There the fight was lost, and there won.

Meantime the Boer siege guns had opened upon the field of action with great effect, maintaining a vigorous fire throughout; and the British on their side had advanced field batteries in the plain, to sweep either flank of the threatened ridge, a measure which markedly curtailed the power of the enemy to send reinforcements to those already engaged on the heights.

The Boers had also developed attacks upon the north and north-east of the town; but these, however intended, did not proceed beyond mere demonstrations.
At 2 P.M., on Wagon Hill West, a few Boers at last attempted what numbers should have tried hours before.

It is trite to say that at such a crisis proverbial truths receive double emphasis.

"Not to gain ground is to lose ground." "He who hesitates is lost." At the hour named, a number--eight, it is said--at their head De Villiers, a Free State commander, rose suddenly to their feet.