THE ADVANCE
The cutting of the dam of the Naree did not afford so much aid as had
been hoped for, for the thirsty soil absorbed the water almost as fast
as it poured out, and it was not until many days later that it began to
fill the little irrigation canals at the villages through which the
army passed. After resting two days at Oostar, the force proceeded to
Bhag, a town of some size. Here water was found in abundance, and grain
in considerable quantities, and also a supply of carrots, which were
eagerly purchased by the officers for the use of their horses. At the
various places where they halted Angus acted as interpreter, and rode
out with a small body of cavalry to villages at which they learned a
certain amount of forage could be obtained.
At Bhag, to his great satisfaction, Sir Alexander Burnes joined the
party. He had paid a visit to the Khan of Khelat, and obtained from
him stringent orders to the headmen of villages and others to do all
in their power to aid the army. The inhabitants were all to be set to
work to dig the holes, for which they would receive payments from the
British. The Khan also promised to despatch to Dadur what supplies he
could gather, but explained that unfortunately there was a much greater
difficulty than usual in collecting provisions, as the previous season
had been a very bad one, and in many parts of the country the villagers
had not been able to gather sufficient for their own needs. As Angus
had heard the same at Candahar, at the village near Quettah, and from
his guide, there could be no doubt that this excuse was a genuine one,
and indeed the officers who had been engaged in Scinde and in the
country bordering the Indus affirmed that the supplies obtainable there
were also vastly smaller than had been anticipated.
Throughout the next week Angus was continually employed in riding among
the towns in the khanate, interviewing headmen, and expediting the
despatch of convoys. He was always accompanied by a troop of cavalry,
for plundering parties of Beloochees were making their way on all sides
towards the line followed by the army, where they murdered stragglers,
captured lagging camels, and were so bold that they ventured close to
the outskirts of the villages occupied by the British camps, robbed
the natives of the moneys paid them for forage or grain, and rendered
it necessary that every convoy should be protected by a considerable
escort. After a week of this work, Angus received orders to join the
force that was gathering at Dadur. During the last two days' march the
difficulties with regard to water had disappeared. The villages had all
been situated on the Bolan river, and little irrigation canals enabled
the cultivation of a considerable tract of country to be carried on,
which supplied forage in sufficient quantity for the first division of
the army which came along.
Dadur, a town of some four thousand inhabitants, stands on the eastern
branch of the Bolan river, whose banks were fringed with high reeds and
groves of dwarf trees. The country round was well cultivated, and the
fields were covered with young crops of wheat and barley. Close to the
town were gardens, and the whole presented an agreeable appearance to
the troops, who had for nearly three weeks been painfully making their
way across country which, even at its best points, was little more than
a sandy desert. Here Angus again met Sir Alexander Burnes, who had been
making the greatest efforts to accumulate supplies at the town. His
success, however, had been very small, nor had Major Leech, who was
also at Dadur, been more fortunate. It had been reckoned that twenty
days' supplies for the whole army would have been accumulated there,
but not more than sufficient for two or three days had been gathered,
and General Cotton, on arriving there with the Bengal army, decided
that it was necessary for at least a portion of the army to advance
without delay.
Sir Alexander Burnes started at once with Major Cureton of the 16th
Lancers, with a troop of that regiment, three companies of the Native
Infantry, and a strong party of sappers and miners, to survey the
pass up to Quettah. Major Leech was sent to Khelat to maintain a
strong pressure upon the Khan, and it was still hoped that stores
might be collected by the time the Bombay army came along. The report
sent down was satisfactory inasmuch as the physical difficulties of
the journey were concerned. In spite of the fact that heavy rains had
fallen, the river had not risen sufficiently to interfere seriously
with the passage of troops and animals, and on the 16th of March the
Horse Artillery, 2nd Light Cavalry, the 13th Regiment of the line,
and the 48th Native Infantry, started early in the morning, forded by
torchlight the Bolan river, and at eight o'clock pitched their camp in
the valley, where they were to rest for the day.
The road had so far offered no difficulties, except that the river
had to be forded no fewer than eight times. The baggage animals which
started at midnight had already arrived, but the tents were pitched
with some difficulty owing to the rocky nature of the ground, which
necessitated the use of iron tent-pegs instead of the wooden ones
previously used. Fortunately, owing to the pause that had been made by
the advance parties at Dadur, and the abundance of succulent food they
had obtained there, the animals had recovered to a large extent from
their previous fatigues and hardships, and the journey through the pass
was accomplished with less loss and suffering than had occurred during
the march from Sukkar. Vast numbers of animals, however, died, and the
troops, who had started full of life and strength, were sadly changed,
many of them being utterly worn out and a mere shadow of their former
selves. The rumour that had precipitated the march by three weeks,
upset all the transport arrangements, and caused so vast an amount
of suffering, proved to be false--no forward movement had been made
by the Candahar princes, and except for some little trouble with the
marauding villagers, the march was entirely unopposed.
Once in the Shawl valley the fatigues of the army were over for the
time, but in spite of the efforts of Sir A. Burnes and his assistants,
only a very small amount of food and forage had been collected in
readiness for them. So small indeed was the supply that it was
necessary to place both the troops and native followers on reduced
rations of flour, rice, and ghee. Meat, however, was plentiful. The
proceedings of the Khan of Khelat were not of a character to inspire
confidence in him. While protesting strongly his friendship for us,
he told our officers frankly that he was certain Shah Soojah would
not retain his position for a day after the British troops marched
away; that the whole feeling of the country was against him, and that
although, had he advanced with only a native army raised by himself, he
might have been accepted, the people would never submit to a sovereign
thrust upon them by British bayonets.
Opinions differed much as to his sincerity. Those who doubted it
pointed to the fact, that although he was said to have large stores of
provisions at Khelat, he had scarcely sold any to our troops, and had
failed in all his promises in that direction. On the other hand, Sir
A. Burnes maintained that the stores of provisions spoken of did not
exist; and that in any case, having no belief in the possibility of
Shah Soojah maintaining himself, it was but natural that he should hang
back until he saw how matters went, for if he were to give any active
aid to the British he would be considered a traitor by his countrymen,
and would imperil his khanate and his life when our protection was
withdrawn from him. The question was never satisfactorily cleared up.
Some of those who took part in the proceedings and wrote on the subject
regarded him as a very ill-used man, while others considered the
measures afterwards taken against him as being fully justified by his
conduct.
As it was absolutely necessary that food should be obtained, parties
were sent into the villages and a rigorous search instituted, and in
this way a considerable quantity of hidden grain was discovered. This
was taken and paid for at the market price. In Quettah itself one very
large store was found and taken up for the use of the army.
The climate was pleasant, and in spite of reduced rations the men
benefited by the halt, which was not without its excitement, for large
bands of plunderers hovered round, attacks were frequently made upon
parties going out with camels to graze, and expeditions to punish the
villages to which the marauders belonged were undertaken. At length
General Sir John Keane, who was in command of the whole expedition,
arrived at Quettah, to the satisfaction of the army, for it was
thought that some decision must now be arrived at. It was evident to
all that, unless something were done, famine would ere long stare
them in the face. The European troops could indeed exist upon meat,
but the native troops and camp followers, the greater portion of whom
were not meat-eaters, were already in sore distress, the supply of
grain and rice barely sufficing to keep life together. The hope was
justified. As soon as the general arrived the heads of the departments
were assembled and arrangements were made for an advance. The greater
portion of the Bombay army arrived soon after their commander, and
although the men were still weakened by privation the army was in most
respects perfectly capable of carrying out the work successfully. There
was, however, one serious drawback which threatened to destroy their
efficiency: the horses of the cavalry and artillery and the animals of
the transport were so weakened by want of grain and hay that they were
altogether unfit for hard work.
It was upon the 7th of April that the army moved forward, seven
weeks having elapsed since they started from Shikarpore. The
march to Candahar was long and painful, several passes had to be
traversed, food became more and more scarce, and hundreds of animals
died daily. Beloochee plunderers during the first portion of the
journey, and Afghan raiders during the second, hung along the line of
march, murdering all who straggled, capturing camels, at times even
threatening an attack in force. They were able to do this, as our
cavalry horses were so broken down that they could scarcely proceed
beyond a walk. The Candahar princes with a large following came out to
give battle; but Hajee Khan Kakur, one of the leading chiefs, had been
bribed by our political officers, and deserting, came into our camp
with a large body of followers, and this so disheartened the princes,
and excited so much fear among them of further treachery, that they
withdrew at once to Candahar, and a few hours after their arrival there
took the northern road. After immense suffering from want of water
and food, the army entered the city on the 26th of April, Shah Soojah
having gone on with Hajee Kakur and made a formal entry into the town
two days previously.
Angus had had little to do during the march from Quettah. The chances
of obtaining forage or food at the deserted villages near the line
of march were so small that Sir John Keane decided that it would be
useless to endeavour to obtain anything there, especially as an officer
leaving the main body had to be accompanied by a strong escort to
protect him from the bands of marauders, and it was deemed inadvisable
to give the horses any work that could be avoided. Angus's own animal,
being accustomed to the country, suffered less than those from the
plains, and in order to spare it as much as possible, and keep it in
such a condition that it would be fit for work were he ordered to make
any expedition, he generally walked by its side the greater part of the
day, preferring this, indeed, to sitting on horseback and moving at the
snail's pace necessitated by the difficulties of the road and the slow
progress of the weakened animals of the baggage train. Among these the
mortality had been terrible, and one writer estimated that no fewer
than thirty thousand transport animals died on the road between Sukkar
and Candahar.
Shah Soojah had at first established himself in his camp outside
the city, but two days after the arrival of the army he took up his
abode at the palace. He was accompanied by his own officials and by
Macnaghten and Burnes and their assistants.
"What are you smiling at, Campbell?" Lieutenant Macgregor, who had been
his companion and tent-fellow since they left Dadur, asked as they rode
together into the city.
"I am thinking of the difference between my position in this
procession, and the fact that I am going to take up my quarters in the
palace, and the position I occupied when I was last here--a pretended
trader, suspected and watched, and obliged to escape by night."
"Yes, it is a change, certainly," Macgregor said, "and one for the
better, though, after what we have gone through and all we may have
to go through before we leave this wretched country, I don't think
it would be safe to assert that it is less dangerous now than it was
then. From the time we left Shikarpore till we arrived here three days
ago, we have never had a decent meal, we have practically never had
enough to eat, we have suffered horribly from thirst, we have never
dared to ride a hundred yards beyond the column or camp; we have lived,
in fact, dogs' lives--not the life of a respectable dog in England,
but of a starving cur in an Indian bazaar. We don't know much about
the future; I don't suppose we shall suffer from hunger and thirst as
we have done, but our dangers of other kinds will certainly not be
abated. Everything looks smooth enough here. I don't think there is any
enthusiasm at all for Soojah, but there is no doubt that the princes
were hated, and the people heartily glad to be rid of them. I fancy
that we shall not have much difficulty in reaching Cabul. They say
Ghuznee is a strong place, but we have taken scores of places in India
that the natives considered impregnable. Still, considering the way in
which these marauding Afghans hover round us, I think we shall have a
very uncomfortable time of it."
As the soldiers were not at first allowed to enter the city, the
merchants there speedily established a temporary bazaar outside
the walls. Here vendors of rose-water, of sherbet, and of a drink
concocted of the juice of fruits, took up their stalls. People from the
country round brought in loads of lucerne, wheat, barley, wood, and
chopped straw. Other merchants displayed posteens, pelisses made of
sheep-skins, with the wool inside and embroidered outside with blue,
red, and yellow thread; fowls, sheep, onions, milk, tobacco, and spices
were also on sale, and before long the horse-dealers of Herat brought
down large numbers of good animals, which were eagerly bought up by
officers who had lost their chargers. As soon as the soldiers were
allowed to enter the town they poured into it. Wheaten cakes, cooked
meat, and mulberries tempted their appetite, and a little later plums
and apricots were brought in in great profusion.
The scenes in the streets were very amusing. The British soldiers and
Sepoys with their large variety of uniforms mingled with the people of
the town and country round. Some of these wore long cloaks of chintz or
woollen cloth, with large turbans; their hair, beards, and moustaches
being allowed to grow very long, and the beards being dyed red. Others
were closely shaven, and dressed in jackets and trousers of blue linen,
and tunics of brown cloth with long hanging sleeves, their heads being
protected by skull-caps of various colours.
With May the heat, which already had been great, became even more
oppressive. Water was abundant, but the troops and camp followers were
still on short rations of food. The price of grain was enormously high,
and there was no chance of the magazines being replenished until the
fields were ripe for harvest.
It was not until nearly three weeks after possession was taken of the
capital that a force was despatched under Brigadier Sale in pursuit of
the princes--a grievous mistake; for Shah Soojah had entered Candahar
on the day they left, and as they were greatly encumbered by their
baggage train, the ladies of the harems, and a host of camp followers,
they might easily have been overtaken; whereas, after their escape,
they became the centre of intrigues against the Ameer.
In June the harvest ripened, large quantities of grain were bought up
by the commissariat, and preparations began for the advance to Cabul.
Candahar was quiet and apathetic. So far no signs were visible of any
enthusiasm for their new ruler among the people. Not only did none
of the neighbouring chiefs come in to pay their allegiance, but the
Shah's orders were everywhere disregarded. Marauding bands harassed and
sometimes attacked convoys coming up; and even close to the city it
was dangerous for the soldiers to move many hundred yards beyond the
limits of their camps. The health of the troops was far from good. The
plains of Candahar, fertile as they are, are unhealthy, as water can be
found everywhere six or seven feet below the surface. The native troops
suffered comparatively little, but the European soldiers were attacked
by dysentery, jaundice, and fever, and large numbers were carried off
by these diseases.
At the end of June the necessary amount of grain was accumulated by
the arrival of a large caravan from Mooltan. The army was now to cut
itself entirely free from its former lines of supplies, and would have
to depend solely, upon the country for food, as the ever-increasing
boldness of the Beloochees in the Bolan Pass, and of the Afghan
marauders between Quettah and Candahar, had made it impossible for
convoys, unless very strongly guarded, to make their way up.
The advance began at two o'clock on the morning of the 28th, and four
hours later, after passing through a fertile district, the troops
encamped at the village of Killa Azim. Here they obtained barley for
their animals, and peasants from other villages brought in an abundance
of chopped straw for the camels. At midnight the trumpet sounded, and
an hour later the army moved forward again as far as Kheil. Four days'
further march brought them to Kelat-i-Ghilzye, the chief town of the
Ghilzye tribes. Two or three hundred of their horsemen galloped away as
the troops approached.
Marching ten miles a day, the army followed the valley of the Turnak,
which afforded an ample supply of water for all their needs. The
country was mountainous and desolate, the dreariness being only broken
by small villages with their orchards and patches of cultivated ground.
Grain was brought in in abundance. The force was now far above the
plain, the heat ceased to be oppressive even in the middle of the day,
and the mornings and evenings were delightfully cool. Nevertheless, the
number of sick increased, owing to the bad quality of the flour and the
absence of vegetables. The country now became more thickly populated,
little villages, with the fortified dwellings of their chiefs, being
thickly scattered about. The hostile tribesmen followed the march
on both flanks, and many skirmishes took place; on one occasion the
Ghilzye marauders made an attack on the line of march, but were driven
off with heavy loss. On the 17th a nephew of the Ameer rode in with
fifteen followers. He had gone to Ghuznee with his brother to aid in
its defence, but suspicions being entertained by Mohummed Hyder, the
governor, of their fidelity, his brother was seized and put to death,
and he himself only escaped a similar fate by flight.
As they approached Ghuznee, Sir Alexander Burnes said to Angus: "Mr.
Campbell, I shall be glad if you will resume your Afghan costume and
ride to-morrow at daybreak with a party of six of Hajee Khan Kakur's
men, and ascertain whether the enemy are in strength outside the
fortress and intend to oppose our approach. If they do, we shall leave
the baggage here under a strong guard and proceed to attack them. If
they retire into the fortress, we shall advance as we have been doing,
for possibly the siege may last some time, and it would be as well
to take our ammunition and stores with us. Will you undertake that
mission? I do not wish you, of course, to approach the enemy very
closely. They will naturally take you for a party coming to join them,
and will pay no attention to you. Half a mile will be near enough for
you to go to the fortress. The disguise is only necessary because they
too may have parties out, and should any come suddenly upon you, you
would pass without suspicion or question; and indeed should you be
stopped, your knowledge of the language is quite good enough to pass in
any case. I have requested Hajee Khan to choose well-mounted men. We
shall remain here to-morrow, and the general will send out a troop of
cavalry to meet you on your return half-way between this and Ghuznee,
so that should you be pursued, you will know that you will meet with
succour before going many miles. The fortress itself is some twelve
miles from this camp."
"I will undertake it willingly, Sir Alexander."
Accordingly on the following morning Angus set out. Azim asked leave to
accompany him, but he refused.
"Your horse is not a very fast one," he said. "It is a good beast, but
we may have to ride for our lives, and you would soon be left behind.
It is not a dangerous expedition, but in a country like this there is
always the possibility of a surprise."
After riding for two miles the fortress of Ghuznee was seen. It was
situated on a high rock and surrounded by a wall of great height and
strength, and was regarded by the Afghans as absolutely impregnable. As
they approached, and could make out the strength of the fortifications,
it seemed to Angus that, except by famine, it would be next to
impossible to capture it. The general had left the few heavy cannon
he had brought with him at Candahar because of the extreme difficulty
of getting transport, and the light field-pieces could make but small
impression indeed on these massive walls. When he approached within a
mile he halted. There were no signs of any Afghan force in front of it.
It was, of course, possible that they might sally out when they saw the
army approaching, but at present there was nothing to show that they
meant to do so. He was about to turn, when he was suddenly seized from
behind, and in a moment his hands were bound tightly to his side by the
sashes of two of his escort. The Afghans burst into a shout of triumph.
"Infidel dog," one said, "did you think because Hajee Khan Kakur is a
traitor that all his men are also. You came to see Ghuznee. You shall
see the inside as well as the outside."
Angus was brave, but a shudder ran through him as he thought of the
fate that awaited him. The Afghans never spared those who fell into
their hands, and fortunate were those who were speedily killed, for
in many cases they were tortured before they were done to death. It
had never occurred to him to doubt for a moment the good faith of
the men who accompanied him; and yet, now he thought over it, such a
possibility should have been foreseen, since there was no reason why
the men should be traitors to their race, although for the moment
they had obeyed their commander's orders and ridden with him into the
British camp. They might even have remained faithful to him had not
this opportunity of rejoining their countrymen presented itself. Even
in the midst of his own deadly peril he was glad to think that, by his
refusal to allow Azim to accompany him, he had saved him from the fate
that awaited himself.
He knew well that no entreaties would avail to soften the heart of the
Afghan commander, and determined that, whatever came, he would maintain
a firm countenance and meet his fate bravely. The gate of the fortress
stood open. The men as they entered said a few words to the guards
stationed there.
"We were forced," they said, "to accompany the traitor Hajee Khan Kakur
to the camp of the infidel, but we have taken the first opportunity
to desert, and have brought with us this man, who is one of their
officers, as a prisoner."
"Why trouble to bring him as a prisoner?"
"We thought that Mohummed Hyder would like to question him, and are
bringing him here to show that we are true men."
Climbing a steep road, they entered a great courtyard. Here they
dismounted, and their leader, a sub-officer, went forward to the
governor's house, followed by two others, between whom Angus walked.
The leader entered, the others remained outside until he returned.
"Follow me with the captive," he said, "Mohummed Hyder will speak to
him."
A minute later Angus stood before the governor. He was seated on a
divan, and several other chiefs of importance were standing or sitting
round.
"They tell me," the governor said, "that you can speak our tongue?"
"I can do so," Angus said quietly.
"Where did you learn it?"
"In Herat, where I fought during the siege, against the Persians."
"And now you come hither as a spy?"
"Not as a spy. I came here only to view the fortress from a distance."
"Is it true that the kafirs are bringing no big guns with them?"
As the governor was doubtless well informed as to the strength of the
British army and the number of its guns, Angus felt that there could be
no harm in answering the question.
"They are not," he said.
"How do they intend to take Ghuznee? Will they fly over the walls or
burrow through the rock?" the governor said scoffingly. "Are they
madmen, who think they can tear down the walls of Ghuznee with their
finger-nails?"
"I know nothing of the plans of the general," Angus replied. "But the
British have taken many strong places in India when it seemed that it
could not be done."
"They will not take Ghuznee. When the first shot is fired at its walls
we will throw over to them your head and your limbs, to show that we
despise them and mock their foolish effort. Take him away, Yakoob. Do
you see him safely bestowed."
Angus was led to a cell in one of the turrets on the wall. His weapons
had been taken from him when he was first captured, and when he
reached the prison his arms were unbound by the leader of the band,
who carried off the sashes to the men to whom they belonged. A massive
door was closed behind them, and Angus heard two heavy bolts shot--a
proof that the tower was often used as a prison. Listening, he heard
another door at the foot of the turret closed and bolted. The window
was a mere loophole, but it commanded a view of the road by which he
had been brought up. The cell was circular in shape, and some ten feet
in diameter; it was absolutely bare. Angus stood for some little time
looking through the loophole. It was three feet wide on the inner side,
but narrowed to six inches at the outlet; the wall was more than two
feet thick, and of solid stone.
"It is evident that there is no possibility of escape," he said aloud
as he turned away from the loophole. "Even if I could widen the hole so
to be able to creep through, there is a fall of a hundred feet or so;
and there is nothing of which a rope could be made. I have my knife,"
he said, "fortunately they did not think of looking in my pockets; but
though it has a good long blade, and I might at the end sell my life as
dearly as possible, and force them to kill me, it can be of no earthly
use here, for there is nothing to cut except that rough plank in the
corner, which was, I suppose, brought up for some purpose or other and
forgotten."
The day passed slowly. No one came near him until, just as the sun was
setting, two soldiers came in bringing a jug of water and some bread.
Angus had little sleep that night. He dozed off occasionally, but the
hardness of the stone floor and the cold speedily roused him, and he
was glad indeed when daylight returned and the sun shone out. An hour
later, when looking from his prison window, he perceived a party of
horsemen. Long before he could distinguish their figures he made sure
that they were British troops, from the fact that two or three rode
ahead, and the rest, evidently an escort, in a close body behind them.
They approached within musket-shot. As soon as they did so a fire of
matchlocks broke out from the walls. They drew off a little, and then
turned and rode off. There was no doubt that they were a reconnoitring
party, who had ridden forward to ascertain the best spot for an attack.
Two hours later three regiments of infantry came up, followed by a
battery. The object of their approach was to discover whether Ghuznee
was held in force, for reports had reached the camp that the greater
portion of the garrison had retired. It answered its purpose, for the
guns of the fortress opened fire, and for an hour there was an exchange
of shot between them and the battery. The object of the reconnaissance
being fulfilled, the British returned to their camp. Not until five
o'clock was any further movement perceptible; then Angus saw a long
dark line ascending the pass. On reaching its head the column made
a wide detour, so as to keep beyond the range of the guns of the
fortress, and then entered a rocky and difficult country to the east.
As he knew that the gates had all been walled up with masonry with the
exception of that through which the road from Cabul entered it, he had
no doubt that it was intended to encamp on that side, thus cutting
off the fortress from relief by the army assembled under another of
the Ameer's sons, and at the same time preventing the flight of the
garrison. As long as it was light the column was still passing on--a
long line of baggage waggons and native followers, guarded by bodies
of troops against any sortie that might be made. During the night
occasional shots were fired from the fortress, and at various points of
the plain and on the surrounding hills fires raised gave indications of
gatherings of tribesmen.
It had indeed been a painful and difficult march. Several streams and
water-courses swollen by rain had to be crossed, but with enormous
exertions the whole force was established, and on the following
morning tents were erected along the position chosen. Sir John Keane,
accompanied by General Cotton, ascended the heights, took a survey of
the fortress, and decided upon the plan of attack. At two o'clock in
the afternoon a body of Afghan horse suddenly attacked the camp in the
rear, but were beaten off by our own cavalry. Angus heard the outburst
of firing, and concluded that the governor would ere long carry out
his threat. He had no idea what the commander-in-chief's plan was, but
he felt certain that the attack when made would be sudden and sharp,
and would be in the nature of a surprise, for in no other way did it
seem possible that a force, however strong, could without artillery
capture the place. In that case there was just a possibility that in
the excitement of the moment his existence would be forgotten.
"At any rate," he said to himself, "I will do what I can to defer the
moment of my execution. I don't suppose it will be of the smallest use,
but as I have nothing else to do, I will cut some wedges, and as soon
as the attack begins in earnest I will jam them in round the door."
For the rest of the day he occupied himself in cutting strips of wood
off the plank and fashioning wedges, of which he made about four dozen,
the work sufficing to keep his thoughts from dwelling upon his probable
fate. He concealed all these in his clothes; then he cut off a stout
piece of plank and fashioned it into the form of a short thick bat,
with which to drive the wedges into their place. Then he laid the
plank in its place again, with the freshly-cut side against the wall,
swept up the chips, and threw them out of the loophole. He thought it
probable that Sir John Keane would attack without any delay, as it was
all-important to capture the citadel before the relieving army from
Cabul and the forces of three or four great chiefs which were also in
the neighbourhood could join hands and attack him in the rear, while
the powerful garrison sallied out and fell upon him in front.