their spoil up amongst the trees, Ganda Singh prepared to fight
desperately to hold what they had won with so much toil. The right of
the Sikh position rested on a deep and tortuous nullah, or dry
watercourse, whose precipitous sides, if properly watched, formed an
excellent flank defence; but if unwatched they formed an equally
admirable covered approach whereby an opponent might penetrate or turn
the position. The manifest precaution of setting a watch was, however,
neglected, an error not likely to slip the attention of so skilled a
campaigner as Lumsden. Occupying, therefore, the attention of the enemy
in front by preparations for the infantry attack under Hodson, Lumsden
himself, with the cavalry, slipped into the nullah, and working quietly
past the enemy's flank emerged on to his rear at a spot where a friendly
clump of sugar-cane afforded further concealment till the appointed
moment. A signal was now made for Hodson to attack vigorously in front,
which he accordingly did, and after severe fighting drove the enemy into
the open. Seizing the auspicious moment, Lumsden issued from his
shelter, and falling like a whirlwind on the retiring enemy, literally
swept them from the face of the earth; one man only escaped to tell the
tale. Amongst the recovered loot were found the silver kettle-drums of
the 2nd Irregular Cavalry lost in the recent fighting, and amongst the
slain was Ganda Singh. General Wheler coming up on the following day,
the combined force crossed the Beas, attacked, and utterly routed Ram
Singh, who was occupying a strong position behind that river.

These services performed the Guides turned back, and hastening
northwards arrived in the camp of the Grand Army in time to take part in
the crowning and decisive victory of Gujrat. The battle, according to
history, was chiefly an artillery duel, the preponderance and accuracy
of our fire paving the way for a practically unchecked advance of the
infantry. The Guides, therefore, did not see much fighting during the