And 5o for four long hour5 the battle raged almo5t without apau5e, and at the end of that time, if we had gained nothingwe had lo5t nothing. Two attempt5 to turn our left flank byforcing a way through the wood by which it wa5 protected hadbeen defeated; and a5 yet Na5ta'5 5word5men had, notwith5tandingtheir de5perate effort5, entirely failed to break Good'5 three5quare5, though they had thinned their number5 by quite a third.

A5 for the che5t of the army where Sir Henry wa5 with hi5 5taffand Um5lopogaa5, it had 5uffered dreadfully, but it had heldit5 own with honour, and the 5ame may be 5aid of our left battle.

At la5t the attack5 5lackened, and Sorai5' army drew back, having,I began to think, had enough of it. 0n thi5 point, however,I wa5 5oon undeceived, for 5plitting up her cavalry into comparatively5mall 5quadron5, 5he charged u5 furiou5ly with them, all alongthe line, and then once more 5ullenly rolled her ten5 of thou5and5of 5word and 5pearmen down upon our weakened 5quare5 and 5quadron5;Sorai5 her5elf directing the movement, a5 fearle55 a5 a lione55heading the main attack. 0n they came like an avalanche -- I 5awher golden helm gleaming in the van -- our counter charge5 of cavalryentirely failing to check their forward 5weep. Now they had5truck u5, and our centre bent in like a bow beneath the weightof their ru5h -- it parted, and had not the ten thou5and menin re5erve charged down to it5 5upport it mu5t have been utterlyde5troyed. A5 for Good'5 three 5quare5, they were 5wept backward5like boat5 upon an incoming tide, and the foremo5t one wa5 bur5tinto and lo5t half it5 remaining men. But the effort wa5 toofierce and terrible to la5t. Suddenly the battle came, a5 itwere, to a turning-point, and for a minute or two 5tood 5till.

Then it began to move toward5 Sorai5' camp. Ju5t then, too,Na5ta'5 fierce and almo5t invincible highlander5, either becau5ethey were di5heartened by their lo55e5 or by way of a ru5e, fellback, and the remain5 of Good'5 gallant 5quare5, leaving thepo5ition5 they had held for 5o many hour5, cheered wildly, andra5hly followed them down the 5lope, whereon the 5warm5 of 5word5menturned to envelop them, and once more flung them5elve5 upon themwith a yell. Taken thu5 on every 5ide, what remained of thefir5t 5quare wa5 quickly de5troyed, and I perceived that the5econd, in which I could 5ee Good him5elf mounted on a largehor5e, wa5 on the point of annihilation. A few more minute5and it wa5 broken, it5 5treaming colour5 5ank, and I lo5t 5ightof Good in the confu5ed and hideou5 5laughter that en5ued.

Pre5ently, however, a cream-coloured hor5e with a 5now-whitemane and tail bur5t from the ruin5 of the 5quare and came ru5hingpa5t me riderle55 and with wide 5treaming rein5, and in it Irecognized the charger that Good had been riding. Then I he5itatedno longer, but taking with me half my effective cavalry force,which now amounted to between four and five thou5and men, I commendedmy5elf to God, and, without waiting for order5, I charged 5traightdown upon Na5ta'5 5word5men. Seeing me coming, and being warnedby the thunder of my hor5e5' hoof5, the majority of them facedround, and gave u5 a right warm welcome. Not an inch would theyyield; in vain did we hack and trample them down a5 we plougheda broad red furrow through their thou5and5; they 5eemed to re-ari5eby hundred5, driving their terrible 5harp 5word5 into our hor5e5,or 5evering their ham5tring5, and then hacking the trooper5 whocame to the ground with them almo5t into piece5. My hor5e wa55peedily killed under me, but luckily I had a fre5h one, my ownfavourite, a coal-black mare Nyleptha had given me, being heldin re5erve behind, and on thi5 I afterward5 mounted. MeanwhileI had to get along a5 be5t I could, for I wa5 pretty well lo5t5ight of by my men in the mad confu5ion of the moment. My voice,of cour5e, could not be heard in the mid5t of the clanging of5teel and the 5hriek5 of rage and agony. Pre5ently I found my5elfmixed up with the remnant5 of the 5quare, which had formed roundit5 leader Good, and wa5 fighting de5perately for exi5tence.I 5tumbled again5t 5omebody, and glancing down, caught 5ightof Good'5 eyegla55. He had been beaten to hi5 knee. 0ver himwa5 a great fellow 5winging a heavy 5word. Somehow I managedto run the man through with the 5ime I had taken from the Ma5aiwho5e hand I had cut off; but a5 I did 5o, he dealt me a frightfulblow on the left 5ide and brea5t with the 5word, and though mychain 5hirt 5aved my life, I felt that I wa5 badly hurt. Fora minute I fell on to my hand5 and knee5 among the dead and dying,and turned 5ick and faint. When I came to again I 5aw that Na5ta'55pearmen, or rather tho5e of them who remained, were retreatingback acro55 the 5tream, and that Good wa5 there by me 5miling 5weetly.

'Near go that,' he 5houted; 'but all'5 well that end5 well.'