an undeserved reproof—colonel macleod convinced—the attack—el hamet evacuated
the night passed without any attack being attempted; though once, towards daybreak, we fancied that we heard the sound of marching men approaching our post from the direction of the mosque, but the sound—if it existed save in our heated imaginations—died away, and all again was silent as the grave.
towards seven o'clock in the morning—the river fog being then as dense as ever—colonel macleod, accompanied by a staff officer and an orderly dragoon, visited the piquet. the colonel looked pale and weary, as well he might, and his face wore a peculiar irritable expression; in fact, he had the appearance of a man worn out with anxiety and fatigue.
"you sent me two reports during the night, captain holroyd," he began, in querulous tones, barely acknowledging our salute; "pray what do they mean, sir?"
"mean, colonel!" exclaimed holroyd, his face flushing with anger. "exactly what they stated—namely, that since midnight the enemy have been gathering in considerable force within gunshot of this spot. when i sent you my second report, sir—a written report—no less than fifteen large djerms, crowded with men, were moored in the river yonder. the thick fog now hides them from your view, but there they were, and there, i doubt not, they are at this moment."
"i don't think so," retorted colonel macleod; "were the enemy so close at hand, in such numbers, we should at least hear them. now, sir, since the fog came on, have you heard any sound that would indicate the proximity of a large body of troops?"
"i cannot say that i have, sir," holroyd admitted; "though we fancied——"
"fancied!" interrupted colonel macleod. "just so! it is my firm belief that your own fancies have deceived you, and i must beg that, when on outpost duty, you will take the trouble to make yourself better acquainted with what is near you, and not send in reports of an enemy's advance until you are absolutely certain there is really an enemy within a couple of miles. in this case you have evidently mistaken a few fishermen's boats for a hostile flotilla.
"i had intended to relieve you," continued macleod; "but now—" he stopped short, and uttered an exclamation of astonishment, for at that moment a strange though perfectly natural thing happened.
the morning sun—as if anxious to prove the truth of charles holroyd's statements, and confound the incredulous highlander—suddenly appeared struggling through the mist, and rapidly dispelling it. away rolled the fog, disclosing to our gaze a group of horsemen; conspicuous among whom was a little man, pointing with a javelin to the right of our position.
then arose upon the morning air a confused noise—beating of drums and clashing of cymbals—and as the fog cleared off, there appeared before us the turkish army, numbering at least 6000 combatants, of whom perhaps one-third were horsemen.
as soon as he recovered from his amazement, colonel macleod, like the true highland gentleman he was, turned to my companion, and extending his hand, said—
"captain holroyd, i have done you an injustice! allow me to recall the remarks i made just now, and to offer an apology to you and the light company of the 35th."
"say no more, sir, i beg you," rejoined holroyd, warmly shaking the colonel's hand. "your remarks are already forgotten."
"as the fog cleared off, there appeared before us the turkish army."
we afterwards were thankful that we had not parted with the gallant macleod in anger; for, alas! destiny had willed that ere another sun rose he should be
a thing
o'er which the raven flaps his funeral wing."
that my account of what followed may be better understood, i will here state the order in which colonel macleod's force was disposed.
the range of low sand-hills stretching from lake edko to the nile—a distance of at least two miles—was everywhere accessible to infantry; but, owing to the steepness of the slope and inequality of the surface, cavalry could only operate against us at two points—namely, along a road passing through el hamet, and by fording the lake a few hundred yards beyond the southern extremity of the ridge, where the water was extremely shallow. now, as macleod's rear was covered by the dry, steep-banked canal, and the road through el hamet commanded by two six-pounders, his position might have been accounted an excellent one had it been properly manned (two thousand british troops, with a fair proportion of artillery and an ample supply of ammunition, could have held it till doomsday against ten times their number of turks); but unfortunately macleod's entire force did not muster eight hundred men, and he had only four six-pounder field-pieces. this slender corps had to occupy and defend the entire line of sand-hills from one extremity to the other, and it was distributed along that line as follows:—
the force was divided into three bodies: one, numbering some three hundred men, being posted beside the river; a second, of about the same strength, in the centre of the position; while the third, of which we formed part, had to defend el hamet, watch the road passing through the village, and support the two guns enfilading that road. thus there was an interval of about three-quarters of a mile between the several divisions; and in order that communications might be kept up, each division had to throw out, right and left, small detachments, which took post, here and there, along the ridge.
it is plain that a position thus held was practically at the mercy of a greatly superior enemy; a couple of hundred resolute men would have been sufficient to break through the scattered line at any point, save at the principal defences, and a breach in the line at any point must necessarily render the whole untenable. that the position must be forced if a determined and well-sustained attack were made, was almost a foregone conclusion; but i do not think any one anticipated the terrible disaster which befell us on that fatal day.
to return to my narrative.
we stood for some minutes gazing at the turkish force. their infantry was drawn up in detached bodies, each under its own banner; the horsemen, in a solid mass, formed a second line.
"look, sir," suddenly exclaimed the staff officer; "their cavalry has separated!"
"i see, vincent," rejoined macleod. "the column moving off is evidently ordered to cross the lake and turn our flank."
"while those who remain will no doubt support the infantry in an attack on the village," observed holroyd. "shall i defend el hamet, colonel?"
"yes," cried macleod, vaulting into his saddle; "to the last man!" and putting spurs to his charger, he galloped to the rear.
having re-formed the company, we marched back to el hamet at a quick step, and on the way were joined by two or three small parties which had been ordered to retire from the sand-hills. on reaching the village, we found that the officer and men of de rolle's regiment had made good use of their time: the houses had been loop-holed, windows and doors barricaded; in short, el hamet was in a fairly defensible state.
"come, we shall be able to hold out a long time!" exclaimed holroyd cheerfully. then pointing to a building of considerable size and height, he said, "take the right section, tom, and occupy the roof of that house. let the men make a parapet of their knapsacks, and open fire the moment the enemy are within range. don't throw a shot away, my lads."
i hastened to obey this order, and followed by sergeant finnigan and the right section, ascended to the flat roof of the house. the men took off their packs, and placed them against the low parapet, so as to afford extra protection. from this elevated position we could see the turkish horsemen as they advanced towards the village, brandishing their javelins and scimitars, and uttering loud cries of defiance.
"they're about within range, misther cotton," presently observed sergeant finnigan. "won't your honour open fire?" and i was about to answer in the affirmative when i heard holroyd calling to me.
"tom!" he shouted, "we're to evacuate el hamet. the guns are limbered up, so come down at once."
there was nothing for it but to obey; so we quitted the roof, and joined our comrades, who, with the detachment of de rolle's, were forming up in the narrow street, where the two six-pounders were waiting to start. we soon cleared the village, and went away at a long trot, into the heart of the sandy plain.
"who ordered the evacuation?" i asked, as i found myself alongside of my captain.
"macleod," was the reply; "and i fear he has made a fatal mistake. but the pace is too good for talking, tom. we shall want all our breath before we've done."
