The night we left, the English took Brandfort, so we decided to go only as far as Winburg.

The next morning the train despatcher informed us Winburg was taken, so we decided to go to Smalldeel, but that went during the afternoon, so we stopped at Kronstad.

From there, after a day's rest, we went to Ventersberg station, and rode across to Ventersberg town, about two hours away, and put up in Jones's Hotel.

The next day we went down to the Boer laagers on the Sand river and met President Steyn on the way.
He got out of his Cape Cart and gave Cecil a rose and Loosberg his field glasses, which Cecil took from Loosberg in exchange for her own Zeiss glass, and he gave me a drink and an interview.

He also gave us a letter to St.Reid, who had established an ambulance base on Cronje's farm, telling him to give Cecil something to sleep upon.