of horsemen behind them.  A few were killed, and a considerable number taken, 270 being the respectable total of the prisoners.  Three or four slipped through, however, for every one who stuck in the meshes.  De Wet himself was reported to have made his escape by driving cattle against the wire fences which enclosed him.  It seems, however, to have been nothing more romantic than a wire-cutter which cleared his path, though cattle no doubt made their way through the gap which he left.  With a loss of only three of his immediate followers be Wet won his way out of the most dangerous position which even his adventurous career had ever known.  Lord Kitchener had descended to Wolvehoek to be present at the climax of the operations, but it was not fated that he was to receive the submission of the most energetic of his opponents, and he returned to Pretoria to weave a fresh mesh around him.

This was not hard to do, as the Boer General had simply escaped from one pen into another, though a larger one.  After a short rest to restore the columns, the whole pack were full cry upon his heels once more.  An acute angle is formed by the Wilge River on one side and the line of blockhouses between Harrismith and Van Reenen upon the other.  This was strongly manned by troops and five columns; those of Rawlinson, Nixon, Byng, Rimington, and Keir herded the broken commandos into the trap.  From February 20th the troops swept in an enormous skirmish line across the country, ascending hills, exploring kloofs, searching river banks, and always keeping the enemy in front of them.  At last, when the pressure was severely felt, there came the usual breakback, which took the form of a most determined night attack upon the British line.  This was delivered shortly after midnight on February 23rd.  It struck the British cordon at the point of juncture between Byng’s column and that of Rimington.  So huge were the distances which had to be covered, and so attenuated was the force which covered them, that the historical thin red line was a massive formation compared to its khaki equivalent.  The chain was frail and the links were not all carefully joined, but each particular link was good metal, and the Boer impact came upon one of the best.  This was the 7th New Zealand Contingent, who proved themselves to be worthy comrades to their six gallant predecessors.  Their patrols were broken by the rush of wild, yelling, firing horsemen, but the troopers made a most gallant resistance.  Having pierced the line the Boers, who were led in their fiery rush by Manie Botha, turned to their flank, and, charging down the line of weak patrols, overwhelmed one after another and threatened to roll up the whole line.  They had cleared a gap of half a mile, and it seemed as if the whole Boer force would certainly escape through so long a gap in the defences.  The desperate defence of the New Zealanders gave time, however, for the further patrols, which consisted of Cox’s New South Wales Mounted Infantry, to