In the first terrible rush, which resolved itself into a series of personal combats, Private P. Grant and Colour-Sergeant J. Munro distinguished themselves by saving the lives of two officers. Grant saw his officer in difficulties with a crowd of sepoys whose colour he had captured, and rushing up cut down five of the rebels. That was not the only sepoy ensign taken that day, for Private D. Mackay secured one after a fierce contest and bore it triumphantly away. Dunley, Grant, Munro, and Mackay were elected by their comrades as most worthy to be decorated when their regiment was singled out for distinction, and each duly received the V.C. There was a Punjabi Mahommedan, by the way, Mukarrab Khan by name, who in this same Secunderabagh fight earned the V.C. as much as did any man. Lord Roberts, who was an eye-witness, tells the story of his bravery. The enemy, he says, having been driven out of the earthwork, made for the gateway, which they nearly succeeded in shutting behind them. But just as the doors were closing Mukarrab Khan pushed his left arm, on which he bore a shield, between them. A sword-cut slashed his hand, whereupon the dauntless Mahommedan, withdrawing his left arm, thrust in his right, and had his other hand all but severed at the wrist. He gained his object, however, for he kept the doors from being closed until his comrades rushed to his help and forced them open. It was an act of heroic devotion, and it is satisfactory to know that Mukarrab Khan was awarded the Order of Merit, which is the Indian equivalent of the V.C., and carries with it an increase of pay. At the taking of the Shah Nujeef, on the same day, the 16th of November 1857, Sergeant John Paton, of the 93rd, did a daring thing, which added another V.C. to the regimental record. The Shah Nujeef was a mosque built over the tomb of an old king of Oudh, a massively built structure with loopholed walls, and the guns of the Naval Brigade, under Captain Peel, were unable to make a breach. As night was fast coming on, Sir Colin Campbell determined to make a bold effort to carry the place by storm, and called on the Highlanders to follow him. That the 93rd would have scaled the walls of the mosque though half of them fell in the task need not be doubted, but fortunately they were not called on to do so. Soon after the order to advance had been given, Sergeant Paton came tearing down the ravine with the news that he had discovered a breach in the north-east corner of the rampart, close by the river Goomtee. “It appears,” says Forbes-Mitchell of the 93rd, who records the incident, “that our shot and shell had gone over the first breach, and had blown out the wall on the other side in this particular spot. Paton told how he had climbed up to the top of the ramparts without difficulty, and seen right inside the place, as the whole defending force had been called forward to repulse the assault in front.”