Through Three Campaigns: A Story of Chitral, Tirah and Ashanti, G. A. Henty [free e novels .txt] 📗

enable you to repay what you owe. But have you enough to carry you on till you hear from your agent?"

"Plenty, sir; I left all the money I did not care to carry about with me in the regimental till."

"Then I expect you will find it there still. I know that nothing has been done with it. A short time since, the paymaster was speaking to me about it, and asking me if I knew the address of any of your relations, or who was your agent at Calcutta. He said to me:

"'I shall wait a bit longer. Mr. Bullen turned up quite unexpectedly, once before and, though I fear there is not a shadow of chance that he will do so again, I will hold the money for a time. It is just possible that he is held as a hostage, in which case we shall probably hear of him, when the passes are open.'"

Lisle went to the paymaster's at once and, finding that he had not parted with the money, drew fifty pounds. He had no difficulty in buying the revolvers and cartridges; but was so completely at a loss as to the female garments, and the price he ought to pay, that he went back to the cantonment and asked two of the ladies to accompany him shopping. This they at once consented to do and, with their aid, he laid in a stock of female garments: silk for the chief's wife; and simpler, but good and useful materials--for the most part of bright colour--for the other women. These were all parcelled up in various bundles, and a looking glass inserted in each parcel. For the men he bought bright waistbands and long knives; and gave, in addition, a present in money to the men who had come down with him.

It was evening before the work was finished, and he then returned to mess with the regiment.

"I suppose you don't know yet whether you are coming back to us, Bullen?" the major said.

"No, sir, the general did not say; but for myself, I would very much rather join the regiment. Staff appointment sounds tempting, but I must say that I should greatly prefer regimental work; especially as I should be very much junior to the other officers of the staff, and should feel myself out of place among them."

"I have no doubt that you are right, in that respect; but staff appointments lead to promotion."

"I have no ambition for promotion, for the present, Major. I am already five or six up among the senior lieutenants, which is quite high enough for one of my age."

"Well, perhaps you are right. It is not a good thing for a young officer to be pushed on too fast, and another two or three years of regimental work will certainly do you no harm."

"I have not yet asked, Major, whether we are going up into the Tirah again, this spring?"

"I fancy not. Already several deputations have come in from the tribesmen, some of them bringing in the fines imposed upon them; and all seem to say that there is a general desire among the Afridis for peace, and that deputations from other tribes will shortly follow them."

"I am glad to hear it, sir," Lisle said. "I think I have had quite enough of hill fighting."

"I think we are all of the same opinion, Bullen. It is no joke fighting an enemy hidden behind rocks, armed with Lee-Metford rifles, and trained to shoot as well as a British marksman.

"The marching was even worse than the fighting. Passing a night on the snow, any number of thousand feet above the sea, is worse than either of them. No, I would rather go through a campaign against the Russians, than have anything more to do with the Tirah; though I must admit that, if we were to begin at once, we should not have snow to contend with.

"I have been through several campaigns, but the last was infinitely the hardest, and I have not the least desire to repeat it. Whether all the tribes choose to send in and accept our terms, or not, makes no very great difference; they have had such a sharp lesson that it will certainly be some time before they rise again in revolt. There may be an occasional cattle-lifting raid across the frontier, but one can put up with that; and it would be infinitely cheaper for Government to compensate the victims, than for us to get an army in motion again, to punish the thieves.

"Moreover, having once taught them that we are stronger than they, it would be a pity to weaken them still further for, if a Russian army were to try and force its way into India, these fellows would make it very hot for them. They are full of fight and, although they are independent of Afghanistan, and have no particular patriotic feeling, the thirst for plunder would bring them like bees round an invading army.

"No, the thing has been well done, but the expense has been enormous and the losses serious; and I trust that, at any rate as long as we are stationed in Northern India, things will be quiet."

Next morning Lisle went, early, to headquarters. He had to wait a little time before he could see the general. When he went in, General Lockhart said:

"Now about yourself, Mr. Bullen. Your place has, of course, been filled up; but I shall be glad to appoint you as extra aide-de-camp, if you wish. Would you rather be on staff duty, or rejoin your regiment?"

"If you give me the choice, sir, I would rather rejoin the regiment. Staff duty in war time is extremely interesting; but in peace time, I would rather be at work with the regiment.

"You see, sir, I am very young, and much younger than any of the staff; and I am sure that I should feel very much out of place."

"I agree with you," the general said, with a smile. "I think that you are wise to prefer regimental duty. I have written home, giving my account of your gallant action; telling how you were not, as reported, killed; and recommending you, in the strongest possible terms, for the V.C."

"I am greatly indebted to you, sir. I do not feel that I have done anything at all out of the way, and acted only on the impulse of the moment."

"You could not have done better, had you thought of it for an hour," the general said; "but as I also reported your defence of that hut, I have little doubt that you will get the well-earned V.C."

There was great satisfaction among the officers and the regiment, when Lisle told them of his interview with the general.

It was soon evident, from the sale of the transport animals, that the war was over; and the regiment shortly afterwards returned to their old quarters, at Rawal Pindi, and fell into the old routine of drill.

In the middle of the following summer Lisle, while fielding at cricket in a match with another regiment, suddenly staggered and fell. The surgeon, running up from the pavilion, pronounced it as a case of sunstroke. It was some time before he was conscious again.

"What has happened?" he asked.

"You have had a bad sunstroke," the surgeon said, "and I am going to send you home, as soon as you are able to travel. I shall apply for at least a year's leave for you, and I hope that, by the end of that time, you will be perfectly fit for work again; but certainly a period of rest, and the return to a temperate climate, is absolutely necessary for you."

Long before this, a despatch had been received from England bestowing the Victoria Cross upon Lisle. General Lockhart himself came down from Peshawar and fixed it to his breast, in presence of the whole regiment, drawn up in parade order. The outburst of cheering from the men told unmistakably how popular he was with them, and how they approved of the honour bestowed upon him.

The general dined at mess, and was pleased to see how popular the young officer was with his men. He himself proposed Lisle's health, and the latter was obliged to return thanks.

When he sat down, the general said:

"It is clear, Mr. Bullen, that you have more presence of mind, when engaged with the enemy, than you have when surrounded with friends. It can hardly be said that eloquence is your forte."

"No, sir," Lisle said, wiping the perspiration from his face, "I would rather go through eleven battles, than have to make another speech."

The application for sick leave was granted at once and, a fortnight later, Lisle took his place in the train for Calcutta. All the officers and their wives assembled to see him off.

"I hope," said the colonel, "you will come back in the course of a year, thoroughly restored to health. It is all in your favour that you have not been a drinking man; and the surgeon told me that he is convinced that the brain has suffered no serious injury, and that you will be on your feet again, and fit for any work, after the twelve months' leave. But, moderate as you always are, I should advise you to eschew altogether alcoholic liquids. Men who have never had a touch of sunstroke can drink them with impunity but, to a man who has had sunstroke, they are worse than poison."

"All right, Colonel! Nothing stronger than lemonade shall pass my lips."

And so, with the good wishes of his friends, Lisle started for Calcutta. Here he drew from his agents a sum which, he calculated, would last him for a year at home. To his great pleasure, on entering the train he met his friend Colonel Houghton.

"I have been thinking for some time, lad," he said, "of applying for a year's leave; which I have earned by twelve years' service out here. I was with the general when your application for leave arrived, and made up my mind to go home with you. I therefore telegraphed to Simla, and got leave at once; so I shall be able to look after you, on the voyage."

"It is very kind of you," Lisle said. "It will be a comfort, indeed, having a friend on board. My brain seems to be all right now, but my memory is very shaky. However, I hope that will be all right, too, by the time we arrive in England."

The presence of the colonel was indeed a great comfort to Lisle. The latter looked after him as a father might have done, placed his chair in the coolest spot to be found and, by relating to the other passengers the service by which Lisle had won the V.C., ensured their sympathy and kindness.

By the time the voyage was over, Lisle felt himself again. His brain had gradually cleared, and he could again remember the events of his life. He stayed three or four days at the hotel in London where the colonel put up; and then went down into the country, in response to an invitation from his aunt, which had been sent off as soon as she received a letter from him, announcing his arrival in England. His uncle's place was a quiet parsonage in Somersetshire, and the rest and quiet did him an immense deal of good.

At the end of three months' stay there, he left to see something of London and England, and travelled about for some months.

When the year was nearly up, and he was making his preparations to return to India, he received a summons to attend at the War Office. Wondering greatly what its purport could be, he called upon the adjutant general.

"How are you feeling, Mr. Bullen?" the latter asked.

"Perfectly well, sir, as well as I ever felt in my life."

"We are sending a few officers to aid Colonel Willcocks in effecting the relief of the party now besieged in Coomassie. Your record is an excellent one and, if you are willing and able to go, we shall be glad to include you in the number."

"I should like it very much. There is no chance, whatever, of active service in India; and I should be glad, indeed, to be at the front again, in different circumstances."

"Very well, Mr. Bullen, then you will sail on Tuesday next, in the steamer that leaves Liverpool on that day. You will have the local rank of captain, and will be in command of a company of Hausas."

Lisle had but a few preparations to make. He ordered, at once, a khaki uniform and pith helmet, and a supply of light shirts and underclothing. Then he ran down to Somersetshire to say goodbye to his uncle and aunt, and arrived in Liverpool on the Monday evening. Sleeping at the hotel at the station, he went on board the next morning.

Here he found half a dozen