In Times of Peril: A Tale of India

by G. A. Henty

  CHAPTER XIX.

  A RIOT AT CAWNPORE.

  While the guns of Delhi were saluting the raising of the British flagover the royal palace, General Havelock and his force were fightingtheir way up to Lucknow. On the 19th of September he crossed theGanges, brushed aside the enemy's opposition, and, after three days'march in a tremendous rain, found them in force at the Alumbagh. Aftera short, sharp fight they were defeated, and the Alumbagh fell into ourhands. All the stores and baggage were left here, with a force strongenough to hold it against all attacks; and after a day to rest histroops, General Havelock advanced on the 22d, defeated the enemyoutside Lucknow, and then, as the direct route was known to beimpassable, he followed the canal as far as the Kaiserbagh, and thereturning off, fought his way through the streets to the Residency, wherehe arrived only just in time, for the enemy had driven two mines rightunder the defenses, and these would, had the reinforcements arrived butone day later, have been exploded, and the fate of the garrison ofCawnpore might have befallen the defenders of Lucknow.

  The desperate street fighting had, however, terribly weakened thelittle force which had performed the feat. Out of fifteen hundred menwho had entered the city, a third were killed or wounded, among theformer being the gallant Brigadier-General Neil.

  With so weak a force it was evident that it would be hopeless toendeavor to carry off the sick, the wounded, the women, and childrenthrough the army of rebels that surrounded them, and it was thereforedetermined to continue to hold the Residency until further aid arrived.The siege therefore recommenced, but under different conditions, forthe increased force enabled the British to hold a larger area; andalthough the discomforts and privations were as great as before--forthe reinforcements had brought no food in with them--the danger of theplace being carried by assault was now entirely at an end.

  One noble action connected with the relief of Lucknow will never beforgotten. Before General Havelock started up from Cawnpore, GeneralSir James Outram, his senior officer, arrived, with authority to takethe command. Upon his arrival, however, he issued a general order, tosay that to General Havelock, who had done such great deeds to relieveLucknow, should be the honor of the crowning success; and that hetherefore waived his seniority, and would fight under General Havelockas a volunteer until Lucknow was relieved. A more generous act ofself-negation than this was never accomplished. To the man who relievedLucknow would fall honor, fame, the gratitude of the English people,and all this General Outram of his own accord resigned. He was worthyindeed of the name men gave him--the "Bayard of India."

  The news that Lucknow was relieved caused almost as much delight to thetroops at Delhi as their own successes had given them, for the anxietyas to the safety of the garrison was intense. To the Warreners the newsgave an intense pleasure, for the thought of the friends they had leftbehind in that terrible strait had been ever present to their mind. Thefaces of the suffering women, the tender girls, the delicate children,had haunted them night and day; and their joy at the thought that thesewere rescued from the awful fate impending over them knew no bounds.

  It was not at Delhi, however, that the Warreners heard the news; for onthe 23d, only three days after the occupation of the city, they leftwith the flying column of Colonel Greathead, which was ordered to marchdown to Agra, clearing away the bands of mutineers which infested theintervening country, and then to march to Cawnpore, to be in readinessto advance on Lucknow. The boys had no difficulty in obtaining leave toaccompany this column, as Ned would naturally on the first opportunityrejoin his regiment, which was at Cawnpore, while Dick was longing toform one of the naval brigade, which, under Captain Peel, was advancingup the country.

  The rebels were found in force at Allyghur, and were defeated withoutdifficulty; and after several minor skirmishes the force marchedhastily down to Agra, which was threatened by a large body of theenemy. Without a halt they marched thirty miles to Agra, and encampedin the open space outside the fort.

  Just as they were cooking their meals a battery of artillery openedupon them, an infantry fire broke out from the surrounding houses, anda large body of cavalry dashed in among them.

  For a moment all was confusion; but the troops were all inured to war;with wonderful rapidity they rallied and attacked the enemy, who wereover five thousand strong, and finally defeated them with greatslaughter, and captured fourteen guns. Agra saved, the column startedtwo days later for Cawnpore; upon the way it defeated bodies of rebels,and punished some zemindars who had taken part against us, and arrivedat Cawnpore on the 26th of October.

  At Majupoorie, halfway up from Agra, the force had been joined by abrigade under Colonel Hope Grant, who, as senior officer, took thecommand of the column. They marched into Cawnpore three thousand fivehundred strong, all troops who had gone through the siege of Delhi; andNed at once joined his regiment, where he was warmly received.

  On the following day the Ninety-third Highlanders and a part of thenaval brigade, two hundred strong, arrived; and Dick's delight as thecolumn marched in was unbounded. He reported himself for duty at once,and, as among the officers were some of his own shipmates, he was atonce at home.

  There was little sleep in the tents of the junior officers of thebrigade that night. Dick's name had been twice mentioned in dispatches,and all sorts of rumors as to his doings had reached his comrades. Themoment, therefore, that dinner was over, Dick was taken to a tent,placed on a very high box on a table, supplied with grog, and orderedto spin his yarn, which, although modestly told, elicited warm applausefrom his hearers.

  On the 30th Colonel Grant's column moved forward, and arrived afterthree days' march within six miles of the Alumbagh. They had with thema great convoy of siege material and provisions, and these were nextday escorted safely into the Alumbagh, where the little garrison hadheld their own, though frequently attacked, for six weeks. TheSixty-fourth Regiment had already done so much fighting that it was notto form part of the advance. The naval brigade was increased on the 1stof November by the arrival of Captain Peel himself, with two hundredmore sailors and four hundred troops. They had had a heavy fight on theway up, and had protected the convoy and siege guns of which they werein charge, and had defeated the enemy, four thousand strong, andcaptured all his guns, but with a loss to themselves of nearly onehundred men. Soon after the commencement of the engagement, ColonelPowell, who was in command of the column, was killed; and Captain Peelthen took command of the force, and won the victory.

  The astonishment of the people of Cawnpore at the appearance of thebrawny tars was unbounded. The sailors went about the streets in knotsof two or three, staring at the contents of the shops, and as full offun and good humor as so many schoolboys. Greatly delighted were theywhen the natives gave them the least chance of falling foul ofthem--for they knew that the people of the town had joined themutineers--and were only too glad of an excuse to pitch into them. Theyall carried cutlasses, but these they disdained to use, trusting, andwith reason, to their fists, which are to the natives of India a moreterrible, because a more mysterious weapon than the sword. A sword theyunderstand; but a quick hit, flush from the shoulder, which knocks themoff their feet as if struck by lightning, is to them utterlyincomprehensible, and therefore very terrible.

  One day the Warreners were strolling together through the town, andturned off from the more frequented streets, with a view of seeing whatthe lower-class quarters were like. They had gone some distance, whenNed said:

  "I think we had better turn, Dick. These scowling scoundrels would beonly too glad to put a knife into us, and we might be buried away underground in one of these dens, and no one be ever any the wiser for it. Ihave no doubt when we have finished with the fellows, and get a littletime to look round, there will be a clear sweep made of all theseslums."

  The lads turned to go back, when Dick said, "Listen!"

  They paused, and could hear a confused sound of shouting, and a noiseas of a tumult. They listened attentively.

  "Ned," Dick exclaimed, "I am sure some
of those shouts are English.Some of our fellows have got into a row; come on!"

  So saying, he dashed off up the narrow street, accompanied by hisbrother. Down two more lanes, and then, in an open space where five orsix lanes met, they saw a crowd. In the midst of it they could seesabers flashing in the air, while British shouts mingled with the yellsof the natives.

  "This is a serious business," Ned said, as they ran; "we are in theworst part of Cawnpore."

  Three or four natives, as they approached the end of the lane, steppedforward to prevent their passage; but the lads threw them aside withthe impetus of their rush, and then, shoulder to shoulder, charged thecrowd.

  Expecting no such assault, the natives fell aside from the shock, andin a few seconds the boys stood by their countrymen. There were six inall--sailors, as the boys had expected. The fight had evidently been asharp one. Four or five natives lay upon the ground, and two of thesailors were bleeding from sword-cuts. The tars gave a cheer at thesight of this reinforcement, especially as one of the newcomers was anaval officer--for Dick had bought the uniform of a naval officerkilled in the fight of the 1st.

  The infuriated crowd drew back for a moment; but seeing that thereinforcement consisted only of two lads, again attacked fiercely. Theboys had drawn their swords, and for a minute the little party foughtback to back. It was evident, however, that this could not last, forevery moment added to the number of their foes, the budmashes flockingdown from every quarter.

  "Now, lads," Ned shouted, "get yourselves ready, and when I say theword make a dash all together for that house at the left corner. Thedoor is open. Once in there, we can hold it till help comes. Press thema bit first, so as to scatter them a little, and then for a rush. Areyou all ready? Now!"

  With a cheer the sailors hurled themselves upon the crowd in a body.The surprise, added to the weight and force of the charge, wasirresistible; the natives were sent flying like ninepins, and beforethe enemy quite understood what had happened, the whole party were safein the house, and the door slammed-to and bolted.

  "See if there are any windows they can get in at."

  The men ran into the two rooms of which, on the ground floor, the houseconsisted; but the windows in these, as is often the case in Indiantowns, were strongly barred. There was a furious beating at the door.

  "It will give in a minute," Dick said. "Upstairs, lads; we can holdthem against any number."

  "It's lucky they did not use their pistols," Ned said, as they gatheredin the upper room; "we should have been polished off in no time hadthey done so."

  "I expect they made sure of doing for us with their swords and knives,"Dick replied, "and did not like to risk calling attention by the soundof pistol-shots. Now, lads, how did you get into this row?"

  "Well, your honor," said one of the tars, "we were just cruising aboutas it might be, when we got down these here lanes, and lost ourbearings altogether. Well, we saw we had fallen among land pirates, forthe chaps kept closing in upon us as if they wanted to board, andfingering those long knives of theirs. Then one of them he gives a pushto Bill Jones, and Bill gives him a broadside between the eyes, andfloors him. Then they all begins to yell, like a pack o' they jackalswe heard coming up country. Then they drew their knives, and Bill got aslash on his cheek. So we, seeing as how it were a regular case of anengagement all along the line, drew our cutlasses and joins action.There were too many of them, though, and we were nigh carried by thepirates, when you bore up alongside."

  At this moment a crash was heard below; the door had yielded, and thecrowd rushed into the lower part of the house. When it was found to beempty there was a little delay. No one cared to be the first to mountthe stairs, and encounter the determined band above. Dick steppedforward to glance at the state of things below, when half a dozenpistol-shots were fired. One inflicted a nasty cut on his cheek, andanother struck him on the hand.

  "Are you hurt, Dick?" Ned said, as his brother leaped back.

  "No, nothing to speak of; but it was a close shave. Perkins, pick up mysword, will you? I didn't think of their firing."

  "Being indoors, they are not afraid of the pistols being heard anydistance," Ned said. "Keep a sharp lookout, lads, in case they make arush upstairs, while I tie up my brother's hand and face."

  "They are coming, sir," the sailors cried, as the house shook with therush of a body of men up the stairs.

  "Stand well back, lads, and cut them down as they enter the door."

  Pushed from behind, five or six of the enemy burst simultaneously intothe room; but ere they could fire a pistol, or even put themselves intoan attitude of defense, they were cut down or run through the body.Then a tremendous crash and a wild cry was heard.

  "Hurrah!" Dick shouted, "the staircase has given way."

  Many groans and shrieks were heard below; then there was a sound ofpersons being carried out, and for awhile, quiet below, while outsidethe hubbub became greater.

  "What is going on outside?" Ned said, and Dick and he peered throughthe closed jalousies into the street.

  A number of budmashes were bringing bundles of bamboos from abasket-maker's shop opposite; some of the crowd were opposing them.

  "They are going to fire the house," Dick exclaimed. "The peopleopposing are the neighbors, no doubt. They'll do it, though," he added,as the fiercer spirits drove the others back. "What's best to be done,Ned?"

  Ned looked round, and then up.

  "Let us cut through the bamboo ceiling, Dick; there must be a spacebetween that and the roof. The wall won't be thick between that and thenext house, and we can work our way from house to house; and if theflames gain--for they are sure to spread--we can but push off the tilesand take to the roofs, and run the gantlet of their pistols andmuskets. Their blood's up now, and they will shoot, to a certainty. Doyou think that the best plan?"

  "That's it. Now, lads, two of you stand close together; now, Perkins,you jump on their shoulders and cut a hole through the bamboos withyour cutlass. Quick, lads, there's no time to lose;" for they couldhear the tramping of feet below, and the sound as the bundles of bamboowere thrown down.

  "Now, lads," Dick went on--for as a naval officer he was naturally incommand of the men--"take two or three of those rugs on that couchthere, and knot them together. Shut the door, to keep the smoke out.There, they've lit it!"--as a shout of pleasure rose from below.

  The bamboos were tough, and Perkins could not use his strength toadvantage. Smoke curled up through the crevices of the floor, and allwatched anxiously the progress made.

  "That's big enough," Dick cried at last; "we have not a moment to lose,the flames are making through the floor. Now, Perkins, climb throughthe hole; now, lads, follow in turn."

  Four of the sailors were rapidly through the hole.

  "Now, lads, one of you two; don't waste time. Now, Ned, catch hold ofthis man's legs and give him a hoist; that's right. Now drop that rope,lad. Now, Ned, I'm in command; go on. Now, lads, catch this bundle ofrugs; that's right. Give me one end. There we are. Now spread one ofthose rugs over the hole, to keep the smoke out. Now, lads, how is thewall?"

  "Quite soft, your honor; we'll be through in a minute."

  In accordance with orders, those first up had begun at once with theircutlasses to pick a hole through the mud wall which formed thepartition between the houses. Although thicker below, the divisionsbetween what may be called the lofts of the houses were made but of asingle brick of unbaked clay or mud, and as Dick clambered up throughthe hole, the sailors had already made an opening quite large enough toget through. All crept through it, and again Dick hung a rug over thehole to keep out the smoke.

  "Now, lads, attack the next wall again; but don't make more noise aboutit than you can help. The people below will be removing what thingsthey can, and making a row; still, they might hear us; and it is aswell they should think us burned in the house where we were. But youmust look sharp, lads, for the fire spreads through these dried-uphouses as if they were built of straw."

  The s
ailors labored hard, and they worked their way from house tohouse; but the flames followed as fast; and at last, almost choked bysmoke and dust, Dick said:

  "Quick, my men, knock off some tiles, and get on the roof, or we shallbe burned like rats in a trap. This side, the furthest from the street."

  The tiles gave way readily; and each man thrust his head out throughthe hole he had made, for a breath of fresh air. In a minute all wereon the roof.

  "Crouch down, lads; keep on this side of the roof; people are notlikely to be looking out for us this side, they will be too busy movingtheir furniture. Move on, boys; the fire is spreading now pretty nearlyas fast as we can scramble along."

  It was already a great fire; down both the lanes at whose junction thehouse first fired stood, the flames had spread rapidly, and leapingacross the narrow streets had seized the opposite houses. Already fiftyor sixty houses were in a blaze, although it was not five minutes fromthe beginning of the fire.

  "There is a cross lane about ten houses ahead, Dick," Ned said.

  "We will stick on the last house as long as we can, Ned, and then slidedown by the rope on to that outhouse. They are too busy now with theirown affairs to think about us; besides, they suppose we are dead longago, and the fellows who are at the head of it will have made off tolook after their own houses, for the wind is blowing fresh, and thereis no saying how far the fire may spread. Besides, we shall have ourfellows up in a few minutes. Directly the fire is seen, they are sureto be sent down to preserve order."

  They were soon gathered on the roof of the last house in the lane, andthree minutes later were driven from it by the flames. One by one theyscrambled down by the aid of the rope on to the outhouse, and thence tothe ground. Then they passed through the house into the lane beyond.Looking up the lane, it was an arch of fire; the flames were rushingfrom every window and towering up above every roof, almost meeting overthe lane. Upon the other hand, all was wild confusion and terror; menwere throwing out of upper windows bedding and articles of furniture;women laden with household goods, and with children in their arms andothers hanging to their clothes, were making their way through thecrowd; bedridden people were being brought out; and the screams,shrieks, and shouts mingled with the roaring of flames and the crashesof falling roofs. As in great floods in India, the tiger and theleopard, the cobra and the deer, may all be seen huddled together onpatches of rising ground, their mutual enmity forgotten in the commondanger, so no one paid the slightest attention to the body ofEnglishmen who so suddenly joined the crowd.

  "Sheathe your cutlasses, my lads," Dick said. "There's no more fightingto be done. Lend a hand to help these poor wretches. There, two of youtake up that poor old creature; they have carried her out, and thenleft her; take her on till you find some open space to set her down in.Now, Ned, you take a couple of men and work one side of the lane, Iwill take the opposite side with the others. Let us go into every roomand see that no sick people or children are left behind. There, theflames have passed the cross lane already; the corner house is on fire."

  For quarter of an hour the tars labored assiduously; and many abedridden old woman, or a forgotten baby, did they bring out.Fortunately at the end of the lane was an open space of some extent,and here piles of household goods and helpless people were gathered.

  At the end of a quarter of an hour they heard a deep tramp, and thenaval brigade, led by Captain Peel, filed up through the lane. Thesailors burst into a cheer as they saw their friends arrive, and theseresponded upon seeing some of their comrades at work carrying the sickand aged. Dick at once made his way to Captain Peel, and reportedbriefly that the fire was in the first place lighted with the purposeof burning him and his party; but that they had escaped, and had sincebeen at work helping the inhabitants.

  "Very well," Captain Peel said. "You can give details afterward; atpresent we have got to try and stop the flames. It seems a large blockof fire."

  "It is, sir. It extends across several lanes; there must be a couple ofhundred houses in flames, and I fear, from what we have seen in thelane we have been working in, a considerable loss of life."

  "Mr. Percival," Captain Peel said to one of his officers, "take yourcompany and knock down or blow up all the houses on this side of thatlane there. Mr. Wilkinson, you take number two company, and do the samewith the lane to the right. The rest follow me. March!"

  In five minutes all the tars and the Highlanders--who arrived on theground immediately after the sailors--were at work pulling down houses,so as to arrest the progress of the flames by isolating the burningblock. Upon three sides they succeeded, but upon the other the fire,driven by the wind, defied all their efforts, and swept forward forhalf a mile, until it burned itself out when it had reached the opencountry. In its course it had swept away a great part of the worst andmost crowded quarters of Cawnpore.

  All through the evening and night the troops and sailors toiled; andmorning had broken before all danger of any further extension was over;the men were then ordered home, a fresh body of troops coming up topreserve order, and prevent the robbery, by the lawless part of thepopulation, of the goods which had been rescued from the flames. Then,after a ration of grog had been first served out to each man, andbreakfast hastily cooked and eaten, all sought their tents, exhaustedafter their labors.

  It was not until evening that signs of life were visible in the camp.Then men began to move about; and an orderly presently came across torequest the Warreners to go to Captain Peel's quarters to report thecircumstances through which the fire arose.

  The lads related the history of the affair from the time when they hadcome upon the scene, and Captain Peel expressed himself in terms ofwarm laudation of their gallantry, quickness, and presence of mind.Then the sailors were called up, and their story, although longer andmore diffuse than that told by the Warreners, was yet substantially thesame, and Captain Peel told the men that they ought not to havewandered in that way into the slums of Cawnpore, but that beyond thatindiscretion they had acted, as reported by Mr. Warrener, with greatcourage, coolness, and good discipline. Then the Warreners went back totheir tent, and had to go through their yarn again with greatminuteness and detail.

  "I do think," said Rivers, a midshipman of some two years olderstanding than Dick, "that you are the luckiest youngster in theservice. It is not one fellow in a hundred thousand who has suchchances."

  "That is so, Rivers," one of the lieutenants answered; "but it is notone in a hundred thousand who, having gone through such adventures,would have been alive to tell them at the end. The getting into thesescrapes may be luck, but the getting out of them demands courage,coolness, and quickness of invention, such as not one lad in a thousandpossesses. Now, Rivers, tell me honestly whether you think that, hadyou been cut off as he was in that sortie at Lucknow, you would everhave thought of robbing that old fakir of his wig?"

  "No," Rivers said; "I am quite sure it would never have occurred to me.Yes, as you say, sir, Dick Warrener has no end of luck, but hecertainly deserves and makes the best of it."