had seen the enemy moving off, the order was given to advance, and the
little army, after spiking all the guns in the fort, commenced their
perilous march. Silently they moved, to avoid being discovered by any
of the enemy's scouts, or the report of their march being carried to the
rebels by the inhabitants of the villages near which they might pass.
Happily the enemy had made their attack early in the night, and the
retreating party had thus an advantage of several hours, which would
enable them to get to a considerable distance before they were likely to
be discovered. For the remainder of the night, therefore, they moved
on; and not till the sun had already risen was a halt called, that they
might take that rest which was absolutely necessary to enable them to
continue their flight. The scouts sent out now reported that no enemy
was near, and they were thus able to remain encamped for several hours;
after which, greatly refreshed, they again moved on. Colonel Ross was
sensible that his force could not successfully engage with any large
body, but he hoped that, by avoiding all places where any rebels were
likely to be collected, and by advancing chiefly at night, to prevent
any information of his movements from reaching the enemy.

Violet, who was a good horsewoman, bore the fatigue of the march well,
and even Nuna and the other ladies kept up their spirits and did not
complain. The poor wounded men were the greatest sufferers; though they
preferred the shaking to which they were exposed, to being left behind
to the tender mercies of the natives.

Before another night's march had been accomplished, a sowar who had been
sent out as a scout overtook them with the intelligence that the enemy
had heard of their retreat, and were following with a large force,
threatening their complete destruction. Colonel Ross, on hearing this,
resolved--as there was no place at hand into which they could throw
themselves and defend it against the enemy--to continue the march, for
the purpose of keeping ahead of their pursuers as much as possible, and
only to halt and fight where a strong position could be taken up with
some hope of offering an effectual resistance. On they marched; but in
vain did the colonel look out for ground of the kind he desired. Their
scouts came hurrying in from the rear with the announcement that the
enemy were close upon them. There could be little doubt that the
rebels, burning with revenge at the def