For two or three weeks after Major Cavagnari's arrival in Cabul, all went well; and it appeared as if the forebodings of those who had predicted trouble and danger to the little body who had gone up, as it were, into the lion's den, were likely to be falsified. That the mission was not without danger the authorities, and Major Cavagnari himself, were well aware; but it was important that the provision in the treaty of Gundamuk, by which England secured the right of maintaining a resident at Cabul, should be put into operation. Besides, the Ameer had himself given the invitation to Major Cavagnari, and had pressed the point warmly, giving the most solemn promises of protection.

At any rate, for the first two weeks the soldiers of the escort moved freely in the city, without molestation or insult; and it appeared as if the population of Cabul were content with the terms of peace which, indeed, imposed no burdens whatever upon them, and was supposed to have inflicted no humiliation on their national pride.

On the 5th of August, several regiments marched in from Herat. These troops—which were considered the flower of the Afghan army—had, in consequence of the distance of Herat from the seat of war, taken no part whatever in the struggle. Upon the very day after their arrival they scattered through the town, and were loud in their expression of hostility to the terms of peace. Had they been there, they said, the Kaffirs would have been easily defeated. Why should peace have been made at the very first reverse, and before the best fighting men had come to the front?

That evening Will Gale's young attendant came to him in his room, looking very serious.

"What is the matter, Yossouf?"

The lad shook his head.

"Trouble is coming," he said. "The Heratee men are stirring up the people, and the Budmashes are threatening that they will kill the English."

"But the Ameer has promised his protection," Will said. "He has sworn a solemn oath to stand by them."

"Yakoob Khan is weak," the boy said. "He was a great warrior, once; but he has been in prison for many years and he is no longer firm and strong. Some of the men round him are bad advisers. Yakoob Khan is no better than a reed to lean upon."

The next day there were riots in the town. The Heratee men taunted the people of Cabul with cowardice, and the excitement spread in the city. The soldiers of the escort could no longer stroll quietly through the bazaars; but were hooted at, and abused, although of the same religion and race as the people around them—for the Guide regiments were recruited from Pathans, and other border tribes.

Day after day the position became more threatening. The men of the escort were ordered no longer to go down into the town, where their presence was the occasion of tumults. A native officer of one of our cavalry regiments, who was spending his furlough at a village near Cabul, came into the Bala-Hissar and told Major Cavagnari that he feared, from rumors that reached him, that the Heratee regiments would break into mutiny, and attack the embassy.

The officer, who was a man of immense courage and coolness, replied quietly:

"If they do, they can but kill the three or four of us here, and our deaths will be revenged."

He, however, made representations to the Ameer as to the threatening behavior of the Heratee troops; but Yakoob assured him that he could rely thoroughly upon his protection, and that—even should the Heratee troops break out in mutiny—he would at once suppress the movement, with the Cabul regiments.

Yossouf became daily more anxious. Going into the town, to buy fruits and other necessaries, he heard more of what was going on than could the members of the embassy.

"Things are very bad," he said, over and over again. "It would be better for you all to go away. Why does your officer stop here, to be killed?"

"It is his duty to stay at his post," Will said. "He has been sent here by the commander-in-chief. He is like a soldier on outpost duty. He cannot desert his post, because he sees danger approaching; but I wish, with all my heart, that an order would come for his recall; not only because of the danger, but because I am longing to be back again with my regiment and, although I am strong enough to ride down to the Punjaub, now, I cannot go except with Sir Lewis and his escort. Although it is peace, a single Englishman could not travel down to Jellalabad, through the passes."

Will had, from the first week after the arrival of the mission, fallen into the position of an orderly-room sergeant. His duties were little more than nominal, but he acted as assistant to Mr. Jenkyns, and made copies and duplicates of reports and other documents which were, from time to time, sent down to Jellalabad. Being the only Englishman there, with the exception of the four officers, these greatly relaxed the usual distance prevailing between an officer and a corporal; and treated him as a civilian clerk when in office, and with a pleasant cordiality at other times. Except, indeed, that he messed alone, and kept in his own room of an evening, he might have been one of the party.

Each day, he reported to Sir Lewis the rumors which Yossouf had gathered in the town. In his reports to headquarters, Major Cavagnari stated that trouble had arisen from the conduct of the Heratee troops; but he scarcely made enough of the real danger which threatened the little party. Had he done so, the embassy would probably have been recalled.

"What have you got there, Yossouf?" Will asked one day, when his follower returned with a larger bundle than usual.

"I have brought the uniform of an Afghan soldier," the boy replied, "which I have purchased from the bazaar. It is for you. I am sure that soon you will be attacked. The English are brave, but there are only four of them. 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."

"No, no, Yossouf," Will said, warmly; "you have nothing to do with the business. Why should you involve yourself in our fate? You can do me no good by sacrificing your life."

Yossouf shook his head.

"If," he said presently, "the time comes, and you see that it is of no use any longer to fight, and that all is lost, would you try to escape then?"

"Yes," Will said, "certainly I would. When all hope of further resistance is gone, and fighting is useless, my duty would be at an end; and if I could manage to escape, then, I should be justified in trying to save my life."

Yossouf looked relieved.

"Very well." he said, "then, at the last, I will try and save you."

"Still, Yossouf," Will said, "we must hope that it is not coming to that. The Ameer has sworn to protect us, and he can do so. The Bala-Hissar is strong, and he can easily hold it, with one or two of his Cabul regiments, against the Heratee men. He has three or four of these regiments here. He cannot be so false to his oath as to allow his guests to be massacred."

Yossouf made a gesture which expressed his utter disbelief in the Ameer, and then again went about his duties.

On the 2nd of September, on his return from the town, he reported that there was great excitement among the people; and that he believed that the night would not pass off, without trouble. Major Cavagnari, to whom Will reported the news, sent in a message to the Ameer—whose palace was within two or three hundred yards—and begged him to take measures to secure the Bala-Hissar against any attack by the Heratees.

The members of the escort, available for the defense of the residency, were but about fifty men. Most of the cavalry were away. Some were down the pass with despatches. The rest were stationed a short distance off in the plain, as forage was difficult to obtain in the fort.

The Ameer returned a curt message to Major Cavagnari, saying that there was no cause for uneasiness. The latter, however, doubled the sentries at the gate of the little enclosure.

Just as the officers were about to retire to rest, Yossouf—who had, a short time, before gone out again, telling Will that he would bring back news of what was going on, ran in.

"The Heratees are coming," he said. "The gates of the fort have been left open. The Cabul men are all in their barracks. They are pouring in at the gates. Do you not hear them?"

William Gale ran to the window, and could hear a loud and confused noise of yelling and shouting. He ran in to the envoy's room, and warned him that the Heratees were at hand. Without the loss of a moment's time, Lieutenant Hamilton got his men under arms; and posted them at the upper windows of the house, where their fire would command the approaches to the gate.

Quickly as this was done, the Afghans were close at hand by the time that each man was at his post; and instantly opened a scattering fire at the residency, shouting to the soldiers to come out and join them, and to bring out the Kaffir officers to be killed. The Pathans were, however, true to their salt and, in reply, opened a steady fire upon the mass of the enemy. With wild yells the Afghans rushed at the gate but, so steadily and rapidly did the defenders shoot, from the upper windows and loopholes cut in the gate, that the assailants were forced to fall back.

"That's right, my lads," Major Cavagnari said cheerfully to his men; "we can hold the place for some time, and the Ameer will bring the Cabul regiments down in no time, and sweep away these rascals."

The Afghans, now some thousands strong—assisted by all the Budmashes, and turbulent portion of the population of Cabul—surrounded the house on all sides, and kept up a heavy and incessant fire; which was coolly and steadily returned by the Guides. After an hour's fighting, there was a sudden roar above the rattle of musketry; followed by another, and another. Simultaneously came the crash of shells. One burst in the house, the other tore through the gate. Still there was no sign of the Cabul regiments.

Eight or ten guns were brought to play on the little garrison. The gate was broken down, and nearly half the force of the house were already killed, or wounded, by the musketry and shell fire. Still they continued the defense Over and over again, the Afghans swarmed up close to the gate; only to fall back again, before the steady fire of the Snider rifles of the Guides. Major Cavagnari went from room to room, encouraging the men; while the other officers and Will Gale, taking rifles which had fallen from the hands of men no longer able to use them, set an example of cool and steady firing to their men.

For four hours the unequal contest continued; then a cry arose, from the men, that the house was on fire. It was but too true. A shell had exploded in the lower part of the house, and had ignited the woodwork; and the fire had already obtained so firm a hold that it was impossible to extinguish it. A few of the men continued their fire from the windows, to the last; while the rest carried their wounded comrades out into the courtyard. As the flames shot out from the lower windows, the yells of the Afghans rose higher and higher; and a fearful storm of lead and iron swept down upon the little band, who were now plainly visible in the light of the flames. Even now the enemy did not dare, although numbering hundreds to one, to come too close upon them, though they flocked up close to the gate.

"Now, lads!" Major Cavagnari exclaimed, "let us rush out, and die fighting hand to hand; better that than to be shot down defenseless, here."

Thus saying he led the way, and charged out upon the crowded foe. There were but Lieutenant Hamilton and eight men to follow him. All the rest had fallen. Doctor Kelly had been shot in the house, while dressing the wound of one of the soldiers. Mr. Jenkyns had fallen outside.

Will Gale had twice been wounded, but was still on his feet and, grasping his musket, he rushed forward with his comrades. A figure sprang out just as he reached the gate and, with a sudden rush, carried him along for some paces. Then he stumbled over a fragment of the wall, and fell just at the corner of the gate—which had swung inward, when burst open by the enemy's shell. Confused and bewildered, he struggled to regain his feet.

"Keep quiet, master!" Yossouf's voice said, in his ear. "It is your only chance of safety."

So saying, he dragged Will into the narrow space between the gate and the wall; then, as he rose to his feet, he wrapped round him a loose Afghan cloak, and pressed a black sheepskin cap far down over his face.

In a minute there was the sound of a fierce struggle, without. The shots of the revolvers of the two English officers rang out, in quick succession, mingled with the loud report of the Afghan muskets. The savage yells rose, high and triumphant. The last of the gallant band, who had for hours defended the embassy, had fallen. Then there was a rush through the gate, as the Afghans swarmed into the courtyard, till the space around the burning house was well-nigh full.

Unperceived, Will Gale and Yossouf stepped from behind the gate and joined the throng and, at once, made their way into the stables, where several of the Budmashes were already engaged in their work of plunder. Yossouf caught up three or four horse rugs, and made them into a loose bundle; and signed to Will to do the same. The young soldier did so, and lifted them on his shoulder, so as to partly hide his face. Then he followed Yossouf into the courtyard again.

Already there was a stream of men with saddles, rugs, muskets, and other plunder making their way out, while others were still thronging in. Joining the former, Will and his guide were soon outside the enclosure At any other time, his disguise would have been noticed, at once; but in the crowd his legs were hidden, and all were too intent upon plunder, and too excited at their success, to notice him.

Once outside the wall, he was comparatively safe. The light thrown over the courtyard, by the blazing house, made the darkness beyond all the more complete. Keeping carefully in shadow, Yossouf led him along to a clump of bushes, in a garden a hundred yards from the house. Stooping here, he pulled out a bundle.

"Here," he said, "is the uniform. Put it on, quickly!"

It was but the work of a minute for Will to attire himself in the uniform of the Afghan soldier. He had still retained the musket, which he had in his hand when Yossouf had leaped upon him; and as he now went on with his guide he had no fear, whatever, of being detected. He still carried the bundle of rugs on his shoulder.

As they walked round towards the lower gate of the Bala-Hissar, they met numbers of villagers and townspeople thronging in. These had waited to hear the issue of the attack before leaving their homes but, now that the arrival of the plunderers from the residency, and the cessation of the fire, told of the successful termination of the assault, they flocked up to join in the rejoicings over the annihilation of the Kaffirs.



Chapter 14: The Advance Upon Cabul.

Throughout the long hours of the night of the 2nd of September, while the roll of musketry and the roar of cannon had gone on, without a moment's pause, just outside the walls of his palace, Yakoob Khan had made no movement, whatever, to protect his guests or fulfil his own solemn promises. Silent and sullen, he had sat in his council chamber.

The disgrace of a broken promise is not one which weighs heavily upon an Afghan's mind, and it is not probable that the thought of his tarnished honor troubled him, in the slightest degree; but he knew that the massacre which was being perpetrated at his door would be avenged, and that the English troops, which had so easily beaten the army which his father had spent so many years in preparing, would be set in movement against Cabul the moment the news reached India. He cannot but have dreaded the consequences. But he apparently feared, even more, to incur the hostility of the Heratee regiment, by interfering to save their victims.

Again and again during the night, his wisest councilors besought him to call upon the loyal Cabullee regiments to act against the Heratees, but in vain. It is doubtful whether Yakoob was previously informed of the intended massacre, but there is strong reason to believe that he was so. The proofs, however, were not clear and definite. His conduct cost him his throne, and condemned him to remain to the end of his life a dishonored pensioner, and semi-prisoner, in India.

Many eager questions were asked of Will and his companion, as they made their way down to the gate of the Bala-Hissar. Yossouf took upon himself to answer them, and they passed through the gate without the slightest suspicion.

"Which way now?"

"I think it will be safest to go into the city. We might lie hid for a few days in some deserted hut but, sooner or later, our presence there would excite comment. It will be best, I think, to go into the city. In the quarters of the Parsee merchants there are assuredly some who would give you shelter. Domajee—who was the contractor for the supply of the mission—would, I should think, be best to go to. There is little danger, for none will suspect your presence there. His servants are all Hindoos."

"That is the best place, Yossouf. I have been down several times to Domajee, and he is certainly devoted to the English. We can but try him."

The first dawn of morning was breaking, when Will and his faithful friend arrived at the door of the Parsee trader, in the Hindoo quarter of Cabul. The doors were fastened and barred, for it was impossible to say whether the attack upon the mission—which had been heard going on, all night—might not be followed by a fanatic outbreak against the Hindoo and Parsee traders, in the Hindoo quarter. Therefore, there was little sleep that night.

Yossouf knocked gently at the door.

"Who is there?" a voice at once inquired, from within.

"I come on urgent business with Domajee," Yossouf replied. "Open quickly, there are but two of us here."

There was a slight pause, and then the door was opened; and closed, immediately the two visitors had entered. A light was burning in the large anteroom, as they entered it; and several Hindoos—who had been lying, wrapped up in cloths, on the floor—rose to their feet to inspect the newcomers. A moment later the trader, himself, came down the stairs from an apartment above.

"What is it?" he asked.

He did not pause for an answer. The light from the lamp he carried fell upon Will's face, now white as a sheet from loss of blood. With the one word, "Follow," the Parsee turned on his heel, and led the way upstairs.

"Has the mission been captured?" he asked, as they entered an empty room.

"Yes," Will replied, "and I believe that I am the only survivor."

The fatigue of climbing the stairs completed the work caused by prolonged excitement and loss of blood and, as he spoke, he tottered; and would have fallen had not Yossouf seized him and, with the assistance of the Parsee, laid him on a couch. In a few words, Yossouf informed the trader of what had happened; and satisfied him that no suspicion could arise, of the presence of one of the British in his house. As the residency had been burnt down, and the bodies of those who had fallen within it consumed, no one would suspect that one of the five Englishmen there had effected his escape; and it would be supposed that Will's body, like that of Doctor Kelly, had been consumed in the flames.

The Parsee was sure that Cabul would soon be reoccupied by the British and—putting aside his loyalty to them—he felt that his concealment of an English survivor of the massacre would be greatly to his advantage, and would secure for him the custom of the English, upon their arrival at the town.

He first descended the stairs; and warned his Hindoo followers, on no account, whatever, to breathe a word of the entry of strangers there. Then he again returned to the room, where Yossouf was sprinkling water on Will's face, and was endeavoring to recover him to consciousness.

"There is blood on the couch," the trader said. "He is wounded, and is suffering from its loss. See! The sleeve of his coat is soaked with blood, but I see no mark on the cloth."

"No," Yossouf replied; "he has put on that uniform since the fight."

"Go downstairs," the trader said; "my wife and daughter will see to him."

As soon as Yossouf left the room, Domajee's wife and daughter entered, with many exclamations of surprise and alarm. They were at once silenced by the trader, who bid them cut off the wounded man's uniform, and stanch his wounds.

Will had been hit in two places. One ball had passed through the left arm, fortunately without injuring the bone. The other had struck him in the side, had run round his ribs and gone out behind, inflicting an ugly-looking but not serious wound—its course being marked by a blue line on the flesh, behind the two holes of entry and exit.

The wounds were washed and bound up, some cordial was poured between his lips and, ere long, he opened his eyes and looked round, in bewilderment.

"You are safe, and among friends," the Parsee said. "Drink a little more of the cordial, and then go off quietly to sleep. You need have no fear of being discovered, and your friends will be here, ere long."

Four of the Hindoo servants now, at the order of the trader, came upstairs and, lifting the couch, carried Will to a cool and airy chamber, in the upper story of the house. Here a soft bed of rugs and mattresses was prepared, and Will was soon in a quiet sleep, with Yossouf watching by his side.

It was but twenty-four hours after the massacre that a well-mounted native, from Cabul, brought the news over the Shatur-Gardan Pass into the Khurum valley. Thence it was telegraphed to Simla and, in a few hours, all India rang with it. Not an instant was lost in making preparations for avenging the murder of the British mission. On the same day, orders were sent to Brigadier General Massy—at that time commanding the field force in the Khurum valley—to move the 23rd Punjaub Pioneers, the 5th Ghoorkas, and a mountain battery to the crest of the Shatur-Gardan Pass, and to entrench themselves there.

A day or two later, the 72nd Highlanders and the 5th Punjaub Infantry ascended the Peiwar-Khotal, to Ali-Kheyl, to secure the road between the Khotal and the pass. The 72nd then moved forward, and joined the 23rd Pioneers and 5th Ghoorkas on the Shatur-Gardan; and on the 13th General Baker arrived there, and took the command, but some time was needed before the advance could commence.

As is usual with the British, the great transport train—which had, with such pains, been collected and organized for the war—had been dispersed, immediately peace was signed; and the whole work had now to be recommenced. Vast numbers of animals had been used up, during the campaign; and there was the greatest difficulty in obtaining the minimum number which was required before the troops could move. At last, General Roberts managed to collect, in the Punjaub, 2000 mules and 700 camels and bullocks. The tribes in the Khurum valley, too—who had been kindly treated, and were well satisfied with the change of masters—furnished many animals for the transport of stores, as far as the Shatur-Gardan.

The news had thrown the Gilgis, and other tribes among the mountains beyond the Peiwar-Khotal, into a state of ferment; and several determined attacks were made, by them, upon convoys on their way up to the head of the pass. These, however, were always successfully repulsed by the baggage guards, with considerable loss to the assailants and, on the 26th September—three weeks from the date of the massacre—General Roberts joined the troops at Ali-Kheyl, and moved forward to the Shatur-Gardan.

During this time two or three letters had been received from the Ameer, who wrote to General Roberts deprecating any advance of the British troops, and saying that he was trying to restore order, to put down the mutinous Heratee troops, and to punish them for their conduct. As, however, the details which had been received of the massacre showed that the Ameer had behaved in a most suspicious—if not in a most treacherous—manner, at the time of the massacre; and that if he possessed any authority, whatever, over the troops, he had not attempted to exercise it, no attention was paid to his letters.

The advanced party of the invading force moved down from the Shatur-Gardan Pass. It consisted of the 12th and 14th Bengal Cavalry, two guns of the Royal Horse Artillery, two companies of the 72nd Highlanders, and the 5th Punjaub Native Infantry. The road was found to be extremely steep and difficult, and much labor was necessary before it could be made practicable for guns and wheeled carriages. No enemy was encountered, and the little force encamped at night in the Logan valley; over which the cavalry skirmished, far ahead, but found no foes awaiting them.

On the following day they made another march forward, the brigades of Generals Baker and Macpherson from the pass into the valley. The advance force halted at Zerghun-Shah and, soon after they had done so, some of the cavalry rode in, with the surprising news that the Ameer was close at hand.

Half an hour later Yakoob Khan, attended by some of his principal nobles, rode into camp. He was received with the honor due to his rank but, personally, General Roberts greeted him with great coldness. The Ameer stated that he came into camp because he could not control the soldiery of Cabul; and that, therefore, he had left the place and come in, to show his friendship for the English. Whatever may have been the motives for his coming, they were never fully explained. Circumstances which afterwards occurred strongly confirmed the suspicion that he meditated treachery.

He was treated honorably; but the guard of honor which was assigned to him was, in fact, a guard over him and, from that time, he was virtually a prisoner. General Roberts declined, altogether, to discuss with him the events of the massacre of Cabul; saying that this was a matter which could not now be entered into, but would be fully investigated on the arrival at the Afghan capital.

The following day, the brigades of Generals Baker and Macpherson joined the advance at Zerghun-Shah. The amount of transport available was only sufficient for half the baggage of the army; and it was necessary, therefore, to move forward in two divisions—the one advancing a day's march, and then halting; while the animals went back to bring up the baggage of the second division, on the following day.

A proclamation was now issued by the general, and sent forward among the people of the valley; saying that the object of the expedition was only to punish those concerned in the massacre at Cabul, and that all loyal subjects of the Ameer would be well treated.

On the 3rd of October Macpherson's brigade, with the cavalry, reached Suffed-Sang. Here they halted, while the baggage animals went back to bring up General Baker's brigade. The attitude of the people of the valley had now become very threatening. Great numbers of hill tribesmen had come down; and on this day an attack was made upon the rear guard, but was beaten off with loss.

That the natives were bitterly hostile was undoubted; but they were, for the most part, waiting to see the result of the approaching fight. The Heratee and Cabul regiments were confident that they would defeat the approaching column. They had a great advantage in numbers, had been drilled in European fashion, were armed with Enfields, and had an enormous park of artillery at their disposal. They were able to choose their own fighting ground, and had selected a spot which gave them an immense advantage. They were, therefore, confident of victory.

Had the British troops been beaten, the inhabitants of the Logan valley were prepared to rise, to a man. The Ghilzais and other hill tribes would have swept down upon the line of retreat; and few, if any, of the British force would have returned to tell the tale.

The next day Baker's division had the post of honor, and made a short march to Chaurasia. Beyond this village, the enemy had taken up their position. Three miles beyond the village the valley ends—a mass of hills shutting it in, with only a narrow defile leading, through them, to the plain of Cabul beyond. Upon both sides of the defile the enemy had placed guns in position, and lined the whole circle of the hills commanding the approach to 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.

Judging from their own tactics, they had reason for the belief that their position was an impregnable one. In their hill fights the Afghans never come to close quarters. Posted behind rocks and huge boulders, the opposing sides keep up a distant musketry duel—lasting, sometimes, for days—until one side or the other becomes disheartened with its losses, or has exhausted its ammunition. Then it falls back, and the other claims the victory. The idea that English soldiers would, under a heavy fire from their concealed force, steadily climb up the broken mountainside, and come to close quarters, probably never entered into their calculations.

At daybreak on the 6th, a working party were sent forward to improve the road towards the defile. But they had scarcely started when the cavalry patrol in advance rode in, and announced that the enemy were in great strength on the hills, and had guns in position to command the road.

General Roberts had now a choice of two courses—he could either attack the whole Afghan force, with the one division at hand; or he could wait until joined by Macpherson's brigade, next morning. The feat of carrying such a position in face of an immensely superior force, with only half of his little command, was a very serious one but, upon the other hand, every hour added to the number of hillmen who swarmed upon the flanks of the army, just beyond musket range. A delay of twenty-four hours would bring the whole fighting force of the tribesmen into the valley and, while attacking the enemy's position in the front, he would be liable to an assault upon his rear, by them.

Confident in the valor of his soldiers, he chose the first alternative and, at eleven o'clock, his little force marched out from the camp to attack the Afghan army. By this time the enemy's position had been reconnoitered, and it was found to be too strong for a direct attack. It was therefore resolved to ascend the hills on both flanks, and so to drive their defenders back beyond the defile. This, in any case, would have been the best mode of assault; but against semi-savage enemies, flank attacks are peculiarly effective. Having prepared for an assault in one direction, they are disconcerted and disheartened by finding themselves attacked in a different manner; and the fear of a flank being turned, and the line of retreat thereby menaced, will generally suffice to cause a rapid retreat.

General Baker, himself, took the command of the left attack. His force consisted of four guns of Number 2 Mountain Battery, two Gatling guns, the 7th company of Sappers and Miners, a wing of the 72nd Highlanders, six companies of the 5th Ghoorkas, 200 men of the 5th Punjaub Infantry, and 450 of the 23rd Pioneers. This was the main column of attack.

The right column—under the command of Major White, of the 72nd Highlanders—consisted of a wing of that regiment, 100 men of the 23rd Pioneers, three guns of the Royal Artillery, and two squadrons of cavalry. This attack was intended only as a feint, and to distract the attention of the Afghans from the main attack. A strong reserve was left in Chaurasia, to guard the baggage and to overawe the tribesmen.

As General Baker's column reached the foot of the hills, the 23rd—who led the advance, thrown out in skirmishing line—began to climb the ascent. The enemy were armed with Sniders and Enfields, and their fire was rapid and continuous; fortunately it was by no means accurate, and our losses were small. The Afghans, in their hill fighting, are accustomed to fire very slowly and deliberately—taking steady aim, with their guns resting on the rocks—and, so fighting, they are excellent shots. It is probable, however, that the steady advance of our men towards them flurried and disconcerted them; and that they thought more of firing quickly, than of taking a correct aim.

The 72nd, pressing up the hill, were assisted by the fire of the mountain guns and Gatlings, and by that of the Punjaubees in their rear. Gradually the upper slopes of the hills were gained; and the British troops, pressing forward, drove the Afghans back along the crest. Several times they made obstinate stands, holding their ground until the 72nd were close to them.

These, however, would not be denied. The massacre of the mission at Cabul had infuriated the soldiers, and each man was animated with a stern determination to avenge our murdered countrymen. For an hour and a half the fight continued; and then the Afghans abandoned the ridge, and fled in confusion. They rallied upon some low hills, 600 yards from the rear; but the mountain guns and Gatlings opened upon them and, the whole line advancing to the attack, the enemy fell back.

Major White's column had been doing excellent service, on the right. Although the attack had been intended only as a feint, it was pushed forward so vigorously that it met with a success equal to that which had attended the main column, on the left. The enemy were driven off the hills on the right of the defile. Twenty guns were captured, and the direct road cleared of the enemy.

Unfortunately, our cavalry was in the rear. The road through the pass was difficult and, before they could get through into the plain on the other side, the masses of Afghans had fallen back into the strong villages scattered over it; and could not be attacked by cavalry, alone. The enemy had from 9000 to 10,000 men upon the ridge, including thirteen regiments of regular troops. They left 300 dead upon the field and, besides these, carried off large numbers of killed and wounded, during the night. Upon our side only 20 were killed, and 67 wounded.

Had General Roberts had his whole force with him, he could—after capturing the hills—have at once pushed forward, and have attacked the enemy on the plain; and the Afghans, disheartened and panic stricken, would have been completely crushed. With so small a force in hand, and the possibility of a serious attack by the tribes on his rear, General Roberts did not think it prudent to advance farther; and the regiments which had taken the principal part in the massacre of Cabul marched away, unmolested.

Enormously superior as they still were in numbers, they had no thought of further resistance. The capture of positions which they deemed impregnable, by a force so inferior in number to their own, had utterly disheartened them; and the Heratee regiments which, but the day before, had been so proudly confident of their ability to exterminate the Kaffirs, were now utterly demoralized and panic stricken. In the night the whole of the Afghan troops scattered, and fled. Our cavalry—under General Massy—swept along the plain of Cabul and, skirting the town, kept on as far as the Ameer's great entrenched camp at Sherpur, three miles further along the valley. Here 75 guns were captured.

In the morning, Macpherson arrived. General Roberts now advanced with his whole force of infantry, and found that he had no longer a foe before him. The Afghan army had disappeared.

There was no longer any occasion for haste, and the column halted until all the baggage had been brought up through the difficult defile. The total defeat of the Afghan army had overawed the tribesmen, and these at once retired to their hills again. The villagers, however, were bitterly hostile; and seized every opportunity of firing at small bodies of troops, on cavalry patrols. This continued for some time; and General Roberts, at last, was obliged to punish it with severity and, in such cases, all found with arms in their hands were at once shot.

On the 11th of October Sir Frederick Roberts and his staff, with a cavalry escort, rode into the Bala-Hissar and, the next morning, the British troops marched into the fort. The gates of Cabul stood open, and a column was marched through the town, and formal possession taken of it.

During the first five weeks which elapsed, after the massacre of the mission, William Gale remained almost prostrate in the house of the friendly Parsee trader. He had barely recovered his strength, after his prolonged illness, when the attack was made; and the events of that night, and the great loss of blood which he had suffered, had reduced his strength to that of an infant. Under the care of the Parsee and his family, however, he slowly but steadily regained strength.

For the first month, but little news reached him from without. Then a report came that the British had assembled, in considerable force, on the crest of the Shatur-Gardan; and were going to move on Cabul from that direction. Then, day by day, the tidings came in of the advance of the force. It was reported, generally, that the Ameer had gone out to meet them; with the intention of leaving them, when the decisive moment, arrived and taking command of the tribesmen, who would fall upon and annihilate them.

On the 6th the town was unusually quiet, and Will heard that the Afghan army had moved out, to occupy the hills commanding the approach through the defile; and that, with the aid of the tribesmen, the British army was to be exterminated there.



Chapter 15: The Fighting Round Cabul.

All day long, on the 6th of October, William Gale sat at an open window in the upper story of the Parsee's house—facing west—and listened to the distant roar of the battle; while all Cabul was in a state of wild excitement, in the sure anticipation of victory. Will felt equally confident as to the result of the battle. He knew that—well led—a British force could be trusted to carry any position held by the Afghans; and he felt sure that, even should he fail to carry it by direct attack, the English general would, sooner or later, succeed in turning it by flank movements.

About two o'clock in the afternoon, William noticed a change in the character of the sounds in the town. In the Hindoo quarter all had been quiet—for the inhabitants greatly feared that, in a burst of fanaticism following a victory achieved over the British, the Afghans might sack the Hindoo quarter, and murder its inhabitants. Yossouf, however, had been all the morning out in the town; and had, from time to time, brought in a report of the rumors current there.

At first it was said that the British were being utterly routed, that they were being exterminated by the Afghan fire, that the hill tribes were sweeping down upon their rear, and that not a man would escape. Presently the reports became more contradictory. The firing was still heard, but it was no longer one continuous roll. Some said that the British were annihilated; others that, repulsed in their attack, they had fallen back to their camp but, soon after two o'clock, Yossouf rushed up to William's room with the news that the Afghans had been driven from the heights, and that the British were in possession of these, and of the defile through them.

Yossouf had, throughout the morning, been swayed by conflicting emotions and wishes. At one moment he hoped that his countrymen might conquer; then the fear that, after victory, the Hindoo quarter might be sacked, and his English friend discovered and killed, overpowered his feeling of patriotism.

It must be remembered that Afghanistan has, for centuries, been rather a geographical expression than a country. Its population is composed of a great number of tribes, without any common feelings or interest, and often engaged in desperate wars and conflicts with each other. The two leading tribes—the Ghilzais and Duranees—had long struggled for ascendency in the cultivated portion of the country. For a long period the Ghilzais had had the supremacy, but the Duranees were now lords of the country.

The mountain tribes, for the most part, held themselves entirely independent; and although, in time, they gave a nominal allegiance to the Ameer of Cabul, yet—as had been shown in the Khurum valley—they hated their native masters, with an animosity far exceeding that which they felt towards the British. That throughout the war the tribesmen were ready, when they saw an opportunity to attack English convoys and small columns, is true; but they were animated by a love of plunder, rather than of country and, over a considerable area of Afghanistan—notably at Candahar—the people, in general, would have infinitely preferred the mild and just rule of the English, to the military tyranny of Cabul.

Thus, Yossouf had grown up without understanding the meaning of the feeling which we call patriotism. He had, it is true, been taught to hate the unbelievers; but this feeling had disappeared, on his acquaintance with Will Gale, and he now ranked the safety and happiness of his friend far before any national consideration. How weak is the feeling of patriotism, among the Afghans, is shown by the fact that most of the British frontier troops consist of Afghan hillmen; who are always ready, when called upon, to fight desperately against their countrymen and co-religionists. Examples of treachery, such as that exhibited by the two Pathans who fired their guns, to warn their countrymen of the British advance up the Spingawi Pass, are almost unknown.

It was, then, with a feeling of joy that Yossouf related, to his English friends, the news of the defeat of the Afghan army. Throughout the Hindoo quarter there was deep, but suppressed, gladness at the news of the British victory; and this increased when, as the night went on, it was known that the Afghan army was totally dispersed, that the troops remaining in Cabul had fled, and that the city was virtually open for the entrance of the English.

When, on the 12th—with bands playing, and colors displayed—the British troops marched through Cabul, Will would fain have gone out and joined his countrymen. But the Parsee pointed out, to him, that this would draw the attention of the Afghans to the fact that he had been concealed by him; and that in case, at any time, the British should evacuate Cabul and return to India, he would be a marked man for the vengeance of the Afghans. Will therefore wrapped up in a long cloak and, accompanied by Yossouf and the Parsee, left the house after dark and, proceeding to the gate, walked out to the Bala-Hissar.

Explaining who he was, Will was soon passed through the sentries which had been set, at nightfall; and was conducted to the quarters of the general. The latter was greatly surprised when he was told that an English soldier, who had been present at the attack upon the mission, wished to speak to him; and at once ordered Will to be brought before him. Great was his surprise when he learned, from the young soldier, that he had fought under him at the taking of Peiwar-Khotal and, having been made prisoner near Ali-Kheyl, had been brought to Cabul; and had joined the party of Sir Lewis Cavagnari, on its arrival at that city. Still more that, having been in the residency when the attack upon it was commenced by the Heratee soldiery, he had managed to escape from the massacre of that night.

After having first heard a complete outline of Will's story, the general called in several of his staff—who had just finished dinner—and then requested Will to give a full and detailed description of his adventures. After he had concluded, Yossouf and the Parsee were called in, and the general warmly expressed his gratification at the kindness that they had shown to a wounded English soldier, at the risk of their lives. He ordered that a handsome present should be made to Yossouf, and told the Parsee to call again in the morning, when the quartermaster general would be told to arrange, with him, for the supply of such articles as the country afforded for the use of the troops.

"Your regiment," he said to Will, "is, at present, at Jellalabad. Whether it will come up here I do not yet know but, in the meantime, you will be promoted to the rank of sergeant—which is the least we can do, after what you have gone through—and you will take your place with my staff orderly sergeants."

He then sent for one of the sergeants and gave Will into his charge, telling him he would speak further with him, when he had arranged the pressing business which the occupation of Cabul entailed upon him.

Yossouf remained with Will, being—at his urgent request—placed upon the roll as a native follower, of whom a considerable number accompany each regiment in India. His duties were but nominal for, when Will's story was well known, Yossouf became a most popular character among the sergeants of the staff. The money which he had received—in the first place from the Ameer, and now from General Roberts—would secure his future. In Afghanistan animals are cheap; and the owner of a small herd of oxen, sheep, or even goats is regarded by his neighbors as a wealthy man. Therefore Yossouf would, on the departure of the British, be able to settle down in a position of comparative affluence.

Two days later General Roberts, being one evening disengaged, sent for William Gale. He had been much struck with the bearing and manner of the young soldier, and now requested him to give him a full history of his antecedents.

"You have had a curious and eventful history," he said, when the young sergeant had finished, "and appear to have conducted yourself with great discretion, readiness, and courage. From what you tell me of your conversation with Colonel Shepherd, I have no doubt that he formed the same impression that I do, from your manner and appearance—that you are of a respectable, if not of good family—and I trust that you will some day discover a clue to your parents. It seems to me that, had the authorities of the place where you were left properly bestirred themselves, they ought to have been able to find out who you are.

"However, that is not to the point, now. It is sufficient for me that, from your manner and address, you would not be out of place in any position. I shall, of course, report the fact of your having fought by Major Cavagnari's side, in the attack upon him here; and shall strongly recommend that a commission be granted you. I am sure that, from your conduct hitherto, you will never do discredit to any position in which you may find yourself.

"Say nothing to your fellow sergeants of what I have told you. It is possible—although not probable—that my recommendation may not be acted upon and, at any rate, some months must elapse before an answer can be received."

William Gale returned to his quarters in a state of extreme delight. The communication which General Roberts had made to him was altogether beyond his hopes. He had, indeed, from the very day that he enlisted, often hoped that, some time or other, he might win for himself a commission; and take his place in the rank to which he had, from his childhood, believed that he was, by birth, entitled. The words and manner of his colonel had encouraged this hope, but he had never dreamed that his promotion might be attained so soon. It was but a year since he had enlisted, and five was the very earliest at which he had even dreamed that a commission might possibly be gained.

The next day he had been sent from the orderly room with a note to the colonel of the 67th, which was the regiment now in quarters in the Bala-Hissar; the rest of the force being encamped in the plain, below. As he was walking across the open, he was suddenly hurled to the ground with tremendous violence and, at the same moment, a roar as loud as that of thunder sounded in his ears. Bewildered and half stunned, he rose to his feet; while showers of stones, beams, and other debris fell around him.

Illustration: One of the Gunpowder Magazines had Exploded.

One of the gunpowder magazines had exploded. It had been known that very large quantities of powder were stored in various buildings at the Bala-Hissar and, at the moment of the explosion, a body of engineers, under Captain Shafto, were examining the buildings in which it was stored, and making preparation for the removal of the powder. Singularly enough, no soldiers of the 67th were killed but, of the Ghoorkas, who were on guard at the arsenal at the time, twelve were killed and seven wounded. Shafto was, unfortunately, killed.

The 67th were at once called out, and set to work to extinguish the flames which had been kindled by the explosion—great damage being done. The southern wall of the arsenal had been blown down, and several buildings set on fire. Explosion followed explosion, and the work of extinguishing the flames was an extremely dangerous one.

In the afternoon another magazine blew up. Fortunately, no troops were in its neighborhood at the time; but four Afghans were killed, and several soldiers hurt, at a distance of three or four hundred yards from the spot. Although it was never proved, it was strongly believed that these explosions were caused by the Afghans and—as large quantities of powder still remained in the Bala-Hissar—it was determined that, for the present, the place should be evacuated. The general therefore, with his staff and the regiment in garrison, left the place and joined the camp in the plain.

The little force at Cabul was now isolated. Troops were slowly coming up the Khyber Pass to Jellalabad; where a division was to be formed, destined in the spring to join the force at Cabul, should it be necessary to carry on further operations.

Between Cabul and the Shatur-Gardan the natives were in a restless and excited state. Two attacks, by 3000 men, had been made on the garrison holding the crest of the latter position—three hundred in number. These bravely sallied out, attacked the enemy in the open, and killed large numbers of them. Still, great numbers of the tribesmen were gathered round; and General Gough, with the 5th Punjaubee Cavalry, the 5th Punjaubee Infantry, and four guns, was therefore sent from Cabul to bring down, from the Shatur-Gardan, the garrison and all the stores accumulated there. The pass, which would shortly be closed by snow, was then to be deserted.

Several executions now took place, at Cabul, of men who were proved to have shared in the attack on the embassy. Some of the leading men of the place, who had instigated the troops to the attack, were among those executed. Many of the villagers were also hung, for shooting at detached bodies of our troops. A proclamation had been issued by the general, on his first arrival, warning the people that any attempt against our authority would be severely punished; forbidding the carrying of weapons within the streets of Cabul, or within a distance of five miles of the city gates; and offering a reward for all arms belonging to the Afghan troops which should be given up, and for the surrender of any person, whether soldier or civilian, concerned in the attack on the embassy.

The position of the British force, at Cabul, was that of a body holding only the ground they occupied, in the midst of a bitterly hostile country. The Ameer was powerless and, indeed, his goodwill was more than doubtful. He had, from his arrival in the camp, been regarded as a prisoner—although treated with courtesy—and after the battle of Chaurasia—feeling his own impotence, and being viewed with hostility by both parties—he resigned his position as Ameer, and asked to be sent to India, which was done. The abdication of the Ameer really took place on the day the troops entered Cabul, but it was not publicly known until the end of the month; as nothing could be done, on the subject, until his desire was communicated to the Indian authorities, and their views concerning it ascertained.

From the moment of his arrival at Cabul, General Roberts had set to work to prepare for the winter. He would, for four or five months, be entirely cut off; and would have to rely upon himself, alone. He had before him the terrible catastrophe which had, on the same ground, befallen General Elphinstone's army; and knew that it was possible—and indeed probable—that, with the memory of that success before them, the Afghans would unite in another great effort to annihilate the little force shut up in the heart of their country.

Fortunately he had, in the Ameer's barracks at Sherpur, a position which he was confident he could hold against any attacks that could be made upon him. These extensive barracks had been erected by Sheer-Ali for the use of his cavalry, but had never been used. They consisted of a large square, three sides of which were surrounded by a lofty wall—an isolated and rocky, steep hill rising at the back, and closing the fourth side. The buildings were amply large enough to contain the whole of General Roberts' force; and there was abundant room for the stores, baggage animals, and wagons.

The only fault was, indeed, that the extent of wall to be defended was too long for the force at his disposal. Round two sides the outer wall was complete but, on the third, it had not been taken to its full height, nor had it been continued so as to join the hill behind it.

Great efforts were made to bring in sufficient provisions and forage for the winter; and expeditions were made up the Logan, Maidan, and other valleys for the purpose. Winter was fast setting in. Snow had begun to fall upon the hills, and ice formed on the pools, every night. The natives of the valleys near were ready enough to sell their grain, straw, and fuel; but few supplies came in from a distance, as armed bands stopped all supplies on their way. However, a sufficient amount of food and fuel was obtained, and stored in Sherpur. Grain, too, was procured for the winter; and the only article of which the supply was insufficient was chopped straw, of which a very large quantity was required.

The attitude of the natives grew daily more hostile. Their priests were preaching a revolt to the death, and recalling to the people how their fathers had annihilated a British force, thirty years before. Urged alike by fanaticism and a desire for plunder, the natives over the whole country were seething with excitement; and General Roberts saw that a crisis was approaching. The Afghans could assemble at least 100,000 men; and among these would be included all the troops of the Ameer's disbanded armies, armed with weapons equal to our own, and burning to revenge the defeats which had been inflicted upon them. To oppose them the English general had less than 6000 men.

But though prepared for trouble, the storm, when it came, burst suddenly upon the English. The enemy were known to be collecting in great numbers, in the Maidan valley, and two columns were sent out to attack them. One was commanded by Macpherson, the other by Baker. Although they were to strike simultaneously at the enemy, their route of march lay up different valleys—with a lofty mountain range between them—so they could in no way cooperate with each other. After they had started, General Massy was directed to move out, with a small force of cavalry and a battery of horse artillery, and cooperate with General Macpherson.

An hour after the cavalry had started General Roberts, himself, rode out. He was accompanied by his usual escort, and by two mounted orderly sergeants. One of these was William Gale. They had only proceeded a short distance when they heard, some distance ahead of them, the guns of the Royal Horse Artillery—with Massy—at work; and the general at once rode forward, at a gallop.

General Macpherson had found Mahomed Jan—one of the principal leaders of the Afghans—with 10,000 men, near Chardeh. A fight ensued. The guns shelled the enemy, but the water courses prevented the cavalry with Macpherson acting; and Mahomed Jan, moving across the hills, placed himself between Macpherson and Cabul. Shortly afterwards General Massy—who had with him three troops of the 9th Lancers, and forty-four men of the 14th Bengal Lancers, with four guns under Major Smith-Wyndham—came in sight of a portion of Mahomed Jan's force. It was clear that these had, in some way, interposed themselves between the little force and Macpherson's column; and Massy supposed that they were a party of fugitives, flying before the force of Macpherson or Baker.

As they came streaming down the hill, he got his guns into action. After a few shells had been fired, the enemy advanced in full force. Four thousand men were extended in the shape of a crescent, advancing in fairly good order; while behind was an irregular mob, of some six thousand men.

The ground upon which General Massy found himself, at this time, was singularly unfitted for the action of artillery. It was cut up by deep water courses, and anything like rapidity of movement was impossible. It would have been prudent had Massy—when he saw how large was the force opposed to him—at once retired, until he came to ground where his guns could be rapidly maneuvered but, relying upon the effect of the shell, he remained in the position in which he had first discovered the enemy. The shell pitched rapidly into the thick of the Afghans, but no effect was produced in checking their advance. They did not waver for a moment, but came steadily on. The enemy's bullets were now dropping fast among the cavalry and guns. Thirty of the 9th Lancers were dismounted, and opened fire with their Martini carbines; but the enemy were too numerous to be checked by so small a body of men.

At this moment, Sir Frederick Roberts arrived upon the spot. The position was serious and, to retire the guns in safety, it was absolutely necessary to check the advance of the enemy. General Roberts therefore ordered Massy to send his cavalry at the enemy. Colonel Cleland led a squadron of the 9th full at the advancing mass, the Bengal Lancers following; while Captain Gough, with his troop of the 9th, charged the enemy's left flank—but even the charge of Balaclava was scarcely more desperate than this. Two hundred and twenty men, however gallant, could not be expected to conquer 10,000.

The three bodies of cavalry charged, at full speed, into the midst of the enemy's infantry; who received them with a terrible fire, which killed many horses and men. The impetus of the charge bore down the leading ranks of the Afghans, and the cavalry tore their way through the mass, until their progress was blocked by sheer weight of numbers. A desperate melee took place—the troopers fighting with their sabers, the Afghans with knives, and clubbed muskets. Many of the soldiers were struck from their horses. Some were dragged to their feet again, by their comrades; others were killed upon the ground.

The chaplain of the force—the Reverend Mr. Adams—had accompanied the troopers in the charge and, seeing a man jammed under a fallen horse, he leaped from his saddle and extricated him; and brought him off, in spite of the attack of several Afghans. For this act of bravery he received the Victoria Cross, being the first chaplain in the army who had ever obtained that decoration.

When the dust raised by the charging squadrons had subsided, it was seen that the enemy were still advancing. The Lancers had fallen back and, as the men galloped in, they rallied behind Captain Gough's troop; which had kept best together, and had formed up again between the guns and the enemy. Lieutenants Hersee and Ricardo, and sixteen of their men, had been left dead upon the ground. Colonel Cleland, Lieutenant Mackenzie, and seven of the troopers were wounded. A second charge was ordered; but this time it was not pushed home, as a wide water course checked the advance.

Under cover of the first cavalry charge, Major Smith-Wyndham had ordered two of the guns to be taken off and, as he now fell back with the other two, one of them stuck in the water course. The greatest efforts were made, with the horses which still remained uninjured, to get the gun out; but the enemy were pressing close on. Lieutenant Hardy was killed, by a shot through the head, and the gun was abandoned. The other three guns were retired 400 or 500 yards farther; but here they became hopelessly bogged in a channel, deeper than any that had hitherto been met with. They were spiked, and left in the water; and the drivers and gunners moved off with the cavalry, just as the enemy poured down upon them.

Seeing the danger of the situation, and the large force of the enemy, General Roberts had, on his first arrival, sent off a trooper at full gallop to General Gough—who commanded at Sherpur—ordering him to send out two hundred men of the 72nd Highlanders, at the double, to hold the gorge leading direct from the scene of conflict to Cabul. There was but a very small garrison of British troops in the city and, had the enemy made their way there, the townspeople would have risen, and a serious disaster taken place.

After leaving the guns behind them, the cavalry retired steadily towards the village at the head of the gorge; keeping up a hot fire, with their carbines, on the enemy who pressed upon them.

"Ride back, Sergeant Gale," the general said, "and meet the 72nd. Hurry them up at full speed—every minute is precious."

William Gale rode back at full speed. Until a fortnight before, he had never been on a horse; but the animal which he rode was well trained and steady and, hitherto, he had had no difficulty in keeping his seat, as he trotted along with the escort. It was a different thing, now; for the ground was rough, and the horse going at a full gallop, and he clung on to the pummel of the saddle, to steady himself. 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. They instantly opened such a fire upon the enemy that the latter ceased their advance, and soon fell back; and Cabul was, for the moment, safe.



Chapter 16: The Fight In The Pass.

The Afghan force, after half an hour's effort to carry the village held by the Highlanders, moved off to their left and, working along the hills, took post on the heights beyond Bala-Hissar. In the meantime General Macpherson, having dispersed a strong body of the enemy up the valley, marched back towards Cabul and, coming across the scene of the late action, brought in the bodies of the dead officers. The guns had already been carried off for, as the enemy advanced, Colonel Macgregor—collecting a handful of lancers and artillery men—worked round to their rear and—dispersing a small body of the enemy, who had lingered at a village near the guns—succeeded in extricating the cannon from the swamp, and carried them off to Sherpur.

From the signal post established above Bala-Hissar, an order was flashed to General Baker—who was many miles away—to inform him of what had occurred, and to order him to march back, with all speed. Late that evening he arrived, with his column; and the British force was again united.

The next day, 560 men of Macpherson's brigade—composed of portions of the 67th, the 72nd, the 3rd Sikhs, and 5th Ghoorkas—were sent out to attack the enemy; who had established themselves upon a lofty peak, south of Cabul. The Afghans occupied the crest in strength and, hidden behind the hill, had 5000 or 6000 men lying in wait, to attack the assailing party in the rear as they pressed upwards.

The position was, however, too strong to be carried. After several hours of fighting, the little British force had driven the Afghans from the lower part of the hill; but were unable to mount towards the crest, for ammunition was running short, and the enemy were too strongly posted. General Roberts therefore ordered Macpherson to hold the ground which he had gained, until next morning, when more troops would be sent.

At eight o'clock in the morning, accordingly, General Baker moved out from Sherpur, with a strong force, and attacked the enemy's position in flank; while Macpherson continued his advance in front. The Afghans fought desperately, and clung to their position until the British were close up; when a desperate hand-to-hand struggle took place, and the British became masters of the position.

While the fighting had been going on, great masses of the enemy had come down from the end of the valley, and threatened the road between Sherpur and Cabul. The 9th Lancers made a magnificent charge among them, broke them, and drove them back. Several other brilliant charges were made, and the plain was kept clear of the enemy. Captain Butson, however—who commanded—was killed, and two other officers wounded.

With each hour that passed the position grew more serious, as immense bodies of the enemy were seen, advancing from all sides. The city was now in open revolt, and the small garrison there with difficulty held their own.

One more effort was made to drive the enemy off the hills. Early on the 15th General Baker, with 1200 infantry and eight guns, left the cantonment. After very severe fighting, the enemy were driven from their lowest positions but, as Baker advanced, a body of from 15,000 to 20,000 of the enemy marched out across the plain, towards the position just captured. Steadily they advanced, and the shells which our mountain guns sent among them, and the volleys poured down from the face of the hill, did not suffice to check them in the slightest. Reassured by their own enormous numbers, and feeling that success was in their grasp, they pressed forward; and desperate fighting took place. A position held by the 5th Punjaub Infantry was carried by their attack, and two guns were lost; but the rest of the positions were maintained.

Seeing that it was impossible to hold the Bala-Hissar and Cabul, in the face of the hordes opposed to him—which were estimated, by the general himself, as numbering 80,000 men; but which the Afghans, themselves, afterwards acknowledged were between 100,000 and 120,000—General Roberts determined to concentrate his troops at Sherpur. Baker was ordered to maintain the position he held, at all costs, until the troops from the Bala-Hissar were withdrawn. This he did; and although, as he fell back, the Afghan hordes swarmed round him, he fought his way back to Sherpur and, by nightfall, all the British force were safely gathered in the cantonments there.

Two days previously, General Roberts had telegraphed for the regiments most advanced in the passes, below, to come forward. They arrived on the morning of the 16th, and the general had no longer any anxiety as to his ability to hold the cantonments—for months, if necessary—against the attacks of the Afghans.

Had these attacked on the morning following what was virtually a victory—whilst still flushed with triumph and excitement—it would have needed all the efforts of the English to hold their position, against so formidable an attack. The Afghans, however, contented themselves with occupying several walled villages near the cantonment, and keeping up an incessant fire upon it. Meanwhile, their main body indulged in wild excesses in Cabul—sacking the Hindoo quarter, and plundering all the shops, without much distinction of nationality.

Thus, three days elapsed; the British making the most of the time afforded them, by strengthening the weak points of their defenses Lines of wagons were placed in the gap between the unfinished wall and the foot of the hill. Wires were stretched in all directions, and chevaux-de-frise erected beyond.

On the 18th the enemy came down in force and, for some hours, a tremendous musketry fire was kept up at the position; but the fire of the musketry and guns, from the walls, was so hot that they did not venture upon an attack.

The following day General Baker sallied out and attacked a fortified post, a few hundred yards from the wall. From this place the enemy had greatly annoyed the garrison. After some severe fighting the Afghans were driven out, and the place blown up.

On the evening of the 22nd the general received news that the Afghans, having prepared a great number of ladders for the assault, intended to attack that night. There had been several similar warnings but, this time, the news proved correct. A signal fire was lit upon one of the heights at four in the morning and, at five o'clock, the plain was covered with the enemy. Quietly they crept up in the darkness, towards the walls; and at six o'clock a prodigious shouting was heard, and from the villages, orchards, and enclosed ground upon all sides, the enemy dashed forward to the assault.

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. For two hours they remained around the walls—yelling, shouting, and firing heavily—but all the efforts of their leaders could not induce them to rise from the ground, and hazard a charge. Many dropped within eighty or ninety yards of the wall but, beyond that, the bravest dared not advance.

When morning broke, the welcome news was brought down—from the outlook on the top of the hill—that far across the plain could be seen the tents of the force of General Gough; who was coming up through the passes, to the relief of the garrison. The news had reached the assailants, also. Considerable bodies of the enemy were observed moving out from Cabul, as if with the intention of attacking the relieving force.

The assailants of the British position—finding their inability to produce the smallest impression—were now beginning to waver; and General Gough ordered the cavalry and horse artillery to go out, by the road which led through a gorge in a hill behind, and to sweep round and take them in the rear.

This they did, with immense success. At the moment that they fell upon the enemy, the British infantry sallied out from the cantonment and attacked them in front. A panic seized the Afghans. In a few minutes the whole plain was covered with flying fugitives; among whom our cavalry swept backward and forward, cutting them up in all directions; while the fire of our infantry, and of the guns on the walls, searched them through and through, whenever they attempted to gather in a knot, and make a stand.

By nightfall, the whole of the Afghans had either fled to the hills, or were driven into Cabul. Upon the following day General Gough's force marched in but, before their arrival, it was found that the enemy had again evacuated the city; and the British were, as before, masters of the position. After the decisive defeat which had been inflicted upon them, and the dispersion of the great force which had gathered, confident of victory, there was little fear of any further attempt on the part of the enemy. They had brought their whole force into the field and, as this was defeated and dispersed, before the arrival of General Gough with his reinforcements, it was evident that success could not be hoped for against the united strength of the English.

The time passed quietly, now. The Bala-Hissar and Cabul were reoccupied and, as the natives were cowed by the crushing defeat they had experienced, there was no longer any repetition of the insolent and defiant manner which they had, before, manifested.

On the 3rd of January a message was brought to the orderly room that the general wished to see Sergeant Gale. Upon his presenting himself at the general's quarters, Sir Frederick Roberts—to his surprise—at once advanced, and shook him warmly by the hand.

"Mr. Gale," he said, "I am very happy to inform you that the Horse Guards have acted upon my recommendation, seconded by that which was sent in by your colonel—who wrote at once, upon receiving a notification from me of the step I had taken, saying that you had distinguished yourself very highly, in the attack upon the Peiwar-Khotal, and that he was convinced that you would make, in all respects, an excellent officer. With my despatches that have just come in, I have received a notification that my request has been attended to; together with a copy of the Gazette, in which you are appointed to the 66th Regiment.

"I have to congratulate you, sir. You are now an officer; and will, I am quite sure, do every credit to my recommendation."

The young soldier was, for a moment, too moved at the tidings to speak coherently; but he murmured his thanks to the general for his kindness.

"Do not say anything about that," the general said, heartily. "It is a pleasure, to me, to have been able to advance a promising young soldier.

"I am only sorry that you are not gazetted to a regiment in my own division. The 66th are at Candahar; and unfortunately they will not, I understand, form part of a column with which General Stuart will advance, in the spring, up the valley through Ghuzni to this place. Had it been so, it would have been best for you to wait their arrival here but, as it is, you had better go down the pass to India, and work round and join your regiment. It is a long road, but it is always best for a young officer to be with his regiment—especially when in the field—and it is possible that they may have their share of fighting, round Candahar.

"And now, there is one thing more. You will have to get an outfit, and there will be the expense of your travel, until you join your regiment. There will be no difficulty about an outfit. This you can procure easily, on the sale of some officer's effects.

"By the by, poor young Thompson, who died yesterday, was about your size; and you had better bid a lump sum for the whole of his kit. I shall be happy to be your banker for that, and the needful sum for your traveling expenses. When you join your regiment you will, of course, be able to draw your pay, from the date on which you were gazetted."

Will thanked the general very heartily for his offer, but said that he had 100 pounds standing at his account at the bank of Hindostan, which had been presented to him by the owners of the vessel in which he arrived there; and that this would be more than sufficient for all his needs, if the general would kindly authorize the staff paymaster to cash his drafts upon the bank.

This request was at once granted. The paymaster of Lieutenant Thompson's regiment estimated that the effects of the young officer would sell, at auction, for about 20 pounds; and this sum William Gale gladly paid, thereby obtaining a complete outfit of regimental and civilian clothes, and under linen of all descriptions. Another 30 pounds bought him a horse and saddlery while, for 5 pounds, he obtained a rough pony for the use of Yossouf—who steadily refused to leave him, although Will pointed out to him that, glad as he should be to have him with him, it would be far more to his advantage to remain among his people at Cabul, where he had means of settling comfortably.

Upon the following day—having obtained his new uniform, which he found required no alteration to fit him fairly—William Gale dined with General Roberts; who had kindly invited him in order to introduce him, in his new position, to the officers of his staff He was obliged to remain three or four days longer at Sherpur, until a strong escort, with sick, was going down through the passes to Jellalabad. His baggage was stowed upon a camel and, after a kind adieu from General Roberts, and a very cordial one from the staff sergeants—among whom he had worked for three months—he started with the convoy for the lower valleys.

The escort consisted of a hundred men of the infantry of the Guides. The way down the pass was difficult; but no snow had fallen for three weeks, and the roads were fairly beaten down by passing parties. Still, their progress was slow and, late on the afternoon of the second day after starting, they were still four miles from the fort of Jugdulluk; which was held by a British force, and where they were to halt for the night.

The Guides were on the alert. A party of four men were 200 yards ahead of the little column, which was commanded by Captain Edwards. Presently a shot rang out from the front, followed by a scattered discharge. William Gale was, at the moment, riding by the side of Captain Edwards. He had already placed himself under that officer's orders, in case of any emergency.

"Mr. Gale," Captain Edwards said, "will you ride forward at once, with six men, to the advanced party. When you get there, take such measures as you may think fit; and send me back word as to the strength and position of the enemy."

With six of the Guides, Will at once rode forward; while Captain Edwards halted, until the little column was gathered closely together: the camels and dhoolies, with sick men, in the center; the soldiers, in readiness for action, around them.

A soldier now ran up with a slip of paper, upon which Will had scribbled, in pencil:

"The enemy are apparently in considerable force. The defile opens here. They are disposed among rocks and boulders, on either side."

Will, on arriving at the advanced party, had found at once that the force of the enemy was too strong for him to attempt to move forward, at present. He had posted the men behind boulders by the wayside, ordering them to pick off any man that showed himself; and they were soon engaged in a sharp musketry skirmish with the enemy. One of their number had fallen at the first discharge; and Will, taking his rifle, used it with effect, until the head of the convoy arrived.

It was now fast becoming dark, and the flashes of the enemy's fire, from behind the rocks, showed how numerous were the assailants.

"There must be a couple of thousands of the scoundrels," Will said to Captain Edwards, as the latter came up to ascertain the state of affairs. "Hampered with the convoy, the position is an awkward one. It is fortunate they attacked where they did; for we can hold our own here while, if they had waited till we got fairly down into this comparatively open valley, and then attacked us on both flanks, it would have been very awkward.

"We must try and clear them out. We cannot stop here all night. It is freezing very sharp, now; and the cold will be intense, in an hour or two."

"I will take thirty men," Captain Edwards said, "and skirmish along among the rocks on the left. Do you take as many more, and move along the right of the path. The remaining forty shall stay here, under my sergeant, to guard the convoy from an attack in rear, in case any of the enemy should come down the defile behind us."

The fight soon became exceedingly hot. Making their way along the rocks, on either side of the path, the Guides slowly drove the enemy before them. It was hard work, however, for the tribesmen fought steadily and, as those in front fell back upon those lower down the valley, their resistance became every moment more obstinate. Eight of Will's party had already fallen; but although, sword in hand, he was leading them, encouraging them with voice and gesture, not a bullet had as yet struck him.

Presently Captain Edwards, having crossed the valley, stood by his side.

"We are at a standstill," he said. "Nine of my men are killed or wounded, already; and the fellows are as thick as peas. I am afraid we shall never be able to force our way through.

"There," he exclaimed, as a sound of firing was heard in the rear, "they have come down on the convoy from behind. We had better, I think, fall back a bit; and take post near the mouth of the defile. We must defend ourselves, as best we can, till morning."

The movement was steadily executed, the wounded men being carried with them as they retired. The tribesmen advanced as they fell back—not venturing to press them, however; for the rear guard kept their faces towards them, and any who ventured to show themselves instantly paid the penalty of their rashness.

For an hour the fight went on. 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."

"I think we may hold out till morning but, by that time, news that we are blockaded here will spread throughout the hills, and we may have 10,000 of them down on us. I think, if you will give me leave, the best plan will be for me to try and make my way down to Jugdulluk, to bring up help from there."

"You would never get through," Captain Edwards advised. "It is a brave offer, Gale, but could not be done."

"I think it might be done," Will said. "It is as dark as pitch. I will take my lad with me, and will borrow a native cap and cloak from one of the bearers—there are some Afghans among them. I will take off my patrol jacket, and leave it behind me, and my boots. We will crawl along in the dark.

"If—as is likely enough—we stumble against some of them, we will say we are wounded, and are making our way to the rear. They cannot see us in the dark, and my Afghan will pass muster; and Yossouf will certainly not be suspected. If I am discovered and killed, he will go forward and deliver the message."

The plan seemed to offer every possibility of success; and Captain Edwards, seeing how serious the position was, consented to allow Will to attempt it.

A few words to Yossouf sufficed to inform him of the task Will was about to undertake, and he at once agreed to share the danger. A rough sheepskin cap was obtained for Will from one of the camel men. His tunic was thrown off, and a posteen—or Afghan sheepskin coat—was put on, in its place. He took a long matchlock, which the camel man carried, slung over his shoulders; took off his boots, and thrust a pair of loose Afghan shoes into his belt. Yossouf needed no preparations, beyond borrowing a matchlock.

Wringing Captain Edwards' hand, Will stooped on his hands and knees and, with Yossouf a pace or two ahead, began to crawl down the path. Before starting, the orders had been sent round to the soldiers to fire at the rocks on either side of the path, but on no account to fire down the road, itself. As he expected, Will found this clear of Afghans, for a considerable distance. A heavy fire had, previous to their starting, been directed down this path; to prevent the Afghans from gathering there in the darkness, preparatory to making a rush. They came across several dead bodies, but the enemy were all behind rocks, on one side or other of the road.

When they had crawled a hundred yards, they were past the front line, from which the Afghans were keeping up a heavy fire; but Will knew that, from their numbers, they must extend far back down the valley and, indeed, from almost every rock the flashes of the matchlocks blazed out, as the lurking tribesmen fired in the direction of the mouth of the defile.

They were nearly a quarter of a mile down when an Afghan—who had been crouching behind a rock, close to the path—advanced into the road to fire, when he stumbled against Yossouf.

"What are you doing?" he exclaimed.

"We are both wounded, by the Kaffirs," Yossouf answered; "and are making our way back, to bind up our wounds. I think my arm is broken; but I mean to come back again, to have a few more shots at the infidels."

"Good!" the Afghan replied. "How goes it in front?"

"Their fire is lessening," Yossouf said. "We must have killed many. We shall finish with them in the morning, if not before."

The Afghan fired, and then retired behind his rock to load again; while Will and Yossouf continued their way.

A few hundred yards farther, they rose to their feet. Will slipped on the Afghan shoes; and they then proceeded, at a rapid pace, down the pass. Several times they withdrew from the road, and hid beside it, as they met parties of tribesmen hurrying up to join in the attack but, in an hour after starting, they heard the welcome challenge of the sentry, at Jugdulluk.

Saying who he was, Will was at once passed forward into the fort, and taken to the quarters of the officer in command.

"I am Lieutenant Gale, of the 66th," Will said, "and was on my way down the pass with the convoy of wounded, and 100 men of the Guides, under Captain Edwards. They have been attacked at the lower end of the defile, some four miles above, by a very strong body of tribesmen. They are attacked front and rear.

"I have made my way through to ask you if you can despatch a force to their rescue. Were the tribesmen attacked in their rear, now, they might be scattered easily enough; but they are assembling very fast and, in the morning, it will be a difficult matter to reach them."

"We have fancied," the officer said, "for the last two hours that we heard distant firing; but we could not be sure, for any noise echoes so, in these mountains. I will set out at once with you, with as many men as I can spare."



Chapter 17: At Candahar.

The garrison of Jugdulluk consisted only of 220 Sikhs. The officer in command left seventy of these in charge of one of his subalterns, with the injunction to exercise the most extreme vigilance, in his absence. Then with 150 men, a subaltern, and Will Gale, he started up the path to effect the rescue of the beleaguered convoy.

The road wound and turned frequently among the spurs of the lofty hills, which had cut off the sound of firing from the garrison; and only a faint and distant murmur was audible, when they started. After marching two miles, however, the rattle of the musketry became clear and distinct. Upon the way the officer in command learned, from Will, the exact position of things in front, and the situation of the Afghans.

When within half a mile of the scene of action, fifty men were thrown out on either side of the road; while the other fifty advanced, very slowly, along the center The orders to the flankers were to search among the rocks, as they advanced, and to bayonet or shoot every Afghan they found among them.

It was not long before they came upon the enemy. Then the rifles cracked out; and the wild shouts of the Afghans betokened their astonishment at being thus, unexpectedly, assailed in rear. Numerous as they were, they offered but a light resistance. Their one thought was to effect their escape; and they hurried rapidly away as the relief advanced, climbing the steep sides of the valley by paths only known to themselves; and then, from the hillside far above, opening a scattered fire, at random, down into the valley.

In five minutes, all resistance had ceased. The flanking parties were ordered to shelter themselves behind the rocks, and to return the fire of the natives on the hillsides; to retain the position until the convoy passed through, and then to close behind it, as a rear guard. With the fifty men in the road, the officer then pushed forward; and was soon greeted by a shout of welcome from the defenders of the defile.

There was not a minute to be lost; for the Afghans, when they recovered from their first scare, would renew the attack; and the party pressing down the defile on their rear—ignorant of what had taken place below—were still keeping up an incessant fire. Twenty-eight of the Guides were already killed, or wounded.

Several of the sick men, in the dhoolies, volunteered to walk down to the fort, and to give up their places to those of the wounded men who were unable to walk and, in a few minutes, the convoy moved forward. The fifty men of tho relieving party placed themselves in their rear and, as the tribesmen who had been attacking them from behind rushed down through the defile, with exulting shouts—believing that they were now secure of their victims—the Sikhs opened so heavy a fire on them that they fell back up the defile, in disorder.

As the convoy wound down the valley, the enemy again assembled on the hills and pursued them hotly. But the Sikhs and Guides kept up so steady a fire that they did not venture to approach to close quarters and, with a loss of eighteen more men, the convoy reached the shelter of the fort. Conscious of their inability to attack this position, the Afghans drew off.

On returning to his friends, Will had resumed his uniform; and now, on reaching the fort, Captain Edwards expressed to him his warmest thanks for the hazardous adventure that he had undertaken.

"I shall, of course," he concluded, "furnish a full report of the affair to the general; and I should think he would recommend you for the Victoria Cross. If any fellow ever deserved it, you do so; for it seemed, to me, almost certain death to venture through the pass. I never expected to see you again; and I was never more glad, in my life, than I was when the firing began down below in the valley, and knew that help was at hand for, had you failed, it would have been all up with us. I doubt if we should have seen the morning and, at any rate, few of us would have been left, by that time."

The convoy reached Jellalabad without further adventure, and Captain Edwards reported to the general the events of the march. He was requested to give a full written report of the affair; and the general stated that, in forwarding it, he should certainly append a recommendation that Lieutenant Gale should receive the Victoria Cross, for his gallantry in venturing through the Afghans to fetch assistance for the convoy.

Will himself, as soon as he reached Jellalabad, hurried away to the cantonment of the Norfolk Rangers; who were in a village, a mile distant from the town. He was not recognized, as he passed through the soldiers scattered about the village street; and was soon at the principal house, where the colonel had his quarters. On sending in his name, he was at once shown into the room where the colonel was at work.

"I am indeed glad to see you," the latter said, rising and shaking him heartily by the hand; "and I congratulate you, most warmly, on your promotion. I promised to do what I could for you, when you joined; but I did not expect that it would be so soon."

"I am indeed obliged to you, colonel, for your kindness," Will said; "and am conscious how much I owe to you."

"Not at all, my boy, not at all. It was General Roberts, himself, who recommended you for your commission; and I was only too glad to back up his recommendation, to the best of my power. We all thought you were gone, when you were reported as missing at Ali-Kheyl, and we heard from the sentry that—having gone forward, to investigate the origin of a noise he had reported to you—you were suddenly fired upon; and that he saw no more of you, as he ran back to the picket. I was glad, indeed, when the report was received from poor Cavagnari that, upon his arrival at Cabul, he had found you there, just recovering from your wounds.