This was
immediately filled by Maxwell's brigade, so that the whole force was now
formed in one line, which curved and wheeled continually to the right
until, by the time the rocky hills had been taken, all three brigades
practically faced west and were advancing together towards the Nile.
The Dervishes--penned between the river and the enemy, and unable to
prevent the remorseless advance, which every moment restricted them to
narrower limits--now thought only of flight, and they could be seen
galloping hither and thither seeking for some means of escape.
The position of the Desert Column would have enabled the XIIth Soudanese,
by moving down to the river, to cut off this line of retreat; but the
foreshore of the river at the southern end of Firket is concealed from
a landward view by the steep bank, and by this sandy path the greater
number of the fugitives found safety.
The cavalry and the Camel Corps, instead of cutting at the flank,
contented themselves with making a direct pursuit after the enemy had
crossed their front, and in consequence several hundred Arabs made good
their escape to the south. Others swam the river and fled by the west bank.
The wicked Osman Azrak, his authority now no longer disputed, for his rival
was a corpse, galloped from the field and reached Suarda. The rest of the
Dervish force held to the houses, and variously prepared to fight to
the death or surrender to their conquerors.
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