“Bravo! bravo, Chris! And now I suppose
you are going to enlist again?” “Yes,
sir, if you will take us.”
“Certainly I will. Fortunately Buller was
at Frere until they moved on again yesterday, and
nobody has missed your little camp as far as I know,
so I don’t think that there is any chance of
questions being asked. I will swear you all in
again if you will bring the others round.”
RAILWAY HILL
There was little talking that evening. As soon
as the tents had been erected, a cup of cocoa and
a biscuit taken, all turned in, and even the constant
booming of the artillery and the occasional sharp crack
of musketry had no effect whatever on their slumbers.
Just before Chris lay down, however, an orderly told
him that Captain Brookfield wished to see him.
“I have just received orders, Chris, that our
brigade of cavalry is to turn out tomorrow morning
to support the infantry. Hildyard, Lyttleton,
and Barton are going. Their object is to carry
Cingola, which is the small peak at the end of the
nek extending from it to the high peak of Monte Cristo.
The duty of the mounted infantry will be to clear the
eastern side of the southern end of the range, and
to hold the nek separating it from the highest peak,
and so prevent the Boers from their main position
reinforcing the defenders of the lower peak. I
think that your party had better remain in camp, for
after doing over seventy miles today they won’t
be fit for work tomorrow.” “We should
not like to be left behind here, sir, and the hill
is not very far away, so that it would not be hard
work for the horses. No doubt we should be dismounted
a considerable part of the day.”
“Then you would rather go, Chris?”
“Much rather, sir. We should all be terribly
disappointed if we could not go out the first day
that there has been a chance of our doing something.”
“It is always as well to be on the right side,
but I hardly think so many troops will really be required;
and I think it is a symptom that a serious attack
will be made in a day or two on Monte Cristo and Hlangwane.
You see, the possession of Cingola and Monte Cristo
will take us pretty well round its flank, and I do
not expect the Boers will be so much prepared there
as they are in front.”
An hour before daylight all were out engaged in grooming
their horses, which, having received a hot mash of
mealie flour directly they came in on the previous
evening, looked better than could have been expected
after their hard work on two days out of three.
By the time they had finished, the natives had breakfast
ready, and they had scarcely eaten this when a trumpet
sounded to horse. Five minutes later the mounted
infantry belonging to the regular regiments and the
Colonial Horse formed up, and, led by Lord Dundonald,
marched north-east, followed by the three infantry
brigades and some batteries of artillery. When
