left behind, and to gather their pickings from the deserted houses of
Dundee, and so let slip their opportunity, and no pursuit whatever was
attempted. For four days the column continued its march, resting for a
few hours each day and usually marching all night. The road was terribly
bad, leading through narrow mountain passes, and had but a small force
of the enemy held the Waschbrank gorge, where the sides were for three
miles nearly perpendicular, a terrible calamity might have taken place.
Happily, however, the Boers were in absolute ignorance of the road which
the British troops were following, and concluded that they must have
somewhere crossed the railway and were making their way down by the
roads to its west. That they had gone through Helpmakaar does not appear
to have occurred to them, for after marching some thirty miles to that
town the column was as far off Ladysmith as when it started.

The anxiety at the latter town was intense. The line being still uncut,
the arrival of the column at Helpmakaar was known, but beyond that no
communication could be received. On Tuesday the 24th Colonel Dartnel
arrived in Ladysmith with the news that the column was now twenty miles
away, all well, and he at once returned to them with supplies and a
small relief force. On Wednesday many of the men came in, and on
Thursday the remainder arrived and were heartily greeted. On the 24th--
in order to divert the attention of Joubert and the Free State Boers,
both of whom were converging upon General Yule's column, still making
its way through the passes--a force composed of three regiments of
cavalry, four of Colonial Mounted Infantry, three batteries, and four
infantry regiments went out. The enemy were found near Reitfontein. No
actual engagement took place, but for some hours an artillery and rifle
duel was maintained and the Boers fell back. The number of casualties
was not large, and these were principally among the Gloucester regiment,
who, on entering a valley supposed to be untenanted, were received by a