with his suite to his former position.

But Heideck could not at once make up his mind to follow. From the
moment the first shot had been fired the battle fever had seized him; he
was only a soldier now.

He was irresistibly attracted by a building a short distance away, with
a slender minaret, from which he hoped to obtain a better view. It was
the half-decayed mausoleum of some saint, and Heideck had some trouble
to climb up to the top of the minaret, a height of about twenty feet,
whilst his servant waited with the horses down below. But the exertion
was fully rewarded. He overlooked the flat plains. The sinuous Ravi
river was hardly half an English mile distant. Its banks were covered
with high grass and thick jungle growth; on the other side of the river
immense thickly-packed masses of troops appeared--the advancing Russian
army.

Both armies must soon come into collision by the river, for single
English cavalry regiments and horse artillery batteries, advancing in a
long line, were already in its immediate neighbourhood.

Heideck had seen sufficient to be able to judge of the position of the
battle. He climbed down the minaret and mounted his fresh steed, whilst
Morar Gopal sprang into the saddle of his own horse. They quickly
arrived amongst the British cavalry, deploying in advance of their main
army. The advance march was now executed with greatest rapidity. The
English batteries dashed forward at the fastest pace the soft ground
would permit, unlimbered, and opened fire. Large masses of infantry
marched towards the jungle. But from the other side of the river the
lively English fire was but feebly returned. Only from the direction of
the left English wing, invisible from this point, did the artillery and
infantry fire rage with unabated violence.

In consequence, considerable reinforcements were sent to the apparently
hard-pressed left wing, and a distinct weakening of the centre took
place, without a clear idea having been formed as to the intention of
the Russians. Heideck's conviction was that such probably had been the
Russian tactics. He was of opinion that they probably raised a great
battle din by Shah Dara, in order to direct the attention of the English
to that point, and then deliver their main attack against the centre.
He was right; the main forces of the Russians were opposed to Colonel
Baird.

Another circumstance he could not explain was the curious fact that
the English as well as the