CHAPTER THE THIRTEENTHTHE REVOLT OF THE KALMUCK MINERSWhile Lawrence was thus making his first essays in an apprenticeship to soldiering, his brother had found work to do which outran the little military experience he had gained.After giving Lawrence the signals agreed on, Bob steered straight up the valley. His mind was very busy during the half-hour's flight to the mine. The management of the aeroplane had become so much a matter of habit and instinct that he was able to give a good deal of attention to his thoughts and imaginings. Telling Fazl to keep a good look-out, he sought to grapple with the strange problems so suddenly thrust upon him.First and greatest of them all was the meaning of the concentration of troops at the mouth of the valley. He dismissed as patently absurd the idea that their objective was his uncle's mine. The gathering of so large a force for so trifling an end would be like employing a steam-hammer to crack a nut. He could not avoid the conclusion that their presence was quite independent of Nurla Bai, though on the other hand Nurla Bai's actions had probably been calculated with the knowledge or suspicion that a body of his countrymen was at hand.What then was the explanation of the muster? The direction of their march, and the fact that they had thrown forward an advanced guard into the valley itself, seemed to indicate an intention to proceed through the valley to some further goal. What was that goal? He remembered the intelligence that had come in at odd times, of a levyen masseof the Mongols, and his uncle's suspicion that the Mongolian prince was meditating an attack on Russia. But this was not the way to Russia. Could it be that Afghanistan was the object of an invasion? Bob's knowledge of the geography of the region was not very extensive, but he knew that, if Afghanistan was their objective, this valley was one of the most toilsome and indirect routes they could have chosen. The passes of the Hindu Kush to the westward offered few or no obstacles to an invading force; it was by these passes that the Mongolian hordes had always made their inroads, from the earliest times. Not only would the nature of the valley render the advance of a large army extremely arduous and prolonged; if the invaders should traverse it successfully, they would find themselves at what was probably the most intricate and inaccessible portion of the Amir's dominions. It would be like marching from London to Chester through the Welsh mountains, with every difficulty monstrously exaggerated. Wellington's passage of the Pyrenees was a slight operation compared with it.What other end could they have in view? The valley ran southward, and led ultimately of course to India, but an invasion of India by this route was too ridiculous to be considered seriously. Ambitious as the Mongol prince was, it was scarcely conceivable that he could entertain such a notion, unless he had taken leave of his senses. The twenty thousand men now encamped at the mouth of the valley would need to be multiplied ten or twenty times before there would be the slightest chance of success. There might, in truth, be many more such army corps massed farther northward; but the task of pushing an invading force, adequate to the undertaking, through the narrow gorges of the valley, where for long stretches three horsemen could not ride abreast, with the necessary artillery, ammunition wagons and commissariat, would prove too much for the most consummate military organizer. It would take so long that a defending force on the north-west frontier could cut up the more advanced sections long before the rest could move up to their support. In short, the whole idea was fantastic, and Bob called himself an ass for even thinking of it.Giving up this question as beyond his conjecture, Bob bent his mind upon the problem that immediately concerned him. This was a sufficiently hard nut to crack. The Kalmucks, whatever their ultimate intention might be, were clearly to be regarded as enemies. On that point their actions were quite conclusive. Whether he owed their aggressiveness to Nurla Bai or not, they were a menace to the mine and its owners. Nurla Bai would certainly take advantage of their proximity to attempt to capture the settlement, and no doubt could command the assistance of as many men as he needed.It is not surprising that Bob's heart sank with dismay as he reckoned up the puny force he had to pit against such overwhelming numbers. Of all his people, only the handful of Sikhs were trained to war. The Pathans were warriors by nature, but he doubted how far he could rely on their loyalty. At present, it was true, they were deeply incensed against the Kalmucks; but whether they, if called upon, would take definite sides against their racial enemies in face of the enormous odds arrayed against them, was a matter on which there was room for grave doubt. The Kalmuck labourers at the mine were a further complication. They would certainly make common cause with their own countrymen as soon as these came within striking distance. Alone they out-numbered the Sikhs and Pathans by two to one.The more Bob thought of all this, the more anxious and depressed he became. He wondered whether it was wise to attempt to stem the human torrent that would soon be pouring up the valley. Would not the better course be to come to terms with the Kalmucks, abandon the mine, and set off with all speed for India? Hitherto, it was true, the enemy had given him no opportunity for negotiating. They had been the aggressors, unprovoked; and his determination hardened when he remembered the fate of Mr. Appleton. But as there was just a possibility that no sort of concert existed between the Kalmuck army and Nurla Bai, the idea of making terms with the former was not wholly negligible.So far as his immediate duty was concerned, Bob was quite clear in his mind. It was to secure the retreat of Lawrence and his little party. In order to reach the mine they would have to pass the quarters of the Kalmuck miners. The bridge down-stream being broken, Bob could not suppose that Lawrence would be so hotly pursued as to endanger his return. But with temper high among the workers at the mine, some care might be needed to prevent an explosion when the Pathans came up. The first thing to be done was to devise some means by which Lawrence and his men could reach the settlement in safety. Allowing for the difficulties of the track, they could hardly, even though mounted, arrive until late in the afternoon. He had the whole day in which to make his preparations.Bob did not think out the position as consecutively as his thoughts are presented here. His busy mind flitted from one point to another doubling on itself, as it were. And his reflections were suddenly interrupted by an exclamation from his companion. The Gurkha, having no mental puzzles to work out, had been able to give undivided attention to his master's instructions. As before, his keener eye had detected what Bob, even if less preoccupied, could scarcely have perceived so soon. Far ahead, over the valley, there lay a long dark streak which in a less clear atmosphere than that of this highland region might have been taken for a wisp of cloud. But Fazl made no such mistake."Smoke, sahib!" he cried.The words gave Bob a shiver of apprehension. Was it possible that the mine-buildings were on fire? He felt almost overwhelmed at the thought. With every succeeding second in his swift flight it became more and more likely that this was the explanation. While still many miles distant, he recognized that the smoke must have its origin somewhere at least in the neighbourhood of the mine. Fast as the aeroplane was flying, he wished that for a few minutes he could double its speed. But when at last he opened up the reach of the river bordering the mine, he saw with joy that the smoke was rising, not from the compounds on the right, but from the miners' quarters on the opposite bank.A slight breeze was blowing from the north-west, carrying the smoke up the valley. In a few more seconds Bob saw that the conflagration was confined to the Pathan portion of the camp. As he turned a slight bend and had a view of the whole settlement, a hasty glance assured him that there was no sign of injury in the mine compounds. Flying on, he noticed a number of figures in the compounds below, apparently the Sikhs on guard. The Kalmuck camp was deserted; between it and the burning huts of the Pathans, and up the bank of the river, he caught sight of a number of prostrate forms here and there. Then above the whirr of the propeller he heard, far in the distance, the sound of firing. It came from up the river. At that moment Bob felt as a small schoolboy feels when suddenly plunged into a new subject--say the binomial theorem before he has mastered quadratic equations. Here was a fresh problem before the others were solved. But he held on his course, wheeled round at the usual place, and flying back alighted once more on his platform."Just see to things while I go on," he said to Fazl.When he was half-way along the cantilever pathway he caught sight of Ditta Lal waddling towards him at a pace dangerous to a man of apoplectic habit."Oh, sir," gasped the Babu as they met, "horrors upon horror's head accumulate. Pelion is heaped on Ossa. Misfortunes come, not as single spies, but in battalions.""What has happened?" said Bob shortly: he was always impatient of the Babu's determination that no one should forget he was a Calcutta B.A.And then Ditta Lal, driven to brevity by shortness of breath and the difficulty of keeping pace with Bob's long strides, related the occurrences of the past hour.Very shortly after Bob had left the mine in his aeroplane, when the domestic staff were at breakfast, and the Sikhs were engaged in carrying out his instructions, a clamour had suddenly broken out on the other side of the river. Looking across, they had seen the whole body of Kalmuck miners rushing tumultuously over the neutral ground into the Pathans' quarters. Before Gur Buksh could order his men to fire, the two parties were inextricably mixed. For a few seconds there had been a wild, fierce conflict; then the Pathans, taken by surprise and hopelessly outnumbered, fled like deer up the track, pursued by the Kalmucks. Some of these paused for a little to fire and plunder the Pathans' huts, then sped after their comrades. By this time Gur Buksh had lined his men up near the drawbridge and ordered them to fire at the Kalmucks. Several of them dropped, and there lay with them on the ground a few of the Pathans who, unable to get away in time, had fallen to their enemies' knives.Gur Buksh had been ordered not to leave the mine with his men, and true to his military discipline he had obeyed his instructions to the letter. But Chunda Beg had sent over some of the servants to bring in the wounded men, among whom were several Kalmucks. The former were now being tended in the outhouses; the latter were locked up in one of the sheds. Meanwhile the Pathans and their pursuers had disappeared along the track. Ever since, sounds of firing had been heard intermittently, growing fainter and fainter. It was clear that the Pathans were still in retreat, and also that, in spite of the surprise, some of them at least had managed to snatch up their arms before they ran. By this time they must be several miles away."What was the cause of the outbreak?" asked Bob.Ditta Lal could only suggest that it was due to sudden madness inspired by the Furies. Bob left him, to consult the havildar. He was utterly perplexed. It seemed as though there were electric communication between the Kalmuck miners and their countrymen down-stream, for they could not have heard already of what had happened forty miles away.It was not merely perplexing, but a staggering blow. Bob had reckoned on employing the Pathans to garrison the mine if resistance should be considered possible, or at least on forming a compact body to accompany his retreat if he should feel it necessary to abandon the place. Apparently they were now hopelessly dispersed, and he could not help thinking that such of them as escaped the guns of their pursuers would hasten up the valley towards their homes. At that moment he almost made up his mind that his only course was to follow them as quickly as he could: the defence of the mine seemed utterly impossible.Then another element of the situation forced itself upon his tired brain. The Kalmucks, when they had driven the Pathans away, would doubtless return. If they were allowed to get past the mine, Lawrence and his party would be completely cut off. They could scarcely arrive before nightfall; there was ample time for the Kalmucks to hurry back, and force their way past, even though the rifles of the Sikhs might account for some of them. The interception of Lawrence must be prevented at all costs, and in the necessity of devising some means to this end Bob had no leisure to acquaint Gur Buksh with his morning's discovery."We must keep the Kalmucks off till Lawrence Sahib is back," he said. "How can we do it?""Bring the machine gun to the south wall, sahib," replied the old Sikh."Yes; you'll have to make an embrasure. The gun will command the track for half a mile along the straight, and they won't face it. There's another thing, havildar. Send some men over to the other side to bring in all the food they can collect, and any arms they may find. The horses too: there are only three or four left, and we must make shift to keep them on this side. Just set about it at once."The havildar saluted and withdrew.Bob lighted a cigarette, and paced up and down, thinking hard. If only Major Endicott or some other experienced soldier were at hand to advise! He felt weighed down by his responsibilities; yet beneath all his anxieties, there was a large reserve of courage and resolution. He watched the Sikhs dragging the machine gun across the compound. Undoubtedly it would check the Kalmucks as they marched back towards the mine. But he wondered whether it would be wise to use it. It would cost many lives; the slaughter of the miners would infuriate their fellow-countrymen, and destroy any chance there might be of making terms with them. Yet there seemed no other means of assuring his brother's safe return.Following in imagination the pursuit along the river bank, he thought of the Pathans and their fate. He listened for rifle-shots; but the sounds had ceased. By this time, no doubt, the chase had gone beyond hearing. Perhaps it had ceased; perhaps the Pathans were all slaughtered by their more numerous foes; perhaps the Kalmucks were content to have driven them away, and the survivors were trudging a weary march to the borders of their own land. What would their fate be? They had no food: the country was barren: they must surely fall a prey to fatigue, exposure and famine, or to hostile tribesen route, long before they could hope for hospitality. This dismal prospect made Bob very uncomfortable. After all, these men were the most loyal and law-abiding of his uncle's workers; it seemed cruel to let them go without lifting a hand to help them. Yet what could he do? No doubt if he were to lead the Sikhs to pursue the Kalmucks in their turn, with their military training, few as they were, they might crush the undisciplined rabble. But he dared not thus leave the mine ungarrisoned. It would be long, indeed, before the Kalmucks could arrive from the north unless the unexpected happened; but so many unexpected and inexplicable things had happened during the last twenty-four hours that he could not take any action that would involve risk either to Lawrence or to the non-combatants at the mine.As he paced to and fro, watching the Sikhs going quickly about their work, and the servants returning over the drawbridge, laden with what they had gathered from the miners' quarters, it occurred to him suddenly that if only the aeroplane were equipped for war some of his difficulties would be solved. He had intended to qualify for the aerial corps in the British army, but that dream was over: flying had been to him merely a sport. Could he have foreseen the strange circumstances of the last few days, he would have adapted his machine, not merely for pleasure trips and observation, but for actual offence.One idea leads to another, and next minute Bob was asking himself whether even now he could not make an attempt to turn the aeroplane to military uses. A few bombs dropped among or near the Kalmucks would put an effective check upon their pursuit of the Pathans. He had no bombs; could he improvise some? There was plenty of dynamite in the little recess behind the house. And in another moment a plan flashed upon his mind. Flinging away the end of his cigarette he hurried to Ditta Lal's store shed."Babu, have you got any small empty tins?" he asked, bursting into the room.Ditta Lal jumped."My nerves are in terrible state, sir," he said. "Tins! Yes, to be sure: coffee, preserved pears, condensed milk, sardines--or more correctly, bristlings: tins of all sorts, quite an embarrassment.""Get me a dozen or two tins with lids: there are several tobacco tins in the house. Fill them nearly to the top with small stones, with a few percussion caps among them: you'll get them from the havildar. Be as quick as you can.""Pardon me, sir, are you intending to lay a mine, floating or otherwise?"Bob had not waited for the conclusion of the question, but hurried to the little private store behind the house, from which he returned presently with a quantity of dynamite. The Babu was too slow for him. He sent Chunda Beg and Shan Tai hunting for tins, and as they were prepared according to his directions, he carefully filled them up with dynamite and securely fastened the lids. When he had fifteen ready, he put them into a basket, and carried them himself along the pathway to the aeroplane. Fazl had meanwhile got everything ready for another flight."You know what a bomb is, Fazl?" said Bob.The Gurkha grinned."Well, these tins are bombs. Put them just below your seat: take care not to drop one. We are going up the river: give me the tins one by one as I ask for them."They started. For the first mile or two Bob kept very low over the river, seeing here and there, at long intervals, traces of the fight waged between the Pathans and the Kalmucks--figures lying prone and motionless, others sitting with their backs against the rocks, one or two limping painfully along. Presently he heard the dull cracks of rifles, though as yet he could not see the combatants. As the sounds grew louder, he rose higher: with his explosive cargo on board it was more than ever necessary that he should keep out of range. Experience had already shown him that the aeroplane in full flight was a very difficult object to hit with ordinary weapons; but nothing must be left to chance now.CHAPTER THE FOURTEENTHRALLYING THE PATHANSSix or seven miles above the mine the gorge contracted, leaving a space that barely exceeded twice the breadth of the aeroplane. In his first flights along the river Bob had felt rather nervous in threading this narrow passage. It was here that he found the two parties of miners. He reduced the speed of the aeroplane as much as he could, and at the altitude to which he had now ascended he was able to get a pretty good general view of the position of affairs as he flew over. It was impossible to distinguish details. The figures of the men were like dots on a map. The track and the adjacent ground seemed absolutely flat and level, though Bob knew that it was really much broken, and of constantly varying height. But he made rapid inferences from what he saw, and by the time he had passed over both the parties of combatants he was in no doubt as to his course of action.What he saw was, up-stream, a small group, stationary, in the narrowest part of the valley: some little distance from them, down-stream, a larger group, also stationary, and a number of scattered individuals, moving southward, looking like flies crawling slowly over a dish, but all in the same direction. The inference he drew from these observations was that the Pathans, having been kept on the run to this point, had taken advantage of the nature of the ground to turn at bay, either in desperation, or to snatch a rest before continuing their retreat: and that the Kalmucks had separated, one party holding the track, the other scaling the hill-side above in order to turn the Pathans' flank. At the moment of his passing over he heard a faint crackle like the rustling of paper, and saw puffs of smoke among each band of combatants. The men were firing briskly, no doubt from behind the shelter of rocks.It was obvious that there could be but one end to this fight. The Kalmucks were much the more numerous. While the Pathans might very probably repulse a direct attack if their ammunition lasted, they could have no defence against the men creeping round upon their flank. Within a short time they would be surrounded, unless, indeed, they perceived the flanking movement and beat a hasty retreat. Even then they would be in danger of annihilation, for the Kalmucks could rush the position they had evacuated, and from behind the rocks sweep the southward track with their fire. Unless a diversion were almost instantly made, the Pathans were doomed.By the time that Bob had realized this necessity for intervention he was half a mile south of the position, in a wider stretch of the gorge. He wheeled round, flew back at full speed through the bottle-neck, then wheeled again at the northward end. It seemed to him that the crackling of rifle fire was now more continuous: the Pathans had in fact taken heart on seeing the machine soaring high above them, and were defending themselves with renewed vigour. The chota sahib was with them! They knew not what he could do for them, but his mere presence gave them hope and courage.Bob saw that in order to carry out his plan successfully he must descend. He had had no practice in bomb dropping. No amount of theoretical knowledge of the velocity of falling bodies under the action of gravity, or of the curve made by a body moving under both horizontal and vertical forces, could avail him now. There was great risk of the aeroplane or its occupants being hit if the Kalmucks fired at them, but he felt that he must take his chance. Swooping down, and reducing speed at the same time, he steered so as to pass, at the height of a few hundred feet, as exactly as possible over the heads of the party skirmishing up the hill-side.They were in loose order. At closer quarters Bob was now able to see that they were taking advantage of all the cover furnished by the crags and protuberances of the rocky slope. Steering with one hand, he called to Fazl to give him one of the tins, which he poised in his other hand. He still felt a shrinking from bloodshed, and instead of dropping the bomb in the midst of the Kalmucks, he waited until he had just passed the man nearest to the Pathans, then let it fall. In a few seconds it struck the ground. There was a sharp report, and Fazl, looking back, cried out that the Kalmucks were almost hidden by an immense cloud of dust. The sound of rifle fire ceased, and a strange quiet fell upon the gorge."Have they stopped?" asked Bob."Yes, sahib. One has gone back: they are talking among the rocks.""They've got something to talk about," thought Bob.He felt that this bolt from the blue, falling upon them at such a dramatic moment, must have startled the Kalmucks, and would almost certainly cause them to modify their plans. As miners they would realize the nature of the bomb dropped within a few yards of them, and the danger to which they were exposed when dynamite was rained upon them from the sky. The first bomb might be followed by others, and though it had done them no hurt, its successors might not so fortunately spare them. Bob had no doubt that he could count upon an interval of inaction while they were reckoning up the new situation, and determined to seize the opportunity of communicating with the Pathans. Accordingly he flew southward along the gorge until he reached a spot where the track widened sufficiently to afford a landing-place, and then sank to earth. It was out of sight from both Pathans and Kalmucks."Come along with me," he said to Fazl.He took his revolver and rifle, and hastened back along the track, followed by Fazl with his kukuri. There was still no resumption of the firing. As he walked, he scanned the hill-side anxiously, but saw no sign of the Kalmucks. Slipping along close to the base of the rocky cliff he presently caught sight of the turbans of two or three of the Pathans, who were peering over the top of a rock two hundred yards away, evidently looking for the return of the aeroplane."Can you call to them without letting the Kalmucks hear?" he asked of Fazl."I can, sahib.""Then ask one of them to slip down and meet me."The Gurkha made a slight clucking in his throat, at which the Pathans lifted their heads and looked eagerly along the path. Then Fazl held up one finger, and beckoned. The heads disappeared, and in a moment two of the Pathans came round the corner of the rock."Only one," said Bob.Fazl made them understand by gestures. One of the men returned, the other came on."Allah is great, sahib!" he said in his own tongue as he met Bob. "But why is the sahib on foot? A few more such thunderbolts would send the dogs to Jehannum: have you no more in the wonderful machine?"Bob wished that he had Lawrence's facility in picking up strange languages. Fortunately Fazl could act as interpreter. He first asked the man if he could explain the sudden outbreak of the Kalmucks. The Pathan thought that no explanation was necessary: it was due to their own vile passions and the presence of Nurla Bai."Nurla Bai!" exclaimed Bob. "Is he among them?""Of a truth he is, sahib, and his black monkey too."To Bob this was incomprehensible. Nurla Bai and his man, when last he heard of them, were forty miles and more down-stream. But he had no leisure for guessing: the situation demanded all his thoughts."What are you going to do?" he asked."We are going to our homes, sahib," replied the man. "The dogs are too many for us. We did but stop to take a little rest, and kill a few. We cannot go back to the mine: the talk is that the huzur is gone; who will pay us now? We go to our own country, and some day will come back and deal with these children of Shaitan. Not a man of them shall be left alive. But now we can do nothing; it is vain to kick against the goad. If the sahib had more little boxes we might kill them all; but he has none, or he would not be here."Bob felt himself in a difficulty. He wanted to retain the Pathans; but in their present temper they would not be likely to remain with him if they knew that a huge army was advancing up-stream. On the other hand it would not be fair to withhold that information from them, and bring them back to the mine under false pretences. Reflecting rapidly for a few moments he determined to make a clean breast of it, but to lead up to the important point as diplomatically as he could."Have you any food?" he asked."Bismillah, sahib, we are empty as bladders. The dogs fell upon us even as we were filling our pots for the morning meal. We have eaten nothing.""And what will you do for food on the way home? Is it a smiling country? Does millet grow on the rocks? Will you find grapes on thorn bushes?""True, sahib," said the man uneasily: "but there are ibex and other clean animals for our guns.""You have plenty of ammunition then?""Enough to shoot beasts for our food.""And to shoot the Kalmucks too? If I cannot stop them, and they pursue you, you will have no time to shoot ibex, and no bullets to waste. And you may meet enemies in the hills. You may be caught between two fires, and, outnumbered as you are already, you will be slaughtered like sheep."The Pathan looked more and more troubled."I will go and talk to my brothers," he said. "With many counsellors there is wisdom.""No, that won't do. You would waste a lot of time, and perhaps wrangle. You must act as head man, and what you and I decide the others will do.""What does the sahib order?""I order nothing. I want you to make up your own mind. Now listen. I see a way to bring you out of your present awkward position, and take you safely back to the mine. You do not know that Lawrence Sahib with Fyz Ali and the rest is in danger.""Mashallah, sahib, what is this you tell?""We were attacked yesterday at the bridge down-stream, and beat off the enemy. Lawrence Sahib had to keep guard all night: he may have been attacked again, but he is now marching back.""And who was the enemy, sahib? Only Nurla Bai and his monkey left the mine, and they are now among the dogs that have been barking at us beyond.""The enemy are a large force of Kalmucks, a great army, who are coming up the valley, for what purpose I know not.""Hai, sahib, but then there is the more need for us to go!""Yes, if you are willing to be cowards and faithless. Must I believe that you will sneak off and leave your comrades to face danger alone?"The man was silent, plucking his beard. Bob offered him a cigarette, which the man accepted mechanically, lighting it at the match with which Bob lit his own."Is it a great army, sahib?" he said at length."A very great one. Very likely we shall find it impossible to save the mine. It is true that the huzur is gone: Nurla Bai shot him; he fell from the machine into the river, and I have no hope that he is yet alive. But his loss only leaves the more for us to do. We must first save Lawrence Sahib and your friends. When we are all met again, we can decide what is best. Perhaps we shall have to abandon the mine; but then, you see, we shall form one large party, with plenty of provisions and cartridges; and you will have a much better chance of reaching your homes than if you go as you are, hungry, with no food, and little hope of defending yourselves if attacked by enemies in the hills."The Pathan puffed away gravely."There is truth in what the sahib says. He has a very big mind, and sees very far. We Pathans are not cowards, as the sahib knows; Fyz Ali is a good man, and the chota sahib will be a great man when his beard is grown. But how can we go back? As the sahib says, we are but a handful against the pack of dogs yonder, and the sahib has no more little boxes.""I didn't say so. As a matter of fact, I have several.""Inshallah!" cried the man joyfully. "Why did not the sahib say so before? If the sahib will go up in his machine, and drop the little boxes upon the heads of the Kalmucks, we will charge home upon them with great fury, and there shall not be left one man alive to tell the tale."Bob knew that it would be useless to attempt to make the man understand why he could not consent to this wholesale butchery. He merely pointed out that, flying swiftly overhead, he could only drop one or perhaps two bombs that would certainly hit the enemy. The survivors would be goaded to desperation, and before the aeroplane could return and the manoeuvre be repeated, there would be a terrible fight, in which the Pathans, even if successful, would lose heavily."What I want to do is to gather all the loyal men safely at the mine," he said. "I do not want to lose one of you. I can do this, I believe, if you obey my orders: otherwise who knows how many of you will be left alive?""As the sahib commands," said the Pathan."This is what I command. You will remain here with your men while I drive the Kalmucks away. You will not fire upon them unless you are yourselves attacked. Impress that upon the men. When the Kalmucks are out of sight, you may march up towards the mine, but halt if you come in sight of them again.""I will give the sahib's orders to the men," said the Pathan. "I hope the sahib will drive the dogs away quickly, for we are very hungry."He salaamed and returned to his companions, who had been keeping one eye on the enemy, the other on the curious scene two hundred yards up-stream. It was indeed a strange position: the two men calmly smoking and discussing their plans, while at no great distance lurked a ferocious band ready to leap to the attack at any moment. They too had been consulting together, but their imagination was not active enough to lead them to any satisfactory conclusion. The dynamite bomb had been intended to check them: that was evident; and they decided that it would be wise to wait patiently for developments. Nurla Bai was very much annoyed. He had undergone great exertions and endured much fatigue to achieve his object--the slaughter or dispersal of the Pathans; and it was exasperating to find himself at a check just when he had them at his mercy, through the ingenuity of an Englishman and the astounding swiftness of his flying machine. He began to wish that, instead of picking up bits of rock in the gallery on that dark night, he had made his way to the platform and done some vital damage to the aeroplane. Perhaps a lucky shot would bring it down when it again passed over the position. But he hoped there would be no more dynamite bombs.CHAPTER THE FIFTEENTHNURLA BAI SLIPS THE NOOSEAnd now began the strangest game of chevy chase that was ever played. In a few minutes Bob and the Gurkha were flying northward. As they approached the area upon which the Kalmucks were assembled, Bob steered to the right, so as to cross the position obliquely. Some of the men were in the act of covering the aeroplane with their rifles, when the sight of a bright red object descending from the sky struck them with a sort of paralysis. The coffee tin fell almost midway between them and the Pathans. Dust and splinters of rock flew in all directions, and the Kalmucks, with one consent, scampered along the track towards the mine. Bob listened for rifle-shots; he knew that the Pathans' obedience would be put to a severe test when they saw their enemies in flight. Not a shot was fired.The Kalmucks did not yet perceive the real object which Bob had in view. After running a short distance, they halted again, unable to decide whether it was safer to advance or retreat. When they saw the aeroplane soaring towards them from the northward, they broke apart, each man striving to find some crevice or nook among the rocks where he might shelter himself. All believed that the Englishman's purpose was slaughter. But when another bomb was dropped on their southward side, not near enough to do them harm, some of them, as they ran, began to suspect the meaning of the device. For three or four miles they were thus driven down the track. Wherever the gorge was wide enough, Bob wheeled backwards and forwards across it in their rear, swooping down whenever he saw them lagging, with the result that they did not wait for another bomb, but hurried along like a flock of frightened sheep. Once or twice they took shots at the aeroplane, but gave it up when it was patent that their marksmanship was unequal to the feat of hitting the flying target. And all the time the Pathans marched steadily behind them, much amused at the sahib's method of shepherding, but a little chagrined because they were not allowed to assist.Meanwhile Bob had been thinking out his further proceedings. He must not let the Kalmucks draw too close to the mine. Lawrence could not arrive yet for several hours; it was important that he should come safely home without a collision with the enemy. When, therefore, they had arrived within about two miles of the mine, he decided that it was time to arrest their course. They could no longer be in doubt about the meaning of his signals hitherto--he would give them another. Flying ahead, then wheeling round, he dropped a tin, this time in front of them. At the explosion they halted, and after a brief consultation began to move on. Another bomb, falling in front again, but now a little closer, conveyed its warning; like fog signals on a railway-line, these explosions plainly indicated that the track was not clear. They halted again, and posted themselves behind rocks, facing up-stream, to guard against attack by the Pathans.How long they would remain stationary Bob could not tell; but he thought he had them sufficiently well in hand to give him time to fly to the mine and act on another idea that had occurred to him. On reaching the house, he ordered Shan Tai to put up in two or three baskets a quantity of food, then scribbled a note bidding Lawrence push forward at his utmost speed. This he placed under the lid of a tin weighted with stones, but free from caps or dynamite. Then telling Gur Buksh to keep a careful watch on the track southward, and fire if the Kalmucks showed themselves at the turn half a mile away, he went back to the aeroplane, carrying the tin, and set off down the river. He was anxious that Lawrence should arrive before dark. In the daylight the dynamite bombs might be relied on to bar the road to the Kalmucks; but they might easily take advantage of the darkness to slip past the mine, if not by the track, at any rate by the hill-path above, and the bombs would lose half their terrors. The possibility of a collision between the Kalmucks and his brother's party filled him with anxiety; for the former, infuriated by their chevying, would wreak their vengeance upon the smaller band coming up-stream.Bob discovered Lawrence and his men taking a rest about half-way between the mine and the broken bridge. They greeted him with a cheer. He flew for some minutes up- and down-stream in the search for a landing-place, but the track being too narrow here, and the neighbourhood too rugged, he swooped down, and as he passed over the group, he got Fazl to drop his tin within a few feet of them. The Gurkha uttered a cry of incredulous amazement when he heard the order, but Bob hastily explained that the tin contained only a chit. Too busy himself with steering to watch the result, Bob asked Fazl what had happened, and he reported that the tin, rolling down the bank towards the river, had been retrieved by Lawrence Sahib himself.Bob flew straight back to the mine, thence over the Kalmucks, who were still halted where he had left them, and beyond them to the Pathans. The country was here much less rugged, but it was some little time before he found a spot where he could alight without risk, nearly half a mile south of the party. On landing, he and Fazl between them carried the baskets of food to the Pathans."The sahib is a light to our eyes," said the head man. "The men were becoming restless.""I dare say. Well, here is some food for them. This will keep up their courage. I am glad to see that they have obeyed my orders, and before long I hope we shall all be safe at the mine.""Allah be praised!" cried the man. "Food is what we need, and my brothers will delight in the sahib's care."Indeed, Bob could have hit upon no more effective means of attaching the Pathans to his cause. This evidence of the sahib's thoughtfulness profoundly impressed the men, and as they made ravenous onslaught on their rations they were loud in praise of their young master, whom it was good to serve.By this time Bob was very tired of his continual journeys up and down the river; his petrol, too, was running low, and it was with a feeling of great relief that he set off on what was to be his last flight for many a day. When Lawrence had returned, Bob meant to hold a serious consultation with him as to the possibility of holding the mine. If it were decided that this was hopeless, he would have to make immediate arrangements for evacuation. The thought of leaving the aeroplane gave him a pang. That he must leave it seemed inevitable, for he felt that his presence would be necessary as leader of the march. He might, indeed, fly miles ahead, alight, and wait for his little force to reach him; but it seemed more important to share his brother's difficulties than to secure the safety of the aeroplane.After replacing the machine in its shed, he returned to the house and called for dinner. For several hours there was nothing to be done. When he had finished his meal, he lit his pipe and settled himself in an easy chair to think over the position. It was the first opportunity of rest and quiet meditation since Nurla Bai's defection had so fatally disturbed the peaceful life of the settlement. Of his uncle he could now think only as of one irrevocably lost. It was the end of mining in the Hindu Kush. Whatever the immediate future might bring forth, it was clear that Lawrence and he must seek some other career. And when he reckoned up the chances, he felt more and more doubtful whether either of them would escape from this valley of tragedy with their lives.Yet Fate had been kind to them, even through the instrumentality of Nurla Bai. But for that man's villainy, there would have been no pursuit down the river, no discovery of the army encamped forty miles away. They would have had no warning of the approach of this great host, and defence and flight would have been equally impossible. Such chances as they had of weathering the storm were due to Nurla Bai.Bob's thoughts centred on that wily Kalmuck. His presence among the men halted half a mile off was puzzling. Bob did not guess that Nurla Bai and his henchman had been among a band who had crossed the river in the night, and attacked Lawrence and his Pathans. These two men alone of the party had not recrossed when the rest were beaten back. They had slipped up the bank under cover of the darkness, and marched all night along the track. Warned by the sound of horses' hoofs they had hidden until the Pathan reinforcements had passed, then hurried on to the mine. Arriving there at dawn, they had instigated the attack on the Pathans, of whom Nurla Bai had led the pursuit.The knowledge that the Kalmuck was within half a mile of him suggested to Bob the possibility of capturing him and bringing him to justice. The punishment of the offender would do more than anything else to tighten the bonds between himself and the Pathans. Remembering the Kalmuck prisoners whom Gur Buksh had taken, Bob hit on a plan for getting Nurla Bai into his power. He would send one of them as a herald to the miners, promising to allow them to depart northwards if they would deliver up their arms and hand over Nurla Bai and Black Jack. With the Sikhs on one side of them, and on the other the Pathans, eager for an opportunity to wipe off old scores, they must recognize their helplessness, and probably would be willing to purchase the safety of the whole band at so cheap a price.About two o'clock in the afternoon, therefore, Bob sent for one of the prisoners, and with Fazl as interpreter, gave him his instructions. If the terms offered were accepted, Nurla Bai and his man were to come to the mine under escort of not more than four of the party, unarmed. The drawbridge was lowered, and raised again after the man had departed on his errand.Bob waited patiently for the result of this mission. Lawrence ought to arrive about four o'clock, by hard marching. By that time the Kalmucks should have made up their minds. Of course, under Nurla Bai's influence, they might reject his terms, preferring to wait for darkness to give them an opportunity of creeping past without surrendering either their leader or their arms. In either case Lawrence would then be safe, and the doings of the Kalmucks need give him no further concern. Nurla Bai would escape his deserts, but that could not be helped.Less than an hour after the envoy's departure, a group of six men were seen approaching the mine from the Kalmucks' encampment. In a few minutes Bob was able to recognize among them Nurla Bai and Black Jack. Somewhat surprised, after all, at their compliance, he congratulated himself on the satisfactory working of his plan. It was not long, however, before he saw that his jubilation was premature. The men were apparently unarmed, but calling Gur Buksh to his side, Bob ordered him as a precautionary measure to place the Sikhs at the inner end of the bridge, and cover the Kalmucks with their rifles, so as to guard against treachery. The whole staff of domestic servants and the few Pathans left at the mine assembled in the compound to watch the proceedings. Bob ordered the Pathans to lay aside their rifles, for their rage against Nurla Bai was such that he could not trust them to refrain from firing on their foe, even though he was unarmed.The Kalmucks came opposite the bridge. At Bob's command Fazl shouted his instructions across the river. When the drawbridge was lowered, Nurla Bai and his man were to cross. The escort were to return to their companions, and explain that later on, at a signal given by rifle-shots, they were to come forward ten at a time, hand their weapons to the Sikhs stationed at the bridge end to receive them, and pass down the track. The miners made no response, but stood motionless on the farther bank.At a word from Bob, the bridge-man turned his windlass, and the bridge, with much creaking, began slowly to descend. The end had almost reached the platform on which it rested when, with a suddenness that took everybody by surprise, Nurla Bai and Black Jack dived off the bank into the river, sheltered by the descending bridge. Next moment several rifle-shots rang out; the Sikhs had fired, rather because they felt that they must do something than because there was any real chance of hitting the fugitives. Then they ran along by the wall, to watch for the two men to reappear.Bob followed them; the crowd of servants and Pathans, shouting with excitement, rushed in the same direction. Ditta Lal waddled breathless in the rear.At this, the narrowest part of the valley for many miles, the current rushed through the gorge like a mill-race. Nurla Bai had chosen his moment well, reckoning on the rapidity of the stream to bear him out of harm's way. Some seconds passed before a black head was seen bobbing on the surface of the swirling flood a hundred and fifty yards away."Don't fire!" shouted Bob.He was only in the nick of time, for the Sikhs already had their rifles at the shoulder, pointed at the black object in the water. With soldierly obedience they kept their fingers from the trigger, though they were amazed at the order. Bob was astonished at himself. His command had been almost involuntary; only after he had spoken was he conscious of the motive impelling him. It was a sportsman's admiration for pluck and resourcefulness. Of course the Kalmucks had tricked him, but he was young enough to admire their courage more than he resented their trickery.In another moment the head had disappeared. It was now too late to change his mind, even if he had wished it."They are gone!" screamed the Babu. "Sir, you have allowed them to bunk. Why this fatal hesitation? Why this neglect of precious opportunity? You cast pearls before swine, sir--and by pearls I mean mercy and ruth and all that. They will turn again and rend you. Sir, I repeat----"Here Bob cut in. As a rule he was disposed to humour the Babu, whom he found amusing at times, and whom he believed to be well-intentioned. Now, however, he had neither time nor patience to argue, even if any amount of argument could have made the Bengali understand his point of view."Get back to your stores," he said sternly, and Ditta Lal, who was always abashed and rendered speechless by a rebuff, shuffled off disconsolately.Bob was not disposed to let the two Kalmucks escape altogether. No amount of pluck or cleverness could wipe out his recollection of their crimes. To bring them to justice was a duty he owed himself and the Pathans. Less than a minute after they had disappeared he ordered two of the Sikhs to cross the bridge and pursue them along the track."Don't shoot them: march them back to the mine," he said. "There I will deal with them."The men set off to do his bidding. Meanwhile the four miners of Nurla Bai's escort had remained where they stood when their leader took his plunge. They fell back when they saw the Sikhs approaching them, crying out that they had been ignorant of Nurla's intention. Bob saw no reason to doubt them, but as he sent them back to rejoin their fellows up the river he reflected that he had done wisely in arranging to let only a few men pass at a time.He had little doubt that the two fugitives would be caught. For a distance the stream ran too swiftly for runners on the bank to keep up with it, but farther north, with the widening of the channel, the rate of the current diminished. Then, whether the men continued swimming or climbed up to the track, they would be equally at the mercy of their pursuers. The threat to shoot them could hardly fail to bring about their surrender; while if they trusted to their speed along the track, they would fall into the hands of Lawrence and his party, who must now be very near. He therefore dismissed the crowd, ordered Gur Buksh to keep good watch both up- and down-stream, and returned to the house to snatch a brief nap until his brother arrived.It was a few minutes before five when Chunda Beg woke him, and told him that the chota sahib was at hand. He ran down to the bridge, and saw with great thankfulness that Lawrence and all his party were safe. But he was disappointed to notice that, though the two Sikhs were among them, they were without Nurla Bai.There was great shouting and handshaking among the crowd when the weary men rode over into the compound."Jolly glad to see you, old chap," said Bob to his brother. "You look awfully biffed. Chunda Beg has got a good meal ready for you; just cut into the house and have a rest while I dispose of a little matter in hand--then I'll come and tell you what has been going on."Lawrence was only too glad to rest. He had never in his life felt so utterly tired. The Pathans, too, hardy and capable of long endurance as they were, showed signs of the fatigue of their double march and the fighten route. They took their horses into their own section of the mine, and, throwing themselves on the ground, were soon asleep.Meanwhile Bob was arranging for the passage of the Kalmucks down-stream. He posted half of the Sikhs at the wall, ordering them, without reserve, to fire on the miners if there was any sign of mutiny among them. Then he sent Gur Buksh with the rest to the farther end of the bridge to receive the men's arms as they came up. Just before half-past five the rifle-shot was fired as a signal to the first batch of ten men to approach. Very soon they were seen marching sullenly towards the mine. They had been without food during the day, and hunger is a famous reducing agent. At the bridge they handed over their weapons without demur to the havildar and his Sikhs, and passed on.Within an hour the whole party had been thus disarmed and sent on their way. When the last of them had disappeared, Bob sent a Sikh to bring in the Pathans who had been waiting with such patience up-stream. Dusk had already fallen over the depths of the valley, and it was dark before the men marched over the bridge amid uproarious greetings from their friends.Bob felt that he had reason to be satisfied with his day's work. His brother was back; he was surrounded by Pathans of whose loyalty and devotion he was now assured, and he had got rid peacefully of the malcontents whose presence would have been a continual menace. Only one thing disappointed him: the failure of his men to capture Nurla Bai and Black Jack. The Sikhs had pressed rapidly along the track until they met Lawrence and his party; but neither on land nor water had they caught a glimpse of the fugitives. The Kalmucks had already shown surprising resourcefulness; there could be no doubt that they had discovered some hiding-place in the bank or on the hill-side above the track. As a sportsman, Bob gave them ungrudging admiration: as a soldier he was chagrined, for Nurla Bai not only ought to have received his punishment, but he might have proved a useful hostage in the future.
CHAPTER THE THIRTEENTH
THE REVOLT OF THE KALMUCK MINERS
While Lawrence was thus making his first essays in an apprenticeship to soldiering, his brother had found work to do which outran the little military experience he had gained.
After giving Lawrence the signals agreed on, Bob steered straight up the valley. His mind was very busy during the half-hour's flight to the mine. The management of the aeroplane had become so much a matter of habit and instinct that he was able to give a good deal of attention to his thoughts and imaginings. Telling Fazl to keep a good look-out, he sought to grapple with the strange problems so suddenly thrust upon him.
First and greatest of them all was the meaning of the concentration of troops at the mouth of the valley. He dismissed as patently absurd the idea that their objective was his uncle's mine. The gathering of so large a force for so trifling an end would be like employing a steam-hammer to crack a nut. He could not avoid the conclusion that their presence was quite independent of Nurla Bai, though on the other hand Nurla Bai's actions had probably been calculated with the knowledge or suspicion that a body of his countrymen was at hand.
What then was the explanation of the muster? The direction of their march, and the fact that they had thrown forward an advanced guard into the valley itself, seemed to indicate an intention to proceed through the valley to some further goal. What was that goal? He remembered the intelligence that had come in at odd times, of a levyen masseof the Mongols, and his uncle's suspicion that the Mongolian prince was meditating an attack on Russia. But this was not the way to Russia. Could it be that Afghanistan was the object of an invasion? Bob's knowledge of the geography of the region was not very extensive, but he knew that, if Afghanistan was their objective, this valley was one of the most toilsome and indirect routes they could have chosen. The passes of the Hindu Kush to the westward offered few or no obstacles to an invading force; it was by these passes that the Mongolian hordes had always made their inroads, from the earliest times. Not only would the nature of the valley render the advance of a large army extremely arduous and prolonged; if the invaders should traverse it successfully, they would find themselves at what was probably the most intricate and inaccessible portion of the Amir's dominions. It would be like marching from London to Chester through the Welsh mountains, with every difficulty monstrously exaggerated. Wellington's passage of the Pyrenees was a slight operation compared with it.
What other end could they have in view? The valley ran southward, and led ultimately of course to India, but an invasion of India by this route was too ridiculous to be considered seriously. Ambitious as the Mongol prince was, it was scarcely conceivable that he could entertain such a notion, unless he had taken leave of his senses. The twenty thousand men now encamped at the mouth of the valley would need to be multiplied ten or twenty times before there would be the slightest chance of success. There might, in truth, be many more such army corps massed farther northward; but the task of pushing an invading force, adequate to the undertaking, through the narrow gorges of the valley, where for long stretches three horsemen could not ride abreast, with the necessary artillery, ammunition wagons and commissariat, would prove too much for the most consummate military organizer. It would take so long that a defending force on the north-west frontier could cut up the more advanced sections long before the rest could move up to their support. In short, the whole idea was fantastic, and Bob called himself an ass for even thinking of it.
Giving up this question as beyond his conjecture, Bob bent his mind upon the problem that immediately concerned him. This was a sufficiently hard nut to crack. The Kalmucks, whatever their ultimate intention might be, were clearly to be regarded as enemies. On that point their actions were quite conclusive. Whether he owed their aggressiveness to Nurla Bai or not, they were a menace to the mine and its owners. Nurla Bai would certainly take advantage of their proximity to attempt to capture the settlement, and no doubt could command the assistance of as many men as he needed.
It is not surprising that Bob's heart sank with dismay as he reckoned up the puny force he had to pit against such overwhelming numbers. Of all his people, only the handful of Sikhs were trained to war. The Pathans were warriors by nature, but he doubted how far he could rely on their loyalty. At present, it was true, they were deeply incensed against the Kalmucks; but whether they, if called upon, would take definite sides against their racial enemies in face of the enormous odds arrayed against them, was a matter on which there was room for grave doubt. The Kalmuck labourers at the mine were a further complication. They would certainly make common cause with their own countrymen as soon as these came within striking distance. Alone they out-numbered the Sikhs and Pathans by two to one.
The more Bob thought of all this, the more anxious and depressed he became. He wondered whether it was wise to attempt to stem the human torrent that would soon be pouring up the valley. Would not the better course be to come to terms with the Kalmucks, abandon the mine, and set off with all speed for India? Hitherto, it was true, the enemy had given him no opportunity for negotiating. They had been the aggressors, unprovoked; and his determination hardened when he remembered the fate of Mr. Appleton. But as there was just a possibility that no sort of concert existed between the Kalmuck army and Nurla Bai, the idea of making terms with the former was not wholly negligible.
So far as his immediate duty was concerned, Bob was quite clear in his mind. It was to secure the retreat of Lawrence and his little party. In order to reach the mine they would have to pass the quarters of the Kalmuck miners. The bridge down-stream being broken, Bob could not suppose that Lawrence would be so hotly pursued as to endanger his return. But with temper high among the workers at the mine, some care might be needed to prevent an explosion when the Pathans came up. The first thing to be done was to devise some means by which Lawrence and his men could reach the settlement in safety. Allowing for the difficulties of the track, they could hardly, even though mounted, arrive until late in the afternoon. He had the whole day in which to make his preparations.
Bob did not think out the position as consecutively as his thoughts are presented here. His busy mind flitted from one point to another doubling on itself, as it were. And his reflections were suddenly interrupted by an exclamation from his companion. The Gurkha, having no mental puzzles to work out, had been able to give undivided attention to his master's instructions. As before, his keener eye had detected what Bob, even if less preoccupied, could scarcely have perceived so soon. Far ahead, over the valley, there lay a long dark streak which in a less clear atmosphere than that of this highland region might have been taken for a wisp of cloud. But Fazl made no such mistake.
"Smoke, sahib!" he cried.
The words gave Bob a shiver of apprehension. Was it possible that the mine-buildings were on fire? He felt almost overwhelmed at the thought. With every succeeding second in his swift flight it became more and more likely that this was the explanation. While still many miles distant, he recognized that the smoke must have its origin somewhere at least in the neighbourhood of the mine. Fast as the aeroplane was flying, he wished that for a few minutes he could double its speed. But when at last he opened up the reach of the river bordering the mine, he saw with joy that the smoke was rising, not from the compounds on the right, but from the miners' quarters on the opposite bank.
A slight breeze was blowing from the north-west, carrying the smoke up the valley. In a few more seconds Bob saw that the conflagration was confined to the Pathan portion of the camp. As he turned a slight bend and had a view of the whole settlement, a hasty glance assured him that there was no sign of injury in the mine compounds. Flying on, he noticed a number of figures in the compounds below, apparently the Sikhs on guard. The Kalmuck camp was deserted; between it and the burning huts of the Pathans, and up the bank of the river, he caught sight of a number of prostrate forms here and there. Then above the whirr of the propeller he heard, far in the distance, the sound of firing. It came from up the river. At that moment Bob felt as a small schoolboy feels when suddenly plunged into a new subject--say the binomial theorem before he has mastered quadratic equations. Here was a fresh problem before the others were solved. But he held on his course, wheeled round at the usual place, and flying back alighted once more on his platform.
"Just see to things while I go on," he said to Fazl.
When he was half-way along the cantilever pathway he caught sight of Ditta Lal waddling towards him at a pace dangerous to a man of apoplectic habit.
"Oh, sir," gasped the Babu as they met, "horrors upon horror's head accumulate. Pelion is heaped on Ossa. Misfortunes come, not as single spies, but in battalions."
"What has happened?" said Bob shortly: he was always impatient of the Babu's determination that no one should forget he was a Calcutta B.A.
And then Ditta Lal, driven to brevity by shortness of breath and the difficulty of keeping pace with Bob's long strides, related the occurrences of the past hour.
Very shortly after Bob had left the mine in his aeroplane, when the domestic staff were at breakfast, and the Sikhs were engaged in carrying out his instructions, a clamour had suddenly broken out on the other side of the river. Looking across, they had seen the whole body of Kalmuck miners rushing tumultuously over the neutral ground into the Pathans' quarters. Before Gur Buksh could order his men to fire, the two parties were inextricably mixed. For a few seconds there had been a wild, fierce conflict; then the Pathans, taken by surprise and hopelessly outnumbered, fled like deer up the track, pursued by the Kalmucks. Some of these paused for a little to fire and plunder the Pathans' huts, then sped after their comrades. By this time Gur Buksh had lined his men up near the drawbridge and ordered them to fire at the Kalmucks. Several of them dropped, and there lay with them on the ground a few of the Pathans who, unable to get away in time, had fallen to their enemies' knives.
Gur Buksh had been ordered not to leave the mine with his men, and true to his military discipline he had obeyed his instructions to the letter. But Chunda Beg had sent over some of the servants to bring in the wounded men, among whom were several Kalmucks. The former were now being tended in the outhouses; the latter were locked up in one of the sheds. Meanwhile the Pathans and their pursuers had disappeared along the track. Ever since, sounds of firing had been heard intermittently, growing fainter and fainter. It was clear that the Pathans were still in retreat, and also that, in spite of the surprise, some of them at least had managed to snatch up their arms before they ran. By this time they must be several miles away.
"What was the cause of the outbreak?" asked Bob.
Ditta Lal could only suggest that it was due to sudden madness inspired by the Furies. Bob left him, to consult the havildar. He was utterly perplexed. It seemed as though there were electric communication between the Kalmuck miners and their countrymen down-stream, for they could not have heard already of what had happened forty miles away.
It was not merely perplexing, but a staggering blow. Bob had reckoned on employing the Pathans to garrison the mine if resistance should be considered possible, or at least on forming a compact body to accompany his retreat if he should feel it necessary to abandon the place. Apparently they were now hopelessly dispersed, and he could not help thinking that such of them as escaped the guns of their pursuers would hasten up the valley towards their homes. At that moment he almost made up his mind that his only course was to follow them as quickly as he could: the defence of the mine seemed utterly impossible.
Then another element of the situation forced itself upon his tired brain. The Kalmucks, when they had driven the Pathans away, would doubtless return. If they were allowed to get past the mine, Lawrence and his party would be completely cut off. They could scarcely arrive before nightfall; there was ample time for the Kalmucks to hurry back, and force their way past, even though the rifles of the Sikhs might account for some of them. The interception of Lawrence must be prevented at all costs, and in the necessity of devising some means to this end Bob had no leisure to acquaint Gur Buksh with his morning's discovery.
"We must keep the Kalmucks off till Lawrence Sahib is back," he said. "How can we do it?"
"Bring the machine gun to the south wall, sahib," replied the old Sikh.
"Yes; you'll have to make an embrasure. The gun will command the track for half a mile along the straight, and they won't face it. There's another thing, havildar. Send some men over to the other side to bring in all the food they can collect, and any arms they may find. The horses too: there are only three or four left, and we must make shift to keep them on this side. Just set about it at once."
The havildar saluted and withdrew.
Bob lighted a cigarette, and paced up and down, thinking hard. If only Major Endicott or some other experienced soldier were at hand to advise! He felt weighed down by his responsibilities; yet beneath all his anxieties, there was a large reserve of courage and resolution. He watched the Sikhs dragging the machine gun across the compound. Undoubtedly it would check the Kalmucks as they marched back towards the mine. But he wondered whether it would be wise to use it. It would cost many lives; the slaughter of the miners would infuriate their fellow-countrymen, and destroy any chance there might be of making terms with them. Yet there seemed no other means of assuring his brother's safe return.
Following in imagination the pursuit along the river bank, he thought of the Pathans and their fate. He listened for rifle-shots; but the sounds had ceased. By this time, no doubt, the chase had gone beyond hearing. Perhaps it had ceased; perhaps the Pathans were all slaughtered by their more numerous foes; perhaps the Kalmucks were content to have driven them away, and the survivors were trudging a weary march to the borders of their own land. What would their fate be? They had no food: the country was barren: they must surely fall a prey to fatigue, exposure and famine, or to hostile tribesen route, long before they could hope for hospitality. This dismal prospect made Bob very uncomfortable. After all, these men were the most loyal and law-abiding of his uncle's workers; it seemed cruel to let them go without lifting a hand to help them. Yet what could he do? No doubt if he were to lead the Sikhs to pursue the Kalmucks in their turn, with their military training, few as they were, they might crush the undisciplined rabble. But he dared not thus leave the mine ungarrisoned. It would be long, indeed, before the Kalmucks could arrive from the north unless the unexpected happened; but so many unexpected and inexplicable things had happened during the last twenty-four hours that he could not take any action that would involve risk either to Lawrence or to the non-combatants at the mine.
As he paced to and fro, watching the Sikhs going quickly about their work, and the servants returning over the drawbridge, laden with what they had gathered from the miners' quarters, it occurred to him suddenly that if only the aeroplane were equipped for war some of his difficulties would be solved. He had intended to qualify for the aerial corps in the British army, but that dream was over: flying had been to him merely a sport. Could he have foreseen the strange circumstances of the last few days, he would have adapted his machine, not merely for pleasure trips and observation, but for actual offence.
One idea leads to another, and next minute Bob was asking himself whether even now he could not make an attempt to turn the aeroplane to military uses. A few bombs dropped among or near the Kalmucks would put an effective check upon their pursuit of the Pathans. He had no bombs; could he improvise some? There was plenty of dynamite in the little recess behind the house. And in another moment a plan flashed upon his mind. Flinging away the end of his cigarette he hurried to Ditta Lal's store shed.
"Babu, have you got any small empty tins?" he asked, bursting into the room.
Ditta Lal jumped.
"My nerves are in terrible state, sir," he said. "Tins! Yes, to be sure: coffee, preserved pears, condensed milk, sardines--or more correctly, bristlings: tins of all sorts, quite an embarrassment."
"Get me a dozen or two tins with lids: there are several tobacco tins in the house. Fill them nearly to the top with small stones, with a few percussion caps among them: you'll get them from the havildar. Be as quick as you can."
"Pardon me, sir, are you intending to lay a mine, floating or otherwise?"
Bob had not waited for the conclusion of the question, but hurried to the little private store behind the house, from which he returned presently with a quantity of dynamite. The Babu was too slow for him. He sent Chunda Beg and Shan Tai hunting for tins, and as they were prepared according to his directions, he carefully filled them up with dynamite and securely fastened the lids. When he had fifteen ready, he put them into a basket, and carried them himself along the pathway to the aeroplane. Fazl had meanwhile got everything ready for another flight.
"You know what a bomb is, Fazl?" said Bob.
The Gurkha grinned.
"Well, these tins are bombs. Put them just below your seat: take care not to drop one. We are going up the river: give me the tins one by one as I ask for them."
They started. For the first mile or two Bob kept very low over the river, seeing here and there, at long intervals, traces of the fight waged between the Pathans and the Kalmucks--figures lying prone and motionless, others sitting with their backs against the rocks, one or two limping painfully along. Presently he heard the dull cracks of rifles, though as yet he could not see the combatants. As the sounds grew louder, he rose higher: with his explosive cargo on board it was more than ever necessary that he should keep out of range. Experience had already shown him that the aeroplane in full flight was a very difficult object to hit with ordinary weapons; but nothing must be left to chance now.
CHAPTER THE FOURTEENTH
RALLYING THE PATHANS
Six or seven miles above the mine the gorge contracted, leaving a space that barely exceeded twice the breadth of the aeroplane. In his first flights along the river Bob had felt rather nervous in threading this narrow passage. It was here that he found the two parties of miners. He reduced the speed of the aeroplane as much as he could, and at the altitude to which he had now ascended he was able to get a pretty good general view of the position of affairs as he flew over. It was impossible to distinguish details. The figures of the men were like dots on a map. The track and the adjacent ground seemed absolutely flat and level, though Bob knew that it was really much broken, and of constantly varying height. But he made rapid inferences from what he saw, and by the time he had passed over both the parties of combatants he was in no doubt as to his course of action.
What he saw was, up-stream, a small group, stationary, in the narrowest part of the valley: some little distance from them, down-stream, a larger group, also stationary, and a number of scattered individuals, moving southward, looking like flies crawling slowly over a dish, but all in the same direction. The inference he drew from these observations was that the Pathans, having been kept on the run to this point, had taken advantage of the nature of the ground to turn at bay, either in desperation, or to snatch a rest before continuing their retreat: and that the Kalmucks had separated, one party holding the track, the other scaling the hill-side above in order to turn the Pathans' flank. At the moment of his passing over he heard a faint crackle like the rustling of paper, and saw puffs of smoke among each band of combatants. The men were firing briskly, no doubt from behind the shelter of rocks.
It was obvious that there could be but one end to this fight. The Kalmucks were much the more numerous. While the Pathans might very probably repulse a direct attack if their ammunition lasted, they could have no defence against the men creeping round upon their flank. Within a short time they would be surrounded, unless, indeed, they perceived the flanking movement and beat a hasty retreat. Even then they would be in danger of annihilation, for the Kalmucks could rush the position they had evacuated, and from behind the rocks sweep the southward track with their fire. Unless a diversion were almost instantly made, the Pathans were doomed.
By the time that Bob had realized this necessity for intervention he was half a mile south of the position, in a wider stretch of the gorge. He wheeled round, flew back at full speed through the bottle-neck, then wheeled again at the northward end. It seemed to him that the crackling of rifle fire was now more continuous: the Pathans had in fact taken heart on seeing the machine soaring high above them, and were defending themselves with renewed vigour. The chota sahib was with them! They knew not what he could do for them, but his mere presence gave them hope and courage.
Bob saw that in order to carry out his plan successfully he must descend. He had had no practice in bomb dropping. No amount of theoretical knowledge of the velocity of falling bodies under the action of gravity, or of the curve made by a body moving under both horizontal and vertical forces, could avail him now. There was great risk of the aeroplane or its occupants being hit if the Kalmucks fired at them, but he felt that he must take his chance. Swooping down, and reducing speed at the same time, he steered so as to pass, at the height of a few hundred feet, as exactly as possible over the heads of the party skirmishing up the hill-side.
They were in loose order. At closer quarters Bob was now able to see that they were taking advantage of all the cover furnished by the crags and protuberances of the rocky slope. Steering with one hand, he called to Fazl to give him one of the tins, which he poised in his other hand. He still felt a shrinking from bloodshed, and instead of dropping the bomb in the midst of the Kalmucks, he waited until he had just passed the man nearest to the Pathans, then let it fall. In a few seconds it struck the ground. There was a sharp report, and Fazl, looking back, cried out that the Kalmucks were almost hidden by an immense cloud of dust. The sound of rifle fire ceased, and a strange quiet fell upon the gorge.
"Have they stopped?" asked Bob.
"Yes, sahib. One has gone back: they are talking among the rocks."
"They've got something to talk about," thought Bob.
He felt that this bolt from the blue, falling upon them at such a dramatic moment, must have startled the Kalmucks, and would almost certainly cause them to modify their plans. As miners they would realize the nature of the bomb dropped within a few yards of them, and the danger to which they were exposed when dynamite was rained upon them from the sky. The first bomb might be followed by others, and though it had done them no hurt, its successors might not so fortunately spare them. Bob had no doubt that he could count upon an interval of inaction while they were reckoning up the new situation, and determined to seize the opportunity of communicating with the Pathans. Accordingly he flew southward along the gorge until he reached a spot where the track widened sufficiently to afford a landing-place, and then sank to earth. It was out of sight from both Pathans and Kalmucks.
"Come along with me," he said to Fazl.
He took his revolver and rifle, and hastened back along the track, followed by Fazl with his kukuri. There was still no resumption of the firing. As he walked, he scanned the hill-side anxiously, but saw no sign of the Kalmucks. Slipping along close to the base of the rocky cliff he presently caught sight of the turbans of two or three of the Pathans, who were peering over the top of a rock two hundred yards away, evidently looking for the return of the aeroplane.
"Can you call to them without letting the Kalmucks hear?" he asked of Fazl.
"I can, sahib."
"Then ask one of them to slip down and meet me."
The Gurkha made a slight clucking in his throat, at which the Pathans lifted their heads and looked eagerly along the path. Then Fazl held up one finger, and beckoned. The heads disappeared, and in a moment two of the Pathans came round the corner of the rock.
"Only one," said Bob.
Fazl made them understand by gestures. One of the men returned, the other came on.
"Allah is great, sahib!" he said in his own tongue as he met Bob. "But why is the sahib on foot? A few more such thunderbolts would send the dogs to Jehannum: have you no more in the wonderful machine?"
Bob wished that he had Lawrence's facility in picking up strange languages. Fortunately Fazl could act as interpreter. He first asked the man if he could explain the sudden outbreak of the Kalmucks. The Pathan thought that no explanation was necessary: it was due to their own vile passions and the presence of Nurla Bai.
"Nurla Bai!" exclaimed Bob. "Is he among them?"
"Of a truth he is, sahib, and his black monkey too."
To Bob this was incomprehensible. Nurla Bai and his man, when last he heard of them, were forty miles and more down-stream. But he had no leisure for guessing: the situation demanded all his thoughts.
"What are you going to do?" he asked.
"We are going to our homes, sahib," replied the man. "The dogs are too many for us. We did but stop to take a little rest, and kill a few. We cannot go back to the mine: the talk is that the huzur is gone; who will pay us now? We go to our own country, and some day will come back and deal with these children of Shaitan. Not a man of them shall be left alive. But now we can do nothing; it is vain to kick against the goad. If the sahib had more little boxes we might kill them all; but he has none, or he would not be here."
Bob felt himself in a difficulty. He wanted to retain the Pathans; but in their present temper they would not be likely to remain with him if they knew that a huge army was advancing up-stream. On the other hand it would not be fair to withhold that information from them, and bring them back to the mine under false pretences. Reflecting rapidly for a few moments he determined to make a clean breast of it, but to lead up to the important point as diplomatically as he could.
"Have you any food?" he asked.
"Bismillah, sahib, we are empty as bladders. The dogs fell upon us even as we were filling our pots for the morning meal. We have eaten nothing."
"And what will you do for food on the way home? Is it a smiling country? Does millet grow on the rocks? Will you find grapes on thorn bushes?"
"True, sahib," said the man uneasily: "but there are ibex and other clean animals for our guns."
"You have plenty of ammunition then?"
"Enough to shoot beasts for our food."
"And to shoot the Kalmucks too? If I cannot stop them, and they pursue you, you will have no time to shoot ibex, and no bullets to waste. And you may meet enemies in the hills. You may be caught between two fires, and, outnumbered as you are already, you will be slaughtered like sheep."
The Pathan looked more and more troubled.
"I will go and talk to my brothers," he said. "With many counsellors there is wisdom."
"No, that won't do. You would waste a lot of time, and perhaps wrangle. You must act as head man, and what you and I decide the others will do."
"What does the sahib order?"
"I order nothing. I want you to make up your own mind. Now listen. I see a way to bring you out of your present awkward position, and take you safely back to the mine. You do not know that Lawrence Sahib with Fyz Ali and the rest is in danger."
"Mashallah, sahib, what is this you tell?"
"We were attacked yesterday at the bridge down-stream, and beat off the enemy. Lawrence Sahib had to keep guard all night: he may have been attacked again, but he is now marching back."
"And who was the enemy, sahib? Only Nurla Bai and his monkey left the mine, and they are now among the dogs that have been barking at us beyond."
"The enemy are a large force of Kalmucks, a great army, who are coming up the valley, for what purpose I know not."
"Hai, sahib, but then there is the more need for us to go!"
"Yes, if you are willing to be cowards and faithless. Must I believe that you will sneak off and leave your comrades to face danger alone?"
The man was silent, plucking his beard. Bob offered him a cigarette, which the man accepted mechanically, lighting it at the match with which Bob lit his own.
"Is it a great army, sahib?" he said at length.
"A very great one. Very likely we shall find it impossible to save the mine. It is true that the huzur is gone: Nurla Bai shot him; he fell from the machine into the river, and I have no hope that he is yet alive. But his loss only leaves the more for us to do. We must first save Lawrence Sahib and your friends. When we are all met again, we can decide what is best. Perhaps we shall have to abandon the mine; but then, you see, we shall form one large party, with plenty of provisions and cartridges; and you will have a much better chance of reaching your homes than if you go as you are, hungry, with no food, and little hope of defending yourselves if attacked by enemies in the hills."
The Pathan puffed away gravely.
"There is truth in what the sahib says. He has a very big mind, and sees very far. We Pathans are not cowards, as the sahib knows; Fyz Ali is a good man, and the chota sahib will be a great man when his beard is grown. But how can we go back? As the sahib says, we are but a handful against the pack of dogs yonder, and the sahib has no more little boxes."
"I didn't say so. As a matter of fact, I have several."
"Inshallah!" cried the man joyfully. "Why did not the sahib say so before? If the sahib will go up in his machine, and drop the little boxes upon the heads of the Kalmucks, we will charge home upon them with great fury, and there shall not be left one man alive to tell the tale."
Bob knew that it would be useless to attempt to make the man understand why he could not consent to this wholesale butchery. He merely pointed out that, flying swiftly overhead, he could only drop one or perhaps two bombs that would certainly hit the enemy. The survivors would be goaded to desperation, and before the aeroplane could return and the manoeuvre be repeated, there would be a terrible fight, in which the Pathans, even if successful, would lose heavily.
"What I want to do is to gather all the loyal men safely at the mine," he said. "I do not want to lose one of you. I can do this, I believe, if you obey my orders: otherwise who knows how many of you will be left alive?"
"As the sahib commands," said the Pathan.
"This is what I command. You will remain here with your men while I drive the Kalmucks away. You will not fire upon them unless you are yourselves attacked. Impress that upon the men. When the Kalmucks are out of sight, you may march up towards the mine, but halt if you come in sight of them again."
"I will give the sahib's orders to the men," said the Pathan. "I hope the sahib will drive the dogs away quickly, for we are very hungry."
He salaamed and returned to his companions, who had been keeping one eye on the enemy, the other on the curious scene two hundred yards up-stream. It was indeed a strange position: the two men calmly smoking and discussing their plans, while at no great distance lurked a ferocious band ready to leap to the attack at any moment. They too had been consulting together, but their imagination was not active enough to lead them to any satisfactory conclusion. The dynamite bomb had been intended to check them: that was evident; and they decided that it would be wise to wait patiently for developments. Nurla Bai was very much annoyed. He had undergone great exertions and endured much fatigue to achieve his object--the slaughter or dispersal of the Pathans; and it was exasperating to find himself at a check just when he had them at his mercy, through the ingenuity of an Englishman and the astounding swiftness of his flying machine. He began to wish that, instead of picking up bits of rock in the gallery on that dark night, he had made his way to the platform and done some vital damage to the aeroplane. Perhaps a lucky shot would bring it down when it again passed over the position. But he hoped there would be no more dynamite bombs.
CHAPTER THE FIFTEENTH
NURLA BAI SLIPS THE NOOSE
And now began the strangest game of chevy chase that was ever played. In a few minutes Bob and the Gurkha were flying northward. As they approached the area upon which the Kalmucks were assembled, Bob steered to the right, so as to cross the position obliquely. Some of the men were in the act of covering the aeroplane with their rifles, when the sight of a bright red object descending from the sky struck them with a sort of paralysis. The coffee tin fell almost midway between them and the Pathans. Dust and splinters of rock flew in all directions, and the Kalmucks, with one consent, scampered along the track towards the mine. Bob listened for rifle-shots; he knew that the Pathans' obedience would be put to a severe test when they saw their enemies in flight. Not a shot was fired.
The Kalmucks did not yet perceive the real object which Bob had in view. After running a short distance, they halted again, unable to decide whether it was safer to advance or retreat. When they saw the aeroplane soaring towards them from the northward, they broke apart, each man striving to find some crevice or nook among the rocks where he might shelter himself. All believed that the Englishman's purpose was slaughter. But when another bomb was dropped on their southward side, not near enough to do them harm, some of them, as they ran, began to suspect the meaning of the device. For three or four miles they were thus driven down the track. Wherever the gorge was wide enough, Bob wheeled backwards and forwards across it in their rear, swooping down whenever he saw them lagging, with the result that they did not wait for another bomb, but hurried along like a flock of frightened sheep. Once or twice they took shots at the aeroplane, but gave it up when it was patent that their marksmanship was unequal to the feat of hitting the flying target. And all the time the Pathans marched steadily behind them, much amused at the sahib's method of shepherding, but a little chagrined because they were not allowed to assist.
Meanwhile Bob had been thinking out his further proceedings. He must not let the Kalmucks draw too close to the mine. Lawrence could not arrive yet for several hours; it was important that he should come safely home without a collision with the enemy. When, therefore, they had arrived within about two miles of the mine, he decided that it was time to arrest their course. They could no longer be in doubt about the meaning of his signals hitherto--he would give them another. Flying ahead, then wheeling round, he dropped a tin, this time in front of them. At the explosion they halted, and after a brief consultation began to move on. Another bomb, falling in front again, but now a little closer, conveyed its warning; like fog signals on a railway-line, these explosions plainly indicated that the track was not clear. They halted again, and posted themselves behind rocks, facing up-stream, to guard against attack by the Pathans.
How long they would remain stationary Bob could not tell; but he thought he had them sufficiently well in hand to give him time to fly to the mine and act on another idea that had occurred to him. On reaching the house, he ordered Shan Tai to put up in two or three baskets a quantity of food, then scribbled a note bidding Lawrence push forward at his utmost speed. This he placed under the lid of a tin weighted with stones, but free from caps or dynamite. Then telling Gur Buksh to keep a careful watch on the track southward, and fire if the Kalmucks showed themselves at the turn half a mile away, he went back to the aeroplane, carrying the tin, and set off down the river. He was anxious that Lawrence should arrive before dark. In the daylight the dynamite bombs might be relied on to bar the road to the Kalmucks; but they might easily take advantage of the darkness to slip past the mine, if not by the track, at any rate by the hill-path above, and the bombs would lose half their terrors. The possibility of a collision between the Kalmucks and his brother's party filled him with anxiety; for the former, infuriated by their chevying, would wreak their vengeance upon the smaller band coming up-stream.
Bob discovered Lawrence and his men taking a rest about half-way between the mine and the broken bridge. They greeted him with a cheer. He flew for some minutes up- and down-stream in the search for a landing-place, but the track being too narrow here, and the neighbourhood too rugged, he swooped down, and as he passed over the group, he got Fazl to drop his tin within a few feet of them. The Gurkha uttered a cry of incredulous amazement when he heard the order, but Bob hastily explained that the tin contained only a chit. Too busy himself with steering to watch the result, Bob asked Fazl what had happened, and he reported that the tin, rolling down the bank towards the river, had been retrieved by Lawrence Sahib himself.
Bob flew straight back to the mine, thence over the Kalmucks, who were still halted where he had left them, and beyond them to the Pathans. The country was here much less rugged, but it was some little time before he found a spot where he could alight without risk, nearly half a mile south of the party. On landing, he and Fazl between them carried the baskets of food to the Pathans.
"The sahib is a light to our eyes," said the head man. "The men were becoming restless."
"I dare say. Well, here is some food for them. This will keep up their courage. I am glad to see that they have obeyed my orders, and before long I hope we shall all be safe at the mine."
"Allah be praised!" cried the man. "Food is what we need, and my brothers will delight in the sahib's care."
Indeed, Bob could have hit upon no more effective means of attaching the Pathans to his cause. This evidence of the sahib's thoughtfulness profoundly impressed the men, and as they made ravenous onslaught on their rations they were loud in praise of their young master, whom it was good to serve.
By this time Bob was very tired of his continual journeys up and down the river; his petrol, too, was running low, and it was with a feeling of great relief that he set off on what was to be his last flight for many a day. When Lawrence had returned, Bob meant to hold a serious consultation with him as to the possibility of holding the mine. If it were decided that this was hopeless, he would have to make immediate arrangements for evacuation. The thought of leaving the aeroplane gave him a pang. That he must leave it seemed inevitable, for he felt that his presence would be necessary as leader of the march. He might, indeed, fly miles ahead, alight, and wait for his little force to reach him; but it seemed more important to share his brother's difficulties than to secure the safety of the aeroplane.
After replacing the machine in its shed, he returned to the house and called for dinner. For several hours there was nothing to be done. When he had finished his meal, he lit his pipe and settled himself in an easy chair to think over the position. It was the first opportunity of rest and quiet meditation since Nurla Bai's defection had so fatally disturbed the peaceful life of the settlement. Of his uncle he could now think only as of one irrevocably lost. It was the end of mining in the Hindu Kush. Whatever the immediate future might bring forth, it was clear that Lawrence and he must seek some other career. And when he reckoned up the chances, he felt more and more doubtful whether either of them would escape from this valley of tragedy with their lives.
Yet Fate had been kind to them, even through the instrumentality of Nurla Bai. But for that man's villainy, there would have been no pursuit down the river, no discovery of the army encamped forty miles away. They would have had no warning of the approach of this great host, and defence and flight would have been equally impossible. Such chances as they had of weathering the storm were due to Nurla Bai.
Bob's thoughts centred on that wily Kalmuck. His presence among the men halted half a mile off was puzzling. Bob did not guess that Nurla Bai and his henchman had been among a band who had crossed the river in the night, and attacked Lawrence and his Pathans. These two men alone of the party had not recrossed when the rest were beaten back. They had slipped up the bank under cover of the darkness, and marched all night along the track. Warned by the sound of horses' hoofs they had hidden until the Pathan reinforcements had passed, then hurried on to the mine. Arriving there at dawn, they had instigated the attack on the Pathans, of whom Nurla Bai had led the pursuit.
The knowledge that the Kalmuck was within half a mile of him suggested to Bob the possibility of capturing him and bringing him to justice. The punishment of the offender would do more than anything else to tighten the bonds between himself and the Pathans. Remembering the Kalmuck prisoners whom Gur Buksh had taken, Bob hit on a plan for getting Nurla Bai into his power. He would send one of them as a herald to the miners, promising to allow them to depart northwards if they would deliver up their arms and hand over Nurla Bai and Black Jack. With the Sikhs on one side of them, and on the other the Pathans, eager for an opportunity to wipe off old scores, they must recognize their helplessness, and probably would be willing to purchase the safety of the whole band at so cheap a price.
About two o'clock in the afternoon, therefore, Bob sent for one of the prisoners, and with Fazl as interpreter, gave him his instructions. If the terms offered were accepted, Nurla Bai and his man were to come to the mine under escort of not more than four of the party, unarmed. The drawbridge was lowered, and raised again after the man had departed on his errand.
Bob waited patiently for the result of this mission. Lawrence ought to arrive about four o'clock, by hard marching. By that time the Kalmucks should have made up their minds. Of course, under Nurla Bai's influence, they might reject his terms, preferring to wait for darkness to give them an opportunity of creeping past without surrendering either their leader or their arms. In either case Lawrence would then be safe, and the doings of the Kalmucks need give him no further concern. Nurla Bai would escape his deserts, but that could not be helped.
Less than an hour after the envoy's departure, a group of six men were seen approaching the mine from the Kalmucks' encampment. In a few minutes Bob was able to recognize among them Nurla Bai and Black Jack. Somewhat surprised, after all, at their compliance, he congratulated himself on the satisfactory working of his plan. It was not long, however, before he saw that his jubilation was premature. The men were apparently unarmed, but calling Gur Buksh to his side, Bob ordered him as a precautionary measure to place the Sikhs at the inner end of the bridge, and cover the Kalmucks with their rifles, so as to guard against treachery. The whole staff of domestic servants and the few Pathans left at the mine assembled in the compound to watch the proceedings. Bob ordered the Pathans to lay aside their rifles, for their rage against Nurla Bai was such that he could not trust them to refrain from firing on their foe, even though he was unarmed.
The Kalmucks came opposite the bridge. At Bob's command Fazl shouted his instructions across the river. When the drawbridge was lowered, Nurla Bai and his man were to cross. The escort were to return to their companions, and explain that later on, at a signal given by rifle-shots, they were to come forward ten at a time, hand their weapons to the Sikhs stationed at the bridge end to receive them, and pass down the track. The miners made no response, but stood motionless on the farther bank.
At a word from Bob, the bridge-man turned his windlass, and the bridge, with much creaking, began slowly to descend. The end had almost reached the platform on which it rested when, with a suddenness that took everybody by surprise, Nurla Bai and Black Jack dived off the bank into the river, sheltered by the descending bridge. Next moment several rifle-shots rang out; the Sikhs had fired, rather because they felt that they must do something than because there was any real chance of hitting the fugitives. Then they ran along by the wall, to watch for the two men to reappear.
Bob followed them; the crowd of servants and Pathans, shouting with excitement, rushed in the same direction. Ditta Lal waddled breathless in the rear.
At this, the narrowest part of the valley for many miles, the current rushed through the gorge like a mill-race. Nurla Bai had chosen his moment well, reckoning on the rapidity of the stream to bear him out of harm's way. Some seconds passed before a black head was seen bobbing on the surface of the swirling flood a hundred and fifty yards away.
"Don't fire!" shouted Bob.
He was only in the nick of time, for the Sikhs already had their rifles at the shoulder, pointed at the black object in the water. With soldierly obedience they kept their fingers from the trigger, though they were amazed at the order. Bob was astonished at himself. His command had been almost involuntary; only after he had spoken was he conscious of the motive impelling him. It was a sportsman's admiration for pluck and resourcefulness. Of course the Kalmucks had tricked him, but he was young enough to admire their courage more than he resented their trickery.
In another moment the head had disappeared. It was now too late to change his mind, even if he had wished it.
"They are gone!" screamed the Babu. "Sir, you have allowed them to bunk. Why this fatal hesitation? Why this neglect of precious opportunity? You cast pearls before swine, sir--and by pearls I mean mercy and ruth and all that. They will turn again and rend you. Sir, I repeat----"
Here Bob cut in. As a rule he was disposed to humour the Babu, whom he found amusing at times, and whom he believed to be well-intentioned. Now, however, he had neither time nor patience to argue, even if any amount of argument could have made the Bengali understand his point of view.
"Get back to your stores," he said sternly, and Ditta Lal, who was always abashed and rendered speechless by a rebuff, shuffled off disconsolately.
Bob was not disposed to let the two Kalmucks escape altogether. No amount of pluck or cleverness could wipe out his recollection of their crimes. To bring them to justice was a duty he owed himself and the Pathans. Less than a minute after they had disappeared he ordered two of the Sikhs to cross the bridge and pursue them along the track.
"Don't shoot them: march them back to the mine," he said. "There I will deal with them."
The men set off to do his bidding. Meanwhile the four miners of Nurla Bai's escort had remained where they stood when their leader took his plunge. They fell back when they saw the Sikhs approaching them, crying out that they had been ignorant of Nurla's intention. Bob saw no reason to doubt them, but as he sent them back to rejoin their fellows up the river he reflected that he had done wisely in arranging to let only a few men pass at a time.
He had little doubt that the two fugitives would be caught. For a distance the stream ran too swiftly for runners on the bank to keep up with it, but farther north, with the widening of the channel, the rate of the current diminished. Then, whether the men continued swimming or climbed up to the track, they would be equally at the mercy of their pursuers. The threat to shoot them could hardly fail to bring about their surrender; while if they trusted to their speed along the track, they would fall into the hands of Lawrence and his party, who must now be very near. He therefore dismissed the crowd, ordered Gur Buksh to keep good watch both up- and down-stream, and returned to the house to snatch a brief nap until his brother arrived.
It was a few minutes before five when Chunda Beg woke him, and told him that the chota sahib was at hand. He ran down to the bridge, and saw with great thankfulness that Lawrence and all his party were safe. But he was disappointed to notice that, though the two Sikhs were among them, they were without Nurla Bai.
There was great shouting and handshaking among the crowd when the weary men rode over into the compound.
"Jolly glad to see you, old chap," said Bob to his brother. "You look awfully biffed. Chunda Beg has got a good meal ready for you; just cut into the house and have a rest while I dispose of a little matter in hand--then I'll come and tell you what has been going on."
Lawrence was only too glad to rest. He had never in his life felt so utterly tired. The Pathans, too, hardy and capable of long endurance as they were, showed signs of the fatigue of their double march and the fighten route. They took their horses into their own section of the mine, and, throwing themselves on the ground, were soon asleep.
Meanwhile Bob was arranging for the passage of the Kalmucks down-stream. He posted half of the Sikhs at the wall, ordering them, without reserve, to fire on the miners if there was any sign of mutiny among them. Then he sent Gur Buksh with the rest to the farther end of the bridge to receive the men's arms as they came up. Just before half-past five the rifle-shot was fired as a signal to the first batch of ten men to approach. Very soon they were seen marching sullenly towards the mine. They had been without food during the day, and hunger is a famous reducing agent. At the bridge they handed over their weapons without demur to the havildar and his Sikhs, and passed on.
Within an hour the whole party had been thus disarmed and sent on their way. When the last of them had disappeared, Bob sent a Sikh to bring in the Pathans who had been waiting with such patience up-stream. Dusk had already fallen over the depths of the valley, and it was dark before the men marched over the bridge amid uproarious greetings from their friends.
Bob felt that he had reason to be satisfied with his day's work. His brother was back; he was surrounded by Pathans of whose loyalty and devotion he was now assured, and he had got rid peacefully of the malcontents whose presence would have been a continual menace. Only one thing disappointed him: the failure of his men to capture Nurla Bai and Black Jack. The Sikhs had pressed rapidly along the track until they met Lawrence and his party; but neither on land nor water had they caught a glimpse of the fugitives. The Kalmucks had already shown surprising resourcefulness; there could be no doubt that they had discovered some hiding-place in the bank or on the hill-side above the track. As a sportsman, Bob gave them ungrudging admiration: as a soldier he was chagrined, for Nurla Bai not only ought to have received his punishment, but he might have proved a useful hostage in the future.