The strange silence that reigned in the palace, the dying out of the
fierce glare of the fire, and utter exhaustion, at last weighed down my
eyelids, and I dropped into an uneasy sleep, but only to dream about
escaping over the roofs with Dost, being captured, and then watching the
terrible assault and carrying of the rajah's house. From that I
wandered into the meeting with my father, and fancied that I was going
with him to Nussoor, where my mother and sister would not recognise me
because Brace had been there first and told them I was a miserable
renegade who had gone over to the rebels, and slain women and children
with a tulwar whose hilt and sheath were covered with jewels.
Oh dear, what nonsense one does dream when one's brain gets into a
fevered state.
I was calling Ny Deen to witness to my perfect innocence, for he was
somehow there at Nussoor, when my father suddenly said--
"It is of no use, Gil. You may as well get up."
I started awake to see that his grey, worn face was bent down over me,
and found that he was holding my hand.
"You had better rouse up, and have a bath, lad," he said kindly. "Your
sleep is doing you no good."
"Oh, what a horrible muddle of a dream," I exclaimed, as I sprang to my
feet.
"You should have undressed, my lad. You are bathed in perspiration."
Dost came in just then with coffee borne by Salaman, and I turned to him
directly.
"How did you escape?" I cried.
"I was beaten down, sahib, and I managed to crawl away. I was not much
hurt," he added, with a smile.
"I am glad," I cried; and ten minutes later I was out in the court with
my father, listening to the arrangements being made; and soon after I
was audience to a little council of war in the rajah's principal room,
where it was arranged that two strong companies of the other foot
regiment should garrison the palace, and hold it while a troop of
lancers stayed back to help preserve order in the town.
An hour later, they were forming a marching column to go out and give
battle to the rajah and his force, which lay, according to spies, ten
miles away, holding a patch of forest beyond the swift river which ran
from there to this town.
"Which will you do, Gil?" said my father; "come with me, or stay with
the major who is in command here?"
"I want to go back to my troop," I said sharply; and as I spoke, Brace,
who had before met me that morning, came in looking very careworn, and
with his uniform almost in rags.
"Ah, well," said my father; "here is your captain."
I hesitated for a moment, and then walked across to Brace, who moved
away to one of the windows.
"You wish to speak to me, sir?" he said coldly.
"Of course I do," I cried passionately; "why are you so ready to condemn
me unheard?"
"Say what you wish to say; we march in five minutes," he replied.
I could not speak, for the hot sensation of indignation which burned
within me.
"You are silent," he said, with a contemptuous shrug of his shoulders.
"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?"