"Colonel White then pushed his skirmishers forward into and beyond the watercourse. "The left support, under Inspector Dykes, then advanced to prolong the first line to the left; but, diverging too much to his left, this officer experienced a very hot flanking fire from the farmhouse and plantation, and was driven back with some loss. "Colonel Grey meanwhile had pushed round on the extreme right and come into action. "About this time Major Villiers' patrol returned and reported that the country to our right was open, and that we could easily move round in that direction. "It was now evident that the Boers were in great force, and intended holding their position. "Without the arrival of the Johannesburg force in rear of the Boers--an event which I had been momentarily expecting--I did not feel justified in pushing a general attack, which would have certainly entailed heavy losses on my small force. "I accordingly left Inspector Drury with one troop and one Maxim to keep in check the Boers who were now lining the edge of the plateau to our left, and placed Colonel Grey with two troops B.B.P., one 12-1/2-pounder, and one Maxim, to cover our left flank and continue firing on the battery and trenches south of the road. "I then made a general flank movement to the right with the remaining troops. "Colonel Grey succeeded in shelling the Boers out of their advanced position during the next half-hour, and blew up the Battery House. "Under this cover the column moved off as far as the first houses of the Randfontein group of mines, the Boers making no attempt to intercept the movement. "Night was now fast approaching, and still there were no signs of the promised help from Johannesburg. I determined, therefore, to push on with all speed in the direction of that town, trusting in the darkness to slip through any intervening opposition. "Two guides were obtained, the column followed in the prescribed night order of march, and we started off along a road leading direct to Johannesburg. "At this moment heavy rifle and Maxim fire was suddenly heard from the direction of Krugersdorp, which lay one and a half miles to the left rear. "We at once concluded that this could only be the arrival of the long-awaited reinforcements, for we knew that Johannesburg had Maxims, and that the Staats-Artillerie were not expected to arrive until the following morning. To leave our supposed friends in the lurch was out of the question. I determined at once to move to their support. "Leaving the carts escorted by one troop on the road, I advanced rapidly across the plateau towards Krugersdorp in the direction of the firing, in the formation shown in the accompanying sketch. "After advancing thus for nearly a mile the firing ceased, and we perceived the Boers moving in great force to meet the column. The flankers on the right reported another force threatening that flank.