"It's a bow about five feet in length. The best ones are made of yew,
but they're also made from ash and elm."
"You mean your bows are made entirely from wood?" Jadar's voice
betrayed his skepticism. "What weight did they pull?"
"I don't know exactly, but they were powerful enough. You can draw a
longbow all the way back to your ear. During the time of King Harry it
was forbidden to practice with a longbow using a range less than a full
furlong. The English longbow drove the crossbow right out of Europe.
I've heard it said a longbow can pierce a four-inch-thick oak door."
"But you don't use them now?"
"We prefer muskets."
He seemed to ponder the answer as he led them back into his carpeted
reception area. He took his place beneath the canopy, then turned to
Hawksworth.
"We use muskets too. But frankly they're often more trouble than
they're worth. They're cumbersome and inaccurate, and while you're
reloading and priming your matchlock a Rajput archer will put half a
dozen arrows through you. Infantry here normally is one-third matchlock
men and two-thirds archers. If you're going to be any help to us,
Captain, you'll need to learn to use a bow."
Jadar stopped and turned to look at Shirin. Her eyes were fluttering
with fatigue. "But I forget my manners. You must have some rest while
we teach the _feringhi _how to fight. Perhaps the best thing would be
to clear a tent for you at the rear of the _gulal bar_, near the
workshops. And the English captain can stay there too," Jadar laughed.
"So I can watch him practice his bow." He glanced back at Hawksworth
and his eyes froze on the pearl earring. "I see you're a _khan_ now, as
well as an ambassador. Congratulations. If Arangbar can make you a
_khan_, I can surely make you an archer."
Jadar motioned to the eunuchs, who came forward and escorted Shirin
through the rear doorway of the compound. Hawksworth was watching her
leave, praying for sleep himself, when Jadar's voice brought him back.
"Let me begin by explaining our Indian bow to you, Captain. I think
it's probably quite different from the English bow you described."
Jadar turned to Vasant Rao and motioned toward his quiver, a flat
leather case hanging from a strap over one shoulder. It was covered
with gold embossing and held both his bow and his arrows. "You know we
have a proverb: the sword is better than the katar, the spear is better
than the sword; the arrow better than the spear. I've heard Muslims
claim the bow and arrow were first given to Adam by the archangel
Gabriel." Jadar paused while Vasant Rao took out his bow and passed it
over. "Now, the first thing you need to learn is how to string this.
It's more difficult than you might suppose, since a bow is reflexed,
curved back around the opposite way when unstrung. It's stressed
against the strung position to give it more weight on the pull." Jadar
examined the bow for a moment. "In fact, you can tell how much use a
bow has had by the way it's bent when unstrung. The original curve in
this bow is almost gone, which means it's had a lot of use. Here hold
it for a moment."
Hawksworth grasped the bow in his hand. It was some four feet long,
shaped in a wide curve with the ends bent back. The grip was velvet,
with a gold-embossed design on the inner side.
"You say your English bows are made of wood, but I find that difficult
to believe. This one is a composite, a mango-wood core with strips of
buffalo horn glued over the outside. And the outer curve is lined with
catgut to give it even more force. That's why this bow had to be sealed
on the outside with leather. We use leather or lacquer to protect the
glue from the dampness of the monsoon. The string, by the way, is a
silk skein with a crisscross binding at the center."
"How do you string it?"
Jadar grinned as he took back the bow. "It's not easy. If you have to
string a bow while riding, you hook one end between the stirrup and the
instep of your foot and brace it backward against your knee. But
usually we bend it over our back." He took the string in his hand and
slipped the bow around his waist. Then he flipped it against his back
and pulled its free end over his left shoulder, inverting the curve and
hooking the string in a single motion. It was done in an instant.
"There. But I've made it look easier than it is. You should practice.
And it would also be well if you could learn to string a bow and shoot
from horseback."
"Horseback!"
"All horsemen use a bow."
"How can you possibly hit anything from horseback?"
"Practice. A good Rajput archer can shoot as well from horseback as
standing. The Uzbeks shoot better." As Jadar spoke he was extracting a
heavy ring from inside his cloak. One side of the ring was a green
emerald, flat and square and half an inch wide.
"This is a _zihgir_, a bow ring, to protect your thumb when you draw.
It also increases your range."
He pushed the emerald ring over his thumb, notched an arrow into the
string, and drew it back effortlessly, holding the thin bamboo arrow in
position with a touch of his forefinger. The whole sequence had taken
less than a second. Hawksworth found himself staring in admiration.
"By the way," Jadar turned to Vasant Rao, "show him how you shoot under
a shield."
The Rajput turned to one of Jadar's guards, whose shield was hanging
loosely from a shoulder strap. He took the shield and slipped it onto
his wrist. It was circular, a quarter inch thick and about two feet in
diameter, and curved like a wide bowl. The front was figured with a
silver ensign and in the center were four steel nailheads, which
secured the handgrips on the back.
"That shield's one of the best. It's made with cured rhino
hide and toughened with lacquer. You hold it by those two straps
attached inside, there in the center." Jadar pointed as Vasant Rao held
out the back of the shield. "Notice the straps are large and loose. So
when you want to shoot, you can slip your hand through and slide the
shield up your wrist, like he's doing now. Then your hand extends out
beyond the rim and you can hold the grip of the bow. But remember
you'll have no protection when shooting, so you'll learn to shoot fast
or you won't live long in a battle. Here, try the shield."
Hawksworth took the shield and gripped the leather thongs on the back.
"It's light. How much protection does it give?"
"A buffalo-hide shield is really only effective against arrows, but a
rhino-hide shield like this one will usually deflect musket fire. We'll
find a rhino shield for you somewhere." Jadar rose to leave.
"Incidentally, after seeing how you handle that bow, I think I'd better
assign you to the guards stationed back with the _zenana_. That should
keep you well out of the battle. I don't want my first English
ambassador dead just yet." He fingered his long pearl necklace and
studied Hawksworth. "You may be interested to know my reports say the
Imperial army will reach us in two days. Tomorrow I plan to poison all
the tanks and water wells within twenty _kos _east of here, forcing
them to attack immediately. I hope you'll be ready."
He turned and was gone.
Hawksworth awoke at noon the following day to discover work had begun
on fortification of the camp. He left Shirin sleeping and walked to the
eastern perimeter, where the heavy cannon were being drawn into
position. As he paused to study one of the cannon, he found himself
comparing it with the European design. It looked to be a six-inch bore,
with a molded iron barrel strengthened by brass hoops shrunk around the
outside. It was bolted onto its own carriage, a flat base supported by
four solid wooden wheels, and pulled by a team of ten white bullocks
yoked in pairs. Cotton ropes almost two inches in diameter were tied
around the breech, looped beneath the axles and then through a heavy
iron ring on the front of the mount, extending forward to hooks on the
yokes of the bullocks.
While their drivers whipped the animals forward, a crowd of
moustachioed infantry in red and green tunics clustered around the gun
carriages pushing. A drummer in an orange cloak sat astraddle the
breech of the cannon beating cadence for the other men on two large
drums strapped along each side of the barrel. A large bull elephant
trailed behind, heavy padding on his forehead, and whenever the gun
carriage bogged, the elephant would be moved forward to shove the
breech with his head.
As the cannon were rolled into position, some fifteen feet apart, they
were being linked to each other with heavy ropes of twisted bull hide
the size and strength of metal chain, to prevent cavalry from riding
through and cutting down the gunners. After the hide ropes were
camouflaged with brush, a leather screen was placed behind the breech
of each gun to protect the gunners when it fired.
Hawksworth counted approximately three hundred cannon along the camp
perimeter. Firepots were being stationed behind each gun, together with
linstocks and leather barrels of powder. A few bags of dirt had been
piled between some of the cannon to provide protection for matchlock
men. Around the cannon, men were assembling piles of four-sided iron
claws, and beyond, diggers with picks and wicker baskets had begun a
halfhearted effort to start construction of a trench. He studied the
preparations uneasily for a moment, sensing something was wrong, and
then he froze.
There was no shot. Only stacks of iron claws.
He whirled and made his way back to the munitions depot, rows of
yellow-fringed tents. The shot was there waiting, in gauge ranging from
two inch to ten inch, but none had been moved.
He moved on to other tents and discovered several hundred more cannon.
Some were the same gauge as those being deployed, others much larger.
All had been fitted with harness, ready to be moved, but now they stood
in long rows, waiting. As he moved onto another row of tents, pushing
through the swarm of men and bullocks, he discovered a vast cache of
smaller cannon, thousands, also mounted on wooden carriages but small
enough to be moved by a bullock, or even two men. These too were
harnessed and sat untouched.
Beyond there were other rows of tents, where seven-foot- long muskets--
together with powder, bags of shot, and a wooden prong to rest the
barrel on when firing--were now being broken out and distributed to the
infantry. The men were being armed, but the camp itself was practically
without fortification.
Hawksworth stood brooding about the preparations, about the Rajput horn
bow he had only barely learned to use--he was finally able to hit the
_todah_, practice target, a mound of earth piled near Jadar's officers'
tent, but shooting under a shield seemed impossible--and the situation
began to overwhelm him. Jadar's position was becoming more hopeless by
the minute.
He stared around the open camp and decided he would try to requisition
as many matchlocks as possible, and perhaps also try to teach Shirin to
shoot in the time remaining. If they had muskets, he told himself,
perhaps they could somehow defend themselves when the Imperial army
swept through the camp.
He turned and pushed his way back toward where muskets were being
issued. Men were walking past him carrying heavy matchlocks, five feet
in length with a barrel of rolled steel welded together end to end. The
barrel was attached to the stock by a broad steel band, and both were
profusely ornamented with embossing and colored enamel. Some of the
muskets had wooden tripods attached to the end of the barrel.
As he approached the munitions tent, he saw Vasant Rao standing in its
center, issuing orders with an easy smile, his moustache and turban as
prim as though he were on muster. Behind him was a head-high pile of
muskets, each wrapped in a roll of green broadcloth. Hawksworth stared
at him for a moment, then pushed forward. Through the shouting mob he
finally managed to catch the Rajput's arm and pull him toward the rear
of the open tent.
"Why aren't the cannon being deployed?"
"But they are, Captain." Vasant Rao stroked his moustache and looked
past Hawksworth's shoulder toward the next stack of matchlocks.
"But only the medium-bore guns, and even those have no shot. Nothing
else has been moved."
"By medium bore I assume you mean the _gau-kash_, the ox-drawn cannon.
That's true. But these things all take time."
"You're spending what little time you have left deploying medium-bore
cannon, and those with no shot! Who the hell is in charge?"
"Prince Jadar, of course. The _gau-kash _cannon are the key to his
strategy." Vasant Rao moved past Hawksworth and barked orders for the
next stack of muskets to be unstrapped. Waiting infantrymen in ragged
cloaks pushed forward. "Take a musket, Captain, if you want one.
They're probably of some small use. When I'm finished here, I have to
check all the harness on the _fil-kash _cannon, the large guns that
will be drawn into position by elephants. Then I still have to issue
the _mardum-kash _guns, the small cannon that are assigned to two-man
teams."
"Where will this other artillery be deployed?" Hawksworth shouted
toward Vasant Rao's back.
The Rajput seemed not to hear, as he paused to speak to one of the men
assisting him. Then he turned and unwrapped a musket, selected a
tripod, and passed both to Hawksworth. The other man was bringing a
wide velvet belt from the back of the tent, and he handed it to
Hawksworth. Hanging from it were a powder flask, bullet pouch, priming
horn, match cord, and flint and steel. "The prince will issue orders
for deployment of the _fil-kash _and _mardum-kash _guns after they've
all been harnessed."
"He'd better issue them soon. It'll start growing dark in a couple of
hours, three at most."
"I'm sure he's aware of the time, Captain." Vasant Rao turned and
disappeared into a circle of bearded Rajputs, barking orders.
Hawksworth watched him disappear, then turned and grabbed two more
muskets. Holding them ahead of him like a prow he pushed his way back
into the milling street. The air was rank with sweat and the crowds
seemed more disorganized than ever. Women jostled in the streets,
haggling with the merchants for clay jars of oil, while grooms moved
among them leading prancing horses, each wearing a gold-fringed saddle
blanket that glowed like ancient coin in the waning sun.
Hawksworth studied the crowd, searching vainly for some sense of
organization, then turned to begin working his way back toward Jadar's
compound and his own tent.
Shirin was still there, asleep. He stood admiring her again, her soft
mouth, the olive skin of her high cheeks, her shining dark hair, and
realized he loved her more than ever.
Dear God, we've only just begun to live. Jadar is a madman.
Almost without knowing why, he began to rummage through the remains of
his clothing, still rolled in the carpet and lying where he had thrown
it. His pulse suddenly quickened when his fingers closed around a hard
round object. It was his very last bottle of brandy, miraculously
entangled in the remains of his formal doublet.
If there was ever a time . . .
He ripped away the rotting cork with his teeth and pulled deeply on the
brandy, twice. As always, it seemed to work at the knot in his gut. He
took one more swallow, then shook Shirin.
She startled awake and stared at him wildly for a second. Then she
broke into a smile . . . until she saw the brandy.
"Do you really need that now?"
"I need this and a lot more. How can you sleep? This whole God-cursed
camp is going to be leveled by the Imperial army in a few hours." He
stopped and stared at her. "Are you listening? Only a fraction of
Jadar's cannon are deployed. Most are still waiting to be pulled into
position. It's unbelievable."
Shirin pulled herself up and leaned against a bolster, examining him
with weary eyes. "Then why are you here? I
thought you'd decided to help Prince Jadar."
"How can anyone help him when he won't help himself?" Hawksworth took
another burning mouthful of brandy and stared at his bow quiver lying
on the carpet. In a fit of disgust he kicked it toward the center of
the tent.
Shirin watched the bow fall and laughed.
"Have you mastered your Rajput bow yet?"
"No, and what does it matter? You know Jadar is outnumbered three to
one." Hawksworth pointed toward the muskets he had leaned against a
coil of rope by the tent pole. "I've got three weapons for us. Do you
think you can shoot a matchlock?"
"I can shoot a bow." She dismissed the muskets with a glance. "I
sincerely hope you've learned enough to shoot one too."
A trumpet sounded from the center of the compound. Immediately it was
answered by others the length of the camp.
Shirin snapped alert and rose off the bolster, pulling her gauze cloak
around her waist.
"That's the signal to begin preparing the firewood. Come. At least you
can help with that."
Hawksworth examined her aghast.
"Firewood! What in God's name are you talking about? Is Jadar planning
to light fires? Is he worried the Imperial army won't find our camp?"
He turned and walked to the doorway, rubbing his brow in disbelief. "I
think there's damned small risk of that. The red tents of his _zenana
_can be seen for miles."
Shirin laughed and pushed her way ahead of him, past the portiere of
the tent. Servants had already begun assembling piles of logs along the
center of the walkway that ran the length of the compound. Hawksworth
stood at the doorway and stared in astonishment as clay jars of oil
were carried from the kitchen tent and stationed near the logs. As he
watched, he noticed the long shadows of dusk beginning to play across
the walls of nearby tents.
He turned to retrieve the brandy, and when he emerged again from the
tent, Shirin was lost among the crowd of servants bringing wood. He
slipped the bottle into his jerkin and started working his way down the
side of the compound, back toward the munitions tent.
Pairs of elephants had been harnessed to the larger cannon, and now
they were being led out of the camp, into the dusk. Following these
were camels with two-pound swivel guns mounted on their backs, together
with infantry pulling the smaller guns after them on two-wheeled
carriages. Bullock carts heaving with powder and shot came after.
Pyramids of firewood were scattered among the tents, and already many
of the Rajputs had assembled by the unlit piles, talking and embracing.
Some had seated themselves and removed their turbans, chanting verses
from the Bhagavad-Gita as they began to oil and comb their long black
hair. Hawksworth watched silently as they started passing around inlaid
teakwood boxes, taking and eating handfuls of small brown balls.
As he stood puzzling, he recognized Vasant Rao standing among the men.
The Rajput was somber now, clasping each of the men in what seemed a
farewell gesture. He looked up and saw Hawksworth and smiled.
"Captain Hawksworth, I'm glad you're here. You're almost a Rajput
yourself by now. Do you want to comb your hair? It's how we prepare for
what may happen. Who knows which of us will see the morrow?"
"I can die just as well with my hair the way it is."
"Then you're not entirely a Rajput after all. But you're still welcome
to join us." He held out one of the boxes.
Hawksworth opened the box and gingerly took out one of the balls. As he
rolled it under his nose, it triggered a distant memory of his first
night in Surat and Mukarrab Khan's dinner party. Suddenly he stopped
dead still.
It was opium.
"Jesus Christ! Have you all gone mad?" He flung the ball to the ground
and whirled on Vasant Rao. "That's the last thing you need if you hope
to fight at all. It's like eating death."
"Affion prepares a Rajput for battle, Captain. The more we eat, the
stronger we become. It gives us the strength of lions."
"Good Jesus help us all."
Hawksworth pushed his way incredulously back through the milling crowd
of infantry and mounted cavalry, feeling as though the world had
collapsed. All around him Rajputs were eating handfuls of opium,
combing their hair, embracing in farewell. Many had already put on
their _khaftan_, the quilted vest they wore under their armor. He
wondered how long it would be before they became drunk with opium and
began killing each other.
God, we're all going to die. Can't Jadar stop it? Can't he at least
stop them from eating opium before we're attacked? And where are they
moving the cannon? Out of the camp? What the hell is happening?
He wheeled and headed for the _naqqara-khana_, the entry to Jadar's
compound. When he reached it, he realized the guards were gone. Amazed,
he walked through the entry and discovered all the interior partitions
of the gulal bar were also gone. The satin tents that had held the
melons, the pan leaves, the kitchen--all were deserted, empty.
He made his way on through the deserted gulal bar, feeling like a man
lost. In the dark there were no guards, no troops, nothing. Ahead he
heard the sound of elephants trumpeting and he felt his way forward
through the semi-darkness, the ground a mosaic of flickering shadows
from the still-burning camp light. His despair absolute, he reached
into the pocket of his jerkin for the bottle.
A katar was at his throat.
"It's forbidden by death to draw a weapon in the _gulal bar_, Captain."
"I was only . . ."
There was an explosion of laughter and he turned to see the shadowed
face of Jadar.
"What . . . what are you doing here?"
"Thinking, Captain Hawksworth. Do you never think before a battle at
sea? Surely you must."
"I think. And I also keep my gunners sober." Hawksworth
felt vaguely foolish as he finished extracting the brandy bottle. "Do
you know half your men are eating handfuls of opium?"
"I'm glad to hear it. It means my Rajputs will be invincible tomorrow."
Jadar flipped the katar in his hand and dropped it into is leather
sheath. "By the way, I understand you failed to master the bow. But
let's talk about something more important. Perhaps you can be of help
after all. I'm sure you realize. Captain, that a commander must always
understand two things. He must know his own strengths, and he must know
the strengths of those who oppose him. But he can really only know one
of these for sure. He can never know exactly what he will meet." Jadar
paused. "Tell me, if you were Inayat Latif, how would you deploy the
Imperial army tomorrow?"
"What do you mean?"
"How would you choose to attack? The position of infantry, cavalry,
elephants is never exactly the same in any battle. For example, often
the front line is held by rows of infantry. The first row will be men
wearing plate armor-- which is much heavier than the usual steel
netting--forming a protective wall with special broad shields. They are
always excellent archers. Behind these will be another row, wearing
only helmets and breastplates, and armed with swords and pikes. The
third row is infantry with swords, bows, and axes. The fourth carries
lances and swords. The rows are segmented, so those behind can see
ahead, and cavalry can get through."
"That deployment would mean a slow-moving attack, and a very bloody
fight."
"Precisely. That's why many commanders prefer to use their cavalry as
the vanguard. Horsemen can move faster, and they can more easily avoid
defense barricades."
Hawksworth looked at Jadar, wishing he could see his eyes. "But cavalry
can be cut to ribbons with small artillery. Is it wise to charge with
your cavalry if your enemy has heavy gun emplacements?"
He heard Jadar laugh. "You may make a commander yet. You see, Inayat
Latif will naturally assume our camp is
heavily defended. Now although it's considered questionable manners to
attack a camp at night, your manners become excusable if you attack at
early dawn, even though it's still dark. I've known of attacks
occurring almost half a _pahar _before dawn. What's that in European
measure? An hour, an hour and a half?"
"But if it's still dark, how can you see the enemy's lines?"
"You can see them if your enemy's camp has been negligent enough to
leave a few fires burning." Jadar smiled as he paused to let the words
sink. "But now let's examine the third possibility. Leading the attack
with your elephants. Elephant armor is steel plate and it can withstand
everything except heavy cannon. If you can entice your foe into firing
his biggest artillery before you charge, then you can send a wave of
war elephants and devastate his gunners before their cannon cool enough
to reload. Since it can take at least half a _pahar _for a large cannon
to cool, large guns are rarely fired more than once in a battle. And
never after your cavalry has moved out. Leading the vanguard with war
elephants always entails danger, since if they panic, they can turn
around and trample your own infantry, but in this case it's probably
worth the risk."
"And you think that's what Inayat Latif will try to do?" Hawksworth
absently twirled the brandy bottle in his hand.
"I'm asking you."
"It sounds the most plausible. He'll position his biggest cannon to
fire into the camp, and after he's drawn your fire in return, he'll
stampede about a thousand war elephants right through here, crushing
everything in their path. Including your opium-sotted Rajputs and their
invincible bows."
"You're doing remarkably well so far, Captain." Jadar took Hawksworth's
arm and guided him toward the back of the compound. "And then what
would you do?"
"I'd send an infantry wave right after the war elephants, with lines so
thick it would be a wall of death. And behind them I'd have cavalry,
with muskets, to contain the camp and meet your own cavalry when it
broke through--as it probably would eventually."
"Cavalrymen wouldn't bother with muskets, just bows, but you're still
thinking very clearly. Now tell me, from what direction would you
attack this particular camp?"
They were approaching the tents, where servants were beginning to soak
the wood piles with oil. Hawksworth found himself astonished that Jadar
would listen calmly to the strategy spelling his own destruction.
"From the east, the way we came in."
"And why that particular direction?"
"Several reasons." Hawksworth tried to remember the terrain as they
came into the camp. "First, if I'd marched from the east, I'd already
have my army deployed there. Second, and probably more important, it's
the only direction that's really accessible. The other sides are too
forested. But from the east there's a wide clearing that funnels down
right into the perimeter of the camp."
"With a very clear demarcation of forest on each side, which helps keep
your army grouped."
"Correct. And, also, the sun would not be in my men's eyes if I hit you
from the east."
Jadar stopped and looked at him. "So that is precisely what you would
do? Attack at dawn on the eastern perimeter. And lead with a front line
of war elephants?"
"With the biggest and best I had."
Jadar sighed. "You know, it troubles me that a _feringhi _would
conclude the same thing I have. But I think it's a classic problem. And
that will dictate a classic solution in the mind of Inayat Latif, whose
alleged brilliance does not include a flair for originality. He'll have
to mount a conventional attack. What's more, because of the restricted
terrain, he'll have no room to split his army into a right wing and a
left wing. They'll have to be a single phalanx. That's dangerous if you
ever need to retreat, but he'll not even consider that possibility. And
you say you also believe he'll hold his cavalry for the third wave."
Jadar paused. "That's more important here than you probably realize.
Everything else depends on it. The cavalry must attack last."
"It seems best. And his cavalry is mainly Rajput. He'll not risk
cutting up his finest troops by sending them in the first attack wave,
when your artillery is still in place." Hawksworth hesitated, then
continued bitterly. "Or should be."
Jadar laughed and looked at Hawksworth, then at his bottle.
"What's that in your hand. Captain?"
"A bottle of brandy. Spanish, I'm ashamed to admit, but it's still the
best."
"May I try it?"
Jadar took the bottle and gingerly swallowed a swig. He stood
motionless for a moment and then coughed violently.
"Merciful Allah! Now I understand why the Prophet forbade its use." He
shoved back the bottle. "But I wanted to drink once with you, Captain.
I'm told it's a European custom. You've eased my mind."
"Eased your mind! I just told you how your camp will be devastated at
sunrise."
"Absolutely. I will regret losing these tents." Jadar's tone grew
pensive. "You know, some of them have been with me since my first
campaign in the Deccan, years ago."
"How about your Rajputs? And your women? Will you regret losing them as
much as your tents?"
"I don't expect to lose them." Jadar took Hawksworth's arm and led him
around the last tent. In the firelight baggage elephants were being
loaded with women from the _zenana_. The elephants were covered with
_pakhar _armor, steel plates around the sides of their bodies and a
special steel casement for their head and trunk. The women were being
helped up tall ladders and into their elephants' _howdah_, an octagonal
box of heavy boards strengthened with iron plate.
"Why are you loading the women now?"
"But we're leaving, Captain."
Hawksworth stared at him speechlessly for a moment, then noticed Shirin
walking toward them, carrying a bow and two quivers of arrows.
"You're leaving?"
"You just predicted this camp would be devastated. I agree with you
entirely. In fact I planned it that way. So why should anyone be here
when it happens? The camp will be empty by dawn, Captain. Naturally we
had to wait until dark to move out. And continue work on the trenches
until the very end. Inayat Latif undoubtedly has scouts all around. But
by dawn there'll only be smoldering fires here. And the troops needed
to man our decoy cannon across the eastern perimeter. I've loaded half
the cannon with elephant barbs made in my workshops. The other half
with nothing. Why waste shot? We'll fire the blank cannon to induce
them to charge, and after the elephants have come inside cannon range,
we'll shoot the barbs in among them. A barb in the foot of an elephant
can immobilize it completely. Inayat Latif will never expect barbs.
They haven't been used in India for fifty years. His war elephants
should be contained right out there, unable to advance or retreat."
"But where will your army be?"
"Captain. Just when I thought you were beginning to understand tactics.
My army will be waiting along both sides of the open plain on the east,
behind a foliage camouflage we've been erecting over the past two
weeks. After the attack force of Imperial war elephants has been
funneled into the empty camp, we will open fire against them with our
biggest cannon. From both sides. The medium-range cannon will fire into
the infantry, as will the small artillery. All the guns should be in
place just before dawn if I've timed it right."
Hawksworth turned to see keepers leading an armored elephant forward
for him and Shirin. Only its ears could be seen behind the steel plate.
Then he looked again at Jadar.
"But you're still outnumbered in infantry three to one."
"All things in time, Captain." He turned and embraced Shirin lightly.
"This was my best _swanih-nigar_. Guard her well."
Shirin examined Hawksworth's brandy bottle with her dark eyes and
laughed skeptically. "I've brought my own bow."
Hawksworth cleared his throat as he slipped the bottle back into his
jerkin. "I've requisitioned a brace of muskets. It's still the weapon I
prefer."
"Congratulations, Captain." Jadar's laugh was cynical. "I admire your
_feringhi_ initiative. But I don't want to see you harmed. Like I told
you, I'm sending you with the _zenana_. They'll be moved to that
hilltop there west of the camp. So at least you'll be able to watch the
battle." He turned to leave. "Farewell until tomorrow, Captain. May
Allah ride with you."
"And I wish you Godspeed. You're a ten times better strategist then I
realized, for whatever it may be worth."
Jadar laughed. "Just save some of your foul-tasting _feringhi _brandy
for our victory celebration. And perhaps I'll drink with you one more
time." His eyes darkened. "If not, then tomorrow we'll be eating lamb
side by side in Paradise."