rode, as was my habit, with my staff, in front of the commandos. As we
approached the summit of the mountain I saw a group of horses fastened
together, and some men lying in front of them. The horses and men were
not twenty paces to the left of the path, among the bushes. I thought at
first that they were some of my burghers who had ridden on in advance,
and were now lying there asleep; I myself had rested for a while at the
foot of the mountains, to give the burghers, who were on foot, a chance
of coming up with me. The thought angered me, for it would have been
against all orders that any burghers, without special permission, should
go in advance. I proceeded to wake them up.

"What do you mean by riding ahead like this?" I called out to them.
Nearly all with one accord sprang up and asked, "Who are you?" "Hands
up!" I called out; as one man their hands went up. They explained that
they were seven of the twenty scouts before mentioned,--but here the
remainder opened fire upon us from about two hundred paces to the front.
I called out to the burghers, "Charge!"

The burghers did so, but as they came to the little hill where we had
seen the sparks from the guns they found nobody. The English had fled,
and, as the moon had just gone down, it was too dark to pursue them.
Taking with us the seven prisoners, we continued on our way until the
following morning. We allowed them to retain their clothes. It was
still before the "uitschuddings"[90] period.

The day broke, and after having been turned back on the banks of the
Brak River, we marched to the fifteenth ford. "If we could only get
across here," we said. We knew that once across we should have a respite
from the enemy, and could with thankful hearts take breath even if it
were only for three or four days.