The advance was extremely difficult owing to the rough nature of the ground, the soldiers having actually to climb from rock to rock. [Illustration: Bagpiper] As soon as the English were well within rifle range, the tribesmen, who had not fired a shot until the troops were in the bad ground, opened such a deadly fire on them that the on-coming troops were checked. All this time the British artillerymen were assailing the sharpshooters with shot and shell, trying their best to drive them off the side of the hill. In spite of their best efforts the enemy never wavered, but held their position. The fight began to look serious for the English, and might have gone against them but that the general in command, realizing that the men could no longer stand against the deadly fire of the enemy, ordered a fresh regiment, the Gordon Highlanders, to go to the assistance of the struggling troops. It is customary for a general to keep a portion of his army in reserve, so that should the battle seem to be going against him, he can send fresh soldiers into the fight to strengthen the weak places. The tide of battle has again and again been turned by bringing in these reserves at the right moment. The accounts we read of battles tell us how these reserve troops fret, and fume, and worry, as they are kept resting idly while the roar of battle rages around them. It would seem as if the men became so eager and impatient that when at last the order to advance is given, they dash into the fray with a zest and fury which carries everything before it. The affair of the Dargai Ridge seems to have been no exception to this rule. The Gordon Highlanders had been held back all the morning, and no sooner was the order to advance given them than they made what is described as a "magnificent rush" across the open space. The enemy poured a rain of bullets upon them, but so eager and excited were the men that they hurried on caring for nothing but the advance. Half of their number fell, killed or wounded, but, undaunted, the others dashed forward, and finally reached the foot of the hill, where the overhanging rocks protected them from the enemy's fire. After pausing a few moments to recover their breath, they began to climb the hill, and twenty minutes later they had gained the crest and dislodged the enemy. All England is ringing with the praises of these brave men. General Lockhart, who commands one wing of the frontier army, has personally thanked the Gordon Highlanders for their gallant conduct. He told them that this brave deed of theirs was one which might worthily be placed side by side with the other great records which this famous regiment has made for itself in the past. The colonel and officers of the regiment were also thanked for their fine leadership.