Hitherto
they had been too busy for conversation, but now they were able to give
words to the satisfaction they all felt at their success.
"It has been splendid!" Sankey said enthusiastically. "We have defeated
a force twice as strong as ourselves, have killed or badly wounded
eighteen of them, and you may be sure that of those that got away
several must have been hit. Not one of us has a scratch."
"Splendid!" another exclaimed. "It could not have been better managed. I
think we ought to give three cheers for Chris." Three rousing cheers
were given. "After this, Chris," Carmichael said, "I don't think you
need talk any more about resigning the command. General Symons himself
could not have done better."
"I think, at any rate, we have begun to wipe off old scores," Chris
said. "We have paid for a few of the insults the ladies had to submit to
as we came along, and I am heartily glad that we were in time to do it.
We have baulked them of the haul they expected to make, and saved
something like a thousand head of cattle for the colony, to say nothing
of preventing these people from being absolutely ruined. It is only a
pity that we had not our horses with us. If we had, not many of the
Boers would have recrossed the river.
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