Gil the Gunner Part 86

"Well, I am not surprised. I was making every effort possible, as soon as I heard through spies that you were alive, to rescue you; but when--"

"Well, when what?" I said indignantly.

"Since you take that tone, sir," he retorted, "when I had the news brought to me that you were perfectly unhurt, and had accepted service with the rajah as his chief officer of artillery, why then of course I gave you up."

"Who told you that?" I said hotly.

"One of the spies I sent in," he replied coldly.

"It was not true."

"Not true?" said Brace, bitterly. "Your appearance belies your words, sir. Why, were you not occupying rooms in the rajah's palace?"

"Yes; as a prisoner," I said angrily.

Brace laughed mockingly.

"A prisoner in a newly designed artillery uniform, and wearing a magnificent sword and belts, evidently presented by the rajah, I did not know Ny Deen treated his prisoners so well; I thought he murdered them at once."

I tried to speak, but for some moments no words would come, and it was he who spoke first.

"Well," he said, "have you anything to say?"

"Yes," I said; "I want to come back into the troop. Can I have a horse?"

"I have no means of looking after prisoners, sir," he said. "You can only join your troop as a captured rebel against your queen."

I turned away, and found myself directly after face to face with Haynes and Doctor Danby; but as I went up, the former turned his back and walked away, while the doctor blew out his cheeks and looked very fierce at me.

"Doctor," I said, holding out my hand, but he did not take it.

I laughed bitterly, thinking that they would all apologise to me some day.

"Brace thinks I have not been wounded," I said, signing to him to accompany me into another room.

His whole manner changed in the instant, and he was looking at me with interest.

"Eh? wounded?" he cried. "Let's see. Ah, head. Humph! Only a bad crack. Healing all right. Put on your iron pot again, and don't let it fret the place."

"Oh yes; that's all right," I said; "but my arm: shall I ever get the full use of it again?"

"Arm? Let's see."

I removed the loose tunic, and he turned up the delicate silk shirt I wore, to become wrapt at once in the interest of his profession, as he examined the wound carefully.

"Brace says you have not been hurt, does he?" cried the doctor. "Tell him to mind his guns, and not talk about what he does not understand.

Why, it's a beautiful wound, my dear boy--a splendid cut. A little more draw in the cut, and the budmash who did it would have lopped it clean off. Here, who was your surgeon?"

I told him.

"Then he is a precious clever fellow, Vincent, and I should like to know him. By George, sir, he has saved your limb. Get back it's use? Oh yes, with care. Why, my dear fellow, I should have been proud of saving an arm like that. Here, let me help you on with your dandy jacket. So you would be Ny Deen's artillery general, eh?"

I only gave him a look.

"Not right, boy; but I suppose you could not help yourself. There, I must go."

We went back into the other room, where Brace, and nearly all the officers, had left.

"Father," I said, "Captain Brace will not have me back. Can I come with you as a sort of aide-de-camp?"

"Of course. Yes, my boy; but try and keep out of danger."

The next minute we were following the column out over the bridge, the head wing already raising a long cloud of dust, the horse artillery rattling away in front, and the lancers off scouting in front, and sending out flankers, to take care that no approach was made on either side of the flying column.

By my father's orders, a magnificent horse had been brought from the rajah's stables, and, mounted upon this, though I felt very sore about the treatment I had received, I was getting into excellent spirits; and as I was not to be a gunner, I was quite content to ride on in my dashing uniform, though I saw the cavalry and infantry officers exchange smiles.

It was very early yet, and the plain was quite deserted, while the hot sun formed a haze that the eyes could only penetrate to a certain distance.

Every one was on the look-out for the shimmering river and the patch of forest beyond, where we knew, from our spies, that the rajah had halted to gather his men together in as strong a position as he could find; and here my father expected that he would hold out while efforts were made to dislodge him from a place where our cavalry would be of no service.

They would have to wait until the ranks were driven from among the trees, when the sharp charges of the lancers would scatter them in all directions.

At last, river and green woods were in view, both welcome sights, with their promises of shade and bathing, to men parched by the torrid sunshine, and half choked by the dust turned up by elephant, camel, horse, and men's trampling feet.

I watched my father's actions with all the interest of a young soldier, and saw how he divided his little force of cavalry, sending them forward, where they would be out of musket shot, but ready to slip like greyhounds on their swift Arab troopers, as soon as the mutineers broke out and tried to flee.

Then he sent forward the horse artillery--and how I longed to be with them--and company after company of foot, to act as supports to save the guns from capture; and as soon as the troop had taken up position, we waited for the order to fire to be sent.

But it was not despatched, for scores of the lancers came riding in, after galloping by the edge of the forest, to announce that the enemy was not there.

The rajah seemed to have shrunk from fighting; and I wondered, as we advanced once more, and saw how strong the position had been, and how easily he could have beaten a force not a fourth of his number.

We were not long in finding out the direction he had taken. A miserable-looking peasant announcing the way; and there it was plainly enough. There could be no doubt of it, for the dust was trampled, and plenty of traces lay about, showing that the little army must have been in rather a demoralised state.

"Well, we must give him no rest," said my father; and, in spite of the heat, the march was resumed, with halts wherever a village promised water. But, fortunately, a great part of our way was near the river, whose bends offered refreshment to the thirsty horses, camels, and elephants.

Then on again till evening, when a halt was called at a good-sized village, once evidently a place of some importance, but now utterly desolate; the lands and gardens around trampled, and the traces of a large body of men having pa.s.sed quite plain.

Here there was nothing for it but to bivouac, and after the customary precautions had been taken, the men were ordered to eat their food quickly, and then lie down and get all the rest they could.

The officers off duty followed their example, and I was asleep, too, when the bugle-call roused us in the middle of the cool moonlit night, and about half an hour after, we were all on the march again, a couple of natives having undertaken to act as guides as far as following the trail of the rajah's army was concerned. The consequence was, that by the time the sun began to make its presence felt, we were many miles on our road.

"How far shall you follow them?" I heard Brace ask the colonel.

"Till I overtake them," said my father, rather coldly. And I could see a determined look in his eyes which made me think of Ny Deen, and something like a hope that he might escape would come into my mind.

On again, after a brief halt for refreshment, and about an hour before midday advantage was taken of a great mango tope for another halt; but as soon as the sun began to decline we were off again, with the track plain before us.

Ah, it is slow work marching under a hot Indian sun; but no one complained, tramping steadily on with scouts well out in front, till it was dark, when there was another rest till midnight; and on again in the cool moonlight, with the men on the gun-limbers asleep, and those mounted nodding and swaying in their saddles, as if ready to come down.

But no one fell, and the march seemed to me part of some strange dream, till the stars paled, and the orange sun came up, growing hotter and hotter, till we were all anxiously looking out for our next halting-place, and wondering how many more days must elapse before we should overtake Ny Deen.