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

by G. A. Henty

The next morning Percy marched his infantry as far as Attock, and leaving them there to prevent the passage of any mutineers, pushed forward with the cavalry to Peshawur. Here he aided the irregular cavalry under Colonel Nicholson in cutting up the sepoys who had mutinied at the frontier stations. For the next fortnight he scoured the northern district, dispersing bodies of the mutineers and keeping order. His infantry he had sent down to Lahore to be employed as required. At the end of that time he received an order to report himself there with his cavalry.

"You have been doing good service again, Mr. Groves," Sir John Lawrence said; "the prompt punishment you inflicted on the mutineers has had an excellent effect in the north, but you are wanted back in your district; we must carry on things as before, for this will impress the natives more with the fact that we have no fear and anxiety about the future, than if we were ourselves to go south. A tranquil and assured front, a quiet continuance in our usual routine work, will impress them more than anything. Now, as to these men you have raised: first as to the cavalry, I will muster them into the service if they are willing, and the same thing with the infantry. I am raising regiments here as fast as I can, in order to enable the commander-in-chief to take the offensive. Hitherto the population in general seems to have stood aloof, and it is most desirable to show them that we are confident. Do you think your men will all engage?"

"That I cannot say, sir; they all joined me at once from their affection for my uncle and from their personal knowledge of myself. Some of them are well-to-do men; a good many of them are getting past the age for soldiering. They would all be willing, I have no doubt, to serve here in the Punjaub, but many would not care to enlist for regular service. Most of the younger men would, of course, be delighted to do so."

Eventually three strong companies were raised from the infantry and a troop of horse from the cavalry. These were enrolled in the Company's service. Both were at once furnished with officers belonging to the sepoy regiments that had mutinied, and marched away to join the force assembling for an advance against Delhi Another troop of a hundred men, willing to serve for a year, was officered and sent up to Djarma, together with two hundred infantry, to be in readiness to put down any trouble that might arise with the hill tribes. The rest received two months' pay and returned to their homes, with the understanding that they would, if called upon to do so, rejoin the ranks.

The month that followed was full of anxiety to all. Until Delhi fell the strain was very great, for although the Punjaub was quiet and apparently loyal, the eyes of every native in India were fixed upon the desperate struggle round the city which had for so long been the seat of empire, and it was not until the British flag again floated over the blood-stained city, that India recognized that the British would assuredly emerge victorious from the struggle with the great army it had raised and disciplined.

When at length the strength of the mutiny was crushed by the final capture of Lucknow, and there remained but the work of pursuit and punishment to be carried out, Percy Groves took his leave and went home. He had been fifteen years absent, and was now thirty. He did not go alone, for he took with him a wife and two children, having five years before married the sister of a young civilian in his own district. She had many relatives in the service, and some of these had been among the early victims of the mutiny, and a married sister had been among those so long besieged in Lucknow. The anxiety had told so much upon his wife, that Percy was strongly advised to take her to England directly he could get away from his work, and as soon as he felt that he could be spared he sent in his application, which was at once acceded to. His name had been included by Sir John Lawrence in the lists of those to whose efforts it was chiefly due that the Punjaub had been saved, and when the list of honours came out his name was included in those on whom the honour of C.B. had been bestowed.

Before leaving he had the satisfaction of seeing his two faithful followers settled down near each other. He had purchased for them of a sirdar, who had impoverished himself by his extravagance, the rights over several villages, and although they lamented Percy's departure deeply, they were both of an age when men view with satisfaction the prospect of a life of ease and comfort.

He embarked this time at Bombay, and returned via Egypt. He was received with delight by his uncle, who had established himself at Southsea, and who looked, Percy thought, but little older than when he had seen him last. When the end of his two years' leave of absence was approaching, his uncle for the first time asked him whether he meant to go back.

"I can only say, Percy, that I shall consider you a downright fool if you do. If you had kept yourself single, it would be a different thing; and if you had an ambition to become some day one of the top-sawyers in the service, a chief-commissioner, and all that, there is no reason that I know of, except that I want you here, why you should not stick to it to the end of your life. Now it is altogether different. You know the doctor has advised that though Annie is perfectly well, she should not return to India. Even if she did, you would not want to take these three little children out with you, and she would not like to go without them. That breaking up of families is the great drawback to the Indian service. Of course, in many cases men must put up with it, because they cannot afford to leave till they have served long enough to get their full pension. That is not so in your case. You will get a fair pension, of course, because you have held much more important appointments than often fall to the lot of men of your standing; then, too, you were seriously wounded at Chillianwalla. You have been specially reported, and have been made a C.B., all of which will count in the way of pension. However, fortunately that makes very little difference to you; as I told you twelve years ago I have an ample fortune for us both, and I want you at home. It has been dull work for me since I came back, without anyone to care for here. I am nearly sixty now, and I want a comfortable home for the remainder of my life, and if you go away again I shall be doing something rash, marrying again, or something of that sort. Of course, it is for you to choose; but if you go back to India alone, when you can live here with your wife and children, I shall consider you to be a greater fool than I took you to be."

"Well, you need not consider that, uncle," Percy laughed. "I have been thinking it over myself, and had pretty well come to the conclusion to retire. I have no particular ambition to become a lieutenant-governor, or even a governor; certainly none to be working out there alone, with Annie and the children in England; and the thought that you would like me at home has had its full share in deciding me. To tell you the truth, I have already sent in my request to be allowed to retire, but I had intended to say nothing about it until I could surprise you with the news that it was all settled. I used to think that, did I return, I should have no one I knew in England except you; but Annie's friends and relations, and there are any number of them, have naturally become mine, and I am now thoroughly equipped that way."