"I understand, sahib; and you may be sure Bhop Lal and I will act according to your orders."
Two days later there was a great hubbub heard in the camp Bhop Lal, looking out from the door of the tent, said:
"The army has come, sahib. The Sikhs on the other bank are retiring."
Percy went to the entrance of the tent, which faced the river, and stood there looking out. Numbers of horse and foot could be seen crossing. A cloud of dust rose a mile and a half away, while in camp there was the deep rumble of guns as these were brought up to the river to command the passage.
"They are cavalry, sahib," Bhop Lal said, as amid the cloud of dust there was a sparkle of steel, and a body of horse came clashing forward. Almost at the same instant the crack of guns was heard and shells burst over and among the Sikhs on the other side of the river, greatly hastening their movements. The bed of the river was of great width, but was now for the most part dry. On the other side the bank was high, and from its foot a very wide bed of sand extended to what, in the wet season, was a green island in the middle of the river. The stream itself ran on the Sikh side of the island.
Before the British cavalry and guns came up the last of the Sikh force on the other side were well on their way across the river, but the guns were at once unlimbered and sent shot after shot into them, until they were almost across and out of range, for the width from bank to bank was nearly two miles.
Not content with this, two British batteries moved down from the bank, and charged across the sand, from time to time firing at the Sikhs retreating across the ford; but when they came near the edge of the river the Sikh batteries on the high bank opened upon them.
"They will have to fall back," Percy said; "the guns here are much heavier than theirs, and they can never remain there in the open exposed to this fire."
It was not long before the officers commanding the British batteries discovered this, and gave the order for the guns to limber up. Some confusion was visible among them. The horses were taken from two of the guns and attached to another.
"That gun has got into a quicksand or something of that sort," Percy said, "and they can't move it."