," I said, and rode back to my camp.

I had noticed a staff officer looking hard at me under his helmet. I
suddenly recognized him. It was my old school chum at the Oratory, Edmund
Talbot, the Duke of Norfolk's brother. I had not seen him since I had
left school. We were glad to meet again. The world is small. Then off
they went, and I was left behind to work out my problem.

At the time Hutton's column was some forty miles in the rear. I had two
days' more supplies left in French's column. The question was whether I
would succeed in hurrying up Hutton's column sufficiently fast in four
days to pick up the advancing troops.

I had information from headquarters that Lord Roberts intended to get at
any rate some of his troops across the River Vaal from the Orange Free
State into the Transvaal on May 24, Queen Victoria's birthday, as he
particularly wished to cable to her, on that day, the news of the
complete occupation of the Orange Free State and the entry of his troops
into the Transvaal. This meant an advance at the rate of some twenty-five
miles a day on the part of French's and Hutton's brigades. Fortunately
Hutton's column was enabled, but, indeed, at very heavy loss in oxen and
mules, to reach French's as it emptied its last wagon.

By selecting the fittest of the draught animals left belonging to the
emptied column, and the fittest of those in Hutton's column, we were able
to push on, and, four days afterwards, on the evening of May 24, when a
few cavalry actually did cross the River Vaal, at a place called Parisj
to the westward of the railway line, the last two days' rations reached
French's brigade headquarters half an hour before scheduled time. The job
was over. I should be sorry to say how many animals were left on the road
and how long it took the empty wagons, of which there were some eight
hundred, to return to the base with their sorely depleted teams. For the
previous four days and nights I just rested and slept when and where I
could, sometimes for an hour, sometimes for two or three, but you may
imagine what a good night's rest myself and my much harried and worried
staff enjoyed that night after drinking the toast of the day, "God bless
our Queen." I didn't think it necessary to go and see General French
again.

Next morning I started across country towards Vereeniken, the border
station of the Transvaal. I reached there in safety, though I had to
cross a portion of the country in advance of our