As soon as they reached the edge of the dip, a storm of musketry broke
out from the Dervish trenches, but, fortunately, the greater portion of
the bullets flew overhead. Macdonald had intended to carry the place at
the point of the bayonet, without firing; but the troops, suddenly
exposed to such a storm of musketry, halted and opened fire without
orders; the result being that they suffered a great deal more than they
would have done, had they crossed the eighty yards, which divided them
from the trench, by a rush. Standing, as they did, against the skyline,
the Dervishes were able to pick them off; they themselves showing only
their heads above the trenches. Two of the mounted officers of the 10th
were killed, and two had their horses shot under them.

Macdonald and his officers rushed along in front of the line, knocking
up the men's muskets; and abusing them, in the strongest terms, for
their disobedience to orders. The moment the fire ceased, the troops
rushed forward; and the Dervishes at once abandoned their trenches, and
ran back to the line of houses. These were crowded together, divided by
narrow winding lanes, and here a desperate struggle took place.

The Dervishes defended themselves with the greatest tenacity, sometimes
rushing out and hurling themselves upon their assailants, and defending
the houses to the last, making a stand when the doors were burst open,
until the last of the inmates were either shot or bayoneted. So
determined was the defense of some of the larger houses, that it was
necessary to bring up the guns and batter an entrance. Many of the
houses were found, when the troops burst in, to be tenanted only by
dead; for the Soudanese always heralded their attack by firing several
volleys, and the bullets made their way through and through the mud
walls, as if they had been paper.

About seventy or eighty horsemen and a hundred Dervish infantry
escaped, but the rest were either killed or made prisoners, together
with Mahomed Zein, the governor. A quantity of arms, camels, and horses
were also captured. The loss on our side was two British officers
killed, and twenty-one of the black troops; and three Egyptian
officers, and sixty-one men wounded.

When the convoy halted, previous to the troops marching to the attack,
Gregory, whose duties with the baggage had now ended, joined the
General's staff and rode forward with them. Hunter had glanced round,
as he rode up, and answered with a nod w