as Boers were known to be in the
vicinity, while there had been a certain amount of distant sniping
throughout the march. Putting piquets at the drifts, the infantry and
guns occupied one hill, and the mounted troops another hard by. We had
just turned in for the night when a sharp rifle-fire broke out all
along the front, to which our sentries were not slow to respond. We
immediately occupied the posts to which we had been assigned, but the
firing soon died away. No one was hit by the enemy, but an unfortunate
trooper in Marshall's Horse was shot by a comrade, and later on
succumbed to the wound.

[Footnote 13: Royal Dublin Fusiliers, 100 cavalry, two
guns.]

[Illustration: Colour-Sergeant Cossy issuing Beer.]

At daybreak on the 13th, we located a Boer laager some five miles out
on the plain. One of our officers had a deer-stalking telescope, with
which it was possible to follow the movements of the Boers as they
woke up, a most interesting spectacle. They were of course far out of
range of our fifteen-pounders, but just as we were regretting our
inability to get at them, General Hart's force from Pochefstroom could
be seen trekking slowly in their direction from our left front. We,
from our elevated position, could see what the Boers could not, and to
watch our comrades creeping slowly nearer, while the Boers were
loitering about and stretching themselves, was a sight the opportunity
to view which was seldom afforded in the course of the war. But long
before the General got close enough to do any harm, the alarm went.
Any one who has ever seen a pebble cast into an ants' nest can realise
the proceedings of the next two minutes. Darting about in every
direction, the Boers caught their horses and inspanned their transport
with a celerity which fairly took our breath away, and in what seemed
an incredibly short space of time they were trekking away across our
right front, their movements still more hastened by a few rounds from
the naval guns. Moreover, they came within very long range of our
fifteen-pounders, so we were enabled to return them a 'quid' for their
'quo' of the previous night, with probably about the same result to
their skins, though one riderless horse could be seen careering about.

A helio message from the General instructed us to march off and join
him at Frederickstadt, where we arrived that afternoon, spending the
morning in the usual domiciliary visits, getting a really handso