there was but a short cessation of hostilities, and then from every building round a blaze of musketry burst out. the men were at once called down from the upper rooms, where there were no shutters, and planted at the loopholes of those on the ground floor. "don't throw away a shot," was the order given to them; "keep well in shelter, and when you do fire take care that you bring down your man."
so the fight went on all day. the losses of the enemy were far greater than those of the garrison, but the men lost to the latter could be ill spared.
"it is awful to think of the fate of those in the hospital," nita said, when she took a hasty meal in the middle of the day with lieutenant carter. "four or five of them managed to get in here alive, the rest must have been massacred in cold blood."
"do not fret over that, nita; it may be the fate of all of us in a few hours. we shall sell our lives dearly, but i cannot shut my eyes to the fact that the enemy are not far off a big rush. then the doors will give way, for we have no means of[pg 49] strengthening them; and as there are two entrances at the back as well as those in front, nothing but the return of the major can save us. there is no doubt that in spite of their losses the enemy are determined to capture the place. we have now only eighteen men left capable of firing a rifle, and they are fifty to one against us. it is of no use disguising it from ourselves. to-night will see the end of the fight."
"if it must be so, it must," nita said quietly. "you don't think that anyone is likely to see that i am a girl?"
"certainly not; your disguise in that way is complete. perhaps you had better allow me to trim your hair as closely as i can to the masculine style. there is more chance for you and me than for the men, for it is just possible that they may take us and carry us off as hostages. that means that they will keep us as slaves till they are attacked in such force that they may think it prudent to make terms. the chances are against it, but there is a possibility that it is the course they will take."
"i would rather die than that," nita said. "i might keep up my disguise for a time, but they would be sure to detect it sooner or later. i dare not think of this."
"i don't believe that you would be detected,[pg 50] nita. i should not penetrate your disguise myself, and if i who know you cannot do so you may well pass with these ruffians. you have plenty of spirit and may very well sustain your character."
"i shall blow my brains out before i am taken," she said passionately, "i have quite made up my mind to that."
"that must be your own choice," he said gravely. "while there is life there is hope, and sooner or later you may be restored to your friends. sooner than later, i should guess, for you may be sure that when the news of this massacre reaches the authorities they will lose no time in getting together a strong punitive expedition against the tribes, and as soon as they find that resistance is hopeless they will try to make terms on the strength of any hostages that they may have in their hands."
nita shook her head. "it is all very well for you to give me hope, charlie, but you know as well as i do that the chances are hundreds to one against us."
at night, as soon as it became dark, there was a tremendous rush against all four doors. "it is of no use, men," carter said, in firm tones which rose above the din, "the doors will not hold out five minutes. we will assemble here and fight till the last. we have done all that men can do, and i [pg 51]thank you for the way that you have stood by me; but the odds are too great for us, and we have nothing to do now except die like men. they will find that, handful as we are, we can account for a good many of them yet."
"nita had one shot left in her revolver, and she directed this against her forehead"
the men gathered in a ring, with carter and nita in the centre. three minutes later two crashes were heard, and the afridis burst in. they paused a moment on seeing the compact little body waiting their attack, then with yells of triumph rushed at them. they were met with a stream of musketry, every shot of which took effect, and the crack of the revolvers of carter and nita added to the din. in vain the enemy endeavoured to break the circle. then they betook themselves to their muskets. the ground was speedily piled with dead, but numbers gradually prevailed. the little ring of defenders grew smaller and smaller, and at last, when but six men were standing, the enemy burst into the circle. there was wild fighting for a minute, bayonets against sword and spear, but gradually the din ceased.
carter was one of the last to fall. nita had one shot left in her revolver and directed this against her forehead. but at the moment when she was about to draw the trigger she was felled to the ground by a blow from the butt-end of a musket. then the afridis, seeing that all was over, scattered[pg 52] for plunder, leaving the bodies of the slain where they lay.
daybreak dawned, and nita opened her eyes. she saw that carter, herself, and two others had been removed from the heap of slain and placed by themselves. she closed her eyes again with a shudder, and yet with a feeling of relief. the removal of the three men as well as herself must have been the result of an examination of the slain, and, like herself, the other three must have been found breathing. her head ached as if it would split, and she lay for a long time without moving. then two men, who were evidently chiefs, came up and examined them.
there was some discussion between them, and then carter and another were taken away, and she and the remaining man, who was one of the native officers, were also carried out. the wounds of the four were all roughly bandaged, and then carter and his companion were taken up by four natives and borne away. nita remained for another hour. by this time the fort had been completely ransacked. then she and her companion were also placed on stretchers and carried out of the fort, which was at once set on fire in a dozen places. some water was given them, and the tribe then started off. nita lay with her eyes closed all day, scarcely able even to think, for her head throbbed as if it would split.[pg 53] they travelled fast and did not halt till nightfall. then she was given a piece of dry bread and a little water. she made an effort to eat, but it was useless; she drank most of the water, however, and soaked her handkerchief in the rest, and placed it on her head, and managed at last to doze off to sleep. in the morning she felt better. the chief then came up and spoke to her. she shook her head, and he went away, and presently returned with one of the tribesmen who had served in a punjaubi regiment.
"who are you?" he asked, and in that language, which nita could speak fairly well.
"i am an officer in the regiment," she said, "and am a relation of the major who commanded the fort." the man translated this to his leader, who looked pleased.
"tell him that he will be my servant," he said, "and will be well treated if he gives no trouble, but if he attempts to escape he will be shot at once."
this was translated to nita. then he went on: "you are very young to be an officer, you are no more than a boy."
"i am young," nita replied, "but when one has a major for a relation one can get a commission at a much younger age than one otherwise would."
"here are some peaches;" he said, "you will eat them better than bread."
[pg 54]
"thank you very much!" nita replied.
"you have nothing the matter with you," the chief went on, "except that you have a big swelling at the back of your head. i suppose you were knocked down by a musket. it is fortunate for you that you were supposed to be dead at the time, for the men would not have spared you after the loss that you had inflicted upon us. by the time we found that you were alive their passion had died down, and i was able to show them that you and the other three might be much more useful alive than dead."
"is my friend the other officer seriously hurt?" nita asked.
"yes, he's badly wounded, but i think that he will recover, and also the other two." so saying, he turned off and went away.
nita felt most grateful for the peaches. she gave a couple of them to the havildar, who evidently needed them even more than she did. then she sat down and ate her own slowly, the sweet juice cooling her parched tongue, and even the pain in her head seemed to abate somewhat. half an hour later the tribe again set off. they ascended two steep passes, and at the end of the sixth day halted in a small valley. there were several villages scattered about, and every foot of the ground was cultivated. they were greeted with shouts of[pg 55] welcome by the inhabitants who flocked out; but soon cries and lamentations mingled with the cheering, from women whose husbands had not returned. these, however, soon retired to their homes to grieve in solitude, while the others went on with their dances of triumph, and the tribesmen scattered to their own villages.
in the centre of the valley stood a strongly-fortified house, and to this the prisoners were taken. that day nita had been strong enough to walk, and the pain in her head had abated, though the pressure of her cap still hurt her. the chief's wife, who walked beside her husband, glanced at the prisoners, and was evidently by no means pleased at their being quartered upon her, but when the chief explained that they would both be slaves at her service she looked mollified. they were taken to a small room in an upper story. then she gave nita a large jug and signified to her that she was to draw water from the stream that ran through the valley. anxious to please the woman who was to be her mistress she fulfilled the mission, although feeling very tired with her walk. the woman seemed more gracious when nita returned with her burden. while she had been away the chief had explained to her the value of the captives, and that he should either get a large sum for restoring them to their friends, or might use them to arrest[pg 56] the progress of a large party of troops sent against him.
"only to think," she said, as nita went wearily upstairs, "that that slight boy should be an officer! why, with us it is the bravest and strongest men who are the chiefs. how can they expect to fight against us, when they are led by boys like that? i could twist him round my finger."
"the ways of the english are unaccountable," the chief said. "he is, as you say, but a boy, though he and another officer, not much bigger than him, with only fifty men, have killed nearly three hundred of us. not one offered to surrender, and they fought to the last. these two, and two others who have gone with the orokzais, were the only ones found breathing when we examined the dead. they are strange people these men, but they are men, and these fought like lions. if they had offered to surrender we would have given them their lives, and carried them off as captives. it is a good thing to have a certain number of prisoners in our hands, for then we can always make peace with their countrymen. but it was not to be. this little garrison were determined to die, and they did die. however, both their officers are in our hands. treat them well, wife. it will pay us to do so. i rather like that fair-haired boy; he has shown himself very patient and plucky, and[pg 57] himself volunteered to walk instead of being carried to-day. i think you will find him very willing and cheerful."
"he had better be," she said savagely. "as to his being cheerful, i care not for it one way or the other; but if he is not willing, he will soon get a taste of my stick."
"i should advise you not to try it. i was in the room in the last fight and saw how steadily and straight he shot. certainly fourteen or so of our men fell at his hands, and i would have saved him then if i could have done so, for never did i see a lad fight so stoutly. he fired as deliberately as if he were aiming at a mark. his eyes shone strangely, and he cheered on his men to the end. i am sure that if you strike him he is capable of doing you harm, at whatever cost to himself."
the woman muttered to herself. she was evidently impressed with her husbands warning, and also with the glance nita had given her when ordered to fetch water. "can he cook?" she said. "one of our women has died since you have been away, and i have all the work on my own shoulders."
"i am not sure if he knows anything of cooking," the chief replied, "but you can teach him, and he will not be long in picking it up. now i will show you the things that i have brought you home."
[pg 58]
the sight of the various articles of spoil completely mollified the woman. there was a large copper cooking-pot and two small ones. there were some clothes that nita recognized as belonging to carter, a looking-glass, a dozen knives and forks, and a meat-chopper, all of them precious things indeed in an afridi village. besides this, outside there were a dozen cattle and some forty sheep, the chief's share of the animals picked up at various villages in the neighbourhood of darlinger. the chief's wife was specially delighted with the mirror, and, fixing it against the wall, she stood admiring herself for a long time, twisting her head from side to side and grimacing with such an air of affectation that it was as much as nita could do to refrain from breaking into a scream of laughter.
"this is all my own," she said at last, turning to the chief; "your other two wives have nothing to do with it, and are not even to look into it unless i give them permission?"
the chief nodded gravely. the other two wives had, while this was going on, been occupied with domestic duties and in bringing in the various goods. nita made up her mind at once that they had a very bad time and were little better than slaves.
as the chief left the hut his wife turned to nita. "go and help the others," she said.
[pg 59]
nita understood her action though not her words, and with a shrug of her shoulders went to help the other women. presently a large bowl of rice slightly flavoured with condiment was brought in. the chief, who had returned, sat gravely down by himself to eat it. when he had finished, his head wife seated herself and took her share. after she was satisfied the other women sat down together.
nita hesitated, but she had now recovered her appetite and sat down quietly with them. instead, however, of grabbing handful after handful, as did the others, she took as much as she wanted, placed it on the ground in front of her, and quietly began to eat it.
the head wife laughed derisively and made some remark to her husband, but the chief was evidently not pleased and spoke sternly to her, and nita guessed that he said she was a valuable captive, and being an officer must be fairly treated. it was, of course, all important that if a british army entered the valley the prisoners should give a good account of their treatment while captive there. the woman was, without doubt, cowed. the afridis use their sticks freely on their wives, and it was evident that although a tyrant in the house she stood in wholesome fear of her husband.
the chief moved across the hut, took down an earthenware plate, and placed it before nita, who[pg 60] let him see by her manner that she appreciated his act of kindness. he further signified by gesture that she might regard this plate as her own and use it upon all occasions.
when the meal was over, nita assisted to tidy up the room, then went down with a large earthenware jug to the stream and brought it back full of water. she had not been ordered to do this, and the woman nodded to her more kindly than she had hitherto done, seeing that the captive was ready to make herself useful.
after doing this nita returned to her room. it was now nearly dark. she went and chatted to the native officer, bathed his wound, and gave him some of the food that she had put by for him.
"don't get well sooner than you can help," she said; "the woman of the house is a vixen of the worst kind, and will set you to work the moment you are able to crawl about. her husband is disposed to be friendly. i think i frightened the woman. of course, she would not have understood anything i said, but i am sure my manner showed her that it wouldn't be safe to touch me."
nita went down early in the morning. the mistress of the house had not yet appeared, but the two women were hard at work grinding meal. nita went at once to their assistance. she was [pg 61]clumsy at the work, and her share was very inconsiderable. still, the women were grateful. nita could not understand all that they said, but by the way they patted her on the back and shook their fists menacingly at the room where the head wife was sleeping, it was apparent that they hated her with a deadly hatred, and recognized in nita a friend animated by the same feelings as themselves.
matters went on quietly for some little time. nita set to work to pick up the language, and as their oppressor evidently thought that she could make more use of the prisoner if she understood what she said she threw no impediment in the way, and she suffered nita to chat freely with the others while they were at work. she even went so far as to admit to her husband that the prisoner was very willing to work, and understood what she wanted done. still, the fact that her husband had placed nita to some extent beyond her power galled her, and she frequently indulged in violent ejaculations and threats. she was the more furious because nita received her upbraidings with quiet contempt and did not appear even to hear her. she would many a time have struck her, but was, in truth, a little afraid of nita, and was convinced that did she attempt to do so "the lad" would, regardless of consequences, return the blow with interest.
