twos and
threes, making little dashes over the open ground, for bits of natural
cover, and for the stone sungars they had built all round the fort under
cover of darkness. Some of these were within 200 yards of the wall. As
they advanced the fire became intense. Then the main rush was delivered.
In a great semi-circle round the face of the fort held by the
cavalry, and displaying nearly 200 standards whose gay colours were
representative of every tribe on the border, they charged right up to
the walls. Some of them actually got across the tangled barbed wire and
were destroyed in the enclosure. But all efforts were defeated by the
garrison, and towards morning the attack melted away, and only the usual
sharpshooters remained. Some of these displayed a singular recklessness.
One man climbed up into the barbed wire and fired three shots at the
defenders at close quarters before he was killed.

Thursday morning dawned on similar scenes. The garrison employed such
intervals as occurred in strengthening their defences and improving
their cover, particularly in the approaches to the Maxim and field
gun platforms. At 3 P.M. the enemy came out of Chakdara village, and,
carrying ladders to scale the walls, and bundles of grass to throw on
the barbed wire, made a formidable effort. They directed the attack
mainly against the signal station. This building is a strong, square,
stone tower. Its entrance is above six feet from the ground. All around
the top runs a machiconlis gallery, a kind of narrow balcony, with holes
in the floor to fire through. It is well provided with loopholes. At
4 o'clock it was closely assailed. The garrison of the fort aided the
tower guard by their fire. So bold were the enemy in their efforts, that
they rushed in under the musketry of the defence, and lighted a great
heap of grass about three yards from the doorway. The flames sprang
up. A howl of ferocious delight arose. But the tribesmen relapsed into
silence, when they saw that no real harm was done. At sunset the
fore sight of the fort Maxim was shot away, and the defenders were
temporarily deprived of the service of that powerful weapon. They soon
managed, however, to rig up a makeshift, which answered all practical
purposes. At 8 P.M. the enemy wearied of the struggle, and the firing
died away to desultory skirmishing. They toiled all night carrying away
their dead, but next morning over fifty bodies were still lying around
the signal tower. Their