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Jack Archer: A Tale of the Crimea

by G. A. Henty · English · Gutenberg #11058 · 554,356 chars · public domain (US)

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Title: Jack Archer: A Tale of the Crimea

Author: G. A. Henty


        
Release date: February 1, 2004 [eBook #11058]
                Most recently updated: October 28, 2024

Language: English

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JACK ARCHER: A TALE OF THE CRIMEA ***

JACK ARCHER

A Tale of the Crimea

By G. A. HENTY

Author of "The Boy Knight," "With Clive in India,"
"True to the Old Flag," Etc., Etc.




CONTENTS

Chapter I.     The Midshipman
Chapter II.    An Adventure at Gib
Chapter III.   The Escape
Chapter IV.    Gallipoli
Chapter V.     A Brush with the Enemy
Chapter VI.    The Alma
Chapter VII.   Before Sebastopol
Chapter VIII.  Balaklava
Chapter IX.    Inkerman
Chapter X.     The Great Storm
Chapter XI.    Taken Prisoners
Chapter XII.   Prisoners on Parole
Chapter XIII.  A Nominal Imprisonment
Chapter XIV.   A Suspected Household
Chapter XV.    A Struggle for Life
Chapter XVI.   An Escape from Prison
Chapter XVII.  A Journey in Disguise
Chapter XVIII. The Polish Insurgents
Chapter XIX.   To the Rescue
Chapter XX.    In a Lion's Den
Chapter XXI.   Back at the Front
Chapter XXII.  The Repulse at the Redan
Chapter XXIII. The Battle of the Tchernaya
Chapter XXIV.  A Fortunate Storm
Chapter XXV.   The Capture of Sebastopol
Chapter XXVI.  Conclusion




CHAPTER I.


THE MIDSHIPMAN

The first day of term cannot be considered a cheerful occasion. As the
boys arrive on the previous evening, they have so much to tell each
other, are so full of what they have been doing, that the chatter and
laughter are as great as upon the night preceding the breaking-up. In
the morning, however, all this is changed. As they take their places
at their desks and open their books, a dull, heavy feeling takes
possession of the boys, and the full consciousness that they are at
the beginning of another half year's work weighs heavily on their
minds.

It is true enough that the half year will have its play, too, its
matches, with their rivalry and excitement. But at present it is the
long routine of lessons which is most prominent in the minds of the
lads who are sitting on the long benches of the King's School,
Canterbury.

As a whole, however, these have not great reason for sadness. Not more
than a third of them are boarders, and the rest, who have in truth,
for the last week, begun to be tired of their holidays, will, when
they once get out of school, and begin to choose sides for football,
be really glad that the term has again commenced.

"So your brother is not coming back again, Archer?" one of the boys
said to a lad of some fifteen years old, a merry, curly-haired fellow,
somewhat short for his age, but square-shouldered and sturdy.

"No. He is expecting in another six months to get his commission, and
is going up to town to study with a coach. My father has lodged the
money for him, and hopes to get him gazetted to his old regiment, the
33d."

"What is he going to a coach for? There is no examination, is there?
And if there was, I should think he could pass it. He has been in the
sixth for the last year."

"Oh, he is all right enough," Archer said. "But my father is sending
him to an army man to get up military drawing and fortification. Dad
says it is of no use his going on grinding here at Greek and Latin,
and that he had much better spend the time, till he gets his
commission, in learning something that may be of use to him. I wish I
had done with Latin and Greek too, I'm sure they'll never be of any
use to me, and I hate them."

At this moment the conversation between the boys was abruptly broken
off by Archer being called up by the class master.

"Archer," he said, looking up from the papers on the desk before him,
"these verses are disgraceful. Of all in the holiday tasks sent in,
yours appears to me to be the worst."

"I'm very sorry, sir," Jack Archer said, "I really tried hard to do
them, but somehow or other the quantities never will come right."

"I don't know what you call trying hard, Archer, but it's utterly
impossible, if you had taken the trouble to look the words out in
the Gradus, that you could have made such mistakes as those here."

"I don't know, sir," Jack answered. "I can do exercises and
translations and all that sort of thing well enough, but I always
break down with verses, and I don't see what good they are, except
for fellows who want to write Latin verses for tombstones."

"That has nothing to do with it," the master said; "and I am not going
to discuss the utility of verses with you. I shall report you to Dr.
Wallace, and if you will not work in your holidays, you will have to
do so in your play-hours."

Jack retired to his seat, and for the next ten minutes indulged in a
diatribe against classical learning in general, and hexameters and
pentameters in particular.

Presently one of the sixth form came down to where Jack was sitting,--

"Archer, Dr. Wallace wants you."

"Oh, lord," Jack groaned, "now I'm in for it! I haven't seen Marshall
get out of his seat. I suppose he has written a report about those
beastly verses."

The greeting of Dr. Wallace was, however, of a different nature from
that which he had anticipated.

"Archer," he said, "I have just received a note from your father. You
are to go home at once."

Jack Archer opened his eyes in astonishment. It was but an hour and a
half since he had started from Harbledown, a mile or so distant from
the school. His father had said nothing at breakfast, and what on
earth could he want him home again for?

With a mechanical "Yes, sir," he returned to his place, gathered up
his books hastily together, fastening them with a strap, and was soon
on his way home at a rapid trot. He overtook ere long the servant who
had brought the note--an old soldier, who had been Major Archer's
servant in the army.

"What is the matter, Jones? Is any one ill at home?"

"No, sir; no one is ill as I knows of. The major called me into his
study, and told me to take a note to Dr. Wallace, and, of course, I
asked the master no questions."

"No," Jack said, "I don't suppose you did, Jones. I don't suppose
you'd ask any questions if you were told to take a letter straight to
the man in the moon. I wonder what it can mean."

And continuing his run, he soon left the steady-going old soldier far
behind. Up High Street, under the great gate, along through the wide,
straggling street beyond, into the open country, and then across
through the fields to Harbledown. Jack never paused till, hot and
panting, he entered the gate.

His father and his elder brother, who had seen him coming across the
fields, were standing in the porch.

"Hurrah! Jack," the latter shouted; "you're going to be first out
after all."

"Going to be first out?" Jack gasped. "What on earth do you mean,
Harry?"

"Come into the parlor, Jack," his father said, "and you shall hear all
about it."

Here his mother and two sisters were sitting.

"My dear boy," the former said, rising and throwing her arms round his
neck, "this is sudden indeed."

"What is sudden, mother? What is sudden?" Jack asked. "What is it all
about?" and noticing a tear on his mother's cheek, he went on, "It
can't be those beastly verses, is it?" the subject most upon his mind
being prominent. "But no, it couldn't be that. Even if Wallace took it
into his head to make a row about them, there would not be time. But
what is it, mother?"

"Sit down, Jack," his father said. "You know, my boy, you have always
said that you would like to go to sea. I had no interest that way, but
six months ago I wrote to my nephew Charles, who is, as you know, a
first lieutenant in the navy, and asked him if he thought he could get
you a midshipman's berth. He wrote back to say that he was at present
on half pay, and feared it would be a long time before he was afloat
again, as there were but few ships in commission, and he had not much
interest. But if he were appointed he might be able to get you a berth
on board the ship. As that didn't seem very hopeful, I thought it
better to say nothing to you about it. However, this morning, just
after you had started for school, the postman brought a letter from
him, saying that, owing to the threatening state of affairs in the
East, a number of ships were being rapidly put in commission, and that
he had been appointed to the 'Falcon,' and had seen the captain, and
as the latter, who happened to be an old friend of his, had no one in
particular whom he wished to oblige, he had kindly asked the Admiralty
for a midshipman's appointment for you. This he had, of course,
obtained. The 'Falcon' is being fitted out with all haste, and you are
to join at once. So I shall take you to Portsmouth to-morrow."

Jack was too much delighted and surprised to be able to speak at
first. But after a minute or two he recovered his breath, uttered a
loud hurrah of delight, and then gave vent to his feelings by
exuberantly kissing his mother and sisters.

"This is glorious," he said. "Only to think that I, who have just been
blown up for my verses, am a midshipman in her Majesty's service. I
can hardly believe that it is true. Oh, father, I have so wished to go
to sea, but I have never said much about it because I thought you did
not like it, and now to think of my getting it when I had quite given
up all hope, and just at a time, too, when there seems to be a chance
of a row. What is it all about, father? I have heard you say something
about a dispute with Russia, but I never gave much attention to it."

"The cause of the dispute is trumpery enough, and in itself wholly
insufficient to cause a war between two great nations. It began by a
squabble about the holy places at Jerusalem, as to the rights of the
Greek and Latin pilgrims respectively."

"But what have we got to do with either the Latin or the Greek
pilgrims?" Jack asked. "I should have thought that we were quite
bothered enough with Latin and Greek verses, without having anything
to do with pilgrims. Besides, I didn't know there were any Latins now,
and the Greeks ain't much."

Major Archer smiled.

"The Latin pilgrims are the members of the countries which profess the
Roman Catholic religion, while the Greeks are those who profess the
religion of the Greek Church. That is to say, in the present case,
principally Russians. There have for years been squabbles, swelling
sometimes into serious tumults, between the pilgrims of these creeds,
the matter being generally complicated by the interference of the
Turkish authorities with them. The Russian government has been
endeavoring to obtain from Turkey the protectorate of all Christians
in her dominions, which France, as the leading Catholic country,
naturally objects to. All this, however, is only a pretext. The real
fact is that Russia, who has for centuries been casting a longing eye
upon Turkey, thinks that the time has arrived when she can carry out
her ambitious designs. It has always been our policy, upon the other
hand, to sustain Turkey. We have large interests in the Mediterranean,
and a considerable trade with the Levant, and were Russia to extend
her dominion to Constantinople, our position would be seriously
menaced. Moreover, and this perhaps is the principal point, it is
absolutely necessary for us in the future to be dominant in the east
of the Mediterranean. Egypt is rapidly becoming our highway to India,
and many men think that in the future our trade with that great
dependency will flow down the valley of the Euphrates. Consequently,
it is necessary to prevent Russia, at any cost, obtaining a footing
south of the Black Sea."

"And do you think, father, that there will really be a war?"

"I'm inclined to think that there will be, Jack, although this is not
the popular opinion. We have so long, in England, been talking about
the iniquity of war that I believe that the Emperor Nicholas has
persuaded himself that we will not fight at any price. In this I am
sure that he is wholly mistaken. So long as there was no probability
of war, the people of England have quietly permitted the cheese-paring
politicians who govern us to cut down the army and navy to a point
when we can hardly be said to have an army at all. But I am convinced
that the people of England are at heart as warlike as of old. Few
nations have done more fighting than we, and, roughly speaking, the
wars have always been popular. If the people at large once become
convinced that the honor and interest of England are at stake, they
will go to war, and the politicians in power will have to follow the
popular current, or give way to men who will do so. At present,
however, the general idea is that a demonstration upon the part of
England and France, will be sufficient to prevent Russia from taking
any further steps. I think myself that Russia has gone too far to draw
back. Russia is a country where the czars are nominally all-powerful,
but where, in point of fact, they are as much bound as other
sovereigns to follow the wishes of the country. The conquest of
Constantinople has long been the dream of every Russian, and now that
the Czar has held out hopes that this dream is about to be realized,
he will scarcely like to draw back."

"But surely, father," Harry Archer said, "Russia cannot think herself
a match for England and France united."

"I don't know that, my boy. Russia has an enormous population, far
larger than that of England and France united. Every man, from the
highest to the lowest, is at the disposal of the Czar, and there is
scarcely any limit to the force which he is capable of putting into
the field. Russia has not fought since the days of Napoleon, and in
those days the Russian troops showed themselves to be as good as any
in Europe. At Borodino and Smolensko they were barely defeated after
inflicting enormous losses on the emperor's army, and, as in the end,
they annihilated the largest army even Napoleon had ever got together,
they may well think that, fighting close to their own borders, while
England and France have to take their troops across Europe, they will
be more than a match for us. And now, Jack, we must go down to the
town. There is much to do and to think about. The principal part of
your outfit I shall, of course, get at Portsmouth, where the tailors
are accustomed to work at high pressure. But your underclothes we can
get here. Now, my dear, if you will go upstairs and look through
Jack's things, and let me know exactly how he stands, I will go down
with him to the town, and get anything he requires."

"And will you be able to spare me for a quarter-of-an-hour, father? I
should like to be outside the school when they come out at one
o'clock, to say good-bye to them. Won't they be surprised, and jolly
envious? Oh no, I should think not! They would give their ears, some
of them, I know, to be in my place. I should like to say good-bye,
too, to old Marshall. His face will be a picture when he finds that he
is not going to drop on me for those verses, after all."

It was a day of bustle and business, and Jack, until the very moment
when he was embracing his weeping mother and sisters, while his father
stood at the door, in front of which was the pony-chaise, which was
waiting to take him down to the station, could hardly realize that it
was all true, that his school-days were over, and that he was really a
midshipman in her Majesty's service.

Harry had already gone to the station on foot, as the back seat in the
pony-chaise was occupied by Jack's luggage, and the last words that he
said, as he shook hands with his brother, were,--

"I shouldn't be surprised, old boy, if we were to meet in the East
before long. If anything comes of it, they will have to increase the
strength of the army as well as of the navy, and it will be bad luck
indeed if the 33d is left behind."

On arriving at Portsmouth, Major Archer took up his quarters at the
famous George Inn, and, leaving their luggage there, was soon on his
way down to the Hard. Half a century had gone by since Portsmouth had
exhibited such a scene of life and bustle. Large numbers of extra
hands had been taken on at the dockyards, and the fitters and riggers
labored night and day, hastening on the vessels just put into
commission. The bakeries were at work turning out biscuits as fast as
they could be made, and the stores were crammed to repletion with
commissariat and other stores. In addition to the ships of war,
several large merchant steamers, taken up as transports, lay alongside
the wharves, and an unusual force of military were concentrated in the
town, ready for departure. By the Hard were a number of boats from the
various men-of-war lying in the harbor or off Spithead, whose officers
were ashore upon various duties. Huge dockyard barges, piled with
casks and stores, were being towed alongside the ships of war, and the
bustle and life of the scene were delightful indeed to Jack,
accustomed only to the quiet sleepiness of a cathedral town like
Canterbury. Inquiring which was the "Falcon," a paddle steamer moored
in the stream was pointed out to them by a boatman.

"Oh dear," Jack said, "she looks small in comparison with those big
men-of-war."

"She is none the worse, Jack, for that," his father said. "If there
should be fighting, it will scarcely be at sea. The Russian fleet will
not venture to engage the fleets of England and France united, and you
are likely to see much more active work in a vessel like the 'Falcon'
than in one of those floating castles. Hullo, Charles, is that you?"
he broke off, lying his hand upon the shoulder of a naval officer, who
was pushing his way though the crowd of boatmen and sailors to a
man-of-war gig, which, with many others, was lying by the Hard.

"Hullo, uncle, is that you?" he replied. "I am glad to see you. I was
expecting you here in a day or so. I thought you would run down with
the youngster. Well, Jack, how are you? Why, it must be eight years
since I saw you. You were quite a little chap then. Well, are you
thinking of thrashing the Russians?"

"The boy is half out of his mind with pleasure, Charles," Major Archer
said, "and he and all of us are greatly obliged to you for your
kindness in getting him his berth. I think you will find him active
and intelligent, though I fear he has not shone greatly at school,
especially," he said smiling, "in his Latin verses."

"He will make none the worse sailor for that," Charles Hethcote said
with a laugh. "But I must be going on board. I have a message from the
admiral to the captain and every moment is precious, for things are
terribly behindhand. The dockyard people are wellnigh out of their
wits with the pressure put upon them, and we are ordered to be ready
to sail in a week. How it's all to be done, goodness only knows. You
need not come on board, Jack. I will tell the captain that you have
arrived, and he would not thank me for bringing any live lumber on
board just at present. You had better get him his outfit, uncle, at
once, and then he can report himself in full trim to-morrow."

Giving the major the address of the tailor who could be trusted to
supply Jack's uniform without loss of time, and accepting an
invitation to dine at the "George" that evening, if he could possibly
get away from the ship, Lieutenant Hethcote stepped into the gig, and
made his way to the "Falcon."

Major Archer and Jack first paid a visit to the tailor, where all the
articles necessary for the outfit were ordered and promised for next
day. They then visited the dockyard, and Jack was immensely impressed
at the magnitude of the preparations which were being made for the
war. Then they strolled down the ramparts, and stood for some time
watching the batches of recruits being drilled, and then, as the short
winter day was drawing to a close, they returned to the "George."




CHAPTER II.


AN ADVENTURE AT GIB

It was on the 1st of February, 1854, that the "Falcon" sailed from
Portsmouth for the East, and ten days later she dropped her anchor at
Gibraltar harbor. Jack Archer was by this time thoroughly at home. In
the week's hard work during the preparation for sea at Portsmouth, he
had learned as much of the names of the ropes, and the various parts
of the ship, as he would have done in a couple of months at sea, and
had become acquainted with his new ship-mates. So great had been the
pressure of work, that he had escaped much of the practical joking to
which a new-comer on board ship, as at school, is generally subject.

He had for comrades four midshipmen; one of these, Simmons, had
already nearly served his time, and was looking forward to the war as
giving him a sure promotion; two others, Delafield and Hawtry, had
already served for two or three years at sea, although only a year or
so older than Jack, while the fourth, Herbert Coveney, was a year
younger, and was, like Jack, a new hand. There were also in the berth
two master's mates, young men of from twenty to two-and-twenty. With
all of these Jack, with his high spirits, good-tempered face, merry
laugh, soon became a favorite.

During the first two days at sea he had suffered the usual agonies
from sea-sickness. But before reaching Gibraltar he had got his
sea-legs and was regularly doing duty, being on the watch of the
second lieutenant, Mr. Pierson.

The wind, which had blown strongly across the Bay of Biscay and down
the coast of Portugal, moderated as the "Falcon" steamed past Cape St.
Vincent with its picturesque monastery, and the straits were calm as a
mill-pond as she slowly made her way along the Spanish coast and
passed Tarifa. Up to the time when she dropped her anchor in the Bay
of Gibraltar, the only incident which had happened on the way was
that, as they steamed up the straits, they passed close by a
homeward-bound P. and O. steamer, whose passengers crowded the sides,
and cheered and waved their handkerchiefs to the eastward-bound ship.

The "Falcon" was not a fast vessel, seldom making, under favorable
circumstances, more than eight knots an hour. She carried sixteen
guns, twelve of which were eighteen-pounders. It had been intended
that the "Falcon" should only stay a few hours at Gibraltar,
proceeding immediately she had taken in a fresh supply of coal. The
engineers, however, reported several defects in her machinery, which
would take three or four days to put in order.

Jack was pleased at the delay, as he was anxious to set his foot for
the first time ashore in a foreign country, and to visit the famous
fortifications of the Rock. The first day he did not ask for leave, as
he did not wish to presume upon his being the first lieutenant's
relation.

Charles Hethcote differed widely from the typical first lieutenant of
fiction, a being as stiff as a ramrod, and as dangerous to approach as
a polar bear. He was, indeed, a bright, cheery fellow, and although he
was obliged to surround himself with a certain amount of official
stiffness, he was a great favorite among officers and crew.

It was not till the third day of his stay that Jack, his seniors
having all been ashore, asked for leave, which was at once granted.
Young Coveney, too, had landed on the previous day, and Hawtry, whom
Jack was inclined to like most of his shipmates, now accompanied him.
They had leave for the whole day, and, as soon as breakfast was over,
they went ashore.

"What a rum old place!" Hawtry said, as they wandered along the
principal street. "It looks as Spanish as ever. Who would have thought
that it had been an English town for goodness knows how long?"

"I wish I had paid a little more attention to history," Jack said. "It
makes one feel like a fool not to know such things as that when one
comes to a famous place like this. Look at that tall fellow with the
two little donkeys. Poor little brutes, they can scarcely stagger
under their loads. There is a pretty girl with that black thing over
her head, a mantilla don't they call it? There is a woman with
oranges, let's get some. Now, I suppose, the first thing is to climb
up to the top of the Rock."

With their pockets full of oranges, the boys started on their climb,
which was accomplished in capital time. From the flagstaff they
enjoyed the magnificent view of the African coast across the straits,
of Spain stretching away to their right, of the broad expanse of the
blue Mediterranean, and of the bay with its ships, and the "Falcon"
dwarfed to the dimensions of a toy vessel, at their feet. Then they
came down, paid a flying visit to the various fortifications and to
the galleries, whence the guns peer out threateningly across the low,
sandy spit, known as the neutral ground.

When all this was finished, it was only natural that they should go to
the principal hotel and eat a prodigious luncheon, and then Hawtry
proposed that they should sally out for a ramble into Spain.

They had been disappointed in the oranges, which they found in no way
better than those which they had bought in England. But they thought
that if they could pick them off the trees, they must somehow have a
superior flavor. Accordingly they sallied out by the land gate, passed
unquestioned through the line of British sentries, and were soon in
the little village inside the Spanish lines.

"It's awfully hot," Hawtry said, mopping his forehead. "Who would have
thought that it would have been so hot as this in any place in Europe
in the middle of February? Just fancy what it must be here in July!
Look, there is a fellow with two mules. I expect he would let them. I
vote we go for a ride. It's too hot for walking altogether.

"I say, old boy," he said, approaching a tall and powerfully-built
man, who was smoking a cigar, and leaning lazily against one of his
mules; "you let mules, we hire them, eh?"

The Spaniard opened his eyes somewhat, but made no reply, and
continued to smoke tranquilly.

"Oh, nonsense," Hawtry said. "Look here."

And he put his hand into his pocket and pulled out some silver. Then
he made signs of mounting one of the mules, and waved his hand over
the surrounding country to signify that he wanted a general ride.

The Spaniard nodded, held up five fingers, and touched one of the
mules, and did the same with the other.

"He wants five shillings a head," Hawtry said.

"I don't know," Jack said doubtfully. "I don't suppose he knows much
about shillings. It may be five dollars or five anything else. We'd
better show him five shillings, and come to an understanding that that
is what he means before we get on."

The Spaniard, on being shown the five shillings, shook his head, and
pointing to a dollar which they had obtained in change on shore,
signified that these were the coins he desired.

"Oh, nonsense!" Hawtry said indignantly. "You don't suppose we're such
fools as to give you a pound apiece for two or three hours' ride on
those mules of yours. Come on, Jack. We won't put up with being
swindled like that."

So saying the two lads turned away, and started on their walk.

While they were speaking to the Spaniard, he had been joined by one of
his countrymen, and when they turned away, these entered into a rapid
conversation together. The result was, that before the boys had gone
thirty yards, the Spaniard with the mules called them back again, and
intimated that he accepted their terms.

They were about to jump up at once, but the man signed to them to
stop, and his companion in a minute or two had brought out two rough
rugs which were secured with some cords over the wooden saddles.

"That's an improvement," Jack said. "I was just wondering how we were
going to sit on those things, which are not saddles at all, but only
things for boxes and barrels to be fastened to."

"I wonder which way we'd better go," Hawtry said, as he climbed up
with some difficulty, aided by the Spaniard, on to one of the mules.
"My goodness, Jack, this is horribly uncomfortable. I never can stand
this. Hi, there! help me down. It would be better a hundred times to
ride barebacked."

Accordingly the saddles were taken off, the rugs folded and secured on
the animals' backs by a rope passed round them, and then the boys
again took their seats.

"I hope the brutes are quiet," Jack said, "for I am nothing of a rider
at the best of times, and one feels an awful height at the top of
these great mules, with one's legs dangling without stirrups."

"If you find yourself going, Jack," Hawtry said, "the best thing is to
catch hold of his ears. Come on, let's get out of this. All the
village is staring at us."

The mules, upon the reins being jerked, and boys' heels briskly
applied to their ribs, moved on at a fast walk.

"We shall have to stop under a tree and cut a stick presently," Hawtry
said. "It will not do to get down, for I should never be able to climb
up again. Mind, we must take our bearings carefully, else we shall
never get back again. We have neither chart nor compass. Hallo! here
comes the mules' master."

They had by this time gone two or three hundred yards from the
village, and, behind them, at a brisk trot, seated on a diminutive
donkey, was the Spaniard.

"Perhaps it's best he should come," Jack said. "There will be no fear
of being lost then, and if one of us gets capsized, he can help him up
again."

Upon the Spaniard coming up to them, he gave a sharp shout to the
mules, at the same time striking the donkey on which he rode with a
stick. Instantly the mules, recognizing the signal, started into a
sharp trot, the first effect of which was to tumble Hawtry from his
seat into the road, Jack with difficulty saving himself by clutching
wildly at the mane.

"Confound it!" Hawtry exclaimed furiously, as he regained his feet, to
the Spaniard. "Why didn't you say what you were going to be up to?
Starting the ship ahead at full speed without notice! I believe I've
broken some of my ribs. Don't you laugh too soon, Jack. It will be
your turn next."

The Spaniard helped Hawtry to regain his seat, and they were soon
clattering along the dusty road at a brisk rate, the boys quickly
getting accustomed to the pace, which, indeed, was smooth and easy.
For hours they rode on, sometimes trotting, sometimes walking, taking
no heed whither they were going, and enjoying the novelty of the ride,
the high cactus hedges, the strange vegetation, little villages here
and there, sometimes embowered in orange trees, and paying no heed to
time.

Presently Jack exclaimed,--

"I say, Hawtry, it must be getting late. We have been winding and
turning about, and I have not an idea how far we are now from Gib. We
must be through the gates by gun-fire, you know."

They stopped, and by pantomime explained to the Spaniard that they
wanted to get back again as soon as possible.

He nodded, made a circle with his arm, and, as they understood,
explained that they were making a circuit, and would arrive ere long
at their starting-place.

For another hour and a half they rode along, chatting gayly.

"I say, Jack," Hawtry exclaimed suddenly, "why, there's the sun pretty
nearly down, and here we are among the hills, in a lonelier looking
place than we have come to yet. I don't believe we're anywhere near
Gib. I say, old fellow, it strikes me we're getting into a beastly
mess. What on earth's to be done?"

They checked their mules, and looked at each other.

"What can the Spaniard's game be, Hawtry? We've had a good five
shillings' worth."

"Let us take our own bearings," Hawtry said. "The sun now is nearly on
our left. Well, of course, that is somewhere about west-sou-west, so
we must be going northward. I don't think that can be right. I'm sure
it can't. Look here, you fellow, there is the sun setting there"--and
he pointed to it--"Gibraltar must lie somewhere over there, and that's
the way we mean to go."

The Spaniard looked surly, then he pointed to the road ahead, and
indicated that it bent round the next spur of the hill, and made a
detour in the direction in which Hawtry indicated that Gibraltar must
lie.

"What on earth shall we do, Jack? If this fellow means mischief, we
are in an awkward fix. I don't suppose he intends to attack us,
because we with our dirks would be a match for him with that long
knife of his. But if he means anything, he has probably got some other
fellows with him."

"Then hadn't we better go in for him at once," Jack said, "before he
gets any one to help him?"

Hawtry laughed.

"We can hardly jump off our mules and attack him without any specific
reason. We might get the worst of it, and even if we didn't how should
we get back again, and how should we account for having killed our
mule-driver? No. Whatever we are in for, we must go through with it
now, Jack. Let us look as though we trusted him."

So saying, they continued on the road by which they had previously
travelled.

"I don't believe," Hawtry said, after a short silence, "that they can
have any idea of cutting our throats. Midshipmen are not in the habit
of carrying much money about with them, but I have heard of Guerillas
carrying people off to the mountains and getting ransoms. There, we
are at the place where that fellow said the road turned. It doesn't
turn. Now, I vote we both get off our mules and decline to go a step
farther."

"All right," Jack said. "I shall know a good deal better what I am
doing on my feet than I shall perched up here!"

The two boys at once slid off their mules to the ground.

"There is no turning there," Hawtry said, turning to the hill. "You
have deceived us, and we won't go a foot farther," and turning, the
lads started to walk back along the road they had come.

The Spaniard leapt from his donkey, and with angry gesticulation
endeavored to arrest them. Finding that they heeded not his orders, he
put his hand on his knife, but in a moment the boys' dirks flashed in
the air.

"Now, my lad," Hawtry said. "Two can play at that game, and if you
draw that knife, we'll let daylight into you."

The Spaniard hesitated, then drew back and gave a loud, shrill whistle
which was, the boys fancied, answered in the distance.

"Come on, Jack. We must run for it. We can leave this lumbering
Spaniard behind, I have no doubt," and sheathing their dirks, the boys
set off at full speed.

The Spaniard appeared inclined to follow them, but distrusting his
powers, he paused, gave a long, shrill whistle, twice repeated, and
then mounted his donkey and driving the mules before him, he followed
the boys at a hand gallop.

They had, however, a good start, and maintained their advantage.

"I don't think," Jack said, "we have passed a village for the last
hour. When we get to one, we'd better rush into a house, and ask for
shelter. These fellows will hardly dare to touch us there."

Had the race been simply between the boys and their immediate pursuer,
it is probable that they would have won it, for they were light,
active, and in good condition, while the animals behind them had
already been travelling for five hours, at a rate considerably above
the speed to which they were accustomed. The road, however, was an
exceedingly winding one, which gave time to the confederates of the
mule-driver to make a short cut, and, as the boys turned a sharp
corner, they saw three men barring the road in front.

"It's all up, Jack," Hawtry said, pausing in his run. "It's no use
making any resistance. We should only get our throats cut straight
off."

Jack agreed, and they walked up to the men in front just as the
muleteer came galloping up with his troupe.

"What do you want with us?" Hawtry said, advancing to the men.

There was a volley of maledictions at the run they had given them. The
boys were seized by the collar, their dirks, watches, and money
roughly taken from them, their arms tied to their sides by the ropes
taken from the mules, and they were motioned to accompany their
captors. These at once left the road and struck up the hill, the
muleteer proceeding along the road with the animals.

With their arms tied, the boys found it hard work to keep up with
their captors, who strode along with long steps. The sun had by this
time sunk, and presently they heard the distant boom of the sunset gun
from Gibraltar.

"That gun must be fifteen miles away," Hawtry said. "What fools we
have been, Jack, to be sure!"

In one of the three men who accompanied them they recognized the
peasant who had spoken to the muleteer when he refused to accept their
first offer, and they had no doubt that he had arranged with the man
to lead them to a certain spot, to which he had proceeded direct,
while their guide had conducted them by a circuitous route.

They walked for four hours without a pause, ever ascending among the
hills, until they at last reached a sort of plateau, upon which some
six or eight men were gathered round a fire. Upon three sides the hill
rose abruptly, on the fourth the ground sloped away, and in front,
seemingly almost at their feet, some 2000 feet below them stretched
away the waters of the Mediterranean, sparkling in the moonlight.

"They have got something to eat that smells nice," Jack said, as they
approached the fire. "I hope to goodness they are going to give us
some. I feel awfully peckish."

The men gathered round the fire rose at the approach of the
new-comers, and an animated conversation took place. Then the boys
were motioned to sit down, and the rest threw themselves round the
fire. Some meat which was roasting on a rough spit over it was taken
off, and one of the men undid the cords which tied their arms, and a
share of the meat was given them.

"This is stunning," Jack said. "What on earth is it? It does not taste
to me like mutton, or beef, or pork, or veal."

"I fancy it's kid," Hawtry said. "Well, it is evident they have no
idea of cutting our throats. If they had been going to do that, they
would have done it a quarter of a mile after we left the road. I
suppose they are going to try to get a ransom for us. Where it's
coming from as far as I'm concerned, I don't know, for my father is a
clergyman, and has as much as he can do to make ends meet, for there
are eight of us and I'm the eldest."

"It's an awful fix altogether," Jack said. "And anyhow, we shall lose
our ship and get into a frightful row, and, if somebody won't pay our
ransom, I suppose they will knock us on the head finally. The best
thing, you know, will be for us to make our escape."

"But how on earth are we to do that?" Hawtry said. "There are ten of
them, and I see a lot of guns piled there."

"Oh, I daresay we shall see some chance," Jack said cheerfully. "We
must think it over. Jack Easy, Peter Simple, and all those fellows
used to get into worse scrapes than this, and they always managed to
get out of them somehow; so why shouldn't we? The best thing is, just
to think what one of them would have done if he had been in our place.
I wish to goodness that we had Mesty prowling about somewhere; he
would get us out in no time."

Hawtry answered with a grunt, and devoted himself to his kid.
Presently Jack spoke again.

"Look here, Hawtry, I vote that to begin with we both pretend to be in
an awful funk. If they think that we are only two frightened boys,
they won't keep as sharp a watch over us as if they thought we were
determined fellows, likely to attempt our escape. There is the sea
down there in front of us, and there are sure to be villages on the
coast. Therefore we shall know which way to go if we once manage to
escape, and, if we can get down there, we can either claim the
protection of the head man in the village, or we can take a boat and
make off to sea."

When the meal was over, one of the men, who appeared to be the leader,
rose and come to the boys. Pointing to himself, he said, "Pedro," to
another "Sancho," to a third "Garcia."

"He wants to know our names," Jack said, and pointing to his
companion, he said, "Hawtry," and to himself "Archer."

The Spaniard nodded and resumed his seat, when an animated
conversation took place. Jack, in the meantime, began to enact the
part which he had arranged, turning over upon his face, and at times
making a loud, sobbing noise.

Hawtry, after hesitating for some time, seconded his efforts by
burying his face in his hands, and appearing also to give way to
violent grief.




CHAPTER III.


THE ESCAPE

Shortly after the meal was over, the brigands rose. The boys were
again bound, and were laid down on the ground near the fire. One of
the brigands then took his seat beside them, and the others, rolling
themselves in their cloaks, were soon asleep at the fire. The boys,
tired as they were by the long and fatiguing day through which they
had passed, were some time getting off to sleep. Indeed, with their
arms bound by their side, the only way of doing so was by lying flat
upon their backs.

With the early dawn they were awake.

"I expect they are getting up steam on board the 'Falcon,'" Hawtry
said, "and no doubt there is a nice row over our being missing. I'd
give a good sum, if I had it to give, to be back on her decks again."

The band was soon astir, but for some hours nothing was done. They
were evidently waiting for the arrival of some one, as one or other of
the bandits went frequently to the edge of the plateau and looked
down.

At last one of them announced to his comrades that the person expected
was in sight, and shortly afterwards the muleteer of the previous day
appeared. Over his shoulder hung a heavy skin of wine. In his hand he
carried a large basket, in which were several loaves of coarse bread.
His arrival was hailed with a shout. A fresh supply of meat had been
placed on the fire immediately his coming was reported, and in a short
time the meal was prepared, the meat being washed down by horns of the
rough wine of the country.

The lads had been again unbound when the band awoke, and were, as
before, invited to share the meal. They continued to maintain their
forlorn and downcast attitude. The rascally guide of the day before
gave the company an account of the proceedings, and roars of laughter
were excited by his tragic imitation of the defiant way in which the
boys had drawn their dirks, a proceeding which was rendered the more
ludicrous from its contrast with their present forlorn attitude.

"But mind," he continued, "they can run like hares. Going up a hill,
no doubt, any of you would soon overtake them, but along a straight
road, I would back them against the best of us."

"There is no fear of their trying that," the chief said, pointing to
the rifles. "They would soon be stopped if they tried it on. However,
they are not likely to make any such mad attempt. They are, after all,
only young boys, and their spirit has speedily evaporated."

However, as a measure of precaution, he ordered that the man who was
acting as sentry over the boys should always keep his rifle in hand.

The meal over, the muleteer produced from his pocket some
writing-paper and a pencil. The chief then wrote on a piece of paper
the figures 5000, followed by the word "dollars." Then he said to the
boys, "Capitan," giving them a pencil and a sheet of note-paper. He
pointed to the figures he had written down, then to the sun, marked
with his hand its course twice through the sky, and then drew it
significantly across his throat.

"Well," Hawtry said, "that's clear enough. We are to write to the
captain to say that unless 5000 dollars are paid in two days we are to
have our throats cut. Well, I may as well write,--

"Dear Captain Stuart,--We are in an awful mess. We took some mules in
the Spanish lines for a ride yesterday, and the fellow who owned them
steered us into the middle of a lot of brigands. They were too strong
for us to show fight, and here we are. As far as we can make out, they
say that, unless 5000 dollars are paid in two days, we are to have our
throats cut. We don't expect that you will get this note, as by this
time the 'Falcon' was to have sailed. In that case we suppose it will
be all up with us. We intend to try to slip our anchors, and make a
bolt for it. We are awfully sorry that we have got into this scrape."

To this epistle the boys both signed their names, and as the muleteer
had not provided himself with envelopes, the letter was roughly folded
and directed,--

"Captain Stuart, H.M.S. 'Falcon.'"

Another letter, embodying the same in the form of a demand, was then
written, after much consultation, by the brigands, with postscript
stating that if the bearer were in any way molested, the prisoners
would at once be put to death. The youngest of the party, a peasant of
some twenty years old, was then selected, and to him the letters were
given, with full instructions as to his conduct.

During the next two days, the boys maintained their appearance of
extreme despondency. They lay on the ground with their faces buried in
their arms, and at times strolled listlessly about. They could see
that this conduct had lulled to rest any suspicion of their captors
that they might attempt an escape. The sentry no longer kept in their
immediate vicinity, and although he retained his gun in his hand, did
so as a mere form. The others went about their business, several of
them absenting themselves for hours together; and at one time but
three men, including the guard, remained at the encampment.

The boys kept every faculty on the alert, and were ready to seize the
first opportunity, however slight, which might offer itself. They
agreed, that however much their guard might be reduced, it would be
unsafe to make the attempt in the daytime, as they were wholly
ignorant of the way down to the sea, and the shouts of their pursuers
would be sure to attract the attention of any of the party who might
have gone in that direction.

As to the two days assigned for payment, they did not anticipate that
the crisis would arrive at the end of that time, as they felt sure
that the "Falcon" would have sailed before the messenger could have
arrived, in which case fresh negotiations would probably be set on
foot.

So it proved. On the evening of the day after his departure, the
messenger returned, and the news that he brought was greeted with an
outburst of ejaculations of anger and disappointment on the part of
the brigands. They crowded round the boys, shook their fists at them,
cuffed and kicked them. When they had somewhat recovered their
equanimity, they made signs that the ship had departed.

By using the word "Governor," they made the boys understand that a
fresh letter must be written to that officer.

This was done at once, and another of the party started immediately
with it.

Late on into the night the boys talked in low voices as to their best
plan of attempting an escape. Although free in the daytime, they were
tightly bound at night, and the guards, who were changed every two
hours, never for a moment relaxed their vigilance. Finally, they
concluded that their only chance was to endeavor to slip away on the
following evening, just as it became dusk, when all the party
generally reassembled, and were busy cooking their food, or relating
what had happened during the day.

Immediately in front of the encampment the slope was extremely steep.
The brigands, in going or coming, always turned to the right or left,
and kept along the brow for some distance to points where, as the boys
supposed, the slope became more gradual, and paths existed by which
they could make their way down to the shore.

At one time the boys thought of rolling down the steep slope, and
taking their chance, but this they agreed would be a last resource, as
it was probable that the slope ended in an absolute precipice.

"I have an idea," Jack said suddenly in the middle of the day.

"What is it, Jack?"

"You see that heap of rugs in which they wrap themselves when they go
to sleep? Now I vote that when it gets dusk, we stand for some time at
the edge, looking down into the sea; then, when we see our guard
chatting with one of the men who have just arrived, and the others
busy round the fire, we will quietly move back towards it. If our
guard notices us at all, he won't pay any special attention, as we are
going that way. We will steal up to the rear of the blankets, within a
few feet of where they are standing, and will crawl quietly under
them. When we are missed, they are sure to suppose that we have either
made down the slope, or along the brow, and will at once set off in
pursuit. The betting is they'll all go, but if only one or two are
left, we may take them by surprise. At any rate it seems our best
chance."

Hawtry agreed, and it was decided that they should attempt to put the
plan into execution that evening.

Late in the afternoon, the brigands, as usual, came dropping in, in
twos and threes. One brought in a kid, and two others exhibited to
their admiring friends a purse containing some ten or twelve dollars
in silver. They related, amid the uproarious laughter of their
comrades, the manner in which they had threatened the worthy farmer,
its late possessor, into surrendering the proceeds of his day's
marketing without resistance. It was already dusk. Jack and Hawtry had
a minute before been standing near the edge of the slope. The guard
was chatting with the last comer, and keeping one ear open to the
narrative told by the fire.

Suddenly he glanced round, and perceived that the figures he had, as
he believed, scarcely taken his eye off were missing.

"Madre de Dios!" he exclaimed. "Where are the prisoners?"

At his exclamation, all round the fire started into activity. A hasty
glance round the encampment showed that their captives were not within
its circle. With an exclamation of fury, the captain seized his gun,
and with the butt-end struck the sentry to the ground. Then in furious
tones he ordered every man off in instant pursuit. Snatching up their
arms, some hurried off one way, some another, shouting threats of
vengeance as they went.

As their voices receded, there was a slight movement among the rugs,
and the boys' heads peered out from below their hiding-place. The
encampment was deserted, save that on the ground lay the form of the
prostrate sentinel, while the captain stood, gun in hand, on the edge
of the slope, peering down into the gathering darkness.

The boys rose stealthily to their feet, and keeping along by the side
of the hill, so as to be out of the direct line of sight should the
brigand turn towards the fire, they noiselessly approached him.

He did not look round until they were within five paces, and it was
then too late. He turned and threw up his gun, but before he could
level it, they both threw themselves upon him.

Taken wholly by surprise, he staggered backwards. He was but a pace
from the edge of the steep declivity, and in another moment he fell
backward, his gun exploding in the air as he went. The boys heard his
body as it rolled and crashed through the slight brushwood on the
slope. Fainter and fainter became the sound, and then it suddenly
ceased.

As long as it continued the boys stood motionless, and were turning to
go, when there was the crack of a rifle, and a ball whizzed between
them. Leaping round, they saw the guard, whom they had supposed to be
insensible, had risen to his feet. Throwing down the rifle which he
had just discharged, and drawing his long knife, he rushed at them.

"Dodge him, Hawtry, dodge him. Get hold of the rifle. I will get a
stick from the fire."

The boys separated, one going each way. The Spaniard, still bewildered
by the stunning blow he had received, hesitated a moment, and then
rushed at Jack, who darted round the fire. Hawtry seized the rifle,
and with the butt-end attacked the Spaniard, who turned to defend
himself. Jack snatched up a heavy brand from the fire, and coming
behind the Spaniard, who was waiting, knife in hand, for an
opportunity to rush in between the sweeping blows which Hawtry was
dealing at him with the butt-end of the rifle, smote him with all his
force across the side of the head.

With a scream of agony the Spaniard fell prostrate and Jack, snatching
up his knife, while Hawtry still retained the rifle, they darted off
at full speed along the brow.

Presently they heard footsteps of men hastily returning, and drawing
aside, threw themselves down among some low bushes. The men were
talking eagerly. They had heard the two reports of the guns, and had
no doubt that the captain had discovered the fugitives.

When the Spaniards had passed, the boys rose to their feet, and
continued their flight at the top of their speed. The men had come
from below, and the boys soon discovered traces of a path descending
the slope. This they at once took, proceeding with caution now, for
the descent was an extremely steep one, and the path little more than
a goat track. Fortunately the moon was shining brightly, and by its
light they were enabled to follow its windings.

After half an hour's descent, they found themselves in a rough road,
along the face of the hill. This they doubted not was the road from
one of the coast villages into the interior. They now went more
cautiously, for the road was extremely rough, with large stones lying
here and there upon it, and a heavy fall or a sprained ankle would be
disastrous. They had no fear of pursuit. Once or twice they fancied
that they heard shouts far above them, but they considered it likely
that the band would be too far paralyzed by the loss of their captain
to again take up the pursuit.

Three hours later, they stood by the sea shore, near a tiny fishing
village, composed of three or four houses only. They held a
consultation as to whether it would be better to rouse the villagers
and explain the circumstances, but they had become suspicious of
Spaniards, and thought it likely that there would be a close
relationship between the people here and the band in their
neighborhood. No lights were visible in the village, and it was
probable that the inhabitants were already in bed.

They sat down for another hour to avoid the chance of their being
surprised by any straggler. Then, proceeding to the shore, they
launched a small boat. Hawtry stepped the mast and hoisted the sail,
and they were soon making their way off the land. The wind was light,
and their progress slow. For a time they kept straight out to sea, and
then turned the boat's head towards Gibraltar.

The wind presently died quite away, and, lowering the sails, they got
out the oars, and set to work. Beyond trying once or twice upon the
Stour, Jack had had no experience in rowing, and his clumsiness
excited considerable indignation on the part of Hawtry. The boat was
heavy, and their progress, in consequence, very slow. They calculated
that they must have twenty-five miles to row, as the point at which
they were captured was, Hawtry had judged by the sound of the gun,
fully fifteen miles distant from it, and they had walked another ten
before arriving at the brigands' encampment.

All night they rowed, until the moon sank, this being, as they were
aware, about three o'clock. They then lay down in the boat for a nap,
and when they awoke it was daylight. They found that the wind had got
up, and was blowing steadily off shore, and that they were now distant
some five miles from land, the Rock of Gibraltar rising steeply from
the sea some ten miles from them in a straight line.

Hawtry at once set the sail again, and the boat was soon slipping fast
through the water.

"What a nuisance!" Hawtry said. "The wind is hauling farther round,
and we shall not make into the Rock this tack. This tub of a boat
makes no end of leeway. We shall have to make right across towards the
African shore, and then tack back again."

They were, as Hawtry anticipated, fully three miles to leeward of
Europa Point, as they passed the Rock. The wind was now blowing
strongly from the west.

"Upon my word," Hawtry said, "I question whether we shall ever be able
to make the Rock in this beast of a boat. She won't sail anywhere near
the wind, and makes awful leeway. Hurrah! there's a big steamer coming
out. We will hail her."

Hawtry now steered the boat till he had placed her as near as possible
in the line which the steamer was pursuing, and then lowered the sail,
and waited for her to come up.

When she came within a quarter of a mile the sail was again hoisted,
and Hawtry so steered the boat that for a moment Jack thought he would
put her under the bows of the steamer. This, however, had the effect
which Hawtry had intended, of drawing attention to them.

The steamer passed within thirty feet of them. Hawtry lowered the
sail, and standing up, shouted,--

"Throw us a rope!"

A number of persons had been attracted to the side, and one of the
officers, seeing two young midshipmen in the boat, at once threw a
rope to them, while the officer on duty ordered the engines to be
stopped. In another two minutes the boat was hauled alongside. The two
lads scrambled up the rope, the boat was cast adrift, and the steamer
was again ploughing her way eastward.

The boys found that they were on board the transport "Ripon," having
the Coldstream Guards on board, the first detachment of the army on
its way east.

Considerable excitement was caused by the sudden and unexpected
boarding of the ship by the two young officers, and great curiosity
was expressed as to how they had got into such a position. As Hawtry
said, however, that they had been twenty-four hours without food, they
were at once taken to the saloon, where breakfast was on the point of
being served. No questions were put to them until they had satisfied
their hunger; then they told the story of their adventures, which
caused quite an excitement among the officers.

The "Ripon" had sailed from Southampton docks on the 23d of February,
in company with the "Manilla" and "Orinoco."

The next four days passed pleasantly, the boys being made a good deal
of by the officers of the Coldstream Guards, but they were not sorry
when, on Saturday evening, the lights of Malta were seen, and soon
after midnight they dropped anchor in Valetta Harbor. The next morning
they were delighted at seeing the "Falcon" lying a few cables' length
distant, and, bidding good-bye to their new friends, they hailed a
shore boat, and were soon alongside the "Falcon." The first lieutenant
was on deck.

"Young gentlemen," he said sternly, "you have committed a very serious
offence, and are liable to be tried by court-martial for having
deserted your ship. I expected better things of you both. Go below
immediately, and consider yourselves under arrest. I shall report your
coming on board to the captain."

The boys saluted without a word, and went below to the midshipmen's
berth where the tale of their adventures was soon related to their
comrades, who were at first inclined to believe that the whole story
was an invention got up to screen themselves for breaking leave.
However, they soon saw that the boys were in earnest, and the truth of
the story as to their being picked up at sea by the "Ripon" could, of
course, at once be tested.

Presently they were summoned to the captain's cabin, and there Hawtry
again recited the story.

The captain told them that they had erred greatly in going away in
such a reckless manner, without taking proper precautions to secure
their return before gun-fire. But he said they had already been
punished so severely for their thoughtlessness that he should overlook
the offence, and that he complimented them on the courage and coolness
they had displayed in extricating themselves from the dangerous
position into which they had fallen.

He then invited them to breakfast, at which meal the first lieutenant
was also present, and here they gave much fuller details of their
escape than Hawtry had done in his first narration of it.

At ten o'clock, when the boys were below, they heard a loud cheering,
and found that the "Orinoco," with the Grenadiers, had just come into
harbor, and were being cheered by their comrades on board the "Ripon"
and by the blue jackets of the men-of-war.

All through the day the harbor was alive with boats. Before nightfall
the Coldstreams were all ashore, and by Monday evening the last of the
Grenadiers had also disembarked.




CHAPTER IV.


GALLIPOLI

Every day brought fresh troops to Malta, until the brigade of Guards
and eleven regiments of infantry of the line were gathered there. The
streets of Valetta were like a fair, crowded with soldiery chattering
with the vendors of oranges, dates, olives, and apples. Cigars, too,
are nowhere cheaper than in Malta, and as, unfortunately, spirits were
equally low in price, the British soldier, small as was his daily rate
of pay, found but little difficulty in intoxicating himself.

In a few days the French began to put in an appearance, and the crowd
in the streets was even more lively and picturesque than before. All
this time the great topic of discussion was whether matters would or
would not come to the arbitration of war.

During their stay Jack Archer and his comrades enjoyed themselves
heartily, but it was by no means all play. The sailors had an immense
deal to do in moving stores, preparing fittings, and getting matters
ready for the forward despatch of the troops, should war be finally
decided upon.

A month after the arrival at Malta, the doubt was put an end to, for
upon the 28th of March war was formally declared, and on the 29th the
French sailed for Gallipoli, followed, the next day, by Sir George
Brown with the advance party of the light division.

The same day the "Falcon" steamed out of harbor, and, although the
stay at Malta had been enjoyed, all hands were delighted at the
advance towards the scene of future action.

Gallipoli stands near the upper end of the Dardanelles, and is an
important military position.

"It looks a nice little town," Delafield said, on returning after his
first visit in the captain's gig, to his comrades. "But I can't say
much for it when you see it at close quarters. One got tired of Malta,
but Malta was a paradise to this place. The confusion seems to be
tremendous. But those jolly old Turks are sitting at their doors,
smoking like so many old owls, and do not seem to interest themselves
in the slightest."

"And did you see any lovely houris?" Simmonds asked, laughing.

"That I did not," Delafield said. "I saw some bundles looking like
rolls of dirty white sheets ready for the wash, with a pair of big,
yellow shoes underneath them, and I believe that they were women. I
did not see any of their faces. I didn't want to, for I'm sure no
decently pretty woman would allow herself to be made such an object as
that."

The same work of unloading and transporting goods to the shore, which
had gone on at Malta, was continued here. Every day fresh troops
arrived, English and French, and the whole of the undulating plain
round Gallipoli was dotted with their camps. By the end of the month
22,000 French and some 10,000 English were gathered there.

After the day's work was done, the midshipmen often got leave ashore,
and enjoyed the scene of bustle and confusion which reigned there.
Enormous numbers of pack animals and bullock-carts were at work, and
even at this early period of the campaign the immense superiority of
the French arrangements over the English was manifest. This was but
natural, as the French, like other European nations, had been in the
habit in time of peace of regarding the army as a machine which might
be required for war, and had therefore kept the commissariat,
transport, and other arrangements in a state of efficiency. In
England, upon the other hand, the army had been entirely neglected,
and had been made the subject of miserable, petty economy in all its
branches, and the consequence was that war found us wholly unprepared,
except that we possessed an army of seasoned soldiers such as, in the
nature of things under the new regulations, England will never see
again.

On going ashore the midshipmen would sometimes ramble away to the
camp, sometimes stroll through the town, and amuse themselves by
chaffing the grave Turkish shopkeepers, by watching the English and
French soldiers staggering along with drunken gravity, sometimes with
their arms round each other's necks, or by kissing their hands airily
to the veiled figures, of whom they got dim glimpses through the
closely-latticed windows. The upper part of the town was inhabited
principally by Greeks, whose sympathies were, for the most part, with
the Russians, and who were as quarrelsome and turbulent as the Turks
were placid and good-natured.

One evening Hawtry and Jack had obtained leave to be out later than
usual, as they had been asked to dine with some of the officers of the
Coldstreams whom they had met on board the "Ripon." The meal was a
rough one, for the country had been completely eaten up by this
immense accession of strangers. Still, the caterer had succeeded in
procuring some tough fowls in addition to the ration beef, and as
these were washed down by champagne, there was no reason to grumble.

The boys spent a merry evening, and started at half-past ten for the
town. This was already quiet, and for the most part asleep, when they
reached it. A few officers, who had been dining with the various
generals who had their headquarters there, or with friends on board
ship, were the sole people in the streets, although from some of the
closed windows of the drinking-shops in the Greek quarter came sounds
of singing and noise, for every one was earning high wages, and the
place was full of Maltese, Alexandrians, Smyrniotes, and, indeed, the
riff-raff of all the Mediterranean cities, who had flocked to the
scene of action to make money as petty traders, hucksters,
camp-followers, mule-drivers, or commissariat-laborers.

As they were passing through a dark and silent street they suddenly
heard a sound of shouting and the clash of weapons, the fall of heavy
bodies, and the tramping of feet. Then a window was dashed open, a
voice shouted, "Help!" and then the strife continued as before.

"Come on, Archer," Hawtry exclaimed. "There are some of our fellows in
a row with these Greeks."

The door was fastened, but the boys burst in a window next to it,
leapt into the room, groped their way to the door, and then finding
the stairs, hurried up. On the landing a dim oil light was burning,
but it needed no light to indicate the room in which the struggle was
still proceeding. The door stood ajar, and the boys, with drawn dirks,
dashed into the room.

It was a large one. In the centre was a table on which were strewn
several packs of cards; some chairs lay on the ground; the oil from an
overturned lamp was forming a great black stain on the green
table-cloth. In the corner by the window, three officers with drawn
swords, were defending themselves against the attacks of some twenty
Greeks, armed with knives. In the confusion, none had noticed the
entry of the boys.

"Pick up a chair, Jack," Hawtry said, recoiling from the idea of
rushing with his dirk upon unprepared men.

The two lads each seized one of the strong, but light, chairs
scattered on the floor, and, with a sudden hurrah, flung themselves
upon the Greeks. Two or three of these were knocked down and the rest,
taken by surprise by the sudden attack, recoiled, and the boys were
speedily by the side of the assailed officers.

The Greeks drew back, but seeing how slight was the reinforcement,
again advanced to the attack. Three of their number lay upon the
ground, and several of the others were bleeding freely. Upon the other
hand, one of the officers leant against the wall, badly wounded, while
both of the others had received nasty cuts. They would, before this,
have been overpowered, had they not hastily pulled a small table and a
chair or two, so as to form a sort of barricade, across the angle, and
so prevented the Greeks from closing upon them. One of the officers
was an Englishman, the others were French. All were quite young men.
There was scarcely time for the exchange of a word before the Greeks
were upon them again.

The boys had again drawn their dirks, but these formed but a poor
weapon against the chairs with which several of the Greeks, seeing the
inferiority of their knives, had now armed themselves. Hawtry received
a crashing blow on the head which sent him staggering back against the
wall, and Jack one on his arm which rendered it useless.

"This will never do," the English officer shouted. "Let us make a rush
at the scoundrels, and fight our way to the door. It's our only
chance."

"Wait a moment," Jack said, a thought striking him. Stooping down
behind the others, he pulled out a matchbox from his pocket, struck a
light, and applied it to the muslin curtains which hung before the
window. In a moment a broad sheet of flame leaped up. The Greeks
uttered a shout of terror and surprise.

"Now!" Jack shouted. "All together."

In a moment the five dashed down the table, and flung themselves upon
the Greeks. These, taken by surprise, and paralyzed by the great sheet
of flame which was already licking the wooden ceiling, recoiled. Some
were cut down as they stood. Others were hurled aside. Two or three
fell before the dirks of the midshipmen, and in a few seconds the
little party had burst through the crowd of their assailants, and had
gained the door of the room. Here the Englishman and one of the French
officers turned and made a stand, in order to give the midshipmen time
to assist their badly-wounded comrade down the narrow stairs, and to
open the door of the house. As they flung this open, Jack shouted up
that the way was free, and then, half carrying the wounded Frenchman,
they hurried down the street, uttering shouts for assistance. The
lattice work of the window had already caught fire, and a sheet of
flame lit up the street. Before they had gone fifty yards, they heard
a noise behind them, as the two officers, followed by the Greeks,
issued from the house.

Fortunately, at this moment a party of English officers, who had been
dining at the general's, ran up at full speed, attracted by the shouts
of the boys and the glare of fire. Upon seeing this accession of
strength, the Greeks at once desisted from the attack, and made off.
By this time the windows of the various houses were opening, and
shouts of affright arose at the sight of the conflagration; for the
houses were, for the most part, constructed of wood, and, once begun,
there was no saying where a fire would end.

"What is all this about, gentlemen?" one of the officers, a colonel,
asked. "Give me your names, for there must be an inquiry into the
matter. I see you are all wounded, and 'tis best to get back to camp
at once. I fear this will be a serious matter."

In five minutes the street was full of people, and the flames had
obtained entire possession of the house, and were rushing high into
the air. The wind was blowing briskly, and it was evident that the
safety of the whole quarter of the town was menaced. The French
officer succeeded in getting four Maltese to carry his comrade to the
camp. A door was taken off its hinges, and they were soon upon their
way.

Jack and Hawtry, who had only received one or two slight slashes of
knives, remained to see what came of it. The Turkish guards were
speedily on the spot, but these could do nothing beyond trying to
prevent the rabble from commencing a general pillage. From every house
the people were throwing out their goods of all descriptions. Every
minute the fire spread, and six or seven houses were already in flames
when, but a quarter of an hour after the outbreak of the fire, a heavy
tramp was heard, and a battalion of French infantry from their nearest
camp came up at a double. There was no water, no means whatever of
extinguishing the flames, but the active little Frenchmen did not lose
a minute. At the word of command, they broke their ranks, and swarmed
into the houses, and in a minute a perfect avalanche of goods was
thrown from the windows. Some stood along outside the houses, others
climbed upon their shoulders, on these again others took their places,
and so on until living ladders were formed, up which a score of men
climbed the roofs. These set to work with axe and hatchet, tearing off
the tiles and hacking down rafters, while their comrades in the houses
hewed away at floors and staircases. In less than a quarter of an hour
four houses on either side of those in flames were completely gutted,
and the fire, thus cut off, speedily burnt itself out, fifteen houses
having been consumed.

By this time large numbers of troops, together with sailors from the
fleet, had arrived, but the work was fortunately done, and had it not
been for the early appearance of the French battalion, and the
energetic measures which they adopted, a great portion of the Greek
quarter would have been destroyed.

Among those who had landed was a strong party of seamen from the
"Falcon," under Mr. Hethcote. The boys joined these, and returned with
them on board ship. They reported to the lieutenant the share which
they had had in the affair.

"It is an unpleasant business," he said, "but I do not blame you for
going to the assistance of those attacked when you heard an Englishman
call for help. Still, Mr. Archer, it is clear that you have pretty
nearly burnt down the town of Gallipoli, and I don't know the light in
which the admiral and Sir George Brown may view the affair. As you say
that no one took any notice of you at the time that the names of the
military officers were taken, it is possible that no inquiry will be
made about you. I shall, of course, report the matter to Captain
Stuart, and he must act as he thinks fit. But, in the meantime, I
should advise you to say nothing of the share which you have had in
the matter to any one. You must have those gashes you have got
plastered up. But I will speak to the surgeon. Do you know the name of
the English officer concerned?"

"Yes, sir, he was Lieutenant Tewson of the Grenadier Guards. We only
exchanged a few words before he went away, but he begged us to go and
see him."

"I should advise you to keep away from him altogether, until the
matter has blown over," Mr. Hethcote said. "Did you give him your
names?"

"No, sir, we had no time."

"All the better," Mr. Hethcote said. "It will, of course, come out in
the course of the inquiry that two midshipmen were concerned, and it
is just as well that he cannot give your names. I expect the ship to
be ordered up to Constantinople in a day or two, and I hope we may be
off before any inquiries are made. One can never say how these
big-wigs may take things. Sir George Brown is a tremendous martinet,
and he may consider that it would have been far better that five
officers, who chose to go to a gambling-house, should be killed, than
that Gallipoli, full as it is of valuable stores, and munitions of
war, should run the risk of being destroyed by fire. There, now, go
off to the surgeon, and get your faces strapped up, and then ask him
to come to me at once. If you two young gentlemen go on as you have
begun, you are not likely to live to obtain eminence in your
profession. It is but two months since we left England, and we have
not yet seen an enemy, yet you have had two as narrow escapes for your
lives as one could wish to have."

Very severe was the cross-questioning which the lads had to undergo in
the midshipmen's berth as to the manner in which they came by their
cut faces, and they were obliged to take refuge under the strict order
of the first lieutenant that they were to say nothing about it.

Fortunately the next day the "Falcon" received orders to proceed to
the Bosphorus, and got up her anchor and steamed up the Dardanelles
before dark. Presently Mr. Hethcote came up to Jack, who was on duty
on the quarter-deck.

"I tell you what, Jack," he said quietly, "it is very lucky for you
that we are away. The French officer died during the night. I hear
that his lungs were pierced. Sir George Brown is said to be furious,
and threatens to try Tewson by court-martial, for entering a
gambling-house in spite of strict orders to the contrary. Of course it
is well known that scores of other officers have done the same, but it
is only when a thing is found out that there is a row about it. Tewson
had been dining on board a French ship, and was going home with the
two French officers, who were also there. None of them had been in a
gambling-house before, but it seems they had heard of this place,
which was one of the most notorious dens in the town, and agreed to
look in for a few minutes to see what it was like. They began to play
and had an extraordinary run of luck, winning something like four
hundred pounds. The bank was broken, and the Greeks wanted them to
stop till some more money was procured. This they would not do, and
the Greeks then attacked them. Tewson has strong interest, and the
affair will probably, in his case, blow over. The Greeks have made a
complaint against them for wilfully setting fire to the house, and
this is the most serious part of the affair. I am told that both
Tewson and the French officer deny having done so. They say that it
was done in order to effect a diversion, by two officers who came in
to their assistance in the middle of the fight, and both declare that
they do not know who they were or anything about them, as they only
saw them for a minute in the middle of the confusion. Some one has
said that two young naval officers were seen just at the beginning of
the fire, and no doubt inquiries will be set on foot. But now that we
are fairly off, they will find out nothing at Gallipoli, and it's
likely that it will all blow over. The authorities have plenty to
think about at present without troubling themselves very much in
following up a clue of this kind."

In all the world there is no more lovely scene than that which greeted
Jack Archer's eyes as he went on deck the following morning.

The "Falcon" was anchored about mid-channel. On the left was
Constantinople with its embattled wall, its palaces, its green foliage
down to the water's edge, its domes and minarets rising thickly.
Separated from it by the Golden Horn, crossed by a bridge of boats,
are Pera and Galatta, street rising above street. Straight over the
bows of the ship was the Bosphorus, with its wooded banks dotted with
villas and palaces. To the right was Scutari, with the great barrack
standing on the edge of a cliff some fifty feet in height. Little did
those who looked at the great square pile of building dream that ere
many months it would be crowded from top to bottom with British sick
and wounded, and that even its ample corridors would prove wholly
insufficient to contain them. The water itself was thronged with
shipping of all nations: men-of-war, merchant steamers crowded with
stores, troop-ships thronged with red-coats; great barges, laden to
the water's edge, slowly made their way between the ships and the
shore. The boats of the shipping, filled with soldiers, rowed in the
same direction. Men-of-war boats, with their regular, steady swing,
went hither and thither, while among all crossed and re-crossed from
Constantinople to Scutari, the light caicques with their one or two
white-shirted rowers. No boats in the world are more elegant in
appearance, none except those built specially for racing can vie with
them in speed. The passenger sits comfortably on a cushion in the
bottom of the boat, and smokes the long pipe which the boatman, as a
matter of course, fills and hands to him as he takes his seat, while
the boatmen themselves, generally Albanians, and singularly handsome
and athletic men, lay themselves down to their work with a vigor and a
heartiness which would astound the boatmen of an English
watering-place.

A scene so varied, so beautiful, and so busy could not be equalled
elsewhere.




CHAPTER V.


A BRUSH WITH THE ENEMY

Two days later Jack obtained leave to go on shore. He hesitated for a
moment whether to choose the right or left bank. The plateau of
Scutari was covered with the tents of the British army, which were
daily being added to, as scarce an hour passed without a transport
coming in laden with troops. After a little hesitation, however, Jack
determined to land at Constantinople. The camps at Scutari would
differ but little from those at Gallipoli, while in the Turkish
capital were innumerable wonders to be investigated. Hailing a caicque
which was passing, he took his seat with young Coveney, who had also
got leave ashore, and accepted with dignity the offer of a long pipe.
This, however, by no means answered his expectations; the mouthpiece
being formed of a large piece of amber of a bulbous shape, and too
large to be put into the mouth. It was consequently necessary to suck
the smoke through the end, a practice very difficult at first to those
accustomed to hold a pipe between the teeth.

In ten minutes the boat landed them at Pera, close to the bridge of
boats across the Golden Horn. For a time the lads made no motion to
advance, so astonished were they at the crowd which surged across the
bridge: Turkish, English, and French soldiers, Turks in turbans and
fezes, Turkish women wrapped up to the eyes in white or blue clothes;
hamals or porters staggered past under weights which seemed to the
boys stupendous; pachas and other dignitaries riding on gayly-trapped
little horses; carriages, with three or four veiled figures inside and
black guards standing on the steps, carried the ladies of one harem to
visit those of another. The lads observed that for the most part these
dames, instead of completely hiding their faces with thick wrappings
as did their sisters in the streets, covered them merely with a fold
of thin muslin, permitting their features to be plainly seen. These
ladies evidently took a lively interest in what was going on, and in
no way took it amiss when some English or French officer stared
unceremoniously at their pretty faces; although their black guards
gesticulated angrily on these occasions, and were clearly far more
indignant concerning the admiration which their mistresses excited
than were those ladies themselves.

At last the boys moved forward across the bridge, and Jack presently
found himself next to two young English officers proceeding in the
same direction. One of these turned sharply round as Jack addressed
his companion.

"Hallo, Jack!"

"Hallo, Harry! What! you here? I had no idea you had got your
commission yet. How are you, old fellow, and how are they all at
home?"

"Every one is all right, Jack. I thought you would have known all
about it. I was gazetted three days after you started, and was ordered
to join at once. We wrote to tell you it."

"I have never had a letter since I left home," Jack said. "I suppose
they are all knocking about somewhere. Every one is complaining about
the post. Well, this is jolly; and I see you are in the 33d too, the
regiment you wanted to get into. When did you arrive?"

"We came in two days ago in the 'Himalaya.' We are encamped with the
rest of the light division who have come up. Sir George Brown commands
us, and will be here from Gallipoli in a day or two with the rest of
the division."

The boys now introduced their respective friends to each other, and
the four wandered together through Constantinople, visited the
bazaars, fixed upon lots of pretty things as presents to be bought and
taken home at the end of the war, and then crossed the bridge again to
Pera, and had dinner at Missouri's, the principal hotel there, and the
great rendezvous of the officers of the British army and navy. Then
they took a boat and rowed across to Scutari, where Harry did the
honors of the camp, and at sundown Jack and his messmate returned on
board the "Falcon."

The next three weeks passed pleasantly, Jack spending all his time,
when he could get leave, with his brother, and the latter often coming
off for an hour or two to the "Falcon." Early in May the news arrived
that the Russians had advanced through the Dobrudscha and had
commenced the siege of Silistria. A few hours later the "Falcon" and
several other ships of war were on their way up the Dardanelles,
convoying numerous store-ships bound to Varna. Shortly afterwards the
generals of the allied armies determined that Varna should be the base
for the campaign against the Russians, and accordingly towards the end
of May the troops were again embarked.

Varna is a seaport, surrounded by an undulating country of park-like
appearance, and the troops were upon their arrival delighted with
their new quarters. Here some 22,000 English and 50,000 French were
encamped, together with 8,000 or 10,000 Turks. A few days after their
arrival Jack obtained leave for a day on shore, and rowed out to
Alladyn, nine miles and a half from Varna, where the light division,
consisting of the 7th, 19th, 23d, 33d, 77th, and 88th regiments, was
encamped. Close by was a fresh-water lake, and the undulated ground
was finely wooded with clumps of forest timber, and covered with
short, crisp grass. No more charming site for a camp could be
conceived. Game abounded, and the officers who had brought guns with
them found for a time capital sport. Everyone was in the highest
spirits, and the hopes that the campaign would soon open in earnest
were general. In this, however, they were destined to be disappointed,
for on the 24th of June the news came that the Turks had unaided
beaten off the Russians with such heavy loss in their attack upon
Silistria that the latter had broken up the siege, and were retreating
northward.

A weary delay then occurred while the English and French home
authorities, and the English and French generals in the field were
settling the point at which the attack should be made upon Russia. The
delay was a disastrous one, for it allowed an enemy more dangerous
than the Russians to make his insidious approaches. The heat was very
great; water bad, indeed almost undrinkable, the climate was
notoriously an unhealthy one, and fruit of all kinds, together with
cucumbers and melons, extremely cheap, and the soldiers consequently
consumed very large quantities of these.

Through June and up to the middle of July, however, no very evil
consequences were apparent. On the 21st of July two divisions of
French troops under General Canrobert marched into the Dobrudscha, in
search of some bodies of Russians who were said to be there. On the
night of the 28th cholera broke out, and before morning, in one
division no less than 600 men lay dead. The other divisions, although
situated at considerable distances, were simultaneously attacked with
equal violence, and three days later the expedition returned, having
lost over 7000 men. Scarcely less sudden or less fatal was the attack
among the English lines, and for some time the English camps were
ravaged by cholera.

Jack was extremely anxious about his brother, for the light division
suffered even more severely than did the others. But he was not able
to go himself to see as to the state of things, for the naval officers
were not allowed to go on shore more than was absolutely necessary.
And as the camp of the light division had been moved some ten miles
farther away on to the slopes of the Balkans, it would have been
impossible to go and return in one day. Such precautions as were
taken, however, were insufficient to keep the cholera from on board
ship. In a short time the fleet was attacked with a severity almost
equal to that on shore, and although the fleet put out to sea, the
flagship in two days lost seventy men.

Fortunately the "Falcon" had left Varna before the outbreak extended
to the ships. The Crimea had now been definitely determined upon as
the point of assault. Turkish vessels with heavy siege guns were on
their way to Varna, and the "Falcon" was ordered to cross to the
Crimea and report upon the advantages of several places for the
landing of the allied army. The mission was an exciting one, as beside
the chance of a brush with shore batteries, there was the possibility
that they might run against some of the Russian men-of-war, who still
held that part of the Black Sea, and whose headquarters were at
Sebastopol, the great fortress which was the main object of the
expedition to the Crimea.

The "Falcon" started at night, and in the morning of the second day
the hills of the Crimea were visible in the distance. The fires were
then banked up and she lay-to. With nightfall she steamed on until
within a mile or two of the coast, and here again anchored. With the
early dawn steam was turned on, and the "Falcon" steamed along as
close to the shore as she dare go, the lead being constantly kept
going, as but little was known of the depth of water on these shores.
Presently they came to a bay with a smooth beach. The ground rose but
gradually behind, and a small village stood close to the shore.

"This looks a good place," Captain Stuart said to the first
lieutenant. "We will anchor here and lower the boats. You, Mr.
Hethcote, with three boats, had better land at that village, get any
information that you can, and see that there are no troops about. If
attacked by a small force, you will of course repel it; if by a strong
one, fall back to your boats, and I will cover your retreat with the
guns of the ship. The other two boats will be employed in sounding.
Let the master have charge of these, and make out, as far as he can, a
perfect chart of the bay."

In a few minutes the boats were lowered, and the men in the highest
glee took their places. Jack was in the gig with the first lieutenant.
The order was given, and the boats started together towards the shore.
They had not gone fifty yards before there was a roar of cannon,
succeeded by the whistle of shot. Two masked batteries, one upon each
side of the bay, and mounting each six guns, had opened upon them. The
cutter, commanded by the second lieutenant, was smashed by a round
shot and instantly sunk. A ball struck close to the stroke-oar of the
gig, deluging its occupants with water and ricochetting over the
gunwale of the boat, between the stroke-oar and Mr. Hethcote. Two shot
hulled the "Falcon," and others whistled through her rigging.

"Pick up the crew of the cutter, Mr. Hethcote, and return on board at
once," Captain Stuart shouted; the engines of the "Falcon" at once
began to move, and the captain interposed the ship between the nearest
battery and the boats, and a few seconds later her heavy guns, which
had previously been got ready for action, opened upon the forts. In
two minutes the boats were alongside with all hands, save one of the
cutter's crew who had been cut in two by the round shot. The men,
leaving the boats towing alongside, rushed to the guns, and the heavy
fire of the "Falcon" speedily silenced her opponents. Then, as his
object was to reconnoitre, not to fight, Captain Stuart steamed out to
sea. He was determined, however, to obtain further information
respecting the bay, which appeared to him one adapted for the purpose
of landing.

"I will keep off till nightfall, Mr. Hethcote. We will then run in as
close as we dare, showing no lights, and I will then ask you to take a
boat with muffled oars to row to the village. Make your way among the
houses as quietly as possible, and seize a couple of fishermen and
bring them off with you. Our interpreter will be able to find out from
them at any rate, general details as to the depth of water and the
nature of the anchorage."

"Who shall I take with me, sir?"

"The regular gig's crew and Mr. Simmonds. He has passed, and it may
give him a chance of promotion. I think, by the way, you may as well
take the launch also; it carries a gun. Do not let the men from it
land, but keep her lying a few yards off shore to cover your retreat
if necessary. Mr. Pascoe will command it."

There was a deep but quiet excitement among the men when at nightfall
the vessel's head was again turned towards shore, and the crews of the
gig and launch told to hold themselves in readiness. Cutlasses were
sharpened and pistols cleaned. Not less was the excitement in the
midshipmen's berth, where it was known that Simmonds was to go in the
gig; but no one knew who was to accompany the launch. However, Jack
turned out to be the lucky one, Mr. Pascoe being probably glad to
please the first lieutenant by selecting his relation, although that
officer would not himself have shown favoritism on his behalf.

It was about eleven o'clock when the "Falcon" approached her former
position, or rather to a point a mile seaward of it as nearly as the
master could bring her, for the night was extremely dark and the land
scarcely visible. Not a light was shown, not a voice raised on board,
and the only sound heard was the gentle splash of the paddles as they
revolved at their slowest rate of speed. The falls had been greased,
the rowlocks muffled, and the crew took their places in perfect
silence.

"You understand, Mr. Hethcote," were Captain Stuart's last words,
"that you are not to attempt a landing if there is the slightest
opposition."

Very quietly the boats left the "Falcon's" side. They rowed abreast
and close to each other, in order that the first lieutenant could give
orders to Mr. Pascoe in a low tone. The men were ordered to row
quietly, and to avoid any splashing or throwing up of water. It was a
longer row than they had expected, and it was evident that the master,
deceived by the uncertain light, had brought the vessel up at a point
considerably farther from the shore than he had intended. As they got
well in the bay they could see no lights in the village ahead; but an
occasional gleam near the points at either side showed that the men in
the batteries were awake and active. As the boat neared the shore the
men rowed, according to the first lieutenant's orders, more and more
gently, and at last, when the line of beach ahead became distinctly
visible, the order was given to lie upon their oars. All listened
intently, and then Mr. Hethcote put on his helm so that the boat which
had still some way on it drifted even closer to the launch.

"Do you hear anything, Mr. Pascoe?"

"I don't know, sir. I don't seem to make out any distinct sound, but
there certainly appears to be some sort of murmur in the air."

"So I think, too."

Again they listened.

"I don't know, sir," Jack whispered in Mr. Pascoe's ear, "but I fancy
that at times I see a faint light right along behind those trees. It
is very faint, but sometimes their outline seems clearer than at
others."

Mr. Pascoe repeated in a low voice to Mr. Hethcote what Jack had
remarked.

"I fancied so once or twice myself," he said. "There," he added
suddenly, "that is the neigh of a horse. However, there may be horses
anywhere. Now we will paddle slowly on. Lay within a boat's length of
the shore, Mr. Pascoe, keep the gun trained on the village, and let
the men hold their arms in readiness."

In another minute the gig's bow grated on the beach. "Quietly, lads,"
the first lieutenant said. "Step into the water without splashing.
Then follow me as quickly as you can."

The beach was a sandy one, and the footsteps of the sailors were
almost noiseless as they stole towards the village. The place seemed
hushed in quiet, but just as they entered the little street a figure
standing in the shade of a house rather larger than the rest, stepped
forward and challenged, bringing, as he did so, his musket to the
present. An instant later he fired, just as the words, "A Russian
sentry," broke from the first lieutenant's lips. Almost simultaneously
three or four other shots were fired at points along the beach. A
rocket whizzed high in the air from each side of the bay, a bugle
sounded the alarm, voices of command were heard, and, as if by
enchantment, a chaos of sounds followed the deep silence which had
before reigned, and from every house armed men poured out.

"Steady, lads, steady!" Mr. Hethcote shouted. "Fall back steadily.
Keep together, don't fire a shot till you get to the boat; then give
them a volley and jump on board. Now, retire at the double."

For a moment the Russians, as they poured from the houses, paused in
ignorance of the direction of their foes, but a shout from the sentry
indicated this, and a scattering fire was opened. This, however, was
at once checked by the shout of the officer to dash forward with all
speed after the enemy. As the mass of Russians rushed from the
village, the howitzer in the bows of the launch poured a volley of
grape into them, and checked their advance. However, from along the
bushes on either side fresh assailants poured out.

"Jump on board, lads, jump on board!" Mr. Hethcote shouted, and each
sailor, discharging his musket at the enemy, leapt into his place.
"Give them a volley, Mr. Pascoe. Get your head round and row. Don't
let the men waste time in firing."

The volley from the launch again momentarily checked the enemy, and
just as she got round, another discharge from the gun further arrested
them. The boats were not, however, thirty yards from the shore before
this was lined with dark figures who opened a tremendous fire of
musketry.

"Row, lads, row!" Mr. Pascoe shouted to his men. "We shall be out of
their sight in another hundred yards."




CHAPTER VI.


THE ALMA

Desperately the men bent to their oars, and the heavy boat surged
through the water. Around them swept a storm of musket balls, and
although the darkness and their haste rendered the fire of the
Russians wild and uncertain, many of the shot took effect. With a
sigh, Mr. Pascoe fell against Jack, who was sitting next to him, just
at the moment when Jack himself experienced a sensation as if a hot
iron had passed across his arm. Several of the men dropped their oars
and fell back, but the boats still held rapidly on their way, and in
two or three minutes were safe from anything but random shot. At this
moment, however, three field pieces opened with grape, and the iron
hail tore up the water near them. Fortunately they were now almost out
of sight, and although the forts threw up rockets to light the bay,
and joined their fire to that of the field guns, the boat escaped
untouched.

"Thank God we are out of that!" Mr. Hethcote said, as the fire ceased
and the boats headed for a light hung up to direct then.

"Have you many hurt, Mr. Pascoe?"

"I'm afraid, sir, Mr. Pascoe is either killed or badly wounded. He is
lying against me, and gives no answer when I speak to him."

"Any one else hurt?" Mr. Hethcote asked in a moment.

The men exchanged a few words among themselves.

"There are five down in the bottom of the boat, sir, and six or seven
of us have been hit more or less."

"It's a bad business," Mr. Hethcote said. "I have two killed and three
wounded here. Are you hit yourself, Mr. Archer?"

"I've got a queer sensation in my arm, sir, and don't seem able to use
it, so I suppose I am, but I don't think it's much."

"Pull away, lads," Mr. Hethcote said shortly. "Show a light there in
the bow to the steamer."

The light was answered by a sharp whistle, and they heard the beat of
the paddles of the "Falcon" as she came down towards them, and five
minutes later the boats were hoisted to the davits. "No casualties, I
hope, Mr. Hethcote?" Captain Stuart said, as the first lieutenant
stepped on board. "You seem to have got into a nest of hornets."

"Yes, indeed, sir. There was a strong garrison in the village, and we
have suffered, I fear heavily. Some eight or ten killed and as many
wounded."

"Dear me, dear me!" Captain Stuart said. "This is an unfortunate
circumstance, indeed. Mr. Manders, do you get the wounded on board and
carried below. Will you step into my cabin, Mr. Hethcote, and give me
full details of this unfortunate affair?"

Upon mustering the men, it was found that the total casualties in the
two boats of the "Falcon" amounted to, Lieutenant Pascoe killed,
Midshipman Archer wounded; ten seamen killed, and nine wounded. Jack's
wound was more severe than he had at first thought. The ball had gone
through the upper part of the arm, and had grazed and badly bruised
the bone in its passage. The doctor said he would probably be some
weeks before he would have his arm out of a sling. The "Falcon" spent
another week in examining the Crimean coast, and then ran across again
to Varna. Here everything was being pushed forward for the start. Over
six hundred vessels were assembled, with a tonnage vastly exceeding
that of any fleet that had ever sailed the seas. Twenty-seven thousand
English and twenty-three thousand French were to be carried in this
huge flotilla; for although the French army was considerably larger
than the English, the means of sea-transport of the latter were
vastly superior, and they were able to take across the whole of their
army in a single trip; whereas, the French could convey but half
of their force. Unfortunately, between Lord Raglan, the English
Commander-in-Chief, and Marshal Saint Arnaud, the French commander,
there was little concert or agreement. The French, whose arrangements
were far better, and whose movements were prompter than our own, were
always complaining of British procrastination; while the English
General went quietly on his own way, and certainly tried sorely the
patience of our allies. Even when the whole of the allied armies were
embarked, nothing had been settled beyond the fact that they were
going to invade the Crimea, and the enormous fleet of men-of-war and
transports, steamers with sailing vessels in tow, extending in lines
farther than the eye could reach, and covering many square miles of
the sea, sailed eastward without any fixed destination. The
consequence was, as might be expected, a lamentable waste of time.
Halts were called, councils were held, reconnaissances sent forward,
and the vast fleet steamed aimlessly north, south, east, and west,
until, when at last a landing-place was fixed upon, near Eupatoria,
and the disembarkation was effected, fourteen precious days had been
wasted over a journey which is generally performed in twenty-four
hours, and which even the slowly moving transports might have easily
accomplished in three days.

The consequence was the Russians had time to march round large bodies
of troops from the other side, and the object of the expedition--the
capture of Sebastopol by a _coup de main_--was altogether thwarted. No
more imposing sight was ever seen than that witnessed by the bands of
Cossacks on the low shores of the Crimea, when the allied fleets
anchored a few miles south of Eupatoria. The front extended nine miles
in length, and behind this came line after line of transports until
the very topmasts of those in the rear scarce appeared above the
horizon. The place selected for the landing-place was known as the Old
Fort, a low strip of bush and shingle forming a causeway between the
sea and a stagnant fresh-water lake, known as Lake Saki.

At eight o'clock in the morning of the 14th of September, the French
admiral fired a gun, and in a little more than an hour six thousand of
their troops were ashore, while the landing of the English did not
commence till an hour after. The boats of the men-of-war and
transports had already been told off for the ships carrying the light
division, which was to be the first to land, and in a wonderfully
short time the sea between the first line of ships and the shore was
covered with a multitude of boats crowded with soldiers. The boats of
the "Falcon" were employed with the rest, and as three weeks had
elapsed since Jack had received his wound, he was able to take his
share of duty, although his arm was still in a sling. The ship to
which the "Falcon's" boats were told off lay next to that which had
carried the 33d, and as he rowed past, he exchanged a shout and a wave
of the hand with Harry, who was standing at the top of the
companion-ladder, seeing the men of his company take their seats in
the boats. It was a day of tremendous work. Each man and officer
carried three days' provisions, and no tents or other unnecessary
stores were to be landed. The artillery, however, had to be got
ashore, and the work of landing the guns on the shingly beach was a
laborious one indeed. The horses in vain tugged and strained, and the
sailors leaped over into the water and worked breast high at the
wheels, and so succeeded in getting them ashore. Jack had asked
permission from Captain Stuart to spend the night on shore with his
brother, and just as he was going off from the ship for the last time.
Simmonds, who had obtained his acting commission in place of Mr.
Pascoe, said, "Archer, I should advise you to take a tarpaulin and a
couple of bottles of rum. They will be useful before morning, I can
tell you, for we are going to have a nasty night."

Indeed the rain was already coming down steadily, and the wind was
rising. Few of those who took part in it will ever forget their first
night in the Crimea. The wind blew pitilessly, the rain poured down in
torrents, and twenty-seven thousand Englishmen lay without shelter in
the muddy fields, drenched to the skin. Jack had no trouble in finding
his brother's regiment, which was in the advance, some two or three
miles from the landing-place. Harry was delighted to see him, and the
sight of the tarpaulin and bottles did not decrease the warmth of his
welcome. Jack was already acquainted with most of the officers of the
33d.

"Hallo, Archer," a young ensign said, "if I had been in your place, I
should have remained snugly on board ship. A nice night we are in
for!"

So long as the daylight lasted, the officers stood in groups and
chatted of the prospects of the campaign. There was nothing to do--no
possibility of seeing to the comforts of their men. The place where
the regiment was encamped was absolutely bare, and there were no means
of procuring any shelter whatever.

"How big is that tarpaulin, Jack?"

"About twelve feet square," Jack said, "and pretty heavy I found it, I
can tell you."

"What had we better do with it?" asked Harry. "I can't lie down under
that, you know, with the colonel sitting out exposed to this rain."

"The best thing," Jack said after a minute's consideration, "would be
to make a sort of tent of it. If we could put it up at a slant, some
six feet high in front with its back to the wind, it would shelter a
lot of fellows. We might hang some of the blankets at the sides."

The captain and lieutenant of Harry's company were taken into
consultation, and with the aid of half a dozen soldiers, some muskets
bound together and some ramrods, a penthouse shelter was made. Some
sods were laid on the lower edge to keep it down. Each side was closed
with two blankets. Some cords from one of the baggage carts were used
as guy ropes to the corners, and a very snug shelter was constructed.
This Harry invited the colonel and officers to use, and although the
space was limited, the greater portion of them managed to sit down in
it, those who could not find room taking up their places in front,
where the tent afforded a considerable shelter from the wind and rain.
No one thought of sleeping. Pipes were lighted, and Jack's two bottles
of rum afforded a tot to each. The night could scarcely be called a
comfortable one, even with these aids; but it was luxurious, indeed,
in comparison with that passed by those exposed to the full force of
the wind.

The next morning Jack said good-bye to his brother and the officers of
the regiment, to whom he presented the tarpaulin for future use, and
this was folded up and smuggled into an ammunition cart. It was not,
of course, Jack's to give, being government property, but he would be
able to pay the regulation price for it on his return. Half an hour
later, Jack was on the beach, where a high surf was beating. All day
the work of landing cavalry and artillery went on under the greatest
difficulties. Many of the boats were staved and rendered useless, and
several chargers drowned. It was evident that the weather was breaking
up, and the ten days of lovely weather which had been wasted at sea
were more bitterly regretted than ever. No tents were landed, and the
troops remained wet to the skin, with the additional mortification of
seeing their French allies snugly housed under canvas, while even the
4000 Turks had managed to bring their tents with them. The natural
result was that sickness again attacked the troops, and hundreds were
prostrated before, three days later, they met the enemy on the Alma.
The French were ready to march on the 17th, but it was not until two
days later, that the British were ready; then at nine o'clock in the
morning the army advanced. The following is the list of the British
force. The light division under Sir George Brown--2d Battalion Rifle
Brigade, 7th Fusiliers, 19th Regiment, 23d Fusiliers, under Brigadier
Major-General Codrington; 33d Regiment, 77th Regiment, 88th Regiment,
under Brigadier-General Butler. First division, under the Duke of
Cambridge--The Grenadier, Coldstream and Scots Fusilier Guards, under
Major-General Bentinck; the 42d, 79th and 93d Highlanders, under
Brigadier-General Sir C. Campbell. The second division, under Sir De
Lacy Evans--The 30th, 55th, and 95th, under Brigadier-General
Pennefather; the 41st, 47th and 49th, under Brigadier-General Adams.
The third division under Sir R. England--The 1st, 28th and 38th under
Brigadier-General Sir John Campbell; the 44th, 50th, and 68th
Regiments under Brigadier-General Eyre. Six companies of the fourth
were also attached to this division. The fourth division under Sir
George Cathcart consisted of the 20th, 21st, 2d Battalion Rifle
Brigade, 63d, 46th and 57th, the last two regiments, however, had not
arrived. The cavalry division under Lord Lucan consisted of the Light
Cavalry Brigade under Lord Cardigan, composed of the 4th Light
Dragoons, the 8th Hussars, 11th Hussars, 13th Dragoons and 17th
Lancers; and the Heavy Cavalry Brigade under Brigadier-General
Scarlett, consisting of the Scots Greys, 4th Dragoon Guards, 5th
Dragoon Guards, and 6th Dragoons. Of these the Scots Greys had not yet
arrived.

It was a splendid sight, as the allied army got in motion. On the
extreme right, and in advance next the sea, was the first division of
the French army. Behind them, also by the sea, was the second division
under General Canrobert, on the left of which marched the third
division under Prince Napoleon. The fourth division and the Turks
formed the rearguard. Next to the third French division was the second
British, with the third in its rear in support. Next to the second
division was the light division, with the Duke of Cambridge's division
in the rear in support. The Light Cavalry Brigade covered the advance
and left flank, while along the coast, parallel with the march of the
troops, steamed the allied fleet, prepared, if necessary, to assist
the army with their guns. All were in high spirits that the months of
weary delay were at last over, and that they were about to meet the
enemy. The troops saluted the hares which leaped out at their feet at
every footstep as the broad array swept along, with shouts of laughter
and yells, and during the halts numbers of the frightened creatures
were knocked over and slung behind the knapsacks to furnish a meal at
the night's bivouac. The smoke of burning villages and farmhouses
ahead announced that the enemy were aware of our progress.

Presently, on an eminence across a wide plain, masses of the enemy's
cavalry were visible. Five hundred of the Light Cavalry pushed on in
front, and an equal number of Cossacks advanced to meet them. Lord
Cardigan was about to give the order to charge when masses of heavy
cavalry made their appearance. Suddenly one of these extended and a
battery of Russian artillery opened fire upon the cavalry. Our
artillery came to the front, and after a quarter of an hour's duel the
Russians fell back; and soon after the army halted for the night, at a
stream called the Boulyanak, six miles from the Alma, where the
Russians, as was now known, were prepared to give battle. The weather
had now cleared again, and all ranks were in high spirits as they sat
round the bivouac fires.

"How savage they will be on board ship," Harry Archer said to Captain
Lancaster, "to see us fighting a big battle without their having a
hand in it. I almost wonder that they have not landed a body of
marines and blue-jackets. The fleets could spare 4000 or 5000 men, and
their help might be useful. Do you think the Russians will fight?"

"All soldiers will fight," Captain Lancaster said, "when they've got a
strong position. It needs a very different sort of courage to lie down
on the crest of a hill and fire at an enemy struggling up it in full
view, to that which is necessary to make the assault. They have too
all the advantage of knowing the ground, while we know absolutely
nothing about it. I don't believe that the generals have any more idea
than we have. It seems a happy-go-lucky way of fighting altogether.
However, I have no doubt that we shall lick them somehow. It seems,
though, a pity to take troops direct at a position which the enemy
have chosen and fortified, when by a flank march, which in an
undulating country like this could be performed without the slightest
difficulty, we could turn the position and force them to retreat,
without losing a man."

Such was the opinion of many other officers at the time. Such has been
the opinion of every military critic since. Had the army made a flank
march, the enemy must either have retired at once, or have been liable
to an attack upon their right flank, when, if beaten, they would have
been driven down to the sea-shore under the guns of the ships, and
killed or captured, to a man. Unfortunately, however, owing to the
jealousies between the two generals, the illness of Marshal Arnaud,
and the incapacity of Lord Raglan, there was neither plan nor concert.
The armies simply fought as they marched, each general of division
doing his best and leading his men at that portion of the enemy's
position which happened to be opposite to him. The sole understanding
arrived at was that the armies were to march at six in the morning;
that General Bosquet's division, which was next to the sea, was,
covered by guns of the ships, to first carry the enemy's position
there; and that when he had obtained a footing upon the plateau, a
general attack was to be made. Even this plan, simple as it was, was
not fully carried out, as Lord Raglan did not move his troops till
nine in the morning. Three precious hours were therefore wasted, and a
pursuit after the battle which would have turned the defeat into a
rout was therefore prevented, and Sebastopol saved, to cost tens of
thousands of lives before it fell. The Russian position on the Alma
was along a crest of hills. On their left by the sea these rose
precipitously, offering great difficulties for an assault. Further
inland, however, the slope became easy, and towards the right centre
and right against which the English attack was directed, the hill was
simply a slope broken into natural terraces, on which were many walls
and vineyards. Near the sea the river ran between low banks, but
inland the bank was much steeper, the south side rising some thirty or
forty feet, and enabling its defenders to sweep the ground across
which the assailants must advance. While on their left the Russian
forces were not advanced in front of the hill which formed their
position, on the lower ground they occupied the vineyards and
inclosures down to the river, and their guns were placed in batteries
on the steps of the slope, enabling them to search with their fire the
whole hill-side as well as the flat ground beyond the river.

The attack, as intended, was begun by General Bosquet. Bonat's brigade
crossed the river by a bar of sand across the mouth where the water
was only waist-deep, while D'Autemarre's brigade crossed by a bridge,
and both brigades swarmed up the precipitous cliffs which offered
great difficulties, even to infantry. They achieved their object,
without encountering any resistance whatever, the guns of the fleet
having driven back the Russian regiment appointed to defend this post.
The enemy brought up three batteries of artillery to regain the crest,
but the French with tremendous exertions succeeded in getting up a
battery of guns, and with their aid maintained the position they had
gained.

When the sound of Bosquet's guns showed that his part of the programme
was carried into effect, the second and third divisions of the French
army crossed the Alma, and were soon fiercely engaged with the enemy.
Canrobert's division for a time made little way, as the river was too
deep for the passage of the guns, and these were forced to make a
detour. Around a white stone tower some 800 yards on their left, dense
masses of Russian infantry were drawn up, and these opened so
tremendous a fire upon the French that for a time their advance was
checked. One of the brigades from the fourth division, which was in
reserve, advanced to their support, and joining with some of the
regiments of Canrobert's division, and aided by troops whom General
Bosquet had sent to their aid, a great rush was made upon the dense
body of Russians, who, swept by the grape of the French artillery,
were unable to stand the impetuous attack, and were forced to retire
in confusion. The French pressed forward and at this point also of the
field, the day was won.

In the mean time the British army had been also engaged. Long before
they came in sight of the point which they were to attack they heard
the roar of cannon on their right, and knew that Bosquet's division
were engaged. As the troops marched over the crest of the rounded
slopes they caught glimpses of the distant fight. They could see
masses of Russian infantry threatening the French, gathered on the
height, watch the puffs of smoke as the guns on either side sent their
messengers of death, and the white smoke which hung over the fleet as
the vessels of war threw their shells far over the heads of the French
into the Russian masses. Soon they heard the louder roar which
proclaimed that the main body of the French army were in action, and
burning with impatience to begin, the men strode along to take their
share in the fight. Until within a few hundred yards of the river the
troops could see nothing of it, nor the village on its banks, for the
ground dipped sharply. Before they reached the brow twelve Russian
guns, placed on rising ground some 300 yards beyond the river, opened
upon them.

"People may say what they like," Harry Archer said to his captain,
"but a cannon-ball makes a horribly unpleasant row. It wouldn't be
half as bad if they would but come silently."

As he spoke a round shot struck down two men a few files to his right.
They were the first who fell in the 33d.

"Steady, lads, steady," shouted the officers, and as regularly as if
on field-day, the English troops advanced. The Rifles, under Major
Northcote, were ahead, and, dashing through the vineyards under a rain
of fire, crossed the river, scaled the bank, and pushed forward to the
top of the next slope. It was on the plateau beyond that the Russian
main body were posted, and for a time the Rifles had hard work to
maintain themselves. In the meantime, the Light Division were
advancing in open order, sometimes lying down, sometimes advancing,
until they gained the vineyards. Here the regular order which they had
so far maintained was lost, as the ground was broken up by hedges,
stone walls, vines and trees. The 19th, 7th, 23d and 33d were then
led, at a run, right to the river by General Codrington, their course
being marked by killed and wounded, and crossing they sheltered
themselves under the high bank. Such was the state of confusion in
which they arrived there that a momentary pause was necessary to
enable the men of the various regiments to gather together, and the
enemy, taking advantage of this, brought down three battalions of
infantry, who advanced close to the bank, and, as the four regiments
dashed up it, met them with a tremendous fire. As hotly it was
answered, and the Russians retired while their batteries again opened
fire.

There was but little order in the British ranks as they struggled
forward up the hill. Even under this tremendous fire the men paused to
pick grapes, and all the exertions of their officers could not
maintain the regular line of advance. From a rising ground a Russian
regiment kept up a destructive fire upon them, and the guns in the
batteries on their flank fired incessantly. The slaughter was
tremendous, but the regiments held on their way unflinchingly. In a
few minutes the 7th had lost a third of their men, and half the 23d
were down. Not less was the storm of fire around the 33d. Confused,
bewildered and stunned by the dreadful din, Harry Archer struggled on
with his company. His voice was hoarse with shouting, though he
himself could scarce hear the words he uttered. His lips were parched
with excitement and the acrid smell of gunpowder. Man after man had
fallen beside him, but he was yet untouched. There was no thought of
fear or danger now. His whole soul seemed absorbed in the one thought
of getting into the battery. Small as were the numbers who still
struggled on, their determined advance began to disquiet the Russians.
For the first time a doubt as to victory entered their minds. When the
day began they felt assured of it. Their generals had told them that
they would annihilate their foes, their priests had blessed them, and
assured them of the protection and succor of the saints. But the
British were still coming on, and would not be denied. The infantry
behind the battery began to retire. The artillery, left unprotected,
limbered up in haste, and although three times as numerous as the men
of the Light Division, the Russians, still firing heavily, retired up
the hill, while, with a shout of triumph the broken groups of the 23d,
the 19th, and 33d burst into the battery, capturing a gun which the
Russians had been unable to withdraw.




CHAPTER VII.


BEFORE SEBASTOPOL

Not long were the Light Division to enjoy the position they had won.
Breathless, exhausted, bleeding, they were but a handful; and the
Russians, looking down upon them and seeing that they were
unsupported, again advanced in heavy masses, and the Light Division
fell back.

Had their division had the whole of their strength they might have
been enabled to hold the position they had won. But just as they
crossed the river, there was an unfounded alarm of a cavalry attack on
the flank, and the 77th and 88th were halted to repel this, and took
no share in the advance by the rest of the division.

As the shattered regiments fell back before the Russians in a state of
disorder, they saw advancing up the slope behind them the brigade of
Guards in as regular order as if on parade. For a moment the splendid
formation was broken as the disordered troops came down upon them. But
opening their files they allowed the Light Division to pass through
them, and then closing up again moved forward in splendid order, the
Highland Brigade keeping pace with them on their left, while the
regiments of the Light Division reformed in their rear and followed
after.

Steadily, under a storm of fire, the Guards advanced. Grape, canister,
round shot, shell, and shot, swept through them but they kept forward
till nigh crossing bayonets with the Russian infantry.

At this moment, however, two British guns mounted on a knoll opened
upon the Russians, the victorious French threatened their flank, the
Russian gunners limbered up and retired, and their infantry suddenly
fell back.

On the right of the Light Division, General Sir De Lacy Evans had also
been fighting sternly. The second division had advanced side by side
with that of Prince Napoleon. The resistance which he encountered was
obstinate, but more skilled in actual warfare than his brother
generals, he covered his advance with the fire of eighteen guns, and
so bore forward, suffering far less than the division on his left. He
had, however, very heavy fighting before he gained the river. The
village had been set on fire by the Russians, and the smoke and flames
greatly incommoded the men as they fought their way through it. The
95th, however, dashed across the bridge under a storm of missiles,
while the 55th and 30th waded through the river, and step by step won
their way up the hill. Then the firing ceased, and the battle of Alma
was won.

The force under the Russians consisted of some 37,000 men, of whom
3500 were cavalry. They had eighty guns, besides two light batteries
of horse artillery. Inferior in number as they were, the discrepancy
was more than outbalanced by the advantage of position, and had the
troops on both sides been of equally good material, the honor of the
day should have rested with the defenders.

The British loss consisted of 26 officers killed and 73 wounded, 327
men killed and 1557 wounded. The French had only 3 officers killed and
54 wounded, 253 men killed and 1033 wounded. The Turks were not
engaged. The Russians lost 45 officers killed and 101 wounded, 1762
men killed and 2720 wounded. The Allied Army had 126 guns against 96
of the Russians; but the former, owing to the nature of the ground,
played but a small part in the fight.

The whole of the loss fell upon a comparatively small number of the
English regiments, and as the French had 9000 men in reserve who had
not fired a shot, there was no season why the greater portion of the
army, with all the cavalry, should not at once have followed on the
track of the beaten Russians. Had they done so, the war in the Crimea
would have been over in three days. That time, however, elapsed before
a move was made. The reason assigned was the necessity of caring for
the wounded and burying the dead. But this might have been committed
to the hands of sailors and marines, of whom 5000 might have been
landed at night; in which case the whole Allied Army could have
marched at day break.

It was a sad sight when the four regiments of the Light Division
mustered after their work was done. Hitherto in the confusion and
fierce excitement of the fight, men marked not who stood and who fell.
But now as the diminished regiments paraded, mere skeletons of the
fine corps which had marched gayly from their camping-ground of the
night before, the terrible extent of their losses was manifest. Tears
rolled down the cheeks of strong men who had never flinched in the
storm of fire, as they saw how many of their comrades were absent, and
the glory of the victory was dimmed indeed by the sorrow for the dead.

"I wanted to see a battle," Harry Archer said to Captain Lancaster,
who, like him, had gone through the fight without a scratch, "but this
is more than I bargained for. To think of half one's friends and
comrades gone, and all in about two hours' fighting. It has been a
deadly affair, indeed."

"Yes, as far as we are concerned, Archer. But not for the whole army.
I heard Doctor Alexander say just now that the casualties were about
1500, and that out of 27,000 men is a mere nothing to the proportion
in many battles. The French have, I hear, lost rather less."

"I thought in a battle," Harry said, "one would see something of the
general affair, but I certainly did not. In fact, from the time when
we dashed up the river bank till the capture of the battery, I saw
nothing. I knew there were some of our men by the side of me, and that
we were all pushing forward, but beyond that I knew absolutely
nothing. It was something like going through a tremendous thunder
shower with one's head down, only a thousand times more so."

After parade the men scattered in groups; some went down to the river
to fill their canteens, others strolled through the vineyards picking
grapes, and in spite of the fact that in many places the dead lay
thickly together, a careless laugh was sometimes heard. The regiments
which had not been engaged were at work bringing in the wounded, and
Doctor Alexander and his assistants were busy at the ghastly task of
amputating limbs and extracting balls.

The next day a few officers from the fleet came up; among these was
Hawtry, who was charged with a special mission from Jack, who could
not again ask for leave, to inquire after his brother. The wounded
were sent down in arabas and litters to the ships, a painful journey
of three miles. The French wounded fared better, as they had
well-appointed hospital vans. Seven hundred and fifty Russian wounded
were collected and laid together, and were given in charge of the
inhabitants of a Tartar village near; Dr. Thomson, of the 44th
Regiment with a servant volunteering to remain in charge of them, with
the certain risk of capture when the Russian troops returned after our
departure.

On the morning of the 23d the army started, continuing its march along
the road to Sebastopol, the way being marked not only by debris thrown
away by the retreating Russians, but by the cottages and pretty villas
having been sacked by the Cossacks as they retired.

The troops halted for the night at Katcha, where the French were
reinforced by 8000 men who were landed from transports just arrived,
and the English by the Scots Greys and the 57th. As it was found that
the enemy had batteries along the northwest of the harbor of
Sebastopol which would cause delay and trouble to invest, while the
army engaged in the operation would have to draw all its provisions
and stores from the harbor at the mouth of the Katcha River, it was
determined to march round Sebastopol, and to invest it on the southern
side, where the Russians, not expecting it, would have made but slight
preparations for a resistance.

Towards the sea-face, Sebastopol was of immense strength, mounting
seventeen guns at the Telegraph Battery, 104 at Fort Constantine,
eighty at Fort Saint Michael, forty at battery No. 4, and some fifty
others in smaller batteries. All these were on the north side of the
harbor. On the southern side were the Quarantine Fort with fifty-one
guns, Fort Alexander with sixty-four, the Arsenal Battery with fifty,
Fort Saint Nicholas with 192, and Fort Paul with eighty. In addition
to these tremendous defences, booms had been fixed across the mouth of
the harbor, and a three-decker, three two-deckers, and two frigates
sunk in a line, forming a formidable barrier against the entry of
hostile ships. Besides all this, the whole of the Russian Black Sea
fleet were in harbor, and prepared to take part in the defence against
an attack by sea. Upon the other hand, Sebastopol was naturally weak
on the land side. It lay in a hollow, and guns from the upper ground
could everywhere search it.

At the time when the Allied Armies arrived before it the only defences
were an old loop-holed wall, a battery of fourteen guns and six
mortars, and one or two batteries which were as yet scarcely
commenced.

The march from the Katcha to the south side was performed without
interruption, and on the 26th, six days after the battle of Alma, the
Allied Army reached their new position. According to arrangements, the
British occupied the harbor of Balaklava, while the French took
possession of Kamiesch and Kaznatch, as bases for the supply of their
armies. At the mouth of Balaklava Harbor are the ruins of a Genoese
fort standing 200 feet above the sea. This was supposed to be
unoccupied. As the staff, however, were entering the town, they were
astonished by four shells falling close to them.

The "Agamemnon," which was lying outside, at once opened fire, and the
fort immediately hung out a flag of truce. The garrison consisted only
of the commandant and sixty men. The officer, on being asked why he
should have opened fire when he knew that the place could not be held,
replied that he did so as he had not been summoned to surrender, and
felt bound in honor to fire until he did so.

The British ships at once entered the harbor, and the disembarkation
of the stores and siege-train commenced. The harbor of Balaklava was
but ill-suited for the requirements of a large army. It was some half
mile in length and a few hundred yards broad, and looked like a little
inland lake, for the rocks rose precipitously at its mouth, and the
passage through them made a bend, so that the outlet was not visible
from a ship once fairly inside. The coast is steep and bold, the rocky
cliff rising sheer up from the water's edge to heights varying from
400 to 2000 feet. A vessel coasting along it would not notice the
narrow passage, or dream--on entering--that a harbor lay hidden
behind. On either side of the harbor inside the hills rose steeply, on
the left hand, so steeply, that that side was useless for the purposes
of shipping. On the right hand there was a breadth of flat ground
between the water and the hill, and here and upon the lower slopes
stood the village of Balaklava. The valley extended for some distance
beyond the head of the harbor, most of the ground being occupied with
vineyards. Beyond was the wide rolling plain upon which the battles of
Balaklava and Inkerman were to be fought. Taken completely by
surprise, the inhabitants of Balaklava had made no attempt to escape,
but upon the arrival of the British general, a deputation received him
with presents of fruit and flowers.

By this time the fleet had come round, and the sailors were soon hard
at work assisting to unload the transports and get the stores and
siege materials on shore. It was reported that a marine battery was to
be formed, and there was eager excitement on board as to the officers
who would be selected. Each of the men-of-war contributed their quota,
and Lieutenant Hethcote found that he had been told off as second in
command, and that he was to take a midshipman and twenty men of the
"Falcon."

The matter as to the midshipman was settled by Captain Stuart.

"You may as well take Archer," he said. "You won't like to ask for him
because he's your cousin; but I asked for his berth, you know, and
don't mind doing a little bit of favoritism this once."

And so, to Jack's intense delight, he found that he was to form a
portion of the landing party.

These were in all 200 in number, and their work was, in the first
place, to assist to get the heavy siege guns from the wharf to the
front.

It is necessary that the position occupied by the Allies should be
perfectly comprehended, in order to understand the battles and
operations which subsequently took place. It may be described as a
triangle with one bulging side. The apex of the triangle were the
heights on the seashore, known as the Marine Heights.

Here, at a point some 800 feet above the sea, where a ravine broke the
line of cliffs, was the camp of the marines, in a position almost
impregnable against any enemy's force, following the seashore. On the
land-slopes of the hills, down towards Balaklava, lay the Highland
Brigade, guarding the approach from the plains from the Marine Heights
to the mouth of Balaklava Valley, at the mouth of which were the camps
of the cavalry, and not far off a sailor's camp with heavy guns and
800 men.

This side of the triangle continued along over the undulating ground,
and some three miles farther, reached the right flank of the position
of the Allies above Sebastopol, which formed the base of our imaginary
triangle.

This position was a plateau, of which one side sloped down to
Sebastopol; the end broke steeply off down into the valley of
Inkerman, while behind the slopes were more gradual. To the left it
fell away gradually towards the sea. This formed the third side of the
triangle. But between Balaklava and Sebastopol the land made a wide
bulge outwards, and in this bulge lay the French harbor of Kamiesch.

From the Marine Heights to the crest looking down upon Sebastopol was
a distance of some seven miles. From the right of our position above
Inkerman Valley to Kamiesch was about five miles.

A glance at the map will enable this explanation to be understood.

At the commencement of the siege the British were posted on the right
of the Allies. This, no doubt, was the post of honor, but it threw
upon them an enormous increase of work. In addition to defending
Balaklava, it was upon them that the brunt of any assault by a Russian
army acting in the field would fall. They would have an equal share of
the trench-work, and had five miles to bring up their siege guns and
stores; whereas the French harbor was close to their camp.

It was tremendous work getting up the guns, but soldiers and sailors
willingly toiled away, pushing, and hauling, and aiding the teams,
principally composed of bullocks, which had been brought up from
Constantinople and other Turkish ports. Long lines of arabas, laden
with provisions and stores, crawled slowly along between Balaklava and
the front. Strings of mules and horses, laden with tents, and driven
by men of every nationality bordering the Mediterranean, followed the
same line.

Parties of soldiers, in fatigue suits, went down to Sebastopol to
assist unloading the ships and bringing up stores. Parties of officers
on ponies brought from Varna or other ports on the Black Sea, cantered
down to make purchases of little luxuries on board the ships in the
harbor, or from the Levantines, who had set up little shops near it.
All was life and gayety.

"It is all very well, Mr. Archer," growled Dick Simpson, an old
boatswain, as the men paused after helping to drag a heavy gun up one
of the slopes, "in this here weather, but it won't be no laughing
matter when the winter comes on. Why, these here fields would be just
a sheet of mud. Why, bless you, last winter I was a staying with a
brother of mine what farms a bit of land down in Norfolk, and after a
week's rain they couldn't put the horses on to the fields. This here
sile looks just similar, only richer and deeper, and how they means to
get these big carts laden up through it, beats me altogether."

"Yes, Dick," Jack Archer answered, "but they expect to take the place
before the winter comes on."

"They expects," the old tar repeated scornfully. "For my part, I don't
think nothing of these soldier chaps. Why, I was up here with the
first party as come, the day after we got here, and there warn't
nothing in the world to prevent our walking into it. Here we've got
50,000 men, enough, sir, to have pushed those rotten old walls down
with their hands, and here we be a-digging and a-shovelling on the
hillside nigh a mile from the place, and the Russians are a-digging
and a-shovelling just as hard at their side. I see 'em last night
after we got back to camp. It seems to me as if these here generals
wanted to give 'em time to make the place so strong as we cannot take
it, before they begins. Why, it stands to reason that the Rooshians,
who've got their guns all stored close at hand, their soldiers and
their sailors handy, and no trouble as to provisions and stores, can
run up works and arm them just about three times as fast as we can;
and where shall we be at the end of three months? We shall be just
a-shivering and a-shaking, and a-starving with cold, and short of grub
on that 'ere hill; and the Rooshians will be comfortable in the town
a-laughing at us. Don't tell me, Mr. Archer; my opinion is, these 'ere
soldiers are no better than fools. They don't seem to have no common
sense."

"I hope it's not as bad as all that, Dick," Jack laughed. "But it
certainly does seem as if we were purposely giving the Russians time
to strengthen themselves. But you'll see when we go at them we shall
make short work of them."

"Well, I hope so, Mr. Archer," Dick Simpson said, shaking his head
ominously, "but I'm dubious about it."

By this time the oxen and men had recovered their breath, and they
again set to at their tiresome work. Although the weather was fine and
the position of the camps high and healthy, the cholera which had
ravaged their ranks at Varna still followed them, and during the three
first weeks in the Crimea, the Allies lost as many men from this cause
as they had done in the Battle of Alma.

By the 4th of October forty pieces of heavy artillery had been brought
up to the front, and the work of the trenches began in earnest.

On the morning of the 10th the Russian batteries for the first time
opened a heavy fire upon us. But the distance was too great for much
harm to be done. On the 11th the Russians made their first sortie,
which was easily repulsed.

On the 17th of October the bombardment commenced. The French and
English had 117 guns in position, the Russians 130. The fire commenced
at half-past six. By 8.40 a French magazine at the extreme right blew
up, killing and wounding 100 men, while the French fire at this part
was crushed by that of the Russians opposed to them. All day, however,
the cannonade continued unabating on both sides, the men-of-war aiding
the land forces by engaging the forts.

During the night the Russians, having plenty of guns at hand, and
labor in abundance, mounted a larger number of guns, and their
superiority was so marked that the bombardment was gradually
discontinued, and even the most sanguine began to acknowledge that an
enormous mistake had been made in not attacking upon our arrival, and
that it was impossible to say how long the siege would last.
Ammunition, too, was already running short.

For the next day or two, however, our guns continued their fire. But
the French had been so completely overpowered by the heavy Russian
metal that they were unable to assist us. The sailors had had their
full share of work during the bombardment. Captain Peel, who commanded
the party, was just the man to get the greatest possible amount of
work from them. Always in high spirits, taking his full share in all
the work, and exposing himself recklessly in the heaviest fire, he was
almost idolized by his men.

Jack Archer lived in a tent with five other midshipmen, and was
attended upon by one of the fore-top men, who, not having been told
off for the party, had begged permission to go in that capacity.

Tom Hammond was the most willing of servants, but his abilities were
by no means equal to his good-will. His ideas of cooking were of the
vaguest kind. The salt junk was either scarcely warm through, or was
boiled into a soup. The preserved potatoes were sometimes burned from
his neglect of putting sufficient water, or he had forgotten to soak
them beforehand, and they resembled bits of gravel rather than
vegetables. Sometimes the boys laughed, sometimes they stormed, and
Tom was more than once obliged to beat a rapid retreat to escape a
volley of boots and other missiles.

At first the tent was pitched in the usual way on the ground; but one
of the boys, in a ramble through the camp, had seen an officer's tent
prepared in a way which added greatly to its comfort, and this they at
once adopted. Tom Hammond was set to dig a hole of eighteen inches
smaller diameter than the circle of the tent. It was three feet in
depth, with perpendicular sides. At nine inches from the edge a trench
a foot deep was dug. In the centre was an old flour barrel filled with
earth. Upon this stood the tent-pole. The tent was brought down so as
to extend six inches into the ditch, the nine-inch rim of earth
standing inside serving as a shelf on which to put odds and ends. A
wall of sods, two feet high, was erected round the outside of the
little ditch. Thus a comfortable habitation was formed. The additional
three feet of height added greatly to the size of the tent, as the
occupants could now stand near the edges instead of in the centre
only. It was much warmer than before at night, and all draught was
excluded by the tent overlapping the ditch, and by the wall outside. A
short ladder at the entrance enabled them to get in and out.

Tom Hammond had grumbled at first at the labor which this freak of his
masters entailed. But as the work went on and he saw how snug and
comfortable was the result, he took a pride in it, and the time was
not far off when its utility was to become manifest. Indeed, later on
in the winter the greater portion of the tents were got up in this
manner.

The camp of the Light Division was not far from that of the sailors,
and the two brothers were often together. Fortunately both of them had
so far escaped the illnesses which had already decimated the army.




CHAPTER VIII.


BALAKLAVA

On the morning of the 25th Harry ran into Jack's tent.

"Wake up, Jack, there is a row down near Balaklava. The Russians are
coming on in force. You're off duty, are you not? So am I. We only
came out of the trenches half an hour ago. Hurry on your things and
come along."

Jack was only a minute or two getting into his clothes, the other
midshipmen off duty also hurrying up. Tom Hammond brought in four cups
of hot coffee, which they drank hastily, and then munching their hard
biscuits as they went, the party of four hurried off.

On reaching the edge of the plateau the whole scene was visible. On
four knolls in the plain, redoubts had been erected, and these were
garrisoned by the Turks. Some two miles out ran the little river
called the Tchernaya, which runs through the valley of Inkerman into
the head of the harbor of Sebastopol, and upon this a body of Russian
troops had been for some time encamped. Large bodies of the enemy were
known to be gathered on the Mackenzie heights, a range of hills which
bounded the plain upon the opposite side. These had been strongly
reinforced, and at daybreak the Russian army, having gathered at the
Tchernaya, advanced upon the Turkish redoubts. The scene when the boys
reached the edge of the plateau was a stirring one. Great bodies of
infantry were marching across the undulating plain. Strong regiments
of cavalry swept hither and thither, and two batteries of light guns
had already opened on the redoubts. Lines of British infantry could be
seen drawn up at the foot of the slopes from Balaklava to the Marine
Heights, where the marines were getting the guns in a position to
command the plain. Solid bodies of British cavalry were drawn up near
the mouth of the valley. The drums and bugles were sounding all over
the plateau behind the group, and the troops were already forming up,
and staff-officers were dashing about with orders.

"There goes my regimental call," Harry said. "I must go back again,
Jack."

"I shall push on," Jack said. "Come along, you fellows, we're too far
off to see much of it here. Let us get down as near Balaklava as we
can."

So saying, the midshipmen set off at a run. For a few minutes the guns
of No. 1 redoubt, the farthest out of all, replied to the Russian
fire, and then the Turks, menaced by overwhelming forces, and beyond
the possibility of any assistance, left their guns and bolted across
the plain towards the second redoubt. Few of them, however, reached
it, for the Russian cavalry swooped down on them and nearly all were
sabred as they ran. As soon as the Russians obtained possession of the
redoubt they turned its guns upon the British, and the 93d Highlanders
who were drawn up in front of the entrance to the Balaklava valley,
were forced to fall back. Our cavalry, which were formed up in a
slight dip of the ground, were invisible to the enemy. As the Russians
advanced, the Turks in the second redoubt fled towards the third, but
the Russian cavalry were too quick for them, and but few escaped. The
guns were turned by the Russians upon the third redoubt, and, untaught
by the fate of their comrades that it was safer to stand than to run,
the Turks here also bolted, and ran for the town. Again did the
Russian cavalry sweep down. The naval guns from the Marine Heights,
the French and Turkish batteries on the road up to the camp in vain
spoke out, and sent their shot and shell far out on the plain. The
distance was too great, and many of the Turks were cut down, the rest
reaching our lines where they formed up behind the 93d.

By this time the whole sweep from the Sebastopol plateau to Balaklava
was alive with spectators. The British infantry were drawn up ready to
defend their position or to march down and take part in a general
battle. Heavy columns of the French were marching from their distant
camps, while groups of generals and mounted officers watched the
progress of the fight. Lord Raglan and General Canrobert, who now
commanded the French (Marshal St. Arnaud having gone on board ship a
day or two after the battle of the Alma, where he died two days
later), had taken up their position on some rising ground above
Kadikoi, a village which lay near the mouth of the Balaklava valley.

As the Russian cavalry on the left of their advance crowned the slope
they saw the Highlanders drawn up in line across the plain. They
halted till joined by numbers of other squadrons. Then they dashed at
the Highlanders. As they came sweeping in magnificent array the Turks
fired a volley and bolted. The Highlanders stood firm and immovable.
When the Russians came within 600 yards, a long flash of fire ran
along the British front. The distance, however, was too great, and the
Russians came steadily on, although the shot from the British
batteries were plunging thick among them.

When within 250 yards of the Highlanders another flash of fire swept
out along the line, and this time so great was the effect that the
Russian squadrons recoiled, and in another minute were galloping back
towards their main body, while a cheer ran along the heights from the
marine battery to Sebastopol.

Lord Raglan now sent orders to Lord Lucan to advance, and the Heavy
Brigade moved forward just as a large body of Russian cavalry came
over the brow in front of them. The British trumpets rang out the
charge, and the Scots Greys and Inniskillings, who formed the first
line of the Heavy Brigade, dashed at the enemy. Gathering speed as
they went, these two splendid regiments rode at the heavy masses of
Russian cavalry. Faster and faster grew their speed till, with a
mighty shout, they flung themselves upon the foe. For a moment all
seemed wild confusion to the spectators. Redcoats and black were
inextricably mixed together, and over them like a play of rapid
lightning was the flash of steel as the swords rose and fell.
Presently the Redcoats were seen emerging from the rear, having cut
their way through the surging mass. The flanks of the Russian column,
however, were lapping them in, and it seemed that the little body
would be annihilated, when the 4th and 5th Dragoon Guards, forming the
second line of the Heavy Brigade, burst upon them like a torrent.
Smitten, as if by a thunderbolt, the Russian cavalry, men and horses,
rolled over before the stroke, and the column, shattered and broken
into fragments, galloped away to the shelter of their infantry, while
a roar of triumph arose from long lines of the allies.

By this time the French infantry had arrived upon the ground, and
Balaklava was safe. Then came the episode by which the battle of
Balaklava is best known, the famous charge of the Six Hundred. An
order was sent from Lord Raglan to Lord Lucan to advance the light
cavalry farther. Captain Nolan, who bore the order, was himself a
light cavalry officer of great enterprise and distinction, and who had
an unlimited faith in the powers of British light cavalry. Excited
probably by the sight of the glorious feat achieved by the "heavies,"
and burning to see it emulated by his comrades of the light regiments,
he so gave the order to Lord Lucan that the latter conceived it to be
his duty to charge. The order was simply to advance, but when Lord
Lucan asked him, "How far are we to advance?" he replied, pointing to
the Russians, "There are the enemy and there are the guns."

Lord Lucan, conceiving that his orders were absolute, ordered Lord
Cardigan to advance upon the guns. Lord Cardigan saw at once the
desperate nature of the enterprise. The guns were a mile and a half
distant, backed by the whole Russian army. The line to be ridden over
was swept not only by the fire of the guns he was about to charge, but
by those of other batteries on the flank. No support was possible, for
the heavy cavalry were at this time far away, executing a movement
which had been ordered. Lastly, even if successful, the charge could
be attended with no great results, as it would be impossible either to
hold or carry away the guns.

The enterprise was indeed a desperate one. Lord Cardigan gave the
order, and the Light Brigade, numbering in all but the strength of a
single regiment, set out at a trot towards the distant Russians. As
they approached they quickened their speed, and the spectators saw
with feelings of mixed horror and admiration, the enterprise on which
they had embarked. When at the distance of 1200 yards from the
Russians, thirty pieces of artillery opened fire upon them. Men and
horses rolled over before the iron shower, but the squadrons closed up
their gaps and rode straight forward, with sabres flashing in the sun,
leaving the plain behind them dotted with killed and wounded.

Again, as they neared the battery, the iron shower swept through their
ranks; then with a mighty shout they dashed upon the guns. Brief was
the struggle here. The Russian gunners were cut down, and gathering
together, boot to boot, the British cavalry rode straight at a Russian
line of infantry which formed up 100 yards behind the guns, poured a
volley into them. There was no pause, but straight, and with the shock
of an avalanche, they hurled themselves at the Russians. There was a
yell, a crash, the clash of sabre on bayonet, the shout of the victor,
the scream of the dying, and the British horsemen burst through the
Russian line. Their work was done. They were conquerors, but alone in
an army of enemies. Turning now, they swept back again through the
guns on their homeward way. The flank batteries belched their fire
upon them, the rattle of musketry sounded round them, a regiment of
cavalry was hurled upon their flanks, but these, weak as they were,
they dashed aside, and wounded and bleeding, the remnant of the
gallant band rode on until met by the Heavy Brigade, advancing to
assist them and cover their retreat.

Our infantry now made a forward movement. The Russians fell back, and
at half-past eleven the battle of Balaklava was over. While the
British charge was going on, 200 of the French cavalry made a
brilliant charge on the left and carried a battery, but had to retreat
with a loss of two captains, and fifty men killed and wounded. Our
loss in all was thirteen officers killed or taken, and twenty-seven
officers wounded, 162 men killed or taken, and 224 men wounded. There
were 394 horses killed or missing, and 126 horses wounded. The
Russians carried off some ten guns from the redoubts which they
captured in the morning.

Jack and his friends returned at the conclusion of the fight to camp,
where, as they had rather expected, they met with a severe reprimand
for their absence, being told that upon such an occasion, whether off
duty or not, their duty was to remain in camp. Captain Peel indeed,
was nearly sending them back to their ships again. But after a very
severe reprimand he allowed them to remain. The boys went back to
their tent somewhat crestfallen, but agreed that such a sight as they
had witnessed was worth anything.

October ended, and the batteries of besieged and besiegers continued
to play, the Russians causing much annoyance by the heavy shell which
they threw up from their mortars; the battery worked by the
blue-jackets suffering particularly. The Russians had now 240 guns in
their new works, a number far superior to those of the allies. As yet
no damage whatever had been inflicted on the enemy's works. Each day
their faces were pitted with shot, each night the Russians repaired
the damages. In the mean time the Russians had received very large
reinforcements. Two of the Imperial Grand Dukes had also arrived, and
they were preparing for an attempt to sweep the allies into the sea.
The weather had set in wet; the soldiers were weakened by their
incessant work in the trenches, by wet and exposure, and the strength
of many of the regiments was greatly reduced by disease. All hopes of
capturing the fortress and returning to Constantinople to winter were
now at an end, and the roads having become mere quagmires, the
supplies of food and of fuel were growing scanty. On the 3d, Jack had
been sent down to Balaklava with a despatch from Captain Peel to
Admiral Lyons. Mr. Hethcote lent him his pony, and having delivered
his message in the guard-ship in the harbor, whence it would be taken
out to the "Agamemnon," Jack went on board some of the transports, and
discharged a number of commissions with which he had been intrusted by
his comrades. So numerous were they that he was obliged to get a
couple of sacks which were completely filled with hams, bottled stout,
fresh bread, potted meats, brandy, matches, and tobacco. He had, too,
succeeded in purchasing several waterproof sheets and tarpaulins, and
these being fastened on the top of the sacks, were placed upon the
pony's back, and, taking his bridle, Jack started through the mud for
his long tramp back to camp, for it was quite out of the question that
the pony could carry him in addition to these burdens. Not a little
laughter was excited on his arrival, and there was quite a rush of the
various officers to procure their share of Jack's purchases, for no
officer had been down to Balaklava for a fortnight, and the stores of
luxuries were completely exhausted.

Next night Jack and his messmates gave a grand entertainment. Harry
and two other lieutenants of the 33d--for the battle of the Alma had
made so many death vacancies in the regiment that he had obtained his
promotion--were there, and two young officers of the 30th who were
cousins of one of Jack's tentmates. It certainly was a close pack. Tom
Hammond had obtained some planks, and, laying these on the flour
barrel, had contrived a sort of circular table, round which the
parties sat with their backs to the wall, on boxes, empty preserved
potato tins, rum kegs, and portmanteaus. There was no room for Tom to
enter the tent, so the full dishes were handed in through the
entrance, and the empty ones passed out. Each guest of course brought
his own plate, knife, fork, spoon, and drinking tin. As for a change
of plates, no one dreamed of such a thing.

Outside, the night set in wet and gloomy, but four tallow candles
stuck in bottles threw a grand illumination.

The first course was pea-soup. It smelt good, but it had a suspicious
appearance, globules of grease floated upon its surface. All fell to
with a will, but with the first spoonful there was a general
explosion.

"What on earth is this, Jack?" Harry exclaimed.

"What the deuce is it?" another said. "It is filthy!"

While one of the young officers of the 30th exclaimed to his cousin,
"Confound it, Ned! you haven't brought us here to poison us, have
you?"

This explosion was followed by a simultaneous shout for Tom by his six
angry masters.

The top-man put his head in at the slit.

"What the deuce have you been doing to this soup?" roared the
indignant chorus.

"Soup, your honors? Nothing."

"Nothing! Don't tell me, you ruffian!" exclaimed Allison, the oldest
of the midshipmen. "It's poison! What have you been doing to it?"

"Well, your honor, the only way I can account for it is that a while
ago I took off the lid to see if it was boiling nicely, when a bit of
tallow candle I had in my fingers slipped and fell into it. I couldn't
get it out, though I scalded my fingers in trying, and it just melted
away in no time. I skimmed the fat off the top, your honors, and
didn't think it would make no matter."

The shout of laughter which greeted the explanation was loud and
general.

"You're a scoundrel, Tom!" Allison said, "and I shall have to ask Mr.
Hethcote to disrate you, and get some one here who is not a born
idiot. Here, take this horrible mess away! Pour the contents of your
plates back into the pot, boys, and put the plates together. You must
wash them, Tom, or the tallow will taste in everything we have."

The things were passed out of the tent, and after five minutes the
plates were returned, and with them a great tin piled up with Irish
stew, the contents of five tins. A cheer rose as the smell of the food
greeted their nostrils.

"Hurrah! This is something like! I don't think there's any mistake
this time."

Nor was there. The stew was unanimously voted to be perfect, and Tom
was again called to the tent-door, and solemnly forgiven.

Then came fried rashers of ham, eaten with hard biscuit. Then came the
great triumph of the banquet--a great plum-pudding, which had been
sent out from England in a tin, ready cooked, and which had only
required an hour's boiling to warm it through.

In order to eat this in what the midshipmen called proper style, a tin
pannikin half filled with brandy was held over the candles, and the
brandy being then ignited, was poured over the pudding. Not a scrap of
this was left when the party had finished, and the table being
cleared, pipes were brought out and lighted; the drinking-cups
refilled with grog, and the party set-to to enjoy a long evening.

"It is a beastly night," the one sitting next to the door said,
peering out into the darkness. "It is a fine rain, or rather a Scotch
mist, so thick I can hardly see the next tent. It will be as much as
you fellows will be able to do to find your way back to your camps.

"Now," Allison said, "let us make ourselves comfortable. It is only
seven o'clock yet, and you've got three hours before 'lights out.'
It's my duty as president of the mess to call upon some one for a
song, but as I'm a good fellow I will set the example myself. Upon the
present occasion we can't do better than begin with 'The Red, White,
and Blue,' and, mind, a good chorus every one. Any one shirking the
chorus will have no share of the next round of grog, and any one who
does not sing when called upon, or who attempts to make any base
explanations or excuses, will have to drink his tin full of salt and
water."

Without further delay Allison began his song, one very popular at that
time. There was no occasion for him to use his authority as president
in the infliction of fines, for every one in turn, when called upon,
did his best, and the choruses were heard over the whole of the naval
camp.

"Hullo! What's all this noise about?" said a cheery voice presently,
as a head was put through the opening of the tent.

The midshipmen all jumped to their feet.

"We are having a jollification, sir," Allison said, "on the things
Archer brought up from Balaklava yesterday. Are we making too much
noise, sir?"

"Not a bit, lads," the first lieutenant said. "It's cheerful to hear
you. It isn't much enjoyment that we get on this bleak plateau. Well,
good-night. You mustn't keep it up after 'lights out,' you know."

"That's something like a first lieutenant," Allison said, when Mr.
Hethcote had retired. "Most of them look as if they'd swallowed a
ramrod, and treat middies as if they were the dust of the earth. I'm
quite sure that a man who is genial and nice gets his work done ever
so much better than do those stand-off fellows. I see in your camp,"
he said to the officers, "colonels and majors standing and chatting to
the young officers just as pleasantly and freely as a party of
gentlemen on shore. Why the captain of a ship should hold himself as
if he were a little god, is a thing I have never been able to make
out. I'm sure you fellows obey orders on parade none the less promptly
and readily because the colonel has been chatting with you in the
mess-room half an hour before. But don't let us waste time. Archer,
it's your turn for a song."

And so merrily the hours passed away, until it was time to break up
and put out the lights. And as the young fellows laughed and sung,
while the mist and rain came down pitilessly outside, they little
thought what was preparing for the morrow, or dreamed that the
churches in Sebastopol were crowded with Russian soldiers praying the
saints to give them victory on the morrow, and to aid them to drive
the enemies of the Czar into the sea.




CHAPTER IX.


INKERMAN

It was soon after five in the morning when the pickets of the second
division, keeping such watch as they were able in the misty light,
while the rain fell steadily and thickly, dimly perceived a gray mass
moving up the hill from the road at the end of the harbor. Although
this point was greatly exposed to attack, nothing had been done to
strengthen the position. A few lines of earthworks, a dozen guns in
batteries, would have made the place secure from a sudden attack. But
not a sod had been turned, and the steep hillside lay bare and open to
the advance of an enemy.

Although taken by surprise, and wholly ignorant of the strength of the
force opposed to them, the pickets stood their ground, but before the
heavy masses of men clambering up the hill, they could do nothing, and
were forced to fall back, contesting every foot.

Almost simultaneously, the pickets of the light division were also
driven in, and General Codrington, who happened to be making his
rounds at the front, at once sent a hurried messenger to the camp with
the report that the Russians were attacking in force. The second
division was that encamped nearest to the threatened spot. General
Pennefather, who, as Sir De Lacy Evans was ill on board ship, was in
command, called the men who had just turned out of their tents, and
were beginning as best they could to light their fires of soaked wood,
to stand to their arms, and hurried forward General Adam's brigade,
consisting of the 41st, 47th, and 49th, to the brow of the hill to
check the advance of the enemy by the road from the valley, while with
his own brigade, consisting of the 30th, 55th, and 95th, he took post
on their flank. Already, however, the Russians had got their guns on
to the high ground, and these opened a tremendous fire on the British
troops.

Sir George Cathcart brought up such portions of the 20th, 21st, 46th,
57th, 63d, and 68th regiments as were not employed in the trenches,
and occupied the ground to the right of the second division. General
Codrington, with part of the 7th, 23d, and 33d, took post to cover the
extreme of our right attack. General Buller's brigade was to support
the second division on the left, while Jeffrey's brigade, with the
80th regiment, was pushed forward into the brushwood. The third
division, under Sir R. England, was held in reserve. The Duke of
Cambridge, with the Guards, advanced on the right of the second
division to the edge of the plateau overlooking the valley of the
Tchernaya, Sir George Cathcart's division being on his right.

There was no manoeuvring. Each general led his men forward through the
mist and darkness against an enemy whose strength was unknown, and
whose position was only indicated by the flash of his guns and the
steady roll of his musketry. It was a desperate strife between
individual regiments and companies scattered and broken in the thick
brushwood, and the dense columns of gray-clad Russians, who advanced
from the mist to meet them. Few orders were given or needed. Each
regiment was to hold the ground on which it stood, or die there.

Sir George Cathcart led his men down a ravine in front of him, but the
Russians were already on the hillside above, and poured a terrible
fire into the 63d. Turning, he cheered them on, and led them back up
the hill; surrounded and enormously outnumbered, the regiments
suffered terribly on their way back, Sir George Cathcart and many of
his officers and vast numbers of the men being killed. The 88th were
surrounded, and would have been cut to pieces, when four companies of
the 77th charged the Russians, and broke a way of retreat for their
comrades.

The Guards were sorely pressed; a heavy Russian column bore down upon
them, and bayonet to bayonet, the men strove fiercely with their foes.
The ammunition failed, but they still clung to a small, unarmed
battery called the Sand-bag battery, in front of their portion, and
with volleys of stones tried to check their foes. Fourteen officers
and half the men were down, and yet they held the post till another
Russian column appeared in their rear. Then they fell back, but,
reinforced by a wing of the 20th, they still opposed a resolute front
to the Russians.

Not less were the second division pressed; storms of shot and bullets
swept through them, column after column of grey-clad Russians surged
up the hill and flung themselves upon them; but, though suffering
terribly, the second division still held their ground. The 41st was
well-nigh cut to pieces, the 95th could muster but sixty-four bayonets
when the fight was over, and the whole division, when paraded when the
day was done, numbered but 800 men.

But this could not last. As fast as one assault was repulsed, fresh
columns of the enemy came up the hill to the attack, our ammunition
was failing, the men exhausted with the struggle, and the day was
well-nigh lost when, at nine o'clock, the French streamed over the
brow of the hill on our right in great force, and fell upon the flank
of the Russians. Even now the battle was not won. The Russians brought
up their reserves, and the fight still raged along the line. For
another three hours the struggle went on, and then, finding that even
the overwhelming numbers and the courage with which their men fought
availed not to shake the defence, the Russian generals gave up the
attack, and the battle of Inkerman was at an end.

On the Russian side some 35,000 men were actually engaged, with
reserves of 15,000 more in their rear; while the British, who for
three hours withstood them, numbered but 8500 bayonets. Seven thousand
five hundred of the French took part in the fight. Forty-four British
officers were killed, 102 wounded; 616 men killed, 1878 wounded. The
French had fourteen officers killed, and thirty-four wounded; 118 men
killed, 1299 wounded. These losses, heavy as they were, were yet small
by the side of those of the Russians. Terrible, indeed, was the
destruction which the fire of our men inflicted upon the dense masses
of the enemy. The Russians admitted that they lost 247 officers killed
and wounded, 4076 men killed, 10,162 wounded. In this battle the
British had thirty-eight, the French eighteen guns engaged. The
Russians had 106 guns in position.

Jack Archer and his comrades were still in bed, when the first
dropping shots, followed by a heavy roll of musketry, announced that
the Russians were upon them. Accustomed to the roar or guns, they
slept on, till Tom Hammond rushed into the tent.

"Get up, gentlemen, get up. The Russian army has climbed up the hill,
and is attacking us like old boots. The bugles are sounding the alarm
all over the camps."

In an instant the lads were out of bed, and their dressing took them
scarce a minute.

"I can't see ten yards before me," Jack said, as he rushed out. "By
Jove, ain't they going it!"

Every minute added to the din, till the musketry grew into one
tremendous roar, above which the almost unbroken roll of the cannon
could scarce by heard. Along the whole face of the trenches the
batteries of the allies joined in the din; for it was expected that
the Russians would seize the opportunity to attack them also.

In a short time the fusillade of musketry broke out far to the left,
and showed that the Russians were there attacking the French lines.
The noise was tremendous, and all in camp were oppressed by the sound
which told of a mighty conflict raging, but of which they could see
absolutely nothing.

"This is awful," Jack said. "Here they are pounding away at each
other, and we as much out of it as if we were a thousand miles away.
Don't I wish Captain Peel would march us all down to help!"

But in view of the possible sortie, it would have been dangerous to
detach troops from their places on the trenches and batteries, and
the sailors had nothing to do but to wait, fuming over their forced
inaction while a great battle was raging close at hand. Overhead the
Russian balls sang in swift succession, sometimes knocking down a
tent, sometimes throwing masses of earth into the air, sometimes
bursting with a sharp detonation above them; and all this time the
rain fell, and the mist hung like a veil around them. Presently a
mounted officer rode into the sailor's camp.

"Where am I?" he said. "I have lost my way."

"This is the marine camp." Captain Peel said, stepping forward to him
as he drew rein. "How is the battle going, sir?"

"Very badly, I'm afraid. We are outnumbered by five to one. Our men
are fighting like heroes, but they are being fairly borne down by
numbers. The Russians have got a tremendous force of artillery on to
the hills, which we thought inaccessible to guns. There has been gross
carelessness on our part, and we are paying for it now. I am looking
for the third division camp; where is it?"

"Straight ahead, sir; but I think they have all gone forward. We heard
them tramping past in the mist."

"I am ordered to send every man forward; every musket is of value. How
many men have you here in case you are wanted?"

"We have only fifty," Captain Peel said. "The rest are all in the
battery, and I dare not move forward without absolute orders, as we
may be wanted to reinforce them, if the enemy makes a sortie."

The officer rode on, and the sailors stood in groups behind the line
of piled muskets, ready for an instant advance, if called upon.

Another half-hour passed, and the roll of fire continued unabated.

"It is certainly nearer than it was," Captain Peel said to Mr.
Hethcote. "No orders have come, but I will go forward myself and see
what is doing. Even our help, small as it is, may be useful at some
critical point. I will take two of the midshipmen with me, and will
send you back news of what is doing."

"Mr. Allison and Mr. Archer, you will accompany Captain Peel," Mr.
Hethcote said.

And the two youngsters, delighted at being chosen, prepared to start
at once.

"If they send up for reinforcements from the battery, Mr. Hethcote,
you will move the men down at once, without waiting for me. Take every
man down, even those on duty as cooks. There is no saying how hard we
may be pressed."

Followed by the young midshipmen, Captain Peel strode away through the
mist, which was now heavy with gunpowder-smoke. They passed through
the camp of the second division, which was absolutely deserted, except
that there was a bustle round the hospital marquèes, to which a string
of wounded, some carried on stretchers, some making their way
painfully on foot, was flowing in.

Many of the tents had been struck down by the Russian shot; black
heaps showed where others had been fired by the shell. Dimly ahead,
when the mist lifted, could be seen bodies of men, while on a distant
crest were the long lines of Russian guns, whose fire swept the
British regiments.

"I suppose these regiments are in reserve?" Jack said, as he passed
some of Sir R. England's division, lying down in readiness to move to
the front when required, most of the battalions having already gone
forward to support the troops who were most pressed.

Presently Captain Peel paused on a knoll, close to a body of mounted
officers.

"There's Lord Raglan," Allison said, nudging Jack. "That's the
headquarter staff."

At that moment a shell whizzed through the air, and exploded in the
centre of the group.

Captain Gordon's horse was killed, and a portion of the shell carried
away the leg of General Strangeway. The old general never moved, but
said quietly,--

"Will any one be kind enough to lift me off my horse?"

He was laid down on the ground, and presently carried to the rear,
where an hour afterwards he died.

Jack and his comrades, who were but a few yards away, felt strange and
sick, for it was the first they had seen of battle close at hand. Lord
Raglan, with his staff, moved slowly forward. Captain Peel asked if he
should bring up his sailors, but was told to hold them in reserve, as
the force in the trenches had already been fearfully weakened.

"Stay here," Captain Peel said to the midshipmen. "I shall go forward
a little, but do you remain where you are until I return. Just lie
down behind the crest. You will get no honor if you are hit here."

The lads were not sorry to obey, for a perfect hail of bullets was
whistling through the air. The mist had lifted still farther, and they
could obtain a sight of the whole line along which the struggle was
raging, scarce a quarter of a mile in front of them. Sometimes the
remnants of a regiment would fall back from the front, when a fresh
battalion from the reserves came up to fill its place, then forming
again, would readvance into the thick belt of smoke which marked where
the conflict was thickest. Sometimes above the roll of musketry would
come the sharp rattle which told of a volley by the British rifles.

Well was it that two out of the three divisions were armed with
Minies, for these created terrible havoc among the Russians, whose
smooth-bores were no match for these newly-invented weapons.

With beating hearts the boys watched the conflict, and could mark that
the British fire grew feebler, and in some places ceased altogether,
while the wild yells of the Russians rose louder as they pressed
forward exultingly, believing that victory lay within their grasp.

"Things look very bad, Jack," Allison said. "Ammunition is evidently
failing, and it is impossible for our fellows to hold out much longer
against such terrible odds. What on earth are the French doing all
this time? Our fellows have been fighting single-handed for the last
three hours. What in the world can they be up to?"

And regardless of the storm of bullets, he leaped to his feet and
looked round.

"Hurrah, Jack! Here they come, column after column. Ten more minutes
and they'll be up. Hurry up, you lubbers," he shouted in his
excitement; "every minute is precious, and you've wasted time enough,
surely. By Jove, they're only just in time. There are the Guards
falling back. Don't you see their bearskins?"

"They are only just in time," Jack agreed, as he stood beside his
comrade. "Another quarter of an hour and they would have had to begin
the battle afresh, for there would have been none of our fellows left.
Hurrah! hurrah!" he cried, as, with a tremendous volley and a ringing
shout, the French fell upon the flank of the Russians.

The lads had fancied that before that onslaught the Russians must have
given way at once. But no. Fresh columns of troops topped the hill,
fresh batteries took the place of those which had suffered most
heavily by the fire of our guns, and the fight raged as fiercely as
ever. Still, the boys had no fear of the final result. The French were
fairly engaged now, and from their distant camps fresh columns of
troops could be seen streaming across the plateau.

Upon our allies now fell the brunt of the fight, and the British,
wearied and exhausted, were able to take a short breathing-time. Then,
with pouches refilled and spirits heightened, they joined in the fray
again, and, as the fight went on, the cheers of the British and the
shouts of the French rose louder, while the answering yell of the
Russians grew fainter and less frequent. Then the thunder of musketry
sensibly diminished. The Russian artillery-men were seen to be
withdrawing their guns, and slowly and sullenly the infantry fell back
from the ground which they had striven so hard to win.

It was a heavy defeat, and had cost them 15,000 men; but, at least, it
had for the time saved Sebastopol; for, with diminished forces, the
British generals saw that all hopes of carrying the place by assault
before the winter were at an end and that it would need all their
effort to hold their lines through the months of frost and snow which
were before them.

When the battle was over, Captain Peel returned to the point where he
had left the midshipmen, and these followed him back to the camp,
where, however, they were not to stay, for every disposable man was at
once ordered out to proceed with stretchers to the front to bring in
wounded.

Terrible was the sight indeed. In many places the dead lay thickly
piled on the ground, and the manner in which Englishmen, Russians, and
Frenchmen lay mixed together showed how the tide of battle had ebbed
and flowed, and how each patch of ground had been taken and retaken
again and again. Here Russians and grenadiers lay stretched side by
side, sometimes with their bayonets still locked in each other's
bodies. Here, where the shot and shell swept most fiercely, lay the
dead, whose very nationality was scarcely distinguishable, so torn and
mutilated were they.

Here a French Zouave, shot through the legs, was sitting up,
supporting on his breast the head of his dying officer. A little way
off, a private of the 88th, whose arm had been carried away, besought
the searchers to fill and light his pipe for him, and to take the
musket out of the hand of a wounded Russian near, who, he said, had
three times tried to get it up to fire at him as he lay.

In other cases, Russians and Englishmen had already laid aside their
enmity, and were exchanging drinks from their water-bottles.

Around the sand-bag battery, which the Guards had held, the dead lay
thicker than elsewhere on the plateau; while down in the ravine where
Cathcart had led his men, the bodies of the 63d lay heaped together.
The sailors had, before starting, fill their bottles with grog, and
this they administered to friend and foe indiscriminately, saving many
a life ebbing fast with the flow of blood. The lads moved here and
there, searching for the wounded among the dead, awed and sobered by
the fearful spectacle. More than one dying message was breathed into
their ears; more than one ring or watch given to them to send to dear
ones at home. All through the short winter day they worked, aided by
strong parties of the French who had not been engaged; and it was a
satisfaction to know that, when night fell, the greater portion of the
wounded, British and French, had been carried off the field. As for
the Russians, those who fell on the plateau received equal care with
the allies; but far down among the bushes that covered the hillside
lay hundreds of wounded wretches whom no succor, that day at least,
could be afforded.

The next day the work of bringing in the Russian wounded was
continued, and strong fatigue parties were at work, digging great
pits, in which the dead were laid those of each nationality being kept
separate.

The British camps, on the night after Inkerman, afforded a strong
contrast to the scene which they presented the night before. No merry
laugh arose from the men crouched round the fires; no song sounded
through the walls of the tents. There was none of the joy and triumph
of victory; the losses which had been suffered were so tremendous as
to overpower all other feeling. Of the regiments absolutely engaged,
fully one-half had fallen; and the men and officers chatted in hushed
voices over the good fellows who had gone, and of the chances of those
who lay maimed and bleeding in the hospital tents.

To his great relief, Jack had heard, early in the afternoon, that the
33d had not been hotly engaged, and that his brother was unwounded.
The two young officers of the 30th, who had, a few hours before, been
spending the evening so merrily in the tent, had both fallen, as had
many of the friends in the brigade of Guards whose acquaintance he had
made on board the "Ripon," and in the regiments which, being encamped
near by the sailors, he had come to know.

Midshipmen are not given to moralizing, but it was not in human nature
that the lads, as they gathered in their tent that evening, should not
talk over the sudden change which so few hours had wrought. The future
of the siege, too, was discussed, and it was agreed that they were
fixed where they were for the winter.

The prospect was a dreary one, for if they had had so many discomforts
to endure hitherto, what would it be during the next four months on
that bleak plateau? For themselves, however, they were indifferent in
this respect, as it was already known the party on shore would be
shortly relieved.




CHAPTER X.


THE GREAT STORM

Two days after the battle of Inkerman, the party of sailors who manned
the batteries before Sebastopol were relieved by a fresh set from on
board the men-of-war. Some of those who had been away at the front
returned on board ship, while others, among whom was Jack Archer, were
ordered to join the camp at the marine heights above Balaklava, to
fill the places of some men invalided on board ship.

The change was, in some respects, an agreeable one; in others, the
reverse. The position was very high and exposed to wind; but, on the
other hand, the men, being able to obtain materials at Balaklava, had
constructed warm shelters. The ravines below were well wooded, and
they were consequently enabled to keep up cheerful fires; whereas at
the front the supply of fuel barely sufficed to cook the food, and was
almost useless for any purposes of warmth. There was far less
privation here, for Balaklava lay within twenty minutes' walk, and
stores of all kinds could be bought on board the ships. There was,
too, an entire absence of the heavy and continuous work in the wet
trenches. The great drawback to the position was, indeed, the absence
of excitement and change, and the quiet seemed almost preternatural
after the almost continual boom of cannon at the front.

Jack was pleased to find his chum Hawtry on duty at the height.

"This is a grand view, Hawtry," he said, as he stood at the edge of
the cliff the morning after his arrival.

Below at his feet lay a great fleet of transports. To the left the
cliffs stretched away, wild and precipitous, rising to heights far
greater than the point at which they stood, some 600 feet above the
sea. On his right the hill sloped gradually down to the old Genoese
castle, and then sharply to the harbor, in which lay several
men-of-war. In Balaklava, lines of wooden huts had been erected for a
hospital, and their felt-covered roofs contrasted with the red tiles
of the Tartar houses, and with the white walls and tower of the
church. Along the valley at the foot of the harbor long lines of
arabas and pack-animals, looking like mere specks from the point where
the lads were standing, could be seen making their way to the front;
while seven miles distant, on the plateau above Sebastopol, rose, like
countless white dots, the tents of the Allied Army. Turning still
farther round, they saw the undulating plain across which the light
cavalry had charged upon the Russian guns, while standing boldly
against the sky was the lofty table-land extending from above the
village of Inkerman, right across the line of sight to the point known
as Mackenzie Heights, from a farm belonging to an Englishman situated
there. On these heights were encamped a large body of Russian troops.

"It's a splendid view, Dick," Jack Archer said; "but," he added,
turning to look at the fleet of transports again, "I shouldn't like to
be on board one of those ships if it came on to blow. It must be a
rocky bottom and no holding-ground."

"That's what every one is saying, Jack. No one can make out why they
don't let them all go inside. Of course they could not all unload at
once, but there is room for them to shelter, if laid in tiers, as they
would be in a crowded port. Yes, if we get a storm, and they say in
the Black Sea they do have terrific gales during the winter, I fear we
shall have a terrible business here."

Two days later they had a taste of what a storm in the Black Sea was.
On the afternoon of Friday, the 10th, the wind got up, blowing
straight into the bay. Very rapidly the sea rose. As dusk came on the
sailors on the marine heights gathered on the edge of the cliff, and
looked anxiously down upon the sea. Already great waves were tumbling
in, dashing against the foot of the cliff, and sending clouds of spray
half-way up to the old castle, 200 feet above them. The ships were
laboring heavily, tugging and straining on their cables. From the
funnels of the steamers volumes of black smoke were pouring, showing
that they were getting up steam to keep the screws or paddles going,
and relieve the strain upon their anchors.

"I wouldn't be aboard one of them craft," an old sailor said, "not for
enough money to find me in grog and 'bacca for the rest of my life. If
the gale gets stronger, half them ships will be ashore afore morning,
and if they do, God help those on board!"

Happily the storm did not increase in violence, and when morning broke
it was found that although many of the vessels had dragged their
anchors, and some damage had been done by collisions, none had gone
ashore. The knowledge, however, of how heavy a sea got up in a gale of
even moderate force, and how frightfully dangerous was the position of
the vessels, would, it might be thought, have served as a lesson, but
unhappily it did not do so. The naval officer who was in charge of the
harbor was obstinate, and again refused the request of the masters of
many of the transports that the shipping might all be allowed to enter
the harbor. He refused, and upon him is the responsibility of the
terrible loss of life which ensued. On the 14th the wind again began
to rise, and the sailors, as night came on, looked over the sea.

"We are going to have a bad night of it again," the officer in command
of the post said, as he gazed seaward. "It looks as wild a night as
ever I saw. Look how fast the scud is flying overhead. Last week's
gale was a stiff one, but, unless I'm mistaken, it will be nothing to
that which is upon us."

Louder and louder roared the wind, till men could scarce keep their
feet outside shelter. The tents shook and rocked. Men could hardly
hear each other's voices above the storm, and even in the darkness of
night the sheets of foam could be seen dashing up to the very walls of
the castle.

Jack Archer and Dick Hawtry, who with two other midshipmen occupied a
tent, sat listening awe-struck to the fury of the gale. There was a
gust fiercer than usual, accompanied by a crack like the sound of a
pistol, followed by a stifled shout.

"There's a tent down!" Hawtry exclaimed, "and I shouldn't wonder--"

He did not finish, for at the moment the pole of their own tent broke
asunder like a pipe, and in an instant the four were buried beneath
the folds of the canvas. With much shouting and laughter they
struggled to the entrance and made their way out. Half the tents were
already levelled to the ground, and ten minutes later not one remained
standing. The midshipmen crowded into the turf huts which some of the
officers had had erected. Scarcely had they entered, when there was
the boom of a heavy gun.

"I thought so," Dick Hawtry said. "There's the first of them. How many
more will there be before morning?"

The door opened, and a sailor put in his head.

"Gentlemen, the captain says you are to turn out. He's going to take a
party down to the castle with ropes."

In a few minutes a hundred men mustered, and moved down the hill. So
fierce was the gale that, during the squalls, it was impossible to
keep themselves on their feet, and all had to lie down till the fury
of the gust had passed. It was pitch dark, and they groped rather than
made their way along. Fast now, one after another, came the sound of
the signal guns.

"There must be a dozen of them adrift," Dick shouted into his friend's
ear during one of the lulls. "God help them all; what will become of
them? A ship would be dashed to pieces like an eggshell against these
cliffs."

When they reached the lowest point of the cliff, the party were halted
and told to lie down and keep themselves in readiness, in case their
services should be required. The officers struggled forward to the
edge, and tried to see what was going on down in the bay below; but
little could be seen, save the mighty sheets of spray, as the waves
struck the cliffs. Here and there in the wild waters they fancied
occasionally that they could see the dark forms of the ships, but even
of this they could not have been certain, save for the twinkling
lights which rose and fell, and dashed to and fro like fire-flies in
their flight. Now and then the flash of a cannon momentarily showed
some ship laboring in the trough of the mountainous sea.

"I believe that is the 'Black Prince,'" Jack shouted to his friend.
"That big steamer which has been lying there the last week. If it is,
she's ever so much nearer to shore than she was."

Suddenly a blue light threw its glare on the sea. It came from almost
under their feet.

"Good heavens, Dick, there is a vessel on the rocks already; and look,
a dozen more close in!"

The example was followed, and several other blue lights were burned
showing plainly the terrible nature of the scene. The vessels were
wallowing in the tremendous waves. Many had cut away their masts to
relieve the strain on their anchors. The paddles and screws of the
steamers were working at full speed, for the lines of white foam
behind them could be plainly seen. But even this availed them but
little, for almost every ship lay nearer to the line of cliffs than
she did when night fell; several were close to the foot of the rocks,
and the lookers-on noticed that some which had lain near the shore
were missing. On the decks of the ships could be seen numbers of
persons holding on to ropes and bulwarks. Sometimes from the deck of a
vessel a rocket soared up, the wind catching it as it rose, and
carrying it far inland.

By the captain's orders several blue lights, which the party had
brought down, were burned, to show those on board that their position
was perceived, but beyond this nothing could be done. Presently even
above the noise of the gale a tremendous crash was heard, and they
fancied that they heard a wild shout come faintly up.

"Can nothing be done?" Jack shouted to his friend.

"Nothing, sir," an old sailor said close by. "They are all doomed.
There were over thirty ships there this morning, for I counted them,
and I doubt if one will live out the night."

By this time the sailors, unable to lie inactive, had joined the
officers, and all were scattered in groups along the cliff.

"Is there no possible way of getting down near the water?" Jack said.

"I don't think so, sir; but if it were daylight we might make a shift
to try."

"Let us try, anyhow," Jack said.

"Oh, there is another!" as another crash was heard above the gale.

"Anything is better than standing here. I don't think the cliff goes
quite sheer down everywhere. Let us try, Dick; it would be a relief to
be doing something."

"All right, Jack. Let you and I stick together. Do you lads," he said,
turning to three or four sailors who were standing by, "keep close to
us, and lend a hand." At the point where they were standing, it was
clearly impossible to get down, for the rock sloped straight from,
their feet. Farther to the left, however, it went down more gradually,
and here the boys began to try to descend.

"There is a sort of hollow here," Jack shouted, "a sort of ravine.
This is our best place."

Cautiously, step by step, holding on to such bushes as grew among the
rocks pausing sometimes flattened against the rocks by the force of
the gust, and drenched every moment by the sheets of spray, the boys
made their way down, till they paused at a spot where the rock fell
away sheer under their feet. They could go no farther. At the moment
they heard a wild scream. A vessel appeared through the darkness
below, and crashed with a tremendous thud against the rocks. The
masts, which were so close that the boys seemed almost able to jump
upon them, as they reached nearly to the level on which they were
standing, instantly going over the side. Peering over, they could see
the black mass in the midst of the surging white waters at their feet.
The sailors had paused some way up the ascent, appalled by the
difficulties which the boys, lighter and more active, had
accomplished.

"Go up to the top again," Hawtry said, climbing back to them. "Bring
down one of those spars we brought down, a block, a long rope, and a
short one to serve as a guy. Get half-a-dozen more hands. You'd better
fix a rope at the top firmly, and use it to steady you as you return.
There's a ship ashore just underneath us, and I think we can get
down."

In a few minutes the sailors descended again, carrying with them a
spar some twenty feet long. With immense difficulty this was lowered
to the spot which the boys had reached. One of the sailors had brought
down a lantern, and by its light a block was lashed to the end, and a
long rope roved through it. Then a shorter rope was fastened to the
end as a guy, and the spar lowered out, till it sloped well over the
edge. The lower edge was wedged in between two rocks, and others piled
round it.

"Now," Dick said, "I will go down."

"You'll never get down alive, sir," one of the sailor said. "The wind
will dash you against the cliff. I'll try, sir, if you like; I'm
heavier."

"Let me go down with you," Jack said. "The two of us are heavier than
a man, and we shall have four legs to keep us off the cliff. Besides,
we can help each other down below."

"All right," Dick said. "Fasten us to the rope, Hardy. Make two loops
so that we shall hang face to face, and yet be separate, and give me a
short rope of two or three fathoms long, so that we can rope ourselves
together, and one hold on in case the other is washed off his feet
when we get down. Look here, Hardy, do you lie down and look over the
edge, and when you hear me yell, let them hoist away. Now for it!"

The boys were slung as Dick had ordered. "Lower away steadily," Dick
said. "Stop lowering if we yell."

In another minute the lads were swinging in space, some ten feet out
from the face of the cliff. For the first few yards they descended
steadily, and then, as the rope lengthened, the gusts of wind flung
them violently against the face of the cliff.

"Fend her off with your legs, Jack; that's the way. By Jove, that's a
ducking!" he said, as a mighty rush of spray enveloped them as a
mountainous sea struck the rock below. "I think we shall do it.
There's something black down below, I think some part of her still
holds together; slowly!" he shouted up, in one of the pauses of the
gale, and Hardy's response of "Aye, aye, sir," came down to them.

It was a desperate three minutes; but at the end of that time,
bruised, bleeding, half-stunned by the blows, half-drowned by the
sheets of water which flew over them, the lads' feet touched the
rocks. These formed a sloping shelf of some thirty feet wide at the
foot of the cliff.

The wreck which had appeared immediately under them was forty feet
away, and appeared a vague, misshapen black mass. They had been seen,
for they had waved the lantern from the edge of the cliff before
starting, and they had several times shouted as they descended, and as
they neared the ground, they were delighted at hearing by an answering
shout that their labors had not been in vain, and that some one still
survived.

"Throw us a rope," Dick shouted at the top of his voice; and in a
moment they heard a rope fall cl

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