Through the Sikh War: A Tale of the Conquest of the Punjaub

by G. A. Henty

To the surprise and disappointment of the British it was discovered in the morning that the Sikhs had evacuated their position in front of them. Godby's brigade had been all night crossing the river in three or four little boats, and joined the force at nine o'clock. Upon advancing into the villages it was found that the Sikh loss had been very large, great numbers of dead being discovered here and among the sugar-canes behind. The cavalry were at once sent ahead to endeavour to discover the course taken by the Sikhs, and learned from villagers that they had passed during the night along the roads leading towards the Jhelum river; but though the cavalry pressed far in pursuit they did not succeed in coming up with them. The infantry marched twelve miles in the direction they had taken, and then halted for the night. It was not until that morning that Lord Gough sent a small force across the river and discovered that the Sikhs had left thirty-six hours before.

For four hours Percy had listened anxiously to the continuous roll of artillery. When it ceased at four o'clock the men round him shouted triumphantly that all was over, and the Feringhees annihilated; but no news had been received, when Percy, feeling worn out with the excitement and the worry of the day, threw himself down on his bed. At ten o'clock he heard a horse approaching at a gallop. A few words were said, of which he could not gather the import, but as they were followed by a volley of execrations his heart gave a bound of delight, for he felt that the Sikhs had failed in their attack.

Two minutes later the officer entered his tent. "You are to mount and ride with us at once, sahib," he said shortly.

Percy asked no questions, feeling that silence was at present the safest policy. His first thought was for his men, who always slept in the camp of the sowars, where his horse was picketed. He had not seen them all day, and had no doubt that they had been obliged to accompany the cavalry when they moved off at daybreak. He mounted his horse, which was as usual linked to those of the troopers on either side of it, and the party moved off silently, leaving the tent standing. For an hour but few words were spoken beyond occasional muttered execrations among the Sikhs. Then the officer rode up beside him, taking the chain from the trooper on his right-hand side.

"I was wrong, sahib; we have not eaten up the Feringhees as I expected. It has been a drawn battle. Your guns fired at us, and we fired at them; many were killed on both sides. Our infantry never attacked, nor did yours; but we suffered most, for your infantry lay down on the ground like cowards, while ours stood up like men; still they could not advance under the terrible fire of your guns. So the combat ceased, and we march to-night to take up a new position on the Jhelum, where it is all bush and jungle."

"But why should you fall back if the battle is an indecisive one?"

"Because, sahib, we felt too sure of victory. We left the ford open here, thinking, as I told you, that after we had crushed the troops we went out to fight we should march back here and destroy the force from across the river. Our calculations have been wrong; we have not won the battle; and the blind people on the other side have not crossed, though they must have seen that there was neither a man nor a gun to resist them. To-morrow they must surely discover it, and then when they cross we should find ourselves between two fires; so there was nothing to do but to fall back. The next time we will fight on our ground, in thick jungle, where the white cavalry cannot act nor the gunners discover our position; then you will see."

For three hours longer they rode on. The officer had ceased to talk, the men were all silent, and were, Percy guessed, half asleep on their horses. The night was so dark that he could scarce make out the figures riding beside him. It went to his heart to leave Sheik, and he wondered whether he could lean forward and unbuckle the chains. However, he abandoned the idea, for even could he do so the rattle of the ends of the falling chains would at once rouse the men. He knew nothing of the country on either side of the road they were following, and would assuredly come to grief did he attempt to gallop over it, therefore he fell back upon his original plan.

Taking his feet from the stirrups and letting go the reins he quietly lifted himself back out of the saddle, and then holding on by it let himself slip off noiselessly over the crupper. As he did so he stooped low on the ground. The troopers behind were riding two and two, with an interval of some feet between them. They passed along on either side of him, but the horses of the two last troopers, who were riding closer together than the others, swerved suddenly, nearly unseating their riders, and causing them to burst into angry exclamations.

"What can the brutes have shied at?" one asked the other.