ated, some tea alone awaited them. The
officers were even worse off, for as the mess president had been
employed with the two companies out foraging, no one else had thought
of keeping even a cup of tea for them, and, exhausted as they were by
ten hours' work without food, under a burning sun, they received the
pleasing intelligence that the column was starting at once to march to
Pochefstroom, a distance variously estimated at from thirty-five to
thirty-eight miles.

[Illustration: Buffelsdoorn Camp, Gatsrand Hills.]

The force marched in three parts. First, mounted men, guns, and 'A'
and 'E' companies Royal Dublin Fusiliers in waggons. Then the main
body of infantry, and lastly the transport with 'G' and 'H' companies
Royal Dublin Fusiliers as rearguard. There was a moon for most of the
way, but it only served to make the surroundings more weird. Parallel
to our right ran a low range of hills, whilst on the left was the Mooi
River, with a farm looming up out of the night every mile or so along
the way. There was one halt of half an hour towards midnight, but the
remainder of the halts were merely of the usual five minutes'
duration. And hard it was to resume the weary way at the end of even
those brief spells of rest. Every one was so fit that the actual
marching was nothing like so trying as the difficulty of keeping awake
through the long, dreary hours, and one would time after time drop
asleep as one walked mechanically along, only to wake in the very act
of falling. Frederickstadt was reached in the small hours of the
morning, and the stream crossed to its left bank. There was then a
halt of about an hour to close up the transport, and very welcome it
was, for we were still an ordinary day's march from our destination.
Turning to our right, we brought the Gatsrands on our left, and the
word went forth that the Boers were in them, a report which seemed to
be confirmed a moment later as a blaze of light suddenly appeared
above their summits. 'There they are!' 'That's their signal lamp!'
were the comments that greeted the glory of the morning star, whether
Jupiter or Venus, on that as on many a previous and subsequent
occasion. On straggled the column, many of the men completely worn
out, having been reluctantly compelled to avail themselves of the
permission to ride on the waggons; the remainder, with grim
determination to march till they dropped, trudging patiently and
silently on. At last came the welcome flush