was left with some artillery, under Colonel Barrow, in the zeriba,
along with the war correspondents, who had tried in vain to make a
dash back to Abu Klea.

[Page Heading: THE GUARDS AT ABU KLEA]

The rest of the force once more formed into a square to meet the
enemy's attack. It was like a tornado when it came.

With a headlong rush eight hundred spearmen, led by emirs on
magnificent horses, hurled themselves upon the British square. Without
a tremor the troops awaited their onslaught, cheering loudly as they
saw the fluttering banners of the enemy approach. The brunt of the
attack was on the left angle of the front face, where the Guards and
Mounted Infantry received the charge, at a distance of three hundred
yards, with a fire so deadly that the front ranks of the yelling
Dervishes were mown down. The battle was over within a few moments.
The enemy never got within thirty yards of the square, but with broken
ranks and wild confusion the spearmen fled, leaving two hundred and
fifty of their dead upon the field.

This rapid victory was largely due to the garrison in the zeriba, who
made very effective use of their guns. The enemy left two hundred and
fifty dead on the field. Yet not a single British soldier was either
killed or wounded in actually repelling the charge. Among those
seriously wounded later in the day was General Stewart, who died of
his wounds a few days later. Almost his last words to Colonel Barrow
were, "Take care of the 19th Hussars; they have done well."

But all this gallantry was vain. While the force was still near