ace puzzled him, but at last he
remembered having seen a counterfeit presentment of it, or one very
similar, in a photographic group of the Bester family. A Bester would
know every rock and cranny of that hill with a familiarity which would
make light or darkness indifferent to him. Lieutenant Hunt-Grubbe made
mental notes also of Boer tactics, by which they gave a great impression
of numbers. A group would gather at one point and keep up rapid firing
for some time, then double under cover to some rocks thirty yards off,
and discharge their rifles there, but always taking care not to throw
any shots away.

In spite of these dodges and good shooting, however, the Boers could
make no headway against the Manchesters, who were by this time extended
across the stony plateau under fire from Boer guns posted among trees on
the far side of Bester's Valley. Neither side in fact could move either
to advance or retire without exposing itself on open ground. Therefore
they stayed blazing away at each other until the grey dawn gave place to
swift sunrise. Then the Boers, who had a heliograph with them behind
Intombi Spur, flashed to Bulwaan the signal "Maak Vecht," and our friend
"Puffing Billy"--as the big 6-inch Creusot is called--promptly made
fight in a way that was astonishing in a weapon whose grooves must be
worn nearly smooth by frequent firing. He threw shell after shell with
vicious rapidity and remarkable accuracy on to the plateau of Caesar's
Camp, but the shells fortunately did not fall among our men or burst
well.

Just as Colonel Metcalfe arrived at Caesar's Camp, with four companies of
the Rifle Brigade to reinforce and prolong our fighting line, the Boer
gunners turned their attention to another point, where, in the low
ground among trees by Klip River, Major Abdy was bringing the 53rd Field
Battery into action. This proved to be the turning-point of the fight on
the eastern spur of Bester's Ridge.

Those six guns began throwing time-shrapnel with beautiful precision
just where Boers were thickest. Not a shell seemed to be misplaced, so
far as one could judge, and successive bursts and showers of shrapnel
seemed to wither the immense thickets near Intombi's crest. "Puffing
Billy" turned with an angry growl on Abdy's battery, and this was
followed by many shells fired so rapidly that one began to think the gun
must split under that strain. It went on firing, however, and shell
after shell dropped close to our batt