About one and a half miles to our right was the little farm settlement behind a ridge, and from the great column of black smoke that was rising in the air we concluded that the English must be there, engaged in a fight against the women and children and burning their homes. We turned to our right and went down the arroya and when at a distance of 400 yards, Major Pretorius, who was in front, leaped from his horse. Preller and I followed suit. About 500 yards to his left Major Pretorius discovered fifteen mounted English on a small ridge facing him. Near the arroya was a small clump of bush and in it we concealed our five horses as best we could. The Major and Preller crawled up a hill about sixty yards away to try and find out where the camp was, while I was to stay with the horses and keep an eye on the smoke. In a few moments I discovered between us and the smoking farm settlement, at a distance of about 800 yards, some 400 cavalrymen, all dismounted. The major had also discovered them and traveled back to tell me. We now realized that we were in a bad box, and that it looked as if there was no hope to escape, for should we try to go back towards Pretoria we would be discovered and driven into that town and captured. In a few minutes the 400 cavalry mounted their horses and came up the arroya towards us, crossed it about 300 yards below us, passed about the same distance to our left and finally dismounted in the road just where a few minutes before we had picked up the bag. They were now about 400 yards from us and in plain view. Suddenly they mounted their horses, formed a semi-circle around us, in line of skirmishers, and began to fire, but in an opposite direction to us. Another 100 cavalry came up the arroya from the burning houses, driving some sheep, and passed behind us no more than seventy-five yards away. We heard distinctly all they said about burning and plundering the farmhouses. The firing became general all about us. Then we knew that some Boers had attacked the English, yet there was no possible chance for us to escape as far as we could see.