h the broken lines of spearmen the Rebu chariots dashed
down upon them, followed by the host of spearmen. The king's object
was to arrest the first onslaught of the Egyptians, to overwhelm the
leaders, and prevent the mass behind from emerging from the crowded
causeway.

The shock was terrible. Horses and chariots rolled over in wild
confusion, javelins were hurled, bows twanged, and the shouts of the
combatants and the cries of the wounded as they fell beneath the feet
of the struggling horses created a terrible din. Light and active, the
Rebu footmen mingled in the fray, diving under the bellies of the
Egyptian horses, and inflicting vital stabs with their long knives or
engaging in hand-to-hand conflicts with the dismounted Egyptians.
Amuba had charged down with the rest of the chariots. He was
stationed in the second line, immediately behind his father; and his
charioteer, mindful of the orders he had received, strove, in spite of
the angry orders of the lad, to keep the chariot stationary; but the
horses, accustomed to maneuver in line, were not to be restrained, and
in spite of their driver's efforts charged down the slope with the
rest.

Amuba, who had hunted the lion and leopard, retained his coolness,
and discharged his arrows among the Egyptians with steady aim. For
a time the contest was doubtful. The Egyptian chariots crowded on
the causeway were unable to move forward, and in many places their
weight forced the fagots so deep in the mire that the vehicles were
immovable. Meanwhile, along the swamp on both sides a terrible contest
was going on. The Egyptians, covered by the fire of their arrows,
succeeded in making their way across the swamp, but here they were met
by the Rebu spearmen, and the fight raged along the whole line.

Then two thousand chosen men, the bodyguard of the Egyptian king, made
their way across the swamp close to the causeway, while at the same
time there was a movement among the densely packed vehicles. A
tremendous impulse was given to them from behind: some were pressed
off into the swamp, some were overthrown or trampled under foot, some
were swept forward on to the firm ground beyond, and thus a mass of
the heaviest chariots drawn by the most powerful horses forced their
way across the causeway over all obstacles.

In their midst was the King of Egypt himself, the great Thotmes.

The weight and impetus of the mass of horses and chariots pressed all
before it up the hill. This