orce the garrison.

Here again I had trouble with Commandant Vilonel. I had little time to
argue--the sun was already setting, and we had to be off at once. I had
declined to allow a single waggon to go with me, but the Commandant
declared that he would not abide by the decision of the council of war.
He also refused to allow his burghers to go into positions which he
himself had not reconnoitred. He asked that the attack should be
postponed until he had examined Sanna's Post through his telescope.

My patience was now at an end. I told Commandant Vilonel that he must
obey my orders, and that if he did not do so I should dismiss him,
unless he himself resigned. He preferred to resign. My secretary
procured paper, and the Commandant wrote out his resignation. I at once
gave him his dismissal, and felt that a weight had been taken off my
shoulders now that I was free from so wrong-headed an officer.

There was no time now for the burghers to elect a new Commandant in the
usual way. I therefore assembled the Winburg commando, and told them
that Vilonel had resigned, that an opportunity of choosing a substitute
should be given to them later on, but that in the meanwhile I should
appoint Veldtcornet Gert Van der Merve. Nobody had anything to say
against "Gerie," who was a courageous and amiable man; and, after he had
given orders that the waggons should be sent home, we continued our
march.

I met some of my spies at a _rendezvous_ which I had given them on the
road to the Water Works, and learnt from them that the force under
General Broadwood had come that evening from the direction of Ladybrand
and now occupied Thaba'Nchu.

I had ordered my generals to take up positions opposite Sanna's Post and
east of the Modder River. I now left them and rode on to Koorn Spruit,
not knowing that General Broadwood had left Thaba'Nchu after nightfall
and had proceeded to the Water Works. My advance was made as quietly as
possible, and as soon as we reached Koorn Spruit I hid my burghers in
the ravine, placing some to the right and some to the left of the
drift[31] on the road from Thaba'Nchu and Sanna's Post to Bloemfontein.

As soon as it became light enough to see anything we discovered that
just above the spruit[32] stood a waggon, with some Kaffirs and a number
of sheep and cattle beside it. The Kaffirs told us that the waggon
belonged to one of the "hands-uppers" from Thaba'Nchu, and that they had
been ordered to get it down t