At early morning, after a quiet night, Lawrence sent one of the men back to announce the approach of a flag of truce. Bob hurried at once to the breastwork. Three Kalmucks were advancing along the track, one of them apparently an officer. No others of the enemy were in sight. The envoys halted within a short distance of the entrenchment, and the officer began to speak in a loud shrill voice.
"What does he say?" asked Bob.
"I can't make it out," replied Lawrence. "Do any of you men understand him?"
The men, Sikhs and Pathans, acknowledged that they did not, whereupon Bob made signs to the Kalmuck to wait, and despatched a man to fetch Shan Tai, who as a western Chinaman might be able to act as interpreter.
When the cook arrived, and heard what was required of him, he shouted a few words to the officer, who responded with a speech of some length, very rapidly uttered. The purport of it was to propose terms. He offered the garrison the honours of war if they would surrender the mine and make no further opposition to the passage of the army up the valley. They would be allowed to depart unmolested, with bag and baggage; and the two white men, if they pleased, might return to their own country by way of Central Asia, through the Kalmuck lines.
Bob's reply was made without hesitation. He pointed out that the Kalmucks were the aggressors. Hostilities had not been of his seeking. All that he had desired was to live at peace and pursue his occupation as miner, whereby he gave employment to several score of workmen, including many of the officer's fellow-countrymen.
"We have been wantonly attacked," he said, "without warning and without provocation, and we are resolved to defend the property of the late owner of the mine, who was murdered by a man acting apparently in collusion with the force to which you belong. I reject your terms. But in order to avoid further bloodshed, I am willing to refer the matter to the Sirkar, and will abide by the decision of the Viceroy of the Emperor of India."
The officer had evidently come prepared for a refusal, for he at once put forward a modified proposal. He offered to leave the Englishman undisturbed at the mine if he on his side would refrain from attacking the army as it marched past. Bob saw the dilemma in which he was placed. The question was no longer a personal but an imperial one. Rejection of the offer would imply that he stood as an outpost of the Empire. But his answer was equally clear and emphatic. He declined to make terms of any kind with the enemy. The Kalmuck returned to his own lines, manifestly chagrined at the failure of his mission.
Bob expected that the rejection of the enemy's proposals would result in a more sustained and vigorous attack, and as soon as the officer had departed he set his men to complete the repairing of the breastwork which Lawrence had begun in the night. Presently the Kalmucks opened fire with rifles and field guns, and throughout the day the bombardment and sniping from the rocks intermittently continued; but there was no further attempt to rush the position. In the intervals Bob had fresh stones brought up for the repair of the breastwork, which had been considerably knocked about. The casualties among the garrison, however, were slight, and at the end of the fourth day Bob felt that he could reasonably congratulate himself on the success of his stand.
But he was still very anxious. Though the enemy had shown surprising sluggishness, he did not flatter himself that they had any idea of abandoning their task. More and more he wondered why they did not attack during the night, when, so far as they knew, the advantage would be wholly with them. For the first time since the commencement of the struggle he failed to sleep well, waking frequently, then dozing off again.