The servants were squatting in a circle near their masters, and
enjoying their share of the breakfast. The two Syces were
Beloochees, the others were men from the Deccan--the regiment
having been stationed at Poona, before going up into Afghanistan.
Of these, the Syces alone understood the Afghan language.
After the men had finished their meal, Yossouf strolled away by
himself into the village. When he returned, Will saw that he wished
to speak to him so, rising carelessly from the ground, he walked to
the ponies--which were tied up near--and called Yossouf, as if to
give him some instructions respecting them.
"Well, Yossouf, what is it? Have you learned anything?"
"No, sir, nothing. But the people no longer speak to me freely.
They must have guessed, when they saw me speaking to you, that I
was warning you; but I don't think things are right. The children
are all in the houses, instead of playing about in the street. A
few of the women are standing at their doors, but most of them are
inside, too."
"But if the men are thinking of attacking us why shouldn't they do
so, at once?"
"There are not above twenty or thirty men here, sahib. They may not
think they are strong enough. Perhaps they have sent to some of the
villages, for help."
"Likely enough, Yossouf; I did not think of that. Do you go up
above the village, and have a good look round. I will try and
persuade my friends to be moving."
Yossouf moved off at once; and Will stood for a minute or two,
thinking what was the best to do. The position was not pleasant.
Yossouf's suspicions might be altogether unfounded; but Will had
found him to be so uniformly right, on former occasions, that he
did not like to neglect his advice, now. After a little further
thought, he joined his companions.
"Come," he said, "we had really better be moving. I believe we are
in real danger."
The earnestness with which he spoke roused the others, who were all
lying at full length on the ground.
"But as we said before, Gale," Fortescue urged, "why shouldn't they
now attack us, if they wanted to? We have been here more than an
hour."
"Perhaps they may think we shall all take a nap, after our tiffin,"
Will replied; "perhaps--as Yossouf thinks--they have sent off to
some other villages, for assistance. He has gone up the hillside to
look out. Anyhow, I can assure you, I think we had better be
moving."
"It is beastly hot," Hammond said, getting up and stretching
himself; "but as you are so earnest about it, Gale, perhaps we had
better make a move. As you say, you know no end more of these
fellows than we do; and you certainly ain't a fellow to get into a
funk about nothing.
"Come on, boys, we had better do as Gale tells us."
"That's right," Will said, cheerfully. "And look here, if we get
away from here without any disturbance, and find it all right, we
can halt again, at the first shady place we come to; and stop there
for two or three hours, till it gets cool."
"Wait a moment," he went on, as Hammond was about to order the
ponies to be saddled. "Just let us settle what we had best do,
should they attack us; which, if they mean it, they will do when
they see we are moving off.
"I have been thinking it over. We have all got bullets in our
pockets, to drop into our guns over the shot, in case of necessity.
But these smooth-bore fowling pieces are of no good, except at
close quarters; while the Afghan matchlocks will carry straight, a
long way. Therefore, if we had to make a running fight of it, we
should get the worst of it; for these fellows could keep up with
us, easily--besides, there are the servants. Therefore, if a shot
is fired, my advice is that we should make a dash at the chief's
house. Seize that, and hold it."
"Yes, that would be a good plan," Fortescue said, for they were all
sobered now, by Will's gravity; and convinced that there must be
good grounds for his belief in danger.
"Look here, Gale, we are all senior to you in the date of our
commissions, but you have seen no end of service and adventure;
therefore I vote that you shall be commanding officer, until we get
back to camp."
The others willingly agreed.
"Very well," Will said, "I will do my best.
"Hammond, will you tell your servant to get ready for a start, at
once. Speak to him quietly and carelessly. Then, as the men move up
more towards the ponies, tell them--in Hindustanee--to go about
their work quietly but, in case of any trouble with the Afghans, to
out with their swords, and join us in a rush at the chief's house."
Hammond carried out his instructions. The two Beloochees were not
taken by surprise; for they, as well as Yossouf, had been feeling
uneasy at the disappearance of all women and children from the
scene. The other men looked startled; but they were stout fellows
and, as all the native servants, were armed with swords, to enable
them to resist sudden attacks by the country people; and as they
had unbounded faith in their masters, they went about the work of
packing up the plates and dishes, and preparing for a start,
quietly enough.
As the Syces began to put the saddles on the tats, the Afghans
spoke quickly and angrily together. Two or three minutes later,
Yossouf arrived. He had evidently been running, for his breath came
quick; but he now walked forward in a leisurely way.
"Two large parties are coming, master; one down the valley, and the
other across the hills. They have got flags with them, and I am
sure they are going to attack us."
Just at this moment an Afghan lad joined his seniors, and spoke
rapidly to them. Will judged at once that he also had been placed
on the watch. The chief of the village, accompanied by two or three
of his men, now stepped forward.
"Ask the sahibs," he said to Yossouf, "why they are in such a
hurry--why they want to start in the heat of the day? They had
better wait till it is cooler."
Will did not wait for Yossouf's translation, but answered direct:
"We have duties at the camp, and must return at once."
The chief was surprised that one of the young officers should speak
his tongue so fluently.
"It looks as if you were not pleased with the hospitality of our
village," he said, "that you should hurry away so quickly."
"We are content with it--so far--but we must be off, now.
"Bring up the ponies quickly," he said to Yossouf. "Never mind
those things, there is not a moment to be lost."
Yossouf and the servants brought up the ponies. The chief laid his
hand on one of the bridles, and drew a pistol.
"Kaffir dogs," he said, "you shall not leave us, at all."
Will's hand was already on his revolver and, before the chief could
level his pistol, he fired; and the Afghan fell dead.
There was a shout of rage from the others, and their long
matchlocks were leveled It was well the party were prepared, or all
might have been shot down, at once; but the instant Will fired, his
friends raised their double-barreled guns to their shoulders and
let fly the contents among the Afghans who--thrown into confusion
by the sudden and unexpected attack--fired wildly, several of them
dropping, from the effects of the shot.
"Now," Will shouted, "to the house, everyone of you!"
There was a rush and, before the Afghans knew what had happened,
the little party had burst through those standing at the door of
the house, and had barred and bolted it within. There were but two
men inside; and these, running upstairs, leaped from the windows. A
wild screaming was heard from the women and children.
"Yossouf, tell these women that we don't want to hurt them; but
that they must be silent, and keep the children quiet, We have got
enough to think about without this frightful row, inside. Then,
when you have got them quiet, put them all in one room together,
upstairs, and keep guard at the door. See that none of them leave
the room; for they might steal down and open the door, to admit
their friends, while we are busy.
"What! Fortescue, are you hit?"
"I am done for!" the young officer replied, faintly; "one of their
bullets has gone through my body; but never mind me, now."
As he spoke he tottered, and would have fallen; had not the others
supported him, and gently laid him down on a heap of skins, which
served as an Afghan bed. Then--leaving his servant to attend to
him, for a minute--the others ran upstairs, to see what was going
on, without.
"Be careful!" Will exclaimed. "Don't show a head above the roof, or
at a loophole, or you will get a bullet in your brain, to a
certainty. Stand well back, so that they can't see you."
Already a pattering fire of musketry had broken out, round the
house; but not an Afghan was to be seen, every man having taken his
position in shelter.
"There is nothing to do, at present," Will said. "When the other
parties arrive, they may make an attack; but I don't think they
will do so, till night.
"Hammond, you had better go down to Fortescue, at present. One of
the Syces can take Yossouf's place on guard over the women, and he
can help you. The lad is a good nurse, but I fear there is nothing
to be done for the poor fellow."
A few minutes later a wild outburst of shouts and yells, and a
great firing of guns, announced that the other parties had arrived;
and the cracking fire of the matchlocks around the fort became
incessant. The defenders did not attempt to return it. It would
only have been throwing away lives, uselessly, to approach any of
the loopholes. In a quarter of an hour, Hammond rejoined his
companions.
"He is gone, poor fellow!" he said. "He never spoke again. The
bullet went close to the heart. I think he has bled to death,
internally.
"I have handed his revolver to one of the Syces, and his gun to the
other. Your man, Yossouf, has a revolver."
"What on earth are we to do now, Gale?" Plater asked. "You have
been right thus far and, if it hadn't been for you putting us up to
make a rush here, we should have been done for, long ago. But we
are not much better off; for here we are, cooped up, and the
betting is a hundred to one against our being rescued, in time. No
one will know where to look for us and, though we may beat them off
two or three times, in the end it is likely to go hard with us."
"Couldn't we send a messenger, with the news of the fix we are in?"
Lowther asked; "though I don't see how any one is to get through."
"That's what I have been thinking about, ever since I first planned
coming here," Will said; "but I am sure no one could get through.
The Afghans know the importance of it and, when it gets dark, they
will be so thick round the place that a mouse couldn't make its way
through them, unobserved."
The situation was gloomy enough; but there was no lack of good
spirits among the young officers, the danger causing their blood to
course rapidly through their veins. Will sat on the floor, apart
from the others. They had made him their commanding officer, and
the responsibility of thinking for them devolved upon his
shoulders.
Suddenly a thought struck him, and he leaped to his feet, with a
shout.
"I've got it!"
"You will get it, if you don't mind," Hammond said, dryly; as a
bullet passed through one of the loopholes, and struck the wall an
inch or two from Will's head. "But what is it?"
"When it gets quite dusk we will call a parley, and tell them we
don't want to keep the women here. They are only in our way, and
eat up the food; so we will open the door, and let them go."
"But what will you do that for, Gale? You were saying, a short time
ago, that the women could be kept as hostages."
"So they might, Hammond; but it will be more useful to us to let
them go. There are seven women here. Six of them shall go out; and
with them, in the clothes of the seventh, Yossouf."
"Capital! Capital!" the others exclaimed. "Don't you think they
will notice him?"
"No," Will said, "we won't do it till dusk, and some of these women
are as tall as he is. They will hurry them away as quickly as
possible, so as to recommence the attack and, wrapped up as these
Afghan women are, no one could see the difference. Once fairly
away, we can trust Yossouf for finding an opportunity of slipping
away, and bringing us help."
Will now laid the plan before Yossouf, who at once agreed to
attempt it. The day passed slowly, the fire of the enemy being kept
up, without intermission.
"Now," Will said at last, "it is getting dark enough, let us put
the plan into operation. In the first place the women must be
separated, and taken into separate rooms; the one Yossouf has fixed
upon, as nearest his height, into a room by herself. Then Yossouf
must tell the old mother of the chief that they are to be released;
and that she must show herself on the roof, and make them stop
firing, till they have gone out. While she is doing that, he can
slip down and dress himself in the robes of the woman. She must be
gagged, to prevent her screaming, or making a row, as her
companions go out."
Greatly surprised was the old woman, at being told that she was to
be released. These Kaffirs must be mad, she thought, to give up
their hostages. However, she at once proceeded to carry the orders
into effect.
Before raising her head above the roof, she uttered a loud
quavering cry--the cry of welcome of the Afghan women. The firing
without instantly ceased. Again raising the cry, she stepped out on
to the roof; and shouted that the English did not want to keep the
women, and that the door would be open for them to come
out--providing the Afghans promised that no attempt to enter should
be made, and that none should move from their present places, until
the women had fairly left.
There was a shout of surprise and satisfaction; and one of the
chiefs rose to his feet, and gave the promise in the name of his
companions.
"How many are there of you?" he asked.
"Seven," the woman answered.
"Are the children to come?"
"We may take away the babies, but the three boys are to remain
behind."
Five minutes later the door of the fort opened, and seven figures
came out. Not a shot was heard, until they had passed down the
street of the village, and had entered a house at the further end;
then the rapid fire commenced again. Twice, during the evening, did
the Afghans attempt to storm the little fort, but were each time
repulsed, with loss; the fire of the five double-barreled
guns--loaded with shot and bullets--and of the revolvers proving
too much for them.
The second attack was made about eleven. A quarter of an hour
later, wild shouts were heard outside. There was an instant
cessation of the enemy's fire; and then, in the silence, the deep
thundering sound of galloping horses was heard.
"Hurrah!" Will shouted, "here they are."
A minute later, the Third Bombay Cavalry dashed up to the fort. The
door was thrown open, and the little garrison ran out.
"All safe?" the officer in command asked.
"All safe, except Fortescue--who was killed at the first attack."
"So we heard, from your boy," the officer said. "He has ridden back
with us, as guide.
"Now, lads, dismount and clear the village. Shoot every man you
find, turn the women out of the houses, and then set them on fire.
Don't waste any time over it, for the rascals are swarming round
the place.
"Captain Lawson, you take your troop and dismount it as
skirmishers, round the place; and keep them off, till we have done
here.
"Here, you four men who brought the powder kegs, carry them inside
this fort. We are going to blow it up, to give them a lesson."
Ten minutes later, the cavalry were again in their saddles. Spare
horses had been brought for the four officers; and the servants
mounted the tats, which would be able to keep up with the cavalry.
The flames were already bursting out brightly from the houses.
The yells of the Afghans rose high, and their bullets flew thickly
over the village; but they kept at a respectful distance. The
officer in command gave the word, and the party set off at a trot.
Before they had left the village a deep roar was heard, and they
knew that the Afghan fort was destroyed. Two hours later they
arrived safely in camp; where the four rescued officers were warmly
congratulated, on their narrow escape, by their friends.
On the 14th of July, the conspiracy among the Wali's troops came to
a head. They openly mutinied; and marched out, with their cannon
and arms, from the camp. This was situated at a short distance from
that of the British, and Colonel Ripon was the first to gallop in
with the news.
Unfortunately, the British commander was not a man endowed with
promptness of decision; and no steps were taken, until the
mutineers had proceeded a considerable distance. Then the cavalry
and artillery were despatched, in pursuit. Had the order been given
at once, there can be no doubt that the Wali's force would have
been completely cut up; and those who escaped would have arrived a
mere horde of fugitives, for the most part without arms, at Ayoub's
camp.
Late as was the pursuit it was not ineffectual. Six British guns
opened fire upon the Wali's artillery--which was in rear of the
retreating column--with such effect that the gunners were seized
with a panic and, cutting the traces, fled for their lives. A good
many were cut down by the British cavalry, and the six guns
deserted by them were brought into camp.
Colonel Burrows' little force now stood alone; for he had with him
but 1500 infantry, 500 cavalry, and six of his own guns, besides
those taken from the mutineers--a force altogether disproportioned
to that with which Ayoub was advancing; swelled, as it was, by the
accession of the Wali's army. A message was sent to General
Primrose at Candahar, asking for reinforcements; but that officer,
although he had a considerable force at his disposal, declined to
despatch any reinforcements, whatever.
News now arrived that Ayoub, instead of marching direct upon
Girishk, had crossed the Helmund higher up; and was moving across
the country, by a line parallel with the road from Candahar to
Girishk. By this movement he would have the option of placing
himself either between Colonel Burrows' force and Candahar; of
marching direct upon the latter city; or of keeping to the north,
and coming down upon the road between Candahar and Shahpur, and
then marching direct for Cabul. Under these circumstances General
Burrows determined to fall back, at once, to a spot where he might
oppose Ayoub's advancing force. Accordingly, the brigade marched
from the Helmund to a village called Khusk-I-Nakhud, and there
encamped. General Nuttal, with the cavalry, made reconnaissances in
the direction of the enemy.
The people of the country held altogether aloof, and no accurate
information was obtained as to the strength of Ayoub's army; which
was believed, by General Burrows, to be very much smaller than it
really was. Early in the morning of the 26th, it was known that
Ayoub was marching upon Maiwand--a village farther to the
north--and at half-past six, the troops moved out to intercept him.
It was at this time believed that it was only the enemy's cavalry
with whom we should have to deal. Upon arriving near Maiwand,
however, news was brought in, by spies, that the whole of the enemy
were at hand. The force was at once halted, in a position
singularly ill-adapted for a fighting ground. Deep ravines ran both
to the right, and to the left, of the ground occupied by the
British. By these, the enemy could advance under shelter, until
within a short distance. On either side were ranges of hills,
completely commanding the position.
It is difficult to imagine a more unsuitable position than that
which General Burrows prepared to hold, with a mere handful of
troops, against an enormously superior force. What was the total
strength of Ayoub's army was never exactly known--as it was swollen
by enormous numbers of Ghazis, and tribesmen from the villages.
These were, in fact, far more formidable opponents than the regular
Afghan troops; as their tremendous rushes, and indifference to the
loss inflicted upon them, were trying in the extreme for even the
best-trained troops to withstand.
The morning was thick, and but little could be seen of Ayoub's
army. His cavalry, indeed, were found to be moving about in large
masses; but these fell back, at our advance. Lieutenant
Maclean--with two horse artillery guns, and a small cavalry
escort--galloped out on the extreme left, and opened fire on the
Afghan cavalry. His infantry at once appeared in force, swarming
down towards the guns; and these were withdrawn, to a position
nearer to our line.
The British infantry were formed in the following order: the 66th
were on the right, the Bombay Grenadiers in the center, and Jacob's
Rifles on the left. Two guns were placed in position to support the
66th, on the right. The remaining four British guns, and the six
smooth-bore guns--captured from the Wali's mutineers--were placed
between the Grenadiers and Jacob's Rifles. The 3rd Scinde Horse and
3rd Bombay Light Cavalry were formed in the rear of the line.
As the enemy advanced, our guns opened a heavy fire upon them; but
it was fully an hour before their artillery replied. Then thirty
guns were unmasked, and opened fire upon the British line. Under
cover of this heavy fire, swarms of the enemy's irregulars advanced
towards our position. When within 600 or 700 yards of the 66th, the
British opened with their Martini rifles; and the shower of lead,
at such an unexpected distance, checked the advance of the enemy.
For some time the artillery duel continued; but the enemy's guns
were then moved on to the hills, on either side of the British
position, and a terrible crossfire was opened from both flanks. At
about two o'clock, the smooth-bore guns began to get short of
ammunition. Only sixty rounds had been captured with them and,
there being no reserve of ammunition fitting them, they ceased
fire.
The position now became most serious. From the ravines on either
side the Ghazis swarmed up, in vast numbers. The artillery
thundered from the heights upon our troops. Some of their batteries
were brought up to within very short distances; and great numbers
of the enemy, keeping along the ravines sheltered from our fire,
came up in the rear and seized the villages there.
The companies of Jacob's Rifles on the left; after resisting, for
some time, the furious attacks of the Ghazis, began to waver. The
enemy's cavalry swept down in heavy masses; while our cavalry--for
some reason which has never been explained--remained inactive. The
general has stated that he ordered them to charge, but that they
would not do so; the cavalry affirm that they never received
orders. Anyhow, at this critical moment the 3rd Scinde Horse and
the 3rd Bombay Cavalry remained inactive.
The confusion amid Jacob's Rifles rapidly grew, in spite of the
efforts of the officers to rally them. The Ghazis swept down upon
them; and the Rifles broke in confusion, and rushed among the
Bombay Grenadiers who--hitherto fighting steadily--also fell into
confusion, as the Rifles and Ghazis burst into their ranks.
"This is hot work," Will Gale said to his captain, when the enemy's
guns, on the heights on either side, began to play on the line of
the 66th with their flank fire.
"It is, indeed," the officer answered, "and the fire of the enemy,
from the edge of that ravine, is very trying. I wish to heaven the
general would move us farther back. He has made a hideous mistake
in fighting on such ground as this."
"It would be difficult to withdraw, now," Will said. "It would
shake the confidence of the men. I think, myself, that we ought to
advance, and drive the enemy before us, till we take up some really
defensible position; but I doubt if the Afghans would wait for
that. In all our history, a British charge against an Indian enemy
has always been successful, no matter how great the odds."
"It is a bad lookout," the captain said, as a shell burst close by
him, killing and wounding five or six men. "It is quite evident
that if we stay where we are we must, in time, be annihilated. Our
fellows will stand, no doubt; they are English soldiers, and well
officered. But how can one expect the two Indian regiments--with
only three or four white officers, each--to remain steady, under
such a fire as this, and with these desperate charges of Ghazis
upon them?"
Very steadily the 66th held their ground, in spite of a flanking
fire of artillery and musketry. Every time the enemy gathered at
the edge of the ravine, for a rush, the heavy fire of the company
on the flank--which was wheeled back at a right angle to the line,
so as to face them--drove them back to shelter again. The regiment
had suffered very heavily. Still, the officers felt that they could
endure, till nightfall.
Of victory, there was now no idea; for to conquer, men must act
and, here, they were only called upon to suffer. Presently a wild
tumult was heard to the left; and then the men of the scattered
native regiments burst, in a tumultuous mass, into the ranks of the
66th.
"Steady, men, steady!" shouted the officers.
But it was of no avail. All was in hopeless confusion. The
artillery fired, until the Ghazis were within a few yards of them;
then they hastily limbered up, and fell back. But the Ghazis were
too close at hand, and two of the guns were lost.
Even now, had the cavalry charged upon the Afghans, time would have
been given to the broken infantry to form again into a solid mass,
and to draw off from the field in good order. But the cavalry
remained inactive. Both these regiments had a record of good
service in the field; but their conduct, on this occasion, was
little short of disgraceful.
Among the infantry all order was lost and, mixed up in a confused
mass, hemmed in on all sides by the enemy, they fell back--each man
fighting for himself--upon the village behind. Here, in the walled
enclosures, the 66th and the Grenadiers rallied, and fought nobly.
Each house was used as a fortress, and only carried after a
desperate struggle. Here Colonel Galbraith, and nine other officers
of the 66th were killed; and the greater portion of the regiment
shared their fate.
Some bodies of the troops--entirely cut off from the rest, in their
retreat--stood their ground in the open, and fought desperately to
the end; surrounding themselves, ere they died, with a ring of
slaughtered enemies. So desperate was the defense in some cases
that--outnumbering them fifty to one--the enemy never dared to come
to close quarters with the gallant band; which kept up a rain of
fire on them, till the last man had fallen. So long and stoutly was
the village defended, that the great majority of the broken
fugitives had time to pass out behind.
General Burrows--who had done his best to stem the rout--drew off
the shattered remains; and fell back with them, in fair order.
Will Gale's company was in the right flank of the regiment and,
therefore, farthest from the point where the line was broken by the
rush of the native troops. Seeing what was taking place, the
captain formed his men into company square; and fell back to the
village, in fair order. The company then threw itself into a house,
with a walled garden, to the right of the village; and its steady
fire, in no slight degree, helped to keep back the Afghans, and
cover the retreat. This they did, until General Burrows himself
rode up, and ordered them to fall in.
"Your company has done good service, sir," he said to Captain
Fletcher; "and it is for you, now, to cover the retreat."
Slowly and in good order the company fell back and, joining the
troops who still retained their formation, retired slowly; facing
about, and pouring volley after volley into the Afghans, as they
came out through the village. For two miles, the enemy pressed
closely upon them; but their loss had already been immense, and all
desired to join in the plundering of the British camp. Therefore
the pursuit slackened and, three miles from the village, the rear
guard were ordered to the main body, at quick march.