As he was not now in uniform, Lisle kept carefully out of sight
when General Gatacre's force marched in, which it did very shortly
after Colonel Kelly's arrival. This was probably unnecessary
caution for, in addition to Mr. Robertson, there were two or three
other civilians in the garrison; but he was desirous of escaping
observation until General Low, who would arrive next day, should
have heard of his escapade.
At mess, however, several officers of General Gatacre's force dined
with the regiment; who had exerted themselves to the utmost to
provide a banquet for their guests. Most of these had, at one time
or other, been cantoned with the Pioneers. Two or three of the
junior officers were introduced to the newcomers, among them Lisle.
"This gentleman," the colonel said, "is Mr. Lisle Bullen, son of
the late Captain Bullen; who you have doubtless heard was killed,
some little time ago, while storming a hill fort. He is at present
acting as temporary lieutenant of my regiment."
The officers looked with some surprise at Lisle's still darkened
face.
"I see you are surprised, gentlemen," the colonel said, "but there
is a tale that hangs to that colour. I will relate it to you after
dinner; but I may say that Bullen is not a half caste, as you might
think, but of pure English blood."
At this moment dinner was announced. A temporary mess tent had been
erected. It was open at the sides, and composed of many-coloured
cloths. The party sat down under this. There was no cloth, and the
dinner was served on a miscellaneous variety of dishes, for the
most part of tin. Each guest brought his own knife, fork, and
stool. It was a merry party and, after the table had been cleared,
the colonel said:
"In the first place, Maneisty, you must give us the story of your
doings; of which we have, at the present, heard only the barest
outline."
"It is rather a long story, colonel."
"We have nothing else to talk about, here. We have seen no
newspapers for a long time, and know nothing of what is going on
outside; and therefore can't argue about it, or express opinions as
to whether or not the government have, as usual, blundered.
Therefore, the more detail you tell us, the better pleased we shall
be."
"As you know, the first army corps, fourteen thousand strong, were
ordered early in March to concentrate; so that when the news came
that the garrison of Chitral were in serious danger, the manoeuvres
were being carried out, but it was not until late in the day that
the troops were able to move forward. The brigade marched to
Jellala without tents, taking with them supplies sufficient for
twenty days. The next morning the 2nd and 3rd Brigade went on to
Dargai. The weather was cold and wet, and the roads soft.
"It had been given out that the 1st Brigade were to go by the
Shakot Pass. This was only a ruse to deceive the enemy, and keep
them from concentrating on the Malakand. Subsequently an officer
rode up the Shakot Pass, and found it to be much more difficult
than the Malakand, and more strongly fortified. Orders were sent,
in the middle of the night, for the 1st Brigade to proceed at once
to Dargai. Early in the morning a reconnaissance was made by
General Blood, and a large body of the enemy were seen. It was
evident that the passage of the pass was to be disputed.
"Starting from Dargai, the pass went through a gradually narrowing
valley for about two miles; then bending to the northeast for a
mile and a half, the hills on the west rising precipitously to a
great height. On reaching the bend, the pass was strongly held on
the west side.
"The 4th Sikhs went out on the flank. The Guides Infantry were
directed to ascend the highest point of the western hill and, from
this, to enfilade the enemy. It was a most arduous task, as they
had to ascend the highest peak of the range, some fifteen hundred
feet. Here several sangars had been erected by the enemy, who
hurled down rocks and stones.
"In the meantime the main force advanced, and could make out the
general position of the enemy. They occupied the whole of the crest
of the western hill, having constructed numerous sangars down its
side, each commanding the one below it. The greater part of their
force was more than halfway down the hill, at the point where it
descended precipitously into the valley. It was only at this point
that the western side of the pass was held.
"Three batteries were sent up on this side. These attacked position
after position on the eastern slope, and their fire was so accurate
that it effectually prevented the enemy on the eastern side from
concentrating.
"When the advance began, it was evident that little could be done
until the Guides had secured the position they had been ordered to
take. It was soon seen that they were very seriously outnumbered.
The Gordon Highlanders had moved up the crest of the western hill,
at the point where it touched the valley. The Scottish Borderers
had hastened up the centre spur; the 60th Rifles were ordered up
the slope, farther back in the line; while the Bedfordshire and
37th Dogras rounded the point on which the Gordon Highlanders began
the ascent and, turning to the left, climbed the hill from the
northern side. The 15th Sikhs were held in reserve.
"The brunt of the fighting fell upon the Gordon Highlanders and the
Borderers. Making as they did a direct attack, they met with a
sturdy resistance. Several of the sangars were carried by
hand-to-hand fighting; indeed, had the advance not been so well
covered by the fire of our guns, it is doubtful whether the
position could have been captured.
"It was one of the finest scenes I ever saw. The hillside was
literally covered with fire. We could see the two Scotch regiments
pushing on, and attacking the sangars by rushes; while above them
the shells from the guns and fire from the Maxims prevented the
holders of the upper sangars from coming down to the assistance of
those below. The moment the attacking troops reached the top, the
enemy fled down the western slopes. The action began at 8:30 A.M.,
and concluded at 2 P.M. The enemy's loss was admitted, by
themselves, to be about five hundred; ours was only eleven killed,
and eight officers and thirty-nine men wounded.
"The 1st Brigade remained at the top of the pass, while its baggage
mules moved up. The path was so bad that only a few mules reached
the top that night. It was afterwards found that, if we had taken
the path, we should have suffered most severely; as it was
discovered that the walls of the sangars had been perforated with
lateral slits, commanding every turn.
"On the following day the 1st Brigade descended into the Swat
Valley. Its place on the pass was taken by the 2nd. As soon as the
1st Brigade got free of the pass, they were fired upon by the
enemy, who had taken up a position on the Amandarra.
"The mountain battery was at once brought into action, and began
shelling the sangars. Under its cover the Bedfordshires moved
forward, and drove the enemy from their position. Here they fought
with extreme obstinacy. The 37th Dogras carried a spur to the left,
and sent back news that a great body of the enemy were advancing. A
squadron of the Guides cavalry charged them, killing about thirty,
and putting the rest to flight.
"The transport was now being gradually pushed up, and the brigade
encamped at Khar, at half-past seven. As the enemy were in great
force on the surrounding hills, a night attack was expected, and
the troops lay down with fixed bayonets.
"The capture of these passes spread great consternation through the
Swat valleys, as the tribes had always believed that they were
impregnable, and boasted that an enemy had never entered their
territory. They had fought with desperate bravery to defeat us;
although we had no quarrel with them, and merely wished to get
through their country to reach Chitral. Curiously enough, they had
a strong belief in our magnanimity, and several of their wounded
actually came into camp to be attended to by our surgeons.
"On the 5th of April the 1st Brigade remained all day in camp, the
2nd Brigade going on seven or eight miles farther. Early on the
morning of the 7th, a party went down the river to make a bridge. A
heavy fire was opened upon them, and the whole of the 2nd Brigade
and the 15th Sikhs from the 1st Brigade went out in support.
"While the 11th Bengal Lancers were searching for a ford, they came
under a heavy fire from a village at the foot of a knoll, 600 yards
from the river. A mountain battery quickly silenced this fire, and
two squadrons of Bengal Lancers and one of the Guides, crossing the
ford, pursued the enemy five or six miles, and cut off about a
hundred of them. Opposite the village they discovered another ford,
where two could pass at once and, the next day, the rest of the
brigade followed them. The people of the Swat Valley speedily
accommodated themselves to the situation, and brought in sheep,
fowls, and other things for sale.
"On the 9th, headquarters joined the 2nd Brigade at Chakdara, and
the 3rd Brigade encamped on the south side of the river. On the
11th the headquarters and the 2nd Brigade arrived at the Panjkora
River. A bridge had to be built across this but, on the 13th, just
as it was finished, a flood came down and washed it away.
"A party were sent across at daybreak to burn the villages; which
had, during the night, been firing on the advance guard of the 2nd
Brigade. They accomplished their work but, while engaged upon it,
were attacked by a very large force. The carrying away of the
bridge rendered the position extremely dangerous, and the force was
ordered, by signal, to fall back upon the river; while the Brigade
covered their retreat from the opposite bank. The retreating column
was sorely pressed, although the Maxim guns and the mountain
battery opened fire upon the enemy. Colonel Battye was mortally
wounded, and so hotly did the Afridis follow up their attack that a
company of the Guides fixed bayonets, and charged them.
"As, however, the enemy still persisted in their attack, the force
set to work to entrench themselves. This they managed to do, with
the aid of a Maxim gun of the 11th; which had crossed one of the
branches of the river, and got into a position flanking the
entrenchments. All night the enemy kept up a heavy fire. In the
morning the force were still unable to pass. However, during the
day the 4th Sikhs came across on rafts, and passed the night with
them. The force was much exhausted, for they had been more than
forty-eight hours without a meal.
"Working day and night, in forty-eight hours another bridge was
constructed, on the suspension system, with telegraph wires. Until
it was finished, communication was maintained with the other bank
by means of a skin raft, handled by two active boatmen.
"We had only one more fight, and that was a slight one. Then the
news reached us that the position of Chitral was serious, and
General Gatacre was hurried forward with our force."
"You had some tough fighting," the colonel said, "but the number of
your casualties would seem to show that ours was the stiffer task.
At the same time we must admit that, if you hadn't been detained
for six or seven days at that river, you would have beaten us in
the race."
"Yes, we were all mad, as you may well imagine, at being detained
so long there. Our only hope was that your small force would not be
able to fight its way through, until our advance took the spirit
out of the natives. Certainly they fought very pluckily, in their
attacks upon the force that had crossed; and that action came very
close to being a serious disaster.
"The flood that washed away our bridge upset all our calculations.
I almost wonder that the natives, when they found that we could not
cross the river, did not hurry up to the assistance of the force
that was opposing you. If they had done so, it would have been very
awkward."
"It would have gone very hard with us, for they are splendid
skirmishers and, if we had not had guns with us to effectually
prevent them from concentrating anywhere, and had had to depend
upon rifle fire alone, I have some doubts whether our little force
would have been able to make its way through the defiles."
"Well, it has been a good undertaking, altogether; and I hope that
the punishment that has been inflicted will keep the tribes quiet
for some years."
"They will probably be quiet," the officer said, "till trouble
breaks out in some other quarter, and then they will be swarming
out like bees."
"It is their nature to be troublesome," the colonel said. "They are
born fighters, and there is no doubt that the fact that most of
them have got rifles has puffed them up with the idea that, while
they could before hold their passes against all intruders, it would
be now quite impossible for us to force our way in, when they could
pick us off at twelve hundred paces.
"I wish we could get hold of some of the rascally traders who
supply them with rifles of this kind. I would hang them without
mercy. Of course, a few of the rifles have been stolen; but that
would not account in any way for the numbers they have in their
hands. A law ought to be passed, making it punishable by death for
any trader to sell a musket to a native; not only on the frontier,
but throughout India. The custom-house officers should be forced to
search for them in every ship that arrives; the arms and ammunition
should be confiscated; and the people to whom they are consigned
should be fined ten pounds on every rifle, unless it could be
proved that the consignment was made to some of the native princes,
who had desired them for the troops raised as subsidiary forces to
our own."
The colonel then related Lisle's story in the campaign, which
created unbounded surprise among the guests.
"It was a marvellous undertaking for a young fellow to plan and
carry out," one of them said. "There are few men who could have
kept up the character; fewer still who would have attempted it,
even to take part in a campaign. I am sure, colonel, that we all
hope your application for a commission for him will be granted; for
he certainly deserves it, if ever a fellow did."
There was a general murmur of assent and, shortly afterwards, the
meeting broke up; for it was already a very late hour.
The rest of the campaign was uneventful. Lisle speedily fell back
into the life he had led before the campaign began, except that he
now acted as an officer. He already knew so much of the work that
he had no difficulty, whatever, in picking up the rest of his
duties. He was greatly pleased that the colonel said nothing more
to Gholam Singh, and the native officers of his company and, by the
time the regiment marched back to Peshawar, he was as efficient as
other officers of his rank.
He had, after his father's death, written down to his agents at
Calcutta; and had received a thousand rupees of the sum standing to
his account, in their hands. He was therefore able to pay his share
of the mess expenses; which were indeed very small for, with the
exception of fowls and milk, it was impossible to buy anything to
add to the rations given to them.
The march down was a pleasant one. There was no longer any occasion
for speed. The snow had melted in the passes, the men were in high
spirits at the success that had attended their advance, and the
fact that they had been the first to arrive to the rescue of the
garrison of Chitral.
A month after they reached Peshawar, Lisle was sent for by Colonel
Kelly.
"I am pleased, indeed, to be able to inform you that my urgent
recommendation of you has received attention, and that you have
been gazetted as lieutenant, dating from the day of our arrival at
Chitral. I congratulate you most heartily."
"I am indeed most delighted, sir. I certainly owe my promotion
entirely to your kindness."
"Certainly not, Lisle; you well deserve it. I am sorry to say that
you will have to leave us; for you are gazetted to the 103rd
Punjabi Regiment, who are stationed at Rawalpindi."
"I am sorry indeed to hear that, sir; though of course, I could
hardly have expected to remain with you. I shall be awfully sorry
to leave. You have all been so kind to me, and I have known you all
so long. Still, it is splendid that I have got my commission. I
might have waited three or four years, in England; and then been
spun at the examination."
Lisle marched down with the regiment to Peshawar. Here he had his
uniforms made, laid in a stock of requisites, and then, after a
hearty farewell from his friends, proceeded to join his regiment,
which was lying at Rawalpindi. He took with him Robah, whom the
major relinquished in his favour.
On his arrival at the station, he at once reported himself to the
colonel.
"Ah! I saw your name in the gazette, a short time since. You must
have lost no time in coming out from England."
"I was in India when I was gazetted, sir."
"Well, I am glad that you have joined so speedily; for I am short
of officers, at present. There is a spare tent, which my orderly
will show you. We shall have tiffin in half an hour, when I can
introduce you to the other officers."
When Lisle entered the mess tent, he was introduced to the other
officers, one of whom asked him when he had arrived from England.
"I have never been to England. I was born out here. My father was a
captain in the 32nd Punjabis, and was killed in an attack on a hill
fort. That was some months ago, and I remained with the regiment,
whose quarters had always been my home, until there should be an
opportunity for my being sent down to Calcutta."
"Well, it is very decent of the War Office to give you a
commission; though, of course, it is the right thing to do--but it
is not often that they do the right thing. Your regiment did some
sharp fighting on their way up to Chitral, but of course you saw
nothing of that."
"Yes; I accompanied the regiment."
"The deuce you did!" the colonel said. "I wonder you managed to get
up with it, or that Colonel Kelly gave you leave. I certainly
should not, myself, have dreamed of taking a civilian with me on
such an expedition."
Lisle nodded.
"The colonel did not give me leave, sir. With the aid of one of the
native officers, with whom my father was a favourite, I obtained a
native uniform; and went through the campaign as a private."
The officers all looked upon him with astonishment.
"Do you mean to say that you cooked with them, fought with them,
and lived with them, as one of themselves?"
"That was so, sir; and it was only at the last fight that the truth
came out, for then one of the officers heard me make a remark to
myself, in English. Fortunately, the native officers gave a very
good account of my conduct. I was one of a small party that
descended a cliff with ropes, and did a good deal towards driving
the Chitralis out of their position."
"But how was it that you were not recognized by the soldiers?"
"I speak the language as well as I speak my own," Lisle said
quietly. "Having lived with the regiment all my life, I learned to
speak it like a native."
"Well," the colonel said, "it was a plucky thing for you to do. The
idea of disguising yourself in that way was a very happy one; but
not many officers would like to go through such a campaign as a
private in the Pioneers, or any other Indian regiment.
"Well, I congratulate myself in having acquired an officer who
must, at any rate, understand a great deal of his work, and who can
talk to the men in their own language; instead of, as I expected, a
raw lad.
"How old are you, Mr. Bullen? You look very young."
"I am only a little past sixteen," Lisle said, with a laugh; "but I
don't suppose the War Office knew that. Colonel Kelly was kind
enough to send in a strong recommendation on my behalf; stating, I
believe, the fact, that I had disguised myself as a private in
order to go to Chitral with the regiment, and that, as he was
pleased to say, I distinguished myself. He at once appointed me,
temporarily, as an officer; and as such I remained with the corps,
until their return to Peshawar. He also, of course, mentioned the
fact that I am the son of Captain Bullen, who lost his life in
bravely attacking a hill fort. I don't think he thought it
necessary to mention my age."
"Well, you have certainly managed very cleverly, Mr. Bullen. I am
sure you will be an acquisition to the regiment. I think we can say
safely that you are the youngest officer in the service.
"Gentlemen, will you drink to the health of our new comrade, who
has already shown that he is of the right sort, and of whom we may
be proud?"
The next day the colonel received a letter from Colonel Kelly. It
ought to have arrived before Lisle himself, but had been delayed by
the post. It spoke in very high terms of his conduct, and then said
that he was a general favourite in the regiment, and that he was
sure that he would do credit to the corps he had joined.
The next year and a half passed quietly. Lisle was soon as much
liked, in his new regiment, as he had been by the Pioneers. The men
would have done anything for him, for he was always ready to chat
with them, to enter into their little grievances, and to do many a
kind action.