It was no rash assertion. The small erection that it had been the
Major's pride to erect by means of the men a short distance back and
just inside the jungle, and to which he had brought to bear all the
ingenuity he possessed, so as to ensure safety--sinking it deep in the
earth, protecting it by a _chevaux de frise_, and then thickly planting
the outside with a dense belt of the closest and most rapid-growing of
the jungle shrubs--had been levelled with the earth, and its framework
was now blazing furiously.
The first few moments after the explosion, it had seemed to the besieged
that defence now would be madness, and that nothing was left for them
but to throw themselves on the mercy of the Malays. But that natural
desire of the Briton to make the best of things exemplified in the Latin
proverb _Nil desperandum_ soon began to assert itself. A sergeant
suddenly shouted, "Look out there, my lads! Want to see the place burnt
down?" And first one and then another made a rush towards the different
buildings to pick or knock off fragments of burning wood and bright
embers, cast by the tremendous force and scattered by the powder, that
were beginning to threaten destruction on the roofs where they had
fallen. The example set was quite sufficient for the rapid stamping out
of the fires.
Meanwhile the remains of the magazine were burning furiously, and though
the river was so near, it was no time for any attempt at checking the
fire's progress.
"Let it go, my lads," the Major had said, "and be ready to take cover
again, for we shall have the enemy back directly."
For, instead of taking advantage of the explosion and the temporary
bewilderment that had been caused to the besieged by the shock, the
Malays, utterly demoralised by the terrific roar, had to a man made for
the shelter of the jungle.
The silence that had succeeded the roar was intense. Where, firing
their clumsy old muskets and increasing the noise by their savage yells
of defiance all round the cantonments, the Malays had been tearing about
and rushing from tree to tree, peace now reigned, while the snapping and
crackling of the burning wood, the deep-toned, half-whispered orders of
the officers, and the talking of the men seemed to sound unnaturally
loud.
In a short time now all risk of further spreading of the fire was at an
end, and the question arose, to be discussed by officers and non-coms,
as to whether, as the Malays seemed to have retreated, something should
not be done in the way of extinguishing the flames by bringing
entrenching tools to bear and smothering them out with earth.
"No," said the Major; "it will be useless toil. Let it burn out."
"But the fire's getting brighter, sir," protested Archie.
"Well, sir," said the Major peevishly, "that's plain enough; you needn't
tell us that. What then?"
"We shall be having the enemy back directly, sir, and all of us standing
out against the light as a mark for their spears."
"Tut, tut!" exclaimed the Major. "How absurd! I had not thought of
that. But, all the same, the explosion seems to have completely scared
them away, for I don't hear a sound. Do any of you?"
There was no reply.
"Yes," continued the Major sharply.--"Here, Sergeant; half-a-dozen men,
and spades. Do the best you can to smother the flames.--The rest take
cover, for this can't last. We shall have the enemy back directly."
The Major's _directly_ did not prove to be correct, and while a careful
watch was kept on the surrounding jungle and the little patches of fire
that were flickering here and there amongst the trees, where goodly
pieces of the woodwork had been cast by the explosion, a little meeting
was held to discuss their position and the consequences of the
catastrophe.
"You had all your ammunition stored there, had you not?" said the
Doctor.
"All but what was in the men's pouches," replied the Major.
"Then what do you mean to do?"
"Fix bayonets," said the Major quietly.
"And not surrender?" said the Resident.
"Not while we have any fight left in us, Sir Charles. We have our women
to protect; and besides, there are the three detachments out in the
jungle. I begin to think that this explosion will prove to be a
blessing in disguise, and act as a rallying-call to bring the men back
and take the enemy, if they come on again, in the rear."
"Yes, to be sure," said the Resident, who stood half-turned from his
companions in distress, and was gazing hard in the direction of the
river.
"Well, Sir Charles, I presume you agree with me that we must stand to
our guns--or, I should say, hold to our bayonets--till the very last?
Help may come at any hour now."
"Yes, certainly, sir," replied the Resident; "but I am afraid--"
"I wouldn't say so, sir," said the Major, with a bitter laugh.
"You know what I mean," said Sir Charles sternly. "I fully expect that
we shall have another body of Malays, to join in the attack, from down
the river--I mean, the Rajah Hamet's men."
"Well," said the Major, "our little citadel will hold us all, and when
the last cartridges are fired we can make such a breast-work of bayonets
as I don't think, in spite of their spears, these Malay scoundrels will
pass."
"We shall do our best, I am sure," said the Resident quietly. "But what
do you make of this explosion?"
"Ruin," said the Major bitterly.
"No, no; I mean, what could have caused it? You have all your rules--no
fire is ever allowed to approach."
"Ah yes, to be sure," said the Major sharply, "what could have caused
it?" and he looked round from one to the other. "I have been so wrapped
up in the consequences that it has never occurred to me to think of the
cause. We could have no enemy within the camp."
"Look here," said Archie to the Doctor; "one of these fellows is coming
to say that the more they throw on earth the more the wood blazes up.--
What is it?" he continued, to the shovel-bearing private, who now joined
them, his streaming and blackened face showing plainly in the bright
light.
"We've just come upon a wounded man, sir."
"Why didn't you bring him in?" said Archie sharply.
"I don't mean only wounded, sir. He's all black and burnt. Seems as if
the blow-up had sent him ever so far away, and he's lying yonder amongst
the stripped trees."
"Eh? What's that?" said the Major excitedly. "Not one of my lads?"
"No, sir. As far as I can make out by what's left of his clothes, he's
one of the enemy."
"One of the enemy!" cried the Major. "Why, we are coming to the truth,
then. No one of the enemy could have been there--unless--"
"Look here," said the Doctor in his busy way, "you said wounded man, my
lad?"
"Yes, sir; he's alive, for he moved when we touched him, and groaned.
But he's got it badly."
"Well," said the Doctor sharply, "a wounded man, whether he's one of
ourselves or an enemy, is all one to me;" and he walked with the rest,
after a glance or two in the direction of the silent forest, from which
the attack had come, towards the still blazing fire, where a little
group of the spade party was standing round a dark object lying at some
distance on the other side of the ruins of the magazine.
The party drew back a little to make way for their officers, and Archie
shuddered as he caught sight of the horribly blackened object before
them.
"A litter here," said the Doctor shortly. "I will have him up into
hospital, but I'm afraid it's a hopeless case."
As the Doctor rose from one knee, something bright caught Archie's eye
and somehow brought to mind the gold bracelet he had seen the French
Count wear. Then thought after thought flashed through his mind, as he
heard a deep, muttering groan, and the man who had brought the tidings
whispered to his young officer:
"That's the same as he did before, sir--just cried `Lo-lo-lo!' or
something like that."
"Why, Doctor," said Archie excitedly, "did you hear the rest--`_De
l'eau_'? He was asking for water."
"Yes--for the love of Heaven! what does this mean? He can't be a
Malay."
"No," said Archie excitedly. "It's impossible to recognise him for
certain now, but I feel sure it's the Rajah's French friend."
"What!" said the Major excitedly. "What could he have been doing here?"
"What could he have been doing here, sir, that night when Captain Down
and I were startled by hearing some one outside the veranda--some one
who must have been listening to you and Sir Charles when you were
talking together?"
"Here, I don't understand," said the Major petulantly. "What could the
Rajah's friend have been doing here listening to our talk?"
"Playing the spy, sir, in his master's interest."
"Pooh!" said the Major angrily. "This is no French friend of the
Rajah's. He's a Malay. That's a piece of a silk sarong clinging to his
waist, with a kris stuck in it."
"Yes, sir," said Archie; "but those are European trousers he's wearing
underneath, and--yes!" cried the lad, as he bent nearer and shrinkingly
touched the blackened wrist, just as a fresh flight of flame rose from
the ruined magazine--"I am certain that's the gold bracelet the Rajah's
friend used to wear. It's got a French motto on it, which you could see
if you took it to the light. But I know it by the shape, and I thought
that it was a silly bit of effeminate foppishness on the part of a man."
"Yes," said Sir Charles; "I remember thinking so too. Why, the
scoundrel must have been in the pay of the Rajah, and played the spy
here to pretty good purpose. I don't think you need search for the
cause of the magazine being exploded."
Further conversation was ended by the report of a musket, which served
as the signal for several more, all fired from beyond the parade-ground,
and doing no harm, though the _whiz_ and _phit_ of the bullets passed
close by, and could be heard striking against the nearest buildings.
"Cover," said the Major sharply. "Never mind the fire now. It will do
them as much harm as it does us, for we shall be able to see its glint
reflected in their eyes at the edge of the jungle. Quick, every one--
cover!"
"Wait a minute, four of you," said the Doctor. "I want my patient
carried in."
"Your what!" said the Major fiercely. "The renegade who has dealt us
this cowardly blow?"
"I never ask questions about a man's character," said the Doctor
gruffly. "If he wants a surgeon's help, that's character enough for me.
If I save his life, and you like to prove all this is true, and
court-martial him and shoot him afterwards, as a spy, that's not my
business, and I shall not interfere.--But look sharp, my lads. These
big musket-balls are coming unpleasantly near, and they make very bad
wounds. I can't afford to get one in me, for I am afraid you will want
your surgeon for some time to come."
It was a horrible task, but the four men who raised the injured man to
bear him in could not forbear a chuckle at the Doctor's remark.
But the order to take cover was none too soon, for the musket-bullets
were flying faster, fortunately without aim; and as shelter was reached
it became evident that the scare caused by the explosion had died out,
for by the light of the burning ruins the flash of a spear-head could be
seen every now and then at the jungle-edge, and as the enemy once more
gathered as if for a rush, their threatening yells grew plain.
"Well, young Maine," said the Major slowly, as he passed his hand over
his grizzled moustache just as Archie was going round from post to post,
"this seems rather hard for you."
"For me, sir?" said the lad, gazing at his commanding officer
wonderingly.
"Yes, because you are such a young fellow. There, go on. Don't let the
men waste a cartridge, for they must be made to last until one or the
other of our detachments comes in--I hope well supplied, for if they've
been using what they have, they will be in just as bad state as we are."
"Oh, they'll be coming in soon, sir," said Archie cheerily.
"I don't know. I hope so, my lad, for everybody's sake; but it's tough
work getting through the jungle--and there, look at that! These fellows
have plenty of pluck, or they wouldn't expose themselves as they do. I
expect to find that we have very little more ball-cartridge. Well, it
will be bayonet against spear, and if it were only equal sides I should
back our lads. As it is, Maine, we must hope, and pray for our lads to
come in with a run. Have you any idea what time it is, my lad?"
"No, sir. But it can't be near morning yet."
"I suppose not. There, let's go and see how the Doctor's getting on
with his new patient. You are right, my lad; I am sure now. You young
fellows jump at a thing directly. We old fellows want a good deal of
thought over anything before we will accept it as a fact."
"Are you looking for anything, sir?" asked Archie, as the Major walked
close to the window and stood looking out.
"Yes, my lad; I was looking for morning, and I can't see it yet.--Why,
what--" The Major went heavily against the side of the window, as a
result of a violent thrust from Archie, who swung out his sword and
struck up the shaft of a spear with one cut, sending the spear to stick
into the upper framework of the window, his next stroke being delivered
with the pommel of his sword crash into the temple of a Malay who had
crept up in the darkness and made two thrusts at the gallant old
soldier, who said dryly, as one of his men made a thrust with his
bayonet and rendered the treacherous enemy _hors de combat_.
"That was very soldierly and smart, Maine. They're as treacherous as
the great striped cats of their jungle. Well, I suppose I ought to
thank you for saving my life, but we soldiers don't talk about this sort
of thing."