hours.  A string of wounded passed by on stretchers, some lying quite still, others sitting up and looking about them; one, also an officer, a dark, black-moustached captain, whose eyes were covered with a bandage, kept his bearers busy with continual impatient questions.  ’Yes, but what I want to know is this, did they get into them with the bayonet?’ The volunteer stretcher-bearers could make no satisfactory reply, but said, ’Yes, they give ’em ‘ell, sir.’  ’Where, on the left of Railway Hill?’ ‘Oh, everywhere, sir.’  The group passed by, and the last thing I heard was, ’How much of the artillery has crossed?  Are they sending the cavalry over?  What the ...’

Presently came stretchers with wounded Boers.  Most of these poor creatures were fearfully shattered.  One tall man with a great fierce beard and fine features had a fragment of rock or iron driven through his liver.  He was, moreover, stained bright yellow with lyddite, but did not seem in much pain, for he looked very calm and stolid.  The less seriously injured among the soldiers hobbled back alone or assisted by their comrades.

I asked a smart-looking sergeant of the Dublin Fusiliers, who was limping along with a broken foot, whether the regiment had been again heavily engaged.  Of course they had.

’Sure, we’re always in the thick of it, sorr.  Mr. ——­ was hit; no, not badly; only his wrist, but there’s not many of the officers left; only two now who were at Talana.’

At last the time came for the cavalry to cross the bridge, and as we filed on to the floating roadway we were amused to see a large fingerpost at the entrance, on which the engineers had neatly painted, ‘To Ladysmith.’  The brigade passed over the neck between Railway and Inniskilling Hills, and we massed in a suitable place on the descending slopes beyond.  We looked at the country before us, and saw that it was good.  Here at last was ground cavalry could work on at some speed.  Ladysmith was still hidden by the remaining ridges, but we thought that somehow, and with a little luck, we might have a look at it before night.

Under Bulwana the waggons of the Boers and several hundred horsemen could be seen hurrying away.  It was clearly our business to try to intercept them unless they had made good covering dispositions.  Patrols were sent out in all directions, and a squadron of Thorneycroft’s Mounted Infantry proceeded to Pieters Station, where a complete train of about twenty trucks had been abandoned by the enemy.  While this reconnaissance was going on I climbed up Inniskilling Hill to examine the trenches.  It was occupied by the East Surrey Regiment, and the soldiers were very eager to do the honours.  They had several things to show:  ’Come along here, sir; there’s a bloke here without a head; took clean off, sir;’ and were mightily disappointed that I would not let them remove the blanket which covered the grisly shape.