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diff --git a/7071.txt b/7071.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1e9e55c --- /dev/null +++ b/7071.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11535 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of In Times of Peril, by G. A. Henty + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: In Times of Peril + A Tale of India + +Author: G. A. Henty + +Posting Date: June 1, 2012 [EBook #7071] +Release Date: December, 2004 +First Posted: March 5, 2003 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN TIMES OF PERIL *** + + + + +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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