Littell's Living Age/Volume 127/Issue 1634/The Dilemma - Part IX
THE DILEMMA.
CHAPTER XXIV.
The residency at Mustaphabad, which was now to become the scene of an eventful episode in the history of the Great Mutiny, stood, as has already been explained, in a park of about fifty acres, surrounded by a strong brick wall, stuccoed white, and about five feet high. On the east side this boundary was distant about a hundred and fifty yards from the house; and immediately within the wall, and exactly east of the main building, was Captain Sparrow's house — or, as it was generally called, the Lodge, — the wall at this point being indented, and projecting into the outer road, so that the back wall of the house was without the general line of the boundary wall. The carriage entrance was about fifty yards to the north of Sparrow's house. There was no gate here, but only an opening in the wall about twenty feet wide, whence the road led by a slight sweep up to the portico on the north side of the house; a rough barricade of carts and carriages removed from their axles had been placed in this gap. Fifty yards more to the north came the end wall of the stables, which ran along the enclosure, their back wall corresponding with it, the open front of the stalls facing the park. In continuation of the stables was the range of servants' huts, also running along the wall and extending up to the north-east corner of it. The north wall was distant about two hundred and fifty yards from the house, and three hundred yards long. The west wall met the north wall at an obtuse angle, and ran obliquely to meet the west end of the south wall, which latter was more than a quarter of a mile long, and nearly three hundred yards from the south side of the buildings. Thus three sides of the park boundary were parallel to the house, and the fourth inclined to it, — the whole enclosure forming a trapezoid, the triangular portion of which was occupied by the vegetable and fruit garden. This garden was separated from the lawn, at the distance of some fifty yards from the house, by a thick hedge. Outside the park wall on the east side ran the road from cantonments to the city, about three quarters of a mile off, traversing a plain on which stood the court-house, surrounded by a grove of scattered trees. Opposite Sparrow's house, on the other side of this road, was a village surrounded by a mud wall. On the other three sides the park was surrounded by fields, at this season bare of crops. A line of well-grown trees ran along the wall on all sides; the park itself was dotted with timber, and laid out with grass, the turf being at this season of the year as hard as the roads and of a bright red colour. The garden, on the west side of the park, was thickly planted with bushes and fruit-trees.
The building itself has already been described in general terms. It was a very large rectangular block, substantially built of brick without regard to economy in the thickness of the walls, stuccoed red outside, flat-roofed, one storey high, with the floor raised about five feet from the ground. The portico was on the north side, and from underneath it a flight of broad steps gave access to the house, the centre rooms of which consisted of an anteroom, dining-room, drawing-room, and billiard-room, leading in order from one to the other, all very lofty and spacious, and communicating by two large folding-doors in each wall. On the left or east of the landing-place was a sort of pantry and storeroom, used to heat the dishes brought from the distant cook-house before dinner; and on the right a guard-room, communicating with the top of the steps, and in which also was the staircase to the roof. Next to these four public rooms on the west side was a suite of four large rooms, used in ordinary times as the commissioner's private office and dressing-room, his wife's bedroom, her boudoir, and her maid's room, communicating with each other and with the public rooms by folding-doors. A similar suite of four rooms, one of which was used as an office and occasional dining-room, the other three being usually reserved for guests, was on the east side. Outside these two suites of rooms were wide and lofty verandas, supported on substantial pillars, extending along the east and west sides, and terminated by bathing-rooms which projected into them at the four corners. There was a similar veranda on the south, outside the billiard-room. Part of the middle of the east veranda was also occupied by bath-rooms attached to the guest-chambers. The centre rooms were somewhat higher than the outer, and were lighted when the doors were closed by rectangular clerestory windows. The outer rooms, again, were higher than the veranda, and were lighted in the same way.
South of the house, and about thirty yards from it, was the bath-house — a rectangular building containing a swimming-bath about thirty feet long by twenty broad, enclosed on all sides by a wide platform, raised a few inches above the level of the water. The roof was supported partly on pillars which ran round the edge of the bath, and externally by a wall resting on brick arches which extended round the building on the outer edge of the platform; the spaces between the arches had been filled up with a brick wall seven feet high for the sake of privacy, leaving the space above open for circulation of air. The bath was supplied with water from a well adjacent to it on the south, worked ordinarily by bullocks and a Persian wheel. The platform of the bath-house was four feet above the ground, and was approached by a flight of steps on its north side, opposite the billiard-room veranda.
Such was the building which was now to be defended. Large, airy, and massive, and standing in its own grounds at a distance from other houses, one better adapted for defence could not have been found in India; and although the additional works improvised in the emergency were of a very simple kind, consisting mainly of the sandbag wall, which, as already described, had been erected round the outer edge of the verandas, the building presented a formidable obstacle against the attack of any enemy unprovided with guns. This sandbag parapet had been made seven feet high, with loopholes at a height of six feet from the ground. The portico had been enclosed in the same way, and gave a partial flanking defence to the north side of the building, while on the south side a similar advantage was more effectually given by the detached bath-house. Here no sandbag parapet was needed, the building being surrounded externally by a bullet-proof wall to the height of seven feet, in which loopholes had now been driven, while a sandbag parapet, erected on the circular rim of the well attached to the bath, brought this all-important element of the supplies within the line of defence. A trench of communication had been dug between the two buildings, the earth from which had been thrown up as a parapet on either side, but progress had been slow in the hard soil, and the trench was but a shallow one, forming imperfect cover. An opening left in the rampart of the south veranda gave access to this trench, a lane of sandbags leading to it down the steps. The landing at the top of the north flight of steps was also protected by a parapet, so as to cover the entrance to the guard and store rooms, an opening being left to give access to the portico. This completed the defenders' works, save that such of the numerous massive folding-doors as were not needed for communication about the building, and which usually stood open (privacy being secured by light hanging screens and curtains), were closed for the occasion. The strength of the building as thus set out was evidenced by the cautious manner in which the assailants had begun their attack.
The persons who had taken refuge in the building, and composed its garrison, were as follows: —
1°. Falkland, Sparrow, and two East-Indian clerks belonging to the residency office. To these must be added the American missionary, Mr. Jabez P. Hodder. This gentleman had been deaf to all the entreaties made him on the outbreak to leave the mission-house, which was in the heart of the city, and his wife had refused to leave her husband; and they had held their ground at the mission until the émeute in the city of the day before, when some of his native catechists had carried him and his wife away, almost by force, till they fell in with Falkland's party returning from their fruitless errand, and committed the steadfast pair to his charge.
2°. Brigadier Polwheedle, Captain Buxey, and Major Peart from the cantonment staff, and a Mr. Layton, who kept a general store in cantonments.
3°. Major Dumble and eight officers 76th N.I.
4°. Seven officers 80th N.I.
5°. Two officers 82d N.I., the survivors from the massacre of that regiment.
6°. Drs. Maxwell, residency surgeon, and Grumbull of the 76th N.I.
Total, thirty Europeans, of whom, however, the brigadier was not effective for work.
Of native combatants there were — the commissioner's jemadar. Ameer Khan, and four orderlies, and the seventeen faithful sepoys of the 76th, or twenty-two in all. Thus there were fifty-one effective combatants altogether.
Six of the commissioner's servants, including his old butler, were still present of those who had promised to stay, and one native groom had been retained in charge of the horses picketed under the portico.
The women were — Mrs. Falkland, Justine, Mrs. Polwheedle, Mrs. and Miss Peart, Mrs. Hodder, Mrs. O'Halloran, the newly-made widow of the unfortunate bazaar-sergeant, and Mrs. De Souza, the wife of one of Falkland's clerks. There were also Mrs. O'Halloran's two children. The only native female of the party was Olivia's ayah.
Altogether seventy souls were collected within the building.
Hitherto there had seemed to many of the European members of the community thus strangely collected together, a sort of unreality in the situation. They had heard of bloodshed and massacre in other places, but so far they had gone through no experience of actual violence. Even when they escaped from the cantonments, the flight took place at night; and although firing could be heard, they had seen no enemy, and were not actually molested. Since that time, although they had been huddled together in this enforced companionship, everything without had seemed perfectly quiet, and, save for their own disordered appearance, there was no sign of outrage or rebellion. Only last evening when they were strolling round the house in the dusk, to get a breath of fresh air, the park presented a scene of perfect peace and quiet, even the ordinary traffic on the road outside being suspended. Possibly, then, to some of the party it may have seemed as if either what had taken place in other parts of the country was a horrid dream, or else that a special good-fortune attended them, and that the worst in store for themselves would be the burden of a day or two passed in this way, in discomfort and on their guard, until the expected relief should arrive. But now, as the sound of rapid firing suddenly broke out around, and the quick patter of the bullets could be heard against the walls, the truth dawned upon these poor women that no special providence would shield them from the same horrors as had overtaken so many of their friends and fellow-countrywomen. For them, too, awful moments had come, when they were called on to face battle and murder and sudden death; and some of them, as they stood trembling in the great dining-room, might well think that the enemy were upon them, and their last moment had come, as they heard the tramp of feet hurrying up the stone stairs and into the outer hall.
It was the body of the garrison returning from the outside, and who now passed by them swiftly to reinforce their respective posts, giving as they went by in their excitement a hurried word or two of encouragement.
Every man's place had been assigned to him beforehand, and within a few seconds after the re-entry of the picket, the garrison was distributed in the appointed order, awaiting the attack.
The distribution of that force had been arranged as follows: —
The main guard of six Europeans and six sepoys was established in the portico under command of Captain Braddon. Major Passey commanded the bath-house picket, consisting of four Europeans and four natives. A party of four Europeans and three natives was posted in the east veranda, under Captain Underwood, the senior officer of the 80th; and another of the same strength, under Major Peart, in the west. Dumble, Buxey, and two other Europeans, with the two doctors and five sepoys, formed a reserve to reinforce whatever part might be necessary. This reserve was stationed in the anteroom or entrance-hall.
Yorke was attached to Falkland as his staff-officer, but his post when not required in that capacity was in the western veranda; and his heart beat high with excitement as he thought that his share in the struggle was, as it were, to guard Olivia's own room.
Falkland also kept his jemadar unattached, in personal attendance on himself.
CHAPTER XXV.
The different parties were now at their posts watching through their loopholes the fire of the enemy, which as yet had not been returned, for all that could be seen was the head and shoulders of an occasional sepoy, rising up for a moment from behind the wall to deliver his fire, and then crouching down again.
Meanwhile the ladies remained in the dining-room, where also was the brigadier on a sofa, in a state of expectancy. None of them felt as if the state of tension could last, or as if it were worth while moving from their places for the present. Thus they waited for the sound of the assault, which every moment they thought must be made. And here, surrounded by outer walls and the blockaded veranda, the firing made but little noise.
Presently there was a crash of glass from a picture-frame hanging against the wall. A bullet, aimed too high, passing over the sandbag rampart in the veranda, had come through the outer room and lodged in the dining-room wall, piercing the head of one of Landseer's stags on the way.
The ladies started up, all but Olivia, who kept her seat, though pale, and some one gave a little scream.
Just then Falkland looked into the room. "Ha," said he, "we forgot the pictures; we must have them down, or the place will be covered with broken glass. You are not frightened, my love, are you?" he said, taking the hand of Olivia, who had gone to meet him, between his own, and stroking it fondly, while he looked down on her with a gentle smile. "You see, as long as the bullets go up here, you are in no danger."
"Not afraid, except for you," she replied, laying her disengaged hand on his arm, while the large eyes looked up wistfully from the pale face. "Oh, Robert dear! pray be careful of yourself; Mr. Yorke has been telling me of the risk you ran just now. I don't want to be selfish, but think how much to all of us depends on you."
"Don't be alarmed, my child," said her husband, smiling again, and patting her on the shoulder; "it was necessary to show these scoundrels that we were not afraid of them; but now that we are all safe inside, I am going to set an example of caution to everybody."
"But cannot we women be of some use? It is dreadful being made to sit here doing nothing. Cannot we help to load your rifles, or something of that sort?"
"Better keep here awhile. I am in hopes the rogues will take themselves off in an hour or two, when they see there is nothing to be got by stopping."
"Hark! what is that?" cried Olivia, starting, as a sharp crack was heard outside.
"Our fellows opening fire," said her husband. "You will soon get accustomed to the noise. I have told them only to fire, sir," he continued, addressing the brigadier, "when they see a chance of doing execution; that is in accordance with your wishes, I believe:" and so saying, he hastened away.
Strict orders had been given to the garrison to be careful of their ammunition, which was limited, and not to fire unless with a chance of doing execution, and, so far, not a shot had been returned to the continued but harmless fusilade directed at the building. Some of the mutineers, emboldened at this, had jumped over the wall and taken shelter behind the trees, thus getting a few yards nearer to the building, from which position they could aim more leisurely.
"Here is a case within the colonel's orders," said Passey, who commanded the bath-house picket, as from a loophole in that building a sepoy could be seen distinctly reloading his musket, hidden by the trunk of the tree from the main building, but exposed to view from this projecting angle. "Now, M'Intyre, you are a dead hand at an antelope running, I know; see if you can't hit a pandy standing. Here's one of old Cunningham's Westley Richards; you shall have the first shot."
The subaltern, who was standing on an empty beer-chest placed against the wall, took the rifle which Passey handed to him, and aimed through a loophole, the others watching the result through other loopholes.
M'Intyre fired; the sepoy staggered and fell.
"Well done!" cried Passey, getting on the box to look out; "you have drawn first blood. The beggars will be a little more cautious about showing themselves now, I expect."
"That rifle shoots the least thing too high," said M'Intyre, returning the weapon, and resuming his own. "I aimed at the fellow's stomach, but I think I hit him through the heart. I'll try my own, next time, major, if you please."
"Here they come on our side," said Egan to Yorke, as the two, also mounted on empty boxes, stood looking through the loopholes of the west veranda.
"I see the bushes moving, but I can't see any fellows."
"You can hear them, at any rate," said the other, as the bullets lodged in the sandbags with a thud, or, passing over their heads, rattled against the back wall of the veranda.
Indeed, the garden seemed to be now full of men, who kept up a continuous but ill-directed fire against the building.
"The fellows fight more like red Indians than respectable sepoys," observed Mr. Egan; "however, they are sure to give us a chance before long."
Presently he fired. "Look here, Yorke!" he cried; "come here if you want to see one of the noble enemy. Do you see a pair of legs just by that plantain-tree? That's all I could see; but I aimed where I thought the body must be, and the legs haven't moved since. See, they are dragging the body away. I must have another go at them," and he fired again, and the shot appeared to take effect, for the dragging operation ceased.
Thus the affair went on, a scrambling fusilade kept up by the assailants, the garrison only returning the fire when there was a fair chance of doing execution. A man climbing over the wall too deliberately, fell headlong from the top under M'Intyre's unerring aim; and the same marksman had sent a shot into a group of men standing in the direction of the court-house, a distance of nearly four hundred yards, laying one low and dispersing the rest. Two or three of the party which now occupied Sparrow's house had been seen to fall; Braddon, from the main picket, had shot two. Yorke, also, had made his first hit: a man moving from one bush to another, musket in hand, stooping as he went, but still exposing himself, fell prone at Yorke's fire, and crawled away slowly, and the young man felt half savage and half sick at the result of his shot. His ideal of war had been associated with taking life in the abstract only, and the first actual taste of blood, albeit of a would-be murderer's, caused a sickening sensation, which, however, soon yielded to excitement, and the love of killing inherent in mankind. And now a couple of good shots sent up to the roof did some damage before the assailants in the garden, thus laid open to view, had time to withdraw more under cover. Altogether, when Falkland went the rounds, fifteen or sixteen of the enemy had been distinctly accounted for, but no one of the garrison had been touched.
These losses made the rebels more wary. The party which had occupied the garden retired to a safe distance, and the fire on all sides sensibly abated.
"I begin to feel like grub," said Mr. Egan to his comrades, after a time. "This is an exciting if not a very dangerous occupation, and makes one peckish, not to say thirsty. I feel as if I could dispose of any quantity of pegs if they were to be had. I wonder what time it is. By Jove!" he continued, pulling out his watch — "fancy, it's only eight o'clock!" And in truth, although the garrison seemed to have been undergoing an interminable siege, the day had scarcely begun.
Shortly after this, breakfast was served — tea, hot cakes of unleavened bread (the Indian chupattees), and stew with rice. The pantry by the portico served as the kitchen, and for occupation by the servants, while that opposite it was appropriated to the sepoys, who cooked for themselves. The flour and grain had been stored in the north-east spare room, while the commissioner's stock of sheep and poultry had been penned in a part of the platform of the bath-house. The ladies and the reserve took their meal in the dining-room; the different guards each furnished a detail of one of their number to receive their portion, except that stationed in the bath-house, which had been supplied with a day's provisions and a native servant to cook; for the trench leading to it afforded but imperfect cover, and Falkland would allow no one, except to convey orders, to go to and fro.
Various weak points in the sand-bag parapet had been discovered, especially where it joined the round pillars of the veranda, at which points two or three bullets had found entrance. These were made good, with eager zeal, and then the garrison awaited patiently the next movement of the enemy, one member of each picket, mounted on a box, keeping a lookout through a loophole, while the others sat, arms in hand, below.
As the sun mounted into the sky, the heat became fiercer than ever. The rainy season was approaching, and the high winds of the Indian summer had ceased, but not much air could find its way through the barrier, alhough many of the doors were open. In ordinary times it would have been declared impossible for Europeans to support such heat without punkahs, but now it was unnoticed. The ladies fanned themselves, the gentlemen wiped their faces. All were composed, but no one discussed the future.
The heat had the good effect of quieting the enemy. Towards noon the firing ceased entirely, and the first excitement of the defenders having passed over, they began to think about rest. A fourth part of each picket were allowed to leave their post at a time, to wash and dress; of the rest, a part were allowed to sleep in turn, which they did on cots brought into the verandas, or on blankets stretched on the pavement, while the remainder kept a look-out. But none of the enemy could be seen stirring. At one o'clock dinner was supplied, flour-cakes, and stew and rice as before, with a bottle of beer between every two persons. The sepoys, going off duty by turns, cooked their single meal of coarse wheat cakes, which they devoured in silence, sitting gravely on their hams and stripped to their waist, taking afterwards a long draught of water from the separate store they had previously themselves drawn from the well, for to drink water obtained in any other way would have been pollution; and then passing round the "hubble-bubble" or simple hookah for each to take a whiff.
Then Colonel Falkland, who had hardly had a minute's rest since the outbreak, fell asleep on a couch in the drawing-room, and slept till evening, his wife sitting by him and keeping the flies off his face with a brush of peacock's feathers; while Miss Peart took the children into a side-room to prevent their disturbing him, and made them some little rag dolls to play with — for poor Mrs. O'Halloran seemed bewildered with the situation, and sat, for the most part, fanning herself silently.
Towards evening the firing was suddenly resumed, waking Falkland and other sleepers. One of the bath-house guard had incautiously exposed himself in passing through the covered way, by standing on the edge of the trench to take a look at the situation, with the parapet scarcely covering his knees, and had drawn a fire which showed that the assailants were still in force; but it slackened after a few minutes, and then stopped.
At sunset another meal was served out.
"We have come out to see if we can get a little cool air," said Olivia, appearing with Miss Peart in the western veranda after the hasty meal was ended; for by this time the restrictions on the movements of the ladies had been tacitly abandoned, and they went about the building at pleasure: "these centre rooms are getting to be almost unbearable, and I think they are worse now than during the day, because one expects to be a little cooler in the evening."
"This veranda is hardly any better, I am afraid," said Yorke, rising from the empty beer-chest on which he had been sitting, and which did duty for a banquette, "for it has had all the afternoon sun upon it. Why not go on the top of the house for a bit, as soon as it is dark, and get some fresh air? You will be perfectly safe there, if you keep to the centre, and don't go near the edge."
"That would be nice, indeed; I will go and see if Colonel Falkland will allow it." And the ladies withdrew presently from Yorke's post, not to be seen again that evening, for the roof was found to be so cool by comparison, that Falkland had shawls and bedding taken up, and the ladies passed the night there, quite unnoticed by the enemy.
With many the coming darkness was looked forward to with dread, as the enemy might be expected to take advantage of it for a real attack; and the sense of security afforded by the strength of the position, and its easy defence during the day, was succeeded, as the shades of evening advanced, by a fear of danger from some unseen quarter. And Falkland, refreshed by sleep, went round the building at frequent intervals to see that the guards were all at their posts. When night came on, too, a supply of water had to be drawn for the next day, and carried in jars to the main building. The platform-well having been surrounded with sandbags, and thus, in fact, included in the bath-house defences, the garrison of that post could draw water unseen by the enemy at pleasure, but it could not be taken along the covered way in the daytime. The task of conveying the jars devolved on the reserve, Falkland standing the while outside the covered way, to note if any sounds could be heard indicating a night attack. But although a movement of men could be heard about Sparrow's house, both then and throughout the night, the enemy did not fire a shot, or attempt to disturb them, and hopes began to arise in the breasts of many, that the rebels meant to take themselves away.
"The fellows will be off to-morrow even if they don't go to-night," said the brigadier from his couch to every one who came near him, still bathing his eyes with a wet rag dipped in the basin of water beside him; "Falkland says they are sure to do so; and in any case, he says that relief is sure to arrive by morning. The cowardly fellows will sheer off when they see the gallant Sikhs marching down on them, I'll be bound." And indeed, in all hearts the hope was strong that the attack had ended with the first discomfiture of the mutineers; and as night wore on, those who were at liberty to take rest lay down to sleep off their anxiety, while those who were on duty remained calm and silent at their posts. No lights were allowed in the verandas; some lamps threw a dim illumination during the night over the large centre rooms.
"We are so much indebted to you, Mr. Yorke, for your happy suggestion," said Olivia, as the party were drinking tea next morning in the dining-room — a recreation in which Yorke, being off duty, was able to join; "I can't tell you what a comfortable night we passed on the roof; it was quite cool, and has completely invigorated me; and then whenever one awoke there were the stars shining overhead, and everything so peaceful, it was difficult sometimes to realize where we were. But it seemed very selfish to be lying there so comfortably, while all of you gentlemen were on the watch in the dreadful heat below."
"I am sure I could hardly sleep a wink for the hardness of the roof," said Mrs. Polwheedle; "and we pay for having been cool up there, by coming down into this dreadful close room. You people who have been here all night have no notion how awfully stuffy it feels after the fresh air."
As Mrs. Polwheedle had slept soundly during the greater part of the afternoon, it was not surprising that her night should have been wakeful; while it did also occur to Yorke that she of all the party should have had least cause to complain of the hardness of the pavement, in respect that nature had furnished her with an ample cushion; but he did not commit this repartee to words.
The party thus assembled, sitting in a circle at one end of the drawing-room round a small table on which the tea was placed, formed a curious contrast to the surroundings; for except that the room had not been dusted, that the picture-frames were piled on the piano, and various bundles lying about, it presented the ordinary aspect of a handsomely-furnished apartment; but the occupants were a strangely-assorted group. By general consent, coats and collars had been dispensed with by the men; and with several of the community a light under-waistcoat did duty for a shirt — the supply of the latter article of dress being very limited in the garrison — and with a pair of white or flannel trousers gave the wearer the appearance of a dirty racquet-player, while incipient beards added to the general seediness of aspect. All the men had their firearms beside them, or between their knees. The ladies generally did not look to much better advantage, although Olivia had somehow managed to make herself neat before descending; and her beautiful hair, coiled in neat folds round her stately head, was in contrast to the general slovenliness of the rest. Miss Peart, indeed, had washed her face before joining the party, and was clad in a clean muslin robe of her hostess; but as she sat in a low lounging-seat drinking her tea it was evident to the company that she had given up wearing stockings for the time; while Mrs. Polwheedle had apparently discarded stays and under-garments generally, as conducive to heat and supererogatory during siege-life, and sat fanning herself in a rocking-chair, clad in a crumpled wrapper which yielded to each impress of her ample figure.
CHAPTER XXVI.
The hope imparted to the garrison by the stillness of the night and early dawn, that their enemies might have abandoned the blockade, was dissipated with the return of daylight. The sepoy encampment was still standing pitched among the trees behind the court-house; large bodies of men were drawn up near that building, detachments from which could be seen from the look-out place on the roof to march down with a semblance of discipline to relieve the advanced pickets which lined the park walls; and about sunrise a lively fire began again, especially from the east wall and Sparrow's house, the roof of which was now discerned to be protected by a parapet of sandbags piled up during the night, in imitation of the defenders' method, while the doorways and veranda facing the park had been blocked in the same way; sandbag loopholes had also been made at various points along the top of the adjacent wall, so that the assailants were now on an equality as regards cover, and having apparently unlimited ammunition, they fired briskly, although with more care than on the previous day, evidently aiming at the loopholes of the garrison. The covered way to the bath-house was now completely commanded from the roof of Sparrow's house; and as Falkland passed along it to visit the guard there, attended by Yorke and the jemadar, the party had to run the gauntlet of a sharp fire.
"It's precious lucky, sir, there were no rifle companies among our three gallant regiments," said M'Intyre to the colonel, as a bullet, coming through a loophole from which he had just withdrawn, whizzed through the bath-house, and lodged in the wall on the other side, "or we should have a few more of these gentry."
"You're an awful dab at field-engineering and that sort of thing, Arty, I know," said Spragge, who had just entered the smaller building, bringing a bag of flour for the day's rations to his friend; "but you haven't made allowance for a fellow of my inches. Just look at this," he continued, holding up his pith helmet, in the top of which were a couple of round holes; "precious lucky my poor old nut was a little lower down, wasn't it? I don't want to give Johnny Raugh a step just yet."
"Pandy is quick to take a hint," said Falkland to his aide, "and we could not prevent their making sandbags, as long as there is any cloth left in the country. But we must try if we can't manage to control their spirits a bit." And returning to the main building, he collected about a dozen of the best shots on the east side, with orders to select each a loophole in Sparrow's house, and to aim carefully as soon as it should be occupied, and then sent Yorke to creep along the covered way, on his knees, holding up his hat on a stick just above cover. The ruse succeeded perfectly. In a few seconds the hat was observed; muskets protruded from every loophole on the other side, and a sharp fire was opened on the moving object. The riflemen fired in return, and as the fire of the enemy was immediately checked, some execution might be inferred; after this manœuvre the enemy became more cautious. Towards noon the dropping fire which followed this affair slackened, and was followed by a time of perfect quiet, as on the previous day.
The second day of the siege; and it seemed as if they had been shut up for a month. To the first excitement there now succeeded the monotonous discharge of the prescribed routine. The great event was to be off duty at meal-time, so as to be able to meet the delegates from other pickets, and compare notes. The ladies had now taken on themselves the office of bringing their meals to those on duty; and Yorke and the others in the west veranda had the happiness of receiving their plates of curry and damper from Olivia's hands, which the young man would fain have kissed with gratitude as he relieved them of their burden. Seen under the aspect of this crisis, she no longer seemed to be a wife. This must be a dream, thought the young man; she is more like an angel than a being of this world; no harm can come near her; and he felt quite happy at his post.
Most of the officers bathed in the bath, two at a time, and with orders not to splash or make a noise. The billiard-table also was frequented; and some cards had been hunted up, and a party sat down to whist. But the cards curled up with the heat, and got dirty and dusty, and the game soon dropped. Moreover, Olivia, remembering that her father had left some cheroots behind him — Falkland did not smoke — had unpacked and made over the precious windfall to Buxey, who had taken charge of the commissariat; and Buxey served out two cheroots a day to each person — a No. 2 after dinner, and a No. 1 in the evening. They were very good: and never were cigars more appreciated, or smoked more completely to the end.
By tacit, consent the question was avoided, how long the blockade would last, or what would be the end of it; but Buxey said there was a capital stock of provisions. No one, however, but Falkland knew what was the state of the ammunition. This was stored in an underground chamber, constructed by the architect of the residency as a retreat for the hot season, according to a mode of building not unfrequent in the early days of Anglo-Indians, but which had never been used for that purpose.
One thing especially which imparted spirit and confidence to the garrison was the bearing of the native portion of it. Falkland's determination to trust these men had been viewed by several with alarm in the beginning, lest the defence should be undermined by sudden treachery within. Captain Sparrow had been very free in his criticism to all who would listen to him on the foolhardy rashness of his chief; and Mrs. Polwheedle had tried in vain to persuade the brigadier to insist on the sepoys being kept together in the portico outside the building, instead of being distributed about it, and had spent a good deal of her time at first in watching their deportment. If a sepoy looked grave, he was meditating desertion; if he laughed — and most of them seemed now in capital spirits — he was chuckling over some plot in contemplation; a respectful bearing was set down to cringing, the crouching of the tiger before its spring; and if any one seemed more free in manner than usual, the villain was chuckling in his insolence over the prospect of having the sahibs in his power. But the most timid or suspicious could no longer withhold their confidence, on seeing how heartily their dark-coloured allies had thrown themselves into the spirit of the defence. Had the enemy been their bitterest natural foe instead of the comrades of a lifetime, they could not have shown a greater alacrity in the play of sharpshooting; the difficulty was to make them husband their ammunition. Two of the sepoys who proved to be good shots had been supplied with rifles, and Falkland's jemadar had come to be regarded as next to M'Intyre the marksman of the garrison. The six servants, too, did their duty with perfect sang froid; and the ayah was ready at all times to brush any lady's hair, as well as that of her mistress.
"Pandy seems to have had enough of it for the present," observed Braddon between the puffs of his cigar to the little party assembled that evening in the portico, which post he commanded; and as he spoke the silence was unbroken by any firing; nor, looking through the loopholes, was there an enemy to be seen in any direction.
"I calculate we have accounted for at least thirty of them," remarked Mr. Hodder, the missionary, who wore a black alpaca coat and trousers, as the symbol of his calling, but had been doing active duty as a sharpshooter, and now sat on a cot, smoking, with a repeating rifle on his knees; "say thirty, besides speculating on the parties who have not been marked down; at least as many more, I'll bet. The remainder perhaps have taken the hint and gone to their own place too."
"That still leaves two thousand nine hundred and seventy pandies unaccounted for," said Sparrow, who from the first had maintained a consistently doleful appearance, "besides all the blackguards in the city, whom the commissioner so wisely provided with arms two days ago. They won't be so easily choked off, take my word for it. This silence means some new mischief, you may depend."
"Well, sir," replied Hodder, a little sallow man with a clear eye, and a face smooth save for a small light beard, "and if they do try any of their tricks, the sooner they do it the better; I guess we are ready for them; we know a thing or two; and we shall give them a warm welcome, I expect." And Mr. Hodder tapped his repeater cheerfully, and indeed his remarks only reflected the spirits of the garrison. The ease with which the enemy had been kept at bay, and their own immunity from any loss so far, had given general confidence. Relief must come soon, and it would be easy to hold out for a long time in such a fortress as this, and against assailants so unenterprising.
As soon as it was dark the ladies again ascended to the roof, and the night passed away in perfect quiet, save that about one o'clock, as Falkland, who had got some sleep during the day, and spent the night on the alert, was going the round of the sentries, the officer who was posted in the covered way — a sentry had been stationed there each night, and the post was a favourite one, the open air being much cooler than the inside of the buildings — reported that he heard an unusual noise in the direction of the entrance-gate.
Falkland stopped to listen. There was certainly a sound as of the movement of men. He went to fetch Yorke and the jemadar, who were asleep in the west veranda, and they came back with him to the trench.
Putting their ears to the ground, they could distinctly hear the sound.
"They are doing something to the barricade," said the jemadar to his master in an undertone, in Hindustani; "shall I go and see what it is?"
For a moment Falkland hesitated. Could the man be intending treachery?
Yorke seemed to divine the colonel's thoughts, for he whispered, "May I go with him, sir?"
But Falkland at once cast the unworthy suspicion from him. And after all, if any native wanted to desert, nothing was easier at any time of the night. The man being told he might go, jumped over the low parapet, and disappeared in the darkness. In about five minutes he returned. He had been down nearly to the gateway. The barricade which closed the entrance there had been made of some carts and carriages, including Falkland's own barouche, taken off their axles and fastened together. Ameer Khan could not tell for certain what the enemy were about, but they appeared to be employed in removing it.
Then Yorke obtained leave to go down and reconnoitre. The enemy had no sentries, and were so busily engaged on their work that he got within a few yards of them without being perceived. There was no moon, but the night was not dark, and lying down he watched their proceedings for some minutes. He could just make out some figures at work, and could hear the grinding noise of something being dragged along the gravel. They were evidently removing the different obstacles which composed the barricade.
Looking round to his right the outline of Sparrow's house stood out against the sky. From where he lay it was almost in his rear; he had been so intent on watching the barricade during his advance that he had not thought about the house and its occupants, and he shuddered for the moment to think how easily he might have been seen by them, and his retreat cut off. To be killed in open fight was a fate he was ready enough to meet; but to be murdered out there, without help, and without being able to sell his life, and no one knowing what had become of him, — what a horrid fate that would be! But the place seemed perfectly quiet, and dismissing his nervous fears, the young man walked stealthily towards the building. No one was stirring, and he advanced as far as the wall of sandbags which the enemy had built up along the front of the house. This he found to be about ten feet distant from the edge of the veranda, and standing by the end of this rampart so that his body would not be distinguishable from it, he took a leisurely view of the place. The veranda seemed to be full of men, all fast asleep; others lay on the gravel path between it and the rampart, one of them, with a calico wrapper over his head and shoulders, so close that Yorke could have kicked him with his foot. After watching the scene for a few seconds, till even in the darkness the whole grew clear, he stole back to the covered way to tell Falkland, anxiously awaiting his return, what he had seen.