of subsequent knowledge the information
which it conveyed was much as the brigadier had anticipated. De Wet,
after the sack of Strydenburg, had doubled north,--in fact, had almost
retraced his original line. He had thrown a feint up in the direction
of Mark's Drift, and thus drawn the pursuit temporarily off the true
line, but had as suddenly swung to the east. Here he had again been
struck by the indefatigable Plumer, temporarily renovated and with
sufficient steam up to take him a short spurt. That spurt was
sufficient to rob De Wet of his last impedimenta, to cause him to
bifurcate in his flight. Part of the pursued rabble went north, half
hurled itself across the Cape Government Railway in the vicinity of
Paauwpan. Plumer's spurt was just too short to bring about the
definite result required, and he crawled into Hopetown to further
revive his energy. In the meantime it was learned from prisoners and
other sources that the group of fugitives trying to cross the Orange
River north of Hopetown was Judge Hertzog's and Pretorius's party.
Brand had made the passage at Mark's Drift, while De Wet, with the
ex-President, was still in the Colony heading for Philipstown. Then
hope ran high. The Orange River was in flood, while stops were in
front of and south of the harried guerilla. Thorneycroft and Henry in
the vicinity of Colesburg; Crabbe and Henniker on his tail; Grenfell,
Murray, and others strung out in an ever-decreasing circle! Swollen
river in front, desperate Englishmen behind, what chance had the
residue of the invaders now! But the brigadier shook his head as he
pricked out the positions on the map. "There is no mention of troops
moving down from the north. What does Napoleon say about rivers as
barriers in war?--he classes them as negotiable obstacles, after
deserts and mountains, right low down on the scale. Flood or no flood,
ole man De Wet will cross that river just wherever and whenever he
pleases; and if we have no one north of it either to pick him up or to
head him while crossing, he will get clear away, and we shall have let
slip another opportunity, by crass stupidity and failure to make use
of the very signal advantages which circumstances have placed in our
way. Plumer and my brigands get to Orange River Station to-night. Even
if they have truckage waiting for us, we shall not march clear of
Jagersfontein Road until the day after to-morrow. That will give ole
man De Wet twenty-four hours' clear lead. I