Escott Lynn

“ They had read with moist eyes and kindly hearts the story of the heights of the Alma, of the valley of Balaclava. Their feelings had been wrung when they read of the thousands dying of cholera, of cold, of starvation, and of overwork before Sebastopol.
Their pulses had been quickened when they learned how the ragged, famished, disease-stricken handfuls had hurled back into the fog, whence they emerged, the thousands of the Czar, contending on the slopes of Inkermann from dawn almost till sunset, dying proudly—nay, joyously—where they stood, but never retreating. ”

“ Jack was conscious of a curious inability to move, of a sense of languor not altogether unpleasant. He seemed to have been asleep a long time, and to have been troubled with dreams—dreams of the cholera camp at Varna, of the death-ride in the North Valley, of the struggle in the fog at Inkermann, of Linham and Will and Pearson, of his mother and sisters. Strange people seemed to flit about in his dreams: the count, a white-haired old gentleman, a stately lady, and a young girl who looked at him always with anxious eyes. ”

“ Jack immediately took Linham into his confidence, and told him what he had learnt.
‘But I will not go without you,’ said Jack; ‘we have gone through too much together for me to desert you now.’
‘Ha, hum! Jack, you’re a fine fellow; you’re a—a—— Jim Linham, you’re a fool,’ he concluded.
Then in more husky tones he said, ‘Jack, you’ll go. I’m an old war-horse that it doesn’t matter a snap about. I don’t say much, but the wound in my leg troubles me a great deal. I fear I shall never do much more soldiering. ”

“ A soldier’s death is a glorious one, though many a life was thrown away to-day.’
‘How do you mean?’ asked Pearson.
‘Bad leading,’ said Linham solemnly; ‘we’ve been too long at peace. Our Generals are the bravest men on earth; but the way the poor Light Bobs were mishandled, charging up the hillside in a mob, and then left unsupported! Bah, we didn’t fight like that in India!’
Again there was a silence, so Sergeant Linham, knocking the ashes from his pipe, wrapped his cloak round him. ‘It would have been different if our old General that the colonel and I served under in India had been here. ”

“ Nothing, however, could daunt the British. A staff-officer, the impetuous Nolan, in his resplendent Hussar uniform, was seen to gallop along the lines of the Light Division, saying a few words to each commander. Then the regiments sprang to their feet—the 7th, 23rd, and 77th—dressed their ranks, and with a front of two miles and a depth of only two men marched grandly down the slope.
The cavalry gave them a tremendous cheer. But the light infantry made no sound; the joyous light of battle was in their eyes, their blood was aroused. ”

“ And, lastly, they had glowed with pride when they heard of the dogged pertinacity with which the handful of heroes, struggling against almost every evil to which an army is open, maintained that stubborn fight in the trenches, enduring without one word of complaint, facing with cheerfulness every danger, suffering privation in silence, meeting death and wounds before the enemy with a smile of contempt, or willingly yielding up their lives from sickness, because they held it was their duty. Every soldier had fulfilled his promise to Queen and Country. ”

“ Men, horses, wagons were all mixed up in an inextricable mass, and it was clear to Jack that the army beneath him was only a panic-stricken mob. Men could be seen using whips, officers the flats of their swords, while a confused murmur of voices ascended to the hills. Hundreds of Russians, throwing away the heaviest part of their kit, could be seen dashing into the river and wading across, joining their countrymen on the other side in their mad rush for Sebastopol. The Alma had been a terrible lesson! ”

“ Men in the blue and white of Lancer and Dragoon, in the laced pelisse and crimson overalls of the Hussars, lay scattered about in every conceivable attitude of agony and death. Shattered horses and mangled riders lay around. Some men were seen limping painfully, helped by comrades, some even crawling, over the ground strewn with headdresses and accoutrements. And while the enemy still plied them with shot and shell, Cossacks clung to them, spearing without mercy the stragglers, cutting down those who were too weak to move. ”

“ A great cry of ‘Vive l’Empereur!’ burst from the French, and Sergeant Barrymore ground his teeth in rage.
‘Confound those froggies!’ he cried savagely; ‘they want to be first in everything where they can make a bit of show; we shall see whether they’re as anxious to be first at the cannon’s mouth.’
Long before the French had hoisted their tricolour an English boatload of Fusiliers had landed, and the officer sprang ashore, waving his sword. ”

“ That night Jack dined for the first time in the officers’ mess, and as he entered in his sergeant’s uniform he received a magnificent reception.
They caught the night train, and at noon next day arrived in London. Jack did, indeed, stare with surprise at the handsome, elegant young ladies who stood beside his mother; he could hardly believe they were his sisters, so much had they altered, and they stared in surprise at the tall, broad, bronzed soldier, with the glittering medals and the incipient moustache. ”

“ Who the guilty party was Jack did not know; but he heard a voice, a rather shamefaced one, say, ‘It was done in the excitement of the moment, sergeant, and I noticed it directly I’d sounded. The calls are so much alike.’
Sergeant Linham blew down his nose furiously. ‘Not a word—not a word. How dare any trumpeter get excited, especially on such a paltry excuse as a field-day. By the Lord Harry, if the old 17th ever has to face an enemy in the field again, if it ever again hears the hum of bullets and sees the colour of a foeman’s eyes, what will happen to it? ”

“ Did we ever give you a wry word that you should have thought yourself compelled to take such a terrible step as this?’
‘It was because I knew you would do all this that I determined not to be a burden to you,’ said Jack. ‘I have got to make my own way in the world, and the sooner I begin the better. I would a thousand times rather be a soldier than a quill-driver.’
‘As an officer I should not have minded so much, but as a private soldier—no, it must not be. ”

“ Jack just had time to notice that he and Linham were the only two left of all who had been together a moment before; then they were in the smoke of the guns, past the gleaming brass muzzles, and in amongst the leather-helmeted artillerymen, cutting and thrusting with the anger of men who have seen their best comrades blown to pieces.
Jack found himself opposed to an immense, beetle-browed fellow, who aimed a blow at him with a rammer. Jack drew his pistol and immediately shot him through the head. ”

“ They had little time to consider the situation further; the Lancers came crashing in amongst them, unhorsing several and scattering the others. For a few moments there was a mêlée of stabbing lances, whirling swords and plunging horses.
Cornet Leland had ridden straight at a red-faced, snub-nosed officer, the red cord on whose coarse green uniform was edged with gold lace; but the fellow reined aside from the officer and faced the trumpeter. He made a point at Jack with his crooked sabre, but Jack parried the blade with ease. ”

“ Jack’s regiment was then in front, and round-shot and shell, to say nothing of musket-balls, began to whiz about them. The round-shot could be distinctly seen coming, and the men ducked as though to avoid them, though they often went twenty feet above their heads.
‘Don’t duck, boys—don’t duck,’ said Sergeant Linham, who sat apparently quite unconcerned, looking about him. ‘If a shot’s coming for you no amount of ducking will make it miss you, and in India it wasn’t considered the thing for men to bob about. ”

“ Jack joined the squad, mostly men of the Guards, who were going down to Balaclava for supplies; bearded, haggard-looking fellows, whose greatcoats were thick with successive layers of mud, and whose feet were almost bare, but in whose eyes burned that fierce, unquenchable light that spoke of a resolve to conquer or die. ”

“ Then those Cossacks who marched in rear of the wagons faced about, formed in double column, and prepared to receive their enemy. They fired a sputtering volley; but the bullets flew wide, and only one man and two horses were hit.
‘Gallop!’ shouted Cornet Leland, waving his sword; and Jack, who was just behind him, wheeled his horse to the right so as to come abreast of his officer.
Williams, who was riding behind Sergeant Barrymore, did the same, and so the front rank of four, two armed with swords, for Jack had drawn his, and two with lances, thundered down upon the Cossacks. ”

“ My brother is a colonel and holds an appointment at the Horse Guards. I shall write to him and beg of him to procure your discharge.’
‘Mother,’ said Jack firmly, ‘this you must not do. Ask no favours for me. It would cost a lot of money to buy me out, and I will not be beholden to those people who cast you off. Besides, I should be still in the same position; I should have no career before me. So, as I have chosen this life, I will stick to it.’
At tea-time Sergeant Barrymore assured Mrs Blair that her son had done nothing derogatory. ”

“ The Russians all carried carbines, and appeared to be waiting a signal to open fire.
‘Boys,’ said Sergeant Linham, ‘have your pistols ready. Remember the motto of the regiment, “Death or Glory!” These fellows may have our dead bodies; they mustn’t have our live ones. Ha, hum!’
The Russians with their carbines fired a few volleys at the door, the bullets coming through it. Then one fellow advanced with the key of the barn in his hand, his comrades, having drawn their swords, coming close behind him as though they intended rushing in as soon as the door was opened and slaying all within. ”

“ Captain Norreys, leaving a score of men to guard the forage left behind and to wait till their companions should return from the camp, then led the rest of his mixed force on an extended reconnaissance, being very anxious to see more of the country, and if possible to discover traces of the enemy.
Once or twice a fur-capped Cossack, sitting hunched up on his shaggy pony, the head of his lance glittering in the sun, was observed upon the heights in front; but at first sight of the gaily accoutred English light-horsemen he vanished as if by magic. ”

“ With a wild cheer a hundred of them dashed down, bayoneting the Russians; and, before the Coldstreams came up, for the seventh time the Sandbag Battery was retaken. Neither Jack nor Will had followed the impetuous sergeant; but they took part in the forward movement which presently set the Okhotsk and Selinghinsk battalions reeling down the hill. And so the fight went on; but slowly the force of thousands against hundreds began to tell, and though every man in the British force was a hero, he could not maintain for ever a struggle against odds ten to one. ”

“ The gallant pair had to lay down the wounded captain, and Jack picked up the carbine and pouch-belt of a Dragoon who lay dead at his feet.
‘Leave me, boys; leave me,’ moaned the wounded officer. ‘I must die.’
‘Then we’ll all die together,’ said Barrymore grimly; and Jack, raising his carbine, brought down a Cossack. He loaded quickly and fired again with equal success; then he and Barrymore stood, sword in hand, and for a few moments defended Captain Norreys from the Cossacks who circled round, making savage thrusts with their lances. ”

“ The soldier was a tall, fine, handsome-looking man, clad in white-striped blue overalls, and a dark-blue jacket with white cuffs and facings, on the arms of which several gold stripes betokened the wearer to be a non-commissioned officer. Worn on the stripes was a silver badge which attracted Jack’s attention. It was a grinning death’s-head standing above two crossed shin-bones. ”