ed its horses, and making its way
first to Smith's farm, and thence to the cover of the Sand Spruit, had
turned and faced the enemy as he appeared over the crest of Talana
Hill.

[Sidenote: The morning parade dismissed.]

At 5 a.m. the British troops stood to arms as usual. It was a wet and
misty morning. As the men, few of whom knew of the occurrences of the
night, waited in quarter-column, to a few keen ears came the fitful
sound of musketry from the east. It was the fire of Grimshaw's piquet
just then at bay below Talana. The parade having been dismissed, at
5.20 a message from Headquarters assured commanding officers that all
was clear. A few companies moved directly from their lines for
skirmishing drill around the camp, the men of others hung about in
groups expecting the word to fall in for a similar purpose; the horses
of two of the three batteries, and all the transport animals, filed
out to water a mile and a half away. Suddenly at 5.30 a.m., the mist
upon Talana, wasting before the rising sun, lifted and revealed the
summit alive with figures.

[Sidenote: The Boers make their presence known.]

Ten minutes later the report of a gun sounded from the top, and a
projectile fell into the western enclosures of the town. Others,
better aimed, followed in quick succession; the camp came under a
rapid bombardment, accurate but harmless, for the small common shell
from the enemy's field-pieces failed to explode on impact with the
sodden ground. The cavalry and the mounted infantry, whose horses had
remained in camp, moved out of sight behind a stony kopje in front of
it; the infantry, already equipped, fell rapidly into their places,
each company before its own line of tents, and were immediately
marched at the "double" into the shelter of a ravine some 200 yards to
the south of the camp, where fighting formations were organised.

[Sidenote: Symons prepares to clear Talana.]

The General had already decided upon an assault. Before the infantry
were clear of camp he called out the artillery. Whilst the 67th
battery, whose horses were now hurrying back from water, replied to
the Boer shells from the gun-park itself, the 69th battery, already
horsed, waiting neither for its wagons nor an escort, galloped out
along the road to the railway station, swept through the town, and
swinging sharply to the right at the south-eastern extremity, came
into action on a roll of the veld immediately west of the colliery
extensio