"

All made good their retreat, with the exception of Veldtcornet Speller,
of Wepener, who, to my great regret, was taken prisoner there with
fourteen men. That occurred owing to my adjutant forgetting, in the
general confusion, to give them my orders to retreat. When Speller found
that he, with his fourteen men, was left behind, he defended himself, as
I heard later, with great valour, until at last he was captured by
overpowering numbers. It cost the English a good many dead and wounded
to get him out of his _schanzes_.

Although I had foreseen that our escape would be a very difficult and
lengthy business, I had not thought that we should have been in such
danger of being made prisoners. But the English had very speedily taken
up positions to the right and left, with guns and Maxims, and for a good
nine miles of our retreat we were under their fire. Notwithstanding the
fact that during the whole of this time we were also harassed by
small-arm fire, we lost--incredible as it may appear--not more than one
killed and one wounded, and a few horses besides. The positions which we
had abandoned the British now occupied, hemming in General Cronje so
closely that he had not the slightest chance of breaking through their
lines.

No sooner had we got out of range of the enemy's fire, than the first of
the reinforcements, which we had expected from Bloemfontein, arrived,
under the command of Vechtgeneraal Andreas Cronje. With him were
Commandants Thewnissen, of Winburg, and Vilonel, of Senekal.

A council was at once held as to the best method of effecting the
release of General Cronje. It was decided to recapture the positions
which I had abandoned. But now the situation was so changed that there
were _three_ positions which it was necessary for us to take. We agreed
that the attack should be made by three separate parties, that General
Philip Botha, with Commandant Thewnissen, should retake the positions
which we had abandoned at Stinkfontein, General Froneman the position
immediately to the north of these, and I, with General Andreas Cronje,
others still further north.

The attack was made on the following morning. General Botha's attempt
failed, chiefly owing to the fact that day dawned before he reached his
position; a hot fight ensued, resulting in the capture of Commandant
Thewnissen and about one hundred men. As I was so placed as to be unable
to see how affairs were developing, it is difficult for me to hazard an