"We have seen that the Boers
are no good in the open, but I have no doubt they will hold their
entrenchments stubbornly, and it is certain that a great many of them
are good shots. I have gone over the ground at Laing's Nek, and that was
nothing at all in comparison to this position. Do you know how many
there are supposed to be of them, Cairns?"
"They say that there are about twenty-five thousand of them, but no one
knows exactly. Natives get through pretty often from Ladysmith, but they
know no more there than we do here. They are all jolly and cheerful
there, in the thought that they will soon be relieved."
"I hope that they are not counting their chickens before they are
hatched," Chris said. "I doubt very greatly whether we shall carry those
hills in front of us, and if we do the ranges behind are no doubt
fortified. How about crossing the river?"
"There are several drifts. There is one about four miles to the left of
the bridge, called Bridle Drift. Waggon Drift is about as much farther
on. There is a drift just this side of where the Little Tugela runs into
it, and one just farther on; there is Skeete Drift and Molen Drift, with
a pontoon ferry; there is an important one called Potgieter's Drift,
where the road from Springfield to Ladysmith crosses; and another,
Trichardt's, where a road goes to Acton Homes.
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