by G. A. Henty
Chapter 18: An Awkward Position.
Three hours later, Harry was sent for by the general.
"I have read your report, Captain Lindsay, and thoroughly concurwith you that the very meritorious conduct of the soldier of the3rd Bombay Cavalry, who has so long been attached to your service,should be rewarded. I cannot, of course, promote him in his ownregiment. He will therefore appear in orders, tomorrow, asappointed havildar in the 5th Bengal Cavalry, which is at presentunder my command; with a statement that, having now completed tenyears' service in the Bombay army, and having for six years of itbeen serving chiefly in this presidency, and having distinguishedhimself by his fidelity and courage, he has now been speciallysingled out for this promotion; and will be henceforth in charge ofan escort of twenty men, of his new regiment, attached to thegeneral's staff.
"As to yourself, sir, I have, in a despatch that will be sent offthis evening, strongly recommended you to the Governor General forpromotion to the rank of major. You were, I see by our army list,promoted to the rank of captain, seven years ago, before being sentto Calcutta; and, considering the distinguished and dangerousservices that you have rendered, I wonder that you have notreceived another step. That is, however, accounted for by the factthat you have now, for some time, been away from Calcutta withGeneral Wellesley and myself. I am sure that my recommendation willat once be complied with."
"I am very grateful for your kindness, sir."
"You owe it to your own merits, and not to any kindness on mypart," Lord Lake said. "You have an altogether exceptional recordand, even in the comparatively short time that you have been withme, have performed most valuable services. Colonel Monson reportsmost highly of your conduct during his retreat; and the missionthat you undertook, at my request, to Colonel Ochterlony was a mostdangerous one and, in itself, sufficient to ensure your promotion.There are many zealous officers in the service; but few, indeed, soqualified, by their acquaintance with the native languages, as toundertake the missions with which you have been entrusted, and haveso successfully carried out."
Harry took the despatches and at once mounted his horse; whichAbdool had brought round, as soon as his master was summoned to thegeneral's tent. After he had left the camp, he called Abdool up tohis side. The latter was still in his native dress.
"Abdool, I shall have to look out for another cook and bodyservant; unless, indeed, I have another trooper told off to me."
Abdool looked at Harry in astonishment.
"How is that, my lord? Are you dissatisfied with me?"
Harry laughed.
"Not in any way, Abdool; upon the contrary. But your name willappear in orders, tomorrow, as promoted to the rank of havildar, inthe 5th Bengal Cavalry, as a recognition of your faithful services.
"It is a great honour," Abdool said, "especially as I have notserved as a soubahdar; but I would far rather stay with you. Youhave been a father to me, and I pray you to let me remain as I am."
"You are to remain with me, Abdool. If you had had to leave me Ishould, myself, have told the general that I was sure you wouldrather not do so; and that, when you left me, I should myself showmy gratitude for your good services; but of his own accord he hasarranged this. You are not to join your new regiment, but are tocommand twenty sowars of the 5th, which are to be attached to thoseof the general's staff, for escort duty. In this way you will stillbe with me, but as a native officer instead of a servant; andshould I be sent on any special duty you will, I am sure, be ableto go with me, as before."
Abdool's face brightened.
"That would be well, indeed, sahib. It will truly be a great honourto be an officer and, if I ever return to my native village in theDeccan, I shall be regarded with great respect, and the faces of myfather and mother will be made white at the honour I have won.Still, I fear that I shall not be as much with you as I have been,before."
"Nearly as much, Abdool. I expect that Lord Lake, knowing how muchI am indebted to you, will permit me to take you with me, whenengaged on any detached service; and you and your troopers willform part of his escort, at all times. Besides, it is likely that,as matters stand, I shall not be sent away on any special duty forsome time to come. You will, I know, be glad to hear that thegeneral has recommended me for promotion, also; and that I shallshortly be a major."
"That pleases me more than my own promotion, sahib. I thought thatyou would have had it long ago, after that business at Nagpore."
"I had only been a captain then a few months, and was very youngfor that rank. It would have been unfair to others if I had beenpromoted then. I am still very young to be a major."
"It is not years, but what you have done," Abdool said. "Did younot obtain the release of Nana Furnuwees, and so change the stateof affairs, altogether, at Poona?"
"Well, it was for that I got the rank of captain and, since then,though I have made a few journeys that would have been perilous,had I not been able to speak Mahratti like a native, I have had noopportunities of specially distinguishing myself.
"As soon as we get to Delhi, you had better order yourself auniform. You know the dress worn by the native officers of the 5th;and you must hurry the tailor on, for you may be sure that the armywill not remain long at Delhi; but will set off to meet Holkar assoon as provisions are collected, for there is no saying how far wemay have to march before we meet him. I do not think that he willbe in any hurry to give battle."
On the 18th of October, the army arrived before Delhi. Holkar'scavalry were still in the neighbourhood; but news came that theinfantry, with a considerable number of his guns and a few thousandhorsemen, had left him. On the 29th he crossed the Jumna, belowPanniput, to attack a detachment of one battalion of Sepoys andsome matchlock men who were, under Colonel Burns, returning to thestation at Saharunpoor--from which he had hastened, when a reportreached him that Holkar meditated an attack on Delhi. He wasovertaken by Holkar at Shamlee.
The inhabitants of the place joined Holkar, but Burns formed hiscamp into a square, and repulsed all attacks; until General Lake,with six regiments of cavalry, the horse artillery, and a brigadeof infantry, arrived to his relief on the 3rd of November; whenHolkar at once retired, and marched south into the district knownas the Doab, where his horsemen plundered and burnt every villagenear his line of route. General Lake followed at once.
He had, before leaving Delhi, sent the rest of the Britishinfantry, with two regiments of cavalry, under General Fraser, toattack Holkar's infantry and artillery; which had retired into thedominions of the Rajah of Bhurtpoor who, although he had been thefirst to enter into alliance with the British, after the capture ofAgra, had now declared against them. They had taken up a positionnear the rajah's fortress of Deeg, which was believed to beimpregnable.
Their position was a very strong one. An extensive morass and adeep tank covered their front. On their left was a fortifiedvillage; and on their right the fort of Deeg, which was supportedby several lines of batteries.
Harry had been directed to accompany General Fraser, and was totake with him Abdool's little troop, to serve as escort and furnishmessengers. Abdool--now in his new uniform--rode at its head,behind General Fraser's staff, as he reconnoitred the enemy'sposition; and felt no small pride in his changed position,especially as the British officers of the staff, all of whom hadheard of the manner in which he had brought about Harry's escape,took special notice of him; and on the march one or other had oftendropped behind to have a talk with him.
The next morning the British troops moved forward to the attack, intwo lines. The 76th Regiment rushed impetuously against thefortified village, and drove its defenders out at the point of thebayonet. A tremendous fire was at once opened by the batteriesbehind it but, without for a moment hesitating, the 76th chargedthem, and were speedily in the thick of their enemies. The 1stBengal European regiment, which followed, seeing them almostsurrounded, ran down to their assistance; and were followed by theSepoys; and Holkar's infantry, unable to resist the assault, fledto shelter of their next line of
guns.
General Fraser himself led the attack upon these. They were alsocarried; but the general fell, mortally wounded. Colonel Monson,who now succeeded to the command, reformed the troops--who were insome disorder, owing to the impetuosity of their charge--and ledthem forward again. Battery after battery was captured. Numbers ofHolkar's men tried to cross the morass, but sank in the mud andlost their lives. The rest took refuge under the walls of Deeg,whose guns at once opened fire upon their pursuers.
While the tide pressed forward, unchecked, the Mahratta horse hadridden down in the rear of the British; and had taken possession ofthe first line of batteries, and had turned their guns upon theirlate captors. The consequences would have been serious, had notCaptain Norford gathered together twenty-eight men of the 76thRegiment, and led them against the Mahratta horse. These, staggeredby the daring with which this handful of men advanced against them,fired a hasty volley and fled. Captain Norford was killed, but themen took possession of the guns; which the Mahrattas, thinking thatthe day was altogether lost, did not attempt to recapture.
As the fortress of Deeg was far too strong to be attacked by anyforce unprovided with siege guns, the British drew back, untilbeyond the range of its cannon; carrying off all the guns capturedin the batteries, eighty-seven in number. The total amount ofartillery employed against our troops was no less than one hundredand sixty guns. Our loss was naturally heavy, amounting to over sixhundred and forty killed and wounded; while that of the enemy wasestimated at two thousand killed, or smothered in the morass.
The force encamped beyond the reach of the guns of Deeg, awaitingorders from General Lake. The battle was scarcely over when ColonelMonson rode up to Harry, and said:
"It is of great importance that General Lake should receive thenews of our victory, as soon as possible. There is no one so wellfitted to carry it as you are. There will be no occasion fordisguise, this time; for Holkar's depredations must have excitedthe whole population against him. At the same time, you had bettertake your havildar and his troopers with you. It will commandrespect and, if you should come across any small body of Holkar'smarauders, I am sure that you will give a good account of them."
"Can you give me any indication as to where General Lake is likelyto be, at present, sir?"
"He marched from Shamsheer to Mahomedabad and, as he probably tookthe road through Sekerah, he no doubt settled accounts with thatrascally rajah. I understood, from him, that he suspected Holkarwould make for Sherdanah; as the Begum of that place has fivebattalions of drilled troops, and forty guns, which would be awelcome reinforcement. After that he will, of course, be guided byHolkar's movements.
"The reports of the peasantry lead me to believe that the enemy areadvancing in the direction of Furukabad. I should say that you hadbest cross the Jumna at Muttra, and ride to Alighur. In that wayyou will not be likely to meet Holkar's force; which must, atpresent, be beyond the Ganges."
Half an hour later, Harry started with his escort. He crossed theJumna at Muttra, and there learned that Holkar had, the nightbefore, arrived within twelve miles of the town; and was, as usual,destroying everything before him. Harry continued his course toCod, within a mile or two of Alighur, which he reached late in theevening.
The capture of the fort, believed to be impregnable, had had theeffect of producing so profound a respect for the British arms thatHarry, on his arrival, was received by the principal men of thetown; and a large house was placed at his disposal, for himself andhis escort. Supplies were at once furnished and, when a meal hadbeen eaten and the horses attended to, the troops lay down for thenight.
Harry had been informed that a horseman had brought in news thatthe British army had arrived at Bareilly. He started at daybreakand, late the next evening, after a ride of over one hundred miles,rode into Lord Lake's camp.
"What news do you bring?" the general asked, as he alighted fromhis horse.
"I have to report, sir, that on the 13th the force under GeneralFraser attacked the enemy, who were very strongly posted withingunshot of the fortress of Deeg. After hard fighting he completelydefeated them, captured eighty-seven of their guns, and drove themfrom under the guns of Deeg, which at once opened fire on us. Theenemy's loss was estimated at two thousand. Ours was not known,when I left the camp; but it was roughly estimated at over sixhundred in killed and wounded. Among the former, I regret to say,was General Fraser, who was mortally wounded by a cannon shot,while leading on his men."
"I am sorry to hear of his loss," General Lake said, "while therest of your news is satisfactory, indeed. Reports had reached methat the Rajah of Bhurtpoor had joined Holkar but, after cominginto Agra and begging that we would accept him as an ally, I haddifficulty in believing that he would have turned against us;especially as he must have known that, if Holkar was defeated, hewould have to bear the whole brunt of our anger--which he could nothope to escape, as his territory lies within two or three days'march of Agra."
The general called his staff, and told them of the brilliantvictory that had been won at Deeg. The news spread rapidly throughthe camp, and was greeted with enthusiastic cheers by the troops.In the meantime Lord Lake had entered his tent, and obtained fullparticulars of the battle.
"I was close to General Fraser when he was struck, sir," Harryconcluded. "He and his escort were with the cavalry, when itcharged the second line of their batteries. Five of the escort werekilled; and I may say that the others, led by their havildar, wereamong the first in at the guns."
"I have just received news," the general said, "that Holkar crossedthis morning, at Surajepoor; and was believed to be on his way toFurukabad. He is evidently on the march to Deeg and, if he joinshis troops there, they may attack Colonel Monson's force. ThereforeI intend to leave the tents and infantry to follow; and shall startat daybreak, with the cavalry and horse artillery; and hope toovertake him, especially as he has lately moved fast, and willprobably rest a day or two at Furukabad."
The next day the cavalry marched upwards of forty miles and, on thefollowing morning, continued their journey. They had fifty-eightmiles now before them. With occasional halts they marched all day,crossed the Ganges at Surajepoor, and pushed on until within a mileof Holkar's camp. Believing the British to be many miles away, noprecautions had been taken against surprise; and the firstintimation of an enemy being near at hand was the opening of fire,at daybreak, by Lord Lake's artillery into their camp--the gunsbeing posted so as to permit the British cavalry to attack, withoutcoming across the line of fire.
Round after round of grape was poured into the camp; and then theguns ceased firing, as the six regiments of cavalry dashed in amongthe panic-stricken enemy. Scarcely any resistance was attemptedand, in a few minutes, the ground was strewn with dead. Holkar hadmounted and ridden off, with a portion of his cavalry, before ourmen entered the camp; and did not draw rein until he reachedCaline, eighteen miles distant. His troops fled in all directions,hotly pursued by the cavalry, for twelve miles; great numbers beingovertaken and cut down. The cavalry halted from sheer fatigue,having performed the almost unparalleled march of seventy milessince their last halting place; an exploit rendered all the morewonderful by the fact that they had made a march of three hundredand fifty miles in the preceding fortnight.
Their loss, in the action, was only two killed and twenty wounded.Holkar's loss was estimated at three thousand killed on the field;and half of his cavalry, which was previously sixty thousandstrong, were now but scattered fugitives.
That day three royal salutes were fired, for as many victories;namely, that at Furukabad, that at Deeg, and the capture ofShaddone--the last of Holkar's fortresses in the south--by ColonelWallis. As was expected, Holkar and his cavalry, as soon as theyrecovered from their panic, rode to Deeg and joined the remains ofthe infantry and artillery there.
General Lake remained a day or two, to rest the troops after theirexertions. The brigade of infantry that, had been left behind whenthe cavalry started on their last march, had been ordered to moverapidly down
to Agra; and to escort thence the heavy guns thatwould be required for the siege of Deeg and, on the 1st ofDecember, General Lake joined the force near that fortress. Thebattering train arrived from Agra on the 12th, and the trencheswere opened on the following day.
In point of territory, the country ruled over by the Rajah ofBhurtpoor was a comparatively small one. It was inhabited by apeople called Jats, who differed in many respects from thecommunities round them. They were hardy, industrious, and brave;and had, at one time, taken a prominent share in the wars of thatpart of India, and had been masters of Agra. They had lost thecity, however, in 1774; and with it a considerable portion of theirterritory. Under the present rajah, however, they had regained someof their lost ground and, on his entering into an alliance with theBritish, he had received a considerable increase of territory.
In these circumstances the defection was wholly unexpected. Therajah had a standing army of six thousand men; and could, on anemergency, place fifty thousand in the field. Nevertheless, seeinghow other very much more powerful native princes had been unable towithstand the British arms, his conduct was not only ungrateful andtreacherous, but wholly unaccountable.
It was necessary for the army to move forward to Deeg with greatcircumspection. Holkar's cavalry constantly hovered round them, andthey had to protect an enormous train conveying the siegeappliances and provisions for the force. In view of thecomparatively small equipage now deemed sufficient, in native warsin India, the size of that which accompanied Lord Lake's army, onthis occasion, appears prodigious. The followers were estimated atnot less than sixty thousand. Besides elephants and camels, ahundred thousand bullocks were employed on preparations for anadvance into the town.
But, during the night, Holkar and the garrison of Deeg retired, andmade for Bhurtpoor. On the morning of the 25th, therefore, theBritish took unopposed possession of Deeg; capturing, there and inthe batteries outside, a hundred guns. A week later, General Lakemoved forward to Bhurtpoor. Holkar, as before, had not entered thetown; but had formed a camp a few miles distant. Here he was ableto maintain himself, for the Rajah of Bhurtpoor had called to hisassistance a great marauding leader, Ameer Khan, who was raiding inBundelcund; and also a leader named Bapeejee Scindia; and these,with the rajah's cavalry and that of Holkar, formed so powerful aforce that the British cavalry were fully occupied in keeping themat a distance from camp, and in protecting the convoy.
On the day of the arrival of the army before Bhurtpoor, Harry--whohad now been gazetted to the rank of major--was sent to Agra,thirty-four miles distant, with orders respecting a convoy that wasabout to be sent off from there. He was accompanied by Abdool andten troopers. At that time Ameer Khan had not appeared upon thescene, and it was not considered that there was any danger of thecommunications with Agra being interfered with.
Harry reached the city in the afternoon, and waited there untilfour o'clock next day; seeing that the preparations for the convoy,which was a very large one, were completed. It started at thathour, and was to get as far as possible by nightfall; so that itwould be able to reach the camp by the following evening. Afterseeing it in motion, Harry started with his escort for the rideback. He was some ten miles away from the convoy when night fell.Bhurtpoor, like Deeg, stood on a plain, surrounded by swamps andmorasses; the situation having been chosen from the difficultiesthese offered to the advance of an enemy.
After proceeding for five miles farther, Abdool, who was ridingwith Harry, said:
"I do not know, sahib, but it seems to me, by the sound of thehorses' hoofs, that we have left the track."
Harry called a halt; and Abdool dismounted, and found that hissuspicion was correct, and that they had certainly left the road.
"This is awkward," Harry said, "for we do not know how long it issince we left it, or whether it is to the right hand or left."
The night was indeed a very dark one, a mist almost covered thesky, and it was only occasionally that a star could be seen.
"We must go carefully, or we shall fall in one of these morasses."
Two troopers were sent off, one to the right, the other to theleft. One of them, when he had gone about a quarter of a mile, washeard to shout that he was fast in the morass. Abdool and four ofthe men rode to his assistance, and presently returned with him,having with the greatest difficulty extricated his horse. Nothinghad been heard of the other trooper. Again and again Harry shouted,but no reply came back. They waited half an hour, and thenconcluded that either the man, on his return, had missed his wayaltogether; or that he had fallen into a swamp, when they were toofar off to hear his voice, and had perished there.
Harry again gave the word for them to move on, this time at a walk.Abdool preceded them on foot. Presently he said:
"The ground is getting softer, sahib. I think that we areapproaching a swamp."
"We had better all dismount," Harry said, setting the example.
"Now, let each move in different directions, going very cautiously,and calling out if he comes upon soft ground."
He himself, with two of the troopers, remained with the horses. Oneafter another, the men came upon swampy ground; one only continuedto find it firm.
"I suppose that that is the way we came into it, Abdool," Harrysaid, as the others returned to the horses. "We must follow him,and will do it on foot. This is getting serious."
For a quarter of a mile, they kept on ground that was comparativelyfirm. Then the man ahead of them gave a sudden shout. He hadfallen, waist deep, into a little stream. He was soon hauled out.
"There is nothing to be done, Abdool, but to halt till morning. Letus go back, till we can find a piece of ground dry enough to liedown upon."
They had made, however, little progress when their feet began tosink up to the ankles.
"It is no use, Abdool. We have evidently lost our bearings,altogether. We must stay where we are till morning, or we shall gethelplessly bogged."
The hours passed slowly and painfully. From time to time, the menendeavoured to find firmer ground, but always without success; andit was with the deepest satisfaction that, at last, they saw thesky begin to lighten. Half an hour later, they were able to form anidea of their position.
They were far in what appeared to be a wide morass. There werepools of water in some places, and it seemed almost miraculous thatthey should have succeeded in so far entering the swamp where, evenby daylight, there scarcely seemed a yard of firm ground. Abdoolagain went ahead and, step by step, the little troop followed;frequently having to turn back again, on finding the line that theywere pursuing impassable.
They were still a hundred yards from what appeared to be solidground when they heard loud shouts and, looking round, saw somefifty horsemen skirting the edge of the morass. When they reachedthe point opposite to the little party, they dismounted and openedfire. One of the troopers fell dead, and several of the horses werehit.
"There is nothing for it but to surrender, Abdool," Harry said, assome of the troopers returned the fire.
The enemy rode off for a hundred yards; and then, leaving thehorses in charge of a few of their number, they returned to theedge of the morass, threw themselves down in the long coarse grass,and again opened fire. Two more of the troopers fell, at the firstdischarge. Harry drew out his handkerchief, and waved it.
Harry drew out his handkerchief, and waved it.]
"We will not surrender, if they are Holkar's men," he said toAbdool. "We should only be tortured, and then put to death. If theyare Bhurtpoor's men, we may have fair treatment."
Therefore, as soon as the enemy had stopped firing he shouted:
"Whose soldiers are you?"
"The Rajah of Bhurtpoor's," was shouted back.
"We will surrender, if you will swear to take us to Bhurtpoor andhand us over to the rajah. If you will not do so, we will defendourselves to the last."
A native officer stood up.
"Assuredly we will take you to the rajah. I swear it on my faith."
"Very well then, send a man
to guide us out of this place."
An order was given. One of the men went back and mounted his horse,and rode along by the edge of the morass for nearly half a mile.The others, more slowly, followed him.
"It is clear that this place in front of us is absolutelyimpassable," Harry said, "or they would never all move away."
"It is lucky that you have not got your favourite horse today,sir," Abdool said--for Harry had bought, from one of the cavalry, ahorse that had been captured from the Mahrattas, as one wasinsufficient for the work he had to do.
"I should be very glad, indeed, Abdool, if I thought that I waslikely to return to camp soon. But in such peril as this, it is buta small satisfaction to know that he is safe."
"What do you think of our chances, sahib?"
"I don't think the Rajah of Bhurtpoor will harm us. He must feelthat his situation is almost desperate, and it would put him beyondthe reach of pardon, if he were to massacre his prisoners."
The Jat had now dismounted, and could be seen making his waytowards them on foot; sometimes coming straight, but more oftenmaking long bends and turns. It was evident, by the absence of anyhesitation in his movements, that he was well acquainted with themorass.
"If that is the only way to us," Harry said, "it is marvellous,indeed, that we made our way so far."
"I think, sahib, that it was the instinct of the horses. I feltmine pull at the rein, as I was leading him, sometimes to the rightand sometimes to the left; and I always let him have his way,knowing that horses can see and smell better than we can and, as wewere all in single file, you followed without noticing the turns."
In ten minutes the man arrived. He spoke to Harry, but his languagediffered widely from either Mahratti or that spoken by the peopleof Bengal. However, he signed to the troopers to lay down theirarms and, when they had done so, started to rejoin the others; and,leading the horses, the party followed. The path was fairly firm,and Harry had no doubt that it was used by fowlers, in search ofthe game with which, at certain seasons of the year, the lakes andmorasses abounded.
When they arrived at the edge of the swamp, where the others wereawaiting them, Harry handed his sword to their leader. He and hisparty then mounted and, surrounded by the Jats, rode to Bhurtpoor.Their entrance was greeted with loud shouts and acclamations by thepopulace. Making their way straight through the town, which covereda large extent of ground, they reached the palace, a noble buildingbuilt upon a rock that rose abruptly from the plain. Ascending thesteep path leading to the gate, the party entered the courtyard.Here the captives remained in charge of the horsemen, while theleader went in to report to the rajah.
View of the Rajah's Palace, Bhurtpoor.]
Presently he came out, with four of the rajah's guard, and theseled Harry and Abdool into the audience chamber. The rajah, with anumber of personal attendants, entered and took his seat.
"You are an officer in the English army. What is your rank?" therajah said in Mahratti.
"I am a major."
"Of what regiment?"
"I am on the personal staff of the general."
"And this man?"
"He is a native officer, at present commanding a portion of thegeneral's escort."
"How was it that you were alone, last night?"
"I had ridden to Agra, the day before; and was too late, instarting back, to gain the camp before it was dark. I lost my wayand, finding that we were in the heart of the morass, we wereobliged to wait till morning."
"It is well that you did not try to get out. Had you done so, noneof you would be here now.
"You speak Mahratti like a native."
"I was some years at Poona and, as a child, had a Mahratta woman asa nurse, and learnt it from her."
The rajah was silent for a minute or two, then he asked:
"Does your general think that he is going to capture my town?"
"I do not know, but he is going to try."
"He will not succeed," the rajah said, positively. "We gave upDeeg, because we did not want a large force shut up there. Ourwalls are strong but, were they levelled to the ground, we wouldstill defend the place to the last."
"I am aware that your people are brave, Rajah. They fought well,indeed; and if Holkar's troops had fought as stoutly, the resultmight have been different."
The rajah again sat in thought for some time, then he said:
"I do not wish to treat you harshly. I can honour brave men, evenwhen they are enemies. You will have an apartment assigned to youhere, and be treated as my guest; only, do not venture to leave thepalace--at least, unless you leave it with me. There are many whohave lost friends at Deeg, many who may lose their lives beforeyour army retires, and I could not answer for your safety. Wouldyou like this native officer to be with you?"
"I should esteem it a great favour, Rajah. He has been with me forseveral years, and I regard him as a friend. Thank you, also, foryour courtesy to me."
"You will give your promise not to try to escape?"
As Harry believed that, in the course of a short time, the Britishwould be masters of the town, he assented without hesitation.
The rajah looked pleased.
"You need be under no uneasiness as to your troopers. They will, ofcourse, be in confinement but, beyond that, they shall have noreason to complain of their treatment."
The rajah said a few words to one of his attendants, who at oncemotioned to Harry and Abdool to follow him. Harry bowed to therajah and, with Abdool, followed the attendant. He was taken to acommodious chamber. The walls and divans were of white marble; andthe floor was paved with the same material, but in two colours. Theframework of the window was elaborately carved, and it was evidentthat the room was, at ordinary times, used as a guest chamber.
The attendant left them, for a few minutes.
"This is better than I had even hoped for, Abdool. There can be nodoubt that the rajah, though he put a good face on it, isdesperately anxious; and behaves to us in this way, in hopes thathe may finally obtain better terms than he otherwise would do, byhis good treatment of us."
"He looks honest and straightforward, sahib. 'Tis strange that heshould have behaved so treacherously, just after the Company hadgranted him an increase of territory."
"We must make some allowances for him. No doubt, like all theIndian princes we have had to do with, he is ready to join thestrongest side. He heard that Holkar was coming down with animmense army, and believed that we should not be able to withstandhim. In that case he, as our ally, would share in our misfortunes.His territories would be ravaged; and he himself killed or takenback, as a prisoner, to the Deccan. He was probably hesitating,when the news came of Monson's disastrous retreat. This doubtlessconfirmed his opinion of Holkar's invincibility; and he determined,as the only way of saving himself, to declare for him."
The attendant now entered, with four men bearing cushions for thedivans and carpets for the floor, large ewers and basins, withsoft, embroidered towels, and a pile of rugs for beds. After he hadretired, Harry went to the window and looked out. Below was thecourtyard, and the room was on the first story.
"Well, if we are to be prisoners, Abdool, we could hardly wish tobe better suited. A fortnight's rest will do us no harm, for wehave been riding hard almost ever since we left Agra with Monson'sforce."
"It is well, sahib, that you were with us when we were captured.Had we been alone, we should have had no mercy. It is because therajah regards you as such a valuable prisoner that we have beenspared.
"If you had not given your promise, I think we might have made ourescape."
"We might have done so, Abdool; but if I had not given my promise,you may be sure that we should not have been lodged so comfortably."
Chapter 19: Bhurtpoor.
Half an hour later the attendant entered with two servants,carrying a large tray with a variety of dishes. After they hadeaten the meal, Harry proposed that they should go up to the top ofone of the central towers of the palace, to obtain a general viewof the country.
"It would be better to do that than to venture down into thecourtyard, at present, Abdool. The sight of our uniforms might giveoffence, as it would not be understood that we have the rajah'spermission to move about the palace. We must wait till the mancomes in with the tray. It is possible that he may understandenough Mahratti to make out what we want, and will show us the wayup.
"It would never do for us to try to ascend alone. We mightaccidentally open the door of the rajah's zenana, and then I doubtif even his desire to hold me as a hostage would suffice to saveour lives."
The attendant understood enough of Mahratti to make out theirrequest, and offered at once to accompany them. They ascendednumerous staircases until, at last, they reached the flat roof ofthe palace; above which rose three round towers, surmounted bydomes. The highest of these had a gallery running round it, a fewfeet below the dome.
The attendant led the way to this and, on reaching the gallery,they found that it commanded a very wide view over the flatcountry. The town itself covered a considerable space, the wallsbeing eight miles in circumference. At the eastern end the fort, asquare and solid edifice, was built on ground somewhat higher thanthe town. It had bastions and flanking towers and, as had beenlearned from prisoners taken at Deeg, it had a moat much wider anddeeper than that which ran round the town walls. It was builtwithin these, one side of the square looking across the country,while the other three were inside. Although the houses were for themost part scattered, the town had a picturesque appearance, fromthe number of trees growing within it.
Towards the northeast the fort of Deeg could be clearly seen and,to the southwest, the mosques and fort of Agra were faintly visiblein the clear air. At a distance of a mile and a half from the citywas the British camp, with its white tents; and an irregular blackmass marked the low shelters of the camp followers and the enormousconcourse of draught animals.
It certainly seemed a hazardous enterprise for so small a number oftroops to attack such a large and populous town, stronglyfortified, and held by a brave people. Harry remarked on this toAbdool, but the latter said, confidently:
"They cannot stand against the English, sahib. General Lake hasalways been victorious."
"He has so, Abdool, and that is one of the reasons why I do notfeel so certain of his success as I did. He has never yetundertaken a siege, and his impetuosity and confidence in histroops may lead him to make an attack with insufficient numbers,and before it is really practicable. I do not think that this townis to be taken by storm, and I doubt whether Lord Lake will becontent to wait for regular siege operations, before he tries anassault.
"Look over there, towards Agra. If I am not mistaken, there is alarge body of cavalry out there. They are certainly not our men,they are too much mixed up for that. Possibly the rajah may haveobtained the aid of a band of Pindarees, or of some other irregulartroops; at any rate, it will give trouble to the convoy we leftyesterday."
He looked at the camp again.
"There is a stir in the valley, and it looks as if they had heardof that force out there, and are about to start to attack it."
Three regiments of cavalry set out. As they were getting ready, twohorsemen could be seen to ride off, at a gallop, from a group oftrees half a mile from the camp. As soon as they approached themass of horsemen in the distance, they turned and rode off at fullspeed.
"They have evidently no idea of fighting, today, whoever they are.We may as well go down again, Abdool. This is a grand lookout; andwe shall, at any rate, get a general idea of the direction in whichthe attack will be made."
Two days later they were able, from their lookout, to see thatbodies of men came and went between the camp and a group of trees,halfway between it and the town.
"I expect that they are establishing a battery among those trees,"Harry said, "and it will not be long before the affair begins."
The next morning, six eighteen-pounders opened fire from the woodand, in the afternoon, another battery of eight mortars beganthrowing shells into the town. The guns on the walls answered, anda brisk fire was kept up, for the next ten days. During this timeseveral breaches had been effected in the wall, near the southeastangle, but the defenders had fixed strong wooden stockades in thedebris every night, so that no attack could be made. In order toprevent this being done with the last-made breach, it wasdetermined to assault at once.
The two prisoners had not had the lookout gallery to themselves.Some of the rajah's officers were constantly there, and anymovement of troops was at once reported by them. The rajah himselfhad, twice or thrice, come up for a short time to watch theoperations; and had, on each occasion, talked for some minutes withHarry.
"Your people will be mad, if they try to attack us through thatsmall hole in the wall," he said, on the afternoon of the 14th."Were they to level a quarter of a mile of the wall, they mighthave some chance, though I doubt whether they would ever get afooting at the top; but with all my soldiers ready to defend thatsmall opening, and with thirty or forty guns to fire at your peopleas they advance, it is as ridiculous as if ten men should attemptto take this palace. What do you think?"
"I cannot say, Rajah. From here I am unable to see what is takingplace at the walls, nor how wide is the breach you speak of, norhow deep the ditch beyond; therefore I can give no opinion."
"The English are brave fighters," the rajah said. "They have takenplaces in a few hours that seemed impregnable, but they cannotperform impossibilities. Our walls are defended by forty thousandmen and--although in the open field I do not say that you might notdefeat us, seeing how your troops are disciplined, while with useach man fights for himself--when it is a question of holding awall or defending a breach, I can trust my soldiers. We are twiceas numerous. We have heavier guns, and more of them, than you haveand, as I told you, the English will never get into Bhurtpoor."
At seven o'clock in the evening, a deep and almost continuous roarof guns broke out.
"The assault has begun!" Harry exclaimed. "We shall not see much,but we may get some idea as to how things are going from thelookout."
It was too dark for the movements of troops to be seen, but thequick flashes of the guns on either side, and a play of flickeringfire along the top of the wall showed that the storming party wasapproaching. The attack was made in three parties: one advancedagainst a battery which the defenders had established outside thewalls, at a spot where its fire would take in flank any forceadvancing against the point towards which the fire of the Englishguns had been directed; another was to attempt a gateway near thebreach; while the central column, consisting of five hundredEuropeans and a battalion of Sepoys, was to attack the breachitself.
For a time the roar of firing was incessant. The alarm had beengiven as soon as the British columns advanced from the wood.Notwithstanding this, the right column advanced straight againstthe battery, captured it, and spiked the guns. The left column, asit approached the gate, came upon a deep cut filled with water and,having no means of crossing this, they moved to the support of theforce attacking the breach. This had been greatly delayed. Theground to be crossed was swampy, with many pools and, in thedarkness, numbers lost their way, and the force arrived at thepoint of attack in great confusion.
A small party of twenty-three men only--of the 22nd Regiment, underLieutenant Manser--who formed the forlorn hope, crossed the ditch,breast high in water, and mounted the breach. In the confusion thatreigned among the troops, some of the officers had lost their way,and there was no one to assume the command or to give orders; andLieutenant Manser, finding that he was unsupported, and could notwith a handful of men attempt to attack either of the bastions,from which a terrible fire was being maintained, made the men sitdown and shelter themselves as well as they could, in the debris ofthe breach; while he himself recrossed the ditch to summon up thesupport. In this he failed. All order was lost, and the men whoformed the forlorn hope were at last called back, and the wholeforce retired, suffering heavily from the terrible fire to whichthey were exposed. Eighty-five
were killed and three hundred andseventy-one wounded.
A more deplorable and ill-managed assault was never made by Britishtroops. As Harry had thought possible, Lord Lake had treated thecapture of Bhurtpoor as if it had been but a little hill fort. Hehad made no attempt to carry out regular siege operations but,trusting to the valour of his troops, had sent them across aconsiderable distance of plain swept by the enemy's fire, toassault a breach defended by some of the bravest tribesmen ofIndia; and had not even issued commands which would have ensuredorder and cohesion in the attack.
The lesson that had been taught was not sufficiently taken toheart. Some more batteries were placed in position and, on the16th, opened a heavy fire against the wall on the left of theformer breach, which had been repaired during the two nightsfollowing its successful defence. So heavy was the fire from thenew batteries that another breach was made in the course of a fewhours. The Jats stockaded it during the night, but the timbers weresoon knocked to fragments and, for five days, a continuouscannonade was maintained and a large breach formed.
It was necessary to find out how wide the ditch was, and threenative cavalry and three British troopers, all dressed as natives,suddenly dashed out of the camp. At a short distance behind them anumber of Sepoys ran out, as if in pursuit, discharging theirmuskets as they did so. Just as the six horsemen arrived at theditch, two of the troopers' chargers were made to fall. The nativehavildar shouted to the soldiers on the wall to save them from theaccursed feringhees, and show them the nearest entrance to thecity. The soldiers pointed to a gate near the breach and, as soonas the men had again mounted, the havildar rode with them along theditch, and made the necessary observations.
Then they put spurs to their horses, and rode off--the Jats, onseeing that they had been deceived, opening upon them withmusketry. Their excitement and fury, however, disturbed their aim,and the six horsemen rode into camp unhurt, and reported that theditch was not very wide, and that it did not seem to be very deep.
Portable bridges were at once constructed. These were to be carriedby picked men, who were instructed in the best method of pushingthem over the ditch. To prevent the recurrence of the confusionthat had been, before, caused by the assault in the dark, it wasdetermined that it should be made in daylight and, on the followingafternoon, the storming party moved forward. It consisted of fourhundred and twenty men from the European regiments, supported bythe rest of those troops, and three battalions of native infantry.Colonel Macrae was in command. The whole of the batteries openedfire, to cover the movement and keep down that of the besieged.
On arriving at the ditch, it was found that the portable bridgescould not be thrown across as, during the night, the garrison haddammed up the moat below the breach and turned a quantity of waterinto it, thus doubling both its width and depth. A few gallantfellows jumped in, swam across, and climbed the breach; but therewere few capable of performing this feat, encumbered by theirmuskets and ammunition; and Colonel Macrae, seeing the impossibilityof succeeding, called them back, and retired under a tremendous firefrom the bastions and walls.
This assault was even more disastrous than the last, for the lossin killed and wounded amounted to nearly six hundred. Harry wasdeeply disappointed at these reverses, which the rajah himself,with great glee, reported to him with full details.
There had been other fighting: two British convoys on their wayfrom Agra had been attacked by the horsemen of Ameer Khan, Holkar,and the rajah. The first might have been successful, for the twelvehundred bullocks were escorted by only fourteen hundred men; andthese, although they might have defended themselves successfully,were unable to keep the convoy together. The animals, excited bythe firing, were rushing off in all directions when, fortunately, abody of our cavalry which had been sent out to meet the convoyarrived, and drove off the enemy with a loss of six hundred men.
The next morning a general movement could be seen in the Britishcamp. The rajah, who was immediately informed of it, came up to thelookout.
"The English general has given it up as hopeless," he said. "Theyare about to march away."
"It looks like it, Rajah," Harry admitted, "but I should hardlyfancy that Lord Lake will take such a step. He has tried to takethe town by a sudden assault, and I think that he will not retreatuntil he has attempted to do so by a regular siege operation."
An hour later the whole of the tents had been pulled down and,presently, both the troops and the huge body of followers andcattle were in motion.
"They are not going to Agra," the rajah said, after watching themfor some time; "they must be going to march to the north."
Two hours later, the great procession had arrived at the north ofthe town. There they halted, and their long lines of tents began torise.
"They are going to try another point," the rajah exclaimed. "Trulythey are brave men, but they will be repulsed, as they werebefore."
"I fancy they will begin in another way, Rajah, and will makeregular approaches, so that they will not have to pass across theopen ground swept by your guns."
This indeed turned out to be the case. The trenches were at onceopened and, ere long, two batteries were established at a distanceof four hundred yards from the wall. Two days later another, stillnearer, opened fire and, by the 20th of February, the trenches hadbeen pressed forward to the edge of the ditch; and a mine sunk,with the intention of blowing up the counterscarp, and so partiallyfilling the ditch. The troops intended for the assault took theirplaces in the trenches at an early hour, so as to be ready toattack as soon as the repairs made by the garrison in the breachduring the night could be destroyed by the batteries.
The Jats, however, had been rendered so confident by their previoussuccesses that, during the night, they made a sally, crept into theadvanced trench--from which the workmen had been withdrawn--andstarted to demolish the mine and carry off the tools. As thestorming party moved down through the trenches the Jats--who hadmade the first sally--joined by a considerable number from thetown, rushed forward and attacked them; and inflicted considerableloss before they were repulsed. A portion of them, however, stillheld the advanced trench; and when the 75th and 76th, who were atthe head of the column, were ordered to dislodge them, theyhesitated.
The repulse of the former attacks had had its effect, and thetroops, believing that the enemy would have filled the mine withpowder, and would explode it as they advanced, refused to move. Theremaining men of the flank companies of the 22nd stepped forwardbut, as they were too few to attack so considerable a number of theenemy, the 12th and 15th Sepoy Regiments were called to the front,and these advanced gallantly.
The enemy were driven from the trench at the point of the bayonet.The ditch, however, had again been flooded, and was found to beimpassable; but there was a bastion to the right that had beendamaged by the breaching guns, and the troops at once made forthis. A few men of the 12th managed to climb up, and planted theflag of their regiment on it but, as only one could mount at atime, and the Jats were swarming down upon them, they wererecalled; and the force again drew off, having lost, in killed andwounded, nearly nine hundred men. Notwithstanding the terriblelosses that had been suffered, General Lake persevered in hisintention to carry the place at the point of the bayonet; and onthe following day the batteries opened their fire on the bastionthat had been nearly carried by the 12th Native Infantry.
The position had become serious. The cavalry had, a fortnight orthree weeks before, defeated those of the rajah and his allies withheavy loss, and brought in a convoy; and Ameer Khan, who had onlyjoined the Rajah of Bhurtpoor in the hope of plunder, had desertedhis ally and ridden off, with his following and a large body ofPindarees, with the intention of devastating and plundering thedistrict of Rohilcund. Three regiments of British cavalry, underGeneral Smith; and as many of native horse, with artillery,followed on his track and, after a pursuit of three weeks, at lastcame up with him, annihilated his infantry and captured his guns.His cavalry, however, for the most part escaped, as the horses ofthe pursuers were co
mpletely worn out.
They returned to the British camp, after more than a month'sabsence, from a chase extending over seven hundred miles.
Their absence had greatly increased the difficulties in the Britishcamp. Without their protection, the danger to which convoys wereexposed was great. Provisions were running short in camp, theammunition was almost exhausted, and numbers of the guns wererendered unserviceable. These circumstances afforded the onlyexcuse that can be made for a fresh attack upon Bhurtpoor.
It was even more disastrous than those which had preceded it. The75th and 76th Regiments, deeply ashamed of their conduct on thepreceding occasion, volunteered to a man; and they, with the otherEuropean regiments and five regiments of Sepoys, under the commandof Colonel Monson, moved out to the attack at three in theafternoon. Nothing could exceed the courage which they displayed,and their conduct rivalled that of the storming party at the siegeof Badajos; but they were fighting against impossibilities. Thebastion could not be climbed. Some of the soldiers drove theirbayonets into the wall, one above another, and attempted to climbup by these steps; but were knocked down by logs of wood, largeshot, and other missiles. Others attempted to get in by the shotholes that had been made, here and there; but as only one man couldenter at a time, they were killed before a footing could beobtained. All this time a terrible fire was maintained by the enemyagainst our men, showers of grape and musketry swept their lines,pots filled with gunpowder and other combustibles exploded amongthem, bales of cotton dipped in oil fell flaming in their midst.
For two hours the hopeless conflict was maintained. Then the orderwas given to retire, and the men fell back; having lost, in killedand wounded, nine hundred and eighty-seven of their comrades. Thusthe four assaults had cost the army three thousand two hundred andthree of its best soldiers. The force was still further weakened bya large number of deaths from dysentery and fever, the result ofthe miasma rising from the marshes.
The camp was now shifted to drier ground, to the northeast of thetown, the movement being harassed by the enemy's horse. The rajah,who had been jubilant over his success, looked grave when the newencampment was fixed.
"They have not done with me, yet," he said to Harry. "Why do theynot go, now they see that they cannot take the place?"
"Because were they to do so, Rajah, half India would be in armsagainst them in a fortnight. Never before, since we set foot inIndia, have such defeats been inflicted upon us; and Lord Lakecannot march away and so own himself entirely beaten. Never beforehas an English general out here so blundered.
"Still, although unable to take Bhurtpoor, General Lake knows wellenough that he can easily repulse all attacks on his camp. Heknows, too, that the greatest efforts will be made to send upreinforcements. Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta will all send everyavailable man and, ere long, his losses will be much more thancounterbalanced by the forces that will join him. We have, duringour history, suffered several disasters; but never one that has notbeen redeemed and revenged."
"Holkar was here, this morning," the rajah said, after a longsilence. "He came to congratulate me on our victory. After he haddone so, he asked that you and your troopers should be handed overto him. I need scarcely say that I refused. You were captured by mymen and, though I am in alliance with Holkar, I do not owe him anyfealty. It is I who have aided him, while he has given but littleassistance to me; and would, I am sure, ride away and leave me tomy fate, if he knew where to go to. But his country, his capital,and his forts are all in the hands of the English; and he staysnear here because it is, at present, the safest place for him."
On the 23rd of March, the British cavalry returned. For a month noattempt had been made to renew the siege, but the camp stillremained as a threat against Bhurtpoor, and the time had not beenlost. Convoys, escorted by strong parties of infantry, had come outfrom Agra. Supplies of all kinds, battering guns and ammunition,arrived almost daily. The armourers worked at the old guns, andmade them again fit for service; and everything showed that, whenthe attack was renewed, it would be much more formidable thanbefore.
The cavalry were given a few days' rest after their arrival but,before daybreak on the 29th, they moved out in hopes of surprisingHolkar. He had, however, scouts well posted far out; and heeffected his retreat with the loss, only, of some of his baggageanimals. He retired some miles to the southwest, and again pitchedhis camp.
On the 2nd of April the cavalry, with the horse artillery, againmoved out at midnight and, this time, came upon the enemyundiscovered; and before they had time to mount their horses, thecavalry charged them in front and on both flanks, while theartillery swept the camp with grape. Great numbers were slain, bothin Holkar's camp and in the pursuit, which was continued for eightmiles. The whole of the camp equipage, the greater portion of theguns, and the bazaars were captured and, during the next day ortwo, large bodies of Holkar's troops, considering his casehopeless, deserted him. When in his flight he crossed the Jumna, hehad but eight thousand horse, five thousand infantry, and thirtyguns; the remains of the great army with which he had crossed theriver, confident of victory, the year before.
On the following day Lord Lake, who had received considerablereinforcements, again moved his camp to the southeast of the city,and prepared to resume active operations against it. The rajah had,for some time, been in a despondent state and, the next morning, hecame alone to Harry's room.
"I want to have a talk with you," he said; and Abdool, seeing thatthe conversation was to be a private one, at once left the room.
"My friend," he said, "I have, for some time, felt that my causewas becoming hopeless. I have never supposed that, after failingfour times, and each with heavy loss, your people would continuethe siege. But I see now that I was wrong. We might repulse anotherattack, and another; but of what use would it be? Your people wouldonly become stronger, after each defeat.
"I see now that I have acted as one bereft of sense. I had noquarrel with the Company. They added to my territory, they hadpromised to defend me against all attacks but, when I heard thatHolkar was approaching with so vast an army, I thought that surelyhe would recapture Delhi, and drive you out of Agra, and perhapsdown to Calcutta; or that, after taking Agra, he would turn againstme. And so, foolish man that I was, I joined him.
"And now I would fain make peace, and I pray you to go to yourgeneral, and ask what terms he will grant. They may be hard, but Iam in no position to stand out. Ameer Khan has been chased androuted, Holkar is little better than a fugitive, and owns only hishorse and saddle. There is no one to whom I can look for aid. I putmyself in the English general's hands."
"I will willingly go, Rajah. No doubt it has been supposed, forweeks, that I and my escort have perished. And when the generalhears of the kind treatment that we have received--a treatment sodifferent from that we should have met with, had we fallen into thehands of Holkar--it will, I feel certain, have an effect on theterms that he will lay down."
Harry had, each day, paid a visit to the troopers, who wereconfined in a large airy room opening into the courtyard. They hadbeen well fed, and had been permitted to go out into the open air,for several hours a day, and to mingle freely with the Jatsoldiers. Half an hour after his interview with the rajah Harrywent down there. To his surprise, he found Abdool and the troopersall mounted, as well as a party of the rajah's own guard.
Before leaving, the rajah had returned his sword to him. As he rodethrough the streets, followed by his own troopers and with therajah's guard riding ahead, the people looked on with curiosity,but evinced no animosity against him. Successful as had been thedefence, the fact that the British had received great convoys andreinforcements had caused a feeling of apprehension as to the finalresult. Food, too, was becoming very scarce for, although smallquantities were brought in by the side opposite to that occupied bythe camp, this was altogether insufficient for the needs of a largepopulation, swollen by the fighting men of the whole country.
Even these supplies had ceased, since the return of the Britishcavalry and
the rout of Holkar, and the fighting men were losingheart. Their losses had been small, in comparison with those of thebesiegers; but the defeat of Holkar impressed all with the fearthat the British must, in the end, triumph. They had already donemore than any who had tried to stem the tide of the British power.They had repulsed them four times, and their defence would be thesubject of admiration for all the native peoples of India.Therefore, when it was known that the captured English officer wasleaving the town, with his troopers, the idea that the end was nearcaused general satisfaction.
Harry left the town by the gate nearest to the British encampment.The rajah's guard still accompanied him, but halted halfway betweenthe walls and the camp; and there dismounted, the officer incommand telling Harry that his orders were to wait until hisreturn. Numbers of the soldiers had gathered at the edge of thecamp, on seeing the party riding towards it; and when the guardfell back, and Harry with his troop approached, and it was seenthat it was a British officer with an escort of native cavalry, aloud cheer broke out.
Most of the soldiers knew Harry by sight, and all had heard of hisbeing missing with his escort and, as the time had passed withoutany news of him arriving, it was supposed that all had been killedby the horsemen of Ameer Khan or Holkar. Many of the men of the 5thNative Cavalry were in the crowd, and these shouted welcomes totheir comrades; while several English officers ran up and shookHarry by the hand.
"I have been a prisoner in Bhurtpoor," he said, in answer to thequestions. "I have been extremely well treated, but I cannot tellyou more now. I am here on a mission to the general."
Curious to ascertain the cause of the cheering, General Lakeappeared at the entrance of his tent, just as Harry rode up.
"Why, Major Lindsay," he exclaimed, "where did you spring from? Wehad all given you up as dead, long ago!"
"I have been in Bhurtpoor, sir, and am now here in the character ofthe rajah's ambassador."
"That is good news. But come in and tell me, first, aboutyourself."
Harry briefly related how they had lost their way in a morass, andhad been attacked in the morning; and that, finding it impossibleto make a way out, he had surrendered. He spoke in the warmestterms of the rajah's treatment of him and his followers.
"We were treated as guests, rather than prisoners, sir; and livedin a handsome room, got excellent food, and had the run of thepalace. Scarce a day passed on which I did not have a talk with therajah, himself."
"It is an exceptional case, indeed," the general said. "Had youfallen into Holkar's hands, or into those of Ameer Khan, verydifferent treatment would have awaited you. And now, what has therajah to say for himself?"
"His plea is, sir, that he believed Holkar's army would assuredlysweep us away; and that, in that case, he would have been attackedby him for having formed an alliance with us."
"His position was certainly an awkward one," the general said. "Andnow, what does he propose?"
"He does not propose anything, sir. He places himself in yourhands. He admits his faults; and is, as he may well be, heartilysorry for them. He believes that he might still defend his town forsome time but, his allies having been thrashed, he sees that, inthe end, he must be overpowered. He asks that you will formulateyour demands."
"Your news is very welcome, Major Lindsay; for indeed, I am asanxious to be off as the rajah can be to see me go. Scindia isgiving trouble again, and has written a letter couched in sucharrogant terms that it is virtually a declaration of war. I couldnot leave here until the town was captured; for it would haveseemed to all India that we had been defeated, and would have beena terrible blow to our prestige. Therefore, at all costs, I musthave taken the place. It will, however, be another fortnight beforewe shall be ready to recommence the siege.
"I do not wish to be hard on the rajah, and I know that theauthorities at Calcutta view the case in the light that he has putit, and are willing to believe that his turning against us was notan act of deliberate treachery, but a fear of Holkar.
"His treatment of you and your escort is, in itself, much in hisfavour. Of course in this, as in similar cases, we could deprivehim of his dominions, and send him a prisoner to a fortress; butthe Governor General is most anxious that this business should beconcluded. It has already cost us more men than we lost in theoverthrow of Tippoo's power. He has given me authority to negotiatea peace, if the rajah offers to surrender. He has named the terms,approximately; and the rajah's treatment of you will certainlyinduce me to minimize the demands, as far as possible, especiallyas it is most important that the force shall be availableelsewhere.
"Of course, the grant of territory made to him will be rescinded.In the second place, we must, until all the terms of the treaty arefulfilled, retain the fortress of Deeg, which we shall garrisonstrongly. The rajah must pay twenty lakhs of rupees towards ourexpenses. We shall not demand this at once, but three lakhs mustimmediately be paid. One of his sons must be given up to us, as ahostage for the fulfilment of the treaty. The rajah must also bindhimself not to enter into any communication with any princes, orchiefs, at war with us.
"I think that you will allow that those are not hard conditions."
"Certainly not, sir; and I have no doubt that the rajah will agreeto them, without hesitation."
"I will have a draft of the treaty drawn up, in half an hour,"General Lake said. "Of course, you will carry it back to therajah?"
"Certainly, sir. Fifty men of his bodyguard are waiting for me,halfway between the camp and the town."
Harry left the tent, and found the officers of the staff and manyothers waiting to welcome him back.
"They will all want to hear what you have to tell, Major," the headof the staff said. "You had best go into the mess tent, and hold adurbar."
The tent was soon filled with the officers, with the exception ofthe chief of the staff, who had been sent for by the general.
"In the first place, Lindsay," one of the officers said, "we takeit that you have come on a mission from the rajah. Does he mean tosurrender?"
"He is willing to surrender, if the terms are not too onerous."
The announcement was received with a loud cheer. There was not onepresent but believed that the next assault would be successful, butthe cost of the previous attacks had been so great that it wasbelieved the city would not be taken, unless with great slaughter.The unhealthiness of the country had told upon their spirits, evenmore than the repulses; and the news that they would soon be ableto march away created the deepest satisfaction.
"And now, for your own adventures, Lindsay."
"My adventures began and ended in a swamp. It was four o'clockbefore the convoy left Agra, and I then rode on fast till it wasnight, when I was still five or six miles from the camp. It waspitch dark, and we lost our way and, presently, found ourselves ina deep swamp, and could discover no way of getting out of it."
Then he told them of the attack; how they had been obliged tosurrender and had been guided out of the morass.
"When we reached the rajah's palace, all our troubles were ended. Ahandsome chamber was placed at my disposal, and the havildar of myescort was allowed to be with me. I was treated rather as anhonoured guest than as a prisoner. I lived on the fat of the land,and was permitted to wander about the palace, and spent most of mytime in the gallery round the highest tower, where I could see allthat was going on. The rajah himself was most kind to me, andenquired daily if my wants were supplied to my satisfaction. Hewould often come up to the gallery and chat with me, sometimes foran hour. The troopers, also, were all well treated."
"You have received a great deal of misplaced commiseration," one ofthe officers said. "We have all thought of you as having beentortured to death, either by Holkar or Ameer Khan; and now we findyou have been better housed and better fed than we have.
"And you are going back again, I suppose, with the chief's answer?"
"Yes; I must not tell you the conditions, but I think I can say itis certain that the rajah will not hesitate a moment in acceptingthem."<
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"Well, he deserves to be let off leniently, if only for histreatment of you and your men. It is a contrast, indeed, to whathas generally happened to officers who have fallen into the handsof any of these native princes."
There was a general talk until an aide-de-camp came in, and askedHarry to accompany him to the general's tent.
"There is the draft of the treaty," the latter said. "I hope thatthere will be no delay in returning a prompt answer. I want eitheryes or no. These Indian princes are adepts in the art of prolonginga negotiation. If you see that he has any disposition to do so, sayat once that I have told you that the terms I offer are final, andmust be accepted or rejected."
"Very well, sir. I hope to return with the answer tomorrow, early."
And, followed by his escort, Harry rode for the city. The rajah'sguard mounted, as soon as they saw him coming, and escorted him tothe palace. The street leading to it was now thronged with people,and it was evident to Harry that, among the great majority, therewas a feeling of hope that he was the bearer of acceptable terms;for among the poorer class the pressure of want was already severe.