re not easily to be
dislodged by an enemy not provided with guns.

The fight had begun, for, as we unlimbered, we could see quite a mob of
the enemy closing in from right and left to check the advance of the
foot regiment, which they knew could only come on slowly, while probably
they looked upon us as out of the engagement, having made good our
retreat.

As we loaded, the steady rattle of musketry began to increase, telling
us that our friends were having to fight their way, and ours was the
task to help them, and to undeceive the enemy, whose ranks thickened,
and about whom had hovered two large bodies of sowars, waiting their
turn to attack as soon as the foot regiment began to file into the open.

"Now is our time," said Brace, excitedly; and then, suddenly growing
calm, "Don't waste a shot, my lads. Good careful aim."

There was a few moments' pause while Brace examined the gathering groups
with his glass, and gave us a few final instructions. Then the guns
came into action with a steady, regular fire from right to left, shot
following shot, so that at the second round the effect had been almost
magical. One minute body after body of men were crowding up toward the
road, the next they were scattering and seeking the shelter of the
houses, while our attention was now directed toward the two columns of
cavalry.

Meanwhile the rattle of the musketry came fiercer and louder, telling
that our friends had not been checked, but were steadily advancing
through a terrible fire; but I knew that the heavy boom of our guns must
encourage them, and I looked on with a strange eagerness as my two guns
were sponged and loaded, giving directions to the men for their next
aims.

These were, as I have said, at the white squadron of native cavalry, the
men whom our people had so carefully trained, with the result that their
English officers were slain, and the native officers in command.

I could see for myself that there was very little of the guiding spirit
of our generals at work, each commander of a regiment acting according
to his own ideas, and I was thinking, young soldier as I was, that if I
had had command, I should have sent forward one of the native regiments
in skirmishing order to attack us while the two sowar regiments had been
sent off right and left to try and cut us off, the result being, I
thought, the almost certain routing and capture of our own troops.

But nothing of the kind was done; the officers in