On the 3rd of November Koffyfontein, which had been besieged since the 24th of October, was relieved by Sir Charles Parsons and some of General Settle's Mounted troops. The dogged way in which a garrison of but fifty miners under a volunteer officer, Captain Robertson of the Kimberley Light Horse, withstood the persistence of the foe, excited the admiration of friends and enemies. The miners in the débris heaps contrived so cleverly to render their position impregnable that all the efforts of the enemy were frustrated. Captain Robertson escaped with his life by a miracle. He, with four natives, made a midnight raid on a Boer hot-bed--a farmhouse a mile and a half from the village. He was met by a man with a Mauser, who fortunately missed him, but in so doing extinguished the light. A hand-to-hand encounter followed, and in complete darkness some thrilling moments were passed--the officer firing ineffectual shots, the Boer being assisted by another of his tribe, who succeeded in disarming Captain Robertson and wounding him, almost stunning him with the butt of a rifle. This gallant officer, with some of his wits still about him, regained his pistol, and transferring it from one hand to the other, shot his assailant dead! While all this was going forward, Steyn and De Wet became more actively aggressive, and consequently Colonel Le Gallais's force was sent from Honing Spruit, while De Lisle, with the Colonial Division, marched from Koppies, the first station north of Rhenoster, for the purpose of executing a wide turning movement, and if possible cutting off the retreat of De Wet across the Vaal. Le Gallais, after some disappointments and heavy marching, got at last on the track of the fugitive in the region of Bothaville. Early on the 6th the chase was continued with considerable animation, the 5th Mounted Infantry leading, followed by the 8th Corps under Colonel Ross. Three guns of U Battery, under escort of the 5th, 17th, and 18th Companies of Imperial Yeomanry, moved with the force, while one gun of U Battery, with the 7th Mounted Infantry under Major Welsh, remained to protect the baggage in crossing the drifts. Major Lean, with some sixty of the 5th Mounted Infantry in advance, came to a rise, whence suddenly they viewed the enemy's laager. Quickly they surprised the Boers with some volleys, and caused a stampede. Hot-foot flew De Wet and Steyn to their Cape cart, mounted it, and were off. The rest flung themselves into their stirrups. It was a case of _sauve qui peut_, for everything, guns, waggons, and ammunition, were left behind. But soon the Dutchmen found a harbour--a strong position in the neighbourhood of a farmhouse, and from the adjacent dams, a stone-walled enclosure, and even a pigsty, they began to return the fire of the British party. By this time Colonels Le Gallais and Ross had galloped to the fray, and dismounting, took up a position in a farmhouse, whence they could survey the proceedings.