STORY ONE, CHAPTER TWELVE.
As I went down into the court-yard, I found the smoke rising in puffs asour men fired over the breastwork at the mob coming at the gate.Captain Dyer in the thick of it the while, going from man to man,warning them to keep themselves out of sight, and to aim low.
"Take care of yourselves, my lads. I value every one of you at ahundred of those black scoundrels.--Tut, tut, who's that down?"
"Corporal Bray," says some one.
"Here, Emson, Smith, both of you lend a hand here: we'll make Bantem'squarters hospital.--Now then, look alive, ambulance party."
We were about lifting the poor fellow, who had sunk down behind thebreastwork, all doubled up like, hands and knees; and head down; but aswe touched him, he straightened himself out, and looked up at CaptainDyer.
"Don't touch me yet," he says in a whisper. "My stripes for some one,captain. Do for Isaac Smith there. Hooray!" he says faintly; and hetook off his cap with one hand, gave it a bit of a wave--"God save theQuee--"
"Bear him carefully to the empty ground floor, south side," says CaptainDyer sternly; "and make haste back, my lads: moments are precious."
"I'll do that, with Private Manning's wife," says a voice; and turningas we were going to lift our dead comrade, there was big, strapping MrsBantem, and another soldier's wife, and she then said a few words to thecaptain.
"Gone?" says Captain Dyer.
"Quarter of an hour ago, sir," says Mrs Bantem; and then to me: "Poortrooper, Isaac!"
"Another man here," says Captain Dyer.--"No, not you, Smith.--Fill uphere, Bantem."
Joe Bantem waved his hand to his wife, and took the dead corporal'splace, but not easily, for Measles, who was next man, was stepping intoit, when Captain Dyer ordered him back.
"But there's such a much better chance of dropping one of them mountedchaps, sir," says Measles grumbling.
"Hold your tongue, sir, and go back to your own loophole," says CaptainDyer; and the way that Measles kept on loading and firing, ramming downhis cartridges viciously, and then taking long and careful aim, ah! andwith good effect too, was a sight to see.
All the while we were expecting an assault, but none came, for themutineers fell fast, and did not seem to dare to make a rush while wekept up such practice.
Then I had to go round and ask Lieutenant Leigh to send six more men tothe gate, and to bring news of what was going on round the other sides.
I found the lieutenant standing at the window where I caught Chunder,and there was a man each at all the other four little windows whichlooked down at the outside--all the others, as I have said, looking inupon the court.
The lieutenant's men had a shot now and then at any one who approached;but the mutineers seemed to have determined upon forcing the gate, and,so far as I could see, there was very little danger to fear from anyother quarter.
I knew Lieutenant Leigh was not a coward, but he seemed veryhalf-hearted over the defence, doing his duty but in a sullen sort ofway; and of course that was because he wanted to take the lead now heldby Captain Dyer; and perhaps it was misjudging him, but I'm afraid justat that time he'd have been very glad if a shot had dropped his rival,and he could have stepped into his place.
Captain Dyer's plan to keep the rabble at bay till help could come, wasof course quite right; and that night it was an understood thing, thatanother attempt should be made to send a messenger to Wallahbad, anotherof our corporals being selected for the dangerous mission.
The fighting was kept on, in an on-and-off way, till evening, we losingseveral men, but a good many falling on the other side, which made themmore cautious, and not once did we have a chance of touching a man withthe bayonet. Some of our men grumbled a little at this, saying that itwas very hard to stand there hour after hour to be shot down; and couldthey have done as they liked, they'd have made a sally.
Then came the night, and a short consultation between the captain andLieutenant Leigh. The mutineers had ceased firing at sundown, and wewere in hopes that there would be a rest till daylight, but all the samethe strictest watch was kept, and only half the men lay down at a time.
Half the night, though, had not passed, when a hand was laid upon myshoulder, and in an instant I was up, piece in hand, to find that it wasCaptain Dyer.
"Come here," he said quietly; and following him into the room underneathwhere the women were placed, he told me to listen, and I did, to hear alow, grating, tearing noise, as of something scraping on stone. "That'sbeen going on," he said, "for a good hour, and I can't make it out,Smith."
"Prisoners escaping," I said quietly.
"But they are not so near as that. They were confined in the next roombut one," he said in a whisper.
"Broke through, then," I said.
Then we went--Captain Dyer and I--quietly up on to the roof, answeredthe challenge, and then walked to the edge, where, leaning over, wecould hear the dull grating noise once more; then a stone seemed to fallout on to the sandy way by the palace walls.
It was all plain enough: they had broken through from one room toanother, where there was a window no bigger than a loophole, and theywere widening this.
"Quick, here, sentry," says the captain.
The next minute the sentry hurried up, and we had a man posted as nearlyover the window as we could guess, and then I had my orders in a minute:"Take two men and the sentry at their door, rush in, and secure them atonce. But if they have got out, join Sergeant Williams, and follow meto act as reserve, for I am going to make a sally by the gate to stopthem from the outside."
I roused Harry Lant and Measles, and they were with me in an instant.We passed a couple of sentries, and gave the countersign, and thenmounted to the long stone passage which led to where the prisoners hadbeen placed.
As we three privates neared the door, the sentry there challenged; butwhen we came up to him and listened, there was not a sound to be heard,neither had he heard anything, he said. The next minute the door wasthrown open, and we found an empty room; but a hole in the wall shewedus which way the prisoners had gone.
We none of us much liked the idea of going through that hole to be takenat a disadvantage, but duty was duty, and running forward, I made asharp thrust through with my piece in two or three directions; then Icrept through, followed by Harry Lant, and found that room empty too;but they had not gone by the doorway which led into the women's part,but enlarged the window, and dropped down, leaving a large opening--onethat, if we had not detected it then, would no doubt have done nicelyfor the entrance of a strong party of enemies.
"Sentry here," I said; and leaving the man at the window, followed byHarry Lant and Measles, I ran back, got down to the court-yard, crossedto where Sergeant Williams with half-a-dozen men waited our coming, andthen we were passed through the gate, and went along at the double towhere we could hear noise and shouting.
We had the narrow alley to go through--the one I have before mentionedas being between the place we had strengthened and the next building;and no sooner were we at the end, than we found we were none too soon,for there, in the dim starlight, we could see Captain Dyer and four mensurrounded by a good score, howling and cutting at them like so manydemons, and plainly to be seen by their white calico things.
"By your left, my lads, shoulder to shoulder--double," says thesergeant.
Then we gave a cheer, and with hearts bounding with excitement down werushed upon the scoundrels to give them their first taste of thebayonet, cutting Captain Dyer and two more men out, just as the othertwo went down.
It was as fierce a fight that as it was short; for we soon found thealarm spread, and enemies running up on all sides. It was bayonet-drillthen, and well we shewed the practice, till we retired slowly to theentrance of the alley; but the pattering of feet and cries told thatthere were more coming to meet us that way; when, following CaptainDyer's orders we retreated in good form in the other direction, so as toget round to the gate by the other alley, on the south side.
And now
for the first time we gave them a volley, checking the advancefor a few seconds, while we retreated loading, to turn again, and givethem another volley, which checked them again; but only for a fewseconds, when they came down upon us like a swarm of bees, right uponour bayonets; and as fast as half-a-dozen fell, half-a-dozen more wereleaping upon the steel.
We kept our line, though, one and all, retiring in good order to themouth of the second court, which ran down by the south side of thepalace; when, as if maddened at the idea of losing us, a whole host ofthem came at us with a rush, breaking our line, and driving us anyhow,mixed up together, down the alley, which was dark as pitch; but not sodark but that we could make out a turban or a calico cloth, and thosebayonets of ours were used to some purpose.
Half-a-dozen times over I heard the captain's voice cheering us on, andshouting: "Gate, gate!" Then I saw the flash of his sword once, andmanaged to pin a fellow who was making at him, just as we got out at theother end with a fierce rush. Then I heard the captain shout, "Rally!"and saw him wave his sword; and then I don't recollect any more, for itwas one wild fierce scuffle--stab and thrust, in the midst of a surging,howling, maddened mob, forcing us towards the gateway.
I thought it was all over with us, when there came a cheer, and the gatewas thrown open, a dozen men formed, and charged down, driving theniggers back like sheep; and then, somehow or another, we were cut out,and, under cover of the new-comers, reached the gate.
A ringing volley was then given into the thick of the mutineers as theycame pouring on again; but the next moment all were safely inside, andthe gate was thrust to and barred; and, panting and bleeding, we stood,six of us, trying to get our breath.
"This wouldn't have happened," says a voice, "if my advice had beentaken. I wish the black scoundrels had been shot. Where's CaptainDyer?"
There was no answer, and a dead chill fell on me as I seemed to realisethat things had come now to a bad pass.
"Where's Sergeant Williams?" said Lieutenant Leigh again; but it seemedto me that he spoke in a husky voice.
"Here!" said some one faintly, and, turning, there was the sergeantseated on the ground, and supporting himself against the breastwork.
"Any one know the other men who went out on this mad sally?" says thelieutenant.
"Where's Harry Lant?" I says.
There was no answer here either, and this time it was my turn to speakin a queer husky voice as I said again: "Where's Measles? I mean SamBigley."
"He's gone too, poor chap," says some one.
"No, he ain't gone neither," says a voice behind me, and, turning, therewas Measles tying a handkerchief round his head, muttering the whileabout some black devil. "I ain't gone, nor I ain't much hurt," hegrowled; "and if I don't take it out of some on 'em for this chop o' thehead, it's a rum un; and that's all I've got to say."
"Load!" says Lieutenant Leigh shortly; and we loaded again, and thenfired two or three volleys at the niggers as they came up towards thegate once more; when some one calls out: "Ain't none of us going to makea sally party, and bring in the captain?"
"Silence there, in the ranks!" shouts Lieutenant Leigh; and though ithad a bad sound coming from him as it did, and situated as he was, noone knew better than I did how that it would have been utter madness tohave gone out again; for even if he were alive, instead of bringing inCaptain Dyer, now that the whole mob was roused, we should have all beencut to pieces.
It was as if in answer to the lieutenant's order that silence seemed tofall then, both inside and outside the palace--a silence that was onlybroken now and then by the half-smothered groan of some poor fellow whohad been hurt in the sortie--though the way in which those men of oursdid bear wounds, some of them even that were positively awful, was asomething worth a line in history.
Yes, there was a silence fell upon the place for the rest of that night,and I remember thinking of the wounds that had been made in two poorhearts by that bad hour's work; and I can say now, faithful and true,that there was not a selfish thought in my heart as I remembered LizzyGreen, any more than there was when Miss Ross came uppermost in my mind,for I knew well enough that they must have soon known of the disasterthat had befallen our little party.