Through Three Campaigns: A Story of Chitral, Tirah and Ashanti

by G. A. Henty

Lisle laughed.

"And if there were no inspections and parades there would be no soldiers, and if there were no soldiers there would be no need for officers."

"Well, I suppose that is so," Hallett said, as he buckled on his sword. "Now, just look at me; do I look like an officer and a gentleman? Nobody could tell what was the original colour of my khaki; it is simply one mass of mud stains."

"Well, I do think you hardly look like an officer and a gentleman--that is to say, you would hardly be taken for one at Aldershot. Fortunately, however, there are no English ladies here to look at you and, as the blacks don't know what an officer and a gentleman should be, it doesn't matter in the slightest."

While at Prahsu, there was nothing to do but to speculate as to what would be the next move. Colonel Willcocks kept his plan to himself, for information as to our movements reached the enemy in a most extraordinary manner.

It was a busy camp. Bamboo grass-covered sheds, for stores, were in course of construction. The engineers were employed in making a road, to take the stores and troops across the Prah.

Three of the wounded officers--Captain Roupell, Lieutenants Edwardes and O'Malley--were invalided, and left for home in a convoy with over a hundred wounded. This was necessary, owing to the fact that there was no Roentgen apparatus in the colony, and it was found impossible to discover and extract the slugs with which the great proportion were wounded.

It was unknown that four hundred men of the West African Regiment, with nearly twenty officers, and a company from Jebba were on their way to reinforce them. Three officers were away to raise native levies in Denkera and Akim, and there were rumours about more troops from other parts of the world. But the one thing certain was that some more troops were coming down from Northern Nigeria.

Colonel Burroughs arrived with a strong party, and Lisle and Hallett prepared to go up again. No resistance was met with, as far as Fumsu; but it was found that a foot bridge that had been thrown across the river was washed away, and communication with the other bank was thus cut off. To the disgust of the officers and men, they were called out to a false alarm and, when dismissed, went back to bed grumbling. When they rose again, the men cleaned their arms and received their pay and rations. The latter amounted to but a pound of rice a day, but this was subsequently increased. The officers were little better off, for there was, of course, nothing to buy.

Two companies had gone on in advance to open the main road, find out the ambushes and stockades, and to join Colonel Wilkinson at Bekwai. Those who remained in camp had little to do, and were therefore glad to spend their time on fatigue duty; the officers building shelters for themselves, while the men erected conical huts, until the station was covered with them.