With the junction of the forces of Generals Stewart and Roberts,
what may be called the second period of the Afghan war came to an
end. All opposition had ceased, and it appeared probable that there
would be no more fighting.
Abdul-Rahman, a prince of the royal house who--after for some time
fighting against Sheer Ali--had been defeated, and obliged to fly
the country; had, for a long time, been a resident among the
Russians. Upon the abdication of Yakoub he had crossed the
frontier, and had entered at the north of Afghanistan; assuming the
title of Ameer. He had been well received in that part of the
country, and as no other competitor for the throne appeared to have
chances equal to his, and as the British government were most
anxious to withdraw their forces from the country, his authority
was recognized by us. Negotiations were opened with him; and it was
arranged that, as he approached Cabul, the British force would
retire.
The summer had passed not unpleasantly, at Candahar. The country
was peaceful. Cricket matches were got up between the various
regiments, and horse races established. Candahar was governed by a
protege of the British, named Wali Shere Ali. He had organized a
native army, to support his authority upon our withdrawal.
The only circumstances which occurred to mar the pleasing time were
isolated attacks, upon British officers and men, by Ghazis. These
attacks were sometimes made in broad daylight, in the streets of
Candahar, where the escape of those who perpetrated them was
impossible. These fanatics regarding their own life with
indifference, so that they could but kill one or more of the
British, before being cut down.
One day, as William Gale was walking in the principal street of
Candahar, at a short distance behind Colonel Ripon--an Indian
official of very long standing and experience, who had come up on a
special mission to arrange, with the Wali, the details of the civil
government of the province--he saw three Afghans, who were
loitering in the road, draw their long tulwars and dash upon that
officer.
The first who reached him delivered a sweeping blow; which the
colonel, taken by surprise, partly received on his uplifted
arm--but was struck to the ground. Another of the Ghazis raised his
sword; but before it could fall Will Gale--who saw at once that he
was too far behind to interpose between the assailant and the
victim--drew his revolver from his belt and, taking a hasty aim,
fired. The shot was an accurate one; the bullet striking the Afghan
on the forehead, just as he was about to strike. He fell forward on
the colonel; receiving, as he did so, a tremendous blow which the
third Ghazi was aiming at the prostrate man.
Illustration: Will saves Colonel Ripon.
Before the blow could be repeated, Will had bounded forward and,
sword in one hand and revolver in the other, faced the two Afghans.
Another shot freed him of one of his assailants; just as the other,
rushing recklessly forward, aimed a blow at him--which he was not
quick enough to parry. His right arm fell to his side but, in an
instant, he threw himself upon his foe; and the two fell heavily to
the ground, the Afghan striving desperately to shorten his sword,
so as to use the point; while Will strove to liberate his left
arm--which was under the man--and so use his revolver, which he
still grasped.
At this moment some soldiers of the 66th ran up; and one of them,
with his bayonet--which, since these attacks began, were always
carried at the belt--brought the conflict to a conclusion, by
running it through and through the Ghazi's body.
Will soon rose to his feet. Colonel Ripon had already freed himself
from the body of the dead Ghazi, and had struggled to his feet; the
blood streaming from his head and arm.
"I have to thank you for my life, sir," he said, warmly. "Had your
aid come but two seconds less promptly, they would have finished
me.
"But I fear you are severely wounded."
"Oh, no!" Will answered. "It is only a flesh wound, from my
shoulder to my elbow. Luckily, my sword partly caught the blow. I
was aiming at the other fellow, and had not time to parry fairly. I
shall be none the worse for it, in a week's time. My wound is less
severe than yours, sir."
"We are both bleeding pretty freely," the colonel said. "My
quarters are close at hand and, as the principal medical officer
lives in the same house, you cannot do better than come in with
me."
In a few minutes their wounds were bandaged, the doctor saying that
no serious harm had been done, in either case; but that care and
quiet, lest fever should supervene, would be necessary for a week
or two. As the house was much more airy, and commodious, than that
in which Will was quartered, the colonel begged him so strongly to
move his quarters thither, until able to return to duty, that Will
agreed to do so; and was soon installed, with Yossouf in
attendance, in the colonel's quarters. He was greatly pleased with
the old officer, whose manner was most kind and courteous; and who,
from his long experience in India, was full of anecdotes and
information concerning the country.
Ten days after the struggle, the doctor told them that there was no
longer any occasion for his services. Their wounds were healing
favorably, and all fear of fever had passed. At the same time, it
would still be some time before either could take their arms from
their slings.
The following day, in honor of his convalescence, Colonel Ripon
invited several friends to dinner; among them General Burrows, and
Colonel Galbraith of the 66th. All had, of course, heard the
details of the attack on Colonel Ripon; and Will was congratulated,
warmly, upon the promptness that he had showed.
"Do you know, colonel," General Burrows said, as they were smoking
their cigars after dinner, "there is a wonderful likeness between
you and Lieutenant Gale. I should have taken you for father and
son, anywhere."
The other officers agreed with the remark.
The likeness was certainly strong. Both were men of six feet in
height. The colonel's hair and mustache were grizzled, and his face
bronzed with the sun of many Indian summers. He was thin and spare
of habit; but his shoulders were broad, and it was evident that, in
his youth, he must have possessed much of the muscular strength
which was apparent in Will's more rounded limbs. But it was in
their eyes that there was the greatest similarity. Both were gray,
and of nearly the same shade; both had a simple, straightforward,
and kindly expression; both were shaded by straight, and rather
heavy eyebrows.
The men looked at each other.
"I suppose he is like me," Colonel Ripon said; "still more like, I
fancy, what I remember myself, at his age; but curiously enough he
has--ever since I met him--been recalling some one else to my
mind;" and a shade passed over his face.
Seeing that Colonel Ripon was not disposed to talk further on the
subject, a fresh topic of conversation was started. There was news
that Ayoub Khan--the brother of Yakoob, who was governor at
Herat--was marching south, at the head of a large force, with the
intention of opposing Abdul-Rahman, and again reseating Yakoob on
the throne. He had also preached a holy war against the British.
"I fear that the trouble is serious," General Burrows said. "The
troops Ayoub is bringing with him have not yet met us in the field.
The population on the road is wild and fanatical, in the extreme;
and will, no doubt, join him to a man. On the other hand, the
troops of the Wali are not to be depended upon, and the brunt of
the fighting is sure to fall upon us."
Three days later, the order was issued by General Primrose that the
66th Regiment, the Bombay Grenadiers, and Jacob's Rifles; together
with the 3rd Scinde Horse and 3rd Bombay Cavalry, with a battery of
artillery; were to move out with the Wali's army towards Girishk,
on the river Helmund, which formed the boundary between the
province of Candahar and that of Herat.
After the long period of inactivity at Candahar, Will was delighted
at the thought of taking part in an expedition, with his regiment;
but when they reached the Helmund life was, for some time,
exceedingly monotonous. The news of Ayoub's advance greatly excited
the population--who had been further worked up by agents, widely
distributed through the country; and by the exhortations of the
Mollahs and Ghazis. Consequently, rambling at any distance from the
camp was forbidden; and the shooting parties, which had been one of
the great resources of their life at Candahar, were peremptorily
put an end to.
Colonel Ripon had accompanied the force, as the Wali's adviser.
Both he and Will had recovered completely from their wounds. When
the regiment first marched, indeed, the surgeon had strongly
recommended Will to remain behind, until his wound had completely
healed; but the young officer had so strongly begged to be allowed
to accompany the regiment that the surgeon had consented. His
colonel had, for a time, relieved him from all duty, and he rode in
rear of the regiment; but within a fortnight of their arrival at
the Helmund, he was able to lay aside his sling, and to take his
turn of regular duty.
The officers did all that they could to make existence tolerable,
on the sandy shores of the Helmund. They got up foot races and
athletic sports for the men, played cricket on the sands, and
indulged in a bath--twice a day--in the river. Will often spent the
evening in Colonel Ripon's tent. A warm friendship had arisen
between the two officers, and each day seemed to bring them closer
together.
All this time, Ayoub's army was known to be approaching. It had
been delayed by want of transport, and by the difficult nature of
the country over which it had to pass. The guns, too--of which it
was reported to have a large number--had greatly hampered it but,
by the second week in July, it was near at hand.
For some time, the Wali's troops had been showing signs of
insubordination; and little doubt was entertained that they had
been tampered with, by Ayoub's emissaries. The question of
disarming them was several times discussed; but the Wali maintained
his faith that they would remain true to their salt, and the
British force was so small that it was deemed imprudent to take any
step to diminish their strength, by dispensing with the services of
a strong body of men who might, after all, be faithful at the
critical moment. Moreover, it was doubtful whether they would
submit to be disarmed, by a force so inferior to their own. Should
the attempt to disarm them succeed, they must either be escorted
back to Candahar, by a strong detachment of the British; or be
permitted to disperse, in which case they would assuredly swell the
advancing army of Ayoub.
One day Will arranged to start, the next morning at daybreak, for a
day's shooting with four other young officers--Hammond and
Fortescue of Jacob's Rifles, and Plater and Lowther of the
Grenadiers. The country round the camp had been already shot over,
so they were to go some miles out. Will's colonel--in giving him
leave off parade for the day--had asked him to endeavor to
ascertain, at any village he might enter, the state of the feeling
of the natives respecting Ayoub, and their disposition towards the
British; points on which a deplorable ignorance existed, in the
camp.
The party started before daybreak, putting their wiry little
tats--or native ponies--into a gallop, so as to reach the
spot--eight miles distant--where they were to begin to shoot as
early as possible; so as to get two or three hours' sport, before
the heat of the day really set in. After an hour's ride, they
overtook their servants; who had gone on ahead, with the guns and
luncheon. The sun was but just above the horizon, and the morning
air was cool and pleasant.
Dismounting, they handed over the ponies to the servants and,
taking the guns and ammunition, set out on foot. The servants were
to go on, with the ponies and lunch, to a village in the hills,
four miles distant; and to get tiffin ready, by eleven o'clock.
The young officers set out on foot, keeping a short distance apart.
Two of their servants accompanied them, to carry the game; the
other three went with the two Syces, who looked after the ponies
The ground was broken and stony, and altogether uncultivated,
except in the neighborhood of the villages. They had better sport
than they expected, for hares darted out in numbers from behind the
rocks. Some of these were bowled over, while others escaped; and
there was much bantering and laughter among the young men, none of
whom were first-class shots.
As the sun rose higher the game became more scarce and, by ten o'clock,
the party turned their faces towards the village where they were to
lunch; and which lay, they calculated, a mile or two away on their right.
The sun was now blazing down upon them; and they were glad, indeed, when
they came in sight of the village--which was not perceived until they
were close to it, as it lay in a deep and rocky valley.
Yossouf met them, as they entered the village.
"Well, Yossouf, where have you laid the tiffin?"
"I have spread it, sahib, on a level piece of ground, in the shade
of the chief's house. He did not seem disposed to be civil and,
indeed, I thought that it would be more pleasant out of doors, in
the shade, than inside."
"Much more pleasant, Yossouf; and these forts, as they call them,
are generally stuffy places, with small windows. What is the
feeling of the people here?"
"They are looking forward to Ayoub's coming, sir, when they say a
holy war will be preached, and every man will rise against the
infidels. When they found I was a countryman, they talked freely
enough before me; especially as I led them to believe that I had
been taken prisoner, at Cabul, and forced to accompany you as a
sort of slave.
"I should recommend that, as soon as tiffin is over, you should
start for the camp; for I don't think it is quite safe, here."
"They would never think of attacking us, Yossouf, with our force
within an easy day's march."
"I don't know, sir," Yossouf said, doubtfully. "They say that the
Wali's men are all with them; and that these, alone, are quite
sufficient to eat up the three British regiments."
"They will find out their mistake, if they try it. However,
Yossouf, I will let the others know what you think."
By this time, they had arrived at the spot where the lunch was laid
out; and very tempting it looked, to hungry men. A great dish of
curry--made with some fowls purchased in the village--was the
principal dish; but there were some fish--which Yossouf had caught
in the Helmund, on the previous day--a roast of young kid, and
several dishes of fresh fruit. A large vessel of porous clay,
containing the drinking water, stood close by; and the necks of
some bottles of claret peeped, out from a tub full of water; while
a pitcher of cold tea was ready, for those who preferred it. The
young men set to with a vigorous appetite and, when the meal was
over, pipes and cigars were lighted; and they prepared to enjoy a
rest, until the heat of the day was past.
Will now told them what Yossouf had said.
"Oh, nonsense, Gale!" Hammond said. "Your boy is an Afghan, and
these fellows are always dreaming about treachery.
"They are scowling, sulky-looking brutes," he said, looking at a
group of natives, who stood watching them, with lowering eyes, "and
of course, they hate us as infidel dogs but, as to attacking us,
it's all nonsense."
"Well, you know, Hammond, these Ghazis do attack us, in all sorts
of places--as I have found, to my cost--and these villages abound
with these fanatics."
"Oh, yes," Fortescue said, lazily, "of course they do; but we have
got our revolvers handy, and our guns are within reach of our
hands. We should make precious short work of any Ghazis who were to
run amuck among us.
"Well, I for one don't mean to move, till it gets a bit cooler. If
these fellows want to attack us, they have got the chance, now; and
there is no more reason they should do it, three hours hence, than
when we are having our breakfast, quietly."