Before narrating the events which concluded the month of August, it is necessary to return to General Buller and follow his sweeping operations on the Natal frontier, which operations allowed him to penetrate further into the Transvaal and eventually to scour the country from the Natal railway line to that of the Delagoa Bay railway. By glancing at the map it is possible to draw a straight line from Volksrust and Amersfoort _viâ_ Ermelo to Wonderfontein near Belfast, and having drawn it to understand the object of the movements which occupied the end of July and the beginning of August. Before that straight line (which represents Sir Redvers Buller's march to join hands with Lord Roberts's force) could be followed, it was imperative to secure the whole railway line from Volksrust to Johannesburg, and that being guarded behind him it was possible for the General to march straight across country, brushing back, as he went, the Boers who gradually were being heaped like a wave to north-east of him, and further on, astride the Delagoa Bay line. First, then, to watch the securing of the Natal and Johannesburg line. General Clery occupied Greylingstad (midway between Standerton and Heidelberg) on the 2nd of July, and though there was some sniping and several men were wounded, very little serious opposition was offered. Meanwhile General Talbot Coke with the 10th Brigade was reconnoitring the ground towards Amersfoort, situated between Volksrust and Ermelo, where the enemy in some force made himself known, killing two and wounding six men. After having retaliated with his guns the General retired. On the 3rd General Hart, who, as we know, had joined General Hunter after General Ian Hamilton's accident, received the surrender of many respectable Boers in Heidelberg, and the Soldiers' Home was opened, the inhabitants assisting in the initial outlay to the tune of £40. On the 4th Generals Clery and Hart joined hands at Vlakfontein, thus securing the line. Progress was slow and sure. Trains were now able to run from Natal to Greylingstad, though beyond that place there were still damaged culverts and ruined rails. But these were immediately taken in hand and the line to Heidelberg restored, thereby rendering the railway communication between Natal, Johannesburg, and Pretoria complete. [Illustration: BOERS TAKING THE OATH OF NEUTRALITY AT GREYLINGSTAD Drawing by H. M. Paget, from a Sketch by Lieut. E. B. Knox, R.A.M.C.]