urriedly made to domicile the
surplus in the debris heaps. Midnight came; not a gun was heard. Morning
dawned; and the weak and young were safe from the ravages of shot and
shell. Thus had closed the last, eventful Sunday of thraldom. The work
achieved did much to ease men's minds, to revivify their hope, and to
strengthen their readiness to immolate themselves, if need be, on the
altar of duty.

Monday was awaited with calmness and a determination to meet the worst
with fortitude. The carnage predicted, and painted in such sanguinary
colours, was slow to begin. It was not until the respectable hour of
seven that a commencement was made. Several untenanted houses were
damaged; four were set on fire at Kenilworth, and though the Brigade
were on the spot as fast as they could be conveyed from Kimberley, the
conflagration was inextinguishable, the houses were burned to the
ground. The intervals between the coming of the shells were much longer
than heretofore. This was due to the fact that a number of our best
marksmen had at length managed to make themselves felt. They had gone
out on the Sunday night and secured cover so close to Kamfers Dam as to
necessitate the exercise of caution on the part of Long Tom's
manipulators. The "snipers" lay alert, invisible, and ready when they
saw a head to hit it. It was alleged that the polls in which the
marksmen were interested had the Red Cross--a useful talisman--waving
over them, the better to enable the gunners to devastate Kimberley with
impunity. Whether this was true is not certain; at any rate, the
_finesse_ did not deceive; every cranium that loomed upon the horizon
received a volley. Sometimes the gun would be fixed partially into
position, and, as the bullets whistled by, lowered, jerked up again, and
fired. Even these hide and seek tactics did not long nonplus the
"snipers"; their adaptability was equal to the occasion. Rumour spread
it that two or three of the Kamfers Dam gunners had fallen; one victim
was certainly vouched for by a number of people who had seen him throw
up his hands, in the very act of firing, and disappear from view. The
success of the "snipers" was the talk of the city. It was tactlessly
conveyed to the bottom of the mines and made some of the women anxious
to get to the top--to breathe gunpowder in preference to brimstone.
Reports went to show, however, that all was as well down below as could
be expected in a "settlement" so new and so congested.