fell; their riders were instantly speared by the pursuers. Rallying
thirty-eight troopers, Captain Fenwick seized a rocky hillock, and
dismounting with the natural instinct of an infantry soldier, prepared
to defend himself to the last. The remainder of the squadron continued
their flight, and thirty-two troopers, under an Egyptian officer (whose
horse is said to have bolted), arrived at the Teroi zeriba with the
news that their comrades had been destroyed, or had perhaps 'returned
to Suakin,' and that they themselves had been closely followed by the
enemy. The news caused the gravest anxiety, which was not diminished
when it was found that the bush around the zeriba was being strongly
occupied by Dervish spearmen. Two mounted men, who volunteered for the
perilous duty, were sent to make their way through this savage cordon,
and try to find either the remainder of the cavalry or the Tokar Column.
Both were hunted down and killed. The rest of the force continued in
hourly expectation of an attack.

Their suspense was aggravated towards midnight, when the Dervishes began
to approach the zeriba. In the darkness what was thought to be a body of
horsemen was seen moving along a shallow khor opposite the right face of
the defence. At the same moment a loud yell was raised by the enemy on
the other side. An uncontrolled musketry fire immediately broke out. The
guns fired blindly up the valley; the infantry wildly on all sides. The
fusillade continued furiously for some time, and when by the efforts of
the British officers the troops were restrained, it was found that
the Dervishes had retired, leaving behind them a single wounded man.
Occasional shots were fired from the scrub until the morning, but no
fresh attack was attempted by the Dervishes.

Meanwhile Captain Fenwick maintained his solitary and perilous position
on the hillock. He was soon surrounded by considerable bodies of the
enemy, and as soon as it became dark he was sharply attacked. But
the Dervishes fortunately possessed few rifles, and the officers and
troopers, by firing steady volleys, succeeded in holding their ground
and repulsing them. The sound of the guns at Teroi encouraged the
Egyptians and revealed the direction of their friends. With the daylight
the Dervishes, who seem throughout the affair to have been poor-spirited
fellows, drew off, and the detachment, remounting, made haste to rejoin
the main body.

The force, again united, pursued their way