THE next morning a portion of the troops crossed the Modder; the rest moved down and encamped on the south side of the river. The first task to be performed was[Pg 133] the sad one of collecting and burying the dead; that of carrying off the wounded had begun as soon as the slackening of the Boer fire permitted the stretcher-bearers to move about on the plain, and many of the soldiers, as soon as they had quenched their thirst, had, in spite of their fatigue, assisted in the work, and by midnight all had received the first aid from the medical officers. For these there was no sleep, for all night they were engaged in attending to the more serious cases; and by twelve o'clock next day the greater part of the wounded were ready to be despatched by train. As soon as Yorke had seen his horse picketed with those of the rest of the corps, and had eaten a few mouthfuls of preserved meat and biscuit, he had gone down with Major Lindley, the surgeon of the Guides, and many of the men and officers, and aided in carrying in the wounded. On arriving with the first batch at the hospital he said to the surgeon, who was busy at work:
"Can I be of any assistance, sir?"
"Yes, you can help if you will. We are very short of hands, as so many of the men have to go down with the wounded from Belmont and Graspan. If you will keep me supplied with the water, sponges, lint, and bandages, you will be of great service."
It was trying work to Yorke, unaccustomed as he was to such scenes, and several times he felt that he must go out for a few minutes to breathe the fresh air; but he stuck to it, and felt well rewarded when, in the morning, the surgeon he had been attending said heartily, "I thank you warmly, sir; you have saved me a great deal of time, and have been of much assistance to me. I am surprised that you have been able to go through with it, for even to us, accustomed to hospital work, it has been very exhausting."
On leaving the hospital marquee he went away to a quiet spot, dropped on the ground, and slept for some hours. Then he went to the camp of the Guides. Most of these[Pg 134] were already away scouting, and having no duties to perform, he walked down to the river and crossed by the dam by which the men of the Ninth Brigade had effected their passage on the previous afternoon. The men not engaged in the duty of burying the dead, or of preparing for the all-important work of throwing a pontoon bridge across the river by which the guns and waggons could pass, were cleaning their accoutrements, cooking, or bathing in the river, while many of the Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders were seated at the edge of the stream dipping their legs in the water.
They had suffered more severely than the other regiments of the brigade, and the advantage of trousers over kilts had been abundantly proved on the preceding day. From the fact that their dark kilts had shown them up, while their companions in khaki were almost invisible, their casualties were heavier than those of other regiments, and their legs had been so blistered by the sun's rays that many were almost unable to walk. On passing through the street of the village Yorke met the head of the Intelligence Department. The latter stopped.
"Ah! Mr. Harberton," he said, "your Kaffirs failed us when most wanted. Had one of them brought us news that the whole Boer strength was here it would have saved us a number of valuable lives."
"I am sorry indeed, sir," Yorke replied; "but you know the one who came in before the battle did bring news that no Kaffir teamsters or others were allowed to go near the Modder village, but had to make a detour on their way to Spytfontein."
"Yes, I know he did, and it is a pity now that we did not take his news more seriously. But it is always difficult to rely upon Kaffir evidence; the man might never have gone that way at all, and might have got up his story as an excuse for not bringing in news. And when Lord Methuen rode down himself close to the river he saw no signs of life in the[Pg 135] place. Now as to yourself. I understood from Colonel Pinkerton that you had specially joined with the intention of scouting and carrying despatches."
"I did sir. I have a very good horse, and can ride. I am a light-weight. I speak Dutch well enough to pass, and can get on in the Kaffir tongue. I should be happy to undertake any duty with which you might entrust me."
"We want a message carried into Kimberley. There will probably be a delay of a fortnight before we can receive reinforcements that will enable us to attack the enemy with any hope of success in the strong position they are said to occupy. Will you undertake to attempt to get round?"
"I shall consider it an honour to do so, sir. Should I go in uniform or as a Dutch farmer?"
"I think in uniform; you would have more risk of being taken, but if captured, you would have a right to be treated as a prisoner of war; while if you go in disguise, they would, I have no doubt, shoot you as a spy. It is not as if you wished to gather news; it is a question entirely of speed and of evading observation. Very well, Mr. Harberton. Where is your horse?"
"It is over at Major Rimington's camp, sir."
"Well, I will send a mounted orderly for it. In the meantime you can examine our map. It is by no means perfect, but at least it will afford you some indications, especially when you approach Kimberley. A runner brought us three days since a sketch map showing the position of the Boers round the town, and this, when you get there, will certainly be of value to you. One of the sergeants will make a tracing for you. You shall see the despatch you are to carry, and had better get it by heart, so that if you are pursued, and find yourself likely to be taken, you can destroy it, for you would doubtless be searched so thoroughly, that however well you might conceal it, they would be likely to discover it. Now, let us look at the map;" and, entering the house where he had established his office, he passed through the room in[Pg 136] which the non-commissioned officers were at work, and entered the one behind it.
"Here is the map," he said. "You see the Boer positions round Kimberley are much closer together than those on this side, for, until we crossed the Modder, it would be naturally considered that it was from that side relief was expected, or that messengers might come and go. But on this side there are also a great many of them; they are thick round Wimbledon, and thicker still between Scholtz Kop and Spytfontein. But these would, of course, be intended rather for resistance against a force advancing this way than for offence against the town. There are two here, however, standing to the right of the road between this place and the town. There may be some patrols thrown out on the road; it is probable that there are some, and here is the principal danger. Between that road and the railway and the town of Wimbledon there are no entrenchments marked. Of course they may exist, but the Kimberley people are only able to send us the posts which they can make out with their glasses, or by their fire. As you see, the ground is very rough and broken, and would probably be very difficult to ride across in the dark if you were to leave the road. I may say that a small party of cavalry have been out this morning seven or eight miles along the road, and encountered no opposition, but were fired at several times by parties on the hills. But it is certainly likely enough that they come down on to the road after dark. I will send a dozen troopers as an escort with you for the first four or five miles."
"I should say, sir, that it would be best for me only to ride for a few miles, then to dismount and make my way on foot. If you will allow me, I will send a note by the orderly who fetches my horse to two of my Kaffirs bidding them accompany it here—one of them especially is a very shrewd fellow—their eyes and ears are much better than mine. I should send one of them back with my horse, and take the other[Pg 137] with me. I have a compass, but it would be of no use in the dark; and I might lose my bearings altogether if by myself, for I could not venture to strike a match."
"It would be a very good plan, Mr. Harberton. Please write your note at once, I have already sent for a mounted orderly."
Yorke at once wrote a note to Major Rimington, or the officer commanding in his absence, begging him to send the two Kaffirs, Ugly Jack and Long Peter, with the orderly, who would bring back his horse. While the orderly was away he studied the map, and when the officer returned from head-quarters with the despatch, which was written in small characters on a strip of thin paper, he learned it by heart. It stated that the army had, after its engagement, crossed the Modder, but that it could not advance until joined by reinforcements now on their way. It asked for any intelligence that might be gathered by the besieged as to the Boers' position and force, and enquired as to the state of provisions in the town, and how long, in case the army failed to arrive, they could maintain themselves. It stated that large reinforcements were on their way out, and that Buller had, so far, failed to relieve Ladysmith, but hoped that he would soon do so, and that the Boers were making but little way in the invasion of Cape Colony. It added: "The bearer will give you further details as to the state of affairs." It was directed to Colonel Kekewich.
After the business was concluded, Yorke was invited to join the staff at lunch, which he was not sorry to do. When this was finished, he was asked to dine with them also, as he would not be able to start till after dark.
Many of the Boer rifles had been picked up, and great quantities of ammunition, which had been left in the trenches, collected. The arms were to be destroyed, and Yorke, at luncheon, asked the officer to give him an order for the Kaffir who was going with him to take one of them. "It is quite certain," he said, "that if we are caught, they[Pg 138] will shoot the native, whether he is armed or not, and I think the man ought to have a chance of at least trying to defend his life."
"I will give you an order for him to take one, but it had better be put in my office till you start, or he would have trouble with every officer he met. I think that, as you say, it is only fair to give the man a chance, though I don't suppose it will be of much use to him, for he is not likely to be a good shot even with an ordinary rifle, and he would know nothing of the working of a Mauser."
"I could show him how to work it in five minutes," Yorke said; "and if he cannot shoot himself, he could load as fast as I could fire."
The officer smiled. "I fancy if you get cut off, Mr. Harberton, your best plan would be to tie a handkerchief to your rifle in token of surrender. Possibly they might then content themselves with taking you as a prisoner of war, while if you were to shoot some of them, the others would not be very likely to respect your uniform."
"I don't want to fight, certainly," Yorke said; "and I should not think of resisting unless I saw a chance of doing so successfully, as, for instance, if I were seen and chased by two or three mounted Boers when I was getting near our own lines."
"Yes, in that case the rifle might be useful. The Boers have considerable respect for a single man with a good rifle in the open. However, I hope you will get through unobserved. You certainly will have more chance to-night than you would otherwise have, for they will be even more tired than our men, as they probably marched all night to Spytfontein. Moreover, they have their wounded to attend to, and will, no doubt, be very much down in the mouth at being turned out here, where they felt absolutely certain of holding their own. Still, Cronje could not have had anything like all his force here, and some of the men who stopped in[Pg 139] their lines will be sent out to watch the roads to-night, lest we should push forward a brigade to relieve Kimberley."
On going out, Yorke found that the Kaffirs had arrived with his horse.
"Peter," he said in Dutch, "I am going to try to get into Kimberley. I want you to go with me. I have chosen you for two reasons; in the first place, because I know that you are a good man; and in the second, because you are the only one of the party who has been in the town, for you told me that you had worked there for two years. Are you willing to go? It is a very dangerous business, for if we are caught, the Boers are not likely to show us any mercy."
"I will go, baas," the man said, speaking as usual in Dutch. "If you can go I can; if you are killed I will be killed."
"Your danger is greater than mine, Peter. I shall be in uniform; and they may take me prisoner, but they would be certain to shoot you."
The Kaffir nodded. "Shoot me, sure enough, baas; but I will go with you. You will go in the dark, I suppose? How could you find your way if you were alone? You could not keep on the road. The Boers are sure to keep watch there."
"I feel that, Peter. If it were not for that I would not risk anyone else's life. I mean to ride the first part of the way. Jack, you will go with us so far and bring my horse back, and take it to Major Rimington's lines. I shall give you a letter to Hans to tell him to look after you all till I come back."
"Cannot I go with you too, baas?" the man asked.
"No, that would be of no use, Jack. The more there are of us, the more chance there is of being seen. Now, here is an order on the supply-stores for two days' rations. Draw them at once. Go back to camp and fetch the spare water-bottles we got at De Aar, bring four of them, two for each[Pg 140] of us. We may not be able to get through to-night, and may have to lie up at some hiding-place till it is dark again. I will get hold of some biscuits and a tin of meat."
Having now finished his arrangements Yorke went down and made an inspection of the deserted trenches of the Boers. These were generally some four feet deep, and, like those at Graspan, had evidently been tenanted for some days. They were for the most part some seven feet long and four feet wide. They had been untouched since their occupiers had fled, for there was nothing in them to tempt the soldiers to search them. He had no difficulty in finding a couple of tins of meat and as much bread as he required. All were littered with empty cartridge cases, showing how large was the provision that had been made, and how steadily the Boers had for hours maintained their fire. There were, too, piles of still unused cartridges. His own bandolier was full, but he put as many as he could carry into his pocket.
In the afternoon he went to the office where he had placed the Mauser rifle, when it had, by the officer's orders, been handed to him, put his own rifle in its place, and slinging the Mauser on his shoulder, went out again. Presently he found the two Kaffirs squatted near his horse, which they were feeding with bread they had picked up. Calling Peter to follow him he went into a quiet spot among the trees.
"You are going to carry a rifle, Peter," he said, "the one that I have got on my shoulder. Can you shoot?"
"I can shoot with a common gun, baas, but I don't know that thing; it doesn't seem to have any hammer."
"No, it is a Mauser. That is the gun the Boers use. I will show you how it works, for if we should get into trouble, and there are only a few Boers, we might fight. You see this slip, holding five cartridges. The breech opens like this; you push the five cartridges into the magazine, close it with this bolt, and the gun is ready for firing five shots without removing it from the shoulder. When the last shot is fired, you reload as before. You see how I do it. Now, let[Pg 141] me see you try; but don't pull the trigger. If you were to fire, we should alarm the camp."
After a dozen attempts, the Kaffir learnt the knack of loading and firing the gun.
"I have plenty of cartridges here. You had better go and look in the Boer trenches, and you will find scores of bandoliers lying about. Pick two out, one for yourself and one for me, and fill them with cartridges. When we start I will divide those I have with you. That will amount to something like two hundred shots apiece. I am going to leave my rifle here and take another Mauser, as these cartridges won't fit my gun. Here are two tins of meat and enough bread to last us for a day, in case we cannot get straight through and have to hide up. Get hold of a piece of stuff to tie them all up in a bundle, which you can sling on your rifle. Fill these four water-bottles with the best water you can find. Don't take it out of the river, it is likely enough that there are a good many dead Boers in it. Now, there is nothing more for you to do before we start. You had better watch the horse by turns. Take it down to the river and give it a good drink an hour before sunset.
"You will find plenty of blankets in the Boer trenches. Take a couple of these and cut them up into strips, and before it gets dark fasten these thickly to the horse's hoofs, so that they will make no noise on the road. Fasten a roll of it on to my saddle; I shall twist it round my boots when I dismount, then I shall be less likely to slip in climbing over the rocks. And now I have one more word to say to you. If we should be surprised by the Boers, and I find that I must be taken, you are to escape if possible. Your death could be of no benefit to me, and if you were killed I should not forgive myself for having brought you with me. Now, you quite understand that this is an absolute order. But at the same time, when you have escaped you may be of immense service, you are to remember that. Of course, if I am kept a prisoner at Spytfontein you would find it alto[Pg 142]gether impossible to get near me; but if I am sent to Pretoria, you might follow at some distance, and possibly aid me to make my escape. So you see it would be to my interest, as well as your own, that you should get clear away."
............