Part 18 (1/2)

”Ah, it's a big list!” answered the staff-officer with a sigh ”Ten officers killed and 22 wounded; 30bill to pay for our success, but I suppose no bigger than one ht have expected I dare say there will be one or two more to add to it when the search parties have co ti like bricks They can fight, can those fellows, and our engagement to-day will teach both sides a lesson We shall respect the cover; while they will have learnt that Rooineks are lads filled with any arand to see the way in which the 60th and the Irishlory, and to- their praises”

”Yes, they are fine fellows,” agreed Jack ”I thought it hardly possible that men could advance in the teeth of such a storm of bullets

But tell me what losses the Boers suffered, and what our movements are likely to be after this”

”The Boers lost heavily They must have done so,” answered the officer; ”but exactly how many were killed and wounded it is impossible to state

They make it a rule to carry as many as they can aith them, and the list will never be published Even in Pretoria they will never know As to our future movements, I believe we shall retire on Ladysmith very shortly In fact I expect it will be as et there at all Even now our coht our way through When we reach the base camp I hear we shall make a stand and entrench ourselves If you are anxious to be cooped up there for a feeeks you had better join soet away as quickly as you can Well, good-night, Soht O'Farnel out”

”Good-night!” answered Jack, and then walked across to the tent, and having tethered his pony and brought hire repast and lay down to sleep Early nexton

As he reached the tent the surgeon in charge of the hospital e him, shook him cordially by the hand

”My dear fellow,” he said enthusiastically, ”O'Farnel has told us all about your gallant action Let ratulate you It was splendid, and you have shown our eneainst a crowd of the to see you He's at the end Take care not to lean upon the stretcher or you eon for his congratulations,any praise for what he had done Then he lifted the flap of the tent and entered

”Hallo, Jack!” Farney sang out cheerfully from the farther end; ”come here, my preserver, and let me thank you”

”Oh, never mind that, Farney!” Jack replied shortly ”Tell me how you feel”

”But I do mind, old chap!” persisted O'Farnel earnestly ”Jack, you are a real plucky fellow, and if you did not exactly savea Boer prisoner It was fine the way you kept all those felloay from our fort, and it was noble of you to stick byabout it Shake hands, old boy; but you'll not forget that Farney is deeply in your debt, and will not be happy till he has repaid you

”Now, I hear our fellows are about to retire ThatWhat will you do? Go with them, I suppose?”

”Yes; I think I shall slip away now,” replied Jack ”They tell me all the troops are likely to be shut up in Ladyso to Kiet on well, I hope, and soon be about again”

The two bade one another farewell, and, issuing from the tent, Jack returned to his own quarters and saddled up his ponies Late that evening he arrived once more at Ladysmith, and took up his quarters at the hotel Here he learnt that another big battle had been fought during that afternoon at Elandslaagte, and that a large nuh he was, he at once rode back along the road to Dundee, and arrived at the scene of the day's battle after covering some fifteen ht and on into the followingin the poor felloho had been wounded Boers and British were picked up just as they were found, and treated with equal kindness And all the while, as the searchers toiled ast the boulders on the hill, thunder roared above the lit up the scene, while a bitterly cold rain fell in torrents, soaking everyone to the skin, and increasing the troubles of the wounded

The battle of Elandslaagte proved to have been alht Co as a mere reconnaissance under General French, it had developed into a pitched battle As usual the Boers were hidden auns at the summit; and up the slopes of this, with shell fro overhead, and a hail of bullets pouring down at thehlanders, assisted by the I the position, and bayoneting those of the Boers who had not fled Many of the eneh by the lances of our troopers and by the sabres of the 5th Dragoon Guards, for our men were not likely to spare anyone when just before they had seen many of their own comrades shot down on the side of the kopje by a party of Boers bearing the white flag

And all the tie red blotch against the dark hillside, whiletheir way up to the su the, and sheets of water were al the combatants from one another

And now, as Jack helped to find the killed and wounded, the thunder of the guns and the rattle of the rifles had ceased for good, and only fierce gusts of ice-cold wind and rain whistled across the ground and moaned and shriekedday the list of killed and wounded was complete, and on our side included 4 officers killed and 31 wounded; a total which, with direct evidence from prisoners, went far to prove that the Boers purposely picked off our gallant leaders Of rank and file we lost 37 killed and 175 wounded; while on the eneh st these that of their co officer Many prisoners were taken, and one of them proved to be Colonel Schiel, an ex-German officer who had trained the Transvaal artillerists in the use of cannon

Two days after the battle of Elandslaagte, Jack was back at Ladysed to secure places in a railway truck for theed a passage in a stea in less than a week for Port Elizabeth, and, having stabled his ponies, took the train back to 'Maritzburg, where he called upon the Hunters, and took up his quarters with them for the short time which intervened before the shi+p was to sail

Later on, full particulars from northern Natal reached him, and he learned with a thrill of pride that despite the nu to cut off the troops at Glencoe, the latter had retired, under the leadershi+p of General Yule, to Ladyserous and exceedingly tryingthe gallant General Symons, who subsequently succumbed to his injury, had been left behind under the red-cross flag and in charge of our own ar all due respect, and had indeed been most kind and humane to all our poor fellows

To aid the retireht an engagement at Reitfontein Once the forces had joined hands they fell back on Ladyse upon their ca hordes of Boers An unfortunate accident during this retireallant stand, of some thousand of our brave fellows They lost their way in the dark, and the uns Still, they occupied Nicholson's Nek and fought to the bitter end, when, their a failed, they were compelled to surrender On our side many were killed and wounded, and on the enemy's, the losses were reported to have been exceptionally severe But the Boers pressed on, and at length, after a few days of skir, closely invested Ladysela

Then for days and days little was heard of the besieged garrison, save that they were continually bouns, fired some five miles away, and to which the naval twelve-pounders and 47-inch guns replied, the latter having arrived with a naval brigade 500 strong just in the nick of ti which they lost heavily

They were repulsed, and fro weeks, they kept up a desultory bombardment, but never returned to the assault And inside the ca the allant sortie, in which they destroyed uns And thus ill leave the their ohile we return to Jack Somerton

CHAPTER NINE