It was at the Evening Prayer that, our foe outmastered, we reached Khwāja Kitta, on the outskirts of the suburbs. My idea was to go quickly right up to the Gate but Dost Beg's father, Nāṣir Beg and Qaṃbar-`alī Beg, old and experienced begs both, represented to me, 'It is almost night; it would be ill-judged to go in a body into the fort in the dark; let us withdraw a little and dismount. What can they do to-morrow but surrender the place?' Yielding at once to the opinion of these experienced persons, we forthwith retired to the outskirts of the suburbs. If we had gone to the Gate, undoubtedly, Andijān [Sidenote: Fol. 106b.] would have come into our hands. (_f. Bābur surprised by Taṃbal._) After crossing the Khākān-canal, we dismounted, near the Bed-time prayer, at the side of the village of Rabāṯ-i-zauraq (var. rūzaq). Although we knew that Taṃbal had broken camp and was on his way to Andijān, yet, with the negligence of inexperience, we dismounted on level ground close to the village, instead of where the defensive canal would have protected us.[638] There we lay down carelessly, without scouts or rear-ward. At the top (_bāsh_) of the morning, just when men are in sweet sleep, Qaṃbar-`alī Beg hurried past, shouting, 'Up with you! the enemy is here!' So much he said and went off without a moment's stay. It was my habit to lie down, even in times of peace, in my tunic; up I got instanter, put on sword and quiver and mounted. My standard-bearer had no time to adjust my standard,[639] he just mounted with it in his hand. There were ten or fifteen men with me when we started toward the enemy; after riding an arrow's flight, when we came up with his scouts, there may have been ten. Going rapidly forward, we overtook him, poured in arrows on him, over-mastered his foremost men and hurried them off. We followed them for another arrow's flight and came up with his centre where Sl. Aḥmad _Taṃbal_ himself was, with as many as [Sidenote: Fol. 107.] 100 men. He and another were standing in front of his array, as if keeping a Gate,[640] and were shouting, 'Strike, strike!' but his men, mostly, were sidling, as if asking themselves, 'Shall we run away? Shall we not?' By this time three were left with me; one was Nāṣir's Dost, another, Mīrzā Qulī _Kūkūldāsh_, the third, Khudāī-bīrdī _Turkmān's_ Karīm-dād.[641] I shot off the arrow on my thumb,[642] aiming at Taṃbal's helm. When I put my hand into my quiver, there came out a quite new _gosha-gīr_[643] given me by my Younger Khān dādā. It would have been vexing to throw it away but before I got it back into the quiver, there had been time to shoot, maybe, two or three arrows. When once more I had an arrow on the string, I went forward, my three men even holding back. One of those two in advance, Taṃbal seemingly,[644] moved forward also. The high-road was between us; I from my side, he, from his, got upon it and came face to face, in such a way that his right hand was towards me, mine towards him.