Chapter Nineteen.I sat talking to Craig that evening as the poor fellow was indulged by the doctor with his pipe.“Are you in much pain?” I said.“Yes, sir; horrible—in my head.”“I’ll soak my handkerchief, and lay it across your forehead,” I said, rising.“No, no, sir; that will do no good,” he replied, laughing. “It’s mental pain, because I’m so helpless. I want to be on my legs again, and then on a horse. It’s horrible being carried about as I am, and in every one’s way.”“Be patient,” I said. “You’re a hale, hearty man, and will soon recover.”“I should, sir, if I could be of any use,” he said sadly.To divert his attention, poor fellow, I told him of the scene we had witnessed, and he listened to it all eagerly, sometimes giving vent to an angry ejaculation, sometimes laughing, and then looking at me apologetically.“I beg your pardon, sit,” he said; “but I couldn’t help laughing to hear of their blundering about like that.”“But it’s no joke, Craig.”“No, sir; but it all goes to show that this business has been a long time hatching, and it means more trouble than you gentlemen think for, sir.”“You think so—that the mutiny is widespread?”“I think, sir, and I’ve often thought so before, that if the native princes ever had a chance, they would make a fight for the country. I may be wrong, but I believe that they’ve been plotting all this for years, and now the fire has begun, it’s running all through the country, and unless the English look sharp, the land of India is gone for ever.”“And we are so helpless here,” I said; “unable to do anything.”“Don’t you talk like that, sir; you and Mr Brace are doing your best. The captain is following the enemy up to get back the guns and horses, of course?”I nodded.“And the job is how to get them,” he continued, thoughtfully.I nodded again.“I’ve got nothing to do but lie here and think. I’ll see if I can’t scheme a way. It can only be done by a trick.”“I’m afraid not,” I said.“Only to think of Ny Deen turning out to be a big rajah, sir. Well, he always seemed a curious sort of fellow to me. He’s a clever one, that’s certain and the captain has his work cut out to deal with a fox of that kind. He will not fight, and he will be off if you show yourselves. He’ll wait till he has drilled his fellows into being smart with the guns and till then you’ll get no fight out of him. Why, Mr Vincent, that man will do no end of mischief by-and-by with the guns. How would it be to—”“Eh? Come, come, my man, this will not do,” said the doctor, walking up. “You’re getting hot and feverish. There, put away that pipe, and have a good long sleep.”“Let me say one word, sir, please,” pleaded Craig.“Quick, then. What is it?” and as I leaned eagerly forward to hear what plan he had to propose, Craig said quietly—“I’m a bit in doubt about my bearers, sir. There’s a good deal of whispering going on. They know that we are near their friends, and if they communicate it may mean mischief, or else another long weary tramp, for the enemy will retreat.”“Yes, I’ll tell Captain Brace,” I said; and I went away meaning to ask Craig his plan the next day.As I went across to where our quarters were, under a tree, I came upon young Dick Dobbs, our trumpeter, busy with a bit of rag and some powder, polishing away at his bugle, and I nodded to the happy-looking bright-faced lad.“That’s right,” I said; “keep it bright.”“I will, sir,” he said, raising the instrument to his lips. “Oh, I should like to have a good blow.”“And blow all poor Brace’s schemes to the winds,” I said to myself. “I wonder what Craig’s plan is.”The next minute I was telling Brace of Craig’s suspicions.“Hum, yes,” he cried. “That’s a good man, Craig. I’d give something for him to be well and strong again. I’ll go and speak to the bearers, and double their guard. It would be ruin if they communicated with the enemy now.”He went and gave the necessary orders, returned, and after making arrangements for our bivouac that night, Dost was summoned to a consultation, the result being that the Hindu stole off as soon as it was dark, and did not return for some hours.Haynes was sleeping, and after lying down for a time enjoying the comparative coolness of the air, and listening to the peculiar noises in the forest, wondering the while whether any stray tiger might be on the prowl, I rose and went to where Brace was sitting.“You!” he said. “Why are you not asleep?”“I can’t go off,” I replied. “I’m uneasy about Dost.”“So am I,” replied Brace. “He does not come back. I hope he is faithful.”“I feel sure he is,” I cried.“Not so loud, my lad,” he whispered. “We are deep in the forest, but sound passes far on a night like this. Yes, I think he is faithful; but he belongs to another people, and if he thinks that his people are about to get the upper hand, it is too much to expect him to stand fast by an alien race.”Just then one of our men uttered a deep sigh, and as I looked in the direction from which the sound had come, I could not help thinking how dependent we were upon our posts at a time like that, with our poor weary fellows lying about fast asleep, and the thought had hardly occurred to me, when I sprang up, for there was a challenge from our sentry out in the direction of the rajah’s town.Brace was on thequi viveat once, and we stood there listening and trying to pierce the gloom when a dimly seen white figure stole up; and I was thinking how easily a daring party of natives might rush in amongst us, and, in a few minutes of surprise, cut us up, when the figure spoke, and I recognised Dost’s voice.“What news?” cried Brace, eagerly.“I got right in among the people,” said Dost, quietly. “They hardly noticed that I was a stranger, most of them taking me for one of the rajah’s followers.”“And what have you learned?” said Brace, eagerly—“that they march to-morrow!”“No, sahib, they stay here to drill till the maharajah is satisfied, and then they go to join the other chief.”“Yes, yes,” said Brace. “But you are sure they stand fast here for the present?”“As sure as man can be, sahib,” replied Dost. “The rajah says that he will stay; but if he learns that you are here he will either attack you, or go at once.”Brace remained very thoughtful as soon as Dost was dismissed, and quite a little council of war was held, to which Haynes was summoned, and after much talking, we could only come to the conclusion that an attack would be full of the risk of failure. Such an attempt would be unsatisfactory, Brace said, unless we could thoroughly scotch the rajah’s power by carrying off all the horses and guns, and to do this seemed impossible in the face of such strong odds and the careful watch kept by the enemy.“Can any one suggest a ruse by which we could capture them?”“What about a night attack with lights and plenty of shouting?” said the doctor.“We have no lights,” replied Brace; “and if we had, we should scare the horses as well as the enemy, and send them galloping over the plains.”“Better keep to my own profession,” said the doctor grimly.“Haynes, can you suggest anything?” said Brace.“No; I leave that to you. But what you ask me to do I’ll do with all my might.”“I know that, old fellow; but I want some suggestion. You, Vincent, can you propose anything?”“Only for us to steal up to their quarters, cast loose the horses, and then carry them off some night—to-night, if you like. The guns would be of no use to them without horses, and, once mounted, we could cut them up.”“Good!” said Brace, patting me on the shoulder. “But how are we to get at the horses without being discovered?”“By the help of Dost and his spying.”“Yes, it must be somehow in that way; but I cannot see the scheme yet in a successful form. Well, we shall do nothing to-night. Let’s rest, those of us who can. But about rations; how long can we hold out?”“Till to-morrow night,” said Haynes.“By that time, sahib, I shall be able to get a donkey load or two of food. I know this country, and to-morrow I can go to the villages away to the east, and buy rice and cakes.”“About water?”“There is a good spring a hundred yards away,” said the doctor quickly; and at rest on this point, careful watch was set, silence enjoined, and soon after the little camp was asleep.I was so utterly wearied out, that I believe I was one of the first to drop off, and the next thing I remember is lying on my back gazing up at the bright golden shafts of sunlight which penetrated the dense leafage overhead.It was morning once more, and I immediately began to think about our guns.
I sat talking to Craig that evening as the poor fellow was indulged by the doctor with his pipe.
“Are you in much pain?” I said.
“Yes, sir; horrible—in my head.”
“I’ll soak my handkerchief, and lay it across your forehead,” I said, rising.
“No, no, sir; that will do no good,” he replied, laughing. “It’s mental pain, because I’m so helpless. I want to be on my legs again, and then on a horse. It’s horrible being carried about as I am, and in every one’s way.”
“Be patient,” I said. “You’re a hale, hearty man, and will soon recover.”
“I should, sir, if I could be of any use,” he said sadly.
To divert his attention, poor fellow, I told him of the scene we had witnessed, and he listened to it all eagerly, sometimes giving vent to an angry ejaculation, sometimes laughing, and then looking at me apologetically.
“I beg your pardon, sit,” he said; “but I couldn’t help laughing to hear of their blundering about like that.”
“But it’s no joke, Craig.”
“No, sir; but it all goes to show that this business has been a long time hatching, and it means more trouble than you gentlemen think for, sir.”
“You think so—that the mutiny is widespread?”
“I think, sir, and I’ve often thought so before, that if the native princes ever had a chance, they would make a fight for the country. I may be wrong, but I believe that they’ve been plotting all this for years, and now the fire has begun, it’s running all through the country, and unless the English look sharp, the land of India is gone for ever.”
“And we are so helpless here,” I said; “unable to do anything.”
“Don’t you talk like that, sir; you and Mr Brace are doing your best. The captain is following the enemy up to get back the guns and horses, of course?”
I nodded.
“And the job is how to get them,” he continued, thoughtfully.
I nodded again.
“I’ve got nothing to do but lie here and think. I’ll see if I can’t scheme a way. It can only be done by a trick.”
“I’m afraid not,” I said.
“Only to think of Ny Deen turning out to be a big rajah, sir. Well, he always seemed a curious sort of fellow to me. He’s a clever one, that’s certain and the captain has his work cut out to deal with a fox of that kind. He will not fight, and he will be off if you show yourselves. He’ll wait till he has drilled his fellows into being smart with the guns and till then you’ll get no fight out of him. Why, Mr Vincent, that man will do no end of mischief by-and-by with the guns. How would it be to—”
“Eh? Come, come, my man, this will not do,” said the doctor, walking up. “You’re getting hot and feverish. There, put away that pipe, and have a good long sleep.”
“Let me say one word, sir, please,” pleaded Craig.
“Quick, then. What is it?” and as I leaned eagerly forward to hear what plan he had to propose, Craig said quietly—
“I’m a bit in doubt about my bearers, sir. There’s a good deal of whispering going on. They know that we are near their friends, and if they communicate it may mean mischief, or else another long weary tramp, for the enemy will retreat.”
“Yes, I’ll tell Captain Brace,” I said; and I went away meaning to ask Craig his plan the next day.
As I went across to where our quarters were, under a tree, I came upon young Dick Dobbs, our trumpeter, busy with a bit of rag and some powder, polishing away at his bugle, and I nodded to the happy-looking bright-faced lad.
“That’s right,” I said; “keep it bright.”
“I will, sir,” he said, raising the instrument to his lips. “Oh, I should like to have a good blow.”
“And blow all poor Brace’s schemes to the winds,” I said to myself. “I wonder what Craig’s plan is.”
The next minute I was telling Brace of Craig’s suspicions.
“Hum, yes,” he cried. “That’s a good man, Craig. I’d give something for him to be well and strong again. I’ll go and speak to the bearers, and double their guard. It would be ruin if they communicated with the enemy now.”
He went and gave the necessary orders, returned, and after making arrangements for our bivouac that night, Dost was summoned to a consultation, the result being that the Hindu stole off as soon as it was dark, and did not return for some hours.
Haynes was sleeping, and after lying down for a time enjoying the comparative coolness of the air, and listening to the peculiar noises in the forest, wondering the while whether any stray tiger might be on the prowl, I rose and went to where Brace was sitting.
“You!” he said. “Why are you not asleep?”
“I can’t go off,” I replied. “I’m uneasy about Dost.”
“So am I,” replied Brace. “He does not come back. I hope he is faithful.”
“I feel sure he is,” I cried.
“Not so loud, my lad,” he whispered. “We are deep in the forest, but sound passes far on a night like this. Yes, I think he is faithful; but he belongs to another people, and if he thinks that his people are about to get the upper hand, it is too much to expect him to stand fast by an alien race.”
Just then one of our men uttered a deep sigh, and as I looked in the direction from which the sound had come, I could not help thinking how dependent we were upon our posts at a time like that, with our poor weary fellows lying about fast asleep, and the thought had hardly occurred to me, when I sprang up, for there was a challenge from our sentry out in the direction of the rajah’s town.
Brace was on thequi viveat once, and we stood there listening and trying to pierce the gloom when a dimly seen white figure stole up; and I was thinking how easily a daring party of natives might rush in amongst us, and, in a few minutes of surprise, cut us up, when the figure spoke, and I recognised Dost’s voice.
“What news?” cried Brace, eagerly.
“I got right in among the people,” said Dost, quietly. “They hardly noticed that I was a stranger, most of them taking me for one of the rajah’s followers.”
“And what have you learned?” said Brace, eagerly—“that they march to-morrow!”
“No, sahib, they stay here to drill till the maharajah is satisfied, and then they go to join the other chief.”
“Yes, yes,” said Brace. “But you are sure they stand fast here for the present?”
“As sure as man can be, sahib,” replied Dost. “The rajah says that he will stay; but if he learns that you are here he will either attack you, or go at once.”
Brace remained very thoughtful as soon as Dost was dismissed, and quite a little council of war was held, to which Haynes was summoned, and after much talking, we could only come to the conclusion that an attack would be full of the risk of failure. Such an attempt would be unsatisfactory, Brace said, unless we could thoroughly scotch the rajah’s power by carrying off all the horses and guns, and to do this seemed impossible in the face of such strong odds and the careful watch kept by the enemy.
“Can any one suggest a ruse by which we could capture them?”
“What about a night attack with lights and plenty of shouting?” said the doctor.
“We have no lights,” replied Brace; “and if we had, we should scare the horses as well as the enemy, and send them galloping over the plains.”
“Better keep to my own profession,” said the doctor grimly.
“Haynes, can you suggest anything?” said Brace.
“No; I leave that to you. But what you ask me to do I’ll do with all my might.”
“I know that, old fellow; but I want some suggestion. You, Vincent, can you propose anything?”
“Only for us to steal up to their quarters, cast loose the horses, and then carry them off some night—to-night, if you like. The guns would be of no use to them without horses, and, once mounted, we could cut them up.”
“Good!” said Brace, patting me on the shoulder. “But how are we to get at the horses without being discovered?”
“By the help of Dost and his spying.”
“Yes, it must be somehow in that way; but I cannot see the scheme yet in a successful form. Well, we shall do nothing to-night. Let’s rest, those of us who can. But about rations; how long can we hold out?”
“Till to-morrow night,” said Haynes.
“By that time, sahib, I shall be able to get a donkey load or two of food. I know this country, and to-morrow I can go to the villages away to the east, and buy rice and cakes.”
“About water?”
“There is a good spring a hundred yards away,” said the doctor quickly; and at rest on this point, careful watch was set, silence enjoined, and soon after the little camp was asleep.
I was so utterly wearied out, that I believe I was one of the first to drop off, and the next thing I remember is lying on my back gazing up at the bright golden shafts of sunlight which penetrated the dense leafage overhead.
It was morning once more, and I immediately began to think about our guns.
Chapter Twenty.That day passed slowly away, with the heat increasing till the afternoon, and then slowly declining again towards evening. The greatest care was taken of the sepoy prisoners, and the men had the most stringent orders not to go anywhere near the edge of the wood, lest they should be seen by any of the natives at the rajah’s camp, and nothing could have been better than their conduct—all, to a man, busying themselves in polishing up their accoutrements and waiting patiently until their services were wanted, for the discipline of our troop was perfection.Quite early in the day I went to Sergeant Craig, but the doctor was by him.“A little irritable this morning,” said the latter. “Wounds going on all right; but they pain him, and I’ve given him something to make him sleep. Don’t disturb him, poor fellow.”“Is he worse?” I whispered.“Worse? No; better. I’m making a splendid job of him. He’ll be about again before long.”I had to come away disappointed, but I soon had something else to take up my attention; for, as I was wondering what sort of a plan Craig’s would be for seizing the guns, Dost came up to me.“Going to the captain, sahib,” he said. “He will give me rupees, and I can go, and buy food.”“But you’ll be careful not to betray our hiding-place, Dost.”“The sahib may trust me,” he said, proudly. “They will only think me one who buys to sell again.”I walked with him to where Brace was standing, watching the changing guard over our prisoners, and he turned to us sharply.“Ready to start, Dost?”“Yes, sahib,” replied the man, holding out his hand for the rupees. “I will try all I can to get plenty, but it will be poor food for the sahib.”“Never mind. Now, be careful.”“Yes, sahib,” said Dost, taking the rupees given to him, hiding them in a fold of his turban, and then salaaming and going off amongst the trees, while after satisfying himself about the safety of his prisoners, Brace laid his hand upon my shoulder, and led me toward the edge of the deep forest, which we approached carefully, going down on our hands and knees before peering out, and seeing a long line of men, with their laden donkeys, each bearing a heavy yellowish-green pile.“The grass-cutters,” I whispered, as the men led their animals up toward the little flat, which looked bright and cheerful in the morning sunshine.“I’m glad to see that, Gil, my lad,” said the captain. “It shows that they are taking good care of the poor horses.” As we watched, the line of grass-cutters disappeared in a hollow, and we could then see the sentries, with their drawn swords, slowly marching up and down, while a couple more at a distance gave a hint of the care Ny Deen was taking to guard against surprise.As we had half expected, quite early in the morning the troop rode slowly out, the men in white, looking fairly soldierly, and the horses, as far as we could judge at that distance, in excellent condition, and carefully groomed.“Gil,” said Brace, suddenly, “go back and send three men with the horses a good half-mile further into the forest. Let them stay there till I send for them back. If they are within hearing here, one of them is sure to hear the jingle of the accoutrements, and neigh out a challenge.”“Of course; it would be ruinous,” I said, “unless we use it as a lure to bring them near to us, and then made a sudden dash.”“It would not bring them near, Gil,” said Brace, smiling, “but send them farther away. Ny Deen did not plot and plan and suffer, as he has suffered, to get those guns, and make himself master of a dashing troop of horse artillery, to run any risk of losing it again.”“No,” I said, thoughtfully; and I hurried away, feeling how right he was.The task did not take me many minutes; I only stopped to see three men leading off our three beautiful chargers, and gratified myself with a few pats on their glossy necks, before hurrying back and creeping down by Brace’s side, where I watched with him the drilling and training of the native gunners, who, under the orders of Ny Deen, whose clothes glittered in the sun, went slowly and fairly through the gun-drill, making believe to carry cartridges to the gun muzzle, ram them home, fire, and then sponge out the bores, and all in a way which went to prove that, after a few months, they would be clever enough gunners to do a great deal of mischief to a foe.The proceedings were very similar to those we had seen on the previous day, only that the troop marched by us much more closely, and I had a better view of Ny Deen, unmistakably our syce at the barracks, but now transformed into a gorgeously dressed, princely looking chief, mounted on his graceful-looking Arab, whose hoofs hardly seemed to touch the ground, so beautifully elastic was every bound as it cantered by.I was admiring the group before me, and had turned to whisper something to Brace, but I saw such a fixed look of misery and despair in his face that I was silent, and felt for him, knowing, too, that I ought to have been as much hurt at the loss of our horses and guns as he.We crouched there, watching and listening to the dull trample of the horses over the plain, the jingle of the swords, and the peculiar unmistakable rattle of gun-carriage and limber. Now they halted, and pretended to fire; now they limbered up, and advanced and retreated, and finally, in capital order, marched down to their quarters, the guns being parked, as before; and not till then did Brace give any sign of his presence by giving vent to a low, deep sigh.“If I could only think of some scheme!” I kept on saying to myself, as I walked back with him to our little camp; but the more I tried to invent some plan, the more hopeless it all seemed. The only idea I had was to gather our men together in two bodies, to be hidden among the trees, half on one side of the plain, half on the other, and one of those parties to attack and try to surprise the troop when they came near, when, if they took alarm and galloped off to the other side, they would be running into the arms of another little ambuscade, whom we could go over to help.I had just got to this point, when Brace turned to me sharply.“You have just thought out some plan,” he said. “What is it?”I told him, and he listened patiently to the end.“What do you think of it now?” he said, gravely.“I think it’s as bad and stupid as ever it can be,” I cried, pettishly.“You are right, Gil,” he said; “it is. Absolutely hopeless, my dear boy. No; men on foot cannot catch Arab horses. They would be off at a very different pace to that we have seen, directly we showed ourselves. It would not do, Gil—it would not do.”I sighed now, partly from vexation, and we joined our companions in the miserable meal, of which we were badly in want. Then the horses were fetched back, and we anxiously awaited the return of Dost, who joined us just at dusk, driving two donkeys before him, so laden with provisions that our prospects looked ten times as hopeful.“Why, Dost, man,” said Brace, smiling at him, “I was thinking ten minutes ago that it would be impossible for us to hold this position for want of food. You have given us two or three days more. Quick! let’s give the poor lads a good supper, Gil; they want it badly.”That night, just at watch-setting, I went again to see Craig, but with no great hope of his having any plan worth listening to, for the whole business seemed to be impossible. There is only one way, I said to myself: a dash at them by night, sword in hand. But when I reached the place where the poor fellow lay, he was sleeping easily, and it was quite out of the question to waken a wounded man.All was quiet in the camp at last, and, fortunately for us, the weather lovely. We had our quiet talk after watch-setting, and it fell to my lot that night to have to make the rounds, so that I had plenty of time for thought, as I leaned against a tree, and tried once more to make some plan, but tried in vain.Then I listened to faint distant sounds in the rajah’s village, and to the howling of the jackals, with the croakings, whisperings, and mutterings which came out of the black forest, all sounding so weird and strange that I was glad to keep going from post to post, to chat in a whisper with the men, and make sure that no attempt at evasion was being made by our prisoners, who all appeared to be asleep.And so my part of the uneasy night watch passed away, and I was relieved by Brace.“Thought out anything?” I said.“No,” he replied. “Have you?”I shook my head, and went and lay down to drop asleep on the instant, and wake up at daybreak according to my custom.I had hardly risen when the doctor came to me.“Vincent, my lad,” he said, “I don’t think Craig is any worse, but he is uneasy. He has got something on his mind, and wants to speak to you.”“To me?” I said eagerly. “I’ll go.”I hurried to where the poor fellow lay, and he signed to me to kneel down by him.“Why, Craig, man,” I said, “what is it?”“What is it?” he said angrily. “That doctor has been giving me stuff to keep me asleep just at a time when I could help you all so.”“Help us? How? With that plan of yours for getting the guns and horses back?”“Yes,” he whispered eagerly. “I wouldn’t say a word to any one else as I spoke to you first.”I looked at him curiously.“Oh no,” he said, as he interpreted my look. “I’m not feverish or delirious. Quite calm and cool, sir. Listen!”I bent down, and he began talking in a low whisper, full of earnestness, as he unrolled his plan, and as he went on my heart began to beat, and my cheeks to flush.“That makes your eyes sparkle, sir, doesn’t it?” he said. “That will do, won’t it?”“Do, Craig!” I whispered. “It’s glorious. If it succeeds, they ought to give you a commission.”“Think so?” he said. “Ah, well, perhaps I shan’t live to want it. But what are you going to do?”“Go and tell the captain, of course,” I cried.“That’s right; go and tell him, sir,” whispered the wounded man; “and good luck to you. Oh, if I could only have been in the game!”“I wish from my heart you could have been, Craig,” I said, pressing his hand.“And you won’t leave me behind, sir, to the crows?”“If you are left behind, Craig, I shall be left behind too,” I said. “But left! Why, you’ll be riding on a limber or in the waggon, man. There, I must go and tell him. Hurrah! Oh, Craig, if I had only been born with a brain like yours!”“Perhaps you would have only wasted your life, sir, as I did. But go along and tell him, and God bless your efforts, for it may mean saving thousands of innocent lives, and preventing the pandies from running riot over the country, and marking their track in blood.”The next minute I was seeking Brace, feeling that I had the guns under my hands; and so occupied that I did not notice a peculiar fact.Our prisoners were not in their customary places, though the sentries were on guard!
That day passed slowly away, with the heat increasing till the afternoon, and then slowly declining again towards evening. The greatest care was taken of the sepoy prisoners, and the men had the most stringent orders not to go anywhere near the edge of the wood, lest they should be seen by any of the natives at the rajah’s camp, and nothing could have been better than their conduct—all, to a man, busying themselves in polishing up their accoutrements and waiting patiently until their services were wanted, for the discipline of our troop was perfection.
Quite early in the day I went to Sergeant Craig, but the doctor was by him.
“A little irritable this morning,” said the latter. “Wounds going on all right; but they pain him, and I’ve given him something to make him sleep. Don’t disturb him, poor fellow.”
“Is he worse?” I whispered.
“Worse? No; better. I’m making a splendid job of him. He’ll be about again before long.”
I had to come away disappointed, but I soon had something else to take up my attention; for, as I was wondering what sort of a plan Craig’s would be for seizing the guns, Dost came up to me.
“Going to the captain, sahib,” he said. “He will give me rupees, and I can go, and buy food.”
“But you’ll be careful not to betray our hiding-place, Dost.”
“The sahib may trust me,” he said, proudly. “They will only think me one who buys to sell again.”
I walked with him to where Brace was standing, watching the changing guard over our prisoners, and he turned to us sharply.
“Ready to start, Dost?”
“Yes, sahib,” replied the man, holding out his hand for the rupees. “I will try all I can to get plenty, but it will be poor food for the sahib.”
“Never mind. Now, be careful.”
“Yes, sahib,” said Dost, taking the rupees given to him, hiding them in a fold of his turban, and then salaaming and going off amongst the trees, while after satisfying himself about the safety of his prisoners, Brace laid his hand upon my shoulder, and led me toward the edge of the deep forest, which we approached carefully, going down on our hands and knees before peering out, and seeing a long line of men, with their laden donkeys, each bearing a heavy yellowish-green pile.
“The grass-cutters,” I whispered, as the men led their animals up toward the little flat, which looked bright and cheerful in the morning sunshine.
“I’m glad to see that, Gil, my lad,” said the captain. “It shows that they are taking good care of the poor horses.” As we watched, the line of grass-cutters disappeared in a hollow, and we could then see the sentries, with their drawn swords, slowly marching up and down, while a couple more at a distance gave a hint of the care Ny Deen was taking to guard against surprise.
As we had half expected, quite early in the morning the troop rode slowly out, the men in white, looking fairly soldierly, and the horses, as far as we could judge at that distance, in excellent condition, and carefully groomed.
“Gil,” said Brace, suddenly, “go back and send three men with the horses a good half-mile further into the forest. Let them stay there till I send for them back. If they are within hearing here, one of them is sure to hear the jingle of the accoutrements, and neigh out a challenge.”
“Of course; it would be ruinous,” I said, “unless we use it as a lure to bring them near to us, and then made a sudden dash.”
“It would not bring them near, Gil,” said Brace, smiling, “but send them farther away. Ny Deen did not plot and plan and suffer, as he has suffered, to get those guns, and make himself master of a dashing troop of horse artillery, to run any risk of losing it again.”
“No,” I said, thoughtfully; and I hurried away, feeling how right he was.
The task did not take me many minutes; I only stopped to see three men leading off our three beautiful chargers, and gratified myself with a few pats on their glossy necks, before hurrying back and creeping down by Brace’s side, where I watched with him the drilling and training of the native gunners, who, under the orders of Ny Deen, whose clothes glittered in the sun, went slowly and fairly through the gun-drill, making believe to carry cartridges to the gun muzzle, ram them home, fire, and then sponge out the bores, and all in a way which went to prove that, after a few months, they would be clever enough gunners to do a great deal of mischief to a foe.
The proceedings were very similar to those we had seen on the previous day, only that the troop marched by us much more closely, and I had a better view of Ny Deen, unmistakably our syce at the barracks, but now transformed into a gorgeously dressed, princely looking chief, mounted on his graceful-looking Arab, whose hoofs hardly seemed to touch the ground, so beautifully elastic was every bound as it cantered by.
I was admiring the group before me, and had turned to whisper something to Brace, but I saw such a fixed look of misery and despair in his face that I was silent, and felt for him, knowing, too, that I ought to have been as much hurt at the loss of our horses and guns as he.
We crouched there, watching and listening to the dull trample of the horses over the plain, the jingle of the swords, and the peculiar unmistakable rattle of gun-carriage and limber. Now they halted, and pretended to fire; now they limbered up, and advanced and retreated, and finally, in capital order, marched down to their quarters, the guns being parked, as before; and not till then did Brace give any sign of his presence by giving vent to a low, deep sigh.
“If I could only think of some scheme!” I kept on saying to myself, as I walked back with him to our little camp; but the more I tried to invent some plan, the more hopeless it all seemed. The only idea I had was to gather our men together in two bodies, to be hidden among the trees, half on one side of the plain, half on the other, and one of those parties to attack and try to surprise the troop when they came near, when, if they took alarm and galloped off to the other side, they would be running into the arms of another little ambuscade, whom we could go over to help.
I had just got to this point, when Brace turned to me sharply.
“You have just thought out some plan,” he said. “What is it?”
I told him, and he listened patiently to the end.
“What do you think of it now?” he said, gravely.
“I think it’s as bad and stupid as ever it can be,” I cried, pettishly.
“You are right, Gil,” he said; “it is. Absolutely hopeless, my dear boy. No; men on foot cannot catch Arab horses. They would be off at a very different pace to that we have seen, directly we showed ourselves. It would not do, Gil—it would not do.”
I sighed now, partly from vexation, and we joined our companions in the miserable meal, of which we were badly in want. Then the horses were fetched back, and we anxiously awaited the return of Dost, who joined us just at dusk, driving two donkeys before him, so laden with provisions that our prospects looked ten times as hopeful.
“Why, Dost, man,” said Brace, smiling at him, “I was thinking ten minutes ago that it would be impossible for us to hold this position for want of food. You have given us two or three days more. Quick! let’s give the poor lads a good supper, Gil; they want it badly.”
That night, just at watch-setting, I went again to see Craig, but with no great hope of his having any plan worth listening to, for the whole business seemed to be impossible. There is only one way, I said to myself: a dash at them by night, sword in hand. But when I reached the place where the poor fellow lay, he was sleeping easily, and it was quite out of the question to waken a wounded man.
All was quiet in the camp at last, and, fortunately for us, the weather lovely. We had our quiet talk after watch-setting, and it fell to my lot that night to have to make the rounds, so that I had plenty of time for thought, as I leaned against a tree, and tried once more to make some plan, but tried in vain.
Then I listened to faint distant sounds in the rajah’s village, and to the howling of the jackals, with the croakings, whisperings, and mutterings which came out of the black forest, all sounding so weird and strange that I was glad to keep going from post to post, to chat in a whisper with the men, and make sure that no attempt at evasion was being made by our prisoners, who all appeared to be asleep.
And so my part of the uneasy night watch passed away, and I was relieved by Brace.
“Thought out anything?” I said.
“No,” he replied. “Have you?”
I shook my head, and went and lay down to drop asleep on the instant, and wake up at daybreak according to my custom.
I had hardly risen when the doctor came to me.
“Vincent, my lad,” he said, “I don’t think Craig is any worse, but he is uneasy. He has got something on his mind, and wants to speak to you.”
“To me?” I said eagerly. “I’ll go.”
I hurried to where the poor fellow lay, and he signed to me to kneel down by him.
“Why, Craig, man,” I said, “what is it?”
“What is it?” he said angrily. “That doctor has been giving me stuff to keep me asleep just at a time when I could help you all so.”
“Help us? How? With that plan of yours for getting the guns and horses back?”
“Yes,” he whispered eagerly. “I wouldn’t say a word to any one else as I spoke to you first.”
I looked at him curiously.
“Oh no,” he said, as he interpreted my look. “I’m not feverish or delirious. Quite calm and cool, sir. Listen!”
I bent down, and he began talking in a low whisper, full of earnestness, as he unrolled his plan, and as he went on my heart began to beat, and my cheeks to flush.
“That makes your eyes sparkle, sir, doesn’t it?” he said. “That will do, won’t it?”
“Do, Craig!” I whispered. “It’s glorious. If it succeeds, they ought to give you a commission.”
“Think so?” he said. “Ah, well, perhaps I shan’t live to want it. But what are you going to do?”
“Go and tell the captain, of course,” I cried.
“That’s right; go and tell him, sir,” whispered the wounded man; “and good luck to you. Oh, if I could only have been in the game!”
“I wish from my heart you could have been, Craig,” I said, pressing his hand.
“And you won’t leave me behind, sir, to the crows?”
“If you are left behind, Craig, I shall be left behind too,” I said. “But left! Why, you’ll be riding on a limber or in the waggon, man. There, I must go and tell him. Hurrah! Oh, Craig, if I had only been born with a brain like yours!”
“Perhaps you would have only wasted your life, sir, as I did. But go along and tell him, and God bless your efforts, for it may mean saving thousands of innocent lives, and preventing the pandies from running riot over the country, and marking their track in blood.”
The next minute I was seeking Brace, feeling that I had the guns under my hands; and so occupied that I did not notice a peculiar fact.
Our prisoners were not in their customary places, though the sentries were on guard!
Chapter Twenty One.Bubbling over with excitement, I was not long in finding Brace, whom I took aside and told of the plan.He stood with knitted brows in perfect silence, hearing me to the very end, and then, feeling chilled and disappointed, I looked into his stern face, and said—“Then you don’t think it will do?”He did not speak for a few moments. Then he gripped my wrist with all his might.“Gil,” he said huskily, “it almost stunned me. The idea is as grand as it is simple. It is certain of success. My dear boy, what a brain you have!”“Oh no,” I said hastily; “it was not I. It was poor Craig. He thought of it the day before yesterday, but I only got to know of it this morning.”“I wish it had been you,” said Brace. “But never mind; it is glorious. Craig will have saved us and our reputation far more than he thinks for.”“Then he ought to be rewarded,” I said.“Of course!”“Then you will put the plan in force?”“Directly, my dear fellow,” cried Brace, excitedly. “There, I must be calm, and make my plans.”He stood thinking for a few minutes, and then turned to me.“Yes,” he said, “that will do. Now then; you will take the men, and—”“Oh no,” I cried, “don’t send me away. I must be in it, Brace.”He looked at me searchingly.“It’s a daring thing to do,” he said. “And you are very young yet, my lad.”“But I brought you the idea.”“Yes; but carrying it out is another thing. Mr Haynes must come.”“Oh no,” I cried passionately. “It wouldn’t be fair to me. Besides, it would be with my horses.”“The Queen’s horses for the time being, my boy. Don’t you see that it will require strength and dash?”“Yes; and I feel as if I could dash into it.”“But the risk?”“Never mind the risk, Brace,” I cried excitedly. “Pray, pray, let me be in it.”“Very well,” he said—and my heart leaped. “You shall go; but follow my orders to the smallest point, and don’t let your excitement get the better of you.”“No; I’ll be calm,” I said.“Then there is no time to lose; they will be out soon, this cool pleasant morning.”He took a few steps to one side, and gave the order to the men to fall in.The men saw that something was on the way, and sprang to their places, when Brace ordered the three horses to be saddled and bridled.This was quickly done, and by that time, and while they were being tethered to the nearest trees, the men had buckled on their belts, and taken the carbines from their rustic stand among the undergrowth.Then there was a dead silence, and Brace signed to me, and then marched off Haynes towards the edge of the forest, while I followed.When we got to the border, and stood by the plain with the rajah’s town on our right, and the level extending to the left, till the forest swept round about a mile away, Brace pointed out a spot in the curve of verdure, where some half-dozen large trees towered up.“You see those, Haynes?” said Brace.“Yes.”“March all the men to that spot, and form an ambush at the foot of those trees. Be quite ready for us when we join you.”“What are you going to do?”“Silence, and listen to my orders,” said Brace sternly. “You will march the men there in single file by keeping just at the edge of the forest, where it is more open; but the greatest care will be necessary so that you are not seen from the town. If you are, the plan is spoiled.”“Right; I’ll be careful. I understand. When am I to attack?”“When I or Vincent give the word. You ought to be at that spot in less than an hour, in spite of dense growth.”“Yes; I’ll be there.”“Keep your men hidden, and whatever you see take place, don’t stir, even if we are taken prisoners.”“Well— I’ll obey orders, sir.”“That is good. Now then, back to your men; and, mind, it is of vital importance that you carry out my orders to the smallest item.”“You may trust me,” said Haynes, quietly; and it was the soldier speaking now to his superior. The friendly, easy-going ways of brother-officers were gone, and we stood together watching him till he disappeared among the trees.For a few moments Brace made no movement, but stood as if plunged in thought. Then, turning suddenly, he moved to the very edge of the forest, and leaning forward gazed intently at the town, whose houses looked bright in the morning sun, and among which were throngs of white-clothed people emerging here and there. We could see the guns too glistening in the sun, but no sign of armed men excepting the sentries, whose swords glittered as they walked to and fro.“Why, Gil,” said Brace, drawing a long breath, “how satisfied they seem of their safety; a squadron of lancers would capture those guns with ease.”“And we are going to capture them without,” I said.“Hist! what was that?”“Haynes giving an order to march,” I said.“No; some one coming this way! Well, what is it?” he cried to a man who came on at the double, and saluted.“The lieutenant, sir,” replied the man. “Will you come at once?”“Something wrong,” I heard Brace mutter, as he strode back through the trees to where the men were drawn up with Haynes in front.“Now, what is it?” said Brace, sharply. “Why are you not gone, sir?”“I thought it my duty to stop and see if you would change your plans,” replied Haynes. “The prisoners have escaped.”“What?” cried Brace, excitedly, as he ran his eyes along the men. “Who were on duty?”“The men wereallordered to fall in,” said Haynes.“Yes; quite right. Oh, what a blunder!” added Brace, excitedly, beneath his breath. Then turning to me—“Gil,” he murmured, “our plan is thwarted.”“Don’t give up yet,” I whispered.“But they will have gone to the town and given warning of our presence.”“They may have fled in another direction.”Brace was silent for a few moments, and then he said quickly—“Well, it need not interfere; we should be obliged to move off, but must alter our plans a little.”He spoke to Haynes, who gave the orders for four men to fall out. The litter was seized, Sergeant Craig carefully lifted upon it, the doctor looking on wonderingly; and then, as the men raised the handles, Brace spoke again.“Dobbs,” he said sharply, “fall out and take charge of the horses.”The lad stepped back, and as he did so a gleam of sunshine through the trees made his trumpet flash for a moment. The next he was standing by the beautiful animals which were impatiently champing their bits and pawing the ground.Then Brace made Haynes a sign, and the men turned right face, and with Haynes at their head, filed off, the bearers falling in with their load, and the doctor looking undecided.“Follow the wounded man, sir,” said Brace, and the doctor immediately took his place at the end of the little column, while we stood watching them till they had disappeared among the trees.“We may succeed even now, Gil,” said my companion; “but once more, while there is time, speak out frankly to me as if I were your brother; the trumpeter cannot hear. Do you feel—well, to be plain—frightened?”“I suppose so,” I said. “It’s a curious nervous sensation.”“Then give up, and follow the men, and I’ll go alone.”“You said I was to speak to you as if you were my brother,” I said.“Yes.”“Then I will speak,” I said through my teeth. “It is to my brother, and not to my commanding-officer. I won’t. I’ll go with you now if I die for it.”And all the time the feeling of dread I felt was horrible, and worse than all was that the feeling grew.Brace caught my hand and wrung it.“Well done!” he said in a low voice. “I can see. I know the sensation; but that’s the way. Fight it down.”“I’m trying,” I said, huskily; “but I wish I was not such a coward.”“I don’t, Gil,” he said, smiling, “There, now we have a horrible task before us to wait nearly an hour. Dobbs, follow us with the horses, and keep about twenty yards behind.”He advanced to the three noble beasts, and began to examine their bridles, and then tightened their girths himself, before saying shortly, “Now forward,” and, carrying the scabbard of his sword, he led the way once more to the edge of the wood, where, after taking care that we were carefully screened, he swept the plain with his eyes, and then took out his glass.“Yes, that will do,” he said to the trumpeter, who had stopped with the bridles of the horses in his hands and a look of eager excitement in his eyes, as he evidently anticipated riding that day instead of a long weary tramp.Brace used his glass and watched the town, making comments to me from time to time.“All very quiet,” he said. “Our lads must have an hour, for they may find the tangle very hard to get through.”There was a long pause, during which he was almost constantly watching the place with his glass. And how that scene is imprinted in my mind; the beautiful fringe of green trees, where we stood in the shade, and before us the broad plain bright in the fresh morning sunshine, and wreaths of mist still floating over it, but being rapidly dispelled by the sun, though the distance still looked hazy and of a delicious blue. There on the right was the village or town, dotted with the figures of the white-robed Hindus, whose arms flashed now and then, as they moved here and there.“If they will only give us a full hour, Gil,” said Brace. “How long have our men been gone?”“Not a quarter yet,” I said.He uttered an ejaculation full of impatience, and began watching again.“I’m between two fires,” he said at last. “I am eager for them to come out before those scoundrelly sepoys give the rajah warning; and I am longing for them to stay for a full three-quarters of an hour yet. What a dilemma. It is terrible.”Just then there was the sound of a horse plunging and squealing, and we turned to where the trumpeter held the three.“That would ruin us if they were passing,” muttered Brace. Then aloud, “Keep them quiet, my lad. What are you doing?”“Beg pardon, sir; did not move. Mr Vincent’s horse, sir, a bit playful. They’re all so fresh.”We patted and quieted the beautiful animals, and left them again to resume our old place, to find that all remained still. There was no excitement, and we could see nothing to suggest that there had been an alarm, and men were coming out to attack us or a retreat had been ordered. But as we watched, we suddenly saw a man in white riding the beautiful gaily caparisoned Arab, which even at that distance I recognised as the rajah’s charger. He was passing along in front of some buildings, and my heart beat faster as I felt that at last the time was rapidly approaching for action.“How long do you think it is now since they started?” said Brace, in a hoarse voice.“Half an hour,” I replied; and I did not recognise my own voice, it sounded so husky.“Hah!” sighed Brace, still using his glass.Then, after a few minutes—“They’re turning out,” he said. “Yes; and there is no sign of hurry;” and he kept on telling me as, by the help of the glass, the confusion I could see was cleared; and the leading out of horses, and falling in of men, was described, “They’re going through it all exactly as if they were our troop,” said Brace, bitterly. “We’ve let them see our training, and trained them, too, to some purpose. Hasn’t another quarter of an hour gone yet?”“No,” I said; “not more than ten minutes.”“It seems like ten hours. Hah! Trumpeter, keep those horses quiet, on your life.”There was a neighing and stamping and trampling mingled with the breaking of bushes, and then all was quiet again; while I felt an intense longing to mount my Arab, and gallop as hard as that beautiful creature could go.“You can see them plainly now?” said Brace.“Oh yes; quite plainly,” I replied, as I saw the limbers brought out, each by its six horses, and the men drawn up ready, some on foot, the rest mounted, and holding the horses of the dismounted gunners, two of whom, however, would in each case mount to their seats on the limber.“Where is the rajah?” said Brace, impatiently. “I can’t see him. Can you?”“No.”“Then those scoundrels of sepoys must have reached the place, and, instead of their coming out to drill to-day, they will retreat once more.”Just then came the squealing and trampling of the horses again, and I had to run back and help poor Dobbs, whose face was scarlet.“I can hardly hold them, sir. The flies are beginning to worry them, too.”“Only a little longer, Dobbs,” I said. “Pray—pray try and keep them quiet.”I tried hard to soothe my restive charger, which whinnied after me impatiently as I went away again, just as if the poor brute felt disappointed because I had not mounted and ridden him off.But they were pretty quiet when I left them, and I rejoined Brace, who was trembling with excitement.“It must be nearly an hour now,” he said to me appealingly.“Yes, it must be,” I replied.“And Haynes ought to be ready. It will take a few minutes, too, which will all be in their favour. But the scoundrels don’t come out; and, though I can see the rajah’s Arab, I can’t see him. Take the glass and try yourself.”I caught the glass from his hand, and swept the ground, to see that the six guns were all out in front, the long line of horses ready with their riders, and the drivers already seated, waiting for the limbering up, each team of glossy creatures breaking up the regularity of the line.“No,” I said, returning the glass. “I can’t see him.”“But you could make out his horse?”“Yes, plainly.”“Gil,” said Brace, after a pause, “our hour must be up; and we could act at once if they came out. But there is something wrong.”“I hope not.”“And I; but I’m afraid. Is your pistol charged?”“No,” I said.“Then load, man, load. Heaven knows I don’t want to destroy life; but we are fighting for our queen and country, and for the thousands of women and children who may soon be at the mercy of these men.”I hastily dragged my cartouche-box round, and charged my pistol, and when this was done, looked at Brace, as if asking for further commands.“Is your sword sharp?”“Yes, very,” I replied.“Good. Recollect, lad, that you may have to use it; and then you must strike or give point—do so with vigour. Your life or mine may depend upon it.”“I’ll try, and do my best,” I said huskily.“I know you will, Gil; and may God help us!”There was another long period of watching before he spoke again.“It is of no use, lad,” he said. “My fault; and I have upset as splendid a plan as was ever conceived, by letting those prisoners escape. They must have reached the place, and are giving the rajah the information of danger to him and his being so near. It’s all over; they will not drill to-day.”“But we can follow them up, and get another chance,” I said soothingly.“No, lad,” he replied, “never again. Knowing that he is pursued, he will be too watchful. Our chance is gone.”“Look there,” I said, steadying my eyes with my hand; “isn’t that the rajah mounting? I can’t see, but I saw something flashing in the sun.”“Yes,” cried Brace, in a trembling voice. “It is—it is; and he is riding out to the front. Look, there is the order. The men have limbered up, and mounted. There, again. Hurrah! they are in motion. Do you see? they are coming out into the plain. Gil, lad, your hand. He cannot have got the warning, or they would follow the road. Now, may Heaven help our good cause, bring us safely through to-day’s peril, and help us to acquit ourselves like British soldiers and like men.”
Bubbling over with excitement, I was not long in finding Brace, whom I took aside and told of the plan.
He stood with knitted brows in perfect silence, hearing me to the very end, and then, feeling chilled and disappointed, I looked into his stern face, and said—
“Then you don’t think it will do?”
He did not speak for a few moments. Then he gripped my wrist with all his might.
“Gil,” he said huskily, “it almost stunned me. The idea is as grand as it is simple. It is certain of success. My dear boy, what a brain you have!”
“Oh no,” I said hastily; “it was not I. It was poor Craig. He thought of it the day before yesterday, but I only got to know of it this morning.”
“I wish it had been you,” said Brace. “But never mind; it is glorious. Craig will have saved us and our reputation far more than he thinks for.”
“Then he ought to be rewarded,” I said.
“Of course!”
“Then you will put the plan in force?”
“Directly, my dear fellow,” cried Brace, excitedly. “There, I must be calm, and make my plans.”
He stood thinking for a few minutes, and then turned to me.
“Yes,” he said, “that will do. Now then; you will take the men, and—”
“Oh no,” I cried, “don’t send me away. I must be in it, Brace.”
He looked at me searchingly.
“It’s a daring thing to do,” he said. “And you are very young yet, my lad.”
“But I brought you the idea.”
“Yes; but carrying it out is another thing. Mr Haynes must come.”
“Oh no,” I cried passionately. “It wouldn’t be fair to me. Besides, it would be with my horses.”
“The Queen’s horses for the time being, my boy. Don’t you see that it will require strength and dash?”
“Yes; and I feel as if I could dash into it.”
“But the risk?”
“Never mind the risk, Brace,” I cried excitedly. “Pray, pray, let me be in it.”
“Very well,” he said—and my heart leaped. “You shall go; but follow my orders to the smallest point, and don’t let your excitement get the better of you.”
“No; I’ll be calm,” I said.
“Then there is no time to lose; they will be out soon, this cool pleasant morning.”
He took a few steps to one side, and gave the order to the men to fall in.
The men saw that something was on the way, and sprang to their places, when Brace ordered the three horses to be saddled and bridled.
This was quickly done, and by that time, and while they were being tethered to the nearest trees, the men had buckled on their belts, and taken the carbines from their rustic stand among the undergrowth.
Then there was a dead silence, and Brace signed to me, and then marched off Haynes towards the edge of the forest, while I followed.
When we got to the border, and stood by the plain with the rajah’s town on our right, and the level extending to the left, till the forest swept round about a mile away, Brace pointed out a spot in the curve of verdure, where some half-dozen large trees towered up.
“You see those, Haynes?” said Brace.
“Yes.”
“March all the men to that spot, and form an ambush at the foot of those trees. Be quite ready for us when we join you.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Silence, and listen to my orders,” said Brace sternly. “You will march the men there in single file by keeping just at the edge of the forest, where it is more open; but the greatest care will be necessary so that you are not seen from the town. If you are, the plan is spoiled.”
“Right; I’ll be careful. I understand. When am I to attack?”
“When I or Vincent give the word. You ought to be at that spot in less than an hour, in spite of dense growth.”
“Yes; I’ll be there.”
“Keep your men hidden, and whatever you see take place, don’t stir, even if we are taken prisoners.”
“Well— I’ll obey orders, sir.”
“That is good. Now then, back to your men; and, mind, it is of vital importance that you carry out my orders to the smallest item.”
“You may trust me,” said Haynes, quietly; and it was the soldier speaking now to his superior. The friendly, easy-going ways of brother-officers were gone, and we stood together watching him till he disappeared among the trees.
For a few moments Brace made no movement, but stood as if plunged in thought. Then, turning suddenly, he moved to the very edge of the forest, and leaning forward gazed intently at the town, whose houses looked bright in the morning sun, and among which were throngs of white-clothed people emerging here and there. We could see the guns too glistening in the sun, but no sign of armed men excepting the sentries, whose swords glittered as they walked to and fro.
“Why, Gil,” said Brace, drawing a long breath, “how satisfied they seem of their safety; a squadron of lancers would capture those guns with ease.”
“And we are going to capture them without,” I said.
“Hist! what was that?”
“Haynes giving an order to march,” I said.
“No; some one coming this way! Well, what is it?” he cried to a man who came on at the double, and saluted.
“The lieutenant, sir,” replied the man. “Will you come at once?”
“Something wrong,” I heard Brace mutter, as he strode back through the trees to where the men were drawn up with Haynes in front.
“Now, what is it?” said Brace, sharply. “Why are you not gone, sir?”
“I thought it my duty to stop and see if you would change your plans,” replied Haynes. “The prisoners have escaped.”
“What?” cried Brace, excitedly, as he ran his eyes along the men. “Who were on duty?”
“The men wereallordered to fall in,” said Haynes.
“Yes; quite right. Oh, what a blunder!” added Brace, excitedly, beneath his breath. Then turning to me—“Gil,” he murmured, “our plan is thwarted.”
“Don’t give up yet,” I whispered.
“But they will have gone to the town and given warning of our presence.”
“They may have fled in another direction.”
Brace was silent for a few moments, and then he said quickly—
“Well, it need not interfere; we should be obliged to move off, but must alter our plans a little.”
He spoke to Haynes, who gave the orders for four men to fall out. The litter was seized, Sergeant Craig carefully lifted upon it, the doctor looking on wonderingly; and then, as the men raised the handles, Brace spoke again.
“Dobbs,” he said sharply, “fall out and take charge of the horses.”
The lad stepped back, and as he did so a gleam of sunshine through the trees made his trumpet flash for a moment. The next he was standing by the beautiful animals which were impatiently champing their bits and pawing the ground.
Then Brace made Haynes a sign, and the men turned right face, and with Haynes at their head, filed off, the bearers falling in with their load, and the doctor looking undecided.
“Follow the wounded man, sir,” said Brace, and the doctor immediately took his place at the end of the little column, while we stood watching them till they had disappeared among the trees.
“We may succeed even now, Gil,” said my companion; “but once more, while there is time, speak out frankly to me as if I were your brother; the trumpeter cannot hear. Do you feel—well, to be plain—frightened?”
“I suppose so,” I said. “It’s a curious nervous sensation.”
“Then give up, and follow the men, and I’ll go alone.”
“You said I was to speak to you as if you were my brother,” I said.
“Yes.”
“Then I will speak,” I said through my teeth. “It is to my brother, and not to my commanding-officer. I won’t. I’ll go with you now if I die for it.”
And all the time the feeling of dread I felt was horrible, and worse than all was that the feeling grew.
Brace caught my hand and wrung it.
“Well done!” he said in a low voice. “I can see. I know the sensation; but that’s the way. Fight it down.”
“I’m trying,” I said, huskily; “but I wish I was not such a coward.”
“I don’t, Gil,” he said, smiling, “There, now we have a horrible task before us to wait nearly an hour. Dobbs, follow us with the horses, and keep about twenty yards behind.”
He advanced to the three noble beasts, and began to examine their bridles, and then tightened their girths himself, before saying shortly, “Now forward,” and, carrying the scabbard of his sword, he led the way once more to the edge of the wood, where, after taking care that we were carefully screened, he swept the plain with his eyes, and then took out his glass.
“Yes, that will do,” he said to the trumpeter, who had stopped with the bridles of the horses in his hands and a look of eager excitement in his eyes, as he evidently anticipated riding that day instead of a long weary tramp.
Brace used his glass and watched the town, making comments to me from time to time.
“All very quiet,” he said. “Our lads must have an hour, for they may find the tangle very hard to get through.”
There was a long pause, during which he was almost constantly watching the place with his glass. And how that scene is imprinted in my mind; the beautiful fringe of green trees, where we stood in the shade, and before us the broad plain bright in the fresh morning sunshine, and wreaths of mist still floating over it, but being rapidly dispelled by the sun, though the distance still looked hazy and of a delicious blue. There on the right was the village or town, dotted with the figures of the white-robed Hindus, whose arms flashed now and then, as they moved here and there.
“If they will only give us a full hour, Gil,” said Brace. “How long have our men been gone?”
“Not a quarter yet,” I said.
He uttered an ejaculation full of impatience, and began watching again.
“I’m between two fires,” he said at last. “I am eager for them to come out before those scoundrelly sepoys give the rajah warning; and I am longing for them to stay for a full three-quarters of an hour yet. What a dilemma. It is terrible.”
Just then there was the sound of a horse plunging and squealing, and we turned to where the trumpeter held the three.
“That would ruin us if they were passing,” muttered Brace. Then aloud, “Keep them quiet, my lad. What are you doing?”
“Beg pardon, sir; did not move. Mr Vincent’s horse, sir, a bit playful. They’re all so fresh.”
We patted and quieted the beautiful animals, and left them again to resume our old place, to find that all remained still. There was no excitement, and we could see nothing to suggest that there had been an alarm, and men were coming out to attack us or a retreat had been ordered. But as we watched, we suddenly saw a man in white riding the beautiful gaily caparisoned Arab, which even at that distance I recognised as the rajah’s charger. He was passing along in front of some buildings, and my heart beat faster as I felt that at last the time was rapidly approaching for action.
“How long do you think it is now since they started?” said Brace, in a hoarse voice.
“Half an hour,” I replied; and I did not recognise my own voice, it sounded so husky.
“Hah!” sighed Brace, still using his glass.
Then, after a few minutes—
“They’re turning out,” he said. “Yes; and there is no sign of hurry;” and he kept on telling me as, by the help of the glass, the confusion I could see was cleared; and the leading out of horses, and falling in of men, was described, “They’re going through it all exactly as if they were our troop,” said Brace, bitterly. “We’ve let them see our training, and trained them, too, to some purpose. Hasn’t another quarter of an hour gone yet?”
“No,” I said; “not more than ten minutes.”
“It seems like ten hours. Hah! Trumpeter, keep those horses quiet, on your life.”
There was a neighing and stamping and trampling mingled with the breaking of bushes, and then all was quiet again; while I felt an intense longing to mount my Arab, and gallop as hard as that beautiful creature could go.
“You can see them plainly now?” said Brace.
“Oh yes; quite plainly,” I replied, as I saw the limbers brought out, each by its six horses, and the men drawn up ready, some on foot, the rest mounted, and holding the horses of the dismounted gunners, two of whom, however, would in each case mount to their seats on the limber.
“Where is the rajah?” said Brace, impatiently. “I can’t see him. Can you?”
“No.”
“Then those scoundrels of sepoys must have reached the place, and, instead of their coming out to drill to-day, they will retreat once more.”
Just then came the squealing and trampling of the horses again, and I had to run back and help poor Dobbs, whose face was scarlet.
“I can hardly hold them, sir. The flies are beginning to worry them, too.”
“Only a little longer, Dobbs,” I said. “Pray—pray try and keep them quiet.”
I tried hard to soothe my restive charger, which whinnied after me impatiently as I went away again, just as if the poor brute felt disappointed because I had not mounted and ridden him off.
But they were pretty quiet when I left them, and I rejoined Brace, who was trembling with excitement.
“It must be nearly an hour now,” he said to me appealingly.
“Yes, it must be,” I replied.
“And Haynes ought to be ready. It will take a few minutes, too, which will all be in their favour. But the scoundrels don’t come out; and, though I can see the rajah’s Arab, I can’t see him. Take the glass and try yourself.”
I caught the glass from his hand, and swept the ground, to see that the six guns were all out in front, the long line of horses ready with their riders, and the drivers already seated, waiting for the limbering up, each team of glossy creatures breaking up the regularity of the line.
“No,” I said, returning the glass. “I can’t see him.”
“But you could make out his horse?”
“Yes, plainly.”
“Gil,” said Brace, after a pause, “our hour must be up; and we could act at once if they came out. But there is something wrong.”
“I hope not.”
“And I; but I’m afraid. Is your pistol charged?”
“No,” I said.
“Then load, man, load. Heaven knows I don’t want to destroy life; but we are fighting for our queen and country, and for the thousands of women and children who may soon be at the mercy of these men.”
I hastily dragged my cartouche-box round, and charged my pistol, and when this was done, looked at Brace, as if asking for further commands.
“Is your sword sharp?”
“Yes, very,” I replied.
“Good. Recollect, lad, that you may have to use it; and then you must strike or give point—do so with vigour. Your life or mine may depend upon it.”
“I’ll try, and do my best,” I said huskily.
“I know you will, Gil; and may God help us!”
There was another long period of watching before he spoke again.
“It is of no use, lad,” he said. “My fault; and I have upset as splendid a plan as was ever conceived, by letting those prisoners escape. They must have reached the place, and are giving the rajah the information of danger to him and his being so near. It’s all over; they will not drill to-day.”
“But we can follow them up, and get another chance,” I said soothingly.
“No, lad,” he replied, “never again. Knowing that he is pursued, he will be too watchful. Our chance is gone.”
“Look there,” I said, steadying my eyes with my hand; “isn’t that the rajah mounting? I can’t see, but I saw something flashing in the sun.”
“Yes,” cried Brace, in a trembling voice. “It is—it is; and he is riding out to the front. Look, there is the order. The men have limbered up, and mounted. There, again. Hurrah! they are in motion. Do you see? they are coming out into the plain. Gil, lad, your hand. He cannot have got the warning, or they would follow the road. Now, may Heaven help our good cause, bring us safely through to-day’s peril, and help us to acquit ourselves like British soldiers and like men.”
Chapter Twenty Two.My heart beat faster than ever at his words, and as the troop advanced at a walk, wheeled, and then came along towards us, I felt that the time had nearly come, and offered up a short prayer for help, strength, and protection; for never before had the world seemed to me so beautiful, or life so sweet. For the moment, I felt as if I should certainly be killed in the encounter so near; and in a desperate mood I told myself that it did not matter, so long as the honour of our troop was redeemed by the rescue of the guns from the mutineers. Then, with the quickness of thought, I dwelt on my father getting the news, and quietly breaking it to my mother and sister, who would bitterly weep for me; and I thought of their wearing mourning, and I hoped that my father would feel proud of what I had done, and have a marble tablet put up to my memory in the old Devon church, near which I was born. In fact, so vividly picturesque were those thoughts which flashed through me, that I could see in imagination the bent, mourning figures of my mother and sister standing before the marble tablet.I was just building up some more sentimental nonsense about myself—for I’m afraid that just at that period I was very romantic, and fond of thinking too much of Gil Vincent—when I was brought back to the present by Brace.“Look at them,” he cried. “They are going through that movement remarkably well. Be careful, and don’t show yourself.”I shrank back a little among the trees, and for a few minutes we watched the troop go through some of the regular evolutions, passing us on their way down the plain, at a distance of about two hundred yards, and I trembled lest our horses should select that moment for whinnying or trying to break away. But they were quiet, and the cavalcade went slowly on at a walk towards where our men ought to be in ambush.Then I turned to look at Brace, whose left hand was fidgeting with the hilt of his sword, lifting it nervously, and dropping it again as he watched the guns; and I could see the veins in his temples throbbing heavily.“Why does he not act?” I said to myself. “We shall lose our chance.”And on went the troop till they were nearly half a mile to our left, and I was in despair.“If all has gone right, they will soon be abreast of our men,” said Brace, as if thinking to himself. “I hope they are all well hidden.”“And so do I,” I thought. “But why have you let the chance go by?”“Look at them, Gil, lad,” he said, more loudly. “Doesn’t it make your heart beat to hear the rattle of the wheels and the snorting of the horses? Bah! it seems an insult to the poor brutes to have them mounted by that cowardly mutinous crew.”Just then we heard an order given, and could we see the rajah seated alone with his sword flashing as he held it high in air; and I was obliged to own myself that he looked a noble specimen of a barbaric chief, sitting his horse as he did to perfection.Then, as we watched, the troop wheeled to the right, went forward for a hundred yards, and then wheeled again, and advanced at a trot, their course taking them back in a line parallel to that they had followed in passing us at first.The trotting fell far short of the walk past; and, as they were abreast, on their way back toward the town, Brace muttered, but so that I could hear—“If they would only leave the horses alone, they would keep the line far better!”I looked at him in astonishment, for his conduct seemed in dead opposition to our plans, and still he made no sign; and at last, flushed, excited, and angry with him for losing what I looked upon as splendid opportunities, I said aloud—“Isn’t it time to act?”“Eh?” he exclaimed, with a start. “No; not yet. Wait! They’ll wheel again directly, and form a line in front of the houses. Yes; there they go. That will be our time. Yes; there goes the order.”He was right; the troop was wheeled, and in another minute or two they were half across the plain, with the third gun about level with the centre of the village, when the rajah rode out into the front, raised his sword in the air, and the troop halted. Then, faintly heard, came another order, and men and guns came to the front, ready for a second advance down the plain and past us, probably at a trot.“Hah!” ejaculated Brace, drawing back quickly. “Ready, Gil?”“Yes,” I cried hoarsely.“Now, my lad, the horses,” he said sharply, and there was a movement among the beautiful creatures as if his words had inspired them with excitement.It was only a few yards to where they stood, and the next minute we each had a rein. Brace gave the order to mount, and we sprang into our saddles, a thrill running through me, as my knees once more gripped the elastic animal’s sides, and he uttered a snort of satisfaction.“Now,” cried Brace, firmly. “I depend on you, Dobbs, my boy. Keep close behind me, and obey my orders instantly.”The lad raised his hand to his helmet, and then loosened the trumpet slung over his shoulder, took it in hand with the bell mouth resting on his right thigh, and sat as firm as a statue.“You, Vincent, on my right. As soon as we are out of the edge of the forest, we advance at a trot. Leave everything to me. Don’t draw till I give the order. Let them think first that we come peaceably.”We advanced to the edge of the wood, and were just passing out, when I saw something which made me say—“Look!—look!”“Ah, just in time!” said Brace, for now out to the right of the village we could see a little crowd, and in front of them a party of sepoys, marching towards where the guns were drawn up. “Yes,” he repeated; “just in time. Forward! we shall be first.”We took our places instantly, and rode out in the formation ordered, and as we advanced, with my Arab dancing beneath me, all excitement to be off, it appeared to me that we were not seen, and that the attention of the rajah was taken up by the advancing party of sepoys, evidently our late prisoners.But the distance was still too great for me to be sure, and I had no time for thinking.Then, all at once, I heard a shout, followed by others, and the rajah, who had had his back to us, reined round, and sat looking at us. There was a movement, too, all along the troop, as if men were in a disorderly way drawing their swords without waiting for an order, for there was a flash here and a flash there, the men evidently expecting an attack.But, as the rajah realised that we were only three, he turned his horse and rode along the front of the troop shouting to his men, who all sat firm, and he turned then, and sat there looking haughty and calm, waiting evidently for what he must have taken as some envoy from his enemies.And all this time we were rapidly lessening the distance; so were the sepoys, followed by quite a crowd; but they were advancing from the left, and the rajah had ridden to the extreme right, so that the sepoys had a greater distance to go; but they were getting excited now, and had commenced to run.“You are too late with your news, you black-hearted scoundrels!” cried Brace, loudly, though his words would be heard only by us; and just then my Arab burst out with a loud challenge, followed by one from Brace’s horse, and it was loudly answered by first one and then another of their old friends in the troop, several of which became uneasy and excited.“Well done, brave lads; neigh again,” cried Brace, excitedly, as we were now not two hundred yards from the row of black faces, while at the end, and twenty yards away, sat the rajah, with a couple more gallantly-dressed officers who had ridden out to him.“They are waiting for our message, Gil,” cried Brace, wildly. “They shall have it directly. Ready, my lad—steady, horses. Right for the centre; never mind the rajah. Let him wait. Forward!”We rode right for the centre of the troop drawn up there in the brilliant sunshine, and there it all is now vividly before my eyes as I write, and see myself riding on Brace’s left, and Dobbs the trumpeter just behind him on his right, ever growing nearer at our steady trot, with the opal of the Hindus’ eyes plainer each moment and a wondering expression clearly seen now upon their faces, as if they were asking what it meant.There were the sepoys, too, on our right, running fast and shouting, but we reached the centre long before they, and the mob following, could attain to the end of the line nearest to them; and just then, as I glanced to my left, I saw the rajah clap spurs to his horse, as if to ride up, but he reined instantly, and his two companions followed his example; dignity forbade this. We must go to him.But we did not.As we reached the centre at our steady trot, but with our horses bearing hard on the bit, Brace shouted—“Halt!”Without a touch, our horses stopped short, and there was an uneasy movement of those facing us, the beautiful animals tossing their heads, snorting, and seemed to know what was coming.Then in another instant Brace said to us softly—“Right about face!” and we turned, and sat to the wonder of the sowars the rajah was training, while I felt how easily they might rush out and cut us down from behind.But there was not time, for Brace thundered out—“Draw—swords!” and then, “The troop will advance at a walk.”There was a flash in the sunlight as our sabres leapt from their scabbards, and another as Dobbs raised his trumpet to his lips and his note rang out.In an instant the whole line was in motion, advancing slowly, with the heavy dull trampling of the horses, loudly heard by me above the tumultuous beating of my heart.I glanced to the right, and then at the rajah and his two officers glittering with gold and gems, motionless, and as if astounded. It must have struck him and his men that we were volunteers, renegades come to join them, and drill the little force. But as we came abreast of them, with the sowars all steadily in their places, and taking everything as a matter of course, Brace’s voice rose again—“Trot!”Again Dobbs’s trumpet rang out, and the splendid horses, all trained to the notes of that bugle, broke at once into a steady trot. The gun wheels and limbers rattled, and an exciting yell ran along the line, men beginning to drag frantically at their reins as the rajah and his officers now awoke to the position of affairs, and roared out orders. But, above the noiseand the confusion in the line, Brace’s voice rose clear and loud—“Gallop!”Then, clear ringing, and given with all his might, Dobbs blew forth a triumphant charge, and the sowars might as well have pulled at rocks as against the bits of the excited horses, as they broke into the swift race to which they had been trained, gathering excitement from the rattle of the wheels as, in a quarter of a minute, we were thundering away down the plain, our speed increasing, the guns leaping and bounding over the uneven ground; and as I gave one glance back, I saw the white-robed gunners leaping off the limbers, their men frantically trying to check their horses, and ending by throwing themselves off—one or two, then half a dozen, then more, till the track in our rear was dotted with white spots, till fully half the sowars had dropped off, and the horses dashed on in the wild exciting gallop that was almost terrific in its speed.I saw, too, the rajah and his officers shouting and striving hard on our right, and trying to cut in before us, to stop the movement. Again, they might as well have tried to check the wind, and all they could do was to fall in the line, galloping with us, and striking at their men with their glittering tulwars, as gunners and riders sat watching for opportunities to throw themselves from their horses without being trampled to death.It was all a matter of minutes; and by the time we had galloped a mile, half the men had dropped off and were left behind, while on we tore with a rush like a whirlwind; till all at once from the wood some hundreds of yards to the front and left, there was a rush, the flash of helmets; and, led by Haynes, our men dashed out at the double, as if to take up ground right on our front.The effect was magical.A great yell rose from behind us, and the sowars rolled or tumbled off their horses to a man, while as we thundered on, and left them behind, dotting the plain with white spots and patches, many of the poor wretches being unable to rise again, the rajah and his two followers reined up and sat fast, while a couple of hundred yards further on we three, riding at the head of a troop of horse and our six guns, prepared to halt. Brace threw up his sword, the trumpet rang out; and the horses, no longer in an even line, but in a regular drove, obeyed the call on the instant, while from our men in front rose a frantic cheer of excitement.They tore over the ground to, meet us, literally yelling with delight. Formation there was none; it was a little crowd of armed men, each trying to be first to reach and find his horse, of to get to the gun to which he belonged; while at the word of command, the horses now pressed together in something approaching a line.Then orders rang out quick and sharp, and so good was the training that in a very short time men were getting well in their places, a couple of guns were unlimbered, and shot after shot was fired, the grape sweeping the plain, and sending the rajah and his officers back at a gallop, while those dismounted ran or limped after them, some poor wretches being merely able to crawl, and about a dozen lay quite still.Then discipline was for the moment at an end.The order was given, “Cease firing!” and the men broke their ranks to run in a crowd round Brace, shouting, cheering, waving their helmets, swords, sponges, and rammers, and literally dancing with delight, while Haynes and the doctor were shaking his hands as if they would drag him off his horse.The next minute they were at me, and, to my astonishment, the doctor was literally crying.“Ah, God bless you, my boy!” he cried. “I never thought I could be such a fool.—Hi! hooray! hooray! cheer, my lads, cheer!” he shouted, as he waved his sun helmet. But the men were cheering, and they had now collected round Dicky Dobbs, two leading his horse, others hanging on to the saddle, and actually holding by the horse’s tail, as they marched him round in a kind of procession, one stalwart gunner shouting—“Blow, you beggar, blow!”Dobbs, ready to fall off his horse with laughter and excitement, gave one feeble blast, and then was silent again.It was merely a matter of a few minutes—Brace letting the gallant fellows have their way. Then, after warmly pressing Haynes’s hand, he rode toward the excited mob, and held up his sword.Then Dobbs blew a blast, and every man rushed to his horse and gun.“Fall in!” rang out; and in an incredibly short space of time the line was reformed, men giving a grunt of satisfaction as they rapidly altered the length of their stirrups, and sat at ease upon some favourite horse.
My heart beat faster than ever at his words, and as the troop advanced at a walk, wheeled, and then came along towards us, I felt that the time had nearly come, and offered up a short prayer for help, strength, and protection; for never before had the world seemed to me so beautiful, or life so sweet. For the moment, I felt as if I should certainly be killed in the encounter so near; and in a desperate mood I told myself that it did not matter, so long as the honour of our troop was redeemed by the rescue of the guns from the mutineers. Then, with the quickness of thought, I dwelt on my father getting the news, and quietly breaking it to my mother and sister, who would bitterly weep for me; and I thought of their wearing mourning, and I hoped that my father would feel proud of what I had done, and have a marble tablet put up to my memory in the old Devon church, near which I was born. In fact, so vividly picturesque were those thoughts which flashed through me, that I could see in imagination the bent, mourning figures of my mother and sister standing before the marble tablet.
I was just building up some more sentimental nonsense about myself—for I’m afraid that just at that period I was very romantic, and fond of thinking too much of Gil Vincent—when I was brought back to the present by Brace.
“Look at them,” he cried. “They are going through that movement remarkably well. Be careful, and don’t show yourself.”
I shrank back a little among the trees, and for a few minutes we watched the troop go through some of the regular evolutions, passing us on their way down the plain, at a distance of about two hundred yards, and I trembled lest our horses should select that moment for whinnying or trying to break away. But they were quiet, and the cavalcade went slowly on at a walk towards where our men ought to be in ambush.
Then I turned to look at Brace, whose left hand was fidgeting with the hilt of his sword, lifting it nervously, and dropping it again as he watched the guns; and I could see the veins in his temples throbbing heavily.
“Why does he not act?” I said to myself. “We shall lose our chance.”
And on went the troop till they were nearly half a mile to our left, and I was in despair.
“If all has gone right, they will soon be abreast of our men,” said Brace, as if thinking to himself. “I hope they are all well hidden.”
“And so do I,” I thought. “But why have you let the chance go by?”
“Look at them, Gil, lad,” he said, more loudly. “Doesn’t it make your heart beat to hear the rattle of the wheels and the snorting of the horses? Bah! it seems an insult to the poor brutes to have them mounted by that cowardly mutinous crew.”
Just then we heard an order given, and could we see the rajah seated alone with his sword flashing as he held it high in air; and I was obliged to own myself that he looked a noble specimen of a barbaric chief, sitting his horse as he did to perfection.
Then, as we watched, the troop wheeled to the right, went forward for a hundred yards, and then wheeled again, and advanced at a trot, their course taking them back in a line parallel to that they had followed in passing us at first.
The trotting fell far short of the walk past; and, as they were abreast, on their way back toward the town, Brace muttered, but so that I could hear—
“If they would only leave the horses alone, they would keep the line far better!”
I looked at him in astonishment, for his conduct seemed in dead opposition to our plans, and still he made no sign; and at last, flushed, excited, and angry with him for losing what I looked upon as splendid opportunities, I said aloud—
“Isn’t it time to act?”
“Eh?” he exclaimed, with a start. “No; not yet. Wait! They’ll wheel again directly, and form a line in front of the houses. Yes; there they go. That will be our time. Yes; there goes the order.”
He was right; the troop was wheeled, and in another minute or two they were half across the plain, with the third gun about level with the centre of the village, when the rajah rode out into the front, raised his sword in the air, and the troop halted. Then, faintly heard, came another order, and men and guns came to the front, ready for a second advance down the plain and past us, probably at a trot.
“Hah!” ejaculated Brace, drawing back quickly. “Ready, Gil?”
“Yes,” I cried hoarsely.
“Now, my lad, the horses,” he said sharply, and there was a movement among the beautiful creatures as if his words had inspired them with excitement.
It was only a few yards to where they stood, and the next minute we each had a rein. Brace gave the order to mount, and we sprang into our saddles, a thrill running through me, as my knees once more gripped the elastic animal’s sides, and he uttered a snort of satisfaction.
“Now,” cried Brace, firmly. “I depend on you, Dobbs, my boy. Keep close behind me, and obey my orders instantly.”
The lad raised his hand to his helmet, and then loosened the trumpet slung over his shoulder, took it in hand with the bell mouth resting on his right thigh, and sat as firm as a statue.
“You, Vincent, on my right. As soon as we are out of the edge of the forest, we advance at a trot. Leave everything to me. Don’t draw till I give the order. Let them think first that we come peaceably.”
We advanced to the edge of the wood, and were just passing out, when I saw something which made me say—
“Look!—look!”
“Ah, just in time!” said Brace, for now out to the right of the village we could see a little crowd, and in front of them a party of sepoys, marching towards where the guns were drawn up. “Yes,” he repeated; “just in time. Forward! we shall be first.”
We took our places instantly, and rode out in the formation ordered, and as we advanced, with my Arab dancing beneath me, all excitement to be off, it appeared to me that we were not seen, and that the attention of the rajah was taken up by the advancing party of sepoys, evidently our late prisoners.
But the distance was still too great for me to be sure, and I had no time for thinking.
Then, all at once, I heard a shout, followed by others, and the rajah, who had had his back to us, reined round, and sat looking at us. There was a movement, too, all along the troop, as if men were in a disorderly way drawing their swords without waiting for an order, for there was a flash here and a flash there, the men evidently expecting an attack.
But, as the rajah realised that we were only three, he turned his horse and rode along the front of the troop shouting to his men, who all sat firm, and he turned then, and sat there looking haughty and calm, waiting evidently for what he must have taken as some envoy from his enemies.
And all this time we were rapidly lessening the distance; so were the sepoys, followed by quite a crowd; but they were advancing from the left, and the rajah had ridden to the extreme right, so that the sepoys had a greater distance to go; but they were getting excited now, and had commenced to run.
“You are too late with your news, you black-hearted scoundrels!” cried Brace, loudly, though his words would be heard only by us; and just then my Arab burst out with a loud challenge, followed by one from Brace’s horse, and it was loudly answered by first one and then another of their old friends in the troop, several of which became uneasy and excited.
“Well done, brave lads; neigh again,” cried Brace, excitedly, as we were now not two hundred yards from the row of black faces, while at the end, and twenty yards away, sat the rajah, with a couple more gallantly-dressed officers who had ridden out to him.
“They are waiting for our message, Gil,” cried Brace, wildly. “They shall have it directly. Ready, my lad—steady, horses. Right for the centre; never mind the rajah. Let him wait. Forward!”
We rode right for the centre of the troop drawn up there in the brilliant sunshine, and there it all is now vividly before my eyes as I write, and see myself riding on Brace’s left, and Dobbs the trumpeter just behind him on his right, ever growing nearer at our steady trot, with the opal of the Hindus’ eyes plainer each moment and a wondering expression clearly seen now upon their faces, as if they were asking what it meant.
There were the sepoys, too, on our right, running fast and shouting, but we reached the centre long before they, and the mob following, could attain to the end of the line nearest to them; and just then, as I glanced to my left, I saw the rajah clap spurs to his horse, as if to ride up, but he reined instantly, and his two companions followed his example; dignity forbade this. We must go to him.
But we did not.
As we reached the centre at our steady trot, but with our horses bearing hard on the bit, Brace shouted—
“Halt!”
Without a touch, our horses stopped short, and there was an uneasy movement of those facing us, the beautiful animals tossing their heads, snorting, and seemed to know what was coming.
Then in another instant Brace said to us softly—
“Right about face!” and we turned, and sat to the wonder of the sowars the rajah was training, while I felt how easily they might rush out and cut us down from behind.
But there was not time, for Brace thundered out—
“Draw—swords!” and then, “The troop will advance at a walk.”
There was a flash in the sunlight as our sabres leapt from their scabbards, and another as Dobbs raised his trumpet to his lips and his note rang out.
In an instant the whole line was in motion, advancing slowly, with the heavy dull trampling of the horses, loudly heard by me above the tumultuous beating of my heart.
I glanced to the right, and then at the rajah and his two officers glittering with gold and gems, motionless, and as if astounded. It must have struck him and his men that we were volunteers, renegades come to join them, and drill the little force. But as we came abreast of them, with the sowars all steadily in their places, and taking everything as a matter of course, Brace’s voice rose again—
“Trot!”
Again Dobbs’s trumpet rang out, and the splendid horses, all trained to the notes of that bugle, broke at once into a steady trot. The gun wheels and limbers rattled, and an exciting yell ran along the line, men beginning to drag frantically at their reins as the rajah and his officers now awoke to the position of affairs, and roared out orders. But, above the noiseand the confusion in the line, Brace’s voice rose clear and loud—“Gallop!”
Then, clear ringing, and given with all his might, Dobbs blew forth a triumphant charge, and the sowars might as well have pulled at rocks as against the bits of the excited horses, as they broke into the swift race to which they had been trained, gathering excitement from the rattle of the wheels as, in a quarter of a minute, we were thundering away down the plain, our speed increasing, the guns leaping and bounding over the uneven ground; and as I gave one glance back, I saw the white-robed gunners leaping off the limbers, their men frantically trying to check their horses, and ending by throwing themselves off—one or two, then half a dozen, then more, till the track in our rear was dotted with white spots, till fully half the sowars had dropped off, and the horses dashed on in the wild exciting gallop that was almost terrific in its speed.
I saw, too, the rajah and his officers shouting and striving hard on our right, and trying to cut in before us, to stop the movement. Again, they might as well have tried to check the wind, and all they could do was to fall in the line, galloping with us, and striking at their men with their glittering tulwars, as gunners and riders sat watching for opportunities to throw themselves from their horses without being trampled to death.
It was all a matter of minutes; and by the time we had galloped a mile, half the men had dropped off and were left behind, while on we tore with a rush like a whirlwind; till all at once from the wood some hundreds of yards to the front and left, there was a rush, the flash of helmets; and, led by Haynes, our men dashed out at the double, as if to take up ground right on our front.
The effect was magical.
A great yell rose from behind us, and the sowars rolled or tumbled off their horses to a man, while as we thundered on, and left them behind, dotting the plain with white spots and patches, many of the poor wretches being unable to rise again, the rajah and his two followers reined up and sat fast, while a couple of hundred yards further on we three, riding at the head of a troop of horse and our six guns, prepared to halt. Brace threw up his sword, the trumpet rang out; and the horses, no longer in an even line, but in a regular drove, obeyed the call on the instant, while from our men in front rose a frantic cheer of excitement.
They tore over the ground to, meet us, literally yelling with delight. Formation there was none; it was a little crowd of armed men, each trying to be first to reach and find his horse, of to get to the gun to which he belonged; while at the word of command, the horses now pressed together in something approaching a line.
Then orders rang out quick and sharp, and so good was the training that in a very short time men were getting well in their places, a couple of guns were unlimbered, and shot after shot was fired, the grape sweeping the plain, and sending the rajah and his officers back at a gallop, while those dismounted ran or limped after them, some poor wretches being merely able to crawl, and about a dozen lay quite still.
Then discipline was for the moment at an end.
The order was given, “Cease firing!” and the men broke their ranks to run in a crowd round Brace, shouting, cheering, waving their helmets, swords, sponges, and rammers, and literally dancing with delight, while Haynes and the doctor were shaking his hands as if they would drag him off his horse.
The next minute they were at me, and, to my astonishment, the doctor was literally crying.
“Ah, God bless you, my boy!” he cried. “I never thought I could be such a fool.—Hi! hooray! hooray! cheer, my lads, cheer!” he shouted, as he waved his sun helmet. But the men were cheering, and they had now collected round Dicky Dobbs, two leading his horse, others hanging on to the saddle, and actually holding by the horse’s tail, as they marched him round in a kind of procession, one stalwart gunner shouting—
“Blow, you beggar, blow!”
Dobbs, ready to fall off his horse with laughter and excitement, gave one feeble blast, and then was silent again.
It was merely a matter of a few minutes—Brace letting the gallant fellows have their way. Then, after warmly pressing Haynes’s hand, he rode toward the excited mob, and held up his sword.
Then Dobbs blew a blast, and every man rushed to his horse and gun.
“Fall in!” rang out; and in an incredibly short space of time the line was reformed, men giving a grunt of satisfaction as they rapidly altered the length of their stirrups, and sat at ease upon some favourite horse.