two squadrons, about 70 men, of Natal troopers--the Imperial
Light Horse; Wagon Hill proper by a half-battalion of infantry. It
happened, however, by fortunate coincidence, that it had been decided
{p.240} to mount that night a naval gun upon Wagon Hill West. This,
with an escort of engineer troops, a half company of infantry, and
some seamen--in all sixty rifles--had reached the foot of the hill by
2.30 A.M., the hour the attack was made.

Alarm was taken only an instant before the Boers were upon the
garrison. The rush and fire followed so instantly that the defenders
were driven in disorder over the crest, leaving it in the hands of the
enemy, who captured a lieutenant and sixteen men--thirteen of them
wounded. Amid the surprise and confusion, and the black darkness, the
gun escort, under two young lieutenants of engineers, held firm,
affording a rallying point for the routed garrison; and this mixed
body, steadying itself under cover on the reverse side of the hill,
stood fast and waited events. The Boers, also expectant, instead of
pursuing their success, retired and sought cover on the outer slope; a
narrow sixty yards of summit alone separating the opponents.

Somewhat less of success attended the surprise on Wagon Hill proper.
Nevertheless, there also the Boers effected a lodgment on {p.241} the
plateau, and along the nek connecting with Wagon Hill West. A group of
stragglers, from the Imperial Light Horse and the Wagon Hill garrison,
had got together among the boulders of a knoll off the latter hill,
near the nek, and thence kept up a cross-fire on Wagon Hill West. The
Boers doing the same from their side, that summit was untenable to
either party. Here, at the west end of Wagon Hill, the two lines were
but 30 yards apart. To the eastward, towards Caesar's Camp, as the
plateau widened, the space increased to 100 yards. The danger to the
British in this situation was, that if the knoll were lost, Wagon Hill
West, losing the support of its fire, would probably fall with it.
Wagon Hill proper would then be taken in flank as well as in front,
and so rendered untenable; while Wagon Hill once gone, Caesar's Camp
would be exposed to a like concentration and probably to the same
fate. Deprived of the ridge, the British line of defences would be
broken and the enemy established on a commanding height in easy
range--5,000 yards--of the town. Two or three desperate attempts to
reinforce the {p.242} knoll by crossing the