CHAPTER THIRTY.
A PRAYER FOR LIGHT.
Gedge glided rapidly down the icy slope for a good fifty yards in thedarkness, with the pace increasing, before he was able to turn on hisback and check himself by forcing his heels into the frozen snow.
"And my rifle gone--where I shall never find it again," was his firstthought, as he forced back his helmet, which had been driven over hiseyes: but, just as the thought was grasped, he was conscious of ascratching, scraping noise approaching, and he had just time to flingout his hands and catch his weapon, the effort, however, sending himgliding down again, this time to check himself by bringing the point ofthe bayonet to bear upon the snow. And now stopped, he lay motionlessfor a few moments.
"Mustn't be in a flurry," he panted, with his heart beating violently,"or I shan't find the gov'nor, and I must find him. I will find him,pore chap. Want to think it out cool like, and I'm as hot as if I'dbeen runnin' a mile. Now then; he's gone down, and he must ha' gonestrite down here, so if I lets myself slither gently I'm sure to comeupon him, for I shall be pulled up same as he'd be."
He lay panting, still, for a few minutes, and his thinking powers, whichhad been upset by the suddenness of the scare, began to settlethemselves again. Then he listened as he went on, putting, as hementally termed it, that and that together.
"Can't hear nothing of him," he said to himself. "He must have gonedown with a rush 'stead o' falling in a fit as I thought fust; but itain't like a fall. He wouldn't smash hisself, on'y rub some skin off,and he'll be hollering to me d'reckly from somewheres below. Oh dear!if it only warn't so precious dark I might see him: but there ain't nomoon, and no stars now, and it's no use to light a match. I say, whydon't he holler?--I could hear him a mile away--or use his whistle?He'd know that would bring me, and be safer than shouting. But I can'thear nothing on him. Here: I know."
Gedge rose to his feet and drove his bayonet into the snow to steadyhimself, without turning either to the right or the left.
"Mustn't change front," he said, "or I may go sliding down wrong andpass him," he thought. Then raising his hand, he thrust two fingersinto his mouth and produced a long drawn whistle, which was a nearimitation of that which would be blown by an officer to bring his mentogether to rally round him and form square.
"That ought to wake him up," he thought. "He'd hear that if he wasmiles away."
There was a faint reply which made his heart leap; and thrusting hisfingers between his lips, he whistled again in a peculiar way, with theresult that the sound came back as before, and Gedge's heart sank withsomething akin to despair.
"'Tain't him," he groaned. "It's them blessed eckers. I'll make sure,though."
He stood listening for some minutes, and then, with his heart feelinglike lead, took off his helmet and wiped his dripping brow.
"Oh dear!" he groaned; "ain't it dark! Reg'lar fog, and cold as cold.Makes a chap shiver. I dunno how it is. When I'm along with him I feelas bold as a lion. I ain't afeared o' anything. I'd foller himanywheres, and face as many as he'd lead me agen. 'Tain't braggin', forI've done it; but I'm blessed now if I don't feel a reg'lar mouse--apoor, shiverin' wet mouse with his back up, and ready to die o' frightthrough being caught in a trap, just as the poor little beggars do, andturns it up without being hurt a bit. I can't help it; I'm a beastlycoward; and I says it out aloud for any one to bear. That's it--acussed coward, and I can't help it, 'cause I was born so. He's gone,and I shan't never find him agen, and there's nothing left for me to dobut sneak back to the fort, and tell the Colonel as we did try, but luckwas agen us.
"Nay, I won't," he muttered. "I'll never show my face there again, evenif they call it desertion, unless I can get to the Ghoorkha Colonel andtell him to bring up his toothpick brigade.
"Oh, here, I say, Bill, old man," he said aloud after a pause, duringwhich he listened in vain for some signal from his officer, "this herewon't do. This ain't acting like a sojer o' the Queen. Standin' stillhere till yer get yerself froze inter a pillar o' salt. You've got tofetch your orficer just as much now as if if hailed bullets and bits o'rusty ragged iron. Here goes. Pull yourself together, old man! Yerwanted to have a slide, so now's your time."
Grasping his rifle, he squatted down on his heels, and laid the weaponacross his knees preparatory to setting himself in motion, on the faintchance of gliding down to where Bracy would have gone before him.
"Would you have thought it so steep that he could have slithered awaylike that? But there it is," he muttered. "Now then, here goes."Letting himself go, he began to glide slowly upon his well-nailed shoes;then the speed increased, and he would the next minute have been rushingrapidly down the slope had he not driven in his heels and stoppedhimself.
"Well, one can put on the brake when one likes," he muttered; "but hecouldn't ha' gone like this or I should have heard him making just thesame sort o' noise. He had no time to sit down; he must ha' gone on hisside or his back, heads up or heads down, and not so very fast. If I godown like this I shall be flying by him, and p'raps never stop till Iget to the end of the snow. I know--I'll lie down."
Throwing himself over on his side, he gave a thrust with his hands andbegan to glide, but very slowly, and in a few seconds the wool of his_poshtin_ adhered so firmly to the smooth surface that he was brought upand had to start himself again.
This took place twice, and he slowly rose to his feet.
"Wants a good start," he muttered, and he was about to throw himselfdown when a fresh thought crossed his brain.
"I don't care," he said aloud, as if addressing some one who had spoken;"think what yer like, I ain't afraid to pitch myself down and goskidding to the bottom, and get up with all the skin off! I sez heain't down there. I never heerd him go, and there's something more thanI knows on. It is a fit, and he's lying up yonder. Bill Gedge, lad,you're a-going wrong."
He stood trying to pierce the thickening mist, looking as nearly as hecould judge straight upward in the course they had taken, and was aboutto start: but, not satisfied, he took out his match-box, struck a light,and, holding it down, sought for the marks made by the bayonets in theclimb. But there was no sign where he stood, neither was there to hisleft; and, taking a few paces to the right, with the rapidly-burningmatch close to the snow, the flame was just reaching his fingers when heuttered a sigh of satisfaction: for, as the light had to be dropped,there, one after the other, he saw two marks in the freshly-chipped snowglistening in the faint light. Keeping their direction fresh in hismind, he stalled upward on his search.
"How far did I come down?" he said to himself. "I reckon 'bout ahundred yards. Say 'undred and twenty steps."
He went on taking the hundred and twenty paces, and then he stoppedshort.
"Must be close here somewhere," he muttered; and he paused to listen,but there was not a sound.
"Nobody couldn't hear me up here," he thought, and he called hiscompanion by name, to rouse up strange echoes from close at hand; andwhen he changed to whistling, the echoes were sudden and startling inthe extreme.
"It's rum," said Gedge. "He was just in front of me, one minute talkingto me, and then `Ha!' he says, and he was gone."
Gedge took off his helmet, and wiped his wet brow again before replacingit.
"Ugh, you idjit!" he muttered. "You were right at first. He droppeddown in a sort o' fit from overdoing it--one as took him all at wunst,and he's lying somewheres about fast asleep, as people goes off in thesnow and never wakes again. He's lying close by here somewheres, andyou ought to have done fust what you're going to do last.
"Mustn't forget where I left you," he muttered as he gave a dig downwith his rifle, driving the bayonet into the snow, and sending somescraps flying with a curious whispering noise which startled him.
"What does that mean?" he said, and he caught at the butt of his piece,now sticking upward in the snow, but dropped his hand again to hispocket and again took out his match-box.
"Sort o' fancy," he mutt
ered; and, getting out a match, he struck it,after shutting the box with a snap, which again made him start,something like an echo rising from close at hand.
"Why, I'm as nervous as a great gal," he muttered, as the tiny matchburst into a bright flame which formed a bit of a halo about itself,and, stooping to bring the tiny clear light burning so brightly close tothe surface, he took two steps forward, the ground at the second givingway beneath him, and at the same moment he uttered a wild shriek ofhorror, dashed the match from him, and threw himself backward on to thesnow. For the tiny light had in that one brief moment revealed a horrorto him which was a full explanation of the trouble, and as he laytrembling in every limb, his shriek was repeated from a short distanceaway, and then again and again rapidly, till it took the form of a wildburst of laughter.
"Get up, you coward!" growled Gedge the next minute, as he made a braveeffort to master the terrible shock he had sustained, for he felt thathe had been within an inch of following his officer to a horrible death.
The self-delivered charge of cowardice brought him to himself directly,and he sprang to his feet. Then, with fingers wet with a coldperspiration, and trembling as if with palsy, he dragged out hismatch-box, took out one of the tiny tapers, and essayed to light it, butonly produced streaks of phosphorescent light, for he had taken thematch out by the end, and his wet fingers had quenched its lightingpowers.
With the next attempt he was more successful; and, setting aside allfear of being seen, he held out the flaming light, which burned withoutmotion in the still air, and, holding it before him, stepped towards theedge of the snow, which ended suddenly in a black gulf, over which hewas in the act of leaning, when once more he sprang back and listened,for the snow where he stood had given way, and as he remained motionlessfor a few moments, there suddenly came up from far below, a dull thud,followed by a strange whispering series of echoes as if off the face ofsome rocks beyond.
"Oh!" he groaned. "That's it, then. It was down there he went; and hemust be killed."
It was one of the young soldier's weak moments; but his life of late hadtaught him self-concentration and the necessity for action, and herecovered himself quickly. The trembling fit passed off, and he lookout another match, lit it, stepped as near as he dared to the edge ofthe gulf, and then pitched the burning flame gently from him, seeing itgo down out of sight; but nothing more, for the place was immense.
He lay down upon his breast now, and crawled in what seemed to begreater darkness, consequent upon the light he had burned having madehis eyes contract, and worked himself so close that his hand was overthe edge, a short distance to the left of where he had broken it awaywith his weight. Here he gathered up a handful of the frozen snow,threw it from him, and listened till a faint pattering sound came up.
His next act was to utter a shout, which came back at once, as if from awall of rock, while other repetitions seemed to come from right andleft. Then, raising his fingers to his mouth, he gave vent to a long,shrill whistle, which he repeated again and again, and then, with astrange stony sensation, he worked himself slowly back, feet foremost,at first very slowly, and then with frantic haste, as it suddenly dawnedupon him that he was going uphill. For the snowy mass was sinking, andit was only just in time that he reached a firmer part, and layquivering in the darkness, while he listened to a rushing sound, for hisweight had started an immense cornice-like piece of the snow, which wentdown with a sullen roar.
"It's no use while it's like this," groaned Gedge. "I can't do nothingto help him till the day comes. I should on'y be chucking my own lifeaway. I'd do it if it was any good; but it wouldn't be no use to try,and I might p'raps find him if I could only see."
He had risen to his knees now, and the position brought the words to hislips; the rough lad speaking, but with as perfect reverence as ever camefrom the lips of man:
"Oh, please, God, can't you make the light come soon, and end thisdreadful night?"
Poor, rough, rude Bill Gedge had covered his eyes as he softly whisperedhis prayer; and when he opened them again, it was to look upon no marvelgreater than that grand old miracle which we, with leaden eyes sealedup, allow to pass away unheeded, unseen. It was but the beginning ofanother of the many days seen in a wild mountain land; for the watchingsand tramps of the two adventurers had pretty well used up the hours ofdarkness; and, black though the snow lay where Bill Gedge knelt, rightbeyond, straight away upon the mighty peak overhead, there was a tinypoint of glowing orange light, looking like the tip of some huge spearthat was heated red-hot.
For the supplicant was gazing heavenward, and between the sky and hiseyes there towered up one of the huge peaks of the Karakoram range,receiving the first touch of the coming day.