Five or six of the officers were married men, and had their wives
with them. These, when they learned that the young subaltern had
disguised himself, and enlisted in the Pioneers in order to go up
with them to the front, took a lively interest in him, and made
quite a pet of him. Two other regiments were at the station at the
time and, consequently, there was a good deal of gaiety in the way
of lawn tennis and croquet parties, small dinners and dances and,
after mess, billiards and whist. Lisle soon became an expert in the
former games, but he never touched either a billiard cue or a card,
though he was an interested spectator when others were playing.
Baccarat was very popular with the faster set. At this game play
sometimes ran high, and there was a captain in one of the other
regiments who scarcely ever sat down without winning. At the
beginning of the evening, when play was low, he generally lost; but
was certain to get back his losings, and sometimes a considerable
sum over, as the stakes rose higher. One of the lieutenants who was
a chum of Lisle's was particularly unlucky. He was of an excitable
disposition, and played high as the evening went on. Lisle noticed
that he often paid in chits, instead of money. This was not an
unusual custom, as officers are often short of cash, and settle up
when they receive their month's pay. Lisle frequently remonstrated
with his friend on the folly of his proceedings, and the young
fellow declared that he would retire from the table, if luck went
against him. But the mania was too strong for him.
"It is extraordinary what bad luck I have," he said, one day. "I
almost always win at the beginning of the evening; and then, when I
get thoroughly set, my winnings are swept away."
"Why don't you get up when you are a winner?"
"That would be very bad form, Bullen; a fellow who did that would
be considered a cad."
"I should strongly advise you to give it up, altogether."
Lisle observed with regret that his friend's spirits fell, and that
he became moody and irritable. One day, when he went into his
quarters, he found him sitting with a look of misery upon his face.
"What is it, Gordon?" he asked. "I hope I am not in the way?"
"Well, it has come to this," the young officer said. "I am at the
end of my tether. I shall have to leave the regiment."
"Nonsense!" Lisle replied.
"It is true. I owe a lot of money to that fellow Sanders. He has
bought up all my chits, and this is a note from him, saying that he
has waited two or three months, but must now request me to pay up
without further delay. Besides my pay, I have only eighteen hundred
pounds, that was left me by an old aunt; but that will barely cover
what I owe. Of course I can hold on on my pay; but the loss of so
much money will make a lot of difference, and I fear I shall have
to transfer. It is hard lines, because I am now pretty high on the
list of lieutenants; and shall, of course, have to go to the bottom
of the list.
"The only alternative would be to enlist in some white regiment
that has lately come out. There are plenty of gentlemen in the
ranks. I certainly see no other way."
"I had no idea it was so bad as that, Gordon. Surely there must be
some other way out of the difficulty. I could lend you a couple of
hundred pounds."
"Thank you, old fellow! But I am so deeply in debt that that would
make no difference."
"I am not sure that there is not something else to be done," said
Lisle. "While I sit watching the play, I can see more than the
players can; and since I have noticed that Sanders persistently
wins, directly the stakes get high, I have watched him very
closely, and am convinced that he does not play fair. It has struck
me that he withdraws the money on his cards when he sees that the
dealer has a strong hand, and adds to his stake when he considers
that the dealer is weak.
"Now my testimony as a youngster would go a very little way, if
unsupported against his; but if you will give me a solemn promise
that you will never play baccarat again, I will get two or three
fellows to watch him. Then, if we can prove that he plays unfairly,
of course you will be able to repudiate payment of the money he has
won of you."
"Good heaven! It would be the saving of me, and I will willingly
give you the promise you want. But you must surely be mistaken!
Sanders certainly has had wonderful luck, but I have never heard a
suggestion that he does not play fair. I only know that there is a
good deal of shyness about playing with him. You see, it is a
frightful thing to accuse a man of cheating."
"I admit that it is not pleasant; but if a man cheats, and is found
out, it is the duty of every honest man to denounce him, if they
detect him.
"Well, if you don't mind, I will take Lindsay, Holmes, and Tritton
into my confidence. They all play occasionally, and you must let me
mention that you are altogether in his power; and that, unless he
is detected, you will have to leave the regiment. Mind, don't you
watch him yourself. Play even more recklessly than usual; that will
make him a bit careless."
"Well, there is a possibility that you are right, Bullen, and if
you can but detect him, you will save me from frightful disgrace."
"I will try, anyhow."
Bullen sent a note to the officers he had mentioned, asking them to
come to his quarters, as he particularly wished to speak to them.
In a quarter of an hour they joined him.
"Well, what is up, Bullen?" Tritton said. "What do you want with
us?"
"It is a serious business, Tritton. That fellow Sanders owns chits
of Gordon's to the amount of fifteen hundred pounds."
An exclamation of dismay broke from his hearers.
"Good heavens!" Tritton exclaimed, "how could he possibly have lost
so much as that? I know that the play has been high; but still,
even with the worst luck, a man could hardly lose so much as that."
"I fancy that, after the party in the mess room has broken up,
several of them used to adjourn to Sanders' quarters; and it was
there that the great bulk of the money was lost."
"What a fool Gordon has been!" Lindsay said. "What a madman! Such a
good fellow, too!
"Well, of course, nothing can be done. If it were only a hundred or
two, the money would be subscribed at once; but fifteen hundred is
utterly beyond us. What is he thinking of doing?"
"Well, he has eighteen hundred pounds, and he talked of drawing out
the amount and paying up, and then exchanging into some other
regiment. The question, however, is, whether he ought to pay."
The others looked up at him in surprise.
"Why, of course he must pay," Tritton said; "at least he must pay,
or quit the service, a disgraced man."
"I think there is an alternative," Lisle said, "and that is why I
have sent for you."
"What alternative can there be?"
"Well, you know I don't play; but I like sitting watching the game,
and I am quite convinced that Sanders doesn't play fair."
"You don't say so!" Tritton said. "That is a very serious
accusation to make, you know, Bullen!"
"I am perfectly aware of that, and I feel that it would be mad for
me to make an unsupported accusation against Sanders. But I want
you three fellows to join me in watching Sanders play. My word,
unsupported, would be of no avail; but if four of us swore that we
saw him cheating, there could be no doubt about the result.
"For one thing, Sanders would have to leave the army. That would be
no loss to the service, for he is an overbearing brute; to say
nothing of the fact that several young officers have had to leave
the service, owing to their losses at play with him."
"I know of two cases," Lindsay said. "There was a very strong
feeling against him, but no one suspected him of unfair play. It
was he who introduced baccarat here, when his regiment first came
up. It had never been played here before, and you may notice that
very few of his fellow officers ever take a hand.
"Well, there will be no harm in our watching. It is a thing that
one doesn't like doing but, when it comes to a fellow officer being
swindled, it is clearly our duty to expose the man who is doing
it."
"Very well, then, this evening two of us will take our stand behind
Gordon, and the other two behind Sanders."
"But how did he cheat? It seems a fair game enough."
"He does it in this way. He puts five sovereigns under his hand.
That is the limit, you know. Then he looks at his card, and pushes
it out. With his hand still touching it, he watches the dealer and,
if he can see by his face that his card is a good one--and you can
generally tell that--he withdraws his hand with four of the
sovereigns, leaving only one on the card. If, on the other hand, he
thinks it is a bad one, he leaves the whole five there. He does the
trick cleverly enough; but I am certain that I have, four or five
times, seen him do it.
"Keep your eyes on his hand. You will see that he takes up five
sovereigns from the heap before him, and that he has them in his
hand when he pushes the card out. You will notice how he fixes his
eye upon the dealer, and that he leaves either one or five, as I
have said. He does it, at times, all through the evening,
especially when Gordon is dealing; for I can tell, myself, by
Gordon's face whether he has a good or a bad card. Of course, he
can see it, too.
"I want you all to nod to me, when you see it done. We shall let
him do it two or three times, so that we can all swear to it."
All agreed to do so, and Lisle then went to Gordon's quarter's.
"Tritton, Lindsay, and Holmes are going to watch with me tonight. I
think the best thing will be for you to answer Sanders' note, and
tell him that you will require time to draw your money from England
to pay him; but that you will play again tonight, to see if luck
turns."
That evening the four young officers took their places, as
arranged. Now that their attention had been directed to it, they
saw that several times Sanders, although he took up five pounds,
only left one on the card; and that he kept his hand upon it, up to
the last moment. Each in turn nodded to Lisle.
All noticed how intently Sanders watched the dealer. Generally he
left two sovereigns on the card, apparently when the dealer had a
moderate card; but when he had a very low or a very high one, the
trick was played. After fully satisfying himself that he had good
proofs, just as Sanders was again withdrawing his hand with four
sovereigns in it, Lisle threw himself forward, jerked the hand
upwards, and showed the four sovereigns lying under it.
"I accuse Captain Sanders of cheating. I have seen him do this
trick half a dozen times."
Sanders shook himself free, and aimed a heavy blow at Lisle; who,
however, stepped aside and, before he could repeat it, he was
seized by the officers standing round. A tremendous hubbub arose,
in the midst of which the colonel entered the room.
"What is all this about?" he enquired.
The din subsided at once, and two or three officers said:
"Bullen accused Captain Sanders of cheating."
"This is a very serious accusation, Bullen," the colonel said
sternly, "and unless you can substantiate it, may be of very
serious consequences to yourself. Will you tell me what you saw?"
Lisle related the circumstances, and how the fraud was
accomplished.
"You mean to say that, by watching the dealer's eye, Captain
Sanders leaves one pound or five on his card?"
"That is what I said, sir. I have seen him do it on several nights.
Tonight I determined to expose him, and Tritton, Lindsay, and
Holmes have been watching him with me. I was induced to do so by
the fact that the man has rooked Lieutenant Gordon of something
like fifteen hundred pounds, for which he holds his chits."
"Mr. Tritton, you hear what Mr. Bullen says. Have you also observed
the act of cheating of which he accuses Captain Sanders?"
"Yes, sir; I have seen him do it several times this evening. I
believe he has done it more, but I am prepared to swear to seven
times."
The colonel looked at Lindsay, who said:
"I have seen suspicious movements eleven times, but I should not
like to swear to more than four."
"And you, Mr. Holmes?"
"I can swear to five times, but I believe he did it much oftener
than that."
"What have you to say, Captain Sanders?"
"I say it is a conspiracy on the part of these four young officers
to ruin me. It is a lie from beginning to end."
"I am afraid, Captain Sanders, that you will find it very difficult
to persuade anyone that four officers, who as far as I know have no
ill feeling against you, should conspire to bring such a charge.
However, I shall report the matter to your colonel, tomorrow, with
a written statement from these four officers of what they saw. He
will, of course, take such steps in the matter as he thinks fit."
Without a word, Sanders turned on his heel and left the room,
followed by the angry glances of all who were present.
"Mr. Bullen, you have behaved with great discretion," the colonel
said, "in not making a charge on your first impression, but getting
three other officers to watch that man's behaviour. Tomorrow I
shall hold a court of enquiry, at which the major, the adjutant,
and two other officers will sit with me. You will all, of course,
be called, and will have to repeat your story in full.
"Lieutenant Gordon, I am shocked to hear that an officer of my
regiment should gamble to such an extent as you have done. You
will, of course, be called tomorrow. I think that, at the best, you
will be advised to change into another regiment. I need not say
that, after this exposure, the chits that you have given to Captain
Sanders become null and void.
"This room will be closed for the rest of the evening."
The officers, however, gathered in the room below, and talked the
matter over. There was not a whisper of regret at the disgrace that
had fallen upon Sanders. His reputation was a bad one. Since his
regiment had been in India one young officer had shot himself, and
three had been obliged to leave the army, and in all cases it was
known that these had lost large sums to him; but the matter had
been hushed up, as such scandals generally are in the army. Still,
the truth had been whispered about, and it was because none of the
officers in his regiment would play with him that he had come
habitually to the mess of the Pioneers; by which, his own regiment
having been quartered in southern India until six months
previously, nothing was known of his antecedents.
"We shall all have to be very careful, when you are looking on at
our play, Bullen," one said, laughing. "I hadn't given you credit
for having such sharp eyes; and certainly Sanders did not, either,
or he would never have tried his games on, while you were standing
watching him."
"I was not playing, you see," Lisle said, "and the players do not
trouble about onlookers, but keep their attention directed to the
dealer. Standing there evening after evening, it was really easy to
see what he was doing; for he, too, kept his attention fixed on the
dealer, and paid no heed to us who were looking on. He occasionally
did look up at us, but evidently he concluded that we were only
innocent spectators. When my suspicions were aroused, there was
really no difficulty in detecting him."
"How was it that you did not interfere before?"
"Because it was only my word against that of Sanders, and it was
only after Gordon told me how much he was in debt to the man; and
that the latter had, that morning, written to him calling upon him
to pay up, that I saw that something must be done. So I asked
Tritton, Lindsay, and Holmes to watch him closely this evening,
along with me."
"Well, I hope Gordon won't have to go," the other said. "He is an
awfully good fellow, though he has made an abject ass of himself."
"Don't you think, Prosser, that if we were all to sign a petition
to the colonel, to ask him to overlook the matter, as Gordon has
received a lesson that will certainly last his lifetime, he might
do so."
"It depends upon how much the matter becomes public. Of course,
there must be a court of enquiry in the other regiment; and if, as
is certain, a report is sent to the commander-in-chief, Sanders
will be cashiered; and I should fancy that Gordon would be called
upon to resign. Of course, you four and Gordon will have to give
evidence before the commission. It depends, of course, how his
colonel takes it; but it is certain that Sanders will have to go,
and I fear Gordon will, too. I expect our colonel will get a
wigging for allowing high play; though, as you say, the greater
part of the money was lost in private play, in Sanders' room.
"Anyhow, it will be a somewhat ugly thing for the regiment in
general, and we shall get the nickname of 'the gamblers' throughout
the army."
The next morning, at eight o'clock, the little committee met. The
four young officers gave their evidence, which was put on paper in
duplicate and signed by them, a copy being sent to the colonel of
Sanders' regiment. In a short time that officer was seen to go into
the colonel's tent and, half an hour later, he came out again and
went away. A few minutes after he had left, the four officers were
summoned.
"I hope," the colonel said, "that we have heard the last of this
most unpleasant business. His colonel tells me that this morning,
as soon as he turned out, Sanders called upon him and said that he
had to go to England, on urgent family business; and that, on his
arrival there, he should send in his papers and retire. He gave him
leave to go at once, and Sanders disposed of his horse and traps,
and started by the eight o'clock train for Calcutta. In these
circumstances we have decided, for the credit of both regiments,
that the matter shall be held over. If, as is morally certain, he
leaves the army, nothing more need be said about it. Of course, if
he should return, it will be brought up.
"I should say, however, that there is no chance whatever of that. I
beg of you to impress upon the officers of the regiment; which,
indeed, I shall myself do at mess, to make no allusion whatever,
outside the regiment, to what has occurred. The less said about it,
the better. If it were at all known, and got to the ears of the
commander-in-chief--and you know how gossip of this kind
spreads--both his colonel and myself would get a severe wigging,
for not sending in a report of it. In that case a committee would
be appointed to go into the whole matter and, as a result, the
regiment would probably be sent to the worst possible cantonment
they could find for us, and Gordon would be called upon to retire.
I will therefore ask you to give me your word that the matter shall
not be alluded to, outside the regiment. There is no fear of any of
Sanders' regiment hearing anything about it, as none of them were
present last night.
"Upon further consideration, I think that it would be better to
summon all the officers of the regiment, at once, and to impress
upon them the necessity for keeping silence on the matter."
Five minutes later the officers' call sounded and, when all were
assembled in the anteroom, the colonel repeated to them what he had
said to Lisle and his companions; and obtained an undertaking from
them, individually, that they would maintain an absolute silence on
the matter.
The affair greatly added to the estimation in which Lisle was held
in the regiment. His quickness in detecting the swindle, and the
steps he had taken to obtain proof of his suspicions, showed that
he possessed other qualities besides pluck and determination.
It is to be feared that some, at least, of the married officers
either did not regard the promise of silence as affecting their
wives, or had told them what had taken place before they were
requested to abstain from alluding to it; for three or four of the
ladies made sly allusions, when talking to Lisle, which showed that
they were cognizant of what had taken place.
"Well, Mr. Bullen," one of them said, "I have up till now regarded
you as little more than a boy, in spite of your pluck in going up
as a native soldier to Chitral. Now I shall hold you in much higher
respect, and shall regard you as a young man with an exceptionally
sharp eye, and exceptionally keen discernment."
"I don't think I quite understand you, Mrs. Merritt," Lisle said
innocently.
"It is all very well for you to put on that air of ignorance. You
don't suppose that married men can keep matters like this from
their wives? I can tell you we all admire, very much, the manner in
which you saved Lieutenant Gordon from having to leave the service.
He is a favourite with us all and, though he seems to have made a
great fool of himself, we should all be sorry if he had had to
leave us."
"Well, you see, Mrs. Merritt, I am not a married man--"
"I should think not," the lady laughed.
"And do not know how much married men feel themselves bound to keep
secrets from their wives; and I can therefore neither confess nor
deny that I took any part in the incident to which you are
referring."
"You silly boy! Don't you see that I know all about it, and that it
is ridiculous for you to pretend to misunderstand me?"
"I do not pretend, Mrs. Merritt. I only know that I have given my
promise that I will keep absolute silence on the matter, and that
no exception was made as to the ladies of the regiment. That, of
course, lies between them and their husbands."
"Well, whether that is so or not, Mr. Bullen, I can tell you that
the affair has very greatly raised you in our esteem. We all liked
you before; but we really did regard you only as a young officer
who had proved that he possessed an uncommon amount of pluck and
determination. In future, we shall regard you as a gentleman who
was ready to take no inconsiderable risk on behalf of a fellow
officer."
"Thank you, Mrs. Merritt! I can assure you that I do not feel a bit
more of a man than I did before; but I feel happy in having gained
the good opinion of the ladies of the regiment."
After this, Lisle came to be regarded as the special pet of the
ladies of the regiment. Among the officers he became a very general
favourite, and his popularity was increased by the fact that he was
not only one of the best shots, but one of their best cricketers;
and several times did efficient service, by his bowling, in the
matches between the regiment and the others cantoned with them.
Then came the news that the tribes had risen, that the Malakand had
been attacked, that Chakdara, the fortified post on the Swat river,
was invested, and that the tribes on this side of the Panjkora were
in revolt. This, however, was soon followed by a report that the
post had been relieved, that heavy losses had been inflicted upon
the tribesmen, and that the trouble was over.
For some time the frontier had been in a state of tension. The
Mullahs, or priests, had been inciting the tribesmen to
insurrection; and one especially, who was called the Mad Mullah,
had gone about from tribe to tribe, stirring the people up. He
professed to be a successor of the great Akhund of Swat, and to
have inherited his powers. He claimed to be able to work miracles.
The Heavenly host were, he said, on his side.
His excited appeals, to the fanaticism which exists in every
Pathan, were responded to in a marvellous manner. The villagers
flew to arms. Still, it was thought and hoped that, when the first
excitement caused by his appeals had died away, matters would calm
down again. The hope, however, was short lived for, before long,
the startling news came that the Mohmunds, a tribe whose territory
lay near Peshawar, were in revolt; and that Shabkadr, a village
within our frontier, had been raided and destroyed.
Within the next few days the Samana was invested, and the Khyber
Pass was in the hands of the Afridis. The Peshawar movable column,
of four guns, two squadrons of native horse, and the 20th Punjabi
regiment, with a few companies of the Somersets, were sent out to
Shabkadr. On arriving there they found that the bazaar had been
burnt, and that the enemy had taken up a position facing the fort,
about a mile and a half distant.
The cavalry skirted the cultivated ground between the force and the
plateau, and pushed the enemy backward, with severe loss, into the
low hills that skirt the border. Next morning the enemy were seen
in possession of the lower hill, and the force moved out to attack
them. They were found to be in great strength, numbering nearly
seven thousand. Leaving a strong force to face the column, flanking
parties came down concealed by the low hills.
Illustration: They charged the attacking force from end to end.
The infantry retired in two sections, but the artillery came into
action. The cavalry made their way up one of the ravines and, when
they got within charging distance, they went at the enemy at a
gallop. Taking the entire length of the plateau, about a mile and a
half, they charged the attacking force from end to end; and drove
them, demoralized, into the hills. The severity of the morning's
fighting may be judged from the fact that sixty percent of the
force engaged suffered casualties.
From that time, until it was determined to send an expedition into
the Mohmund country, the force remained as a corps of observation.
A force drawn chiefly from the Peshawar garrison was speedily got
together and, on 11th September, had concentrated at or about
Shabkadr fort; a general advance having been arranged for, on the
15th of the month.
In the meantime, more serious troubles had arisen with the
Zakka-Khels. This tribe was the most powerful of the Pathans. They
were at all times troublesome, and frequently made raids across the
frontier, carrying off large quantities of cattle; and living,
indeed, entirely upon plunder. The Zakhels and the Kukukbels had
joined them, as well as several other smaller tribes. They believed
that they could do this with impunity, for no Englishman had ever
visited their wild country, with its tremendous gorges and passes.
A large proportion of them were furnished with Martini and
Lee-Metford rifles, and many of the others carried Sniders.
To operate against such formidable enemies, possessing almost
impregnable positions, a large force was needed; and time was
required to collect the troops. Still more, an enormous train of
baggage animals would be required, and a vast amount of stores of
all kinds.
It was clear that the time that would be occupied in the
preparations of the campaign would be very considerable; but, while
these were being made, it was determined that the expedition from
Peshawar should move, at once, into the Mohmund country, and finish
with that tribe before the main operation began; and that the
Malakand division, and the Mohmund field force should carry out the
work of punishment, in the stretch of country lying between Lalpura
and the Swat River.
It was known that Chakdara was holding out, but that it was hardly
pressed, and the first step was to relieve the garrison. Colonel
Meiklejohn pushed forward, with a comparatively small force, and
arrived at the Malakand on the 1st of August. The reinforcement that
had reached that garrison had enabled them to take the offensive,
and orders were issued for a strong cavalry reconnaissance to the
Amandara valley, five miles away. They found the enemy in such force
that the cavalry were obliged to retire, and they effected their
retreat with great difficulty, under a very heavy fire. As the path
was narrow, cavalry could only proceed in single file, exposed the
while to the fire of the enemy.
Sir Bindon Blood arrived, that evening, to take the command. The
main body were to move down the road; while a force under Colonel
Goldney advanced up the hill to the right, and turned the enemy's
flank. Colonel Goldney's attack was perfectly successful. The enemy
were taken completely unawares, and entirely routed. The march of
the main column, therefore, met with no opposition for some
distance; then the enemy opened fire, from among the rocks on the
hills.
A party of the Guides and the 45th Sikhs were ordered to take the
position, at the point of the bayonet. The enemy, however, stuck to
their position until they were bayoneted, or driven over the rocks.
The 34th and 55th Sikhs stormed some sangars on the left and,
pushing their way pluckily up the steep slopes, slowly gained the
heights, step by step and, in spite of the hot fire and the showers
of rocks and stones, drove the enemy out of their strongholds. On
this the tribesmen lost heart and fled, hotly pursued by the
cavalry, who cut them up in great numbers.
During the fighting at the Malakand, previous to the arrival of the
relief, our casualties were one hundred and seventy-three killed
and wounded, including thirteen British officers and seven natives.
The siege of the small fort of Chakdara had been a severe one. The
garrison consisted of two companies of the 45th Sikhs, with
cavalry. On the evening of the 26th they were attacked, but
repulsed their assailants with loss. Next morning Captain Wright,
with a company of forty troopers, arrived from the Malakand, having
run the gauntlet of large parties of the enemy. The whole of the
day was spent in repelling rushes of the enemy and, for the next
few days, Wright's garrison were unable to leave their posts.
On the 29th the enemy attacked the tower and endeavoured to burn it
down; but were again repulsed, with heavy loss.