CHAPTER XIII.
ELOFF'S DETERMINED ATTACK ON MAFEKING, AND THE RELIEF OF THE TOWN--THE MAFEKING FUND "War, war is still the cry--war even to the knife!"-- BYRON.
"The Boers are in the stadt!" Such was the ominous message that was quickly passed round from mouth to mouth on Saturday morning, May 12, 1900, as day was breaking.

One had to be well acquainted with the labyrinth of rocks, trees, huts, and cover generally, of the locality aforementioned, all within a stone's-throw of our dwelling, to realize the dread import of these words.
All the previous week things had been much as usual: inferior food, and very little of it; divine weather; "bridge" in the afternoons; and one day exactly like another.

Since the departure of the big gun during the previous month, we had left our bomb-proofs and lived above-ground.

In the early hours of the morning alluded to came the real event we had been expecting ever since the beginning of the siege--namely, a Boer attack under cover of darkness.

The moon had just set, and it was pitch-dark.