two o'clock
At first it was said that the British were being utterly routed , that they were being exterminated by the Afghan fire , that the hill tribes were sweeping down upon their rear , and that not a man would escape . Presently the reports became more contradictory . The firing was still heard , but it was no longer one continuous roll . Some said that the British were annihilated ; others that , repulsed in their attack , they had fallen back to their camp but , soon after two o'clock , Yossouf rushed up to William 's room with the news that the Afghans had been driven from the heights , and that the British were in possession of these , and of the defile through them . Yossouf had , throughout the morning , been swayed by conflicting emotions and wishes . At one moment he hoped that his countrymen might conquer ; then the fear that , after victory , the Hindoo quarter might be sacked , and his English friend discovered and killed , overpowered his feeling of patriotism . It must be remembered that Afghanistan has , for centuries , been rather a geographical expression than a country .