Little dreaming that the enemy was concealed on the opposite bank of the river, behind the ruins of an old homestead, and was watching us as we gradually approached the river, we entered the stream and waded through it.  Arrived on the opposite side we sent one of the men back to call the commando, for the river was rising rapidly.  The other two burghers were sent to reconnoitre ahead, while Wessels and myself remained on the bank of the river.

Scarcely had the two men left us, when we were startled by rifle reports close by.  We jumped up, ran to our horses, and saw that we were hardly 100 yards away from the enemy.  All we could do was to recross the river, and that had to take place in a shower of bullets.  Let one imagine himself in a swollen river, so deep that his horse has to swim now and then, and the foe on the bank directing an incessant fire on him, and he will realise to some extent our position.  We reached the bank safely, but had to do another 800 yards to get out of harm’s way.

The two men we had sent ahead—­what became of them?  Alas! they rode into the jaws of death, for when they discovered the enemy they were hardly 15 yards from them.  “Hands up!” resounded from behind the wall.  The men, rather than surrender and sacrifice their commando, made an ill-fated attempt at escape.  In the twinkling of an eye they were shot down.  The one—­a young Trichard from Cradock—­was dead on the spot; three bullets penetrated his body.  The other—­young Wessels from Winburg—­was wounded in the leg and captured.

These two brave young men were the means of saving Wessels and myself either from being captured or shot.  And not only that, but their gallant action, in which the one forfeited his life, and the other a limb, proved the salvation of the whole commando.  If they had surrendered Wessels and I would probably have gone in the same direction, and the commando would have followed, and so all of us would have been in a terrible predicament.  But they had risked their lives to save us from certain destruction.

Failing to ford the river at that drift, we proceeded down-stream with the hope of crossing it somewhere else.  To our disappointment the river had risen to such a degree that the only transit still left could be a bridge.  Now there was but one far down the stream, and it was very doubtful whether that was not held by the enemy.  Anyway, we were going to try, and so marching almost all the whole night we arrived at the bridge a little after sunrise.  How glad we were to find the bridge still unoccupied!  We had just reached it in time, for half an hour after we had gone over the British took possession of it.  They had now completed their cordon; but we—­were out of the circle.

On the 22nd of the same month we were once again in tight corners—­surrounded by three columns.

As we found no rest either for ourselves or our animals in the south-eastern districts of the Orange Free State, we resolved to go to the Winburg and Ladybrand districts.