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Through Three Campaigns: A Story of Chitral, Tirah and Ashanti

by G. A. Henty · English · Gutenberg #20641 · 674,656 chars · public domain (US)

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Title: Through Three Campaigns: A Story of Chitral, Tirah and Ashanti

Author: G. A. Henty

Illustrator: Walter Paget


        
Release date: February 21, 2007 [eBook #20641]
                Most recently updated: January 23, 2014

Language: English

Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/20641

Credits: Produced by Martin Robb


*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THROUGH THREE CAMPAIGNS: A STORY OF CHITRAL, TIRAH AND ASHANTI ***




Produced by Martin Robb




Through Three Campaigns:
A Story of Chitral, Tirah and Ashanti
by G. A. Henty.
Illustrated by Wal Paget.

Contents

Preface.
Chapter 1:   An Expedition.
Chapter 2:   The Start.
Chapter 3:   The First Fight.
Chapter 4:   In The Passes
Chapter 5:   Promoted.
Chapter 6:   Unfair Play.
Chapter 7:   Tales Of War.
Chapter 8:   The Dargai Pass.
Chapter 9:  Captured.
Chapter 10: Through The Mohmund Country.
Chapter 11: An Arduous March.
Chapter 12: A Tribal Fight.
Chapter 13: The V.C.
Chapter 14: Forest Fighting.
Chapter 15: A Narrow Escape.
Chapter 16: The Relief Of Coomassie.
Chapter 17: Stockades And War Camps.
Chapter 18: A Night Surprise.
Chapter 19: Lost In The Forest.
Chapter 20: At Home.

Illustrations

Map illustrating the Chitral Campaign.
Lisle gives the alarm.
He carefully aimed and fired.
They charged the attacking force from end to end.
Map illustrating the Tirah Campaign.
A party of Afridis rushed down upon him.
It was the dead body of an Afridi.
"My horse must carry two, sir," Lisle replied.
Map illustrating the Ashanti Campaign.
Two of them fell before Lisle's revolver.
They saw a strong party of the enemy crossing the road.



Preface.


Our little wars attract far less attention among the people of this
country than they deserve. They are frequently carried out in
circumstances of the most adverse kind. Our enemies, although
ignorant of military discipline are, as a rule, extremely brave;
and are thoroughly capable of using the natural advantages of their
country. Our men are called upon to bear enormous fatigue, and
endure extremes in climate. The fighting is incessant, the peril
constant. Nevertheless, they show a magnificent contempt for danger
and difficulty; and fight with a valour and determination worthy of
the highest praise.

I have chosen, as an illustration of this, three campaigns; namely,
the relief of Chitral, the Tirah campaign, and the relief of
Coomassie. The first two were conducted in a mountainous country,
affording every advantage to the enemy; where passes had to be
scaled, torrents to be forded, and deep snow to be crossed. In the
other, the country was a combination of morass and thick forest,
frequently intersected by wide and deep rivers. The work, moreover,
had to be done in a tropical climate, during the rainy season. The
conditions, therefore, were much more trying than in the case of
former expeditions which had crossed the same ground and, in
addition, the enemy were vastly more numerous and more determined;
and had, in recent years, mastered the art of building extremely
formidable stockades.

The country has a right to be proud, indeed, of the prowess both of
our own troops and of our native regiments. Boys who wish to obtain
fuller details of these campaigns I would refer to Sir George
Robertson's Chitral; H. C. Thomson's Chitral Campaign; Lieutenant
Beynon's With Kelly to Chitral; Colonel Hutchison's Campaign in
Tirah; Viscount Fincastle and P. C. Eliott Lockhart's A Frontier
Campaign; and Captain Harold C. J. Biss's The Relief of Kumasi,
from which I have principally drawn the historical portion of my
story.

G. A. Henty.



Chapter 1: An Expedition.


"Well, Lisle, my boy, the time is drawing very near when you will
have to go home. My brother John will look after you, and choose
some good crammer to push you on. You are nearly sixteen, now, and
it is high time you buckled to."

"But you have always taught me, father!"

"Yes, that is all very well, but I could not devote three hours a
day to you. I think I may say that you are thoroughly well
grounded--I hope as well as most public-school boys of your own
age--but I can go no further with you. You have no idea what
cramming is necessary, now, for a young fellow to pass into the
army. Still I think that, by hard work with some man who prepares
students for the army, you may be able to rub through. I have
always saved up money for this, for my brother is by no means a
rich man, and crammers are very expensive; so the next time I see a
chance of sending you down to Calcutta, down you go. My agents
there will see you on board a ship, and do everything that is
necessary."

"Of course, father, if I must go, I must; but it will be beastly,
after the jolly time I have spent in the regiment, to set to and do
nothing but grind, for the next three years."

"We all have to do a good many unpleasant things, Lisle; and as we
have decided that you shall enter the army, you must make up your
mind to do the necessary work, even though it be disagreeable."

"All right, father! I know what depends upon it, and I will set
to."

"I have no doubt you will, Lisle, for you have plenty of common
sense, though you are a little inclined to mischief--not that you
are altogether to blame for that, for the officers encourage you in
it."

This conversation took place between Captain Bullen, of the 32nd
Pioneers, and his son. The regiment was in cantonments near the
northern frontier of India. The captain had lost his wife some
years before and, as their two youngest children had also died, he
had not been able to bring himself to send the remaining boy home.
The climate was excellent, and the boy enjoyed as good health as if
he had been in England. Captain Bullen had taken a great deal of
pains with his son's education but, as he said, he had now taught
the boy all that he knew; and felt that he ought to go to England,
and be regularly coached for the army.

Next day the captain entered his quarters, hurriedly.

"I am off," he said. "Those rascally Afridis have come down and
looted several villages; and I am to go up, in command of a couple
of companies, to give them a lesson."

"They are not very strong, are they, father?"

"No, I don't suppose they can put a couple of hundred men in the
field. We shall take the two mountain guns with us, and batter
holes in their fortresses, and then attack and carry them easily.
There is no sign of movement among the other tribes, so we need not
expect any serious opposition."

A week later, the little detachment entered the valley in which the
Afridi villages lay. The work had been fatiguing, for the country
was very rough; and the mules that carried the guns met with such
difficulties that the infantry had to turn to, and improve the
paths--if paths they could be called, for they were often little
better than undefined tracks. As the expedition moved up the
valley, the tribesmen opened on them a distant fire; but scattered
after a few shells from the mountain guns were thrown among them.
The fortified houses, however, were stubbornly held; and indeed,
were only carried after the guns had broken in the doors, or made a
breach in the walls.

During the attack on the last house, a shot struck Captain Bullen
in the chest, and he instantly fell. When they saw this, the
Pioneers dashed forward with a howl of rage, carried the fort, and
bayoneted its defenders. The doctor of the party at once examined
the wound, and saw that it would probably be fatal.

"Patch me up, Lloyd, so that I may get back to camp and see my boy
again," the wounded man whispered.

"I will do my best," the doctor said, "but I doubt whether you will
be able to stand the journey."

The Pioneers, after setting fire to all the houses in the valley,
started at once for home. Captain Bullen was placed on a stretcher,
and four men at a time carried him down, taking the utmost pains
not to jolt or shake him. His face was covered with light boughs,
to keep off the flies; and everything that was possible was done to
conduce to his comfort.

The doctor watched him anxiously. His condition became more
serious, every day. As they neared the camp, a messenger was sent
down with a report from the native officer of what had happened;
and the Pioneers all came out to see their favourite officer
brought in; and stood, mournful and silent, as he was carried to
his bungalow.

"Don't come in yet, lad," the surgeon said, to Lisle. "Your father,
at present, is incapable of speaking; and he must have a little
rest before you see him, for the slightest excitement would
probably cause a gush of blood to the wound, which would be fatal."

Lisle's grief was unbounded. He could not listen to the kind words
with which the officers tried to soothe him, but wandered away out
of camp and, throwing himself down, wept unrestrainedly for an
hour. Then he roused himself, and walked slowly back. By a mighty
effort he had composed himself, for he knew that he must be calm
when he saw his father.

Half an hour later, the doctor beckoned him in.

"He is conscious now," he said, "and has whispered that he wishes
to see you. He has been very calm, all the way down, and has spoken
of you often."

"I will do my best," Lisle muttered, keeping down his tears with a
tremendous effort; and then went into his father's room.

He could not trust himself to speak a word but, walking up, took
his father's hand and, kneeling down, pressed it to his lips, his
whole form shaking with agitation.

"I am glad I have held out until I got back," his father said, in a
low voice. "It is all up with me, my boy, and I have only a few
hours to live, at most. I am sorry, now, that you did not start for
England before this happened; but I have no doubt that it is all
for the best. I shall die, as I should wish to die, doing my duty
and, except for leaving you, I shall feel small regret."

"Must you leave me, father?" Lisle sobbed.

"Yes, my boy, I have known it from the first. It is only my intense
desire to see you again that has kept me up. The doctor said he did
not expect that I should last more than two or three days, at most.

"You will bear in mind what I said to you, the day before we
started. I have no fear about you, Lisle; I am sure you will make
an honest gentleman and a brave soldier, and will do credit to our
name. I should stay here a few weeks longer, if I were you, until
some others are going down. The officers are all fond of you, and
it would be better for you to have company, than to make the long
journey to the coast alone.

"My voice is failing me, lad, and I can say no more, now; but you
can sit here with me, till the end comes. It will not be long. When
you have completed your training, the fact that I have died in this
way will give you a good claim to a commission."

Lisle sat with his father for some hours. Occasionally the dying
man moved and, leaning over him, he could catch the words "God
bless you!" Before midnight the brave spirit had passed away, and
Lisle went out and cried like a child, till morning.

The funeral took place next day. After it was over, the colonel
sent for Lisle; who had now, after a hard struggle, recovered his
composure.

"Did your father give you any instructions, Lisle? You may be sure
that whatever he said we will carry out."

"He said that he thought it would be best for me to stay here for a
few weeks as, among so many kind friends, I should be able to bear
it better than if I went down at once."

"Quite right, lad! We shall all be very glad to have you with us.
You can remain in the bungalow as long as you like. It is not
likely to be wanted, for some months. Your father's butler and one
or two servants will be enough to look after you; and you will, of
course, remain a member of the mess. In this way, I hope you will
have recovered some of your cheerfulness before you start."

It was a hard time for Lisle for the next week or two, for
everything reminded him of his father. The risaldar major and the
other native officers, with all of whom he was familiar, grasped
him by the hand when they met, in token of their sympathy; and the
sepoys stood at attention, with mournful faces, when he passed
them. He spent the heat of the day with his books, and only stirred
out in the early morning and evening, meals being considerately
sent down to him from the mess. At the end of a fortnight he made a
great effort and joined the mess, and the kindness with which the
officers spoke to him gradually cheered him.

Then there came an excitement which cheered him further. There were
rumours of disaffection among the hill tribes, and the chances of a
campaign were discussed with animation, both among officers and
soldiers. The regiment was a very fine one, composed of sturdy
Punjabis; and all agreed that, if there were an expedition, they
would probably form part of it. Lisle entered fully into the
general feeling, and his eyes glistened as he listened to the
sepoys talking of the expeditions in which they had taken part.

"It would be splendid to go," he said to himself, "but I don't see
how the colonel could take me. I shall certainly ask him, when the
time comes; but I feel sure that he will refuse. Of course, I ought
to be starting before long for Calcutta; but the expedition will
probably not last many weeks and, if I were to go with it, the
excitement would keep me from thinking, and do me a lot of good.
Besides, a few weeks could make no difference in my working up for
the examination."

The more he thought of it, the more he felt determined to go with
the column. He felt sure that he could disguise himself so that no
one would suspect who he was. He had been so long associated with
the regiment that he talked Punjabi as well as English.

His father had now been dead two months and, as the rumours from
across the frontier grew more and more serious, he was filled with
fear lest an opportunity should occur to send him down country
before the regiment marched; in which case all his plans would be
upset. Day after day passed, however, without his hearing anything
about it, till one day the colonel sent for him.

"The time has come, lad, when we must part. We shall all be very
sorry to lose you, but it cannot be helped. I have received orders,
this morning, to go up to Chitral; and am sending down some sick,
at once. You must start with them. When you reach the railway, you
will be able to get a through ticket to Calcutta.

"As long as it was likely that we should be going down ourselves, I
was glad to keep you here; but now that we have got orders to go
off and have a talk with these tribes in the north, it is clearly
impossible for us to keep you any longer. I am very sorry, my boy,
for you know we all like you, for your own sake and for your good
father's."

"I am awfully obliged to you all, colonel. You have been very good
to me, since my father was killed. I feel that I have had no right
to stop here so long; but I quite understand that, now you are
moving up into the hills, you cannot keep me.

"I suppose I could not go as a volunteer, colonel?" he asked,
wistfully.

"Quite impossible," the colonel said, decidedly. "Even if you had
been older, I could not have taken you. Every mouth will have to be
fed, and the difficulties of transport will be great. There is no
possibility, whatever, of our smuggling a lad of your age up with
us.

"Besides, you know that you ought to go to England, without further
delay. You want to gain a commission, and to do that you must pass
a very stiff examination, indeed. So for your own sake, it is
advisable that you should get to work without any unnecessary
delay.

"A party of invalids will be going down tomorrow, and you can go
with them as far as Peshawar. There, of course, you will take train
either to Calcutta or Bombay. I know that you have plenty of funds
for your journey to England. I think you said that it was an uncle
to whom you were going. Mind you impress upon him the fact that it
is absolutely necessary that you should go to a first-rate school
or, better still, to a private crammer, if you are to have a chance
of getting into the service by a competitive examination."

"Very well, colonel. I am sure that I am very grateful to you, and
all the officers of the regiment, for the kindness you have shown
me, especially since my father's death. I shall always remember
it."

"That is all right, Lisle. It has been a pleasure to have you with
us. I am sure we shall all be sorry to lose you, but I hope that
some day we shall meet again, when you are an officer in one of our
regiments."

Lisle returned to the bungalow and called the butler, the only
servant he had retained.

"Look here, Robah, the colonel says that I must go down with a sick
party, tomorrow. As I have told you, I am determined to go up
country with the troops. Of course, I must be in disguise. How do
you think that I had better go?"

The man shook his head.

"The young sahib had better join his friends in England."

"It is useless to talk about that," Lisle said. "I have told you I
mean to go up, and go up I will. There ought to be no difficulty
about it. I speak three or four of these frontier languages, as
well as I speak English. I have at least learnt that. I have picked
them up by talking to the natives, and partly from the moonshee I
have had, for four years. My dear father always impressed upon me
the utility of these to an officer; and said that, if I could take
up native languages in my examinations, it would go a long way
towards making up for other deficiencies. So I am all right, so far
as language is concerned.

"It seems to me that my best plan will be to go up as a mule
driver."

"It is as the sahib wills," the old man said. "His servant will do
all he can to help him."

"Well, Robah, I want you in the first place to get me a disguise.
You may as well get two suits. I am sure to get wet, sometimes, and
shall require a change. I shall take a couple of my own vests and
drawers, to wear under them; for we shall probably experience very
cold weather in the mountains."

"They are serving out clothes to the carriers, sahib."

"Yes, I forgot that. Well, I want you to go into their camp, and
arrange with one of the headmen to let me take the place of one of
the drivers. Some of the men will be willing enough to get off the
job, and a tip of forty rupees would completely settle the matter
with him. Of course, I shall start with the sick escort but, as
there will be several waggons going down with them, they will not
travel far; and at the first halting place I can slip away, and
come back here. You will be waiting for me on the road outside the
camp, early in the morning, and take me to the headman.

"By the way, I shall want you to make up a bottle of stain for my
hands and feet; for of course I shall go in the native sandals."

"I will do these things, sahib. How about your luggage?"

"Before I leave the camp tonight I shall put fresh labels on them,
directing them to be taken to the store of Messieurs Parfit, who
were my father's agents; and to be left there until I send for
them. I shall give the sergeant, who goes down with the sick, money
to pay for their carriage to Calcutta.

"And about yourself, Robah?"

"I shall stay here at the bungalow till another regiment comes up
to take your place. Perhaps you will give me a chit, saying that I
have been in your father's service fourteen years, and that you
have found me faithful and useful. If I cannot find employment, I
shall go home. I have saved enough money."

An hour later, Robah again entered the room.

"I have been thinking, sahib, of a better plan. You wish to see
fighting, do you not?"

"Certainly I do."

"Well, sahib, if you go in the baggage train you might be miles
away, and see nothing of it. Now, it seems to me that it would be
almost as easy for you to go as a soldier in the regiment, as in
the transport train."

"Do you think so, Robah?" Lisle exclaimed excitedly.

"I think so, sahib. You see, you know all the native officers, and
your father was a great favourite among them. If you were dressed
in uniform, and took your place in the ranks, it is very unlikely
that any of the English officers would notice you. These matters
are left in the hands of the native officers.

"Yesterday a young private died, who had but just passed the
recruit stage, and had been only once or twice on parade. You might
take his name. It is most unlikely that any of the white officers
will notice that your face is a fresh one and, if they did ask the
question, the native officer would give that name. The English
officer would not be at all likely to notice that this was the name
of a man who had died. Deaths are not uncommon and, as the regiment
is just moving, the matter would receive no attention. The book of
this man would be handed to you, and it would all seem regular."

"That is a splendid idea, Robah. Which officer do you think I had
better speak to?"

"I should speak to Risaldar Gholam Singh. He was the chief native
officer in your father's wing of the regiment. If he consents, he
would order all the native officers under him to hold their tongues
and, as you are a favourite with them all, your secret would be
kept."

"It is a grand idea, and I certainly don't see why it should not
work out properly."

"I have no doubt that the risaldar major will do all he can for
you."

"Do you think so, Robah?"

"I am sure he will. He was very much attached to your father, and
felt his loss as much as anyone. Indeed, I think that every one of
the native officers will do all he can for you."

"That would make it very easy for me," Lisle said. "Till you
suggested it, the idea of going as a soldier never occurred to me
but, with their assistance, it will not be difficult."

"Shall I go and fetch the risaldar here, sahib?"

"Do so. I shall be on thorns until I see him."

In a few minutes the officer, a tall and stately Punjabi, entered.

"Risaldar," Lisle said, "I know you were very much attached to my
father."

"I was, sahib."

"Well, I want you to do something for me."

"It would be a pleasure for me to do so, and you have only to ask
for me to grant it, if it is in my power."

"I think it is in your power," Lisle said. "I will tell you what I
want. I have made up my mind to go with this expedition. I thought
of disguising myself, and going as a baggage coolie; but in that
case I should be always in the rear and see none of the fighting,
and I have made up my mind to go as a private in the ranks."

"As a private, sahib?" the officer exclaimed, in astonishment.
"Surely that would be impossible. You would be detected at the
first halt. Besides, how could the son of our dear captain go as a
private?"

"I do not object to go as a private, risaldar. Of course I should
stain myself and, in uniform, it is not likely that any of the
white officers would notice a strange face."

"But you would have to eat with the others, to mix with them as one
of themselves, to suffer all sorts of hardships."

"All that is nothing," Lisle said. "I have been with the regiment
so long that I know all the ways of the men, and I don't think that
I should be likely to make any mistake that would attract their
attention. As to the language, I know it perfectly."

"I hardly dare do such a thing, sahib. If you were discovered on
the march, the colonel and officers would be very angry with me."

"Even if I were discovered, it need not be known that you had
assisted me, risaldar. You may be sure that I should never tell. If
you were questioned, you could declare that you had taken me for an
ordinary recruit. If I deceived everyone else, I might very well
deceive you."

The risaldar stood thoughtful for some time.

"It might possibly be managed," he said at last. "I would do much
for Captain Bullen's son, even risk the anger of the colonel."

"I understand that a sepoy died yesterday. He was quite a young
recruit, and the white officers had not come to know his face. I
might say that I am a relation of his, and am very anxious to take
his place."

"You could take his place in the ranks under his name."

"That would certainly be a good plan, if it could be carried out. I
should only be asked a few questions by the sepoys of my company.
It would seem to them natural that I should take my cousin's place;
and that, as the regiment was moving, and there was no time to
teach me drill, I should be expected to pick up what I could on the
way. But indeed, I have watched the regiment so often that I think
I know all the commands and movements, and could go through them
without hesitation. Besides, there won't be much drilling on the
march. There will probably be a good deal of skirmishing, and
perhaps some rough fighting."

"But if you were to be killed, sahib, what then?"

"I don't mean to be killed if I can help it," Lisle said; "but if I
am, I shall be buried as one of the sepoys. The officers will all
believe that I have gone home and, though they may wonder a little
that I never write to them, they will think it is because I am too
busy. It will be a long time, indeed, before any of my friends
write to ask about me; and then it will be supposed that I have
been accidentally killed or drowned.

"At any rate, I should have the satisfaction of being killed in the
Queen's service. All the men are delighted at going, and they will
run the same risk as I do."

"Well, sahib," the risaldar said, "I will do it. I would very much
prefer that you had never asked me, but I cannot say 'no' to you. I
will think it over; and tell you, tomorrow morning, what seems to
me the best plan. I don't see, at present, how you are to disappear
and join the regiment."

"That is easy enough," Lisle said. "I am going to start tomorrow
with the sick convoy; but shall slip away from them, after I have
gone a short distance. Robah will meet me with my uniform and
rifle; and I shall come into the camp again, in uniform, after it
is dark."

"You appear to have thought it all out," the officer said, "and if
your scheme can be carried out, there should be no difficulty,
after the first day or two. You are more likely to pass unnoticed,
on a march, than you would be if you were staying here. The men
will have other things to think about, and you will only have three
men marching with you in the column to ask questions. Indeed, there
is very little talking on the line of march.

"Well, I will think it over, and see you in the morning."

This was as good as consent, and Lisle was highly delighted. In the
morning, the risaldar called again.

"I have spoken," the risaldar said, "to the three officers of the
company to which the soldier Mutteh Ghar belonged; and they all
agreed, willingly, to help you to carry out your scheme, and think
that there is very little probability of the fact that you are a
new recruit being noticed. The general discipline of the regiment
is in our hands. The British officers direct, but we carry out
their orders. As the man was only on parade twice and, on neither
of these occasions, came under general inspection of the white
officers, it is probable that they do not know his face. It is
certainly best that you should take Mutteh Ghar's name, as the
soldiers will see nothing strange in our placing a young recruit in
the ranks, after his cousin had died in the regiment. We are all of
opinion, therefore, that you can take your place without
difficulty; and that the chance of the change being detected by the
British officers is extremely slight. We think, however, that it
will be next to impossible for you always to keep up your
character, and believe that you will find it so hard to live under
the same conditions as the others that you yourself will tire of
it."

"I can assure you that there is no fear of that," Lisle said
earnestly. "I want to take part in the expedition, and am quite
prepared to share in the habits and hardships of the men, whatever
they may be. You know, if I were discovered I should be sent off at
once, even if a fight were imminent. I think I can say that, when I
undertake a thing, I will carry it through.

"I cannot tell you how grateful I feel to you all, for aiding me to
carry out my wish. Will you kindly convey my thanks to the officers
of the company, and particularly urge upon them that they must show
me no favour, and pay no more attention to me than to the other
men? Anything of that sort would certainly give rise to comment and
suspicion."

"I have already told them that," the officer said, "and I think
they thoroughly understand how they must act.

"The sick party are to start tomorrow morning. How do you wish the
uniform of your supposed cousin to be sent to you?"

"If you hand it over to Robah, he will bring it out to me. The
rifle, of course, should be handed quietly to me when I return to
camp. I cannot march in with it. I shall not come in till after
dark. Then the havildar must take me to one of the sepoy tents, and
mention to the men there that I am Mutteh Ghar's cousin; and that,
as a great favour, I am to be allowed to accompany the regiment."

"Of course, you will take with you the usual underclothes to put
on, when you lay aside your uniform; and especially the loincloth,
and light linen jacket, which the men use in undress."

"I will see to all that, risaldar. I can assure you that, so far
from finding it a trouble to act as a native, I shall really enjoy
it; and shall make very light of any hardships that I may have to
undergo. When it comes to fighting I am, as you know, a very good
shot; and should certainly be able to do my part, with credit."

"I will tell the havildar to be on the lookout for you, when you
come into camp, and to bring you straight to me. I will then see
that your uniforms and belts are properly put on, before I send you
off under his charge. I hope the matter may turn out well. If it
does not, you must remember that I have done my part because you
urged it upon me, and prayed me to assist you for your father's
sake."

"I shall never forget that, Gholam Singh, and shall always feel
deeply indebted to you."

When the risaldar had left, Lisle called Robah in.

"All is arranged, Robah; and now it remains only to carry out the
details. In the first place, you must get me the stain; in the
second, you must go into the bazaar and buy me a loincloth and
light jacket, such as the soldiers wear when they lay aside their
uniforms. As to the uniform, that is already arranged for; and I
shall, of course, have one of the sheepskin greatcoats that have
just been served out, and which I expect I shall find indispensable.
Put in my kit bag one pair of my thickest woollen vests and drawers.
I cannot carry more, for I mean to take one suit of my own clothes
to put on in case, by any accident, I should be discovered and sent
back. I can get that carried on the baggage waggon.

"Tomorrow we shall start at five o'clock in the morning and, at the
first halt, I shall leave the party quietly. I have no doubt that
Gholam Singh will give orders, to the native officer in charge,
that I am to be permitted to do so without remark. As soon as I
leave the convoy you must join me with my uniform and, above all,
with the stain. You can bring out a bag with some provisions for
the day, for I shall not return to camp until after dark."

When Robah went away to make the necessary purchases, Lisle packed
up his baggage and labelled it. His father's effects had all been
sold, a few days after his death; as it would not have paid to send
them home. They had fetched good prices, and had been gladly bought
up by the other officers; some as mementoes of their late comrade,
and some because they were useful.

Several of the officers came in and chatted with him while he was
packing, all expressing regret that he was leaving. At mess that
evening they drank his health, and a pleasant journey; and he
gravely returned thanks. When the mess broke up he returned to the
bungalow, and packed a small canvas bag with the suit he was going
to take with him.

Then he examined and tried on the uniform of the dead sepoy; which
Robah had, that evening, received from the risaldar. It fitted him
fairly well. In addition to the regular uniform there was a
posteen, or sheepskin coat; loose boots made of soft skin, so that
the feet could be wrapped up in cloth before they were put on; and
putties, or leggings, consisting of a very long strip of cloth
terminating with a shorter strip of leather. These things had been
served out that day to the troops, and were to be put on over the
usual leg wrappings when they came to snow-covered country. They
were to be carried with the men's kits till required. For ordinary
wear there were the regular boots, which were strapped on like
sandals.

"Well, I think I ought to be able to stand anything in the way of
cold, with this sheepskin coat and the leggings, together with my
own warm underclothing."

"You are sure," Robah said, "that you understand the proper folding
of your turban?"

"I think so, Robah. I have seen them done up hundreds of times but,
nevertheless, you shall give me a lesson when you join me tomorrow.
We shall have plenty of time for it.

"Now, can you think of anything else that would be useful? If so,
you can buy it tomorrow before you come out to meet me."

"No, sahib. There are the warm mittens that have been served out
for mountain work; and you might take a pair of your own gloves to
wear under them for, from all I hear, you will want them when you
are standing out all night on picket work, among the hills."

"No, I won't take the gloves, Robah. With two pairs on, my fingers
would be so muffled that I should not be able to do good shooting."

"Well, it will be cold work, for it is very late in the season and,
you know, goggles have been served out to all the men to save them
from snow blindness, from which they would otherwise suffer
severely. I have been on expeditions in which a third of the men
were quite blind, when they returned to camp."

"It must look very rum to see a whole regiment marching in
goggles," Lisle laughed; "still, anything is better than being
blinded."

"I shall see you sometimes, sahib; for the major engaged me, this
morning, to go with him as his personal servant, as his own man is
in feeble health and, though I am now getting on in years, I am
still strong enough to travel with the regiment."

"I am delighted, indeed, to hear that, Robah. I shall be very glad
to steal away sometimes, and have a chat with you. It will be a
great pleasure to have someone I can talk to, who knows me. Of
course, the native officer in command of my company will not be
able to show me any favour, nor should I wish him to do so. It
seems like keeping one friend, while I am cut off from all others;
though I dare say I shall make some new ones among the sepoys. I
have no doubt you will be very comfortable with the major."

"Yes, sahib, I am sure that he is a kind master. I shall be able, I
hope, sometimes to give you a small quantity of whisky, to mix with
the water in your bottle."

"No, no, Robah, when the baggage is cut down there will be very
little of that taken and, however much there might be, I could not
accept any that you had taken from the major's store. I must fare
just the same as the others."

"Well, sahib, I hope that, at any rate, you will carry a small
flask of it under your uniform. You may not want it but, if you
were wounded and lying in the snow, it would be very valuable to
you for, mixed with the water in your bottle, and taken from time
to time, it would sustain you until you could be carried down to
camp."

"That is a very good idea, Robah, and I will certainly adopt it. I
will carry half a pint about with me, for emergencies such as you
describe. If I do not want it, myself, it may turn out useful to
keep up some wounded comrade. It will not add much to the load that
I shall have to carry, and which I expect I shall feel, when we
first march. As I am now, I think I could keep up with the best
marcher in the regiment but, with the weight of the clothes and
pouches, a hundred and twenty rounds of ammunition, and my rifle,
it will be a very different thing; and I shall be desperately
tired, by the time we get to the end of the day's march.

"Now it is twelve o'clock, and time to turn in, for we march at
five."

The next morning, when the sick convoy started, the white officers
came up to say goodbye to Lisle; and all expressed their regret
that he could not accompany the regiment. The butler had gone on
ahead and, as soon as Lisle slipped away, he came up to him and
assisted him to make his toilet. He stained him from head to foot,
dyed his hair, and fastened in it some long bunches of black horse
hair, which he would wear in the Punjabi fashion on the top of his
head. With the same dye he darkened his eyelashes and, when he had
put on his uniform, he said:

"As far as looks go, sahib, it is certain that no one would suspect
that you were not a native. There is a large bottle of stain. You
will only have to do yourself over, afresh, about once in ten days.
A little of this mixed with three times the amount of water will be
sufficient for, if you were to put it on by itself, it would make
you a great deal too dark."

They spent the day in a grove and, when evening approached,
returned to camp.

"And now, goodbye, sahib! The regiment will march tomorrow morning,
at daybreak. I may not have an opportunity of seeing you again,
before we start. I hope I have done right, in aiding you in your
desire to accompany the expedition; but I have done it for the
best, and you must not blame me if harm comes of it."

"That you may be sure I will not, and I am greatly obliged to you.
Now, for the present, goodbye!"



Chapter 2: The Start.


The havildar was on the lookout for Lisle when he entered the camp;
but he did not know him, in his changed attire and stained face,
until the lad spoke to him.

"You are well disguised, indeed, sahib," he said. "I had no idea
that it was you. Now, my instructions are to take you to Gholam
Singh's tent."

Here Lisle found the risaldar and the other two native officers. He
saluted as he entered. The risaldar examined him carefully, before
speaking.

"Good!" he said; "I did not think that a white sahib could ever
disguise himself to pass as a native, though I know that it has
been done before now. Certainly I have no fear of any of the white
officers finding that you are not what you seem to be. I am more
afraid, however, of the men. Still, even if they guessed who you
are, they would not, I am sure, betray you.

"Here are your rifle and bayonet. These complete your outfit. I see
that you have brought your kit with you. It is rather more bulky
than usual, but will pass with the rest.

"The subadar will take you down to the men's lines. I have arranged
that you shall be on the baggage guard, at first, so that you will
gradually begin to know a few men of your company. They will report
to the rest the story you tell them, and you will soon be received
as one of themselves.

"I will see that that sack of yours goes with the rest of the kits
in the baggage waggon. These officers of your company all
understand that you are to be treated like the rest of the men, and
not to be shown any favour. At the same time, when in camp, if
there is anything that you desire, or any complaint you have to
make, you can talk quietly to one of them; and he will report it to
me, in which case you may be sure that I shall set the matter
right, if possible."

"I don't think there is any fear of that, risaldar. I am pretty
well able to take care of myself. My father gave me many lessons in
boxing; and I fancy that, although most of the men are a great deal
bigger and stronger than I am, I shall be able to hold my own."

"I hope so, Bullen," the havildar said gravely, "but I trust that
there will be no occasion to show your skill. We Punjabis are a
quiet race of men; and though, of course, quarrels occasionally
occur among us, they generally end in abuse, and very seldom come
to blows. The greater portion of the regiment has been with us for
some years. They know each other well, and are not given to
quarrelling. They will scarcely even permit their juniors to go to
extremes, and I need not say that the officers of the company would
interfere, at once, if they saw any signs of a disturbance.

"I have had a meal cooked, which I hope you will eat with us. It is
the last you are likely to be able to enjoy, for some time. We
shall feel honoured if you will sit down with us."

An excellent repast was served, and Lisle did it full justice. Then
the officers all shook him by the hand, and he started with the
subadar for the men's lines, with hearty thanks to the others. When
they arrived at the huts, the subadar led the way in.

"Here is a new comrade," he said, as some of the men roused
themselves from the ground on his entrance. "He is a cousin of
Mutteh Ghar, and bears the same name. It seems that he has served
in another regiment, for a short time; but was discharged, owing to
sickness. He has now perfectly recovered health, and has come to
join his cousin; who, on his arrival, he finds to be dead. He is
very anxious to accompany the regiment and, as he understands his
work, the risaldar has consented to let him go, instead of
remaining behind at the depot.

"He is, of course, much affected by the loss of his cousin; and
hopes that he will not be worried by questions. He will be on
baggage guard tomorrow, and so will be left alone, until he
recovers somewhat from his disappointment and grief."

"I will see to it, subadar," one of the sergeants said. "Mutteh
Ghar was a nice young fellow, and we shall all welcome his cousin
among us, if he is at all like him."

"Thank you, sergeant! I am sure you will all like him, when you
come to know him; for he is a well-spoken young fellow, and I hope
that he will make as good a soldier. Good night!"

So saying, he turned and left the tent.

Half an hour later, Lisle was on parade. There were but eight
British officers; including the colonel, major, and adjutant, and
one company officer to each two companies. The inspection was a
brief one. The company officer walked along the line, paying but
little attention to the men; but carefully scrutinizing their arms,
to see that they were in perfect order. The regiment was put
through a few simple manoeuvres; and then dismissed, as work in
earnest would begin on the following morning.

Four men in each company were then told off to pack the baggage in
the carts. Lisle was one of those furnished by his company. There
was little talk while they were at work. In two hours the carts
were packed. Then, as they returned to the lines, his three
comrades entered into conversation with him.

"You are lucky to be taken," one said, "being only a recruit. I
suppose it was done so that you might fill the place of your
cousin?"

"Yes, that was it. They said that I had a claim; so that, if I
chose, I could send money home to his family."

"They are good men, the white officers," another said. "They are
like fathers to us, and we will follow them anywhere. We lately
lost one of them, and miss him sorely. However, they are all good.

"We are all glad to be going on service. It is dull work in
cantonments."

On arriving at the lines of the company, one of them said:

"The risaldar said that you will take your cousin's place. He slept
in the same hut as I. You will soon find yourself at home with us."

He introduced Lisle to the other occupants of the hut, eighteen in
number. Lisle then proceeded to follow the example of the others,
by taking off his uniform and stripping to the loincloth, and a
little calico jacket. He felt very strange at first, accustomed
though he was to see the soldiers return to their native costume.

"Your rations are there, and those of our new comrade," one of the
party said.

Several fires were burning, and Lisle followed the example of his
comrade, and took the lota which formed part of his equipment,
filled it with water, and put it in the ashes; adding, as soon as
it boiled, the handful of rice, some ghee, and a tiny portion of
meat. In an hour the meal was cooked and, taking it from the fire,
he sat down in a place apart; as is usual among the native troops,
who generally have an objection to eat before others.

"Those who have money," his comrade said, "can buy herbs and
condiments of the little traders, and greatly improve their mess."

This Lisle knew well.

"I have a few pice," he said, "but must be careful till I get my
pay."

As soon as night fell all turned in, as they were to start at
daylight.

"Here is room for you at my side, comrade," the sergeant said. "You
had better get to sleep, as soon as you can. Of course, you have
your blanket with you?"

"Yes, sergeant."

Lisle rolled himself in his blanket and lay down, covering his
face, as is the habit of all natives of India. It was some time
before he went to sleep. The events of the day had been exciting,
and he was overjoyed at finding that his plan had so far succeeded.
He was now one of the regiment and, unless something altogether
unexpected happened, he was certain to take part in a stirring
campaign.

While it was still dark, he was aroused by the sound of a bugle.

"The men told off to the baggage guard will at once proceed to pack
the waggons," the sergeant said.

Lisle at once got up and put on his uniform, as did three other men
in the tent. The kits and baggage had already been packed, the
night before; and the men of the guard, consisting of a half
company, proceeded to the waggons. Half an hour afterwards, another
bugle roused the remainder of the regiment, and they soon fell in.

It was broad daylight when they started, the baggage followed a
little later. The havildar who was in charge of them was,
fortunately, one of those of Lisle's company. There was but little
talk at the hurried start. Two men accompanied each of the twelve
company waggons. Half the remainder marched in front, and the
others behind. Lisle had been told off to the first waggon.

It was a long march, two ordinary stages being done in one. As the
animals were fresh, the transport arrived at the camping ground
within an hour of the main column. Accustomed though he was to
exercise, Lisle found the weight of his rifle, pouches, and
ammunition tell terribly upon him. He was not used to the boots
and, before half the journey was completed, began to limp. The
havildar, noticing this, ordered him to take his place on the top
of the baggage on his waggon.

"It is natural that you should feel it, at first, Mutteh Ghar," he
said. "You will find it easy enough to keep up with them, after a
few days' rest."

Lisle was thankful, indeed, for he had begun to feel that he should
never be able to hold on to the end of the march. He remained on
the baggage for a couple of hours, and then again took his place by
the side of the waggon; receiving an approving nod from the
havildar, as he did so.

When the halt was called, the men at once crowded round the
waggons. The kits were distributed and, in a few minutes, the
regiment had the appearance of a concourse of peaceable peasants.
No tents had been taken with them. Waterproof sheets had been
provided and, with these, little shelters had been erected, each
accommodating three men. The sergeant told Lisle off to share one
of these shelters with two other men. A party meanwhile had gone to
collect firewood and, in half an hour, the men were cooking their
rice.

"Well, how did you like the march?" one of them said to Lisle.

"I found it very hard work," Lisle said, "but the havildar let me
ride on the top of one of the waggons for a couple of hours and,
after that, I was able to march in with the rest."

"It was a rough march for a recruit," the other said, "but you will
soon get used to that. Grease your feet well before you put on your
bandages. You will find that that will ease them very much, and
that you will not get sore feet, as you would if you marched
without preparation."

Lisle took the advice, and devoted a portion of his rations for the
purpose, the last thing at night; and found that it abated the heat
in his feet, and he was able to get about in comfort.

Each soldier carried a little cooking pot. Although the regiment
was composed principally of Punjabis, many of the men were of
different nationalities and, although the Punjabis are much less
particular about caste than the people of Southern India, every man
prepared his meal separately. The rations consisted of rice, ghee,
a little curry powder, and a portion of mutton. From these Lisle
managed to concoct a savoury mess, as he had often watched the men
cooking their meals.

The sergeant had evidently chosen two good men to share the tent
with Lisle. They were both old soldiers, not given to much talking;
and were kind to their young comrade, giving him hints about
cooking and making himself comfortable, and abstaining from asking
many questions. They were easily satisfied with his answers and,
after the meal was eaten, sat down with him and talked of the
coming campaign. Neither of them had ever been to Chitral, but they
knew by hearsay the nature of the road, and discussed the
probability of the point at which serious opposition would begin;
both agreeing that the difficulties of crossing the passes, now
that these would be covered with snow, would be far greater than
any stand the tribesmen might make.

"They are tough fighters, no doubt," one of them said; "and we
shall have more difficulty, with them, than we have ever had
before; for they say that a great many of them are armed with good
rifles, and will therefore be able to annoy us at a distance, when
their old matchlocks would have been useless."

"And they are good shots, too."

"There is no doubt about that; quite as good as we are, I should
say. There will be a tremendous lot of flanking work to keep them
at a distance but, when it comes to anything like regular fighting,
we shall sweep them before us.

"From what I hear, however, we shall only have three or four guns
with us. That is a pity for, though the tribesmen can stand against
a heavy rifle fire, they have a profound respect for guns. I
expect, therefore, that we shall have some stiff fighting.

"How do you like the prospect, Mutteh Ghar?"

"I don't suppose I shall mind it when I get accustomed to it,"
Lisle said. "It was because I heard that the regiment was about to
advance that I hurried up to join. I don't think I should have
enlisted, had it been going to stay in the cantonment."

"That is the right spirit," the other said approvingly. "It is the
same with all of us. There is no difficulty in getting recruits,
when there is fighting to be done. It is the dull life in camp that
prevents men from joining. We have enlisted twice as many men, in
the past three months, as in three years before."

So they talked till night fell and then turned in; putting Lisle
between them, that being the warmest position.

In the morning the march was resumed in the same order, Lisle again
taking his place with the baggage guard. The march this time was
only a single one; but it was long, nevertheless. Lisle was able to
keep his place till the end, feeling great benefit from the ghee
which he had rubbed on his feet. The havildar, at starting, said a
few cheering words to him; and told him that, when he felt tired,
he could put his rifle and pouch in the waggon, as there was no
possibility of their being wanted.

His two comrades, when they heard that he had accomplished the
march without falling out, praised him highly.

"You have showed good courage in holding on," one of them said.
"The march was nothing to us seasoned men, but it must have been
trying to you, especially as your feet cannot have recovered from
yesterday. I see that you will make a good soldier, and one who
will not shirk his work. Another week, and you will march as well
as the best of us."

"I hope so," Lisle said. "I have always been considered a good
walker. As soon as I get accustomed to the weight of the rifle and
pouch, I have no doubt that I shall get on well enough."

"I am sure you will," the other said cordially, "and I think we are
as good marchers as any in India. We certainly have that reputation
and, no doubt, it was for that reason we were chosen for the
expedition, although there are several other regiments nearer to
the spot.

"From what I hear, Colonel Kelly will be the commanding officer of
the column, and we could not wish for a better. I hear that there
is another column, and a much stronger one, going from Peshawar.
That will put us all on our mettle, and I will warrant that we
shall be the first to arrive there; not only because we are good
marchers, but because the larger the column, the more trouble it
has with its baggage.

"Baggage is the curse of these expeditions. What has to be
considered is not how far the troops can go, but how far the
baggage animals can keep up with them. Some of the animals are no
doubt good, but many of them are altogether unfitted for the work.
When these break down they block a whole line; and often, even if
the march is a short one, it is very late at night before the last
of the baggage comes in; which means that we get neither kit,
blankets, nor food, and think ourselves lucky if we get them the
next morning.

"The government is, we all think, much to blame in these matters.
Instead of procuring strong animals, and paying a fair price for
them; they buy animals that are not fit to do one good day's march.
Of course, in the end this stinginess costs them more in money, and
lives, than if they had provided suitable animals at the outset."

Lisle had had a great deal of practice with the rifle, and had
carried away several prizes shot for by the officers; but he was
unaccustomed to carry one for so many hours, and he felt grateful,
indeed, when a halt was sounded. Fires were lighted, and food
cooked; and then all lay down, or sat in groups in the shade of a
grove. The sense of the strangeness of his condition had begun to
wear off, and he laughed and talked with the others, without
restraint.

Up to the time when he joined the regiment, Lisle had heard a good
deal of the state of affairs at Chitral; and his impression of the
natives was that they were as savage and treacherous a race as was
to be found in Afghanistan and Kashmir. Beyond that, he had not
interested himself in the matter; but now, from the talk of his
companions, he gained a pretty clear idea of the situation.

Illustration: Map illustrating the Chitral Campaign.

Old Aman-ul-mulk had died in August, 1892. He had reigned long; and
had, by various conquests and judicious marriages, raised Chitral
to a position of importance. The Chitralis are an Aryan race, and
not Pathans; and have a deep-rooted hatred of the Afghans.

In 1878 Aman placed Chitral under the nominal suzerainty of the
Maharajah of Kashmir and, Kashmir being one of the tributary states
of the Indian Empire, this brought them into direct communication
with the government of India; and Aman received with great
cordiality two missions sent to him. When he died, his eldest son
Nizam was away from Chitral; and the government was seized by his
second son, Afzul; who, however, was murdered by his uncle, Sher
Afzul. Nizam at once hurried to Chitral; and Sher Afzul fled to
Cabul, Nizam becoming the head of the state or, as it was called,
Mehtar. Being weak, he asked for a political officer to reside in
his territory; and Captain Younghusband, with an escort of Sikhs,
was accordingly sent to Mastuj, a fort in Upper Chitral.

However, in November Nizam was also murdered, by a younger brother,
Amir. Amir hurried to Chitral, and demanded recognition from
Lieutenant Gurdon; who was, at the time, acting as assistant
British agent. He replied that he had no power to grant
recognition, until he was instructed by the government in India.
Amir thereupon stopped his letters, and for a long time he was in
imminent danger, as he had only an escort of eight Sikhs.

On the 8th of January, fifty men of the 14th Sikhs marched down
from Mastuj and, on the 1st of February, Mr. Robertson, the British
agent, arrived from Gilgit. He had with him an escort of two
hundred and eighty men of the 4th Kashmir Rifles, and thirty-three
Sikhs; and was accompanied by three European officers. When he
arrived he heard that Umra Khan had, at the invitation of Amir,
marched into Chitral; but that his progress had been barred by the
strong fort of Drosh. As the Chitralis hate the Pathans, they were
not inclined to yield to the orders of Amir to surrender the fort,
and were consequently attacked. The place, however, was surrendered
by the treachery of the governor. Amir then advanced, and was
joined by Sher Afzul.

Mr. Robertson wrote to Amir Khan, saying that he must leave the
Chitral territory. Amir paid no attention to the order, and Mr.
Robertson reported this to the government of India. They issued, in
March, 1895, a proclamation warning the Chitralis to abstain from
giving assistance to Amir Khan, and intimating that a force
sufficient to overcome all resistance was being assembled; but that
as soon as it had attained its object, it would be withdrawn.

The Chitralis, who now preferred Sher Afzul to Amir, made common
cause with the former. Mr. Robertson learned that men were already
at work, breaking up the road between Chitral and Mastuj; and
accordingly moved from the house he had occupied to the fort, which
was large enough to receive the force with him.

On the 1st of March, all communications between Mr. Robertson and
Mastuj had ceased; and troops were at once ordered to assemble, to
march to his relief. It was clearly impossible for our agent to
retire as, in order to do so, he would have to negotiate several
terrible passes, where a mere handful of men could destroy a
regiment. Thus it was that the Pioneers had been ordered to break
up their cantonment, and advance with all speed to Gilgit.

Hostilities had already begun. A native officer had started, with
forty men and sixty boxes of ammunition, for Chitral; and had
reached Buni, when he received information that his advance was
likely to be opposed. He accordingly halted and wrote to Lieutenant
Moberley, special duty officer with the Kashmir troops in Mastuj.
The local men reported to Moberley that no hostile attack upon the
troops was at all likely but, as there was a spirit of unrest in
the air, he wrote to Captain Ross, who was with Lieutenant Jones,
and requested him to make a double march into Mastuj. This Captain
Ross did and, on the evening of the 4th of March, started to
reinforce the little body of men that was blocked at Buni.

On the same day a party of sappers and miners, under Lieutenants
Fowler and Edwards, also marched forward to Mastuj. When Captain
Ross arrived at Buni he found that all was quiet, and he therefore
returned to Mastuj, with news to that effect. The party of sappers
were to march, the next morning, with the ammunition escort.

On the evening of that day a note was received from Lieutenant
Edwards, dated from a small village two miles beyond Buni, saying
that he heard that he was to be attacked in a defile, a short
distance away. He started with a force of ninety-six men, in all.
They carried with them nine days' rations, and one hundred and
forty rounds of ammunition.

Captain Ross at once marched for Buni, and arrived there the same
evening. Here he left a young native officer and thirty-three rank
and file while, with Lieutenant Jones and the rest of his little
force, he marched for Reshun, where Lieutenant Edwards' party were
detained. They halted in the middle of the day; and arrived, at one
o'clock, at a hamlet halfway to Reshun.

Shortly after starting, they were attacked. Lieutenant Jones, one
of the few survivors of the party, handed in the following report
of this bad business.

"Half a mile after leaving Koragh the road enters a narrow defile.
The hills on the left bank consist of a succession of large stone
shoots, with precipitous spurs in between. The road at the entrance
to the defile, for about one hundred yards, runs quite close to the
river; after that it lies along a narrow maidan, some thirty or
forty yards in width, and is on the top of the river bank, which is
here a cliff. This continues for about half a mile, then it ascends
a steep spur.

"When the advanced party reached about halfway up this spur, it was
fired on from a sangar which had been built across the road and, at
the same time, men appeared on all the mountain tops and ridges,
and stones were rolled down all the shoots. Captain Ross, who was
with the advanced guard, fell back on the main body. All the
coolies dropped their loads and bolted, as soon as the first shot
was fired. Captain Ross, after looking at the enemy's position,
decided to fall back upon Koragh; as it would have been useless to
go on to Reshun, leaving an enemy in such a position behind us."

Captain Ross ordered Lieutenant Jones to fall back with ten men,
seize the lower end of the defile, and cover the retreat. No fewer
than eight of his men were wounded, as he fell back. Captain Ross,
on hearing this, ordered him to return, and the whole party took
refuge in two caves, it being the intention of their commander to
wait there until the moon rose, and then try to force his way out.

But when they started, they were assailed from above with such a
torrent of rocks that they again retired to the caves. They then
made an attempt to get to the top of the mountain, but their way
was barred by a precipice; and they once more went back to the
cave, where they remained all the next day.

It was then decided to make an attempt to cut their way out. They
started at two in the morning. The enemy at once opened fire, and
many were killed, among them Captain Ross himself. Lieutenant Jones
with seventeen men reached the little maidan, and there remained
for some minutes, keeping up a heavy fire on the enemy on both
banks of the river, in order to help more men to get through.

Twice the enemy attempted to charge, but each time retired with
heavy loss. Lieutenant Jones then again fell back, two of his party
having been killed and one mortally wounded, and the lieutenant and
nine sepoys wounded. When they reached Buni they prepared a house
for defence, and remained there for seven days until reinforcements
came up.

In the meantime the 20th Bengal Sappers and Miners, and the 42nd
Kashmir Infantry had gone on, beyond the point where Captain Ross's
detachment had been all but annihilated, and reached Reshun; and
Lieutenants Edwards and Fowler, with the Bengal Sappers and ten
Kashmir Infantry, went on to repair a break in the road, a few
miles beyond that place. They took every precaution to guard
against surprise. Lieutenant Fowler was sent to scale the heights
on the left bank, so as to be able to look down into some sangars
on the opposite side. With some difficulty, he found a way up the
hillside. When he was examining the opposite cliff a shot was
fired, and about two hundred men rushed out from the village and
entered the sangars.

As Fowler was well above them, he kept up a heavy fire, and did
great execution. The enemy, however, began to ascend the hills, and
some appeared above him and began rolling down stones and firing
into his party. Fowler himself was wounded in the back, a corporal
was killed, and two other men wounded. He managed, however, to
effect his retreat, and joined the main body.

As the enemy were now swarming on the hills, the party began to
fall back to Reshun, which was two miles distant. They had an open
plain to cross and a spur, a thousand feet high, to climb. During
this part of the retreat an officer and several men were wounded
but, on reaching the crest, the party halted and opened a steady
fire upon the enemy; whom they thus managed to keep at a distance
till they reached Reshun, which they did without further loss.

The force here were occupying a sangar they had formed, but so
heavy a fire was opened, from the surrounding hills, that it was
found impossible to hold the position. They therefore retired to
some houses, where firewood and other supplies were found. The only
drawback to this place was that it was more than a hundred yards
from the river, and there was consequently great danger of their
being cut off from the water.

As soon as they reached the houses they began to fortify them. The
roofs were flat and, by piling stones along the edges, they
converted them into sangars. The walls were loopholed, the
entrances blocked up, and passages of communication opened between
the houses. A party of Kashmir volunteers then went down to the
other sangar and brought the wounded in, under a heavy fire.

At sunset the enemy's fire ceased, as it was the month of Ramzam,
during which Mahomedans have to fast all day between sunrise and
sunset. As night came on the little party took their places on the
roofs, and remained there till daylight. By this time all were
greatly exhausted for, during their terrible experiences of the
previous day, they had had no food and little water.

When day dawned half the men were withdrawn from their posts, and a
meal was cooked from the flour that had been found in the houses. A
small ration of meat was also served out. During the day the enemy
kept up a continuous fire but, as they showed no intention of
attacking, the men were allowed to sleep by turns.

After dark Lieutenant Fowler and some volunteers started for the
river, to bring in water. They made two trips, and filled up all
the storage vessels at the disposal of the garrison. The night
passed quietly but, just before dawn, the enemy charged down
through the surrounding houses. Lieutenant Edwards and his party at
once opened fire, at about twenty yards' range. Tom-toms were
beaten furiously, to encourage the assailants; but the tribesmen
could not pluck up courage to make a charge and, at nine o'clock,
they all retired. During the attack four of the sepoys were killed,
and six wounded.

Next night another effort was made to obtain water. Two sangars
were stormed, and most of their occupants killed. The way to the
water was now opened but, at this moment, heavy firing broke out at
the fort; and Lieutenant Fowler, who was in command, recalled his
men and returned to assist the garrison.

On the following day a white flag was hoisted, and an emissary from
Sher Afzul said that all fighting had ceased. An armistice was
accordingly arranged. All this, however, was but a snare for, a few
days later, when the two British officers went out to witness a
polo match, they were seized, bound with ropes, and carried off. At
the same moment a fierce attack was made on a party of sepoys who
had also come out. These fought stoutly, but were overpowered, most
of them being killed.

The garrison of the post, however, under the command of Lieutenant
Gurdon, continued to hold the little fort; and refused all
invitation to come out to parley, after the treachery that had been
shown to their comrades. The two officers were taken to Chitral,
where they were received with kindness by Amir Khan.

The news of this disaster was carried to Peshawar by a native
Mussulman officer, who had been liberated, where it created great
excitement. As all communication with Chitral had ceased, the
assistant British agent at Gilgit called up the Pioneers; who
marched into Gilgit, four hundred strong, on the 20th of March. On
the 21st news was received of the cutting up of Ross's party, and
it was naturally supposed that that of Edwards was also destroyed.

Colonel Kelly of the Pioneers now commanded the troops, and all
civil powers; and Major Borradale commanded the Pioneers. The
available force consisted of the four hundred Pioneers, and the
Guides. Lieutenant Stewart joined them with two guns of the Kashmir
battery.

Two hundred Pioneers and the Guides started on the 23rd. The
gazetteer states that it never rains in Gilgit, but it rained when
the detachment started, and continued to pour for two days. The men
had marched without tents. Colonel Kelly, the doctor, Leward, and a
staff officer followed in the afternoon, and overtook the main body
that evening.

The troops had made up little tents with their waterproof sheets.
Colonel Kelly had a small tent, and the other officers turned in to
a cow shed. The force was so small that the Pioneers asked the
others to mess with them, each man providing himself with his own
knife, fork, and spoon, and the pots being all collected for the
cooking.

The next march was long and, in some places, severe. They were well
received by the natives, whose chiefs always came out to greet them
and, on the third day, reached Gupis, where a fort had been built
by the Kashmir troops. At this point the horses and mules were all
left behind, as the passes were said to be impassable for animals;
and native coolies were hired to carry the baggage.

Lisle had enjoyed the march, and the strange life that he was
leading. He was now quite at home with his company and, by the time
they reached Gupis, had become a general favourite. At the end of
the day, when a meal had been cooked and eaten, he would join in
their songs round the fire and, as he had picked up several he had
heard them sing, and had a fair voice, he was often called upon for
a contribution. His vivacity and good spirits surprised the sepoys
who, as a whole, were grave men, though they bore their hardships
uncomplainingly. He had soon got over the feeling of discomfort of
going about with naked legs, and was as glad as the soldiers,
themselves, to lay aside his uniform and get into native attire.

The sepoys had now regular rations of meat. It was always mutton,
as beef was unobtainable; but it was much relished by the men, who
cut it up into slices and broiled it over a fire.

Not for one moment did Lisle regret the step he had taken. Young
and active, he thoroughly enjoyed the life; and looked forward
eagerly to the time when they should meet the enemy, for no doubt
whatever was now felt that they would meet with a desperate
resistance on their march to Chitral. Fears were entertained,
however, that when they got there, they would find that the
garrison had been overpowered; for it was certain that against this
force the chief attack of the enemy would be directed. The
overthrow of Ross and his party showed that the enemy were sturdy
fighters; and they were known to be armed with breech-loading
rifles, of as good a quality as those carried by the troops.

In the open field all felt that, however numerous the tribesmen
might be, they would stand no chance whatever; but the passes
afforded them immense advantage, and rendered drill and discipline
of little avail.



Chapter 3: The First Fight.


And yet, though he kept up a cheerful appearance, Lisle's heart was
often very heavy. The sight of the British officers continually
recalled his father to his memory. But a short time back he had
been with him, and now he was gone for ever. At times it seemed
almost impossible that it could be so. He had been his constant
companion when off duty; had devoted much time to helping him
forward in his studies; had never, so far as he could remember,
spoken a harsh word to him.

It seemed like a dream, those last hours he had passed by his
father's bedside. Many times he lay awake in the night, his face
wet with tears. But with reveille he would be up, laughing and
joking with the soldiers, and raising a smile even on the face of
the gravest.

It had taken him but a very short time to make himself at home in
the regiment. The men sometimes looked at him with surprise, he was
so different from themselves. They bore their hardships well, but
it was with stern faces and grim determination; while this young
soldier made a joke of them.

Sometimes he was questioned closely, but he always turned the
questions off with a laugh. He had learned the place where his
supposed cousin came from and, while sticking to this, he said that
a good fairy must have presided over his birth; information that
was much more gravely received than given, for the natives have
their superstitions, and believe, as firmly as the inhabitants of
these British islands did, two or three hundred years ago, in the
existence of supernatural beings, good and bad.

"If you have been blessed by a fairy," one of the elder men
suggested, "doubtless you will go through this campaign without
harm. They are very powerful, some of these good people, and can
bestow long life as well as other gifts."

"I don't know whether she will do that. She certainly gave me high
spirits. I used to believe that what my mother said happened to
her, the night after I was born, was not true, but only a dream.
She solemnly declared that it was not, but I have always been
famous for good spirits; and she may have been right, after all."

There was nothing Lisle liked better than being on night picket
duty. Other men shirked it, but to him there was something
delightful to stand there almost alone, rifle in hand, watching the
expanse of snow for a moving figure. There was a charm in the dead
silence. He liked to think quietly of the past and, somehow, he
could do so far better, while engaged on this duty, than when lying
awake in his little tent. The expanse and stillness calmed him, and
agreed far more with his mood than the camp.

His sight was keen, even when his thoughts were farthest away and,
three times, he sent a bullet through a lurking Pathan who was
crawling up towards him, astonishing his comrades by the accuracy
of his aim.

"I suppose," he said, when congratulated upon the third occasion on
which he had laid one of the enemy low, "that the good fairy must
have given me a quick eye, as well as good spirits."

"It is indeed extraordinary that you, a young recruit, should not
only make out a man whom none of us saw; but that you should, each
time, fetch him down at a distance of three or four hundred yards."

"I used to practice with my father's rifle," he said. "He was very
fond of shikari, and I often went out with him. It needs a keener
sight to put a bullet between the eyes of a tiger, than to hit a
lurking Pathan."

So noted did he become for the accuracy of his aim that one of the
native officers asked him, privately, if he would like to be always
put on night duty.

"I should like it every other night," he said. "By resting every
alternate night, and by snatching a couple of hours' sleep before
going on duty, when we arrive at the end of a day's march in good
time, I can manage very well."

"I will arrange that for you," the officer said. "Certainly, no one
would grudge you the duty."

One night, when there had been but little opposition during the
day, Lisle was posted on a hill where the picket consisted of ten
men; five of whom were on the crest, while the other five lay down
in the snow. The day had been a hard one, and Lisle was less
watchful than usual. It seemed to him that he had not closed his
eyes for a minute, as he leant on his rifle; but it must have been
much longer, for he suddenly started with a feeling that something
was wrong, and saw a number of dark figures advancing along the
crest towards him. He at once fired a shot, and fell back upon the
next sentry. Dropping behind rocks, they answered the fire which
the enemy had already opened upon them.

The whole picket quickly gathered and, for a time, checked the
advance of the enemy; but these were too numerous to be kept at a
distance, and parties of them pressed forward on each flank.

"We must retire till we can find better shelter," the sub-officer
in command said. "We shall soon have reinforcements up from the
camp, when it is seen that we are seriously engaged. Fall back,
men, steadily. Take advantage of every bit of cover, but keep as
well together as possible, without risk."

Firing steadily, they made their way down the hill, and finally
took up a position among a clump of rocks. Two had been shot dead,
and two others were wounded; and it was because these could not be
left behind that the stand was made. The two wounded men, though
partially disabled and unable to crawl, could still use their
rifles; and the little party kept up so hot a fire that, though the
enemy were massed from twenty to thirty yards away, they could not
be brought to unite in a general attack; not even by the shouts and
yells of their comrades behind, and a furious beating of tom-toms.

Illustration: Lisle gives the alarm.

The defenders were all lying down, each of them having chosen a
position where he could see through a crevice between the rocks.
Lisle was lying next to the sergeant. Presently the latter gave an
exclamation, fired his rifle, and shifted his position behind the
rock.

"Mutteh Ghar," he said, "I have seen you bring down three of the
skulking ruffians. Do you see those two there close together, about
forty yards away? There is a man behind them who has just carried
off two of my fingers.

"Keep your eye on those rocks. Just above where they touch each
other there is an opening, through which you can see the snow
behind. That is where he fired from. Oblige me by putting a ball in
his head, when he raises it."

A couple of minutes passed. Lisle was lying with his rifle on the
spot. Presently the opening was obscured, and he fired at once.

"Thank you!" the sergeant said. "You got him, sure enough. The head
did not disappear to one side or to the other, but went straight
back. I fancy that you must have hit him between the eyes."

Presently the enemy's fire became still more furious and, several
times, some of them rose and ran two paces forward, but only to
fall prone under the defenders' fire.

"I expect they see help coming up," Lisle said, "and are making a
last effort to wipe us out before they arrive.

"I think they will try a rush," he continued, in a louder voice;
"see that your magazines are filled up, lads, and don't waste a
shot if they come at us."

A minute later there was a shrill and prolonged cry and, at once,
twenty dark figures burst from their shelter and rushed forward.
The defenders also sprang to their feet, and their rifles flashed
out with a stream of fire. But the vacancies thus caused in the
enemy's ranks were immediately filled.

"Now with your bayonets," the sergeant shouted. "Keep in a close
body, and do you two wounded men cover us with a constant fire."

Then, with a cheer, the six men and the sergeant rushed forward.
Much as the Afridis feared the bayonet, confident in their strength
they withstood the charge. They had, fortunately, emptied their
rifles before rushing forward but, drawing their knives, they
fought fiercely. These, however, were no match for the bayonets
and, consequently, they suffered heavily.

Three of the Pioneers received severe gashes. The group were
brought to a standstill, and they stood in a little circle while
the attack continued. One sepoy was stabbed to the heart by a
fanatic, who rushed at his bayonet and, pushing himself along, fell
dead as he struck his fatal blow.

Things were looking very bad. Scarce one had escaped without a
wound, and the sergeant had dropped, bleeding profusely; when, to
their delight, a volley burst from within fifty yards of them and,
in an instant, their assailants turned and bolted.

After the sergeant had dropped, Lisle had somehow taken his place,
cheering the men on and lending his aid to those most severely
pressed. Once or twice he managed, after despatching an assailant,
to slip a couple of cartridges into his rifle, and so added to the
execution. Indeed, it was in no small account due to his exertions,
after the sergeant fell, that the resistance was maintained.

A minute later, the active little Ghoorkhas rushed forward; and
those who first arrived passed the little knot of defenders with a
cheer, and set off in pursuit of the enemy. Presently, however, one
of their officers came up.

"You have had a stiff fight, lads," he said, "and by the look of
the ground round about, you must have defended yourselves
gallantly; for there are a dozen dead bodies lying near you, and I
can see many more, a little way up the hill. What have been your
losses?"

The sergeant raised himself on his elbow.

"We had two killed, as we came down," he said, "and two others
wounded. I believe one has fallen here, and I think most of us are
wounded with knife thrusts."

"Well, you have done splendidly, sergeant. I will detach men to
help to carry you and the wounded men down to the camp. The others
can accompany them. We shall take up the work, now; but I am afraid
we sha'n't have any fighting, though we may shoot down a few as
they make off. I fancy, however, that the lesson you have given the
beggars has taken all fight out of them."

When half down the hill, they met a party of the Pioneers coming
out. The Ghoorkhas at once handed the wounded over to them, and
started up the hill again. The sergeant had fainted from loss of
blood, and no questions were asked till the injured men were all
placed in little hospital tents, and their wounds attended to. Two
of them had bullet wounds, and three had received knife wounds on
the shoulder or arm. Only Lisle and one other escaped unhurt. As
soon as the wounds had been attended to all, except the sergeant,
and two more seriously wounded than the others, were sent off to
their tents.

One of these was Lisle's tent fellow. He said:

"Mutteh Ghar, I don't know what to say to you. You seem but a lad,
and a light-hearted one; but you have proved yourself the best of
us all. I was lying next to you, and I will swear that you brought
down eight of them with your rifle, before they charged. Even while
I was fighting I always heard your voice, like a trumpet; and after
the sergeant had fallen you seemed to take command, as if it was
your right. You saved my life when you bayoneted two of the three
who were grappling with me, and you seemed to be everywhere."

"I did what little I could," Lisle said. "I certainly did not
intend to take the command, when the sergeant fell; but somehow I
could not help shouting and, as our circle had closed in so, I
slipped out of my place and fought wherever the pressure was
greatest."

"There is no doubt," the soldier said seriously, "that your
mother's statement was a true one, and that a fairy did promise her
to look after you. Out of the eleven of us, only one besides
yourself has escaped without a wound; and yet none of us exposed
himself more than you did. I shall not forget that I owe my life to
you. We must find some other name for you. You can't be called 'the
boy' any longer."

In the morning, one of the colonel's orderlies was told to fetch
Lisle.

"The colonel wishes to see you, Mutteh Ghar."

Lisle put on his uniform with some uneasiness. He was conscious
that, in the excitement of the fight of the night before, he had
frequently shouted in English; and he feared that the sergeant had
reported this. However, he marched to the spot where the colonel
and a group of officers were standing, and then stood at attention.

"Mutteh Ghar," the colonel said, "the sergeant this morning made
his report; and he states that, though all his men behaved
admirably, you distinguished yourself in a singular manner. He says
that before the final attack began you had killed eight or ten of
the Pathans, that you were fighting beside him when he was wounded,
and that you then seemed to take the command. Although lying on the
ground, he was able to see what was going on; and he says that but
for your cheers, and for the manner in which you went to the
assistance of men hard pressed, he is convinced that the whole
detachment would have been killed before the Ghoorkhas arrived."

"I had no idea of assuming the command, sir; but my tongue always
runs fast, and I dare say I did shout, almost unconsciously. I
think the sergeant has made more of my doings than I deserved."

"I don't think it likely. It is no small thing for so young a
soldier to so distinguish himself. The sergeant will not be able to
resume his duties for some time, and I therefore appoint you a
corporal; and shall put your name in orders, today, for very
distinguished service. How long is it since you joined the
regiment?"

"A short time before we marched."

"Well, you have done honour to the corps and, in the name of myself
and my officers, I thank you."

Lisle saluted, and returned to the lines.

"The colonel has made me a corporal," he answered, as the others
gathered round and questioned him.

A cheer burst from them, for his tent companion, and the other men
who had returned, had all spoken in the highest terms of his
conduct. Lisle was quite confused by the heartiness of their
reception.

"He is a wonderfully young fellow," the colonel said, as he left
them. "The sergeant said that he was young, but really he looks
little more than a boy. Curiously, his face reminds me of someone,
though I cannot say whom; and yet, if he only joined a short time
before we marched, it is not likely that I should have noticed him
before."

"It was the same thing with me, colonel," the major said. "I have
noticed him several times on the march and, while the rest of the
regiment were plodding on in silence, he always seemed the centre
of a merry group. I have often said, to myself, I wished we had a
few more men in the regiment who could take the hardships they had
to undergo as lightly and as merrily as he does. His face has also
struck me as being somehow familiar.

"I was speaking to the sergeant about him, and he said that he was
the most popular man in his company, and a general favourite. His
temperament is altogether different from that of the majority of
our soldiers, which is earnest and quiet."

Two or three of the other officers also spoke of noticing the
cheerful influence he seemed to have on the men.

"I must have a talk with him," the colonel said, "after the
campaign is over, and find out something about it. It is quite
evident that his pluck is as great as his cheerfulness, and it is
certainly very extraordinary that a young and recently-joined
soldier should have such an influence with men many years older
than himself. If I am not mistaken, we shall find him in the ranks
of the native officers, before long. Considering his age, and what
he has already done, he may well hope some day, if he escapes being
killed, to be risaldar major of the regiment.

"I should almost fancy that he must be the son of some native of
good family, but without influence to secure him a post as officer;
and that he has run away to endeavour to fight his way up to a
commission."

Henceforth Lisle stood in high regard among his comrades, and was
known as the 'fighting boy' in the regiment. He himself was always
ready to answer to any name by which he was addressed. He had no
desire to push himself forward to any prominence among them, or of
thinking himself any way above his comrades; but naturally he was
pleased at finding himself generally liked. He had come to see the
fighting, and take part in it, and had no thought of distinguishing
himself especially; as he intended to leave the regiment as soon as
the campaign was over, and carry out the plan which his father had
formed for him. He feared to excite the jealousy of his comrades
and, though there were no signs of this, he felt that his promotion
caused some difference in the manner of other men towards him.

This was so marked, indeed, that he could not help thinking that
the men by whose side he had fought had reported to their comrades
that, in the heat of the fight, he had several times shouted in
English; and that there were general suspicions as to his identity.
As long as this was not communicated to the officers it did not
matter; and indeed this was not likely for, if the feeling was
noticed by the native officers, it would soon come to the ears of
Gholam Singh, who would at once order the men to keep silence
concerning it.

Gradually his nickname changed, and he became known among the
sepoys of the regiment as the "young sahib." He protested against
it, but in vain. It was not, however, without its advantages. At
the end of a long march, the men who had brought in firewood always
handed him some. Men would offer to clean his rifle, cook his
dinner, and do other little offices for him. He would, however,
never accept these kind offers.

"Why do they call you sahib?" one of the English officers asked
him, when he heard him so addressed.

"I do not know," he answered. "It is a silly joke of the men. I
have protested against it, without success. If they chose to call
me 'colonel,' I could not help it. I suppose it is because they see
that I am, like the white officers, always cheerful and good
tempered. There is certainly no other reason that I know of."

"The regiment have taken to call Mutteh Ghar 'the young sahib,'"
the officer reported, at mess that day. "I asked him about it, and
he says no doubt it is because he is, like us, always good tempered
and cheerful."

"He is certainly very unlike the others," the major said. "I have
no doubt the men consider it a great compliment, to him, to call
him so."

"Do you know, colonel," one of the subalterns said, "the idea has
struck me that he may be young Bullen, who may have joined the
regiment surreptitiously, instead of going down to Calcutta."

There was silence among the others.

"It can hardly be that, Macdonald," the colonel said, "though it is
certainly curious that we seemed to feel that we knew his face,
when he came up before us. The young scamp could never have played
such an audacious trick upon us."

"I don't know, colonel," the major said, "he is just the sort of
lad that would try such a scheme. I know I have twice seen him
talking with my butler; who was, as you know, Captain Bullen's
servant."

"Well, it may possibly be so," the colonel said, "but at any rate
it is only suspicion, and we had better leave the matter as it
stands. If it is young Bullen, I don't know that he has done a bad
thing for himself. If he goes on as he has begun, his experience
will go a long way towards getting him a commission; and he will be
a great deal better off than if he were grinding up for two years
in England. Such a strong recommendation as I could give him would
be of great value to him and, moreover, he has a claim on the
ground that his father was killed on service.

"At any rate, we must take no action, whatever, at present. It is
no slight thing he has done; that is, if it be he. Few of us would
care to go through this campaign as sepoys--their work is terribly
hard, poor fellows--to say nothing of the unpleasantness of having
to live among the natives. I certainly shall consider that he has
well earned a commission, if he comes through the campaign."

"But he is too young for one," the major said.

"I should not think it necessary to mention his age, in
recommending him," the colonel said. "We know that he is doing a
man's work, manfully. He has earned, as you say, the general liking
of the men; and is a deal better fitted for a commission than half
the fellows they send out to us.

"Well, we may all be mistaken, and he may only be a brave young
fellow of good ancestry; so we will think no more of it, at
present, and we will wait to see how things turn out, before
showing any signs of our suspicions."

Now, however, that the idea had been mooted, the officers, as they
went up and down the line, looked closer at Lisle than they had
hitherto done; and all agreed that, in spite of his uniform and his
colour, he was Captain Bullen's son. Ignorant of their suspicions,
Lisle carried out his work, as usual, as a sub-officer. He shared
the shelter tents of the men, and performed his duties regularly.
He still carried a rifle; and indeed, if this had not been the rule
he would not have accepted his promotion, as he preferred fighting
with a weapon to which he was accustomed.

His work during the day was but little changed. When the regiment
was marching in a column, four abreast, he had his appointed place
by the side of it and, when they arrived in camp, it was part of
his duty to see that the little tents were all pitched, rations
distributed, kits handed over, and the men made as comfortable as
possible. No sub-officer was obeyed with greater alacrity and, when
he returned from his picket in the early morning, he always found
his ration ready cooked for him.

It was impossible for him to help feeling pleased at these signs of
the liking of the men, and he redoubled his efforts to cheer them
on the line of march; and to aid any men who seemed unable to climb
up through the snow, by carrying their rifles and ammunition
pouches for them. He had long since grown accustomed to carrying
weights, and was able to keep up with the most seasoned marchers.

On two or three occasions Gholam Singh was able to report
favourably of his conduct, in thus relieving men of their arms. The
colonel always took these communications in the ordinary way.

"There is no doubt," he said, when the conversation turned on the
subject, "that Gholam Singh must have been an accessory to young
Bullen's plot. I have been looking up the list of the deceased
sepoys, and I find that a recruit of the same name died, two days
before we marched. In some way young Bullen, if it is really the
boy, contrived to take the dead man's place and name. This could
have been very well done, without any of us knowing. None of us
were familiar with the dead man's appearance, and Gholam Singh, and
some of the other native officers, must have arranged that he
should take his place. If this has been the case I shall, of
course, be obliged to speak sharply to the risaldar major; but in
reality I shall not be very angry with him, for he will certainly
have done young Bullen a good turn."

"I am sure it is Bullen," one of the officers said, "for when I came
up suddenly behind him, today, I heard him whistling an English tune.
Of course, it may have been played by the band when we were in camp,
but whistling is not a common Punjabi accomplishment, and I don't
know that I ever heard native boys whistle before. He stopped directly
I came up, but I could make no mistake about the tune; for I hung
behind a little, and was amused at seeing the men marching by him
trying to keep step, while they were over their knees in snow. I
caught a grin on their faces at their failure, though they looked as
grave as usual when they saw me."

"Well, we must let things go on as they are," the colonel said,
"until we get to Chitral. Then we will have him up, and get to the
bottom of the affair. If it turns out to be Bullen, he must at once
leave the ranks and join us again. I shall then have to ask for a
commission for him, and give him temporary rank as junior
lieutenant, until an answer to my recommendation arrives. Even if
it is not Bullen, it may be--unlikely as it seems--some other
Englishman; but in any case, we could not allow an Englishman to be
in the ranks."

"I don't think there is any doubt about it, colonel," the major
said. "I have had a good look at him, several times, and could
almost swear to his identity, well as he is got up."

Lisle pursued the regular course of his work, in happy
unconsciousness that any suspicion as to his identity entered the
minds of his officers. His spirits were now not forced; the
fatiguing marches, the night pickets, and the pressure of his duty
so occupied his thoughts that he had little time to dwell upon his
loss. It was now three months since his father had died, and yet it
seemed to him in the far distance, so much had happened since.
Occasionally he thought with disgust that, when this was all over,
he must return to England to the uncle he had never seen, and
become a schoolboy, spending his days in study; and perhaps, in the
end, fail to pass his examination. He would be a stranger amongst
strangers. He could not expect that his uncle should feel any
particular interest in a lad he had never before seen, and he drew
pictures to himself of the long, friendless interval before, even
at the best, he could again don a uniform.

But upon such thoughts he did not allow himself to dwell. It had to
be done, and he would, he supposed, get through it all right. He
might find friends among the fellows at the same crammer's. At any
rate, three years would soon pass, and he must make the best of it.

"I suppose the crammer will be in London," he said. "Everything
there will be new to me and, no doubt, I shall find it very
interesting. They say that it is an immense place, to which even
the biggest Indian city is but a mere trifle. It will be curious to
see everyone in dark clothes, with none of the gay colouring of
India.

"Father often said that the pleasantest time of his life was the
years he spent in England, while he was cramming for his exam.
There were theatres, and all sorts of other places of amusement. He
had the best of companions and, after they had finished their work,
they were at liberty to do pretty nearly whatever they liked.

"I think I shall get my uncle to send me to the same crammer as
father went to, if he is still alive. I put down his address once,
in my pocketbook, and shall be able to find it again when I get
down to Calcutta, and recover my traps.

"Well, I need not worry myself by thinking of it, now. It will all
come some day, and I dare say I shall find it pleasant enough, when
I once get accustomed to it."

Such thoughts often passed through his mind at night for, during
the day, he had not a minute to himself. He was almost sure, now,
that the men had discovered his identity, by the many little marks
of kindness they had shown him, and by the manner in which his
fellow sub-officers always spoke to him with a certain air of
respect. This, however, did not worry him. He felt certain that
they would keep the secret; and at the end of the campaign he must,
of course, disclose himself and obtain his discharge. Until then,
no one would have time to think much of the matter, still less find
any opportunity of reporting it to Colonel Kelly.

He wondered how the colonel would take it, when he went up to say
who he was. He did not think he would be very seriously angry,
though probably he would wig him sharply. At any rate he had not
done badly, and had brought no discredit to the regiment.

He had unconsciously adopted the regimental belief that he was a
lucky man, and should get through the campaign unhurt. He was
particularly anxious that he should do so as, were he confined in
hospital for a few days, he would have no opportunity of renewing
his stain; in which case he would undoubtedly be detected. They had
advanced so far now, however, that even if he were discovered, they
could hardly send him back before he got to Chitral. He might, of
course, be detained at Reshun, which would be a horrible nuisance.

One night his camp mate said to him:

"You ought to be with the officers, Bullen sahib. It is not right
for you to be working as we do."

"Why do you call me Bullen Sahib, Pertusal?"

"Everyone knows it, sahib. Little by little we nave found you out.
We had some suspicions from the first, but now we are sure of it.
Only your father's son would have fought as you did on the hill
and, when we came to look very closely at you, we all recognized
you, in spite of your dye."

"Then I wish I hadn't fought quite so hard, Pertusal, for I had
hoped that I had altogether escaped recognition. I thought that I
could have gone through the campaign without anyone suspecting who
I was."

"We did not suspect at first, sahib. We quite took you for one of
ourselves. No, the cheerfulness with which you bore your hardships,
and your readiness to assist anyone, surprised us. You were so
different from us all that we could not help wondering who you
were; but I don't think any of us really suspected that you were
Captain Bullen's son, till that fight. I know that when I was busy
fighting, sorely pushed as we were, I wondered when I heard you
shout in English; and I had heard you call out so often, when you
were playing cricket with the officers, that I recognized your
voice at once.

"Then the wonder that we felt about you ceased. It seemed for a
moment impossible, for I had seen you go off with the sick convoy.
Then it seemed to me that it was just the thing that Captain
Bullen's son might be expected to do. You would naturally want to
see fighting, but I did wonder how you managed to come back and get
enlisted into the regiment. I remember, now, that I wondered a
little the first night you joined. You were in uniform and, as a
rule, recruits don't go into uniform for some time after they have
joined. It was therefore remarkable that you should turn up in
uniform, rifle and all."

"It was the uniform of the original Mutteh Ghar," Lisle said. "My
servant had managed to get it; and the story that I was the man's
cousin, and was therefore permitted to take his place, was natural
enough to pass."

"But some of our officers must have helped you, sahib?"

"Well, I won't say anything about that. I did manage to join in the
way I wanted, and you and your comrade were both very kind to me."

"That was natural enough, sahib. You were a young recruit, and we
understood that you were put with us two old soldiers in order that
we might teach you your duty. It was not long, however, before we
found that there was very little teaching necessary for, at the end
of a week, you knew your work as well as any man in the regiment.
We thought you a wonder, but we kept our thoughts to ourselves.

"Now that we know who you are, all the regiment is proud that your
father's son has come among us, and shared our lot down to the
smallest detail. I noticed that you were rather clumsy with your
cooking, but even in that respect you soon learned how things
should be done.

"I suppose, sahib, we shall lose you at the end of the campaign?"

"Yes; I shall have to start for England, at once; for in order to
gain a commission, I must study hard for two or three years. Of
course, I shall then have to declare myself to the officers, in
order to get my discharge. I am afraid that the colonel will be
very angry, but I cannot help that. I am quite sure, however, that
he will let me go, as soon as he knows who I am. It will be rather
fun to see the surprise of the officers."

"I don't think the colonel will be angry, sahib. He might have
been, if you had not done so well; but as it is, he cannot but be
pleased that Captain Bullen's son should have so distinguished
himself, even in the 32nd Pioneers, who have the reputation of
being one of the best fighting regiments in all India."

"Well, I hope so, Pertusal. At any rate, I am extremely glad I
came. I have seen what fighting is, and that under the most severe
conditions. I have proved to myself that I can bear hardships
without flinching; and I shall certainly be proud, all my life,
that I have been one in the column for the relief of Chitral--that
is to say, if we are the first."

"We shall be the first," the soldier said, positively. "It is hard
work enough getting our baggage over the passes; but it will be
harder still for the Peshawar force, encumbered with such a train
as they will have to take with them.

"Ah! Sahib, if only our food were so condensed that we could carry
a supply for twelve days about us, what would we not be able to do?
We could rout the fiercest tribe on the frontier, without
difficulty. We could march about fifteen or twenty miles a day, and
more than that, if necessary. We could do wonders, indeed."

"I am afraid we shall never discover that," Lisle said. "The German
soldiers do indeed carry condensed meat in sausages, and can take
three or four days' supplies with them; but we have not yet
discovered anything like food of which men could carry twelve days'
supply. We may some day be able to do it but, even if it weighed
but a pound a day, it would add heavily to the load to be carried."

"No one would mind that," Pertusal said. "Think what a comfort it
would be, if we could make our breakfast before starting, eat a
little in the middle of the day, and be sure of supper directly we
got into camp; instead of having to wait hours and hours, and
perhaps till the next morning, before the baggage train arrived. I
would willingly carry double my present load, if I felt sure that I
would gain that advantage. I know that the officers have tins of
condensed milk, one of which can make more than a gallon; and that
they carry cocoa, and other things, of which a little goes a long
way. Now, if they could condense rice and ghee like that, we should
be able to carry all that is necessary with us for twelve days.
Mutton we could always get on a campaign, for the enemy's flocks
are at our disposal; and it must be a bare place, indeed, where we
could not find enough meat to keep us going. It is against our
religion to eat beef, but few of us would hesitate to do so, on a
campaign; and oxen are even more common than sheep.

"It is very little baggage we should have to take with us, then.
Twenty ponies would carry sufficient for the regiment; and if
government did but buy us good mules, we could always rely upon
getting them into camp before dark. See what an advantage that
would be! Ten men would do for the escort; whereas, at present, a
hundred is not sufficient."

"Well, I wish it could be so," Lisle said. "But although some
articles of food might be compressed, I don't think we should ever
be able to compress rice or ghee. A handful of rice, when it is
boiled, makes enough for a meal; and I don't imagine that it could
possibly be condensed more than that."

"Well, it is getting late, and we march at daylight. Fortunately we
have not to undress, but have only to turn in as we are."



Chapter 4: In The Passes


The march after leaving Dahimol was a short one. Here they were met
by the governor of the upper parts of the valley, and he gave them
very useful details of the state of parties in Chitral, and of the
roads they would have to follow. He accompanied the force on the
next day's march, and billeted all the troops in the villages; for
which they were thankful enough, for they were now getting pretty
high up in the hills, and the nights were decidedly cold.

They were now crossing a serious pass, and had reached the snow
line; and the troops put on the goggles they had brought with them
to protect their eyes from the dazzling glare of the snow. At two
o'clock they reached the post at Ghizr, which was held by a body of
Kashmir sappers and miners. The place had been fortified, and
surrounded by a strong zereba. The troops were billeted in the
neighbouring houses, and they halted for a day, in order to allow
the second detachment of the Pioneers and the guns to come up.
Here, also, they were joined by a hundred men of the native levies.

When they prepared for the start, the next morning, they found that
a hundred of the coolies had bolted during the night. Two officers
were despatched to find and fetch them back. Fifty were fortunately
discovered, in a village not far off, and with these and some
country ponies the force started. They passed up the valley and
came upon a narrow plain. Here the snow was waist deep, and the men
were forced to move in single file, the leaders changing places
every hundred yards or so.

At last they came to a stop. The gun mules sank to their girths in
the snow and, even then, were unable to obtain a footing. Men were
sent out to try the depth of the snow on both sides of the valley,
but they found no improvement. Obviously it was absolutely
impossible for the mules and ponies to get farther over the snow,
in its present state. It was already three o'clock in the
afternoon, and only eight miles had been covered. The force
therefore retired to the last village in the valley. Two hundred
Pioneers under Borradaile, the sappers, and the Hunza levies were
left here, with all the coolie transport.

Borradaile's orders were to force his way across the pass, next
day; and entrench himself at Laspur, the first village on the other
side. He was then to send back the coolies, in order that the
remainder of the force might follow. With immense trouble and
difficulty, the kits of the party that were to proceed were sorted
out from the rest, the ammunition was divided and, at seven
o'clock, the troops who were to return to Ghizr started on their
cold march. They reached their destination after having been on
foot some fifteen hours.

Lisle was with the advance party. They were all told off to houses
in the little village. Fires were lighted and the weary men cooked
their food and, huddling close together, and keeping the fires
alight, slept in some sort of comfort. Next morning at daybreak
they turned out and found, to their disgust, that the snow was
coming down heavily, and that the difficulties would be even
greater than on the previous day. Borradaile therefore sent back
one of the levies, with a letter saying that it was impossible to
advance; but that if the sky cleared, he would start on the
following morning.

The Kashmir troops at Ghizr volunteered to go forward, and make a
rush through the snow; and Stewart and his lieutenant, Gough, set
out with fifty of them, taking with them half a dozen sledges that
had been made out of boxes. On arriving at Tern, Stewart found
fodder enough for the mules, and begged that the guns might be sent
up. Borradaile had started early; and Stewart with the fifty
Kashmir troops followed, staggering along dragging the guns and
ammunition. The snow had ceased, but there was a bitter wind, and
the glare from the newly-fallen snow was terrible.

The guns, wheels, and ammunition had been told off to different
squads, who were relieved every fifty yards. In spite of the cold,
the men were pouring with perspiration. At one point in the march a
stream had to be crossed. This was done only with great difficulty,
and the rear guard did not reach the camping ground, at the mouth
of the Shandur Pass, until eleven at night; and even then the guns
had to be left a mile behind. Then the weary men had to cut fuel to
light fires. Many of them were too exhausted to attempt to cook
food, and at once went to sleep round the fires.

Early the next morning, the Pioneers and levies started to cross
the pass. The Kashmir men brought up the guns into camp but, though
the distance was short, the work took them the best part of the
day. The march was not more than ten miles; but Borradaile's party,
though they left Langar at daylight, did not reach Laspur till
seven o'clock at night. The slope over the pass was a gradual one,
and it was the depth of the snow, alone, that caused so much delay.
The men suffered greatly from thirst, but refused to eat the snow,
having a fixed belief that, if they did so, it would bring on
violent illness.

On arriving at the top of the pass, the Hunza levies skirmished
ahead. So unexpected was their arrival that the inhabitants of the
village were all caught and, naturally, they expressed their
extreme delight at this visit, and said that they would be glad to
help us in any way. They were taken at their word, and sent back to
bring up the guns. Their surprise was not feigned, for the
Chitralis were convinced that it would be impossible to cross the
pass, and letters were found stating that the British force was
lying at Ghizr.

The feat, indeed, was a splendid one. Some two hundred and fifty
men, Hindoos and Mussulmans had, at the worst time of the year,
brought two mountain guns, with their carriages and ammunition,
across a pass which was blocked for some twenty miles by deep, soft
snow; at the same time carrying their own rifles, eighty rounds of
ammunition, and heavy sheepskin coats. They had slept for two
nights on the snow and, from dawn till dark, had been at work to
the waist at every step, suffering acutely from the blinding glare
and the bitter wind. Stewart and Gough had both taken their turns
in carrying the guns, and both gave their snow glasses to sepoys
who were without them.

Borradaile's first step was to put the place in a state of defence,
and collect supplies and coolies. In the evening the guns were
brought in by the Kashmir troops, who were loudly cheered by the
Pioneers.

Lisle had borne his share in the hardships and had done so bravely,
making light of the difficulties and cheering his comrades by his
jokes. He had escaped the thirst which had been felt by so many,
and was one of those who volunteered to assist in erecting
defences, on the evening of their arrival at Laspur.

At two o'clock the next day, the rest of the force came into camp.
A reconnoitring party went out and, three miles ahead, came upon
the campfires of the enemy. They were seen, three miles farther
down the valley, engaged in building sangars; but as the force
consisted of only one hundred and fifty men, it was not thought
advisable to attack, and the troops consequently returned to camp.

The next day was spent in making all the arrangements for the
advance. Messengers were sent out to all the villages, calling on
the men to come in and make their submission. This they did, at the
same time bringing in supplies and, by night, a sufficient number
of native coolies had been secured to carry all the baggage,
including ammunition and guns.

A native chief came in with a levy of ninety native coolies. These
were found most valuable, both in the work and in obtaining
information. From their knowledge of the habits of the people, they
were able to discover where the natives had hidden their supplies;
which was generally in the most unlikely places.

The reconnoitring party had found that, some six miles on, the snow
ceased; and all looked forward with delight to the change. A small
garrison of about a hundred, principally levies, were left at
Laspur; with instructions to come on when the second party arrived.
The main force started at nine o'clock.

At Rahman the snow was left behind. Here they learned that the
enemy would certainly fight, between the next village and Mastuj.
Lieutenant Beynon went on with a party of levies and gained a hill,
from which he could view the whole of the enemy's position. Here he
could, with the aid of his glasses, count the men in each sangar,
and make out the paths leading up the cliffs from the river. When
he had concluded his observations, he returned and reported to
Colonel Kelly; and orders were issued for the attack, the next day.

The levies were expected to join the next morning. They were to
advance with a guide, and turn out the enemy from the top of a
dangerous shoot; from which they would be enabled to hurl down
rocks upon the main body, as it advanced. Beynon was to start, at
six, to work through the hills to the right rear of the enemy's
position. The main body were to move forward at nine o'clock.

Beynon encountered enormous difficulties and, in many places, he
and his men had to go on all fours to get along. He succeeded,
however, in driving off the enemy; who occupied a number of sangars
on the hills, and who could have greatly harassed the main body by
rolling down rocks upon them.

The enemy's principal position consisted of sangars blocking the
roads to the river, up to a fan-shaped alluvial piece of ground.
The road led across this ground to the foot of a steep shoot,
within five hundred yards of sangars on the opposite side of the
river and, as it was totally devoid of any sort of shelter, it
could be swept by avalanches of stones, by a few men placed on the
heights for the purpose.

When the troops arrived within eight hundred yards, volley firing
was opened; and the guns threw shells on the sangar on the extreme
right of the enemy's position. The enemy were soon seen leaving it,
and the fire was then directed on the next place, with the same
result. Meanwhile Beynon had driven down those of the enemy who
were posted on the hill; and general panic set in, the guns pouring
shrapnel into them until they were beyond range.

The action was over in an hour after the firing of the first shot.
The losses on our side were only one man severely, and three
slightly wounded. After a short rest, the force again proceeded,
and halted at a small village a mile and a half in advance. A ford
was found, and the column again started. Presently they met a
portion of the garrison who, finding the besieging force moving
away, came out to see the reason.

In the meantime, the baggage column was being fiercely attacked;
and an officer rode up, with the order that the 4th company were to
go back to their assistance. The company was standing in reserve,
eager to go forward to join in the fight and, without delay, they
now went off at the double.

They were badly wanted. The baggage was struggling up the last
kotal that the troops had passed, and the rear guard were engaged
in a fierce fight with a great number of the enemy; some of whom
were posted on a rise, while others came down so boldly that the
struggle was sometimes hand to hand. When the 4th company reached
the scene, they were at once scattered along the line of baggage.

For a time the enemy fell back but, seeing that the reinforcement
was not a strong one, they were emboldened to attack again. Their
assaults were repulsed with loss, but the column suffered severely
from the fire on the heights.

"We must stop here," the officer in command said, "or we shall not
get the baggage through before nightfall; and then they would have
us pretty well at their mercy. The Punjabis must go up and clear
the enemy off the hill, till the baggage has got through."

The Punjabis were soon gathered and, led by an English officer,
they advanced up the hill at a running pace, until they came to a
point so precipitous that they were sheltered from the enemy's
fire. Here they were halted for a couple of minutes to gain breath,
and then the order was given to climb the precipitous hill, which
was some seventy feet high.

It was desperate work, for there were points so steep that the men
were obliged to help each other up. Happily they were in shelter
until they got to within twenty feet of its summit, the intervening
distance being a steep slope. At this point they waited until the
whole party had come up; and then, with a cheer, dashed up the
slope.

The effect was instantaneous. The enemy, though outnumbering them
by five to one, could not for a moment withstand the line of
glittering bayonets; and fled precipitately, receiving volley after
volley from the Pioneers. As the situation was commanded by still
higher slopes, the men were at once ordered to form a breastwork,
from the stones that were lying about thickly. After a quarter of
an hour's severe work, this was raised to a height of three feet,
which was sufficient to enable the men to lie down in safety.

By the time the work was done, the enemy were again firing heavily,
at a distance of four hundred yards, their bullets pattering
against the stones. The Punjabis, however, did not return the fire
but, turning round, directed their attention to the enemy on the
other side of the valley, who were also in considerable force.

Illustration: He carefully aimed and fired.

"Here!" the officer said to Lisle, "do you think you can pick off
that fellow in the white burnoose? He is evidently an important
leader, and it is through his efforts that the enemy continues to
make such fierce attacks."

"I will try, sir," Lisle replied in Punjabi; "but I take it that
the range must be from nine hundred to a thousand yards, which is a
long distance for a shot at a single man."

Lying down at full length, he carefully aimed and fired. The
officer was watching through his field glass.

"That was a good shot," he said. "You missed the man, but you
killed a fellow closely following him. Lower your back sight a
trifle, and try again."

The next shot also missed, but the third was correctly aimed, and
the Pathan dropped to the ground. Some of his men at once carried
off his body. His fall created much dismay; and as, at that moment,
the whole of the Punjabis began to pepper his followers with volley
firing, they lost heart and quickly retired up the hill.

"Put up your sights to twelve hundred yards," the officer said.
"You must drive them higher up, if you can; for they do us as much
harm, firing from there, as they would lower down. Fire
independently. Don't hurry, but take good aim.

"That was a fine shot of yours, Mutteh Ghar," he said to Lisle, by
whose side he was still standing; for they had gone so far down the
slope that they were sheltered from the fire behind. "But for his
fall, the baggage guard would have had to fight hard, for he was
evidently inciting his men to make a combined rush. His fall,
however, took the steam out of them altogether. How came you to be
such a good shot?"

"My father was fond of shooting," Lisle said, "and I used often to
go out with him."

"Well, you benefited by his teaching, anyhow," the officer said. "I
doubt if there is any man in the regiment who could have picked off
that fellow, at such a distance, in three shots. That has really
been the turning point of the day.

"See, the baggage is moving on again. In another hour they will be
all through.

"Now, lads, turn your attention to those fellows on the hill
behind. As we have not been firing at them for some time, they will
probably think we are short of ammunition. Let us show them that
our pouches are still pretty full! We must drive them farther away
for, if we do not, we shall get it hot when we go down to join the
rear guard. Begin with a volley, and then continue with independent
firing, at four hundred yards."

The tribesmen were standing up against the skyline.

"Now, be careful. At this distance, everyone ought to bring down
his man."

Although that was not accomplished, a number of men were seen to
fall, and the rest retired out of sight. Presently heads appeared,
as the more resolute crawled back to the edge of the crest; and a
regular duel now ensued. Four hundred yards is a short range with a
Martini rifle, and it was not long before the Punjabis proved that
they were at least as good shots as the tribesmen. They had the
advantage, too, of the breastwork behind which to load, and had
only to lift their heads to fire; whereas the Pathans were obliged
to load as they lay.

Presently the firing ceased, but the many black heads dotting the
edge of the crest testified to the accurate aim of the troops. The
tribesmen, seeing that their friends on the other side of the
valley had withdrawn, and finding that their own fire did not avail
to drive their assailants back, had at last moved off.

For half an hour the Pioneers lay, watching the progress of the
baggage and, when the last animal was seen to pass, they retired,
taking up their position behind the rear guard. The column arrived
in camp just as night fell.

"That young Bullen can shoot," the officer who commanded the
company said, that evening, as the officers gathered round their
fire. "When, as I told you, we had driven off the fellows on the
right of the valley, things were looking bad on the left, where a
chief in a white burnoose was working up a strong force to make a
rush. I put young Bullen on to pick him off. The range was about
nine hundred and fifty yards. His first shot went behind the chief.
I did not see where the next shot struck, but I have no doubt it
was close to him. Anyhow, the third rolled him over. I call that
splendid shooting, especially as it was from a height, which makes
it much more difficult to judge distance.

"The chief's fall took all the pluck out of the tribesmen and, as
we opened upon them in volleys, they soon went to the right about.
We peppered them all the way up the hill and, as I could see from
my glasses, killed a good many of them. However, it took all the
fight out of them, and they made no fresh attempt to harass the
column."

"The young fellow was a first-rate shot," the colonel said. "If you
remember he carried off several prizes, and certainly shot better
than most of us; though there were one or two of the men who were
his match. You did not speak to him in English, I hope, Villiers?"

"No, no, colonel. You said that he was to go on as if we did not
know him, till we reached Chitral; and of course spoke to him in
Punjabi.

"One thing is certain: if he had not brought down that chief, the
enemy would have been among the baggage in a minute or two; so his
shot was really the turning point of the fight."

"I will make him a present of twenty rupees, in the morning," the
colonel said. "That is what I should have given to any sepoy who
made so useful a shot, and it will be rather fun to see how he
takes it."

"You will see he will take it without winking," the major said. "He
will know very well that any hesitation would be noticed, and he
will take it as calmly as if he were a native."

Accordingly the next morning, as the regiment fell in, the colonel
called Lisle out from the ranks.

"Mutteh Ghar," he said, "Lieutenant Villiers reports that you did
great service, yesterday, in picking off the leader of the Pathans
who were attacking the column from the left. Here are twenty
rupees, as a token of my satisfaction."

Lisle did not hesitate for a moment, but took off his turban, and
held it out for the colonel to drop the money into it; murmuring
his thanks as he did so. Then he put on his turban again, saluted,
and retired.

"I told you he would not hesitate, colonel," the major laughed.
"The young beggar was as cool as a cucumber, and I doubt if we
should catch him napping, however much we tried."

"He is a fine young fellow, major, and will make a splendid
officer. I shall be disappointed, indeed, if I fail to get him a
commission."

"I don't think you are likely to fail, colonel. The young fellow
has really distinguished himself greatly. Even without that, the
fact that he enlisted to go through the campaign, and took his
share with the troops both in their fighting and their hardships,
would show that he really deserved a commission; even putting aside
the fact of his father's death. It would be a thousand pities if
such a promising young fellow should have to waste the next three
years of his life, cramming up classics and mathematics. It would
be like putting a young thoroughbred into a cart."

"That is so," the colonel said; "but there is no answering for the
War Office, or saying what view they may take of any given subject.
However, if we get first to Chitral, as I feel sure we shall do, I
suppose I shall be in high favour; and they won't like to refuse so
small a request, backed as it is by the facts of the case."

At half-past five the force marched into Mastuj, and found the
garrison comfortably settled there, and well fed. The fort was a
square building, with a tower at each corner and at the gateway.
Late in the evening the baggage came in. The enemy had made no
serious attack upon the place; and Moberley, who was in command,
had even been able to send a force to Buni, whence they brought off
Jones and the survivors of Ross's force.

The next day a fatigue party were sent out to destroy the enemy's
sangars and, on the same day, the remaining half of the Pioneers
came up. The day was spent by those in the fort in examining the
state of supplies; and despatching messengers to all the villages
round ordering them to send in supplies, and coolies to carry the
baggage.

On the morning of the 1st of April, Beynon was sent on to
reconnoitre the enemy's position; and returned with the report that
it was a strong one. They had got very close to it, and had a fair
view of the position. Next morning the force started, the levies
being ahead. It was a fine, bright morning. They crossed the river
on a bridge built by the sappers.

When they reached the maidan, they found that it was a gentle,
grassy slope. The levies were in advance, with two companies in the
firing line, two in support, and the Kashmir company in reserve, In
this order they pushed on, until they came under the fire of the
sangars. Stewart brought his guns into action. After a time, the
fire of the levies drove the enemy from the nearest sangar; while
three of the Pioneer companies paid attention to another sangar.

Beynon was sent on, to find some way down into the valley. He found
no path leading to the nullah. The drop from the edge was sheer,
for some seventy feet; then came a ledge from which he thought they
could scramble down to the edge of the stream, and thence to the
opposite side, where he noticed a track. With this information, he
went back to report to Colonel Kelly.

The sappers were brought up and, also, a reserve company of Kashmir
troops. When Beynon got back to the nullah, he found the Pioneers
extended along the edge, and Oldham's sappers already at work.
These, aided by ropes and scaling ladders, got down to the ledge;
and from this point they and Oldham slung themselves down to the
bed of the stream, by the same means. A few sappers had followed,
when a box of dynamite exploded with a violent detonation, and the
rest of the company were called back.

Lisle happened to be stationed at the point where the descent was
made, and when the explosion took place he seized the rope and,
sliding down, joined the two officers and the eleven sappers who
had passed. They scrambled to the opposite side, and saw that the
Pioneers were moving down the nullah towards the river, while the
levies were nearing the sangars. The enemy were seen bolting, and
the little party opened fire upon them. The sappers were armed only
with carbines, which were uncertain at so long a range; but Lisle,
with his rifle, brought down an enemy at every shot.

"That is a good one," he muttered, as a mounted officer at whom he
had aimed fell from his horse.

He was startled when the man behind him said:

"Hillo, young fellow, who on earth are you?

"I will tell you after it is done, sir," Lisle said. "But I hope
you will keep my secret."

Some of the levies and a few Pioneers now came up, and they learned
what had been the cause of the explosion. The Kashmir company had
not followed and, as the sappers were at work, they had laid down
cakes of dynamite at the head of the pass. One of the enemy's
bullets striking these had ignited them, and the troops there were
called upon to retire. The enemy, seeing our men falling back,
rushed out of their sangars and opened fire; but were speedily
driven in again by volleys from the Pioneers. Just then the levies
showed on the ridge, and the Pioneers moved down the nullah, by a
goat track they had found.

The battle was now over, and a company of Pioneers were sent ahead
to the next village, while the rest of the force encamped. When all
were settled down, Lisle saw Lieutenant Moberley walking along the
lines of the regiment, and evidently looking for someone. Lisle
hesitated a minute. If he remained quiet he might not be recognized
by the officer, but in that case the latter might report what he
had heard, and an investigation might be made. He therefore went
forward to the officer.

"Ah!" the latter said, "you are the man I heard speak in English."

"It was very foolish, sir, but I had no idea that I should be
overheard."

"Well, who are you, and how in the world is it that you are a
private in the Pioneers?"

"My father was Captain Bullen, who was killed in a native raid. I
remained with the regiment for a time, because there was no
opportunity of my being sent home. I wanted to see the campaign, so
I took the place of a sepoy who had died and, as I speak the
language perfectly, it has never been suspected that I was anything
but what I seem."

"Well, lad, I will keep your secret for a time, but when we get to
Chitral I think it will be my duty to tell the colonel; especially
as I shall report that you were with me, and behaved with the
greatest coolness, accounting for at least eight of the enemy. The
campaign will be over, then, for we know that the Peshawar column
are also near Chitral, so that there will be no chance of further
fighting.

"I don't suppose you will be sent home. You have shown yourself a
man, and I have no doubt that Colonel Kelly will make some mention
in his report of your conduct, and strongly recommend you for a
commission. In the circumstances, I should think it would be
granted."

"Thank you indeed, sir! I am very comfortable as I am."

"How old are you?

"I am nearly sixteen, sir."

"Well, it won't be necessary to report that, for the people at home
would consider you too young. I am sure you deserve a commission
for the pluck you showed, in taking your place as a private among
the natives. Your knowledge of the language, too, will be an
argument in your favour.

"How was it that you joined our little party?"

"I acted on the impulse of the moment. I happened to be at the spot
when your party were going down, and I saw that you would soon be
in the thick of it, while we were only firing. I was just thinking
about it, when there was a great burst of flame behind me. I did
not know what it was, but that decided me. I caught hold of the
rope and slipped down.

"Thank you very much for your promise, sir," and, saluting, Lisle
drew back to his comrades.

"What was he saying to you?" one asked.

"He was asking how it was that I came to be among his party; and
when I explained how it was that I left my place, he seemed
perfectly satisfied; so I don't expect I shall hear anything more
about it."

On the first day's march they came upon a deserted fort, where
enough grain was discovered to last the force for months. Enough
flour was also found to give a shovelful to each of the coolies;
who were highly gratified, for most of them were altogether without
food. The remainder of the flour was distributed among the sepoys,
and as much grain was taken as carriage could be found for.

The next day's march was through a cultivated country. Six more
marches took them to Chitral. They met with no opposition whatever,
and their greatest trouble was in crossing rivers, the bridges
having been destroyed.

When within a day's march from Chitral, they met a man bearing
letters from the town. It was from Mr. Robertson, saying that Sher
Afzul had fled on the night of the 18th of April; and that on that
night the siege was raised. It also contained a list of the
casualties, to be forwarded to England; the number being a hundred
and four killed and wounded, out of one thousand and seventy
combatants.

The force marched in at noon, the next day; and were received with
great joy by the garrison. They bivouacked round the castle and, on
the following day, the Kashmir garrison came out and camped with
them; rejoicing much at the change from the poisoned atmosphere of
the fort. They were mere walking skeletons.

Some days later the 3rd Brigade under General Gatacre arrived,
followed by General Low and the headquarter staff.

The day after their arrival at Chitral, one of Kelly's orderlies
came into the line and enquired for Mutteh Ghar. A short time
before, Lisle had noticed Gholam Singh leave the colonel's tent;
and guessed that he had been sharply questioned, by the colonel, as
to the name he had gone under in the regiment. He at once followed
the orderly to the tent.

"This is a nice trick you have played us, Lisle," the colonel said,
as he entered. "To think that while we all thought you on your way
down to Calcutta, you were acting as a private in the regiment! It
was very wrong of Gholam Singh to consent to your doing so; but I
was so pleased to know that you were here that I could not bring it
in my heart to blow him up as he deserved. Unquestionably, he acted
from the respect and affection that he felt for your father.

"What put the idea into your head?"

"I had quite made up my mind to go with the regiment, sir; and
should have come as a mule driver or a coolie, if I had not got
into the ranks."

"Well, it is done and cannot be undone. Lieutenant Moberley has
reported most favourably of your conduct in the last fight, and
Gholam Singh says that your conduct as a private has been
excellent. You have become a great favourite with the men, by the
cheerfulness with which you bore the hardships of the march; and
kept up the spirits of the men by your jokes and example.

"But of course, this cannot go on. You must again become one of us
and, on the march down, do officer's duty. I shall not fail to
report the matter, and shall recommend you for a commission. I feel
sure that, as the son of Captain Bullen, and for the services you
have rendered during the campaign, together with your knowledge of
the language, my recommendation will be effective.

"But I don't know what we can do about clothes. We are all
practically in rags, and have only the things that we stand in."

"I have brought a suit with me in my kit, sir; and as we have had
no inspection of kits, since we marched, they have not been
noticed."

"Very well, lad. Put them on, and come back again in an hour. I
will have the other officers of the regiment here. They will, I am
sure, all be heartily glad to see you again.

"I suppose that stain won't get off you, for some time?"

"I don't think it will last over a week, sir; for I have had no
chance of renewing it since our last fight. It is not so dark as it
was, by a good bit; and I had intended to steal away, today, and
renew it."

"We are all so sun burnt, or rather so snow burnt, that you are not
much darker than the rest of us. Well, then, I shall expect you in
an hour. You will, of course, hand over your uniform, rifle, and
accoutrements to the quartermaster sergeant."

"Yes, sir."

Lisle went back to the lines and, taking his kit, went some little
distance out of camp. Here he took off his uniform and put on the
clothes he had worn before starting. He folded the uniform up and
placed it, with his rifle and accoutrements, in a little heap.

Then he went to the tent where Robah's master lived. He had often
spoken to Robah during the march and, waiting till he could catch
his eye, he beckoned to him to come to him. Robah was immensely
surprised at seeing him in his civilian dress, and hurried up to
him.

"I have been found out, Robah, and am to join the officers on the
march down. I am at present a young gentleman at large. You see
that tree up there? At the foot you will find my uniform, rifle,
and accoutrements. I want you to carry them to the quartermaster
sergeant, and tell him to put them in store, as Mutteh Ghar has
left the regiment. Of course, the story will soon be known, but I
don't wish it to get about till I have seen the colonel again. I am
glad to say that he is not angry with me; and has not reprimanded
Gholam Singh, very severely, for aiding me in the matter."

Robah at once started on his mission, and Lisle then went into the
camp, and strolled about until it was time to repair to the
colonel's tent. He found the eight officers of the regiment
gathered there.

"We were not mistaken, gentlemen," the colonel said. "This young
scamp, instead of going down to Calcutta, left the convoy after it
had marched a mile or two. Gholam Singh was in the secret, and had
furnished him with the uniform and rifle of a man who had died, the
day before. He put this on and marched boldly in. The other native
officers of the company were in the secret, and gave out to the men
that this was a new recruit, a cousin of the man we had just lost.

"Under that title he has passed through the campaign; living with
the soldiers, sharing all their hardships; and being, for a time at
least, altogether unsuspected of being aught but what he appeared.
Gholam Singh said that his conduct was excellent; that he was a
great favourite, with the men, for the good humour with which he
bore the hardships. He was with Beynon and Moberley, and showed
great pluck and steadiness in picking off several of the enemy, as
they fled.

"Fortunately, Moberley overheard him mutter to himself in English,
and so the matter came out. Moberley promised to keep silence till
we got here and, this morning, he told the whole story. Of course,
we could not have poor Bullen's son remaining a private in the
Pioneers, and he has joined us under the old conditions. I have
given him the rank of lieutenant, and shall recommend him for a
commission; which I have no doubt he will get, not only as the son
of an officer who had done excellent service, but for the pluck and
enterprise he has shown. His perfect knowledge of Punjabi will
also, of course, count in his favour."

The officers all shook hands cordially with him, and congratulated
him on the manner in which he had carried out his disguise; and he
was at once made a member of the mess. Afterwards, two or three of
them walked with him down to the lines of his company. The men
regarded them with interest, and then burst into a loud cheer.

"That is good," the officer said. "It shows that you like him.
Henceforth he will rank as one of the officers; and I hope you will
all like him, in that capacity, as well as you did when he was one
of yourselves."

They then walked off, leaving the company in a state of excitement.

In the afternoon, at mess, Lisle learned the whole details of the
siege, which had been gathered from the officers of the garrison.
On March 2nd, Mr. Robertson received information that Sher Afzul
had arrived in the valley and, the next day, news came that he was,
with a large following, at a small house in a ravine, about a mile
and a quarter from the fort. Captain Campbell, with two hundred of
the Kashmir Rifles, was sent out to make a reconnaissance. He was
accompanied by Captains Townshend and Baird, and by Surgeon Captain
Whitchurch and Lieutenant Gurdon. The rest were left in the bazaar,
to hold the road.

The enemy, one hundred and fifty strong, were seen on the bare spur
which forms the right bank of the ravine. To test whether or not
they were hostile, a single shot was fired over them. They at once
opened a heavy fire on the party and, at the same time, Captain
Townshend became engaged with some of the enemy who were in hiding
among rocks--evidently in considerable strength. It was
subsequently discovered that, very shortly after Captain Campbell's
party left the fort, and before hostilities began, the enemy had
opened fire on the fort, and had crossed the river.

Captain Baird now advanced across the mouth of the ravine, and
charged up the spur; the enemy retreating before them, firing as
they went. Captain Baird fell, mortally wounded; and Lieutenant
Gurdon, who had carried a message to him, was left in command. The
enemy descended into the ravine and, crossing to the left bank,
took Gurdon in rear.

In the meantime, affairs had not been going well with Captain
Townshend's party. He had advanced within two hundred yards of the
hamlet, keeping his men as well as he could under shelter, and
firing in volleys. The enemy, however, kept on advancing, and
overlapping his force on both flanks. They were well armed and
skilful marksmen, and took shelter in such a marvellous way that
there was nothing for our men to fire at, except a few puffs of
smoke.

Captain Campbell then ordered a charge with the bayonet, to clear
the hamlet. It was gallantly led, by Captain Townshend and two
native officers. The ground being perfectly open, and the fire of
the enemy being steady and continuous, the two native officers and
four sepoys were killed at once.

When they got within forty yards of the village, which was
concealed in a grove of trees, they found that it was a large
place; with a wall, three hundred feet in length, behind which the
enemy were posted in perfect cover. There was nothing for it but to
retreat. Captain Campbell was, at this moment, shot in the knee;
and Captain Townshend assumed the command. Captain Campbell was
carried to the rear, and the force retired in alternate parties.

The retreat, however, was conducted slowly and deliberately; though
the enemy, who came running out, soon overlapped the little
column--some even getting behind it, while groups of fanatic
swordsmen, from time to time, charged furiously down upon it. From
all the hamlets they passed through, a fire was opened upon them by
the Chitralis, those who were supposed to be friendly having gone
over to the other side. So heavy was the fire that, at last,
Townshend ordered his men to double. This they did with great
steadiness; and he was able to rally them, without difficulty, at a
small hamlet, where he found Mr. Robertson encouraging the men he
had brought out. A message was sent to the fort for reinforcements,
and Lieutenant Harley led out fifty of the Sikhs, and covered the
retreat to the fort.

In the meantime Gurdon, with his detachment and Captain Baird, were
still far away on the steep side of the ravine. Dr. Whitchurch, who
had dressed Baird's wound, was sent to take him to the rear; and it
was then that Townshend's party began to retreat and, after fierce
fighting, arrived at the fort, where they found that Whitchurch had
not arrived.

The doctor had with him a handful of sepoys and Kashmir Rifles, and
some stretcher bearers, under the command of a native officer.
Matters had developed so rapidly that, in a very short time, they
were behind Townshend's retreating parties, round which the enemy
were swarming; and when the retirement became a rapid retreat, they
dropped farther behind. Small detached parties soon became aware of
their position, and attacked them. Three men, who were carrying the
stretcher, were killed by successive shots and, when the fourth was
hit, the stretcher could be no longer carried; so Captain Baird was
partly carried, and partly dragged along the ground.

The enemy's fire became so hot that the party were compelled to
make for the river bank. They had to charge, and carry, two or
three stone walls. Once they were completely surrounded, but the
gallant Kashmirs charged the enemy so furiously with rifle and
bayonet that, at last, they made a way through them and reached the
fort, where they had been given up for lost. Thirteen men, in all,
came in; but only seven of these had fought their way through with
Whitchurch; the other six being fugitives, who had joined him just
before he had reached the fort. Half of Whitchurch's little party
were killed, and Baird had been, again, twice wounded. Whitchurch,
himself, marvellously escaped without a wound. No finer action was
ever performed than that by this little body.

The total casualties of the day were very heavy. Of the hundred and
fifty men actually engaged, twenty non-commissioned officers and
men were killed, and twenty-eight wounded. Of the officers, Captain
Campbell was badly wounded, and Captain Baird died on the following
morning. The two native officers were killed.

The enemy's strength was computed to be from a thousand to twelve
hundred men. Of these, five hundred were Umra Khan's men, who were
armed with Martinis. Many of the others carried Sniders.

The whole of the Chitralis had now joined Sher Afzul, most of them
doubtless being forced to do so, by fear of the consequences that
would ensue should they refuse. The little fort thus stood
isolated, in the midst of a powerful enemy and a hostile
population. The villages stood on higher ground than the fort and,
from all of them, a constant fusillade was kept up on the garrison,
while they were engaged in the difficult work of putting the fort
into a better condition of defence.

The first thing to be done was, of course, to take stock of the
stores; and the next to estimate how many days it would last.
Everyone was put upon half rations, and it was calculated that they
could hold out two and a half months. It was found that they had
two hundred and eighty rounds per man, besides Snider ammunition
for the Kashmir Rifles, and three hundred rounds of Martini
ammunition for the Sikhs.

When the fort was first occupied, it was found that there was an
exposed approach to the river from the water tower, about thirty
yards in width; and a covered way was at once built, going right
down into the water. All through the siege this covered way was the
main object of the enemy's attack; for they knew that, if they
could cut off the water, they could easily reduce the garrison.

An abutment in the south wall of the fort, overlooking the garden,
had been converted into a little bastion. The worst feature of the
fort, however, was the large number of little buildings immediately
outside the walls. These and the walls of the garden were
demolished by moonlight. The stables, which were on the river face
near the water tower, were loopholed; and efforts were made to
loophole the basement walls of the tower, but these had to be
abandoned, as there was a danger of disturbing the foundations.

Among the various ingenious plans hit upon by the besieged, one
proved particularly useful. Loopholes were made in the gun tower; a
wall was built up in the face of the water gate; and fireplaces
were constructed by which the wood, being laid on a slab of stone,
was pushed out some feet from the wall, and could be drawn into the
fort when it was necessary to replenish the fire, without those
attending it being exposed. These fires proved invaluable, when
attacks were made upon dark nights. Projecting, as they did, seven
feet from the wall, they threw it into shadow, so that the enemy
could not see what to fire at; and, at the same time, they lit up
the ground in front brilliantly, so that the defenders could make
out their assailants, and fire with accuracy.

The fort was eighty yards in length. The walls were twenty-five
feet in height, and the five towers fifty feet. It lay in a hollow
in the lowest part of the valley, and was commanded on all sides by
hills, on which the enemy erected numerous sangars. As, from these,
the men moving about inside the fort were clearly visible to the
enemy, barricades of stones had to be erected, along the sides of
the yards, to afford cover to the men as they went to and from
their posts.

On March 5th a letter was received from Umra Khan, stating that the
British troops must leave Chitral at once, and that he would
guarantee them a safe conduct. The offer was, naturally, refused.
Next night the enemy, about two hundred strong, made a determined
effort to fire the water tower. They brought faggots with them and,
in spite of the heavy volleys poured upon them managed, under cover
of the darkness, to creep into the tunnel leading to the water, and
to light a large fire underneath the tower. They were, however,
driven out; and three water carriers went into the tunnel, and put
out the fire. They were just in time, for the flames had taken a
firm hold of the wooden beams.

After this, twenty-five men were always stationed in the tower and,
at night, another picket of twenty-five men were placed in the
covered way leading to the water. The entrance to this, at the
water side, was exposed to the enemy's fire; but a barricade of
stones, with interstices to allow the water to go through, was
built into the river, and formed an efficient screen to the water
bearers.

On the night of the 14th, the enemy again made an attack on the
water bearers, but were repulsed with loss. The water way was,
indeed, a source of constant anxiety. Between it, and the trees at
the northwest corner of the fort, there was a stretch of seventy
yards of sandy beach; lying underneath an overhanging bank, which
entirely covered it from the fire of the fort, so that the enemy
were able to get right up to the water tunnel without exposing
themselves.

On the 15th, Sher Afzul sent in a messenger, to say that a party of
sepoys had been defeated at Reshun, and that an officer was captive
in his camp. The next day a letter was received from Lieutenant
Edwardes. A truce was made for three days and, afterwards, extended
to six; but this came to an end on the 23rd of March, and
hostilities again began.

The prospect was gloomy. The men were beginning to suffer in health
from their long confinement, the paucity of their rations, and the
terribly insanitary condition of the fort; and they had not heard
of the approach of either Colonel Kelly's force or that under Sir
Robert Low.

During the truce, a union jack had been made, and this was now
hoisted on the flag tower, as a symbol of defiance. This cheered
the spirits of the men and depressed those of the enemy, who began
to see that the task before them was far more serious than they had
hitherto supposed.

Gradually the attacks of the enemy became more feeble and, although
the firing was almost continuous, it seemed as if the assailants
trusted rather to famine, to reduce the fort, than to any exertion
on their part. On April 6th they were very active, making two large
sangars close to the main gate. Near these, and only fifty yards
away from the gun tower, they were also hard at work, all day, in
the summer house to the east of the fort.

The garrison, however, now received the news that a relief force
had already arrived at Mastuj; in consequence of which they were
saved from a further diminution of their scanty rations, which was
already under discussion. The officers were comparatively well off,
as they had plenty of horse flesh; but this the sepoys would not
eat. The supply of ghee, which forms so prominent a part in the
diet of the natives, had already given out; and the sepoys had
nothing but a scanty allowance of flour to maintain life.

The news that the relief party had arrived at Mastuj greatly
cheered the garrison. That relief would come, sooner or later, they
had no doubt; but they had not even hoped that it could be so near.
While, however, the news thus raised the spirits of the defenders,
it at the same time showed their assailants that, unless they
obtained a speedy success, the game would be altogether up.

Before daybreak on the morning of the 7th, a terrific fire was
opened upon the walls. The enemy were evidently in great strength.
In an instant everyone was at his post, and steady volleys were
poured into the darkness, on the garden side of the fort, whence
the chief attack seemed to be coming. Suddenly a strong light was
seen near the gun tower, and it was found that the enemy had heaped
faggots against the walls. These, being constructed partly of wood,
gradually caught fire.

Mr. Robertson, with some of the levies, horse keepers, and
servants, at once set to work to extinguish the flames; but the
conflagration was too much for them. The troops in reserve were
then sent to aid them. The work was dangerous and difficult, the
flames raged fiercely, and the enemy kept up a tremendous fire from
behind the walls of the summer house. Nevertheless the men worked
their hardest, throwing down earth and water on the fire.

Many were wounded at the work. The fire was so fierce that large
holes had to be knocked through the lower stories of the tower,
through which to attack the flames; and it was not until ten
o'clock that the efforts of the besieged were crowned with success,
and all was again quiet. Nothing could have exceeded the bravery
and devotion shown by the native levies, the non-combatants,
officers' servants, water carriers, syces, and even the Chitralis.

Great precautions were taken to prevent similar attempts to fire
any of the towers. Earth was brought up, and water stored. The
water carriers slept with the great leathern bags which they
carried, full; and a special fire picket was organized. When, on
the evening of the 15th, the enemy again tried to fire the gun
tower, they were repulsed without difficulty. On the following
night a determined attack in force was made, on all sides of the
fort; but was defeated with much loss.

The enemy now began to make a great noise, with drums and pipes, in
the summer house. This lasted continuously for several days, and
one of the natives, who was aware that the enemy had started
tunnelling, guessed that this stir might possibly be made to drown
the noise of the mining. Men were put on to listen and, at
midnight, the sentry in the gun tower reported that he heard the
noise and, next morning, the sound was distinctly audible within a
few feet of the tower.

It was evident that there was no time to be lost and, at four
o'clock in the afternoon, Lieutenant Harley and a hundred men
issued from the fort, at the garden gate, and rushed at the summer
house. It was held by forty of the enemy, who fired a volley, and
fled after some sharp hand-to-hand fighting. The head of the mine
was found to be in the summer house, and the tunnel was full of
Chitralis.

Harley stationed his men in the summer house to repel any attack
and, with five sepoys, jumped down into the mine. The Chitralis,
about thirty in number, came swarming out but, after a fierce
fight, they were bayoneted. The mine was then cleared, and
gunpowder placed in position.

Two Chitralis, who had lain quiet at the other end of the tunnel,
tried to make their escape in the turmoil. One of the sepoys fired,
and must have hit a bag of gunpowder; for immediately there was a
violent explosion, and the mine was blown up, from end to end.
Harley was knocked over, and the Sikhs who were with him had their
hair and clothes singed; but none of the party were otherwise hurt.

All this time, the sepoys in the summer house had been subject to a
heavy fusillade from a breastwork, close by, and from the loopholed
walls in the garden; while from all the distant sangars and hills a
continuous fire was opened, the natives evidently believing that
the garrison were making a last and desperate sortie.

The work done, Harley and his men hurried back to the fort, having
been out of it an hour and ten minutes. Of the hundred that went
out twenty-two were hit, nine mortally. In and around the summer
house, thirty-five of the enemy were bayoneted, and a dozen more
shot. That evening the garrison began to drive a couple of counter
mines, to intercept any other mines that the enemy might attempt to
make.

On the 18th the enemy were very quiet and, in the middle of the
night, a man approached the fort and called out that Sher Afzul had
fled, and that the relieving force was near at hand. Lieutenant
Gurdon was sent out to reconnoitre, and he found that the whole
place was deserted. The next afternoon, Colonel Kelly's force
arrived.



Chapter 5: Promoted.


As he was not now in uniform, Lisle kept carefully out of sight
when General Gatacre's force marched in, which it did very shortly
after Colonel Kelly's arrival. This was probably unnecessary
caution for, in addition to Mr. Robertson, there were two or three
other civilians in the garrison; but he was desirous of escaping
observation until General Low, who would arrive next day, should
have heard of his escapade.

At mess, however, several officers of General Gatacre's force dined
with the regiment; who had exerted themselves to the utmost to
provide a banquet for their guests. Most of these had, at one time
or other, been cantoned with the Pioneers. Two or three of the
junior officers were introduced to the newcomers, among them Lisle.

"This gentleman," the colonel said, "is Mr. Lisle Bullen, son of
the late Captain Bullen; who you have doubtless heard was killed,
some little time ago, while storming a hill fort. He is at present
acting as temporary lieutenant of my regiment."

The officers looked with some surprise at Lisle's still darkened
face.

"I see you are surprised, gentlemen," the colonel said, "but there
is a tale that hangs to that colour. I will relate it to you after
dinner; but I may say that Bullen is not a half caste, as you might
think, but of pure English blood."

At this moment dinner was announced. A temporary mess tent had been
erected. It was open at the sides, and composed of many-coloured
cloths. The party sat down under this. There was no cloth, and the
dinner was served on a miscellaneous variety of dishes, for the
most part of tin. Each guest brought his own knife, fork, and
stool. It was a merry party and, after the table had been cleared,
the colonel said:

"In the first place, Maneisty, you must give us the story of your
doings; of which we have, at the present, heard only the barest
outline."

"It is rather a long story, colonel."

"We have nothing else to talk about, here. We have seen no
newspapers for a long time, and know nothing of what is going on
outside; and therefore can't argue about it, or express opinions as
to whether or not the government have, as usual, blundered.
Therefore, the more detail you tell us, the better pleased we shall
be."

"As you know, the first army corps, fourteen thousand strong, were
ordered early in March to concentrate; so that when the news came
that the garrison of Chitral were in serious danger, the manoeuvres
were being carried out, but it was not until late in the day that
the troops were able to move forward. The brigade marched to
Jellala without tents, taking with them supplies sufficient for
twenty days. The next morning the 2nd and 3rd Brigade went on to
Dargai. The weather was cold and wet, and the roads soft.

"It had been given out that the 1st Brigade were to go by the
Shakot Pass. This was only a ruse to deceive the enemy, and keep
them from concentrating on the Malakand. Subsequently an officer
rode up the Shakot Pass, and found it to be much more difficult
than the Malakand, and more strongly fortified. Orders were sent,
in the middle of the night, for the 1st Brigade to proceed at once
to Dargai. Early in the morning a reconnaissance was made by
General Blood, and a large body of the enemy were seen. It was
evident that the passage of the pass was to be disputed.

"Starting from Dargai, the pass went through a gradually narrowing
valley for about two miles; then bending to the northeast for a
mile and a half, the hills on the west rising precipitously to a
great height. On reaching the bend, the pass was strongly held on
the west side.

"The 4th Sikhs went out on the flank. The Guides Infantry were
directed to ascend the highest point of the western hill and, from
this, to enfilade the enemy. It was a most arduous task, as they
had to ascend the highest peak of the range, some fifteen hundred
feet. Here several sangars had been erected by the enemy, who
hurled down rocks and stones.

"In the meantime the main force advanced, and could make out the
general position of the enemy. They occupied the whole of the crest
of the western hill, having constructed numerous sangars down its
side, each commanding the one below it. The greater part of their
force was more than halfway down the hill, at the point where it
descended precipitously into the valley. It was only at this point
that the western side of the pass was held.

"Three batteries were sent up on this side. These attacked position
after position on the eastern slope, and their fire was so accurate
that it effectually prevented the enemy on the eastern side from
concentrating.

"When the advance began, it was evident that little could be done
until the Guides had secured the position they had been ordered to
take. It was soon seen that they were very seriously outnumbered.
The Gordon Highlanders had moved up the crest of the western hill,
at the point where it touched the valley. The Scottish Borderers
had hastened up the centre spur; the 60th Rifles were ordered up
the slope, farther back in the line; while the Bedfordshire and
37th Dogras rounded the point on which the Gordon Highlanders began
the ascent and, turning to the left, climbed the hill from the
northern side. The 15th Sikhs were held in reserve.

"The brunt of the fighting fell upon the Gordon Highlanders and the
Borderers. Making as they did a direct attack, they met with a
sturdy resistance. Several of the sangars were carried by
hand-to-hand fighting; indeed, had the advance not been so well
covered by the fire of our guns, it is doubtful whether the
position could have been captured.

"It was one of the finest scenes I ever saw. The hillside was
literally covered with fire. We could see the two Scotch regiments
pushing on, and attacking the sangars by rushes; while above them
the shells from the guns and fire from the Maxims prevented the
holders of the upper sangars from coming down to the assistance of
those below. The moment the attacking troops reached the top, the
enemy fled down the western slopes. The action began at 8:30 A.M.,
and concluded at 2 P.M. The enemy's loss was admitted, by
themselves, to be about five hundred; ours was only eleven killed,
and eight officers and thirty-nine men wounded.

"The 1st Brigade remained at the top of the pass, while its baggage
mules moved up. The path was so bad that only a few mules reached
the top that night. It was afterwards found that, if we had taken
the path, we should have suffered most severely; as it was
discovered that the walls of the sangars had been perforated with
lateral slits, commanding every turn.

"On the following day the 1st Brigade descended into the Swat
Valley. Its place on the pass was taken by the 2nd. As soon as the
1st Brigade got free of the pass, they were fired upon by the
enemy, who had taken up a position on the Amandarra.

"The mountain battery was at once brought into action, and began
shelling the sangars. Under its cover the Bedfordshires moved
forward, and drove the enemy from their position. Here they fought
with extreme obstinacy. The 37th Dogras carried a spur to the left,
and sent back news that a great body of the enemy were advancing. A
squadron of the Guides cavalry charged them, killing about thirty,
and putting the rest to flight.

"The transport was now being gradually pushed up, and the brigade
encamped at Khar, at half-past seven. As the enemy were in great
force on the surrounding hills, a night attack was expected, and
the troops lay down with fixed bayonets.

"The capture of these passes spread great consternation through the
Swat valleys, as the tribes had always believed that they were
impregnable, and boasted that an enemy had never entered their
territory. They had fought with desperate bravery to defeat us;
although we had no quarrel with them, and merely wished to get
through their country to reach Chitral. Curiously enough, they had
a strong belief in our magnanimity, and several of their wounded
actually came into camp to be attended to by our surgeons.

"On the 5th of April the 1st Brigade remained all day in camp, the
2nd Brigade going on seven or eight miles farther. Early on the
morning of the 7th, a party went down the river to make a bridge. A
heavy fire was opened upon them, and the whole of the 2nd Brigade
and the 15th Sikhs from the 1st Brigade went out in support.

"While the 11th Bengal Lancers were searching for a ford, they came
under a heavy fire from a village at the foot of a knoll, 600 yards
from the river. A mountain battery quickly silenced this fire, and
two squadrons of Bengal Lancers and one of the Guides, crossing the
ford, pursued the enemy five or six miles, and cut off about a
hundred of them. Opposite the village they discovered another ford,
where two could pass at once and, the next day, the rest of the
brigade followed them. The people of the Swat Valley speedily
accommodated themselves to the situation, and brought in sheep,
fowls, and other things for sale.

"On the 9th, headquarters joined the 2nd Brigade at Chakdara, and
the 3rd Brigade encamped on the south side of the river. On the
11th the headquarters and the 2nd Brigade arrived at the Panjkora
River. A bridge had to be built across this but, on the 13th, just
as it was finished, a flood came down and washed it away.

"A party were sent across at daybreak to burn the villages; which
had, during the night, been firing on the advance guard of the 2nd
Brigade. They accomplished their work but, while engaged upon it,
were attacked by a very large force. The carrying away of the
bridge rendered the position extremely dangerous, and the force was
ordered, by signal, to fall back upon the river; while the Brigade
covered their retreat from the opposite bank. The retreating column
was sorely pressed, although the Maxim guns and the mountain
battery opened fire upon the enemy. Colonel Battye was mortally
wounded, and so hotly did the Afridis follow up their attack that a
company of the Guides fixed bayonets, and charged them.

"As, however, the enemy still persisted in their attack, the force
set to work to entrench themselves. This they managed to do, with
the aid of a Maxim gun of the 11th; which had crossed one of the
branches of the river, and got into a position flanking the
entrenchments. All night the enemy kept up a heavy fire. In the
morning the force were still unable to pass. However, during the
day the 4th Sikhs came across on rafts, and passed the night with
them. The force was much exhausted, for they had been more than
forty-eight hours without a meal.

"Working day and night, in forty-eight hours another bridge was
constructed, on the suspension system, with telegraph wires. Until
it was finished, communication was maintained with the other bank
by means of a skin raft, handled by two active boatmen.

"We had only one more fight, and that was a slight one. Then the
news reached us that the position of Chitral was serious, and
General Gatacre was hurried forward with our force."

"You had some tough fighting," the colonel said, "but the number of
your casualties would seem to show that ours was the stiffer task.
At the same time we must admit that, if you hadn't been detained
for six or seven days at that river, you would have beaten us in
the race."

"Yes, we were all mad, as you may well imagine, at being detained
so long there. Our only hope was that your small force would not be
able to fight its way through, until our advance took the spirit
out of the natives. Certainly they fought very pluckily, in their
attacks upon the force that had crossed; and that action came very
close to being a serious disaster.

"The flood that washed away our bridge upset all our calculations.
I almost wonder that the natives, when they found that we could not
cross the river, did not hurry up to the assistance of the force
that was opposing you. If they had done so, it would have been very
awkward."

"It would have gone very hard with us, for they are splendid
skirmishers and, if we had not had guns with us to effectually
prevent them from concentrating anywhere, and had had to depend
upon rifle fire alone, I have some doubts whether our little force
would have been able to make its way through the defiles."

"Well, it has been a good undertaking, altogether; and I hope that
the punishment that has been inflicted will keep the tribes quiet
for some years."

"They will probably be quiet," the officer said, "till trouble
breaks out in some other quarter, and then they will be swarming
out like bees."

"It is their nature to be troublesome," the colonel said. "They are
born fighters, and there is no doubt that the fact that most of
them have got rifles has puffed them up with the idea that, while
they could before hold their passes against all intruders, it would
be now quite impossible for us to force our way in, when they could
pick us off at twelve hundred paces.

"I wish we could get hold of some of the rascally traders who
supply them with rifles of this kind. I would hang them without
mercy. Of course, a few of the rifles have been stolen; but that
would not account in any way for the numbers they have in their
hands. A law ought to be passed, making it punishable by death for
any trader to sell a musket to a native; not only on the frontier,
but throughout India. The custom-house officers should be forced to
search for them in every ship that arrives; the arms and ammunition
should be confiscated; and the people to whom they are consigned
should be fined ten pounds on every rifle, unless it could be
proved that the consignment was made to some of the native princes,
who had desired them for the troops raised as subsidiary forces to
our own."

The colonel then related Lisle's story in the campaign, which
created unbounded surprise among the guests.

"It was a marvellous undertaking for a young fellow to plan and
carry out," one of them said. "There are few men who could have
kept up the character; fewer still who would have attempted it,
even to take part in a campaign. I am sure, colonel, that we all
hope your application for a commission for him will be granted; for
he certainly deserves it, if ever a fellow did."

There was a general murmur of assent and, shortly afterwards, the
meeting broke up; for it was already a very late hour.

The rest of the campaign was uneventful. Lisle speedily fell back
into the life he had led before the campaign began, except that he
now acted as an officer. He already knew so much of the work that
he had no difficulty, whatever, in picking up the rest of his
duties. He was greatly pleased that the colonel said nothing more
to Gholam Singh, and the native officers of his company and, by the
time the regiment marched back to Peshawar, he was as efficient as
other officers of his rank.

He had, after his father's death, written down to his agents at
Calcutta; and had received a thousand rupees of the sum standing to
his account, in their hands. He was therefore able to pay his share
of the mess expenses; which were indeed very small for, with the
exception of fowls and milk, it was impossible to buy anything to
add to the rations given to them.

The march down was a pleasant one. There was no longer any occasion
for speed. The snow had melted in the passes, the men were in high
spirits at the success that had attended their advance, and the
fact that they had been the first to arrive to the rescue of the
garrison of Chitral.

A month after they reached Peshawar, Lisle was sent for by Colonel
Kelly.

"I am pleased, indeed, to be able to inform you that my urgent
recommendation of you has received attention, and that you have
been gazetted as lieutenant, dating from the day of our arrival at
Chitral. I congratulate you most heartily."

"I am indeed most delighted, sir. I certainly owe my promotion
entirely to your kindness."

"Certainly not, Lisle; you well deserve it. I am sorry to say that
you will have to leave us; for you are gazetted to the 103rd
Punjabi Regiment, who are stationed at Rawalpindi."

"I am sorry indeed to hear that, sir; though of course, I could
hardly have expected to remain with you. I shall be awfully sorry
to leave. You have all been so kind to me, and I have known you all
so long. Still, it is splendid that I have got my commission. I
might have waited three or four years, in England; and then been
spun at the examination."

Lisle marched down with the regiment to Peshawar. Here he had his
uniforms made, laid in a stock of requisites, and then, after a
hearty farewell from his friends, proceeded to join his regiment,
which was lying at Rawalpindi. He took with him Robah, whom the
major relinquished in his favour.

On his arrival at the station, he at once reported himself to the
colonel.

"Ah! I saw your name in the gazette, a short time since. You must
have lost no time in coming out from England."

"I was in India when I was gazetted, sir."

"Well, I am glad that you have joined so speedily; for I am short
of officers, at present. There is a spare tent, which my orderly
will show you. We shall have tiffin in half an hour, when I can
introduce you to the other officers."

When Lisle entered the mess tent, he was introduced to the other
officers, one of whom asked him when he had arrived from England.

"I have never been to England. I was born out here. My father was a
captain in the 32nd Punjabis, and was killed in an attack on a hill
fort. That was some months ago, and I remained with the regiment,
whose quarters had always been my home, until there should be an
opportunity for my being sent down to Calcutta."

"Well, it is very decent of the War Office to give you a
commission; though, of course, it is the right thing to do--but it
is not often that they do the right thing. Your regiment did some
sharp fighting on their way up to Chitral, but of course you saw
nothing of that."

"Yes; I accompanied the regiment."

"The deuce you did!" the colonel said. "I wonder you managed to get
up with it, or that Colonel Kelly gave you leave. I certainly
should not, myself, have dreamed of taking a civilian with me on
such an expedition."

Lisle nodded.

"The colonel did not give me leave, sir. With the aid of one of the
native officers, with whom my father was a favourite, I obtained a
native uniform; and went through the campaign as a private."

The officers all looked upon him with astonishment.

"Do you mean to say that you cooked with them, fought with them,
and lived with them, as one of themselves?"

"That was so, sir; and it was only at the last fight that the truth
came out, for then one of the officers heard me make a remark to
myself, in English. Fortunately, the native officers gave a very
good account of my conduct. I was one of a small party that
descended a cliff with ropes, and did a good deal towards driving
the Chitralis out of their position."

"But how was it that you were not recognized by the soldiers?"

"I speak the language as well as I speak my own," Lisle said
quietly. "Having lived with the regiment all my life, I learned to
speak it like a native."

"Well," the colonel said, "it was a plucky thing for you to do. The
idea of disguising yourself in that way was a very happy one; but
not many officers would like to go through such a campaign as a
private in the Pioneers, or any other Indian regiment.

"Well, I congratulate myself in having acquired an officer who
must, at any rate, understand a great deal of his work, and who can
talk to the men in their own language; instead of, as I expected, a
raw lad.

"How old are you, Mr. Bullen? You look very young."

"I am only a little past sixteen," Lisle said, with a laugh; "but I
don't suppose the War Office knew that. Colonel Kelly was kind
enough to send in a strong recommendation on my behalf; stating, I
believe, the fact, that I had disguised myself as a private in
order to go to Chitral with the regiment, and that, as he was
pleased to say, I distinguished myself. He at once appointed me,
temporarily, as an officer; and as such I remained with the corps,
until their return to Peshawar. He also, of course, mentioned the
fact that I am the son of Captain Bullen, who lost his life in
bravely attacking a hill fort. I don't think he thought it
necessary to mention my age."

"Well, you have certainly managed very cleverly, Mr. Bullen. I am
sure you will be an acquisition to the regiment. I think we can say
safely that you are the youngest officer in the service.

"Gentlemen, will you drink to the health of our new comrade, who
has already shown that he is of the right sort, and of whom we may
be proud?"

The next day the colonel received a letter from Colonel Kelly. It
ought to have arrived before Lisle himself, but had been delayed by
the post. It spoke in very high terms of his conduct, and then said
that he was a general favourite in the regiment, and that he was
sure that he would do credit to the corps he had joined.

The next year and a half passed quietly. Lisle was soon as much
liked, in his new regiment, as he had been by the Pioneers. The men
would have done anything for him, for he was always ready to chat
with them, to enter into their little grievances, and to do many a
kind action.



Chapter 6: Unfair Play.


Five or six of the officers were married men, and had their wives
with them. These, when they learned that the young subaltern had
disguised himself, and enlisted in the Pioneers in order to go up
with them to the front, took a lively interest in him, and made
quite a pet of him. Two other regiments were at the station at the
time and, consequently, there was a good deal of gaiety in the way
of lawn tennis and croquet parties, small dinners and dances and,
after mess, billiards and whist. Lisle soon became an expert in the
former games, but he never touched either a billiard cue or a card,
though he was an interested spectator when others were playing.

Baccarat was very popular with the faster set. At this game play
sometimes ran high, and there was a captain in one of the other
regiments who scarcely ever sat down without winning. At the
beginning of the evening, when play was low, he generally lost; but
was certain to get back his losings, and sometimes a considerable
sum over, as the stakes rose higher. One of the lieutenants who was
a chum of Lisle's was particularly unlucky. He was of an excitable
disposition, and played high as the evening went on. Lisle noticed
that he often paid in chits, instead of money. This was not an
unusual custom, as officers are often short of cash, and settle up
when they receive their month's pay. Lisle frequently remonstrated
with his friend on the folly of his proceedings, and the young
fellow declared that he would retire from the table, if luck went
against him. But the mania was too strong for him.

"It is extraordinary what bad luck I have," he said, one day. "I
almost always win at the beginning of the evening; and then, when I
get thoroughly set, my winnings are swept away."

"Why don't you get up when you are a winner?"

"That would be very bad form, Bullen; a fellow who did that would
be considered a cad."

"I should strongly advise you to give it up, altogether."

Lisle observed with regret that his friend's spirits fell, and that
he became moody and irritable. One day, when he went into his
quarters, he found him sitting with a look of misery upon his face.

"What is it, Gordon?" he asked. "I hope I am not in the way?"

"Well, it has come to this," the young officer said. "I am at the
end of my tether. I shall have to leave the regiment."

"Nonsense!" Lisle replied.

"It is true. I owe a lot of money to that fellow Sanders. He has
bought up all my chits, and this is a note from him, saying that he
has waited two or three months, but must now request me to pay up
without further delay. Besides my pay, I have only eighteen hundred
pounds, that was left me by an old aunt; but that will barely cover
what I owe. Of course I can hold on on my pay; but the loss of so
much money will make a lot of difference, and I fear I shall have
to transfer. It is hard lines, because I am now pretty high on the
list of lieutenants; and shall, of course, have to go to the bottom
of the list.

"The only alternative would be to enlist in some white regiment
that has lately come out. There are plenty of gentlemen in the
ranks. I certainly see no other way."

"I had no idea it was so bad as that, Gordon. Surely there must be
some other way out of the difficulty. I could lend you a couple of
hundred pounds."

"Thank you, old fellow! But I am so deeply in debt that that would
make no difference."

"I am not sure that there is not something else to be done," said
Lisle. "While I sit watching the play, I can see more than the
players can; and since I have noticed that Sanders persistently
wins, directly the stakes get high, I have watched him very
closely, and am convinced that he does not play fair. It has struck
me that he withdraws the money on his cards when he sees that the
dealer has a strong hand, and adds to his stake when he considers
that the dealer is weak.

"Now my testimony as a youngster would go a very little way, if
unsupported against his; but if you will give me a solemn promise
that you will never play baccarat again, I will get two or three
fellows to watch him. Then, if we can prove that he plays unfairly,
of course you will be able to repudiate payment of the money he has
won of you."

"Good heaven! It would be the saving of me, and I will willingly
give you the promise you want. But you must surely be mistaken!
Sanders certainly has had wonderful luck, but I have never heard a
suggestion that he does not play fair. I only know that there is a
good deal of shyness about playing with him. You see, it is a
frightful thing to accuse a man of cheating."

"I admit that it is not pleasant; but if a man cheats, and is found
out, it is the duty of every honest man to denounce him, if they
detect him.

"Well, if you don't mind, I will take Lindsay, Holmes, and Tritton
into my confidence. They all play occasionally, and you must let me
mention that you are altogether in his power; and that, unless he
is detected, you will have to leave the regiment. Mind, don't you
watch him yourself. Play even more recklessly than usual; that will
make him a bit careless."

"Well, there is a possibility that you are right, Bullen, and if
you can but detect him, you will save me from frightful disgrace."

"I will try, anyhow."

Bullen sent a note to the officers he had mentioned, asking them to
come to his quarters, as he particularly wished to speak to them.
In a quarter of an hour they joined him.

"Well, what is up, Bullen?" Tritton said. "What do you want with
us?"

"It is a serious business, Tritton. That fellow Sanders owns chits
of Gordon's to the amount of fifteen hundred pounds."

An exclamation of dismay broke from his hearers.

"Good heavens!" Tritton exclaimed, "how could he possibly have lost
so much as that? I know that the play has been high; but still,
even with the worst luck, a man could hardly lose so much as that."

"I fancy that, after the party in the mess room has broken up,
several of them used to adjourn to Sanders' quarters; and it was
there that the great bulk of the money was lost."

"What a fool Gordon has been!" Lindsay said. "What a madman! Such a
good fellow, too!

"Well, of course, nothing can be done. If it were only a hundred or
two, the money would be subscribed at once; but fifteen hundred is
utterly beyond us. What is he thinking of doing?"

"Well, he has eighteen hundred pounds, and he talked of drawing out
the amount and paying up, and then exchanging into some other
regiment. The question, however, is, whether he ought to pay."

The others looked up at him in surprise.

"Why, of course he must pay," Tritton said; "at least he must pay,
or quit the service, a disgraced man."

"I think there is an alternative," Lisle said, "and that is why I
have sent for you."

"What alternative can there be?"

"Well, you know I don't play; but I like sitting watching the game,
and I am quite convinced that Sanders doesn't play fair."

"You don't say so!" Tritton said. "That is a very serious
accusation to make, you know, Bullen!"

"I am perfectly aware of that, and I feel that it would be mad for
me to make an unsupported accusation against Sanders. But I want
you three fellows to join me in watching Sanders play. My word,
unsupported, would be of no avail; but if four of us swore that we
saw him cheating, there could be no doubt about the result.

"For one thing, Sanders would have to leave the army. That would be
no loss to the service, for he is an overbearing brute; to say
nothing of the fact that several young officers have had to leave
the service, owing to their losses at play with him."

"I know of two cases," Lindsay said. "There was a very strong
feeling against him, but no one suspected him of unfair play. It
was he who introduced baccarat here, when his regiment first came
up. It had never been played here before, and you may notice that
very few of his fellow officers ever take a hand.

"Well, there will be no harm in our watching. It is a thing that
one doesn't like doing but, when it comes to a fellow officer being
swindled, it is clearly our duty to expose the man who is doing
it."

"Very well, then, this evening two of us will take our stand behind
Gordon, and the other two behind Sanders."

"But how did he cheat? It seems a fair game enough."

"He does it in this way. He puts five sovereigns under his hand.
That is the limit, you know. Then he looks at his card, and pushes
it out. With his hand still touching it, he watches the dealer and,
if he can see by his face that his card is a good one--and you can
generally tell that--he withdraws his hand with four of the
sovereigns, leaving only one on the card. If, on the other hand, he
thinks it is a bad one, he leaves the whole five there. He does the
trick cleverly enough; but I am certain that I have, four or five
times, seen him do it.

"Keep your eyes on his hand. You will see that he takes up five
sovereigns from the heap before him, and that he has them in his
hand when he pushes the card out. You will notice how he fixes his
eye upon the dealer, and that he leaves either one or five, as I
have said. He does it, at times, all through the evening,
especially when Gordon is dealing; for I can tell, myself, by
Gordon's face whether he has a good or a bad card. Of course, he
can see it, too.

"I want you all to nod to me, when you see it done. We shall let
him do it two or three times, so that we can all swear to it."

All agreed to do so, and Lisle then went to Gordon's quarter's.

"Tritton, Lindsay, and Holmes are going to watch with me tonight. I
think the best thing will be for you to answer Sanders' note, and
tell him that you will require time to draw your money from England
to pay him; but that you will play again tonight, to see if luck
turns."

That evening the four young officers took their places, as
arranged. Now that their attention had been directed to it, they
saw that several times Sanders, although he took up five pounds,
only left one on the card; and that he kept his hand upon it, up to
the last moment. Each in turn nodded to Lisle.

All noticed how intently Sanders watched the dealer. Generally he
left two sovereigns on the card, apparently when the dealer had a
moderate card; but when he had a very low or a very high one, the
trick was played. After fully satisfying himself that he had good
proofs, just as Sanders was again withdrawing his hand with four
sovereigns in it, Lisle threw himself forward, jerked the hand
upwards, and showed the four sovereigns lying under it.

"I accuse Captain Sanders of cheating. I have seen him do this
trick half a dozen times."

Sanders shook himself free, and aimed a heavy blow at Lisle; who,
however, stepped aside and, before he could repeat it, he was
seized by the officers standing round. A tremendous hubbub arose,
in the midst of which the colonel entered the room.

"What is all this about?" he enquired.

The din subsided at once, and two or three officers said:

"Bullen accused Captain Sanders of cheating."

"This is a very serious accusation, Bullen," the colonel said
sternly, "and unless you can substantiate it, may be of very
serious consequences to yourself. Will you tell me what you saw?"

Lisle related the circumstances, and how the fraud was
accomplished.

"You mean to say that, by watching the dealer's eye, Captain
Sanders leaves one pound or five on his card?"

"That is what I said, sir. I have seen him do it on several nights.
Tonight I determined to expose him, and Tritton, Lindsay, and
Holmes have been watching him with me. I was induced to do so by
the fact that the man has rooked Lieutenant Gordon of something
like fifteen hundred pounds, for which he holds his chits."

"Mr. Tritton, you hear what Mr. Bullen says. Have you also observed
the act of cheating of which he accuses Captain Sanders?"

"Yes, sir; I have seen him do it several times this evening. I
believe he has done it more, but I am prepared to swear to seven
times."

The colonel looked at Lindsay, who said:

"I have seen suspicious movements eleven times, but I should not
like to swear to more than four."

"And you, Mr. Holmes?"

"I can swear to five times, but I believe he did it much oftener
than that."

"What have you to say, Captain Sanders?"

"I say it is a conspiracy on the part of these four young officers
to ruin me. It is a lie from beginning to end."

"I am afraid, Captain Sanders, that you will find it very difficult
to persuade anyone that four officers, who as far as I know have no
ill feeling against you, should conspire to bring such a charge.
However, I shall report the matter to your colonel, tomorrow, with
a written statement from these four officers of what they saw. He
will, of course, take such steps in the matter as he thinks fit."

Without a word, Sanders turned on his heel and left the room,
followed by the angry glances of all who were present.

"Mr. Bullen, you have behaved with great discretion," the colonel
said, "in not making a charge on your first impression, but getting
three other officers to watch that man's behaviour. Tomorrow I
shall hold a court of enquiry, at which the major, the adjutant,
and two other officers will sit with me. You will all, of course,
be called, and will have to repeat your story in full.

"Lieutenant Gordon, I am shocked to hear that an officer of my
regiment should gamble to such an extent as you have done. You
will, of course, be called tomorrow. I think that, at the best, you
will be advised to change into another regiment. I need not say
that, after this exposure, the chits that you have given to Captain
Sanders become null and void.

"This room will be closed for the rest of the evening."

The officers, however, gathered in the room below, and talked the
matter over. There was not a whisper of regret at the disgrace that
had fallen upon Sanders. His reputation was a bad one. Since his
regiment had been in India one young officer had shot himself, and
three had been obliged to leave the army, and in all cases it was
known that these had lost large sums to him; but the matter had
been hushed up, as such scandals generally are in the army. Still,
the truth had been whispered about, and it was because none of the
officers in his regiment would play with him that he had come
habitually to the mess of the Pioneers; by which, his own regiment
having been quartered in southern India until six months
previously, nothing was known of his antecedents.

"We shall all have to be very careful, when you are looking on at
our play, Bullen," one said, laughing. "I hadn't given you credit
for having such sharp eyes; and certainly Sanders did not, either,
or he would never have tried his games on, while you were standing
watching him."

"I was not playing, you see," Lisle said, "and the players do not
trouble about onlookers, but keep their attention directed to the
dealer. Standing there evening after evening, it was really easy to
see what he was doing; for he, too, kept his attention fixed on the
dealer, and paid no heed to us who were looking on. He occasionally
did look up at us, but evidently he concluded that we were only
innocent spectators. When my suspicions were aroused, there was
really no difficulty in detecting him."

"How was it that you did not interfere before?"

"Because it was only my word against that of Sanders, and it was
only after Gordon told me how much he was in debt to the man; and
that the latter had, that morning, written to him calling upon him
to pay up, that I saw that something must be done. So I asked
Tritton, Lindsay, and Holmes to watch him closely this evening,
along with me."

"Well, I hope Gordon won't have to go," the other said. "He is an
awfully good fellow, though he has made an abject ass of himself."

"Don't you think, Prosser, that if we were all to sign a petition
to the colonel, to ask him to overlook the matter, as Gordon has
received a lesson that will certainly last his lifetime, he might
do so."

"It depends upon how much the matter becomes public. Of course,
there must be a court of enquiry in the other regiment; and if, as
is certain, a report is sent to the commander-in-chief, Sanders
will be cashiered; and I should fancy that Gordon would be called
upon to resign. Of course, you four and Gordon will have to give
evidence before the commission. It depends, of course, how his
colonel takes it; but it is certain that Sanders will have to go,
and I fear Gordon will, too. I expect our colonel will get a
wigging for allowing high play; though, as you say, the greater
part of the money was lost in private play, in Sanders' room.

"Anyhow, it will be a somewhat ugly thing for the regiment in
general, and we shall get the nickname of 'the gamblers' throughout
the army."

The next morning, at eight o'clock, the little committee met. The
four young officers gave their evidence, which was put on paper in
duplicate and signed by them, a copy being sent to the colonel of
Sanders' regiment. In a short time that officer was seen to go into
the colonel's tent and, half an hour later, he came out again and
went away. A few minutes after he had left, the four officers were
summoned.

"I hope," the colonel said, "that we have heard the last of this
most unpleasant business. His colonel tells me that this morning,
as soon as he turned out, Sanders called upon him and said that he
had to go to England, on urgent family business; and that, on his
arrival there, he should send in his papers and retire. He gave him
leave to go at once, and Sanders disposed of his horse and traps,
and started by the eight o'clock train for Calcutta. In these
circumstances we have decided, for the credit of both regiments,
that the matter shall be held over. If, as is morally certain, he
leaves the army, nothing more need be said about it. Of course, if
he should return, it will be brought up.

"I should say, however, that there is no chance whatever of that. I
beg of you to impress upon the officers of the regiment; which,
indeed, I shall myself do at mess, to make no allusion whatever,
outside the regiment, to what has occurred. The less said about it,
the better. If it were at all known, and got to the ears of the
commander-in-chief--and you know how gossip of this kind
spreads--both his colonel and myself would get a severe wigging,
for not sending in a report of it. In that case a committee would
be appointed to go into the whole matter and, as a result, the
regiment would probably be sent to the worst possible cantonment
they could find for us, and Gordon would be called upon to retire.
I will therefore ask you to give me your word that the matter shall
not be alluded to, outside the regiment. There is no fear of any of
Sanders' regiment hearing anything about it, as none of them were
present last night.

"Upon further consideration, I think that it would be better to
summon all the officers of the regiment, at once, and to impress
upon them the necessity for keeping silence on the matter."

Five minutes later the officers' call sounded and, when all were
assembled in the anteroom, the colonel repeated to them what he had
said to Lisle and his companions; and obtained an undertaking from
them, individually, that they would maintain an absolute silence on
the matter.

The affair greatly added to the estimation in which Lisle was held
in the regiment. His quickness in detecting the swindle, and the
steps he had taken to obtain proof of his suspicions, showed that
he possessed other qualities besides pluck and determination.

It is to be feared that some, at least, of the married officers
either did not regard the promise of silence as affecting their
wives, or had told them what had taken place before they were
requested to absta

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