The Air Patrol Part 20

"We seem to have lived an age during the last two days," said Bob on greeting Lawrence again in the dining-room. "'One crowded hour of glorious life,' begad! But why aren't you asleep, young man?"

"I can hardly keep my eyes open, but I shan't sleep till I know where we are. What did your flag mean?"

"Of course, you don't know. It seems stale news to me. There's a whole army corps encamped ten miles beyond the bridge--twenty thousand men at a guess, with field-guns, all complete. I saw hundreds of transport-wagons rolling up, camel caravans too. It's a big thing."

"But what's the game? They don't need an army corps to bag this mine."

"Hanged if I know. It seems clear they intend to march up the valley; it was probably an advanced outpost that we came into conflict with. So far as I know the valley leads only to Afghanistan and--India."

"Those Mongols we have heard about, then, are going to have a slap at Afghanistan?"

"Or India!"

"That's tosh. Twenty thousand men are no good for invading India, and they wouldn't come this way in any case."

"That's just what I said to myself. Of course Afghanistan is much nearer, and they might catch the Amir napping by choosing this unusual road. But after all, what concerns us is our position here."

"Yes. What have you been doing all day?"

"Flying up and down like a swallow--or wasn't it an eagle that dropped something on a Johnny's bald skull--in the cla.s.sics. I haven't done that exactly, but I've had a little practice in bomb dropping."

He related the manoeuvres by which he had checked the pursuit of the Pathans and driven the Kalmucks down-stream, and the subsequent adventurous flight of Nurla Bai.

"Would you have let them shoot at him?" he asked. "The Babu was mad with me."

"I don't think I would. It wouldn't be cricket, do you think? The Babu wouldn't learn that sort of thing at Calcutta University!"

"Have you had any trouble?"

"Quite enough, I can a.s.sure you. In the small hours they tried to cross at the bridge, some of them floating themselves on water-skins. We beat them off at the cost of a few knocks. But some must have got past us over the hills--a mighty big round. We met a crowd of them on foot.

Luckily it was all very sudden, and a charge scattered them. We lost one man, but we polished off a lot of them; the Pathans are perfect demons at fighting."

"Well done, old chap! Charging was the very thing. These beggars can't face it. I remember that in the Mutiny our men never charged without success. But what about the future? We've two courses open: to pack up and cut our sticks before the Mongols arrive, or to hang on and make the best defence we can. Candidly, I don't see how we can hold the place with our little lot against such a host."

"What about Thermopylae and Leonidas?"

"Yes, but Xerxes hadn't any artillery. Besides, if I'm not mistaken, Leonidas and his three hundred were cut up, to a man."

"Only because a traitor showed the Persians a way round to their rear.

Still, you know best."

"I'll send for old Gur Buksh. He's seen a lot of service, and has a cool head. We're better placed than Leonidas in one respect: traitor or no traitor, we can't be got at from the rear."

When the havildar arrived, Bob put the position to him exactly, omitting no detail, and glossing over none of the difficulties.

"Now, havildar," he said in conclusion, "shall we run, or shall we fight? We ought to have plenty of time to get away. The enemy can't advance in force until they have repaired the bridge, and they'll have to do that thoroughly if they wish to bring their artillery across. It will take them at least a day, probably longer. We can reckon on twenty-four hours' start."

The havildar, a fine soldierly figure, stood in silence before the two lads, pondering deeply.

"The men are very weary, sahib," he said at length. "They could not start before morning. There are not horses for all: the march would be slow, and the journey would be long. We should not be safe for a hundred miles, and if the enemy is so numerous, they would pursue us not only along the track, but over the hills, and outstrip us, and we should not escape."

"And what if we remain here?"

"Who can tell? If we die, we die. But we are safer here, sahib. The enemy cannot haul their guns up the heights opposite. The gorge is narrow; with our gun and our rifles we could prevent them from pa.s.sing the bend northward--so long as our ammunition lasts."

"And how long will that be? And what provisions have we?"

"There are plenty of cartridges, sahib, and we have those the Kalmucks left behind in their huts. Our provisions would have lasted three weeks for us all; now that the Kalmucks are gone, they will last longer."

"I say, Bob," said Lawrence, "why not block up the track? With a good charge of dynamite we could bring down tons of rock on it, and though that wouldn't block the way for ever against twenty thousand men, it would give them a few days' work to clear it."

"The chota sahib speaks words of wisdom," said Gur Buksh. "The track is narrow where it bends a little to the north--that is the place to do what the sahib says."

"A jolly good notion," said Bob. "We'll set about it to-morrow. Also, havildar, we will strengthen the wall. You have already, I see, lined it with bags of earth, as I ordered. You must throw up behind them a mound of the tailings from the mine. Cover that with earth, and beat it down hard, and we shall have a triple fortification. It won't be very scientific, Lawrie, but it ought to be of some use. Can you think of anything else, havildar?"

"That is all, sahib. Has the sahib told the Pathans what he has told me?"

"Oh yes. The men who were chased by the Kalmucks intended to go home, but I told them everything, and I'm sure they will stick to us. You have arranged the sentries for the night?"

"That is done, sahib."

"Then we'll get to bed, Lawrie. We both want a good sound sleep. Wake us if anything happens, havildar."

But Gur Buksh had not been gone five minutes, and Bob had not yet taken off his boots, when he was struck with a sudden uneasiness.

"I say, Lawrie," he exclaimed, "what if the beggars came up during the night? We couldn't use either the machine-gun or our rifles with any effect in the darkness, and they might easily slip past; not without some loss, of course, but not enough to stagger them."

"But you said yourself just now that it would take them a whole day to repair the bridge. They couldn't get here before morning."

"It would certainly take them a day or longer to make the bridge strong enough to bear their artillery. But we've only the advanced guard to deal with, not the main army, and in two or three hours they could rig up a bridge good enough for themselves and their ponies. They may be only a few hours' march away. I wish we had a searchlight. We could then light up the track at the bend yonder, and give them such a dose that they wouldn't try it again."

"Why not try a bonfire? Light a big one just on this side of the bend.

That would give us enough light."

"A good idea! We'll do it, and to make perfectly sure, we'd better blast the rock at once, and not leave it till the morning. I'll see to it, however; you have a good sleep."

"Not a bit of it. I should fall asleep in two ticks if I had nothing to do, but I'm not going to leave you to bear the brunt of everything. We share and share alike."

"Thanks, old chap. You see to the dynamite and get a wire spliced for the current while I get the bonfire started."

[Ill.u.s.tration: GUR BUKSH DEFENDS THE MINE]

In a few minutes a large fire was blazing on a ledge of rock a few feet south of the bend, and a number of Pathans were drilling holes in the cliff. An hour's work by experienced miners would suffice, Bob thought, to prepare for the charge of dynamite. Meanwhile, in the compound, under Lawrence's direction, other men were splicing together several lengths of the wire used for conveying the current from the small electric battery to the mine galleries. A number of boxes were broken up to provide fuel for the bonfire, which, however, it would be hardly necessary to keep alight when once the track had been blocked up by the fallen rocks.

These operations were all in progress when there was a sudden commotion among the men drilling the rock. After a moment's hesitation, they dropped their tools and scampered at the top of their speed towards the mine. They had barely crossed the bridge, and this had only been raised a few feet from its platform, when there came swiftly round the bend a string of hors.e.m.e.n, galloping two abreast. Gur Buksh was at his post by the machine-gun. In a few moments it was rattling its shot in a rapid stream towards the enemy, and at the same time the Sikhs opened fire with their rifles. A number of the enemy were seen to fall, either upon the track or over the brink into the river, and the horses of the men immediately behind them stumbled over the p.r.o.ne bodies and in one or two cases threw their riders. There were a few moments of confusion. The quiet of the night was broken by cries and groans and the rattle and hiss of shots. Then the stream of hors.e.m.e.n suddenly stopped. Shouts were heard from beyond the bend, but no more of the enemy appearing, Bob ordered his men to cease fire.

Everybody in the mine compound had been so intent on what was happening within the area illuminated by the bonfire that only Bob himself and one or two more had noticed that several of the enemy had got past the critical point before fire was opened. They were now in darkness, but the clatter of their horses' hoofs could be heard on the track just beyond the quarters lately occupied by the Pathans. At this sound Bob had much difficulty in preventing his men from blazing away at random at the cliff opposite. To allow it would be merely to waste ammunition, for the enemy were quite invisible; so he peremptorily ordered them to desist after two or three shots had been fired. When quietness was restored, he heard the hors.e.m.e.n retreating up the valley, and soon the sound of their movements died away.