STORY ONE, CHAPTER FIFTEEN.
"This is contrary to rule. As commandant, I ought to stay in the fort;but I've no one to give the leadership to, so I take it myself," saidLieutenant Leigh; "and now, my lads, make ready--present! That's well.Are all ready? At the word `Fire!' Privates Bigley and Smith fire atthe two gunners. If they miss, I cry fire again, and Privates Bantemand Grainger try their skill; then, at the double, down on the guns.Smith and I spike them, while Bantem and Grainger cut the cords. Mindthis: those guns must be spiked, and those two prisoners brought in; andif the sortie is well managed, it is easy, for they will be taken bysurprise. Hush! Confound it, men; no cheering."
He only spoke in time, for in the excitement the men were about tohurray.
"Now, then, is that gate unbarred?"
"Yes, sir."
"Is the covering-party ready?"
"Yes, sir."
My hand trembled as he spoke; but the next instant it was of a piecewith my gun-stock. There was the dry square, with the sun shining onthe two guns that must have been hot behind the poor prisoners' backs;there stood the two gunners in white, with their smoking linstocks,leaning against the wheels, for discipline was slack; and there, thirtyor forty yards behind, were the mutineers, lounging about, and smokingmany of them. For all firing had ceased, and judging that we should notrisk having the prisoners blown away from the guns, the mutineers cameboldly up within range, as if defying us, and it was pretty safepractice at some of them now.
I saw all this at a glance, and while it seemed as if the order wouldnever come; but come it did, at last.
"Fire!"
Bang! the two pieces going off like one; and the gunner behind CaptainDyer leaped into the air, while the one I aimed at seemed to sink downsuddenly beside the wheel he had leaned upon. Then the gate flew open,and with a rush and a cheer, we, ten of us, raced down for the guns.
Double-quick time! I tell you it was a hard race; and being without mygun now--only my bayonet stack in my trousers' waist-band--I was therefirst, and had driven my spike into the touch-hole before LieutenantLeigh reached his; but the next moment his was done, the cords were cut,and the prisoners loose from the guns. But now we had to get back.
The first inkling I had of the difficulty of this was seeing CaptainDyer and Harry Lant stagger, and fall forward; but they were saved bythe men, and we saw directly that they must be carried.
No sooner thought of than done.
"Hoist Harry on my back," says Grainger; and he took him like a sack;Bantem acting the same part by Captain Dyer; and those two ran off,while we tried to cover them.
For don't you imagine that the mutineers were idle all this while; not abit of it. They were completely taken by surprise, though, at first,and gave us time nearly to get to the guns before they could understandwhat we meant; but the next moment some shouted and ran at us, and somebegan firing; while by the time the prisoners were cast loose, they weredown upon us in a hand-to-hand fight.
But in those fierce struggles there is such excitement, that I've nowbut a very misty recollection of what took place; but I do recollectseeing the prisoners well on the way back, hearing a cheer from our men,and then, hammer in one hand, bayonet in the other, fighting my waybackward along with my comrades. Then all at once a glittering flashcame in the air, and I felt a dull cut on the face, followed directlyafter by another strange, numbing blow, which made me drop my bayonet,as my arm fell uselessly to my side; and then with a lurch and astagger, I fell, and was trampled upon twice, when as I rallied once, ablack savage-looking sepoy raised his clubbed musket to knock out mybrains, but a voice I well knew cried: "Not this time, my fine fellow.That's number three, that is, and well home;" and I saw Measles drivehis bayonet with a crash through the fellow's breast-bone, so that hefell across my legs.--"Now, old chap, come along," he shouts, and an armwas passed under me.
"Run, Measles, run!" I said as well as I could. "It's all over withme."
"No; 'taint," he said; "and don't be a fool. Let me do as I like, foronce in a way."
I don't know how he did it, nor how, feeling sick and faint as I did, Imanaged to get on my legs; but old Measles stuck to me like a truecomrade, and brought me in. For one moment I was struggling to my feet;and the next, after what seemed a deal of firing going over my head, Iwas inside the breastwork, listening to our men cheering and firingaway, as the mutineers came howling and raging up almost to the verygate.
"All in?" I heard Lieutenant Leigh ask.
"To a man, sir," says some one; "but Private Bantem is hurt."
"Hold your tongue, will you!" says Joe Bantem. "I ain't killed, nor yethalf. How would you like your wife frightened if you had one?"
"How's Private Lant?"
"Cut to pieces, sir," says some one softly.
"I'm thankful that you are not wounded, Captain Dyer," then saysLieutenant Leigh.
"God bless you, Leigh!" says the captain faintly: "it was a brave act.I've only a scratch or two when I can get over the numbness of mylimbs."
I heard all this in a dim sort of fashion, just as if it was a dream inthe early morning; for I was leaning up against the wall, with my facelaid open and bleeding, and my left arm smashed by a bullet, and nobodyjust then took any notice of me, because they were carrying in CaptainDyer and Harry Lant; while the next minute, the fire was going on hardand fast; for the mutineers were furious, and I suppose they dancedround the guns in a way that shewed how mad they were about the spiking.
As for me, I did not seem to be in a great deal of pain; but I gotturning over in my mind how well we had done it that morning; and I feltproud of it all, and glad that Captain Dyer and Harry Lant were broughtin; but all the same what I had heard lay like a load upon me; andknowing, as I did, that poor Miss Ross had, as it were, sold herself tosave the captain's life, and that she had, in a way of speaking, beencheated into doing so, I felt that when the opportunity came, I musttell the captain all I knew. When I had got as far as that with mythoughts, the dull numbness began to leave me, and everything else wasdriven out of my mind by the thought of my wound; and I got askingmyself whether it was going to be very bad, for I thought it was, sogetting up a little, I began to crawl along in the shade towards theruined south end of the palace, nobody seeming to notice me.