Part 25

The British infantry lay down on the ground, and the storm of iron and lead swept over them almost harmlessly. Great bodies of the Sikh cavalry now showed on both flanks, with the evident intention of penetrating to the rear, but the cavalry, aided by the horse-artillery, met and checked them on both flanks; while three other batteries, placed in the intervals of the infantry regiments, replied to those of the enemy, and their accurate fire caused considerable confusion among the Sikh gunners, whose fire gradually slackened and at last ceased, though the infantry still maintained their position in front.

The extreme rapidity with which for two hours the British artillery worked their guns had almost exhausted the supply of ammunition they had brought with them, and when General Thackwell consulted his officers whether he should now take the offensive and attack the Sikhs, the reply was an almost unanimous negative. It was about four o'clock in the afternoon, and there were but two hours' daylight left. The enemy's infantry were intact, and were in full force to the front. The three villages constituted a very strong position. The nature of the ground beyond was altogether unknown, but it was believed that sugar-cane fields extended to the Sikh intrenchments; the troops were already exhausted with the long day's exposure to the sun. Godby's brigade had not yet crossed, and with but two white regiments it would have been perilous indeed to engage in a conflict on unknown ground against an enemy of vastly superior strength, and containing the Bunnoo regiments, the flower of the Sikh army. The force, too, was already weakened by the strong detachment covering the head of the ford, and by a larger body detached to guard the baggage in the rear. It was therefore determined to rest for the night in the position occupied, and to renew the engagement in the morning, when it was hoped that Godby's brigade would have joined. The loss had been but small, twenty-one men killed and fifty-one wounded, most of whom belonged to the artillery, against which arm the Sikh fire had been mainly directed.

To the surprise and disappointment of the British it was discovered in the morning that the Sikhs had evacuated their position in front of them. Godby's brigade had been all night crossing the river in three or four little boats, and joined the force at nine o'clock. Upon advancing into the villages it was found that the Sikh loss had been very large, great numbers of dead being discovered here and among the sugar-canes behind. The cavalry were at once sent ahead to endeavour to discover the course taken by the Sikhs, and learned from villagers that they had passed during the night along the roads leading towards the Jhelum river; but though the cavalry pressed far in pursuit they did not succeed in coming up with them. The infantry marched twelve miles in the direction they had taken, and then halted for the night. It was not until that morning that Lord Gough sent a small force across the river and discovered that the Sikhs had left thirty-six hours before.

For four hours Percy had listened anxiously to the continuous roll of artillery. When it ceased at four o'clock the men round him shouted triumphantly that all was over, and the Feringhees annihilated; but no news had been received, when Percy, feeling worn out with the excitement and the worry of the day, threw himself down on his bed. At ten o'clock he heard a horse approaching at a gallop. A few words were said, of which he could not gather the import, but as they were followed by a volley of execrations his heart gave a bound of delight, for he felt that the Sikhs had failed in their attack.

Two minutes later the officer entered his tent. "You are to mount and ride with us at once, sahib," he said shortly.

Percy asked no questions, feeling that silence was at present the safest policy. His first thought was for his men, who always slept in the camp of the sowars, where his horse was picketed. He had not seen them all day, and had no doubt that they had been obliged to accompany the cavalry when they moved off at daybreak. He mounted his horse, which was as usual linked to those of the troopers on either side of it, and the party moved off silently, leaving the tent standing. For an hour but few words were spoken beyond occasional muttered execrations among the Sikhs. Then the officer rode up beside him, taking the chain from the trooper on his right-hand side.

"I was wrong, sahib; we have not eaten up the Feringhees as I expected. It has been a drawn battle. Your guns fired at us, and we fired at them; many were killed on both sides. Our infantry never attacked, nor did yours; but we suffered most, for your infantry lay down on the ground like cowards, while ours stood up like men; still they could not advance under the terrible fire of your guns. So the combat ceased, and we march to-night to take up a new position on the Jhelum, where it is all bush and jungle."

"But why should you fall back if the battle is an indecisive one?"

"Because, sahib, we felt too sure of victory. We left the ford open here, thinking, as I told you, that after we had crushed the troops we went out to fight we should march back here and destroy the force from across the river. Our calculations have been wrong; we have not won the battle; and the blind people on the other side have not crossed, though they must have seen that there was neither a man nor a gun to resist them. To-morrow they must surely discover it, and then when they cross we should find ourselves between two fires; so there was nothing to do but to fall back. The next time we will fight on our ground, in thick jungle, where the white cavalry cannot act nor the gunners discover our position; then you will see."

For three hours longer they rode on. The officer had ceased to talk, the men were all silent, and were, Percy guessed, half asleep on their horses. The night was so dark that he could scarce make out the figures riding beside him. It went to his heart to leave Sheik, and he wondered whether he could lean forward and unbuckle the chains. However, he abandoned the idea, for even could he do so the rattle of the ends of the falling chains would at once rouse the men. He knew nothing of the country on either side of the road they were following, and would assuredly come to grief did he attempt to gallop over it, therefore he fell back upon his original plan.

Taking his feet from the stirrups and letting go the reins he quietly lifted himself back out of the saddle, and then holding on by it let himself slip off noiselessly over the crupper. As he did so he stooped low on the ground. The troopers behind were riding two and two, with an interval of some feet between them. They passed along on either side of him, but the horses of the two last troopers, who were riding closer together than the others, swerved suddenly, nearly unseating their riders, and causing them to burst into angry exclamations.

"What can the brutes have shied at?" one asked the other.

"It might be anything," was the reply. "Lots of carts have been passing down the road, and I suppose something has dropped off one of them."

As soon as they had passed, Percy left the road. He found that the ground on either side was covered with low scrub bushes. Among these he made his way cautiously, and had gone but fifty yards when he heard a sudden shout, followed by a string of furious exclamations, and a minute later the troopers came galloping back along the road. He stooped among the bushes as they passed, although confident that he could not be seen. He had almost expected they would rein in their horses as they came to the point where he had left the road, and indeed they would certainly have done so if the troopers had told the officer of the sudden start their horses had given them. As they rode on without a check he concluded that the men had said nothing of the incident, thinking that if they did so they would certainly incur blame, and probably severe punishment, for not ascertaining what it was that the animals had shied at.

As soon as they had passed he returned to the road, for although he could have kept the general direction by means of the stars, he might have got far away from the direct track, and, moreover, might in the dark have come upon broken ground and fallen down some hole or nullah, and this possibility would necessitate very slow and careful walking. He therefore kept along the road, but was so frequently obliged to leave it, owing to the number of carts, horsemen, and peasants all flying before the expected advance of the British, that he made but slow progress. This, however, did not trouble him. The Sikh army had fallen back, and the British cavalry would soon be scouring the country. His principal reason for wishing to be back before the evening was his arrangement with his two men. It was, of course, uncertain that they would, any more than himself, return to the tent that night. Having been with the cavalry during the battle they would know nothing of what had taken place in the camp they had left, and could not have been certain that he and his guard had not started for the rear early in the day, in which case he would not have attempted to escape. However, if they reached the tent before morning they would be sure to wait unless they saw the British troops crossing the river, in which case they would probably make off, as they might be cut down before they could make it understood that they were the servants of an English officer.

As soon, therefore, as the first dawn of light appeared he moved farther away from the road and entered a patch of low trees and brushwood, and there sat watching the road. From time to time bullock-carts and pack-animals came along, generally in parties under the escort of small bodies of sowars, who were evidently urging them to push forward with all haste, sometimes the bullock-carts were provided with curtains, and no doubt contained the ladies of the zenana of some zemindar of the district, who with his retainers was with the army. The spot where Percy was hidden was at the very edge of the cultivated ground, and beyond wide fields stretched away as far as he could see. Here and there peasants were at work as usual, heeding very little the events passing round them, and confident they would suffer no molestation at the hands of the British, and that any change would be likely to benefit rather than to harm them.

As the sun gained power Percy began to feel the torture of thirst, but he well knew that there was no hope of obtaining water, as he could not quit his place of concealment until night again fell, for his dress would betray him even at a considerable distance. He had intended to watch until he saw English troops coming along, but he had been walking all night, and as the heat increased found it impossible to keep his eyes open. Besides, as he told himself, there was no certainty whatever that the British cavalry would come along that day. After having allowed themselves to be checked for a day and a half by deserted earthworks there might be still farther delay, and even after crossing a day might elapse before any farther advance was made. He was turning this over in his mind when his thoughts gradually became confused, and he was soon sound asleep.

The sun was setting when he awoke. On looking round he saw that the road was entirely deserted, and determined therefore to push forward through the fields at once in hope of discovering water, for he woke with a raging thirst. He had walked for half an hour when he saw a cloud of dust on the road, and at once leapt down into a small nullah, and there, concealed from sight, ran towards the road. When he heard the tramping of horses and the rumbling of wheels he took off his white helmet and raised his head sufficiently high to look through a tuft of grass at the edge of the nullah. A moment later he was standing on the top of the bank waving his hat to the troops passing along the road fifty yards away. The glimpse he had caught of the white faces had been enough, it was a battery of British horse-artillery. The order was given to halt, and an officer rode up to meet him.

"Who are you, sir?"

"My name is Groves. I am in the civil service, and was assistant to Major Edwardes before Mooltan. I was attached by him to Sher Singh's force, and was carried off by it when he deserted. I effected my escape last night."

The officer held out his hand. "I am very glad to see you," he said. "Of course, we heard that Sher Singh had carried off a political officer. What are you going to do now? What can I do for you? My orders are to push forward at once. The 9th Lancers are ahead of us; did you see any of them?"

"The first thing you can do for me is to give me something to drink," Percy said, "for I have had nothing since yesterday."

The officer at once pulled out his flask and handed it to him.

"Thank you very much," Percy said, after taking a drink. "No, I did not see anything of the cavalry. I was walking all last night; and when it got hot this morning I could not keep awake. I only started again half an hour ago. They must have passed before that, for I saw nothing of them."

"Are there any of the rebels along on this road?"

Percy shook his head. "There were not fifty men left in the camp on the bank of the Chenab all yesterday," he said. "I was there, and was expecting you to cross all day."

"Yes, we made a hideous mess of it," the officer said in a tone of deep disgust. "If we had crossed yesterday, as we ought to have done, we should have come on the rear of Sher Singh's army when he was engaged with Thackwell, and have smashed him into a cocked hat. It has been an astounding blunder. There is no chance of our overtaking any body of troops?"

"Not the slightest, unless this road runs into the one by which the Sikhs are retreating. I hear they are retiring on the Jhelum, and will make a stand there."

"Well, as you have no horse," the officer said, "the best thing you can do is to get up on one of our limbers and go with us. Our force is crossing the river, and will, I suppose, to-morrow push on to join Thackwell, somewhere on the Julalpore road."

As Percy learnt that he was still twelve miles distant from the river he accepted the invitation, climbed up on to a limber between two artillerymen, and in an hour reached Heylah, where the artillery and guns sent forward joined Thackwell's force, which had halted there. Finding that the main body of Lord Gough's force had halted after crossing the river, and that it was probable no farther movement would be made for some little time, Percy purchased from a trooper for a few shillings a horse he had picked up on the way, having found it standing by the side of its dead master, who, although terribly wounded, had managed to keep his saddle for some miles. Mounting this he started at once to return by the road by which he had arrived.

He had met no one he knew in Sir Joseph Thackwell's camp, and considered it his duty to report himself at head-quarters. The chief reason for haste was his anxiety for his two men, who would, he knew, if they had managed to make their escape, rely upon his returning sooner or later to the place where he had appointed to meet them. It was ten o'clock when he was challenged by a sentry as he approached the camp. As soon as he was found to be a British officer he was permitted to proceed, and presently found his way to the tent of the principal political officer with Lord Gough. The latter was seated talking to a gentleman when Percy was shown in by an orderly.

"I have come to report myself as having escaped from Sher Singh's camp," he said.

There was a sudden exclamation, and one of the gentlemen sprang from his chair. "Why, Groves, is it you? I should hardly have known you again. Why, it is more than two years since we met."

"Some months more, Mr. Fullarton. I am indeed pleased to meet you again."

"Groves is an old friend of mine," Mr. Fullarton said, turning to the other gentleman. "You know he was carried off by Sher Singh when he deserted from Whish's camp before Mooltan. We have heard, indeed, from messages Sher Singh has from time to time sent in that he was with him and well, but I have been anxious as to what might happen if we defeated the Sikhs. I am proud of Groves, for he is, if I may say so, a _protege_ of mine, and it was partly through me that he made his first start in the service."

"Entirely through you, sir," Percy said warmly. "I owe my position entirely to you."

"Not entirely by a long way, Groves. I accepted your services as a volunteer when we were badly off for interpreters, but it was solely to your own good conduct and bravery that you owed your permanent appointment. Sir Henry Hardinge and Lord Gough both personally recommended him in very strong terms to the Court of Directors;" he added to the other officer. "I will carry him off to my tent. I expect he has nothing but what he stands in."

"One moment, Fullarton; he may have some valuable information to give us."

"No; I am sorry I have nothing to tell you but what is known already, that Sher Singh has retreated towards the Jhelum. I was not with him in the fight yesterday. I had been left under a guard here in camp, and I only went away with them at ten o'clock at night, and managed to escape from them four hours afterwards. I hid until I saw a battery of our horse-artillery coming along this afternoon, and went with them into Heylah. I picked up a Sikh horse there and started at once to report myself to you."

"Then I will not detain you, Mr. Groves. You will, of course, address a report to me as to your stay in Sher Singh's camp and your treatment by him. I shall no doubt be able to find you plenty to do in the course of a day or two."

"In the first place, Groves," Mr. Fullarton said as they reached his tent, which was close by, "I suppose you must want something to eat?"

"I shall be very glad of something, sir, for I have had nothing to-day. I found that the troops at Heylah had had nothing since they marched in the morning, and there did not seem any chance of their getting anything to-night, so it was of no use my thinking of getting food there."

"That accounts for your starting back again at once," Mr. Fullarton said with a smile as he touched a bell.

Percy's old friend, Ram Singh, entered. "Get some food directly, Ram Singh. This is Mr. Groves, your old pupil on the voyage."

The man salaamed. "I am glad to see you, sahib. You have grown since then."

"So I ought to have done." Percy laughed. "I was not fifteen when I landed here. That is more than four years ago. I owe a great deal, Ram Singh, to the lessons I had from you."

"I don't think, Mr. Fullarton," he went on when the man retired to get some food, "that hunger had much to do with my coming over to-night. I was very anxious about my two men, they are the same two I had with me when I came to you at Loodiana. They have been with me ever since, and I would not on any account that harm should come to them."

He then related the instructions he had given them as to joining him if they made their escape.

"It is quite possible that they may be in the camp now," Mr. Fullarton said. "I know that a few prisoners were taken by the 9th Lancers, who were the first to cross the ford. When they went on to join Thackwell they handed over their prisoners to one of the other corps. We have all been too busy to-day to think about them, but the first thing in the morning I will go with you and see if your men are among them. It is too late to do it to-night. Now tell me all about your sojourn with Sher Singh, and how you managed to escape from the Sikhs."

The next morning early Mr. Fullarton went out with Percy, and found that the prisoners taken by the cavalry who had first crossed had been handed over to the charge of the 14th Dragoons, and at once went over to the camp of that regiment. Mr. Fullarton was well known to the officer in command of the corps, who on learning from him the object of his visit at once ordered the prisoners to be paraded.

"There are ten of them, I think," he said. "I have not questioned them; I thought some of you political gentlemen would want to do that, and all I had to do was to take care of them."

He walked across with them to the guard-tent, from which the prisoners were just being brought out. Percy gave an exclamation of satisfaction as, in the last two who came out, he recognized his followers. They on their part would have run forward, but the habits of discipline prevailed, and giving the military salute they fell in with the others.

"Those are my two men, sir," Percy said to the officer.

"I suppose it is all right, Fullarton, for me to let them go?"

"Certainly, I can answer for them myself, for I recognize them as having been with Groves when he first joined, and I know they rode behind him in all the battles on the Sutlej. They are thoroughly good and trustworthy fellows; and indeed their presence here shows that they must have run considerable risks from our men as well as the Sikhs, in obeying his instructions to meet him here. However, I will give you a written receipt for them, and that will take all responsibility off your shoulders. The others scarcely look like fighting men."

"No, I should say they are only camp-followers, who lingered behind in the hopes of picking up anything the Sikhs might have left behind them when they went off so suddenly."

"I will speak about them, and will see that their cases are inquired into at once."

"I shall be very much obliged if you would. The men have got plenty of work without looking after these fellows; and if we got orders to go forward there would be all sorts of bother in getting rid of them, and in handing them over to someone else."

"I will see about it at once; as they are not fighting men there can be no object in keeping them."

"Thank you. You will make over these two men to this gentleman, sergeant; they are released from custody."

"We have their horses in our lines, sir, and their arms; they were handed over with them; are they to take them?"

"Certainly. They are Mr. Groves' servants, and fought on our side at Sobraon. They were only awaiting their master's return when they were captured."

"Now, Groves, you may as well go back to my tent," Mr. Fullarton said as they walked away, followed by the two men leading their horses. "I will see about getting a tent for you later on, but in the meantime make yourself at home in mine. I shall be very glad to have you with me. I am first going to get authority to examine the other prisoners, and release them if proved harmless. I shall be with you at breakfast-time."

After seeing his men picket their horses with those in the political officers' lines he told them to follow him into the tent.

"Now sit down and tell me all about your escape," he said.

"There is not much to tell, sahib," Akram Chunder, who was generally the spokesman, replied. "We were ordered to mount and ride with the cavalry, just as daylight was breaking; and had to do so at once. On the way we agreed that if the Sikhs got the best of it we would stay with them, as in that case they would doubtless return to the camp; but that if they were beaten we would get away if we could, for you would certainly be moved. If you were moved at night we knew that you would, as agreed, try to make your escape and join us here. If you were moved in the day, and had no chance of escaping, we made up our minds to follow and to get you away if possible, for we considered your life would be in danger, and that, however great the risk, you would be willing to try to escape.