our little force woke up again.
The cool morning air made it bearable for man and beast to trek. This,
however, only lasted till seven o'clock, when the sun was already
scorching, without the slightest sign of a breeze. It became most
oppressive, and we were scarcely able to breathe.

The road had not been used for twenty or thirty years, and big trees
were growing in our path, and had to be cut down at times. The dry
ground, now cut up by the horses' hoofs, was turned into dust by the
many wheels, great clouds flying all round us, high up in the air,
covering everything and everybody