[Sidenote: DEC. 10, 1899.] _The Enemy Found at Last._] Hour after hour that column had marched in the darkness; the full distance to the enemy's position had been covered, yet the guides found they were nowhere near Stormberg. The night slipped away; day began to break, and it became plain that surprise was not to be hoped for. The order was given to "fix bayonets," and about 4·15 a.m. of the 10th the troops, after seven hours continuous marching, weary and utterly exhausted, reached the foot of Rooi Kop, the mountain overlooking Stormberg Junction, on which the enemy were intrenched. The guides had mistaken the way and had led the force eighteen miles instead of nine miles, coming in upon the enemy's right rear instead of his right front. Though two of the Berkshire Regiment with the force had drawn attention to the mistake when the proper turning was passed, they were not listened to, such was the blind trust reposed in the guides. The latter were questioned, and persisted that they were in the right; they were, they said, taking a somewhat longer line to avoid a rough patch of road. [Sidenote: The column surprised.] If at this moment the uselessness of persisting in the enterprise with worn-out men had been realised, and a prompt retreat ordered, no mischief would have resulted. But, far from retreating, the force pushed on in the dim light carelessly, in close order, as though there had been no enemy within miles. "No cheering, men, but get in silently with the bayonet," was General Gatacre's only order. In the breaking daylight, an admirable target, the column defiled past a line of kopjes. Suddenly from these burst forth the flash of rifles, and a staggering fire was poured in upon the mass of men beneath. [Illustration: A BOER VEDETTE.] The fire was so fierce that it stopped the column's progress. The British, and not the enemy, had been surprised. And the British soldier after twenty-four hours of weary journeying by train, waiting under arms, and marching, was in no condition to grapple with a fresh enemy, ensconced in positions of great natural strength. Yet, recovering from their first astonishment and consternation at the murderous fire, the British regimental officers and privates of the Northumberland Fusiliers and Irish Rifles dashed at the kopjes. [Illustration: MAP OF THE BATTLE OF STORMBERG.] [Illustration: THE BATTLE OF STORMBERG: CHARGE OF THE NORTHUMBERLAND FUSILIERS.] [Sidenote: The fight.] [Sidenote: DEC. 10, 1899.] _The Charge Checked._]