Page:History of India Vol 3.djvu/45

BATTLE AT THE KHAIBAK 21 hastily entrenched his camp and waited forty days, facing the constantly swelling forces of the enemy. His first move, probably a mere reconnaissance, was disastrous. The thousand archers he sent forward were driven back into the camp, followed by a charging mob of wild Gakkars a fierce Scythian tribe whose out- breaks troubled the peace of the northwest frontier as late as 1857, and whose savage aspect, bareheaded and barefoot, and barbarous habits of infanticide and poly- andry, struck terror and disgust among the Moslems. These frantic hillmen rushed the trenches and slashed right and left; man and horse fell before their on- slaught, and the Turks were well-nigh panic-stricken. The Rajputs were already advancing under cover of the Gakkars' charge, and Mahmud was about to sound the retreat, when one of those lucky accidents happened which have often turned the fortune of a day. Anand- pal's elephant took fright; the rumour ran that the raja was flying from the field; vague suspicions and distrust spread, and a general stampede ensued. In- stead of retreating before a victorious army, in the turn of an instant Mahmud found himself pursuing a routed horde. For two days the Moslems slew, cap- tured, and despoiled to their hearts' content. " They had come through fire and through water, but their Lord had brought them into a wealthy place." On a spur of the snow mountains, surrounded by a moat, stood the fortress of Kangra (Nagarkot), deemed impregnable by mortal power. Here the rajas and wealthy men of India were wont to store their