White must have been now uneasy for his position, and it had become apparent that his only course was to fall back and concentrate upon the town.  His left flank was up in the air, and the sound of distant firing, wafted over five miles of broken country, was the only message which arrived from them.  His right had been pushed back, and, most dangerous of all, his centre had ceased to exist, for only the 2nd Rifle Brigade remained there.  What would happen if the enemy burst rudely through and pushed straight for the town?  It was the more possible, as the Boer artillery had now proved itself to be far heavier than ours.  That terrible 96-pounder, serenely safe and out of range, was plumping its great projectiles into the masses of retiring troops.  The men had had little sleep and little food, and this unanswerable fire was an ordeal for a force which is retreating.  A retirement may very rapidly become a rout under such circumstances.  It was with some misgivings that the officers saw their men quicken their pace and glance back over their shoulders at the whine and screech of the shell.  They were still some miles from home, and the plain was open.  What could be done to give them some relief?

And at that very moment there came the opportune and unexpected answer.  That plume of engine smoke which the watcher had observed in the morning had drawn nearer and nearer, as the heavy train came puffing and creaking up the steep inclines.  Then, almost before it had drawn up at the Ladysmith siding, there had sprung from it a crowd of merry bearded fellows, with ready hands and strange sea cries, pulling and hauling, with rope and purchase to get out the long slim guns which they had lashed on the trucks.  Singular carriages were there, specially invented by Captain Percy Scott, and labouring and straining, they worked furiously to get the 12-pounder quick-firers into action.  Then at last it was done, and the long tubes swept upwards to the angle at which they might hope to reach that monster on the hill at the horizon.  Two of them craned their long inquisitive necks up and exchanged repartees with the big Creusot.  And so it was that the weary and dispirited British troops heard a crash which was louder and sharper than that of their field guns, and saw far away upon the distant hill a great spurt of smoke and flame to show where the shell had struck.  Another and another and another—­and then they were troubled no more.  Captain Hedworth Lambton and his men had saved the situation.  The masterful gun had met its own master and sank into silence, while the somewhat bedraggled field force came trailing back into Ladysmith, leaving three hundred of their number behind them.  It was a high price to pay, but other misfortunes were in store for us which made the retirement of the morning seem insignificant.