want all your nerve to-morrow, and after what you've gone through you'll
be a limp rag in the morning unless you sleep. Go to bed. I'll arrange
everything. You'll find everything ready for you in the morning. I
think you had better take Fazl with you: in fact, you must, for you'll
have quite enough to do with managing the machine without dropping
bombs. Cut off!"
"All right. There's only one thing."
"What's that?"
"I hope to goodness the wind won't be blowing a hurricane in the
morning."
CHAPTER THE EIGHTEENTH
THE TOWER IN THE HILLS
There was between four and five hours for making the necessary
arrangements. Bob soon had different sets of men working at different
jobs. Some he ordered to prepare baskets of food and to fill several
water-skins--the want of good water was perhaps Major Endicott's
greatest peril. Others he instructed to fill more tins with stones and
caps, in readiness for the final charge of dynamite, which he would
himself place. While all this was in hand, he had a long talk with Gur
Buksh and Ganda Singh, who turned out to be old comrades in arms. They
both agreed that if the chota sahib should succeed in dispersing the
tribesmen now besieging the tower, and in conveying food and water to
the defenders, Endicott Sahib might be trusted to extricate himself and
his men from their awkward position. That the dispersal was possible
Bob had never doubted; no body of men could hold together under the
staggering effect of bombs exploding in their midst. And after his talk
with the Sikhs he felt reassured as to the further success of the
scheme. Major Endicott was a cool-headed veteran, who would take things
into his own hands on Lawrence's arrival, so that the plan would not
miscarry through Lawrence's lack of military experience.
On leaving the Sikhs, Bob went along the pathway to the aeroplane
platform. He could not trust any one but himself to prepare the machine
for the morrow's flight. He spent a couple of hours in thoroughly
overhauling it: cleaning the engine, examining every inch of the
framework and the stays, oiling all the moving parts. Satisfied that
all was in good order, he returned to the house. At this hour it was
hardly worth while to go to bed, so he bathed, shaved, and dressed, and
then sent for Fazl, to give him instructions.
Lawrence joined him at dawn. They went together to the hut where Ganda
Singh lay, and the wounded man, refreshed with food and sleep, was able
to explain more clearly now the whereabouts of Major Endicott and the
operations of his besiegers.
"You'll tell him, of course, how we are situated here," said Bob, as
they walked away together. "All being well I shall expect to see him in
two or three days. You'll fly back in advance and tell me?"
"I dare say, but I shan't come until I see him safe on the march. I
only hope I shan't be too late."
"I don't think you will be. I gather from what Ganda Singh said that
starvation is the greatest danger, but they've got their horses in the
last resort. There's no wind luckily; you couldn't have a finer day.
By the way, keep a look-out for the Kalmucks who got by last night.
Don't drop within range of them."
Rumours of what was afoot had run round the camp. Miners and servants
were gathering in the compound to witness the departure of the
aeroplane. As the boys walked towards the pathway Ditta Lal joined
them. He wore his wonted air of cheerfulness.
"On behalf of establishment, sir, I bid you good luck and au revoir," he
said. "Clouds have silver lining, sir. If report is true, we shall
soon have felicity to see famous warrior in person; with due respect,
and no derogation to present company, full-fledged British officer, when
he takes command, will put rosy complexion on deplorable situation."
"Paint everything red, you mean?" said Bob gravely.
"Ruddy hue of health, sir," said the Babu, missing the point.
"Representative of august king-emperor, British flag, standard of
freedom and all that----"
"Good-bye," said Lawrence, cutting him short. "Don't trouble to come any
farther."
Bob went with him to the aeroplane platform.
"Good luck, old chap," he said, gripping Lawrence hard by the hand. He
waited until the aeroplane had run off and soared out of sight, then
returned in mingled hope and fear to the mine.
About a dozen miles up the valley Fazl caught sight of a number of men
scuttling to cover among the rocks above the track. There was little
doubt that these were the Kalmucks, who, finding themselves effectually
cut off from their friends to the north, were probably hastening
southward in search of provisions. Except for a few wild animals, the
neighbourhood of the valley furnished no means of subsistence. There
was a small hill-village about thirty miles from the mine, lying back
some distance from the right bank. Perhaps the Kalmucks might find
hospitality there.
Lawrence hoped that in the course of forty minutes he would come in
sight of the hill-tower in which Major Endicott was besieged. From
Ganda Singh's description he thought it must be identical with a tower
which he had seen in the distance on one of his early trips with Bob up
the river. It was a conspicuous object in the hilly landscape, and he
had no fear of missing it, considering the immense expanse of country
which lay open to observation from the aeroplane.
In spite of the particulars given by Ganda Singh, Lawrence felt that in
approaching the tower his first care must be to reconnoitre the position
thoroughly. Everything depended on his finding a convenient spot for
landing, and this might be very difficult in such hilly country. The
appearance of the aeroplane would of course put the enemy on their
guard; but they would not know what to expect, and would probably be
rather alarmed and mystified than informed. At the same time it would be
a herald of hope to Major Endicott, and prepare him to take instant
advantage of any diversion which it might effect in his favour.
When Lawrence had been flying for about twenty minutes he became
somewhat uneasy at a sudden freshening of the wind, which blew in
uncertain gusts from the mountains on his right. Since passing the
Kalmucks he had kept fairly close to the river, but when the machine
began to rock under these invisible eddies he thought it the safer
course to rise to a considerable height. The morning air was so
exhilarating, and the view of endless snow-capped heights and pine-clad
ravines so superb, that only the intense cold, of which he was now
conscious in spite of the summer sun, checked his ascension. On the left
stretched the Pamirs, backed by peak after peak of some of the loftiest
and most majestic mountains in the world. In front and on the right the
Himalaya range merged into the Hindu Kush. Huge masses of cloud rolled
up and down the rugged faces of the mountains, causing moment by moment
wonderful changes in their aspect. Some of the peaks seemed to have
covered themselves with an umbrella of fleecy billowy wool as a shield
against the kindling sunbeams.
The enormous scale of this panorama defied perspective and gave a false
idea of distance. Lawrence knew that peaks which, clearly limned against
the sky, might be thought to be ten or fifteen miles away, were in
reality more than a hundred. But for the urgency of his mission, he
felt that he would have liked to sail on and on in this empyrean height,
exploring regions never trodden by the foot of man.
All the time, Fazl kept a keen eye on the track and the river, winding
along hundreds, even thousands, of feet below. The hill-tower lay
somewhat to the west of the road which the Appletons had travelled with
Major Endicott several months before, and from this road the track
leading to the mine branched. The Gurkha knew the country pretty well.
Fast as the aeroplane flew, he distinguished without hesitation the
junction of the roads, and at his word Lawrence altered his course and,
leaving the valley, steered over the hills on his right hand.
Very soon Fazl was able to descry the hill-tower in the far distance.
The aeroplane was flying at the rate of at least a mile a minute; but
minute after minute passed, and yet the tower seemed little nearer.
When at last Lawrence had come close enough to it to be able to
distinguish its general features, he saw that it was a single
square-built tower of the usual Afghan type, perched on a small hill
that rose sharply from the surrounding country. The side nearest him
overhung an almost perpendicular declivity. Though solidly constructed
in appearance, it was little more than a ruin. The top had partially
fallen away, and in the wall facing him there was a long jagged fissure.
While still at some distance, Lawrence heard rifle-shots, though neither
he nor Fazl could as yet see any signs of the enemy. He felt his heart
thumping. He was still in time, then; for if all was over the firing
would have ceased. Planing down in a long glide, he passed over the
tower, still at a considerable altitude, and then suddenly caught sight
of an encampment in a nullah on the farther side. In the brief moment
of his crossing he was not able to get more than a glimpse of it; the
nullah was so deep, and the encampment encompassed so closely by shrubs,
dwarf pines, and other trees, that he might have missed it altogether
but for a thin column of smoke arising from a fire in the bottom. But
his rapid glance was enough for reassurance; the camp would have been
struck if the tower was captured; it was clear that the Major was still
holding out.
Dropping still lower, he began to sweep round in a circle. Before he
reached the nullah again Fazl pointed out to him a number of isolated
dots on the rugged surface below, spread over an extensive patch of
ground. Some were small, others larger, and as he flew by Fazl
explained that they were groups of the enemy, who had posted themselves
wherever the nature of the ground gave them cover from the fire of the
occupants of the tower. They were disposed in a rough semicircle about
the western wall, in which there was a door. The approach on this side
was by a steep slope; on the other side the tower was apparently
inaccessible.
Between the wall and this semicircle of besiegers were scattered at
irregular intervals a number of dark forms.
"Dead!" ejaculated Fazl.
They were evidently the bodies of men who had fallen in attempting to
rush the place. Ganda Singh had mentioned that on the day he left the
Afghans had made a vigorous assault, but were beaten back with heavy
loss.
Bringing the aeroplane round so as to pass again over the encampment,
Lawrence noticed a number of horses picketed near the rough huts. The
Gurkha cried excitedly that the animals were kicking and straining at
their ropes, and men were rushing to hold them. The noise of the engine
had thrown them into a state of blind terror. Two or three broke away,
and galloped madly up the nullah.
Several shots were fired at the aeroplane. Lawrence was somewhat
surprised that the men were not struck with panic, like their horses, at
the appearance of this strange booming monster of the air. It did not
occur to him until afterwards that rumours of it must have been carried
far and wide through the country for months past. Men who had seen it
in its flights had described it to their neighbours or to wanderers whom
they met in the hills; and although few, perhaps, of these tribesmen now
present had actually seen it before, doubtless many of them had heard
more or less veracious accounts of it. The frantic terror of the ponies
suggested to Lawrence an idea on which he acted immediately. He
abandoned his original purpose of making a preliminary reconnaissance of
the whole position and then retiring to a distance to work out a plan.
To a mounted force there is nothing so demoralizing as the loss of their
horses. Lawrence knew this, and in a flash saw also that the Major, if
he should escape from the tower, would have little to fear from an enemy
pursuing on foot. He resolved therefore to attempt to stampede all the
horses, and take advantage of the resulting confusion.
By the time he had come to this determination he was some distance past
the nullah. Telling Fazl to drop a bomb among the horses when he again
crossed it, he rose rapidly to a height of about a thousand feet,
wheeled round, and swooped down in a long incline towards the camp. He
scarcely realized that he was taking his life in his hands as he flew
almost within point-blank range. Nor had he calculated on the possible
effect of the coming explosion on the aeroplane. When he arrested his
downward flight he was so near the ground that the bursting of the bomb
set the machine rocking violently, and for a few moments he could
scarcely control it. Cool-headed marksmen could then have taken fatal
aim at him; but the Afghans were fascinated and paralysed by his
headlong descent, and while they were still wondering and dreading what
it might portend, the explosion of the bomb within a few yards of them
struck them with terror.
Lawrence swept round to observe the effect of this bolt from the blue.
A great troop of horses was galloping wildly along the nullah to the
west. He caught sight of their forms, black, brown and grey, wherever
there were breaks among the trees. Farther up the nullah, where the
sides were less steep, the frantic animals were dashing across the
country in all directions. Beneath, a few lay motionless on the ground.
Loth as he was to destroy or maim the unoffending beasts, he felt that
this was not an occasion for half measures: there was too much at stake.
In their panic flight it was inevitable that many of the horses must
dash themselves to pieces in the ravines and fissures with which the
country was seamed. To prevent the rallying of the rest, he set off in
pursuit. Sweeping the ground like a shepherd's dog after a flock of
sheep, he flew backwards and forwards and from side to side at the heels
of the terrified animals. No more bombs were necessary. The whirr of
the propeller behind them drove them on at the same mad rush, and in a
quarter of an hour there was not a living horse within several miles of
the encampment.
On returning towards the tower, Lawrence was surprised to see that the
groups of Afghans had disappeared from around it. But as he crossed the
nullah there were bursts of smoke from among the trees and the
undergrowth, and above the hum of the propeller he heard the
characteristic whistle of bullets. Later he discovered that several
holes had been drilled in the planes. The firing ceased as suddenly as
it had begun. Crossing the nullah almost at right angles, the aeroplane
was visible for only a few seconds to the men hidden in the bottom.
From an embrasure high up in the tower a white handkerchief was
fluttering in the breeze. Lawrence wished that he had some means of
communicating instantly with the Major; but the attack from which he had
just escaped proved that he could not venture to alight, nor could he be
of any further service to the little garrison until the nullah had been
cleared. It was necessary to drive the men up the ravine in the same
direction as he had already driven the horses. There might be more
difficulty in this, for the enemy were completely concealed by the trees
and undergrowth, so that he could not tell exactly where they were. The
only plan that promised complete success was to fly some distance down
the ravine, and then work up it, dropping bombs when he approached the
spot where the firing had broken out.
In a few brief sentences he explained his purpose to Fazl. Making a
wide sweep he came back to the nullah half a mile to the east; then,
reducing speed to the minimum, but keeping at a good altitude, he
followed the winding course of the gully. The enemy played into his
hands. Another burst of smoke revealed their whereabouts. Fazl
instantly dropped a bomb, and turning to watch the effect, cried out
that a dense cloud of smoke and dust had arisen from the scene of the
explosion. Lawrence wheeled round again, described a wide semicircle,
passing immediately above the tower, and, regaining the nullah, repeated
the manoeuvre.
This time Fazl reported that he saw men among the trees, running up the
ravine. The enemy could scarcely have chosen a less secure shelter.
The explosion of a bomb in so constricted a space must be many times
more destructive than in the open. But Lawrence had no inclination
towards needless slaughter. His object would be achieved if he drove the
men away as he had driven the horses. Knowing that they were on the
run, he dropped another bomb to speed their flight; then swept round
again, and pursued the same tactics as had already proved so effectual.
When the enemy reached the less wooded part of the nullah, he found it
easy to hover about their rear, and, without the further use of bombs,
to impel them to the most desperate exertions by the mere harrying
pursuit of the aeroplane.
He was not content until he had driven them many miles up the nullah.
Whenever they showed a disposition to break away into the open country
to right or left, a swoop of the aeroplane in that direction was
sufficient to send them scurrying back. In their haste and panic they
did not halt to fire again, and Lawrence was at length satisfied that
even if they should recover their nerve and courage, they were too far
away to trouble the garrison of the tower for at least a couple of
hours.
On nearing the tower, he saw that several figures had emerged from the
door at the foot. He glided down to within a few yards of it, and
shouted a greeting to Major Endicott, who waved his hand in response.
Then he sought for a landing-place. The ground in the immediate
vicinity was too broken to allow of a safe descent; but after circling
round once or twice, he discovered a space sufficiently flat and open
for his purpose about a quarter of a mile away. Alighting there, he
left the aeroplane in Fazl's charge, and, feeling very shaky on his legs
after the exhausting and nervous work of the past two hours, he walked
back to meet the British officer.
CHAPTER THE NINETEENTH
STALKED
"Masterly cattle-driving," were Major Endicott's first words as Lawrence
joined him.
No one would have supposed from the simple words and the natural
hand-shake that the meeting marked the end of a tense and perilous
situation. Five sowars grouped at the door saluted and gave a shout of
welcome.
"I'm jolly glad I'm in time," said Lawrence.
"Jolly good of you to come at all--wholly unexpected. I had quite
forgotten that you had brought an aeroplane out."
"I say, are you hungry?"
"We are on our second horse. We had to use our own food for the
animals. We are desperately thirsty, though. The well water is
putrid."
"I've got plenty of food and water in the aeroplane."
"That's more than I hoped. I'll send the men for it. Horse-flesh isn't
bad, but it lacks variety; and thirst is torture."
Having dispatched three of the sowars to fetch the provisions, he said--
"I sent the dafadar on the chance of his finding you. Is all well at
the mine?"
"We're in the deuce of a fix, Major. There's a regular army of Kalmucks
forty miles north of us."
"Kalmucks! An army of them!" said the Major in surprise.
"Yes. Bob estimates the number at twenty thousand."
The Major knit his brows. The news evidently disturbed him.
"Encamped, you say? Any signs of a movement?"
"They intend marching up the valley. We have had two or three brushes
with advanced parties."
"That's very serious." He reflected silently for a little; then, as if
rousing himself from a reverie, continued--
"You didn't need my warning, then. Your uncle was already preparing to
decamp?"
"Uncle's gone!"
"Not left you young-- Why, my dear fellow--you don't mean that
he's----"
Lawrence nodded.
"One of our miners shot him," he said briefly.
"Poor old Harry! That's a good fellow gone. I'm awfully sorry for you
young fellows. Is your brother getting ready to come away?"
"Bob is still at the mine. It's in a narrow gorge, and we've blocked up
the only path, so they can't get at us for some little time. But what
are we to do, Major? You and your men will march for the mine, won't
you?"
The Major sank again into a brown study. Lawrence watched his grave face
anxiously.
"It's a pity, but I haven't time," he said at length. "I must get south
as rapidly as possible. What you tell me confirms the rumours that have
been flying about. When I started from Rawal Pindi there was talk of
risings in different parts of the country, and as I came north I heard
about large movements in Central Asia. I thought they were directed
against Russia, but it seems pretty clear that the imbeciles are going
to break their heads against us. This flanking movement will give us
trouble. I must get back to the nearest post and wire the news to
headquarters, and they'll want me; I've made an egregious failure here,
but I may still be able to do something among the tribes farther south."
"But it's war now, isn't it? Ganda said you had only a few men. You
could hardly fight your way back if the enemy were across the road."
"I've those five men you see there, and two of them are wounded. I
started with twelve; six were killed. And I almost wish you hadn't
stampeded the enemy's horses quite so thoroughly. The enemy collared all
but three of ours. We killed two for food. On foot we are at a
terrible disadvantage. The only thing for me to do is to ride off
alone, and trust to luck. One man might get through safely where a
party would fail. I know the ground thoroughly. The one thing that
bothers me is my wounded. I was going to suggest that my men should
make tracks for your mine; they might be of use to you; but the two
wounded fellows can't stand the march."
"I see a way out of that," said Lawrence at once. "I can take them in
the aeroplane and be back in a couple of hours or so. I should have to
leave my Gurkha, but he would come along with your men."
"The country's clear between here and the mine, I suppose?"
"Practically; a few Kalmucks got past before we blocked up the path--we
blasted the rocks with dynamite. There aren't more than a dozen,
certainly."
"Armed?"
"Yes, but I fancy they're without food, and in no condition to tackle
your men if they meet. Besides, when I get back I can cover their march:
I've several bombs left."
"Dynamite again, as I saw. Your mine is rather useful. I'll remain
here, then, until you get back, and then leave my men to you."
"But, Major, I don't like to think of you riding alone over ninety or a
hundred miles of country that may be overrun by the enemy."
"It wouldn't be the first time one of us has tried it and got through
safely. Anyway, I see nothing else for it. This news must be got
through to Simla, and while I'm alive I mustn't be out of the way."
"I've an idea. Why not march with the men to the mine? Then Bob or I
would carry you across country in the aeroplane. You'd lose a day or
two to begin with, but after all you'd get to the post quite as soon as
on horseback--without any of the dangers."
"Aeroplane _perfectly_ safe then?" he said with a quizzical smile.
"Well, we've had no trouble with it yet, and Bob would take you, I dare
say; he's better at it than I am."
"It's uncommonly good of you to suggest it. How far is your mine from
here?"
"Something over forty miles."
"That means two days' march at least, in such rugged country and on
foot. Well, I'll close with you. I should like to take stock of the
position at your mine. I might make a suggestion, perhaps; and if you
or your brother will be good enough to carry me across country, I shall
be grateful, and it'll be useful to Government. How far did you drive
those Afghans, by the by?"
"Quite six miles, I should think, so you'll have a good start. Even if
they buck up and catch their horses, they won't get back here before me,
and I don't believe they'll come back at all. They were pretty
thoroughly scared by the bombs."
"Very well, then, we shall have to carry my wounded to the aeroplane.
They'll be horribly nervous. Can you strap them in?"
"With their own belts. They'll get over their nervousness in a few
minutes; it's easier travelling than by railway."
"I'm glad of that. I was afraid I should be squeamish myself. The rest
of us will start as soon as you are off."