CHAPTER V.
HUBERT WOUNDED.
On comes the foe--to arms, to aims, We meet--'tis to death or glory; 'Tis victory in all her charms, Or fame in Britain's story.--W. SMYTH.
Three more years passed away: it had been a trying time, for a nativetribe near a neighbouring jungle gave Hubert's regiment continualtrouble; and now orders were received at the barracks to prepare for abattle, for large numbers of Hindoos were coming down from the hills,and several British regiments were on the march to assist the stationthat was menaced.
Hubert received the order, and gave it out again to his company, andthen, without another word went to his rooms. It was not his usual way:he generally said something in praise of British bravery, and tried toinspire his men to action; but this time he was silent, and the soldiersdid not let it pass without remark.
Never before had the order for battle been less welcome, and he wasunable to account for the strange depression of his spirits; he joinednone of his companions, but sat the whole evening by himself, andretired to rest much earlier than usual. His sleep, however, wasdisturbed, and once, in the still hour of night, he said aloud, "Whatails me, that I cannot sleep? I am not ill: I wonder if anything is tohappen to me--surely not; after nearly twenty-two years' service, I amto have better luck than be knocked off now; it is a pretty safe thing,they say, if one gets over the twentieth year. I shall see Old Englandyet." No more sleep, however, came to him; he thought of his home, hisparents, and all to whom he had been dear, and he sighed deeply as hewished he had loved them better.
The morning sun had scarcely risen before the bugle sounded, and in avery short time the regiment was on the march, for they had six miles togo, and the heat would be against them later in the day.
On the previous evening, Hubert had passed some of the dull hours inlooking over the little relics he had collected during his residence inIndia, and in filling up the box he had brought with him from England,he took out the remains of his Bible; it was sadly destroyed; thecovers, some of the Old, and the greater part of the New Testament, werewhat remained of it, and after hesitating for a few minutes what heshould do with it, he thrust it into a pocket in the left side of thebosom of his coat. It was there still; he had forgotten to remove itwhen he rose hastily at the sound of the bugle, and as he marched withhis regiment, he little thought of the blessing which that torn,despised treasure would yet be to him. It was a long, toilsome march,through thick jungle, and the soldiers sat down to rest when they gotthrough it, and waited to be joined by other forces. They had come outagainst a considerable village, the residence of a great chief, but notso well fortified by architectural defences as by the hordes of itssavage inhabitants. From the spot where the soldiers rested they couldsee the place they had come to attack, and as the day was passingwithout the other regiments appearing, a council was held, and beneaththe shadow of the palm trees the soldiers received orders to remainquiet until new commands were issued.
The day at length was closing, and Hubert, with three brother officers,sat down beneath a tree together. At first they talked of the glory infighting for their king and country, then other matters connected withmilitary life followed; but as the time passed away, and the hours ofnight brought with them their fitful gloom, the conversation changed,and for the first time for many years Hubert talked of his home.
"It is a long time since I left England," he said; "many, many a year;and I have somehow neglected all my old friends there. I often wish Ihad acted differently, and thought a little more about them, and writtento them sometimes; but it is no use regretting--not that I have much toregret, though, for letter-writing is a silly, dawdling business atbest, and never was much in my way; but, however, should it so happento-morrow that the chances run against me--you know what I mean--well,there's some one of the family left, perhaps, who will like to know theend of me; so let me ask a favour. Take this slip of paper, and if yourluck is better than mine, just send a letter to that address, and tellthem where your old comrade fell, and tell them he--nay, tell them whatyou like."
The three officers each took down Hubert's address, and promised toperform his wish; but they too had friends and relations in Britain'sdistant isle, and they each asked of Hubert a similar boon, should thefortune of the day be his, not theirs; then, with a friendly grasp ofthe hand, they exchanged promises; and to think, perhaps, more deeply ofthe past, or the morrow, they bade each other good-night and lay down insilence on the ground. Only for a few hours did anything like stillnesshover over the beleaguered village; at early dawn the natives, havingheard that the English were surrounding them, came out in great numbers,to drive away or attack their invaders. A terrible fight now commenced,wearing any form but that of a set battle, and it lasted the whole day;but at length the chief was slain, and the Hindoos, upon hearing it,fled in all directions, leaving the English masters of the village.There had been a sad slaughter of the natives, and more than twohundred of the English had fallen. Hubert's regiment had sufferedconsiderably; but he and his three companions were spared, and they metagain in the same place where they had passed the previous evening;neither wound nor mark of warfare was upon any of them; they were onlyfatigued, and, as they shook each other by the hand, they used some oftheir old familiar terms of friendship, and sat down again beneath thetree. There was no talk of home now, no thought of the gracious shieldwhich had preserved them in the fight, no word of thanksgiving toAlmighty God for their safety.
As night came on they proceeded to the captured village; but in themorning, as all the soldiers were not required to remain, Hubert'scompany, and one or two others, were ordered back to their respectivebarracks. Several of Hubert's company were missing; familiar faces weregone, and well-remembered voices were hushed; yet, with pride and highspirits, most of those that remained, after having helped to bury someof the dead, prepared to march as soon as the sun would permit. It was abeautiful evening when the soldiers started, but they had not gone veryfar before Hubert and some of the other officers fell a little behindthe men, and sat down upon the short dry grass and weeds. Just as theywere about to pursue their journey through the jungle, some beautifulbirds attracted their attention, and they turned aside from the pathwayin pursuit. This thoughtless act was attended with danger, for theevening was fast closing, and there was every probability that theywould lose their way. At the suggestion of one, however, they turnedback, and made all possible haste to overtake the soldiers. Night cameon much more rapidly than they had expected, and before they had gonefar in the jungle it grew very dark. They pushed on as rapidly as theycould, but the path was unfamiliar to them, and they soon lost eachother. Sometimes a rustling amongst the bushes made Hubert start, andonce he thought he heard voices besides the scattered ones of hiscompanions. Very soon, however, all was silent; they were all wanderingdifferent ways, and Hubert was alone. Once he thought of climbing into atree, and staying there till daybreak, but he felt so confident that hecould not have much further to go that he made another effort to reachthe barracks. Suddenly a rustling in the bush startled him again, andlaying his hand upon his sword he called out the watchword of hisregiment. There was no answer, and thinking it perhaps some bird, hewent on again, keeping up his courage by occasionally whistling. He hadalmost reached the edge of the jungle, for he had fortunately kept nearthe right path, when a wild shout fell upon his ear, a flash of lightillumined all around him, and Hubert, stunned and wounded, fell to theground.
The moon rose calmly in the sky, and her soft rays fell upon the treesbeneath which Hubert lay. He was still insensible, and the brown grassaround him was stained with blood. A slight breath of wind that passedover him, gently waved the dark hair from his wounded forehead; anotherball had shattered his right leg, which had bent up beneath him as hefell.
Not far away, in the barracks, the next morning the roll was called;Hubert's companions had arrived safe during the night; they now toldwhere they had missed him, and a piquet of men was sent out to searchfor him. They did
not go far into the jungle before Hubert was found; hehad partly recovered from his faintness, but was too exhausted to speak:they conveyed him to the hospital, where his wounds were dressed, andevery attention was paid him, but he had lost so much blood as he layall night upon the ground, that no hopes whatever were given of hisrecovery, and he lay several days without speaking a word.
The doctor came day after day, as often as he could snatch a moment fromhis duties, and sat down by Hubert's bed: he knew all about him, knewthe life he had led, and felt all the weight of the dread thought of asoul passing into eternity unsaved. There he lay, that reckless, sinningone, now helpless, dying, and many a heartfelt prayer was breathed bythe one friend that still clung to him, that he might not be taken awayin his sin. It is not kith nor kin that bounds the Christian's love;like his Divine Master, he deems precious every human soul, and nomatter 'neath what sky or colour, whether friend or foe, he cannot seethat priceless thing perish without an effort to save it. Many a longhour the doctor sat and watched by Hubert's bed: the leg had been set,and appeared favourable, but reason did not return, and it was for thathe watched and prayed, and yet how that same reason had shunned andinsulted him. Good man, he forgot all about himself now, and watched asa fond brother over the sufferer. His prayers were heard; Hubert awokefrom insensibility, and occasionally spoke a word to those who attendedhim.