re two; a Grenadier Guardsman got the other, and amid
envious looks we wheeled them off towards a heap of rubble in the
offing, "conveniently low." Then, with a simultaneous sigh of relief,
we mechanically produced our pipes and tobacco, found comfortable
seats against the pile of rubble, and had a good chat, lazily watching
the genesis of the naiad's grotto in the distance. When we had had a
good smoke, and fought our battles over again, we got up and saw signs
that the fatigue was guttering out; so we put a few stones in each of
the barrows, and, well content, journeyed back to the scene of
operations, and laid our stones round the base of the tub, more
because we knew nowhere else to lay them than for any other reason,
for the sergeant-major had apparently forgotten his grandiose designs
in other schemes, and had disappeared. The fatigue party was thinning.
The corporal said what may be freely translated as "disappear
quietly," and we made off to our camp, where I found Henry, who had
doctor's leave to be excused fatigues, being lame.

CHAPTER XII.

A DETAIL.

_September 18, continued._--At two we paraded again with our kits, and
about a dozen of us marched off to the Rest camp, which is the next
stage. Everything was very hurried, but Henry had just time to tell me
that he was ordered to Bloemfontein, when I had to start. We said
good-bye, and I don't suppose will meet again till London. The Rest
camp was about four miles off, on the other side of Pretoria. Arrived
very hot and dusty. Waited some time, and then was told that I must go
to the Artillery Barracks, another two miles in quite a different
direction. I might just as well have gone there direct. However, I was
lucky enough to get a lift for my kit and myself most of the way, and
landed about 5.30 at a collection of big, red-brick buildings outside
the town, was handed from person to person for some time, and finally
found a resting-place on the floor of a huge bare room in a sort of a
tin outbuilding, where some 150 R.A. men of all batteries were sitting
or lying on their kit round the walls and down the centre; like lost
souls, I pictured them, sitting round one of Dante's purgatorial
retreats. I felt exactly like going to school again for the first
time, though, of course, I soon found them all very friendly. I
learned that there was no food to be got till to-morrow, but I foraged
about till I found a sort of canteen-tent, where they sold buns,