evening of the third day of the siege it arrived at Lindley.

"That night the gun was placed in position, and at dawn the hill
was shelled. I stood watching the shells, as one after the other
exploded on the hill. Not a living object was visible, none
stirred, and so still (I shall not say at ease) did the English lie
in the skanzes that I remarked to Prinsloo: 'General, it seems the
enemy has abandoned the hill during the night, else we must already
have seen some signs of them.'

[Illustration: THE LINDLEY AFFAIR.]

"After we had bombarded the hill for some time, a number of
burghers charged it. Breathlessly we stood watching these gallant
chargers. Arrived at the foot of the hill, they dismounted, and
began climbing it. For some time all went well, when lo! a fire was
directed against them from the summit. Being quite coverless on the
slopes of the hill, they were forced to retreat. As they retreated
the enemy rose to their feet and fired as briskly as they could at
them. When we saw the English on top of the hill we mistook them
for Boers, and began to clap hands and cheer, thinking that the
hill had been taken by our men. We were soon disillusioned.

"As the burghers retreated, something strange and inexplicable
occurred, which really decided the fate of the enemy. It was this:
the burghers had hardly gone 300 yards, when the British abandoned
_en masse_ the hill, and retreated, almost as fast as the former,
in the opposite direction. Whether they feared another and more
determined onslaught, or whether there was the usual
misunderstanding, I wot not. Be it as it may, the position we so