Lieutenant Edwardes joined in the laugh.
"Well, I was thinking so. Of course you must be twenty or you would not have been sent up from Calcutta, but you do not look more than eighteen."
"I am a month or two under that age," Percy said; "but I do know the country pretty well, though not on this side of the Punjaub; and in fact I speak both Punjaubi and Pathan almost as well as I do English." He then gave Lieutenant Edwardes a sketch of his life since his arrival in India.
"I congratulate myself very heartily," Lieutenant Edwardes said cordially. "You will indeed be of assistance to me. I can quite understand now your being in the service so young and your being appointed as assistant to Agnew. It will be an immense comfort to me having with me one who understands the people so thoroughly, and can speak both with the Sikhs and Afghans. But it is time for me to be moving forward, or I shall not get my men across in time to occupy Leia before nightfall. I will leave a party of fifty men here, so you and your two followers can rest yourselves and your horses and join me to-morrow."
"Thank you. I feel quite capable of going on with you, but I certainly should be glad to let the horses have twenty-four hours' rest after doing something like a hundred miles since they started yesterday."
"You may as well take possession of these quarters. I think it is the best house in the place, and as the owners are Afghans they are ready to do anything they can for us."
A quarter of an hour later the Sikhs started on their forward march. Percy found his men had been told that they were to have a halt till the following morning, and so, after seeing they had comfortable quarters and paying a visit to his horse, he lay down and slept until evening. Then he got up and had a meal, walked round the village and had a talk with the Sikh officer of the detachment, and then turned in again until the next morning, when, as soon as the sun was up, he started with the detachment, and presently joined Lieutenant Edwardes at Leia. The latter had occupied the town without opposition, Moolraj's governor, with the small body of troops he had with him, having retired at his approach.
The next few days were occupied in throwing up intrenchments round the town. They heard that Moolraj was about to cross the Chenab with five thousand men on his way to attack them, but as he hoped that Van Cortlandt's regiment with the four guns would join him before Moolraj could arrive, Lieutenant Edwardes determined to maintain his position. One morning, however, he came with a serious face into Percy's room.
"I have terrible news," he said; "a messenger has just returned—the one I sent with a letter to Mr. Agnew telling him that I would be with him as soon as possible. On the way he met Moolraj's force, and, mingling with them, learned what had happened at Mooltan after you left. By nightfall there remained at the Eedgah only some twelve men, the native clerks, and the officers' servants. Mr. Agnew had already sent to Moolraj to say that he was ready to surrender, and begging him to come in person to take over the place. Whether Moolraj delayed purposely in order that the work should be finished before he arrived was a matter of doubt, but at any rate he did not come. Soon after dark a mob of the ruffians of the town with some soldiers, among whom were many of the Sikh mutineers, proceeded to the Eedgah, burst in the doors, and with shouts of "Death to the Feringhees!" rushed in. Mr. Agnew was sitting by the bedside of Anderson. They had heard the tumult of the approaching mob, and doubtless felt that their fate was at hand. Agnew rose as they entered, and was cut down at once and despatched by two or three blows. They then rushed at Anderson and hacked him to pieces."
"This is terrible indeed," Percy said, much moved at the news of the death of the two gentlemen with whom he had spent the last fortnight. "Do you think that Moolraj was a party to this atrocity?"