Part 56 (1/2)

”By George! so they are. And hallo! what does this mean--an attack?”

”A battery of Horse Artillery guns,” cried West. ”Then we are going on in real earnest.”

”Yes,” said Ingleborough, ”and so our friends the Boers will find.”

CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE.

THE NET AND THE FISH.

The start was made more quickly than either West or Ingleborough had antic.i.p.ated; in fact, the celerity was wonderful considering that the cavalry brigade was burdened with the great convoy of wagons captured from the Boers.

But there was a keen soldier in command, and one who knew how to be ready for every emergency likely to occur in an enemy's country.

As the two despatch-riders mounted their ponies, the cavalry regiments were in motion, some taking up ground in advance and on the flanks, while two more, a Lancer and a Dragoon regiment, stood fast ready for action as rear-guard, giving the six-gun battery an opportunity to off-saddle and rest their horses, fresh from a twelve-mile march that morning.

The wagon lines were in perfect order, steadily moving off after two of the big newly-captured guns, freshly manned by picked crews, the other two being reserved for the centre of the train and taking up their position easily enough, drawn as they were by double teams of st.u.r.dy ponies which made them far more mobile than would have been the case if trusted to the slow-moving oxen.

”They won't attempt to use those guns if we are attacked,” said West, as he watched the preparations going on; ”our men will be quite ignorant of how to work them.”

”Our men will try if the necessity comes,” said Ingleborough confidently; ”and that's half the battle!”

”Yes,” said West; ”but it's hardly likely that the enemy will attack so well-armed a body of men.”

”They will, though, and do us no end of mischief if they get the chance.”

But the General for the first three days gave the enemy no chance, for he carefully avoided kopjes and broken ground, keeping out a cloud of mounted men scouting in every direction, and camping each night on the banks of some spruit.

In fact, every military precaution was taken on defensive principles, for the captured convoy was too valuable for any risks to be run by attacking one or other of the commandos trying to hem in the brigade.

It was soon found that the Boers were in motion in front, rear, and on both flanks, awaiting an opportunity to swoop down and stampede sheep, cattle, and horses, spread confusion amongst the men, and so open up a chance to re-capture the guns and stores.

But no chances were given, for everything had been arranged, and during seven days' march West had a fine experience in the manoeuvring of a cavalry brigade. So, in fact, had the enemy, but theirs was at a bitter cost.

Finding that the British force would not attack any of the natural strongholds nor step into any of the traps contrived at river crossings where the perpendicular banks were filled with trench, pit, and shelter, but that the carefully-guarded convoy went on slowly towards safety day after day, the enemy became more daring, changed their tactics, and gathered together for attacks, getting their guns into action ready for their own captured artillery to be halted, and with a few well-directed shots at a tremendously long range to put the carefully planted guns out of action and compel a rapid retreat.

If they surrounded the convoy in their thousands with knots of mounted riflemen, there was a rush, a flying cloud of dust kicked up, and away went half the Horse Artillery battery to one knoll, the other half to another, and before the intention of the General could be grasped the sh.e.l.ls were falling fast among those knots, bursting and untying them in an appalling way which littered the dry earth with dead horses and men; while, whenever a bolder dash than usual was made to capture either of the half-batteries, the Boers found that, mobile as they were, the British cavalry could nearly double them in swiftness of evolution, and Lancers and Hussars cut them up and sent them flying in every direction.

Day after day this went on, with the result that the reinforcements the enemy received were pretty well balanced by the constant dribbling away of ambulance wagons loaded with wounded men.

”Isn't it splendid?” Ingleborough kept on saying. ”Why, we could go on journeying like this for months. I like this defensive game! Chess is nothing to it!”

”So do the Boers like a defensive game!”

”Yes,” said Ingleborough, laughing. ”Did you hear what one of the Boers taken said to the officer in command of the prisoners' guard?”

”No. I did not catch it; but I saw our men laughing. What was it?”

”He said our officers did not fight fair, and when our man asked him what he considered was fair fighting, the scoundrel gave him to understand that we ought to attack them when they were well entrenched in a kopje ready to shoot all our men down.”