BACKGROUND 

INFORMATION 

[THE BOER WAR] 

The Boers, Dutch for farmer, first settled what is 

now Cape Province, Republic of South Africa in 

1652. After Great Britain annexed this territory in 

1806, many of the Boer-s departed on the “Great 

Trek’“and created the Republic of Natal, the Orange 

Free State, and the Transvaal. Gradual commercial 

control by the British and discovery of gold and 

diamonds, among other things, served to create 

hostility between the Boers and British, resulting 

in the South African War or Boer War from 1899 to 

1902. 

The Boers initially outnumbered the British and 

were welt equipped, scoring impressive victories in 

the areas adjacent to their territories. Even though 

the Boer armies finally surrendered, apparent victory for the British was retarded by extensive and 

coordinated guerilla warfare. The war was finally 

ended by the systematic destruction of the Boer 

guerrilla units and hostilities were terminated by the 

Treaty of Vereeniging in May 1902. The Boer territories were annexed by Great Britain and were organized into the Union of South Africa eight years 

later. 

1 
GLOSSARY 

ABATIS: 

ANT I-- 

BOER-: 

DOINGA: 

DRIFT: 

DUFFES: 

KAFFIR: 

KQPJE: 

KRALLE: 

QUI W/E: 

SUBALTERN: 

VELD: 

vc: 

A barricade of felled trees with 

branches facing the enez ,?y. 

A large cone-shapeu mound r earth. 

Decendents of Dutch Colonists in 

auth Africa. 

South African gully or ravine. 

A ford, a shallow place in a stream or 

river that can be crossed by walking 

or riding on horseback. )f 

An incompetent, awkward or stupid 

person. 

A fierce black tribe of South Africa 

(19th Century). 

A rocky hill or butte of South Africa 

usually 200 - 800 meters high. 

A village of South African natives 

surroiunded by a stockade for protection. 

Fr., a sentry”s challenge; “who goes 

there?” 

A British officer holding a commission below that of captain; a lieutenant. 

A grassy plain of South Africa, similar to the Western Tableland of the 

United States. 

Victoria Cross, highest British medal 

far valor. 

2 
PREFACE 

“lt was our own fault, and our very grave fault, and ROW 

we musf turn it to use, 

We have forty million reasons for failure, but not a single 

excuse!” KIPLING. 

This tale of a dream is dedicated to the “gilded Popinjays’” and “hired assassins” of the British nation, 

especiallythose who are now knocking at the door, to 

wit the very junior. It embodies some recollections of 

things actually done and undone in South Africa, 

1899-1902. It is hoped that its fantastic guise may 

really help to emphasise the necessity for the practical application of some very old principles, and assist 

to an appreciation of what may happen when they 

are not applied, even on small operations. This practical application has often been lost sight of i,n the 

stress of the moment, with dire results, quite unrealised until the horrible instant of actual experience. 

Should this tale, by arousing the imagination, assist 

to prevent in the future even one such case of disregard of principles, it will not have been written in 

vain. The dreams are not anticipations, but merefy 

a record of petty experiences against one kind of 

enemy in one kind of country only, with certain deductions based thereupon. But from these, given the 

conditions, it is not difficult to deduce the variations 

suitable for other countries, or for those occasions 

when a different foe with different methods of fighting and different weapons has to be met. 

“BACKSIGtfT FORETHOUGHT” 

3 
PROLOGUE 

Upon an evening after a long and tiring trek, I arrived 

at Dreamdorp. The local atmosphere, combined with 

a heavy meat, is responsible for the following nightmare, consisting of a series of dreams. To make the 

sequence of the whole intelligible, it is necessary 

to explain that though the scene of each vision was 

the same, by some curious mental process I had no 

recollection of the place whatsoever. in each dream 

the locality was totally new to me, and I had an entirely fresh detachment Thus, I had not the great 

advantage of working over familiar ground. One 

thing, and one only, was carried on from dream to 

dream, and that was the vivid recollection of the 

general lessons previously learnt, These finally produced success. 

The whole series of dreams, however, remained 

in my memory as a connected whole when I awoke. 

5 
‘;i\ny foal can get into a hale.” -CM Chinese Proverb. 

“If left to you, toor defence make spades.“--Bridge Maxim. 

I felt lonely,and not a little sad, as I stood on the bank 

of the river near Duffers Drift and watched the red 

dust haze, raised by the southward departing column 

in the distance, turn sfowly into gold as it hung in the 

afternoon sunlight. It was just three o’clock, and here 

f was on the banks of the Silliaasvogel river, left behind by my column with a party of fifty NCOs and 

men to hold the drift. It was an important ford, because it was the only one across which wheeled 

traffic coutd pass for some miles up or down the river. 

/See Map 1) 

The river was a sluggish stream, not now in flood, 

crawling along at the very bottom of its bed between 

steep banks which were almost vertical, or at any 

rate too steep for wagons anywhere except at the 

drift itself. The banks from the river edge to their 

tops and some distance outwards, were covered with 

7 
Map 1 

(II SILLIAASVOGEL RIVER (21 DRFT 

(3) REGRET TABLE MOUNTAIN (4) WASCHOUT WILL 

(5) INCIOENTAMBIA (4) KRAAL 

8 
dense thorn and other bushes., which formed a 

screen impenetrable to the sight. They were also 

broken by small ravines and holes, where the earth 

had been eaten away by the river when in flood, and 

were consequently very rouq h. 

Some 2000 odd meters north of the drift was a flattopped, rocky mountain, and about a mile to the 

north-east appeared the usual suger-loaf kopje, CQVered with bushes and boulders-steep on the south, 

but gently falling to the north; this had a farm on the 

near side of it. About 1000 meters south of the drift 

was a convex and smooth hill, somewhat like an inverted basin, sparsely sown with small boulders and 

with a Kaffir kraal, consisting of a few grass mud 

huts on top. Between the river and the hills on the 

north the ground consisted of open and almost level 

veld; on the south bank the veld was more undulating, and equally open. The whole place was 

covered with ant-hills. 

My orders were to hold Duffer’s Drift at all costs. 

I should probably be visited by some column within 

three or four days time. I might passibly be attacked 

before that time, but this was very unliikely, as no 

enemy were known to be within a hundred miles. 

The enemy had guns. 

It all seemed plain enough, except that the true 

inwardness of the last piece of information did not 

strike me at the time. Though in company with fifty 

“good men and true,” it certainly made me feel somewhat lonely and marooned to be left out there comparatively alone on the boundless veld; but the 

chance of an attack filled me, and I am quite sure, my 

men, with martial ardour, At last here was the chance 
I had so often longed for. This’ was my first “show,” 

my first independent cammand, and I was determined 

to carry out my order to the bitter end. I was young 

and inexperienced, it is true, but I had passed all my 

examinations with fair success; my men were a good 

willing lot, with the traditions of a glorious regiment 

to uphold, and would, I knew, do all I should require 

of them. We were also well supplied with ammunition 

and rations and had a number of picks shovels, and 

sandbags, etc., which I confess had been rather 

forced on me. 

As I turned towards my gallant little detachment, 

visions of a bloody and desperate fight crossed my 

mind - a fight to the last cartridge, and then an appeal to cold steel, with ultimate victory and-but a 

discreet cough at my elbow brought me back to realities, and w.arned me that my colour-sergeant was 

waiting for orders. 

(See Map 2) 

After a moment’s consideration, I decided to pitch 

my small camp on a spot just south of the drift, because it was slightly rising ground, which 1 knew 

should be chosen for a camp whenever possible. It 

was, moreover, quite close to the drift, which was 

also in its favour, for, as every one knows, if you are 

told off to guard anything, yau mount a guard quite 

close to it, and pface a sentry, if possible, standing 

on top of it. The place I picked out also had the river 

circling round three sides of it in a regular horseshoe bend, which formed a kind of ditch, or, as the 

book says, “a natural obstacle.” I was indeed lucky 

to have such an ideal place close at hand; nothing 

could have been more suitable. 

10 
6 came to the ~~~~l~~i~~ that, as th 

not withes a hundre 

lowing day. Besides, e men were tired after their 

tang trek, and it WQU 

do ~~rnf~~ably to a 
stores and tools, which had been dumped n anyhow in a heap, pitch the camp, and get the as before dark. 

Between you and me, I was really reliev 

able to put off my defensive measures till the morrow, because I was a wee 

do. In fact, the more I thou 

grew. The only “measures of defence” I could recall 

for the moment were, how to tie “a thumb or overhand knot,” and how long it takes cut down an 

apple tree of six inches diameter. 

of these useful facts seemed quite to 

they had given me a job like fightin 

Waterloo, or Sedan, or Bull Run, f ew all about 

that, as I had crammed it up and be 

it too. I also knew how to take up a position for a division, or even an army corps, but the stupid little subaltern’s game of th drift with a small! 

detachment was, G 

I had never really 

in the light of my 

it would, y after a little 

thought. 

Having issued my imme 

I decided to explore ig~bo~~hood, but 

a moment puzzled as 

for, having no horse, I could not 

before dark. After a little thou 

my mind that obviously l shauld 

course must e front. I knew naturally t 

to prepare, or the exams i had 

always a front, or -- 

12 
come from.‘” How often, also, had I nqt had trouble 

dull sentry which his “front’” and 

his “beat’” was. The north, then, being my front, 

ast and west were my flanks, where there might 

possibly be enemies and the south was my rear, 

where naturally there were none. 

I settled these knotty points to my satisfaction, and 

ged, with my fie asses, and, of course, 

k, directing my s towards the gleaming 

white walls of the little Dutch farm, nestling under the 

kapje to the north-east. It was quite a snug little farm 

was surrQ~nd~d by blue gums 

Africa, and these they insisted on shqwi 

and gave me a drink 

able after my long and 

dusty trek. The whole 

speak or to ~nd~r~ta~d 
of my little post, and as I walk ~e~~ef~lness of 

the whole scene impressed e handshake lay 

within view, and the hu of a~~roa~h~flg evening 

was oniy broken by the stant lowing of oxen, and 

given me for the surrounding features of the landscape. The ko je above his farm was called Inciden14 
tamba, the fiat-tolled mountain some two miles to 

the north was called Regret Table Mountain, and the 

gently rising hill close to the drift on the south of the 

out Hill. Everything was going 

en were at their teas when I got 

baek. The nice Dutchman with his apostolic face and 

the lanky Piet and Gert were already there, surrounded by a swarm of men, to whom they were selfing their wares at exorbitant rates. The three of them 

strolled about the camp, showing great interest in 

ntelligent questions about 

general position of affairs 

and seemed realty relieved to ve a strong British 

post near. they did not even ta ffence when some 

of the rougher n called them “blarsted Dutchmen,” and refus to converse with them, or buy 

their “skoff.“‘About dusk they left, ith many promises 

to return with a fresh supply on th 

After writing out my ord rs for next day-one of 

which was for digging some enches round the camp, 

an operation which I knew my men, as becomes 

good British soldiers, disliked very much, and regarded as fatigues-l saw the two guards mounted, 

one at the drift, and the other some little way down 

the river, each furnishing one sentry on the river 

bank. 

When all had turned in, and the camp was quite 

silent, it was almost comforting to Rear the half-hourly 

cry of the sentries. “Number one-all is well!; Number two-al1 is well!” y this sound I was able to tocate them, and knew they were at their proper posts. 

On going round sentries about midnight, I was 

pleased to find that they were both alert, and that, 

as it was a cold night, each guard had built a bonfire 

15 
silhouetted in the cheerful blaze of which stood the 

sentry-a clear-cut monument to all around that here 

was a British sentry fully on the qui-vive. After 

impressing them with their orders, the extent of their 

“beat,‘” and the direction of their “front,” etc., I turned 

in. The fires they had built, besides being a comfort 

to themselves, were also useful to me, because twice 

during the night when I looked out I could, without 

leaving my tent, plainly see them at their posts. f 

finally fell asleep, and dreamt of being decorated 

with a crossbelt made of V.C.s and D.S.O.s, and of 

wearing red tabs all down my back. 

I was suddenly awoken, about the grey of dawn, 

by a hoarse cry, “Haltl who goes . . . ,I’ cut short by 

the unmistakable “‘plipplop’” of a Mauser rifle. Before I was off my valise, the reports of Mausers rang 

round the camp from every side, these, mingled 

with the smack of the bullets as they hit the ground 

and stripped, the “‘zipzip” of the leaden hail through 

the tents, and the curses and groans of men who 

were hit as they lay or stumbled about trying to get 

out, mad’e a hellish din. There was some wild shooting in return from my men, but it was all over in 

a moment, and as I managed to wriggle out of my 

tent the whole place was swarming with bearded 

men, shooting into the heaving canvas. At that moment I must have been clubbed on the head for I 

knew no more until I found myself seated on an empty case having my head, which was dripping with 

blood, tied up by one of my men. 

Our losses were 10 men killed, including both sentries and 21 wounded; the Boers” had one killed and 

two wounded. 

Later on, as, at the order of the not ill-natured but 

16 
very frowzy Boer commandant, I was gloomily taking 

off the saucy warm spotted waistcoat knitted for me 

by my sister, I noticed our friends of the previous 

evening in very animated and friendly conversation 

with the burghers, and “Pappa” was, curiously 

enough, carrying a rifle and bandolier and my new 

field-glasses. He was laughing and pointing towards 

something lying on the ground, through which he 

finally put his foot. This, to my horror, I recognised 

as my unhappy camera. Here, I suppose, my mind 

must have slightly wandered, for I found myself repeating some Latin lines, once my favourite imposition, but gorgotten since my school-days--- 

“Time0 &mm et dona ferentes . . . .” 

when suddenly the voice of the field cornet broke 

into my musing with “Your breeches too, captain.“ 

Trekking all that day on foot, sockless, and in the 

boots of another, I had much to think of besides my 

throbbing head. The sight of the long Boer convoy 

with guns, which had succeeded so easily in crossing 

the drift f was to have held, was a continual reminder 

of my failure and of my responsibility for the dreadful losses to my poor detachment. I gradually 

gathered from the Boers what I had already partly 

guessed, namely, that they had been fetched and 

guided afl round our camp by friend Brink, had surrounded it in the dark, crawling about in the bush on 

the river bank, and had carefully marked down our 

two poor sentries. These they had at once shot on the 

alarm being given, and had then rushed the camp 

from the dense cover on three sides. Towards evening my head got worse, and its rhythmic throbbing 

seemed gradually to take a meaning, and hammered 

17 
out the following lessons, the result of much pondering on my failure: 

1. Do not put off taking your measures of defence 

till the morrow, as these are more important than the 

comfort of your men or the shipshape arrangement 

of your camp. Choose the position of your camp 

mainly with reference to your defence. 

2. Do not in war-time show stray men of the enemy’s breed all over your camp, be they never so 

ulf of butter, and do not be hypnotised, by 

numerous “‘passes,” at once to confide in them. 

3. Do not let your sentries advertise their position 

to the whole world, including the enemy, by standing 

in the full glare of a fire, and making much noise 

every half-hour. 

4. Do not, if avoidable, be in tents when buflets 

are ripping through them; at such times a hole in the 

ground is worth many tents. 

After these lessons had been dinned into my soul 

millions and millions of times, so that I cautd never 

forget them, a strange thing came to pass-there 

was a kaleidoscopic change--l had another dream. 
“And what did ye iook they should compass? Warcraft 

learnt in a breath, 

Know/edge unto occasion at the first far view of Death?” 

KIPLING. 

I suddenly found myself dumped down at Duffer’s 

Drift with the same orders as already detailed, and 

an equal detachment composed of entirely different 

men. As before, and on every subsequent occasion, 

I had ample stores, ammunition, and tools. My position was precisely similar to my former one, with 

this important exception, running through my brain 

were four lessons. 

As soon as I received my orders, therefore, I began 

to make out my plan of operations without wasting 

any time over the landscape, the setting sun, or the 

departing column, which, having off-loaded all our 

stores, soon vanished. 1 was determined to carry out 

all the lessons I had learnt as well as E knew how. 

To prevent any strangers, friendly or otherwise, 

from coming into my position and spying out the 

elaborate defences I was going to make, I sent out 

at once two examining posts of one NC0 and three 

19 
men each, one to the top of Waschout f-fill, and the 

other some 1000 meters out on the veld to the north 

of the drift. Their orders were to watch the surrounding country, and give the alarm in the event of the 

approach of any body of men whatever [Beers were, 

of course, improbable, but still just possible), and 

alsa to stop any individuals, friendly or not, from coming anywhere near camp and to shoot at once on 

non-compliance with the order to halt. If the newcomers had any provisions to sell, these were to be 

sent in with a list by one of the guard, who woufd return with the money, but the strangers were not to be 

allowed nearer the camp on any account. 

(See Map 3.1 

Having thus arranged a safeguard against spies, I 

proceeded to choose a camping ground. I chose the 

site already described in my former dream, and for 

the same reasons, which still appealed to me. So 

long as I was entrenched, it appeared the best place 

around. We started making our trenches as soon as 

I had marked off a nice squarish little enclosure 

which would about contain our small camp. Though, 

of course, the north was the front, I thought, having 

a camp, it would be best to have an all-round defence 

as a sort of obstacle. The majority of the men were 

told off to dig, which they did not relish, a few being 

detailed to pitch camp and prepare tea. As the length 

of trench was rather great for the available number 

of diggers, and tho soil was hard, we were only able 

by dark, by which time the men were quite done up 

by their hard day, to make quite a low parapet and 

shallow trench. Stilt we were “entrenched,” which 

20 

- 
was the great thing, and the trench was all round our 

camp, so we were wefl prepared, even should we be 

Map 3 

attacked during the night or early next rnor~~ng~ 

which, was quite unlikely. 

During this time one or two strangers had ap21 
proached the guard of the north from a farm under 

Incidentamba. As they had eggs and butter, etc., to 

sell, these were brought in as arranged for. The man 

sent in with the stuff reported that the elder of the 

Dutchmen was a most pleasant man, and had sent 

me a present of a pat of butter and some eggs, with 

his compliments, and would I allow him to came in 

and speak to me? However, nat being such a fool as 

to allow him in my defences, I went out instead, in 

case he had any information. His only information 

was that there were no Boers anywhere near. He 

was an old man, but though he had a museum af 

“passes,” i was not to be chloroformed by them into 

confidence. As he seemed friendly, and possibly 

loyal, I walked part of the way back to his farm with 

him, in order to look around. At dark the two examining posts came in, and two guards were mounted 

close by the object I was to watch, namely, the drift, 

at the same places as in my previous dream. This 

time, however, there was no half-hourly shouting, 

nor were there any fires, and the sentries had orders 

not to challenge but to shoot any person they might 

see outside camp at ante. They were placed standing down the river bank, just high enough to see over 

the top, and were thus not unnecessarily exposed. 

Teas had been eaten, and all fires put out at dusk, 

and after dark all turned in, but in the trenches instead of in tents. After going round sentries to see 

everything snug far the night, I lay down myself with 

a sense of having done my duty, and neglected no 

possible precaution for our safety. 

Just before dawn much the same happened as already described in my first dread, except that the 

ball was started by a shot without challenge from one 

22 
of our sentries at something moving amoung the 

bush, which resulted in close-range fire opening up 

to us from all sides This time we were not rushed, 

but a perfect hail of bullets whistled in from every 

direction-from in front of each trench, and over and 

through our parapet. It was sufficient to put a hand 

or head up to have a dozen bullets through’and all 

round it, and the strange part was, we saw no one. 

As the detachment wag plaintively remarked, we 

could have seen lots of Boers, “if it wasn‘t for the 

bushes in between.‘* 

After vainly trying until bright daylight to see the 

enemy in ‘order to do some damage in return, so 

many men were hit, and the position seemed so 

utterly hopeless, that I had to hoist the white flag. 

We had by then 24 men killed and six wounded. As 

soon as the white flag went up the Boers ceased firing at once, and stood up; every bush and ant-hilt 

up to 100 meters range seemed to have hid a Boer 

behind it. This close range explained the marvellous 

accuracy of their shooting, and the great proportion 

of our killed (who were nearly aIf shot through the 

head) to our wounded. 

As we were collecting ourselves preparatory to 

marching off there were one or two things which 

struck me; one was that the Dutchman who had presented me with eggs and butter was in earnest confabulation with the Boer commandant, who was cafling him “Oom” most affectionately. I also noticed that 

all male Kaffirs from the neighbouring kraal had 

been fetched and impressed to assist in getting the 

Boer guns and waggons across the drift and to load 

up our captured gear, and generally do odd and 

dirty jobs. These same Kaffirs did their work with 

23 
amazing a~acri~, and look 

th’are was no “backchat” w 

24 

teeth outside their kraals whilst tired soldiers are 

breaking their hearts trying to do heavy fabour in 

short time. ft is more the duty ot a sofdier to teach 

the lazy neutral the dignity OF labour, and by keeping him under guard to prevent his going away to 

talk about it. 

By the time the above lessons had been well burnt 

into my brain, beyond all chance of forgetfulness, 

a strange thing happened. I had a fresh dream. 

26 

---__ -- .-... ---- 
Third W 

“So when we take tea with a few guns, a’murse you wiil 

know what do do-hoo! hoo!” KEPCING. 

I was at Duffer’s Drift on a similar sunny afternoon 

and under precisefy similar conditions, except that 

I now had seven iessons running through my mind. 

I at once sent out two patrols, each of one NCO 

and three men, 8ne to the north and one to the south. 

They were to visit all neighbouring farms and kraafs 

and bring in all able-bodied Dutch men and boys and 

mafe Kaffirs-by persuasion if possibfe, but by force 

if necessary. This would prevent the news ~~zf our arrival being carried round to any adjacent commandos, and would also assist to solve the labour 

question. A small guard was mounted on the top of 

Waschout WiEl as a laok-out. 

f decided that as the drift could not get up and run 

away, it was not necessary to take up my post or position quite close to it. especiatly as such a position 

would be under close rifle fire from the river bank, 

to which the approaches were quite concealed, and 

which gave excellent cover. The very worst place for 

such a position seemed to be.anywhere within the 

27 
horseshoe bend of the river, as this would allow an 

enemy practically to surround it. My choice therespot to which the round gently rose 

nk, some 700 to 800 meters south 

1 arranged to dig a trench roughly 

facing the front (north], which thus would have about 

800 meters clear ground on its front. We started to 

nch about 50 meters long for my 50 men, 

to the usual rufe. 

(See Map 4.) 

Some little time after beginnings the patrols came 

in, having collected three ~ut~~rnen and two boys, 

and about thirteen Kaffirs. The former, the leader of 

whom seemed a man af education and some importance, were at first inclined to protest wheil they 

were given tools to dig trenches for themselves, 

les of “passes,“’ and talked very big 

about complaining to the general, and even as to a 

question in the “House”’ about our brutaiity. This 

momentarily staggered me, as I coutd not help wondering what might happen to poor BF if the member 

for Upper Tooting should raise the point; but Westminster was far away, and I hardened my heart. Finally they had the humour to see the force of the argument, that it was, after all, necessary for their own 

health, should the post be attacked, as they would 

otherwise be out in the open vetd. 

The Kaffirs served as a welcome relief to my men 

as they got tired. They also dug a separate hole for 

themselves on one side of and behind our‘ trench, in 

a small ravine. 

By evening we had quite a decent trench dug-- 

28 
Map 4 

the parapet was two feet six inches thick at the top, 

and was quite bulletproof, as I tested it. Our trench 

was not all in one straight line, but in two portions, 

broken back at a slight angle, so as to get a more divergent fire (rather cunning of me), though each half 

was of course as straight as i could get it. 

29 
It was astonishing what difficulty I had t 

men to dig in a nice straight line. I was 

to this point, because I once hoard a ce 

severely “told off” at manoeuvres by a 

officer for having his trenches “out of d 

one could tell whether me “‘brass hat” 

come round and inspect next day, so it 

to be prepared far anything. 

At dusk the guard on Waschout Will, for 

trench had also been dug, was relic 

creased to six men, and after teas and g 

orders for the next day, we all “turn 

trenches. The tents were not pitched 

not going to occupy them, and it was no good merely 

showing up our position. A uard was mounted ov 

our prisoners, or rather “guests,‘” and furnishe 

sentry.to watch over them. 

Before falling asleep I ran over my seven 

and it seemed to me I had fef 

could possibly help towards s 

trenched, had a good bulletp 

rations and ammunition close a 

and water-bottles filled. It was 

ing of having done everythi 

quite “the little white-haired 

dozed off. 

Next morning dawned br~g~t~~ 

and we had about an hour’s work 

of our trenches before breakfasts 

as breakfast was over, the sentry 

reported a cloud of dust away to th 

Table Mountain. This was caused by 

mounted men with wheeled tr 

30 
They were most probably the enemy, and seemed 

to be trekking in ali innocence of our presence for 

the drift. 

What a “scoop” I thought, if they come on quite 

unsuspecting, and cross the drift in a lump without 

discerning our position. I shall tie low, let the advanced party go past without a shot, and wait until 

the main body gets over the side within close range, 

and then open magazine fire into the thick of them. 

Yes, it will be just when they reach that broken anthill about 400 meters away that I shall give the word 

‘“Fire!‘” 

However, it was not to be. After a short time the 

enemy halted, apparently for consideration. The advanced men seemed to have a consultation, and then 

graduafly approached lncidentamba farm with much 

caution. Two or three women ran out and waved, 

whereupon these men galloped up to the farm at 

once. What passed, of course, we could not tell, but 

evidently the women gave information as to our arrival and position, because the effect was electrical. 

The advanced Roers split up into two main parties, 

one riding towards the river a tong way to the east, 

and another going similarly to the west. One man 

galloped back with the information obtained to the 

main body, which became all bustle, and started off 

with their waggons behind Incidentamba, when they 

were lost to sight. Of course, they were all well out 

of range, and as we were quite ready, the only thing 

to do was to wait till they came out in the open within 

range, and then to shoot them down. 

The minutes seemed to crawl-five, then ten 

minutes passed with na further sign .of the enemy. 

Suddenly, “Beg pardon, sir; I think 6 see something 

31 
on top of that kop-je on the fur srde yonder.” One 

of the men drew my attention to a few specks which 

looked like waggons moving about on the flattish 

shoulder of lncidentamba. Whilst I was focusing my 

glasses there was a “boom” from the hill, followed by 

a sharp report and a puff of smoke up in the air quite 

close by, then the sound as of heavy rain pattering 

down some 200 feet in front of the trench, each drop 

raising its own little cloud of dust. This, of course, 

called forth the time-honoured remarks of “What 

ho, she bumps!” and “Now we shan’t be long,“” which 

proved only too true. I was aghast-t had quite forgotten the possibility of guns being used against 

me, though, had 1 remembered their existence, t do 

not know, with my then knowledge, what difference 

it would have made to my defensive measures. As 

there was some little uneasiness among my men, I, 

quite cheerful in the security of our nice trench with 

the thick bulletproof parapet, at once shouted out, 

“H’s all right, men; keep under cover, and they can’t 

touch us.“A moment later there was a second boom, 

the shell whistled over our heads, and the hillside 

some way behind the trench was spattered with 

bullets. 

By this time we were crouching as close as possible to the parapet, which, though it had seeme 

only quite a shart time before so complete, now 

suddenly felt most woefully inadequate, with those 

beastly shells dropping their bullets down from the 

sky. Another boom. This time the shell burst well, and 

the whole ground in front of the trench was covered 

with bullets, one man being hit. At this’ moment rifle 

fire began on Waschout Will, but no bullets came aur 

way. Almost immediately another shot followed 

32 
which showered bullets all over us; a few more men 

were hit, whose groans were unpleasant to listen to. 

Tools were seized, and men began frantically to try 

and dig themselves deeper into the hard earth, as our 

trench seemed to give no more protection from the 

dropping bullets than a saucer would from a storm 

of rain--but it was too late. We could not sink into the 

earth fast enough. The Boers had got the range of 

the trench to a nicety, and the shells burst over.us 

now with a horrible methodic precision. Several men 

were hit, and there was no reason why the enemy 

should cease to rain shrapnel over us until we were 

all killed. As we were absolutely powertess to do anything, 1 put up the white flag. All f could do was to 

thank Providence that the enemy had no quick-firin 

field guns or, though “we had not 

should have been blotted out befor 

hoisted it. 

As soon as the gunfire ceased, I was greatly surprised to find that no party of Boers came down from 

their artillery position on Incidentamba to take our 

surrender, but within three minutes some fifty Beers 

galloped up from the river bank on the east and the 

west, and a few more came up from the south round 

Waschout Hill. The guard on Waschout Will, which 

had done a certain amount of damage to the enemy, 

had two men wounded by riffe fire. Not a single shell 

had come near them, though they were close to the 

Kaffir huts, which were plain enough. 

What an anti-climax the reality had been from the 

pleasurable anticipations of the early morn, when I 

had first sighted the Beers. 

Of course, the women on the farm had betrayed us, 

but it was difficult to make out why the Beers had 

33 
at first halted and begun to be suspicious before they 

had seen the women at the farm. What could they 

have discovered? I failed entirely to solve this 

mystery. 

During the day’s trek the following lessons slowly 

evolved themselves, and were stored in my mind in 

addition to those already iearnt:-- 

8. When collecting the friendly stranger and his 

sons in order to prevent their taking information to 

the enemy of your existence and whereabouts, if 

you are wishful for a “surprise packet,” do not forget 

also to gather his wife and his daughter, his manservant and his maidservant [who also have tongues), 

and his ox and his ass (which may possibly serve the 

enemy). Of course, if they are very numerous or very 

far off, this is impossible; only do not then hope to 

surprise the enemy. 

9. Do not forget that, if guns are going to be used 

against you, a shallow trench with a low parapet some 

way from it is worse than useless, even though the 

parapet be bulletproof ten times over. The trench 

gives the gunners an object to lay on, and gives no 

protection from shrapnel. Against well-aimed longrange artillery fire it would be better to scatter the 

defenders in the open hidden in grass and bushes, 

or behind stones or ant hills, than to keep them 

huddled in such a trench. With your men scattered 

around, you can safely let the enemy fill your treilrch 

to the brim with shrapnel bullets. 

10. Though to stop a shrapnel bullet much fess 

actual thickness of earth is necessary than fo stop 

a rifle bullet, yet this earth must be in the right place. 

For protection you must be able to get right close 

34 
a trench as possible, with 

parapet as steep as they 

t chance. To hollow 

s to give extra room 

ecawse the open top of the 

e less wide. The more like a 

ench is, the fewer 

While chewing over these lessons learnt from bitr ~x~~ri~~~~, I had yet another dream. 

35 
“0 was some power the gifiie gie us, To see owsels as 

others see us!“’ BURNS. 

Again did I find myself facing the same problem, this 

time with ten lessons to guide me. I started off by 

sending our patrols as described in my last dream, 

but their orders were slightly different. All human 

beings were to be brought into our past, and any 

animals which could be of use to the enemy were to 

be shot, as we had no place for them. 

For my defensive post I chose the position already 

described in my last dream, which seemed very suitable, for the reasons already given. We consequently 

dug a trench similar in plan to that already described, 

but, as I feared the possibility of guns being used 

against us, it was of a very different section. In plan 

it faced north generally, and was slightly broken forward to the front, each half being quite straight. In 

section it was about three feet six inches deep, with 

a parapet about twelve inches high in front of it; we 

made the trench as narrow as possibte at the top 

compatible with free movement. Each man hollowed 

36 
out the under part of the trench to suit himself, and 

made his own portion of the parapet to suit his height. 

The parapet was about two feet six inches thick at 

the top and quite steep inside, being built up of 

pieces of broken ant-hill, which were nearly as hard 

as stone. 

(See Map 5.1 

The patrols returned shortly with their bag of a few 

men, women and children. The women indulged in 

much useless abuse, and refused to obey orders, taking the matter less philosophically than their mankind. Here was evidently an opportunity of making 

use of the short training I had once had as an A.D,C. 

I tried it. 1 treated the ladies with tons of ‘“tact”’ in 

my suavest manner, and repeated the onEy Dutch 

words of comfort t knew “‘Wacht een beetje’“- “‘Al 

zal rech kom”-but to no purpose. They had not been 

brought up to appreciate tact* in fact, they were not 

taking any. I turned regretfully round to the coloursergeant, winked solemnly and officially, and seeing 

an answering but respectful quiver in his left eyelid, 

said- 

‘“Colour-sergeant.‘” 

“Sir?” 

“Which do you think is the best way of setting alight 

to a farm?” 

‘“Well, sir, some prefer the large bedstead and 

straw, but E think the “armonium and a little kerosene 

in one corner is as neat as anything.” 

There was no need for more. The ladies quite understood this sort of tact; the trouble was over. 

37 
Map 5 

The Dutchmen and Kaffirs were at once started 

digging shelters for themselves and the women and 

children. The latter were placed together, and were 

put into a small ravine not far from the trench, as it 

was necessary to place them in a really deep trench, 

firstly to keep them safe, and secondly to prevent 

38 
their waving or signaling to the enemy. The existent 

of this ravine, therefore, saved much digging, as it 

only required some hollowing out at the bottom and 

a little excavation to suit admirably. 

All dug with a will, and by night the shelters for the 

women and children, men prisoners, and the firing 

trench, were nearly done. All arrangements for the 

guards and sentries were the same as those described in the last dream, and after seeing everything was all correct and the ladies provided with 

tents to crawl under (they had their own blankets), 

I went to sleep with a feeling of welf-earned security. 

At daybreak next morning, as there were no signs 

of any enemy, we continued to improve our trench, 

altering the depth and alignment where necessary, 

each man suiting the size of the trench to his own 

legs. In the end the trench looked quite neat--“‘a 

most as nice as mother makes it”-with the fresh re 

earth contrasting with the yetlow of the veld. As on 

of my reservists remarked, it only wanted an edging 

of oyster shells or gingerbeer bottles to be like his 

little broccoli patch at home. Upon these im’partant 

details and breakfast a good two hours had been 

spent, when a force was reported .to the north in the 

same position as described in the previous dream. 

It advanced in the same manner, except, of course, 

the advanced men were met by no one at the farm. 

When I saw this, I could not help patting myself on 

the back and smiling at the Dutch ladies in the pit, 

who only scowled at me in return, and (whisper] spat! 

The advanced party of the enemy came on, scouting carefully and stalking the farm as they came. As 

they appeared quite unwarned, I was wondering if 

1 should be able to surprise them, all innocent of our 

39 
presence, with a close-range volley, and then magazine fire into their midst, when suddenly one man 

stopped and the others gathered round him. This was 

when they were some 1800 meters away, about on 

a level with the end of Incidentamba. They had evidently seen something and sniffed danger, for th’ere 

was a short palaver and much pointing. A messenger 

then galloped back to the main body, which turned 

off behind tncidentamba with its waggons, etc. A 

small number, including a man on a white horse, rode 

off in a vague way ta the west. The object of this 

move I could not quite see. They appeared to have 

a vehicle with them of some sort. The advanced party 

split up as already described. As all were still at long 

range, we could only wait. 

Very shortly ‘“boom’” went a gun from the top of Incidentamba, and a shrapnel shell burst not far from 

us. A second and third followed, after which they 

soon picked up our range exactly, an’d the shell began to burst all about us; however, we were quite 

snug and happy in our nice deep trench, where we 

contentedly crouched. The waste of good and valuable shrapnel shell by the enemy was the eause of 

much amusement to the men, who were in great 

spirits, and, as one of them remarked, were “as cosy 

as cockroaches in a crack.‘” At the expenditure of 

many shells only two men were hit-in the legs. 

After a time the guns ceased fire, and we at once 

manned the parapet and stood up to repel an attack, 

but we could see no Boers though the air began at 

once to whistle and hum with bullets. Nearly all these 

seemed to come from the riverbank in front, to the 

north and northeast, and kept the parapet one con40 
tinuaf spurt of dust as they smacked into it. AH we 

could do was to fire by sound at various likely bushes 

on the riverbank, and this we did with the greatest 

possible diligence, but no visible results. 

In about a quarter of an hour, we had had five men 

shot through the head, the most exposed part. The 

mere raising of a head to fire seemed to be absolutely fatal, as it had on a former occasion when we were 

attempting to fire at ctose range over a parapet 

against-the enemy concealed. I saw two poor fettows 

trying to build up a pitiful fittEe kind of house of cards 

with stones and pieces of ant-hill through which to 

fire. This was as conspicuous as a chimney-pot on 

top of the parapet, and was at once shot to powder 

before they had even used it, but not before it had 

suggested to me the remedy for this state of affairs, 

Qf course, we wanted in such a case “head cover” 

and ‘^loopholes.” As usual, I was wise after the event, 

for we had no chance of making them then, even had 

we not been otherwise busy. Suddenly the noise of 

firing became much more intense, but with the smack 

of the bullets striking the earth all round quite close 

it was not easy to tell from which direction this fresh 

firing came. At the same time the men seemed to be 

dropping much oftener, and I was impressing them 

with the necessity of keeping up a brisker fire to the 

front, when E noticed a bullet hit our side of the parapet. 

It then became clear, the enemy must evidently 

have got into the donga behind us (to which f had 

paid no attention, as it was to the rear), and were 

shooting us in the back as we stood up to our parapet. 

This, I thought, must be what is called being “taken 

in reverse,*’ and it was 

41 
By the time 6 had gathered what was happening, 

about a dozen more men had been bowled over. I 

then ordered the whole lot to take cover in the 

trench, and only to pop up to take a shot to the front 

or rear. But no more could be done by us towards 

the rear than to the front. The conditions were the 

same-no Boers to be seen. At this moment two of 

the guard from Waschout Hill started to run in to our 

trench, and a terrific fusillade was opened on to them, 

the bultets kicking up the dust all round them as they 

ran. One poor fellow was dropped, but the other managed to reach our trench and fall into it. He too was 

badly hit, but just had the strength to gasp out that 

except himself and the man who started with him, all 

the guard on Waschout Hill’ had been killed or 

wounded and that the Boers were gradually working 

their way up to the top. This was indeed cheering. 

So hot was the fire now that no one could raise his 

head above ground without being shot, and by 

crouching down altogether and not attempting to 

aim, but merely firing our rifles over the edge of the 

trench, we remained for a short time without casualties. This respite, however, was short, for the men in 

the right half of the trench began to drop unaecountably whilst they were sitting well under cover, and 

not exposing themselves at all. I gradually discovered 

the cause of this. Some snipers must have reached 

the top of Waschout Hill, and were shooting straight 

down our right half trench. As the bullets snicked 

in thicker and thicker, it was plain the number of 

snipers was being increased. 

This, I thought, must be being “enfiladed from a 

flank.” It was so. 

Without, any order, we had all instinctivety vacated 

42 
the right half of our trench and crowded into the left 

half, which by great good luck could not be enfiladed 

from any point on the south side of the river, nor indeed by rifle-fire from anywhere, as, owing to the 

ground, its prolongation an the right was up above 

ground for some 3000 meters away on the veld on 

the north bank. 

Though we were huddled together quite helpless 

like rats in a trap, still it was in a small degree comforting to think that, short of charging, the enemy 

could do nothing. For that we fixed bayonets and 

grimly waited. If they did make an assault, we had 

bayonets and they had not, and we could sell our 

lives very dearly in a rough-and-tumble. 

Afas! I was again deceived. There was to be no 

chance of close quarters and cofd steel, for suddenly 

we h,eard, far away out on the veld to the north, a 

sound as of someone beating a tin tray, and a covey 

of tithe shells whistled into the ground close by the 

trench; two of these burst on touching the ground. 

Right out of rifle-range, away on the open veld on the 

north, l saw a party of Boers, with a white horse and 

a vehicle. Then I knew. But how had they managed 

to hit off so well the right spot to go to enfilade our 

trench before they even knew where we were? 

Porn-porn porn-porn-porn again, and the little 

steel devils pfoughed their way into the middle of 

us in our shell-trap, mangling seven men. l at once 

diagnosed the position with great professional 

acumen; we were now enfiladed from both flanks, 

but the knowledge was acquired too late to help us, 

for-- 

43 
“‘We iay bare as the paunch 

of the pors&s sow, 

To the hail of the Nordenfeldt.” 

This was the last straw; there was nothing Ceft but 

surrender or entire annihilation at long range. E surrendered. 

Boers, as usual, sprang up from all round. We had 

fought for three hours, and had 25 killed and 17 

wounded. Of these, seven only had been hit by the 

shrapnel and rifle-fire from the front. All the rest had 

been killed or hit from the flanks, where there should 

be few enemies, or the rear, where there should be 

none! This fact convinced me that my preconceived 

notions as to the front, and its danger relative to the 

other points of the compass, needed considerable 

modification. All my cherished ideas were being 

ruthlessly swept away, and I was plunged into a sea 

of doubt, groping for something certain or fixed to 

lay hold of. Could Longfellow, when he wrote that 

immartal line, “Things are not what they seem,” ever 

have been in my position? 

The survivors were naturally a little disheartened 

at their total discomfiture, when all had started so 

well with them in their “crack.“’ This expressed itself 

in different ways. As one man said to a corporal, who 

was plugging a hole in his ear with a bit of rag- 

“Something sickening, I call it, this enfilading racket; you never know which way it will take yer. I’m 

fairly fed up.‘” To which the gloomy reply, “Enfiladed? 

Of course we’ve been enfiladed. This ‘ere trench 

should have been wiggled about a bit, and then there 

wouldnot have been quite so much of it. Yes, wiggled 

44 
~~--that’s what it should have been. ” Vo which 

~~~~ped in a third, “Yes, and something to keep t 

bl~g~ters from shooting us in the back wouldn”t “av 

dane us much “arm, anyway.*’ 

There were evid ntly more things in earth tha 

had hitherto dream f in my phifosophy! 

As we trekked away to the north under a detached 

guard of Boers, many little points such as the abowe 

sank into my soul, but I could not for some time solv 

f wry we had not succeeded in surprising the enemy. There were no men, women, children, 

or Kaffirs who, knowing of our arrival, could have 

warned them. How did they spot our presence so 

soon, as they evidently must have done when they 

stopped and consulted in the morning? It was n 

until passing lncident~mba, as I casually happen& 

to look round and survey the scene of the fight fr 

oint of view, that I discovered the s 

There on the smooth yell 

uth of the drift was a bro 

ash-red streak, as conspicuous as the Long Man 

Wilmington on the dear old Sussex downs, wh 

p~sitjvely shrieked aloud, “‘Hi! Hi! Hit-this way 

the British defence.” I then grimly smiled to thin 

myself sitting like a “slick Alick” in that poster 

ch and expecting to surprise anybody! 

esides having been enfiladed and also taken in 

reverse, we had again found ourselves at a disa 

compared with the concealed enemy 

shooting at close range, from having to show up at 

I collected the foltowing lessonsI isolated post and an active en 

ks, no rear, or, ts put it otherwi 

45 
is front all round. 

12. Reware of being taken i care, 

when pfacing and making your defencss, that when 

you are engaged in shooting the enemy to the front 

of your trench, his pal cannot sneak up and shoot 

you in the back. 

13. Beware of being enfiladed. It is nasty from one 

flank-far worse from both flanks. 

Remember, also, that though you may arrange 

matters so that you cannot be enfiiaded by rifle fire, 

yet you may be open to it from long range, by means 

of gun or pompom fire. There are few straight 

trenches that cannot be enfiladed from somewhere, 

if the enemy can only get there. You can sometimes 

avoid being enfiladed by so placing your trench that 

no one can get into prolongation of it to fire down 

it, or you can “wiggle’” it about in many ways, so that 

it is not straight, or make “traverses’” across it, or dig 

separate trenches for every two or three men. 

14. Do not have your trench near rising ground 

over which you cannot see, and which you cannot 

hofd. 

15. Do not huddle all your men together in a smaff 

trench like sheep in a pen. Give them air. 

16. As once before =- cover from sight is of often 

worth more than cover from buffets. 

For close shooting from a non-concealed trench, 

head cover with loopholes is an advantage. This 

should be bulletproof and not be conspicuously on 

the top of the parapet, so as to draw fire, or it will be 

far more dangerous than having none. 

17. To surprise the enemy is a great advantage. 

46 
18. If you wish to obtain this advantage, conceal 

your position. Though for promotion it may be sound 

to advertise your position, for defence it is not. 

1% Ts test the concealment or otherwise of yang 

position, took at it from the enemy’s point of view. 

47 
ifth beam 

‘%\ trimg sum of misery 

New added to the foot af rhey accaunt.‘” 

DRYDEN. 

“‘Sack Frcxt iooked fcwth one WE c/ear m’ghF, 

And he said, ‘Now I shalt be aut of sight; 

So over the valley and over the height 

En silence E’lI take my way:” EQULD. 

Again I faced the same task with a fresh mind and 

fresh hopes, all that remained with me of my former 

mpts being 19 lessons. 

ving detailed the two patrols and the guard on 

schout Hill as already described, I spent some 

minutes--whilst the stores, etc., were being arranged--in walking about to choose a position to hold 

in the Eight of my 19 lessons. 

I came to the conclusion that it was not any good 

ing near the top of a hill and yet not at the top. I 

would make my post on the top of Waschout Hill, 

where l could not be overlooked from any place 

within rifle range, and where I should, E believed, 

have “command.” I was not quite certain what 16command” meant, but I knew it was important--it says so 

48 
in the book, besides, in all the manoeuvres I had attended and tactical schemes I had seen, the “‘defence” always held a position on top of a hiiE or ri 

My duty was plain: Waschout Hill seemed the 

place which did not contravene any of the 19 lessons 

I had learnt, and up it I walked. As i stood near one 

of the huts, I got an excellent view of the drift an 

its southern approach just over the bulge of the hil 

and a clear view of the river further east and west. 1 

thought at first I would demolish the few grass and 

matting huts which, with some empty kerosene tins 

and heaps of bones and debris, formed the Kaffir 

kraaf; but on consideration I decided to play cunnin 

and that this same innocent-looking Kaffir kra 

would materially assist me to hide my defences. 

made out my plan of operations in detail, and we ha 

soon conveyed all our stores up to the top of the 

hill, and started work. 

Upon the return of the patrols with their pris~fl~~~, 

the Dutchmen and “boys” were told off to di 

themselves and their females. The Kaffirs of the 

we had impressed to assist at once. 

[See Map 6.) 

My arrangements were as follows: All round the 

huts on the hilltop and close to them, we dug some 

ten short lengths of deep-firing trenches, curve 

plan, and each long enough to hold five men. These 

trenches had extremely low parapets, really only 

serving as rifle rests, some of the excavated 

being heaped up behind the trenches to the h 

of a foot or so, the remarnder being dealt with as described later. In most cases the parapets were pro49 
vided with grooves to fire through at ground-l&el, 

the parapet on each side being high enough to just 

protect the head. As with the background the men’s 

heads were not really visible, it was unnecessary to 

provide proper loopholes, which would have necessitated also the use of new sandbags, which would 

5Q 
be rather conspicuous and troublesome to conceal. 

When the men using these trenches were firing, their 

heads would be just above the level of the grou 

Once these firing trenches were well under way, 

the communication trenches were started. These 

were to be narrow and deep, leading from one trench 

to the next, and also leading from each trench back 

to four of the huts, which were to be arranged as follows, to allow men ta fire standing up without being 

seen. Round the inside of the walls of these huts part 

of the excavated earth, of which there was ample, 

would be buift up with sandbags, pieces of anthill, 

stones, etc., to a height that a man can fire over, 

about four and a half feet, and to a thickness of some 

two and a half feet at the top, and loopholes, which 

would be quite invisible, cut through the hut sides 

above this parapet. There was room in each hut for 

three men to fire. In three of them I meant to place 

my best shots, to act as snipers, as they would have 

a more favourable position than the men in the 

trenches below, and the fourth was a conning-tower 

for myself. All the tents and stores were stacked inside one of the huts out of sight. 

That evening, in spite of the hardness of the work, 

which caused much grousing among my men, we had 

got the firing trenches complete, but the others were 

not finished--they were only half the necessary 

depth. The earth walls inside the huts were also not 

quite completed. The Kaffirs and Dutch had deep 

pits, as before, in three of the huts. Ammunition and 

rations were distributed round the trenches the last 

thing before we turned in. Palso had all water-bottles 

and every vessel that would hold water, such as 

empty tins, Kaffir gourds, and cooking-pats, filfed and 

51 

- 
stributed in case of a Ion protracted fight. 

aving issued orders as t 

reatest secrecy in not giving 

on should Beers turn up early 

to sleep with confidence. We 

good position, and though our co 

not perfect quite, these we co 

we had any time to ourselves the next morning. 

Next morning broke; no enemy in sight. This was 

excellent, and before daylight we were h 

fmishing the work still undone. By this time 

had fully entered into the spirit of the thing, and wer 

quite keen on surprising Brother Boer if 

While the digging was proceeding, the “dixies” were 

being boiled for the breakfasts 

screens, some of which we found 

to show nothing but some very nat 

al. I picked out one or two 

, and instructed them to walk 

ifferent directions to the riverba 

ould see the heads oft 

t the sky. If so, the heaps of 

rass, screens, etc., should be rearran 

ive a background to every man’s hea 

To review the place g 

walked off some half-mi 

As we were going some 

mets and wrapped ourselves in two beautiful orange 

and magenta striped blankets orrowed from our 

Kaffir lady guests, in case any stray Boer shoul 

lurking around, as he might be interested to see tw 

“khakis” wandering about on the vefd. It was 

ward trying to walk with our rifles hidden under our 

52 
blankets, and, moreover, every two minutes we had 

to look round to see if the sentry at the camp had 

signalled any enemy in sight. This was to be done 

by raising a pole on the highest hut. The result of our 

work was splendid. We saw a Kaffir kraal on a hill, 

and to us “it was nothing more.” There were the 

heaps of debrie usually round a kraal, looking most 

natural, but no heads were visible, and no trenches. 

There was only one fault, and that was that a few 

thoughtless men began, as we looked, to spread their 

brown army blankets out in the sun on top of the 

huts and on the veld. To the veriest new chum these 

square blots, like squares of brown sticking-plaster 

all around the kraal, would have betokened something unusual. To remedy this before it was too late 

1 hastened back. 

After we had done our breakfasts, and some three 

hours after dawn, the sentry in one of the huts 

reported a force to the narth. We could do nothing 

but wait and hope; everything was ready, and every 

man knew what to do. No head was to be raised nor 

a rifle fired until I whistled from conning-tower; then 

every man woufd pop up and empty his magazine 

into any of the enemy in range. If we were shelled, 

the men in the huts could at once drop into the deep 

trenches and be safe. Standing in my conning-tower, 

from the loopholes of which I could see the drift, I 

thought over the possibilities before us. With great 

luck perhaps the Boer scouts would pass us on either 

side, and so allow us to lie low for the main body. 

With a view to seeing exactly how far I would let the 

latter come before opening fire, and to marking the 

exact spot when it would be best to give the word, 

I got down into the firing trenches facing the drift 

53 
and the road south to see how matters appeared from 

the level of the rifles. To my intense horror, i found 

that from these trenches neither the drift nor the road 

on the near bank of the river, until it got a long way 

south of Waschout Hills, could be seen! The bulging 

convexity of the hilf hid all this; it must be dead 

ground? It was. The very spot where I‘ could best 

catch the enemy, where they must pass, was not 

under my fire! At most, the northern loopholes of 

the conning-tower and one other hut alone could 

give fire on the drift. How I cursed my stupidity! However, it was no-good. I could not now start digging 

fresh trenches further down the hill; it would betray 

our whole position at once. I determined to make 

the best of it, and if we were not discovered by the 

scouts. to open fire on the main body when they were 

just on the other side of the river bunched up on the 

bank, waiting for those in front. Here we could fire 

on them; but it would be at a much longer range than 

I had intended. It was really a stroke of luck that I 

had discovered this serious fault, for otherwise we 

might have Eet the bulk of the enemy cross the drift 

without discovering the little fact of the dead ground 

till too late. I reflected, also (though it was not much 

consolation), that I had erred in good company, for 

how often had I not seen a “‘brass-hat” ride along on 

horseback, and from that height, fix the exact position for trenches in which the rifles would be little 

above the ground. These trenches, however, had 

not been put to the test of actual use. My error was 

not going to escape the same way. 

Meanwhile the enemy’s scouts had advanced in 

much the same way as detailed before, except that 

after coming past lncidentamba Farm, they had not 

54 
halted suspiciously, but came on in small groups or 

clumps. They crossed the river in several places and 

examined the bushy banks most carefully, but finding no “khakis” there, they evidently expected none 

on the open veld beyond them, for they advanced 

“anyway” without care. Several of the clumps joined 

together, and came on chatting in one body of some 

30 men. Would they examine the kraal, or woufd they 

pass on? My heart pounded. The little hill we were 

on would, unluckily, be certain to prove an attraction 

for them, because it was an excellent vantage ground 

whence to scan the horizon to the south, and to signal back to the main body to the north. The kraaf was 

afso a suitable place to off-saddle for a few minutes 

while the main body came up to the drift, and it meant 

pos’sibfy a fire, and therefore a cup of coffee. They 

rode up towards it laughing, chatting, and smoking 

quite unsuspectingly. We uttered no sound. Our 

Dutch and Kaffir guests uttered no sound either, for 

in their pits was a man with a rifle alongside them. 

At last they halted a moment some 250 meters away 

on the northeast, where the slope of the hill was 

more graduai and showed them alf up. A few dismounted, the rest started again straight towards us. 

It was not magnificent, but it was war. t whistled. 

About ten of them succeeded in galfoping off, 31~1 

some loose horses; five or six of them on the ground 

threw up their hands and came into the post. On the 

ground there remained a mass of kicking horses and 

dead or groaning men. The other parties of scouts 

to east and west had at once galloped back to the 

river where they dismounted under cover and began 

to pepper us. Anyway, we had done something. 

As soon as our immediate enemy were disposed of, 

55 
we opened fire on the main body some 15OC? meters 

away, who had at once halted and opened out. To 

these we did a good deal of damage, causing great 

confusion, which was comforting to watch. The Boer 

in command of the main body must have gathered 

that the river-bed was clear, for he made a very bold 

move; he drove the whole of the waggons, etc., 

straight on as fast as possible over the odd 400 

meters to the river and down the drift into the riverbed, where they were safe from our fire. Their losses 

must have been heavy over this short distance, for 

they had to abandon two of their waggons on the way 

to the river. This was done under cover of the fire 

from a large number of riflemen, who had at once 

galloped up ta the river-bank, dismounted, and 

opened fire at us, and from two guns and a pompom, 

which had immediately been driven a short distance 

back and then outwards to the east and west. It was 

really the best thing he could have done, and if he 

had only known that we could not fire on the ground 

to the south of the drift, he might have come straight 

on with a rush. 

We had so far scored; but now ensued a period of 

stalemate. We were being fired at from the riverbank 

on the north, and from ant-hills, etc., pretty well allround, and were alsa under the intermittent shellfire from the two guns. They made most excellent 

practice at the huts, which were soon knocked to 

bits, but not till they had well served their turn. Some 

of the new white sandbags from inside the huts were 

scattered out in full view of the enemy, and it was 

instructive to see what a splendid target they made, 

and how often they were hit. They must have drawn 

a lot of fire away from the actual trenches Until the 

56 
Boers discovered that they could advance south from 

the drift without being under rifle fire from our position, they were held up. 

Would they discover it? As they had ridden 

all round us, by now, well out of range, they must 

know all about us and our isolation. 

After dark, by which time we had one man killed 

and tw6 wounded, the firing died away into a continuous but desultary rifle fire, with an occasional 

dropping shell from the guns. Under cover of dark, I 

tried to guard the drift and dead ground to the south 

of it, by making men stand up and fire at that level; 

but towards midnight I was forced to withdraw them 

into the trenches, after several casualties, as the 

enemy then apparently woke up and kept up a furiou 

rifle fire upon us for over an hour. During this time 

the guns went through some mysterious evolutions. 

At first we got it very hot from the north, where the 

guns had been all along. Then suddenly a gun was 

opened on us away from th’e sauthwest, and we were 

shelled for a short time from both sides. After a little 

while the shelling on the north ceased, and’ continued 

from the southwest onCy for 20 minutes. After this 

the guns ceased, and the rifle fire also gradually 

died away. 

When day dawned not a living soul was to be seen; 

there were the dead men, horses, and the deserted 

waggons. t feared a trap, but gradually came to the 

conclusion the Boers had retired. After a little we 

discovered the riverbed was deserted as wefl, but 

the Boers had not retired. They had discovered the 

dead ground, and under the mutually supporting fire 

af their guns, which had kept us to our trenches, had 

all crossed the drift and trekked south! 

57 
True, we were not captured, and had very few 

losses, and had severefy mauled the enemy, but they 

had crossed the drift. It must have evidently been of 

great importance to them to go on, or they would 

have attempted to capture us, as they were about 

500 to our 5Q. 

f had failed in my duty. 

During the next few hours we buried the dead, 

tended the wounded, and took some well-earned 

rest, and I had ample leisure to consider my faifure 

and the causes. The lessons I derived from the fight 

were: 

20. Beware af convex hills 

ciaily take care to have some 

must come under your fir 

tion of your firing trenehes 

of the men who will eventually use them, 

21. A hit1 may not, after all, thou 

mand,” necessarily be the best place to hold. 

22. A conspicuous “bluff” trench may cause the 

enemy to waste much ammunitions and draw fire 

away from the actual defences. 

In addition to these lessons, another little matter 

on my mind was what my colonet would say at my 

failure. 

Lying on my back, looking up at the sky, f was trying to get a few winks of sleep myself before we 

started to improve our defences against a possible 

further attack, but it was no use, sleep evaded me. 

The clear blue vault of heaven was suddenly overcast by clouds which gradually assumed the frowning face of my colonel. “What? Yau mean to say, Mr. 

Forethought, the Boers have crossed?” But, luckily 

56 
for me, before more could be said, the face began 

slowly to fade away tike that of the Cheshire puss 

in “Alice in Wonderland,” leaving riothing but the 

awful frown across the sky. This too finally dissolved, 

and the whole scene changed. ! had another dream. 
“Sweet are the uses sf adversity.“’ 

Once more was 6 fated ta essay the task of defending 

Drift. This time I had 22 lessons under my 

eip me out, and in the oblivion af my dream 

ared that sense of monotony which by now 

possibly have overtaken you, ‘“gentle readeC’ 

er sending out the patrols, and placing a guard’ 

aschout Hill, as already described, and whilst 

s were being collected, I considered deeply 

what position i should take up, and walked up to the 

top of Waschout Hill to spy out the land. On the top I 

found a Kaffir kraai, which r saw would assist me 

much as canceafment should I decide to hold this 

hil!. This I was much inclined to do, but after a few 

minutes’ trial of the shape of the ground, with the 

help of some men walking about down below, and my 

eyes a little above ground level, I found that its convexity was such that, to see and fire on the drift and 

appraach on the south side, I should have to 

ndon the top of the hill, and so the friendly con- 
cealment of the Kaffir huts, and take up a ~os~ti~~ 

on the open hillside some way down. This was, of 

course, quite feasible, especially if I held a positi 

at the top of the hill as well, near the huts on t 

east and southeast sides; but, as it would be impossible to really conceal ourselves on the bare hillside, 

it meant giving up all idea of surprising the enemy, 

which I wished to do. I must, therefore, find some 

other place which would lend itself to easy and good 

concealment, and also have the drift or its approaches under close rifle fire. But where to fin 

such a place? 

As I stood deep in thought, considering this k~~~~ 

problem, an idea gently wormed itself into my mi 

which E at once threw out again as being absurd a 

out of the question. This idea was to hold the riverbed and banks on each side of the drift! To give 

all idea of command, and, instead of seeking t 

nearest high ground, which comes as natural to t 

student of tactics as rushing for a tree does to a squirrel, to take the lowest ground, even though it should 

be all among thick cover, instead of being nicely in 

the open. 

No, it was absolutely revolutionary, and against 

every canon I had ever read or heard of; it was evidently the freak of a sorely tried and worried brain. 

I would have none of it, and I put it firmly from me. 

But the more I argt;ed to myself the absurdity of it, 

the more this idea obtained possession of me. The 

more I said it was impossible, the more allureme 

were spread before me in its favour, until each 

my conscientious objections was enmeshed a 

smothered in a network of specious reasons as to t 

61 
advantages of the proposal. 

I resisted, I struggled, but finally fell to temptation, 

dressed up in the plausible guise of reason. I would 

hold the riverbed. 

The advantages I thus hoped to obtain were: 

I. Perfect concealment and cover from sight. 

2. Trenches and protection against: both rifle and 

gunfire practically ready made. 

3. Communications under good cover. 

4. The enemy would be out in the open veld except along the riverbank, where we, being in position first, would still have the advantage. 

5. Plentiful water supply at hand. 

True, there were a few dead animals near the drift, 

and the tainted air seemed to hang heavy over the 

riverbed, but the carcases could be quickly buried 

under the steep banks, and, after all, one could not 

expect every fuxury. 

As our clear field af Sire, which in the north was 

only bounded by the range of our rifles, was on the 

south limited by Waschout Hill, a suitable position for 

the enemy to occupy, I decided to hold the top of 

it as well as the riverbed. All 1 could spare for this 

would be two NCQs and eight men, who would be 

able to defend the south side of the hill, the north 

being under our fire from the riverbank 

Having detailed this party, I gave my instructions 

for the work, which was soon started. In about a 

couple of hours the patrols returned with their prisoners, which were dealt with as before. 

62 
For the post on Waschout Mill, the scheme was 

that the trenches should be concealed much in the 

same way as described in the last dream, but great 

care should be taken that no one in the post should 

be exposed to rifle fire from our main position in the 

river. 1 did not wish the fire of the main body to be in 

63 
any degree hampered by a fear af hitting the men on 

Waschout Mill, especially at night. tf we knew it was 

not possible to hit them, we could shoot freely all 

over the hill. This detachment was to have a double 

lot of waterbottles, besides every available receptacle collected in the kraal, filled with water, in anticipation of a prolonged struggle. 

The general idea for the main defensive position 

was to hold both sides of the river, improving the 

existing steep banks and ravines into rifle-pits to contain from one to four men. These could, with very 

little work, be made to give cover from all sides. As 

such a large amount of the work was already done for 

us, we were enabled to dig many more of these pits 

than the exact number required for our party. Pathways leading between these were to be cut into the 

bank, so that we should be able to shift about from 

one position to another. Besides the advantage this 

would give us in the way of moving about, according as we wished to fire, it also meant that we should 

probably be able to mislead the enemy as to our 

numbers-which, by such shifting tactics might, for 

a time at least, be much exaggerated. The pits for 

fire to the north and south were nearly all so placed 

as to allow the occupants to fire at ground level over 

the veld. They were placed well among the bushes, 

only just sufficient scrub being cut away to aflow a 

man to see all round, without exposing the position 

of his trench. On each side of the river, just by the 

drift, were some “spoil” heaps of earth, excavated 

from the road ramp. These stood some five or six 

feet above the general level, and were as rough as 

the banks in outline. These heaps were large enough 

to allow a few pits being made on them, which had 

64 
the extra advantage of height. In some of the pits, 

to give head-cover, loophoies of sandbags were 

made, though in most cases this was not needed, 

owing to the concealment of the bushes. I found it 

was necessary to examine personally every loophale, and correct the numerous mistakes made in 

their construction. Some had the new clean sandbags exposed to full view, thus serving as mere 

whited sepulchres to their occupants, others were 

equally conspicuous from their absurd cock-shy appearance, others were not bulletproof, whilst others 

again would only allow of shooting in one direction, 

or into the ground at a few meters range, or up into 

the blue sky. As I corrected all these faults i thought 

that loopholes not made under supervision might 

prom rather a snare. 

The result was, in the way of concealment, splendid. 

From these pits with our heads at ground level we 

could see quite clearly o,wt on to the veld beyond, 

either from under the thicker part af the bushes or 

even through those which were close to our eyes. 

From the open, on the other hand, we were quite 

invisible, even from 300 meters distance, and would 

have been more so had we had the whiskers of the 

“brethren.” It was quite evident to me that these 

same whiskers were a wise precaution of nature for 

this very purpose, and part of her universal scheme 

of protective mimicry. 

The numerous small dongas and rifts lent themselves readily to flanking fire, and in many places the 

vertical banks required no cutting in order to give 

ideal protec$ion against even artillery. In others, the 

sides of the crooked waterways had to be merely 

65 
scooped out a little, or a shelf cut to stand upon. 

In one of these deeper ravines two tents which, 

being below ground level, were quite invisible, were 

pitched for the women and children, and small caves 

cut for them in case of a bombardment. The position 

extended for a length of some 150 meters on each 

side of the drift along both banks of the river, and at 

its extremities, where an attack was most to be 

feared, pits were dug down the riverbanks and across 

the dry riverbed. These also were concealed as well 

as possible. The flanks or ends were, of course, our 

greatest danger, for it was from here we might expect to be rushed, and not from the open ve;kd. I was 

undecided for some time as to whether to clear a 

“field of fire” along the river-banks or not, as I had 

no wish to give away our presence by any suspicious 

nudity of the banks at each end of our position. 1 

finally decided, in order to prevent this, to clear the 

scrub for as great a range as possible from the ends 

of the position, everywhere below the ground level, 

and also on the level ground, except for a good fringe 

just on the edges of the banks. This fringe I thought 

would be sufficient to hide the clearance to any one 

not very close. I now blessed the man who had left 

us some cutting tools. Whilst all this was being carried out, I paced out some ranges to the north and 

south, and these we marked by a few empty tins 

placed on ant-heaps, etc. 

At dusk, when we had nearly all the pits finished 

and some of the ctearance done, tents and gear 

were hidden, ammunition and rations distributed to 

all, and orders in case of an attack given out. As I 

could not be everywhere, I had to rely ,on the outlying groups of men fully understanding my aims 

66 
beforehand, and acting on their “own.” To prevent 

our chance of a close-range volley into the enemy 

being spoilt by some over-zealous or jumpy man 

opening fire at long range, I gave orders that fire 

was to be held as long as possible, and that no man 

was to fire a shot until firing had already commenced 

elsewhere (which sounded rather Irish], or my whistle 

sounded. This was unless the enemy were so close 

to him that further silence was usetess. Firing having 

once started, every man was to blaze away at any 

enemy within range as judged by our range marks. 

Finally we turned in to our pit for the night with some 

complacency, each eight men furnishing their own 

sentry. -\ 

We had about three hours next morning before 

any enemy were reported from Waschout Wili (the 

prearranged signal for this was the raising of a pole 

from one of the huts). This time was employed in perfecting our defences in various ways. We managed 

to clear away the scrub in the dry riverbed and banks 

for some 200 meters beyond our line of pits on each 

side, and actually attained to the refinement of an 

“obstacle”; far at the extremity of this clearance a 

sort of abatis entanglement was made with the wire 

from an adjacent fence which the men had discovered. During the morning I visited the post on 

Waschout Hill, found everything all correct, and took 

the opportunity of showing the detachment the exact 

limits of our position in the riverbed, and explained 

what we were going to do. After about three hours 

work, Somebody in sight” was signalled, and we 

soon after saw from our position a cloud of dust away 

to the north. This force, which proved to be a commando, approached as already described in the last 

67 
dream; all we could do meanwhile was to sit tight in 

concealment. Their scouts came in clumps of twos 

and threes which extended over some mile of front, 

the centre of the line heading for the drift. As the 

scouts got closer, the natural impulse to make for the 

easiest crossing place was obeyed by two or three 

of the parties on each side of the one approaching 

the drift, and they inclined inwards and joined forces 

with it. This was evidently the largest party we could 

hope to surprise, and we accordingly lay for it. When 

about 300 meters away, the “brethren” stopped 

rather suspiciously. This was too much for some man 

on the east side, who let fly, and the air was rent by 

the rattle as we emptied our magazines, killing ‘five 

of this special. scouting party and two from other 

groups further out on either side. We continued to 

fire at the scouts as they galloped back, dropping 

two more, and also at the column which was about 

a mile away, but afforded a splendid target till it 

opened out. 

In a very few moments our pos’ition was being 

shelled by three guns, but with the only result, as far 

we were pncerned of having one man wounded by 

shell-fire, though the firing went on slowly till dark. 

To be accurate, I should say the river was being 

shelled, our position incidentally, for shells were 

bursting along the river for some half-mile. The Boers 

were evidently quite at sea as regards to the extent 

of our position and strength, and wasted many shells. 

We noticed much galloping of men away to the east 

and west, out of range, and guessed that these were 

parties who intended to strike the river at some distance away, and gradually work along the bed, in 

68 
order ~probably to get into close range during th;e 

night. 

We exchanged a few shots during the night along 

the riverbed, and not much was done on either side, 

though of course we were on the out’ s/ive all the 

time; but it was not till near one in the morning that 

Waschout Hill had an inning. 

As I had hoped, the fact that we held the kraal had 

not been spotted by the enemy, and a large body of 

them, crawling up the south side of the hill in order 

to get a good fire on to us in the river, struck a snag 

in the shape of a close-range volley from our detachment. As the night was not very dark, in the panic 

following the first volley our men were able (as ! 

learnt afterwards) to stand right up and shoot at the 

surprised burghers bolting down the hill. However, 

their panic did not last long, to judge by the sound, 

for after the first volley from our Lee-Metfords and 

the subsequent minutes of independent firing, the 

reports of our rifles were soon mingled with the softer 

reports of the Mausers, and we shortly observed 

flashes on our side of Waschout Hill. As these could 

not be our men, we knew the enemy was endeavouring to surround the detachment. We knew the ranges 

fairtywell, and though, as we could not see our sights, 

the shooting was rather guesswork, we soon put a 

stop to this maneuvre by firing a small volley from 

three or four rifles at each flash on the hillside. So 

the night passed without much incident. 

During the dark we had taken the opportunity to 

cunningly place some new shite sandbags (which 1 

had found among the stores) in full view at some little 

distance from our actuai trencnes and pits. Some 

men had even gone further, and added a helmet here 

69 
and a coat there peeping over the top. This ruse had 

been postponed until our position was discovered, 

so as not to betray our presence, but after the fighting 

had begun no harm was done by it. Next morning it 

was quite a pleasure to see the very accurate shooting made by “Brother” at these sandbags, as betokened by the !ittte spurts of dust. 

During this day the veld to the north and south was 

deserted by the enemy except at out-of-range distance, but a continuous sniping fire was kept up along 

the riverbanks on each side. The Boer guns were 

shifted-one to the top of lncidentamba and one to 

the east and west in order to enfilade the riverbankbut, owing to our good cover, we escaped with two 

killed and three wounded The enemy did not shell 

quite such a length of river this time. E confidently 

expected an attack along the riverbank that night, 

and slightly strengthened my flanks, even at the 

risk of dangerousty denuding the north bank. I was 

not disappointed. 

Under cover of the dark, the enemy came up to 

within, perhaps, 600 meters of the open vetd on the 

north and round the edges of Waschout Hifl on the 

south, and kept up a furious fire, probably to distract 

our attention, whilst the guns shelled us for about an 

hour. As soon as the gunfire ceased they tried to rush 

us along the riverbed east and west, but, owing to the 

abatis and the holes in the ground, and the fact that 

it was not a very dark night, they were unsuccessful. 

However, it was touch-and-go, and a few of the Boers 

did succeed in getting into our position, only to be 

bayoneted. Luckily the enemy did not know our 

strength, or rather our weakness, or they would have 

persisted in their attempt and succeeded; as it was, 

70 
they must have lost 20 or 30 men killed and wounded. 

Next morning, with so many men out of my original 

40 out of action (not to include Waschout Hill, whose 

losses I did not know) matters seemed to be serious, 

and I was greatly afraid that another night would be 

the end of us. I was pleased to see that the detachment on 5Vaschout Hill had stiSl got itr .;xil well up, for 

they had hoisted a red rag at the !?lasthead. True, 

this was not the ;?ationa! flag, probr* ‘> only a mere 

hank %af, but it was not white. The day wore on 

with intermittent shelling and sniping, and we ail 

f&t that Ene enemy must have by now guessed our 

weakness, and were saving themselves for another 2 ._ 

night attack, relying upon our being tired out. We 

did our best to snatch a little sleep by turns during 

the day, and I did all I could to keep the spirits of the 

little f2rce up by saying that relief cc~ld not be very 

far ‘off. But it was with a gloomy desperation at best 

that we saw the day wear on and morning turn into 

afternoon. 

The Boer guns had not been firing for some two 

hours, and the silence was just beginning to get irritating and mysterious when the booming of guns in 

the distance aroused us to the highest pitch of excitement. We were saved! We could not say what 

guns these were-they might be British or Boerbut, anyway, it proved the neighbourhood of another 

force. All faces lighted up, for somehow the welcome 

sound at once drew the tired feeling out of us. 

In order to prevent any chance of the fresh force 

missing our whereabouts, ,I collected a few men and 

at once started to fire some good old British volleys 

into the scrub, “Ready--present-fire!r,” which were 

not to be mistaken. Shortly afterwards we heard 

71 
musk@ry in the distance, and saw a cloud of dust to 

the northeast. We,were relieved! 

Our total losses were 7 1 killed and 15 wounded; 

but we had held the drift, and so enabled a victory 

tobe won. I need not here touch upon the well-known 

and far-reaching results of the holding of Duffer’s 

Drift, of the prevention thereby of Boer guns, ammunition, and reinforcements reaching one of their 

sorely pressed forces at a critical moment, and the 

ensuing victory gained by our side. It is now, of 

course, public knowledge that this was the turningpoint in the war, though we, the humble instruments, 

did not know what vital results hung upon our action. 

That evening the relieving force halted at the drift, 

and, after burying the dead, we spent some time 

examining the lairs of the Boer snipers, the men co!- 

letting bits of shell and cartridge cases as mementoes-only to be thrown away at once. We found 

some 25 dead and partly buried Boers, to whom we 

gave burial. 

That night I did not trek, but lay down (in my own 

breeches and spotted waistcoat). As the smoke from 

the “prime segar,” presented to me by the Colonel, 

was eddying in spirals over my head, these gradually 

changed into clouds of rosy glory, and I heard brass 

bands in the distance playing a familiar air: “See the 

Conquering Hero comes,” it sounded like. 

I felt a rap on my shoulder, and heard a gentle 

voice say, “Arise, Sir Backsight Forethought”; but 

in a trite my dream of bliss was shattered-the gentle 

voice changed into the well-known croak of my 

servant. “Time to pack your kit on the waggon, sir. 

Corfy’s been up some time now, sir.” 

I was still in stinking old Dreamdorp. 

72 

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