Of course, mere fast marching would not always
extricate him, but he shows such marvellous coolness and common sense in
the way in which he doubles. Several times he has been reported
surrounded; but each time when we came to look he had disappeared. It is
like a conjuring trick. He seems to have an intuitive knowledge of the
plans of our generals, and to divine how any movements of his will
modify theirs. He makes a swift march. This he knows will set in motion
a certain column. Night comes and back he steals, and dashes out through
the gap left without any one being the wiser. He never loses his
sangfroid, but acts always, in the most hopeless positions, with equal
craft and rapidity. In short, like the prophet Isaiah, he is "_capable
de tout_." For he can hit hard, too. I think since the arrival of the
main army he is the only man who has scored off us at all freely.
Sanna's Post and Reddersberg came first; then, last May, came the
capture of the 500 Yeomanry at Lindley; that was followed immediately by
the surprise of the Heilbron convoy and all its escort; then came the
capture of the Derbyshire Militia, and a few days later the taking of
Roodeval with a train of mails and various details. Even when he had
bolted out the other day between our legs, and was flying north with two
or three cavalry brigades after him, he found time to snap up a hundred
Welsh Fusiliers and break the line as he passed.
Pages:
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195