ishes, that three times he had to lay his burden down and defend
himself with his revolver; while Gregory and Zaki aided his retreat, by
turning their fire upon his assailants. For this splendid act of
bravery, Captain Ruthven afterwards received the Victoria Cross.

Flushed by their success, the Dervishes pushed on. Fortunately, at this
time the main force of the Dervishes was beginning to waver, unable to
withstand the steady fire of the defenders of the hill; and as they
drew back a little, the Egyptian and Arab battalions rushed forward.

Shaken as they were, the Dervishes were unable to resist the attack;
and broke and fled, pursued by the Arab battalion. The Egyptians,
however, obeyed the orders of Captain MacKerrel and, halting, faced
about to encounter the attack from the rear. Their volleys caused the
Dervishes to hesitate, and Captain Ruthven and his party reached the
summit of the hill in safety.

The enemy, however, maintained a heavy fire for a few minutes; but the
volleys of the Egyptians, at a distance of only a hundred yards, were
so deadly that they soon took to flight.

The first shot had been fired at half-past eight. At ten, the whole
Dervish force was scattered in headlong rout. Had Colonel Parsons
possessed a cavalry force, the enemy would have been completely cut up.
As it was, pursuit was out of the question.

The force therefore advanced, in good order, to Gedareh. Here a Dervish
Emir, who had been left in charge when the rest of the garrison moved
out, surrendered at once, with the two hundred black riflemen under
him. He had long been suspected of disloyalty by the Khalifa, and at
once declared his hatred of Mahdism; declaring that, though he had not
dared to declare himself openly, he had always been friendly to
Egyptian rule.

The men with him at once fraternized with the Arabs of Colonel Parsons'
force, and were formally received into their ranks. The Emir showed his
sincerity by giving them all the information in his power, as to
Fadil's position and movements, and by pointing out the most defensible
positions.

None of the British officers had been wounded, but fifty-one of the men
had been killed, and eighty wounded. Five hundred of the Dervishes were
left dead upon the field, including four Emirs.

Not a moment was lost in preparing for defence, for it was certain that
Fadil, on hearing the news, would at once march to retake the town. The
position was naturally a strong one. S