Chapter 19: Lost In The Forest.
On the way up, Lisle met with a very unpleasant adventure. He andHallett had been sent out, with a small party of men, to enter thebush and drive out any of the enemy who might be lurking, for thepurpose of attacking the carriers and rear guard. They went somedistance into the bush but, though they came upon tracks that hadrecently been cut, they saw none of the enemy. Some men wereplanted on each of these paths; and the two officers, who hadfollowed one a little distance farther into the bush, were on thepoint of turning, when they heard men cutting their way through theundergrowth behind them.
"Hide, Hallett!" Lisle exclaimed, "they must be enemies."
Illustration: They saw a strong party of the enemy crossing theroad.
As noiselessly as they could they took refuge in the thick bushand, a minute later, saw a strong party of the enemy crossing theroad that they had just passed along. There were several hundred ofthem. Some thirty or forty halted on the path. The others continuedto cut a track through and, in five minutes, a scattered fire wasopened, showing that they had come in contact with the troops. Thefire was kept up for some time, and then died away; whether becausethe troops had retired, or because the natives had turned off andtaken some other line, they could not be sure. Later they heardvery heavy firing abreast of them, and guessed that the Ashantishad followed some other path, and come down on the convoy.
Peering through the bushes, from time to time, they found thatthose who had halted on the path were still there, probably inwaiting for some chief or other who was to take command of them.
"We are in a nice mess, Bullen," said Hallett. "By the sound theconvoy is still moving on, so how we are to rejoin them, I don'tknow."
"Yes, we are certainly in a hole and, if these fellows stop heretill night, I see no chance of our being able to move. Theslightest rustle in the bushes would bring them down upon us, in notime. The firing is getting more and more distant every moment and,no doubt, a big body of the enemy have engaged our fellows.
"I have been in a good many tight places, but I think this is theworst of them. Our only course, so far as I can see, is to waittill nightfall; and then, if these fellows still stick here, getinto the path again, and follow it up till we come to some pathgoing the other way. Then it will be a pure question of luckwhether we hit upon the enemy, or not. If we do, of course we mustfight till the last, keeping the last shot in our revolvers forourselves. I have no intention of falling into their hands alive,and going through terrible tortures before I am put to death."
"That really seems to be the only thing to be done, Bullen.However, we must hope for the best."
When night fell, a fire was lit by the party on the path.
"The beggars evidently mean to stay here," Lisle said, "and even ifthey moved away we should be no better off for, as the column willbe ten miles away by now, we should really have no chance ofregaining it."
When night fell they crept out of the bush, taking the greatestcare not to make any noise, for the natives were but thirty yardsaway. They crawled along for forty or fifty yards and then, a turnin the path hiding them from sight, they rose to their feet andpushed on.
They found, however, that it was no easy matter to make headway. Itwas pitch dark, owing to the canopy of leaves, and they had to feeltheir way at every step. The path, moreover, was constantly turningand twisting. After travelling for upwards of two hours, they cameto a point where two paths met and, without knowing, they took theone that led off to the left. This they followed for some hours,and then lay down to rest. They awoke at daybreak.
"I wonder where we have got to," Hallett said.
"I am afraid somehow we have gone wrong," Lisle exclaimed, afterlooking round, "and the light seems to be coming from the wrongquarter, altogether. We must have turned off from the main pathwithout knowing it, and tramped a long distance in the wrongdirection."
"I believe you are right, Bullen. What on earth are we to do now?Retrace our steps, or push on and chance it?"
"We have the choice of two evils, Hallett, but I think it would bebetter to go on than to turn back. In the first place, however, wemust search for something to eat. We crossed several little streamson our way, so I don't think we are likely to be hard up for water;but food we must have. The natives are always able to find food inthe forest and, if we cannot do that, we may come upon somedeserted village, and get some bananas. We might even steal some,at night, from a village that is not deserted. At any rate, it isuseless to stay here."
They set out at once, moving cautiously, and stopping frequently tolisten for the soft trail of naked feet. They came at last to thespot where they had left the other track. Here they held anothercouncil, and decided that there was too much risk in turning on tothe main path again; as that was sure to be occupied by the enemy,who would be burying their dead, or examining any loot that theyhad captured from the carriers. After proceeding two or threemiles, they came upon another path on the right.
"This path," said Lisle, "will take us in the proper direction."
"I doubt if we shall ever get there," Hallett said. "I am feelingas hungry as a rat, already; and we have seen nothing to putbetween our lips since we started out, yesterday morning."
"It is a little rough," Lisle said cheerfully, "but we must hitupon a village, presently."
"I should not mind, if the path went on straight," Hallett said,"but it zigzags so much that we can never feel certain that we aregoing in the right direction."
"Well, you see," said Lisle, "we have passed two tracks to theleft, since we struck into this road. I cannot help thinking thatthese must lead to villages, and that the one we are following is asort of connecting link between them. I vote that we stop at thenext one we come to."
"All right, old man! It seems to me that it will make no greatdifference which way we go. Indeed, so far as I can make out, bythe glimpses we get of the sun, the path has turned a great deal,and is now going right back to that from which it started."
"I am afraid you are right, Hallett. However, there is one thingcertain. The Ashantis don't cut paths through their forests withoutsome reason, and I should not be surprised if we come to some largevillage, not far ahead."
After walking for another half hour, they found the bush gettingthinner, and they could soon see light ahead. They went verycautiously now and, at last, stood at the end of a large clearing,in which stood an Ashanti village.
"Thank God there is something to eat ahead!" said Hallett. "Thereare lots of bananas growing round the village and, when it getsdark, we will get two big bunches. That should last us some time."
Utterly exhausted, they both lay down just inside the bush. Manyvillagers were moving about and, twice, native runners came in. Theafternoon passed very slowly; but at length the sun set, anddarkness fell quickly. They waited a couple of hours, to allow thevillage to get comparatively quiet; then they crept forward, andcut two great bunches of bananas from the first tree they came toand, returning to the forest, sat down and ate a hearty meal.
"I feel very much better," Hallett said, when he had finished."Now, let us talk over what we had better do next."
"I should say we had better keep along by the edge of the bush, andsee if we can strike some other path. It would be useless to goback by this one, as it would simply take us to the place westarted from."
Hallett readily agreed to this suggestion, and the two officersstarted and gradually worked round the village. Presently theystruck another path. Turning up this they again pushed forward,each carrying his bunch of bananas. After walking two hours, theylay down. The darkness was so dense that their rate of progress wasextremely slow.
In the morning they went on again but, after walking for somehours, they came suddenly upon four of the enemy. As soon as thesesaw them, they rushed on them with a yell, firing their guns asthey did so. Both were struck with slugs; and Lisle was knockeddown, but quickly jumped to his feet again, revolver in hand. TheAshantis charged with their spears, but the rev
olver bullets weretoo much for them and, one by one, they dropped, the last man beingshot just as he reached them. Two were only wounded, but Lisle shotthem both.
"It would never do," he said, "for any of them to get to a village,and bring all its occupants upon us. We are neither of us fit to domuch running, and the beggars would be sure to overtake us."
"It is horrid," Hallett said, "though I admit that it isnecessary."
For four days they wandered on. The path never seemed to runstraight. Though they found a plentiful supply of bananas, theirstrength was gradually failing.
On the fourth day they came upon a sheet, doubtless a portion ofsome officer's baggage that had been looted. Hallett, who waswalking fast, passed it contemptuously. Lisle, however, picked itup and wound it round his body.
"We can lay it over us, Hallett, at night. It will at least help tokeep the damp off us."
"We sha'n't want it long," Hallett said; "I think the game isalmost up."
"Not a bit of it," Lisle said, cheerfully. "In spite of the turnsand twistings we have made, I think we cannot be far fromCoomassie, now. I thought I heard the sound of guns this morning,and it could have been from nowhere else."
Late that afternoon they came suddenly upon a great war camp and,at once, sat down in the bushes.
"What is to be done now?" Hallett said. "We cannot go back again.We are neither of us fit to walk a couple of miles."
Lisle sat for some minutes without answering him, and then saidsuddenly:
"I have an idea. I will cut down a sapling, seven or eight feetlong; and fasten the sheet to it, so as to make a flag of truce.Then we will walk boldly into the village, and summon it tosurrender. It is a bold stroke, but it may succeed. We know thatmost of them are getting tired of the war. We can give out that wehave lost our way in the bush and, if the fellows take it kindly,well and good; but if not, we shall have our revolvers, and shall,of course, use them on ourselves."
"I am game to carry it out, Bullen. Your idea is a splendid one.Anyhow, it is our last chance. I really don't think I could go amile farther. We know enough of their language to make ourselvesunderstood."
"Yes. What with our servants, the Hausas, and the carriers, we haveboth picked up a good deal of the language."
With renewed spirits they cut down a sapling, stripped it of allits leaves and branches and, fastening the sheet to it, walkedstraight down towards the camp. There was an immediate stir in thecamp. Many of the Ashantis ran for their arms but, when they sawthat the two officers were alone, they calmed down. Presently twochiefs advanced, followed by some twenty warriors.
"Now, Bullen, muster up your knowledge of the language, and addressthem. Lay it on pretty thick."
"Chiefs," Lisle said, "we are come to you from the governor ofCoomassie. He says that it must be clear to you, now, that youcannot stand against the white man; and that you will only bringruin upon yourselves, and your country, by further resistance. Theyhave therefore sent us to say that, if you will surrender, a smallfine only shall be imposed upon you; and that your soldiers mayretire to their villages, after having laid down their arms. Whileyou are talking about this, we shall be glad if you will give ussome provisions; for we have lost our way in the bush, coming here,and need food."
"If you follow me into the village," one of the chiefs said,"provisions shall be served to you, while we talk over what yousay. We shall be glad of peace; for we see that, however stronglywe make our stockades, your soldiers always take them. Our men arebeginning to long to return to their people, for they have foughtmany times, and already have begun to complain. Do you guaranteeour safety, if we return with you to your fort?"
"I can promise that," Lisle said. "We respect brave men, and areanxious that there should be an end to this fighting. When it isover, you will again live under the protection of our government,and the past will be forgotten. You attacked us without reason, andhave suffered heavily for it. This is the third time that we havehad to come up, and we hope that it will never be necessary to doso, again. We recognize each other's valour; we have each madesacrifices; and we hope that, when this war is over, we shall livetogether in peace. Had we only been armed as you are, the fortunesof war might have gone differently; but we have rifles and guns,and these must always give us victory, in the long run."
"We will talk it over," the chief said. "While we do so, you shallhave food."
So saying, he turned and led the way to a house in the village,where food and native spirit were set before them.
"Your dodge has succeeded admirably," Hallett said, as they werewaiting for the meal. "I think they will surrender."
"I hope they will," Lisle said; "but at any rate, I think they willtreat us as coming in under a flag of truce; and will perhaps sendan escort with us back to the camp. However, they are preparing ameal for us and, if the worst comes to the worst, it is much betterto die full than fasting."
In a quarter of an hour two women entered; one carrying a bowl withfour chickens, and a quantity of rice; the other a large jug ofwater, and a smaller one of native spirit. Not a word was spoken,while the meal was being eaten. At the end, nothing but bonesremained of the four chickens.
"Thank God for a good dinner!" Hallett said, after the meal wasover. "I feel, at present, at peace with all men; and I can safelyrecommend the chiefs, when they arrive at Coomassie, as beingfirst-rate fellows; while I am sure that the chief will be greatlypleased that we have secured the submission of their tribe. It willbe a big feather in our caps. When I came in here, I thought Icould not go another mile to save my life; now I feel perfectlygame for a seven or eight mile march to Coomassie."
At this moment, they noticed that there was a great hubbub in thecamp. Half an hour later, the chiefs entered.
"We accept the terms you bring," one of them said, "and will gowith you on condition that, if the terms are not as you say, weshall be allowed to return here, unmolested."
"That I can promise you," Lisle said. "We have not come herewithout reason, and the terms we offer are those that you canaccept without dishonour. I can assure you of as good treatment asyou have given us; and permission to leave the fort, and return toyour people, if you are dissatisfied with the terms."
A quarter of an hour later the party--consisting of the two chiefs,ten armed followers, and the two officers--set out. The camp was,they learned, about six miles from Coomassie. After a march ofthree hours, they emerged from the forest into the cleared spaceround the fort. When they reached the outlying sentries they werechallenged, but a word from Lisle sufficed to pass them on.
As they approached the fort a number of soldiers gathered roundthem and, when they neared the entrance, Colonel Willcocks himselfcame out.
"You remain here with the chiefs, Bullen. I will go on, and explainmatters to the chief."
Lisle nodded, and Hallett hurried forward, while the others halted.
"Why, Mr. Hallett," Colonel Willcocks said, "we had given you upfor dead; you and Mr. Bullen, whom I see over there. Whatever haveyou been doing now?"
Hallett gave a brief account of their adventure.
"You will probably be annoyed at us for acting as your messengersbut, as we have induced the two leaders of the large war camp tocome in, I trust that we shall be forgiven. We have promised thempermission for their force to return, unmolested, to theirvillages; and I may say, from the formidable stockades they havemade there, this result could not have been achieved, otherwise,without very heavy loss.
"I wish to say that the idea was entirely Bullen's. It seemed to bethe only chance of getting through; for we were both utterlyexhausted, when we reached the village."
"I think you have done extremely well, Hallett. I was about to senda force to capture that camp; and I am glad, indeed, of beingrelieved of the necessity of doing so. It means, perhaps, thesaving of a couple of hundred lives. Besides, we should probablynot have caught quarter of them; and the rest would have taken tothe bush, and continued to give us trouble.
"Tell me exactl
y what the terms are, upon which they are willing tosurrender."
"Simply the lives and freedom of the chiefs; and permission totheir men to retire, unmolested, to their villages."
"Those are exactly the terms I have offered to some of theirchiefs, who had sent in to ask for terms. Now, I will speak to themmyself."
He accordingly walked forward, with Hallett, to where the chiefswere standing.
"I am glad, indeed, chiefs," he said, "that you have decided totake no further part in the war. You will stay here with us, untilI hear that your camp is broken up; and you will then be at libertyto return to your own grounds. I thank you for receiving mymessengers so kindly; as a reward for which I shall, when youleave, present you each with five hundred dollars. Henceforth, Itrust that you will always remain on good terms with us, do all youcan to aid us by sending in carriers, and will accept our rulefrankly and truly.
"Now, I will ask you to come into the fort; where you will betreated as guests, until I hear of the dispersal of your camps."
The chiefs were much gratified by their reception; and sent off theescort, at once, to order the camp to be abandoned and burnt, andthe stockades to be pulled down. Then they followed ColonelWillcocks into the fort, where a room was assigned to them, andeverything done for their comfort.
As soon as the governor had retired with them, the other officersflocked down round Hallett and Lisle, to learn their adventures.Both were warmly congratulated upon their safe return; and Lislecame in for a large share of their congratulations when, in spiteof his protestations, Hallett insisted on giving him the largestshare of credit for the manner in which he had suggested thescheme, and had unquestionably been the means of saving theirlives.
"Hallett had everything to do with it, except that," he said; "andthat was only an accidental idea. We mutually helped each other,during those long days of tramping; and it was most fortunate forme that he was with me for, had I been alone, I don't think Ishould have had the strength of mind or body to hold on, when theprospect seemed altogether hopeless."
As they went down to the lines of their company, they weresurrounded by the delighted blacks; who continued to cheer soheartily that it was some time before they could get an opportunityto tell what had taken place. Cheers again broke out, when thestories were finished. The men insisted on shaking their hands, andthen started a war dance to show their satisfaction.
Then both retired to a shelter erected for them and, lying down,slept for some hours. When they awoke they ate a hearty meal; afterwhich they agreed that, in a day or two, they would be fit for dutyagain.
"I shall mention your conduct in my despatches," the colonel said,next day. "You have not only saved your own lives; but haverendered very important service, in inducing those two chiefs andtheir followers to submit. From the information that we have beenable to get, their camp was very strongly fortified, and could onlyhave been taken after hard fighting; and even then, as has happenedon all previous occasions, the main body would have escaped,rallied again a short distance away, and given us all the troubleof dispersing them, once more. As it is, I have no doubt that theinfluence of their chiefs will keep them quiet and, indeed,scattered as they will be among their villages, it will bedifficult to persuade them to take up arms again.
"On second thoughts, I allowed them to leave this morning, with acolumn that was starting to collect the arms of the garrison. Theyseemed quite in earnest; and will, I have no doubt, succeed ininducing their men to part with their arms, without a squabble."
The detachment, indeed, returned in the evening. The success oftheir mission had been complete; and the natives had handed overtheir arms, and started off with their chiefs into the forests,after burning the camp and razing the stockades. They all seemedhighly pleased that they should not be called upon for morefighting, and had individually taken an oath that they would neveragain fight the white men.
Several other flags of truce came in, and many chiefs surrendered.The Queen Mother, the most important of the leaders, tendered hersubmission. Colonel Willcocks gave her four days in which to provethe truth of her submission by coming in, in person. Shortly,however, before the truce expired, she sent in an impudent messagethat she would fight till the end.
Some of the chiefs who had been foremost in their opposition, andwho had personally taken part in the torture and death of those whofell into their hands, were tried by court martial; and either shotor hanged, it being necessary to prove to the natives that eventheir greatest chiefs were not spared, and that certain punishmentwould be dealt out to those who had taken part in the murder ofsoldiers, or carriers, who had fallen into their hands.
The greatest tragedy of this campaign became known, on the 8th ofSeptember, through a letter from a native clerk who was with theAkim levies, which were commanded by Captains Willcox and Benson.These levies had worked up on our right flank, as we advanced fromthe south, in the same way as the Denkeras had done on the west.They were as cowardly, and as terrified of the Ashantis, as all theother neighbouring races. In fact, the only work they were fit forwas living in deserted villages, or cutting crops and eating up theproduce.
Three thousand of these levies were ordered to cooperate withColonel Brake's column. They were met by the Ashantis, and boltedas soon as the latter opened fire; and Captain Benson, deserted byhis cowardly followers, fell. In a letter he had sent home, a fewdays before his death, he expressed in the strongest terms hisopinion of the men under his command, saying:
"If it comes to a real show, after all, Heaven help us!Three-quarters of my protective army are arrant cowards, allundisciplined, and quite impossible to hold."
The native levies cannot be compared with the disciplined troops.They were simply a motley mob, armed with stray guns, arms, andpowder, and their pay is what they can loot; whereas the Africanprivate's drill and duties are identical with those of the Britishprivate. His orders are given to him in English, and his knowledgeof our language is probably superior to that of most Indian orEgyptian soldiers; while the British soldiers in West Africa arerarely able to understand the language of their men.
A column had started, at once, to Captain Willcox's assistance.They returned, however, in ten days, having been unable to come upto him, as he had retired fifty miles farther to the east. They hadno fighting, the enemy having gone north; but they ascertained thatall the country immediately to the south was free from rebels anddesirous of peace. The spot where Captain Benson's action had beenfought was strewn with dead bodies, baggage, and rifles; evidenceof the disordered flight. It seemed that the levies bolted, as soonas they were fired on. Then, with a few trained volunteers, thewhite men hastily entrenched themselves; and held out till late inthe afternoon when, their ammunition having run short, they werecompelled to retire, which they did fighting. It was during theretreat that Captain Benson was shot.
Another column came in on the following day, after five days'reconnaissance. It had gone by the same road by which the governorhad broken out, on the 23rd of June. The road was entirelydeserted, the villages destroyed, and the crops burnt. They made noattempt to search the bush but, on the path, they foundninety-eight headless skeletons; a painful testimony of the numberof soldiers and carriers who had died of privation, and hardship,during the retreat.
Information now came in that, to the north, the most reckless ofthe Ashantis had again concentrated, and were determined to makeanother stand. On the 16th there was a big review of the seventeenhundred troops and the nine guns of the garrison. The heavy gunswere exercised on a stockade, similar to those of the enemy.Hitherto they had not been altogether successful; as it was foundthat, owing to the large bursting charge, the range had to beestimated at double its real distance. Six shots smashed abarricade which was six feet high by six feet thick.
Friendly chiefs, who were invited to witness the experiment, wereprofoundly impressed; and there can be no doubt that the feat wasreported to the enemy in the field, for they raised no stockade inthe future, and reverted to their old
plan of bush fighting.
The heavy and continuous rains were now rapidly bringing onsickness, and the officers were attacked in forms that were quitenovel to them.
"I don't know what is the matter with me," Lisle said, one morning,"but I am swollen all round the neck. I once had mumps, when I wasa little boy and, if it were not so ridiculous, I should declarethat I had got them again."
Hallett burst into a fit of laughter.
"I expect you are going to have all your old illnessesagain--scarlet fever, measles, whooping cough, and the rest. Wemust see that the hut is fitted up for you, with something as muchlike a bed as possible, and a fire for making a posset, or whateverthey give you."
"It is all very well for you to laugh, Hallett, but look at myneck."
"Well, it is swollen," Hallett agreed; "and I expect that you havecaught a cold, when we were wandering about in the bush. Seriously,I should advise you to put a piece of warm flannel round your neck,or else go across and consult the doctor."
"I think I will do so, Hallett. It hurts a good deal, I can tellyou and, as you see, I can hardly drink my tea."
After breakfast was over, he went to the tent of the principaldoctor.
"I have come, sir," he said, "to ask you about my neck."
"You don't say so, Bullen! Why, yours is the third case I have seenthis morning! Let me look at it.
"Yes, the symptoms are just the same as in the others. If this wereEngland, I should say that an epidemic of mumps has broken out; butof course it cannot be that.
"Well, I have sent the other two into hospital, and you had bettergo there, too. Is it painful?"
"It is rather painful, and I can hardly swallow at all."
"Well, when I come across to the hospital, I will put you in withthe others. I certainly cannot make out what it is, nor why it cameon so suddenly. The only thing I can put it down to is the constantrains that we have been having, though I really don't see why wetweather should have that effect. I should advise you to keep on hotpoultices."
In the evening another patient came in, and Lisle burst outlaughing, when he saw that it was Hallett.
"Oh, you have come to the nursery, have you? I hope you have madeup your mind to go through scarlet fever, or measles, Hallett?"
"Don't chaff. It is no laughing matter."
"No? I thought you took it quite in that light, this morning. Well,you see we have all got poultices on; and the orderly will make onefor you, at once. My face is bigger than it was this morning, andwhat it is going to come to, I cannot imagine. Although the doctorsaid, frankly, that he did not understand it; he seemed to thinkthat there was nothing very serious about it."
The next day the swelling had abated and, two days later, both ofthem were discharged from the hospital; to their great delight, forthey heard that a column was just going to start, and that theircompanies were included in it.
On the following day the column started. It was nearly a thousandstrong, with guns, and rations for twenty-eight days. This forcewas to penetrate into the northwestern country. The enemy here hadsent an impudent message that they would not surrender; and that,if they were attacked, they intended to revert to their formertactics, and direct all their efforts to shooting down the officersand, when these were disposed of, they would have little difficultyin dealing with the native troops.
On the second day, when twenty-five miles from Coomassie, the enemywere met with in force; and it was found that the message they hadsent was true, for there was no stockade, and the enemy resortedentirely to sniping. They were commanded by Kofia, one of the mostturbulent and determined of their chiefs. The attack did not comeas a surprise for, the day before, a number of Ashantis had beenfound in a village which was rushed. The active allies now searchedthe woods thoroughly, and succeeded in ascertaining the spot wherethe enemy had their war camp. They had been careful that theAshantis had no notion of our approach, and a number of them wereshot down by the Maxims and rifles.
The enemy, who held a strong position on the hilltop, rushed downand attacked our front and flank. Their number was estimated atfour thousand. Three companies on each side entered the bush, andsoon succeeded in pressing the enemy into a path; where they werefiercely charged by the West African Field Force, under MajorMelliss. That officer was wounded; and Captain Stevenson, who wasclose to him, was shot in the chest.
For a moment the soldiers wavered but, almost immediately, dashedon again to avenge the loss of their officers. The charge was veryeffective. Those of the enemy who gradually assembled werebayoneted, and the rest fled.
Captain Stevenson's death was greatly regretted. He and CaptainWright, of another company, had asked for leave to accompany theforce. As the one had no better claim than the other, ColonelWillcocks suggested that they should toss for it. They did so, andCaptain Stevenson won; but what he deemed his good fortune cost himhis life.
After the fight was over, there was a short pause to reorganize theforce; and an advance was made to a village, three miles ahead, theintention being to attack the next morning. That evening, however,a flag came in, with an offer to surrender. Word was sent back thatthe offer would be accepted, if made unconditionally; and at seveno'clock in the evening a chief, a large number of men, four hundredguns, and some sheep arrived. They said that Kofia was holding avillage, farther on; and would again give fight there. The forcereturned with them to Coomassie.
The next day, some scouts brought in the news that the enemy hadagain concentrated, and their numbers had been raised to fourthousand by their junction with another fighting tribe. Kofia wasin command, and a big war camp had been established some twelvemiles away on the Berekum road. Berekum itself, which was a hundredand forty miles to the north, was reported to be invested, and hadasked for help but, as so large an Ashanti force was near at hand,no men could be spared for the purpose.
A column twelve hundred strong, with five guns, and every availableman in the garrison who could carry a gun, moved out early on the29th, to give battle. It was followed by a supply column, and thebulk of the carriers.
Nine miles were accomplished without any opposition. Then a smallAdansi outpost retired on their approach. The commandant decided tohalt, for the night, at a deserted village. It was a miserableplace. The huts had all been burnt by the rebels; so that thetroops had to sleep in the open, in a steady downpour of rain. TheEuropeans tried to get rest in some hastily-constructed shelters,but a perfect tornado of wind was blowing, and swept the ground onwhich they were built.
Next day the troops marched, in their drenched clothes, through aheavy rain. Between seven and eight, however, this ceased and,almost at the same moment, a tremendous fire burst out upon them.The advance guard and support at once became engaged, but the enemyclung with such determination to their position, and contestedevery foot of the ground so stoutly, that two companies ofreinforcements had to be called up.
Two companies were sent out into the bush, and eventually succeededin getting partly behind the enemy, and forcing them to retreat.More troops were sent out on the left; and a company was instructedto move through the bush, on an extended line. In this way theenemy were driven out of the jungle, and forced to retire slowly upthe hill.
Then the main column started, led by Major Melliss and headed bythe Sikhs. The enemy, however, did not fly; and Major Mellissdashed into the thick of them, with the few men he could collect.An Ashanti fired at him, at close quarters; but a native soldierran the man through. As they struggled on the ground, anotherAshanti fired at Major Melliss, hitting him in the foot. He waspractically unarmed, as he could use neither his sword nor hisrevolver; and would have been killed, had not another officer comeup and shot the wounded Ashanti.
As the head of the column reached the spot, a heavy fire wasdirected upon the enemy, who were soon in headlong flight. Thevillage in the rear of the position was taken, at the point of thebayonet. One hundred and fifty of their dead were found, lying onthe battlefield; and it was learned, from prisoners, that over fivehundred
had been wounded.
The defeat was a crushing one. Several of their most determinedchiefs were found among the dead. So hopelessly demoralized werethe enemy that they never rallied again.
The victory had been achieved with very small loss, owing to theexcellence of Colonel Willcocks' force. The casualties consistedonly of two officers severely, and two slightly wounded; andtwenty-six rank and file killed and wounded.
When the wounded had been dressed, and the scattered unitscollected, an advance was made to the next village; where thewearied troops slept, as it was still doubtful whether the rebelsmight not rally. Major Cobbe was sent on, next morning, with eighthundred men. He was to go as far as he could, but to return thenext evening.
The march was a very trying one, the weather terrible. After goingfour miles they reached the bank of an unfordable river, some fortyyards wide. The Pioneers, although they had no technical equipment,succeeded in making a rough bridge by the afternoon; and MajorCobbe decided to push on to Kofia. At ten o'clock they reached thisplace and, to the general relief, it was found to be deserted. Thetroops, therefore, marched in and turned into the huts, amid ahowling tornado.
The return journey, next day, was even worse. The tracks, in manyparts, were now covered with between two and three feet of water.The bridge, though submerged, had fortunately not been carriedaway; and the troops were able to cross, and march into camp thesame evening, having carried out their orders without encounteringthe smallest opposition.
Chapter 20: At Home.
It was now found necessary to give the worn-out troops a long rest.They had been on constant service, for months; the stream ofinvalids that had been sent down to the coast daily increased, andthe sick list had already reached an appalling length. The want offresh rations was very much felt, and any large combination oftroops not only caused great discomfort, but engendered variousdiseases, smallpox among them. In addition to this, as the blacksoldiers always go barefooted, their feet had got into a deplorablestate.
The halt, however, had a good effect; and there was generalsatisfaction that it was unlikely that they would be called upon tomake further efforts, as no news came of fresh gatherings of theenemy.
Colonel Willcocks now saw that the time was come to issue aproclamation promising, henceforward, to spare the lives of allrebels that surrendered. This was done, with the result that largenumbers of the enemy came in. Almost all of them declared that theywould have surrendered, long ago, had they not feared to do so.
On October 6th, the Commandant and British Resident held a statelevee. It was attended by all the friendly and submitted kings.These vied with each other in their pomp; they were dressed ingorgeous robes and carried their state umbrellas, while theirattendants danced round them, beating drums and blowing horns.After the palaver was over, target practice took place, with theguns. Canvas dummies were riddled with bullets by the Maxims; andstockades, specially constructed for the purpose, were demolishedby the big guns. The natives retired, greatly impressed.
Two days later, Colonel Willcocks got up a rifle meeting for a cup;and he himself took his place among the competitors.
Five days later, news came that a fresh force of the enemy hadgathered. Two columns were sent out--one of seven hundred and theother of five hundred men--but, though they traversed a widestretch of country, they had no fighting. They received, however,the submission of a number of chiefs and villages.
The new commander of the Ashanti force was captured, tried, andhanged. The queen also was caught and, on the 24th of April, atelegram was sent home with the words:
"The campaign is at an end."
There can be no doubt that this expedition will lead to greatresults. The natives of Ashanti and the surrounding tribes havereceived a lesson that will not be forgotten for a great number ofyears and, long before that time, it may be hoped that civilizationwill have made such strides there that there will be no more chanceof trouble. They have been taught that they are absolutely unableto stand against the white man; that neither distance, thethickness of their forests, stockades, nor weather can check theprogress of British troops; and that resistance can only draw downupon them terrible loss, and the destruction of their villages andcrops.
They had received no such lessons in the previous expeditions. Thatof Governor Sir Charles M'Carthy had been entirely defeated, andthe governor himself killed. Another expedition, in 1867, met witha total failure. Sir Garnet Wolseley, in 1873, marched to Coomassiebut, though he burnt the place, he had at once to fall back to thecoast. In 1895 Sir Francis Scott led an expedition which, for somereason or other, met with no resistance.
Now Ashanti had been swept from end to end, and fire and sword haddestroyed the major part of the villages. Garrisons were to beleft, at Coomassie, strong enough to put down any local risings;and the natives had been taught that, small as our army might be intheir country, it could at any time be largely augmented, at veryshort notice. Most of all, they had learned that, even without theassistance of white soldiers, the native troops--whom they hadhitherto despised--were their superiors in every respect.
The completion of the railway to Coomassie has enabled troops to besent up from the coast, in a few hours, to the heart of thecountry; and the numerous companies formed to work the gold mineswill, in themselves, prove a great check to trouble as, no doubt,the miners will, in future, be well armed.
Colonel Willcocks left the headquarters staff a few days after thedespatch of his telegram. He rode through a two-mile avenue oftroops and friendly natives and, on arriving at Cape Coast, had amagnificent reception. Major C. Burroughs remained in command ofCoomassie, with a strong garrison.
A few days later, the rest of the force moved down to the coast.Lisle and Hallett were carried down in hammocks, for both werecompletely worn out by the hardships of the campaign and, as therewas no limit to the numbers of carriers that could be obtained,they gladly acquiesced in the decision of the medical officer thatthey ought to be carried. Both, indeed, had the seeds of fever intheir system and, when they arrived at Cape Coast, were laid upwith a sharp attack. As a result they were, like the great portionof the officers who had gone through the campaign, invalided home.
A day after his arrival in London, Lisle was visited by his friendColonel Houghton, at whose house he had spent most of his leavewhen he was last in England.
"I saw your name in the paper, yesterday, as among the returnedinvalids; and thought that I should find you in the hotel where youstayed before."
"I wrote yesterday afternoon to you, sir."
"Ah! Of course, I have not got that letter. And now, how are you?"
"I am a little shaky, sir, but the voyage has done wonders for me.I have no doubt that I shall soon be myself, again."
"You have not seen the last gazette, I suppose?"
"No, sir."
"Well, there was a list of promotions, and I am happy to say thatyou have got the D.S.O. for your services. I dare say you know thatyou succeeded to your company, just six months ago?"
"No, I did not know that. I knew that I stood high among thelieutenants, and expected to get it before long; but I am proud,indeed, of the D.S.O."
"To have won the V.C. and the D.S.O. is to attain the two greatestdistinctions a soldier can wear.
"Now, you had better come down with me to my place in the country;the air of London is not the best, for a man who has been sufferingfrom African fever."
"I certainly want bracing air, and I shall be only too glad to gohome with you; for I feel it is more my home than any other inEngland."
As soon as Lisle began to recover a little, Colonel Houghtonintroduced him to his neighbours, who made a good deal of the youngsoldier. Five years had elapsed, since he had started with thePioneers for Chitral, and he was twenty-one.
Soon after he went to the colonel's, he was speaking to him of hisfriend and constant companion in the late campaign; and the colonelat once invited Hallett down. Hallett accepted the invitation, andsoon joined them. He had prett
y well recovered, and the campaignhad knocked all his little laziness and selfishness out of him. Healso had received the D.S.O.
"I am sure, Colonel Houghton," he said one day, "that I owe atremendous lot to Lisle. He was always cheerful, and his unmercifulchaffing kept me alive. I am quite sure I should never have gotthrough that time, when we were lost in the forest, if it hadn'tbeen for him. I was a confirmed grumbler, too; but he never let meindulge my discontent. Altogether you have no idea, ColonelHoughton, how much he did for me."
"Well, you know, Captain Hallett, how much he did for me."
"No, sir," Hallett said, in surprise; "he has often spoken to me ofyou, and of your kindness to him; but he did not tell me aboutanything he had done for you."
"Well, he saved my life at the risk of his own. If he has not toldyou the story, I will."
And he related the manner in which Lisle had won his V.C.
"Why did you not tell me about it, Bullen? It was a splendid thingto do. You did tell me, I remember, how you got the V.C. by helpingto get an officer out of the grasp of the Afridis, but you gave nodetails."
"There was nothing to tell about it, Hallett. I only did what I amsure you would have done, in my case."
"I am by no means sure of that," Hallett said. "I am always slow inmaking up my mind about anything; and should never have thought ofputting a wounded officer on my horse, and sending him off, while Iremained to be cut to pieces. I hope I should have stood by him,and been cut down with him; but I am certain that I should not havethought of the other thing, with the Afridis rushing down upon me,only thirty yards away.
"You ought to have let me know about it. You did bully me a greatdeal, you know; and though it was all for my good, still I think Ishould have put up with it better, if I had known that you had donesuch a thing as that."
"I think you put up with it very well, Hallett. Chaffing you, andgetting you sometimes into a rage--which was pretended, rather thanreal--did me a lot of good. I am sure I should have given in,several times, had you not acted as a sort of tonic; and had I notbeen sure that it did you as much good as it did me."
A month after Hallett's arrival, the colonel said, one morning:
"Good morning, Lisle! I am going out with the hounds, tomorrow.They meet near here. As you are not great riders, I won't press youto go with me but, at least, you will ride with me to the meet. Itis sure to be a good gathering, and you will probably meet somenice girls; who will, no doubt, have much greater attractions, foryoung fellows like you, than a gallop round the country."
"They have no particular attraction for me, sir," Lisle laughed."It will be time enough for that, in another eight or ten years. Itis more in Hallett's line."
"But we shall be chaffed, if we don't ride after the hounds,Colonel," Hallett said.
"Not at all," the colonel replied, "you have a first-rate excuse.You are only just recovering from fever. That would get you no endof commiseration and pity."
"In that case," Lisle said, "I think I should prefer staying athome. I don't feel that I need the least pity, and don't want toget it on false pretences."
"It won't be false pretences," the colonel said. "I have taken carethat all the ladies I shall introduce you to should know what youdid for me, and how you did it."
"I am sorry to hear it, Colonel. It is really hateful, beingregarded as a man who has done something, especially at my age.However, I shall leave Hallett to bear the brunt of it. I know thathe is on the lookout for a wife."
"I don't think you know anything of the sort, Lisle. It will betime for that when I get my majority."
"Ah! That is all very well, Hallett; I know you took a goodhalf-hour dressing your hair, previous to that dinner party lastweek."
"It has to be brushed. It was nearly all cut off, when we were inCape Coast, and one doesn't want to go out looking like a fretfulporcupine."
So, laughing and joking, they started the next morning. There was,as the colonel had predicted, a large meet. Many ladies came onhorseback, and others in carriages. The two young officers weresoon engaged, chatting and laughing, with the latter.
"Do you mean to say that you are not going to ride, CaptainBullen?" one of the ladies on horseback said.
"In the first place, Miss Merton, I am an infantry officer and,except for a few weeks when I was on the staff of Colonel Lockhart,I have never done any riding. In the second place, I am forbiddento take horse exercise, at present. Moreover, although no doubt youwill despise me for the confession, I dislike altogether the ideaof a hundred men on horseback, and forty or fifty dogs, all chasingone unfortunate animal."
"But the unfortunate animal is a poacher of the worst kind."
"Very well, then, I should shoot him, as a poacher. Why should ahundred horsemen engage in hunting the poor brute down? Badhorseman as I am, I should not mind taking part in a cavalrycharge; but hunting is not at all to my taste."
"You like shooting, Captain Bullen?"
"I like shooting, when there is something to be shot; in the firstplace, a dangerous animal, and in the second, an animal that isable to show fight. I have several times taken part in tiger hunts,and felt myself justified in doing so, because the animals had madethemselves a scourge to unarmed villagers."
"I am afraid that you are a sort of Don Quixote," the girl laughed.
"Not quite that, Miss Merton; though I own I admire the goodknight, greatly. We are going to move off, now, to the covert thathas to be drawn; and I know I shall shock you, when I say that Isincerely hope that nothing will be found there."
The whole party then moved off, and the hounds were put into acovert. Five minutes later, a whimper was heard. It soon spreadinto a chorus, and then a fox dashed out from the opposite side;followed, in a couple of minutes, by the whole pack.
"Well, that is fun, is it not, Captain Bullen?" said a girl, towhom he was talking, in one of the carriages.
"It is a pretty sight," he said, "and if the fox always got away, Ishould like it. As it is, I say honestly that I don't."
The meet now broke up, and the carriages dispersed. Hallett andLisle accepted an invitation to lunch with the ladies to whom theywere talking. Two hours later, Lisle was on the point of leaving,when a groom rode up at full speed.
"Is Captain Bullen here?" he asked.
With a presentiment of evil, Lisle went out.
"The colonel has had a bad accident, sir. He was brought in, halfan hour ago, by the servants. I understand that he asked for you;and three of us at once rode off, in different directions, to findyou."
Lisle called Hallett and, in five minutes, they were mounted anddashed off. As they entered the house, they were met by thesurgeon.
"Is he badly hurt'?" Lisle asked, anxiously.
"I fear that he is hurt to death, Captain Bullen. His horse slippedas it was taking a fence, and fell on the top of him. He hassuffered severe internal injuries, and I greatly fear that there isnot the least hope for him."
"Is he conscious?" Lisle asked, with deep emotion.
"Yes, he is conscious, and I believe he understands that his caseis hopeless. He has asked for you, several times, since he wasbrought in; so you had better go to him, at once."
With a sinking heart, Lisle went upstairs. The colonel was lying onhis bed.
"I am glad you have come in time, my dear boy," he said faintly, asLisle entered. "I am afraid that I am done for, and it is aconsolation for me to know that I have no near relatives who willregret my loss. I have had a good time of it, altogether; and wouldrather that, as I was not to die on the battlefield, death shouldcome as it has. It is far better than if it came gradually.
"Sit by me, lad, till the end comes. I am sure it will not be long.I am suffering terribly, and the sooner it comes, the better."
The ashy gray of the colonel's face sufficed to tell Lisle that theend was, indeed, near at hand. The colonel only spoke two or threetimes and, at ten o'clock at night, passed away painlessly.
Upon Lisle devolved the sad work of arranging hi
s funeral. He wroteto the colonel's lawyer, asking him to come down. Hallett had leftthe house at once, though Lisle earnestly begged him to stay tillthe funeral was over. The lawyer arrived on the morning of thefuneral.
"I have taken upon myself, sir," Lisle said, "to make all thearrangements for the funeral, seeing that there was no one else todo it."
"You were the most proper person to do so," the lawyer said,gravely, "as you will see when the will is read, on our return fromthe grave."
When all was over, Lisle asked two or three of the colonel's mostintimate friends to be present at the reading of the will. It was avery short one. The colonel made bequests to several militarycharities; and then appointed his adopted son, Lisle Bullen,Lieutenant in His Majesty's Rutlandshire regiment, the sole heir toall his property.
This came almost as a surprise to Lisle. The colonel had indeedtold him that he had adopted him, and he was prepared to learn thathe had left him a legacy; but he had no idea that he would be leftsole heir.
"I congratulate you, sir," the lawyer said, when he folded up thepaper. "Colonel Houghton stated to me, fully, his reasons formaking such a disposition of his property and, as he had no nearrelations, I was able to approve of it heartily. I may say that hehas left nearly sixteen thousand pounds. The other small legacieswill take about a thousand, and you will therefore have somefifteen thousand pounds, which is all invested in first-ratesecurities."
"I feel my good fortune, sir," Lisle said quietly, "but I wouldthat it had not come to me for many years, and not in such amanner."
The meeting soon after broke up, and Lisle went up to town andjoined Hallett at the hotel they both used.
"Well, I congratulate you heartily," Hallett said, when he heardthe contents of the will. "It is a good windfall, but not a bitmore than you deserve."
"I would rather not have had it," Lisle said, sorrowfully. "I owemuch to the colonel, who has for the past three years given me anallowance of two hundred pounds a year; and I would far rather havegone on with that, than come into a fortune in this manner."
"I can understand that," Hallett said; "the colonel was afirst-rate old fellow, and his death will be an immense loss toyou. Still, but for you it would have come three years ago and,after all, it is better to be killed hunting than to be shot topieces by savages.
"Well, it will bring you in six or seven hundred pounds a year, asum not to be despised. It will enable you to leave the army, ifyou like; though I should advise you to stick to it. Here are you acaptain at twenty-one, a V. C. and D. S. O. man, with a big careerbefore you and, no doubt, you will get a brevet majority beforelong."
"I have certainly not the least idea of leaving the army. I wasborn in it, and hope to remain in it as long as I can do goodwork."
"What are you going to do now?"
"I shall go down there again, in a fortnight or so."
"Would you be disposed to take me with you?"
"Certainly I shall, if you will go. I had not thought of askingyou, because everything must go on quietly there, for a time; butreally I should prize your company very much."
"Well, the fact is," Hallett said, rather shamefacedly, "I amrather smitten with Miss Merton, and I have some hopes that she isa little taken with me. I heard that she has money but, althoughthat is satisfactory, I would take her, if she would have me,without a penny. You know I have three hundred pounds a year of myown; which is quite enough, with my pay, to enable us to get oncomfortably. Still, I won't say that, if she has as much more, wecould not do things better."
Lisle laughed.
"I thought you were not a marrying man, Hallett! In fact, you havemore than once told me so."
"Well, I didn't think I was," Hallett admitted, "but you see,circumstances alter cases."
"They do, Hallett, and your case seems to be a bad one. However,old man, I wish you luck. She is an exceedingly nice girl and, if Iwere ten years older, I might have been smitten myself; and then,you know, your chance would have been nowhere."
"I quite feel that," Hallett said; "a V.C. is a thing no girl canstand against.
"If you will take me, I will go down with you and stay a littletime, and then try my luck."
"That you certainly shall do. I can hardly do anything in the wayof festivities, at present; but there is no reason why you shouldnot enter into anything that is going on."
So they went down together. Ten days later, all the families roundcame to pay visits of condolence; and to each Lisle said that,although he himself could not think of going out, at present, hisfriend Hallett, who had come to stay with him for a month, would beglad to join in any quiet festivity. So Hallett was frequentlyinvited out, Lisle accompanying him only to the very quietest ofdinners.
One evening Hallett returned in the highest glee.
"Congratulate me, my dear fellow," he said. "Miss Merton hasaccepted me and, after she had done so, I had the inevitable talkwith her father. He told me, frankly, that he had hoped that hisdaughter would make a better match. I of course agreed with him,heartily; but he went on to say that, after all, our happiness wasthe first consideration, and that he felt sure that it would besecured by her marriage with me. He said that he should allow herfour hundred pounds a year, during his and her mother's lifetime.At their death there would be a small addition to her allowance,but naturally the bulk of his property would go to her brother. Ofcourse, I expressed myself as infinitely grateful. I said that hehad not enquired about my income, but that I had three hundredpounds a year, in addition to my pay; and should probably, someday, come into more. He expressed himself as content and, as I hadexpected, asked me whether I intended to leave the army. I saidthat that was a matter for his daughter to decide; but that, for mypart, I should certainly prefer to remain in the service, for Ireally did not see what I should do with myself, if I left it. Isaid that I had been very fortunate in having, to some smallextent, distinguished myself; but that if, after some experience ofIndia, she did not care for the life, I would promise to retire."
"'I think you are right,' he said. 'It is a bad thing for a youngman of seven or eight and twenty to be without employment. Yourincome would be insufficient to enable you to live, with comfort,as a country gentleman; and you would naturally find time lie heavyupon your hands, if you had nothing to do.'
"He was good enough to say that he thought his daughter's happinesswould be safe in my hands and, as she would be able to have everyluxury in India, he thought that the arrangement would be a verysatisfactory one. It is awfully good of him, of course, for shecould have made an infinitely better match."
"You have, of course, not settled anything about the date,Hallett?"
"No; I expect we shall settle about that when I see her, tomorrow.Of course, it must be pretty early, as we had letters, yesterday,to go up to town to be examined by the board; and we have bothpicked up so much that, I fancy, we shall be ordered back to ourregiments pretty sharply. You see, every man is wanted at presentand, as we both had a year's leave before we went out to WestAfrica, it is not unnatural that they should send us off again, assoon as they can. I dare say, however, they will give us a coupleof months; and I suppose we shall want a month for our honeymoon,in which case we ought to be spliced in a month's time; if she canget ready in that time, which of course she can do, if she hurriesup the milliners and other people."
"I have no doubt she could, in the circumstances," Lisle laughed."Well, old man, I do congratulate you most heartily. She certainlyis a very charming young woman. I expect I shall not get leaveagain, till the regiment comes back; which will be another fiveyears yet, and perhaps two or three years longer, if there is anyaction going on anywhere. I can tell you I am not so hot aboutfighting as I used to be. The Tirah was sharp, but it was nothingto West Africa, which was enough to cure one of any desire to takepart in fighting.
"If we are going to have a fight with Russia, I certainly shouldlike to take part in that. That would be a tremendous affair, and Ifancy that our Indian soldiers will give a good account of
themselves. If it is to be, I do hope it will come before I leavethe army. I am certainly in no hurry to do so."
"You would be a fool, if you were," Hallett said. "Thanks to yourluck in getting a commission at sixteen, and to the loss of so manyofficers in the Tirah, you are now a captain at twenty-one,certainly the youngest captain in the service. Of course, if thereis no war, you can't expect to continue going up at that pace; butyou certainly ought to be a major at thirty, if not before. You maycommand a regiment within five or six years later, and be abrigadier soon after that, for you will have that by seniority. Ofcourse, if you marry you will have to consider your wife's wishes;but she is not likely to object to your staying on, if you get tobe a major, for a major's wife is by no means an unimportant itemin a regiment."
"Ah! Well, we needn't think about that," Lisle laughed, "especiallyas, if there is war with Russia before we come home, a good many ofus will certainly stay out permanently. Well, old man, I docongratulate you, most heartily."
Miss Merton, after some demur, agreed that it would be justpossible for her to be ready at the end of a month. Three dayslater the two friends went up to town and, after undergoing amedical examination, were told that they must rejoin theirregiments in a couple of months. As both regiments were in India,they decided to return in the same ship.
"I am not sorry that we are off," Lisle said, when they met on thedeck of the P. and O. steamer. "I was getting desperately tired ofdoing nothing and, after you had gone off with your wife, on theafternoon of the marriage, I began to feel desperately lonely. Ofcourse, I have always been accustomed to have a lot of friendsround me; and I began to feel a longing to be with the regimentagain and, if we had not agreed to go out together, I think Ishould have taken the next steamer."
Six weeks later Lisle rejoined his regiment, where he was heartilywelcomed.
"Now you are a brevet major, Mr. Bullen, I am afraid that you willcease to be useful to us all; for of course we cannot be sending anofficer of that exalted rank about to do our messages. However,several nice boys have joined, while you have been away."
"I shall always be happy to be employed," Lisle laughed, "and Idare say I am no older than many of the subalterns."
"I suppose you have had hard times?"
"Very hard. I thought that the Tirah business was about as hard asone would have to go through, in the course of one's soldiering;but I was greatly deceived. When I say that for six months I hardlyever had dry clothes on, and that I waded something like a hundredrivers, you may guess what it was like.
"And we had our full share of fighting, too. I was very fortunatein only getting hit three or four times, with slugs; but as we werefor the most part fighting against men hidden in the bush, it wasunsatisfactory work, though we always did lick them in the end. Ican assure you that I do not wish for any more service of thatkind.
"Have the tribes been quiet since I went away?"
"Quiet, as far as we were concerned. Of course, there have been afew trifling risings along the frontier but, as a whole, even theZakka-Khels have been quiet. I don't think there will be anytrouble, on a large scale, for some time to come."
"Then there is a prospect of a quiet time; that is to say, if theRussians will keep quiet."
"That is a very strong 'if,' Major Bullen; but I think that, ifthere is trouble, it will be in China."
"In that case, no doubt a good many regiments will be sent fromhere. I hope that it will be our good fortune to be among them."
"Well, in that case," the colonel said, with a laugh, "you willhave to restrain your ardour, and give a chance to other men. Youhave got the V.C. and the D.S.O., which ought to satisfy you; tosay nothing of having got your company, and brevet majority, at theage of twenty-one. You must be content with that, otherwise theregiment will rise against you."
"That would be very unpleasant," Lisle said, with a laugh. "I willtry to suppress my zeal. I can assure you that I am perfectlyconscious of the incongruity of being in such a position, at myage."
At present Lisle is with his regiment, and the prospect of a warwith Russia is no nearer than it was.
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