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If there is a fellow in laager who is not amenable to orders, one of those malcontents who desires to have everything his own way and there generally is one of these cherubs in every large gathering of men all the world over the commandant first calls him up and warns him that he is making himself a pest to the whole commando, and exhorts him to mend his manners.
Our horses were worn out, and could not follow the commando. Most of the men had a spare horse that was still in good condition, and although my brother and I had only one horse apiece, we often had to do the hardest work. My aunt and uncle did their best to make our stay a pleasant one, and our horses were well fed.
A few also had deserted for the time being, unable to resist the temptation of visiting their families in the neighbourhood. Some old burghers approached us and hailed us with the usual "Morning, boys! Which commando do you belong to?" "Viljoen's." "We would like to see your Commandant," they answered.
"But during these same wars we also develop another type. He is the born commando, the secret agent, the expendable man who lives on action. There are not many of this kind, and they are potent weapons. In peacetime that particular collection of emotions, nerve, and skills becomes a menace to the very society he has fought to preserve during a war.
Gently they took me from my horse, placed me in a blanket, and carried me along to a safe spot. It was now eventide, the shadows were deepening, and darkness was hiding us from the vision of the foe. At first I was determined to accompany the commando some distance from the line to a place where I could safely remain till recovered.
Early in the morning of the 6th of August, as the breaking dawn was tinting the tops of the Lebombo Mountains with its purple dye and the first rays of the rising sun shed its golden rays over the sombre bushveldt, the commando under Commandants Moll and Schoeman were slowly approaching the dreaded M'pisana's fort.
He went to Bezuidenhoutsdrift, and I, by way of Frankfort, to the Heilbron commando. I remained at Frankfort for one night, with Commandant Ross and his men, and had a very enjoyable time. With the Heilbron people I stayed a few days only, because I had important work to accomplish in the Winburg district; to this district therefore I went.
When the Executive Council met, I received a message that only 1,814 rifles and three Maxim guns had been surrendered, which the Government of the South African Republic did not consider a fulfilment of the ultimatum, and orders would be immediately issued to a commando to attack Johannesburg.
They reported that the English on the high veldt were very active and numerous. About the middle of July I left General Muller to take a rest with the commando, and accompanied by half a score of adjutants and despatch riders, proceeded to Pilgrimsrust in the Lydenburg district to visit the commandos there, and allay as much as I could the dissatisfaction caused by my reorganisation.
It was a good thing that the Commandant made us travel so fast, for we had only just outspanned at Pienaars River the following morning when the khakies' bomb-Maxim began firing at the outposts of General Grobler's Waterberg commando, which was stationed there.
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