Instantly the twenty-nine charged; with equal celerity the advance guard bolted.
From the crest of a rocky pass Philip looked down on a column of fully a thousand men.

The situation was critical.

It called for prompt handling.

Five men held the horses; twenty-three spread themselves among the rocks; Philip unslung his carbine; and twenty-four rifles indulged in long-range practice on a narrow mountain path crowded with men and animals.
Nothing more was needed.

It has been noted already that the Brazilians disliked long-range shooting.