attered, spread over a great
expanse of ground, concealed wherever possible, clad in neutral tint.

All the pomp and magnificence of Omdurman, the solid lines of infantry,
the mighty Dervish array, bright with flashing spears and waving flags,
were excluded. Rows of tiny dots hurried forward a few yards and
vanished into the brown of the earth. Bunches and clusters of brown
things huddled among the rocks or in sheltered spots. The six batteries
of artillery unlimbered, and the horses, hidden in some safe place, were
scarcely visible.

Once I saw in miniature through glasses a great wave of infantry surge
forward along a spur and disappear beyond a crest line. The patter of
the Mauser rifles swelled into a continuous rumbling like a train of
waggons passing over a pontoon bridge, and presently the wave recoiled;
the minute figures that composed it squeezed themselves into cover
among some rocks, a great many groups of men began carrying away black
objects. A trickle of independent dots dispersed itself. Then we
groaned. There had been a check. The distant drama continued. The
huddling figures began to move again--lithe, active forms moved about
rearranging things--officers, we knew, even at the distance. Then the
whole wave started again full of impetus--started--went forward, and
never came back. And at this we were all delighted, and praised the
valour of our unequalled infantry, and wished we were near enough to
give them a cheer.

So we watched until nightfall, when some companies of the Queen's, from
General Hildyard's Brigade, arrived, and took over the charge of our
hill from us, and we descended to get our horses, and perhaps some food,
finding, by good luck, all we wanted, and lay down on the ground to
sleep, quite contented with ourselves and the general progress of the
army.

The action of the 21st had begun before I awoke, and a brisk fusillade
was going on all along the line. This day the right attack stood still,
or nearly so, and the activity was confined to the left, where General
Hildyard, with five battalions and two batteries, skilfully felt and
tested the enemy's positions and found them most unpleasantly strong.
The main difficulty was that our guns could not come into action to
smash the enemy in his trenches without coming under his rifle fire,
because the edge of the plateau was only a thousand yards from the
second and main Boer position, and unless the guns were on the edge of
the plateau t