The Air Patrol: A Story of the North-west Frontier

by Herbert Strang

  CHAPTER THE ELEVENTH

  THE FIGHT AT THE BRIDGE

  In the first moments of this amazing discovery, Bob's mind was confusedby the multiplicity of his sensations and imaginings. There wereseveral problems all clamouring at once for solution: his uncle's fate,the plight of Lawrence, the future of the mine. But he soon realizedthat no good result would come of aimless conjectures; "One thing at atime, and concentrate your attention" had been the motto dinned into himby one of his schoolmasters. The one insistent thing now was to learnall that he could about this encampment--too large to be a fortuitousgathering of nomads, too regular to be other than military in itsorganization.

  Bob flew straight for the camp, and when he came above its centre hebegan to circle round and round with the object of getting a clear andorderly idea of its nature. Observation from the great height to whichhe had risen was not easy, and the necessity of keeping part of hisattention upon the aeroplane was a drawback. Naturally he could notentrust the machine to Fazl, who was making his first flight. On theother hand the Gurkha, who was wholly without nervousness, could devotehimself entirely to the task of observing. Thus, combining what Fazlreported with what he was himself able to see, Bob obtained in thecourse of twenty minutes a pretty good notion of the disposition of thecamp and the various movements that were going on.

  To the north, a large body of horsemen, who were exercising when hefirst caught sight of them, came to a halt, and were evidently intent onwatching the flying machine. Still farther northward, long trains ofprimitive ox wagons were lumbering towards the camp, with a caravan ofcamels here and there. Attached to the body of cavalry on the plainthere were no fewer than six batteries of field artillery. There was noregular road into or out of this solitary region, but from theappearance of the ground it was clear that the army had reached itspresent position from the north-west. There was a narrower and faintertrack leading from the camp in the direction of the valley--no doubt theroute followed by the men now posted on the river bank.

  It was inevitable that the sight of the aeroplane, wheeling over theencampment in regular circles, should arouse lively curiosity andexcitement among the throngs of men below. Its appearance was greetedat first with shouts either of surprise or alarm. Bob had twice madethe circuit before any action was taken: apparently the spectators hadnot made up their minds as to the nature of this strange visitor, orwere waiting for orders. But as he began to circle for the third time achange came over the scene. His systematic movements forced upon themen the notion that he was scouting, spying upon them; and as soon asthis was realized they came to the conclusion that he was an enemy whomust be dealt with. At first there were a few scattered shots; thenregular volleys; at last an almost continuous crackle of musketry. Bythis time Bob had discovered all that was possible from his altitude,and feeling that nothing was to be gained by running risks, he decidedto swing round and head for the valley.

  The marksmanship of the enemy's riflemen had not been such as to alarmhim hitherto; but it was a different matter when, soon after he turned,the aeroplane became the target of one of the field batteries. Hearingthe deeper crack of two of the guns, he instantly steered to the left,to gain a minute's grace while the guns were being trained in the newdirection. No third shot was fired; the gunners evidently recognizedthat the odds were all against their hitting him. At the same time atroop of horse who had started at a gallop in pursuit reined up; sincethe guns were ineffectual it was not worth while chasing him on thechance of a sudden mishap bringing him to the ground.

  Another five minutes brought him to the entrance of the valley. Hestill maintained a great height until he had passed over the encampmenton the lull-side; then, instructing Fazl to wave the red handkerchief asthey flew over the bridge, he executed a steep vol plane down to theneighbourhood of the rocks held by Lawrence and the Pathans. It wentaltogether against the grain to skim over the open space withoutlanding; but he knew that he could not have done so without becoming themark for hundreds of bullets. No other course was open to him than toadhere to the plan already arranged with Lawrence, and sweep on up thegorge towards the mine.

  Another cheer greeted him from the little party below. All, then, wasstill well with them. Accepting the signal of the red flag, Lawrencewould now withdraw his men, and hasten up the track as swiftly aspossible. No doubt he would get a mount behind one of the Pathans.That pursuit by the enemy would be doubly difficult Bob recognized whenhe noticed--what had escaped his observation as he flewdown-stream--that the handrail of the bridge had now disappeared. Therewas no means of crossing the river at this point. He supposed thatLawrence, during the night, had taken the precaution to cut the rope.This was reassuring; it seemed to show that Lawrence, though withoutmilitary training and, as he himself had said, without militaryinstincts, yet was possessed of readiness and common sense, qualities ofmuch value both to soldiers and civilians.

  At the same time Bob was rather loth to leave his brother to deal withthe enemy alone, in case they managed in some unimaginable way to crossthe river. He felt tempted to land somewhere within a few miles of thebridge, and return on foot to take command of the party. But on secondthoughts this seemed to him a short-sighted policy. Though he could notconceive that this army corps was directed against the Appleton mine,the situation clearly demanded that he should return and assist incompleting the havildar's arrangements for the defence. The capture ofthe mine might be regarded by the enemy as a trifling exploit by theway. It was particularly important that the large force of Kalmuckminers should be disposed of. They, if they realized the position, heldthe key of the situation. There was little doubt that with a suddenrush they could scatter the few Pathans now left at the mine, in theteeth of the Sikh garrison. They would then be able to cut off theretreat of Lawrence and his party, trapped between the Kalmuck minersand their countrymen advancing up the valley. It was imperative, then,that he should get back to the mine as quickly as possible, and hisuneasiness at leaving Lawrence was partially removed when, a dozen milesfrom the bridge, he met the party of Pathans whom he had dispatchedovernight. Yet, if he could have foreseen the events of the next fewhours, he would have cast to the winds all questions of policy, andrisked a descent.

  As he flew over the bridge, there had been nothing, except the brokenrope, to indicate that any change had taken place in the situation sincehe left the spot on the previous evening. But Lawrence, during the hoursof darkness, had in fact passed through the most exciting experience ofhis life.

  When Bob sailed away up the gorge, and as soon as the humming of hispropeller could no longer be heard, Lawrence began to carry out hisinstructions for the night. He felt no little anxiety; indeed, it was atrying position for a lad who found himself, for the first time in hislife, faced with difficulties and dangers for which he had had nopreparation. But after all, it is character that tells. Lawrence wasnaturally cool and level-headed; he had been known at school as a"sticker" at cricket; he could wear out half-a-dozen bowlers. Hisschool had taught him lessons of self-reliance, and though he had neverbeen very enthusiastic in the cadet corps, he had won the mark ofefficiency, could shoot straight, and had learnt to think quickly andact with promptitude. So, in spite of a natural nervousness, he sawquite clearly what he had to do, and had grit enough to make up his mindto do it.

  He stationed two men behind the rocks near the bridge head, orderingthem to fire if they saw the least sign of an attempt to cross. Theywere to be relieved every two hours. Mindful of Bob's advice, hedetermined to keep watch all night himself: there was no one to relievehim. Very soon, as night settled deep upon the valley, he began to feelthe cold, and thought regretfully of the thick coat lying on his seat inthe aeroplane. After the fatigues and wearing anxieties of the day hewas not in a condition to face the added strain of a long vigil in thefreezing air. He had great difficulty in keeping awake, and when one ofthe Pathans lent him a saddle cloth in which to wrap himself, h
e soondiscarded it, lest the deceitful warmth should overcome hiswatchfulness.

  He dared not move about, but sat crouched on the ground beside thePathans with his rifle across his knees, listening for any sign of theapproach of the enemy. More than once he had to stir up his companionswhen they dozed, until he grew tired of it; he would rely on himself,and wake them at the first threatening of danger. But he found itincreasingly difficult to resist the soporific influence of the cold,and of the monotonous lullaby sung by the river as it flowed past at thefoot of the shelving bank beneath him. Every now and then he got up,stretched himself, and sat down again, not venturing even to slaphimself with his arms for fear of putting the enemy on the alert. Hegazed up into the sky, and tried to count and to identify the stars,which, in this deep valley, appeared to him, he thought, as they wouldappear to an observer at the bottom of a well. From time to time heexchanged a few whispered words with his companions, until this resourcefailed him through their slumberousness. When, at the end of the firsttwo hours, the men were relieved, the circumstances of the change hadthe effect of rousing him a little; but the second pair were even moresleepy than the first, and he lacked the energy to be continuallyprodding them.

  At length, when, in spite of his utmost efforts, he was nodding withdrowsiness, his ear was suddenly caught by a slight sound beneath him.He pulled himself together, and listened intently. There was norepetition of the sound. He began to think that he had been mistaken, orthat the sound had been made by some small animal scurrying along thebank. But a few seconds later he heard it again; it was like that of asmall stone rolling down the rocky shelf. Now fully awake, he nudgedhis companions and in a whisper bade them keep quiet and listen. ThePathan passes from profound sleep to complete wakefulness in an instant.They sat erect, all their senses on the alert. For a few moments nothingwas heard but the gurgling rush of the river; then with startlingsuddenness the three watchers were aware that men were scrambling up theslope. They sprang up. Dark shapes were dimly outlined beyond therocks. The Pathans fired, aiming as it were at shadows. Their shotsdid not check the rush. In another moment, clubbing their rifles,Lawrence and they were raining blows upon a swarm of figures that seemedto spring out of the black depths beneath them.

  Neither Lawrence nor either of the men could afterwards give a lucidaccount of the confused scramble that ensued. All that they were sureabout was that, if they saw a form between them and the river, they hitout at it. It soon became impossible to distinguish friend from foe. Inspite of their swift and weighty strokes the enemy, whose number seemedonly to increase, pressed ever more closely upon them.

  Lawrence had just brought the butt of his rifle down with a rattlingthud upon what he hoped was a Mongol skull, when the weapon was seized,and he felt himself jerked forward. He clung to the barrel tenaciously,but in trying to hold his own in this tug-of-war he lost his footing,let go the rifle perforce, and found himself rolling, or rather jolting,down the bank. Grasping at the sharp knobs of rock, he checked his fallbefore he came to the water's edge, and lay for an instant to collecthimself. It was perhaps a minute since the tussle had begun.

  Hitherto the enemy had preserved a remarkable silence. The two Pathans,on the other hand, had raised lusty shouts, calling to their companionsby name. Roused by the shots, and urged on by their comrades' cries,the Pathans behind the rocks some little distance up-stream camebounding to the rescue. Lawrence heard scrambling footsteps above him;he was kicked in the side by a man coming hastily down the bank, and thesound of splashes near at hand seemed to show that the enemy, in fullretreat, were plunging into the river. Their surprise having failed,they had lost heart. Climbing the bank on all fours, Lawrence found hiswhole party assembled above. Just as he reached them, the newcomersopened fire upon several figures which they saw swinging themselves overby the rope. At the first shot these men halted, turned, and beganfrantically to work themselves back towards the farther side. Then FyzAli sprang forward on to the tangled debris of the bridge, and with twosweeping strokes of his knife cut the rope in twain. There was a mightysplash, a howl of rage, and then silence.

  "What orders, sahib?" said the Pathan. In the short, sharp, confusedstruggle, the men were unaware of Lawrence's narrow escape, and were nomore concerned about him than about themselves. Every one of them boresome mark of the conflict--bruise, abrasion, or knife-cut. Lawrence feltbruised from top to toe. But in the dark no man could see his fellow'swounds, and it would have been thought childish to talk of them.

  "We had better stay here for the rest of the night," said Lawrence, inreply to Fyz Ali's question. "You have quite done for the bridge, andit's no use to anybody. But those badmashes got over some other way,and they would do it again if we weren't here to stop them."

  "That is true, sahib--if they like to put their fingers into the fire."

  "How did they get across? They could hardly swim up against thecurrent."

  "Mashallah! Who can say? But we shall know in the morning, sahib."

  There was no more dozing that night. The whole party sat nursing theirrifles and chatting quietly. Lawrence got the men to relate some of theexperiences of their life, and though he could not understand very muchof what they said, he recognized that there was a rich mine of anecdoteto be drawn upon as soon as he had sufficient command of their language.

  The remaining hours of darkness were undisturbed, and at dawn there wasno renewal of hostilities. The daylight gave a clue to the means bywhich the enemy had crossed the river. At the foot of the rocks south ofthe bridge, near Lawrence's rifle, lay several inflated water-skins. FyzAli guessed that the men had crept along the opposite bank to somedistance above the bridge, then taken the water, and supportingthemselves on the skins, had steered themselves over.

  Lawrence wondered whether the enemy had evacuated their position beyondthe bend in the track. Attempts to draw their fire were unsuccessful,and he remained in doubt until the passing of the aeroplane overhead wassaluted with a volley. His doubts being now removed, he waitedanxiously for Bob's return. His uncle's fate, never for long absent fromhis mind, made him uneasy as to his brother's chances of escapingscot-free. As time passed, and there was no sign of the aeroplane, hegrew more and more restless, imagining all sorts of mishaps that mighthave occurred. He expected Bob to return within half an hour; it wouldnot take longer to fly to the plateau and back; and his watch havingstopped through his immersion on the previous day, he could only guessat the flight of time, with the result that he supposed Bob's absence tohave been longer than it really was.

  His intense relief when at last he saw the aeroplane in the distant sky,gave way to disquietude again when Bob swooped down towards the bridgewithin range of the enemy's fire. The fluttering of the red flag waswelcome to him, even though he understood it as a sign that the enemywere in considerable force. It was also a signal to retreat to themine, and he was glad of the chance of stretching his limbs and of soonrejoining his brother. He at once gave orders to the men to return totheir horses. They crossed the open space at the double until theygained the shelter of the screen of rocks. No shots followed them.There was no horse for Lawrence, but Fyz Ali assured him that his ownmount was capable of bearing a double burden, and he decided to ridebehind him until they had got some distance up the track, and then towalk.

  He felt that there was no serious risk of pursuit at present. Althoughthe enemy had shown that they could cross the river with the aid ofwater-skins, they would have great difficulty in bringing their horsesover. So he reckoned on getting a long enough start to meet thereinforcements that Bob had promised to send down. Then the combinedparty, taking advantage of the many defensive positions which the brokenground afforded, could make good their retreat to the mine even againsta more numerous enemy in pursuit.