were approaching.

The spot where our laagers were now situated was only 13 miles from
Belfast and Bergendal, between which two places General
Smith-Dorrien's strong force was posted; while a little distance
behind Lydenburg was General Walter Kitchener with an equally strong
garrison. We were, therefore, obliged to be continually on the alert,
not relaxing our watchfulness for one single moment. One or two
burghers were still deserting from time to time, aggravating their
shameful behaviour by informing the enemy of our movements, which
often caused a well-arranged plan to fail. We knew this was simply
owing to these very dangerous traitors.

The State Artillerymen, who had now been deprived of their guns, were
transformed into a mounted corps of 85 men, under Majors Wolmarans and
Pretorius, and placed under my command for the time being.

It was now time we should assume the offensive, before the enemy
attacked us. I therefore went out scouting for some days, with several
of my officers, in order to ascertain the enemy's positions and to find
out their weakest spot. My task was getting too arduous, and I decided
to promote Commandant Muller to the rank of a fighting-general. He
turned out to be an active and reliable assistant.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

CAPTURE OF "LADY ROBERTS."

After I had carefully reconnoitred the enemy's positions, I resolved,
after consulting my fighting-general, Muller, to attack the Helvetia
garrison, one of the enemy's fortifications or camps between Lydenburg
and Machadodorp. Those fortifications served to protect the railway
road from Machadodorp Station to Lydenburg, along which their convoys
went twice a week to provision Lydenburg village. Helvetia is situated
three miles east of Machadodorp, four miles west of Watervalboven
Station, where a garrison was stationed, and about three miles south
of a camp near Zwartkoppies. It was only protected on the north side.
Although it was difficult to approach this side on account of a
mountainous rand through which the Crocodile River runs, yet this was
the only road to take. It led across Witrand or Bakenkop; the
commandos were therefore obliged to follow it, and had to do this at
night time, for if they had passed the Bakenkop by day they would have
exposed themselves to the enemy's artillery fire from the Machadodorp
and Zwartkoppies garrisons.

During the night of the 28th of December 1900, we marched from
Windhoek, past Dullstroom, u