THE STORMING OF SECOCOENI'S. 131 



somewhere on the plateau on the top of the range of 

 mountains. 



We went up a narrow precipitous path, leading our 

 horses in Indian file, and having gained the top of the 

 range went on, and in about a couple of hours reached 

 a small deserted Basuto village, where we halted. We 

 found McLeod here with a body of Swazis. About a 

 rifle-shot distance from this village was a cleft in the hills, 

 which appeared to have been made by volcanic disturb- 

 ance. Precipitous cliffs rose on each side, and the 

 bottom was strewn with huge boulders, over which we 

 made our way with difficulty. The king was supposed 

 to have run to ground in a cave somewhere in this gorge. 

 He could not escape, for the keen Skyeman had sur- 

 rounded the place with a chain of warriors and had thus 

 boxed the king up safely. 



We now entered the gorge and drew it. In the middle 

 was a little level patch of ground, where we discovered a 

 still smouldering fire, and a lion skin kaross lying on the 

 ground, proof conclusive that the king himself had nearly 

 been surprised, and had only just had time to take refuge 

 in a cave, leaving his kaross behind him in his hurry. 



We discovered the mouth of the cave and mounted a 

 picket over it. Captain Brook, of the 94th, now came up 

 with a company of infantry. During that night one or 

 two of the enemy managed to sneak out by some other 

 concealed mouth of the cave and tried to break through 

 the cordon of sentries, but one of them was shot and the 

 rest had to run to ground again. 



There was an assemblage of captives, most of them 

 being women. These poor creatures had a sort of dazed 

 look, as though they did not fully realise that they had 

 fallen into kind hands, and that their safety was now 



