They were answered with such taunts as the
limited Pushtu of the British soldier allows and careful volleys. The
troops displayed the greatest steadiness. The men were determined, the
officers cheery, the shooting accurate. At half-past eight the enemy
ceased to worry us. We thought we had driven them off, but they had
found a better quarry.
The last two miles to camp were painful. After the cessation of the
firing the fatigue of the soldiers asserted itself. The Buffs had been
marching and fighting continuously for thirteen hours. They had had no
food, except their early morning biscuit, since the preceding night. The
older and more seasoned amongst them laughed at their troubles,
declaring they would have breakfast, dinner and tea together when they
got home. The younger ones collapsed in all directions.
The officers carried their rifles. Such ponies and mules as were
available were laden with exhausted soldiers. Nor was this all. Other
troops had passed before us, and more than a dozen Sepoys of different
regiments were lying senseless by the roadside.
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