railway line still more. It was not easy to do; but it was done. In
the afternoon two tremendous explosions were heard. "There go the
culverts," was the expression in every mouth. And so it was; the
culverts were blown to pieces.

The Colonel and his officers were getting weary of the cautious methods
of warfare of which the enemy never seemed to tire; and the opportunity
of inflicting a good and stunning blow was a consummation devoutly
wished for in military circles. The Column was coming, and nothing in
the way of a telling stroke had yet been struck--nothing worthy the
vaulting ambition of a soldier accomplished. Fighting is a soldier's
profession, and the peculiar opportunities afforded by a siege, for the
acquirement of fame and distinction, were too rare to be let pass
unseized. How much the Commander and his staff may have been influenced
by considerations of this kind, is not easy to say. But signs were not
wanting that a serious endeavour was to be made to induce Mahomet to
meet, as it were, the Mountain half way. The Regulars were looking to
their bayonets; the Light Horse were being equipped with brand new
steel; and--to make a long story short--at break of day on Saturday
morning a large body of infantry (composed of Regulars and Irregulars)
under the command of Colonel Chamier set out in a southerly direction,
towards Carter's Farm, with general instructions to make things hot for
trespassers. The enemy in possession of the Farm were thus to be
debarred from assisting their _confreres_ at a point where another
British force was to operate with more serious intent. To ensure the
success of this ruse, the services of a section of the Town Guard were
requisitioned for out-flanking purposes on the one side; while the
geographical position of the railway line permitted the utilisation of
the armoured train for similar service on the other. The infantry kept
steadily advancing until they secured a position which enabled them to
rattle with their rifles to some purpose--the artillery behind them also
helping. Their object was soon achieved; the Boers were forced to devote
their energies exclusively to their own defence. They sat
tight--obedient to the number one law of nature--engrossed in blazing at
the foe before them, which was precisely what the foe before them
wanted.

In the meantime the real game was being played on the western border.
All our available mounted men, led by Colonel Scott-Turner, had crosse