All that could be learned, however, was that the Boers who had crossed the Orange River were either making south through the mountainous district near Stormberg and Steynsburg, or were moving towards Aliwal North. They were being largely joined by Dutch sympathizers, and the farms of the British settlers were being everywhere looted.
[Pg 96]
After a fortnight of this work, Yorke was recalled to De Aar. The troops from England had been pouring through. The first skirmish had taken place. The mounted infantry of the Royal Munster Fusiliers, the Northumberland Fusiliers, and the North Lancashire, with the 9th Lancers, seven hundred in all, had gone some twenty miles along the railway to the Orange River Station, and come in contact with a strong Boer commando. There was a skirmish, two officers were killed, and two others and two privates wounded.
Already guns, waggons, the soldiers' belts, and even their guns had been painted khaki to match the uniforms. The officers, too, were in khaki, but the emblems of their rank, and above all, their swords, had marked them out, and the Boer sharp-shooters directed their attention specially to them.
"You are to go up at once to Orange River station," the colonel said. "I spoke about you and your little corps of Kaffir scouts to Lord Methuen as he passed through here yesterday. He has already a body of two hundred mounted colonials for scouting work; but on my pointing out to him that your Kaffirs could pass anywhere, and obtain information from their countrymen in the heart of the enemy's country without exciting suspicion, he said the idea was an excellent one, and ordered me to send you on at once. You will report yourself to him personally on your arrival at Orange River. You must go by road; the railway is entirely occupied by the troops going up."
Delighted at the order, Yorke, after an hour's halt to rest the ponies and draw rations, started, and rode as far as Hout Kraal siding. There he halted for the night, and the third day rode into Orange River Station at twelve o'clock. He had no difficulty in finding Lord Methuen's quarters. The general, a handsome soldierly man, was standing at the door speaking to an officer, and when the conversation ended, Yorke moved up and saluted.
"My name is Harberton, sir. On arriving at De Aar yes[Pg 97]terday, Colonel Pinkerton ordered me to come on here and report myself to you."
"Ah, you are the officer in command of a party of Kaffir scouts. He spoke highly of you, and said that you had crossed the Orange River in disguise and obtained valuable information from a Boer commando you mixed with. It certainly seemed to me that you and your men might do valuable service. Our scouts can only tell us what they see, whereas your Kaffirs can go anywhere and obtain information from the natives, while your speaking Dutch will enable you to pass as a Boer. You yourself know something of Kaffir also?"
"Yes, sir."
"They have horses?"
"Yes, sir; but they only use them till they get to a point where they really begin to scout. Then they knee-halter them and start on foot, and are absent perhaps many hours before they return. The ponies enable them to cover a much larger extent of ground than they could were they to start in the first place on foot."
The general nodded. "We shall not start for another three or four days, Mr. Harberton, but I shall be glad if you will be off to-morrow morning on a reconnaissance. The other day the Boers were not met with on this side of Belmont; I wish to ascertain whether the country is still completely clear of them to that point, and if possible, what force they have at Belmont. You will report yourself now to the quartermaster-general, who will assign you a tent and a spot where your Kaffirs can picket their ponies. They had better not take them with them to-morrow, as they would be much more conspicuous to the Boer scouts than if the men went on foot. You may as well, by the way, take four horses on to the point where you yourself decide to stop. Your men will, of course, return to you every evening, and you will send one off each day with your report of what you have learned. A week's rations will be issued to you. Oh, here is Major Rimington!
[Pg 98]
"Major," he said, as the officer came up, "this is Mr. Harberton, who commands a small body of Kaffir scouts, who will be more useful in obtaining information than your men can be, as they can pass anywhere and pick up news from the local Kaffirs. He will be generally away, but as he is quite alone, I shall be glad if you will allow him to be attached to your corps while he is with us. He has already made one dangerous expedition in disguise. He is, I hear, an old Rugby boy, but has been out here long enough to speak Dutch fairly and to talk a little Kaffir."
"With pleasure, sir. We will make him at home and look after him. If you will wait a few minutes, sir, while I speak to the general, I will take you off with me."
Saluting Lord Methuen, Yorke walked away a short distance greatly pleased with his reception. He was soon joined by Major Rimington.
"Now, have you anywhere to go before you come to our camp?" the latter asked.
"I have to go to the quartermaster-general's to get him to assign a spot where the ponies of my men can be picketed, and to obtain an order for them and myself for a week's rations, as we start out to-morrow, and also to get a tent."
"It will be of no use your getting that till you come back; we are not very closely packed. Anyhow, you can have a shake-down for the night. When we once move forward there will be no coming back here, and it would be absurd to have all the trouble of getting a tent and putting it up, and taking it down and handing it over the next morning. Have you a servant?"
"Yes, sir. I have a Dutch lad, a very good fellow, who acts as my servant and sergeant."
"Then he had better draw his rations and yours, and look after you. I shall be glad if you will share my tent for to-night."
The arrangements were soon made, and the quartermaster-general also gave an order on the officer looking after the[Pg 99] native labourers, to tell off two Kaffirs to take care of the horses of the party until they returned. Then Yorke went with Major Rimington to the camp of his regiment, and was introduced to his officers. Two or three of these were already acquainted with Yorke, having lived at the same hotel at Cape Town.
"You are just in time for lunch," the major said. "I do not expect we shall get any more regular meals for some time."
They sat down in the open air at a rough table constructed of planks placed on empty barrels, and boxes, the latter being also used for seats. The meal was a pleasant one; everyone was in high spirits at the thought that the period of inaction was nearly over, and that in a few days they would be advancing to the relief of Kimberley. There was no stint of food, as, in addition to the ordinary rations, they had brought up with them two or three cases of preserved meats and wine, and as these could be taken on no farther there was no motive for being saving with them. The officers were a fine set of young men. All were colonials of good family, and the men were all strong and hardy young fellows. They were to act not only as scouts, but as guides to the army, and there was scarcely a square mile in the colony but was known to one or other of them. Unlike the regulars, the officers had already done away with everything that would distinguish them at a distance from privates, their belts were khaki colour, and they carried carbines instead of swords, in addition to their revolvers.
After the meal was over, the party broke up, the officers going to look after the men and horses. The major said: "Come into my tent, Harberton, and tell me how you come to speak Dutch so well, and how you got up this corps of yours."
The major lit his pipe and seated himself on a box, which—with the exception of a bed on the ground, two other boxes which served as a writing-table, and another kept for a visitor—constituted the sole furniture of the tent. Yorke[Pg 100] took the spare box, and gave a sketch of his history and doings to the major.
"You have done well indeed," the latter said when he had finished. "It was a thousand times better to come out here and fight your way, than to be hanging about waiting for something to turn up at home, and you have certainly made the best of your time. Many men would be years in the colony before learning to speak Dutch thoroughly. Your expedition to Fauresmith shows that you have plenty of intelligence as well as pluck, though, looking at you now, I can hardly fancy you would be able to disguise yourself to pass as a Boer."
"I shall start in that character to-morrow morning, Major, so you will have an opportunity of judging for yourself. I have no idea of stopping idle all day while the Kaffirs are at work."
"Don't be too rash, you know," the major said. "Remember that a man may do a thing half a dozen times in safety, but at the seventh some accident may occur that will betray him."
That afternoon Yorke saw a party of troopers ride in with six Boers; they had been captured in a skirmish. Two of these were men of a better class, with well-made clothes, silk neck-ties, and polished boots; the others were rough fellows, probably, he thought, men employed on some of the farms belonging to the others. He noticed that these had all cut their hair, so that it stood up rough and bristly.
"That is good," he said to himself. "I shall be able to do without that wig that the colonel handed to me when I returned to De Aar. I don't say that it might not come in useful if I had to change my disguise quickly, but it would always be dangerous. Hat and wig might both blow off in one of the thunder-storms, or get knocked off in a scuffle. Still, I am afraid I shall look too English without it. Of course there are boys of my age among them. We know[Pg 101] that all over sixteen have to go on commando. However, I will first go into the major's tent and slip into my Boer clothes, and put on my wig and blacken my eyebrows, and see if he recognizes me, then I will ask his opinion how I could alter myself a bit if I gave up the wig."
He returned to the camp of Rimington's Tigers, as they were generally called—from the fact that they wore a strip of raccoon skin as a band round their slouch hats. When he had put on his disguise, he waited till he heard Major Rimington ride up and call to his orderly to take his horse, then he stepped out.
"Hullo! Who the deuce are you?" the major exclaimed, "and how dare you enter my tent when I am away? What are you doing in the camp, sir? Show me your permit."
"I did not know anything about a permit," Yorke said in Dutch, disguising his voice as much as possible.
"How was it the sentry let you enter the camp?" the major said angrily.
"Hi, there!" he called to two of his men a little distance away. "Hi, hand this man over to the guard, and tell the sentry to keep a sharp eye upon him. I expect he is a spy, and by his going into my tent possibly a thief."
"You needn't do that, major," Yorke said as he answered him in English with a laugh. "You see I have been able to pass as a Boer, and even you, seeing me come out of your tent, did not recognize me."
The major broke into a laugh, telling the soldiers who were running up that it was all right, and they need not trouble themselves. Then, as he alighted, he took another good look at Yorke. "No, I certainly should not have known you. It is a wonderfully good get-up. That long hair changes your appearance completely, and those loose slovenly clothes quite alter your figure. You will be able to pass anywhere like that. Come in; let me see what you have done to your face. Even that seems changed somehow."
[Pg 102]
"It is only that I have darkened my eyebrows, sir."
"Where did you get that wig from?" he went on as Yorke, on entering, took off his hat.
"I sent down from De Aar, and had it specially made."
"It is a capital one, and that sort of rough curl on the forehead completely hides the edge of the parting."
Yorke spent a pleasant evening with the officers of the Tigers, and started soon after daybreak next morning, wearing his uniform, the bundle containing his other clothes being carried on one of the four horses ridden by the Kaffirs.
They attracted no notice whatever in passing through the camp, but at the bridge Yorke had to show the pass he had received from the quartermaster-general on the previous day, ordering that he should at all times be allowed to leave or enter the camp, and enjoining all officers of patrols and detached parties to render him any assistance in their power. Once across the bridge he rode on at a trot, the unmounted natives keeping up without difficulty. He did not follow the line of the railway, but struck off to the right, as any Boers who might be on look-out on the top of the kopjes would be watching the line, which was frequently patrolled for some miles from the camp, in order to prevent it from being torn up or injured. The country on this side of the river was greener and less arid-looking than on the plain south of it.
Riding east for three or four miles across undulating and broken ground, Yorke felt that he had probably got beyond the hills where watchers were likely to be stationed. He and Hans now dismounted, took off their uniforms, and dressed themselves in Boer attire. The Kaffirs were told to scatter, and made their way as much as possible over rocky ground, keeping the mounted party in sight. Half a dozen of them went ahead, ascending every elevation whence they could get a view of the country round and discover any Boers on watch. They were now travelling parallel with the railway, and continued that course until, as Yorke judged, they must be nearly abreast of Belmont. A spot was chosen in a[Pg 103] narrow valley between the two kopjes. It was thickly strewn with great boulders and rocks of all sizes. Here the Kaffirs at once set to work to build up a rough wall where a huge overhanging mass of rock formed a natural roof. The six horses were given a good feed, and were then allowed to wander about and nibble the grass and the leaves of the bushes growing thickly between the rocks.
major
YORKE SURPRISES THE MAJOR.
Yorke and Hans took possession of the rough shelter, and rations were served out. With the tinned meat and a handful or two of mealies the Kaffirs were well content, and as the clouds were banking up for a thunder-storm, soon found shelter for themselves among the boulders. The storm came up rapidly; the thunder was incessant for half an hour, then the sky cleared up and the stars shone out. Yorke had procured a stock of bread for himself and Hans, extra water-bottles had been brought, and as Major Rimington had insisted upon his taking two bottles of wine before starting, they made a comfortable meal.
"I thought you did not drink anything but tea and coffee, Master Yorke," Hans said, when the latter poured a little wine into the water in a tin mug.
"I do not as a general thing, Hans, but I cannot get tea or coffee at present, and the water of the Orange River is scarcely a fluid that it is desirable to drink alone. Spirits I never touch, but a spoonful or two of wine takes away the muddy flavour and helps one to get down this bread and tinned meat. Using it like this, the wine will last for a week, and I expect before that time we shall join the troops at Belmont. Hans, you must mind you have your story perfect. We are Dutch from Cape Colony. We crossed the river at Colesberg Bridge, and decided to come north to join Cronje outside Kimberley. Of course we must be very careful as to where we say we live. It is pretty certain that a good many of the Dutch from round Richmond will have come to aid the Free Staters. I know by sight those who used to come to the farm; no doubt you know more. They won't[Pg 104] recognize us in our changed dress, but they would know the names of all the farmers for many miles round, and it would never do to say that we came from that part of the country.
"We had better say that we came from near Pearston. It is a good-sized place in the East Somerset district, about half-way between the two lines going up from the coast to Middelburg. It is very unlikely that any of the Dutch from that neighbourhood would come up here; they will be waiting for the Boers to come down across the Orange River through Steynsburg and Molteno, before they take up arms, so that there will be very little fear of our falling in with any who would question us very closely as to the farm we came from or of the people we knew. But I do not propose to go in among the enemy at Belmont. It is almost certain that, although they may fight there, and perhaps at some of the kopjes farther on, it is at the crossing of the Modder river that the big fight will be.
"Every time we went into their camp the risk would increase. Some of the men who saw us at one place and heard our story would be sure to recognize us at the next. Of course if we remained with them all the time, shared in the fighting and retreat, it would be all right; but I have not the least idea of being shot by our own men or cut down in the pursuit, for there would be no time to explain to a Lancer coming right at you that you were an Englishman holding an authorization from Lord Methuen. So I shall content myself this time with telling off four of the Kaffirs. They are to make their way separately to Belmont, to get into conversation with Kaffir drivers, teamsters, and so on, and to endeavour to find out about how many Boers are assembled there, what guns they have with them, whether there is any talk of their being joined by a larger force, and whether they know of any place farther on where they intend fighting.
"If they are questioned at Belmont they can tell any story they like. They can say that they were working for English settlers, and that as these have left, they are out of employ[Pg 105]ment and want a job. They must arrange among themselves where to meet at night, then, after comparing notes as to what they have learned, one of them must steal away and make his way back here. The other three, if they have been hired to look after ponies, had better remain there, and retire with the Boers if they retreat. The next day I will send off another to act exactly in the same way, so that every night I shall get a messenger back. The men not engaged in this work will scout all the country round, visiting farms and asking for work, and finding out whether any more men are coming from the east through Fauresmith, and if there are any bands about who are likely to be making down to cut the line this side of Belmont. You and I will scout along this line of hills, there may be some parties lurking among them with the intention of damaging the line."
The next morning at daybreak Yorke informed the Kaffirs of the work they were to do, and chose four of them as the first to carry out his plan, and explained fully to them the manner in which they should proceed and the story they were to tell.
"You had better draw lots at once," he said, "which of you is to bring me the news that you have gathered. Don't all tell the same story. Two of you can go in together and can pretend you have come from a deserted farm, the other two had better say they have come from one of the little native collections of huts by the river. Where there are Boers there are sure to be waggons, and it is probable that some of the native drivers will have deserted, and the Boers will be glad to take on fresh hands. It is not at all probable that any of you will be exposed to fire, the waggons are sure to be sent off as soon as the troops are seen to be advancing."
In a few minutes the whole party had scattered with the exception of three men left to look after the horses. Yorke and Hans spent the day in hard work, climbing up to the summit of the highest kopje, whence they commanded a view over the lower hills near the line of railway. The closest[Pg 106] examination through a field-glass failed to show that there was any force stationed on them, though on several, single figures could be made out, evidently posted there as scouts. At dusk, all save the four who had gone into Belmont had returned. They brought no news of importance. The Kaffirs they had fallen in with, when questioned, had heard nothing of any further commandos coming in from the east. They stated that it was believed that great numbers had assembled behind the Modder, and that they were digging trenches and throwing up breast-works on their side of the river, and the general talk was that they would annihilate the English army when it arrived there.
The Boers were disappointed that Kimberley had not already been captured. Everywhere the feeling of the Kaffirs was in favour of the British, but all believed that these had no chance whatever against the Boers. Yorke had brought candles and writing materials with him, and at once sat down and wrote his report of the news.
Three hours later one of the men returned from Belmont. His report was that many of the Boers had been there for upwards of a month, that the kopjes had all been fortified by walls of rough stones round the summits, and that these had been continuously occupied by the lower class of Boer labourers and cattlemen. The Kaffirs are not good at figures, but by careful cross-examination, Yorke gained the information that there were more men there than would make two of the regiments they had seen at Orange River. They said that more would move up from behind when the British advance began, and that the leaders and the richer Boers would then arrive in their Cape carts or on horseback. The Boers felt confident that the British would never be able to storm their kopjes.
These kopjes were isolated hills, apparently composed of rough boulders, the rock from which they were formed rising sharply above them. About Belmont they were seldom more than five hundred feet high, but in many cases they rose fully[Pg 107] three times that height, and it was up two of these lofty crests that Yorke and Hans that day laboriously climbed.
As soon as Yorke had written down the information he had gathered, he dispatched one of the men with the horses to ride back with it to Orange River. Yorke instructed the man that when challenged he was to reply, "A friend with despatches;" then he was to stand still till the sentry called to a sergeant, who would send forward two men to conduct him to the proper authorities, who would pass him on to head-quarters.
Three days were passed at the same work, then one of the messengers brought back an order for Yorke to join the troops on the following evening at Fincham's Farm, half-way to Belmont. The troops would halt there for the night, and advance to the attack on the following morning. It was from Fincham's Farm that Yorke had obtained water for the men and horses. Five of the Kaffirs had been down there every day, in charge of Hans, with the horses, to give the animals a good drink and fill the men's water-bottles, there being no water to be had nearer. Yorke was glad to receive the order, for after the first day the news from Belmont had varied but little. Some fresh parties of Boers had arrived, but not in any great number; and although it was believed that a stand could be successfully made at Belmont, it was intended that the great, and, as expected, final blow was to be struck at Magersfontein.
The party started early, and reconnoitred all the hills on the way down. Late in the afternoon a cloud of dust was seen out on the plain. No moving figures could be made out. It might have been a sand-storm, such as sprang up nearly every afternoon, but Yorke had no doubt that it was the army, with its waggons and baggage. When he rode into Fincham's Farm he found Rimington's Guides and the Lancers already there, and half an hour later the head of the column marched in. Their figures could scarcely be made out until they were within a few hundred yards of the place, so completely did[Pg 108] the universal khaki disappear in the cloud of dust they raised on the arid plain over which they were marching. Yorke and Hans had resumed their uniforms, and the former received a hearty greeting from Rimington and his officers.
"How have you got on, Harberton?" the major asked cheerily.
"It's been hard work, and by no means exciting, sir. I am afraid that such news as I have sent in has been of no great use to the general."
"Yes, I think it has been useful. I saw the quartermaster-general yesterday, and he said that your scouts were doing very well, better than he anticipated. Thank goodness, work is going to begin at last! And so you think there will be no stand made by the Boers until we get to Belmont?"
"I am convinced of that. The Kaffirs have searched every kopje up to that point. Beyond a vedette or two on some of the hills, they have no force whatever along the line of railway this side of Belmont; but they have a strong body there—from two thousand to two thousand five hundred. As far as I can make out they have a few guns also. I got near enough to make out with my glasses that they were at work on three hills from four to five miles east of the station. Their guns are on the two hills farthest east."
"And what is the ground like behind! Will it give us any chance of acting on their line of retreat?"
"The ground is very rough and broken behind the centre, and there is a big range of hills—not kopjes—still farther behind. To their right is some flat ground where the cavalry could act, but they would have to pass through a line of smaller kopjes forming a continuation of the three principal ones. There were no men on these when I was watching them yesterday; but if they should retreat across the plain, a small body of them placed there could check the advance, if not stop it altogether."
"Then, if I understand you, Harberton," the major said, examining the leaf of the pocket-book on which Yorke had[Pg 109] roughly dotted down the positions, "we could move along the line of railway without the Boers being able to trouble us from the position they occupy?"
"Certainly, major; but of course they would be able to come down behind us directly we pass, and attack the baggage-train. Being all mounted men, they could move very fast."
"Yes, I see that they might give us a lot of trouble, and I should think Lord Methuen would clear them out before we go farther."
Yorke reported himself to the quartermaster-general, and he was told to wait, as the general might wish to question him further; indeed, five minutes later he was sent for. The general had only dismounted a few minutes before, and was now in a room in the farmhouse. He had before him the rough sketch of the Boer position that Yorke had sent in on the previous evening.
"The information you have gathered is valuable, Mr. Harberton, and, rough as the sketch is, it has given us a better idea of the Boer position than we had previously been able to gather from the maps. Do I understand you to say that if the Boers were prevented from making off across this level ground to the right rear of the position, they would be thrown back across this line of high hills which is marked in my map as Mont Blanc?"
"Yes, sir. I went up to the highest point of those hills, and so far as I could see they would have to go by a road that runs round the foot of the mountain to the south-east. That road might be cut by a cavalry force making its way round to the south of the three kopjes from Witputs Station."
"And what is the length of front along these three kopjes at present held by them?"
"I should say from five to six miles, sir. It is about as far from the right-hand kopje to Belmont Station; the left or southern kopje is a good deal farther from the line of railway."
[Pg 110]
"They have erected breast-works on the hill?"
"Yes, sir; rough barricades of rocks and boulders. Their horses are gathered on the low ground behind the kopjes."
"You do not think they will fall back at our approach?"
"I should not think they would, sir. My Kaffirs say that they all think it absolutely impossible for the troops to scale the hills in the teeth of their rifle fire."
"Thank you, sir. You are attached for the present to Rimington's Guides, are you not? You had better continue with them until your Kaffirs can get to work again. You still have some among the Boers, have you not?"
"Yes, six have obtained employment with them. My instructions were that they were to retire with them, and that every night one or other should make off and bring in news of what they were doing. I said they were to come in the first place to Major Rimington, as I should probably be there."
The general nodded. "Thank you, Mr. Harberton! your arrangements have been very good."
The next morning the column advanced to a farm on the road on the western side of the railway two miles from Belmont. The movements for an attack on the following day were at once begun. The Ninth Brigade—consisting of the Northampton Regiment, the 1st Northumberland Fusiliers, the 2nd Yorkshire Light Infantry, four companies of the Loyal North Lancashire, and two companies of the 1st Royal Munsters—passed the station, and took up their position to the north of it. The three regiments of Guards halted at a house known as the White House, some four miles short of the station. The Naval Brigade had just come up after a tremendous march. A portion of the cavalry went on to the town of Belmont—it was nearly three miles beyond the station—while a portion remained at Witputs Station.
Unfortunately in this arm the force was extremely weak, the cavalry consisting only of some two hundred and fifty 9th Lancers and Rimington's Guides. It had with it the 18th and 75th Batteries of Field Artillery, and numbered, in[Pg 111] all, ten thousand infantry and artillery, and five hundred sailors.
Orders were issued for the troops to be under arms and ready to move at three in the morning. From a gun visible on the crest of the third kopje this was called Gun Hill, the northern was christened Table Hill, and the southern was locally known as Kaffir Kop. The Guards were to march against Gun Hill. The Naval Brigade were to cover the right of the Guards from any attack by the Boer force from Kaffir Kop. The Northumberlands and Northamptons were to attack Table Hill, while the other regiments of the brigade were to form a connecting link between them and the Guards. It was clear from these instructions that, as Kaffir Kop was not to be attacked, Lord Methuen's plan was to throw back the Boer right, and force it in its retreat to move by the road south of Mont Blanc, and so sever it altogether from the Boer forces farther north. That complete success did not attend the operation was due to the difficulty of moving in the dark across an unknown country.