Soon the council of war assembled and the secret leaked out. Acting President Schalk Burger and General Botha had written a state letter to President Steyn praying for a general surrender. That is the gist of the whole long letter. The council of war smashed that proposal into smithereens, and deprived all generals and acting presidents of the power to discuss peace terms with the English without the consent and presence of President Steyn, General De Wet and General de la Rey. I feel to this day that Acting President Schalk Burger was directly responsible for that state letter to President Steyn, yet I cannot understand General Botha giving his sanction to it by allowing his name to be coupled with that of Schalk Burger. Secretary Reitz in his official position had to sign it, but he was the most disgusted man I ever saw. Like President Steyn, General De Wet and General de la Rey, Secretary Reitz was as staunch a patriot as ever breathed, and one that would never say die, no matter what the conditions might be. He was game during the war, and as game as ever when the war came to an end. [Illustration: GENERAL SMUTZ State Attorney General of the Transvaal.] Here were the two Governments with no more than 200 men, in the very midst of thousands of English, holding a confab on the open prairie within six miles of a large English camp, and not one present in the least concerned, except Schalk Burger, who, I think, was pretty nervous. The English are wonderful soldiers, for they knew that the two Governments were near them and they never made the slightest effort to take them in. All business having been finished and matters corrected and put right, President Steyn, General De Wet and General de la Rey started back to run the gauntlet and join their respective commands. Major Pretorius and I, on learning that General Smuts and Commandant Ben Bouwers were going with a good commando into Cape Colony, tried for permission to go with them, but were not allowed, much to our disappointment. I will now return to my story of the April events in all parts. I have made quite a long side trip which may not prove to be of interest to the reader, but I assure him that had he been with us at the end of April he would have been equally interested with ourselves. As it was at the very end of April that the fifteen English columns suddenly invaded the high veldt, I will leave them till the first of May and go into the Free State. But little was done of any account, a little skirmishing here and a little there and not much more, for the English were making preparations for cornering and taking in the slippery De Wet once more.