It was in crossing this open ground that the extraordinary bravery of the enemy became more brilliantly evident. Standard-bearers with reckless gallantry could be seen rushing to certain destruction, falling perhaps within ten yards of the invincible line of the Guides. Nay, sometimes men, devoid of all fear, and having used up the whole of their ammunition, rushed forward with large rocks and hurled these at the soldiers, courting instant death. They were like hounds on their prey. Nothing could damp their ardour or check the fury of their assaults. Even after the Guides had crossed the Jandul stream, and the enemy were under a severe flank fire from the Gordon Highlanders and the King's Own Scottish Borderers, they dashed into the stream, where each one stood out as clear as a bull's eye on a target, and attempted to close again. But not a man got across, so steady and well directed was the flank fire of the British regiments. The fight was now practically over for the day; fire slackened all round, and the entrenched position was rapidly occupied, and strengthened where necessary. During the day the enemy, who numbered 5,000, lost from 500 to 600 men; the Guides' total loss was only about twenty, a result due to the skilful manner in which the retirement was effected, as well as to the fine cover afforded by the broken ground on the mountain side.
It was now evening, and preparations had to be made to meet a night attack, for the enemy, several thousand strong, were still close round hidden behind the low hills. As a reinforcement a couple of companies of the 4th Sikhs and some extra British officers were sent across on rafts, also a Maxim gun; whilst the near bank, which commanded the bridge head entrenchment at 800 yards' range, was occupied by a mountain battery, and the troops of the 2nd Brigade. The position of the enemy being such as it was, the night was one of some anxiety, for a determined rush might be expected at any moment. Such an attack was planned and on the eve of being executed, when the unexpected, and as it seemed to the enemy, magical, appearance of a star shell completely dumfounded the hitherto dauntless foe, and the attack was not delivered. From the information of spies it appeared afterwards that 2,000 chosen warriors, sword in hand, lay concealed in the standing corn just outside the picquets, merely awaiting the signal for assault, when this happy contrivance of civilisation staved off a fight, which could only have been attended with enormous loss on both sides. Before the enemy finally drew off, however, the force sustained a serious loss in the death of Captain Peebles, in charge of the Maxim gun. This officer's services had proved invaluable from his intimate knowledge of the working of the Maxim, a gun which in inexpert hands is apt, like other pieces of mechanism, to get out of order. The working of Captain Peebles's gun had been the admiration of the whole force throughout the campaign.