by Carly Smesh
He requested Havildar Sultar report to him after the evening meal. He knew he had been out practicing formation and firing practice with his section after the lecture of that morning.
He told him to stand easy, when he stood in front of his desk.
"Havildar Sultar I have been impressed by the training you have given your section, which has off now will be referred too has a troop.
In a little over two weeks' time you will be leading a half troop off 25 men to the Pass for duty there. You will find the conditions harsh, for you and your men.
At the end of this week the second half of Tiger Troop, leaves to replace the men currently stationed there. Havildar Turin has volunteered to stay in command of them.
I want you to take command of them up to the Pass, and then confer with Havildar Turin, who will inform you of the duties there. You in turn will inform him of the code you leant today and the use of paper, and cylinders. You will also be taking a basket of five pigeons. On reaching the camp, release three of them."
David paused, "you may also inform him that he is promoted to Subedar, has are you, effective immediately. I shall take in to consideration any restructuring to your troop that you think fit".
Sultar's face showed shock then pleasure, "Thank you Colonel Sahib I shall not let you down."
"You will need to draw clothes along with Tiger's men and ammunition before going up".
After he had gone David smiled at the thought of Sultar dressed in his furs.
The next morning at offices conference he informed Para about the promotions, and Subedar Quartermaster Hanga that Tiger Troop would be requiring the cold weather issue along with Sultar, also the issue of ammunition belts and ammunition to fill them.
After Kalar had left. He said to Para. When the current Tiger Troop returned from the Pass he could give them four days leave.
Para had replied some would wish to see their wives. Which raised a question that David had not considered.
"How many men have wives in the city" he asked.
"Twenty six Colonel Sahib including the two Havildar's" he went on to say that the married men took it in turns going to the city whenever to the Subedar Cook or Quartermaster went in to the city.
When asked where they livid, Para said he didn't know but he thought in the poorer part, due to the attitude off the people.
He asked Para to create a list of address for him, to raise the question with the Prince when next he reported to him.
He took Sulkie out for a long ride after the conference, allowing her to learn his signals. After his midday meal he took Kahn out. Both horses loved to gallop, and when he brushed them down after, he could feel the muscles hardening up in their legs.
Two days later he watched has Subedar Sultar led Tiger Troop out of the Fort, three packhorses followed, one with a basket with pigeons on it.
It was reported to him the three pigeons had returned at noon.
He had the Naik in charge of the returning Tiger Troop report to him when they arrived at the fort in the late afternoon.
The man said an Afghan rider has passed three days ago; they had concealed themselves at the Cleft. But the rider had ridden back when he saw the guards at the Pass entrance. The lookouts had reported snow two days ago but non-had fallen in the valley floor.
When asked off the condition of the men. He reported two had slight frostbite on their ears and one on the fingers, but this had occurred before they received the fur cloths.
David told the Naik to inform the men they had four days leave starting the next day.
Later sat on the veranda smoking his cheroot with his whiskey in his hand he considered what the Naik had said.
The Afghans must be wondering what had happened to the men sent down the Pass.
If they had gone on to raid the countryside they should be returning now.
He decided to return to the Pass when Sultar returned to the Fort.
He returned the following evening.
He reported that Turin was expecting the Afghans to try to breach the Pass soon.
When asked when he released the pigeons he said just before noon.
David realised it had taken them less than two hours to fly back to the dovecote.
Hanga had already packed his saddlebags it only remained to pack his razor and brush in the morning.
He told him he would be taking Kahn, has he filled his hipflask.
Chapter 14
It was still dark has he trotted out of the Fort, once on to the road he broke into a gentle canter. Kahn's long legs eat up the miles.
The sun was just appearing over the mountains to the east has they trotted through the entrance, the guards surprised to see him, has they came to the present, he acknowledged with a salute.
The wind cut through him has he neared the Cleft.
When he dismounted a rifleman led Kahn away around the brushwood screen.
He walked into the blockhouse and warmed himself by the stove, has men brought out his furs. He dressed quickly; changing his hat for the fur one and his boots for his others.
Once he had the coat on he started to feel warmer. Subedar Turin waited until he finished and the men had left the room.
"Sit down my old friend" David told him. They sat opposite each other on the bunks.
"The Colonel Sahib is here because he senses an attack is imminent".
David laughed, "You know me too well old friend".
"I have not thanked you for my promotion Colonel."
"It is nothing you have not earned" David replied, "How are the men?"
Turin chuckled "I think it was a shock to them, but I told them they were women. They should have been here, before the Colonel Sahib brought the furs and the stove."
A rifleman entered with two mugs of hot tea for them.
"We have made more firing position since you were here last, and have devised a way of the lookouts warning us off any approach. They drop a rock attached to a cord and write with charcoal the number that approaches. It save a lot of time from scrambling down, has they have to be careful has the path has ice on it now."
After they had their tea Turin showed him the new firing positions. They were on the opposite wall of the valley. Steps had been cut into the cliff, David climbed up them, the rose to about twelve feet, stopping at what looked like trench some five feet deep filled with rubble.
The trench extended along the cliff for roughly ten feet. Turin behind him explained, "It was much deeper, Colonel Sahib but we filled it up with rocks so three or four Riflemen can now be concealed there now."
David realised that not only did it give an excellent field of fire for the area around the blockhouse but also down the Cleft itself.
"I have assigned my best marksmen to this position," Turin added.
They climbed back down where Turin was called away for something.
David went behind the brush cover to find Kahn; he was down near the end tied to the rope that ran along the face off the cliff.
He patted his back has he moved to his head "Hello boy, are they looking after you" he spoke quietly to him. He could see a few grains off oats left on the ground sheet in front of him. The wind was not so fierce here by the cliff, but it was still bitterly cold. His saddle blanket had been left on him, has had all the horses.
They need better protection against the cold he knew, something else he would have to look into when he got back to the Fort.
His saddlebags and bedroll were on his bed, and his rifle and scabbard rested against the wall when he entered the blockhouse. His saddle was placed under his bed.
It felt warm in there after the cold of outside.
He unfastened his bedroll, and spread it out over the palliasse with the groundsheet below the heavy blankets. Men coming off duty or guard came in and warmed themselves by the stove before going to their bunks.
David knew two men would be on guard duty, at the entrance to the Cleft all through the night, but they only stood guard for an
hour before being relieved, due to the bitterly cold wind that blew from it.
David smiled, they never complained or protested, and just accepting it has their duty.
Someone lit the oil lamps, but he noticed there were only two of them. The other was up in the cave he was told.
The five men from the guard at the entrance to the Pass entered, carrying their rifles and a Martini Henry. Going by the banter from the men that was classed has an easy detail. Due to it being much warmer down there he reasoned.
Turin came in and sat on a bunk opposite him,
David asked if the men up on the cliff still stood guard all night. Turin said no once the light was gone and you couldn't see the road, he returned to the cave to sleep.
David also mentioned about the horses and his concern for them. Turin said he too was concerned, but at the moment there was little he could do about it.
The blockhouse was filling up, men started coming in handing out plates and bread.
David took his; it was some sort of stew with rice. He didn't know what, but he cleaned his plate and eat the bread he was hungry.
Afterwards he slipped between his blankets and spread his coat over him, he kept his fur hat on and pulled the flaps down over his ears, he was asleep in seconds.
He was woken the next morning by a rifleman shaking his shoulder, when he opened his eyes; the man was offering him a steaming mug of tea.
He looked at his watch and wound it at the same time, and realised it was nearly eight.
The blockhouse was empty except for two men sleeping further down.
When he got out side. He saw the men were carrying out various duties; some were carrying the horse droppings in ground sheets. Others were on kitchen duty, whilst others were feeding the horses.
Turin came over to him to ask if he had slept all right. When he complained that he had been allowed to sleep so late. Turin said he must have set off well before dawn the previous day.
He asked about the horse dropping, he was told there was a deep fissure about two hundred yards away, similar to the one the men used for a latrine.
It was just before midday they got the warning from the cliff. All that was written on the rock was L+.
Immediately the fires were put out, and the horses moved further down the Pass. Turin conferred with his Naik's and they ran to take up firing positions, David saw the three climbing up to the fissure.
"They won't know we are here Colonel Sahib, they can only come through the Cleft at the most five abreast, by the time they are all through, and they will only be fifty yards away from the nearest trench.
David ran to the blockhouse and removed his pistol from the saddle holster. Then put his ammunition belt over his shoulder and removed his rifle from the scabbard and checked the load. He stuck the pistol in his belt after checking it was fully loaded. Then checked the load from the pistol in his holster has he walked back to his trench.
He noticed some of the men were removing clips from their ammunition belts and placing them in easy reach.
He and Turin had a look round to see everyone was concealed, before dropping into the trench.
"The men at the Pass entrance have orders to open fire on any one coming up to them if they hear firing from us" he told David.
They heard the Afghans before the saw them, they were trotting has they came out of the Cleft, has Turin predicted, in four and five abreast.
They were almost on top of the nearest trench when he and Turin opened fire.
David aimed at the leader sat on a beautiful white Arabian stallion, he fell dead with a bullet through his head, has he worked the bolt and shot five more in has many seconds. Men were falling from their horses has the riflemen killed them. Horses were rearing and bucking and two went down shot. The Afghans had been taken completely unaware. Two bolted with their riders up the Pass a few minutes later they heard gunfire from the entrance, and two empty horses came trotting back.
The riflemen sprang from their trenches; the wounded were dispatched with their kukris has well has two horses.
One of the men in the fissure shouted that one has escaped; he was wounded slumped over his horses back.
The men started collecting weapons and valuables. The horses had their saddles removed and reported finding food in the saddle bags has well has bedrolls.
It appeared to David that they had intended staying several days in Kana.
In all there had been fifty-four in the raiding party including the one who got away.
In the weapons found were thirty-five Russian rifles.
David ordered all the ammunition for them to be collected in a separate pile. Anything of value was retained, after wards the bodies were draped over the horses and led away, he found a fine telescope, in a leather case, and he gave it to Turin.
Some of the men were butchering the horses to supplement their rations has was the food found in the saddlebags.
"The horses will be more comfortable tonight", he said indicating the bedrolls to Turin "we will need to send their horses back to the Fort, along with weapons and valuables when they get back, can you detail four men to take them. If they start off now they should make the Fort before full dark."
Turin said he would attend to it.
David watched has the men kicked sand over the blood stains on the floor, whilst other brought their horses back.
David picked up a bedroll that he thought had belonged to the Chief, along with two belts. He found Kahn and unrolled one along his back, it draped down from his hindquarters to his chest, he connected the two belts together and fastened it over him. The second blanket he left on his bed.
The fires were relit; he saw the butchered horse's remains being taken away on the back of two Rifleman's horses.
He walked over to Turin who was briefing a Lance Naik.
David waited until he had finished. "I've instructed the Lance Naik to hand the packs to Subedar Major Para Colonel Sahib", Turin reported.
David nodded, "The guards at the entrance can come back now, the cat is out of the bag, now that one got away."
Now the adrenaline from the fight was draining away, he could see on the faces of the men the realisation of the massacre that they had achieved.
Seventeen Riflemen had killed more three times their number in less than six minutes.
David knew the victory was down to surprise. But that no longer existed, even if the one that got away was dead or died; the Afghans would know some dreadful calamity had occurred in the Pass.
He tried to put himself in their minds. To annihilate their force, there must have been at least three times their numbers. Assuming they knew nothing off the Cartwright .303.
He shared his views with Turin has they cleaned their rifles.
"It is my opinion too Colonel Sahib" Turin said, "When they come again, they will be in much larger numbers, they will be cautious, more so when the reach the Cleft. If it were me, I would send men forward on foot to scout it first."
David agreed with him, "We must contain them in the cleft, if they broke out of it in large numbers, they could swarm over us". "We shall have to dig new rifle pits, giving a clear field of fire down the Cleft, some two hundred yards from it, and hope the scouts don't go much further from the entrance."
Turin nodded, "I shall instruct the men to take more ammunition in their saddlebags and a water bottle when they get in. It may prove to be a long fight Colonel Sahib."
Turin set the men to digging the new rifle pits, it was slow work due to the rocky nature of the ground, and they used the rubble they dug up to fill the old pits.
When it became too dark to continue the men retired to the blockhouse.
Loose cartridges, were distributed to fill the clips of the ones they had used that day.
Then each was given twenty clips that were put in a saddlebag.
David put his in a saddlebag, along with his hipflask and cheroots and his water bottle.
He ate horse again that night.
/> It was still dark when they were aroused; David noticed that six bunks were still occupied by sleepers.
Turin explained, the four who had returned to the Fort, had taken fresh horses and had ridden back through the night. He also added that the lookouts, which had changed with the others, had taken three bedrolls up with them.
David stood by the cook fire drinking tea, and watched the men digging the rifle pits; they had removed their fur coats.
It must be warm work he surmised.
Has each pit had been completed, Turin order a couple of men to climb into it. He would then stand by the cleft entrance to see if any sign of the pit was visible. The men were told to stand up, if too much off them showed they were ordered to dig deeper.
Due to his height the pit he shared with Turin, had a step in it.
By the time of the midday meal, the pits were completed.
Turin gathered the men around him, and then explained how the attack was likely to develop. Stating the Afghans would have their rifles ready this time.
It was four days later at ten am, when one off the lookout came scrambling down the cliff.
Four mounted Afghans were slowly approaching, but behind them about 500 yards back a large body, estimated at 400 Afghans were following.
"If we could take out those four silently, we could still take them by surprise" David murmured.
Turin gave a wolfish smile "this is work for the kukri Sahib, I will place four good men in the fissure. They will leap down on them as they pass. The horse should bolt down the Pass.
Some of the men had already started to move their horses down the Pass, has Turin spoke to four others, who then took their rifles and saddlebags and began climbing up to the fissure.
The rest were dropping down into their pits. David removed six clips from his saddlebag, and placed the saddle holster pistol on top of it.
A lookout that had been sent to entrance of the cleft came running back to say the riders were a hundred yards away coming slowly.
Turin waved to the men in the fissure to get ready, then waved to the rest of the men to get down.
David's mouth had become dry, has he waited sliding the safety off the rifle.
The first he knew if the ambush had been successful was the sound of a curse followed by body's striking the ground.