d
because of the excellent character the regiment had always borne;
but on overtaking it my suspicions were excited by the unnecessarily
straggling manner in which the men were marching, and to which I
called Gordon's attention. No sooner had I done so than a shot was
fired from one of the Pathan companies, followed in a few seconds by
another. The Sikh companies of the regiment immediately closed up, and
Gordon's Sikh orderly whispered in his ear that there was treachery
amongst the Pathans.

It was a moment of intense anxiety, for it was impossible to tell how
far we were from the Spingawi Kotal, or whether the shots could be
heard by the enemy; it was equally impossible to discover by whom the
shots had been fired without delaying the advance, and this I was
loath to risk. So, grieved though I was to take any steps likely to
discredit a regiment with such admirable traditions, I decided to
change the order of the march by bringing one company of the
72nd Highlanders and the 5th Gurkhas to the front, and I warned
Lieutenant-Colonel Brownlow, in command of the 72nd, to keep a watch
over the Pathans with his three remaining companies, for I felt
that our enterprise had already been sufficiently imperilled by the
Pathans, and that hesitation would be culpable; for, unless we
could reach the kotal while our approach was still concealed by
the darkness, the turning movement would in all probability end in
disaster.

On the Gurkhas coming up, I told Major Fitz-Hugh, who commanded them,
that the moment he reached the foot of the kotal, he must front form
company, fix bayonets, and charge up the slope without waiting for
further orders.

Soon afterwards, and just as the first streak of dawn proclaimed the
approach of day, the enemy became aware of our presence, and fired
into us, when instantly I heard Fitz-Hugh give the word to charge.
Brownlow, at the head of his Highlanders, dashed forward in support,
and two guns of the Mountain battery coming up at the moment, I
ordered its Commandant, Captain Kelso, to come into action as soon as
he could find a position.

I was struck by the smile of satisfied pride and pleasure with
which he received the order. He was delighted, no doubt, that the
opportunity had arrived to prove what the battery--to perfect which he
had spared neither time nor labour--could do; but it was the last time
that gallant soldier smiled, for a few seconds later he was shot dead.

The Gurkhas, forget