At three o'clock, on a cold morning, towards the close of the month, a small party of us, bound for Fort Beaufort, mounted our horses in the square of our little Fort, and riding out of the gates, which were carefully secured after us, proceeded down the glen along the rocky little streamlet, that rushed and foamed past the Post. The mountain peaks stood out sharp against the dark blue sky; the stars shone brightly, and the clear air was so keen that we were glad to put our horses into a trot to keep up the circulation. The party consisted only of D. A. Commissary-General Bartlett, and myself, with three after-riders; as our safety consisted more in secrecy than numbers, our first object was to get down before daylight. After a sharp ride of ten miles across the table land, as we reached the crest of the hill the first streaks of day were faintly visible, warning us that we had no time to lose if we wished to clear the Pass. Up to this point we had cantered carelessly along, laughing and talking, but now it was necessary to be cautious. Having tightened our saddle-girths and unslung our rifles at the head of the shadowy road, which with its overhanging trees looked like the entrance of a dark cave, we proceeded in silence down the steep path cut through the bush. We had gone but a few hundred yards, our eyes hardly yet accustomed to the gloom, when a dark figure crossed the road a little in front, and disappeared in the bush. To have fired would only have been to betray ourselves; so we held on our course, keeping a sharp look out. When half way down we came suddenly on a Kaffir fire in the bush on our left, not more than five or six yards from the path; round it lay several black fellows, rolled in their red blankets and karosses, sleeping soundly, after watching probably the greater part of the night. Almost at the same moment the glimmer of a second fire showed through the underwood on the opposite side of the road a little beyond; holding up my hand to caution the escort, we moved stealthily along, looking carefully to our horses' feet and almost holding our breath. As we passed the second fire, round which also lay the sleeping forms of our deadly enemies, a large dog rushed out, but luckily without barking; had he done so all was up with us, being only five to a score, and the hill too steep and rocky for a gallop. Fortunately he contented himself with sniffing at the horses' heels, and the ground being damp and soft we passed noiselessly by, and soon turning a sharp angle in the road were out of sight. By seven A.M. we arrived in Colonel Napier's camp in the Blinkwater.