This forced the English to halt on the farm of Victoriespruit.
The rain continued to fall in torrents and hindered General Prinsloo carrying out my orders.
And now the sun went down.
As our horses were quite exhausted by the hot pursuit after the English, and the burghers wet through to the skin, I decided to postpone the attack to the following day.

I was also influenced in my decision by the consideration that as the English were so far from any point from which reinforcements could come, it was quite safe to let them alone until the morning.

Nobody could have foreseen that they would escape that night.
We slept about five miles from them to the north-east, whilst General Prinsloo and his men were not very far away to the south-east.
That night we placed the ordinary outposts, but no "brandwachten." When on the next morning I sent my scouts out to discover the movements of the enemy, what was my surprise when they reported that they had fled.

They had gone, my scouts informed me, towards Heilbron, which was about eighteen miles off, and they had left behind them five laden waggons and one cart; and where they had crossed Karoospruit they had, very naturally, lightened their waggons, and flour, seed, oats, tarpaulins, and tents marked the point where they had crossed the spruit.

The enemy were already so far ahead when I received this report that it was quite out of the question to catch them before they reached Heilbron; so all idea of pursuing them had to be abandoned.
So far as I was able to find out, this column was under the command of Colonel Rimington.
As I was unable now to get in touch with the enemy, I set off with my commando to what was once the town of Lindley.