Colonel Benson in his operations, however, had better luck. Moving from Dullstroom on the 9th of July, with Colonel Park on his right, he soon managed to discover the whereabouts of Viljoen's commando. Promptly the Dutchman was routed from his position at Middelkraal by the 2nd Scottish Horse, a glorious set of "irregulars," many of them hailing from Australia, who were first and foremost in every "ticklish" exploit. Indeed there was no end of their pluck; and on this occasion a mere handful of them, under their smart leaders Major Murray and Captain Lindley, contrived to keep at bay the hostile herd till the arrival of supports. Having dispersed the guerillas, Colonel Benson dealt in an equally effective manner with Muller's men on the west, a party of raiders who were now driven north from the neighbourhood of Witpoort. Reports presently said that Viljoen was still lingering somewhere in the west, consequently the 18th Mounted Infantry pushed off in pursuit, and succeeded in catching and capturing the tail of his convoy and some fifteen waggons. While the Colonel moved his main body--on the 11th--in the direction of Paardekloop, the 2nd Scottish Horse circled around towards the Tautesberg, unearthing and capturing prisoners and horses by the way and discovering vehicles hidden in the kloofs, which Viljoen had evidently deposited there for a "rainy day." This notable leader was discovered on the 15th of July at Laatstedrift, on the right bank of the Olifant River, whither Colonel Benson had moved after the arrival of a convoy brought by General Spens from the railway to Brinkwater. An inspiriting feature of this discovery was the wonderful tenacity of Lieutenant Kelly of the Scottish Horse, who, though wounded in the stomach at the onset, had no sooner located the enemy than he crawled under heavy fire to inform the officer commanding! A smart engagement followed--an engagement creditable to both sides--and after some close fighting both the enemy's flanks were turned, and they were sent scuttling across the river into the thick bush country on the west. In the course of these varied operations 20 Boers were captured and 17 killed or wounded; 110 horses, 64 waggons, and a large quantity of ammunition were secured. More prisoners had also been seized by General Spens in the course of his move with the convoy to Brinkwater and back to Middelburg, where he arrived on the 20th. Soon after this date he proceeded to take command of another column.