Midnight Webs

“I grant all you say, in the first place,” said the captain; “but our retaining them is a sheer necessity.”

“Why?” said Lieutenant Leigh with a sneer. And I must say that at first I held with him.

“Because,” said the captain sternly, “if we set them at liberty, we increase our enemies’ power, not merely with three men, but with scoundrels who can give them the fullest information of our defences, over and above that of which I am afraid they are already possessed. The matter will not bear farther discussion. – Lieutenant Leigh, go now to your post, and do your duty to the best of your power.”

Lieutenant Leigh did not like this, and he frowned; but Captain Dyer was his superior officer, and it was his duty to obey; so of course he did.

Now, our position was such, that, say, a hundred men with a field-piece could have knocked a wing in, and then carried us by assault with ease; but though our enemies were full two hundred and fifty, and many of them drilled soldiers – pieces, you may say, of a great machine – fortunately for us, there was no one to put that machine together and set it in motion. We soon found that out; for, instead of making the best of things, and taking possession of buildings – sheds and huts – here and there, from which to annoy us, they came up in a mob to the gate, and one fellow on a horse – a native chief, he seemed to be – gave his sword a wave, and half-a-dozen sowars round him did the same, and then they called to us to surrender.

Captain Dyer’s orders were to act entirely on the defensive, and to fire no shot till we had orders, leaving them to commence hostilities.

“For,” said he, speaking to all the men, “it may be a cowardly policy with such a mutinous set in front of us; but we have the women and children to think of; therefore, our duty is to hold the foe at bay, and when we do fire, to make every shot tell. Beating them off is, I fear, impossible; but we may keep them out till help comes.”

“Wouldn’t it be advisable, sir, to try and send off another despatch?” I said. “There’s the trooper’s horse.”

“Where?” said Captain Dyer with a smile. “That has already been thought of, Smith; and Sergeant Jones, the only good horseman we have, went off at two o’clock, and by this time is, I hope, out of danger. – Good heavens! what does that mean?” he said, using his glass.

It was curious that I should have thought of such a thing just then, at a time when four sowars led up Sergeant Jones tied by a piece of rope to one of their saddle-bows, while the trooper’s horse was behind.

Captain Dyer would not show, though, that he was put out by the failure of that hope; he only passed the word for the men to stand firm, and then sent me with a message to Mrs Colonel Maine, requesting that every one might keep right away from the windows, as the enemy might open fire at any time.

He was quite right; for just as I knocked at Mrs Maine’s door, a regular squandering scattering fire began, and you could hear the bullets striking the wall with a sharp pat, bringing down showers of white lime-dust and powdered stone.

I found Mrs Maine seated on the floor with her children, pale and trembling, the little things the while laughing and playing over some pictures. Miss Ross was leaning over her sister, and Lizzy Green was waiting to give the children something else when they were tired of the pictures.

As the rattle of the musketry began, it was soon plain enough to see who had the stoutest hearts; but I seemed to be noticing nothing, though I did a great deal, and listened to Mrs Bantem’s voice in the next room, bullying and scolding a woman for crying out loud and upsetting everybody else.

I gave my message; and then Miss Ross asked me if any one was hurt, to which I answered as cheerfully as could be that we were all right as yet; and then, taking myself off, Lizzy Green came with me to the door, and I held out my hand to say good-bye; for I knew it was possible I might never see her again. She gave me her hand, and said “Good bye,” in a faltering sort of way, and it seemed to me that she shrank from me. The next instant, though, there was the rattling crash of the firing, and I knew now that our men were answering.

Story 1-Chapter XII

As I went down into the courtyard, I found the smoke rising in puffs as our men fired over the breastwork at the mob coming at the gate; Captain Dyer in the thick of it the while, going from man to man, warning them to keep themselves out of sight, and to aim low.

“Take care of yourselves, my lads. I value every one of you at a hundred of those black scoundrels. Tut, tut! whose that down?”

“Corporal Bray,” says some one.

“Here, Emson, Smith, both of you lend a hand here. We’ll make Bantem’s quarters hospital. – Now then, look alive, ambulance party!”

We were about lifting the poor fellow, who had sunk down behind the breastwork, all doubled up like, hands and knees, and head hanging; but as we touched him, he straightened himself out, and looked up at Captain Dyer.

“Don’t touch me yet,” he says in a whisper. “My stripes for some one, captain. Do for Isaac Smith there. Hooray!” he says faintly, and he took off his cap with one hand, gave it a bit of a wave, “God save the Quee – ”

“Bear him carefully to the empty ground-floor, south side,” says Captain Dyer sternly; “and make haste back, my lads: moments are precious.”

“I’ll do that with private Manning’s wife,” says a voice; and, turning as we were going to lift our dead comrade, there was big strapping Mrs Bantem, and another soldier’s wife; and she then said a few words to the captain.

“Gone?” says Captain Dyer.

“Quarter of an hour ago, sir,” says Mrs Bantem; and then to me: “Poor trooper, Isaac!”

“Another man here,” says Captain Dyer. – “No, not you, Smith. – Fill up here, Bantem.”

Joe Bantem waved his hand to his wife, and took the dead corporal’s place; but not easily, for Measles, who was next man, was stepping into it, when Captain Dyer ordered him back.

“But there’s such a much better chance of dropping one of them mounted chaps, sir,” says Measles grumbling.

“Hold your tongue, sir, and go back to your own loophole,” says Captain Dyer; and the way that Measles kept on loading and firing, ramming down his cartridges viciously, and then taking long and careful aim – ah, and with good effect, too! – was a sight to see.

All the while we were expecting an assault; but none came; for the mutineers fell fast, and did not seem to dare to make a rush while we kept up such practice.

Then I had to go round and ask Lieutenant Leigh to send six more men to the gate, and to bring news of what was going on round the other sides.

I found the lieutenant standing at the window where I caught Chunder; and there was a man each at all the other four little windows which looked down at the outside – all the others, as I have said, looking in upon the court.

The lieutenant’s men had a shot now and then at any one who approached; but the mutineers seemed to have determined upon forcing the gate, and, so far as I could see, there was very little danger to fear from any other quarter.

I knew Lieutenant Leigh was not a coward; but he seemed very half-hearted over the defence, doing his duty, but in a sullen sort of way; and, of course, that was because he wanted to take the lead now held by Captain Dyer; and perhaps it was misjudging him, but I’m afraid just at that time he’d have been very glad if a shot had dropped his rival, and he could have stepped into his place.

Captain Dyer’s plan to keep the rabble at bay till help could come, was, of course, quite right; and that night it was an understood thing that another attempt should be made to send a messenger to Wallahbad, another of our corporals being selected for the dangerous mission.

The fighting was kept on in an on-and-off way till evening, we losing several men, but a good many falling on the other side, which made them more cautious, and not once did we have a chance of touching a man with the bayonet. Some of our men grumbled a little at this, saying that it was very hard to stand there hour after hour to be shot down; and could they have done as they liked, they’d have made a sally.

Then came the night, and a short consultation between the captain and Lieutenant Leigh. The mutineers had ceased firing at sundown, and we were in hopes that there would be a rest till daylight; but all the same the strictest watch was kept, and only half the men lay down at a time.

Half the night, though, had not passed, when a hand was laid upon my shoulder; and in an instant I was up, piece in hand, to find that it was Captain Dyer.

“Come here,” he said quietly; and following him into the room underneath where the women were placed, he told me to listen; and I did, to hear a low, grating, tearing noise, as of something scraping on stone. “That’s been going on,” he said, “for a good hour, and I can’t make it out, Smith.”

“Prisoners escaping,” I said quietly.

“But they are not so near as that. They were confined in the next room but one,” he said in a whisper.

“Broke through, then,” I said.

Then we went – Captain Dyer and I – quietly up on to the roof, answered the challenge, and then walked to the edge, where, leaning over, we could hear the doll grating noise once more; then a stone seemed to fall out on to the sandy way by the palace walls.

It was all plain enough: they had broken through from one room to another, where there was a window no bigger than a loophole, and they were widening this.

“Quick here, sentry,” says the captain.

The next minute the sentry hurried up, and we had a man posted as nearly over the window as we could guess; and then I had my orders in a minute:

“Take two men and the sentry at their door, rush in, and secure them at once. But if they have got out, join Sergeant Williams, and follow me to act as reserve; for I am going to make a sally by the gate to stop them from the outside.”

I roused Harry Lant and Measles, and they were with me in an instant. We passed a couple of sentries, and gave the countersign, and then mounted to the long stone passage which led to where the prisoners had been placed.

As we three privates neared the door, the sentry there challenged; but when we came up to him and listened, there was not a sound to be heard; neither had he heard anything, he said. The next minute the door was thrown open, and we found an empty room; but a hole in the wall showed us which way the prisoners had gone.