minute had passed another body was advancing
from the left; and, ignorant as I was of military evolutions, it was
plain enough to me that, long before we reached them, the two bodies
would meet and join in line to impede our advance.

I was right, though I did not feel certain; for the orders were given,
"Trot!" and then "Gallop!" and away we went for the closing-up gap in
front.

"We shall never do it," said Denham to me as we galloped on.

"We must," I cried, and then no more words were spoken. To a man we
knew, as we went along at a steady hand-gallop, that every body of Boers
within sight was aware of what was going on, and moving forward to take
us in a gigantic net whose open meshes were closing in.

There was no cheer, but a savage sound as if every man had suddenly
uttered the word "Ha!" in token of his satisfaction; for, as the two
bodies of the enemy in front were racing over the veldt to meet and
crush us as we tried to get through, our trumpeter sounded a blast which
sent us along at full speed; and then another call was blown, and we
swept round till, going at right angles to our former course, we were
riding exactly in the opposite direction to the detachment of Boers on
the right. Our object was, of course, to get round by their rear; and,
being an irregular and only partially drilled body, the result of the
Colonel's manoeuvre was that the enemy, in their efforts to reverse
their advance, fell into confusion. Some were trying to pull up, others
tried to sweep round to right or left and meet us; while, to add to
their confusion and turn them into a mob of galloping horsemen, the left
body charged full among their own men. The result was that we came upon
the struggling rear of the enemy's right wing, scattering and riding
over them; and had the country beyond been clear, we could have made our
escape.

Unluckily it was the fortune, of war that, just as we had cleared the
scattering mob, with every man riding for his life, there appeared in
front another and stronger line, with bodies of the enemy coming in from
right and left.

Our chief turned in his saddle to glance backward; but it was only to
see the two bodies we had passed struggling to got into something like
order, so as to pursue us. For another minute no alteration was made in
our course; but the attempt was hopeless, for we should have been
outnumbered twenty times over, while the enemy in front now opened fire,
their bullets whizzi