By the beginning of October Baden-Powell had made his corner--soon to be warmer than perhaps ever he had dreamt of!--all ready against whatever was to be. Everything was in readiness. In a letter written from Mafeking on October 9th the writer says that there was then nothing in the appearance of town or people to indicate the nature of what was coming--men and women were pursuing their ordinary avocations as though the shadow of war was far away instead of being so near. The town was ready and waiting, and meanwhile its usual life went on until the need came for action. Baden-Powell and his garrison had not long to wait, however. On October 11th hostilities began between Great Britain and the South African Republic, and the armoured train of Mafeking figured conspicuously in the first engagement. On that date it left Mafeking with the last load of women and children, and made its journey southward in safety; but on its return journey it fell into the hands of the Boers, and ere long English readers were informed of its capture. This was the first of the reverses which came in quick succession during the autumn of 1899. The armoured train of Mafeking consisted of an ordinary four-coupled locomotive, protected in every part by 7-16 in. steel plates, and two bogie trucks, fenced to a height of five feet by stout rails, bolted longitudinally together. Communication with the driver was had by a system of bells and speaking tubes from the trucks, each of which was furnished with a machine gun and had accommodation for fifty men. On the night of October 11th Captain Nesbitt and fifteen men were in charge of the train, and were bringing back in it a further supply of guns and ammunition for the garrison. All went well until a point some forty miles south of Mafeking was reached. There, about midnight, the armoured train ran off the lines, which had been purposely displaced by the Boers. The latter, ambushed close by, immediately poured in volley after volley upon Nesbitt and his little company. The fight went on until morning broke, and it was not until he had fought for several hours that Nesbitt surrendered. The Boers had by that time brought up heavy cannon, and the situation was hopeless. Only the engine-driver escaped by crawling along a dry ditch at the side of the track--the rest fell into the hands of the Boers.