G. A. Henty

“ The vessel brought up with less shock than could be expected. A wave or two passed under her, and still her cable held.
A gleam of hope began to reign, when a mountainous sea was seen, approaching. Higher and higher it rose and, just as it reached the ship, it curled over and crashed down upon her deck. The cables snapped like pack thread, and a cry of despair arose from the crew. The captain was calm and collected, and shouted orders for the jib to be again hoisted, and the helm put up; so as to run her, head first, on to the shore. ”

“ All along the line ahead, a scattered fire of musketry could be heard; as the villagers shot down the fugitives who, in hopes of finding water, straggled from the road. Sometimes sharp volleys rang out, as the troops stood at bay, and drove back the natives, when they pressed upon them. Several times the rear guard were hotly engaged as the Afghans--furious at seeing their prey slipping from their fingers--mustered and fell upon them; but each time they were repulsed, and the column held on its way. ”

“ Their soldiers will fight, but what can they do against an army? When the time comes, you must dress yourself in these clothes, and I will try to conceal you."
"But I cannot do that, Yossouf," Will said. "It is very good of you to try and aid me to escape; but I am a soldier, and must share the fortunes of my officers, whatever they may be. If they fight, I shall fight. If they are killed, I must be killed, too. I cannot run away and hide myself, when the danger comes."
The lad hung his head.
"Then Yossouf will die, too," he said quietly. "He will not leave his white friend." ”

“ As they approached, they opened fire on all sides; pressing chiefly towards the weak point, near the foot of the hills. But, tremendous as was the roar of the Afghan fire, it was drowned by the roll of musketry which broke from the whole circuit of the walls; where the British troops, rifle in hand, had been lying for three hours, waiting the attack. So terrible was the storm of lead that swept the plain that the Afghans paused, in their advance. ”

“ The Malays--who belonged to a hostile village--began to climb the ladders; when the lads, grasping the heavy sticks which they always carried, and springing to their feet with loud shouts, ran to the ladders, before the Malays could recover from their astonishment at the approach of the white-faced men, rushing upon them.
Half a dozen of the ladders were upset, the men who had mounted them coming heavily to the ground. Some of these, as they rose, at once took to their heels; others, drawing their krisses, rushed at their assailants. ”

“ There were four low tents, and a wagon stood near; a bony horse grazing on the common.
"Now," Captain Ripon said, "I am a magistrate, and I daresay you know what I have come for. My fowl house has been broken open, and some valuable fowls stolen.
"Now, policeman, look about, and see if you can find any traces of them."
The gypsies rose to their feet, with angry gestures.
"Why do you come to us?" one of the men said. "When a fowl is stolen you always suspect us, as if there were no other thieves in the world." ”

“ He was a little disappointed at finding that the skipper was, in dress and manner, in no way superior to the rest of the crew. The Kitty was a yawl of forty-five tons, deep in the water and broad in the beam. Her deck was dirty and, at present, in disorder; and she did not come up to the perfection of neatness and cleanliness which William Gale had read of, in the pages of his favorite author. However--as he told himself--there must, of course, be a good deal of difference between a man of war, where the crew have little to do but to keep things neat and bright, and a fishing smack. ”

“ And Colonel Ripon shook hands warmly with the young officer.
"I am glad to see that you are safe, sir," Will answered. "This has been a terrible day."
"It has, indeed," the colonel said, mournfully, "terrible! There has been nothing like it, since the retreat from Cabul in 1848. And how many of these poor fellows will reach Candahar, God only knows! The water bottles wore emptied, hours ago. The men are already exhausted with the long day's work, and parched with thirst; and we have fifty miles' tramp before us. Have you any wounded men here with you?" ”

“ William Gale asked the soldier next to him. "We are going right away from the pass, instead of towards it."
"So we are!" the soldier replied. "I am blest if I know what we are up to, and it's so precious dark that I can scarcely see the file before me. I hope we ain't going to fight in the dark, anyhow. What would be the good of being a marksman, when you cannot see the end of your own rifle, let alone the man you are firing at?"
"Oh! We can't be going to attack in the dark," Will said. "I expect we have got a long march before us; and are going to work round, somehow, and take them in rear." ”

“ She was therefore in the very center of the cyclone, and the strangely tossed sea was accounted for.
The motion of the ship was extraordinary. Sometimes she was thrown on one side, sometimes on the other. Mountains of water seemed to rise suddenly beside her, and tumbled in great green masses over the bulwarks. So wild and sudden were her movements that even the oldest sailors were unable to keep their feet; and all clung on to shrouds, or belaying pins. ”

“ Very steadily the 66th held their ground, in spite of a flanking fire of artillery and musketry. Every time the enemy gathered at the edge of the ravine, for a rush, the heavy fire of the company on the flank--which was wheeled back at a right angle to the line, so as to face them--drove them back to shelter again. The regiment had suffered very heavily. Still, the officers felt that they could endure, till nightfall.
Of victory, there was now no idea; for to conquer, men must act and, here, they were only called upon to suffer. ”

“ For six months they lived quietly in the Malay village. The people instructed them in the use of their blowguns, in which they are wonderfully skilful; being able to bring down a bird, sitting on a lofty bough of a tree, with almost an unerring accuracy. They also taught them to shoot with the bow and arrow, and they found that the natives used the roots of various kinds of plants for food. The time did not pass unpleasantly and, had they known that it would last but a few months, only, they would have enjoyed it much. ”

“ As he passed through the village, he saw the Highlanders coming along at a trot, half a mile further on; and was soon beside Colonel Brownlow, who commanded them.
"The enemy are pressing the cavalry back, sir," he said as, with difficulty, he pulled up his horse. "The general desires you to use the greatest possible speed, as every moment is precious."
Panting and out of breath as the Highlanders were, they responded to Colonel Brownlow's shout and, rushing forward almost at racing speed, reached the village while the Afghans were still 100 yards beyond it. ”

“ Mountaineers from their birth, they believed that--although the British infantry might possess a superiority in the plain--they could be no match for them on the steep hillside; and they no doubt thought that no attempt would be made to storm so strong a position, but that the British column would march straight up the valley into the defile, where they would be helplessly slaughtered by the guns and matchlock men on the heights. ”

“ Their history shows that defeat has little moral effect upon them. Crushed one day, they will rise again the next; scattered--it would seem hopelessly--they are ready to reassemble, and renew the conflict, at the first summons of their chiefs. Guided by British advice, led by British officers and, it may be, paid by British gold, Afghanistan is likely to prove an invaluable ally to us, when the day comes that Russia believes herself strong enough to move forward towards the goal of all her hopes and efforts, for the last fifty years--the conquest of India. ”

“ I think, myself, that we ought to advance, and drive the enemy before us, till we take up some really defensible position; but I doubt if the Afghans would wait for that. In all our history, a British charge against an Indian enemy has always been successful, no matter how great the odds."
"It is a bad lookout," the captain said, as a shell burst close by him, killing and wounding five or six men. "It is quite evident that if we stay where we are we must, in time, be annihilated. Our fellows will stand, no doubt; they are English soldiers, and well officered. ”

“ Colonel Ripon kept by his side, but few words were spoken, through the long night. The men were half mad with thirst and, had there been water near, nothing could have restrained them from rushing to it; but they knew that none could be obtained, until they reached Candahar. Many, in utter despair at the distance before them, threw themselves down on the ground to die. But the others kept on--stumbling and staggering as they marched, stupid and half blind--rallying only when the order came to turn, and repulse the enemy.
Two or three times in the night the rear guard halted, for a few minutes ”

“ It was night now, and dark as pitch in the deep valley in which the fight was going on; the position of the combatants being only indicated by the flickering flashes of the muskets. The Afghans were gradually creeping nearer, as the Guides could see, by the flashes.
"If the fellows only make a determined rush at us," Captain Edwards said to Will, "it will go hard with us. Fortunately, they are as much in the dark as we are, and will find it difficult to gather for a rush." ”

“ The process of tea making, on board a smack, is not a difficult one to master; the sole operation consisting in putting a few more spoonfuls of tea into the kettle boiling over the fire, when it begins to get low, and filling up with fresh water. But, simple as the thing was, William Gale did not learn it on that occasion. He had been feeling somewhat shaky, even while on deck; and the heat of the cabin, and the smell of some grease which Jack had just put in the frying pan, preparatory to cooking some fish brought off from shore, completed the effect of the rising sea. ”

“ Look you, my lad. I fear that you will have to make the voyage with me, for we shall not touch at any port, until we arrive at our destination. If you like, I will ship you as a hand on board, as from the day of the collision. A hand, more or less, will make no difference to the owners; and the money will be useful to you, when you leave the ship. Of course, you can return in her, if you think fit; but it is likely enough that, when we reach Java, we may be sent up to China for a homeward cargo--in which case I will procure you a passage in the first ship sailing for your home. ”

“ Among the infantry all order was lost and, mixed up in a confused mass, hemmed in on all sides by the enemy, they fell back--each man fighting for himself--upon the village behind. Here, in the walled enclosures, the 66th and the Grenadiers rallied, and fought nobly. Each house was used as a fortress, and only carried after a desperate struggle. Here Colonel Galbraith, and nine other officers of the 66th were killed; and the greater portion of the regiment shared their fate. ”

“ What is the feeling of the people here?"
"They are looking forward to Ayoub's coming, sir, when they say a holy war will be preached, and every man will rise against the infidels. When they found I was a countryman, they talked freely enough before me; especially as I led them to believe that I had been taken prisoner, at Cabul, and forced to accompany you as a sort of slave.
"I should recommend that, as soon as tiffin is over, you should start for the camp; for I don't think it is quite safe, here."
"They would never think of attacking us, Yossouf, with our force within an easy day's march." ”

“ Cold and fatigue were at once forgotten and, with eyes strained through the darkness, and rifles ready for use, every man pressed forward. Fifty yards up the hill, behind the sentry who had fired, was the first stockade of the enemy; formed by several large trees, which had been felled so as to completely block up the road, presenting an obstacle of about eight feet high to the attacking force.
The Afghan pickets lining the stockade poured a volley into the Ghoorkas who, led by Major Fitzhugh and Captain Cook, made a rush at the place. ”