"Captain Aylmer, R.E., set to work to place a charge of gun cotton
against the main entrenchment of the fort. After repeated failures,
the fuse was lighted and the gate blown in. Captain Aylmer was
severely wounded, in three places; and several of the men killed.

"So far the attack had been so astonishingly bold and quick that
the main body were unaware of the success; and Colonel Duran,
thinking the explosion was caused by the bursting of one of the
enemy's guns, continued steadily firing at the fort. The position
of the twenty men and three officers was precarious, indeed, as
they were thus exposed to a heavy fire from behind, as well as in
front. With splendid heroism, however, they held on to the
advantage they had gained till some reinforcements came up; and
then, pressing on through the shattered gate, they captured the
fort.

"For a fortnight after this the force remained inactive, for no way
of ascending the great ravine was known. At last, however, an
enterprising sepoy discovered a way, and on the 19th of December a
hundred men, under two lieutenants, were ordered to leave Nilt fort
under cover of darkness, drop silently down into the bed of the
ravine, and there await daylight.

"The portion of the enemy's position that had been selected for
attack was on the extreme left, on the crest of a cliff which rose,
without a break, fifteen hundred feet from the bed of the ravine.
Another force, a hundred and thirty-five men and six British
officers, with two guns, was to cover the advance of the storming
party. At eight o'clock in the morning, fire was opened upon the
enemy, as it was anticipated that the storming party were well up
the cliff by this time; but unfortunately, after ascending the
precipice halfway, they reached a point where the cliff was
absolutely impracticable, and were obliged to descend again into
the ravine.

"At two o'clock, having discovered a more practicable way, they
ascended again, foot by foot; their commander working his way up
with admirable judgment, moving from point to point, as opportunity
offered, between the showers of stones. The enemy were now fully
aware that the precipice was being scaled, and it was only the
well-directed fire of the covering party that prevented them from
issuing from their defences, and annihilating the party with rocks
and boulders.

"The summit was reached at half-past eleven, and the first of the
enemy's works captured. They rushed sangar af