d 150 rounds. The brigade fell in at 3.30 a.m. It was still
quite dark, and the Brigadier spent the ensuing half-hour in drilling
his command. The advance was commenced just as the eastern horizon
grew grey with the dawn.

The battalion, which led the brigade, deployed into line to the right,
and then advanced by fours from the right of companies. In front rode
the General with his staff and a Kaffir guide; behind came the other
three battalions of the brigade in mass. The deployment of the
battalion had brought 'A' on the left, and 'H' and the three companies
of the 1st Battalion on the right.

In this order the brigade moved across the broad expanse of veld,
leading to the banks of the Tugela. In front, beyond the river, rose
tier on tier of ridges and kopjes, backed by the towering mass of
Grobelaar's Kloof. In the morning light they looked strangely quiet
and deserted. Only on a spur to the left front could be seen a few
black specks, the figures of watching Boers.

Soon the naval guns in front of Chieveley opened fire, dropping their
shells on the horseshoe ridge to the north of Colenso, and into a
kraal further to the west. But no answer came. The brigade moved on,
tramping through the long grass, wet with the dew. There was a
momentary halt in order to cross a spruit running diagonally across
the line of march. The ridges in front grew nearer and plainer. They
still seemed deserted, although the eyes of many foes might be
watching the advancing khaki-clad troops. Behind came the thunder of
the big guns, and the shells screamed in the air overhead. It was past
6 a.m. Suddenly the hiss of a shell sounded marvellously close, there
was a metallic clang, and a cloud of dust arose some hundred yards in
front. It was a Boer shrapnel, and the battle had begun.

Each company of the battalion, without waiting for orders,
'front-formed,' and doubled forward. The mounted officers at once
dismounted, Major Hicks' horse being shot under him as he was in the
very act of getting off its back. Somehow it did not seem a bit
strange to him at the time that his horse should be down, and it never
occurred to him then that it had been shot. Another shrapnel burst
over the line and then the enemy's musketry blazed forth, finding an
excellent target in the massed brigade, which was deploying as best it
could.

[Illustration: Boer Trenches, Colenso.]

The battalion was dangerously crowded together, for it had been
advancing as if