I arrived at Roodewal very early in the morning of the 7th of June. I brought my men up to within eight hundred paces of the station, and ordered them to unharness the horses which were attached to the Krupp, and to place it in position.
But listen! There is the crack of rifles in the distance! That must be the sound of the enemy's fire on General Froneman. Again, and yet again, the sound meets my ears. Then all is quiet once more.
It was still two hours before the sun would rise, and I took full advantage of the opportunities which the darkness gave me. I ordered four of my burghers to approach as close to the station as was possible, and to find out everything they could about the enemy's position. Following my directions, they crept with extreme caution towards the English lines, until only a hundred paces separated them from the station. They returned before it was light, and brought back word that unless the enemy had thrown up unusually high schanzes, there must be an untold quantity of provisions piled up there. Everything had been very quiet, and they had seen no one stirring.
The day now began to dawn, and as soon as it was light I sent a message to the enemy demanding their surrender. The answer came back at once. On the back of my note these words had been written:
"We refuse to surrender."
I instantly opened a hot fire upon them, bringing the Krupp as well as the Mausers into action. But the reply of the enemy was no less severe.
We had no cover. There was only a shallow pan[46]—so shallow that it scarcely afforded protection to the horses' hoofs! A thousand paces to the north-west of the railway I had observed a deep pan where the horses would have had better cover, but even there our men would have been just as exposed as they now were. I had decided against taking up my position in this pan, because I should have been obliged to cross the line to reach it, and in doing so should have run the risk of being observed by the English.
Thus it was that the burghers were compelled to lie flat down in order to afford as little mark as possible to the enemy. But the men who served the Krupp were naturally unable to do this; and, seeing that the gun must be moved, I gave this order: "Inspan the gun, gallop it three thousand paces back; then blaze away again as fiercely as you can!"
Under a hail of bullets the horses were attached to the gun. Whilst this was being done, I ordered my men to fire upon the English entrenchments with redoubled energy, and thus, if possible, prevent the enemy from taking careful aim.
Incredible though it may appear, Captain Muller got the gun away without a single man or horse being hit. When he had covered three thousand paces, he halted, and turning the Krupp on the enemy, he shelled them with good effect.