about this, but we had
to obey the Commandant-General, and there was an end of it. Meanwhile,
reports came in that on the other side of the railway the burghers who
had been left behind were surrendering day by day, and that a
field-cornet was engaged in negotiations with the enemy about a
general laying down of arms. I at once despatched General Muller there
to put an end to this.

We now prepared once more to cross the railway line, which was guarded
more carefully than ever, and no one dared to cross with a conveyance
of any description. We had, however, become possessed of a laager--a
score of waggons and two pom-poms--and I determined to take these
carts and guns across with me, for my men valued them all the more for
having been captured. They were, in fact, as sweet to us as stolen
kisses, although I have had no very large experience of the latter
commodity.

CHAPTER XXXVII.

BLOWING UP AN ARMOURED TRAIN.

We approached the line between Balmoral and Brugspruit, coming as
close to it as was possible with regard to safety, and we stopped in a
"dunk" (hollow place) intending to remain there until dusk before
attempting to cross. The blockhouses were only 1,000 yards distant
from each other, and in order to take our waggons across there was but
one thing to be done, namely, to storm two blockhouses, overpower
their garrisons, and take our convoy across between these two.
Fortunately there were no obstacles here in the shape of embankments
or excavations, the line being level with the veldt. We moved on in
the evening (the 27th of June), the moon shining brightly, which was
very unfortunate for us, as the enemy would see us and hear us long
before we came within range. I had arranged that Commandant Groenwald
was to storm the blockhouse on the right, and Commandant W. Viljoen
that to the left, each with 75 men. We halted about 1,000 paces from
the line, and here the sections left their horses behind and marched
in scattered order towards the blockhouses. The enemy had been warned
by telephone that morning of our vicinity, and all the pickets and
outposts along the line were on the "qui vive." When 150 yards from
the blockhouses the garrison opened fire on our men, and a hail of
Lee-Metford bullets spread over a distance of about four miles, the
British soldiers firing from within the blockhouses and from behind
mounds of earth. The blockhouse attacked by Commandant Viljoen offered
the most determined re