Stubborn and unshaken infantry hardly ever meet stubborn and unshaken
cavalry. Either the infantry run away and are cut down in flight, or
they keep their heads and destroy nearly all the horsemen by their
musketry. On this occasion two living walls had actually crashed
together. The Dervishes fought manfully. They tried to hamstring the
horses, They fired their rifles, pressing the muzzles into the very
bodies of their opponents. They cut reins and stirrup-leathers. They
flung their throwing-spears with great dexterity. They tried every
device of cool, determined men practised in war and familiar with
cavalry; and, besides, they swung sharp, heavy swords which bit deep.
The hand-to-hand fighting on the further side of the khor lasted for
perhaps one minute. Then the horses got into their stride again, the
pace increased, and the Lancers drew out from among their antagonists.
Within two minutes of the collision every living man was clear of the
Dervish mass. All who had fallen were cut at with swords till they
stopped quivering, but no artistic mutilations were attempted.

Two hundred yards away the regiment halted, rallied, faced about, and in
less than five minutes were re-formed and ready for a second charge. The
men were anxious to cut their way back through their enemies. We were
alone together--the cavalry regiment and the Dervish brigade. The ridge
hung like a curtain between us and the army. The general battle was
forgotten, as it was unseen. This was a private quarrel. The other might
have been a massacre; but here the fight was fair, for we too fought
with sword and spear. Indeed the advantage of ground and numbers lay
with them. All prepared to settle the debate at once and for ever. But
some realisation of the cost of our wild ride began to come to those
who were responsible. Riderless horses galloped across the plain. Men,
clinging to their saddles, lurched helplessly about, covered with blood
from perhaps a dozen wounds. Horses, streaming from tremendous gashes,
limped and staggered with their riders. In 120 seconds five officers, 65
men, and 119 horses out of fewer than 400 had been killed or wounded.

The Dervish line, broken by the charge, began to re-form at once. They
closed up, shook themselves together, and prepared with constancy
and courage for another shock. But on military considerations it was
desirable to turn them out of the khor first and thus deprive them of
their vantage ground. The re