“What a lucky fellow,” thought they, “to have had the glorious privilege of saving the life of our wounded leader!”
When Reid became aware of all that had happened since his fall, his disappointment was intense, and the bitter sorrow occasioned by his failure to assist the other columns aggravated the pain of his wound. No less bitterly mortified were all his comrades, the surviving officers and men of the 4th Column, both British and Asiatic, the reflection that without artillery to aid, their attempt was doomed to failure, consoling them but little. Their defeat was the more grievous because of the high hopes and anticipations engendered by the striking success of the bombardment. It was generally thought that this would have filled the rebels with terror, and that the opposition offered to an assault would have been much less sturdy.
“Are you badly hurt, Jim?” asked Ted, as they looked on while the surgeon dressed the wounds of their much-injured chief.
“No, not badly. No bone touched. You’re not hit, are you?”
“Sword-cut here, but it’s only a scratch. It hasn’t bled much. Will he do well, doctor?”
“Sure to. Now I’ll have a look at your scratches! Oh, you’re right for once, youngster. It is only a flesh wound, though I guess it hurts.”
He pronounced Jim’s injury rather worse than Ted’s, and ordered him to take things quietly for some days. Ted accompanied his brother to the Guides’ post to see how Alec was getting on.
“I wonder what’s happened to the other columns?” said Ted as they left their wounded commandant. Jim grunted, and vouchsafed no reply. He was in a sullen mood, defeat being particularly bitter after such high hopes.
“Dare say they met with no better success,” hazarded the ensign. “What the dickens were they doing to send us out without guns?—the idiots! It’s a badly managed business anyway!”
“Oh, don’t talk so much,” Jim replied. “We’ll know about the other columns soon enough—they’re all right! And don’t be so ready with your ‘idiots’. A man directing operations on this large scale has a lot more to think about than an ensign has, you know; though perhaps he don’t know quite as much as some, to hear you youngsters talk! Do your work, and don’t growl!”