not let the Kalmucks draw too close to the mine. Lawrence could not
arrive yet for several hours; it was important that he should come
safely home without a collision with the enemy. When, therefore, they
had arrived within about two miles of the mine, he decided that it was
time to arrest their course. They could no longer be in doubt about the
meaning of his signals hitherto--he would give them another. Flying
ahead, then wheeling round, he dropped a tin, this time in front of
them. At the explosion they halted, and after a brief consultation
began to move on. Another bomb, falling in front again, but now a
little closer, conveyed its warning; like fog signals on a railway-line,
these explosions plainly indicated that the track was not clear. They
halted again, and posted themselves behind rocks, facing up-stream, to
guard against attack by the Pathans.
How long they would remain stationary Bob could not tell; but he thought
he had them sufficiently well in hand to give him time to fly to the
mine and act on another idea that had occurred to him. On reaching the
house, he ordered Shan Tai to put up in two or three baskets a quantity
of food, then scribbled a note bidding Lawrence push forward at his
utmost speed. This he placed under the lid of a tin weighted with
stones, but free from caps or dynamite. Then telling Gur Buksh to keep
a careful watch on the track southward, and fire if the Kalmucks showed
themselves at the turn half a mile away, he went back to the aeroplane,
carrying the tin, and set off down the river. He was anxious that
Lawrence should arrive before dark. In the daylight the dynamite bombs
might be relied on to bar the road to the Kalmucks; but they might
easily take advantage of the darkness to slip past the mine, if not by
the track, at any rate by the hill-path above, and the bombs would lose
half their terrors. The possibility of a collision between the Kalmucks
and his brother's party filled him with anxiety; for the former,
infuriated by their chevying, would wreak their vengeance upon the
smaller band coming up-stream.
Bob discovered Lawrence and his men taking a rest about half-way between
the mine and the broken bridge. They greeted him with a cheer. He flew
for some minutes up- and down-stream in the search for a landing-place,
but the track being too narrow here, and the neighbourhood too rugged,
he swooped down, and as he passed over the group, he got Fazl to drop
his tin within a few feet of them. The Gurkha uttered a cry of
incredulous amazement when he heard the order, but Bob hastily explained
that the tin contained only a chit. Too busy himself with steering to
watch the result, Bob asked Fazl what had happened, and he reported that
the tin, rolling down the bank towards the river, had been retrieved by
Lawrence Sahib himself.
Bob flew straight back to the mine, thence over the Kalmucks, who were
still halted where he had left them, and beyond them to the Pathans. The
country was here much less rugged, but it was some little time before he
found a spot where he could alight without risk, nearly half a mile
south of the party. On landing, he and Fazl between them carried the
baskets of food to the Pathans.
"The sahib is a light to our eyes," said the head man. "The men were
becoming restless."
"I dare say. Well, here is some food for them. This will keep up their
courage. I am glad to see that they have obeyed my orders, and before
long I hope we shall all be safe at the mine."
"Allah be praised!" cried the man. "Food is what we need, and my
brothers will delight in the sahib's care."
Indeed, Bob could have hit upon no more effective means of attaching the
Pathans to his cause. This evidence of the sahib's thoughtfulness
profoundly impressed the men, and as they made ravenous onslaught on
their rations they were loud in praise of their young master, whom it
was good to serve.
By this time Bob was very tired of his continual journeys up and down
the river; his petrol, too, was running low, and it was with a feeling
of great relief that he set off on what was to be his last flight for
many a day. When Lawrence had returned, Bob meant to hold a serious
consultation with him as to the possibility of holding the mine. If it
were decided that this was hopeless, he would have to make immediate
arrangements for evacuation. The thought of leaving the aeroplane gave
him a pang. That he must leave it seemed inevitable, for he felt that
his presence would be necessary as leader of the march. He might,
indeed, fly miles ahead, alight, and wait for his little force to reach
him; but it seemed more important to share his brother's difficulties
than to secure the safety of the aeroplane.
After replacing the machine in its shed, he returned to the house and
called for dinner. For several hours there was nothing to be done. When
he had finished his meal, he lit his pipe and settled himself in an easy
chair to think over the position. It was the first opportunity of rest
and quiet meditation since Nurla Bai's defection had so fatally
disturbed the peaceful life of the settlement. Of his uncle he could
now think only as of one irrevocably lost. It was the end of mining in
the Hindu Kush. Whatever the immediate future might bring forth, it was
clear that Lawrence and he must seek some other career. And when he
reckoned up the chances, he felt more and more doubtful whether either
of them would escape from this valley of tragedy with their lives.
Yet Fate had been kind to them, even through the instrumentality of
Nurla Bai. But for that man's villainy, there would have been no
pursuit down the river, no discovery of the army encamped forty miles
away. They would have had no warning of the approach of this great
host, and defence and flight would have been equally impossible. Such
chances as they had of weathering the storm were due to Nurla Bai.
Bob's thoughts centred on that wily Kalmuck. His presence among the men
halted half a mile off was puzzling. Bob did not guess that Nurla Bai
and his henchman had been among a band who had crossed the river in the
night, and attacked Lawrence and his Pathans. These two men alone of
the party had not recrossed when the rest were beaten back. They had
slipped up the bank under cover of the darkness, and marched all night
along the track. Warned by the sound of horses' hoofs they had hidden
until the Pathan reinforcements had passed, then hurried on to the mine.
Arriving there at dawn, they had instigated the attack on the Pathans,
of whom Nurla Bai had led the pursuit.
The knowledge that the Kalmuck was within half a mile of him suggested
to Bob the possibility of capturing him and bringing him to justice.
The punishment of the offender would do more than anything else to
tighten the bonds between himself and the Pathans. Remembering the
Kalmuck prisoners whom Gur Buksh had taken, Bob hit on a plan for
getting Nurla Bai into his power. He would send one of them as a herald
to the miners, promising to allow them to depart northwards if they
would deliver up their arms and hand over Nurla Bai and Black Jack.
With the Sikhs on one side of them, and on the other the Pathans, eager
for an opportunity to wipe off old scores, they must recognize their
helplessness, and probably would be willing to purchase the safety of
the whole band at so cheap a price.
About two o'clock in the afternoon, therefore, Bob sent for one of the
prisoners, and with Fazl as interpreter, gave him his instructions. If
the terms offered were accepted, Nurla Bai and his man were to come to
the mine under escort of not more than four of the party, unarmed. The
drawbridge was lowered, and raised again after the man had departed on
his errand.
Bob waited patiently for the result of this mission. Lawrence ought to
arrive about four o'clock, by hard marching. By that time the Kalmucks
should have made up their minds. Of course, under Nurla Bai's influence,
they might reject his terms, preferring to wait for darkness to give
them an opportunity of creeping past without surrendering either their
leader or their arms. In either case Lawrence would then be safe, and
the doings of the Kalmucks need give him no further concern. Nurla Bai
would escape his deserts, but that could not be helped.
Less than an hour after the envoy's departure, a group of six men were
seen approaching the mine from the Kalmucks' encampment. In a few
minutes Bob was able to recognize among them Nurla Bai and Black Jack.
Somewhat surprised, after all, at their compliance, he congratulated
himself on the satisfactory working of his plan. It was not long,
however, before he saw that his jubilation was premature. The men were
apparently unarmed, but calling Gur Buksh to his side, Bob ordered him
as a precautionary measure to place the Sikhs at the inner end of the
bridge, and cover the Kalmucks with their rifles, so as to guard against
treachery. The whole staff of domestic servants and the few Pathans left
at the mine assembled in the compound to watch the proceedings. Bob
ordered the Pathans to lay aside their rifles, for their rage against
Nurla Bai was such that he could not trust them to refrain from firing
on their foe, even though he was unarmed.
The Kalmucks came opposite the bridge. At Bob's command Fazl shouted
his instructions across the river. When the drawbridge was lowered,
Nurla Bai and his man were to cross. The escort were to return to their
companions, and explain that later on, at a signal given by rifle-shots,
they were to come forward ten at a time, hand their weapons to the Sikhs
stationed at the bridge end to receive them, and pass down the track.
The miners made no response, but stood motionless on the farther bank.
At a word from Bob, the bridge-man turned his windlass, and the bridge,
with much creaking, began slowly to descend. The end had almost reached
the platform on which it rested when, with a suddenness that took
everybody by surprise, Nurla Bai and Black Jack dived off the bank into
the river, sheltered by the descending bridge. Next moment several
rifle-shots rang out; the Sikhs had fired, rather because they felt that
they must do something than because there was any real chance of hitting
the fugitives. Then they ran along by the wall, to watch for the two
men to reappear.
Bob followed them; the crowd of servants and Pathans, shouting with
excitement, rushed in the same direction. Ditta Lal waddled breathless
in the rear.
At this, the narrowest part of the valley for many miles, the current
rushed through the gorge like a mill-race. Nurla Bai had chosen his
moment well, reckoning on the rapidity of the stream to bear him out of
harm's way. Some seconds passed before a black head was seen bobbing on
the surface of the swirling flood a hundred and fifty yards away.
"Don't fire!" shouted Bob.
He was only in the nick of time, for the Sikhs already had their rifles
at the shoulder, pointed at the black object in the water. With
soldierly obedience they kept their fingers from the trigger, though
they were amazed at the order. Bob was astonished at himself. His
command had been almost involuntary; only after he had spoken was he
conscious of the motive impelling him. It was a sportsman's admiration
for pluck and resourcefulness. Of course the Kalmucks had tricked him,
but he was young enough to admire their courage more than he resented
their trickery.
In another moment the head had disappeared. It was now too late to
change his mind, even if he had wished it.
"They are gone!" screamed the Babu. "Sir, you have allowed them to
bunk. Why this fatal hesitation? Why this neglect of precious
opportunity? You cast pearls before swine, sir--and by pearls I mean
mercy and ruth and all that. They will turn again and rend you. Sir, I
repeat----"
Here Bob cut in. As a rule he was disposed to humour the Babu, whom he
found amusing at times, and whom he believed to be well-intentioned.
Now, however, he had neither time nor patience to argue, even if any
amount of argument could have made the Bengali understand his point of
view.
"Get back to your stores," he said sternly, and Ditta Lal, who was
always abashed and rendered speechless by a rebuff, shuffled off
disconsolately.
Bob was not disposed to let the two Kalmucks escape altogether. No
amount of pluck or cleverness could wipe out his recollection of their
crimes. To bring them to justice was a duty he owed himself and the
Pathans. Less than a minute after they had disappeared he ordered two
of the Sikhs to cross the bridge and pursue them along the track.
"Don't shoot them: march them back to the mine," he said. "There I will
deal with them."
The men set off to do his bidding. Meanwhile the four miners of Nurla
Bai's escort had remained where they stood when their leader took his
plunge. They fell back when they saw the Sikhs approaching them, crying
out that they had been ignorant of Nurla's intention. Bob saw no reason
to doubt them, but as he sent them back to rejoin their fellows up the
river he reflected that he had done wisely in arranging to let only a
few men pass at a time.
He had little doubt that the two fugitives would be caught. For a
distance the stream ran too swiftly for runners on the bank to keep up
with it, but farther north, with the widening of the channel, the rate
of the current diminished. Then, whether the men continued swimming or
climbed up to the track, they would be equally at the mercy of their
pursuers. The threat to shoot them could hardly fail to bring about
their surrender; while if they trusted to their speed along the track,
they would fall into the hands of Lawrence and his party, who must now
be very near. He therefore dismissed the crowd, ordered Gur Buksh to
keep good watch both up- and down-stream, and returned to the house to
snatch a brief nap until his brother arrived.
It was a few minutes before five when Chunda Beg woke him, and told him
that the chota sahib was at hand. He ran down to the bridge, and saw
with great thankfulness that Lawrence and all his party were safe. But
he was disappointed to notice that, though the two Sikhs were among
them, they were without Nurla Bai.
There was great shouting and handshaking among the crowd when the weary
men rode over into the compound.
"Jolly glad to see you, old chap," said Bob to his brother. "You look
awfully biffed. Chunda Beg has got a good meal ready for you; just cut
into the house and have a rest while I dispose of a little matter in
hand--then I'll come and tell you what has been going on."
Lawrence was only too glad to rest. He had never in his life felt so
utterly tired. The Pathans, too, hardy and capable of long endurance as
they were, showed signs of the fatigue of their double march and the
fight _en route_. They took their horses into their own section of the
mine, and, throwing themselves on the ground, were soon asleep.
Meanwhile Bob was arranging for the passage of the Kalmucks down-stream.
He posted half of the Sikhs at the wall, ordering them, without reserve,
to fire on the miners if there was any sign of mutiny among them. Then
he sent Gur Buksh with the rest to the farther end of the bridge to
receive the men's arms as they came up. Just before half-past five the
rifle-shot was fired as a signal to the first batch of ten men to
approach. Very soon they were seen marching sullenly towards the mine.
They had been without food during the day, and hunger is a famous
reducing agent. At the bridge they handed over their weapons without
demur to the havildar and his Sikhs, and passed on.
Within an hour the whole party had been thus disarmed and sent on their
way. When the last of them had disappeared, Bob sent a Sikh to bring in
the Pathans who had been waiting with such patience up-stream. Dusk had
already fallen over the depths of the valley, and it was dark before the
men marched over the bridge amid uproarious greetings from their
friends.
Bob felt that he had reason to be satisfied with his day's work. His
brother was back; he was surrounded by Pathans of whose loyalty and
devotion he was now assured, and he had got rid peacefully of the
malcontents whose presence would have been a continual menace. Only one
thing disappointed him: the failure of his men to capture Nurla Bai and
Black Jack. The Sikhs had pressed rapidly along the track until they
met Lawrence and his party; but neither on land nor water had they
caught a glimpse of the fugitives. The Kalmucks had already shown
surprising resourcefulness; there could be no doubt that they had
discovered some hiding-place in the bank or on the hill-side above the
track. As a sportsman, Bob gave them ungrudging admiration: as a
soldier he was chagrined, for Nurla Bai not only ought to have received
his punishment, but he might have proved a useful hostage in the future.
CHAPTER THE SIXTEENTH
NO THOROUGHFARE
"We seem to have lived an age during the last two days," said Bob on
greeting Lawrence again in the dining-room. "'One crowded hour of
glorious life,' begad! But why aren't you asleep, young man?"
"I can hardly keep my eyes open, but I shan't sleep till I know where we
are. What did your flag mean?"
"Of course, you don't know. It seems stale news to me. There's a whole
army corps encamped ten miles beyond the bridge--twenty thousand men at
a guess, with field-guns, all complete. I saw hundreds of
transport-wagons rolling up, camel caravans too. It's a big thing."
"But what's the game? They don't need an army corps to bag this mine."
"Hanged if I know. It seems clear they intend to march up the valley;
it was probably an advanced outpost that we came into conflict with. So
far as I know the valley leads only to Afghanistan and--India."
"Those Mongols we have heard about, then, are going to have a slap at
Afghanistan?"
"Or India!"
"That's tosh. Twenty thousand men are no good for invading India, and
they wouldn't come this way in any case."
"That's just what I said to myself. Of course Afghanistan is much
nearer, and they might catch the Amir napping by choosing this unusual
road. But after all, what concerns us is our position here."
"Yes. What have you been doing all day?"
"Flying up and down like a swallow--or wasn't it an eagle that dropped
something on a Johnny's bald skull--in the classics. I haven't done
that exactly, but I've had a little practice in bomb dropping."
He related the manoeuvres by which he had checked the pursuit of the
Pathans and driven the Kalmucks down-stream, and the subsequent
adventurous flight of Nurla Bai.
"Would you have let them shoot at him?" he asked. "The Babu was mad
with me."
"I don't think I would. It wouldn't be cricket, do you think? The Babu
wouldn't learn that sort of thing at Calcutta University!"
"Have you had any trouble?"
"Quite enough, I can assure you. In the small hours they tried to cross
at the bridge, some of them floating themselves on water-skins. We beat
them off at the cost of a few knocks. But some must have got past us
over the hills--a mighty big round. We met a crowd of them on foot.
Luckily it was all very sudden, and a charge scattered them. We lost
one man, but we polished off a lot of them; the Pathans are perfect
demons at fighting."
"Well done, old chap! Charging was the very thing. These beggars can't
face it. I remember that in the Mutiny our men never charged without
success. But what about the future? We've two courses open: to pack up
and cut our sticks before the Mongols arrive, or to hang on and make the
best defence we can. Candidly, I don't see how we can hold the place
with our little lot against such a host."
"What about Thermopylae and Leonidas?"
"Yes, but Xerxes hadn't any artillery. Besides, if I'm not mistaken,
Leonidas and his three hundred were cut up, to a man."
"Only because a traitor showed the Persians a way round to their rear.
Still, you know best."
"I'll send for old Gur Buksh. He's seen a lot of service, and has a
cool head. We're better placed than Leonidas in one respect: traitor or
no traitor, we can't be got at from the rear."
When the havildar arrived, Bob put the position to him exactly, omitting
no detail, and glossing over none of the difficulties.
"Now, havildar," he said in conclusion, "shall we run, or shall we
fight? We ought to have plenty of time to get away. The enemy can't
advance in force until they have repaired the bridge, and they'll have
to do that thoroughly if they wish to bring their artillery across. It
will take them at least a day, probably longer. We can reckon on
twenty-four hours' start."
The havildar, a fine soldierly figure, stood in silence before the two
lads, pondering deeply.
"The men are very weary, sahib," he said at length. "They could not
start before morning. There are not horses for all: the march would be
slow, and the journey would be long. We should not be safe for a
hundred miles, and if the enemy is so numerous, they would pursue us not
only along the track, but over the hills, and outstrip us, and we should
not escape."
"And what if we remain here?"
"Who can tell? If we die, we die. But we are safer here, sahib. The
enemy cannot haul their guns up the heights opposite. The gorge is
narrow; with our gun and our rifles we could prevent them from passing
the bend northward--so long as our ammunition lasts."
"And how long will that be? And what provisions have we?"
"There are plenty of cartridges, sahib, and we have those the Kalmucks
left behind in their huts. Our provisions would have lasted three weeks
for us all; now that the Kalmucks are gone, they will last longer."
"I say, Bob," said Lawrence, "why not block up the track? With a good
charge of dynamite we could bring down tons of rock on it, and though
that wouldn't block the way for ever against twenty thousand men, it
would give them a few days' work to clear it."
"The chota sahib speaks words of wisdom," said Gur Buksh. "The track is
narrow where it bends a little to the north--that is the place to do
what the sahib says."
"A jolly good notion," said Bob. "We'll set about it to-morrow. Also,
havildar, we will strengthen the wall. You have already, I see, lined
it with bags of earth, as I ordered. You must throw up behind them a
mound of the tailings from the mine. Cover that with earth, and beat it
down hard, and we shall have a triple fortification. It won't be very
scientific, Lawrie, but it ought to be of some use. Can you think of
anything else, havildar?"
"That is all, sahib. Has the sahib told the Pathans what he has told
me?"
"Oh yes. The men who were chased by the Kalmucks intended to go home,
but I told them everything, and I'm sure they will stick to us. You
have arranged the sentries for the night?"
"That is done, sahib."
"Then we'll get to bed, Lawrie. We both want a good sound sleep. Wake
us if anything happens, havildar."
But Gur Buksh had not been gone five minutes, and Bob had not yet taken
off his boots, when he was struck with a sudden uneasiness.
"I say, Lawrie," he exclaimed, "what if the beggars came up during the
night? We couldn't use either the machine-gun or our rifles with any
effect in the darkness, and they might easily slip past; not without
some loss, of course, but not enough to stagger them."
"But you said yourself just now that it would take them a whole day to
repair the bridge. They couldn't get here before morning."
"It would certainly take them a day or longer to make the bridge strong
enough to bear their artillery. But we've only the advanced guard to
deal with, not the main army, and in two or three hours they could rig
up a bridge good enough for themselves and their ponies. They may be
only a few hours' march away. I wish we had a searchlight. We could
then light up the track at the bend yonder, and give them such a dose
that they wouldn't try it again."
"Why not try a bonfire? Light a big one just on this side of the bend.
That would give us enough light."
"A good idea! We'll do it, and to make perfectly sure, we'd better
blast the rock at once, and not leave it till the morning. I'll see to
it, however; you have a good sleep."
"Not a bit of it. I should fall asleep in two ticks if I had nothing to
do, but I'm not going to leave you to bear the brunt of everything. We
share and share alike."
"Thanks, old chap. You see to the dynamite and get a wire spliced for
the current while I get the bonfire started."
[Illustration: GUR BUKSH DEFENDS THE MINE]
In a few minutes a large fire was blazing on a ledge of rock a few feet
south of the bend, and a number of Pathans were drilling holes in the
cliff. An hour's work by experienced miners would suffice, Bob thought,
to prepare for the charge of dynamite. Meanwhile, in the compound,
under Lawrence's direction, other men were splicing together several
lengths of the wire used for conveying the current from the small
electric battery to the mine galleries. A number of boxes were broken
up to provide fuel for the bonfire, which, however, it would be hardly
necessary to keep alight when once the track had been blocked up by the
fallen rocks.