We had to hold on to the Signal Tower because we could communicate with the people on the Malakand from there, while we couldn't from the Fort itself.

The Amandara ridge, on the other side of the valley, as you can see, just hides the Pass from us.

Well, the handful of men in the tower managed to keep in communication with the main force, and this is how it was done.

A Sepoy called Prem Singh used to come out into full view of the enemy through a porthole of the tower, deliberately set up his apparatus, and heliograph away to the main force in the Malakand Camp, with the Swatis firing at him from short range.

How it was he was not hit, I could never understand.