diff options
Diffstat (limited to '41594-0.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 41594-0.txt | 11819 |
1 files changed, 11819 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/41594-0.txt b/41594-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9c9f631 --- /dev/null +++ b/41594-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11819 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41594 *** + +THE DISPUTED V.C. + + + + + BLACKIE & SON LIMITED + 50 Old Bailey, LONDON + 17 Stanhope Street, GLASGOW + + BLACKIE & SON (INDIA) LIMITED + Warwick House, Fort Street, BOMBAY + + BLACKIE & SON (CANADA) LIMITED + 1118 Bay Street, TORONTO + + + + + [Illustration: HE DROPPED THE LIGHTED CANDLE ON THE THIN TRAIL + OF POWDER _Page 88_ _Frontispiece_] + + + + +THE DISPUTED V.C. + + +A Tale of the Indian Mutiny + + +BY + +FREDERICK P. GIBBON + + +_Illustrated by Stanley L. Wood_ + + +BLACKIE & SON LIMITED + +LONDON AND GLASGOW + + + + +Zenith Library + + _BOYS_ + =The Disputed V.C.= Frederick P. Gibbon. + =The First Mate.= Harry Collingwood. + =The Boy Castaways.= H. Taprell Dorling. + ="Quills".= Walter C. Rhoades. + + _GIRLS_ + =The Youngest Sister.= Bessie Marchant. + =A Princess of Servia.= Bessie Marchant. + =A True Cornish Maid.= G. Norway. + =Meriel's Career.= Mary B. Whiting. + + +_Printed in Great Britain by Blackie & Son, Ltd., Glasgow_ + + + + +CONTENTS + + + CHAP. Page + I. TED DISAPPROVES 9 + II. AN EXCITING DAY 22 + III. TED DOES NOT THINK MUCH OF THE GUIDES 29 + IV. THE FANATICS 40 + V. THE CAD OF THE REGIMENT 46 + VI. THE OUTBREAK OF THE MUTINY 52 + VII. WEIGHED IN THE BALANCE 60 + VIII. THE FIGHT IN THE ARSENAL 69 + IX. DEFENCE OF THE COMMISSIONER'S HOUSE 89 + X. HOPE AND DESPAIR 104 + XI. IN THE CLUTCHES OF PIR BAKSH 111 + XII. THE TREACHERY OF THE GUIDES 122 + XIII. TYNAN MAKES HIS CHOICE 134 + XIV. THE MARCH OF THE GUIDE CORPS 145 + XV. TED'S FIRST BATTLE 154 + XVI. THE POST OF HONOUR 162 + XVII. WITH THE GURKHA PICKET 173 + XVIII. TED'S HOPES ARE RAISED AND DASHED TO THE GROUND 181 + XIX. TED'S FRIENDS ARE BEWILDERED 201 + XX. AN ADVENTURE ON THE RIDGE 214 + XXI. WOMBWELL'S MENAGERIE 229 + XXII. TED DISTINGUISHES HIMSELF 243 + XXIII. TED EXTINGUISHES HIMSELF 255 + XXIV. PIR BAKSH RENDERS TYNAN A SERVICE 266 + XXV. TO THE RESCUE 282 + XXVI. LUCKNOW RELIEVED 298 + XXVII. AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE NANA SAHIB 312 + XXVIII. THE FINAL SCENE AT LUCKNOW 330 + XXIX. JIM DISPOSED OF 342 + + + + +Illustrations + + + Facing Page + HE DROPPED THE LIGHTED CANDLE ON THE THIN TRAIL + OF POWDER _Frontispiece_ + + BATTYE ROSE IN HIS STIRRUPS AND THUNDERED FORTH + THE ORDER TO CHARGE 160 + + THE REBEL REELED AGAINST THE WALL 336 + + + + +CHAPTER I + +Ted Disapproves + + +Ted Russell, ensign of the 193rd Bengal Native Infantry, stationed at +Aurungpore, in the Punjab, was disgusted and irritable on this first day +of the never-to-be-forgotten year of 1857--a year destined to bring +untold misery to thousands of homes and families, and to many a race and +creed throughout Hindustan and the British Isles; a year that would +henceforward lie as a dark stain across the page of history. + +But our young friend's ill-humour could be traced to a much simpler +cause than a mere prophetic dread of the future. Ensign Russell had not +been in India many months, and during the whole of that short period he +had looked forward with lively and pleasant anticipation to a visit from +his brother Jim, whom he had seen but twice in the past ten years, and +who was quite a veteran warrior in Ted's admiring eyes. For Captain +Russell had been engaged in the Sikh war as well as in several affrays +with the border Pathans; he was the proud possessor of more than one +medal, and had quite a prominent scar across his face--the mark of a +Khyber knife. For the past twelve months he had held the rank of captain +in the ten-year-old corps of Guides, stationed near Peshawur across the +Indus, the town that guards the Khyber Pass--the gate of India. + +At length this hero-brother had obtained leave of absence to visit +Aurungpore, and great was the delight of both. + +Now, here is what had disgusted the ensign. Before the stalwart captain, +who had successfully held his own against Sikhs and Afghans, had been +with Ted a couple of days, he had actually suffered defeat at the hands +of a slip of a girl of twenty-one--a girl about five feet in height, the +daughter of Ted's colonel! Jim, who of all men should have been proof +against such silly nonsense--such idiocy!--had succumbed at first sight, +and instead of spinning yarns about his campaigns and his defence of +Chiras Fort, he was mooning about all day long in the wake of this Ethel +Woodburn. + +Ensign Russell quickly found that, whatever plans he might make for the +day, his brother would be sure to demur, unless the programme provided +some chance of their meeting or seeing Miss Woodburn. He would plead +fatigue or lack of interest, and then propose as an alternative +something either much more fatiguing, or--in the boy's eyes--much less +interesting. The paltry excuses he made for altering the plans! Poor +fellow, he thought that the "kid" would not see through his transparent +subterfuges; but that sharp-witted youngster was not so easily befooled, +and he voted the proceedings slow, and did not fail to express the +opinion that his brother was no better than a milksop. + +"You say you don't 'feel inclined' to ride to Khasmi to-day," exclaimed +Ted in disgust, "because your horse is not quite fit! Bosh! Nimrod never +was better in his life, and he's just eating his head off. I was looking +at him this morning; he's in the pink of condition, and he simply begged +me to take him out. Would he be in any better condition, I wonder, if +Ethel Woodburn was likely to be there?" + +Jim turned red, and sharply asked: "What had Miss Woodburn to do with +it?" + +"That's what I should like to know!" Ted retorted. He then looked up at +the ceiling, placed his hands in his pockets, and calmly observed: +"You've no chance there, Jim, she's hooked already." + +"What d'you say?" exclaimed the excited captain. "It's not true. What +d'you mean?" he repeated. "You don't say that Miss Woodburn is engaged?" + +"Oh, never mind Miss Woodburn!" drawled Ted in his most exasperating +manner. "What's she got to do with it? The question is whether we ride +to Khasmi or not." + +"Tell me what you mean, you little beggar," Jim went on, half angry, yet +laughing in spite of himself. + +Ted crossed his legs, and, still gazing at the ceiling, drawled: "Why, +be calm, Russell Major. You just asked what she had to do with the +matter of our ride to Khasmi. Why this sudden interest?" + +Captain Russell kept his temper and laughed. + +"Don't try to be too smart, young 'un," he advised. "But it isn't true +that she's engaged to be married, is it?" + +"Well--p'r'aps not exactly that she's engaged," Ted admitted. + +There was a tone of pompous condescension in his voice as he went on: +"But I hear that Sir Arthur Fletcher, the commissioner here, you know, +is gone on her, and, of course, as he's a splendid catch, the 'old man' +will want her to marry him, and I don't suppose she'll need much +pressing, for he's a jolly decent fellow. And besides him, half of our +fellows are in love with her, though I don't know why. I don't see much +in her myself; she seems a very ordinary sort of girl to me. And she's +such a little thing, you know!" + +"You conceited young booby!" Jim laughed. "I shall have to take the +bounce out of you, young man." + +Captain Russell began to hate the Commissioner of the Aurungpore +district very cordially, as well as all the unmarried officers of the +193rd--half of them for daring to aspire to the hand of his charmer, and +the other half for being such soulless clods as to refrain from +kneeling before the shrine at which he worshipped. Needless to add, +then, that he spent a most unhappy day and sleepless night. + +Jim was the eldest son, and Ted the third, of Major-General Russell, a +soldier who had distinguished himself as a youngster in the Gurkha war +of 1815, and later in the Afghan and Sikh campaigns. Jim had been ten +years in India, and had fought against the Sikhs and helped to conquer +their country, the Punjab, before he had been out many months. A year or +two later he and his cousin, Charlie Dorricot, had been shut up in the +small fort of Chiras, with a mere handful of sepoys, and they had come +through the siege with credit. Dorricot was now a lieutenant in the +Sirmur Battalion, stationed in the Dehra Dun, near Simla. + +The evening following the above conversation, Jim burst into Ted's +quarters. His face was flushed but beaming, and his eyes seemed to dance +through sheer happiness. By way of brotherly greeting he struck the +ensign in the chest. + +"Well, young 'un," he cheerfully exclaimed, "you may congratulate me!" + +"I'll--I'll knock you down!" answered Ted, staggering from the blow. +"You bully, why am I to be permitted to congratulate you?" + +By way of reply, Jim took hold of his scandalized brother and whirled +him round the room. + +"Because I'm engaged to be married, Ted, to the dearest, sweetest, best +girl in the world!" + +"Oh!" gasped Ted. He had divined the cause of Jim's excitement, but the +opportunity for making fun of his senior was too good to be thrown away. +"And what's the dearest, sweetest, best, loveliest, most adorable girl +in the world thinking of to have you? Besides, what about Miss Woodburn? +I thought you were sweet on her, you know." + +Captain Russell was a sterling good fellow, but his nature was somewhat +slower than that of his brother. He stared at the cheeky youngster for a +moment before he grasped the meaning of the sarcasm. He recollected that +these events formed privileged occasions for youthful wit, and grinned +affably; having gained his heart's desire he could afford to be +easy-tempered and tolerant of satire. + +"You young cub," he laughed, "you're too facetious for a small boy. It's +Ethel Woodburn I'm engaged to, as you know very well." + +"Oh!" said Ted slowly. "I didn't recognize her from that glowing +description." + +Russell Minor dodged out of reach, keeping the table between them. + +"Pax, old man, I'll apologize; I s'pose she's not a bad sort--for a +girl. So I congratulate you--that is, if you _had_ to go and get hooked +I don't know that you could have done better. Have you written home +yet?" + +"Do be sensible. How could I? Only settled it a couple of hours ago, and +I'm going to write now. Wonder what the mater'll think!" + +Captain Russell sat down and took out a pen and some writing-paper. He +shortly rose, however, and pushed the paper from him. + +"No, I'll wait till to-morrow," he muttered. "I'm not quite sure that +I'm not dreaming now, so I'll go and walk it off." + +This was going from bad to worse, thought Ted, as two more days passed +and his brother was spending all his precious leave walking or riding +about with the girl, who seemed just as stupidly happy as he. Though Ted +believed (in spite of his chaff) that no one could help liking and +admiring his brother, he could not see the sense of this falling in +love. Why on earth was this foolish Ethel Woodburn continually casting +hurried glances across the room at Jim? Still more incomprehensible was +the look of gloom that settled on his brother's face whenever Ethel +quitted the room for however short a period, or the sudden access of joy +when she returned. + +"Thank goodness, I shall never make such a fool of myself!" he +reflected; but even this thought did not console him for the loss of his +brother's society. True, both Jim and Ethel frequently asked him to join +in their rides and walks, but, recognizing the truth of the old saying +that "two's company, three's none", he decided not to become a nuisance +to the lovers. He was far from satisfied with the new conditions, +however, and considered himself ill-used. + +"Why should Ethel Woodburn come between us in this way," he grumbled to +himself, "when I'd been looking forward to such a good time with old +Jim? I wish she'd stayed in England." + +He became morose and irritable, answering curtly when Jim spoke to him, +and keeping out of Miss Woodburn's way as much as possible. Captain +Russell was too happy to take much notice of the change in the "young +'un's" manner, but Ethel observed it with pain. She liked Ted, and had +always considered him the nicest boy in the regiment, and her love and +admiration for Jim and the pleasure she found in being with him made her +see more clearly how the ensign felt the loss of his brother's society. +She hated the idea of causing a coolness between them, and determined to +do her utmost to gain Ted's friendship and reconcile him to the +inevitable. + +She therefore took the first opportunity to speak to him when Jim was +not present. + +"Ted," she began, "won't you come a ride with us to-morrow? I wish you +would." + +"Oh, you won't want me!" the ensign ungraciously replied. "I shall only +be in the way." + +"But we do want you, really. Jim came here to see you, and it seems +horrid of me to monopolize him as I have been doing, when you ought to +have the first claim. You know," she continued with a sparkle of fun in +her eyes, "that one can't help falling in love, so you must not be too +hard on us. You and I are to be brother and sister, and I do want us to +be good friends, and I wish to know you better, Ted. Do join us +to-morrow!" + +"Would you really like me to?" + +"I should, honestly. You'll come, won't you?" + +"Thank you very much, Ethel,--only I don't want to be a nuisance." + +"And I don't wish you to think me a nuisance. Thank you, Ted; it's very +decent of you to come." + +When she had gone, Ted was undecided whether to be pleased or not. In +common with many others he found a certain unhealthy enjoyment in +cherishing a grievance. Our hero was a good specimen of the type of boy +from whose ranks the British ensign was recruited. Rather tall for his +age, he was well built and proportioned, not weedy; fairly good-looking, +though by no means handsome, with honest eyes that could look one +straight in the face. A good athlete and gymnast, he had been regarded +as the strongest forward in the school fifteen. He was also a good +bowler, and the best outfield in the school, though he did not shine +with the bat. His intellectual attainments had perhaps been less +striking, though no one had ever classed him as a "duffer". Many a +scrape had he been in, and many a punishment had he received, and he had +never tried to clear himself by means of a lie. + +Being therefore a healthy-minded boy, he saw clearly, when Miss Woodburn +had left him, that his fit of sulks and jealousy had been rather +foolish, and that his grievances against her were imaginary. No one +likes to appear a fool even to one's self, so, not unnaturally, false +pride set to work to seek excuses for his conduct, and when the time +came to join them, he was still undecided, and almost ready to take the +first opportunity to desert them. + +They trotted away from cantonments, past the tank, and along a road that +led between stretches of level fields green with the young corn. The +faint breeze brought with it the clean smell of damp earth, recalling to +Ted's mind many a ride at home when the wind blew from the south-west. +Ethel and Jim were in the highest of spirits, and they chaffed one +another freely, greatly to the edification of the ensign, who had +anticipated unlimited "spooning"--a state of mind he loathed. He quickly +made the discovery that his future sister-in-law was by no means bad +fun, and when he and Jim entered into a dispute respecting the merits of +the Guides as compared with the 193rd, Ethel took his side against her +lover, wittily supporting the ensign's arguments and making fun of the +Guides. Strange to say, Captain Russell appealed to like and admire the +raillery of the girl he worshipped. + +Ethel Woodburn was not merely a good-looking, dainty, and sweet-tempered +girl--she was good throughout; and as she was not above taking pains to +gain the approval of her lover's brother, she rapidly won a place in +that youth's by no means too susceptible heart. + +Ethel was a graceful horsewoman, and this accomplishment told in Ted's +eyes, for he himself was an uncommonly good rider to hounds. Accustomed +to horses from his earliest childhood, he loved and understood the noble +creatures. When home from school in the winter he had rarely missed a +meet of the Cheshire hounds, and had more than once been in at the +death. So fond was he of horses that he had set his heart upon joining a +cavalry regiment, but Major-General Russell had decided against that +expensive luxury. + +He therefore approved cordially, and with open admiration, of Ethel's +fearless riding and firm seat, and, muttering to himself "She'll do!" he +began to acquiesce more willingly in the new order of things. + +Ted's horse--"Tommy Dodd"--a powerful roan purchased quite recently, was +young and foolish, and started violently on the slightest provocation, +swerving from one side of the road to the other, or prancing on +hind-legs with frightened eyes and twitching ears. But the boy kept his +seat with unperturbed face, soothing the steed until Tommy had recovered +from his alarm. Ethel, for her part, watched his perfect mastery of the +animal with undisguised admiration. + +"You're fond of horses, Ted; ain't they glorious?" she asked, stroking +her chestnut affectionately. "I'm glad we have tastes in common." + +"Yes. I think I like riding better than anything else," the ensign +replied with enthusiasm. + +"Ted's a good rider!" Jim observed approvingly; "a good deal better than +I am. He took to it like a duck to water." + +"By the way, Jim, you're staying over the races, ain't you?" the younger +brother enquired. + +"Let me see, when do they come off? To-day week?" + +"Yes, you _must_ stay!" declared Ethel. + +"I think I can manage it, but I must certainly leave on the following +day." + +"Shall we carry off the cup, Ted?" the girl went on, appealing to the +ensign's _esprit de corps_ with a smile that went to his heart. The +Aurungpore cup was now in the mess-room of the 193rd, and strenuous +efforts were to be made to wrest it from the regiment. + +"I don't think anything is likely to beat 'The Padre' if Markham's knee +will only get better." + +"Is the regiment putting its trust in Captain Markham's mount, then?" +asked Jim. + +"Yes," replied the girl. "We have two other horses entered, but they say +that neither of them will have a chance against Lieutenant Harrington's +of the Ahmednuggur Irregulars, or Mr. Vernon's 'Flying Fox'." + +"Who's he?" + +"Mr. Vernon? Oh, he's a civilian--a 'duck'." + +"Madame!" exclaimed Jim, pretending to appear shocked beyond measure. + +"Yes, sir; a duck!" Ethel repeated, unabashed. + +"Please understand, madame, that you must henceforward apply that +endearing epithet to no one save your affianced husband," Jim +peremptorily ordered. + +"I shall certainly not apply it to you, Jim," replied the laughing girl. +"I do respect you a little, you know." + +"That's so," interposed Ted. "Old Jim's a good bit of an ass, you know, +but he's not quite idiotic or depraved enough to be likened to a duck. +Is Mr. Vernon a fool that you call him that?" + +"By no means; he's a most charming man. I simply intimated that until +recently he has been employed in the Company's service in the Bombay +Presidency. Haven't you learned that slang yet, Ted?" + +"No! What on earth do you mean?" + +"Well, if a man serves in Bengal he's a _Qui hy_; in Bombay he becomes a +_duck_, and in Madras he's _benighted_. You know that you're a +_griffin_,[1] I suppose?" + + [1] A new-comer--equivalent to the American "tenderfoot". + +"Oh, yes! I know that much." + +"In reply to your question, then, Jim, Mr. Vernon has not been here +long; he owns a good horse, and he's a first-rate rider. One of your +Guide officers is in too, is he not?" + +"Spencer means to have a try, and he'll take a lot of beating. The men +of the Guides cavalry can ride, understand, and you ought to feel +honoured that one is going to take the trouble to patronize your races." + +"Ah, well! the 193rd don't fear any officers of the Guides; do we, Ted?" + +"Not a bit! The Guides are only a lot of brigands!" he made answer. + +"Exactly. I keep telling your brother that it will go against the grain +to marry a man in such a disreputable corps." + +Jim grinned. "Then give me back my freedom," said he. + +"I don't know what we shall do," continued the girl, treating this +remark with the contempt it deserved, "if Captain Markham's knee refuses +to get right. He's a perfect steeple-chaser, and it's as much through +his handling as the merits of his horse that we hope to win the day. +'The Padre' is a most lovable animal, but this is his first +steeple-chase." + +"Can no one take Markham's place, then, if he should be unable to ride?" + +"I'm afraid not. You see, none of our officers is first-class at the +sport, and the two best are already engaged to ride their own mounts. So +if 'The Padre's' owner doesn't ride--why, we shall lose the cup." + +Suddenly a bright and joyful idea seized upon the girl. + +"Why, Ted," she exclaimed, "I believe you could ride him!" + +"Oh, no! I don't know the horse, and I've never ridden in a flat race, +much less a steeple-chase." + +"You'd do it very well," affirmed the elder brother, and praise from Jim +was praise indeed. It was the first compliment he had paid the "young +'un" during the visit. + +"I'm sure you would, Ted," the girl affirmed. "Do--for the honour of the +193rd!" + +Flushed with excitement and with the glow of perfect health, Ethel +Woodburn looked charming that winter morning. Needless to say that one +man in the world thought so. Ted blushed at the compliment to his +riding. + +"But what about Markham?" he objected. "I suppose you'll consult him +first? It's hardly likely that he'd trust me on 'The Padre'." + +"That will be all right. I can manage Captain Markham." + +"Oh indeed, madame!" observed Jim. "Another wretched victim of your +wiles, I suppose?" + +"Exactly so, sir. I trust this will show you the necessity for good +behaviour if you wish to remain honoured by my favour." + +Ensign Russell was beginning to think that after all engaged couples did +not of necessity behave in quite so silly a fashion as he had imagined. +Certainly these two seemed to enjoy poking fun at one another, and +showed no signs of "spooning", each treating the other as the best of +friends. Ethel was undoubtedly an uncommonly jolly girl, quite without +"side", and the boy was enjoying the ride immensely. How they behaved +when he was not present he had no means of judging. Possibly he would +have changed his opinion had he known. + +By this time the three had returned close to the regimental +parade-ground, and, obedient to the pressure of Ted's right leg, "Tommy +Dodd" wheeled and trotted towards his stable. + +Captain Markham was only too glad to learn from Miss Woodburn of our +hero's riding capabilities and willingness to mount "The Padre". The +owner explained to Ted that he had bestowed this name on the animal on +account of its wonderful good temper and gentle nature. + +"If ever there was a genial horse it's 'The Padre'. Whatever happens, +you feel that you simply can't lose your temper whilst you're riding +him, he would be so shocked and hurt." + +"You should mount Tynan on him, then," suggested Ted, in allusion to a +brother ensign, a lad of seventeen, who rarely omitted to include a few +blackguardly oaths in his conversation. + +"That little wretch! I wouldn't allow him to touch 'The Padre', even +with his gloves on. I shall be kicking that sweet youth one of these +days--hard! I wish he would see the advisability of exchanging into some +other regiment." + +"The Padre" was a gray four-year-old thoroughbred; a compact horse, to +whose bold, friendly, wide-apart eyes Ted at once took a liking. His +long lean head and well-shaped neck, firmly set on good sloping +shoulders, augured a first-class chaser, as did also his powerful back +and loins, strong quarters, and short flat feet. Ted looked him over, +and knew enough to appreciate these points, and was also glad to notice +that there was plenty of length from hip to hock. + +"The last half-mile of the course is downhill," Markham informed him, +"and that is where 'The Padre's' shoulders will come in." + +Ted mounted the gray, and almost before his knees had gripped the saddle +he felt that he had never been on so noble a beast before. He trotted +and cantered up and down the parade-ground before giving the horse his +head, and then returned to the owner flushed and joyful. + +The captain's eyes twinkled. + +"You'll do, I think, Russell; I can easily see that you like one +another." + +"He's just grand!" was the boy's enthusiastic comment. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +An Exciting Day + + +Every morning saw the boy thoroughly practising his mount, encouraged by +the owner, and at length the eventful day arrived. + +A large and gay crowd had gathered about the course, and included every +white man and woman in the station, not to speak of the thousands of +Sikhs, Punjabis, Afghans, and Hindus who had assembled to witness the +Englishman's sport. The 193rd Native Infantry had turned out in +hundreds, keen on the victory of Markham Sahib's horse, and ready to +applaud until their voices gave out. There were officers in uniform and +officers without uniform; many coming from distant stations to witness +the race, which was the most important in that part of the Punjab. +Several of the British, and one or two of the native officers of the +Ahmednuggur Irregular Cavalry, had travelled down to back Lieutenant +Harrington. A wild-looking native officer of the Guides, who had come to +watch Spencer Sahib win the cup, was pointed out by Jim as a celebrated +robber and cut-throat, Bahram Khan by name. + +"Rummy beggar is Bahram Khan!" declared the captain. "Dick Turpin was an +infant to him. Look how the Punjabis and Hindus are gazing at him, and +how he grins back--and then they begin to shiver." + +"Why? Are they afraid of him?" + +"Rather. I'll tell you who he is afterwards." + +"A pleasant type of man to have in one's regiment, Ted," was Ethel's +comment in a stage aside. + +"Disgusting!" was the laconic response. + +On the outskirts of the crowd several Pathan dealers were taking +advantage of the presence of so many lovers of horses to sell their +ponies and country-bred steeds to the unwary. Nor were the inevitable +jugglers and snake-charmers wanting. The fences were stiff, even to the +lad who had hunted over the best country in Cheshire, and the +water-jumps were big, though no wider than some he had taken "The Padre" +over during the past few days. The course was rather more than three +miles, the last six hundred yards being a straight run to the +winning-post. + +A native officer came out of the throng and caressed "The Padre". + +"Mind you win, Ensign Sahib," laughed Subadar Pir Baksh, "for the honour +of the corps." + +"I will try my best, Subadar," Ted assured him; and Pir Baksh showed his +even white teeth as he playfully threatened the ensign should he lose. + +"Now, old boy," was Ethel's greeting, "never speak to me again if our +'Padre' loses--he's the horse of the regiment, you must remember. +Whatever you do don't let that horrid Guide man win. An upstart corps +like that, recruited from Thugs and Dacoits, must never get the better +of the old-established 193rd." + +"'Horrid Guide man' indeed!" laughed Jim. "Spencer's one of the best men +I know; and remember, my lady, that you will be a Guide woman very +soon." + +Changing the subject he added: "You're only fifth favourite, Ted." + +"Didn't know I was so high as that. Who's favourite?" + +"The 'horrible Guide' horse and the 'Duck's' mount, 'Flying Fox', are +equal, the Ahmednuggur comes next, and you are fifth." + +"Never mind, Ted," said Ethel encouragingly. "'The Padre' was second +favourite when it was thought that Markham would be up, and you're +lighter than he." + +"But that won't make any difference; I shall have to carry the extra +weight." + +"Oh, will you? That's not fair!" + +Jim laughed. "Go and talk to the handicapper, Ethel; use your wiles on +the innocent man and explain the unfairness! I intended to put a couple +of rupees, young 'un, on Spencer's 'Cabul' for the sake of the corps, +but this tyrant has forbidden the transaction. Never get engaged, lad; +you see what it's brought me to--I have to obey. She says that she +objects to betting, but in reality she objects to my sticking up for my +own regiment." + +"I'm ashamed of your relative, Ted," the girl asserted. "He's no +brotherly feeling. Fancy wanting to bet against your mount!" + +"It's just like him!" the ensign feelingly declared. "I don't understand +how anyone so dainty as you, Ethel, could stoop to such an Orson." + +Ethel blushed and Jim exploded. + +"Here, drop that, young 'un; you mustn't trespass on my preserves. Fancy +the kid paying a compliment of that kind! Why, little woman, he told me +about ten days ago that you were 'a very ordinary sort of girl', and +that 'he didn't see much in you'." + +"Well, he's made up for it now. It was a very pretty compliment, Ted, +and I thank you.... I often wonder myself." + +After the preliminary canter Ted brought his horse to the starting-post, +where seven other competitors had already assembled. "The Padre" was not +the technical favourite, yet he was decidedly the most popular horse +there, for Captain Markham was better liked by the sepoys of the 193rd +than any of the officers, although Colonel Woodburn and several of the +others were highly popular with the men. The sepoys quite drowned all +the other noises of the crowd by their vociferous acclamations, and the +young rider was the recipient of numerous encouraging remarks and hearty +good-wishes from his brother officers and from the ladies of the +Aurungpore station. + +Lieutenant Spencer's black horse "Cabul" had now advanced to the +position of first favourite. "Cabul" was easily the best-looking horse +present, as his rider was the most handsome and perfect horseman. The +officer of the Guides Cavalry sat like a centaur, and our hero saw at a +glance that he could not hope to compete in "noble horsemanship" with +his brother's comrade. The black, however, seemed nervous and fretful, +and his shoulders were lightly flecked with foam. Bahram Khan, the +famous brigand chief, sat by Spencer's side before they prepared for the +start, soothing and caressing the noble beast as he talked earnestly to +its rider. + +"He's a good horse," observed Markham, "but he's not perfect; his +shoulders can't compare with 'The Padre's', and I doubt whether he's +quite so game, for mine enjoys it, and that's not common in +steeple-chasing. You should beat him down the hill." + +Mr. Vernon's light chestnut was also a handsome animal, far more so than +the lean gray of the Ahmednuggur Irregulars. + +The ensign's nerve was largely affected by the unwonted excitement as he +reined his mount alongside the others; an indistinguishable mass of +white and brown humanity appeared to float before his eyes; and all he +heard of the shouts and comments was a confused and distant murmuring, +or rather buzzing. Mechanically he prepared for the start. + +The flag dropped, and the starter scurried to one side; "The Padre" +leapt from under him and plunged away, the spectators seeming to swim +past. He shook off the trance and partially recovered his +self-possession. In front were Mr. Vernon's "Flying Fox", and another +and darker chestnut. Aligned with him were the Ahmednuggur gray and a +bay; the remaining three were slightly to the rear, for the pace was one +that would soon tell. + +Miss Woodburn watched with much anxiety as they came to the first fence, +and began to regret that she was responsible for inducing the boy to +take part in the dangerous pastime. But "The Padre" went over like a +bird, and no one came to grief. The second and third obstacles were well +taken by the whole field, but the leading chestnut (the horse of a +comrade) fell at the fourth and was out of it. At the next--a +water-jump--the Ahmednuggur gray swerved and lost ground, and a moment +later the bay, who had got in front, carried away one of the +hurdles--the easiest obstacle of the course. Ted was now calm enough to +take all this in, and he became aware that he had only two horses to +fear, "Cabul" and "Flying Fox". The black was now about a length behind, +whilst the chestnut was almost as much in front of him. + +More than two miles had been covered before "Cabul" began to forge +slowly ahead of "The Padre", and to gain gradually on "Flying Fox", who, +by his tail's convulsive twitching and his heaving flanks, was beginning +to throw out signals of distress. + +Even at that exciting moment the boy could not but admire the strong +seat, light firm hands, and splendid horsemanship of Lieutenant Spencer. +They had approached a hedge side by side, and though "The Padre" was +going quite as well as, if not even better than "Cabul", the latter +seemed to glide over the obstacle and was away on the other side a good +yard in front. The boy knew that the time was lost in collecting his +horse for the jump, and after landing on the other side, and as he felt +convinced that his mount was speedier and quicker on his legs than +Spencer's, and had better shoulders for landing, he could not understand +how his rival managed to fly the fences with so little decrease in his +speed and collect himself and get away on the other side without a +pause. And it seemed no effort! + +The last jump was taken by the black a length in front of the gray, who +in his turn had beaten the chestnut by nearly as much. No other horse +was within thirty yards of the leader. But whereas Spencer had driven +his steed speedily at this wide water-jump, and had cleared it in +gallant style, "The Padre" jumped slightly short, and though he quickly +pulled himself together, he was now nearly two lengths behind. Still he +was going merrily and gamely, with any amount of spring and stay, and +the ensign recognized despairingly that he bestrode the swifter and more +clever horse, and was being beaten by his rival's horsemanship and +superior judgment. + +And it is now a straight run to the judge's stand. Ted fancies to his +delight that "Cabul" appears somewhat done, and his rider is undoubtedly +having to urge him along for the first time. But with Spencer--in +striking contrast to the rider of the bay who came to grief at the +solitary line of hurdles--there is no flourishing of the whip, no +nervous jerking of the reins: the officer of the Guides preserves his +calm and impassive demeanour, for he understands his mount. In his +excitement the boy speaks to "The Padre", and that willing beast seems +to comprehend and gallantly responds. + +From her horse's back, on a little mound near the judge's box, Ethel +Woodburn cranes forward eagerly. Yes, down the hill the gray is slowly +gaining on the black! + +One hundred and fifty yards away and "The Padre's" head is level with +"Cabul's" tail. They see Ted for the first time touch the horse lightly +with his heels, the spur pricking a handsbreadth behind the girths; a +couple of quick strokes with the whip and the clever gray knows that the +time has come, and they see him bound forward. Eighty yards away and +Ted's knee is in line with "Cabul's" tail. The black is labouring hard, +and under an ordinary rider would have given in, but Lieutenant Spencer +is no ordinary rider. + +Two more strides and the riders are level, and amid a roar which breaks +out on every side, and which the boy only hears as a distant murmur, +"The Padre" wins by a neck. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +Ted does not think much of the Guides + + +Quite dazed and half-unconscious Ted was lifted from the saddle. As in a +dream he heard the prolonged applause of his mess-mates and the shrill +yells of delight raised by the swarthy men of the 193rd. Lieutenant +Spencer held out his hand to the victor and looked him approvingly in +the face. + +"You young scoundrel!" he cheerfully exclaimed, "I congratulate you. You +deserved to win." + +Ted heartily returned the handshake of his brother's friend, and +muttered something to the effect that the horse should be given all the +credit, not the rider. So great a triumph he had never before known, yet +he bore his honours modestly. Colonel Woodburn, Major Munro, Captain +Markham, and other mess-mates were quickly on the spot, patting and +praising both horse and rider. The thumps on the back given to Ted were +rather more vigorous than those awarded to "The Padre", and the ensign +had little breath wherewith to make suitable reply to the shower of +congratulations. Pir Baksh, the subadar, waved his sword wildly and led +the sepoys in their volleys of deafening applause. + +There was one jarring note. A brother ensign who was strolling moodily +past the group moved a step nearer to Ted and snarled in an undertone: + +"I've dropped two hundred rupees to-day, thanks to you." + +It was Harry Tynan--a tall, handsome lad with dark hair inclined to +curl, and big brown eyes; the type of boy who from childhood is petted +and spoilt by mothers and aunts. Unless such an one possesses an +exceptionally strong character the result is fatal, and Tynan showed a +weak mouth and chin. + +"The Padre's" owner caught the whisper. + +"More fool you, you young idiot!" Markham genially observed, as the +silly youngster turned away with a muttered curse. + +Miss Woodburn's congratulations were even more welcome than the praises +of his comrades. + +"I'm proud of my future brother," she said. "You rode just splendidly. +Oh, it was exciting! I gave up all hope at the last water-jump.... And +then when you began to overhaul him down the incline! Didn't the +shouting affect your nerves?" + +Ted shook his head. "I don't remember hearing anything. For all I knew +there might not have been a single person within miles except me and +Spencer--I mean Spencer and I--Spencer and myself, I should say." + +"I could hardly hold myself in," went on Ethel. "I was dancing up and +down--screaming, I'm afraid." + +"You were indeed, madame," interposed Jim. "You were making a most +discreditable exhibition." + +"Ted," exclaimed the girl, "will you marry me? I'm tired of your +brother." + +"That I will!" replied Ted. "To-morrow if you like. I never could +imagine what you could see in that chap, you know." + +"Very well, I'll abandon him to his fate. He was actually cheering on +that Guide fellow during the last hundred yards." + +"The brute!" + +"Isn't he?" + +"Who--the Guide fellow?" + +With this embarrassing query Lieutenant Spencer joined the party. Ethel +blushed crimson, and for once in her life was at a loss for a remark. +Jim chuckled away to himself at his sweetheart's discomfiture in most +brutal fashion. + +"That's right, Spencer," said he. "Come and back me up, I'm in a +minority here." + +Miss Woodburn recovered from her confusion. She had already been +introduced by Jim to "that Guide fellow". + +"I really beg your pardon, Lieutenant Spencer. We were indulging in a +little inter-regimental chaff and abuse. Captain Russell had dared to +applaud you rather than his brother at the final burst. And you don't +understand how fond we all are of 'The Padre'. He's the regimental +horse." + +"Please don't apologize," Miss Woodburn. "I quite understand and +sympathize with you. Indeed, I'm glad you're scorching him, for he needs +it. And so he was cheering me in preference to your favourite? He must +have most execrable taste." + +"Thank you, Spencer!" Jim hurriedly and joyfully broke in. "Thanks!... +Be grateful, Ethel. Don't you see how very complimentary to you that +remark is?" + +For a few moments Miss Woodburn struggled with her amusement, but +laughter mastered her, and she could not speak before Spencer had +partially recovered his senses and recognized what a left-handed +compliment he had paid her. The Guides lieutenant was far more confused +and nervous now than at any time during the steeple-chase. + +With crimson face he offered reparation. + +"It's my turn to apologize now, Miss Woodburn. I think you'll forgive +me, though. It's my misfortune that I'm not very intelligent." + +"I couldn't dream of doing so, Lieutenant Spencer," Ethel asserted, +still laughing. "You paid me out nicely, and I'm sure you did it +wilfully; it was far too smart to be unintentional." + +"'Pon my honour, I didn't. I'm not half sharp enough to say anything of +that kind except by accident. One can't be perfect, you know, and we +must take into account that Russell did show poor taste in applauding +the inferior horse and rider--especially going against your opinion, +though we must acknowledge his perfect taste in at least one respect." + +"I must forgive you after that, Mr. Spencer, though it was rather +crude," said the girl, shaking her head. + +"And I say, Spencer," Jim interposed, "don't talk about 'inferior +rider'. We all know, and Ted knows, that you are a far better horseman +than he." + +"Of course I do," the ensign heartily agreed. + +"Too much praise isn't good for a youngster," the elder brother +sagaciously opined. + +Spencer placed a hand on Ted's shoulder. + +"All the same, young 'un, you won the Aurungpore Cup, and you deserved +to win." + +The party of four came to a halt opposite Colonel Woodburn's bungalow. + +"What time shall we start back for Murdan to-morrow?" asked the +lieutenant. + +"We must leave early," Jim replied. "Will eight o'clock suit?" + +"Very good," Spencer assented; "the young 'un and I will leave you +here." + +"But you must not think of leaving us yet, Mr. Spencer. Won't you come +in? My father would be delighted to know you." + +"Couldn't dream of it, Miss Woodburn, delighted though I should be to +make the colonel's acquaintance. It will be some time before Russell +gets leave again, and your last evening shall be sacred. Good-bye, Miss +Woodburn! I'm very glad to have met you. And may I congratulate you +both? I've known Russell well for some years, and I can congratulate +you, and--forgive me for saying it--I've known you for a couple of days, +and I do most sincerely congratulate him." + +Ethel pressed the "horrid Guide man's" hand, and when he and Ted had +departed, observed: + +"Whilst congratulations are passing round, Jim, I congratulate you on +your friend." + +Ted shared a small, one-story residence just outside the town with his +chum Ensign Paterson. His bedroom was only just large enough to allow +sleeping-room for Jim, but hearing that Captain Russell's comrade of the +Guides was coming to Aurungpore, Paterson had placed his equally limited +accommodation at Spencer's disposal. Arrived at home, Ted doffed the +pigskin and discussed horses and riding with his guest until the time +came for them to sally forth once more. A dinner was to be given by the +officers of the 193rd in honour of the triumph of their regiment. For +the third time in succession they had won the Aurungpore Cup, and Ted +was the hero of the hour. He enjoyed the rôle until, his health having +been drunk with acclamation, he was called upon for a speech. + +Such an ordeal had never been contemplated, and he had to be dragged to +his feet, a victim of nervous funk. As he faced his quizzing comrades +his mind was a blank; he stammered a few incoherent sentences intended +for thanks, and abruptly sat down again, feeling convinced that he had +qualified for a place in any home for the feeble-minded. Yet the older +officers liked him better for this lack of self-confidence than had he +shown no sign of confusion. In reply to the toast, "Our Guests", +Lieutenant Spencer made a neat and witty speech that set everyone at his +ease. + +The ordeal over, Spencer, Paterson, and Ted returned to the little +bungalow, and settled down to await Jim's arrival. Lieutenant Spencer +filled his pipe and lay back in the one chair that the apartment +boasted, Paterson sat straddle-legged across a camp-stool, and Ted +squatted on a box with his back to the wall and his legs dangling. The +room was lighted by a candle stuck in a bottle, for were they not in the +"Gorgeous East" where luxury and splendour reign supreme? + +"So you fellows of the 193rd are proud of your regiment!" the Guides' +officer observed. + +"It's a first-class corps," Ted replied. "They fought like good 'uns +throughout both Sikh wars. You see, we've Bhurtpore as well as Sobraon, +Moodkee, and Gujerat on the colours; and the colonel says he'd lead 'em +anywhere--they'd follow their officers to the death. Markham's the +favourite with the men, though they're very fond of the 'old man' and +Major Munro." + +"Yours is a queer corps, is it not, Lieutenant Spencer?" Paterson asked. + +Spencer chuckled. + +"It is! But I'm proud of being in the Guides." + +"They say," continued the Scotch boy, "that you have all the frontier +races in the corps--Afridis, Afghans, and other Pathan tribes, Sikhs and +Gurkhas--and that some of them have been robbers and outlaws, and +murderers even. Is that true?" + +Spencer chuckled still more. + +"Quite true. We have all sorts--men with the best of characters, men +with the worst, and men with no characters at all. We've outlaws and +dacoits, thieves and murderers--though they don't call themselves +murderers; they resemble the border raiders of Scotland of some hundreds +of years ago. But every man who joins the Guides has to be strong, +healthy, active, brave as a lion, able to track like a Red Indian, +climb mountains, and think for himself. Lumsden gets hold of the most +daring men on the border, such as Dilawur Khan and Futteh Khan and +Bahram Khan, and makes Guides of them. They don't get coddled; and I +guess we shall have more work to do in the future than any regiment in +India. We've men of all races and creeds and men of no race or +creed--mostly big truculent Pathans, and nearly a hundred jolly little +Gurkhas sent us by the King of Nepal at Sir Henry Lawrence's request. +Oh, it's a grand corps! and we can get as many men as we like--scores +apply for every vacancy. Why, there are dozens of fellows learning the +drill at their own expense, both cavalry and infantry, waiting for an +opportunity to join us. There's no other regiment in India or England +can say the same." + +"Well, I'd rather serve in the 193rd B.N.I.," Ted declared. "I shouldn't +care to trust your Guides very far. Why, many of your Sikhs must have +fought against us eight years ago; and as for the Afridis and Yusufzais, +they're always raiding British territory and killing our men, whilst the +sepoys of the 193rd have fought under British colours for half a +century." + +"That's right, young 'un; stick up for your regiment." + +"Jim was going to tell me," Ted remarked, "something about that Pathan +officer who was speaking to you this morning. Who is he?" + +"Bahram Khan, do you mean?" + +"Yes, that's the man. We noticed the natives shrinking from him when he +looked at them. Why was that?" + +The lieutenant lay back in his chair and smiled. + +"His is a queer story and typical of the Guides," he replied. "A few +years ago he was a well-known outlaw and brigand chief, who raided and +burnt villages and robbed right and left. We could never catch him, so +Lumsden, our colonel, offered to make him an officer if he'd join the +Guides, and he consented and brought his brigands with him." + +Paterson regarded the speaker curiously. + +"Is that a fact?" he asked. + +"It is an absolute fact." + +"We'd keep that sort of ruffian out of the 193rd, wouldn't we, +Paterson?" Ted asserted. "Aren't you afraid that you'll wake up some +morning with all your throats cut?" + +"Not in the least. I'd rather be with the Guides than any corps. With +all respect to your sepoys of the 193rd, they've neither the stamina nor +the resource of our fellows." + +"H'm! you're welcome to them. Eh, Paterson?" + +"I agree with you, Ted. Have you ever seen Colonel Nicholson, Lieutenant +Spencer?" + +"Jan Nikkulseyn? Rather. I sha'n't forget the first time I met him. It +was south of Peshawur, close to the border, where a gang of Afghan +labourers were making a road, protected by a half-company of sepoys +under an English subaltern, for it was in a wild district. It was just +after the rains, and a bullock-cart had stuck fast in the deep mud; and +the bullocks, not having the grit of a horse, wouldn't make any efforts. +I happened to be riding past with a couple of troopers. A big fellow +standing by in civilian dress had taken his coat off and put his +shoulder to the wheel, but they couldn't move it. This civilian, whom I +took to be the man in charge of the work, then asked the lieutenant and +the sepoys to lend a hand. But the sepoys coolly informed him that they +had enlisted to fight, not to do menial work, and the officer said: + +"'It's no business of mine. I'm here to protect the road-makers, not to +do their work.' + +"I dismounted, and so did one of my two men. The other, Hafiz Khan, bent +down and whispered: + +"'I go to get help, Lieutenant Sahib'; and before I could stop him he +was galloping away. Well, we two turned the scale--though the big +civilian was worth us both--and at last we got the cart out and trotted +away. A mile or two farther on we saw Hafiz Khan waiting for us, and +when I slanged him for not staying to help us, he replied: + +"'But he once threatened to hang me, Lieutenant Sahib, and Jan +Nikkulseyn never breaks his word'. + +"'Who?' I asked, quite taken aback. + +"'Jan Nikkulseyn. I am not afraid of a little pushing and pulling, but +of Jan Nikkulseyn are we all afraid.' + +"The civilian was Colonel Nicholson. Hafiz Khan had been engaged in two +or three raids before he had enlisted, and, bold as they are, there's +not a Pathan along the border dare look Nicholson between the eyes." + +"And what became of the lieutenant?" asked Ted. + +"He applied for an important appointment at Peshawur a month later. He +found out his mistake then, and felt sorry he'd ever been born." + +A clatter of hoofs interrupted their talk, and Ted ran to the outer door +to admit his brother. Captain Russell was quiet and grave, for his happy +days had come to an end, and to-morrow the dull routine of regimental +work would begin again. He was evidently little inclined for +conversation, and before long the four officers passed off into the +adjoining bedrooms. + +Captain Russell was well liked by about one-half of his acquaintances, +and disliked by a good proportion of the remainder. His friends knew him +for a brave, good-hearted, conscientious man, and his detractors termed +him a prig. The fault was in his manner, at times heavy, awkward, and +solemn, largely the result of shyness, for with intimate friends he +could be lively and full of fun. + +Serious thoughts occupied his mind as he undressed. Ought not he, the +elder brother and man of experience, to give the youngster a few words +of advice, before leaving him, on some subjects more serious than +steeple-chasing? But how to begin? Jim Russell knew his own failings, +and dreaded lest Ted should sneer at him as a prig; and he envied his +chum, Spencer, who, he felt sure, could have given the lad sound advice +and warning without the least suspicion of preaching. However, Jim was +conscientious, and he resolved to take the risk. + +The ensign's evident _esprit de corps_ and delight in his regiment +furnished an admirable opening, and sitting on the low bed +half-undressed, the elder brother spoke like a father to the younger +concerning his duty to the regiment. + +Then, as the captain was an enthusiastic admirer of the great brothers +Henry and John Lawrence, and of their band of devoted followers, the +first topic naturally led to a eulogy of the Punjab leaders; and Jim +explained to the ensign how Henry Lawrence had begun, and how John +Lawrence was now carrying on the work of showing to the wild Sikhs, +Jats, and Mohammedans of the Punjab the highest ideal of British justice +and uprightness. + +Ted listened attentively, but said nothing. He too was already filled +with admiration for those Christian soldiers and statesmen who were soon +to save India. + +"Not that I want you to be an objectionable young prig," the captain +went on; "there's a big difference between that and the genuine article. +You know what I mean?" + +The ensign nodded, and Jim continued: + +"I like your chum--Paterson; he seems a very decent lad. And I noticed +on one occasion that he showed he was not ashamed of his religion. Why +should we so-called Christians be so afraid of acting up to what we +profess to believe? Look at the Lawrences and Herbert Edwardes, three of +the greatest men in India! They are true Christians, and where could +you find finer soldiers and braver men? It's a poor soldier who's +ashamed of his colours." + +Ted nodded assent, and, feeling that he had done his duty, Jim bade him +good-night and blew out the candle. + +An early breakfast next morning, and our ensign and his two visitors +were in the saddle by seven o'clock. Ten minutes later Ethel Woodburn +cantered up, attended by a sais, and Spencer and Ted ambled along, +keeping well ahead of the lovers. + +"I suppose that's the fort over there?" Spencer asked, and pointed to an +ugly square building of dark sandstone that dominated the town. + +"Yes, it's an arsenal too. There'd be a big smash in Aurungpore if it +was to blow up," said Ted, who little thought of the influence that +forbidding fortress would exert upon his career. + +"It has half-ruined the town already by its ugliness," Spencer mused. +"That mosque on the left is a little gem, and that dome is perfect, but +the arsenal spoils them as completely as a factory chimney spoils a view +at home. The Moslems beat us at architecture." + +"I think I must be turning back now," Ted presently observed, "I have +plenty to do before parade." + +They came to a halt and awaited the arrival of the others. The lovers +parted, Ted shook hands with Jim and Spencer, and nodded in response to +his brother's parting injunction to take care of Ethel. Miss Woodburn +stayed, waving her handkerchief, until a bend of the road hid her +betrothed from view. Joining Ted, she touched her bay lightly with the +whip, and they trotted home without exchanging a word. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +The Fanatics + + +In spite of our hero's recent disgust he had quickly become reconciled +to the sweet girl who was to be his brother's wife. There was no +resisting her charms. He found her as full of fun and as fond of +adventure as any boy could wish, and he soon grew very anxious to win +her good opinion, even attempting to show off occasionally for her +benefit. Ethel had become no less attached to the honest, +healthy-minded, plucky lad, and wrote warningly to Jim that she had +fallen desperately in love with his jolly young brother. + +A few weeks had elapsed since Captain Russell's departure, when +something happened to attach them still more closely. One beautiful +winter day Ethel asked the ensign if he would care to stroll through the +native _bazar_ with her, and the lad willingly complied. + +Not being of a very curious disposition, he had hitherto neglected this +quarter of the town, and had spent most of his leisure time riding and +shooting in the country beyond. But on this occasion the girl was able +to make the visit much more interesting than he had anticipated. She +knew the people and more than one of the many dialects fairly well, and +she pointed out to her companion the men of various nationalities and +religions who swarmed in the narrow streets. He noticed with amazement +the difference between the strong fighting men of the North-west--the +sturdy Jat and stalwart Pathan--and the fat, mild, shrinking Babu from +Bengal, or the slender and weaker Hindu from the South. + +This part of the town was quite distinct from the quarter in which the +Europeans lived, and was much more picturesque, if also more dirty. In +the narrow streets all the goods of the small shops were exposed to the +passer-by. Workmen could be seen plying their trade, undisturbed by the +inquisitive glances of the lookers-on. And what clumsy tools they had! +It would have been impossible for such delicate, exquisite work to have +been turned out therewith, had not the artisans put their whole soul +into the labour: for to do his work thoroughly and beautifully is a +religious duty with the Hindu. + +Passing the stalls of the money-changers, fruit-sellers, and dealers in +native sweetmeats, their attention was attracted by certain curios in +one of the queer shops, and our ensign looked about for something worth +sending home. He fixed upon a queer silver bangle, set with turquoises. +The setting was uncommon, but the stones were only poor. The turbaned, +white-robed shopkeeper rose and came forward at once, salaaming +profoundly, and putting on one side the hubble-bubble he was smoking. +After a lengthy argument, in which Ted failed to understand the man's +rapid utterance, and his own Hindustani was beyond comprehension, Miss +Woodburn came to the rescue, fixed the price, and concluded the +business. + +Attracted by the sahib's curious rendering of their native tongue, a +number of the many idlers around had drawn near. At a corner of the +narrow street, not fifty paces distant, voices had been meanwhile raised +in earnest and violent harangue. Having learned even during his short +sojourn in the land how furious an altercation may arise over a matter +of a couple of annas, Ted had not paid much attention to the noise; but +now the speakers rose and came towards them. Foremost was a tall, +half-naked man, with long and flowing beard--a mass of dirt and evil +smells; for with these strange people cleanliness is not on speaking +terms with godliness, and the most holy men are the most filthy. His +eyes were inflamed, and his looks and gestures wild. Ethel, from her +longer experience, saw that the mullah had rendered himself mad with +bhang, and that two of his companions were in a similar condition. + +Pointing to the Feringhis, the mullah's voice rose to a wild shriek. + +"What do these offspring of the evil one here? O followers of the +Prophet, how long will ye allow yourselves to be denied by these kafirs. +The time is even now at hand when Allah shall no longer permit this: +then shall his wrath fall upon them, and they shall be swept from the +face of the earth. The hundred years of the white man's _raj_[2] are +fulfilled, and the curse shall be lifted from us!" + + [2] dominion. + +The fanatic's voice rose to a wild shriek as he concluded the harangue. +Ted could not follow the speech: he could only gather from the tone and +gestures that he and his companion were the objects of abuse, and he +guessed from the half-angry, half-cringing manner of the tradesman that +something serious was being said. Ethel, however, understood every word, +and was alarmed. + +They tried to leave the _bazar_, but found their progress barred. + +"Out of the way, there!" the ensign commanded, but no one moved. + +"Kill the kafir pigs!--there is no one to see!" called out a voice from +the rear. + +"No, no!" objected others hastily. "What harm have they done? And will +not the vengeance of the Whites be upon us all? Make way there for the +sahib-log!" + +But another of the bhang-drugged fanatics, who had been swaying to and +fro in his delirium, screamed: + +"Aye! Why not kill now?" and he roughly seized the white-faced girl. + +With a savage exclamation the English boy sprang forward and struck the +speaker behind the ear with all his force. Not for nothing had Edward +Russell been trained in gymnastics, in boxing and fencing--the fellow +dropped like a log. But before Ted could turn or draw his sword the +mullah had plucked a knife from beneath his scanty garment and plunged +it in the lad's side. + +"Die, unbeliever!" he cried. + +As the ensign pressed his hands to his side and dropped to the earth +with a feeble moan, the screaming and jabbering of the by-standers +ceased as if by magic. Even the mullah and his disciples drew back +appalled at what they had done, while the more timid of the crowd fled +to their homes in dread of the consequences and the sure wrath of the +sahibs, fearing lest vengeance should fall on innocent and guilty alike +for this murder of a white man. The merchants before whose shops the act +had been committed wrung their hands in despair, shrieking imprecations +down upon the heads of the fanatics, who stood gazing at their +handiwork. + +The mullah's hesitation lasted but a second. He turned towards the +trembling girl, and called to his abettors: + +"Finish off the lad while I slay the woman!" + +Ethel Woodburn was a soldier's daughter: she had more than once looked +danger in the face bravely and calmly. Had she been alone she might have +hesitated, or had her companion been in a condition to protect her she +might have relied on him. But, seeing the boy of whom she was so fond +stretched at her feet, cruelly wounded and helpless, and at the mercy of +these madmen, her instinct prompted her to do the right thing without a +moment's hesitation, and she blessed the father who had taught her to +carry and use a pistol. + +The little weapon was hardly more than a toy, but it checked the +assassins sufficiently to enable her to bend down swiftly and snatch +Ted's sword from its scabbard. The murderer was but a pace away when she +pulled the trigger and stepped back. He fell, writhing, the bullet in +his chest. The second received the point of the sword under his arm-pit +as he raised his hand to strike. The third assailant, dazed by the blow +from Ted's fist, had now risen, and was hesitating as to his next step, +when a couple of native police, attracted by the report and noise, ran +up, and, being Sikhs, they had no hesitation in securing the uninjured +Mohammedan, and they also prevented the crowd from carrying off the +wounded Wahabis.[3] + + [3] The most fanatical and implacable Moslem sect. + +Never losing her presence of mind, Ethel bound the unconscious lad's +wound to stop the bleeding, and ordered the by-standers to carry him to +his quarters, where the regimental surgeon attended to the injury. The +bangle had disappeared. + +A few weeks later, when the injured persons had recovered, the three +would-be assassins were tried on the charge of attempted murder, and +were sentenced to long terms of imprisonment. + +Some time elapsed before Ted was able to get about as usual. Had it not +been for the bandage so promptly applied by Ethel he must have bled to +death, so she had saved his life in two different ways. During his slow +and painful recovery he was nursed untiringly by his new sister; and +though she made light of her heroic deed, the girl's courage and +presence of mind were the chief themes of conversation with the +officers who frequently visited his bed-side, and the ensign's lucky +brother became more envied than ever. Ethel invariably checked his +expressions of gratitude, and would not allow him to talk about the +incident. + +"Bosh, Ted!" she would say; "I was in such a state of abject fear that I +didn't know what I was doing. I only shot the man because my hand +trembled so that the trigger went off, and he happened to be in front." + +"Certainly, Ethel, I quite understand. I'll just read you a letter I had +this morning from Jim. You'd p'r'aps like to hear his opinion?" + +"Oh, that boy's demented! I had a note also from him this morning. He's +quite wild." + +"Good chap Jim,--knows a thing or two!" said Ted, nodding his head +sagely. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +The Cad of the Regiment + + +"This is the place where I was knifed, Paterson," said Ted, "and there's +the old boy I had been bargaining with. Watch him eyeing me; he looks +rather scared, don't he?" + +The wound was now quite healed, and impelled doubtless by a magnetic +attraction, akin perhaps to that said to be exercised on murderers by +the scenes of their crimes, our ensign had induced his chum Paterson to +stroll with him through the _bazar_ one evening after duty was over for +the day. + +While Ted had been down with his wound Alec Paterson had opened out in a +remarkable manner and thrown down the last barriers of reserve. Ensign +Paterson had only recently admitted Ted into close friendship. He was a +Scottish lad, hailing from Lanarkshire, and no better choice of a friend +could have been made. Physically he was tall and well-formed, +intellectually he was ahead of most of his brother ensigns, and in moral +character strong, upright, and healthy. He was very reserved, difficult +to know, chary of his intimacy, and slow of speech. Tynan termed him a +"saint", and cordially disliked him; and in return Paterson disproved +the accusation of saintliness by being obnoxiously polite and somewhat +ponderously playful in his dealings with the regimental _bête noir_. + +"He does look scared," Alec replied. "He must think you were killed, and +that your ghost has come to jump down his throat or ride on his back, +or whatever it is that their evil spirits do. You had better speak and +reassure him." + +As Ted approached the stall, the hand of the sleek Hindu shot forth +across the boards on which his wares were displayed and snatched +something from the front row. Not, however, before our hero had +recognized the identical bangle that he had bought and paid for on the +occasion of his previous visit. His face flushed. + +"That is mine," he asserted. "I bought and paid for it." + +Understanding that the bangle had been seen, and that denial was +useless, the shopkeeper salaamed and unabashed replied: "Nay, sahib, the +one you bought you took away, and I have never set eyes on it since." + +"But you told me it was unique--that there was not another like it in +the country." + +"I am the sahib's slave, and I spoke truth. There was not another like +it in the Punjab. But since the Heaven-born's visit a Kazilbash merchant +from Kabul, with whom I deal in turquoises, has sold me this. It is +indeed similar to the one I sold the sahib, but the turquoises are +larger and better. Welcome is the sight of the Heaven-born in the eyes +of his servant, who has suffered great anxiety." + +"What's the row, Ted?" Paterson asked. And matters being explained, he +at once enquired of the Hindu why he had been so anxious to prevent the +bangle being seen if he had come by it honestly. But the "Aryan brown" +was more than their match in guile. + +"In truth I remembered how the former one had brought ill-luck to the +young sahib, and I feared lest he might take a fancy to this one also. +And I know that the sahibs are reckless in such matters, not believing +in omens. Rather would I lose business than bring misfortune upon the +head of the young sahib." + +Alec Paterson laughed. + +"I'm afraid it's no go, Russell," he whispered. "The rascal is too deep +for us, and we cannot prove that it really is the same article." + +"But it's robbery pure and simple!" Ted indignantly declared. "I know +it's the same that I lost during the scuffle." + +The shopkeeper regarded them gravely and sadly, as though he felt deeply +the doubts they had cast upon his honesty. He produced one article after +another, tempting them in vain to buy. At length, guessing that the boy +had set his heart upon the bangle, he offered him the pretty toy for +thirty rupees, assuring him that he had given twice that sum to the +Kazilbash. + +"I'll give you fifteen," said Ted, "and not an anna more." + +The Hindu shook his head. + +"I am poor man," said he, "else would I gladly beg the sahib to accept +it as a present." + +"Very well," Ted firmly rejoined. "Come along, Alec." + +They turned to go, but the Hindu hastily recalled them. + +"Nay," said he, "I had forgotten that the sahib had to suffer the loss +of the first one. For twenty rupees will I sell it, or, in truth, give +it away, rather than that the Heaven-born should be disappointed." + +"Fifteen," was all Ted's answer; and once more the bangle changed hands, +and the ensign left the shop. On the way to cantonments they overtook +Harry Tynan, the object of their mutual dislike, and were about to pass +with a nod as devoid of cordiality as decency would permit, when Tynan +spoke, or rather sneered: "Why, Russell, I thought you always took a +girl to protect you whenever you went into the _bazar_!" + +"Did you really now?" asked Ted banteringly. "Wasn't it an effort?" + +"What do you mean? Was what an effort?" + +"To think--so unusual, you know, for you." + +"Oh how clever you are! But how aren't you keeping an eye on Brother +Jim's future wife, according to instructions? I saw her this evening +flirting as usual with the Commissioner Sahib. You are not doing your +duty. Captain Russell 'ud be angry if he knew." + +"Come along, Russell; what's the use of talking to that cad?" whispered +Paterson. "Contemptible toad!" + +But his friend's ire had been aroused by the last remark. He halted and +faced Tynan. + +"What d'you mean?" he demanded. + +Tynan slowly drew a huge cheerot from his lips and attempted to blow +rings of smoke before replying. + +"You know well enough. Stunnin' little flirt is Ethel--deuced stunnin'! +Shouldn't be surprised if she threw Brother Jim over!" + +"What do you mean?" repeated Ted with still greater heat. + +"Don't be an ass, Ted. Leave the cad alone," Paterson again whispered. + +Tynan was Russell's senior by nearly a couple of years, and he stood a +clear three inches taller. Ted's anger amused him. + +"Why--don't you know?" he innocently enquired. "You see, our little +Ethel had been setting her cap at Sir Arthur Fletcher for months before +she saw your brother. But Arthur knows what's what, and the little +darling has had to put up with a mere captain of the Guides. But she +still hankers after the commissioner, and sighs for the handle to her +name." + +"Ye leein' hyæna!" Paterson burst out, his native dialect rising to the +surface in his excitement. "Keep a ceevil tongue in your heid, or I'll +knock ye down!" + +"No, you don't, Paterson," broke in Ted. "That's my business. You cad, +to lie like that about a girl you're not fit to speak to! Take that!" + +Our ensign struck his comrade across the face--a resounding smack with +the open palm. + +The fight was very short. Though tall enough, Tynan was weedy and unfit. +For several years he had considered himself a man of the world, and one +of the chief aims--if not _the_ chief--of his life had been to convince +his associates that he was well qualified for that dignified position, +and the attainment of this object had, of course, necessitated abundant +smoking and drinking. Wonderful to relate, no one had so far seemed +greatly impressed! + +Five minutes after the first blow, with bleeding nose and damaged eye, +the contemptible fellow was sullenly admitting that he had had enough. + +"Think it over the nicht," Paterson suggested. "If ye hev not I'll just +gie ye seemilar satisfaction. And I'd hev ye obsairve it wad be safer to +cam' oot wi' no mair lees o' that sort. Cam' awa', Russell!" + +"Wait a moment, I've not done yet," said Ted. "Let me inform you now, +you cad, what I would not waste my breath in telling you before--that +Miss Woodburn had refused Sir Arthur Fletcher before she became engaged +to my brother, and that he has congratulated my brother, and is a loyal, +honourable gentleman, of whose friendship Miss Woodburn is proud; and +don't let me hear you speaking of her again as you did just now." + +The chums left the miserable being--neither man nor boy--to follow as he +chose. + +"What garred ye say that last, Russell?" asked the Scottish lad, who was +still labouring under strong excitement, as soon as they had passed out +of hearing. + +"What? About Fletcher?" + +"Yea You'd no right to drag his refusal into the affair!" Paterson +dropped the tell-tale accent as he spoke more slowly. "That's between +him and Miss Woodburn, and he wouldn't thank you if he knew, nor would +she. It was perhaps very satisfying to you, but they don't need to be +defended from a fellow like our friend yonder." + +"I'm very sorry--I'm a fool! I was so angry I didn't stop to think. Bah! +he leaves a bad taste in the mouth, that fellow!" + +"We should have passed him without taking any notice," Paterson went on. +"But it served him right!" + +For the future Tynan gave his conqueror a wide berth, and Ted ignored +his existence as far as their respective duties, would permit. + +Returning from the officers' mess that evening, Ted was accosted by Pir +Baksh, the Mohammedan captain. + +"I saw you fight with Ensign Tynan," said he. "He is the kind of officer +to ruin a regiment. Once he dared to call me a _soor_ (pig) before my +men, and I thank you, sahib, for teaching him a lesson." + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +The Outbreak of the Mutiny + + +On the night of Monday, May 11, some weeks after Ted's recovery, Ethel's +twenty-first birthday was celebrated, Colonel Woodburn entertaining the +officers and British residents of Aurungpore. The season was too warm +for more than occasional dancing, and conversation was the order of the +night--conversation serious and frivolous, harmless flirtations between +the younger members, and solemn interchange of views concerning the +rumoured dissatisfaction prevailing amongst the native troops, a subject +pooh-poohed by some and laughed at by others, but gravely regarded by a +few--when an orderly entered and handed a missive to the colonel. As he +opened it and read he gave a start, and his face paled for one brief +second, but soon resumed its ordinary aspect as he slowly folded the +paper and placed it in his pocket. + +A few moments later he crossed over to Major Munro, who at once left the +room after speaking to the adjutant and another officer. These two also +took their departure before long, and one by one the remainder of the +officers were spoken to and retired to their mess-room, where they were +shortly joined by Colonel Woodburn. + +"I have terrible news," he informed them, "but we must try to avoid +alarming either the ladies or the sepoys. The 3rd Native Cavalry and the +11th and 20th Native Infantry have broken into mutiny at Meerut, killed +some of their officers, and, so the message runs, are sacking the town +and murdering right and left." + +"At Meerut!" gasped Major Munro. "How at Meerut of all places? They +couldn't--it's simply impossible!" + +"It must be true," declared the colonel, "though it certainly does seem +impossible. One would think they would have broken out at Cawnpore, or +Benares, or Allahabad, or here, or anywhere rather than Meerut. But this +report must be exaggerated! How could they sack the town and murder in +the face of those English regiments and the Artillery? It's +incomprehensible!" + +Now even Ensign Russell, a mere griffin, knew that Meerut--a large +station more than fifty miles north-east of Delhi--was considered a +model cantonment, and contained the strongest British force in all +India. Could a revolt seem more hopeless than at this station, where the +three native corps were more than counterbalanced by a regiment of +British dragoons, the 60th Rifles, and two batteries of the finest +artillery in the world--a force sufficient to repress any rising within +ten minutes--whereas throughout the seven hundred and fifty miles of +territory along the Ganges, in the districts containing the large towns +of Agra, Allahabad, Benares, Cawnpore, Lucknow, and Patna, there were +only three weak British corps to oppose nearly a score of sepoy +regiments and many thousands of armed rebels? + +"There's no saying how it will spread," continued the colonel. "We must +take all precautions, though I believe our men are perfectly +trustworthy. There must be some mistake, and I've no doubt that we shall +hear to-morrow that the rebels have been cut to pieces. I'm afraid the +silly fellows will be slaughtered by hundreds." + +But the news of the morning and of the succeeding days was no less hard +to understand. Eighty-five men of the 3rd Native Cavalry (a corps +composed of Hindus and Mohammedans) had refused to use the cartridges +served out, alleging that the fat of pigs and of cows had been employed +in the manufacture. + +As most readers will know, the pig is regarded as unclean by all +Moslems, and the cow is holy to Hindus, so that to touch the fat of +these animals would imperil their salvation and shut them out of +Paradise. The mullahs and fakirs had been poisoning the minds of the +soldiers by asserting that the government was taking this means of +uprooting their religion and converting them to Christianity by +destroying their chance of salvation as Moslems or Hindus. If they had +no future to which to look forward as Mussulmans or Brahmans, they would +be the more ready to listen to the Christian doctrine which might give +them some hope. + +Unfortunately there is reason to believe that some foundation for the +rumour existed, owing to carelessness on the part of those responsible +for the manufacture, and to senseless, most blamable, disregard of the +sepoy's religious susceptibilities. But these few unclean cartridges had +been withdrawn, and those which the men were required to use contained +no offensive grease, but merely oil and bees'-wax. The childish, +credulous, superstitious sepoys were, however, only too ready to believe +all idle tales: they accepted the statements of the fakirs, that by +means of charms and witchcraft the English would transform them into +animals; that their children would be born with tails like monkeys, and +other stories equally absurd. + +The sepoys were now in such a panic of fear lest their precious caste +should be defiled, that they began to suspect some attempt to destroy +this inheritance (without which life was not worth living) in everything +prepared for them by the government. The new cartridge-paper had a +glazed, greasy appearance. This was enough! Here was another subtle +attempt to make them Christians! In this fashion they argued and +persuaded one another like foolish children, though in reality the paper +was entirely free from fat. + +Many years before this a report had spread throughout Hindustan that the +English rulers were collecting the salt (a very precious commodity in +the East) into two heaps: over that intended for the use of the +Mohammedans the blood of pigs was sprinkled, and over the other the +blood of cows. This "salt" panic had occurred many years ago, but now in +1857 an equally incredible story was believed by hundreds of thousands, +namely, that the government had caused the bones of bullocks and of pigs +to be ground and mixed with the flour served out to the troops. For days +following the rumour no flour was used, the sepoys preferring to starve +rather than eat what they believed to be defiled food. + +But these matters of the greased cartridges and bone-flour were by no +means the only cause of the great mutiny: they were simply the pretexts +for bringing matters to a head. The sepoys had been treated in widely +different ways at various times, being now spoiled and petted, and now +dealt with haughtily and occasionally unjustly. When first the native +army was raised the men were allowed to dress after their own fashion, +but early in the nineteenth century many changes had been initiated, and +the soldiers began to be clothed and drilled according to the European +model. + +They were forbidden to wear the cherished caste-marks on their +foreheads; the ear-rings to which they were fondly attached, and which +the Moslems regarded as a charm against evil spirits, were no longer +permitted; they were deprived of the beards of which they had been so +proud, and were forced to shave their chins like the "unclean" +Englishmen; and upon their head the national turban was replaced by a +stiff round cap. Now, not only are hats and caps the outward and +visible signs of Christianity (for Christians are known as +_topi-wallahs_, or hat-wearers), but this uniform cap contained leather +made either from the hide of the abominable hog or from that of the +sacred cow. Thus the new head-dress was an offence to Moslems and Hindus +alike. + +A further cause of discontent arose from the decline in the importance +of the native officer. In the early years of the British-Indian army the +native officer had been a great and important man, but at this period +his standing had declined. The English officer of sixteen had authority +over the grizzled Rajput captain who had served the Company for thirty +years. The native officers were not saluted by British privates, and +frequently when they visited the tents of their white brother-officers, +the latter had not the courtesy to offer them chairs, regarding them, +indeed, as in no way different from the common sepoy. The native +officers grumbled to one another in indignant tones over these +grievances. + +"It is better," they said, "to serve in the armies of the native states, +where elephants and palanquins and sumptuous tents are provided for the +officers, than in the army of 'The Great Lord Company', in which we are +compelled to live with the common sepoy when on the line of march." + +Again, most of the Hindus had enlisted on the understanding that they +were to serve in Hindustan only and not across the sea. Now to cross +"The Black Water" is likewise a defilement forbidden to Brahmans, and +great dissatisfaction had been caused a few years previously because +certain regiments had been ordered to Burma; and during this campaign +the Brahmans had been compelled to work as labourers in the construction +of barracks. The British soldiers had fallen to with a will, as had the +low-caste Madras sepoys, but the men from Bengal demanded to know +whether Brahmans and Rajputs were mere coolies that they should so +defile themselves. + +In addition to the above causes of disquietude, the King of Delhi--a +quiet old gentleman who dabbled in poetry--had been recently deprived of +certain privileges. This monarch was the descendant of the great Mogul +emperors, whose sway had been acknowledged by far more kings, princes, +and nations than that of any European sovereign. + +Yet the heir to this magnificence was now merely the pensioner of a +company of merchants; though permitted to dwell in an enormous +palace--almost a town in itself--with the empty title of king, he +possessed no real power and no authority. This fact rankled in the minds +of all Mohammedans. In one important respect, however, the Company had +deferred to the king's wishes. He had begged that none of their troops +should be quartered in the imperial city, so that he might at least make +pretence to be the real master thereof. The request was granted, and +with the exception of a handful of men to guard the great Delhi arsenal, +neither sepoys nor British soldiers were stationed in the town, but, +instead, had their cantonments on the destined-to-be-famous ridge +outside. + +Then, again, the great province of Oudh had been recently annexed, and +certain privileges had been taken not only from the king thereof, but +from the large landholders; and though in the course of time these +changes would undoubtedly work for the good of the majority, still they +pressed heavily on a certain class; and the poorer people, for whose +benefit the changes were made, could not understand, and therefore +disliked them. The King of Oudh, like his master the Emperor of Delhi, +was a Mohammedan. + +There was also a Mahratta rajah, known as Nana Sahib, who had many +grievances against the English. The Mahrattas were a powerful Hindu +confederacy that had overawed even the Grand Moguls until Wellesley and +Lake had broken their power. + +Trouble had arisen in many corps over the question of pay. For services +outside India the sepoys were paid more than in Hindustan itself. After +the annexation of the Punjab in 1849 this extra pay was dropped for +regiments serving in the province, and the sepoys could not understand +how, if the Punjab was not in Hindustan when they entered, it could +become part of Hindustan because the government chose to term it so. +They argued that even if the Punjab had become merged in the Indian +Empire, it was still a foreign country in their eyes; that they were +still serving away from their native land, and were therefore entitled +to extra pay. Some regiments had accordingly refused to obey orders. + +The Brahman priests thereupon warned the Indian Government that if they +(the priests) chose to forbid Hindus to enlist, the British would have +to make shift without a sepoy army. This threat rather frightened "John +Company", but not Sir Charles Napier, the commander-in-chief at the +period. He promptly took matters into his own hands, and disbanding the +66th Native Infantry, which had refused to obey orders, he gave their +title and colours to the Nasiri Gurkha Battalion, who thereupon became +the 66th Infantry of the Line. + +This step scared the Brahmans, for they saw that if the government was +minded to fill their places with Gurkhas, those intrepid little +mountaineers would be only too delighted to enlist in the regular army +instead of in irregular battalions with less pay, as at present. The +occupation of the Brahman sepoys would then be gone, at least to a +larger extent than they desired. + +Now, in India the status of a soldier is a most honourable one, and the +army is not mainly recruited from the lower classes, as in England, but +from the most respectable natives of the middle and higher ranks of +life; and families consider it a great privilege to have a son in the +army, even as a private. Judged by Indian standards the pay is very +good, and the pension will keep a family in ease and comfort. The +British soldier often enlists because he has no taste for settled +employment, or because he has been tempted by coloured placards setting +forth "the advantages of the army", or has been attracted by the ribbons +of the recruiting-sergeant. Perchance he has been jilted by his +sweetheart, or done something of which he is ashamed, and so has run +away from home. Often he has taken another name, and has lost sight and +touch of the parents at home. + +But the sepoy, as soon as his name is on the regimental roll, becomes +the pride and prop of his house. He visits home regularly and is +regarded as a great man in his village, and his family comes under the +special protection of the state. Many families boasted that they had +eaten the salt of "The Great Lord Company" from generation to +generation. The sepoys usually had a real pride in their colours; they +rejoiced in the honourable and well-paid service that was sought by the +very flower of the people, by the highest castes in Bengal. + +Napier's prompt action checked the spread of revolt, but dissatisfaction +still rankled in the sepoys' breasts. In 1857 each injustice was +recalled to mind, and thousands of the mutineers honestly believed that +they had been very badly treated. + +A further incitement to revolt was this. The Moslems cherished a +prophecy that India would be ruled by the Feringhis for exactly one +hundred years, after which the Mogul Empire would resume its sway. The +year 1857 was just a century after Plassey. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +Weighed in the Balance + + +The principal causes of the great mutiny having now been explained, let +us go back to Meerut and its eighty-five mutineers. These men were +sentenced to long terms of imprisonment, and in the presence of the +sepoy regiments the fetters were placed upon their limbs. The sight of +the degradation angered and alarmed their comrades, and rumours spread +through the town to the effect that all the black soldiers were to be +disgraced in the same way, and at this date no report was too ridiculous +for the sepoys. + +On the Sunday evening, 10th May, the 60th Rifles assembled for church +parade. At once the rumour flew round that the white soldiers were +preparing to fall upon their brown comrades, and the absurd tale gained +ready credence. The sepoys were taunted by the women of the town, were +called cowards for permitting their comrades to suffer disgrace; and no +sooner had the Rifles marched off to church than the native troops lost +all control of themselves, broke open the jail, set their eighty-five +comrades free, and, encouraged by the convicts, they began to fire on +the white residents. + +All the _budmashes_ of Meerut joining in, pandemonium ensued. Houses +were broken into and set on fire; Englishmen and women were brutally +murdered. Yet whilst this was going on in one part of the town, in +another quarter the sepoys of the same regiments were saluting their +officers and guarding the Treasury as usual. + +Back came the 60th Rifles from church and quickly reassembled with arms +and ammunition, but by this time the mutineers were on the road to +Delhi. Though the British dragoons were at once ordered out, their +commanding officer could not grasp the need for prompt punishment. He +allowed the roll to be called in the ordinary way, wasting precious +moments, whilst the rebel sepoys were hastening nearer and nearer to the +imperial city. + +Night fell quickly, and as the general commanding did not know which way +the rebels had fled, he did not order pursuit, arguing that the troops +must remain behind to protect the residents of Meerut from the thousands +of _budmashes_ and escaped jail-birds. + +Had the dragoons at Meerut been ordered down the road to Delhi (for the +general might easily have guessed that the rebels would take that +direction), the 60th Rifles and the Artillery were strong enough to have +swept all the _budmashes_ in Meerut out of existence; and the dragoons +would certainly have overtaken and destroyed the two foot regiments, and +might have come up with the 3rd Native Cavalry. In the face of the +British horsemen the populace of Delhi would not have dared to +sympathize with the mutineers; the revolt would perhaps have died out, +and the terrible massacres of Delhi, Cawnpore, and other places might +never have occurred. But it is easy to be wise after the event, and the +general commanding at Meerut, though a brave man, was not a far-seeing +one. He was content to save and defend his own station, failing to +recognize that a spark kindled in Delhi, the real capital of India, +would set the whole land ablaze. As it was, the mutineers, scared out of +their wits by the fear of a terrible retribution, hearing in their +frightened imaginations the thundering of the dragoons behind them, got +safely into Delhi and attempted to rouse that city against the +Feringhis. But the people of Delhi said one to another: + +"No! The English will be here presently with their terrible horsemen and +still more terrible artillery. Let us take no part in this!" + +But not a British soldier was in sight next day from the city walls, and +the rumour soon gained ground that all the white troops in Meerut had +been slain, and that Allah had taken from them their vigour and their +courage. "The Feringhis are _lachar_[4]!" was the cry. + + [4] helpless. + +And the populace and the sepoys around Delhi joined their brethren from +Meerut, proclaiming Bahadur Shah, the old gentleman poet, "Emperor of +all India"; they massacred the fifty English men and women in the city, +and before many days had passed most of the regiments throughout Bengal +and the Punjab were on the brink of mutiny, hesitating to take the +plunge. Had there been at Meerut on that fatal Sunday a Lawrence or an +Edwardes, a Cotton, Nicholson, or Neill, the revolt might have been +crushed with one decisive blow. + +So the news brought to our friends at Aurungpore was too true. Through +the whole land, from Peshawur to Calcutta, spread the black terror, and +though most officers of sepoy regiments trusted their own particular +corps, each feared lest other regiments should throw off their +allegiance and murder without remorse not only the officers, but the +Christian women and children of the towns. + +The colonel and officers of the 193rd never doubted that their beloved +regiment would prove true to its salt, for the most friendly feeling +existed between officers and men. Some of the former had more than once +risked their lives for their men, and in return several of the sepoys +had rescued their officers from situations of great peril by their +pluck and devotion. + +Terrible as were many of the acts committed by the mutineers, we must +not consider them as so many fiends in the shape of men, nor must we +believe that their delight was to shed human blood. In 1857 the sepoy +was a madman inflamed with rage and bitter hatred against those whom he +mistakenly considered his oppressors; and many who suffered most from +his fury were in truth his best friends and well-wishers. + +Most inconsistent were his actions, and his character was a mass of +contradictions. He was simple and credulous as a child, and at the same +time crafty and designing; his cruelty was frequently evident, and never +more so than in this terrible year, yet as a rule he was gentle and +kindly. It was no uncommon sight for the hardened sepoy warrior to be +found watching beside his English officer's sick-bed, and no woman could +be a more gentle nurse; he was devoted to his sahib's children, and +loved to make them happy. Generally he was languid and indolent, yet +capable of being roused to passionate energy; at times light-hearted and +cheerful, at times depressed and given to brooding over his wrongs, both +real and fancied. Mutinies had not been unknown before the year 1857, +but on previous occasions the outbreaks had resembled the naughtiness of +a child, and like a child the sepoy usually injured himself more than +others. + +Though no condemnation of those who participated in the murdering of +women and children can be too severe, yet we must not paint the sepoy in +colours too black. Let us try to put ourselves in his place, and see +what it meant. Suppose that he honestly believed that the English were +seeking his destruction, can we not imagine his despair and panic? Many +of the mutineers, however, believed the explanations of their English +officers, and felt assured that the cartridge-paper contained no +offensive matter, and these men tried to put everything right. And what +was the result? Their comrades believed that these sensible sepoys had +sold themselves to the Feringhis; they were taunted and jeered at as +Christians; they became outcasts, and none would eat with them. Not only +did their fellow-soldiers shun them, but also their parents and brethren +and the people of the village who used to crowd round and bow before +them when they visited their homes. They all refused friendship and +connection with the outcasts; the letters written home were never +answered, and no wonder that these well-meaning fellows were +terror-stricken at the thought of their shameful position, and cursed +the English and their unclean ways that had brought this to pass. + +Three days after the Meerut revolt Colonel Woodburn addressed his men on +the subject of the crisis. Assuring them of the mighty power of England, +and of the terrible punishment that would be meted out to rebels, he +reminded them of their glorious regimental history, and asked if they +would willingly tarnish their good name. Ted's heart glowed as he +listened to the stirring speech, and the men broke into a shout of +enthusiasm, cheered their colonel, and Pir Baksh, stepping forward, +expressed their willingness to march against the mutineers. At mess the +officers congratulated one another, overjoyed at the splendid spirit +animating those under their command. + +With renewed courage and in the highest spirits they buckled on their +swords for the next morning's parade. + +"I hope we shall get orders to march against the mutineers," Ted +confided to Paterson as they walked towards the parade-ground in front +of the arsenal. + +"And what would happen to our countrymen and country-women at +Aurungpore if the regiment left?" his chum asked with a laugh. "Would +you make the rebels a gift of the fort and arsenal?" + +Ted was crestfallen. + +"Oh! I'd forgotten them," he replied. "Still, half the regiment would be +enough to defend the town. I'm jolly glad our men are showing such a +good spirit, but I'm afraid for Jim and Spencer. I don't suppose their +Guides are likely to remain loyal very long." + +"I've been thinking of them all morning," Alec observed musingly, "and +of all Spencer was telling us the night he was here. I don't think +there's much doubt but that those fellows will sell themselves to the +highest bidder, and he will be the emperor at Delhi. They may pull +through all right though, if they are within reach of Nicholson. He and +Edwardes will be towers of strength along the frontier." + +"Don't it make you mad to think of the way they bungled it at Meerut? +Whoever was responsible for such a fiasco ought to be kicked out of the +army." + +"Now, Ted Russell, you know nothing about it," the cautious Scot +reproachfully asserted. "It's very easy to say afterwards what ought to +have been done, but we don't know all the circumstances. Here's the +colonel. He's a fine-looking man, and no wonder the sepoys are proud of +him." + +The companies were called to attention, numbered, and wheeled into line. +Before the wheel was completed a sepoy suddenly levelled his musket and +pulled the trigger. Two officers at once rushed towards the would-be +assassin, but were met by the fire of some twenty men of the same +company, and fell riddled with bullets. + +One-half of the sepoys stood irresolute--some fingering their triggers +menacingly; others, taken by surprise, screamed, "No, no, we must not +slay our officers!" + +"Nay, slay them all!" roared a subadar, "whether we love them or not! If +we do not kill them they will persuade us against our will!" + +And a shrill clamour approved the advice. + +Still five hundred men hesitated. Some of the waverers shouted to the +Englishmen, urging them to run. It was as though they had been bitten by +a mad dog, and, while yet sane, knowing that the poison was working in +their veins, they wished to save bloodshed before the madness should +overpower them and render them pitiless. + +Almost broken-hearted by this proof that his trusted regiment had +mutined, Colonel Woodburn lifted up his voice in a last appeal to their +loyalty. Before he had spoken a dozen words, Pir Baksh--dreading lest +the colonel's influence should wreck his plans, even when success seemed +assured--stepped behind a crowd of gesticulating sepoys and took +deliberate aim. + +Colonel Woodburn fell from his horse grievously wounded, and Ted and one +of the subalterns dashed forward to convey him to a place of safety. +Captain Markham placed himself at the head of his own hundred men and +appealed to them, for the sake of all they had gone through together, to +remain loyal and true. His company, composed of Hindustanis--mostly +Rajputs--stood silent and puzzled, undecided how to act, when shots from +some Mohammedans of the flank company answered his appeal, and the +well-loved captain fell. + +There was no longer any indecision among Markham's Rajputs. Pity for the +murdered officer who had done so much for them, anger that he should be +shot by the Moslems whom they did not love, these feelings turned the +scale. Hastily closing round their captain they guarded his body and +menaced the mutineers. The remaining officers, seeing one faithful +company, placed themselves at its head, and called on the other Hindus +to remain loyal and fight the Mussulmans. But the madness had worked by +now: all the rest cast in their lot with the murderers, and, firing a +few shots at Englishmen and faithful sepoys, whom they dared not charge, +so great was still the influence of the officers, they rushed off to +loot the town and shops. + +Including Markham, three officers were killed and two badly wounded, two +of the slain being brother ensigns of Ted--poor little "griffins", who +had been out but a few months. + +Then swift as lightning came the thought, "What of the women and +children and civilians?" The appearance of the revolted sepoys would be +the signal for all the _budmashes_ of the _bazar_ to join in the rioting +and murder. + +A noise of firing and a babel of fiendish yells from the English quarter +of the town, in close proximity to the fort, told their own tale. The +white residents were being attacked! + +"Lieutenant Lowthian," commanded the major, "remain here with Ensigns +Tynan and Russell and about twenty men! We'll take our wounded with us, +the women will attend to them; and when we've cleared the streets we'll +bring the civilians into the fort." + +Exhorting the faithful Rajputs to remain true to their salt and so win +eternal fame, the major ordered bayonets to be fixed, and headed the +charge down the street, the wounded with their guard bringing up the +rear. + +A disorderly crowd of sepoys and riff-raff of the town had assembled in +front of the large house of Sir Arthur Fletcher, the Commissioner of the +district. The windows were being fired into and the doors battered down, +in spite of a determined resistance from the inmates. Into the crowd +charged the loyal sepoys. Firing a single volley at close quarters they +at once let the rioters taste cold steel, and beneath the gallant +major's sword fell more than one of the ringleaders. + +Major Munro was known as one of the strongest officers and best +swordsmen in the army, and the mob gave back before his flashing steel +and the glistening bayonets of his followers. But as the sepoys +recoiled, a number of Wahabis, showering curses upon the faint-hearted, +poured with knives and swords down upon the little band. The leader was +all but lost. Separating him from his men, half a dozen fanatics set on +him at once, yelling triumphantly. But the two who first came within +reach of that mighty arm quickly lay in the dust; the third received the +point in his heart, and a fourth was cloven almost in twain. + +Aghast at the fate of their comrades the others faltered. But Munro did +not wait to be attacked; stepping over the prostrate bodies he followed +up the advantage gained, and the pandies shrank from that fatal sword. +Joining forces once more, the sturdy band reached the house, and, +standing with backs to the wall, they poured volley after +volley--irregularly, but coolly and rapidly--into the dense, +disorganized rabble, until at length the barricades were taken from the +door, and one by one they were admitted. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +The Fight in the Arsenal + + +"They are having a hard fight for it," Ted observed to Lieutenant +Lowthian. They stood on the walls that surrounded the courtyard of the +fort, watching the progress of their comrades through the crowded +streets. Lowthian nodded, but, absorbed by the struggle, made no reply. + +"Yes, and they've left us here to be killed like rabbits," muttered +Tynan. + +"Shut up! Don't whine!" Lowthian scornfully exhorted him. + +Ted's anxiety had so far been largely centred in the safety of Ethel +Woodburn, the charge placed under his protection; and having rightly +guessed that the Commissioner's house, surrounded by the clamouring mob, +through whose masses Munro was breaking his way, contained the Europeans +of Aurungpore, a load was lifted from his mind. The rebels had quitted +the immediate vicinity of the fort, and the comparative tranquillity +close at hand had made him forget his own danger. Tynan's remark and +Lowthian's curtness startled him. + +"They won't be long in escorting the women here," he cheerfully opined. +"And a hundred of us ought to hold this place easily." + +"Yes, but twenty cannot," Tynan sneered. "If it's as much as Munro can +do to force his way through now, how's he going to manage it with a +crowd of women to protect?" + +Tynan had gauged the situation more correctly than Ted. Reckoning +overmuch on the prestige of British arms, Munro had calculated that the +removal of the civilians to the fort would be an easy matter. Most of +the disloyal sepoys had disappeared, having scattered in order to loot +the shops and the European bungalows. They were now returning by twos +and threes, some laden with plunder, others savage and sullen through +disappointment, having found the bungalows deserted and the coveted +jewels and money saved from their clutches. + +"Here comes that scoundrel Pir Baksh," said Lowthian as the Moslem +subadar appeared on the scene. He began to shout some commands +unintelligible to the watchers on the walls, and soon succeeded in +forming the scattered groups into a dense throng. + +"I always detested that fellow," Lowthian continued, "and I believe he's +at the bottom of this dastardly business." + +"He's got Miss Woodburn's horse too!" Ted cried in an excited voice, as +he recognized the bay. "Look! he's pointing towards the fort It's our +turn now!" + +Pir Baksh was haranguing the sepoys, gesticulating wildly, first towards +the strong white building in which the Europeans had taken shelter, and +then in the direction of the frowning fortress whose guns commanded +Aurungpore, and the air was filled with shouts of "Din, Din, Allah +Akbar!"[5] + + [5] "The Faith," or "For our Faith, God is Great." + +"They're coming at us," Tynan whispered. There was no need to whisper, +for the fact was only too evident. The impressive nature of the peril +had made him unconsciously lower his voice. + +"Are the guns loaded?" he added, nodding towards the half-dozen cannon, +whose grim black muzzles stared through the embrasures. + +"No, and it would take us an hour to load them," Lowthian replied. + +As a measure of precaution, all munitions for the cannon had been stored +within the arsenal. + +The Rajputs on the bastions that flanked the main gate began to fire +wildly as the rebels approached within range. + +"Steady, men, steady!" the commandant ordered. "Each cover his man +before he fires! That's the way! Well aimed, Ambar Singh!" + +The loyal sepoys had pulled themselves together, and there was no +further waste of ammunition. Rebel after rebel rolled over in the dust +or limped into cover, and the rush was checked. The assailants slowly +backed away from the walls, each man trying to dodge behind his +neighbour to keep a shield before him as he took aim. Ted looked for Pir +Baksh, but that astute pandy, having no intention of exposing himself so +prominently on horseback, had dismounted, and was lost amid the mob. + +At last the ensign marked his quarry. For a second's space the +ringleader had come into view to urge his reluctant hordes to the +assault. Hastily covering him, Ted pulled the trigger. A rebel fell, but +it was not Pir Baksh. Like the coward he was, he had skipped into safety +behind a group of sepoys, and now the front ranks of the mutineers had +pressed back upon the rearmost until all were beyond effective range. +Brown Bess could not be trusted to carry far. + +"If there is one of the curs I should like to kill it's that traitor Pir +Baksh!" Tynan declared with an oath. "I hope I'll live to see him +hanged! It was he who shot the colonel; I saw him." + +"Are you sure of that?" Lowthian and Ted both asked. + +"As sure as that I am here.----What are they up to now?" + +Baffled for a moment, the subadar had abandoned the idea of a direct +assault, and was seen to be exhorting the men to some new method of +attack, for the pandies presently dispersed right and left. A hot fire +was still kept up through the windows of Fletcher's house. Lowthian +quietly gave an order. + +"Tynan, take eight men to the southern bastion, and don't show +yourselves until you can strike home. Dal Singh, you keep watch from the +north-west tower, and give the alarm if they gather in that direction." + +A number of the sepoys were reassembling at the top of the main street +where it debouched into the open space facing the main gate. Ted and +Lowthian exchanged a meaning look as they perceived that some had +brought short ladders and were busily lashing them together. + +"If they've any grit they'll soon be over the walls," the senior +whispered. "Ha! they mean to attack Tynan's post first." + +Under the impression that the garrison was too weak to be distributed, +some hundred rebels with a ladder made a dash for the southern wall of +the courtyard, keeping out of range from the main gate as they ran. They +were within twenty paces when Tynan opened fire. Still they kept on, and +planted the ladder against the wall. A second volley rang out, and the +pandies hesitated, for the fire had been concentrated on the +ladder-bearers, and those who were nearest to them edged farther away, +pressing against the walls. They reasoned that it was death to touch the +ladder, and many of their comrades were already dead. But by now another +rush had been made for the main gate, and though a dozen fell in the +assault, the sepoys were more in earnest and they thirsted for revenge. +Two of the Rajputs were knocked over, and Pir Baksh yelled gleefully as +he planted a bullet in Lowthian's shoulder. + +Still the fort was not yet won. Encouraged by the resolute bearing of +their officers, the loyal men continued to fire coolly and rapidly; and +the mutineers lacked the inspiration of a leader ready to sacrifice +himself for their cause. They again retired out of range, and the cheer +raised by the Rajputs at the main gate was echoed back by Tynan's men. + +That cheer was ill-timed. Hardly had it died away before an answering +yell from the north, savage as a war-whoop, chilled the blood in their +veins, for it came from inside the courtyard! A scaling-party had made +the circuit, and were already beneath the north-western bastion when Dal +Singh reached his post. He looked forth, and before he could give the +alarm a bullet struck him in the forehead, the single distant report +passing unnoticed amid the noise of battle. + +"Inside the fort, lads!" Lowthian shouted. "All together!" + +The garrison hastily descended, and, joining forces, charged across the +courtyard to escape being cut off. But the rebels were the nearer, and +should even one or two of them enter first and bar the door, the +garrison was lost. In ten minutes there would be a couple of hundred +sepoys inside the courtyard. + +One rebel was almost in. Ted stopped, flung his musket to his shoulder, +and the man toppled over. Four more pandies were close upon his heels. +As the leader fell, the hindmost of these, dreading the same fate, +looked back over his shoulder. A trifling incident, yet that glance cost +him dear, and was worth untold gold to the white-faces in Aurungpore. +For as the fellow turned he unconsciously checked his pace, and a lean +Rajput, straining every nerve, closed with the faint-hearted traitor +before the entrance could be gained. A bayonet-thrust, a scream, and the +wretch staggered forward and fell upon his face. + +But the other three were inside, and so was Karan Singh the Rajput, +alone with his back to the door, cut off from his comrades. A barrier of +some thirty exultant rebels had thrust themselves in front, and ladders +were even now being set up against the walls by the main gate. If the +thirty pandies could keep the loyalists at bay for another five minutes +they would all be butchered like goats at the Dashera Festival. Then +came the clang of steel, as bayonet crossed bayonet; the three officers +emptied and reloaded their pistols, and a yard or two was gained. + +Suddenly Ted dodged to the right, and darted at full speed round the +pack of sepoys, as a three-quarter back, smartly fed by the half who has +picked up the ball from beneath the feet of the scrummagers, circles +round his opponents before they know what has happened. He had caught a +glimpse of the plucky Karan Singh maintaining the unequal combat, and +the Rajput was sore wounded though one of the pandies had fallen to his +bayonet. + +While still a few strides from the doorway, Ted Russell witnessed the +death of the Hindu hero. As one sepoy kept Karan Singh at bay the other +managed to reload and let fly, the muzzle barely a foot from the +Rajput's breast. The brave man dropped like a log, and his body fell +across the threshold. Though they hastily thrust the corpse aside, Ted +was upon them before the heavy door could be closed. + +The enemy had not dared to pursue the ensign, fearing to turn their +backs lest the British should be let in. His pistol was empty and his +musket had been cast aside. One of the sepoys lunged. Ted skipped aside, +and, turning on his heel, struck wildly at the other's bayonet that was +darting towards his chest. The weapon was turned aside, but though his +tunic alone was ripped and he himself was untouched, his cherished sword +had broken off at the hilt, and he was disarmed. + +For the fraction of a second he stood helpless. So lightning-like is +thought, that he had time to long for a kick at the slovenly workman who +had turned out a weapon as untrustworthy as himself. + +"Quick! Close the door, Bakir Khan, while I slay the whelp!" + +Ted swerved, grasped the speaker's musket-barrel with his left, and with +his right hammered the face of the bewildered sepoy, who howled, but +held on to the weapon. The iron-clamped door slammed and the heavy bolts +groaned as Bakir Khan shot them home and turned to assist his comrade. +Ted tugged at the musket with all his strength, and suddenly saw at his +feet the firearm of the dead pandy. He swooped down, seized the weapon, +and jumped backwards just in time, as the bayonet-point flashed +harmlessly in front. + +A loud pounding of musket-stocks upon the door announced that Lowthian's +handful had broken through, or else had all been slain. For an instant +the sound stayed the fight inside. Was he alone left after all? Or did +it mean that, could he open the door before numbers overwhelmed them, +they might all be saved? Hope lent him strength. There was no bayonet to +his new weapon, so he gripped it by the muzzle, and, swinging it above +his head, he knocked the Brown Bess out of Bakir Khan's hand as that +false sepoy made a second lunge. Again he brought the butt-end down, +this time with a thud upon the head of Bakir Khan. The second pandy +recoiled, still half-dazed by the blows from Ted's sword-hilt. There was +no way of escape for him, however, and he sprang like a tiger-cat at the +ensign. A third time the musket was swung aloft, and the sepoy reeled +and toppled over, stunned. + +Ted sprang to the door, and had drawn one of the bolts when a wild fear +took hold of him. Who were on the other side? In all probability they +were rebels thirsting for English blood, and why should he let them in? +Through the thick door he seemed to see them, pitiless as famished +wolves. Why not hide in the vast arsenal and slip out at night? + +In less than a second such thoughts had flashed through his mind before +he recollected that duty bade him take the risk. The last bolt was shot +back; he sprang aside, ready for a charge as the door swung back, and +gave a gasp of relief as Tynan and his Rajputs dashed inside. + +At their heels came the rebels, and a few got through before Ted and +Ambar Singh could close and bar the door. The fight inside the passage +was soon over, and the Rajputs sank upon the floor and gasped for +breath. + +Barely five minutes had sped since Karan Singh's body had fallen across +the threshold, yet it seemed many hours. Ted could hardly realize that +the main body of assailants under Pir Baksh had only just succeeded in +storming the walls (for they had hesitated, fearing a trap) as he +cracked the skull of Bakir Khan. Had that fourth sepoy not looked back +the arsenal would have been lost. + +"Lowthian's done for, I'm afraid!" panted Tynan. + +Following his gaze, Ted saw that the Rajputs had brought their +commandant in. He knelt down by the side of his friend and found Tynan's +surmise only too true, for Lieutenant Lowthian had already breathed his +last. + +"Shot just as we reached the doorway," Tynan explained; "and half a +dozen men killed or badly wounded. What must we do, Russell? They can't +get in except through that door, can they?" + +"It won't take long to batter the door down if they shape," Ted replied. +"Luckily we've heaps of ammunition here, and any number of muskets. +Look, this room off the passage commands the door, so set two or three +men to bring up firearms and we'll load a few dozen." + +Before Ted had finished speaking, the spirited Rajputs were emptying +their muskets through the narrow slits that loop-holed the thick walls, +and the rebels who had been clustering round the door, vainly attempting +to batter it down, left the spot in a hurry--at least all did who were +able. Ted then posted a couple of men to watch the north-western face of +the building and give the alarm if necessary. Blood had been flowing +freely down the ensign's face, and he now found time to staunch it. He +was not sure when he had received the wound, but at some time or other +during the struggle in the passage a bayonet-point had torn the skin +from mouth to ear. + +The lull in the storm lasted for nearly an hour. Many of the pandies +contemptuously flouted the commands of their officers, and, giving up +the attack on the fort, began to seek fresh plunder in the town, or +joined in the half-hearted attempts to render the English house +untenable. The remainder of the force, gathered together by Pir Baksh, +kept up a long-range fire through the loopholes, in the hope that some +bullets might find their billets. + +"Why don't Munro come to the rescue?" Harry Tynan bitterly demanded. +"With eighty men he could break through this gang of cowards, if only he +had the pluck to try." + +"He can't," Ted retorted; "they're penned in there like sheep. And how +could he break through with nearly a dozen women and kids to protect? +Would you have him leave them to their fate?" + +"Half his men could do it." + +"Not they--nor twice his whole force. It's a soldier's risk that we +bargained for when we took our commissions. We may win through yet; and +if not, we must just stick to it as long as we can. Well, what's the +matter now, havildar?" + +Ambar Singh had left his post. + +"The dogs are about to make a rush, Ensign Sahib. They Have brought logs +and beams and mean to batter down the door. Listen! They are +volley-firing to keep us from the loopholes." + +The fusillade had suddenly redoubled--steady volleys this time--and a +hail of lead pattered against the walls, and a few bullets smacked +against the sides of the slits and cannoned shapeless into the room. + +"Quick, upstairs, you three!" Ted cried. "Take as many muskets as you +can carry and fire rapidly!" + +Three sepoys nodded significantly and ran up the stairs. In another +moment a succession of reports from above announced that they understood +their business. As our hero had intended, the rebels jumped at the +conclusion that their fire having become too hot, the garrison had +shifted, so they changed their aim. + +Instantly the abandoned loopholes were occupied, just as two parties, +each of six or eight men bearing improvised battering-rams, charged the +door at full speed. Crack went eight muskets together, and half a dozen +fell. Fresh firearms were handed to the marksmen, and the logs were +dropped as the few survivors scuttled away. For a third time the reports +rang out, and only one of the log-carriers rejoined his comrades. + +"Down, men!" Ted gave warning, as the rebels savagely changed their aim +once more and swept the lower embrasures with their fire. One poor +fellow was not quite quick enough. Before he could duck a bullet had +entered his forehead. Setting aside the two Rajputs who were dangerously +wounded, there were now twelve sepoys and two English lads to defend the +place, and of these fourteen five were wounded. + +"Curse the bloodthirsty ruffians!" Tynan hissed. + +His blood was up. Springing to a loophole he fired twice, bringing down +a man each time. + +"Be careful," Ted cautioned him. "That won't pay." + +"The sooner it's over the better," Tynan replied, but took the advice +all the same. + +The hostile fire gradually slackened, and the garrison were shortly +enabled to watch the proceedings of their adversaries. They could see +Pir Baksh vainly exhorting the mutineers to make a second attempt. But +the sepoys shook their heads. The danger was too great, or why did not +Pir Baksh himself lead them, they asked. Their English officers were +wont to share the danger with the sepoys, but he, Pir Baksh, was careful +to keep out of range whenever he sent them forward. No, they preferred +to wait for night, when the risk would be small. + +Judging that they would be safe for another hour at least, the two +Englishmen ordered food to be prepared. They anticipated that the crisis +would come with the sunset, and strength must be kept up. + +"What are you grinning at?" asked Tynan, as they sat cross-legged over +the meal. + +"I was thinking what a rummy go it is," Ted replied, "that we two of all +the officers should be here together. We haven't been friends, Tynan, +but if ever we get out of this hole I hope we will be. And if we don't +get out, I trust we can die without any bad feeling between us. Shake +hands on it, old chap." + +Tynan leant forward to meet the proffered hand. + +"All right, Russell! I'm agreeable. It ain't my fault that we've not +been friends." + +This was not a very gracious speech, and Ted's ardour was damped. He +shook hands, however, saying: + +"We must back one another up to-day." + +"Right! But look here, you mustn't forget that I'm senior officer here. +You've been giving orders pretty freely." + +"Because you didn't seem ready with any suggestions." + +"It's my turn now, remember," Tynan asserted in an aggrieved tone; and +Ted felt sorry he had spoken, as the other seemed incapable of sinking +his personal feelings even at such a time. Unless his senior officer +showed more sign of rising to the occasion, he determined to continue to +issue orders. + +Though the magazine at Aurungpore was not a large one, its capture would +prove an enormous boon to the rebel cause, for therein was stored a +quantity of ammunition and material of war. Armed therewith, all the +rabble of the town would soon be equipped as soldiers, and our ensign +understood what would then become of his friends and comrades, and above +all of his brother's sweetheart. A shiver ran down his spine as he +remembered Jim's parting whisper, and there rose before him the picture +of the girl who had saved his life and whom he secretly adored. He vowed +to do his duty manfully, and never to despair while there remained the +least hope of preventing the ravening wolves outside from gaining access +to the stores. + +"What the deuce are you up to now?" Tynan broke in. + +The senior ensign had been regarding the junior's meditations with +considerable curiosity, wondering how he could become so absorbed at so +critical a time. His query had been called forth by a sudden change of +expression that had overspread his comrade's features. Ted's eyes had +opened wide, and he had given an almost imperceptible gasp, sure signs +that some startling idea had come upon him unawares. + +"What is it, Russell?" Tynan repeated. + +"Oh, nothing, nothing!" Ted hastily assured him. "I was just thinking +what an awful business this is." + +"Has that only just occurred to you?" his comrade sullenly inquired, +convinced that Ted was keeping something back. + +And so he was. Not that he wished to mislead his brother officer but +rather because the idea that had so unceremoniously thrust itself in +front of him, suggested an action so appalling as almost to stupefy him. +He must think, think, think. Could he bring himself to do it? Ought he +to do it? + +Hardly the place or time this for quiet meditation, for the weighing of +pros and cons. One of the watchers signalled that the pandies had again +lost patience, and to confirm his words the heavy fusillade recommenced, +and the ensign ceased to ponder and began to act. The rebels had now got +the range with deadly accuracy, and unless he courted death, none of the +garrison dared return the fire. + +Our hero did make one such attempt, and reduced the number of one of the +battering-crews. But before he could get in a second shot the muzzle of +his musket was struck and dented, and a bullet whistled through his +hair, grazing the skin. He crouched down and put his hand to his head, +fearing he was done for. A soft thud and rattle beside him announced the +fall of a sepoy who had followed the rash example with fatal courage. +Forgetting his own wound the ensign knelt beside the Rajput and raised +his head. The poor fellow still breathed but was going fast, and a +shudder ran through the boy as the man died in his arms, true to the +end. + +"Are you hurt?" Tynan asked. + +"I'm not quite sure. I don't think so." + +"Let me see. Oh, it's only a scratch." + +The sepoys in the room above, less hampered by the rebel fire, were +answering back to some purpose until they too were silenced, one of +their number being mortally wounded. A crash against the stout door +seemed to shake the house, and before the vibration ceased another bang +was heard. Englishmen and Rajputs were firing hastily whenever an +opportunity occurred, but the pandies now held the upper hand. A +splintering noise followed the next crash. + +"What can we do, Russell? What can we do?" Tynan cried. "They'll be in +in a moment!" + +Backed by the strength of half a dozen men the logs crashed once more +against the barrier, and the hearts of the garrison were heavy as lead. + +"We're not done for yet," Ted stoutly replied. "We must wait for them in +the passage. We may yet hold the passage, Ambar Singh; and should we +die, men will speak of your deeds from generation to generation." + +"We can hold them back for a time, sahib. Come, my children, and thou, +Bisesar Rai, and thou, Dwarika Rai, load and pass us the muskets as we +lie in the doorway." + +Of the twenty-two Rajputs ten were still able to fight, and three others +remained alive though sorely wounded. They were now all together, and +Ted, Ambar Singh the havildar, and as many others as could crowd in, +were lying full length before the wide-arched entrance to the room. From +the slowly-yielding door the passage ran straight for a few paces before +curving to the right, and an enemy coming round the bend would be at a +great disadvantage, for the best marksmen of the garrison waited with +ready muskets, their elbows on the threshold, their bodies within the +room. Behind them two comrades stood, a loaded musket in each hand, to +exchange for the emptied weapons, and beside them knelt Bisesar Rai and +Dwarika Rai busily loading the firearms. The pandies could not take aim +without coming into full view, but the defenders could fire with a +minimum of exposure, and could draw back their heads into safety +whenever they saw a musket-barrel pointing at random towards them. + +A louder crash, a shrill yell, and a mob of maddened sepoys swept inside +and round the bend. Six muskets cracked at once, and the yells changed +to howls of dismay. A second volley--not in unison this time, but no +less effective--and the sepoys turned and fled. The victory was not to +be so easy as they had imagined. Had the garrison been armed as were +they, with one Brown Bess apiece and a limited supply of ammunition, it +would all have been over long ago they told themselves, but when volley +followed volley with such rapidity, it was like facing a regiment. The +sepoys were not cowards as a rule, but they knew they were playing a +traitor's part. In a good cause, well led, they would have risked the +danger, even as the handful of loyal Rajputs were devoting their lives +to their duty. + +A nerve-ruining silence, broken only by the moans of the wounded who lay +on the floor, followed the shrill outcries. The rebels were baffled but +not defeated. Slowly, painfully the minutes dragged, then two black +heads showed round the bend, and two spurts of flame flashed out. Before +the reports had reached them, Ted and Ambar Singh had pressed their +fingers, and two sepoys fell forward on their faces. The defenders were +untouched, the rebels having fired at random, and for a while none dared +follow their example. + +In despair several of the raging mob pushed their musket-barrels round +the bend and let fly, in the hope that an occasional bullet out of many +might reduce the number of their dogged antagonists. But Ted drew his +men back from the doorway until the sepoys were tired of this amusement. + +Each rebel urged his neighbour to face the fire of those death-dealing +muskets; each man knew that the end was at hand, and preferred to hold +himself back that he might share in the plunder. Now that they were no +longer a glorious regiment but a mere mob of rebels, none was ready to +give his life for the cause. The garrison also knew that the end was +drawing near, and were in no way deceived by the momentary calm. + +"Hullo!" Ted cried, and stared open-mouthed. "What's that for?" + +A white cloth tied round the barrel of a musket had been poked round the +corner. + +"A truce, sahibs!" a voice called in Urdu. "We wish to treat with you +and save your lives. May I step forward in safety?" + +"One man may," Tynan replied, "but he will be a dead man should there be +any sign of treachery." + +"Sahib, there will be none; I give my word of honour." + +So saying, Pir Baksh stepped round the bend, armed only with a smile +that he doubtless intended to be ingratiating. + +"Ye are gallant warriors," he began, when Ted, interrupting the flow of +words, ordered the rascal to speak in English, not Urdu. The subadar +showed the whites of his eyes as he smiled, and grimly shook his head. +For the benefit of the Rajputs he resumed in the vernacular: + +"Ye cannot hope to hold out much longer, so let there be no further +bloodshed. Surrender the fort and we will spare your lives." + +"What do you think, Russell?" Tynan hurriedly whispered. "Do you believe +they mean it?" + +"Not they!" was Ted's scornful reply. + +"Perhaps they do, though. I'll ask him what they intend to do with us." + +"Why, you can't mean to give up the magazine under any conditions?" our +astonished ensign demanded, his eyes contracting as he stared at his +senior officer. + +"They'll have it all the same if they kill us, though," Tynan muttered, +lowering his eyes, unable to meet his comrade's gaze. "So what's the +odds. May as well save our lives while there's a chance." + +He thereupon made answer to the jemadar. + +"If we surrender, what will you do with us?" + +"We will keep you captive, but promise you your lives," came the prompt +reply. + +"Will you allow us to join our friends over yonder? If not, we shall +still fight, and we are not so helpless as you think." Tynan was not +quite a coward, and he used the threat with some show of spirit. + +"I cannot promise that without consulting my friends." + +So saying, the subadar retired for further instructions. Ted had had +time for reflection. + +"Tynan," he announced, "I sha'n't agree to surrender. We've no right to +do it! Look what a lift it would give them if they could get all these +arms and ammunition." + +Our ensign had quite made up his mind what to do. If his death would +make more secure the position of his comrades in the town he was +prepared to die. There was satisfaction in the reflection that Ethel +Woodburn would know that he had been staunch to the last. Poor Tynan had +no friends among the officers of his corps, and consequently there was +nothing to uplift his soul above the fear of death, and he had clutched +eagerly at the straw of hope held out by Pir Baksh. + +"Well, they'll get it all the same after they've done for us," he +bitterly replied. "May as well live to fight another day. I was a fool +ever to come to this accursed land. What right had Munro to leave us +here?" + +Before Ted could reply the white flag was thrust round the corner and +the subadar returned. + +"We agree to what you ask," said he. "We will permit you to rejoin your +friends in safety." + +"I tell you I shall not agree to surrender," the junior ensign angrily +declared. + +"You fool! What's the good of holding out any longer? Well, I shall +surrender, and I'm chief here." + +"You're not! You're under Munro's orders, and those were to hold the +fort until he sends help. If you attempt to surrender you're a +traitor." + +Ted turned to Ambar Singh and the sepoys. + +"Do not listen to the dogs," said he. "Let us fight to the end, as your +forefathers did against the Moguls. They are not to be trusted; they +will assuredly slay us if we yield." + +The sepoys stoutly assented. They had little faith in the Mohammedans, +who were seeking their lives,--the men who had murdered Markham Sahib. + +"You are right, sahib," said the havildar, "and we will fight by your +side. That low-caste hound," pointing to Pir Baksh, "is afraid of us, +and wishes to disarm us with soft words, but we know him." + +Tynan saw his authority taken from him, the sepoys understanding and +looking to Ted as their leader. + +"How dare you?" he hotly demanded. + +"Oh, go away! You've nothing to do with this business." Ted sneered, not +too generously, for Tynan had disgusted him. With the same breath he +ordered Pir Baksh to clear away, and the firing recommenced. + +The time had come for him to act upon the resolve he had made, a resolve +to sacrifice himself and his already-doomed handful, rather than allow +the capture of the stores to endanger the safety of his countrymen. The +idea of blowing up the magazine had come upon him suddenly as he +remembered the news that had arrived yesterday from Delhi,--how +Lieutenant Willoughby and his nine heroes had blown up the immense +arsenal there and destroyed hundreds of rebels. + +The entrance to the magazine was through the room in which they lay. The +rebels were quiet, plotting some new move, no doubt, so, leaving the +trusty Ambar Singh in charge, Ted proceeded to the spot and began to lay +a train of powder to connect the barrels with their post. Before the +others had guessed his intention he had brought the train within the +room, and the white-faced senior ensign, who had lost by now the last +remnant of his pluck, jabbered incoherently and attempted to interfere, +until Ted roughly threatened to blow his brains out. Dazed and trembling +the wretched boy shifted as far as he could from the black trail. The +Rajputs looked on with frightened eyes, half-paralysed by the shock of +this new terror; and Dwarika Rai fell on his knees and begged the ensign +to have mercy, for such a fate meant more than death to these Hindus. + +For a moment the boy's heart failed him; the thought was too awful. To +be blown into a hundred pieces, how terrible it seemed! And what right +had he to condemn these faithful men to such a death? + +Then out spake the havildar. + +"If we have to die, let us die like men. Fire the train, sahib!" + +"Nay, not yet. Our duty is to stand by our post until the last. No man +must leave the room, though." + +He lighted a candle and placed it within easy reach, that the flame +might be ready on the shortest notice. + +"Ha!" whispered Ambar Singh, and there was a reckless note in his voice. +"The jackals are cunning. See!" + +Round the bend was pushed forward a large sack full of sand, then +another; and soon a third filled up the space. As the last was clumsily +poked into its place between the others it tottered and overbalanced, +and a couple of pandies leant forward to lift it up. Two muskets spat +forth flame and the rebels rolled over in a heap, upsetting another +sack. Quick as thought, as the sepoys were engaged in pulling their +wounded comrades back, Ted ran with light steps down the passage, +keeping close to the farther wall, and seizing a sack with either hand, +dragged them away before the amazed mutineers had time to fire. + +To make doubly sure of his safety Ambar Singh and his men let fly, and +the bullets, sweeping across the bend, covered the lad's return. Amid +the cheers of the loyalists the bags were propped in the doorway to +serve as a rampart for them, and they began to mock the traitors. + +But this triumph could merely put off the evil moment. In another +half-hour fresh sand-bags had been brought in, and before long the +pandies were in a position to command the doorway. As the news spread +that the end was near the mob of sepoys increased, and Ted smiled to +himself. He addressed the Rajputs: + +"You have done your duty in a manner worthy of your ancestors, and I am +going to do mine. Run for your lives!" + +"No, Russell, you sha'n't!" cried Tynan, whose nerve had completely +broken down. "I surrender,--Pir Baksh, I surrender!" He tried to snatch +the light from his comrade's hand. Ted covered him with his pistol, and, +pointing across the passage, said simply: + +"Run for your life!" + +Hot all over, his fingers tingling and his head ringing--partly dread of +the horror and partly a glorious exultation--the boy dropped the lighted +candle on the thin trail of powder, and darted from the room as a horde +of sepoys rushed in. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +Defence of the Commissioner's House + + +When Major Munro's eighty officers and men arrived inside the house of +refuge, they found that the few civilians, ladies, and children of +Aurungpore had all escaped thereto, having been warned in time. At the +first sign of outbreak they had found access to the fort impossible, and +had taken refuge in the Commissioner's house, the largest and strongest +in the town, situated within easy reach of all the European bungalows, +and close to the fort itself. They were in sore plight when the soldiers +forced their way in--another half-hour would have been too late. + +From roof, loophole, and sheltered parapet blazed the muskets of the +Rajputs, lending their aid to the rifles of the English gentlemen, and +the mob drew back, raging furiously, but afraid to strike at close +quarters. The sad story was told; dry-eyed but heavy-hearted the +residents heard of the murder of their friends. The wounded men were +speedily given every possible assistance, and the ladies left nothing +undone to alleviate their pain. To tend the sufferers was their first +care, but the great-hearted Englishwomen insisted on taking their share +in the defence, refusing to leave the posts of danger for the +comparative safety of the inner rooms whilst there were rifles and +muskets to load and hand to the marksmen. + +Greatly to his dismay Munro found it quite impossible to send aid to the +little garrison of the fort, the route being blocked by hundreds of +fanatical savages. If he should despatch even half his command to break +their way through they would be destroyed, and the remaining half would +fall an easy prey to the triumphant rebels. + +The continued fusillade from the direction of the fort told him that the +handful of defenders he had left behind was being hotly assailed, and he +sadly feared that he had left them there to die. Bitterly the major +regretted his error. Such concentrated fury on the part of the +inhabitants had never been anticipated; he had felt sure of clearing the +street and bringing the party safely back, and he had made a mistake. + +Colonel Woodburn's wound, though serious, was not dangerous, and before +long Ethel was able to leave him for a short time. Whilst the soldiers +were breaking their way through the crowd, she had seen her father +carried in their midst, and had eyes for none but him. Now she looked +around for Ted and could not see him. + +"Where is Ted Russell, Major Munro? He's not--surely he has not been +murdered!" + +Munro was agitated, and showed it. + +"He's in the fort, Ethel; I left Lowthian, Tynan, and Russell with a few +sepoys to guard it, and they're being attacked. Listen! I ought not to +have left 'em. Leigh," he exclaimed, turning to an officer beside him, +"is there nothing to be done? Can we leave those fellows to die? And if +the fort is captured there is no escape for us!" + +Lieutenant Leigh shook his head. + +"We are helpless, sir. If we make a sortie not one of us would reach the +fort, and the women would be left without protectors." + +Still the rattle of musketry kept up, and the inmates listened with +troubled hearts for the firing to cease--the signal of the capture of +the fort and the death of its garrison. + +"It's stopped!" groaned Sir Arthur Fletcher, and a shudder ran through +the house. + +Ethel Woodburn turned pale, shuddered, and gripped the table for +support. Ted Russell murdered by those savages! She recalled the +ensign's merry looks and honest nature, and realized what a place the +boy had won in her heart. Could it be possible that she would never see +him again? How terribly cut up Jim would be! + +Jim! Aye, what of him? If her own trusted, well-tried regiment could so +suddenly transform itself into a horde of fiends, what might not have +happened to the Guides, that collection of outlaws and robbers? In all +probability her lover had already been murdered. Her grief for Ted gave +way to a greater anxiety regarding the fate of her betrothed. She walked +aimlessly towards the window and looked out upon the distant mob, her +thoughts far away from Aurungpore. + +"Miss Woodburn, for heaven's sake come away from the window!" Sir Arthur +Fletcher almost shrieked as he planted himself in front of the girl. +"They are not firing now, but--" + +A bullet crashed through the shattered window, and passing within an +inch of the Commissioner's head, flattened itself against the far wall. +Ethel awoke and skipped aside, and, seeing that she was safe, Sir Arthur +followed suit. She had forgotten her own danger; she had not reflected +that, even had the Guides proved true to their salt, nothing seemed less +likely than that Jim Russell would ever see her again. She thanked Sir +Arthur mechanically, and began to wonder how poor Jim would bear the +news of her death. Having no doubt of his great love for her, her grief +was more for him than for herself, horrible as the outlook was. + +Led by Major Munro, the men grimly went on with their work of +strengthening the defences of the house, whilst their picked shots +replied to the random firing. + +Suddenly another volley rang out from the direction of the fort; then a +second; then the loud irregular firing of the pandies. + +"They're not done for yet!" Munro cried. "Thank God, there is still a +chance!" + +For half an hour the distant firing was heard, and intense anxiety +prevailed as it gradually died away. The tension was nerve-shattering; +so much so, that a half-hearted attack upon the house came almost as a +relief from the suspense. Strong in their defences, they once more beat +the rebels back with heavy loss, and another weary period of waiting +ensued. + +Volley after volley, regular and disciplined as though with blank +cartridge on parade, caused their hearts to beat more wildly. What could +it mean? The volley was too heavy to have been the work of the little +garrison, and so far the traitors had fired independently, as each man +thought best, without regard to any word of command. Could help have +come? + +They looked out towards the parade-ground, and the unconcerned +appearance of the groups that moved restlessly up and down destroyed +this wild hope. Besides, who could possibly have come to the rescue? +They had heard the cracks of the volleys that covered the first rush of +the battering crews. Unable to fathom its meaning, they rejoiced therein +as a proof that their comrades still held out. + +Again a lull, and again an assault upon their own stronghold, directed +this time against the rear of the house. For a space they had no time to +think of the fort, so hotly were they engaged; but the rabble lacked +resolute leaders, and the budmashes would obey no commands. Thirty of +their bravest were slain, and the others sneaked away like a pack of +wolves, beaten and cowed. So far the garrison had lost only two men +killed and one badly wounded. + +The sun was wheeling slowly downwards beyond the fort, and for a time no +sound had been heard save the yells of the excited mob ebbing and +flowing through the streets. + +"It seems wicked to stay here in safety, Major," Ethel whispered, "and +to think of our plucky fellows at the mercy of those fiends." + +The major made no reply. For hours that same thought had made him +wretched, but he knew better than she how helpless was their own +position. + +"Could we not make a sortie?" the girl continued. "Might it not be +possible, as soon as darkness comes, for us all to make a rush for the +fort? We might take them completely by surprise, and once inside, a +hundred could hold it for weeks. If only we could get the guns!" + +Munro shook his head sadly. + +"A hundred to one that we should find the rebels in possession, Ethel," +he made answer, "and then all would indeed be lost. But we should never +get so far. Here we may hold our own for days--unless indeed the pandies +take the fort and are able to load the guns--but not for half an hour in +the street with women to protect and wounded men to carry. No, it is not +possible; would it were! Believe me, Ethel, there is not a man here but +would gladly take the risk if we had only ourselves to think of." + +"I know it well," she admitted, "and I know you are right; but it is +horrible, horrible to think of, and it is our fault. If we were not here +you men could rescue them. That seems so hard." + +"Listen!" said Leigh. "I think I hear the sound of firing again. It is +very faint." + +Everyone listened intently, and Ethel could hear the ticking of her +watch. She was the first to break the silence. + +"I think I hear it. The sound comes from inside the fort." + +She had hardly spoken the words when the roar of a tremendous explosion +filled their ears and almost deafened them. The house shook, and a +column of dense smoke rose where the fort had been. They looked at one +another with blanched faces and then at the ruin in front. That portion +of the fort which contained the magazine was demolished, and some +buildings that had partially obstructed their view were dismantled or +levelled with the ground. Streams of natives rushed to and fro in wild +confusion, shrieking with pain and fear. Masses of timber and masonry +fell around, killing numbers in the closely-packed streets, and the +scene was one of destruction and desolation. + +Major Munro clapped his hand to his thigh; his face glowed with +admiration and enthusiasm. + +"Lowthian's done that!" he exclaimed. "He's saved the arsenal from their +clutches.----Gallant fellows!" + +"But what of Ted Russell?" Ethel breathlessly asked. "And of Lieutenant +Lowthian and the others?" she added as an afterthought. + +Munro hesitated before replying. + +"I'm afraid there's little hope for them, my dear Ethel; though they do +say that those nearest sometimes escape better than others farther +away." This was also an afterthought, added from a weak desire to cheer. + +The girl turned away her head to hide her emotion and returned to her +father's room. In awed whispers the men discussed the glorious act, and +various conjectures were hazarded as to the manner of its doing and the +possibility of their comrades' escape. + +Away in the west the sun had just vanished below the horizon and +darkness set in swiftly. The vicinity of the Commissioner's house seemed +deserted, and no fresh attack was made that night. Evidently that +bloodthirsty crew was awed and its ardour damped by the appalling +vengeance taken by the unbeaten handful. Scores had been killed, and yet +more injured, by the force of the explosion. + +They had been taught the lesson that it does not pay to push white men +too far, and Munro felt assured that for that night at least the house +was safe. Yet he neglected no precaution, and guards were set on every +side, whilst the remainder of the garrison were ordered to rest whether +they wished to or not. Few could sleep, try as they would, and a loud +challenge by one of the sentries at the rear brought men and women +flocking to the scene, ready for the fray. + +Ethel hastened to the spot, in time to see the door thrown open, and two +ragged figures, black with smoke and grime, enter the house. A loud +cheer was raised as the door was shut and barricaded. + +"Ted!" she joyfully cried. "You, Ted?" + +To our hero's embarrassment she stepped forward and kissed his +smoke-begrimed countenance. + +Yes, Ensign Russell had escaped! Strange to say, he and Havildar Ambar +Singh, the other survivor, had been the nearest to the magazine when the +explosion occurred, and yet they had escaped its worst effects. The +havildar had pluckily waited for the ensign when the others ran for +safety, and, as they dashed out of the room, they crashed into the thick +of the triumphant pandies. + +But no attempt was made to kill them. The rebels had pulled up short as +they saw and heard the spluttering powder, wild terror in their eyes; +and the foremost tried to back away from the spot. The crush was too +great, however, though Ted and Ambar Singh had time to bore their way +into the crowd. They remembered no more. When they came to themselves it +was dark, and they were lying amid a heap of killed and injured men, +with stones and bricks scattered all around. They were both cut and +badly bruised, and Ambar Singh's foot was crushed. In the darkness they +had been able to steal away, stumbling over dead bodies and wrecked +masonry, until they found themselves in the open. So great was the awe +that had come upon the rebels that the neighbourhood was deserted, so +they crept stealthily through the streets, the havildar nearly dead with +pain. Accosted once or twice, Ambar Singh had answered, passing himself +and his companion off as rebels. + +As Ted was speaking the plucky Rajput sergeant fainted away, and was +carried to the hospital-room. Munro interrupted the congratulations and +showers of questions by ordering everyone to lie down again, except the +guards. Ted at least was not sorry to obey the command. + +Next day he told the tale of the defence of the fort, of the death of +Lowthian, and of the heroism of Ambar Singh and his Rajputs. Men and +women forgot their own danger for a space, and crowded round to listen +to the ensign's story. No need to say that he was silent respecting +Tynan's willingness to surrender to Pir Baksh. He used the word "we", +not "I", throughout. + +"But who first thought of destroying the magazine?" asked the +commandant. "You say 'we' decided to do it. The thought would not occur +to both Tynan and yourself at once." + +Ted admitted that the plan was his; also, in reply to the next question, +that it was he who had fired the train. + +"But it was Tynan's job as senior officer to do that." + +"Well, you see, sir, I was the one to--to suggest it; so it was only +fair that I should carry it out." + +"Humph!" said the major, who had his own opinion about the affair. + +"You're a plucky fellow, Russell, and it's possible that you've saved us +all. The pandies seem thoroughly disheartened to-day." + +Paterson passed his arm through Ted's and whispered: + +"Well done, old man! I--I can't say what I think about it;" and as he +caught Ethel's glance of admiration, approval, and affection there was +no prouder officer in all India than Ensign Russell. + +"I hope that rascal Pir Baksh has been killed," he said presently. "Did +you know, Major, that it was he who shot the colonel?" + +"No. Are you sure, Ted? He always seemed such a plausible fellow." + +"I didn't see him myself, but Tynan told us that he saw the deed. +Certainly Pir Baksh seemed to be the leader in the attack on the fort." + +"Pir Baksh!" said Havildar Ambar Singh as he limped into the room. "The +hound is surely dead. Major Sahib, I have written down the names of all +my men who perished in the fort yesterday, so that their families may +get the pension if you English win, and that their names may be recorded +as true to their salt." + +"Thank you, Havildar! It's a good officer who thinks first of his men. +How is your foot to-day?" + +"Better, sahib; better, thanks! I do not grudge the injury if that son +of a hyena, Pir Baksh, has been killed. If the young sahib here had not +been resolute and taken over the command, he would have deceived Tynan +Sahib, and we should have been delivered into their hands to be +murdered." + +"Ah!" said Munro, pricking his ears; "so Russell Sahib had to take over +the command? How was that?" + +"The other was scared, Major Sahib. True, he was but a lad, and it is +hardly to be wondered at. But Russell Sahib refused to surrender, and +appealed to us, and we put aside the other and looked to this one as our +leader. Ha! Russell Sahib played the man, for he threatened to shoot his +comrade when the other objected to being blown up. He will make a +general, will the Ensign Sahib." + +"Is this story true, Russell?" demanded Munro. + +"It's true, sir; but you oughtn't to be hard on Tynan. He was plucky +enough most of the time." + +"John Lawrence shall know about this if I live," said the major with +unwonted emphasis. "All England shall know about it." + +"But you won't say anything about Tynan, sir?" Ted asked. + +"No, that wouldn't do. We must treat him as dead--ignore his presence in +the fort altogether." + +Colonel Woodburn's condition was hopeful. The bullet had been +successfully extracted, and he was doing well. He sent for Ted, and made +him tell the story from beginning to end. Our hero was getting rather +tired of it, and Ethel was merciless. She would not allow him to cut out +the least incident. The colonel was mightily pleased. + +"Do you know," the ensign observed as they quitted the invalid's room, +"in the midst of the crowd I noticed the three fanatics who set on us in +the bazaar. I expect the poor beggars are blown to bits by now." + +"I suppose there is no chance," Miss Woodburn asked, "that that poor boy +Tynan has survived?" + +"I'm afraid not. I think the havildar and I are the only survivors, but +of course there was no time to make certain." + +"Poor Tynan!" she murmured, more to herself than to her companion. "I +have always felt so sorry for the boy since he joined us." + +"Have you? Why? Don't think me a brute, Ethel, if I say that since that +event most of our fellows seem to have pitied the regiment most." + +"You have no right to say that, Ted," Ethel declared, her clear, +steadfast eyes regarding the ensign reproachfully. "Tynan has lost his +life, we believe, and you know the Latin tag about speaking good or +nothing at all of the dead." + +Ted was rather surprised. A few moments ago he had tried to omit all +mention of Tynan's cowardice, but she had insisted on the whole truth. +He recollected having read that even the most charming members of the +sex were changeable and unaccountable. + +"I'm sorry," said he. "I won't say anything harsh about Tynan; but why +were you so sorry for him all along?" + +"Because it struck me as so pitiable that he made no real friends, and I +never once noticed him looking downright happy. The most he seemed to +get out of life was a miserable pretence of enjoyment--a mere attempt to +persuade himself that he was having a good time. His has been such a +wasted life, Ted. I have thought a great deal about it this morning and +last night, and it has seemed so very sad. None of the healthy pleasures +and pursuits that have meant so much to you and Paterson appealed to him +in the least." + +"What have Russell and I been doing now, Miss Ethel?" a well-known voice +broke in, and Paterson joined them. + +Miss Woodburn hesitated and turned red. To speak freely with her future +brother-in-law was one thing, to discuss serious subjects with a couple +of light-hearted ensigns at once was quite another. Ted came to the +rescue. + +"Miss Woodburn was saying how sorry she has always been for poor Tynan," +he explained. + +"So have I," said Alec slowly; "at least at times, when he was not in +the way, but I'm sorry to say I couldn't stand him when he was close at +hand. I wish now that I hadn't tried so hard to be sarcastic." + +"You would have risked your lives to save him from death or danger," +said Ethel, "but it was harder to try and save him from himself. At +least I found it so, for more than once I resolved to try to gain his +confidence and interest him in more sensible pursuits, but being too +cowardly and selfish, I was too easily discouraged." + +"He was hardly the sort one could make a friend of," Paterson mused +aloud. "You're right though, Miss Ethel, it was just selfishness and +conceit on our part to regard ourselves as superior beings just because +we didn't happen to like the sort of things he cared about." + +"We looked at everything from a different point of view," Ethel resumed +after a pause, "and got more enjoyment out of life." + +"I never saw it in that light before," said Ted, "but I think I know +what you mean. For instance, when we were all so excited over the race, +he had no sympathy whatever with the horses or riders, but just regarded +the affair as so much money to be won or lost." + +"Yes, but don't be scornful, Ted. Think of all he has lost during his +short lifetime by not having a healthy mind. Think of all the happiness +you have enjoyed from your love of sports and games, through your +friendships and your admiration for what is good and right. But you are +rather young quite to grasp what I mean." + +Ethel Woodburn, aged twenty-one, spoke as though she felt the wisdom of +ages within her, and the boys could not help glancing at one another. +She caught the glance, and her eyes twinkled as she continued: + +"One could easily see that Tynan was a spoiled child, cursed with +foolish parents. I think, Ted, that of all selfish people, those parents +who are too generous to deny their children anything, or too +tender-hearted to punish them, are the most criminally selfish. And +that's what made me so sorry for the boy. Once or twice I was on the +point of asking you to give him a bit of your friendship, but somehow I +didn't quite like to do it." + +"Well," said Ted, "I'm sorry for my share in any rows we had, and I +forgive him his share." + +"Rather easy for us to forgive one who is dead, is it not, Ted? Can we +forgive now, at this moment, those rebels who want to kill us?" + +"I suppose that you forgive 'em, Ethel, but I can't say that I do." + +"But I didn't forgive Tynan, Ted. I heard of that fight you had; in +fact, I met Tynan just afterwards, and very tactlessly asked him what +had happened, supposing he had met with an accident. Unluckily he had +not had time to cool down, and--well, he laughed in my face and forgot +himself. You see, his people are wealthy, but not quite--you know what I +mean?--he's not a gentleman, and he hinted at the cause of your fight." + +"The cad!" said Ted. + +"Steady, old boy! I felt as if I could never forgive him, so please +don't imagine I'm making myself out better than you. I feel bad about it +now, and if by any chance he should escape I should find it easy to +forgive him, though there's little credit in that." + +"I didn't think he could have done such a thing," said Ted. "I forgive +that mullah and his friends who knifed me, so long as I think they've +both been killed, but if I should see 'em to-morrow I'm afraid I should +still remember that I owe 'em one." + +"Yet, as I said before, you'd risk your life willingly enough to save +theirs, just as they do in the story-books." Miss Woodburn laughed as +she went on: "I must say that it annoys me to read those tales entitled +_A Noble Revenge_ or _Coals of Fire_, or something of the kind, where +someone who has been greatly injured takes his revenge by saving his +enemy from drowning, or climbs to the top story of a burning house and +rescues the evil-doer, who promptly repents. It's all very noble, of +course; but it's such a thorough vindication, and such glory for the +rescuer, that a more complete triumph over one's enemy couldn't be +wished for. What could one desire better than to make your enemy feel +small, and acknowledge how much nobler you are than he?" + +"I should like," said Ted, with feeling, "to make these beggars outside +feel small. We've drifted into a curious talk, considering our +situation." + +"Not a bit of it," said Alec. "I quite agree with you, Miss Ethel. I +must go and relieve Leigh now, and you relieve me in a couple of hours, +Ted. Miss Woodburn, I'm glad we've had this talk, and I sha'n't forget +it." + +"And I must go back to father now," said Ethel, whereupon Ted turned to +accompany her. + +The colonel was fast asleep, breathing easily. + +"Good-bye for a few hours, Ethel!" said the ensign; and added in a low, +hesitating tone, "You're a saint." + +"I! Oh, Ted, you little know me--you and Jim. It's easy to forgive one +who can no longer injure you, but it's hard to live your ordinary life +with a person who wishes to injure you, or who has done so, and who +hates and despises you. What a terrible prig you must think me, Ted! I +know I can't feel like that myself. I only wish I could." + +Ted glanced guiltily round. There was no one in the room save Colonel +Woodburn, and he was sleeping, undisturbed by their whispering. Seizing +the girl's hand he kissed it, awkwardly and nervously, then hastily +dropping it blushed furiously. + +"There!" exclaimed the ensign jerkily. "I knew I should do it some day. +I'm sure Jim never did that." + +"Oh--?" + +Ethel's face was also flushed, and she looked radiantly charming as she +gave utterance to the long-drawn, quizzing exclamation, and a new light +broke in upon Ted. + +"What! Old Jim?" he asked. "Well, who'd have thought it? Lucky beggar! +It's a dainty little hand." + +"Silence, sir! I must ask you to leave the room." + +"Good-bye, then, little sister!" + + + + +CHAPTER X + +Hope and Despair + + +Two more weary days passed inside the fortified house. Numerous attacks +had been made, and though they had invariably failed, some damage had +been inflicted on the besieged. As the assailants were retiring in +disorder after one of these futile attempts, a big, light-featured man +in scanty costume sidled up to the house, waving a sealed letter. + +"Quick! let me in!" he shouted. "I'm a sepoy of the Guide Corps!" + +The door was hurriedly thrown open, but not before the besiegers had +divined the man's intentions, and bullets whizzed perilously near his +head before he was safe inside. Espying our hero, the Guide handed him +the letter, and Ted recognized the fellow as Faiz Talab, his brother's +orderly. + +He opened the note, and his face glowed. He whistled, then shouted in +great excitement, "Hurrah! the Guides are coming!" + +"The Guides!" echoed Sir Arthur, and a joyful light came into Ethel's +eyes. Faiz Talab, the Pathan, grinned gleefully. + +The letter, dated from Manghur, thirty-two miles away, ran as follows:-- + +"We were starting for Delhi when the Aurungpore news arrived, and as we +pass so close I obtained permission to detach 120 men to your aid. A +greater number cannot be spared, as Delhi is all-important. So, old man, +tell Ethel I'll soon be with her." + +The great news quickly spread from one end of the big house to the +other. Food was prepared for the bearer of good tidings, and Faiz Talab, +Yusufzai, was fêted as he had never been before. He described the route +by which the Guides would come, and stated when they might be expected. + +"Russell Sahib will be here to-morrow, and by the beard of the Prophet, +we shall teach these curs a lesson!" he concluded. + +"You seem to know this district well," said the Commissioner. "You have +been here before," and the man grinned slyly. + +"I was a youngster, sahib, when first I saw Aurungpore. We Yusufzais +came down at night and lifted the cattle and raided the villages, and we +laughed at Ranjit Singh's army that followed, for we knew that we had a +good start, and the Sikhs would not venture into the hills. Ah, those +were the good old days! Yet people say they have come again, and that +Delhi is a richer town to loot than Aurungpore." + +The Yusufzai smacked his lips at the prospect. Here, thought Ted, was +another sample of the robbers that apparently formed the backbone of the +Guide Corps. The brightness of the prospect revealed by Faiz Talab's +message was fast fading away, and as the garrison had time to think it +over there came a diminution of enthusiasm. Ted voiced the general +opinion when he abruptly asked: + +"But of what use is a single company against such swarms of rebels and +budmashes, even if they are to be trusted?" + +"But we are the Guides, sahib," said Faiz Talab proudly. + +That self-same day came tidings that more than destroyed the hopes +raised by Jim's letter. Into Aurungpore marched the 138th Bengal Native +Infantry, rebels and murderers, flushed with success. They had shot down +their officers and looted the treasury, to guard which had been their +duty. Dire was the consternation caused by the arrival of the new +contingent, and great was the dismay. + +But when, next morning, our friends noticed that the six 9-pounders of +the fort were being moved by certain of the new-comers into a position +whence their place of refuge could be bombarded, dismay gave place to +utter despair. The sepoys of the 193rd did not understand the handling +of these guns, and had regarded them with some awe as fearsome weapons +that might turn against themselves. But the 138th counted a couple of +hundred Sikhs amongst their number. + +Now the Sikh maharaja, Ranjit Singh, had maintained a splendid force of +artillery, and many of the Sikh sepoys, who had enlisted under British +colours, had previously been gunners in the army of the Khalsa,[6] and +they saw at once how the little garrison might be speedily destroyed. A +few hours' search brought to light a quantity of material that had not +been demolished in the explosion. All day long the exploration went on, +and plenty of ammunition to feed the guns was soon stored close at hand. + + [6] The title of the Sikh Confederacy. + +The time of the expected arrival of the Guides drew nigh. + +"Better that they should not come," Major Munro wearily opined. "They +would only share our fate. What chance would they have against 1500 +trained soldiers?" + +"Do you think they will turn back, sir, when they hear of the arrival of +this fresh lot?" Ted enquired in an anxious tone. + +"I certainly do. It would be foolish--idiotic--to attempt a rescue in +the face of such odds. Were I in your brother's place I should feel it +my duty to government, as well as to my men, not to throw them away on +so helpless an undertaking. It will be very hard for him to leave his +affianced wife in such dreadful peril, but that is one of a soldier's +risks. His men belong to the government, not to him, and he has no +right to risk them where there is no chance. We are short enough of men +as it is." + +Ethel, standing by, grew pale as she thought of the danger to her +beloved. Her own peril, and even her father's, were forgotten for the +moment. + +"Oh, Major Munro," she exclaimed, "let us hope that they will turn back! +They cannot do us good by throwing their own lives away!" + +And this was the opinion of all. + +The devoted Rajputs of Captain Markham's company never for a moment +wavered in their allegiance. They fought and took their turn on guard, +and fought again as staunchly as the white men, and many were the acts +of heroism they displayed. Twice was the staff of the Union Jack, that +still floated above the house, broken by missiles, and on each occasion +some of the intrepid Hindus volunteered to splice the wood. In full +sight of the enemy, who fired wildly at them, they achieved this, and +again the silken folds waved freely in the breeze. + +Again and again the mutineers advanced on every side, with great noise +and waving of weapons. Again and again they approached more peaceably, +shouting to the Hindus that they should come out and join their +comrades, promising them gold and silver in abundance should they +deliver the white men into their hands. + +Each attack was met with steadfast courage; the noisy firing was +answered by a steadier rattle of musketry, and the rebels dropped fast; +unwavering fidelity rejected both bribes and friendly advances; and on +more than one occasion a determined, vigorous sortie was the only reply +vouchsafed by these gallant dark-faces. + +Slowly and anxiously the day wore on. Care-worn faces wistfully regarded +the threatening nine-pounders that would soon begin to pour destruction +upon them. For a moment the attacks ceased as the rebels crowded round +the guns that were placed upon an open eminence overlooking the house. + +Fascinated by the sight, the whole garrison gathered before the windows, +powerless to avert their gaze from the instruments of destruction. + +But what means that sudden commotion--that loud shrill cheering? The mob +is seen to part right and left, the rebel sepoys fling their caps in the +air and wave their muskets excitedly as a body of fine, well-set-up men, +fierce of aspect, turbaned, and clad in drab uniforms, marches into the +courtyard of the fort. Though no word of command is given, the fresh +arrivals there halt, fall out, and at once begin to fraternize with the +mutineers. Behind the tall men appear a score of much smaller figures, +clothed in the same uniform, and these shout and gesticulate more wildly +than any. + +"The Guides!" gasps Lieutenant Leigh. + +"Traitors, by George!" thunders Major Munro, with intense and vehement +bitterness. "Traitors!" + +A long pause followed. The Britons gazed upon one another with blank, +haggard faces. The whole Indian Empire was tumbling down, and none was +loyal! Until this moment not a man amongst them but had known some ray +of hope, however feeble. + +"Are they truly the Guides?" asked one. "Who, then, are the little +beggars?" pointing to the rearmost. + +"Gurkhas of the Guide Corps," answered Leigh, no less bitterly. "And +their officers have always maintained that Gurkhas can be trusted when +all others fail. Well, we live and learn." + +"Aye, we learn,--but not the other," was Munro's grim aside. + +Momentarily forgetting their predicament, Ted stared with great +interest at the short figures and Tartar laces that grinned in fiendish +anticipation; for his father had often spoken in terms of the highest +praise of these reputedly fearless Himalayan mountaineers, against whom +he had fought, and whom he had afterwards led. + +"Well, if those are Gurkhas, I don't think much of 'em," said the +ensign, his critical spirit asserting itself even at this crisis. "Our +seventy Rajputs could tackle a hundred of them." + +As for Faiz Talab, his eyes seemed to be starting from his head. + +"The pigs! the curs!" he gasped at length. "What can it mean?" + +As the Yusufzai spoke he grasped an Enfield rifle, brought it to his +shoulder, and fired at the mass of drab uniforms, then fell to cursing +his comrades afresh for the shame they had brought upon their corps. The +onlookers could distinguish their own disloyal men pointing out the +British stronghold to the Guides, who seemed to be examining the +situation with keen interest. The siege was temporarily raised, whilst a +general confabulation took place among the rebel leaders. + +"Faiz Talab, what have they done to my brother?" asked Ted. + +The Yusufzai shook his head. "I know not," said he. + +"Hadst thou no word or hint of this intended treachery?" + +"Neither word nor hint, sahib. Surely I must be dreaming, for yesterday +we were all loyal to the backbone, and we loved thy brother greatly. I +do not understand it." + +"Yesterday," interposed Lieutenant Leigh, "they had not heard of the +mutiny and entry of the 138th. Perhaps that decided the rascals to throw +over the British raj." + +"It must indeed be so, yet it does not seem possible." + +"Think you they have allowed the Captain Sahib to escape?" asked Alec +Paterson, guessing that Ted could not bring himself to ask this question +for fear of the reply. + +"Nay, that could hardly be. If they have been so base as to prove untrue +to the salt they have eaten, they would not hesitate to kill their +officer." + +"Though you pretend that they loved him?" Ted bitterly demanded. + +"The better reason for slaying him. They would kill him first of all, +because they loved and honoured him, so that he might never know their +shame. Yet I cannot believe it. May my father's grave be defiled if I do +not kill some of the traitors before I die!" + +Ted walked to the window and gazed forth upon the distant hubbub. +Paterson followed, and laid his hand upon the shoulder of his chum. + +"It will be worse for the poor lassie, I'm thinking, Ted," he said. + +Our hero nodded, but could not trust himself to speak. + +"We must keep the news from her as long as we can," Alec continued. "She +is with her father now, and has not heard. The others will not tell +her." + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +In the Clutches of Pir Baksh + + +Three hours after Ensign Russell and Havildar Ambar Singh had entered +the besieged house, a swarthy man in the uniform of a native officer +picked himself tenderly up from the ground, and wondered to find himself +still alive. It was Pir Baksh the subadar. For hours he had lain +unconscious, deaf to the moans of the maimed and dying men who lay +stretched on every side amid the chaos of shattered timber and masonry. + +His right arm was broken, his head bleeding, and the fallen beam that +had caused the fracture had lain all night across his body, bruising him +sorely. He wriggled from underneath, and finding himself too weak to +rise he called loudly for help. + +But what was this thing so soft below him, that had served as a pillow +for his head all night? He passed his hand lightly over the object. It +was a corpse--no, the flesh was warm! He placed his hand on the mouth +and nostrils, and found that there was still breath in the body. His +hand passed higher up until he touched the hair, and Pir Baksh gave a +start. It was one of the two accursed Feringhis to whom he owed the +agony he was now enduring. He sought for a knife, a bayonet, to plunge +again and again into the unconscious body. + +But Pir Baksh changed his mind. No, he would wait until the Englishman +could feel and taste the bitterness of death. Revenge would be as +nothing unless the victim could feel pain as great as his own. He there +and then resolved to save the life of his enemy until he could plan and +carry out his vengeance, for Pir Baksh had less pity than a tiger. + +Again and again he called for help in the name of Allah, and at length +his cries were heard. A few sepoys of his company approached with great +caution, for day had not yet come. + +"Who is there?" they called. + +"It is I, Pir Baksh. Water!--bring me water if ye are followers of the +Prophet!" + +The cry for water from one Mussulman to another cannot be neglected, and +a sepoy ran for a water-skin, while the rest made their way to the +injured officer. + +"All my bones are broken, I think," said he. "Ye have been long in +coming. Look! here is a Feringhi boy still alive. Nay, do not kill him; +he shall die more slowly." + +He drank the water feverishly. + +"Now, carry us to my brother's house, and do not let all the people know +that we have a prisoner, lest in their rage they should straightway kill +him, for I mean to torture him by raising hopes. Bear me gently." + +As they raised him the subadar fainted away. Tynan--for he, of course, +was the Englishman--was still unconscious, and before the light that +precedes the dawn had shown across the sky, the pair had been safely and +secretly conveyed into the house of Muhammed Baksh on the outskirts of +the town. + +The sun had risen and was high in the heavens before Ensign Tynan +recovered consciousness. He raised himself painfully in the creaking +string bed, and gazed in a bewildered manner, like an owl in the +sunshine, around the small unfurnished room in which he lay. The +shutters were closed, darkening the chamber, and, unable to make out +his surroundings, and too weary to attempt to solve the mystery, he +sank down again with a smothered groan. His head was badly cut; he had +lost a lot of blood; and, though no bones were broken, he had hardly a +sound, unbruised spot on his body. The roar of the explosion was ringing +in his ears, and he still shivered with fright. + +For a long time he could not sleep, though, after what seemed to him an +eternity of suffering, he at length fell into a fitful slumber, waking +up between his nightmares in a cold perspiration of dread. + +During one of these intervals the door opened, and a Mohammedan sepoy +entered bearing a little bread and a brass vessel containing water. +Tynan devoured these to the last drop and crumb. + +"Who are you?" he asked the man. "Tell me, where am I?" + +The sepoy answered not a word and left the room. The food and drink had +done the ensign good, brain and body becoming more brisk. He rose +groaning from the bed and tried the door. It was locked, and he +understood at last that he was a prisoner. A tremor ran down his back, +and he felt cold, though the room was like a hothouse. A captive among +the mutineers! Horrible prospect! But why should they have brought him +here? he asked himself. Why not have straightway killed him? Could it be +that they meant to torture him? The wretched boy groaned aloud, and in a +frenzy of rage and despair kicked and beat the door, though every blow +was anguish. + +He had not long to wait. Muhammed Baksh, his host, called angrily to +Ghulam Beg, the silent waiter, and together they entered the room and +began to belabour the unlucky ensign with long bamboo canes. + +Tynan fiercely sprang at his assailants, but being in no condition to +do battle, he was soon driven ignominiously into a corner, where he +cowered and shrieked for mercy. One of his tormentors pointed to the +bed; Tynan crawled upon it, and without having spoken a word the two +quitted the room. + +Again the boy rose and dragged himself towards the window, where his +last spark of hope died out. The shutters were clamped down, and even +had he been fit and strong he could not have removed them without the +aid of tools. He sank down upon the charpoy, a prey to the most +realistic horrors that could be conjured up by a dull imagination. How +long he lay there, miserable in mind and aching all over, he knew not. +It seemed that whole days must have passed before the silent Ghulam Beg +brought in a meagre supper. Worn-out nature then reasserted itself; as +he lay on the bed his aching head seemed to grow larger and larger, +filling all the room, and soon he was lost to consciousness. + +Aroused by the entrance of his breakfast of chupattis and water, he +implored the sepoy to speak to him and let him know his fate. But the +man might have been a mute. Without a word, or gesture, or sign of +comprehension Ghulam Beg left the prison-chamber, and another day of +horror was passed, and a night in which blessed sleep almost forsook the +captive boy. + +The sound of a key creaking in the rusty lock aroused him, and he rose +to his feet as the sepoy attendant brought in the unappetizing fare. +Behind him Pir Baksh stalked in, his arm in a sling, his cruel eyes +leering horribly as he gazed upon his victim. + +"I trust, Ensign Sahib," said he with much politeness, "that my servant +has been courteous and attentive, and has not disturbed your repose by +chattering too much. I am greatly honoured that the heaven-born should +deign to share our humble roof, and I trust that our guest has been +comfortable." + +The unceasing pain and the solitude had taken most of the spirit out of +poor Tynan. Instead of resenting this insolence he implored the brute to +tell him what his fate was to be. + +"Ungrateful Feringhi!" exclaimed the subadar indignantly. "Not a word of +thanks for my hospitality! Art thou aware that I have saved thy life?" + +"Indeed, subadar, I thank you," said Tynan humbly. + +"And I thank thee," said Pir Baksh, pointing to his injured arm, and +continuing: + +"Yea, I thank thee for this, and for many an hour of pain. 'Twas a +clever trick to blow up the arsenal, but thou didst little think, +infidel dog, that there would be a heavy price to pay. Thou didst reject +my offer of terms, and all that I have suffered since, aye, and double +and treble that, thou shalt know before death shall mercifully release +thee." + +Tynan trembled in every limb, and weakly replied: + +"It was not I who blew up the magazine. I was against the deed. And dost +thou not remember, subadar, that I would have surrendered to thee had +not the other prevented me?" + +"Well, he is dead, and thou shalt pay for the sins of thy brother." + +"Nay, spare me, and my father will pay thee well." + +A sudden thought seemed to strike the subadar. He reflected for a few +moments before answering the appeal. + +"Wilt thou swear thou hadst no hand in the explosion?" ha asked, after a +pause. + +"I will--indeed, I swear it." + +"I must needs think it over," said Pir Baksh musingly. He quitted the +room, leaving the boy torn by conflicting emotions. The consciousness +that he had not played a manly part, the conviction that his rival Ted +Russell would never have been so weak, gave a sharper point to his fears +and troubles. On the other hand, had he not been given a faint hope of +escape? Do not judge the lad too harshly. It was not death alone, but +the prospect of torture that had unnerved him; and remember that the +pain of his injuries and the workings of his imagination during the past +two days of solitary confinement were calculated to break the spirit of +any man above the average, and poor Tynan had hardly the makings of a +hero in his character. His case was one for pity rather than contempt. +Only those who would have withstood the temptation have the right to +despise him utterly, and they would be the last to do so. + +His hopes of mercy were misplaced. The amount of that quality nourished +in the breast of Pir Baksh would have shamed a famished wolf. The rascal +had changed his tone because he recollected that the greater his +victim's hopes, the more poignant would his suffering be on finding +himself deceived. Next evening he again visited the prisoner, and +brought paper, pen, and ink. + +"What was that sound of cheering an hour or two ago?" asked Tynan. He +had heard the acclamations that had greeted the arrival of the mutinous +Guides, and wondered if help had come. + +"It means that we have had reinforcements, and that within twelve hours +not one of your friends will be alive." + +Tynan looked keenly at the speaker as he continued. + +"Perhaps there may be one Feringhi left alive in Aurungpore; it depends +on thee. I have been thinking it over, and am inclined to save thy life. +We both hate Russell Sahib, and we may prove useful one to another." + +The prisoner's heart began to beat more hopefully, and he expressed his +thanks towards the callous brute. + +"But on conditions," resumed Pir Baksh. "First, I must have five +thousand rupees--a promise in writing for that amount." + +"You shall have it," said Tynan eagerly. "My father will not grudge it." + +The subadar nodded his head solemnly and went on: + +"Secondly, thou must write me a _chit_ in English and Urdu, +acknowledging that thou dost owe thy life to my mercy and loyalty." + +"I will do that, and never shall I forget thy goodness." + +"Thou shalt also write that I, Pir Baksh, was loyal to the Kumpani +Bahadur, though forced to appear disloyal. That I tried to restrain the +sepoys during the attack on the fortress, and to save the lives of the +English officers, but was prevented by the rebels, who threatened to +kill me as a traitor ... What! Thou dost hesitate?" + +Tynan had turned pale. Could he sign that lying document and be himself +a traitor? Had not Pir Baksh shot the colonel? + +"No, subadar, I cannot do that," he said, with hesitation, not decision. + +"Very good, sahib." + +The fierce light that came into the eyes of Pir Baksh sent a thrill of +despair through Tynan's breast. He began to find excuses. He told +himself that the proposed statement would be partly true, for Pir Baksh +had offered to spare their lives. He caught at that weak saving-clause, +and enlarged upon it until he had almost persuaded himself that he could +only be blamed for exaggeration, not for downright lying. Then he +remembered how Pir Baksh, by shooting the colonel, had brought the +mutiny to pass, and was guilty of all the bloodshed. + +The subadar noted his indecision, and said: + +"There will be none to contradict, your countrymen are as good as dead." + +"I will write as you say," said Tynan slowly, "if you will swear to save +my life." + +He had decided. He was ready to sign a paper absolving this villain from +the reward of his treachery and blood-guiltiness. And the final +inducement had been the assurance that the traitor's plot would be +crowned with such success that all Tynan's compatriots would be slain. +And this was the man he was ready to hold up as a loyal subject fit to +be rewarded for his fidelity! + +"By the Prophet's beard I will do my best to save thee," the subadar +declared. "We must escape from the town, or I too shall suffer the +penalty." + +Seizing pen and ink in feverish haste to get it over, Tynan wrote as the +Mohammedan directed him. First, the promise to pay five thousand rupees +on one sheet of paper, and then a document that might save Pir Baksh +from all consequences of mutiny and murder in the event of his capture +by the British. When he had finished, his gaoler took the pen and wrote +in Urdu at the foot:-- + +"I, Pir Baksh, subadar of the 193rd B.N.I., do solemnly promise, on my +oath as a Moslem, to do my best to effect the escape of Ensign Tynan of +the same regiment, a prisoner among the rebels in Aurungpore. Filled +with admiration of his courage in risking his life in the execution of +his duty by planning and carrying out the blowing up of the magazine, I +also risk my life to save his." + +"But I've already told you I didn't do that," the ensign protested, as +he read the added words. "It was Russell's doing altogether." + +"No need to say so, sahib," said Pir Baksh. "He is dead, and so indeed +will all the Feringhis be to-morrow, and no one can claim the credit. +Russell Sahib I hate, for do I not owe him this broken arm and bloody +head? And if I mistake not, he is no friend of thine, so why not take +the credit of the deed and be promoted and raised to honour? Help me, +sahib, and I will help thee." + +Tynan found nothing to say in reply. He remembered the many injuries he +fancied he had received at Russell's hands--the thrashing of a week or +two ago, the contempt with which he had been treated in the fort when +his junior took the command from him and threatened him in front of the +men. Why not pay him out? After all, what did it matter now? It could be +put right if necessary when he should have reached a place of safety. +The first consideration was to save his own life. + +"We shall slip away to-morrow," said the subadar. "I will go and make +all arrangements now. Remember that my life also is sacrificed if we are +discovered." + +So saying the double traitor took his leave. Outside the door he +chuckled grimly and proceeded to tear up the "promise to pay" the five +thousand rupees. For a very good reason he had no intention of claiming +that, but the other papers he carefully preserved. After the boy had +been murdered, he could easily make up some story and fabricate some +evidence to show that they had been followed and attacked, and that he +escaped by the skin of his teeth, more alive than dead, and never saw +the ensign again. Pir Baksh meant to run with the hare and hunt with the +hounds so long as the British held their own. + +But most of all he meant to kill Harry Tynan. + +Left to himself Ensign Tynan sat down upon the string bed, and leant +forward to think it all over, elbows on knees and his chin resting in +the palm of his right hand. As a rule he was not a very thoughtful +person, but the nightmare of the past few days might well effect a +change. Of habit, not of character though! Peril, suffering, and anxiety +may develop the good or bad that is there already, but will hardly +transform a weak character into a strong one. + +For a long time the boy sat motionless, wondering what Pir Baksh really +meant. Was he genuine? Did he mean to save him? Tynan did not trust the +man, yet he assured himself again and again that the Mohammedan must be +intending to try, or why should he have demanded the promise of a +reward--a document useless unless he was actually saved. And what about +that other paper? Ted Russell would never have signed it, conscience +whispered. + +"I only wish Russell was here instead of me," he muttered, and gave the +bedstead a vicious kick. + +"But he's dead," came a reminder from his better self, and there +followed a recollection of the statement added by the subadar, the lie +that robbed the dead of the credit of a glorious deed. + +"Everything seems to go wrong with me," he sullenly muttered. "I've no +luck like other people. Never mind, it's not of much consequence. What +I've got to think about is how to get out of this hole. I believe after +all that that black brute means to murder me. Well, I'll try to sleep on +it." + +He lay down, and an idea occurred to him. Rising to his feet he knelt +down in the attitude of prayer. Hardly ever since he had left home for +school had he so much as made believe to pray for help and guidance, but +now he wondered he had not thought of it before. Had he lived two or +three hundred years ago he would have vowed invaluable offerings to the +shrine of his patron saint, and, the danger over, would as promptly have +forgotten to fulfil the vow. + +Parrot-like, he repeated the Lord's Prayer without considering in the +least its meaning, and then he prayed wildly to be saved from death. But +not once did he dream of asking earnestly for forgiveness, not once did +he seriously repent his foolish, harmful life, nor did he make the least +resolve to cancel in the morning the lies to which he had signed his +name that night. + +He rose from his knees and once more lay down. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +The Treachery of the Guides + + +The shadows were slowly lengthening, and the whistling of the kites that +circled overhead, waiting until the groups of sepoys should disperse, +was being supplemented by the querulous howls of the equally impatient +jackals. Yet no fresh attack had been made upon the English post, though +more than an hour had passed since the Guides had joined forces with the +mutineers. That they had not been idle, however, was testified by the +stack of round-shot and grape rescued from the fort and piled ready to +hand behind each cannon. + +A guard had been mounted over the guns and ammunition to check any +desperate sortie that might be made by the besieged, and the town +gradually became less riotous. This restoration of order only +intensified the despair of the Europeans, who drew the conclusion that +the rebels were now being controlled by men more able--and therefore +more dangerous--than their late leaders. The more capable their enemies, +the more perilous the situation of the garrison. + +That is, if anything more perilous could be imagined. + +Just after sunset, and before darkness had set in, a Hindu sepoy was +observed creeping stealthily towards the house, apparently anxious to +attract the attention of the inmates, and equally bent on avoiding +observation from outside. As the man drew near, Ambar Singh and Ted both +recognized him as Dwarika Rai, one of their comrades in the arsenal. He +was quickly smuggled inside, and told the story of his escape from +death and concealment up to the present, when duty had urged him at all +risks to inform his comrades and the Englishmen of the changed +situation. + +He explained that the detachment of the Guides had mutinied as soon as +they heard of the arrival of the 138th; they had murdered the only white +officer with them, and had appointed Ressaidar Bahram Khan as +commandant. The announcement was not unexpected, yet up to this moment +Ted had hoped against hope that Jim had escaped. + +"Art thou certain, Dwarika Rai, that they have slain my brother?" he +asked after a painful pause. + +"Quite, sahib; they make boast of it. And look, their leader is wearing +his uniform." + +Ethel Woodburn had entered the room unobserved, and, standing behind +them, had overheard. She grasped a chair to steady herself, and shook +her head as Ted besought her to retire to the ladies' room. There was a +long silence. + +"Bahram Khan?" enquired the major presently, hardly knowing what to say. +"Is that he, then, in the English officer's uniform and wearing his +medals?" pointing to a muscular man who could be made out in the +distance apparently ordering the sepoys about. + +"That is the hound, sahib," replied Dwarika Rai. "He has sworn to +exterminate you all before noon to-morrow. He has taken command of all +the treacherous curs." + +Ethel, half-stunned by the terrible tidings, was now seated, and Ted +leaned against the girl's chair, gently stroking her hand,--dimly +recognizing that her sorrow was even greater than his own. The shock of +Captain Russell's murder was too sudden for her to realize fully, and +the rest of the news seemed dwarfed to mere insignificance. The poor +girl attempted to pull herself together by thinking how greatly her +helpless father stood in need of her. + +"Bahram Khan!" said Ted bitterly. "Why, he is the cur who was present at +the steeple-chase,--a robber and outlaw! However could such a crew have +been trusted?" + +"It was Sir Henry Lawrence's doing," said Leigh. "It's rare for him to +make a mistake, but here is the result of his great 'Guides' scheme. +Evidently they don't mean to make the grand assault until to-morrow." + +"I wish they would," said Ted with feeling; "and end it, to-night." + +To give the boy credit, he was thinking more of the hours of bitter +grief Ethel Woodburn was doomed to endure than of himself. + +It may be readily surmised that very few of the garrison contrived to +sleep that night. Soon after sunrise all--women, civilians, black +soldiers, and white officers--were gathered together to watch the +mutineers assemble for the final assault. Of its issue there could be no +doubt. As they stood there awaiting their fate Ethel Woodburn could not +remain insensible, even at so trying a moment, to the beauty of the +early Indian morning. The slanting rays of the Eastern sun were gilding +the mosques and minarets of the town and lighting up with lurid glow the +reddish buildings behind the fort, and the thought of Nature's beauty +added to her sorrow. But the greater number of those doomed people had +weightier matters to occupy their thoughts. + +In and around the courtyard of the fort itself all was bustle and +confusion; some could be both seen and heard giving commands, and others +obeying the same, though the vast majority of the assembled hundreds +appeared to display a total lack of discipline. Inside the +commissioner's house the feeling of helplessness and suspense was +horrible. The wisdom of a sortie, a mad rush on the guns,--to die +fighting rather than cooped up and made a target of,--was debated, and +not a man there but would have preferred the chance of striking back. +There were women, however, to be considered, and to leave them was out +of the question. + +"Whilst there's life there's hope," declared the Commissioner, with an +attempt at cheerfulness. "The house is not destroyed yet." + +He barely succeeded, however, in convincing even himself that there was +the faintest glimmer of hope. No British troops were within three days' +journey. The handful of unfortunates bade good-bye to one another, shook +hands all round, and prepared to meet their death with a smile upon +their faces, without flinching or showing the least sign of weakness +before the eyes of their gallant and devoted Rajputs. Nor were the women +behind the men in respect of courage. + +Major Munro, after consulting his officers, had advised the faithful +sepoys to save their lives as best they could, either by cutting their +way through at night, or by pretending to desert and to fall in with the +views of their rebel comrades. + +To give them this chance was only fair, thought the major; the Rajputs, +having done their duty, deserved consideration, and though the +Englishmen could not leave the wounded and the women, yet the +dark-faces, now that resistance was hopeless, should be allowed to save +their lives. To Munro's delight, however, the gallant fellows announced +a firm resolve to stand by their duty to the last. They took their +places shoulder to shoulder with the pale-faces, grimly waiting and +watching now that the last glimmer of hope had died out. + +For in the great square of the fort more than two thousand men were +under arms; and in another moment the nine-pounders were charged with +grape, under the supervision of Bahram Khan and a score of picked Sikhs +and Pathans of the Guide Corps--men who had served in the old Khalsa +Artillery and who thoroughly understood their work. + +Behind the guns and flanking them the remaining hundred men of the +Guides, conspicuous by their powerful and soldierly bearing, maintained +some appearance of discipline, whereas the majority of the sepoys and of +armed fanatics and budmashes were acting as seemed best in their own +eyes. + +Ressaidar Bahram Khan, however, insisted with many threats and much +strong language on some kind of order being maintained. He placed the +193rd Sepoys in one position, the poorbeahs[7] of the 138th in another, +and the Sikhs of the latter corps to the right front of the guns. + + [7] A name given to the Oudh sepoys. + +"When the guns have battered down the walls," thundered the rebel +commandant, "then must ye take the house by storm. The Feringhi dogs +prevail against us because they trust to the bayonet, instead of staying +to fire as ye do, for the bayonet is more certain than the bullet. We +must learn from them and attack as they would, for our aim must be to +destroy utterly the hated tyrants; not one must escape our vengeance." + +The mob applauded, shouting "Din! din! Death to the Feringhis!" And the +ressaidar went on: + +"Take, then, the charges from your muskets, lest ye be tempted to stop +and fire, for if ye do that doubtless many of the dogs may escape our +wrath. Trust to the bayonet! Kill the infidels with the steel! Now, +unload!" + +The charges were withdrawn. + +"That dacoit fellow has some idea of discipline; he seems to know what +he's about,--though he's placing some of his men in queer positions, to +be sure!" commented Major Munro stoutly, bent on showing an undaunted +front to the end. + +"Oh for a good, wholesome, red-coated regiment," sighed Lieutenant +Leigh, "to wipe these fiends off the earth! Watch that treacherous, +murdering Pathan! What's he up to now?" + +"Trusting to the bayonet!" exclaimed Munro in astonishment. "That's not +like an Asiatic, but he's right." + +They heard but could not distinguish Bahram Khan's commands, and saw the +sepoys empty their muskets and begin to fix bayonets. Their hearts were +beating wildly, and small shame to them, for they were helpless and +could not strike back--as helpless as condemned criminals bound and +gagged. Would the word never be given to fire? What was the matter now? + +Waiting in silent agony for the fatal word, they perceived the Pathan +commandant turn hastily to his gunners, who stood port-fire in hand. + +Quick as thought, before rebels or onlookers could realize what was +taking place, the muzzles of the guns were turned slightly to the right +and lowered, and ere the assemblage had time to wonder, a shower of +grape was belched forth into the clustered ranks of the faithless Sikhs +of the 138th. At the very same instant, before sepoys or besieged were +able to take in what had happened, the hundred men of the Guides--or as +many of them as were not helping their gunner comrades--brought their +rifles (for theirs were still loaded) to the shoulder, and blazed away +into the helpless mass of brown humanity. The rebels fell in scores, +mown down by the heavy discharge. One or two of the native officers +attempted to rally them, but the cannon, well and promptly served by the +Guides, cut lanes through the mob; and the well-aimed, disciplined +volley-firing of the Pathans and Gurkhas augmented the confusion. + +For some seconds open-mouthed wonder kept all our friends silent. The +whole world seemed topsy-turvy. + +Then one man grasped the situation. + +"Oh, splendid!... Well played, Guides, well played!" shouted Leigh; and +the garrison screamed and danced in a delirium of enthusiasm as their +senses came back to them, and they understood. + +"What is it? What does it mean?" demanded Ethel breathlessly and the +sick from the hospital-room echoed the cry. + +"It's the Guides!" was shouted back. "The Guides have been shamming +mutiny. They've got possession of the guns, and have turned them on the +traitors!" + +Thrice did the mutineers attempt a rally, but the Sikhs--the staunchest +of the rebels--had been almost blown away by the discharge of grape, and +the poorbeahs dared not face that terrible fire--those spurts of flame +that blazed forth, section by section, without hurry and without +confusion, from the steady, levelled rifles. + +In the Commissioner's house the Pathan messenger howled and shrieked in +his excitement, then, snatching up rifle and sword, he darted from the +sheltering walls and cut his way through the terrified rebels to the +side of his comrades. + +"Look!" cried Lieutenant Leigh. "Bahram Khan has given aver the +command--to a private soldier, too!" + +He pointed towards a dark-visaged man, of middle height and sturdy +build, in the uniform of a sepoy of the Guide Corps, who was now +directing the sectional volley-firing. At the same moment the mutineers +broke away in all directions--two thousand men cowed by six score! + +"Why, that's Jim!--that's my brother!" screamed our ensign joyfully. +Ethel gave one look, recognized the long scar that showed on the stained +face, and sank down, and to Ted's bewilderment burst into tears. + +"Well, that's a rummy go!" he murmured under his breath. "What on earth +should she blub for now that she knows he's safe?" + +As the flying, panic-stricken mutineers approached the beleaguered +house, they received a fresh and hardly less deadly fusillade from the +jubilant garrison. They scattered in all directions, staggering in +blind terror. Through the narrow streets ran and stumbled the defeated +sepoys, and after them rushed fifty of the terrible men in drab, the +active little Gurkhas being ever to the front. So thorough was the panic +evoked by the surprise, that here and there a dozen or even a score of +the rebels might be seen running with terrified eyes and panting breath +from a single fierce Afridi or Yusufzai of the hills, or still fiercer +Gurkha from the Himalayan snows; and Ted acknowledged his error of +judgment as he saw one of these little Nepalese Highlanders charge +single-handed a group of ten or a dozen Wahabi fanatics who were +attempting a rally. Cutting down four in rapid succession with his +kukri, heeding the long knives no more than cardboard, the fearless +little fellow scattered the remainder like sheep, and chased them until +their long legs carried them far out of his reach. + +Up flew the Union Jack to the top of the fort flagstaff, and Captain +Russell, recalling his pursuing men, posted guards around the place. The +loyal Rajputs, rejoicing now that they had not accepted Major Munro's +permission to desert, had not dared join in the fray except by their +fire from windows and roof, for had they shown themselves outside they +would undoubtedly have been slain by the rescuers. + +But now the little garrison marched out in safety, carrying the wounded +in their midst, for not a rebel was to be seen. Never had surprise been +more complete! At the same moment Captain Russell issued forth at the +head of half his men to escort the survivors inside the wing of the fort +that had not been demolished. + +There was no time for more than a hasty grip of the hand and a look +exchanged between two pairs of eyes, telling more eloquently than any +speech of the lips its tale of love, anxiety, and deep, grateful joy. +Ethel had thought her lover dead; Jim had hardly dared to hope that both +sweetheart and brother had survived the massacre. We can imagine the +unspoken joy. Leaving Leigh and Ted with a strong guard within the fort, +Munro, Captain Russell, and Paterson sallied forth at the head of one +hundred and fifty Guides and no less eager Rajputs, and chased the +panic-filled pandies from street to street to prevent them from +reassembling. Long before mid-day the rebels had streamed out of the +town in all directions, a wholesome fear planted deep within their +breasts. + +One room had been apportioned to the ladies, and others to officers and +sepoys, but all the Europeans came together to cheer their rescuers. +Colonel Woodburn was now well enough to greet his future son-in-law, +whose exciting story all gathered round to hear. Jim told it simply. + +"Well, for a gang of double-dyed traitors commend me to the Guides and +their English and native officers!" exclaimed Munro, his eyes twinkling +with delight at the thought of the trick. + +"All Bahram Khan's idea," laughed Jim. "We'd sent scouts ahead, and +yesterday we heard of the arrival of the 138th and learned that they +possessed artillery. I felt that I'd no right to risk my handful against +such overwhelming odds, so I consulted the ressaidar[8]. That gentlemen +also thought the task hopeless at first, then he suddenly burst out into +a demoniacal laugh. + + [8] A native officer of cavalry. + +"'Why, Captain Sahib,' said he,'why shouldn't we mutiny? We could kill +you and make friends with the poorbeahs. Then I'd take command of the +rebels--the curs will only be too glad to have me--and I could get +possession of the guns and post the men as I choose. With our men at the +guns and behind the guns, we can sweep the poorbeahs from off the +earth!' + +"It was a glorious idea; we explained it to the men, who took it in like +so many school-boys. Those little Gurkha fiends turned somersault as +they thought of the pandies[9] being taken in; and they laughed till the +tears rolled down their smooth cheeks. I stained my face and put on one +of the men's uniforms, whilst Bahram Khan squeezed himself into mine, +and everything worked beautifully." + + [9] A nickname for rebels. Mongul Pandy was the name of the + first noted mutineer. + +"And did no one suspect?" asked the major. + +"Not a soul! You see, there never were such rabid haters of the British +as we have been for the past twenty-four hours! We were quite willing to +eat you all, either cooked or raw; no half-measures with the Guides!" + +"You disgustin' treacherous brutes!" chirped our ensign, who was in a +state of wild and gleeful excitement. + +Bahram Khan stood by, grinning, well pleased with his handiwork, as were +all these stalwart soldiers of the Guide Corps. Jim Russell's story +ended, the deputy-commissioner passed his arm through Munro's, and, +announcing that he wished to consult him with respect to granting a +reward to the loyal Rajputs, he led the major from the room. The remark +was accompanied by a significant look, and, taking the hint, the +remaining officers made some excuse to leave. + +The ladies saw and understood, and in a few moments Jim and Ethel were +left alone. They were grateful, yet for some moments not a word was +uttered by either. The precious time was not exactly wasted, though. + +"My poor girl, what you must have suffered!" Jim murmured as he held her +hands within his own and fondled them. + +"Are you really here, Jim, or am I dreaming? It seems too good to be +true." + +"I think I really am here," was the reply, and Jim set to work to +convince her. + +"You have heard how poor Markham was killed, and Tynan and Lewis and +Arden?" + +Jim nodded and tightened his grip of the hands until she winced. + +"What a brute I am!" he penitently exclaimed, covering the little hands +with kisses. + +"I--I liked it, Jim.---- But you know you oughtn't to reward yourself +for being a brute." + +There was another interval of silence. + +"And so the young 'un has behaved like a brick!" said Jim at length. +"I'm proud of the kid." + +"I should just think he has. I really believe I shall have to marry you, +Captain Russell, if only to have Ted for a brother. I think he likes me +now." + +"I'll punch the young 'un's head if he doesn't," declared the brutal +Jim. "It's very decent of the others to give us this good time, little +woman." + +"It is, indeed. Oh, Jim, are you sure we're not dreaming? Can you stay +here with your men?" + +The captain shook his head sadly. + +"I don't know what to do until I have consulted Munro and Fletcher and +your father. We must follow the rest of the corps as quickly as +possible, and I think the best plan will be for you all to come with us, +if we can obtain horses and ekkas for the wounded and the ladies, until +we can drop you at the first safe place." + +"Cannot Sir Arthur, as head of the district, countermand your orders to +join the Guide Corps at once? If he says that you are needed here, I +should think he has authority to detain you. Besides, you and your men +are now under father, or rather under Major Munro, whilst you remain +here, and you will have to do as they order." + +Jim laughed. + +"I wish it were so; but it happens to be John Lawrence himself who has +sent us to Delhi, and he said he wanted us to get there quickly. And +when Jan Larens says 'do this' you've got to do it, and do it smartly. +The major is a brave man, and so is Fletcher, but I shall be very much +surprised if either of them dare trifle with Jan." + +Major Munro had assembled the loyal Rajputs and thanked them in a +straight soldierly speech that touched their faithful hearts and brought +a glow of pride to their eyes. The Commissioner, moreover, deemed it +well to let congratulations take a more substantial form. He therefore +distributed the sum of five thousand rupees amongst the seventy +survivors--a welcome reward for their loyalty and courage. + +On the following morning Jim's anxiety and hesitation were removed, as a +detachment of the 4th Sikhs--a glorious, loyal regiment--marched in and +maintained order in the town. + +Miss Woodburn's safety being thus assured, Captain Russell at once set +out to rejoin his comrades in their seven hundred and fifty miles' march +to the Mogul capital, and, to the delight of Ted and Paterson, the +colonel allowed the boys to accompany the gallant corps. + +We shall hear later on of that memorable march of the Corps of Guides to +Delhi--the finest march in Indian history, if not indeed in the records +of any army--as well as of their doings during the famous siege. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +Tynan makes his Choice + + +The door of Tynan's prison opened and the captive's heart beat wildly. +Was it life or death? Only Ghulam Beg bringing his chupatties and water. + +"Where is Pir Baksh?" he enquired. "I want to see him." + +"The Subadar Sahib has gone out," replied the sepoy, leaving the room +before any other questions could be asked. Tynan turned to his humble +fare and regarded it with disgust. He felt wronged that he should be fed +so meanly by the man he was to reward so handsomely. It was all there +was, however, and hard bread was better than nothing, so he devoured it +to the last crumb. + +What was that? The loud booming of cannon roused him to his feet, an +Englishman again, and he made desperate attempts to force open the +shutters. The sharper crack and rattle of musketry--volley upon +volley--followed the booming of the guns; then the cannon spoke again, +and loud cries of alarm, exhortation, and triumph filled the air. + +Surely it must be a rescue! He stamped up and down the narrow chamber +like a caged wild beast, fuming and raging. Still no one came; he +shrieked and stormed in vain. + +His suspense was not for long. The door was flung open, and Pir Baksh, +followed by his brother, Muhammad Baksh, Ghulam Beg, and another sepoy, +rushed into the room. Tynan assumed an attitude of defence. + +"Fool!" cried the subadar, anger and impatience in his voice. "I am +come to save you. Quick! put on these clothes." + +He flung down the garments of a sepoy, and Tynan hesitated. Why was Pir +Baksh so excited? There was fear also in his eyes. + +"What mean the noise of cannon, Pir Baksh?" he demanded. + +"Quick, on with the uniform or we shall all be slain!" the Moslem +angrily replied. "The rebels are mad, and they suspect that I have saved +a Feringhi, and will soon be here, though I know not who has told them. +The noise thou didst hear was the cannon with which they have utterly +destroyed the house of the Commissioner Sahib, and they have killed +every man, woman, and child therein. Hasten! Hasten! In the name of the +Prophet, hasten or thou art lost, and I too for being so foolish as to +help thee!" + +Another bitter disappointment for the lad. Hurriedly doffing the uniform +of his rank and donning the disguising raiment, he followed his four +warders outside, and away from the town--and from safety--the wild yells +becoming fainter and fainter. + +Presently the subadar turned into a road that led northeastwards, and +slackened the pace to a walk, neither he nor his prisoner being in fit +condition to run far. They walked on and on at a quick swinging stride, +every step causing intense pain. Though Tynan begged them to rest +awhile, Pir Baksh refused. His limbs and body had been rubbed and +anointed; his bruises were nearly healed, and the rate of marching did +not affect his broken arm. The lad's anguish was pitiful to see. + +"Have we not gone far enough?" whispered one of the sepoys at last. "Let +us halt here and put the cub to death. There is no one to interrupt." + +The subadar was not so sure. The fact that he, Pir Baksh, had contrived +to get hold of one of the Feringhi officers was not such a secret as he +had led Tynan to believe, and he knew that some of his neighbours, in +order to curry favour with the winning side, would probably impart the +news to the Commissioner Sahib. Being an arrant coward he feared lest a +rescue party should be following on his trail, and he knew what trackers +the Gurkhas were. Until his anxiety on this head should be lifted, he +did not mean to rid himself of his hostage. + +He pressed the party forward until close upon sunset, when Tynan was +absolutely incapable of another step. The heat had told upon his wasted +strength, and he was on the point of fainting. Nothing save the hope of +escape could have kept him up so long. They halted in a small clearing +among the trees. + +"For heaven's sake, subadar, let me have something to eat!" + +"I think the place will suit our purpose," Pir Baksh observed, calmly +ignoring the boy's request. + +The words and tone struck Tynan as a whip-lash across the face. He +looked round for a way of escape, and his arms were seized from behind. + +Unnecessary precaution! He was much too weak to resist, and Ghulam Beg +threw him roughly to the ground. Pir Baksh contemptuously kicked his +fallen enemy. + +"Fool!" he snarled. "Didst thou think to escape my vengeance so easily?" + +The wretched boy saw the look of hatred in the brute's eyes, and felt +that he was doomed. There was no hope of mercy there. He knew at last +that the blackguard's object had been to increase his misery by raising +his hopes, and the vile scheme had succeeded. + +"Remember your oath," the ensign gasped. "Remember the reward, Pir +Baksh." + +"And dost thou think," the traitor retorted with an air of virtue that +sat badly upon his vicious face, "dog of an unbeliever, that we of the +Faith would sell our souls for money?" + +Again he kicked the prostrate Tynan. + +"In what manner shall we slay him?" asked Muhammad Baksh. + +"Bury him alive," suggested Ghulam Beg. + +"With our bayonets?" sneered the third sepoy. "Let us talk sense." + +"Tie him to yonder tree, then," said Tynan's late attendant, "and make a +target of him. Fire first at hands and feet and legs and arms." + +"Aye, and make a noise that may be heard for miles?" the leader angrily +retorted. + +Pir Baksh had his reasons for wishing to put his victim away more +quietly. In a state of abject terror Tynan listened to the horrible +suggestions. The nightmare of suspense and despair experienced in his +prison chamber was as nothing to this. + +"I have a better plan," said the subadar quietly. "Ye will tie him hand +and foot to yonder tree, gag his mouth, and leave him there. There will +be little left of him in the morning except bare bones, and clever as +the Feringhis are, they will find no mark of knife or bullet should they +chance to come across what is left. Ye have the cords. Tie him up." + +Tynan shouted for help until a cloth was bound over his mouth. Then the +frenzy of despair lent him strength, but the struggle was short, and he +was quickly pushed and pulled towards the tree indicated by Pir Baksh. + +Something moved in the undergrowth behind, and a squat little man +stepped into the light. A musket was in his hand, and a grin upon his +hairless face. In an unknown tongue he addressed a question to the men +who held the struggling Tynan, and being regarded with a stare of +mingled amazement and terror, he peered into the face of the captive. +Then the grin died out of his face, for he saw the white skin of an +Englishman and understood. + +Again he jabbered in the strange language, then quick as thought he drew +from its scabbard a curved knife, whose keen broad blade flashed thrice +like a heliograph as it caught the slanting rays of the disappearing +sun. The sepoys had let go their hold of Tynan, and had raised their +muskets, but before the triggers could be pulled the vicious kukri blade +had descended twice, and the traitors sank on the sward, cut through the +shoulder. + +Crack went the musket of Muhammad Baksh, and a bullet skimmed over the +cap of the ugly little stranger. Before the echo had died away an +answering report rang out, and as Muhammad Baksh paid the penalty of his +treachery, a second Gurkha stepped from behind a tree-trunk within +fifteen paces of Pir Baksh. The subadar turned and ran. + +"Shoot, brother!" sang out the Gurkha, whose musket was empty. + +The first-comer's weapon was already covering the runagate. He pulled +the trigger, and when the smoke had rolled away, there lay the +arch-traitor writhing upon the ground, alternately calling down curses +upon the little mountain demons who had frustrated him, and calling upon +the Englishman for mercy. Evidently he was not very badly wounded, or he +could not have made so much noise. + +The Gurkhas trotted towards him with bared knives, and though the +Mohammedan still held his loaded musket the little hillmen never +hesitated. Pir Baksh was consistent in his cowardice. Dropping the +weapon he held up his hands in token of surrender, and called upon Tynan +Sahib to save him from the fiends. + +Harry Tynan had barely realized what had happened, and what a very +narrow squeak he had had. + +"Do not kill him!" he shouted in Urdu, as he limped towards the wounded +savage. He wanted to see what Pir Baksh would have to say for himself +before he handed him over to be hanged or blown away. The fact must be +admitted that Tynan meant to gloat over the failure of the subadar's +vile plans. + +The Gurkhas did not understand the words, but they divined his meaning. + +"Sahib," implored the subadar, "save me from these demons. I spared your +life, so do not leave me to be murdered." + +"You spared my life!" Tynan indignantly repeated. "You mean you brought +me here to torture me." + +"Sahib, you wrong me. I did but pretend. I had no influence over those +three curs who lie dead--praised be Allah!--and they insisted on slaying +you. They would have murdered me had I not feigned to fall in with their +plans, and we must all safeguard our own lives first. But I meant to +save you, and that is why I rejected their proposals as to the manner of +death. I would have tied you to the tree, and, after giving them the +slip in the darkness, would have returned to set you free." + +"But you kicked me and spat upon me." + +"That was to remove their suspicions. The more I seemed to hate you the +more easy would it be to help you." + +Not being a particularly intelligent youth, Tynan began to think there +might be something in what the subadar said. + +"Well, thou art my prisoner now, and for the present I will save thy +life. Where is thy wound?" + +"Indeed, sahib, I fear they have slain me." + +Pir Baksh placed his hand to his leg and indicated the nature of the +wound. One of the Gurkhas bent down, sliced off some of the cloth with +his kukri, and burst out laughing. + +"The _kafar_ (coward)!" he cried to his companions. + +The bullet had grazed the rebel's thigh, tearing off a little strip of +skin. Feeling the sharp sting, Pir Baksh had clapped his hand to the +spot and drawn it away covered with blood. Concluding that he was done +for, he had tumbled over and howled. + +"Get up!" said Tynan brusquely. "You're not hurt." + +Turning to the Gurkhas he motioned them to lead the way. Picking up the +four muskets, the party set forth, the prisoner in the midst rendered +very unhappy by the knowledge that a loaded musket was within a few +inches of his backbone, and he dreaded carelessness on the part of the +Gurkha. The precaution was unnecessary, for the roaring lion of half an +hour ago was now as harmless as a dove. + +An hour's walk brought them within sight of camp fires, and before long +they had passed the sentries, and Tynan was in the commandant's tent. He +was a small wiry man of about twenty-five, tough as whip-cord. + +"Hullo!" he cried, holding a lantern above his head so that the light +fell full upon Tynan's face. "Who are you?" + +"Ensign Tynan of the 193rd. I've just been rescued from a gang of +cut-throats by these two men of yours. They tackled four and killed +three." + +"Take the prisoner to the guard-tent." + +The Gurkha saluted and retired, and the officer continued: "Now, Mr. +Tynan, you'll be hungry, so just fall to. If you'd come half an hour ago +there would have been a better spread." + +"I'm very hungry, thanks. What force is yours?" + +"Oh, I beg your pardon! I'm Captain Hornby of the Kumaon Gurkha +Battalion. I've a hundred men here, and we are _en route_ for Sadalpur. +We are expecting orders from John Lawrence--for Delhi, I hope. I won't +listen to your tale until you've finished." + +The meal over, the fugitive narrated his adventures since the outbreak +of the mutiny until the moment of his rescue. When he came to the +account of the explosion he hesitated, and finally said: "We decided to +blow it up rather than allow it to fall into the hands of the rebels." + +Ted Russell had also used the word "we", but from what different +motives! + +"You were senior officer?" questioned the captain. + +"Yes." + +"Good!" Hornby held out his hand. "I'm proud to shake hands with you. I +heard a rumour yesterday that the Aurungpore arsenal had been blown up." + +Harry Tynan felt ready to sink into the ground with shame. His hand fell +limp from the grasp, and he hastily resumed his story. + +"I can't make up my mind about Pir Baksh," he said. "He may have been +only pretending to fall in with the views of the majority, but if so, he +was a very good actor." + +"You've had a rough time, youngster, so just lie down and sleep as well +as you can. There's my mattress, and I'll get another. Good-night! I'm +going the rounds." + +The camp was astir soon after sunrise. Hornby asked how the ensign had +slept, and explained that the two rescuers had informed him how they had +tracked the party and followed them for nearly a mile, but had not been +able to fathom their proceedings until they had seen the white skin. +Pir Baksh was conducted before Captain Hornby to be examined with regard +to his share in the mutiny. Before any questions could be asked, the +traitor drew forth the documents signed by Tynan, and handed them to the +Gurkha officer. + +"There, sahib, they will prove I am a true man. Tynan Sahib has reason, +I admit, to doubt me, and I should have whispered my intentions to him +as we ran away, had not my comrades kept close at hand all the time, +being suspicious." + +Captain Hornby read the papers, and regarded the ensign with a puzzled +expression. + +"This is your signature?" he asked; and Tynan, who was nervously toying +with his sword-hilt, stammered an admission of the fact. + +"H'm! It certainly seems that the fellow's story is true, though I don't +like his looks. However, if he tried to save your lives and to restrain +his comrades, it looks as if he really meant to be loyal, does it not?" + +Tynan agreed that it did, and as he recollected how the treacherous +subadar, now bowing and salaaming with an ingratiating smile, had shot +down his colonel and helped to murder Lowthian, he cursed the lies he +had signed. Yet he had not the moral courage to disavow them, and so lay +himself open to the charge of cowardice. + +"And of course," went on the captain, "of course he treated you badly in +the house in order to allay the suspicions of his men, who might +otherwise have murdered you. It was rough on you, but probably for the +best." + +Tynan acquiesced with a nod, and felt very uncomfortable. Hornby read +for a second time the note added by Pir Baksh, and said: + +"I see why you hesitated when you were speaking of the explosion, and I +respect your modesty. So it was your plan to blow up the magazine, and +no wonder he admired you for it. The other ensign was killed, I +suppose?" + +"Yes; I think I am the only one saved." + +"Poor beggar! Well, you must stop with us until I can hand you and the +prisoner to Colonel Bratherton at Jehanabad. These papers should +certainly save him from death, and I should say that he deserves a +reward." + +Tynan looked utterly miserable, and there is no reason to doubt that he +was. How he wished he had never signed that fatal paper! How he wished +he had had the pluck to tell the whole story to Hornby last night, +admitting that he was half-mad with pain and fear when he signed the +statement! But no; he had lied to Hornby then, and had backed up the lie +in the morning through cowardice, and the wretched boy now resolved that +the easier course would be to stick to the lie. No one could contradict +him now, except the subadar. As the thought occurred to him that Pir +Baksh knew the truth, and that unless he, Tynan, was prepared to state +on oath at the trial that was bound to take place, that the subadar had +saved his life and attempted to save them all--unless he did that, the +prisoner could and would ruin him, he groaned to himself and kicked +viciously at the nearest object. One lie had led to another and yet +another, and he had made a net for himself, from whose entanglement he +saw no way of escape. + +Yet, bad as the prospect seemed to him, he little guessed the real state +of affairs. + +And Pir Baksh understood as well as he. As this hopeful gentleman had +been led back to the guard-tent he had winked slyly at the ensign, +clearly intimating that they would stand or fall together. It was a +sickening thought. Having had time to think it over, Tynan felt sure +that Pir Baksh had meant to murder him, and he bitterly regretted having +moved a finger to save him from the Gurkhas. He had not even the +consolation of thinking that he had shown mercy to an enemy, for he had +only saved him then in order to have him hanged. + +Ten minutes later camp was struck, and they moved off towards +Jehanabad. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +The March of the Guide Corps + + +Four days after Jim and Ted Russell and Alec Paterson had set out from +Aurungpore with the detachment of the Guides, they overtook the +head-quarters of their regiment. The rapid rate of marching, the +excitement of recent events, and the prospect of taking part in the +assault on the capital of Hindustan and in the crushing of the mutiny, +had proved sufficiently exhilarating to keep up the spirits and health +of the boys in spite of the great heat. + +Both Ted and Alec had been provided with horses before leaving +Aurungpore, "Tommy Dodd" having been stolen by some budmashes; and they +found the march enjoyable at times, especially in the cool of the +morning before the sun had mounted high, and on moonlight evenings. Of +course their detachment was lightly equipped, and had little impedimenta +to carry, whereas the rest of the corps had to drag along and guard +their tents, commissariat, baggage, and ammunition, otherwise they would +never have been overtaken. + +Right across the vast Punjab swept the famous corps of Guides, through +shady groves of peach and apricot trees, and over dusty plains destitute +of shelter; across the five rivers to which the land owes its name,[10] +each day bringing the stalwart frontiersmen nearer to the goal of their +desire. Every man in that band was eager for the fray. + + [10] Punjab means "the country of the five rivers". + +Afridis, Afghans, and the various Pathan tribesmen of the corps looked +forward to the sacking of the wealthy city. For centuries past their +forefathers had marched down at frequent intervals to plunder the rich +plains of Hindustan, and, as children, they had listened to glowing +accounts of the vast wealth of the Mogul capital. The Sikhs of the corps +were equally ready to loot, for the Sikh is nearly as rapacious as the +Pathan, and much more miserly. They remembered also the bitter enmity +between their ancestors and the Mohammedan rulers of Delhi, and their +persecution at the hands of the Moslems. The single company of little +Gurkhas, though by no means grasping like their comrades, were no less +eager to come in contact with the mutinous hordes. The "Irishmen of +Asia" these short-legged warriors might be called, from their readiness +for battle and love of a fight at all times and seasons. + +The Guide Corps consisted of three troops of cavalry and six companies +of infantry, about eight hundred men in all, under the command of +Captain Daly. The greater part of both infantry and cavalry were +Pathans, and they were the best irregular horsemen in the world. The +troopers supplied their own horses, and were men of some wealth and +standing in their own country. As the fierce borderers rode and marched +along, laughing as they spoke of the fun they would have at Delhi, +Bahram Khan grimly told of the punishment meted out to the rebels of +Aurungpore, and boasted of having played the most important rôle in the +hoax. + +"Truly it was all my idea, not Russell Sahib's," he repeated. "But for +me all the Sahib-Logue would have been dead ere this." + +"Tell us, how did it all happen, cousin?" enquired a duffadar, a +relation of the ressaidar's, Nawab Khan by name. + +"When Ishar Das brought the news that another rebel regiment had marched +into Aurungpore," began the quondam bandit, gratified by the +opportunity thus afforded of displaying his triumph, "assuredly we knew +not what to do. Russell Sahib called a halt, and there we consulted +together. Truly brothers, for a moment even I thought we must give up +the attempt. But what is impossible to the true believer? and the idea +came into my mind, placed there doubtless by the Prophet. Thereupon I +advised our officer to call the men together, that we might instruct +them secretly to prepare for mutiny. Then with many oaths we slew +Russell Sahib and threw his body into the ditch"--(here the Pathan +chieftain chuckled gleefully and his comrades laughed out loudly)--"then +we dressed him up as a sepoy, and darkened his face, whilst I robbed him +of his watch and his sword and took the command, and we marched along +swiftly in great disorder, proclaiming that Bahadur Shah was king in +Delhi, and that not a Feringhi should escape our swords. Truly, my +brothers, we were fiercer and more bloodthirsty than any of the real +rebels. The mutinous dogs, as they heard of our approach, sent out men +to meet us, and we rejoiced with them, though we should have greatly +loved to slay them. As we entered the courtyard at Aurungpore they +greeted us with cheers and great praise, and I spoke scornfully of their +methods of fighting. Yea, I laughed in the face of their commandant, for +he had no authority, and told him, so that all might hear, that he would +never exterminate the infidels. Therefore they placed me in command, as +I intended they should, and because I treated them as little better than +curs, they became my dogs, and allowed me--the fools!--to place my men, +with Sultan Jan and Dayal Singh the Sikh in command, in charge of the +guns. + +"They watched over them all night, and when morning came--ho! ho!--I +made the madmen--surely the Prophet had smitten them all with madness--I +made them, I say, empty all their firearms in the air, pretending that +we must trust in the bayonet as soon as the cannon had done their work. + +"'Aye,' said I, 'if your muskets are still loaded ye will lie down and +fire as they escape. Ye must surround them with a ring of steel,' I +said. So the madmen delivered themselves into my hands! Then I gave the +order, and Sultan Jan of Kohat and Dayal Singh the Sikh cried out, and +we let fly into their midst, first destroying the Sikhs, for they are +true soldiers, though unbelieving dogs, and the others were but +children. Yea, by the beard of the Prophet we destroyed them! Aye, we +swept them away, mown down like the yellow corn in the Tirah before the +strokes of the sickle. + +"So they ran, and we followed; through the streets they ran screaming +and throwing down their weapons, and we slew them by scores and by +hundreds. But 'twas I, Bahram Khan, who saved Aurungpore. By the +Prophet's beard, 'twas I!" + +Loudly the Afghan horsemen applauded the strategy of the ressaidar. They +laughed and shouted with glee as they listened, and greatly they +regretted that they had not been present to participate therein. + +Bahram Khan also told his countrymen how the boy-officer riding beside +them--younger than any of their own officers, for the Guides required +strong men to handle them--had blown up the magazine and miraculously +escaped death; and the stern warriors looked approvingly at our hero, +and one remarked in English, "Truly, we shall make a Guide of you, +sahib!" Officers as well as men treated him as an equal, because of the +experience he had gained, and the way in which he had looked death in +the face. + +For Captain Daly, Ted soon felt an ardent admiration. Said this gallant +soldier to the lad on the day that the main body of the regiment was +rejoined, "Well, youngster, do you know that you're taking part in what +is going to be the best march in Indian history?" + +"I'm glad I'm here, sir," replied Ted; and indeed he looked content. + +"Yes," continued the commanding officer; "seven hundred and fifty miles +is the distance from Murdan to Delhi, and I'll do it in thirty days. We +shall probably be the only native regiment that can be trusted to take +part in the siege." + +Ted had looked in vain for his brother's friend Spencer, until Jim +explained that this unlucky officer had been shooting in Kashmir when +the outbreak occurred, and so had not yet been able to rejoin his +regiment. Ted admired Spencer greatly, and was very sorry to miss him. +He was soon attracted, however, by a new acquaintance, Quintin Battye, +the noble and well-loved lieutenant of the Guides, whose name was soon +to gain such tragic fame. + +Through Attock and Rawal Pindi along the frontier, through the large +Sikh capitals of Ludhiana, Amballa, and Kurnaul, had marched the famous +corps, and wherever they went the Sikh and Punjabi inhabitants looked on +in wonderment. As the great troopers in khaki (for the Guides were the +first to wear that uniform), sitting their horses as though born in the +saddle, rode haughtily past the gaping countrymen, at whom they hardly +deigned to look, or as with firm step the six hundred infantry marched +easily through the villages, the knots of men gathered under the shade +of the banyan-tree discussing the fall of the English raj,[11] would +quickly disperse to their houses, and from that shelter watch the +regiment swing past. + + [11] Government or dominion. + +"Ah! did I not tell thee, Maun Singh, that the English had not all been +swept away?" one would say. + +"True, brother. Let us mind our own business and look after our fields, +it is not safe to meddle with the Feringhis," would be the reply. + +"Who were they, Father?" a youngster would ask. "Were not our countrymen +amongst them? But many were Afghan dogs!" + +"Those are the Guides, my son. They have told us lies who said the +English had lost their power. Consider, my brothers. How could the +Guides be spared from the frontier unless the Sikhs and the Pathans, the +Afghans and the Afridis, were on the side of our white rulers? Let our +village have no part in this rebellion, else shall we all suffer." + +So province after province was passed, and the people, noticing how +proud and confident the Guides looked, thought, "Surely the English are +still masters of India." + +And old Sikh and Jat soldiers of "John Company",[12] men who had been +hesitating, who had been offered bribes to fight against the Feringhi, +and who had been told that the whites were all being swept into the sea, +hesitated no longer. They cleaned their swords, harnessed their horses, +and veterans brought their sons, requesting permission to enlist in the +new Punjab regiments which John Lawrence, the mighty commissioner of the +Punjab, was raising for the reinforcement of the army before Delhi. + + [12] The Honourable East India Company, also called "Koompanie + Bahadur", or "The Great Lord Company". + +"The Punjab," said the leader of the Guide Corps, "is paying back India +all she has cost her, by sending troops stout and firm to her aid." + +While still more than a hundred miles from Delhi, the Guides were +required to quell a disturbance in a neighbouring district. Captain +Daly, impatient at the delay, desired to forward despatches to General +Anson, whose army lay some miles to the north of the great city. He +consulted Captain Russell. + +"Your brother is a plucky youngster," he remarked, "but what is his +friend like? He hasn't much to say for himself, but I think he's to be +trusted." + +"Paterson seems one of the quiet sort you can depend on," Jim replied. +"If you are thinking of sending them on to the commander-in-chief, I +think they'd enjoy the job and would carry it through. I suppose you +would give them an escort?" + +Daly beckoned the two ensigns, and handing the papers to Paterson, he +explained the mission, and advised them to ride as much as possible at +night. + +"You shall have half a dozen troopers as escort," he concluded. "The +country will be quiet until you get near Delhi. No monkey tricks, mind, +youngsters, and don't stop to blow up any arsenals on the road!" + +The boys and their six Pathan troopers hastily provisioned themselves, +and, pricking their steeds, dashed joyously away. A ride of a hundred +miles with no one to give them orders! They commanded the party, and the +general himself was not half so proud of his command as our ensigns of +foot were of their half-dozen huge, wild, black-bearded troopers. For a +day and two nights they rode without incident, but on the morning of the +third, as they drew near to Alipore, and saw the towers and minarets of +Delhi glittering in the sun a dozen miles to the south-east, they heard +the sound of firing. Proceeding cautiously, they presently perceived a +number of rebel horsemen flying before a body of English dragoons, as +the eight topped the crest of the slight incline which had hidden them +from view. The Carabineers had already given up the pursuit, and were +sending a few shots after the galloping rebels, who, seeing the +dark-faced, turbaned horsemen, took them for men of the mutinous +irregular cavalry, and raised a cheer. + +Ted looked hopefully at Alec, who hesitated for an instant. He was as +keen as Ted, but ought he to risk his men and the safety of the +despatch? + +"Now, sahibs!" whispered Nawab Khan, the Pathan duffadar (corporal). + +That decided the young commandant. + +"Charge, men!" Alec cried, and waved his sword. "Charge!" + +Eight blades flashed in the sunlight, as with a wild yell the little +band hurled themselves like a thunderbolt into the midst of the +bewildered sepoys. Ted, Nawab Khan, and a trooper, their chargers +straining to the utmost, rode side by side, the other five close behind, +and the rebel rank broke at once. A dozen men of the 3rd Native +Cavalry--the regiment that commenced the great mutiny--fell before that +charge, the leader being unhorsed and severely wounded by Ted himself, +and before they could recover from their confusion the Carabineers were +on their heels. Without waiting to take revenge on the insolent handful, +the rebel cavalry scattered and galloped away, the ensigns and the +Pathans following hard. At Paterson's command five men ceased their +pursuit, but the duffadar, engaged in a running fight with two pandies +at once, would not turn back. At length one sowar[13] dropped with +cloven skull, and the other--a rebel captain--was being disposed of, +when a dozen sepoys turned their horses round to help their officer. +Quick as thought the Pathan seized the wounded subadar by the collar and +jerked him out of the saddle; then, leaping from his own horse on to the +rebel's, he laughed at the sepoys, and quickly rejoined his comrades. +"He had wounded my horse, sahib, and his was the finest steed I've +seen, so I prevailed on the dog to exchange, ho! ho!" and Nawab Khan +laughed. And well he might; the beast, a beautiful dark chestnut, was +indeed a grand charger. + + [13] A native trooper or horse-soldier. + +"Well, of all the cool cheek!" exclaimed the officer of the 6th Dragoons +(known as the "Carabineers"), laughing as he came up. "Anyone hurt?" + +"None of us, sir," replied Ted with a grin; "but I fancy some of the +rebels are." + +"And who on earth are you?" was the next question. + +"Guides, sir," was Paterson's laconic but very proud answer. + +"Guides! Is this all the regiment?" + +"I should think not!" exclaimed Ted indignantly, and Paterson proceeded +to explain his errand. + +"Well, are the rest like these?" asked the astonished captain, who was +but newly from England. + +"Quite as good. You'll soon see, sir," Ted confidently assured him, +whilst the Pathans slowly looked the Carabineers over from head to foot, +and evidently approved of the inspection--a compliment returned by the +British troopers. Together they entered the camp. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +Ted's First Battle + + +General Anson, Commander-in-chief in India, had died a few days +previously; his successor, General Barnard, received and read the +despatch in silence. + +He then looked up with stern face, but twinkling eyes. "Do you think, +young gentlemen, that it shows good judgment to charge seventy horsemen +with only six?" for the captain of the Carabineers had reported the +incident to his chief. + +Ted stammered out, "We didn't think, sir." + +"Think! I should imagine not. You must learn caution, if ever you hope +to get on in your profession." + +The boys saluted and turned to go, when the general continued: + +"Let me see; which of you was it who blew up the magazine at +Aurungpore?" + +Ted blushed as Alec replied. The general rose from his chair, shook +hands solemnly as with an equal, and the ensign departed, his heart +nearly bursting with pride. No amount of praise could have pleased him +so much as did this simple act. + +The dragoon captain found sleeping quarters for them and for their men, +and they made a tour of the encampment. In the camp the British soldiers +(for their six men were the only dark-skins), horse and foot, were +gathered in groups talking over the strange changes that had occurred, +and eagerly discussing the latest tidings. The slaughter of the +helpless ladies and children in the city before them had maddened the +men, and all vowed vengeance on the cruel foe. + +"There's not a black regiment to be trusted, I don't care who they are," +declared one. + +"Oh, there may be some who are all right! we mustn't condemn the lot," +replied another. + +"Indeed! Who are your precious heroes, then?" sneered a third. + +"Well, I don't know," the more hopeful red-coat replied; "but they say +that the Guides and the Sirmur Battalion of Gurkhas are coming to help +us." + +"Guides and Gurkies be blowed! You'll just see; the niggers'll come as +far as it suits them, then they'll kill their officers and march into +Delhi. They ought to have been disarmed, Guides and Gurkies and everyone +else, straight away." + +"Hear, hear!" joined in the others. "We don't want no niggers helpin' +us." + +"They don't know much about the Guides, do they, Ted?" Alec whispered. + +"They don't. But they spoke of the Sirmur Gurkhas. I wonder whether they +are coming here? My cousin Charlie Dorricot is with them, so I hope they +are. He's a jolly beggar is Charlie." + +"They say Gurkhas are always to be trusted," Alec replied; "and from +what these fellows say, it's evident they haven't mutinied so far.... +Hullo! what's up now? The 'Alarm'! By Jove, the pandies are attacking +us!" + +A bugle had sounded the 'Alarm'; the men sprang to their feet, rushed +for their arms, and prepared to fall in. In an instant the whole camp +was alive. + +"What is it? Who are they?" + +"Over there! Look! It's an attack on our rear." + +The bugle blew again, and the alarm gradually subsided. All eyes were +directed towards a body of men marching wearily, but with correct, +well-drilled step, along the road leading towards the British camp. They +seemed dark, very short of stature, and curiously attired, and that was +all that could be made out. Though not Europeans, they were evidently +friends, because the "Alarm" sounded by the first bugle had been +contradicted by the second call. + +And now that the sepoy regiments were proving false right and left, what +Asiatic corps except the Guides could be trusted so near the +head-quarters of the rebels? John Lawrence would take good care that no +doubtful regiments should be sent to Delhi, and that no Mussulman nor +Brahman of the Bengal army should be given such an excellent chance of +turning traitor at the critical moment. + +The strangers drew nearer, and the camp turned out to meet them. Then +the word passed from lip to lip that these were the Gurkhas--Reid's +Gurkhas. + +"It's the Sirmur Battalion, Alec," said Ted; and he executed a little +_pas seul_ to proclaim his delight. + +"Who are they?" asked some of the Tommies. "Where 'ave they come from? +Can they fight?" + +"Fight? Can't they just!" replied one of the knowing ones, a sergeant +with a dozen years' Indian experience. "They come from Dehra Dun, up in +the hills." + +"I wouldn't give a dog-biscuit for all the native regiments in India," a +young private declared. "They're all rotten with treachery." + +"You'll never be commander-in-chief, Sammy," the sergeant retorted. "You +know a dashed sight too much, and yet not 'arf enough. If you wasn't so +ignorant you'd know that these Gurkies ain't natives but furriners in +Injia same as us, livin' in a furrin country called Nepal, up amongst +the Himalayas, which you've never 'eard on, I dare say. And the Gurky +king ain't a subject of the queen, like the Injian rajahs and nawabs and +nizams and such, but free and independent, like voters at an election. +I've fought side by side with 'em, Sammy, and they're as good pals on a +battle-field as any chaps from Battersea." + +Ted and Alec laughed at the sergeant's harangue, and strolled down the +road to meet the reinforcements. The short-legged, tough, little Gurkhas +were almost dropping from fatigue and heat. They had marched many, many +miles that day under the scorching Indian sun, and they were no more +accustomed to the heat of the plains than were their British comrades. + +"Hurrah for the Gurkies! Three cheers for the little 'uns!" + +The cry was taken up by hundreds of the red-coats, who were now lining +both sides of the road, cheering again and again as the weary Mongolians +marched sturdily through their ranks with soldierly swagger. The little +fellows grinned and tried to cheer and joke in return, but, being dead +beat and almost famishing, the attempt was a failure. Many British +soldiers ran out to help their new allies along, by lending the support +of an arm or shoulder. + +"That's him, Alec!" Ted, regardless of grammar, informed his chum. + +He made straight for a lieutenant of the Gurkhas, a tall, jolly-looking +man of about five-and-twenty, and tapped him on the shoulder. + +"Please, sir," said the ensign, with great deference and as vacant an +expression as possible, "is there an officer of this regiment of pandies +named Dorricot, because he's wanted in camp." + +"Pandies! you impudent puppy!" the enraged lieutenant replied. +"Pandies! I like your cheek! My name's Dorricot. Who wants me?" + +"Please, sir, I think it's a tailor with a lot of unpaid bills--" + +The lieutenant opened his mouth, and, gripping Ted's wrist, looked him +squarely in the face. He burst into a laugh. + +"Ted Russell! What on earth are you doing here, you cheeky chimpanzee?" + +He wrung Ted's hand heartily, and was unceremoniously introduced to +Paterson. + +"What are you doing here, Ted?" Dorricot repeated. "Your regiment has +mutinied, has it not?" + +"Yes. Seeing we were at liberty, the general sent for Paterson and me to +come and give him a lift. We're his military advisers, ain't we, Alec?" + +"Oh, Ted's altogether too modest," said Paterson. "In reality he's the +actual commander here, and General Barnard takes orders from him." + +"Oh, that's it, is it?" Dorricot replied. "Well, look here, come to my +tent as soon as we've settled down. I want to have a talk with you." + +The Sirmur Battalion passed within the lines, and General Barnard +himself came out to welcome them. + +"Get something to eat sharp!" he exhorted Major Reid. "Sorry you're dead +beat, but we may have to turn out at any moment." + +Luckily this was not necessary, as the expected attack did not come off, +and the tired Gurkhas were granted a few hours' well-earned rest. Soon +after they had settled down our two ensigns paid the promised visit to +Lieutenant Dorricot, and fought their battles over again, talking and +laughing over their several adventures, interrupting, contradicting, and +agreeing with one another as they discussed the situation and the causes +that had combined to bring it about. + +The elder cousin was full of a natural curiosity concerning Jim's +engagement, soon persuading the ensign--and in truth it was no difficult +matter--to give his opinion of Miss Woodburn, her accomplishments and +attractions. + +"Hullo!" interrupted Charlie, as the boy waxed particularly eloquent on +the subject. "You're sure it's Russell Major who's in love, and not +Russell Minimus." + +Ted blushed, laughed outright, and sought to change the subject; but +Charlie was determined to extract further information relating to his +cousin's love affairs--a matter on which he was conventionally +facetious. + +"So you really think that old Jim's done well--eh, young Solomon?" +Dorricot resumed after a few moments' reflection. + +"I tell you he's a jolly lucky chap!" declared the ensign emphatically. +"Jolly lucky, I should say. You should just have seen her when she +whipped her pistol out as soon as that beggar had knifed me in the +_bazar_!" + +"What was that, Teddy? You never told me about that." + +So our ensign related the incident with great gusto, and the elder +cousin whistled as he heard of the girl's coolness. + +"She's the right sort for Jim," he agreed, as Ted concluded the +narration. "But I must be toddling off to bed now, I'm badly in need of +some sleep. By-bye, young 'un!" + +"Good-night, Charlie! It's just stunning to see you again. Jim'll be +downright glad when he comes; he's bound to be here in a day or two +now." + +"His men must be rattling good marchers if he is! I hardly think it +possible." + +With a hearty handshake the cousins separated, the ensigns returning to +their own quarters in the highest possible spirits, looking forward with +great eagerness to the coming struggle. + +A few days later General Barnard advanced and gave battle to the enemy +at Badli-Ka-Serai, six miles from the city. Not a soldier there but was +burning to meet the traitors, but none was more keen than the little +Gurkhas, who, to the delight of the amused Tommies, turned somersaults +and played leap-frog when they heard that an attack was to be made. + +The multitudes of sepoys fought with courage and fierce determination, +but were hurled back by the little army, which occupied position after +position as the mutineers recoiled. At his cousin's request Ted was +allowed to act with the Sirmur Battalion until the arrival of the Guide +Corps, whose absence the boy greatly regretted. + +"How mad they will be to have missed this!" he whispered to Charlie as +they led the Gurkhas at the double to the foot of the ridge, where they +halted and attempted to dislodge the enemy by rifle-fire. The bullets +whistled around, and many a gallant fellow fell, and it must be +confessed that our ensign felt uncomfortable. He hoped that this waiting +"would jolly soon be over", but, with the eyes of the little Mongolians +upon him, he scorned to show signs of flinching even when a bullet +flattened on the stone beside him. The fire had little effect on the +rebel regiments above; the swarthy faces seemed to glare down upon them +in demoniacal fashion, defying their approach. + +At length came the welcome order to storm the ridge. With a cheer +Britons and Gurkhas rose and dashed up the slope, racing like +school-boys for the top. The Gurkhas yelled and shrieked, challenging +the 60th Rifles to the race; the English had no breath left for +cheering, but they put in all they knew, not to be outdistanced by "them +Gurky chaps". The little mountaineers, however, had had far more +practice in rapid climbing than their British comrades, and were soon +well in front, with Major Reid and Lieutenant Dorricot at their head. +Though Ted toiled manfully forward, he could only arrive at the top with +the rear sections of his regiment, with whom were mixed the +dark-coated English riflemen. The sepoys were standing no longer. Their +ranks broken up by the furious charge from right and left, their guns +taken and leaders slain, they dared no longer face the glistening +bayonets and determined faces of vengeful Englishmen and furious +Gurkhas, but broke and fled towards the city. After them ran the +infantry, and in the plains below the cavalry charged and re-charged the +flying mobs, scattering them again as they tried to reform. The battle +of Badli-Ka-Serai was over. + + [Illustration: BATTYE ROSE IN HIS STIRRUPS AND THUNDERED FORTH THE + ORDER TO CHARGE] + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +The Post of Honour + + +A great victory had been won! The temper of the men had been tested and +found true as steel; the only loyal dark-faced battalion had been tried +and found worthy to rank side by side with the steadiest of English or +Highland regiments. The praises of the Gurkhas were in every mouth. + +Besides these tests two great material advantages had been gained. This +was the first. Less than a mile from the walls the Aravelli range of +hills ended, and underneath this ridge lay the place where the troops +had dwelt before the mutiny. Had the enemy not been driven from the +Ridge, the old cantonments and parade-ground could not have been +occupied, as they would have been swept by the fire from above. + +Now that the Ridge had been won, however, the army could safely rest +below, protected by the high ground from the fire of the heavy guns on +the Delhi bastions. + +In the second place, the rebels had not only been disheartened by their +first defeat, but the tidings would quickly spread all over India that +the English were still strong enough to defeat thrice their number. This +news would be worth a thousand men, for people were saying that Allah +had deprived the Feringhis of their strength, that they were _lachar_ +(helpless), and could no longer fight. + +The rebel stronghold lay before the victors, vast, powerful, and filled +with myriads of brave and warlike men. Well might they be defiant, for +what could that tiny army achieve against their great strength. For you +must know that by all the rules of warfare an army attacking a +strongly-fortified place should be much more numerous than the defending +host, and have more powerful or quite as powerful artillery. The +assailants should be able to surround the place to prevent the entrance +of food or reinforcements. But the walls of Delhi measured seven miles +in circumference; the army investing it could with difficulty guard its +own quarters, and rebel reinforcements entered as they pleased. Though +we were supposed to be engaged in an assault on Delhi, yet in reality, +during that summer of 1857, we were on our defence--the defenders of the +Ridge against countless rebel attacks. + +At the southern extremity of the Ridge stood a large mansion, built many +years ago by a Mahratta gentleman named Hindu Rao. This house, strong +and well built, commanded a good view of Delhi, and all movements could +be observed therefrom. No force could issue from the walls to surprise +the camp or retake the Ridge without being noticed by the picket holding +the position. So Hindu Rao's house became the post of honour, and the +post of honour is always the post of danger. Less than 1200 yards from +the mansion the 24-pounders of the Mori bastion overlooked the Ridge, +and the house presented an easy target for the shot and shell of the +huge guns. + +The little cannon of our soldiers were as pop-guns compared to these +monsters, and not only was the advantage in size, but the sepoys +possessed a dozen heavy guns for every light one of ours, besides vast +stores of ammunition and material of war. The walls had been further +strengthened not many years before by English engineer officers, who had +made a glacis that protected all except the top ten feet of the walls +from injury by shot or shell. + +A glacis is a huge bank of earth sloping outwards from the walls, and +not only does it shield the lower portions, but, should an enemy +attempt to escalade the walls or carry the city by assault, they would +first have to run up this glacis, and there they would present such a +target that trained gunners could sweep the assailants away by hundreds. +The engineers, who had so skilfully and carefully constructed these +defences, little thought that their handiwork would merely serve to keep +India in a ferment for many months. The batteries were manned by +artillerymen who had learned their profession--and learned it, alas! too +well--under the tuition of English officers. Within the walls were more +than 20,000 trained and disciplined sepoys, men who had proved their +valour on many a well-fought field, not to mention thousands on +thousands of armed fanatics, warriors by birth and by tradition. All +these fought under shelter, which our brave fellows lacked. But ours +were British, "strong with the strength of the race to command, to obey, +to endure", save the one Gurkha battalion and the Guide Corps (now close +at hand), and these were soon admitted as equals by the British +soldiers. + +The British army was small--very small--but the lack of powerful +artillery was an even greater source of weakness. An army without +artillery, matched against even an equal force well supplied with +powerful guns, would have as much chance of success as a man armed with +a light cane fighting another possessed of sword and revolver. + +Thousands of people in England and in India, who eagerly devoured the +news and anxiously awaited the fall of the capital, impatiently asked, +"Why are they so long? Why don't they take the city?" These worthy folks +could not understand the difficulties; they could not realize that mere +pluck and endurance avail nothing against stone walls and mighty cannon. +As the weeks rolled by and Delhi was still untaken, other persons, still +more ignorant, exclaimed, "Why don't they leave Delhi if they can't +capture it, and go and help Sir Henry Lawrence at Lucknow?" They did +not see that even if that small army appeared to be doing little, it +still kept shut up in the city forty thousand armed rebels who might +otherwise be spreading over the country conquering and slaying. Nor did +they grasp the fact that had the English army left Delhi unconquered the +warlike Punjab, and then all India, would have risen. To have left the +Mogul capital would have been a confession of weakness; it would have +been to say: "We are beaten, we can do nothing here", and when once the +English say that in India, their empire will collapse. + +So, though Barnard's handful was attacking Delhi contrary to all the +rules of war, we must remember what Mr. Rudyard Kipling has pointed out, +that had our British generals never acted against those rules the +boundaries of the empire would have stayed at Brighton beach. + +It will be readily understood, even by boys who have engaged in no +battles save those in which snow-balls form the most dangerous missiles, +that this ridge of elevated ground was of the highest importance. Had +the rebels been able to retake it and plant guns thereon, the British +camp would have been at their mercy, and the Punjab would have been +ablaze. As the Ridge defended the British army, so Hindu Rao's house +defended the Ridge. + +Let us rejoin the comrades we had left victorious after the battle of +Badli-ka-Serai. The army now occupied its old parade-ground below the +Ridge, and our friends, who had escaped uninjured, were awaiting further +orders, when Major Reid, who had been conversing with the general, came +towards them, his face aglow. + +"Grand news, Dorricot!" he shouted. "The Sirmur Battalion is to defend +that house," pointing to the distant mansion of Hindu Rao. + +"Score for our Gurkhas!" Dorricot shouted back. + +"What do you think of that, youngsters?" he continued, turning to Ted +and Alec. "I feel as though I'd been made a K.C.B. at least. We must +fall the men in and be off." + +The Gurkha bugles sounded and the battalion fell in, whilst their +commandant informed them that the general had paid them the great +compliment of selecting them for the post of honour, and he had no doubt +that they would show themselves in every way worthy to uphold the +traditions of their race. The little men grinned, well pleased, as their +officer went on to warn them that it would also be the post of danger; +that upon the house of Hindu Rao would fall the brunt of all the rebel +attacks, and that the building would be the main target for the Delhi +artillery. + +The little men huzzaed at the prospect. The fiercer the battle waging +around them the better pleased would they be. They meant to hold their +post tooth and nail. + +"What plucky little fiends they are!" Alec whispered. "Danger evidently +appeals to them as a most delightful prospect." + +When the news spread that the Gurkhas had been awarded the post of +honour, the soldiers assembled to cheer their comrades from the +mountains of Nepal as they marched away. Never did general make a wiser +selection. Prominent amidst the glorious achievements during the siege +of Delhi stands out the dogged pluck of the Gurkha picket, who +successfully held the house of Hindu Rao during a hundred days of +terrific fighting and bombardment, though only a handful escaped death +or wounds. + +Rooms were apportioned to the various ranks, and the Sirmur men were +speedily settled in their new quarters. Ted and Charlie strolled round +the mansion, and, gazing upon the Imperial City, entered into an +argument respecting their distance from the big cannon of the Mori +bastion. + +They were still disputing, when a pleasant-looking, gentlemanly young +Gurkha officer joined them, and, jerking our ensign round by his jacket +collar to face the new-comer, Charlie observed: + +"I ought to have introduced you two before. Goria Thapa, can you guess +who the ensign sahib is? He is Ensign Russell, son of your father's +comrade, of whom you have often heard. Ted, this is Jemadar Goria Thapa, +son of Jaspao Thapa, your guvnor's great pal of 1815." + +Goria Thapa's jolly countenance became wreathed in grins. He held out +his hand, saying: + +"I have heard much of thy father, Russell Sahib, who was my father's +brother. I am glad to fight side by side with thee as our fathers +fought." + +Ted pressed the young jemadar's hand. This was, then, the grandson of +the famous Nepalese general, Amir Sing Thapa, who had kept our troops at +bay for so long a period in the year of Waterloo. Ted had often heard +the story, and was glad indeed to meet the hero's grandson. + +That night the troops slept soundly both on and below the Ridge. In the +early morning the Gurkha picket heard the sound of cheering from the +British camp, and the report ran round that the Guide Corps was marching +in. Ted, Paterson, and their four Pathans--two had fallen on the +previous day--went down to rejoin their regiment, which was being +greeted with the same enthusiasm that had been accorded to the Sirmuris +a few days before. + +Though the Guides had taken no part in the battle they had already +covered themselves with undying glory. Daly had promised that the seven +hundred and fifty miles should be covered in a month, and he had done it +in twenty-eight days. The stately height and military bearing of the +frontiersmen and the perfect horsemanship of the cavalry took everyone +by surprise, and such exclamations as "A splendid lot!" "Fighters every +inch of them!" were heard on all sides. Though they had accomplished the +magnificent march--a march that still holds the record--during the +hottest season of the year, they came in, as an onlooker remarked, "as +firm and light of step as if they had marched only a mile". + +The Guides had barely arrived before they contrived to give the Delhi +rebels a taste of their temper. Large bodies of horse and foot had been +sent out from the city to harass our advanced posts, and, full of a +fierce joy, the Guides were ordered to the front. + +Charlie was engaged in chaffing his cousin, Ted throwing in a word here +and there, when Lieutenant Quintin Battye strolled up, a smile on his +handsome face. He nodded towards the two ensigns. + +"I've a bone to pick with you two," he gaily remarked. "What do you mean +by risking the lives of my best troopers by charging a regiment with +half a dozen men? Throw your own lives away if you like, but remember +that our sowars are of value to the state." + +Ted had a joke on the tip of his tongue before the slower Paterson had +framed any suitable reply, when the order came for the Guides Cavalry to +advance. + +Battye rose in his stirrups, and, thundering forth the order to charge, +dashed straight for the ranks of the mutinous 3rd Native Cavalry. The +sabres of the loyal and disloyal crossed, and down went man and horse +before that furious onslaught. Through the second ranks of the rebels +crashed those Pathan and Sikh troopers, their steel flashing in the +sunlight as the sabres rose and fell again, now tinged with red, in the +fierce conflict. Ever in the forefront rode Quintin Battye. Captain +Daly, with the infantry, looked on in admiration at his subaltern's +charge and could not contain himself. + +"Gallant Battye! Well done, brave Battye!" he cried in his enthusiasm. + +At that very moment a rebel turned round, and, riding straight for the +English subaltern, discharged his piece into Battye's body from a +distance of twenty yards. The deed was avenged! Subadar Merban Sing, +captain of the Gurkha company of the Guides, had dashed forward and cut +down the sepoy as he fired, but too late to save that precious life. +Battye was carried off the field, wounded mortally; and as he lay dying +in terrible pain, he turned to the chaplain who attended him, and +smiling said: "_Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori!_" + +Thus died a gallant officer and true gentleman. Since that date there +has hardly been a campaign in which the Guides have not been officered +by a Battye. + +The Guides Infantry were now allotted a position on the Ridge, under the +orders of Major Reid, who had been placed in command of the advanced +posts. Two companies of the 60th Rifles also took up their quarters in +Hindu Rao's house, for it soon became evident that the Sirmur Battalion +would have to bear the brunt of all attacks. + +But the little Himalayans did not grumble at that. + +On the very first opportunity that presented itself, our three friends +foregathered to talk over the events of the past few years. The two +seniors placidly smoked their pipes and congratulated themselves on +belonging to regiments that had proved their loyalty. + +Jim was forced to submit, with as much good-temper and cheerfulness as +could have been expected under the circumstances, to his cousin's +quizzing enquiries and humorous comments in the matter of his love +affair and engagement. Charlie simply wanted to know everything, and, +with as good a grace as possible for a shy young man, Jim laughingly +endeavoured to parry the embarrassing questions. + +"Well, tell me what she's like, man, can't you? Teddy here can't say +anything concerning her appearance, except that he's head over heels in +love with her himself.---- And I'm sure that's no recommendation for any +girl!" Captain Dorricot added, as an afterthought. + +Ted hereupon indulged in an exclamation and gesture expressive of +dissent, and of the supreme contempt in which he held his cousin. + +"What's that, Ted? You never said anything of the sort? Why, you young +bargee, of course you did!" went on the tormentor. "You talked of +poisoning Jim's grub, and what not.---- Well, Captain Russell, once +more: Are her eyes black, blue, brown, purple, violet, green, yellow, +red, or a mixture, or perchance, is she an albino?" + +"Oh, I dunno! Something between green and blue, as you seem so anxious +to know." + +"Peacock-blue, shall we say? That's a pity! Violet is the favourite hue +with lady novelists--either violet, or purple, or heliotrope. Did you +ever see a woman with eyes of heliotrope hue, young 'un?" + +"No, nor don't want to." + +"That's very decided. Now then, Jim, cut along! Eyes, peacock-blue; +nose, Roman, Grecian, snub, or what? Grecian? Right. Jot it down. Size? +Ted says she's a dwarf. What? Ted a liar? Surely the boy has not been +deceiving me who trusted in him?" + +"I never said anything of the kind!" interrupted Ted indignantly. "Don't +believe a word he says, Jim." + +"Oh, Teddy, Teddy, this to your loving cousin? Now, you know that you +said she was smaller than you!" Charlie asserted with a show of +indignant surprise at the ensign's perfidy. + +"Well, we're getting at it slowly," Dorricot continued. "Nose Grecian; +peacock-blue eyes; size five feet nothing; hair brown; rides well; +shoots mullahs in the _bazar_ for sport, failing partridges; loads +rifles with considerable ease--for a woman; sings divinely--isn't that +the expression?--" + +"Hold on, old man, that's the whole catalogue!" interrupted Jim. "You'll +see her some day, I hope. Now what about this present business?" + +Captain Russell then proceeded to give an account of their great march, +and Dorricot told of the temptations placed before his men. + +"As we halted one day on the march down to Meerut," he informed the +brothers, "a number of sappers who were on the point of mutiny +approached our lads and began to talk earnestly to them. We pretended to +take no notice, but when the sappers had left, Reid called a couple of +the Gurkhas to him. The little men trotted up, quivering with anger and +indignation. + +"'Well, what did those fellows want, my lads?' he enquired. + +"'They asked us if we were going up to Meerut to eat the _ottah_ (flour) +sent up specially by government for the Gurkhas,' one of them replied. +'And they said that the _ottah_ at Meerut was nothing but ground bullock +bones, and that we should be defiled.' + +"'And what was your answer?' asked Reid. + +"The little beggars drew themselves up proudly. + +"'We said that we were going wherever we were ordered; that our regiment +obeys the bugle-call!'" + +"Good little men!" commented the captain of the Guides, as his cousin +concluded. "Our own Gurkha company would be hard to beat. Look at +Subadar Merban Sing! the man who tried to save poor Battye. His men +simply adore him; they'd do anything for him, and go anywhere with him. +But aren't your 'almond-eyed Tartars' Hindus by religion? How did they +take the greased-cartridge yarn?" + +"They're Hindus, right enough, but they are soldiers first. They don't +worship either Siva or Vishnu one-half so fervently as they adore their +rifles and kukris. So they simply said that they would believe whatever +Major Reid told them, and when he assured them that the cartridges and +the cartridge-papers were free from offence, they replied, without a +moment's hesitation: + +"'Then serve them out to us! We'll use them, and everyone may see!'" + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +With the Gurkha Picket + + +On the morning of the 12th of June our friends on the Ridge were out +soon after dawn, visiting their respective pickets and receiving +reports. All was quiet. They gazed with admiration on the wonderful +panorama, at the stately mosques, minarets, and towers of the royal +city, at the huge mass of walls bulking in threatening manner before +them, at the king's palace--a town in itself--that stood to the far side +of the city, and at the blue waters of the Jumna glittering and +sparkling in the sun, washing the opposite walls to those whose heavy +guns had poured shot and shell at our men but a few hours ago. To the +south of the Ridge lay the picturesque suburbs of the Kishengang and the +Sabzi-mandi, with their magnificent buildings, walled gardens, and shady +groves. + +The peaceful scene was not of long duration. The guns of the Mori and +Kashmir bastions presently belched forth a shower of shot and shell, +and, under cover of the heavy fire, two large bodies of mutineers poured +out to the attack, one charging the Gurkha picket, the other pushing its +way through the gardens, sheltered by trees and walls. Those sepoy +regiments attacking Hindu Rao's mansion saw only dark faces between them +and their desire. + +"Come over to us!" the Brahmans shouted to the Gurkhas. "Come over, and +we'll reward you; you shall have treasure and honour. You are of our +religion. Siva, the Destroyer, is fighting on our side. Join us in +driving away the white men. Come!" + +"Yes, we are coming! Wait for us!" shouted back the Nepalese. And they +went, with bayonets fixed and kukris bared; but the rebels waited not. +Terrified by the determined faces and gleaming steel, they turned and +fled, pursued for some distance by the fierce little mountaineers. +Thenceforward the Gurkhas were hated with a hatred as bitter as that +accorded to the British. + +"Those monkeys of Gurkhas are renegades to their faith!" declared the +Brahman priests to those mutineers in Delhi who were of their +persuasion. "They prefer to receive the Englishman's pay rather than +follow the dictates of their holy men. Let them be outcasts! Spare them +not! When we have destroyed the white men, then shall we deal with them, +if any have escaped by that time!" + +The attack made at the same time on the troops stationed below the Ridge +met with no better success. The British soldiers down there were no less +eager than their comrades up above to give the foemen a taste of their +quality. After some hours' hard fighting, the rebels were repulsed with +heavy loss, and our men began to feel happy, fondly imagining that the +tide was already turning in their favour. + +The unthinking ones and the least experienced talked confidently of +entering Delhi in a few days, or a week or two at most. They underrated +the strength of the enemy, and also the determination of the +mutineers,--a mistake the British soldier is wont to make. + +Undismayed by this reverse, the enemy came out to attack our posts every +day between the 12th and 17th of June, and every day they were beaten +back. Time after time they flung themselves in heavy masses against the +small force defending the Ridge, only to be hurled back again and again +by the Gurkhas, the Guides Infantry, and the Englishmen of the 60th +Rifles, who all fought with equally unflinching gallantry. + +But on the 17th of June, Major Reid, to his delight, was ordered to act +on the offensive. The enemy had commenced to erect batteries outside the +walls, in the Kishengang and Trevelyan-gang suburbs, commanding the +British positions, and this could not be allowed. Reid's men, with +another column from the main force, sallied forth and stormed the +positions, routed the foe, and destroyed the works. But not without loss +was this accomplished. Our foemen were no cravens; they flung themselves +not once but many times with desperate courage against their assailants, +making little impression, however, on the stern warriors of England, +Scotland, and Ireland, of the Punjab, and of Nepal. + +When morning dawned next day the officers reminded the British soldiers +that this was Waterloo-day, and the remembrance of that glorious +victory, and of the valour of their fathers, roused a new enthusiasm. On +this day the Guides Cavalry had their turn, and acquitted themselves +like the heroes they were. But once more they paid a price for so +distinguishing themselves, for Captain Daly, their gallant leader, was +carried away severely wounded. + +The knowledge that his men had proved themselves so worthy consoled +Captain Daly in his pain. There were few soldiers in the force now who +were not ready to admit, and to back their opinion with curious and +unnecessary oaths, that these two native regiments were an invaluable +acquisition to the force--that Guides and Gurkhas were worthy to uphold +the reputation of the British army. + +Little of importance happened during the next three or four days, though +the batteries were continually playing on the Ridge. One round-shot came +crashing through the portico of Hindu Rao's house with terrible effect, +killing an English officer and eight Gurkhas. + +On June the 23rd the rebels made a vow. This day was the centenary of +the battle of Plassy. For just one hundred years had the Feringhis' +dominion lasted, and now, according to the Moslem prophets, their time +was come. So the sepoys, maddened by the resistance offered to their +attacks, furious that these Gurkhas should persistently remain at their +post, ever watchful and ever eager for the fray in spite of the +incessant cannonade, vowed that on this day Hindu Rao's house should be +captured. + +About mid-day the attack on the Ridge began, the insurgents swarming up +on every side. Beaten back, but reinforced by fresh hordes, they again +came to the attack with desperate valour, to be once more repulsed by +the Gurkhas. Foiled but not done with, the enemy recommenced a brisk +cannonade of the handful who opposed them. Under cover of this fire a +fresh assault was made, and for a moment the post seemed lost. The dark +uniforms of the English riflemen, the drab of the Guides, and the ugly +dress of the Gurkhas, seemed lost amidst those swarming thousands. +Somehow Ensign Russell found himself in the front with the Gurkha +company of the Guides. Little Subadar Merban Sing, the captain of the +company, stood at his elbow, as mild in appearance as usual, smiling +pleasantly and serenely as he watched the straining and tugging bodies, +the uplifted and downfalling arms, the musket flashes on every side, the +thrusting of bayonets and slicing of kukris, and, as calmly as if on +parade, he gave directions to his men. + +Inspired by his companion's coolness and absolute lack of fear, Ted +fought manfully at his side. A Guide in front of him stumbled, badly +wounded. It was Merban Sing's brother. Quick as thought Ted dashed +forward and stood over the body as half a dozen sepoys ran to thrust +their bayonets into the helpless Gurkha. With his pistol Ted shot one, +gave another the point of his sword, and Merban Sing, again at his side, +struck down two more whose bayonet-points were almost plunged in the +ensign's breast. The Gurkha subadar, felled from behind, dropped over +his wounded brother, who at the same time received his death-wound. A +rush from behind brought a dozen more Guides around the lad, who saw +steel flash in front of his face, and felt a burning sensation in his +cheek; then his head seemed to split, and he remembered no more. + +With yells of triumph the myriad enemy pushed forward, but not to +victory. Major Reid's voice rang out clear, keeping his men together, +and with a cheer the gallant fellows responded. The riflemen closed up, +shoulder to shoulder, and, first pouring a withering fire into the mass, +dashed forward with the bayonet, followed by the Guides, who also used +that best of weapons. The little Nepalese, throwing down musket and +bayonet, drew their razor-edged kukris and plunged into the thick of +their opponents, hewing them down and scattering them on every side by +the fury of their charge. The foe gave ground and the crisis had passed. +The officers cheered, the men responded, and again a bayonet and kukri +charge drove the pandies farther back. Then the Rifles and Guides, +kneeling down, sent volley after volley into the mass of wavering +sepoys, and followed up their advantage by again charging home, and the +danger was passed. But the enemy, though disheartened, were not routed; +the conflict still raged fast and furious. The rebel guns, which had +ceased firing during the hand-to-hand fighting, again gave tongue with +deadly effect. Taking advantage of the diversion thus created, the +plucky sepoys made a last desperate effort to fulfil their vow, only to +receive further punishment. As the sun went down and the light faded, +the rebels lost heart and retired, discouraged and cowed, to the shelter +of their walls, hastened on the way by the bullets which dropped amongst +them. + +Everywhere had the attack failed, both on the Ridge and below. But +though a severe blow had been dealt to the mutineers, too many of our +own had been slain; for the sepoys in Delhi could better spare a +thousand men than could the army before Delhi afford to lose fourscore. +To resist an attack was one thing; to storm the city successfully would +be quite another. + +When Ensign Russell came to himself he was back in the Mahratta's +mansion, his brother and cousin by his side as the doctor examined him. + +"Thank God that you've a thick head, young man," observed that official; +and turning to the others he added, "He'll be all right in a few days." + +"What's the matter?" asked the boy. His head was ringing and singing, +and he felt sick. + +"Crack on the head with the butt-end, Teddy," answered Charlie. "It +knocked you senseless, and Goria Thapia carried you out of danger. Good +job you've got the Russell skull. I expect the musket was smashed to +bits! Without joking, old boy, you've had a narrow escape." + +"What's the matter with my cheek--it's stinging frightfully?" asked Ted. + +"Your cheek?" replied Jim, laughing. "Oh, nothing's the matter with +that! It's as big and fine and well-developed as usual." Jim then placed +his hand on his brother's brow. "A sword or bayonet has just grazed your +cheek, Ted, old man, and taken the skin off. It will be painful, but +you'll hardly feel it in a week's time. Now, go to sleep." + +"But how did the fight go after I was dropped, Jim? Was Merban Sing +killed?" + +Captain Russell related the stirring incidents of the day, and told how +Merban Sing and two of his brothers had laid down their lives to defend +their trust. + +For some time after this determined assault the rebels became more +cautious, whilst our men sat tight, waiting for reinforcements and for a +siege-train with which to batter those heavy walls whereon our little +guns made no impression. + +When off duty, officers and men would stroll from one regiment's lines +to another, the chief meeting-place being the Flagstaff Tower on the +north end of the Ridge, well out of range. Games at cricket and quoits, +as well as polo-matches and races, were arranged. Numerous were the +visitors to Hindu Rao's house, as men from all the regiments came to see +this important outpost, to note the damage done by shot and shell, and +to scrutinize those wonderfully tough little Gurkhas who were the first +line of defence, and who were enjoying themselves hugely. + +But though Major Reid[14] had many visitors, he himself never once left +his post during these months of bitter fighting. He was guardian of the +Ridge, and cricket, quoits, and races appealed to him in vain. + + [14] Afterwards General Sir Charles Reid, K.C.B. + +The 60th Rifles and the Sirmuris had become the best of friends and +closest of chums, and in the early days of the fighting, when tobacco +was still to be obtained without difficulty, little Gurkhas and heavy +Yorkshiremen or sprightly Cockneys might be seen sitting side by side, +smoking their pipes contentedly, and offering one another tobacco by +signs, being unable to exchange a word. + +By the end of June the casualties among the Rifles, Guides, and Gurkhas +had been terrible, and the top room of the house had been turned into a +Gurkha hospital, for the wounded Nepalese refused to leave their post. +Their British comrades offered to carry them to the big hospital in the +cantonments below, where comparative peace and quietness reigned, and +where they might have the best medical aid, but the Gurkhas would have +none of it. They preferred to stay by their comrades, to listen to the +shot and shell whistling around, to hear the news each day--who had +distinguished himself, and whether their beloved Major Reid and his +officers were still unharmed. So Reid, with tears of pride in his eyes, +yielded to the wish of his children, and there they stayed. + +The troops had been reinforced, but no siege-train had arrived. At their +various posts in the Punjab John Lawrence, Herbert Edwardes, and John +Nicholson were recruiting the wild Sikhs and still wilder Pathans into +regiments of irregular cavalry and infantry. Edwardes, Nicholson, and +Brigadier Cotton, in command at Peshawur, the gate of India, had so +impressed the tribes under their sway with the might of England, that +these fierce men, though at first ready to join the rebels, had changed +their tone, and now volunteered to fight against the sahibs' enemy. + +Old men, young men, and men of middle age brought their horses and +weapons before these great Englishmen, and begged to be allowed to +enlist. So week by week some Punjabi,[15] Sikh, or Pathan regiments of +foot or horse would march proudly to the Delhi camp, sent down by +command of John Lawrence, who himself could ill afford to spare them. +The first reinforcements to arrive were the 1st and 2nd Punjab Infantry +and the 4th Sikhs. The 1st P.N.I, were commanded by Major Coke, and were +known as "Coke's Rifles" or as "Cokeys", and a gallant lot they proved, +as did indeed their comrade corps. + + [15] The Punjabi corps would consist chiefly of Mohammedan + inhabitants of the Punjab, Sikhs, and Pathans, with some + Jats and Dogras. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +Ted's Hopes are raised and dashed to the Ground + + +"Have you seen the new arrivals, Ted?" asked Jim, as he came back from a +visit to cantonments one day. + +"No, who are they?" + +"Hodson's Horse, the 'Flamingoes' as they've been nicknamed, from the +colour of their sashes. Go down and look at them; they're worth seeing, +and so is Hodson, their commandant." + +"Is he the Lieutenant Hodson who once commanded our regiment?" asked +Ted, who had heard of the famous freelance. + +"That's the man. He got into trouble with the Guides, and now he's been +allowed to raise this regiment of horse." + +So the two chums waited until both were free from duty, and went down to +look at the stalwart Sikh and Pathan horsemen, who afterwards became +known to fame as the 9th and 10th Bengal Lancers throughout Hindustan +and its frontiers, and in China, Egypt, the Soudan, and Abyssinia. A +crowd had gathered round the gaudily-attired "Flamingoes", who sat their +horses proudly, much gratified by the reception. They were about to +exercise the horses. + +"Not so bad," said Ted approvingly; "but not quite up to our Guides--eh, +Alec?" + +"They look good soldiers," Paterson replied. "Why,--well, I'm blowed! +What's Boldre doing there?" + +"Who?" + +"Claude Boldre! See, that kid on the rat-tailed dun, with a Flamingo +sash. I left him at school, and didn't even know he'd got a commission. +His father's the colonel of a regiment that mutinied recently, I heard. +He's a decent sort." + +Paterson walked behind his friend, who had not yet perceived them, and +dealt him a sounding smack on the thigh. + +"Come down off that horse, Boldre!" was his salutation. "Do you imagine +yourself a Flamingo?" + +"Who are--why, if it ain't Alec Paterson, by all that's wonderful! How +did you come here?" + +Alec explained briefly, and introduced Ted. + +"Oh, I've heard of you, Mr. Russell," said the horseman, "and I'm proud +to meet you." + +"Well, explain what you are doing here in that uniform. Didn't know they +had ensigns in Hodson's." + +"I'm a loot'nant," laughed Boldre; "that is, temporary rank conferred by +John Nicholson. I've no commission at all really, but I helped to raise +a troop or two of these fellows by sheer good luck." + +"You helped to raise them?" + +"Yes; I'll tell you the story some other time. They had captured me, and +were about to shoot me, when the news of Nicholson's disarming the +sepoys at Peshawur came to hand. Then they changed sides cheerfully, and +wanted to enlist under Nicholson, and I brought them along to Peshawur. +They are rummy beggars! It's first-class being with them. Where are you +now--upon the Ridge?" + +Ted explained their position, and Boldre promised to look them up as +soon as he could. Hodson then appeared on the scene, and the Flamingoes +trotted away. + +Early in July General Barnard died of cholera after a few hours' +illness. His successor, General Reed, had to relinquish the command +through ill-health before the middle of the month, so Sir Archdale +Wilson was appointed. He was the fourth general who had commanded the +force within the space of ten weeks. + +Now and again Ted was sent by Major Reid to bear his reports to the +general in command. On one of these occasions he had no sooner entered +the head-quarters tent than General Wilson greeted him with the amazing +words: + +"Ensign Russell! This is fortunate, for I was about to send for you." + +"Yes, sir," Ted replied, and wondered what was coming. + +"You distinguished yourself at Aurungpore, I understand?" + +"I was at Aurungpore, sir." + +The general regarded him curiously for a moment before he resumed. + +"Major Munro, who commanded your late regiment after the disablement of +the colonel, has recommended you for the Victoria Cross. I have looked +into the matter carefully, and cordially approve the recommendation, so +there is little doubt that you will obtain the decoration. I +congratulate you, Ensign Russell; you acted as an English lad should." + +Sir Archdale Wilson shook hands, and at the same time a man rose +painfully from his chair by the general's side--a man lame and feeble, +worn out by disease; a man who should have been in hospital, had not his +spirit been stronger than his body. He grasped the boy's hand, and +cordially exclaimed, "Well done, youngster! well done!" + +That man was Colonel Baird Smith, the great engineer, the man in whose +hands General Wilson had left all the operations for the capture of +Delhi; the man who was even now forming his great plan and scheming his +wonderful works for the assault. + +Ted left the tent, walking as if in a dream, hardly knowing whether he +stood on his head or his feet. The V.C.! He, Ted Russell, to have the +V.C.! + +He hurried back to consult with Alec, and it seemed as though every man, +horse or foot, officer, private, or humble bhisti, was looking at him +and discussing his good fortune. He started and came to himself as +Claude Boldre touched him on the shoulder. + +"How do you do, Mr. Russell?" he said. "If you are going up towards the +Gurkha picket I should like to go with you. Alec Paterson used to be a +great chum of mine at school. Oh! allow me to introduce you to +Lieutenant Roberts of the Bengal Artillery." + +Ted nodded to Boldre's companion, a young man, slight and short of +stature, with a frank, open countenance that told of an active, +intelligent brain, and a brave, true heart. He was attired in the +handsome uniform of the dashing Artillery Corps, and Ted liked his new +acquaintance at once. + +"I've only just arrived," said the gunner, "and I want to see +everything. Tell me all about Hindu Rao's house." + +Glad of the opportunity, the ensign told the story of the Ridge, and for +a few moments forgot the V.C. + +"You seem to have enjoyed yourself," Boldre commented. + +Ted blushed. "Well, it has been rather exciting, and you see I've not +suffered. It's different for those fellows who have." + +The artillery lieutenant smiled as he looked at the boy's cheek. + +"You seem to have had one cut at least," he observed. + +"Oh, that was nothing!" Ted replied. + +They had approached the Valley of the Shadow of Death, as a hollow on +the Ridge was called on account of its exposure to the rebel fire, when +a shell burst not forty yards away. Ted noticed with admiration that +though Boldre and he both started as if hit, the gunner officer never +turned a hair, but calmly completed the remark he was making. The boy +felt that he was in the presence of no ordinary man. Before taking his +visitors into the house Ted pointed out the different gates and bastions +of the city. As they were surveying these, Alec and Charlie came up. +Lieutenant Roberts looked steadfastly at the latter and exclaimed: + +"Hullo, ain't you Lieutenant Dorricot?" + +Charlie looked keenly at his questioner. + +"That's my name, but I don't know you from the Grand Mogul." + +"That's not strange; I was only thirteen and in the fourth form at Eton +when you left. I'm Fred Roberts, and we were both under the same tutor, +the Rev. Eyre Young. You were some years older than I, and I chiefly +remember you because I admired the way you once gave a jolly good +thrashing to a bully--I forget his name, but he was ill-treating a +youngster." + +Charlie laughed and shook hands, saying, "Turkey Bletcher, you mean! So +you remember that? What are you doing here?" + +"I've just come. Been with the Movable Column, but applied to come here, +and they gave me permission." + +"Are you on the staff?" + +"Yes; I've just applied for the post of +deputy-assistant-quartermaster-general for artillery, and I've been +lucky enough to get it." + +"So you're the D. A. Q. M. G., are you?" said Dorricot, with some +respect that one so young should have obtained this important post. + +They little thought that this slight and young lieutenant was destined +to become one of Britain's greatest and best-beloved soldiers, +Field-marshal Earl Roberts of Kandahar and Pretoria, V.C. + +"So you've been with Nicholson?" said Paterson, who was a great admirer +of that frontier hero and demi-god. "He's a wonderful leader, I +suppose?" + +"The finest soldier in the world!" Lieutenant Roberts quietly asserted. + +"Rather!" chimed in Claude Boldre. "He's a grand man. I've been lucky in +experiencing what the Pathans along the frontier think of him. They +consider him a sort of second Mahomet." + +"I suppose he's performing miracles in the Punjab," said Alec. "Is it +really true that they worship him as a god?" + +"Up in Hazara," replied the artilleryman, "they've formed a sect called +the Nikkulseyns, and though Nicholson only thrashed them when they +worshipped him, they considered it an honour to be whipped by him, and +those who didn't get a licking envied their more fortunate neighbours. +The fakir who founded the sect bothered Nikkulseyn to give him his old +beaver hat, and as he received no encouragement, the wily old gentleman +procured one like it. He then went the round of the shops at the busiest +time of the day, and placed the hat in the doorway, so that none might +leave or enter without removing or kicking it over. When customers were +about to enter, the fakir called out, warning them not to desecrate the +topi which had been worn by the great and mighty and holy Nikkulseyn. +Nicholson was such a power in the land that none dared remove it, and at +last the old fraud consented to take it away on being paid one rupee by +the shopkeeper. He would thereupon proceed to another shop and repeat +these tactics. When Nicholson heard of this he gave the fakir and his +disciples a sound hiding all round, but they only sang hymns of praise +to him." + +"He was worshipped in Bunnu almost as much as in Hazara, was he not?" +enquired Paterson; and Claude Boldre replied: + +"Yes, he was both worshipped and feared. Before he went there, an orphan +boy had been cheated out of his land by his guardian uncle, named +Allodad Khan. A few years later the young man went to law in order to +recover his property, but Allodad Khan, who was a rich powerful man, had +bribed and threatened all the village, and none would give evidence +against him. Nicholson heard of this, and guessed how matters stood. One +morning, just after dawn, a villager, going out early, was spell-bound +at seeing Nicholson's well-known white mare cropping the grass outside +the village. He ran back and breathlessly told the news. All the +inhabitants turned out to gaze, and someone quickly perceived Nicholson +himself tied to a tree close by. Their first thought was to run away, +but a few plucked up sufficient spirit to go tremblingly to the +commissioner's aid. In terrible wrath Nicholson asked who had dared to +treat him like this. They bowed before him, but so terrified were they +that no one could answer. 'Whose land is this, then?' he demanded. 'The +owner of the land is responsible.' The villagers pointed to Allodad +Khan, who fell on his knees, declaring, 'No, no, sahib, the land is my +nephew's. He is responsible for the outrage.' Nicholson sternly made him +swear to this before the whole village, and then the ruffian saw that +he'd been made a fool of. So the nephew got possession of the estate and +money, and Allodad Khan, finding the village too warm for him, went on a +pilgrimage to Mecca." + +"He must be a wonderful man," Alec murmured half to himself. "I wish +he'd come to Delhi." + +"He will," said Claude Boldre. "He as good as told me so when he sent me +off with the Flamingoes." + +Ted was all impatience to impart his great news, but modesty forbade him +while the strangers were present. The two visitors having inspected the +defences of the famous mansion, and criticised most favourably the +appearance of the Rifles, Guides, and Gurkhas, took their departure. + +"The general's told me that I'm to have the V.C., Alec," Ted whispered. + +"Honour bright?" + +Our ensign nodded. + +"Congratulations, old man,--and I think you deserved it. Ensign Russell, +V.C.!... Splendid, Ted!" + +"What's that?" asked Jim, who had joined the group. "You're to have the +V.C., young'un?" + +Ted then related what had passed, and Charlie Dorricot thumped him +violently in the small of the back. + +"Well done, Ted!" he shouted excitedly. "I am glad; you deserve it, you +cheeky little beggar!" + +Ted being called away for a moment, Jim gravely observed: + +"Well, I'm not so sure that I'm glad. He's having too much luck, and +will be thinking no end of himself unless he's careful. Of course I'm +very proud of him, but I'd have preferred him to win it a few years +later." + +"Oh, Ted's all right!" Charlie assured him. "He won't be spoiled. He's a +sterling sort of kid." + +At that moment the subject of the conversation returned, and a pause +ensued before the elder brother spoke. + +"Ted, I was just saying that I'm not quite sure whether I am very glad +or not." + +The ensign's face fell. + +"You won't misunderstand me, old chap, or think I'm jealous, but you're +very young, and too much luck is apt to turn our heads. I'm not saying +that you didn't deserve it, but don't go about thinking that you're a +very wonderful youngster, for there's many an ensign here would have +done the same. If it makes you conceited, Ted, it will be a very bad +thing for you ever to have won it. But if you're a man, and if you don't +put on 'side', all of us will rejoice in your honours." + +Ted was silent for a few moments, then held out his hand to his brother. + +"I understand, old man; I know there are many who'd have done it, and +perhaps done it better. I'll try to remember that." + +"Well done, Ted!" cried his cousin. "I think you'll do, young 'un. Jim's +rather inclined to preach, but he's all right." + +Ted and Alec repaired to the Flagstaff Tower, the meeting-place of the +British camp, situated on the Ridge about a mile north of the Gurkha +picket, overlooking the artillery lines and the head-quarters camp, the +latter being about half a mile farther to the north-west. From the +Flagstaff Tower the road ran straight to the Kashmir Gate, and as the +ground was high and the place well out of range, it was a favourite spot +whence to gaze at the rebel town. + +Ted was very thoughtful, and Alec very silent. The former's ardour had +been damped by his brother's speech, and he wondered whether Jim really +was jealous of his good fortune. He dismissed the idea as unworthy of +Jim, whose honour and grit he appreciated fully. Still, it was rather a +damper, and he could not help wishing that his brother had been less +candid. + +It was at the Flagstaff Tower that our friends of the Gurkha picket were +accustomed to hear the news of the camp. There they learned of many +deeds of valour; of the wonderful daring of Tombs of the Artillery, how +he had rescued his equally brave subaltern, Hills, from certain death, +and how he had had five horses shot under him already. "One almost every +time he goes out," commented Ensign Collins of the 8th Foot. It was +there they had heard of the arrival of Colonel Baird Smith, the chief +engineer. "He's the man who'll take Delhi," a youngster of the "Cokeys" +had prophesied; and that lad was not far wrong. + +But on this day the bearers of news from camp wore troubled looks. Some +unwelcome tidings had evidently arrived since Ted's visit below. + +"Anything wrong to-day?" Alec anxiously enquired. + +"Cawnpore has fallen, and the black fiends have murdered the whole +garrison, women and children too--the hell-hounds!" + +Ted shuddered as he listened to the details of that awful butchery. + +Edward Russell was a lad who had faults enough, but he had never been +cruel. He would not needlessly torture the humblest of God's creatures, +yet he felt, as he listened to the horrible tidings, that nothing would +give him greater pleasure than the blowing up of Delhi and of every +sepoy therein. Unhappily this red-hot indignation was nursed by many +Englishmen until they forgot the traditions of their race. + +The few hundred Englishmen in Cawnpore had been attacked by Dundu Pant, +Rajah of Bithur, better known as the infamous Nana Sahib, a man who had +posed as a civilized Asiatic, an imitator of the English. The garrison, +composed of detachments of several regiments, of civilians, and of +officers whose regiments had risen, was trapped in a position unsuited +to a long defence. After a gallant stand, General Sir Hugh Wheeler was +convinced that in another day or two all would be over, and for the sake +of the women and children, who numbered more than three hundred, he +agreed to make terms. Dundu Pant swore that if they would give up the +entrenchment, the guns, and the treasure, he would have them all +conveyed in boats down the Ganges to a place of safety. The black +Mahratta's promises and protestations deceived them all, and they +embarked. The boats were taken out into mid-stream, when suddenly a +bugle blew; the boatmen sprang into the river, and from both banks lines +of hidden sepoy marksmen began to pick off the betrayed Feringhis. Four +Europeans escaped to tell the tale. The lucky ones were those who were +killed by the bullets. Many were taken alive from the water, and of +these the men were murdered at once; the women and children were led +away to endure a captivity of more than a fortnight's duration. Hearing +of Havelock's approach, Dundu Pant then performed the second act of the +ghastly tragedy which has made his name world-infamous. The poor +captives, numbering perhaps two hundred, were hacked to death, and their +bodies thrown down a well. + +Small wonder that British blood should boil over when the story was +told; small wonder that the men of the 60th Rifles should shake their +fists as they looked from the Ridge into the rebel capital, towards the +distant palace and home of vice, and should vow vengeance on every +faithless sepoy, be he Mohammedan like the King of Delhi or Hindu like +the Mahratta rajah. + +And Cawnpore was not the only scene of murder and outrage. The army +before Delhi was cut off from Calcutta and the Gangetic provinces, and +news did not come every day. But with the tale of the vilest tragedy of +all came also the bad tidings from Allahabad, where the poor ensigns +were foully murdered, from Benares and Jhansi, from Fyzabad, +Shahjehanpur, and Dinapur. Right along the Ganges the provinces and +towns seethed with mutiny and murder, regiment after regiment having +risen against the alien; and Oudh, the kingdom from which the Native +Bengal Army was chiefly recruited, was ablaze from one end to another, +the people joining hands with the rebels in their hatred of the +foreigners who had dethroned their wicked king. + +There was one patch of blue in the lowering sky. Lucknow, the capital of +Oudh, was holding out bravely. There the best and greatest and most +loved man in India was holding the rebel troops at bay with his handful +of Englishmen and a number of loyal sepoys, who thereby won everlasting +honour. This was Sir Henry Lawrence, the elder brother of John Lawrence. +He it was who had pacified the Punjabis, and first taught the stout +Sikhs and Pathans and Jats that Englishmen ruled for the benefit of the +natives. He it was who gathered round him and trained that band of noble +men who ruled the Punjab in such manner that Englishmen came to be +respected and honoured and even loved by those who had hated the +Feringhis most, a few years before. Men like his brother John, John +Nicholson, Herbert Edwardes, and others who became famous as great +soldiers and the best administrators the world has ever known--they were +all proud to call themselves the disciples of Henry Lawrence. Henry +Lawrence governed the Punjab as supreme ruler--as king, in fact, though +not in name, when the Punjab was the most turbulent and unruly kingdom +in Asia, and he had made it the best-governed. When he was called away +his brother John had worthily filled his shoes, and but for the devotion +and genius and goodness of heart of these two brothers, England might +have lost India. + +When the mutiny broke out, Henry Lawrence was Resident of Oudh. Had he +been there a few years longer, the men of Oudh would not have +entertained that hatred of the British which now filled their hearts, +but his beneficent rule had hardly had time to make itself felt. He +alone--though he sympathized with and loved the natives of India more +than any other Englishman--had foreseen the possibility of the rising, +and he had taken steps to meet it in Lucknow. Owing to his foresight and +generalship the Residency had been fortified and provisioned, and when +the rising took place all the Europeans were within the fort, and the +mutineers raged furiously but in vain. + +Our friends at Delhi learned that Havelock and Neill were leading a +small column to the rescue of Lucknow, fighting every inch of the way. +Neill had been hastily summoned from Madras with his gallant regiment, +and had already done splendid work. Lord Canning, the viceroy, had risen +to the occasion. Without hesitating he had brought back Outram's Persia +Expeditionary Force, and had courageously taken upon himself to stop at +Colombo the ships which were taking troops to China, and divert them to +Calcutta. China might wait, India could not. + +In the Punjab the poorbeahs had shot their bolt and had missed. First +Chamberlain and then Nicholson, with the movable column, were giving the +rebels no rest, harrying them from one province to another, and +punishing them severely. + +It was not at the Flagstaff Tower, but at their own post that they heard +the news that made each man feel as if he had lost a dear friend. Henry +Lawrence was dead. Yes, one of the pillars of the empire had fallen, and +even the roughest soldiers felt the shock. + +"Ah, he was a man, he was!" murmured a rifleman. "We sha'n't see another +like him." + +A sergeant of the 60th gazed thoughtfully over the city. + +"My two kids are in that asylum he built up at Sanawar," said he. "He +was the sojer's friend. The kiddies 'ud have bin dead by now if it +hadn't bin for 'im." + +"You're right there," said another non-commissioned officer, shaking +his head. "He's done more for us than any man. Who cared what became of +the poor little beggars, whether they died like flies or not, till he +raised the money for the asylums?" + +"What asylums are them?" asked a young private. + +"Have ye no' heard o' the Lawrence Asylums?" demanded a man from Lanark. +"They're built on the hills, whaur the air is as guid as at Rothesay, +an' they're for the soldiers' bairns." + +"Aye!" said the sergeant; "and though he was only a poor man for one in +his position, they said he spent nearly all his salary in charity." + +"Lucknow won't be long now he's dead," muttered another. "They can't +hold out for ever, and the rebels are swarming round Havelock. He's had +to fall back." + +But Lucknow was not destined to fall. + +"Well, I'm not a cruel man," muttered the young private, "but I could +kill a few o' them sepoys with pleasure, the black-'earted villains!" + +We may regret this longing for vengeance, but can we wonder at it? The +men had heard of their comrades murdered in cold blood, of the women and +children tortured and slain most barbarously, and their blood boiled at +the outrages. Afterwards it was found that the tales of torture and +cruelty had been exaggerated, and that the helpless women and children +had been slain quickly and not after prolonged suffering. But even then +matters were black enough to excuse the cries for vengeance. Many good +and usually gentle men steeled their hearts at this time and gave no +quarter to rebel soldiers, but let us thank God that there were many +brave Englishmen--the Lawrences foremost among them--who forgave a great +deal to the sepoys, and who took into account their temptations and +their untamed nature, and who would much rather have won the rebels +over by kindness than by slaughter had it been possible. + +But that was not possible. + +A number of the older soldiers of the Guides came up as the riflemen +were still discussing the latest news. A veteran native officer, grief +depicted on his weather-beaten countenance, addressed Captain Russell in +tones of mingled sadness and anxiety. + +"Is it true, Captain Sahib, that Henry Larens is dead? Tell us it is +false." + +Jim's voice faltered. Henry Lawrence had been the hero he had +worshipped. + +"It is true," said he, simply. + +"I would have given my life to save his, sahib," said the old Sikh. "His +was the brain that raised the Corps of Guides, and he it was who gave me +my commission. Oh, my brothers, a great man is dead! Let us go and mourn +for Larens Sahib." + +The veteran drew his sword and shook it at the sepoys on the walls. + +"Wait a little while," he added, "and there will be many mourners in +that den of jackals." + +The heat was now terrible--a torture that could not be imagined by the +people at home; that took the life and energy from the strongest, while +as for the others--well, they must suffer the fate of the weak. In the +daytime the pitiless Indian sun blazed down upon them, awful in its +power and wrath, and at night they gasped for air, and choked, and +cursed, or grimly joked, or called upon God, according to their nature. + +Ted Russell, healthy and in good condition, with no superfluous flesh, +suffered less than most. He had one slight attack of cholera in the +early days of July. One day, having been on duty all night, he lay +within the house, in little more than bathing-costume, vainly trying to +snatch an hour's sleep, for the Mori guns were hard at work. Overhead +the sky was of a uniform deep-blue, broken only by the mass of fire +almost directly above, and by the haze along the horizon. + +As if by magic, the thundering of the guns from the Delhi bastions +ceased, and the well-known strains of our National Anthem were wafted by +the south wind from the Mogul city. + +"'God Save the Queen!'" gasped Ted. "What's the meaning of that?" + +All listened in bewilderment. What could it mean? Had the sepoys +suddenly repented and become loyal again? As the band ceased, the big +guns of the city thundered forth a royal salute, and then were silent as +the band again played "God Save the Queen!". + +"What cheek! What awful cheek!" Alec indignantly exclaimed. "Well, that +beats everything!" + +"What is it?" asked Ted again. "What are they playing that tune for?" + +"They are mocking us," Claud Boldre angrily replied. "They have heard +what we heard this morning. The curs have captured Agra town, and now I +suppose they're gloating over their victory and making fun of us." + +His guess was true; the sepoys had taken this strange method of +celebrating their triumph. It shows they were not without some sense of +humour. + +Among the crowd attracted to the "Flagstaff" meeting-place by the +unusual strains were many of our hero's new chums. Both he and Alec had +formed close friendships with a number of the junior officers from the +camp below the Ridge, and Ted particularly had become very popular. He +had both proved himself courageous and shown good commonsense, and he +never once attempted to put on "side". The terrible danger he had gone +through at Aurungpore had steadied down his love of fun and joking, and +made him realize his responsibilities. Had he come straight to Delhi +without having undergone that trying experience in the arsenal, he would +soon have found some mischief in which to entangle his Guides and +Gurkhas. They would have been only too delighted to have joined in any +fun, however rash and hazardous. + +"I say, Russell," observed Ensign Collins of the 8th Foot, "you're a +lucky beggar, you know. You've had your fair share of the fun." + +"Fair share!" growled Claud Boldre. "Why, in his twelve months' service +he's had more than most colonels can boast of in as many years. First he +goes exploding magazines up and down the country, and instead of being +blown up he gets the V.C. Then he's boxed up and besieged, and +thrillingly rescued like a scene out of a melodrama; after that he's +lucky enough to take part in the grandest march on record; and now he's +on duty at Hindu Rao's picket, where all the fighting is. Fair share, +indeed! It ought to have been divided amongst half a dozen of us." + +"And it ain't that he's particularly handsome," laughed Alec. + +Ted grinned. He was too decent a fellow to become conceited, and he +admitted that he had had more than his share of the luck. + +They were still joking when something happened that tended to confirm +their belief in our ensign's luck. One of the general's aides came up +and told Ted that Sir Archdale wished to speak to him at once. + +"You'll come back a lieutenant at least, Ted," was Alec's unasked-for +opinion. + +"Lieutenant indeed!" laughed Collins. "I expect he's going to order +Russell to blow up Delhi _à la_ Aurungpore." + +"Or else resign the command in Russell's favour," was Boldre's +suggestion. + +Ted grinned back at them all, but his heart beat somewhat rapidly as he +was ushered into the head-quarters tent, and it was to beat much more +wildly before he left. + +Sir Archdale looked up as the boy entered, and went on with his work for +some moments, and Ted stood at attention and wondered what was going to +happen. At length the general again glanced up from his papers. He was +evidently very busy. + +"You sent for me, sir?" Ted faltered. + +"Yes. I am sorry that my duty is much less pleasant than on the previous +occasion, when I prematurely raised your hopes of the V.C." + +Ted gasped. + +"I hope it may still be all right," General Wilson continued, "but this +morning I received notice from Colonel Munro that there is another +claimant to the honour of having exploded the magazine at Aurungpore." + +Ted was utterly bewildered. He could not find a word to say. + +"It seems that another officer of yours--let me see," the general took +up a letter that lay on the table, and referred thereto. "Ah, Ensign +Tynan!--was taken prisoner by the sepoys, but rescued; and his story is +that he was in command of the party holding the fort, and that it was he +who fired the train. His account is confirmed by a native officer who +saved his life, and who was present." + +"Why, sir, there was no native officer in the party," Ted exclaimed, "no +one higher than a havildar, and he was with me all the time.--So Tynan +is really alive, sir?" + +"Evidently. Of course, I am in no position to judge between you, and I +know nothing beyond the bald facts just related. If you dispute his +statements an enquiry will have to be held later." + +"His statements!" said Ted indignantly. "Why, sir, he implored me to +surrender, and not to fire the train, and Ambar Singh, the havildar, +will bear me out. Thinking he was dead, I never told that to a soul, +sir; but if he has lied in this way, he deserves to be shown up." + +"I trust that no British officer would act as you allege, Ensign +Russell," said the general coldly. "At present I can say nothing more, +and I am very busy. Rest assured that justice will be done." + +Ted saluted stiffly, and walked out. If he had felt dazed on the +previous occasion, what were his feelings now? Full of indignation +against his dishonourable messmate, and of intense disappointment +because of the probable loss of the coveted honour, he strode back to +the Gurkha picket, and told Jim and Paterson what had happened. + +They could hardly credit the story. They both knew Tynan's character, +and Alec had heard Ambar Singh's free version of the incident, and they +felt no doubt regarding the result of any enquiry. + +"Don't be downcast, Ted, old boy," said Jim affectionately. "It will +soon be all right." + +"But who can the native officer be?" Alec wondered. "It's a mystery." + +"I can't make it out," Ted replied. "Anyway Ambar Singh and Dwarika Rai +will give evidence, and then where will Master Tynan be?" + +"But look here, Ted," said his brother in an agitated voice. "Where are +those two? They may have been drafted into some other regiment and sent +a thousand miles away, or both may be killed. Or they may have been +allowed to return home, and have left no trace. In that case it would be +your word against Tynan's, and though no one who knows you both could +have any doubt, yet his word will be as good as yours at the enquiry. I +do hope it will come out all right, old boy." + +"I'm sure it will," said Alec. "Cheer up, Ted!" + +More easily said than done, and our ensign went about his work with a +heavy and angry heart. Fortunately for his peace of mind, when the news +spread, Boldre, Collins, and all his chums rallied round him, and voted +the absent Tynan a beast and a liar. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +Ted's Friends are Bewildered + + +The 4th Sikhs had left Aurungpore for Delhi, and the fort was garrisoned +by a corps of the newly-recruited Punjab Irregulars, of whom Major Munro +was in command, with Leigh as his second in command. Colonel Woodburn +was now able to hobble about, helped by a stick and his daughter's arm. +Sir Arthur Fletcher had resumed the administration of justice, the shops +were open once more, and the town had settled down almost to its normal +state. + +One day late in June Ethel and her father were seated in the officers' +quarters of the fort, whither the colonel was wont to resort daily to +talk over the latest rumours and reports. Munro and Leigh were lamenting +their fate, tied down to police and depot duty, when they wanted to be +up and doing before Delhi. + +"I am sending a draft to Delhi to-morrow," said the major, "and there's +a new batch of recruits due to-day--raw peasants, who must be polished +up." + +"It is rough on us being shut up here," said Leigh, "drilling and +training the raw material, and as soon as they are soldiers, comes an +order from John Lawrence saying, 'How many can you send to Delhi?' +Still, if we were not here, there'd soon be a rumpus again." + +"How many do you send off to-morrow?" the colonel asked. + +"A hundred; all Sikhs, and fine men too. They go to Lahore first to be +inspected by Sir John, and then they join other detachments going to +Delhi.---- Well, what is it?" + +An orderly had entered. + +"The draft has arrived, sahib." + +"Very good. Send the officer in charge to me." + +Who should enter the room but Ensign Tynan? The four occupants started +to their feet. They had not heard of his escape from death, and firmly +believed he had been blown to pieces, his body never having been found, +for the best of reasons. Tynan was white, and looked ill both in body +and mind, and he trembled from head to foot. + +"Tynan! Can it be possible, my lad?" cried Colonel Woodburn, holding out +his hand. "I never thought to see you again." + +Tynan saluted his colonel, and bowed to Ethel. He hesitated, however, +and his face flushed as she stepped forward with outstretched hand to +greet him. Stammering some more or less appropriate reply, he sat down +in a palpable and inexplicable state of nervousness. + +In reply to the shower of questions, he told the story of his rescue. +Not the true story, but one he had had plenty of time to fabricate, and +had repeated over and over again to himself in readiness for the dread +moment. He was committed now to the statements contained in that +detestable document--the trap set for him by the unscrupulous Pir Baksh. +The paper had passed from hand to hand, from one officer to another, and +he would have to attest its truth before Colonel Woodburn and Major +Munro. No wonder he was agitated. Before strangers he had repeated the +lie with comparative calmness and confidence, but the officers of the +193rd knew both Russell and himself too well, and he had little doubt +whom they would be most ready to believe. + +He had only recently heard that Ted and the two sepoys had also been +saved from destruction, and he did not know what account of the incident +Ted had given to the world, neither was he aware that his cowardice had +been reported by Ambar Singh. + +He told the story of his escape with unusual caution and deliberation, +and painted in more glowing colours the services rendered by Pir Baksh, +to whom he gave credit for risking his life in order to save Tynan's. +His audience opened their eyes, and Munro interposed: + +"But Russell distinctly stated that Pir Baksh was one of the +ringleaders." + +"So he appeared to be, sir, but he was forced to play that rôle. He +tried to save us in the fort, but Russell would not trust him. I felt +sure that he was genuine, and was doing his best to hold the others +back." + +"Oh, indeed!" said the major drily; "yet Russell informed us that you +told him and Lowthian that you saw Pir Baksh shoot the colonel." + +"Russell told you that, sir!" Tynan replied with an air of great +surprise. "He must have misunderstood me completely." + +Tynan had forgotten his unlucky remark, and bitterly he repented the +cowardice that had landed him in this net. It was the old story of the +first easy lie that had to be supported and buttressed by innumerable +untruths. + +"Not Pir Baksh, sir," he continued hastily. "It was Abdul Din who shot +Colonel Woodburn. I think I see how it was. When they were attacking us, +Abdul Din stood by the side of Pir Baksh, and when I pointed, saying, +'That's the fellow who fired the shot!' they must have thought I meant +Pir Baksh." + +"Oh!" + +His hearers hardly knew what to think. Tynan's tale was plausible +enough, and Ted might easily have been mistaken. Perhaps after all Pir +Baksh had been judged too hastily, and had been less of a scoundrel +than they had imagined. He had always seemed a friendly fellow, +apparently proud of his regiment. + +"And after your rescue by the Gurkhas?" asked Colonel Woodburn. + +"I had the fever for at least a fortnight, sir. My first thought when I +heard that Aurungpore was saved was to report myself, and I received +orders from Colonel Bratherton at Jehanabad to take Pir Baksh with me, +as an investigation of his conduct must be held by his C.O. We were to +have accompanied the 49th Punjabis, but at the last moment they were +ordered to Delhi, so I was told to wait for this draft and bring them +here." + +"I suppose," asked Colonel Woodburn "that some enquiry was held, +considering the suspicious conduct of Pir Baksh at the moment of your +rescue?" + +"Yes, sir;" and Tynan's agitation increased. "I have to hand you the +statement signed by the officer whose men rescued me, and of course the +subadar's character must be cleared." + +He handed various documents to the major, and broke into a perspiration +as he anticipated the coming amazement, incredulity, and growing +suspicion. He hated Ethel Woodburn for being there, and would have given +anything to have induced her to leave. + +It was surely by the irony of fate that Tynan, being in command of the +draft, was also responsible for the safe custody of Pir Baksh, whose +final disappearance he longed and prayed for. The Moslem had tried hard +to find some excuse for slipping away, but Captain Hornby had kept him +under arrest, and so had Colonel Bratherton, both having their own +opinion of the fellow's loyalty. Pir Baksh was no more anxious to be off +than was Tynan to rid himself of his "old man of the sea". + +In fact the subadar of the 193rd was having a less anxious time than his +accomplice, for he still hoped, by force of lying, to pull through the +enquiry. He reflected that in all probability he had not been recognized +by anyone except Russell, who was at Delhi, having been more concerned +with the attacks on the fort than with those on the house, and neither +he nor Tynan were aware that Ambar Singh and Dwarika Rai had been saved. +Of course the budmashes of Aurungpore would know the part he had played, +but they would say nothing for fear of incriminating themselves. + +Major Munro first read through Colonel Bratherton's covering letter and +looked hard at Tynan, who was sitting in profound contemplation of his +boots, and boorishly repelling the friendly advances made by Ethel. +Munro then read Hornby's report of the rescue, and finally the +remarkable papers signed by Tynan and Pir Baksh. Colonel Woodburn, +watching him narrowly, saw that the major was striving hard to overcome +some strong emotion. The contents mastered, he handed the documents to +his former colonel without a word. + +"I don't believe a word of it," said the latter, throwing the papers on +the table. + +Tynan flushed. + +"My word should be as good as Russell's," he muttered; "but he was +always in favour, and you were always down on me." + +"It has been your fault, Tynan," said the major mildly, "if we have had +a higher opinion of Russell than of you. Russell said nothing about this +affair, and gave you as much credit as himself, until Ambar Singh told +us the whole story." + +This was another blow for Tynan, for he had not heard that Ambar Singh +was to be reckoned with. He was becoming more and more entangled in the +meshes. + +"Ambar Singh?" said he after a moment's hesitation. "I expect he did it +to curry favour by praising Russell." + +It was now Ethel's turn to flush. She was on the point of expressing a +very decided opinion, when a look from her father checked the words. It +was no business of hers at present. + +"That is not very likely, Tynan," the major replied. "To speak plainly, +this won't wash with us, though it may do for strangers who know nothing +about the matter. You've had fever, and you've imagined all this and +forgotten what really happened." + +Tynan heartily wished that this had been the case, and the colonel +pointed out that the document was signed before the fever, not after. + +"But I expect the poor fellow was raving," said Munro, "after the shock +and the blow on his head." + +"It's perfectly true," Tynan vehemently asserted as the major's words +gave him an idea. Dull though he was, like many foolish people he had a +certain amount of cunning. + +"Why should it not be true?" he continued. "I don't wish to say anything +against Ted Russell, but I don't see why he should have the credit +that's due to me." + +"Tell us, then," suggested Colonel Woodburn, "what really did happen in +the fort, and when the idea of blowing up the magazine first occurred to +you." + +"As soon as we got inside," Tynan doggedly answered, "I whispered to +Russell that perhaps we should be reduced to that. I whispered, because +I did not wish the Rajputs to suspect. Then during one of the quiet +intervals I slipped away and laid a trail of powder from the magazine to +the door of the room we were holding. I didn't carry it farther, for the +same reason--fear of our sepoys' terror." + +Tynan had now completely abandoned himself to the father of lies, and he +went on recklessly. + +"When Pir Baksh offered to save our lives I felt convinced that he +really wished to help us. Russell and I quarrelled because he would not +trust him." + +"Then you admit that you would have surrendered the stores and munitions +had it not been for Russell?" the colonel coldly remarked. + +"No, sir, I would not. I should first have made conditions that before +we marched out the sepoys must clear away and leave the streets clear +for us, and I believe Pir Baksh could have induced them to agree, and I +should have lighted a slow match as we left the place and run for it. +But Russell would not give me the chance of explaining, and he +influenced the sepoys against me and closed the negotiations before I'd +any chance of showing what I meant." + +"Well, go on," said the colonel more kindly. + +"Well, sir, I will say this for Russell, that he was very plucky, and at +the end, when all was hopeless, he finished the powder-trail. Until then +Ambar Singh and the others had not dreamt of my plans." + +He broke off abruptly, and, as though suddenly enlightened, continued: + +"I see it now! I dare say that Ambar Singh really did think that Russell +alone was responsible. When it came to firing the powder I claimed the +right to do it, but he had hold of the candle, and said he had taken +over the command, that he'd deposed me, and he would do it. We had a bit +of a scuffle, and he threatened me with a pistol. So he set the powder +alight. But I claim that I was in command; it was my suggestion, and I +laid most of the train, and therefore I should have the credit. I will +say for Russell that he backed me up well, and was plucky. That's all +I've got to say." + +Woodburn and Munro were silent for some time. Tynan's tale was certainly +plausible enough, and it seemed as if there might have been +misunderstanding. Perhaps Ted had been too hasty in thinking that Tynan +was willing to surrender unconditionally. Still, it was very strange +that he had never mentioned that Tynan had first suggested the +explosion, and that he had laid the train. Though, now they came to +think of it, Ted had at first said "we". They had put it down to +modesty, yet the words might have been correct. Could it be that when +Ambar Singh had given his version, the temptation to take the credit to +himself, now that he believed Tynan dead, had been too strong for the +boy? + +This was not like Ted, but in justice to Tynan they must admit that it +was possible. + +"We must consider your report, Tynan," said the major. "If any wrong has +been done to you, we will try our best to get at the truth without any +favouritism. Go and see to your men now. We dine in an hour." + +"Well, Woodburn, what do you make of it?" he continued, when the ensign +had departed. + +"I can't make head or tail of it. There is evidently room for doubt, and +it may have been as he says." + +"I'm afraid I was hasty in sending off that recommendation for the +V.C.," said Munro, "because if Tynan's tale is true, Ted will not be +entitled to it." + +"You'd better put that right at once," advised the colonel. "Write and +explain that there is some doubt." + +"I will at once. I hope the letter may be received before anything has +been said to Ted. It would be cruel to raise the lad's hopes." + +"I don't believe a word of what Tynan has said," Ethel declared. "I'm +sure he was lying. I was watching his eyes all the time, and there was +no truth in them." + +"It may be so, but I must write," said Munro. + +For a long time the major wrestled with pen and paper before he +composed a letter to his satisfaction. The contents we already know, and +how they dashed Ted's hopes to the ground. The missive sealed, the +colonel observed: + +"I suppose we can trace Havildar Ambar Singh? His evidence will be +wanted." + +Ambar Singh had returned to his home in Merwar. The 193rd had been +disbanded, and the few who remained loyal had been drafted into the +newly-raised corps. But the havildar was not in a fit condition to +endure the strain of a campaign, so he had gone home to recruit his +health. However, they thought they knew where to find him. + +"We can hold no enquiry," said the major, "until Delhi has fallen and +Ted is free again, and the case ought certainly to be tried before +officers other than those of the 193rd. We are hardly impartial, our +sympathies being with Ted. Luckily Dwarika Rai is still here, and he may +throw some light on the subject." + +For Dwarika Rai, the fourth survivor of Lowthian's handful, had been +promoted to the rank of havildar, and was now employed in drilling the +raw material and teaching them the beauties of the goose-step. + +"I'll drive Ethel home," said the colonel, "and come back presently with +Sir Arthur, and we'll examine Dwarika Rai." + +When the Woodburns had gone, Tynan returned to dine with Munro and +Leigh. The colonel and the deputy-commissioner entered as the officers +were smoking after their meal, and Dwarika Rai was sent for. + +The Rajput entered the room, and in the act of saluting started back on +beholding Tynan, who also gave a start and rose to his feet. + +"Why!" he gasped, for no warning had been given him, "what is he doing +here? I thought only Russell and I and Ambar Singh were saved." + +Dwarika Rai still stood open-mouthed as though he had seen a ghost. + +"He also was saved," explained the major. "Dwarika Rai, it is indeed +Tynan Sahib." + +"I am rejoiced to see him, for I thought he was dead," said the soldier +simply. + +"We wish to recall to your memory some of the events that took place in +the fortress when you were attacked," Munro began. "Didst thou notice +the part taken by Pir Baksh during the fighting? Was he a ringleader?" + +"Indeed, sahib, I'm not sure. Russell Sahib and Ambar Singh considered +him so, but I could not help thinking that he wished us well. He seemed +to fire without aiming, and never hit anyone, and I verily believe that +he wished to save our lives. But the others would not trust him, and +perhaps they were right." + +Munro and the colonel looked at one another. + +"Your opinion, then, was that he had been forced to rebel?" + +"I thought it might be so, Colonel Sahib; in fact, once after the firing +had been hot, Bisesar Singh whispered to me that the heart of Pir Baksh +was not in the affair. When I asked him why, he replied that the subadar +had covered him with his musket, and then winked at him and fired high. +Yet sometimes he appeared to lead the dogs; but perhaps that was to +divert suspicion, perhaps he had to feign to be as faithless as +themselves whenever they were watching him." + +"That is probable enough," Sir Arthur whispered to his colleagues. +"Under the circumstances I can quite understand a man doing that." + +"Yes, so can I," the colonel agreed. "Ted and Ambar Singh might easily +have been mistaken, and have misjudged him." + +When Leigh had finished recording the evidence, Major Munro asked Tynan +to retire for a few moments. He then questioned Dwarika Rai as to who +laid the powder train. + +"Russell Sahib, I think," was the reply. + +"Did you notice Tynan Sahib enter the magazine?" + +"Yes, sahib, before they battered the door in. He was away some time, +and I wondered why." + +The major turned to his colleagues and observed in English: + +"Tynan's tale is true so far;" and the others nodded assent. + +"Tell us, then," asked Leigh, "is it true that Tynan Sahib tried to +prevent Russell Sahib firing the train?" + +"In short," said the deputy-commissioner, "did Ensign Tynan act as an +officer or as a coward?" + +"Nay," the man earnestly replied, "I do not like Tynan Sahib overmuch, +greatly preferring Russell Sahib, but he was not a coward. He was very +much excited, as we all were, and he tried to snatch the candle from his +comrade's hand. But I thought they were contesting who should light the +train, as if it matters who did it. The important thing is that it was +done." + +The Englishmen whispered together, and presently Munro said: "You may +go, Dwarika Rai." + +"I must say," began Colonel Woodburn, "his evidence confirms Tynan's in +every important respect. I'm afraid we've done the lad a serious +injustice." + +"Yet his account differs from Russell's in point of actual fact, not +merely in the interpretation put upon facts," the deputy-commissioner +argued. + +"Ted was probably excited, and the shock may have temporarily affected +his memory," Leigh suggested. + +"Ted is certainly to blame," said Munro. "He may easily have mistaken +Tynan's excitement for terror." + +Said Leigh: + +"We forget. Ted Russell never accused Tynan of cowardice. That was Ambar +Singh." + +"But Ted did not deny it," said Munro, "and he ought to have done so. +But when asked, he did state implicitly that the suggestion was wholly +his. Either he or Tynan is lying. We must have a full enquiry, and +meanwhile Tynan must be treated as 'not guilty' of cowardice." + +"My humble opinion," said Leigh thoughtfully, "is that I'd believe Ted +Russell's word against Tynan's oath. I don't understand it." + +Had he seen Dwarika Rai's cheerful nod, as, returning to the men's +quarters, he passed Ensign Tynan, he might have understood it better. + +The havildar was a brave and loyal fellow, but he was a Hindu with a +Hindu's respect for truth. Tynan, returning after the first interview +with his superior officers, had almost run into Dwarika Rai as he +entered the men's quarters. The surprise was great on both sides. + +"I'm done for," was the first thought of our unscrupulous ensign. "This +fellow will knock my tale on the head." His next was: "Why not bribe him +to confirm what I have said?" + +No one was looking on; he drew the Rajput aside into the orderly-room +from which he had just emerged, and offered him a big bribe to bear +false witness. The sepoy was greatly in want of money. In common with so +many others of his class, the fields owned and tilled by many +generations of his forbears were hopelessly mortgaged to the +money-lending parasites, the curse of Hindustan. Here a sum was offered +that might redeem them, and save his family from disgrace and ruin. + +He hesitated. Would his evidence injure Russell Sahib? Tynan assured him +it would not, he simply wanted a share of the credit for himself; and +the Rajput consented. Tynan warned him what questions would be asked, +and coached him to give suitable replies. He cunningly advised him not +to appear too eager, and not to pretend to know too much, the chief +points being that Pir Baksh was to be absolved, and that he, Tynan, was +to have a share of the credit attached to the destruction of the +magazine. The sharp-witted Hindu quickly understood his part, and +improved upon his teacher's suggestions. + +"It will do Russell Sahib no harm," he reflected. + +Tynan then warned him that when they should meet in the room they were +both to express the utmost amazement, and Dwarika Rai nodded in +acquiescence. + +He thoroughly earned his pay, as Tynan discovered when he rejoined his +comrades. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +An Adventure on the Ridge + + +The attacks on the Ridge outposts had become less frequent and less +dangerous, though the cannonade was as brisk as ever. + +Early on the morning following the receipt of the amazing news from +Aurungpore, Ted Russell of the Hindu Rao picket was roughly aroused from +slumber. All was hurry and scurry as company after company of the Guides +and Rifles ran to the assistance of the Gurkhas, who were bearing the +brunt of a cleverly-designed attack by ten times their number. Jim, +Alec, and Ted raced to the scene of action, arriving just in time to +pursue the already defeated foe. + +"Charlie means to have that rag," Ted panted to his chum, as they raced +side by side. + +Shouting, "Follow me, lads!" Dorricot had made a dash for the colours of +a rebel regiment, and was rapidly overhauling the flying +standard-bearer, a score of mixed-up Rifles, Guides, and Gurkhas +following as best they could. The fight and pursuit were being carried +on over a great extent of ground, and only the few in Dorricot's +immediate neighbourhood knew what was taking place. Seeing that the +pursuers were so few in number, a large body of the enemy interposed +between the officer and his followers, barring their progress. Charles +Dorricot broke through, cut down the colour-bearer, grasped the +standard, beat back his assailants, and for a few moments cleared a +space around him. But what could one man do against so many? Before help +could come Dorricot was beaten to his knees, sorely wounded, though +still attempting to defend himself. + +He collapsed, a sword-thrust through his breast, just as Corporal +Thompson, a huge rifleman, forced his way through the mob by sheer +strength and weight and judicious use of the butt-end. In the wake of +the corporal came Motiram Rana, a Gurkha, and Hassan Din of the Guides, +but, as they got through, the rebels closed up again behind them, +baffling the efforts of Ted and his men to follow. Whether their officer +was dead or wounded the three knew not; they meant to guard his body +with their own. At bay they stood back to back--representatives of the +three regiments that had held the Ridge--and, facing them, the rebels +snarled like a pack of wolves around a wounded lion. Those behind +pressed on those in front, and sepoy after sepoy fell before the weapons +of the dauntless three, the Englishman trusting to the butt, the Pathan +to the bayonet, and Motiram Rana, of course, to his patron saint, the +kukri. The rifle in the Gurkha's left hand was still loaded. Using the +weapon as a pistol, the little man pulled the trigger, and the bullet +passed through two pandies at least. Having now more room, the gigantic +Thompson swung his rifle round and round and up and down like a flail, +and cleared a breathing space. The stock broke into splinters, but +before the mutineers could get in he snatched a musket, cracked the +owner's head, and the pandies again recoiled. + +"He's down!" Ted gasped. "At 'em, Guides!" + +He and Alec with their Guides around them were pushing and thrusting and +smiting their way through the opposing crowd, the pandies on this +portion of the sloping ground having rallied round their standard. +Suddenly the mob bulged in close by where they fought, as a pricked +tennis-ball when squeezed; and amid a babel of shrill yells and +jabberings in an unknown tongue, a lane was opened up. A Gurkha +corporal had passed the word that Dorricot was down, and, collecting a +couple of dozen furious men, had charged at their head. The vicious +kukris flashed and flickered and bit deep, and the sepoys fell to right +and left of that living wedge of Himalayans. Behind them Ted and Alec, +Guides and Riflemen, found their way, and the sepoys broke and fled. + +Ted was quickly beside his fallen cousin, and gave a little cry of joy +on finding that Charlie still breathed. The cry was echoed by the +Gurkhas, who started in pursuit now they were assured of their officer's +safety, but Ted restrained them. Dorricot's hand still grasped the +colours for whose capture he had risked so much, for which he might yet +have to pay with his life. + +Ted signed to the Gurkhas to help him carry back their wounded officer. +Motiram Rana proffered his aid, but Thompson motioned him back, saying: + +"Tha needs carryin' thysen, Johnny; tha'rt bleedin' like a stuck pig." + +Up came Major Reid, bringing his men forward at the double from another +part of the battle-field where the enemy's rout had been complete. His +face fell as he caught sight of his sorely-stricken comrade. + +"The rash fellow!" exclaimed the commandant. "He had no right to push +the pursuit so far with such a handful. I cannot spare Dorricot. Carry +him gently; and you, Paterson, run and bring a doctor to the house." + +Right glad was Ted, and hardly less glad were the Gurkhas, when the +doctor promised hope in spite of no fewer than four sword or bayonet +wounds. + +"I have not an unwounded officer left, youngster!" exclaimed Major Reid +dolefully. "Would you care to serve with me again?" + +"There's nothing I should like better, sir." And then the boy paused. +"Except that I should be sorry to leave the Guides." + +"Well, go to Daly; he's better off for officers than I am, and ask if +he'll transfer you for a few days." + +Ted obeyed. Permission was granted, and he again found himself with the +Sirmuris. + +There were scenes in camp of a less tragic nature witnessed daily by our +two ensigns from Aurungpore. The peculiar methods of fraternizing +adopted by the British riflemen and the Asiatics of the Guide Corps and +Sirmur Battalion provided plenty of amusement for the onlookers. The +Gurkhas soon picked up a smattering of English, and a few began to speak +the language fairly well, whilst on the other hand the English riflemen +gave vent to their feelings in words which they imagined were +Hindustani. "Good-morning!" the little men would say with a cheerful +grin; and the riflemen, not to be outdone, would reply: "Ram Ram, Johnny +Gurkha! Ram Ram!" + +Mixed groups would gather after any severe fighting to discuss the +conflict and the conduct of the various regiments engaged, amid roars of +laughter at the interpreter's attempts to translate the remarks. They +were, indeed, the best of comrades; for brave men, of whatever race or +creed, cannot but admire one another. + +One evening in early August, Ted and Alec, after a long visit to poor +Dorricot, joined their good friend Jemadar Goria Thapa, who was sitting +on the shady side of the house-fortress watching the men larking. He +gave the new-comers a welcoming grin. + +"Good little man is Goria," whispered Ted. "We may as well sit by him. +Those chaps are enjoying themselves, ain't they? Ram Ram, Jemadar +Sahib!" + +Goria Thapa returned the greeting, and enquired after the health of his +wounded officer and friend. + +"He's doing splendidly, thanks! He must be as strong as a horse and as +fit as a--what's the native for fiddle, Alec?" + +"Dunno; call it a tom-tom. Are you having a good time, Jemadar Sahib, or +do you wish you were back in Nepal?" + +Goria Thapa grinned broadly. + +"I like it," said he simply. + +"Hullo, Paterson!" broke in Claude Boldre, who had just strolled up. +"How's your cousin, Russell? I came to ask after him." + +"Doing finely considering, thanks! Look at these chaps. They're as fond +of horse-play as a lot of kids." + +It was certainly an amusing scene, and though the merest clowning, even +this kind of fooling serves to keep men in good spirits and temper. + +The corporal, Thompson, who had carried the wounded Dorricot out of the +fight, stood 6 feet 4-1/2 inches in his stockings, and was perhaps the +biggest man in the Delhi force. The men were sitting about in groups +playing practical jokes, and Thompson caught hold of Karbir Burathoki, +the smallest Gurkha there, a lad under five feet high, and led him to an +open space within sight of the others. He there offered to teach the +Gurkha how to box, and Karbir quickly entered into the joke. Both pulled +off their jackets, and the Gurkha's face was entirely hidden by his +grin. The difference in build between the two men was too much for the +spectators, who shouted and yelled--"Go it, little 'un!" "Jump up and +'it 'im in the face!" "Fetch a step-ladder!" "Now, corpril, go on your +knees and give 'im a chanst!" + +After a lot of preliminary feinting and puffing and blowing and striking +high above the Gurkha's head, the giant began to retire backwards, +Karbir following amidst roars of laughter, the Nepalese spectators +being quite as delighted as their English comrades. + +At length Thompson caught hold of the little man and held him in the +air, kicking and shrieking in pretended wrath. As the corporal put the +little Himalayan down, he laughingly remarked: "Na, Johnny, tha con haud +me up like if tha wants thee revenge." + +The Gurkha examined him from head to foot. + +"Hould the spalpeen up, Johnny, ye scutt!" advised an Irish corporal. To +the astonishment of all, the little man calmly proceeded to place the +giant on his back like a sack of potatoes. Thompson offered no +objection, and Karbir was soon staggering from one group of laughing +spectators to another. Suddenly upsetting the rifleman full length on +the ground, he sat on his chest and proceeded to light his pipe, +whereupon the onlookers shrieked. Thompson arose, tossing the Gurkha +from his perch, and the two strolled back arm in arm, attempting to keep +step, and quarrelling every few yards as to whose pace was at fault. + +Reid had come behind the ensign, and was looking on with twinkling eyes. +Noting that Ted appeared astonished at Karbir's strength, he observed: +"They're terribly strong are Gurkhas in the back, loins, and legs." + +When they had settled down again one of the Nepalese observed: + +"This war will soon be over. Jung Bahadur is going to march down to +Lucknow with his army." + +"An' 'oo the dickens is young Bardoor?" asked a rifleman. + +"He is our prime minister and commander-in-chief in Nepal. He offered to +bring an army down to help you English two months ago, and now the +government has accepted his offer." + +"An' so 'e's goin' to wipe out the rebels, eh, all hon 'is own 'ook?" + +The Gurkha did not understand all this. + +"What chance will those dogs have," said he, "against ten thousand +Gurkhas? Truly, he will slay them all!" + +"Bedad, then," interrupted an Irishman, "tell him, will ye, wid me +compliments--Privut O'Brien's compliments--to lave a few fer us. Sure, +we're wishful to git hould av some av thim Cawnpore and Lucknow haythen. +Tell him to bear that in moind." + +Then the Gurkhas began to speak of their own beloved country of Nepal, +by the mighty snow-clad Himalayas, of its wonderful beauty, and of its +unequalled sport and wealth of animal life; and the Englishmen tried to +explain the extent of their empire and the wonders of London, and told +of their mighty ships of war and great sea-borne commerce. They also +related the histories of their regimental colours, of the recent Crimean +War, and of the fights between Wellington and the French. The Nepalese +were very much interested in all the tales of war, for they also had +tattered regimental colours of which they were very proud, and which had +cost them many lives.[16] + + [16] Before the end of the siege Riflemen and Gurkhas spoke of one + another as "brothers", and at the close of the war the Sirmur + Battalion begged that it might be granted a uniform similar to + that of their brethren of the 60th, the request being willingly + granted. The 2nd Gurkhas are very proud of the little red line + on their facings, and the uniform thus gained at Delhi they + wore in London at King Edward's Coronation forty-five years + later. + +By this time the Gurkha hospital was very full. More than half of those +five hundred men had been stricken down, and the Guides had also +suffered severely. And the great city still defied the British power. + +A few more reinforcements were coming in, but no heavy guns had yet +arrived. One or two new Sikh and Mohammedan cavalry corps and Punjab +infantry regiments, recruited from the Sikhs, Punjabi Mohammedans, Jats, +Pathans, and Dogras, as well as the Kumaon Gurkha Battalion (now the +3rd Gurkhas), were fighting on our side. The big Sikh horsemen, who were +proud of their new uniform and despised the rebel cavalry, quickly +snatched at opportunities to cover themselves with glory. The +"Flamingoes", as Hodson's Horse were called, had not been in camp many +days before they were in action, distinguishing themselves in a way that +none but the very best of troops dare attempt. Faced by a greatly +superior force, Hodson, with supreme confidence in the steadiness and +valour of his men, feigned a retreat, and when he had drawn the enemy +into the open by this manoeuvre, the Flamingoes turned round at his +command and charged into the black mass. The foemen hesitated, confused +and bewildered; they glanced at the steady line of stalwart, bearded +cavaliers, heard the thunder of the galloping horses almost upon them, +and were routed, broken and scattered before the oncoming of those +determined Sikhs and Pathans. + +Though daily witnessing such instances of dash and courage, Ted Russell +marvelled less thereat than at the quiet indifference to peril displayed +by the native servants. These men were not of the fighting castes: a +dozen of them would have fled cringing from the anger of a single +Englishman, Pathan, Sikh, or Gurkha. Yet, in such different ways is +courage shown, they performed without flinching duties which most +Britons would have shrunk from. They would sit at their work or at their +meals in the most exposed places, with bullets flicking up the dust all +round, no more concerned than a bullock would have been. + +To bring meals and provisions to Hindu Rao's house they were forced to +cross the dangerous "Valley of the Shadow of Death". Any soldier who +might have to pass this spot would await the opportunity to dart across; +but these mild non-combatants would calmly walk over, and should any of +their number be struck down, would stop to shed a few tears over the +corpse and then resume the even tenour of their way. + +The army before Delhi was absolutely dependent on these servitors. In +that terrible heat the English could not have existed without them; and +yet, it must be sorrowfully confessed, they were occasionally +ill-treated by some of the more churlish and lawless of those to whose +wants they ministered. The boy who bullies at school remains often +enough a bully when he has grown up. Bullies are generally stupid +fellows, and in the eyes of such men one "nigger" was much the same as +another, and the faithful brown servants had to suffer for the sins of +the Cawnpore murderers. There was one man in particular, a major of the +15th Derajat Infantry, whose bullying propensities had more than once +aroused indignation in the breasts of Ted's friends. Fortunately there +were not many Englishmen of his stamp. + +One day Ted was told off for picket duty with half a dozen men some +distance from the "Sammy" House. When close to his lonely post his +attention was attracted by the strange demeanour of a group of +wild-looking frontiersmen, assembled in a sheltered hollow. He drew +nearer, and perceived to his disgust that a miserable native servant had +been tied up and was being flogged with bamboo rods, while a white +officer looked on approvingly. Ted recognized the man, and his blood +boiled. Taking no account of the difference in rank, he hastened to the +spot, and hotly demanded what the poor fellow had been doing to deserve +such treatment. The major of the Derajats--for he it was--opened his +eyes in amazement, and his face became convulsed with anger. Controlling +his rage he contemptuously asked: + +"And who are you, little boy?" + +Thereat one or two of the Punjabis laughed. + +"I'm in command of this picket, sir, and I can't allow this where I'm +responsible. Look! the poor beggar is fainting!" + +The officer looked round--first at the miserable Hindu, whose back was a +mass of bleeding weals, and then continued to gaze about him as though +in search of someone. + +"Where is she?" he asked at length. "I can't see her." + +"Whom do you mean, sir?" asked Ted in bewilderment. + +"Why, your nurse, of course; she'll be looking for you everywhere." + +Our ensign's face flushed, and his temper rose at the insult. He turned +to the Gurkha _naik_[17]. + + [17] Corporal. + +"Karbir, cut that man loose!" + +The little man promptly drew his kukri and cut the thongs. One of the +Panjabis stepped forward and laid his hand on the naik to prevent him. +Karbir turned on him like a tiger, with kukri uplifted, and the Punjabi +jumped back. The major could no longer restrain his anger. He stepped up +to Ted and struck him across the mouth with clenched fist, loosening a +couple of teeth and felling the lad to the ground. Quick as thought +Karbir dashed at the Englishman, but Ted, from the ground, shrieked out +just in time: + +"Back, Karbir, you must not touch him!" and the little man reluctantly +obeyed. Ted rose, now as white as he had before been red. The major +laughed. + +"Consider yourself fortunate, young man, if I take no further notice of +your insolence. Do you know that you have been guilty of mutiny--rank +mutiny--and that I could have you dismissed from the service? Now, you +may go, and explain the loss of your teeth as you best please. No--stay! +I've not done with you yet. I'll teach you the difference in our rank. +Order that corporal of yours to tie up that beast again, and then +command each of your men to give him half a dozen strokes." + +Ensign Edward Russell cared a deal for his commission, and had no wish +to be broken for disobedience, but this order he would not obey. His +eyes gleamed as he scornfully cried: + +"You great detestable brute! Break me if you can! I'd rather lose my +commission as an officer than forget my duty as a gentleman!" + +"Did you hear my command?" the major repeated. + +Ted was silent. He glanced around, and beheld a tall, bearded man, whom +he had never seen before--a man with stern and forbidding look, in +untidy civilian attire. The major's glance followed, and an expression +of annoyance came into his face as he noticed the stranger. + +"Well, my good fellow, what do you want here?" he exclaimed. + +"I? Oh, I'm just looking round." + +"Oh! Then you'd better get back to whatever your business may be." + +The man was silent for a moment. + +"Won't that lad obey you?" he asked presently. + +"No, that I shall not," Ted asserted firmly, though feeling very +miserable. + +"What right have you, lad," continued the stranger sternly, "to question +your superior officer's commands? Your business is to obey." + +"And obey he will," the major declared with an oath, "or I'll know the +reason why!" + +"That's right, sir," agreed the tall man. "Always insist on obedience +from your juniors." + +Ted was becoming nervous and feeling very lonely. Though assured he was +in the right, the boy could not but feel unhappy. + +The batteries of the Mori Bastion once more commenced their horrible +work. Round-shot and grape whistled overhead. + +"What does it matter to you, young man, whether you obey the command or +not?" asked the tall man harshly. "That _bhisti_ will be flogged just +the same; he won't benefit by your refusal." + +"No, that he most certainly won't!" asserted the major with a repulsive +laugh. "Nor will he thank you for your interference." + +"I'm an officer, not a hangman," said Ted stoutly. + +"Well, you will not be an officer long," declared the major. + +The stranger had approached, and now stood by their side. + +"If you won't obey him," he said in tones of authority, "you must obey +me! I order you to place that man under arrest," pointing to the major. +"Do you hear me, boy?" as Ted hesitated in his bewilderment. + +The major swore furiously. "Who on earth may you be? What do you mean by +this impertinence, you drunken civilian?" + +The tall man took not the slightest notice. He looked at the boy with +stern set face, and there was something in his look that enforced +obedience. Still doubtful, but unable to resist the tone of authority, +Ensign Russell stepped towards the bully, saying: + +"You must consider yourself under arrest, sir." + +Naik Karbir understood some English, and was attentively following the +course of events. He whispered to his men, and a couple at once placed +themselves, with bayonets fixed, on either side of the Englishman. The +prisoner foamed at the mouth. + +"What do you mean by this outrage, you young whipper-snapper? Take your +men away! You'll repent this, you impertinent hound!" + +Our hero looked towards the stranger, who fixed his eyes on the boy, but +took no further notice. Then the major appealed to his men. + +"My lads, drive these Gurkhas away, and take that English cub prisoner. +Kill those little fiends if they resist!" + +Nothing loth, ten men of the 15th Derajats sprang forward, and the +Gurkhas closed round their officer. The stranger raised his hand +imperiously. + +"Stop, my children! Come back!" cried a shrill voice, that quavered with +fear; and the Punjabis pulled up short and regarded the speaker with +amazement as profound as that of Ted. His new ally was the native +officer of the party, a grizzled Waziri from the Bannu district. + +"It is an order, my children; we must obey," the old man continued to +the wondering sepoys. + +Their own subadar and chieftain on the side of the Gurkhas and of that +infidel dog of a _bhisti_! What could it mean? But most astounded of all +were the major and the ensign. + +"What! Ahmed Khan!" exclaimed the bully. "Wilt thou suffer me to be +insulted in this way?" + +"What can I do, sahib? It is an order," the Waziri answered in troubled +tones. + +Then the stranger spoke again. + +"Ensign, you are on duty here, and here you had better remain. I relieve +you of the prisoner." Turning to the Waziri subadar he continued: "Ahmed +Khan is thy name?" + +The subadar fell on his knees. "It is thy servant's name, O Hakim[18]!" + + [18] Lord. + +"Ahmed Khan, I see that thou dost know me, and therefore thou wilt obey. +I charge thee to escort this officer--thine officer no longer, whose +commands thou must not obey--to the tent of General Wilson, and there +say who sent thee. Also, see that this _bhisti_ is carried gently to the +hospital, and treat him well. It is my command." + +The Waziri salaamed. + +A shell whistled overhead and burst some way in front. A second quickly +followed, and splinters flew around. + +"This is becoming warm, youngster," remarked the tall man, smiling. +"Ahmed Khan, begone quickly!" + +The subadar whispered to his men, who thereupon glanced hurriedly, with +awe-stricken eyes, at the bearded Englishman, placed two on each side of +the prisoner, with bayonets fixed, and gave the word to march. The +escort moved rapidly away, the major too dazed and cowed to attempt +resistance. + +The stranger advanced and placed a hand on Ted's shoulder. His face was +no longer stern and forbidding; it was the face of a great and good man. + +"My lad," he said kindly, "let this be the last time you disobey your +senior officer. On this occasion you were right No gentleman, no +Christian, could have obeyed his brutal order. But such a case rarely +happens, and you must beware lest you take too much upon yourself." + +Ted bowed his head. He knew already that he was in the presence of the +greatest and noblest man he had ever seen. + +The stranger continued: + +"I see you are with the Sirmur Battalion. I have heard of their glorious +deeds." + +Ted, full of the subject, and more at his ease now, poured forth for +five minutes an account of the valour displayed by Rifles, Guides, and +Gurkhas, then stopped, ashamed at having spoken so much. But, moved +thereto by the kind expression of interest in the man's face, he added: + +"When are we to make the assault, sir?" + +The stranger's countenance lighted up. + +"It will not be very long now, lad; the time is at hand. Well, I have +much to do; good-bye, ensign!" + +The man held out his hand, adding, "Remain a true, God-fearing +gentleman, of whom your country may be proud, as it is not of that man +who has just left us." + +"Good-bye, sir!---- But would you tell me your name?" + +"I am Brigadier Nicholson," was the simple reply. + +Ted's heart glowed with pride and pleasure. He had shaken hands with +this famous man; he had actually enjoyed ten minutes' private talk with +him--a thing half the officers in the camp would have given much for. +The name of the young general was on everyone's lips. Over the heads of +his seniors in rank John Nicholson had been given the command of the +Punjab Movable Column, and wherever that column had marched victory had +crowned its arms, no matter what the odds. Along the frontier of the +Indus, amidst the wild robber clans of Bannu, he was worshipped as a +deity; and Ted now understood what had been incomprehensible before, +namely, the strange behaviour of the subadar, and the sudden awe that +had fallen upon the Pathans as soon as Ahmed Khan had whispered the +magic words "Jan Nikkulseyn". + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +"Wombwell's Menagerie" + + +On his return in the early morning of the following day, Ted related his +adventures to brother and cousin, and told of his interview with the +hero of the Punjab. + +"Yes," replied Jim, "Nicholson has been here inspecting our defences and +examining our men. He's left his column behind and galloped on to confer +with our general. Lucky for you, young 'un, that he happened to be +present. But, then, you are such a lucky beggar!" + +"I wonder what they'll do to your friend the major?" observed Charlie, +whose splendid constitution was doing wonders for him. + +"Ask him to resign, I expect," Jim opined. + +But that officer of the 15th Derajats had already resigned. Before he +and his escort had left the Ridge a shell from one of the Mori +24-pounders exploded in their midst, killing the major and one sepoy and +wounding four others. Ted, however, did not learn this until the +following day, and at the same time he heard that Nicholson had left the +camp and ridden out to bring in his column, which was now close at hand. + +"Before I forget, here's something for you, Ted," Jim exclaimed, after +the three had discussed the ensign's adventures at some length. "The +mail came while you were away, and I had a letter from Ethel enclosing +this for you." + +Jim handed his brother a note, which Ted promptly opened and read. + +"It's very jolly of her! The colonel has nearly completely recovered, +she says, and they are quite safe. Will you swop letters, Jim?" + +"Wouldn't you like to? Cheeky young cub!" + +Charlie laughed. + +"I've already offered him half my daily pay for a sight of the precious +document, and he's waiting for me to raise the bid. He's been looking so +radiantly absurd, young 'un, since he received it, that I've been +longing to throw my boots at him, but unfortunately I can't get at +them." + +Jim winked solemnly at his cousin, and appeared far too happy to be +abashed by the satire of his facetious relatives. + +Before long news reached the Ridge that the Punjab Movable Column was +coming in. The whole camp turned out to meet Jan Nikkulseyn's +ever-victorious men. Brigadier Nicholson was, of course, under General +Sir Archdale Wilson, yet the whole army looked upon him as the man +destined to lead them to victory. All felt that a great soldier was in +their midst--nor were they disappointed. Hardly had he arrived before he +led them out to attack the foe at Nujufgurh, where a splendid success +was won, and the enthusiasm of the wearied troops was aroused. + +On the 4th September the last reinforcements came in. The remainder of +the 60th Rifles arrived from Meerut to join their brethren, the comrades +of the little Gurkhas at the house of Hindu Rao, as well as a contingent +from the Dogra ruler of Jummu and Kashmir. But the whole camp turned out +to cheer a still more welcome reinforcement which accompanied these. + +Escorted by the Rifles came the guns--the big guns, the siege guns, the +real guns at last! With slow and stately tread, as though conscious of +their importance and of the impression they were making, the massive +elephants--two harnessed to each gun--appeared in sight, hauling the +ponderous cannon to the place that needed them so much. With what +delight the long-looked-for guns were greeted may well be imagined. The +fortunate soldiers of 1857 had never heard the classic phrases "Now we +sha'n't be long!" and "Let 'em all come!", but if they had, they would +certainly have used them. + +In the thick of the crowd was Ted, who had got leave of absence from the +Ridge, and as Alec could not accompany him, he looked out for any other +chums who might be there, and soon caught sight of the khaki and blazing +scarlet of Claude Boldre, gay with the colours of the "Flamingoes". They +greeted Lieutenant Roberts, who was busy with his multifarious duties as +D. A. Q. M. G., but cheerful and brisk as ever, and stood behind a group +of hilarious Tommies. + +"Here come the guns at last!" cried a carabineer in an ecstacy of +enthusiasm. + +"Git away wid ye, it's Wombwell's menagerie comin' to give us an +entertainment!" declared an Irish private. + +"Nice little ponies them are, drorin' them!" was another comment. + +"What--the uttees? Three cheers for the bloomin' uttees!"[19] + + [19] "Uttee" is Mr. Thomas Atkins' rendering of "hathi", the + Hindustani for elephant, as readers of _The Jungle Book_ + will know. + +"What'll we do wiv the huttees when we've got the guns fixed hup? +They'll heat their 'eads hoff 'ere. There won't be none of hus left for +fightin'; we shall hall 'ave to go hout foragin' for food for the +helephints hall day," observed a soldier of Cockney extraction. + +"Ay," a friend replied, "and they'll want exercising. Bill, you'll 'ave +to go and take 'arf a dozen helephints for a run every mornin' before +breakfast, same as you used to do them fox-terriers you used to have." + +Bill was wont to boast of the ratting qualities of his dogs at home. + +"Ay, Bill," chaffed another. "Go an' take 'em rattin' along the banks of +the Jumner; they're beggars for rats are uttees." + +Bill was equal to the occasion, however, and readily replied: + +"Nothin' of the sort! General told me has the helephints was comin' +to-day, an' 'e says to me, 'Bill,' sez 'e, 'wot are we to do with them +uttees when they come?' 'General,' sez hi, 'why not mount the Gurkeys on +'em an' make 'em into light horsemen?--there's nobody else's legs 'ud go +round a huttee.' 'Bill,' sez 'e, 'you're a genius!'" + +The laugh that followed showed that Bill had scored, and a group of +officers standing by, who had up to this point tried to preserve a +sedate demeanour, joined in the merriment at the thought of a little +Gurkha perched astride one of the monsters. Regardless of the jests at +their expense, the huge pachyderms came steadily on through the +clustered ranks of interested and gaping spectators. + +"By gum, boys, them are guns! We'll soon be in Delhi now!" + +"Three cheers for the Bengal Artillery! and three more for John Lawrence +who sent them!" + +The cheers were lustily given, for hopes ran high. + +"They ought to make short work of the walls," said Claude. "I think +we're going to have a look in at last." + +"Yes; we're all getting a bit sick of waiting. Hope we can get a good +place in the stalls when the theatre doors open," Ted replied. + +"And I hope Nicholson leads us. By the way, I suppose you've heard +nothing fresh from Aurungpore?" + +"Nothing." + +"That's rough on you. It must be horribly upsetting to have the matter +hanging over so long." + +"It is. I'm glad we're kept so busy, though, as I haven't much time to +think of it." + +"Never say die! Truth will out, you know, and you'll be all right. Alec +Paterson told me the whole story. That chap Tynan must be a pretty +average cad. More guns coming!" + +"'Ullo!" exclaimed our friend Bill as the end of the procession came +into sight, "where's the rest of the show? There's nothing but huttees!" + +"No more there isn't. This is a bloomin' fine circus, this is!" + +"Here, you!" shouted a dragoon to a dignified mahout, "where's yer +giraffes, an' 'ippopotamusses, an' ricoconoseroses, an' kangeroos? Why, +there ain't no clowns nor hacrobats!--this is a fraud! Gimme me money +back, I can see a better menagerie than this in Hengland!" + +"Ay, give us our money back!" chimed in the others in tones of simulated +indignation; and roars of laughter went up, to the astonishment of the +staid Sikhs and Punjabis, and to the delight of the jolly little +Gurkhas. + +But though the whole camp was in such high spirits, the more knowing +ones understood that Delhi had not fallen yet, and that these cannon +were no bigger, and were greatly inferior in number to those mounted on +the city walls. Also that the mutineers' guns, being sheltered by the +solid masonry, were twice as effective as their own unprotected +armament. + +During the next few days the whole camp helped the Engineers to put into +execution the plan of attack which Colonel Baird Smith's masterly brain +had planned. At dead of night the soldiers constructed batteries and +shelter-trenches between the English camp and the walls, in positions +where it would have meant death to have worked by daylight. Before long +thousands of gabions[20] and acres of fascines[21] had been made for the +protection of gunners. + + [20] Gabions are hollow cylinders of basket-work filled with earth. + + [21] Fascines are large bundles of brushwood faggots. + +On the eventful morning of 8th September, 1857, Major Brind of the +Artillery--a man concerning whom an officer present observed: "Talk +about the V.C., why, Brind should be covered with them from head to +foot!"--is given the honour of commencing the bombardment from No. 1 +Battery, only seven hundred and fifty yards from the walls. In spite of +all Brind's labours of the night, the sun rises before his battery is +ready for action, and the mutineers at once perceive his designs. +Pitiless showers of well-directed grape plunge in and around the +battery. Though but half-sheltered from this terrible fire, Brind's +gunners, assisted by a detachment of the Gurkhas of the Kumaon +Battalion, go on with the rapid completion of the work. At length a +single howitzer is dragged into position, and the first shot of the real +bombardment is fired. It is but a feeble retort to the thundering giants +of the Mori and Kashmir bastions, and the foemen laugh as they continue +to pound the gallant little band with round-shot, grape, and shell. Ted +from his post on the Ridge looks on with disappointed eyes. + +But before long a second gun is on its platform, and then a third, and +the rebels laugh no longer. And soon the battery is complete; five +18-pounders and four 24-pounders, magnificently aimed and served, are +replying in earnest, as though the very cannon knew how long the army +had been waiting for them, and had resolved to do their duty and show +that the waiting had not been in vain. With high hopes and expectations +thousands of British, Gurkha, Pathan, Sikh, and Dogra soldiers look on +at the awful duel. Idle spectators are they, unable to assist, and safe +from the venomous fire of the rebel cannon which are now all directed to +the destruction of this impertinent No. 1 Battery. The insurgents stand +manfully to their guns, but the finest artillerymen in the world are +serving under Brind, and at length, to the delight and amid the +resounding cheers and hurrahs of the spectators, the massive masonry of +the Mori Bastion, that looked but yesterday strong enough to defy an +earthquake, begins to crumble away. The answering fire slackens and +dwindles down. + +By this time No. 2 Battery (Campbell's) is ready, but is directed to +wait until No. 3 can also be prepared, in order that the enemy's +surprise may be the greater. With No. 2 is a party of the Jummu +contingent, who are at first unwilling to ply spades and shovels or pile +sand-bags, murmuring that they are come to fight, not to do coolie work. +As the mutineers blaze away, these Dogra Rajputs, throwing down shovels, +seize their muskets and fire harmlessly at the stone walls, to the great +danger of the artillerymen. They are at once told by Major Campbell that +they are there to work and not to play at fighting, and they manfully +settle down to the uncongenial task. + +The attention of the foe having been purposely attracted by No. 1 +Battery, No. 3 (Scott's)--partially prepared during the night, and +concealed by grass and branches of trees--has been secretly at work, and +is ready on the morning of the 12th. Dangerously near to the rebel +cannon is No. 3; less than two hundred yards separate the British +gunners from their antagonists. Almost at the same moment No. 4 Battery +(Major Tombs') prepares for action. To achieve the secret completion of +these batteries has been the brilliant work of Colonel Baird Smith and +of his worthy second in command, Engineer-Captain Alexander Taylor. + +For three days Brind's guns have been reducing the gigantic and +formidable Mori Bastion to powder, whilst the other three batteries have +been preparing to lend him a hand. + +"Not much left of our old friend!" observes Major Reid cheerfully to a +small group of his officers, who stand gazing upon the work of +destruction on the evening of September the 11th. + +As Reid speaks, another shell strikes their ancient antagonist, the Mori +Bastion, towards which he is pointing. + +"They're defending it well, though, sir," replies Captain Russell, as +gun after gun is brought forward by the rebels, who are making +praiseworthy efforts to silence Brind. "We've got so used to the old +bastion that one feels almost sorry to see him going to the dogs in this +way." + +"He's losing flesh rapidly," Ted joins in, as yet another of Brind's +kind regards is sent crashing against the once rock-like wall and a +fresh shower of dust is thrown up. + +"I can't say that I feel much pity for him," Reid grimly declared. "He +has too many of my brave lads' lives to answer for," the commandant +added with a tinge of sadness in his voice. + +"Well, the rest will be merely child's play, I fancy," conjectured a +young lieutenant standing by. + +Major Reid solemnly regarded the author of this remark for a few seconds +before replying. + +"You think so, young man?" he asked. "Better keep the playing until it +is over. The hard work is yet to come." + +Whilst the bombardment proceeds, the Ridge is tolerably safe, for the +Delhi guns are too much occupied with Brind's pestilent battery to pay +much heed to any other place. The duel continues, waxing hotter and +still more hot. + +"Splendid practice our fellows are making!" says Jim presently. + +"They're a long time with those other batteries," our ensign hazards. +"I wish to goodness they'd hurry them up, and then for storming the +place!" + +"Don't be impatient, youngster," Reid replies. "If we play our part as +well as the Artillery and Engineers are doing theirs, our country will +have precious little cause for complaint. They are doing their work +magnificently; they've already accomplished wonders, and it's a lot more +easy to talk about it and to criticise them, than to get guns into +position in the face of those bastions." + +Feeling somewhat abashed by his chief's rebuke, as he doubtless deserved +to be, Ted discreetly remains silent. + +Darkness closing in brings the artillery duel to an end, and the troops +lie down for the night. + +Not all, however. + +Under cover of the night the sappers and miners and gunners are hard at +work completing the preparations for batteries Nos. 3 and 4. Our fellows +work like true Britons, for their hearts are in their labour. Encouraged +by Captain Taylor, who superintends the work, and by their other +officers, all of whom lend a hand like the meanest private, they toil on +with steadfast, energetic purpose, and daylight finds them prepared. + +Word has mysteriously reached the Ridge that to-morrow's sun will see a +bombardment the like of which has never before been known in the East, +and our friends are stirring soon after sunrise, waiting in exultant +anticipation. + +"Is it true, sir," asks Ted, "that all four batteries will be playing on +the town this morning?" + +"I'm hoping so, but I can't say how far they got last night." + +At length the longed-for moment arrives. At eight o'clock on the morning +of the 12th nine 24-pounders of No. 2 Battery open fire simultaneously +on the Kashmir Bastion. Ringing cheers of triumph greet this, the +greatest salvo of the whole war, for, as the smoke clears away and the +deafening thunder and reverberating echoes die down, our friends and +their fellow-spectators see that this very first discharge is bringing +down huge masses of masonry. + +A moment of profound silence follows: then a mighty cry of exultation +bursts forth. + +"Ah! Well done! Well aimed, Campbell!" scream the enthusiastic +onlookers. + +But the insurgent guns hotly and strenuously reply, and Campbell's +battery seem likely to suffer severely, for the rebel fire is not only +hot, but is also exceedingly well directed. + +"They're keeping their tails up pluckily enough. Villains though they +are, they're not cowards," murmurs one. + +"That's true! Seems to me that No. 2's in a tight place enough. I only +hope--" + +What that officer hoped will never be known. + +A deafening roar from another direction interrupts his expression of +opinion and announces that Major Tombs' Battery (No. 4) is dealing with +the rebel guns. + +"Hurrah! Tombs is givin' it 'em 'ot! Tombs 'e's a-silencin' of 'em!" +shout the riflemen. + +"Ulu-ulu-ulu!" scream the delighted Gurkhas. + +"Ah!" gasp the astounded Sikhs and Pathans, who have never before seen +cannonade like this. + +Whilst the British riflemen estimate and argue the distance of the +battery from the walls and the probable duration of the bombardment, the +Guides and Gurkhas chatter and scream with excitement. Many of these +allies of ours have been somewhat prone to consider themselves quite as +good soldiers as their employers, but now they are beginning to +understand a little more clearly the extent of the British power and +resources. And such consideration is good for them. + +Again Tombs's gunners fling their iron hail against the Delhi cannon, +putting them out of action one by one. + +"Why, Tombs has got within two hundred yards!" a spectator guesses. + +"No, hardly so close as that," declares a second. + +"Well, he ain't much farther away," another joins in. And exclamations +of "Well done, Tombs!" "Well aimed, sir!" ring out from the Ridge +unheeded, because unheard by the gunners steadily plying their grim +trade. For Major Tombs is a general favourite; stories of his prowess +and dare-devilry have spread throughout the British camp, and the +approving cheers are echoed from scores of throats. + +"Might this be a cricket match?" suavely enquires a captain of the 60th +Rifles as he smiles at the enthusiasm. + +The mutineers are aghast! How have those batteries been brought there +and concealed and protected? And then, only one hundred and sixty yards +from the Water Bastion, No. 3 unmasks. But, alas! the work has +necessarily been done at night, and in the darkness a serious mistake +has been made. The big piles of covered sand-bags, which had been placed +to hide the guns from the watchful enemy, as well as to protect our +gunners from their fire when the moment should come for unmasking, are +found to have been carefully piled in a wrong position, so as to +obstruct the aim of our guns. For men to go outside the shelter in order +to remove the obstruction will not only take a long time, but will +expose to almost certain death any brave enough to venture out. So +thinks the heroic commandant of the battery, who fears nothing for +himself, but hesitates to order his men to be shot down one by one, for +so close are they under the walls that the rebel gunners can hardly miss +them. But while he pauses in doubt, a Sikh sapper calmly springs outside +and commences to throw down the pile before his own gun. With one accord +the other sappers and gunners follow the noble example, and the +clearance is effected with such rapidity that the guns are ready to open +fire before the sepoys have grasped the fact of the battery's presence. + +Then is hurled forth such a shower of shell and heavy shot from that +short distance that the traitors are filled with dismay. The iron +hurricane teaches them at last what English artillery can do even in the +face of such tremendous odds. This salvo of heavy guns heralds the +turning-point of the Sepoy war, and determines the fate of the Indian +empire. As the huge Water Bastion crumbles into a shapeless mass of +masonry and is crushed into atoms by these 18-and 24-pounders, so the +great mutiny is crushed and crumbled at the same time. The last hope of +the mutineers is quenched; they may fight on, they may inflict great +damage on the Feringhi, they may still accomplish further murders and +massacres in various places throughout the land, but all hope of final +triumph, all chance of overthrowing the British raj is gone for ever, +destroyed by the fire of this magnificent artillery. + +In Hindustan news travels from mouth to mouth over hundreds of miles +almost as quickly as by telegraph; so north and south, east and west, +flew the tidings that the walls and gates of Delhi were being battered +down, that in the course of a few days the great city would be in the +hands of the sahibs and the Mogul emperor a captive. Amongst the Pathan +tribes along the Punjab frontier, in Afghanistan, Beluchistan, +Waziristan, Kashmir, the Black Mountain country, and in Nepal, the news +was told, and Afghan, Beluchi, Waziri, Afridi, Mohmand, Bunerwal, Swati, +Yusufzai, Mamund, and Punjabi, who would most eagerly have helped to +rout and destroy the British had our army retired beaten from Delhi, now +scornfully turned a deaf ear to all appeals of the mutineers to come +over and help them. For the Pathan worships success and despises the +fallen. + +"Nay," said they, "if you with forty thousand men and nearly two hundred +cannon, entrenched behind strong walls and with every advantage, if you +could be held in check for weeks by two or three thousand British and +five hundred Gurkha monkey-men, and a few hundred more of our brethren +of the Guides whom ye could not defeat, and then suffered your walls to +be battered down as soon as this small army had been reinforced by more +of our countrymen and neighbours, what chance will ye have now, driven +out of your stronghold? And are not fresh red-coated regiments and corps +of fierce, tall men in women clothes even now arriving from beyond the +seas? Nay, we will not join you; rather will we fight on the side of the +_kafirs_,[22] together with the Gurkha pigs and vile Sikh infidels." + + [22] _Kafir_ (infidel) is a term frequently applied by Mohammedans, + to denote a European. + +So the tribesmen now offered their services in such numbers that they +had to be refused. They brought wild horses that would not suffer any +man to mount them, and they came with ancient, worn-out steeds, blind, +lame, and weak at the knees, swearing and protesting that these were all +splendid chargers, perfectly trained and in superb condition. With these +they would fight the mutineers, if only the great sahibs, Edwardes and +Jan Larens, would give them a soldier's pay. So John Lawrence, +Commissioner of the Punjab, was enabled to send down more than fifty +thousand men to uphold the British raj. + +Day and night throughout the 12th and 13th of September the breaching +operations continued, fifty guns grinding mercilessly at the rock-like +walls. Though defeat stared them in the face the sepoys showed a +courageous front to the end, and as their cannon were one by one knocked +out of action, they brought fresh guns up and returned a rapid and +well-aimed fire. Their sharp-shooters were told off to pick out the +English gunners, and no easy task had those gallant fellows. To our hero +and to the hundreds of onlookers the bombardment formed a grand but +awful spectacle. Fascinated by the sight, they watched the salvoes of +artillery directed at the bastions, every shot striking home, sending up +clouds of dust, and followed often enough by a fall of masonry. The +rebel shots whistled and rattled in the air, guns flashed and shells +exploded both over their own men and over the doomed city. From the +highest to the lowest, from the general in command to the youngest +drummer-boy, all knew that this was the crowning work of anxious months +of toil. Proud men were the engineer officers, Baird Smith and Taylor, +one the brain, the other the hand that had thought out and directed this +supreme finish. Proud also were Brind, Tombs, and the other +artillerymen, for without their magnificent heroism and skill the plans +of the engineers would have come to naught. + +One building there was in Delhi close to the Kashmir Gate and the Water +Bastion, which the Sikhs and Pathans and Gurkhas, and the rebel sepoys +themselves, began to regard with awe--a white-domed edifice not unlike a +mosque, save for the cross surmounting its cupola. It was the English +church; and though shot and shell had crashed around and over it, the +cross remained untouched. + +On the 13th of September Captain Taylor declared that the breaches in +the walls were large enough to admit of a successful assault, so Baird +Smith, ill and harassed, weak and lame as he was, mapped out precise +directions for five columns to attack the city at various points. +Nicholson was appointed to the first column, and when the others should +join him in the city he was to take command of the whole force. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +Ted Distinguishes Himself + + +Our friends were with the 4th Column. This force, of which Reid (though +but a major) was made commandant in consideration of the splendid way in +which he had held the Ridge, consisted of detachments of European +regiments, the Sirmur Battalion, the Guides Infantry, and the Rajah of +Jummu's contingent. Its duty was to sweep through the suburbs of +Paharunpur and Kishengang, clearing these of the enemy, and then enter +the city by the Lahore Gate. Major Reid gathered his officers together +to give them final instructions, and then, accompanied by Ensign +Russell, entered the Gurkha hospital, where he told his wounded heroes +the plans for the morrow. The scene was one that cut Ted to the heart. +Of those five hundred men, whose proud arrival he had witnessed three +months ago, only five score remained fit for duty, and many even of this +hundred had been wounded or were now suffering from injuries which the +tough and indomitable little fellows did not consider sufficiently +severe to keep them from their work. On the floor (for there were no +cots) lay one hundred and fifty badly-wounded and maimed Gurkhas--the +remainder had lost their lives guarding their trust. The hearts of the +officers could not but be greatly touched by the sight of such suffering +so nobly borne, but Reid's sadness was mingled with pride that he +commanded so gallant a regiment. The Gurkhas glanced up at their officer +with dog-like looks of affection, and right proud they were too of such +a commandant. Sorrowfully he told the men lying there, listening, +regardless of their pain, that only one hundred of his own plucky lads +would be able to follow him to the assault. As though the word of +command had been given, every little Gurkha in that room sprang up or +painfully rose to his knees and vowed to follow the chief, even if he +had to crawl or limp to the attack. Tears came to the eyes of both +Englishmen at the sight of such loyal devotion, and they endeavoured to +dissuade, but the little hillmen insisted. Of those hundred and fifty +men who had been reported by the doctor as unfit for service, +ninety-five were allowed to go,[23] and we can guess what torture from +unhealed wounds and from sickness they must have cheerfully undergone. +But go they would, for the honour of the Sirmur Battalion, and Reid's +heart was cheered by the thought that he had now two hundred of his own +mountaineers at his back. + + [23] This incident is literally true. + +Next morning an order was given; the roar of the heavy guns ceased as if +by magic; and Nicholson's column, springing up with a shout, rushed to +the assault in the teeth of a tremendous and deadly fire. Up the slope +of the glacis they rushed and on they surged, fired at by musketry and +grape, thrust at by bayonet and spear, with showers of bricks and stones +from the crumbling walls hurled down on their heads. At the other gates +the 2nd and 3rd Columns behaved with equal gallantry, and the small +force left to guard the ridge and camp watched their progress with +interest and anxiety. Up the glacis and through the breach of the +Kashmir Bastion they rushed, appearing at that distance like a swarm of +bees clustering on the slope, then, reaching the top, they disappeared +into the town. + +But the adventures of these columns, stirring though they were, cannot +be related here; we must return to Reid's force, where our friends are. +Through no fault of their plucky leader, the 4th Column was soon in +difficulties. It should have been supplied with artillery to clear the +suburbs, but though three guns were lent to them, no gunners were +present. Now, special training is required for the working of artillery, +and guns are useless without trained gunners, so Major Reid sought high +and low for men to work the guns, but none could be found, and +reluctantly, as though giving up hope of real success, he left the +cannon behind. They had not proceeded far before they found barricades +and breast-works erected in the way, and, sheltered by these, thousands +of rebels poured forth a heavy fire from every side. The Gurkhas and +Guides, dashing forward at the double, quickly dislodged the sepoys, put +them to rout, and cleared the way; but farther on they found the foe in +much greater force. Had Reid possessed gunners the barricades would soon +have been cleared, but nothing less than a cannonade would now dislodge +them, for more than ten thousand men opposed him. Unfortunately the +Jummu contingent formed the larger part of his force, and though Dogras +make gallant and loyal soldiers, these men had not had the benefit of +British training, so they became confused, and fell back in disorder. +Britons, Guides, and Gurkhas fought magnificently to retrieve the day, +but what could they do against such odds? Their progress was stayed, and +worse was to follow. The gallant Reid was struck in the head by a +bullet, and fell unconscious. Forty of the few Gurkhas were slain and +scores wounded, the Rifles and Guides were also losing heavily, though +without flinching, and the Rajah of Jummu's troops were doing more harm +than good. Major Reid's successor reluctantly gave the order to retire, +and, followed by thousands of the triumphant foe, the 4th Column fell +back in good order, fighting to the last. + +The pressure became more and more severe, and the men of the Jummu +contingent were fast getting out of hand. Large bodies of the mutineers +pushed forward on both flanks, forming a semicircle that threatened to +envelop our men. Several parties from the stauncher battalions were +detailed to delay these flanking movements, and of one of these, +composed of about thirty picked shots of the Gurkhas, Ted was placed in +charge, with Goria Thapa as second in command. He was sent some distance +to the left, with instructions to roll back the right flank of the enemy +for as long a time as possible. A stone breastwork, abandoned by the +sepoys earlier in the day, was pointed out to him, and he had orders to +rejoin the main body with all haste as soon as his position should +become really dangerous. + +Ted's command, bending low, scurried to the breastwork, and found not +only good shelter, but a favourable position commanding the enemy's +advance on this flank. Their muskets began to speak, and the discourse +seemed persuasive. Throughout the whole length of the horse-shoe the +action was resolving itself into a series of detached and separate +engagements. Ted's gallant fellows broke up one party after another of +the pandies, aiming with such cool accuracy that every bullet seemed to +find its billet. But while the enemy's right was held at bay, their +centre and left swarmed forward, and our hero, holding on too long, +presently found himself in danger of being cut off. + +Meanwhile the main body continued its retirement, the Rifles now forming +the centre of the rear-guard. The British soldiers soon began to find +the ground unfavourable, and the enemy pressed the more eagerly. + +Inspired to greater audacity by their success, a large body of mutineers +made a plucky dash forward, and surrounded a half-company of riflemen +and a few Guides in a deep nullah, from which they were in the act of +retiring. These men of the Rifles had been fighting gloriously, and had +spent their last cartridge before they grasped the fact that they were +unsupported and the sepoys were upon them. Hidden from view of their +comrades by the high sloping banks that enclosed the broad river-bed, +now almost dry, they fought for their lives with the overwhelming foe, +and prepared to die like the heroes they were. + +The wild charge of the pandies was checked half a dozen paces from those +lines of quivering steel. The hesitation was but momentary. With yells +of triumph the sepoys rushed upon the bayonets, only to be hurled back. +They recoiled, and those in the rear lay down and fired from between +their comrades' legs, and man after man of the Rifles dropped. The +lieutenant gave the order to charge, and back they crashed over the +stony bed; and the pandies gave way, separated, and fired again and +again as they kept clear of the bayonets. It seemed only a question of +moments before the detachment should be exterminated. Already the young +Englishman in charge of the half-dozen Guides was down, when a score of +Gurkhas, led by Ensign Russell, suddenly topped the bank of the nullah, +and tumbled in upon the rebels. In a moment all was confusion. +Unprepared, the sepoys turned upon their new assailants, and the kukris +were keen. Huddled together as the rebels were, the bullets went through +more than one body. + +Twenty men were all that Ted had left, but so sudden and unexpected was +their descent upon the scene that the charge was equal to that of a +whole company. How many were following, the sepoys did not know, and a +panic set in. The riflemen rose to the occasion, and before the +mutineers could rally, or realize how insignificant was the +reinforcement, British bayonets were hustling them to and fro, and their +leaders had fallen. The spurt of pluck--of their old courage that had +stood England in good stead on many a hard-won field--had died away; +they had no British officers to inspire and lead them, and a blind panic +set in. Each flashing bayonet, each shimmering kukri seemed multiplied +twenty-fold to the eyes and senses of the terror-stricken rebels. + +Ted was hotly engaging a lean pandy subadar, a typical Oudh Mohammedan. +The man was slowly giving way as Ted pressed upon him with rapid +thrusts, when the subadar snatched off his turban and caught Ted's blade +upon it. Before the boy could divine his intention he was at the rebel's +mercy. + +Not quite, though. The subadar stumbled awkwardly, let go turban and +sword, and Ted took the opportunity to run him through before he +understood what had happened. Stretched on the ground behind the subadar +lay Alec Paterson, the wounded officer of the Guides. Summoning all his +remaining strength, he seized the sepoy's foot as he was in the act of +slicing at his chum, and so upset his balance. The dead man fell across +Alec's chest, and he fainted away. + +Within three minutes from Ted Russell's arrival not a pandy remained in +the hollow who was able to leave it. The lieutenant called his men +together, nodded approvingly towards Ted, and gave the order to continue +the retirement. They joined the main body without encountering any +dangerous opposition. + +"Well, you are cool customers, you and your Gurkhas!" remarked the +subaltern in command of the 60th's detachment, as soon as he could find +time to make comments. "Pluckiest thing I've ever seen, to storm a +position like that with such a handful." + +"It was nothing," Ted muttered, turning away. + +"It probably saved us a few lives, young man, and I'll take care that it +is reported." + +As he spoke, the officer who had succeeded to the command of the column +when Major Reid fell hastened to the spot, and hurriedly enquired: + +"What happened just now? I was looking on, unable to send you help, when +I saw some Gurkhas come up from behind and drive the pandies from that +nullah." + +"He was in command," the subaltern replied, nodding towards the ensign. +"Had about twenty men with him. I never saw such a thing, and how he +managed to escape unhurt I can't understand." + +The enemy again began to press, though not so dangerously. Yet every +yard had to be contested, and the odds against our fellows were +enormous. + +Of all those gallant officers and men none fought more pluckily than +Captain Russell of the Guides; animating and encouraging his splendid +fellows, he was ever nearest to the foe, as many a mutineer found to his +cost. Inspired by the example, Ted emulated his brother's courage, and +with the Gurkhas did his best to retrieve the day, and always by his +side fought the young officer Jemadar Goria Thapa, son of his father's +friend. As they retired towards the Ridge the boy was more than once +engaged in single combat. Two assailants he had placed _hors de combat_ +with sword or pistol, when he perceived that his brother was struck, +though Jim, stifling his pain, continued to fight and to inspire the +men. Ted, gazing anxiously at his brother, forgot for a moment his own +dangerous position, when Goria Thapa knocked him roughly on one side. +Just in time! A bullet flew through the air where Ted's head had been, +and his career would have been ended there and then had not the young +Gurkha officer been on the alert. At the same moment two sepoys, one +being the fellow who had fired the shot, rushed at the boy, who vainly +strove to fend their bayonets with his sword. One of the mutineers soon +broke down his guard and lunged. The steel passed through the fleshy +part of Ted's arm, and the sepoy fell at his feet, slain by the sword of +Goria Thapa. The second pandy turned to flee, but a Gurkha standing near +bowled him over also, and again the little force fell slowly back, the +pandies snarling just out of musket-shot, waiting for a leader brave +enough to inspire them. + +Our ensign's wound was extremely painful He tied a handkerchief round +the arm, and remembering his brother's example, gave no sign. As they +drew nearer to camp, two hundred men of the 9th Lancers and four hundred +Sikh horse poured out to their support, charging like a thunderbolt into +the enemy's masses, whilst the few Guides and Kumaon Gurkhas, who had +been left to protect the Ridge, also came out to check the rush of +victorious sepoys. At that moment Jemadar Goria Thapa sank to the ground +with a bullet in his thigh. Here was Ted's chance to repay his debts! +Forgetting his wounds, he dashed at the three men who were rushing to +polish off the Gurkha, and again his life hung by a thread. + +But a couple of his Sirmur men had sprung after him, and with their +kukris they quickly despatched two of the pandies. Then with Ted's +assistance the wounded man was hurriedly carried away into the midst of +their Kumaon countrymen, and safety was reached. + + * * * * * + +When Major Reid recovered consciousness, he found himself on the back of +one of his faithful Gurkhas, who had carried him out of the fight. The +wound, though severe, was happily not mortal. The Nepalese crowded +around, their eyes plainly expressing both alarm and grief, and the man +who had had the good fortune to carry their beloved chief to safety +became an object of envy to his comrades. + +"What a lucky fellow," thought they, "to have had the glorious privilege +of saving the life of our wounded leader!" + +When Reid became aware of all that had happened since his fall, his +disappointment was intense, and the bitter sorrow occasioned by his +failure to assist the other columns aggravated the pain of his wound. No +less bitterly mortified were all his comrades, the surviving officers +and men of the 4th Column, both British and Asiatic, the reflection that +without artillery to aid, their attempt was doomed to failure, consoling +them but little. Their defeat was the more grievous because of the high +hopes and anticipations engendered by the striking success of the +bombardment. It was generally thought that this would have filled the +rebels with terror, and that the opposition offered to an assault would +have been much less sturdy. + +"Are you badly hurt, Jim?" asked Ted, as they looked on while the +surgeon dressed the wounds of their much-injured chief. + +"No, not badly. No bone touched. You're not hit, are you?" + +"Sword-cut here, but it's only a scratch. It hasn't bled much. Will he +do well, doctor?" + +"Sure to. Now I'll have a look at your scratches! Oh, you're right for +once, youngster. It is only a flesh wound, though I guess it hurts." + +He pronounced Jim's injury rather worse than Ted's, and ordered him to +take things quietly for some days. Ted accompanied his brother to the +Guides' post to see how Alec was getting on. + +"I wonder what's happened to the other columns?" said Ted as they left +their wounded commandant. Jim grunted, and vouchsafed no reply. He was +in a sullen mood, defeat being particularly bitter after such high +hopes. + +"Dare say they met with no better success," hazarded the ensign. "What +the dickens were they doing to send us out without guns?--the idiots! +It's a badly managed business anyway!" + +"Oh, don't talk so much," Jim replied. "We'll know about the other +columns soon enough--they're all right! And don't be so ready with your +'idiots'. A man directing operations on this large scale has a lot more +to think about than an ensign has, you know; though perhaps he don't +know quite as much as some, to hear you youngsters talk! Do your work, +and don't growl!" + +Ted shut up. He would have dearly liked to say something cutting, but +could not think of any suitable retort on the spot. And by the time a +brilliant repartee had come to him, he had perceived that his brother +was at least as much upset as himself. Thereupon he remained discreetly +silent. + +"There's Alec lying over there. He looks bad." + +"Well, Alec, old chap, not very bad, I hope?" + +"Not dead yet! They've got the bullet out all right, and I'll soon be +about again. By Jove, Ted, you're a wonder! It was a mad thing to do, +but rather a good job for all of us." + +"What was that?" asked Jim in great surprise. He had not yet heard of +Ted's great feat. + +"Nothing; it's all bosh," interrupted Ted, colouring and looking +somewhat sheepish. + +"What! Do you mean that you haven't heard?" Paterson demanded, and +proceeded to relate the story of their rescue by the Gurkhas. "It was +one of the pluckiest things I've heard of," he concluded, "to charge a +couple of hundred with twenty. You've saved fifty lives, and ought to be +sure of the V.C. now, in spite of Tynan." + +Jim rose from his seat, and solemnly shook hands with his brother. +"Ted," said he, "I'm sorry I was such a beast just now." + +Ted turned very red, and his hand remained limp as Jim shook it. His +chum's very evident admiration did not seem to give him any pleasure. + +"I s'pose you've not heard anything of the other columns yet?" asked the +invalid. + +"Not yet.... I'm afraid we shall hear soon enough." + +On the following day, news of the achievements of the other columns +arrived; good news mixed with bad, for Nicholson lay dying, shot through +the body as he headed the charge and led his men to victory. + +Soon came also tidings of the glorious acts of the heroes of the 3rd +Column, of Lieutenants Home and Salkeld, of Sergeants Burgess, +Carmichael, and Smith, and of Bugler Hawthorne--the heroes who had taken +their lives in their hands and had blown up the Kashmir Gate, after +overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles, a deed with which all +England rang. Of these six men, four were subsequently awarded the +Victoria Cross; and the other two, Burgess and Carmichael, would have +been honoured in the same way had they survived. + +Truly, even in this year of heroes and heroic deeds, the story of these +glorious men and of their act of devotion stands out clear to dazzle our +imaginations, to lead us to thank God that they were of our breed, to +make us wonder what we of the same blood would have done had we been in +their place. Then let us hope we become more humble in our pride. + +By the 18th of September the Lahore Gate and Bastion were also captured, +and on the 20th the whole of Delhi was in our hands. + +The Palace taken and the king a prisoner, the Indian Mutiny had lost its +sting. + +Yet, in spite of victory, gloom was over the camp, for a hero lay dying, +and there was no hope of saving his life. John Nicholson's wound had +proved mortal: a life that had promised to be of unusual brilliance +would soon be cut short, even before its work was more than half +done--but that half had been done well. The career of this dying leader +of men had been unique, even in the annals of British rule in India, +whose pages teem with the deeds and lives of heroes in the noblest sense +of that word--men worthy of all admiration, men whose lives inspire +others to follow the gleam. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +Ted Extinguishes Himself + + +"Where shall I find Ensign Russell?" enquired a messenger from +head-quarters as he approached the outpost. Ted was quickly found, and +his agitation may be imagined when he learned that General Nicholson had +sent for him. Nervously, reverently, and full of sorrow, he entered the +tent. The somewhat stern and haughty look, so well known to all +evil-doers who had chanced to cross his path, had vanished from the +great man's countenance as he greeted the boy. + +"So, young man, you've escaped unwounded?" + +"Yes, sir, ... at least only very slightly." + +"Ah, your arm, I see!" began the general. "Perhaps you can guess why I +sent for you? Somehow I took a strange liking to you that day I arrived +on the Ridge, ... though I ought not to approve of disobedience," +continued the wounded man, smiling. + +Ted bent his head and was silent. + +"You are the son of Major-general Russell, I hear? I knew your father +well. I served with him in Afghanistan, and he will be a proud man when +he hears that by an act of conspicuous bravery you perhaps averted a +disaster to a whole column." + +John Nicholson was silent for a few moments before resuming: + +"I have since heard how you distinguished yourself when your regiment +mutinied. You have begun well, keep on in the same way. Put duty first, +and your country may one day be proud of you, as she is to-day of Tombs +and Brind and Reid." + +Here the wounded general was interrupted by the entrance of Sir Archdale +Wilson, who, with grave and anxious face, had come to enquire as to the +condition of his second in command. + +Nicholson turned to him. + +"This is the lad, Wilson, of whom we were speaking yesterday. You +received a report from the officer commanding the 4th Column, stating +how Ensign Russell had helped to bring it safely in." + +Ted stood by with downcast eyes, and as he fumbled nervously with his +sword-hilt he looked anything but a hero. Once or twice he opened his +mouth as though he wished to speak, but could not overcome his +nervousness. + +General Wilson spoke cordially and kindly to him. + +"So you are Ensign Russell? I must tell you that your storming of that +nullah was worthy of the best traditions of our young officers. I am +proud of commanding an army in which deeds of heroism are of daily +occurrence, and young as you are, on General Nicholson's advice, I +intend to mark my appreciation by recommending you for promotion. Whilst +awaiting formal confirmation, I take upon myself to raise you to +subaltern rank. Good-day, Lieutenant Russell!" + +"Good-bye, lad!" echoed Nicholson. + +"Thank you, sir!" Ted mumbled and moved away, then stopped in some +confusion, and again made as if to speak, but the eyes of the two +generals were turned away. + +Anticipating some such reward for his brother's display of courage and +resource, Jim had accompanied him to the camp, and was now walking up +and down at some distance from the general's tent. + +"Well, what is it, old boy?" he asked excitedly, for Jim was feeling +proud of his younger brother's distinction. + +For a few paces the boy walked on without replying. Then he said quietly +and wearily: + +"They complimented me about something or other. I'm sick of it." + +"What's the matter, young 'un, you look miserable? Is your cut smarting, +or had you set your heart on promotion and feel disappointed? It's a +shame! I think you ought to be promoted!" + +"No, it isn't," Ted contradicted testily. + +"Ted, whatever is the matter?" + +"Oh, I'm not well, Jim! I'm sorry I'm such a brute." + +"You look bad, young 'un; you must have that cut seen to. I thought you +were queer as we came along." + +Ted turned on his heel. + +"Don't wait for me," he muttered, and retraced his steps towards the +tent he had just quitted, leaving Jim staring in bewilderment. +Recognizing the ensign, the sentry gave admittance without question. +General Wilson was still with his junior, and both turned their heads as +he entered. + +"Well, Russell, what is it?" General Wilson asked with surprise. + +"I'm very sorry, sir," faltered Ted, "I've been deceiving you." + +"How? What do you mean?" + +"I never meant to attack that nullah or rescue the fellows in it," the +boy replied, now speaking eagerly and hurriedly. "I never knew there was +such a place. I had lost a lot of my men, sir, and as the enemy were +being reinforced in front, I ordered the men to double back to where I +thought our supports were. The ditch was hidden from us by an +embankment, and we stumbled into the midst of the rebels, and if it +hadn't been that the Gurkhas are so sharp and never get flurried, we'd +all have been cut up, sir. As it happened, the pandies were more +surprised than we were, and they thought, I suppose, that we were in +force, and so they cut away. And everyone thought I had done it on +purpose, and they didn't give me a chance to explain. And then, as +everyone has been congratulating me, and I hadn't denied it at once, I +found it still harder to explain afterwards. And--well, sir, after what +you and General Nicholson said just now, I couldn't stand it any longer. +And I'm very sorry, sir." + +General Wilson glanced at General Nicholson, who laughed The former laid +his hand on Ted's shoulder. + +"Don't be alarmed, youngster," he said; "I think I see how it was. Of +course I can't send in the recommendation now. You understand that, of +course?" + +"Of course, sir." + +"Come here, Ensign Russell," said John Nicholson. + +Ted approached. + +"I like to shake hands with an honest man. Oblige me by taking my +hand--I can't take yours very well." + +Gently and reverently Ted pressed the hero's hand, then silently turned +and left the tent, lighter at heart than when he had entered it. + +Almost boisterously he greeted his brother, who had anxiously retraced +his steps, and was now awaiting him. + +"I'm all right now, Jim!" he cried, and proceeded to relate the whole +story, concluding: + +"You'll explain to Charlie and the others, won't you? I don't like to. +There's a good fellow!" + +"I'm rather glad it's turned out this way, young 'un," said the elder. +"I knew you were plucky enough before, now I know you're something +better." + +"I say, Jim," Ted blurted out after a few moments' silence, "suppose +Tynan's been done the same way?" + +"Done? What way?" asked the slower Jim. + +"I mean that perhaps someone began praising him for something he'd never +done, and didn't give him a chance to put it right at once, and then he +stuck to it for fear that people would blame him for not denying it +straight off. If it has happened that way I'm sorry for him, for he'll +be jolly miserable." + +"It's hardly likely," said Jim. + + * * * * * + +Outside the dying man's tent a few fierce tribesmen from Hazara and wild +cut-throats from Bannu (in these two provinces Nicholson had been +commissioner) had collected from the various Punjab regiments, and were +loudly lamenting the supposed death of their idol. + +"Jan Nikkulseyn is dead! The great sahib is no more!" they wailed, as +Ensign Russell appeared before them. + +"Tell us, _huzoor_[24]" a veteran native officer eagerly demanded, "is +he indeed dead?" + + [24] A title of respect. + +Ted assured the men that their idol still lived; but they shook their +heads, crying that the English were merely trying to keep the death a +secret, and the wailing recommenced still more noisily. A loud voice +from the other side of the canvas thundered: + +"Budmashes! Why do ye disturb my peace with that unseemly noise? Wali +Khan, drive the rascals away and thrash them well! Know ye then that Jan +Nikkulseyn is still very much alive!" + +At the sound of the well-known voice a cry of joy went up, and Wali +Khan, the old subadar-major, at once proceeded to carry out his order +with vigour. So he mercilessly thrashed those whose chorus he had just +been leading, scattering them in all directions. + +"Allah be praised!" yelled the men of Bannu, as they jumped out of reach +of Wali Khan's stick. "Allah be praised! Nicholson Sahib is indeed +alive!" + +He only lingered, however, for a very short time. On the 23rd September, +1857, John Nicholson died at the early age of thirty-five, having done +his duty to God and to his country. Heavy were all British hearts that +day, not only with the Delhi army but throughout the Punjab. May our +country never lack such a son in time of trouble! + +The tidings of his death were soon proclaimed along the border, and men +went about heavily as though mourning for a father. Many a villainous +fellow, whose evil ways and dark deeds had incurred the displeasure of +the commissioner, felt a sense of personal loss now that Jan +Nikkulseyn--his father and mother and hero--was no more. + +Shortly after the arrival of the news, a number of his devotees in Bannu +(a place which has been described as a "hell upon earth", because of its +wickedness, before Nicholson was made commissioner thereof) gathered +together to mourn their beloved chief. A _malik_, or headman, rising, +spoke of the general's virtues, his love of truth and justice; then, +suddenly ending, cried: + +"Oh, my brothers, what good is there in life now that our sahib is +dead?" + +As he uttered the last word, the malik drew a knife quickly across his +throat, and fell in their midst--a corpse. + +"He speaks truly! What is there to live for now?" cried others. But a +pious man of great influence arose, and, stretching forth his hands to +restrain them, spoke: + +"My children, think ye that our dead master would approve of this? Our +brother was mistaken; that is not the way to honour him. Let us rather +seek to learn something of the God who was worshipped by Nicholson +Sahib." + +The listeners considered and approved this idea, and forthwith a number +set out for Peshawur. From that town a visit was paid to the nearest +missionary, with the result that several were converted to the Christian +faith. + +To this day, when the wind blows strongly between the mountains, men +along that frontier declare that they hear the tramp of Nicholson's +war-horse. + + * * * * * + +The heroes of the Siege of Delhi were without number, but of all the +regiments engaged, the Sirmur Battalion had carried off the highest +honours. With tooth and nail had they defended their post, by day and by +night, for more than three months. No fewer than twenty-six distinct and +determined attacks (one lasting all day and all night) had been made on +them by overwhelming hordes of the enemy, by brave men bent on obtaining +possession of that all-important post, and twenty-six times had they +been hurled back by the handful of loyal, steadfast little highlanders. + +Their dogged achievements were not passed by unnoticed. + +Twenty years later, when the Prince of Wales paid his visit to India, he +held a review of British and Native troops on the historic Ridge, and +the 2nd Gurkhas (the old Sirmur Battalion) were given the place of +honour in front of Hindu Rao's house, the post with which the corps will +ever be associated. + +On that spot the prince spoke to them of the heroic deeds of their +predecessors, and conferred upon the regiment the title of "The Prince +of Wales' Own Gurkhas"; and you can imagine how the little men, +listening on that spot to the words of the great Queen's son, would feel +their hearts stirred within them, and would resolve that they would play +their part as their fathers had done, that the regiment might never +suffer disgrace. + +The Guide Corps was also awarded a special recognition of their services +(though not at the same date), the queen granting them the title of "The +Queen's Own Corps of Guides", a compliment of which they are justly +proud. The king is now the colonel of both the "Guides" and the 2nd +Gurkhas, the latter being the corps that distinguished itself so greatly +with the Gordon Highlanders at the storming of Dargai a few years ago. + +To return to our story. The capture of Delhi broke the back of the +mutiny. By that feat the British gained the upper hand and kept it, and +thenceforward their part was to attack and hunt the rebels from one +place to another, instead of being constantly attacked and pressed +themselves. The regiments that had taken part in the siege of the Mogul +capital were despatched to various points, to join the different forces +engaged in subduing the revolt. + +Charlie Dorricot was too seriously injured to take any further part in +the campaign, and he had left for England before Lucknow was finally +relieved. Alec Paterson had been less seriously injured, and was on his +feet again within a fortnight. + +Captain Russell and the Guides returned to the Punjab, for that corps, +as well as the Sirmur Battalion, had suffered terribly during the +three-months' fighting, and they were not employed in Sir Colin +Campbell's campaign along the Ganges. Jim, however, succeeded in +obtaining his majority towards the conclusion of the Sepoy war, and not +very long afterwards he was given the command of one of the newly-raised +Punjab infantry regiments. + +Ted, with his usual good luck--as his brother did not forget to inform +him,--was remembered by General Wilson, and was attached to one of the +regiments that was now ordered to reinforce the Lucknow Relief Force. + +But before he could join his new regiment an order came for him to +proceed to Lahore, where a court of enquiry would decide whether he or +Tynan was unfit to wear Her Majesty's uniform. The court consisted of +Colonel Bratherton and two captains. Tynan, Pir Baksh, and Dwarika Rai +swore on oath to the truth of the statements made before their officers +at Aurungpore. Colonels Woodburn and Munro gave evidence as to the +character borne by the two ensigns, and related all they had gathered +from Ambar Singh. Ethel Woodburn and Sir Arthur Fletcher corroborated. + +Unfortunately for Ted, Ambar Singh, the havildar, could not be traced. +He had evidently been restored to health, for all that could be +discovered pointed to the fact that he had re-enlisted in one of the +newly-enrolled regiments, and was probably with Sir Colin Campbell. + +In his evidence Ted flatly denied all Tynan's statements, one by one. + +First, he swore that he was positive Tynan had pointed out Pir Baksh by +name as the man who shot Colonel Woodburn; secondly, that Tynan had +cursed Pir Baksh more than once as a ringleader; and thirdly, that Tynan +had never suggested blowing up the arsenal, nor indeed had any idea that +such a step was contemplated. Fourthly, that Tynan had tried to prevent +him from lighting the train, and that there could have been no possible +doubt of his intention when struggling for possession of the light. + +Ted's evidence and the manner in which it was given impressed the court +favourably. Tynan's did not. His manner was not convincing, and it was +evident that he shrank from the gaze of the other ensign. Still, there +were three witnesses for him, and Ted's word stood alone. + +Then came new evidence to spring a surprise upon Ted's party. Two sepoys +of the Rajputs deposed that Ambar Singh had confessed to them that his +conscience upbraided him for having taken money from Russell Sahib to +blacken the character of the dead ensign--meaning Tynan Sahib. + +The feeling in court at once swung round in Tynan's favour, and the +officers of the 193rd looked at one another aghast. Sir Arthur Fletcher +smiled. He knew something about native witnesses. Ethel quietly +whispered to Lieutenant Leigh, who was acting as counsel for Ted, and +his face brightened. + +"Admitting the probability of bribery," he said, "what, then, is the +evidence of these two men worth? Mr. Tynan has had better opportunities +and more time than Mr. Russell to resort to such means--and, I may say, +a far greater supply of the wherewithal to bribe." + +But in reply to questions of the opposing counsel, Munro admitted that +when Dwarika Rai first gave evidence there was practically no +possibility of collusion with Tynan. Dwarika Rai had at that moment +heard that he was alive, and Tynan was evidently greatly surprised to +see Dwarika Rai. + +The court retired to consider their judgment. The evidence was in favour +of one--the bearing and character in favour of the other. They reported +to Sir John Lawrence that they could arrive at no decision in the +matter. The great man listened attentively, and proceeded to give the +matter his consideration. Something must be settled without delay, he +resolved, for the position was intolerable for that one of the two +ensigns who had right and justice on his side. + +Sir John requested the senior of the three officers to remain when the +others retired. Colonel Bratherton was a power in the district, with an +excellent reputation among the Sikhs and an unusually intimate knowledge +of the men he commanded. + +"Tell me your private opinion about this affair, Bratherton?" asked the +chief commissioner. + +Colonel Bratherton was silent and thoughtful for some time. + +"Well, Sir John, the evidence is against young Russell, but somehow I'm +convinced that he's straight and that the other is not." + +"Um!" + +A look of annoyance came over those masterful eyes, and the broad brow +was knit in perplexity. But not for long. A humorous twinkle took the +place of the frown, and the ruler of the Punjab presently whispered to +the soldier, whose expression of deep concern gradually resolved itself +into a smile in sympathy with his chief. They conferred for at least ten +minutes before the colonel rose to take his leave. + +"I'll arrange it all, Sir John," said he. "There will be little +difficulty, for I have the very men we want. Kendal will do it +admirably, and he can make up to the life. Where shall we be, though, if +they both hold out?" + +"Both?" Sir John's eyes sparkled as he added: "You forget there will be +a third--Pir Baksh. But of the ensigns one is evidently quite +unscrupulous, and will no doubt give himself away." + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +Pir Baksh renders Tynan a Service + + +This conversation with the chief commissioner took place one morning in +late September. In the afternoon of the same day, Ted Russell was +ordered to attend upon Sir John Lawrence. The great man looked at the +boy with a keen penetrating glance, which, though it seemed to pierce +him through and through, yet brought with it an assurance of confidence +and kindness. + +Sir John seem pleased by the inspection. + +"So you are the lad who blew up the arsenal?" he asked, a wonderfully +pleasant smile lighting up the rugged face. + +"It's still in dispute, sir," said Ted, smiling in spite of his +trepidation. + +"What do you suppose has caused Ensign Tynan to make this claim?" + +"I wish I knew, sir. Whilst watching them in court yesterday the idea +struck me that Pir Baksh, the mutineer, had somehow got a hold over +him." + +"Ah!" + +"Yes, sir. He was watching Tynan as a cat watches a mouse, and it struck +me that he had made some sort of a bargain with Tynan to save him from +death at the hands of the rebels if Tynan would whitewash his character. +And it struck me that Tynan was sorry he'd ever been trapped into such a +bargain." + +Sir John's elbow was on the table and his head rested on the palm of +his hand. Ted felt that he was reading his inmost thoughts. + +"And perhaps," he remarked at length, "perhaps Pir Baksh considered that +such whitewashing would be of little avail if it could be shown that +Tynan had been guilty of cowardice, and so the lad has to pose as a +hero? ... Um! It's just possible." + +"I never thought of that, sir," said Ted with obvious admiration. + +"I do not doubt your honour, Ensign Russell, and I mean to employ you +upon an errand needing strength of character. Take this sealed letter to +the officer in command at Amritsar. It is in cipher, and the key is +found by reading every sixth word beginning at the end. The road, though +safe enough for large bodies, is perilous for a small number; but +Colonel Bratherton can only send two troopers with you. Go to him at +once for horse and escort." + +"Yes, sir." + +"And understand, Ensign Russell, that should you be captured and have no +time to destroy the letter, you must on no account disclose the key--on +_no_ account!" + +"I will not, sir." + +Ted saluted and withdrew, greatly pleased by this signal mark of the +confidence reposed in him. An hour after he had started, Ensign Tynan in +his turn was standing before Sir John Lawrence. + +"And so you believe that Russell meant to ruin your reputation out of +spite? That is a very grave accusation, young man." + +"I can't help it, sir. It's a fact, and my word is as good as his, and I +have witnesses whilst he has none." + +"Native evidence, I must remind you, Mr. Tynan, is not difficult to +obtain. However, I cannot decide between you, and I have not sent for +you to discuss that affair." + +He proceeded to give Tynan a similar letter and precisely the same +instructions and warning as those given to Ted. Tynan repaired to +Colonel Bratherton, who supplied him with an escort consisting of Pir +Baksh and two troopers, and with these he set out for Amritsar. + +Night closed in with Indian abruptness before Tynan had covered half the +distance. Suddenly a body of horsemen blocked the way. Tynan drew a +pistol, but before he could take aim his arms were seized by the +troopers of the escort, and he was roughly dragged to the ground. A +search was made, and the letter was quickly brought to light. + +Pir Baksh had been seized in like manner and was dropped beside Tynan, +bound hand and foot. Tynan recognized the uniform of his assailants as +that of the 60th Native Cavalry, and he remembered hearing that this +rebel corps had been hovering about this stretch of the Grand Trunk Road +for some days. The two troopers of his escort declared for the rebels at +the first hint of danger. Somehow Harry Tynan was much more cool and +collected than on the last occasion of a similar experience, and he was +not nearly so frightened. Perhaps the explanation can be found in the +fact that his present state of existence was so miserable that no change +could be greatly for the worse. + +The sowars took little notice of their prisoner. Two native officers, +who seemed to have some knowledge of English, were eagerly scrutinizing +Sir John's communication, the rest looking on. But the missive was +evidently a poser, and the expressions of triumph changed to annoyance +and chagrin as they shook their heads and gave up the puzzle. + +"They will understand it," said one. "Make them explain." + +The speaker nodded towards the prostrate captives, who were quickly +kicked into a sitting posture and ordered to supply the key to the +cipher. Pir Baksh was eagerness itself. He hastened to assure them that +nothing would delight him more. + +"This pig beside me," said he, "he knows the secret, and will quickly +inform if you threaten him. As for me, I hate the Feringhis, having been +their prisoner. Set free my hands, and I myself will question this cur +and make him confess. Ugh! the very sight of him makes me ill. Coward, +liar, and traitor is he!" + +"If thou dost hate him so," asked a Mohammedan ressaidar, "why wert thou +riding by his side as a friend? Thou canst not take us in so easily." + +"Because my own safety obliged me to call him friend. This fellow blew +up the Aurungpore magazine--he says he did so. Of course we must believe +him, though I myself saw him trembling like a leaf begging for mercy. By +me was he saved from the debris, saved that I might have the better +revenge; and first I humbugged him into giving me a _chit_, saying I was +loyal--I, Pir Baksh, leader of the rebels in Aurungpore!" + +The subadar related the whole of the miserable business. + +"It is true," said Tynan with quiet despair. "Save his life, for he is +the blackest villain in Asia, and I had rather die alone than with him +as comrade. Kill me and I shall be glad to get away from him." + +A native officer cut the bonds, and bade Pir Baksh get up. + +"Get the key from the cub, then. If he gives it willingly his life shall +be spared. If not, do as thou wilt." + +Pir Baksh smiled in pleasant anticipation, and humbly addressed his +quondam officer. + +"Will the protector of the poor deign to supply his slave with the +explanation of that letter?" + +Harry Tynan looked him straight between the eyes and said never a word. +The poor lad had suffered much during the past three months, and again +and again his own vileness had been laid bare to him. He had enough of +good in his nature to shudder at the prospect. The lies he had told, the +public whitewashing for his own ends of the villain Pir Baksh, the +bribing of Dwarika Rai and the other Rajputs, all these had gone against +the grain, but never had he seen his own meanness so clearly, until now +that he knew that even this most contemptible scoundrel regarded him +with far greater contempt. + +Pir Baksh had rendered Tynan a service at last, for he had made a man of +him. Then and there the ensign resolved that nothing should drag from +him the secret of the cypher--that Pir Baksh should understand he was +not wholly a coward. The rascal poised his sword above the boy's head. + +"First I am going to slice off the right ear, then the left. If that is +not enough, Ensign Sahib, I fear that the nose must go. After that--" +Here he smiled and added: "But I think the sahib will not be so +discourteous as to refuse his slave's request. Speak quickly or thine +ear goes!" + +Tynan turned a few shades paler, but he bit his lip and answered not a +word. Amazed at this unlooked-for defiance the subadar hesitated--and +someone sprang in front of Tynan, a fist shot out and was stopped by the +nose of the Mussulman, who toppled over, and was instantly disarmed by +two sowars, who knelt upon the traitor's chest and mocked his cries of +rage. + +"It's all serene, Tynan, old chap!" cried the voice of Ted Russell. +"We're going to scrag that brute!" + +He cut Tynan's bonds, whilst others trussed up the rebel, and I fear +that no trouble was taken to spare him discomfort. + +"It's all been a put-up job," Ted went on. "They collared me in the same +way, meaning to test us by threats, to find out if either would betray +the cipher. This is Lieutenant Kendal who's in command." + +A short and rather "tubby" figure, arrayed in a rebel garb, came forward +from the background and apologized for having been compelled to treat +them roughly. He was obeying instructions, and assured them of his +pleasure that neither had betrayed the trust. + +"Yes, but you know everything now," said Tynan sullenly. "It was mean of +you, Russell, to play this trick." + +"I had no hand in it, Tynan, and was treated in much the same way an +hour ago, except that they only threatened me with death, not torture; +so you came out of the ordeal better than I, and I respect you for it." + +"That's all very well. You come out with flying colours and I'm ruined. +I say, Lieutenant Kendal, let me clear away. I don't care what happens +to me, but I simply can't face the fellows who knew me. Only let me go, +and I'll disappear completely." + +"Sorry I can't do that, Mr. Tynan, but I have orders to take you back +before Sir John. By Jove, I'll say all I can for you, though, and though +Jan Larens can be stern he's really kindness itself. Make a clean breast +of it, youngster." + +They rode back in silence, and the pretended rebels repaired to their +comrades of the Sikh Cavalry to relate a marvellous story of the wisdom +of Jan Larens, from whom nothing could remain hidden. The great +statesman was still hard at work at his unending task, but when he heard +the lieutenant's tale he bade him send Tynan in. He greeted the boy with +mingled kindness and sadness. + +"This is a pitiable tale, youngster," he said, "though you have done +your best to redeem it to-night, I am told. Tell me all about it, and +keep nothing back. Regard me as one who wishes to help you." + +Tynan broke down under the prolonged strain, and, bursting into tears, +sobbed like a child. Bit by bit the grim though kindly ruler drew forth +the whole story of temptation, hesitation, and fall, of misery and of +lie upon lie that had gradually sunk the boy deeper in the morass. + +"Sit down," he said. "You have been punished. Are you sorry it has all +come to light?" + +"Indeed I am not, sir. I feel as though a great weight had been taken +away. I suppose I shall be hounded from the service at least, sir." + +"I hardly think you would wish to remain in the army?" said Sir John +gravely. + +"I want to get away from everyone, sir, and I know I don't deserve any +consideration. But I never meant to do it, sir. He led me on, and got me +in his power." + +"You have been punished--and you may be thankful for it, my lad, for you +will have a better chance of a happy useful life than had your claim +proved successful. This evening you acted like a man, and I will take +upon myself to accept your resignation." + +"Thank you, sir!" said Tynan joyfully, for he had never expected this. +"Oh, thank you, sir! I will try to do better." + +"You may set out again for Amritsar this night, and join Green's column +at Umballa as a volunteer under an assumed name, if you can overtake +them. I will give you credentials, and when the mutiny is crushed you +may leave the country as you think best. My advice is to do your duty +like a man as long as there is fighting to be done, and then return at +once to England." + +"Thank you, sir! I could wish for nothing better, and it's more than I +deserve. I'll be a different man after this lesson. Indeed I will, sir." + +"God help you to keep that resolution, my lad! Good-night!" + +Breakfast was just over when the summons came for Ted. Sir John motioned +him to take a seat. + +"You have been thoroughly vindicated, Mr. Russell. Tynan has told me +everything, and I congratulate you on having done your duty. You have +suffered great anxiety and disappointment, but there is no doubt that +you will obtain the reward you so highly deserve." + +This virtual promise that the former recommendation would hold good, and +that the Victoria Cross--most coveted of honours--would be his, dazzled +our hero for a space. To Ted's credit be it said that his next thought +was for poor Tynan. + +"Thank you, sir! I--I hope Tynan won't be disgraced, sir. It was not +altogether his fault." + +"It will be necessary," said Sir John gravely, "to make public +sufficient to clear your character. I have allowed him to resign, and he +clears out to-night. I am glad, my lad, that you should have considered +him." + +"Wait a moment," said the ruler of the Punjab as Ted rose to go. "How +would you like a commission in a corps of Irregular Horse?" + +"Punjabis, sir?" + +"Yes. Colonel Boldre, whose regiment has mutinied, is raising a corps in +the Balandghar district, and he has written to ask me if you may join +him. I think it would be a good thing, and should advise you to jump at +the chance." + +"Is there any likelihood of seeing active service with them, sir?" + +The great statesman burst into one of his hearty laughs. He remembered +the days when he was the age of Ted Russell--how he had longed to be a +soldier like his father, who had led the forlorn hope at Seringapatam, +or like his hero-brother Henry. The chuckles ceased, giving place to a +sad smile as he thought of those past days. "A soldier I was born, and +a soldier I will be!" he had declared as a lad, for all his family were +soldiers. But the Lawrences were poor, and the civil service gave better +remuneration than the military, and for his mother's and sisters' sakes +John Lawrence had put aside the dream of his boyhood that he might earn +enough to keep them from want. He knit his great brows and looked Ted up +and down, and the boy did not know whether the grim administrator was +pleased or displeased with him. + +"So you have not smelt enough powder, eh?" he asked at length. + +"I want to do my share, sir." + +"Boldre's Horse are going to Cawnpore to join Sir Colin Campbell at +once. The colonel will be setting out from Balandghar in a day or two, +with perhaps a couple of hundred sowars, Sikhs, Pathans, and Punjabi +Mohammedans. Mr. Jackson is raising a few score Sikhs and Dogras for him +in the Jalandar district, and you are to set out at once to take charge +of them, joining your commandant at Delhi." + +"Thank you, sir! it's just what I should have chosen." + +"Very good! but remember this. Do your duty with just as much +thoroughness whether it seem attractive or the reverse. Should your fate +tie you to duties of an uneventful nature, should you be out of the +fighting and excitement, and have little chance of distinguishing +yourself, remember that your work may be quite as necessary and useful, +if not so showy. So, whatever you may be called upon to do, do it +gladly. I will write to Jackson.---- Oh! I forgot--I am sending Colonel +Boldre a couple of Sikh native officers for his regiment, tried men who +have been proved and found faithful. They will go with you. They are +good men; remember that. Good-day!" + +Delighted with the turn of events Ted hastened to call upon the two +Sikh officers. "Jim was right," he said to himself as he swung his leg +over the saddle, "I am a lucky beggar. It's better being in a British +regiment than in a poorbeah lot, but better still to be with Sikh and +Pathan cavalry or Gurkha infantry, because Tommy has to be taken such +care of, or he'll have sunstroke or cholera, or he'll wander away and +get his throat cut, or else walk into an ambush. But these Cossacks of +the Punjab are in at most of the fun, and they catch Pandy in snares +instead of being caught by him." + +Colonel Bratherton presented him to the two Sikhs. They were brothers, +and in spite of a few years' difference in age, he could hardly tell one +from the other. Each was dressed in white--no colour being more popular +among the Sikhs--the snowy turbans setting off the triangle of dark face +left visible, with piercing eyes, deep-set and determined, the +well-shaped nose, tight mouth, and long beard and moustache twisted and +turned upwards over the ears. They were tall and strong, with thin but +sinewy legs--in fact, all that Sikhs should be. + +Ted asked their names. Govind Singh was the elder, named after the last +of the Sikh high-priests; Hira Singh the younger. He told them who he +was, and that they must set out for Jalandar that night; and they looked +him up and down with doubtful eyes, evidently not too favourably +impressed by his youthful appearance. Ted found himself somewhat afraid +of those eyes; they seemed to hold so much in reserve. But he felt that +in a tight place he would be glad to be backed by men with eyes like +theirs. + +"When will you be ready?" he asked. + +"Now," said Govind Singh. + +"Then we set out after sundown." + +"Very good, sahib! We go to Lucknow to help Henry Larens." + +"But he is dead," Ted informed him. + +Govind Singh shook his head. + +"That is a poorbeah lie," said he. "As if those jackals of Oudh could +kill the great chief!" + +Astounded by the Sikh's incredulity, Ted asked if he had seen Sir Henry +Lawrence. + +"I? I knew him well, and so did Hira Singh, my brother. When the English +fought the Afghans, nearly twenty years ago, we were at Peshawur in the +Sikh army under Avitabile. The Sikh government had granted you Feringhis +a passage through the Punjab, but we Sikh soldiers preferred our old +enemies the Afghans, and we refused to fight on your side. We were ready +to eat up your Khyber column in those days, and would have done it too, +but for Henry Larens Sahib, who won our hearts, so that we fought for +him, aye, even to Kabul. Then when we challenged you to war six years +later and were beaten, he ruled the Punjab justly and with righteous +dealing, as his brother does to-day. Jan Larens is a good and great man +likewise, but Henry we loved most. We knew him well." + +"It is true," echoed Hira Singh. "If all the Feringhis were like unto +Henry Larens there would have been no mutiny. Just is he, and he +understands us and knows our ways of thinking as no other white man has +ever done. He loved us, yet was he firm--firm as is his brother, and +never was there a braver man. How he defied us all at Peshawur, though +at our mercy! And so great was his ikbal (prestige), that he forced us +to aid him even against our will. Jan Larens is a just and good man, but +for Henry Larens we would gladly lay down our lives. I know that he is +dead, but my brother will not believe it." + +"We will be ready before sundown, sahib," Govind Singh assured Ted as he +left them, greatly impressed by this evidence of the influence of one +good man, who had so won over his former enemies that they had become +his staunchest friends. + +Ensign Russell's kit was not extensive. He was now quite an old +campaigner, having learned at Delhi how to do without many luxuries that +he had formerly considered necessities. He gave his Mohammedan servant +instructions to prepare for a long journey, and Kasim Ali received the +news as a matter of course. Strange must be the lives of these Indian +servants, who are ready to change their place of abode at a moment's +notice for another hundreds of miles away. At Delhi, after the capture +of the town, Ted had picked up a bargain in the shape of a nice Arab, +good-tempered, robust, and speedy. But he also needed an animal for +Kasim Ali, and another for his kit and supplies, so he now called upon +an Afghan dealer whose horses he had previously noticed. The Afghan +brought out one sorry brute after another and tried to pass them off as +veritable treasures, such as Aurungzebe himself might have envied. Ted +looked guileless, and the Afghan was pained to hear him remark: + +"I'm in a hurry. If you have no horses, say so, and I'll go elsewhere." + +The wily coper began to see that his customer was no ignorant griffin, +so he changed his tone, dropped his protestations, and finally brought +out a couple of serviceable beasts, not showy, but strong and in good +condition. Ted at once declared that they would suit, and named the sum +he was prepared to give; and the Afghan, seeing that it was "take or +leave", ceased to haggle, and closed the bargain, not dissatisfied with +the profit he had made. Kasim Ali led the steeds away. + +"Must go and say good-bye to Ethel and the colonel next," said the +ensign to himself. + +Colonel Woodburn and his daughter had remained in Lahore after the +unsatisfactory conclusion of the trial, in order to be able to give the +lad any advice or assistance within their power. They were staying with +a civilian friend of the colonel, towards whose bungalow Ted turned his +horse's steps. The news that he had been cleared was already out, and +Ethel waved her hand joyously as he hove in sight. Sending a servant to +take the horse, she motioned the ensign to join her in the verandah. + +"I am delighted, Ted!" she began. "Do you feel like a free man again?" + +Ted sank luxuriously into the easy-chair. + +"Ethel," he said with unwonted seriousness, "I feel like the man in the +_Pilgrim's Progress_, whose burden has rolled from his shoulders. I +suppose you have heard how the truth came out?" + +"Yes; Lieutenant Kendal has told us the whole story this morning. But +what has become of Tynan? What is to be done with him? Poor lad! he's +had a harder time than you, Ted." + +"Yes," Ted slowly answered, "I know he has. I'm sorry for him, and I +don't know what has become of him. I don't think that Sir John has been +hard upon him. Perhaps he's been able in some way to give him another +chance. Sir John was very kind to me." + +"They say he is stern, but I've never found him so.---- Well, father, +here's the innocent victim of conspiracy, righted at last, and let off +on condition that he won't do it again." + +Colonel Woodburn and his host had entered the verandah. They +congratulated Ted, and Mr. Moncrief added: + +"You'll have tiffin with us, Mr. Russell? Make yourself at home here +while you stay in Lahore." + +"You're very good, Mr. Moncrief, but I'm leaving in a few hours. I'll +stay to lunch, though, thanks!" + +"That's right. Where are you going, then?" + +Ted related the offer made to him by Sir John, and expressed his delight +at the prospect. He had come to say good-bye. + +"Colonel Boldre is a very nice man," Ethel said meditatively. "Father +knows him well. I suppose you're an ensign no longer, then? I am glad to +meet you, Lieutenant Russell." + +Ted laughed. + +"It's a promotion in a way, I suppose," said he, "but I'm not gazetted +lieutenant yet." + +"You soon will be, though," Colonel Woodburn assured him. "Your +appointment is practically equal to promotion. Boldre is a good soldier. +I wish I were equal to it." + +"Do you still suffer any pain from the wound, colonel?" Ted asked. + +"Hardly now, Ted. Still, I'm not fit for active service, only for +garrison and depot." + +"Tiffin is ready," Mr. Moncrief announced. "Lead the way, Miss +Woodburn." + +By seven o'clock Lieutenant Edward Russell, Risaldar[25] Govind Singh, +Ressaidar Hira Singh, and Kasim Ali were on their way to Amritsar by the +very road along which Ted had journeyed twenty-four hours ago. Jalandar +was reached on the second day without mishap, and without any incident +more exciting than a half-hour's alarm occasioned by the approach of a +body of Native Horse. They turned out to be a detachment of the force +maintained by the Sikh Raja of Kapurthala, a loyal prince who, in +response to John Lawrence's invitation, had assisted the British at +Delhi, and whose men were now engaged in keeping a portion of the great +highway clear of budmashes and guerrilla mutineers. + + [25] The cavalry ranks of _Risaldar_ and _Ressaidar_ correspond + in some degree to the English _Major_ and _Captain_. The + senior native officers, however, rank below the Junior + British officers. + +Ted was hospitably received by Mr. Jackson, a civilian official of the +Cis-Sutlej States, who had enlisted some forty or fifty horsemen--Sikhs +from the Jalandar Doab and Dogras from Kangra. A few days were needed in +order to give the levies a little polish and complete their equipment, +and during this period Ted stayed with Mr. Jackson. Then they set out +for Delhi, through Ludhiana and Amballa. + +Five months before a certain ensign had ridden along that road with the +Corps of Guides, a lad in the highest of spirits. "Glory of youth glowed +in his soul", as he rode by his brother's side and surveyed that +splendid regiment, the pride of the Punjab, and, engrossed in the +splendour of the martial array, he had given little thought to the +horrors. + +Five months ago! At times it seemed as many years, and yet again, as +they passed some landmark, and a vivid recollection of some chance +remark flashed across his brain, at such a time it seemed but yesterday. +His spirits were still high, but experience had somewhat sobered him. He +thought of the great events of that fateful period, of the scenes of +carnage, of the lost friends and comrades, of the great Nicholson, of +the plucky little Gurkhas, and those days at the house of Hindu Rao. How +many of those grand men of the Guides, with whom he had ridden across +the Punjab, had gone back to their depot at Hoti Mardan? How many of the +little Gurkhas, whose arrival in the British camp he had witnessed, had +marched back to their station in the hills of Dehra Dun? What months +those had been for India and for himself! Then the rebels were winning +at every point, except in the Punjab. Now the Mogul capital was once +more in the hands of the British, the emperor was a captive, and though +much remained to be done, the end of the great mutiny was in sight. + +In the towns along the Ganges and its tributaries the sepoy hordes still +held the upper hand, and their numbers were daily increasing. Gallant +Havelock and chivalrous Outram had at length broken their way through +and relieved the intrepid garrison of Lucknow, but the mutineers had +closed behind them, and they in their turn were shut up in the +Residency, and Henry Lawrence, the best-loved Englishman who had ever +set foot in India, was dead. Hardly a big town along the Ganges but had +its tale of murder and black treachery to unfold. + +Delhi had been captured, but its swarms of mutineers had gone to augment +the ranks of the sepoys who were holding a reign of terror in Oudh; and +though Sir Colin Campbell was at the head of a fine army, there were +still threescore rebels against each white man. + +Arrived at the Mogul capital, Ted learned that Colonel Boldre had gone +on to Agra, whither he was to proceed with all speed. The route thus far +was open, for the Delhi column under Hope Grant and Greathed had cleared +the way, and fifty mounted Irregulars had little to fear from +undisciplined and cowardly budmashes. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +To the Rescue + + +The sun had just risen when Hira Singh, riding fifty paces ahead of the +cavalcade, suddenly waved his hand as a signal to halt, leapt from his +horse, and led it behind the bushes that bordered the road. His +companions reined in their steeds and awaited the explanation. + +The Englishman threw his reins to the nearest sowar and stealthily +joined the ressaidar, who was peering through the bushes. They were +passing through a well-wooded tract, abounding with mango, pipal, +tamarind, and other trees, with plenty of tropical undergrowth, giving +good cover. + +"What is it?" Ted asked. + +"I don't know," said the Sikh. "The dust hides everything." + +About half a mile away dense clouds of dust were rising in the air and +falling again to the rear, concealing all traces of the makers of the +disturbance, except that a few armed horsemen in front were partially +visible. + +"I thought at first it might be a body of rebel horse," observed Hira +Singh, "but it moves too slowly for that." + +"Bullock-carts, I should say," suggested the young officer, as he +trained his glasses on the spot. + +"That is what I think. There is an escort, so perhaps they carry the +poorbeahs' stores or ammunition or loot. Anyhow, we had better mount and +capture it." + +They were now within about thirty miles of Agra, and the sun's rays +were darting through the foliage, the golden light playing upon the +flashing sabres and glittering lance-points as the troop swept forward. +Ted's men were curiously equipped, some with shields, a number with +carbines; some had sabres, others lances, and many had both; and all +were seated upon native saddles of felt. Yet Ted was a proud boy that +morning, for, motley as was the collection, they were fine-looking men, +and were they not acting under his orders! He would have been less proud +had he known what his men were charging. + +The fine dust deadened the drumming of the hoofs, and until half the +intervening distance had been covered the cloud in front moved forward, +and rose and fell with regular cadence. Then the procession halted; they +had been seen or heard. + +Hira Singh laughed, and, lowering his lance-point, tightened the grip of +his knees on the saddle. + +"Only a rebel escaping with his goods and family," said he; "but we may +as well slay them, sahib, for without doubt they deserve it." + +"Not so, Hira Singh. Let us speak them fair. We cannot tell who they +are." + +There were two curtained _gharris_ or carts, each drawn by two soft-eyed +bullocks. Protecting these rode three horsemen, who now stood awaiting +the onslaught, two with levelled muskets, the third with drawn sword. It +was evident that the gharris contained their womenfolk, as for nothing +less would they have stood their ground against fifty. + +Crack! Crack! At two hundred yards' distance they had fired into the +cloud of dust, and a bullet struck Ted just below the heart. He doubled +forward with the pain, nearly losing his grip, and the bullet quietly +dropped upon the saddle. He glanced at his tunic; there was not a tear, +and he slowly realized that he was still alive. The bullet was spent, +and it had struck him with no more force than a thrown stone of the +same size. He was hurt, but not injured. + +Hira Singh's lance was couched again, and the horses were at the gallop. +The shots had roused the fierce Sikh blood, and it would have gone hard +with the horsemen had not Ted sufficiently recovered his wits, and, +spurring his Arab to the front, had called upon the ressaidar to pull up +his horse to a walk. + +He was puzzled that the three should have stood their ground so +valiantly when escape would have been easy, and he did not mean to +suffer friends to be slain. Besides, the carts probably contained women, +who would not be safe from the fury of his wild levies once they had +tasted blood. He caught Hira Singh's bridle and shouted the command to +halt, and the troop pulled up about thirty paces from the daring +wayfarers. Ted rode out in front of his men. + +"Who are you?" he demanded. + +Instantly the strangers lowered their loaded muskets, and the handsome +old man in the centre took his sword by the blade and held the hilt +towards the Englishman. + +"Allah give you victory, sahib!" said the old man, stroking his gray +beard with nervous fingers. "I thought ye were budmashes who had cut us +off. I did not see that thou wast a Feringhi until this moment." + +"We hope that no man was hurt by our shots," added the youngest of the +three, a slight but muscular and well-made man, twenty years of age +perhaps. There was something in his appearance that took Ted's fancy--a +dignified bearing and demeanour. + +"But what do ye here?" asked our lieutenant, "and why should ye fire at +strangers?" + +"I am Yusuf Khan of Paniwar, and these are my sons. In the +bullock-gharris are our womenfolk. We have fled from our home through +fear of the anger of the rebels. Know then, young sahib, that I have +raised my voice on the side of our alien rulers, warning and advising +our young men to abstain from acts of madness. The stain of blood is not +on my hands." + +He stretched out his open palms as he spoke. There was an honest ring in +the old man's voice, and his eye was open and steady. + +"It is true," said Ramzan Khan, the younger son. "We have remained loyal +to the Sirkar." + +"I am from Paniwar," continued the old Mohammedan, "but for years I was +surveyor with Henry Lawrence Sahib, from Gorakhpur to Allahabad, and I +swore that his people should be as my people, and that for his sake +would I help any Feringhis who might be in need. He was my master and my +true friend, and I loved him." + +The fierce-eyed Govind Singh walked his horse to the side of Yusuf Khan +and looked him between the eyes. + +"So thou art also Larens Sahib's man?" he chuckled. "I also. Thou art an +eater of beef and I an accursed infidel, yet for that we are bound by +the same ties to the same master--we are brothers. Dost thou believe +that he is dead?" + +"Aye, I know that he is dead, alas!" + +"Thou art a faint-hearted disciple, old man. He lives, I say.... Well, +tell me thy story." + +The Mohammedan turned once more to the English officer and continued: + +"The men, and the women also--and their abuse was the harder to +bear--taunted me, called me an unbeliever and a renegade, a taker of +English gold, because that I opposed the hot-heads. And then it came to +pass that I did that which caused all my neighbours to hate me. We +found--I and my sons--a small party of English men and women wandering +about the jungle, having escaped the fate of their murdered countrymen, +and we guided them safely into Agra Fort. All would have been well had I +not foolishly given my name to an Englishman who asked for it, and their +gratitude led them to recommend me to government for a reward. But for +that my neighbours would never have known. + +"And this is the reward, that we have been stoned and our lives +threatened, and to save ourselves from worse we left home last night +with what valuables we could bring away, and set forth for Agra." + +"But," objected Ted, "you are going towards Delhi, not Agra." + +The old man turned and pointed backwards. + +"Over there," said he, "half an hour's walk away, our road from Paniwar +joins the Agra-Delhi road, and we turned to the right instead of to the +left in order to escape our pursuers. For my son, Ramzan Khan, had +lingered near the village to see if we should be followed. We had a few +hours' start before we were missed, and, guessing whither we were +journeying, a number of the rascals followed, some on horseback, others +on foot. With bullocks we cannot travel at more than a snail's pace, and +we were unable to procure horses for the carts, so capture was certain. +But Ramzan Khan, having a very swift horse, overtook us just after we +had turned into the Agra road. Hearing the news that he brought, we +tried to throw them off the scent by facing about towards Delhi instead +of going on to Agra." + +"I came much quicker than the budmashes," put in Ramzan Khan. "Some of +them were on foot, and the horsemen were trotting slowly to allow the +runners to keep up with them, thinking that they could not fail to +overtake the bullocks." + +"What, then, do ye intend to do?" asked Govind Singh. A trooper to whom +he had been whispering dismounted, and, leaving the dusty road, stole +forward under cover of the trees and undergrowth. + +"Allah knows," replied Yusuf Khan. "Perchance, having picked up our +trail, they will ride on in their haste towards Agra without taking +further notice of the tracks we leave in the dust. If so, we may hide +until the danger is past. If, however, they notice that we have doubled +back, all will soon be over unless ye choose to help us. When we fired +we thought ye were the very sons of Shitan themselves, who had worked +round and cut us off." + +"Ah!" said Hira Singh reprovingly, "that was not a soldierly thing to +do, to fire before making sure." + +"But," said the stranger, "did we not see you charging upon us with +spears and swords?" + +"He is right," said Ted, with a laugh at Hira Singh's expense. "Why, +ressaidar, didst thou not wish to slay them all without stopping to make +sure?" + +Rishan Chand, a Dogra, stepped forward with a suggestion. + +"Let the women descend from the carts," said he, "and place some of us +inside, and let the bullocks retrace their steps. The troopers and you, +sahib, keep out of sight, but near enough to aid. Then when the +budmashes come, the zamindar (farmer or yeoman) and his sons, and the +drivers, can pretend to run away and leave the women at the mercy of the +rebels. Then shall we surprise them when they peer in through the +curtains, and before they can escape ye should be upon them." + +"The Dogra has sense," said Hira Singh. "Let it be so, sahib." + +"If the zamindar approve, it shall be done. What sayest thou, Yusuf +Khan?" + +"It is good; all except that we should run away, I and my sons. We do +not run from jackals." + +"Nay, but they will suspect otherwise," Ted explained. "And if ye resist +they will fire at you and at the carts, and all will be spoiled. Ye must +consent to play the coward." + +"Sahib, it is for me to obey you," said the zamindar. + +The three refugees walked their horses to the side of the conveyances, +from behind whose curtains veiled faces were already peeping in anxious +bewilderment; and presently an elderly dame and three younger ones +descended and were led by the elder son--a married man--into the shelter +of the bushes. Sikhs and Dogras began to peer inside the vehicles, and +two of the former jumped in. But Govind Singh was too quick for them. + +"Outside, dogs!" he shrilled. "Put back that which ye have stolen. Are +there not enough enemies from whom to steal that ye must rob friends, +and one who has served with Larens Sahib? Outside, I say!" + +Inside the carts was strewn in confusion as much of the old Mohammedan's +portable property as could be put together in their haste. Abashed, the +Sikhs dropped the few ornaments they had seized, and came out with +sullen, crest-fallen expressions. + +"Ho, zamindar!" called the risaldar. "Wilt thou or one of thy sons go in +this cart to see that naught is stolen? Our men are thieves; they are +but recruits who know no better." + +"Nay," replied the old man, with simple dignity. "Ye are my friends. If +they save my honour, I do not grudge them my goods." + +"If so much as the value of an anna is taken," said Ted sternly, "the +thief shall answer it. Let three or four of the Dogras get in each cart; +they ate smaller than ye Sikhs, and will have more room to aim. Tumble +in!" + +"Hide, you rascals, hide!" broke in Govind Singh abruptly. He pointed +eastward, whence the scout was running towards them, in and out among +the tree-trunks, gesticulating as he ran. + +"He is signalling us to take cover," continued the risaldar. "Sons of +owls, disappear among the bushes before ye are seen! Inside the carts, +ye Dogras! Quick!" + +The Dogras squeezed inside and drew the curtains across; and in a moment +all the troopers had disappeared, leaving Ted, Govind Singh, and the two +Mohammedans beside the carts to await the scout. + +"They are within sight from up there," he informed them. "I climbed a +tree and saw the dust they raised. They come at a trot, and will soon be +here." + +"What shall we do, sahib?" asked the zamindar. "We obey thy orders." + +"Go forward as before, thou and thy sons," said Ted. "We shall hide on +both sides of the road. When the budmashes come close, fire at them, and +then set spurs to your steeds, keeping straight along the road, not into +the bushes where we hide. We can see to the rest, can we not, risaldar?" + +Govind Singh grunted acquiescence, and with Ted left the glaring road +for the shade of the trees, and the little caravan went on. + +"Will they not mark the track of our horses?" Ted asked, being +apprehensive lest the plot should fail. + +"Once they see their prey they will take no further heed to the trail. +Dismount here, sahib; we can see without being seen." + +A view-halloo from the distance, faint yet savagely exultant, told that +the pursuers were within sight of the slowly-trudging bullock-carts. A +moment or two of suspense, then a shot rang out. A second report, and +two horsemen flashed round the bend and galloped past the watching +officers. Ted and Govind Singh were less than a hundred yards from the +road; the rest of the troop, dispersed over a large area, were rather +farther back on either side, hidden in groups behind clumps of trees and +patches of bush. + +"There's the cart," whispered Ted, as the zamindar and his son dashed +past them. + +With a twist of the bullocks' tails to urge them forward, Yusuf Khan's +two servants left their charges and scuttled into the woods. The stolid +bullocks, unmoved as ever, went forward snail-like, and the foremost +pursuers ranged alongside. + +Lieutenant Russell trembled with excitement. The Dogras were at the +mercy of the blackguards, should they have courage enough to take +revenge for the trick played upon them, rather than seek first to make +good their escape. + +The first four or five leapt from their horses, jabbering something that +the watchers could not make out. Their actions, however, were easy to +understand. They tore aside the curtains, laughing noisily; a silver +streak flashed forth from each window, and a couple of the scoundrels +staggered aside and rolled over heavily. Their comrades jumped back as +though stung, and the expression of blended terror and amazement +depicted on their faces caused Govind Singh to give utterance to a low +pleased chuckle. Said he: + +"It is the story of the hunter who chased the sambhur deer, and when he +was close upon her, and sure of his prey, she vanished amid the bushes, +and lo! he was face to face with a tiger.---- Ha!---- badly aimed! They +have shot but two of the curs." + +As their assailants recoiled the Dogras had fired. Some of the +budmashes, their courage quickly cooled by unexpected resistance, seemed +anxious to leave the scene without striking a blow, but the handful of +revolted sepoys who were with them were less cowardly, and they who had +muskets were already loading their weapons. Meanwhile Hira Singh and a +dozen troopers were rapidly skirting round to the rear, and Ted knew +that the time had come. He gave a clear whistle, and the rebels turned +abruptly round. + +Wild and shrill were the yells of those troopers as they sprang to the +saddle and converged from various points upon the mutineers, spoiling +their aim, so that not a Dogra was touched. The budmashes had no mind +for further lingering. But they had hesitated too long. The lances were +already couched and sabres bared, and the Sikhs close upon them, and the +troopers' horses were fresher than were theirs, and better animals +withal. Down the Agra road clattered the would-be murderers, Ted, Govind +Singh, and Ramzan Khan at their heels. Round the bend they went, and, +behold, the road was blocked by Hira Singh and his dozen Sikhs, who +awaited the mob with levelled carbines. + +The terrified rascals tried to turn aside, and the carbines cracked and +the lance-points fell and rose again, and Ramzan Khan's tulwar was +merciless. There was no fight left in these rebels. They had set out to +murder and despoil those weaker than themselves; they had hunted the +deer, as Govind Singh had said, and had caught the tiger. + +"Have mercy! Have mercy!" they whined, throwing down weapons and holding +their hands aloft, and Ted commanded that the fight should cease. He was +obliged to repeat the order more sternly and accompany it by a threat, +and even then the command might have availed little with the fierce +Sikhs had the young lieutenant not been backed up by the veteran +brothers. As for Yusuf Khan, the zamindar, the moment Ted had spoken, he +had wiped his blade and thrust it back into the wooden sheath. His were +the wrongs, but, thought he, it was not for him to disobey the +countryman of Henry Lawrence, who had come to his help in time of sorest +need. + +The prisoners numbered sixteen; eight or ten were slain, barely half a +dozen escaping. The mounted men were ordered down from their seats and +tied in fours, right wrist to left wrist, and bade march in front. The +women were replaced in the carriages, and the procession moved forward +at a walk, three or four sowars scouting in advance. + +"Sahib," said the old Mohammedan, "we are grateful. You have saved us +from a great evil." + +"Ye also saved the lives of my countrymen," Ted replied, "so ye owe me +naught. Indeed, ye have lost by your deed of kindness; I have lost +nothing. Believe me, I will tell your story at Agra, and the government +will not forget you when the rebellion is over." + +The zamindar engaged his sons in a whispered conversation. After a few +moments he said: + +"Your servant is not a fighter, sahib,--that much I have seen. Take my +son, Ramzan Khan, as orderly, to fight by your side. He is a good +swordsman, and not without courage." + +Ted jumped at the offer. Ramzan Khan met his gaze and said: + +"I am your servant, sahib. I cannot forget what you have done for us." + +And so it was settled that Ramzan Khan should accompany Lieutenant +Russell to Lucknow. + +Next day they crossed the Jumna by the bridge of boats, and Ted landed +his convoy and his prisoners safely in Agra Fort, where he was warmly +welcomed by Colonel Boldre, who was introduced by no less a person than +Claude himself. Ted's new colonel was a little man, of slight build, and +of rather insignificant appearance, until one noted his eyes and mouth. +Ted soon perceived that he was active and alert, with an air of +decision, and the lieutenant took to his commandant at once. Colonel +Boldre listened to the youngster's narrative, and laughed at the story +of the trick played upon the rebels. He inspected his new troops, and +was particularly pleased with the look of Govind and Hira Singh, whose +hearts he quickly won. Colonel Boldre had a thorough knowledge of Sikh +character, and understood their ways, and when his poorbeah regiment had +mutined, the Sikhs had remained loyal, and had saved their colonel's +life. + +Ted made a good meal of salt beef and pickles, and when tiffin was over +he and Claude left the colonel and strolled outside the rambling +building. + +"I never expected to see you here," said Ted as they quitted the room. + +"I suppose not. As soon as I heard that the pater had been given +permission to raise a corps I asked him to apply for my exchange. He did +so, and here I am. Knowing that you would prefer this sort of work to +being in the regulars, I asked him to put in a word for you also. I +cracked you up no end as a horseman and soldier." + +"You're a brick! It was jolly good of you to think of it. I suppose you +didn't much care to be under Hodson after what's happened?" + +Claude Boldre turned on Ted with a queer expression in his eyes--half +vexation, half amusement. + +"You're alluding to the shooting of the old emperor's sons, I suppose?" +said he. + +Ted nodded. "Hodson's a brave man--there's no one who risks his own life +more; but one can hardly respect an English officer who could +deliberately shoot his prisoners in cold blood." + +"Cold blood be hanged, Russell! Your blood wouldn't be very cold if you +were faced by ten times your own number, clamouring for the rescue of +your prisoners." + +"Perhaps not, but they were not resisting. They were not showing fight, +and he ought not to have killed them. They were men like himself, but +he showed no more compunction than if they'd been wolves or tigers." + +"Those prisoners were a jolly sight worse than wolves or tigers, +Russell, a jolly sight more wicked. I don't think you can know the whole +story. Hodson has a number of enemies because he's been so prominent, +and he is rather arrogant and zubberdusty (high-handed) at times. He has +trodden on other people's corns, and they've been too ready to believe +the worst without taking all the circumstances into account." + +"But, you know, he got into trouble over the Guides," Ted interrupted. +"Falsified the accounts and collared the money, or something of the +sort." + +"Not a bit of it. He had a row with one of the Pathan officers, and he +was rather zubberdusty; but as for the dishonesty, that was only a tale +set afloat by busybodies. The affair was investigated by Reynell Taylor, +and you'll admit that he would never condone anything wrong." + +"Yes," Ted agreed, "if he absolved Hodson it's all right." + +"Well, he did so. He said there was not an anna not accounted for, and +that the books were badly kept, because Hodson wasn't cut out for a +clerk, being always in the saddle, doing police and soldier work. Now, +as to this other business. It was Hodson who captured the old Mogul when +perhaps no other man could have done it, and he didn't put him to death. +Then he offered to go and bring in the princes--the vicious brutes who'd +murdered the English men and women in Delhi. With a handful of his +troopers he set out for the tiger's lair and captured them. They begged +him to spare their lives when they surrendered, but he resolutely +refused to give any promise. On the way back he was cut off by a mob of +armed fanatics, who were keen on rescuing the princes. Hodson's own +account, and that of his sowars, is that if he had hesitated a moment he +would have been overwhelmed and killed and they would have escaped, and +he was determined that the vile murderers should be punished and made an +example of. Without hesitation he answered the clamour of the mob by +shooting the princes himself; and his promptness cowed the fanatics. +They melted away, and not one of his men was hurt." + +"Yes; but was he not exaggerating the danger?" contended Ted. + +"He's the only one who can judge of that," Boldre replied. "And with all +his faults, I believe Hodson to be an honourable man. The prisoners were +bound to be hanged. No one even attempted to deny their guilt, and their +lives being forfeit, I don't suppose Hodson considered it wrong to +anticipate their fate by a day or two, when by so doing he could save +the lives of his own men. + +"It was a big responsibility," Claude continued as Ted remained +thoughtful, "and he had the courage to take it, believing it to be the +right course. He may have been wrong. I admit I don't like the thought +of it, but it was done from no motive of cruelty." + +"You've put the affair in a new light," Ted confessed; "but all the +same, I wish he had not done it." + +"So do I," agreed Boldre. "But look here, Russell, suppose the princes +had been rescued to spread rebellion by the magic of their name as the +descendants of the Grand Mogul. Would not those who are now decrying him +most have been the first to attack him for having allowed them to +escape?" + +"Well, perhaps they would," said Ted. + +"No, I did not exchange because of that," Claude went on, reverting to +Ted's earlier question, "but because I wished to serve under the pater. +I've seen so little of him for years, and he's a good soldier, everyone +say so. Very few of the Company's colonels have been given new commands, +you may have noticed, and the pater is one of the few." + +"Yes, it's rather marked that the newly-raised regiments are mostly +commanded by lieutenants and captains." + +A hand tapped Ted's shoulder. Turning, he perceived his new orderly, +Ramzan Khan. In reply to the look of enquiry the Mohammedan said: + +"It is not safe to go so far from the fort, sahibs. The people of Agra +do not love the English." + +"He's right," said Claude. "We'd better get back." + +"Is there any--" Ted stopped short with a little gasp. He stood staring +with wide-open eyes, and his companions followed his gaze. + +"Is that the famous Taj Mahal?" he asked in a tone of awe; and Claude +nodded. + +Our lieutenant of Irregular Horse having become accustomed to the +wonders of the East was not easily moved to admiration thereby. But now +he was spell-bound by the beauty, the exquisite perfection of that +lovely dream-palace, perhaps the most awe-inspiring work of men's hands. +In the ardour of argument he had not noticed the wonder, and now he +could not take his eyes from that central dome, white and ethereal +against the deep blue of the Indian sky, with its cluster of smaller +pearly domes, the whole great and grand and yet unreal, as if the vision +must shortly fade away. Men have attempted to depict the Taj Mahal in +prose and poetry and painting, and have all admitted the feat +impossible. "Go to India," Lord Roberts has said; "the Taj alone is +worth the journey." + +This vast tomb, known as the Taj Mahal, was built by the Emperor Shah +Jehan in memory of his wife, and finished about the year 1640, when the +Moslems were the great architects of the world. Forbidden by their +religion to make images of men by painting or sculpture, they devoted +their genius to architecture; and the mosques and tombs of Hindustan, +and the Alhambra and other Moorish buildings in Spain, bear witness to +their surpassing power. + +Ramzan Khan looked downcast as they turned away. + +"Ah!" said he sadly, "in those days were the true believers the leaders +of mankind. We are unworthy children of our great fathers." + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI + +Lucknow Relieved + + +Pushing forward with all speed past Mainpuri and Bewar, Colonel Boldre +arrived in the British camp on November 13th, shortly after Sir Colin +Campbell had assumed command of the Relief Force. The column was +encamped within and around the grounds of the Alambagh, a big mansion +enclosed by a high wall, three or four miles south of Lucknow. Here they +met many of their Delhi friends, who had come down with Colonel Hope +Grant, and one of the first to greet them was Alec Paterson. There was +plenty to say on both sides. + +Ted found that Alec, who still limped a little in walking, had been +appointed an extra aide-de-camp by the brigadier, who had noticed the +lad's great energy and thoroughness at Delhi. Alec told his chum how +glad he was that his name had been cleared, and wanted to know all about +the trial at once; but Ted was too anxious to look round the camp and +find out the notables, so, observing that the story would keep, he asked +Alec to act as guide. Paterson, by the way, did not mention the little +fact that he had greatly distinguished himself under Greathed at Agra on +the way down, and had been recommended for promotion. Ted found that out +from another source. + +"We advance to-morrow," the aide-de-camp informed his chums, and broke +off abruptly to call their attention to a big, square-shouldered man in +blue tunic, white cords, and jack-boots. "Here, do you see that man with +the reddish hair and beard? He's a plucky chap. He's a clerk, not a +soldier, but he's done a feat that any man might be proud of." + +"What's he done?" asked Claude. + +"Well, he don't look much like a mild Hindu or any other sort of +Asiatic, does he? But he volunteered to disguise himself and break +through the rebel lines with a note from Outram and plans of the enemy's +weak points and advice for Sir Colin. And he did it. Fancy a man of his +build and hair and features disguised as a native of Oudh! He must have +a nerve. But he got through, and the general now has the plans; and if +we succeed, Kavanagh will deserve a share of the credit. He's in the +Volunteer Cavalry now." + +"I want to see Sir Colin," said Ted. "Is he likely to be about?" + +"I'll point him out if we see him. And who do you think is going to +conduct the force to-morrow?" + +"Who? How should I know?" + +"Why, Lieutenant Roberts, the Artillery D.A.Q.M.G. at Delhi. That young +man will be a major-general before any of us commands a battalion. He's +a wonderful fellow, but so modest that nobody is jealous." + +"Fine-looking lot those Highlanders!" Alec observed as they passed a +group of men wearing the kilt and bonnet and white gaiters. + +"They're the 93rd, I suppose," said Ted. "Hoot, mon, what for do ye no +don the kilt yourself, Sandy?" + +"I should like to," Alec replied. "The 93rd's a grand regiment, and I'm +proud of being a countryman of theirs." + +"Hear, hear!" said Ted. "They look fit." + +The three friends entered the Alambagh enclosure. + +"Who are those two?" asked Claude, nodding towards a couple of +distinguished-looking officers who were walking about slowly, in earnest +conversation. + +"Ssh!--not so loud. Why, the older man is Sir Colin himself, and the +taller one with glasses is General Mansfield, his chief of staff." + +"Oh!" + +The boys looked with keen interest upon the commander-in-chief. They saw +a spare man, with a slight stoop, but a soldier to the backbone--an +elderly man with furrowed brows, bearing the marks of long and arduous +service; but there was no sign of weakness about the firm mouth, or the +eyes so clear and alert. + +"Yes, that's the commander-in-chief," said Paterson again. "Now, Ted, +I've shown you round, and it's your turn to enlighten me now. I only +know the bare facts that you have been cleared, and that Tynan is a +howling cad." + +So Ted had once more to tell what had befallen Tynan and himself at +Lahore, and when he had finished the narrative, Alec asked: + +"And what became of Pir Baksh?" + +"He was condemned to death and shot the day before I left Lahore. +Colonel Woodburn and Munro were almost as pleased as I was when the +truth came out, for I really think that they believed that I had been +unjust to poor Tynan. But Ethel Woodburn had stuck up for me through +thick and thin." + +"Miss Woodburn is the nicest, jolliest girl in India," said Alec with +conviction, "and your brother's a jolly lucky fellow." + +"He is so. Yes, she's all that and more, and she kept my spirits up when +I was feeling jolly well down in the mouth. Wasn't she glad when I was +cleared! It was almost worth while having gone through it all. I don't +suppose I'll ever see Tynan again. Poor beggar, I'm sorry for him, for I +don't think he ever meant to do it." + +"What became of those Rajputs he'd bribed?" + +"They were dismissed from the service. Dwarika Rai begged my pardon +before he went. He said that he hadn't understood that his evidence +might disgrace me until it was too late for him to draw back, and I +believed him." + +"It was a funny business altogether," was Claude's opinion, given in a +tone of unusual thoughtfulness. "The man must have been mad." + +"He was a born cad," said Paterson, "and deserved the same fate as Pir +Baksh." + +"I don't agree with you," said Ted. "I think there's some good in him." + +"Precious little. But I haven't time to argue; I must make a strategical +retirement. See you to-morrow." + +After Alec's departure Claude and Ted found their way to the roof of the +Alambagh, where were one or two officers whom they did not know. Over +the expanse of wooded plain they caught glimpses of the mosques and +minarets and gilded spires of Lucknow, rearing their heads above the +abundant foliage of the parks and great gardens. The city seemed to +stretch as far as the eye could reach, and they both experienced a +curious thrill as they gazed thereat. + +"And that's where Sir Henry Lawrence died, and where Outram and Havelock +are now," observed Ted, almost in a whisper. + +"Eighty-seven days they held out before Havelock got through," Claude +reflected aloud. "It was a grand defence. I wonder whereabouts the +Residency is?" + +"Over there, due north," said a voice beside them. + +"Thank you!" Claude replied; and they looked at the speaker, a +clean-shaven man with hair inclined to wave, attired in a dress that +seemed singularly out of place there, even among so great a variety of +uniforms. He wore a blue frock-coat, and his white trousers were +unstrapped; there was a white cover to his cap, and hunting-spurs +adorned his shoes. + +"Where are you youngsters from?" he asked. + +"Delhi," Ted replied. "We've just arrived with some Irregular Horse." + +"Delhi! And you two had the luck to take part in the siege?" + +"I served all through," Ted answered with a little pride. "I went there +with the Guides." + +"Lucky young cub! Wish I could have taken my boys there." + +"Rummy customer!" was Claude's comment, as the stranger turned away. +"Who is he?" + +"I wonder. Looks more like a sailor than a soldier. But whoever he is, +he's accustomed to command; I could see that. But I fancy it's time to +find our way back to our own lines." + +At 9 a.m. next day the column moved off in high spirits, Lieutenant +Roberts conducting the advance, with the aid of a native guide he had +secured. The enemy had been led to believe that the movement would be +made direct, by the northern route taken by Havelock two months +previously. But from the Alambagh the column struck eastwards for the +Dilkusha (Heart's Delight) Palace. The ruse was successful. Having made +their plans to meet the direct assault, the sepoys were not prepared for +the flanking movement, and no time was given them to strengthen the +defences of the positions now threatened. Outside the wall of the +Dilkusha Park the column halted until a large enough breach had been +made by the guns, and Ted watched the Highlanders of the 93rd pulling up +carrots in a field, and, after a hurried scrape, munching them with +great content. + +The obstruction was short; a portion of the park wall was soon broken +down, and in went the Highlanders, eager to close. But the rebels had +fled. A staff-officer, short and slight, trotted past as Ted's Arab was +picking its way over the fallen masonry. + +"There goes plucky wee Bobs!" he heard a sergeant of the 93rd remark to +his mate; and Ted recognized the officer as Lieutenant Roberts. It was +the first time he had heard the affectionate nickname bestowed upon the +much-loved hero by the soldiers of forty-five years ago. Roberts, an +artillery officer, had, of course, never served with the 93rd, but the +"Scotties" had seen much of him lately, and even so early in his career +he had won a place in their hearts rarely filled by any whose name is +not prefixed by "Mac". "Bobs" they had christened him, "Plucky wee +Bobs". To be known by such a name among these gallant fellows of the +93rd--the famous Thin Red Line of Balaclava--told of unusual coolness +and daring. + +Ted saw Lieutenant Roberts shoot ahead to reconnoitre, a native trooper +following. The artillery officer halted, gazed in front, and signalled +for the guns to advance. As he did so the roar of cannon thundered from +behind the yellow palace. The rebels had opened point-blank upon the two +solitary horsemen from a hidden battery, cutting the orderly's horse in +two, and the trooper fell beneath his dead steed. Roberts was seen +coolly to dismount in the face of the guns, and a loud huzza rose from +the throats of the Highlanders as he dragged the orderly from under the +weight, though the grape whizzed about them. + +Under his direction the guns advanced, and the mutineers did not stay to +test the British marksmanship, but made off with all speed in the +direction of the Martinière. Almost without a pause the cavalry cantered +across the high swards of the Dilkusha Park, the startled deer scudding +away on all sides in vain endeavour to escape the noise. + +As the Horse Artillery and cavalry drew nearer, the Martinière was +quickly deserted, and Boldre's Horse and a few squadrons of regulars and +irregulars pursued the sepoys as far as the canal. There was no dressed +line of thundering horses, for the troopers broke off in threes or +fours, whenever they saw a chance of engaging the pandies; and Ted, +spurring after Govind Singh, who, having the start of him, was hotly in +pursuit of one body of rebels, suddenly saw his friend Boldre busily +engaged with three faithless sowars and in sore plight. Turning to +Claude's aid, he drew off one, and, with a clever thrust, was able to +disable the man's sword-arm. Boldre, who was no swordsman, by good luck +cut down a second, and the third fled as Ramzan Khan came up at a +gallop. + +"Thanks, Russell!" said Claude. "But look out! here are half a dozen +more." + +Perceiving that the two Englishmen were separated from their comrades, a +number of rebel troopers--men of the Irregular Cavalry who had deserted +Henry Lawrence at Chinhut five months before--charged down upon the +little group with sharp, angry cries. Before the lads had resolved how +to withstand the shock, Ramzan Khan shot out to meet the pandies, and +there was nothing for it but to back him up. + +"Plucky beggar! He'll be killed!" groaned Claude; but to their amazement +the orderly showed himself a consummate wielder of the sword. He swerved +aside as they bore down upon him, and slashed at the nearest rebel as he +passed, the man tumbling like a sack of flour from his horse. Parrying a +blow, he disarmed another by a turn of the wrist, and smote a third over +the shoulder just as Ted arrived on the scene and made for the pandy on +his orderly's right. Ted swung his sword aloft--and then his head seemed +to split, and he saw the stars dancing in their courses. The sword fell +from his grasp, but his knees instinctively retained their grip, and the +blood streamed down his face. + +"I'm not killed anyhow," said he to himself, and began to look about +him. Ramzan Khan was engaged with two at once, and the cruel-looking +little pandy at whom he had ridden was clearly getting the better of +Boldre. Ted urged his restive Arab alongside the sepoy's horse, and, +having no sword, clutched the man by his tunic collar and under his left +arm, and putting forth all his strength, he swung him from the saddle. +Before he could drop him, the sowar, turning half round in the air, got +his knee on the neck of Ted's horse and aimed a vicious cut at his +captor. The blow would have done for Ted, had not Claude been able to +strike up the sword and give the point, and the pandy sank at the +horse's feet. Ramzan Khan's remaining opponents had fled. + +"You've saved me twice to-day, Russell," said Boldre quietly. "Are you +hurt?" + +"I don't know. Something struck me in the face, but I can't imagine what +it was. It seems as if my nose is bleeding." + +Claude roared most ungratefully. + +"Why," said he, "as you charged the pandy, he suddenly backed his horse +away from Ramzan Khan, and your Arab cannoned into it, and, +half-rearing, he threw up his head and caught you full on the nose as +you were leaning forward. Then I drew the pandy's attention from you." + +"Is that how it was? Where did my sword go?---- Ah! there it is; but +what an ass I am!" + +"Why particularly so?" + +"I never had the sense to use my pistol." He took out his Deane and +Adams revolver and fingered it regretfully, adding to the orderly as +they turned back towards the Martinière and again joined their +comrades: + +"We owe our lives to your courage and skill, Ramzan Khan. You are +bleeding. Are you hurt?" + +The Mohammedan grinned, showing his even teeth and the whites of his +eyes. + +"It is nothing. I owed you a debt, sahib, so let there be no talk of +thanks. It was for this purpose that my father sent me to ride by your +side." + +"I thank you no less," Ted assured him; and added, "You can use your +sword." + +"Ah! my father taught us. He is indeed a swordsman. He will be pleased +that I have proved of service." + +As they drew near to the Martinière Claude exclaimed: + +"Hullo, there's our friend of yesterday! Why, of course it's Peel! What +duffers we were not to guess!" + +Peel! Captain Peel of H.M.S. _Shannon_, commanding the famous Naval +Brigade with the big guns from the man-of-war at Calcutta. Yes, he it +was who had shown them the position of the Residency. Right glad were +the troops in Ladysmith of the aid of the sailors and their splendid +guns, and glad were the raisers of the Lucknow siege when Peel and his +jolly tars came to bear a hand. + +The sailors had unyoked the stolid bullocks--"cow-horses" they +contemptuously termed them--and were hauling on the drag-ropes, drawing +the mighty engines of destruction along as though they were but wooden +toys, and the Punjabis of Boldre's Horse gazed in bewilderment at this +new species of Feringhi. Shorter men than themselves, but what giants in +strength! + +"Who are they, sahib?" asked Govind Singh. "Is it a new kind of soldier +like those big warriors in petticoats we first saw yesterday?" And Ted +tried hard to explain to the Sikhs how Britain's chief strength lay, not +in her comparatively small army, but in her glorious navy. + +"But why are they doing coolie work? They are indeed strong as +bullocks." + +"Do bullocks take a pride in their work, or can they do it half so +well?" Ted replied. "These men love their guns, and they rejoice in +their strength, and so they are invincible." + +In all probability Ramzan Khan had saved our hero's life that November +afternoon, but the same night he was fighting desperately against an +equally remorseless foe, against whom his orderly's swordmanship was of +no avail. For he was again down with cholera, and this time a far worse +attack than the slight one at Delhi, and when his chums left his bedside +next morning they hardly dared hope to see him again. For days he lay +between life and death, and then, thanks to a tough constitution and a +healthy life, he rallied and began to pick up. + +The Martinière, in which he lay, was a vast palace built by Claude +Martin, a French adventurer who had amassed great wealth in Lucknow. It +was a curious building, with statues placed wherever they would stand, +in grotesque profusion. The Frenchman had hoped to sell the palace to +his friend the King of Oudh, naming a price of one million sterling. But +the monarch had laughed at the idea, informing old Monsieur Martin that +by their law the property would belong to the sovereign on the death of +the owner. So Martin determined to outwit the king, and prepared his own +tomb within the building. In due course Claude Martin died and was +buried therein, thus circumventing his royal master, for no Mussulman +dare live in a building in which the body of an unbeliever has lain. +Previous to the siege the Martinière had been used as a school for the +children of soldiers. + +As Ted lay in helpless pain the booming of the guns never seemed to +cease. In spirit he was back again with the Gurkhas on the Ridge, +watching Brind's battery pounding at the walls of Delhi. At last the +thunder of the cannon ceased, and he fell asleep. When he woke up Alec +Paterson was talking to the doctor, and he heard the latter say: "I +think he's all right now; he's had a bad time, though." + +"Hullo, Alec! Has Brind breached the walls yet?" + +"Brind? You're wandering, old man; we're just outside Lucknow." And, +faintly remembering, Ted began to collect his scattered wits. + +"I've been dreaming," said he. "I thought we were still on the Ridge. I +remember now. Sir Colin is attacking to-day, isn't he?" + +"Not to-day; we're retreating to-day." + +"What? D'you think you can pull my leg so easily?" + +"It's a fact. The force is retiring, and I've come on with instructions. +Listen! Those are Blunt's guns." + +"And do you mean to say that we're leaving Lucknow to the rebels?" + +"I do." + +"And Outram and Havelock, and the women and children?" + +"No," laughed his chum; "we've brought them away. I've just ridden from +the Dilkusha, where preparations are being made to receive them. I've +been ragging you. We have relieved Lucknow, but, not being strong enough +to hold the town, Sir Colin is retiring on Cawnpore. He means to send +the women to Allahabad and wait for reinforcements. You've missed a lot, +old man. Your luck deserted you this time." + +"How did our fellows behave?" + +"Boldre's Horse? Hardly engaged. The brunt of the work fell on the 53rd, +93rd, and 4th Sikhs. It was fine to see the two last regiments storm the +Sikanderbagh, the Sikhs going off with a rush and the Highlanders after +them, racing like mad. A Highlander jumped first through the breach and +was killed, then Sikhs and Pathans and Highlanders all mixed. It was +fine! The Englishmen and Irishmen of the 53rd did some good work too." + +"Have you seen Havelock and Outram?" + +"Rather! Saw the meeting between them and Sir Colin and Hope Grant. +Havelock looks bad; I'm afraid he's a dying man. I wouldn't have missed +these last few days for anything, Ted. Did you hear where I went the +night you were taken bad?" + +"No. Were you on a _daur_[26]?" + + [26] A surprise expedition on a small scale. + +"Not exactly. We had run out of ammunition almost, and Sir Colin was mad +with the responsible artillery officer. He sent for little Roberts, and +asked if he could find his way back to the Alambagh in the dark with a +mob of camels to bring back the ammunition before morning. It was a +dangerous bit of night-work, but Roberts said he'd do it. So the chief +told him to get one hundred and fifty camels and an escort from Grant, +and also take back the wretched artillery officer and leave him at the +Alambagh in disgrace. Roberts had left his native guide in charge of +some Afghans, but the fellow had given his guard the slip, and he was +floored. However, without letting on, he asked for an escort of native +cavalry. Grant wished him to take English lancers, but Roberts said +Englishmen were too noisy and jingly, and helpless if separated. In +charge of the escort were Younghusband and Gough, and I begged leave at +the last moment. + +"Roberts was in a sweat. Before the previous day he'd never been over +the ground, and the night was black, and we were liable to wander in any +direction but the right one, and unless he got back with the ammunition +within a few hours all the general's plans would be upset. However, with +his usual genius for doing the right thing, he landed us within a short +distance of the Alambagh, and went on alone to explain, being afraid +lest the garrison, mistaking us for rebels, should fire and stampede +the _oonts_ (camels), and then we should be left. He soon came back to +say that they were getting the ammunition-boxes ready, so we quickly +loaded the camels and got back in good time. Sir Colin was awfully +pleased with him. It was rather exciting. If young Roberts lives long +enough he'll be a great man." + +"He's a jolly decent fellow." + +"Yes, I saw him do another fine thing a day or two ago. We'd captured +the mess-house close to the Residency, and Roberts planted the Union +Jack on the top as a signal that we should soon rescue them. He was +exposed to the rebel fire, and they soon bowled the flag over. Up he +went again, and though they missed him they brought the staff down +again. He set it up a third time, and for the third time they knocked it +down. But he beat 'em in the end." + +"Good!" + +"There was a drummer-boy named Ross," Alec continued, "who did a similar +thing. When the Shah Nujif, the highest mosque in Lucknow, was captured, +he climbed like a monkey to the very top, and there he blew the 93rd's +bugle-call towards the Residency while the pandies were making a target +of him. Only a kid of twelve too! But I must go now, old chap. Hope +you'll be all right for the final assault." + +A few days after the arrival of the rescued garrison of Lucknow at the +Alambagh, Ted Russell was on his legs again, and the risaldar Govind +Singh was describing the part Boldre's Horse had played in the assault. +The veteran's deep-set eyes flashed as he spoke of deeds of daring, when +suddenly he changed his tone and his countenance softened. + +"He is indeed dead, sahib," he said quietly. "I saw his grave, and they +tell me that the English words on the tombstone mean that he tried to do +his duty. The old Mohammedan was right." + +Ted understood that the grim Sikh was referring to his hero, Sir Henry +Lawrence, and he asked Govind Singh to tell him more about the saintly +warrior. They strolled into the grounds, and in the square their +attention was attracted by a solemn group, who stood bareheaded and +downcast. Ted approached, in time to see a coffin lowered. + +"Who is dead?" he asked in a whisper of a sergeant of the 93rd, who +stood by. The Highlander looked dourly at his questioner. + +"Wha should it be but the best of a'?" said he. + +"Not Havelock?" + +The Highlander nodded, and continued to gaze into the grave. It was +indeed the hero of the First Relief of Lucknow who had died, and +disappointed the millions who had looked forward to welcoming the +victorious soldier home to England. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII + +An Encounter with the Nana Sahib + + +Knowing that his present force would be lost in the mazes of Lucknow, +Sir Colin awaited reinforcements. Jung Bahadur, the Gurkha prime +minister and commander-in-chief, was marching down to his assistance +with a strong column of the Nepal army, and Lord Canning, the +governor-general, had advised Sir Colin to wait for the Gurkhas, as +their general was keen on taking part in the siege, and Jung Bahadur +would be annoyed if he had to return to Nepal without having had a share +in any important fighting, and his friendship was worth something to the +British. The troops were therefore employed in keeping open +communications, and in small expeditions to Bithur, where Nana Sahib +lived, and whithersoever the rebels were gathered in force. + +Christmas came and went, and a new year opened, before Ted Russell took +part in another fight. In the early days of January, 1858, the rebels +were attacked at the village of Khuda-ganj, north-west of Cawnpore. + +No sooner were the troops within range than the native gunners opened +fire, and showed how excellent had been their training. The shells +whizzed viciously overhead, and one burst with a crash between Ted and +Ramzan Khan, who were within ten paces of each other, the fragments +whirring about their ears without touching man or beast. Boldre's Horse +were ordered to retire out of range, and the Horse Artillery began to +talk back, and Peel's tars came running up, dragging their big guns +along without apparent effort, and, wheeling them smartly into action, +were soon pumping shot and shell into the rebel stronghold. + +The rest of the troops were ordered to take cover and lie down until the +cannon should have played havoc among the mutineers, and prepared the +way for a bayonet charge. And now Ted and Claude, from behind the +sand-hills, witnessed an unusual incident, no less than open defiance of +the commander-in-chief himself, by an English regiment--flat mutiny in +fact. + +The men of the 53rd firmly believed that Sir Colin favoured the +Highlanders unduly, and gave them more than their due. Having learned +that he had selected the 93rd for the honour of leading the stormers, +they quietly determined to baulk their rivals. The rebel fire was still +unsilenced--indeed both Sir Colin and General Hope Grant had just been +hit by spent bullets--when one of the 53rd rose and ran forward yelling. +A howl of triumph and a cheer, and the regiment dashed after him. + +Sir Colin was furious--but the 53rd must be supported, even though they +had upset his plans. He gave the 93rd the order to back them up, and +Hope Grant advanced his cavalry. + +A thrill of delight passed through the nerves of our two lieutenants as +the "Charge" was sounded, and the line of British Lancers and Sikh and +Pathan Irregulars shot forward at a gallop, knee to knee as though on +parade, the earth quivering beneath the hammering, the horses straining +as if they entered into the feelings of their riders. It was a supreme +moment, and Ted could tell that his good Arab was as excited as himself +as the line thundered onwards. And then the regularity of the gallop was +spoiled and the better-horsed shot ahead, for the lads of the 53rd had +broken Jack Pandy's heart, and he was already scudding away with his +guns. One party of rebels after another was overtaken and scattered, and +on went the cavalry until all the guns were captured and hardly a rebel +was left in sight. Then they turned and charged back upon those who had +escaped the first shock. + +"Hurt at all?" asked Ted as he came up with Claude Boldre. + +Boldre pointed to his leg, from which the blood was welling. "Bit of a +bayonet prick from a pandy who was down. I don't think much of it." + +"Better have it bathed, though.---- By Jove, look there! Roberts is a +dead man--no, he's cut the sepoy down!" + +The troop of native cavalry with which the future hero of Kandahar and +Pretoria was riding had come across a body of mutineers, who, unable to +escape, had turned and fired, mortally wounding Younghusband, the +commandant. Roberts was hurrying to his friend's aid, when he noticed a +pandy in the act of slaying one of his troopers. He instantly engaged +the rebel, and, cutting him down, saved the life of the Punjabi. Turning +round Lieutenant Roberts perceived a couple of sepoys hurrying off with +a standard, so he pursued and overtook them, and, seizing the standard +with his left hand, he killed the bearer. As he did so the other sepoy +let fly, his musket barely a foot away. Luckily for England it missed +fire, and the second opponent was speedily disposed of, and Lieutenant +Roberts bore away the standard and thereby gained the V.C. + +"Well done, Roberts!" exclaimed Ted as they watched him ride away. + +"Didn't you shiver when you saw the pandy pull the trigger?" + +"I went cold all over. I thought he was done for. But come along and +bathe your cut if you don't want to be laid up." + +"I don't want that, thanks--not until we've driven the beggars out of +Lucknow. + +"I like that nag of yours better every time I see him," observed Boldre, +as his own horse stumbled towards camp, winded by the long gallop. + +"Yes, he was a bargain. I should like to know who owned him originally. +By the way, I wonder what Sir Colin will do to the 53rd. The chief can +be a peppery old gentleman when he likes, and I expect there'll be a +row." + +"Yes, I shouldn't care to be in their shoes." + +They were not present to witness the scene, but for once in his life Sir +Colin was vanquished. Whenever he attempted to "dress down" the +regiment, the "bhoys" of the 53rd, highly elated by the success of their +trick, would interrupt with shouts of "Three cheers for the +commander-in-chief, boys!" And so rapturously did they applaud and with +such hearty good-temper that the old general was forced to laugh in +spite of himself; and after that it was no use to pretend to be angry. +He rode away amid a storm of cheers. The 53rd had won. + +After a prolonged stay at Fatehghar, Boldre's Horse returned to +Cawnpore. Now for the first time Ted had leisure to look round this +town, so sorrowfully interesting to the English race. Alec knew the +place well, having stayed there before Ted came down from Lahore; so he +took his chum to the ghaut where the massacre had begun, and then to +that last sad scene of the murder. + +There were gruesome sights still to be witnessed in Cawnpore, and, +partially inured as the lads now were to the horrors of war, there was +that in Cawnpore to make them shudder--bones bleaching on the many +sand-banks of the broad river, and corpses floating down its sacred +stream. + +But the saddest sights of all were those which recalled the foul +treachery of the previous summer. Nowhere did the British soldiers so +long to close with the sepoys, hand to hand and steel against steel, as +at Cawnpore. Ill fared it, then, with any natives of that town whom the +soldiers suspected of having helped, or even looked on, at that dire +tragedy. It is to be feared that the innocent sometimes suffered for the +sins of the guilty, for the soldiers were not in a mood to discriminate, +and they did not know then that sepoys, even of the rebel regiments, had +absolutely refused to obey the Nana, when he gave the order for the +women and children to be murdered. + +The Sikh and Pathan allies had old scores to pay off against the Oudh +sepoys, and they were with difficulty restrained. More than one harmless +Hindu, who had taken no part in the outrage--who had perhaps risked his +life for his master--fell a victim to their vengeance. + +Our two Aurungpore officers were gazing upon the waters of the Ganges, +some distance east of the ghaut, silent and meditative. Ted was +picturing the scene of the massacre, and the terrible agonies of the +women as they saw their husbands being killed off by the concealed +marksmen without a chance to retaliate; and the horror of all as the +survivors were dragged to shore amid the gleeful shouts of the ruffians. +Perhaps a pandy had been lying down there where he and Alec stood. His +hand went to his sword-hilt at the thought. + +Paterson on the other hand was trying to realize that this muddy stream +was actually the great Ganges, the wonderful river of which he had heard +and read so much in childhood--Mother Ganges, the deity of the Hindus. + +A nearly-naked Hindu entered the sacred stream, a brass vessel in his +hand. Wading until his knees were covered he dipped the loto in the +filthy water and drank therefrom, or rather filled his mouth and let it +trickle out again. Then he splashed his body from head to foot, and +presently crouched down in the water and prayed to Mother Gunga. + +"Well," observed Ted with disgust, "if that chap ain't poisoned he +deserves to be purified. Ugh! drinking that filth!" + +"He keeps looking at us," said Alec. "I wonder what he wants." + +"No good, I'll be bound. He's praying now." + +The devotee came to the bank and began to smear himself with holy mud, +facing in turn north, east, south, and west. A number of Hindus were now +in the water, but none was so devout as he, whom the others watched in +respectful admiration. Quite suddenly he raised his arm on high, and, +fixing the two with his rolling eyes, he cursed them aloud. Pretending +not to notice, the boys turned away, but the _yogi_ ran after them, the +holy water dripping from his hair and body as he ran. + +Calling them to halt, he fired off another volley of curses in a high +shrill voice, greatly to the delight of his co-religionists. He called +heaven to witness that he hated the unclean Feringhi, and vowed that +destruction would come upon them suddenly unless they gave heed to him +and returned to their own country. + +By this time the yogi had approached within a pace or two of the lads, +who were quickly walking away from the scene, and fifty yards to the +rear followed admiring groups. The yogi leaned his head forward, +spitting forth his curses, and then ostentatiously drew a knife from the +folds of his loincloth, and changed his tone in a most unexpected +manner. + +"Take me prisoner! Quick, sahibs!" he hurriedly whispered. "I have news +for you. Your pistols, quick!" and then he made pretence to strike at +the nearer boy. + +Alec was the quicker to act. He whipped out his revolver, and, +springing towards the yogi, who had recoiled, placed the muzzle against +his head. The group of Hindus howled with rage. + +"Come along, you rebel dog!" Alec shouted in Urdu. "Well see how you +like being shot out of a cannon." + +"That's right," whispered the yogi encouragingly, and aloud he shrieked +appeals to his gods to destroy the Englishmen. Ted had now hold of one +of the strange fellow's arms, and together they dragged him along, he +making pretence to resist. + +"What do you want?" Alec whispered. + +"I am loyal, but I am suspected, and there are spies perhaps watching +even now. If I had come to the English camp with the news, or even +spoken to you in a friendly manner, I might have lost my life. Three +times have I performed _puja_ here in the hope of a chance of speaking +to an English officer unsuspected. My news is that Dundu Pant of Bithur +is at Pindijang. Now let me wrest myself free, and you must chase me." + +"How can we know that your news is true?" asked Ted dubiously. + +"Ask Lawson Sahib if he will believe Pancham Tewari. He will know." + +An adroit twist and wrench and the yogi was free and running down the +road. Ted fired--and missed--and Alec followed suit, both taking care +not to hit the man. The onlookers howled with delight at the supposed +discomfiture of the Feringhis, and the yogi turned and cursed them +afresh, and the boys judged it best to retire when they saw the mob pick +up stones and advance to protect the holy man. + +"We'd better clear away," said Alec. "I know Major Lawson; he'll tell +whether the man is genuine." + +"Hope his news is true. It'll be a feather in our caps if we help to +catch the Nana. Where is Pindijang?" + +"No idea. It's rather a fishy business altogether, and I'm afraid it's a +trap." + +"I shouldn't be surprised," Ted replied. "I hope not, though, for it may +be a great score for us if we help to catch the ruffian." + +They lost no time in reaching camp, and Alec led the way to Major +Lawson's quarters, where they told the story of the encounter with the +mysterious yogi, and how they had been referred to him for a character. + +"Pancham Tewari is to be trusted," said the major. "He's an old friend +of mine, and he loves the Nana Sahib about as much as we do, for the +scoundrel has dispossessed the Tewari family of their lands by fraud +some time ago, and Pancham would do anything to get even with him. I'll +see this matter through. Not a word to a soul, mind." + +They kept their own counsel, and had heard no more about the matter when +they turned in for the night. But Ted Russell felt sure that something +was in the air, and could hardly sleep for excitement. He dreamt that he +was engaged in hand-to-hand conflict with a yogi, who quite casually +changed to the infamous Rajah of Bithur, and, emerging from the bed of +the Ganges, chased him for many miles, finally tripping him up; +whereupon Ted caught him by the throat, and the murderer began to groan. +He awoke and listened. Surely someone was groaning close at hand! Alec +had of late been sharing his tent, and he stretched out his hand and +groped for his chum. + +"What's wrong?" came a growl. + +"Listen!" + +"It is only the silly camels warbling. Go to sleep." + +"So it is. You can whiff 'em, too! We get too much camel here. I wish +the wind 'ud change." + +The camel, that useful but detested animal, grunts and grumbles all +night long, and the soldier blesses him in picturesque language. The +fact that, moreover, "'e smells most awful vile" does not tend to +increase his popularity. + +"I wish you wouldn't spoil my beauty-sleep whenever you have a +nightmare," Paterson sleepily grumbled, as he rolled over and became +blissfully unconscious. + +But Ted was restless and could not sleep. The camels kept up their +serenade until he longed to sally forth with a whip. Presently a +footstep was heard outside and the tent-flaps parted. Ted rose to a +sitting posture and laid hold of his pistol. + +"Who's there?" he demanded. + +"'For Valour'!" came the cool reply. "Why, my V.C. winner, you're as +frightened as a babu! Get up! we're going on a daur." + +It was Claude Boldre. Giving Alec a joyous kick, Ted hurriedly dressed +and went out. The sun had not yet risen, but the camp was fitfully +lighted by the wood-fires, around which half-clad native servants +squatted and shivered. Others were running to and fro, aimlessly to all +appearance, and the horses had begun to neigh. Away to the right he +could make out against the walls of white canvas the dark forms of +Govind Singh and Hira Singh superintending the preparations of their +men. + +"Come along, Ted, and have some breakfast," said Claude, appearing from +behind the tents. "Your horse is being looked after. We start in half an +hour." + +Linking his arm in Ted's he marched him into the colonel's tent, calling +to Paterson to follow. As they entered, Colonel Boldre looked up from +his map, nodded, and motioned towards the breakfast-table. The +coffee-pot was steaming thereon, and the boys did not hesitate. The tent +was not more than a dozen feet square, and there was only one spare +chair. Claude sat on the pallet-bed and Ted on a trunk. + +"Are we going to Pindijang?" asked the latter, "and if so, where is it?" + +"Why!" exclaimed the colonel in surprise, "how did you know?" + +Ted and Alec laughed. + +"This is our daur, colonel. Didn't you know?" + +"Your daur! What on earth do you mean?" + +"We brought the news last night that the Nana was there," Alec replied. +"We had it from a spy." + +Colonel Boldre regarded them with interest. + +"You never told me," said Claude. + +"We were told to keep it quiet," said Ted. + +"Quite right!" observed their commandant. "Pindijang is about nine miles +away, and this is to be a cavalry affair. Our fellows are going, with a +detachment of Hodson's and Probyn's, and a squadron of the 9th Lancers, +and a troop of Horse Artillery." + +"The pater's in command," whispered Claude. + +"I congratulate you, colonel," said Alec promptly. + +In came Major Lawson, and the boys cleared out. The wild-looking men of +Boldre's Horse had broken their fast and were eager for the fray, +chattering in groups, discussing the probable destination, and hazarding +all kinds of wild conjectures. A few moments later without any sound of +bugles, the regiment was in the saddle and trotting away to the +north-west. + +Paterson sorrowfully watched them depart, for he had not obtained +permission to accompany the force. + +"Where are the others?" Ted enquired of Claude. + +"Don't know.... Who are these?--oh! the Flamingoes, and there are the +Probyn ruffians. We've done it very quietly." + +A blurred mass appeared presently away to the right. + +"Those will be the Lancers and the guns," Ted hazarded his opinion. +"Yes, there's no mistaking that music. Good old Horse Artillery!" + +With joined forces the little flying column pushed forward at a trot, +the pleasant clatter of hoofs and jingle and rattle of the guns forming +an accompaniment, inspiring with its martial noise. + +A flash of yellow light gleamed far away on the eastern horizon, as the +metal upon one of the tall minarets of Lucknow caught the first rays, +and the sun had risen. There before them lay the fortified village of +Pindijang in the dip hollowed out by the shallow tributary running +south-east to join the Granges. The place was walled, and they could see +the black muzzles of cannon peeping from the embrasures. The +neighbourhood was well wooded, affording good cover for sharp-shooters. + +Colonel Boldre grumbled at his hard luck. Half an hour earlier and he +could have taken the village by surprise. The fault was not his, for the +map showed Pindijang as nine miles from Cawnpore. It had proved not less +than a dozen, and would have to be taken by hard fighting, not by a +_coup_. + +He sent the Lancers with two of the horse-guns away to the right to cut +off retreat in the direction of Lucknow, the Irregular Horse remaining +concealed by a wood until the flanking party should be ready to +co-operate. Ted and Claude stood watching the Englishmen ride off, +admiring the gallant bearing of the splendid Bengal Horse Artillery, a +corps that has given so many famous men to India. The lances of the +cavalry flashed and glittered as the steel points caught the sun, +making, with the picturesque trappings of the Artillery and the +fascination of their guns, one of the bright and beautiful scenes of +war. The other side of the picture was presently to be seen. + +"We're quite on a hill here," said Ted. "I should not have thought the +ground dipped so much. They're out of sight." + +"There will be a stream to cross down there." + +Presently a myriad flashing of tiny points of moving fire, like the +facets of waves dancing in the sun, and the Lancers were seen emerging +from the hollow and trotting up the slight incline. But the guns were +not with them, for the wheels had sunk deep in the mud of the far bank. +A score of the Lancers had remained to help, while the remainder trotted +across the plateau to cut off the retreat. + +Suddenly a bank of smoke obscured the trunks of the trees, and the ranks +of the Lancers seemed to break up, as the crash and rattle of musketry +rang in the ears of the distant onlookers. Then were seen gaps and empty +saddles and maddened horses. The officer in command, himself wounded, +could be seen steadying his men, and, resisting the temptation to charge +in among the trees, he drew them off rapidly and in good order, and +brought them under cover, where they dismounted, and their carbines +began to seek out the hidden pandies. + +Colonel Boldre was visibly agitated. The sepoys had seen their approach +and laid a trap, and, should they be strong enough to overwhelm the +cavalry, the stuck guns would be lost. + +He was about to give the order to support the Lancers, when there was +heard a clang and a clatter and a rattle, and a whirl of dust was seen +rushing up the slope, as though wind-impelled. + +"B. H. A. for ever!" Ted exclaimed. "By George! they are going!" + +The sound of firing so close at hand had put double strength into the +backs of the gunners, and they tugged and pushed, and the plucky horses +also heard the sound, and out of the mud came the guns. Mounting +rapidly, the drivers cracked their whips and urged forward their teams +of six good horses. The dust rose and enveloped them as they bounded +along; then they wheeled, stopped sharply, and unlimbered. + +Colonel Boldre's face relaxed, and he gave no command. The watchers saw +the gunners busy as ants; then came a flash and a roar as a shell +hurtled among the trees, and a second was in the air before the first +had burst. + +With hardly a pause a third and fourth shell exploded among the pandies, +apparently with deadly effect. Their fire slackened, died down; they +wavered, and another shell fell amongst them. Panic-stricken they +streamed away towards the sheltering walls. The Lancers mounted their +horses; the guns scattered another shell or two amid the fugitives, and, +limbering up, rattled after them. + +But the surprise had failed, and there was now little chance of +capturing the arch-traitor. With poignant disappointment Colonel Boldre +saw the troops pouring out of the village through the north-western +gate, the exit farthest from them. He gave the word, and the Irregulars +galloped away to their left front to cut them off. + +Ted's Arab was both fleet and great-hearted, and he and Govind Singh +were soon to the front, half a length in advance of the ragged line. It +was a race, not a charge, and Ted remembered with a smile how he had +once guided "The Padre" to victory. The pace of the runaways was checked +by the river which, bending from the north-east, looped round the +western and southern sides of the village, leaving only the eastern side +open, and _there_ were the British Lancers, now quite near to the +walls. Close behind him Ted could hear the jingle of a gun and the mad +galloping of its team, tearing the big weapon along with jolt and +clatter. Few sights are there to surpass horse artillery galloping into +action, and few sounds more musical; and the noble horses seem inspired +thereby, and enter into the spirit of the movement with a zest as great +as that of the men. + +They were now level with the ghaut, or ford, and a few hundred yards to +the west thereof. The guns unlimbered, and, after sending a couple of +shells after the leading fugitives who had made good their escape, they +opened on the ghaut and got range with the second shot. More than half +the pandies were checked; on the one side were English cavalry and a +couple of those deadly guns, on the other the only way of escape was a +death-trap. Colonel Boldre despatched a body of Probyn's Horse and of +his own men under Claude to ride down to the ghaut and take charge of +the prisoners. The rest continued in the track of the Nana. + +Ted, Govind Singh, and a handful of the better-mounted men had kept on +their way without a pause, and they quickly perceived that they were +overhauling the sepoys, the hindmost of whom presently began to scatter +across the fields and swampy ground, making for the woods and jungle. +And after them went most of the pursuers. + +But Ted and Govind Singh with some of their Jalandar men kept straight +ahead. They had noticed that amongst the runagates who had stuck to the +road were two or three men of consequence, to judge by their costumes +and the caparisons of their steeds. And some instinct told our ensign +that he in the middle of the group, decked out in a conspicuous saffron +shawl, with a glittering turban, was none other than the Nana himself. +Heedless of all other considerations he urged his handful onward, +speeding farther and farther away from the main body, intent only on +slaying or capturing the Mahratta ruffian. + +They were now within a hundred yards of their quarry, and almost up with +the laggards, some of whom broke away into the paddy-fields, while those +who were not quick enough received short shrift from Govind Singh's +compatriots. With hardly a pause the Punjabis again swept forward, their +number reduced by one. As they lessened the distance separating them +from the rear-guard a couple of pandies swiftly swerved aside, off the +track, and fired as the Sikhs, unprepared for the manoeuvre, flew past +in a bunch. The sowar on the right of Govind Singh reeled in his saddle +and then his horse shot to the front, relieved of its burden, and Ted +noticed that a second of his men winced, let his carbine fall, and +clapped a hand to his side. + +"Forward!" shouted the young officer as the men began to pull on the +reins. "Forward! Never mind those two; there's a big reward for him who +catches that saffron fellow in front!" + +With much reluctance the Punjabis allowed the two pandies to continue +their flight unmolested. The chieftain and his body-guard were within +pistol-shot, and Ted fired twice, and unhorsed the sepoy who rode next +to the leader, at whom he had aimed. And suddenly the rebels turned and +with savage yells charged back upon their pursuers. Ted again aimed at +the leader and again missed, and the Nana's men were upon them, three to +one. + +With a yell as savage as theirs Govind Singh rose in his stirrups and +felled his nearest opponent with one mighty blow, and, leaning forward, +buried his tulwar in the shoulder of another. Before he could recover +his blade a lance was thrust into his breast, and he dropped like a log. +Ted saw the fall of his right-hand man, and was near enough to cut down +the striker just as another of the mutineers rode full tilt at him. + +The lance-point grazed his tunic, and he caught the shaft under his +arm-pit, gave the pandy his point, and went forward, straight for the +man with the saffron shawl, who was keeping well in the background. He +cut at the villain's head, but a tulwar interposed, caught his blade, +and snapped it off at the hilt. And at this moment, when the superior +strength and size and courage of the Punjabis were barely enabling them +to hold their own, the two pandies who had escaped had now wheeled round +and charged to the aid of their comrades, taking Ted's two or three +unexpectedly in the rear and deciding the issue. + +A tremor of cold fear ran through our hero's frame as he found himself +armed only with a useless sword-hilt wherewith to defend himself. The +vile Mahratta raised his pistol, and, at a distance of three paces, +fired point blank at the lad's breast. Ted Russell's career would have +ended then and there had not his Arab, at the very moment that the +trigger was pulled, trodden on the edge of a naked blade. The horse +reared, received the bullet in its head, and rolled over dead, almost +crushing its rider. + +One Sikh and one only of the reckless few who had galloped in the wake +of Ted and Govind Singh remained alive, and he was unhorsed and fighting +valiantly on foot. He hacked his way to the rescue of his officer, and +wounded the pandy who, having disarmed Ted, was about to deal a +finishing blow. Then he in his turn was laid low. Ted still had his +revolver; raising himself on his elbow he took aim at the Nana, who +instantly set spurs to his horse, and his two surviving retainers +followed his example. But Ted had the Mahratta rajah covered. Filled +with exultation at the thought that the murderer was at last at his +mercy he pulled the trigger. + +There was no report, and he realized with a heavy heart that the +weapon's chambers were all empty, that the arch-traitor had escaped, and +that he was helpless! + +He rose and looked about him, and a reaction of thankfulness followed +the bitter disappointment as the thought stole upon him that he had +escaped with no injury more serious than a scratch or two. He perceived +that it was lucky that his enemies, as well as he himself, had been +under the impression that the revolver was still loaded. What would have +been his fate had they known the truth? + +He began to search for Govind Singh's body. The veteran risaldar had +ceased to breathe; he had died as he would have wished, fighting against +odds. The boy had come to regard his grim old comrade with an affection +that had been returned by the risaldar. The other Sikhs were also all +dead, so fierce had been the hand-to-hand combat; and of the Nana's +following at least a dozen were slain or were dying. One of the latter, +a youngster barely sixteen, was regarding the Feringhi with eyes in +which hatred and a desire to propitiate struggled mutely for mastery. +Ted divined the meaning of that look and hastened to hand his +water-bottle to the sufferer, who greedily gulped the water down and +regarded his benefactor with gratitude. + +"Tell me," said Ted, "who was he with the saffron shawl?" + +"That was the Rajah of Bithur," replied the wounded lad. + +With a glance of regret towards the good Arab that had served him so +well, Ted mounted Govind Singh's horse, which was standing beside its +dead master, and sped away to rejoin his comrades, some of whom could be +seen in the distance returning from the chase. Colonel Boldre had many +prisoners and several guns to show as the result of the daur, but the +main object of the expedition had escaped. + +"I was afraid you had been killed, Russell," said he. + +"I've lost Govind Singh, the risaldar, and a good many men, sir, and we +just missed the Nana. He unhorsed me, and I should have shot him if I'd +had the sense to reserve a bullet for him." + +"Unhorsed you? Dundu Pant himself?" exclaimed the commandant. + +Ted reported the affair, and Colonel Boldre, uncertain whether to praise +or blame, remained deep in thought. + +"You had a narrow squeak," said he at last. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII + +The Final Scene at Lucknow + + +Lieutenant Boldre lolled back in his camp-chair and smiled a superior +smile, while Ted Russell scratched his head and gazed with puzzled +expression at the carved pieces upon the chess-board. + +It was undoubtedly checkmate, and he asked himself, almost angrily, how +on earth he could have allowed himself to be outmanoeuvred and +surrounded, and his communications cut off, in so absurdly simple a +manner. Now that it was too late to avert defeat, he could clearly see +how his opponent's attack could have been met and repulsed. + +"You've licked me this time," he acknowledged. "I'm playing like an +_oont_ this morning." + +The tent was Claude's, and it was pitched to the rear of the Dilkusha, +or "Yellow Bungalow" as the soldiers called the palace. Ten days had +passed since the raid on Pindijang, and many things had happened in the +meanwhile. + +Having received reinforcements, Sir Colin had once more occupied his old +position a few miles south-east of Lucknow. He meant the final attack +upon that city to be deliberate and scientific, not a wild rush, +entailing perhaps the sacrifice of thousands of lives in the narrow, +winding streets, where Englishmen would be at a disadvantage. There was +plenty of time, therefore, for an occasional game of chess. + +"Have your revenge?" asked Boldre confidently; and Ted replied that he +was willing, when in stalked Paterson. + +"Well, how's the deputy-assistant, extra-honorary, supernumerary +aide-de-camp? Is he acting as postman?" asked Ted, noticing that Alec +had brought letters. + +"The mail has just come in, so I picked yours out to save time. Catch!" + +"Thanks, old man!" said Ted, as he picked up the scattered missives. +"I'll do as much for you some day, if ever _I_ become a great man. +Here's one for you, Boldre, from Simla." + +"That's from the mater, and I owe her one or two already. It's no end of +a fag writing letters. Are yours from home?" + +"One is," Ted replied. "The other is from Aurungpore;" and silence +prevailed for several minutes. + +"Good news from home, Ted, I hope?" said Alec presently. + +"Yes, they're all well. The pater is wishing he was here with us. He's +been particularly interested in my last letters telling of our doings +with the Sirmur Battalion, because he was taken prisoner by the Gurkhas +in the Nepal war of 1815, and made friends with a lot of them. The mater +is wishing I was back at home. Why do women cross their letters so much, +Alec? It's worse than a Chinese puzzle." + +"Nay, Ted, don't ask me. I don't get shoals of letters in feminine +handwriting." + +Ted turned red, laughed, and changed the subject. + +"This reads very funnily now. They write to say how glad they are that +Delhi has fallen, and that Jim and I escaped without harm, and they +suppose that by now the fighting will all be over." + +He opened the second envelope, and Alec winked at Claude, who raised his +eyebrows enquiringly. + +"Surely it ain't?" said he, rising quickly to the joke; and Ted looked +up in feigned bewilderment. + +"Of course it is," Alec answered. "Don't he look rapturous?" + +"And so young!" murmured Claude. + +"Yes; he cut me out too. She preferred the colour of his hair, and +fancied that she detected more signs of a moustache." + +Alec dodged, as Ted most irreverently threw a bishop at his head, and +resumed: + +"A nice little girl too, daughter of one of our officers. Does she send +any message for me, Ted?" + +Our hero was blushing violently. He sprang to his feet suddenly, caught +his chum by the collar, and rolled both him and his seat over the floor +of the tent, smashing the stool and damaging Claude's bed. Then, feeling +better, he resumed his seat, and Alec picked himself up, laughing. + +"It's a bad case, Claude," said he. "What does she say, Ted?" + +"Well, if you want to know, she asks if I still chum with that ass +Paterson, or whether he's been knocked on the head by a praiseworthy +pandy, and a good job too!" + +"That's fiction," commented Alec solemnly. "Go ahead." + +"She says that the weather is sometimes fine, though not so hot as it +will be in June." + +"More fiction. Seems suspicious, Claude, that he should have to +extemporize." + +Claude nodded acquiescence. + +"He's in a bad way, that's plain," said he. And Ted went on unheeding: +"And that Colonel Woodburn is hardly inconvenienced by his wound; that +she herself is very well, and has seen Jim several times lately; and +that everything is quiet along the frontier; and that Jim is continually +wishing that the Guides could have been spared for Lucknow; and that +she's heard of what you did at Agra." + +Here was Alec's turn to blush. + +"Never mind all that," he interrupted hastily. "What we want to know is +what she says about you." + +But Ted winked, and, pocketing the letter, once more assumed an +aggressive demeanour. + +"Pax!" said Alec, retreating. "I'm not going to fight a chap who's in +the habit of exploding gunpowder beneath his opponents. By the way, have +you seen our allies?" + +"Not yet. Shall we pay them a visit? Come along." + +Among the latest reinforcements were Brigadier Franks' column and Jung +Bahadur's army from Nepal. Franks had been operating with great effect +in Eastern Oudh, from the Nepal border, and his men were mostly Gurkhas, +lent by the Nepal Government. They had done excellent service, and had +won one or two quite remarkable victories. Jung Bahadur's force, nearly +ten thousand strong, had just come in, and as the army was aware that +Sir Colin had been waiting for these Gurkhas, it was expected that the +real struggle was about to begin. + +The three lieutenants strolled down to the Gurkha camp to inspect the +new-comers, and Ted thought of that day on the Ridge when Reid's little +Mongolians were indulging in horse-play with their comrades of the +Rifles, and he remembered how one of the Gurkhas had foretold that Jung +Bahadur would bring his troops to assist the British. He little thought +then that he should be present to witness the arrival of the famous +_shikarri_. + +The Nepalese allies did not, in Ted's opinion, look quite so tough or so +soldierly as his friends of the Sirmur Battalion, and their officers +compared unfavourably with Merban Sing and Goria Thapa. There was plenty +of good material, but the average, though taller in stature, seemed less +sturdy and considerably dirtier. These Nepalese were not all the true +Magar and Gurung Gurkhas; there was a mixture of other clans and races, +with a bigger proportion of Hindu blood. These were not quite so ugly as +little "Johnny", and they did not possess the true military swagger and +jolly recklessness. Approaching a group whose faces seemed to bear the +right stamp, he addressed them in Magar-Kura, of which tongue Goria +Thapa had taught him a smattering. + +The Gurkhas were delighted at being spoken to in their own dialect, +understood by so few foreigners, and they responded eagerly. He tried to +explain how he had served with their brethren at Delhi, and it chanced +that when he mentioned the name of his friend Goria Thapa, one of the +new arrivals repeated the name, and it turned out that he knew the +Sirmur officer, and Ted Russell at once became their blood-brother. + +As they conversed, barely half understanding one another, the men round +about sprang up to attention, and Alec Paterson nudged Ted in the ribs +with his elbow. Turning to see what Alec wanted, he perceived Sir Colin, +and by the general's side rode a distinguished-looking, dark-skinned +man, clad gorgeously, and ablaze with diamonds. + +It was the Gurkha prince himself, one of the bravest of the brave, as +Ted had heard, but by no means a merry, good-natured personage, such as +his friends of the Ridge. Jung Bahadur motioned one of the Gurkhas to +his side, and, looking suspiciously at Ted, he whispered to the man, who +informed him in reply how it came about that this English youth had +picked up enough of their language to converse with them. + +Sir Colin beckoned Ted to approach, and asked questions similar to those +being answered by Jung Bahadur's informant. + +"Went all through the siege of Delhi, eh?" said he, when his enquiries +had been satisfied. "And your friend also? Acting as lieutenants of +Boldre's Horse now?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Were you the fellows who got that information about the Nana a week or +two ago?---- You were, eh? You seem to know the natives well. Wish more +of my officers did. I'll see about---- Well, what does Mr. Jung want +now?" + +The Gurkha prince rode up and addressed Ted in Urdu. + +"You were with my countrymen at Delhi?" said he. "How did they fight?" + +"Like heroes," Ted replied. + +"Ah, that was a fight of giants!" exclaimed the Gurkha with animation. +"Would I had been there! But I heard about it, and the death of +Nikkulseyn." + +The generals rode on, the boys saluted, and Ted said ruefully: + +"I believe he was going to say that he would see about confirming our +appointments when old Jung interrupted." + +"Russell," said Claude solemnly, "I'm going to kidnap that Gurkha chap +some dark night with a few of our Sikhs. Did you notice his diamonds? He +just dazzled. Hullo, who's this?" + +With a group of English officers who had witnessed the incident was a +gentleman wearing an unmilitary frock-coat and Hessian boots, whom Ted +had observed more than once in intimate conversation with the +commander-in-chief. He now greeted the boys, and courteously asked what +had interested the Maharaja so. Ted explained, and the stranger thanked +him, and after a few moments' conversation, in which he drew out the +youngsters to speak of those things which interested them most, he +rejoined his friends. + +"Who's that, Alec?" asked Ted. "He seems a clever chap. Decent too." + +"Don't you know? It's your namesake of the _Times_." + +"What? Dr. Russell?---- Crimea Russell?" + +"That's the man. Sir Colin seems to think a lot of him, and trusts him +absolutely with his plans." + +Next day began the movements on Lucknow. On the morning of March 6th, +Outram, with Hope Grant as second in command, set out to make a flanking +movement and co-operate with Sir Colin from the north bank of the Gumti. +They were to work along the north-east and north of the city with a +strong column, while the main force pushed forward from the east and +south-east, the two armies being in touch and their artillery able to +play upon the same positions from different sides. The rebel defences, +it must be borne in mind, were vast and strong. + +Outram's force marched away to the east, and to those ignorant of its +destination it appeared to be deserting Lucknow. Before reaching the +southward bend of the river the engineers constructed a bridge of +floating barrels, over which the column crossed and proceeded +northwards, and presently wheeled to the west and encamped, having +completed the half of a circle. Alec Paterson was with Outram, Boldre's +Horse with the Southern Army. + +On March 9th a Union Jack floating over the Chaka Palace told that +Outram had captured an important outpost, and that night he almost +completed the circle, and encamped hardly more than a mile due north of +Sir Colin, on the other side of the Gumti. The two armies were soon in +direct communication, and as a consequence the rebels abandoned their +first line of defence. The British loss was slight, but Sir William +Peel, the newly-promoted seaman, had been mortally wounded. + +On the 11th began the first serious fighting for the southern force. Sir +Colin gave Jung Bahadur's army charge of the operations along the +south-eastern line of defence, across the canal, whilst he attacked from +the east, in touch with Outram. The Begum Kothi, a fortified palace +which blocked the way, was stormed with splendid gallantry by +Highlanders and Sikhs, the rebels being driven out after they had lost +many hundreds of their comrades. A number of guns were captured, and +Hodson was slain whilst performing one of his typical feats of valour. + + [Illustration: THE REBEL REELED AGAINST THE WALL _Page 340_] + +Boldre's Horse had little to do, the work lying with the artillery and +infantry until the rebels fled, when the cavalry completed the rout. It +was not safe to pursue too far, and Ted's Punjabis had the order to +retire, when their young officer chanced to notice that in the confusion +a handful of Gurkhas, whose zeal had outrun discretion, were faring +badly at the hands of a number of better-armed pandies. He clapped spurs +to his steed, and called on his men to charge. A Gurkha officer, his +back to a wall, was defending himself gamely against five sepoys with +bayonets. In the nick of time Ted sliced at one who, having reloaded, +was in the act of firing, and his horse bowled over a second, while the +lance of a Dogra sowar disabled a third. + +The long lances of the Punjabis and the force of their charge prevailed, +and, taking the surviving Gurkhas in their midst, they trotted back +amidst a shower of badly-aimed bullets. Ted then perceived that the +Gurkha officer was the man who knew Goria Thapa. His gratitude was +great, but there was little time for speech-making. + +The capture of the Begum Kothi was not only a brilliant, but also a +useful, piece of work, by which they were soon to profit. The way was +almost opened to the Kaiserbagh Palace, now a huge fortification +mounting very powerful cannon, and this was the key to the position. But +before this all-important defence could be carried by storm, it was +first necessary to gain possession of the Imambara Mosque, and the +infantry were held back for a time until Outram's guns from the north +and Lugard's from the east should have made some impression upon the +thick walls of the two stout buildings. + +When the time did come for the infantry to act, a glorious response was +made. General Franks sent forward the 10th Foot to support. For a time +the resistance was fierce and courageous, but the English and Punjabis +would not be denied. Pressing forward sternly, the rear ranks filling +the gaps as the leaders fell, their determination at length cowed the +pandies, and their bayonets cleared the Imambara. Then the way lay open +to the Kaiserbagh, and British hearts beat high. + +Sir Colin had not intended that his brigadier should attempt more than +the Imambara that day, but seeing that the pandies had lost heart, +Franks wisely took upon himself to strike a more decisive blow. While +hotly pursuing the rebels from the Imambara the British troops had +penetrated to a strong position overlooking the Kaiserbagh. It would be +a thousand pities to relinquish this advantage. So Franks pushed forward +reinforcements, and within a few hours the Kaiserbagh was in our hands, +and to all intents Lucknow was gained and a decisive victory had crowned +the British arms. The day had been brilliant and decisive, but marred by +one unfortunate result of the commander-in-chief's over-caution. + +Had Outram been allowed to swoop down from the north upon the broken +rebels their collapse would have been complete; in fact the rebellion in +Oudh would have been smashed. Outram was not only prepared, he was most +anxious to do this. But Sir Colin, hardly realizing how thorough was the +demoralization of the pandies, how real was their dread of the British +bayonet, feared lest Outram's men should suffer heavily in securing the +iron and stone bridges over the Gumti for the passage of his troops. He +therefore gave Outram strict orders not to cross the river until he +could do so without the loss of a single man. Outram could do nothing +but obey and look on while the glorious chance slipped away. + +There was still fighting in the streets of Lucknow, though the mutineers +had lost their hold on the great city. Next in importance to +Nicholson's storming of Delhi, the capture of Lucknow was the most +severe blow the sepoys had received. Though the army would be employed +for months sweeping the sepoys into the Terai jungle across the Nepal +border, where Nana Sahib was finally lost, and though Sir Hugh Rose +should chase the Nana's slim general, Tantia Topi, from pillar to post +throughout the spring and summer of 1858 as Kitchener's generals chased +De Wet, everyone understood that all danger to the British raj was over +through this day's work. + +Ted Russell was on foot in the streets of Lucknow with two or three +Sikhs as Claude Boldre swept past with threescore troopers behind him. + +"Horses been shot?" he called out in passing; and Ted nodded that it was +so. Any attempt to pursue on foot would be useless, so they were turning +back towards the Kaiserbagh, where the soldiers, Englishmen, +Highlanders, Irishmen, Punjabis, and Jung Bahadur's Gurkhas, were busy +looting the treasures of the palace. There were no pandies in sight, and +Ted's dismounted sowars left their officer and ran off to share in the +plunder. + +The solitary Englishman was not unobserved, though there seemed to be no +enemy at hand; in fact this particular street was deserted, except for a +group or two of Englishmen and Irregulars several hundred yards away in +the direction of the Kaiserbagh, and Ted's sowars, now half-way between +these groups and their officers. + +So the young Feringhi seemed an easy prey to the three concealed pandies +who were furtively watching him from behind the curtains. A gleam of +hateful satisfaction lit up their dark faces as they noiselessly slipped +out of the house. Too late to draw his pistol, Ted heard the stealthy +tread, but he had kept his sword drawn, and, turning quickly, he raised +his blade to guard his head and ward off the blow that instinct told him +was being aimed thereat. The tulwar, instead of cleaving his skull, +glanced off the sword, and with diminished force bit into his shoulder. +He sank with a moan of pain, and the traitor raised his weapon for a +deadlier stroke. + +But before the blow could be repeated a pistol rang out, and the rebel +reeled against the wall, then sank to his knees and tried to crawl away. +His companions, who had been a few yards to the rear of their comrade, +hesitated, trying to make up their minds whether to run at once or first +to despatch the wounded enemy. An Englishman in volunteer uniform and +one of Ted's Sikhs, who had turned back, threw themselves upon the +pandies, who hesitated no longer but fled like hares. Before a dozen +steps had been taken in pursuit, one of the pandies turned, and, still +running, fired. The Englishman staggered, spun round and dropped dead, +and, as he fell, Ted saw his face, and knew that Tynan had wiped out the +blot upon his honour. Then the ensign fainted away. + +The Sikh brought back his comrades, and they carried their officer to +the nearest surgeon, who was fortunately able to take the case in hand +at once, or the boy would have died ere the sun rose upon another day. + +Owing to the ignorance of the Sikhs the gush of blood had not been +staunched, until the doctor, with quick grasp of the situation, did what +was necessary to retain the young life that was fast ebbing away. + +Next day Ted Russell was removed on a doolie to the Dilkusha, and he +took no further part in the fighting that ensued before the Mutiny was +finally extinguished. Recovery was slow, and a couple of months elapsed +before he was able to walk even a short distance without fatigue. But no +permanent injury had been caused by the blow, and by the end of July he +could get about as usual, both on foot and on horseback; and on the day +that he reported himself as fit for duty, he received the intimation +that both he and his chum Paterson had been officially gazetted as +lieutenants in the corps known as Boldre's Irregular Horse. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX + +Jim Disposed Of + + +That dignity had hardly been attained when an interesting ceremony, in +which Ted played but a subordinate part, took place in Simla. Major +Russell and Ethel Woodburn, finding how much they had to talk about, and +how many thrilling experiences must be related, very sensibly came to +the conclusion that their best course would be to marry with as little +delay as possible. + +Colonel Woodburn's natural objections to such haste had first to be +overcome, but having at length become reconciled to the idea of losing +his daughter, he allowed the date to be fixed. Charlie and Ted were sent +for, and at the latter's urgent request, Subadar Goria Tapa was invited +to the wedding. The Sirmur Battalion's head-quarters were then, as now, +situated at no great distance from Simla, so that neither Captain +Dorricot nor the subadar found any difficulty in attending. Captain +Spencer was another guest whom Ted was glad to meet again. Rapidly as he +had returned from Kashmir on hearing the news of the outbreak, he had +been too late to join his regiment and take part in the march to Delhi. +John Lawrence had found employment for him with the Movable Column, and +he had been badly wounded in the fighting that took place while +Nicholson was in command. + +Three days before the wedding date Ted entered Simla and greeted his +brother with a salute. Now that the dull days of exile and inaction had +come to an end he was in the merriest of moods. + +"Come to report myself, sir," said he with a solemn face. + +"Hullo, Lieutenant Russell, V.C.!" was his brother's greeting as Jim +looked up from a table strewn with papers. "Glad you're looking fit +again. I'm blest if I know what you want here, but Ethel would have you. +Nice nuisance you'll be, I know." + +The words of this truly fraternal greeting were belied by the hearty +handgrip. Ted retorted in kind. + +"Well, that's brotherly love if you like," said he. "Wretched man! Here +I've come, my heart swelling with sympathy and pity for you, and this is +your return. I won't be sorry for you any longer, not one bit. Serves +you jolly well right. Hope you forget the ring, and gash yourself whilst +shaving, and that you're late, and that you get stuck in the service, +and that your collar comes undone, and your tie crawls round your neck." + +"Much obliged, I'm sure," replied Jim, laughing at his brother's +boisterous spirits. + +"Bless you, Major Russell, you're very welcome." + +Jim winked with much deliberation, whereupon Ted thumped him between the +ribs and continued his chaff. + +"Cheer up, old man; it'll soon be over, and p'raps you'll recover. +You're not the first fellow to be married, though I suppose you imagine +that there's never been such an important affair upon this poor old +globe before. Cheer up! I've heard of fellows who've survived it." + +"Thanks! I'm fairly cheerful considering, but being with the Lucknow +Army don't seem to have improved your at-no-time very admirable +manners." + +"Never had any. Everybody used to tell me how much I took after my +eldest brother. Seriously, Jim, I wish you'd been with us at Lucknow. +I've had a great time." + +And Jim listened, leaning back with legs crossed and hands clasped +behind his head, while Ted recounted some of the most striking episodes +of the campaign and of his own adventures. + +"You're a decent sort of kid, Ted," the elder brother allowed. "I wish +the Guides had been there. Now I believe you're dying to have a chat +with Ethel, and I know she's as anxious as can be to see you again. So +go and find her, young 'un. I'm horribly busy and can't go with you. I +would if I could, you may be sure." + +"I will go and condole with her. _She_ needs some genuine sympathy and +consolation, and she shall have it. How far is it? Worth taking the +horse out again?" + +"No, not five minutes away." + +Before Ted had proceeded a couple of hundred yards, he beheld the object +of his search riding towards home, her thoughts uplifted far above the +humble wayfarer whom she was about to pass without recognition. + +"Evening, Miss Woodburn!" said Ted. + +Ethel gave a start and reined in her horse. + +"Why, Ted, I didn't know you'd arrived." + +"Just come. Affectionate brother intimated that, as he had no room for +thinking of anyone but you, I disturbed him." + +"So you were coming to see me? You are looking well, Ted. I half +expected to see a decrepit invalid with crutches and bandages." + +"I'm all right now. Should have come though to see you married if I'd +had to be brought on a doolie." + +He assisted the girl to dismount, and, giving the horse in charge of the +sais, they entered the house. + +"I am glad you look so well," repeated Miss Woodburn. "Paterson kept us +posted up as to your state so long as he remained at Lucknow. We had an +anxious time for a week or two." + +"You heard about Tynan, I suppose? He proved a brick in the end, did he +not?" + +"Yes, I was glad when I read Alec's account of how he died. That is--you +know what I mean?" + +Ted nodded. + +"Had you not seen him since that night at Lahore?" Ethel continued. + +"Never once until that moment. I've not been able to find out anything +about him either. He must have enrolled in the Volunteers, under an +assumed name, of course." + +Colonel Woodburn, looking his old self again, was genuinely pleased to +welcome the boy. For half an hour he drew him out on the subject of the +Lucknow campaign, and then Ethel claimed her brother-in-law again. + +"Come and see my presents, Ted," she ordered. + +"With pleasure--oh, by the way, I've brought my little contribution. +Hope you'll like it." + +She gave a little scream of delight as he handed her an open box. + +"Oh, how beautiful! How lovely! Ted, you shouldn't have given me +anything like this. It's much too good." + +"It's not half good enough." + +"Look at this necklet, father! Is it not exquisite?" + +Colonel Woodburn examined the present, and gave a whistle of amazement. + +"Ted, my boy, wherever did you get this?" he asked. "It's worth hundreds +or I'm no judge. Diamonds and rubies of this size! And what +workmanship!" + +"It's from Lucknow, colonel. Loot, I'm afraid." + +"Loot?" The colonel looked more serious, as he asked the question. + +"I'm not certain--only circumstantial evidence. You see, there was a lot +of looting when we entered Lucknow, and the Sikhs and Jung Bahadur's +Gurkhas got nearly everything. Jung's men took several thousand carts +filled with loot back to Nepal. A day or two before I was wounded I +happened to save the life of one of Jung's Gurkhas who was being set +upon by a crowd. He seemed to be an officer of good standing, and he was +very grateful, and when I spoke to him in Magar-Kura, he was just +delighted. When I was well enough I found that this parcel had been +handed to me, and this necklace was inside, and not a word of +explanation. So I guess they came from him, but couldn't make sure as +he'd gone. It was probably one of many things he'd picked up in the +palace, but I don't know that for certain. They were allowed to loot for +a little while to repay their services, so it's come by perfectly +honestly, Ethel. I offered it to the general of our column for him to +send to the common stock, but he sent back word that it was mine, right +enough. So it's quite right, isn't it, Colonel Woodburn? Mayn't she +accept it with a clear conscience?" + +"Certainly, except that it's much too costly a present to accept, Ted." + +"It is indeed, old boy. I'm very, very grateful, and it's very generous +of you, but you must keep it. You'd be sorry in a year or two, and you'd +blame me for taking it." + +Ted began to grow angry. "If you won't take it, Ethel," he sullenly +declared, "I'll throw it on the fire. I mean it." + +"But, Ted, you'll be married some day, and think how you would like your +wife to have this--and she _ought_ to have it. Then you would think it +mean of me to have taken it." + +He laughed scornfully. + +"Marry? Me? I'm not going to get married! I don't want anyone to have it +but you; I meant it for you as soon as I saw it." + +A way of escape occurred to the girl. + +"Let us strike a bargain, old boy. If I accept it now, will you allow me +to present it to your wife on the day you get married?" + +Again Ted laughed, this time with light heart. + +"I agree to that--it amounts to the same thing." + +"Do you approve of the arrangement, father?" + +"Trust a woman to find some way out," said the colonel. "I think the +arrangement a good one. Honour satisfied on both sides." + +"Now, Ted, I can thank you properly--especially for your thought on +first seeing the necklet. But come and see the rest of the 'loot', as +your unprincipled and shameless brother calls it." + +"He calls it that, does he? Good judge, Jim." + +"Yes, his first daily enquiry is, 'Any more loot to-day?' After being +satisfied on that point he condescends to enquire after me." + +"I shouldn't have thought he was ever 'satisfied on that point'." + +Ethel Woodburn laughed merrily. + +"Quite true, he's not. He invariably grunts, 'Is that all to-day?' and +tells me that I ought to have laid myself out to be particularly nice to +everyone for the past fortnight." + +"Greedy brute, isn't he? But I say, Ethel, isn't he content with these? +I call it a jolly good show considering that the presents from England +haven't come yet. I s'pose it's just Jim's peculiar way of expressing +his gratitude." + +"Have you shown him the necklet?" + +"No fear; he'd have collared it and stuck to it, and pawned it before +you could see it. He wouldn't have had your scruples." + +"I'm afraid that you have a very poor opinion of my husband +that-is-to-be, Lieutenant Russell." + +Ted laughed, and most rudely winked. + +"About as bad as your own, I guess, Mrs. Major Russell." + +Ted walked round from table to table reading the cards and asking who +was who. + +"Sir Arthur Fletcher," he read out, halting before one of the presents. +"That's jolly nice of him!" + +"I see Charlie Dorricot's sent nothing yet?" he added. "He's due +to-night, isn't he?" + +"Yes, I expect to make his acquaintance shortly." + +"Ripping good chap, Charlie! You'll like him. + +"He's very anxious to inspect you," the young subaltern continued. "He +did all he could to draw Jim out about you, but it was no go--Jim just +gazed amiably upon him. Then he drew a fancy picture of you." + +"Who did? Jim?" + +"Don't jeer! You know who I mean. He also offered bribes to read your +letters--precious small bribes, though! But nothing could make Jim +wrathy when he was reading the epistles of Ethel." + +"You helped him, I suppose?" + +"Helped Jim--to read them? Who's mixed with the personal pronouns now?" + +"From your account of your cousin," Ethel observed, disdaining to answer +the gibes, "I think it very doubtful that I shall like him. He appears +to have been--well--impertinent." + +"Regular impudent beggar he is! I knew you'd think so; that's why I told +you. Never mind, Ethel, you may be sure of this, that he'll like you. +Besides, I stuck up for you, as Jim wouldn't." + +"I am indeed grateful, Lieutenant Russell." + +"You do look nice when you laugh, Ethel. Ah! here they are, I can hear +Charlie's voice." + +They went down to greet the new-comers. + +"I seem to know you quite well already, Captain Dorricot," Ethel +remarked as they were introduced. + +"I'm afraid I can hardly say that I know you at all," Charlie replied, +"as Jim would never venture on a description, however greatly I +encouraged him, feeling, no doubt, his inability to do the subject +justice." + +"That's really rather nice, you know," Ted commented, with a grave air +of abstraction; and the girl blushed becomingly. + +An awkward pause ensued. Then four people spoke together. Three stopped +respectfully. + +"Can you guess, Jim, what Ted has given us for a present?" + +"That's a hint for you, Charlie. Open your packages at once. I am about +to marry a most sordid little woman, whose absorbing thought is: +'Presents, and how to obtain them'." + +"Sir, you speak that which is not true. Look at this!" + +"Whew! You've been looting, young man. Where?" + +"Not at all--present--Lucknow--Gurkhas. By the way, Charlie, did you +know that young Roberts, your school-fellow, won the V.C.? Won it twice +over, in fact--I saw him." + +"Well done, D.A.Q.M.G.! That young man will make his mark in the world. +He's a man that understands men--and things." + +Ethel then related Ted's story of the jewels and the bargain made, and +Charlie presented his gifts, a pair of paintings brought back with him +from England two months before. To everyone's surprise he next dragged +out a pair of silver-mounted kukris, Goria Thapa's present to Major +Russell, in memory of their father's friendship. + +Charlie and Ted returned to Jim's quarters, leaving the lovers half an +hour of solitude. + +"My stars, Ted, that's a pretty girl!" observed the former. + +"Isn't she stunning? She's no end fun either, though she looks so +demure." + +"Jim has displayed unusual discrimination, I must say." + + * * * * * + +The day, by custom termed "auspicious"--though why the bridegroom cannot +tell--came round at last. Major Russell appeared as joyous as could +reasonably be expected--and no more. Whilst awaiting the bride's +appearance Captain Dorricot, as best man, apparently considered his a +most gladsome task. Why does "a best man" consider it necessary to be +ribald? + +"Major Russell," he whispered, "are you or are you not going to hold +yourself straight? Think of me! You're disgracing me before all these +people. Don't look so cheap, man; you'll get used to it! + +"Now remember my advice and start from to-day as master; let her see +that you won't be trodden upon." + +"Oh, don't be an idiot!" + +"Bless us, he thinks, poor fellow, that it'll be rather nice to be +trodden upon by her! Quick! She's coming! Take your eyes from the roof +and try to look as though you'd been here before and could do it on your +head." + +Good as the advice was it passed unheeded, for all eyes were now turned +towards the church porch as Ethel Woodburn entered--charmingly sweet, +and shyly happy. + +The ceremony over, our friend Ted forgot his new-born dignity and became +a boy again, and a perfectly irrepressible one, until Jim and his +dainty wife had driven away in the direction of the everlasting hills. + +Then came the reaction of depression that must inevitably attend the +happiest and best-suited marriages. + +"Poor old colonel seems cut-up!" said Charlie, as he and Spencer and Ted +lounged in the veranda some hours later gazing at the spangled velvet of +the sky. + +"No wonder," mused Spencer. "He's left alone now, poor fellow! It's +hardly a joyful occasion for him. Have a cheroot, Russell?" + +"No, thanks!" Ted replied. + +"Teddy's a good boy," Dorricot laughed. + +"He's quite right," said Spencer. "Nothing to be ashamed of in knowing +that one is not old enough to have stopped growing." + +"She's a pretty girl!" Dorricot observed thoughtfully after a pause. +"Hope I may do as well as Jim when my time comes." + + * * * * * + +Ted Russell's adventures as a boy were over. Readers interested in his +subsequent career, if any such there be, may care to know that shortly +after his return to India after serving under Sir Hope Grant in China, +he obtained twelve-months' home leave. While in England the necklet, +curiously enough, did again change hands, and Captain Edward Russell was +by no means so greatly astounded by the circumstance as, to judge from +former declarations, he ought to have been. + +Throughout the Second Afghan War he commanded one of the regiments of +Roberts' army, and Colonel Paterson distinguished himself during the +same campaign at Ahmed Khel, his regiment being with Sir Donald Stewart. +The old friends met at Kabul, and Ted took part in the famous march to +Kandahar, whilst Paterson proceeded with his general to the Kyber, and +thence to Peshawur. + +A few years later Colonel Russell was in command of a brigade in one of +the North-west Frontier expeditions, and he finally retired from the +army with a hammered slug in his right leg, as Major-general Russell. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Disputed V.C., by Frederick P. Gibbon + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41594 *** |