ants, and the artisans had
stepped into the gap with their rifles.

In anticipation of trouble, a Town Guard had already been formed when
the Federal forces invaded the Cape. The noisy and discordant hooters of
the mines were to signal the approach of the foe, and to intimate to the
members of the Guard that they were to proceed to the redoubts of their
respective Sections to prepare a greeting. Over at the Sanatorium,
facing the suburb of Beaconsfield, the movements of the enemy were being
closely watched. A conning tower soared high above the De Beers mine,
from which coign of vantage a keen eye swept the horizon for signs of
their advance. At the Reservoir, a look-out was on the _qui vive_. The
Infantry were encamped in a central position, ready for instant despatch
to wherever their services might be needed most. The Kimberley Regiment
of Volunteers had turned out--to a man--for Active Service. War was
certain; its dogs, indeed, were already loosed. The Boers, by way of
preliminary, had been cutting telegraph wires, tearing up rails, blowing
up culverts, and had taken possession of an armoured train at Kraaipan.
Our defences were being strengthened on all sides. The enemy appeared to
be massing in the vicinity of Scholtz's Nek. Such was the condition of
things on the fourteenth of October (1899). Next day (Sunday) the siege
of Kimberley had begun.

THE SIEGE OF KIMBERLEY

ITS HUMOROUS AND SOCIAL SIDE

CHAPTER I

_Week ending 21st October, 1899_

The news relative to the tearing up of the railway line, and the cutting
of the telegraph wires at Spytfontein, spread fast and freely on Sunday
morning. Rather by good luck than good management there happened to be
an armoured train lying at the railway station, and into it, with a
promptitude that augured well for his popularity, the Colonel ordered a
number of his men. The train had not proceeded far when it was
discovered that the rails had been displaced at points nearer home than
Spytfontein. They were soon relaid, however, by the Royal Engineers, and
the train in due course reached its destination. A number of residents
in the neighbourhood were taken on board for conveyance to the
beleagured city. These included the local stationmaster, whose services
were not likely to be in demand for some weeks,--three as we conceived
it. It shortly became evident that there were Boers in the vicinity who
had been watching the progress of operations, and had d