Rorke, having now been sent on with a small escort to explore the caves, was not long in reporting that all the women and children had been collected, and a bivouac having been formed, with outlying pickets in every direction, and sentries posted, that night was passed without molestation. At nine a.m. the following morning a compact column was formed, consisting of the rescued allies or prisoners, the few cattle collected in the centre, and the whole party started for the homeward march. It could scarcely have been hoped that the retreat would have been unmolested, yet only at the Inklepgwene, a difficult defile, were they fired upon by a body of Zulus, evidently hastily collected, and numbering some thousand men. The detachment reached the camp, with the rescued families, at one p.m. on the 16th. Wood had for some time purposed taking the initiative against Umbelini, and from information obtained from Oham's people came to the conclusion that Umbelini's place on the Mhlobana Mountain, which was not more than five and twenty miles from Kambula, was capable of being successfully surprised. He had heard from headquarters that Lord Chelmsford would probably start for Pearson's relief on the 28th, so he determined to take that opportunity of making a diversion towards Mhlobana. On Wednesday, 26th March, Colonel Buller and Piet Uys were summoned to Colonel Wood's tent, and told that information had come in to the effect that a large quantity of fine cattle had been seen on the Zlobani range of mountains, some ten or twelve miles from Kambula. This Zlobani range could be seen from the camp, and in most places was steep and precipitous, well wooded, and full of large caves, places of concealment, and natural fastnesses.