Not a single man was now to be seen on Spion Kop or the rest of Taba Nyama.

At two o'clock the evil news reached us.

The heliograph briefly told the story; the central hill captured by the British on Wednesday afternoon, recaptured at night by the Boers, and held by them ever since.

Our loss about five hundred and some prisoners.
It was the worst news we have yet received, all the harder to bear because our hopes had been raised to confidence.

It is harder to face disappointment now than six weeks ago.