lley opened, they moved forward at their greatest
speed, but now under perfect control.

After this the opposition became less, and the village of Gulikhel
was reached by the 3rd Brigade. The village stands on the left bank
of the Bara. Immediately below it a nullah becomes a narrow gorge,
almost impassable in the present state of the river. It is several
miles long. There was, however, a road over a neighbouring saddle.
The path up from the river was narrow, but sufficient to allow two
loaded mules to pass abreast. It wound for some seven miles, over a
low hill, until the river bed was again reached.

The next ford was Barkhe. The advance guard was well up in the
hills by midday, when it met the Oxfordshire Regiment, which had
come out seven miles to meet the force; but the baggage of a
division, filing out of the river bed in pairs, is a serious
matter, and there was necessarily a block in the rear.

General Westmacott moved as soon as the baggage was off but, long
before it was through the first defile, his pickets were engaged,
and a general action followed. The enemy, fighting with
extraordinary boldness, kept within a few yards of the pickets.
Followers with baggage animals were constantly hit, as they came up
but, at half-past ten, the rear guard regiments marched out of
camp, under cover of artillery fire.

The fighting was so severe that, within an hour, the ammunition of
the 3rd Ghoorkhas was expended and, shortly afterwards, the two
regiments of the rear guard were forced to call up their first
reserve ammunition mules. The march was continued at a rapid pace,
until they reached the block caused by the narrowness of the path.
Here the whole river reach became choked with animals and doolies.
The wounded were coming in fast, when the Pathans, taking advantage
of the block, attacked in great force, hoping to compel the
retreating force to make their way down the long river defile.

General Westmacott, however, defended his right with energy; the
rear-guard regiments supporting each other, while the batteries
were in continual action. The Borderers, Sikhs, and Ghoorkhas stood
well to their task, till the last of the baggage animals were got
out of the river bed.

The country now had become a rolling plateau, intersected by
ravines and thickly covered with low jungle, in which the enemy
could creep up to within three or four yards of the fighting line.
Progress was, consequently, very slow. To be benighte