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Gil the Gunner; or, The Youngest Officer in the East, a novel by George Manville Fenn |
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Chapter 23 |
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_ CHAPTER TWENTY THREE. The excitement was still high, as we all sat in our places about a couple of hundred yards from the forest, and then Brace cried-- "Attention!" Save the champing of bits by the horses, there was not a sound. "There, my lads," he cried, "I feel now as if I can look you all once more in the face, for the dear old troop is itself again." "God bless you, sir!" shouted the oldest corporal we had. "The bravest act ever done in the British army." "Silence!" cried Brace, but not angrily. "You must not thank me, my lads, but Mr Vincent and Sergeant Craig." I wanted to say, "Yes, Craig; let me fetch him;" but discipline forbade, and I knew that Brace would do him justice. "Then three cheers for Sergeant Craig, if I lose my stripes for it," shouted the corporal again, who was as intoxicated with excitement as if he had partaken of drink--the vile arrack that ruins so many of our men. But Brace was lenient then. "Yes," he cried, "three cheers for Sergeant Craig," and they were given with a will. Then, to my great delight, he gave orders; four men reined back, and sprang from their horses, with the corporal, and went off at the double toward the wood, from where they soon reappeared, bearing the litter with poor Craig. Brace rode forward to meet him, and leaned over the litter to shake hands, when a low murmur of satisfaction rose from the line, but I did not hear what he said, though I longed to ride up and thank him too. To my great delight, though, they brought him close up to me, and we exchanged a nod and smile. "I thought that would do it, sir," he said feebly. "What do you say, doctor? Do you think we could safely take him on the ammunition-waggon?" "So long as you don't blow it up," said the doctor, shortly. "You think you could sit up now?" "I will sit up, sir," said Craig, firmly. "But the jolting and shaking, my man?" Craig laughed. "Why, sir, I'm used to all that; I've ridden so many times on the limbers of gun-carriages, that being knocked about's natural to me." "Let him try," said Brace, sharply. "Watch him, doctor, and he must take to the dhooly again if he cannot bear it. Quick! I must advance at once." I looked at him wonderingly, having been under the impression that now we had succeeded in the object we had in view we should retire. Brace's words quite overset that notion. It was evident that he meant to give the rajah a severe lesson, for the troop was in motion directly after, and as we advanced, we could see that the town was in a state of the most intense excitement, people running here and there. But before we had gone far, Brace halted, the guns were unlimbered, loaded, and then as we stood ready for action, scouts were sent out to right and left; the former soon returning, while a minute later, those sent off to the left came galloping in to announce that the rajah and his men were in rapid retreat along the bank of the river. This was a fresh move in the game of war, for in expectation of firing from the town, the gunners stood ready to send shot and shell crashing into the defences. So orders were given, guns were limbered up again, and away we went at a gallop in full pursuit. "We must capture the rajah," Brace cried to Haynes, as we followed on, soon coming within range of quite a mob of hurrying men, who, for the most part, threw away their arms, made for the patches of wood which bordered the river, and hid among the trees unnoticed by our men, for, in the distance, we could see in full flight, about forty well-mounted men, among whom the rajah was conspicuous by his brilliant costume; and as we tore on, we saw them ride down a slope leading to the river, and directly after take to the water, swimming their horses as soon as it grew deep, for the opposite bank. I saw at a glance that the guns could not follow, and knew directly that Brace had come to the same conclusion, for he halted the troop, and unlimbering a couple of the guns, began to scatter grape shot with terrible effect amongst the escaping fugitives, horse after horse being struck and swept away by the rushing stream. Those were exciting moments, mingled, to me, with horror, as at every discharge and puff of white smoke, I saw the water torn up by the grape, and some horse make a frantic plunge, rear up, fall over, and horse and man disappear. It was only a matter of a few minutes, though, before we saw the rajah and the greater part of his followers mounting the opposite bank, and then galloping off to disappear beyond the trees that came down nearly to the water's edge. "Let me pursue, with twenty or thirty men," said Haynes, excitedly. "We'll take him." But Brace shook his head. "What I should like to do myself," he said; "but I cannot. No; they are well-mounted; they know the country, and they have the start. Besides, we are too weak as it is, and I can't afford to risk losing the guns again by sending half of my force away. We don't know yet what reception we may meet with in the town." Very soon after we were trotting back toward the place in full expectation of being fired upon; but we did not receive a shot, and as we rode boldly in, we did not encounter a single military-looking man, those who crowded the streets being the ordinary traders and work-people, who treated us with a quiet cold stare. The first task was to scout through the place with a couple of pickets, while our guns were drawn up on an open space in the middle of the town, where some of the principle people came with offerings of sweets and chupatties, beside more substantial food and offerings. The place was so small that our men were not long in bringing in a report that there was not an armed man visible, the whole of the fighting element having retreated with the rajah, as soon as it was seen that the guns were retaken. But our numbers were so small, and the position so precarious, that Brace used every precaution, throwing out posts in the two directions from which danger was likely to approach, while the men were rested and refreshed, and a search made for ammunition, of which there was none too much in the boxes. This was for a time in vain, but as soon as Dost was taken into consultation, he salaamed, started off, and in a quarter of an hour was back again to announce that he had discovered two ammunition-waggons in a kind of shed, and upon my following him with half a dozen men and a couple of teams of horses, he led us to the spot where I found that the rajah and his men had brought away as many cartridges, with ball, grape, and canister, as the two waggons would hold. These were drawn out at once, and taken to the halting-place, where the gunners gave a cheer as they saw that for some time to come their six-pounders would not want for food. The heat was intense, but we could not afford to study that; and after a little council of war, in which I felt proud to be allowed to participate, it was debated as to what should be our next move. Haynes was still eager to go on in pursuit of the rajah, and the doctor expressed his opinion that it would give him profound satisfaction to make him prisoner, while to me the excitement of such a chase sounded very tempting, although somehow I could not help feeling that the rajah had had some cause for the steps he had taken. Then Brace spoke. "My feelings go with all of you," he said, "but I am obliged to oppose you. Our chase would be a long one, and into country about which we know scarcely anything. Consequently we should have very little prospect of success. As it is, we have crippled him almost completely, and our troop would be invaluable to any officer who is coming down from Calcutta or Barrackpore with a regiment or two." "But is any one coming down?" said Haynes. "For certain. The news of the rising at Rajgunge must have reached there, and the mutiny of other regiments. Depend upon it, the Government is straining every nerve to check the wildfire from spreading far." "Then what do you propose doing?" said Haynes. "Starting at once back to Rajgunge, and finding out the state of affairs there as we pick up the major. Possibly we shall find a European regiment or two there already. If not, we can continue our way. I don't think we need fear meeting any of the enemy." "Fear?" said the doctor. "I only wish we may. If we do, depend upon it they will give us a wide berth. Then we move east at once?" "At once," said Brace. "Yes; what is it?" he cried, as Dost once more made his appearance, this time to announce that he had found the stables of the rajah's elephants--three huge beasts, with their howdahs, pads, and mahouts. "We don't want them now," said Haynes. "No time for tigers." "We do want them now," said Brace, eagerly. "They will carry a quantity of provisions, and one of them can take Sergeant Craig as well. It will be better than pressing bearers into our service, more than we absolutely want for grass-cutters. We must keep our train as small as possible now." So the elephants were brought out, and the mahouts duly admonished upon the dangers they would run if they attempted any treachery. Loads were adjusted, and just at midday, when the sun was hottest, our little column was set in motion, and we marched out of the little town that we had watched so intently, hardly able to realise how successful we had been. There were plenty of people about, old men and boys, and there was a sullen, lowering look in their amber eyes as we rode by, but no voice was raised against us, so wholesome a dread had they of the guns, of whose power they had all more or less heard--a power which might at any moment be directed against their homes. To the delight of all, the horses proved to be in admirable condition, and in their excitement and glee, the men never seemed to trouble about the heat, but rode on, chatting together and discussing the morning's feat and the value of the long, careful drilling, whose results had been shown in the way in which the horses had behaved. The road was dusty, but fairly good; and as the three elephants shuffled slowly along, I ventured to approach the one which bore Craig, time after time, but generally to find that he was sleeping, and upon calling the doctor's attention to the fact, he said abruptly-- "Best thing for him. Nature goes on best with her mending when a man is asleep. Phew! how hot it is." "Worse walking," I said. "Yes. Thank goodness, we are all well-mounted again. What a fish out of water one does feel without a horse." We were not destined to reach Rajgunge without adventure, for that same evening we were thinking it time for a halt when the advance-guard galloped back to announce the coming of what seemed to be a regiment of native lancers. The elephants were sent into the rear instantly, with a guard to ensure us against flight on the part of the mahouts; and, quick as thought, the guns were unlimbered and loaded, while we anxiously waited to see whether these were friends or enemies. But we were not kept long in doubt, for their confused, disorderly advance proved that they were without English officers, and they came on at a gallop, evidently in chase of our advance-guard, their lance-points glittering as they were brought down to the charge, the dust in front raised by our men partly hiding us till they were well within range, and one shot would have torn through their line and littered the dusty road with struggling men and horses. But the word was not given, for no sooner did the front men grasp the peril into which they were galloping, than they raised a loud yell of warning, wheeled off to right and left, wheeled again, and scattered in wild flight, leaving us to pursue our way in peace, for there was nothing to be gained by pursuit, a duty reserved for the light cavalry. It was another warning, though, of the state of the country, this being evidently one of the native cavalry regiments which had mutinied, and, perhaps, slain their European officers, though of course we could not be sure; and to have fired upon them when they first advanced might have been a grievous error. _ |
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