hat's the Boer all over. Look at them, lying
down at a distance to pick us off. I don't call that fighting. Oh,
Colonel, Colonel, this won't do!"

He said the words to me, and the men within hearing laughed. There was,
however, good cause for Denham's words, the bullets beginning to fall
about us, aimed from different directions; and it was quite plain that,
if we stood grouped together in troops, it would not be long before a
perfect hail of bullets would be pattering among us, many of them going
straight to their goals, and decimating our little force, or worse.

The officers needed no telling; and in a few minutes we were off again,
first in one direction, then in another, our leader giving up as
hopeless the idea of making straight for any particular opening in the
dense ranks, but picking out the smaller parties of the enemy--that is
to say, mobs not more than double our own strength; and when we could
get within striking distance they were punished and scattered like chaff
before the wind, in spite of the scattered volleys they sent at us
before they fled.

This could not last, of course, for it was always at the cost of some of
our poor fellows and of many horses, who had to be left to fall into the
enemy's hands.

At last we managed to charge home right into a body of our foes at least
three times our strength--numerous enough, in fact, to surround us as we
fought our way through them, thus rendering us more and more helpless;
but our men fought desperately, till about half of the corps forced
their way through, and, making an attempt to keep well in formation,
dashed on.

I was with about a dozen quite fifty yards in the rear, half-mad with
pain and excitement, for one of the Boers had clubbed his rifle in the
midst of the melee and struck at my head. I was too quick for him,
wrenching myself sidewise; but the rifle glanced all down one side,
giving me for the moment a terrible numbing sense of pain. Yet my head
was quite clear, and I rode on, feeling a wild kind of exhilaration from
the knowledge that with one quick thrust I had passed my sword through
his shoulder. Now I was urging on poor bruised and frightened Sandho to
keep up with the dozen or so of our men who were trying to overtake the
main body. We were in no formation, only a galloping party; and,
consequent upon my injury, I was last. As we tore on we passed one of
the corps trying to drag himself from under his fallen horse, which was