The Engineers and our men were not long repairing the rails, and in about half an hour we were on the move once more towards Ventersburg Road, in full sight of which was the next, and luckily the last, break; in this one the line had been blown up in two places, necessitating two new rails being laid, but for fully 200 yards or more the fish plate bolts had been broken off as before; for 120 yards the rails had been disconnected and torn asunder, apparently with the intention of dragging them away over the veldt, and for no less than a mile and a half all the telegraph posts had been torn down (evidently by teams of bullocks) and smashed, and the wires dragged away: every insulator was broken in pieces. As all this 120 yards of line had to be relaid, the work took us longer than at the last break; but in about an hour and a half it was done, and away we steamed back again to clear off the line and let the trains pass, which were by now jammed at Kroonstad and Ventersburg Road on both sides of us. At about three o'clock we reached Geneva. After all, very little real damage had been done, and a very short cessation of traffic caused, as by two o'clock that afternoon trains were running again; and even in the case of a serious break to the line, such as the destruction of an important bridge, there was always an alternative line, that through Natal, by which supplies could be procured. FOOTNOTE: [12] Private C. Shutton, H company. CHAPTER XIX. TO BOTHAVILLE. Geneva--Kroonstad--New boots and sore feet--Bothaville--A strange souvenir--The town destroyed--Kroonstad again--Home remittances. At Geneva we received orders to detrain one company there, and to send one to Boschrand, one to Holfontein, and one to Ventersburg Road; there were plenty of trains running both ways by this time, so the companies were quickly got off, H to Boschrand, A to Holfontein, and G to Ventersburg Road, while F company remained at Geneva. In the orders it was stated that our baggage and rations would be sent down, but we did not expect to see them that day, and were not disappointed when they did not arrive until the next morning.