The following morning I came across Tho, who was conducting the sick men of his detachment to the doctor. He halted an instant to ask me if I was coming to see him that evening, and I told him I should be deprived of that pleasure, as my section was on picquet duty at 5 p.m. At this he grinned, and said:
"Well, then, we shall meet later, for there will be some fun to-night." He then left me, and trotted off to rejoin his men.
I knew it was no good trying to obtain further information from him, for the Doy was like the majority of Orientals, from whom torture will not wring a secret they have decided to keep, so I did not attempt to see him again that day.
However, as I knew that he served as interpreter to our commander when spies were interrogated, I inferred from the hint he had given me that some movement was to be made that night.
My section assembled, and were inspected with the guard that evening, and afterwards we were dismissed, but had to remain dressed and armed in our room in the event of our services being required. I took Lipthay into my confidence, and told him of the "tip" I had received. I induced him to do as I did, and fill his water-bottle with cold coffee in case of necessity.
Fully dressed, with our belt and cartridge-cases on, we lay down on our cots to snatch a few hours' rest. At 1 a.m. our squad corporal shook us out of our slumbers, and, together with the other men of our section, we snatched up our rifles and assembled outside as quietly as possible.
Here we found a half-section of native troops under the orders of Tho, who nodded to me and grinned as I stepped up and took my place in the ranks. Two hard-boiled eggs and a slice of bread were served out to each man, which we were told to put in our wallet for future use.
A few minutes later Captain Plessier came upon the scene, and noticing that he was not mounted, I surmised that our coming peregrinations were to take place over difficult ground.
So indeed it proved, for, after the gate had been opened by the sentry, our little column went out in silence, like a troop of ghosts, in Indian file, turned to the right, and proceeded to the south-west across the paddy fields by the narrow ridges which served as paths.