It was with serious feelings of compunction that Bracy set this example
to his eager companion, by seating himself on one of the stones and
beginning to combat the weary sensation of faintness which troubled him
by partaking of a portion of his fast-shrinking store of provisions.
For the fact was beginning to stare him in the face that, going on as
they had begun, their little store could not by any possibility last,
till they reached the Ghoorkha camp, and that in depending upon their
rifles for a fresh supply they would be leaning upon a very rotten reed,
since, surrounded as they seemed to be by enemies, it would be
impossible to fire, while everything in the shape of game had so far
been absent. But his spirits rose as he refreshed himself.
"I will not build imaginary mountains," he said mentally; "there are
plenty about us at last."
"There, sir," said Gedge, breaking in upon his musings suddenly; "I'm
ready for anything now. I should like to lie down and have a good
sleep; but I s'pose we mustn't do that."
"Not till we have crossed that ridge up to the north, Gedge. It will be
hard work, but it must be done."
"And get into the valley on the other side, sir, 'fore we go on
east'ard?"
"Yes."
"S'pose there'll be a valley t'other side, sir?"
"No doubt about it."
"Then, when you're ready, sir, I am. If we've got it to do, let's begin
and get this soft bit over, for we shan't get along very fast."
"No; the soft snow makes the travelling bad; but we go higher at every
step, and by-and-by we may find it hard. Now then, I'll lead. The
ridge must be right before us, as far as I can make out."
"Don't ask me, sir," said Gedge. "Wants a cat to see in the dark; but I
think you must be right. Best way seems to me to keep on going uphill.
That must be right, and when it's flat or going downhill it must be
wrong."
Bracy made no reply, but, after judging the direction as well as he
could, strode off, and found that his ideas were right, for at the end
of a few minutes the snow was crackling under their feet.
"Now for it, Gedge. You'll have to lift your feet high at every step,
while they sink so deeply. Hullo!"
There was a sharp crackling as he extended his left foot, bore down upon
it, and with a good deal of resistance it went through a crust of ice,
but only a short way above the ankle. Quickly bringing up the other
foot, he stepped forward, and it crushed through the hardening surface,
but only for a few inches. The next step was on the rugged surface of
slippery ice, and as they progressed slowly for about a hundred yards,
it was to find the surface grow firmer and less disposed to give beneath
their weight.
"There's one difficulty mastered," said Bracy cheerily. "The surface is
freezing hard, and we can get on like this till the sun beats upon it
again."
"I call it grand, sir; but I hope it won't get to be more uphill."
"Why?"
"Because if we makes one slip we shall go skating down to the bottom of
the slope again in double-quick time. I feel a'ready as if I ought to
go to the blacksmith's to get roughed."
"Stamp your feet down if you are disposed to slip, my lad. I do not
want to do this, but if the slope grows steeper we must fix bayonets and
use them to steady us."
"Take the edge off on 'em, sir."
"Yes; but we must get across the ridge. Forward."
They toiled on, the task growing heavier as they progressed, for the
gradient became steeper, and they halted from time to time for a rest,
the plan of using the bayonets being kept for a last resource. But
there were compensations to make up for the severity of the toil, one of
which was expressed by the travellers at one of the halts.
"Makes one feel jolly comf'table and warm, sir."
"Yes; and takes away all doubt of our going in the right direction, for
we must be right."
"I didn't think we was at first, sir. 'Tain't so dark neither."
"No: we are getting higher, and the snow and ice are all round us. Now
then, forward!"
Crunch, squeak, crunch went the snow as they tramped steadily, with the
surface curving slowly upward, till all at once there was a slip, a
thud, and a scramble, Gedge was down, and he began to glide, but checked
himself with the butt of his rifle.
"I'm all right, sir; but I was on the go," he said, panting.
"Hurt?" replied Bracy laconically.
"Not a bit, six. Knocked some o' the wind out o' me, but I'm all right
again now."
"Forward!"
Bracy led on again, to find that the curve made by the snowfield rose
more and more steeply, and the inclination to slip increased. But he
stamped his feet down as he kept on, with his breathing growing quicker,
and had the satisfaction of hearing his follower imitate his example,
till he began to find that he must soon make another halt.
His spirits were rising, however, with an increasing hopeful feeling,
for this was evidently the way to avoid pursuit or check. They were on
the ice, and to this they must trust for the rest of their journey till
they were well within reach of the Ghil Valley, to which they must
descend.
Slip.
In an instant Bracy was down, starting on a rapid descent toward the
place they had left; but at his first rush he heard beneath him a sharp
blow delivered in the glazed surface, and he was suddenly brought up by
the body of Gedge.
"Hold tight, sir! All right. I've got something to anchor us."
"Ha!" ejaculated Bracy breathlessly. "It was so sudden."
"Yes, sir; don't give you much time to think. You'd better do as I do."
"What's that?"
"Keep your bay'net in your hand ready to dig down into the ice. Stopped
me d'reckly, and that stopped you."
"Yes, I'll do so. A minute's rest, and then we'll go on again."
"Make it two, sir. You sound as if you haven't got your wind back."
"I shall be all right directly, my lad. This is grand. I hope by
daylight that we shall be in safety."
"That's right, sir. My! shouldn't I have liked this when I was a
youngster! Think we shall come back this way?"
"Possibly," said Bracy.
"Be easy travelling, sir. Why, we could sit down on our heels and skim
along on the nails of our boots, with nothing to do but steer."
"Don't talk, my lad," said Bracy. "Now, forward once more."
The journey was continued, and grew so laborious at last from the
smoothness of the ice, which increased as the gradient grew heavier--the
melted snow having run and made the surface more compact during the
sunny noon; and at the end of another couple of hours the difficulty of
getting on and up was so great that Bracy changed his course a little so
as to lessen the ascent by taking it diagonally.
This made matters a little better, and tramp, tramp, they went on and
on, rising more swiftly than they knew, and little incommoded now by the
darkness, for the stars were shining out through the cloudy mist which
hung over the slope, while their spirits seemed to rise with the ascent.
"Have we passed the rocks along which we saw that body of men moving?"
said Bracy at last.
"I s'pose not, sir, or we must have felt 'em. They must have been a
long way off when we saw 'em going along."
"Yes; the distances are very deceptive, and--Ah! stones, rocks. Here is
the rough track at last."
They halted again, for by walking here and there they could make out
that there was a rough track to right and left, comparatively free from
snow, and if this were followed to the right there would be travelling
which would necessitate their waiting for daylight, since it was all in
and out among huge masses of stone.
"We couldn't get along here, sir, very fast," said Gedge after making a
few essays.
"No, it is impossible now," replied Bracy. "It would be a dangerous
way, too, for it must, as we saw, cut the valley when; the enemy will
come out."
He stood looking back and around him, to see that the darkness was
lightened by the strange faint glare from the ice and snow around him;
then, turning, he crossed the ridge of broken rocks and tried what the
slope seemed like upon the other side, to find that it was a
continuation of that up which they had toiled, and apparently much the
same, the gradual curve upward to the mountain being cut by this band of
rocks.
"Forward again, Gedge," he cried. "This must be right, for we are
getting a trifle nearer to our journey's end, and more out of reach of
our pursuers."
"Then it is right, sir; but I suppose we shall get a bit o' downhill
some time."
They tramped on for the next hour, but not without making several halts,
three of which were involuntary, and caused by more or less sudden
slips. These were saved from being serious by the quick action of
driving dagger-like the bayonet each carried into the frozen snow; and
after repetitions of this the falls seemed to lose; their risky
character, the man who went down scrambling to his feet again the next
instant and being ready to proceed. The still air was piercingly cold,
but it only seemed to make their blood thrill in their veins, and a
sense of exhilaration arose from the warm glow which pervaded them, and
temptingly suggested the removal of their woollen _poshtins_. But the
temptation was forced back, and the tramp continued hour after hour up
what seemed to be an interminable slope, while fatigue was persistently
ignored.
At last, though, Bracy was brought to a halt, and he stood panting.
"Anything wrong, sir?" whispered Gedge hoarsely.
"No; only that I can get no farther in this way. We must fix bayonets,
and use our rifles as staves."
"Right, sir."
"Be careful not to force your barrel down too far, so as to get it
plugged with the snow," said Bracy; and then, as soon as the
keen-pointed weapons were fixed, he started onward again, the rifles
answering this new purpose admirably, and giving a steadiness to the
progress that had before been wanting.
Consequently far better progress was made for the next half-hour, with
much less exertion, and Bracy made up his mind that the first patch of
pines they came to on the lower ground should supply them with a couple
of saplings whose poles should have the bayonets fixed or bound upon
them, so as to take the place of the rifles.
"I'm longing for the daylight, Gedge," said Bracy suddenly, for they had
plunged into a mist which obscured the stars, "so that we can see better
in which direction to go, for we ought to be high enough now to be safe
from--Ha!"
Then silence.
"Safe from what, sir?" said Gedge, stopping short.
There was no reply, and after waiting a few seconds, feeling alarmed,
the lad spoke again.
"Didn't quite hear what you said, sir; safe from what?"
There was no reply, and Gedge suddenly turned frantic.
"Mr Bracy, sir," he said hoarsely, and then, raising his voice, he
called his officer by name again and again; but the same terrible
darkness and silence reigned together, and he grew maddened now.
"Oh Lor'!" he cried, "what's come to him?" and he went upon his hands
and knees to crawl and feel about. "He's gone down in a fit, and
slipped sudden right away; for he ain't here. He's half-way down the
mountain by now, and I don't know which way to go and help him, and--
Ah!" he shrieked wildly, and threw himself over backwards, to begin
rolling and sliding swiftly back in the way he had come, his rifle
escaping from his grasp.