the direction of the main attack
shrapnel was bursting all over the nek along which they would have had
to gallop to meet it, and they gave up the idea and evacuated the
position, which fell into Colonel Hicks' hand with a loss of one man,
who had the misfortune to be hit in no less than five places. A guide
had been sent with the column who knew where the gold was, and a party
was told off to dig it up and bring it in. The guide may or may not
have known where the gold _was_, but he certainly did not know where
it was _then_, and the search proved entirely abortive. He was a
murderer under sentence of death, and was to save his life by showing
the gold and ten buried guns.

The force started at 5 a.m. next morning for Lindeque Drift. There was
a certain amount of sniping all the way, principally at the cavalry,
who were riding wide on either flank, collecting cattle and burning
straw and hay, in addition to guarding the flanks. Lindeque was
reached at 5.30 p.m., a camp of our people being in view on the far
bank of the river, with whom communication was opened by signal. The
drift was very deep, but an orderly managed to get across with a
letter. Orders also arrived from General French giving Colonel Hicks
thirty miles of river to watch, which seemed a good deal, considering
the paucity of the numbers at his disposal.

At 6.30 a.m. a helio message was received calling the column at once
back to Krugersdorp, and a start was made for the return journey at 8
a.m. The Boers endeavoured all day to cut off the rearguard, but met
with no success, the gunners shelling them whenever they got close
enough to be unpleasant.

[Illustration: KILMARNOCK. From a sketch by Col. H. Tempest Hicks, C.B.]

The 15th proved to be almost a repetition of the day before, the enemy
hanging persistently on the flanks and rear of the little column, but
showing no signs of any desire to make their closer acquaintance.
Indeed, that morning Colonel Hicks had prepared a small surprise for
them which fully realised his anticipations. Whenever columns were
moving about it was the invariable custom of the enemy to at once
occupy the vacated camping-ground in search of any odds-and-ends that
might have been left about, but more especially ammunition, which used
to drop out of our men's pouches in surprising quantities, in spite of
the most stringent orders on the subject. On this occasion the Colonel
left a small party in ambush when he moved off, wi