Through Three Campaigns Part 24

"As to escape, I fear that will be impossible. The pa.s.ses will all be closed by snow, and I have no doubt that, until they are sure of that, they will keep a sharp lookout after me."

Later in the day the tribesmen returned. The chief came into the room and, by means of signs and the few words that Lisle had picked up, when he was before a prisoner, he signified to him that if he attempted to make his escape he would at once be killed; but otherwise he would be well treated. For four or five days a vigilant watch was kept over him. Then it was relaxed, and he felt sure that the army had marched away.

Then preparations for a move began. Lisle volunteered to a.s.sist, and aided to pack up the scanty belongings, and filled bags with corn. The chief was evidently pleased with his willingness and, several times, gave him a friendly nod. At last all was in readiness; and the occupants of the village, together with their animals--all heavily laden, even the women carrying heavy burdens--started on their way. It was five days' journey, and they halted at last at a small village--which was evidently private property--down in the plains at the foot of the mountains and, as Lisle judged, at no very great distance from the frontier line.

Lisle now mixed a good deal with the natives, and thus he began to pick up a good many words of their language. Now that they were down on the plains, two men with rifles were always on guard over him, but he was allowed to move freely about, as he liked.

A fortnight after they were established in their new quarters another party of natives arrived, and there was a long and angry talk. As far as Lisle could understand, these were the permanent occupants of that portion of the plain, and had been accustomed to receive a small tribute from the hill people who came down to them.

It seemed that, on the present occasion, they demanded a largely increased sum in cattle and sheep; on the ground that so many of the hill tribesmen had come down that their land was eaten up by them. The amount now demanded was larger than the hill people could pay. They, therefore, flatly rejected the terms offered them; and the newcomers retired, with threats of exterminating them.

For the next few days, the tribesmen were busy in putting the village in a state of defence. A deep ditch was dug round it, and this was surmounted by an abattis of bushes. Fresh loopholes were pierced in the tower, and stones were gathered in the upper story, in readiness to throw down on any a.s.sailants.

As soon as the work was begun, Lisle signified to the chief that he was ready to take part in it, and to aid in the defence. The chief was pleased with his offer, and gladly accepted it. Lisle worked hard among them. He needed to give them no advice. Accustomed to tribal war, the men were perfectly competent to carry out the work.

There were but three towers capable of defence, and in these the whole of the villagers were now gathered. Men and women alike worked at the defences. Their sheep and cattle were driven into the exterior line, and were only allowed to go out to graze under a strong guard.

A fortnight pa.s.sed before there were any signs of the enemy, and then a dark ma.s.s was seen approachingg. The cattle were hastily driven in, and the men gathered behind the hedge. Lisle asked the chief for a rifle, but the latter shook his head.

"We have not enough for ourselves," he said. "Here is a pistol we took from you, and a sword. You must do the best you can with them.

It is probable that, before the fight goes on long, there will be rifles without masters, and you will be able to find one. Are you a good shot?"

"Yes, a very good one."

"Very well, the first that becomes free you shall have."

The a.s.sailants halted five hundred yards from the village. Then one rode forward. When he came within a hundred yards he halted, and shouted:

"Are you ready to pay the tribute fixed upon?"

"We are not," the chief said. "If you took all we have it would not be sufficient and, without our animals, we should starve when we got back to the hills; but I will pay twice the amount previously demanded."

"Then we will come and take them all," the messenger said.

"Come and take them," the chief shouted, and the messenger retired to the main body; who at once broke up, when they learned the answer, and proceeded to surround the village.

"Do you think," the chief said to Lisle, "that you could hit that man who is directing them?"

"I don't know the exact distance," Lisle said, "but I think that, if I had two or three shots, I could certainly knock him over."

"Give me your rifle," the chief said, to one of the tribesmen standing near him.

"Now, sahib, let us see what you can do."

Lisle took the rifle, and examined it to see that it was all right; and then, leaning down on a small rise of ground that permitted him to see over the hedge, he took steady aim and fired. The man he aimed at fell, at once.

"Well done, indeed!" the chief exclaimed, "you are a good shot. I will lend you my rifle. It is one of the best; but I only got it a short time since, and am not accustomed to it."

"Thank you, chief! I will do my best." Then, waving his arm round, he said, "You will do more good by looking after your men."

The chief went up to his house, and returned with an old smooth-bore gun and a bag of slugs.

"I shall do better with this," he said, "when they get close."

A heavy fire was opened on both sides; but the defenders, lying behind the hedge, had a considerable advantage; which almost neutralized the great superiority in numbers of the a.s.sailants, who were in the open. Lisle, lying down behind the bank from which he had fired, and only lifting his head above the crest to take aim, occupied himself exclusively with the men who appeared to be the leaders of the attack, and brought down several of them. The a.s.sailants presently drew off, and gathered together.

It was evident to Lisle, from his lookout, that there was a considerable difference of opinion among them; but at last they scattered again round the village and, lying down and taking advantage of every tuft of gra.s.s, they began to crawl forward on their stomachs. Although, as the line closed in, several were killed, it was evident that they would soon get near enough to make a rush.

The chief was evidently of the same opinion, for he shouted an order, and the defenders all leapt to their feet and ran to the three fortified houses. There were only three-and-twenty of them, in all. Lisle saw with satisfaction that they had evidently received orders, beforehand, from the chief; for seven were running to the chief's house, making up its garrison, altogether, to nine men; and seven were running to each of the others.

As the enemy burst through the bushes, which were but some twenty-five yards from the houses, the defenders opened fire from every loophole. At so short a distance every shot told; and the a.s.sailants recoiled, leaving more than a dozen dead behind them, while several of the others were wounded.

They now took up their places in the ditch, and fired through the hedge. Lisle at once signed to the chief to order his men to cease firing, and to withdraw from the loopholes.

"It is no good to fire now," he said. "Let them waste their ammunition."

The chief at once shouted orders to his men to cease firing, and to take their place on the lower story; the walls of which, being strongly built of stone, were impenetrable by bullets; while these pa.s.sed freely through the lightly-built story above. The enemy continued to fire rapidly for some time; and then, finding that no reply was made, gradually stopped. There was a long pause.

"I think they are waiting till it is dark," Lisle said. "Tell the men to make torches, and thrust them out through the loopholes when the enemy come."

The chief nodded, after Lisle had repeated the sentence in a dozen different ways. He at once ordered the men to bring up ropes, and to soak them with oil; and then in a low voice, so that the a.s.sailants should not hear, repeated the order to the men in the other houses.

The ropes were cut up into lengths of three feet, and then there was nothing to do but to wait. The attack had begun at three in the afternoon, and by six it was quite dark. A loud yell gave the signal, and the enemy rushed through the hedge and surrounded the three houses. All had walls round them and, while the a.s.sailants battered at the doors, which had been backed up with earth and stones, the defenders lighted their torches and thrust them out, through loopholes in the upper stories, and then retired again to the ground floor.

The doors soon gave way to the attacks upon them, and the a.s.sailants rushed in, in a crowd. As they did so, the defenders poured in a terrible fire from their magazine rifles. The heads of the columns melted away, and the a.s.sailants fell back, hastily.

"I do not think they will try again," Lisle said. "If they have lost as heavily, in the other two houses, as they have here, their loss must have been heavy, indeed."

The torches were kept burning all night, but there was no repet.i.tion of the attack and, in the morning, the a.s.sailants were seen gathered half a mile away. Presently a man was observed approaching, waving a green bough. He was met at the hedge by the chief. He brought an offer that, if the Afridis were allowed to carry off their dead and wounded, they would be content that the same tribute as of old should be paid; and to take oath that it should not, in the future, be increased. The chief agreed to the terms, on condition that only twenty men should be allowed to pa.s.s the hedge, and that they should there hand over the dead to their companions.

On returning to his house, he made Lisle understand that, after the heavy loss they had inflicted on their a.s.sailants, there would forever be a blood feud between them; and that, in future, they would have to retire for the winter to some valley far away, and keep a constant watch until spring came again. When Lisle had, with great difficulty, understood what the chief said, he nodded.

"I can understand that, chief," he said, "and I think you should keep a very strong guard, every night, till we move away."

"Good man," the chief said, "you have fought by our side, and are no longer a prisoner but a friend. When spring comes, you shall go back to your own people."

It took some hours to remove the dead, of whom there were forty-three; and the badly wounded, who numbered twenty-two--but there was no doubt that many more had managed to crawl away.

Lisle now set to work to learn the language, in earnest. A boy was told off by the chief to be his companion and, at the end of two months, Lisle was able to converse without difficulty. The chief had already told him that he could leave when he liked, but that it would be very dangerous for him to endeavour to make his way to the frontier, especially as the tribe they had fought against occupied the intervening country.

"When we get among the hills, I will give you four men to act as your escort down the pa.s.ses; but you will have to go in disguise for, after the fighting that has taken place, and the destruction of the villages, even if peace is made it would not be safe for a white man to travel among the mountains. He would certainly be killed."

Every precaution was taken against attack, and six men were stationed at the hedge, all night. Two or three times noises were heard, which seemed to proceed from a considerable body of men. The guard fired, but nothing more was heard. Evidently a surprise had been intended but, directly it was found that the garrison were on watch, and prepared, the idea was abandoned; for the lesson had been so severe that even the hope of revenge was not sufficient to induce them to run the risk of its repet.i.tion.

Lisle did not fret at his enforced stay. He was very popular in the little village, and was quite at home with the chief's family. The choicest bits of meat were always sent to him; and he was treated as an honoured guest, in every way.

"When you return to your people," the chief said, one day, "please tell them that, henceforth, we shall regard them as friends; and that, if they choose to march through our country, we will do all we can to aid them, by every means in our power."

"I will certainly tell them so," Lisle replied, "and the kindness you have shown me will a.s.suredly be rewarded."

"I regret that we fought against you," the chief said, "but we were misled. They will not take away our rifles from us, I hope; for without them we should be at the mercy of the other tribes. These may give up many rifles, but they are sure to retain some and, though there are other villages of our clan, we should be an easy prey, if it were known that we were unarmed."