The British jumped off their horses and lay down behind ant-heaps. The nearest Boer raised his hand in signal to the others that the rise was held; they stopped, fired from their saddles, turned their horses' heads and galloped off, while their friends behind blazed away to cover their retreat. The Field Cornet had lost.
By this burst of firing one of the horses of those upon the rise was killed, but no other damage was done. The rest of Major Gilbert's party were coming up through it, and soon the rise was lined. The retreating Boers were, however, quickly out of range.
Ackerman and his men were now taken in rear. Not liking this, they abandoned the whole position, and those on the rise watched them streaming away through the Dam Plaats Pass. Ackerman had with him between two and three hundred Boers.
It was now 4.30 p.m. The baggage had been successfully passed over the low hills, and the column moved forward to Wilgefontein, camping there for the night. Major Gilbert and the men with him returned over the west end of the Boer position. On the crest lay a man, hit in the head by a pom-pom shell; a notice was pinned to his coat: "This is ---- of ----; please let his father know that he is killed."
To return to Commandant Brand: he had so far played a singularly ineffective part in the day's proceedings. With a considerable force of Boers under him, he had been out-manoeuvred and kept at a distance in rear by Major Gilbert and his company, although the resources of the column were fully employed against the Ridge in front, and, till that Ridge was forced, a dashing charge of two or three hundred Boers from the rear would have been at least a serious matter.
It appears that Brand had not left Ackerman any orders to hold the Ridge, as he did not expect the column to go that way. When firing broke out in that direction, he did not know how many Boers were involved, or which side was on the Ridge. He, therefore, sent round two men to find out what was happening, and to tell Ackerman (if it was he) to hold the Ridge as long as he could, and he (Brand) would attack the British in rear.
Ackerman got this message, and held on (which he had not intended to do), momentarily expecting Brand to turn up: Brand waited for an answer from Ackerman, which Ackerman omitted to send. So Brand lay, checked and ineffective, until the Ridge was forced and the chance had gone.