But, even in the darkness, Weldon could see the dim
outline of the Captain's figure, moving steadily forward along his
self-appointed way.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Lord Kitchener, one night in early February, was sitting on the apex
of a vast triangle in the northern end of the Orange River Colony.
Two sides of the triangle were made up of long lines of blockhouses,
strung on a chain of barbed-wire fencing. The blockhouses were of
loop-holed stone or iron with iron roofs, and they were separated
from each other by only a few hundred yards. The barbed-wire chain
which strung together these zigzag lines was five strands wide, and
it was edged with a five-foot trench and now and then with an
additional length of stone wall. Beyond the fences were the railroad
lines, and up and down over the tracks armored trains carrying
search-lights were running to and fro, to shed all possible light
upon the fences and upon the enclosure beyond. The third side of the
triangle consisted of an infinite number of men in khaki, and its
density varied entirely according to its position. At first, it
opened out to a thin line of troopers scattered over the arc of an
immense circle; then it drew in until an army stood in fighting
array straight across the veldt from Heilbron to Kroonstad.
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