It was too late. Churchill saw “on a hill between us and home which overlooked the line at about 600 yards distance, a number of small figures moving about and hurrying forward. Certainly they were Boers. Certainly they were behind us. What would they be doing with the railway line? There was not an instant to lose. We started immediately on our return journey. As we approached the hill, I was standing on a box with my head and shoulders above the steel plating of the rear armoured truck. I saw a cluster of Boers on the crest. Suddenly three wheeled things appeared among them. A huge white ball of smoke sprang into being. It seemed only a few feet above my head. It was shrapnel. The steel sides of the truck tanged with a patter of bullets.” The driver put on steam and the train ran down an incline towards a curve at the foot of the hill. There was suddenly a tremendous shock and a sudden full stop.