What could we do now?
It was impossible to proceed along the footpath because that road was closed by the enemy.

North and west of us there were other bodies of troops, as I have already said; and there, directly in front of us, were the chains of the Magaliesbergen.

Thus we found ourselves between four fires.
In addition to this, I was much troubled by the thought that our horses were now exhausted by all this endless marching.

I knew this was also the case with the English horses, but for all I knew, they might have obtained fresh ones from Pretoria.

They could at all events have picked the best horses from each camp, and thus send an overpowering force against me.