It is one of the first principles of warfare that an army should always
keep up communication with what is called its _base_, that is, the safe
place from which food, ammunition, stores of all kinds, and fresh men to
supply the place of those who fall, can be sent to it, and to which the
sick and wounded may be returned. But as there is no universal rule in
anything, and people have often to do what they can, rather than what
they know to be best, it so happens that columns have sometimes to be
launched into an enemy's country without any communication with seaport,
town, or friendly frontier, so that they are entirely self-dependent,
with no resources beyond what they have at hand, and liable to be
attacked on all sides.
This is termed being "in the air," and is a very great risk, which is
only voluntarily incurred for the sake of gaining some equally great
advantage. In civilised warfare failure under such circumstances means
surrender; in expeditions against barbarians it involves utter
destruction.
Hicks Pasha's little army was now thus isolated, and, after several
days' march across the desert, matters began to wear a very serious
aspect. As has been said, ten miles a day were the utmost that could be
accomplished, and the distance between the places where water could be
obtained increased as they advanced.
Water was carried by camels in tanks with galvanised linings, which kept
it fresh, and free from the nauseous taste which it gets from the skins
in which travellers generally have to keep it. It is true that there is
an earthenware water-bottle, which is in much request, and the
inhabitants of a town on the Nile earn their livelihood by manufacturing
them. But the porousness of the clay, which keeps the contents so
deliciously cool, makes them very brittle.
In these tanks sufficient water could be carried for twenty-four hours,
which meant at the present rate of marching but ten miles. There came
an occasion when, at the end of the first day's halt from the last well,
an order was given to put men and horses on a half ration of the
precious fluid. Considering that the full ration was very insufficient,
this caused much suffering, especially as, there being no moon, night
marches were out of the question, and the parched troops had to toil
through the sand in the mornings and evenings, though they were forced
to rest and get what shelter they could in the hottest part of the day.
That night Harry was roused from a dream of plunging in the river at
Harton, which, however, refused to cool or wet him, but seemed to turn
to hot sand at his touch, by a shot and then a volley, a little in their
front. He started to his feet and found Howard standing beside him.
"Some stupid mistake of a sentry, very likely," said he. But presently
the outposts came running in with three of their number missing, and two
others with slight spear wounds, and reported an attack of the enemy.
The force stood to its arms at once, and as it bivouacked in square, in
the order in which it marched, every man was in his place without delay
or confusion, and there was no danger of surprise, and some of the men
would keep firing uselessly into darkness, and it gave their officers
some trouble to stop them. This was done, however, and the waste of
ammunition was left to the Arabs, who kept up a dropping fire till dawn,
wounding a poor camel by chance, but unable to do much damage by
starlight from the distance at which they kept.
"No gun-shot wounds for you at present," said Harry, when he rejoined
the surgeon.
"I don't want any," replied Howard. "I could not attend to a poor
fellow after treating him, in any satisfactory way, on the march, and
without water. Do you know, I am tempted to drink the contents of my
medicine bottles."
"Then you _must_ be thirsty, poor fellow. But, I say, do you call this
being under fire? There! Something struck the ground which I fancy
must have been a bullet."
"Yes; they are making very long shots, but as some of them get into our
neighbourhood, I suppose one may be said to be so. Why?"
"Only because I have never been under fire before, and I expected to be
in a funk."
"There is time enough; I daresay you will get a satisfactory test of
your nerves before long. But courage is a comparative thing, depending
very much upon circumstances. I, for example, am a non-combatant, and
though I have little dread of infectious diseases, which many heroes
would shrink from risking contact with, I hold all lethal weapons in
strong dislike. And yet, if there were a barrel of beer in front,
though it were guarded by the best shots in Boer land, I would have a
fight for it."
"I should think you would!" cried Harry. "Beer! How can you be so
cruel as to mention the word?"
But though the Arab fusillade was almost innocuous, it harassed the
troops, keeping them on the alert all night. And when, with the first
streaks of dawn, the dreary march began, all traces of the foe had
disappeared. All the morning dragged along, till fatigue and the heat
of the sun compelled the mid-day halt. Then forward again till dark;
and no wells reached! Hardly a drop of water left for each man!
Several had dropped and died in the course of that day's march, and
several horses. The bugle bands, which had been so cheery in the start,
were silent now; the poor fellows were too parched to blow their
instruments. Even the tam-tams were silent. Not that either would have
been prudent, for though, doubtless, they were never lost sight of by
the enemy's scouts, there was no advantage in publishing their
whereabouts.
Harry was on outpost duty that night, and when the firing was renewed,
which happened soon after dark (though no enemy had been sighted all
day), he, not being hard pressed, would not withdraw his men. The stars
were very bright, and objects were distinguishable at about thirty yards
distance; perhaps further by Harry, who was particularly clear of
vision, that being the reason, possibly, of his fine shooting. The
Arabs got closer to the rocks, amongst which the outpost was situated,
with sentries at intervals connecting it with the square. Harry felt
savage with thirst, fatigue, and this aggravating annoyance, and was
strongly tempted to try and make an example. He took a rifle from one
of his men, and began stalking carefully in the direction of the
flashes; not directly towards them, of course, which would have been
trying to meet the bullets, but on the flank.
Crouching down under a sand ridge, he got pretty close, crawled a little
nearer on his hands and knees, and peered forwards. There was a flash
and a report quite near to him, and then Harry could plainly distinguish
the man kneeling up, withdrawing the old cartridge from his Remington.
He levelled his rifle, but could not see the fore-sight, so as to align
it with the object. For a moment he was nonplussed, but suddenly
remembered having read of a dodge for night shooting, and resolved to
try it.
He had in his pocket a small box of matches, and, taking one of these,
he broke the end off and rubbed in on the fore-sight very gently,
careful not to let it explode, and succeeded in making the little
projection so luminous that he could align it with the back-sight and
the Arab's body. Then he pulled the trigger, and saw the dark figure
leap forward and fall prone. Saw it, indeed, but only in a fraction of
a second, for he stole back to the sand ridge, slipping in another
cartridge as he went.
There he lay still a minute, listening and peering. Presently a tall
figure, which looked gigantic in the dim light, bounded close to him,
with a gun in his left hand, and a spear in his right. He had evidently
made a rush in the direction of the flash, and now stood, looking right
and left for the man who had fired. Harry almost touched him as he
pressed the trigger, and the savage lay at his very feet. "I'll have
his spoils any way," thought he; so he picked up the spear and
Remington, and got back to his men as fast as he could. The Arab
scouts, bothered by these two shots, were probably uncertain about the
movements of the troops, and thought they had shifted their ground since
they had marked them down, and possibly had flanking parties who might
surround them. For they withdrew to a distance, fired a few shots in
the direction where Harry _had been_, which was quite away from the main
body, and the outpost too, and then gave no more trouble for that night.
In the course of the next day the water gave out entirely, and there was
not a drop in the army beyond what some few far-seeing, self-denying
men, had hoarded in their gourds.
Harry had not been one of these, and when the mid-day halt came he
thought he was dying, and fell down in the glare of the sun, senseless.
When he returned to life he found himself under the scanty shade of a
mimosa tree, supported by the strong arm of a man whose sun-burned face
and flowing beard, the loose robe which he wore, and the silk scarf
which surrounded his tarboosh, with the pistol and dagger thrust into a
shawl round his waist, seemed to betoken a native of the country; but
the kindly eyes were those of an Englishman, as were the murmured words,
"Poor lad! Poor lad!" which fell on his ear. His brow was deliciously
cool, and his throat less parched; and he recognised that it was the man
whose wonderful journey to Merv had so enthralled him when he read of it
who had now spared the water, which was life, to damp his brow and give
him respite; and he was certain that it was Mr O'Donovan, the newspaper
correspondent, now accompanying the army of Hicks Pasha, who had saved
his life.
Howard, who came up at the moment, was almost awe-struck at the
sacrifice.
"I have known one man allow his veins to be drained to supply the life-
blood which might be infused into the veins of his friend; but what was
that to sparing water _now_!" he said.
The patience and discipline of the men during this trying time were
admirable; there was no grumbling, no repining against their leaders;
and just fancy how the sturdy Briton would have growled!
The officers did their best to cheer them up, assuring them that they
were certain to reach the wells that afternoon, and always bearing an
air of confidence in the future before them. But when they were alone
together, and looked into each other's eyes, it was evident that they
thought they were in a very desperate position.
However, let them reach and carry El Obeid without too great delay, and
all would yet be right. Their assurance to the men concerning the wells
was verified; and when they approached the mud-holes which bore that
name, discipline for once broke down. First the Bashi-Bazooks urged
their fainting steeds to a gallop; then the infantry broke from their
ranks and hurried forward; and had the enemy come down in force at that
moment, they would have had an easy prey. But, oh horror! The puddles
were choked with the putrefying bodies of men, horses, and camels, who,
wounded in a recent fight near the spot, had crawled hither to drink,
and die.
Thirst, however, overcame disgust; the contaminating carcases were
dragged away, and many plunged their faces in the filthy pools. Others
had the self-control to dig or scrape holes for themselves, and wait
till a purer water had percolated into them, when they slowly satisfied
themselves and their faithful horses, and then managed to collect a
supply for the next march.
Wonderful was the effect of the water, when at last a sufficiency for
all had trickled out. The musicians found their instruments, and played
once more; the outposts stepped off to their stations with alacrity; and
all felt as if El Obeid had already fallen.
But several days' more terrible marching, with insufficient water, and
many a death from sheer hardships, fatigue, or sunstroke, were to elapse
before they neared the fortress. At last, however, the time came when,
on starting at dawn, the guide assured the General that he should see
the sun set behind its walls. After four hours' march one of the senior
officers called Harry.
"You and your nag look pretty fit," he said; "that comes of being a
light weight. Is your water-bottle full?"
"Yes," replied Harry; "I have not touched it since we left the last
wells."
"That is right; I want you to take six men out scouting. You see that
rocky hill, with trees, out to the north?"
"Yes."
"The General wants to know if the enemy are behind there in any force.
Go cautiously; and if you see no one, pass through the wood, and have a
look on the other side of the hill; you can see from here that it cannot
be very extensive on the top. But if you find Arabs in the cover, try
to draw them; and if you succeed, and they are in force, come back at
once. But should they keep in cover, so that you cannot tell whether
there are half a dozen or a considerable body, skirt round the hill, and
see if there is any sign of a camp, or a large body of the enemy
concealed by it. Be cautious, so as not to get cut off. I have
selected six of the best mounted Bashi-Bazooks, in case you have to make
a bolt for it. Of course, you see the importance of knowing what we
have in our rear before attacking the place."
"All right, sir," said Harry; and in another minute he was trotting
across the plain, followed by his six picturesque, irregular horsemen.
Of course he did not go fast, as it was most important to reserve the
powers of the animal that carried him for the emergency of having to
gallop for his life, which it was not at all improbable that he would be
called upon to do; but half an hour's steady trot, the ground being
fairly free from obstacles, and not so yielding as usual, brought the
party to the foot of the hill.
Harry ordered his men to extend, and they threaded their way among the
rocks in a line, working cautiously up towards the belt of trees. When
they were within a hundred yards, however, a couple of shots were fired
from the cover, and the bullets came pattering against the rocks.
Harry had impressed upon the men beforehand what to do in such a case:
to retire slowly, halting to return the fire at intervals; and they did
it pretty fairly, though not quite so steadily as could be wished. And
when they were down on the level plain, a couple of them showed a
decided inclination to try the mettle of their steeds in a race in the
direction of the column, but Harry managed to stop them; and,
withdrawing a little, the party dismounted, and fired a few ineffective
shots at the Arabs, who were mounted, and came down towards them.
There were but eight in the party, and Harry could see no more behind
them, so he concluded that it was clearly his duty to skirt the hill and
see what was on the other side. Besides, seven to eight was not such
prodigious odds as to justify bolting without a bit of a fight, he
thought.
So he got his men together, and, drawing his sword, told them he meant
to charge the moment the Arabs were at the bottom of the hill, so as to
overthrow them by the impetus before they could get any pace on, and
trotting quietly on with this object, he got within thirty paces, and
then, cramming his spurs in, went at them as they got clear of the
declivity. And he showed good judgment, in spite of his inexperience;
for he bowled one enemy over with the force of the shock, and a Bashi-
Bazook on his right served another the same, and got a slice at him as
he rolled over, which made the number of combatants level.
But, unfortunately, the other Bashi-Bazooks did not charge home, but
swerved, wheeled, withdrew a little, and began firing wildly. Harry was
engaged in single combat with another Arab, who could have given him any
number of points in sword-play, and presently made a drawing cut at him
which would infallibly have taken off his head, had not his horse at
that very quarter of a second suddenly fallen, shot dead by one of his
own men.
Seeing their officer down, the Bashi-Bazooks fairly turned and galloped
as hard as they could go, the Arabs who were otherwise disengaged racing
after them--five pursuing six; for the man who had been ridden down had
got a broken thigh, the second was killed, and the third was now
dismounting in order to polish off Harry comfortably as he lay on the
ground.
But our friend, though he was pinned down by the body of his horse,
which lay on his left leg, was not hurt, and his right arm was free. He
drew his revolver, and when the Arab stood over him he shot him in the
breast. The man fell--but not dead--across Harry, with whom he
grappled, seeking to clutch him with the left hand by the throat and
sabre him with the right. But Harry caught his right wrist, and a
struggle took place, in which each strained every muscle.
In his efforts, Harry got his leg from under the dead horse, the sand
being loose; but as he did so his enemy got his sword-arm free and cut
him over the head--not with much force, for he was weak and in a cramped
position, but sufficiently to inflict a nasty wound. It was an expiring
effort; he fell over helpless, the blood gushing from his mouth, and
Harry had no need to give him another barrel, which he was prepared to
do, but rose to his feet to survey the scene of conflict. The Bashi-
Bazooks and their pursuers could be seen in the distance, still going at
a great pace. The horses of the broken-legged and the two dead Arabs
were careering about; his own head-dress had fallen off, which was a
serious affair, though the afternoon was waning.
But before putting it on he bound his head with a strip of cotton torn
off the garment of the Arab at his feet, for the cut on the scalp was
bleeding freely. Then, feeling very thirsty, he took the man's water-
bottle, but it was empty. So, picking up his sword, he moved over to
the other dead Arab and tried his, and with better success; there was a
refreshing draught in it, which Harry was thus able to benefit by
without infringing on his own supply. Then he considered that he must
get out of sight somewhere before the Arabs returned, which they were
sure to do, to look after their missing friends. He had now no horse,
and to make his way on foot across the open plain by daylight was to
ensure being seen by the returning horsemen and cut off.
The best place to hide in would surely be the wood, where he felt
certain that there were no more Arabs, or they would have come out to
join in the chevy. He would lie there till nightfall, and then
endeavour to make his way to the column, though he did not feel like
taking a long walk just at present.
As he was going up the hill, however, he saw the Arab with the broken
leg lying helpless. The string which held his water-bottle had broken,
and the gourd lay beyond his reach. The man glared like a wild beast
when Harry picked it up, and clutched at his waist-band, but there was
no weapon in it.
"Don't fear me," said Harry in Arabic, holding out the gourd, which the
other snatched viciously; "I am an Englishman, and the English never hit
a foe when he is down, unless he is very obstinate and unreasonable, and
insists on biting or kicking."
But the wounded man made no reply. It is to be feared that he only
thought either that the speaker was a great liar, or else that his
countrymen were great fools. It was evident that, so far from being
touched, he would be the first to betray the secret of Harry's hiding-
place to his returning friends if he knew it. So as Harry did not like
to shoot him through the head, or draw his sword across his throat, he
made a detour as if going across the desert, and did not commence the
ascent until he was out of the other's sight. It was not very steep or
very high, but Harry had some difficulty in getting up it. He felt very
weak, giddy, and queer, and had hardly got to the wood, and sunk down
under the shade of trees behind a big black boulder, than he lost
consciousness, for he had bled more than he knew for, and it was that
which turned him faint.
How long he lay without consciousness he did not know; and I daresay
that you have noticed in story-books that people never _do_ know.
Indeed, it would take a very methodical person to look at his watch just
as he was going off in a swoon, and refer to it again as he came to.
Harry Forsyth certainly never looked at his watch, but he snatched his
water-bottle, for one effect of loss of blood is to cause intense
thirst. A quantity of liquid being taken out of the body. Nature seems
to point out in this way that the loss should be supplied; you know she
is said to abhor a vacuum. If he had had all his senses about him, he
would merely have taken a sup and held it in his mouth some time before
swallowing it; but he was half dazed, and did not know where he was, and
he yielded to the instinct of thirst and took a long, deep draught. For
the present it was the best thing he could have done, for the effect was
that he sank into a sound restoring sleep, which must have lasted many
hours, for when he woke again the night was far advanced, and there were
streaks of dawn in the east, and it was quite two hours to sunset when
he had begun his nap. The wound in his head smarted, but otherwise he
felt stronger and more refreshed, only hungry. He had crammed some
biscuits into his kharkee jacket the day before, and these he ate,
washing them down with what remained in the water-bottle, which he
emptied without much compunction, as he reckoned that he would easily
strike the trail of the column and come up with it in a short time.
They had reckoned before he left that it was three hours' march at the
longest to the wells within sight of El Obeid, where they were to halt
for the night, and he thought that he surely ought to be able to walk,
alone and unencumbered, at least as fast again as the square moved, and
he had little fear of not being in time for the attack. The place could
hardly be carried by a _coup de main_; they would have to breach the
walls with artillery first. Of course he might be cut off on his road;
that was a risk which could not be helped or avoided.
Directly he could see his way, he retraced his steps down the hill, and
went round the base to the side where he had had the skirmish; but he
did not look to see whether the dead Arabs had been buried by their
comrades, or to inquire after the welfare of his friend, the enemy with
the broken leg. No, he stole along that part as quietly as he could.
The orange, purple, violet, old gold flashes shone wider and higher, but
the only way in which Harry heeded them was by keeping the point, at
which it was evident from the intensity of glory that the sun would
rise, at his back, for he knew that El Obeid lay due west of his present
position. It was true that he had a compass attached to his watch
chain, but for some unknown cause the thing had struck work a fortnight
back, and now the black half, which ought always to have turned to the
north, perversely remained where you choose to place it. But, after
all, the sun in the morning and evening, and the polar star at night,
will put you somewhere in the right direction, _when you can see them_.
As for hitting off the exact track by which he had come on leaving the
column, he could no more do that than on the sea, for there were no
marks to guide the eye, and the surface of the plain was the same as
water. One dead camel's skeleton is uncommonly like another, and they
lay about in various directions, showing that caravans converged to or
diverged from El Obeid by different routes. When the sun burst forth
with all that inconceivable grandeur which drives artists who visit the
country to despair, and causes untravelled gazers on their pictures to
accuse them of exaggeration, when their efforts have as a fact fallen
far short of the reality, Harry's eyes scanned the horizon in every
direction for an enemy, but he was alone on the sandy expanse.
No! What were those black figures moving along the side of yonder dune?
His hand went to the butt of his revolver as he saw them. But he was
presently reassured; they were only vultures and eagles over-gorged by
the fruits of war; the only beings besides wolves and hyaenas, who pluck
them.