He was determined to make a fresh attack on Agrah, and burn the village
of Gat, which had only been partially destroyed. And this attack was
fixed for the 5th. By that date the big 12-pounder guns of the Field
Battery were to have arrived, and the fire of fourteen pieces would have
been concentrated on the enemy's position. Every one was anxious to
carry matters to a conclusion with the tribesmen at all costs.
On the 3rd, the force was ordered to take and burn the village of
Badelai, against which, it may be remembered, the Buffs had advanced on
the 16th, and from which they had been recalled in a hurry to support
the 35th Sikhs. The attack and destruction of the village presented no
new features; the tribesmen offered little resistance, and retired
before the troops. But as soon as the brigade began its homeward march,
they appeared in much larger numbers than had hitherto been seen. As the
cavalry could not work among the nullahs and the broken ground, the
enemy advanced boldly into the plain.
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