This company was shortly further
subdivided by the left half-company, under Lieutenant E. St. G. Smith,
being sent to guard a culvert half-way to Reit Vlei Bridge.
In the meantime Colonel Hicks never for a moment relaxed the soldierly
precautions which it was his custom to observe, whether the Boers were
reported in the neighbourhood or not; and several times rumours of
intended attacks did arrive, though they invariably proved false.
The town of Heidelberg itself was very Dutch and seething with
malcontents and treachery. One could easily forgive them for not being
exactly content, but what one could not forgive was their slimness,
their plausible exterior, and their inner mass of falsehood. No class
were more bitter than the clergymen, and one of these gentry was
strongly suspected of being in constant communication with the Boers
in the field, though his oath of neutrality was taken and he was
availing himself of our hospitality. On one occasion Captain G. S.
Higginson spent the night in an empty house in the town in an attempt
to mark this fox to ground, but unfortunately his vigil was
unproductive of result.
Lieutenant Haskard was now acting as Railway Staff Officer, and having
a very busy time of it, as in addition to hundreds of other duties he
had to send rations up and down the line to the various detachments.
On the 9th, Sergeant-Major Burke rejoined the regiment, having been a
prisoner since he was wounded at Talana, and left at Dundee. During
this time his duties had been ably performed by Colour-Sergeant C.
Guilfoyle, now Sergeant-Major, 2nd Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers.
Lieutenants Marsh and Weldon also joined here, as Lieutenant Supple
had done a few days before. The two former had followed the regiment
up the line to Mafeking, and thence across the Western Transvaal in a
cape-cart, following very nearly in our tracks. They had an
adventuresome journey, and were delighted to reach us at last. Captain
Clarke, R.M.L.I., who was attached to the regiment, escorted an
important Boer commander, named Van Rensburg, to Johannesburg, on his
way to St. Helena.
It is necessary to explain briefly here the situation of the three
companies, 'A,' 'E,' and 'F,' under Major English, Captain Shewan, and
Captain G. S. Higginson, which had been sent out to guard various
points on the line from Heidelberg to Standerton.
'A' and 'E' companies had originally gone out, and were posted at
Botha's Kraal. Later on
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