up, and at a quicker pace than before, the
great line swept on; the banner bearers and Baggara horsemen pushing
forward to the front, to encourage the infantry.

Seeing how persistently they were coming on, the Sirdar ordered the men
of Lyttleton's brigade to open fire at long range. The Grenadiers were
the first to begin, firing volleys in sections. The other regiments of
the brigade were soon hard at it, but neither they nor the Maxims
appeared to be doing serious execution, while the terrible effect of
the shell fire could really be seen. But, although great numbers of the
enemy were killed or wounded by the bursting shells, there was no halt
in the forward movement.

Suddenly, over the crest and sides of the Surgham Hill, the division of
the Dervish right, reinforced by a portion of Yacoub's division,
appeared; and over fifteen thousand men came streaming down the hill,
waving banners and shouting their war cries. They were led by their
emirs, on horseback; but the infantry kept pace with these,
occasionally discharging their rifles at random.

The guns of the three batteries, and one of the Maxims, were swung
round and opened upon them. They were less than a mile away, and the
whole of Gatacre's division opened a terrific fire. Still the Dervishes
held on, leaving the ground they passed over white with fallen men.
From seventeen hundred yards the sights had to be lowered rapidly, but
at a thousand yards they held their foe. No man could cross the ground
swept by the hail of balls. So rapid and sustained was the fire, that
men had to retire to refill their pouches from the reserve ammunition,
and the rifles were so heated that they could no longer be held. In
some cases the men changed their weapons for those of the companies in
reserve, in others these companies closed up and took the places of the
front line. Not for a moment was there any cessation in the fire.

Unable to do more, Yacoub's men moved towards the front and joined the
main body, whose advance had been checked by the fire of Maxwell's
Egyptian brigade. A few rounds had been fired by the three cannon that
the Khalifa had brought out with him, but they all fell short.

On our side the casualties had been few. In their desperate attempt to
get at close quarters, the Dervish riflemen had not stopped to reload
the weapons they had discharged, and there was practically no return to
the awful fire to which they had been exposed.

But while Yacoub's fo