in which they would be safe from Boer shells. Chris had told his
companions what the general had said. They all looked disappointed.

"We shall have plenty of opportunities afterwards, and it is a
compliment that he considers we had better reserve ourselves for
scouting, which, after all, is the work we always intended to carry out.
Still, though, after what he has said, we cannot absolutely join the
cavalry, we will manage somehow to see some of the fighting without
getting into the thick of it. Besides, I should say that in any case the
whole brunt of the affair must fall upon the infantry and artillery. If
they silence the Boer guns and capture the hill, the battle is won, and
the cavalry will have to wait for their chance till they can get the
Boers to fight on ground where they can act."

Drizzling rain had now set in, but this and the fact that they had
started without breakfast in no way abated the spirits of the troops who
soon came along, marching with light step and eager faces which showed
that they were delighted at the prospect of action. The batteries to the
right had already come into play, and a vigorous cannonade was being
directed at the crest of the hill, from which the Boer guns kept up a
slower though steady fire in return.

"While nothing else is doing we may just as well ride over and see how
things are getting on there," Chris said. And as soon as the two Irish
regiments had passed, the little troop trotted across to the rising
ground and dismounted a few hundred yards from the guns. They soon saw
with satisfaction that the fire of the Boers was far from effective,
their aim was not good, and a very small proportion of the shells burst;
while on the other hand the shrapnel from the British batteries burst
with splendid accuracy over the crest of the hill. For two hours the