heat of the day the tribesmen attacked again. They
surrounded the north and east sides of the fort, and made strenuous
efforts to get in. They suffered heavy losses from the musketry of the
defence, and their dead lay scattered thickly on the approaches. Nor
were they removed till nightfall. Many Ghazis, mad with fanaticism,
pressed on carrying standards, heedless of the fire, until they fell
riddled with bullets under the very walls.

To communicate with the Malakand was now almost impossible. To
heliograph, it was necessary that the operator should be exposed to a
terrible fire. In the evening the signal tower was surrounded by men
in stone sungars, who kept up an incessant fusillade, and made all
exposure, even for an instant, perilous.

At midday, after the repulse of the main attack, the guard of the signal
tower was reinforced by six men, and food and water were also sent up.
This difficult operation was protected by the fire of both the Maxims,
and of all the garrison who could be spared from other points. Until the
1st of August, water was sent up daily to the signal tower in this
way. The distance was long and the road steep. The enemy's fire was
persistent. Looking at the ground it seems wonderful that supplies could
have been got through at all.

As night approached, the defenders prepared to meet a fresh attack.
Lieutenant Wheatley, observing the points behind which the enemy usually
assembled, trained the fort Maxim and the 9-pounder gun on them, while
daylight lasted. At 11 P.M. the tribesmen advanced with shouts, yells
and the beating of drums. The gun and the Maxims were fired, and it is
said that no fewer than seventy men perished by the single discharge.
At any rate the assault was delayed for an hour and a half. All day long
the garrison had remained at their posts. It was hoped they would
now get a little rest. But at 1 o'clock the attack was renewed on
the north-east corner. Again the enemy brought up scaling ladders and
charged with desperate ferocity. They were shot down.

Meanwhile every spare moment was devoted to improving the cover of the
garrison. Captain Baker applied himself to this task, and used every
expedient. Logs, sand bags, stones, boxes filled with earth were piled
upon the walls. It is due to these precautions that the loss of life was
no larger.

Continuous firing occupied the 28th, and at 5.30 P.M. the enemy again
assaulted. As in previous attacks, they at first advanced by