CHAPTER TWENTY THREE.
AFTER A REST.
The Colonel was right; there were plenty of men in the hills, and theyall belonged to fighting tribes-men who, whether Moslem or of thevarious sects which inhabited the vast tracts of mountainous countries,looked upon it as a religious duty to cut off every one who believeddifferently, as an infidel or a dog. Many days, then, had not elapsedbefore there was another gathering of the fierce tribes, whose objectwas to secure the fort, with its wealth of arms and ammunition. Butduring the week of respite Colonel Graves and his officers were busyenough. The country round was foraged for stores; and, partly in fear,but as much for the sake of cheating good customers and makingeverything possible out of the people whom they might be helping toslaughter the very next day, a couple of the tribes brought in grain,fodder, and other necessaries largely.
So the loss incurred by the burning of the store was soon made up, andthe fort was better provisioned than ever, even to being prepared tostand the stern winter when it should leave the hills and descend to thevalleys and plains.
No despatches had reached the fort for some time past; but the last, inanswer to the Colonel's report of his having relieved the fort, whereall was well, and that he had no doubt of being able to hold it as longas was necessary, bade him go on holding it at any cost, and wait forfurther orders. But if he found reinforcements necessary to give thetribes a severe lesson, he was to communicate with the station in theGhil Valley, whence a Ghoorkha regiment would be immediately despatchedto his help.
A little council of war was held, in which Colonel Wrayford managed totake part; and, after due consideration, it was decided that the helpwas not required, for the unanimous opinion was that the Ghittah forcecould hold its own, and that they did not need any regiment to come inand carry off part of the laurels they wished to keep for themselves.
Doctor Morton had probably been the busiest man at the station; for,after the repulse of the night attack, every hospital-bed had beenoccupied, and an additional ward provided; but he had hardly a loss, andhe went about, as Gedge said, "looking as proud as a two-tailed peacockin a 'logical garden."
Certainly he chuckled and rubbed his hands a great deal over hispatients; and one evening at the mess dinner, when the topic had arisenof the number of men he had sent back to duty cured, and all wererejoicing in the fact, that Bracy--looking thin and careworn, but nowwonderfully well--was back in his place, the Doctor, who was pleased andflattered, became exceedingly confidential, and talked more freely thanwas his wont.
"There, dear boys," he said: "I won't be a sham. I've worked hard amongmy cripples, of course, and I'm proud of what I've done. If you want anexample of the powers of surgery, there you are--look at Bracy. He's abetter man than ever now. Look at his condition--hard as a nail. Gotrid of all that superfluous fat."
"Here, gently, Doctor," cried Bracy, flushing. "What superfluous fat?"
"All that you got rid of, sir."
"Why, I've always been thin."
"You leave me to judge best what you have always been, sir. I know.Come, you'll own that you're well as ever now?"
"Certainly."
"Be satisfied, then. Well, as I was saying, my dear boys, I'll be quiteopen with you all. I've been wonderfully successful with all my cases--have I not?"
"Wonderfully," came in a chorus.
"And frightfully modest," whispered Drummond.
"Eh! what is that, Mr Drummond?" cried the Doctor. "I heard what yousaid. Don't you offend me, for you may come under my care some day.Now, then, all of you--wonderfully successful. Yes, Mr Drummond, andmodest too, as you'll own if you'll let me finish my remarks before youstick yourself up as a judge. For I'm going to let the cat out of thebag."
"Let's have her, Doctor," cried the younger men merrily.
"Here she is, then," said the Doctor. "My colleague. She has done tentimes as much for the wounded as I have."
"He means Mrs Gee," said Bracy quietly. "Well, she is a splendidnurse."
"Ha! what a woman!" said the Colonel. "She is quite well now, Doctor--is she not?"
"Always is," said the Doctor. "Absolutely perfect."
"I don't understand you, Doctor. The poor woman suffered a great dealin her daring defence of her patients."
"Hah! we're playing at cross purposes," said the Doctor importantly."You're talking about Mrs Gee."
"Of course. Weren't you?"
"Pish! Poo! Bah! No. I meant my great help and patroness DameNature."
"Oh!" ran round the table, in disappointed tones.
"Yes, gentlemen," repeated the Doctor; "Dame Nature. She has set all mywounded right again, and put it to my credit. Why, if the poor fellowshad been in stuffy barracks down in the hot plains they'd have died likeflies. But up here, in this wonderfully pure mountain air, all I haveto do is to see that the wounds are carefully bandaged, and cuts andbullet-holes grow up and together again in no time. As for thehill-men, their surgeon seems to be the next man, who operates with abit of rag."
"And kills or cures at once," said Roberts, smiling.
"Exactly," said the Doctor good-humouredly; "but really it's wonderfulhow Nature does nearly all the work. Well, any news, Colonel?"
"About the enemy?"
"Yes; you've been doing nothing lately, and my last bed was vacatedto-day."
"I am very sorry that you should be in so low a condition, Doctor," saidthe Colonel coldly; "but you must understand that I shall do my best tokeep you so."
"Why, of course," cried the Doctor. "You don't suppose I want to havethe poor fellows cut or shot down to keep me busy--do you?"
"You spoke as if you did?"
"Then I spoke clumsily," cried the Doctor. "But tell me--the Dwats arecollecting again--are they not?"
"Yes; they mean to give us no rest."
"So much the better for the men. Keep 'em active. You boys had anysport to-day?"
"Yes; we got six mountain sheep," said Roberts.
"Safe into camp?" said the Doctor eagerly.
"Oh yes. It was hard work, though; for three of them fell right downinto one of the deepest gorges from the snow-slope on which we shotthem--splendid shots Drummond made after our stalk, he killed with rightand left barrels. My one dropped at the first shot, but sprang up andwas going off again till my second barrel stopped him."
"Had an awful job to get them out of the gorge and home; but the huntersfetched them out, and we got all safe into quarters."
"Ha!" cried the Doctor; "I'm glad of that. Splendid gamy meat, thatmountain mutton. Glorious stuff for convalescents. It gives me theheartache when I hear of you leaving lost ones to the wolves andvultures."
"I quite agree with the Doctor about the quality of the mutton," saidthe Colonel gravely; "but I'm getting anxious about theseshooting-trips, gentlemen. Your guides belong to one or other of thetribes."
"Yes, I suppose they do, sir," said Roberts carelessly.
"Well, what is to prevent them from leading you some day into a trap,and, instead of the news coming into mess of there being an extra supplyfor the larder, I hear that I am minus two or three of my bestofficers?"
"I don't know about best officers, sir," said Roberts, laughing; "but Idon't think there is anything to fear. These hill-shikarees are verygenuine fellows, and their intense love of the sport will keep themhonest and true to us. You cannot think how proud they are of leadingus to the quarry if we are successful."
"I grant all that," said the Colonel, "knowing as I do what afreemasonry there is in sport, and how clever hunters have a feeling offellowship for men of their own tastes, whatever their religion; but youmust not forget that the hill-tribes are completely under the thumb oftheir Mullahs, and that the will of these priests is the law which theymust obey. Supposing one of these Mullahs to give them orders in theinterest of their tribe, they would lead you into an ambush for acertainty."
"Oh, Colonel Graves," cried Drummond, "this is spoiling the onlypleasure we
have!"
"I hope not," said the Colonel, smiling gravely. "Set it down tointerest in my officers' welfare. I only ask you to be careful--well onyour guard--and not to do anything rash."
"Just as if it was likely that we should do anything rash," saidDrummond pettishly later on. "I'm sure I'm always as careful as canbe."
"Always!" said Roberts, laughing, and giving Bracy a peculiar look.
"Here, I say--what does that mean? You two are chaffing me again."
"Oh dear, no," said Bracy. "Our consciences are smiting us for being soreckless, and we're making up our minds to be more careful in future."
"Yes, as the Colonel suggests," chimed in Roberts, "and take friendDrummond o' that ilk for our example."
"Here! Yes, you are chaffing me," cried Drummond anxiously. "I say,old chaps, though--you don't think I am rash, do you?"
"Rather," said Roberts.
"Bosh with your rather! Chaff, because I'm so tall and thin. Bracy,you're not half such a boy as the Captain. You don't think I'm wild andharum-scarum, do you--regularly rash?"
"Well, to speak frankly,"--began Bracy.
"Of course I want you to be frank," cried Drummond hastily. "That's whyI like you chaps."
"Well, then, my dear boy," said Bracy, "I do think you are about themost rash fellow I ever met."
"Oh!" cried Drummond, with a look of distrust.
"You do things that no thoughtful fellow would ever think of doing."
"I? Come now; when?"
"Over those sheep, then, to-day. I felt quite sick to see you walkalong that shelf of snow, when the slightest slip would have sent youdown headlong a thousand feet on to the jagged rocks below."
"Yes, it was horrible," said Roberts.
Drummond exploded into a tremendous burst of laughter, and sat at lastwiping his eyes.
"Oh, I say, come. That is good. I like that. Dangerous--made one ofyou feel sick and the other think it was horrible!"
"Well, it's the truth," said Bracy.
"And you both came along it afterwards, and we got that magnificentsport."
"I came along it after you had set the example," said Bracy quietly.
"But you are a couple of years older than I am, and ought to knowbetter."
"I was not going to show the white feather after what you had done."
"Same here," said Roberts sharply.
"Oh, that was it--eh? I was a boy to you, and you wouldn't let me thinkyou daren't."
"Something of that kind," said Bracy.
"Humph!" said Drummond thoughtfully. "I suppose it was dangerous."
"Of course it was," replied Bracy. "You saw that the guide wouldn'tventure."
"Yes; but that made me determined to do it. We can't afford to letthose chaps think we're afraid to go anywhere. Come now--didn't you twothink something of that kind too?"
"Probably," said Bracy.
"But it didn't seem dangerous when I was doing it," cried Drummond. "Inever thought about toppling down, only about getting right across andafter those moufflons."
"Same here," said Roberts.
"Well, I did look down once and think of what might happen," said Bracy.
"Ah, that's where you were wrong. Never do that, lad. Keep perfectlycool, and you can get almost anywhere up yonder in the snow. I've gotto be quite a climber since I've been here."
"Well, I gave myself the credit of being pretty good on ice and snowto-day," said Bracy, smiling. "I mean pretty well for a cripple. Iwish I had done as well over the shooting. That was a miserable show ofmine. Thanks for not exposing me at the mess."
"Rubbish!" said Drummond. "Who's going to tell tales out of school? Isay, though, that ice-climbing in the mountains is splendid--isn't it?The more one does the easier it seems. It feels quite cool andcomfortable."
"Which one can't help feeling on the ice," said Bracy, laughing. "Butseriously, we are getting pretty good at it up yonder in the snow."
"Regular climbers," said Drummond; "and I vote that we do as much of itas we can while our shoes are good. There, don't look at a fellow likethat--your shoes, then, that you gave me. But I didn't mean shoesliterally. I mean before the old man puts a stop to our hunting andclimbing."
"He soon will, you may depend upon that," said Roberts. "He's gettingnervous about us all."
"Because we are such splendid officers," put in Bracy merrily.
"Well, we are what he has; and, judging from the way we are shut in andleft by the authorities, he is not likely to get a fresh supply if heloses us."
"What about the messengers he has sent, Bracy? Think they get throughwith the despatches? I feel sure they do not. Either they are killedor so scared by the dangers they run that they destroy their despatchesand dare not show their faces again."
"Well, I hope that's not the case," said Bracy. "I don't want to givethe poor fellows the credit of being treacherous."
"Like enough it is that, treacherous as we deem it; but they are so muchaccustomed to the tricks and cunning amongst which they have beenbrought up that they look upon such a thing as being very venial--a kindof cleverness by which we, their conquerors are bested."
"Here, I say, don't get into a dissertation upon the moral character ofthe natives," cried Drummond, "because there is no end to that. Here, Isay--"
"Say away," said the others.
"I've been thinking about what old Graves said as to the shikareesselling us to the enemy. They won't."
"I hope not," said Bracy, laying his hand upon his chest.
"Hullo! What's the matter? Wound hurt?"
"Gives me a stab like that sometimes when the weather is going tochange. We shall have rain, I think."
"Ha! and that means snow higher up. Hoo-roar! as the lads say. A nicelight coating of fresh snow, and every bear footprint showing clearly.We mustn't miss one. Bear ham is good, and then there are the skins.We shall want 'em in the winter for warm rugs."
"You mean to stay the winter, then?" said Bracy, laughing.
"We shall have to; see if we don't."
"We shall get no bearskins," said Roberts. "The Colonel will stop ourgoing on account of his uneasiness. I heard him say that we should berunning upon some prowling body of the enemy one of these times, andnever be heard of any more."
"He doesn't know what he's talking about. Just as if it were likely.They sneak along in the lowest valleys; they never go up among thesnowfields. No one does but the hunters. It's the same as it was inSwitzerland; you never caught the people climbing the mountains till theEnglish taught them, and bribed them to come as carriers. They'd neverhave made the ascent of any of their mountains. I tell you that in ourshooting-trips up yonder we're as safe as we are here. Safer, for thebeggars keep away from there, while here they're lying up in every holeand corner all around."
"He's about right," said Roberts thoughtfully; "and, now you're strongenough again, I don't like to lose our trips. We don't get muchpleasure up here. Let's make our hay while the sun shines."
"Even if it is in the snow," said Bracy. "Very well; I'm glad enough togo, for the mountain air seems to send fresh vigour through me everytime I climb."
The result of this was that whenever the way up into the mountains wasclear, and the Dwats who acted as guides to the different hills came inwith news, the young officers had their excursions, and generallyreturned with their men pretty well laden, while the three friendsbecame masters of the district among the heights in a way that suggestedyears of active residence in that silver land.
There were plenty of alarms, plenty of little encounters with theparties who were always on the lookout to harass the occupants of thefort; but a little extra work for the Doctor and excitement for the men,to keep off the stagnation which threatened them, was all that ensued.
In the interim the Colonel sent off five more messengers withdespatches, in the hope that they would get through the enemy and bringback letters; but they were seen no more; and the Colonel's fac
e grewmore serious day by day.
"Thinks the tribes mean to starve us out," said Roberts one evening whenthe Colonel went away from the table looking more depressed and anxiousthan usual.
"And they won't," said Drummond. "Why, there are mountain sheep enoughup yonder to keep us for years."
"They get more difficult to shoot, though," said Bracy.
"Pooh! not they. A few close by are a bit shy; but, look here, when weget right up on the shoulder of that left-hand peak and look north whatdo we see?"
"Mountains," replied Bracy.
"And when we were right up on that farthest peak last week, and lookednorth, what did we see then?"
"More mountains."
"That's it; and you might go on and on for a month, and it would be thesame--more mountains."
Bracy nodded and looked thoughtful.
"Yes," he said at last; "the world's a long way from being played outyet. We can see hundreds of peaks, and the soft blue valleys betweenthem, which I suppose have never been traversed by man."
"That's right enough, and that's where the wild sheep and goats are justas they always have been, perfectly undisturbed. Thousands--perhapsmillions, without counting the goats and yaks, which look as if theywere a vain brood of beast who try to grow tails like a horse."
"I suppose you're correct, Drummond," said Bracy.
"Of course I am; and if we shoot down all the sheep near at hand onemonth, more will come down from the north next month."
"Just the same as when you catch a big trout out of a hole at home,another is sure to come within a day or two to take his empty house."
"Why, they do up here, and the little seer in the river too," criedDrummond. "I say, I wish this was a bigger and deeper stream, so thatit held the big forty and fifty pound fish."
"Quite deep and swift enough for us," said Bracy merrily.
"Ah, yes," said Drummond slowly; "I haven't forgotten our going for thatnice long walk."
"No," said Roberts; "that was a close shave for all of us. How manymore times are we going to run the gauntlet and not get hit?"
"Hundreds, I hope," replied Drummond; and Bracy, who was very quiet,thought, by no means for the first time, of his escapes, and of how itwould be at home if a letter reached them some day reporting that one ofthe lieutenants had been checked once for all in his career.
Fix Bay'nets: The Regiment in the Hills Page 23
