Fix Bay'nets: The Regiment in the Hills

  CHAPTER TWENTY NINE.

  AWFUL MOMENTS.

  It was with serious feelings of compunction that Bracy set this exampleto his eager companion, by seating himself on one of the stones andbeginning to combat the weary sensation of faintness which troubled himby partaking of a portion of his fast-shrinking store of provisions.For the fact was beginning to stare him in the face that, going on asthey had begun, their little store could not by any possibility last,till they reached the Ghoorkha camp, and that in depending upon theirrifles for a fresh supply they would be leaning upon a very rotten reed,since, surrounded as they seemed to be by enemies, it would beimpossible to fire, while everything in the shape of game had so farbeen absent. But his spirits rose as he refreshed himself.

  "I will not build imaginary mountains," he said mentally; "there areplenty about us at last."

  "There, sir," said Gedge, breaking in upon his musings suddenly; "I'mready for anything now. I should like to lie down and have a goodsleep; but I s'pose we mustn't do that."

  "Not till we have crossed that ridge up to the north, Gedge. It will behard work, but it must be done."

  "And get into the valley on the other side, sir, 'fore we go oneast'ard?"

  "Yes."

  "S'pose there'll be a valley t'other side, sir?"

  "No doubt about it."

  "Then, when you're ready, sir, I am. If we've got it to do, let's beginand get this soft bit over, for we shan't get along very fast."

  "No; the soft snow makes the travelling bad; but we go higher at everystep, and by-and-by we may find it hard. Now then, I'll lead. Theridge must be right before us, as far as I can make out."

  "Don't ask me, sir," said Gedge. "Wants a cat to see in the dark; but Ithink you must be right. Best way seems to me to keep on going uphill.That must be right, and when it's flat or going downhill it must bewrong."

  Bracy made no reply, but, after judging the direction as well as hecould, strode off, and found that his ideas were right, for at the endof a few minutes the snow was crackling under their feet.

  "Now for it, Gedge. You'll have to lift your feet high at every step,while they sink so deeply. Hullo!"

  There was a sharp crackling as he extended his left foot, bore down uponit, and with a good deal of resistance it went through a crust of ice,but only a short way above the ankle. Quickly bringing up the otherfoot, he stepped forward, and it crushed through the hardening surface,but only for a few inches. The next step was on the rugged surface ofslippery ice, and as they progressed slowly for about a hundred yards,it was to find the surface grow firmer and less disposed to give beneaththeir weight.

  "There's one difficulty mastered," said Bracy cheerily. "The surface isfreezing hard, and we can get on like this till the sun beats upon itagain."

  "I call it grand, sir; but I hope it won't get to be more uphill."

  "Why?"

  "Because if we makes one slip we shall go skating down to the bottom ofthe slope again in double-quick time. I feel a'ready as if I ought togo to the blacksmith's to get roughed."

  "Stamp your feet down if you are disposed to slip, my lad. I do notwant to do this, but if the slope grows steeper we must fix bayonets anduse them to steady us."

  "Take the edge off on 'em, sir."

  "Yes; but we must get across the ridge. Forward."

  They toiled on, the task growing heavier as they progressed, for thegradient became steeper, and they halted from time to time for a rest,the plan of using the bayonets being kept for a last resource. Butthere were compensations to make up for the severity of the toil, one ofwhich was expressed by the travellers at one of the halts.

  "Makes one feel jolly comf'table and warm, sir."

  "Yes; and takes away all doubt of our going in the right direction, forwe must be right."

  "I didn't think we was at first, sir. 'Tain't so dark neither."

  "No: we are getting higher, and the snow and ice are all round us. Nowthen, forward!"

  Crunch, squeak, crunch went the snow as they tramped steadily, with thesurface curving slowly upward, till all at once there was a slip, athud, and a scramble, Gedge was down, and he began to glide, but checkedhimself with the butt of his rifle.

  "I'm all right, sir; but I was on the go," he said, panting.

  "Hurt?" replied Bracy laconically.

  "Not a bit, six. Knocked some o' the wind out o' me, but I'm all rightagain now."

  "Forward!"

  Bracy led on again, to find that the curve made by the snowfield rosemore and more steeply, and the inclination to slip increased. But hestamped his feet down as he kept on, with his breathing growing quicker,and had the satisfaction of hearing his follower imitate his example,till he began to find that he must soon make another halt.

  His spirits were rising, however, with an increasing hopeful feeling,for this was evidently the way to avoid pursuit or check. They were onthe ice, and to this they must trust for the rest of their journey tillthey were well within reach of the Ghil Valley, to which they mustdescend.

  Slip.

  In an instant Bracy was down, starting on a rapid descent toward theplace they had left; but at his first rush he heard beneath him a sharpblow delivered in the glazed surface, and he was suddenly brought up bythe body of Gedge.

  "Hold tight, sir! All right. I've got something to anchor us."

  "Ha!" ejaculated Bracy breathlessly. "It was so sudden."

  "Yes, sir; don't give you much time to think. You'd better do as I do."

  "What's that?"

  "Keep your bay'net in your hand ready to dig down into the ice. Stoppedme d'reckly, and that stopped you."

  "Yes, I'll do so. A minute's rest, and then we'll go on again."

  "Make it two, sir. You sound as if you haven't got your wind back."

  "I shall be all right directly, my lad. This is grand. I hope bydaylight that we shall be in safety."

  "That's right, sir. My! shouldn't I have liked this when I was ayoungster! Think we shall come back this way?"

  "Possibly," said Bracy.

  "Be easy travelling, sir. Why, we could sit down on our heels and skimalong on the nails of our boots, with nothing to do but steer."

  "Don't talk, my lad," said Bracy. "Now, forward once more."

  The journey was continued, and grew so laborious at last from thesmoothness of the ice, which increased as the gradient grew heavier--themelted snow having run and made the surface more compact during thesunny noon; and at the end of another couple of hours the difficulty ofgetting on and up was so great that Bracy changed his course a little soas to lessen the ascent by taking it diagonally.

  This made matters a little better, and tramp, tramp, they went on andon, rising more swiftly than they knew, and little incommoded now by thedarkness, for the stars were shining out through the cloudy mist whichhung over the slope, while their spirits seemed to rise with the ascent.

  "Have we passed the rocks along which we saw that body of men moving?"said Bracy at last.

  "I s'pose not, sir, or we must have felt 'em. They must have been along way off when we saw 'em going along."

  "Yes; the distances are very deceptive, and--Ah! stones, rocks. Here isthe rough track at last."

  They halted again, for by walking here and there they could make outthat there was a rough track to right and left, comparatively free fromsnow, and if this were followed to the right there would be travellingwhich would necessitate their waiting for daylight, since it was all inand out among huge masses of stone.

  "We couldn't get along here, sir, very fast," said Gedge after making afew essays.

  "No, it is impossible now," replied Bracy. "It would be a dangerousway, too, for it must, as we saw, cut the valley when; the enemy willcome out."

  He stood looking back and around him, to see that the darkness waslightened by the strange faint glare from the ice and snow around him;then, turning, he crossed the ridge of broken rocks and tried what theslope seemed like upon the other sid
e, to find that it was acontinuation of that up which they had toiled, and apparently much thesame, the gradual curve upward to the mountain being cut by this band ofrocks.

  "Forward again, Gedge," he cried. "This must be right, for we aregetting a trifle nearer to our journey's end, and more out of reach ofour pursuers."

  "Then it is right, sir; but I suppose we shall get a bit o' downhillsome time."

  They tramped on for the next hour, but not without making several halts,three of which were involuntary, and caused by more or less suddenslips. These were saved from being serious by the quick action ofdriving dagger-like the bayonet each carried into the frozen snow; andafter repetitions of this the falls seemed to lose; their riskycharacter, the man who went down scrambling to his feet again the nextinstant and being ready to proceed. The still air was piercingly cold,but it only seemed to make their blood thrill in their veins, and asense of exhilaration arose from the warm glow which pervaded them, andtemptingly suggested the removal of their woollen _poshtins_. But thetemptation was forced back, and the tramp continued hour after hour upwhat seemed to be an interminable slope, while fatigue was persistentlyignored.

  At last, though, Bracy was brought to a halt, and he stood panting.

  "Anything wrong, sir?" whispered Gedge hoarsely.

  "No; only that I can get no farther in this way. We must fix bayonets,and use our rifles as staves."

  "Right, sir."

  "Be careful not to force your barrel down too far, so as to get itplugged with the snow," said Bracy; and then, as soon as thekeen-pointed weapons were fixed, he started onward again, the riflesanswering this new purpose admirably, and giving a steadiness to theprogress that had before been wanting.

  Consequently far better progress was made for the next half-hour, withmuch less exertion, and Bracy made up his mind that the first patch ofpines they came to on the lower ground should supply them with a coupleof saplings whose poles should have the bayonets fixed or bound uponthem, so as to take the place of the rifles.

  "I'm longing for the daylight, Gedge," said Bracy suddenly, for they hadplunged into a mist which obscured the stars, "so that we can see betterin which direction to go, for we ought to be high enough now to be safefrom--Ha!"

  Then silence.

  "Safe from what, sir?" said Gedge, stopping short.

  There was no reply, and after waiting a few seconds, feeling alarmed,the lad spoke again.

  "Didn't quite hear what you said, sir; safe from what?"

  There was no reply, and Gedge suddenly turned frantic.

  "Mr Bracy, sir," he said hoarsely, and then, raising his voice, hecalled his officer by name again and again; but the same terribledarkness and silence reigned together, and he grew maddened now.

  "Oh Lor'!" he cried, "what's come to him?" and he went upon his handsand knees to crawl and feel about. "He's gone down in a fit, andslipped sudden right away; for he ain't here. He's half-way down themountain by now, and I don't know which way to go and help him, and--Ah!" he shrieked wildly, and threw himself over backwards, to beginrolling and sliding swiftly back in the way he had come, his rifleescaping from his grasp.