The Memoirs of Bābur 908.2.7

908.2.7

My standard-bearer had no time to adjust my standard,[639] he just mounted with it in his hand. There were ten or fifteen men with me when we started toward the enemy; after riding an arrow's flight, when we came up with his scouts, there may have been ten. Going rapidly forward, we overtook him, poured in arrows on him, over-mastered his foremost men and hurried them off. We followed them for another arrow's flight and came up with his centre where Sl. Aḥmad _Taṃbal_ himself was, with as many as [Sidenote: Fol. 107.] 100 men. He and another were standing in front of his array, as if keeping a Gate,[640] and were shouting, 'Strike, strike!' but his men, mostly, were sidling, as if asking themselves, 'Shall we run away? Shall we not?' By this time three were left with me; one was Nāṣir's Dost, another, Mīrzā Qulī _Kūkūldāsh_, the third, Khudāī-bīrdī _Turkmān's_ Karīm-dād.[641] I shot off the arrow on my thumb,[642] aiming at Taṃbal's helm. When I put my hand into my quiver, there came out a quite new _gosha-gīr_[643] given me by my Younger Khān dādā. It would have been vexing to throw it away but before I got it back into the quiver, there had been time to shoot, maybe, two or three arrows. When once more I had an arrow on the string, I went forward, my three men even holding back. One of those two in advance, Taṃbal seemingly,[644] moved forward also. The high-road was between us;