A Soldier's Daughter, and Other Stories

Nita stood a minute without speaking, and then said:

"My opinion is that we had better find some spot to hide as close here as possible."

"Hide as close to this place as possible?" Carter said, in surprise. "I should have thought that we had better turn down the pass at once, or push on."

"I do not think so," Nita said; "we must take it as certain that the man who has fled will return as quickly as possible with twenty or thirty others. As they will not see us on our way here they will suppose that we have either returned or have taken to the hills, one side or the other; they would never think of searching close here."

"You are right," Carter said. "What do you say to that pile of boulders on the right?"

"That will do excellently, if we can find a place among them."

"We are sure to be able to do that by moving two or three of them. We have probably got a couple of hours to make our preparations."

Accordingly they set to work at once, and by using their united strength, managed to move enough of them to make a first-rate place of concealment for themselves and the pony. The animal's legs were fastened, and it was made to lie down, and they took their places beside it. Carter went down the path, and looked at the hiding-place from all sides, in order that he might feel sure that it could not be made out from any point close by. The heap of boulders lay at the foot of a steep precipice, and it was evident that no one from above could approach near enough to the edge to look down upon them. Having made sure of this he returned to the hiding-place. Three-quarters of an hour passed, and then a score of wild figures armed with rifles, muskets, and other weapons appeared round the corner of the pass.

Carter took a glimpse at what was going on. There was an excited conversation; some of the men pointed to the hills on both sides, while some were evidently of opinion that their assailants, whoever they were, had returned to the valley beyond. Finally they broke up into three parties, seven or eight men going on each side, while the remainder pushed on along the path. Half an hour later another sixteen men came up and also divided, half climbing the hills on either side. But night was now falling. For some time the shouts of the searchers could be heard, but these gradually ceased as the men abandoned the hunt as hopeless for the night. They came down in twos and threes, until presently the fugitives were convinced that all had returned.

"It was certainly an admirable plan of yours, Miss Ackworth, and has completely thrown them off the scent. Now we had better be going. The moon gives us enough light to make our way, and we must be as far as possible from here before morning, when, no doubt, the men of this valley, and perhaps the one that we have just quitted, will turn out in search of us."

"I am quite ready," Nita said, "and I have no doubt the pony is too. His sack has been getting lighter and lighter every day, and I think that we haven't more than thirty or forty pounds left, and as we have always been able to get water, I don't think that there is more than enough in the water-skin to balance the sack."

"I am sorry that the provisions are getting short," Carter said, "but it is an immense advantage, in climbing about among these hills, to have such a light burden. The pony ought to be able to make its way wherever we can, so, as we don't want to cut ourselves adrift from the valleys, I should say that we had better work round the foot of the hills, in which case we ought to be well to the south of the next valley before day breaks. Fortunately they can have no idea who we are. That we are strangers, and curious ones, they of course know, but we are so far out of the road which they would think the escaped prisoners would take, that it is not at all likely that they will in any way associate us with them, even if they have heard of our escape, which is very improbable. They will therefore have nothing to indicate the road we are taking. All they really do know of us is that we have a rifle, and can shoot straight."

CHAPTER VII

A SKIRMISH

They started at once, not trying to mount the hillside above the point where they had been hidden, but to keep along as far as possible at the same height. After making their way painfully for a couple of hours, they came to a spot from which they could see the valley below them. They then gradually made their way down till only two or three hundred feet above its bottom, and then kept along its side. In the still night air they could hear many voices, and knew that the coming of these mysterious and dangerous visitors was being warmly discussed. Lights burned much later than was usual in the villages, but at last these altogether disappeared, and they ventured still lower, keeping, however, a sharp look-out for any villages situated on the spurs. The valley was not above eight or ten miles long, and they were well past it before morning dawned.

The country they now entered was a little more precipitous and rugged than that they had recently passed, and they agreed that it would be impossible to climb over it, and that they would have to make use of the pass. They therefore chose a good hiding-place some distance up on the hill. It was sheltered from behind by a precipice, at whose foot grew a clump of bushes of considerable size.

"We cannot do better than this," Carter said, "and as the people will be starting in search of us in less than an hour we have no farther time to look for another hiding-place, and, indeed, I don't think that we should be likely to find a better one if we did. There is one comfort: however numerously they turn out, they will take care not to scatter much, in view of the lesson you gave them, and unless they do scatter, their chance of lighting upon us is small indeed. I don't suppose their heart will be very much in the business, except on the part of the relatives of the men you shot, who are, after all, as likely to belong to the valley we left as to this one. These tribesmen are good fighters when their liberty is threatened, but they are not very fond of putting themselves into danger.

"I feel much more comfortable," Carter continued, "now I am no longer condemned to go about unarmed. It was a grand idea taking the rifles of those two men we shot. The pony carries one, and I carry the other."

"But you have carried one all the time."

"Yes, but as I was under orders to hand it over to you whenever you wanted it, it has not been any great satisfaction to me. Now I can feel that I can play my part, and although these Martinis are not quite as good as your Lee-Metford, they are quite good enough for all practical purposes, and with your magazine always in readiness we ought to be able to give a good account of ourselves."

The day passed quietly. Parties of men were seen moving about on the hills, but none came near them. At night they went forward again, but moved with great caution, as it was possible that as fugitives could hardly get across the mountains the Afridis might keep a watch in the pass. They had crossed the highest point, and were descending, when they saw rising before them, by the side of the path, an old Buddhist temple. When within a short distance from it half a dozen men jumped out and fired a volley. The shots all went wide, but the reply was not so futile. Four men fell, and the rest, appalled by the heavy loss, fled down the hill.

"That is sharp," Carter said, "but soon over. However, this is but the beginning of it; they will carry the news down to the next valley, and we shall be besieged here. However, fortunately, it appears to be very steep on both sides of the temple, and I don't think even the Afridis, firm-footed as they are, will be able to climb the hill and get behind us."

"But we can no more get up than they can."

"No, but at least it will give us only one side to defend, and we can keep an eye on the hills and pick off any who try to make their way along the top, and if the worst comes to the worst we must retire down the pass again to-night, and try to strike out somewhere over the hills. It doesn't much matter which way so that we get out of this neighbourhood, which is becoming altogether too hot for us."

Daylight was just breaking when a number of men were seen coming up the pass. The two fugitives had already ensconced themselves and their pony in the temple, and had posted themselves at two of the narrow windows. Nita shouted, "Keep away, or it will be worse for you. We don't want to hurt you, if you will leave us alone, but if you attack us we shall defend ourselves."

The answer was a volley of shots, to which the defenders of the temple did not reply, as they were anxious not to waste a cartridge. Emboldened by the silence, the enemy gradually approached, keeping up a steady fire. When they were within eighty yards the defenders answered steadily and deliberately. By the time twenty rounds had been fired the enemy were in full flight, leaving six dead upon the ground, while several of the others were wounded.

"I expect that will sicken them effectually," Carter said, "and that, at any rate, they will not attempt to renew the attack until it becomes dark again. I think we had better wait an hour and see what they intend doing."

The hour was just up when a white figure was seen high up on the hillside, making his way cautiously along the face of the precipitous hill.

"What is the distance, do you think?" Carter said.

"Five to six hundred yards, I should say."

"I suppose it is about that. Well, he must be stopped if possible." And, levelling his rifle, he took a long steady aim and fired. The man was seen to start as the bullet sung up close to him. "You can beat that, Nita," he said in a tone of disgust.

"I will try, anyhow," she said, "but the range puzzles one, the man being so far above us." She steadied her rifle against a stone and fired. The man was seen to disappear behind a rock.

"A splendid shot!" Carter exclaimed.

"I am not sure that I hit him, I think he fell at the flash. However, there is a space between that stone and the boulder ahead of it."

It was five minutes before any movement was seen, then the man started forward suddenly. Nita was kneeling with her rifle aimed at a spot half-way between the stones, and as he crossed she pressed the trigger. This time there was no mistake; the man fell forward on his face and lay there immovable.

"I have no doubt that they are watching down below, and when they see him fall no one will care to follow his example. Now I think we had better be moving. We must risk meeting people coming over the pass. If we can get over the worst of it, we must hide and then climb the mountain, on whichever side appears easiest."

No time was lost. It was still early, for daylight was scarcely breaking when the attack had taken place. Leaving the temple they started at once, travelling as fast as the pony could pick its way along the steep path. Two hours later they saw, far in the distance, two men coming up. There was fortunately some shelter near, and here they took refuge and lay hidden until the men had passed them, and then continued their journey. They were three parts of the way down the pass, when on their right-hand side they saw a slope that seemed practicable, and they made their way up slowly and cautiously till they reached a plateau, the mountain still rising steeply in front of them. They travelled along this plateau, and presently saw an opening in the mountain range. They halted now, lit a fire in a hollow, and cooked some food, and then, confident that they were well beyond the area likely to be searched, they lay down to sleep.

A start was made at daybreak. They found the difficulty of crossing the range enormous, and had frequently to retrace their steps, but at last struck the head of a small ravine and decided to follow it down. Late in the evening they found themselves at a spot where the ravine widened into a valley. They waited until morning, when they were able to obtain a view down this. It was of no very great extent – about a quarter of a mile wide and half a mile long, and contained but a few houses. They remained quiet all day, and at nightfall moved along the valley on the side opposite to the village. They found that a small stream ran through it, and they decided to follow its course, the next morning halting well beyond the valley in a deep gorge.

"It is strange," Nita said, as they settled themselves for a rest, "how these narrow gorges can have cut their way through the mountains."

"Yes; it can only be that ages since these valleys were all deep lakes. At the time of the melting of the snows they overflowed. No doubt in some places the strata were softer than others, and here the water began to cut a groove, which grew deeper and deeper till at last the lake was empty. Then of course the work stopped and the water would run off as fast as it fell."

"It must have taken an enormous time," Nita said, "for the hills bordering the ravines must in some places be three or four thousand feet deep."

"Fully that. It certainly gives us a wonderful idea of the age of the world, and the tremendous power exercised by water; in dry weather these ravines formed the chief roads of the country, though some, no doubt, are so blocked with boulders fallen from above, or washed down by torrents, that they cannot be used by laden animals. I fancy there is not much communication between the valleys. They are governed by their chiefs, and it is only in cases of common danger that they ever act together. They prize their independence above everything, and are ready to gather from all parts of the country for common defence. No European except ourselves, I feel certain, has ever entered these valleys, and the inhabitants are absolutely convinced that their ravines and passes are impregnable. No doubt at some time or other the British will be driven to send an expedition to convince them to the contrary. I think that if there were no such things as guns their belief in their impregnability would be well justified. The men are brave and hardy, and thoroughly understand how to take advantage of the wonderful facilities of their ground for defence, and even in the most remote valleys they have managed to accumulate a store of first-rate rifles.

"How they have got them is a mystery. A good many, perhaps, have been carried off by deserters from our frontier regiments. Many of these enlist for this purpose alone. They serve faithfully for a time, but at the first opportunity make off with their rifle. Still, numerous as these desertions are, they would not account for a tithe of the rifles in the hands of the tribesmen. Some, I fancy, must be landed by rascally British dealers, in the Persian Gulf, or on the coast of Beluchistan. Some have been imported by traders from India. At any rate it is unquestionable that a vast number of rifles are in the hands of the Afridis, and will give us a world of trouble when we set ourselves in earnest to deprive them of them."

"I wonder the government doesn't forbid the exportation of rifles altogether," Nita said indignantly.

"It would be well if they did so, but there are difficulties in the way. The Indian princes buy them in large quantities for their followers, and nominally they are no doubt imported for that purpose, but when well up country they are taken north and disposed of to the Afridis, who are ready to pay any price for them, for an Afridi values nothing as he does a good rifle, and he would willingly exchange wife or child to get possession of one."

"But nobody wants to buy a wife or child," Nita said. "It doesn't seem to me that they possess any sort of property that could pay for the rifles by the time they got into the country."

"I fancy they are paid for largely in cattle. Herds are driven down the country, and no watch that we can keep can prevent the traffic. The cattle are always consigned to some large town well past the frontier, where the rifles can easily be handed over."

"I think it ought to be stopped altogether," Nita said indignantly; "the people of the towns can do very well without Afridi cattle, and if not, they should be made to. It would be much better for them to have to pay an anna extra a pound for their meat, than for us to have to spend hundreds of lives and millions of pounds in getting the rifles back again."

"Yes, there are many things that we soldiers, who are only here to do the fighting, can make neither head nor tail of. If India were governed by soldiers instead of civilians, things would be very differently managed. As it is, we can only wonder and grumble. The authorities are so mightily afraid of injuring the susceptibilities of the natives that they pamper them in every way, and even when it is manifest that the whole of the community suffer by their so doing. It is the more ridiculous, because, in the old days, their own rulers paid not the slightest attention to these same susceptibilities, or to the likes or dislikes of their subjects."

"It is all very strange," Nita said, "and very unaccountable."