forward. Prisoners came, ten and twenty in charge of one
man. When night had fallen, they sat round us and curiously watched us.
Altogether the 'Tigers'--hardly two hundred strong by now--took over
eight hundred prisoners. Many of these escaped by reason of the poverty
of escort.

But I will not speak of prisoners now. Whilst our scanty stock of
ammunition was being fired at the Turks, retiring rapidly, the
Leicestershires were pushing far out of reach of telephone
communication. 'Limited objectives were not known in the open
fighting.'[14] To Captain Diggins fell an amazing success. Suddenly
there were flashes almost in his face. 'Guns,' he shouted, and rushed
forward. On and on he rushed, till he reached the enemy's guns, he and
three of the men of A Company, which he commanded. These guns were in
nullas by the river-bank. Their crews were sitting round them. Diggins
beckoned to them to surrender, which they did. He was so blown with
running that he felt sick and faint. Nevertheless he recovered, and
rose to the occasion. To us, away in the aid-posts, came epic stories
of 'Digguens,' with the ease and magnificence of Sir Francis Drake
receiving an admiral's sword, shaking hands with the battery commander.
He is a singularly great man in action, is Fred Diggins. In all, from
several positions, Diggins took seven fourteen-pounders and two 5.9's.
They were badly hit, some of them. The horses were in a wretched
condition, none of them unwounded. Several were shot by us almost
immediately. Diggins sent his prisoners back, battery commanders and
all, in charge of Corporal Williamson and one private. On his way back,
after delivering up his prisoners, Williamson was killed.

Very soon on Diggins's arrival his subalterns, Thorpe and McInerney,
joined him. He sent them racing back across the perilous mile which now
lay between them and the wall. Thorpe went to Lieutenant-Colonel
Knatchbull, and McInerney to Creagh, the second-in-command this day.
All did their best to get reinforcements. The two other brigades,
however badly hit the previous day, were now close up. The 19th
Brigade, becoming aware of the situation, eagerly put their services
at our disposal. After the action the official explanation of the loss
of the guns was that the Leicestershires got out of hand and went too
far; so I was told in the colloquial language which I have set down. A
nearer explanation is that they went because of over-confidence
somewhere b