On the
instant the troops swung round and locked up into a long, galloping
line.
"Two hundred and fifty yards away, the dark blue men were firing madly
in a thin film of light-blue smoke. Their bullets struck the hard
gravel into the air, and the troopers, to shield their faces from the
stinging dust, bowed their helmets forward, like the Cuirassiers at
Waterloo. The pace was fast and the distance short. Yet before it was
half covered the whole aspect of the affair changed. A deep crease in
the ground--a dry watercourse, a _khor_--appeared where all had seemed
smooth, level plain; and from it there sprang, with the suddenness of a
pantomime effect and a high-pitched yell, a dense white mass of men
nearly as long as our front and about twelve deep. A score of horsemen
and a dozen bright flags rose as if by magic from the earth. The
Lancers acknowledged the apparition only by an increase of pace."
In such a melee as then followed, that trooper was lucky indeed who
escaped without a scratch.
As a result of his bravery at Atbara and Khartoum, Haig's name was
mentioned in the official despatches. He returned to England wearing
the Khedive's medal and the honorary title of Major.
It is probable, however, that little more would have been heard of him,
had not the South African War broken out, soon after.
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