to trains
which were kept ready in the station. Later on other counsels
prevailed, and tents were raised again. It had rained most of the day,
and a general wetting was the chief result of this 'scare.' The Boers
quickly made their presence felt, and the next day inflicted a severe
blow on the garrison.

Our mounted troops had been busily engaged in reconnaissance work, and
in an evil hour it occurred to the authorities that the armoured train
was also an excellent means of gaining news. Captain Hensley had taken
it to Colenso on the 5th and 6th, and on the latter day surprised a
party of Boers engaged in looting the village. The dispatch of the
train, unsupported by any mounted troops, soon became almost a matter
of daily routine. This defiance of common sense could have only one
result. On November 15th, Captain Haldane,[3] of the Gordon
Highlanders, went out in the train with 'A' company and some men of
the Durban Light Infantry. He reached Frere and, learning from a Natal
policeman that the front was clear, pushed on to Chieveley. Here he
saw in the distance a small body of the enemy moving southwards, and,
having telegraphed the information to Estcourt, turned back. But as
the train was running down a steep gradient the Boers suddenly opened
fire with two guns from a ridge to the west of the line. Almost
immediately afterwards the train was derailed by stones placed on the
line, and the leading truck upset, thus stopping the engine.

[Footnote 3: He had been wounded at Elandslaagte, and, being
unable to rejoin his corps in Ladysmith, was attached to the
battalion.]

It was a predicament trying to the nerves of even the bravest. The
Boer shells were well aimed, and came in quick succession. But Captain
Haldane and his men did all that could be done. Lieutenant Frankland
directed from the rear truck a vigorous fire, which kept the enemy at
a respectful distance, and even made them shift their gun. Meanwhile
Mr. Winston Churchill, who had accompanied the expedition as a Press
correspondent, collected some men and set to work to push the derailed
truck off the line. They were exposed to a heavy fire, but eventually
succeeded in their task. The train began to move again; luck did not,
however, favour them, for the coupling between the engine and rear
truck was broken by a shell. Then Captain Haldane ordered the engine
to return to Estcourt with as many wounded men as possible, while he
at