Cover art
PERCY THREATENS TO SHOOT THE FERRYMEN
Through the Sikh War
A Tale of the Conquest of the Punjaub
BY
G. A. HENTY
Author of "Beric the Briton" "The Dash for Khartoum"
"Held Fast for England" "With Clive in India" &c.
WITH EIGHT ILLUSTRATIONS BY HAL HURST
AND MAP OF THE PUNJAUB
LONDON: BLACKIE & SON, LIMITED
COPP CLARK CO. LTD., TORONTO
WILLIAM BRIGGS, TORONTO
PREFACE.
Among the many wars by which, province by province, the Empire of India was won, few, if any, were more brilliant and hard fought than those which terminated in the annexation of the Punjaub. It is satisfactory to know that the conquest of the Sikhs—a brave and independent race—was not brought about by any of the intrigues which marred the brilliancy of some of our early conquests, or by greed for additional territory, but was the result of a wanton invasion of the states under our protection by the turbulent soldiery of the Punjaub, who believed themselves invincible, and embarked upon the conflict with a confident belief that they would make themselves masters of Delhi, if not drive us completely out of India. It was fortunate for Britain that the struggle was not delayed for a few years, and that there was time for the Punjaub to become well contented with our rule before the outbreak of the Mutiny; for had the Punjaub declared against us at that critical period it would assuredly have turned the scale, and the work of conquering India must needs have been undertaken anew. I have endeavoured, while keeping my hero well in the foreground, to relate the whole of the leading incidents in the two Sikh wars.
G. A. HENTY.
CONTENTS
CHAP.
- [Eastward Ho!]
- [The Shadow of War]
- [At the Castle]
- [A Raid from the Hills]
- [Retribution]
- [A Siege]
- [Startling News]
- [In the Service]
- [Moodkee and Ferozeshah]
- [Aliwal and Sobraon]
- [An Ambush]
- [A Prisoner]
- [Escape]
- [Treachery]
- [The News of the Massacre]
- [Seven Hours of Suspense]
- [With Sher Singh]
- [Rejoining]
- [Chillianwalla]
- [Gujerat]
- [Retired]
ILLUSTRATIONS
[Percy threatens to shoot the Ferrymen] Frontispiece
[Percy learns the Punjaubi Language]
[Percy shoots the Assassin during the attack on the Fortress]
[The Commander-in-chief thanks Percy for his Report]
[Percy awakes, to find that the Guards are Vigilant]
["Is he dead?" Percy asked as he reined up his Horse]
[Percy takes part in the Battle of Chillianwalla]
[Percy has an Interview with Sher Singh]
THE PUNJAUB TO ILLUSTRATE "THROUGH THE SIKH WAR"
THROUGH THE SIKH WAR:
A STORY OF THE CONQUEST OF INDIA.
CHAPTER I.
EASTWARD HO!
"Groves, here is a letter for you," Dr. Bubear, the head-master of a large school at Dulwich, said, as the boys rose from their places to leave the school-room at the conclusion of their work. The lad addressed, a boy of about fifteen, went up to the desk.
"It is from your father's lawyers, Messrs. Sims & Hammond. I have received one from them myself, I think you will find it satisfactory," and he nodded kindly. "You had better stop in here to read it, for it looks somewhat bulky, and I fancy contains an inclosure."
Percy Groves returned to his seat, and did not open the letter until he was alone in the school-room. It was a long time since he had received one. Fifteen months before he had lost his father. Major Groves had returned on half-pay a year before his death, being obliged to quit the service from the effects of a severe wound which he received at the storming of Ghuznee. His regiment had been absent several years from England, and after he had left the service and taken a house at Dulwich, he had made but few acquaintances, spending most of his time at the military club to which he belonged.
Percy, who was an only child, had been born in India—his mother dying when he was five years old. His father had kept him three years longer with him, and had then sent him home to England to the care of his grandfather, who had, however, died a year later; and from that time Percy had known no home but Dr. Bubear's, until his father returned and took up his residence near the school. A few days before his death Major Groves had a long talk with his son.
"I am troubled about you, Percy," he said. "Besides my half-pay I have but three thousand pounds—a sum sufficient indeed to finish your education, pay your expenses at the University if you decide to go into one of the learned professions, and to help you a bit until you make your way. I have written to three or four of my old friends, who will, when the time comes, do their best to procure you a commission in the army, in case you have a fancy then, as I know you have now, for soldiering. Lastly, there is my brother. We have never kept up much correspondence, but we have always been good friends; he was in the army himself, but sold out after only serving a year, as he saw that there was very little chance of active service in Europe. He knocked about the world for some years and then went out to India, and the next I heard of him was that he had entered the service of Runjeet Singh, the leader of the Sikhs, who had great respect for European troops, and employed a number of foreign officers—Italian, German, and a few English—to train his troops on our method.
"I have not heard of him for some three or four years, but when I did he was still in the Sikh service, and held the rank of colonel, and was, I heard, high in favour with Runjeet Singh, and there I have no doubt he is still, that is if he is alive. No doubt he is married to some dusky princess, and has probably accumulated a fortune. These adventurers, as Europeans in the service of native princes are generally called, either get murdered soon after they get out there, or else accumulate large fortunes. I have no doubt that if he is alive he will take charge of you.
"The life is an adventurous one, and I do not say that I should advise you to adopt it; but in that respect you must decide for yourself, when you reach the age to do so. If your uncle is able to push your fortune out there you might do worse than stay with him; if, on the other hand, when you get to the age of seventeen or eighteen, you do not care to remain in India, you must come home and get the officers to whom I have written to use their influence to obtain a commission for you, which they will, I have no doubt, be able to do, as the son of an officer forced to retire from the service in consequence of wounds is always considered to have a claim.
"In that case the knowledge that you will obtain of Indian methods and languages would be a very great assistance to you. But mind, if you do go out to your uncle it will not be possible for you afterwards to choose one of the learned professions, for however much you may try to educate yourself out there, you will not be up to the mark of lads who have gone through the regular course of schooling here."
"I don't care for that, father; I have always made up my mind to be a soldier, as you were. I should like very much to go out to my uncle if he will have me."
The major was silent for a few minutes.
"I don't know that it is a wise step," he murmured to himself; "but the boy has no friends here—my old comrades will do what they can for him when the time comes, but until then he will have but a lonely life.
"Very well, Percy," he went on, turning to his son, "I will write to your uncle. It may be eighteen months before you get an answer from him—that is all the better. Work hard at school, lad, and learn as much as you can, for you will get but little learning out there. If your uncle does not care to have you, or thinks that things are too disturbed and unsettled out there for him to undertake the responsibility, you must fall back on the other plan and remain at Dr. Bubear's until you are seventeen. I have written letters to the friends who promised to see after your commission; you will find them in my desk. Keep them by you until you are leaving school, and then post them, that is if your wish to go into the army is unchanged. If it should be changed, Messrs. Sims & Hammond, my lawyers, will put you in the way of carrying out your wishes in whatever direction they may lie."
There had been several such talks between father and son, and Percy knew that he should not have his father long with him. He listened, therefore, gravely to his words, but without showing emotion; for although when alone he often gave way to tears, he knew that the major, himself a quiet and self-restrained man, was adverse to any display of feeling. The boy did not think the end was so near, and though prepared in some way for the blow, it was a terrible shock to him when his father, five days later, expired. He had again become a boarder at Dr. Bubear's, remaining there during the holidays as well as in school-time.
Two or three times old friends of his father had come to see him, and had taken him out for the day. This was the only change he had had, but he had worked hard and risen considerably in his place in the school. In accordance with instructions from Messrs. Sims & Hammond he had gone regularly to a riding-school, as the major, knowing the Sikhs to be a nation of horsemen, had thought it desirable that he should learn to have a good seat on a horse. The lawyers had also arranged that he should twice a week have lessons in Hindustani, and he was allowed to work at this instead of Greek. His progress was comparatively rapid, as after a time the language he had heard spoken for the first eight years of his life came back to him rapidly. He had hardly begun to look for a reply from his uncle when Dr. Bubear handed him the letter, which he doubted not contained the answer. He had hardly hoped that it would be favourable, for during the intervening time he had learned something of what was going on in the Punjaub, and knew that since Runjeet Singh's death there had been many troubles there, and that things were in a very unsettled state.
This information he had received from one of the boys whose father was a director of the East India Company. The doctor's words, however, gave him some hope, and when alone he opened the letter with less trepidation than he would otherwise have felt. Messrs. Sims & Hammond wrote as follows:—
"We have pleasure in forwarding to you a communication from Colonel Roland Groves, which was inclosed in one sent to us. In the latter he expressed his readiness to receive you, while pointing out that the position of affairs in the Punjaub was unsettled in the extreme. He doubtless speaks further of this in his letter to you. As our late client, your father, instructed us that we were to be guided entirely by your decision in the matter, we leave it in your hands, observing, however, that in the face of your uncle's statements with regard to the country, it appears to us that to go out to him at present would be an exceedingly ill-advised and rash step. Should you, however, decide upon doing so, we will, upon hearing from you, take the necessary steps for obtaining your outfit and securing your berth. A client of ours in Calcutta will, we doubt not, arrange on your arrival there for forwarding you up the country to your uncle."
Having read this, Percy broke the seal of the inclosure and read as follows:—
"MY DEAR NEPHEW,—I am filled with grief to learn from a letter, forwarded to me after his death, that your father is no more. It is many years since I saw him; but we were always capital friends, though as unlike in disposition as two brothers could be. He tells me that he has no friends in England in whose charge he could place you, and asks if I will have you out with me until you are of an age to enter the army at home, if, indeed, you do not decide to follow my example and take service with one of the native princes.
"As far as taking charge of you goes, I am perfectly ready to do so—indeed more than ready; for it will give me great pleasure to have poor Hugo's son with me and to treat him as my own, for I am childless. But the sort of career I have chosen is pretty nearly closed. The Company have most of India under their thumb, and allow no English except their own officials to take service with the protected princes. At present the Punjaub is independent, but I don't think it can remain so much longer. Since the death of the Old Lion, as Runjeet Singh was called, things have gone from bad to worse. One ruler after another has been set up, and either dethroned or assassinated. The army is practically master of the country; and one of its first steps was to demand the dismissal of all foreign officers, and the greater part of us were accordingly discharged.
"Some of them left the country; others, like myself, are living on the estates granted us by Runjeet Singh, and on the pickings, which were considerable, that had come to us during our term of service, and we are waiting to see what may be the next turn of the wheel. Life here is something like that of a baron of old in England. My house is, in fact, a fortress perched on a rock. I have a garrison of several hundred picked men, and as I am a much easier master than most of these Sikhs, who wring the last farthing from the cultivators, I could raise a thousand more at a couple of days' notice. Still the place is not impregnable; and in the present disturbed state of the land, where there is practically no law save that of might, I might be besieged by some powerful Rajah, and in the event of the place being taken there is no doubt what my fate would be.
"However, at present the great men are too intent upon quarrelling with each other to trouble about me, especially as they know that the place is not to be taken without hard knocks. Moreover, although we who take service with foreign princes have no claim whatever for protection from our own countrymen, the fact of my being an Englishman is to some extent a safeguard. However, I want to put the case fairly before you; and if you come out here I will do my best for you—I will try to fill, as far as I can, your father's place. At the same time I warn you that the position here is a perilous one, and that there is no predicting how matters may turn out. My own opinion is, however, that our people can never permit the state of things that prevails here to go on, and will be forced to interfere before long. The Sikhs think that they are fully a match for us. I know better. They are brave, but so impatient of discipline, that although they look well enough on parade they would become a mere mob when fighting began.
"I need not say that the annexation of the Punjaub by the English would suit me admirably, but there will be a time of great trouble and danger before that can be accomplished. I daresay you wonder that I do not come home, having made, as you may suppose, a fortune amply sufficient to live upon there. But I do not think I shall ever do that; I have lived too long in India to settle down to English ways. Now that your poor father has gone I have not a single friend in England, and the humdrum life would kill me in no time, after having for four-and-twenty years lived in an atmosphere of intrigue, excitement, and danger.
"Now you know all about it, Percy, and can judge for yourself. By the time you get this letter you will be almost fifteen, and, as your father tells me that he has talked the matter over with you, capable of forming some sort of an opinion. As far as money goes, do not let that influence you one way or the other. The Old Lion was one of the most liberal of paymasters; and although one spends money freely out here, I took care to transmit a considerable portion of the presents I received and the money I earned to a firm who act as my agents in Calcutta, so as to be in safety if at any time I had to make a bolt of it. That money will some day be yours whether you come out to me or not, for I have no one else to leave it to; and I am, by the same messenger who carries this letter to the British agent at Loodiana, sending instructions to my agents that in case of anything happening to me, the money is to be transferred to your name, and they are to communicate with the firm who are, as your father tells me, his lawyers in London.
"I don't know whether I am acting altogether wisely in agreeing to your coming out; and I certainly should not have done so if it had not been that your father, who must have been perfectly aware of the disturbed state of this country, evidently wished that it should be so. Well, if the life has its dangers, it has its advantages. In our army at home an officer is but one bit of a great machine; his life is a routine, and in peace time as dull as ditch-water. Here a man has, every day and every hour, need of his brains, his courage, quickness, and spirit. In war-time we fight the enemies of the Maharajah; in peace we have to combat the intrigues of our enemies and rivals, to guard against the dangers of assassination, to countermine the approaches of the enemy, to be ready for instant flight, or sudden favour and promotion.
"It is a man's life, Percy, and to a man of spirit worth a hundred existences at home. If I knew you personally I could form a better idea as to whether I ought to say to you, stay where you are, or, come here. Your father says that he thinks you have a fair share of pluck and determination, and that he considers you to be as sharp and shrewd as most boys of your age. As he was the last man in the world to speak one word beyond what he considered due, I take it that his estimate of your character is in no way too flattering.
"Think it over yourself, Percy. Can you thrash most fellows your own age? Can you run as far and as fast as most of them? Can you take a caning without whimpering over it? Do you feel, in fact, that you are able to go through fully as much as any of your companions? Are you good at planning a piece of mischief, and ready to take the lead in carrying it out? For though such gifts as these do not recommend a boy to the favour of his schoolmaster, they are worth more out here than a knowledge of all the dead languages. It is pluck and endurance, and a downright love of adventure and danger, that have made us the masters of the greater part of India, and will ere long make us rulers of the whole of it; and it is of no use anyone coming out here, especially to take service with one of the native princes, unless he is disposed to love danger for its own sake, and to feel that he is willing and ready to meet it from whatever quarter it may come. However, there is no occasion for you to make up your mind at present upon more than the point whether you will come out to me for three or four years; when it will be time enough to make your final decision. In any case you may always consider me your affectionate uncle, ROLAND."
Percy read the letter through very carefully. It was something like what he had expected, for his father had in his last days spoken much to him of his brother.
"He was cut out for the life he has led, Percy," he had said to him. "He was the leader in all mischief at school; he had any amount of energy and life. He would not have made a good officer in the king's service; for he was impatient of authority, and would have been at loggerheads with the adjutant, and perhaps with the colonel, in no time. Once he set his mind to do a thing he would do it, whatever it was; and his straight-forwardness and loyal nature would certainly win for him the confidence of any of these Indian princes, accustomed as they are to being surrounded with intriguers ready at all times to take sides with the most powerful, and to sell themselves to the highest bidder. He will tell you frankly whether he thinks you had better come out to him or stay at home. But mind, if you do go out he will expect a good deal of you, and if you don't do credit to him as well as to yourself, he will have no hesitation in packing you off home again at an hour's notice."
Percy was pleased to see that, although he warned him of the difficulties and dangers of the position, his uncle clearly did wish him to come out to him, and he had no hesitation whatever in making his decision. After reading the letter for the third time, he placed it in his pocket and went across to the doctor's.
"I expected you, Groves," the latter said, when he was shown into his study. "So your uncle is willing to receive you, but leaves the choice entirely to yourself. That is what Messrs. Sims & Hammond said in their letter to me. Evidently they think it a very foolish business, but say that as they are bound by their instructions they have only to carry them out if you decide to go, but they hope that I shall use my influence to induce you to decide upon remaining here. I have no intention of doing so. It was for your father to make his choice, and he made it. He knows the country and he knows your uncle's character, and as he thought the opening a good one for you, I do not feel that it lies within my province to influence your decision any way. I need hardly ask what the decision is. I know that you have been looking forward to the receipt of this letter, and the ardour with which you have worked at Hindustani, as your master tells me, shows that your wishes lay in that direction. So you have made up your mind to go?"
"Yes, sir. My uncle does not try to persuade me to come, but he says that he will be very glad to have me with him. He lives in a fortified castle with a lot of retainers, like a feudal baron, he says."
"Then I am quite sure no more need be said," the doctor replied smiling; "I don't think any boy could withstand the prospect of living in a fortified castle. And now I suppose you want to go and see the solicitors?"
"If you please, sir."
"Very well. I will give you leave off school this afternoon. If you find that there is a ship sailing shortly you will have many preparations to make, and as I am quite sure your thoughts will be too occupied to think of lessons you may consider them at an end. If, however, you find it will be some little time before you are able to sail, I shall expect you to put the matter altogether out of your head until the time approaches, and to work as hard as you can; though we will give up Latin, and you can devote yourself entirely to Hindustani. Let me see you when you return from the lawyer's. You know the way to London Bridge. You cross that, and anyone you meet will then direct you to Fenchurch Street. You had better have your dinner before you start."
Messrs. Sims & Hammond did not conceal from Percy their opinion that his decision to go out to join his uncle savoured of lunacy. "We are willing to carry out your father's instructions," the senior partner said, shrugging his shoulders. "We considered it our duty to express our opinion frankly on the subject to him. Having done that without avail, our duty in the matter is at an end. We find it a not unusual thing for our clients to prefer their own opinions to ours, not unfrequently to their own cost. Since we have received your uncle's communication yesterday, we have made inquiries as to the vessels loading for Calcutta, and find that the Indiaman the Deccan will sail in ten days' time. That will, I take it, be sufficient time for you to make your preparations. One of our clerks will at once go with you to take your berth, and then accompany you to some outfitter's to get all that is requisite. Your father left with us a list of the clothing and other matters he considered would be required in the event of your going."
Five minutes later Percy set out in charge of an elderly clerk, and by the close of the afternoon the passage was taken and the whole of the outfit ordered, and Percy walked back to Dulwich quite overwhelmed at the extent of the wardrobe that his father had deemed necessary for him for the voyage. Several suits of clothes had, in accordance with the instructions on the list, been ordered, of a size considerably too large for him at present. Major Groves had appended a note to the list, saying that he did not consider it necessary that a large stock of such clothes should be provided, as there would be no difficulty in having them made in India, and that, moreover, Percy would probably, to some extent, wear native attire.
The ten days passed rapidly. Percy, although nominally free from the school-room, nevertheless worked with ardour at his Hindustani.
"You have made great progress, Groves," his teacher said on the last day. "I should advise you strongly to work several hours a day at it during the voyage. Some of the passengers who are returning to India are sure to have with them native servants and ayahs, and you had best take every opportunity of speaking with them. You must remember that there are a large number of dialects, and even of distinct languages, in India; and it is probable that you will find your Hindustani of little use to you in Northern India. Still, it will greatly facilitate your learning the other languages, and most of the educated natives understand it, as, like French on the Continent, it is the general medium of communication between the natives of different parts of the country. Possibly you may find among the servants on board a native of Northern India, and may be able to commence your study of Punjaubi with him."
Two days before the vessel sailed Percy went by appointment to the lawyer's office, and Mr. Hammond took him to the shipping office and introduced him to the captain of the Deccan.
"I will give an eye to the lad as far as I can, Mr. Hammond," Captain Grierson said; "though, to tell you the truth, I would almost as lief have a monkey as a boy to look after. Still I don't feel the responsibility as great as that of my young lady passengers. Do what I may, they will indulge in flirtation, and I have to bear the brunt of the anger of the relatives to whom they are consigned in India, when they discover that my charges have already disposed of themselves on the voyage."
During those last days Percy was the object of the greatest envy and admiration of his school-fellows. To be going all the way out to India by himself was in itself splendid; but the idea that he was to live in a castle with armed retainers, and the possibility of a siege and all other sorts of unknown dangers, seemed almost too great a stroke of good fortune to fall to the lot of anybody. Most of his effects had been sent direct on board the Deccan, but he had obtained from the store where they had been deposited, the cases containing his father's rifles, double-barrelled gun and pistols, and the fact that he was the possessor of such arms greatly heightened the admiration of his companions.
But even the knowledge that the pistols were in his cabin, and the other arms stowed below with the greater portion of his belongings, scarcely sufficed to keep up his spirits as he stood, a solitary and rather forlorn boy, on the deck of the great ship as she warped out through the dock-gates.
The doctor had come down early to see him on board, but had been obliged to return at once to his duties at the school, and everyone but himself seemed to have friends to see them off. The entrance to the docks was crowded with people waving their handkerchiefs and shouting adieux to those on board, while many who were to land at Gravesend were on deck chatting with their friends. The captain stopped good-naturedly by his side for a moment as he passed along.
"All alone, Groves, eh? You will soon make friends, and I think you are really better off than those who haven't got over saying their last good-byes yet. I always think it is much better to finish all that sort of thing at home, instead of prolonging the pain. Here, Harcourt," he called to a young fellow about sixteen, in a midshipman's dress, "you haven't anything to do just at present. Give an eye to this youngster; he is going out to join an uncle in India, and is all alone on board. Introduce him to the other midshipmen when you get an opportunity. I have told the steward to mess him with you; he will be much more comfortable there than he would be with the people in the cabin aft. You will like that arrangement, won't you, Groves?"
"Very much indeed, sir," Percy said, feeling as if a great load had been lifted off his mind. Harcourt led him down between decks to the ward-room, as they called it, where the third and fourth officers and the four midshipmen messed.
"This is our palace, Groves. A bit of a hole in comparison with the saloon, but a snug little den, too, when everything is going on well and everyone is in good temper. I will tell the others that the skipper has made you free of it. The third and fourth officers are both good fellows, and I think you will find it comfortable. If you don't, you have got the saloon to fall back upon."
"I am sure to find it comfortable," Percy said confidently. "I have come fresh from school, you know, and am not accustomed to luxuries; I should find it miserable among all those grown-up people. I only wish I was going out as a midshipman instead of a passenger, so as to have something to do."
"Ah, well, you can talk to the skipper about that. Perhaps he will put you on a watch if you ask him. I don't say the work is very lively, for it isn't; but I know that I should be very sorry to have to make the voyage with nothing to do but walk about with my hands in my pockets. However, I must go on deck now. We had our breakfast long ago; we dine at two bells, that is one o'clock. If you can't hold on until then I will get our steward to bring you a biscuit."
"I can hold on very well. I had a cup of tea and something to eat before I left."
Percy followed Harcourt on deck again, and feeling now more settled as to his position, was able to look on with interest and pleasure at what was being done around him. The passengers had settled themselves a little; some had got out their chairs, and were seated chatting in groups, but the ladies for the most part were below arranging their cabins. Men in couples walked up and down the waist smoking, or leaned against the bulwarks discussing the voyage and their mutual acquaintances. Most of the sails had now been set, for the wind was favourable, and the great ship was running fast down the river and was just passing Woolwich. A sailor, bare-footed and with his trousers turned up to his knees, was sluicing the decks with water. Others were coiling up ropes. Others again, dressed more in accordance with Percy's ideas as to the neatness of a sailor's costume, were standing at the sheets and braces in readiness to trim the sails to port or starboard, as the sharp turns of the river brought the wind on one quarter or the other.
Percy was surprised at the silence that reigned among so many men, but he understood the reason when the sharp orders were shouted from the quarter-deck where the first officer was standing by the side of the pilot. Then there was a hauling of ropes and a creaking of blocks, and the towering pile of yards and sails swung over. Now and then the ship's course was suddenly changed to avoid some barge or smaller craft that got in her way, sometimes missing by the smallest margin running them down. On one or two of these occasions a mate shouted angrily down at those in charge of these craft, and these shouted as angrily back again. Once past Erith the river widened and the dangers of collision ceased, for the craft were all proceeding in the same direction; for the stream was now running too strongly for the barges to attempt to make their way against it, even by hugging the shore and keeping in back-waters. At twelve o'clock the luncheon bell rang, and the passengers disappeared from deck. But Percy was so absorbed in watching the shore that he was quite surprised when Harcourt touched him on the shoulder and said:
"There are two bells, youngster. You must keep your ears open or you will be missing your meals; for they do not ring for us, and anyone who does not turn up to his grub goes without it."
The voyage was a very pleasant one to Percy Groves. The captain did not allow him to act as a volunteer midshipman; but it was not long before he ceased to regret this decision, for he found among the four or five native servants returning to India with their masters one from the Punjaub. The man's duties on board occupied but a very small portion of his time, as he had little to do except wait on his master at meals; and he was very glad to arrange, for what seemed to Percy a ridiculously small sum, to spend five or six hours a day in conversation with him. Accordingly, after breakfast and dinner the two took seats up in the bow, Percy on a low stool, the native squatted beside him, and there spent hours, at first in learning the Punjaubi equivalents for Hindustani words, and then, as time went on, in conversation.
PERCY LEARNS THE PUNJAUBI LANGUAGE
The native knew a little Hindustani, and could get on fairly in English, so that they were able from the first to comprehend each other; and as Percy's former studies helped him materially, he picked up Punjaubi quickly, and by the end of the voyage was able to express himself in it with considerable freedom. He was always up early in the morning, and until breakfast-time chatted with any officers or midshipmen off duty, and sometimes with the early risers among the passengers—two or three of whom, when they found that the lad was a first-class passenger on his way out to India to join an uncle, became very friendly with him, being struck with the steady way in which he passed the greater portion of the day in preparing himself, as far as possible, for the life he was about to lead.
"Why don't you come aft, Groves?" one of them asked him.
"I should feel altogether strange, sir. The two officers and the midshipmen are all very kind and friendly, and we live very well there, and I feel much more at home than I should do with the ladies. I have not been accustomed to ladies. I do not remember my mother, and for years I lived altogether at school. After my father came back, and I lived at home with him, only gentlemen came to the house. I like it all very much, and should not like to change. Besides, if I got to know a good many passengers, I might not be able to spend so much time in work; and I do so want when I join my uncle to be able to be useful to him, which I could not be if I did not know anything of the language."
"Well, I am sure, Groves, your uncle ought to be pleased when you join him to know how hard you have worked. It would be a very good thing if every young cadet and writer who went out would do as you do, and prepare himself for his work out there, instead of wasting six months in lounging about, trying to make himself agreeable to the women on board. He would not only find it very useful out there, but he would find it very profitable. For a young fellow who, on arrival, was able to speak one of the languages pretty fluently, would be certain to attract the notice of the authorities, and would find himself in a responsible and well-paid berth, while the others were kept at desks in Calcutta or Bombay, or sent out as assistants to unimportant posts.
"It is my servant who is teaching you, and he tells me that you are making wonderful progress, and that you already know as much of the language as many officers who have been in India for years. I can tell you, too, that you could not have taken up a more useful dialect than Punjaubi. At present, of course, the Punjaub is independent, and the consequence is there are very few officials who have taken the trouble to learn the language; but no one doubts that the time is not very far distant when we shall have to interfere there, and in a few years we may have to take it over altogether. In that case I need hardly say that there will be a great demand for officials able to speak the language; and should you enter the Company's service, you would have every chance of obtaining a post there of greater importance and profit than you could hope to reach after years of service under ordinary conditions.
"I myself am stationed in the province south of the Sutlej, which the Sikhs at any rate consider to be a part of the Punjaub, and am pretty well acquainted with what is going on at Lahore. I don't know your uncle personally, although of course I know him well by reputation. He was one of the best of the European officers in the Sikh service; and although, like all the others, he was dismissed at the bidding of the mutinous soldiery, I have always heard him spoken well of. He was popular among the men of the two regiments that he commanded, and bore an excellent reputation among the natives generally, abstaining from the high-handed exactions by which some of the foreign officers amassed large sums of money. He is said to have been prompt in action, to have maintained excellent order amongst his men, to have protected the natives against any acts of plundering or misconduct, and the districts where he was stationed were contented and prosperous.
"Like most of the other foreign officers, he held himself altogether aloof from court intrigues. Doubtless they were perfectly right in doing so; but for all that, as matters have turned out, it might have been better for the Punjaub had these officers gone beyond their duties and thrown their whole weight into the scale in favour of some strong man who would have put a stop to the dissensions that if they continue will certainly bring ruin upon the country.
"However, their position was a very difficult one. The Sikh chieftains were always adverse to Runjeet Singh's policy of Europeanizing his army, and were extremely jealous of the favour he extended to the Europeans in his service; consequently the position of these officers was, from the moment of his death, an extremely delicate one. Moreover, it is probable that the Indian authorities would have viewed with considerable disfavour the passing of the affairs of the Punjaub into the hands of European adventurers, of whom only two or three were English. The foreigners, of course, would have had no sympathy whatever with our aims, and would indeed have been formidable opponents in case of trouble, their interests lying entirely in the maintenance of the present state of things in the Punjaub.
"You are going out to the most troubled portion of India, youngster; and I almost wonder at your uncle allowing you to come, for there will be a great convulsion there before matters finally settle down."
"So he told me when he wrote, sir. I am only going out to him till I get old enough to either go into the army or to enter the Company's service, if my father's friends can obtain a commission or a writership for me."
"Get a writership, my boy, if you have the chance. The civil service is vastly better paid than the military. Well, it may be that we shall be thrown together again out there. It is nearly time for our commissioner at Loodiana to go home for his furlough, and I think it very probable that I shall be appointed to his post during his absence, in which case I am pretty certain to be in communication with your uncle; and it may be that when the time comes I shall be able to lend you a helping hand to enter the service. If you stick to work as you are doing now, I shall certainly feel justified in recommending you as one who would prove a valuable young officer in the Punjaub if we become its masters, or on the frontier if the country still maintains its independence. In the meantime, if there be trouble in the Punjaub and you have to fly for your life, remember you will find a hearty welcome at Loodiana."
The voyage was free from any incidents of importance. The Deccan rounded the Cape without experiencing any unusually bad weather, and except for one or two minor gales the weather was fine throughout the voyage.
Most of the passengers were delighted when she dropped anchor at last in the Hooghly, but much as Percy longed to see the wonders of India, he was almost sorry when the voyage came to an end, for the time had passed very pleasantly to him. This had been especially the case towards the latter portion; for his studies had increased in interest as he acquired a knowledge of the language, and by the end of the voyage he had come to know a good many of the passengers. His first friend, Mr. Fullarton, had spoken warmly to others in favour of the quiet lad, of whom they caught sight when they happened to stroll forward to smoke a cigar, occupied so intently upon his conversations with the native beside him.
"I hate book-worms," one of them had said when Mr. Fullarton had first spoken to him on the subject. "Give me a lad with pluck and spirit, and I don't care a snap of the finger whether he can construe Euripides or solve a problem in high mathematics. What we want for India are men who can ride and shoot, who are ready at any moment to start on a hundred-mile journey on horseback, who will scale a hill fort with a handful of men, or with half a dozen Sowars tackle a dacoit and his band. What do the natives care for our learning? It is our pluck and fighting powers that have made us their masters."
"That is all very true, Lyndhurst, and I thoroughly agree with you that of all ways of choosing officials for India examinations would be the very worst; but this lad is not a bookworm at all in your sense of the word. He knows that it will be of great advantage to him when he arrives in India to be able to speak the language, and he has accordingly set himself to do it with a dogged perseverance that would do credit to a man. Look how he has utilized the voyage, while the cadets and ensigns and young civilians have thrown away six months of their lives in absolute idleness. Besides, I am sure the boy does not lack either pluck or spirit. I am up a good deal earlier than you are in the morning, and I see him going about the rigging like a monkey. He is quite as much at home up there as are any of the midshipmen, some of whom have been four or five years at sea. I saw him sky-larking the other evening with two or three of them, and I can tell you he quite held his own. He is certainly a favourite with all the officers. I should be ready to wager that when the time comes he will turn out well, whatever circumstances he may fall upon. He is a merry fellow too, and has one of the most infectious laughs I ever heard; he is no more like your ideal book-worm than I am."
The only time that Percy came aft and mixed with the other passengers was when they practised rifle or pistol shooting, sometimes at empty bottles thrown into the sea, sometimes at bottles swinging from one or other of the yardarms. This amusement was practised three or four times a week, for it was a matter of importance to every man, military or civilian, to be a good shot. It was useful in the hunting of tigers and other big game. Life might depend upon proficiency with a pistol if attacked by a fanatic or in a brush with dacoits, while for men likely to be engaged with the fierce tribesmen of the hills, or in conflict with Sikh, Beloochee, Pathan, or Afghan, a quick eye and a steady hand were essential.
Encouraged by Mr. Fullarton, Percy got out his pistols on the first day when the practice began, and never missed an opportunity afterwards. "Never mind the rifle," his friend said; "you are not likely to do tiger-hunting at present, and you will have plenty of time and opportunities for that later on. Stick to your pistol practice; you are going among a wild set of people, where the knife is readily drawn in a quarrel, and where men do not hesitate to rid themselves of a foe or a rival by assassination. Practise with your pistols steadily on every occasion here, and keep it up afterwards; it may be of more use to you than everything you have learnt at school from the day when you first went there. You know I approve of your sticking to your Punjaubi, but you can well spare an hour three or four times a week; and although it may do you more good in your future career to be a good linguist than to be a good pistol-shot, the last may be the means of saving your life, and unless you can do that, your study of languages will be so much time thrown away."
And so by the end of the voyage Percy became a very fair shot with the pistol, and indeed there were few of the passengers who could break a swinging bottle more frequently than he. He was surprised, when the anchor dropped, at the eagerness evinced by the majority of the passengers to get on shore. He himself looked on quietly, for the captain had said to him early that morning, "There is no use in your hurrying ashore, Groves; you know no one there, and an hour earlier or later will make no difference to you. I shall be going off this afternoon and will take you with me, and after I have been to the shipping office I will go with you to the people you have letters for. I know them personally, and an introduction from me will probably interest them more in you than will the formal letter those lawyer fellows are likely to have written."
The captain's introduction was of great benefit to Percy. The agent took an interest in him, and put him up at his house for a fortnight. At the end of that time he arranged for him to take a passage up country in a native craft that two or three officers had chartered to convey them to Delhi, beyond which town there would be no difficulty in hiring a boat to the point at which he would disembark, and thence travel up by road. He enjoyed his journey much, although it occupied a considerable time. He could have gone very much faster by road; but time was no particular object, and the agent thought that he would be cheated right and left in his bargains for vehicles, and might not improbably have some of his baggage stolen. Percy greatly preferred the passage by river, and when finally he had to take to a close vehicle, he congratulated himself that he had accomplished the greater part of the journey free from the dust, heat, and inconveniences of land travel. He learned that he would have done much better had he taken his passage from England to the other side of India and ascended the Indus, but he supposed that his uncle had directed him to come via Calcutta because his own agent was there and could make the arrangements for him, and he perhaps considered that the passage thence by water would be much safer than one through the recently-conquered province of Scinde.
This was indeed, as he afterwards learnt, the reason why Calcutta had been chosen instead of Bombay. There had, about the time his uncle wrote, been a number of robberies, sometimes accompanied by murder, of persons travelling up the Indus in boat, and it was for this reason the longer and safer route up the Jumna had been chosen. He left the boat at Sultanpoor, and had about a hundred miles of travel thence through Umballah and Sirhind to Loodiana, a station in what was known as the protected district. Here on the frontier of the Punjaub were stationed some British troops with a Resident, whose special duty was to keep the government informed of what was going on upon the other side of the Sutlej.
The agent had advised him on his arrival at Loodiana to go straight to the Residency.
"It is probable that your uncle will have written to the Resident about your coming, and that instructions as to the best course for pursuing your journey may be awaiting you there. It is a long way from Loodiana to his place, which lies quite in the north of the Punjaub, and but a short distance from the Afghan frontier. He will know about what time you will arrive, and may even have sent down one of his officers to accompany you on the way. He could not, of course, guess that you would know any of the languages, and it would be impossible for you, speaking nothing but English, to make your way alone through the Punjaub. Even as it is, I should advise you, should you on arriving at Loodiana find no one there from your uncle, to send up word that you have arrived, and to wait quietly, even if it be a month, till you hear from him."
CHAPTER II.
THE SHADOW OF WAR.
Leaving the cart with his luggage a short distance away, Percy entered the office of the Residency, and giving his name to a clerk said that he was desirous of speaking to the Resident.
The clerk on his return from the inner room requested Percy to follow him. An officer was sitting at a desk. He looked up with a smile as the lad entered, and Percy was astonished to see Mr. Fullarton, to whom he had said good-bye on board the Deccan.
"You did not expect to see me here, Groves?" he said as he shook him cordially by the hand.
"No indeed, sir, I had not the slightest idea that you had left Calcutta. I am glad indeed to see you."
"I only stopped there a few hours," the officer said. "As soon as I got to Government House I was told that Macpherson was ill, and that I must travel up at full speed to relieve him, so I started next morning and travelled as fast as horses could take me up the country. I have been here for more than three weeks. I have not forgotten you, and as soon as I arrived here I sent off a chit to your uncle to tell him that you had landed at Calcutta, and would probably be here in the course of a fortnight or three weeks. Two days ago one of his native officers with an escort of sixteen men turned up here. They are encamped on the plain over there. You will know the tent by a blue flag flying before it.
"I told your uncle that I had made your acquaintance on board the ship, and that I thought he would be very well pleased with you. I did not tell him anything about your having picked up so much Punjaubi, but left it for you to give him a pleasant surprise. Of course you will put up here for to-night. I shall be knocking off work in a quarter of an hour, and in the meantime you may as well go and have your bath, after which you will feel more comfortable. I will send a man across to your fellows to tell them you have arrived, and will be ready to start in the morning. By the way, I think it would be as well if you went over there at once; it would please them, and there is nothing like making a good impression. My buggy will be at the door in ten minutes, and I will drive you out there. So you had better have a preliminary wash now, and can take your bath after we get back."
Touching the bell a servant entered. Mr. Fullarton gave him orders to take Percy to a room, to have what boxes he required carried up there, and to pile the rest in the hall. By the time Percy had got rid of some of the dust of travel, and changed his travelling suit for another, the Resident was ready, and they were soon driving over the sandy plain in a light trap drawn by a wiry-looking native pony. In a few minutes they reached a small tent, before which waved a blue flag. As they approached a stir was seen. A native officer ran out of the tent, ranged his men in military order, and placing himself in front of them saluted as the Resident drove up.
"Good afternoon, Nand Chund; I have brought the colonel's nephew over to see you. He has just arrived, and will be ready to start with you to-morrow, but even before eating he wished to see the officer whom his uncle had chosen as his escort."
The Sikh raised his hand to his cap in salute to Percy, and said in his native tongue: "All happiness to the nephew of my good lord!"
"Thank you, Nand Chund," Percy replied in the same tongue, "I am sure that you must be an officer in whom my uncle has great trust and confidence or he would not have chosen you for such a mission."
The Sikh looked greatly surprised at being thus answered in his own language.
"I did not know," he said, "that the young sahib had acquired our tongue. My lord told me you would not understand me, and that I should have to explain to you by signs anything that it was necessary for you to know."
"I speak your language but poorly at present, but I hope to do so well before I have been long with you," Percy answered. "My uncle was well, I hope, when you left him?"
"He was well, sahib; though much troubled by the machinations of powerful ones who are his enemies; but his heart was light at the news that you would soon be with him."
After a little further conversation Percy drove off with Mr. Fullarton, after having, at a hint from the latter, handed to the officer twenty rupees, to be laid out in providing a feast for the troopers.
"They will all be as drunk as hogs to-night," Mr. Fullarton said; "the Sikhs are one of the few races in India who drink to excess. They do so from the highest to the lowest. The Old Lion himself used to be drunk every night. However, as they will have a good meal before setting-to at the liquor, you will see that they will all be as fresh and bright in the morning as if they had touched nothing stronger than tea. They have wonderful constitutions, and after a few hours' sleep shake off the effects of a carouse that would make an Englishman ill for three or four days."
After an hour's drive they returned to the Residency. As they entered the house Percy was greeted by his former instructor, who had been out when he first arrived, and who now conducted him to his room.
"It is far better here than on board the ship, sahib," he said. "There Ram Singh was of no account, even the common sailors pushed and jostled him; here he is Fullarton Sahib's butler, and gives orders to all the servants."
"No doubt you feel it in that way," Percy laughed. "I feel it is better because here is a great cool room and quiet, and a bath ready for me without having to wait for an hour for my turn. It is certainly very much more comfortable, but there are drawbacks too. There was no dust on board ship, no occasion for an armed guard, no fear of disturbance or troubles."
"That is so, sahib; but what would life be worth if sometimes we did not have a change and adventure. As I have told you, I have had my share of it, and now I am well content to be the head servant of the Burra-sahib. But my lord is young, and it is well for him that he should learn to bear himself as a man, and to face danger."
"Well, it may be so, Ram Singh, but just at present it seems to me that I should prefer a peaceful life for a few years."
"The sooner a cockerel learns to use his spurs, the better fighting bird he will turn out," the man said sententiously.
"Yes, that is all very well," Percy replied. "But if he gets badly mauled when he is a cockerel he is likely to shirk fighting afterwards."
After taking his bath and dressing himself in a suit of white linen Percy went down to dinner. He was pleased to find himself alone with Mr. Fullarton, who in the course of the evening told him much more than he had hitherto known of the state of affairs in the Punjaub.
"Things look very bad," he said. "But it is possible that they may go on for months and even years before the crisis comes. As to this, however, your uncle will be able to tell you more than I can. Mine is, of course, the official view of matters, gleaned from the reports of men in our pay at Lahore and other places in the Punjaub. The reports of such men, however, are always open to grave suspicion. As they take bribes from us they may take bribes from others, or may be are in some way interested in deceiving us. Your uncle will doubtless be much better informed. Although he has taken no active part in the plots and conspiracies that have been continually going on ever since the death of Runjeet Singh, he must have been more or less behind the scenes throughout, and will certainly have tried and trusted agents at Lahore.
"At present you are only interested in these matters as far as they concern the safety of your uncle and yourself. Still it is always useful in a country like this to have an insight into what is going on around you. Should there be trouble, remember that the Sikhs value courage, quickness, and decision above all things. I am not supposing for a moment that you are likely to show the white-feather, still you may be involved in danger that would shake the nerves of hardened men. The thing to remember is always to assume an air of courage and coolness. To show weakness would forfeit the respect of your own people, and would in no way alter the fate that would befall you if you fell into the hands of your foes. You know the old saying—'Assume a virtue if you have it not.' That you should be alarmed in such a position would be only natural, but you must if possible conceal the fact, and must nerve yourself to put on as great an air of coolness and indifference as you can muster. Remember there are very few men who do not feel horribly uncomfortable when exposed to great dangers, and that bravery exists not so much in having no feeling of fear as of concealing all expression of it.
"When you hear a man boasting that he has never felt fear, and that he enjoys being under fire, take my word for it he is a liar. In the heat of battle, and especially in the excitement of a cavalry charge, the sensation of fear is lost; but in the preliminary stage I never knew a man yet who, speaking honestly, would not confess that he felt horribly nervous. I will not keep you up any longer, you have had a long journey to-day and must be early in bed. You will be called before daybreak, for you may be sure your men will be here before the sun is up, and they will be gratified to find that you are prepared to be off. I need not repeat now what I told you on board the ship, that should you have to fly for your life you will meet with a warm welcome here."
It was still dark when Percy was aroused by Ram Singh.
"It is time to get up, sahib. I have water boiling, and there will be a cup of tea ready for you as soon as you have had your bath. The bheesti is outside with the water-skin."
"All right!" Percy said, jumping out of bed. "Send him in."
Taking a bath consisted of squatting down in the corner of the room, where the floor was made to slope to a hole which carried off the water poured from a skin over the head of the bather. As he dressed, Percy drank a cup of tea and ate a couple of biscuits, while Ram Singh packed up his trunk again. He had just finished when he heard the trampling of horses. He at once went out.
"You are in good time, Nand Chund."
"It would not have done to have kept the sahib waiting," the Sikh said, "though we scarce expected to find him ready for us so soon."
He then ordered the baggage-horses to be brought up, and four strong ponies were led forward. Percy's trunks, which had all been made of a size suited to such transport, were firmly lashed one on each side of each saddle. When this was done a handsome horse was brought forward for Percy. He was about to turn to enter the house to say good-bye to Mr. Fullarton, who had the night before told him he should be up before he started, when the Resident made his appearance.
"I always rise before the sun," he said, "and take a drive or a ride, and am back before it gets too hot for pleasure. Then I have a bath, change of clothes, and am ready for my work. Early morning and evening are the only times that life is enjoyable here, and unless one takes exercise then one cannot expect to keep in health. Good-bye, Groves. Tell your uncle to keep me informed of what is going on whenever he gets an opportunity. Take care of yourself, and, whatever comes, keep your head clear and your wits sharpened. Many a life is thrown away from want of prompt decision at a critical moment."
Percy shook hands with his kind friend, and then leapt into the saddle without putting his foot into the stirrup, a trick he had learned at the riding-school. A murmur of approval ran through the men, who muttered to themselves, "He understands a horse; a brisk young fellow, he will do no discredit to our lord." Then he took his place by the side of Nand Chund, waved his hand to Mr. Fullarton, and started. His companion at once put his horse to a hand-gallop.
"Surely you do not mean to travel far at this speed?" Percy said. "The pack-animals will not be able to keep up with us."
"They will follow, sahib. You see I have left four men in charge of them."
"Yes, and you have eight men here. Where are the other four, for I counted sixteen yesterday?"
"They started before dark, sahib, with the four other baggage animals. Two of them we shall find when we halt for food, when the sun gets high. They will have pitched a tent in the shade of some tree, and will have the meal cooked in readiness for us. The other two will have gone forward to the point where we shall rest for the night. They have another tent, and will have the evening meal in readiness. So it will be each day. They will travel by night, we by day. At the end of three days we shall have reached a point where care will be a necessity, and will then travel in a body."
"But from whom have we reason to fear danger?" Percy asked.
"We do not fear danger," the Sikh replied, "but we prepare to meet it. In the first place there are robbers—bands of men who acknowledge no master, such as deserters from the army, fugitives who have excited the enmity of some powerful chief, and criminals who have escaped justice. Such men form bands, rob villages, plunder well-to-do peasants, and waylay, rob, and murder travellers. These are the ordinary foes; all those who journey have to prepare for them, and they are not really dangerous to a well-armed party. Then, again, there are the bands by profession robbers, but who are for the time hired by some powerful or wealthy sirdar who wishes to gratify a private spite. Openly perhaps he would not dare to move, and he therefore remains in the background, and hires bands of robbers to do his business. Such bands are far more formidable than those composed of ordinary marauders, for they are of a strength proportioned to the object they have to accomplish, and may even number hundreds.
"It is these against whom we have to take precautions. My lord your uncle has powerful enemies, and these doubtless employ spies, and are made aware of all that passes in his stronghold. Should they have learned that he was expecting your arrival, they would of course see that your capture would be a valuable one, as they could work on him through you. At any rate the departure of my band is sure to be noticed, and though we travelled by a circuitous route we may probably have been tracked to Loodiana. Besides, they might think that I had some important mission to the British Resident there, and that I may be the bearer of some letter that might enable them to work my master's ruin, and so will spare no pains to wrest it from me.
"For the first three days we do not follow the route leading to my lord's stronghold, consequently there is little fear of an ambush; but during the last five days of the journey, when we are making for the fortress, we shall have to sleep with one eye open, to travel by unfrequented roads, and for the most part by night. The colonel would have come himself to meet you, but in the first place his visit to Loodiana would be seized upon by his enemies as a proof that he was leagued with the British, and in the second his presence is required in the castle, where, so long as he is present, there is little fear of any sudden surprise or attack, but were he away some traitor might corrupt a guard or open a gate, and thus let in the troops of an enemy."
"But there is no civil war, Nand Chund. How then could a chief venture to attack my uncle?"
"There is no war," the Sikh repeated, "but the sirdars never hesitate to collect their followers and attack a rival when they have a chance. Even in the days of Runjeet Singh this was so; for although his hand was a heavy one, it was easy to bribe those about him to place the matter in a favourable light, and a handsome present would do the rest. But since the Lion has passed away there has been no power in the land. The government has been feeble, and the great sirdars have done as it pleases them, so there is everywhere rapine and confusion. Those who are strong take from those who are weak; the traders who prospered and grew rich in the old days now fly the land or bury their wealth, and assume the appearance of poverty; the markets are deserted, and towns flourishing under Runjeet are now well-nigh deserted."
"But why have they a special animosity against my uncle?"
"First because he is a European, secondly because he is wealthy, thirdly because those who fly from the extortion or the tyranny of others find a refuge with him, lastly because the district under his charge is flourishing and prosperous while others are impoverished. Merchants elsewhere clamour for the rights that he gives those under his protection, and for taxes as light as those imposed by him in his district."
"But I thought that all Europeans had been deprived of commands," Percy said.
"That is true, but in this country a man only surrenders a profitable post when he can no longer hold it. Even Runjeet Singh's orders to governors to surrender their posts to others were often disobeyed, and he was obliged to march armies to enforce them. It is far more so now. Three years ago my lord was nominally deprived of his command of the district as well as that of his troops by the orders of the court at Lahore, but he was too wise to obey. Had he opened the gates he would assuredly have been taken a prisoner to Lahore, and there have been put to death; so he held on, and none have cared to undertake the work of turning him out.
"Still the man appointed as his successor is, we may be sure, only waiting his opportunity. He belongs to the family of one of the most powerful of the princes—one who could put ten thousand men in the field; but the colonel has nearly two thousand good soldiers, and such strong walls that with these he could repulse an open attack by three times that number. Besides this all the district is in his favour. They dread nothing so much as that another should take his place, and the news that an army was advancing would at once swell his force by three thousand fighting men. Moreover, he has allies among the hill tribes who have never, save under the pressure of force, acknowledged the authority of Lahore. It is not until his rival's relations have made some compact with another sirdar equally powerful that they are likely to attack us openly.
"Treachery, however, is always to be feared, and still more the knife of the assassin. We believe that the soldiers can be trusted to a man; but who can tell? Gold is very powerful, and among two thousand there must be some who would sell their dearest friend were the bribe sufficiently large."
"But they say that the power of the nobles is broken, and that it is the army that is master," Percy remarked.
"That is so. The soldiers are the lords of the Punjaub. Runjeet Singh's policy was to strengthen the army, which under its foreign officers was always faithful to him. After his death there was no strong hand, and the force which the Old Lion had trained to conquer his foes turned upon the country and became its master. They clamoured for the dismissal of all foreign officers, for increase of pay, for the right to choose their own leaders, and all these things they obtained. There is no longer discipline or order. They oppress the people, they dictate terms to the court, they can make or unmake maharajahs. If at present they are quiet, it is because they have everything they can ask for. Thus then there is no one to control the sirdars, who can do as it pleases them, if only they keep on good terms with the leaders of the army. That would matter but little, but when they wish to attack each other they have but to buy the services of a regiment or two and the thing is done. There lies the danger of our lord.
"Those most hostile to him would not dare to attack with their own followers, but they will sooner or later obtain the assistance of some of the military chiefs; the more so that these are hostile themselves to our lord because he is a foreigner, and at present the cry is, death to the foreigner. It is only because the colonel had so good a name in the army,—for all knew that although nowhere was discipline more strict, he was always just and kindly, that no man was punished without cause, that he had no favourites, that he oppressed none, and used all the influence he possessed with the old maharajah to obtain the pay for his men regularly,—that the military chiefs have so far failed to get the soldiers to consent to any movement against him.
"Besides, the troops are aware that he is a brave leader, and know that his men will die in his defence. Therefore, it would need a higher bribe than usual to induce them to risk their lives in a struggle from which they would gain nothing. It is far easier to revolt for extra pay than to obtain the money by an attack on the colonel's fortress. Thus, for aught we know, it may be years before serious trouble comes. It will depend upon what events occur. At present the soldiers are well content to do nothing but eat and drink at the expense of the people. In time they will become restless, and then, who knows, they may attack and plunder the strong places, or they may make war upon the English. They believe that they are invincible. They have an immense number of guns, and they think that because the Sikhs have conquered Cashmere and wrested territory from the Afghans, and hold all the country north of the Sutlej, nothing can withstand them. I know nothing, I am but an ignorant man as to all things outside our country; but I know that the English conquered Scinde although its sirdars and soldiers were many and brave, that they made themselves masters of Afghanistan, and even after their great misfortune there came back and again took Cabul and punished the Afghans; and I say to myself, Why should the Sikhs want to fight this people, who do not interfere with them, and who have always respected the treaties they have made with us?
"The Old Lion, who feared no one and who spread his rule far and wide, always kept friends with the English, although most of his chiefs would have taken advantage of their trouble in Afghanistan to go to war with them. He knew the power of the foreigners, and was always ready to engage white officers to teach his soldiers. He had a wiser head than any of the soldiers who are now ready to raise the cry of war with the English; and I know our lord's opinion is, that should we engage in a struggle with his people we shall assuredly be beaten. But what avail are these things with men puffed up with pride, and with the belief that they are invincible. It is certain that some day or other the army will clamour for war with the English, and who is there to say them nay? Not the boy, Maharajah Dhuleep Singh, nor the Ranee, his mother and guardian. Then we shall see how things will go."
"There is no doubt how things will go," Percy said. "The English will conquer the country, as they have all the other parts of India that have tried their strength with them."
"They have never fought a country like ours," the officer said a little proudly. "The army is a hundred and fifty thousand strong, and the chiefs must all join, so there will be two hundred thousand at least, and all good fighting men. They are well armed and have vast stores of guns and ammunition; they have been taught to fight in European fashion. We are told that if all the British troops in India came against them they would number scarce fifty thousand."
"That may be," Percy agreed, "but they would win—they always have won, and often against odds quite as great. Besides, when your two hundred thousand men are in the field you would have your whole fighting power, while if it were necessary England could send out army after army as strong as that now in India. How far is it to our first halting-place? The sun is beginning to get very hot."
"It is three hours' ride from Loodiana. Going at an easy pace we shall be there in another hour."
Percy was heartily glad when his companion pointed out a yellow speck under a clump of trees and told him it was the tent. "I brought with us only small tents, such as the soldiers use on their expeditions," he said, "so as to excite the less attention; they are mere shelters from the sun and night air."
"That is all we want, Nand Chund."
"They weigh only a few pounds, sahib, and can be carried by a horseman in addition to his ordinary baggage. We have three or four of them with us, so that we can at any time pitch one should we arrive at a halting-place before the baggage animals."
A quarter of an hour later Percy was lying under the shade of the tent, the sides of which were tied up to permit the air to pass freely through. In a short time tiffin was served, consisting of an excellent pillau of fowl, a dish of meat prepared with savoury condiments, followed by an assortment of delicious fruit. The drink consisted of water cooled in a porous jar, flavoured with the juice of a slightly acid fruit.
"I would have brought wine," the officer said apologetically, "but my lord your uncle said that you would not be accustomed to it, and that, riding in the sun, it was better you should take only cooling liquors. He has sent, however, a tin filled with an herb that with hot water makes a drink of which he is very fond; it is sent up to him in a chest from Calcutta. He said you would know what to do with it. He calls it tea."
"I am glad of that," Percy said. "There is no difficulty in preparing it. It needs but boiling water poured over it. I will have some this evening. I am very fond of it too, but I am accustomed to drink it with sugar and milk."
"We have sugar," the man said, "but milk will be difficult to obtain. Our master never uses it with his tea."
"I shall get accustomed to it," Percy said, "though I am sure I sha'n't like it so well at first. At what time do we move on again?"
"In about six hours, if it so pleases you. It is ten o'clock now, by four the sun will have lost some of its power."
"How many hours' ride shall we have?"
"Three hours at a canter. We are doing but a short journey to-day, as it is the first. After this we shall never be less than eight hours in the saddle; that is, if it is not too much for you."
"Oh, it is not too much," Percy replied, "but I shall feel rather stiff for the first day or two, after not having ridden for so many months; but I certainly should be glad to travel as much as possible in the evening."
"We can do that, sahib, for we shall have a moon for the next week."
"How many days will it take us altogether?"
"We are now but half a mile from Aliwal, where we shall cross the Sutlej, and shall encamp to-night near Sultanpoor. As I told you, we are to-day travelling as if going to Lahore. To-morrow we shall strike north and shall camp near Adinanagar. The next morning we shall cross the Ravee, and shall then turn to the north-west, pass by Kailapore and Sealkote, cross the Chenab and Jhelum rivers, then ride north some forty miles, where we shall strike the hills and reach our lord's district, which extends some thirty miles either way among the hills. This is the route by which I hope to travel, but if I hear of danger by the way we shall of course strike off to the right or left as may be most convenient. The journeys are from thirty to forty miles a day. Our horses could, of course, go much farther, but we must regulate our speed by that of the baggage animals. We shall be fully a week upon the road. Coming down we did it in five days in order to be in time for your arrival."
"Those eight trunks are not all filled with my things," Percy said with a laugh. "You must not think I travel about with all that luggage. Four of them are mine, the other four are filled with things my uncle wrote to his agents at home to get for him and send out with me. I have no idea what is in them."
"The baggage is nothing if we were travelling in peaceful times," the Sikh said, "but at present the lighter one goes the less likelihood of being meddled with. As it is, you will not know your boxes when we come up with the baggage animals this evening. It would never have done to be travelling through the Punjaub at present with boxes of English make; they would be looted by the first party of soldiers who came across them. I had them measured the evening you came to my tent, and carpenters were at work all night to make boxes that would contain them. Then the boxes would be sewn up in matting before the animals started this morning, and marked with native marks to the address of a merchant in Jummoo. The road for the first four days is the same as if we were going there. Thus if the matting is cut, the native box will be seen inside.
"The four men with them are dismounted, and their horses led by those who came on here ahead of us. Jummoo was the safest place that we could choose to address the packages to, for Ghoolab Singh is one of the most powerful of our chiefs; the most powerful perhaps. He is brother of Dhyan Singh, who was Runjeet Singh's chief counsellor, and uncle of Heera Singh, who succeeded his father after his murder by Ajeet Singh. He it is who is your uncle's principal enemy, as it is his son who obtained the appointment of governor of the district. Baggage directed to a merchant in Jummoo is therefore less likely to be interfered with than if intended for another town, as complaints laid before Ghoolab by an influential merchant might cause inquiries to be made and punishment to be dealt out to those who have interfered with his goods in transit. Ghoolab's name is still powerful, even with the soldiers, and his influence among the leaders is quite sufficient to obtain some sort of redress for injuries committed upon those wealthy enough to pay for his protection."
"It seems a curious state of things to anyone coming straight from England," Percy said, "where the law protects everyone, and where the richest and most powerful dare not wrong the poorest peasant."
"That is good," the Sikh said thoughtfully, twirling his moustache, "but in that case how can the rich obtain any advantage from their money? How, indeed, can they become rich?"
"By the rents they obtain from those who cultivate their estates; from mines and from money invested in public funds or companies."
"And what do they find for their retainers to do?"
"They have no retainers; that is, no armed retainers. Of course, they have servants who do the service of their houses and look after the stables and gardens and so on, but they do not carry arms themselves, nor do any of their servants."
"But if they are wronged by a neighbour, what do they do then?"
"They simply go to the courts of law for redress, just as anyone else would do. The cases are heard and the decisions given by the judges, and the richest man has to obey them just the same as the poorest."
"It sounds very good," the Sikh said thoughtfully, "but it seems to me that your country must be a very bad one for fighting men and those who live by adventure."
"Those who want to fight can enter the army and fight the battles of their country abroad, while those fond of adventure can go to sea or can visit wild countries, or can go out to the colonies, where it is a hard, rough life, but where an active man can acquire wealth."
"Now the sahib had better lie down and get a sleep till it is time to be moving," Nand Chund said rising. "My men are all asleep already, it is getting too hot even to talk."
CHAPTER III.
AT THE CASTLE.
For four days the journey was pursued without incident. They had brought with them a sufficient store of provisions for the journey, and travelled by by-paths, avoiding villages as much as possible, halting for five or six hours in the middle of the day, and performing the greater portion of the distance after sunset. Just as they had started for their evening ride on the fifth day two horsemen overtook them and reined up as they did so.
"We have missed our path," one said, "can you tell us how far it is to a place where we can find shelter for the night?"
"Ten miles farther you will find yourselves in the main road, a mile from Sealkote.
"If you are bound thither we shall be glad to ride with you for protection," one said. "There are many parties of budmashes about, but they will hardly interfere with so strong and respectable a company."
"We travel slowly," Nand Chund said, "and shall not reach Sealkote to-night. When the beasts are tired we shall halt."
"We are in no hurry, and do not care whether we reach the town to-night or to-morrow morning, therefore if you have no objection we will share your bivouac. Far better to lose a few hours than to run the risk of having our throats cut."
"As you will," Nand Chund said. "You are very welcome to stay with us, if it so pleases you."
As they rode the strangers chatted with Nand Chund, Percy reining back his horse and riding among the men. After travelling about five miles Nand Chund ordered a halt, the baggage animals were unloaded, a tent pitched, and two of his men began to prepare a meal, while the others looked to the horses. The two strangers also dismounted and spoke for a time together, then one said to the Sikh officer:
"You will think that we do not know our own minds, but we have concluded that as the moon is bright and our horses fairly fresh we will push on to Sealkote."
"It is for you to decide," Nand Chund said. "You are welcome to stay with us, and free to ride on if you prefer it." After a few inquiries about the way the two men mounted and rode on. As soon as the sound of the horses' hoofs became faint Chund spoke to one of his men, who immediately left the party and glided away to the right.
"I have sent him to watch them," Nand Chund said to Percy; "I warrant they will halt before they are gone half a mile. My man will keep in the fields till he gets near them, and will bring us word if they move on."
"What do you suspect them to be?"
"I have no doubt they are enemies. They may have been on our track since we started, or only for the last day's march, but they are watching us no doubt."
"What makes you think so, Nand Chund?"
"Many things. It was unlikely that they would be upon this by-path instead of on the main road. That they should offer to stop with us when they were so well mounted, was singular, also their change of intentions when they found that we were going to halt. Their conversation too was not that of honest men."
"What did they talk about?"
"They said they were coming from Lahore, and talked of all the doings there."
"What was the harm in that?" Percy asked in surprise.
"Only that it was natural when falling in with a party like ours that they should have asked many questions. Whence we came, and whither were we going? What merchandise we carried? Were we trading on our own account, or were we carrying goods for some trader? How was it that I had such a strong armed party with me? These are the questions honest men would ask, but they spoke only of their own doings and asked no word about ours. I have no doubt whatever that they know who I am and who you are, and that all they really wanted to learn was where we intended to stop. Now they are, I am certain, watching us, or probably one may have ridden off to carry the news and fetch their band, while the other remains to see that we do not move our camp."
"What are you going to do, Nand Chund?"
"I shall wait till Ruzam returns. If they should have ridden straight on we shall move at once; if they both remain on watch, and it seems that they are likely to do so till morning, I shall, when Ruzam returns, go off with four of the men, and making a circuit come down upon them from behind and despatch them. If one goes and the other remains on watch, Ruzam can be trusted to give a good account of him before he returns here."
"But it would be terrible to kill two men who have not actually harmed us," Percy said, shocked at this his first experience of the customs of the Punjaub.
"They have not done us much harm yet," Nand Chund said grimly; "but they are endeavouring to draw us into an ambush, which will cost us our lives and you your liberty, and perhaps our lord his fortress and his life. Therefore I shall have no more hesitation in killing them than I should in shooting a lurking tiger."
Three hours passed, and then Ruzam glided into the camp.
"What is your news, Ruzam?"
"They have just left," the man said; "I have been close to them all the time listening to their talk. They have been watching you from a spot half a mile away. They would have come up to hear what you were saying, but neither would stay behind alone, saying what was true enough, that we also might be watching them, and if they separated they might be taken singly. For the same reason neither would stay while the other rode forward. I could have shot one, but I could not have been sure of killing the second before he rode off, and so thought it better to be quiet. At last they concluded that you had really encamped for the night, and that they could safely ride off with the news. It was unfortunate that the moonlight was so bright, for it prevented my crawling up close enough to attack them before they could mount."
"Did you hear what roads are likely to be beset?"
"No, they did not enter into particulars; but they said that they would be sure to have you, as there would be parties on every road. It is the young sahib they are anxious to capture; and the orders were strict that he was to be taken unharmed, and that all the rest of us were to be killed or taken prisoners."
"We will delay no longer," Nand Chund said. "We will leave the tent standing and put some fresh wood on the fire. They can be at Sealkote in an hour, and perhaps will return with a party without delay. Load up the horses and let us be off. Did you hear them say where they have come from, Ruzam?"
"Yes, sahib, there were six of them at Loodiana. They must have got news from someone in the fortress of the object of our journey, they arrived there on the day after you did. The morning we started one man was sent off with the news while the others followed us, not together but singly, so that every road we could take should be followed and our steps traced. Each night one man has been despatched with the news of our halting-places."
"You see, sahib," Nand Chund said to Percy, "I was not wrong in saying that our ride would be a dangerous one, and truly so far our enemies have been more than a match for us; now we must see if we cannot double upon them."
As soon as the baggage was packed the party mounted, and to Percy's surprise the officer led the way back along the road by which they had come.
"It is of no use our going forward," he said. "Doubtless they will take some little time in getting the members of the band, who are at Sealkote, together and making a start—we can calculate on at least an hour for that—but that only gives us three hours' start. They will, I hope, make sure that we have continued our journey, and will ride on fast so as to overtake us before daylight. We will go back for a mile and then turn off across the fields by some country track, and we may hope before we have travelled very far to hit upon another leading in the direction we want to go. We shall have the moon for another five or six hours, and after that we will travel by torchlight. We have brought some torches with us. One will be enough to show us any ditches or nullahs when we are proceeding across country, when we are on a road we can do without it."
Two of the men dismounted, and giving their horses to their comrades went on ahead searching for some track across the fields. After half an hour's riding one was found, it was a mere pathway used by peasants, and turning off on it the party followed it in single file.
"Would it not be better to leave the baggage behind us," Percy asked the officer. "Then we could go on at a gallop. It would be a nuisance to lose all the things, but that would be of no odds in comparison to our lives."
"No, sahib, the colonel's boxes may be of importance. And at any rate, it has not come to that yet. If we are attacked and have to ride for it, of course we must leave them, for whatever may be in the boxes the colonel sets your life at a much higher value. But I hope now we shall outwit them. The road we were travelling will be known to them, and it is along that they will be gathering, therefore we may well give them the slip. We will cross the Chenab at daylight at Gazerabad, and cross the Jhelum by boats a few miles below Jetalpore. They would be on the watch for us there. Then I think we shall be safe till we get near the colonel's fortress. That of course will be the most dangerous portion of the journey, since they will know by whatever road we travel it is for that point we are making. We will halt in a grove, and I shall send two of the men off on horseback by different roads. We may calculate that one of them at least will reach the fortress, and the colonel will then send out a force sufficient to beat off any attack likely to be made, for, as our strength is known, some thirty or forty men will have been considered ample for the work."
"That seems a very good plan," Percy agreed. "I wonder that they should dare to venture into my uncle's district, where, as you say, the people are all favourable to him."
"There are many valleys and nullahs in which they could conceal themselves; besides, much of the country is uncultivated, and they could lie hid for a fortnight without much fear of being discovered if they took provisions with them and encamped near water."
All night the journey continued. Percy was so sleepy that he several times dozed off in his seat, and woke with a start, finding himself reeling in the saddle. At times, however, he was obliged to pay attention to their course, for it was often a mere track, that even the men walking ahead had difficulty in following. There were deep nullahs to be crossed, and once or twice wide water-courses, dry now, but covered with stones and boulders. These were, as Nand Chund told him, foaming torrents in the wet season, and at such times quite impassable. Occasionally the track turned off in a direction quite different to that they were following; and they then directed their course by the stars, a man going ahead with a torch until they came again upon cultivated ground and struck upon a path leading in the right direction.
The two rivers were crossed safely, and they then rode north for two days.
Percy felt thankful indeed when, after pushing on all that last night, Nand Chund, upon arriving at a clump of bushes, decided to halt just as daylight was beginning to break in the east. The two best-mounted men received their instructions, and at once rode on at a brisk pace, while the rest entered the bushes and dismounted, the men with their long knives clearing a space sufficiently large for the party. A fire was lit and food cooked, then four men were placed on watch at the edge of the thicket, and the rest threw themselves down to sleep. It seemed to Percy that he had hardly closed his eyes, but he knew he must have slept for some hours, from the heat of the sun blazing down upon him, when Nand Chund put his hand on his shoulder and said:
"All is well, sahib. A party of horse are approaching, and I doubt not that the colonel is with them."
Percy leapt to his feet and made his way to the edge of the thicket.
"They are our men," Nand Chund said; "they are riding in regular lines." A minute or two later he added, "There is the colonel himself at their head—the officer with the white horse-hair crest to his helmet."
Unless so informed Percy would have had no idea that the tall bearded man in silk attire was an Englishman, until he leapt from his horse beside him, exclaiming heartily, "Well, Percy, my boy, I am glad indeed to see you safe and sound. I have been in a fidget about you for the last week; for I have had news that bands of strange horsemen had been seen on the roads, and there were reports that some of them had entered my district, though where they had gone none knew. However, all is well that ends well. I was delighted when two fellows rode into the fortress this morning, within a few minutes of each other, with the news that you had got thus far, and were hiding here till I came out to fetch you. You may imagine we were not long in getting into the saddle. Well, this has been a rough beginning, lad; but your troubles are at an end now. You may be sure that there is no foe near at hand who will venture to try conclusions with four hundred of the best troops in the Punjaub. I hardly fancied that you would have come, Percy. I don't know when I have been so pleased as when I received the letter from Mr. Fullarton at Loodiana, saying that you had come out with him, and would probably be there in a few days."
"I was very glad to come, uncle,—very. It did not take me five minutes to decide about coming after I had read your letter."
"You are something like what I expected you to be, Percy, although not altogether. I fancied that you would be more like what your father was at your age. It seems but yesterday that we were boys together, though it is so many years ago. But I don't see the likeness—I think you are more like what I was. Your father, dear good fellow as he was, always looked as if he had a stiff collar on. Even from a boy he was all for method and order; and no doubt he was right enough, though I hated both. Well, you may as well mount, and you can tell me about your voyage as we ride back. You have done your work well, Nand Chund. I knew that I could safely trust the boy in your charge. Have you been troubled by the way?"
"Only once have we absolutely seen them, sahib;" and the officer gave the colonel a short account of the incident of the pretended travellers.
"So they were at Loodiana the day after you arrived? Then someone must have sent off word of the object of your mission as soon as you started. We must find out these traitors, Nand Chund, and make an end of them. However, we will talk that over afterwards."
By this time the horses had been led out from the thicket. The colonel watched Percy critically as he mounted, and nodded approvingly as he sprang into the saddle.
"That is right, lad; I see that you are at home on a horse. We shall make a Sikh of you before long. How have you got on with him, Nand Chund? You must have been quite in a fog, Percy, as to what was going on. Your tongue must have had quite a holiday since you left Loodiana."
"The young sahib speaks Punjaubi very fairly, colonel, and we had no difficulty in understanding each other."
"Speaks Punjaubi!" the colonel repeated. "You must be dreaming, Nand Chund. How can the boy have learned the language. I suppose you mean Hindustani—though how he could have picked that up in an English school is more than I can understand. There was no such thing heard of when I was a boy."
"It is Punjaubi he speaks, colonel, though he told me he could also make himself understood in Hindustani," the officer said in the native language.
"Nand Chund tells me that you can speak Punjaubi, Percy, but in truth I can hardly believe him."
"I don't speak it very well yet, uncle, but I can get on with it. I worked five or six hours a day on the voyage out with a Punjaubi servant of Mr. Fullarton. I thought it would be of great use for me to know something of the language when I arrived. As to the Hindustani, I have had a master at school twice a week for more than a year before I sailed."
"I am delighted, Percy. You must have worked hard indeed to speak as fluently as you do, and it does you tremendous credit. I own I should never have thought of spending my time on board ship learning a language. You do take after your father more than me, after all; it is just the sort of thing he would have done. Well, I am pleased, boy,—very pleased. Mr. Fullarton spoke in very favourable terms about you when he wrote. I wondered then how he should know anything about a boy of your age who chanced to be a fellow-passenger, but thought it was merely a bit of civility on his part, and meant nothing, I suppose he heard from his servant that you were working up the language with him, and so came to take an interest in you. Perhaps you sat near him at table?"
"No, uncle; I took my meals with the second and third officers and the midshipmen. The captain offered to put me there; it was so much nicer than going among a lot of grown-up people, and of course it gave me a great deal more time for work. But towards the end of the voyage I came to know most of the passengers. Mr. Fullarton was the first to be kind to me. He used very often to come forward to where I was working with Ram Singh—that was the name of his servant,—and he would explain things about the grammar that I could not understand and Ram Singh could not tell me, for of course he didn't know anything about grammar."
"Well, you can ride, you can talk Punjaubi fairly, and you know something of Hindustani. That is a capital beginning, Percy. Have you any other accomplishments?"
"Nothing that I know of," Percy laughed, "except that on the way out I practised pistol-shooting; and before we got to Calcutta there were not many on board who shot much better. Mr. Fullarton made me practise from the first, and told me that to shoot straight was one of the most valuable accomplishments I could have in India."
"He was perfectly right," the colonel said heartily. "A quick eye and hand with the pistol are invaluable, especially in a country like this, where assassination is the most ordinary way of getting rid of an enemy. My pistol has saved my life several times, and the fact that I am a dead shot has no doubt saved me from many other such attempts. Even the most desperate men hesitate at undertaking a job which involves certain death; for even if they planted a dagger between my shoulders before I had time to lay hands on the butt of a pistol, they would be lulled to a certainty by my men. You must keep that up, lad, till you can hit an egg swinging at the end of a string nine times out of ten at twelve paces. It is very seldom that you want to use a pistol at a longer range than that. Now, am I at all like what you expected me to be?"
"I don't think I had formed any distinct idea about you, uncle. Father said you were taller than he was and bigger, and of course I expected you to be very sunburnt and brown, and that perhaps you would have a beard, as most of the Sikhs have beards; I thought too, that perhaps you would dress to some extent like a native; but I did not expect to see you altogether like a Sikh."
"We all adopted the native costume to a great extent," the colonel said. "Of course there was always a prejudice against us, and anything like a European dress would have constantly kept it before the minds of our men that we were foreigners. The dress, too, was lighter and more easy than our own in a climate like this, and I don't think anyone could deny for a moment that it is a good deal more picturesque."
The colonel was indeed in the complete garb of a Sikh warrior of rank. On his head he wore a close-fitting steel cap, beautifully inlaid with gold. A slender shaft rose three inches above the top, and in this was inserted a plume of white horsehair, that fell down over the helmet. From the lower edge of the steel cap fell a curtain of light steel links, covering the forehead down to the eyebrows, and then falling so as to shield the cheeks and the neck behind. In front was a steel bar, inlaid like the helmet. This was now pushed up, but when required it could be lowered down over the nose almost to the chin, so as to afford protection against a sword-stroke from the side. A robe of thickly-quilted silk fell from the neck to the knees. Round the body were four pieces of armour, of work similar to the helmet. One of these formed a back, and the other the front piece, two smaller plates cut out under the arm connected these together.
Across the back was slung a shield of about eighteen inches in diameter, also of steel inlaid with gold. In action it was held in the left hand, and not upon the arm like those in use in Europe in the middle ages. The arms themselves were protected by steel pieces from the elbow to the wrist, the hands being covered by fine but strong link-mail, kept in place by straps across the palm of the hand. The legs were covered by long tightly-fitting white trousers reaching to the feet. The sash of purple with gold embroidery bristled with pistols and daggers. All the armour, although strong and capable of resisting a sword-cut or a spear-thrust, was very light, the steel being of the finest temper and quality. The costume was an exceedingly picturesque one, and showed off the colonel's powerful figure to advantage.
The officers were very similarly attired. The soldiers were for the most part dressed in chain-armour, with shields larger than those of the officers, but of leather with metal bosses; some wore turbans, others steel caps.
"What do you think of my men, Percy?" the colonel asked, as he reined in his horse and watched the horsemen trot past four abreast.
"They are fine-looking men," Percy said doubtfully, "but they would look a great deal better if they were all dressed alike."
"Ah! that is your European notion, Percy. No doubt to an English eye, accustomed to our cavalry, they do look rather a scratch lot, but dress makes no difference when it comes to fighting. From the first the Maharajah's European officers had to abandon the idea of introducing anything like uniformity in dress. The men clothe themselves; and in addition to the expense it would be to them to get new clothes on joining, their feeling of independence would revolt against any dictation on such a subject. It has all along been very difficult to get them to submit to anything like European discipline, but to attempt to introduce uniformity of garb would produce a revolution among them. There is no such thing as uniformity even in the attire of the most highly-favoured troops of the native princes, and the appearance of their escort and retinue is varied in the extreme.
"Richly-dressed nobles ride side by side with men whose armour and trappings have come down to them from many generations. Some carry lances, some matchlocks, some only swords; some are pretty nearly naked to the waist, others are swathed up to the eyes in gaudy-coloured robes. So that a man's arms are serviceable, and he is willing to learn his drill, is obedient to discipline and of good behaviour, I care nothing for his clothes; though as far as I can I discourage any from dressing more showily than the rest, and of course insist that all are fairly dressed in accordance with their notions. You must remember that until the days of Marlborough there were nothing like uniforms in European armies, especially among the cavalry. And even in his time there was very considerable latitude in the matter of dress."
"I suppose I shall have to dress in Sikh fashion, uncle?"
"It will be certainly better, lad. Indoors their dress is easy and flowing, and you will find it comfortable. Your European dress will at once mark you out, and should there be troubles your chances of escape would be vastly greater in Sikh costume, than in anything which would at once point you out as a European. In the course of a year you will speak the language like a native, for, as you may suppose, you will hear nothing else, except when we are alone together. And indeed to me Punjaubi now comes much more naturally than English. If it were not that I have always made a point of getting a box of European books sent up from Calcutta whenever an opportunity offers, I should almost have forgotten my native tongue. There, that is the fortress. It looks fairly strong, does it not?"
They had just ascended a brow, and as they did so the stronghold came suddenly into view. It stood on a rocky spur, running out from the hills behind it. This broke suddenly away at the foot of the walls, and seemed to Percy to be almost perpendicular on three sides.
"It looks tremendously strong, uncle. Surely nobody could scale those rocks?"
"No; except by treachery it is impregnable on the sides you see, or at any rate on two of them. On the side facing us it is very steep, indeed almost inaccessible. There is a footpath cut for the most part in the rock. It zigzags up the face, and there is a small gateway, though you can't see it from here, by which the fortress is entered from this side. There are three places that can only be climbed by ladders, and when these are removed nothing, unless provided with wings, could get up. The weakest side is, of course, that which we don't see, where the spur runs up to the hills behind. I have taken every pains to strengthen it there, and have blasted a cut thirty feet deep and as many wide, at the foot of the wall across the shoulder. I have, indeed, very largely added to the strength of the whole place since I was first appointed governor ten years ago. At that time I only resided here occasionally, sometimes moving about in the towns and villages, at others absent, often for months, with my three regiments, on some military expedition. But I foresaw that there would be troubles at Runjeet Singh's death, and quietly and steadily prepared for them.
"I knew the weak points of the place. For when I was first appointed, my predecessor, as is often the case, declined to hand over the fortress to me, and I had to capture it. It was no easy matter then, but I managed one night with a hundred picked men to scale the rock unnoticed, when a storm was raging. Then we threw up a rope with a grapnel to the top of the wall, drew up a rope-ladder, and so got a footing; we crept along the walls with scarcely any opposition, for the sentries were cowering under shelter of the parapet, and we reached the gate before the garrison had taken the alarm. The rest was easy; we threw open the gates, fired a couple of guns as a signal, and the main body of my troops, who had moved unperceived to a point a quarter of a mile away, hurried up, and we were speedily masters of the place. I at once resolved that I would do my best to avoid being turned out in so summary a manner. So far I have succeeded. There have been two or three attempts to take the place, but none of them were serious, for I take care that my sentries don't sleep at their posts, and it would need a regular siege by a large force to take it; I mean, of course, by Sikhs. The British have proved over and over again that rock fortresses considered impregnable can be taken without serious difficulty by determined men."
"How large is it, uncle?"
"It is about a quarter of a mile from end to end, and at the widest point it is about two hundred and fifty yards from wall to wall. So there is plenty of room not only for my troops but for a large number of fugitives from the country round. I have grain stored away sufficient for a year, even if the strength of the garrison was doubled. Water was of course the principal difficulty. There were some large tanks when I took possession, but I have greatly added to them. Of course all the water that falls on the roofs in the rainy season is carefully collected and stored; and in addition, I have constructed troughs to a streamlet six miles away in the hills. This brings me down sufficient water for our daily needs without touching the supply in the tanks, which is stringently preserved in case of a siege, for, of course, an enemy would as a first step intercept my supply from the hills.
"The supply in the tanks is certainly ample for many months, and would of course be replenished in the wet season, so I have no anxiety on that head. I always keep a considerable amount of salt in the magazines, and on the approach of an enemy, cattle would be driven in, slaughtered, and salted; but in fact meat is a matter of minor necessity here, for although the Sikhs have no objection to eat it, they can do very well without it, and are perfectly content if they can get plenty of the native grain and a proportion of rice."
The road wound up the valley under the foot of the rock on which the fortress stood, and then climbed the hill by zigzags cut at an easy gradient until it reached the level of the shoulder, which it followed down to the castle, a quarter of a mile away. The wall on this side was much higher than that on the other faces. The gate was flanked by two massive stone towers, and two others rose at the angles. A drawbridge was lowered as they approached, and over this they crossed the deep fosse that had been cut by the colonel. Ten cannon were placed on the wall and four on each of the towers.
"It would be a hard nut to crack, Percy," his uncle said, as they rode into the gateway.
"It would indeed, uncle. No wonder you have been left here unmolested."
Passing through the gateway they were faced by another wall, which extended in a semicircle in front of them. Four cannon frowned down on the gateway from embrasures, and the parapet, which was very high, was closely loopholed for musketry. Turning to the right, they rode between the end of this wall and the main one, and then turning sharply to the left rode into the town. Percy had expected to find only a barrack, but there was a main street with shops on either side, where commodities of all kinds were sold. Behind these were the buildings where the troops were lodged, and in the centre of the town stood a large and handsome stone building, the residence of the governor. Everything was scrupulously clean and tidy. Women were drawing water from conduits, children played about unconcernedly, and everything looked so quiet and peaceful that Percy wondered vaguely whether the inhabitants shared to any extent in the doubts that his uncle had expressed to him of his ability to hold the place against such a force as might possibly be brought against it.
CHAPTER IV.
A RAID FROM THE HILLS.
As the party rode through the street the people looked up in surprise at the young European riding by the side of the governor. It was evident that though the secret of his coming had reached the ear of an enemy, it had been well preserved in the town.
On his alighting at the entrance to the governor's house the colonel said, "Now I will introduce you to my wife. She is most anxious to see you, and is quite delighted at the thought of your coming."
Passing through the great hall, where the colonel received visitors, listened to complaints, and administered justice, they passed through a richly-carved doorway into an inner room. Here was a table and writing-desk, with a large English arm-chair.
"I never could fall into the Eastern custom of sitting tailor-ways and writing on a pad on my knees, but have kept, as you see, to a table and comfortable chair. This we may call my private business sanctum."
Drawing aside a heavy curtain in one corner of the room he entered an ante-chamber, whose walls were covered with elaborate carvings. A cushioned divan ran round it, and there was a thick carpet over the greater part of the marble floor. Another curtain was drawn aside, and they then entered the principal room of the zenana. A lady some forty years old was seated on a divan, and rose at once as they came in.
"Welcome back, my lord," she said to the colonel. "I knew that with the force you took with you there was no reason for anxiety, but in spite of that I was anxious. I always am when you go beyond the walls. One can never say what will happen."
"You are a great deal more nervous for me than you are for yourself," the colonel said. "This is my nephew, who has come so many thousand miles to be with us. You can speak to him in your own tongue, for I find, to my astonishment, that he has studied it on board ship during the voyage to such good purpose that he can get along very fairly."
"I am glad of that," she said, holding her hand out to Percy. "I have been wondering how I should talk with you when my lord is not here to interpret, and how I should be able to manage things when you understood nothing that was said. I am very glad you have come. I have no children, and hitherto my lord has not cared to follow our custom and to adopt one. Not that I have been lonely for eight years, for since the death of Runjeet Singh my lord has always dwelt with me, and I have never been alone, except when he made short tours through his district. Now you will be as a son; and even when he is away I shall feel that there is someone whom I can trust entirely to look after the defence of the fortress during his absence."
"I am sure there are numbers of my officers whom you can trust entirely, Mahtab."
"There are many whom we think we can trust, Roland; but who can say with certainty? Have we not seen at Lahore how one after another proved faithless to their benefactors? Who can say of another man that he cannot be bought? Percy is young yet—he is but fifteen, you tell me—but in another three years he will be grown up, and will become your right hand, providing he is not tired of our life here."
"Oh, there is no fear of that!" Percy broke in. "There will be heaps for me to do. In the first place, I have to learn to speak the language perfectly, then I have to acquire the manners and customs of the people and how to drill troops. I hope, uncle, you will begin soon to teach me to ride as well as the Sikhs do."
"That part is not difficult, Percy. The Sikhs may be called a nation of horsemen, but it would be more true to say that they are a nation of men who ride horses. I admit that they have firm seats, and can sit their horses up and down hill in the roughest country, but as for taking a leap either wide or high they would not be in it with English cavalry-men. What with their peaked-up saddles and their short stirrups and sharp bits they check a horse's speed and spoil his temper, while they themselves have no freedom of action, and could no more stand up in their saddles to deliver a downright blow than they could fly. I had a fair seat on horseback when a boy, and used to ride to hounds, and during the short time I was in the army rode more than one steeplechase, but I was certainly nothing particular as a horseman. Here I am considered extraordinary. I hope in a short time to make you as good a rider as I am. Nor will you be long in learning your drill, for that is simple enough, being little more than forming from column into line and from line into column.
"A regiment that can do that is considered as fairly competent. I have got my men to charge in fair order, instead of each man going off at a bat as fast as his horse can lay foot to the ground, and with that I am satisfied. It is useless to teach them skirmishing and outpost work, for these seem to come naturally to them. Therefore all the drill that there is to be learnt may be acquired by a sharp fellow in the course of a week. Indeed, recruits generally take their places in the ranks at once, and soon get hustled into knowing what they have got to do.