The first line reached the ridge at about the centre; the second line turned to the left and charged up the spur, which was occupied by about fifty Boers. These did not wait for the attack, and, as the leading men reached the top, they saw the last Boer disappearing into the thick bush 500 yards down the other side. The British followed, but were soon recalled, as pursuit would have been useless. The first line made their position good on the centre of the ridge; the pom-pom was brought into action against the right half of it, and the Boers evacuated the whole position, leaving one prisoner behind them. They could be seen streaming away in batches northwards and westwards, and they were followed with long range rifle fire, which, however, only made them move a little quicker. During the next few days the other columns came into line, but the Boers were not heard of again. The movement was continued northwards, and Major Gilbert with the Sussex column, Driscoll's, and 100 I. Y., marched on Hoopstadt by a circuitous route to the west. Two nights were spent in trekking, the column lying up in farms in the daytime. At the end of the second night, Bornemansfontein was reached, a well-wooded farm with stone-walled paddocks, in which the men were disposed. Soon after dawn, some mounted men were seen bearing down upon the camp at a gallop. As they came nearer cries of "Hands up!" were heard, and it became evident that they were executing a gallant though quite hopeless charge. The stone walls were lined, and a few shots fired, killing one of the advancing horses. By this time it had been realised that the men were South African Constabulary. The troops were well hidden, and they had mistaken the encampment for a small Boer family laager. Major Davis of Driscoll's very pluckily rode between the lines, blowing his whistle. Firing ceased, and explanations followed. The farm was inhabited, and the wife of the owner said that her husband was on commando, but that she had not seen him or the commando for two months. Her little boy, however, was more communicative, and said he had been there two nights before with five horses. Hoopstadt was reached on the 11th of March. It was a small town, the inhabitants of which had been removed. The church was used as a hospital, and most of the houses were occupied by troops, for the place was one of the S. A. C. Headquarters. The only water supply was from the Vet River, which ran a rich thick brown. It was said that, if a spoon was placed upright in the middle of a cup of tea, it would stand there. In the past five weeks some of the horses of the column had done 500 miles, practically trekking every day. The great combined movements in the north-east of the Orange River Colony had at this time finally broken the power of De Wet, and he crossed the railway line south of the Vaal on March 5th, with President Steyn and about 200 men.