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diff --git a/old/7perl10.txt b/old/7perl10.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c211599 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/7perl10.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11174 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of In Times of Peril, by G. A. Henty +#16 in our series by G. A. Henty + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the +copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing +this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook. + +This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project +Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: In Times of Peril + +Author: G. A. Henty + +Release Date: December, 2004 [EBook #7071] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on March 5, 2003] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN TIMES OF PERIL *** + + + + +This eBook was produced by Anne Soulard, Charles Franks +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + +IN TIMES OF PERIL +A TALE OF INDIA. + +BY G. A. HENTY + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +CHAPTER I. + +Life in Cantonments + +CHAPTER II. + +The Outbreak + +CHAPTER III. + +The Flight + +CHAPTER IV. + +Broken Down + +CHAPTER V. + +Back Under the Flag + +CHAPTER VI. + +A Dashing Expedition + +CHAPTER VII. + +Delhi + +CHAPTER VIII. + +A Desperate Defense + +CHAPTER IX. + +Saved by a Tiger + +CHAPTER X. + +Treachery + +CHAPTER XI. + +Retribution Begins + +CHAPTER XII. + +Dangerous Service + +CHAPTER XIII + +Lucknow + +CHAPTER XIV. + +The Besieged Residency + +CHAPTER XV. + +Spiking the Guns + +CHAPTER XVI. + +A Sortie and its Consequences + +CHAPTER XVII. + +Out of Lucknow + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +The Storming of Delhi + +CHAPTER XIX. + +A Riot at Cawnpore + +CHAPTER XX. + +The Relief of Lucknow + +CHAPTER XXI. + +A Sad Parting + +CHAPTER XXII. + +The Last Capture of Lucknow + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +A Desperate Defense + +CHAPTER XXIV. + +Rest after Labor + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +LIFE IN CANTONMENTS. + + +Very bright and pretty, in the early springtime of the year 1857, were the +British cantonments of Sandynugghur. As in all other British garrisons in +India, they stood quite apart from the town, forming a suburb of their +own. They consisted of the barracks, and of a maidan, or, as in England it +would be called, "a common," on which the troops drilled and exercised, +and round which stood the bungalows of the military and civil officers of +the station, of the chaplain, and of the one or two merchants who +completed the white population of the place. + +Very pretty were these bungalows, built entirely upon the ground floor, in +rustic fashion, wood entering largely into their composition. Some were +thatched; others covered with slabs of wood or stone. All had wide +verandas running around them, with tatties, or blinds, made of reeds or +strips of wood, to let down, and give shade and coolness to the rooms +therein. In some of them the visitor walked from the compound, or garden, +directly into the dining-room; large, airy, with neither curtains, nor +carpeting, nor matting, but with polished boards as flooring. The +furniture here was generally plain and almost scanty, for, except at meal- +times, the rooms were but little used. + +Outside, in the veranda, is the real sitting-room of the bungalow. Here +are placed a number of easy-chairs of all shapes, constructed of cane or +bamboo--light, cool, and comfortable; these are moved, as the sun +advances, to the shady side of the veranda, and in them the ladies read +and work, the gentlemen smoke. In all bungalows built for the use of +English families, there is, as was the case at Sandynugghur, a drawing- +room as well as a dining-room, and this, being the ladies' especial +domain, is generally furnished in European style, with a piano, light +chintz chair-covers, and muslin curtains. + +The bedroom opens out of the sitting-room; and almost every bedroom has +its bathroom--that all-important adjunct in the East--attached to it. The +windows all open down to the ground, and the servants generally come in +and out through the veranda. Each window has its Venetian blind, which +answers all purposes of a door, and yet permits the air to pass freely. + +The veranda, in addition to serving as the general sitting-room to the +family, acts as a servants' hall. Here at the side not used by the +employers, the servants, when not otherwise engaged, sit on their mats, +mend their clothes, talk and sleep; and it is wonderful how much sleep a +Hindoo can get through in the twenty-four hours. The veranda is his +bedroom as well as sitting-room; here, spreading a mat upon the ground, +and rolling themselves up in a thin rug or blanket from the very top of +their head to their feet, the servants sleep, looking like a number of +mummies ranged against the wall. Out by the stables they have their +quarters, where they cook and eat, and could, if they chose, sleep; but +they prefer the coolness and freshness of the veranda, where, too, they +are ready at hand whenever called. The gardens were all pretty, and well +kept, with broad, shady trees, and great shrubs covered by bright masses +of flower; for Sandynugghur had been a station for many years, and with +plenty of water and a hot sun, vegetation is very rapid. + +In two of the large reclining chairs two lads, of fifteen and sixteen +respectively, were lolling idly; they had been reading, for books lay open +in their laps, and they were now engaged in eating bananas, and in talking +to two young ladies, some three years their senior, who were sitting +working beside them. + +"You boys will really make yourselves ill if you eat so many bananas." + +"It is not that I care for them," said the eldest lad; "they are tasteless +things, and a good apple is worth a hundred of them; but one must do +something, and I am too lazy to go on with this Hindoo grammar; besides, a +fellow can't work when you girls come out here and talk to him." + +"That's very good, Ned; it is you that do all the talking; besides, you +know that you ought to shut yourselves up in the study, and not sit here +where you are sure to be interrupted." + +"I have done three hours' steady work this morning with that wretched +Moonshi, Kate; and three hours in this climate is as much as my brain will +stand." + +Kate Warrener and her brothers, Ned and Dick, were the children of the +major of the One Hundred and Fifty-first Bengal Native Infantry, the +regiment stationed at Sandynugghur. Rose Hertford, the other young lady, +was their cousin. The three former were born in India, but had each gone +to England at the age of nine for their education, and to save them from +the effects of the climate which English children are seldom able to +endure after that age. Their mother had sailed for England with Dick, the +youngest, but had died soon after she reached home. Dick had a passion for +the sea, and his father's relations having good interest, had obtained for +him a berth as a midshipman in the royal navy, in which rank he had been +serving for upward of a year. His ship being now in Indian waters, a +month's leave had been granted him that he might go up the country to see +his father. The other lad had arrived from England three months before, +with his sister and cousin. Major Warrener had sent for his daughter, +whose education was finished, to take the head of his house, and, as a +companion, had invited Rose Hertford, who was the orphan child of his +sister, to accompany her. Ned, who had been at Westminster till he left +England, was intended for the Indian army. His father thought that it +would be well for him to come out to India with his sister, as he himself +would work with him, and complete his education, to enable him to pass the +necessary examination--then not a very severe one--while he could be at +the same time learning the native languages, which would be of immense +benefit to him after he had entered the army. Coming out as they had done +in the cold season, none of the four exhibited any of that pallor and +lassitude which, at any rate during the summer heats, are the rule +throughout the Anglo-Indian community. + +As Ned finished his sentence the sound of the tread of two horses was +heard along the road. + +"Captains Dunlop and Manners," Dick exclaimed; "a shilling to a penny! +Will either of you bet, girls?" + +Neither his sister nor cousin replied to this offer; and the boys gave a +sly nod of intelligence to each other, as two horsemen rode up to the +veranda and dismounted; throwing their reins to the _syces_, who, whatever +the pace at which their masters ride, run just behind, in readiness to +take the horses, should they dismount. + +"Good-morning, Miss Warrener; good-morning, Miss Hertford: we have brought +you some interesting news." + +"Indeed!" said the girls, as they shook hands with the newcomers, who were +two as good specimens of tall, well-made, sunburnt Anglo-Saxons as one +would wish to see. "What is it?" + +"We have just got the news that a family of wild boars have come down, and +are doing a lot of damage near Meanwerrie, four miles off. I suppose they +have been disturbed somewhere further away, as we have not heard of any +pig here for months; so to-morrow morning there is going to be grand pig- +sticking; of course you will come out and see the fun?" + +"We shall be delighted," said Kate; but Rose put in: "Yes; but oh! how +unfortunate! it's Mrs. Briarley's garden party." + +"That has been put off till next day. It is not often we get a chance at +pig, and we have always got gardens. The two need not have interfered with +each other, as we shall start at daylight for Meanwerrie; but we may be +out some hours, and so it was thought better to put off the party to a day +when there will be nothing else to do." + +"Hurrah!" shouted Dick; "I am in luck! I wanted, above all things, to see +a wild boar hunt; do you think my father will let me have a spear?" + +"Hardly, Dick, considering that last time you went out you tumbled off +three times at some jumps two feet wide, and that, were you to fall in +front of a pig, he would rip you up before you had time to think about it; +besides which, you would almost certainly stick somebody with your spear." + +Dick laughed. + +"That was the first time I had ever been on a horse," he said; "will you +ride, Ned?" + +"No," said Ned; "I can ride fairly enough along a straight road, but it +wants a first-rate rider to go across country at a gallop, looking at the +boar instead of where you are going, and carrying a spear in one hand." + +"Do you think papa will ride?" Kate asked. + +"I don't know, Miss Warrener; the major is a famous spear; but here he is +to speak for himself." + +Major Warrener was in uniform, having just come up from the orderly-room. +He was a tall, soldierly figure, inclining to stoutness. His general +expression was that of cheeriness and good temper; but he was looking, as +he drove up, grave and serious. His brow cleared, however, as his eye fell +upon the group in the veranda. + +"Ah! Dunlop, brought the news about the boar, eh?" + +"You will take us with you?" the girls asked in a breath. + +"Oh, yes, you shall go; I will drive you myself. I am getting too heavy +for pig-sticking, especially with such responsibilities as you about. +There, I will get out of this uniform; it's hot for the time of year. What +are you drinking? nothing? Boy, bring some soda and brandy!" + +Then, producing his cigar-case, he took a cheroot. + +"Ag-low!" he shouted, and a native servant ran up with a piece of red-hot +charcoal held in a little pair of tongs. + +"There, sit down and make yourselves comfortable till I come back." + +The lads, finding that their society was not particularly required, +strolled off to the stables, where Ned entered into a conversation with +the _syces_ as to the distance to Meanwerrie and the direction in which +that village lay. Like all Anglo-Indian children brought up in India, the +boys had, when they left India, spoken the language fluently. They had +almost entirely forgotten it during their stay in England, but it speedily +came back again, and Ned, at the end of three months' work, found that he +could get on very fairly. Dick had lost it altogether. + +When they went back to the veranda they found that the girls had gone +indoors, and that their father was sitting and smoking with his brother +officers. When the lads came up the conversation ceased, and then the +major said: + +"It is as well the boys should know what is going on." + +"What is it, father?" Ned asked, struck with the grave tone in which the +major spoke, and at the serious expression in all their faces. + +"Well, boys, for some months past there have been all sorts of curious +rumors running through the country. Chupatties have been sent round, and +that is always considered to portend something serious." + +"Do you mean the chupatties we eat--flat cakes, father?" + +"Yes, Ned. Nobody knows who sends them round, or the exact meaning of the +signal, but it seems to be an equivalent for to 'prepare,' 'make ready.' +Chupatties are quickly prepared; they are the bread eaten on a journey, +and hence probably their signification. At any rate, these things have +been circulated among the native troops all over the country. Strangers +are known to have come and gone, and there is a general uneasy and +unsettled feeling prevalent among the troops. A ridiculous rumor has +circulated among them that the new cartridges have been greased with pig's +fat, in order that the caste of all who put it to their lips might be +destroyed. To-day I have received news from Calcutta that the Nineteenth +native regiment at Berhampore has behaved in a grossly mutinous manner, +and that it is feared the regiments at Barrackpore and Dumdum will follow +their example. The affair has been suppressed, but there is an uneasy +feeling abroad, and all the troops in Bengal proper appear tainted with +paltry disaffection. We have no reason for believing that the spirit has +spread to the northwest, and are convinced that as far as our own regiment +is concerned they can be relied on; but the affair, taken in connection +with the previous rumors, is very strange, and I fear that there are lots +of trouble ahead. I wish now that I had not had the girls out for another +year; but I could not foresee this, and, indeed, until this morning, +although there has been a good deal of talk, we all hoped it would have +passed off without anything coming of it. One hopes still that it will +spread no further; but should it do so, it is impossible to say what may +happen. All we have to do is to be watchful, and to avoid with care +anything that can offend the men's prejudices. We must explain to the +native officers the folly of the greased cartridge story, and tell them to +reassure the men. You don't see anything else to do, Dunlop?" + +"No, major; I trust that the regiment is to be depended upon; it has +always been well treated and the men have seemed attached to us all. We +will do our best to reassure them; but if there is any insubordination, I +hope that the colonel will give the men a lesson which will put an end to +the nonsense in the bud." + +"Of course you will stay to tiffin?" the major said, as the _kitmagar_, or +head servant, announced that tiffin was ready. + +"Many thanks, major, but we promised to tiff with Bullen, and he would be +mad if we did not turn up. How are you thinking of going to-morrow? I +intend to drive over, and send my horse on; so I can give one of your boys +a lift in my buggy." + +"Thank you," the major said, "that would suit us exactly. I shall drive in +my dog-cart, which will carry four of us; and if you will take Dick, that +will make it all right." + +"What time do we start?" + +"We are to be there by seven; we set it so late to give the ladies time to +breakfast comfortably before starting. I will call here at half-past six +for Dick; it will be all in my way. Good-morning." + +Two minutes later the girls, Ned, and Dick came into the dining-room, and +the party sat down to luncheon--a meal always called tiffin in India. It +is a great mistake to suppose that people in India cannot eat because of +the heat; in the extreme heat of summer their appetites do, no doubt, fall +off; but at other times, they not only eat, but eat more largely than is +good for them; and a good deal of the liver complaint which is the pest of +India is in no small degree due to the fact that, the appetite being +unnaturally stimulated by hot and piquant food, people eat more than in +such a climate as this can be properly digested. The meal consisted of +curries, with which were handed round chutney and Bombay ducks--a little +fish about the size of a smelt, cut open, dried, and smoked with +assafoetida, giving it an intolerably nasty taste to strangers, but one +which Anglo-Indians become accustomed to and like--no one knows why they +are called Bombay ducks--cutlets, plantains sliced and fried, +pomegranates, and watermelons. They were waited upon by two servants, both +dressed entirely in white, but wearing red turbans, very broad and +shallow. These turbans denoted the particular tribe and sect to which +their wearers belonged. The castes in India are almost innumerable, and +each has a turban of a peculiar color or shape, and by these they can be +at once distinguished by a resident. On their foreheads were lines and +spots of a yellowish white paint, indicating also their caste, and the +peculiar divinity to whose worship they were specially devoted. On their +feet they wore slippers, and were as noiseless as cats in all their +movements. There are no better or more pleasant waiters in the world than +the natives of Hindostan. + +Early as the hour named for the start would appear in England, it was by +no means early for India, where every one is up and about soon after +daylight--the morning hours up to eight o'clock being the most pleasant of +the whole day. + +Kate and Rose were up, and all had had "_chota hazaree_" (little +breakfast) by half-past six, and were ready when Captain Dunlop drew up in +his buggy--a conveyance which will only hold two. The dog-cart was already +at the door, and the whole party were soon in motion. On the road they +passed several of their friends, for every one was going out to the hunt, +and merry greetings were exchanged. + +The scenery round Sandynugghur resembles that which is common to all the +great plains of India watered by the Ganges and Jumna. The country is for +the most part perfectly flat, and cut up into little fields, divided by +shallow ditches. Here and there nullahs, or deep watercourses, with +tortuous channels and perpendicular sides, wind through the fields to the +nearest stream. These nullahs constitute the great danger of hunting in +the country. In the fields men may be noticed, in the scantiest of attire, +working with hoes among their springing crops; women, wrapped up in the +dark blue calico cloth which forms their ordinary costume, are working as +hard as the men. Villages are scattered about, generally close to groves +of trees. The huts are built of mud; most of them are flat-topped, but +some are thatched with rushes. Rising above the villages is the mosque, +where the population are Mohammedan, built of mud like the houses, but +whitewashed and bright. The Hindoo villages generally, but not always, +have their temples. The vegetation of the great plains of India is not +tropical, according to the ideas of tropical vegetation gathered from +British hothouses. There are a few palms and many bananas with their wide +leaves, but the groves are composed of sturdy trees, whose appearance at a +distance differs in no way from that of ordinary English forest trees. +Viewed closer, the banian with its many stems is indeed a vegetable +wonder; but, were it not for the villages and natives, a traveler might +journey for very many miles across the plains of India without seeing +anything which would specially remind him that he was out of England. + +There were a considerable number of traps assembled when Major Warrener +drew up, and some eight or ten gentlemen on horseback, each carrying a +boar-spear--a weapon not unlike the lance of an English cavalryman, but +shorter in the handle. The riders were mostly dressed in coats of the +Norfolk jacket type, and knee-breeches with thick gaiters. The material of +their clothes was a coarse but very strong cloth of native make, gray or +brown in color. Some wore round hats and forage caps with puggarees +twisted round them. + +A chorus of greeting saluted the party as they drove up. + +"Well, young ladies," the colonel said, "so you have come out to see the +death of the boar, + + "'The boar, the boar, the mighty boar,' + +as the song says? So you are not going to take a spear to-day, major? +Think it's time to leave it to the youngsters, eh?" + +"Where are the wild boars, Mrs. Renwick?" Kate asked of the colonel's +wife. + +"Pig, my dear; we always call them pig when we speak of them together, +though we talk of the father of the family as the boar. Do you see that +clump of long grass and jungle right across the plain? That's where they +are. They have been watched all night. They went out to feed before +daybreak and have just gone back again. Do you think we are in the best +place for seeing the sport, Major Warrener?" + +"I think, Mrs. Renwick, that if you leave your trap and go up to the top +of that knoll, two hundred yards to the right, you will get a really good +view of the plain." + +Mrs. Renwick alighted from the dog-cart in which the colonel had driven +her, and the whole party, following her example, walked in a laughing +group to the spot which Major Warrener had indicated, and which was +pronounced as just the place. The _syces_ stood at the heads of the +horses, and those who were going to take part in the sport cantered off +toward the spot where the pigs were lurking, making, however, a wide +_detour_ so as to approach it from the other side, as it was desired to +drive them across the plain. At some distance behind the clump were +stationed a number of natives, with a variety of mongrel village curs. +When they saw the horsemen approach they came up and prepared to enter the +jungle to drive out the pigs. + +The horsemen took up their position on either side of the patch in +readiness to start as soon as the animals were fairly off. A number of +villagers, in whose fields of young rice the family had done much damage +during the few days that they had taken up their abode in their present +quarters, were assembled on such little rises of ground as were likely to +give a good view of the proceedings. There were about a dozen horsemen +with spears; of these, three or four were novices, and these intended to +try their skill for the first time upon the "squeakers," as the young pigs +are called, while the others prepared for a race after the old ones. + +Great nerve, considerable skill, and first-rate horsemanship are required +for the sport of pigsticking. The horse, too, must be fast, steady, well- +trained and quick, for without all these advantages the sport is a +dangerous one. The wild boar is, at the start, as fast as a horse. He is +very quick at turning, and when pressed always attacks his pursuers, and +as he rushes past will lay open the leg or flank of a horse with a +sweeping cut with his sharp tusk. If he can knock a horse down the +position of his rider would be serious indeed, were not help to arrive in +time to draw off the attention of the enraged animal from his foe. Heavy +falls, too, take place over watercourses and nullahs, and in some parts of +India the difficulties are greatly increased by bowlders of all kinds +being scattered over the ground, and by the frequent occurrence of bushes +and shrubs armed with most formidable spines and thorns. Conspicuous among +these is the bush known as the "wait-a-bit thorn," which is furnished with +two kinds of thorn--the one long, stiff, and penetrating, the other short +and curved, with a forked point almost like a fishhook. When this once +takes hold it is almost necessary to cut the cloth to obtain a release. + +Scarcely had the beaters, with much shouting and clamor, entered the patch +of bush in which the pigs were lying, than the porcine family, consisting +of a splendid boar and sow, and eight nearly full-grown squeakers, darted +out on the open, and in a moment the horsemen were off in pursuit. The +ground was deep and heavy, and the pigs at the first burst gained fast +upon their pursuers. There was no attempt on the part of the pigs to keep +together, and directly after starting they began to diverge. The old boar +and sow both kept across the plain--one bearing toward the left, the other +to the right. The squeakers ran in all directions--some at right angles to +the line that the old ones were taking. The object of one and all was to +gain cover of some kind. + +With their hats pressed well down upon their heads, and their spears +advanced with the head some two or three feet from the ground, the hunters +started after them--some making after the boar, some after the sow, +according to the position which they occupied at the commencement of the +chase, while some of the young hands dashed off in pursuit of the +squeakers. + +There were five, however, after the boar; Captain Dunlop, a young ensign +named Skinner, the Scotch doctor of the regiment, and two civilians. For a +short time they kept together, and then Captain Dunlop and Skinner began +to draw ahead of the others. + +The boar was a stanch one, and a mile had been passed before his speed +began sensibly to diminish. The young ensign, who was mounted on a very +fast Arab, began to draw up to him three or four lengths ahead of Captain +Dunlop, bearing his horse so as to get upon the left side of the boar, in +order to permit him to use his spear to advantage. + +He was nearly up to him when Captain Dunlop, who saw the boar glancing +back savagely, cried: + +"Look out, Skinner! he will be round in a moment; keep your horse well in +hand!" + +A moment later the boar was round. The horse, young and unbroken at the +work, started violently, swerved, and, before his rider could get him +round, the boar was upon him. In an instant the horse was upon the ground, +with a long gash upon his flank, and Skinner, flying through the air, fell +almost directly in the boar's way. + +Fortunately for the young ensign, Captain Dunlop, as he shouted his +warning, had turned his horse to the left, so as to cut off the boar when +he turned, and he was now so close that the boar, in passing, had only +time to give a vicious blow at the fallen man, which laid his arm open +from his shoulder to his elbow. + +At that instant Captain Dunlop arrived, and his spear pierced the animal's +flank. His aim was, however, disconcerted by his horse, at the moment he +struck, leaping over the fallen ensign; the wound, therefore, was but a +glancing one, and in a moment the boar was round upon his new assailant. +Fortunately the horse was a well-trained one, and needed not the sharp +touch of his master's rein to wheel sharp round on his hind legs, and dart +off at full speed. The boar swerved off again, and continued his original +line of flight, his object being to gain a thick patch of jungle, now +little over a quarter of a mile distant; the detention, however, was fatal +to him, for the doctor, who was close on Captain Dunlop's heels, now +brought up his horse with a rush and, with a well-aimed thrust, ran the +animal through, completely pinning him to the earth. The honor of his +death was therefore divided between the doctor and Captain Dunlop, for the +latter had drawn first blood, or, as it is termed, had taken first spear, +while the former had scored the kill. + +The sow had been more fortunate than her lord. She had taken a line across +a part of the plain which was intersected by several nullahs. She, too, +had been wounded, but one of the nullahs had thrown out several of her +pursuers: one rider had been sent over his horse's head and stunned; and +the sow, turning sharp down a deep and precipitous gully, had made her +escape. Three of the squeakers fell to the spears of the Griffs--young +hands--and the rest had escaped. The boar had been killed only a short +distance from the rise upon which the spectators from Sandynugghur were +assembled, and the beaters soon tied its four legs together, and, putting +a pole through them, six of them carried the beast up to the colonel's +wife for inspection. + +"What a savage-looking brute it is!" said Kate; "not a bit like a pig, +with all those long bristles, and that sharp high back, and those +tremendous tusks." + +"Will you accept the skin, Miss Warrener?" Captain Dunlop said to her +afterward; "I have arranged with the doctor. He is to have the hams, and I +am to have the hide. If you will, I will have it dressed and mounted." + +"Thank you, Captain Dunlop, I should like it very much;" but, as it turned +out, Kate Warrener never got the skin. + +The boar killed, the doctor's first care was to attend to the wounded, and +Skinner's arm was soon bound up, and he was sent home in a buggy; the man +who was stunned came to in a short time. The unsuccessful ones were much +laughed at by the colonel and major, for allowing half the game started to +get away. + +"You ought not to grumble, colonel," Captain Manners said. "If we had +killed them all, we might not have had another run for months; as it is, +we will have some more sport next week." + +There was some consultation as to the chance of getting the sow even now, +but it was generally agreed that she would follow the nullah down, cross +the stream, and get into a large canebrake beyond, from which it would +take hours to dislodge her; so a general move was made to the carriages, +and in a short time the whole party were on their way back to +Sandynugghur. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +THE OUTBREAK. + + +A week after the boar-hunt came the news that a Sepoy named Mangul Pandy, +belonging to the Thirty-fourth Native Infantry, stationed at Barrackpore, +a place only a few miles out of Calcutta, had, on the 29th of March, +rushed out upon the parade ground and called upon the men to mutiny. He +then shot the European sergeant-major of the regiment, and cut down an +officer. Pandy continued to exhort the men to rise to arms, and although +his comrades would not join him, they refused to make any movement to +arrest him. General Hearsey now arrived on the parade ground with his son +and a Major Ross, and at once rode at the man, who, finding that his +comrades would not assist him, discharged the contents of the musket into +his own body. + +Two days later the mutinous Nineteenth were disbanded at Barrackpore. On +the 3rd of April Mangul Pandy, who had only wounded himself, was hung, and +the same doom was allotted to a native officer of his regiment, for +refusing to order the men to assist the officer attacked by that mutineer, +and for himself inciting the men to rise against the government. + +"What do you think of the news, papa?" Dick asked his father. + +"I hope that the example which has been set by the execution of these +ringleaders, and by the disbandment of the Nineteenth, may have a +wholesome effect, Dick; but we shall see before long." + +It needed no great lapse of time to show that this lesson had been +ineffectual. From nearly every station throughout Bengal and the northwest +provinces came rumors of disaffection; at Agra, at Umballah, and at other +places incendiary fires broke out with alarming frequency, letters were +from time to time intercepted, calling upon the Sepoys to revolt, while at +Lucknow serious disturbances occurred, and the Seventh Regiment were +disarmed by Sir Henry Lawrence, the Commissioner of Oude. So the month of +April passed, and as it went on the feeling of disquiet and danger grew +deeper and more general. It was like the anxious time preceding a +thunderstorm, the cloud was gathering, but how or when it would burst none +could say. Many still maintained stoutly that there was no danger +whatever, and that the whole thing would blow over; but men with wives and +families were generally inclined to take a more somber view of the case. +Nor is this to be wondered at. The British form an almost inappreciable +portion of the population of India; they are isolated in a throng of +natives, outnumbered by a thousand to one. A man might therefore well feel +his helplessness to render any assistance to those dear to him in the +event of a general uprising of the people. Soldiers without family ties +take things lightly, they are ready for danger and for death if needs be, +but they can always hope to get through somehow; but the man with a wife +and children in India, at the time when a general outbreak was +anticipated, would have the deepest cause for anxiety. Not, however, that +at this time any one at Sandynugghur looked for anything so terrible. +There was a spirit of insubordination abroad in the native troops, no +doubt, but no one doubted but that it would, with more or less trouble, be +put down. And so things went on as usual, and the garden parties and the +drives, and the friendly evening visiting continued just as before. It was +at one of these pleasant evening gatherings that the first blow fell. Most +of the officers of the station, their wives, and the two or three +civilians were collected at Major Warrener's. The windows were all open. +The girls were playing a duet on the piano; five or six other ladies were +in the drawing-room and about the same number of gentlemen were standing +or sitting by them, some four or five were lounging in the veranda +enjoying their cheroots; native servants in their white dresses moved +noiselessly about with iced lemonade and wine, when a Sepoy came up the +walk. + +"What is it?" asked Major Warrener, who was one of the group in the +veranda. + +"Dispatch for the colonel, Sahib." + +The colonel, who was sitting next to the major, held out his hand for the +message, and was rising, when Major Warrener said: + +"Don't move, colonel; boy, bring a candle." + +The servant brought it: the colonel opened the envelope and glanced at the +dispatch. He uttered an exclamation which was half a groan, half a cry. + +"Good Heaven! what is the matter, colonel?" + +"The native troops at Meerut have mutinied, have murdered their officers +and all the European men, women, and children they could find, and are +marching upon Delhi. Look after your regiment." + +A low cry broke from the major. This was indeed awful news, and for a +moment the two men sat half-stunned at the calamity, while the sound of +music and merry talk came in through the open window like a mockery on +their ears. + +"Let us take a turn in the compound," said the major, "where no one can +hear us." + +For half an hour they walked up and down the garden. There could be no +doubt about the truth of the news, for it was an official telegram from +the adjutant at Meerut; and as to the extent of the misfortune, it was +terrible. + +"There is not a single white regiment at Delhi," exclaimed the colonel; +"these fiends will have it all their own way, and at Delhi there are +scores of European families. Delhi once in their hands will be a center, +and the mutiny will spread like wildfire over India. What was the general +at Meerut about? what were the white troops up to? It is as inexplicable +as it is terrible. Is there anything to be done, major, do you think?" But +Major Warrener could think of nothing. The men at present knew nothing of +the news, but the tidings would reach them in two or three days; for news +in India spreads from village to village, and town to town, with almost +incredible speed, and Meerut was but a hundred and fifty miles distant. + +"Had we better tell them inside?" the major asked. + +"No," answered the colonel; "let them be happy for to-night; they will +know the news to-morrow. As they are breaking up, ask all the officers to +come round to the messroom; I will meet them there, and we can talk the +matter over; but let the ladies have one more quiet night; they will want +all their strength and fortitude for what is to come." + +And so, clearing their brows, they went into the house and listened to the +music, and joined in the talk until ten o'clock struck and every one got +up to go, and so ended the last happy evening at Sandynugghur. + +The next morning brought the news of the rising at Delhi, but it was not +till two days later that letters giving any details of these terrible +events arrived, and the full extent of the awful calamity was known. + +The flame broke out at Meerut at seven o'clock in the evening of Sunday, +the 10th of May. On the previous day a punishment parade had been held to +witness the military degradation of a number of men of the Third Native +Cavalry, who had been guilty of mutinous conduct in respect to the +cartridges. The native regiments at the station consisted of the Third +Cavalry, the Eleventh and Twentieth Infantry; there were also in garrison +the Sixtieth Rifles, the Sixth Dragoon Guards, and two batteries of +artillery; a force amply sufficient, if properly handled, to have crushed +the native troops, and to have nipped the mutiny in the bud. Unhappily, +they were not well handled. The cantonments of Meerut were of great +extent, being nearly five miles in length by two in breadth, the barracks +of the British troops were situated at some distance from those of the +native regiments, and the action of the troops was paralyzed by the +incompetency of the general, an old man who had lost all energy, and who +remained in a state of indecision while the men of the native regiments +shot their officers, murdered all the women and children, and the white +inhabitants whose bungalows were situated at their end of their +cantonment, opened the jail doors, and after setting fire to the whole of +this quarter of Meerut, marched off toward Delhi, unmolested by the +British troops. Even then an orderly sent off with dispatches to the +officer commanding at Delhi, informing him of what had happened, and +bidding him beware, might have saved the lives of hundreds of Englishmen +and women, even if it were too late to save Delhi; but nothing whatever +was done; the English troops made a few meaningless and uncertain +movements, and marched back to their barracks. No one came forward to take +the lead. So the white troops of Meerut remained stationary under arms all +night, and the English population of Delhi were left to their fate. + +From Meerut to Delhi is thirty-two miles, and the mutineers of Meerut, +marching all night, arrived near the town at eight in the morning. +Singularly enough, the ancient capital of India, the place around which +the aspiration of Hindoos and Mohammedans alike centered, and where the +ex-emperor and his family still resided, was left entirely to the guard of +native troops; not a single British regiment was there, not a battery of +white troops. As the center of the province, a large white population were +gathered there-the families of the officers of the native infantry and +artillery, of the civil officers of the province, merchants, bankers, +missionaries, and others. As at all other Indian towns, the great bulk of +the white inhabitants lived in the cantonments outside the town; had it +not been for this, not one would have escaped the slaughter that commenced +as soon as the Third Cavalry from Meerut rode into the town. The Fifty- +fourth Native Infantry, who had hastily been marched out to meet them, +fraternized with them at once, and, standing quietly by, looked on while +their officers were murdered by the cavalrymen. Then commenced a scene of +murder and atrocity which is happily without parallel in history. Suffice +to say, that with the exception of some half-dozen who in one way or other +managed to escape, the whole of the white population inside the walls of +Delhi were murdered under circumstances of the most horrible and revolting +cruelty. Had the news of the outbreak of Meerut been sent by a swift +mounted messenger, the whole of these hapless people would have had time +to leave the town before the arrival of the mutineers. Those in the +cantonments outside the city fared somewhat better. Some were killed, but +the greater part made their escape; and although many were murdered on the +way, either by villagers or by bodies of mutineers, the majority reached +Meerut or Aliwal. The sufferers of Delhi did not die wholly unavenged. +Inside the city walls was an immense magazine containing vast stores of +powder, cartridges, and arms. It was all-important that this should not +fall into the hands of the mutineers. This was in charge of Lieutenant +Willoughby of the royal artillery, who had with him Lieutenants Forrest +and Rayner, and six English warrant and non-commissioned officers, +Buckley, Shaw, Scully, Crow, Edwards, and Stewart. The following account +was given by Lieutenant Forrest: + +"The gates of the magazine were closed and barricaded, and every possible +arrangement that could be made was at once commenced. Inside the gate +leading to the park were placed two six-pounders doubly charged with +grape. These were under acting sub-conductor Crow and Sergeant Stewart, +with lighted matches in their hands. Their orders were that if any attempt +was made to force the gate the guns were to be fired at once, and they +were to fall back to that part of the magazine where Lieutenant Willoughby +and I were posted. The principal gate of the magazine was similarly +defended by two guns and by the _chevaux-de-frise_ laid down in the +inside. For the further defense of this gate and the magazine in its +vicinity, there were two six-pounders so placed as to command it and a +small bastion close by. Within sixty yards of the gate, and commanding two +cross roads, were three six-pounders, and one twenty-four pound howitzer, +which could be so managed as to act upon any part of the magazine in that +neighborhood. After all these guns and howitzers had been placed in the +several positions above named, they were loaded with a double charge of +grape. After these arrangements had been completed a train was laid ready +to be fired at a preconcerted signal. On the enemy approaching the walls +of the magazine, which was provided with scaling ladders, the native +establishment at once deserted us by climbing up the sloped sheds on the +inside of the magazine and descending the ladders on the outside." + +When the attack began the mutineers climbed the walls in great numbers, +and opened fire upon the little garrison; these replied by an incessant +fire of grape-shot, which told severely upon the enemy. There were but two +men to each gun, but they stood nobly to their pieces until all were more +or less wounded by the enemy's fire. Finding that no more could be done, +Lieutenant Willoughby gave the order, Conductor Scully fired the several +trains, and in another instant a tremendous explosion took place which +shook all Delhi, and covered the city with a cloud of black smoke. It was +calculated that from fifteen hundred to two thousand of the mutineers and +rabble of the town were killed by the falling walls, or crushed under the +masses of masonry. Lieutenants Willoughby, Forrest, Rayner, and Conductor +Buckley survived the explosion, and effected their retreat in the +confusion through a small sallyport on the river face. The mutineers were +so enraged by their misfortune that they rushed to the palace and demanded +of the king a number of European officers and ladies who had sought refuge +under his protection. They were handed over to the mutineers, and at once +slaughtered. + +The Warreners listened with pale faces as their father, on his return from +the orderly-room, where the news had been discussed, told them the sad +story. + +"There is nothing to be done, I suppose, papa?" Ned said gently. + +"No, my boy; we are in the hands of God. We must wait now for what may +come. At present the regiment professes its fidelity, and has now +volunteered to march against the mutineers. The colonel believes them, so +do some of the others; I do not; it may be that the men mean what they say +at present, but we know that emissaries come and go, and every fresh +rising will be an incentive to them. It is no use blinking the truth, +dear; we are like men standing on a loaded mine which may at any moment +explode. I have been thinking, indeed for the last week I have done +nothing but think, what is best to be done. If the mutiny breaks out at +night or at any time when we are not on parade, we have agreed that all +the whites shall make at once for Mr. Thompson's house. It is the +strongest of any of the residences--for there would of course be no +getting to the messhouse--and then we will sell our lives as dearly as we +may. If it happens when we are on parade, defense by the rest of the +residents would be useless. There are but six civilians, with you two +boys--for we have counted you--eight. Probably but few of you could gain +Thompson's house in time; and if all did, your number would be too small +to defend it. There remains then nothing but flight. The rising will most +likely take place on parade. The residents have agreed that each day they +will, on some excuses or other, have their traps at their door at that +hour, so that at the sound of the first shot fired they may jump in and +drive off." + +"But, you, papa?" Kate asked. + +"My dear," said her father, "I shall be on duty; so long as a vestige of +the regiment remains as a regiment, I shall be with it; if the whole +regiment breaks up and attacks us, those who do not fall at the first +volley will be justified in trying to save their lives. The colonel, the +adjutant, and myself are mounted officers, and two or three of the others +will have their dogcarts each day brought up to the messhouse, as they +often do. If there is a mutiny on parade, the unmounted officers will make +for them, and we who are mounted will as far as possible cover their +retreat. So it is arranged." + +"But will the road be open to Meerut, uncle?" Rose asked after a pause, +for the danger seemed so strange and terrible that they felt stunned by +it. + +"No, my dear; it certainly will not. There are three garrison towns +between us, and they also will probably be up. The only thing is to keep +to the road for the first ten or twelve miles, and then take to the woods, +and make your way on foot. I have spoken to Saba this morning. We can +trust her; she nursed you all, and has lived with me ever since as a sort +of pensioner till you came out. I have asked her to get two dresses of +Mussulman country women; in those only the eyes are visible, while the +Hindoo dress gives no concealment. I have also ordered her to get me two +dresses: one, such as a young Mussulman _zemindar_ wears; the other, as +his retainer. They are for you boys. Keep the bundles, when you get them, +in that closet in the dining-room, so as to be close at hand; and in case +of alarm, be sure and take them with you. Remember my instructions are +absolute. If by day, escape in the trap at the first alarm; if the trap is +not available, escape at once on foot. If you hear the enemy are close, +hide till nightfall in that thick clump of bushes in the corner of the +compound, then make for that copse of trees, and try and find your way to +Meerut. I trust I may be with you, or that I may join you on the road. But +in any case, it will relieve my anxiety greatly to know that your course +is laid down. If I had to return here to look for you, I should bring my +pursuers after me, and your chance of escape would be gone--for I rely +upon you all to follow my instructions to the letter." + +"Yes, indeed, papa," was the unanimous answer of the young Warreners, who +were deeply affected at the solemn manner in which their father spoke of +the situation. + +"I have a brace of revolvers upstairs," he said, "and will give one to +each of you boys. Carry them always, but put them on under your coats, so +that they may not be noticed; it would be as well for you to practice +yourselves in their use; but when you do so, always go some distance from +the station, so that the sound will not be heard." + +"Can you give Rose and me a pistol each, too, papa?" Kate said quietly. + +Major Warrener kissed his daughter and niece tenderly. + +"I have a pair of small double-barreled pistols; you shall each have one," +he answered with a deep sigh. + +That afternoon the young Warreners and their cousin went out for a walk, +and, fixing a piece of paper against a tree, practiced pistol shooting for +an hour. Any passer-by ignorant of the circumstances would have wondered +at the countenances of these young people, engaged, apparently, in the +amusement of pistol practice. There was no smile on them, no merry laugh +when the ball went wide of the mark, no triumphant shout at a successful +shot. Their faces were set, pale, and earnest, Scarcely a word was spoken. +Each loaded in silence, took up a place at the firing point, and aimed +steadily and seriously; the boys with an angry eye and frowning brow, as +if each time they were firing at a deadly foe; the girls as earnestly, and +without any of the nervousness or timidity which would be natural in girls +handling firearms for the first time. Each day the exercise was repeated, +and after a week's practice all could hit, with a fair amount of +certainty, a piece of paper six inches square, at a distance of ten yards. + +During this time Captains Dunlop and Manners spent their whole time, when +not engaged upon their military duties, at Major Warrener's. They were now +the recognized lovers of Kate and Rose; and although, in those days of +tremendous anxiety and peril, no formal engagements were entered upon, the +young people understood each other, and Major Warrener gave his tacit +approval. Very earnestly all the party hoped that when the dread moment +came it might come when they were all together, so that they might share +the same fate, whatever it might be. The young officers' buggies now stood +all day in Major Warrener's compound, with the patient _syces_ squatting +near, or talking with the servants, while the major's horses stood ready +saddled in the stables. + +However much the party might hope to be together when the crisis came, +they felt that it was improbable that they would be so, for at the first +symptoms of mutiny it would be the duty of the officers to hasten to the +barracks to endeavor to quell it, even if certain death should meet them +there. + +In the face of the tidings from Meerut and Delhi, all the pretense of +confidence, which had hitherto been kept up at the station, came to an +end; and even had there been implicit confidence in the regiment, the news +of such terrible events would have caused an entire cessation of the +little amusements and gatherings in which Sandynugghur had previously +indulged. + +As is usual in cases of extreme danger, the various temperaments of people +come strongly into relief at these awful times. The pretty young wife of +the doctor was nearly wild with alarm. Not daring to remain at home alone, +she passed the day in going from house to house of her female friends. +Advice and example she obtained from these, but poor comfort. The +colonel's wife was as brave as any man in the station; she hardly shared +her husband's opinion that the regiment would remain faithful in the midst +of an almost general defection; but she was calm, self-possessed, and +ready for the worst. + +"It is no use crying, my dear," she said to the doctor's wife. "Our +husbands have enough to worry them without being shaken by our tears. +Death, after all, can only come once, and it is better to die with those +we love than to be separated." + +But there were not many tears shed in Sandynugghur. The women were pale +and quiet. They shook hands with a pressure which meant much, lips +quivered, and tears might drop when they spoke of children at home; but +this was not often, and day after day they bore the terrible strain with +that heroic fortitude which characterized English women in India during +the awful period of the mutiny. Ten days after the news came in of the +rising at Delhi Major Warrener told his family, on his return from parade, +that the regiment had again declared its fidelity, and had offered to +march against the mutineers. + +"I am glad of it," he said, "because it looks as if at present, at least, +they have not made up their minds to mutiny, and I shall be able to go to +mess with a lighter heart; as I told you yesterday, it is the colonel's +birthday, so we all dine at mess." + +In the meantime Saba had faithfully carried out her commission as to the +dresses, and had added to the bundles a bottle containing a brown juice +which she had extracted from some berries; this was to be used for +staining the skin, and so completing the disguise. The Warreners knew that +if their old nurse had any information as to any intended outbreak she +would let them know; but she heard nothing. She was known to be so +strongly attached to the major's family that, had the other servants known +anything of it, they would have kept it from her. + +The hour for the mess-dinner was eight, and the young Warreners had +finished their evening meal before their father started. + +"God bless you, my children, and watch over and protect us all till we +meet again!" such was the solemn leave-taking with which the major and his +children had parted--if only for half an hour--since the evil days began. + +For an hour and a half the young Warreners and their cousin sat and read, +and occasionally talked. + +"It's time for tea," Kate said, looking at her watch; and she struck a +bell upon the table. + +Usually the response was almost instantaneous; but Kate waited two +minutes, and then rang sharply twice. There was still no reply. + +"He must be asleep," she said, "or out of hearing; but it is curious that +none of the others answer!" + +Dick went out into the veranda, but came in again in a minute or two: + +"There is no one there, Kate; and I don't hear any of them about +anywhere." + +The four young people looked at each other. What did this mean? Had the +servants left in a body? Did they know that something was going to happen? +Such were the mute questions which their looks asked each other. + +"Girls!" said Ned, "put your dark shawls round you. It may be nothing, but +it is better to be prepared. Get the bundles out. Dick, put a bottle of +wine in your pocket; and let us all fill our pockets with biscuits." + +Silently and quietly the others did as he told them. + +"There is that great biscuit-tin full," Ned said when they had filled +their pockets; "let us empty it into that cloth, and tie it up. Now, if +you will put your shawls on I will look in at the stables." + +In a couple of minutes he returned. + +"The horses are all unharnessed," he said, "and not a soul is to be seen. +Ah, is that Saba?" + +The old nurse had been found asleep in her favorite place outside the door +of her young mistresses' room. + +"Do you know what is the matter, Saba? All the servants are gone!" + +The old nurse shook her head. "Bad news; no tell Saba." + +"Now, Saba, get ready to start," for the nurse had declared that she would +accompany them, to go into the villages to buy food; "Dick, come with me; +we will put one of the horses into the dogcart." + +They were leaving the room when they heard the sound of a rifle. As if it +were the signal, in a moment the air rang with rifle shots, shouts, and +yells. The boys leaped back into the room and caught up the bundles. + +"Quick, for your lives, girls! some of them are not fifty yards off! To +the bushes! Come, Saba!" + +"Saba do more good here," the old nurse said, and seated herself quietly +in the veranda. + +It was but twenty yards to the bushes they had marked as the place of +concealment; and as they entered and crouched down there came the sound of +hurrying feet, and a band of Sepoys, led by one of the jemadars, or native +officers, rushed up to the veranda from the back. + +"Now," the jemadar shouted, "search the house; kill the boys, but keep the +white women; they are too pretty to hurt." + +Two minutes' search--in which furniture was upset, curtains pulled down, +and chests ransacked--and a shout of rage proclaimed that the house was +empty. + +The jemadar shouted to his men: "Search the compound; they can't be far +off; some of you run out to the plain; they can't have got a hundred yards +away; besides, our guards out there will catch them." + +The old nurse rose to her feet just as the Sepoys were rushing out on the +search. + +"It is of no use searching," she said; "they have been gone an hour." + +"Gone an hour!" shouted the enraged jemadar; "who told them of the +attack?" + +"I told them," Saba said steadily; "Saba was true to her salt." + +There was a yell of rage on the part of the mutineers, and half a dozen +bayonets darted into the faithful old servant's body, and without a word +she fell dead on the veranda, a victim to her noble fidelity to the +children she had nursed. + +"Now," the jemadar said, "strip the place; carry everything off; it is all +to be divided to-morrow, and then we will have a blaze." + +Five minutes sufficed to carry off all the portable articles from the +bungalow; the furniture, as useless to the Sepoys, was left, but +everything else was soon cleared away, and then the house was lit in half +a dozen places. The fire ran quickly up the muslin curtains, caught the +dry reeds of the tatties, ran up the bamboos which formed the top of the +veranda, and in five minutes the house was a sheet of flame. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +THE FLIGHT. + + +The young Warreners and their cousin, hurrying on, soon gained the thick +bush toward which they were directing their steps. As they cowered down in +its shelter the girls pulled their shawls over their heads, and with their +hands to their ears to keep out the noise of the awful din around them, +they awaited, in shuddering horror, their fate. The boys sat, revolver in +hand, determined to sell their lives dearly. Ned translated the jemadar's +speech, and at his order to search the compound both felt that all was +over, and, with a grasp of each other's hand, prepared to sally forth and +die. Then came Saba's act of noble self-sacrifice, and the boys had +difficulty in restraining themselves from rushing out to avenge her. + +In the meantime the night was hideous with noises; musket shots, the sharp +cracks of revolvers, shouts, cries, and at times the long shrill screams +of women. It was too much to be borne, and feeling that for the present +Saba's act had saved them, the boys, laying down their weapons, pressed +their hands to their ears to keep out the din. There they sat for half an +hour, stunned by the awful calamity, too horror-stricken at what had +passed, and at the probable fate of their father, to find relief in tears. + +At the end of that time the fire had burned itself out, and a few upright +posts still flickering with tongues of fire, and a heap of glowing embers +marked where the pretty bungalow, replete with every luxury and comfort, +had stood an hour before. + +Dick was the first to move; he touched Ned's arm. + +"All is quiet here now, but they may take it into their heads to come back +and search. We had better make for the trees; by keeping close to that +cactus hedge we shall be in shadow all the way." + +The girls were roused from their stupor of grief. + +"Now, dears, we must be brave," said Ned, "and carry out our orders. God +has protected us thus far; let us pray that He will continue to do so." + +In another five minutes the little party, stealing cautiously out from +their shelter, kept along close to the wall to a side door, through which +they issued forth into the open. Ten steps took them to the cactus hedge, +and stooping low under its shelter, they moved on till they safely reached +the clump of trees. + +For some time the little party crouched among the thick bushes, the +silence broken only by the sobs of the girls. Ned and Richard said +nothing, but the tears fell fast down their cheeks. The crackling of the +flames of many of the burning bungalows could be distinctly heard; and +outside the shadow of the trees it was nearly as light as day. Yells of +triumph rose on the night air, but there was no firing or sounds of +conflict, and resistance was plainly over. For a quarter of an hour they +sat there, crushed with the immensity of the calamity. Then Ned roused +himself and took the lead. + +"Now, dears, the fires have burned down, and we must be moving, for we +should be far away from here before morning. No doubt others have hidden +in the woods round this place, and those black fiends will be searching +everywhere to-morrow. Remember what our orders are;" and he paused for a +moment to choke down the sob which would come when he thought of who had +given the order, and how it was given. "We were to make for Meerut. Be +strong and brave, girls, as father would have had you. I have gone over +the course on the district map, and I think I can keep pretty straight for +it. We need not change our clothes now; we can do that when we halt before +daylight. We must walk all night, to be as far as possible away before the +search begins. We know this country pretty well for some miles round, +which will make it easier. Come, girls, take heart; it is possible yet +that some of the officers have cut their way out, and our father may be +among them. Who can say?" + +"I knew that he had talked over with Dunlop and Manners the very best +course to take whenever they might be attacked," Dick said in a more +cheerful tone, "so they were sure to keep together, and if any one has got +away, they would." Neither of the boys had at heart the least hope, but +they spoke as cheerfully as they could, to give strength and courage to +the girls. Their words had their effect. Kate rose, and taking her +cousin's arm said: + +"Come, Rose, the boys are right. There is still some hope; let us cling to +it as long as we can. Now let us be moving: but before we go, let us all +thank God for having saved us from harm so far, and let us pray for His +protection and help upon the road." + +Silently the little group knelt in prayer, and when they rose followed +Ned--who had naturally assumed the position of leader--out into the open +country beyond the grove, without a word being spoken. The moon was as yet +quite young, a favorable state for the fugitives, as it afforded light +enough to see where they were going without giving so bright a light as to +betray them to any one at a distance. + +"The moon will be down in a couple of hours," Ned said; "but by that time +we shall be beyond where any sentries are likely to have been placed on +the road, so we can then trust ourselves on that till it begins to get +daylight. We must keep in the fields till we are past Nussara, which is +five miles by the road; then we can walk straight on. There is a nullah a +few yards on; we had better keep in that for a quarter of a mile; it does +not go quite the way we want, but it will be safer to follow it till we +are well out of sight of any one who may be watching the plain." + +They scrambled down into the bed of the nullah. Then Kate said, "Walk on +as fast as you can, Ned; we can keep up with you, and if we hurry on we +shan't be able to think." + +"All right," Ned answered; "I will go fast for a bit, but you must not +knock yourselves up; we have a long journey before us." + +Walking fast, however, was impossible at the bottom of the nullah, for it +was pitch dark between its steep banks, and there were bowlders and stones +lying here and there. After half an hour's walking Ned scrambled up and +looked back. + +"It is quite safe now," he said; "let us make as straight as we can for +Nussara." + +Kate Warrener and Rose Hertford have never been able to recall any +incidents of that night's walk. Mechanically, as in a dreadful dream, they +followed Ned's guidance, stumbling across little watercourses, tramping +through marshy rice-fields, climbing into and out of deep nullahs, now +pausing to listen to the barking of a village dog, now making their way +through a thick clump of trees, and at last tramping for hours--that +seemed ages--along the dead flat of the highroad. This at the first faint +dawn of morning they left, and took refuge in a thick grove a quarter of a +mile from the highway. Before throwing themselves down to rest, the girls, +at Ned's earnest request, tried to eat a piece of biscuit, but tried in +vain, they, however, each sipped a little wine from the bottles, and then, +utterly worn out and exhausted, soon forgot their misery in a deep and +heavy sleep. + +The sun was upon the point of setting when their companions aroused them, +and they woke up to their sorrows and dangers. The day had passed quietly; +the boys, after both sleeping for some four or five hours, had watched by +turns. No one had approached the wood; but a party of four Sepoys, mounted +on horses, had passed from Sandynugghur; and a larger party had, later in +the afternoon, come along in the other direction. From this the boys +guessed that a successful revolt had also taken place at Nalgwa, the next +station to Sandynugghur. + +"Now, girls, the first thing to do is to eat. Here are biscuits for some +days, and the two bottles of wine, which we must be sparing of. Dick and I +have eaten lots of biscuits, and have had some water from a well at a +little distance behind the wood. There was a large gourd lying by it which +we have taken the liberty of borrowing. You can drink some water if you +like, but you must each take a glass of wine. You must keep up your +strength. There is no one in sight, so if you like you can go to the well +and have a wash. Don't be longer than you can help; it would be ruin to be +seen before we have changed our clothes. While you are away washing, Dick +and I will put on our dresses, and when you come back you can do the same. +We can stain our faces and hands afterward." + +The girls chose to have their wash first and their meal afterward, and +felt refreshed and brighter after they had done so. Then they dressed in +the clothes Saba had provided for them, and could, at any other time, have +laughed at the comicality of their aspect, muffled up in white, with only +their eyes visible. The awkward shoes were the only part of the costume to +which they objected; but the sight of European boots below the native +dress would have betrayed them instantly; however, they determined to +adopt them for walking in at nights, or when crossing the fields, and to +put the native shoes in a bundle, to be worn in public. + +The boys presently joined them, Ned in the dress of a young Mussulman +zemindar, Dick as his follower. + +"I should not have known you in the least," Rose said; "as far as +appearances go, I think we are all safe now." + +When it was quite dark they again started, regained the road, and kept +steadily along it. After two hours' walking they approached a village. +After some consultation it was decided that Dick, whose dress was the +darkest and least noticeable, should steal forward and reconnoiter. If +every one was indoors they would push boldly through; if not, they would +make a circuit round it. In ten minutes he returned. + +"Ned, there are two troopers' horses standing before the largest house of +the place. I suppose they belong to some of the men of the cavalry +regiment at Nalgwa. If we could but steal them!" + +"Splendid, Dick; why should we not? I can get on one, you on the other; +one of the girls can sit behind each of us, with her arms round our +waists. What do you say, girls? With our dress it would be natural for us +to be on horseback, and no one would ask any questions. We are pretty +safe, because if they come out there are but two of them, and we are more +than a match for them with our pistols." + +"It seems a terrible risk to run, Ned; but I do think it would be our best +plan. What do you say, Rose?" + +"I think we had better try, Kate." + +"Now let us settle everything before we start," said Ned. "We must mount +first, I think, that we may be able to help you more easily; and you would +have less risk of falling off if you get up in front of us. We can change +when we have gone half a mile. Will you stand close to Dick, Kate, when he +mounts; Rose, you keep close to me. The moment we are fairly in the +saddle, and have got the reins in our hands, you put your foot on mine, +and take hold of my hand, and climb up in the saddle in front of me. Put +your arms round our necks and hold us, because we shall want one hand for +the reins, the other for a pistol." + +"Let us cut a stick, Ned, to give them a lick and make them start at a +gallop." + +Very gently, and with bated breath, they stole up the village. The horses +were still standing with their reins thrown over a hook in the wall. Very +quietly the boys unhooked the reins, but the horses moved uneasily, and +objected to their mounting them, for horses accustomed to natives dislike +to be touched by Europeans. However, the boys had just managed to climb +into their seats when a shutter of the house opened, and a voice said in +Hindostanee, "What is fidgeting the horses?" Then a head looked out. + +"Some one is stealing the horses," he shouted. + +"Quick, girls, up with you," Ned said; and the girls, as light as +feathers, sprang up. "Go along," the boys cried, bringing down their +sticks on the animals' sides. Dick's at once leaped forward, but Ned's +horse only backed. Ned gave his stick to Rose and seized his pistol, which +was cocked and ready for use. As he did so a native trooper rushed from +the house. As he came out Ned fired, and the man fell forward on his face. + +Startled by the shot, the horse darted off after his companion. For a few +minutes they went forward at a gallop, the boys holding on as well as they +could, but expecting every moment to be thrown off. For awhile shouts and +cries were heard from the village, and then all was quiet again. The two +boys reined in their horses. + +"That was awful," Dick said; "I would rather sit on the yardarm in a storm +than ride on that beast any further at the pace we have been going." + +The girls had not spoken a word since they started, and they now slipped +to the ground. It was not an easy thing for them to get up behind, and +several slips were made before their attempts were successful. Once +seated, they were more comfortable, and they again went on, this time at +an easy canter. After half an hour's ride they came to a crossroad, and +turned up there, going now at a walk. After awhile they took a well-marked +path running in a parallel direction to the road; this they followed for +some time, passing fearlessly through one or two small villages. + +Then, feeling by the flagging walk of their horses that they were becoming +fatigued, they plunged deep into a thick wood, dismounted, and prepared +for the night. Attached to the saddle of each horse was a nose-bag with +some forage. These were put on, the horses fastened up, and the little +party were soon asleep again. + +Before starting next morning the first care of the boys was to take off +the embroidery of the horse-cloths, and as much of the metal work on the +bridles as could be possibly dispensed with, in order to conceal the fact +that the horses had belonged to a British cavalry regiment; then they +mounted, with the girls behind them, and rode quietly forward, taking care +not to travel by the main road, as the news of the carrying off the horses +would have been generally known there. + +They passed through several villages, attracting but little attention as +they did so, for there was now nothing unusual in the appearance of a +Mohammedan zemindar and follower riding with two closely-veiled women _en +croupe_. Late in the afternoon they stopped at a village store, and Ned +purchased, without exciting any apparent suspicion, some grain for the +horses. That night they slept as usual in a wood, and congratulated +themselves on having made fully twenty-five miles of their journey toward +Meerut. + +The next morning, after two miles' riding, they entered a large village. +As they were passing through it a number of peasants suddenly rushed out +into the road, and shouted to them to stop. They were armed with sticks +and hoes, and a few had guns. Looking behind, Ned saw a similar body fill +up the road behind them, cutting off their escape. + +"Look, Ned, at that old fellow with the gun; that's the man who sold us +the grain last night," Dick said. + +"We must charge them, Dick; there's nothing else to do. Hold tight, girls. +Now for your revolver, Dick! Now!" + +And, digging their heels into their horses' side, the boys rode at the +crowd of peasants. There was a discharge of guns, and Dick felt as if a +hot iron had been drawn suddenly across his cheek; then they were in the +midst of the crowd, emptying their revolvers with deadly effect among +them; some fell, and the horses dashed forward, followed by the yells of +their assailants. A minute later three or four more guns were discharged, +the rear party having now joined the other, and being therefore able for +the first time to fire. + +Dick heard a little startled cry from Kate. + +"Are you hurt, darling?" he cried in alarm. + +"Nothing to speak of, Dick. Ride on." + +In a quarter of a mile they drew rein, and found that a ball had passed +through the upper part of Kate's arm, as it went round Dick's body. +Fortunately it had gone through the flesh only, without touching the bone. +Dick was bleeding copiously from a wound across the cheek. + +"Another two inches to the right," he said, "and it would have taken me +fairly in the mouth. It's well it's no worse." + +Kate's arm was soon bandaged up, and a handkerchief tied round Dick's +face. Ned proposed that for Kate's sake they should make a halt at the +first wood they came to, but Kate would not hear of it. + +"On the contrary, Ned, we ought to press forward as hard as we can, for it +is very possible that at that village where we were recognized--I suppose +because they had heard about the horses--they may have dispatched people +to the main road, as well as further on to stop us here; and we may be +pursued at any moment, if there happens to be any native cavalry upon the +road. Evidently they are very much in earnest about catching us, and have +sent word to look after four people on two horses all over the country, or +they could not have known about it at the village yesterday evening." + +"I am afraid you are right, Kate; if we could turn off this road I should +not fear, but the river cannot be far to our right, and the main road is +to our left. There is nothing for it but to press straight on. +Fortunately, the country is not thickly populated, and there is a good +deal of jungle. If the worst comes to the worst, we must leave our horses +and go on foot again. I fear that is more fatiguing for you, but we can +hide ourselves a good deal better." + +It was late in the afternoon when Rose cried. "They are coming, Ned; there +is a party of cavalry behind!" + +Ned looked round; and far back, along the straight road, he saw a body of +horsemen. + +"They are a long distance behind," he said; "now for a race!" + +The boys plied their sticks, and the horses sprang on at full gallop. + +"How much are they gaining, Rose?" he asked, after twenty minutes' hard +riding. + +"They are nearer, Ned--a good deal nearer; but they have not gained half +their distance yet." + +"The sun set fully ten minutes ago," Ned said; "in another half-hour it +will be dark. Their horses must be done up, or they would gain faster on +us, as ours have to carry double, and are getting terribly blown; but +there is a wood, which looks a large one, a couple of miles ahead. If we +can get there five minutes before them, we are safe." + +By dint of flogging their horses they entered the wood while their +pursuers were half a mile behind. + +"Another hundred yards," Ned said, "and then halt. Now, off we get." + +In an instant they leaped off, and gave a couple of sharp blows with their +sticks to the horses, who dashed off at a gallop down the road. + +It was already perfectly dark in the wood, and the fugitives hurried into +the thickest part. In five minutes they heard the cavalry come thundering +past. + +"We must push on," Ned said; "fortunately, we have done no walking, for we +must be far away by to-morrow morning. They will come up with the horses +before very long, and will know we are in the wood, and they will search +it through and through in the morning." + +A quarter of a mile, and the wood grew thicker, being filled with an +undergrowth of jungle. + +"If you will stop here, Ned, I will push on through this jungle, and see +how far it goes. The girls can never get through this. I think we are near +the edge of the wood; it looks lighter ahead." + +In ten minutes he came back. + +"Ned, we are on the river; it is not fifty yards from here." + +This was serious news. + +"What a pity we did not take to the left instead of the right when we left +the horses. However, they won't know which way we have gone, and must +watch the whole wood. We must push forward, and, by keeping as close as we +can to the river, shall most likely pass them; besides, they will be some +time before they decide upon forming a chain round the wood, and as there +are only about twenty of them they will be a long way apart. There! Do you +hear them? They are coming back! Now let us go on again!" + +In ten minutes they reached the edge of the wood. They could see nothing +of the horsemen. Keeping in the fields, but close to the line of jungle +that bordered the river, they walked onward for upward of an hour. Then +they came upon the road. The river had made a bend, and the road now +followed its bank. + +"Shall we cross it, and keep in the open country, or follow it, girls?" + +"Follow it as long as we can keep on walking," Kate said. "It is in the +right direction, and we can go on so much faster than in the fields. If we +hear them coming along we can get into the jungle on the bank." + +"Listen, Kate," Rose said a few minutes afterward; "they are following!" + +"I expect," Ned said, "they find that the wood is too big to be watched, +and some of them are going on to get some help from the next garrison, or, +perhaps, to rouse up a village and press them in the work. Trot on, girls; +the jungle is so thick here you could hardly squeeze yourself in. We have +plenty of time; they won't be here for five minutes yet." + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +BROKEN DOWN. + + +They ran at the top of their speed, but the sound of the horses' feet grew +louder. + +"There is a path leading to the river," Ned said; "let us turn down there; +we can hide under the jungle on the bank." + +Breathlessly they ran down to the river. + +"Hurrah! here is a boat, jump in;" and in another minute they had pushed +off from the bank, just as they heard a body of cavalry--for that they +were troops they knew by the jingling of their accouterments--pass at a +gallop. The stream was strong; and the boys found that with the rude oars +they could make no way whatever. + +"We had better land again, and get further from the river," Ned said. "We +will push the boat off, and it will be supposed that we have gone off in +it." + +This was soon done, and having regained the road, they crossed it and +struck over the fields. + +The moon, which had been hitherto hidden under a passing cloud, was soon +out fully, and for some time they kept across the country, carefully +avoiding all villages. These were here more thinly scattered; patches of +jungle and wood occurred more frequently; and it was evident that they +were getting into a less highly cultivated district. It was long before +daybreak that Rose declared that she was too fatigued to go further, and +they entered a large wood. Here they lay down, and were soon fast asleep. +It was broad daylight when the Warreners woke. Rose still slept on. + +Presently Kate came to her brothers. "I am afraid Rose is going to be ill. +She keeps talking and moaning in her sleep; her face is flushed, and her +hands as hot as fire." + +As they were looking sadly at her she opened her eyes. + +"Is it time to get up?" she asked. "Oh, my head! it is aching terribly. Is +the trap at the door?" + +Then she closed her eyes again, and went on talking incoherently to +herself. + +"She has fever," Kate said, "and we must get her under shelter, at +whatever risk." + +"I heard a dog bark not far off, just as I went to sleep," Ned said. "I +will go and reconnoiter. Dick, you had better stay here." + +Dick nodded, and Ned advanced cautiously to the edge of the wood. There he +saw a farmhouse of a better class than usual. Three peons were just +starting for work, and an elderly man with a long beard was standing at +the door. Then he went in, and after a few minutes reappeared with a long +staff in his hands, and went out into the fields. He did not, however, +follow the direction which the peons had taken, but took a line parallel +with the edge of the wood. "He looks a decent old fellow," Ned said to +himself; "I can but try; at any rate, at the worst I am more than a match +for him." + +So saying, he stepped out into the field. The farmer started with surprise +at seeing a young Mussulman appear before him. + +"I am English," Ned said at once. "I think you are kind by your face, and +I tell you the truth. There are two English girls in the wood, and one is +ill. We can go no further. Will you give them shelter?" + +The old man stood for some time in thought. + +"I have no complaint against the Feringhees," he said; "in my fathers time +the country was red with blood, but all my life I have eaten my bread in +peace, and no man has injured me. Where are the English ladies?" + +Ned led the way to the spot where Rose was still lying. The old man looked +at her flushed face, and then at Kate, and said: + +"The English ladies have suffered much, and can have done harm to no one. +I will shelter them. My wife and daughter will nurse the sick one. They +will be in the women's chamber, and my servants will not know that there +is a stranger there. I believe that they would be faithful, but one who +knows nothing can tell no tales. On the other side of the wood there is a +shed. It is empty now, and none go near it. The English sahibs can live +there, and each day I will bring them food. When their sister is well they +can go on again." + +Ned translated the old man's words, and Kate, who was kneeling by Rose, +caught his hand and kissed it in her gratitude. He patted her head and +said, "Poor child!" + +"How are we to carry Rose? I don't think she can walk," Kate asked. + +The farmer solved the difficulty by motioning them to stay where they +were. He then went off, and in ten minutes returned, bearing a dried +bullock's skin. On this Rose was laid. The Hindoo took the two ends at her +feet, the boys each one of those by her head, and then, slung as in a +hammock, Rose was carried to the house, where the wife and daughter of +their host, prepared by him for what was coming, received them with many +expressions of pity, and she was at once carried into the inner room. The +farmer then placed before the boys two bowls of milk and some freshly made +chupatties, and then gave them some food for the day. With an expression +of fervent gratitude to him, and a kiss from Kate, who came out to tell +them that Rose would be well nursed and cared for, the boys started for +the hut in the direction the Hindoo pointed out to them. It was a small +building, and had apparently been at some time used as a cattle shed. The +floor was two feet deep in fodder of the stalks of Indian corn. Above was +a sort of rough loft, in which grain had been stored. + +The boys at once agreed that, to prevent suspicion, it was safer to occupy +this, and they soon transferred enough of the fodder from below to make a +comfortable bed. Then, feeling secure from discovery, even if by chance +some passer-by should happen to glance into the shed, they were soon deep +in a sounder sleep than they had enjoyed since they left Sandynugghur. + +The next day, when the old man came to see them, he was accompanied by +Kate. She looked pale and wan. + +"How is Rose?" was their first question. + +"She is as bad as she can be, dears. She has been delirious all night, and +is so this morning. I did not like to leave her for a moment. But this +kind old man wanted me to go with him, as I think he has something to say +to you." + +"Have you any news?" Ned asked him. + +"My servants tell me that the Sepoys are searching the whole country, some +of the officers have escaped from Sandynugghur, and also from Nalgwa, +where the troops rose on the same night; some of the residents have +escaped also. There is a reward offered for them alive or dead, and any +one hiding them is to be punished with death. The white lady is very ill. +She is in the hand of God; she may get better, she may die. If she gets +better it will be weeks before she can go through the hardships of the +journey to Meerut. I think it better that you should go on alone; the +white ladies will be as my daughters. I have told my servants that my +daughter is ill, so that if they hear cries and voices at night they will +think that it is she who is in pain. You can do no good here. If the woods +are searched you may be found; if you are found they will search +everywhere closely, and may find them. I will hide them here safely. The +orders are, I hear, that the captives taken are to be carried to Delhi; +but if they should be found I will myself journey to Meerut to bring you +the news. You will give me your names, and I will find you; then you may +get help and rescue them on the way." + +Ned translated the old man's opinion and kind offer to his brother and +sister, and said that he was very unwilling to leave the girls--a +sentiment in which Dick heartily joined. + +Kate, however, at once expressed her warm approval of the plan. + +"It will be weeks, dears, before Rose can walk again, and I shall have an +anxious time with her. It would add greatly to my anxiety if I knew that +you were near, and might at any time be captured and killed. If dear papa +has escaped he will be in a terrible state of anxiety about us, and you +could relieve him if you can join him at Meerut, and tell him how kindly +we are treated here. Altogether, boys, it would be so much better for you +to go; for if the Sepoys do come, you could not defend us against more +than two or three, and they are sure to come in a stronger party than +that." + +In spite of their disinclination to leave the girls without such +protection as they could give them, the boys saw that the course advised +was the best to be pursued, and told their Hindoo friend that they agreed +to follow his counsel, thanking him in the warmest terms for his kindness. + +He advised them to leave their Mohammedan dresses behind, and to dress in +the simple costume of Hindoo peons, with which he could supply them. They +would then attract far less attention, and could even by day pass across +the fields without any comment whatever from the natives at work there, +who would naturally suppose that they belonged to some village near at +hand. "Englishmen could not do this," he said; "too much leg, too much +arm, too much width of shoulders; but boys are thinner, and no one will +notice the difference. In half an hour I will come back with the things." +Ned gave him the rest of the berries, which they had preserved, and asked +him to boil them up in a little water, as they would now have to color +their bodies and arms and legs, in addition to their faces. + +It was a sad parting between Kate and her brothers, for all felt that they +might never meet again. Still the course decided upon was, under the +circumstances, evidently the best that could be adopted. + +In an hour the Hindoo returned. The boys took off their clothes, and +stained themselves a deep brown from head to foot. The farmer then +produced a razor and a bowl of water and some soap, and said that they +must shave their hair off their heads, up to a level with the top of the +ears, so as to leave only that which could be concealed by their turban. +This, with some laughter--the first time they had smiled since they left +Sandynugghur--they proceeded to do to each other, and the skin thus +exposed they dyed the same color as the rest of the body. They then each +put on a scanty loincloth, and wrapping a large piece of dark blue cotton +stuff first round their waists and then over one shoulder, their costume +was complete, with the exception of a pair of sandals and a white turban. +The old Hindoo surveyed them gravely when their attire was completed, and +expressed his belief that they would pass without exciting the slightest +suspicion. Their pistols were a trouble. They were determined that, come +what might, they would not go without these, and they were finally slung +behind them from a strap passing round the waist under the loin-cloth; the +spare ammunition and a supply of biscuit were stowed in stout cotton bags, +with which their friend provided them, and which hung by a band passing +over one shoulder. Their money and a box of matches they secured in a +corner of their clothes. A couple of stout staves completed their outfit. + +Bidding a grateful farewell to their friendly Hindoo, the boys started on +their journey. The sandals they found so difficult to keep on that they +took them off and carried them, except when they were passing over stony +ground. They kept to bypaths and avoided all villages. Occasionally they +met a native, but either they passed him without speech, or Ned muttered a +salutation in answer to that of the passer. All day they walked, and far +into the night. They had no fear of missing their way, as the road on one +hand and the river on the other both ran to Meerut; and although these +were sometimes ten miles apart, they served as a fair index as to the line +they should take. The biscuits, eked out with such grain as they could +pluck as they crossed the fields, lasted for two days; but at the end of +that time it became necessary to seek another supply of food. + +"I don't know what to ask for, Dick; and those niggers always chatter so +much that I should have to answer, and then I should be found out +directly. I think we must try some quiet huts at a distance from the +road." + +The wood in which they that night slept was near three or four scattered +huts. In the morning they waited and watched for a long time until one of +the cottages was, as far as they could judge, deserted, all its inmates +being gone out to work in the fields. They then entered it boldly. It was +empty. On hunting about they found some chupatties which had apparently +been newly baked, a store of rice and of several other grains. They took +the chupatties, five or six pounds of rice, and a little copper cooking- +pot. They placed in a conspicuous position two rupees, which were more +than equivalent to the value of the things they had taken, and went on +their way rejoicing. + +At midday they sat down, lit a fire with some dried sticks, and put their +rice in the pot to boil. As Ned was stooping to pick up a stick he was +startled by a simultaneous cry of "Look out!" from Dick, and a sharp hiss; +and looking up, saw, three or four feet ahead of him, a cobra, with its +hood inflated, and its head raised in the very act of springing. Just as +it was darting itself forward Dick's stick came down with a sharp tap on +its head and killed it. + +"That was a close shave, Ned," the boy said, laughing; "if you had stooped +he would have bit you on the face. What would have been the best thing to +do if he had bitten you?" + +"The best thing is to suck the wound instantly, to take out a knife and +cut deeply in, and then, as we have no vesuvians, I should break up half a +dozen pistol cartridges, put the powder into and on the wound, and set it +alight. I believe that that is what they do in some parts of Eastern +Europe in the case of the bites of mad dogs; and this, if no time is lost +after the bite is given, is almost always effectual in keeping off +hydrophobia." + +"Well, Ned, I am very thankful that we had not to put the virtue of the +receipt to a practical test." + +"Would you like to eat the snake, Dick? I believe that snake is not at all +bad eating." + +"Thank you," Dick said, "I will take it on trust. We have got rice; and +although I am not partial to rice it will do very well. If we could have +got nothing else we might have tried the snake; but as it is, I had rather +not. Two more days, Ned, and we shall be at Meerut. The old Hindoo said it +was a hundred miles, and we go twenty-five a day, even with all our bends +and turns to get out of the way of villages." + +"Yes, I should think we do quite that, Dick. We walk from daylight to +sunset, and often two or three hours by moonlight; and though we don't go +very fast, we ought to get over a lot of ground. Listen! There is music!" +Both held their breath. "Yes, there are the regular beats of a big drum. +It is on the highroad, I should say, nearly abreast of us. If we go to +that knoll we shall have a view of them; and there cannot be the least +danger, as they must be fully a mile away." + +Upon gaining the rise in question they saw a regiment in scarlet, winding +along the road. + +"Are they mutineers, Dick, or British?" + +It was more than any one could say. Mounted officers rode at the head of +the regiment; perfect order was to be observed in its marching; there was +nothing that in any way differed from its ordinary aspect. + +"Let us go back and get our rice and lota, Dick. We can't afford to lose +that; and if we go at a trot for a couple of miles we can get round into +some trees near the road, where we can see their faces. If the mounted +officers are white it is all right; if not, they are mutineers." + +Half an hour's trot brought them to such a point of vantage as they +desired. Crouched in some bushes at the edge of a clump of trees, not +fifty yards from the road, they awaited the passage of the regiment. They +had not been in their hiding-place five minutes when the head of the +column appeared. + +"They march in very good order, Ned; do you think that they would keep up +such discipline as that after they had mutinied?" + +"I don't know. Dirk; but they'll want all their discipline when they come +to meet our men. For anything we know we may be the two last white men +left in India; but when the news gets to England there will be such a cry +throughout the land that, if it needed a million men to win back the +country, I believe they would be found and sent out. There! There are two +mounted officers; I can't see their color, but I don't think they are +white." + +"No, Ned; I am sure they are not white; then they must be mutineers. Look! +Look! Don't you see they have got three prisoners? There they are, +marching in the middle of that column; they are officers; and oh! Ned! I +do think that the middle one's father." And the excited boy, with tears of +joy running down his cheeks, would have risen and dashed out had not Ned +forcibly detained him. + +"Hush! Dick! and keep quiet. Yes! It is father! and Dunlop and Manners. +Thank God!" he said, in deep gratitude. + +"Well, let's go to them, Ned; we may as well be all together." + +"Keep quiet, Dick," the elder said, holding him down again; "you will +destroy their chance as well as ours. We must rescue them if we can." + +"How, Ned, how?" + +"I don't know yet, Dick; but we must wait and see; anyhow, we will try. +There goes the bugle for a halt. I expect they have done their day's +march. Come on, Dick; we must get out of this. When they have once pitched +their tents they will scatter about, and, as likely as not, some will come +into this wood. Let us get further back, so as to be able to see them +pitch their tents, and watch, if we can, where they put the prisoners." + +The regiment piled arms, and waited until the bullock-carts came up with +the tents. These were taken out and pitched on the other side of the road, +and facing the wood. The ground being marked out, the men were told off to +their quarters, and the poles of the tents aligned with as much regularity +and exactness as could have been used when the regiment possessed its +white officers. + +Near the quarter-guard tent--that is, the tent of the men engaged upon +actual duty--a small square tent was erected; and into this the three +officers, who were handcuffed, were thrust; and two sentries, one in +front, the other at the back of the tent, were placed. + +"Now, Dick, we know all about it; let us get further away, and talk over +how it is to be managed." + +The task was one of extreme difficulty, and the boys were a long time +arranging the details. Had there been but one sentry, the matter would +have been easy enough: but with two sentries, and with the quarter guard +close at hand, it seemed at first as if no possible scheme could be hit +upon. The sentry at the back of the tent must be the one to be disposed +of, and this must be done so noiselessly as not to alarm the man in front. +Each marched backward and forward some eight paces to the right, and as +much to the left, of the tent, halting occasionally. When both marched +right and left at the same time, they were in sight of each other except +during the time of passing before and behind the tent; when they walked +alternately, the tent hid them altogether from each other. + +"I suppose there is no chance of our being able to gag that fellow, Ned? +It's horrid to think of killing a man in cold blood." + +"There is no help for it, Dick. If he were alone, we might gag him; as it +is, he must be killed. These scoundrels are all mutineers and murderers. +This regiment has, no doubt, like the others, killed its officers, and all +the men, women, and children at the station. I would not kill the man +unless it could be helped, but our father's life depends upon it; and to +save him I would, if there were no other way, cut the throats of the whole +regiment while they were asleep! This is no ordinary war, Dick; it is a +struggle for existence; and though I'm sure I hate the thought of it, I +shall not hesitate for an instant." + +"I shan't hesitate," the midshipman said; "but I wish the fellow could +make a fight of it. However, as he would kill me if he had a chance, he +mustn't grumble if I do the same for him. Now, Ned, you tell me exactly +what I am to do, and you may rely on my doing it." + +Every minute detail of the scheme was discussed and arranged; and then, as +the sun set, the boys lit a fire in a nullah and boiled some rice, and ate +their food with lighter hearts than they had done since they left +Sandynugghur, for the knowledge that their father had escaped death had +lifted a heavy burden from their hearts. As to the danger of the +expedition that they were about to undertake, with the happy recklessness +of boys they thought but little of it. + +Across the plain they could see the campfires, but as the evening went on +these gradually died away, and the sounds which had come faintly across +the still night air ceased altogether. As patiently as might be, they +waited until they guessed that it must be about ten o'clock. The night +was, for the country, cold--a favorable circumstance, as the natives, who +are very chilly, would be less likely to leave their tents if they felt +restless. The moon was now half full and shining brightly, giving a light +with which the boys could well have dispensed. + +"Now, Dick, old boy, let's be moving. May God help us in our night's +work!" + +They made a considerable detour to approach the camp in the rear, where +they rightly judged that the Sepoys, having no fear whatever of any +hostile body being near, would have placed no sentries. + +"Listen!" Dick said, as they were pausing to reconnoiter; "that sounded +like a cannon in the far distance." + +There was no doubt of it; faintly, but quite distinct, across the air came +the sound of heavy cannon fired at regular intervals. + +"Those cannon must be fired as a salute to some great chief newly arrived +at Delhi--we should not fire so late, but I suppose they are not +particular," Ned said; "we calculated it was not more than twenty-five +miles off, and we should hear them at that distance easily. We had better +wait a few minutes to see if any one comes out to listen to it." + +But there was no movement among the white tents. Then they stole quietly +into the camp. + +The tents of the Indian native regiments are large, oblong tents, with two +poles, holding thirty men each. They are manufactured at the government +prison at Jubbalpore, and are made of thick cotton canvas, lined with red +or blue cotton. In the daytime they open right along one side, the wall of +the tent being propped outward, with two slight poles, so as to form a +sort of veranda, and shade the inside of the tent while admitting the air. +At night-time, in the cool season, this flap is let down and the tent +closed. In front of the tents the muskets of the men inside are piled. + +Into one of these tents Dick crawled, Ned watching outside. When Dick +first entered it was so dark that he could see nothing; but the moonlight +penetrated dimly through the double cotton, and he was soon able to +discover objects around. The ground was all occupied by sleeping figures, +each wrapped up from head to foot in his blanket, looking like so many +mummies. Their uniforms were folded, and placed between their heads and +the wall of the tent. Six of these, with the same number of caps, and six +ammunition pouches and belts, and a uniform cloak, taken carefully off one +of the sleepers, Dick collected and passed out through the door of the +tent to Ned. Not a sleeper stirred while he did so, and he crept quietly +out, with the first part of his task accomplished. Gathering the things +together, the boys made all speed back to a clump of trees half a mile in +the rear of the camp. Here Ned put on one of the uniforms and the cloak, +and they then started back again for the camp. + +The sentries upon the prisoners' tent were changed at twelve o'clock, and +a few minutes later the sentry at the rear of the tent saw one of his +comrades come out of one of the large tents close to the end of his beat. +He was wrapped in his blanket, and his face was tied up with a cloth. +Coughing violently, he squatted himself in front of his tent, and rocked +himself to and fro, with his hands to his face, uttering occasional +groans. This was all so natural--for the natives of India suffer much from +neuralgia in the cold weather--that the sentry thought nothing of the +matter. He continued to pace his beat, turning back each time when within +a yard or two of the sufferer. The third time he did so the figure dropped +off his blanket, and, with a sudden bound, threw himself on the sentry's +back; at the same moment a Sepoy in uniform darted out from the tent. One +hand of the assailant--in which was a damp cloth--was pressed tightly over +the mouth and nostrils of the sentry; the other grasped the lock of his +musket, so that it could not be discharged. Thrown backward off his +balance, taken utterly by surprise, the sentry was unable even to +struggle, and in an instant the second antagonist plunged a bayonet twice +into his body, and he fell a lifeless mass on the ground. It was the work +of an instant to drag the body a yard or two into the shadow of the tent, +and before the other sentry appeared from the opposite side of the +prisoner's tent the native was rocking himself as before; the sentry, +wrapped in his cloak, was marching calmly on his beat. The whole affair +had lasted but twenty seconds, and had passed as noiselessly as a dream. + +The next time the sentry in front was hidden from view the native started +from his sitting position and stole up behind the tent. Cautiously and +quietly he cut a slit in the canvas and entered. Then he knelt down by the +side of one of the sleepers, and kissed him. He moved in his sleep, and +his disturber, putting his hand on his mouth to prevent sudden speech, +shook him gently. The major opened his eyes. + +"Father, it is I--Richard; hush! do not speak." + +Then, as the bewildered man gradually understood what was said, his son +fell on his neck, kissing him with passionate delight. + +After the first rapturous joy of the recognition was over, "Ned and the +girls?" Major Warrener asked. + +"The girls are at present safe," Dick said; "Ned is outside behind. He is +the sentry. Now, father, wake the others, and then let us steal off. Take +off your boots; the men's tents are only ten yards behind; once there, you +are safe. I will let Ned know when you are ready, and he will occupy the +sentry. We can't silence him, because he is within sight of the sentry of +the quarter-guard." + +Major Warrener aroused his sleeping companions, and in a few whispered +words told them what had happened. In silence they wrung Dick's hand, and +then taking off their boots, stole one by one out of the tent. As Ned +passed he exchanged a silent embrace with his father. The next time the +sentry in front was passing before the tent, a heavy stone, hurled by Ned, +crashed into a bush upon the other side of the road. The sentry halted +instantly, and, with gun advanced, listened, but he could hear nothing, +for his comrade was at that instant seized with a fit of coughing. + +After standing in a listening attitude for three or four minutes the Sepoy +supposed that the noise must have been caused by some large bird suddenly +disturbed in the foliage. + +"Did you hear anything?" he asked Ned, as their path crossed. + +"Nothing," Ned answered, continuing his march. + +For another quarter of an hour he passed backward and forward, his only +fear being that the sentry might take it into his head to open the tent +and look in to see if the prisoners were safe. In a quarter of an hour he +knew that the fugitives would have gained the trees, and would have time +to put on the Sepoy uniforms before he reached them; and also, by the aid +of a couple of large stones, have got rid of their handcuffs, lie might +therefore be off to join them. + +Waiting till the sentry was at the other end of his beat, he slipped round +the tent, stripped off his cloak, lay down his musket and belt--for Dick +had arranged that they should carry off five muskets in their retreat-- +threw off the Sepoy jacket, and in light running order, darted through the +tents. He calculated that he should have at least a couple of minutes +start before his absence was discovered, another minute or two before the +sentry was sufficiently sure of it to hail the quarter-guard and report +the circumstance. Then would follow the discovery of the escape of the +prisoners; but by that time he would be far out on the plain, and even if +seen, which was unlikely, he was confident that he could outrun any +native. + +His anticipations turned out correct; he was already some distance off +when he heard the call of the sentry to the quarter-guard, followed almost +immediately by a still louder shout, that told that he had discovered the +flight of the prisoners; then came the sound of a musket shot, a drum beat +the alarm, and a babel of sounds rang on the still air. But by this time +Ned was halfway to the clump of trees, and three minutes later he was in +his father's arms. There was no time to talk then. Another coat was +hurried on to him, an ammunition belt and pouch thrown over his shoulder, +and Captain Manners carrying his musket until he should have quite +recovered breath, the five went off at a steady trot, which after a +quarter of an hour broke into a walk--for there was no fear of pursuit--in +the direction in which they knew Delhi to lie. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +BACK UNDER THE FLAG. + + +"How far is it to Delhi? We heard the guns there just now." + +"Not thirty miles." + +"Have you heard how things are going on there?" Dick asked. + +"According to the Sepoy reports, fresh regiments are pouring in from all +quarters; and they boast that they are going to drive us out of the +country. Our troops are still at Meerut, and a force is gathering at +Umballah; but they are after all a mere handful." + +"Do you think there is any chance of help coming to us?" + +"None for the present. The Sepoys say that every station has gone down +except Agra, Allahabad, and Benares, and that these are soon to go too. +Cawnpore and Lucknow have risen." + +"Are all the whites killed everywhere?" + +"I am afraid they are all killed where there are no white troops; but +there, we must hope that they are making a stand. We shall be a long time +before we know anything. It is but a week yet since our station went; +seven days longer since Delhi rose." + +"It seems ages ago," Ned said. "You don't mean to try and get to Meerut +to-night, I hope; we could walk as far if it were absolutely necessary, +but we have done a long day's walk already." + +"No, no, Ned. I only want to get well away from our late camp. To-morrow +we will get near the river, hide all next day, and cross after nightfall. +There is a clump of trees; we will pass the night there; I think we are +safe enough now. The mutineers are too anxious to be at Delhi to spend +much time in looking for us. Now, first of all, let us get a fire." + +"We have never had a fire at night," Dick said, "since we started; we have +been too much afraid of being seen." + +"There is not much chance of its being observed in a wood; especially if +the bushes are thick. We are four miles at least from the camp, and we are +all wet through with dew. Now for sticks." + +The whole party soon collected a pile of sticks; and the major was about +to scatter some powder among the dead leaves, when Ned said, "We have +matches, father." + +"Oh, that's all right, Ned. There we are, fairly alight. Yes, we have +chosen the place well; there are bushes all around. Now," he said, when +the fire had burned up brightly, "let us hear the full story of what has +passed; you gave us a short account when we first got free. Now let us +hear all about it." + +Ned and Dick told the story--sometimes one taking it up, sometimes the +other. There were many questions from their auditors, and expressions of +warm approval of their conduct; and Captain Dunlop threatened under his +breath that if he ever had a chance he would not leave one cake of mud +upon another in the village where Kate was wounded. He and Captain Manners +proposed that they should go back, and afford what protection they could +to the girls. But Major Warrener at once negatived this idea. + +"If they could come straight back with us, I should say yes," he said, +"for with us five we might hope to get them through safely; but even that +would be very risky, for the larger the party is, the more easily it +attracts attention, and the whole country is alive with rebels marching to +Delhi. But as Rose cannot be fit to travel for weeks, we have no choice in +the matter. They must remain where they are, and we can only hope and pray +for their safety. Our duty lies clearly at Meerut, where every man who can +sight a rifle will be wanted most urgently. Now let us be off to sleep; +the fire has burned low, and in another hour or two it will be daybreak; +however, there will be no reveille, and we can sleep on with lighter +hearts than we have had for some time." + +"What figures you are in those uniforms!" Dick said, laughing, next +morning; "you can scarcely move in them, and they won't meet by eight or +nine inches. It does not seem to me that they are any disguise at all. Any +one could see in a moment that they were not made for you." + +"They are wretchedly uncomfortable, Dick." his father said; "and, as you +say, any one could see they were not made for us. But they are useful. As +we go along, any one who saw us at a distance would take us for a +straggling party of mutineers making our way to Delhi; while the bright +scarlet of our own uniform would have told its tale miles off." + +"I shall be glad enough to get rid of mine, Dick; I feel as if I had got +into a boy's jacket by mistake. Jack Sepoy has no shoulders to speak of; +as far as height goes he is well enough; but thirty Sepoys on parade take +up no more room than twenty English. I had to take my jacket off last +night and lay it over my shoulders; I might as well have tried to go to +sleep in a vise. There! major; do you hear the music? These rascals are on +the march again." + +The strains of music came very faintly to the ear, for the bivouac was +nearly a mile from the road. + +"That is all right," the major said. "Now they have gone by, we can be +moving. We must give them an hour's start." + +"Now, father, we have not heard your adventures yet; please tell us all +about them." + +"Well, we have not had so much variety as you, but we have gone through a +good deal. You know we had talked over the best possible course to take in +case of an attack, come when it might. We had arranged what each should do +in case of a night attack, or of a rising upon parade; and we had even +considered the probability of being set upon when gathered in the +messroom. We had all agreed that if taken by surprise, resistance would +mean certain death; they would shoot us down through the doors and +windows, and we should be like rats in a cage. We agreed, therefore, that +in case of an attack, a simultaneous attempt to break out must be made, +and we had even settled upon the window by which we should go. The married +men were, of course, to make for their bungalows, except where, as in my +case, I had made other arrangements; and the rest to various bungalows +agreed upon, where traps were to be in readiness. Dunlop, Manners, and +myself had agreed to make for Dunlop's, as it was the nearest, and his +trap was to be ready that evening. + +"There were not many who believed in a mutiny that night. The villains, +only in the morning, having sworn to be faithful, deceived most of us, for +it was very hard to believe they could be capable of such diabolical +treachery. Swords and pistols were, of course, taken off, but instead of +being left in the anteroom, were brought into the messroom. Some fellows +put theirs in a corner, others against the wall behind them. I was sitting +between Dunlop and Manners, and we were, as it happened, at the corner +nearest the window fixed upon for the bolt. Things went on all right till +dinner was over, There was an insolent look about some of the servants' +faces I did not like, but nothing to take hold of. I pointed it out to +Dunlop, and we agreed that the plan arranged was the best possible; and +that, as resistance would be of no use, if at each of the eight large +windows and the two doors a stream of musketry fire were being poured in, +we would make a rush straight for the window. Presently the colonel rose +and gave 'The Queen.' We all rose, and as if--as I have no doubt it was-- +the toast was the signal, there was a sudden trampling in the veranda +outside, and at every window appeared a crowd of Sepoys, with their arms +in their hands. I shouted, 'To the window for your lives!' and without +stopping to get my sword, I dashed at the Sepoys who were there. Dunlop +and Manners were with me, and before the scoundrels had time to get their +guns to their shoulders, we were upon them. We are all big men; and our +weight and impetus, and the surprise, were too much for them; we burst +through them, standing as they did four or five deep, as if they had been +reeds. They gave a yell of rage and astonishment as they went down like +ninepins; but we scarcely saw it, for as we went through them the musketry +fire broke out round the messroom. + +[Illustration: BEFORE THE SCOUNDRELS HAD TIME TO GET THEIR GUNS TO THEIR +SHOULDERS, WE WERE UPON THEM.] + +"Whether any of the others tried to follow us, we don't know. I think most +of them forgot their arrangement, and rushed to their arms: certainly some +of them did so, for we heard the crack of revolvers between the rifle +shots. We made straight across the parade for Dunlop's bungalow, with +musket balls flying in all directions, as soon as the fellows we had gone +through recovered from their first astonishment; but they are not good +shots at the best, and a man running at his top speed is not an easy mark +by moonlight. We heard yells and musket shots all round, and knew that +while a part of the regiment was attacking us, parties were told off to +each bungalow. By the time we had got over the few hundred yards to +Dunlop's, the whistling of the bullets round us had pretty well ceased, +for the fellows had all emptied their muskets; besides, we were nearly out +of range. None of them were near us, for they had stopped in their run to +fire; they were too much interested in the massacre going on inside, and +we seemed pretty safe; when, just as I entered the gate of the compound, a +stray bullet hit me on the head, and down I went like a log. + +"Happily, the syce had proved faithful; he had been with Dunlop ever since +he joined the regiment, and Dunlop once risked his life to save him from a +tiger. There was the syce with the trap. He had not dared bring it out +till the first shot was fired, lest his fellow-servants, who were all +traitors, should stop it; but the instant it began, he came round. They +ran the horse up to where I was lying, lifted me in, and jumped in, and +drove out of the gate as a score of fellows from the mess-house came +making toward the bungalow. We had fifty yards' start, but they fired away +at us, a ball passing through the syce's leg as he scrambled up behind. +The horse went along at a gallop; but we were not safe, for parties were +carrying on their hellish work in every bungalow, Dunlop and Manners were +maddened by the screams they heard; and if it had not been for having me +under their charge, and by the thoughts of the girls, I believe they would +have jumped out and died fighting. A few of the black devils, hearing +wheels, ran out and fired; but we kept on at a full gallop till we were +well out of the place. A mile further Dunlop found the horse begin to +slacken his speed, and to go very leisurely. He jumped out to see what was +the matter, and found, as he expected, that the horse had been hit. He had +one bullet in the neck, another in the side. It was evident that it could +not go much further. They lifted me out and carried me to a patch of +bushes thirty yards from the road. The syce was told to drive on quietly +till the horse dropped. Dunlop gave him money and told him to meet us at +Meerut." + +"Why did you not keep him with you? he would have been very useful?" Dick +asked. + +"You see I wanted to get the trap as far away as possible before the horse +fell," Captain Dunlop said. "We did not know how severely wounded the +major was; indeed, we both feared he was killed; but the mutineers, when +they found the dead horse in the morning, were certain to make a search in +its neighbourhood, and would have found your father had he been close by +laid up with a wound." + +"Happily I now began to come to," the major went on, continuing his story. +"The ball was nearly spent, and had given me a nasty scalp wound, and had +stunned me, but I now began to come round. The instant I was able to +understand where I was or what had happened, Dunlop and Manners, who were +half-wild with excitement and grief, made me promise to lie quiet, while +they went back to see what had become of you all. Of course I consented. +They were away about three hours, for they had to make a circle of the +cantonments, as our bungalow was quite at the other end. They brought +cheering news. They had first been to the house, and found it utterly +destroyed as they expected. That told them nothing; for if you had been +killed, your bodies would probably have been burned with the house. Then +they went out to the tope of trees where it was agreed that you should, if +possible, first fly. Here they found a pocket-handkerchief of Rose's; and +going round to the other side, found by the marks upon the soil that four +of you had started together. With hearts immensely lightened by the +discovery that you had, at any rate, all escaped from the first massacre, +they hurried back to gladden me with the news. I was past understanding it +when they arrived, for the intense pain in my head and my terrible anxiety +about you had made me delirious. It would have been certain death to stay +so near the road, so they dipped their handkerchiefs in water, and tied +them round my head; and then supporting me, one on each side, they half- +dragged, half-carried, me to a deserted and half-ruinous cottage, about a +mile away. + +"Next day I was still feverish, but fortunately no one came near us. +Dunlop and Manners went out at night, and got a few bananas. Next morning +our regiment marched away; and Dunlop then appealed to an old cottager for +shelter and food for us all. He at once promised to aid us, and I was +removed to his cottage, where everything in his power was done for me. I +was now convalescent, and a day later we were talking of making a move +forward. That night, however, the cottage was surrounded--whether the +peasant himself or some one else betrayed us, we shall never know--but the +men that we saw there belonged to a regiment of mutineers that had marched +in that afternoon from Dollah. We saw at once that resistance was useless, +and we were, moreover, without arms. Had we had them, I have no doubt we +should have fought and been killed. As it was, we were bound and marched +into the camp at Sandynugghur. It was resolved to take us in triumph into +Delhi; and we were marched along with the regiment till you saw us. We had +talked over every conceivable plan of escape, and had determined that we +would try to-night, which will be the last halt before they get to Delhi. +It is very unlikely that we should have succeeded, but it was better to be +shot down than to be taken to Delhi and given over to the mob to torture +before they killed us. I am convinced we had no chance of really getting +off, and that you have saved our lives, just as Dunlop and Manners saved +mine, at the risk of their own, on that first night of our flight. And now +let us be on the march." + +They had not gone far before the three officers found that it was +impossible to walk in their Sepoy jackets. They accordingly took them off, +and slung them from their muskets. Ned and Dick were fairly fitted. They +halted for the night near the river, about ten miles above Delhi. In the +morning they were off early. By nine o'clock they stood on the bank of the +river, five miles higher up. + +The river is wide, or rather the bed of the river is wide, half a mile at +least; this in the rainy season is full to the brim, but at other times +the stream is not more than half that width. After crossing the river they +would have fifteen miles still to traverse to arrive at Meerut; and it was +probable that the whole intervening country was in the hands of the +Sepoys. + +"Had we not better keep this side of the river for a bit, father?" Ned +asked. + +"No, my boy; we will cross here after dark, and make straight for Meerut. +If we can't find a boat, we will each cut a large bundle of rushes, to act +as a lifebuoy and carry your guns and ammunition, and so swim across after +it is dark." + +"Well, major, as the sun is getting awfully hot, I vote we get into the +shade of those stunted trees, and have a nap till the afternoon. It won't +do to begin even to make the raft till the sun is down." + +Captain Dunlop's proposition was carried into effect; but it is +questionable whether any of the party slept much, for they were excited by +the thought that in a few hours they would be with friends, once more +soldiers instead of fugitives, with power to fight in defense of their +sovereign's dominions, and of the helpless women and children exposed to +the fury of the atrocious mutineers. With these thoughts mingled the +anxiety which was wearing them all, although each refrained from talking +about it, as to the safety of the girls, whose lives wore dependent upon +the fidelity of a native and his servants. + +Over and over again, since they met the boys, had they regretted that they +had not gone back to watch over them; but the fact that Rose might be +weeks before she was able to stand, and that, as their protector had said, +the presence of Europeans near them might be detected, and would be a +source of constant danger, convinced them that they had taken the proper +course. They knew, too, that in acting as they had done they were +performing their duty; and that at a moment when the fate of British India +trembled in the balance, the place of every soldier was by the side of the +British troops who still maintained the old flag flying in the face of +increasing numbers of the enemy. Still, although they knew that they were +doing their duty, and were, moreover, taking the wisest course, the +thoughts of the girls alone in the midst of danger, with one of them down +with fever, tried them terribly, and they longed with a fierce desire for +the excitement of work and of danger to keep them from thinking of it. + +"Here, boys, is a ear of Indian corn apiece; eat that and then get to +work." + +The frugal meal was soon over, and they then set to work, cutting down, +breaking off, and tearing up large reeds with which to make floats. The +boys had knives, but the others had been stripped of everything they had +at the time of their capture. In about an hour, however, five bundles were +made, each some six feet long and nearly three feet thick. The muskets and +ammunition pouches were fastened on these, and soon after it was quite +dark they entered the water. + +"There are no crocodiles, I hope," Dick whispered to Ned. + +"Nothing to fear in these large rivers; the chances of meeting one are +very small." + +"All right," Dick said. "Of course we've got to risk it. But they're as +bad as sharks; and sharks, as the Yankee said, is pison. Well, here goes." + +When the bundles were placed in the water they were lashed side by side +with long trailing creepers which grew abundantly among the rushes; and +they were thus secured from the risk of turning over from the weights on +the top. Upon the raft thus formed their clothes were placed, and then, +side by side, pushing it before them, the party shoved off from shore. In +twenty minutes they touched ground on the other side. They dressed, +examined their muskets to see if they were in good order, and then started +in the direction in which they knew Meerut to be. Several times they +paused and listened, for they could occasionally hear the noise of +galloping men, and it was evident that there were troops of some kind or +other moving about. + +They walked for some hours until they thought that they could not be far +from their destination, and had begun to congratulate themselves upon +being near their friends, when the sound of a strong body of men was heard +sweeping along the level plain across which they were now passing. + +"There is a small building ahead," the major said; "run for that; they are +coming across here." + +They were seen, for a shout of "Who goes there?" in Hindostanee was heard. + +"Give me your musket, Dick," Captain Dunlop exclaimed. For the lad, with +the weight of his musket and ammunition, could hardly keep up with the +others. + +Just in time they reached the building in front of them, rushed in, and +closed the door as the cavalry swept up. It was a small temple; a building +of massive construction, with one little window about six inches square, +and on the same side a strong door. + +"Pile everything against the door," the major cried. "Dunlop, fire at once +at them. Our only chance is to hold out with the hope that we may be +heard, and that some of our fellows may come to the rescue." + +Captain Dunlop fired just as the troopers dashed up to the door. + +"Now, Manners, steady, pick off your man," the major said, as, aided by +the boys, he jammed a beam of wood between the door and the wall, at such +an angle that, except by breaking it to pieces, the door could not be +forced. + +"Now," he said, "it's my turn;" and he fired into the enraged enemy. "Now, +Ned, steady. Are you loaded again, Dunlop?" + +"Yes, major; just ready." + +"Dick, you follow; take good aim." + +The cavalry answered their fire, every shot of which was taking effect, by +a confused discharge of their pistols at the door and window. + +"Draw off!" their leader shouted; "rear-rank men hold the horses, front- +rank men dismount and break in the door." + +The order was obeyed; and the troopers rushed forward on foot, and were +met by a steady fire, to which the straggling return of their pistols was +but an inefficient answer. Vainly the mutineers hacked at the door with +their sabers and struck it with their pommels. + +"Throw yourselves against it, all at once," cried their leader; and a +dozen men sent themselves against the door; it creaked and strained, but +the beam kept it in its place. + +"You keep up the fire through the window," said the major; "the boys and I +will fire through the door." + +Yells and shrieks followed each shot through the door, and after three or +four minutes the troopers drew off. + +"Any one hurt?" the major asked. + +"I have got a bullet in my shoulder," said Captain Dunlop. + +But that was the only reply. There was a shout outside, and Manners +exclaimed: "Confound the fellows, they have got a big log of wood that +will soon splinter the door." + +"We must stop them as long as we can," said the major, as he fired among +the men who were advancing with the log. + +Several Sepoys fell before they got up to the house, but they pressed on, +and, at the first blow given by the battering-ram driven by the men, the +door split from top to bottom. + +"Fix bayonets," the major said. "Now, Manners, you and I will hold them +back. Not more than two can come at once, and their swords are of no use +against bayonets in a narrow space. Dunlop, will you stand in reserve? you +have still got your right hand; use your bayonet as a dagger if a rush +comes. Boys, you go on loading and firing; put in four balls each time. If +they get in, of course use your bayonets; there goes the door!" + +A shout burst from the natives as the last portion of the door dropped +from its hinges, and the doorway was open. There was, however, no +inclination betrayed to make a rush. + +"Forward! Death to the infidel dogs!" shouted their officer. + +"Suppose you lead us," said one of the troopers; "the officers always show +the way." + +"Come, then," cried an old officer, on whose breast hung several medals; +"follow me!" + +Drawing his sword, he rushed forward, followed by twenty of his men. But +as he passed over the threshold he and the trooper next to him fell +beneath the bayonet thrusts of Major Warrener and his companion. The next +two, pushed forward by their comrades, shared the same fate; while, as +they fell, the muskets of Ned and Dick sent their contents into the mass. +The rest recoiled from the fatal doorway, while the defenders set up a +cheer of triumph. It was drowned in a crash of musketry, mingled with a +cry of surprise and despair from the natives, as a body of British +soldiers leaped from the wood, and followed their volley by an impetuous +charge. The cavalry on the plain turned and fled at a gallop; and in five +minutes, but for a few dark figures prostrate on the plain, not an enemy +was in sight. + +"Well, gentlemen, you have made a stout defense," the officer in command +said, as he returned to the shrine, outside which the little party had +gathered. "It seems as if you could have done without my help. Who are +you, may I ask? And where have you sprung from?" + +"Why, Sibbold, is it you? You haven't forgotten Warrener? And here are +Dunlop and Manners." + +"Hurrah!" shouted the officer. "Thank God, old fellows, you are saved; we +fancied that you had all gone down. I am glad;" and he shook hands +enthusiastically with his friends; while two of the officers, coming up, +joined in the hearty greeting. + +"Do those two men belong to your regiment?" Captain Sibbold asked. "If so, +they are wonders; for I don't know a case as yet where any of the men +proved true when the rest mutinied." + +"They are my sons," Major Warrener answered. + +"What?" exclaimed the other, laughing--believing that the major was +joking. + +"It's a fact, as you will see when they have got rid of the stains on +their faces," he replied; while Captain Dunlop added, "and two as fine +young fellows as ever stepped. Do you know that we three were prisoners, +and that these lads rescued us from the middle of a pandy regiment. If +they hadn't we should have been dead men before now. And now have you got +anything to eat at Meerut, for we are famishing? In the next place, I have +got a bullet in my shoulder, and shall enjoy my food all the more after it +has been taken out. Our stories are long and will keep. How go things +here?" + +"Not very brightly, Dunlop; however, that will keep, too; now let us be +off. Have we any casualties, sergeant?" he asked a non-commissioned +officer who came up for orders. + +"None, sir." + +"What is the enemy's loss?" + +"There are fifteen which can be fairly counted to us, sir, and nineteen +here." + +"That's a respectable total. Fall in, lads," he said to the men who had +gathered round, "and let us get back. You will be glad to hear that these +officers have escaped from the massacre at Sandynugghur." + +There was a hearty cheer of satisfaction from the men, for Englishmen were +knit very closely together in those terrible days. Then, falling in, the +two companies of the Sixtieth Rifles marched back again to their +cantonments at Meerut. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +A DASHING EXPEDITION. + + +On arriving at the cantonments, the party were soon surrounded by the +troops, who had been called under arms at the sound of distant firing, but +had been dismissed again on the arrival of a message to the effect that +the enemy had fled. The news had spread rapidly that some fugitives had +escaped from Sandynugghur, where it was supposed that the massacre had +been general; and officers pressed forward to shake their hands, and the +men uttered words of kindly congratulation and welcome. The greeting +swelled into a cheer as the detachment fell out, and, scattering among +their comrades, told of the desperate defense, and of the slaughter +inflicted upon the enemy by this handful of men. The fugitives were, of +course, taken first to the messroom, Captain Dunlop being, however, +carried off by the surgeon to his quarters, to have his wound examined and +attended to. + +It seemed almost like a dream to the worn and weary party, as they sat +down again to a table laid with all the brightness and comfort of +civilization, and felt that they were indeed safe among friends. Many were +the questions asked them by officers who had friends and acquaintances +among the military and civilians at Sandynugghur; and the fugitives +learned that they were, so far as was known, the only survivors from the +massacre. The story of their escape, and the safety of the girls, was told +briefly, and listened to with eager interest; and very deep and hearty +were the congratulations which the boys received for their share in the +history. In return, Major Warrener learned what had taken place in the +last ten days. + +The story was not reassuring; tidings of evil were coming from all parts. +As yet the number of stations where risings had taken place was +comparatively small; but the position was everywhere critical. In Agra, +Allahabad, and Benares, the attitude of the native troops and population +was more than doubtful. At Lucknow and Cawnpore every precaution was being +taken, but a rising was regarded as inevitable. In fact everywhere, save +in the Punjab, trouble had either come or was coming. General Anson was +collecting in all haste a force at Umballah, which was intended to advance +upon Delhi--where the ex-king had been proclaimed Emperor of India--but +his force would necessarily be an extremely small one; and no help could +possibly arrive up country for many weeks. There was therefore only the +Punjab to look to for aid. Happily, the troops of the Madras and Bombay +presidencies had so far remained faithful. + +"I suppose you have a good many men from Delhi, civilians and military, as +well as from other places?" + +"Oh, yes, we are crowded; every bungalow has been given up to the ladies, +and we all sleep under canvas." + +"I intend to ask leave to get up a troop of volunteers," Major Warrener +said; "in the first place to go out and bring in my daughter and niece, +and afterward to do any scouting or other duty that may be required." + +"There has already been a talk of forming the unattached officers and +civilians into a sort of irregular cavalry, so I should think that you +will get leave; but it will be a hazardous business to make your way +eighty miles through the country, especially as the mutineers are marching +in all directions toward Delhi." + +The next morning Major Warrener obtained permission, without difficulty, +to carry out his scheme; and the news no sooner was known through the +cantonments that a body of irregular horse was to be formed for scouting +and general purposes, and that unattached officers might, until they +received further orders, join it, than the tent which had been assigned to +Major Warrener was besieged by men anxious to join a corps which seemed +likely to afford them a chance of striking an early blow at the mutineers. + +Hitherto, the officers who had escaped from Delhi and other stations, +those who had come in from police duties in isolated districts, and +civilians, both merchants and government officials, had been fretting that +they could not be doing something to aid the great work of holding India, +and punishing those who had murdered their friends and relations. Major +Warrener's Light Horse, as it was to be called, afforded the opportunity +desired, and by the next morning eighty-five volunteers had enrolled +themselves. Some thirty-five of these were officers, the rest civilians. +Many of them had ridden in, others had driven, so that most of them were +already provided with horses. An appeal was made to the officers of the +Meerut garrison, and to the civilians resident there, to give up any +horses they might be able to spare for the public service, while others +were bought from friendly zemindars. In a week the troop were all mounted, +and during this time they had worked hard to acquire a sufficient amount +of cavalry drill to enable them to perform such simple evolutions as might +be necessary. Major Warrener divided the squadron into two troops, each +with a captain and subaltern; all these officers being cavalrymen, as were +the officers who did duty as sergeants. Thus Major Warrener had the +general command, each troop being maneuvered by its own officers. In the +ranks as simple privates were two majors and a dozen captains--among these +latter, Captain Manners. Captain Dunlop was for the present in the +surgeon's hands; but he was resolved that when the time came for a start +for the rescue of the girls he would take his place in the ranks. The boys +of course formed part of the troop. The uniform was simple, consisting +simply of a sort of Norfolk jacket made of karkee, a kind of coarse brown +holland of native make. Each man carried a revolver, and sword belt of +brown leather. Their headgear was a cap of any kind, wrapped round and +round with the thick folds of a brown puggaree. Beyond the Norfolk jacket +and puggaree there was no actual uniform. Most of the men had hunting +breeches, many had high boots, others had gaiters; but these were minor +points, as were the horses' equipments. + +Nothing had been said as to the intended expedition to bring in the +fugitives, as native spies might have carried the news to the rebels, and +so caused a renewed search to be made for their hiding-place. There was, +therefore, a deep feeling of satisfaction, as well as of surprise, when, +on the tenth day after the formation of the corps, the men were told, on +being dismissed from morning parade, that the squadron would parade for +duty at evening gunfire; that each man was to be provided with a blanket +and a haversack, with cooked food sufficient for four days, and a bag with +twenty pounds of forage for his horse, each horse to be well fed before +coming on parade. + +Had the route been free from enemies, the distance might have been done in +two long night marches; but it would be necessary to make a detour on +starting, so as to avoid striking the main road, as on the way out it was +all-important to avoid detection, as the enemy might muster in such +strength that their return would be difficult and dangerous in the +extreme. The girls once in their hands, the return journey would be easy, +as they could avoid any infantry, and had no fear of being able to cut +their way through any body of cavalry whom they might accidentally come +across, especially as they would have all the advantage of a surprise. +Half an hour after sunset the squadron rode out from the lines at Meerut, +amid a hearty cheer from the many troops at the station, who, hearing that +Warrener's Light Horse were off on an expedition against the mutineers, +had assembled to see the start. Major Warrener rode at the head of the +squadron, with Captain Kent, who commanded the first troop, by his side, +and behind them came two native guides well acquainted with the country. +These had been dressed in the uniform of a native cavalry regiment, in +order that if they passed any village and were challenged, they could ride +forward and represent the troop as a body of native cavalry sent out from +Delhi on a mission to a friendly rajah. The precaution was unnecessary. +During two long night marches, with occasional halts to rest the horses, +they rode without interruption. They passed through several villages; but +although the tramp of the horses and the rattle of sabers must have been +heard by the inhabitants, none stirred, for the mutineers took what they +wanted without paying, and were already behaving as masters of the +country; and even thus early the country people were beginning to doubt +whether the fall of the English Raj, and the substitution of the old +native rule, with its war, its bloodshed, and its exactions, was by any +means a benefit, so far as the tillers of the soil were concerned. Just +before morning, on the third day, the troop halted in a thick grove, +having watered their horses at a tank a half-hour before. They had ridden +some seventy miles, and were, they calculated, about fifteen miles from +the place where they had left the girls. It might have been possible to +push on at once, but the day was breaking, and it would have been +inexpedient to tire out the horses when they might want all their speed +and strength on the return journey. Very slowly passed the day. Most of +the men, after seeing to their horses and eating some food, threw +themselves down and slept soundly. But Major Warrener, his sons, and +Captains Dunlop and Manners were far too anxious to follow their example, +for some time. It was more than a fortnight since the boys had left the +ladies, and so many things, of which they hardly dare think, might have +happened since. + +"Don't let us talk about it any more," Major Warrener said at last; "we +only add to each other's anxiety. Now, Dunlop, you must positively lie +down; you know Johnson said it was mad in you to get on horseback till +your bone had set firmly, and that it was ten to one in favor of +inflammation coming on again. You have much to go through yet." + +[Illustration: AFTER FIVE MINUTES' RIDING, THEY DREW UP THEIR HORSES WITH +A CRY OF DISMAY.] + +Gradually sleepiness overcame excitement, and with the exception of ten +men told off as sentries and to look after the horses, the whole party +slept quietly for some hours. It had been determined to start in time to +arrive at the farmhouse before it was dark, as the boys required daylight +to enable them to recognize the locality; besides which it was advisable +to get as far back upon the return journey as possible before daybreak. +The boys were now riding in front with their father. + +"That is the wood," Ned said presently. "I know by those three palm trees +growing together in a clump, at a short distance in advance. I noticed +them particularly." + +"Where is the house?" Major Warrener asked. + +"We ought to see the house," Dick said, and he looked at his brother +apprehensively. + +"Yes," Ned said; "we certainly ought to see it." + +"You are sure you are not mistaken in the locality?" their father asked. + +"Quite sure," the boys answered together; "but the house----" + +"Let us gallop on," Major Warrener said, catching the fear which was +expressed in each of his sons' faces. + +Five minutes' riding, and they drew up their horses with a cry of dismay. +A large patch of wood ashes marked the spot where the house had stood. No +words were needed; the truth was apparent; the fugitives had been +discovered, and the abode of their protectors destroyed. Their two friends +joined the little group, and the rest of the troop dismounted at a short +distance, respecting the deep pain which the discovery had caused to their +leader. + +"What is to be done?" Major Warrener asked, breaking the deep silence. + +For a moment no one answered; and then Dick said: + +"Perhaps we may find some of the farmer's people in the hut where we +slept, and we may get news from them." + +"A capital thought, Dick," said Major Warrener. "We must not give up hope; +there are no bodies lying about, so the farm people are probably alive. As +to the girls, if they are carried off we must rescue them. Where is the +hut?" + +A few minutes' walking brought them to it. Even before they reached it it +was evident that it was inhabited, for two or three peons were squatted +near the door. These rose on seeing the group of Englishmen, but made no +attempt at flight. They entered the hut without ceremony, and Ned and Dick +hurried to the side of an old man lying on a heap of straw, while some +females standing near hastily veiled themselves at the entrance of the +strangers. + +"Where are the girls? what has happened? are you hurt?" were the three +questions poured out rapidly by Ned, as the boy seized the old man's +hands. + +"Is it you, sahibs? I am glad, indeed. I did not break my promise to come +and tell you; but as you see," and he pointed to the bandage which +enveloped his head, "I was wounded, and am still ill." + +"But the girls?" asked Ned. + +"They have been carried off by the troops of the Rajah of Nahdoor." + +"How long since?" + +"Thursday, sahib." + +"How far off is Nahdoor?" + +"Ten miles, sahib." + +Major Warrener now took up the interrogation. + +"How is the one who was ill?" + +"She was better, and was getting stronger again when they carried her +off." + +"Do you think they are still at Nahdoor? or that they have been sent into +Delhi?" + +"They are still there," the Hindoo said. "I have sent a man each day to +watch, so that directly I got better I might be able to tell you the truth +of the matter. My servant has just returned; they had not left at three +o'clock, and they would be sure not to start after that hour. The rajah +will go with his troops in a few days to pay his respects to the emperor; +he will probably take the _mem_ sahibs with him." + +"Thank God for that," Major Warrener said. "If they have not yet been +taken to that horrible den of murder we will save them. I am the father of +one, and the other is my niece," he said to the zemindar; "and I owe their +lives so far to you. The debt of gratitude I can never pay to you--or to +your wife and daughter," he added, turning to the women, who, their first +impulse of alarm over, had now, in the presence of friends, uncovered +their faces, for it is only the higher class of Hindoo women who closely +veil--"for your care in nursing my niece, and for giving them shelter, +when to do so was to risk your lives. This debt I can never pay; but the +losses you have sustained in the destruction of your house, and the loss +of animals, I can happily more than replace. And now tell me how it +happened." + +"It was late in the afternoon," the Hindoo said, "when a body of horse +galloped across the field to my door. Their captain rode up to me. 'Are +there any Feringhees hid here, old man?' he asked. 'I have seen no man of +the white race since the troubles began,' I said; and you know I spoke not +falsely. 'I must search the house,' he said; 'there are a party of +fugitives hiding somewhere in this district, and the orders from Delhi are +strict that every Feringhee is to be hunted down and sent there.' 'You +will find no one here,' I said, 'but my women, one of whom is sick.' 'I +must see them,' he said; and he knocked loudly at the door of the women's +room, and ordered them to come out. My wife and daughter came to the door. +'Where is the one who is said to be sick?' he said; 'I must see her too.' +Then, seeing that he was determined to enter, the young _mem_ sahib came +to the door. The captain gave a shout of pleasure; calling in his men, he +entered the room, and, in spite of the entreaties of her sister, brought +the one who was sick out also. She was able to walk, but, as we had agreed +between us should be done if discovery was made, she pretended that she +was almost at the point of death. Some poles were got; a hammock was made; +and borne by four bearers, she was carried away, her sister being placed +on a horse closely guarded. As he turned to ride off the captain's eye +fell upon me. 'Ah! old traitor!' he said; 'I had forgotten you!' and he +drew a pistol and fired at me. I know no more; his men put fire to the +barn and granaries, and drove off our cattle and horses. When he had +ridden off my servants--who thought I was dead--by order of my sorrowing +wife carried me here. Happily, however, by the will of Brahma, the bullet, +instead of going through my skull, glanced off, and I was only stunned. I +had lost much blood, but I determined to set out as soon as I could walk +to bring you the news, and in the meantime have had a watch kept upon +Nahdoor." + +Major Warrener and his sons thanked the old peasant and his family in the +warmest terms for what they had done, and the former pressed upon the +farmer a sum of money which would cover all the losses he had sustained. + +"Your conduct," he said, "will be reported to the government, and you will +find when these troubles are over that England knows how to reward those +who proved faithful when so many were faithless. Now we will say adieu. +When the war is over the ladies you have so kindly treated will themselves +return to thank you." + +In a few minutes the troop was in the saddle again, and directed its march +toward Nahdoor. + +On the way Major Warrener questioned his guide as to the strength and +position of the fortress, which lay away from the main road, and had not +been visited by any of the troop--as the major had ascertained before +starting. The account was not reassuring. The guide reported that it stood +on a rock, which rose perpendicularly some eighty or a hundred feet from +the plain; the only access being by a zigzag road cut in the face of the +cliff, with a gateway defended by a gun, and loopholed walls at each turn, +and with a very strong wall all round the edge of the rock. The garrison, +they had learned from the persons at the farm, was some three hundred +strong, the ordinary number of retainers being at present increased by +many fighting men, who had within the last few days joined the rajah, on +hearing that he was going to march to Delhi to fight under the emperor +against the Feringhees. + +The troop halted in a wood three miles from Nahdoor; as the guide said +that there was no place nearer where they could be concealed without a +certainty of discovery. + +Before morning Major Warrener and his second in command put on native +clothes, which the former bad brought with him, in case it should be +necessary to open communication with the girls, and left the wood with one +of the native guides. The disguises were not meant to deceive close +investigation, and no attempt was made to change the color of the skin, +but they were sufficient to enable the wearers to pass without exciting +suspicion by any one who only saw them at a distance. + +When morning broke they stood within half a mile of the fortress, which +answered exactly to the description they had received of it. Gradually-- +keeping always at a distance, and availing themselves as far as possible +of cover--they made a circuit of the place, and then returned to the +troop, who were anxiously awaiting their report. + +"It is a very hard nut to crack," Major Warrener said to his sons. "There +is no possibility of climbing the rock anywhere, or of attacking in any +way except by the regular ascent. There are eight gateways to be forced +before arriving at the main entrance through the walls. We should require +petards to blow in gates, and ought to have field guns to drive them out +of the gate-houses. I do not say it would be absolutely impossible, +because before now British troops have done what seemed impossible in +India; but the difficulties would be so enormous, the risk of failure so +great, and the loss certainly so crushing, that I should not be justified +in undertaking such a desperate adventure on my own responsibility, and +for my own private ends. We have no right, boys, to cause the loss of some +thirty or forty of these fine young fellows, even to rescue the girls. An +attack by surprise is the only possibility. At present we don't see the +way, but something may turn up to help us. Failing that, our only plan is +to wait till the rajah starts with his following and the girls for Delhi, +and then to attack them on their way. The drawback to this is that he may +not leave for days, and that at any moment we may be discovered. Besides, +there is the difficulty of feeding the horses and ourselves. Now, boys, +you know as much as I do. Think it over while I have a talk with Dunlop +and Manners." + +"Manners is at the other end of the wood, father, half a mile away. We +found, after you had gone, that the main Delhi road ran through the +further skirts of the wood, so Manners suggested to Lieutenant Simmons +that he should go with ten men and hide there, so that they could see who +went along the road and perhaps intercept some messenger between Delhi and +Nahdoor." + +"A capital idea," Major Warrener said. + +Two hours later Captain Manners returned with his party, bringing in two +prisoners. + +"Who have you there, Manners?" Major Warrener asked. + +"Two of the rascally Third Cavalry, who mutinied at Meerut. This fellow, +as you see, is a native officer; there were two of them and two sowars, +but they showed fight when we surrounded them, and tried to ride through +us, so we had to shoot two of them. They are bearers of a letter from the +Delhi prince to the rajah. Here it is." + +Major Warrener looked sternly at the prisoners, who were still wearing +their British uniform, and then ordered them to be taken away and hung at +once. + +"What did you do with the others, Manners?" + +"We hid their bodies under some bushes at a distance from the road." + +"You must go back," the major said, "with another; take Larkin with you. +You must strip off the uniforms and bring them here." + +Half an hour later Major Warrener summoned the captains of his two troops, +and took them into council. + +"Nothing could be more fortunate than this capture," he said; "it seems to +clear the way for us altogether. What I propose to do is this: that two of +the best linguists of the troop, with the two native guides, should dress +in the uniforms of these scoundrels. They can then go boldly in with the +letter from the prince. They will of course be well received, and will +stay for the night. The two who go as officers will be entertained by the +rajah, and will learn the plan of the state apartments; the other two will +be made welcome by the retainers. When all is quiet at night they must +steal out and wait on the wall. That projecting watch-tower that overhangs +the cliff on the other side would be the best. We will be below. Then a +rope must be lowered. We have two long picketing ropes, either of which +would be long enough, but they would be too bulky to carry in without +suspicion. Our native guides, however, will soon tear up some cloth, and +twist a rope not much thicker than string, but strong enough to hold the +rope. Then the string can be twisted round the body without fear of +detection, and when the time comes lowered, with a stone at the end. We +shall be below with a strong rope ladder, made with the picket-ropes and +bamboo staves; and once fixed, we shall be up in no time. I leave it to +you to decide who are the best linguists. They must of course be asked if +they are willing to undertake it. I will speak to the guides. What do you +think of the general plan?" + +"Excellent," the officers said. "It might be as well," one suggested, +"that each of the party should have a light rope wound round him, so that +if one, two, or even three could not slip away, the fourth could still +carry out the plan." + +Some other details were arranged, and then the officers went to pick out +the two men who could best pass as natives. There was no difficulty upon +this score, for two of the troop, who had for years commanded large police +districts, spoke the language as perfectly as natives, and these, upon +being asked, readily accepted the duty. The work of making the rope +ladders, and the light ropes for hauling them up, was entered upon, and by +sunset all were ready for the expedition. + +It was fortunate that they had no longer to stay in the wood, for during +the day five or six natives who came in to gather wood had to be seized +and bound, and it was certain that a search would be set on foot there +next morning. Fortunately a large field of Indian corn bordered one side +of the wood, and from this both man and horse had satisfied their hunger. + +Every detail of the plan was carefully considered and discussed, so that +no mistake could occur; and each of the principal actors in the piece had +his part assigned to him. The two native guides, who had themselves served +as soldiers in native regiments, consented willingly to perform their +parts, and just at sunset the two officers and men rode off to Nahdoor, +bearing the letter from the prince of Delhi to the rajah. + +There was high feasting in Nahdoor that night. The rajah had received with +all honor the officers from Delhi. The letter from the prince had promised +him a high command in the army which was to exterminate the last infidel +from the land. It had thanked him for the capture of the white women, and +had begged him to bring them on with him to Delhi, and to come at once +with his own force. From the officers the rajah had heard how the mutiny +was everywhere a success, and that at Lucknow and Cawnpore the troops +would rise in a day or two and massacre all the whites. The evening ended +early, for the officers from Delhi were fatigued with their long ride, and +being shown into a little square marble-lined room off the great hall +where they had supped, were soon apparently asleep on the cushions and +shawls spread for them. The rajah retired to his apartments, and his +officers to their quarters; and although for another hour talking and +laughing went on round the little fires in the courtyard, presently these +too were hushed, and a profound stillness fell upon Nahdoor. Then, +barefooted, the officers from Delhi stole out of their apartment and made +for the outer wall. As they had anticipated, they found no one about; +beyond a sentry at the lower gate there would be no watch kept, and they +reached the watch-tower on the wall without the slightest interruption. +Here two other figures had already arrived, and after throwing down some +small stones as a signal, which was answered by a faint whistle, the ropes +were lowered without delay. One of them was soon seized from below, and +the others being also found and fastened to the rope ladder, the weight of +which was considerable, those above began to draw up. Everything succeeded +admirably. One by one fifty men appeared at the top of the wall. Quietly +they made their way down to the courtyard, and broke up into parties, +taking their places at the entrance to the various buildings; then, all +further need for concealment being at an end, a bugle call sounded loud in +the air. It was answered by another down upon the plain near the gate. The +rajah himself was one of the first to rash out. He was seized and disarmed +before he was aware of what had happened. + +"Tell your men to throw down their arms and surrender," Major Warrener +said to him, "or we will put you and every soul here to the sword. The +place is surrounded, and there is no escape. Do you not hear our bugles on +the plain?" + +It needed not the rajah's order; the garrison, taken utterly by surprise, +and finding the castle captured by an enemy of unknown strength, threw +down their arms as they came out of their quarters. Orders were sent by +the rajah to the men at the various gates on the hill to come up and lay +down their arms, and the sentry at the lowest of all was to open it to the +troops there. A bugler and ten men were left below, and the rest joined +the party in the castle. + +Long ere they had arrived, the joyful meeting of the captives and their +friends had taken place. Rose and Kate had awoke at the sound of the +bugle, but had heeded it little, believing that it was only a Sepoy call. +Even the stir and commotion outside had not disturbed them, and they had +lain quiet until they heard a loud knocking at the door of the women's +apartments, followed by screams from the women, and then--they could +scarcely believe their ears--their names shouted in Major Warrener's +voice. With a cry of delight both sprang up, and seizing shawls, rushed to +the door, and in another moment Kate was in the arms of her father. + +"We are all here, dear," he said, after the first wild greeting--"the +boys, and Dunlop, and Manners. Hurry on your clothes, darlings; they are +longing to see you." + +The garrison of the castle were all collected in one of the smaller +courts, where twenty troopers, revolver in hand, kept guard over them. The +whole of the arms found in the castle were broken to pieces and thrown +over the walls, and the cannon planted there were first spiked and then +pitched over. The guns on the gates were similarly rendered useless, and +the stores of gunpowder all wetted. The rajah and his two sons, boys of +six and eight, were then told to prepare to accompany the troops, and +warning was given that they would be shot in case an attack was made upon +the force as it returned to Meerut. + +"Tell your followers this," Major Warrener said, "and order them to give +no alarm, or to spread the news; for if we are caught your life and that +of your sons will pay forfeit. As it is, you may hope for clemency. You +have as yet taken no part in the insurrection; and although there is no +doubt of your intention, your good conduct in the future may, perhaps, +wipe out the memory of your faults." + +It needs not to say anything of the rapturous greeting of the girls and +their brothers and lovers, or the happy half-hour which was spent together +in the great hall while the preparations for the departure were being made +outside. Captain Kent saw to all that there was to be done, leaving the +major free to join the happy party within. + +"Are you strong enough to ride, Rose?" + +"Oh, I think so, uncle; I have been shamming ill, and they thought I could +not walk; but I am pretty strong, and if I can't ride by myself I must be +tied on to some one else." + +"I dare say my horse will carry double," Captain Manners said, laughing. + +"Have the women here been kind?" Major Warrener asked. + +The girls shook their heads: + +"Not very, papa; they have been talking of Delhi;" and Kate shuddered. + +The major frowned; he could guess what they must have suffered. He went to +the door. + +"Kent, order the women out of the _zenana_ into one of the other rooms. +Tell them that they will all be searched as they come out, and that if one +brings out an ornament or a jewel with her she will be put to death. Of +course you will not search them; but the threat will do. Let no insult be +offered them. Then let Rivers take four men, and go in, and take all the +loot you can find. The jewels we will divide among the men when at Meerut. +Tell off another party to loot the rest of the rooms, but only take what +is really valuable and portable. We cannot cumber ourselves with baggage. +It would serve the rajah right if I were to burn his castle down; he may +think himself lucky to get off with his life." + +The girls pleaded for the women. "We bear them no ill-feeling," they said. +"They are very ignorant; they only acted as they were taught." + +"Well, well," said the major, "we will take the jewels alone; they are a +fair loot." + +Another hour and the troops were already well on their way on the Delhi +road. The good luck which had attended them so far followed them to the +end. Anxious to avoid an encounter with the enemy, they took an even more +circuitous route than that by which they had come, and on the fourth +afternoon after leaving rode into Meerut, where their arrival after the +long and successful expedition created quite an excitement. A comfortable +house was found for the girls, with some old friends of the major, who +resided permanently at Meerut; as for the major and his troops, they +prepared to accompany the column which was on the point of marching +against Delhi. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +DELHI. + + +Never did a government or a people meet a terrible disaster with a more +undaunted front than that displayed by the government and British +population of India when the full extent of the peril caused by the rising +of the Sepoys was first clearly understood. By the rising of Delhi, and of +the whole country down to Allahabad, the northern part of India was +entirely cut off from Calcutta, and was left wholly to its own resources. +Any help that could be spared from the capital was needed for the menaced +garrisons of Allahabad, Benares, and Agra, while it was certain that the +important stations of Cawnpore and Lucknow, in the newly-annexed province +of Oude, would at best be scarcely able to defend themselves, and would in +all probability urgently require assistance. Thus the rebel city of Delhi, +the center and focus of the insurrection, was safe from any possibility of +a British advance from the south. Nor did it look as if the position of +the English was much better in the north. At Sealkote, Lahore, and many +other stations, the Sepoys mutinied, and the Sikh regiments were +disturbed, and semi-mutinous. It was at this all-important moment that the +fidelity of two or three of the great Sikh chieftains saved British India. +Foremost of them was the Rajah of Puttiala, who, when the whole Sikh +nation was wavering as to the course it should take, rode into the nearest +British station with only one retainer, and offered his whole force and +his whole treasury to the British government. A half-dozen other prominent +princes instantly followed the example; and from that moment Northern +India was not only safe, but was able to furnish troops for the siege of +Delhi. The Sikh regiments at once returned to their habitual state of +cheerful obedience, and served with unflinching loyalty and bravery +through the campaign. + +Not a moment was lost, as it was all-important to make an appearance +before Delhi, and so, by striking at the heart of the insurrection, to +show the waverers all over India that we had no idea of giving up the +game. The main force was collected at Umballah, under General Anson. +Transport was hastily got together, and in the last week of May this force +moved forward, while a brigade from Meerut advanced to effect a junction +with it. With this latter force were Warrener's irregular horse, which had +returned only the evening before the advance from its successful +expedition to Nahdoor. On the 30th of May the Meerut force under +Brigadier-General Wilson came in contact with the enemy at Ghazee-ud-deen- +Nugghur, a village fifteen miles from Delhi, where there was a suspension +bridge across the Hindur. This fight, although unimportant in itself, is +memorable as being the first occasion upon which the mutineers and the +British troops met. Hitherto the Sepoys had had it entirely their own way. +Mutiny, havoc, murder, had gone on unchecked; but now the tide was to +turn, never to ebb again until the Sepoy mutiny was drowned in a sea of +blood. Upon this, their first meeting with the white troops, the Sepoys +were confident of success. They were greatly superior in force; they had +been carefully drilled in the English system; they were led by their +native regimental officers; and they had been for so many years pampered +and indulged by government, that they regarded themselves, as being, man +for man, fully equal to the British. Thus, then, they began to fight with +a confidence of victory which, however great their superiority in numbers, +was never again felt by the mutineers throughout the war. Upon many +subsequent occasions they fought with extreme bravery, but it was the +bravery of despair; whereas the British soldiers were animated with a +burning desire for vengeance, and an absolute confidence of victory. Thus +the fight at Ghazee-ud-deen-Nugghur is a memorable one in the annals of +British India. + +The mutineers, seeing the smallness of the British force, at first +advanced to the attack; but they were met with such fury by four companies +of the Sixtieth Rifles, supported by eight guns of the artillery, by the +Carbineers and Warrener's Horse, that, astounded and dismayed, they broke +before the impetuous onslaught, abandoned their intrenchments, threw a way +their arms, and fled, leaving five guns in the hands of the victors, and +in many cases not stopping in their flight until they reached the gates of +Delhi. The next day considerable bodies of fresh troops came out to renew +the attack; but the reports of the fugitives of the day before, of the +fury and desperation with which the British troops were possessed, had +already effected such an impression that they did not venture upon close +fighting, but after engaging in an artillery duel at long distances, fell +back again to Delhi. + +On the 7th of June the Meerut force joined that from Umballah, at Alipore, +a short march from Delhi; and the next morning the little army, now under +the command of Sir H. Barnard--for General Anson, overwhelmed by work and +responsibility, had died a few days before advanced upon the capital of +India, After four miles march they came at Badulee-Ka-Serai upon the +enemy's first line of defense, a strong intrenched position, held by three +thousand Sepoys with twelve guns. These pieces of artillery were much +heavier than the British field guns, and as they opened a heavy fire, they +inflicted considerable damage upon our advancing troops. The British, +however, were in no humor for distant fighting; they panted to get at the +murderers of women and children--these men who had shot down in cold blood +the officers, whose only fault had been their too great kindness to, and +confidence in them. Orders were given to the Seventy-fifth to advance at +once and take the position; and that regiment, giving a tremendous cheer, +rushed forward with such impetuosity through the heavy fire that, as at +Ghazee-ud-deen-Nugghur, the Sepoys were seized with a panic, and fled in +wild haste from their intrenchments, leaving their cannon behind them. + +At the foot of the steep hill on which the signal tower stands, another +and stronger line of defense had been prepared; but the mutineers +stationed here were infected by the wild panic of the fugitives from the +first position, and so, deserting their position, joined in the flight +into the city. + +The British troops had marched from their encampment at Alipore at one in +the morning, and by nine A.M. the last Sepoy disappeared within the walls +of the town, and the British flag flew out on the signal tower on the +Ridge, almost looking down upon the rebel city, and the troops took up +their quarters in the lines formerly occupied by the Thirty-eighth, Fifty- +fourth, and Seventy-fourth native regiments. As the English flag blew out +to the wind from the signal tower, a thrill of anxiety must have been felt +by every one in Delhi, from the emperor down to the lowest street ruffian. +So long as it waved there it was a proof that the British Raj was not yet +overthrown--that British supremacy, although sorely shaken, still asserted +itself--and that the day of reckoning and retribution would, slowly +perhaps, but none the less surely, come for the blood-stained city. Not +only in Delhi itself, but over the whole of India, the eyes of the +population were turned toward that British flag on the Ridge. Native and +British alike recognized the fact that English supremacy in India depended +upon its maintenance. That England would send out large reinforcements all +knew, but they also knew that many an anxious week must elapse before the +first soldier from England could arrive within striking distance. If the +native leaders at Delhi, with the enormously superior forces at their +command, could not drive off their besiegers and pluck down the flag from +the Ridge, the time must come when, with the arrival of the +reinforcements, the tide would begin to flow against them. So India +argued, and waited for the result. The Delhi leaders, as well as the +English, felt the importance of the issue, and the one never relaxed their +desperate efforts to drive back the besiegers--the other with astonishing +tenacity held on against all odds; while scores of native chiefs hesitated +on the verge, waiting, until they saw the end of the struggle at Delhi. It +was called the siege of Delhi, but it should rather have been called the +siege of the Ridge, for it was our force rather than that of the enemy +which was besieged. Never before in the history of the world did three +thousand men sit down before a great city inhabited by a quarter of a +million bitterly hostile inhabitants, and defended moreover by strong +walls, a very powerful artillery, and a well-drilled and disciplined +force, at first amounting to some ten thousand men, but swelled later on, +as the mutineers poured in from all quarters, to three times that force. +Never during the long months which the struggle lasted did we attempt to +do more than to hold our own. The city was open to the enemy at all sides, +save where we held our footing; large forces marched in and out of the +town; provisions and stores poured into it; and we can scarcely be said to +have fired a shot at it until our batteries opened to effect a breach a +few days before the final assault. + +The troops with which Sir H. Barnard arrived before Delhi consisted of the +Seventy-fifth Regiment, six companies of the Sixtieth Rifles, the First +Bengal Fusiliers, six companies of the Second Fusiliers--both composed of +white troops--the Sirmoor battalion of Goorkhas, the Sixth Dragoon Guards +(the Carbineers), two squadrons of the Ninth Lancers, and a troop or two +of newly-raised irregular horse. The artillery consisted of some thirty +pieces, mostly light field-guns. + +Upon the day following the occupation of the Ridge a welcome accession of +strength was received by the arrival of the Guides, a picked corps +consisting of three troops of cavalry and six companies of infantry. This +little force had marched five hundred and eighty miles in twenty-two days, +a rate of twenty-six miles a day, without a break--a feat probably +altogether without example, especially when it is considered that it took +place in India, and in the hottest time of the year. + +The Ridge, which occupies so important a place in the history of the siege +of Delhi, is a sharp backed hill, some half a mile long, rising abruptly +from the plain. From the top a splendid view of Delhi, and of the country, +scattered with mosques and tombs--the remains of older Delhi--can be +obtained. The cantonments lay at the back of this hill, a few posts only, +such as Hindoo Rao's house, being held in advance. Until the work of +building batteries and regularly commencing the siege should begin, it +would have been useless putting the troops unnecessarily under the fire of +the heavy guns of the city bastions. + +When the troops had fairly taken possession of the old native lines on the +8th of June many of them, as soon as dismissed from duty, made their way +up to the flagstaff tower, on the highest point of the Ridge, to look down +upon Delhi. Among those who did so were Major Warrener and his two sons. +Both uttered an exclamation of pleasure as the city came into view: + +"What a superb city!" + +Delhi is indeed a glorious city as viewed from the Ridge. It is surrounded +by a lofty crenelated wall, strengthened with detached martello towers, +and with eleven bastions, each mounting nine guns, the work of our own +engineers, but in admirable architectural keeping with the towers. +Conspicuous, on a high table rock rising almost perpendicularly in the +heart of the city, is the Jumma Musjid, the great mosque, a superb pile of +building, with its domes and minarets. To the left, as viewed from the +Ridge, is the great mass of the king's palace--a fortress in itself--with +its lofty walls and towers, and with its own mosques and minarets. These +rise thickly, too, in other parts, while near the palace the closely- +packed houses cease, and lofty trees rise alone there. The Ridge lies on +the north of the city, and opposite to it is the Cashmere gate, through +which our storming parties would rush later on; and away, a little to the +right, is the Lahore gate, through which the enemy's sorties were +principally made. On the left of the Ridge the ground is flat to the +river, which sweeps along by the wall of the town and palace. There are +two bridges across it, and over them the exulting mutineers were for weeks +to pass into the city--not altogether unpunished, for our guns carried +that far, and were sometimes able to inflict a heavy loss upon them as +they passed, with music playing and flags flying, into the town. + +"A glorious city!" Ned Warrener said, as they looked down upon it. "What a +ridiculous handful of men we seem by the side of it! It is like Tom Thumb +sitting down to besiege the giant's castle. Why, we should be lost if we +got inside!" + +"Yes, indeed, Ned," said his father; "there will be no possibility of our +storming that city until our numbers are greatly increased; for if we +scaled the walls by assault, which we could no doubt do, we should have to +fight our way through the narrow streets, with barriers and barricades +everywhere; and such a force as ours would simply melt away before the +fire from the housetops and windows. There is nothing so terrible as +street fighting; and drill and discipline are there of comparatively +little use. The enemy will naturally fight with the desperation of rats in +a hole: and it would be rash in the extreme for us to make the attempt +until we are sure of success. A disastrous repulse here would entail the +loss of all India. The news is worse and worse every day from all the +stations of the northwest; and as the mutineers are sure to make for +Delhi, the enemy will receive reinforcements vastly more rapidly than we +shall, and it will be all we shall be able to do to hold our own here. We +may be months before we take Delhi." + +"I hope they won't keep us here all that time," Dick said, "for cavalry +can't do much in a siege; besides, the ground is all cut up into gardens +and inclosures, and we could not act, even if we had orders to do so." + +"We may be very useful in going out to bring convoys in," Major Warrener +replied, "and to cut off convoys of the enemy, to scout generally, and to +bring in news; still, I agree with you, Dick, that I hope we may be sent +off for duty elsewhere. Hullo! what's that?" + +As he spoke a sudden fire broke out from the walls and bastions; shot and +shell whizzed over their heads, many of them plunging down behind the +Ridge, among the troops who were engaged in getting up their tents; while +a crackling fire of musketry broke out in the gardens around Hindoo Rao's +house, our advanced post on the right front. + +"A sortie!" exclaimed the major. "Come along, boys." And those who had +gathered around the flagstaff dashed down the hill to join their +respective corps. The Sixtieth Rifles, however, of whom two companies held +Hindoo Rao's, repulsed the sortie, and all calmed down again; but the +enemy's artillery continued to play, and it was evident that the foe had +it in his power to cause great annoyance to all our pickets on the Ridge. + +Fortunately our position could only be assailed on one side. Our cavalry +patrolled the plain as far as the river, and our rear was covered by a +canal, possessing but few bridges, and those easily guarded. It was thus +from our right and right front alone that serious attacks could be looked +for. + +The next afternoon a heavy firing broke out near Hindoo Rao's house, and +the troops got under arms. The enemy were evidently in force. + +An aid-de-camp rode up: + +"Major Warrener, you will move up your troop, and fall in with the Guide +cavalry." + +At a trot Warrener's Horse moved off toward the right. The guns on the +walls were now all at work, and our artillery at Hindoo Rao's were +answering them, and the shots from a light battery placed by the flagstaff +went singing away toward the right. + +Warrener's Horse were now at the station assigned to them. The musketry +fire in the gardens and broken ground near Hindoo Rao's was very heavy, +and a large body of the enemy's cavalry was seen extending into the plain, +with the intention of pushing forward on the right of the Ridge. + +"You will charge the enemy at once," an aid-de-camp said; and with a cheer +the Guides and Warrener's Horse dashed forward. + +It was the moment they had longed for; and the fury with which they +charged was too much for the enemy, who, although enormously superior in +numbers, halted before they reached them, and fled toward the city, with +the British mixed with them, in a confused mass of fighting, struggling +men. The pursuit lasted almost to the walls of the city. Then the guns on +the wall opened a heavy fire, and the cavalry fell back as the balls +plunged in among them. + +There were but two or three hurt, but among them was Lieutenant Quentin +Battye, a most gallant young officer, a mere lad, but a general favorite +alike with other officers and the men. Struck by a round shot in the body, +his case was hopeless from the first; he kept up his spirits to the last, +and said with a smile to an old school-friend who came in to bid him +farewell: + +"Well, old fellow, _Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori_, and you see +it's my case." + +Such was the spirit which animated every officer and man of the little +army before Delhi; and it is no wonder that, day after day, and week after +week, they were able to repulse the furious attacks of the ever-increasing +enemy. + +On the 9th, 10th, and 11th fresh sorties were made. Before daybreak on the +13th a large force of the mutineers came out quietly, and worked their way +round to the left, and just as it began to be light, made a furious +assault on the company of the Seventy-fifth who were holding the flagstaff +battery. Warrener's Horse were encamped on the old parade-ground, +immediately behind and below the flagstaff, and the men leaped from their +beds on hearing this outburst of firing close to them. + +There was a confused shouting, and then the major's voice was heard above +the din: + +"Breeches and boots, revolvers and swords, nothing else. Quick, lads; fall +in on foot. We must save the battery at all hazards." + +In a few seconds the men came rushing out, hastily buckling on their +belts, with their pouches of revolver ammunition, and fell into rank; and +in less than two minutes from the sound of the first shot the whole were +dashing up the steep ascent to the battery, where the tremendous musketry +fire told them how hardly the Seventy-fifth were pressed. + +"Keep line, lads; steady!" shouted the major as they neared the crest. +"Now get ready for a charge; go right at them. Don't fire a shot till you +are within five paces, then give them three barrels of your revolvers; +then at them with the sword; and keep your other shots in case you are +pressed. Hurrah!" + +With a thundering cheer the gallant little band fell on the mutineers, +many of whom had already made their way into the battery, where the +handful of white troops were defending themselves with desperation. Struck +with terror and surprise at this sudden attack, and by the shower of +pistol bullets which swept among them, the enemy wavered and broke at the +fierce onslaught, sword in hand, of these new foes; while the Seventy- +fifth, raising a shout of joy at the arrival of their friends, took the +offensive, swept before them the mutineers who had made their way into the +battery, and, joining the irregulars, drove the mutineers, astounded and +panic-stricken at the fierceness of the assault, pell-mell before them +down the hill. + +The reinforcements had arrived but just in time, for Captain Knox, who +commanded at this post, and nearly half his force, had fallen before Major +Warrener's band had come up to their aid. The next day, and the next, and +the next, the sorties from the city were repeated, with ever-increasing +force and fury, each fresh body of mutineers who came into the city being +required to testify their loyalty to the emperor by heading the attack on +his foes. Desperately the little British force had to fight to maintain +their position, and their losses were so serious, the number of their +enemies so large, so rapidly increasing, that it was clear to all that the +most prodigious efforts would be necessary to enable them to hold on until +reinforcements arrived, and that all idea of an early capture of the city +must be abandoned. + +Warrener's Horse, however, had no share in these struggles, for on the day +after the fight at the flagstaff a report spread among them that they were +again to start upon an expedition. A note had been brought in by a native +to the effect that several English ladies and gentlemen were prisoners at +the fortress of Bithri, in Oude, some hundred and fifty miles from Delhi. +The instructions given to Major Warrener were that he was to obtain their +release by fair means, if possible; if not, to carry the place and release +them, if it appeared practicable to do so with his small force; that he +was then to press on to Cawnpore. Communications had ceased with Sir H. +Wheeler, the officer in command there; but it was not known whether he was +actually besieged, or whether it was merely a severance of the telegraph +wire. If he could join Sir H. Wheeler he was to do so; if not, he was to +make his way on, to form part of the force which General Havelock was +collecting at Allahabad for an advance to Cawnpore and Lucknow. It would +be a long and perilous march, but the troops were admirably mounted; and +as they would have the choice of routes open to them, and would travel +fast, it was thought that they might hope to get through in safety, and +their aid would be valuable either to Sir H. Wheeler or to General +Havelock. + +It was a lovely moonlight evening when they started. During their stay at +Delhi they had, profiting by their previous expedition, got rid of every +article of accouterment that could make a noise. Wooden scabbards had +taken the place of steel, and these were covered in flannel, to prevent +rattle should they strike against a stirrup. The water bottles were +similarly cased in flannel, and the rings and chains of the bits in +leather. Nothing, save the sound of the horses' hoofs, was to be heard as +they marched, and even these were muffled by the deep dust that lay on the +road. Each man, moreover, carried four leathern shoes for his horse, with +lacings for fastening them. Under the guidance of two natives, the troop +made their first six stages without the slightest adventure. The country +was flat, and the villages sparsely scattered. The barking of the dogs +brought a few villagers to their doors, but in those troubled times the +advantages of non-interference were obvious and the peasant population in +general asked nothing better than to be let alone. + +The troop always marched by night, and rested by day at villages at a +short distance from the main road. Upon a long march like that before +them, it would have been impossible to maintain secrecy by resting in +woods. Food for men and horses was requisite, and this could only be +obtained in villages. So far no difficulty had been met with. The head men +of the villages willingly provided provender for the horses, while flour, +milk, eggs, and fowls were forthcoming in sufficient quantities for the +men, everything being strictly paid for. + +The last night march was as successful as the preceding, and crossing the +river by a bridge at Banat, they halted some five miles from the fortified +house, or castle, which was the immediate object of their expedition. They +were now in Oude, and had, since crossing the river, avoided the villages +as much as possible, for in this province these are little fortresses. +Each is strongly walled and guarded, and petty wars and feuds are common +occurrences. The people are warlike, and used to arms, and without +artillery even a small village could not be carried without considerable +loss. The troops therefore had made circuits round the villages, and +bivouacked at the end of their march in a wood, having brought with them a +supply of food and grain from the village where they had halted on the +previous day. They had not slept many hours when one of the vedettes came +in to say that there was a sound of beating of drums in a large village +not far away, and that bodies of peasantry had arrived from other +villages, and that he believed an attack was about to take place. + +Major Warrener at once took his measures for defense. The first troop were +to defend the front of their position with their carbines against an +attack. The second troop were to move round to the extreme end of the +tope, were to mount there, and when the enemy began to waver before the +musketry fire, were to sweep round and take them in flank. Major Warrener +himself took command of the dismounted troop, and posted the men along +behind a bank with a hedge, a short distance in front of the trees. Then, +each man knowing his place, they fell back out of the scorching sunshine +to the shade of the tree's, and waited. In half an hour a loud drumming +was heard, and a motley body, two or three thousand strong, of peasants in +a confused mass, with a tattered banner or two, made their appearance. + +The "Avengers," as Warrener's Horse called themselves, took their places +behind the bank, and quietly awaited the attack. The enemy opened a heavy +fire, yet at a long distance. "Answer with a shot or two, occasionally," +Major Warrener had ordered, "as they will then aim at the bank instead of +tiring into the wood. We don't want the horses hurt." + +Slowly and steadily the rifled carbines spoke out in answer to the heavy +fire opened on the bank, and as almost every man of Warrener's Horse was a +sportsman and a good shot, very few shots were thrown away. The enemy beat +their drums more and more loudly, and shouted vociferously as they +advanced. When they were within three hundred yards Major Warrener gave +the word: + +"Fire fast, but don't throw away a shot." + +Astonished at the accuracy and deadliness of the fire which was poured +into them by their still invisible foe, the enemy wavered. Their leaders, +shouting loudly, and exposing themselves bravely in front, called them on, +as slowly, and with heavy loss, the main body arrived within a hundred +yards of the hedge. Those in front were, however, falling so fast that no +efforts of their leaders could get them to advance further, and already a +retrograde movement had begun, when there was a yell of fear, as the +mounted troop, hitherto unnoticed, charged furiously down upon their +flank. + +"Empty your rifles, and then to horse," shouted Major Warrener; and the +men dashed back through the tope to the spot in the rear, where four of +their number were mounting guard over the horses. + +In three minutes they were back again on the plain, but the fight was +over. The enemy in scattered bodies were in full flight, and the cavalry, +dashing through them, were cutting them down, or emptying their revolvers +among them. + +"Make for the village," Major Warrener said. "Gallop!" + +At full speed the troop dashed across the plain to the village, whose gate +they reached just as a large body of the fugitives were arriving. These +gave a yell as this fresh body of horsemen fell upon them; a few tried to +enter the gates of the village, but the main body scattered again in +flight. The cavalry dashed in through the gates, and sabered some men who +were trying to close them. A few shots were fired inside, but resistance +was soon over, and the male inhabitants who remained dropped over the wall +and sought refuge in flight. A bugle call now summoned the other troop +from pursuit, and the women and children being at once, without harm or +indignity, turned out of the village, the conquerors took possession. + +"This will be our headquarters for a day or two," the major said, as the +troop gathered round him; "there is an abundance of food for horse and +man, and we could stand a siege if necessary." + +Warrener's Horse was the happiest of military bodies. On duty the +discipline was severe, and obedience prompt and ready. Off duty, there +was, as among the members of a regimental mess, no longer any marked +distinction of rank; all were officers and gentlemen, good fellows and +good comrades. The best house in the village was set aside for Major +Warrener, and the rest of the squadron dispersed in the village, +quartering themselves in parties of threes and fours among the cleanest- +looking of the huts. Eight men were at once put on sentry on the walls, +two on each side. Their horses were first looked to, fed and watered, and +soon the village assumed as quiet an aspect as if the sounds of war had +never been heard in the land. At dark all was life and animation. A dozen +great fires blazed in the little square in the center of the village, and +here the men fried their chickens, or, scraping out a quantity of red-hot +embers, baked their chupatties, with much laughter and noise. + +Then there was comparative quiet, the sentries on the walls were trebled, +and outposts placed at a couple of hundred yards beyond the gates. Men +lighted their pipes and chatted round the fires, while Major Warrener and +a dozen of the oldest and most experienced of his comrades sat together +and discussed the best course to be pursued. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +A DESPERATE DEFENSE. + + +"Well, major, what do you think of the situation?" one of the senior +captains asked, after the pipes had begun to draw. + +"It looks rather bad, Crawshay. There's no disguising the fact. We shall +have the country up in force; they will swarm out like wasps from every +village, and by to-morrow night we shall have, at the very least, ten +thousand of them round us. Against a moderate force we could defend the +village; but it is a good-sized place, and we have only twenty-five men +for each wall, and a couple of hundred would be none too little." + +"But surely, major, we might prevent their scaling the walls. It is not +likely that they would attack on all sides at once, and without artillery +they could do little." + +"They will have artillery," said Captain Wilkins, an officer, who had +served for some time in Oude. "These talookdars have all got artillery. +They were ordered to give it up, and a good many old guns were sent in; +but there is not one of these fellows who cannot bring a battery at the +very least into the field. By to-morrow night, or at the latest next day, +we may have some thirty or forty pieces of artillery round this place." + +"It will not do to be caught like rats in a trap here," Major Warrener +said. "For to-night it is a shelter, after that it would be a trap. But +about Bithri; I don't like to give up the idea of rescuing our country- +people there. Still, although the matter has been left to my discretion, I +cannot risk losing the whole squadron." + +"What is the castle like, Warrener? have you heard?" Captain Crawshay +asked. + +"A square building, with high walls, and a deep moat. Beyond the moat is +another wall with a strong outwork and gate. There are believed to be a +couple of guns on the outwork, and eight on the inner wall." + +"Do you think they will attack us to-morrow, Wilkins? You know these Oude +fellows." + +"They will muster strong, no doubt, and be prepared to attack us if we +sally out; but I should think if we remain quiet they would wait till next +day, so as to gather as many men and guns as possible." + +"Then you think we ought to be out of this early?" Major Warrener asked. + +"I don't say we ought to be, major; I only say we ought to be if we intend +to get off without having to fight our way through them. I suppose the +Bithri man is sure to come out to attack us?" + +"Oh, no doubt," Major Warrener answered; "he has openly declared against +us." + +"The thing would be to pop into his place, just as he is thinking of +popping in here," Captain Dunlop said, laughing. + +"That's a good idea, Dunlop--a capital idea, if it could be carried out. +The question is, is it possible?" + +Then gradually the plan was elaborated, until it finally was definitely +arranged as afterward carried into execution. + +The night passed quietly, but fires could be seen blazing in many +directions over the plain, and occasionally a distant sound of drums, or a +wild shout, came faintly on the still air. Next morning Major Warrener +started early, with half a troop, to reconnoiter the country toward +Bithri. The party got to a spot within two miles of the castle, and had a +look at it and its surroundings, and were able to discern that a great +deal of bustle was going on around it, and that considerable numbers of +horse and footmen were gathered near the gate. Then they rode rapidly back +again, having to run the gantlet of several bodies of natives, who fired +at them. One party indeed had already placed themselves on the road, about +a mile from the village; but Captain Kent, seeing with his glass what was +going on, rode out with his troop to meet the little reconnoitering party, +and the enemy, fearing cavalry on the open, fell back after a scattering +fire, but not quickly enough to prevent the horse from cutting up their +rear somewhat severely. + +At eight o'clock large bodies of men could, be seen approaching the +village. These, when they arrived within gunshot, discharged their long +matchlocks at the walls, with much shouting and gesticulation. Major +Warrener's order was that not a shot should be returned, as it was +advisable to keep them in ignorance as to the long range of the Enfield +carbine. + +"Let all get their breakfasts," he said, "and let the horses be well +groomed and attended to; we shall want all their speed to-morrow." + +At eleven some elephants, surrounded by a large body of horse, could be +seen across the plain. + +"Here come some of the talookdars," Captain Wilkins said. "I suspect those +elephants are dragging guns behind them." + +"Yes, the fun will soon begin now," Captain Dunlop answered. "Now, Dick," +he went on to young Warrener, "you are going to see a little native +artillery practice. These fellows are not like the Delhi pandies, who are +artillerymen trained by ourselves; here you will see the real genuine +native product; and as the manufacture of shell is in its infancy, and as +the shot seldom fits the gun within half an inch, or even an inch, you +will see something erratic. They may knock holes in the wall, but it will +take them a long time to cut enough holes near each other to make a +breach. There, do you see? there are another lot of elephants and troops +coming from the left. We shall have the whole countryside here before +long. Ah! that's just as we expected; they are going to take up their +position on that rising ground, which you measured this morning, and found +to be just five hundred yards off. Our carbines make very decent practice +at that distance, and you will see we shall astonish them presently." + +The two forces with elephants reached the rising ground at the same time, +and there was great waving of flags, letting off of muskets, and beating +of drums, while the multitude of footmen cheered and danced. + +By this time the greater portion of the little garrison were gathered +behind the wall. This was some two feet thick, of rough sun-dried bricks +and mud. It was about fourteen feet high. Against it behind was thrown up +a bank of earth five feet high, and in the wall were loopholes, four feet +above the bank. At the corners of the walls, and at intervals along them, +were little towers, each capable of holding about four men, who could fire +over the top of the walls. In these towers, and at the loopholes, Major +Warrener placed twenty of his best shots. There was a great deal of moving +about on the rising ground; then the footmen cleared away in front, and +most of the elephants withdrew, and then were seen ten guns ranged side by +side. Close behind them were two elephants, with gaudy trappings, while +others, less brilliantly arrayed, stood further back. + +Major Warrener was in one of the little towers, with his second in +command, and his two sons to act as his orderlies. + +"Run, boys, and tell the men in the other towers to fire at the howdahs of +the chief elephants; let the rest of them fire at the artillery. Tell them +to take good aim, and fire a volley; I will give the word. Make haste, I +want first shot; that will hurry them, and they will fire wild." + +The boys started at a run, one each way, and in a minute the instructions +were given. The major glanced down, saw that every carbine was leveled, +and gave the word: + +"Fire!" + +The sound of the volley was answered in a few seconds by a yell of dismay +from the enemy. One of the state elephants threw up its trunk, and started +at a wild gallop across the plain, and a man was seen to fall from the +howdah as it started. There was also confusion visible in the howdahs of +the other elephants. Several men dropped at the guns; some, surprised and +startled, fired wildly, most of the balls going high over the village; +while others, whose loading was not yet complete, ran back from the guns. +Only one ball hit the wall, and made a ragged hole of a foot in diameter. + +"That's sickened them for the present," Captain Dunlop said, "I expect +they'll do nothing now till it gets a bit cooler, for even a nigger could +hardly stand this. Ah, we are going to give them another volley, this time +a stronger one." + +Fifty carbines spoke out this time, and the wildest confusion was caused +among the elephants and footmen, who were now trying to drag the guns +back. Again, a third volley, and then the garrison were dismissed from +their posts, and told to lie down and keep cool till wanted again. + +Half an hour later another large train of elephants, ten of them with +guns, came from the direction of Bithri, and proceeded to a tope at about +a mile from the village. There the elephants of the first comers had +gathered after the stampede, and presently a great tent was raised in +front of the tope. + +"Bithri is going to do it in style," Dick laughed to his brother. "I +shouldn't mind some iced sherbet at present, if he has got any to spare." + +"Look, Dick, there is a movement; they are getting the guns in position on +that knoll a little to the right, and a hundred yards or so in front of +their tent." + +Dick took the field-glass which his brother handed him. + +"Yes, we shall have a salute presently; but they won't breach the wall +this afternoon at that distance." + +Twenty guns opened fire upon the village, and the shot flew overhead, or +buried themselves in the ground in front, or came with heavy thuds against +the wall, or, in some instances, crashed into the upper parts of the +houses. After an hour's firing it slackened a little, and finally died +out, for the heat was tremendous. + +At three o'clock there was a move again; ten of the guns were brought +forward to a point about a thousand yards from the wall, while ten others +were taken round and placed on the road, at about the same distance, so as +to command the gate. Again the fire opened, and this time more +effectually. Again the men were called to the loopholes. The greater +portion of them were armed, not with the government carbines, but with +sporting rifles, shortened so as to be carried as carbines; and although +none of the weapons were sighted for more than six hundred yards, all with +sufficient elevation could send balls far beyond that distance. Ten of the +best-armed men were told off against each battery of artillery, and a +slow, steady fire was opened. It was effective, for, with the field- +glasses, men could be seen to fall frequently at the guns, and the fire +became more hurried, but much wilder and even less accurate, than it had +hitherto been. The rest of the men, with the exception of ten told off for +special duty, were dispersed round the walls, to check the advance of the +footmen, who crept daringly to within a short distance, and kept up a +rolling fire around the village. + +At five o'clock half of the men were taken off the walls, and several were +set to build a wall four feet high, in a semicircle just inside the gate, +which had been struck by several shots, and showed signs of yielding. Two +or three of the nearest huts were demolished rapidly, there being plenty +of native tools in the village, and a rough wall was constructed of the +materials; a trench five feet deep and eight feet wide was simultaneously +dug across the entrance. At six o'clock, just as the wall was finished, an +unlucky shot struck one of the doorposts, and the gate fell, dragging the +other post with it. A distant yell of triumph came through the air. + +The gates fell partly across the trench. "Now, lads, push them back a bit +if you can; if not, knock the part over the ditch to pieces; it's half- +smashed already." + +It was easier to knock the gate, already splintered with shot, to pieces, +than to remove it. + +"Now, Dunlop, fetch one of those powder-bags we brought for blowing up the +gates; put it in the trench, with a long train. You attend to the train, +and when I give the word, fire it. Bring up those two big pots of boiling +water to the gate-towers. Captain Kent, thirty men of your troop will hold +the other three walls; but if you hear my dog-whistle, every man is to +leave his post and come on here at a run. Thirty men more will man this +front wall and towers. They are to direct their fire to check the crowd +pushing forward behind those immediately assaulting. The remaining forty +will fire through the loopholes as long as possible, and will then form +round the breastwork and hold it to the last. One man in each gate-tower, +when the enemy reach the gate, will lay down his carbine, and attend to +the boiling water. Let them each have a small pot as a ladle. But let them +throw the water on those pressing toward the gate, not on those who have +reached it. Those are our affair." + +In five minutes every man was at his post, and a sharp fire from the +seventy men along the front wall opened upon the masses of the enemy, who +came swarming toward the gate. The effect on the crowd, many thousand +strong, was very severe, for each shot told; but the Mussulmen of Oude are +courageous, and the rush toward the gate continued. Fast as those in front +fell, the gaps were imperceptible in the swarming crowd. Major Warreners +band of forty men were called away from the loopholes, and were drawn up +behind the ditch; and as the head of the assaulting crowd neared the gate +volley after volley rang out, and swept away the leaders, foremost among +whom were a number of Sepoys, who, when their regiments mutinied, had +returned to their homes, and now headed the peasantry in their attack upon +the British force. When the dense mass arrived within thirty yards of the +gate Major Warrener gave the word, and a retreat was made behind the +breastwork. On, with wild shouts, came the assailants; the first few saw +the trench, and leaped it; those who followed fell in, until the trench +was full; then the crowd swept in unchecked. The defenders had laid by +their carbines now, and had drawn their revolvers. They were divided into +two lines, who were alternately to take places in front and fire, while +those behind loaded their revolvers. The din, as the circle inclosed by +the low wall filled with the assailants, was prodigious; the sharp +incessant crack of the revolver; the roll of musketry from the walls; the +yells of the enemy; the shrieks, which occasionally rose outside the gate +as the men in the towers scattered the boiling water broadcast over them, +formed a chaos. With the fury and despair of cornered wild beasts, the +enemy fought, striving to get over the wall which so unexpectedly barred +their way; but their very numbers and the pressure from behind hampered +their efforts. + +If a man in the front line of defenders had emptied his revolver before +the one behind him had reloaded, he held his place with the sword. + +"The wall's giving from the pressure!" Dick exclaimed to his father; and +the latter put his whistle to his lips, and the sound rang out shrill and +high above the uproar. + +A minute later the front of the wall tottered and fell. Then Major +Warrener held up his hand, and Captain Dunlop, who had stood all the time +quietly watching him, fired the train. A thundering explosion, a flight of +bodies and fragments of bodies through the air, a yell of terror from the +enemy, and then, as those already rushing triumphantly through the breach +stood paralyzed, the British fell upon them sword in hand; the men from +the other walls came rushing up, eager to take their part in the fray, and +the enemy inside the gate were either cut down or driven headlong through +it! + +The crowd beyond, already shaken by the murderous fire that the party on +the walls kept up unceasingly upon them, while they stood unable to move +from the jam in front, had recoiled through their whole mass at the +explosion, and the sight of the handful of their comrades flying through +the gate completed the effect. With yells of rage and discomfiture, each +man turned and fled, while the defenders of the gateway passed out, and +joined their fire to that of their comrades above on the flying foe. + +"Thank God, it is all over!" Major Warrener said; "but it has been hot +while it lasted. Have we had many casualties?" + +The roll was soon called, and it was found that the besieged had escaped +marvelously. One young fellow, a civil servant, had been shot through the +head, by a stray ball entering the loophole through which he was firing. +Thirteen of the defenders of the gateway were wounded with pistol shots, +or with sword cuts; but none of the injuries were of a serious character. + +It was now rapidly becoming dark, and Major Warrener mounted one of the +towers to have a last look. + +The enemy had rallied at a distance from the walls, and two fresh bodies +of troops, with elephants, were to be seen approaching from the distance. + +"That is all right," he said. "They will wait, and renew the attack to- +morrow." + +An hour afterward it was night. The moon had not risen yet, and Major +Warrener had a huge bonfire lighted outside the gate, with posts and solid +beams from the fallen gates and from the houses. + +"That will burn for hours," he said, "quite long enough for our purpose." + +Lights could be seen scattered all over the side of the plain on which the +tents were erected, some of them coming up comparatively close to the +walls. On the road in front, but far enough to be well beyond the light of +the fire, voices could be heard, and occasionally a shout that they would +finish with the infidel dogs to-morrow rose on the air. Evidently by the +low buzz of talk there were a large number here, and probably the guns had +been brought closer, to check any attempt on the part of the little +garrison to dash through their enemies. The blazing fire, however, +throwing as it did a bright light upon the empty gateway through which +they must pass, showed that at present, at least, the besieged had no idea +of making their escape. + +At nine o'clock the whole of the garrison stood to their horses. Not only +had their feet been muffled with the leather shoes, but cloths, of which +there were plenty in the village, had been wound round them, until their +footfalls would, even on the hardest road, have been noiseless. Then Major +Warrener led the way to the spot where ten men had been at work during the +afternoon. + +At this point, which was on the side furthest from that upon which was the +main camp of the enemy, a clump of trees and bushes grew close to the wall +outside; behind them a hole in the wall, wide enough and high enough for a +horse to pass through easily, had been made, and the ditch behind had been +filled up with rubbish. There was no word spoken; every one had received +his orders, and knew what to do; and as silently as phantoms the troop +passed through, each man leading his horse. Once outside the bushes, they +formed fours and went forward, still leading their horses-as these were +less likely to snort with their masters at their heads. + +Ten minutes' walking convinced them that they had little to fear, and that +no guards had been set on that side. It was regarded by the enemy as so +certain that the English would not abandon their horses and fly on foot, +only to be overtaken and destroyed the next day, that they had only +thought it necessary to watch the gateway through which, as they supposed, +the British must, if at all, escape on horseback. + +The troop now mounted, and trotted quietly away, making a wide detour, and +then going straight toward Bithri. The moon had risen; and when, about a +mile and a half in front, they could see the castle, Major Warrener, who +with Captain Kent and the native guides was riding ahead, held up his +hand. The troop came to a halt. + +"There are some bullock-carts just ahead. Take the mufflings off your +horse's feet and ride on by yourself," he said to one of the native +guides, "and see what is in the wagons, and where they are going." + +The man did as ordered, but he needed no questions. The wagons were full +of wounded men going to Bithri. He passed on with a word of greeting, +turned his horse when he reached a wood a little in front, and allowed +them to pass, and then rode back to the troop. + +"Four bullock-carts full of wounded, sahib." + +"The very thing," Major Warrener exclaimed; "nothing could be more lucky." + +Orders were passed down the line that they were to ride along until the +leaders were abreast of the first cart, then to halt and dismount +suddenly. The drivers were to be seized, gagged, and bound. The wounded +were not to be injured. + +"These men are not mutinous Sepoys, with their hands red with the blood of +women," Major Warrener said; "they are peasants who have fought bravely +for their country, and have done their duty, according to their light." + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +SAVE BY A TIGER. + + +The drivers of the bullock-carts were startled at the noiseless appearance +by their side of a body of horsemen; still more startled, when suddenly +that phantom-like troop halted and dismounted. The rest was like a dream; +in an instant they were seized, bound, and gagged, and laid down in the +field at some distance from the road; one of them, however, being +ungagged, and asked a few questions before being finally left. The +wounded, all past offering the slightest resistance, were still more +astonished when their captors, whom the moonlight now showed to be white, +instead of cutting their throats as they expected, lifted them tenderly +and carefully from the wagons, and laid them down on a bank a short +distance off. + +"Swear by the Prophet not to call for aid, or to speak, should any one +pass the road, for one hour!" was the oath administered to each, and all +who were still conscious swore to observe it. Then with the empty wagons +the troops proceeded on their way. At the last clump of trees, a quarter +of a mile from the castle, there was another halt. The troop dismounted, +led their horses some little distance from the road, and tied them to the +trees. Twenty men remained as a guard. Four of the others wrapped +themselves up so as to appear at a short distance like natives, and took +their places at the bullocks' heads, and the rest crowded into the wagons, +covering themselves with their cloaks to hide their light uniforms. Then +the bullocks were again set in motion across the plain. So careless were +the garrison that they were not even challenged as they approached the +gate of the outworks, and without a question the gate swung back. + +"More wounded!" the officer on guard said. "This is the third lot. Those +children of Sheitan must have been aided by their father. Ah, treachery!" +he cried, as, the first cart moving into the moonlight beyond the shadow +of the gateway, he saw the white faces of the supposed wounded. + +There was a leap from the nearest driver upon him, and he was felled to +the ground. But the man at the open gate had heard the cry, and drew a +pistol and fired it before he could be reached. Then the British leaped +from the carts, and twenty of them scattered through the works, cutting +down those who offered resistance and disarming the rest. These were +huddled into the guardroom, and five men with cocked revolvers placed at +the door, with orders to shoot them down at the first sign of movement. + +The garrison in the castle itself had been alarmed by the shots; and +shouts were heard, and loud orders, and the sentries over the gate +discharged their muskets. There was little time given them to rally, +however; for Captain Kent, with four of his men, had, on leaping from the +cart, made straight across the drawbridge over the moat, for the gateway, +to which they attached the petards which they had brought with them. Then +they ran back to the main body, who stood awaiting the explosion. In a few +seconds it came, and then with a cheer the troops dashed across the +drawbridge, and in through the splintered gate. There was scarcely any +resistance. Taken utterly by surprise, and being numerically inferior to +their assailants--for nearly all the fighting men had gone out with their +lord--the frightened retainers tried to hide themselves rather than to +resist, and were speedily disarmed and gathered in the courtyard. + +Major Warrener, informed by the bullock drivers of the quarter in which +the Europeans were confined, followed by a dozen men, made his way +straight to it, and had the delight of being greeted by the voices of his +countrymen and women. These were, as reported, three officers and five +ladies, all of whom were absolutely bewildered by the surprise and +suddenness of their rescue. + +There was no time for explanation. The stables were ransacked and eight of +the rajah's best horses taken. Then, when all was ready for starting, +Major Warrener proceeded to the door of the women's apartments. Here, in +obedience to the order he had sent her, the wife of the talookdar, veiled +from head to foot, and surrounded by her attendants, stood to await the +orders of her captor. + +"Madam," said Captain Wilkins, who spoke the dialect in use in Oude, +"Major Warrener, the British officer in command, bids me tell you that +this castle, with you and all that it contains, are in his power, and that +he might give it to the flames and carry you off as hostage. But he will +not do this. The Rajah of Bithri is a brave man, but he is wrong to fight +against fate. The English Raj will prevail again, and all who have +rebelled will be punished. We treat him as a brave but mistaken enemy; and +as we have spared his castle and his family, so we hope that he in turn +will behave kindly to any Englishman or woman who may fall into his hands +or may ask his aid. Lastly, let no one leave this castle till daybreak, +for whoever does so we will slay without mercy." + +Then, turning round again, Warrener and his companions returned to the +courtyard. The moment the castle was entered and opposition quelled, half +the troops had run back for the horses, and in twenty minutes from the +arrival of the bullock-carts at the gateway of Bithri the last of its +captors filed out from its walls and trotted off into the darkness. Day +broke before any of the inhabitants of Bithri dared issue from its walls. +Then a horseman took the news on to the camp. The artillery, increased now +to thirty-six guns, had already opened upon the village ere he reached the +great tent on the plain. The rajah could not credit the intelligence that +the enemy had escaped, that his castle had been attacked and carried, and +the white prisoners released; but his surprise and fury were overpowered +by the delight he felt at the news that his women and children were safe +and his ancestral dwelling uninjured. "The English are a great people," he +said, stroking his beard; then, issuing from his tent, he told the news. +Like wildfire it ran through the camp, and as none of the thousands +gathered there had his feelings of gratitude and relief to soften their +anger and disappointment, the fury of the multitude was unbounded. + +With a wild rush they made for the gate-almost blocked with their dead- +scoured the little village, and soon discovered the hole through which the +besieged had escaped. Then with wild yells three thousand horsemen set off +in pursuit; but it was six o'clock now, and the fugitives had got seven +hours' start. The Rajah of Bithri's contingent took no part in the +pursuit. On issuing from his tent he had, after telling the news, briefly +given orders for his tents to be struck and for all his troops to return +at once to the castle, toward which he himself, accompanied by his +bodyguard, set out on his elephant of state. + +Major Warrener and his troops had no fear of pursuit. New foes might be +met; but with horses fresh and in good condition, and six hours' start-- +for they were confident that no pursuit could commence before daybreak at +the earliest--they felt safe, from the enemy who had just attacked them, +especially as these could not know the direction which they were pursuing, +and would believe that their aim would be to return with their rescued +friends to Delhi, instead of proceeding through the heart of Oude. The +party whom they had found at Bithri consisted of Mr. Hartford, a deputy +commissioner, with his wife and two daughters; of a Mrs. Pearson and her +sister, the former the wife of a district magistrate, who had been absent +on duty when the rising at the little station at which they lived took +place; and of Captain Harper and Lieutenant Jones, who were the officers +of the detachment there. The men, native cavalry, had ridden off without +injuring their officers, but the fanatical people of the place had killed +many of the residents and fired their bungalows. Some had escaped on +horseback or in carriages; and the present party, keeping together, had, +when near Bithri, been seized and brought in to the chief, who intended to +take them with him to Lucknow, when--an event of which he daily expected +news--the little body of English there were destroyed by the forces +gathering round them. The captives had heard what was doing, both at +Lucknow and Cawnpore. At the latter place not only had the native troops +mutinied, but the Rajah of Bithoor, Nana Sahib, whom the English had +regarded as a firm friend, had joined them. Sir Hugh Wheeler, with the +officers of the revolted regiments the civilians of the station, and forty +or fifty white troops, having some eight hundred women and children in +their charge, were defending a weak position against thousands of the +enemy, provided with artillery. + +When after riding thirty miles, the party stopped at daybreak at a ruined +temple standing in its grove at a distance from the main road, Major +Warrener called his officers into council, to determine what was the best +course to adopt under the circumstances. Should they dash through the +lines of the besiegers of Cawnpore, or should they make for Agra, or +endeavor to join the force which was being collected at Allahabad to march +to their relief? + +Finally, and very reluctantly, the latter course was decided upon. It was +agreed--and the truth of their conclusion was proved by the fact that +throughout the mutiny there was no single instance of the rebels, however +numerous, carrying a position held by any body of Englishmen--that Sir +Hugh Wheeler and his force could probably hold the intrenchments against +any assault that the enemy could make, and that if forced to surrender it +would probably be from want of supplies. In that case the arrival of a +hundred men would be a source of weakness rather than of strength. The +reinforcement would not be of sufficient strength to enable the garrison, +incumbered as it was with women and children, to cut its way out, while +there would be a hundred more mouths to fill. It was therefore resolved to +change their course, to avoid Cawnpore, and to make direct for Allahabad, +with the news of the urgent strait in which Sir Hugh Wheeler was placed, +and of the necessity for an instant advance to his relief. + +Cawnpore was now but forty miles away, and Lucknow was about the same +distance, but in a different direction; and as they stretched themselves +on the ground and prepared for sleep, they could distinctly hear the dull, +faint sounds that told of a heavy artillery fire. At which of the +stations, or if at both, the firing was going on, they could not tell; but +in fact it was at Cawnpore, as this was the 25th of June, and the siege of +the Lucknow Residency did not begin in earnest until the 30th of that +month. + +The course had now to be decided upon, and maps were consulted, and it was +determined to cross the river at Sirapore. It was agreed, too, that they +should, at the first village they passed through that evening, question +the inhabitants as to the bodies of rebels moving about, and find out +whether any large number were stationed at any of the bridges. + +At nine o'clock in the evening they were again in the saddle, and an hour +later halted at a village. There several of the men were examined +separately, and their stories agreed that there were no large bodies of +Sepoys on the line by which they proposed to travel, but that most of the +talookdars were preparing to march to Lucknow and Cawnpore, when the +British were destroyed. Having thus learned that the bridge by which they +intended to cross was open to them, the troop again proceeded on their +way, leaving the village lost in astonishment as to where this body of +British horse could have come from. + +Upon this night's ride Ned and Dick Warrener were on rearguard--that is to +say, they rode together some two hundred yards behind the rest of the +squadron. + +An hour after leaving the village, as they were passing through a thick +grove of trees some figures rose as from the ground. Ned was knocked off +his horse by a blow with the butt-end of a gun; and Dick, before he had +time to shout or make a movement in his defense, was dragged from his +horse, his head wrapped in a thick cloth, and his arms bound. Then he +could feel himself lifted up and rapidly carried off. After a time he was +put on his legs and the covering of his head removed. He found Ned beside +him; and a word of congratulation that both were alive was exchanged. Then +a rope was placed round each of their necks, and surrounded by their +captors, two of whom rode their horses, they were started at a run, with +admonitions from those around them that any attempt to escape or to shout +would be punished with instant death. + +For full two hours they were hurried along, and then the party halted at +the edge of a thick jungle, lighted a fire, and began to cook. The +prisoners were allowed to sit down with their captors. These were +matchlock-men, on their way to join the forces besieging the Residency at +Cawnpore, toward which town they had been making their way, as the boom of +the guns sounded sharper and clearer every mile that they traveled. Ned +gathered from the talk that their capture was the effect of pure accident. +The party had sat down in the wood to eat, when they heard a troop of +horsemen passing. A word or two spoken in English as the leaders came +along sufficed to show the nationality of the troop, and the band lay +quiet in the bushes until, as they supposed, all had passed. They had +risen to leave when the two last horsemen came in view, and these they +determined to capture and carry off, if possible, hoping to get a +considerable reward from Nan a Sahib on their arrival at Cawnpore. + +Nana Sahib's name had not as yet that terrible history attached to it +which rendered it execrated wherever the English tongue is spoken; but the +boys had heard that after pretending to be the friend of the whites, he +was now leading the assault against them, and that he was therefore a +traitor, and fighting as it were with a rope round his neck. At the hands +of such a man they had no mercy to expect. + +"It is of no use trying to make a bolt, Ned?" + +"Not the least in the world. The two fellows next to us are appointed to +watch us. Don't you see they are sitting with their guns across their +knees? We should be shot down in a moment." + +There was a debate among the band whether to push on to Cawnpore at once; +but they had already made a long day's journey, and moreover thought that +they could create a greater effect by arriving with their prisoners by +daylight. The fire was made up, and the men wrapped themselves in their +cloths--the native of India almost invariably sleeps with his head +covered, and looking more like a corpse than a living being. Anxiously the +boys watched in hopes that their guards would follow the example. They +showed, however, no signs of doing so, but sat talking over the +approaching destruction of the English rule and of the restoration of the +Mohammedan power. + +Two hours passed; the fire burned low, and the boys, in spite of the +danger of their position, were just dropping off to sleep, when there was +a mighty roar--a rush of some great body passing over them--a scream of +one of the natives--a yell of terror from the rest. A tiger stood with one +of the guards in his mouth, growling fiercely, and giving him an +occasional shake, as a cat would shake a mouse, while one of his paws held +down the prostrate figure of the other. + +There was a wild stampede--men tumbled over and over each other in their +efforts to escape from the terrible presence, and then, getting to their +feet, started off at full speed. For a moment the boys had lain paralyzed +with the sudden advent of the terrible man-eater, and then had, like the +rest, darted away. + +"To the jungle!" Ned exclaimed; and in an instant they had plunged into +the undergrowth, and were forcing their way at full speed through it. Man- +eating tigers are rarely found in pairs, and there was little fear that +another was lurking in the wood; and even had such been the case, they +would have preferred death in that form to being murdered in cold blood by +the enemy. Presently they struck on a track leading through the wood, and +followed it, until in five minutes they emerged at the other side. As they +did so they heard the report of firearms in the direction of their last +halting-place, and guessed that the peasants were firing at hazard, in +hopes of frightening the tiger into dropping his prey. As to their own +flight, it was probable that so far they had been unthought of. The first +object of the fugitives was to get as far as possible from their late +captors, who would at daybreak be sure to organize a regular hunt for +them, and accordingly they ran straight ahead until in three-quarters of +an hour they came into a wide road. Then, exhausted with their exertions, +they threw themselves down, and panted for breath. + +Dick was the first to speak. "What on earth are we to do now, Ned? These +uniforms will betray us to the first person we meet, and we have no means +of disguise." + +"We must get as far away as we can before daylight, Dick, and then hide +up. Sooner or later we must throw ourselves on the hospitality of some +one, and take our chance. This is evidently the main road to Cawnpore, +and, judging from the guns, we cannot be more than ten or twelve miles +away. It will not do to go back along this road, for the fellows we have +got away from may strike it below us and follow it up. Let us go forward +along it till we meet a side road, and take that." + +Ten minutes' walking brought them to a point where a side road came in, +and, taking this, they walked steadily on. They passed two or three +villages, which the moonlight enabled them to see before they reached +them; these they avoided by a detour, as the dogs would be sure to arouse +the inhabitants, and it was only in a solitary abode that they had a +chance of being sheltered. Toward morning they saw ahead a building of +considerable size, evidently the abode of a person of consequence. It was +not fortified; but behind it was a large inclosure, with high walls. + +"I vote we climb over that wall, Ned; there are several trees growing +close up to it. If they hunt the country round for us they will never look +inside there; and I expect that there is a garden, and we are sure to find +a hiding-place. Then, if the owner comes out, we can, if he looks a decent +chap, throw ourselves on his hands." + +"I think that a good idea, Dick; the sooner we carry it out the better, +for in another half-hour day will be breaking." + +[Illustration: A TIGER STOOD, WITH ONE OF THE GUARDS IN HIS MOUTH, +GROWLING FIERCELY.] + +They made a detour round to the back of the building, and after some +search found a tree growing close enough to the wall to assist them. This +they climbed, got along a branch which extended over the top of the wall, +and thence dropped into the garden. Here there were pavilions and +fountains, and well-kept walks, with great clumps of bushes and flowering +shrubs well calculated for concealment. Into one of these they crept, and +were soon fast asleep. + +It was late in the afternoon when they awoke, roused by the sound of +laughter, and of the chatter of many voices. + +"Good gracious!" Ned exclaimed; "we have got into the women's garden." + +In another minute a group of women came in sight. The principal figure was +a young woman of some twenty-two or twenty-three, and with a red wafer- +like patch on her forehead, very richly dressed. + +"She is a Hindoo," Ned whispered; "what luck!" + +There are indeed very few Hindoos in Oude, and the Mohammedan being the +dominant race, a Hindoo would naturally feel far more favorably inclined +toward a British fugitive than a Mohammedan would be likely to do, as the +triumph of the rebellion could to them simply mean a restoration, of +Mohammedan supremacy in place of the far more tolerant British rule. + +Next to the ranee walked an old woman, who had probably been her nurse, +and was now her confidante and adviser. The rest were young women, clearly +dependants. + +"And so, Ahrab, we must give up our garden, and go into Cawnpore; and in +such weather too!" + +"It must be so indeed," the elder woman said. "These Mohammedans doubt us, +and so insist on your highness showing your devotion to the cause by +taking up your residence in Cawnpore, and sending in all your retainers to +join in the attack on the English." + +The ranee looked sad. + +"They say there are hundreds of women and little children there," she +said, "and that the English who are defending them are few." + +"It is so," Ahrab said. "But they are brave. The men of the Nana, and the +old regiments, are fifty to one against them, and the cannon fire night +and day, and yet they do not give way a foot." + +"They are men, the English sahibs." + +While they were speaking the two chief personages of the party had taken +their seats in a pavilion close to the spot where the young Warreners were +hidden. + +Ned translated the purport of the talk to Dick, and both agreed that the +way of safety had opened to them. + +Seeing that their mistress was not in the humor for laughter and mirth, +and would rather talk quietly with her chief friend and adviser, the +attendants gradually left them, and gathered in a distant part of the +garden. + +Then Ned and Dick crept out of their hiding-place, and appeared suddenly +at the entrance to the pavilion, where they fell on one knee, in an +attitude of supplication, and Ned said: + +"Oh, gracious lady, have pity upon two fugitives!" + +The ranee and her counselor rose to their feet with a little scream, and +hastily covered their heads. + +"Have pity, lady," Ned went on earnestly; "we are alone and friendless; +oh, do not give us up to our enemies." + +"How did you get here?" asked the elder woman. + +"We climbed the wall," Ned said. "We knew not that this garden was the +ladies' garden, or we might not have invaded it; now we bless Providence +that has brought us to the feet of so kind and lovely a lady." + +The ranee laughed lightly behind her veil. + +"They are mere boys, Ahrab." + +"Yes, your highness, but it would be just as dangerous for you to shelter +boys as men. And what will you do, as you have to go to Cawnpore to- +morrow?" + +"Oh, you can manage somehow, Ahrab--you are so clever," the ranee said +coaxingly; "and I could not give them up to be killed: I should never feel +happy afterward." + +"May Heaven bless you, lady!" Ned said earnestly; "and your kind action +may not go unrewarded even here. Soon, very soon, an English army will be +at Cawnpore to punish the rebels, and then it will be well with those who +have succored British fugitives." + +"Do you say an English army will come soon?" Ahrab said doubtfully. "Men +say the English Raj is gone forever." + +"It is not true," Ned said. "England has not begun to put out her strength +yet. She can send tens of thousands of soldiers, and the great chiefs of +the Punjab have all declared for her. Already Delhi is besieged, and an +army is gathering at Allahabad to march hither. It may be quickly; it may +be slowly; but in the end the English rule will be restored, her enemies +will be destroyed, and her friends rewarded. But I know," he went on, +turning to the ranee, "that it needs not a thought of this to influence +you, and that in your kind heart compassion alone will suffice to secure +us your protection." + +The ranee laughed again. + +"You are only a boy," she said, "but you have learned to flatter. Now tell +us how you got here." + +"Your highness," Ahrab interrupted, "I had better send all the others in, +for they might surprise us. Let these young sahibs hide themselves again; +then we will go in, and I will call in your attendants. Later, when it is +dusk, you will plead heat, and come out here with me again, and then I can +bring some robes to disguise the sahibs; that is, if your highness has +resolved to aid them." + +"I think I have resolved that, Ahrab," the ranee said. "You have heard, +young sahibs; retire now, and hide. When the sun has set we will be here +again." + +With deep assurance of gratitude from Ned, the lads again took refuge in +the shrubs, delighted with the result of their interview. + +"I do hope that the old one will bring us something to eat, Ned. I am as +hungry as a hunter! That ranee's a brick, isn't she?" + +Two hours later a step was heard coming down the garden, and a woman came +and lit some lamps in the pavilion, and again retired. Then in another ten +minutes the ranee and her confidante made their appearance. The former +took her seat on the couch in the pavilion, the latter remained outside +the circle of light, and clapped her hands softly. In a minute the boys +stood before her. She held out a basket of provisions, and a bundle of +clothes. + +"Put these wraps on over your uniforms," she said; "then if we should be +surprised, no one will be any the wiser." + +The boys retired, hastily ate some food, then wrapped themselves in the +long folds of cotton which form the principal garment of native women of +the lower class, and went forward to the pavilion. + +The ranee laughed outright. + +"How clumsy you are!" she said. "Ahrab, do arrange them a little more like +women." + +Ahrab adjusted their robes, and brought one end over their heads, so that +it could, if necessary, be pulled over the face at a moment's notice. + +The ranee then motioned to them to sit down upon two cushions near her; +and saying to Ahrab, "It is very hot, and they are only boys," removed the +veil from her face. "You make very pretty girls, only you are too white," +she said. + +"Lady, if we had some dye we could pass as natives, I think," Ned said; +"we have done so before this, since the troubles began." + +"Tell me all about it," the ranee said. "I want to know who you are, and +how you came here as if you had dropped from the skies." + +Ned related their adventures since leaving Delhi, and then the ranee +insisted upon an account of their previous masquerading as natives. + +"How brave you English boys are," she said. "No wonder your men have +conquered India. Now, Ahrab, tell these young sahibs what we propose." + +"We dare not leave you here," Ahrab said. "You would have to be fed, and +we must trust many people. We go to Cawnpore to-morrow, and you must go +with us. My son has a garden here; we can trust him, and he will bring a +bullock-cart with him to-morrow morning. In this will be placed some +boxes, and he will start. You must wait a little way off, and when you see +him you will know him, because he will tie a piece of red cloth to the +horns of the bullock; you will come up and get in. He will ask no +questions, but will drive you to the ranee's. I will open the door to you +and take you up to a little room where you will not be disturbed. We shall +all start first. You cannot go with us, because the other women will +wonder who you are. Here is some stuff to dye your faces and hands. I will +let you out by a private door. You will see a wood five minutes along the +road. You must stop there to-night, and do not come out till you see the +ranee and her party pass. There is a little hut, which is empty, in the +wood, where you can sleep without fear of disturbance. The ranee is sorry +to turn you out to-night, but we start at daybreak, and I should have no +opportunity of slipping away and letting you out." + +Everything being now arranged, the ranee rose. Ned reiterating the +expression of the gratitude of his brother and himself, the ranee +coquettishly held out a little hand whose size and shape an Englishwoman +might have envied; and the boys kissed it--Ned respectfully, Dick with a +heartiness which made her laugh and draw it away. + +"You are a darling," Dick said in English, with the native impudence of a +midshipman, "and I wish I knew enough of your lingo to tell you." + +"What does he say?" she asked of Ned. + +"He is a sailor," Ned said; "and sailors say things we on shore would not +venture to say. My brother says you are the flower of his heart." + +"Your brother is an impudent boy," the ranee said, laughing, "and I have a +good mind to hand him over to the Nana. Now good-by! Ahrab will let you +out." + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +TREACHERY. + + +Of all the names connected with the Indian mutiny, Cawnpore stands out +conspicuous for its dark record of treachery, massacre, and bloodshed; and +its name will, so long as the English language continues, be regarded as +the darkest in the annals of our nation. Cawnpore is situated on the +Ganges, one hundred and twenty-three miles northwest of Allahabad, and was +at the time of our story a large straggling town, extending nearly five +miles along the river. It stands on a sandy plain, intensely hot and dusty +in summer, and possesses no fort or other building such as proved the +safety of the Europeans in Agra and Allahabad. The force stationed there +at the first outbreak of the mutiny consisted of the First, Fifty-third, +and Fifty-sixth Native Regiments, the Second Regiment of Bengal Cavalry, +and about fifty European invalid artillerymen. When the news of the revolt +at Meerut reached Cawnpore, and it was but too probable that the mutiny +would spread to all the native regiments throughout the country, Sir Hugh +Wheeler, who was in command, at once set to work to prepare a fortified +position, in which to retire with the European residents in case of +necessity. To this end he connected with breastworks a large unfinished +building intended as a military hospital, with the church and some other +buildings, all standing near the center of the grand parade, and +surrounded the whole with an intrenchment. Within these lines he collected +ammunition, stores and provisions for a month's consumption for a thousand +persons, and having thus, as he hoped, prepared for the worst, he awaited +the event. + +Although there was much uneasiness and disquietude, things went on +tolerably well up to the middle of May. Then Sir Hugh Wheeler sent to +Lucknow, forty miles distant, to ask for a company of white troops, to +enable him to disarm the Sepoys; and he also asked aid of Nana Sahib, +Rajah of Bithoor, who was looked upon as a stanch friend of the English. +On the 22d of May fifty-five Europeans of the Thirty-second Regiment, and +two hundred and forty native troopers of the Oude irregular cavalry, +arrived from Lucknow, and two guns and three hundred men were sent in by +the Rajah of Bithoor. + +Nana Sahib was at this time a man of thirty-two years of age, having been +born in the year 1825. He was the son of poor parents, and had at the age +of two years and a half been adopted by the Peishwa, who had no children +of his own. In India adoption is very common, and an adopted son has all +the legal rights of a legitimate offspring. The Peishwa, who was at one +time a powerful prince, was dethroned by us for having on several +occasions joined other princes in waging war against us, but was honorably +treated, and an annuity of eighty thousand pounds a year was assigned to +him and his heirs. In 1851 the Peishwa died, leaving Nana Dhoondu Pant, +for that was the Nana's full name, his heir and successor. The Company +refused to continue the grant to Nana Sahib, and in so doing acted in a +manner at once impolitic and unjust. It was unjust, because they had +allowed the Peishwa and Nana Sahib, up to the death of the former, to +suppose that the Indian law of adoption would be recognized here as in all +other cases; it was impolitic, because as the greater portion of the +Indian princes had adopted heirs, these were all alarmed at the refusal to +recognize the Nana, and felt that a similar blow might be dealt to them. + +Thus, at this critical period of our history, the minds of the great +Indian princes were all alienated from us, by what was in their eyes at +once a breach of a solemn engagement, and a menace to every reigning +house. Nana Sahib, however, evinced no hostility to the English rule. He +had inherited the private fortune of the Peishwa, and lived in great state +at Bithoor. He affected greatly the society of the British residents at +Cawnpore, was profuse in his hospitality, and was regarded as a jovial +fellow and a stanch friend of the English. When the mutiny broke out, it +proved that he was only biding his time. Nana Sahib was described by an +officer who knew him four years before the mutiny, as then looking at +least forty years old and very fat. "His face is round, his eyes very +wild, brilliant and restless. His complexion, as is the case with most +native gentlemen, is scarcely darker than that of a dark Spaniard, and his +expression is, on the whole, of a jovial, and indeed, somewhat rollicking +character." In reality, this rollicking native gentleman was a human +tiger. + +On the very night that the men of the Thirty-second came in from Oude, +there was an alarm of a rising, and the ladies and children of the station +took refuge in the fortified post prepared for them; and from that time +the sufferings of the residents commenced, although it was not for a +fortnight afterward that the mutiny took place; for the overcrowding and +the intense heat at once began to affect the health of those huddled +together in ill-ventilated rooms, and deprived of all the luxuries which +alone make existence endurable to white people in Indian cities on the +plains during the heats of summer. Scarce a day passed without news of +risings at other stations taking place, and with the receipt of each item +of intelligence the insolence displayed by the Sepoys increased. + +A few English troops arrived from Allahabad and at midnight upon the 4th +of June, when the natives broke into revolt, there were in the +intrenchments of Cawnpore eighty-three officers of various regiments, +sixty men of the Eighty-fourth Regiment, and seventy of the Thirty-second, +fifteen of the First Madras Fusiliers, and a few invalid gunners; the +whole defensive force consisting of about two hundred and forty men, and +six guns. There were under their charge a large number of ladies and +children, the wives and families of the officers and civilians at the +station, sixty-four women and seventy-six children belonging to the +soldiers, with a few native servants who remained faithful. The total +number of women, children, and non-effectives amounted to about eight +hundred and seventy persons. + +During the night of the 4th of June the whole of the native troops rose, +set fire to all the European residences outside the intrenchments, and +marched to Nawabgunge, a place four miles away. A message was sent by them +to Nana Sahib, to the effect that they were marching to Delhi, and +inviting him to assume the command. This he at once assented to, and +arrived at Nawabgunge a few hours later, with six hundred troops and four +guns; and his first act was to divide the contents of the English treasury +there, which had been guarded by his own troops, among the mutineers. + +Having destroyed the European buildings, the force marched to Kulleanpore, +on its way to Delhi; but on its reaching this place the same evening, Nana +Sahib called together the native officers, and advised them to return to +Cawnpore and kill all the Europeans there. Then they would be thought much +of when they arrived at Delhi. The proposal was accepted with acclamation, +and during the night the rebel army marched back to Cawnpore, which they +invested the next morning; the last message from Sir Hugh Wheeler came +through on that day, fighting having begun at half-past ten in the +morning. + +The first proceeding of the mutineers was to take possession of the native +town of Cawnpore, where the houses of the peaceable and wealthy +inhabitants were at once broken open and plundered, and many respectable +natives slaughtered. + +The bombardment of the British position began on the 6th, and continued +with daily increasing fury. Every attempt to carry the place by storm was +repelled, but the sufferings of the besieged were frightful. There was but +one well, in the middle of the intrenchments, and upon this by night and +by day the enemy concentrated their fire, so that it might be said that +every bucket of water cost a man's life. After four or five days of +incessant bombardment, the enemy took to firing red-hot shot, and on the +13th the barracks were set on fire, and, a strong wind blowing, the fire +spread so rapidly that upward of fifty sick and wounded were burned. The +other buildings were so riddled with shot and shell that they afforded +scarcely any shelter. Many of the besieged made holes in the ground or +under the banks of the intrenchments; but the deaths from sunstroke and +fever were even more numerous than those caused by the murderous and +incessant fire. + +In the city a reign of terror prevailed. All the native Christians were +massacred, with their wives and families; and every white prisoner brought +in--and they were many--man, woman, or child, was taken before the Nana, +and murdered by his orders. + +Day by day the sufferings of the garrison in the intrenchments became +greater, and the mortality among the woman and children was terrible. +Every day saw the army of the Nana increasing, by the arrival of mutineers +from other quarters, until it reached a total of over twelve thousand men, +while the fighting force of the garrison had greatly decreased; yet the +handful of Englishmen repulsed every effort of the great host of +assailants to carry the fragile line of intrenchments. + +When Ned and Dick Warrener, having carried out the instructions given by +the ranee, arrived next morning at her house at Cawnpore, Ahrab at once +led them to a small apartment. + +"I have much news to tell you. The fighting is over here. The Nana sent in +a messenger to the English sahibs, to say that if they would give up the +place, with the guns and treasure, he would grant a free passage for all; +and the Nana and his Hindoo officers have sworn the sacred oath of our +religion, and the Mohammedans have sworn on the Koran, that these +conditions shall be observed. Boats are to be provided for them all. They +leave to-morrow at dawn. Her highness the ranee will shelter you here if +you like to stay; but if you wish it you can go at daybreak and join your +countrymen." + +With many thanks for the ranee's offer, the boys at once decided to join +their countrymen; and accordingly next morning after a kind farewell from +their protectress, they started before daybreak under charge of their +driver of the day before, and, still in their disguises of native women, +made their way to a point on the line of route outside the town. There +were but few people here, and, just as day broke the head of the sad +procession came along. The women and children, the sick and wounded--among +the latter Sir H. Wheeler, the gallant commander of the garrison--were in +wagons provided by the Nana; the remnant of the fighting men marched +afterward. Hastily dropping their women's robes, the boys slipped in among +the troops, unnoticed by any of the guards of Nana's troops who were +escorting the procession. + +A few words explained to their surprised compatriots that they were +fugitives who had been in shelter in the town, and many a word of welcome +was muttered, and furtive handshakes given. In return the boys were able +to give the news of the arrival of the British before Delhi, and the +commencement of the siege, all of which was new to the garrison, who had +been for twenty-two days without a word from the outer world. At last the +column reached the ghat, or landing-place, fixed upon for their +embarkation. + +Here seventeen or eighteen boats were collected. The way down to the river +was steep, for the bank of the Ganges is here rather high, and covered +with thick jungle. At the top of the ghat is a small Hindoo temple. The +wounded and sick were carried down the bank and placed in the boats, the +ladies and children took their places, the officers and men then followed. +When all was ready, the Nana's officer suddenly called the native boatmen +to come ashore to receive their wages for the passage down to Benares. + +Then, as if by magic, from out the thick jungle on both sides of the path +to the ghat, hundreds of Sepoys rushed; while at the same moment lines of +bushes fell to the ground, and showed a number of cannon, all placed in +position. In a moment a tremendous fire was opened upon the unhappy +fugitives. Numbers of them were at once killed in the boats; some jumped +into the water, and, pushing the boats afloat, made for the opposite +shore; while others leaped into the river on the deeper side and tried to +escape by swimming. But upon the other shore were enemies as bloodthirsty +as those they left behind, for there the Sepoys of the Seventeenth Native +Regiment, who had mutinied at Azimghur, were posted, and these cut off the +retreat of the fugitives there. Then all the boats, with the exception of +two or three which had drifted down stream, followed by bands of Sepoys +with cannon on either bank, were brought back to the starting-place, which +is known, and will be known through all time, as "the slaughter ghat." +There all the men still alive were taken on shore and shot; while the +women and children, many of them bleeding from wounds, were taken off to a +house formerly belonging to the medical department of the European troops, +called the Subada Khotee. + +Dick and Ned Warrener were in one of the boats which were still ashore +when the treacherous Sepoys burst from their hiding-place. "The +scoundrels!" burst from Ned indignantly; while Dick, seeing at a glance +the hopelessness of their position, grasped his brother's arm. + +"We must swim for it, Ned, Take a long dive, and go under again the moment +you have got breath." + +Without an instant's delay the brothers leaped into the water, as dozens +of others were doing; and although each time their heads came up for an +instant the bullets splashed around them, they kept on untouched until +they reached the center of the stream. They were still within musket +range, but the distance was sufficient to render them pretty safe except +against an accidental shot. They looked back and saw the Sepoys had many +of them entered the river up to their shoulders, to shoot the swimmers: +others on horseback had ridden far out, and were cutting down those who, +unable to swim far, made again toward shallow water; while cannon and +muskets still poured in their fire against the helpless crowds in the +boats. + +"Look, Ned, it is of no use making for the other shore," Dick said; "there +is another body of the wretches there; we must simply float down the +stream in the middle. If we keep on our backs, and sink as low as we can, +so as to show only our noses and mouths above water, they may fire for a +week without hitting us. There, give me your hand, so that we may float +together; I will look up from time to time to see that we are floating +pretty fairly in the middle, I will do it quickly, so as not to be seen, +for if we lie still on our backs they won't watch us after a time, but +will take us for two drifting dead bodies. Now, old boy!" So saying, the +lads turned on their backs, and occasionally giving a quiet stroke with +their legs, or paddling with their hands, drifted down stream, showing so +little of their faces above water that they could scarcely have been seen +from the shore. + +Both the lads were good swimmers, but Dick was perfectly at home in the +water; and Ned, knowing his own inferiority in this respect, left himself +entirely in his brother's hands. Soon Dick, in his quick glances to note +their position, perceived that three boats alone of all the number had got +fairly away down stream--that their occupants had got out oars and were +quickly coming up to the swimmers; but he saw, too, that on both banks the +Sepoy guns kept abreast of them, and that a fire of artillery and musketry +was maintained. For a moment he thought of being taken on board; but their +chance of escaping the fire centered upon them seemed hopeless, and he +judged it was better to keep on in the water. He accordingly paddled +himself out of the center of the stream, so as to give the boats a wide +berth, trusting that the attention of the enemy would be so much directed +at the boats that the floating bodies would be unnoticed. As to keeping +afloat for any time, he had no fear whatever. The water of Indian rivers +in the heat of summer is so warm that swimmers can remain in them for many +hours without any feeling of chill or discomfort. + +An hour later Dick lifted his head and looked forward. The firing was two +miles ahead now. But one boat of the three still floated, and Dick +congratulated himself that he had decided not to join his fate to that of +those on board. Hour after hour passed, and still the boys floated on, +until at last the sun went down, dusk came and went, and when all was dark +they turned on their faces and swam quietly down the stream. For many +hours, alternately swimming and floating, they kept their course down the +river, until toward morning they gently paddled ashore, crept into the +thick jungle of the bank, and fell asleep almost instantly. + +It was dusk again before they awoke. They were desperately hungry, but +they agreed to spend one more night in the river before searching for +food, so as to put as much distance as possible between themselves and +Cawnpore. They had been twenty hours in the water before, and allowing two +miles an hour for the current, and something for their swimming, they +calculated that Cawnpore must be forty-six or forty-seven miles behind. +Eight hours' more steady swimming added twenty to this, and they landed +again with a hope that Nana Sahib's ferocious bands must have been left +behind, and that they had now only the ordinary danger of travel in such +times, through a hostile country, to face. + +It yet wanted an hour or so of daybreak, and they struck off at right +angles to the river, and walked till it became light, when they entered a +small wood near to which was a hut. Watching this closely, they saw only +an old man come out, and at once made to it, and asked him for food and +shelter. Recovered from his first surprise, he received them kindly, and +gave them the best which his hut, in which he lived alone with his wife, +afforded. A meal of cakes and parched grain greatly revived them, and, +after a long sleep, they started again at nightfall, with enough food for +the next two days' supply. That they were not ahead of all their foes was +certain, from the fact that the peasant said that he had heard firing on +the river bank on the previous day. They knew by this also that the one +boat ahead of them had at any rate escaped its perils of the first day. + +For two more nights they walked, passing one day in a thick wood, the +other in a ruined temple, their hopes rising; for, as they knew, the +further they got from Cawnpore the loss likely the country people were to +be hostile. + +The third morning they again entered a hut to ask for food. + +"I will give you food," the peasant said, "but you had better go to the +rajah's, his house is over there, half an hour's walk. He has four +Englishmen there who came from the river, and he is the friend of the +Feringhees." + +Delighted at the news, the boys went forward. As they entered the +courtyard of the house they were greeted with a hearty salutation in +English, and their hands were clasped a moment afterward by Lieutenant +Delafosse, an officer who had greatly distinguished himself in the defense +of Cawnpore, and was one of the few survivors. He took them in to the +rajah, who received them most kindly, and after they had been fed +Lieutenant Delafosse told them how he and his three comrades had escaped. + +The boat had, although many on board had been hit by rifle balls, escaped +the first day. She was crowded, and very low in the water, having on board +most of those who had been in the two boats sunk by the enemy. The next +day they were again fired at without effect by artillery, infantry +accompanying the boat all day, and keeping up an incessant fire. On the +third day the boat was no longer serviceable, and grounded on a sand-bank. +Then the enemy's infantry fired so heavily that those still able to carry +arms, fourteen in number, made for the shore and attacked their foes. +These fell back, and the handful of Englishmen followed them. Great +numbers of the enemy now came up, and the English took refuge in a little +temple; here they defended themselves till the enemy piled bushes at the +entrance, and set them on fire. Then the English burst through the flames, +and made again for the river. Seven out of the twelve who got through the +fire reached the river, but of these two were shot before they had swum +far. Three miles lower down, one of the survivors, an artilleryman, +swimming on his back, went too near the bank and was killed. Six miles +lower down the firing ceased, and soon afterward the four survivors were +hailed by natives, who shouted to them to come ashore, as their master, +the rajah, was friendly to the English. They did so, and were most kindly +received by him. + +An abundant meal and another good sleep did wonders for the young +Warreners, and the next morning they determined to set out to join their +countrymen at Allahabad, where they expected to find their father and his +troops. The rajah and their fellow-countrymen endeavored in vain to +dissuade them, but the former, finding that they were determined, gave +them dresses as native women, furnished them with a guide, and sent them +across the river in a boat--for they were on the Oude side--with a message +to a zemindar there to help them forward. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +RETRIBUTION BEGINS. + + +The zemindar to whom the Warreners' guide conducted them, after crossing +the Ganges, received them kindly, and told them that the safest way would +be for them to go on in a hackery, or native cart, and placed one at once +at their disposal, with a trusty man as a driver, and another to accompany +them in the hackery. He told them that British troops were, it was said, +arriving fast at Allahabad, and that it was even reported that an advance +had already taken place. Nana Sahib would, it was said, meet them at +Futtehpore, a place forty-eight miles from Cawnpore, and seventy-five from +Allahabad. As yet, however, none of his troops had reached Futtehpore, +which was fortunate, for the main road ran through that place, which was +but twenty miles from the point where they had crossed the Ganges; and +although they would keep by a road near the river, and so avoid the town, +the Nana's troops would be sure to be scouring the country. This news +decided them not to accept the zemindar's invitation to stay the night and +start the next morning early. It was still but little past noon, and they +might do many miles before darkness. + +Before they halted the party had made fifteen miles, and in passing +through a village learned the welcome news that a small English force had +advanced to Synee, some ten miles only beyond Futtehpore. This force had, +it was said, met with little resistance as yet, and the country people +were full of stories of the manner in which the Sepoys and others who had +been engaged with them were, as soon as captured, hung up in numbers. +Already, in the minds of the peasantry, the idea that the British would be +the final conquerors in the strife was gaining ground; and as the whole +country had suffered from the exactions and insolence of the triumphant +Sepoys, and life and property were no longer safe for a moment, the secret +sympathy of all those who had anything to lose was with the advancing +British force. + +The next day the party followed the road near the river all day, as they +feared to fall either into the hands of Sepoys retiring before the +English, or of those coming down from Cawnpore. They halted for the night +at a village whence a road ran direct to Synee, which was about eight +miles distant. The villagers repeated that the Sepoys had all fallen back, +and that there would be a great fight at Futtehpore. The English force was +small, but a large body were on their way up from Allahabad. + +The boys started at daybreak, and had proceeded about three miles when a +body of cavalry were seen rapidly approaching. + +The driver of the hackery put his head inside the leather curtain of the +vehicle. + +"English," he said. The boys looked out, and gave a shout of joy as they +saw the well-known uniforms; and, regardless of their women's robes. they +leaped out and ran to meet them. The advanced guard of the cavalry stopped +in surprise. + +"Halloo! what is up? who are you?" + +"Why, Dunlop, don't you know us?" the boys shouted. + +"The Warreners!" exclaimed Captain Dunlop, leaping from his horse and +seizing them by the hand. "My dear boys, this is joy." + +The men set up a cheer, which was caught up by the main body as they came +up, and in another minute the boys were in their father's arms. + +The young Warreners had been mourned as dead, for no one doubted that they +had been carried to Cawnpore, and had shared the fate of the garrison of +that place; and the joy of their father therefore was intense, while the +whole corps, with whom the boys were general favorites, were delighted. + +After the first rapturous greeting Major Warrener took off his cap +reverently, and said a few words of deep gratitude to God, the men all +baring their heads as he did so. Then Captain Kent said: + +"Shall I push on to the Ganges, major, with my troop? or perhaps your sons +can tell us what we are ordered to find out?" + +"What is it?" Ned asked. + +"Whether there are any bodies of troops pushing down by the river. It +would not do for them to get behind us, and threaten our communications." + +The boys were able to affirm that there was no body of mutineers near the +Ganges below Futtehpore, as they had just come down that way. + +"Then we can ride back at once," Major Warrener said. "Major Renaud was on +the point of marching when we started, and he will be glad to have us back +again. First, though, what have these natives done for you?" + +Ned in a few words explained that they came by the instruction of their +master, and had been with them for three days. + +The major made them a handsome present, and sent a message to the +zemindar, to the effect that his kindness would be reported to government; +and Dick scribbled a few words to Lieutenant Delafosse, with the news of +the British advance, and a kind message to the rajah. + +"Now, Dick, you jump up behind me," his father said. "Dunlop can take you, +Ned; and you can give us a short account of what has befallen you as we +ride back. We must get you a couple of horses of some kind or another at +Synee. Can't you cast off these women's clothes?" + +"We have got nothing to speak of underneath," Dick laughed; "we got rid of +our uniforms in the Ganges, and want a rig out from top to toe." + +"Well, we must see what we can do for you tonight. And now," he asked, as +they trotted along at the head of the column, amid the smiles of the men +at the appearance of their commanding officer carrying, as it seemed, a +native woman _en croupe_, "how did you escape, boys? We did not miss you +until we halted for half an hour at midnight. Then six of us rode back ten +miles, but could find no trace of you, and we gave you up as lost; so we +rode on till we met Major Renaud's force coming up, when we sent our +rescued friends on to Allahabad, and turned back with just a shadow of +hope that we might yet find you alive somewhere or other." + +Dick then told the story of the intervention of the tiger in their behalf, +and said that afterward an Indian lady had succored them, hinting that at +the end of the war it was probable that Ned would present his father with +a daughter-in-law. + +"That's all very well," Ned laughed. "If Dick had understood the language, +I should have been nowhere. You should have seen him kiss her hand." + +"Well, anyhow," Dick said, "she was a brick, father, and no mistake." + +By this time Synee was reached. In spite of Major Warrener's liberal +offers, no horses or even ponies were forthcoming, so completely had the +Sepoys stripped the country, most of the villages having been burned as +well as plundered by them. From the valises of the troop various articles +of clothing were contributed, which enabled the lads again to take their +places in the ranks, but riding as before _en croupe_. In two hours after +their arrival at Synee they were moving forward again at a trot, and in +four hours came up with Major Renaud's force, encamped for the day. + +They were glad to get in, for the rain, since they left Synee, had been +falling in sheets. The force was fortunately moving now along the grand +trunk road, a splendid piece of road-making, extending from Calcutta to +Peshawur, for already the country roads would have been almost impassable. + +"Do we halt here for the day?" Ned asked his father, as they drew rein in +the camp. + +"Yes, Dick, the enemy are in force at Futtehpore, which is only some +fourteen miles away. Havelock is coming up by double marches. He halted +last night fifteen miles the other side of Synee. To-day he will reach +Synee; will bivouac there for a few hours, and will march on here in the +night. We are to be under arms by the time he will arrive, and the whole +of us will push forward to Khaga, five miles this side of Futtehpore. So +Havelock's men will have marched twenty-four miles straight off, to say +nothing of the fifteen to-day. The troops could not do it, were it not +that every one is burning to get to Cawnpore, to avenge the murder of our +comrades and to rescue the women and children, if it be yet time." + +The boys were at once taken by their father to Major Renaud, who welcomed +them warmly. This officer had under his command a force of four hundred +British, and four hundred and twenty native troops, with two pieces of +cannon. + +After being introduced to Major Renaud the boys went to the tents allotted +to their corps, which were already pitched, and Major Warrener asked the +officers, and as many of the volunteers as his tent would hold, to listen +to the account of the massacre of Cawnpore, which was now for the first +time authentically told; for hitherto only native reports had come down +from the city. Great was the indignation and fury with which the tale of +black treachery and foul murder was heard; and when the story was told it +had to be repeated to the officers of the other corps in camp. + +The terrible tale soon spread through the camp; and men gnashed their +teeth in rage, and swore bitter oaths--which were terribly kept--to avenge +the deeds that had been committed. Uppermost of all, however, was the +anxiety about the women and children; for the boys had heard, when staying +at the friendly rajah's, that near one hundred and twenty of these +unfortunates--the survivors of the siege, and of the river attack--had +been shut up in a room in the Cawnpore lines. + +At three o'clock next morning--the 11th of July--the troops were under +arms, the tents struck, and all in readiness for an advance. Presently a +dull sound was heard; it grew louder, and the head of General Havelock's +column came up. + +There was a short halt while Major Renaud reported to the general the +state of affairs in front, as far as he knew them. He mentioned, too, that +two survivors of the Cawnpore massacre had that day come in, and that four +others were in shelter with a native rajah on the Oude side of the Ganges. +The general at once requested that the Warreners should be brought up to +him; and the lads were accordingly presented to the man whose name, +hitherto unknown outside military circles, was--in consequence of the +wonderful succession of battles and of victories, of which that date, the +12th of July, was to mark the first--to become a household word in +England. + +"The column had better move forward, Major Renaud; your division will +lead. If you will ride by me, gentlemen, you can tell me of this dreadful +business as we go." + +Fortunately there were several horses in Major Renaud's camp, which had +been taken from men of the enemy's cavalry who had been surprised in the +upward march, and two of them had been assigned to the boys, so that they +were able to feel once more as soldiers. + +On arriving at Khaga, an insignificant village, General Havelock said to +the lads: + +"Thank you very much for your information. You have behaved with great +coolness and courage, and Major Warrener, your father, has every reason to +be proud of you. I am short of aids-de-camp, and shall be glad if you will +act as my gallopers"--an honor which, it need hardly be said, the boys +joyfully accepted. + +The following was the total force under General Havelock's command when he +commenced the series of battles which were finally to lead him to Lucknow: +Seventy-six men of the Royal Artillery, three hundred and seventy-six of +the Madras Fusiliers, four hundred and thirty-five of the Sixty-fourth +Regiment, two hundred and eighty-four of the Seventy-eighth Highlanders +one hundred and ninety men of the Eighty-fourth Regiment, twenty-two men +of the Bengal Artillery. Total of British regular troops, thirteen hundred +and eighty-three, with eight guns. Besides these he had Warrener's Horse. +Of natives he had the Ferozepore Regiment (Sikhs), four hundred and forty- +eight strong, ninety-five men of the native irregular cavalry, who were +worse than useless, and eighteen mounted native police. + +The order for a halt was welcome indeed to the troops. Havelock's column +had marched twenty-four miles without resting or eating, and fires were +speedily lighted, and preparation made for breakfast. Major Tytler, +quartermaster-general to the force, had, on arriving at the halting-place, +taken twenty of Warrener's Horse, and had gone forward to reconnoiter. The +water was growing hot, and the tired soldiers as they lay on the ground, +pipes in mouths, were thinking that breakfast would soon be ready, when +there was an exclamation: + +"Here come the Horse! Something's up!" + +The reconnoitering party were seen galloping back at full speed, and a +minute or two later a large body of the enemy's cavalry in rapid pursuit +emerged from a tope on the edge of the plain. The bugles sounded to arms, +and the men grasped their fire-arms and fell in, but not without many a +muttered exclamation of disgust. + +"Confound them! they might have given us time for breakfast!" + +"They need not be in such a hurry; the day's long enough." + +"I thought I hated them fellows as bad as a chap could do; but I owe them +another now." + +A laugh was raised by a young officer saying cheerily to his men, +"Nevermind, lads, we'll return good for evil. They won't let us have +enough to eat, and we are going to give them more than they can digest." + +In a very short time a considerable force of the enemy's infantry +appeared, following the cavalry, and with them were some guns, which at +once opened on the British force. + +Hitherto General Havelock had made no move. He knew that his men urgently +needed rest and food. The sun had come out, and was blazing fiercely; and +it was of great importance that the troops should eat before undertaking +what could not but be a heavy morning's work; but the enemy, who believed +that they had only Major Renaud's weak force before them, pressed forward +so boldly that there was no refusing the challenge so offered. The order +was given to advance, and the men, with a hearty cheer, moved forward +against the enemy, whose force consisted of fifteen hundred Sepoys, +fifteen hundred Oude tribesmen, and five hundred rebel cavalry, with +twelve guns. Their position was a strong one, for on each side of the road +the plain was a swamp, and in many places was two and even more feet under +water. In front, on a rising ground, were some villages with gardens and +mango-groves, and behind this Futtehpore itself, with gardens with high +walls, and many houses of solid masonry. + +It may, however, be said that the fight was decided as soon as begun. The +British artillery silenced that of the enemy; the British rifles drove +their infantry before them. Warrener's Horse and the irregular cavalry +moved on the flank, the infantry marched straight the swamps, and while +some of the guns kept on the solid road, others had to be dragged and +pushed with immense labor through the morass. As the British advanced the +enemy fell back, abandoning gun after gun. The general of the Sepoy force +was on an elephant, on rising ground in the rear of his troops, and +Captain Maude, who commanded the artillery, by a well-aimed shot knocked +the elephant over, to the great delight of the gunners. After that the +rebels attempted no further resistance, and fled to Futtehpore. There they +prepared to make a stand in the houses and gardens; but our men, whose +blood was now thoroughly up, and who were disgusted at their failure to +get at their foe, went forward with a rush, and the enemy fled without +hesitation. + +The streets of Futtehpore were absolutely choked with the baggage train of +the defeated rebels, and the discovery of many articles of attire of +English ladies and children raised the fury of the troops to the highest +point. Pursuit of the enemy was, however, impossible. The troops were +utterly exhausted, and officers and men threw themselves down where-ever a +little shade could be found. At three o'clock the baggage came up, and by +the forethought of the commissariat officer in charge some camels laden +with rum and biscuit came up with it, so that the men were able to have a +biscuit and a little spirits and water, which revived them; for whatever +be the demerits of spirits upon ordinary occasions, on an emergency of +this kind it is a restorative of a very valuable kind. + +Singularly enough, in this battle, in which thirty-five hundred men were +defeated and twelve guns captured, not a single British soldier was +killed, the enemy never waiting until fairly within shot. Twelve soldiers, +however, fell and died from sunstroke during the fight. + +On the 13th the troops halted to rest. The guns taken from the enemy were +brought in, and the great baggage train captured in the town organized for +our own service. + +On the 14th the force again advanced along a road literally strewn with +arms, cartridges, chests of ammunition, shot, clothing, and tents, +abandoned in their flight by the insurgents. The most welcome find to the +army were forty barrels of English porter, part of the Sepoys' loot at one +of the scenes of mutiny. That night the force encamped at Kulleanpore, +twenty-seven miles from Cawnpore. + +"So far it has been easy work, except for the legs," Major Warrener said, +as he sat with his sons and his officers on the evening of the 13th; "but +it will be very different work now. These scoundrels are fighting with +ropes round their necks; they know that every Cawnpore Sepoy who falls +into our hands will have but a short shrift, and they can't help fighting. +Altogether, they have something like five times our force; and as they +have all been most carefully drilled and trained by ourselves, the +scoundrels ought to make a good fight of it." + +"I don't mind the fighting," Ned said, "so much as the heat; it is awful." + +"It is hot, Ned," Captain Dunlop said; "but at rate it is better for us +who sit on horseback than for the men who have to march, and carry a rifle +and ammunition." + +"Do you think we shall have fighting to-morrow, father?" Dick asked. + +"We are certain to do so. The pandies have been intrenching themselves +very strongly at Dong, which is five miles from here. But this is not the +worst part. We know they have placed two heavy guns on the other side of +the Pandoo Nuddee, which is a large stream three miles beyond Dong. These +guns will sweep not only the bridge, but the straight road for a mile +leading to it. The bridge, too, has, we know, been mined; and our only +chance is to go on with the mutineers, so as to give them no time to blow +it up." + +The work of the 14th, however, was less severe than was expected. The +enemy fought stoutly at the village, advancing beyond the inclosures to +meet our troops. Our superior rifle and artillery fire, however, drove +them back, and then they clung stubbornly to the village and inclosures, +our advance being retarded by the threatening attitude of large bodies of +the enemy's cavalry, who moved upon the flanks and menaced the baggage. +The force under Havelock being so weak in cavalry--for the native +irregulars had been disarmed and dismounted for their bad conduct--there +remained only Warrener's Horse, who were known in the force as the +"volunteers." These covered the baggage, and executed several brilliant +charges on parties of the enemy's cavalry who came too boldly forward; but +the artillery had to be brought from the front, and to open upon the heavy +masses of the enemy's cavalry, before they would fall back. Then the +column pressed forward again, captured Dong, with two guns placed there, +and drove the enemy out in headlong flight. + +Then the force moved forward to the capture of the Pandoo bridge. As the +artillery, who were at the head of the column, debouched from a wood into +the straight bit of road leading to the bridge two puffs of smoke burst +from a low ridge ahead, followed by the boom of heavy guns, and the +twenty-four pound shot, splendidly aimed, crashed in among the guns, +bullocks, and men. Again and again the enemy's guns were fired with equal +accuracy. Our light guns were at the distance no match for these twenty- +four pounders, and Captain Maude ordered two guns to advance straight +along the road until within easy practice distance, and two others to go +across the country to the right and left, so as to take the bridge, which +stood at the extremity of a projecting bend of the river, or, as it is +called in military parlance, a salient angle, in flank. + +The Madras Fusiliers, in skirmishing line, preceded the guns, and their +Enfield fire, as soon as they were within range, astonished the enemy. +Then the artillery opened with shrapnel, and nearly at the first round +silenced the enemy's guns by killing the majority of the gunners and +smashing the sponging rods. Then the infantry advanced at a charge, and +the enemy, who were massed to defend the bridge, at once lost heart and +fled. They tried to blow up the bridge, but in their haste they blundered +over it; and while the parapets were injured, the arches remained intact. + +After all this fighting, the British loss was but six killed and twenty- +three wounded--among the latter being that brave officer Major Renaud, +whose leg was broken by a musket shot while leading the Madras Fusiliers. + +Finding that the resistance was becoming more and more obstinate, General +Havelock sent off a horseman to Brigadier General Neil at Allahabad, +begging him to send up three hundred more British troops with all speed. +On receiving the message General Neil sent off two hundred and twenty- +seven men of the Eighty-fourth Regiment in bullock vans, with orders to do +twenty-five miles a day, which would take them to Cawnpore in less than +five days. He himself came on with the reinforcements, Allahabad being by +this time quiet and safe. + +At daybreak next morning the troops marched fourteen miles, halted, and +cooked their food; after which, at one o'clock, they prepared to attack +the enemy, who were, our spies told us, in a position extremely strong in +the front, but capable of being attacked by a flank movement. In the +burning heat of the sun, with men falling out fainting at every step, the +troops, under a heavy artillery fire of the enemy, turned off the road and +swept round to execute the flank movement as calmly and regularly as if on +parade. + +When they reached the points assigned to them for the attack they +advanced; and then, while the skirmishers and the artillery engaged the +enemy, who were strongly posted in the inclosures of a village, the main +body lay down. The enemy's guns were, however, too strongly posted to be +silenced, and the Seventy-eighth were ordered to take the position by +assault. The Highlanders moved forward in a steady line until within a +hundred yards of the village; then at the word "Charge!" they went at it +with a wild rush, delighted that at last they were to get hand to hand +with their foe. Not a shot was fired or a shout uttered as they threw +themselves upon the mutineers; the bayonet did its work silently and +thoroughly. + +A breach once made in the enemy's line, position after position was +carried--Highlanders, Sixty-fourth men, and Sikhs vieing with each other +in the ardor with which they charged the foe, the enemy everywhere +fighting stubbornly, though vainly. + +At last, at six in the evening, all opposition ceased, and the troops +marched into the old parade ground of Cawnpore, having performed a twenty- +two miles' march, and fought for five hours, beneath a sun of tremendous +power. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +DANGEROUS SERVICE. + + +On the morning of the 17th of July the troops rose with light hearts from +the ground where they had thrown themselves, utterly exhausted, after the +tremendous exertions of the previous day. Cawnpore was before them, and as +they did not anticipate any further resistance--for the whole of the +enemy's guns had fallen into their hands, and the Sepoys had fled in the +wildest confusion at the end of the day, after fighting with obstinacy and +determination as long as a shadow of hope of victory remained--they looked +forward to the joy of releasing from captivity the hapless women and +children who were known to have been confined in the house called the +Subada Khotee, since the massacre of their husbands and friends on the +river. + +Just after daybreak there was a dull, deep report, and a cloud of gray +smoke rose over the city. Nana Sahib had ordered the great magazine to be +blown up, and had fled for his life to Bithoor. Well might he be hopeless. +He had himself commanded at the battle of the preceding day, and had seen +eleven thousand of his countrymen, strongly posted, defeated by a thousand +Englishmen. What chance, then, could there be of final success? As for +himself, his life was a thousandfold forfeit; and even yet his enemies did +not know the measure of his atrocities. It was only when the head of the +British column arrived at the Subada Khotee that the awful truth became +known. The troops halted, surprised that no welcome greeted them. They +entered the courtyard; all was hushed and quiet, but fragments of dresses, +children's shoes, and other remembrances of British occupation, lay +scattered about. Awed and silent, the leading officers entered the house, +and, after a glance round, recoiled with faces white with horror. The +floor was deep in blood; the walls were sprinkled thickly with it. +Fragments of clothes, tresses of long hair, children's shoes with the feet +still in them--a thousand terrible and touching mementos of the butchery +which had taken place there met the eye. Horror-struck and sickened, the +officers returned into the courtyard, to find that another discovery had +been made, namely, that the great well near the house was choked to the +brim with the bodies of women and children. Not one had escaped. + +On the afternoon of the 15th, when the defeat at Futtehpore was known, the +Nana had given orders for a general massacre of his helpless prisoners. +There, in this ghastly well, were the remains, not only of those who had +so far survived the siege and first massacre of Cawnpore, but of some +seventy or eighty women and children, fugitives from Futteyghur. These +had, with their husbands, fathers and friends, a hundred and thirty in +all, reached Cawnpore in boats on the 12th of July. Here the boats had +been fired upon and forced to put to shore, when the men were, by the +Nairn's orders, all butchered, and the women and children sent to share +the fate of the prisoners of Cawnpore. + +Little wonder is it that the soldiers, who had struggled against heat and +fatigue and a host of foes to reach Cawnpore, broke clown and cried like +children at that terrible sight; that soldiers picked up the bloody +relics--a handkerchief, a lock of hair, a child's sock sprinkled with +blood--and kept them to steel their hearts to all thoughts of mercy; and +that, after this, they went into battle crying to each other: + +"Remember the ladies!" "Remember the babies!" "Think of Cawnpore!" +Henceforth, to the end of the war, no quarter was ever shown to a Sepoy. + +One of the first impulses of the Warreners, when the tents were pitched in +the old cantonments, and the troops were dismissed, was to ride with their +father to the house of the ranee. It was found to be abandoned-as, indeed, +was the greater part of the town--and an old servant, who alone remained, +said that two days previously the ranee had left for her country abode. +Major Warrener at once drew out a paper, saying that the owner of this +house had shown hospitality and kindness to English fugitives, and that it +was therefore to be preserved from all harm or plunder; and having +obtained the signature of the quartermaster-general in addition to his +own, he affixed the paper to the door of the dwelling. The next day he +rode out with his sons and twenty of his men to the house where the boys +had first been sheltered. The gates were opened at his summons by some +trembling retainers, who hastened to assure them that the ranee, their +mistress, was friendly to the English. + +"Will you tell her that there is no cause for alarm, but that we desire an +interview with her?" the major said, dismounting. + +In a minute the servant returned, and begged the major to follow him, +which he did, accompanied by his sons. They were shown into a grand +reception room, where the ranee, thickly veiled, was sitting on a couch, +surrounded by her attendants, Ahrab standing beside her. + +The ranee gave a little cry of pleasure on recognizing the boys, and Ahrab +instantly signed to the other attendants to retire. Then the ranee +unveiled, and the major, who had remained near the entrance until the +attendants had left, came forward, the boys kissing the hands that the +ranee held out to them. + +"I have mourned for you as dead," she said. "When the news of that +horrible treachery came, and I thought that I had let you go to death, my +heart turned to water." + +"This is our father, dear lady," Ned said; "he has come to thank you +himself for having saved and sheltered us." + +The interview lasted for half an hour; refreshment being served, Ned +recounted the particulars of their escape. Major Warrener, on leaving, +handed the ranee a protection order signed by the general, to show to any +British troops who might be passing, and told her that her name would be +sent in with the list of those who had acted kindly to British fugitives, +all of whom afterward received honors and rewards in the shape of the +lands of those who had joined the mutineers. Then, with many expressions +of good-will on both sides, the major and his sons took their leave, and, +joining the troops below, rode back to Cawnpore. + +For three days after his arrival at Cawnpore General Havelock rested his +troops, and occupied himself with restoring order in the town. Numbers of +Sepoys were found in hiding, and these were, as soon as identified, all +hung at once. On the third day Brigadier-General Neil arrived, with the +two hundred and twenty men of the Eighty-fourth, who had been hurried +forward-a most welcome reinforcement, for Havelock's force was sadly +weakened by loss in battle, sunstroke, and disease. On the 20th the army +marched against Bithoor, every heart beating at the thought of engaging +Nana Sahib, who, with five thousand men and a large number of cannon, had +made every preparation for the defense of his castle. At the approach of +the avenging force, however, his courage, and the courage of his troops, +alike gave way, and they fled without firing a shot, leaving behind them +guns, elephants, baggage, men, and horses, in great numbers. The magazine +was blown up, and the palace burned, and the force, with their captured +booty, returned to Cawnpore. + +During the advance to Cawnpore the zeal and bravery of the young Warreners +had not escaped the notice of the general, who had named them in his +official report as gentlemen volunteers who had greatly distinguished +themselves. On the return from Bithoor, on the evening of the 20th, he +turned to them as he dismounted, and said, "Will you come to my tent in +two hours' time?" + +"Young gentlemen," he said, when they presented themselves, and had at his +request seated themselves on two boxes which served as chairs, "in what I +am going to say to you, mind, I express no wish even of the slightest. I +simply state that I require two officers for a service of extreme danger. +I want to send a message into Lucknow. None of the officers of the English +regiments can speak the language with any fluency, and those of the Madras +Fusiliers speak the dialects of Southern India. Therefore it is among the +volunteers, who all belong to the northwest, that I must look. I have no +doubt that there are many of them who would undertake the service, and +whose knowledge of the language would be nearly perfect, but there are +reasons why I ask you whether you will volunteer for the work. In the +first place, you have already three times passed, while in disguise, as +natives; and in the second, your figures being slight, and still a good +deal under the height you will attain, render your disguise far less easy +to be detected than that of a full-grown man would be. If you undertake +it, you will have a native guide, who last night arrived from Lucknow with +a message to me, having passed through the enemy's lines. You understand, +young gentlemen, the service is one of great honor and credit if +accomplished, but it is also one of the greatest risk. I cannot so well +intrust the mission to the native alone, because I dare not put on paper +the tidings I wish conveyed, and it is possible, however faithful he may +be, that he might, if taken and threatened with death, reveal the message +with which he is charged. I see by your faces what your answer is about to +be, but I will not hear it now. Go first to your father. Tell him exactly +what I have told you, and then send me the answer if he declines to part +with you--bring it me if he consents to your going. Remember that in +yielding what I see is your own inclination, to his natural anxiety, you +will not fall in the very least from the high position in which you stand +in my regard. In an hour I shall expect to hear from you. Good-night, if I +do not see you again." + +"Of course father will let us go," Dick said when they got outside the +tent. Ned did not reply. + +"Dick, old boy," he said presently, as they walked along, "don't you think +if I go alone it would be better. It would be an awful blow to father to +lose both of us." + +"No, Ned," Dick said warmly, "I hope he will not decide that. I know I +can't talk the lingo as you can, and that so I add to your danger; still +sometimes in danger two can help each other, and we have gone through so +much together--oh, Ned, don't propose that you should go alone." + +Major Warrener--or Colonel Warrener as he should now be called, for +General Havelock had given him a step in rank, in recognition of the most +valuable service of his troop during the battles on the road to Cawnpore-- +heard Ned in silence while he repeated, as nearly as possible word for +word, the words of the general. For some time he was silent, and sat with +his face in his hands. + +"I don't like you both going, my boys," he said huskily. + +"No, father," Dick said, "I feared that that was what you would say; but +although in some respects I should be a hindrance to Ned from not speaking +the language, in others I might help him. Two are always better than one +in a scrape, and if he got ill or wounded or anything I could nurse him; +and two people together keep up each other's spirits. You know, father, we +have got through some bad scrapes together all right, and I don't see why +we should not get through this. We shall be well disguised; and no end of +Sepoys, and people from Cawnpore, must be making their way to Lucknow, so +that very few questions are likely to be asked. It does not seem to me +anything like as dangerous a business as those we have gone through, for +the last thing they would look for is Englishmen making their way to +Lucknow at present. The guide who is going with us got out, you know; and +they must be looking out ten times as sharp to prevent people getting out, +as to prevent any one getting in." + +"I really do not think, father," Ned said, "that the danger of detection +is great-certainly nothing like what it was before. Dick and I will of +course go as Sepoys, and Dick can bind up his face and mouth as if he had +been wounded, and was unable to speak. There must be thousands of them +making their way to Lucknow, and we shall excite no attention whatever. +The distance is not forty miles." + +"Very well, boys, so be it," Colonel Warrener said. "There is much in what +you say; and reluctant as I am to part with you both, yet somehow the +thought that you are together, and can help each other, will be a comfort +to me. God bless you, my boys! Go back to the general, and say I consent +freely to your doing the duty for which he has selected you. I expect you +will have to start at once, but you will come back here to change." + +General Havelock expressed his warm satisfaction when the boys returned +with their father's consent to their undertaking the adventure. "I +understand from Colonel Warrener," he said, addressing Ned, "that you are +intended for the army. I have deferred telling you that on the day of the +first fight I sent your name home, begging that you might be gazetted on +that date to a commission in the Sixty-fourth. Your name will by this time +have appeared in order. There are only two ensigns now in the regiment, +and ere I see you again there will, I fear, be more than that even of +death vacancies, so that you will have got your step. I will do the same +for you," he said, turning to Dick, "if you like to give up your +midshipman's berth and take to the army." + +"No, thank you, sir," Dick said, laughing. "By the time this is over, I +shall have had enough of land service to last my life." + +"I have already sent down a report to the admiral of your conduct," +General Havelock said; "and as a naval brigade is coming up under Captain +Peel, you will be able to sail under your true colors before long. Now for +your instructions. You are to inform Colonel Inglis, who is in command +since the death of Sir H. Lawrence, that, although I am on the point of +endeavoring to push forward to his rescue, I have no hope whatever of +success. Across the river large forces of Oude irregulars, with guns, are +collected, and every step of the way will be contested. I must leave a +force to hold Cawnpore, and I have only eleven hundred bayonets in all. +With such a force as this it is impossible, if the enemy resists as +stubbornly as may be expected, for me to fight my way to Lucknow, still +more to force my way through the city, held by some ten or fifteen +thousand men, to the Residency, I may say that I have no hope of doing +this till I am largely reinforced. Still, my making a commencement of a +march, and standing constantly on the offensive, will force the enemy to +keep a large force on the road to oppose me, and will in so far relieve +the Residency from some of its foes. You see the importance of your +message. Did the enemy know my weakness, they would be able to turn their +whole force against the Residency. Tell our countrymen there that they +must hold out to the last, but that I hope and believe that in a month +from the present time the reinforcements will be up, and that I shall be +able to advance to their rescue. Colonel Inglis says that their stores +will last to the end of August, and that he believes that he can repel all +attacks. The native who goes with you bears word only that I am on the +point of advancing to the relief of the garrison. So if the worst happens, +and you are all taken, his message, if he betrays it, will only help to +deceive the enemy. You will start tonight if possible. I leave it to you +to arrange your disguises, and have ordered the guide to be at your +father's tent at nine o'clock--that is, in an hour and a half's time--so +that if you can be ready by that time, you will get well away before +daybreak. There is a small boat four miles up the river, that the guide +crossed in; he hid it in some bushes, so you will cross without +difficulty; and even if you are caught crossing, your story that you are +Sepoys who have been hiding for the last few days will pass muster. Now, +good-by, lads, and may God watch over you and keep you!" + +Upon their return to Colonel Warrener's tent they found their friends +Captains Dunlop and Manners, and two or three of the officers most +accustomed to native habits and ways, and all appliances for disguise. +First the boys took a hearty meal; then they stripped, and were sponged +with iodine from head to foot; both were then dressed in blood-stained +Sepoy uniforms, of which there were thousands lying about, for the greater +portion of the enemy had thrown off their uniforms before taking to +flight. Ned's left arm was bandaged up with bloody rags, and put in a +sling, and Dick's head and face were similarly tied up, though he could +not resist a motion of repugnance as the foul rags were applied to him. +Both had a quantity of native plaster and bandages placed next to the +skin, in case suspicion should fall upon them and the outside bandages be +removed to see if wounds really existed; and Dick was given a quantity of +tow, with which to fill his mouth and swell out his cheeks and lips, to +give the appearance which would naturally arise from a severe wound in the +jaw. Caste marks were painted on their foreheads; and their disguise was +pronounced to be absolutely perfect to the eye. Both were barefooted, as +the Sepoys never travel in the regimental boots if they can avoid it. + +At the appointed time the guide was summoned, an intelligent-looking +Hindoo in country dress. He examined his fellow-travelers, and pronounced +himself perfectly satisfied with their appearance. + +Outside the tent six horses were in readiness. Colonel Warrener, and his +friends Dunlop and Manners, mounted on three, the others were for the +travelers; and with a hearty good-by to their other friends in the secret, +the party started. + +Half an hour's riding took them to the place where the boat was concealed +in the bushes; and with a tender farewell from their father, and a hearty +good-by from his companions, the three adventurers took their places in +the boat and started. + +Noiselessly they paddled across the Ganges, stepped out in the shallow +water on the other side, turned the boat adrift to float down with the +stream, and then struck across the country toward Lucknow. + +They were now off the main road, on which the Oude mutineers collected to +oppose the advance of General Havelock were for the most part stationed. +Thus they passed village after village, unchallenged and unquestioned, and +morning, when it dawned, found them twenty miles on the road toward +Lucknow. Then they went into a wood and lay down to sleep, for even if any +one should enter accidentally and discover them, they had no fear of any +suspicion arising. They were now near the main road, and when they +started--just as it became dusk--they met various parties of horse and +foot proceeding toward Cawnpore; sometimes they passed without a question, +sometimes a word or two were said, the guide answering, and asking how +things went at Lucknow. + +The subject was evidently a sore one; for curses on the obstinate +Feringhee dogs, and threats as to their ultimate fate, were their only +reply. + +Eighteen miles' walk, and a great black wall rose in front of them. + +"That is the Alumbagh," the guide said; "the sahibs will have a big fight +here. It is a summer palace and garden of the king. Once past this we will +leave the road. It is but two miles to the canal and we must not enter the +city--not that I fear discovery, but there would be no possibility of +entering the Residency on this side. Our only chance is on the side I left +it; that is by crossing the river. We must work round the town." + +"How far are we from the Residency now? I can hear the cannon very +clearly;" and indeed for the last two hours of their walk the booming of +guns had been distinctly audible. + +"It is about five miles in a straight line, but it will be double by the +route we must take." + +Turning to the right after passing the dark mass of the Alumbagh, the +little party kept away through a wooded country until another great +building appeared in sight. + +"That is the Dilkouska," the guide said. "Now we will go half a mile +further and then sleep; we cannot get in to-night." + +In the afternoon they were awake again, and took their seats on a bank at +a short distance from any road, and looked at the city. + +"What an extraordinary view!" Ned said. "What fantastic buildings! What an +immense variety of palaces and mosques! What is that strange building +nearest to us?" he asked the guide. + +"That is the Martiniere. It was built many years ago by a Frenchman in the +service of the king of Oude. Now it is a training college. All the pupils +are in the Residency, and are fighting like men. Beyond, between us and +the Residency, are several palaces and mosques. That is the Residency; do +you not see an English house with a tower, and a flag flying over it, +standing alone on that rising ground by the river?" + +"And that is the Residency!" the boys exclaimed, looking at the building +in which, and the surrounding houses, a handful of Englishmen were keeping +at bay an army. + +"That is the Residency," their guide said; "do you not see the circle of +smoke which rises around it? Listen; I can hear the rattle of musketry +quite distinctly." + +"And how are we to get there?" the boys asked, impatient to be at work +taking part in the defense. + +"We will keep on here to the right; the river is close by. We will swim +across after it gets dark, make a wide sweep round, and then come down to +the river again opposite the Residency, swim across, and then we are +safe." + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +LUCKNOW. + + +Lucknow, although the capital of Oude, the center of a warlike people +smarting under recent annexation, had for a long time remained tranquil +after insurrection and massacre were raging unchecked in the northwest. +Sir Henry Lawrence, a man of great decision and firmness united to +pleasant and conciliating manners, had, when the Sepoys began to hold +nightly meetings and to exhibit signs of recklessness, toward the end of +April, telegraphed to government for full power to act; and having +obtained the required authorization, he awaited with calmness the first +sign of insubordination. This was exhibited by the men of the Seventh Oude +Irregular Infantry, who on the 3d of May endeavored to seduce the men of +the Forty-eighth Native Regiment from its allegiance, and broke out into +acts of open mutiny. Sir Henry Lawrence the same evening marched the +Thirty-second Foot and and a battery of European artillery, with some +native regiments to their lines, three miles from the city, surrounded and +disarmed them, and arrested their ringleaders. After this act of decision +and energy, Lucknow had peace for some time. The native troops, awed and +subdued, remained tranquil, and on the 27th of May Lucknow still remained +quiet, whereas every other station in Oude, except Cawnpore, was in the +hands of the rebels. + +At the same time every preparation had been made for the struggle which +all regarded as inevitable. The houses which formed two sides of the large +irregular square in the center of which stood the Residency were connected +by earthworks, and a breastwork, composed of sandbags and fascines, +surrounded the other sides. Stores of provisions were collected, cattle +driven in, and every preparation made for a lengthened defense. The +cantonments were three miles distant from the Residency, and were occupied +by the Thirteenth, Forty-eighth, and Seventy-first Native Infantry and +Seventh Native Cavalry. Her majesty's Twenty-second Regiment, a battery of +European artillery, and a small force of native horse. + +On the evening of the 30th of May the revolt broke out. It began in the +lines of the Seventy-first, and spread at once to the other native +regiments, who took up arms, fired the bungalows, and killed all the +officers upon whom they could lay hands. Happily all was in readiness, and +a company of European troops, with two guns, took up their post on the +road leading to the city, so as to bar the movement of the mutineers in +that direction. Nothing could be done till morning, when Sir Henry +Lawrence, with a portion of the Thirty-second, and the guns, moved to +attack the mutineers. The British were joined by seven hundred men of the +various regiments, who remained true to their colors, and the mutineers at +once fled, with such rapidity that, although pursued for seven miles, only +thirty prisoners were taken. + +The troops then marched quickly back to the Residency, where their +presence was much needed, as there was great excitement in the town, and a +good deal of fighting between the police and the roughs of the city, who +endeavored to get up a general rising and an indiscriminate plunder of the +town. Sir Henry Lawrence upon his return restored order, erected a large +gallows outside the fort and hung some of the rioters, executed a dozen of +the mutinous Sepoys, rewarded those who had remained faithful, and for a +time restored order. All the European residents in Lucknow were called +into the lines of the Residency, the small European force being divided +between that post and the Mutchee Bawn, a strong fort three-quarters of a +mile distant, and the remnant of the native infantry regiments who had so +far remained true, but who might at any moment turn traitors, were offered +three months' leave to go home to their friends. Many accepted the offer +and left, but a portion remained behind, and fought heroically through the +siege by the side of the whites. Thus one source of anxiety for the +garrison was removed; and safe now from treachery within, they had only to +prepare to resist force from without. + +So determined was the front shown by the little body of British that +Lucknow, with its unruly population of over a quarter of a million, +remained quiet all through the month of June. It was not until the last +day of the month that the storm was to burst. On the 30th a body of +insurgent Sepoys, some seven or eight thousand strong, having approached +to Chinhut, within a few miles of the town, Sir Henry Lawrence, with two +companies of the Thirty-second, eleven guns, some of them manned by +natives, and eighty native cavalry, went out to give them battle. + +The affair was disastrous; the native cavalry bolted, the native gunners +fled, and after a loss of sixty men, three officers, and six guns, the +British troops with difficulty fought their way back to the Residency. The +rebels entered the town in triumph, and the city at once rose, the +respectable inhabitants were killed, the bazaar looted, and then, assured +of success, the enemy prepared to overwhelm the little British garrison. + +Immediately upon the return of the defeated column, it became evident that +the weakened force could not hold the two positions. Accordingly the +Mutchee Bawn was evacuated, its great magazine, containing two hundred and +forty barrels of powder and six hundred thousand rounds of ammunition, was +blown up, and the British force was reunited in the Residency. + +In order that the position of affairs in this, perhaps the most remarkable +siege that ever took place, should be understood, it is as well to give a +full description of the defenses. The Residency and its surroundings +formed an irregular, lozenge-shaped inclosure, having its acute angles +nearly north and south, the southern extremity being contiguous to the +Cawnpore Road, and the northern point approaching near to the iron bridge +over the river Goomtee. Near the south point of the inclosure was the +house of Major Anderson, standing in the middle of a garden or open court, +and surrounded by a wall; the house was defended by barricades, and +loopholed for musketry, while the garden was strengthened by a trench and +rows of palisades. Next to this house, and communicating with it by a hole +in the wall, was a newly constructed defense work called the Cawnpore +Battery, mounted with guns, and intended to command the houses and streets +adjacent to the Cawnpore Road. The house next to this, occupied by a Mr. +Deprat, had a mud wall, six feet high and two and a half thick, built +along in front of its veranda, and this was continued to the next house, +being raised to the height of nine feet between the houses, and loopholed +for musketry. This next house was inhabited by the boys from the +Martiniere School. It was defended by a stockade and trench, both of which +were continued across a road which divided this house from the next, which +stood near the western angle, and was the brigade messhouse. This house +had a lofty and well-protected terrace, commanding the houses outside the +inclosure. In its rear were a number of small buildings, occupied by +officers and their families. + +Next to the brigade messhouse were two groups of low buildings, called the +Sikh Squares, and on the flat roofs of these buildings sandbag parapets +were raised. Next to this, at the extreme western point, stood the house +of Mr. Gubbins, the commissioner, a strong building, defended with +stockades, and having at the angle a battery, called Gubbins' Battery. +Along the northwestern side were a number of yards and buildings, the +racket-court, the sheep-pens, the slaughter-house, the cattle-yard, a +storehouse for the food for the cattle, and a guardhouse; and behind them +stood a strong building known as Ommaney's house, guarded by a deep ditch +and cactus hedge, and defended with two pieces of artillery. A mortar +battery was planted north of the slaughter-house. Next along the line was +the church, converted now into a granary, and in the churchyard was a +mortar battery. Next came the house of Lieutenant Innis, a weak and +difficult post to hold, commanded as it was by several houses outside the +inclosure. Commanding the extreme north point, which was in itself very +weak, was the Redan Battery, a well-constructed work. From this point, +facing the river, was a strong earthwork, and outside the sloping garden +served as a glacis, and rendered attack on this side difficult. Near the +eastern angle stood the hospital, a very large stone building, formerly +the banqueting-hall of the British residents at the court of Oude. Near +the hospital, but on lower ground, was the Bailey Guard. Dr. Fayrer's +house, south of the hospital, was strongly built, and from its terraced +roof an effective musketry fire could be kept up on an enemy approaching +on this side. Next to it came the civil dispensary, and then the post +office, a strong position, defended by a battery. Between this and the +south corner came the financial office, Sago's house, the judicial office, +and the jail. The Residency, a spacious and handsome building, stood in +the center of the northern portion of the inclosure, surrounded by +gardens. It was on elevated ground, and from its terraced roof a splendid +view of the city and surrounding country could be obtained. The begum's +khotee, or ladies' house, stood near the center of the inclosure; it was a +large building, and was used as a commissariat store and for the dwellings +of many officers' families. Thus it will be seen that the Residency at +Lucknow, as defended against the insurgents, comprised a little town +grouped round the dwelling of the Resident. + +In this little circle of intrenchments were gathered, on the 1st of July, +when the siege began, over a thousand women and children, defended by a +few hundred British troops and civilians, and about a hundred and fifty +men remaining faithful from the Sepoy regiments. Upon that day the enemy +opened fire from several batteries. A shell penetrated the small room in +the Residency in which Sir Henry Lawrence was sitting, and passed between +him and his private secretary, Mr. Cowper. His officers begged him to +change his room, but he declined to do so, saying laughingly that the room +was so small that there was no chance of another shell finding its way in. +He was, however, mistaken, for the very next day a shell entered, and +burst in the room, the fragments inflicting a mortal wound upon Sir Henry, +who died a few hours afterward. The loss was a heavy one indeed, both to +the garrison, to whom his energy, calmness, and authority were invaluable, +and to England, who lost in him one of her noblest and most worthy sons. +On his death the command of the defense devolved upon Colonel Inglis, of +the Thirty-second Regiment, a most gallant and skillful officer. After +this, day after day the fighting had continued, the enemy ever gaining in +numbers and in strength, erecting fresh batteries, and keeping up a +ceaseless fire night and day upon the garrison. + +The Warreners with their guide experienced the difficulties which this +increased activity of the attack caused to emissaries trying to enter or +leave the Residency. After it had become dark they swam the Goomtee, and +made a wide circuit, and then tried to approach the river again opposite +the Residency. Several batteries, however, had been erected on this side +since the guide had left, five days before, and these were connected by a +chain of sentries, so closely placed that it would have been madness to +endeavor to pass them unseen. It was clear that the mutineers were +determined to cut off all communication to or from the garrison. The +little party skirted the line of sentries, a line indicated clearly enough +by the bivouac fires on the near side of them. Round these large numbers +of mutineers were moving about, cooking, smoking, and conversing. + +"It is hopeless to attempt to get through here," said Ned. + +"We will go on to the road leading to the iron bridge," the guide replied; +"we can follow that to the river and then slip aside." + +Here, however, they were foiled again, as fires were lighted and there +were sentries on the road to forbid all except those on business to pass. +Presently a body of men came along, bearing shell upon their heads for the +service of the batteries on the other side of the river. + +"Whence are they fetching these?" Ned asked the guide. + +"From the king's magazine, a quarter of a mile away to the right. They are +taking ammunition, now, for the bridge is within four hundred yards of the +Redan battery, and they cannot cross at daylight under fire." + +"Here is a party coming back," Ned said; "let us fall in behind them, go +to the magazine and get shell, and then follow back again till we are +close to the bridge, and trust to luck in getting clear." + +The guide assented, and they followed the Sepoys down to the magazine, +keeping a little behind the others, and being the last to enter the yard +where the loaded shell were standing. + +Each took a shell and followed closely upon the heels of the party. In the +dark no one noticed the addition to their number, and they passed the +sentries on the road without question. Then they fell a little behind. The +natives paused just before they reached the bridge; for the British +knowing that ammunition was nightly being carried over, fired an +occasional shot in that direction. The party halted under shelter of a +house until a shot flew past, and then hurried forward across the exposed +spot. As they did so, the Warreners and their guide placed the shells they +were carrying on the ground, turned off from the road, climbed a garden +wall, and in a minute were close to the river. + +"Go silently," the guide said; "there are some more sentries here." + +Stealing quietly along, for they were all shoeless, they could see +crouching figures between them and the water, every twenty yards apart. + +"We shall have to run the gantlet, Ned," Dick said. "Our best chance will +be to shove one of these fellows suddenly into the water, jump in and dive +for it. You and I can dive across that river, and we shall come up under +the shadow of the opposite bank." + +Ned spoke to the guide. + +"The water is shallow for the first few yards, sahib, but we shall get +across that into two feet, which is deep enough for us, before the +sentries have recovered from their surprise. They are sure to fire at +random, and we shall be out of the water on the other side before they +have loaded again." + +The plan agreed to, they stripped off their uniforms, and crept quietly +along until they were close to a sentry. Then with a bound they sprang +upon him, rolled him over the bank into the shallow water, and dashed +forward themselves at the top of their speed. + +So sudden was their rush that they were knee-deep before the nearest +sentry fired, his ball whizzing over their heads as they threw themselves +face downward in the stream, and struck out under water. + +Even when full the Goomtee is not more than ninety yards wide, and from +the point where they started to equally shallow water on the other side +was now not more than forty. The boys could both dive that distance; but +their guide, although a good swimmer, was a less expert diver, and had to +come twice to the surface for breath. He escaped, however, without a shot; +for, as they had expected, the report of the musket was followed by a +general volley in the direction of the splash, by all the sentries for +some distance on either side. Therefore, when the party rose from the +water, and dashed up the other bank, not a shot greeted them. It was clear +running now, only a hundred yards up the slope of the garden, to the +British earthwork. + +"We are friends!" the boys shouted as they ran, and a cheer from the men +on watch greeted them. A few shots flew after them from the other side of +the river, but these were fired at random, and in another minute the party +had scrambled over the earthwork and were among friends. + +Hearty were the hand-shakes and congratulations bestowed upon them all; +and as the news that messengers had arrived flew like wild-fire round the +line of trenches, men came running down, regardless of the bullets which, +now that the enemy were thoroughly roused up, sang overhead in all +directions. + +"We won't ask your message," was the cry, "till you have seen the colonel; +but do tell us, is help at hand?" + +"English general coming," the native guide said. + +"Yes," Ned said, as delighted exclamations at the news arose; "but not +yet. Do not excite false hopes among the ladies; some time must pass +before help arrives. I must not say more till I have seen Colonel Inglis; +but I should be sorry if false hopes were raised." + +Cloaks were lent to the boys, and they were taken at once to the +Residency, and along passages thronged with sleepers were conducted to +Colonel Inglis' room. He had already heard that the native messenger had +returned, with two Englishmen in disguise, and he was up and ready to +receive them--for men slept dressed, and ready for action at a moment's +call. + +"Well done, subadar," he exclaimed, as the native entered; "you have nobly +earned your step in rank and the five thousand rupees promised to you. +Well, what is your message?" + +"The General Sahib bids me say that he is coming on to Lucknow with all +speed. Cawnpore was taken four days before I left. The Nana has fled from +Bithoor, and all goes well. These officers have further news to give you." + +"I am indeed glad to see you, gentlemen," Colonel Inglis said, warmly +shaking them by the hand. "Whom have I the pleasure of seeing, for at +present your appearance is admirably correct as that of two Sepoys?" + +"Our name is Warrener," Ned said; "we are brothers. I have just been +gazetted to the Sixty-fourth; my brother is a midshipman. We have a +message for your private ear, sir; and if I might suggest, it would be +better to keep our native friend close by for a few minutes, lest his news +spread. You will see the reason when we have spoken to you." + +Colonel Inglis gave the sign, and the other officers retired with the +guide. + +"Our message, sir, is, I regret to say, far less favorable than that +transmitted by the subadar, and it was for that reason that General +Havelock sent us with him. If taken, he would have told his message, for +the general had ordered him to make no secret of his instructions if he +fell into the enemy's hands, as it was desirable that they should believe +that he was about to advance, and thus relieve the pressure upon you by +keeping a large force on the road up from Cawnpore. But in fact, sir, +General Havelock bids us tell you that he cannot advance. He has but a +thousand bayonets fit for service. He must hold Cawnpore, and the force +available for an advance would be hopelessly insufficient to fight his way +through Oude and force a road through the city. The instant he receives +reinforcements he will advance, and will in the meantime continue to make +feints, so as to keep a large force of the enemy on the alert. He fears +that it may be a month before he will be able to advance to your aid with +a chance of success." + +"A month!" Colonel Inglis said; "that is indeed a long time, and we had +hoped that already help was at hand. Well, we must do our best. We are +even now sorely pressed; but I doubt not we can hold out for a month. +General Havelock cannot accomplish impossibilities, and it is wonderful +that he should have recaptured Cawnpore with so small a force." + +"We thought it better to give you this news privately, colonel, in order +that you might, should you think fit, keep from the garrison the knowledge +that so long a time must elapse without succor." + +"You were quite right, sir," Colonel Inglis said; "but the truth had +better be made public. It is far better that all should know that we are +dependent upon our own exertions for another month than that they should +be vainly looking for assistance to arrive. And now, gentlemen, I will +call my officers in, and you shall get some clothes. Unhappily, death is +so busy that there will be no difficulty in providing you in that respect. +You must want food, too, and that, such as it is, is in plenty also." + +The other officers were now called in, and the commandant told them the +news that he had received from the Warreners. There was a look of +disappointment for a moment, and then cheering answers that they were all +good for another month's fighting were made. + +"I know, gentlemen," Colonel Inglis said, "our thoughts are all the same. +We are ready to fight another month, but we dread the delay for the sake +of the women and children. However, God's will be done. All that men can +do, this garrison will, I know, do; and with God's help, I believe that +whether aid comes a little sooner or later, we shall hold these battered +ruins till it arrives. Captain Fellows, will you get these officers +something to eat, and some clothes? Then, if they are not too tired, they +will perhaps not mind sitting up an hour or two and giving us the news +from the outside world." + +Daylight was breaking before Ned and Dick--who had, at Colonel Inglis' +suggestion separated, Ned going to the colonel's room, while Dick formed +the center of a great gathering in a hall below, in order that as many +might hear the news as possible--brought to a conclusion the account of +Havelock's advance, of the awful massacre of Cawnpore, of the fresh +risings that had taken place in various parts of India, of the progress of +the siege of Delhi, and the arrival of reinforcements from China and +England. With daybreak, the cannon, which had tired at intervals through +the night, began to roar incessantly, and shot and shell crashed into the +Residency. + +"Is this sort of thing always going on?" Dick asked in astonishment. + +"Always," was the answer, "by day, and four nights out of five. We have +not had so quiet a time as last night for a week. Now I will go and ask +the chief to which garrison you and your brother are to be assigned." + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +THE BESIEGED RESIDENCY. + + +The Warrener's were taken to Gubbins' house, or garrison, as each of these +fortified dwellings was now called; and the distance, short as it was, was +so crowded with dangers and disagreeables that they were astonished how +human beings could have supported them for a month, as the garrison of +Lucknow had done. From all points of the surrounding circle shot and shell +howled overhead, or crashed into walls and roofs. Many of the enemy's +batteries were not above a hundred yards from the defenses, and the +whistling of musket-balls was incessant. + +Here and there, as they ran along, great swarms of flies, millions in +number, rose from some spot where a bullock, killed by an enemy's shot, +had been hastily buried, while horrible smells everywhere tainted the air. + +Running across open spaces, and stooping along beneath low walls, the +Warreners and their conductor, Captain Fellows, reached Gubbins' house. +Mr. Gubbins himself--financial commissioner of Oude, a man of great +courage and firmness--received them warmly. + +"You will find we are close packed," he said, "but you will, I am sure, +make the best of it. I am glad to have you, for every man is of value +here; and after the bravery you have shown in coming through the enemy's +lines you will be just the right sort of men for me. I think you will find +most room here; I lost two of my garrison from this room on the 20th, when +we had a tremendous attack all round." + +The room was small and dark, as the window was closed by a bank of earth +built against it on the outside. It was some fourteen feet by eight, and +here, including the newcomers, eight men lived and slept. Here the +Warreners, after a few words with those who were in future to be their +comrades, threw themselves down on the ground, and, in spite of the din +which raged around them, were soon fast asleep. + +It was nearly dark when they awoke, and they at once reported themselves +to Mr. Johnson--a police magistrate, who was the senior officer of the +party in the room--as ready to begin duty. + +"You will not be on regular duty till to-night," he replied. "Altogether, +there are about forty men in the garrison. Eight are always on duty, and +are relieved every four hours. So we go on every twenty hours. Only half +our set go on duty together, as that gives room for those who remain. Two +came off duty at eight this morning, four are just going on. You will go +on with the two who came off this morning, at midnight. Besides their +sentry work, of course every one is in Readiness to man the walls at any +moment in case of alarm, and a good deal of your time can be spent at +loopholes, picking off the enemy directly they show themselves. One of the +party, in turn, cooks each day. Besides the fighting duty, there is any +amount of fatigue work, the repairing and strengthening of the defenses, +the fetching rations and drawing water for the house, in which there are +over fifty women and children, the burying dead cattle, and covering blood +and filth with earth. Besides defending our own post, we are, of course, +ready to rush at any moment to assist any other garrison which may be +pressed. Altogether, you will think yourself lucky when you can get four +hours' sleep out of the twenty-four." + +"Are our losses heavy?" Ned asked. + +"Terribly heavy. The first week we lost twenty a day shot in the houses; +but now that we have, as far as possible, blocked every loophole at which +a bullet can enter, we are not losing so many as at first, but the daily +total is still heavy, and on a day like the 20th we lost thirty. The enemy +attacked us all round, and we mowed them down with grape; we believe we +killed over a thousand of them. Unfortunately, every day our losses are +getting heavier from disease, foul air, and overcrowding; the women and +children suffer awfully. If you are disposed to make yourselves useful +when not on duty, you will find abundant opportunity for kindness among +them. I will take you round the house and introduce you to the ladies, +then you can go among them as you like." + +First the Warreners went to what, in happier times, was the main room of +the house, a spacious apartment some thirty-five feet square, with windows +opening to the ground at each end, to allow a free passage of air. These, +on the side nearest the enemy, were completely closed by a bank of earth; +while those on the other side were also built up within a few inches of +the top, for shots and shell could equally enter them. The Warreners were +introduced to such of the garrison as were in, the greater part being at +work outside the house repairing a bank which had been injured during the +day. Then Mr. Johnson went to one of the rooms leading off the main +apartment. A curtain hung across it instead of a door, and this was now +drawn aside to allow what air there was to circulate. + +"May I come in?" he asked. + +"Certainly, Mr. Johnson," a lady said, coming to the entrance. + +"Mrs. Hargreaves, let me introduce the Messrs. Warreners, the gentlemen +who have so gallantly come through the enemy's lines with the message. +They are to form part of our garrison." + +The lady held out her hand, but with a slight air of surprise. + +"I suppose our color strikes you as peculiar, Mrs. Hargreaves," Ned said, +"but it will wear off in a few days; it is iodine, and we are already a +good many shades lighter than when we started." + +"How silly of me not to think of that," Mrs. Hargreaves said; "of course I +heard that you were disguised. But please come in; it is not much of a +room to receive in, but we are past thinking of that now. My daughter, +Mrs. Righton; her husband is with mine on guard at present. These are my +daughters, Edith and Nelly; these five children are my grandchildren. My +dears, these are the Messrs. Warreners, who brought the news from General +Havelock. Their faces are stained, but will be white again in time." + +The ladies all shook hands with the Warreners, who looked with surprise on +the neatness which prevailed in this crowded little room. On the ground, +by the walls, were several rolls of bedding covered over with shawls, and +forming seats or lounges. On the top of one of the piles two little +children were fast asleep. A girl of six sat in a corner on the ground +reading. There were two or three chairs, and these the ladies, seating +themselves on the divan, as they called the bedding, asked their visitors +to take. + +Mrs. Hargreaves was perhaps forty-five years old, with a pleasant face, +marked by firmness and intelligence. Mrs. Righton was twenty-five or +twenty-six, and her pale face showed more than that of her mother the +effects of the anxiety and confinement of the siege. Edith and Nelly were +sixteen and fifteen respectively, and although pale, the siege had not +sufficed to mar their bright faces or to crush their spirits. + +"Dear me," Nelly said, "why, you look to me to be quite boys; why, you +can't be much older than I am, are you?" + +"My dear Nelly," her mother said reprovingly; but Dick laughed heartily. + +"I am not much older than you are," he said; "a year, perhaps, but not +more. I am a midshipman in the Agamemnon. My brother is a year older than +I am, and he is gazetted to the Sixty-fourth; so you see, if the times +were different, we should be just the right age to be your devoted +servants." + +"Oh, you can be that now," Nelly said. "I am sure we want them more than +ever; don't we, mamma?" + +"I think you have more than your share of servants now, Nelly," replied +her mother. "We are really most fortunate, Mr. Johnson, in having our ayah +still with us; so many were deserted by their servants altogether, and she +is an admirable nurse. I do not know what we should do without her, for +the heat and confinement make the poor children sadly fractious. We were +most lucky yesterday, for we managed to secure a dobee for the day, and +you see the result;" and she smilingly indicated the pretty light muslins +in which her daughters were dressed. "You see us quite at our best," she +said, turning to the boys. "But we have, indeed," she went on seriously, +"every reason to be thankful. So far we have not lost any of our party, +and there are few indeed who can say this. These are terrible times, young +gentlemen, and we are all in God's hands. We are exceptionally well off, +but we find our hands full. My eldest daughter has to aid the ayah with +the children; then there is the cooking to be done by me, and the room to +be kept tidy by Edith and Nelly, and there are so many sick and suffering +to be attended to. You will never find us all here before six in the +evening; we are busy all day; but we shall always be glad to see you when +you can spare time for a chat in the evening. All the visitors we receive +are not so welcome, I can assure you;" and she pointed to three holes in +the wall where the enemy's shot had crashed through. + +"That is a very noble woman," Mr. Johnson said, as they went out. "She +spends many hours every day down at the military hospital where, the +scenes are dreadful, and where the enemy's shot and shell frequently find +entry, killing alike the wounded and their attendants. The married +daughter looks after her children and the neatness of the rooms. The young +girls are busy all day about the house nursing sick children, and yet, as +you see, all are bright, pleasant, and the picture of neatness, marvelous +contrasts indeed to the disorder and wretchedness prevailing among many, +who might, by making an effort, be as bright and as comfortable as they +are. There are, as you will find, many brilliant examples of female +heroism and self-devotion exhibited here; but in some instances women seem +to try how helpless, how foolish a silly woman can be. Ah," he broke off, +as a terrific crash followed by a loud scream was heard, "I fear that +shell has done mischief." + +"Mrs. Shelton is killed," a woman said, running out, "and Lucy Shelton has +had her arm cut off. Where is Dr. Topham?" + +Mrs. Hargreaves came out of her door with a basin of water and some linen +torn into strips for bandages just as the doctor ran in from the Sikh +Square, where he had been attending to several casualties. + +"That is right," he nodded to Mrs. Hargreaves; "this is a bad business, I +fear." + +"All hands to repair defenses!" was now the order, and the boys followed +Mr. Johnson outside. + +"The scoundrels are busy this evening," he observed. + +"It sounds like a boiler-maker's shop," Dick said; "if only one in a +hundred bullets were to hit, there would not be many alive by to-morrow +morning." + +"No, indeed," Mr. Johnson replied; "they are of course firing to some +extent at random, but they aim at the points where they think it likely +that we may be at work, and their fire adds greatly to our difficulty in +setting right at night the damage they do in the daytime." + +For the next four hours the lads were hard at work with the rest of the +garrison. Earth was brought in sacks or baskets and piled up, stockades +repaired, and fascines and gabions mended. The work would have been hard +anywhere; on an August night in India it was exhausting. All the time that +they were at work the bullets continued to fly thickly overhead, striking +the wall of the house with a sharp crack, or burying themselves with a +short thud in the earth. Round shot and shell at times crashed through the +upper part of the house, which was uninhabited; while from the terraced +roof, and from the battery in the corner of the garden, the crack of the +defenders' rifles answered the enemy's fire. + +By the time that the work was done it was midnight, and the Warreners' +turn for guard. They had received rifles, and were posted with six others +in the battery. There were three guns here, all of which were loaded to +the muzzle with grape; three artillerymen, wrapped in their cloaks, lay +asleep beside them, for the number of artillerymen was so small that the +men were continually on duty, snatching what sleep they could by their +guns during the intervals of fighting. The orders were to listen +attentively for the sound of the movement of any body of men, and to fire +occasionally at the flashes of the enemy's guns. The four hours passed +rapidly, for the novelty of the work, the thunder of cannon and crackling +of musketry, all round the Residency, were so exciting that the Warreners +were surprised when the relief arrived. They retired to their room, and +were soon asleep; but in an hour the alarm was sounded, and the whole +force at the post rushed to repel an attack. Heralded by a storm of fire +from every gun which could be brought to bear upon the battery, thousands +of fanatics rushed from the shelter of the houses outside the +intrenchments and swarmed down upon it. The garrison lay quiet behind the +parapet until the approach of the foe caused the enemy's cannon to cease +their fire. Then they leaped to their feet and poured a volley into the +mass. So great were their numbers, however, that the gaps were closed in a +moment, and with yells and shouts the enemy leaped into the ditch, and +tried to climb the earthwork of the battery. Fortunately at this moment +the reserve of fifty men of the Thirty-second, which were always kept +ready to launch at any threatened point, came up at a run, and their +volley over the parapet staggered the foe. Desperately their leaders +called upon them to climb the earthworks, but the few who succeeded in +doing so were bayoneted and thrown back into the ditch, while a continuous +musketry fire was poured into the crowd. Over and over again the guns, +charged with grape, swept lines through their ranks, and at last, +dispirited and beaten, they fell back again to the shelter from which they +had emerged. The Thirty-second men then returned to the brigade messroom, +and the garrison of the fort were about to turn in when Mr. Gubbins said +cheerfully: + +"Now, lads, we have done with those fellows for to-day, I fancy. I want +some volunteers to bury those horses which were killed yesterday; it's an +unpleasant job, but it's got to be done." + +The men's faces testified to the dislike they felt for the business; but +they knew it was necessary, and all made their way to the yard, where, +close by the cattle, the horses were confined. The boys understood at once +the repugnance which was felt to approaching this part of the fort. The +ground was covered deep with flies, who rose in a black cloud, with a +perfect roar of buzzing. + +Lucknow was always celebrated for its plague of flies, but during the +siege the nuisance assumed surprising proportions. The number of cattle +and animals collected, the blood spilled in the slaughter-yard, the +impossibility of preserving the cleanliness so necessary in a hot climate, +all combined to generate swarms of flies, which rivaled those of Egypt. +The garrison waged war against them, but in vain. Powder was plentiful, +and frequently many square yards of infected ground, where the flies +swarmed thickest, would be lightly sprinkled with it, and countless +legions blown into the air; but these wholesale executions, however often +repeated, appeared to make no impression whatever on the teeming armies of +persecutors. + +Their task finished, the fatigue party returned to their houses, and then +all who had not other duties threw themselves down to snatch a short +sleep. In spite of a night passed without rest, sleep was not easily +wooed. The heat in the open air was terrific, in the close little room it +was stifling; while the countless flies irritated them almost to madness. +There was indeed but the choice of two evils: to cover closely their faces +and hands, and lie bathed in perspiration; or to breathe freely, and bear +the flies as best they might. The former alternative was generally chosen, +as heat, however great, may be endured in quiet, and sleep may insensibly +come on; but sleep with a host of flies incessantly nestling on every +exposed part of the face and body was clearly an impossibility. + +That day was a bad one for the defenders of Gubbins' garrison, for no less +than twelve shells penetrated the house, and five of the occupants were +killed or wounded. The shells came from a newly erected battery a hundred +and fifty yards to the north. Among the killed was one of Mrs. Righton's +children; and the boys first learned the news when, on rising from a +fruitless attempt to sleep, they went to get a little fresh air outside. +Edith and Nelly Hargreaves came out from the door, with jugs, on their way +to fetch water. + +The Warreners at once offered to fetch it for them, and as they spoke they +saw that the girls' faces were both swollen with crying. + +"Is anything the matter, Miss Hargreaves?" Ned asked. + +"Have you not heard," Edith said, "how poor little Rupert has been killed +by a shell? The ayah was badly hurt, and we all had close escapes; the +shells from that battery are terrible." + +Expressing their sorrow at the news, the boys took the jugs, and crossing +the yard to the well, filled and brought them back. + +"I wish we could do something to silence that battery," said Dick;" it +will knock the house about our ears, and we shall be having the women and +children killed every day." + +"Let's go and have a look at it from the roof," replied Ned. + +The roof was, like those of most of the houses in the Residency, flat, and +intended for the inmates to sit and enjoy the evening breeze. The parapet +was very low, but this had been raised by a line of sandbags, and behind +them five or six of the defenders were lying, firing through the openings +between the bags, in answer to the storm of musketry which the enemy were +keeping up on the post. + +Stooping low to avoid the bullets which were singing overhead, the +Warreners moved across the terrace, and lying down, peered out through the +holes which had been left for musketry. Gubbins' house stood on one of the +highest points of the ground inclosed in the defenses, and from it they +could obtain a view of nearly the whole circle of the enemy's batteries. +They were indeed higher than the roofs of most of the houses held by the +enemy, but one of these, distant only some fifty yards from the Sikh +Square, dominated the whole line of the British defenses on that side, and +an occasional crack of a rifle from its roof showed that the advantage was +duly appreciated. + +"What do they call that house?" Ned asked one of the officers on the +terrace. + +"That is Johannes' house," he answered. "It was a terrible mistake that we +did not destroy it before the siege began; it is an awful thorn in our +side. There is a black scoundrel, a negro, in the service of the king of +Oude, who has his post there; he is a magnificent shot, and he has killed +a great number of ours. It is almost certain death to show a head within +the line of his fire." + +"I wonder we have not made a sortie, and set fire to the place," said Ned. + +"The scoundrels are so numerous that we could only hope to succeed with +considerable loss, and we are so weak already that we can't afford it. So +the chief sets his face against sorties, but I expect that we shall be +driven to it one of these days. That new battery is terribly troublesome +also. There, do you see, it lies just over that brow, so that the shot +from our battery cannot touch it, while it can pound away at our house, +and indeed at all the houses along this line." + +"I should have thought," Dick said, "that a rush at night might carry it, +and spike the guns." + +"No; we should be certain to make some sort of noise, however quiet we +were. There are six guns, all loaded at nightfall to the muzzle with +grape; we know that, for once they fancied they heard us coming, and they +fired such a storm of grape that we should have been all swept away; +besides which, there are a large number of the fellows sleeping round; and +although sometimes the battery ceases firing for some hours, the musketry +goes on more or less during the night." + +The Warreners lay wistfully watching the battery, whose shots frequently +struck the house, and two or three times knocked down a portion of the +sandbag parapet--the damage being at once repaired with bags lying in +readiness, but always under a storm of musketry, which opened in the hopes +of hitting the men engaged upon the work; these were, however, accustomed +to it, and built up the sandbags without showing a limb to the enemy's +shot. + +"There were two children killed by that last shot," an officer said, +coming up from below and joining them; "it made its way through the earth +and broke in through a blocked-up window." + +"We must silence that battery, Ned, whatever comes of it," Dick said in +his brother's ear. + +"I agree with you, Dick; but how is it to be done? have you got an idea?" + +"Well, my idea is this," the midshipman said. "I think you and I might +choose a dark night, as it will be to-night. Take the bearings of the +battery exactly; then when they stop firing, and we think the gunners are +asleep, crawl out and make for the guns. When we get there we can make our +way among them, keeping on the ground so that the sentry cannot see us +against the sky; and then with a sponge full of water we can give a +squeeze on each of the touchholes, so there would be no chance of their +going off till the charges were drawn. Then we could make our way back and +tell Gubbins the guns are disabled, and he can take out a party, carry +them with a rush, and spike them permanently." + +"Capital, Dick; I'm with you, old boy." + +"Now let us take the exact bearings of the place. There was a lane, you +see, before the houses were pulled down, running along from beyond that +corner nearly to the guns. When we get out we must steer for that, because +it is comparatively clear from rubbish, and we ain't so likely to knock a +stone over and make a row. We must choose some time when they are pounding +away somewhere else, and then we shan't be heard even if we do make a +little noise. We will ask Mrs. Hargreaves for a couple of pieces of +sponge; we need not tell her what we want them for." + +"And you think to-night, Dick?" + +"Well, to-night is just as likely to succeed as any other night, and the +sooner the thing is done the better. Johnson commands the guard from +twelve to four, and he is an easy-going fellow, and will let us slip out, +while some of the others wouldn't." + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +SPIKING THE GUNS. + + +As soon as night fell a little procession with three little forms on trays +covered with white cloths, and two of larger size, started from Gubbins' +house to the churchyard. Mr. and Mrs. Hargreaves, and Mrs. Righton and her +husband, with two other women, followed. That morning all the five, now to +be laid in the earth, were strong and well; but death had been busy. In +such a climate as that, and in so crowded a dwelling, no delay could take +place between death and burial, and the victims of each day were buried at +nightfall. There was no time to make coffins, no men to spare for the +work; and as each fell, so were they committed to the earth. + +A little distance from Gubbins' house the procession joined a larger one +with the day's victims from the other parts of the garrison--a total of +twenty-four, young and old. At the head of the procession walked the Rev. +Mr. Polehampton, one of the chaplains, who was distinguished for the +bravery and self-devotion with which he labored among the sick and +wounded. The service on which they were now engaged was in itself +dangerous, for the churchyard was very exposed to the enemy's fire, and-- +for they were throughout the siege remarkably well-informed of what was +taking place within the Residency--every evening they opened a heavy fire +in the direction of the spot where they knew a portion of the garrison +would be engaged in this sad avocation. Quietly and steadily the little +procession moved along, though bullets whistled and shells hissed around +them. Each stretcher with an adult body was carried by four soldiers, +while some of the little ones' bodies were carried by their mothers as if +alive. Mrs. Hargreaves and her daughter carried between them the tray on +which the body of little Rupert Righton lay. Arrived at the churchyard, a +long shallow trench, six feet wide, had been prepared, and in this, side +by side, the dead were tenderly placed. Then Mr. Polehampton spoke a few +words of prayer and comfort, and the mourners turned away, happily without +one of them having been struck by the bullets which sang around, while +some of the soldiers speedily filled in the grave. + +While the sad procession had been absent, the boys had gone to Mrs. +Hargreaves' room. The curtain was drawn, and they could hear the girls +sobbing inside. + +"Please, Miss Hargreaves, can I speak to you for a moment?" Ned said. "I +would not intrude, but it is something particular." + +Edith Hargreaves came to the door. + +"Please," Ned went on, "will you give us two good-sized pieces of sponge? +We don't know any one else to ask, and--but you must not say a word to any +one--my brother and myself mean to go out to-night to silence that battery +which is doing such damage." + +"Silence that battery!" Edith exclaimed in surprise. "Oh, if you could do +that; but how is it possible?" + +"Oh, you dear boy," Nelly, who had come to the door, exclaimed +impetuously, "if you could but do that, every one would love you. We shall +all be killed if that terrible battery goes on. But how are you going to +do it?" + +"I don't say we are going to do it," Ned said, smiling at the girl's +excitement, "but we are going to try to-night. We'll tell you all about it +in the morning when it is done; that is," he said seriously, "if we come +back to tell it. But you must not ask any questions now, and please give +us the pieces of sponge." Edith disappeared for a moment, and came back +with two large pieces of sponge. + +"We will not ask, as you say we must not," she said quietly, "but I know +you are going to run some frightful danger. I may tell mamma and Carrie +when they come back that much, may I not? and we will all keep awake and +pray for you tonight--God bless you both!" And with a warm clasp of the +hands the girls went back into their room again. + +"I tell you what, Ned," the midshipman said emphatically, when they went +out into the air, "if I live through this war I'll marry Nelly Hargreaves; +that is," he added, "if she'll have me, and will wait a bit. She is a +brick, and no mistake. I never felt really in love before; not regularly, +you know." + +At any other time Ned would have laughed; but with Edith's farewell words +in his ear he was little disposed for mirth, and he merely put his hand on +Dick's shoulder and said: + +"There will be time to talk about that in the future, Dick. There's the +battery opening in earnest. There! Mr. Gubbins is calling for all hands on +the roof with their rifles to try and silence it. Come along." + +For an hour the fire on both sides was incessant. The six guns of the +battery concentrated their fire upon Gubbins' house, while from the walls +and houses on either side of it the fire of the musketry flashed +unceasingly, sending a hail of shot to keep down the reply from the roof. + +On their side the garrison on the terrace disregarded the musketry fire, +but, crowded behind the sandbags, kept up a steady and concentrated fire +at the flashes of the cannon; while from the battery below, the gunners, +unable to touch the enemy's battery, discharged grape at the houses +tenanted by the enemy's infantry. The Sepoys, carefully instructed in our +service, had constructed shields of rope to each gun to protect the +gunners, but those at the best could cover but one or two men, and the +fire from the parapet inflicted such heavy losses upon the gunners that +after a time their fire dropped, and an hour from the commencement of the +cannonade all was still again on both sides. The Sepoy guns were silenced. + +It was now ten o'clock, and the Warreners went and lay down quietly for a +couple of hours. Then they heard the guard changed, and after waiting a +quarter of an hour they went out to the battery, having first filled their +sponges with water. There they joined Mr. Johnson. + +"Can't sleep, boys?" he asked; "those flies are enough to drive one mad. +You will get accustomed to them after a bit." + +"It is not exactly that, sir," Ned said, "but we wanted to speak to you. +Dick and I have made up our minds to silence that battery. We have got +sponges full of water, and we mean to go out and drown the priming. Then +when we come back and tell Mr. Gubbins, I dare say he will take out a +party, make a rush, and spike them." + +"Why, you must be mad to think of such a thing!" Mr. Johnson said in +astonishment. + +"I think it is easy enough, sir," Ned replied; "at any rate, we mean to +try." + +"I can't let you go without leave," Mr. Johnson said. + +"No, sir, and so we are not going to tell you we are going," Ned laughed. +"What we want to ask you is to tell your men not to fire if they hear a +noise close by in the next few minutes, and after that to listen for a +whistle like this. If they hear that they are not to fire at any one +approaching from the outside. Good-by, sir." + +And without waiting for Mr. Johnson to make up his mind whether or not his +duty compelled him to arrest them, to prevent them from carrying out the +mad scheme of which Ned had spoken, the Warreners glided off into the +darkness. + +They had obtained a couple of native daggers, and took no other arms. They +did not take off their boots, but wound round them numerous strips of +blanket, so that they would tread noiselessly, and yet if obliged to run +for it would avoid the risk of cutting their feet and disabling themselves +in their flight. Then, making sure that by this time Mr. Johnson would +have given orders to his men not to fire if they heard a noise close at +hand, they went noiselessly to the breastwork which ran from the battery +to the house, climbed over it, and dropped into the trench beyond. + +Standing on the battery close beside them, they saw against the sky the +figure of Mr. Johnson. + +"Good-by, sir," Ned said softly; "we will be back in half an hour if we +have luck." + +Then they picked their way carefully over the rough ground till they +reached the lane, and then walked boldly but noiselessly forward, for they +knew that for a little way there was no risk of meeting an enemy, and that +in the darkness they were perfectly invisible to any native posted near +the guns. After fifty yards' walking, they dropped on their hands and +knees. Although the guns had been absolutely silent since their fire +ceased at ten o'clock, a dropping musketry fire from the houses and walls +on either side had, as usual, continued. This indicated to the boys pretty +accurately the position of the guns. Crawling forward foot by foot, they +reached the little ridge which sheltered the guns from the battery in +Gubbins' garden. + +The guns themselves they could not see, for behind them was a house, and, +except against the sky line, nothing was visible. They themselves were, as +they knew, in a line between Gubbins' house and any one who might be +standing at the guns, so that they would not show against the sky. They +could hear talking among the houses on either side of the guns, and could +see the light of fires, showing that while some of their enemies were +keeping up a dropping fire, others were passing the night, as is often the +native custom, round the fires, smoking and cooking. There was a faint +talk going on ahead, too, beyond the guns; but the enemy had had too +severe a lesson of the accuracy of the English rifle-fire to dare to light +a fire there. + +Having taken in the scene, the boys moved forward, inch by inch. Presently +Ned put his hand on something which, for a moment, made him start back; an +instant's thought, however, reassured him; it was a man, but the hardness +of the touch told that it was not a living one. Crawling past it, the lads +found other bodies lying thickly, and then they touched a wheel. They had +arrived at the guns, and the bodies were those of the men shot down a few +hours before in the act of loading. + +Behind the guns a number of artillerymen were, as the boys could hear, +sitting and talking; but the guns themselves stood alone and unguarded. A +clasp of the hand, and the boys parted, one going, as previously arranged, +each way. Ned rose very quietly by the side of the gun, keeping his head, +however, below its level, and running his hand along it until it came to +the breech. The touch-hole was covered by a wad of cloth to keep the +powder dry from the heavy dew. This he removed, put up his hand again with +the wet sponge, gave a squeeze, and then cautiously replaced the covering. + +Dick did the same with the gun on the right, and so each crept along from +gun to gun, until the six guns were disabled. Then they crawled back and +joined each other. + +A clasp of the hands in congratulation, and then they were starting to +return, when they heard a dull tramp, and the head of a dark column came +along just ahead of them. The boys shrank back under the guns, and lay +flat among the bodies of the dead. The column halted at the guns, and a +voice asked: + +"Is the colonel here?" + +"Here am I," said a voice from behind the guns, and a native officer came +forward. + +[Illustration: THE WARRENERS DROWNING THE PRIMING OF THE SEPOY GUNS.] + +"We are going to make an attack from the house of Johannes. We shall be +strong, and shall sweep the Kaffirs before us. It is the order of the +general that you open with your guns here, to distract their attention." + +"Will it please you to represent to the general that we have fought this +evening, and that half my gunners are killed. The fire of the sons of +Sheitan is too strong for us. Your excellency will see the ground is +covered with our dead. Bring fire," he ordered, and at the word one of the +soldiers lighted a torch made of straw, soaked in oil, which threw a lurid +flame over the ground. "See, excellency, how we have suffered." + +"Are they all dead?" asked the officer, stepping nearer. + +The boys held their breath, when there was a sharp cracking of musketry, +the man with the torch fell prostrate, and several cries arose from the +column. The watchers on the roof of Gubbins' house had been quick to +discern their enemy. + +"Move on, march!" the officer exclaimed hastily, "double. Yes, I see, it +is hot here; but when we have attacked, and their attention is distracted, +you may do something." + +So saying, he went off at a run with his regiment. + +The boys lost no time in creeping out again, and making the best of their +way back; once fairly over the crest, they rose to their feet and ran down +toward the intrenchment. As they neared this Ned whistled twice. The +whistle was answered, and in a minute hands were stretched down to help +them to scramble over the earthwork. + +"All right," Ned said to Mr. Johnson; "the guns are useless, and weakly +guarded. There are lots of infantry on both sides, but some of them will +be drawn off, for they are going to make an attack from Johannes' house. +Where is Mr. Gubbins?" + +"He has just made his rounds," Mr. Johnson said; "I will take you to him." + +Mr. Gubbins was astonished when he heard from the boys that they had been +out, and rendered the guns temporarily useless. "You were wrong to act +without orders," he said, "but I can't scold you for such a gallant +action. We must act on it at once. I would send for a reinforcement, but +we must not lose a moment. If the attack from Johannes' house begins +before our attack, the artillerymen will prepare for action, and may +discover that the breeches of their guns are wet. Call up every man at +once, Mr. Johnson, and let them fall in on the battery; and do you," he +turned to another, "run down to the Sikh Square and Martiniere garrison, +and warn them that a great attack is just going to be made. Tell them that +we are making a sortie, and ask them to bring every rifle to bear on the +houses to the left of the guns, so as to keep down the infantry fire +there." + +In two minutes every man of the garrison was assembled in the battery, +even those from the roof being called down. + +"Bring a dark lantern," Mr. Gubbins said; "it may be useful. Now, lads, we +are going to spike the guns; they have been rendered useless, so we have +only got to make a dash for them. The moment they are in our possession, +you, Mr. Johnson, with ten men, will clear the house immediately behind +it, and look for the magazine. Mr. Leathes, you, with fifteen men, will +move to the right a little; and you, Mr. Percival, with your command, to +the left. Do not go far, but each carry a house or two, set them on fire, +and fall back here when you hear the bugle. I have got the hammer and +spiking nails. Now, as quietly as you can till you hear that we are +discovered, and then go with a rush at the guns." + +In fact, they had gone very few paces before there was a shout in the +enemy's line. The noise of so many men stumbling over the _debris_ of +leveled houses was heard in an instant in the night air. + +"Forward!" Mr. Gubbins shouted; "don't fire, give them the bayonet." + +At a charge the little party rushed along. They were in the lane now, and +were able to run fast. The shout had been followed by a shot, then by a +dozen others, and then a rapid fire broke out from the houses and walls in +front. + +They were still invisible, however, and the balls whistled overhead. They +heard the voice of the officer at the guns shout to his men: + +"Steady; don't fire till they are on the crest, then blow them into dust." + +They topped the crest and rushed at the guns. + +"Fire!" shouted the officer, but a cry of dismay alone answered his words, +and in a moment the British rushed on to the guns, and bayoneted the +astonished and dismayed enemy. + +Then they separated each to the work assigned to them, while Mr. Gubbins, +with a man with the lantern, went from gun to gun and drove a nail down +the touchhole of each. Then he followed into the house behind. Here a +short but furious fight had taken place. The Sepoys lodged there fought +desperately but unavailingly. A few leaped from the windows, but the rest +were bayoneted. The fight was stern and silent; no words were spoken, for +the Sepoys knew that it was useless to ask for quarter; the clashing of +sabers against muskets, an occasional sharp cry, and the sound of the +falling of heavy bodies alone told of the desperate struggle. + +It ended just as Mr. Gubbins entered. + +"Look about," he said; "they must have a magazine somewhere here; perhaps +a large one." + +There was a rapid search. + +"Here it is," Ned said, as he looked into a large outhouse behind the +building. "There are some twenty barrels of powder and a large quantity of +shot and shell." + +"Break open a barrel, quick!" Mr. Gubbins said. "Mr. Johnson, I will do +this with the Warreners. Do you line that low wall, and keep back the +pandies a minute or two; they will be on us like a swarm of bees. Run into +the house," he said to Dick, as Mr. Johnson led his men forward to the +wall, "you will see a bucket of water in the first room. Bring it here +quick. Now then," he said, "empty this barrel among the others; that's +right, smash in the heads of three or four others with this hammer. That's +right," as Dick returned with the water. "Now fill your cap with powder." + +Dick did so, and Mr. Gubbins poured some water into it, stirred them +together till the powder was damped through, and with this made a train +some five feet long to the dry powder. + +The party at the wall were now hotly engaged with a mass of advancing +enemy. + +"Fall back, Mr. Johnson, quickly. Sound the retreat, bugler. Go along, +lads; I'll light the train." + +He waited until the last man had passed, applied a lighted match to the +train, which began to fizz and sputter, and then ran out and followed the +rest, shutting the door of the magazine as he went out, in order that the +burning fuse should not be seen. + +By this time the houses on either side were alight, and the whole party +were returning at a double toward the intrenchments. + +As they neared the lines the enemy swarmed out from their cover, and the +head of the reinforcements were pouring out through the house into the +battery, when the earth shook, a mighty flash of fire lit the sky; there +was a roar like thunder, and most of the retreating party were swept from +their feet by the shock, while a shower of stones and timber fell in a +wide circle. They were soon up again, and scrambled over the earthworks. + +For a minute the explosion was succeeded by a deathlike stillness, broken +only by the sound of the falling fragments; then from the whole circle of +the British lines a great cheer of triumph rose up, while a yell of fury +answered them from the enemy's intrenchments. + +"Any loss?" was Mr. Gubbins' first question. + +"No one killed," was the report of the officers of the three sections. + +"Any wounded?" + +Four of the men stepped forward; two were slightly wounded only; two were +seriously hit, but a glance showed that the wounds were not of a nature +likely to be fatal. + +"Hurrah! my lads," Mr. Gubbins said cheerily; "six guns spiked, our +garrison freed from that troublesome battery, a lesson given to the enemy, +and I expect a few hundred of them blown up, and all at the cost of four +wounded." + +"Well done, indeed," a voice said; and General Inglis, with two or three +of his officers, stepped forward. "Gallantly done; but how was it that the +guns were silent? you could hardly have caught them asleep." + +"No, sir," Mr. Gubbins said; "the gentlemen who brought in the message +from General Havelock, two days ago, went out on their own account, and +silenced the guns by wetting the priming." + +A suppressed cheer broke from the whole party; for until now only Mr. +Johnson and those on guard with him knew what had happened, and the +silence of the guns had been a mystery to all. + +"Step forward, young gentlemen, will you?" General Inglis said. "You have +done a most gallant action," he went on, shaking them by the hand, "a most +gallant action; and the whole garrison are greatly indebted to you. I +shall have great pleasure in reporting your gallant conduct to the +commander-in-chief, when the time comes for doing so. I will not mar the +pleasure which all feel at your deed by blaming you for acting on your own +inspiration, but I must do so to-morrow. Good fortune has attended your +enterprise, but the lives of brave men are too valuable to allow them to +undertake such risks as this on their own account. And now that I have +said what I was obliged to say, I ask you all to give three cheers for our +gallant young friends." + +Three hearty cheers were given, and then the general hurried off to +superintend the preparations for the defense of the quarter threatened by +the attack from Johannes' house, if indeed that attack should not be +postponed, owing to the discouragement which the blow just inflicted would +naturally spread. Surrounded by their comrades, the Warreners re-entered +the house. + +"What was that terrible explosion?" "What has happened?" was asked by a +score of female voices as they entered. + +"Good news," Mr. Gubbins said; "you can sleep in peace. The guns of the +battery which has annoyed us are all spiked, and their magazine blown up, +and all this without the loss of a man, thanks to the Warreners, who went +out alone and disabled all the guns, by wetting the primings. All your +thanks are due to them." + +There was a general cry of grateful joy; for since the battery had begun +to play upon the house, no one had felt that his own life or the lives of +those dearest to him were safe for a moment. All were dressed, for in +these times of peril no one went regularly to bed; and they now crowded +round the boys, shaking them by the hand, patting them on the shoulders, +many crying for very joy and relief. + +Mrs. Hargreaves was standing at the door, and the boys went up to her. She +drew back the curtain for them to enter; for, sure that the boys intended +to carry out some desperate enterprise, none of her family had even lain +down. Mr. Hargreaves and Mr. Righton followed them in. + +"We were all praying for you," she said simply, "as if you had been my own +sons; for you were doing as much for me and mine as my own could have +done;" and she kissed both their foreheads. + +"I think, Mrs. Hargreaves," said Dick, with the demure impudence of a +midshipman, "that that ought to go round." + +"I think you have fairly earned it, you impudent boy," Mrs. Hargreaves +said, smiling. + +Mrs. Righton kissed Dick tearfully, for she was thinking that, had the +battery been silenced only one day earlier, her little one would have been +saved. Edith glanced at her mother, and allowed Dick to kiss her; while +Nelly threw her arms round his neck and kissed him heartily, telling him +he was a darling boy. + +Ned, who possessed none of the impudence of his brother, and who was +moreover at the age when many boys become bashful with women, contented +himself with shaking hands with Mrs. Righton and Edith, and would have +done the same with Nelly, but that young lady put up her cheek with a +laugh. + +"I choose to be kissed, sir," she said; "it is not much kissing that we +get here, goodness knows." + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +A SORTIE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. + + +The night passed off without the expected attack from Johannes' house, the +rebels being too much disconcerted by the destruction of the battery, and +the loss of so many men, to attempt any offensive operations. The +destruction of the house behind the guns, and of all those in its +vicinity, deterred them from re-establishing a battery in the same place, +as there would be no shelter for the infantry supporting the guns; and +after the result of the sortie it was evident to them that a large force +must be kept in readiness to repel the attacks of the British. + +For a few days life was more tolerable in Gubbins' garrison; for although +shot and shell frequently struck the house, and batteries multiplied in +the circle around, none kept up so deadly and accurate a fire as that +which they had destroyed. + +The Warreners took their fair share in all the heavy fatigue work, and in +the picket duty in the battery or on the roof; but they enjoyed their +intervals of repose, which were now always spent with Mr. Hargreaves' +family. + +Mr. Hargreaves was collector of a district near Lucknow, and was high in +the Civil Service. He was a fit husband for his kindly wife; and as Mr. +Righton was of a cheerful and hopeful disposition, the boys found +themselves members of a charming family circle. Often and often they +wished that their father, sister, and cousin could but join them; or +rather, as Ned said, they could join the party without, for no one could +wish that any they loved should be at Lucknow at that time. + +One evening late they were sitting together in a group outside the house, +the enemy's fire being slack, when Mr. Johnson came up from the battery to +Mr. Gubbins, who formed one of the party. + +"I am afraid, sir, they are mining again; lying on the ground, we think we +can hear the sound of blows." + +"That is bad," Mr. Gubbins said; "I heard this afternoon that they believe +that two mines are being driven from Johannes' house in the direction of +the Martiniere, and the brigade messhouse; now we are to have our turn, +eh? Well, we blew in the last they tried, and must do it again; but it is +so much more hard work. Now, gentlemen, let us see who has the best ears. +Excuse us, Mrs. Hargreaves, we shall not be long away." + +On entering the battery they found the men on guard all lying down +listening, and were soon at full length with their ears to the ground. All +could hear the sound; it was very faint, as faint as the muffled tick of a +watch, sometimes beating at regular intervals of a second or so, sometimes +ceasing for a minute or two. + +"There is no doubt they are mining," Mr. Gubbins said; "the question is, +from which way are they coming." + +None could give an opinion. The sound was so faint, and seemed to come so +directly from below, that the ear could not discriminate in the slightest. + +"At any rate," Mr. Gubbins said, "we must begin at once to sink a shaft. +If, when we get down a bit, we cannot judge as to the direction, we must +drive two or three listening galleries in different directions. But before +we begin we must let Major Anderson, of the Royal Engineers, know, and +take his advice; he is in command of all mining operations." + +In ten minutes Major Anderson was on the ground. + +"The fellows are taking to mining in earnest," he said; "this is the third +we have discovered to-day, and how many more there may be, goodness only +knows. I think you had better begin here," he said to Mr. Gubbins. "You +have got tools, I think. Say about six feet square, then two men can work +at once. I will be here the first thing in the morning, and then we will +look round and see which is the likeliest spot for the fellows to be +working from. Will you ask your sentries on the roof to listen closely to- +night, in order to detect, if possible, a stir of men coming or going from +any given point." + +Picks and shovels were brought out, the garrison told off into working +parties of four each, to relieve each other every hour, and the work +began. Well-sinking is hard work in any climate, but with a thermometer +marking a hundred and five at night, it is terrible; and each set of +workers, as they came up bathed in perspiration, threw themselves on the +ground utterly exhausted. Mr. Hargreaves and a few of the elders of the +garrison were excused this work, and took extra duty on the terrace and +battery. + +The next day it was decided that the enemy were probably working from a +ruined house near their former battery, and a gallery was begun from the +bottom of the shaft. This was pushed on night and day for three days, the +workers being now certain, from the rapidly increasing sound of the +workers, that this was the line by which the enemy was approaching. The +gallery was driven nearly twenty yards, and then three barrels of powder +were stored there, and the besieged awaited the approach of the rebels' +gallery. + +The Sepoys had now erected batteries whose cross fire swept the ground +outside the intrenchments, so that a sortie could no longer be carried out +with any hope of success. Had it been possible to have attempted it, a +party would have gone out, and driving off any guard that might have been +placed, entered the enemy's gallery and caught them at their work. A +sentry was placed continually in the gallery, and each hour the sound of +the pick and crowbar became louder. + +On the fifth day the engineers judged that there could not be more than a +yard of earth between them. The train was laid now, and a cautious watch +kept, until, just at the moment when it was thought that an opening would +be made, the train was fired. The earth heaved, and a great opening was +made, while a shower of stones flew high in the air. The enemy's gallery +was blown in, and the men working destroyed, and a loud cheer broke from +the garrison at the defeat of another attempt upon them. + +The month of August began badly in Lucknow. Major Banks, the civil +commissioner named by Sir Henry Lawrence to succeed him, was shot dead +while reconnoitering from the top of an outhouse. The Reverend Mr. +Polehampton, who had been wounded at the commencement of the siege, was +killed, as were Lieutenants Lewin, Shepherd, and Archer. + +On the 8th large bodies of Sepoys were observed to enter the city, and on +the 10th a furious attack was made all round the British line. Every man +capable of bearing arms stood at his post, and even the sick and wounded +crawled out of hospital and took posts on housetops wherever they could +fire on the foe. The din was prodigious--the yells of the enemy, their +tremendous fire of musketry, the incessant roar of their cannon, but they +lacked heart for close fighting. + +Frequently large bodies of men showed from behind their shelter, and, +carrying ladders, advanced as if with the determination of making an +assault. Each time, however, the withering fire opened upon them from the +line of earthworks, from the roof of every house, and the storm of grape +from the batteries, caused them to waver and fall back. Each fresh effort +was led by brave men, fanatics, who advanced alone far in front of the +rest, shrieking, "Death to the infidel!" + +But they died, and their spirit failed to animate their followers. Only +once or twice did the assailing parties get near the line of +intrenchments, and then but to fall back rapidly after heavy loss. + +Day after day the position of the besieged grew more unendurable. The +buildings were crumbling away under the heavy and continued fire; and as +one after another became absolutely untenable, the ladies and children +were more closely crowded in those which still offered some sort of +shelter. Even death, fearful as were its ravages, did not suffice to +counteract the closeness of the packing. Crowded in dark rooms, living on +the most meager food--for all the comforts, such as tea, sugar, wine, +spirits, etc., were exhausted, and even the bread was made of flour +ground, each for himself, between rough stones--without proper medicines, +attendance, or even bedding; tormented by a plague of flies, sickened by +disgusting smells, condemned to inaction and confinement, the women and +children died off rapidly, and the men, although better off with regard to +light and air, sickened fast. Half the officers were laid up with disease, +and all were lowered in health and strength. + +On the 18th, as the Warreners had just returned from a heavy night's work, +strengthening the defenses, and burying horses and cattle, a great +explosion was heard, and one of those posted on the roof ran down +shouting: + +"To arms! they have fired a mine under the Sikh Square!" + +Every man caught up his rifle and rushed to the spot. The mine had carried +away a portion of the exterior defense, and the enemy, with yells of +triumph, rushed forward toward the opening. Then ensued a furious _melee_; +each man fought for himself, hand to hand, in the breach; Mussulmen and +Englishmen struggled in deadly combat; the crack of the revolver, the thud +of the clubbed guns, the clash of sword against steel, the British cheer +and the native yell, were mingled in wild confusion. While some drove the +enemy back, others brought boxes and beams, fascines and sandbags, to +repair the breach. The enemy were forced back, and the British poured out +with shouts of triumph. + +Our men's blood was up, and they followed their advantage. Part of the +engineers, ever on the alert, joined the throng with some barrels of +powder, and the enemy were pushed back sufficiently far to enable some of +the houses, from which we had been greatly annoyed by the enemy's +sharpshooters, to be blown up. + +This success cheered the besieged, and on the 20th, when it was discovered +that the enemy were driving two new mines, a fresh sortie was determined +upon. + +The garrison of Gubbins' house had now less cover than before, for the +building had been reduced almost to a shell by the enemy's fire, and all +the women and children had the day before been removed to other quarters. +The Residency itself was a tottering mass of ruins, and this also had been +emptied of its helpless ones, who were crowded in a great underground room +in the Begum Khotee. It is difficult to form an idea of the storm of shot +and shell which swept the space inclosed within the lines of defense, but +some notion may be obtained from the fact that an officer had the +curiosity to count the number of cannon balls of various sizes that fell +on the roof of the brigade messhouse in one day, and found that they +amounted to the almost incredible number of two hundred and eighty. Living +such a life as this, the Warreners were rejoiced when they received +orders, with ten of the other defenders of the ruins of Gubbins' house, to +join in the sortie on the 20th of August. About a hundred of the garrison +formed up in the Sikh Square, and at the word being given dashed over the +stockade and intrenchment, and made a charge for Johannes' house. This had +throughout the siege been the post from which the enemy had most annoyed +them, the king of Oude's negro in particular having killed a great many of +our officers and men. It was from this point that the mines being driven, +and it was determined at all hazards to destroy it. + +The rush of the British took the enemy by surprise. Scarce a shot was +fired until they had traversed half the distance, and then a heavy fire of +musketry opened from all the houses held by the enemy. Still the English +pushed on at full speed, without pausing to return a shot. With a cheer +they burst into the inclosure in which the house stood, and while half the +party entered it and engaged in a furious combat with those within, the +others, in accordance with orders, pressed forward into the houses beyond, +so as to keep the enemy from advancing to the assistance of their friends, +thus caught in a trap. The Warreners belonged to the party who advanced, +and were soon engaged in a hand-to-hand fight with the enemy. Scattering +through the houses, they drove the Sepoys before them. The Warreners were +fighting side by side with Mr. Johnson, and with him, after driving the +enemy through the next house, they entered an outhouse beyond it. + +Mr. Johnson entered first, followed by Ned, Dick being last of the party. +Dick heard a sudden shout and a heavy blow, and rushed in. Mr. Johnson lay +on the ground, his skull beaten in with a blow from the iron-bound staff +of a dervish, a wild figure with long hair and beard reaching down to his +waist. Dick was in time to see the terrible staff descend again upon Ned's +head. Ned guarded it with his rifle, but the guard was beaten down and Ned +stretched senseless on the ground. Before the fakir had time to raise his +stuff again, Dick drove his bayonet through his chest, and the fakir fell +prostrate, his body rolling down some steps into a cellar which served as +a woodstore. + +As he fell Dick heard a fierce growl, and a bear of a very large size, who +was standing by the fakir, rose on his hind legs. Fortunately Dick's rifle +was still loaded, and, pointing it into the fierce beast's mouth, he +fired, and the bear rolled down the wooden steps after his master. +Throwing aside his rifle, Dick turned to raise his brother. Ned lay as if +dead. + +Dick leaped to his feet, and ran out to call for succor. He went into the +house, but it was empty. He rushed to the door, and saw the rest of the +party in full retreat. He shouted, but his voice was lost in the crackle +of musketry fire. He ran back to Ned and again tried to lift him, and had +got him on his shoulders, when there was a tremendous explosion. Johannes' +house had been blown up. + +Following close upon the sound came the yells of the enemy, who were +flocking up to pursue the English back to their trenches. Escape was now +hopeless. Dick lowered Ned to the ground, hastily dragged the body of Mr. +Johnson outside the door, and then, lifting Ned, bore him down the steps +into the cellar into which the fakir and the bear had fallen. He carried +him well into the cellar, took away the wooden steps, and then, with great +difficulty, also dragged the bodies of the fakir and the bear further in, +so that any one looking down into the hole from the outside would observe +nothing unusual. + +Then, as he lay down, faint from his exertions, he could hear above the +tread of a great number of men, followed by a tremendous musketry fire +from the house. Once or twice he thought he heard some one come to the +door of the outhouse; but if so, no one entered. + +Beyond rubbing Ned's hands, and putting cold stones to his forehead, Dick +could do nothing; but Ned breathed, and Dick felt strong hopes that he was +only stunned. In a quarter of an hour he showed signs of reviving, and in +an hour was able to hear from Dick an account of what had happened, and +where they were. + +"We are in a horrible fix this time, Dick, and no mistake; my head aches +so, I can hardly think; let us be quiet for a bit, and we will both try to +think what is best to be done. There is no hurry to decide. No one is +likely to come down into this place, but we may as well creep well behind +this pile of wood and straw, and then we shall be safe." + +Dick assented, and for an hour they lay quiet, Ned's regular breathing +soon telling his brother that he had dropped off to sleep. Then Dick very +quietly crept out again from their hiding-place. + +"It is a grand idea," he said to himself; "magnificent. It's nasty, +horribly nasty; but after three weeks of what we have gone through in the +Residency one can see and do things which it would have made one almost +sick to think of a month back; and as our lives depend upon it we must not +stand upon niceties. I wish, though, I had been brought up a red Indian; +it would have come natural then, I suppose." + +So saying, he took out his pocket-knife, opened it, and went to the body +of the dead fakir. He took the long, matted hair into his hand with an +exclamation of disgust, but saw at once that his idea was a feasible one. +The hair was matted together in an inextricable mass, and could be trusted +to hang together. + +He accordingly set to work to cut it off close to the head; but although +his knife was a sharp one it was a long and unpleasant task, and nothing +but the necessity of the case could have nerved him to get through with +it. + +At last it was finished, and he looked at his work with complacency. + +"That's a magnificent wig," he said. "I defy the best barber in the world +to make such a natural one. Now for the bear." + +This was a long task; but at last the bear was skinned, and Dick set to to +clean, as well as he could, the inside of the hide. Then he dragged into a +corner and covered up the carcass of the bear and the body of the fakir, +having first stripped the clothes off the latter, scattered a little straw +over the bear's skin, and then, his task being finished, he crept behind +the logs again, lay down, and went off to sleep by the side of Ned. It was +getting dark when he awoke. Ned was awake, and was sitting up by his side. +Outside, the din of battle, the ceaseless crack of the rifle, and the roar +of cannon was going on as usual, without interruption. + +"How do you feel now, Ned?" Dick asked. + +"All right, Dick. I have got a biggish bump on the side of my head, and +feel a little muddled still, but that is nothing. I can't think of any +plan for escaping from this place, Dick, nor of getting hold of a +disguise; for even if we could get out of this place and neighborhood we +must be detected, and in this town it is of no use trying to beg for +shelter or aid." + +"It is all arranged," Dick said cheerfully. "I have got two of the best +disguises in the world, and we have only to dress up in them and walk +out." + +Ned looked at Dick as if he thought that he had gone out of his mind. + +"You don't believe me? Just you wait, then, two minutes, till I have +dressed up, and then I'll call you;" and without waiting for an answer, +Dick went out. + +He speedily stripped to the waist, rubbed some mud from the damp floor on +his arms, wound the fakir's rags round his body with a grimace of disgust, +put the wig on his head--his hair, like that of all the garrison, had been +cut as close to the head as scissors would take it--shook the long, +knotted hair over his face and shoulders--behind it hung to the waist-- +took the staff in his hand, and called quietly to Ned to come out. Ned +crept out, and remained petrified with astonishment. + +"The fakir!" he exclaimed at last. "Good heavens, Dick! is that you?" + +"It's me, sure enough," Dick said, taking off his wig. "Here is a wig in +which the sharpest eyes in the world could not detect you." + +"But where--" began Ned, still lost in surprise. + +"My dear Ned, I have borrowed from the fakir. It was not quite a nice +job," he went on, in answer to Ned's astonished look, "but it's over now, +and we need not say any more about it. The hair and rags are disgustingly +filthy, there is no doubt about that. Their late owner never used a comb, +and was otherwise beastly in his habits; still, old man, that cannot be +helped, and if you like, when we once get out of the town, we can put them +in water for twenty-four hours, or make a sort of oven, and bake them to +get rid of their inhabitants. Our lives are at stake, Ned, and we must not +mind trifles." + +"Right, old boy," Ned said, making a great effort to overcome his first +sensation of disgust. "As you say, it is a trifle. You have hit upon a +superb idea, Dick, superb; and I think you have saved our lives from what +seemed a hopeless scrape. But what is your other disguise?" + +"This," Dick said, lifting the bear's skin. "I can get into this, and if +we travel at night, so that I can walk upright, for I never could travel +far on all-fours, I should pass well enough, as I could lie curled up by +your side in the daytime, and no one will ask a holy fakir any troublesome +questions. I don't think you could get into the skin, Ned, or I would +certainly take the fakir for choice; for it will be awfully hot in this +skin." + +"I don't mind doing the fakir a bit," Ned said. "Fortunately the sun has +done his work, and the color of our skins can be hidden by a good coat of +dirt, which will look as natural as possible. Now let us set about it at +once." + +It took an hour's preparation; for, although Ned's toilet was quickly +made, needing in fact nothing but a coating of mud, it took some time to +sew Dick up in the skin, the opening being sewn up by means of the small +blade of the knife and some string. It was by this time quite dark, and +the operation had been completed so perfectly that once Ned was dressed +they had no fear whatever of interruption. + +"Now, Ned, before we go I will set fire to the straw. I don't suppose any +one will go down and. make any discoveries, but they may be looking for +wood, so it's as well to prevent accidents. We will throw that big piece +of matting over the opening in the floor, so the light won't show till we +get well away." + +He ran down the ladder, struck a match, lit the straw, and then ran +quickly up again. The mat was dragged across the opening, and then the +boys went boldly out into the yard, Ned striding along, and Dick trotting +on all-fours beside him. The night was dark, and although there were many +men in the yard, sitting about on the ground round fires, no one noticed +the boys, who, turning out through a gateway, took the road into the heart +of Lucknow. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +OUT OF LUCKNOW. + + +One hundred yards or so after starting the disguised fakir and his bear +entered a locality teeming with troops, quartered there in order to be +close at hand to the batteries, to assist to repel sorties, or to join in +attacks. Fortunately the night was very dark, and the exceedingly awkward +and unnatural walk of the bear passed unseen. Over and over again they +were challenged and shouted to, but the hoarse "Hoo-Hac," which is the cry +of the fakirs, and the ring of the iron-bound staff with its clanking +rings on the ground, were a sufficient pass. + +Ned guessed, from the fact of their having been met with so close to the +fort, that the fakir and his bear would be well known to the mutineers; +and this proved to be the case. + +Several of the men addressed him, but he waved his arm, shook his head +angrily, and strode on; and as fakirs frequently pretend to be absorbed in +thought, and unwilling to converse, the soldiers fell back. Beyond this, +the streets were deserted. The most populous native quarter lay far away, +and few of the inhabitants, save of the lowest classes, cared to be about +the streets after nightfall. + +The instant that they were in a quiet quarter Dick rose on to his feet. + +"My goodness," he whispered to Ned, "that all-fours' work is enough to +break one's back, Ned." + +They now struck sharply to the left, presently crossed the wide street +leading from the Cawnpore Bridge, and kept on through quiet lanes until +they came to the canal. This would be the guide they wanted, and they +followed it along, taking nearly the route which General Havelock +afterward followed in his advance, until they came to a bridge across the +canal. Once over, they were, they knew, fairly safe. They kept on at a +rapid walk until well in the country, and then sat down by the roadside +for a consultation as to their best course of proceeding. The lads were +both of opinion that the dangers which would lie in the way of their +reaching Cawnpore would be very great. This road was now occupied by great +numbers of troops, determined to bar the way to Lucknow against General +Havelock. They had advanced without question, because it was natural that +Sepoys should be making their way from Cawnpore to Lucknow; but it would +not be at all natural that a fakir should at this time be going in the +opposite direction. Moreover--and this weighed very strongly with them-- +they knew that General Havelock would advance with a force wholly +inadequate to the task before him; and they thought that even should he +succeed in getting into Lucknow, he would be wholly unable to get out +again, hampered, as he would be, with sick, wounded, women, and children. +In that case he would have to continue to hold Lucknow until a fresh +relieving force arrived, and the lads had already had more than enough of +the confinement and horrors of a siege such as that of Cawnpore. + +Animated by these considerations, they determined to push to Delhi, where +they hoped that they might arrive in time to see the end of the siege, at +whose commencement they had been present. + +No suspicion would be likely to be excited by their passage through that +line of country, which, indeed, would be found altogether denuded of the +enemy's troops, for all the regiments that had mutinied along this line +had marched off, either to Delhi or Lucknow, and the country was in the +hands of the zemindars, who would neither suspect nor molest a wandering +fakir. It certainly was unusual for a fakir to be accompanied by a bear, +but as the fakir they had killed had a bear with him, it was clearly by no +means impossible. Dick protested that it was absolutely essential that +they should walk at night, for that he would be detected at once in the +day. + +"I vote that we walk all night, Ned, and make our thirty-five or forty +miles, then turn in, hide up all day. In the evening when it gets quite +dusk, we can go into the outskirts of a village. Then you will begin to +shout, and I will lie down, as if tired, by you. They will bring you lots +of grub, under the idea that you will give them charms, and so on, next +day. When the village is asleep, we will go on. You can easily ask for +cloth--I am sure your rags are wretched enough--and then I can dress at +night, after setting out from each village, in native dress, for it would +be awful to walk far in this skin; besides, my feet are as uncomfortable +as possible." + +This plan was agreed upon, and they struck across country for the main +Delhi road, Dick slipping out of his bear's skin, and simply wearing it +wrapped loosely round him. + +The Warreners had been accustomed to such incessant labor at Lucknow that +they had no difficulty in keeping going all night. As day was breaking +they retired into a tope of trees and threw themselves down, Dick first +taking the precaution to get into the bear's skin and lace it up, in case +of surprise. It was of course hot, but at least it kept off flies and +other insects; and as it was quite loose for him, it was not so hot as it +would have been had it fitted more tightly. The lads were both utterly +fatigued, and in a very few minutes were fast asleep. + +It was late in the afternoon before they awoke, and although extremely +hungry, they were forced to wait until it became dusk before proceeding on +their way. + +At the first village at which they arrived they sat down near the first +house, and Ned began to strike his staff to the ground and to shout "Hoo- +Hac" with great vehemence. Although the population were for the most part +Mussulmen, there were many Hindoos everywhere scattered about, and these +at once came out and formed a ring round the holy man. Some bore torches, +and Dick played his part by sitting up and rocking uneasily, in the manner +of a bear, and then lying down and half-covering his face with his paw, +went apparently to sleep. + +"The servant of Siva is hungry," Ned said, "and would eat. He wants +cloth;" and he pointed to the rags which scarce held together over his +shoulder. Supplies of parched grain and of baked cakes were brought him, +and a woman carried up a sick child and a length of cloth. Ned passed his +hand over the child's face, and by that and the heat of her hand judged +that she had fever. First, after the manner of a true fakir, he mumbled +some sentence which no one could understand. Then in silence he breathed a +sincere prayer that the child might be restored to health. After this he +bade the mother give her cooling drinks made of rice water and acid fruit, +to keep her cool, and to damp her hands and face from time to time; and +then he signified by a wave of his hand that he would be alone. + +The villagers all retired, and the lads made a hearty meal; then taking +what remained of the food, they started on their night's journey, pausing +in a short time for Dick to get out of his skin, and to wrap himself from +head to foot in the dark blue cotton cloth that the woman had given. + +"I felt like an impostor, getting that cloth under false pretenses, Dick." + +"Oh, nonsense," Dick said. "The woman gave it for what the fakir could do, +and I am sure your advice was better than the fakir would have given, so +she is no loser. If ever we come on one of these sort of trips again we +will bring some quinine and some strong pills, and then we really may do +some good." + +Dick took no pains about coloring his face or hands, for both were burned +so brown with exposure to the sun that he had no fear that a casual glance +at them at night, even in torchlight, would detect that he was not a +native. + +"Now, Ned, I promised to stop for twenty-four hours, if you liked, to soak +that head of hair in a pond; what do you say?" + +"No," Ned said; "it is terribly filthy, but we will waste no time. To- +morrow, when we halt, we will try and make an oven and bake it. I will try +to-morrow to get a fresh cloth for myself, and throw these horrible rags +away. Even a fakir must have a new cloth sometimes." + +They made a very long march that night; and had the next evening a success +equal to that of the night before. Another long night-tramp followed, and +on getting up at the end of the day's sleep Ned collected some dry sticks +and lit a fire. Then he made a hole in the ground, and filled it with +glowing embers. When the embers were just extinct he cleared them out, +took off his wig, rolled it up, and put it into the hot oven he had thus +prepared, and covered the top in with a sod. Then carefully looking to see +that no natives were in sight, he threw away his old rags, and Dick and he +enjoyed a dip in a small irrigation tank close to the wood. After this Ned +again smeared himself over with mud, and sat down in the sun to dry. Then +he dressed himself in the cloth that had been given him the night before, +opened his oven, took out the wig, gave it a good shake, and put it on, +saying, "Thank God, I feel clean again; I have had the horrors for the +last three days, Dick." + +In the three nights' journey the boys had traveled a hundred and eleven +miles, and were now close to Ferruckabad, a town of considerable size. +They pursued their usual tactics--entered it after dusk, and sat down near +the outskirts. The signal calls were answered as before, and a number of +the faithful gathered round with their simple offerings of food. + +As they began stating their grievances, Ned as usual warned them off with +a brief "to-morrow" when he saw outside the group of Hindoos two or three +Mussulman troopers. + +These moved closely up, and contemplated the wild-looking fakir, with his +tangled hair and his eyes peering out through the tangle. One of them +looked at the bear for some time attentively, and then said: + +"That is no bear; it is a man in a bear's skin." + +Ned had feared that the discovery might be made, and had from the first +had his answer ready. + +"Fool," he said in a loud, harsh voice, "who with his eyes in his head +supposed that it was a bear? It is one who has sinned and is under a vow. +Dogs like you know naught of these things, but the followers of Siva +know." + +"Do you call me a dog?" said the Mussulman angrily, and strode forward as +if to strike; but Ned leaped to his feet, and twirling his staff round his +head, brought it down with such force on the soldier's wrist that it +nearly broke the arm. The Hindoos began to shout "Sacrilege!" as the +Mussulman drew his pistol. Before he could fire, however, his comrades +threw themselves upon him. At this time it was the policy of Hindoos and +Mussulmans alike to drop all religious differences, and the troopers knew +that any assault upon a holy fakir would excite to madness the Hindoo +population. + +The furious Mohammedan was therefore dragged away by his fellows, and Ned +calmly resumed his seat. The Hindoos brought a fresh supply of food for +the holy man expiating his sin in so strange a way, and then left the +fakir to his meditation and his rest. + +Half an hour later the Warreners were on their way, and before morning +congratulated themselves upon having done more than half of the two +hundred and eighty miles which separate Lucknow from Delhi. The remaining +distance took them, however, much longer than the first part had done, for +Dick cut his foot badly against a stone the next night, and was so lamed +that the night journeys had to be greatly shortened. Instead, therefore, +of arriving in eight days, as they had hoped, it was the 3d of September-- +that is, thirteen days from their start--before they saw in the distance +the British flag flying on the watch tower on the Ridge. They had made a +long detour, and came in at the rear of the British position. On this side +the country was perfectly open, and the villagers brought in eggs and +other produce to the camp. + +Upon the 25th of August the enemy had sent a force of six thousand men to +intercept the heavy siege train which was on its way to the British camp +from the Punjaub. Brigadier-General Nicholson, one of the most gallant and +promising officers of the British army, was sent out against them with a +force of two thousand men, of which only one-fourth were British. He met +them at Nujufghur and routed them, capturing all their guns, thirteen in +number. A curious instance here occurred of the manner in which the least +courageous men will fight when driven to bay. The army of six thousand men +had made so poor a fight that the British loss in killed and wounded +amounted to only thirty-three men. After it was over it was found that a +party of some twenty rebels had taken shelter in a house in a village in +the British rear. The Punjaub infantry was sent to drive them out, but its +commanding officer and many of its men were killed by the desperate +handful of mutineers. The Sixty-first Queen's was then ordered up, but the +enemy was not overpowered until another officer was dangerously wounded +and many had fallen. Altogether the victory over this little band of men +cost us sixteen killed and forty-six wounded--that is to say, double the +loss which had been incurred in defeating six thousand of them in the +open. The result of this engagement was that the road in the rear of the +British camp was perfectly open, and the Warreners experienced no +hindrance whatever in approaching the camp. + +Dick had, after crossing the Oude frontier, left his bear's skin behind +him, and adopted the simple costume of a native peasant, the blue cloth +and a white turban, Ned having begged a piece of white cotton for the +purpose. Traveling only at night, when the natives wrap themselves up very +much, there was little fear of Dick's color being detected; and as he kept +himself well in the background during the short time of an evening when +Ned appeared in public, he had passed without attracting any attention +whatever. + +The Warreners' hearts leaped within them on beholding, on the afternoon of +the 3d of September, a party of British cavalry trotting along the road, +two miles from camp. + +"It is the Guides," Ned said. "We know the officer, Dick. Keep on your +disguise a minute longer; we shall have some fun." + +Ned accordingly stood in the middle of the road and shouted his "Hoo-Hac!" +at the top of his voice. + +"Get out of the way, you old fool," the officer riding at its head said, +as he drew up his horse on seeing the wild figure, covered with shaggy +hair to the waist, twirling his formidable staff. + +Ned stopped a moment. "Not a bit more of an old fool than you are +yourself, Tomkins," he said. + +The officer reined his horse back in his astonishment. He had spoken in +English unconsciously, and being answered in the same language, and from +such a figure as this, naturally petrified him. + +"Who on earth are you?" he asked. + +"Ned Warrener; and this is my brother Dick;" and Ned pulled off his wig. + +"By Jove!" the officer said, leaping from his horse; "I am glad to see +you. Where on earth have you come from? Some one who came up here from +Allahabad had seen some fellow there who had come down from Cawnpore, and +he reported that you had gone on into Lucknow in disguise, and that news +had come you had got safely in." + +"So we did," Ned said; "and as you see, we have got safely out again. We +left there on the night of the 20th." + +"And what was the state of things then?" Lieutenant Tomkins asked. "How +long could they hold out? We know that it will be another three weeks +before Havelock can hope to get there." + +"Another three weeks!" Ned said. "That is terrible. They were hard pushed +indeed when we left; the enemy were driving mines in all directions; the +garrison were getting weaker and weaker every day, and the men fit for +duty were worked to death. It seems next to impossible that they could +hold out for another four or five weeks from the time we left them; but if +it can be done, they will do it. Do you happen to have heard of our +father?" + +"The man that brought the news about you said he was all right and hearty, +and the troop was doing good work in scouring the country round Cawnpore. +Now will you ride back and report yourself to General Wilson?" So saying, +he ordered two of the troopers to dismount and walk back to camp. + +Ned had thrown down the wig when he took it off; but before mounting Dick +picked it up, rolled it up into a little parcel, and said: + +"It is my first effort in wig-making, and as it has saved our lives I'll +keep it as long as I live, as a memento; besides, who knows? it may be +useful again yet." + +Quite an excitement was created in the camp behind the Ridge by the +arrival of the Guide cavalry with two Englishmen in native dress, and the +news that they were officers from Lucknow quickly spread. + +The cavalry drew up at their own lines, and then dismounting, Lieutenant +Tomkins at once sent an orderly to the general with the news, while the +boys were taken inside a tent, and enjoyed the luxury of a bath, and a +message was sent round to the officers of the regiment, which rapidly +resulted in sufficient clothes being contributed to allow the boys to make +their appearance in the garb of British officers. + +A curry and a cup of coffee were ready for them by the time they were +dressed, and these were enjoyed indeed after a fortnight's feeding upon +uncooked grain, varied only by an occasional piece of native bread or +cake. The hasty meal concluded, they accompanied Lieutenant Tomkins to the +general's tent. + +They were most cordially received by General Wilson; and omitting all +details, they gave him an account of their having been cut off during a +successful sortie from Lucknow, and having made their way to Delhi in +disguise. Then they proceeded to describe fully the state of affairs at +Lucknow, a recital which was at once interesting and important, inasmuch +as though several native messengers had got through from Lucknow to +General Havelock, as none of them carried letters--for these would have +insured their death if searched--they had brought simply messages from +General Inglis asking for speedy help, and their stories as to the +existent state of things in the garrison were necessarily vague and +untrustworthy. + +The most satisfactory portion of the boys' statement was, that although +the garrison were now on short rations, and that all the comforts, and +many of what are regarded as almost the necessaries of life, were +exhausted, yet that there was plenty of grain in the place to enable the +besieged to exist for some weeks longer. + +"The great fear is that some essential part of the defense may be +destroyed by mines," Ned concluded. "Against open attacks I think that the +garrison is safe; but the enemy are now devoting themselves so much to +driving mines that however great the care and vigilance of the garrison, +they may not be always able to detect them, or, even if they do so, to run +counter-mines, owing to the numerical weakness of our force." + +"Thanks for your description, gentlemen; it throws a great light upon the +state of affairs, and is very valuable. I will at once telegraph a +_resume_ of it to the central government and to General Havelock. The +pressing need of aid will no doubt impress the Calcutta authorities with +the urgent necessity to place General Havelock in a position to make an +advance at the earliest possible moment. He will, of course, communicate +to Colonel Warrener the news of your safe arrival here. You have gone +through a great deal indeed since you left here, while we have been doing +little more than hold our own. However, the tide has turned now. We have +received large reinforcements and our siege train; and I hope that in the +course of a fortnight the British flag will once again wave over Delhi. In +the meantime you will, at any rate for a few days, need rest. I will leave +you for a day with your friends of the Guides, and will then attach you to +one of the divisional staffs. I hope that you will both dine with me to- +day." + +That evening at dinner the Warreners met at the general's table General +Nicholson, whose chivalrous bravery placed him on a par with Outram, who +was called the Bayard of the British army. He was short of staff officers, +and did not wish to weaken the fighting powers of the regiments of his +division by drawing officers from them. He therefore asked General Wilson +to attach the Warreners to his personal staff. This request was at once +complied with. Their new chief assured them that for the present he had no +occasion for their services, and that they were at liberty to do as they +pleased until the siege operations began in earnest. The next few days +were accordingly spent, as Dick said, in eating and talking. + +Every regiment in camp was anxious to hear the tale of the siege of +Lucknow, and of the Warreners' personal experience in entering and leaving +the besieged Residency; and accordingly they dined, lunched, or +breakfasted by turns with every mess in camp. They were indeed the heroes +of the day; and the officers were much pleased at the simplicity with +which these gallant lads told their adventures, and at the entire absence +of any consciousness that they had done anything out of the way. In fact, +they rather regarded the whole business as two schoolboys might regard +some adventure in which they had been engaged, Dick, in particular, +regarding all their adventures, with the exception only of the sufferings +of the garrison of Lucknow, in the light of an "immense lark." + +In the meantime, the troops were working day and night in the trenches and +batteries, under the directions of the engineer officers; and every heart +beat high with satisfaction that, after standing for months on the +defensive, repelling continual attacks of enormously superior numbers, at +last their turn had arrived, and that the day was at hand when the long- +deferred vengeance was to fall upon the bloodstained city. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +THE STORMING OF DELHI. + + +On the morning of the 8th of September the battery, eight hundred yards +from the Moree gate of Delhi, opened fire, and sent the first battering +shot against the town which had for three months been besieged. Hitherto, +indeed, light shot, shell, and shrapnel had been fired at the gunners on +the walls to keep down their fire, and the city and palace had been +shelled by the mortar batteries; but not a shot had been fired with the +object of injuring the walls or bringing the siege to an end. + +For three months the besiegers had stood on the offensive, and the enemy +not only held the city, but had erected very strong works in the open +ground in front of the Lahore gate, and had free ingress and egress from +the town at all points save from the gates on the north side, facing the +British position on the Ridge. During these three long months, however, +the respective position of the parties had changed a good deal. For the +first month the mutineers were elated with their success all over that +part of India. They were intoxicated with treason and murder; and their +enormous numbers in comparison with those of the British troops in the +country made them not only confident of success, but arrogant in the +belief that success was already assured. Gradually, however, the failure +of all their attempts, even with enormously superior forces, to drive the +little British force from the grip which it so tenaciously held of the +hill in front of Delhi, damped the ardor of their enthusiasm. Doubts as to +whether, after all, their mutiny and their treachery would meet with +eventual success, and fear that punishment for their atrocities would +finally overtake them, began for the first time to enter their minds. + +Quarrels and strife broke out between the various leaders of the movement, +and pitched battles were fought between the men of different corps. Then +came pestilence and swept the crowded quarters. A reign of terror +prevailed throughout the city; the respectable inhabitants were robbed and +murdered, shops were burst open and sacked, and riot and violence reigned +supreme. + +The puppet monarch, terrified at the disorder that prevailed, and finding +his authority was purely nominal--the real power resting in the hands of +his own sons, who had taken a leading share in getting up the revolt, and +in those of the Sepoy generals--began to long for rest and quiet. The +heavy shell which from time to time crashed into his palace disturbed his +peace, and, through his wives, he secretly endeavored to open negotiations +with the British. These overtures were, however, rejected. The king had no +power whatever, and he and his household were all concerned in the +massacres which had taken place in the palace itself. + +It was then, by an army which, however small, was confident of victory, +against one which, however large, was beginning to doubt that final +success would be theirs, that the siege operations began on the morning of +the 8th of September. Thenceforth the besiegers worked night and day. +Every night saw fresh batteries rising at a distance of only three hundred +yards from the walls; fifteen hundred camels brought earth; three thousand +men filled sandbags, placed fascines, and erected traverses for the guns. +The batteries rose as if by magic. The besieged viewed these preparations +with a strange apathy. They might at the commencement of the work have +swept the ground with such a shower of grape and musketry fire that the +erection of batteries so close to their walls would have been impossible; +but for the first three nights of the work they seemed to pay but little +heed to what we were doing, and when at last they awoke to the nature of +our proceedings, and began a furious cannonade against the British, the +works had reached a height that afforded shelter to those employed upon +them. Each battery, as fast as the heavy siege guns were placed in +position, opened upon the walls, until forty heavy guns thundered +incessantly. + +The enemy now fought desperately. Our fire overpowered that of the guns at +the bastions opposed to them; but from guns placed out in the open, on our +flank, they played upon our batteries, while from the walls a storm of +musketry fire and rockets was poured upon us. But our gunners worked away +unceasingly. Piece by piece the massive walls crumbled under our fire, +until, on the 13th, yawning gaps were torn through the walls of the +Cashmere and Water bastions. That night four engineer officers--Medley, +Long, Greathead, and Home--crept forward and examined the breaches, and +returned, reporting that it would be possible to climb the heaps of +rubbish and enter at the gaps in the wall. Orders were at once issued for +the assault to take place at daybreak next morning. + +The assaulting force was divided into four columns; the first, composed of +three hundred men of the Seventy-fifth Regiment, two hundred and fifty men +of the First Bengal Fusiliers, and four hundred and fifty men of the +Second Punjaub Infantry--in all one thousand men, under Brigadier-General +Nicholson, were to storm the breach near the Cashmere bastion. The second +column, consisting of two hundred and fifty men of the Eighth Regiment, +two hundred and fifty men of the Second Bengal Fusiliers, and three +hundred and fifty men of the Fourth Sikh Infantry, under Colonel Jones, +Q.B., were to storm the breach in the Water bastion. The third column, +consisting of two hundred men of the Fifty-second Regiment, two hundred +and fifty men of the Ghoorka Kumaan battalion, and five hundred men of the +First Punjaub Infantry, under Colonel Campbell, were to assault by the +Cashmere gate, which was to be blown open by the engineers. The fourth +column, eight hundred and sixty strong, was made up of detachments of +European regiments, the Sirmoor battalion of Ghoorkas, and the Guides. It +was commanded by Major Reed, and was to carry the suburb outside the +walls, held by the rebels, called Kissengunge, and to enter the city by +the Lahore gate. In addition to the four storming columns was the reserve, +fifteen hundred strong, under Brigadier Longfield. It consisted of two +hundred and fifty men of the Sixty-first Regiment, three hundred of the +Beloochee battalion, four hundred and fifty of the Fourth Punjab Infantry, +three hundred of the Jhind Auxiliary Force, and two hundred of the +Sixtieth Rifles, who were to cover with their fire the advance of the +storming column, and then to take their places with the reserves. This +body was to await the success of the storming column, and then follow them +into the city, and assist them as required. The cavalry and the rest of +the force were to cover the flank and defend the Ridge, should the enemy +attempt a counter attack. + +Precisely at four o'clock on the morning of the 14th, the Sixtieth Rifles +dashed forward in skirmishing order toward the walls, and the heads of the +assaulting columns moved out of the batteries, which had until this moment +kept up their fire without intermission. + +The Warreners were on duty by the side of General Nicholson; and +accustomed as they were to danger, their hearts beat fast as they awaited +the signal. It was to be a tremendous enterprise--an enterprise absolutely +unrivaled in history--for five thousand men to assault a city garrisoned +by some thirty thousand trained troops, and a fanatical and turbulent +population of five hundred thousand, all, it may be said, fighting with +ropes round their necks. + +As the Rifles dashed forward in front, and the head of the column +advanced, a terrific fire of musketry broke out from wall and bastion, +which the British, all necessity for concealment being over, answered with +a tremendous cheer as they swept forward. Arrived at the ditch there was a +halt. It took some time to place the ladders, and officers and men fell +fast under the hail of bullets. Then as they gathered in strength in the +ditch there was one wild cheer, and they dashed up the slope of rubbish +and stones, and passed through the breach. + +The entrance to Delhi was won. + +Scrambling breathlessly up, keeping just behind their gallant general, the +Warreners were among the first to win their way into the city. + +An equally rapid success had attended the assault upon the breach in the +Water bastion by the second column. Nor were the third far behind in the +assault through the Cashmere gate, But here a deed had first to be done +which should live in the memories of Englishmen so long as we exist as a +nation. + +As the head of the assaulting column moved forward a little party started +at the double toward the Cashmere gate. The party consisted of Lieutenants +Home and Salkeld, of the Royal Engineers, and Sergeants Smith and +Carmichael, and Corporal Burgess, of the same corps; Bugler Hawthorne of +the Fifty-second regiment; and twenty-four native sappers and miners under +Havildars Mahor and Tilluh Sing. Each of the sappers carried a bag of +powder, and, covered by such shelter as the fire of the Sixtieth +skirmishers could give them, they advanced to the gate. This gate stands +close to an angle in the wall, and from the parapets a storm of musketry +fire was poured upon them. When they reached the ditch they found the +drawbridge destroyed, but crossed in single file upon the beams on which +it rested. The gate was of course closed, but a small postern-door beside +it was open, and through this the mutineers added a heavy fire to that +which streamed from above. The sappers laid their bags against the gate, +and slipped down into the ditch to allow the firing party to do their +work. Many had already fallen. Sergeant Carmichael was shot dead as he +laid down his powder bag; Havildar Mahor was wounded. As Lieutenant +Salkeld tried to fire the fuse he fell, shot through the arm and leg; +while Havildar Tilluh Sing, who stood by, was killed, and Ramloll Sepoy +was wounded. As he fell Lieutenant Salkeld handed the slow match to +Corporal Burgess, who lit the fuse, but fell mortally wounded as he did +so. Then those who survived jumped, or were helped, into the ditch, and in +another moment a great explosion took place, and the Cashmere gate blew +into splinters, killing some forty mutineers who were behind it. Then +Lieutenant Home, seeing that the way was clear, ordered Bugler Hawthorne +to sound the advance, and the assaulting column came rushing forward with +a cheer, and burst through the gateway into the city. + +Of the six Englishmen who took part in that glorious deed only two lived +to wear the Victoria cross, the reward of valor. Two had died on the spot, +and upon the other four General Wilson at once bestowed the cross; but +Lieutenant Salkeld died of his wounds, and Lieutenant Home was killed +within a week of the capture of the city. Thus only Sergeant Smith and +Bugler Hawthorne lived to wear the honor so nobly won. + +General Nicholson, who was in general command of the whole force, +concentrated the two columns which had entered in a wide open space inside +the Cashmere gate, and then swept the enemy off the ramparts as far as the +Moree bastion, the whole of the north wall being now in the possession of +our troops. Then he proceeded to push on toward the Lahore gate, where he +expected to meet Major Reed with, the fourth column. This column had, +however, failed even to reach the Lahore gate, the enemy's position in the +suburb beyond the wall proving so strong, and being held by so numerous a +force, that, after suffering very heavily, the commander had to call back +his men, his retreat being covered by the cavalry. + +Thus, as General Nicholson advanced through the narrow lane between the +wall and the houses, the column was swept by a storm of fire from window, +loophole, and housetop--a fire to which no effective reply was possible. +Then, just as he was in the act of cheering on his men, the gallant +soldier fell back in the arms of those behind him, mortally wounded. He +was carried off by his sorrowing soldiers, and lingered until the 26th of +the month, when, to the deep grief of the whole army, he expired. + +It being evident that any attempt to force a path further in this +direction would lead to useless slaughter, and that the place must be won +step by step, by the aid of artillery, the troops were called back to the +bastion. + +A similar experience had befallen the third column, which had, guided by +Sir T. Metcalfe, who knew the city intimately, endeavored to make a +circuit so as to reach and carry the Jumma Musjid, the great mosque which +dominated the city. So desperate was the resistance experienced that this +column had also to fall back to the ramparts. The reserve column had +followed the third in at the Cashmere gate, and had, after some fighting, +possessed itself of some strong buildings in that neighborhood, most +important of which was a large and commanding house, the residence of +Achmed Ali Khan; and when the third column fell back Skinner's house, the +church, the magazine, and the main-guard were held, and guns were planted +to command the streets leading thereto. One cause of the slight advance +made that day was, that the enemy, knowing the weakness of the British +soldier, had stored immense quantities of champagne and other wines, beer, +and spirits in the streets next to the ramparts, and the troops--British, +Sikhs, Beloochees, and Ghoorkas alike--parched with thirst, and excited by +the sight of these long untasted luxuries, fell into the snare, and drank +so deeply that the lighting power of the force was for awhile very +seriously impaired. + +On the 15th the stubborn fighting recommenced. From house to house our +troops fought their way; frequently, when the street was so swept by fire +that it was impossible to progress there, making their way by breaking +down the party walls, and so working from one house into another. During +this day guns and mortars were brought into the city from our batteries, +and placed so as to shell the palace and the great building called the +Selimgur. + +The next morning the Sixty-first Regiment and the Fourth Punjaub Rifles +made a rush at the great magazine, and the rebels were so stricken by +their rapidity and dash that they threw down their portfires and fled, +without even once discharging the cannon, which, crammed to the muzzle +with grape, commanded every approach. Here one hundred and twenty-five +cannon and an enormous supply of ammunition fell into our hands, and a +great many of the guns were at once turned against their late owners. + +So day by day the fight went on. At night the sky was red with the flames +of burning houses, by day a pall of smoke hung over the city. From either +side cannon and mortars played unceasingly, while the rattle of musketry, +the crash of falling houses, the shrieks of women, the screams of +children, and the shouting of men mingled in a chaos of sounds. To the +credit of the British soldier be it said, that infuriated as they were by +the thirst for vengeance, the thought of the murdered women, and the heat +of battle, not a single case occurred, so far as is known, of a woman +being ill-treated, insulted, or fired upon--although the women had been +present in the massacres, and had constantly accompanied and cheered on +the sorties of the mutineers. To the Sepoys met with in Delhi no mercy was +shown; every man taken was at once bayoneted, and the same fate befell all +townsmen found fighting against us. The rest of the men, as well as the +women and children, were, after the fighting was over, permitted to leave +the city unmolested, although large numbers of them had taken share in the +sack of the white inhabitants' houses, and the murder of every Christian, +British or native, in the town. It would, however, have been impossible to +separate the innocent from the guilty; consequently all were allowed to go +free. + +From the time that the British troops burst through the breaches, an +exodus had begun from the gates of the town on the other side, and across +the bridge over the Jumna. Our heavy guns could have destroyed this +bridge, and our cavalry might have swept round the city and cut off the +retreat on the other side; but the proverb that it is good to build a +bridge for a flying foe was eminently applicable here. Had the enemy felt +their retreat cut off--had they known that certain death awaited them +unless they could drive us out of the city, the defense would have been so +desperate that it would have been absolutely impossible for the British +forces to have accomplished it. The defense of some of the Spanish towns +in the Peninsular war by the inhabitants, lighting from house to house +against French armies, showed what could be effected by desperate men +lighting in narrow streets; and the loss inflicted on our troops at +Nujufghur by twenty Sepoys was another evidence of the inexpediency of +driving the enemy to despair. As it was, the rebels after the first day +fought feebly, and were far from making the most of the narrow streets and +strongly-built houses. No one liked to be the first to retreat, but all +were resolved to make off at the earliest opportunity. Men grew +distrustful of each other, and day by day the desertions increased, the +resistance diminished, and the districts held by the rebels grew smaller +and smaller. It is true that by thus allowing tens of thousands of rebels +to escape we allowed them to continue the war in the open country, but +here, as it afterward proved, they were contemptible foes, and their +defeat did not cost a tithe of the loss which would have resulted in their +extermination within the walls of Delhi. + +Up to the 20th the palace still held out. This was a fortress in itself, +mounting many cannon on its walls, and surrounded by an open park-like +space. On that morning the engineers began to run a trench, to enable a +battery to be erected to play upon the Lahore gate of the palace. Before, +however, they had been long at work, a party of men of the Sixty-first, +with some Sikhs and Ghoorkas, ran boldly forward, and taking shelter under +a low wall close to the gate, opened fire at the embrasures and loopholes. +The answering fire was so weak that Colonel Jones, who was in command of +the troops in this quarter--convinced that the report that the king with +his wives and family, and the greater part of the garrison of the palace, +had already left was true--determined upon blowing in the gate at once. +Lieutenant Home was appointed to lead the party told off for the duty, +which was happily effected without loss. The British rushed in, and found +three guns loaded to the muzzle placed in the gateway, but fortunately the +Sepoys who should have fired them had fled. + +The news that the palace was taken spread rapidly, and there was a rush to +share in the spoil. But few of the enemy were found inside; these were at +once bayoneted, and then a general scramble ensued. The order had been +given that no private plundering should be allowed, but that everything +taken should be collected, and sold for the general benefit of the troops. +Orders like this are, however, never observed, at any rate with portable +articles; and Sikhs, Ghoorkas, and British alike, loaded themselves with +spoil. Cashmere shawls worth a hundred pounds were sold for five +shillings, silk dresses might be had for nothing, and jewelry went for +less than the value of the setting. + +The same day the headquarters of the army were removed to the palace of +Delhi. As the Union Jack of England ran up the flagstaff on the palace so +lately occupied by the man crowned by the rebels Emperor of India, the +seat and headquarters of the revolt which had deluged the land with blood, +and caused the rule of England to totter, a royal salute was fired by the +British guns, and tremendous cheers arose from the troops in all parts of +the city. + +The raising of that flag, the booming of those guns, were the signal of +the deathblow of the Indian mutiny. Over one hundred thousand rebels were +still in arms against the British government, but the heart of the +insurrection was gone. It was no longer a war, it was a rebellion. There +was no longer a head, a center, or a common aim. Each body of mutineers +fought for themselves--for life rather than for victory. The final issue +of the struggle was now certain; and all the native princes who had +hitherto held aloof, watching the issue of the fight at Delhi, and +remaining neutral until it was decided whether the Sepoys could pluck up +the British flag from the Ridge, or the British tear down the emblem of +rebellion from above the palace of Delhi, hesitated no longer, but +hastened to give in their allegiance to the victorious power. + +Nothing has been said as to the part the Warreners bore in that fierce six +days' fighting. They did their duty, as did every other man in the British +army, but they had no opportunity for specially distinguishing themselves. +As staff officers, they had often to carry messages to troops engaged in +stubborn fight, and in doing so to dash across open spaces, and run the +gantlet of a score of musket balls; both, however, escaped without a +scratch. They had not been present on the occasion of the taking of the +palace, for they had been at early morning on the point of going in to the +headquarters for orders, when Captain Hodgson came out. They had dined +with him on the day previous to the assault, and he came up them now. + +"Now," he said, "I am just going on an expedition after your own hearts, +lads. We have news that the king and queen have stolen away, and have gone +to the palace at the Kotub Minar. I am going with my troops to bring them +in. Would you like to go?" + +"Oh, yes, of all things," the Warreners exclaimed. "But we have no +horses." + +"Oh, I can mount you," he said. "Several of my fellows slipped into the +town in hopes of getting some loot, and three or four were shot; so if the +general will give you leave, I will take you." + +The Warreners at once went in to Brigadier-General Jones, to whom they had +been attached since the fall of General Nicholson. As they were +supernumeraries on his staff, the general at once gave them leave, and in +high delight they followed their friend--a most gallant and fearless +officer, who had greatly distinguished himself by the dashing exploits +which he had executed with his troop of irregular horse--to his camp +outside the walls. Half an hour later they were riding at a trot toward +the spot where the ex-emperor had taken refuge. Their route lay across +ground hitherto in possession of the enemy, and they rode past thousands +of armed budmashes, or blackguards, of Delhi, who had left the city, and +were making their way to join some of the rebel leaders in the field. +These scowled and muttered curses as the little troop rode by; but the +blow which had just been dealt was so crushing, the dread inspired by +British valor so complete, that although apparently numerous enough to +have destroyed the little band without difficulty, not a man dared raise +his voice or lift a weapon. + +"What are all these wonderful ruins?" Dick asked Captain Hodgson, by whose +side they were riding. + +"This is where old Delhi stood. These great buildings are tombs of kings +and other great men; the smaller houses have gone to dust centuries ago, +but these massive buildings will remain for as many centuries more. Wait +till you see Kotub Minar; in my opinion there is nothing in India or in +the world to equal it." + +Another half-hour's riding brought them into sight of a magnificent shaft +of masonry, rising far above the plain. + +"That is the Minar," Captain Hodgson said; "it is the same word as +minaret. Is it not magnificent?" + +The Kotub Minar is an immense shaft tapering gradually toward the top. It +is built in stages, with a gallery round each. Each stage is different. In +one it is fluted with round columns like a huge mass of basalt. In another +the columns are angular; and in the next, round and angular alternately. +The highest stage is plain. The height is very great, and the solidity of +execution and the strength of the edifice are as striking as its height +and beauty. + +They were not, however, to go so far as the Kotub, for, questioning some +peasants, they learned that the king had halted at a building called +Durzah-Nizam-oo-deen. The gates were shut, and it was certain that the +king would have a large body of retainers with him. Matchlock men showed +at the windows and on the roof, and things looked awkward for the little +troop of cavalry. Captain Hodgson rode forward, however, without +hesitation, and struck on the great gate. A window by the side of the gate +opened, and he was asked what was wanted. + +"I am come to take, and to carry into Delhi, the ex-king and his family. +It is better to submit quietly, for if I have to force my way in, every +soul in the place will be put to the sword." + +In two minutes the postern opened, and a closely veiled figure made her +appearance. + +"I am the Begum," she said. And Captain Hodgson bent in acknowledgment +that the favorite wife of the man who was yesterday regarded as the +emperor of India, stood before him. + +"The king will surrender," she said, "if you will promise that his life +shall be spared; if not, he will defend himself to the last, and will die +by his own hand." + +"Defense would be useless," Captain Hodgson said. "The force I have would +suffice amply to carry the place; and if it did not, in three hours any +reinforcements I could ask for would be here. I have no authority to give +such a promise." + +"If you give the promise it will be kept," the Begum said. "If you refuse, +the king will shoot himself when the first soldier passes the gate." + +Captain Hodgson hesitated. It was true that he had no authority to make +such a promise; but he felt that government would far rather have the king +a captive in their hands than that he should excite a feeling of regret +and admiration among the people by dying by his own hand in preference to +falling into those of the British. + +"I agree," he said after a pause. "I promise that the king's life shall be +spared." + +In a minute the gate was thrown back, and an aged man came out, followed +by several women. The age of the king was nearly eighty-five, and he was +from first to last a mere puppet in the hands of others. In no case would +he have been executed by the government, since the old man was clearly +beyond any active participation in what had taken place. + +The litter in which the king and his wives had been conveyed from Delhi +was again brought into requisition, and the party were soon _en route_ for +Delhi. The royal palace had been but a few hours in our hands before the +ex-king was brought in, a prisoner where he had so lately reigned. He was +lodged with his women in a small building in the palace, under a strong +guard, until it should be decided what to do with him. + +"I shall go out to-morrow to try and catch some of the sons of the old +man. They are the real culprits in the matter. If you like to go out +again, and can get off duty, well and good," Captain Hodgson said. + +The boys, who were very pleased at having been present at so historical an +event as the capture of the king of Delhi, warmly thanked Captain Hodgson; +and, having again obtained leave, started with him on the following +morning at daybreak. Some of the princes a spy had reported to Captain +Hodgson as being at Humayoon's tomb, a large building near the Kotub +Minar. They rode in the same direction that they had gone out on the +preceding day, but proceeded somewhat further. + +"That is Humayoon's tomb," Captain Hodgson said, pointing to a large +square building with a domed roof and four lofty minarets, standing half a +mile off the road. + +The troop rode up at a gallop, and, surrounding the building, dismounted. +Soldiers were placed at all the various doors of the building, with orders +to shoot down any one who might come out, and Captain Hodgson sent a loyal +moulvie, named Rujol Ali, who had accompanied him, into the building, to +order the princes there to come out. Then arose within the building a +great tumult of voices, as the question whether they should or should not +surrender was argued. Several times the moulvie returned, to ask if any +conditions would be given; but Hodgson said sternly that no conditions +whatever would be made with them. + +At last, after two hours' delay, two of the sons and a grandson of the +king, all of whom had been leaders in the mutiny, and authors of massacres +and atrocities, came out and surrendered. They were immediately placed in +a carriage which had been brought for the purpose, a guard was placed over +them, and ordered to proceed slowly toward the city. + +Then Hodgson, accompanied by the Warreners, entered the inclosure which +surrounded the tomb. Here from five to six thousand of the refuse of the +city, many of them armed, were assembled. A yell of hate arose as the +little band entered; guns were shaken defiantly; sabers waved in the air. +The odds were tremendous, and the Warreners felt that nothing remained but +to sell their lives dearly. + +"Lay down your arms!" Captain Hodgson shouted in a stentorian voice. + +Eight or ten shots were fired from the crowd, and the bullets whistled +over the heads of the horsemen, but fortunately none were hit. + +"Lay down your arms!" he shouted again. "Men, unsling your carbines. +Level." + +As the carbines were leveled, the bravery of the mob evaporated at once. +Those nearest threw down their arms, and as with leveled guns the horsemen +rode through the crowd, arms were everywhere thrown down, and resistance +was at an end. Over a thousand guns, five hundred swords, and quantities +of daggers and knives were collected; and a number of elephants, camels, +and horses were captured. + +Ordering the native lieutenant to remain with the troop in charge of these +things until some carts could be sent out for the arms, Captain Hodgson, +accompanied by the boys, rode off after the carriage, which had started +two hours before. + +They rode rapidly until they neared Delhi, when they saw the carriage, +surrounded by a great mob. Captain Hodgson set spurs to his horse and +galloped forward at full speed, followed by the boys. They burst through +the crowd, who were a large body of ruffians who had just left the city, +where the fighting was even now not over, and who were all armed. A +defiant cry broke from them as the three horsemen rode up to the carriage, +from which with the greatest difficulty the guard had so far kept the +crowd. + +There was not a moment for hesitation. Captain Hodgson raised a hand, and +a momentary silence reigned. + +"These men in the carriage," said he in loud tones, "have not only +rebelled against the government, but have ordered and witnessed the +massacre and shameful treatment of women and children. Thus, therefore, +the government punishes such traitors and murderers!" + +Then drawing his revolver, before the crowd could move or lift a hand he +shot the three prisoners through the head. The crowd, awed and astonished, +fell back, and the carriage with the dead bodies passed into the city. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +A RIOT AT CAWNPORE. + + +While the guns of Delhi were saluting the raising of the British flag over +the royal palace, General Havelock and his force were fighting their way +up to Lucknow. On the 19th of September he crossed the Ganges, brushed +aside the enemy's opposition, and, after three days' march in a tremendous +rain, found them in force at the Alumbagh. After a short, sharp fight they +were defeated, and the Alumbagh fell into our hands. All the stores and +baggage were left here, with a force strong enough to hold it against all +attacks; and after a day to rest his troops, General Havelock advanced on +the 22d, defeated the enemy outside Lucknow, and then, as the direct route +was known to be impassable, he followed the canal as far as the +Kaiserbagh, and there turning off, fought his way through the streets to +the Residency, where he arrived only just in time, for the enemy had +driven two mines right under the defenses, and these would, had the +reinforcements arrived but one day later, have been exploded, and the fate +of the garrison of Cawnpore might have befallen the defenders of Lucknow. + +The desperate street fighting had, however, terribly weakened the little +force which had performed the feat. Out of fifteen hundred men who had +entered the city, a third were killed or wounded, among the former being +the gallant Brigadier-General Neil. + +With so weak a force it was evident that it would be hopeless to endeavor +to carry off the sick, the wounded, the women, and children through the +army of rebels that surrounded them, and it was therefore determined to +continue to hold the Residency until further aid arrived. The siege +therefore recommenced, but under different conditions, for the increased +force enabled the British to hold a larger area; and although the +discomforts and privations were as great as before--for the reinforcements +had brought no food in with them--the danger of the place being carried by +assault was now entirely at an end. + +One noble action connected with the relief of Lucknow will never be +forgotten. Before General Havelock started up from Cawnpore, General Sir +James Outram, his senior officer, arrived, with authority to take the +command. Upon his arrival, however, he issued a general order, to say that +to General Havelock, who had done such great deeds to relieve Lucknow, +should be the honor of the crowning success; and that he therefore waived +his seniority, and would fight under General Havelock as a volunteer until +Lucknow was relieved. A more generous act of self-negation than this was +never accomplished. To the man who relieved Lucknow would fall honor, +fame, the gratitude of the English people, and all this General Outram of +his own accord resigned. He was worthy indeed of the name men gave him-- +the "Bayard of India." + +The news that Lucknow was relieved caused almost as much delight to the +troops at Delhi as their own successes had given them, for the anxiety as +to the safety of the garrison was intense. To the Warreners the news gave +an intense pleasure, for the thought of the friends they had left behind +in that terrible strait had been ever present to their mind. The faces of +the suffering women, the tender girls, the delicate children, had haunted +them night and day; and their joy at the thought that these were rescued +from the awful fate impending over them knew no bounds. + +It was not at Delhi, however, that the Warreners heard the news; for on +the 23d, only three days after the occupation of the city, they left with +the flying column of Colonel Greathead, which was ordered to march down to +Agra, clearing away the bands of mutineers which infested the intervening +country, and then to march to Cawnpore, to be in readiness to advance on +Lucknow. The boys had no difficulty in obtaining leave to accompany this +column, as Ned would naturally on the first opportunity rejoin his +regiment, which was at Cawnpore, while Dick was longing to form one of the +naval brigade, which, under Captain Peel, was advancing up the country. + +The rebels were found in force at Allyghur, and were defeated without +difficulty; and after several minor skirmishes the force marched hastily +down to Agra, which was threatened by a large body of the enemy. Without a +halt they marched thirty miles to Agra, and encamped in the open space +outside the fort. + +Just as they were cooking their meals a battery of artillery opened upon +them, an infantry fire broke out from the surrounding houses, and a large +body of cavalry dashed in among them. + +For a moment all was confusion; but the troops were all inured to war; +with wonderful rapidity they rallied and attacked the enemy, who were over +five thousand strong, and finally defeated them with great slaughter, and +captured fourteen guns. Agra saved, the column started two days later for +Cawnpore; upon the way it defeated bodies of rebels, and punished some +zemindars who had taken part against us, and arrived at Cawnpore on the +26th of October. + +At Majupoorie, halfway up from Agra, the force had been joined by a +brigade under Colonel Hope Grant, who, as senior officer, took the command +of the column. They marched into Cawnpore three thousand five hundred +strong, all troops who had gone through the siege of Delhi; and Ned at +once joined his regiment, where he was warmly received. + +On the following day the Ninety-third Highlanders and a part of the naval +brigade, two hundred strong, arrived; and Dick's delight as the column +marched in was unbounded. He reported himself for duty at once, and, as +among the officers were some of his own shipmates, he was at once at home. + +There was little sleep in the tents of the junior officers of the brigade +that night. Dick's name had been twice mentioned in dispatches, and all +sorts of rumors as to his doings had reached his comrades. The moment, +therefore, that dinner was over, Dick was taken to a tent, placed on a +very high box on a table, supplied with grog, and ordered to spin his +yarn, which, although modestly told, elicited warm applause from his +hearers. + +On the 30th Colonel Grant's column moved forward, and arrived after three +days' march within six miles of the Alumbagh. They had with them a great +convoy of siege material and provisions, and these were next day escorted +safely into the Alumbagh, where the little garrison had held their own, +though frequently attacked, for six weeks. The Sixty-fourth Regiment had +already done so much fighting that it was not to form part of the advance. +The naval brigade was increased on the 1st of November by the arrival of +Captain Peel himself, with two hundred more sailors and four hundred +troops. They had had a heavy fight on the way up, and had protected the +convoy and siege guns of which they were in charge, and had defeated the +enemy, four thousand strong, and captured all his guns, but with a loss to +themselves of nearly one hundred men. Soon after the commencement of the +engagement, Colonel Powell, who was in command of the column, was killed; +and Captain Peel then took command of the force, and won the victory. + +The astonishment of the people of Cawnpore at the appearance of the brawny +tars was unbounded. The sailors went about the streets in knots of two or +three, staring at the contents of the shops, and as full of fun and good +humor as so many schoolboys. Greatly delighted were they when the natives +gave them the least chance of falling foul of them--for they knew that the +people of the town had joined the mutineers--and were only too glad of an +excuse to pitch into them. They all carried cutlasses, but these they +disdained to use, trusting, and with reason, to their fists, which are to +the natives of India a more terrible, because a more mysterious weapon +than the sword. A sword they understand; but a quick hit, flush from the +shoulder, which knocks them off their feet as if struck by lightning, is +to them utterly incomprehensible, and therefore very terrible. + +One day the Warreners were strolling together through the town, and turned +off from the more frequented streets, with a view of seeing what the +lower-class quarters were like. They had gone some distance, when Ned +said: + +"I think we had better turn, Dick. These scowling scoundrels would be only +too glad to put a knife into us, and we might be buried away under ground +in one of these dens, and no one be ever any the wiser for it. I have no +doubt when we have finished with the fellows, and get a little time to +look round, there will be a clear sweep made of all these slums." + +The lads turned to go back, when Dick said, "Listen!" + +They paused, and could hear a confused sound of shouting, and a noise as +of a tumult. They listened attentively. + +"Ned," Dick exclaimed, "I am sure some of those shouts are English. Some +of our fellows have got into a row; come on!" + +So saying, he dashed off up the narrow street, accompanied by his brother. +Down two more lanes, and then, in an open space where five or six lanes +met, they saw a crowd. In the midst of it they could see sabers flashing +in the air, while British shouts mingled with the yells of the natives. + +"This is a serious business," Ned said, as they ran; "we are in the worst +part of Cawnpore." + +Three or four natives, as they approached the end of the lane, stepped +forward to prevent their passage; but the lads threw them aside with the +impetus of their rush, and then, shoulder to shoulder, charged the crowd. + +Expecting no such assault, the natives fell aside from the shock, and in a +few seconds the boys stood by their countrymen. There were six in all-- +sailors, as the boys had expected. The fight had evidently been a sharp +one. Four or five natives lay upon the ground, and two of the sailors were +bleeding from sword-cuts. The tars gave a cheer at the sight of this +reinforcement, especially as one of the newcomers was a naval officer--for +Dick had bought the uniform of a naval officer killed in the fight of the +1st. + +The infuriated crowd drew back for a moment; but seeing that the +reinforcement consisted only of two lads, again attacked fiercely. The +boys had drawn their swords, and for a minute the little party fought back +to back. It was evident, however, that this could not last, for every +moment added to the number of their foes, the budmashes flocking down from +every quarter. + +"Now, lads," Ned shouted, "get yourselves ready, and when I say the word +make a dash all together for that house at the left corner. The door is +open. Once in there, we can hold it till help comes. Press them a bit +first, so as to scatter them a little, and then for a rush. Are you all +ready? Now!" + +With a cheer the sailors hurled themselves upon the crowd in a body. The +surprise, added to the weight and force of the charge, was irresistible; +the natives were sent flying like ninepins, and before the enemy quite +understood what had happened, the whole party were safe in the house, and +the door slammed-to and bolted. + +"See if there are any windows they can get in at." + +The men ran into the two rooms of which, on the ground floor, the house +consisted; but the windows in these, as is often the case in Indian towns, +were strongly barred. There was a furious beating at the door. + +"It will give in a minute," Dick said. "Upstairs, lads; we can hold them +against any number." + +"It's lucky they did not use their pistols," Ned said, as they gathered in +the upper room; "we should have been polished off in no time had they done +so." + +"I expect they made sure of doing for us with their swords and knives," +Dick replied, "and did not like to risk calling attention by the sound of +pistol-shots. Now, lads, how did you get into this row?" + +"Well, your honor," said one of the tars, "we were just cruising about as +it might be, when we got down these here lanes, and lost our bearings +altogether. Well, we saw we had fallen among land pirates, for the chaps +kept closing in upon us as if they wanted to board, and fingering those +long knives of theirs. Then one of them he gives a push to Bill Jones, and +Bill gives him a broadside between the eyes, and floors him. Then they all +begins to yell, like a pack o' they jackals we heard coming up country. +Then they drew their knives, and Bill got a slash on his cheek. So we, +seeing as how it were a regular case of an engagement all along the line, +drew our cutlasses and joins action. There were too many of them, though, +and we were nigh carried by the pirates, when you bore up alongside." + +At this moment a crash was heard below; the door had yielded, and the +crowd rushed into the lower part of the house. When it was found to be +empty there was a little delay. No one cared to be the first to mount the +stairs, and encounter the determined band above. Dick stepped forward to +glance at the state of things below, when half a dozen pistol-shots were +fired. One inflicted a nasty cut on his cheek, and another struck him on +the hand. + +"Are you hurt, Dick?" Ned said, as his brother leaped back. + +"No, nothing to speak of; but it was a close shave. Perkins, pick up my +sword, will you? I didn't think of their firing." + +"Being indoors, they are not afraid of the pistols being heard any +distance," Ned said. "Keep a sharp lookout, lads, in case they make a rush +upstairs, while I tie up my brother's hand and face." + +"They are coming, sir," the sailors cried, as the house shook with the +rush of a body of men up the stairs. + +"Stand well back, lads, and cut them down as they enter the door." + +Pushed from behind, five or six of the enemy burst simultaneously into the +room; but ere they could fire a pistol, or even put themselves into an +attitude of defense, they were cut down or run through the body. Then a +tremendous crash and a wild cry was heard. + +"Hurrah!" Dick shouted, "the staircase has given way." + +Many groans and shrieks were heard below; then there was a sound of +persons being carried out, and for awhile, quiet below, while outside the +hubbub became greater. + +"What is going on outside?" Ned said, and Dick and he peered through the +closed jalousies into the street. + +A number of budmashes were bringing bundles of bamboos from a basket- +maker's shop opposite; some of the crowd were opposing them. + +"They are going to fire the house," Dick exclaimed. "The people opposing +are the neighbors, no doubt. They'll do it, though," he added, as the +fiercer spirits drove the others back. "What's best to be done, Ned?" + +Ned looked round, and then up. + +"Let us cut through the bamboo ceiling, Dick; there must be a space +between that and the roof. The wall won't be thick between that and the +next house, and we can work our way from house to house; and if the flames +gain--for they are sure to spread--we can but push off the tiles and take +to the roofs, and run the gantlet of their pistols and muskets. Their +blood's up now, and they will shoot, to a certainty. Do you think that the +best plan?" + +"That's it. Now, lads, two of you stand close together; now, Perkins, you +jump on their shoulders and cut a hole through the bamboos with your +cutlass. Quick, lads, there's no time to lose;" for they could hear the +tramping of feet below, and the sound as the bundles of bamboo were thrown +down. + +"Now, lads," Dick went on--for as a naval officer he was naturally in +command of the men--"take two or three of those rugs on that couch there, +and knot them together. Shut the door, to keep the smoke out. There, +they've lit it!"--as a shout of pleasure rose from below. + +The bamboos were tough, and Perkins could not use his strength to +advantage. Smoke curled up through the crevices of the floor, and all +watched anxiously the progress made. + +"That's big enough," Dick cried at last; "we have not a moment to lose, +the flames are making through the floor. Now, Perkins, climb through the +hole; now, lads, follow in turn." + +Four of the sailors were rapidly through the hole. + +"Now, lads, one of you two; don't waste time. Now, Ned, catch hold of this +man's legs and give him a hoist; that's right. Now drop that rope, lad. +Now, Ned, I'm in command; go on. Now, lads, catch this bundle of rugs; +that's right. Give me one end. There we are. Now spread one of those rugs +over the hole, to keep the smoke out. Now, lads, how is the wall?" + +"Quite soft, your honor; we'll be through in a minute." + +In accordance with orders, those first up had begun at once with their +cutlasses to pick a hole through the mud wall which formed the partition +between the houses. Although thicker below, the divisions between what may +be called the lofts of the houses were made but of a single brick of +unbaked clay or mud, and as Dick clambered up through the hole, the +sailors had already made an opening quite large enough to get through. All +crept through it, and again Dick hung a rug over the hole to keep out the +smoke. + +"Now, lads, attack the next wall again; but don't make more noise about it +than you can help. The people below will be removing what things they can, +and making a row; still, they might hear us; and it is as well they should +think us burned in the house where we were. But you must look sharp, lads, +for the fire spreads through these dried-up houses as if they were built +of straw." + +The sailors labored hard, and they worked their way from house to house; +but the flames followed as fast; and at last, almost choked by smoke and +dust, Dick said: + +"Quick, my men, knock off some tiles, and get on the roof, or we shall be +burned like rats in a trap. This side, the furthest from the street." + +The tiles gave way readily; and each man thrust his head out through the +hole he had made, for a breath of fresh air. In a minute all were on the +roof. + +"Crouch down, lads; keep on this side of the roof; people are not likely +to be looking out for us this side, they will be too busy moving their +furniture. Move on, boys; the fire is spreading now pretty nearly as fast +as we can scramble along." + +It was already a great fire; down both the lanes at whose junction the +house first fired stood, the flames had spread rapidly, and leaping across +the narrow streets had seized the opposite houses. Already fifty or sixty +houses were in a blaze, although it was not five minutes from the +beginning of the fire. + +"There is a cross lane about ten houses ahead, Dick," Ned said. + +"We will stick on the last house as long as we can, Ned, and then slide +down by the rope on to that outhouse. They are too busy now with their own +affairs to think about us; besides, they suppose we are dead long ago, and +the fellows who are at the head of it will have made off to look after +their own houses, for the wind is blowing fresh, and there is no saying +how far the fire may spread. Besides, we shall have our fellows up in a +few minutes. Directly the fire is seen, they are sure to be sent down to +preserve order." + +They were soon gathered on the roof of the last house in the lane, and +three minutes later were driven from it by the flames. One by one they +scrambled down by the aid of the rope on to the outhouse, and thence to +the ground. Then they passed through the house into the lane beyond. +Looking up the lane, it was an arch of fire; the flames were rushing from +every window and towering up above every roof, almost meeting over the +lane. Upon the other hand, all was wild confusion and terror; men were +throwing out of upper windows bedding and articles of furniture; women +laden with household goods, and with children in their arms and others +hanging to their clothes, were making their way through the crowd; +bedridden people were being brought out; and the screams, shrieks, and +shouts mingled with the roaring of flames and the crashes of falling +roofs. As in great floods in India, the tiger and the leopard, the cobra +and the deer, may all be seen huddled together on patches of rising +ground, their mutual enmity forgotten in the common danger, so no one paid +the slightest attention to the body of Englishmen who so suddenly joined +the crowd. + +"Sheathe your cutlasses, my lads," Dick said. "There's no more fighting to +be done. Lend a hand to help these poor wretches. There, two of you take +up that poor old creature; they have carried her out, and then left her; +take her on till you find some open space to set her down in. Now, Ned, +you take a couple of men and work one side of the lane, I will take the +opposite side with the others. Let us go into every room and see that no +sick people or children are left behind. There, the flames have passed the +cross lane already; the corner house is on fire." + +For quarter of an hour the tars labored assiduously; and many a bedridden +old woman, or a forgotten baby, did they bring out. Fortunately at the end +of the lane was an open space of some extent, and here piles of household +goods and helpless people were gathered. + +At the end of a quarter of an hour they heard a deep tramp, and the naval +brigade, led by Captain Peel, filed up through the lane. The sailors burst +into a cheer as they saw their friends arrive, and these responded upon +seeing some of their comrades at work carrying the sick and aged. Dick at +once made his way to Captain Peel, and reported briefly that the fire was +in the first place lighted with the purpose of burning him and his party; +but that they had escaped, and had since been at work helping the +inhabitants. + +"Very well," Captain Peel said. "You can give details afterward; at +present we have got to try and stop the flames. It seems a large block of +fire." + +"It is, sir. It extends across several lanes; there must be a couple of +hundred houses in flames, and I fear, from what we have seen in the lane +we have been working in, a considerable loss of life." + +"Mr. Percival," Captain Peel said to one of his officers, "take your +company and knock down or blow up all the houses on this side of that lane +there. Mr. Wilkinson, you take number two company, and do the same with +the lane to the right. The rest follow me. March!" + +In five minutes all the tars and the Highlanders--who arrived on the +ground immediately after the sailors--were at work pulling down houses, so +as to arrest the progress of the flames by isolating the burning block. +Upon three sides they succeeded, but upon the other the fire, driven by +the wind, defied all their efforts, and swept forward for half a mile, +until it burned itself out when it had reached the open country. In its +course it had swept away a great part of the worst and most crowded +quarters of Cawnpore. + +All through the evening and night the troops and sailors toiled; and +morning had broken before all danger of any further extension was over; +the men were then ordered home, a fresh body of troops coming up to +preserve order, and prevent the robbery, by the lawless part of the +population, of the goods which had been rescued from the flames. Then, +after a ration of grog had been first served out to each man, and +breakfast hastily cooked and eaten, all sought their tents, exhausted +after their labors. + +It was not until evening that signs of life were visible in the camp. Then +men began to move about; and an orderly presently came across to request +the Warreners to go to Captain Peel's quarters to report the circumstances +through which the fire arose. + +The lads related the history of the affair from the time when they had +come upon the scene, and Captain Peel expressed himself in terms of warm +laudation of their gallantry, quickness, and presence of mind. Then the +sailors were called up, and their story, although longer and more diffuse +than that told by the Warreners, was yet substantially the same, and +Captain Peel told the men that they ought not to have wandered in that way +into the slums of Cawnpore, but that beyond that indiscretion they had +acted, as reported by Mr. Warrener, with great courage, coolness, and good +discipline. Then the Warreners went back to their tent, and had to go +through their yarn again with great minuteness and detail. + +"I do think," said Rivers, a midshipman of some two years older standing +than Dick, "that you are the luckiest youngster in the service. It is not +one fellow in a hundred thousand who has such chances." + +"That is so, Rivers," one of the lieutenants answered; "but it is not one +in a hundred thousand who, having gone through such adventures, would have +been alive to tell them at the end. The getting into these scrapes may be +luck, but the getting out of them demands courage, coolness, and quickness +of invention, such as not one lad in a thousand possesses. Now, Rivers, +tell me honestly whether you think that, had you been cut off as he was in +that sortie at Lucknow, you would ever have thought of robbing that old +fakir of his wig?" + +"No," Rivers said; "I am quite sure it would never have occurred to me. +Yes, as you say, sir, Dick Warrener has no end of luck, but he certainly +deserves and makes the best of it." + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +THE RELIEF OF LUCKNOW. + + +On the 6th of November Captain Peel, with five hundred of his gallant +bluejackets, marched from Cawnpore, taking with them the heavy siege guns. +Three days later they joined General Grant's column, which was encamped at +a short distance from the Alumbagh, and in communication with the force +holding that position. On the 9th Sir Colin Campbell, who had come out +from England with all speed to assume the chief command in India, arrived +in camp, and his coming was hailed with delight by the troops, who felt +that the hour was now at hand when the noble garrison of Lucknow were to +be rescued. + +The total force collected for the relief were: Her Majesty's Eighth, +Fifty-third, Seventy-fifth, and Ninety-third regiments of infantry; two +regiments of Punjaub infantry; and a small party of native sappers and +miners. The cavalry consisted of the Ninth Lancers, and detachments of +Sikh cavalry and Hodgson's Horse. The artillery comprised Peel's naval +brigade, with eight heavy guns, ten guns of the Royal Horse Artillery, six +light field guns, and a heavy battery of the Royal Artillery. A total of +about twenty-seven hundred infantry and artillery, and nine hundred +cavalry. + +On the morning of the 10th Mr. Kavanagh, a civilian, came into camp. He +had, disguised as a native, started the evening before from the Residency +with a native guide, named Kunoujee Lal, had swum the Goomtee, recrossed +by the bridge into the city, passed through the streets, and finally made +his way in safety. He was perfectly acquainted with the city, and brought +plans from Sir James Outram for the guidance of the commander-in-chief in +his advance. + +After an examination of the plans Sir Colin Campbell determined that, +instead of forcing his way through the narrow streets as General Havelock +had done, he would move partly round the town, and attack by the eastern +side, where there was much open ground, sprinkled with palaces and mosques +and other large buildings. These could be attacked and taken one by one, +by a series of separate sieges, and thus the Residency could be approached +with far less loss than must have taken place in an attempt to force a way +through the crowded city. + +On the 15th the troops marched to the Alumbagh, defeating a small rebel +force which attempted to stop their way. + +At the Alumbagh Dick Warrener--for Ned was with his regiment, which, to +his great disgust, had remained at Cawnpore--had the joy of meeting his +father again, as Warrener's Horse had not shared in Havelock's advance to +the Residency, but had remained as part of the garrison of the Alumbagh. +It is needless to tell of the delight of that meeting after all that the +lads had gone through since they parted from their father, nearly four +months before, at Cawnpore. Colonel Warrener had heard of the safe arrival +of his sons at Delhi before he marched up from Cawnpore, but since then no +word had reached him. Captains Dunlop and Manners were also delighted to +meet him again; and the whole of the troop vied with each other in the +heartiness of the welcome accorded to him. Disease and death had sadly +lessened the ranks; and of the one hundred men who had volunteered at +Meerut to form a body of horse, not more than fifty now remained in the +ranks. It was very late at night--or rather, early in the morning--before +the party assembled in Colonel Warrener's tent separated, to seek a few +hours' sleep before the _reveille_ sounded for the troops to rise and +prepare for the advance. + +Soon after daybreak the column were under arms. The Seventy-fifth +Regiment, to its intense disappointment, was ordered to stay and guard the +Alumbagh, with its immense accumulation of stores and munitions; and the +rest of the troops, turning off from the direct road and following the +line the boys had traversed when they made their way into the Residency, +marched for the Dil Koosha, a hunting-palace of the late king of Oude. + +The enemy, who had anticipated an advance by the direct line taken by +Havelock, and who had made immense preparations for defense in that +quarter, were taken aback by the movement to the right, and no opposition +was experienced until the column approached the beautiful park, upon an +elevated spot in which the Dil Koosha stood. + +Then a brisk musketry fire was opened upon them. The head of the column +was extended in skirmishing order, reinforcements were sent up, and, +firing heavily as they advanced, the British drove the enemy before them, +and two hours after the first shot was fired were in possession of the +palace. The enemy fled down the slope toward the city; but the troops +pressed forward, and, with but slight loss, carried the strong position of +the Martiniere College, and drove the enemy across the canal. By this time +the enemy's troops from the other side of the city were flocking up, and +prepared to recross the canal and give battle; but some of the heavy guns +were brought up to the side of the canal, and the rebels made no further +attempt to take the offensive. + +The result of the day's fighting more than answered the commander-in- +chief's expectations, for not only had a commanding position, from which +the whole eastern suburb could be cannonaded, been obtained, but a large +convoy of provisions and stores had been safely brought up, and a new base +of operations obtained. + +The next day, the 15th of November, is celebrated in the annals of British +military history as that upon which some of the fiercest and bloodiest +fighting which ever took place in India occurred. At a short distance +beyond the canal stood the Secunderbagh (Alexander's garden), a building +of strong masonry, standing in a garden surrounded by a very high and +strong wall. This wall was loopholed for musketry; the gate, which led +through a fortified gateway, had been blocked with great piles of stones +behind it, and a very strong garrison held it. In front, a hundred yards +distant, was a fortified village, also held in great force. Separated from +the garden of the Secunderbagh only by the road was the mosque of Shah +Nujeeff. This building was also situated in a garden with a strong +loopholed wall, and this was lined with the insurgent troops; while the +terraced roof of the mosque, and the four minarets which rose at its +corners, were crowded with riflemen. + +The column of attack was commanded by Brigadier Hope; and as it crossed +the bridge of the canal and advanced, a tremendous musketry fire was +opened upon it from the village which formed the advanced post of the +enemy. The column broke up into skirmishing line and advanced steadily. + +"The guns to the front!" said an aide-de-camp, galloping up to the naval +brigade. + +With a cheer the sailors moved across the bridge, following the Horse +Artillery, which dashed ahead, unlimbered, and opened fire with great +rapidity. It took somewhat longer to bring the ponderous sixty-eight- +pounders of the naval brigade into action; but their deep roar when once +at work astonished the enemy, who had never before heard guns of such +heavy metal. + +The rebels fought obstinately, however; but Brigadier-General Hope led his +troops gallantly forward, and after a brief, stern fight the enemy gave +way and fled to the Secunderbagh. + +The guns were now brought forward and their fire directed at the strong +wall. The heavy cannon soon made a breach and the assault was ordered. The +Fourth Sikhs had been directed to lead the attack, while the Ninety-third +Highlanders and detachments from the Fifty-third and other regiments were +to cover their advance, by their musketry fire at the loopholes and other +points from which the enemy were firing. + +The white troops were, however, too impatient to be at the enemy to +perform the patient role assigned to them, and so joined the Sikhs in +their charge. The rush was so fierce and rapid that a number of men pushed +through the little breach before the enemy had mustered in force to repel +them. The entrance was, however, too small for the impatient troops, and a +number of them rushed to the grated windows which commanded the gates. +Putting their caps on the ends of the muskets, they raised them to the +level of the windows, and every Sepoy at the post discharged his musket at +once. Before they could load again the troops leaped up, tore down the +iron bars, and burst a way here also into the garden. + +[Illustration: THE RUSH WAS SO FIERCE, THAT A NUMBER OF MEN PUSHED THROUGH +THE LITTLE BREACH BEFORE THE ENEMY COULD REPEL THEM.] + +Then ensued a frightful struggle; two thousand Sepoys held the garden, and +these, caught like rats in a trap, fought with the energy of despair. +Nothing, however, could withstand the troops, mad with the long-balked +thirst for vengeance, and attacked with the cry--which in very truth was +the death-knell of the enemy--"Remember Cawnpore!" on their lips. No +quarter was asked or given. It was a stubborn, furious, desperate strife, +man to man--desperate Sepoy against furious Englishman. But in such a +strife weight and power tell their tale, and not one of the two thousand +men who formed the garrison escaped; two thousand dead bodies were next +day counted within the four walls of the garden. + +The battle had now raged for three hours, but there was more work yet to +be done. From the walls and minarets of the Shah Nujeeff a terrible fire +had been poured upon the troops as they fought their way into the +Secunderbagh, and the word was given to take this stronghold also. The +gate had been blocked up with masonry. Captain Peel was ordered to take up +the sixty-eight-pounders and to breach the wall. Instead of halting at a +short distance, the gallant sailor brought up his guns to within ten yards +of the wall, and set to work as if he were fighting his ship broadside to +broadside with an enemy. It was an action probably unexampled in war. Had +such an attack been made unsupported by infantry, the naval brigade would +have been annihilated by the storm of fire from the walls, and Dick +Warrener's career would have come to a close. The Highlanders and their +comrades, however, opened with such a tremendous fire upon the points from +which the enemy commanded the battery, and at every loophole in the wall, +that the mutineers could only keep up a wild and very ineffectual fire +upon the gunners. The massive walls crumbled slowly but surely, and in +four hours several gaps were made. + +Then the guns ceased their fire, and the infantry with a wild cheer burst +into the garden of the Shah Nujeeff, and filled the mosque and garden with +the corpses of their defenders. The loss of the naval brigade in this +gallant affair was not heavy, and Dick Warrener escaped untouched. + +Evening was approaching now, and the troops bivouacked for the night. The +Ninetieth and that portion of the Fifty-third not engaged in the assault +of the Secunderbagh and Shah Nujeeff were now to have their turn as +leaders of the attack. + +The next point to be carried was the messhouse, a very strong position, +situated on an eminence, with flanking towers, a loopholed mud wall, and a +ditch. The naval guns began the fray, and the heavy shot soon effected a +breach in the wall. The defenders of the post were annoyed, too, by a +mortar battery in an advanced post of the British force in the Residency-- +for the space between the garrison and the relieving force was rapidly +lessening. The word was given, and the Ninetieth, Fifty-third, and Sikhs +dashed forward, surmounted all obstacles, and carried the position with +the bayonet; and the observatory, which stood behind it, was soon +afterward most gallantly carried by a Sikh regiment. + +In the meantime the garrison of the Residency was not idle. On the day of +the arrival of the British at Dil Koosha flag-signals from the towers of +that palace had established communication with the Residency, and it was +arranged that as soon as the relieving forces obtained possession of the +Secunderbagh the troops of the garrison should begin to fight their way to +meet them. + +Delighted at taking the offensive after their long siege, Havelock's +troops, on the 16th, attacked the enemy with fury, and carried two strong +buildings known as Hern Khana and engine-house, and then dashed on through +the Chuttur Munzil, and carried all before them at the point of the +bayonet. + +All the strongholds of the enemy along this line had now fallen; and on +the 17th of March Sir Colin Campbell met Generals Outram and Havelock, +amid the tremendous cheers of British troops, which for awhile drowned the +heavy fire which the enemy was still keeping up. + +The loss of the relieving column during the operations was far less than +that which had befallen Havelock's force in its advance--for it amounted +only to one hundred and twenty-two officers and men killed, and three +hundred and forty-five wounded. The loss of the enemy considerably +exceeded four thousand. The relieving force did not advance into the +Residency, but were stationed along the line which they had conquered +between the Dil Koosha and the Residency, for the enemy were still in +enormously superior force, and threatened to cut the line by which the +British had penetrated. + +The first operation was to pour in a supply of luxuries from the stores at +the Dil Koosha. White bread, oranges, bananas, wine, tea, sugar, and other +articles were sent forward; and these, to those who had for nearly six +months existed on the barest and coarsest food, were luxuries indeed. An +even greater pleasure was afforded by sending in the mails which had +accumulated, and thus affording the garrison the intense delight of +hearing of those loved ones at home from whom they had been so long cut +off. + +The day that the junction was made Dick obtained leave for a few hours to +visit his friends in the Residency. It was singular to the lad to walk +leisurely across the open space of the Residency garden, where before it +would have been death to show one's self for a minute, and to look about +rather as an unconcerned spectator than as formerly, with nerves on strain +night and day to repel attack, which, if successful, meant death to every +soul in the place. + +In the battered walls, the shattered roofs, the destruction everywhere +visible, he saw how the terrors of the siege had increased after he had +left; and in view of the general havoc that met his view Dick was +astonished that any one should have survived the long-continued +bombardment. In some respects the change had been favorable. The accession +of strength after the arrival of General Havelock's force had enabled +great and beneficial alteration to be made in the internal arrangements, +and the extension of the lines held had also aided in improving the +sanitary condition. But the change in the appearance of the place was +trifling in comparison with that in the faces of the defenders. These +were, it is true, still pinched and thin, for the supply of food had been +reduced to a minimum, and the rations had been lowered almost to +starvation point. But in place of the expression of deep anxiety or of +stern determination then marked on every face, all now looked joyous and +glad, for the end to the terrible trials had arrived. + +As he moved along men looked at the midshipman curiously, and then, as the +lad advanced with outstretched hands, greeted him with cries of +astonishment and pleasure; for it was naturally supposed in the garrison +that the Warreners had fallen in the sortie on Johannes' house. Very +hearty were the greetings which Dick received, especially from those whom +he met who had fought side by side with him at Gubbins' house. This +pleasure, however, was greatly dashed by the answers to his questions +respecting friends. "Dead," "dead," "killed," were the replies that came +to the greater part of the inquiries after those he had known, and the +family in whom he was chiefly interested had suffered heavily. Mr. +Hargreaves was killed; Mr. and Mrs. Ritchie and all their children had +succumbed to the confinement and privation; but Mrs. Hargreaves and the +girls were well. After briefly telling how they had escaped in disguise, +after having been cut off from falling back after the successful sortie, +Dick Warrener hurried off to the house where he heard that his friends +were quartered. + +It was outside the bounds of the old Residency, for the ground held had, +since the arrival of Havelock's force, been considerably extended, and the +ladies had had two rooms assigned to them in a large building. Dick +knocked at the door of the room, and the ayah opened it--looked at him-- +gave a scream, and ran back into the room, leaving the door open. Dick, +seeing that it was a sitting-room, followed her in. Mrs. Hargreaves, +alarmed at the cry, had just risen from her chair, and Nelly and Edith ran +in from the inner room as Dick entered. A general cry of astonishment +broke from them. + +"Dick Warrener!" Mrs. Hargreaves exclaimed. "Is it possible? My clear boy, +thank God I see you again. And your brother?" + +"He escaped too," Dick said. + +Mrs. Hargreaves took him in her arms and kissed him as a dear relative +would have done; for during the month they had been together the boys had +become very dear to her, from their unvarying readiness to aid all who +required it, from their self-devotion and their bravery. Nor were the +girls less pleased, and they warmly embraced the young sailor, whom they +had come to look upon as if he had been a member of the family, and whom +they had wept as dead. + +For a time all were too much moved to speak more than a few disjointed +words, for the sad changes which had occurred since they had last met were +present in all their thoughts. Nelly, the youngest, was the first to +recover, and wiping away her tears, she said, half-laughing, half-crying: + +"I hate you, Dick, frightening us into believing that you were killed, +when you were alive and well all the time. But I never quite believed it +after all. I said all along that you couldn't have been killed; didn't I, +mamma? and that monkeys always got out of scrapes somehow." + +Mrs. Hargreaves smiled. + +"I don't think you put it in that way exactly, Nelly; but I will grant +that between your fits of crying you used to assert over and over again +that you did not believe that they were killed. And now, my dear boy, tell +us how this seeming miracle has come about." + +Then they sat down quietly, and Dick told the whole story; and Mrs. +Hargreaves warmly congratulated him on the manner in which they had +escaped, and upon the presence of mind they had shown. Then she in turn +told him what they had gone through and suffered. Edith burst into tears, +and left the room, and her mother presently went after her. + +"Well, Nelly, I have seen a lot since I saw you, have I not?" + +"Yes, you are a dear, brave boy, Dick," the girl said. + +"Even though I am a monkey, eh?" Dick answered. "And did you really cry +when you thought I was dead?" + +"Yes," the girl said demurely; "I always cry when I lose my pets. There +was the dearest puppy I ever had--" + +Dick laughed quietly. "Who is the monkey now?" he asked. + +"I am," she said frankly; "but you know I can't help teasing you, Dick." + +"Don't balk yourself, Nelly, I like it. I should like to be teased by you +all my life," he said in lower tones. + +The girl flushed up rosy red. "If you could always remain as you are now," +she said after a little pause, "just an impudent midshipman, I should not +mind it. Do you know, Dick, they give terriers gin to prevent their +growing; don't you think you might stop yourself? It is quite sad," she +went on pathetically, "to think that you may grow up into a great +lumbering man." + +"I am quite in earnest, Nelly," Dick said, looking preternaturally stern. + +"Yes," Nelly said, "I have always understood midshipmen were quite in +earnest when they talked nonsense." + +"I am quite in earnest," Dick said solemnly and fixedly again. + +"No, really, Dick, we are too old for that game," Nelly said, with a great +affectation of gravity. "I think we could enjoy hide-and-seek together, or +even blindman's buff; but you know children never play at being little +lovers after they are quite small. I remember a dear little boy, he used +to wear pinafores----" + +Here Mrs. Hargreaves again entered the room, and Dick, jumping up +suddenly, said that it was quite time for him to be off. "I shall only +just have time to be back by the time I promised." + +"Good-by, Dick. I hope to see you again tomorrow." + +Edith came in, and there was a hearty shake of the hand all round, except +that Dick only touched the tips of Nelly's fingers, in a manner which he +imagined betokened a dignified resentment, although as he looked up and +saw the girl's eyes dancing with amusement, he could scarcely flatter +himself that it had produced any very serious effect. Dick returned in an +indignant mood to the naval brigade, which was quartered in the Shah +Nujeeff's mosque and gardens. + +"You are out of sorts to-night, Dick," one of his brother midshipmen said, +as they leaned together upon the parapet of the mosque, looking down on +the city; "is anything the matter?" + +"Were you ever in love, Harry?" + +"Lots of times," Harry said confidently. + +"And could you always persuade them that you were in earnest?" Dick asked. + +Harry meditated. "Well, I am not quite sure about that, Dick; but then, +you see, I was never quite sure myself that I was in earnest, and that's +rather a drawback, you know." + +"But what would you do, Harry, supposing you were really quite in earnest, +and she laughed in your face and told you you were a boy?" Dick asked. + +"I expect," the midshipman said, laughing, "I should kiss her straight +off, and say that as I was a boy she couldn't object." + +"Oh, nonsense," Dick said testily; "I want advice, and you talk bosh!" + +The midshipman winked confidentially at the moon, there being no one else +to wink at, and then said gravely: + +"I think, Dick, the right thing to do would be to put your right hand on +your heart, and hold your left hand up, with the forefinger pointing to +the ceiling, and to say, 'Madam, I leave you now. When years have rolled +over our heads I will return, and prove to you at once my affection and my +constancy.'" + +Dick's eyes opened to their widest, and it was not until his friend went +off in a shout of laughter that he was certain that he was being chaffed; +then, with an exclamation of "Confound you, Harry!" he made a rush at his +comrade, who dodged his attack, and darted off, closely pursued by Dick. +And as they dashed round the cupola and down the stairs their light- +hearted laughter--for Dick soon joined in the laugh against himself--rose +on the evening air; and the tars, smoking their pipes round the bivouac +fires below, smiled as the sound came faintly down to them, and remarked, +"Them there midshipmites are larking, just as if they were up in the +maintop." + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +A SAD PARTING. + + +Sir Colin Campbell had considered it possible that the enemy would, upon +finding that the Residency was relieved, and the prey, of whose +destruction they had felt so sure, slipped from between their fingers, +leave the city and take to the open, in which case he would, after +restoring order, have left a strong body of troops in the city, and have +set off in pursuit of the rebels. + +It soon became apparent, however, that the enemy had no intention of +deserting their stronghold. Lucknow abounded with palaces and mosques, +each of which had been turned into a fortress, while every street was +barricaded, every wall loopholed. As from forty thousand to fifty thousand +men, including many thousands of drilled soldiers, stood ready to defend +the town, foot by foot, it was clear that the fighting force at Sir Colin +Campbell's command was utterly inadequate to attempt so serious an +operation as the reduction of the whole city. To leave a portion of the +force would only have submitted them to another siege, with the necessity +for another advance to their relief. The commander-in-chief therefore +determined to evacuate the Residency and city altogether, to carry off the +entire garrison, and to leave Lucknow to itself until the reinforcements +from England should arrive, and he should be able to undertake the +subjugation of the city with a force adequate for the purpose. + +His intention was kept a secret until the last moment, lest the news might +reach the enemy, who, from the batteries in their possession, could have +kept up a terrible fire upon the road along which the women and children +would have to pass, and who would have attacked with such fury along the +whole line to be traversed, that it would have been next to impossible to +draw off the troops. + +In order to deceive the enemy, guns were placed in position to play upon +the town, and a heavy fire was opened against the Kaiserbagh, or King's +Palace, a fortress of great strength. In the meantime preparations for +retreat were quietly carried on. Bullock hackeries were prepared for the +carriage of the ladies and children; and on the morning of the 23d of +November the occupants of the Residency were informed that they must +prepare to leave that afternoon, and that no luggage beyond a few personal +necessaries could be carried. + +The order awakened mingled emotions--there was gladness at the thought of +leaving a place where all had suffered so much, and round which so many +sad memories were centered; there was regret in surrendering to the foe a +post which had been so nobly defended for so many months. Among many, too, +there was some dismay at the thought of giving up all their movable +possessions to the enemy. One small trunk was all that was allowed to +each, and as each tried to put together the most valuable of his or her +belongings, the whole of the buildings occupied were littered, from end to +end, with handsome dresses, silver plate, mirrors, clocks, furniture, and +effects of all kinds. A short time since every one would have gladly +resigned all that they possessed for life and liberty; but now that both +were assured, it was felt to be hard to give up everything. + +Dick went in to Mrs. Hargreaves' to see if he could be of any service, but +there was comparatively little to do, for that lady had lost all her +portable property in the destruction of the bungalow on the estate owned +by her husband, and had come into Lucknow shortly before the outbreak, +when the cloud began to lower heavily, with but a small amount of baggage. +Dick had not been able to see them since his first visit, being +incessantly on duty. + +"I was so sorry I could not come up before," he explained; "but each of +the officers has been up to have a look at the Residency; and as we may be +attacked at any moment, Captain Peel expects them all to be on the spot +with their men." + +"Shall we get away without being fired at?" Nelly asked. + +"I am afraid you will have to run the gantlet in one or two places," Dick +said. "The enemy keep up an almost incessant fire; and although, we must +hope, they will not have an idea that any number of people are passing +along the road, and their fire will therefore be only a random one, it may +be a little unpleasant; but you are all accustomed to that now. I must be +off again, Mrs. Hargreaves; I really only came to explain why I did not +come yesterday, and only got leave for an hour, so I have come at a trot +all the way." + +And so Dick made off again; and as he shook hands with them, he could feel +that Nelly had not yet forgiven the coldness of his last good-by. + +Upon the previous day all the sick and wounded had been moved to the Dil +Koosha; that done, the very large amount of money, amounting to nearly a +quarter of a million, in the government treasury, was removed, together +with such stores as were required. Then the guns were silently withdrawn +from the batteries, and at half-past four in the afternoon the emigration +of the women and children commenced. All had to walk to the Secunderbagh, +along a road strewn with _debris_, and ankle deep in sand, and in some +places exposed to a heavy fire. At one of these points a strong party of +seamen were stationed, among whom Dick was on duty. As each party of women +arrived at the spot they were advised to stoop low, and to run across at +full speed, as the road being a little sunk, they thus escaped observation +by the enemy, whose battery was at some little distance, but the grape +whistled thickly overhead, and several were wounded as they passed. + +Dick had been on the lookout for the Hargreaves party, and came forward +and had a talk with them before they started across the open spot. He had +quite recovered from Nelly's attack upon his dignity as a man and a naval +officer, and the pair as usual had a wordy spar. Dick was, however, rather +serious at the prospect of the danger they were about to run. + +"Will you let me cross with you one at a time?" he asked. + +"Certainly not, Dick," Mrs. Hargreaves said. "You could do us no good, and +would run a silly risk yourself. Now, girls, are you ready?" + +"Stoop low, for heaven's sake!" Dick urged. + +Mrs. Hargreaves started at a run, accompanied by Alice. Nelly was a little +behind. Dick took her hand and ran across, keeping between her and the +enemy. + +"Down low!" he cried, as, when they were half across, a heavy gun fired. +As he spoke, he threw his arms round Nelly, and pulled her to the ground. +As he did so a storm of grape swept just above them, striking the wall, +and sending a shower of earth over them. Another half-minute and they were +across on the other side. + +"Good-by," he said to them all; "you are over the worst now." + +"Good-by, my dear boy. Mind how you cross again. God bless you." And Mrs. +Hargreaves and Alice shook his hand, and turned to go. Nelly held hers out +to him. He took it and clasped it warmly; he was loosening his hold when +the girl said: "You have saved my life, Dick." + +"Oh, nonsense," he said. + +"You did, sir, and--yes, I am coming, mamma"--in answer to a word from her +mother. "Oh, how stupid you are, Dick!" she cried, with a little stamp of +her foot; "don't you want to kiss me?" + +"Of course I do," Dick said. + +"Then why on earth don't you do it, sir?--There, that is enough. God bless +you, dear Dick;" and Nelly darted off to join her mother. + +Then he returned to his post, and the ladies went on to the Secunderbagh. +Here a long halt was entailed, until all were gathered there, in order +that they might be escorted by a strong guard on to the Dil Koosha. Then +came an anxious journey--some in bullock-carts, some in doolies, some on +foot. The Hargreaves walked, for the anxiety was less when moving on foot +than if shut up in a conveyance. Several times there were long halts in +expectation of attack; and a report that a great movement could be heard +among the enemy at one time delayed them until reinforcements could be +sent for and arrived. But about midnight all reached the Dil Koosha, where +a number of tents had been erected, and refreshments prepared for the many +fugitives. + +Later on the troops came tramping in, having gradually, and in regular +order, evacuated their posts, leaving their fires burning and moving in +absolute silence, so that it was not until next morning that the enemy +awoke to the knowledge that the Residency was deserted, and that their +expected prey had safely escaped them. + +The next day was spent quietly, all enjoying intensely the open air, the +relief from the long pressure, and the good food, wine, and other comforts +now at their disposal. Dick brought Colonel Warrener to make the +acquaintance of his friends, and a pleasant afternoon was spent together. +On the 25th a heavy gloom fell upon all, for on that day the gallant +General Havelock, worn out by his labors and anxieties, was seized with +dysentery, and in a few hours breathed his last. He was a good man as well +as a gallant soldier, and his death just at the moment when the safety of +those for whom he had done so much was assured cast a gloom not only over +his comrades and those who had fought under him, but on the whole British +nation. All that day the great convoy had been on the move between the Dil +Koosha and the Alumbagh. Half the fighting force served as an escort, the +other half stood in battle order between them and Lucknow, in case the +enemy should come out to the attack. The whole road between the two +stations was throughout the day covered by a continuous stream of bullock +carts, palanquins, carts, camels, elephants, guns, ammunition carts, and +store wagons. + +Mrs. Hargreaves and her daughters were on an elephant, with their ayah; +and as the Warreners had placed in the howdah a basket of refreshments, +the long weary march was borne, not only without inconvenience, but with +some pleasure at the novelty of the scene and the delight of air and +freedom. + +Sir Colin Campbell had intended to allow a halt of seven days at the +Alumbagh, but on the 27th of May a continuous firing was heard in the +direction of Cawnpore. Fearful for the safety of that all-important post, +the commander determined to push forward his convoy at once. On the +morning of the 28th they started. Dick had come soon after daybreak to the +tents where the Hargreaves were, with many others, sleeping. + +"There is bad news from Cawnpore," he said, "and you will have to push on. +I expect that it will be a terrible two days' march with all this convoy. +Pray take enough provisions with you for the two days in the howdah, and +some blankets and things to make a cover at night. I am sure that the +tents will not be got up, and the confusion at the halting-place will be +fearful; but if you have everything with you, you will be able to manage." + +It was well that they were so prepared, for the first march, owing to the +immense length of the convoy, lasted until long past dark; then there was +a halt for a few hours, and then a thirty miles' journey to the bridge of +boats on the Ganges. + +The naval brigade accompanied the convoy, but Dick had seen nothing of his +friends. Colonel Warrener, however, who with his troop had moved along the +line at intervals, spoke to them, and was able at the halting-place to +assist them to make a temporary shelter, where they snatched a few hours' +sleep. + +The news that had caused this movement was bad indeed. General Wyndham, in +command at Cawnpore, had been defeated by the Gwalior rebel contingent, +aided by the troops of Nana Sahib and those of Koer Sing, a great Oude +chief, and part of the town had been taken. Sir Colin himself pushed +forward at all speed with a small body of troops and some heavy guns, so +as to secure the safety of the bridge of boats; for had this fallen into +the hands of the enemy the situation of the great convoy would have been +bad indeed. However, the rebels had neglected to take measures until it +was too late, and the approaches to the bridge on either side were guarded +by our guns. The passage of the convoy then began, and for thirty-nine +hours a continuous stream passed across the river. + +The whole force which had accomplished the relief of Lucknow had not +returned, as it was considered necessary to keep some troops to command +the town, and prevent the great body of mutineers gathered there from +undertaking expeditions. The Alumbagh was accordingly held by the Fifth, +Seventy-eighth, Eighty-fourth, and Ninetieth Foot, the Madras Fusiliers, +the Ferozepore Sikhs, and a strong artillery force, the whole under the +command of Sir James Outram. + +As the long day went on, and the thunder of the guns at Cawnpore grew +louder and louder, Sir Colin Campbell took the naval brigade and the +greater portion of the fighting troops, and pushed forward. The regiments +as they arrived were hurried across the bridge, to take part in the +defense of the position guarding the bridge, where General Wyndham's +troops were defending themselves desperately against immense forces of the +enemy. + +"What has happened?" was the question the officers of the naval brigade +asked those of the garrison when they first met. + +"Oh, we have been fearfully licked. A series of blunders and +mismanagement. We have lost all the camp equipage, all the stores--in +fact, everything. It is the most disgraceful thing which has happened +since the trouble began. We lost heavily yesterday, frightfully to-day. +They say the Sixty-fourth is cut to pieces." + +It had indeed been a wretched business, and was the only occasion when +British troops were, in any force, defeated throughout the mutiny. The +affair happened in this way. The British force at Cawnpore were stationed +in an intrenched position, so placed as to overawe the city, and to +command the river and bridge of boats, which it was all-important to keep +open. The general in command received news that the mutinous Gwalior +contingent, with several other rebel bodies, was on its way to Cawnpore. +Unfortunately, they were approaching on the opposite side of the city to +that upon which the British intrenchments were situated, and the general +therefore determined to leave a portion of his force to protect the +intrenchments and bridge, while with the rest he started to give battle to +the enemy in the open at a distance on the other side of the city, as it +was very important to prevent Cawnpore from again falling into their +hands. He advanced first to Dhubarlee, a strong position on the canal, +where a vigorous defense could have been made, as a cross canal covered +our flank. Unfortunately, however, the next day he again marched forward +eight miles, and met the advanced guard of the enemy at Bhowree. The +British force consisted of twelve hundred infantry, made up of portions of +the Thirty-fourth, Eighty-second, Eighty-eighth, and Rifles, with one +hundred native cavalry, and eight guns. The troops advanced with a rush, +carried the village, defeated the enemy, and took two guns, and then +pressing forward, found themselves in face of the main body of the enemy's +army. Then for the first time it appears to have occurred to the general +that it was imprudent to fight so far from the city. He therefore ordered +a retreat, and the British force fell back, closely followed by the enemy. +Had he halted again at Dhubarlee, he might still have retrieved his error; +but he continued his retreat, and halted for the night on the plain of +Jewar, a short distance from the northeast angle of the city. + +No preparations appear to have been made in case of an attack by the +enemy, and when in the morning they came on in immense force, the British +position was seriously threatened on all sides. For five hours the troops +held their ground nobly, and prevented the enemy advancing by a direct +attack. A large body, however, moved round to the flank and entered the +city, thus getting between the British forces and their intrenchments. The +order was therefore given to retire, and this was carried out in such +haste that the whole of the camp equipage, consisting of five hundred +tents, quantities of saddlery, uniforms for eight regiments, and a vast +amount of valuable property of all kinds, fell into the hands of the +mutineers. All these stores had been placed in a great camp on the plain +outside the fortified intrenchments. It was a disastrous affair; and +Cawnpore blazed with great fires, lighted by the triumphant mutineers. + +During the retreat a gun had been capsized and left in one of the lanes of +the town, and at dead of night one hundred men of the Sixty-fourth, +accompanied by a detachment of sailors, went silently out, and succeeded +in righting the gun, and bringing it off from the very heart of the city. + +The next day the whole force moved out, and took up their position to +prevent the enemy from approaching the intrenchments. The mutineers, +commanded by Nana Sahib in person, advanced to the attack. One British +column remained in reserve. The column under Colonel Walpole succeeded in +repulsing the body opposed to it, and captured two of its eighteen-pounder +guns. The column under General Carthew maintained its position throughout +the day, but fell back toward the evening--a proceeding for which the +officer in command was severely censured by the commander-in-chief, who, +riding on ahead of his convoy, with a small body of troops, reached the +scene of action just at nightfall. + +But it was the division under Brigadier-General Wilson, colonel of the +Sixty-fourth, that suffered most heavily. Seeing that General Carthew was +hardly pressed, he led a part of his own regiment against four guns which +were playing with great effect. Ned Warrener's heart beat high as the +order to charge was given, for it was the first time he had been in action +with his gallant regiment. With a cheer the little body, who numbered +fourteen officers and one hundred and sixty men, advanced. Their way led +along a ravine nearly half a mile long; and as they moved forward a storm +of shot, shell, and grape from the guns was poured upon them, while a +heavy musketry fire broke out from the heights on either side. Fast the +men fell, but there was no wavering; on at the double they went, until +within fifty yards of the guns, and then burst into a charge at full +speed. + +Ned, accustomed as he was to fire, had yet felt bewildered at the iron +storm which had swept their ranks. All round him men were falling; a +bullet knocked off his cap, and a grape-shot smashed his sword off short +in his hand. The Sepoy artillerymen stood to their guns and fought +fiercely as the British rushed upon them. Ned caught up the musket of a +man who fell dead by his side, and bayoneted a gunner; he saw another man +at four paces off level a rifle at him, felt a stunning blow, and fell, +but was up in a minute again, having been knocked down by a brick hurled +by some Sepoy from a dwelling close behind the guns--a blow which probably +saved his life. Two of the guns where spiked while the hand-to-hand +conflict raged. + +Major Stirling fell dead, Captain Murphy and Captain Macraw died fighting +nobly beside him, and the gallant Colonel Wilson received three bullets +through his body. From all sides masses of the enemy charged down, and a +regiment of Sepoy cavalry swept upon them. Captain Sanders was now in +command, and gave the word to fall back; and even faster than they had +approached, the survivors of the Sixty-fourth retreated, literally cutting +their way through the crowds of Sepoys which surrounded them. + +Ned was scarcely conscious of what he was doing; and few could have given +a detailed account of the events of that most gallant charge. The men kept +well together; old veterans in fight, they knew that only in close ranks +could they hope to burst through the enemy; and striking, and stabbing, +and always running, they at last regained the position they had quitted. +Of the fourteen officers, seven were killed and two wounded; of the one +hundred and sixty men, eighteen killed and fifteen wounded; a striking +testimony to the valor with which the officers had led the way. Such +slaughter as this among the officers is almost without parallel in the +records of the British army; and lads who went into the fray low down on +the list of lieutenants came out captains. Among them was Ned Warrener, +who stood fifth on the list of lieutenants, and who, by the death +vacancies, now found himself a captain. + +It was not until they halted, breathless and exhausted, that he discovered +that he had been twice wounded; for in the wild excitement of the fight he +had been unconscious of pain. A bullet had passed through the fleshy part +of his left arm, while another had cut a clean gash just across his hip. +Neither was in any way serious; and having had them bound up with a +handkerchief, he remained with his regiment till nightfall put an end to +the fighting, when he made his way to the hospital. This was crowded with +badly wounded men; and Ned seeing the pressure upon the surgeons, obtained +a couple of bandages, and went back to his regiment, to have them put on +there. As he reached his camp, Dick sprang forward. + +"My dear old boy, I was just hunting for you. We crossed to-night, and +directly we were dismissed I rushed off, hearing that your regiment has +suffered frightfully. I hear you are hit; but, thank God! only slightly." + +"Very slightly, old boy; nothing worth talking about. It has been an awful +business, though. And how are you? and how is father?" + +"Quite well, Ned. Not a scratch either of us." + +"And the Hargreaves?" + +"Mrs. Hargreaves and the girls are all right, Ned, and will be in to- +morrow; all the rest are gone." + +"Gone! dear, dear! I am sorry. Now, Dick, come to the fire and bandage up +my arm; and you must congratulate me, old boy, for by the slaughter to-day +I have my company." + +"Hurrah!" Dick exclaimed joyfully. "That is good news. What luck! not +eighteen yet, and a captain." + +It was only on the 1st of December that the whole of the convoy from +Lucknow were gathered in tents on the parade-ground at Cawnpore, and all +hoped for a short period of rest. + +On the morning of the 3d, however, notice was issued that in two hours the +women, children, and civilians of Lucknow would proceed to Allahabad, +under escort of five hundred men of the Thirty-fourth Regiment. It would +be a long march, for the convoy would be incumbered by the enormous train +of stores and munitions of war, while a large number of vehicles were +available for their transport. + +Colonel Warrener heard the news early, and knowing how interested his sons +were in the matter, he rode round to their respective camps and told them. +Leaving them to follow, he then rode over to the Hargreaves' tent. + +They had just heard the news, and short as the time was, had so few +preparations to make that they were ready for a start. A dawk-garry, or +post-carriage, was allotted to them, which, the ayah riding outside, would +hold them with some comfort, these vehicles being specially constructed to +allow the occupants, when two in number only, to lie down at full length. +It would be a close fit for the three ladies, but they thought that they +could manage; and it was a comfort to know that, even if no tents could be +erected at night, they could lie down in shelter. + +The young Warreners soon arrived, and while their father was discussing +the arrangements with Mrs. Hargreaves, and seeing that a dozen of claret +which his orderly had at his orders brought across, with a basket of +fruit, was properly secured on the roof, they sauntered off with the +girls, soon insensibly pairing off. + +"It will be two years at least before I am home in England, Nelly," Dick +said, "and I hope to be a lieutenant soon after, for I am certain of my +step directly I pass, since I have been mentioned three times in +dispatches. I know I am a boy, not much over sixteen, but I have gone +through a lot, and am older than my age; but even if you laugh at me, +Nelly, I must tell you I love you." + +But Nelly was in no laughing mood. + +"My dear Dick," she said, "I am not going to laugh; I am too sad at +parting. But you know I am not much over fifteen yet, though I too feel +older--oh, so much older than girls in England, who are at school till +long past that age. You know I like you, Dick, very, very much. It would +be absurd to say more than that to each other now. We part just on these +terms, Dick. We know we both like each other very much. Well, yes, I will +say 'love' if you like, Dick; but we cannot tell the least in the world +what we shall do five years hence. So we won't make any promises, or +anything else; we will be content with what we know; and if either of us +change, there will be no blame and misery. Do you agree to that, Dick?" + +Dick did agree very joyfully, and a few minutes later the pair, very +silent now, strolled back to the tent. Ned and Edith were already there, +for Ned had no idea of speaking out now, or of asking Edith to enter into +an engagement which she might repent when she came to enter society in +England; and yet, although he said nothing, or hardly anything, the pair +understood each other's feelings as well as did Dick and Nelly. + +All was now ready for the start, everything in its place, and the ayah on +the seat with the driver. Then came the parting--a very sad one. Mrs. +Hargreaves was much moved, and the girls wept unrestrainedly, while +Colonel Warrener, who had made his adieus, and was standing a little back, +lifted his eyebrows, with a comical look of astonishment, as he saw the +farewell embraces of his sons with Edith and Nelly. + +"Humph!" he muttered to himself. "A bad attack of calf love all round. +Well," as he looked at the manly figures of his sons, and thought of the +qualities they had shown, "I should not be surprised if the boys stick to +it; but whether those pretty little things will give the matter a thought +when they have once come out at home remains to be seen. It would not be a +bad thing, for Hargreaves was, I know, a very wealthy man, and there are +only these two girls." + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +THE LAST CAPTURE OF LUCKNOW. + + +The women and children brought from Lucknow once sent off from the British +camp, the commander-in-chief was able to direct his attention to the work +before him--of clearing out of Cawnpore the rebel army, composed of the +Gwalior contingent and the troops of Koer Sing and Nana Sahib, in all +twenty-five thousand men. Against this large force he could only bring +seventy-five hundred men; but these, well led, were ample for the purpose. + +The position on the night of the 5th of December was as follows. The +British camp was separated from the city by a canal running east and west. +The enemy were entirely on the north of this canal, their center occupying +the town. Outside the city walls lay the right of the rebel army, while +his left occupied the space between the walls and the river. In the rear +of the enemy's left was a position known as the Subadar's Tank. The +British occupied as an advanced post a large bazaar on the city side of +the river. + +The operations of the 6th of December were simple. A demonstration was +made against the city from the bazaar, which occupied the attention of the +large force holding the town. The main body of the British were quietly +massed on its left, and, crossing three bridges over the canal, attacked +the enemy's right with impetuosity. These, cut off by the city wall from +their comrades within, were unable to stand the British onslaught and the +thunder of Peel's guns, and fled precipitately, pursued by the British for +fourteen miles along the Calpee Road. Every gun and ammunition wagon of +the mutineers on this side fell into the hands of the victors. + +As the victorious British force swept along past the city, Sir Colin +Campbell detached a force under General Mansfield to attack and occupy the +position of the Subadar's Tank--which was captured after some hard +fighting. Thus the British were in a position in rear of the enemy's left. +The mutineers, seeing that their right was utterly defeated, and the +retreat of their left threatened, lost all heart, and as soon as darkness +came on, fled, a disorganized rabble, from the city they had entered as +conquerors only six days before. The cavalry started next day in pursuit, +cut up large numbers, and captured the greater part of their guns. + +The threatening army of Gwalior thus beaten and scattered, and Cawnpore in +our hands, Sir Colin Campbell was able to devote his whole attention to +clearing the country in his rear, and in preparing for the great final +campaign against Lucknow, which, now that Delhi had fallen, was the +headquarters of the mutiny. + +The next two months were passed in a series of expeditions by flying +columns. In some of these the Warreners took part, and both shared in the +defeats of the Sepoys and the capture of Futtyghur and Furruckabad--places +at which horrible massacres of the whites had taken place in the early +days of the mutiny. During these two months large reinforcements had +arrived; and Jung Bahadoor, Prince of Nepaul, had come down with an army +of ten thousand Ghoorkas to our aid. + +On the 15th of February the tremendous train of artillery, ammunition and +stores, collected for the attack upon the city, began to cross the river; +and upon the 26th of the month the order was given for the army to move +upon the following day. + +The task before it was a difficult one. From all the various points from +which the British had driven them--from Delhi, from Rohilcund, and the +Doab, from Cawnpore, Furruckabad, Futtyghur, Etawah, Allyghur, Goruckpore, +and other places--they retreated to Lucknow, and there were now collected +sixty thousand revolted Sepoys and fifty thousand irregular troops, +besides the armed rabble of the city of three hundred thousand souls. +Knowing the storm that was preparing to burst upon their heads, they had +neglected no means for strengthening their position. Great lines of +fortifications had been thrown up; enormous quantities of guns placed in +position; every house barricaded and loopholed, and the Kaiserbagh +transformed into a veritable citadel. In hopes of destroying the force +under General Sir James Outram, at the Alumbagh--which had been a thorn in +their side for so long--a series of desperate attacks had been made upon +them; but these had been uniformly defeated with heavy loss by the gallant +British force. On the 3d of March the advanced division occupied the Dil +Koosha, meeting with but slight resistance; and the commander-in-chief at +once took up his headquarters here. The next three days were spent in +making the necessary disposition for a simultaneous attack upon all sides +of the town--General Outram on one side, Sir Hope Grant upon another, Jung +Bahadoor, with his Nepaulese, on the third, and the main attack, under Sir +Colin Campbell himself, on the fourth. + +Great was the excitement in the camp on the eve of this tremendous +struggle. Colonel Warrener and his sons met on the night before the +fighting was to begin. + +"Well, boys," he said, after a long talk upon the prospects of the +fighting, "did you do as you talked about, and draw your pay and get it +changed into gold?" + +"Most of it," Ned said; "we could not get it all; and had to pay a +tremendous rate of exchange for it." + +"Here are the twenty pounds each, in gold, lads," Colonel Warrener said, +"that I told you I could get for you. Now what do you want it for? You +would not tell me at Cawnpore." + +"Well, father, at Delhi there was lots of loot taken, quantities of +valuable things, and the soldiers were selling what they had got for next +to nothing. I had some lovely bracelets offered me for a few rupees, but +no one had any money in their pockets. So Dick and I determined that if we +came into another storming business, we would fill our pockets beforehand +with money. They say that the palaces, the Kaiserbagh especially, are +crowded with valuable things; and as they will be lawful loot for the +troops, we shall be able to buy no end of things." + +Colonel Warrener laughed. + +"There is nothing like forethought, Ned, and I have no doubt that you will +be able to pick up some good things. The soldiers attach no value to them, +and would rather have gold, which they can change for spirits, than all +the precious stones in the world. I shall be out of it, as, of course, the +cavalry will not go into the city, but will wait outside to cut off the +enemy's retreat." + +The fighting began with General Outram's division, which worked round the +city, and had on the 7th, 8th, and 9th to repulse heavy attacks of the +enemy. + +On the 9th Sir Colin Campbell advanced, took the Martiniere with but +slight opposition, crossed the canal, and occupied the Secunderbagh--the +scene of the tremendous fighting on the previous advance. The Begum's +palace, in front of Bank House, was then attacked, and after very heavy +fighting, carried. Here Major Hodgson, the captor of the king of Delhi, +was mortally wounded. General Outram's force had by this time taken up a +position on the other side of the river, and this enabled him to take the +enemy's defenses in flank, and so greatly to assist the advancing party. + +Day by day the troops fought their way forward; and on the 14th the +Imaumbarra, a splendid palace of the king of Oude, adjoining the +Kaiserbagh, was breached and carried. The panic-stricken defenders fled +through the court and garden into the Kaiserbagh, followed hotly by the +Sikhs, Ghoorkas, and Highlanders. Such was the terror which their +appearance excited that a panic seized also the defenders of the +Kaiserbagh, and these too fled, deserting the fortifications raised with +so much care, and the British poured into the palace. For a few minutes a +sharp conflict took place in every room, and then, the Sepoys being +annihilated, the victors fell upon the spoil. From top to bottom the +Kaiserbagh was crowded with valuable articles, collected from all parts of +the world. English furniture, French clocks and looking-glasses, Chinese +porcelain, gorgeous draperies, golden thrones studded with jewels, costly +weapons inlaid with gold, enormous quantities of jewelry--in fact, wealth +of all kinds to an almost fabulous value. The wildest scene of confusion +ensued. According to the rule in these matters, being taken by storm, the +place was lawful plunder. For large things the soldiers did not care, and +set to to smash and destroy all that could not be carried away. Some put +on the turbans studded with jewels; others hung necklaces of enormous +value round their necks, or covered their arms with bracelets. None knew +the value of the costly gems they had become possessed of; and few indeed +of the officers could discriminate between the jewels of immense value and +those which were mere worthless imitations. + +As soon as the news spread that the Kaiserbagh was taken the guns fired a +royal salute in honor of the triumph; and all officers who could obtain an +hour's leave from their regiments hurried away to see the royal palace of +Oude. + +The Warreners were both near the spot when the news came; both were able +to get away, and met at the entrance to the palace. Already soldiers, +British and native, were passing out laden with spoil. + +"What will you give me for this necklace, sir?" a soldier asked Ned. + +"I have no idea what it's worth," Ned said. + +"No more have I," said the soldier; "it may be glass, it may be something +else. You shall have it for a sovereign." + +"Very well," Ned said; "here is one." + +So onward they went, buying everything in the way of jewels offered them, +utterly ignorant themselves whether the articles they purchased were real +gems or imitation. + +Penetrating into the palace, they found all was wild confusion. Soldiers +were smashing chandeliers and looking-glasses, breaking up furniture, +tumbling the contents of chests and wardrobes and caskets over the floors, +eager to find, equally eager to sell what they had found. + +Bitter were the exclamations of disappointment and disgust which the +Warreners heard from many of the officers that they were unprovided with +money--for the soldiers would not sell except for cash; but for a few +rupees they were ready to part with anything. Strings of pearls, worth a +thousand pounds, were bought for a couple of rupees--four shillings; +diamond aigrettes, worth twice as much, went for a sovereign; and the +Warreners soon laid out the seventy pounds which they had between them +when they entered the palace; and their pockets and the breasts of their +coats were stuffed with their purchases, and each had a bundle in his +handkerchief. + +"I wonder," Dick said, as they made their way back, "whether we have been +fools or wise men. I have not a shadow of an idea whether these things are +only the sham jewels which dancing girls wear, or whether they are real." + +"It was worth running the risk, anyhow; for if only half of them are real +they are a big fortune. Anyhow, Dick, let's hold our tongues about it. +It's no use making fellows jealous of our good luck if they turn out to be +real, or of getting chaffed out of our lives if they prove false. Let us +just stow them away till it's all over, and then ask father about them." + +It was calculated that twenty thousand soldiers and camp-followers +obtained loot of more or less value, from the case of jewelry, valued at +one hundred thousand pounds, that fell into the hands of an officer, to +clocks, candelabra, and articles of furniture, carried off by the least +fortunate. The value of the treasure there was estimated at ten millions +of money at the lowest computation. + +The fall of the Kaiserbagh utterly demoralized the enemy; and from that +moment they began to leave the town by night in thousands. Numbers were +cut off and slaughtered by our cavalry and artillery; but large bodies +succeeded in escaping, to give us fresh trouble in the field. + +Day by day the troops fought their way from palace to palace and from +street to street. Day and night the cannon and mortar batteries thundered +against the districts of the city still uncaptured; and great fires blazed +in a dozen quarters, until gradually the resistance ceased and Lucknow was +won. + +It was not until a week after the storming of the Kaiserbagh--by which +time everything had settled down, order was restored, and the inhabitants +were, under the direction of the military authorities, engaged in clearing +away rubbish, leveling barricades, and razing to the ground a considerable +portion of the city--that Colonel Warrener and his sons met. The troops +were now all comfortably under canvas in the cantonments, and were +enjoying a well-earned rest after their labors. + +"Well, boys," he said, "have you heard Warrener's Horse is to be broken +up? The officers have all been appointed to regiments, the civilians are +anxious to return to look after their own affairs. I am to go up to take +the command of a newly-raised Punjaub regiment. Dunlop goes with me as +major. Manners has been badly hit, and goes home. The greater part of the +naval brigade march down to Calcutta at once. The force will be broken up +into flying columns, for there is much to be done yet. The greater portion +of these scoundrels have got away; and there are still considerably more +than one hundred thousand of the enemy scattered in large bodies over the +country. I am going to Delhi, through Agra, with Dunlop; I accompany a +detachment of fifty irregular Punjaub horse, who are ordered down to Agra. +Then I shall go up to Meerut, and have a week with the girls; and do you +know I have seen Captain Peel and your colonel, Ned, and have got leave +for you both for a month. Then you will go down to Calcutta, Dick, and +join your ship; Ned will of course, rejoin his regiment." + +The lads were delighted at the prospect of again seeing their sister and +cousin; and Dick indulged in a wild dance, expressive of joy. + +"Well, boys, and how about loot; did you lay out your money?" + +"We laid it out, father; but we have not the least idea whether we have +bought rubbish or not. This black bag is full of it." + +So saying, Ned emptied a large handbag upon the top of a barrel which +served as a table. Colonel Warrener gave a cry of astonishment, as a great +stream of bracelets, necklaces, tiaras, aigrettes, and other ornaments, +poured out of the bag. + +"Good gracious, boys! do you mean to say all these are yours?" + +"Ours and yours, father; there were forty pounds of your money, and +thirty-five of ours. Do you think they are real?" + +Colonel Warrener took one or two articles from the flashing heap of +diamonds, emeralds, rubies, opals, and pearls. + +"I should say so," he said; "some of them are certainly. But have you any +idea what these are worth?" + +"Not the least in the world," Ned said; "if they are real, though, I +suppose they are worth some thousands of pounds." + +"My boys, I should say," Colonel Warrener replied, turning over the heap, +"they must be worth a hundred thousand if they are worth a penny." + +The boys looked at each other in astonishment: + +"Really, father?" + +"Really, my boys." + +"Hurrah," Dick said. "Then you can give up the service when this war is +over, father, and go home and live as a rich man; that will be glorious." + +"My dear boys, the prize is yours." + +"Nonsense, father!" exclaimed the boys together. And then began an +amicable contest, which was not finally concluded for many a long day. + +"But what had we better do with all these things, father?" Dick said at +last. + +"We will get a small chest and put them in, boys. I will give it to the +paymaster--he is sending a lot of treasure down under a strong escort--and +will ask him to let it go down with the convoy. I will direct it to a firm +at Calcutta, and will ask them to forward it to my agent at home, to whom +I will give directions to send it to a first-class jeweler in London, to +be by him opened and valued. I will tell the Calcutta firm to insure it on +the voyage as treasure at twenty thousand pounds. Even if some of them +turn out to be false, you may congratulate each other that you are +provided for for life." + +"And when do we set out, father?" Ned asked, after they had talked for +some time longer about their treasure. + +"In three days' time. We shall accompany a flying column for the first two +days' march, and then strike across for Agra." + +The next two days the Warreners spent in investigating the town, in +wandering through the deserted palaces, and admiring their vast extent, +and in saying good-by to their friends. A great portion of the teeming +population of Lucknow had fled, and the whole city outside the original +town was to be cleared away and laid out in gardens, so that henceforth +Lucknow would be little more than a fifth of its former size. The ruined +Residency was to be cleared of its _debris_, replanted with trees, and to +be left as a memorial of British valor. The entire district through which +Havelock's men had fought their way was to be cleared of its streets, and +the palaces only were to be left standing, to be utilized for public +purposes. The whole of the remaining male population of Lucknow was set to +work to carry out these alterations. The scene was busy and amusing, and +the change from the fierce fight, the din of cannon, and the perpetual +rattle of musketry, to the order, regularity, and bustle of work, was very +striking. Here was a party of sappers and miners demolishing a row of +houses, there thousands of natives filling baskets with rubbish and +carrying them on their heads to empty into bullock carts, whence it was +taken to fill up holes and level irregularities. Among the crowd, soldiers +of many uniforms--British infantry, Rifles, Highlanders, artillery and +cavalry, sinewy Sikhs, and quiet little Nepaulese--wandered at will or +worked in fatigue parties. + +The three days past, Colonel Warrener, his sons, and Major Dunlop took +their places on horseback with the troop of irregular cavalry commanded by +Lieutenant Latham, and joined the flying column which was setting out to +attack a large body of the enemy, who were reported to be gathering again +near Furruckabad, while simultaneously other columns were leaving in other +directions, for broken at Lucknow, the rebels were swarming throughout all +Oude. The day was breaking, but the sun was not yet up, when the column +started--for in India it is the universal custom to start very early, so +as to get the greater part of the march over before the heat of the day +fairly begins--and the young Warreners were in the highest spirits at the +thought that they were on their way to see their sister and cousin, and +that their nine months of marching and fighting were drawing to a close, +for it is possible to have too much even of adventure. At ten o'clock a +halt was called at the edge of a large wood, and after preparing breakfast +there was a rest in the shade until four in the afternoon, after which a +two hours' march took them to their halting-place for the night. Tents +were pitched, fires lighted, and then, dinner over, they made merry +groups, who sat smoking and chatting until nine o'clock, when the noise +ceased, the fires burned down, and all was quiet until the _reveille_ +sounded at four o'clock, after which there was an hour of busy work, +getting down, rolling up, and packing the tents and baggage in the wagons. + +Another day's march and halt, and then Colonel Warrener and his friends +said good-by to their acquaintances in the column, and started with the +troop of cavalry for Agra. Unincumbered by baggage, and no longer obliged +to conform their pace to that of the infantry, they trotted gayly along, +and accomplished forty miles ere they halted for the night near a village. +The country through which they had passed had an almost deserted +appearance. Here and there a laborer was at work in the fields, but the +confusion and alarm created by the bodies of mutineers who had swept over +the country, and who always helped themselves to whatever pleased them, +had created such a scare that the villagers for the most part had forsaken +their abodes, and driven their animals, with all their belongings, to the +edge of jungles or other unfrequented places, there to await the +termination of the struggle. + +At the end of the day's journey they halted in front of a great mosque- +like building with a dome, the tomb of some long dead prince. The doors +stood open, and Colonel Warrener proposed that they should take up their +quarters for the night in the lofty interior instead of sleeping in the +night air, for although the temperature was still high, the night dews +were the reverse of pleasant. It was evident by the appearance of the +interior that it had been used as the headquarters and storehouse of some +body of the enemy, for a considerable quantity of stores, military +saddles, harness, coils of rope, and barrels of flour were piled against +the wall. A space was soon swept, and a fire lighted on the floor. Outside +the troopers dismounted, some proceeded to a wood at a short distance off +to fetch fuel, others took the horses to a tank or pond to drink. It was +already getting dusk, and inside the great domed chamber it was nearly +dark. + +"The fire looks cheerful," Colonel Warrener said, as, after seeing that +the men had properly picketed their horses, and had made all their +arrangements, the little group of officers returned to it. A trooper had +already prepared their meal, which consisted of kabobs, or pieces of +mutton--from a couple of sheep, which they had purchased at a village +where they halted in the morning--a large bowl of boiled rice, and some +chupatties, or griddle cakes; a pannikin of tea was placed by each; and +spreading their cloaks on the ground, they set to with the appetite of +travelers. Dinner over, a bottle of brandy was produced from one of Major +Dunlop's holsters, the pannikin was washed out, and a supply of fresh +water brought in, pipes and cheroots were lighted, and they prepared for a +cheerful evening. + +"I am very sorry Manners is not here," Dick said; "it would have been so +jolly to be all together again. However, it is a satisfaction to know that +his wound is doing well, and that he is likely to be all right in a few +months." + +"Yes," Colonel Warrener said, "but I believe that he will have to leave +the service. His right leg will always be shorter than the left." + +"I don't suppose he will mind that," Ned said. "I should think he must +have had enough of India to last for his life." + +"Mr. Latham," Dick said presently to the officer in command of the +cavalry, "will you tell us your adventures? We know all about each other's +doings." + +So they sat and talked until ten o'clock, when Mr. Latham went round to +see that the sentries were properly placed and alert. When he returned the +door was shut, to keep out the damp air, and the whole party, rolling +themselves in their cloaks, and using their saddles for pillows, laid up +for the night. Dick was some time before he slept. His imagination was +active; and when he at last dozed off, he was thinking what they had best +do were they attacked by the enemy. + +It was still dark when with a sudden start the sleeping party in the tomb +awoke and leaped to their feet. For a moment they stood bewildered, for +outside was heard on all sides the crack of volleys of musketry, wild +yells and shouts, and the trampling of a large body of cavalry. + +"Surprised!" exclaimed the colonel. "The sentries must have been asleep!" + +There was a rush to the door, and the sight that met their eyes showed +them the extent of the disaster. The moon was shining brightly, and by her +light they could see that a large body of rebel cavalry had fallen upon +the sleeping troopers, while the heavy musketry fire showed that a strong +body of infantry were at work on the other side of the mosque. Lieutenant +Latham rushed down the steps with his sword drawn, but fell back dead shot +through the heart. + +"Back, back!" shouted Colonel Warrener. "Let us sell our lives here!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +A DESPERATE DEFENSE. + + +In an instant the door was closed and bolted, and the four set to work to +pile barrels and boxes against it. Not a word was spoken while this was +going on. By the time they had finished the uproar without had changed its +character; the firing had ceased, and the triumphant shouts of the +mutineers showed that their victory was complete. Then came a loud +thundering noise at the door. + +"We have only delayed it a few minutes," Colonel Warrener said. "We have +fought our fight, boys, and our time has come. Would to God that I had to +die alone!" + +"Look, father," Dick said, "there is a small door there. I noticed it last +night. No doubt there is a staircase leading to the terrace above. At any +rate, we may make a good fight there." + +"Yes," Major Dunlop said, "we may fight it out to the last on the stairs. +Run, Dick, and see." + +Dick found, as he supposed, that from the door a narrow winding staircase +led to the terrace above, from which the dome rose far into the air. The +stairs were lit by an occasional narrow window. He was thinking as he ran +upstairs of the ideas that had crossed his brain the night before. + +"It is all right," he said, as he came down again. "Look, father, if we +take up barrels and boxes, we can make barricades on the stairs, and +defend them for any time almost." + +"Excellent," the colonel said. "To work. They will be a quarter of an hour +breaking in the door. Make the top barricade first, a few feet below the +terrace." + +Each seized a box or barrel, and hurried up the stairs. They had a longer +time for preparation than they expected, for the mutineers, feeling sure +of their prey, were in no hurry, and finding how strong was the door, +decided to sit down and wait until their guns would be up to blow it in. +Thus the defenders of the tomb had an hour's grace, and in that time had +constructed three solid barricades. Each was placed a short distance above +an opening for light, so that while they themselves were in darkness, +their assailants would be in the light. They left a sufficient space at +the top of each barricade for them to scramble over, leaving some spare +barrels on the stairs above it to fill up the space after taking their +position. + +"Now for the remains of our supper, father," Dick said, "and that big +water jug. I will carry them up. Ned, do you bring up that long coil of +thin rope." + +"What for, Dick?" + +"It may be useful, Ned; ropes are always useful. Ah, their guns are up." + +As he spoke a round shot crashed through the door, and sent splinters of +casks and a cloud of flour flying. + +"Now, Ned, come along," Dick said; and followed by Colonel Warrener and +Major Dunlop, they entered the little doorway and ran up the narrow +stairs. + +At the first barricade, which was some thirty steps up, the officers +stopped, and proceeded to fill up the passage hitherto left open, while +the boys continued their way to the terrace. + +"Let us have a look round, Ned; those fellows will be some minutes before +they are in yet; and that barricade will puzzle them." + +Day was breaking now, and the lads peered over the parapet which ran round +the terrace. + +"There are a tremendous lot of those fellows, Dick, four or five thousand +of them at least, and they have got six guns." + +"Hurrah, Ned!" Dick said, looking round at the great dome; "this is just +what I hoped." + +He pointed to a flight of narrow steps, only some twelve inches across, +fixed to the side of the dome, which rose for some distance almost +perpendicularly. By the side of the steps was a low hand-rail. They were +evidently placed there permanently, to enable workmen to ascend to the top +of the dome, to re-gild the long spike which, surmounted by a crescent, +rose from its summit, or to do any repairs that were needful. + +"There, Ned, I noticed these steps on some of the domes at Lucknow. When +the worst comes to the worst, and we are beaten from the stairs, we can +climb up that ladder--for it's more like a ladder than stairs--and once on +the top could laugh at the whole army of them. Now, Ned, let us go down to +them; by that cheering below, the artillery has broken the door open." + +The mutineers burst through the broken door into the great hall with +triumphant yells, heralding their entrance by a storm of musketry fire, +for they knew how desperately even a few Englishmen will sell their lives. +There was a shout of disappointment at finding the interior untenanted; +but a moment's glance round discovered the door, and there was a rush +toward it, each longing to be the first to the slaughter. The light in the +interior was but faint, and the stairs were pitch dark, and were only wide +enough for one man to go up with comfort, although two could just stand +side by side. Without an obstacle the leaders of the party stumbled and +groped their way up the stairs, until the first came into the light of a +long narrow loophole in the wall. Then from the darkness above came the +sharp crack of a revolver, and the man fell on his face, shot through the +heart. Another crack, and the next shared his fate. Then there was a +pause, for the spiral was so sharp that not more than two at a time were +within sight of the defenders of the barricade. + +The next man hesitated at seeing his immediate leaders fall; but pressed +from behind he advanced, with his musket at his shoulder, in readiness to +fire when he saw his foes; but the instant his head appeared round the +corner a ball struck him, and he too fell. Still the press from behind +pushed the leaders forward, and it was not until six had fallen, and the +narrow stairs were impassable from the dead bodies, that an officer of +rank, who came the next on the line, succeeded by shouting in checking the +advance. Then orders were passed down for those crowding the doorway to +fall back, and the officer, with the men on the stairs, descended, and the +former reported to the leader that six men had fallen, and that the stairs +were choked with their bodies. After much consultation orders were given +the men to go up, and keeping below the spot at which, one after another, +their comrades had fallen, to stretch out their arms and pull down the +bodies. This was done, and then an angry consultation again took place. It +was clear that, moving fast, only one could mount the stairs at a time, +and it seemed equally certain that this one would, on reaching a certain +spot, be shot by his invisible foes. Large rewards and great honor were +promised by the chief to those who would undertake to lead the assault, +and at last volunteers were found, and another rush attempted. + +It failed, as had the first. Each man as he passed the loophole fell, and +again the dead choked the stairs. One or two had not fallen at the first +shot, and had got a few steps higher, but only to fall back dead upon +their comrades. Again the assault ceased, and for two or three hours there +was a pause. The officers of the mutineers deliberated and quarreled; the +men set-to to prepare their meal. That over, one of the troopers went in +to the officers and proposed a plan, which was at once approved of, and a +handsome reward immediately paid him. Before enlisting he had been a +carpenter, and as there were many others of the same trade, no time was +lost in carrying out the suggestion. Several of the thick planks composing +the door remained uninjured. These were cut and nailed together, so as to +make a shield of exactly the same width as the staircase, and six feet +high; on one side several straps and loops were nailed, to give a good +hold to those carrying it; and then with a cheer the Sepoys again prepared +for an attack. The shield was heavy, but steadily, and with much labor, it +was carried up the stairs step by step, by two men, others pressing on +behind. + +When they reached the loophole the pistol shots from above again rang out; +but the door was of heavy seasoned wood, three inches thick, and the +bullets failed to penetrate. Then the shield ascended step by step, until +it reached the barrier. There it stopped, for the strength that could be +brought to bear upon it was altogether insufficient to move in the +slightest the solid pile, and after some time spent in vain efforts, the +shield was taken back again, as gradually and carefully as it had been +advanced, until out of the range of the pistols of the defenders. + +"What will be the next move, I wonder?" Colonel Warrener said, as the +little party sat down on the stairs and waited for a renewal of the +attack. + +"I don't like that shield," Major Dunlop remarked; "it shows that there is +some more than usually intelligent scoundrel among them, and he will be up +to some new trick." + +An hour passed, and then there was a noise on the stairs, and the shield +was again seen approaching. As before, it advanced to the barrier and +stopped. There was then a sort of grating noise against it, and the door +shook as this continued. + +"What on earth are they up to now?" Major Dunlop exclaimed. + +"Piling fagots against it," Dick said, "or I am mistaken. I have been +afraid of fire all along. If they had only lit a pile of damp wood at the +bottom of the stairs, they could have smoked us out at the top; and then, +as the smoke cleared below, they could have gone up and removed the +barricade before the upper stairs were free enough from smoke for us to +come down. There, I thought so! Make haste!" and Dick dashed up the +stairs, followed by his friends, as a curl of smoke ascended, and a loud +cheer burst from the Sepoys below. + +Quickly as they ran upstairs, the smoke ascended still more rapidly, and +they emerged upon the terrace half-suffocated and blinded. + +"So ends barricade number one," Major Dunlop said, when they had recovered +from their fit of coughing. "I suppose it will be pretty nearly an hour +before the fire is burned out." + +"The door would not burn through in that time," said Major Warrener; "but +they will be able to stand pretty close, and the moment the fagots are +burned out they will drag the screen out of the way, and, with long poles +with hooks, or something of that sort, haul down the barricade. Directly +the smoke clears off enough for us to breathe, we will go down to our +middle barricade. They may take that the same way they took the first, but +they cannot take the last so." + +"Why not, father?" Ned asked. + +"Because it's only ten steps from the top, Ned; so that, however great a +smoke they make, we can be there again the instant they begin to pull it +down." + +It was now past midday, and the party partook sparingly of their small +store of food and water. The smoke continued for some time to pour out of +the door of the stairs in dense volumes, then became lighter. Several +times the lads tried to descend a few steps, but found that breathing was +impossible, for the smoke from the green wood was insupportable. At last +it became clear enough to breathe, and then the party ran rapidly down to +their second barricade. That, at least, was intact, but below they could +hear the fall of heavy bodies, and knew that the lower barricade was +destroyed. + +"I don't suppose that screen of theirs was burned through, father, so very +likely they will try the same dodge again. Of course they don't know +whether we have another barricade, or where we are, so they will come on +cautiously. It seems to me than if you and Dunlop were to take your place +a bit lower than this, stooping down on the stairs, and then when they +come were boldly to throw yourselves with all your weight suddenly against +the shield, you would send it and its bearers headlong downstairs, and +could then follow them and cut them up tremendously." + +"Capital, Dick! that would be just the thing; don't you think so, Dunlop? +If they haven't got the shield, we can shoot them down, so either way we +may as well make a sortie." + +"I think so," Major Dunlop said. "Here goes, then." + +Halfway down they heard the trampling of steps again. The Sepoys had +extinguished the fires with buckets of water, had put straps to the door +again, and were pursuing their former tactics. The two officers sat down +and awaited the coming of their foes. Slowly the latter ascended, until +the door was within two steps of the Englishmen. Then the latter +simultaneously flung all their weight against it. + +Wholly unprepared for the assault, the bearers were hurled backward, with +the heavy shield upon them, knocking down those behind them, who, in turn, +fell on those below. Sword in hand, Colonel Warrener sprang upon the +hindmost of the falling mass, while, pressing just behind him, and firing +over his shoulder, Major Dunlop followed. + +Shrieks of dismay rose from the Sepoys who crowded the stairs, as the +bodies of those above were hurled upon them; flight or defense was equally +impossible; turning to descend, they leaped upon their comrades below. A +frightful scene ensued--such a scene as has sometimes been seen on the +stairs of a theater on fire. What was the danger above, none thought; a +wild panic seized all; over each other they rolled, choking the stairs and +obstructing all movement, until the last twenty feet of the stairs were +packed closely with a solid mass of human beings, lying thickly on each +other, and stifling each other to death. On reaching this mass Colonel +Warrener and his friend paused. There was nothing more to be done. Over +fifty human beings lay crushed together; those on the top of the heap were +shot, and then the officers retraced their steps. Many lay on the stairs, +but Major Dunlop had passed his sword through their bodies as he passed +them. Four muskets were picked up, and all the ammunition from the +pouches; and then, with the boys, who had followed closely behind them, +they again ascended to the terrace and sat down. + +"We are safe now for some time," Colonel Warrener said. "It will take them +a long time to clear away that heap of dead, and they won't try the shield +dodge again." + +It was indeed late in the afternoon before the Sepoys made any fresh move +against the defenders of the stairs. The time, however, had not passed +idly with the latter. One of them keeping watch at the barrier, the others +had maintained a steady musketry fire through the open work of the parapet +upon the enemy below. The Sepoys had answered with a scattering fire; but +as the defenders were invisible behind the parapet, and could move from +one point to another unobserved, there was but little fear of their being +hit; while their steady fire did so much execution among the throng of +Sepoys that these had to move their camping ground a couple of hundred +yards back from the tomb. + +It was nearly dark, when several men, bearing large bundles of straw and +bamboos, ran across the open ground and entered the mosque, and the +besieged guessed that another attempt was to be made to smoke them out. +There had been much consultation on the part of the enraged mutineers, and +this time two men, with their muskets leveled at their shoulders, led the +advance. Very slowly they made their way up, until a pistol shot rang out, +and one of the leaders, discharging his musket before him, fell. Then +there was a halt. Another Sepoy, with fixed bayonet, took the place in +front, and over the shoulders of him and his comrade those behind threw +bundles of straw mixed with wet leaves; a light was applied to this, and +with a sheet of flame between themselves and the besieged, they had no +fear. Now they pressed forward, threw on fresh straw, and then, knowing +that the besieged would have fled higher, reached through the flames with +a pole with a hook attached to it, and hauled down the barricade. The +moment the fire burned a little low, two men lighted fresh bundles, and, +stamping out the fire, advanced up the stairs, carrying before them the +blazing bundles like torches, the volumes of smoke from these of course +preceding them. + +The party on the terrace had noticed the smoke dying down, and had +prepared to descend again, when a fresh addition to the smoke convinced +them that the enemy were still piling on bundles, and that there was +nothing to fear. So they sat, quietly chatting until Ned, who was sitting +next to the door, exclaimed: + +"Listen! They are pulling down our top barricade." + +Sword in hand, he rushed down, the others closely following him. Just as +he turned the spiral which would bring him in sight of the upper barricade +a musket was fired, and Ned would have fallen forward had not Major Dunlop +seized him by the collar, and pulled him backward. + +"Hold the stairs, colonel!" he said; "they are at the barricade, but are +not through yet; I will carry Ned up. He's hit in the shoulder." + +Major Dunlop carried Ned to the platform, and, laying him down, for he had +lost consciousness, rushed back to assist to hold the stairs, for the +crack of Colonel Warrener's and Dick's revolvers could be heard. The +advantage, however, was so great with them, standing above the others, and +so placed as to be able to fire the instant that their foes came round the +corner, that the Sepoys, after losing several of their number, ceased +their attack. + +The defenders hurried up to Ned, confident that the enemy would not renew +the assault again for the moment, as they could not tell whether there was +yet another barrier to be stormed. Dick stood sentry at the door, and the +colonel and Major Dunlop examined Ned's wound. It was a serious one; the +ball had entered the chest below the collarbone; had it been fired from a +level it would have been fatal; but the Sepoy having stood so much below +it had gone out near the neck, smashing the collar-bone on its way. Ned +had become unconscious from the shock to the system. + +"We must take to the dome at once," Colonel Warrener said. "The next +assault those fellows will gain the terrace. I will carry Ned up." + +"No, colonel, I will take him," Major Dunlop said. "I can carry him over +my shoulders as easily as possible." + +"Well, Dunlop, you are the younger man, so I will hand him over to you. I +will put this coil of rope round my neck, and will take the water and +food. It is so dark now that they will not see us from below. If those +fellows had but waited half an hour we could have gained the top without +this sad business. Will you go first, Dunlop?" + +Major Dunlop, who was a very powerful and active man, lifted Ned on his +shoulders, and began to ascend the narrow steps to the dome. It was hard +work at first, but as he got on the ascent became less steep, and the last +part was comparatively easy. Colonel Warrener mounted next, also heavily +laden. Dick remained on guard at the door until he saw his father pass the +shoulder of the dome, out of sight from those on the terrace; he then +slung two muskets and cartridge pouches on his shoulders, briskly climbed +the steps, and was soon by his father. + +In three minutes the party were gathered round the central spike of the +dome. Suddenly a loud cheer was heard from below. + +"They are out on the terrace," Dick said. "I will go down a bit to guard +the steps; you will be more use with Ned than I should." + +The shouts on the terrace were answered by a great cheer of exultation +from the Sepoy host around, who had been chafed almost to madness at the +immense loss which was being caused by three or four men, for they knew +not the exact strength of the party. The shouts of exultation, however, +were silenced when, rushing round the terrace, the Sepoys found that their +foes had again evaded them. There was no other door, no hiding-place, +nowhere, in fact, that the besieged could have concealed themselves; but +the ladder-like steps soon met the eye of the searchers. A yell of anger +and disappointment arose. Not even the bravest among them thought for a +moment of climbing the stairs, for it Would indeed have been clearly +impossible for men forced to climb in single file to win their way against +well-armed defenders, who would simply shoot them down from above as fast +as a head appeared over the shoulder of the dome. + +The position was indeed practically impregnable against assault, although +exposed to artillery fire, and to distant musketry. It was for this reason +that the defenders of the stairs had not taken to it at once. They felt +confident in their ability to defend the stair all day, and to inflict +heavy loss upon the enemy; whereas, by climbing up the dome in daylight, +they would have been a target to all those below while climbing, and would +have been exposed all day to a distant fire. That they would have to +support it for two or three days was nearly certain, but clearly the less +time the better. + +The enemy, consoling themselves with the thought that on the morrow their +cannon would finish the contest which had thus far cost them so dearly, +placed a guard of fifty men on the terrace at the foot of the steps, +lighted a large fire there, in order that they could see any one +attempting to descend long before he reached the level, and then retired +below. + +By this time Ned had recovered consciousness, and having taken a drink of +water, was able to understand what had happened. His father had cut his +uniform off his shoulder and arm, and having also cut off one of his own +shirt sleeves, had soaked it in water, and applied it as a bandage on the +wound. + +"I am very glad we had agreed that only Dick should go," Ned said, +"otherwise I should have blamed myself for keeping you here." + +"No, we could not have gone in any case," Colonel Warrener said, "as there +would have been no one to have lowered the rope here; besides which, it is +only a sailor or a practiced gymnast who can let himself down a rope some +eighty feet." + +"When will Dick try?" + +"As soon as the camp gets quiet. The moon will be up by twelve o'clock, +and he must be off before that. Are you in much pain, old boy?" + +"Not much, father; I feel numbed and stupid." + +"Now, Dunlop," Colonel Warrener said, "will you relieve Dick on guard at +the steps? You may as well say good-by to him. It is about eight o'clock +now, and in a couple of hours he will be off. After he has gone I will +relieve you. Then a four hours' watch each will take us to daylight; there +won't be much sleeping after that." + +By ten o'clock the noise in the rebel camp had nearly ceased. Groups still +sat and talked round the campfires, but the circle was pretty large round +the tomb, for the Sepoys had fallen back when the musketry fire was opened +upon them from the parapet, and had not troubled to move again afterward. + +"Now," Dick said, "it is time for me to be off. I have got a good seventy +miles to ride to Lucknow. It is no use my thinking of going after the +column, for they would be some fifty miles away from the place where we +left them by to morrow night. If I can get a good horse I may be at +Lucknow by midday to-morrow. The horses have all had a rest to-day. Sir +Colin will, I am sure, send off at once, and the troops will march well to +effect a rescue. They will make thirty-five miles before they halt for the +night, and will be here by the following night." + +"We must not be too sanguine, Dick. It is just possible, dear boy, that if +all goes well you may be back as you say, in forty-eight hours, but we +will make up our minds to twice that time. If you get here sooner, all the +better; but I don't expect that they will hit us, and after tiring a bit +the chances are they will not care to waste ammunition, and will try to +starve us out." + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + +BEST AFTER LABOR. + + +With a tender farewell of his father and brother, the midshipman prepared +for his expedition. One end of the rope had been fastened round the large +mast which rose from the dome. Holding the coil over his shoulder, Dick +made his way down the dome, on the side opposite that at which they had +ascended, until it became too steep to walk; then he lay down on his back, +and paying the rope out gradually, let himself slip down. The lower part +of the descent was almost perpendicular; and Dick soon stood safely on the +terrace. It was, as he expected confidently that it would be, quite +deserted on this side. Then he let go of the rope, and Major Warrener, who +was watching it, saw that the strain was off it, pulled it up a foot to +make sure, and then untied the knot. Dick pulled it gently at first, +coiling it up as it came down, until at last it slid rapidly down. He +caught it as well as he could, but he had little fear of so slight a noise +being heard on the other side of the great dome; then he tied the rope to +the parapet, lowered it carefully down, and then, when it was all out, +swung himself out over the parapet, and slid down the rope. The height was +over eighty feet; but the descent was a mere nothing for Dick, accustomed +to lark about in the rigging of a man-o'-war. + +He stood perfectly quiet for a minute or two after his feet touched the +ground, but outside everything was still. Through the open-carved +stonework of a window he could hear voices inside the tomb, and had no +doubt that the leaders of the enemy's force were there. + +From the parapet, in the afternoon, he had gained an accurate idea of the +position of the cavalry, and toward this he at once made his way. He took +off his boots and walked lightly until he approached the enemy's bivouac. +Then he went cautiously. The ground was covered with sleeping figures, all +wrapped like mummies in their clothes; and although the night was dusk, it +was easy in the starlight to see the white figures. Even had one been +awake, Dick had little fear, as, except near a fire, his figure would have +been indistinguishable. There was no difficulty, when he neared the spot, +in finding the horses, as the sound of their pawing the ground, eating, +and the occasional short neigh of two quarreling, was clearly +distinguishable. + +Their position once clear, Dick moved round them. He had noticed that four +officers' horses were picketed further away, beyond the general mass of +the men's, and these could therefore be more easily removed, and would, +moreover, be more likely to be fast and sound. They had, too, the +advantage of being placed close to the road by which the English force had +marched on the day before. + +Dick was some time in finding the horses he was on the lookout for; but at +last he heard a snorting at a short distance off, and on reaching the spot +found the horses he was in search of. They were all saddled, but none had +bridles. It would be, Dick knew, useless to look for them, and he felt +sure that the halter would be sufficient for well-trained horses. + +Before proceeding to work he reconnoitered the ground around. He found the +way to the road, which was but twenty yards distant, and discovered also +that the syces, or grooms, were asleep close by the horses; a little +further off were a party of sleeping troopers. Dick now cut off the heel +ropes by which two of the horses were picketed, and then, leading them by +the halters, moved quietly toward the road. To get upon this, however, +there was a ditch first to be passed, and in crossing it one of the horses +stumbled. + +"What is that?" exclaimed one of the syces, sitting up. "Halloo!" he +continued, leaping up; "two of the horses have got loose." + +The others leaped to their feet and ran in the direction whence came the +noise which had awakened them, thinking that the horses had drawn their +picket pegs. + +By this time Dick was in the saddle, and giving a kick with his heels to +the horse he was on, and striking the other with the halter which he held +in his hand, dashed off into a gallop. + +A shout burst from the syces, and several of the troopers, springing to +their feet and seizing their arms, ran up to know what was the matter. + +"Some thief has stolen the colonel's horse," exclaimed one of the syces. + +The troopers did not like to fire, as it would have alarmed the camp; +besides, which a random fire in the darkness would be of no avail; so, +grumbling that the syces would have to answer for it in the morning, they +went off to sleep again; while the men in charge of the two horses which +had been taken after some consultation decided that it would be unsafe to +remain to meet the anger of the officers in the morning, and so stole off +in the darkness and made for their native villages. + +Dick, hearing that he was not pursued, pulled up in a half a mile, and +gave a loud, shrill "cooey," the Australian call. He knew that this would +be heard by his father, sitting listening at the top of the dome, and that +he would learn that so far he had succeeded. Then he set the horses off +again in a hand gallop and rode steadily down the road. Every hour or so +he changed from horse to horse, thus giving them a comparative rest by +turns. Occasionally he allowed them to walk for a bit to get their wind, +and then again rode on at a gallop. It was about eleven o'clock when he +started on his ride. By four in the morning he was at the spot where the +party had separated from the column, having thus made forty miles. After +that he went more slowly; but it was a little past nine when, with his two +exhausted horses, he rode into the camp at Lucknow, where his appearance +created quite an excitement. + +Dick's story was briefly told; and the two horses, which were both +splendid animals, were taken off to be fed and rubbed down; while Dick, +accompanied by the colonel of the cavalry regiment where he had halted, +went at once to the camp of the commander-in-chief. + +Sir Colin listened to Dick's story in silence. + +"This will be the band," he said, "that Colonel Lawson's column went to +attack; they must have altered their course. Something must be done at +once. There shall be no delay, my lad; a force shall be ready to start in +an hour. I suppose you will want to go with them. I advise you to go back +to Colonel Harper's tent, get into a bath, and get a couple of natives to +shampoo you. That will take away all your stiffness. By the time that's +over, and you have had some breakfast, the troops will be in readiness." + +Dick left Sir Colin, but delighted at the readiness and promptness of the +fine old soldier; while Sir Colin called his military secretary, and at +once arranged for the dispatch of a body of troops. + +"There must be no delay," the commander-in-chief said. "If possible--and +it is possible--these scoundrels must be attacked at daylight to-morrow +morning. They will see the rope the lad escaped by, but they will not +dream of an attack so early, and may be caught napping. Besides, it is all +important to rescue those officers, whom they will have been making a +target of all day, especially as one is badly wounded, and will be in the +full blaze of the sun. See that a wagon and an ambulance accompany the +column. Send a regiment of Punjaub horse, three field guns, and three +hundred infantry in light marching order. Let gharries be got together at +once to take the infantry forty miles, then they will start fresh for a +thirty-mile march. The cavalry and guns can go on at once; let them march +halfway, then, unsaddle and rest. If they are off by half-past ten, they +can get to their halting-place by five. Then if they have five hours' rest +they will catch the infantry up before daybreak, and attack just as it +gets light. Those light Punjaub horse can do it. Now, which regiments +shall we send?" + +A quarter of an hour later bugles were blowing, and by ten o'clock three +hundred British infantry were packed in light carts, and the cavalry and +guns were drawn up in readiness. Dick took his place in the ambulance +carriage, as, although greatly refreshed, he had had plenty of riding for +a time, and in the ambulance he could lie down, and get through the +journey without fatigue. Sir Colin himself rode up just as they were +starting, and shook hands with Dick, and expressed his warm hope that he +would find his friends safe at the end of the journey, and then the +cavalry started. + +Dick has always asserted that never in his life did he make such a short +journey as that. Worn out by the excitement and fatigue of the preceding +thirty hours, he fell fast asleep in the ambulance before he had gone a +mile, and did not awake until the surgeon shook him by the shoulder. + +"Halloo!" he cried, leaping up; "where are we?" + +"We are, as far as we can tell, about half a mile from the tomb. I would +not wake you when we halted, Warrener. I thought you wanted sleep more +than food. We have been halting half an hour here, and the cavalry have +just come up. It is about an hour before daybreak. The colonel wants you +to act as guide." + +"All right," Dick said, leaping out; "just to think that I have been +asleep for eighteen hours!" + +A hasty council was held, and it was determined that as the country was +somewhat wooded beyond the tomb, but perfectly open on that side, the +cavalry and artillery should remain where they were; that the infantry +should make a _detour_, and attack at daybreak from the other side; and +that as the enemy fell back, the artillery and cavalry should deal with +them: + +Not a moment was lost. The infantry, who were sitting down after their +long tramp, got cheerily on to their feet again, for they knew that they +were going to attack the enemy; and Dick led them off the road by a +considerable _detour_, to come upon the enemy from the other side. By the +moonlight the tomb was visible, and served as a center round which to +march; but they were too far off to enable Dick to see whether any damage +had been done to the dome. + +Day was just breaking when the infantry gained the desired position; then +throwing out two hundred men in skirmishing order, while the other one +hundred were kept in hand as a reserve, the advance began. It was not +until they were within three hundred yards of the enemy that they were +perceived by the sentries. The challenge was answered by a musket shot, +and as the rebels sprang to their feet a heavy fire was poured in upon +them. In an instant all was wild confusion. Taken completely by surprise, +and entirely ignorant of the strength of the enemy, the natives, after a +wild fire in the direction of the advancing foe, fled precipitately. Their +officers tried to rally them, and as the smallness of the force attacking +them became visible, the Sepoys with their old habit of discipline began +to draw together. But at this moment the guns, loaded with grape, poured +into their rear, and with a cheer the Punjaub cavalry burst into their +midst. + +Thenceforth there was no longer any idea of fighting; it was simply a rout +any a pursuit. The rebels' own guns fell at once into the hands of the +infantry, and were quickly turned upon the masses of fugitives, who, mown +down by the fire of the nine guns, and cut up by the cavalry who charged +hither and thither among them, while volleys of musketry swept through +them, threw away their arms and fled wildly. Over a thousand of them were +left dead on the plain, and had not the horses of the cavalry been too +exhausted to continue the pursuit, a far greater number would have fallen. + +Dick took no part in their fighting; a company, fifty strong, with an +officer, had been told off to attack and carry the tomb, under his +guidance. Disregarding all else, this party with leveled bayonets had +burst through the throng, and made straight for the door of the tomb. Many +of the enemy's troops had run in there, and for a minute or two there was +a fierce fight in the great hall; then, when the last foe had fallen, Dick +led the men to the stairs, up which many of the enemy had fled. + +"Quick," he shouted, "follow them close up!" + +Some of them were but a few steps ahead, and Dick, closely followed by his +men, burst on to the terrace at their very heels. It was well that he did +so; for the guard upon the terrace, seeing that all was lost below, were +preparing to sell their lives dearly, and to make a long resistance at the +top of the stairs. Dick and his men, however, rushed so closely upon the +heels of their own comrades from below that they were taken completely by +surprise. Some turned at once to fly, others made an effort to oppose +their enemy; but it was useless. Two or three of the Sepoy leaders, +calling to their men to follow them, made a rush at the British, and Dick +found himself engaged in a hand-to-hand contest with Aboo Raab, the rebel +leader. He was a powerful and desperate man, and with a swinging blow he +beat down Dick's guard and inflicted a severe wound on his head; but Dick +leaped forward and ran him through the body, just as the bayonet of one of +the British soldiers pierced him in the side. + +For a minute or two the fight was fierce, but every moment added to the +avenging force, and with a cheer the soldiers rushed at them with the +bayonet. In five minutes all was over. Many of the Sepoys leaped over the +parapet, and were dashed to pieces, preferring that death to the bayonet; +while on the terrace no single Sepoy at the end of that time remained +alive. + +When all was over Dick gave a shout, which was answered from above. + +"Are you all right, Dunlop?" + +"Yes, thank God; but Ned is delirious. Send some water up at once." + +Dick was too much shaken by the severe cut he had received in the head to +attempt to climb the ladder, but the officer in command of the company at +once offered to ascend. Several of the men had a little water left in +their water-bottles, and from them one was filled, and slung over the +officer's neck. + +"I have some brandy in my flask," he said, and started up the steps. + +In a few minutes he descended again. + +"Your brother is wildly delirious," he said; "they have bound his injured +arm to his side with a sash, but they cannot leave him. How is he to be +got down?" + +"There is plenty of rope and sacking down below," Dick said, after a +moment's thought. "I think that they had better wrap him up in sacking, so +that he cannot move his arms, tie a rope round him, and lower him down +close by the side of the steps, my father coming down side by side with +him, so as to speak to him and tranquillize him." + +A soldier was sent below for the articles required, and with them the +officer, accompanied by a sergeant to assist him in lowering Ned from +above, again mounted. In a few minutes Dick's plan was carried out, and +Ned was lowered safely to the terrace. Then four soldiers carried him +below, and he was soon laid on a bed of sacks in the great hall, under the +care of the surgeon, with cold-water bandages round his head. + +Then Dick had time to ask his father how the preceding day had passed. + +"First tell me, Dick, by what miracle you got back so soon. To-morrow +morning was the very earliest time I thought that relief was possible!" + +Dick told his story briefly; and then Colonel Warrener related what had +happened to them on the dome during the day. + +"As soon as day broke, Dick, they opened a heavy musketry fire at us, but +they were obliged to go so far off to get a fair view of us that the +smooth-bore would hardly carry up, and even had we been hit, I question if +the balls would have penetrated, though they might have given a sharp +knock. Half an hour later the artillery fire began. We agreed that Dunlop +and I should by turns lie so as to command the stairs, while the other +kept with Ned on the other side of the dome. The enemy divided their guns, +and put them on each side also. Lying down, we presented the smallest +possible mark for them; but for some hours it was very hot. Nine out of +ten of their shot, just went over the dome altogether. The spike was hit +twenty or thirty times, and lower down a good many holes were knocked in +the dome; but the shots that struck near us all glanced and flew over. +They fired a couple of hundred shot altogether, and at midday they +stopped--for dinner, I suppose--and did not begin again. I suspect they +were running short of ammunition. Once, when the firing was hottest, +thinking, I suppose, to catch us napping, an attempt was made to climb the +ladder; but Dunlop, who was on watch, put a bullet through the first +fellow's head, and by the yell that followed I suspect that in his fall he +swept all the others off the ladder. Anyhow, there was no repetition of +the trial. The heat was fearful, and Dunlop and I suffered a good deal +from thirst, for there was not much water left in the bottle, and we +wanted that to pour down Ned's throat from time to time, and to sop his +bandages with. Ned got delirious about eleven o'clock, and we had great +trouble in holding him down. The last drop of water was finished in the +night, and we should have had a terrible day of it if you had not arrived. +And now let us hear what the surgeon says about poor Ned." + +The doctor's report was not consoling; the wound was a very severe one, +the collar-bone had been smashed in fragments; but the high state of fever +was even a more serious matter than the wound. + +"What will you do, father?" + +"I must carry out my orders, Dick. Dunlop and I must go on to Agra, and +then on to join our regiment. Ned will, of course, be taken back to +Lucknow, and you must give up your trip, and stay and nurse him. Of +course, if he gets over it, poor boy, he will be invalided home, and you +can travel with him down to Calcutta. I shall send the girls home by the +first opportunity. India will be no place for ladies for some time. We +shall have months of marching and fighting before we finally stamp out the +mutiny. There will be sure to be convoys of sick and wounded going down, +and a number of ladies at Meerut who will be leaving at the first +opportunity. It is very sad, old boy, leaving you and Ned at such a time; +but I must do my duty, whatever happens." The British force encamped for +that day and the next around the tomb which had been the scene of so much +fierce fighting; for the animals were so much exhausted by their +tremendous march that it was thought better to give them rest. Ned +continued delirious; but he was more quiet now, as his strength +diminished. Fortunately, the ambulance was well supplied; and cooling +drinks were given to him, and all was done that care and attention could +suggest. There were three other wounded in addition to Dick, all men who +had taken part in the fight on the terrace; none had been killed. +Elsewhere no casualty had happened in the force. + +Early on the third morning the column was again in motion. The forty miles +to the crossroads were done in two days, and here Colonel Warrener and +Major Dunlop parted from Dick, going on with a small escort of cavalry to +Agra. + +It was a sad parting; and it is doing no injustice to Dick's manhood to +say that he shed many tears. But his father promised that if the Lucknow +jewels turned out to be real, he would leave the service, and come back to +England at the end of the war. + +The gharries were all in waiting at the crossroad, and another day brought +them to Lucknow, where the news of the defeat and dispersion of the rebel +force had already been sent on by a mounted orderly. + +For a week Ned lay between life and death; then the fever left him, and +the most critical point of his illness was reached. It was for days a +question whether he had strength left to rally from his exhaustion. But +youth and a good constitution triumphed at last, and six weeks from the +day on which he was brought in, he started in a litter for Calcutta. + +Dick had telegraphed to Captain Peel, and had obtained leave to remain +with his brother, and he now started for the coast with Ned. He himself +had had a sharp attack of fever--the result of his wound on the head and +the exertion he had undergone; but he was now well and strong again, and +happy in Ned's convalescence. + +The journey was easy and pleasant. At Benares they went on board a +steamer, and were taken down to Calcutta. By the time they reached the +capital, Ned was sufficiently recovered to walk about with his arm in +Dick's. The use of his left arm was gone, and it was a question whether he +could ever recover it. + +At Calcutta the Warreners had the delight of meeting their sister and +cousin, who had arrived there the week previous. The next four days were +happy ones indeed, and then there was another parting, for the girls and +Ned sailed in a Peninsular and Oriental steamer for England. Dick remained +a fortnight at Calcutta, until a sloop-of-war sailed to join the China +fleet, to which his ship was now attached. + +It was two years later when the whole party who had been together in the +bungalow at Sandynuggher when the mutiny broke out met in London, on the +return of Dick's ship from the East. The Lucknow jewels had turned out to +be of immense value; and Messrs. Garrard, to whom they had been sent, had +offered one hundred and thirty thousand pounds for them. The offer had +been at once accepted; and the question of the division had, after an +endless exchange of letters, been finally left by Colonel Warrener to the +boys. They had insisted that Colonel Warrener should take fifty thousand +pounds, and the remainder they had divided in four equal shares between +themselves, their sister and cousin, whom they regarded as one of +themselves. This had enabled the latter to marry, without delay, Captain +Manners, whose wound had compelled him to leave the service; while Miss +Warrener had a few months later married Major Dunlop. + +Ned, too, was no longer a soldier. He had, when he arrived in England, +found that his name had been included in the brevet rank bestowed upon all +the captains of his regiment for distinguished service. He had a year's +leave given him; but at the end of that time a medical board decided that, +although greatly recovered, it would be years before he thoroughly +regained his strength; and he therefore sold his commission and left the +service. + +Dick had passed as a lieutenant, and had immediately been appointed to +that rank, with a fair prospect of getting his commander's step at the +earliest possible date, as a reward for the distinguished services for +which he had been several times mentioned in dispatches at the time of the +mutiny. + +General Sir Henry Warrener--for he received a step in rank, and +knighthood, on retiring from the service--had renewed his acquaintance +with Mrs. Hargreaves immediately on his return to England; and Dick, to +his intense astonishment and delight, on arriving home--for he had +received no letters for many months--found his old friend installed at the +head of his father's establishment as Lady Warrener. + +The daughters were of course inmates of the house; and Dick was not long +in getting Nelly to acknowledge that so far she had not changed her mind +as expressed at Cawnpore. More than that he could not get her to say. But +when, three years later, he returned with commander's rank, Nelly, after +much entreaty, and many assertions that it was perfectly ridiculous for a +boy of twenty-one to think about marrying, consented; and as Ned and Edith +had equally come to an understanding, a double marriage took place. + +General Warrener and his wife are still alive. Major Warrener has a seat +in Parliament; and Captain Warrener, who never went to sea after his +marriage, lives in a pretty house down at Ryde, where his yacht is known +as one of the best and fastest cruisers on the coast. + +At Christmas the whole party--the Dunlops, Manners and Warreners--meet; +and an almost innumerable troop of children of all ages assemble at the +spacious mansion of General Warrener in Berkeley Square, and never fail to +have a long talk of the adventures that they went through in the TIMES OF +PERIL. + +THE END. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of In Times of Peril, by G. A. 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Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: In Times of Peril + +Author: G. A. Henty + +Release Date: December, 2004 [EBook #7071] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on March 5, 2003] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: Latin-1 + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN TIMES OF PERIL *** + + + + +This eBook was produced by Anne Soulard, Charles Franks +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + +IN TIMES OF PERIL +A TALE OF INDIA. + +BY G. A. HENTY + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +CHAPTER I. + +Life in Cantonments + +CHAPTER II. + +The Outbreak + +CHAPTER III. + +The Flight + +CHAPTER IV. + +Broken Down + +CHAPTER V. + +Back Under the Flag + +CHAPTER VI. + +A Dashing Expedition + +CHAPTER VII. + +Delhi + +CHAPTER VIII. + +A Desperate Defense + +CHAPTER IX. + +Saved by a Tiger + +CHAPTER X. + +Treachery + +CHAPTER XI. + +Retribution Begins + +CHAPTER XII. + +Dangerous Service + +CHAPTER XIII + +Lucknow + +CHAPTER XIV. + +The Besieged Residency + +CHAPTER XV. + +Spiking the Guns + +CHAPTER XVI. + +A Sortie and its Consequences + +CHAPTER XVII. + +Out of Lucknow + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +The Storming of Delhi + +CHAPTER XIX. + +A Riot at Cawnpore + +CHAPTER XX. + +The Relief of Lucknow + +CHAPTER XXI. + +A Sad Parting + +CHAPTER XXII. + +The Last Capture of Lucknow + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +A Desperate Defense + +CHAPTER XXIV. + +Rest after Labor + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +LIFE IN CANTONMENTS. + + +Very bright and pretty, in the early springtime of the year 1857, were the +British cantonments of Sandynugghur. As in all other British garrisons in +India, they stood quite apart from the town, forming a suburb of their +own. They consisted of the barracks, and of a maidan, or, as in England it +would be called, "a common," on which the troops drilled and exercised, +and round which stood the bungalows of the military and civil officers of +the station, of the chaplain, and of the one or two merchants who +completed the white population of the place. + +Very pretty were these bungalows, built entirely upon the ground floor, in +rustic fashion, wood entering largely into their composition. Some were +thatched; others covered with slabs of wood or stone. All had wide +verandas running around them, with tatties, or blinds, made of reeds or +strips of wood, to let down, and give shade and coolness to the rooms +therein. In some of them the visitor walked from the compound, or garden, +directly into the dining-room; large, airy, with neither curtains, nor +carpeting, nor matting, but with polished boards as flooring. The +furniture here was generally plain and almost scanty, for, except at meal- +times, the rooms were but little used. + +Outside, in the veranda, is the real sitting-room of the bungalow. Here +are placed a number of easy-chairs of all shapes, constructed of cane or +bamboo--light, cool, and comfortable; these are moved, as the sun +advances, to the shady side of the veranda, and in them the ladies read +and work, the gentlemen smoke. In all bungalows built for the use of +English families, there is, as was the case at Sandynugghur, a drawing- +room as well as a dining-room, and this, being the ladies' especial +domain, is generally furnished in European style, with a piano, light +chintz chair-covers, and muslin curtains. + +The bedroom opens out of the sitting-room; and almost every bedroom has +its bathroom--that all-important adjunct in the East--attached to it. The +windows all open down to the ground, and the servants generally come in +and out through the veranda. Each window has its Venetian blind, which +answers all purposes of a door, and yet permits the air to pass freely. + +The veranda, in addition to serving as the general sitting-room to the +family, acts as a servants' hall. Here at the side not used by the +employers, the servants, when not otherwise engaged, sit on their mats, +mend their clothes, talk and sleep; and it is wonderful how much sleep a +Hindoo can get through in the twenty-four hours. The veranda is his +bedroom as well as sitting-room; here, spreading a mat upon the ground, +and rolling themselves up in a thin rug or blanket from the very top of +their head to their feet, the servants sleep, looking like a number of +mummies ranged against the wall. Out by the stables they have their +quarters, where they cook and eat, and could, if they chose, sleep; but +they prefer the coolness and freshness of the veranda, where, too, they +are ready at hand whenever called. The gardens were all pretty, and well +kept, with broad, shady trees, and great shrubs covered by bright masses +of flower; for Sandynugghur had been a station for many years, and with +plenty of water and a hot sun, vegetation is very rapid. + +In two of the large reclining chairs two lads, of fifteen and sixteen +respectively, were lolling idly; they had been reading, for books lay open +in their laps, and they were now engaged in eating bananas, and in talking +to two young ladies, some three years their senior, who were sitting +working beside them. + +"You boys will really make yourselves ill if you eat so many bananas." + +"It is not that I care for them," said the eldest lad; "they are tasteless +things, and a good apple is worth a hundred of them; but one must do +something, and I am too lazy to go on with this Hindoo grammar; besides, a +fellow can't work when you girls come out here and talk to him." + +"That's very good, Ned; it is you that do all the talking; besides, you +know that you ought to shut yourselves up in the study, and not sit here +where you are sure to be interrupted." + +"I have done three hours' steady work this morning with that wretched +Moonshi, Kate; and three hours in this climate is as much as my brain will +stand." + +Kate Warrener and her brothers, Ned and Dick, were the children of the +major of the One Hundred and Fifty-first Bengal Native Infantry, the +regiment stationed at Sandynugghur. Rose Hertford, the other young lady, +was their cousin. The three former were born in India, but had each gone +to England at the age of nine for their education, and to save them from +the effects of the climate which English children are seldom able to +endure after that age. Their mother had sailed for England with Dick, the +youngest, but had died soon after she reached home. Dick had a passion for +the sea, and his father's relations having good interest, had obtained for +him a berth as a midshipman in the royal navy, in which rank he had been +serving for upward of a year. His ship being now in Indian waters, a +month's leave had been granted him that he might go up the country to see +his father. The other lad had arrived from England three months before, +with his sister and cousin. Major Warrener had sent for his daughter, +whose education was finished, to take the head of his house, and, as a +companion, had invited Rose Hertford, who was the orphan child of his +sister, to accompany her. Ned, who had been at Westminster till he left +England, was intended for the Indian army. His father thought that it +would be well for him to come out to India with his sister, as he himself +would work with him, and complete his education, to enable him to pass the +necessary examination--then not a very severe one--while he could be at +the same time learning the native languages, which would be of immense +benefit to him after he had entered the army. Coming out as they had done +in the cold season, none of the four exhibited any of that pallor and +lassitude which, at any rate during the summer heats, are the rule +throughout the Anglo-Indian community. + +As Ned finished his sentence the sound of the tread of two horses was +heard along the road. + +"Captains Dunlop and Manners," Dick exclaimed; "a shilling to a penny! +Will either of you bet, girls?" + +Neither his sister nor cousin replied to this offer; and the boys gave a +sly nod of intelligence to each other, as two horsemen rode up to the +veranda and dismounted; throwing their reins to the _syces_, who, whatever +the pace at which their masters ride, run just behind, in readiness to +take the horses, should they dismount. + +"Good-morning, Miss Warrener; good-morning, Miss Hertford: we have brought +you some interesting news." + +"Indeed!" said the girls, as they shook hands with the newcomers, who were +two as good specimens of tall, well-made, sunburnt Anglo-Saxons as one +would wish to see. "What is it?" + +"We have just got the news that a family of wild boars have come down, and +are doing a lot of damage near Meanwerrie, four miles off. I suppose they +have been disturbed somewhere further away, as we have not heard of any +pig here for months; so to-morrow morning there is going to be grand pig- +sticking; of course you will come out and see the fun?" + +"We shall be delighted," said Kate; but Rose put in: "Yes; but oh! how +unfortunate! it's Mrs. Briarley's garden party." + +"That has been put off till next day. It is not often we get a chance at +pig, and we have always got gardens. The two need not have interfered with +each other, as we shall start at daylight for Meanwerrie; but we may be +out some hours, and so it was thought better to put off the party to a day +when there will be nothing else to do." + +"Hurrah!" shouted Dick; "I am in luck! I wanted, above all things, to see +a wild boar hunt; do you think my father will let me have a spear?" + +"Hardly, Dick, considering that last time you went out you tumbled off +three times at some jumps two feet wide, and that, were you to fall in +front of a pig, he would rip you up before you had time to think about it; +besides which, you would almost certainly stick somebody with your spear." + +Dick laughed. + +"That was the first time I had ever been on a horse," he said; "will you +ride, Ned?" + +"No," said Ned; "I can ride fairly enough along a straight road, but it +wants a first-rate rider to go across country at a gallop, looking at the +boar instead of where you are going, and carrying a spear in one hand." + +"Do you think papa will ride?" Kate asked. + +"I don't know, Miss Warrener; the major is a famous spear; but here he is +to speak for himself." + +Major Warrener was in uniform, having just come up from the orderly-room. +He was a tall, soldierly figure, inclining to stoutness. His general +expression was that of cheeriness and good temper; but he was looking, as +he drove up, grave and serious. His brow cleared, however, as his eye fell +upon the group in the veranda. + +"Ah! Dunlop, brought the news about the boar, eh?" + +"You will take us with you?" the girls asked in a breath. + +"Oh, yes, you shall go; I will drive you myself. I am getting too heavy +for pig-sticking, especially with such responsibilities as you about. +There, I will get out of this uniform; it's hot for the time of year. What +are you drinking? nothing? Boy, bring some soda and brandy!" + +Then, producing his cigar-case, he took a cheroot. + +"Ag-low!" he shouted, and a native servant ran up with a piece of red-hot +charcoal held in a little pair of tongs. + +"There, sit down and make yourselves comfortable till I come back." + +The lads, finding that their society was not particularly required, +strolled off to the stables, where Ned entered into a conversation with +the _syces_ as to the distance to Meanwerrie and the direction in which +that village lay. Like all Anglo-Indian children brought up in India, the +boys had, when they left India, spoken the language fluently. They had +almost entirely forgotten it during their stay in England, but it speedily +came back again, and Ned, at the end of three months' work, found that he +could get on very fairly. Dick had lost it altogether. + +When they went back to the veranda they found that the girls had gone +indoors, and that their father was sitting and smoking with his brother +officers. When the lads came up the conversation ceased, and then the +major said: + +"It is as well the boys should know what is going on." + +"What is it, father?" Ned asked, struck with the grave tone in which the +major spoke, and at the serious expression in all their faces. + +"Well, boys, for some months past there have been all sorts of curious +rumors running through the country. Chupatties have been sent round, and +that is always considered to portend something serious." + +"Do you mean the chupatties we eat--flat cakes, father?" + +"Yes, Ned. Nobody knows who sends them round, or the exact meaning of the +signal, but it seems to be an equivalent for to 'prepare,' 'make ready.' +Chupatties are quickly prepared; they are the bread eaten on a journey, +and hence probably their signification. At any rate, these things have +been circulated among the native troops all over the country. Strangers +are known to have come and gone, and there is a general uneasy and +unsettled feeling prevalent among the troops. A ridiculous rumor has +circulated among them that the new cartridges have been greased with pig's +fat, in order that the caste of all who put it to their lips might be +destroyed. To-day I have received news from Calcutta that the Nineteenth +native regiment at Berhampore has behaved in a grossly mutinous manner, +and that it is feared the regiments at Barrackpore and Dumdum will follow +their example. The affair has been suppressed, but there is an uneasy +feeling abroad, and all the troops in Bengal proper appear tainted with +paltry disaffection. We have no reason for believing that the spirit has +spread to the northwest, and are convinced that as far as our own regiment +is concerned they can be relied on; but the affair, taken in connection +with the previous rumors, is very strange, and I fear that there are lots +of trouble ahead. I wish now that I had not had the girls out for another +year; but I could not foresee this, and, indeed, until this morning, +although there has been a good deal of talk, we all hoped it would have +passed off without anything coming of it. One hopes still that it will +spread no further; but should it do so, it is impossible to say what may +happen. All we have to do is to be watchful, and to avoid with care +anything that can offend the men's prejudices. We must explain to the +native officers the folly of the greased cartridge story, and tell them to +reassure the men. You don't see anything else to do, Dunlop?" + +"No, major; I trust that the regiment is to be depended upon; it has +always been well treated and the men have seemed attached to us all. We +will do our best to reassure them; but if there is any insubordination, I +hope that the colonel will give the men a lesson which will put an end to +the nonsense in the bud." + +"Of course you will stay to tiffin?" the major said, as the _kitmagar_, or +head servant, announced that tiffin was ready. + +"Many thanks, major, but we promised to tiff with Bullen, and he would be +mad if we did not turn up. How are you thinking of going to-morrow? I +intend to drive over, and send my horse on; so I can give one of your boys +a lift in my buggy." + +"Thank you," the major said, "that would suit us exactly. I shall drive in +my dog-cart, which will carry four of us; and if you will take Dick, that +will make it all right." + +"What time do we start?" + +"We are to be there by seven; we set it so late to give the ladies time to +breakfast comfortably before starting. I will call here at half-past six +for Dick; it will be all in my way. Good-morning." + +Two minutes later the girls, Ned, and Dick came into the dining-room, and +the party sat down to luncheon--a meal always called tiffin in India. It +is a great mistake to suppose that people in India cannot eat because of +the heat; in the extreme heat of summer their appetites do, no doubt, fall +off; but at other times, they not only eat, but eat more largely than is +good for them; and a good deal of the liver complaint which is the pest of +India is in no small degree due to the fact that, the appetite being +unnaturally stimulated by hot and piquant food, people eat more than in +such a climate as this can be properly digested. The meal consisted of +curries, with which were handed round chutney and Bombay ducks--a little +fish about the size of a smelt, cut open, dried, and smoked with +assafoetida, giving it an intolerably nasty taste to strangers, but one +which Anglo-Indians become accustomed to and like--no one knows why they +are called Bombay ducks--cutlets, plantains sliced and fried, +pomegranates, and watermelons. They were waited upon by two servants, both +dressed entirely in white, but wearing red turbans, very broad and +shallow. These turbans denoted the particular tribe and sect to which +their wearers belonged. The castes in India are almost innumerable, and +each has a turban of a peculiar color or shape, and by these they can be +at once distinguished by a resident. On their foreheads were lines and +spots of a yellowish white paint, indicating also their caste, and the +peculiar divinity to whose worship they were specially devoted. On their +feet they wore slippers, and were as noiseless as cats in all their +movements. There are no better or more pleasant waiters in the world than +the natives of Hindostan. + +Early as the hour named for the start would appear in England, it was by +no means early for India, where every one is up and about soon after +daylight--the morning hours up to eight o'clock being the most pleasant of +the whole day. + +Kate and Rose were up, and all had had "_chota hazaree_" (little +breakfast) by half-past six, and were ready when Captain Dunlop drew up in +his buggy--a conveyance which will only hold two. The dog-cart was already +at the door, and the whole party were soon in motion. On the road they +passed several of their friends, for every one was going out to the hunt, +and merry greetings were exchanged. + +The scenery round Sandynugghur resembles that which is common to all the +great plains of India watered by the Ganges and Jumna. The country is for +the most part perfectly flat, and cut up into little fields, divided by +shallow ditches. Here and there nullahs, or deep watercourses, with +tortuous channels and perpendicular sides, wind through the fields to the +nearest stream. These nullahs constitute the great danger of hunting in +the country. In the fields men may be noticed, in the scantiest of attire, +working with hoes among their springing crops; women, wrapped up in the +dark blue calico cloth which forms their ordinary costume, are working as +hard as the men. Villages are scattered about, generally close to groves +of trees. The huts are built of mud; most of them are flat-topped, but +some are thatched with rushes. Rising above the villages is the mosque, +where the population are Mohammedan, built of mud like the houses, but +whitewashed and bright. The Hindoo villages generally, but not always, +have their temples. The vegetation of the great plains of India is not +tropical, according to the ideas of tropical vegetation gathered from +British hothouses. There are a few palms and many bananas with their wide +leaves, but the groves are composed of sturdy trees, whose appearance at a +distance differs in no way from that of ordinary English forest trees. +Viewed closer, the banian with its many stems is indeed a vegetable +wonder; but, were it not for the villages and natives, a traveler might +journey for very many miles across the plains of India without seeing +anything which would specially remind him that he was out of England. + +There were a considerable number of traps assembled when Major Warrener +drew up, and some eight or ten gentlemen on horseback, each carrying a +boar-spear--a weapon not unlike the lance of an English cavalryman, but +shorter in the handle. The riders were mostly dressed in coats of the +Norfolk jacket type, and knee-breeches with thick gaiters. The material of +their clothes was a coarse but very strong cloth of native make, gray or +brown in color. Some wore round hats and forage caps with puggarees +twisted round them. + +A chorus of greeting saluted the party as they drove up. + +"Well, young ladies," the colonel said, "so you have come out to see the +death of the boar, + + "'The boar, the boar, the mighty boar,' + +as the song says? So you are not going to take a spear to-day, major? +Think it's time to leave it to the youngsters, eh?" + +"Where are the wild boars, Mrs. Renwick?" Kate asked of the colonel's +wife. + +"Pig, my dear; we always call them pig when we speak of them together, +though we talk of the father of the family as the boar. Do you see that +clump of long grass and jungle right across the plain? That's where they +are. They have been watched all night. They went out to feed before +daybreak and have just gone back again. Do you think we are in the best +place for seeing the sport, Major Warrener?" + +"I think, Mrs. Renwick, that if you leave your trap and go up to the top +of that knoll, two hundred yards to the right, you will get a really good +view of the plain." + +Mrs. Renwick alighted from the dog-cart in which the colonel had driven +her, and the whole party, following her example, walked in a laughing +group to the spot which Major Warrener had indicated, and which was +pronounced as just the place. The _syces_ stood at the heads of the +horses, and those who were going to take part in the sport cantered off +toward the spot where the pigs were lurking, making, however, a wide +_détour_ so as to approach it from the other side, as it was desired to +drive them across the plain. At some distance behind the clump were +stationed a number of natives, with a variety of mongrel village curs. +When they saw the horsemen approach they came up and prepared to enter the +jungle to drive out the pigs. + +The horsemen took up their position on either side of the patch in +readiness to start as soon as the animals were fairly off. A number of +villagers, in whose fields of young rice the family had done much damage +during the few days that they had taken up their abode in their present +quarters, were assembled on such little rises of ground as were likely to +give a good view of the proceedings. There were about a dozen horsemen +with spears; of these, three or four were novices, and these intended to +try their skill for the first time upon the "squeakers," as the young pigs +are called, while the others prepared for a race after the old ones. + +Great nerve, considerable skill, and first-rate horsemanship are required +for the sport of pigsticking. The horse, too, must be fast, steady, well- +trained and quick, for without all these advantages the sport is a +dangerous one. The wild boar is, at the start, as fast as a horse. He is +very quick at turning, and when pressed always attacks his pursuers, and +as he rushes past will lay open the leg or flank of a horse with a +sweeping cut with his sharp tusk. If he can knock a horse down the +position of his rider would be serious indeed, were not help to arrive in +time to draw off the attention of the enraged animal from his foe. Heavy +falls, too, take place over watercourses and nullahs, and in some parts of +India the difficulties are greatly increased by bowlders of all kinds +being scattered over the ground, and by the frequent occurrence of bushes +and shrubs armed with most formidable spines and thorns. Conspicuous among +these is the bush known as the "wait-a-bit thorn," which is furnished with +two kinds of thorn--the one long, stiff, and penetrating, the other short +and curved, with a forked point almost like a fishhook. When this once +takes hold it is almost necessary to cut the cloth to obtain a release. + +Scarcely had the beaters, with much shouting and clamor, entered the patch +of bush in which the pigs were lying, than the porcine family, consisting +of a splendid boar and sow, and eight nearly full-grown squeakers, darted +out on the open, and in a moment the horsemen were off in pursuit. The +ground was deep and heavy, and the pigs at the first burst gained fast +upon their pursuers. There was no attempt on the part of the pigs to keep +together, and directly after starting they began to diverge. The old boar +and sow both kept across the plain--one bearing toward the left, the other +to the right. The squeakers ran in all directions--some at right angles to +the line that the old ones were taking. The object of one and all was to +gain cover of some kind. + +With their hats pressed well down upon their heads, and their spears +advanced with the head some two or three feet from the ground, the hunters +started after them--some making after the boar, some after the sow, +according to the position which they occupied at the commencement of the +chase, while some of the young hands dashed off in pursuit of the +squeakers. + +There were five, however, after the boar; Captain Dunlop, a young ensign +named Skinner, the Scotch doctor of the regiment, and two civilians. For a +short time they kept together, and then Captain Dunlop and Skinner began +to draw ahead of the others. + +The boar was a stanch one, and a mile had been passed before his speed +began sensibly to diminish. The young ensign, who was mounted on a very +fast Arab, began to draw up to him three or four lengths ahead of Captain +Dunlop, bearing his horse so as to get upon the left side of the boar, in +order to permit him to use his spear to advantage. + +He was nearly up to him when Captain Dunlop, who saw the boar glancing +back savagely, cried: + +"Look out, Skinner! he will be round in a moment; keep your horse well in +hand!" + +A moment later the boar was round. The horse, young and unbroken at the +work, started violently, swerved, and, before his rider could get him +round, the boar was upon him. In an instant the horse was upon the ground, +with a long gash upon his flank, and Skinner, flying through the air, fell +almost directly in the boar's way. + +Fortunately for the young ensign, Captain Dunlop, as he shouted his +warning, had turned his horse to the left, so as to cut off the boar when +he turned, and he was now so close that the boar, in passing, had only +time to give a vicious blow at the fallen man, which laid his arm open +from his shoulder to his elbow. + +At that instant Captain Dunlop arrived, and his spear pierced the animal's +flank. His aim was, however, disconcerted by his horse, at the moment he +struck, leaping over the fallen ensign; the wound, therefore, was but a +glancing one, and in a moment the boar was round upon his new assailant. +Fortunately the horse was a well-trained one, and needed not the sharp +touch of his master's rein to wheel sharp round on his hind legs, and dart +off at full speed. The boar swerved off again, and continued his original +line of flight, his object being to gain a thick patch of jungle, now +little over a quarter of a mile distant; the detention, however, was fatal +to him, for the doctor, who was close on Captain Dunlop's heels, now +brought up his horse with a rush and, with a well-aimed thrust, ran the +animal through, completely pinning him to the earth. The honor of his +death was therefore divided between the doctor and Captain Dunlop, for the +latter had drawn first blood, or, as it is termed, had taken first spear, +while the former had scored the kill. + +The sow had been more fortunate than her lord. She had taken a line across +a part of the plain which was intersected by several nullahs. She, too, +had been wounded, but one of the nullahs had thrown out several of her +pursuers: one rider had been sent over his horse's head and stunned; and +the sow, turning sharp down a deep and precipitous gully, had made her +escape. Three of the squeakers fell to the spears of the Griffs--young +hands--and the rest had escaped. The boar had been killed only a short +distance from the rise upon which the spectators from Sandynugghur were +assembled, and the beaters soon tied its four legs together, and, putting +a pole through them, six of them carried the beast up to the colonel's +wife for inspection. + +"What a savage-looking brute it is!" said Kate; "not a bit like a pig, +with all those long bristles, and that sharp high back, and those +tremendous tusks." + +"Will you accept the skin, Miss Warrener?" Captain Dunlop said to her +afterward; "I have arranged with the doctor. He is to have the hams, and I +am to have the hide. If you will, I will have it dressed and mounted." + +"Thank you, Captain Dunlop, I should like it very much;" but, as it turned +out, Kate Warrener never got the skin. + +The boar killed, the doctor's first care was to attend to the wounded, and +Skinner's arm was soon bound up, and he was sent home in a buggy; the man +who was stunned came to in a short time. The unsuccessful ones were much +laughed at by the colonel and major, for allowing half the game started to +get away. + +"You ought not to grumble, colonel," Captain Manners said. "If we had +killed them all, we might not have had another run for months; as it is, +we will have some more sport next week." + +There was some consultation as to the chance of getting the sow even now, +but it was generally agreed that she would follow the nullah down, cross +the stream, and get into a large canebrake beyond, from which it would +take hours to dislodge her; so a general move was made to the carriages, +and in a short time the whole party were on their way back to +Sandynugghur. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +THE OUTBREAK. + + +A week after the boar-hunt came the news that a Sepoy named Mangul Pandy, +belonging to the Thirty-fourth Native Infantry, stationed at Barrackpore, +a place only a few miles out of Calcutta, had, on the 29th of March, +rushed out upon the parade ground and called upon the men to mutiny. He +then shot the European sergeant-major of the regiment, and cut down an +officer. Pandy continued to exhort the men to rise to arms, and although +his comrades would not join him, they refused to make any movement to +arrest him. General Hearsey now arrived on the parade ground with his son +and a Major Ross, and at once rode at the man, who, finding that his +comrades would not assist him, discharged the contents of the musket into +his own body. + +Two days later the mutinous Nineteenth were disbanded at Barrackpore. On +the 3rd of April Mangul Pandy, who had only wounded himself, was hung, and +the same doom was allotted to a native officer of his regiment, for +refusing to order the men to assist the officer attacked by that mutineer, +and for himself inciting the men to rise against the government. + +"What do you think of the news, papa?" Dick asked his father. + +"I hope that the example which has been set by the execution of these +ringleaders, and by the disbandment of the Nineteenth, may have a +wholesome effect, Dick; but we shall see before long." + +It needed no great lapse of time to show that this lesson had been +ineffectual. From nearly every station throughout Bengal and the northwest +provinces came rumors of disaffection; at Agra, at Umballah, and at other +places incendiary fires broke out with alarming frequency, letters were +from time to time intercepted, calling upon the Sepoys to revolt, while at +Lucknow serious disturbances occurred, and the Seventh Regiment were +disarmed by Sir Henry Lawrence, the Commissioner of Oude. So the month of +April passed, and as it went on the feeling of disquiet and danger grew +deeper and more general. It was like the anxious time preceding a +thunderstorm, the cloud was gathering, but how or when it would burst none +could say. Many still maintained stoutly that there was no danger +whatever, and that the whole thing would blow over; but men with wives and +families were generally inclined to take a more somber view of the case. +Nor is this to be wondered at. The British form an almost inappreciable +portion of the population of India; they are isolated in a throng of +natives, outnumbered by a thousand to one. A man might therefore well feel +his helplessness to render any assistance to those dear to him in the +event of a general uprising of the people. Soldiers without family ties +take things lightly, they are ready for danger and for death if needs be, +but they can always hope to get through somehow; but the man with a wife +and children in India, at the time when a general outbreak was +anticipated, would have the deepest cause for anxiety. Not, however, that +at this time any one at Sandynugghur looked for anything so terrible. +There was a spirit of insubordination abroad in the native troops, no +doubt, but no one doubted but that it would, with more or less trouble, be +put down. And so things went on as usual, and the garden parties and the +drives, and the friendly evening visiting continued just as before. It was +at one of these pleasant evening gatherings that the first blow fell. Most +of the officers of the station, their wives, and the two or three +civilians were collected at Major Warrener's. The windows were all open. +The girls were playing a duet on the piano; five or six other ladies were +in the drawing-room and about the same number of gentlemen were standing +or sitting by them, some four or five were lounging in the veranda +enjoying their cheroots; native servants in their white dresses moved +noiselessly about with iced lemonade and wine, when a Sepoy came up the +walk. + +"What is it?" asked Major Warrener, who was one of the group in the +veranda. + +"Dispatch for the colonel, Sahib." + +The colonel, who was sitting next to the major, held out his hand for the +message, and was rising, when Major Warrener said: + +"Don't move, colonel; boy, bring a candle." + +The servant brought it: the colonel opened the envelope and glanced at the +dispatch. He uttered an exclamation which was half a groan, half a cry. + +"Good Heaven! what is the matter, colonel?" + +"The native troops at Meerut have mutinied, have murdered their officers +and all the European men, women, and children they could find, and are +marching upon Delhi. Look after your regiment." + +A low cry broke from the major. This was indeed awful news, and for a +moment the two men sat half-stunned at the calamity, while the sound of +music and merry talk came in through the open window like a mockery on +their ears. + +"Let us take a turn in the compound," said the major, "where no one can +hear us." + +For half an hour they walked up and down the garden. There could be no +doubt about the truth of the news, for it was an official telegram from +the adjutant at Meerut; and as to the extent of the misfortune, it was +terrible. + +"There is not a single white regiment at Delhi," exclaimed the colonel; +"these fiends will have it all their own way, and at Delhi there are +scores of European families. Delhi once in their hands will be a center, +and the mutiny will spread like wildfire over India. What was the general +at Meerut about? what were the white troops up to? It is as inexplicable +as it is terrible. Is there anything to be done, major, do you think?" But +Major Warrener could think of nothing. The men at present knew nothing of +the news, but the tidings would reach them in two or three days; for news +in India spreads from village to village, and town to town, with almost +incredible speed, and Meerut was but a hundred and fifty miles distant. + +"Had we better tell them inside?" the major asked. + +"No," answered the colonel; "let them be happy for to-night; they will +know the news to-morrow. As they are breaking up, ask all the officers to +come round to the messroom; I will meet them there, and we can talk the +matter over; but let the ladies have one more quiet night; they will want +all their strength and fortitude for what is to come." + +And so, clearing their brows, they went into the house and listened to the +music, and joined in the talk until ten o'clock struck and every one got +up to go, and so ended the last happy evening at Sandynugghur. + +The next morning brought the news of the rising at Delhi, but it was not +till two days later that letters giving any details of these terrible +events arrived, and the full extent of the awful calamity was known. + +The flame broke out at Meerut at seven o'clock in the evening of Sunday, +the 10th of May. On the previous day a punishment parade had been held to +witness the military degradation of a number of men of the Third Native +Cavalry, who had been guilty of mutinous conduct in respect to the +cartridges. The native regiments at the station consisted of the Third +Cavalry, the Eleventh and Twentieth Infantry; there were also in garrison +the Sixtieth Rifles, the Sixth Dragoon Guards, and two batteries of +artillery; a force amply sufficient, if properly handled, to have crushed +the native troops, and to have nipped the mutiny in the bud. Unhappily, +they were not well handled. The cantonments of Meerut were of great +extent, being nearly five miles in length by two in breadth, the barracks +of the British troops were situated at some distance from those of the +native regiments, and the action of the troops was paralyzed by the +incompetency of the general, an old man who had lost all energy, and who +remained in a state of indecision while the men of the native regiments +shot their officers, murdered all the women and children, and the white +inhabitants whose bungalows were situated at their end of their +cantonment, opened the jail doors, and after setting fire to the whole of +this quarter of Meerut, marched off toward Delhi, unmolested by the +British troops. Even then an orderly sent off with dispatches to the +officer commanding at Delhi, informing him of what had happened, and +bidding him beware, might have saved the lives of hundreds of Englishmen +and women, even if it were too late to save Delhi; but nothing whatever +was done; the English troops made a few meaningless and uncertain +movements, and marched back to their barracks. No one came forward to take +the lead. So the white troops of Meerut remained stationary under arms all +night, and the English population of Delhi were left to their fate. + +From Meerut to Delhi is thirty-two miles, and the mutineers of Meerut, +marching all night, arrived near the town at eight in the morning. +Singularly enough, the ancient capital of India, the place around which +the aspiration of Hindoos and Mohammedans alike centered, and where the +ex-emperor and his family still resided, was left entirely to the guard of +native troops; not a single British regiment was there, not a battery of +white troops. As the center of the province, a large white population were +gathered there-the families of the officers of the native infantry and +artillery, of the civil officers of the province, merchants, bankers, +missionaries, and others. As at all other Indian towns, the great bulk of +the white inhabitants lived in the cantonments outside the town; had it +not been for this, not one would have escaped the slaughter that commenced +as soon as the Third Cavalry from Meerut rode into the town. The Fifty- +fourth Native Infantry, who had hastily been marched out to meet them, +fraternized with them at once, and, standing quietly by, looked on while +their officers were murdered by the cavalrymen. Then commenced a scene of +murder and atrocity which is happily without parallel in history. Suffice +to say, that with the exception of some half-dozen who in one way or other +managed to escape, the whole of the white population inside the walls of +Delhi were murdered under circumstances of the most horrible and revolting +cruelty. Had the news of the outbreak of Meerut been sent by a swift +mounted messenger, the whole of these hapless people would have had time +to leave the town before the arrival of the mutineers. Those in the +cantonments outside the city fared somewhat better. Some were killed, but +the greater part made their escape; and although many were murdered on the +way, either by villagers or by bodies of mutineers, the majority reached +Meerut or Aliwal. The sufferers of Delhi did not die wholly unavenged. +Inside the city walls was an immense magazine containing vast stores of +powder, cartridges, and arms. It was all-important that this should not +fall into the hands of the mutineers. This was in charge of Lieutenant +Willoughby of the royal artillery, who had with him Lieutenants Forrest +and Rayner, and six English warrant and non-commissioned officers, +Buckley, Shaw, Scully, Crow, Edwards, and Stewart. The following account +was given by Lieutenant Forrest: + +"The gates of the magazine were closed and barricaded, and every possible +arrangement that could be made was at once commenced. Inside the gate +leading to the park were placed two six-pounders doubly charged with +grape. These were under acting sub-conductor Crow and Sergeant Stewart, +with lighted matches in their hands. Their orders were that if any attempt +was made to force the gate the guns were to be fired at once, and they +were to fall back to that part of the magazine where Lieutenant Willoughby +and I were posted. The principal gate of the magazine was similarly +defended by two guns and by the _chevaux-de-frise_ laid down in the +inside. For the further defense of this gate and the magazine in its +vicinity, there were two six-pounders so placed as to command it and a +small bastion close by. Within sixty yards of the gate, and commanding two +cross roads, were three six-pounders, and one twenty-four pound howitzer, +which could be so managed as to act upon any part of the magazine in that +neighborhood. After all these guns and howitzers had been placed in the +several positions above named, they were loaded with a double charge of +grape. After these arrangements had been completed a train was laid ready +to be fired at a preconcerted signal. On the enemy approaching the walls +of the magazine, which was provided with scaling ladders, the native +establishment at once deserted us by climbing up the sloped sheds on the +inside of the magazine and descending the ladders on the outside." + +When the attack began the mutineers climbed the walls in great numbers, +and opened fire upon the little garrison; these replied by an incessant +fire of grape-shot, which told severely upon the enemy. There were but two +men to each gun, but they stood nobly to their pieces until all were more +or less wounded by the enemy's fire. Finding that no more could be done, +Lieutenant Willoughby gave the order, Conductor Scully fired the several +trains, and in another instant a tremendous explosion took place which +shook all Delhi, and covered the city with a cloud of black smoke. It was +calculated that from fifteen hundred to two thousand of the mutineers and +rabble of the town were killed by the falling walls, or crushed under the +masses of masonry. Lieutenants Willoughby, Forrest, Rayner, and Conductor +Buckley survived the explosion, and effected their retreat in the +confusion through a small sallyport on the river face. The mutineers were +so enraged by their misfortune that they rushed to the palace and demanded +of the king a number of European officers and ladies who had sought refuge +under his protection. They were handed over to the mutineers, and at once +slaughtered. + +The Warreners listened with pale faces as their father, on his return from +the orderly-room, where the news had been discussed, told them the sad +story. + +"There is nothing to be done, I suppose, papa?" Ned said gently. + +"No, my boy; we are in the hands of God. We must wait now for what may +come. At present the regiment professes its fidelity, and has now +volunteered to march against the mutineers. The colonel believes them, so +do some of the others; I do not; it may be that the men mean what they say +at present, but we know that emissaries come and go, and every fresh +rising will be an incentive to them. It is no use blinking the truth, +dear; we are like men standing on a loaded mine which may at any moment +explode. I have been thinking, indeed for the last week I have done +nothing but think, what is best to be done. If the mutiny breaks out at +night or at any time when we are not on parade, we have agreed that all +the whites shall make at once for Mr. Thompson's house. It is the +strongest of any of the residences--for there would of course be no +getting to the messhouse--and then we will sell our lives as dearly as we +may. If it happens when we are on parade, defense by the rest of the +residents would be useless. There are but six civilians, with you two +boys--for we have counted you--eight. Probably but few of you could gain +Thompson's house in time; and if all did, your number would be too small +to defend it. There remains then nothing but flight. The rising will most +likely take place on parade. The residents have agreed that each day they +will, on some excuses or other, have their traps at their door at that +hour, so that at the sound of the first shot fired they may jump in and +drive off." + +"But, you, papa?" Kate asked. + +"My dear," said her father, "I shall be on duty; so long as a vestige of +the regiment remains as a regiment, I shall be with it; if the whole +regiment breaks up and attacks us, those who do not fall at the first +volley will be justified in trying to save their lives. The colonel, the +adjutant, and myself are mounted officers, and two or three of the others +will have their dogcarts each day brought up to the messhouse, as they +often do. If there is a mutiny on parade, the unmounted officers will make +for them, and we who are mounted will as far as possible cover their +retreat. So it is arranged." + +"But will the road be open to Meerut, uncle?" Rose asked after a pause, +for the danger seemed so strange and terrible that they felt stunned by +it. + +"No, my dear; it certainly will not. There are three garrison towns +between us, and they also will probably be up. The only thing is to keep +to the road for the first ten or twelve miles, and then take to the woods, +and make your way on foot. I have spoken to Saba this morning. We can +trust her; she nursed you all, and has lived with me ever since as a sort +of pensioner till you came out. I have asked her to get two dresses of +Mussulman country women; in those only the eyes are visible, while the +Hindoo dress gives no concealment. I have also ordered her to get me two +dresses: one, such as a young Mussulman _zemindar_ wears; the other, as +his retainer. They are for you boys. Keep the bundles, when you get them, +in that closet in the dining-room, so as to be close at hand; and in case +of alarm, be sure and take them with you. Remember my instructions are +absolute. If by day, escape in the trap at the first alarm; if the trap is +not available, escape at once on foot. If you hear the enemy are close, +hide till nightfall in that thick clump of bushes in the corner of the +compound, then make for that copse of trees, and try and find your way to +Meerut. I trust I may be with you, or that I may join you on the road. But +in any case, it will relieve my anxiety greatly to know that your course +is laid down. If I had to return here to look for you, I should bring my +pursuers after me, and your chance of escape would be gone--for I rely +upon you all to follow my instructions to the letter." + +"Yes, indeed, papa," was the unanimous answer of the young Warreners, who +were deeply affected at the solemn manner in which their father spoke of +the situation. + +"I have a brace of revolvers upstairs," he said, "and will give one to +each of you boys. Carry them always, but put them on under your coats, so +that they may not be noticed; it would be as well for you to practice +yourselves in their use; but when you do so, always go some distance from +the station, so that the sound will not be heard." + +"Can you give Rose and me a pistol each, too, papa?" Kate said quietly. + +Major Warrener kissed his daughter and niece tenderly. + +"I have a pair of small double-barreled pistols; you shall each have one," +he answered with a deep sigh. + +That afternoon the young Warreners and their cousin went out for a walk, +and, fixing a piece of paper against a tree, practiced pistol shooting for +an hour. Any passer-by ignorant of the circumstances would have wondered +at the countenances of these young people, engaged, apparently, in the +amusement of pistol practice. There was no smile on them, no merry laugh +when the ball went wide of the mark, no triumphant shout at a successful +shot. Their faces were set, pale, and earnest, Scarcely a word was spoken. +Each loaded in silence, took up a place at the firing point, and aimed +steadily and seriously; the boys with an angry eye and frowning brow, as +if each time they were firing at a deadly foe; the girls as earnestly, and +without any of the nervousness or timidity which would be natural in girls +handling firearms for the first time. Each day the exercise was repeated, +and after a week's practice all could hit, with a fair amount of +certainty, a piece of paper six inches square, at a distance of ten yards. + +During this time Captains Dunlop and Manners spent their whole time, when +not engaged upon their military duties, at Major Warrener's. They were now +the recognized lovers of Kate and Rose; and although, in those days of +tremendous anxiety and peril, no formal engagements were entered upon, the +young people understood each other, and Major Warrener gave his tacit +approval. Very earnestly all the party hoped that when the dread moment +came it might come when they were all together, so that they might share +the same fate, whatever it might be. The young officers' buggies now stood +all day in Major Warrener's compound, with the patient _syces_ squatting +near, or talking with the servants, while the major's horses stood ready +saddled in the stables. + +However much the party might hope to be together when the crisis came, +they felt that it was improbable that they would be so, for at the first +symptoms of mutiny it would be the duty of the officers to hasten to the +barracks to endeavor to quell it, even if certain death should meet them +there. + +In the face of the tidings from Meerut and Delhi, all the pretense of +confidence, which had hitherto been kept up at the station, came to an +end; and even had there been implicit confidence in the regiment, the news +of such terrible events would have caused an entire cessation of the +little amusements and gatherings in which Sandynugghur had previously +indulged. + +As is usual in cases of extreme danger, the various temperaments of people +come strongly into relief at these awful times. The pretty young wife of +the doctor was nearly wild with alarm. Not daring to remain at home alone, +she passed the day in going from house to house of her female friends. +Advice and example she obtained from these, but poor comfort. The +colonel's wife was as brave as any man in the station; she hardly shared +her husband's opinion that the regiment would remain faithful in the midst +of an almost general defection; but she was calm, self-possessed, and +ready for the worst. + +"It is no use crying, my dear," she said to the doctor's wife. "Our +husbands have enough to worry them without being shaken by our tears. +Death, after all, can only come once, and it is better to die with those +we love than to be separated." + +But there were not many tears shed in Sandynugghur. The women were pale +and quiet. They shook hands with a pressure which meant much, lips +quivered, and tears might drop when they spoke of children at home; but +this was not often, and day after day they bore the terrible strain with +that heroic fortitude which characterized English women in India during +the awful period of the mutiny. Ten days after the news came in of the +rising at Delhi Major Warrener told his family, on his return from parade, +that the regiment had again declared its fidelity, and had offered to +march against the mutineers. + +"I am glad of it," he said, "because it looks as if at present, at least, +they have not made up their minds to mutiny, and I shall be able to go to +mess with a lighter heart; as I told you yesterday, it is the colonel's +birthday, so we all dine at mess." + +In the meantime Saba had faithfully carried out her commission as to the +dresses, and had added to the bundles a bottle containing a brown juice +which she had extracted from some berries; this was to be used for +staining the skin, and so completing the disguise. The Warreners knew that +if their old nurse had any information as to any intended outbreak she +would let them know; but she heard nothing. She was known to be so +strongly attached to the major's family that, had the other servants known +anything of it, they would have kept it from her. + +The hour for the mess-dinner was eight, and the young Warreners had +finished their evening meal before their father started. + +"God bless you, my children, and watch over and protect us all till we +meet again!" such was the solemn leave-taking with which the major and his +children had parted--if only for half an hour--since the evil days began. + +For an hour and a half the young Warreners and their cousin sat and read, +and occasionally talked. + +"It's time for tea," Kate said, looking at her watch; and she struck a +bell upon the table. + +Usually the response was almost instantaneous; but Kate waited two +minutes, and then rang sharply twice. There was still no reply. + +"He must be asleep," she said, "or out of hearing; but it is curious that +none of the others answer!" + +Dick went out into the veranda, but came in again in a minute or two: + +"There is no one there, Kate; and I don't hear any of them about +anywhere." + +The four young people looked at each other. What did this mean? Had the +servants left in a body? Did they know that something was going to happen? +Such were the mute questions which their looks asked each other. + +"Girls!" said Ned, "put your dark shawls round you. It may be nothing, but +it is better to be prepared. Get the bundles out. Dick, put a bottle of +wine in your pocket; and let us all fill our pockets with biscuits." + +Silently and quietly the others did as he told them. + +"There is that great biscuit-tin full," Ned said when they had filled +their pockets; "let us empty it into that cloth, and tie it up. Now, if +you will put your shawls on I will look in at the stables." + +In a couple of minutes he returned. + +"The horses are all unharnessed," he said, "and not a soul is to be seen. +Ah, is that Saba?" + +The old nurse had been found asleep in her favorite place outside the door +of her young mistresses' room. + +"Do you know what is the matter, Saba? All the servants are gone!" + +The old nurse shook her head. "Bad news; no tell Saba." + +"Now, Saba, get ready to start," for the nurse had declared that she would +accompany them, to go into the villages to buy food; "Dick, come with me; +we will put one of the horses into the dogcart." + +They were leaving the room when they heard the sound of a rifle. As if it +were the signal, in a moment the air rang with rifle shots, shouts, and +yells. The boys leaped back into the room and caught up the bundles. + +"Quick, for your lives, girls! some of them are not fifty yards off! To +the bushes! Come, Saba!" + +"Saba do more good here," the old nurse said, and seated herself quietly +in the veranda. + +It was but twenty yards to the bushes they had marked as the place of +concealment; and as they entered and crouched down there came the sound of +hurrying feet, and a band of Sepoys, led by one of the jemadars, or native +officers, rushed up to the veranda from the back. + +"Now," the jemadar shouted, "search the house; kill the boys, but keep the +white women; they are too pretty to hurt." + +Two minutes' search--in which furniture was upset, curtains pulled down, +and chests ransacked--and a shout of rage proclaimed that the house was +empty. + +The jemadar shouted to his men: "Search the compound; they can't be far +off; some of you run out to the plain; they can't have got a hundred yards +away; besides, our guards out there will catch them." + +The old nurse rose to her feet just as the Sepoys were rushing out on the +search. + +"It is of no use searching," she said; "they have been gone an hour." + +"Gone an hour!" shouted the enraged jemadar; "who told them of the +attack?" + +"I told them," Saba said steadily; "Saba was true to her salt." + +There was a yell of rage on the part of the mutineers, and half a dozen +bayonets darted into the faithful old servant's body, and without a word +she fell dead on the veranda, a victim to her noble fidelity to the +children she had nursed. + +"Now," the jemadar said, "strip the place; carry everything off; it is all +to be divided to-morrow, and then we will have a blaze." + +Five minutes sufficed to carry off all the portable articles from the +bungalow; the furniture, as useless to the Sepoys, was left, but +everything else was soon cleared away, and then the house was lit in half +a dozen places. The fire ran quickly up the muslin curtains, caught the +dry reeds of the tatties, ran up the bamboos which formed the top of the +veranda, and in five minutes the house was a sheet of flame. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +THE FLIGHT. + + +The young Warreners and their cousin, hurrying on, soon gained the thick +bush toward which they were directing their steps. As they cowered down in +its shelter the girls pulled their shawls over their heads, and with their +hands to their ears to keep out the noise of the awful din around them, +they awaited, in shuddering horror, their fate. The boys sat, revolver in +hand, determined to sell their lives dearly. Ned translated the jemadar's +speech, and at his order to search the compound both felt that all was +over, and, with a grasp of each other's hand, prepared to sally forth and +die. Then came Saba's act of noble self-sacrifice, and the boys had +difficulty in restraining themselves from rushing out to avenge her. + +In the meantime the night was hideous with noises; musket shots, the sharp +cracks of revolvers, shouts, cries, and at times the long shrill screams +of women. It was too much to be borne, and feeling that for the present +Saba's act had saved them, the boys, laying down their weapons, pressed +their hands to their ears to keep out the din. There they sat for half an +hour, stunned by the awful calamity, too horror-stricken at what had +passed, and at the probable fate of their father, to find relief in tears. + +At the end of that time the fire had burned itself out, and a few upright +posts still flickering with tongues of fire, and a heap of glowing embers +marked where the pretty bungalow, replete with every luxury and comfort, +had stood an hour before. + +Dick was the first to move; he touched Ned's arm. + +"All is quiet here now, but they may take it into their heads to come back +and search. We had better make for the trees; by keeping close to that +cactus hedge we shall be in shadow all the way." + +The girls were roused from their stupor of grief. + +"Now, dears, we must be brave," said Ned, "and carry out our orders. God +has protected us thus far; let us pray that He will continue to do so." + +In another five minutes the little party, stealing cautiously out from +their shelter, kept along close to the wall to a side door, through which +they issued forth into the open. Ten steps took them to the cactus hedge, +and stooping low under its shelter, they moved on till they safely reached +the clump of trees. + +For some time the little party crouched among the thick bushes, the +silence broken only by the sobs of the girls. Ned and Richard said +nothing, but the tears fell fast down their cheeks. The crackling of the +flames of many of the burning bungalows could be distinctly heard; and +outside the shadow of the trees it was nearly as light as day. Yells of +triumph rose on the night air, but there was no firing or sounds of +conflict, and resistance was plainly over. For a quarter of an hour they +sat there, crushed with the immensity of the calamity. Then Ned roused +himself and took the lead. + +"Now, dears, the fires have burned down, and we must be moving, for we +should be far away from here before morning. No doubt others have hidden +in the woods round this place, and those black fiends will be searching +everywhere to-morrow. Remember what our orders are;" and he paused for a +moment to choke down the sob which would come when he thought of who had +given the order, and how it was given. "We were to make for Meerut. Be +strong and brave, girls, as father would have had you. I have gone over +the course on the district map, and I think I can keep pretty straight for +it. We need not change our clothes now; we can do that when we halt before +daylight. We must walk all night, to be as far as possible away before the +search begins. We know this country pretty well for some miles round, +which will make it easier. Come, girls, take heart; it is possible yet +that some of the officers have cut their way out, and our father may be +among them. Who can say?" + +"I knew that he had talked over with Dunlop and Manners the very best +course to take whenever they might be attacked," Dick said in a more +cheerful tone, "so they were sure to keep together, and if any one has got +away, they would." Neither of the boys had at heart the least hope, but +they spoke as cheerfully as they could, to give strength and courage to +the girls. Their words had their effect. Kate rose, and taking her +cousin's arm said: + +"Come, Rose, the boys are right. There is still some hope; let us cling to +it as long as we can. Now let us be moving: but before we go, let us all +thank God for having saved us from harm so far, and let us pray for His +protection and help upon the road." + +Silently the little group knelt in prayer, and when they rose followed +Ned--who had naturally assumed the position of leader--out into the open +country beyond the grove, without a word being spoken. The moon was as yet +quite young, a favorable state for the fugitives, as it afforded light +enough to see where they were going without giving so bright a light as to +betray them to any one at a distance. + +"The moon will be down in a couple of hours," Ned said; "but by that time +we shall be beyond where any sentries are likely to have been placed on +the road, so we can then trust ourselves on that till it begins to get +daylight. We must keep in the fields till we are past Nussara, which is +five miles by the road; then we can walk straight on. There is a nullah a +few yards on; we had better keep in that for a quarter of a mile; it does +not go quite the way we want, but it will be safer to follow it till we +are well out of sight of any one who may be watching the plain." + +They scrambled down into the bed of the nullah. Then Kate said, "Walk on +as fast as you can, Ned; we can keep up with you, and if we hurry on we +shan't be able to think." + +"All right," Ned answered; "I will go fast for a bit, but you must not +knock yourselves up; we have a long journey before us." + +Walking fast, however, was impossible at the bottom of the nullah, for it +was pitch dark between its steep banks, and there were bowlders and stones +lying here and there. After half an hour's walking Ned scrambled up and +looked back. + +"It is quite safe now," he said; "let us make as straight as we can for +Nussara." + +Kate Warrener and Rose Hertford have never been able to recall any +incidents of that night's walk. Mechanically, as in a dreadful dream, they +followed Ned's guidance, stumbling across little watercourses, tramping +through marshy rice-fields, climbing into and out of deep nullahs, now +pausing to listen to the barking of a village dog, now making their way +through a thick clump of trees, and at last tramping for hours--that +seemed ages--along the dead flat of the highroad. This at the first faint +dawn of morning they left, and took refuge in a thick grove a quarter of a +mile from the highway. Before throwing themselves down to rest, the girls, +at Ned's earnest request, tried to eat a piece of biscuit, but tried in +vain, they, however, each sipped a little wine from the bottles, and then, +utterly worn out and exhausted, soon forgot their misery in a deep and +heavy sleep. + +The sun was upon the point of setting when their companions aroused them, +and they woke up to their sorrows and dangers. The day had passed quietly; +the boys, after both sleeping for some four or five hours, had watched by +turns. No one had approached the wood; but a party of four Sepoys, mounted +on horses, had passed from Sandynugghur; and a larger party had, later in +the afternoon, come along in the other direction. From this the boys +guessed that a successful revolt had also taken place at Nalgwa, the next +station to Sandynugghur. + +"Now, girls, the first thing to do is to eat. Here are biscuits for some +days, and the two bottles of wine, which we must be sparing of. Dick and I +have eaten lots of biscuits, and have had some water from a well at a +little distance behind the wood. There was a large gourd lying by it which +we have taken the liberty of borrowing. You can drink some water if you +like, but you must each take a glass of wine. You must keep up your +strength. There is no one in sight, so if you like you can go to the well +and have a wash. Don't be longer than you can help; it would be ruin to be +seen before we have changed our clothes. While you are away washing, Dick +and I will put on our dresses, and when you come back you can do the same. +We can stain our faces and hands afterward." + +The girls chose to have their wash first and their meal afterward, and +felt refreshed and brighter after they had done so. Then they dressed in +the clothes Saba had provided for them, and could, at any other time, have +laughed at the comicality of their aspect, muffled up in white, with only +their eyes visible. The awkward shoes were the only part of the costume to +which they objected; but the sight of European boots below the native +dress would have betrayed them instantly; however, they determined to +adopt them for walking in at nights, or when crossing the fields, and to +put the native shoes in a bundle, to be worn in public. + +The boys presently joined them, Ned in the dress of a young Mussulman +zemindar, Dick as his follower. + +"I should not have known you in the least," Rose said; "as far as +appearances go, I think we are all safe now." + +When it was quite dark they again started, regained the road, and kept +steadily along it. After two hours' walking they approached a village. +After some consultation it was decided that Dick, whose dress was the +darkest and least noticeable, should steal forward and reconnoiter. If +every one was indoors they would push boldly through; if not, they would +make a circuit round it. In ten minutes he returned. + +"Ned, there are two troopers' horses standing before the largest house of +the place. I suppose they belong to some of the men of the cavalry +regiment at Nalgwa. If we could but steal them!" + +"Splendid, Dick; why should we not? I can get on one, you on the other; +one of the girls can sit behind each of us, with her arms round our +waists. What do you say, girls? With our dress it would be natural for us +to be on horseback, and no one would ask any questions. We are pretty +safe, because if they come out there are but two of them, and we are more +than a match for them with our pistols." + +"It seems a terrible risk to run, Ned; but I do think it would be our best +plan. What do you say, Rose?" + +"I think we had better try, Kate." + +"Now let us settle everything before we start," said Ned. "We must mount +first, I think, that we may be able to help you more easily; and you would +have less risk of falling off if you get up in front of us. We can change +when we have gone half a mile. Will you stand close to Dick, Kate, when he +mounts; Rose, you keep close to me. The moment we are fairly in the +saddle, and have got the reins in our hands, you put your foot on mine, +and take hold of my hand, and climb up in the saddle in front of me. Put +your arms round our necks and hold us, because we shall want one hand for +the reins, the other for a pistol." + +"Let us cut a stick, Ned, to give them a lick and make them start at a +gallop." + +Very gently, and with bated breath, they stole up the village. The horses +were still standing with their reins thrown over a hook in the wall. Very +quietly the boys unhooked the reins, but the horses moved uneasily, and +objected to their mounting them, for horses accustomed to natives dislike +to be touched by Europeans. However, the boys had just managed to climb +into their seats when a shutter of the house opened, and a voice said in +Hindostanee, "What is fidgeting the horses?" Then a head looked out. + +"Some one is stealing the horses," he shouted. + +"Quick, girls, up with you," Ned said; and the girls, as light as +feathers, sprang up. "Go along," the boys cried, bringing down their +sticks on the animals' sides. Dick's at once leaped forward, but Ned's +horse only backed. Ned gave his stick to Rose and seized his pistol, which +was cocked and ready for use. As he did so a native trooper rushed from +the house. As he came out Ned fired, and the man fell forward on his face. + +Startled by the shot, the horse darted off after his companion. For a few +minutes they went forward at a gallop, the boys holding on as well as they +could, but expecting every moment to be thrown off. For awhile shouts and +cries were heard from the village, and then all was quiet again. The two +boys reined in their horses. + +"That was awful," Dick said; "I would rather sit on the yardarm in a storm +than ride on that beast any further at the pace we have been going." + +The girls had not spoken a word since they started, and they now slipped +to the ground. It was not an easy thing for them to get up behind, and +several slips were made before their attempts were successful. Once +seated, they were more comfortable, and they again went on, this time at +an easy canter. After half an hour's ride they came to a crossroad, and +turned up there, going now at a walk. After awhile they took a well-marked +path running in a parallel direction to the road; this they followed for +some time, passing fearlessly through one or two small villages. + +Then, feeling by the flagging walk of their horses that they were becoming +fatigued, they plunged deep into a thick wood, dismounted, and prepared +for the night. Attached to the saddle of each horse was a nose-bag with +some forage. These were put on, the horses fastened up, and the little +party were soon asleep again. + +Before starting next morning the first care of the boys was to take off +the embroidery of the horse-cloths, and as much of the metal work on the +bridles as could be possibly dispensed with, in order to conceal the fact +that the horses had belonged to a British cavalry regiment; then they +mounted, with the girls behind them, and rode quietly forward, taking care +not to travel by the main road, as the news of the carrying off the horses +would have been generally known there. + +They passed through several villages, attracting but little attention as +they did so, for there was now nothing unusual in the appearance of a +Mohammedan zemindar and follower riding with two closely-veiled women _en +croupe_. Late in the afternoon they stopped at a village store, and Ned +purchased, without exciting any apparent suspicion, some grain for the +horses. That night they slept as usual in a wood, and congratulated +themselves on having made fully twenty-five miles of their journey toward +Meerut. + +The next morning, after two miles' riding, they entered a large village. +As they were passing through it a number of peasants suddenly rushed out +into the road, and shouted to them to stop. They were armed with sticks +and hoes, and a few had guns. Looking behind, Ned saw a similar body fill +up the road behind them, cutting off their escape. + +"Look, Ned, at that old fellow with the gun; that's the man who sold us +the grain last night," Dick said. + +"We must charge them, Dick; there's nothing else to do. Hold tight, girls. +Now for your revolver, Dick! Now!" + +And, digging their heels into their horses' side, the boys rode at the +crowd of peasants. There was a discharge of guns, and Dick felt as if a +hot iron had been drawn suddenly across his cheek; then they were in the +midst of the crowd, emptying their revolvers with deadly effect among +them; some fell, and the horses dashed forward, followed by the yells of +their assailants. A minute later three or four more guns were discharged, +the rear party having now joined the other, and being therefore able for +the first time to fire. + +Dick heard a little startled cry from Kate. + +"Are you hurt, darling?" he cried in alarm. + +"Nothing to speak of, Dick. Ride on." + +In a quarter of a mile they drew rein, and found that a ball had passed +through the upper part of Kate's arm, as it went round Dick's body. +Fortunately it had gone through the flesh only, without touching the bone. +Dick was bleeding copiously from a wound across the cheek. + +"Another two inches to the right," he said, "and it would have taken me +fairly in the mouth. It's well it's no worse." + +Kate's arm was soon bandaged up, and a handkerchief tied round Dick's +face. Ned proposed that for Kate's sake they should make a halt at the +first wood they came to, but Kate would not hear of it. + +"On the contrary, Ned, we ought to press forward as hard as we can, for it +is very possible that at that village where we were recognized--I suppose +because they had heard about the horses--they may have dispatched people +to the main road, as well as further on to stop us here; and we may be +pursued at any moment, if there happens to be any native cavalry upon the +road. Evidently they are very much in earnest about catching us, and have +sent word to look after four people on two horses all over the country, or +they could not have known about it at the village yesterday evening." + +"I am afraid you are right, Kate; if we could turn off this road I should +not fear, but the river cannot be far to our right, and the main road is +to our left. There is nothing for it but to press straight on. +Fortunately, the country is not thickly populated, and there is a good +deal of jungle. If the worst comes to the worst, we must leave our horses +and go on foot again. I fear that is more fatiguing for you, but we can +hide ourselves a good deal better." + +It was late in the afternoon when Rose cried. "They are coming, Ned; there +is a party of cavalry behind!" + +Ned looked round; and far back, along the straight road, he saw a body of +horsemen. + +"They are a long distance behind," he said; "now for a race!" + +The boys plied their sticks, and the horses sprang on at full gallop. + +"How much are they gaining, Rose?" he asked, after twenty minutes' hard +riding. + +"They are nearer, Ned--a good deal nearer; but they have not gained half +their distance yet." + +"The sun set fully ten minutes ago," Ned said; "in another half-hour it +will be dark. Their horses must be done up, or they would gain faster on +us, as ours have to carry double, and are getting terribly blown; but +there is a wood, which looks a large one, a couple of miles ahead. If we +can get there five minutes before them, we are safe." + +By dint of flogging their horses they entered the wood while their +pursuers were half a mile behind. + +"Another hundred yards," Ned said, "and then halt. Now, off we get." + +In an instant they leaped off, and gave a couple of sharp blows with their +sticks to the horses, who dashed off at a gallop down the road. + +It was already perfectly dark in the wood, and the fugitives hurried into +the thickest part. In five minutes they heard the cavalry come thundering +past. + +"We must push on," Ned said; "fortunately, we have done no walking, for we +must be far away by to-morrow morning. They will come up with the horses +before very long, and will know we are in the wood, and they will search +it through and through in the morning." + +A quarter of a mile, and the wood grew thicker, being filled with an +undergrowth of jungle. + +"If you will stop here, Ned, I will push on through this jungle, and see +how far it goes. The girls can never get through this. I think we are near +the edge of the wood; it looks lighter ahead." + +In ten minutes he came back. + +"Ned, we are on the river; it is not fifty yards from here." + +This was serious news. + +"What a pity we did not take to the left instead of the right when we left +the horses. However, they won't know which way we have gone, and must +watch the whole wood. We must push forward, and, by keeping as close as we +can to the river, shall most likely pass them; besides, they will be some +time before they decide upon forming a chain round the wood, and as there +are only about twenty of them they will be a long way apart. There! Do you +hear them? They are coming back! Now let us go on again!" + +In ten minutes they reached the edge of the wood. They could see nothing +of the horsemen. Keeping in the fields, but close to the line of jungle +that bordered the river, they walked onward for upward of an hour. Then +they came upon the road. The river had made a bend, and the road now +followed its bank. + +"Shall we cross it, and keep in the open country, or follow it, girls?" + +"Follow it as long as we can keep on walking," Kate said. "It is in the +right direction, and we can go on so much faster than in the fields. If we +hear them coming along we can get into the jungle on the bank." + +"Listen, Kate," Rose said a few minutes afterward; "they are following!" + +"I expect," Ned said, "they find that the wood is too big to be watched, +and some of them are going on to get some help from the next garrison, or, +perhaps, to rouse up a village and press them in the work. Trot on, girls; +the jungle is so thick here you could hardly squeeze yourself in. We have +plenty of time; they won't be here for five minutes yet." + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +BROKEN DOWN. + + +They ran at the top of their speed, but the sound of the horses' feet grew +louder. + +"There is a path leading to the river," Ned said; "let us turn down there; +we can hide under the jungle on the bank." + +Breathlessly they ran down to the river. + +"Hurrah! here is a boat, jump in;" and in another minute they had pushed +off from the bank, just as they heard a body of cavalry--for that they +were troops they knew by the jingling of their accouterments--pass at a +gallop. The stream was strong; and the boys found that with the rude oars +they could make no way whatever. + +"We had better land again, and get further from the river," Ned said. "We +will push the boat off, and it will be supposed that we have gone off in +it." + +This was soon done, and having regained the road, they crossed it and +struck over the fields. + +The moon, which had been hitherto hidden under a passing cloud, was soon +out fully, and for some time they kept across the country, carefully +avoiding all villages. These were here more thinly scattered; patches of +jungle and wood occurred more frequently; and it was evident that they +were getting into a less highly cultivated district. It was long before +daybreak that Rose declared that she was too fatigued to go further, and +they entered a large wood. Here they lay down, and were soon fast asleep. +It was broad daylight when the Warreners woke. Rose still slept on. + +Presently Kate came to her brothers. "I am afraid Rose is going to be ill. +She keeps talking and moaning in her sleep; her face is flushed, and her +hands as hot as fire." + +As they were looking sadly at her she opened her eyes. + +"Is it time to get up?" she asked. "Oh, my head! it is aching terribly. Is +the trap at the door?" + +Then she closed her eyes again, and went on talking incoherently to +herself. + +"She has fever," Kate said, "and we must get her under shelter, at +whatever risk." + +"I heard a dog bark not far off, just as I went to sleep," Ned said. "I +will go and reconnoiter. Dick, you had better stay here." + +Dick nodded, and Ned advanced cautiously to the edge of the wood. There he +saw a farmhouse of a better class than usual. Three peons were just +starting for work, and an elderly man with a long beard was standing at +the door. Then he went in, and after a few minutes reappeared with a long +staff in his hands, and went out into the fields. He did not, however, +follow the direction which the peons had taken, but took a line parallel +with the edge of the wood. "He looks a decent old fellow," Ned said to +himself; "I can but try; at any rate, at the worst I am more than a match +for him." + +So saying, he stepped out into the field. The farmer started with surprise +at seeing a young Mussulman appear before him. + +"I am English," Ned said at once. "I think you are kind by your face, and +I tell you the truth. There are two English girls in the wood, and one is +ill. We can go no further. Will you give them shelter?" + +The old man stood for some time in thought. + +"I have no complaint against the Feringhees," he said; "in my fathers time +the country was red with blood, but all my life I have eaten my bread in +peace, and no man has injured me. Where are the English ladies?" + +Ned led the way to the spot where Rose was still lying. The old man looked +at her flushed face, and then at Kate, and said: + +"The English ladies have suffered much, and can have done harm to no one. +I will shelter them. My wife and daughter will nurse the sick one. They +will be in the women's chamber, and my servants will not know that there +is a stranger there. I believe that they would be faithful, but one who +knows nothing can tell no tales. On the other side of the wood there is a +shed. It is empty now, and none go near it. The English sahibs can live +there, and each day I will bring them food. When their sister is well they +can go on again." + +Ned translated the old man's words, and Kate, who was kneeling by Rose, +caught his hand and kissed it in her gratitude. He patted her head and +said, "Poor child!" + +"How are we to carry Rose? I don't think she can walk," Kate asked. + +The farmer solved the difficulty by motioning them to stay where they +were. He then went off, and in ten minutes returned, bearing a dried +bullock's skin. On this Rose was laid. The Hindoo took the two ends at her +feet, the boys each one of those by her head, and then, slung as in a +hammock, Rose was carried to the house, where the wife and daughter of +their host, prepared by him for what was coming, received them with many +expressions of pity, and she was at once carried into the inner room. The +farmer then placed before the boys two bowls of milk and some freshly made +chupatties, and then gave them some food for the day. With an expression +of fervent gratitude to him, and a kiss from Kate, who came out to tell +them that Rose would be well nursed and cared for, the boys started for +the hut in the direction the Hindoo pointed out to them. It was a small +building, and had apparently been at some time used as a cattle shed. The +floor was two feet deep in fodder of the stalks of Indian corn. Above was +a sort of rough loft, in which grain had been stored. + +The boys at once agreed that, to prevent suspicion, it was safer to occupy +this, and they soon transferred enough of the fodder from below to make a +comfortable bed. Then, feeling secure from discovery, even if by chance +some passer-by should happen to glance into the shed, they were soon deep +in a sounder sleep than they had enjoyed since they left Sandynugghur. + +The next day, when the old man came to see them, he was accompanied by +Kate. She looked pale and wan. + +"How is Rose?" was their first question. + +"She is as bad as she can be, dears. She has been delirious all night, and +is so this morning. I did not like to leave her for a moment. But this +kind old man wanted me to go with him, as I think he has something to say +to you." + +"Have you any news?" Ned asked him. + +"My servants tell me that the Sepoys are searching the whole country, some +of the officers have escaped from Sandynugghur, and also from Nalgwa, +where the troops rose on the same night; some of the residents have +escaped also. There is a reward offered for them alive or dead, and any +one hiding them is to be punished with death. The white lady is very ill. +She is in the hand of God; she may get better, she may die. If she gets +better it will be weeks before she can go through the hardships of the +journey to Meerut. I think it better that you should go on alone; the +white ladies will be as my daughters. I have told my servants that my +daughter is ill, so that if they hear cries and voices at night they will +think that it is she who is in pain. You can do no good here. If the woods +are searched you may be found; if you are found they will search +everywhere closely, and may find them. I will hide them here safely. The +orders are, I hear, that the captives taken are to be carried to Delhi; +but if they should be found I will myself journey to Meerut to bring you +the news. You will give me your names, and I will find you; then you may +get help and rescue them on the way." + +Ned translated the old man's opinion and kind offer to his brother and +sister, and said that he was very unwilling to leave the girls--a +sentiment in which Dick heartily joined. + +Kate, however, at once expressed her warm approval of the plan. + +"It will be weeks, dears, before Rose can walk again, and I shall have an +anxious time with her. It would add greatly to my anxiety if I knew that +you were near, and might at any time be captured and killed. If dear papa +has escaped he will be in a terrible state of anxiety about us, and you +could relieve him if you can join him at Meerut, and tell him how kindly +we are treated here. Altogether, boys, it would be so much better for you +to go; for if the Sepoys do come, you could not defend us against more +than two or three, and they are sure to come in a stronger party than +that." + +In spite of their disinclination to leave the girls without such +protection as they could give them, the boys saw that the course advised +was the best to be pursued, and told their Hindoo friend that they agreed +to follow his counsel, thanking him in the warmest terms for his kindness. + +He advised them to leave their Mohammedan dresses behind, and to dress in +the simple costume of Hindoo peons, with which he could supply them. They +would then attract far less attention, and could even by day pass across +the fields without any comment whatever from the natives at work there, +who would naturally suppose that they belonged to some village near at +hand. "Englishmen could not do this," he said; "too much leg, too much +arm, too much width of shoulders; but boys are thinner, and no one will +notice the difference. In half an hour I will come back with the things." +Ned gave him the rest of the berries, which they had preserved, and asked +him to boil them up in a little water, as they would now have to color +their bodies and arms and legs, in addition to their faces. + +It was a sad parting between Kate and her brothers, for all felt that they +might never meet again. Still the course decided upon was, under the +circumstances, evidently the best that could be adopted. + +In an hour the Hindoo returned. The boys took off their clothes, and +stained themselves a deep brown from head to foot. The farmer then +produced a razor and a bowl of water and some soap, and said that they +must shave their hair off their heads, up to a level with the top of the +ears, so as to leave only that which could be concealed by their turban. +This, with some laughter--the first time they had smiled since they left +Sandynugghur--they proceeded to do to each other, and the skin thus +exposed they dyed the same color as the rest of the body. They then each +put on a scanty loincloth, and wrapping a large piece of dark blue cotton +stuff first round their waists and then over one shoulder, their costume +was complete, with the exception of a pair of sandals and a white turban. +The old Hindoo surveyed them gravely when their attire was completed, and +expressed his belief that they would pass without exciting the slightest +suspicion. Their pistols were a trouble. They were determined that, come +what might, they would not go without these, and they were finally slung +behind them from a strap passing round the waist under the loin-cloth; the +spare ammunition and a supply of biscuit were stowed in stout cotton bags, +with which their friend provided them, and which hung by a band passing +over one shoulder. Their money and a box of matches they secured in a +corner of their clothes. A couple of stout staves completed their outfit. + +Bidding a grateful farewell to their friendly Hindoo, the boys started on +their journey. The sandals they found so difficult to keep on that they +took them off and carried them, except when they were passing over stony +ground. They kept to bypaths and avoided all villages. Occasionally they +met a native, but either they passed him without speech, or Ned muttered a +salutation in answer to that of the passer. All day they walked, and far +into the night. They had no fear of missing their way, as the road on one +hand and the river on the other both ran to Meerut; and although these +were sometimes ten miles apart, they served as a fair index as to the line +they should take. The biscuits, eked out with such grain as they could +pluck as they crossed the fields, lasted for two days; but at the end of +that time it became necessary to seek another supply of food. + +"I don't know what to ask for, Dick; and those niggers always chatter so +much that I should have to answer, and then I should be found out +directly. I think we must try some quiet huts at a distance from the +road." + +The wood in which they that night slept was near three or four scattered +huts. In the morning they waited and watched for a long time until one of +the cottages was, as far as they could judge, deserted, all its inmates +being gone out to work in the fields. They then entered it boldly. It was +empty. On hunting about they found some chupatties which had apparently +been newly baked, a store of rice and of several other grains. They took +the chupatties, five or six pounds of rice, and a little copper cooking- +pot. They placed in a conspicuous position two rupees, which were more +than equivalent to the value of the things they had taken, and went on +their way rejoicing. + +At midday they sat down, lit a fire with some dried sticks, and put their +rice in the pot to boil. As Ned was stooping to pick up a stick he was +startled by a simultaneous cry of "Look out!" from Dick, and a sharp hiss; +and looking up, saw, three or four feet ahead of him, a cobra, with its +hood inflated, and its head raised in the very act of springing. Just as +it was darting itself forward Dick's stick came down with a sharp tap on +its head and killed it. + +"That was a close shave, Ned," the boy said, laughing; "if you had stooped +he would have bit you on the face. What would have been the best thing to +do if he had bitten you?" + +"The best thing is to suck the wound instantly, to take out a knife and +cut deeply in, and then, as we have no vesuvians, I should break up half a +dozen pistol cartridges, put the powder into and on the wound, and set it +alight. I believe that that is what they do in some parts of Eastern +Europe in the case of the bites of mad dogs; and this, if no time is lost +after the bite is given, is almost always effectual in keeping off +hydrophobia." + +"Well, Ned, I am very thankful that we had not to put the virtue of the +receipt to a practical test." + +"Would you like to eat the snake, Dick? I believe that snake is not at all +bad eating." + +"Thank you," Dick said, "I will take it on trust. We have got rice; and +although I am not partial to rice it will do very well. If we could have +got nothing else we might have tried the snake; but as it is, I had rather +not. Two more days, Ned, and we shall be at Meerut. The old Hindoo said it +was a hundred miles, and we go twenty-five a day, even with all our bends +and turns to get out of the way of villages." + +"Yes, I should think we do quite that, Dick. We walk from daylight to +sunset, and often two or three hours by moonlight; and though we don't go +very fast, we ought to get over a lot of ground. Listen! There is music!" +Both held their breath. "Yes, there are the regular beats of a big drum. +It is on the highroad, I should say, nearly abreast of us. If we go to +that knoll we shall have a view of them; and there cannot be the least +danger, as they must be fully a mile away." + +Upon gaining the rise in question they saw a regiment in scarlet, winding +along the road. + +"Are they mutineers, Dick, or British?" + +It was more than any one could say. Mounted officers rode at the head of +the regiment; perfect order was to be observed in its marching; there was +nothing that in any way differed from its ordinary aspect. + +"Let us go back and get our rice and lota, Dick. We can't afford to lose +that; and if we go at a trot for a couple of miles we can get round into +some trees near the road, where we can see their faces. If the mounted +officers are white it is all right; if not, they are mutineers." + +Half an hour's trot brought them to such a point of vantage as they +desired. Crouched in some bushes at the edge of a clump of trees, not +fifty yards from the road, they awaited the passage of the regiment. They +had not been in their hiding-place five minutes when the head of the +column appeared. + +"They march in very good order, Ned; do you think that they would keep up +such discipline as that after they had mutinied?" + +"I don't know. Dirk; but they'll want all their discipline when they come +to meet our men. For anything we know we may be the two last white men +left in India; but when the news gets to England there will be such a cry +throughout the land that, if it needed a million men to win back the +country, I believe they would be found and sent out. There! There are two +mounted officers; I can't see their color, but I don't think they are +white." + +"No, Ned; I am sure they are not white; then they must be mutineers. Look! +Look! Don't you see they have got three prisoners? There they are, +marching in the middle of that column; they are officers; and oh! Ned! I +do think that the middle one's father." And the excited boy, with tears of +joy running down his cheeks, would have risen and dashed out had not Ned +forcibly detained him. + +"Hush! Dick! and keep quiet. Yes! It is father! and Dunlop and Manners. +Thank God!" he said, in deep gratitude. + +"Well, let's go to them, Ned; we may as well be all together." + +"Keep quiet, Dick," the elder said, holding him down again; "you will +destroy their chance as well as ours. We must rescue them if we can." + +"How, Ned, how?" + +"I don't know yet, Dick; but we must wait and see; anyhow, we will try. +There goes the bugle for a halt. I expect they have done their day's +march. Come on, Dick; we must get out of this. When they have once pitched +their tents they will scatter about, and, as likely as not, some will come +into this wood. Let us get further back, so as to be able to see them +pitch their tents, and watch, if we can, where they put the prisoners." + +The regiment piled arms, and waited until the bullock-carts came up with +the tents. These were taken out and pitched on the other side of the road, +and facing the wood. The ground being marked out, the men were told off to +their quarters, and the poles of the tents aligned with as much regularity +and exactness as could have been used when the regiment possessed its +white officers. + +Near the quarter-guard tent--that is, the tent of the men engaged upon +actual duty--a small square tent was erected; and into this the three +officers, who were handcuffed, were thrust; and two sentries, one in +front, the other at the back of the tent, were placed. + +"Now, Dick, we know all about it; let us get further away, and talk over +how it is to be managed." + +The task was one of extreme difficulty, and the boys were a long time +arranging the details. Had there been but one sentry, the matter would +have been easy enough: but with two sentries, and with the quarter guard +close at hand, it seemed at first as if no possible scheme could be hit +upon. The sentry at the back of the tent must be the one to be disposed +of, and this must be done so noiselessly as not to alarm the man in front. +Each marched backward and forward some eight paces to the right, and as +much to the left, of the tent, halting occasionally. When both marched +right and left at the same time, they were in sight of each other except +during the time of passing before and behind the tent; when they walked +alternately, the tent hid them altogether from each other. + +"I suppose there is no chance of our being able to gag that fellow, Ned? +It's horrid to think of killing a man in cold blood." + +"There is no help for it, Dick. If he were alone, we might gag him; as it +is, he must be killed. These scoundrels are all mutineers and murderers. +This regiment has, no doubt, like the others, killed its officers, and all +the men, women, and children at the station. I would not kill the man +unless it could be helped, but our father's life depends upon it; and to +save him I would, if there were no other way, cut the throats of the whole +regiment while they were asleep! This is no ordinary war, Dick; it is a +struggle for existence; and though I'm sure I hate the thought of it, I +shall not hesitate for an instant." + +"I shan't hesitate," the midshipman said; "but I wish the fellow could +make a fight of it. However, as he would kill me if he had a chance, he +mustn't grumble if I do the same for him. Now, Ned, you tell me exactly +what I am to do, and you may rely on my doing it." + +Every minute detail of the scheme was discussed and arranged; and then, as +the sun set, the boys lit a fire in a nullah and boiled some rice, and ate +their food with lighter hearts than they had done since they left +Sandynugghur, for the knowledge that their father had escaped death had +lifted a heavy burden from their hearts. As to the danger of the +expedition that they were about to undertake, with the happy recklessness +of boys they thought but little of it. + +Across the plain they could see the campfires, but as the evening went on +these gradually died away, and the sounds which had come faintly across +the still night air ceased altogether. As patiently as might be, they +waited until they guessed that it must be about ten o'clock. The night +was, for the country, cold--a favorable circumstance, as the natives, who +are very chilly, would be less likely to leave their tents if they felt +restless. The moon was now half full and shining brightly, giving a light +with which the boys could well have dispensed. + +"Now, Dick, old boy, let's be moving. May God help us in our night's +work!" + +They made a considerable detour to approach the camp in the rear, where +they rightly judged that the Sepoys, having no fear whatever of any +hostile body being near, would have placed no sentries. + +"Listen!" Dick said, as they were pausing to reconnoiter; "that sounded +like a cannon in the far distance." + +There was no doubt of it; faintly, but quite distinct, across the air came +the sound of heavy cannon fired at regular intervals. + +"Those cannon must be fired as a salute to some great chief newly arrived +at Delhi--we should not fire so late, but I suppose they are not +particular," Ned said; "we calculated it was not more than twenty-five +miles off, and we should hear them at that distance easily. We had better +wait a few minutes to see if any one comes out to listen to it." + +But there was no movement among the white tents. Then they stole quietly +into the camp. + +The tents of the Indian native regiments are large, oblong tents, with two +poles, holding thirty men each. They are manufactured at the government +prison at Jubbalpore, and are made of thick cotton canvas, lined with red +or blue cotton. In the daytime they open right along one side, the wall of +the tent being propped outward, with two slight poles, so as to form a +sort of veranda, and shade the inside of the tent while admitting the air. +At night-time, in the cool season, this flap is let down and the tent +closed. In front of the tents the muskets of the men inside are piled. + +Into one of these tents Dick crawled, Ned watching outside. When Dick +first entered it was so dark that he could see nothing; but the moonlight +penetrated dimly through the double cotton, and he was soon able to +discover objects around. The ground was all occupied by sleeping figures, +each wrapped up from head to foot in his blanket, looking like so many +mummies. Their uniforms were folded, and placed between their heads and +the wall of the tent. Six of these, with the same number of caps, and six +ammunition pouches and belts, and a uniform cloak, taken carefully off one +of the sleepers, Dick collected and passed out through the door of the +tent to Ned. Not a sleeper stirred while he did so, and he crept quietly +out, with the first part of his task accomplished. Gathering the things +together, the boys made all speed back to a clump of trees half a mile in +the rear of the camp. Here Ned put on one of the uniforms and the cloak, +and they then started back again for the camp. + +The sentries upon the prisoners' tent were changed at twelve o'clock, and +a few minutes later the sentry at the rear of the tent saw one of his +comrades come out of one of the large tents close to the end of his beat. +He was wrapped in his blanket, and his face was tied up with a cloth. +Coughing violently, he squatted himself in front of his tent, and rocked +himself to and fro, with his hands to his face, uttering occasional +groans. This was all so natural--for the natives of India suffer much from +neuralgia in the cold weather--that the sentry thought nothing of the +matter. He continued to pace his beat, turning back each time when within +a yard or two of the sufferer. The third time he did so the figure dropped +off his blanket, and, with a sudden bound, threw himself on the sentry's +back; at the same moment a Sepoy in uniform darted out from the tent. One +hand of the assailant--in which was a damp cloth--was pressed tightly over +the mouth and nostrils of the sentry; the other grasped the lock of his +musket, so that it could not be discharged. Thrown backward off his +balance, taken utterly by surprise, the sentry was unable even to +struggle, and in an instant the second antagonist plunged a bayonet twice +into his body, and he fell a lifeless mass on the ground. It was the work +of an instant to drag the body a yard or two into the shadow of the tent, +and before the other sentry appeared from the opposite side of the +prisoner's tent the native was rocking himself as before; the sentry, +wrapped in his cloak, was marching calmly on his beat. The whole affair +had lasted but twenty seconds, and had passed as noiselessly as a dream. + +The next time the sentry in front was hidden from view the native started +from his sitting position and stole up behind the tent. Cautiously and +quietly he cut a slit in the canvas and entered. Then he knelt down by the +side of one of the sleepers, and kissed him. He moved in his sleep, and +his disturber, putting his hand on his mouth to prevent sudden speech, +shook him gently. The major opened his eyes. + +"Father, it is I--Richard; hush! do not speak." + +Then, as the bewildered man gradually understood what was said, his son +fell on his neck, kissing him with passionate delight. + +After the first rapturous joy of the recognition was over, "Ned and the +girls?" Major Warrener asked. + +"The girls are at present safe," Dick said; "Ned is outside behind. He is +the sentry. Now, father, wake the others, and then let us steal off. Take +off your boots; the men's tents are only ten yards behind; once there, you +are safe. I will let Ned know when you are ready, and he will occupy the +sentry. We can't silence him, because he is within sight of the sentry of +the quarter-guard." + +Major Warrener aroused his sleeping companions, and in a few whispered +words told them what had happened. In silence they wrung Dick's hand, and +then taking off their boots, stole one by one out of the tent. As Ned +passed he exchanged a silent embrace with his father. The next time the +sentry in front was passing before the tent, a heavy stone, hurled by Ned, +crashed into a bush upon the other side of the road. The sentry halted +instantly, and, with gun advanced, listened, but he could hear nothing, +for his comrade was at that instant seized with a fit of coughing. + +After standing in a listening attitude for three or four minutes the Sepoy +supposed that the noise must have been caused by some large bird suddenly +disturbed in the foliage. + +"Did you hear anything?" he asked Ned, as their path crossed. + +"Nothing," Ned answered, continuing his march. + +For another quarter of an hour he passed backward and forward, his only +fear being that the sentry might take it into his head to open the tent +and look in to see if the prisoners were safe. In a quarter of an hour he +knew that the fugitives would have gained the trees, and would have time +to put on the Sepoy uniforms before he reached them; and also, by the aid +of a couple of large stones, have got rid of their handcuffs, lie might +therefore be off to join them. + +Waiting till the sentry was at the other end of his beat, he slipped round +the tent, stripped off his cloak, lay down his musket and belt--for Dick +had arranged that they should carry off five muskets in their retreat-- +threw off the Sepoy jacket, and in light running order, darted through the +tents. He calculated that he should have at least a couple of minutes +start before his absence was discovered, another minute or two before the +sentry was sufficiently sure of it to hail the quarter-guard and report +the circumstance. Then would follow the discovery of the escape of the +prisoners; but by that time he would be far out on the plain, and even if +seen, which was unlikely, he was confident that he could outrun any +native. + +His anticipations turned out correct; he was already some distance off +when he heard the call of the sentry to the quarter-guard, followed almost +immediately by a still louder shout, that told that he had discovered the +flight of the prisoners; then came the sound of a musket shot, a drum beat +the alarm, and a babel of sounds rang on the still air. But by this time +Ned was halfway to the clump of trees, and three minutes later he was in +his father's arms. There was no time to talk then. Another coat was +hurried on to him, an ammunition belt and pouch thrown over his shoulder, +and Captain Manners carrying his musket until he should have quite +recovered breath, the five went off at a steady trot, which after a +quarter of an hour broke into a walk--for there was no fear of pursuit--in +the direction in which they knew Delhi to lie. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +BACK UNDER THE FLAG. + + +"How far is it to Delhi? We heard the guns there just now." + +"Not thirty miles." + +"Have you heard how things are going on there?" Dick asked. + +"According to the Sepoy reports, fresh regiments are pouring in from all +quarters; and they boast that they are going to drive us out of the +country. Our troops are still at Meerut, and a force is gathering at +Umballah; but they are after all a mere handful." + +"Do you think there is any chance of help coming to us?" + +"None for the present. The Sepoys say that every station has gone down +except Agra, Allahabad, and Benares, and that these are soon to go too. +Cawnpore and Lucknow have risen." + +"Are all the whites killed everywhere?" + +"I am afraid they are all killed where there are no white troops; but +there, we must hope that they are making a stand. We shall be a long time +before we know anything. It is but a week yet since our station went; +seven days longer since Delhi rose." + +"It seems ages ago," Ned said. "You don't mean to try and get to Meerut +to-night, I hope; we could walk as far if it were absolutely necessary, +but we have done a long day's walk already." + +"No, no, Ned. I only want to get well away from our late camp. To-morrow +we will get near the river, hide all next day, and cross after nightfall. +There is a clump of trees; we will pass the night there; I think we are +safe enough now. The mutineers are too anxious to be at Delhi to spend +much time in looking for us. Now, first of all, let us get a fire." + +"We have never had a fire at night," Dick said, "since we started; we have +been too much afraid of being seen." + +"There is not much chance of its being observed in a wood; especially if +the bushes are thick. We are four miles at least from the camp, and we are +all wet through with dew. Now for sticks." + +The whole party soon collected a pile of sticks; and the major was about +to scatter some powder among the dead leaves, when Ned said, "We have +matches, father." + +"Oh, that's all right, Ned. There we are, fairly alight. Yes, we have +chosen the place well; there are bushes all around. Now," he said, when +the fire had burned up brightly, "let us hear the full story of what has +passed; you gave us a short account when we first got free. Now let us +hear all about it." + +Ned and Dick told the story--sometimes one taking it up, sometimes the +other. There were many questions from their auditors, and expressions of +warm approval of their conduct; and Captain Dunlop threatened under his +breath that if he ever had a chance he would not leave one cake of mud +upon another in the village where Kate was wounded. He and Captain Manners +proposed that they should go back, and afford what protection they could +to the girls. But Major Warrener at once negatived this idea. + +"If they could come straight back with us, I should say yes," he said, +"for with us five we might hope to get them through safely; but even that +would be very risky, for the larger the party is, the more easily it +attracts attention, and the whole country is alive with rebels marching to +Delhi. But as Rose cannot be fit to travel for weeks, we have no choice in +the matter. They must remain where they are, and we can only hope and pray +for their safety. Our duty lies clearly at Meerut, where every man who can +sight a rifle will be wanted most urgently. Now let us be off to sleep; +the fire has burned low, and in another hour or two it will be daybreak; +however, there will be no reveille, and we can sleep on with lighter +hearts than we have had for some time." + +"What figures you are in those uniforms!" Dick said, laughing, next +morning; "you can scarcely move in them, and they won't meet by eight or +nine inches. It does not seem to me that they are any disguise at all. Any +one could see in a moment that they were not made for you." + +"They are wretchedly uncomfortable, Dick." his father said; "and, as you +say, any one could see they were not made for us. But they are useful. As +we go along, any one who saw us at a distance would take us for a +straggling party of mutineers making our way to Delhi; while the bright +scarlet of our own uniform would have told its tale miles off." + +"I shall be glad enough to get rid of mine, Dick; I feel as if I had got +into a boy's jacket by mistake. Jack Sepoy has no shoulders to speak of; +as far as height goes he is well enough; but thirty Sepoys on parade take +up no more room than twenty English. I had to take my jacket off last +night and lay it over my shoulders; I might as well have tried to go to +sleep in a vise. There! major; do you hear the music? These rascals are on +the march again." + +The strains of music came very faintly to the ear, for the bivouac was +nearly a mile from the road. + +"That is all right," the major said. "Now they have gone by, we can be +moving. We must give them an hour's start." + +"Now, father, we have not heard your adventures yet; please tell us all +about them." + +"Well, we have not had so much variety as you, but we have gone through a +good deal. You know we had talked over the best possible course to take in +case of an attack, come when it might. We had arranged what each should do +in case of a night attack, or of a rising upon parade; and we had even +considered the probability of being set upon when gathered in the +messroom. We had all agreed that if taken by surprise, resistance would +mean certain death; they would shoot us down through the doors and +windows, and we should be like rats in a cage. We agreed, therefore, that +in case of an attack, a simultaneous attempt to break out must be made, +and we had even settled upon the window by which we should go. The married +men were, of course, to make for their bungalows, except where, as in my +case, I had made other arrangements; and the rest to various bungalows +agreed upon, where traps were to be in readiness. Dunlop, Manners, and +myself had agreed to make for Dunlop's, as it was the nearest, and his +trap was to be ready that evening. + +"There were not many who believed in a mutiny that night. The villains, +only in the morning, having sworn to be faithful, deceived most of us, for +it was very hard to believe they could be capable of such diabolical +treachery. Swords and pistols were, of course, taken off, but instead of +being left in the anteroom, were brought into the messroom. Some fellows +put theirs in a corner, others against the wall behind them. I was sitting +between Dunlop and Manners, and we were, as it happened, at the corner +nearest the window fixed upon for the bolt. Things went on all right till +dinner was over, There was an insolent look about some of the servants' +faces I did not like, but nothing to take hold of. I pointed it out to +Dunlop, and we agreed that the plan arranged was the best possible; and +that, as resistance would be of no use, if at each of the eight large +windows and the two doors a stream of musketry fire were being poured in, +we would make a rush straight for the window. Presently the colonel rose +and gave 'The Queen.' We all rose, and as if--as I have no doubt it was-- +the toast was the signal, there was a sudden trampling in the veranda +outside, and at every window appeared a crowd of Sepoys, with their arms +in their hands. I shouted, 'To the window for your lives!' and without +stopping to get my sword, I dashed at the Sepoys who were there. Dunlop +and Manners were with me, and before the scoundrels had time to get their +guns to their shoulders, we were upon them. We are all big men; and our +weight and impetus, and the surprise, were too much for them; we burst +through them, standing as they did four or five deep, as if they had been +reeds. They gave a yell of rage and astonishment as they went down like +ninepins; but we scarcely saw it, for as we went through them the musketry +fire broke out round the messroom. + +[Illustration: BEFORE THE SCOUNDRELS HAD TIME TO GET THEIR GUNS TO THEIR +SHOULDERS, WE WERE UPON THEM.] + +"Whether any of the others tried to follow us, we don't know. I think most +of them forgot their arrangement, and rushed to their arms: certainly some +of them did so, for we heard the crack of revolvers between the rifle +shots. We made straight across the parade for Dunlop's bungalow, with +musket balls flying in all directions, as soon as the fellows we had gone +through recovered from their first astonishment; but they are not good +shots at the best, and a man running at his top speed is not an easy mark +by moonlight. We heard yells and musket shots all round, and knew that +while a part of the regiment was attacking us, parties were told off to +each bungalow. By the time we had got over the few hundred yards to +Dunlop's, the whistling of the bullets round us had pretty well ceased, +for the fellows had all emptied their muskets; besides, we were nearly out +of range. None of them were near us, for they had stopped in their run to +fire; they were too much interested in the massacre going on inside, and +we seemed pretty safe; when, just as I entered the gate of the compound, a +stray bullet hit me on the head, and down I went like a log. + +"Happily, the syce had proved faithful; he had been with Dunlop ever since +he joined the regiment, and Dunlop once risked his life to save him from a +tiger. There was the syce with the trap. He had not dared bring it out +till the first shot was fired, lest his fellow-servants, who were all +traitors, should stop it; but the instant it began, he came round. They +ran the horse up to where I was lying, lifted me in, and jumped in, and +drove out of the gate as a score of fellows from the mess-house came +making toward the bungalow. We had fifty yards' start, but they fired away +at us, a ball passing through the syce's leg as he scrambled up behind. +The horse went along at a gallop; but we were not safe, for parties were +carrying on their hellish work in every bungalow, Dunlop and Manners were +maddened by the screams they heard; and if it had not been for having me +under their charge, and by the thoughts of the girls, I believe they would +have jumped out and died fighting. A few of the black devils, hearing +wheels, ran out and fired; but we kept on at a full gallop till we were +well out of the place. A mile further Dunlop found the horse begin to +slacken his speed, and to go very leisurely. He jumped out to see what was +the matter, and found, as he expected, that the horse had been hit. He had +one bullet in the neck, another in the side. It was evident that it could +not go much further. They lifted me out and carried me to a patch of +bushes thirty yards from the road. The syce was told to drive on quietly +till the horse dropped. Dunlop gave him money and told him to meet us at +Meerut." + +"Why did you not keep him with you? he would have been very useful?" Dick +asked. + +"You see I wanted to get the trap as far away as possible before the horse +fell," Captain Dunlop said. "We did not know how severely wounded the +major was; indeed, we both feared he was killed; but the mutineers, when +they found the dead horse in the morning, were certain to make a search in +its neighbourhood, and would have found your father had he been close by +laid up with a wound." + +"Happily I now began to come to," the major went on, continuing his story. +"The ball was nearly spent, and had given me a nasty scalp wound, and had +stunned me, but I now began to come round. The instant I was able to +understand where I was or what had happened, Dunlop and Manners, who were +half-wild with excitement and grief, made me promise to lie quiet, while +they went back to see what had become of you all. Of course I consented. +They were away about three hours, for they had to make a circle of the +cantonments, as our bungalow was quite at the other end. They brought +cheering news. They had first been to the house, and found it utterly +destroyed as they expected. That told them nothing; for if you had been +killed, your bodies would probably have been burned with the house. Then +they went out to the tope of trees where it was agreed that you should, if +possible, first fly. Here they found a pocket-handkerchief of Rose's; and +going round to the other side, found by the marks upon the soil that four +of you had started together. With hearts immensely lightened by the +discovery that you had, at any rate, all escaped from the first massacre, +they hurried back to gladden me with the news. I was past understanding it +when they arrived, for the intense pain in my head and my terrible anxiety +about you had made me delirious. It would have been certain death to stay +so near the road, so they dipped their handkerchiefs in water, and tied +them round my head; and then supporting me, one on each side, they half- +dragged, half-carried, me to a deserted and half-ruinous cottage, about a +mile away. + +"Next day I was still feverish, but fortunately no one came near us. +Dunlop and Manners went out at night, and got a few bananas. Next morning +our regiment marched away; and Dunlop then appealed to an old cottager for +shelter and food for us all. He at once promised to aid us, and I was +removed to his cottage, where everything in his power was done for me. I +was now convalescent, and a day later we were talking of making a move +forward. That night, however, the cottage was surrounded--whether the +peasant himself or some one else betrayed us, we shall never know--but the +men that we saw there belonged to a regiment of mutineers that had marched +in that afternoon from Dollah. We saw at once that resistance was useless, +and we were, moreover, without arms. Had we had them, I have no doubt we +should have fought and been killed. As it was, we were bound and marched +into the camp at Sandynugghur. It was resolved to take us in triumph into +Delhi; and we were marched along with the regiment till you saw us. We had +talked over every conceivable plan of escape, and had determined that we +would try to-night, which will be the last halt before they get to Delhi. +It is very unlikely that we should have succeeded, but it was better to be +shot down than to be taken to Delhi and given over to the mob to torture +before they killed us. I am convinced we had no chance of really getting +off, and that you have saved our lives, just as Dunlop and Manners saved +mine, at the risk of their own, on that first night of our flight. And now +let us be on the march." + +They had not gone far before the three officers found that it was +impossible to walk in their Sepoy jackets. They accordingly took them off, +and slung them from their muskets. Ned and Dick were fairly fitted. They +halted for the night near the river, about ten miles above Delhi. In the +morning they were off early. By nine o'clock they stood on the bank of the +river, five miles higher up. + +The river is wide, or rather the bed of the river is wide, half a mile at +least; this in the rainy season is full to the brim, but at other times +the stream is not more than half that width. After crossing the river they +would have fifteen miles still to traverse to arrive at Meerut; and it was +probable that the whole intervening country was in the hands of the +Sepoys. + +"Had we not better keep this side of the river for a bit, father?" Ned +asked. + +"No, my boy; we will cross here after dark, and make straight for Meerut. +If we can't find a boat, we will each cut a large bundle of rushes, to act +as a lifebuoy and carry your guns and ammunition, and so swim across after +it is dark." + +"Well, major, as the sun is getting awfully hot, I vote we get into the +shade of those stunted trees, and have a nap till the afternoon. It won't +do to begin even to make the raft till the sun is down." + +Captain Dunlop's proposition was carried into effect; but it is +questionable whether any of the party slept much, for they were excited by +the thought that in a few hours they would be with friends, once more +soldiers instead of fugitives, with power to fight in defense of their +sovereign's dominions, and of the helpless women and children exposed to +the fury of the atrocious mutineers. With these thoughts mingled the +anxiety which was wearing them all, although each refrained from talking +about it, as to the safety of the girls, whose lives wore dependent upon +the fidelity of a native and his servants. + +Over and over again, since they met the boys, had they regretted that they +had not gone back to watch over them; but the fact that Rose might be +weeks before she was able to stand, and that, as their protector had said, +the presence of Europeans near them might be detected, and would be a +source of constant danger, convinced them that they had taken the proper +course. They knew, too, that in acting as they had done they were +performing their duty; and that at a moment when the fate of British India +trembled in the balance, the place of every soldier was by the side of the +British troops who still maintained the old flag flying in the face of +increasing numbers of the enemy. Still, although they knew that they were +doing their duty, and were, moreover, taking the wisest course, the +thoughts of the girls alone in the midst of danger, with one of them down +with fever, tried them terribly, and they longed with a fierce desire for +the excitement of work and of danger to keep them from thinking of it. + +"Here, boys, is a ear of Indian corn apiece; eat that and then get to +work." + +The frugal meal was soon over, and they then set to work, cutting down, +breaking off, and tearing up large reeds with which to make floats. The +boys had knives, but the others had been stripped of everything they had +at the time of their capture. In about an hour, however, five bundles were +made, each some six feet long and nearly three feet thick. The muskets and +ammunition pouches were fastened on these, and soon after it was quite +dark they entered the water. + +"There are no crocodiles, I hope," Dick whispered to Ned. + +"Nothing to fear in these large rivers; the chances of meeting one are +very small." + +"All right," Dick said. "Of course we've got to risk it. But they're as +bad as sharks; and sharks, as the Yankee said, is pison. Well, here goes." + +When the bundles were placed in the water they were lashed side by side +with long trailing creepers which grew abundantly among the rushes; and +they were thus secured from the risk of turning over from the weights on +the top. Upon the raft thus formed their clothes were placed, and then, +side by side, pushing it before them, the party shoved off from shore. In +twenty minutes they touched ground on the other side. They dressed, +examined their muskets to see if they were in good order, and then started +in the direction in which they knew Meerut to be. Several times they +paused and listened, for they could occasionally hear the noise of +galloping men, and it was evident that there were troops of some kind or +other moving about. + +They walked for some hours until they thought that they could not be far +from their destination, and had begun to congratulate themselves upon +being near their friends, when the sound of a strong body of men was heard +sweeping along the level plain across which they were now passing. + +"There is a small building ahead," the major said; "run for that; they are +coming across here." + +They were seen, for a shout of "Who goes there?" in Hindostanee was heard. + +"Give me your musket, Dick," Captain Dunlop exclaimed. For the lad, with +the weight of his musket and ammunition, could hardly keep up with the +others. + +Just in time they reached the building in front of them, rushed in, and +closed the door as the cavalry swept up. It was a small temple; a building +of massive construction, with one little window about six inches square, +and on the same side a strong door. + +"Pile everything against the door," the major cried. "Dunlop, fire at once +at them. Our only chance is to hold out with the hope that we may be +heard, and that some of our fellows may come to the rescue." + +Captain Dunlop fired just as the troopers dashed up to the door. + +"Now, Manners, steady, pick off your man," the major said, as, aided by +the boys, he jammed a beam of wood between the door and the wall, at such +an angle that, except by breaking it to pieces, the door could not be +forced. + +"Now," he said, "it's my turn;" and he fired into the enraged enemy. "Now, +Ned, steady. Are you loaded again, Dunlop?" + +"Yes, major; just ready." + +"Dick, you follow; take good aim." + +The cavalry answered their fire, every shot of which was taking effect, by +a confused discharge of their pistols at the door and window. + +"Draw off!" their leader shouted; "rear-rank men hold the horses, front- +rank men dismount and break in the door." + +The order was obeyed; and the troopers rushed forward on foot, and were +met by a steady fire, to which the straggling return of their pistols was +but an inefficient answer. Vainly the mutineers hacked at the door with +their sabers and struck it with their pommels. + +"Throw yourselves against it, all at once," cried their leader; and a +dozen men sent themselves against the door; it creaked and strained, but +the beam kept it in its place. + +"You keep up the fire through the window," said the major; "the boys and I +will fire through the door." + +Yells and shrieks followed each shot through the door, and after three or +four minutes the troopers drew off. + +"Any one hurt?" the major asked. + +"I have got a bullet in my shoulder," said Captain Dunlop. + +But that was the only reply. There was a shout outside, and Manners +exclaimed: "Confound the fellows, they have got a big log of wood that +will soon splinter the door." + +"We must stop them as long as we can," said the major, as he fired among +the men who were advancing with the log. + +Several Sepoys fell before they got up to the house, but they pressed on, +and, at the first blow given by the battering-ram driven by the men, the +door split from top to bottom. + +"Fix bayonets," the major said. "Now, Manners, you and I will hold them +back. Not more than two can come at once, and their swords are of no use +against bayonets in a narrow space. Dunlop, will you stand in reserve? you +have still got your right hand; use your bayonet as a dagger if a rush +comes. Boys, you go on loading and firing; put in four balls each time. If +they get in, of course use your bayonets; there goes the door!" + +A shout burst from the natives as the last portion of the door dropped +from its hinges, and the doorway was open. There was, however, no +inclination betrayed to make a rush. + +"Forward! Death to the infidel dogs!" shouted their officer. + +"Suppose you lead us," said one of the troopers; "the officers always show +the way." + +"Come, then," cried an old officer, on whose breast hung several medals; +"follow me!" + +Drawing his sword, he rushed forward, followed by twenty of his men. But +as he passed over the threshold he and the trooper next to him fell +beneath the bayonet thrusts of Major Warrener and his companion. The next +two, pushed forward by their comrades, shared the same fate; while, as +they fell, the muskets of Ned and Dick sent their contents into the mass. +The rest recoiled from the fatal doorway, while the defenders set up a +cheer of triumph. It was drowned in a crash of musketry, mingled with a +cry of surprise and despair from the natives, as a body of British +soldiers leaped from the wood, and followed their volley by an impetuous +charge. The cavalry on the plain turned and fled at a gallop; and in five +minutes, but for a few dark figures prostrate on the plain, not an enemy +was in sight. + +"Well, gentlemen, you have made a stout defense," the officer in command +said, as he returned to the shrine, outside which the little party had +gathered. "It seems as if you could have done without my help. Who are +you, may I ask? And where have you sprung from?" + +"Why, Sibbold, is it you? You haven't forgotten Warrener? And here are +Dunlop and Manners." + +"Hurrah!" shouted the officer. "Thank God, old fellows, you are saved; we +fancied that you had all gone down. I am glad;" and he shook hands +enthusiastically with his friends; while two of the officers, coming up, +joined in the hearty greeting. + +"Do those two men belong to your regiment?" Captain Sibbold asked. "If so, +they are wonders; for I don't know a case as yet where any of the men +proved true when the rest mutinied." + +"They are my sons," Major Warrener answered. + +"What?" exclaimed the other, laughing--believing that the major was +joking. + +"It's a fact, as you will see when they have got rid of the stains on +their faces," he replied; while Captain Dunlop added, "and two as fine +young fellows as ever stepped. Do you know that we three were prisoners, +and that these lads rescued us from the middle of a pandy regiment. If +they hadn't we should have been dead men before now. And now have you got +anything to eat at Meerut, for we are famishing? In the next place, I have +got a bullet in my shoulder, and shall enjoy my food all the more after it +has been taken out. Our stories are long and will keep. How go things +here?" + +"Not very brightly, Dunlop; however, that will keep, too; now let us be +off. Have we any casualties, sergeant?" he asked a non-commissioned +officer who came up for orders. + +"None, sir." + +"What is the enemy's loss?" + +"There are fifteen which can be fairly counted to us, sir, and nineteen +here." + +"That's a respectable total. Fall in, lads," he said to the men who had +gathered round, "and let us get back. You will be glad to hear that these +officers have escaped from the massacre at Sandynugghur." + +There was a hearty cheer of satisfaction from the men, for Englishmen were +knit very closely together in those terrible days. Then, falling in, the +two companies of the Sixtieth Rifles marched back again to their +cantonments at Meerut. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +A DASHING EXPEDITION. + + +On arriving at the cantonments, the party were soon surrounded by the +troops, who had been called under arms at the sound of distant firing, but +had been dismissed again on the arrival of a message to the effect that +the enemy had fled. The news had spread rapidly that some fugitives had +escaped from Sandynugghur, where it was supposed that the massacre had +been general; and officers pressed forward to shake their hands, and the +men uttered words of kindly congratulation and welcome. The greeting +swelled into a cheer as the detachment fell out, and, scattering among +their comrades, told of the desperate defense, and of the slaughter +inflicted upon the enemy by this handful of men. The fugitives were, of +course, taken first to the messroom, Captain Dunlop being, however, +carried off by the surgeon to his quarters, to have his wound examined and +attended to. + +It seemed almost like a dream to the worn and weary party, as they sat +down again to a table laid with all the brightness and comfort of +civilization, and felt that they were indeed safe among friends. Many were +the questions asked them by officers who had friends and acquaintances +among the military and civilians at Sandynugghur; and the fugitives +learned that they were, so far as was known, the only survivors from the +massacre. The story of their escape, and the safety of the girls, was told +briefly, and listened to with eager interest; and very deep and hearty +were the congratulations which the boys received for their share in the +history. In return, Major Warrener learned what had taken place in the +last ten days. + +The story was not reassuring; tidings of evil were coming from all parts. +As yet the number of stations where risings had taken place was +comparatively small; but the position was everywhere critical. In Agra, +Allahabad, and Benares, the attitude of the native troops and population +was more than doubtful. At Lucknow and Cawnpore every precaution was being +taken, but a rising was regarded as inevitable. In fact everywhere, save +in the Punjab, trouble had either come or was coming. General Anson was +collecting in all haste a force at Umballah, which was intended to advance +upon Delhi--where the ex-king had been proclaimed Emperor of India--but +his force would necessarily be an extremely small one; and no help could +possibly arrive up country for many weeks. There was therefore only the +Punjab to look to for aid. Happily, the troops of the Madras and Bombay +presidencies had so far remained faithful. + +"I suppose you have a good many men from Delhi, civilians and military, as +well as from other places?" + +"Oh, yes, we are crowded; every bungalow has been given up to the ladies, +and we all sleep under canvas." + +"I intend to ask leave to get up a troop of volunteers," Major Warrener +said; "in the first place to go out and bring in my daughter and niece, +and afterward to do any scouting or other duty that may be required." + +"There has already been a talk of forming the unattached officers and +civilians into a sort of irregular cavalry, so I should think that you +will get leave; but it will be a hazardous business to make your way +eighty miles through the country, especially as the mutineers are marching +in all directions toward Delhi." + +The next morning Major Warrener obtained permission, without difficulty, +to carry out his scheme; and the news no sooner was known through the +cantonments that a body of irregular horse was to be formed for scouting +and general purposes, and that unattached officers might, until they +received further orders, join it, than the tent which had been assigned to +Major Warrener was besieged by men anxious to join a corps which seemed +likely to afford them a chance of striking an early blow at the mutineers. + +Hitherto, the officers who had escaped from Delhi and other stations, +those who had come in from police duties in isolated districts, and +civilians, both merchants and government officials, had been fretting that +they could not be doing something to aid the great work of holding India, +and punishing those who had murdered their friends and relations. Major +Warrener's Light Horse, as it was to be called, afforded the opportunity +desired, and by the next morning eighty-five volunteers had enrolled +themselves. Some thirty-five of these were officers, the rest civilians. +Many of them had ridden in, others had driven, so that most of them were +already provided with horses. An appeal was made to the officers of the +Meerut garrison, and to the civilians resident there, to give up any +horses they might be able to spare for the public service, while others +were bought from friendly zemindars. In a week the troop were all mounted, +and during this time they had worked hard to acquire a sufficient amount +of cavalry drill to enable them to perform such simple evolutions as might +be necessary. Major Warrener divided the squadron into two troops, each +with a captain and subaltern; all these officers being cavalrymen, as were +the officers who did duty as sergeants. Thus Major Warrener had the +general command, each troop being maneuvered by its own officers. In the +ranks as simple privates were two majors and a dozen captains--among these +latter, Captain Manners. Captain Dunlop was for the present in the +surgeon's hands; but he was resolved that when the time came for a start +for the rescue of the girls he would take his place in the ranks. The boys +of course formed part of the troop. The uniform was simple, consisting +simply of a sort of Norfolk jacket made of karkee, a kind of coarse brown +holland of native make. Each man carried a revolver, and sword belt of +brown leather. Their headgear was a cap of any kind, wrapped round and +round with the thick folds of a brown puggaree. Beyond the Norfolk jacket +and puggaree there was no actual uniform. Most of the men had hunting +breeches, many had high boots, others had gaiters; but these were minor +points, as were the horses' equipments. + +Nothing had been said as to the intended expedition to bring in the +fugitives, as native spies might have carried the news to the rebels, and +so caused a renewed search to be made for their hiding-place. There was, +therefore, a deep feeling of satisfaction, as well as of surprise, when, +on the tenth day after the formation of the corps, the men were told, on +being dismissed from morning parade, that the squadron would parade for +duty at evening gunfire; that each man was to be provided with a blanket +and a haversack, with cooked food sufficient for four days, and a bag with +twenty pounds of forage for his horse, each horse to be well fed before +coming on parade. + +Had the route been free from enemies, the distance might have been done in +two long night marches; but it would be necessary to make a detour on +starting, so as to avoid striking the main road, as on the way out it was +all-important to avoid detection, as the enemy might muster in such +strength that their return would be difficult and dangerous in the +extreme. The girls once in their hands, the return journey would be easy, +as they could avoid any infantry, and had no fear of being able to cut +their way through any body of cavalry whom they might accidentally come +across, especially as they would have all the advantage of a surprise. +Half an hour after sunset the squadron rode out from the lines at Meerut, +amid a hearty cheer from the many troops at the station, who, hearing that +Warrener's Light Horse were off on an expedition against the mutineers, +had assembled to see the start. Major Warrener rode at the head of the +squadron, with Captain Kent, who commanded the first troop, by his side, +and behind them came two native guides well acquainted with the country. +These had been dressed in the uniform of a native cavalry regiment, in +order that if they passed any village and were challenged, they could ride +forward and represent the troop as a body of native cavalry sent out from +Delhi on a mission to a friendly rajah. The precaution was unnecessary. +During two long night marches, with occasional halts to rest the horses, +they rode without interruption. They passed through several villages; but +although the tramp of the horses and the rattle of sabers must have been +heard by the inhabitants, none stirred, for the mutineers took what they +wanted without paying, and were already behaving as masters of the +country; and even thus early the country people were beginning to doubt +whether the fall of the English Raj, and the substitution of the old +native rule, with its war, its bloodshed, and its exactions, was by any +means a benefit, so far as the tillers of the soil were concerned. Just +before morning, on the third day, the troop halted in a thick grove, +having watered their horses at a tank a half-hour before. They had ridden +some seventy miles, and were, they calculated, about fifteen miles from +the place where they had left the girls. It might have been possible to +push on at once, but the day was breaking, and it would have been +inexpedient to tire out the horses when they might want all their speed +and strength on the return journey. Very slowly passed the day. Most of +the men, after seeing to their horses and eating some food, threw +themselves down and slept soundly. But Major Warrener, his sons, and +Captains Dunlop and Manners were far too anxious to follow their example, +for some time. It was more than a fortnight since the boys had left the +ladies, and so many things, of which they hardly dare think, might have +happened since. + +"Don't let us talk about it any more," Major Warrener said at last; "we +only add to each other's anxiety. Now, Dunlop, you must positively lie +down; you know Johnson said it was mad in you to get on horseback till +your bone had set firmly, and that it was ten to one in favor of +inflammation coming on again. You have much to go through yet." + +[Illustration: AFTER FIVE MINUTES' RIDING, THEY DREW UP THEIR HORSES WITH +A CRY OF DISMAY.] + +Gradually sleepiness overcame excitement, and with the exception of ten +men told off as sentries and to look after the horses, the whole party +slept quietly for some hours. It had been determined to start in time to +arrive at the farmhouse before it was dark, as the boys required daylight +to enable them to recognize the locality; besides which it was advisable +to get as far back upon the return journey as possible before daybreak. +The boys were now riding in front with their father. + +"That is the wood," Ned said presently. "I know by those three palm trees +growing together in a clump, at a short distance in advance. I noticed +them particularly." + +"Where is the house?" Major Warrener asked. + +"We ought to see the house," Dick said, and he looked at his brother +apprehensively. + +"Yes," Ned said; "we certainly ought to see it." + +"You are sure you are not mistaken in the locality?" their father asked. + +"Quite sure," the boys answered together; "but the house----" + +"Let us gallop on," Major Warrener said, catching the fear which was +expressed in each of his sons' faces. + +Five minutes' riding, and they drew up their horses with a cry of dismay. +A large patch of wood ashes marked the spot where the house had stood. No +words were needed; the truth was apparent; the fugitives had been +discovered, and the abode of their protectors destroyed. Their two friends +joined the little group, and the rest of the troop dismounted at a short +distance, respecting the deep pain which the discovery had caused to their +leader. + +"What is to be done?" Major Warrener asked, breaking the deep silence. + +For a moment no one answered; and then Dick said: + +"Perhaps we may find some of the farmer's people in the hut where we +slept, and we may get news from them." + +"A capital thought, Dick," said Major Warrener. "We must not give up hope; +there are no bodies lying about, so the farm people are probably alive. As +to the girls, if they are carried off we must rescue them. Where is the +hut?" + +A few minutes' walking brought them to it. Even before they reached it it +was evident that it was inhabited, for two or three peons were squatted +near the door. These rose on seeing the group of Englishmen, but made no +attempt at flight. They entered the hut without ceremony, and Ned and Dick +hurried to the side of an old man lying on a heap of straw, while some +females standing near hastily veiled themselves at the entrance of the +strangers. + +"Where are the girls? what has happened? are you hurt?" were the three +questions poured out rapidly by Ned, as the boy seized the old man's +hands. + +"Is it you, sahibs? I am glad, indeed. I did not break my promise to come +and tell you; but as you see," and he pointed to the bandage which +enveloped his head, "I was wounded, and am still ill." + +"But the girls?" asked Ned. + +"They have been carried off by the troops of the Rajah of Nahdoor." + +"How long since?" + +"Thursday, sahib." + +"How far off is Nahdoor?" + +"Ten miles, sahib." + +Major Warrener now took up the interrogation. + +"How is the one who was ill?" + +"She was better, and was getting stronger again when they carried her +off." + +"Do you think they are still at Nahdoor? or that they have been sent into +Delhi?" + +"They are still there," the Hindoo said. "I have sent a man each day to +watch, so that directly I got better I might be able to tell you the truth +of the matter. My servant has just returned; they had not left at three +o'clock, and they would be sure not to start after that hour. The rajah +will go with his troops in a few days to pay his respects to the emperor; +he will probably take the _mem_ sahibs with him." + +"Thank God for that," Major Warrener said. "If they have not yet been +taken to that horrible den of murder we will save them. I am the father of +one, and the other is my niece," he said to the zemindar; "and I owe their +lives so far to you. The debt of gratitude I can never pay to you--or to +your wife and daughter," he added, turning to the women, who, their first +impulse of alarm over, had now, in the presence of friends, uncovered +their faces, for it is only the higher class of Hindoo women who closely +veil--"for your care in nursing my niece, and for giving them shelter, +when to do so was to risk your lives. This debt I can never pay; but the +losses you have sustained in the destruction of your house, and the loss +of animals, I can happily more than replace. And now tell me how it +happened." + +"It was late in the afternoon," the Hindoo said, "when a body of horse +galloped across the field to my door. Their captain rode up to me. 'Are +there any Feringhees hid here, old man?' he asked. 'I have seen no man of +the white race since the troubles began,' I said; and you know I spoke not +falsely. 'I must search the house,' he said; 'there are a party of +fugitives hiding somewhere in this district, and the orders from Delhi are +strict that every Feringhee is to be hunted down and sent there.' 'You +will find no one here,' I said, 'but my women, one of whom is sick.' 'I +must see them,' he said; and he knocked loudly at the door of the women's +room, and ordered them to come out. My wife and daughter came to the door. +'Where is the one who is said to be sick?' he said; 'I must see her too.' +Then, seeing that he was determined to enter, the young _mem_ sahib came +to the door. The captain gave a shout of pleasure; calling in his men, he +entered the room, and, in spite of the entreaties of her sister, brought +the one who was sick out also. She was able to walk, but, as we had agreed +between us should be done if discovery was made, she pretended that she +was almost at the point of death. Some poles were got; a hammock was made; +and borne by four bearers, she was carried away, her sister being placed +on a horse closely guarded. As he turned to ride off the captain's eye +fell upon me. 'Ah! old traitor!' he said; 'I had forgotten you!' and he +drew a pistol and fired at me. I know no more; his men put fire to the +barn and granaries, and drove off our cattle and horses. When he had +ridden off my servants--who thought I was dead--by order of my sorrowing +wife carried me here. Happily, however, by the will of Brahma, the bullet, +instead of going through my skull, glanced off, and I was only stunned. I +had lost much blood, but I determined to set out as soon as I could walk +to bring you the news, and in the meantime have had a watch kept upon +Nahdoor." + +Major Warrener and his sons thanked the old peasant and his family in the +warmest terms for what they had done, and the former pressed upon the +farmer a sum of money which would cover all the losses he had sustained. + +"Your conduct," he said, "will be reported to the government, and you will +find when these troubles are over that England knows how to reward those +who proved faithful when so many were faithless. Now we will say adieu. +When the war is over the ladies you have so kindly treated will themselves +return to thank you." + +In a few minutes the troop was in the saddle again, and directed its march +toward Nahdoor. + +On the way Major Warrener questioned his guide as to the strength and +position of the fortress, which lay away from the main road, and had not +been visited by any of the troop--as the major had ascertained before +starting. The account was not reassuring. The guide reported that it stood +on a rock, which rose perpendicularly some eighty or a hundred feet from +the plain; the only access being by a zigzag road cut in the face of the +cliff, with a gateway defended by a gun, and loopholed walls at each turn, +and with a very strong wall all round the edge of the rock. The garrison, +they had learned from the persons at the farm, was some three hundred +strong, the ordinary number of retainers being at present increased by +many fighting men, who had within the last few days joined the rajah, on +hearing that he was going to march to Delhi to fight under the emperor +against the Feringhees. + +The troop halted in a wood three miles from Nahdoor; as the guide said +that there was no place nearer where they could be concealed without a +certainty of discovery. + +Before morning Major Warrener and his second in command put on native +clothes, which the former bad brought with him, in case it should be +necessary to open communication with the girls, and left the wood with one +of the native guides. The disguises were not meant to deceive close +investigation, and no attempt was made to change the color of the skin, +but they were sufficient to enable the wearers to pass without exciting +suspicion by any one who only saw them at a distance. + +When morning broke they stood within half a mile of the fortress, which +answered exactly to the description they had received of it. Gradually-- +keeping always at a distance, and availing themselves as far as possible +of cover--they made a circuit of the place, and then returned to the +troop, who were anxiously awaiting their report. + +"It is a very hard nut to crack," Major Warrener said to his sons. "There +is no possibility of climbing the rock anywhere, or of attacking in any +way except by the regular ascent. There are eight gateways to be forced +before arriving at the main entrance through the walls. We should require +petards to blow in gates, and ought to have field guns to drive them out +of the gate-houses. I do not say it would be absolutely impossible, +because before now British troops have done what seemed impossible in +India; but the difficulties would be so enormous, the risk of failure so +great, and the loss certainly so crushing, that I should not be justified +in undertaking such a desperate adventure on my own responsibility, and +for my own private ends. We have no right, boys, to cause the loss of some +thirty or forty of these fine young fellows, even to rescue the girls. An +attack by surprise is the only possibility. At present we don't see the +way, but something may turn up to help us. Failing that, our only plan is +to wait till the rajah starts with his following and the girls for Delhi, +and then to attack them on their way. The drawback to this is that he may +not leave for days, and that at any moment we may be discovered. Besides, +there is the difficulty of feeding the horses and ourselves. Now, boys, +you know as much as I do. Think it over while I have a talk with Dunlop +and Manners." + +"Manners is at the other end of the wood, father, half a mile away. We +found, after you had gone, that the main Delhi road ran through the +further skirts of the wood, so Manners suggested to Lieutenant Simmons +that he should go with ten men and hide there, so that they could see who +went along the road and perhaps intercept some messenger between Delhi and +Nahdoor." + +"A capital idea," Major Warrener said. + +Two hours later Captain Manners returned with his party, bringing in two +prisoners. + +"Who have you there, Manners?" Major Warrener asked. + +"Two of the rascally Third Cavalry, who mutinied at Meerut. This fellow, +as you see, is a native officer; there were two of them and two sowars, +but they showed fight when we surrounded them, and tried to ride through +us, so we had to shoot two of them. They are bearers of a letter from the +Delhi prince to the rajah. Here it is." + +Major Warrener looked sternly at the prisoners, who were still wearing +their British uniform, and then ordered them to be taken away and hung at +once. + +"What did you do with the others, Manners?" + +"We hid their bodies under some bushes at a distance from the road." + +"You must go back," the major said, "with another; take Larkin with you. +You must strip off the uniforms and bring them here." + +Half an hour later Major Warrener summoned the captains of his two troops, +and took them into council. + +"Nothing could be more fortunate than this capture," he said; "it seems to +clear the way for us altogether. What I propose to do is this: that two of +the best linguists of the troop, with the two native guides, should dress +in the uniforms of these scoundrels. They can then go boldly in with the +letter from the prince. They will of course be well received, and will +stay for the night. The two who go as officers will be entertained by the +rajah, and will learn the plan of the state apartments; the other two will +be made welcome by the retainers. When all is quiet at night they must +steal out and wait on the wall. That projecting watch-tower that overhangs +the cliff on the other side would be the best. We will be below. Then a +rope must be lowered. We have two long picketing ropes, either of which +would be long enough, but they would be too bulky to carry in without +suspicion. Our native guides, however, will soon tear up some cloth, and +twist a rope not much thicker than string, but strong enough to hold the +rope. Then the string can be twisted round the body without fear of +detection, and when the time comes lowered, with a stone at the end. We +shall be below with a strong rope ladder, made with the picket-ropes and +bamboo staves; and once fixed, we shall be up in no time. I leave it to +you to decide who are the best linguists. They must of course be asked if +they are willing to undertake it. I will speak to the guides. What do you +think of the general plan?" + +"Excellent," the officers said. "It might be as well," one suggested, +"that each of the party should have a light rope wound round him, so that +if one, two, or even three could not slip away, the fourth could still +carry out the plan." + +Some other details were arranged, and then the officers went to pick out +the two men who could best pass as natives. There was no difficulty upon +this score, for two of the troop, who had for years commanded large police +districts, spoke the language as perfectly as natives, and these, upon +being asked, readily accepted the duty. The work of making the rope +ladders, and the light ropes for hauling them up, was entered upon, and by +sunset all were ready for the expedition. + +It was fortunate that they had no longer to stay in the wood, for during +the day five or six natives who came in to gather wood had to be seized +and bound, and it was certain that a search would be set on foot there +next morning. Fortunately a large field of Indian corn bordered one side +of the wood, and from this both man and horse had satisfied their hunger. + +Every detail of the plan was carefully considered and discussed, so that +no mistake could occur; and each of the principal actors in the piece had +his part assigned to him. The two native guides, who had themselves served +as soldiers in native regiments, consented willingly to perform their +parts, and just at sunset the two officers and men rode off to Nahdoor, +bearing the letter from the prince of Delhi to the rajah. + +There was high feasting in Nahdoor that night. The rajah had received with +all honor the officers from Delhi. The letter from the prince had promised +him a high command in the army which was to exterminate the last infidel +from the land. It had thanked him for the capture of the white women, and +had begged him to bring them on with him to Delhi, and to come at once +with his own force. From the officers the rajah had heard how the mutiny +was everywhere a success, and that at Lucknow and Cawnpore the troops +would rise in a day or two and massacre all the whites. The evening ended +early, for the officers from Delhi were fatigued with their long ride, and +being shown into a little square marble-lined room off the great hall +where they had supped, were soon apparently asleep on the cushions and +shawls spread for them. The rajah retired to his apartments, and his +officers to their quarters; and although for another hour talking and +laughing went on round the little fires in the courtyard, presently these +too were hushed, and a profound stillness fell upon Nahdoor. Then, +barefooted, the officers from Delhi stole out of their apartment and made +for the outer wall. As they had anticipated, they found no one about; +beyond a sentry at the lower gate there would be no watch kept, and they +reached the watch-tower on the wall without the slightest interruption. +Here two other figures had already arrived, and after throwing down some +small stones as a signal, which was answered by a faint whistle, the ropes +were lowered without delay. One of them was soon seized from below, and +the others being also found and fastened to the rope ladder, the weight of +which was considerable, those above began to draw up. Everything succeeded +admirably. One by one fifty men appeared at the top of the wall. Quietly +they made their way down to the courtyard, and broke up into parties, +taking their places at the entrance to the various buildings; then, all +further need for concealment being at an end, a bugle call sounded loud in +the air. It was answered by another down upon the plain near the gate. The +rajah himself was one of the first to rash out. He was seized and disarmed +before he was aware of what had happened. + +"Tell your men to throw down their arms and surrender," Major Warrener +said to him, "or we will put you and every soul here to the sword. The +place is surrounded, and there is no escape. Do you not hear our bugles on +the plain?" + +It needed not the rajah's order; the garrison, taken utterly by surprise, +and finding the castle captured by an enemy of unknown strength, threw +down their arms as they came out of their quarters. Orders were sent by +the rajah to the men at the various gates on the hill to come up and lay +down their arms, and the sentry at the lowest of all was to open it to the +troops there. A bugler and ten men were left below, and the rest joined +the party in the castle. + +Long ere they had arrived, the joyful meeting of the captives and their +friends had taken place. Rose and Kate had awoke at the sound of the +bugle, but had heeded it little, believing that it was only a Sepoy call. +Even the stir and commotion outside had not disturbed them, and they had +lain quiet until they heard a loud knocking at the door of the women's +apartments, followed by screams from the women, and then--they could +scarcely believe their ears--their names shouted in Major Warrener's +voice. With a cry of delight both sprang up, and seizing shawls, rushed to +the door, and in another moment Kate was in the arms of her father. + +"We are all here, dear," he said, after the first wild greeting--"the +boys, and Dunlop, and Manners. Hurry on your clothes, darlings; they are +longing to see you." + +The garrison of the castle were all collected in one of the smaller +courts, where twenty troopers, revolver in hand, kept guard over them. The +whole of the arms found in the castle were broken to pieces and thrown +over the walls, and the cannon planted there were first spiked and then +pitched over. The guns on the gates were similarly rendered useless, and +the stores of gunpowder all wetted. The rajah and his two sons, boys of +six and eight, were then told to prepare to accompany the troops, and +warning was given that they would be shot in case an attack was made upon +the force as it returned to Meerut. + +"Tell your followers this," Major Warrener said, "and order them to give +no alarm, or to spread the news; for if we are caught your life and that +of your sons will pay forfeit. As it is, you may hope for clemency. You +have as yet taken no part in the insurrection; and although there is no +doubt of your intention, your good conduct in the future may, perhaps, +wipe out the memory of your faults." + +It needs not to say anything of the rapturous greeting of the girls and +their brothers and lovers, or the happy half-hour which was spent together +in the great hall while the preparations for the departure were being made +outside. Captain Kent saw to all that there was to be done, leaving the +major free to join the happy party within. + +"Are you strong enough to ride, Rose?" + +"Oh, I think so, uncle; I have been shamming ill, and they thought I could +not walk; but I am pretty strong, and if I can't ride by myself I must be +tied on to some one else." + +"I dare say my horse will carry double," Captain Manners said, laughing. + +"Have the women here been kind?" Major Warrener asked. + +The girls shook their heads: + +"Not very, papa; they have been talking of Delhi;" and Kate shuddered. + +The major frowned; he could guess what they must have suffered. He went to +the door. + +"Kent, order the women out of the _zenana_ into one of the other rooms. +Tell them that they will all be searched as they come out, and that if one +brings out an ornament or a jewel with her she will be put to death. Of +course you will not search them; but the threat will do. Let no insult be +offered them. Then let Rivers take four men, and go in, and take all the +loot you can find. The jewels we will divide among the men when at Meerut. +Tell off another party to loot the rest of the rooms, but only take what +is really valuable and portable. We cannot cumber ourselves with baggage. +It would serve the rajah right if I were to burn his castle down; he may +think himself lucky to get off with his life." + +The girls pleaded for the women. "We bear them no ill-feeling," they said. +"They are very ignorant; they only acted as they were taught." + +"Well, well," said the major, "we will take the jewels alone; they are a +fair loot." + +Another hour and the troops were already well on their way on the Delhi +road. The good luck which had attended them so far followed them to the +end. Anxious to avoid an encounter with the enemy, they took an even more +circuitous route than that by which they had come, and on the fourth +afternoon after leaving rode into Meerut, where their arrival after the +long and successful expedition created quite an excitement. A comfortable +house was found for the girls, with some old friends of the major, who +resided permanently at Meerut; as for the major and his troops, they +prepared to accompany the column which was on the point of marching +against Delhi. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +DELHI. + + +Never did a government or a people meet a terrible disaster with a more +undaunted front than that displayed by the government and British +population of India when the full extent of the peril caused by the rising +of the Sepoys was first clearly understood. By the rising of Delhi, and of +the whole country down to Allahabad, the northern part of India was +entirely cut off from Calcutta, and was left wholly to its own resources. +Any help that could be spared from the capital was needed for the menaced +garrisons of Allahabad, Benares, and Agra, while it was certain that the +important stations of Cawnpore and Lucknow, in the newly-annexed province +of Oude, would at best be scarcely able to defend themselves, and would in +all probability urgently require assistance. Thus the rebel city of Delhi, +the center and focus of the insurrection, was safe from any possibility of +a British advance from the south. Nor did it look as if the position of +the English was much better in the north. At Sealkote, Lahore, and many +other stations, the Sepoys mutinied, and the Sikh regiments were +disturbed, and semi-mutinous. It was at this all-important moment that the +fidelity of two or three of the great Sikh chieftains saved British India. +Foremost of them was the Rajah of Puttiala, who, when the whole Sikh +nation was wavering as to the course it should take, rode into the nearest +British station with only one retainer, and offered his whole force and +his whole treasury to the British government. A half-dozen other prominent +princes instantly followed the example; and from that moment Northern +India was not only safe, but was able to furnish troops for the siege of +Delhi. The Sikh regiments at once returned to their habitual state of +cheerful obedience, and served with unflinching loyalty and bravery +through the campaign. + +Not a moment was lost, as it was all-important to make an appearance +before Delhi, and so, by striking at the heart of the insurrection, to +show the waverers all over India that we had no idea of giving up the +game. The main force was collected at Umballah, under General Anson. +Transport was hastily got together, and in the last week of May this force +moved forward, while a brigade from Meerut advanced to effect a junction +with it. With this latter force were Warrener's irregular horse, which had +returned only the evening before the advance from its successful +expedition to Nahdoor. On the 30th of May the Meerut force under +Brigadier-General Wilson came in contact with the enemy at Ghazee-ud-deen- +Nugghur, a village fifteen miles from Delhi, where there was a suspension +bridge across the Hindur. This fight, although unimportant in itself, is +memorable as being the first occasion upon which the mutineers and the +British troops met. Hitherto the Sepoys had had it entirely their own way. +Mutiny, havoc, murder, had gone on unchecked; but now the tide was to +turn, never to ebb again until the Sepoy mutiny was drowned in a sea of +blood. Upon this, their first meeting with the white troops, the Sepoys +were confident of success. They were greatly superior in force; they had +been carefully drilled in the English system; they were led by their +native regimental officers; and they had been for so many years pampered +and indulged by government, that they regarded themselves, as being, man +for man, fully equal to the British. Thus, then, they began to fight with +a confidence of victory which, however great their superiority in numbers, +was never again felt by the mutineers throughout the war. Upon many +subsequent occasions they fought with extreme bravery, but it was the +bravery of despair; whereas the British soldiers were animated with a +burning desire for vengeance, and an absolute confidence of victory. Thus +the fight at Ghazee-ud-deen-Nugghur is a memorable one in the annals of +British India. + +The mutineers, seeing the smallness of the British force, at first +advanced to the attack; but they were met with such fury by four companies +of the Sixtieth Rifles, supported by eight guns of the artillery, by the +Carbineers and Warrener's Horse, that, astounded and dismayed, they broke +before the impetuous onslaught, abandoned their intrenchments, threw a way +their arms, and fled, leaving five guns in the hands of the victors, and +in many cases not stopping in their flight until they reached the gates of +Delhi. The next day considerable bodies of fresh troops came out to renew +the attack; but the reports of the fugitives of the day before, of the +fury and desperation with which the British troops were possessed, had +already effected such an impression that they did not venture upon close +fighting, but after engaging in an artillery duel at long distances, fell +back again to Delhi. + +On the 7th of June the Meerut force joined that from Umballah, at Alipore, +a short march from Delhi; and the next morning the little army, now under +the command of Sir H. Barnard--for General Anson, overwhelmed by work and +responsibility, had died a few days before advanced upon the capital of +India, After four miles march they came at Badulee-Ka-Serai upon the +enemy's first line of defense, a strong intrenched position, held by three +thousand Sepoys with twelve guns. These pieces of artillery were much +heavier than the British field guns, and as they opened a heavy fire, they +inflicted considerable damage upon our advancing troops. The British, +however, were in no humor for distant fighting; they panted to get at the +murderers of women and children--these men who had shot down in cold blood +the officers, whose only fault had been their too great kindness to, and +confidence in them. Orders were given to the Seventy-fifth to advance at +once and take the position; and that regiment, giving a tremendous cheer, +rushed forward with such impetuosity through the heavy fire that, as at +Ghazee-ud-deen-Nugghur, the Sepoys were seized with a panic, and fled in +wild haste from their intrenchments, leaving their cannon behind them. + +At the foot of the steep hill on which the signal tower stands, another +and stronger line of defense had been prepared; but the mutineers +stationed here were infected by the wild panic of the fugitives from the +first position, and so, deserting their position, joined in the flight +into the city. + +The British troops had marched from their encampment at Alipore at one in +the morning, and by nine A.M. the last Sepoy disappeared within the walls +of the town, and the British flag flew out on the signal tower on the +Ridge, almost looking down upon the rebel city, and the troops took up +their quarters in the lines formerly occupied by the Thirty-eighth, Fifty- +fourth, and Seventy-fourth native regiments. As the English flag blew out +to the wind from the signal tower, a thrill of anxiety must have been felt +by every one in Delhi, from the emperor down to the lowest street ruffian. +So long as it waved there it was a proof that the British Raj was not yet +overthrown--that British supremacy, although sorely shaken, still asserted +itself--and that the day of reckoning and retribution would, slowly +perhaps, but none the less surely, come for the blood-stained city. Not +only in Delhi itself, but over the whole of India, the eyes of the +population were turned toward that British flag on the Ridge. Native and +British alike recognized the fact that English supremacy in India depended +upon its maintenance. That England would send out large reinforcements all +knew, but they also knew that many an anxious week must elapse before the +first soldier from England could arrive within striking distance. If the +native leaders at Delhi, with the enormously superior forces at their +command, could not drive off their besiegers and pluck down the flag from +the Ridge, the time must come when, with the arrival of the +reinforcements, the tide would begin to flow against them. So India +argued, and waited for the result. The Delhi leaders, as well as the +English, felt the importance of the issue, and the one never relaxed their +desperate efforts to drive back the besiegers--the other with astonishing +tenacity held on against all odds; while scores of native chiefs hesitated +on the verge, waiting, until they saw the end of the struggle at Delhi. It +was called the siege of Delhi, but it should rather have been called the +siege of the Ridge, for it was our force rather than that of the enemy +which was besieged. Never before in the history of the world did three +thousand men sit down before a great city inhabited by a quarter of a +million bitterly hostile inhabitants, and defended moreover by strong +walls, a very powerful artillery, and a well-drilled and disciplined +force, at first amounting to some ten thousand men, but swelled later on, +as the mutineers poured in from all quarters, to three times that force. +Never during the long months which the struggle lasted did we attempt to +do more than to hold our own. The city was open to the enemy at all sides, +save where we held our footing; large forces marched in and out of the +town; provisions and stores poured into it; and we can scarcely be said to +have fired a shot at it until our batteries opened to effect a breach a +few days before the final assault. + +The troops with which Sir H. Barnard arrived before Delhi consisted of the +Seventy-fifth Regiment, six companies of the Sixtieth Rifles, the First +Bengal Fusiliers, six companies of the Second Fusiliers--both composed of +white troops--the Sirmoor battalion of Goorkhas, the Sixth Dragoon Guards +(the Carbineers), two squadrons of the Ninth Lancers, and a troop or two +of newly-raised irregular horse. The artillery consisted of some thirty +pieces, mostly light field-guns. + +Upon the day following the occupation of the Ridge a welcome accession of +strength was received by the arrival of the Guides, a picked corps +consisting of three troops of cavalry and six companies of infantry. This +little force had marched five hundred and eighty miles in twenty-two days, +a rate of twenty-six miles a day, without a break--a feat probably +altogether without example, especially when it is considered that it took +place in India, and in the hottest time of the year. + +The Ridge, which occupies so important a place in the history of the siege +of Delhi, is a sharp backed hill, some half a mile long, rising abruptly +from the plain. From the top a splendid view of Delhi, and of the country, +scattered with mosques and tombs--the remains of older Delhi--can be +obtained. The cantonments lay at the back of this hill, a few posts only, +such as Hindoo Rao's house, being held in advance. Until the work of +building batteries and regularly commencing the siege should begin, it +would have been useless putting the troops unnecessarily under the fire of +the heavy guns of the city bastions. + +When the troops had fairly taken possession of the old native lines on the +8th of June many of them, as soon as dismissed from duty, made their way +up to the flagstaff tower, on the highest point of the Ridge, to look down +upon Delhi. Among those who did so were Major Warrener and his two sons. +Both uttered an exclamation of pleasure as the city came into view: + +"What a superb city!" + +Delhi is indeed a glorious city as viewed from the Ridge. It is surrounded +by a lofty crenelated wall, strengthened with detached martello towers, +and with eleven bastions, each mounting nine guns, the work of our own +engineers, but in admirable architectural keeping with the towers. +Conspicuous, on a high table rock rising almost perpendicularly in the +heart of the city, is the Jumma Musjid, the great mosque, a superb pile of +building, with its domes and minarets. To the left, as viewed from the +Ridge, is the great mass of the king's palace--a fortress in itself--with +its lofty walls and towers, and with its own mosques and minarets. These +rise thickly, too, in other parts, while near the palace the closely- +packed houses cease, and lofty trees rise alone there. The Ridge lies on +the north of the city, and opposite to it is the Cashmere gate, through +which our storming parties would rush later on; and away, a little to the +right, is the Lahore gate, through which the enemy's sorties were +principally made. On the left of the Ridge the ground is flat to the +river, which sweeps along by the wall of the town and palace. There are +two bridges across it, and over them the exulting mutineers were for weeks +to pass into the city--not altogether unpunished, for our guns carried +that far, and were sometimes able to inflict a heavy loss upon them as +they passed, with music playing and flags flying, into the town. + +"A glorious city!" Ned Warrener said, as they looked down upon it. "What a +ridiculous handful of men we seem by the side of it! It is like Tom Thumb +sitting down to besiege the giant's castle. Why, we should be lost if we +got inside!" + +"Yes, indeed, Ned," said his father; "there will be no possibility of our +storming that city until our numbers are greatly increased; for if we +scaled the walls by assault, which we could no doubt do, we should have to +fight our way through the narrow streets, with barriers and barricades +everywhere; and such a force as ours would simply melt away before the +fire from the housetops and windows. There is nothing so terrible as +street fighting; and drill and discipline are there of comparatively +little use. The enemy will naturally fight with the desperation of rats in +a hole: and it would be rash in the extreme for us to make the attempt +until we are sure of success. A disastrous repulse here would entail the +loss of all India. The news is worse and worse every day from all the +stations of the northwest; and as the mutineers are sure to make for +Delhi, the enemy will receive reinforcements vastly more rapidly than we +shall, and it will be all we shall be able to do to hold our own here. We +may be months before we take Delhi." + +"I hope they won't keep us here all that time," Dick said, "for cavalry +can't do much in a siege; besides, the ground is all cut up into gardens +and inclosures, and we could not act, even if we had orders to do so." + +"We may be very useful in going out to bring convoys in," Major Warrener +replied, "and to cut off convoys of the enemy, to scout generally, and to +bring in news; still, I agree with you, Dick, that I hope we may be sent +off for duty elsewhere. Hullo! what's that?" + +As he spoke a sudden fire broke out from the walls and bastions; shot and +shell whizzed over their heads, many of them plunging down behind the +Ridge, among the troops who were engaged in getting up their tents; while +a crackling fire of musketry broke out in the gardens around Hindoo Rao's +house, our advanced post on the right front. + +"A sortie!" exclaimed the major. "Come along, boys." And those who had +gathered around the flagstaff dashed down the hill to join their +respective corps. The Sixtieth Rifles, however, of whom two companies held +Hindoo Rao's, repulsed the sortie, and all calmed down again; but the +enemy's artillery continued to play, and it was evident that the foe had +it in his power to cause great annoyance to all our pickets on the Ridge. + +Fortunately our position could only be assailed on one side. Our cavalry +patrolled the plain as far as the river, and our rear was covered by a +canal, possessing but few bridges, and those easily guarded. It was thus +from our right and right front alone that serious attacks could be looked +for. + +The next afternoon a heavy firing broke out near Hindoo Rao's house, and +the troops got under arms. The enemy were evidently in force. + +An aid-de-camp rode up: + +"Major Warrener, you will move up your troop, and fall in with the Guide +cavalry." + +At a trot Warrener's Horse moved off toward the right. The guns on the +walls were now all at work, and our artillery at Hindoo Rao's were +answering them, and the shots from a light battery placed by the flagstaff +went singing away toward the right. + +Warrener's Horse were now at the station assigned to them. The musketry +fire in the gardens and broken ground near Hindoo Rao's was very heavy, +and a large body of the enemy's cavalry was seen extending into the plain, +with the intention of pushing forward on the right of the Ridge. + +"You will charge the enemy at once," an aid-de-camp said; and with a cheer +the Guides and Warrener's Horse dashed forward. + +It was the moment they had longed for; and the fury with which they +charged was too much for the enemy, who, although enormously superior in +numbers, halted before they reached them, and fled toward the city, with +the British mixed with them, in a confused mass of fighting, struggling +men. The pursuit lasted almost to the walls of the city. Then the guns on +the wall opened a heavy fire, and the cavalry fell back as the balls +plunged in among them. + +There were but two or three hurt, but among them was Lieutenant Quentin +Battye, a most gallant young officer, a mere lad, but a general favorite +alike with other officers and the men. Struck by a round shot in the body, +his case was hopeless from the first; he kept up his spirits to the last, +and said with a smile to an old school-friend who came in to bid him +farewell: + +"Well, old fellow, _Dulce et decorum est pro patriá mori_, and you see +it's my case." + +Such was the spirit which animated every officer and man of the little +army before Delhi; and it is no wonder that, day after day, and week after +week, they were able to repulse the furious attacks of the ever-increasing +enemy. + +On the 9th, 10th, and 11th fresh sorties were made. Before daybreak on the +13th a large force of the mutineers came out quietly, and worked their way +round to the left, and just as it began to be light, made a furious +assault on the company of the Seventy-fifth who were holding the flagstaff +battery. Warrener's Horse were encamped on the old parade-ground, +immediately behind and below the flagstaff, and the men leaped from their +beds on hearing this outburst of firing close to them. + +There was a confused shouting, and then the major's voice was heard above +the din: + +"Breeches and boots, revolvers and swords, nothing else. Quick, lads; fall +in on foot. We must save the battery at all hazards." + +In a few seconds the men came rushing out, hastily buckling on their +belts, with their pouches of revolver ammunition, and fell into rank; and +in less than two minutes from the sound of the first shot the whole were +dashing up the steep ascent to the battery, where the tremendous musketry +fire told them how hardly the Seventy-fifth were pressed. + +"Keep line, lads; steady!" shouted the major as they neared the crest. +"Now get ready for a charge; go right at them. Don't fire a shot till you +are within five paces, then give them three barrels of your revolvers; +then at them with the sword; and keep your other shots in case you are +pressed. Hurrah!" + +With a thundering cheer the gallant little band fell on the mutineers, +many of whom had already made their way into the battery, where the +handful of white troops were defending themselves with desperation. Struck +with terror and surprise at this sudden attack, and by the shower of +pistol bullets which swept among them, the enemy wavered and broke at the +fierce onslaught, sword in hand, of these new foes; while the Seventy- +fifth, raising a shout of joy at the arrival of their friends, took the +offensive, swept before them the mutineers who had made their way into the +battery, and, joining the irregulars, drove the mutineers, astounded and +panic-stricken at the fierceness of the assault, pell-mell before them +down the hill. + +The reinforcements had arrived but just in time, for Captain Knox, who +commanded at this post, and nearly half his force, had fallen before Major +Warrener's band had come up to their aid. The next day, and the next, and +the next, the sorties from the city were repeated, with ever-increasing +force and fury, each fresh body of mutineers who came into the city being +required to testify their loyalty to the emperor by heading the attack on +his foes. Desperately the little British force had to fight to maintain +their position, and their losses were so serious, the number of their +enemies so large, so rapidly increasing, that it was clear to all that the +most prodigious efforts would be necessary to enable them to hold on until +reinforcements arrived, and that all idea of an early capture of the city +must be abandoned. + +Warrener's Horse, however, had no share in these struggles, for on the day +after the fight at the flagstaff a report spread among them that they were +again to start upon an expedition. A note had been brought in by a native +to the effect that several English ladies and gentlemen were prisoners at +the fortress of Bithri, in Oude, some hundred and fifty miles from Delhi. +The instructions given to Major Warrener were that he was to obtain their +release by fair means, if possible; if not, to carry the place and release +them, if it appeared practicable to do so with his small force; that he +was then to press on to Cawnpore. Communications had ceased with Sir H. +Wheeler, the officer in command there; but it was not known whether he was +actually besieged, or whether it was merely a severance of the telegraph +wire. If he could join Sir H. Wheeler he was to do so; if not, he was to +make his way on, to form part of the force which General Havelock was +collecting at Allahabad for an advance to Cawnpore and Lucknow. It would +be a long and perilous march, but the troops were admirably mounted; and +as they would have the choice of routes open to them, and would travel +fast, it was thought that they might hope to get through in safety, and +their aid would be valuable either to Sir H. Wheeler or to General +Havelock. + +It was a lovely moonlight evening when they started. During their stay at +Delhi they had, profiting by their previous expedition, got rid of every +article of accouterment that could make a noise. Wooden scabbards had +taken the place of steel, and these were covered in flannel, to prevent +rattle should they strike against a stirrup. The water bottles were +similarly cased in flannel, and the rings and chains of the bits in +leather. Nothing, save the sound of the horses' hoofs, was to be heard as +they marched, and even these were muffled by the deep dust that lay on the +road. Each man, moreover, carried four leathern shoes for his horse, with +lacings for fastening them. Under the guidance of two natives, the troop +made their first six stages without the slightest adventure. The country +was flat, and the villages sparsely scattered. The barking of the dogs +brought a few villagers to their doors, but in those troubled times the +advantages of non-interference were obvious and the peasant population in +general asked nothing better than to be let alone. + +The troop always marched by night, and rested by day at villages at a +short distance from the main road. Upon a long march like that before +them, it would have been impossible to maintain secrecy by resting in +woods. Food for men and horses was requisite, and this could only be +obtained in villages. So far no difficulty had been met with. The head men +of the villages willingly provided provender for the horses, while flour, +milk, eggs, and fowls were forthcoming in sufficient quantities for the +men, everything being strictly paid for. + +The last night march was as successful as the preceding, and crossing the +river by a bridge at Banat, they halted some five miles from the fortified +house, or castle, which was the immediate object of their expedition. They +were now in Oude, and had, since crossing the river, avoided the villages +as much as possible, for in this province these are little fortresses. +Each is strongly walled and guarded, and petty wars and feuds are common +occurrences. The people are warlike, and used to arms, and without +artillery even a small village could not be carried without considerable +loss. The troops therefore had made circuits round the villages, and +bivouacked at the end of their march in a wood, having brought with them a +supply of food and grain from the village where they had halted on the +previous day. They had not slept many hours when one of the vedettes came +in to say that there was a sound of beating of drums in a large village +not far away, and that bodies of peasantry had arrived from other +villages, and that he believed an attack was about to take place. + +Major Warrener at once took his measures for defense. The first troop were +to defend the front of their position with their carbines against an +attack. The second troop were to move round to the extreme end of the +tope, were to mount there, and when the enemy began to waver before the +musketry fire, were to sweep round and take them in flank. Major Warrener +himself took command of the dismounted troop, and posted the men along +behind a bank with a hedge, a short distance in front of the trees. Then, +each man knowing his place, they fell back out of the scorching sunshine +to the shade of the tree's, and waited. In half an hour a loud drumming +was heard, and a motley body, two or three thousand strong, of peasants in +a confused mass, with a tattered banner or two, made their appearance. + +The "Avengers," as Warrener's Horse called themselves, took their places +behind the bank, and quietly awaited the attack. The enemy opened a heavy +fire, yet at a long distance. "Answer with a shot or two, occasionally," +Major Warrener had ordered, "as they will then aim at the bank instead of +tiring into the wood. We don't want the horses hurt." + +Slowly and steadily the rifled carbines spoke out in answer to the heavy +fire opened on the bank, and as almost every man of Warrener's Horse was a +sportsman and a good shot, very few shots were thrown away. The enemy beat +their drums more and more loudly, and shouted vociferously as they +advanced. When they were within three hundred yards Major Warrener gave +the word: + +"Fire fast, but don't throw away a shot." + +Astonished at the accuracy and deadliness of the fire which was poured +into them by their still invisible foe, the enemy wavered. Their leaders, +shouting loudly, and exposing themselves bravely in front, called them on, +as slowly, and with heavy loss, the main body arrived within a hundred +yards of the hedge. Those in front were, however, falling so fast that no +efforts of their leaders could get them to advance further, and already a +retrograde movement had begun, when there was a yell of fear, as the +mounted troop, hitherto unnoticed, charged furiously down upon their +flank. + +"Empty your rifles, and then to horse," shouted Major Warrener; and the +men dashed back through the tope to the spot in the rear, where four of +their number were mounting guard over the horses. + +In three minutes they were back again on the plain, but the fight was +over. The enemy in scattered bodies were in full flight, and the cavalry, +dashing through them, were cutting them down, or emptying their revolvers +among them. + +"Make for the village," Major Warrener said. "Gallop!" + +At full speed the troop dashed across the plain to the village, whose gate +they reached just as a large body of the fugitives were arriving. These +gave a yell as this fresh body of horsemen fell upon them; a few tried to +enter the gates of the village, but the main body scattered again in +flight. The cavalry dashed in through the gates, and sabered some men who +were trying to close them. A few shots were fired inside, but resistance +was soon over, and the male inhabitants who remained dropped over the wall +and sought refuge in flight. A bugle call now summoned the other troop +from pursuit, and the women and children being at once, without harm or +indignity, turned out of the village, the conquerors took possession. + +"This will be our headquarters for a day or two," the major said, as the +troop gathered round him; "there is an abundance of food for horse and +man, and we could stand a siege if necessary." + +Warrener's Horse was the happiest of military bodies. On duty the +discipline was severe, and obedience prompt and ready. Off duty, there +was, as among the members of a regimental mess, no longer any marked +distinction of rank; all were officers and gentlemen, good fellows and +good comrades. The best house in the village was set aside for Major +Warrener, and the rest of the squadron dispersed in the village, +quartering themselves in parties of threes and fours among the cleanest- +looking of the huts. Eight men were at once put on sentry on the walls, +two on each side. Their horses were first looked to, fed and watered, and +soon the village assumed as quiet an aspect as if the sounds of war had +never been heard in the land. At dark all was life and animation. A dozen +great fires blazed in the little square in the center of the village, and +here the men fried their chickens, or, scraping out a quantity of red-hot +embers, baked their chupatties, with much laughter and noise. + +Then there was comparative quiet, the sentries on the walls were trebled, +and outposts placed at a couple of hundred yards beyond the gates. Men +lighted their pipes and chatted round the fires, while Major Warrener and +a dozen of the oldest and most experienced of his comrades sat together +and discussed the best course to be pursued. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +A DESPERATE DEFENSE. + + +"Well, major, what do you think of the situation?" one of the senior +captains asked, after the pipes had begun to draw. + +"It looks rather bad, Crawshay. There's no disguising the fact. We shall +have the country up in force; they will swarm out like wasps from every +village, and by to-morrow night we shall have, at the very least, ten +thousand of them round us. Against a moderate force we could defend the +village; but it is a good-sized place, and we have only twenty-five men +for each wall, and a couple of hundred would be none too little." + +"But surely, major, we might prevent their scaling the walls. It is not +likely that they would attack on all sides at once, and without artillery +they could do little." + +"They will have artillery," said Captain Wilkins, an officer, who had +served for some time in Oude. "These talookdars have all got artillery. +They were ordered to give it up, and a good many old guns were sent in; +but there is not one of these fellows who cannot bring a battery at the +very least into the field. By to-morrow night, or at the latest next day, +we may have some thirty or forty pieces of artillery round this place." + +"It will not do to be caught like rats in a trap here," Major Warrener +said. "For to-night it is a shelter, after that it would be a trap. But +about Bithri; I don't like to give up the idea of rescuing our country- +people there. Still, although the matter has been left to my discretion, I +cannot risk losing the whole squadron." + +"What is the castle like, Warrener? have you heard?" Captain Crawshay +asked. + +"A square building, with high walls, and a deep moat. Beyond the moat is +another wall with a strong outwork and gate. There are believed to be a +couple of guns on the outwork, and eight on the inner wall." + +"Do you think they will attack us to-morrow, Wilkins? You know these Oude +fellows." + +"They will muster strong, no doubt, and be prepared to attack us if we +sally out; but I should think if we remain quiet they would wait till next +day, so as to gather as many men and guns as possible." + +"Then you think we ought to be out of this early?" Major Warrener asked. + +"I don't say we ought to be, major; I only say we ought to be if we intend +to get off without having to fight our way through them. I suppose the +Bithri man is sure to come out to attack us?" + +"Oh, no doubt," Major Warrener answered; "he has openly declared against +us." + +"The thing would be to pop into his place, just as he is thinking of +popping in here," Captain Dunlop said, laughing. + +"That's a good idea, Dunlop--a capital idea, if it could be carried out. +The question is, is it possible?" + +Then gradually the plan was elaborated, until it finally was definitely +arranged as afterward carried into execution. + +The night passed quietly, but fires could be seen blazing in many +directions over the plain, and occasionally a distant sound of drums, or a +wild shout, came faintly on the still air. Next morning Major Warrener +started early, with half a troop, to reconnoiter the country toward +Bithri. The party got to a spot within two miles of the castle, and had a +look at it and its surroundings, and were able to discern that a great +deal of bustle was going on around it, and that considerable numbers of +horse and footmen were gathered near the gate. Then they rode rapidly back +again, having to run the gantlet of several bodies of natives, who fired +at them. One party indeed had already placed themselves on the road, about +a mile from the village; but Captain Kent, seeing with his glass what was +going on, rode out with his troop to meet the little reconnoitering party, +and the enemy, fearing cavalry on the open, fell back after a scattering +fire, but not quickly enough to prevent the horse from cutting up their +rear somewhat severely. + +At eight o'clock large bodies of men could, be seen approaching the +village. These, when they arrived within gunshot, discharged their long +matchlocks at the walls, with much shouting and gesticulation. Major +Warrener's order was that not a shot should be returned, as it was +advisable to keep them in ignorance as to the long range of the Enfield +carbine. + +"Let all get their breakfasts," he said, "and let the horses be well +groomed and attended to; we shall want all their speed to-morrow." + +At eleven some elephants, surrounded by a large body of horse, could be +seen across the plain. + +"Here come some of the talookdars," Captain Wilkins said. "I suspect those +elephants are dragging guns behind them." + +"Yes, the fun will soon begin now," Captain Dunlop answered. "Now, Dick," +he went on to young Warrener, "you are going to see a little native +artillery practice. These fellows are not like the Delhi pandies, who are +artillerymen trained by ourselves; here you will see the real genuine +native product; and as the manufacture of shell is in its infancy, and as +the shot seldom fits the gun within half an inch, or even an inch, you +will see something erratic. They may knock holes in the wall, but it will +take them a long time to cut enough holes near each other to make a +breach. There, do you see? there are another lot of elephants and troops +coming from the left. We shall have the whole countryside here before +long. Ah! that's just as we expected; they are going to take up their +position on that rising ground, which you measured this morning, and found +to be just five hundred yards off. Our carbines make very decent practice +at that distance, and you will see we shall astonish them presently." + +The two forces with elephants reached the rising ground at the same time, +and there was great waving of flags, letting off of muskets, and beating +of drums, while the multitude of footmen cheered and danced. + +By this time the greater portion of the little garrison were gathered +behind the wall. This was some two feet thick, of rough sun-dried bricks +and mud. It was about fourteen feet high. Against it behind was thrown up +a bank of earth five feet high, and in the wall were loopholes, four feet +above the bank. At the corners of the walls, and at intervals along them, +were little towers, each capable of holding about four men, who could fire +over the top of the walls. In these towers, and at the loopholes, Major +Warrener placed twenty of his best shots. There was a great deal of moving +about on the rising ground; then the footmen cleared away in front, and +most of the elephants withdrew, and then were seen ten guns ranged side by +side. Close behind them were two elephants, with gaudy trappings, while +others, less brilliantly arrayed, stood further back. + +Major Warrener was in one of the little towers, with his second in +command, and his two sons to act as his orderlies. + +"Run, boys, and tell the men in the other towers to fire at the howdahs of +the chief elephants; let the rest of them fire at the artillery. Tell them +to take good aim, and fire a volley; I will give the word. Make haste, I +want first shot; that will hurry them, and they will fire wild." + +The boys started at a run, one each way, and in a minute the instructions +were given. The major glanced down, saw that every carbine was leveled, +and gave the word: + +"Fire!" + +The sound of the volley was answered in a few seconds by a yell of dismay +from the enemy. One of the state elephants threw up its trunk, and started +at a wild gallop across the plain, and a man was seen to fall from the +howdah as it started. There was also confusion visible in the howdahs of +the other elephants. Several men dropped at the guns; some, surprised and +startled, fired wildly, most of the balls going high over the village; +while others, whose loading was not yet complete, ran back from the guns. +Only one ball hit the wall, and made a ragged hole of a foot in diameter. + +"That's sickened them for the present," Captain Dunlop said, "I expect +they'll do nothing now till it gets a bit cooler, for even a nigger could +hardly stand this. Ah, we are going to give them another volley, this time +a stronger one." + +Fifty carbines spoke out this time, and the wildest confusion was caused +among the elephants and footmen, who were now trying to drag the guns +back. Again, a third volley, and then the garrison were dismissed from +their posts, and told to lie down and keep cool till wanted again. + +Half an hour later another large train of elephants, ten of them with +guns, came from the direction of Bithri, and proceeded to a tope at about +a mile from the village. There the elephants of the first comers had +gathered after the stampede, and presently a great tent was raised in +front of the tope. + +"Bithri is going to do it in style," Dick laughed to his brother. "I +shouldn't mind some iced sherbet at present, if he has got any to spare." + +"Look, Dick, there is a movement; they are getting the guns in position on +that knoll a little to the right, and a hundred yards or so in front of +their tent." + +Dick took the field-glass which his brother handed him. + +"Yes, we shall have a salute presently; but they won't breach the wall +this afternoon at that distance." + +Twenty guns opened fire upon the village, and the shot flew overhead, or +buried themselves in the ground in front, or came with heavy thuds against +the wall, or, in some instances, crashed into the upper parts of the +houses. After an hour's firing it slackened a little, and finally died +out, for the heat was tremendous. + +At three o'clock there was a move again; ten of the guns were brought +forward to a point about a thousand yards from the wall, while ten others +were taken round and placed on the road, at about the same distance, so as +to command the gate. Again the fire opened, and this time more +effectually. Again the men were called to the loopholes. The greater +portion of them were armed, not with the government carbines, but with +sporting rifles, shortened so as to be carried as carbines; and although +none of the weapons were sighted for more than six hundred yards, all with +sufficient elevation could send balls far beyond that distance. Ten of the +best-armed men were told off against each battery of artillery, and a +slow, steady fire was opened. It was effective, for, with the field- +glasses, men could be seen to fall frequently at the guns, and the fire +became more hurried, but much wilder and even less accurate, than it had +hitherto been. The rest of the men, with the exception of ten told off for +special duty, were dispersed round the walls, to check the advance of the +footmen, who crept daringly to within a short distance, and kept up a +rolling fire around the village. + +At five o'clock half of the men were taken off the walls, and several were +set to build a wall four feet high, in a semicircle just inside the gate, +which had been struck by several shots, and showed signs of yielding. Two +or three of the nearest huts were demolished rapidly, there being plenty +of native tools in the village, and a rough wall was constructed of the +materials; a trench five feet deep and eight feet wide was simultaneously +dug across the entrance. At six o'clock, just as the wall was finished, an +unlucky shot struck one of the doorposts, and the gate fell, dragging the +other post with it. A distant yell of triumph came through the air. + +The gates fell partly across the trench. "Now, lads, push them back a bit +if you can; if not, knock the part over the ditch to pieces; it's half- +smashed already." + +It was easier to knock the gate, already splintered with shot, to pieces, +than to remove it. + +"Now, Dunlop, fetch one of those powder-bags we brought for blowing up the +gates; put it in the trench, with a long train. You attend to the train, +and when I give the word, fire it. Bring up those two big pots of boiling +water to the gate-towers. Captain Kent, thirty men of your troop will hold +the other three walls; but if you hear my dog-whistle, every man is to +leave his post and come on here at a run. Thirty men more will man this +front wall and towers. They are to direct their fire to check the crowd +pushing forward behind those immediately assaulting. The remaining forty +will fire through the loopholes as long as possible, and will then form +round the breastwork and hold it to the last. One man in each gate-tower, +when the enemy reach the gate, will lay down his carbine, and attend to +the boiling water. Let them each have a small pot as a ladle. But let them +throw the water on those pressing toward the gate, not on those who have +reached it. Those are our affair." + +In five minutes every man was at his post, and a sharp fire from the +seventy men along the front wall opened upon the masses of the enemy, who +came swarming toward the gate. The effect on the crowd, many thousand +strong, was very severe, for each shot told; but the Mussulmen of Oude are +courageous, and the rush toward the gate continued. Fast as those in front +fell, the gaps were imperceptible in the swarming crowd. Major Warreners +band of forty men were called away from the loopholes, and were drawn up +behind the ditch; and as the head of the assaulting crowd neared the gate +volley after volley rang out, and swept away the leaders, foremost among +whom were a number of Sepoys, who, when their regiments mutinied, had +returned to their homes, and now headed the peasantry in their attack upon +the British force. When the dense mass arrived within thirty yards of the +gate Major Warrener gave the word, and a retreat was made behind the +breastwork. On, with wild shouts, came the assailants; the first few saw +the trench, and leaped it; those who followed fell in, until the trench +was full; then the crowd swept in unchecked. The defenders had laid by +their carbines now, and had drawn their revolvers. They were divided into +two lines, who were alternately to take places in front and fire, while +those behind loaded their revolvers. The din, as the circle inclosed by +the low wall filled with the assailants, was prodigious; the sharp +incessant crack of the revolver; the roll of musketry from the walls; the +yells of the enemy; the shrieks, which occasionally rose outside the gate +as the men in the towers scattered the boiling water broadcast over them, +formed a chaos. With the fury and despair of cornered wild beasts, the +enemy fought, striving to get over the wall which so unexpectedly barred +their way; but their very numbers and the pressure from behind hampered +their efforts. + +If a man in the front line of defenders had emptied his revolver before +the one behind him had reloaded, he held his place with the sword. + +"The wall's giving from the pressure!" Dick exclaimed to his father; and +the latter put his whistle to his lips, and the sound rang out shrill and +high above the uproar. + +A minute later the front of the wall tottered and fell. Then Major +Warrener held up his hand, and Captain Dunlop, who had stood all the time +quietly watching him, fired the train. A thundering explosion, a flight of +bodies and fragments of bodies through the air, a yell of terror from the +enemy, and then, as those already rushing triumphantly through the breach +stood paralyzed, the British fell upon them sword in hand; the men from +the other walls came rushing up, eager to take their part in the fray, and +the enemy inside the gate were either cut down or driven headlong through +it! + +The crowd beyond, already shaken by the murderous fire that the party on +the walls kept up unceasingly upon them, while they stood unable to move +from the jam in front, had recoiled through their whole mass at the +explosion, and the sight of the handful of their comrades flying through +the gate completed the effect. With yells of rage and discomfiture, each +man turned and fled, while the defenders of the gateway passed out, and +joined their fire to that of their comrades above on the flying foe. + +"Thank God, it is all over!" Major Warrener said; "but it has been hot +while it lasted. Have we had many casualties?" + +The roll was soon called, and it was found that the besieged had escaped +marvelously. One young fellow, a civil servant, had been shot through the +head, by a stray ball entering the loophole through which he was firing. +Thirteen of the defenders of the gateway were wounded with pistol shots, +or with sword cuts; but none of the injuries were of a serious character. + +It was now rapidly becoming dark, and Major Warrener mounted one of the +towers to have a last look. + +The enemy had rallied at a distance from the walls, and two fresh bodies +of troops, with elephants, were to be seen approaching from the distance. + +"That is all right," he said. "They will wait, and renew the attack to- +morrow." + +An hour afterward it was night. The moon had not risen yet, and Major +Warrener had a huge bonfire lighted outside the gate, with posts and solid +beams from the fallen gates and from the houses. + +"That will burn for hours," he said, "quite long enough for our purpose." + +Lights could be seen scattered all over the side of the plain on which the +tents were erected, some of them coming up comparatively close to the +walls. On the road in front, but far enough to be well beyond the light of +the fire, voices could be heard, and occasionally a shout that they would +finish with the infidel dogs to-morrow rose on the air. Evidently by the +low buzz of talk there were a large number here, and probably the guns had +been brought closer, to check any attempt on the part of the little +garrison to dash through their enemies. The blazing fire, however, +throwing as it did a bright light upon the empty gateway through which +they must pass, showed that at present, at least, the besieged had no idea +of making their escape. + +At nine o'clock the whole of the garrison stood to their horses. Not only +had their feet been muffled with the leather shoes, but cloths, of which +there were plenty in the village, had been wound round them, until their +footfalls would, even on the hardest road, have been noiseless. Then Major +Warrener led the way to the spot where ten men had been at work during the +afternoon. + +At this point, which was on the side furthest from that upon which was the +main camp of the enemy, a clump of trees and bushes grew close to the wall +outside; behind them a hole in the wall, wide enough and high enough for a +horse to pass through easily, had been made, and the ditch behind had been +filled up with rubbish. There was no word spoken; every one had received +his orders, and knew what to do; and as silently as phantoms the troop +passed through, each man leading his horse. Once outside the bushes, they +formed fours and went forward, still leading their horses-as these were +less likely to snort with their masters at their heads. + +Ten minutes' walking convinced them that they had little to fear, and that +no guards had been set on that side. It was regarded by the enemy as so +certain that the English would not abandon their horses and fly on foot, +only to be overtaken and destroyed the next day, that they had only +thought it necessary to watch the gateway through which, as they supposed, +the British must, if at all, escape on horseback. + +The troop now mounted, and trotted quietly away, making a wide detour, and +then going straight toward Bithri. The moon had risen; and when, about a +mile and a half in front, they could see the castle, Major Warrener, who +with Captain Kent and the native guides was riding ahead, held up his +hand. The troop came to a halt. + +"There are some bullock-carts just ahead. Take the mufflings off your +horse's feet and ride on by yourself," he said to one of the native +guides, "and see what is in the wagons, and where they are going." + +The man did as ordered, but he needed no questions. The wagons were full +of wounded men going to Bithri. He passed on with a word of greeting, +turned his horse when he reached a wood a little in front, and allowed +them to pass, and then rode back to the troop. + +"Four bullock-carts full of wounded, sahib." + +"The very thing," Major Warrener exclaimed; "nothing could be more lucky." + +Orders were passed down the line that they were to ride along until the +leaders were abreast of the first cart, then to halt and dismount +suddenly. The drivers were to be seized, gagged, and bound. The wounded +were not to be injured. + +"These men are not mutinous Sepoys, with their hands red with the blood of +women," Major Warrener said; "they are peasants who have fought bravely +for their country, and have done their duty, according to their light." + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +SAVE BY A TIGER. + + +The drivers of the bullock-carts were startled at the noiseless appearance +by their side of a body of horsemen; still more startled, when suddenly +that phantom-like troop halted and dismounted. The rest was like a dream; +in an instant they were seized, bound, and gagged, and laid down in the +field at some distance from the road; one of them, however, being +ungagged, and asked a few questions before being finally left. The +wounded, all past offering the slightest resistance, were still more +astonished when their captors, whom the moonlight now showed to be white, +instead of cutting their throats as they expected, lifted them tenderly +and carefully from the wagons, and laid them down on a bank a short +distance off. + +"Swear by the Prophet not to call for aid, or to speak, should any one +pass the road, for one hour!" was the oath administered to each, and all +who were still conscious swore to observe it. Then with the empty wagons +the troops proceeded on their way. At the last clump of trees, a quarter +of a mile from the castle, there was another halt. The troop dismounted, +led their horses some little distance from the road, and tied them to the +trees. Twenty men remained as a guard. Four of the others wrapped +themselves up so as to appear at a short distance like natives, and took +their places at the bullocks' heads, and the rest crowded into the wagons, +covering themselves with their cloaks to hide their light uniforms. Then +the bullocks were again set in motion across the plain. So careless were +the garrison that they were not even challenged as they approached the +gate of the outworks, and without a question the gate swung back. + +"More wounded!" the officer on guard said. "This is the third lot. Those +children of Sheitan must have been aided by their father. Ah, treachery!" +he cried, as, the first cart moving into the moonlight beyond the shadow +of the gateway, he saw the white faces of the supposed wounded. + +There was a leap from the nearest driver upon him, and he was felled to +the ground. But the man at the open gate had heard the cry, and drew a +pistol and fired it before he could be reached. Then the British leaped +from the carts, and twenty of them scattered through the works, cutting +down those who offered resistance and disarming the rest. These were +huddled into the guardroom, and five men with cocked revolvers placed at +the door, with orders to shoot them down at the first sign of movement. + +The garrison in the castle itself had been alarmed by the shots; and +shouts were heard, and loud orders, and the sentries over the gate +discharged their muskets. There was little time given them to rally, +however; for Captain Kent, with four of his men, had, on leaping from the +cart, made straight across the drawbridge over the moat, for the gateway, +to which they attached the petards which they had brought with them. Then +they ran back to the main body, who stood awaiting the explosion. In a few +seconds it came, and then with a cheer the troops dashed across the +drawbridge, and in through the splintered gate. There was scarcely any +resistance. Taken utterly by surprise, and being numerically inferior to +their assailants--for nearly all the fighting men had gone out with their +lord--the frightened retainers tried to hide themselves rather than to +resist, and were speedily disarmed and gathered in the courtyard. + +Major Warrener, informed by the bullock drivers of the quarter in which +the Europeans were confined, followed by a dozen men, made his way +straight to it, and had the delight of being greeted by the voices of his +countrymen and women. These were, as reported, three officers and five +ladies, all of whom were absolutely bewildered by the surprise and +suddenness of their rescue. + +There was no time for explanation. The stables were ransacked and eight of +the rajah's best horses taken. Then, when all was ready for starting, +Major Warrener proceeded to the door of the women's apartments. Here, in +obedience to the order he had sent her, the wife of the talookdar, veiled +from head to foot, and surrounded by her attendants, stood to await the +orders of her captor. + +"Madam," said Captain Wilkins, who spoke the dialect in use in Oude, +"Major Warrener, the British officer in command, bids me tell you that +this castle, with you and all that it contains, are in his power, and that +he might give it to the flames and carry you off as hostage. But he will +not do this. The Rajah of Bithri is a brave man, but he is wrong to fight +against fate. The English Raj will prevail again, and all who have +rebelled will be punished. We treat him as a brave but mistaken enemy; and +as we have spared his castle and his family, so we hope that he in turn +will behave kindly to any Englishman or woman who may fall into his hands +or may ask his aid. Lastly, let no one leave this castle till daybreak, +for whoever does so we will slay without mercy." + +Then, turning round again, Warrener and his companions returned to the +courtyard. The moment the castle was entered and opposition quelled, half +the troops had run back for the horses, and in twenty minutes from the +arrival of the bullock-carts at the gateway of Bithri the last of its +captors filed out from its walls and trotted off into the darkness. Day +broke before any of the inhabitants of Bithri dared issue from its walls. +Then a horseman took the news on to the camp. The artillery, increased now +to thirty-six guns, had already opened upon the village ere he reached the +great tent on the plain. The rajah could not credit the intelligence that +the enemy had escaped, that his castle had been attacked and carried, and +the white prisoners released; but his surprise and fury were overpowered +by the delight he felt at the news that his women and children were safe +and his ancestral dwelling uninjured. "The English are a great people," he +said, stroking his beard; then, issuing from his tent, he told the news. +Like wildfire it ran through the camp, and as none of the thousands +gathered there had his feelings of gratitude and relief to soften their +anger and disappointment, the fury of the multitude was unbounded. + +With a wild rush they made for the gate-almost blocked with their dead- +scoured the little village, and soon discovered the hole through which the +besieged had escaped. Then with wild yells three thousand horsemen set off +in pursuit; but it was six o'clock now, and the fugitives had got seven +hours' start. The Rajah of Bithri's contingent took no part in the +pursuit. On issuing from his tent he had, after telling the news, briefly +given orders for his tents to be struck and for all his troops to return +at once to the castle, toward which he himself, accompanied by his +bodyguard, set out on his elephant of state. + +Major Warrener and his troops had no fear of pursuit. New foes might be +met; but with horses fresh and in good condition, and six hours' start-- +for they were confident that no pursuit could commence before daybreak at +the earliest--they felt safe, from the enemy who had just attacked them, +especially as these could not know the direction which they were pursuing, +and would believe that their aim would be to return with their rescued +friends to Delhi, instead of proceeding through the heart of Oude. The +party whom they had found at Bithri consisted of Mr. Hartford, a deputy +commissioner, with his wife and two daughters; of a Mrs. Pearson and her +sister, the former the wife of a district magistrate, who had been absent +on duty when the rising at the little station at which they lived took +place; and of Captain Harper and Lieutenant Jones, who were the officers +of the detachment there. The men, native cavalry, had ridden off without +injuring their officers, but the fanatical people of the place had killed +many of the residents and fired their bungalows. Some had escaped on +horseback or in carriages; and the present party, keeping together, had, +when near Bithri, been seized and brought in to the chief, who intended to +take them with him to Lucknow, when--an event of which he daily expected +news--the little body of English there were destroyed by the forces +gathering round them. The captives had heard what was doing, both at +Lucknow and Cawnpore. At the latter place not only had the native troops +mutinied, but the Rajah of Bithoor, Nana Sahib, whom the English had +regarded as a firm friend, had joined them. Sir Hugh Wheeler, with the +officers of the revolted regiments the civilians of the station, and forty +or fifty white troops, having some eight hundred women and children in +their charge, were defending a weak position against thousands of the +enemy, provided with artillery. + +When after riding thirty miles, the party stopped at daybreak at a ruined +temple standing in its grove at a distance from the main road, Major +Warrener called his officers into council, to determine what was the best +course to adopt under the circumstances. Should they dash through the +lines of the besiegers of Cawnpore, or should they make for Agra, or +endeavor to join the force which was being collected at Allahabad to march +to their relief? + +Finally, and very reluctantly, the latter course was decided upon. It was +agreed--and the truth of their conclusion was proved by the fact that +throughout the mutiny there was no single instance of the rebels, however +numerous, carrying a position held by any body of Englishmen--that Sir +Hugh Wheeler and his force could probably hold the intrenchments against +any assault that the enemy could make, and that if forced to surrender it +would probably be from want of supplies. In that case the arrival of a +hundred men would be a source of weakness rather than of strength. The +reinforcement would not be of sufficient strength to enable the garrison, +incumbered as it was with women and children, to cut its way out, while +there would be a hundred more mouths to fill. It was therefore resolved to +change their course, to avoid Cawnpore, and to make direct for Allahabad, +with the news of the urgent strait in which Sir Hugh Wheeler was placed, +and of the necessity for an instant advance to his relief. + +Cawnpore was now but forty miles away, and Lucknow was about the same +distance, but in a different direction; and as they stretched themselves +on the ground and prepared for sleep, they could distinctly hear the dull, +faint sounds that told of a heavy artillery fire. At which of the +stations, or if at both, the firing was going on, they could not tell; but +in fact it was at Cawnpore, as this was the 25th of June, and the siege of +the Lucknow Residency did not begin in earnest until the 30th of that +month. + +The course had now to be decided upon, and maps were consulted, and it was +determined to cross the river at Sirapore. It was agreed, too, that they +should, at the first village they passed through that evening, question +the inhabitants as to the bodies of rebels moving about, and find out +whether any large number were stationed at any of the bridges. + +At nine o'clock in the evening they were again in the saddle, and an hour +later halted at a village. There several of the men were examined +separately, and their stories agreed that there were no large bodies of +Sepoys on the line by which they proposed to travel, but that most of the +talookdars were preparing to march to Lucknow and Cawnpore, when the +British were destroyed. Having thus learned that the bridge by which they +intended to cross was open to them, the troop again proceeded on their +way, leaving the village lost in astonishment as to where this body of +British horse could have come from. + +Upon this night's ride Ned and Dick Warrener were on rearguard--that is to +say, they rode together some two hundred yards behind the rest of the +squadron. + +An hour after leaving the village, as they were passing through a thick +grove of trees some figures rose as from the ground. Ned was knocked off +his horse by a blow with the butt-end of a gun; and Dick, before he had +time to shout or make a movement in his defense, was dragged from his +horse, his head wrapped in a thick cloth, and his arms bound. Then he +could feel himself lifted up and rapidly carried off. After a time he was +put on his legs and the covering of his head removed. He found Ned beside +him; and a word of congratulation that both were alive was exchanged. Then +a rope was placed round each of their necks, and surrounded by their +captors, two of whom rode their horses, they were started at a run, with +admonitions from those around them that any attempt to escape or to shout +would be punished with instant death. + +For full two hours they were hurried along, and then the party halted at +the edge of a thick jungle, lighted a fire, and began to cook. The +prisoners were allowed to sit down with their captors. These were +matchlock-men, on their way to join the forces besieging the Residency at +Cawnpore, toward which town they had been making their way, as the boom of +the guns sounded sharper and clearer every mile that they traveled. Ned +gathered from the talk that their capture was the effect of pure accident. +The party had sat down in the wood to eat, when they heard a troop of +horsemen passing. A word or two spoken in English as the leaders came +along sufficed to show the nationality of the troop, and the band lay +quiet in the bushes until, as they supposed, all had passed. They had +risen to leave when the two last horsemen came in view, and these they +determined to capture and carry off, if possible, hoping to get a +considerable reward from Nan a Sahib on their arrival at Cawnpore. + +Nana Sahib's name had not as yet that terrible history attached to it +which rendered it execrated wherever the English tongue is spoken; but the +boys had heard that after pretending to be the friend of the whites, he +was now leading the assault against them, and that he was therefore a +traitor, and fighting as it were with a rope round his neck. At the hands +of such a man they had no mercy to expect. + +"It is of no use trying to make a bolt, Ned?" + +"Not the least in the world. The two fellows next to us are appointed to +watch us. Don't you see they are sitting with their guns across their +knees? We should be shot down in a moment." + +There was a debate among the band whether to push on to Cawnpore at once; +but they had already made a long day's journey, and moreover thought that +they could create a greater effect by arriving with their prisoners by +daylight. The fire was made up, and the men wrapped themselves in their +cloths--the native of India almost invariably sleeps with his head +covered, and looking more like a corpse than a living being. Anxiously the +boys watched in hopes that their guards would follow the example. They +showed, however, no signs of doing so, but sat talking over the +approaching destruction of the English rule and of the restoration of the +Mohammedan power. + +Two hours passed; the fire burned low, and the boys, in spite of the +danger of their position, were just dropping off to sleep, when there was +a mighty roar--a rush of some great body passing over them--a scream of +one of the natives--a yell of terror from the rest. A tiger stood with one +of the guards in his mouth, growling fiercely, and giving him an +occasional shake, as a cat would shake a mouse, while one of his paws held +down the prostrate figure of the other. + +There was a wild stampede--men tumbled over and over each other in their +efforts to escape from the terrible presence, and then, getting to their +feet, started off at full speed. For a moment the boys had lain paralyzed +with the sudden advent of the terrible man-eater, and then had, like the +rest, darted away. + +"To the jungle!" Ned exclaimed; and in an instant they had plunged into +the undergrowth, and were forcing their way at full speed through it. Man- +eating tigers are rarely found in pairs, and there was little fear that +another was lurking in the wood; and even had such been the case, they +would have preferred death in that form to being murdered in cold blood by +the enemy. Presently they struck on a track leading through the wood, and +followed it, until in five minutes they emerged at the other side. As they +did so they heard the report of firearms in the direction of their last +halting-place, and guessed that the peasants were firing at hazard, in +hopes of frightening the tiger into dropping his prey. As to their own +flight, it was probable that so far they had been unthought of. The first +object of the fugitives was to get as far as possible from their late +captors, who would at daybreak be sure to organize a regular hunt for +them, and accordingly they ran straight ahead until in three-quarters of +an hour they came into a wide road. Then, exhausted with their exertions, +they threw themselves down, and panted for breath. + +Dick was the first to speak. "What on earth are we to do now, Ned? These +uniforms will betray us to the first person we meet, and we have no means +of disguise." + +"We must get as far away as we can before daylight, Dick, and then hide +up. Sooner or later we must throw ourselves on the hospitality of some +one, and take our chance. This is evidently the main road to Cawnpore, +and, judging from the guns, we cannot be more than ten or twelve miles +away. It will not do to go back along this road, for the fellows we have +got away from may strike it below us and follow it up. Let us go forward +along it till we meet a side road, and take that." + +Ten minutes' walking brought them to a point where a side road came in, +and, taking this, they walked steadily on. They passed two or three +villages, which the moonlight enabled them to see before they reached +them; these they avoided by a detour, as the dogs would be sure to arouse +the inhabitants, and it was only in a solitary abode that they had a +chance of being sheltered. Toward morning they saw ahead a building of +considerable size, evidently the abode of a person of consequence. It was +not fortified; but behind it was a large inclosure, with high walls. + +"I vote we climb over that wall, Ned; there are several trees growing +close up to it. If they hunt the country round for us they will never look +inside there; and I expect that there is a garden, and we are sure to find +a hiding-place. Then, if the owner comes out, we can, if he looks a decent +chap, throw ourselves on his hands." + +"I think that a good idea, Dick; the sooner we carry it out the better, +for in another half-hour day will be breaking." + +[Illustration: A TIGER STOOD, WITH ONE OF THE GUARDS IN HIS MOUTH, +GROWLING FIERCELY.] + +They made a detour round to the back of the building, and after some +search found a tree growing close enough to the wall to assist them. This +they climbed, got along a branch which extended over the top of the wall, +and thence dropped into the garden. Here there were pavilions and +fountains, and well-kept walks, with great clumps of bushes and flowering +shrubs well calculated for concealment. Into one of these they crept, and +were soon fast asleep. + +It was late in the afternoon when they awoke, roused by the sound of +laughter, and of the chatter of many voices. + +"Good gracious!" Ned exclaimed; "we have got into the women's garden." + +In another minute a group of women came in sight. The principal figure was +a young woman of some twenty-two or twenty-three, and with a red wafer- +like patch on her forehead, very richly dressed. + +"She is a Hindoo," Ned whispered; "what luck!" + +There are indeed very few Hindoos in Oude, and the Mohammedan being the +dominant race, a Hindoo would naturally feel far more favorably inclined +toward a British fugitive than a Mohammedan would be likely to do, as the +triumph of the rebellion could to them simply mean a restoration, of +Mohammedan supremacy in place of the far more tolerant British rule. + +Next to the ranee walked an old woman, who had probably been her nurse, +and was now her confidante and adviser. The rest were young women, clearly +dependants. + +"And so, Ahrab, we must give up our garden, and go into Cawnpore; and in +such weather too!" + +"It must be so indeed," the elder woman said. "These Mohammedans doubt us, +and so insist on your highness showing your devotion to the cause by +taking up your residence in Cawnpore, and sending in all your retainers to +join in the attack on the English." + +The ranee looked sad. + +"They say there are hundreds of women and little children there," she +said, "and that the English who are defending them are few." + +"It is so," Ahrab said. "But they are brave. The men of the Nana, and the +old regiments, are fifty to one against them, and the cannon fire night +and day, and yet they do not give way a foot." + +"They are men, the English sahibs." + +While they were speaking the two chief personages of the party had taken +their seats in a pavilion close to the spot where the young Warreners were +hidden. + +Ned translated the purport of the talk to Dick, and both agreed that the +way of safety had opened to them. + +Seeing that their mistress was not in the humor for laughter and mirth, +and would rather talk quietly with her chief friend and adviser, the +attendants gradually left them, and gathered in a distant part of the +garden. + +Then Ned and Dick crept out of their hiding-place, and appeared suddenly +at the entrance to the pavilion, where they fell on one knee, in an +attitude of supplication, and Ned said: + +"Oh, gracious lady, have pity upon two fugitives!" + +The ranee and her counselor rose to their feet with a little scream, and +hastily covered their heads. + +"Have pity, lady," Ned went on earnestly; "we are alone and friendless; +oh, do not give us up to our enemies." + +"How did you get here?" asked the elder woman. + +"We climbed the wall," Ned said. "We knew not that this garden was the +ladies' garden, or we might not have invaded it; now we bless Providence +that has brought us to the feet of so kind and lovely a lady." + +The ranee laughed lightly behind her veil. + +"They are mere boys, Ahrab." + +"Yes, your highness, but it would be just as dangerous for you to shelter +boys as men. And what will you do, as you have to go to Cawnpore to- +morrow?" + +"Oh, you can manage somehow, Ahrab--you are so clever," the ranee said +coaxingly; "and I could not give them up to be killed: I should never feel +happy afterward." + +"May Heaven bless you, lady!" Ned said earnestly; "and your kind action +may not go unrewarded even here. Soon, very soon, an English army will be +at Cawnpore to punish the rebels, and then it will be well with those who +have succored British fugitives." + +"Do you say an English army will come soon?" Ahrab said doubtfully. "Men +say the English Raj is gone forever." + +"It is not true," Ned said. "England has not begun to put out her strength +yet. She can send tens of thousands of soldiers, and the great chiefs of +the Punjab have all declared for her. Already Delhi is besieged, and an +army is gathering at Allahabad to march hither. It may be quickly; it may +be slowly; but in the end the English rule will be restored, her enemies +will be destroyed, and her friends rewarded. But I know," he went on, +turning to the ranee, "that it needs not a thought of this to influence +you, and that in your kind heart compassion alone will suffice to secure +us your protection." + +The ranee laughed again. + +"You are only a boy," she said, "but you have learned to flatter. Now tell +us how you got here." + +"Your highness," Ahrab interrupted, "I had better send all the others in, +for they might surprise us. Let these young sahibs hide themselves again; +then we will go in, and I will call in your attendants. Later, when it is +dusk, you will plead heat, and come out here with me again, and then I can +bring some robes to disguise the sahibs; that is, if your highness has +resolved to aid them." + +"I think I have resolved that, Ahrab," the ranee said. "You have heard, +young sahibs; retire now, and hide. When the sun has set we will be here +again." + +With deep assurance of gratitude from Ned, the lads again took refuge in +the shrubs, delighted with the result of their interview. + +"I do hope that the old one will bring us something to eat, Ned. I am as +hungry as a hunter! That ranee's a brick, isn't she?" + +Two hours later a step was heard coming down the garden, and a woman came +and lit some lamps in the pavilion, and again retired. Then in another ten +minutes the ranee and her confidante made their appearance. The former +took her seat on the couch in the pavilion, the latter remained outside +the circle of light, and clapped her hands softly. In a minute the boys +stood before her. She held out a basket of provisions, and a bundle of +clothes. + +"Put these wraps on over your uniforms," she said; "then if we should be +surprised, no one will be any the wiser." + +The boys retired, hastily ate some food, then wrapped themselves in the +long folds of cotton which form the principal garment of native women of +the lower class, and went forward to the pavilion. + +The ranee laughed outright. + +"How clumsy you are!" she said. "Ahrab, do arrange them a little more like +women." + +Ahrab adjusted their robes, and brought one end over their heads, so that +it could, if necessary, be pulled over the face at a moment's notice. + +The ranee then motioned to them to sit down upon two cushions near her; +and saying to Ahrab, "It is very hot, and they are only boys," removed the +veil from her face. "You make very pretty girls, only you are too white," +she said. + +"Lady, if we had some dye we could pass as natives, I think," Ned said; +"we have done so before this, since the troubles began." + +"Tell me all about it," the ranee said. "I want to know who you are, and +how you came here as if you had dropped from the skies." + +Ned related their adventures since leaving Delhi, and then the ranee +insisted upon an account of their previous masquerading as natives. + +"How brave you English boys are," she said. "No wonder your men have +conquered India. Now, Ahrab, tell these young sahibs what we propose." + +"We dare not leave you here," Ahrab said. "You would have to be fed, and +we must trust many people. We go to Cawnpore to-morrow, and you must go +with us. My son has a garden here; we can trust him, and he will bring a +bullock-cart with him to-morrow morning. In this will be placed some +boxes, and he will start. You must wait a little way off, and when you see +him you will know him, because he will tie a piece of red cloth to the +horns of the bullock; you will come up and get in. He will ask no +questions, but will drive you to the ranee's. I will open the door to you +and take you up to a little room where you will not be disturbed. We shall +all start first. You cannot go with us, because the other women will +wonder who you are. Here is some stuff to dye your faces and hands. I will +let you out by a private door. You will see a wood five minutes along the +road. You must stop there to-night, and do not come out till you see the +ranee and her party pass. There is a little hut, which is empty, in the +wood, where you can sleep without fear of disturbance. The ranee is sorry +to turn you out to-night, but we start at daybreak, and I should have no +opportunity of slipping away and letting you out." + +Everything being now arranged, the ranee rose. Ned reiterating the +expression of the gratitude of his brother and himself, the ranee +coquettishly held out a little hand whose size and shape an Englishwoman +might have envied; and the boys kissed it--Ned respectfully, Dick with a +heartiness which made her laugh and draw it away. + +"You are a darling," Dick said in English, with the native impudence of a +midshipman, "and I wish I knew enough of your lingo to tell you." + +"What does he say?" she asked of Ned. + +"He is a sailor," Ned said; "and sailors say things we on shore would not +venture to say. My brother says you are the flower of his heart." + +"Your brother is an impudent boy," the ranee said, laughing, "and I have a +good mind to hand him over to the Nana. Now good-by! Ahrab will let you +out." + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +TREACHERY. + + +Of all the names connected with the Indian mutiny, Cawnpore stands out +conspicuous for its dark record of treachery, massacre, and bloodshed; and +its name will, so long as the English language continues, be regarded as +the darkest in the annals of our nation. Cawnpore is situated on the +Ganges, one hundred and twenty-three miles northwest of Allahabad, and was +at the time of our story a large straggling town, extending nearly five +miles along the river. It stands on a sandy plain, intensely hot and dusty +in summer, and possesses no fort or other building such as proved the +safety of the Europeans in Agra and Allahabad. The force stationed there +at the first outbreak of the mutiny consisted of the First, Fifty-third, +and Fifty-sixth Native Regiments, the Second Regiment of Bengal Cavalry, +and about fifty European invalid artillerymen. When the news of the revolt +at Meerut reached Cawnpore, and it was but too probable that the mutiny +would spread to all the native regiments throughout the country, Sir Hugh +Wheeler, who was in command, at once set to work to prepare a fortified +position, in which to retire with the European residents in case of +necessity. To this end he connected with breastworks a large unfinished +building intended as a military hospital, with the church and some other +buildings, all standing near the center of the grand parade, and +surrounded the whole with an intrenchment. Within these lines he collected +ammunition, stores and provisions for a month's consumption for a thousand +persons, and having thus, as he hoped, prepared for the worst, he awaited +the event. + +Although there was much uneasiness and disquietude, things went on +tolerably well up to the middle of May. Then Sir Hugh Wheeler sent to +Lucknow, forty miles distant, to ask for a company of white troops, to +enable him to disarm the Sepoys; and he also asked aid of Nana Sahib, +Rajah of Bithoor, who was looked upon as a stanch friend of the English. +On the 22d of May fifty-five Europeans of the Thirty-second Regiment, and +two hundred and forty native troopers of the Oude irregular cavalry, +arrived from Lucknow, and two guns and three hundred men were sent in by +the Rajah of Bithoor. + +Nana Sahib was at this time a man of thirty-two years of age, having been +born in the year 1825. He was the son of poor parents, and had at the age +of two years and a half been adopted by the Peishwa, who had no children +of his own. In India adoption is very common, and an adopted son has all +the legal rights of a legitimate offspring. The Peishwa, who was at one +time a powerful prince, was dethroned by us for having on several +occasions joined other princes in waging war against us, but was honorably +treated, and an annuity of eighty thousand pounds a year was assigned to +him and his heirs. In 1851 the Peishwa died, leaving Nana Dhoondu Pant, +for that was the Nana's full name, his heir and successor. The Company +refused to continue the grant to Nana Sahib, and in so doing acted in a +manner at once impolitic and unjust. It was unjust, because they had +allowed the Peishwa and Nana Sahib, up to the death of the former, to +suppose that the Indian law of adoption would be recognized here as in all +other cases; it was impolitic, because as the greater portion of the +Indian princes had adopted heirs, these were all alarmed at the refusal to +recognize the Nana, and felt that a similar blow might be dealt to them. + +Thus, at this critical period of our history, the minds of the great +Indian princes were all alienated from us, by what was in their eyes at +once a breach of a solemn engagement, and a menace to every reigning +house. Nana Sahib, however, evinced no hostility to the English rule. He +had inherited the private fortune of the Peishwa, and lived in great state +at Bithoor. He affected greatly the society of the British residents at +Cawnpore, was profuse in his hospitality, and was regarded as a jovial +fellow and a stanch friend of the English. When the mutiny broke out, it +proved that he was only biding his time. Nana Sahib was described by an +officer who knew him four years before the mutiny, as then looking at +least forty years old and very fat. "His face is round, his eyes very +wild, brilliant and restless. His complexion, as is the case with most +native gentlemen, is scarcely darker than that of a dark Spaniard, and his +expression is, on the whole, of a jovial, and indeed, somewhat rollicking +character." In reality, this rollicking native gentleman was a human +tiger. + +On the very night that the men of the Thirty-second came in from Oude, +there was an alarm of a rising, and the ladies and children of the station +took refuge in the fortified post prepared for them; and from that time +the sufferings of the residents commenced, although it was not for a +fortnight afterward that the mutiny took place; for the overcrowding and +the intense heat at once began to affect the health of those huddled +together in ill-ventilated rooms, and deprived of all the luxuries which +alone make existence endurable to white people in Indian cities on the +plains during the heats of summer. Scarce a day passed without news of +risings at other stations taking place, and with the receipt of each item +of intelligence the insolence displayed by the Sepoys increased. + +A few English troops arrived from Allahabad and at midnight upon the 4th +of June, when the natives broke into revolt, there were in the +intrenchments of Cawnpore eighty-three officers of various regiments, +sixty men of the Eighty-fourth Regiment, and seventy of the Thirty-second, +fifteen of the First Madras Fusiliers, and a few invalid gunners; the +whole defensive force consisting of about two hundred and forty men, and +six guns. There were under their charge a large number of ladies and +children, the wives and families of the officers and civilians at the +station, sixty-four women and seventy-six children belonging to the +soldiers, with a few native servants who remained faithful. The total +number of women, children, and non-effectives amounted to about eight +hundred and seventy persons. + +During the night of the 4th of June the whole of the native troops rose, +set fire to all the European residences outside the intrenchments, and +marched to Nawabgunge, a place four miles away. A message was sent by them +to Nana Sahib, to the effect that they were marching to Delhi, and +inviting him to assume the command. This he at once assented to, and +arrived at Nawabgunge a few hours later, with six hundred troops and four +guns; and his first act was to divide the contents of the English treasury +there, which had been guarded by his own troops, among the mutineers. + +Having destroyed the European buildings, the force marched to Kulleanpore, +on its way to Delhi; but on its reaching this place the same evening, Nana +Sahib called together the native officers, and advised them to return to +Cawnpore and kill all the Europeans there. Then they would be thought much +of when they arrived at Delhi. The proposal was accepted with acclamation, +and during the night the rebel army marched back to Cawnpore, which they +invested the next morning; the last message from Sir Hugh Wheeler came +through on that day, fighting having begun at half-past ten in the +morning. + +The first proceeding of the mutineers was to take possession of the native +town of Cawnpore, where the houses of the peaceable and wealthy +inhabitants were at once broken open and plundered, and many respectable +natives slaughtered. + +The bombardment of the British position began on the 6th, and continued +with daily increasing fury. Every attempt to carry the place by storm was +repelled, but the sufferings of the besieged were frightful. There was but +one well, in the middle of the intrenchments, and upon this by night and +by day the enemy concentrated their fire, so that it might be said that +every bucket of water cost a man's life. After four or five days of +incessant bombardment, the enemy took to firing red-hot shot, and on the +13th the barracks were set on fire, and, a strong wind blowing, the fire +spread so rapidly that upward of fifty sick and wounded were burned. The +other buildings were so riddled with shot and shell that they afforded +scarcely any shelter. Many of the besieged made holes in the ground or +under the banks of the intrenchments; but the deaths from sunstroke and +fever were even more numerous than those caused by the murderous and +incessant fire. + +In the city a reign of terror prevailed. All the native Christians were +massacred, with their wives and families; and every white prisoner brought +in--and they were many--man, woman, or child, was taken before the Nana, +and murdered by his orders. + +Day by day the sufferings of the garrison in the intrenchments became +greater, and the mortality among the woman and children was terrible. +Every day saw the army of the Nana increasing, by the arrival of mutineers +from other quarters, until it reached a total of over twelve thousand men, +while the fighting force of the garrison had greatly decreased; yet the +handful of Englishmen repulsed every effort of the great host of +assailants to carry the fragile line of intrenchments. + +When Ned and Dick Warrener, having carried out the instructions given by +the ranee, arrived next morning at her house at Cawnpore, Ahrab at once +led them to a small apartment. + +"I have much news to tell you. The fighting is over here. The Nana sent in +a messenger to the English sahibs, to say that if they would give up the +place, with the guns and treasure, he would grant a free passage for all; +and the Nana and his Hindoo officers have sworn the sacred oath of our +religion, and the Mohammedans have sworn on the Koran, that these +conditions shall be observed. Boats are to be provided for them all. They +leave to-morrow at dawn. Her highness the ranee will shelter you here if +you like to stay; but if you wish it you can go at daybreak and join your +countrymen." + +With many thanks for the ranee's offer, the boys at once decided to join +their countrymen; and accordingly next morning after a kind farewell from +their protectress, they started before daybreak under charge of their +driver of the day before, and, still in their disguises of native women, +made their way to a point on the line of route outside the town. There +were but few people here, and, just as day broke the head of the sad +procession came along. The women and children, the sick and wounded--among +the latter Sir H. Wheeler, the gallant commander of the garrison--were in +wagons provided by the Nana; the remnant of the fighting men marched +afterward. Hastily dropping their women's robes, the boys slipped in among +the troops, unnoticed by any of the guards of Nana's troops who were +escorting the procession. + +A few words explained to their surprised compatriots that they were +fugitives who had been in shelter in the town, and many a word of welcome +was muttered, and furtive handshakes given. In return the boys were able +to give the news of the arrival of the British before Delhi, and the +commencement of the siege, all of which was new to the garrison, who had +been for twenty-two days without a word from the outer world. At last the +column reached the ghat, or landing-place, fixed upon for their +embarkation. + +Here seventeen or eighteen boats were collected. The way down to the river +was steep, for the bank of the Ganges is here rather high, and covered +with thick jungle. At the top of the ghat is a small Hindoo temple. The +wounded and sick were carried down the bank and placed in the boats, the +ladies and children took their places, the officers and men then followed. +When all was ready, the Nana's officer suddenly called the native boatmen +to come ashore to receive their wages for the passage down to Benares. + +Then, as if by magic, from out the thick jungle on both sides of the path +to the ghat, hundreds of Sepoys rushed; while at the same moment lines of +bushes fell to the ground, and showed a number of cannon, all placed in +position. In a moment a tremendous fire was opened upon the unhappy +fugitives. Numbers of them were at once killed in the boats; some jumped +into the water, and, pushing the boats afloat, made for the opposite +shore; while others leaped into the river on the deeper side and tried to +escape by swimming. But upon the other shore were enemies as bloodthirsty +as those they left behind, for there the Sepoys of the Seventeenth Native +Regiment, who had mutinied at Azimghur, were posted, and these cut off the +retreat of the fugitives there. Then all the boats, with the exception of +two or three which had drifted down stream, followed by bands of Sepoys +with cannon on either bank, were brought back to the starting-place, which +is known, and will be known through all time, as "the slaughter ghat." +There all the men still alive were taken on shore and shot; while the +women and children, many of them bleeding from wounds, were taken off to a +house formerly belonging to the medical department of the European troops, +called the Subada Khotee. + +Dick and Ned Warrener were in one of the boats which were still ashore +when the treacherous Sepoys burst from their hiding-place. "The +scoundrels!" burst from Ned indignantly; while Dick, seeing at a glance +the hopelessness of their position, grasped his brother's arm. + +"We must swim for it, Ned, Take a long dive, and go under again the moment +you have got breath." + +Without an instant's delay the brothers leaped into the water, as dozens +of others were doing; and although each time their heads came up for an +instant the bullets splashed around them, they kept on untouched until +they reached the center of the stream. They were still within musket +range, but the distance was sufficient to render them pretty safe except +against an accidental shot. They looked back and saw the Sepoys had many +of them entered the river up to their shoulders, to shoot the swimmers: +others on horseback had ridden far out, and were cutting down those who, +unable to swim far, made again toward shallow water; while cannon and +muskets still poured in their fire against the helpless crowds in the +boats. + +"Look, Ned, it is of no use making for the other shore," Dick said; "there +is another body of the wretches there; we must simply float down the +stream in the middle. If we keep on our backs, and sink as low as we can, +so as to show only our noses and mouths above water, they may fire for a +week without hitting us. There, give me your hand, so that we may float +together; I will look up from time to time to see that we are floating +pretty fairly in the middle, I will do it quickly, so as not to be seen, +for if we lie still on our backs they won't watch us after a time, but +will take us for two drifting dead bodies. Now, old boy!" So saying, the +lads turned on their backs, and occasionally giving a quiet stroke with +their legs, or paddling with their hands, drifted down stream, showing so +little of their faces above water that they could scarcely have been seen +from the shore. + +Both the lads were good swimmers, but Dick was perfectly at home in the +water; and Ned, knowing his own inferiority in this respect, left himself +entirely in his brother's hands. Soon Dick, in his quick glances to note +their position, perceived that three boats alone of all the number had got +fairly away down stream--that their occupants had got out oars and were +quickly coming up to the swimmers; but he saw, too, that on both banks the +Sepoy guns kept abreast of them, and that a fire of artillery and musketry +was maintained. For a moment he thought of being taken on board; but their +chance of escaping the fire centered upon them seemed hopeless, and he +judged it was better to keep on in the water. He accordingly paddled +himself out of the center of the stream, so as to give the boats a wide +berth, trusting that the attention of the enemy would be so much directed +at the boats that the floating bodies would be unnoticed. As to keeping +afloat for any time, he had no fear whatever. The water of Indian rivers +in the heat of summer is so warm that swimmers can remain in them for many +hours without any feeling of chill or discomfort. + +An hour later Dick lifted his head and looked forward. The firing was two +miles ahead now. But one boat of the three still floated, and Dick +congratulated himself that he had decided not to join his fate to that of +those on board. Hour after hour passed, and still the boys floated on, +until at last the sun went down, dusk came and went, and when all was dark +they turned on their faces and swam quietly down the stream. For many +hours, alternately swimming and floating, they kept their course down the +river, until toward morning they gently paddled ashore, crept into the +thick jungle of the bank, and fell asleep almost instantly. + +It was dusk again before they awoke. They were desperately hungry, but +they agreed to spend one more night in the river before searching for +food, so as to put as much distance as possible between themselves and +Cawnpore. They had been twenty hours in the water before, and allowing two +miles an hour for the current, and something for their swimming, they +calculated that Cawnpore must be forty-six or forty-seven miles behind. +Eight hours' more steady swimming added twenty to this, and they landed +again with a hope that Nana Sahib's ferocious bands must have been left +behind, and that they had now only the ordinary danger of travel in such +times, through a hostile country, to face. + +It yet wanted an hour or so of daybreak, and they struck off at right +angles to the river, and walked till it became light, when they entered a +small wood near to which was a hut. Watching this closely, they saw only +an old man come out, and at once made to it, and asked him for food and +shelter. Recovered from his first surprise, he received them kindly, and +gave them the best which his hut, in which he lived alone with his wife, +afforded. A meal of cakes and parched grain greatly revived them, and, +after a long sleep, they started again at nightfall, with enough food for +the next two days' supply. That they were not ahead of all their foes was +certain, from the fact that the peasant said that he had heard firing on +the river bank on the previous day. They knew by this also that the one +boat ahead of them had at any rate escaped its perils of the first day. + +For two more nights they walked, passing one day in a thick wood, the +other in a ruined temple, their hopes rising; for, as they knew, the +further they got from Cawnpore the loss likely the country people were to +be hostile. + +The third morning they again entered a hut to ask for food. + +"I will give you food," the peasant said, "but you had better go to the +rajah's, his house is over there, half an hour's walk. He has four +Englishmen there who came from the river, and he is the friend of the +Feringhees." + +Delighted at the news, the boys went forward. As they entered the +courtyard of the house they were greeted with a hearty salutation in +English, and their hands were clasped a moment afterward by Lieutenant +Delafosse, an officer who had greatly distinguished himself in the defense +of Cawnpore, and was one of the few survivors. He took them in to the +rajah, who received them most kindly, and after they had been fed +Lieutenant Delafosse told them how he and his three comrades had escaped. + +The boat had, although many on board had been hit by rifle balls, escaped +the first day. She was crowded, and very low in the water, having on board +most of those who had been in the two boats sunk by the enemy. The next +day they were again fired at without effect by artillery, infantry +accompanying the boat all day, and keeping up an incessant fire. On the +third day the boat was no longer serviceable, and grounded on a sand-bank. +Then the enemy's infantry fired so heavily that those still able to carry +arms, fourteen in number, made for the shore and attacked their foes. +These fell back, and the handful of Englishmen followed them. Great +numbers of the enemy now came up, and the English took refuge in a little +temple; here they defended themselves till the enemy piled bushes at the +entrance, and set them on fire. Then the English burst through the flames, +and made again for the river. Seven out of the twelve who got through the +fire reached the river, but of these two were shot before they had swum +far. Three miles lower down, one of the survivors, an artilleryman, +swimming on his back, went too near the bank and was killed. Six miles +lower down the firing ceased, and soon afterward the four survivors were +hailed by natives, who shouted to them to come ashore, as their master, +the rajah, was friendly to the English. They did so, and were most kindly +received by him. + +An abundant meal and another good sleep did wonders for the young +Warreners, and the next morning they determined to set out to join their +countrymen at Allahabad, where they expected to find their father and his +troops. The rajah and their fellow-countrymen endeavored in vain to +dissuade them, but the former, finding that they were determined, gave +them dresses as native women, furnished them with a guide, and sent them +across the river in a boat--for they were on the Oude side--with a message +to a zemindar there to help them forward. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +RETRIBUTION BEGINS. + + +The zemindar to whom the Warreners' guide conducted them, after crossing +the Ganges, received them kindly, and told them that the safest way would +be for them to go on in a hackery, or native cart, and placed one at once +at their disposal, with a trusty man as a driver, and another to accompany +them in the hackery. He told them that British troops were, it was said, +arriving fast at Allahabad, and that it was even reported that an advance +had already taken place. Nana Sahib would, it was said, meet them at +Futtehpore, a place forty-eight miles from Cawnpore, and seventy-five from +Allahabad. As yet, however, none of his troops had reached Futtehpore, +which was fortunate, for the main road ran through that place, which was +but twenty miles from the point where they had crossed the Ganges; and +although they would keep by a road near the river, and so avoid the town, +the Nana's troops would be sure to be scouring the country. This news +decided them not to accept the zemindar's invitation to stay the night and +start the next morning early. It was still but little past noon, and they +might do many miles before darkness. + +Before they halted the party had made fifteen miles, and in passing +through a village learned the welcome news that a small English force had +advanced to Synee, some ten miles only beyond Futtehpore. This force had, +it was said, met with little resistance as yet, and the country people +were full of stories of the manner in which the Sepoys and others who had +been engaged with them were, as soon as captured, hung up in numbers. +Already, in the minds of the peasantry, the idea that the British would be +the final conquerors in the strife was gaining ground; and as the whole +country had suffered from the exactions and insolence of the triumphant +Sepoys, and life and property were no longer safe for a moment, the secret +sympathy of all those who had anything to lose was with the advancing +British force. + +The next day the party followed the road near the river all day, as they +feared to fall either into the hands of Sepoys retiring before the +English, or of those coming down from Cawnpore. They halted for the night +at a village whence a road ran direct to Synee, which was about eight +miles distant. The villagers repeated that the Sepoys had all fallen back, +and that there would be a great fight at Futtehpore. The English force was +small, but a large body were on their way up from Allahabad. + +The boys started at daybreak, and had proceeded about three miles when a +body of cavalry were seen rapidly approaching. + +The driver of the hackery put his head inside the leather curtain of the +vehicle. + +"English," he said. The boys looked out, and gave a shout of joy as they +saw the well-known uniforms; and, regardless of their women's robes. they +leaped out and ran to meet them. The advanced guard of the cavalry stopped +in surprise. + +"Halloo! what is up? who are you?" + +"Why, Dunlop, don't you know us?" the boys shouted. + +"The Warreners!" exclaimed Captain Dunlop, leaping from his horse and +seizing them by the hand. "My dear boys, this is joy." + +The men set up a cheer, which was caught up by the main body as they came +up, and in another minute the boys were in their father's arms. + +The young Warreners had been mourned as dead, for no one doubted that they +had been carried to Cawnpore, and had shared the fate of the garrison of +that place; and the joy of their father therefore was intense, while the +whole corps, with whom the boys were general favorites, were delighted. + +After the first rapturous greeting Major Warrener took off his cap +reverently, and said a few words of deep gratitude to God, the men all +baring their heads as he did so. Then Captain Kent said: + +"Shall I push on to the Ganges, major, with my troop? or perhaps your sons +can tell us what we are ordered to find out?" + +"What is it?" Ned asked. + +"Whether there are any bodies of troops pushing down by the river. It +would not do for them to get behind us, and threaten our communications." + +The boys were able to affirm that there was no body of mutineers near the +Ganges below Futtehpore, as they had just come down that way. + +"Then we can ride back at once," Major Warrener said. "Major Renaud was on +the point of marching when we started, and he will be glad to have us back +again. First, though, what have these natives done for you?" + +Ned in a few words explained that they came by the instruction of their +master, and had been with them for three days. + +The major made them a handsome present, and sent a message to the +zemindar, to the effect that his kindness would be reported to government; +and Dick scribbled a few words to Lieutenant Delafosse, with the news of +the British advance, and a kind message to the rajah. + +"Now, Dick, you jump up behind me," his father said. "Dunlop can take you, +Ned; and you can give us a short account of what has befallen you as we +ride back. We must get you a couple of horses of some kind or another at +Synee. Can't you cast off these women's clothes?" + +"We have got nothing to speak of underneath," Dick laughed; "we got rid of +our uniforms in the Ganges, and want a rig out from top to toe." + +"Well, we must see what we can do for you tonight. And now," he asked, as +they trotted along at the head of the column, amid the smiles of the men +at the appearance of their commanding officer carrying, as it seemed, a +native woman _en croupe_, "how did you escape, boys? We did not miss you +until we halted for half an hour at midnight. Then six of us rode back ten +miles, but could find no trace of you, and we gave you up as lost; so we +rode on till we met Major Renaud's force coming up, when we sent our +rescued friends on to Allahabad, and turned back with just a shadow of +hope that we might yet find you alive somewhere or other." + +Dick then told the story of the intervention of the tiger in their behalf, +and said that afterward an Indian lady had succored them, hinting that at +the end of the war it was probable that Ned would present his father with +a daughter-in-law. + +"That's all very well," Ned laughed. "If Dick had understood the language, +I should have been nowhere. You should have seen him kiss her hand." + +"Well, anyhow," Dick said, "she was a brick, father, and no mistake." + +By this time Synee was reached. In spite of Major Warrener's liberal +offers, no horses or even ponies were forthcoming, so completely had the +Sepoys stripped the country, most of the villages having been burned as +well as plundered by them. From the valises of the troop various articles +of clothing were contributed, which enabled the lads again to take their +places in the ranks, but riding as before _en croupe_. In two hours after +their arrival at Synee they were moving forward again at a trot, and in +four hours came up with Major Renaud's force, encamped for the day. + +They were glad to get in, for the rain, since they left Synee, had been +falling in sheets. The force was fortunately moving now along the grand +trunk road, a splendid piece of road-making, extending from Calcutta to +Peshawur, for already the country roads would have been almost impassable. + +"Do we halt here for the day?" Ned asked his father, as they drew rein in +the camp. + +"Yes, Dick, the enemy are in force at Futtehpore, which is only some +fourteen miles away. Havelock is coming up by double marches. He halted +last night fifteen miles the other side of Synee. To-day he will reach +Synee; will bivouac there for a few hours, and will march on here in the +night. We are to be under arms by the time he will arrive, and the whole +of us will push forward to Khaga, five miles this side of Futtehpore. So +Havelock's men will have marched twenty-four miles straight off, to say +nothing of the fifteen to-day. The troops could not do it, were it not +that every one is burning to get to Cawnpore, to avenge the murder of our +comrades and to rescue the women and children, if it be yet time." + +The boys were at once taken by their father to Major Renaud, who welcomed +them warmly. This officer had under his command a force of four hundred +British, and four hundred and twenty native troops, with two pieces of +cannon. + +After being introduced to Major Renaud the boys went to the tents allotted +to their corps, which were already pitched, and Major Warrener asked the +officers, and as many of the volunteers as his tent would hold, to listen +to the account of the massacre of Cawnpore, which was now for the first +time authentically told; for hitherto only native reports had come down +from the city. Great was the indignation and fury with which the tale of +black treachery and foul murder was heard; and when the story was told it +had to be repeated to the officers of the other corps in camp. + +The terrible tale soon spread through the camp; and men gnashed their +teeth in rage, and swore bitter oaths--which were terribly kept--to avenge +the deeds that had been committed. Uppermost of all, however, was the +anxiety about the women and children; for the boys had heard, when staying +at the friendly rajah's, that near one hundred and twenty of these +unfortunates--the survivors of the siege, and of the river attack--had +been shut up in a room in the Cawnpore lines. + +At three o'clock next morning--the 11th of July--the troops were under +arms, the tents struck, and all in readiness for an advance. Presently a +dull sound was heard; it grew louder, and the head of General Havelock's +column came up. + +There was a short halt while Major Renaud reported to the general the +state of affairs in front, as far as he knew them. He mentioned, too, that +two survivors of the Cawnpore massacre had that day come in, and that four +others were in shelter with a native rajah on the Oude side of the Ganges. +The general at once requested that the Warreners should be brought up to +him; and the lads were accordingly presented to the man whose name, +hitherto unknown outside military circles, was--in consequence of the +wonderful succession of battles and of victories, of which that date, the +12th of July, was to mark the first--to become a household word in +England. + +"The column had better move forward, Major Renaud; your division will +lead. If you will ride by me, gentlemen, you can tell me of this dreadful +business as we go." + +Fortunately there were several horses in Major Renaud's camp, which had +been taken from men of the enemy's cavalry who had been surprised in the +upward march, and two of them had been assigned to the boys, so that they +were able to feel once more as soldiers. + +On arriving at Khaga, an insignificant village, General Havelock said to +the lads: + +"Thank you very much for your information. You have behaved with great +coolness and courage, and Major Warrener, your father, has every reason to +be proud of you. I am short of aids-de-camp, and shall be glad if you will +act as my gallopers"--an honor which, it need hardly be said, the boys +joyfully accepted. + +The following was the total force under General Havelock's command when he +commenced the series of battles which were finally to lead him to Lucknow: +Seventy-six men of the Royal Artillery, three hundred and seventy-six of +the Madras Fusiliers, four hundred and thirty-five of the Sixty-fourth +Regiment, two hundred and eighty-four of the Seventy-eighth Highlanders +one hundred and ninety men of the Eighty-fourth Regiment, twenty-two men +of the Bengal Artillery. Total of British regular troops, thirteen hundred +and eighty-three, with eight guns. Besides these he had Warrener's Horse. +Of natives he had the Ferozepore Regiment (Sikhs), four hundred and forty- +eight strong, ninety-five men of the native irregular cavalry, who were +worse than useless, and eighteen mounted native police. + +The order for a halt was welcome indeed to the troops. Havelock's column +had marched twenty-four miles without resting or eating, and fires were +speedily lighted, and preparation made for breakfast. Major Tytler, +quartermaster-general to the force, had, on arriving at the halting-place, +taken twenty of Warrener's Horse, and had gone forward to reconnoiter. The +water was growing hot, and the tired soldiers as they lay on the ground, +pipes in mouths, were thinking that breakfast would soon be ready, when +there was an exclamation: + +"Here come the Horse! Something's up!" + +The reconnoitering party were seen galloping back at full speed, and a +minute or two later a large body of the enemy's cavalry in rapid pursuit +emerged from a tope on the edge of the plain. The bugles sounded to arms, +and the men grasped their fire-arms and fell in, but not without many a +muttered exclamation of disgust. + +"Confound them! they might have given us time for breakfast!" + +"They need not be in such a hurry; the day's long enough." + +"I thought I hated them fellows as bad as a chap could do; but I owe them +another now." + +A laugh was raised by a young officer saying cheerily to his men, +"Nevermind, lads, we'll return good for evil. They won't let us have +enough to eat, and we are going to give them more than they can digest." + +In a very short time a considerable force of the enemy's infantry +appeared, following the cavalry, and with them were some guns, which at +once opened on the British force. + +Hitherto General Havelock had made no move. He knew that his men urgently +needed rest and food. The sun had come out, and was blazing fiercely; and +it was of great importance that the troops should eat before undertaking +what could not but be a heavy morning's work; but the enemy, who believed +that they had only Major Renaud's weak force before them, pressed forward +so boldly that there was no refusing the challenge so offered. The order +was given to advance, and the men, with a hearty cheer, moved forward +against the enemy, whose force consisted of fifteen hundred Sepoys, +fifteen hundred Oude tribesmen, and five hundred rebel cavalry, with +twelve guns. Their position was a strong one, for on each side of the road +the plain was a swamp, and in many places was two and even more feet under +water. In front, on a rising ground, were some villages with gardens and +mango-groves, and behind this Futtehpore itself, with gardens with high +walls, and many houses of solid masonry. + +It may, however, be said that the fight was decided as soon as begun. The +British artillery silenced that of the enemy; the British rifles drove +their infantry before them. Warrener's Horse and the irregular cavalry +moved on the flank, the infantry marched straight the swamps, and while +some of the guns kept on the solid road, others had to be dragged and +pushed with immense labor through the morass. As the British advanced the +enemy fell back, abandoning gun after gun. The general of the Sepoy force +was on an elephant, on rising ground in the rear of his troops, and +Captain Maude, who commanded the artillery, by a well-aimed shot knocked +the elephant over, to the great delight of the gunners. After that the +rebels attempted no further resistance, and fled to Futtehpore. There they +prepared to make a stand in the houses and gardens; but our men, whose +blood was now thoroughly up, and who were disgusted at their failure to +get at their foe, went forward with a rush, and the enemy fled without +hesitation. + +The streets of Futtehpore were absolutely choked with the baggage train of +the defeated rebels, and the discovery of many articles of attire of +English ladies and children raised the fury of the troops to the highest +point. Pursuit of the enemy was, however, impossible. The troops were +utterly exhausted, and officers and men threw themselves down where-ever a +little shade could be found. At three o'clock the baggage came up, and by +the forethought of the commissariat officer in charge some camels laden +with rum and biscuit came up with it, so that the men were able to have a +biscuit and a little spirits and water, which revived them; for whatever +be the demerits of spirits upon ordinary occasions, on an emergency of +this kind it is a restorative of a very valuable kind. + +Singularly enough, in this battle, in which thirty-five hundred men were +defeated and twelve guns captured, not a single British soldier was +killed, the enemy never waiting until fairly within shot. Twelve soldiers, +however, fell and died from sunstroke during the fight. + +On the 13th the troops halted to rest. The guns taken from the enemy were +brought in, and the great baggage train captured in the town organized for +our own service. + +On the 14th the force again advanced along a road literally strewn with +arms, cartridges, chests of ammunition, shot, clothing, and tents, +abandoned in their flight by the insurgents. The most welcome find to the +army were forty barrels of English porter, part of the Sepoys' loot at one +of the scenes of mutiny. That night the force encamped at Kulleanpore, +twenty-seven miles from Cawnpore. + +"So far it has been easy work, except for the legs," Major Warrener said, +as he sat with his sons and his officers on the evening of the 13th; "but +it will be very different work now. These scoundrels are fighting with +ropes round their necks; they know that every Cawnpore Sepoy who falls +into our hands will have but a short shrift, and they can't help fighting. +Altogether, they have something like five times our force; and as they +have all been most carefully drilled and trained by ourselves, the +scoundrels ought to make a good fight of it." + +"I don't mind the fighting," Ned said, "so much as the heat; it is awful." + +"It is hot, Ned," Captain Dunlop said; "but at rate it is better for us +who sit on horseback than for the men who have to march, and carry a rifle +and ammunition." + +"Do you think we shall have fighting to-morrow, father?" Dick asked. + +"We are certain to do so. The pandies have been intrenching themselves +very strongly at Dong, which is five miles from here. But this is not the +worst part. We know they have placed two heavy guns on the other side of +the Pandoo Nuddee, which is a large stream three miles beyond Dong. These +guns will sweep not only the bridge, but the straight road for a mile +leading to it. The bridge, too, has, we know, been mined; and our only +chance is to go on with the mutineers, so as to give them no time to blow +it up." + +The work of the 14th, however, was less severe than was expected. The +enemy fought stoutly at the village, advancing beyond the inclosures to +meet our troops. Our superior rifle and artillery fire, however, drove +them back, and then they clung stubbornly to the village and inclosures, +our advance being retarded by the threatening attitude of large bodies of +the enemy's cavalry, who moved upon the flanks and menaced the baggage. +The force under Havelock being so weak in cavalry--for the native +irregulars had been disarmed and dismounted for their bad conduct--there +remained only Warrener's Horse, who were known in the force as the +"volunteers." These covered the baggage, and executed several brilliant +charges on parties of the enemy's cavalry who came too boldly forward; but +the artillery had to be brought from the front, and to open upon the heavy +masses of the enemy's cavalry, before they would fall back. Then the +column pressed forward again, captured Dong, with two guns placed there, +and drove the enemy out in headlong flight. + +Then the force moved forward to the capture of the Pandoo bridge. As the +artillery, who were at the head of the column, debouched from a wood into +the straight bit of road leading to the bridge two puffs of smoke burst +from a low ridge ahead, followed by the boom of heavy guns, and the +twenty-four pound shot, splendidly aimed, crashed in among the guns, +bullocks, and men. Again and again the enemy's guns were fired with equal +accuracy. Our light guns were at the distance no match for these twenty- +four pounders, and Captain Maude ordered two guns to advance straight +along the road until within easy practice distance, and two others to go +across the country to the right and left, so as to take the bridge, which +stood at the extremity of a projecting bend of the river, or, as it is +called in military parlance, a salient angle, in flank. + +The Madras Fusiliers, in skirmishing line, preceded the guns, and their +Enfield fire, as soon as they were within range, astonished the enemy. +Then the artillery opened with shrapnel, and nearly at the first round +silenced the enemy's guns by killing the majority of the gunners and +smashing the sponging rods. Then the infantry advanced at a charge, and +the enemy, who were massed to defend the bridge, at once lost heart and +fled. They tried to blow up the bridge, but in their haste they blundered +over it; and while the parapets were injured, the arches remained intact. + +After all this fighting, the British loss was but six killed and twenty- +three wounded--among the latter being that brave officer Major Renaud, +whose leg was broken by a musket shot while leading the Madras Fusiliers. + +Finding that the resistance was becoming more and more obstinate, General +Havelock sent off a horseman to Brigadier General Neil at Allahabad, +begging him to send up three hundred more British troops with all speed. +On receiving the message General Neil sent off two hundred and twenty- +seven men of the Eighty-fourth Regiment in bullock vans, with orders to do +twenty-five miles a day, which would take them to Cawnpore in less than +five days. He himself came on with the reinforcements, Allahabad being by +this time quiet and safe. + +At daybreak next morning the troops marched fourteen miles, halted, and +cooked their food; after which, at one o'clock, they prepared to attack +the enemy, who were, our spies told us, in a position extremely strong in +the front, but capable of being attacked by a flank movement. In the +burning heat of the sun, with men falling out fainting at every step, the +troops, under a heavy artillery fire of the enemy, turned off the road and +swept round to execute the flank movement as calmly and regularly as if on +parade. + +When they reached the points assigned to them for the attack they +advanced; and then, while the skirmishers and the artillery engaged the +enemy, who were strongly posted in the inclosures of a village, the main +body lay down. The enemy's guns were, however, too strongly posted to be +silenced, and the Seventy-eighth were ordered to take the position by +assault. The Highlanders moved forward in a steady line until within a +hundred yards of the village; then at the word "Charge!" they went at it +with a wild rush, delighted that at last they were to get hand to hand +with their foe. Not a shot was fired or a shout uttered as they threw +themselves upon the mutineers; the bayonet did its work silently and +thoroughly. + +A breach once made in the enemy's line, position after position was +carried--Highlanders, Sixty-fourth men, and Sikhs vieing with each other +in the ardor with which they charged the foe, the enemy everywhere +fighting stubbornly, though vainly. + +At last, at six in the evening, all opposition ceased, and the troops +marched into the old parade ground of Cawnpore, having performed a twenty- +two miles' march, and fought for five hours, beneath a sun of tremendous +power. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +DANGEROUS SERVICE. + + +On the morning of the 17th of July the troops rose with light hearts from +the ground where they had thrown themselves, utterly exhausted, after the +tremendous exertions of the previous day. Cawnpore was before them, and as +they did not anticipate any further resistance--for the whole of the +enemy's guns had fallen into their hands, and the Sepoys had fled in the +wildest confusion at the end of the day, after fighting with obstinacy and +determination as long as a shadow of hope of victory remained--they looked +forward to the joy of releasing from captivity the hapless women and +children who were known to have been confined in the house called the +Subada Khotee, since the massacre of their husbands and friends on the +river. + +Just after daybreak there was a dull, deep report, and a cloud of gray +smoke rose over the city. Nana Sahib had ordered the great magazine to be +blown up, and had fled for his life to Bithoor. Well might he be hopeless. +He had himself commanded at the battle of the preceding day, and had seen +eleven thousand of his countrymen, strongly posted, defeated by a thousand +Englishmen. What chance, then, could there be of final success? As for +himself, his life was a thousandfold forfeit; and even yet his enemies did +not know the measure of his atrocities. It was only when the head of the +British column arrived at the Subada Khotee that the awful truth became +known. The troops halted, surprised that no welcome greeted them. They +entered the courtyard; all was hushed and quiet, but fragments of dresses, +children's shoes, and other remembrances of British occupation, lay +scattered about. Awed and silent, the leading officers entered the house, +and, after a glance round, recoiled with faces white with horror. The +floor was deep in blood; the walls were sprinkled thickly with it. +Fragments of clothes, tresses of long hair, children's shoes with the feet +still in them--a thousand terrible and touching mementos of the butchery +which had taken place there met the eye. Horror-struck and sickened, the +officers returned into the courtyard, to find that another discovery had +been made, namely, that the great well near the house was choked to the +brim with the bodies of women and children. Not one had escaped. + +On the afternoon of the 15th, when the defeat at Futtehpore was known, the +Nana had given orders for a general massacre of his helpless prisoners. +There, in this ghastly well, were the remains, not only of those who had +so far survived the siege and first massacre of Cawnpore, but of some +seventy or eighty women and children, fugitives from Futteyghur. These +had, with their husbands, fathers and friends, a hundred and thirty in +all, reached Cawnpore in boats on the 12th of July. Here the boats had +been fired upon and forced to put to shore, when the men were, by the +Nairn's orders, all butchered, and the women and children sent to share +the fate of the prisoners of Cawnpore. + +Little wonder is it that the soldiers, who had struggled against heat and +fatigue and a host of foes to reach Cawnpore, broke clown and cried like +children at that terrible sight; that soldiers picked up the bloody +relics--a handkerchief, a lock of hair, a child's sock sprinkled with +blood--and kept them to steel their hearts to all thoughts of mercy; and +that, after this, they went into battle crying to each other: + +"Remember the ladies!" "Remember the babies!" "Think of Cawnpore!" +Henceforth, to the end of the war, no quarter was ever shown to a Sepoy. + +One of the first impulses of the Warreners, when the tents were pitched in +the old cantonments, and the troops were dismissed, was to ride with their +father to the house of the ranee. It was found to be abandoned-as, indeed, +was the greater part of the town--and an old servant, who alone remained, +said that two days previously the ranee had left for her country abode. +Major Warrener at once drew out a paper, saying that the owner of this +house had shown hospitality and kindness to English fugitives, and that it +was therefore to be preserved from all harm or plunder; and having +obtained the signature of the quartermaster-general in addition to his +own, he affixed the paper to the door of the dwelling. The next day he +rode out with his sons and twenty of his men to the house where the boys +had first been sheltered. The gates were opened at his summons by some +trembling retainers, who hastened to assure them that the ranee, their +mistress, was friendly to the English. + +"Will you tell her that there is no cause for alarm, but that we desire an +interview with her?" the major said, dismounting. + +In a minute the servant returned, and begged the major to follow him, +which he did, accompanied by his sons. They were shown into a grand +reception room, where the ranee, thickly veiled, was sitting on a couch, +surrounded by her attendants, Ahrab standing beside her. + +The ranee gave a little cry of pleasure on recognizing the boys, and Ahrab +instantly signed to the other attendants to retire. Then the ranee +unveiled, and the major, who had remained near the entrance until the +attendants had left, came forward, the boys kissing the hands that the +ranee held out to them. + +"I have mourned for you as dead," she said. "When the news of that +horrible treachery came, and I thought that I had let you go to death, my +heart turned to water." + +"This is our father, dear lady," Ned said; "he has come to thank you +himself for having saved and sheltered us." + +The interview lasted for half an hour; refreshment being served, Ned +recounted the particulars of their escape. Major Warrener, on leaving, +handed the ranee a protection order signed by the general, to show to any +British troops who might be passing, and told her that her name would be +sent in with the list of those who had acted kindly to British fugitives, +all of whom afterward received honors and rewards in the shape of the +lands of those who had joined the mutineers. Then, with many expressions +of good-will on both sides, the major and his sons took their leave, and, +joining the troops below, rode back to Cawnpore. + +For three days after his arrival at Cawnpore General Havelock rested his +troops, and occupied himself with restoring order in the town. Numbers of +Sepoys were found in hiding, and these were, as soon as identified, all +hung at once. On the third day Brigadier-General Neil arrived, with the +two hundred and twenty men of the Eighty-fourth, who had been hurried +forward-a most welcome reinforcement, for Havelock's force was sadly +weakened by loss in battle, sunstroke, and disease. On the 20th the army +marched against Bithoor, every heart beating at the thought of engaging +Nana Sahib, who, with five thousand men and a large number of cannon, had +made every preparation for the defense of his castle. At the approach of +the avenging force, however, his courage, and the courage of his troops, +alike gave way, and they fled without firing a shot, leaving behind them +guns, elephants, baggage, men, and horses, in great numbers. The magazine +was blown up, and the palace burned, and the force, with their captured +booty, returned to Cawnpore. + +During the advance to Cawnpore the zeal and bravery of the young Warreners +had not escaped the notice of the general, who had named them in his +official report as gentlemen volunteers who had greatly distinguished +themselves. On the return from Bithoor, on the evening of the 20th, he +turned to them as he dismounted, and said, "Will you come to my tent in +two hours' time?" + +"Young gentlemen," he said, when they presented themselves, and had at his +request seated themselves on two boxes which served as chairs, "in what I +am going to say to you, mind, I express no wish even of the slightest. I +simply state that I require two officers for a service of extreme danger. +I want to send a message into Lucknow. None of the officers of the English +regiments can speak the language with any fluency, and those of the Madras +Fusiliers speak the dialects of Southern India. Therefore it is among the +volunteers, who all belong to the northwest, that I must look. I have no +doubt that there are many of them who would undertake the service, and +whose knowledge of the language would be nearly perfect, but there are +reasons why I ask you whether you will volunteer for the work. In the +first place, you have already three times passed, while in disguise, as +natives; and in the second, your figures being slight, and still a good +deal under the height you will attain, render your disguise far less easy +to be detected than that of a full-grown man would be. If you undertake +it, you will have a native guide, who last night arrived from Lucknow with +a message to me, having passed through the enemy's lines. You understand, +young gentlemen, the service is one of great honor and credit if +accomplished, but it is also one of the greatest risk. I cannot so well +intrust the mission to the native alone, because I dare not put on paper +the tidings I wish conveyed, and it is possible, however faithful he may +be, that he might, if taken and threatened with death, reveal the message +with which he is charged. I see by your faces what your answer is about to +be, but I will not hear it now. Go first to your father. Tell him exactly +what I have told you, and then send me the answer if he declines to part +with you--bring it me if he consents to your going. Remember that in +yielding what I see is your own inclination, to his natural anxiety, you +will not fall in the very least from the high position in which you stand +in my regard. In an hour I shall expect to hear from you. Good-night, if I +do not see you again." + +"Of course father will let us go," Dick said when they got outside the +tent. Ned did not reply. + +"Dick, old boy," he said presently, as they walked along, "don't you think +if I go alone it would be better. It would be an awful blow to father to +lose both of us." + +"No, Ned," Dick said warmly, "I hope he will not decide that. I know I +can't talk the lingo as you can, and that so I add to your danger; still +sometimes in danger two can help each other, and we have gone through so +much together--oh, Ned, don't propose that you should go alone." + +Major Warrener--or Colonel Warrener as he should now be called, for +General Havelock had given him a step in rank, in recognition of the most +valuable service of his troop during the battles on the road to Cawnpore-- +heard Ned in silence while he repeated, as nearly as possible word for +word, the words of the general. For some time he was silent, and sat with +his face in his hands. + +"I don't like you both going, my boys," he said huskily. + +"No, father," Dick said, "I feared that that was what you would say; but +although in some respects I should be a hindrance to Ned from not speaking +the language, in others I might help him. Two are always better than one +in a scrape, and if he got ill or wounded or anything I could nurse him; +and two people together keep up each other's spirits. You know, father, we +have got through some bad scrapes together all right, and I don't see why +we should not get through this. We shall be well disguised; and no end of +Sepoys, and people from Cawnpore, must be making their way to Lucknow, so +that very few questions are likely to be asked. It does not seem to me +anything like as dangerous a business as those we have gone through, for +the last thing they would look for is Englishmen making their way to +Lucknow at present. The guide who is going with us got out, you know; and +they must be looking out ten times as sharp to prevent people getting out, +as to prevent any one getting in." + +"I really do not think, father," Ned said, "that the danger of detection +is great-certainly nothing like what it was before. Dick and I will of +course go as Sepoys, and Dick can bind up his face and mouth as if he had +been wounded, and was unable to speak. There must be thousands of them +making their way to Lucknow, and we shall excite no attention whatever. +The distance is not forty miles." + +"Very well, boys, so be it," Colonel Warrener said. "There is much in what +you say; and reluctant as I am to part with you both, yet somehow the +thought that you are together, and can help each other, will be a comfort +to me. God bless you, my boys! Go back to the general, and say I consent +freely to your doing the duty for which he has selected you. I expect you +will have to start at once, but you will come back here to change." + +General Havelock expressed his warm satisfaction when the boys returned +with their father's consent to their undertaking the adventure. "I +understand from Colonel Warrener," he said, addressing Ned, "that you are +intended for the army. I have deferred telling you that on the day of the +first fight I sent your name home, begging that you might be gazetted on +that date to a commission in the Sixty-fourth. Your name will by this time +have appeared in order. There are only two ensigns now in the regiment, +and ere I see you again there will, I fear, be more than that even of +death vacancies, so that you will have got your step. I will do the same +for you," he said, turning to Dick, "if you like to give up your +midshipman's berth and take to the army." + +"No, thank you, sir," Dick said, laughing. "By the time this is over, I +shall have had enough of land service to last my life." + +"I have already sent down a report to the admiral of your conduct," +General Havelock said; "and as a naval brigade is coming up under Captain +Peel, you will be able to sail under your true colors before long. Now for +your instructions. You are to inform Colonel Inglis, who is in command +since the death of Sir H. Lawrence, that, although I am on the point of +endeavoring to push forward to his rescue, I have no hope whatever of +success. Across the river large forces of Oude irregulars, with guns, are +collected, and every step of the way will be contested. I must leave a +force to hold Cawnpore, and I have only eleven hundred bayonets in all. +With such a force as this it is impossible, if the enemy resists as +stubbornly as may be expected, for me to fight my way to Lucknow, still +more to force my way through the city, held by some ten or fifteen +thousand men, to the Residency, I may say that I have no hope of doing +this till I am largely reinforced. Still, my making a commencement of a +march, and standing constantly on the offensive, will force the enemy to +keep a large force on the road to oppose me, and will in so far relieve +the Residency from some of its foes. You see the importance of your +message. Did the enemy know my weakness, they would be able to turn their +whole force against the Residency. Tell our countrymen there that they +must hold out to the last, but that I hope and believe that in a month +from the present time the reinforcements will be up, and that I shall be +able to advance to their rescue. Colonel Inglis says that their stores +will last to the end of August, and that he believes that he can repel all +attacks. The native who goes with you bears word only that I am on the +point of advancing to the relief of the garrison. So if the worst happens, +and you are all taken, his message, if he betrays it, will only help to +deceive the enemy. You will start tonight if possible. I leave it to you +to arrange your disguises, and have ordered the guide to be at your +father's tent at nine o'clock--that is, in an hour and a half's time--so +that if you can be ready by that time, you will get well away before +daybreak. There is a small boat four miles up the river, that the guide +crossed in; he hid it in some bushes, so you will cross without +difficulty; and even if you are caught crossing, your story that you are +Sepoys who have been hiding for the last few days will pass muster. Now, +good-by, lads, and may God watch over you and keep you!" + +Upon their return to Colonel Warrener's tent they found their friends +Captains Dunlop and Manners, and two or three of the officers most +accustomed to native habits and ways, and all appliances for disguise. +First the boys took a hearty meal; then they stripped, and were sponged +with iodine from head to foot; both were then dressed in blood-stained +Sepoy uniforms, of which there were thousands lying about, for the greater +portion of the enemy had thrown off their uniforms before taking to +flight. Ned's left arm was bandaged up with bloody rags, and put in a +sling, and Dick's head and face were similarly tied up, though he could +not resist a motion of repugnance as the foul rags were applied to him. +Both had a quantity of native plaster and bandages placed next to the +skin, in case suspicion should fall upon them and the outside bandages be +removed to see if wounds really existed; and Dick was given a quantity of +tow, with which to fill his mouth and swell out his cheeks and lips, to +give the appearance which would naturally arise from a severe wound in the +jaw. Caste marks were painted on their foreheads; and their disguise was +pronounced to be absolutely perfect to the eye. Both were barefooted, as +the Sepoys never travel in the regimental boots if they can avoid it. + +At the appointed time the guide was summoned, an intelligent-looking +Hindoo in country dress. He examined his fellow-travelers, and pronounced +himself perfectly satisfied with their appearance. + +Outside the tent six horses were in readiness. Colonel Warrener, and his +friends Dunlop and Manners, mounted on three, the others were for the +travelers; and with a hearty good-by to their other friends in the secret, +the party started. + +Half an hour's riding took them to the place where the boat was concealed +in the bushes; and with a tender farewell from their father, and a hearty +good-by from his companions, the three adventurers took their places in +the boat and started. + +Noiselessly they paddled across the Ganges, stepped out in the shallow +water on the other side, turned the boat adrift to float down with the +stream, and then struck across the country toward Lucknow. + +They were now off the main road, on which the Oude mutineers collected to +oppose the advance of General Havelock were for the most part stationed. +Thus they passed village after village, unchallenged and unquestioned, and +morning, when it dawned, found them twenty miles on the road toward +Lucknow. Then they went into a wood and lay down to sleep, for even if any +one should enter accidentally and discover them, they had no fear of any +suspicion arising. They were now near the main road, and when they +started--just as it became dusk--they met various parties of horse and +foot proceeding toward Cawnpore; sometimes they passed without a question, +sometimes a word or two were said, the guide answering, and asking how +things went at Lucknow. + +The subject was evidently a sore one; for curses on the obstinate +Feringhee dogs, and threats as to their ultimate fate, were their only +reply. + +Eighteen miles' walk, and a great black wall rose in front of them. + +"That is the Alumbagh," the guide said; "the sahibs will have a big fight +here. It is a summer palace and garden of the king. Once past this we will +leave the road. It is but two miles to the canal and we must not enter the +city--not that I fear discovery, but there would be no possibility of +entering the Residency on this side. Our only chance is on the side I left +it; that is by crossing the river. We must work round the town." + +"How far are we from the Residency now? I can hear the cannon very +clearly;" and indeed for the last two hours of their walk the booming of +guns had been distinctly audible. + +"It is about five miles in a straight line, but it will be double by the +route we must take." + +Turning to the right after passing the dark mass of the Alumbagh, the +little party kept away through a wooded country until another great +building appeared in sight. + +"That is the Dilkouska," the guide said. "Now we will go half a mile +further and then sleep; we cannot get in to-night." + +In the afternoon they were awake again, and took their seats on a bank at +a short distance from any road, and looked at the city. + +"What an extraordinary view!" Ned said. "What fantastic buildings! What an +immense variety of palaces and mosques! What is that strange building +nearest to us?" he asked the guide. + +"That is the Martiničre. It was built many years ago by a Frenchman in the +service of the king of Oude. Now it is a training college. All the pupils +are in the Residency, and are fighting like men. Beyond, between us and +the Residency, are several palaces and mosques. That is the Residency; do +you not see an English house with a tower, and a flag flying over it, +standing alone on that rising ground by the river?" + +"And that is the Residency!" the boys exclaimed, looking at the building +in which, and the surrounding houses, a handful of Englishmen were keeping +at bay an army. + +"That is the Residency," their guide said; "do you not see the circle of +smoke which rises around it? Listen; I can hear the rattle of musketry +quite distinctly." + +"And how are we to get there?" the boys asked, impatient to be at work +taking part in the defense. + +"We will keep on here to the right; the river is close by. We will swim +across after it gets dark, make a wide sweep round, and then come down to +the river again opposite the Residency, swim across, and then we are +safe." + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +LUCKNOW. + + +Lucknow, although the capital of Oude, the center of a warlike people +smarting under recent annexation, had for a long time remained tranquil +after insurrection and massacre were raging unchecked in the northwest. +Sir Henry Lawrence, a man of great decision and firmness united to +pleasant and conciliating manners, had, when the Sepoys began to hold +nightly meetings and to exhibit signs of recklessness, toward the end of +April, telegraphed to government for full power to act; and having +obtained the required authorization, he awaited with calmness the first +sign of insubordination. This was exhibited by the men of the Seventh Oude +Irregular Infantry, who on the 3d of May endeavored to seduce the men of +the Forty-eighth Native Regiment from its allegiance, and broke out into +acts of open mutiny. Sir Henry Lawrence the same evening marched the +Thirty-second Foot and and a battery of European artillery, with some +native regiments to their lines, three miles from the city, surrounded and +disarmed them, and arrested their ringleaders. After this act of decision +and energy, Lucknow had peace for some time. The native troops, awed and +subdued, remained tranquil, and on the 27th of May Lucknow still remained +quiet, whereas every other station in Oude, except Cawnpore, was in the +hands of the rebels. + +At the same time every preparation had been made for the struggle which +all regarded as inevitable. The houses which formed two sides of the large +irregular square in the center of which stood the Residency were connected +by earthworks, and a breastwork, composed of sandbags and fascines, +surrounded the other sides. Stores of provisions were collected, cattle +driven in, and every preparation made for a lengthened defense. The +cantonments were three miles distant from the Residency, and were occupied +by the Thirteenth, Forty-eighth, and Seventy-first Native Infantry and +Seventh Native Cavalry. Her majesty's Twenty-second Regiment, a battery of +European artillery, and a small force of native horse. + +On the evening of the 30th of May the revolt broke out. It began in the +lines of the Seventy-first, and spread at once to the other native +regiments, who took up arms, fired the bungalows, and killed all the +officers upon whom they could lay hands. Happily all was in readiness, and +a company of European troops, with two guns, took up their post on the +road leading to the city, so as to bar the movement of the mutineers in +that direction. Nothing could be done till morning, when Sir Henry +Lawrence, with a portion of the Thirty-second, and the guns, moved to +attack the mutineers. The British were joined by seven hundred men of the +various regiments, who remained true to their colors, and the mutineers at +once fled, with such rapidity that, although pursued for seven miles, only +thirty prisoners were taken. + +The troops then marched quickly back to the Residency, where their +presence was much needed, as there was great excitement in the town, and a +good deal of fighting between the police and the roughs of the city, who +endeavored to get up a general rising and an indiscriminate plunder of the +town. Sir Henry Lawrence upon his return restored order, erected a large +gallows outside the fort and hung some of the rioters, executed a dozen of +the mutinous Sepoys, rewarded those who had remained faithful, and for a +time restored order. All the European residents in Lucknow were called +into the lines of the Residency, the small European force being divided +between that post and the Mutchee Bawn, a strong fort three-quarters of a +mile distant, and the remnant of the native infantry regiments who had so +far remained true, but who might at any moment turn traitors, were offered +three months' leave to go home to their friends. Many accepted the offer +and left, but a portion remained behind, and fought heroically through the +siege by the side of the whites. Thus one source of anxiety for the +garrison was removed; and safe now from treachery within, they had only to +prepare to resist force from without. + +So determined was the front shown by the little body of British that +Lucknow, with its unruly population of over a quarter of a million, +remained quiet all through the month of June. It was not until the last +day of the month that the storm was to burst. On the 30th a body of +insurgent Sepoys, some seven or eight thousand strong, having approached +to Chinhut, within a few miles of the town, Sir Henry Lawrence, with two +companies of the Thirty-second, eleven guns, some of them manned by +natives, and eighty native cavalry, went out to give them battle. + +The affair was disastrous; the native cavalry bolted, the native gunners +fled, and after a loss of sixty men, three officers, and six guns, the +British troops with difficulty fought their way back to the Residency. The +rebels entered the town in triumph, and the city at once rose, the +respectable inhabitants were killed, the bazaar looted, and then, assured +of success, the enemy prepared to overwhelm the little British garrison. + +Immediately upon the return of the defeated column, it became evident that +the weakened force could not hold the two positions. Accordingly the +Mutchee Bawn was evacuated, its great magazine, containing two hundred and +forty barrels of powder and six hundred thousand rounds of ammunition, was +blown up, and the British force was reunited in the Residency. + +In order that the position of affairs in this, perhaps the most remarkable +siege that ever took place, should be understood, it is as well to give a +full description of the defenses. The Residency and its surroundings +formed an irregular, lozenge-shaped inclosure, having its acute angles +nearly north and south, the southern extremity being contiguous to the +Cawnpore Road, and the northern point approaching near to the iron bridge +over the river Goomtee. Near the south point of the inclosure was the +house of Major Anderson, standing in the middle of a garden or open court, +and surrounded by a wall; the house was defended by barricades, and +loopholed for musketry, while the garden was strengthened by a trench and +rows of palisades. Next to this house, and communicating with it by a hole +in the wall, was a newly constructed defense work called the Cawnpore +Battery, mounted with guns, and intended to command the houses and streets +adjacent to the Cawnpore Road. The house next to this, occupied by a Mr. +Deprat, had a mud wall, six feet high and two and a half thick, built +along in front of its veranda, and this was continued to the next house, +being raised to the height of nine feet between the houses, and loopholed +for musketry. This next house was inhabited by the boys from the +Martiničre School. It was defended by a stockade and trench, both of which +were continued across a road which divided this house from the next, which +stood near the western angle, and was the brigade messhouse. This house +had a lofty and well-protected terrace, commanding the houses outside the +inclosure. In its rear were a number of small buildings, occupied by +officers and their families. + +Next to the brigade messhouse were two groups of low buildings, called the +Sikh Squares, and on the flat roofs of these buildings sandbag parapets +were raised. Next to this, at the extreme western point, stood the house +of Mr. Gubbins, the commissioner, a strong building, defended with +stockades, and having at the angle a battery, called Gubbins' Battery. +Along the northwestern side were a number of yards and buildings, the +racket-court, the sheep-pens, the slaughter-house, the cattle-yard, a +storehouse for the food for the cattle, and a guardhouse; and behind them +stood a strong building known as Ommaney's house, guarded by a deep ditch +and cactus hedge, and defended with two pieces of artillery. A mortar +battery was planted north of the slaughter-house. Next along the line was +the church, converted now into a granary, and in the churchyard was a +mortar battery. Next came the house of Lieutenant Innis, a weak and +difficult post to hold, commanded as it was by several houses outside the +inclosure. Commanding the extreme north point, which was in itself very +weak, was the Redan Battery, a well-constructed work. From this point, +facing the river, was a strong earthwork, and outside the sloping garden +served as a glacis, and rendered attack on this side difficult. Near the +eastern angle stood the hospital, a very large stone building, formerly +the banqueting-hall of the British residents at the court of Oude. Near +the hospital, but on lower ground, was the Bailey Guard. Dr. Fayrer's +house, south of the hospital, was strongly built, and from its terraced +roof an effective musketry fire could be kept up on an enemy approaching +on this side. Next to it came the civil dispensary, and then the post +office, a strong position, defended by a battery. Between this and the +south corner came the financial office, Sago's house, the judicial office, +and the jail. The Residency, a spacious and handsome building, stood in +the center of the northern portion of the inclosure, surrounded by +gardens. It was on elevated ground, and from its terraced roof a splendid +view of the city and surrounding country could be obtained. The begum's +khotee, or ladies' house, stood near the center of the inclosure; it was a +large building, and was used as a commissariat store and for the dwellings +of many officers' families. Thus it will be seen that the Residency at +Lucknow, as defended against the insurgents, comprised a little town +grouped round the dwelling of the Resident. + +In this little circle of intrenchments were gathered, on the 1st of July, +when the siege began, over a thousand women and children, defended by a +few hundred British troops and civilians, and about a hundred and fifty +men remaining faithful from the Sepoy regiments. Upon that day the enemy +opened fire from several batteries. A shell penetrated the small room in +the Residency in which Sir Henry Lawrence was sitting, and passed between +him and his private secretary, Mr. Cowper. His officers begged him to +change his room, but he declined to do so, saying laughingly that the room +was so small that there was no chance of another shell finding its way in. +He was, however, mistaken, for the very next day a shell entered, and +burst in the room, the fragments inflicting a mortal wound upon Sir Henry, +who died a few hours afterward. The loss was a heavy one indeed, both to +the garrison, to whom his energy, calmness, and authority were invaluable, +and to England, who lost in him one of her noblest and most worthy sons. +On his death the command of the defense devolved upon Colonel Inglis, of +the Thirty-second Regiment, a most gallant and skillful officer. After +this, day after day the fighting had continued, the enemy ever gaining in +numbers and in strength, erecting fresh batteries, and keeping up a +ceaseless fire night and day upon the garrison. + +The Warreners with their guide experienced the difficulties which this +increased activity of the attack caused to emissaries trying to enter or +leave the Residency. After it had become dark they swam the Goomtee, and +made a wide circuit, and then tried to approach the river again opposite +the Residency. Several batteries, however, had been erected on this side +since the guide had left, five days before, and these were connected by a +chain of sentries, so closely placed that it would have been madness to +endeavor to pass them unseen. It was clear that the mutineers were +determined to cut off all communication to or from the garrison. The +little party skirted the line of sentries, a line indicated clearly enough +by the bivouac fires on the near side of them. Round these large numbers +of mutineers were moving about, cooking, smoking, and conversing. + +"It is hopeless to attempt to get through here," said Ned. + +"We will go on to the road leading to the iron bridge," the guide replied; +"we can follow that to the river and then slip aside." + +Here, however, they were foiled again, as fires were lighted and there +were sentries on the road to forbid all except those on business to pass. +Presently a body of men came along, bearing shell upon their heads for the +service of the batteries on the other side of the river. + +"Whence are they fetching these?" Ned asked the guide. + +"From the king's magazine, a quarter of a mile away to the right. They are +taking ammunition, now, for the bridge is within four hundred yards of the +Redan battery, and they cannot cross at daylight under fire." + +"Here is a party coming back," Ned said; "let us fall in behind them, go +to the magazine and get shell, and then follow back again till we are +close to the bridge, and trust to luck in getting clear." + +The guide assented, and they followed the Sepoys down to the magazine, +keeping a little behind the others, and being the last to enter the yard +where the loaded shell were standing. + +Each took a shell and followed closely upon the heels of the party. In the +dark no one noticed the addition to their number, and they passed the +sentries on the road without question. Then they fell a little behind. The +natives paused just before they reached the bridge; for the British +knowing that ammunition was nightly being carried over, fired an +occasional shot in that direction. The party halted under shelter of a +house until a shot flew past, and then hurried forward across the exposed +spot. As they did so, the Warreners and their guide placed the shells they +were carrying on the ground, turned off from the road, climbed a garden +wall, and in a minute were close to the river. + +"Go silently," the guide said; "there are some more sentries here." + +Stealing quietly along, for they were all shoeless, they could see +crouching figures between them and the water, every twenty yards apart. + +"We shall have to run the gantlet, Ned," Dick said. "Our best chance will +be to shove one of these fellows suddenly into the water, jump in and dive +for it. You and I can dive across that river, and we shall come up under +the shadow of the opposite bank." + +Ned spoke to the guide. + +"The water is shallow for the first few yards, sahib, but we shall get +across that into two feet, which is deep enough for us, before the +sentries have recovered from their surprise. They are sure to fire at +random, and we shall be out of the water on the other side before they +have loaded again." + +The plan agreed to, they stripped off their uniforms, and crept quietly +along until they were close to a sentry. Then with a bound they sprang +upon him, rolled him over the bank into the shallow water, and dashed +forward themselves at the top of their speed. + +So sudden was their rush that they were knee-deep before the nearest +sentry fired, his ball whizzing over their heads as they threw themselves +face downward in the stream, and struck out under water. + +Even when full the Goomtee is not more than ninety yards wide, and from +the point where they started to equally shallow water on the other side +was now not more than forty. The boys could both dive that distance; but +their guide, although a good swimmer, was a less expert diver, and had to +come twice to the surface for breath. He escaped, however, without a shot; +for, as they had expected, the report of the musket was followed by a +general volley in the direction of the splash, by all the sentries for +some distance on either side. Therefore, when the party rose from the +water, and dashed up the other bank, not a shot greeted them. It was clear +running now, only a hundred yards up the slope of the garden, to the +British earthwork. + +"We are friends!" the boys shouted as they ran, and a cheer from the men +on watch greeted them. A few shots flew after them from the other side of +the river, but these were fired at random, and in another minute the party +had scrambled over the earthwork and were among friends. + +Hearty were the hand-shakes and congratulations bestowed upon them all; +and as the news that messengers had arrived flew like wild-fire round the +line of trenches, men came running down, regardless of the bullets which, +now that the enemy were thoroughly roused up, sang overhead in all +directions. + +"We won't ask your message," was the cry, "till you have seen the colonel; +but do tell us, is help at hand?" + +"English general coming," the native guide said. + +"Yes," Ned said, as delighted exclamations at the news arose; "but not +yet. Do not excite false hopes among the ladies; some time must pass +before help arrives. I must not say more till I have seen Colonel Inglis; +but I should be sorry if false hopes were raised." + +Cloaks were lent to the boys, and they were taken at once to the +Residency, and along passages thronged with sleepers were conducted to +Colonel Inglis' room. He had already heard that the native messenger had +returned, with two Englishmen in disguise, and he was up and ready to +receive them--for men slept dressed, and ready for action at a moment's +call. + +"Well done, subadar," he exclaimed, as the native entered; "you have nobly +earned your step in rank and the five thousand rupees promised to you. +Well, what is your message?" + +"The General Sahib bids me say that he is coming on to Lucknow with all +speed. Cawnpore was taken four days before I left. The Nana has fled from +Bithoor, and all goes well. These officers have further news to give you." + +"I am indeed glad to see you, gentlemen," Colonel Inglis said, warmly +shaking them by the hand. "Whom have I the pleasure of seeing, for at +present your appearance is admirably correct as that of two Sepoys?" + +"Our name is Warrener," Ned said; "we are brothers. I have just been +gazetted to the Sixty-fourth; my brother is a midshipman. We have a +message for your private ear, sir; and if I might suggest, it would be +better to keep our native friend close by for a few minutes, lest his news +spread. You will see the reason when we have spoken to you." + +Colonel Inglis gave the sign, and the other officers retired with the +guide. + +"Our message, sir, is, I regret to say, far less favorable than that +transmitted by the subadar, and it was for that reason that General +Havelock sent us with him. If taken, he would have told his message, for +the general had ordered him to make no secret of his instructions if he +fell into the enemy's hands, as it was desirable that they should believe +that he was about to advance, and thus relieve the pressure upon you by +keeping a large force on the road up from Cawnpore. But in fact, sir, +General Havelock bids us tell you that he cannot advance. He has but a +thousand bayonets fit for service. He must hold Cawnpore, and the force +available for an advance would be hopelessly insufficient to fight his way +through Oude and force a road through the city. The instant he receives +reinforcements he will advance, and will in the meantime continue to make +feints, so as to keep a large force of the enemy on the alert. He fears +that it may be a month before he will be able to advance to your aid with +a chance of success." + +"A month!" Colonel Inglis said; "that is indeed a long time, and we had +hoped that already help was at hand. Well, we must do our best. We are +even now sorely pressed; but I doubt not we can hold out for a month. +General Havelock cannot accomplish impossibilities, and it is wonderful +that he should have recaptured Cawnpore with so small a force." + +"We thought it better to give you this news privately, colonel, in order +that you might, should you think fit, keep from the garrison the knowledge +that so long a time must elapse without succor." + +"You were quite right, sir," Colonel Inglis said; "but the truth had +better be made public. It is far better that all should know that we are +dependent upon our own exertions for another month than that they should +be vainly looking for assistance to arrive. And now, gentlemen, I will +call my officers in, and you shall get some clothes. Unhappily, death is +so busy that there will be no difficulty in providing you in that respect. +You must want food, too, and that, such as it is, is in plenty also." + +The other officers were now called in, and the commandant told them the +news that he had received from the Warreners. There was a look of +disappointment for a moment, and then cheering answers that they were all +good for another month's fighting were made. + +"I know, gentlemen," Colonel Inglis said, "our thoughts are all the same. +We are ready to fight another month, but we dread the delay for the sake +of the women and children. However, God's will be done. All that men can +do, this garrison will, I know, do; and with God's help, I believe that +whether aid comes a little sooner or later, we shall hold these battered +ruins till it arrives. Captain Fellows, will you get these officers +something to eat, and some clothes? Then, if they are not too tired, they +will perhaps not mind sitting up an hour or two and giving us the news +from the outside world." + +Daylight was breaking before Ned and Dick--who had, at Colonel Inglis' +suggestion separated, Ned going to the colonel's room, while Dick formed +the center of a great gathering in a hall below, in order that as many +might hear the news as possible--brought to a conclusion the account of +Havelock's advance, of the awful massacre of Cawnpore, of the fresh +risings that had taken place in various parts of India, of the progress of +the siege of Delhi, and the arrival of reinforcements from China and +England. With daybreak, the cannon, which had tired at intervals through +the night, began to roar incessantly, and shot and shell crashed into the +Residency. + +"Is this sort of thing always going on?" Dick asked in astonishment. + +"Always," was the answer, "by day, and four nights out of five. We have +not had so quiet a time as last night for a week. Now I will go and ask +the chief to which garrison you and your brother are to be assigned." + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +THE BESIEGED RESIDENCY. + + +The Warrener's were taken to Gubbins' house, or garrison, as each of these +fortified dwellings was now called; and the distance, short as it was, was +so crowded with dangers and disagreeables that they were astonished how +human beings could have supported them for a month, as the garrison of +Lucknow had done. From all points of the surrounding circle shot and shell +howled overhead, or crashed into walls and roofs. Many of the enemy's +batteries were not above a hundred yards from the defenses, and the +whistling of musket-balls was incessant. + +Here and there, as they ran along, great swarms of flies, millions in +number, rose from some spot where a bullock, killed by an enemy's shot, +had been hastily buried, while horrible smells everywhere tainted the air. + +Running across open spaces, and stooping along beneath low walls, the +Warreners and their conductor, Captain Fellows, reached Gubbins' house. +Mr. Gubbins himself--financial commissioner of Oude, a man of great +courage and firmness--received them warmly. + +"You will find we are close packed," he said, "but you will, I am sure, +make the best of it. I am glad to have you, for every man is of value +here; and after the bravery you have shown in coming through the enemy's +lines you will be just the right sort of men for me. I think you will find +most room here; I lost two of my garrison from this room on the 20th, when +we had a tremendous attack all round." + +The room was small and dark, as the window was closed by a bank of earth +built against it on the outside. It was some fourteen feet by eight, and +here, including the newcomers, eight men lived and slept. Here the +Warreners, after a few words with those who were in future to be their +comrades, threw themselves down on the ground, and, in spite of the din +which raged around them, were soon fast asleep. + +It was nearly dark when they awoke, and they at once reported themselves +to Mr. Johnson--a police magistrate, who was the senior officer of the +party in the room--as ready to begin duty. + +"You will not be on regular duty till to-night," he replied. "Altogether, +there are about forty men in the garrison. Eight are always on duty, and +are relieved every four hours. So we go on every twenty hours. Only half +our set go on duty together, as that gives room for those who remain. Two +came off duty at eight this morning, four are just going on. You will go +on with the two who came off this morning, at midnight. Besides their +sentry work, of course every one is in Readiness to man the walls at any +moment in case of alarm, and a good deal of your time can be spent at +loopholes, picking off the enemy directly they show themselves. One of the +party, in turn, cooks each day. Besides the fighting duty, there is any +amount of fatigue work, the repairing and strengthening of the defenses, +the fetching rations and drawing water for the house, in which there are +over fifty women and children, the burying dead cattle, and covering blood +and filth with earth. Besides defending our own post, we are, of course, +ready to rush at any moment to assist any other garrison which may be +pressed. Altogether, you will think yourself lucky when you can get four +hours' sleep out of the twenty-four." + +"Are our losses heavy?" Ned asked. + +"Terribly heavy. The first week we lost twenty a day shot in the houses; +but now that we have, as far as possible, blocked every loophole at which +a bullet can enter, we are not losing so many as at first, but the daily +total is still heavy, and on a day like the 20th we lost thirty. The enemy +attacked us all round, and we mowed them down with grape; we believe we +killed over a thousand of them. Unfortunately, every day our losses are +getting heavier from disease, foul air, and overcrowding; the women and +children suffer awfully. If you are disposed to make yourselves useful +when not on duty, you will find abundant opportunity for kindness among +them. I will take you round the house and introduce you to the ladies, +then you can go among them as you like." + +First the Warreners went to what, in happier times, was the main room of +the house, a spacious apartment some thirty-five feet square, with windows +opening to the ground at each end, to allow a free passage of air. These, +on the side nearest the enemy, were completely closed by a bank of earth; +while those on the other side were also built up within a few inches of +the top, for shots and shell could equally enter them. The Warreners were +introduced to such of the garrison as were in, the greater part being at +work outside the house repairing a bank which had been injured during the +day. Then Mr. Johnson went to one of the rooms leading off the main +apartment. A curtain hung across it instead of a door, and this was now +drawn aside to allow what air there was to circulate. + +"May I come in?" he asked. + +"Certainly, Mr. Johnson," a lady said, coming to the entrance. + +"Mrs. Hargreaves, let me introduce the Messrs. Warreners, the gentlemen +who have so gallantly come through the enemy's lines with the message. +They are to form part of our garrison." + +The lady held out her hand, but with a slight air of surprise. + +"I suppose our color strikes you as peculiar, Mrs. Hargreaves," Ned said, +"but it will wear off in a few days; it is iodine, and we are already a +good many shades lighter than when we started." + +"How silly of me not to think of that," Mrs. Hargreaves said; "of course I +heard that you were disguised. But please come in; it is not much of a +room to receive in, but we are past thinking of that now. My daughter, +Mrs. Righton; her husband is with mine on guard at present. These are my +daughters, Edith and Nelly; these five children are my grandchildren. My +dears, these are the Messrs. Warreners, who brought the news from General +Havelock. Their faces are stained, but will be white again in time." + +The ladies all shook hands with the Warreners, who looked with surprise on +the neatness which prevailed in this crowded little room. On the ground, +by the walls, were several rolls of bedding covered over with shawls, and +forming seats or lounges. On the top of one of the piles two little +children were fast asleep. A girl of six sat in a corner on the ground +reading. There were two or three chairs, and these the ladies, seating +themselves on the divan, as they called the bedding, asked their visitors +to take. + +Mrs. Hargreaves was perhaps forty-five years old, with a pleasant face, +marked by firmness and intelligence. Mrs. Righton was twenty-five or +twenty-six, and her pale face showed more than that of her mother the +effects of the anxiety and confinement of the siege. Edith and Nelly were +sixteen and fifteen respectively, and although pale, the siege had not +sufficed to mar their bright faces or to crush their spirits. + +"Dear me," Nelly said, "why, you look to me to be quite boys; why, you +can't be much older than I am, are you?" + +"My dear Nelly," her mother said reprovingly; but Dick laughed heartily. + +"I am not much older than you are," he said; "a year, perhaps, but not +more. I am a midshipman in the Agamemnon. My brother is a year older than +I am, and he is gazetted to the Sixty-fourth; so you see, if the times +were different, we should be just the right age to be your devoted +servants." + +"Oh, you can be that now," Nelly said. "I am sure we want them more than +ever; don't we, mamma?" + +"I think you have more than your share of servants now, Nelly," replied +her mother. "We are really most fortunate, Mr. Johnson, in having our ayah +still with us; so many were deserted by their servants altogether, and she +is an admirable nurse. I do not know what we should do without her, for +the heat and confinement make the poor children sadly fractious. We were +most lucky yesterday, for we managed to secure a dobee for the day, and +you see the result;" and she smilingly indicated the pretty light muslins +in which her daughters were dressed. "You see us quite at our best," she +said, turning to the boys. "But we have, indeed," she went on seriously, +"every reason to be thankful. So far we have not lost any of our party, +and there are few indeed who can say this. These are terrible times, young +gentlemen, and we are all in God's hands. We are exceptionally well off, +but we find our hands full. My eldest daughter has to aid the ayah with +the children; then there is the cooking to be done by me, and the room to +be kept tidy by Edith and Nelly, and there are so many sick and suffering +to be attended to. You will never find us all here before six in the +evening; we are busy all day; but we shall always be glad to see you when +you can spare time for a chat in the evening. All the visitors we receive +are not so welcome, I can assure you;" and she pointed to three holes in +the wall where the enemy's shot had crashed through. + +"That is a very noble woman," Mr. Johnson said, as they went out. "She +spends many hours every day down at the military hospital where, the +scenes are dreadful, and where the enemy's shot and shell frequently find +entry, killing alike the wounded and their attendants. The married +daughter looks after her children and the neatness of the rooms. The young +girls are busy all day about the house nursing sick children, and yet, as +you see, all are bright, pleasant, and the picture of neatness, marvelous +contrasts indeed to the disorder and wretchedness prevailing among many, +who might, by making an effort, be as bright and as comfortable as they +are. There are, as you will find, many brilliant examples of female +heroism and self-devotion exhibited here; but in some instances women seem +to try how helpless, how foolish a silly woman can be. Ah," he broke off, +as a terrific crash followed by a loud scream was heard, "I fear that +shell has done mischief." + +"Mrs. Shelton is killed," a woman said, running out, "and Lucy Shelton has +had her arm cut off. Where is Dr. Topham?" + +Mrs. Hargreaves came out of her door with a basin of water and some linen +torn into strips for bandages just as the doctor ran in from the Sikh +Square, where he had been attending to several casualties. + +"That is right," he nodded to Mrs. Hargreaves; "this is a bad business, I +fear." + +"All hands to repair defenses!" was now the order, and the boys followed +Mr. Johnson outside. + +"The scoundrels are busy this evening," he observed. + +"It sounds like a boiler-maker's shop," Dick said; "if only one in a +hundred bullets were to hit, there would not be many alive by to-morrow +morning." + +"No, indeed," Mr. Johnson replied; "they are of course firing to some +extent at random, but they aim at the points where they think it likely +that we may be at work, and their fire adds greatly to our difficulty in +setting right at night the damage they do in the daytime." + +For the next four hours the lads were hard at work with the rest of the +garrison. Earth was brought in sacks or baskets and piled up, stockades +repaired, and fascines and gabions mended. The work would have been hard +anywhere; on an August night in India it was exhausting. All the time that +they were at work the bullets continued to fly thickly overhead, striking +the wall of the house with a sharp crack, or burying themselves with a +short thud in the earth. Round shot and shell at times crashed through the +upper part of the house, which was uninhabited; while from the terraced +roof, and from the battery in the corner of the garden, the crack of the +defenders' rifles answered the enemy's fire. + +By the time that the work was done it was midnight, and the Warreners' +turn for guard. They had received rifles, and were posted with six others +in the battery. There were three guns here, all of which were loaded to +the muzzle with grape; three artillerymen, wrapped in their cloaks, lay +asleep beside them, for the number of artillerymen was so small that the +men were continually on duty, snatching what sleep they could by their +guns during the intervals of fighting. The orders were to listen +attentively for the sound of the movement of any body of men, and to fire +occasionally at the flashes of the enemy's guns. The four hours passed +rapidly, for the novelty of the work, the thunder of cannon and crackling +of musketry, all round the Residency, were so exciting that the Warreners +were surprised when the relief arrived. They retired to their room, and +were soon asleep; but in an hour the alarm was sounded, and the whole +force at the post rushed to repel an attack. Heralded by a storm of fire +from every gun which could be brought to bear upon the battery, thousands +of fanatics rushed from the shelter of the houses outside the +intrenchments and swarmed down upon it. The garrison lay quiet behind the +parapet until the approach of the foe caused the enemy's cannon to cease +their fire. Then they leaped to their feet and poured a volley into the +mass. So great were their numbers, however, that the gaps were closed in a +moment, and with yells and shouts the enemy leaped into the ditch, and +tried to climb the earthwork of the battery. Fortunately at this moment +the reserve of fifty men of the Thirty-second, which were always kept +ready to launch at any threatened point, came up at a run, and their +volley over the parapet staggered the foe. Desperately their leaders +called upon them to climb the earthworks, but the few who succeeded in +doing so were bayoneted and thrown back into the ditch, while a continuous +musketry fire was poured into the crowd. Over and over again the guns, +charged with grape, swept lines through their ranks, and at last, +dispirited and beaten, they fell back again to the shelter from which they +had emerged. The Thirty-second men then returned to the brigade messroom, +and the garrison of the fort were about to turn in when Mr. Gubbins said +cheerfully: + +"Now, lads, we have done with those fellows for to-day, I fancy. I want +some volunteers to bury those horses which were killed yesterday; it's an +unpleasant job, but it's got to be done." + +The men's faces testified to the dislike they felt for the business; but +they knew it was necessary, and all made their way to the yard, where, +close by the cattle, the horses were confined. The boys understood at once +the repugnance which was felt to approaching this part of the fort. The +ground was covered deep with flies, who rose in a black cloud, with a +perfect roar of buzzing. + +Lucknow was always celebrated for its plague of flies, but during the +siege the nuisance assumed surprising proportions. The number of cattle +and animals collected, the blood spilled in the slaughter-yard, the +impossibility of preserving the cleanliness so necessary in a hot climate, +all combined to generate swarms of flies, which rivaled those of Egypt. +The garrison waged war against them, but in vain. Powder was plentiful, +and frequently many square yards of infected ground, where the flies +swarmed thickest, would be lightly sprinkled with it, and countless +legions blown into the air; but these wholesale executions, however often +repeated, appeared to make no impression whatever on the teeming armies of +persecutors. + +Their task finished, the fatigue party returned to their houses, and then +all who had not other duties threw themselves down to snatch a short +sleep. In spite of a night passed without rest, sleep was not easily +wooed. The heat in the open air was terrific, in the close little room it +was stifling; while the countless flies irritated them almost to madness. +There was indeed but the choice of two evils: to cover closely their faces +and hands, and lie bathed in perspiration; or to breathe freely, and bear +the flies as best they might. The former alternative was generally chosen, +as heat, however great, may be endured in quiet, and sleep may insensibly +come on; but sleep with a host of flies incessantly nestling on every +exposed part of the face and body was clearly an impossibility. + +That day was a bad one for the defenders of Gubbins' garrison, for no less +than twelve shells penetrated the house, and five of the occupants were +killed or wounded. The shells came from a newly erected battery a hundred +and fifty yards to the north. Among the killed was one of Mrs. Righton's +children; and the boys first learned the news when, on rising from a +fruitless attempt to sleep, they went to get a little fresh air outside. +Edith and Nelly Hargreaves came out from the door, with jugs, on their way +to fetch water. + +The Warreners at once offered to fetch it for them, and as they spoke they +saw that the girls' faces were both swollen with crying. + +"Is anything the matter, Miss Hargreaves?" Ned asked. + +"Have you not heard," Edith said, "how poor little Rupert has been killed +by a shell? The ayah was badly hurt, and we all had close escapes; the +shells from that battery are terrible." + +Expressing their sorrow at the news, the boys took the jugs, and crossing +the yard to the well, filled and brought them back. + +"I wish we could do something to silence that battery," said Dick;" it +will knock the house about our ears, and we shall be having the women and +children killed every day." + +"Let's go and have a look at it from the roof," replied Ned. + +The roof was, like those of most of the houses in the Residency, flat, and +intended for the inmates to sit and enjoy the evening breeze. The parapet +was very low, but this had been raised by a line of sandbags, and behind +them five or six of the defenders were lying, firing through the openings +between the bags, in answer to the storm of musketry which the enemy were +keeping up on the post. + +Stooping low to avoid the bullets which were singing overhead, the +Warreners moved across the terrace, and lying down, peered out through the +holes which had been left for musketry. Gubbins' house stood on one of the +highest points of the ground inclosed in the defenses, and from it they +could obtain a view of nearly the whole circle of the enemy's batteries. +They were indeed higher than the roofs of most of the houses held by the +enemy, but one of these, distant only some fifty yards from the Sikh +Square, dominated the whole line of the British defenses on that side, and +an occasional crack of a rifle from its roof showed that the advantage was +duly appreciated. + +"What do they call that house?" Ned asked one of the officers on the +terrace. + +"That is Johannes' house," he answered. "It was a terrible mistake that we +did not destroy it before the siege began; it is an awful thorn in our +side. There is a black scoundrel, a negro, in the service of the king of +Oude, who has his post there; he is a magnificent shot, and he has killed +a great number of ours. It is almost certain death to show a head within +the line of his fire." + +"I wonder we have not made a sortie, and set fire to the place," said Ned. + +"The scoundrels are so numerous that we could only hope to succeed with +considerable loss, and we are so weak already that we can't afford it. So +the chief sets his face against sorties, but I expect that we shall be +driven to it one of these days. That new battery is terribly troublesome +also. There, do you see, it lies just over that brow, so that the shot +from our battery cannot touch it, while it can pound away at our house, +and indeed at all the houses along this line." + +"I should have thought," Dick said, "that a rush at night might carry it, +and spike the guns." + +"No; we should be certain to make some sort of noise, however quiet we +were. There are six guns, all loaded at nightfall to the muzzle with +grape; we know that, for once they fancied they heard us coming, and they +fired such a storm of grape that we should have been all swept away; +besides which, there are a large number of the fellows sleeping round; and +although sometimes the battery ceases firing for some hours, the musketry +goes on more or less during the night." + +The Warreners lay wistfully watching the battery, whose shots frequently +struck the house, and two or three times knocked down a portion of the +sandbag parapet--the damage being at once repaired with bags lying in +readiness, but always under a storm of musketry, which opened in the hopes +of hitting the men engaged upon the work; these were, however, accustomed +to it, and built up the sandbags without showing a limb to the enemy's +shot. + +"There were two children killed by that last shot," an officer said, +coming up from below and joining them; "it made its way through the earth +and broke in through a blocked-up window." + +"We must silence that battery, Ned, whatever comes of it," Dick said in +his brother's ear. + +"I agree with you, Dick; but how is it to be done? have you got an idea?" + +"Well, my idea is this," the midshipman said. "I think you and I might +choose a dark night, as it will be to-night. Take the bearings of the +battery exactly; then when they stop firing, and we think the gunners are +asleep, crawl out and make for the guns. When we get there we can make our +way among them, keeping on the ground so that the sentry cannot see us +against the sky; and then with a sponge full of water we can give a +squeeze on each of the touchholes, so there would be no chance of their +going off till the charges were drawn. Then we could make our way back and +tell Gubbins the guns are disabled, and he can take out a party, carry +them with a rush, and spike them permanently." + +"Capital, Dick; I'm with you, old boy." + +"Now let us take the exact bearings of the place. There was a lane, you +see, before the houses were pulled down, running along from beyond that +corner nearly to the guns. When we get out we must steer for that, because +it is comparatively clear from rubbish, and we ain't so likely to knock a +stone over and make a row. We must choose some time when they are pounding +away somewhere else, and then we shan't be heard even if we do make a +little noise. We will ask Mrs. Hargreaves for a couple of pieces of +sponge; we need not tell her what we want them for." + +"And you think to-night, Dick?" + +"Well, to-night is just as likely to succeed as any other night, and the +sooner the thing is done the better. Johnson commands the guard from +twelve to four, and he is an easy-going fellow, and will let us slip out, +while some of the others wouldn't." + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +SPIKING THE GUNS. + + +As soon as night fell a little procession with three little forms on trays +covered with white cloths, and two of larger size, started from Gubbins' +house to the churchyard. Mr. and Mrs. Hargreaves, and Mrs. Righton and her +husband, with two other women, followed. That morning all the five, now to +be laid in the earth, were strong and well; but death had been busy. In +such a climate as that, and in so crowded a dwelling, no delay could take +place between death and burial, and the victims of each day were buried at +nightfall. There was no time to make coffins, no men to spare for the +work; and as each fell, so were they committed to the earth. + +A little distance from Gubbins' house the procession joined a larger one +with the day's victims from the other parts of the garrison--a total of +twenty-four, young and old. At the head of the procession walked the Rev. +Mr. Polehampton, one of the chaplains, who was distinguished for the +bravery and self-devotion with which he labored among the sick and +wounded. The service on which they were now engaged was in itself +dangerous, for the churchyard was very exposed to the enemy's fire, and-- +for they were throughout the siege remarkably well-informed of what was +taking place within the Residency--every evening they opened a heavy fire +in the direction of the spot where they knew a portion of the garrison +would be engaged in this sad avocation. Quietly and steadily the little +procession moved along, though bullets whistled and shells hissed around +them. Each stretcher with an adult body was carried by four soldiers, +while some of the little ones' bodies were carried by their mothers as if +alive. Mrs. Hargreaves and her daughter carried between them the tray on +which the body of little Rupert Righton lay. Arrived at the churchyard, a +long shallow trench, six feet wide, had been prepared, and in this, side +by side, the dead were tenderly placed. Then Mr. Polehampton spoke a few +words of prayer and comfort, and the mourners turned away, happily without +one of them having been struck by the bullets which sang around, while +some of the soldiers speedily filled in the grave. + +While the sad procession had been absent, the boys had gone to Mrs. +Hargreaves' room. The curtain was drawn, and they could hear the girls +sobbing inside. + +"Please, Miss Hargreaves, can I speak to you for a moment?" Ned said. "I +would not intrude, but it is something particular." + +Edith Hargreaves came to the door. + +"Please," Ned went on, "will you give us two good-sized pieces of sponge? +We don't know any one else to ask, and--but you must not say a word to any +one--my brother and myself mean to go out to-night to silence that battery +which is doing such damage." + +"Silence that battery!" Edith exclaimed in surprise. "Oh, if you could do +that; but how is it possible?" + +"Oh, you dear boy," Nelly, who had come to the door, exclaimed +impetuously, "if you could but do that, every one would love you. We shall +all be killed if that terrible battery goes on. But how are you going to +do it?" + +"I don't say we are going to do it," Ned said, smiling at the girl's +excitement, "but we are going to try to-night. We'll tell you all about it +in the morning when it is done; that is," he said seriously, "if we come +back to tell it. But you must not ask any questions now, and please give +us the pieces of sponge." Edith disappeared for a moment, and came back +with two large pieces of sponge. + +"We will not ask, as you say we must not," she said quietly, "but I know +you are going to run some frightful danger. I may tell mamma and Carrie +when they come back that much, may I not? and we will all keep awake and +pray for you tonight--God bless you both!" And with a warm clasp of the +hands the girls went back into their room again. + +"I tell you what, Ned," the midshipman said emphatically, when they went +out into the air, "if I live through this war I'll marry Nelly Hargreaves; +that is," he added, "if she'll have me, and will wait a bit. She is a +brick, and no mistake. I never felt really in love before; not regularly, +you know." + +At any other time Ned would have laughed; but with Edith's farewell words +in his ear he was little disposed for mirth, and he merely put his hand on +Dick's shoulder and said: + +"There will be time to talk about that in the future, Dick. There's the +battery opening in earnest. There! Mr. Gubbins is calling for all hands on +the roof with their rifles to try and silence it. Come along." + +For an hour the fire on both sides was incessant. The six guns of the +battery concentrated their fire upon Gubbins' house, while from the walls +and houses on either side of it the fire of the musketry flashed +unceasingly, sending a hail of shot to keep down the reply from the roof. + +On their side the garrison on the terrace disregarded the musketry fire, +but, crowded behind the sandbags, kept up a steady and concentrated fire +at the flashes of the cannon; while from the battery below, the gunners, +unable to touch the enemy's battery, discharged grape at the houses +tenanted by the enemy's infantry. The Sepoys, carefully instructed in our +service, had constructed shields of rope to each gun to protect the +gunners, but those at the best could cover but one or two men, and the +fire from the parapet inflicted such heavy losses upon the gunners that +after a time their fire dropped, and an hour from the commencement of the +cannonade all was still again on both sides. The Sepoy guns were silenced. + +It was now ten o'clock, and the Warreners went and lay down quietly for a +couple of hours. Then they heard the guard changed, and after waiting a +quarter of an hour they went out to the battery, having first filled their +sponges with water. There they joined Mr. Johnson. + +"Can't sleep, boys?" he asked; "those flies are enough to drive one mad. +You will get accustomed to them after a bit." + +"It is not exactly that, sir," Ned said, "but we wanted to speak to you. +Dick and I have made up our minds to silence that battery. We have got +sponges full of water, and we mean to go out and drown the priming. Then +when we come back and tell Mr. Gubbins, I dare say he will take out a +party, make a rush, and spike them." + +"Why, you must be mad to think of such a thing!" Mr. Johnson said in +astonishment. + +"I think it is easy enough, sir," Ned replied; "at any rate, we mean to +try." + +"I can't let you go without leave," Mr. Johnson said. + +"No, sir, and so we are not going to tell you we are going," Ned laughed. +"What we want to ask you is to tell your men not to fire if they hear a +noise close by in the next few minutes, and after that to listen for a +whistle like this. If they hear that they are not to fire at any one +approaching from the outside. Good-by, sir." + +And without waiting for Mr. Johnson to make up his mind whether or not his +duty compelled him to arrest them, to prevent them from carrying out the +mad scheme of which Ned had spoken, the Warreners glided off into the +darkness. + +They had obtained a couple of native daggers, and took no other arms. They +did not take off their boots, but wound round them numerous strips of +blanket, so that they would tread noiselessly, and yet if obliged to run +for it would avoid the risk of cutting their feet and disabling themselves +in their flight. Then, making sure that by this time Mr. Johnson would +have given orders to his men not to fire if they heard a noise close at +hand, they went noiselessly to the breastwork which ran from the battery +to the house, climbed over it, and dropped into the trench beyond. + +Standing on the battery close beside them, they saw against the sky the +figure of Mr. Johnson. + +"Good-by, sir," Ned said softly; "we will be back in half an hour if we +have luck." + +Then they picked their way carefully over the rough ground till they +reached the lane, and then walked boldly but noiselessly forward, for they +knew that for a little way there was no risk of meeting an enemy, and that +in the darkness they were perfectly invisible to any native posted near +the guns. After fifty yards' walking, they dropped on their hands and +knees. Although the guns had been absolutely silent since their fire +ceased at ten o'clock, a dropping musketry fire from the houses and walls +on either side had, as usual, continued. This indicated to the boys pretty +accurately the position of the guns. Crawling forward foot by foot, they +reached the little ridge which sheltered the guns from the battery in +Gubbins' garden. + +The guns themselves they could not see, for behind them was a house, and, +except against the sky line, nothing was visible. They themselves were, as +they knew, in a line between Gubbins' house and any one who might be +standing at the guns, so that they would not show against the sky. They +could hear talking among the houses on either side of the guns, and could +see the light of fires, showing that while some of their enemies were +keeping up a dropping fire, others were passing the night, as is often the +native custom, round the fires, smoking and cooking. There was a faint +talk going on ahead, too, beyond the guns; but the enemy had had too +severe a lesson of the accuracy of the English rifle-fire to dare to light +a fire there. + +Having taken in the scene, the boys moved forward, inch by inch. Presently +Ned put his hand on something which, for a moment, made him start back; an +instant's thought, however, reassured him; it was a man, but the hardness +of the touch told that it was not a living one. Crawling past it, the lads +found other bodies lying thickly, and then they touched a wheel. They had +arrived at the guns, and the bodies were those of the men shot down a few +hours before in the act of loading. + +Behind the guns a number of artillerymen were, as the boys could hear, +sitting and talking; but the guns themselves stood alone and unguarded. A +clasp of the hand, and the boys parted, one going, as previously arranged, +each way. Ned rose very quietly by the side of the gun, keeping his head, +however, below its level, and running his hand along it until it came to +the breech. The touch-hole was covered by a wad of cloth to keep the +powder dry from the heavy dew. This he removed, put up his hand again with +the wet sponge, gave a squeeze, and then cautiously replaced the covering. + +Dick did the same with the gun on the right, and so each crept along from +gun to gun, until the six guns were disabled. Then they crawled back and +joined each other. + +A clasp of the hands in congratulation, and then they were starting to +return, when they heard a dull tramp, and the head of a dark column came +along just ahead of them. The boys shrank back under the guns, and lay +flat among the bodies of the dead. The column halted at the guns, and a +voice asked: + +"Is the colonel here?" + +"Here am I," said a voice from behind the guns, and a native officer came +forward. + +[Illustration: THE WARRENERS DROWNING THE PRIMING OF THE SEPOY GUNS.] + +"We are going to make an attack from the house of Johannes. We shall be +strong, and shall sweep the Kaffirs before us. It is the order of the +general that you open with your guns here, to distract their attention." + +"Will it please you to represent to the general that we have fought this +evening, and that half my gunners are killed. The fire of the sons of +Sheitan is too strong for us. Your excellency will see the ground is +covered with our dead. Bring fire," he ordered, and at the word one of the +soldiers lighted a torch made of straw, soaked in oil, which threw a lurid +flame over the ground. "See, excellency, how we have suffered." + +"Are they all dead?" asked the officer, stepping nearer. + +The boys held their breath, when there was a sharp cracking of musketry, +the man with the torch fell prostrate, and several cries arose from the +column. The watchers on the roof of Gubbins' house had been quick to +discern their enemy. + +"Move on, march!" the officer exclaimed hastily, "double. Yes, I see, it +is hot here; but when we have attacked, and their attention is distracted, +you may do something." + +So saying, he went off at a run with his regiment. + +The boys lost no time in creeping out again, and making the best of their +way back; once fairly over the crest, they rose to their feet and ran down +toward the intrenchment. As they neared this Ned whistled twice. The +whistle was answered, and in a minute hands were stretched down to help +them to scramble over the earthwork. + +"All right," Ned said to Mr. Johnson; "the guns are useless, and weakly +guarded. There are lots of infantry on both sides, but some of them will +be drawn off, for they are going to make an attack from Johannes' house. +Where is Mr. Gubbins?" + +"He has just made his rounds," Mr. Johnson said; "I will take you to him." + +Mr. Gubbins was astonished when he heard from the boys that they had been +out, and rendered the guns temporarily useless. "You were wrong to act +without orders," he said, "but I can't scold you for such a gallant +action. We must act on it at once. I would send for a reinforcement, but +we must not lose a moment. If the attack from Johannes' house begins +before our attack, the artillerymen will prepare for action, and may +discover that the breeches of their guns are wet. Call up every man at +once, Mr. Johnson, and let them fall in on the battery; and do you," he +turned to another, "run down to the Sikh Square and Martiničre garrison, +and warn them that a great attack is just going to be made. Tell them that +we are making a sortie, and ask them to bring every rifle to bear on the +houses to the left of the guns, so as to keep down the infantry fire +there." + +In two minutes every man of the garrison was assembled in the battery, +even those from the roof being called down. + +"Bring a dark lantern," Mr. Gubbins said; "it may be useful. Now, lads, we +are going to spike the guns; they have been rendered useless, so we have +only got to make a dash for them. The moment they are in our possession, +you, Mr. Johnson, with ten men, will clear the house immediately behind +it, and look for the magazine. Mr. Leathes, you, with fifteen men, will +move to the right a little; and you, Mr. Percival, with your command, to +the left. Do not go far, but each carry a house or two, set them on fire, +and fall back here when you hear the bugle. I have got the hammer and +spiking nails. Now, as quietly as you can till you hear that we are +discovered, and then go with a rush at the guns." + +In fact, they had gone very few paces before there was a shout in the +enemy's line. The noise of so many men stumbling over the _débris_ of +leveled houses was heard in an instant in the night air. + +"Forward!" Mr. Gubbins shouted; "don't fire, give them the bayonet." + +At a charge the little party rushed along. They were in the lane now, and +were able to run fast. The shout had been followed by a shot, then by a +dozen others, and then a rapid fire broke out from the houses and walls in +front. + +They were still invisible, however, and the balls whistled overhead. They +heard the voice of the officer at the guns shout to his men: + +"Steady; don't fire till they are on the crest, then blow them into dust." + +They topped the crest and rushed at the guns. + +"Fire!" shouted the officer, but a cry of dismay alone answered his words, +and in a moment the British rushed on to the guns, and bayoneted the +astonished and dismayed enemy. + +Then they separated each to the work assigned to them, while Mr. Gubbins, +with a man with the lantern, went from gun to gun and drove a nail down +the touchhole of each. Then he followed into the house behind. Here a +short but furious fight had taken place. The Sepoys lodged there fought +desperately but unavailingly. A few leaped from the windows, but the rest +were bayoneted. The fight was stern and silent; no words were spoken, for +the Sepoys knew that it was useless to ask for quarter; the clashing of +sabers against muskets, an occasional sharp cry, and the sound of the +falling of heavy bodies alone told of the desperate struggle. + +It ended just as Mr. Gubbins entered. + +"Look about," he said; "they must have a magazine somewhere here; perhaps +a large one." + +There was a rapid search. + +"Here it is," Ned said, as he looked into a large outhouse behind the +building. "There are some twenty barrels of powder and a large quantity of +shot and shell." + +"Break open a barrel, quick!" Mr. Gubbins said. "Mr. Johnson, I will do +this with the Warreners. Do you line that low wall, and keep back the +pandies a minute or two; they will be on us like a swarm of bees. Run into +the house," he said to Dick, as Mr. Johnson led his men forward to the +wall, "you will see a bucket of water in the first room. Bring it here +quick. Now then," he said, "empty this barrel among the others; that's +right, smash in the heads of three or four others with this hammer. That's +right," as Dick returned with the water. "Now fill your cap with powder." + +Dick did so, and Mr. Gubbins poured some water into it, stirred them +together till the powder was damped through, and with this made a train +some five feet long to the dry powder. + +The party at the wall were now hotly engaged with a mass of advancing +enemy. + +"Fall back, Mr. Johnson, quickly. Sound the retreat, bugler. Go along, +lads; I'll light the train." + +He waited until the last man had passed, applied a lighted match to the +train, which began to fizz and sputter, and then ran out and followed the +rest, shutting the door of the magazine as he went out, in order that the +burning fuse should not be seen. + +By this time the houses on either side were alight, and the whole party +were returning at a double toward the intrenchments. + +As they neared the lines the enemy swarmed out from their cover, and the +head of the reinforcements were pouring out through the house into the +battery, when the earth shook, a mighty flash of fire lit the sky; there +was a roar like thunder, and most of the retreating party were swept from +their feet by the shock, while a shower of stones and timber fell in a +wide circle. They were soon up again, and scrambled over the earthworks. + +For a minute the explosion was succeeded by a deathlike stillness, broken +only by the sound of the falling fragments; then from the whole circle of +the British lines a great cheer of triumph rose up, while a yell of fury +answered them from the enemy's intrenchments. + +"Any loss?" was Mr. Gubbins' first question. + +"No one killed," was the report of the officers of the three sections. + +"Any wounded?" + +Four of the men stepped forward; two were slightly wounded only; two were +seriously hit, but a glance showed that the wounds were not of a nature +likely to be fatal. + +"Hurrah! my lads," Mr. Gubbins said cheerily; "six guns spiked, our +garrison freed from that troublesome battery, a lesson given to the enemy, +and I expect a few hundred of them blown up, and all at the cost of four +wounded." + +"Well done, indeed," a voice said; and General Inglis, with two or three +of his officers, stepped forward. "Gallantly done; but how was it that the +guns were silent? you could hardly have caught them asleep." + +"No, sir," Mr. Gubbins said; "the gentlemen who brought in the message +from General Havelock, two days ago, went out on their own account, and +silenced the guns by wetting the priming." + +A suppressed cheer broke from the whole party; for until now only Mr. +Johnson and those on guard with him knew what had happened, and the +silence of the guns had been a mystery to all. + +"Step forward, young gentlemen, will you?" General Inglis said. "You have +done a most gallant action," he went on, shaking them by the hand, "a most +gallant action; and the whole garrison are greatly indebted to you. I +shall have great pleasure in reporting your gallant conduct to the +commander-in-chief, when the time comes for doing so. I will not mar the +pleasure which all feel at your deed by blaming you for acting on your own +inspiration, but I must do so to-morrow. Good fortune has attended your +enterprise, but the lives of brave men are too valuable to allow them to +undertake such risks as this on their own account. And now that I have +said what I was obliged to say, I ask you all to give three cheers for our +gallant young friends." + +Three hearty cheers were given, and then the general hurried off to +superintend the preparations for the defense of the quarter threatened by +the attack from Johannes' house, if indeed that attack should not be +postponed, owing to the discouragement which the blow just inflicted would +naturally spread. Surrounded by their comrades, the Warreners re-entered +the house. + +"What was that terrible explosion?" "What has happened?" was asked by a +score of female voices as they entered. + +"Good news," Mr. Gubbins said; "you can sleep in peace. The guns of the +battery which has annoyed us are all spiked, and their magazine blown up, +and all this without the loss of a man, thanks to the Warreners, who went +out alone and disabled all the guns, by wetting the primings. All your +thanks are due to them." + +There was a general cry of grateful joy; for since the battery had begun +to play upon the house, no one had felt that his own life or the lives of +those dearest to him were safe for a moment. All were dressed, for in +these times of peril no one went regularly to bed; and they now crowded +round the boys, shaking them by the hand, patting them on the shoulders, +many crying for very joy and relief. + +Mrs. Hargreaves was standing at the door, and the boys went up to her. She +drew back the curtain for them to enter; for, sure that the boys intended +to carry out some desperate enterprise, none of her family had even lain +down. Mr. Hargreaves and Mr. Righton followed them in. + +"We were all praying for you," she said simply, "as if you had been my own +sons; for you were doing as much for me and mine as my own could have +done;" and she kissed both their foreheads. + +"I think, Mrs. Hargreaves," said Dick, with the demure impudence of a +midshipman, "that that ought to go round." + +"I think you have fairly earned it, you impudent boy," Mrs. Hargreaves +said, smiling. + +Mrs. Righton kissed Dick tearfully, for she was thinking that, had the +battery been silenced only one day earlier, her little one would have been +saved. Edith glanced at her mother, and allowed Dick to kiss her; while +Nelly threw her arms round his neck and kissed him heartily, telling him +he was a darling boy. + +Ned, who possessed none of the impudence of his brother, and who was +moreover at the age when many boys become bashful with women, contented +himself with shaking hands with Mrs. Righton and Edith, and would have +done the same with Nelly, but that young lady put up her cheek with a +laugh. + +"I choose to be kissed, sir," she said; "it is not much kissing that we +get here, goodness knows." + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +A SORTIE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. + + +The night passed off without the expected attack from Johannes' house, the +rebels being too much disconcerted by the destruction of the battery, and +the loss of so many men, to attempt any offensive operations. The +destruction of the house behind the guns, and of all those in its +vicinity, deterred them from re-establishing a battery in the same place, +as there would be no shelter for the infantry supporting the guns; and +after the result of the sortie it was evident to them that a large force +must be kept in readiness to repel the attacks of the British. + +For a few days life was more tolerable in Gubbins' garrison; for although +shot and shell frequently struck the house, and batteries multiplied in +the circle around, none kept up so deadly and accurate a fire as that +which they had destroyed. + +The Warreners took their fair share in all the heavy fatigue work, and in +the picket duty in the battery or on the roof; but they enjoyed their +intervals of repose, which were now always spent with Mr. Hargreaves' +family. + +Mr. Hargreaves was collector of a district near Lucknow, and was high in +the Civil Service. He was a fit husband for his kindly wife; and as Mr. +Righton was of a cheerful and hopeful disposition, the boys found +themselves members of a charming family circle. Often and often they +wished that their father, sister, and cousin could but join them; or +rather, as Ned said, they could join the party without, for no one could +wish that any they loved should be at Lucknow at that time. + +One evening late they were sitting together in a group outside the house, +the enemy's fire being slack, when Mr. Johnson came up from the battery to +Mr. Gubbins, who formed one of the party. + +"I am afraid, sir, they are mining again; lying on the ground, we think we +can hear the sound of blows." + +"That is bad," Mr. Gubbins said; "I heard this afternoon that they believe +that two mines are being driven from Johannes' house in the direction of +the Martiničre, and the brigade messhouse; now we are to have our turn, +eh? Well, we blew in the last they tried, and must do it again; but it is +so much more hard work. Now, gentlemen, let us see who has the best ears. +Excuse us, Mrs. Hargreaves, we shall not be long away." + +On entering the battery they found the men on guard all lying down +listening, and were soon at full length with their ears to the ground. All +could hear the sound; it was very faint, as faint as the muffled tick of a +watch, sometimes beating at regular intervals of a second or so, sometimes +ceasing for a minute or two. + +"There is no doubt they are mining," Mr. Gubbins said; "the question is, +from which way are they coming." + +None could give an opinion. The sound was so faint, and seemed to come so +directly from below, that the ear could not discriminate in the slightest. + +"At any rate," Mr. Gubbins said, "we must begin at once to sink a shaft. +If, when we get down a bit, we cannot judge as to the direction, we must +drive two or three listening galleries in different directions. But before +we begin we must let Major Anderson, of the Royal Engineers, know, and +take his advice; he is in command of all mining operations." + +In ten minutes Major Anderson was on the ground. + +"The fellows are taking to mining in earnest," he said; "this is the third +we have discovered to-day, and how many more there may be, goodness only +knows. I think you had better begin here," he said to Mr. Gubbins. "You +have got tools, I think. Say about six feet square, then two men can work +at once. I will be here the first thing in the morning, and then we will +look round and see which is the likeliest spot for the fellows to be +working from. Will you ask your sentries on the roof to listen closely to- +night, in order to detect, if possible, a stir of men coming or going from +any given point." + +Picks and shovels were brought out, the garrison told off into working +parties of four each, to relieve each other every hour, and the work +began. Well-sinking is hard work in any climate, but with a thermometer +marking a hundred and five at night, it is terrible; and each set of +workers, as they came up bathed in perspiration, threw themselves on the +ground utterly exhausted. Mr. Hargreaves and a few of the elders of the +garrison were excused this work, and took extra duty on the terrace and +battery. + +The next day it was decided that the enemy were probably working from a +ruined house near their former battery, and a gallery was begun from the +bottom of the shaft. This was pushed on night and day for three days, the +workers being now certain, from the rapidly increasing sound of the +workers, that this was the line by which the enemy was approaching. The +gallery was driven nearly twenty yards, and then three barrels of powder +were stored there, and the besieged awaited the approach of the rebels' +gallery. + +The Sepoys had now erected batteries whose cross fire swept the ground +outside the intrenchments, so that a sortie could no longer be carried out +with any hope of success. Had it been possible to have attempted it, a +party would have gone out, and driving off any guard that might have been +placed, entered the enemy's gallery and caught them at their work. A +sentry was placed continually in the gallery, and each hour the sound of +the pick and crowbar became louder. + +On the fifth day the engineers judged that there could not be more than a +yard of earth between them. The train was laid now, and a cautious watch +kept, until, just at the moment when it was thought that an opening would +be made, the train was fired. The earth heaved, and a great opening was +made, while a shower of stones flew high in the air. The enemy's gallery +was blown in, and the men working destroyed, and a loud cheer broke from +the garrison at the defeat of another attempt upon them. + +The month of August began badly in Lucknow. Major Banks, the civil +commissioner named by Sir Henry Lawrence to succeed him, was shot dead +while reconnoitering from the top of an outhouse. The Reverend Mr. +Polehampton, who had been wounded at the commencement of the siege, was +killed, as were Lieutenants Lewin, Shepherd, and Archer. + +On the 8th large bodies of Sepoys were observed to enter the city, and on +the 10th a furious attack was made all round the British line. Every man +capable of bearing arms stood at his post, and even the sick and wounded +crawled out of hospital and took posts on housetops wherever they could +fire on the foe. The din was prodigious--the yells of the enemy, their +tremendous fire of musketry, the incessant roar of their cannon, but they +lacked heart for close fighting. + +Frequently large bodies of men showed from behind their shelter, and, +carrying ladders, advanced as if with the determination of making an +assault. Each time, however, the withering fire opened upon them from the +line of earthworks, from the roof of every house, and the storm of grape +from the batteries, caused them to waver and fall back. Each fresh effort +was led by brave men, fanatics, who advanced alone far in front of the +rest, shrieking, "Death to the infidel!" + +But they died, and their spirit failed to animate their followers. Only +once or twice did the assailing parties get near the line of +intrenchments, and then but to fall back rapidly after heavy loss. + +Day after day the position of the besieged grew more unendurable. The +buildings were crumbling away under the heavy and continued fire; and as +one after another became absolutely untenable, the ladies and children +were more closely crowded in those which still offered some sort of +shelter. Even death, fearful as were its ravages, did not suffice to +counteract the closeness of the packing. Crowded in dark rooms, living on +the most meager food--for all the comforts, such as tea, sugar, wine, +spirits, etc., were exhausted, and even the bread was made of flour +ground, each for himself, between rough stones--without proper medicines, +attendance, or even bedding; tormented by a plague of flies, sickened by +disgusting smells, condemned to inaction and confinement, the women and +children died off rapidly, and the men, although better off with regard to +light and air, sickened fast. Half the officers were laid up with disease, +and all were lowered in health and strength. + +On the 18th, as the Warreners had just returned from a heavy night's work, +strengthening the defenses, and burying horses and cattle, a great +explosion was heard, and one of those posted on the roof ran down +shouting: + +"To arms! they have fired a mine under the Sikh Square!" + +Every man caught up his rifle and rushed to the spot. The mine had carried +away a portion of the exterior defense, and the enemy, with yells of +triumph, rushed forward toward the opening. Then ensued a furious _męlée_; +each man fought for himself, hand to hand, in the breach; Mussulmen and +Englishmen struggled in deadly combat; the crack of the revolver, the thud +of the clubbed guns, the clash of sword against steel, the British cheer +and the native yell, were mingled in wild confusion. While some drove the +enemy back, others brought boxes and beams, fascines and sandbags, to +repair the breach. The enemy were forced back, and the British poured out +with shouts of triumph. + +Our men's blood was up, and they followed their advantage. Part of the +engineers, ever on the alert, joined the throng with some barrels of +powder, and the enemy were pushed back sufficiently far to enable some of +the houses, from which we had been greatly annoyed by the enemy's +sharpshooters, to be blown up. + +This success cheered the besieged, and on the 20th, when it was discovered +that the enemy were driving two new mines, a fresh sortie was determined +upon. + +The garrison of Gubbins' house had now less cover than before, for the +building had been reduced almost to a shell by the enemy's fire, and all +the women and children had the day before been removed to other quarters. +The Residency itself was a tottering mass of ruins, and this also had been +emptied of its helpless ones, who were crowded in a great underground room +in the Begum Khotee. It is difficult to form an idea of the storm of shot +and shell which swept the space inclosed within the lines of defense, but +some notion may be obtained from the fact that an officer had the +curiosity to count the number of cannon balls of various sizes that fell +on the roof of the brigade messhouse in one day, and found that they +amounted to the almost incredible number of two hundred and eighty. Living +such a life as this, the Warreners were rejoiced when they received +orders, with ten of the other defenders of the ruins of Gubbins' house, to +join in the sortie on the 20th of August. About a hundred of the garrison +formed up in the Sikh Square, and at the word being given dashed over the +stockade and intrenchment, and made a charge for Johannes' house. This had +throughout the siege been the post from which the enemy had most annoyed +them, the king of Oude's negro in particular having killed a great many of +our officers and men. It was from this point that the mines being driven, +and it was determined at all hazards to destroy it. + +The rush of the British took the enemy by surprise. Scarce a shot was +fired until they had traversed half the distance, and then a heavy fire of +musketry opened from all the houses held by the enemy. Still the English +pushed on at full speed, without pausing to return a shot. With a cheer +they burst into the inclosure in which the house stood, and while half the +party entered it and engaged in a furious combat with those within, the +others, in accordance with orders, pressed forward into the houses beyond, +so as to keep the enemy from advancing to the assistance of their friends, +thus caught in a trap. The Warreners belonged to the party who advanced, +and were soon engaged in a hand-to-hand fight with the enemy. Scattering +through the houses, they drove the Sepoys before them. The Warreners were +fighting side by side with Mr. Johnson, and with him, after driving the +enemy through the next house, they entered an outhouse beyond it. + +Mr. Johnson entered first, followed by Ned, Dick being last of the party. +Dick heard a sudden shout and a heavy blow, and rushed in. Mr. Johnson lay +on the ground, his skull beaten in with a blow from the iron-bound staff +of a dervish, a wild figure with long hair and beard reaching down to his +waist. Dick was in time to see the terrible staff descend again upon Ned's +head. Ned guarded it with his rifle, but the guard was beaten down and Ned +stretched senseless on the ground. Before the fakir had time to raise his +stuff again, Dick drove his bayonet through his chest, and the fakir fell +prostrate, his body rolling down some steps into a cellar which served as +a woodstore. + +As he fell Dick heard a fierce growl, and a bear of a very large size, who +was standing by the fakir, rose on his hind legs. Fortunately Dick's rifle +was still loaded, and, pointing it into the fierce beast's mouth, he +fired, and the bear rolled down the wooden steps after his master. +Throwing aside his rifle, Dick turned to raise his brother. Ned lay as if +dead. + +Dick leaped to his feet, and ran out to call for succor. He went into the +house, but it was empty. He rushed to the door, and saw the rest of the +party in full retreat. He shouted, but his voice was lost in the crackle +of musketry fire. He ran back to Ned and again tried to lift him, and had +got him on his shoulders, when there was a tremendous explosion. Johannes' +house had been blown up. + +Following close upon the sound came the yells of the enemy, who were +flocking up to pursue the English back to their trenches. Escape was now +hopeless. Dick lowered Ned to the ground, hastily dragged the body of Mr. +Johnson outside the door, and then, lifting Ned, bore him down the steps +into the cellar into which the fakir and the bear had fallen. He carried +him well into the cellar, took away the wooden steps, and then, with great +difficulty, also dragged the bodies of the fakir and the bear further in, +so that any one looking down into the hole from the outside would observe +nothing unusual. + +Then, as he lay down, faint from his exertions, he could hear above the +tread of a great number of men, followed by a tremendous musketry fire +from the house. Once or twice he thought he heard some one come to the +door of the outhouse; but if so, no one entered. + +Beyond rubbing Ned's hands, and putting cold stones to his forehead, Dick +could do nothing; but Ned breathed, and Dick felt strong hopes that he was +only stunned. In a quarter of an hour he showed signs of reviving, and in +an hour was able to hear from Dick an account of what had happened, and +where they were. + +"We are in a horrible fix this time, Dick, and no mistake; my head aches +so, I can hardly think; let us be quiet for a bit, and we will both try to +think what is best to be done. There is no hurry to decide. No one is +likely to come down into this place, but we may as well creep well behind +this pile of wood and straw, and then we shall be safe." + +Dick assented, and for an hour they lay quiet, Ned's regular breathing +soon telling his brother that he had dropped off to sleep. Then Dick very +quietly crept out again from their hiding-place. + +"It is a grand idea," he said to himself; "magnificent. It's nasty, +horribly nasty; but after three weeks of what we have gone through in the +Residency one can see and do things which it would have made one almost +sick to think of a month back; and as our lives depend upon it we must not +stand upon niceties. I wish, though, I had been brought up a red Indian; +it would have come natural then, I suppose." + +So saying, he took out his pocket-knife, opened it, and went to the body +of the dead fakir. He took the long, matted hair into his hand with an +exclamation of disgust, but saw at once that his idea was a feasible one. +The hair was matted together in an inextricable mass, and could be trusted +to hang together. + +He accordingly set to work to cut it off close to the head; but although +his knife was a sharp one it was a long and unpleasant task, and nothing +but the necessity of the case could have nerved him to get through with +it. + +At last it was finished, and he looked at his work with complacency. + +"That's a magnificent wig," he said. "I defy the best barber in the world +to make such a natural one. Now for the bear." + +This was a long task; but at last the bear was skinned, and Dick set to to +clean, as well as he could, the inside of the hide. Then he dragged into a +corner and covered up the carcass of the bear and the body of the fakir, +having first stripped the clothes off the latter, scattered a little straw +over the bear's skin, and then, his task being finished, he crept behind +the logs again, lay down, and went off to sleep by the side of Ned. It was +getting dark when he awoke. Ned was awake, and was sitting up by his side. +Outside, the din of battle, the ceaseless crack of the rifle, and the roar +of cannon was going on as usual, without interruption. + +"How do you feel now, Ned?" Dick asked. + +"All right, Dick. I have got a biggish bump on the side of my head, and +feel a little muddled still, but that is nothing. I can't think of any +plan for escaping from this place, Dick, nor of getting hold of a +disguise; for even if we could get out of this place and neighborhood we +must be detected, and in this town it is of no use trying to beg for +shelter or aid." + +"It is all arranged," Dick said cheerfully. "I have got two of the best +disguises in the world, and we have only to dress up in them and walk +out." + +Ned looked at Dick as if he thought that he had gone out of his mind. + +"You don't believe me? Just you wait, then, two minutes, till I have +dressed up, and then I'll call you;" and without waiting for an answer, +Dick went out. + +He speedily stripped to the waist, rubbed some mud from the damp floor on +his arms, wound the fakir's rags round his body with a grimace of disgust, +put the wig on his head--his hair, like that of all the garrison, had been +cut as close to the head as scissors would take it--shook the long, +knotted hair over his face and shoulders--behind it hung to the waist-- +took the staff in his hand, and called quietly to Ned to come out. Ned +crept out, and remained petrified with astonishment. + +"The fakir!" he exclaimed at last. "Good heavens, Dick! is that you?" + +"It's me, sure enough," Dick said, taking off his wig. "Here is a wig in +which the sharpest eyes in the world could not detect you." + +"But where--" began Ned, still lost in surprise. + +"My dear Ned, I have borrowed from the fakir. It was not quite a nice +job," he went on, in answer to Ned's astonished look, "but it's over now, +and we need not say any more about it. The hair and rags are disgustingly +filthy, there is no doubt about that. Their late owner never used a comb, +and was otherwise beastly in his habits; still, old man, that cannot be +helped, and if you like, when we once get out of the town, we can put them +in water for twenty-four hours, or make a sort of oven, and bake them to +get rid of their inhabitants. Our lives are at stake, Ned, and we must not +mind trifles." + +"Right, old boy," Ned said, making a great effort to overcome his first +sensation of disgust. "As you say, it is a trifle. You have hit upon a +superb idea, Dick, superb; and I think you have saved our lives from what +seemed a hopeless scrape. But what is your other disguise?" + +"This," Dick said, lifting the bear's skin. "I can get into this, and if +we travel at night, so that I can walk upright, for I never could travel +far on all-fours, I should pass well enough, as I could lie curled up by +your side in the daytime, and no one will ask a holy fakir any troublesome +questions. I don't think you could get into the skin, Ned, or I would +certainly take the fakir for choice; for it will be awfully hot in this +skin." + +"I don't mind doing the fakir a bit," Ned said. "Fortunately the sun has +done his work, and the color of our skins can be hidden by a good coat of +dirt, which will look as natural as possible. Now let us set about it at +once." + +It took an hour's preparation; for, although Ned's toilet was quickly +made, needing in fact nothing but a coating of mud, it took some time to +sew Dick up in the skin, the opening being sewn up by means of the small +blade of the knife and some string. It was by this time quite dark, and +the operation had been completed so perfectly that once Ned was dressed +they had no fear whatever of interruption. + +"Now, Ned, before we go I will set fire to the straw. I don't suppose any +one will go down and. make any discoveries, but they may be looking for +wood, so it's as well to prevent accidents. We will throw that big piece +of matting over the opening in the floor, so the light won't show till we +get well away." + +He ran down the ladder, struck a match, lit the straw, and then ran +quickly up again. The mat was dragged across the opening, and then the +boys went boldly out into the yard, Ned striding along, and Dick trotting +on all-fours beside him. The night was dark, and although there were many +men in the yard, sitting about on the ground round fires, no one noticed +the boys, who, turning out through a gateway, took the road into the heart +of Lucknow. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +OUT OF LUCKNOW. + + +One hundred yards or so after starting the disguised fakir and his bear +entered a locality teeming with troops, quartered there in order to be +close at hand to the batteries, to assist to repel sorties, or to join in +attacks. Fortunately the night was very dark, and the exceedingly awkward +and unnatural walk of the bear passed unseen. Over and over again they +were challenged and shouted to, but the hoarse "Hoo-Hac," which is the cry +of the fakirs, and the ring of the iron-bound staff with its clanking +rings on the ground, were a sufficient pass. + +Ned guessed, from the fact of their having been met with so close to the +fort, that the fakir and his bear would be well known to the mutineers; +and this proved to be the case. + +Several of the men addressed him, but he waved his arm, shook his head +angrily, and strode on; and as fakirs frequently pretend to be absorbed in +thought, and unwilling to converse, the soldiers fell back. Beyond this, +the streets were deserted. The most populous native quarter lay far away, +and few of the inhabitants, save of the lowest classes, cared to be about +the streets after nightfall. + +The instant that they were in a quiet quarter Dick rose on to his feet. + +"My goodness," he whispered to Ned, "that all-fours' work is enough to +break one's back, Ned." + +They now struck sharply to the left, presently crossed the wide street +leading from the Cawnpore Bridge, and kept on through quiet lanes until +they came to the canal. This would be the guide they wanted, and they +followed it along, taking nearly the route which General Havelock +afterward followed in his advance, until they came to a bridge across the +canal. Once over, they were, they knew, fairly safe. They kept on at a +rapid walk until well in the country, and then sat down by the roadside +for a consultation as to their best course of proceeding. The lads were +both of opinion that the dangers which would lie in the way of their +reaching Cawnpore would be very great. This road was now occupied by great +numbers of troops, determined to bar the way to Lucknow against General +Havelock. They had advanced without question, because it was natural that +Sepoys should be making their way from Cawnpore to Lucknow; but it would +not be at all natural that a fakir should at this time be going in the +opposite direction. Moreover--and this weighed very strongly with them-- +they knew that General Havelock would advance with a force wholly +inadequate to the task before him; and they thought that even should he +succeed in getting into Lucknow, he would be wholly unable to get out +again, hampered, as he would be, with sick, wounded, women, and children. +In that case he would have to continue to hold Lucknow until a fresh +relieving force arrived, and the lads had already had more than enough of +the confinement and horrors of a siege such as that of Cawnpore. + +Animated by these considerations, they determined to push to Delhi, where +they hoped that they might arrive in time to see the end of the siege, at +whose commencement they had been present. + +No suspicion would be likely to be excited by their passage through that +line of country, which, indeed, would be found altogether denuded of the +enemy's troops, for all the regiments that had mutinied along this line +had marched off, either to Delhi or Lucknow, and the country was in the +hands of the zemindars, who would neither suspect nor molest a wandering +fakir. It certainly was unusual for a fakir to be accompanied by a bear, +but as the fakir they had killed had a bear with him, it was clearly by no +means impossible. Dick protested that it was absolutely essential that +they should walk at night, for that he would be detected at once in the +day. + +"I vote that we walk all night, Ned, and make our thirty-five or forty +miles, then turn in, hide up all day. In the evening when it gets quite +dusk, we can go into the outskirts of a village. Then you will begin to +shout, and I will lie down, as if tired, by you. They will bring you lots +of grub, under the idea that you will give them charms, and so on, next +day. When the village is asleep, we will go on. You can easily ask for +cloth--I am sure your rags are wretched enough--and then I can dress at +night, after setting out from each village, in native dress, for it would +be awful to walk far in this skin; besides, my feet are as uncomfortable +as possible." + +This plan was agreed upon, and they struck across country for the main +Delhi road, Dick slipping out of his bear's skin, and simply wearing it +wrapped loosely round him. + +The Warreners had been accustomed to such incessant labor at Lucknow that +they had no difficulty in keeping going all night. As day was breaking +they retired into a tope of trees and threw themselves down, Dick first +taking the precaution to get into the bear's skin and lace it up, in case +of surprise. It was of course hot, but at least it kept off flies and +other insects; and as it was quite loose for him, it was not so hot as it +would have been had it fitted more tightly. The lads were both utterly +fatigued, and in a very few minutes were fast asleep. + +It was late in the afternoon before they awoke, and although extremely +hungry, they were forced to wait until it became dusk before proceeding on +their way. + +At the first village at which they arrived they sat down near the first +house, and Ned began to strike his staff to the ground and to shout "Hoo- +Hac" with great vehemence. Although the population were for the most part +Mussulmen, there were many Hindoos everywhere scattered about, and these +at once came out and formed a ring round the holy man. Some bore torches, +and Dick played his part by sitting up and rocking uneasily, in the manner +of a bear, and then lying down and half-covering his face with his paw, +went apparently to sleep. + +"The servant of Siva is hungry," Ned said, "and would eat. He wants +cloth;" and he pointed to the rags which scarce held together over his +shoulder. Supplies of parched grain and of baked cakes were brought him, +and a woman carried up a sick child and a length of cloth. Ned passed his +hand over the child's face, and by that and the heat of her hand judged +that she had fever. First, after the manner of a true fakir, he mumbled +some sentence which no one could understand. Then in silence he breathed a +sincere prayer that the child might be restored to health. After this he +bade the mother give her cooling drinks made of rice water and acid fruit, +to keep her cool, and to damp her hands and face from time to time; and +then he signified by a wave of his hand that he would be alone. + +The villagers all retired, and the lads made a hearty meal; then taking +what remained of the food, they started on their night's journey, pausing +in a short time for Dick to get out of his skin, and to wrap himself from +head to foot in the dark blue cotton cloth that the woman had given. + +"I felt like an impostor, getting that cloth under false pretenses, Dick." + +"Oh, nonsense," Dick said. "The woman gave it for what the fakir could do, +and I am sure your advice was better than the fakir would have given, so +she is no loser. If ever we come on one of these sort of trips again we +will bring some quinine and some strong pills, and then we really may do +some good." + +Dick took no pains about coloring his face or hands, for both were burned +so brown with exposure to the sun that he had no fear that a casual glance +at them at night, even in torchlight, would detect that he was not a +native. + +"Now, Ned, I promised to stop for twenty-four hours, if you liked, to soak +that head of hair in a pond; what do you say?" + +"No," Ned said; "it is terribly filthy, but we will waste no time. To- +morrow, when we halt, we will try and make an oven and bake it. I will try +to-morrow to get a fresh cloth for myself, and throw these horrible rags +away. Even a fakir must have a new cloth sometimes." + +They made a very long march that night; and had the next evening a success +equal to that of the night before. Another long night-tramp followed, and +on getting up at the end of the day's sleep Ned collected some dry sticks +and lit a fire. Then he made a hole in the ground, and filled it with +glowing embers. When the embers were just extinct he cleared them out, +took off his wig, rolled it up, and put it into the hot oven he had thus +prepared, and covered the top in with a sod. Then carefully looking to see +that no natives were in sight, he threw away his old rags, and Dick and he +enjoyed a dip in a small irrigation tank close to the wood. After this Ned +again smeared himself over with mud, and sat down in the sun to dry. Then +he dressed himself in the cloth that had been given him the night before, +opened his oven, took out the wig, gave it a good shake, and put it on, +saying, "Thank God, I feel clean again; I have had the horrors for the +last three days, Dick." + +In the three nights' journey the boys had traveled a hundred and eleven +miles, and were now close to Ferruckabad, a town of considerable size. +They pursued their usual tactics--entered it after dusk, and sat down near +the outskirts. The signal calls were answered as before, and a number of +the faithful gathered round with their simple offerings of food. + +As they began stating their grievances, Ned as usual warned them off with +a brief "to-morrow" when he saw outside the group of Hindoos two or three +Mussulman troopers. + +These moved closely up, and contemplated the wild-looking fakir, with his +tangled hair and his eyes peering out through the tangle. One of them +looked at the bear for some time attentively, and then said: + +"That is no bear; it is a man in a bear's skin." + +Ned had feared that the discovery might be made, and had from the first +had his answer ready. + +"Fool," he said in a loud, harsh voice, "who with his eyes in his head +supposed that it was a bear? It is one who has sinned and is under a vow. +Dogs like you know naught of these things, but the followers of Siva +know." + +"Do you call me a dog?" said the Mussulman angrily, and strode forward as +if to strike; but Ned leaped to his feet, and twirling his staff round his +head, brought it down with such force on the soldier's wrist that it +nearly broke the arm. The Hindoos began to shout "Sacrilege!" as the +Mussulman drew his pistol. Before he could fire, however, his comrades +threw themselves upon him. At this time it was the policy of Hindoos and +Mussulmans alike to drop all religious differences, and the troopers knew +that any assault upon a holy fakir would excite to madness the Hindoo +population. + +The furious Mohammedan was therefore dragged away by his fellows, and Ned +calmly resumed his seat. The Hindoos brought a fresh supply of food for +the holy man expiating his sin in so strange a way, and then left the +fakir to his meditation and his rest. + +Half an hour later the Warreners were on their way, and before morning +congratulated themselves upon having done more than half of the two +hundred and eighty miles which separate Lucknow from Delhi. The remaining +distance took them, however, much longer than the first part had done, for +Dick cut his foot badly against a stone the next night, and was so lamed +that the night journeys had to be greatly shortened. Instead, therefore, +of arriving in eight days, as they had hoped, it was the 3d of September-- +that is, thirteen days from their start--before they saw in the distance +the British flag flying on the watch tower on the Ridge. They had made a +long detour, and came in at the rear of the British position. On this side +the country was perfectly open, and the villagers brought in eggs and +other produce to the camp. + +Upon the 25th of August the enemy had sent a force of six thousand men to +intercept the heavy siege train which was on its way to the British camp +from the Punjaub. Brigadier-General Nicholson, one of the most gallant and +promising officers of the British army, was sent out against them with a +force of two thousand men, of which only one-fourth were British. He met +them at Nujufghur and routed them, capturing all their guns, thirteen in +number. A curious instance here occurred of the manner in which the least +courageous men will fight when driven to bay. The army of six thousand men +had made so poor a fight that the British loss in killed and wounded +amounted to only thirty-three men. After it was over it was found that a +party of some twenty rebels had taken shelter in a house in a village in +the British rear. The Punjaub infantry was sent to drive them out, but its +commanding officer and many of its men were killed by the desperate +handful of mutineers. The Sixty-first Queen's was then ordered up, but the +enemy was not overpowered until another officer was dangerously wounded +and many had fallen. Altogether the victory over this little band of men +cost us sixteen killed and forty-six wounded--that is to say, double the +loss which had been incurred in defeating six thousand of them in the +open. The result of this engagement was that the road in the rear of the +British camp was perfectly open, and the Warreners experienced no +hindrance whatever in approaching the camp. + +Dick had, after crossing the Oude frontier, left his bear's skin behind +him, and adopted the simple costume of a native peasant, the blue cloth +and a white turban, Ned having begged a piece of white cotton for the +purpose. Traveling only at night, when the natives wrap themselves up very +much, there was little fear of Dick's color being detected; and as he kept +himself well in the background during the short time of an evening when +Ned appeared in public, he had passed without attracting any attention +whatever. + +The Warreners' hearts leaped within them on beholding, on the afternoon of +the 3d of September, a party of British cavalry trotting along the road, +two miles from camp. + +"It is the Guides," Ned said. "We know the officer, Dick. Keep on your +disguise a minute longer; we shall have some fun." + +Ned accordingly stood in the middle of the road and shouted his "Hoo-Hac!" +at the top of his voice. + +"Get out of the way, you old fool," the officer riding at its head said, +as he drew up his horse on seeing the wild figure, covered with shaggy +hair to the waist, twirling his formidable staff. + +Ned stopped a moment. "Not a bit more of an old fool than you are +yourself, Tomkins," he said. + +The officer reined his horse back in his astonishment. He had spoken in +English unconsciously, and being answered in the same language, and from +such a figure as this, naturally petrified him. + +"Who on earth are you?" he asked. + +"Ned Warrener; and this is my brother Dick;" and Ned pulled off his wig. + +"By Jove!" the officer said, leaping from his horse; "I am glad to see +you. Where on earth have you come from? Some one who came up here from +Allahabad had seen some fellow there who had come down from Cawnpore, and +he reported that you had gone on into Lucknow in disguise, and that news +had come you had got safely in." + +"So we did," Ned said; "and as you see, we have got safely out again. We +left there on the night of the 20th." + +"And what was the state of things then?" Lieutenant Tomkins asked. "How +long could they hold out? We know that it will be another three weeks +before Havelock can hope to get there." + +"Another three weeks!" Ned said. "That is terrible. They were hard pushed +indeed when we left; the enemy were driving mines in all directions; the +garrison were getting weaker and weaker every day, and the men fit for +duty were worked to death. It seems next to impossible that they could +hold out for another four or five weeks from the time we left them; but if +it can be done, they will do it. Do you happen to have heard of our +father?" + +"The man that brought the news about you said he was all right and hearty, +and the troop was doing good work in scouring the country round Cawnpore. +Now will you ride back and report yourself to General Wilson?" So saying, +he ordered two of the troopers to dismount and walk back to camp. + +Ned had thrown down the wig when he took it off; but before mounting Dick +picked it up, rolled it up into a little parcel, and said: + +"It is my first effort in wig-making, and as it has saved our lives I'll +keep it as long as I live, as a memento; besides, who knows? it may be +useful again yet." + +Quite an excitement was created in the camp behind the Ridge by the +arrival of the Guide cavalry with two Englishmen in native dress, and the +news that they were officers from Lucknow quickly spread. + +The cavalry drew up at their own lines, and then dismounting, Lieutenant +Tomkins at once sent an orderly to the general with the news, while the +boys were taken inside a tent, and enjoyed the luxury of a bath, and a +message was sent round to the officers of the regiment, which rapidly +resulted in sufficient clothes being contributed to allow the boys to make +their appearance in the garb of British officers. + +A curry and a cup of coffee were ready for them by the time they were +dressed, and these were enjoyed indeed after a fortnight's feeding upon +uncooked grain, varied only by an occasional piece of native bread or +cake. The hasty meal concluded, they accompanied Lieutenant Tomkins to the +general's tent. + +They were most cordially received by General Wilson; and omitting all +details, they gave him an account of their having been cut off during a +successful sortie from Lucknow, and having made their way to Delhi in +disguise. Then they proceeded to describe fully the state of affairs at +Lucknow, a recital which was at once interesting and important, inasmuch +as though several native messengers had got through from Lucknow to +General Havelock, as none of them carried letters--for these would have +insured their death if searched--they had brought simply messages from +General Inglis asking for speedy help, and their stories as to the +existent state of things in the garrison were necessarily vague and +untrustworthy. + +The most satisfactory portion of the boys' statement was, that although +the garrison were now on short rations, and that all the comforts, and +many of what are regarded as almost the necessaries of life, were +exhausted, yet that there was plenty of grain in the place to enable the +besieged to exist for some weeks longer. + +"The great fear is that some essential part of the defense may be +destroyed by mines," Ned concluded. "Against open attacks I think that the +garrison is safe; but the enemy are now devoting themselves so much to +driving mines that however great the care and vigilance of the garrison, +they may not be always able to detect them, or, even if they do so, to run +counter-mines, owing to the numerical weakness of our force." + +"Thanks for your description, gentlemen; it throws a great light upon the +state of affairs, and is very valuable. I will at once telegraph a +_resumé_ of it to the central government and to General Havelock. The +pressing need of aid will no doubt impress the Calcutta authorities with +the urgent necessity to place General Havelock in a position to make an +advance at the earliest possible moment. He will, of course, communicate +to Colonel Warrener the news of your safe arrival here. You have gone +through a great deal indeed since you left here, while we have been doing +little more than hold our own. However, the tide has turned now. We have +received large reinforcements and our siege train; and I hope that in the +course of a fortnight the British flag will once again wave over Delhi. In +the meantime you will, at any rate for a few days, need rest. I will leave +you for a day with your friends of the Guides, and will then attach you to +one of the divisional staffs. I hope that you will both dine with me to- +day." + +That evening at dinner the Warreners met at the general's table General +Nicholson, whose chivalrous bravery placed him on a par with Outram, who +was called the Bayard of the British army. He was short of staff officers, +and did not wish to weaken the fighting powers of the regiments of his +division by drawing officers from them. He therefore asked General Wilson +to attach the Warreners to his personal staff. This request was at once +complied with. Their new chief assured them that for the present he had no +occasion for their services, and that they were at liberty to do as they +pleased until the siege operations began in earnest. The next few days +were accordingly spent, as Dick said, in eating and talking. + +Every regiment in camp was anxious to hear the tale of the siege of +Lucknow, and of the Warreners' personal experience in entering and leaving +the besieged Residency; and accordingly they dined, lunched, or +breakfasted by turns with every mess in camp. They were indeed the heroes +of the day; and the officers were much pleased at the simplicity with +which these gallant lads told their adventures, and at the entire absence +of any consciousness that they had done anything out of the way. In fact, +they rather regarded the whole business as two schoolboys might regard +some adventure in which they had been engaged, Dick, in particular, +regarding all their adventures, with the exception only of the sufferings +of the garrison of Lucknow, in the light of an "immense lark." + +In the meantime, the troops were working day and night in the trenches and +batteries, under the directions of the engineer officers; and every heart +beat high with satisfaction that, after standing for months on the +defensive, repelling continual attacks of enormously superior numbers, at +last their turn had arrived, and that the day was at hand when the long- +deferred vengeance was to fall upon the bloodstained city. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +THE STORMING OF DELHI. + + +On the morning of the 8th of September the battery, eight hundred yards +from the Moree gate of Delhi, opened fire, and sent the first battering +shot against the town which had for three months been besieged. Hitherto, +indeed, light shot, shell, and shrapnel had been fired at the gunners on +the walls to keep down their fire, and the city and palace had been +shelled by the mortar batteries; but not a shot had been fired with the +object of injuring the walls or bringing the siege to an end. + +For three months the besiegers had stood on the offensive, and the enemy +not only held the city, but had erected very strong works in the open +ground in front of the Lahore gate, and had free ingress and egress from +the town at all points save from the gates on the north side, facing the +British position on the Ridge. During these three long months, however, +the respective position of the parties had changed a good deal. For the +first month the mutineers were elated with their success all over that +part of India. They were intoxicated with treason and murder; and their +enormous numbers in comparison with those of the British troops in the +country made them not only confident of success, but arrogant in the +belief that success was already assured. Gradually, however, the failure +of all their attempts, even with enormously superior forces, to drive the +little British force from the grip which it so tenaciously held of the +hill in front of Delhi, damped the ardor of their enthusiasm. Doubts as to +whether, after all, their mutiny and their treachery would meet with +eventual success, and fear that punishment for their atrocities would +finally overtake them, began for the first time to enter their minds. + +Quarrels and strife broke out between the various leaders of the movement, +and pitched battles were fought between the men of different corps. Then +came pestilence and swept the crowded quarters. A reign of terror +prevailed throughout the city; the respectable inhabitants were robbed and +murdered, shops were burst open and sacked, and riot and violence reigned +supreme. + +The puppet monarch, terrified at the disorder that prevailed, and finding +his authority was purely nominal--the real power resting in the hands of +his own sons, who had taken a leading share in getting up the revolt, and +in those of the Sepoy generals--began to long for rest and quiet. The +heavy shell which from time to time crashed into his palace disturbed his +peace, and, through his wives, he secretly endeavored to open negotiations +with the British. These overtures were, however, rejected. The king had no +power whatever, and he and his household were all concerned in the +massacres which had taken place in the palace itself. + +It was then, by an army which, however small, was confident of victory, +against one which, however large, was beginning to doubt that final +success would be theirs, that the siege operations began on the morning of +the 8th of September. Thenceforth the besiegers worked night and day. +Every night saw fresh batteries rising at a distance of only three hundred +yards from the walls; fifteen hundred camels brought earth; three thousand +men filled sandbags, placed fascines, and erected traverses for the guns. +The batteries rose as if by magic. The besieged viewed these preparations +with a strange apathy. They might at the commencement of the work have +swept the ground with such a shower of grape and musketry fire that the +erection of batteries so close to their walls would have been impossible; +but for the first three nights of the work they seemed to pay but little +heed to what we were doing, and when at last they awoke to the nature of +our proceedings, and began a furious cannonade against the British, the +works had reached a height that afforded shelter to those employed upon +them. Each battery, as fast as the heavy siege guns were placed in +position, opened upon the walls, until forty heavy guns thundered +incessantly. + +The enemy now fought desperately. Our fire overpowered that of the guns at +the bastions opposed to them; but from guns placed out in the open, on our +flank, they played upon our batteries, while from the walls a storm of +musketry fire and rockets was poured upon us. But our gunners worked away +unceasingly. Piece by piece the massive walls crumbled under our fire, +until, on the 13th, yawning gaps were torn through the walls of the +Cashmere and Water bastions. That night four engineer officers--Medley, +Long, Greathead, and Home--crept forward and examined the breaches, and +returned, reporting that it would be possible to climb the heaps of +rubbish and enter at the gaps in the wall. Orders were at once issued for +the assault to take place at daybreak next morning. + +The assaulting force was divided into four columns; the first, composed of +three hundred men of the Seventy-fifth Regiment, two hundred and fifty men +of the First Bengal Fusiliers, and four hundred and fifty men of the +Second Punjaub Infantry--in all one thousand men, under Brigadier-General +Nicholson, were to storm the breach near the Cashmere bastion. The second +column, consisting of two hundred and fifty men of the Eighth Regiment, +two hundred and fifty men of the Second Bengal Fusiliers, and three +hundred and fifty men of the Fourth Sikh Infantry, under Colonel Jones, +Q.B., were to storm the breach in the Water bastion. The third column, +consisting of two hundred men of the Fifty-second Regiment, two hundred +and fifty men of the Ghoorka Kumaan battalion, and five hundred men of the +First Punjaub Infantry, under Colonel Campbell, were to assault by the +Cashmere gate, which was to be blown open by the engineers. The fourth +column, eight hundred and sixty strong, was made up of detachments of +European regiments, the Sirmoor battalion of Ghoorkas, and the Guides. It +was commanded by Major Reed, and was to carry the suburb outside the +walls, held by the rebels, called Kissengunge, and to enter the city by +the Lahore gate. In addition to the four storming columns was the reserve, +fifteen hundred strong, under Brigadier Longfield. It consisted of two +hundred and fifty men of the Sixty-first Regiment, three hundred of the +Beloochee battalion, four hundred and fifty of the Fourth Punjab Infantry, +three hundred of the Jhind Auxiliary Force, and two hundred of the +Sixtieth Rifles, who were to cover with their fire the advance of the +storming column, and then to take their places with the reserves. This +body was to await the success of the storming column, and then follow them +into the city, and assist them as required. The cavalry and the rest of +the force were to cover the flank and defend the Ridge, should the enemy +attempt a counter attack. + +Precisely at four o'clock on the morning of the 14th, the Sixtieth Rifles +dashed forward in skirmishing order toward the walls, and the heads of the +assaulting columns moved out of the batteries, which had until this moment +kept up their fire without intermission. + +The Warreners were on duty by the side of General Nicholson; and +accustomed as they were to danger, their hearts beat fast as they awaited +the signal. It was to be a tremendous enterprise--an enterprise absolutely +unrivaled in history--for five thousand men to assault a city garrisoned +by some thirty thousand trained troops, and a fanatical and turbulent +population of five hundred thousand, all, it may be said, fighting with +ropes round their necks. + +As the Rifles dashed forward in front, and the head of the column +advanced, a terrific fire of musketry broke out from wall and bastion, +which the British, all necessity for concealment being over, answered with +a tremendous cheer as they swept forward. Arrived at the ditch there was a +halt. It took some time to place the ladders, and officers and men fell +fast under the hail of bullets. Then as they gathered in strength in the +ditch there was one wild cheer, and they dashed up the slope of rubbish +and stones, and passed through the breach. + +The entrance to Delhi was won. + +Scrambling breathlessly up, keeping just behind their gallant general, the +Warreners were among the first to win their way into the city. + +An equally rapid success had attended the assault upon the breach in the +Water bastion by the second column. Nor were the third far behind in the +assault through the Cashmere gate, But here a deed had first to be done +which should live in the memories of Englishmen so long as we exist as a +nation. + +As the head of the assaulting column moved forward a little party started +at the double toward the Cashmere gate. The party consisted of Lieutenants +Home and Salkeld, of the Royal Engineers, and Sergeants Smith and +Carmichael, and Corporal Burgess, of the same corps; Bugler Hawthorne of +the Fifty-second regiment; and twenty-four native sappers and miners under +Havildars Mahor and Tilluh Sing. Each of the sappers carried a bag of +powder, and, covered by such shelter as the fire of the Sixtieth +skirmishers could give them, they advanced to the gate. This gate stands +close to an angle in the wall, and from the parapets a storm of musketry +fire was poured upon them. When they reached the ditch they found the +drawbridge destroyed, but crossed in single file upon the beams on which +it rested. The gate was of course closed, but a small postern-door beside +it was open, and through this the mutineers added a heavy fire to that +which streamed from above. The sappers laid their bags against the gate, +and slipped down into the ditch to allow the firing party to do their +work. Many had already fallen. Sergeant Carmichael was shot dead as he +laid down his powder bag; Havildar Mahor was wounded. As Lieutenant +Salkeld tried to fire the fuse he fell, shot through the arm and leg; +while Havildar Tilluh Sing, who stood by, was killed, and Ramloll Sepoy +was wounded. As he fell Lieutenant Salkeld handed the slow match to +Corporal Burgess, who lit the fuse, but fell mortally wounded as he did +so. Then those who survived jumped, or were helped, into the ditch, and in +another moment a great explosion took place, and the Cashmere gate blew +into splinters, killing some forty mutineers who were behind it. Then +Lieutenant Home, seeing that the way was clear, ordered Bugler Hawthorne +to sound the advance, and the assaulting column came rushing forward with +a cheer, and burst through the gateway into the city. + +Of the six Englishmen who took part in that glorious deed only two lived +to wear the Victoria cross, the reward of valor. Two had died on the spot, +and upon the other four General Wilson at once bestowed the cross; but +Lieutenant Salkeld died of his wounds, and Lieutenant Home was killed +within a week of the capture of the city. Thus only Sergeant Smith and +Bugler Hawthorne lived to wear the honor so nobly won. + +General Nicholson, who was in general command of the whole force, +concentrated the two columns which had entered in a wide open space inside +the Cashmere gate, and then swept the enemy off the ramparts as far as the +Moree bastion, the whole of the north wall being now in the possession of +our troops. Then he proceeded to push on toward the Lahore gate, where he +expected to meet Major Reed with, the fourth column. This column had, +however, failed even to reach the Lahore gate, the enemy's position in the +suburb beyond the wall proving so strong, and being held by so numerous a +force, that, after suffering very heavily, the commander had to call back +his men, his retreat being covered by the cavalry. + +Thus, as General Nicholson advanced through the narrow lane between the +wall and the houses, the column was swept by a storm of fire from window, +loophole, and housetop--a fire to which no effective reply was possible. +Then, just as he was in the act of cheering on his men, the gallant +soldier fell back in the arms of those behind him, mortally wounded. He +was carried off by his sorrowing soldiers, and lingered until the 26th of +the month, when, to the deep grief of the whole army, he expired. + +It being evident that any attempt to force a path further in this +direction would lead to useless slaughter, and that the place must be won +step by step, by the aid of artillery, the troops were called back to the +bastion. + +A similar experience had befallen the third column, which had, guided by +Sir T. Metcalfe, who knew the city intimately, endeavored to make a +circuit so as to reach and carry the Jumma Musjid, the great mosque which +dominated the city. So desperate was the resistance experienced that this +column had also to fall back to the ramparts. The reserve column had +followed the third in at the Cashmere gate, and had, after some fighting, +possessed itself of some strong buildings in that neighborhood, most +important of which was a large and commanding house, the residence of +Achmed Ali Khan; and when the third column fell back Skinner's house, the +church, the magazine, and the main-guard were held, and guns were planted +to command the streets leading thereto. One cause of the slight advance +made that day was, that the enemy, knowing the weakness of the British +soldier, had stored immense quantities of champagne and other wines, beer, +and spirits in the streets next to the ramparts, and the troops--British, +Sikhs, Beloochees, and Ghoorkas alike--parched with thirst, and excited by +the sight of these long untasted luxuries, fell into the snare, and drank +so deeply that the lighting power of the force was for awhile very +seriously impaired. + +On the 15th the stubborn fighting recommenced. From house to house our +troops fought their way; frequently, when the street was so swept by fire +that it was impossible to progress there, making their way by breaking +down the party walls, and so working from one house into another. During +this day guns and mortars were brought into the city from our batteries, +and placed so as to shell the palace and the great building called the +Selimgur. + +The next morning the Sixty-first Regiment and the Fourth Punjaub Rifles +made a rush at the great magazine, and the rebels were so stricken by +their rapidity and dash that they threw down their portfires and fled, +without even once discharging the cannon, which, crammed to the muzzle +with grape, commanded every approach. Here one hundred and twenty-five +cannon and an enormous supply of ammunition fell into our hands, and a +great many of the guns were at once turned against their late owners. + +So day by day the fight went on. At night the sky was red with the flames +of burning houses, by day a pall of smoke hung over the city. From either +side cannon and mortars played unceasingly, while the rattle of musketry, +the crash of falling houses, the shrieks of women, the screams of +children, and the shouting of men mingled in a chaos of sounds. To the +credit of the British soldier be it said, that infuriated as they were by +the thirst for vengeance, the thought of the murdered women, and the heat +of battle, not a single case occurred, so far as is known, of a woman +being ill-treated, insulted, or fired upon--although the women had been +present in the massacres, and had constantly accompanied and cheered on +the sorties of the mutineers. To the Sepoys met with in Delhi no mercy was +shown; every man taken was at once bayoneted, and the same fate befell all +townsmen found fighting against us. The rest of the men, as well as the +women and children, were, after the fighting was over, permitted to leave +the city unmolested, although large numbers of them had taken share in the +sack of the white inhabitants' houses, and the murder of every Christian, +British or native, in the town. It would, however, have been impossible to +separate the innocent from the guilty; consequently all were allowed to go +free. + +From the time that the British troops burst through the breaches, an +exodus had begun from the gates of the town on the other side, and across +the bridge over the Jumna. Our heavy guns could have destroyed this +bridge, and our cavalry might have swept round the city and cut off the +retreat on the other side; but the proverb that it is good to build a +bridge for a flying foe was eminently applicable here. Had the enemy felt +their retreat cut off--had they known that certain death awaited them +unless they could drive us out of the city, the defense would have been so +desperate that it would have been absolutely impossible for the British +forces to have accomplished it. The defense of some of the Spanish towns +in the Peninsular war by the inhabitants, lighting from house to house +against French armies, showed what could be effected by desperate men +lighting in narrow streets; and the loss inflicted on our troops at +Nujufghur by twenty Sepoys was another evidence of the inexpediency of +driving the enemy to despair. As it was, the rebels after the first day +fought feebly, and were far from making the most of the narrow streets and +strongly-built houses. No one liked to be the first to retreat, but all +were resolved to make off at the earliest opportunity. Men grew +distrustful of each other, and day by day the desertions increased, the +resistance diminished, and the districts held by the rebels grew smaller +and smaller. It is true that by thus allowing tens of thousands of rebels +to escape we allowed them to continue the war in the open country, but +here, as it afterward proved, they were contemptible foes, and their +defeat did not cost a tithe of the loss which would have resulted in their +extermination within the walls of Delhi. + +Up to the 20th the palace still held out. This was a fortress in itself, +mounting many cannon on its walls, and surrounded by an open park-like +space. On that morning the engineers began to run a trench, to enable a +battery to be erected to play upon the Lahore gate of the palace. Before, +however, they had been long at work, a party of men of the Sixty-first, +with some Sikhs and Ghoorkas, ran boldly forward, and taking shelter under +a low wall close to the gate, opened fire at the embrasures and loopholes. +The answering fire was so weak that Colonel Jones, who was in command of +the troops in this quarter--convinced that the report that the king with +his wives and family, and the greater part of the garrison of the palace, +had already left was true--determined upon blowing in the gate at once. +Lieutenant Home was appointed to lead the party told off for the duty, +which was happily effected without loss. The British rushed in, and found +three guns loaded to the muzzle placed in the gateway, but fortunately the +Sepoys who should have fired them had fled. + +The news that the palace was taken spread rapidly, and there was a rush to +share in the spoil. But few of the enemy were found inside; these were at +once bayoneted, and then a general scramble ensued. The order had been +given that no private plundering should be allowed, but that everything +taken should be collected, and sold for the general benefit of the troops. +Orders like this are, however, never observed, at any rate with portable +articles; and Sikhs, Ghoorkas, and British alike, loaded themselves with +spoil. Cashmere shawls worth a hundred pounds were sold for five +shillings, silk dresses might be had for nothing, and jewelry went for +less than the value of the setting. + +The same day the headquarters of the army were removed to the palace of +Delhi. As the Union Jack of England ran up the flagstaff on the palace so +lately occupied by the man crowned by the rebels Emperor of India, the +seat and headquarters of the revolt which had deluged the land with blood, +and caused the rule of England to totter, a royal salute was fired by the +British guns, and tremendous cheers arose from the troops in all parts of +the city. + +The raising of that flag, the booming of those guns, were the signal of +the deathblow of the Indian mutiny. Over one hundred thousand rebels were +still in arms against the British government, but the heart of the +insurrection was gone. It was no longer a war, it was a rebellion. There +was no longer a head, a center, or a common aim. Each body of mutineers +fought for themselves--for life rather than for victory. The final issue +of the struggle was now certain; and all the native princes who had +hitherto held aloof, watching the issue of the fight at Delhi, and +remaining neutral until it was decided whether the Sepoys could pluck up +the British flag from the Ridge, or the British tear down the emblem of +rebellion from above the palace of Delhi, hesitated no longer, but +hastened to give in their allegiance to the victorious power. + +Nothing has been said as to the part the Warreners bore in that fierce six +days' fighting. They did their duty, as did every other man in the British +army, but they had no opportunity for specially distinguishing themselves. +As staff officers, they had often to carry messages to troops engaged in +stubborn fight, and in doing so to dash across open spaces, and run the +gantlet of a score of musket balls; both, however, escaped without a +scratch. They had not been present on the occasion of the taking of the +palace, for they had been at early morning on the point of going in to the +headquarters for orders, when Captain Hodgson came out. They had dined +with him on the day previous to the assault, and he came up them now. + +"Now," he said, "I am just going on an expedition after your own hearts, +lads. We have news that the king and queen have stolen away, and have gone +to the palace at the Kotub Minar. I am going with my troops to bring them +in. Would you like to go?" + +"Oh, yes, of all things," the Warreners exclaimed. "But we have no +horses." + +"Oh, I can mount you," he said. "Several of my fellows slipped into the +town in hopes of getting some loot, and three or four were shot; so if the +general will give you leave, I will take you." + +The Warreners at once went in to Brigadier-General Jones, to whom they had +been attached since the fall of General Nicholson. As they were +supernumeraries on his staff, the general at once gave them leave, and in +high delight they followed their friend--a most gallant and fearless +officer, who had greatly distinguished himself by the dashing exploits +which he had executed with his troop of irregular horse--to his camp +outside the walls. Half an hour later they were riding at a trot toward +the spot where the ex-emperor had taken refuge. Their route lay across +ground hitherto in possession of the enemy, and they rode past thousands +of armed budmashes, or blackguards, of Delhi, who had left the city, and +were making their way to join some of the rebel leaders in the field. +These scowled and muttered curses as the little troop rode by; but the +blow which had just been dealt was so crushing, the dread inspired by +British valor so complete, that although apparently numerous enough to +have destroyed the little band without difficulty, not a man dared raise +his voice or lift a weapon. + +"What are all these wonderful ruins?" Dick asked Captain Hodgson, by whose +side they were riding. + +"This is where old Delhi stood. These great buildings are tombs of kings +and other great men; the smaller houses have gone to dust centuries ago, +but these massive buildings will remain for as many centuries more. Wait +till you see Kotub Minar; in my opinion there is nothing in India or in +the world to equal it." + +Another half-hour's riding brought them into sight of a magnificent shaft +of masonry, rising far above the plain. + +"That is the Minar," Captain Hodgson said; "it is the same word as +minaret. Is it not magnificent?" + +The Kotub Minar is an immense shaft tapering gradually toward the top. It +is built in stages, with a gallery round each. Each stage is different. In +one it is fluted with round columns like a huge mass of basalt. In another +the columns are angular; and in the next, round and angular alternately. +The highest stage is plain. The height is very great, and the solidity of +execution and the strength of the edifice are as striking as its height +and beauty. + +They were not, however, to go so far as the Kotub, for, questioning some +peasants, they learned that the king had halted at a building called +Durzah-Nizam-oo-deen. The gates were shut, and it was certain that the +king would have a large body of retainers with him. Matchlock men showed +at the windows and on the roof, and things looked awkward for the little +troop of cavalry. Captain Hodgson rode forward, however, without +hesitation, and struck on the great gate. A window by the side of the gate +opened, and he was asked what was wanted. + +"I am come to take, and to carry into Delhi, the ex-king and his family. +It is better to submit quietly, for if I have to force my way in, every +soul in the place will be put to the sword." + +In two minutes the postern opened, and a closely veiled figure made her +appearance. + +"I am the Begum," she said. And Captain Hodgson bent in acknowledgment +that the favorite wife of the man who was yesterday regarded as the +emperor of India, stood before him. + +"The king will surrender," she said, "if you will promise that his life +shall be spared; if not, he will defend himself to the last, and will die +by his own hand." + +"Defense would be useless," Captain Hodgson said. "The force I have would +suffice amply to carry the place; and if it did not, in three hours any +reinforcements I could ask for would be here. I have no authority to give +such a promise." + +"If you give the promise it will be kept," the Begum said. "If you refuse, +the king will shoot himself when the first soldier passes the gate." + +Captain Hodgson hesitated. It was true that he had no authority to make +such a promise; but he felt that government would far rather have the king +a captive in their hands than that he should excite a feeling of regret +and admiration among the people by dying by his own hand in preference to +falling into those of the British. + +"I agree," he said after a pause. "I promise that the king's life shall be +spared." + +In a minute the gate was thrown back, and an aged man came out, followed +by several women. The age of the king was nearly eighty-five, and he was +from first to last a mere puppet in the hands of others. In no case would +he have been executed by the government, since the old man was clearly +beyond any active participation in what had taken place. + +The litter in which the king and his wives had been conveyed from Delhi +was again brought into requisition, and the party were soon _en route_ for +Delhi. The royal palace had been but a few hours in our hands before the +ex-king was brought in, a prisoner where he had so lately reigned. He was +lodged with his women in a small building in the palace, under a strong +guard, until it should be decided what to do with him. + +"I shall go out to-morrow to try and catch some of the sons of the old +man. They are the real culprits in the matter. If you like to go out +again, and can get off duty, well and good," Captain Hodgson said. + +The boys, who were very pleased at having been present at so historical an +event as the capture of the king of Delhi, warmly thanked Captain Hodgson; +and, having again obtained leave, started with him on the following +morning at daybreak. Some of the princes a spy had reported to Captain +Hodgson as being at Humayoon's tomb, a large building near the Kotub +Minar. They rode in the same direction that they had gone out on the +preceding day, but proceeded somewhat further. + +"That is Humayoon's tomb," Captain Hodgson said, pointing to a large +square building with a domed roof and four lofty minarets, standing half a +mile off the road. + +The troop rode up at a gallop, and, surrounding the building, dismounted. +Soldiers were placed at all the various doors of the building, with orders +to shoot down any one who might come out, and Captain Hodgson sent a loyal +moulvie, named Rujol Ali, who had accompanied him, into the building, to +order the princes there to come out. Then arose within the building a +great tumult of voices, as the question whether they should or should not +surrender was argued. Several times the moulvie returned, to ask if any +conditions would be given; but Hodgson said sternly that no conditions +whatever would be made with them. + +At last, after two hours' delay, two of the sons and a grandson of the +king, all of whom had been leaders in the mutiny, and authors of massacres +and atrocities, came out and surrendered. They were immediately placed in +a carriage which had been brought for the purpose, a guard was placed over +them, and ordered to proceed slowly toward the city. + +Then Hodgson, accompanied by the Warreners, entered the inclosure which +surrounded the tomb. Here from five to six thousand of the refuse of the +city, many of them armed, were assembled. A yell of hate arose as the +little band entered; guns were shaken defiantly; sabers waved in the air. +The odds were tremendous, and the Warreners felt that nothing remained but +to sell their lives dearly. + +"Lay down your arms!" Captain Hodgson shouted in a stentorian voice. + +Eight or ten shots were fired from the crowd, and the bullets whistled +over the heads of the horsemen, but fortunately none were hit. + +"Lay down your arms!" he shouted again. "Men, unsling your carbines. +Level." + +As the carbines were leveled, the bravery of the mob evaporated at once. +Those nearest threw down their arms, and as with leveled guns the horsemen +rode through the crowd, arms were everywhere thrown down, and resistance +was at an end. Over a thousand guns, five hundred swords, and quantities +of daggers and knives were collected; and a number of elephants, camels, +and horses were captured. + +Ordering the native lieutenant to remain with the troop in charge of these +things until some carts could be sent out for the arms, Captain Hodgson, +accompanied by the boys, rode off after the carriage, which had started +two hours before. + +They rode rapidly until they neared Delhi, when they saw the carriage, +surrounded by a great mob. Captain Hodgson set spurs to his horse and +galloped forward at full speed, followed by the boys. They burst through +the crowd, who were a large body of ruffians who had just left the city, +where the fighting was even now not over, and who were all armed. A +defiant cry broke from them as the three horsemen rode up to the carriage, +from which with the greatest difficulty the guard had so far kept the +crowd. + +There was not a moment for hesitation. Captain Hodgson raised a hand, and +a momentary silence reigned. + +"These men in the carriage," said he in loud tones, "have not only +rebelled against the government, but have ordered and witnessed the +massacre and shameful treatment of women and children. Thus, therefore, +the government punishes such traitors and murderers!" + +Then drawing his revolver, before the crowd could move or lift a hand he +shot the three prisoners through the head. The crowd, awed and astonished, +fell back, and the carriage with the dead bodies passed into the city. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +A RIOT AT CAWNPORE. + + +While the guns of Delhi were saluting the raising of the British flag over +the royal palace, General Havelock and his force were fighting their way +up to Lucknow. On the 19th of September he crossed the Ganges, brushed +aside the enemy's opposition, and, after three days' march in a tremendous +rain, found them in force at the Alumbagh. After a short, sharp fight they +were defeated, and the Alumbagh fell into our hands. All the stores and +baggage were left here, with a force strong enough to hold it against all +attacks; and after a day to rest his troops, General Havelock advanced on +the 22d, defeated the enemy outside Lucknow, and then, as the direct route +was known to be impassable, he followed the canal as far as the +Kaiserbagh, and there turning off, fought his way through the streets to +the Residency, where he arrived only just in time, for the enemy had +driven two mines right under the defenses, and these would, had the +reinforcements arrived but one day later, have been exploded, and the fate +of the garrison of Cawnpore might have befallen the defenders of Lucknow. + +The desperate street fighting had, however, terribly weakened the little +force which had performed the feat. Out of fifteen hundred men who had +entered the city, a third were killed or wounded, among the former being +the gallant Brigadier-General Neil. + +With so weak a force it was evident that it would be hopeless to endeavor +to carry off the sick, the wounded, the women, and children through the +army of rebels that surrounded them, and it was therefore determined to +continue to hold the Residency until further aid arrived. The siege +therefore recommenced, but under different conditions, for the increased +force enabled the British to hold a larger area; and although the +discomforts and privations were as great as before--for the reinforcements +had brought no food in with them--the danger of the place being carried by +assault was now entirely at an end. + +One noble action connected with the relief of Lucknow will never be +forgotten. Before General Havelock started up from Cawnpore, General Sir +James Outram, his senior officer, arrived, with authority to take the +command. Upon his arrival, however, he issued a general order, to say that +to General Havelock, who had done such great deeds to relieve Lucknow, +should be the honor of the crowning success; and that he therefore waived +his seniority, and would fight under General Havelock as a volunteer until +Lucknow was relieved. A more generous act of self-negation than this was +never accomplished. To the man who relieved Lucknow would fall honor, +fame, the gratitude of the English people, and all this General Outram of +his own accord resigned. He was worthy indeed of the name men gave him-- +the "Bayard of India." + +The news that Lucknow was relieved caused almost as much delight to the +troops at Delhi as their own successes had given them, for the anxiety as +to the safety of the garrison was intense. To the Warreners the news gave +an intense pleasure, for the thought of the friends they had left behind +in that terrible strait had been ever present to their mind. The faces of +the suffering women, the tender girls, the delicate children, had haunted +them night and day; and their joy at the thought that these were rescued +from the awful fate impending over them knew no bounds. + +It was not at Delhi, however, that the Warreners heard the news; for on +the 23d, only three days after the occupation of the city, they left with +the flying column of Colonel Greathead, which was ordered to march down to +Agra, clearing away the bands of mutineers which infested the intervening +country, and then to march to Cawnpore, to be in readiness to advance on +Lucknow. The boys had no difficulty in obtaining leave to accompany this +column, as Ned would naturally on the first opportunity rejoin his +regiment, which was at Cawnpore, while Dick was longing to form one of the +naval brigade, which, under Captain Peel, was advancing up the country. + +The rebels were found in force at Allyghur, and were defeated without +difficulty; and after several minor skirmishes the force marched hastily +down to Agra, which was threatened by a large body of the enemy. Without a +halt they marched thirty miles to Agra, and encamped in the open space +outside the fort. + +Just as they were cooking their meals a battery of artillery opened upon +them, an infantry fire broke out from the surrounding houses, and a large +body of cavalry dashed in among them. + +For a moment all was confusion; but the troops were all inured to war; +with wonderful rapidity they rallied and attacked the enemy, who were over +five thousand strong, and finally defeated them with great slaughter, and +captured fourteen guns. Agra saved, the column started two days later for +Cawnpore; upon the way it defeated bodies of rebels, and punished some +zemindars who had taken part against us, and arrived at Cawnpore on the +26th of October. + +At Majupoorie, halfway up from Agra, the force had been joined by a +brigade under Colonel Hope Grant, who, as senior officer, took the command +of the column. They marched into Cawnpore three thousand five hundred +strong, all troops who had gone through the siege of Delhi; and Ned at +once joined his regiment, where he was warmly received. + +On the following day the Ninety-third Highlanders and a part of the naval +brigade, two hundred strong, arrived; and Dick's delight as the column +marched in was unbounded. He reported himself for duty at once, and, as +among the officers were some of his own shipmates, he was at once at home. + +There was little sleep in the tents of the junior officers of the brigade +that night. Dick's name had been twice mentioned in dispatches, and all +sorts of rumors as to his doings had reached his comrades. The moment, +therefore, that dinner was over, Dick was taken to a tent, placed on a +very high box on a table, supplied with grog, and ordered to spin his +yarn, which, although modestly told, elicited warm applause from his +hearers. + +On the 30th Colonel Grant's column moved forward, and arrived after three +days' march within six miles of the Alumbagh. They had with them a great +convoy of siege material and provisions, and these were next day escorted +safely into the Alumbagh, where the little garrison had held their own, +though frequently attacked, for six weeks. The Sixty-fourth Regiment had +already done so much fighting that it was not to form part of the advance. +The naval brigade was increased on the 1st of November by the arrival of +Captain Peel himself, with two hundred more sailors and four hundred +troops. They had had a heavy fight on the way up, and had protected the +convoy and siege guns of which they were in charge, and had defeated the +enemy, four thousand strong, and captured all his guns, but with a loss to +themselves of nearly one hundred men. Soon after the commencement of the +engagement, Colonel Powell, who was in command of the column, was killed; +and Captain Peel then took command of the force, and won the victory. + +The astonishment of the people of Cawnpore at the appearance of the brawny +tars was unbounded. The sailors went about the streets in knots of two or +three, staring at the contents of the shops, and as full of fun and good +humor as so many schoolboys. Greatly delighted were they when the natives +gave them the least chance of falling foul of them--for they knew that the +people of the town had joined the mutineers--and were only too glad of an +excuse to pitch into them. They all carried cutlasses, but these they +disdained to use, trusting, and with reason, to their fists, which are to +the natives of India a more terrible, because a more mysterious weapon +than the sword. A sword they understand; but a quick hit, flush from the +shoulder, which knocks them off their feet as if struck by lightning, is +to them utterly incomprehensible, and therefore very terrible. + +One day the Warreners were strolling together through the town, and turned +off from the more frequented streets, with a view of seeing what the +lower-class quarters were like. They had gone some distance, when Ned +said: + +"I think we had better turn, Dick. These scowling scoundrels would be only +too glad to put a knife into us, and we might be buried away under ground +in one of these dens, and no one be ever any the wiser for it. I have no +doubt when we have finished with the fellows, and get a little time to +look round, there will be a clear sweep made of all these slums." + +The lads turned to go back, when Dick said, "Listen!" + +They paused, and could hear a confused sound of shouting, and a noise as +of a tumult. They listened attentively. + +"Ned," Dick exclaimed, "I am sure some of those shouts are English. Some +of our fellows have got into a row; come on!" + +So saying, he dashed off up the narrow street, accompanied by his brother. +Down two more lanes, and then, in an open space where five or six lanes +met, they saw a crowd. In the midst of it they could see sabers flashing +in the air, while British shouts mingled with the yells of the natives. + +"This is a serious business," Ned said, as they ran; "we are in the worst +part of Cawnpore." + +Three or four natives, as they approached the end of the lane, stepped +forward to prevent their passage; but the lads threw them aside with the +impetus of their rush, and then, shoulder to shoulder, charged the crowd. + +Expecting no such assault, the natives fell aside from the shock, and in a +few seconds the boys stood by their countrymen. There were six in all-- +sailors, as the boys had expected. The fight had evidently been a sharp +one. Four or five natives lay upon the ground, and two of the sailors were +bleeding from sword-cuts. The tars gave a cheer at the sight of this +reinforcement, especially as one of the newcomers was a naval officer--for +Dick had bought the uniform of a naval officer killed in the fight of the +1st. + +The infuriated crowd drew back for a moment; but seeing that the +reinforcement consisted only of two lads, again attacked fiercely. The +boys had drawn their swords, and for a minute the little party fought back +to back. It was evident, however, that this could not last, for every +moment added to the number of their foes, the budmashes flocking down from +every quarter. + +"Now, lads," Ned shouted, "get yourselves ready, and when I say the word +make a dash all together for that house at the left corner. The door is +open. Once in there, we can hold it till help comes. Press them a bit +first, so as to scatter them a little, and then for a rush. Are you all +ready? Now!" + +With a cheer the sailors hurled themselves upon the crowd in a body. The +surprise, added to the weight and force of the charge, was irresistible; +the natives were sent flying like ninepins, and before the enemy quite +understood what had happened, the whole party were safe in the house, and +the door slammed-to and bolted. + +"See if there are any windows they can get in at." + +The men ran into the two rooms of which, on the ground floor, the house +consisted; but the windows in these, as is often the case in Indian towns, +were strongly barred. There was a furious beating at the door. + +"It will give in a minute," Dick said. "Upstairs, lads; we can hold them +against any number." + +"It's lucky they did not use their pistols," Ned said, as they gathered in +the upper room; "we should have been polished off in no time had they done +so." + +"I expect they made sure of doing for us with their swords and knives," +Dick replied, "and did not like to risk calling attention by the sound of +pistol-shots. Now, lads, how did you get into this row?" + +"Well, your honor," said one of the tars, "we were just cruising about as +it might be, when we got down these here lanes, and lost our bearings +altogether. Well, we saw we had fallen among land pirates, for the chaps +kept closing in upon us as if they wanted to board, and fingering those +long knives of theirs. Then one of them he gives a push to Bill Jones, and +Bill gives him a broadside between the eyes, and floors him. Then they all +begins to yell, like a pack o' they jackals we heard coming up country. +Then they drew their knives, and Bill got a slash on his cheek. So we, +seeing as how it were a regular case of an engagement all along the line, +drew our cutlasses and joins action. There were too many of them, though, +and we were nigh carried by the pirates, when you bore up alongside." + +At this moment a crash was heard below; the door had yielded, and the +crowd rushed into the lower part of the house. When it was found to be +empty there was a little delay. No one cared to be the first to mount the +stairs, and encounter the determined band above. Dick stepped forward to +glance at the state of things below, when half a dozen pistol-shots were +fired. One inflicted a nasty cut on his cheek, and another struck him on +the hand. + +"Are you hurt, Dick?" Ned said, as his brother leaped back. + +"No, nothing to speak of; but it was a close shave. Perkins, pick up my +sword, will you? I didn't think of their firing." + +"Being indoors, they are not afraid of the pistols being heard any +distance," Ned said. "Keep a sharp lookout, lads, in case they make a rush +upstairs, while I tie up my brother's hand and face." + +"They are coming, sir," the sailors cried, as the house shook with the +rush of a body of men up the stairs. + +"Stand well back, lads, and cut them down as they enter the door." + +Pushed from behind, five or six of the enemy burst simultaneously into the +room; but ere they could fire a pistol, or even put themselves into an +attitude of defense, they were cut down or run through the body. Then a +tremendous crash and a wild cry was heard. + +"Hurrah!" Dick shouted, "the staircase has given way." + +Many groans and shrieks were heard below; then there was a sound of +persons being carried out, and for awhile, quiet below, while outside the +hubbub became greater. + +"What is going on outside?" Ned said, and Dick and he peered through the +closed jalousies into the street. + +A number of budmashes were bringing bundles of bamboos from a basket- +maker's shop opposite; some of the crowd were opposing them. + +"They are going to fire the house," Dick exclaimed. "The people opposing +are the neighbors, no doubt. They'll do it, though," he added, as the +fiercer spirits drove the others back. "What's best to be done, Ned?" + +Ned looked round, and then up. + +"Let us cut through the bamboo ceiling, Dick; there must be a space +between that and the roof. The wall won't be thick between that and the +next house, and we can work our way from house to house; and if the flames +gain--for they are sure to spread--we can but push off the tiles and take +to the roofs, and run the gantlet of their pistols and muskets. Their +blood's up now, and they will shoot, to a certainty. Do you think that the +best plan?" + +"That's it. Now, lads, two of you stand close together; now, Perkins, you +jump on their shoulders and cut a hole through the bamboos with your +cutlass. Quick, lads, there's no time to lose;" for they could hear the +tramping of feet below, and the sound as the bundles of bamboo were thrown +down. + +"Now, lads," Dick went on--for as a naval officer he was naturally in +command of the men--"take two or three of those rugs on that couch there, +and knot them together. Shut the door, to keep the smoke out. There, +they've lit it!"--as a shout of pleasure rose from below. + +The bamboos were tough, and Perkins could not use his strength to +advantage. Smoke curled up through the crevices of the floor, and all +watched anxiously the progress made. + +"That's big enough," Dick cried at last; "we have not a moment to lose, +the flames are making through the floor. Now, Perkins, climb through the +hole; now, lads, follow in turn." + +Four of the sailors were rapidly through the hole. + +"Now, lads, one of you two; don't waste time. Now, Ned, catch hold of this +man's legs and give him a hoist; that's right. Now drop that rope, lad. +Now, Ned, I'm in command; go on. Now, lads, catch this bundle of rugs; +that's right. Give me one end. There we are. Now spread one of those rugs +over the hole, to keep the smoke out. Now, lads, how is the wall?" + +"Quite soft, your honor; we'll be through in a minute." + +In accordance with orders, those first up had begun at once with their +cutlasses to pick a hole through the mud wall which formed the partition +between the houses. Although thicker below, the divisions between what may +be called the lofts of the houses were made but of a single brick of +unbaked clay or mud, and as Dick clambered up through the hole, the +sailors had already made an opening quite large enough to get through. All +crept through it, and again Dick hung a rug over the hole to keep out the +smoke. + +"Now, lads, attack the next wall again; but don't make more noise about it +than you can help. The people below will be removing what things they can, +and making a row; still, they might hear us; and it is as well they should +think us burned in the house where we were. But you must look sharp, lads, +for the fire spreads through these dried-up houses as if they were built +of straw." + +The sailors labored hard, and they worked their way from house to house; +but the flames followed as fast; and at last, almost choked by smoke and +dust, Dick said: + +"Quick, my men, knock off some tiles, and get on the roof, or we shall be +burned like rats in a trap. This side, the furthest from the street." + +The tiles gave way readily; and each man thrust his head out through the +hole he had made, for a breath of fresh air. In a minute all were on the +roof. + +"Crouch down, lads; keep on this side of the roof; people are not likely +to be looking out for us this side, they will be too busy moving their +furniture. Move on, boys; the fire is spreading now pretty nearly as fast +as we can scramble along." + +It was already a great fire; down both the lanes at whose junction the +house first fired stood, the flames had spread rapidly, and leaping across +the narrow streets had seized the opposite houses. Already fifty or sixty +houses were in a blaze, although it was not five minutes from the +beginning of the fire. + +"There is a cross lane about ten houses ahead, Dick," Ned said. + +"We will stick on the last house as long as we can, Ned, and then slide +down by the rope on to that outhouse. They are too busy now with their own +affairs to think about us; besides, they suppose we are dead long ago, and +the fellows who are at the head of it will have made off to look after +their own houses, for the wind is blowing fresh, and there is no saying +how far the fire may spread. Besides, we shall have our fellows up in a +few minutes. Directly the fire is seen, they are sure to be sent down to +preserve order." + +They were soon gathered on the roof of the last house in the lane, and +three minutes later were driven from it by the flames. One by one they +scrambled down by the aid of the rope on to the outhouse, and thence to +the ground. Then they passed through the house into the lane beyond. +Looking up the lane, it was an arch of fire; the flames were rushing from +every window and towering up above every roof, almost meeting over the +lane. Upon the other hand, all was wild confusion and terror; men were +throwing out of upper windows bedding and articles of furniture; women +laden with household goods, and with children in their arms and others +hanging to their clothes, were making their way through the crowd; +bedridden people were being brought out; and the screams, shrieks, and +shouts mingled with the roaring of flames and the crashes of falling +roofs. As in great floods in India, the tiger and the leopard, the cobra +and the deer, may all be seen huddled together on patches of rising +ground, their mutual enmity forgotten in the common danger, so no one paid +the slightest attention to the body of Englishmen who so suddenly joined +the crowd. + +"Sheathe your cutlasses, my lads," Dick said. "There's no more fighting to +be done. Lend a hand to help these poor wretches. There, two of you take +up that poor old creature; they have carried her out, and then left her; +take her on till you find some open space to set her down in. Now, Ned, +you take a couple of men and work one side of the lane, I will take the +opposite side with the others. Let us go into every room and see that no +sick people or children are left behind. There, the flames have passed the +cross lane already; the corner house is on fire." + +For quarter of an hour the tars labored assiduously; and many a bedridden +old woman, or a forgotten baby, did they bring out. Fortunately at the end +of the lane was an open space of some extent, and here piles of household +goods and helpless people were gathered. + +At the end of a quarter of an hour they heard a deep tramp, and the naval +brigade, led by Captain Peel, filed up through the lane. The sailors burst +into a cheer as they saw their friends arrive, and these responded upon +seeing some of their comrades at work carrying the sick and aged. Dick at +once made his way to Captain Peel, and reported briefly that the fire was +in the first place lighted with the purpose of burning him and his party; +but that they had escaped, and had since been at work helping the +inhabitants. + +"Very well," Captain Peel said. "You can give details afterward; at +present we have got to try and stop the flames. It seems a large block of +fire." + +"It is, sir. It extends across several lanes; there must be a couple of +hundred houses in flames, and I fear, from what we have seen in the lane +we have been working in, a considerable loss of life." + +"Mr. Percival," Captain Peel said to one of his officers, "take your +company and knock down or blow up all the houses on this side of that lane +there. Mr. Wilkinson, you take number two company, and do the same with +the lane to the right. The rest follow me. March!" + +In five minutes all the tars and the Highlanders--who arrived on the +ground immediately after the sailors--were at work pulling down houses, so +as to arrest the progress of the flames by isolating the burning block. +Upon three sides they succeeded, but upon the other the fire, driven by +the wind, defied all their efforts, and swept forward for half a mile, +until it burned itself out when it had reached the open country. In its +course it had swept away a great part of the worst and most crowded +quarters of Cawnpore. + +All through the evening and night the troops and sailors toiled; and +morning had broken before all danger of any further extension was over; +the men were then ordered home, a fresh body of troops coming up to +preserve order, and prevent the robbery, by the lawless part of the +population, of the goods which had been rescued from the flames. Then, +after a ration of grog had been first served out to each man, and +breakfast hastily cooked and eaten, all sought their tents, exhausted +after their labors. + +It was not until evening that signs of life were visible in the camp. Then +men began to move about; and an orderly presently came across to request +the Warreners to go to Captain Peel's quarters to report the circumstances +through which the fire arose. + +The lads related the history of the affair from the time when they had +come upon the scene, and Captain Peel expressed himself in terms of warm +laudation of their gallantry, quickness, and presence of mind. Then the +sailors were called up, and their story, although longer and more diffuse +than that told by the Warreners, was yet substantially the same, and +Captain Peel told the men that they ought not to have wandered in that way +into the slums of Cawnpore, but that beyond that indiscretion they had +acted, as reported by Mr. Warrener, with great courage, coolness, and good +discipline. Then the Warreners went back to their tent, and had to go +through their yarn again with great minuteness and detail. + +"I do think," said Rivers, a midshipman of some two years older standing +than Dick, "that you are the luckiest youngster in the service. It is not +one fellow in a hundred thousand who has such chances." + +"That is so, Rivers," one of the lieutenants answered; "but it is not one +in a hundred thousand who, having gone through such adventures, would have +been alive to tell them at the end. The getting into these scrapes may be +luck, but the getting out of them demands courage, coolness, and quickness +of invention, such as not one lad in a thousand possesses. Now, Rivers, +tell me honestly whether you think that, had you been cut off as he was in +that sortie at Lucknow, you would ever have thought of robbing that old +fakir of his wig?" + +"No," Rivers said; "I am quite sure it would never have occurred to me. +Yes, as you say, sir, Dick Warrener has no end of luck, but he certainly +deserves and makes the best of it." + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +THE RELIEF OF LUCKNOW. + + +On the 6th of November Captain Peel, with five hundred of his gallant +bluejackets, marched from Cawnpore, taking with them the heavy siege guns. +Three days later they joined General Grant's column, which was encamped at +a short distance from the Alumbagh, and in communication with the force +holding that position. On the 9th Sir Colin Campbell, who had come out +from England with all speed to assume the chief command in India, arrived +in camp, and his coming was hailed with delight by the troops, who felt +that the hour was now at hand when the noble garrison of Lucknow were to +be rescued. + +The total force collected for the relief were: Her Majesty's Eighth, +Fifty-third, Seventy-fifth, and Ninety-third regiments of infantry; two +regiments of Punjaub infantry; and a small party of native sappers and +miners. The cavalry consisted of the Ninth Lancers, and detachments of +Sikh cavalry and Hodgson's Horse. The artillery comprised Peel's naval +brigade, with eight heavy guns, ten guns of the Royal Horse Artillery, six +light field guns, and a heavy battery of the Royal Artillery. A total of +about twenty-seven hundred infantry and artillery, and nine hundred +cavalry. + +On the morning of the 10th Mr. Kavanagh, a civilian, came into camp. He +had, disguised as a native, started the evening before from the Residency +with a native guide, named Kunoujee Lal, had swum the Goomtee, recrossed +by the bridge into the city, passed through the streets, and finally made +his way in safety. He was perfectly acquainted with the city, and brought +plans from Sir James Outram for the guidance of the commander-in-chief in +his advance. + +After an examination of the plans Sir Colin Campbell determined that, +instead of forcing his way through the narrow streets as General Havelock +had done, he would move partly round the town, and attack by the eastern +side, where there was much open ground, sprinkled with palaces and mosques +and other large buildings. These could be attacked and taken one by one, +by a series of separate sieges, and thus the Residency could be approached +with far less loss than must have taken place in an attempt to force a way +through the crowded city. + +On the 15th the troops marched to the Alumbagh, defeating a small rebel +force which attempted to stop their way. + +At the Alumbagh Dick Warrener--for Ned was with his regiment, which, to +his great disgust, had remained at Cawnpore--had the joy of meeting his +father again, as Warrener's Horse had not shared in Havelock's advance to +the Residency, but had remained as part of the garrison of the Alumbagh. +It is needless to tell of the delight of that meeting after all that the +lads had gone through since they parted from their father, nearly four +months before, at Cawnpore. Colonel Warrener had heard of the safe arrival +of his sons at Delhi before he marched up from Cawnpore, but since then no +word had reached him. Captains Dunlop and Manners were also delighted to +meet him again; and the whole of the troop vied with each other in the +heartiness of the welcome accorded to him. Disease and death had sadly +lessened the ranks; and of the one hundred men who had volunteered at +Meerut to form a body of horse, not more than fifty now remained in the +ranks. It was very late at night--or rather, early in the morning--before +the party assembled in Colonel Warrener's tent separated, to seek a few +hours' sleep before the _réveillé_ sounded for the troops to rise and +prepare for the advance. + +Soon after daybreak the column were under arms. The Seventy-fifth +Regiment, to its intense disappointment, was ordered to stay and guard the +Alumbagh, with its immense accumulation of stores and munitions; and the +rest of the troops, turning off from the direct road and following the +line the boys had traversed when they made their way into the Residency, +marched for the Dil Koosha, a hunting-palace of the late king of Oude. + +The enemy, who had anticipated an advance by the direct line taken by +Havelock, and who had made immense preparations for defense in that +quarter, were taken aback by the movement to the right, and no opposition +was experienced until the column approached the beautiful park, upon an +elevated spot in which the Dil Koosha stood. + +Then a brisk musketry fire was opened upon them. The head of the column +was extended in skirmishing order, reinforcements were sent up, and, +firing heavily as they advanced, the British drove the enemy before them, +and two hours after the first shot was fired were in possession of the +palace. The enemy fled down the slope toward the city; but the troops +pressed forward, and, with but slight loss, carried the strong position of +the Martiničre College, and drove the enemy across the canal. By this time +the enemy's troops from the other side of the city were flocking up, and +prepared to recross the canal and give battle; but some of the heavy guns +were brought up to the side of the canal, and the rebels made no further +attempt to take the offensive. + +The result of the day's fighting more than answered the commander-in- +chief's expectations, for not only had a commanding position, from which +the whole eastern suburb could be cannonaded, been obtained, but a large +convoy of provisions and stores had been safely brought up, and a new base +of operations obtained. + +The next day, the 15th of November, is celebrated in the annals of British +military history as that upon which some of the fiercest and bloodiest +fighting which ever took place in India occurred. At a short distance +beyond the canal stood the Secunderbagh (Alexander's garden), a building +of strong masonry, standing in a garden surrounded by a very high and +strong wall. This wall was loopholed for musketry; the gate, which led +through a fortified gateway, had been blocked with great piles of stones +behind it, and a very strong garrison held it. In front, a hundred yards +distant, was a fortified village, also held in great force. Separated from +the garden of the Secunderbagh only by the road was the mosque of Shah +Nujeeff. This building was also situated in a garden with a strong +loopholed wall, and this was lined with the insurgent troops; while the +terraced roof of the mosque, and the four minarets which rose at its +corners, were crowded with riflemen. + +The column of attack was commanded by Brigadier Hope; and as it crossed +the bridge of the canal and advanced, a tremendous musketry fire was +opened upon it from the village which formed the advanced post of the +enemy. The column broke up into skirmishing line and advanced steadily. + +"The guns to the front!" said an aide-de-camp, galloping up to the naval +brigade. + +With a cheer the sailors moved across the bridge, following the Horse +Artillery, which dashed ahead, unlimbered, and opened fire with great +rapidity. It took somewhat longer to bring the ponderous sixty-eight- +pounders of the naval brigade into action; but their deep roar when once +at work astonished the enemy, who had never before heard guns of such +heavy metal. + +The rebels fought obstinately, however; but Brigadier-General Hope led his +troops gallantly forward, and after a brief, stern fight the enemy gave +way and fled to the Secunderbagh. + +The guns were now brought forward and their fire directed at the strong +wall. The heavy cannon soon made a breach and the assault was ordered. The +Fourth Sikhs had been directed to lead the attack, while the Ninety-third +Highlanders and detachments from the Fifty-third and other regiments were +to cover their advance, by their musketry fire at the loopholes and other +points from which the enemy were firing. + +The white troops were, however, too impatient to be at the enemy to +perform the patient role assigned to them, and so joined the Sikhs in +their charge. The rush was so fierce and rapid that a number of men pushed +through the little breach before the enemy had mustered in force to repel +them. The entrance was, however, too small for the impatient troops, and a +number of them rushed to the grated windows which commanded the gates. +Putting their caps on the ends of the muskets, they raised them to the +level of the windows, and every Sepoy at the post discharged his musket at +once. Before they could load again the troops leaped up, tore down the +iron bars, and burst a way here also into the garden. + +[Illustration: THE RUSH WAS SO FIERCE, THAT A NUMBER OF MEN PUSHED THROUGH +THE LITTLE BREACH BEFORE THE ENEMY COULD REPEL THEM.] + +Then ensued a frightful struggle; two thousand Sepoys held the garden, and +these, caught like rats in a trap, fought with the energy of despair. +Nothing, however, could withstand the troops, mad with the long-balked +thirst for vengeance, and attacked with the cry--which in very truth was +the death-knell of the enemy--"Remember Cawnpore!" on their lips. No +quarter was asked or given. It was a stubborn, furious, desperate strife, +man to man--desperate Sepoy against furious Englishman. But in such a +strife weight and power tell their tale, and not one of the two thousand +men who formed the garrison escaped; two thousand dead bodies were next +day counted within the four walls of the garden. + +The battle had now raged for three hours, but there was more work yet to +be done. From the walls and minarets of the Shah Nujeeff a terrible fire +had been poured upon the troops as they fought their way into the +Secunderbagh, and the word was given to take this stronghold also. The +gate had been blocked up with masonry. Captain Peel was ordered to take up +the sixty-eight-pounders and to breach the wall. Instead of halting at a +short distance, the gallant sailor brought up his guns to within ten yards +of the wall, and set to work as if he were fighting his ship broadside to +broadside with an enemy. It was an action probably unexampled in war. Had +such an attack been made unsupported by infantry, the naval brigade would +have been annihilated by the storm of fire from the walls, and Dick +Warrener's career would have come to a close. The Highlanders and their +comrades, however, opened with such a tremendous fire upon the points from +which the enemy commanded the battery, and at every loophole in the wall, +that the mutineers could only keep up a wild and very ineffectual fire +upon the gunners. The massive walls crumbled slowly but surely, and in +four hours several gaps were made. + +Then the guns ceased their fire, and the infantry with a wild cheer burst +into the garden of the Shah Nujeeff, and filled the mosque and garden with +the corpses of their defenders. The loss of the naval brigade in this +gallant affair was not heavy, and Dick Warrener escaped untouched. + +Evening was approaching now, and the troops bivouacked for the night. The +Ninetieth and that portion of the Fifty-third not engaged in the assault +of the Secunderbagh and Shah Nujeeff were now to have their turn as +leaders of the attack. + +The next point to be carried was the messhouse, a very strong position, +situated on an eminence, with flanking towers, a loopholed mud wall, and a +ditch. The naval guns began the fray, and the heavy shot soon effected a +breach in the wall. The defenders of the post were annoyed, too, by a +mortar battery in an advanced post of the British force in the Residency-- +for the space between the garrison and the relieving force was rapidly +lessening. The word was given, and the Ninetieth, Fifty-third, and Sikhs +dashed forward, surmounted all obstacles, and carried the position with +the bayonet; and the observatory, which stood behind it, was soon +afterward most gallantly carried by a Sikh regiment. + +In the meantime the garrison of the Residency was not idle. On the day of +the arrival of the British at Dil Koosha flag-signals from the towers of +that palace had established communication with the Residency, and it was +arranged that as soon as the relieving forces obtained possession of the +Secunderbagh the troops of the garrison should begin to fight their way to +meet them. + +Delighted at taking the offensive after their long siege, Havelock's +troops, on the 16th, attacked the enemy with fury, and carried two strong +buildings known as Hern Khana and engine-house, and then dashed on through +the Chuttur Munzil, and carried all before them at the point of the +bayonet. + +All the strongholds of the enemy along this line had now fallen; and on +the 17th of March Sir Colin Campbell met Generals Outram and Havelock, +amid the tremendous cheers of British troops, which for awhile drowned the +heavy fire which the enemy was still keeping up. + +The loss of the relieving column during the operations was far less than +that which had befallen Havelock's force in its advance--for it amounted +only to one hundred and twenty-two officers and men killed, and three +hundred and forty-five wounded. The loss of the enemy considerably +exceeded four thousand. The relieving force did not advance into the +Residency, but were stationed along the line which they had conquered +between the Dil Koosha and the Residency, for the enemy were still in +enormously superior force, and threatened to cut the line by which the +British had penetrated. + +The first operation was to pour in a supply of luxuries from the stores at +the Dil Koosha. White bread, oranges, bananas, wine, tea, sugar, and other +articles were sent forward; and these, to those who had for nearly six +months existed on the barest and coarsest food, were luxuries indeed. An +even greater pleasure was afforded by sending in the mails which had +accumulated, and thus affording the garrison the intense delight of +hearing of those loved ones at home from whom they had been so long cut +off. + +The day that the junction was made Dick obtained leave for a few hours to +visit his friends in the Residency. It was singular to the lad to walk +leisurely across the open space of the Residency garden, where before it +would have been death to show one's self for a minute, and to look about +rather as an unconcerned spectator than as formerly, with nerves on strain +night and day to repel attack, which, if successful, meant death to every +soul in the place. + +In the battered walls, the shattered roofs, the destruction everywhere +visible, he saw how the terrors of the siege had increased after he had +left; and in view of the general havoc that met his view Dick was +astonished that any one should have survived the long-continued +bombardment. In some respects the change had been favorable. The accession +of strength after the arrival of General Havelock's force had enabled +great and beneficial alteration to be made in the internal arrangements, +and the extension of the lines held had also aided in improving the +sanitary condition. But the change in the appearance of the place was +trifling in comparison with that in the faces of the defenders. These +were, it is true, still pinched and thin, for the supply of food had been +reduced to a minimum, and the rations had been lowered almost to +starvation point. But in place of the expression of deep anxiety or of +stern determination then marked on every face, all now looked joyous and +glad, for the end to the terrible trials had arrived. + +As he moved along men looked at the midshipman curiously, and then, as the +lad advanced with outstretched hands, greeted him with cries of +astonishment and pleasure; for it was naturally supposed in the garrison +that the Warreners had fallen in the sortie on Johannes' house. Very +hearty were the greetings which Dick received, especially from those whom +he met who had fought side by side with him at Gubbins' house. This +pleasure, however, was greatly dashed by the answers to his questions +respecting friends. "Dead," "dead," "killed," were the replies that came +to the greater part of the inquiries after those he had known, and the +family in whom he was chiefly interested had suffered heavily. Mr. +Hargreaves was killed; Mr. and Mrs. Ritchie and all their children had +succumbed to the confinement and privation; but Mrs. Hargreaves and the +girls were well. After briefly telling how they had escaped in disguise, +after having been cut off from falling back after the successful sortie, +Dick Warrener hurried off to the house where he heard that his friends +were quartered. + +It was outside the bounds of the old Residency, for the ground held had, +since the arrival of Havelock's force, been considerably extended, and the +ladies had had two rooms assigned to them in a large building. Dick +knocked at the door of the room, and the ayah opened it--looked at him-- +gave a scream, and ran back into the room, leaving the door open. Dick, +seeing that it was a sitting-room, followed her in. Mrs. Hargreaves, +alarmed at the cry, had just risen from her chair, and Nelly and Edith ran +in from the inner room as Dick entered. A general cry of astonishment +broke from them. + +"Dick Warrener!" Mrs. Hargreaves exclaimed. "Is it possible? My clear boy, +thank God I see you again. And your brother?" + +"He escaped too," Dick said. + +Mrs. Hargreaves took him in her arms and kissed him as a dear relative +would have done; for during the month they had been together the boys had +become very dear to her, from their unvarying readiness to aid all who +required it, from their self-devotion and their bravery. Nor were the +girls less pleased, and they warmly embraced the young sailor, whom they +had come to look upon as if he had been a member of the family, and whom +they had wept as dead. + +For a time all were too much moved to speak more than a few disjointed +words, for the sad changes which had occurred since they had last met were +present in all their thoughts. Nelly, the youngest, was the first to +recover, and wiping away her tears, she said, half-laughing, half-crying: + +"I hate you, Dick, frightening us into believing that you were killed, +when you were alive and well all the time. But I never quite believed it +after all. I said all along that you couldn't have been killed; didn't I, +mamma? and that monkeys always got out of scrapes somehow." + +Mrs. Hargreaves smiled. + +"I don't think you put it in that way exactly, Nelly; but I will grant +that between your fits of crying you used to assert over and over again +that you did not believe that they were killed. And now, my dear boy, tell +us how this seeming miracle has come about." + +Then they sat down quietly, and Dick told the whole story; and Mrs. +Hargreaves warmly congratulated him on the manner in which they had +escaped, and upon the presence of mind they had shown. Then she in turn +told him what they had gone through and suffered. Edith burst into tears, +and left the room, and her mother presently went after her. + +"Well, Nelly, I have seen a lot since I saw you, have I not?" + +"Yes, you are a dear, brave boy, Dick," the girl said. + +"Even though I am a monkey, eh?" Dick answered. "And did you really cry +when you thought I was dead?" + +"Yes," the girl said demurely; "I always cry when I lose my pets. There +was the dearest puppy I ever had--" + +Dick laughed quietly. "Who is the monkey now?" he asked. + +"I am," she said frankly; "but you know I can't help teasing you, Dick." + +"Don't balk yourself, Nelly, I like it. I should like to be teased by you +all my life," he said in lower tones. + +The girl flushed up rosy red. "If you could always remain as you are now," +she said after a little pause, "just an impudent midshipman, I should not +mind it. Do you know, Dick, they give terriers gin to prevent their +growing; don't you think you might stop yourself? It is quite sad," she +went on pathetically, "to think that you may grow up into a great +lumbering man." + +"I am quite in earnest, Nelly," Dick said, looking preternaturally stern. + +"Yes," Nelly said, "I have always understood midshipmen were quite in +earnest when they talked nonsense." + +"I am quite in earnest," Dick said solemnly and fixedly again. + +"No, really, Dick, we are too old for that game," Nelly said, with a great +affectation of gravity. "I think we could enjoy hide-and-seek together, or +even blindman's buff; but you know children never play at being little +lovers after they are quite small. I remember a dear little boy, he used +to wear pinafores----" + +Here Mrs. Hargreaves again entered the room, and Dick, jumping up +suddenly, said that it was quite time for him to be off. "I shall only +just have time to be back by the time I promised." + +"Good-by, Dick. I hope to see you again tomorrow." + +Edith came in, and there was a hearty shake of the hand all round, except +that Dick only touched the tips of Nelly's fingers, in a manner which he +imagined betokened a dignified resentment, although as he looked up and +saw the girl's eyes dancing with amusement, he could scarcely flatter +himself that it had produced any very serious effect. Dick returned in an +indignant mood to the naval brigade, which was quartered in the Shah +Nujeeff's mosque and gardens. + +"You are out of sorts to-night, Dick," one of his brother midshipmen said, +as they leaned together upon the parapet of the mosque, looking down on +the city; "is anything the matter?" + +"Were you ever in love, Harry?" + +"Lots of times," Harry said confidently. + +"And could you always persuade them that you were in earnest?" Dick asked. + +Harry meditated. "Well, I am not quite sure about that, Dick; but then, +you see, I was never quite sure myself that I was in earnest, and that's +rather a drawback, you know." + +"But what would you do, Harry, supposing you were really quite in earnest, +and she laughed in your face and told you you were a boy?" Dick asked. + +"I expect," the midshipman said, laughing, "I should kiss her straight +off, and say that as I was a boy she couldn't object." + +"Oh, nonsense," Dick said testily; "I want advice, and you talk bosh!" + +The midshipman winked confidentially at the moon, there being no one else +to wink at, and then said gravely: + +"I think, Dick, the right thing to do would be to put your right hand on +your heart, and hold your left hand up, with the forefinger pointing to +the ceiling, and to say, 'Madam, I leave you now. When years have rolled +over our heads I will return, and prove to you at once my affection and my +constancy.'" + +Dick's eyes opened to their widest, and it was not until his friend went +off in a shout of laughter that he was certain that he was being chaffed; +then, with an exclamation of "Confound you, Harry!" he made a rush at his +comrade, who dodged his attack, and darted off, closely pursued by Dick. +And as they dashed round the cupola and down the stairs their light- +hearted laughter--for Dick soon joined in the laugh against himself--rose +on the evening air; and the tars, smoking their pipes round the bivouac +fires below, smiled as the sound came faintly down to them, and remarked, +"Them there midshipmites are larking, just as if they were up in the +maintop." + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +A SAD PARTING. + + +Sir Colin Campbell had considered it possible that the enemy would, upon +finding that the Residency was relieved, and the prey, of whose +destruction they had felt so sure, slipped from between their fingers, +leave the city and take to the open, in which case he would, after +restoring order, have left a strong body of troops in the city, and have +set off in pursuit of the rebels. + +It soon became apparent, however, that the enemy had no intention of +deserting their stronghold. Lucknow abounded with palaces and mosques, +each of which had been turned into a fortress, while every street was +barricaded, every wall loopholed. As from forty thousand to fifty thousand +men, including many thousands of drilled soldiers, stood ready to defend +the town, foot by foot, it was clear that the fighting force at Sir Colin +Campbell's command was utterly inadequate to attempt so serious an +operation as the reduction of the whole city. To leave a portion of the +force would only have submitted them to another siege, with the necessity +for another advance to their relief. The commander-in-chief therefore +determined to evacuate the Residency and city altogether, to carry off the +entire garrison, and to leave Lucknow to itself until the reinforcements +from England should arrive, and he should be able to undertake the +subjugation of the city with a force adequate for the purpose. + +His intention was kept a secret until the last moment, lest the news might +reach the enemy, who, from the batteries in their possession, could have +kept up a terrible fire upon the road along which the women and children +would have to pass, and who would have attacked with such fury along the +whole line to be traversed, that it would have been next to impossible to +draw off the troops. + +In order to deceive the enemy, guns were placed in position to play upon +the town, and a heavy fire was opened against the Kaiserbagh, or King's +Palace, a fortress of great strength. In the meantime preparations for +retreat were quietly carried on. Bullock hackeries were prepared for the +carriage of the ladies and children; and on the morning of the 23d of +November the occupants of the Residency were informed that they must +prepare to leave that afternoon, and that no luggage beyond a few personal +necessaries could be carried. + +The order awakened mingled emotions--there was gladness at the thought of +leaving a place where all had suffered so much, and round which so many +sad memories were centered; there was regret in surrendering to the foe a +post which had been so nobly defended for so many months. Among many, too, +there was some dismay at the thought of giving up all their movable +possessions to the enemy. One small trunk was all that was allowed to +each, and as each tried to put together the most valuable of his or her +belongings, the whole of the buildings occupied were littered, from end to +end, with handsome dresses, silver plate, mirrors, clocks, furniture, and +effects of all kinds. A short time since every one would have gladly +resigned all that they possessed for life and liberty; but now that both +were assured, it was felt to be hard to give up everything. + +Dick went in to Mrs. Hargreaves' to see if he could be of any service, but +there was comparatively little to do, for that lady had lost all her +portable property in the destruction of the bungalow on the estate owned +by her husband, and had come into Lucknow shortly before the outbreak, +when the cloud began to lower heavily, with but a small amount of baggage. +Dick had not been able to see them since his first visit, being +incessantly on duty. + +"I was so sorry I could not come up before," he explained; "but each of +the officers has been up to have a look at the Residency; and as we may be +attacked at any moment, Captain Peel expects them all to be on the spot +with their men." + +"Shall we get away without being fired at?" Nelly asked. + +"I am afraid you will have to run the gantlet in one or two places," Dick +said. "The enemy keep up an almost incessant fire; and although, we must +hope, they will not have an idea that any number of people are passing +along the road, and their fire will therefore be only a random one, it may +be a little unpleasant; but you are all accustomed to that now. I must be +off again, Mrs. Hargreaves; I really only came to explain why I did not +come yesterday, and only got leave for an hour, so I have come at a trot +all the way." + +And so Dick made off again; and as he shook hands with them, he could feel +that Nelly had not yet forgiven the coldness of his last good-by. + +Upon the previous day all the sick and wounded had been moved to the Dil +Koosha; that done, the very large amount of money, amounting to nearly a +quarter of a million, in the government treasury, was removed, together +with such stores as were required. Then the guns were silently withdrawn +from the batteries, and at half-past four in the afternoon the emigration +of the women and children commenced. All had to walk to the Secunderbagh, +along a road strewn with _débris_, and ankle deep in sand, and in some +places exposed to a heavy fire. At one of these points a strong party of +seamen were stationed, among whom Dick was on duty. As each party of women +arrived at the spot they were advised to stoop low, and to run across at +full speed, as the road being a little sunk, they thus escaped observation +by the enemy, whose battery was at some little distance, but the grape +whistled thickly overhead, and several were wounded as they passed. + +Dick had been on the lookout for the Hargreaves party, and came forward +and had a talk with them before they started across the open spot. He had +quite recovered from Nelly's attack upon his dignity as a man and a naval +officer, and the pair as usual had a wordy spar. Dick was, however, rather +serious at the prospect of the danger they were about to run. + +"Will you let me cross with you one at a time?" he asked. + +"Certainly not, Dick," Mrs. Hargreaves said. "You could do us no good, and +would run a silly risk yourself. Now, girls, are you ready?" + +"Stoop low, for heaven's sake!" Dick urged. + +Mrs. Hargreaves started at a run, accompanied by Alice. Nelly was a little +behind. Dick took her hand and ran across, keeping between her and the +enemy. + +"Down low!" he cried, as, when they were half across, a heavy gun fired. +As he spoke, he threw his arms round Nelly, and pulled her to the ground. +As he did so a storm of grape swept just above them, striking the wall, +and sending a shower of earth over them. Another half-minute and they were +across on the other side. + +"Good-by," he said to them all; "you are over the worst now." + +"Good-by, my dear boy. Mind how you cross again. God bless you." And Mrs. +Hargreaves and Alice shook his hand, and turned to go. Nelly held hers out +to him. He took it and clasped it warmly; he was loosening his hold when +the girl said: "You have saved my life, Dick." + +"Oh, nonsense," he said. + +"You did, sir, and--yes, I am coming, mamma"--in answer to a word from her +mother. "Oh, how stupid you are, Dick!" she cried, with a little stamp of +her foot; "don't you want to kiss me?" + +"Of course I do," Dick said. + +"Then why on earth don't you do it, sir?--There, that is enough. God bless +you, dear Dick;" and Nelly darted off to join her mother. + +Then he returned to his post, and the ladies went on to the Secunderbagh. +Here a long halt was entailed, until all were gathered there, in order +that they might be escorted by a strong guard on to the Dil Koosha. Then +came an anxious journey--some in bullock-carts, some in doolies, some on +foot. The Hargreaves walked, for the anxiety was less when moving on foot +than if shut up in a conveyance. Several times there were long halts in +expectation of attack; and a report that a great movement could be heard +among the enemy at one time delayed them until reinforcements could be +sent for and arrived. But about midnight all reached the Dil Koosha, where +a number of tents had been erected, and refreshments prepared for the many +fugitives. + +Later on the troops came tramping in, having gradually, and in regular +order, evacuated their posts, leaving their fires burning and moving in +absolute silence, so that it was not until next morning that the enemy +awoke to the knowledge that the Residency was deserted, and that their +expected prey had safely escaped them. + +The next day was spent quietly, all enjoying intensely the open air, the +relief from the long pressure, and the good food, wine, and other comforts +now at their disposal. Dick brought Colonel Warrener to make the +acquaintance of his friends, and a pleasant afternoon was spent together. +On the 25th a heavy gloom fell upon all, for on that day the gallant +General Havelock, worn out by his labors and anxieties, was seized with +dysentery, and in a few hours breathed his last. He was a good man as well +as a gallant soldier, and his death just at the moment when the safety of +those for whom he had done so much was assured cast a gloom not only over +his comrades and those who had fought under him, but on the whole British +nation. All that day the great convoy had been on the move between the Dil +Koosha and the Alumbagh. Half the fighting force served as an escort, the +other half stood in battle order between them and Lucknow, in case the +enemy should come out to the attack. The whole road between the two +stations was throughout the day covered by a continuous stream of bullock +carts, palanquins, carts, camels, elephants, guns, ammunition carts, and +store wagons. + +Mrs. Hargreaves and her daughters were on an elephant, with their ayah; +and as the Warreners had placed in the howdah a basket of refreshments, +the long weary march was borne, not only without inconvenience, but with +some pleasure at the novelty of the scene and the delight of air and +freedom. + +Sir Colin Campbell had intended to allow a halt of seven days at the +Alumbagh, but on the 27th of May a continuous firing was heard in the +direction of Cawnpore. Fearful for the safety of that all-important post, +the commander determined to push forward his convoy at once. On the +morning of the 28th they started. Dick had come soon after daybreak to the +tents where the Hargreaves were, with many others, sleeping. + +"There is bad news from Cawnpore," he said, "and you will have to push on. +I expect that it will be a terrible two days' march with all this convoy. +Pray take enough provisions with you for the two days in the howdah, and +some blankets and things to make a cover at night. I am sure that the +tents will not be got up, and the confusion at the halting-place will be +fearful; but if you have everything with you, you will be able to manage." + +It was well that they were so prepared, for the first march, owing to the +immense length of the convoy, lasted until long past dark; then there was +a halt for a few hours, and then a thirty miles' journey to the bridge of +boats on the Ganges. + +The naval brigade accompanied the convoy, but Dick had seen nothing of his +friends. Colonel Warrener, however, who with his troop had moved along the +line at intervals, spoke to them, and was able at the halting-place to +assist them to make a temporary shelter, where they snatched a few hours' +sleep. + +The news that had caused this movement was bad indeed. General Wyndham, in +command at Cawnpore, had been defeated by the Gwalior rebel contingent, +aided by the troops of Nana Sahib and those of Koer Sing, a great Oude +chief, and part of the town had been taken. Sir Colin himself pushed +forward at all speed with a small body of troops and some heavy guns, so +as to secure the safety of the bridge of boats; for had this fallen into +the hands of the enemy the situation of the great convoy would have been +bad indeed. However, the rebels had neglected to take measures until it +was too late, and the approaches to the bridge on either side were guarded +by our guns. The passage of the convoy then began, and for thirty-nine +hours a continuous stream passed across the river. + +The whole force which had accomplished the relief of Lucknow had not +returned, as it was considered necessary to keep some troops to command +the town, and prevent the great body of mutineers gathered there from +undertaking expeditions. The Alumbagh was accordingly held by the Fifth, +Seventy-eighth, Eighty-fourth, and Ninetieth Foot, the Madras Fusiliers, +the Ferozepore Sikhs, and a strong artillery force, the whole under the +command of Sir James Outram. + +As the long day went on, and the thunder of the guns at Cawnpore grew +louder and louder, Sir Colin Campbell took the naval brigade and the +greater portion of the fighting troops, and pushed forward. The regiments +as they arrived were hurried across the bridge, to take part in the +defense of the position guarding the bridge, where General Wyndham's +troops were defending themselves desperately against immense forces of the +enemy. + +"What has happened?" was the question the officers of the naval brigade +asked those of the garrison when they first met. + +"Oh, we have been fearfully licked. A series of blunders and +mismanagement. We have lost all the camp equipage, all the stores--in +fact, everything. It is the most disgraceful thing which has happened +since the trouble began. We lost heavily yesterday, frightfully to-day. +They say the Sixty-fourth is cut to pieces." + +It had indeed been a wretched business, and was the only occasion when +British troops were, in any force, defeated throughout the mutiny. The +affair happened in this way. The British force at Cawnpore were stationed +in an intrenched position, so placed as to overawe the city, and to +command the river and bridge of boats, which it was all-important to keep +open. The general in command received news that the mutinous Gwalior +contingent, with several other rebel bodies, was on its way to Cawnpore. +Unfortunately, they were approaching on the opposite side of the city to +that upon which the British intrenchments were situated, and the general +therefore determined to leave a portion of his force to protect the +intrenchments and bridge, while with the rest he started to give battle to +the enemy in the open at a distance on the other side of the city, as it +was very important to prevent Cawnpore from again falling into their +hands. He advanced first to Dhubarlee, a strong position on the canal, +where a vigorous defense could have been made, as a cross canal covered +our flank. Unfortunately, however, the next day he again marched forward +eight miles, and met the advanced guard of the enemy at Bhowree. The +British force consisted of twelve hundred infantry, made up of portions of +the Thirty-fourth, Eighty-second, Eighty-eighth, and Rifles, with one +hundred native cavalry, and eight guns. The troops advanced with a rush, +carried the village, defeated the enemy, and took two guns, and then +pressing forward, found themselves in face of the main body of the enemy's +army. Then for the first time it appears to have occurred to the general +that it was imprudent to fight so far from the city. He therefore ordered +a retreat, and the British force fell back, closely followed by the enemy. +Had he halted again at Dhubarlee, he might still have retrieved his error; +but he continued his retreat, and halted for the night on the plain of +Jewar, a short distance from the northeast angle of the city. + +No preparations appear to have been made in case of an attack by the +enemy, and when in the morning they came on in immense force, the British +position was seriously threatened on all sides. For five hours the troops +held their ground nobly, and prevented the enemy advancing by a direct +attack. A large body, however, moved round to the flank and entered the +city, thus getting between the British forces and their intrenchments. The +order was therefore given to retire, and this was carried out in such +haste that the whole of the camp equipage, consisting of five hundred +tents, quantities of saddlery, uniforms for eight regiments, and a vast +amount of valuable property of all kinds, fell into the hands of the +mutineers. All these stores had been placed in a great camp on the plain +outside the fortified intrenchments. It was a disastrous affair; and +Cawnpore blazed with great fires, lighted by the triumphant mutineers. + +During the retreat a gun had been capsized and left in one of the lanes of +the town, and at dead of night one hundred men of the Sixty-fourth, +accompanied by a detachment of sailors, went silently out, and succeeded +in righting the gun, and bringing it off from the very heart of the city. + +The next day the whole force moved out, and took up their position to +prevent the enemy from approaching the intrenchments. The mutineers, +commanded by Nana Sahib in person, advanced to the attack. One British +column remained in reserve. The column under Colonel Walpole succeeded in +repulsing the body opposed to it, and captured two of its eighteen-pounder +guns. The column under General Carthew maintained its position throughout +the day, but fell back toward the evening--a proceeding for which the +officer in command was severely censured by the commander-in-chief, who, +riding on ahead of his convoy, with a small body of troops, reached the +scene of action just at nightfall. + +But it was the division under Brigadier-General Wilson, colonel of the +Sixty-fourth, that suffered most heavily. Seeing that General Carthew was +hardly pressed, he led a part of his own regiment against four guns which +were playing with great effect. Ned Warrener's heart beat high as the +order to charge was given, for it was the first time he had been in action +with his gallant regiment. With a cheer the little body, who numbered +fourteen officers and one hundred and sixty men, advanced. Their way led +along a ravine nearly half a mile long; and as they moved forward a storm +of shot, shell, and grape from the guns was poured upon them, while a +heavy musketry fire broke out from the heights on either side. Fast the +men fell, but there was no wavering; on at the double they went, until +within fifty yards of the guns, and then burst into a charge at full +speed. + +Ned, accustomed as he was to fire, had yet felt bewildered at the iron +storm which had swept their ranks. All round him men were falling; a +bullet knocked off his cap, and a grape-shot smashed his sword off short +in his hand. The Sepoy artillerymen stood to their guns and fought +fiercely as the British rushed upon them. Ned caught up the musket of a +man who fell dead by his side, and bayoneted a gunner; he saw another man +at four paces off level a rifle at him, felt a stunning blow, and fell, +but was up in a minute again, having been knocked down by a brick hurled +by some Sepoy from a dwelling close behind the guns--a blow which probably +saved his life. Two of the guns where spiked while the hand-to-hand +conflict raged. + +Major Stirling fell dead, Captain Murphy and Captain Macraw died fighting +nobly beside him, and the gallant Colonel Wilson received three bullets +through his body. From all sides masses of the enemy charged down, and a +regiment of Sepoy cavalry swept upon them. Captain Sanders was now in +command, and gave the word to fall back; and even faster than they had +approached, the survivors of the Sixty-fourth retreated, literally cutting +their way through the crowds of Sepoys which surrounded them. + +Ned was scarcely conscious of what he was doing; and few could have given +a detailed account of the events of that most gallant charge. The men kept +well together; old veterans in fight, they knew that only in close ranks +could they hope to burst through the enemy; and striking, and stabbing, +and always running, they at last regained the position they had quitted. +Of the fourteen officers, seven were killed and two wounded; of the one +hundred and sixty men, eighteen killed and fifteen wounded; a striking +testimony to the valor with which the officers had led the way. Such +slaughter as this among the officers is almost without parallel in the +records of the British army; and lads who went into the fray low down on +the list of lieutenants came out captains. Among them was Ned Warrener, +who stood fifth on the list of lieutenants, and who, by the death +vacancies, now found himself a captain. + +It was not until they halted, breathless and exhausted, that he discovered +that he had been twice wounded; for in the wild excitement of the fight he +had been unconscious of pain. A bullet had passed through the fleshy part +of his left arm, while another had cut a clean gash just across his hip. +Neither was in any way serious; and having had them bound up with a +handkerchief, he remained with his regiment till nightfall put an end to +the fighting, when he made his way to the hospital. This was crowded with +badly wounded men; and Ned seeing the pressure upon the surgeons, obtained +a couple of bandages, and went back to his regiment, to have them put on +there. As he reached his camp, Dick sprang forward. + +"My dear old boy, I was just hunting for you. We crossed to-night, and +directly we were dismissed I rushed off, hearing that your regiment has +suffered frightfully. I hear you are hit; but, thank God! only slightly." + +"Very slightly, old boy; nothing worth talking about. It has been an awful +business, though. And how are you? and how is father?" + +"Quite well, Ned. Not a scratch either of us." + +"And the Hargreaves?" + +"Mrs. Hargreaves and the girls are all right, Ned, and will be in to- +morrow; all the rest are gone." + +"Gone! dear, dear! I am sorry. Now, Dick, come to the fire and bandage up +my arm; and you must congratulate me, old boy, for by the slaughter to-day +I have my company." + +"Hurrah!" Dick exclaimed joyfully. "That is good news. What luck! not +eighteen yet, and a captain." + +It was only on the 1st of December that the whole of the convoy from +Lucknow were gathered in tents on the parade-ground at Cawnpore, and all +hoped for a short period of rest. + +On the morning of the 3d, however, notice was issued that in two hours the +women, children, and civilians of Lucknow would proceed to Allahabad, +under escort of five hundred men of the Thirty-fourth Regiment. It would +be a long march, for the convoy would be incumbered by the enormous train +of stores and munitions of war, while a large number of vehicles were +available for their transport. + +Colonel Warrener heard the news early, and knowing how interested his sons +were in the matter, he rode round to their respective camps and told them. +Leaving them to follow, he then rode over to the Hargreaves' tent. + +They had just heard the news, and short as the time was, had so few +preparations to make that they were ready for a start. A dawk-garry, or +post-carriage, was allotted to them, which, the ayah riding outside, would +hold them with some comfort, these vehicles being specially constructed to +allow the occupants, when two in number only, to lie down at full length. +It would be a close fit for the three ladies, but they thought that they +could manage; and it was a comfort to know that, even if no tents could be +erected at night, they could lie down in shelter. + +The young Warreners soon arrived, and while their father was discussing +the arrangements with Mrs. Hargreaves, and seeing that a dozen of claret +which his orderly had at his orders brought across, with a basket of +fruit, was properly secured on the roof, they sauntered off with the +girls, soon insensibly pairing off. + +"It will be two years at least before I am home in England, Nelly," Dick +said, "and I hope to be a lieutenant soon after, for I am certain of my +step directly I pass, since I have been mentioned three times in +dispatches. I know I am a boy, not much over sixteen, but I have gone +through a lot, and am older than my age; but even if you laugh at me, +Nelly, I must tell you I love you." + +But Nelly was in no laughing mood. + +"My dear Dick," she said, "I am not going to laugh; I am too sad at +parting. But you know I am not much over fifteen yet, though I too feel +older--oh, so much older than girls in England, who are at school till +long past that age. You know I like you, Dick, very, very much. It would +be absurd to say more than that to each other now. We part just on these +terms, Dick. We know we both like each other very much. Well, yes, I will +say 'love' if you like, Dick; but we cannot tell the least in the world +what we shall do five years hence. So we won't make any promises, or +anything else; we will be content with what we know; and if either of us +change, there will be no blame and misery. Do you agree to that, Dick?" + +Dick did agree very joyfully, and a few minutes later the pair, very +silent now, strolled back to the tent. Ned and Edith were already there, +for Ned had no idea of speaking out now, or of asking Edith to enter into +an engagement which she might repent when she came to enter society in +England; and yet, although he said nothing, or hardly anything, the pair +understood each other's feelings as well as did Dick and Nelly. + +All was now ready for the start, everything in its place, and the ayah on +the seat with the driver. Then came the parting--a very sad one. Mrs. +Hargreaves was much moved, and the girls wept unrestrainedly, while +Colonel Warrener, who had made his adieus, and was standing a little back, +lifted his eyebrows, with a comical look of astonishment, as he saw the +farewell embraces of his sons with Edith and Nelly. + +"Humph!" he muttered to himself. "A bad attack of calf love all round. +Well," as he looked at the manly figures of his sons, and thought of the +qualities they had shown, "I should not be surprised if the boys stick to +it; but whether those pretty little things will give the matter a thought +when they have once come out at home remains to be seen. It would not be a +bad thing, for Hargreaves was, I know, a very wealthy man, and there are +only these two girls." + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +THE LAST CAPTURE OF LUCKNOW. + + +The women and children brought from Lucknow once sent off from the British +camp, the commander-in-chief was able to direct his attention to the work +before him--of clearing out of Cawnpore the rebel army, composed of the +Gwalior contingent and the troops of Koer Sing and Nana Sahib, in all +twenty-five thousand men. Against this large force he could only bring +seventy-five hundred men; but these, well led, were ample for the purpose. + +The position on the night of the 5th of December was as follows. The +British camp was separated from the city by a canal running east and west. +The enemy were entirely on the north of this canal, their center occupying +the town. Outside the city walls lay the right of the rebel army, while +his left occupied the space between the walls and the river. In the rear +of the enemy's left was a position known as the Subadar's Tank. The +British occupied as an advanced post a large bazaar on the city side of +the river. + +The operations of the 6th of December were simple. A demonstration was +made against the city from the bazaar, which occupied the attention of the +large force holding the town. The main body of the British were quietly +massed on its left, and, crossing three bridges over the canal, attacked +the enemy's right with impetuosity. These, cut off by the city wall from +their comrades within, were unable to stand the British onslaught and the +thunder of Peel's guns, and fled precipitately, pursued by the British for +fourteen miles along the Calpee Road. Every gun and ammunition wagon of +the mutineers on this side fell into the hands of the victors. + +As the victorious British force swept along past the city, Sir Colin +Campbell detached a force under General Mansfield to attack and occupy the +position of the Subadar's Tank--which was captured after some hard +fighting. Thus the British were in a position in rear of the enemy's left. +The mutineers, seeing that their right was utterly defeated, and the +retreat of their left threatened, lost all heart, and as soon as darkness +came on, fled, a disorganized rabble, from the city they had entered as +conquerors only six days before. The cavalry started next day in pursuit, +cut up large numbers, and captured the greater part of their guns. + +The threatening army of Gwalior thus beaten and scattered, and Cawnpore in +our hands, Sir Colin Campbell was able to devote his whole attention to +clearing the country in his rear, and in preparing for the great final +campaign against Lucknow, which, now that Delhi had fallen, was the +headquarters of the mutiny. + +The next two months were passed in a series of expeditions by flying +columns. In some of these the Warreners took part, and both shared in the +defeats of the Sepoys and the capture of Futtyghur and Furruckabad--places +at which horrible massacres of the whites had taken place in the early +days of the mutiny. During these two months large reinforcements had +arrived; and Jung Bahadoor, Prince of Nepaul, had come down with an army +of ten thousand Ghoorkas to our aid. + +On the 15th of February the tremendous train of artillery, ammunition and +stores, collected for the attack upon the city, began to cross the river; +and upon the 26th of the month the order was given for the army to move +upon the following day. + +The task before it was a difficult one. From all the various points from +which the British had driven them--from Delhi, from Rohilcund, and the +Doab, from Cawnpore, Furruckabad, Futtyghur, Etawah, Allyghur, Goruckpore, +and other places--they retreated to Lucknow, and there were now collected +sixty thousand revolted Sepoys and fifty thousand irregular troops, +besides the armed rabble of the city of three hundred thousand souls. +Knowing the storm that was preparing to burst upon their heads, they had +neglected no means for strengthening their position. Great lines of +fortifications had been thrown up; enormous quantities of guns placed in +position; every house barricaded and loopholed, and the Kaiserbagh +transformed into a veritable citadel. In hopes of destroying the force +under General Sir James Outram, at the Alumbagh--which had been a thorn in +their side for so long--a series of desperate attacks had been made upon +them; but these had been uniformly defeated with heavy loss by the gallant +British force. On the 3d of March the advanced division occupied the Dil +Koosha, meeting with but slight resistance; and the commander-in-chief at +once took up his headquarters here. The next three days were spent in +making the necessary disposition for a simultaneous attack upon all sides +of the town--General Outram on one side, Sir Hope Grant upon another, Jung +Bahadoor, with his Nepaulese, on the third, and the main attack, under Sir +Colin Campbell himself, on the fourth. + +Great was the excitement in the camp on the eve of this tremendous +struggle. Colonel Warrener and his sons met on the night before the +fighting was to begin. + +"Well, boys," he said, after a long talk upon the prospects of the +fighting, "did you do as you talked about, and draw your pay and get it +changed into gold?" + +"Most of it," Ned said; "we could not get it all; and had to pay a +tremendous rate of exchange for it." + +"Here are the twenty pounds each, in gold, lads," Colonel Warrener said, +"that I told you I could get for you. Now what do you want it for? You +would not tell me at Cawnpore." + +"Well, father, at Delhi there was lots of loot taken, quantities of +valuable things, and the soldiers were selling what they had got for next +to nothing. I had some lovely bracelets offered me for a few rupees, but +no one had any money in their pockets. So Dick and I determined that if we +came into another storming business, we would fill our pockets beforehand +with money. They say that the palaces, the Kaiserbagh especially, are +crowded with valuable things; and as they will be lawful loot for the +troops, we shall be able to buy no end of things." + +Colonel Warrener laughed. + +"There is nothing like forethought, Ned, and I have no doubt that you will +be able to pick up some good things. The soldiers attach no value to them, +and would rather have gold, which they can change for spirits, than all +the precious stones in the world. I shall be out of it, as, of course, the +cavalry will not go into the city, but will wait outside to cut off the +enemy's retreat." + +The fighting began with General Outram's division, which worked round the +city, and had on the 7th, 8th, and 9th to repulse heavy attacks of the +enemy. + +On the 9th Sir Colin Campbell advanced, took the Martiničre with but +slight opposition, crossed the canal, and occupied the Secunderbagh--the +scene of the tremendous fighting on the previous advance. The Begum's +palace, in front of Bank House, was then attacked, and after very heavy +fighting, carried. Here Major Hodgson, the captor of the king of Delhi, +was mortally wounded. General Outram's force had by this time taken up a +position on the other side of the river, and this enabled him to take the +enemy's defenses in flank, and so greatly to assist the advancing party. + +Day by day the troops fought their way forward; and on the 14th the +Imaumbarra, a splendid palace of the king of Oude, adjoining the +Kaiserbagh, was breached and carried. The panic-stricken defenders fled +through the court and garden into the Kaiserbagh, followed hotly by the +Sikhs, Ghoorkas, and Highlanders. Such was the terror which their +appearance excited that a panic seized also the defenders of the +Kaiserbagh, and these too fled, deserting the fortifications raised with +so much care, and the British poured into the palace. For a few minutes a +sharp conflict took place in every room, and then, the Sepoys being +annihilated, the victors fell upon the spoil. From top to bottom the +Kaiserbagh was crowded with valuable articles, collected from all parts of +the world. English furniture, French clocks and looking-glasses, Chinese +porcelain, gorgeous draperies, golden thrones studded with jewels, costly +weapons inlaid with gold, enormous quantities of jewelry--in fact, wealth +of all kinds to an almost fabulous value. The wildest scene of confusion +ensued. According to the rule in these matters, being taken by storm, the +place was lawful plunder. For large things the soldiers did not care, and +set to to smash and destroy all that could not be carried away. Some put +on the turbans studded with jewels; others hung necklaces of enormous +value round their necks, or covered their arms with bracelets. None knew +the value of the costly gems they had become possessed of; and few indeed +of the officers could discriminate between the jewels of immense value and +those which were mere worthless imitations. + +As soon as the news spread that the Kaiserbagh was taken the guns fired a +royal salute in honor of the triumph; and all officers who could obtain an +hour's leave from their regiments hurried away to see the royal palace of +Oude. + +The Warreners were both near the spot when the news came; both were able +to get away, and met at the entrance to the palace. Already soldiers, +British and native, were passing out laden with spoil. + +"What will you give me for this necklace, sir?" a soldier asked Ned. + +"I have no idea what it's worth," Ned said. + +"No more have I," said the soldier; "it may be glass, it may be something +else. You shall have it for a sovereign." + +"Very well," Ned said; "here is one." + +So onward they went, buying everything in the way of jewels offered them, +utterly ignorant themselves whether the articles they purchased were real +gems or imitation. + +Penetrating into the palace, they found all was wild confusion. Soldiers +were smashing chandeliers and looking-glasses, breaking up furniture, +tumbling the contents of chests and wardrobes and caskets over the floors, +eager to find, equally eager to sell what they had found. + +Bitter were the exclamations of disappointment and disgust which the +Warreners heard from many of the officers that they were unprovided with +money--for the soldiers would not sell except for cash; but for a few +rupees they were ready to part with anything. Strings of pearls, worth a +thousand pounds, were bought for a couple of rupees--four shillings; +diamond aigrettes, worth twice as much, went for a sovereign; and the +Warreners soon laid out the seventy pounds which they had between them +when they entered the palace; and their pockets and the breasts of their +coats were stuffed with their purchases, and each had a bundle in his +handkerchief. + +"I wonder," Dick said, as they made their way back, "whether we have been +fools or wise men. I have not a shadow of an idea whether these things are +only the sham jewels which dancing girls wear, or whether they are real." + +"It was worth running the risk, anyhow; for if only half of them are real +they are a big fortune. Anyhow, Dick, let's hold our tongues about it. +It's no use making fellows jealous of our good luck if they turn out to be +real, or of getting chaffed out of our lives if they prove false. Let us +just stow them away till it's all over, and then ask father about them." + +It was calculated that twenty thousand soldiers and camp-followers +obtained loot of more or less value, from the case of jewelry, valued at +one hundred thousand pounds, that fell into the hands of an officer, to +clocks, candelabra, and articles of furniture, carried off by the least +fortunate. The value of the treasure there was estimated at ten millions +of money at the lowest computation. + +The fall of the Kaiserbagh utterly demoralized the enemy; and from that +moment they began to leave the town by night in thousands. Numbers were +cut off and slaughtered by our cavalry and artillery; but large bodies +succeeded in escaping, to give us fresh trouble in the field. + +Day by day the troops fought their way from palace to palace and from +street to street. Day and night the cannon and mortar batteries thundered +against the districts of the city still uncaptured; and great fires blazed +in a dozen quarters, until gradually the resistance ceased and Lucknow was +won. + +It was not until a week after the storming of the Kaiserbagh--by which +time everything had settled down, order was restored, and the inhabitants +were, under the direction of the military authorities, engaged in clearing +away rubbish, leveling barricades, and razing to the ground a considerable +portion of the city--that Colonel Warrener and his sons met. The troops +were now all comfortably under canvas in the cantonments, and were +enjoying a well-earned rest after their labors. + +"Well, boys," he said, "have you heard Warrener's Horse is to be broken +up? The officers have all been appointed to regiments, the civilians are +anxious to return to look after their own affairs. I am to go up to take +the command of a newly-raised Punjaub regiment. Dunlop goes with me as +major. Manners has been badly hit, and goes home. The greater part of the +naval brigade march down to Calcutta at once. The force will be broken up +into flying columns, for there is much to be done yet. The greater portion +of these scoundrels have got away; and there are still considerably more +than one hundred thousand of the enemy scattered in large bodies over the +country. I am going to Delhi, through Agra, with Dunlop; I accompany a +detachment of fifty irregular Punjaub horse, who are ordered down to Agra. +Then I shall go up to Meerut, and have a week with the girls; and do you +know I have seen Captain Peel and your colonel, Ned, and have got leave +for you both for a month. Then you will go down to Calcutta, Dick, and +join your ship; Ned will of course, rejoin his regiment." + +The lads were delighted at the prospect of again seeing their sister and +cousin; and Dick indulged in a wild dance, expressive of joy. + +"Well, boys, and how about loot; did you lay out your money?" + +"We laid it out, father; but we have not the least idea whether we have +bought rubbish or not. This black bag is full of it." + +So saying, Ned emptied a large handbag upon the top of a barrel which +served as a table. Colonel Warrener gave a cry of astonishment, as a great +stream of bracelets, necklaces, tiaras, aigrettes, and other ornaments, +poured out of the bag. + +"Good gracious, boys! do you mean to say all these are yours?" + +"Ours and yours, father; there were forty pounds of your money, and +thirty-five of ours. Do you think they are real?" + +Colonel Warrener took one or two articles from the flashing heap of +diamonds, emeralds, rubies, opals, and pearls. + +"I should say so," he said; "some of them are certainly. But have you any +idea what these are worth?" + +"Not the least in the world," Ned said; "if they are real, though, I +suppose they are worth some thousands of pounds." + +"My boys, I should say," Colonel Warrener replied, turning over the heap, +"they must be worth a hundred thousand if they are worth a penny." + +The boys looked at each other in astonishment: + +"Really, father?" + +"Really, my boys." + +"Hurrah," Dick said. "Then you can give up the service when this war is +over, father, and go home and live as a rich man; that will be glorious." + +"My dear boys, the prize is yours." + +"Nonsense, father!" exclaimed the boys together. And then began an +amicable contest, which was not finally concluded for many a long day. + +"But what had we better do with all these things, father?" Dick said at +last. + +"We will get a small chest and put them in, boys. I will give it to the +paymaster--he is sending a lot of treasure down under a strong escort--and +will ask him to let it go down with the convoy. I will direct it to a firm +at Calcutta, and will ask them to forward it to my agent at home, to whom +I will give directions to send it to a first-class jeweler in London, to +be by him opened and valued. I will tell the Calcutta firm to insure it on +the voyage as treasure at twenty thousand pounds. Even if some of them +turn out to be false, you may congratulate each other that you are +provided for for life." + +"And when do we set out, father?" Ned asked, after they had talked for +some time longer about their treasure. + +"In three days' time. We shall accompany a flying column for the first two +days' march, and then strike across for Agra." + +The next two days the Warreners spent in investigating the town, in +wandering through the deserted palaces, and admiring their vast extent, +and in saying good-by to their friends. A great portion of the teeming +population of Lucknow had fled, and the whole city outside the original +town was to be cleared away and laid out in gardens, so that henceforth +Lucknow would be little more than a fifth of its former size. The ruined +Residency was to be cleared of its _débris_, replanted with trees, and to +be left as a memorial of British valor. The entire district through which +Havelock's men had fought their way was to be cleared of its streets, and +the palaces only were to be left standing, to be utilized for public +purposes. The whole of the remaining male population of Lucknow was set to +work to carry out these alterations. The scene was busy and amusing, and +the change from the fierce fight, the din of cannon, and the perpetual +rattle of musketry, to the order, regularity, and bustle of work, was very +striking. Here was a party of sappers and miners demolishing a row of +houses, there thousands of natives filling baskets with rubbish and +carrying them on their heads to empty into bullock carts, whence it was +taken to fill up holes and level irregularities. Among the crowd, soldiers +of many uniforms--British infantry, Rifles, Highlanders, artillery and +cavalry, sinewy Sikhs, and quiet little Nepaulese--wandered at will or +worked in fatigue parties. + +The three days past, Colonel Warrener, his sons, and Major Dunlop took +their places on horseback with the troop of irregular cavalry commanded by +Lieutenant Latham, and joined the flying column which was setting out to +attack a large body of the enemy, who were reported to be gathering again +near Furruckabad, while simultaneously other columns were leaving in other +directions, for broken at Lucknow, the rebels were swarming throughout all +Oude. The day was breaking, but the sun was not yet up, when the column +started--for in India it is the universal custom to start very early, so +as to get the greater part of the march over before the heat of the day +fairly begins--and the young Warreners were in the highest spirits at the +thought that they were on their way to see their sister and cousin, and +that their nine months of marching and fighting were drawing to a close, +for it is possible to have too much even of adventure. At ten o'clock a +halt was called at the edge of a large wood, and after preparing breakfast +there was a rest in the shade until four in the afternoon, after which a +two hours' march took them to their halting-place for the night. Tents +were pitched, fires lighted, and then, dinner over, they made merry +groups, who sat smoking and chatting until nine o'clock, when the noise +ceased, the fires burned down, and all was quiet until the _réveillé_ +sounded at four o'clock, after which there was an hour of busy work, +getting down, rolling up, and packing the tents and baggage in the wagons. + +Another day's march and halt, and then Colonel Warrener and his friends +said good-by to their acquaintances in the column, and started with the +troop of cavalry for Agra. Unincumbered by baggage, and no longer obliged +to conform their pace to that of the infantry, they trotted gayly along, +and accomplished forty miles ere they halted for the night near a village. +The country through which they had passed had an almost deserted +appearance. Here and there a laborer was at work in the fields, but the +confusion and alarm created by the bodies of mutineers who had swept over +the country, and who always helped themselves to whatever pleased them, +had created such a scare that the villagers for the most part had forsaken +their abodes, and driven their animals, with all their belongings, to the +edge of jungles or other unfrequented places, there to await the +termination of the struggle. + +At the end of the day's journey they halted in front of a great mosque- +like building with a dome, the tomb of some long dead prince. The doors +stood open, and Colonel Warrener proposed that they should take up their +quarters for the night in the lofty interior instead of sleeping in the +night air, for although the temperature was still high, the night dews +were the reverse of pleasant. It was evident by the appearance of the +interior that it had been used as the headquarters and storehouse of some +body of the enemy, for a considerable quantity of stores, military +saddles, harness, coils of rope, and barrels of flour were piled against +the wall. A space was soon swept, and a fire lighted on the floor. Outside +the troopers dismounted, some proceeded to a wood at a short distance off +to fetch fuel, others took the horses to a tank or pond to drink. It was +already getting dusk, and inside the great domed chamber it was nearly +dark. + +"The fire looks cheerful," Colonel Warrener said, as, after seeing that +the men had properly picketed their horses, and had made all their +arrangements, the little group of officers returned to it. A trooper had +already prepared their meal, which consisted of kabobs, or pieces of +mutton--from a couple of sheep, which they had purchased at a village +where they halted in the morning--a large bowl of boiled rice, and some +chupatties, or griddle cakes; a pannikin of tea was placed by each; and +spreading their cloaks on the ground, they set to with the appetite of +travelers. Dinner over, a bottle of brandy was produced from one of Major +Dunlop's holsters, the pannikin was washed out, and a supply of fresh +water brought in, pipes and cheroots were lighted, and they prepared for a +cheerful evening. + +"I am very sorry Manners is not here," Dick said; "it would have been so +jolly to be all together again. However, it is a satisfaction to know that +his wound is doing well, and that he is likely to be all right in a few +months." + +"Yes," Colonel Warrener said, "but I believe that he will have to leave +the service. His right leg will always be shorter than the left." + +"I don't suppose he will mind that," Ned said. "I should think he must +have had enough of India to last for his life." + +"Mr. Latham," Dick said presently to the officer in command of the +cavalry, "will you tell us your adventures? We know all about each other's +doings." + +So they sat and talked until ten o'clock, when Mr. Latham went round to +see that the sentries were properly placed and alert. When he returned the +door was shut, to keep out the damp air, and the whole party, rolling +themselves in their cloaks, and using their saddles for pillows, laid up +for the night. Dick was some time before he slept. His imagination was +active; and when he at last dozed off, he was thinking what they had best +do were they attacked by the enemy. + +It was still dark when with a sudden start the sleeping party in the tomb +awoke and leaped to their feet. For a moment they stood bewildered, for +outside was heard on all sides the crack of volleys of musketry, wild +yells and shouts, and the trampling of a large body of cavalry. + +"Surprised!" exclaimed the colonel. "The sentries must have been asleep!" + +There was a rush to the door, and the sight that met their eyes showed +them the extent of the disaster. The moon was shining brightly, and by her +light they could see that a large body of rebel cavalry had fallen upon +the sleeping troopers, while the heavy musketry fire showed that a strong +body of infantry were at work on the other side of the mosque. Lieutenant +Latham rushed down the steps with his sword drawn, but fell back dead shot +through the heart. + +"Back, back!" shouted Colonel Warrener. "Let us sell our lives here!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +A DESPERATE DEFENSE. + + +In an instant the door was closed and bolted, and the four set to work to +pile barrels and boxes against it. Not a word was spoken while this was +going on. By the time they had finished the uproar without had changed its +character; the firing had ceased, and the triumphant shouts of the +mutineers showed that their victory was complete. Then came a loud +thundering noise at the door. + +"We have only delayed it a few minutes," Colonel Warrener said. "We have +fought our fight, boys, and our time has come. Would to God that I had to +die alone!" + +"Look, father," Dick said, "there is a small door there. I noticed it last +night. No doubt there is a staircase leading to the terrace above. At any +rate, we may make a good fight there." + +"Yes," Major Dunlop said, "we may fight it out to the last on the stairs. +Run, Dick, and see." + +Dick found, as he supposed, that from the door a narrow winding staircase +led to the terrace above, from which the dome rose far into the air. The +stairs were lit by an occasional narrow window. He was thinking as he ran +upstairs of the ideas that had crossed his brain the night before. + +"It is all right," he said, as he came down again. "Look, father, if we +take up barrels and boxes, we can make barricades on the stairs, and +defend them for any time almost." + +"Excellent," the colonel said. "To work. They will be a quarter of an hour +breaking in the door. Make the top barricade first, a few feet below the +terrace." + +Each seized a box or barrel, and hurried up the stairs. They had a longer +time for preparation than they expected, for the mutineers, feeling sure +of their prey, were in no hurry, and finding how strong was the door, +decided to sit down and wait until their guns would be up to blow it in. +Thus the defenders of the tomb had an hour's grace, and in that time had +constructed three solid barricades. Each was placed a short distance above +an opening for light, so that while they themselves were in darkness, +their assailants would be in the light. They left a sufficient space at +the top of each barricade for them to scramble over, leaving some spare +barrels on the stairs above it to fill up the space after taking their +position. + +"Now for the remains of our supper, father," Dick said, "and that big +water jug. I will carry them up. Ned, do you bring up that long coil of +thin rope." + +"What for, Dick?" + +"It may be useful, Ned; ropes are always useful. Ah, their guns are up." + +As he spoke a round shot crashed through the door, and sent splinters of +casks and a cloud of flour flying. + +"Now, Ned, come along," Dick said; and followed by Colonel Warrener and +Major Dunlop, they entered the little doorway and ran up the narrow +stairs. + +At the first barricade, which was some thirty steps up, the officers +stopped, and proceeded to fill up the passage hitherto left open, while +the boys continued their way to the terrace. + +"Let us have a look round, Ned; those fellows will be some minutes before +they are in yet; and that barricade will puzzle them." + +Day was breaking now, and the lads peered over the parapet which ran round +the terrace. + +"There are a tremendous lot of those fellows, Dick, four or five thousand +of them at least, and they have got six guns." + +"Hurrah, Ned!" Dick said, looking round at the great dome; "this is just +what I hoped." + +He pointed to a flight of narrow steps, only some twelve inches across, +fixed to the side of the dome, which rose for some distance almost +perpendicularly. By the side of the steps was a low hand-rail. They were +evidently placed there permanently, to enable workmen to ascend to the top +of the dome, to re-gild the long spike which, surmounted by a crescent, +rose from its summit, or to do any repairs that were needful. + +"There, Ned, I noticed these steps on some of the domes at Lucknow. When +the worst comes to the worst, and we are beaten from the stairs, we can +climb up that ladder--for it's more like a ladder than stairs--and once on +the top could laugh at the whole army of them. Now, Ned, let us go down to +them; by that cheering below, the artillery has broken the door open." + +The mutineers burst through the broken door into the great hall with +triumphant yells, heralding their entrance by a storm of musketry fire, +for they knew how desperately even a few Englishmen will sell their lives. +There was a shout of disappointment at finding the interior untenanted; +but a moment's glance round discovered the door, and there was a rush +toward it, each longing to be the first to the slaughter. The light in the +interior was but faint, and the stairs were pitch dark, and were only wide +enough for one man to go up with comfort, although two could just stand +side by side. Without an obstacle the leaders of the party stumbled and +groped their way up the stairs, until the first came into the light of a +long narrow loophole in the wall. Then from the darkness above came the +sharp crack of a revolver, and the man fell on his face, shot through the +heart. Another crack, and the next shared his fate. Then there was a +pause, for the spiral was so sharp that not more than two at a time were +within sight of the defenders of the barricade. + +The next man hesitated at seeing his immediate leaders fall; but pressed +from behind he advanced, with his musket at his shoulder, in readiness to +fire when he saw his foes; but the instant his head appeared round the +corner a ball struck him, and he too fell. Still the press from behind +pushed the leaders forward, and it was not until six had fallen, and the +narrow stairs were impassable from the dead bodies, that an officer of +rank, who came the next on the line, succeeded by shouting in checking the +advance. Then orders were passed down for those crowding the doorway to +fall back, and the officer, with the men on the stairs, descended, and the +former reported to the leader that six men had fallen, and that the stairs +were choked with their bodies. After much consultation orders were given +the men to go up, and keeping below the spot at which, one after another, +their comrades had fallen, to stretch out their arms and pull down the +bodies. This was done, and then an angry consultation again took place. It +was clear that, moving fast, only one could mount the stairs at a time, +and it seemed equally certain that this one would, on reaching a certain +spot, be shot by his invisible foes. Large rewards and great honor were +promised by the chief to those who would undertake to lead the assault, +and at last volunteers were found, and another rush attempted. + +It failed, as had the first. Each man as he passed the loophole fell, and +again the dead choked the stairs. One or two had not fallen at the first +shot, and had got a few steps higher, but only to fall back dead upon +their comrades. Again the assault ceased, and for two or three hours there +was a pause. The officers of the mutineers deliberated and quarreled; the +men set-to to prepare their meal. That over, one of the troopers went in +to the officers and proposed a plan, which was at once approved of, and a +handsome reward immediately paid him. Before enlisting he had been a +carpenter, and as there were many others of the same trade, no time was +lost in carrying out the suggestion. Several of the thick planks composing +the door remained uninjured. These were cut and nailed together, so as to +make a shield of exactly the same width as the staircase, and six feet +high; on one side several straps and loops were nailed, to give a good +hold to those carrying it; and then with a cheer the Sepoys again prepared +for an attack. The shield was heavy, but steadily, and with much labor, it +was carried up the stairs step by step, by two men, others pressing on +behind. + +When they reached the loophole the pistol shots from above again rang out; +but the door was of heavy seasoned wood, three inches thick, and the +bullets failed to penetrate. Then the shield ascended step by step, until +it reached the barrier. There it stopped, for the strength that could be +brought to bear upon it was altogether insufficient to move in the +slightest the solid pile, and after some time spent in vain efforts, the +shield was taken back again, as gradually and carefully as it had been +advanced, until out of the range of the pistols of the defenders. + +"What will be the next move, I wonder?" Colonel Warrener said, as the +little party sat down on the stairs and waited for a renewal of the +attack. + +"I don't like that shield," Major Dunlop remarked; "it shows that there is +some more than usually intelligent scoundrel among them, and he will be up +to some new trick." + +An hour passed, and then there was a noise on the stairs, and the shield +was again seen approaching. As before, it advanced to the barrier and +stopped. There was then a sort of grating noise against it, and the door +shook as this continued. + +"What on earth are they up to now?" Major Dunlop exclaimed. + +"Piling fagots against it," Dick said, "or I am mistaken. I have been +afraid of fire all along. If they had only lit a pile of damp wood at the +bottom of the stairs, they could have smoked us out at the top; and then, +as the smoke cleared below, they could have gone up and removed the +barricade before the upper stairs were free enough from smoke for us to +come down. There, I thought so! Make haste!" and Dick dashed up the +stairs, followed by his friends, as a curl of smoke ascended, and a loud +cheer burst from the Sepoys below. + +Quickly as they ran upstairs, the smoke ascended still more rapidly, and +they emerged upon the terrace half-suffocated and blinded. + +"So ends barricade number one," Major Dunlop said, when they had recovered +from their fit of coughing. "I suppose it will be pretty nearly an hour +before the fire is burned out." + +"The door would not burn through in that time," said Major Warrener; "but +they will be able to stand pretty close, and the moment the fagots are +burned out they will drag the screen out of the way, and, with long poles +with hooks, or something of that sort, haul down the barricade. Directly +the smoke clears off enough for us to breathe, we will go down to our +middle barricade. They may take that the same way they took the first, but +they cannot take the last so." + +"Why not, father?" Ned asked. + +"Because it's only ten steps from the top, Ned; so that, however great a +smoke they make, we can be there again the instant they begin to pull it +down." + +It was now past midday, and the party partook sparingly of their small +store of food and water. The smoke continued for some time to pour out of +the door of the stairs in dense volumes, then became lighter. Several +times the lads tried to descend a few steps, but found that breathing was +impossible, for the smoke from the green wood was insupportable. At last +it became clear enough to breathe, and then the party ran rapidly down to +their second barricade. That, at least, was intact, but below they could +hear the fall of heavy bodies, and knew that the lower barricade was +destroyed. + +"I don't suppose that screen of theirs was burned through, father, so very +likely they will try the same dodge again. Of course they don't know +whether we have another barricade, or where we are, so they will come on +cautiously. It seems to me than if you and Dunlop were to take your place +a bit lower than this, stooping down on the stairs, and then when they +come were boldly to throw yourselves with all your weight suddenly against +the shield, you would send it and its bearers headlong downstairs, and +could then follow them and cut them up tremendously." + +"Capital, Dick! that would be just the thing; don't you think so, Dunlop? +If they haven't got the shield, we can shoot them down, so either way we +may as well make a sortie." + +"I think so," Major Dunlop said. "Here goes, then." + +Halfway down they heard the trampling of steps again. The Sepoys had +extinguished the fires with buckets of water, had put straps to the door +again, and were pursuing their former tactics. The two officers sat down +and awaited the coming of their foes. Slowly the latter ascended, until +the door was within two steps of the Englishmen. Then the latter +simultaneously flung all their weight against it. + +Wholly unprepared for the assault, the bearers were hurled backward, with +the heavy shield upon them, knocking down those behind them, who, in turn, +fell on those below. Sword in hand, Colonel Warrener sprang upon the +hindmost of the falling mass, while, pressing just behind him, and firing +over his shoulder, Major Dunlop followed. + +Shrieks of dismay rose from the Sepoys who crowded the stairs, as the +bodies of those above were hurled upon them; flight or defense was equally +impossible; turning to descend, they leaped upon their comrades below. A +frightful scene ensued--such a scene as has sometimes been seen on the +stairs of a theater on fire. What was the danger above, none thought; a +wild panic seized all; over each other they rolled, choking the stairs and +obstructing all movement, until the last twenty feet of the stairs were +packed closely with a solid mass of human beings, lying thickly on each +other, and stifling each other to death. On reaching this mass Colonel +Warrener and his friend paused. There was nothing more to be done. Over +fifty human beings lay crushed together; those on the top of the heap were +shot, and then the officers retraced their steps. Many lay on the stairs, +but Major Dunlop had passed his sword through their bodies as he passed +them. Four muskets were picked up, and all the ammunition from the +pouches; and then, with the boys, who had followed closely behind them, +they again ascended to the terrace and sat down. + +"We are safe now for some time," Colonel Warrener said. "It will take them +a long time to clear away that heap of dead, and they won't try the shield +dodge again." + +It was indeed late in the afternoon before the Sepoys made any fresh move +against the defenders of the stairs. The time, however, had not passed +idly with the latter. One of them keeping watch at the barrier, the others +had maintained a steady musketry fire through the open work of the parapet +upon the enemy below. The Sepoys had answered with a scattering fire; but +as the defenders were invisible behind the parapet, and could move from +one point to another unobserved, there was but little fear of their being +hit; while their steady fire did so much execution among the throng of +Sepoys that these had to move their camping ground a couple of hundred +yards back from the tomb. + +It was nearly dark, when several men, bearing large bundles of straw and +bamboos, ran across the open ground and entered the mosque, and the +besieged guessed that another attempt was to be made to smoke them out. +There had been much consultation on the part of the enraged mutineers, and +this time two men, with their muskets leveled at their shoulders, led the +advance. Very slowly they made their way up, until a pistol shot rang out, +and one of the leaders, discharging his musket before him, fell. Then +there was a halt. Another Sepoy, with fixed bayonet, took the place in +front, and over the shoulders of him and his comrade those behind threw +bundles of straw mixed with wet leaves; a light was applied to this, and +with a sheet of flame between themselves and the besieged, they had no +fear. Now they pressed forward, threw on fresh straw, and then, knowing +that the besieged would have fled higher, reached through the flames with +a pole with a hook attached to it, and hauled down the barricade. The +moment the fire burned a little low, two men lighted fresh bundles, and, +stamping out the fire, advanced up the stairs, carrying before them the +blazing bundles like torches, the volumes of smoke from these of course +preceding them. + +The party on the terrace had noticed the smoke dying down, and had +prepared to descend again, when a fresh addition to the smoke convinced +them that the enemy were still piling on bundles, and that there was +nothing to fear. So they sat, quietly chatting until Ned, who was sitting +next to the door, exclaimed: + +"Listen! They are pulling down our top barricade." + +Sword in hand, he rushed down, the others closely following him. Just as +he turned the spiral which would bring him in sight of the upper barricade +a musket was fired, and Ned would have fallen forward had not Major Dunlop +seized him by the collar, and pulled him backward. + +"Hold the stairs, colonel!" he said; "they are at the barricade, but are +not through yet; I will carry Ned up. He's hit in the shoulder." + +Major Dunlop carried Ned to the platform, and, laying him down, for he had +lost consciousness, rushed back to assist to hold the stairs, for the +crack of Colonel Warrener's and Dick's revolvers could be heard. The +advantage, however, was so great with them, standing above the others, and +so placed as to be able to fire the instant that their foes came round the +corner, that the Sepoys, after losing several of their number, ceased +their attack. + +The defenders hurried up to Ned, confident that the enemy would not renew +the assault again for the moment, as they could not tell whether there was +yet another barrier to be stormed. Dick stood sentry at the door, and the +colonel and Major Dunlop examined Ned's wound. It was a serious one; the +ball had entered the chest below the collarbone; had it been fired from a +level it would have been fatal; but the Sepoy having stood so much below +it had gone out near the neck, smashing the collar-bone on its way. Ned +had become unconscious from the shock to the system. + +"We must take to the dome at once," Colonel Warrener said. "The next +assault those fellows will gain the terrace. I will carry Ned up." + +"No, colonel, I will take him," Major Dunlop said. "I can carry him over +my shoulders as easily as possible." + +"Well, Dunlop, you are the younger man, so I will hand him over to you. I +will put this coil of rope round my neck, and will take the water and +food. It is so dark now that they will not see us from below. If those +fellows had but waited half an hour we could have gained the top without +this sad business. Will you go first, Dunlop?" + +Major Dunlop, who was a very powerful and active man, lifted Ned on his +shoulders, and began to ascend the narrow steps to the dome. It was hard +work at first, but as he got on the ascent became less steep, and the last +part was comparatively easy. Colonel Warrener mounted next, also heavily +laden. Dick remained on guard at the door until he saw his father pass the +shoulder of the dome, out of sight from those on the terrace; he then +slung two muskets and cartridge pouches on his shoulders, briskly climbed +the steps, and was soon by his father. + +In three minutes the party were gathered round the central spike of the +dome. Suddenly a loud cheer was heard from below. + +"They are out on the terrace," Dick said. "I will go down a bit to guard +the steps; you will be more use with Ned than I should." + +The shouts on the terrace were answered by a great cheer of exultation +from the Sepoy host around, who had been chafed almost to madness at the +immense loss which was being caused by three or four men, for they knew +not the exact strength of the party. The shouts of exultation, however, +were silenced when, rushing round the terrace, the Sepoys found that their +foes had again evaded them. There was no other door, no hiding-place, +nowhere, in fact, that the besieged could have concealed themselves; but +the ladder-like steps soon met the eye of the searchers. A yell of anger +and disappointment arose. Not even the bravest among them thought for a +moment of climbing the stairs, for it Would indeed have been clearly +impossible for men forced to climb in single file to win their way against +well-armed defenders, who would simply shoot them down from above as fast +as a head appeared over the shoulder of the dome. + +The position was indeed practically impregnable against assault, although +exposed to artillery fire, and to distant musketry. It was for this reason +that the defenders of the stairs had not taken to it at once. They felt +confident in their ability to defend the stair all day, and to inflict +heavy loss upon the enemy; whereas, by climbing up the dome in daylight, +they would have been a target to all those below while climbing, and would +have been exposed all day to a distant fire. That they would have to +support it for two or three days was nearly certain, but clearly the less +time the better. + +The enemy, consoling themselves with the thought that on the morrow their +cannon would finish the contest which had thus far cost them so dearly, +placed a guard of fifty men on the terrace at the foot of the steps, +lighted a large fire there, in order that they could see any one +attempting to descend long before he reached the level, and then retired +below. + +By this time Ned had recovered consciousness, and having taken a drink of +water, was able to understand what had happened. His father had cut his +uniform off his shoulder and arm, and having also cut off one of his own +shirt sleeves, had soaked it in water, and applied it as a bandage on the +wound. + +"I am very glad we had agreed that only Dick should go," Ned said, +"otherwise I should have blamed myself for keeping you here." + +"No, we could not have gone in any case," Colonel Warrener said, "as there +would have been no one to have lowered the rope here; besides which, it is +only a sailor or a practiced gymnast who can let himself down a rope some +eighty feet." + +"When will Dick try?" + +"As soon as the camp gets quiet. The moon will be up by twelve o'clock, +and he must be off before that. Are you in much pain, old boy?" + +"Not much, father; I feel numbed and stupid." + +"Now, Dunlop," Colonel Warrener said, "will you relieve Dick on guard at +the steps? You may as well say good-by to him. It is about eight o'clock +now, and in a couple of hours he will be off. After he has gone I will +relieve you. Then a four hours' watch each will take us to daylight; there +won't be much sleeping after that." + +By ten o'clock the noise in the rebel camp had nearly ceased. Groups still +sat and talked round the campfires, but the circle was pretty large round +the tomb, for the Sepoys had fallen back when the musketry fire was opened +upon them from the parapet, and had not troubled to move again afterward. + +"Now," Dick said, "it is time for me to be off. I have got a good seventy +miles to ride to Lucknow. It is no use my thinking of going after the +column, for they would be some fifty miles away from the place where we +left them by to morrow night. If I can get a good horse I may be at +Lucknow by midday to-morrow. The horses have all had a rest to-day. Sir +Colin will, I am sure, send off at once, and the troops will march well to +effect a rescue. They will make thirty-five miles before they halt for the +night, and will be here by the following night." + +"We must not be too sanguine, Dick. It is just possible, dear boy, that if +all goes well you may be back as you say, in forty-eight hours, but we +will make up our minds to twice that time. If you get here sooner, all the +better; but I don't expect that they will hit us, and after tiring a bit +the chances are they will not care to waste ammunition, and will try to +starve us out." + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + +BEST AFTER LABOR. + + +With a tender farewell of his father and brother, the midshipman prepared +for his expedition. One end of the rope had been fastened round the large +mast which rose from the dome. Holding the coil over his shoulder, Dick +made his way down the dome, on the side opposite that at which they had +ascended, until it became too steep to walk; then he lay down on his back, +and paying the rope out gradually, let himself slip down. The lower part +of the descent was almost perpendicular; and Dick soon stood safely on the +terrace. It was, as he expected confidently that it would be, quite +deserted on this side. Then he let go of the rope, and Major Warrener, who +was watching it, saw that the strain was off it, pulled it up a foot to +make sure, and then untied the knot. Dick pulled it gently at first, +coiling it up as it came down, until at last it slid rapidly down. He +caught it as well as he could, but he had little fear of so slight a noise +being heard on the other side of the great dome; then he tied the rope to +the parapet, lowered it carefully down, and then, when it was all out, +swung himself out over the parapet, and slid down the rope. The height was +over eighty feet; but the descent was a mere nothing for Dick, accustomed +to lark about in the rigging of a man-o'-war. + +He stood perfectly quiet for a minute or two after his feet touched the +ground, but outside everything was still. Through the open-carved +stonework of a window he could hear voices inside the tomb, and had no +doubt that the leaders of the enemy's force were there. + +From the parapet, in the afternoon, he had gained an accurate idea of the +position of the cavalry, and toward this he at once made his way. He took +off his boots and walked lightly until he approached the enemy's bivouac. +Then he went cautiously. The ground was covered with sleeping figures, all +wrapped like mummies in their clothes; and although the night was dusk, it +was easy in the starlight to see the white figures. Even had one been +awake, Dick had little fear, as, except near a fire, his figure would have +been indistinguishable. There was no difficulty, when he neared the spot, +in finding the horses, as the sound of their pawing the ground, eating, +and the occasional short neigh of two quarreling, was clearly +distinguishable. + +Their position once clear, Dick moved round them. He had noticed that four +officers' horses were picketed further away, beyond the general mass of +the men's, and these could therefore be more easily removed, and would, +moreover, be more likely to be fast and sound. They had, too, the +advantage of being placed close to the road by which the English force had +marched on the day before. + +Dick was some time in finding the horses he was on the lookout for; but at +last he heard a snorting at a short distance off, and on reaching the spot +found the horses he was in search of. They were all saddled, but none had +bridles. It would be, Dick knew, useless to look for them, and he felt +sure that the halter would be sufficient for well-trained horses. + +Before proceeding to work he reconnoitered the ground around. He found the +way to the road, which was but twenty yards distant, and discovered also +that the syces, or grooms, were asleep close by the horses; a little +further off were a party of sleeping troopers. Dick now cut off the heel +ropes by which two of the horses were picketed, and then, leading them by +the halters, moved quietly toward the road. To get upon this, however, +there was a ditch first to be passed, and in crossing it one of the horses +stumbled. + +"What is that?" exclaimed one of the syces, sitting up. "Halloo!" he +continued, leaping up; "two of the horses have got loose." + +The others leaped to their feet and ran in the direction whence came the +noise which had awakened them, thinking that the horses had drawn their +picket pegs. + +By this time Dick was in the saddle, and giving a kick with his heels to +the horse he was on, and striking the other with the halter which he held +in his hand, dashed off into a gallop. + +A shout burst from the syces, and several of the troopers, springing to +their feet and seizing their arms, ran up to know what was the matter. + +"Some thief has stolen the colonel's horse," exclaimed one of the syces. + +The troopers did not like to fire, as it would have alarmed the camp; +besides, which a random fire in the darkness would be of no avail; so, +grumbling that the syces would have to answer for it in the morning, they +went off to sleep again; while the men in charge of the two horses which +had been taken after some consultation decided that it would be unsafe to +remain to meet the anger of the officers in the morning, and so stole off +in the darkness and made for their native villages. + +Dick, hearing that he was not pursued, pulled up in a half a mile, and +gave a loud, shrill "cooey," the Australian call. He knew that this would +be heard by his father, sitting listening at the top of the dome, and that +he would learn that so far he had succeeded. Then he set the horses off +again in a hand gallop and rode steadily down the road. Every hour or so +he changed from horse to horse, thus giving them a comparative rest by +turns. Occasionally he allowed them to walk for a bit to get their wind, +and then again rode on at a gallop. It was about eleven o'clock when he +started on his ride. By four in the morning he was at the spot where the +party had separated from the column, having thus made forty miles. After +that he went more slowly; but it was a little past nine when, with his two +exhausted horses, he rode into the camp at Lucknow, where his appearance +created quite an excitement. + +Dick's story was briefly told; and the two horses, which were both +splendid animals, were taken off to be fed and rubbed down; while Dick, +accompanied by the colonel of the cavalry regiment where he had halted, +went at once to the camp of the commander-in-chief. + +Sir Colin listened to Dick's story in silence. + +"This will be the band," he said, "that Colonel Lawson's column went to +attack; they must have altered their course. Something must be done at +once. There shall be no delay, my lad; a force shall be ready to start in +an hour. I suppose you will want to go with them. I advise you to go back +to Colonel Harper's tent, get into a bath, and get a couple of natives to +shampoo you. That will take away all your stiffness. By the time that's +over, and you have had some breakfast, the troops will be in readiness." + +Dick left Sir Colin, but delighted at the readiness and promptness of the +fine old soldier; while Sir Colin called his military secretary, and at +once arranged for the dispatch of a body of troops. + +"There must be no delay," the commander-in-chief said. "If possible--and +it is possible--these scoundrels must be attacked at daylight to-morrow +morning. They will see the rope the lad escaped by, but they will not +dream of an attack so early, and may be caught napping. Besides, it is all +important to rescue those officers, whom they will have been making a +target of all day, especially as one is badly wounded, and will be in the +full blaze of the sun. See that a wagon and an ambulance accompany the +column. Send a regiment of Punjaub horse, three field guns, and three +hundred infantry in light marching order. Let gharries be got together at +once to take the infantry forty miles, then they will start fresh for a +thirty-mile march. The cavalry and guns can go on at once; let them march +halfway, then, unsaddle and rest. If they are off by half-past ten, they +can get to their halting-place by five. Then if they have five hours' rest +they will catch the infantry up before daybreak, and attack just as it +gets light. Those light Punjaub horse can do it. Now, which regiments +shall we send?" + +A quarter of an hour later bugles were blowing, and by ten o'clock three +hundred British infantry were packed in light carts, and the cavalry and +guns were drawn up in readiness. Dick took his place in the ambulance +carriage, as, although greatly refreshed, he had had plenty of riding for +a time, and in the ambulance he could lie down, and get through the +journey without fatigue. Sir Colin himself rode up just as they were +starting, and shook hands with Dick, and expressed his warm hope that he +would find his friends safe at the end of the journey, and then the +cavalry started. + +Dick has always asserted that never in his life did he make such a short +journey as that. Worn out by the excitement and fatigue of the preceding +thirty hours, he fell fast asleep in the ambulance before he had gone a +mile, and did not awake until the surgeon shook him by the shoulder. + +"Halloo!" he cried, leaping up; "where are we?" + +"We are, as far as we can tell, about half a mile from the tomb. I would +not wake you when we halted, Warrener. I thought you wanted sleep more +than food. We have been halting half an hour here, and the cavalry have +just come up. It is about an hour before daybreak. The colonel wants you +to act as guide." + +"All right," Dick said, leaping out; "just to think that I have been +asleep for eighteen hours!" + +A hasty council was held, and it was determined that as the country was +somewhat wooded beyond the tomb, but perfectly open on that side, the +cavalry and artillery should remain where they were; that the infantry +should make a _détour_, and attack at daybreak from the other side; and +that as the enemy fell back, the artillery and cavalry should deal with +them: + +Not a moment was lost. The infantry, who were sitting down after their +long tramp, got cheerily on to their feet again, for they knew that they +were going to attack the enemy; and Dick led them off the road by a +considerable _détour_, to come upon the enemy from the other side. By the +moonlight the tomb was visible, and served as a center round which to +march; but they were too far off to enable Dick to see whether any damage +had been done to the dome. + +Day was just breaking when the infantry gained the desired position; then +throwing out two hundred men in skirmishing order, while the other one +hundred were kept in hand as a reserve, the advance began. It was not +until they were within three hundred yards of the enemy that they were +perceived by the sentries. The challenge was answered by a musket shot, +and as the rebels sprang to their feet a heavy fire was poured in upon +them. In an instant all was wild confusion. Taken completely by surprise, +and entirely ignorant of the strength of the enemy, the natives, after a +wild fire in the direction of the advancing foe, fled precipitately. Their +officers tried to rally them, and as the smallness of the force attacking +them became visible, the Sepoys with their old habit of discipline began +to draw together. But at this moment the guns, loaded with grape, poured +into their rear, and with a cheer the Punjaub cavalry burst into their +midst. + +Thenceforth there was no longer any idea of fighting; it was simply a rout +any a pursuit. The rebels' own guns fell at once into the hands of the +infantry, and were quickly turned upon the masses of fugitives, who, mown +down by the fire of the nine guns, and cut up by the cavalry who charged +hither and thither among them, while volleys of musketry swept through +them, threw away their arms and fled wildly. Over a thousand of them were +left dead on the plain, and had not the horses of the cavalry been too +exhausted to continue the pursuit, a far greater number would have fallen. + +Dick took no part in their fighting; a company, fifty strong, with an +officer, had been told off to attack and carry the tomb, under his +guidance. Disregarding all else, this party with leveled bayonets had +burst through the throng, and made straight for the door of the tomb. Many +of the enemy's troops had run in there, and for a minute or two there was +a fierce fight in the great hall; then, when the last foe had fallen, Dick +led the men to the stairs, up which many of the enemy had fled. + +"Quick," he shouted, "follow them close up!" + +Some of them were but a few steps ahead, and Dick, closely followed by his +men, burst on to the terrace at their very heels. It was well that he did +so; for the guard upon the terrace, seeing that all was lost below, were +preparing to sell their lives dearly, and to make a long resistance at the +top of the stairs. Dick and his men, however, rushed so closely upon the +heels of their own comrades from below that they were taken completely by +surprise. Some turned at once to fly, others made an effort to oppose +their enemy; but it was useless. Two or three of the Sepoy leaders, +calling to their men to follow them, made a rush at the British, and Dick +found himself engaged in a hand-to-hand contest with Aboo Raab, the rebel +leader. He was a powerful and desperate man, and with a swinging blow he +beat down Dick's guard and inflicted a severe wound on his head; but Dick +leaped forward and ran him through the body, just as the bayonet of one of +the British soldiers pierced him in the side. + +For a minute or two the fight was fierce, but every moment added to the +avenging force, and with a cheer the soldiers rushed at them with the +bayonet. In five minutes all was over. Many of the Sepoys leaped over the +parapet, and were dashed to pieces, preferring that death to the bayonet; +while on the terrace no single Sepoy at the end of that time remained +alive. + +When all was over Dick gave a shout, which was answered from above. + +"Are you all right, Dunlop?" + +"Yes, thank God; but Ned is delirious. Send some water up at once." + +Dick was too much shaken by the severe cut he had received in the head to +attempt to climb the ladder, but the officer in command of the company at +once offered to ascend. Several of the men had a little water left in +their water-bottles, and from them one was filled, and slung over the +officer's neck. + +"I have some brandy in my flask," he said, and started up the steps. + +In a few minutes he descended again. + +"Your brother is wildly delirious," he said; "they have bound his injured +arm to his side with a sash, but they cannot leave him. How is he to be +got down?" + +"There is plenty of rope and sacking down below," Dick said, after a +moment's thought. "I think that they had better wrap him up in sacking, so +that he cannot move his arms, tie a rope round him, and lower him down +close by the side of the steps, my father coming down side by side with +him, so as to speak to him and tranquillize him." + +A soldier was sent below for the articles required, and with them the +officer, accompanied by a sergeant to assist him in lowering Ned from +above, again mounted. In a few minutes Dick's plan was carried out, and +Ned was lowered safely to the terrace. Then four soldiers carried him +below, and he was soon laid on a bed of sacks in the great hall, under the +care of the surgeon, with cold-water bandages round his head. + +Then Dick had time to ask his father how the preceding day had passed. + +"First tell me, Dick, by what miracle you got back so soon. To-morrow +morning was the very earliest time I thought that relief was possible!" + +Dick told his story briefly; and then Colonel Warrener related what had +happened to them on the dome during the day. + +"As soon as day broke, Dick, they opened a heavy musketry fire at us, but +they were obliged to go so far off to get a fair view of us that the +smooth-bore would hardly carry up, and even had we been hit, I question if +the balls would have penetrated, though they might have given a sharp +knock. Half an hour later the artillery fire began. We agreed that Dunlop +and I should by turns lie so as to command the stairs, while the other +kept with Ned on the other side of the dome. The enemy divided their guns, +and put them on each side also. Lying down, we presented the smallest +possible mark for them; but for some hours it was very hot. Nine out of +ten of their shot, just went over the dome altogether. The spike was hit +twenty or thirty times, and lower down a good many holes were knocked in +the dome; but the shots that struck near us all glanced and flew over. +They fired a couple of hundred shot altogether, and at midday they +stopped--for dinner, I suppose--and did not begin again. I suspect they +were running short of ammunition. Once, when the firing was hottest, +thinking, I suppose, to catch us napping, an attempt was made to climb the +ladder; but Dunlop, who was on watch, put a bullet through the first +fellow's head, and by the yell that followed I suspect that in his fall he +swept all the others off the ladder. Anyhow, there was no repetition of +the trial. The heat was fearful, and Dunlop and I suffered a good deal +from thirst, for there was not much water left in the bottle, and we +wanted that to pour down Ned's throat from time to time, and to sop his +bandages with. Ned got delirious about eleven o'clock, and we had great +trouble in holding him down. The last drop of water was finished in the +night, and we should have had a terrible day of it if you had not arrived. +And now let us hear what the surgeon says about poor Ned." + +The doctor's report was not consoling; the wound was a very severe one, +the collar-bone had been smashed in fragments; but the high state of fever +was even a more serious matter than the wound. + +"What will you do, father?" + +"I must carry out my orders, Dick. Dunlop and I must go on to Agra, and +then on to join our regiment. Ned will, of course, be taken back to +Lucknow, and you must give up your trip, and stay and nurse him. Of +course, if he gets over it, poor boy, he will be invalided home, and you +can travel with him down to Calcutta. I shall send the girls home by the +first opportunity. India will be no place for ladies for some time. We +shall have months of marching and fighting before we finally stamp out the +mutiny. There will be sure to be convoys of sick and wounded going down, +and a number of ladies at Meerut who will be leaving at the first +opportunity. It is very sad, old boy, leaving you and Ned at such a time; +but I must do my duty, whatever happens." The British force encamped for +that day and the next around the tomb which had been the scene of so much +fierce fighting; for the animals were so much exhausted by their +tremendous march that it was thought better to give them rest. Ned +continued delirious; but he was more quiet now, as his strength +diminished. Fortunately, the ambulance was well supplied; and cooling +drinks were given to him, and all was done that care and attention could +suggest. There were three other wounded in addition to Dick, all men who +had taken part in the fight on the terrace; none had been killed. +Elsewhere no casualty had happened in the force. + +Early on the third morning the column was again in motion. The forty miles +to the crossroads were done in two days, and here Colonel Warrener and +Major Dunlop parted from Dick, going on with a small escort of cavalry to +Agra. + +It was a sad parting; and it is doing no injustice to Dick's manhood to +say that he shed many tears. But his father promised that if the Lucknow +jewels turned out to be real, he would leave the service, and come back to +England at the end of the war. + +The gharries were all in waiting at the crossroad, and another day brought +them to Lucknow, where the news of the defeat and dispersion of the rebel +force had already been sent on by a mounted orderly. + +For a week Ned lay between life and death; then the fever left him, and +the most critical point of his illness was reached. It was for days a +question whether he had strength left to rally from his exhaustion. But +youth and a good constitution triumphed at last, and six weeks from the +day on which he was brought in, he started in a litter for Calcutta. + +Dick had telegraphed to Captain Peel, and had obtained leave to remain +with his brother, and he now started for the coast with Ned. He himself +had had a sharp attack of fever--the result of his wound on the head and +the exertion he had undergone; but he was now well and strong again, and +happy in Ned's convalescence. + +The journey was easy and pleasant. At Benares they went on board a +steamer, and were taken down to Calcutta. By the time they reached the +capital, Ned was sufficiently recovered to walk about with his arm in +Dick's. The use of his left arm was gone, and it was a question whether he +could ever recover it. + +At Calcutta the Warreners had the delight of meeting their sister and +cousin, who had arrived there the week previous. The next four days were +happy ones indeed, and then there was another parting, for the girls and +Ned sailed in a Peninsular and Oriental steamer for England. Dick remained +a fortnight at Calcutta, until a sloop-of-war sailed to join the China +fleet, to which his ship was now attached. + +It was two years later when the whole party who had been together in the +bungalow at Sandynuggher when the mutiny broke out met in London, on the +return of Dick's ship from the East. The Lucknow jewels had turned out to +be of immense value; and Messrs. Garrard, to whom they had been sent, had +offered one hundred and thirty thousand pounds for them. The offer had +been at once accepted; and the question of the division had, after an +endless exchange of letters, been finally left by Colonel Warrener to the +boys. They had insisted that Colonel Warrener should take fifty thousand +pounds, and the remainder they had divided in four equal shares between +themselves, their sister and cousin, whom they regarded as one of +themselves. This had enabled the latter to marry, without delay, Captain +Manners, whose wound had compelled him to leave the service; while Miss +Warrener had a few months later married Major Dunlop. + +Ned, too, was no longer a soldier. He had, when he arrived in England, +found that his name had been included in the brevet rank bestowed upon all +the captains of his regiment for distinguished service. He had a year's +leave given him; but at the end of that time a medical board decided that, +although greatly recovered, it would be years before he thoroughly +regained his strength; and he therefore sold his commission and left the +service. + +Dick had passed as a lieutenant, and had immediately been appointed to +that rank, with a fair prospect of getting his commander's step at the +earliest possible date, as a reward for the distinguished services for +which he had been several times mentioned in dispatches at the time of the +mutiny. + +General Sir Henry Warrener--for he received a step in rank, and +knighthood, on retiring from the service--had renewed his acquaintance +with Mrs. Hargreaves immediately on his return to England; and Dick, to +his intense astonishment and delight, on arriving home--for he had +received no letters for many months--found his old friend installed at the +head of his father's establishment as Lady Warrener. + +The daughters were of course inmates of the house; and Dick was not long +in getting Nelly to acknowledge that so far she had not changed her mind +as expressed at Cawnpore. More than that he could not get her to say. But +when, three years later, he returned with commander's rank, Nelly, after +much entreaty, and many assertions that it was perfectly ridiculous for a +boy of twenty-one to think about marrying, consented; and as Ned and Edith +had equally come to an understanding, a double marriage took place. + +General Warrener and his wife are still alive. Major Warrener has a seat +in Parliament; and Captain Warrener, who never went to sea after his +marriage, lives in a pretty house down at Ryde, where his yacht is known +as one of the best and fastest cruisers on the coast. + +At Christmas the whole party--the Dunlops, Manners and Warreners--meet; +and an almost innumerable troop of children of all ages assemble at the +spacious mansion of General Warrener in Berkeley Square, and never fail to +have a long talk of the adventures that they went through in the TIMES OF +PERIL. + +THE END. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of In Times of Peril, by G. A. 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