It is wonderful how often sheer boldness succeeds in warfare; here was
a small body of troops marching forty miles _en l'air_ through the
enemy's fastnesses, and at the weary end unknown thousands blocking the
way. With scarce a halt, horse and foot plodded on and on, till evening
came and darkness fell, and still they marched along the dimly marked
track. Near midnight the lights of Kabul and Sherpur became closely
visible, and the crucial moment had arrived. But "by the kindness of
God," as the ressaldar-major piously remarked, the night was very cold,
Kabul lies six thousand feet above the sea, and a warm hut is better
than an open field; and in fact, to make a long story short, the Afghans
were keeping no watch on the road by which the Guides came, and thus the
whole corps marched swiftly through the enemy's lines without firing a
shot or losing a man. In Sherpur they were warmly welcomed by Sir
Frederick Roberts and many old comrades, for, as at the siege of Delhi,
the boldness, swiftness, and assuredness of their arrival added
heartening and encouraging effect quite out of proportion to the
numerical addition to the strength of the garrison.
During the next two days the Guides' infantry took part in the great
assaults on the Takht-i-Shah, and the Asmai heights, with the 72nd and
92nd Highlanders; and in these Captain Fred Battye was dangerously
wounded, and Captain A.
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