CHAPTER XXIII.
A DESPERATE DEFENSE.
In an instant the door was closed and bolted, and the four set to workto pile barrels and boxes against it. Not a word was spoken while thiswas going on. By the time they had finished the uproar without hadchanged its character; the firing had ceased, and the triumphant shoutsof the mutineers showed that their victory was complete. Then came aloud thundering noise at the door.
"We have only delayed it a few minutes," Colonel Warrener said. "Wehave fought our fight, boys, and our time has come. Would to God that Ihad to die alone!"
"Look, father," Dick said, "there is a small door there. I noticed itlast night. No doubt there is a staircase leading to the terrace above.At any rate, we may make a good fight there."
"Yes," Major Dunlop said, "we may fight it out to the last on thestairs. Run, Dick, and see."
Dick found, as he supposed, that from the door a narrow windingstaircase led to the terrace above, from which the dome rose far intothe air. The stairs were lit by an occasional narrow window. He wasthinking as he ran upstairs of the ideas that had crossed his brain thenight before.
"It is all right," he said, as he came down again. "Look, father, if wetake up barrels and boxes, we can make barricades on the stairs, anddefend them for any time almost."
"Excellent," the colonel said. "To work. They will be a quarter of anhour breaking in the door. Make the top barricade first, a few feetbelow the terrace."
Each seized a box or barrel, and hurried up the stairs. They had alonger time for preparation than they expected, for the mutineers,feeling sure of their prey, were in no hurry, and finding how strongwas the door, decided to sit down and wait until their guns would be upto blow it in. Thus the defenders of the tomb had an hour's grace, andin that time had constructed three solid barricades. Each was placed ashort distance above an opening for light, so that while theythemselves were in darkness, their assailants would be in the light.They left a sufficient space at the top of each barricade for them toscramble over, leaving some spare barrels on the stairs above it tofill up the space after taking their position.
"Now for the remains of our supper, father," Dick said, "and that bigwater jug. I will carry them up. Ned, do you bring up that long coil ofthin rope."
"What for, Dick?"
"It may be useful, Ned; ropes are always useful. Ah, their guns are up."
As he spoke a round shot crashed through the door, and sent splintersof casks and a cloud of flour flying.
"Now, Ned, come along," Dick said; and followed by Colonel Warrener andMajor Dunlop, they entered the little doorway and ran up the narrowstairs.
At the first barricade, which was some thirty steps up, the officersstopped, and proceeded to fill up the passage hitherto left open, whilethe boys continued their way to the terrace.
"Let us have a look round, Ned; those fellows will be some minutesbefore they are in yet; and that barricade will puzzle them."
Day was breaking now, and the lads peered over the parapet which ranround the terrace.
"There are a tremendous lot of those fellows, Dick, four or fivethousand of them at least, and they have got six guns."
"Hurrah, Ned!" Dick said, looking round at the great dome; "this isjust what I hoped."
He pointed to a flight of narrow steps, only some twelve inches across,fixed to the side of the dome, which rose for some distance almostperpendicularly. By the side of the steps was a low hand-rail. Theywere evidently placed there permanently, to enable workmen to ascend tothe top of the dome, to re-gild the long spike which, surmounted by acrescent, rose from its summit, or to do any repairs that were needful.
"There, Ned, I noticed these steps on some of the domes at Lucknow.When the worst comes to the worst, and we are beaten from the stairs,we can climb up that ladder--for it's more like a ladder thanstairs--and once on the top could laugh at the whole army of them. Now,Ned, let us go down to them; by that cheering below, the artillery hasbroken the door open."
The mutineers burst through the broken door into the great hall withtriumphant yells, heralding their entrance by a storm of musketry fire,for they knew how desperately even a few Englishmen will sell theirlives. There was a shout of disappointment at finding the interioruntenanted; but a moment's glance round discovered the door, and therewas a rush toward it, each longing to be the first to the slaughter.The light in the interior was but faint, and the stairs were pitchdark, and were only wide enough for one man to go up with comfort,although two could just stand side by side. Without an obstacle theleaders of the party stumbled and groped their way up the stairs, untilthe first came into the light of a long narrow loophole in the wall.Then from the darkness above came the sharp crack of a revolver, andthe man fell on his face, shot through the heart. Another crack, andthe next shared his fate. Then there was a pause, for the spiral was sosharp that not more than two at a time were within sight of thedefenders of the barricade.
The next man hesitated at seeing his immediate leaders fall; butpressed from behind he advanced, with his musket at his shoulder, inreadiness to fire when he saw his foes; but the instant his headappeared round the corner a ball struck him, and he too fell. Still thepress from behind pushed the leaders forward, and it was not until sixhad fallen, and the narrow stairs were impassable from the dead bodies,that an officer of rank, who came the next on the line, succeeded byshouting in checking the advance. Then orders were passed down forthose crowding the doorway to fall back, and the officer, with the menon the stairs, descended, and the former reported to the leader thatsix men had fallen, and that the stairs were choked with their bodies.After much consultation orders were given the men to go up, and keepingbelow the spot at which, one after another, their comrades had fallen,to stretch out their arms and pull down the bodies. This was done, andthen an angry consultation again took place. It was clear that, movingfast, only one could mount the stairs at a time, and it seemed equallycertain that this one would, on reaching a certain spot, be shot by hisinvisible foes. Large rewards and great honor were promised by thechief to those who would undertake to lead the assault, and at lastvolunteers were found, and another rush attempted.
It failed, as had the first. Each man as he passed the loophole fell,and again the dead choked the stairs. One or two had not fallen at thefirst shot, and had got a few steps higher, but only to fall back deadupon their comrades. Again the assault ceased, and for two or threehours there was a pause. The officers of the mutineers deliberated andquarreled; the men set-to to prepare their meal. That over, one of thetroopers went in to the officers and proposed a plan, which was at onceapproved of, and a handsome reward immediately paid him. Beforeenlisting he had been a carpenter, and as there were many others of thesame trade, no time was lost in carrying out the suggestion. Several ofthe thick planks composing the door remained uninjured. These were cutand nailed together, so as to make a shield of exactly the same widthas the staircase, and six feet high; on one side several straps andloops were nailed, to give a good hold to those carrying it; and thenwith a cheer the Sepoys again prepared for an attack. The shield washeavy, but steadily, and with much labor, it was carried up the stairsstep by step, by two men, others pressing on behind.
When they reached the loophole the pistol shots from above again rangout; but the door was of heavy seasoned wood, three inches thick, andthe bullets failed to penetrate. Then the shield ascended step by step,until it reached the barrier. There it stopped, for the strength thatcould be brought to bear upon it was altogether insufficient to move inthe slightest the solid pile, and after some time spent in vainefforts, the shield was taken back again, as gradually and carefully asit had been advanced, until out of the range of the pistols of thedefenders.
"What will be the next move, I wonder?" Colonel Warrener said, as thelittle party sat down on the stairs and waited for a renewal of theattack.
"I don't like that shield," Major Dunlop remarked; "it shows that thereis some more than usually intelligent scoundrel among them, and
he willbe up to some new trick."
An hour passed, and then there was a noise on the stairs, and theshield was again seen approaching. As before, it advanced to thebarrier and stopped. There was then a sort of grating noise against it,and the door shook as this continued.
"What on earth are they up to now?" Major Dunlop exclaimed.
"Piling fagots against it," Dick said, "or I am mistaken. I have beenafraid of fire all along. If they had only lit a pile of damp wood atthe bottom of the stairs, they could have smoked us out at the top; andthen, as the smoke cleared below, they could have gone up and removedthe barricade before the upper stairs were free enough from smoke forus to come down. There, I thought so! Make haste!" and Dick dashed upthe stairs, followed by his friends, as a curl of smoke ascended, and aloud cheer burst from the Sepoys below.
Quickly as they ran upstairs, the smoke ascended still more rapidly,and they emerged upon the terrace half-suffocated and blinded.
"So ends barricade number one," Major Dunlop said, when they hadrecovered from their fit of coughing. "I suppose it will be prettynearly an hour before the fire is burned out."
"The door would not burn through in that time," said Major Warrener;"but they will be able to stand pretty close, and the moment the fagotsare burned out they will drag the screen out of the way, and, with longpoles with hooks, or something of that sort, haul down the barricade.Directly the smoke clears off enough for us to breathe, we will go downto our middle barricade. They may take that the same way they took thefirst, but they cannot take the last so."
"Why not, father?" Ned asked.
"Because it's only ten steps from the top, Ned; so that, however greata smoke they make, we can be there again the instant they begin to pullit down."
It was now past midday, and the party partook sparingly of their smallstore of food and water. The smoke continued for some time to pour outof the door of the stairs in dense volumes, then became lighter.Several times the lads tried to descend a few steps, but found thatbreathing was impossible, for the smoke from the green wood wasinsupportable. At last it became clear enough to breathe, and then theparty ran rapidly down to their second barricade. That, at least, wasintact, but below they could hear the fall of heavy bodies, and knewthat the lower barricade was destroyed.
"I don't suppose that screen of theirs was burned through, father, sovery likely they will try the same dodge again. Of course they don'tknow whether we have another barricade, or where we are, so they willcome on cautiously. It seems to me than if you and Dunlop were to takeyour place a bit lower than this, stooping down on the stairs, and thenwhen they come were boldly to throw yourselves with all your weightsuddenly against the shield, you would send it and its bearers headlongdownstairs, and could then follow them and cut them up tremendously."
"Capital, Dick! that would be just the thing; don't you think so,Dunlop? If they haven't got the shield, we can shoot them down, soeither way we may as well make a sortie."
"I think so," Major Dunlop said. "Here goes, then."
Halfway down they heard the trampling of steps again. The Sepoys hadextinguished the fires with buckets of water, had put straps to thedoor again, and were pursuing their former tactics. The two officerssat down and awaited the coming of their foes. Slowly the latterascended, until the door was within two steps of the Englishmen. Thenthe latter simultaneously flung all their weight against it.
Wholly unprepared for the assault, the bearers were hurled backward,with the heavy shield upon them, knocking down those behind them, who,in turn, fell on those below. Sword in hand, Colonel Warrener sprangupon the hindmost of the falling mass, while, pressing just behind him,and firing over his shoulder, Major Dunlop followed.
Shrieks of dismay rose from the Sepoys who crowded the stairs, as thebodies of those above were hurled upon them; flight or defense wasequally impossible; turning to descend, they leaped upon their comradesbelow. A frightful scene ensued--such a scene as has sometimes beenseen on the stairs of a theater on fire. What was the danger above,none thought; a wild panic seized all; over each other they rolled,choking the stairs and obstructing all movement, until the last twentyfeet of the stairs were packed closely with a solid mass of humanbeings, lying thickly on each other, and stifling each other to death.On reaching this mass Colonel Warrener and his friend paused. There wasnothing more to be done. Over fifty human beings lay crushed together;those on the top of the heap were shot, and then the officers retracedtheir steps. Many lay on the stairs, but Major Dunlop had passed hissword through their bodies as he passed them. Four muskets were pickedup, and all the ammunition from the pouches; and then, with the boys,who had followed closely behind them, they again ascended to theterrace and sat down.
"We are safe now for some time," Colonel Warrener said. "It will takethem a long time to clear away that heap of dead, and they won't trythe shield dodge again."
It was indeed late in the afternoon before the Sepoys made any freshmove against the defenders of the stairs. The time, however, had notpassed idly with the latter. One of them keeping watch at the barrier,the others had maintained a steady musketry fire through the open workof the parapet upon the enemy below. The Sepoys had answered with ascattering fire; but as the defenders were invisible behind theparapet, and could move from one point to another unobserved, there wasbut little fear of their being hit; while their steady fire did so muchexecution among the throng of Sepoys that these had to move theircamping ground a couple of hundred yards back from the tomb.
It was nearly dark, when several men, bearing large bundles of strawand bamboos, ran across the open ground and entered the mosque, and thebesieged guessed that another attempt was to be made to smoke them out.There had been much consultation on the part of the enraged mutineers,and this time two men, with their muskets leveled at their shoulders,led the advance. Very slowly they made their way up, until a pistolshot rang out, and one of the leaders, discharging his musket beforehim, fell. Then there was a halt. Another Sepoy, with fixed bayonet,took the place in front, and over the shoulders of him and his comradethose behind threw bundles of straw mixed with wet leaves; a light wasapplied to this, and with a sheet of flame between themselves and thebesieged, they had no fear. Now they pressed forward, threw on freshstraw, and then, knowing that the besieged would have fled higher,reached through the flames with a pole with a hook attached to it, andhauled down the barricade. The moment the fire burned a little low, twomen lighted fresh bundles, and, stamping out the fire, advanced up thestairs, carrying before them the blazing bundles like torches, thevolumes of smoke from these of course preceding them.
The party on the terrace had noticed the smoke dying down, and hadprepared to descend again, when a fresh addition to the smoke convincedthem that the enemy were still piling on bundles, and that there wasnothing to fear. So they sat, quietly chatting until Ned, who wassitting next to the door, exclaimed:
"Listen! They are pulling down our top barricade."
Sword in hand, he rushed down, the others closely following him. Justas he turned the spiral which would bring him in sight of the upperbarricade a musket was fired, and Ned would have fallen forward had notMajor Dunlop seized him by the collar, and pulled him backward.
"Hold the stairs, colonel!" he said; "they are at the barricade, butare not through yet; I will carry Ned up. He's hit in the shoulder."
Major Dunlop carried Ned to the platform, and, laying him down, for hehad lost consciousness, rushed back to assist to hold the stairs, forthe crack of Colonel Warrener's and Dick's revolvers could be heard.The advantage, however, was so great with them, standing above theothers, and so placed as to be able to fire the instant that their foescame round the corner, that the Sepoys, after losing several of theirnumber, ceased their attack.
The defenders hurried up to Ned, confident that the enemy would notrenew the assault again for the moment, as they could not tell whetherthere was yet another barrier to be stormed. Dick stood sentry at thedoor, and the colonel and Major Dunlop examined Ned's w
ound. It was aserious one; the ball had entered the chest below the collarbone; hadit been fired from a level it would have been fatal; but the Sepoyhaving stood so much below it had gone out near the neck, smashing thecollar-bone on its way. Ned had become unconscious from the shock tothe system.
"We must take to the dome at once," Colonel Warrener said. "The nextassault those fellows will gain the terrace. I will carry Ned up."
"No, colonel, I will take him," Major Dunlop said. "I can carry himover my shoulders as easily as possible."
"Well, Dunlop, you are the younger man, so I will hand him over to you.I will put this coil of rope round my neck, and will take the water andfood. It is so dark now that they will not see us from below. If thosefellows had but waited half an hour we could have gained the topwithout this sad business. Will you go first, Dunlop?"
Major Dunlop, who was a very powerful and active man, lifted Ned on hisshoulders, and began to ascend the narrow steps to the dome. It washard work at first, but as he got on the ascent became less steep, andthe last part was comparatively easy. Colonel Warrener mounted next,also heavily laden. Dick remained on guard at the door until he saw hisfather pass the shoulder of the dome, out of sight from those on theterrace; he then slung two muskets and cartridge pouches on hisshoulders, briskly climbed the steps, and was soon by his father.
In three minutes the party were gathered round the central spike of thedome. Suddenly a loud cheer was heard from below.
"They are out on the terrace," Dick said. "I will go down a bit toguard the steps; you will be more use with Ned than I should."
The shouts on the terrace were answered by a great cheer of exultationfrom the Sepoy host around, who had been chafed almost to madness atthe immense loss which was being caused by three or four men, for theyknew not the exact strength of the party. The shouts of exultation,however, were silenced when, rushing round the terrace, the Sepoysfound that their foes had again evaded them. There was no other door,no hiding-place, nowhere, in fact, that the besieged could haveconcealed themselves; but the ladder-like steps soon met the eye of thesearchers. A yell of anger and disappointment arose. Not even thebravest among them thought for a moment of climbing the stairs, for itWould indeed have been clearly impossible for men forced to climb insingle file to win their way against well-armed defenders, who wouldsimply shoot them down from above as fast as a head appeared over theshoulder of the dome.
The position was indeed practically impregnable against assault,although exposed to artillery fire, and to distant musketry. It was forthis reason that the defenders of the stairs had not taken to it atonce. They felt confident in their ability to defend the stair all day,and to inflict heavy loss upon the enemy; whereas, by climbing up thedome in daylight, they would have been a target to all those belowwhile climbing, and would have been exposed all day to a distant fire.That they would have to support it for two or three days was nearlycertain, but clearly the less time the better.
The enemy, consoling themselves with the thought that on the morrowtheir cannon would finish the contest which had thus far cost them sodearly, placed a guard of fifty men on the terrace at the foot of thesteps, lighted a large fire there, in order that they could see any oneattempting to descend long before he reached the level, and thenretired below.
By this time Ned had recovered consciousness, and having taken a drinkof water, was able to understand what had happened. His father had cuthis uniform off his shoulder and arm, and having also cut off one ofhis own shirt sleeves, had soaked it in water, and applied it as abandage on the wound.
"I am very glad we had agreed that only Dick should go," Ned said,"otherwise I should have blamed myself for keeping you here."
"No, we could not have gone in any case," Colonel Warrener said, "asthere would have been no one to have lowered the rope here; besideswhich, it is only a sailor or a practiced gymnast who can let himselfdown a rope some eighty feet."
"When will Dick try?"
"As soon as the camp gets quiet. The moon will be up by twelve o'clock,and he must be off before that. Are you in much pain, old boy?"
"Not much, father; I feel numbed and stupid."
"Now, Dunlop," Colonel Warrener said, "will you relieve Dick on guardat the steps? You may as well say good-by to him. It is about eighto'clock now, and in a couple of hours he will be off. After he has goneI will relieve you. Then a four hours' watch each will take us todaylight; there won't be much sleeping after that."
By ten o'clock the noise in the rebel camp had nearly ceased. Groupsstill sat and talked round the campfires, but the circle was prettylarge round the tomb, for the Sepoys had fallen back when the musketryfire was opened upon them from the parapet, and had not troubled tomove again afterward.
"Now," Dick said, "it is time for me to be off. I have got a goodseventy miles to ride to Lucknow. It is no use my thinking of goingafter the column, for they would be some fifty miles away from theplace where we left them by to morrow night. If I can get a good horseI may be at Lucknow by midday to-morrow. The horses have all had a restto-day. Sir Colin will, I am sure, send off at once, and the troopswill march well to effect a rescue. They will make thirty-five milesbefore they halt for the night, and will be here by the followingnight."
"We must not be too sanguine, Dick. It is just possible, dear boy, thatif all goes well you may be back as you say, in forty-eight hours, butwe will make up our minds to twice that time. If you get here sooner,all the better; but I don't expect that they will hit us, and aftertiring a bit the chances are they will not care to waste ammunition,and will try to starve us out."
CHAPTER XXIV.
BEST AFTER LABOR.
With a tender farewell of his father and brother, the midshipmanprepared for his expedition. One end of the rope had been fastenedround the large mast which rose from the dome. Holding the coil overhis shoulder, Dick made his way down the dome, on the side oppositethat at which they had ascended, until it became too steep to walk;then he lay down on his back, and paying the rope out gradually, lethimself slip down. The lower part of the descent was almostperpendicular; and Dick soon stood safely on the terrace. It was, as heexpected confidently that it would be, quite deserted on this side.Then he let go of the rope, and Major Warrener, who was watching it,saw that the strain was off it, pulled it up a foot to make sure, andthen untied the knot. Dick pulled it gently at first, coiling it up asit came down, until at last it slid rapidly down. He caught it as wellas he could, but he had little fear of so slight a noise being heard onthe other side of the great dome; then he tied the rope to the parapet,lowered it carefully down, and then, when it was all out, swung himselfout over the parapet, and slid down the rope. The height was overeighty feet; but the descent was a mere nothing for Dick, accustomed tolark about in the rigging of a man-o'-war.
He stood perfectly quiet for a minute or two after his feet touched theground, but outside everything was still. Through the open-carvedstonework of a window he could hear voices inside the tomb, and had nodoubt that the leaders of the enemy's force were there.
From the parapet, in the afternoon, he had gained an accurate idea ofthe position of the cavalry, and toward this he at once made his way.He took off his boots and walked lightly until he approached theenemy's bivouac. Then he went cautiously. The ground was covered withsleeping figures, all wrapped like mummies in their clothes; andalthough the night was dusk, it was easy in the starlight to see thewhite figures. Even had one been awake, Dick had little fear, as,except near a fire, his figure would have been indistinguishable. Therewas no difficulty, when he neared the spot, in finding the horses, asthe sound of their pawing the ground, eating, and the occasional shortneigh of two quarreling, was clearly distinguishable.
Their position once clear, Dick moved round them. He had noticed thatfour officers' horses were picketed further away, beyond the generalmass of the men's, and these could therefore be more easily removed,and would, moreover, be more likely to be fast and sound. They had,too, the advantage of being placed c
lose to the road by which theEnglish force had marched on the day before.
Dick was some time in finding the horses he was on the lookout for; butat last he heard a snorting at a short distance off, and on reachingthe spot found the horses he was in search of. They were all saddled,but none had bridles. It would be, Dick knew, useless to look for them,and he felt sure that the halter would be sufficient for well-trainedhorses.
Before proceeding to work he reconnoitered the ground around. He foundthe way to the road, which was but twenty yards distant, and discoveredalso that the syces, or grooms, were asleep close by the horses; alittle further off were a party of sleeping troopers. Dick now cut offthe heel ropes by which two of the horses were picketed, and then,leading them by the halters, moved quietly toward the road. To get uponthis, however, there was a ditch first to be passed, and in crossing itone of the horses stumbled.
"What is that?" exclaimed one of the syces, sitting up. "Halloo!" hecontinued, leaping up; "two of the horses have got loose."
The others leaped to their feet and ran in the direction whence camethe noise which had awakened them, thinking that the horses had drawntheir picket pegs.
By this time Dick was in the saddle, and giving a kick with his heelsto the horse he was on, and striking the other with the halter which heheld in his hand, dashed off into a gallop.
A shout burst from the syces, and several of the troopers, springing totheir feet and seizing their arms, ran up to know what was the matter.
"Some thief has stolen the colonel's horse," exclaimed one of the syces.
The troopers did not like to fire, as it would have alarmed the camp;besides, which a random fire in the darkness would be of no avail; so,grumbling that the syces would have to answer for it in the morning,they went off to sleep again; while the men in charge of the two horseswhich had been taken after some consultation decided that it would beunsafe to remain to meet the anger of the officers in the morning, andso stole off in the darkness and made for their native villages.
Dick, hearing that he was not pursued, pulled up in a half a mile, andgave a loud, shrill "cooey," the Australian call. He knew that thiswould be heard by his father, sitting listening at the top of the dome,and that he would learn that so far he had succeeded. Then he set thehorses off again in a hand gallop and rode steadily down the road.Every hour or so he changed from horse to horse, thus giving them acomparative rest by turns. Occasionally he allowed them to walk for abit to get their wind, and then again rode on at a gallop. It was abouteleven o'clock when he started on his ride. By four in the morning hewas at the spot where the party had separated from the column, havingthus made forty miles. After that he went more slowly; but it was alittle past nine when, with his two exhausted horses, he rode into thecamp at Lucknow, where his appearance created quite an excitement.
Dick's story was briefly told; and the two horses, which were bothsplendid animals, were taken off to be fed and rubbed down; while Dick,accompanied by the colonel of the cavalry regiment where he had halted,went at once to the camp of the commander-in-chief.
Sir Colin listened to Dick's story in silence.
"This will be the band," he said, "that Colonel Lawson's column went toattack; they must have altered their course. Something must be done atonce. There shall be no delay, my lad; a force shall be ready to startin an hour. I suppose you will want to go with them. I advise you to goback to Colonel Harper's tent, get into a bath, and get a couple ofnatives to shampoo you. That will take away all your stiffness. By thetime that's over, and you have had some breakfast, the troops will bein readiness."
Dick left Sir Colin, but delighted at the readiness and promptness ofthe fine old soldier; while Sir Colin called his military secretary,and at once arranged for the dispatch of a body of troops.
"There must be no delay," the commander-in-chief said. "Ifpossible--and it is possible--these scoundrels must be attacked atdaylight to-morrow morning. They will see the rope the lad escaped by,but they will not dream of an attack so early, and may be caughtnapping. Besides, it is all important to rescue those officers, whomthey will have been making a target of all day, especially as one isbadly wounded, and will be in the full blaze of the sun. See that awagon and an ambulance accompany the column. Send a regiment of Punjaubhorse, three field guns, and three hundred infantry in light marchingorder. Let gharries be got together at once to take the infantry fortymiles, then they will start fresh for a thirty-mile march. The cavalryand guns can go on at once; let them march halfway, then, unsaddle andrest. If they are off by half-past ten, they can get to theirhalting-place by five. Then if they have five hours' rest they willcatch the infantry up before daybreak, and attack just as it getslight. Those light Punjaub horse can do it. Now, which regiments shallwe send?"
A quarter of an hour later bugles were blowing, and by ten o'clockthree hundred British infantry were packed in light carts, and thecavalry and guns were drawn up in readiness. Dick took his place in theambulance carriage, as, although greatly refreshed, he had had plentyof riding for a time, and in the ambulance he could lie down, and getthrough the journey without fatigue. Sir Colin himself rode up just asthey were starting, and shook hands with Dick, and expressed his warmhope that he would find his friends safe at the end of the journey, andthen the cavalry started.
Dick has always asserted that never in his life did he make such ashort journey as that. Worn out by the excitement and fatigue of thepreceding thirty hours, he fell fast asleep in the ambulance before hehad gone a mile, and did not awake until the surgeon shook him by theshoulder.
"Halloo!" he cried, leaping up; "where are we?"
"We are, as far as we can tell, about half a mile from the tomb. Iwould not wake you when we halted, Warrener. I thought you wanted sleepmore than food. We have been halting half an hour here, and the cavalryhave just come up. It is about an hour before daybreak. The colonelwants you to act as guide."
"All right," Dick said, leaping out; "just to think that I have beenasleep for eighteen hours!"
A hasty council was held, and it was determined that as the country wassomewhat wooded beyond the tomb, but perfectly open on that side, thecavalry and artillery should remain where they were; that the infantryshould make a _detour_, and attack at daybreak from the other side; andthat as the enemy fell back, the artillery and cavalry should deal withthem:
Not a moment was lost. The infantry, who were sitting down after theirlong tramp, got cheerily on to their feet again, for they knew thatthey were going to attack the enemy; and Dick led them off the road bya considerable _detour_, to come upon the enemy from the other side. Bythe moonlight the tomb was visible, and served as a center round whichto march; but they were too far off to enable Dick to see whether anydamage had been done to the dome.
Day was just breaking when the infantry gained the desired position;then throwing out two hundred men in skirmishing order, while the otherone hundred were kept in hand as a reserve, the advance began. It wasnot until they were within three hundred yards of the enemy that theywere perceived by the sentries. The challenge was answered by a musketshot, and as the rebels sprang to their feet a heavy fire was poured inupon them. In an instant all was wild confusion. Taken completely bysurprise, and entirely ignorant of the strength of the enemy, thenatives, after a wild fire in the direction of the advancing foe, fledprecipitately. Their officers tried to rally them, and as the smallnessof the force attacking them became visible, the Sepoys with their oldhabit of discipline began to draw together. But at this moment theguns, loaded with grape, poured into their rear, and with a cheer thePunjaub cavalry burst into their midst.
Thenceforth there was no longer any idea of fighting; it was simply arout any a pursuit. The rebels' own guns fell at once into the hands ofthe infantry, and were quickly turned upon the masses of fugitives,who, mown down by the fire of the nine guns, and cut up by the cavalrywho charged hither and thither among them, while volleys of musketryswept through them, threw away their arms and fled wildly. Over athousand of
them were left dead on the plain, and had not the horses ofthe cavalry been too exhausted to continue the pursuit, a far greaternumber would have fallen.
Dick took no part in their fighting; a company, fifty strong, with anofficer, had been told off to attack and carry the tomb, under hisguidance. Disregarding all else, this party with leveled bayonets hadburst through the throng, and made straight for the door of the tomb.Many of the enemy's troops had run in there, and for a minute or twothere was a fierce fight in the great hall; then, when the last foe hadfallen, Dick led the men to the stairs, up which many of the enemy hadfled.
"Quick," he shouted, "follow them close up!"
Some of them were but a few steps ahead, and Dick, closely followed byhis men, burst on to the terrace at their very heels. It was well thathe did so; for the guard upon the terrace, seeing that all was lostbelow, were preparing to sell their lives dearly, and to make a longresistance at the top of the stairs. Dick and his men, however, rushedso closely upon the heels of their own comrades from below that theywere taken completely by surprise. Some turned at once to fly, othersmade an effort to oppose their enemy; but it was useless. Two or threeof the Sepoy leaders, calling to their men to follow them, made a rushat the British, and Dick found himself engaged in a hand-to-handcontest with Aboo Raab, the rebel leader. He was a powerful anddesperate man, and with a swinging blow he beat down Dick's guard andinflicted a severe wound on his head; but Dick leaped forward and ranhim through the body, just as the bayonet of one of the Britishsoldiers pierced him in the side.
For a minute or two the fight was fierce, but every moment added to theavenging force, and with a cheer the soldiers rushed at them with thebayonet. In five minutes all was over. Many of the Sepoys leaped overthe parapet, and were dashed to pieces, preferring that death to thebayonet; while on the terrace no single Sepoy at the end of that timeremained alive.
When all was over Dick gave a shout, which was answered from above.
"Are you all right, Dunlop?"
"Yes, thank God; but Ned is delirious. Send some water up at once."
Dick was too much shaken by the severe cut he had received in the headto attempt to climb the ladder, but the officer in command of thecompany at once offered to ascend. Several of the men had a littlewater left in their water-bottles, and from them one was filled, andslung over the officer's neck.
"I have some brandy in my flask," he said, and started up the steps.
In a few minutes he descended again.
"Your brother is wildly delirious," he said; "they have bound hisinjured arm to his side with a sash, but they cannot leave him. How ishe to be got down?"
"There is plenty of rope and sacking down below," Dick said, after amoment's thought. "I think that they had better wrap him up in sacking,so that he cannot move his arms, tie a rope round him, and lower himdown close by the side of the steps, my father coming down side by sidewith him, so as to speak to him and tranquillize him."
A soldier was sent below for the articles required, and with them theofficer, accompanied by a sergeant to assist him in lowering Ned fromabove, again mounted. In a few minutes Dick's plan was carried out, andNed was lowered safely to the terrace. Then four soldiers carried himbelow, and he was soon laid on a bed of sacks in the great hall, underthe care of the surgeon, with cold-water bandages round his head.
Then Dick had time to ask his father how the preceding day had passed.
"First tell me, Dick, by what miracle you got back so soon. To-morrowmorning was the very earliest time I thought that relief was possible!"
Dick told his story briefly; and then Colonel Warrener related what hadhappened to them on the dome during the day.
"As soon as day broke, Dick, they opened a heavy musketry fire at us,but they were obliged to go so far off to get a fair view of us thatthe smooth-bore would hardly carry up, and even had we been hit, Iquestion if the balls would have penetrated, though they might havegiven a sharp knock. Half an hour later the artillery fire began. Weagreed that Dunlop and I should by turns lie so as to command thestairs, while the other kept with Ned on the other side of the dome.The enemy divided their guns, and put them on each side also. Lyingdown, we presented the smallest possible mark for them; but for somehours it was very hot. Nine out of ten of their shot, just went overthe dome altogether. The spike was hit twenty or thirty times, andlower down a good many holes were knocked in the dome; but the shotsthat struck near us all glanced and flew over. They fired a couple ofhundred shot altogether, and at midday they stopped--for dinner, Isuppose--and did not begin again. I suspect they were running short ofammunition. Once, when the firing was hottest, thinking, I suppose, tocatch us napping, an attempt was made to climb the ladder; but Dunlop,who was on watch, put a bullet through the first fellow's head, and bythe yell that followed I suspect that in his fall he swept all theothers off the ladder. Anyhow, there was no repetition of the trial.The heat was fearful, and Dunlop and I suffered a good deal fromthirst, for there was not much water left in the bottle, and we wantedthat to pour down Ned's throat from time to time, and to sop hisbandages with. Ned got delirious about eleven o'clock, and we had greattrouble in holding him down. The last drop of water was finished in thenight, and we should have had a terrible day of it if you had notarrived. And now let us hear what the surgeon says about poor Ned."
The doctor's report was not consoling; the wound was a very severe one,the collar-bone had been smashed in fragments; but the high state offever was even a more serious matter than the wound.
"What will you do, father?"
"I must carry out my orders, Dick. Dunlop and I must go on to Agra, andthen on to join our regiment. Ned will, of course, be taken back toLucknow, and you must give up your trip, and stay and nurse him. Ofcourse, if he gets over it, poor boy, he will be invalided home, andyou can travel with him down to Calcutta. I shall send the girls homeby the first opportunity. India will be no place for ladies for sometime. We shall have months of marching and fighting before we finallystamp out the mutiny. There will be sure to be convoys of sick andwounded going down, and a number of ladies at Meerut who will beleaving at the first opportunity. It is very sad, old boy, leaving youand Ned at such a time; but I must do my duty, whatever happens." TheBritish force encamped for that day and the next around the tomb whichhad been the scene of so much fierce fighting; for the animals were somuch exhausted by their tremendous march that it was thought better togive them rest. Ned continued delirious; but he was more quiet now, ashis strength diminished. Fortunately, the ambulance was well supplied;and cooling drinks were given to him, and all was done that care andattention could suggest. There were three other wounded in addition toDick, all men who had taken part in the fight on the terrace; none hadbeen killed. Elsewhere no casualty had happened in the force.
Early on the third morning the column was again in motion. The fortymiles to the crossroads were done in two days, and here ColonelWarrener and Major Dunlop parted from Dick, going on with a smallescort of cavalry to Agra.
It was a sad parting; and it is doing no injustice to Dick's manhood tosay that he shed many tears. But his father promised that if theLucknow jewels turned out to be real, he would leave the service, andcome back to England at the end of the war.
The gharries were all in waiting at the crossroad, and another daybrought them to Lucknow, where the news of the defeat and dispersion ofthe rebel force had already been sent on by a mounted orderly.
For a week Ned lay between life and death; then the fever left him, andthe most critical point of his illness was reached. It was for days aquestion whether he had strength left to rally from his exhaustion. Butyouth and a good constitution triumphed at last, and six weeks from theday on which he was brought in, he started in a litter for Calcutta.
Dick had telegraphed to Captain Peel, and had obtained leave to remainwith his brother, and he now started for the coast with Ned. He himselfhad had a sharp attack of fever--the result of his wound on the headand the exertion he had undergone; but he
was now well and strongagain, and happy in Ned's convalescence.
The journey was easy and pleasant. At Benares they went on board asteamer, and were taken down to Calcutta. By the time they reached thecapital, Ned was sufficiently recovered to walk about with his arm inDick's. The use of his left arm was gone, and it was a question whetherhe could ever recover it.
At Calcutta the Warreners had the delight of meeting their sister andcousin, who had arrived there the week previous. The next four dayswere happy ones indeed, and then there was another parting, for thegirls and Ned sailed in a Peninsular and Oriental steamer for England.Dick remained a fortnight at Calcutta, until a sloop-of-war sailed tojoin the China fleet, to which his ship was now attached.
It was two years later when the whole party who had been together inthe bungalow at Sandynuggher when the mutiny broke out met in London,on the return of Dick's ship from the East. The Lucknow jewels hadturned out to be of immense value; and Messrs. Garrard, to whom theyhad been sent, had offered one hundred and thirty thousand pounds forthem. The offer had been at once accepted; and the question of thedivision had, after an endless exchange of letters, been finally leftby Colonel Warrener to the boys. They had insisted that ColonelWarrener should take fifty thousand pounds, and the remainder they haddivided in four equal shares between themselves, their sister andcousin, whom they regarded as one of themselves. This had enabled thelatter to marry, without delay, Captain Manners, whose wound hadcompelled him to leave the service; while Miss Warrener had a fewmonths later married Major Dunlop.
Ned, too, was no longer a soldier. He had, when he arrived in England,found that his name had been included in the brevet rank bestowed uponall the captains of his regiment for distinguished service. He had ayear's leave given him; but at the end of that time a medical boarddecided that, although greatly recovered, it would be years before hethoroughly regained his strength; and he therefore sold his commissionand left the service.
Dick had passed as a lieutenant, and had immediately been appointed tothat rank, with a fair prospect of getting his commander's step at theearliest possible date, as a reward for the distinguished services forwhich he had been several times mentioned in dispatches at the time ofthe mutiny.
General Sir Henry Warrener--for he received a step in rank, andknighthood, on retiring from the service--had renewed his acquaintancewith Mrs. Hargreaves immediately on his return to England; and Dick, tohis intense astonishment and delight, on arriving home--for he hadreceived no letters for many months--found his old friend installed atthe head of his father's establishment as Lady Warrener.
The daughters were of course inmates of the house; and Dick was notlong in getting Nelly to acknowledge that so far she had not changedher mind as expressed at Cawnpore. More than that he could not get herto say. But when, three years later, he returned with commander's rank,Nelly, after much entreaty, and many assertions that it was perfectlyridiculous for a boy of twenty-one to think about marrying, consented;and as Ned and Edith had equally come to an understanding, a doublemarriage took place.
General Warrener and his wife are still alive. Major Warrener has aseat in Parliament; and Captain Warrener, who never went to sea afterhis marriage, lives in a pretty house down at Ryde, where his yacht isknown as one of the best and fastest cruisers on the coast.
At Christmas the whole party--the Dunlops, Manners and Warreners--meet;and an almost innumerable troop of children of all ages assemble at thespacious mansion of General Warrener in Berkeley Square, and never failto have a long talk of the adventures that they went through in theTIMES OF PERIL.
THE END.
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