four o'clock
As soon as the enemy -- who were still opposing the 2nd Punjaub Infantry -- saw the head of the column enter the defile , they were seized with a panic lest their retreat should be cut off ; and began to retreat with the greatest haste , as they had to make their way across two mountain ridges , before they could pass the spot towards which our troops were moving . The advance of the column , however , was necessarily slow ; as the woods and side valleys had to be carefully examined , lest a flank attack should be made upon them . In two hours the head of the column emerged from the forest on to the open slopes above the highest cultivated point in the Hurriab valley . It was now four o'clock . The short December day was drawing to a close . No enemy were in sight , for their line of retreat was hidden in the bed of the stream , a couple of miles further on ; and no one knew where they were to be found . The troops were much exhausted with the want of rest , and with their heavy work -- for they had now been marching , and fighting , for eighteen hours -- and they were glad to receive the order to bivouac ; although they had no tents , or food , and the cold -- as might be expected on a winter day , at an elevation of over 9000 feet above the sea -- began to be very severe .