Their line was quite broken, and it was some minutes before Challis could reform it. Even then it was incomplete, for many of the men, carried away by their ardour, had dashed among the trees.
But the line was reformed only just in time. Round the base of the hill galloped a force of Tubus from the second camp, led by Goruba. It was clear from the disorder of their ranks that they had mounted and rushed off without any attempt to form up.
Challis felt a good deal of anxiety about the result of the approaching collision until he saw that the Tubus were much fewer in number than his own men. Their lack of order also gave him a great advantage.
Shouting to his men to plant their pikes and stand firm, he awaited the onset. Goruba and the foremost of the Tubus charged straight upon the bristling barrier. Down they went, though the impact felled many of the pikemen. But their fall caused their comrades behind to hesitate. Challis was quick to seize the moment. With a shrill blast of his whistle he ordered his men to charge, and the willing negroes, always more ready to advance than to hold their ground, rushed forward with an impetuosity that carried all before it.
Some of the Tubus turned at once and galloped away. A few stood for several moments, as if weighing the chances of a countercharge; then they too, wheeled their horses about and urged them to a frantic gallop. Within a few minutes from the first dash, the hillside in this quarter was clear.
Challis again called off his men, and hastened to search for Goruba, whom he expected to find dead or at least seriously wounded on the ground. But among the fallen enemy there was no trace of the giant. He had disappeared.
Meanwhile, Royce, according to his arrangement with Challis, had dealt with the enemy in the third camp. He had almost given up hope when he heard the first sounds of the fray.
The third party of Tubus, when the alarm was raised, took a course which would have brought them on the rear of Challis's men. This had been foreseen by Royce. After Challis's departure in the night, he had had the gateway cleared, except for a light, movable barrier, in readiness for a sortie. He had seen from the walls the flight of the first party of the enemy, and the other two parties rushing to the rescue, one on Challis's front, the other on his rear. Leaving Challis to deal with the frontal attack, he led his men out through the gateway to head off the other party.
