aid was expected. The ardour of the British to get to close quarters
favoured this movement.

It had been intended that the 9th and 29th Regiments should take the
right-hand path where the track they were following up the pass forked,
and so join Trant's Portuguese at the top of the hill and fall upon the
French left. The left-hand path, however, was the one that would take them
direct to the enemy, and the 29th, which was leading, took this, and the
9th followed them. So rapidly did they press up the hill that they arrived
at the crest before Ferguson and Fane, on the left, and Trant on the
right, had got far enough to menace the line of retreat, and so shake the
enemy's position. The consequence was, that as the right wing of the 29th
arrived at the top of the path it was met by a very heavy fire before it
could form, and some companies of a French regiment, who had been cut off
from the main body by its sudden appearance, charged through the
disordered troops and carried with them a major and fifty or sixty other
prisoners.

The rest of the wing, thus exposed to the full fire of the French, fell
back over the crest, and there rallied on the left wing; and being joined
by the 9th, pushed forward again and obtained a footing on the plateau.
Laborde in vain endeavoured to hurl them back again. They maintained their
footing, but suffered heavily, both the colonels being killed, with many
officers and men. But the 5th Regiment were now up, and at other points
the British were gathering thickly at the edge of the plateau. Ferguson
and Trant were pushing on fast past the French flanks, and Laborde, seeing
that further resistance would lead to great disaster, gave the order to
retire to a third position, still farther in the rear. The movement was
conducted in splendid order. The French steadily fell back by alternate
masses, their guns thundering on their flanks, while their cavalry covered