and at once afforded him some relief from the intense pain he was
suffering from the unskilful treatment of a native surgeon. Percy, too,
gained great benefit from the arrival of the doctor, and was in a few
days able to be about with his arm strapped tightly to his side.
Immediately after the battle of Suddoosam Edwardes had written off to
Lahore begging that a few heavy guns might be sent to him, in order that
he might undertake the siege of the place, which he, Lieutenant Lake,
and General Cortlandt were convinced could be successfully carried out,
Moolraj's garrison being greatly weakened by desertions after the two
battles, and disheartened by the failure of the _gooroo's_ prophecies.
The request had been refused by the governor-general and the
commander-in-chief, whose opinion was that no operations should be
undertaken by English troops until the hot season was over.
He pointed out that Lieutenant Edwardes, who had now received the rank
of brevet-major as a reward for his great services, had carried out all
that he had proposed to do. The districts to the west and south of
Mooltan had been wrested from Moolraj, and the collection of revenue was
going on quietly and regularly. Moolraj was cooped up in Mooltan, and
was practically powerless for mischief, therefore all that was necessary
was that Edwardes should carry out the plan he himself had originally
proposed, namely, to drive Moolraj into his fortress and blockade him
there through the hot season.
A few days later, however, Sir Frederick Currie, influenced by a letter
Edwardes had sent him before the decision of the government had been
arrived at, determined to take upon himself the responsibility of
ordering General Whish, with two regiments of European and two of native
infantry, three regiments of native cavalry, three companies of European
and one of native artillery, and two troops of native horse-artillery to
march from Lahore. They left on the 24th of July, were taken down by
water to Bhawulpoor, and reached Mooltan on the 18th of August. The
heavy guns, however, did not arrive until the 4th of September.
In addition to the pain Edwardes had been suffering from his wounds he
had been going through a period of great anxiety. The whole Sikh nation
was in a ferment. The disasters that had befallen Moolraj had in no way
checked their ardour. Chuttur Singh, the father of Sher Singh, was in
open rebellion, and had, it was known, been urging his son in the name
alike of patriotism, religion, and family honour to join in a great
national effort to wipe out the defeats of the last campaign and to
restore to the Punjaub its lost territory.
So far Sher Singh had resisted these entreaties, and had given every
evidence of his desire to remain faithful to the government of Lahore.
But from the first he had been almost powerless in the hands of his
troops. Numbers of them had deserted and made their way to Mooltan.
Constant communications were kept up with the rebels, and it was certain
that at the first opportunity that offered the whole force would go over
in a body to Moolraj. While the battles of Koreyshee and Suddoosam were
being fought, the divisions remained inactive at a little more than a
day's march from Mooltan, and Moolraj showed, by sending out every
available man to attack the force of Edwardes, that he had no fear
whatever of hostility on the part of the Sikhs. When, therefore, a few
days after Suddoosam, Sher Singh's army advanced and encamped within
half a mile of the allies, a heavy burden was added to the various
anxieties of the wounded English commander. Sher Singh himself visited
him frequently, and was profuse in his declarations of loyalty, as were
the two officers next in command, Uttur and Shumsher Singh; but while
the former hoped that his troops would remain faithful, his two
lieutenants were absolutely convinced that they would all go over to the
enemy.
Edwardes felt that should the understanding between the Sikhs and
Moolraj be complete, and the former fall upon his flank while the whole
Mooltan force attacked him in front, his position would be one of the
greatest difficulty. It was a great relief to him when two or three
more English officers came up, and he was at last certain that the
orders he issued from his bed of sickness would be thoroughly carried
out by them. It was a still heavier load off his mind when General
Whish arrived with his force, and assumed the command of the siege
operations.
By this time he himself was able to get about, and Percy's wound was
almost completely healed. On the 7th of September the plans for the
siege were arranged at a council of the chief political and military
officers. The trenches were opened, but at a much greater distance than
usual, as the ground outside the walls was largely occupied with houses
and gardens and cut up by small canals. This was all in the hands of
the enemy, and it would be necessary to advance gradually step by step.
On the 9th the fighting began, an attempt being made to carry some
houses and ruins occupied by the rebels. The latter, however, defended
themselves stoutly, and but little ground was gained.
The Sikhs, who were skilled in defensive warfare, had thrown up numerous
intrenchments and stockades in front of our lines, but on the 12th they
were attacked and a large village was carried, but only after desperate
fighting, some two hundred and fifty men being killed or wounded on the
British side. A point was gained, however, close enough to the walls
for the establishment of the battering guns, and a few days at most
would have seen the British flag waving over the walls of Mooltan, when
suddenly Sher Singh with his whole army went over to the enemy.
This defection entirely changed the situation. The addition of the Sikh
force of disciplined soldiers to the army of Moolraj raised it to a
strength far exceeding that of the besiegers. Even without this
addition it had only been by very hard fighting that the British had won
their way forward. These difficulties had now been enormously
increased. The communications might be threatened and cut off, and even
the officers most sanguine of the success of the siege now felt that it
was no longer feasible with so small a force.
But their decision to abandon the siege was arrived at chiefly upon
other grounds. Until now, although Moolraj had been joined by a great
many Sikh deserters, the Sikh nation still stood irresolute, and it was
hoped that the capture of Mooltan would have decided them to abstain
from engaging in a contest which was nominally one between the maharajah
and his advisers at Lahore, and Moolraj their rebellious servant. The
defection of Sher Singh and the Lahore army, of which he was commander,
changed the whole situation. It was certain now that the Sikhs would
everywhere rise, and that the whole of the Punjaub would soon be in
arms. The capture of Mooltan, therefore, became a matter of secondary
importance, and it behoved General Whish to keep his force intact in
view of the campaign that must ensue.
Moreover, he could now no longer rely upon his communications being kept
open or supplies forwarded, for the Sikh sirdars with their followers
might throw themselves on his rear. Lahore itself might fall into the
hands of the Sikhs, for since the despatch of General Whish's force to
Mooltan it was very weakly garrisoned. It was, therefore, unanimously
decided that for the present the siege must be raised, and the army,
abandoning its new works, fell back a couple of miles and took up a
strong defensive position, expecting to be attacked by the allied forces
of Moolraj and Sher Singh.
No such attack was, however, made. Sher Singh had up to the last moment
so strongly opposed the wishes of his troops to go over, that when at
last he gave way, Moolraj suspected the movement to be a snare and
refused to open the gates of Mooltan to the Sikhs. His suspicions were
heightened by a letter that Edwardes sent to Sher Singh by the hand of a
messenger whose fidelity he strongly suspected. As he anticipated, the
letter was carried to Moolraj, and was of a nature to increase very
greatly his suspicions of the good faith of Sher Singh. The latter,
however, at once issued proclamations, which were signed and sealed by
himself, Moolraj, and the principal officers and sirdars, calling upon
the whole Sikh nation to rise.
Moolraj still declared that the only thing to satisfy his mind would be
for Sher Singh to issue out and attack the British position. This he
did, but as soon as the English artillery began to play upon him his
troops retired hastily, their conduct increasing the suspicion felt by
Moolraj of their intentions. The ill feeling between the allies
increased until on the 9th of October Sher Singh marched away with his
army to join the Sikh force already in arms, plundering and burning all
the Mahomedan villages through which he passed.
The news of his defection was followed immediately by the revolt of the
Sikh troops at Bunnoo and other places, and in the course of two or
three weeks the whole Sikh nation was under arms; and the work that had
been done, and as was hoped completed, at Moodkee, Ferozeshah, Aliwal,
and Sobraon, had to be begun afresh.
Percy Groves was not with the British force that fell back from its
position four or five hundred yards from the walls of Mooltan. Three or
four days before Sher Singh's defection Major Edwardes had said to him:
"Mr. Groves, I think it would be best for you to take up your quarters
with Sher Singh's force. His position is a difficult one; he is weak
and vacillating, and it would be well that he should have someone by his
side to whom he could appeal frequently; the presence too of a British
officer would strengthen his authority with his troops. I have no doubt
he is well disposed, but the influence brought to bear on him is
tremendous. As a son it would be contrary to Sikh notions of honour to
oppose his father, however much he might differ from him. Then there
are the appeals to his patriotism and to his religion. He knows that
the whole of his men are in favour of revolt, and there are but two or
three of his officers who are not of the same way of thinking. I do not
say that there is not some danger in your taking up your abode among
them, for if he goes over he will go over suddenly; but, even if he
does, I cannot think that he would suffer you to be injured. He is not
a fanatic, and would see that did any harm come to you he would have no
hope whatever of pardon. You will, of course, ride in here at once
should you discover that there is any change in his attitude towards
us."
Percy accordingly moved across to Sher Singh's camp, a tent being
erected there for him. He liked the rajah, of whom he had seen a good
deal since his arrival, and, like Edwardes, was convinced that his
assurances of loyalty were made in good faith, and believed he would be
perfectly safe whatever might happen, and that he was sure to have
warning of any change in Sher Singh's intentions.
*CHAPTER XVII.*
*WITH SHER SINGH.*
Sher Singh had at once acceded to the proposal of Major Edwardes that
Percy Groves should establish himself in his camp. "Let him come," he
said; "he will see that all I say to you is true, and that I am a
faithful servant of the maharajah. There is nothing I wish to hide from
him or from you. I have sworn to you over and over again, that I am
faithful; and did he live in my tent, he would see how true I am to my
oath."
The rajah, indeed, was sore that his fidelity should be suspected, and
in his conversations with Percy, after the latter had established
himself in a tent close to him, he frequently complained that after
having so long withstood the entreaties of his father and the wishes of
his troops, he should be suspected. Percy did his best to assure him
that personally Major Edwardes had no doubt of his loyalty, and that he
feared only that he might not be able to control the troops.
"But I have so far controlled them," Sher Singh said; "have I not
brought them here instead of allowing them to march into Mooltan? Why,
then, should I be doubted now? If I had wished to go, would it not have
been better that I should have done so before these white troops
arrived? You had hard work in beating Moolraj alone; if I had joined
him before, Edwardes and the Bhawulpoor troops would have been
destroyed."
"Had you joined Moolraj, rajah, we should never have crossed the Indus,
nor would the troops of the nawab have been here. Major Edwardes knows
well that you have done your best, and believes that did your troops
revolt you would ride into our camp. It is not your good-will that he
doubts, but your power over your soldiers. We know that they are in
hourly communication with the enemy, that they go freely in and out of
the town, that messengers pass between them and their countrymen who
have gone over; and it is easy to understand that, placed as we are
here, and carrying on a siege with but scant forces for such an
operation, he cannot but be most anxious regarding a force like yours
lying so close to him. But he has still strong hopes that you will be
able to keep them firm. Were it otherwise, he would not have sent me
here. It is anxiety, and not suspicion, that causes him so earnestly to
beg you to stand firm."
Bhop Lal and Akram Chunder were both charged to learn as much as they
could from the soldiers as to their intentions. Their reports were
favourable to the rajah.
"The soldiers are all for Moolraj," Bhop Lal said. "They speak of the
rajah by the nickname of 'the Mahomedan.' It is he alone who keeps them
here, for though Uttur Singh and Shumsher both support him, they are
almost alone among his officers. Sher Singh is a powerful rajah, and
his family one of the first among the sirdars of the Punjaub. That is
the reason why he has been able to keep them from going over, for they
fear that if they did so in the face of his opposition, they would
afterwards suffer at the hands of himself and his family, even if their
cause were victorious. All seem agreed that there is no chance of the
rajah's throwing in his lot with his father, and they curse him as one
who is false to his family, his country, and his religion."
It was then a complete surprise to Percy when, after retiring to bed on
the night of the 13th of September, he was suddenly aroused by the
entrance of a body of armed men into his tent. They belonged, as he saw
at once, to the rajah's own bodyguard, and were commanded by one of his
most trusted officers.
"No harm is intended," the latter said; "the rajah's orders are that you
are to be honourably treated, but I must beg you to rise and dress at
once, as we are going to move our camp."
Seeing that resistance would be altogether useless, Percy at once rose.
After putting on his clothes he saw that his arms had been taken
possession of by the soldiers, and that he was in fact a prisoner.
Without making a remark, he passed out of the tent, and saw his two men
standing there with very crestfallen faces, holding his horse, and
surrounded by a body of Sikhs. He mounted, and the Sikh cavalry at once
closed in round them. The tents had been struck already, the baggage
packed, and the troops formed up. Uttur and Shumsher Singh had, as he
afterwards learned, done their utmost to carry off the men under their
command to the British lines, but they had been surrounded by officers
entreating, abusing, and threatening them and stirring up their soldiers
till they were forced to abstain from opposing the popular demand.
Uttur Singh had then mounted his horse, and with great difficulty made
his way through the crowd, riding off to carry the intelligence to Major
Edwardes, followed by two other officers. Shumsher Singh had been
carried off as a prisoner, and was confined in his tent; but the next
night he managed to crawl out under the bottom of the tent, and made his
way in common clothes and bare-footed several miles to the British camp,
killing on the road one of Sher Singh's vedettes, who tried to arrest
him. Two, therefore, out of the three Sikh leaders justified Major
Edwardes' belief in their fidelity.
On arriving at the new place of encampment under the walls of the fort,
Percy remained for an hour in the centre of his guard, and was then
conducted to his tent, which had again been pitched. Half an hour later
his two servants came in; both were deeply humiliated that they should
have given their master no warning of what was coming, and poured out
their apologies and expressions of regret.
"It is not your fault in any way," Percy said; "it was but yesterday
afternoon that the rajah was even warmer than usual in his protestations
of loyalty, and yet at that time he must have fully made up his mind as
to his course. Had the troops known it yesterday you would certainly
have noticed a difference in their bearing. He cannot have issued any
orders until late in the evening, and you see he took measures for my
protection by sending his own bodyguard to protect me; and has probably
carried me off partly as a hostage and partly perhaps with the thought
that I may be useful should circumstances make it necessary for him
again to enter into negotiations with our people. How is it we have not
entered the fort?"
"The Sikhs intended to go in, sahib, but Moolraj kept the gates closed,
and sent orders that they were to encamp here under the guns of the
fort. I suppose that he is afraid of treachery. The Sikhs are very
angry."
"I suppose they have taken your arms?" Percy said.
"Yes, sahib; we were sleeping at the door of your tent, they pounced
upon us suddenly, twisting scarfs round our mouths to prevent our
calling out. They carried us a short distance away, and then released
us. They ordered us to saddle our horses and yours, and warned us that
if we made the least outcry it would be the signal for your death as
well as our own."
In the morning Sher Singh came into the tent. "I am sorry that I have
been compelled to make you prisoner, Sahib Groves, but I had no choice.
Had I not done so, the stir among the troops would have awoke you, and
you might have carried the news to your camp in time for horsemen and
guns to interfere with our movements. I did it, too, as much for your
protection as my own, for some of the troops might have rushed in and
killed you had you not been in the hands of my own guard."
"I thank you for that, rajah," Percy said quietly; "but my life is of
little consequence in comparison to other matters. Until now it has only
been a question of the overthrow of a dewan who refused to render
obedience to his government, and whom you and your army were despatched
to conquer. Instead of this, your army has gone over and joined his.
You know, even better than I do, what that means: that all the Punjaub
will be up, and that tens of thousands of lives will be lost. I can
only hope that you, like myself, are here against your will."
"No," the rajah said passionately. "I was faithful, and I was doubted.
I withstood the entreaties of my father, the adjurations of the chief
men of my religion, and the wishes of my army; but when I found that in
spite of all this, I was suspected, it was useless for me to strive
longer. I am no longer a general of the durbar of Lahore, but a Sikh
prince."
"I am truly sorry to hear it," Percy said gravely, "for your own sake,
and for that of the Punjaub. There can be but one end to it. If, when
the whole Khalsa army was intact, the Sikhs could not withstand the
advance of a weak British force to Lahore, what chance have they against
such an army as will be collected now? The last time England astonished
the Sikhs by her clemency, and by taking so little when all was in her
power. She thought that her strength and her clemency would alike have
made such an impression that the Sikhs would henceforth be content and
remain in peace. This time she will assuredly make no such mistake, and
I consider that your highness' defection will lead to the destruction of
the independence of the Punjaub."
"That we shall see," the rajah said, "Last time but a small portion of
our sirdars took up arms. You had but to fight against troops who had
long lost their discipline; now you will have the whole of the Sikh
nation against you."
"Were the Sikh nation ten times as numerous as they are," Percy said
quietly, "the end would be the same. However, as your highness has now
taken your course, it is useless for me to endeavour to dissuade you. I
have to thank you for having taken means to secure my safety, but I
should have thanked you still more had you ordered your bodyguard to
conduct me to our camp instead of bringing me here."
"That I could not do," Sher Singh replied; "it would have caused my own
men to suspect me; but, be assured that you be well and honourably
treated. I told you I regarded you as a guest in my camp, and as a
guest you will always be treated; save in the matter of your liberty,
every wish you may express will be granted; and if at any time you have
any complaint to make, send me a message and I will come and see you and
set matters right."
In the morning, when Sher Singh's men were about to march against the
British camp, Bhop Lal said to Percy: "There will be no fighting, sahib.
The Sikhs are very angry at the refusal of Moolraj to admit them into
the town, and they say they have not revolted in order to fight for
Moolraj, but for their country. They may advance, because the guns of
Mooltan look down into their camp, and they dare not therefore refuse;
but they will soon be back here again. They are eager to march away,
and will do so ere long. Mooltan is nothing to them, and they know well
enough that Moolraj is fighting for himself alone, and that were the
British expelled, there would be another war to decide whether Moolraj
or the Sikhs were to be masters of the Punjaub."
Until the Sikhs marched away on the 9th of October Percy did not again
see Sher Singh. The rajah, indeed, sent him a message that contained
the most bitter complaints against Major Edwardes for having, by the
letter that was intercepted, increased the doubts of Moolraj as to his
loyalty. Percy replied that he, of course, knew nothing of the letter;
but that a general like Sher Singh must know well that in war it was
always a matter of policy on the part of a leader to cause disunion, if
possible, between allies opposed to him, and that doubtless he himself
would, under similar circumstances, have acted in precisely the same
manner.
There was no actual prohibition against Percy leaving his tent, but the
officer in command of the guard, who kept a vigilant watch round it,
strongly advised him not to do so.
"The rajah has given you into my charge," he said, "and holds me
responsible for your safety. But how can I guarantee that, if you go
about in the camp? I might surround you with a guard, and yet a musket
or pistol ball fired by a fanatic might hit you. It is far better that
you should remain in your tent, where you are out of sight of all, and
out of their thoughts. If they once see you about, the fanatics might
stir up the men to demand your life, and to insist that Sher Singh
should give us some stronger proof of his hostility to the English, as
Moolraj did when he permitted the murder of the two English officers;
and although the rajah wishes you well, he may be unable to resist the
demands of the troops, who are rather his masters than he theirs."
Percy felt the justice of the argument, and remained quietly in his
tent, where he learned from his two followers all that was passing, as
these in their native costume were able to move about freely among the
Sikhs, of whom indeed but few were aware that the servants of the
British officer, who had been carried off with them, had also been
taken. Both the men, being Mahomedans, burned with indignation at the
atrocities committed by the Sikhs upon the Mussulman villages on the
line of march, where they burned the houses, robbed the people, defiled
the mosques, and murdered the priests.
"Is that the way to fight for the independence of their country, sahib?
Are there not great numbers of Mahomedans in the Punjaub, and is it not
enough to have to fight the English without making every Mahomedan
hostile to them? It was not so before. Mahomedans and Sikhs were of one
mind as to the independence of the Punjaub. Now the Mahomedans will be
as one man in their hopes that the British will win. They know that
under the British masters every man can worship in his own way without
interference; and they must see now that if the Sikhs conquer, they will
root out the Mahomedans from among them. Akram and I followed you,
sahib, and stood the fire of the Sikh guns because our lord had bidden
us guard you, but except for that our hearts were rather with the Sikhs
than with your countrymen, for have we not taken Sikh pay and fought
under Sikh standards? Henceforth it is different. The Sikhs have
showed themselves our bitter enemies, and all our hopes must now be with
the English."
"You see no chance of my escape?"