noon
The army had suffered much from want of water , but they had obtained plenty from a lake within three days ' march from El Obeid . From this point they were incessantly fired at , by the enemy . On the second day they were attacked , but beat off the enemy , though with heavy loss to themselves . The next day they pressed forward , as it was necessary to get to water ; but they were misled by their guide , and at noon the Arabs burst down upon them , the square in which the force was marching was broken , and a terrible slaughter took place . Then Hicks Pasha , with his officers , seeing that all was lost , gathered together and kept the enemy at bay with their revolvers , till their ammunition was exhausted . After that they fought with their swords till all were killed , Hicks Pasha being the last to fall . The lad himself hid among the dead and was not discovered until the next morning , when he was made a slave by the man who found him .