78 Pages - The Black Vault

scooped out a little, or a shelf cut to stand upon.In one of these deeper ravines two tents, which,being below ground level, were quite invisible, werepitched for the women and children, and small cavescut for them in case of a bombardment. The positionextended for a length of some 150 meters on eachside of the drift along both banks of the river, and atits extremities, where an attack was most to befeared, pits were dug down the riverbanks and acrossthe dry riverbed, These also were concealed as wellas possible. The flanks or ends were, of course, ourgreatest danger, for it was from here we might expectto be rushed, and not from the open veld. I wasundecided for some time as to whether to clear a“field of fire” along the river-banks or not, as I hadno wish to give away our presence by any suspiciousnudity of the banks at each end of our position. Ifinally decided, in order to prevent this, to clear thescrub for as great a range as possible from the endsof the position, everywhere below the ground level,and also on the level ground, except for a good fringejust on the edges of the banks. This fringe I thoughtwould be sufficient to hide the clearance to any onenot very close. I now blessed the man who had leftus some cutting tools. Whilst all this was being carriedout, I paced out some ranges to the north andsouth, and these we marked by a few empty tinsplaced on ant-heaps, etc.At dusk, when we had nearly all the pits finishedand some of the clearance done, tents and gearwere hidden, ammunition and rations distributed toall, and orders in case of an attack given out. As Icould not be everywhere, I had to rely on the outlyinggroups of men fully understanding my aims66