Frank Mallet, after he had visited all his tenants, drove to Sir
John Greendale's.
"We have got the route," he said, as he entered; "and I leave this
evening. I had a note from the Adjutant this morning saying that
will be soon enough, so you see I have time to come over and say
goodbye comfortably."
"I do not think goodbyes are ever comfortable," Lady Greendale
said. "One may get through some more comfortably than others, but
that is all that can be said for the best of them."
"I call them hateful," Bertha put in. "Downright hateful, Captain
Mallett--especially when anyone is going away to fight."
"They are not pleasant, I admit," Frank Mallett agreed; "and I
ought to have said as comfortably as may be. I think perhaps those
who go feel it less than those who stay. They are excited about
their going; they have lots to think about and to do; and the idea
that they may not come back again scarcely occurs to them at the
time, although they would admit its possibility or even its
probability if questioned.
"However, I fancy the worst of the fighting will be over by the
time we get there. It seems almost certain that it will be so, if
Delhi is captured and Lucknow relieved. The Sepoys thought that
they had the game entirely in their hands, and that they would
sweep us right out of India almost without resistance. They have
failed, and when they see that every day their chances of success
diminish, their resistance will grow fainter.
"I expect that we shall have many long marches, a great many
skirmishes, and perhaps two or three hard fights; but I have not a
shadow of fear of a single reverse. We are going out at the best
time of year, and with cool weather and hard exercise there will be
little danger of fevers; therefore the chances are very strongly in
favour of my returning safe and sound. It may take a couple of
years to stamp it all out, but at the end of that time I hope to
return here for good.
"I shall find you a good deal more altered, Miss Greendale, than
you will find me. You will have become a dignified young lady. I
shall be only a little older and a little browner. You see, I have
never been stationed in India since I joined, for the regiment had
only just come home, and I am looking forward with pleasurable
anticipation to seeing it. Ordinary life there in a hot cantonment
must be pretty dull, though, from what I hear, people enjoy it much
more than you would think possible. But at a time like the present
it will be full of interest and excitement."
"You will write to us sometimes, I hope," Sir John said, when
Mallett rose to leave.
"I won't promise to write often, Sir John. I expect that we shall
be generally on the move, perhaps without tents of any kind, and to
write on one's knee, seated round a bivouac fire, with a dozen
fellows all laughing and talking round, would be a hopeless task;
but if at any time we are halted at a place where writing is
possible, I will certainly do so. I have but few friends in
England--at any rate, only men, who never think of expecting a
letter. And as you are among my very oldest and dearest friends, it
will be a pleasure for me to let you know how I am getting on, and
to be sure that you will feel an interest in my doings."
There was a warm goodbye, and all went to the door for a few last
words. Frank's portmanteau was already in the dog cart, for he had
arranged to drive straight from Greendale to Chippenham, where he
would dine at an hotel and then go on by the mail to Exeter.
It was three o'clock when he drove into the barracks there. Early
as the hour was, the troops were already up and busy. Wagons were
being loaded, the long lines of windows were all lighted up, and in
every room men could be seen moving about. He drove across the
barrack yard to his own quarters, left his portmanteau there, and
then walked to the mess room. As he had expected, he found several
officers there.
"Ah, Mallett, there you are. You are the last in; the others all
turned up by the evening train, but we thought that as you were
comparatively near you would come on by the mail."
"I thought I should find some of you fellows keeping it up."
"Well, there was nothing else to do. There won't be much chance of
going to sleep. We all dined in the town, for of course the mess
plate and kit have been packed up. We are not taking much with us
now, just enough to make shift with. The rest will be sent round to
Calcutta, to be stored there till we settle down. The men had a
dinner given to them by the town, and as they all got leave out
till twelve o'clock, and the loading of the wagons began at two,
there has been a row going on all night. Most of us played pool
till an hour ago, then we gradually dropped off for an hour's
snooze."
"There will be a chance of getting breakfast, I hope?"
"Yes, there is to be a rough and tumble breakfast at a quarter to
five. We fall in at a quarter past. We got through the inspection
of kits yesterday. The mess sergeant and a party will pack up the
breakfast things, and the pots and pans will come on by the next
train. There is one at eight. It will be in plenty of time, as I
don't suppose the transport will be off until the afternoon,
perhaps not till night. There are always delays at the last moment.
"However, it will be something to be on board ship. That is the
first step towards getting at those black scoundrels. We are all
afraid that we shall be late for Delhi; still there is plenty of
other work to be done."
"Any ladies with us?"
"No, there was a general agreement among the married officers that
they had best be left behind. So for once the regiment goes without
women."
"There is a levity about your tone that I do not approve of,
Armstrong," Frank Mallett said, reprovingly. "There were no women
when we went out to the Crimea, at the time when you were a good
little boy doing Latin exercises."
"Well, altogether it is a good thing, Mallett, and we shall be much
more comfortable without them."
"Speak for yourself, Armstrong. Lads of your age who can talk
nothing but barrack slang, and are eminently uncomfortable when
they have to chat for five minutes to a lady, are naturally glad
when they are free from the restraint of having to talk like
reasonable beings; but it is not so with older and wiser men. How
about Marshall?"
"He has been away on leave for the last ten days. He has not come
back here. There have been two fellows inquiring after him
diligently for the last week. There was no mistaking their errand,
even if we did not know how he stood. I expect he is on board the
transport. I fancy the Colonel gave him a hint to join there. No
doubt the Jews will be on the lookout for him at Plymouth, as well
as here; but he will manage to smuggle himself on board somehow,
even if he has to wrap up as an old woman."
"He deserves all the trouble that has fallen upon him," Frank
Mallett said, angrily. "I have no patience with a young fool who
bets on race horses when he knows very well that if they lose there
is nothing for him to do but to go to the Jews for money. However,
he has had a sharp lesson, and as it is likely enough that the
regiment won't be back in England for years, he will have a chance
of getting straight again. This affair has been a godsend for him,
for had he remained in England there would have been nothing for
him to do but to sell out."
So they chatted until the mess waiters laid the table for
breakfast, when the other officers came pouring in. The meal was
eaten hastily, for the assembly was sounding in the barrack yard.
As soon as breakfast was finished, the officers went out and took
their places with their companies.
There was a brief inspection, then the drums and fifes set up "The
Girl I Left Behind Me," and the regiment marched off to the
station, the streets being already full of people who had got up to
see the last of them, and to wish them Godspeed in the work of
death they were going to perform.
The baggage was already in the train that was waiting for them in
the station, and in a few minutes it steamed away; the soldiers
hanging far out of every window to wave a last goodbye to the
weeping women who thronged the platform. Two hours later they
reached Plymouth, marched through the town to the dockyard, and
went straight on board the transport.
There was the usual confusion until the cabins had been allotted,
portmanteaus stowed away, and the general baggage lowered into the
hold. A tedious wait of three or four hours followed, no one
exactly knew why, and then the paddle wheels began to revolve. The
men burst into a loud cheer, and a few minutes later they passed
Drake's Island and headed down the sound.
They had, as expected, found young Marshall on board. He kept below
until they started, although told that there was little chance of
the bailiffs being permitted to enter the dockyard. As he had the
grace to feel thoroughly ashamed of his position, little was said
to him; but the manner of the senior officers was sufficient to
make him feel their strong disapproval of the position in which he
had placed himself by his folly.
"I have taken a solemn oath never to bet again," he said that
evening to Captain Mallett, who was a general favourite with the
younger officers; "and I mean to keep it."
"How much do you owe, young 'un?"
"Four hundred and fifty. What with allowances and so on, I ought to
be able to pay it off in three or four years."
"Yes, and if you keep your word, Marshall, some of us may be
inclined to help you. I will for one. I would have done so before,
but to give money to a fool is worse than throwing it into the sea.
As soon as you show us by deeds, not words, that you really mean to
keep straight, you will find that you are not without friends."
"Thank you awfully, Mallett, but I don't want to be helped. I will
clear it off myself if I live."
"You will find it hard work to do that, Marshall, even in India. Of
course, the pay and allowances make it easy for even a subaltern to
live on his income there, but when it comes to laying by much, that
is a difficult matter. However, so long as the actual campaign
lasts, the necessary expenses will be very small. We shall live
principally on our rations, and you can put by a good bit. There
may be a certain amount of prize money, for, although there is
nothing to be got from the mutineers themselves, some of the native
princes who have joined them will no doubt have to pay heavily for
their share in the business."
"Well, you won't give me up, will you, Mallett?"
"Certainly not. I was as hard as anyone on you before, for I have
no patience with such insane folly, but if you keep straight no one
will be more inclined to make things easy for you."
The voyage to Alexandria was unmarked by any incident. Drill went
on regularly, and life differed to no great extent from that in
barracks. All were glad when the halfway stage of the journey was
reached, but still more so when they embarked in another transport
at Suez.
Here they learned, according to news that had arrived on the
previous day, that at the end of August Delhi was still holding
out; and that, although reinforcements had reached the British,
vastly greater numbers of men had entered the city, and that
constant sorties were made against the British position on the
Ridge.
Excitement therefore was at its highest, when on the 20th of
October a pilot came on board at the mouth of the Hooghly, and they
learned that the assault had been made on the 14th of September;
and that, after desperate fighting extending over a week, the city
had been captured, the puppet Emperor made prisoner, and the rebels
driven with tremendous loss across the bridge of boats over the
Jumma.
The satisfaction with which the news was received, in spite of the
disappointment that they had arrived too late to share in the
victory, was damped by the news of the heavy losses sustained in
the assault; and especially that of that most gallant soldier,
General Nicholson.
Nor were their hopes that they might take part in the relief of
Lucknow realised, for they learned that on the 25th of September
the place had been relieved by Havelock and Outram. Here, however,
there was still a prospect that they might take a share in the
serious fighting; as the losses of the relieving column had been so
heavy, and the force of mutineers so large, that it had been found
impracticable to carry off the garrison as intended, and the
relieving forces were now themselves besieged. There was, however,
no fear felt for their safety. If the scanty original garrison had
defied all the efforts of the mutineers, no one doubted that, now
that their force was trebled, they would succeed in defending
themselves until an army sufficiently strong to bring them off
could be assembled.
Not a day was lost at Calcutta. General Sir Colin Campbell, who was
now in supreme command, was collecting a force at Cawnpore. There
he had already been joined by a column which had been despatched
from Delhi as soon as the capital fell, and by a strong naval
brigade with heavy guns from the ships of war.
All arrangements had been made for pushing up reinforcements as
fast as they arrived, and the troops were marched from the side of
the ship to a spot where a flotilla of boats was in readiness. The
men only took what they could carry; all other baggage was to be
sent after them by water, and to lie, until further instructions,
at Allahabad. As soon, therefore, as the troops had been packed
away in the boats, they were taken in tow by two steamers, and at
once taken up the river. Officers and men were alike in the highest
spirits at finding themselves in so short a time after their
arrival already on the way to the front, and their excitement was
added to by the fact that it was still doubtful whether they would
arrive in time to join the column. Cramped as the men were in the
crowded boats, there was no murmuring as day after day, and night
after night, they continued their course up the river.
At Patna they learned that the Commander in Chief was still at
Cawnpore, and the same welcome news was obtained at Allahabad; but
at the latter place they learned that the news of his having gone
forward was hourly expected.
They reached Cawnpore on the morning of the 11th, and learned that
the column had left on the 9th, but was halting at Buntara. Not a
moment was lost. Each man received six days' provisions from the
commissariat stores, and two hours after landing the regiment was
on the march and arrived late at night at Buntara, being received
with hearty cheers by the troops assembled there.
They learned that they were to go forward on the following morning.
Weary, but in high spirits at finding that they had arrived in
time, the regiment lighted its fires and bivouacked.
"This has been a close shave indeed, Mallett," one of the other
captains said, as a party of them sat round a fire. "We won by a
short head."
"Short indeed, Ackers. It has been a race all the way from England,
and it is marvellous indeed that we should arrive just in time to
take part in the relief of Lucknow. A day later and we should have
missed it."
"We should not have done that, Mallett, for the men would have
marched all night, and, if necessary, all day tomorrow, to catch
up. Still, it is a wonderful fluke that after all we should be in
time."
"There is no doubt that it will be a tough business," one of the
majors said. "Havelock found it so, and I expect that the lesson he
taught them hasn't been lost, and that we shall have to meet
greater difficulties than even he had."
"Yes, but look at our force. Sixteen guns of Horse Artillery, a
heavy field battery, and the Naval Brigade with eight guns; the 9th
Lancers, the Punjaub Cavalry, and Hodson's Horse; four British
regiments of infantry and two of Punjaubies, besides a column 1,500
strong which is expected to join us tomorrow or next day.
"I hope in any case, Major, that we shan't follow the line Havelock
took through the narrow streets, for there we cannot use our
strength; but will manage to approach the Residency from some other
direction. We know that it stands near the river, and at the very
edge of the town, so there ought to be some other way of getting at
it. I consider that we are a match for any number of these
scoundrels if we do but get a fair ground for fighting, which we
certainly should not do in the streets of the town."
"I don't care how it is, so that we do get at them," another
officer said. "We have heard such frightful details of their
atrocities as we came up that one is burning to get at close
quarters with them. I suppose we shall go to the Alumbagh first,
and relieve the force that has so long been shut up there. I only
hope that we shan't be chosen to take their place."
There was a general exclamation of disgust at the suggestion.
"Well, someone must stay, you know," he went on in deprecation of
the epithets hurled at him; "and why not our regiment as well as
any other?"
"Because I cannot believe that after luck has favoured us so long
she will play us such a trick now," Frank Mallett said. "Besides,
the other regiments have done something in the way of fighting
already while we have not fired a shot; and I think that Sir Colin
would be more likely to choose the 75th, or, in fact, any of the
other regiments than us. Still if the worst comes to the worst we
must not grumble. Other regiments have had weary times of waiting,
and it may be our turn now. Your suggestion has come as a damper to
our spirits, and, as I don't mind acknowledging that I am dog tired
with the march, after not having used my legs for the last seven or
eight weeks, I shall try to forget it by going off to sleep."
Making a pillow of his cloak, he lay down on the spot where he was
sitting, his example being speedily followed by the rest of the
officers.
The next morning the troops were on the march early, but they were
not to reach the Alumbagh without opposition, for on passing a
little fort to the right they were suddenly attacked by a small
body of rebels posted round it.
But little time was lost. Hodson's Horse, who were nearest to them,
at once made a brilliant charge, scattering them in all directions.
A short pause was made while the fort was dismantled, and then the
column proceeded without further interruption to the Alumbagh.
There was some disappointment at its appearance. Instead of
finding, as they had expected, a palace, there was nothing but a
large garden enclosed by a lofty wall, and having a small mosque at
one end. It had evidently been a place of retirement when the Kings
of Oude desired to get away from the bustle and ceremony of the
great town.
The Commander in Chief was thoroughly acquainted with the situation
in the city, by information that he had received from a civilian
named Kavanagh; who had at immense risk made his way out from the
Residency, and was able to furnish plans of all the principal
buildings and the route which, in the opinion of Brigadier General
Inglis, was the most favourable for the attack.
In the evening the reinforcements arrived, bringing up the total
force to 5,000. When the orders were issued, the officers of the
----th found to their intense satisfaction that, as Captain Mallett
had thought likely, the 75th was selected to remain in charge of
the baggage at the Alumbagh.
The force moved off, early on the morning of the 14th, but, after
marching a short distance along the direct road followed by
Havelock, struck off to the right, and, keeping well away from the
city, came down upon the summer palace of the Kings of Oude, called
the Dilkoosha. It stood on an eminence commanding a view of the
whole of the eastern suburbs of the town, and was surrounded by a
large park.
As soon as the head of the column approached this, a heavy musketry
fire broke out, and it was at once evident that their movements had
been watched and the object of their march divined. The head of the
column was halted for a few minutes until reinforcements came up.
Then they formed into line, the artillery opened on their flanks,
and with a cheer the troops advanced to the attack.
"The beggars cannot shoot a bit," Frank Mallett said to his
subaltern, Armstrong. "I expect they are Sepoys, for the Oude
tribesmen are said to be good marksmen."
Keeping up a rolling fire at the loopholes in the walls, the
infantry pressed forward. The fire of the enemy slackened as they
approached, and they soon forced their way in, some helping their
comrades over the wall, others breaking down a gate and so pouring
in. A halt was made until the greater portion of the troops came
up, and then the advance was continued.
The defenders of the wall had been considerably reinforced by
troops stationed round the Palace itself, but they were unable to
withstand the British advance, and soon began to retreat towards
the city; stopping occasionally where a wall or building offered
facilities for defence, but never waiting long enough for the
British to get at them. In two hours all had been driven down the
hill to the Martiniere College. Here again they made a stand, but
were speedily driven out, and chased through the garden and park of
the college, and thence across the canal into the streets of the
town. Here the pursuit ceased, the ----th being told off to hold
the Martiniere as an advanced position. Sir Colin established his
headquarters at the Dilkoosha, the rest of the troops bivouacking
around it or on the slope of the hill between it and the college.
After seeing that the men were comfortable, and getting some food,
most of the officers gathered on the flat roof of the college,
whence a fine view was obtainable over the town. The Residency had
been already pointed out to them, and the British flag could be
seen floating above it. Several very large buildings, surrounded
for the most part with walled gardens, rose above the low roofs of
the native houses in the intervening space.
"The way is pretty open. A good deal of the ground seems to be
occupied with gardens, and most of the houses are so small that
they could not hold many men."
"I agree with you, Mallett. It is evident that we shall be passing
through an open suburb rather than the town itself. Those big
buildings, if held in force, will give us a good deal of trouble.
They are regular fortresses."
"I don't think that any of them are built of stone. They all seem
to be whitewashed."
"That is so," the Major agreed, as he examined them through his
field glass. "I suppose stone is scarce in this neighbourhood, but
it is probable that the walls are of brickwork, and very thick.
They will have to be regularly breached before we can carry them.
"It makes one sad to think that that flag, which has waved over the
Residency for the last five months, defying all the efforts of
enormously superior numbers, is to come down, and that these
scoundrels will be able to exult in the possession of the place
that has defied all their efforts to take it. Still one feels that
Sir Cohn's decision is a necessary one. It would never do to have
six or seven thousand men shut up there, when there is urgent work
to be done in a score of other places. Besides, it would need a
vast magazine of provisions to maintain them. Our force, even when
joined by the garrison, would be wholly inadequate for so
tremendous a task as reducing to submission a city containing at
least half-a-million inhabitants, together with thirty or forty
thousand mutineers and a host of Oude's best men, with the
advantage of the possession of a score or two of buildings, all of
which are positive fortresses."
"No, there is nothing for it but to fall back again till we have a
force sufficient to capture the whole city, and utterly defeat its
defenders. With us away, this place will become the focus of the
mutiny. Half the fugitives from Delhi will find their way here, and
at least we shall be able to crush them at one blow, instead of
having to scour the country for them for months. The more of them
gather here the better; and then, when we do capture the place,
there will be an end of the mutiny, though, of course, there will
still be the work of hunting down scattered bands."
"We may look forward to very much harder work tomorrow than we have
had today," Captain Johnson said. "With these glasses I can make
out that the place is crowded with men. Of course, today we took
them somewhat by surprise, as they would naturally expect us to
follow Havelock's line. But now that they know what our real
intentions are, they will be able to mass their whole force to
oppose us."
"So much the better," Frank Mallett said. "There is no mistaking
the feeling of the troops. They are burning to avenge Cawnpore, and
little mercy will be shown the rebels who fall into their hands."
"I should advise any of you gentlemen who want to write home," the
Colonel said, gravely, "to do so this evening. There is no doubt
that we shall take those places, but I think that there is also no
doubt that our death roll will be heavy. You must not judge by
their fighting today of the stand that they are likely to make
tomorrow. They know well enough that they will get no quarter after
what has taken place, and will fight desperately to the end."
Most of the officers took his advice. Captain Mallett sat down on
the parapet, took out a notebook, and wrote in pencil:
"Dear Sir John:
"Although it is but four days since I posted you a long letter from
Cawnpore that I had written on our way up the river, I think it as
well to write a few lines in pencil. You will not get them unless I
go down tomorrow, as I shall of course tear them up if I get
through all right. I am writing now within sight of the Residency.
We had a bit of a fight today, but the rebels did not make any
serious stand. Tomorrow it will be different, for we shall have to
fight our way through the town, and there is no doubt that the
resistance will be very obstinate. I have nothing to add to what I
wrote to you last. What I should like you to know is that I thought
of you all this evening, and that I send you and Lady Greendale and
Bertha my best wishes for your long life and happiness.
"Yours most sincerely,
"Frank Mallett."
He tore the page from his notebook, put it in an envelope and
directed it, then placed it in an inner pocket of his uniform.
"So you are not writing, Marshall," he said, as he went across to
the young ensign who was sitting on the angle of the parapet.
"I have no one particular to write to, Captain Mallett, and the
only persons who will feel any severe sorrow if I fall tomorrow are
my creditors."
"We should all be sorry, Marshall, very sorry. Ever since we sailed
from Plymouth your conduct has shown that you have determined to
retrieve your previous folly. The Colonel himself spoke to me about
it the other day, and remarked that he had every hope that you
would turn out a steady and useful officer. We have all noticed
that beyond the regular allowance of wine you have drunk nothing,
and that you did not touch a card throughout the voyage."
"I have not spent a penny since I went on board at Plymouth," the
lad said. "I got the paymaster to give me an order on London for
the amount of pay due to me the day we got to Cawnpore, and posted
it to Morrison; so he has got some fifteen pounds out of the fire.
Of course it is not much, but at any rate it will show him I mean
to pay up honestly."
"Well done, lad. You are quite right to give up cards, and to cut
yourself off liquors beyond the Queen's allowance; but don't stint
yourself in necessaries. For instance, fruit is necessary here, and
of course when we once get into settled quarters, you must keep a
horse of some sort, as everyone else will do so. How much did you
really have from Morrison in cash?"
"Three hundred; for which I gave him bills for four fifty and a
lien on my commission."
"All right, lad, I will write to my solicitor in London, and get
him to see Morrison, and ask him to meet you fairly in the matter.
He will know that it will be years before you are likely to be in
England again, and that if you are killed he will lose altogether;
so under these circumstances I have no doubt that he will be glad
enough to make a considerable abatement, perhaps to content himself
with the sum that you really had from him."
"I am afraid that my letter, with the enclosure, assuring him that
I will in time pay the amount due, will harden his heart," Marshall
laughed. "I am much obliged all the same, but I don't think that it
will be of any use."
However, on leaving him, Mallett went downstairs, borrowed some ink
from the quartermaster, and wrote to his solicitor, enclosing a
cheque for 300 pounds, with instructions to see the money lender.
"You will find that he will be glad enough to hand over young
Marshall's bills for four fifty for that amount," he said. "He has
already had fifteen pounds, which is a fair interest for the three
hundred for the time the lad has had it. He will know well enough
that if Marshall dies he will lose every penny, and that at any
rate he will have to wait many years before he can get it. I have
no doubt that he would jump at an offer of a couple of hundred, but
it is just as well that the young fellow should feel the obligation
for some time, and as the man did lend him the money it would be
unfair that he should be an absolute loser."