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

by G. A. Henty

"I almost thought you might come down and join us, uncle."

"I thought it over, lad, but there might have been trouble here in my absence; but I thought I would keep my force together, so that if there should be any tough fighting in the north, I should be able to march away horse and foot to join our men. I did not calculate upon so complete and sudden a collapse of the Sikhs. Now we have talked enough about myself; it is time that you tell me the story of your adventures, of which as yet I know nothing, and how you came by that desperately ugly wound on your head."

It was late before Percy finished the story of his adventures.

"You have had great luck, lad, to have got so well out of your scrapes," the colonel said. "Well, it is late now, and we must be off to bed; we shall have plenty of time to talk matters over in the morning."

"I should think, uncle," Percy said, when they had lighted their cigars after breakfast, "that the government will recognize your position, and either grant you the same power over your district that the sirdars have over their estates, or else that they will appoint you as their official over the district."

"I have no doubt they would do so, Percy, were I willing to accept it; but I have quite made up my mind to give it all up and go home."

"You have, uncle!" Percy exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes, I have stuck here all these years for three reasons: first, because I am an obstinate beggar, and would not be turned out; secondly, because my wife would not have liked to leave her native land, and would never have been happy in England; thirdly, because the people of my district have been rich and prosperous under me, and I was not going to hand them over to be pillaged and robbed by one of these Sikh harpies. Now, however, the case is altogether changed. If I go, I go of my own free will and choosing. Mahtab has gone, and there is no longer anything to tie me to India. Lastly, I can with confidence hand over the district to English administrators, secure that the people will not be taxed unfairly, and will be safe from all oppression and extortion. During the last two years I have reduced my force here considerably. I was certain that after the lesson we gave them, there was no fear of their ever again making an open assault on the place. I began by not filling up vacancies caused by death or from men being superannuated. Fortunately, there is a good deal of cultivable land down this valley, and, indeed, in other parts of the district, and I have given grants of small holdings to all who were willing to take their discharge."

"I noticed that there was a great change in the valley below, since I went away, uncle, that fields have been marked out, and that there was quite a village down where the Sikhs were encamped when they besieged us."

"Yes, over two hundred holdings have been taken up there. I granted them free of all taxes for the first three years, gave those men who had no savings a little assistance in the way of a loan, and in time there will be a large and, I hope, thriving village there. I have urged the men to keep up a certain organization among themselves,—to form, in fact, a kind of military colony, so as to be in a position to resist dacoits or attacks by the marauding hill tribes. I have similarly settled that other valley three miles to the north; altogether I have given a start to nearly a thousand of the men. They have served me faithfully, and nothing would induce me to go away and abandon them. I think that it is very likely a force may be formed by our people for the protection of the frontier; and, as you and Mr. Fullarton, with whom I have had a good deal of correspondence, and the Lawrences, are all aware that the men have behaved most faithfully and can be trusted, I hope I shall be able to get all those who wish to continue soldiering to be mustered into the service."