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 CAVLORD 
 
 
 
 PRINTED INU, a. A. 
 
 ♦ " 
 
The original of tliis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924006027209 
 
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"The next moment his way was clear." — p. 263. 
 
^apcliin^ to Aua, 
 
 A STORT OF THE 
 
 Firs! guirmesc irfai? 
 
 BY 
 
 HENRY CHARLES MOORE 
 
 Author of "The Dacoit's Treasure," "Britons at Bay," Etc. 
 
 ILrjUSTRA-TED 
 
 Gall and Inglis, 25 paternoster Square 
 
 AND EDINBURGH 
 
v\. J do eV) 
 
 PR. 
 
 PRINTED 
 AND BOUND BY 
 
 GALL AND INGLIS 
 
 LOTTO N PLACE 
 BDINBURQH 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 " The next moment his way was clear," . . Frontispiece. 
 " ' At them, my men,' Guy shouted," .... 85 
 
 " He slashed at Guy, who calmly turned aside the blow," 127 
 " Stood alert before the Colonel to protect him," . . 238 
 
MARCHma TO AYA. 
 
 ♦ — ♦ 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 OFF TO INDIA. 
 
 "Gut, would you like to go to India?" 
 
 "Very much indeed, uncle," Guy Clifford 
 replied, eagerly. 
 
 " I'm glad to hear you say that, as an 
 old friend of mine has promised to get you 
 an appointment in the military service of, the 
 East India Company. I thought that you 
 would like it, and I told him so." 
 "When shall I have to start?" 
 "Probably in three weeks time. To- 
 morrow morning, you are to go before the 
 Directors to be examined, and if you satisfy 
 them, as I have no doubt you will, they will 
 at once appoint you to a cadetship. It will 
 
4 OFF TO INDIA. 
 
 be a better start in life than I expected to 
 give you.". 
 
 "And much better than I had hoped for. 
 I am afraid, uncle, thai) I should never have 
 made a good business man." 
 
 "You have the rover's blood in you, my 
 boy. The Cliffords never have done well as 
 civilians. If I had not lost my foot at 
 Albuera, and been rendered unfit for further 
 service in His Majesty's army, I should not 
 have met that fradulent banker, and been 
 induced to deposit nearly all my money with 
 his firm. If I had not lost my money I 
 should have kept the promise, which I made 
 to my brother — your father — shortly before 
 he sailed to die at Waterloo, that if he were 
 killed, I would see that you entered the army. 
 It has been a great disappointment to me 
 that I could not buy you a commission, but 
 a cadetship in the East India Company's 
 service will be nearly as good. Many soldiers 
 have made great reputations in India, and 
 many more will do so. I hope that you will 
 be one of them." 
 
OFF TO INDIA. 5 
 
 " I will do my best, uncle, to be worthy of 
 my ancestors. If I become as good a soldier 
 as they were, I shall be quite satisfied." 
 
 " That is well spoken, Guy. It will be 
 impossible for you to become a better soldier 
 than the majority of them, but it may be 
 that you will be more fortunate than they, 
 and live to become a general " 
 
 " As you certainly would have done but for 
 the wound you received in your last battle. 
 Everyone is of that opinion." 
 
 " It is idle to talk of what might have been. 
 My career is ended ; yours is beginning, and 
 I hope, with all my heart, that it will be 
 more successful than mine." 
 
 For fully an hour, Mr. Clifford, who had 
 been invalided from the service while a 
 lieutenant, talked to Guy of the career that 
 was open to him, and gave him some excellent 
 advice as to how he should act on arriving 
 in India. 
 
 It was a happy day for Guy, although 
 clouded now and again by the fear that he 
 might not succeed in passing the examination 
 
6 OFF TO INDIA. 
 
 to which he was to be subjected by the 
 directors Qf the East India Company. 
 
 At ten o'clock the following morning, Guy 
 and his uncle entered a hackney-coach at 
 Paddington Green, and started for the city, 
 arriving in about an hour at the pile of 
 buildings in Leadenhall Street which was the 
 head-quarters of the famous Honourable East 
 India Company. On entering the building, 
 and having made known their business, an 
 imposing looking beadle escorted Mr. Clifford 
 and Guy into a small, well-furnished room, 
 and desired them to wait there until the 
 directors should be pleased to see " the young 
 gentleman." Guy was, at first, somewhat 
 awed by the dignified surroundings, but the 
 feeling soon passed away, and he amused 
 himself by inspecting the paintings and prints 
 of famous servants of the company which 
 decorated the walls. Whilst engaged in this 
 interesting and informing occupation, the 
 gorgeous official returned, and pompously re- 
 quested Guy to follow him. 
 
 The room into which Guy was now shown 
 
OFF TO INDIA. 7 
 
 was a large one, and at a table in the centre 
 sat eight important-looking old -gentlemen. 
 Guy bowed to them, and one of the staff 
 who was standing behind the chairman, sig- 
 nalled to him where he was to sit. It was 
 a substantial oak chair at the end of the 
 table. For a few moments the eight directors 
 looked at him in silence, a trying ordeal 
 for Guy, which was, however, ended by the 
 chairman asking him several questions con- 
 cerning his parentage and education, all of 
 which he answered promptly. These questions 
 were supplemented by others from various 
 other directors, one admonishing him as to 
 his behaviour in the event of their admitting 
 him to their service. Eventually, the chair- 
 man announced that they had appointed him 
 a cadet in their Bengal Establishment, where- 
 upon Guy thanked them, and assured them 
 that he would do all in his power to merit 
 their approval. He was then taken by a 
 clerk into an adjoining room, where he had to 
 sign several papers and pay certain fees. This 
 done, he was handed a parchment document 
 
8 OFF TO INDIA. 
 
 which notified, in oflBcial terms, his appoint- 
 ment to a cadetship in the Honourable 
 East India Company's Bengal Establishment, 
 And at the same time he was told that he 
 was to join the East Indiaman Lord Olive 
 at Southampton, in twelve days' time. 
 
 Guy and Mr. Clifford left the premises of 
 the East India Company in high spirits, and 
 the journey back to Paddington appeared 
 exceedingly short, so busy were they dis- 
 cussing the thjjigs necessary for Guy's outfit. 
 
 What with calling on friends to bid them 
 good-bye, and daily visits to numerous shops, 
 ten days passed rapidly away, and on the 
 eleventh Guy took his seat on the Southamp- 
 ton coach to begin his long journey to the 
 East. The parting between Mr. Clifford and 
 Guy was, in spite of their attempts to be 
 cheerful, a painful one, for they had been 
 more like father and son than uncle and 
 nephew, and, moreover, neither of them had 
 any other relations. 
 
 "God bless you, Guy," Mr. Clifford said, 
 in a husky voice. " I fear that I shall never 
 
OFF TO INDIA. 9 
 
 see you again, for I shall not make old bones, 
 but while I live I shall be always on the 
 look out for news of you." 
 
 "I hope, Uncle, that it will be nothing 
 but good news that you will hear of me. I 
 will never forget that I am the only repre- 
 sentative of our family who can bear arms, 
 and that upon me devolves the necessity to 
 quit myself honourably in peace, and bravely 
 in war. You have been so good to me, as 
 good as the best of fathers cQuld have been, 
 that the knowledge that my success in life 
 will aftord you pleasure, will act as an in- 
 centive to me to strive to distinguish myself 
 Good-bye, uncle. Good-bye." 
 
 A minute later the coach started, and 
 Guy, looking back from the box seat, waved 
 farewell to his uncle until he was lost to 
 sight in the distance. 
 
 The journey to Southampton was made 
 without any mishap or incident worthy of re- 
 cording. The passengers were all very reser- 
 ved, as if each suspected the others of being 
 sharpers or something equally disreputable. 
 
10 OFF TO INDIA. 
 
 As a matter of fact, every passenger was 
 a highly respectable person, but their 
 mutual distrust of each other made them 
 appear somewhat brusque and ill-mannered. 
 There was one man, however, who was not 
 like his fellow passengers. He was a jovial- 
 looking middle-aged man, and sat on the off- 
 side of the coachman, with whom he chatted 
 in a very lively fashion. Now and again he 
 addressed the other passengers, but as they 
 answered somewhat curtly he took no further 
 notice of them. Guy wished that he would 
 speak to him, especially when he heard him 
 tell the coachman that he was returning to 
 India. But he did not, perhaps being of an 
 opinion that Guy would be as boorish as the 
 other passengers. 
 
 At Southampton a representative of the 
 East India Company met the coach. He 
 saluted the passenger who had interested 
 Guy, and then enquired of the guard which 
 was Mr. Clifford. 
 
 "That is my name," Guy said, stepping 
 forward. 
 
OFF TO INDIA. 11 
 
 The jovial passenger looked at him in 
 surprise. "Why did you not tell me you 
 were in the service ? " he asked. 
 
 "I wanted to do so, sir," Guy answered, 
 "but as you did not speak to me I feared 
 that you might think me presumptuous if I 
 addressed you." 
 
 "I am not that sort of man, although I 
 have spent twenty years in India. Have 
 you any friends in Southampton?" 
 
 "No, sir." 
 
 " Then come with me to the hotel. The 
 agent will see our things on board, and I'll 
 take care that you don't fall into the hands 
 of any of the land sharks who are always on 
 the lookout for John Company's cadets." 
 
 "I'll keep an eye on Mr. Clifford until it 
 is time for him to report himself aboard," 
 Guy's new friend said to the agent. "Have 
 you any objection to make ? " 
 
 " Certainly not, sir. Mr. Clifford, you may 
 accompany Major Taddy. I will see to your 
 luggage." 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 ON BOARD THE "LORD OLIVE." 
 
 Major Taddt had gone out to India in the 
 hope of making a name and fortune, but before 
 he had been in the East India Company's 
 service many years, he discovered that pro- 
 motion was not necessarily obtained by merit. 
 He had been diligent in his duties and brave 
 in battle, but, as he had no influential friends 
 in India or London, he had the mortification 
 of seeing young, and frequently incompetent, 
 men promoted over his head. After a time, 
 he became reconciled to this injustice, and, 
 realising that there was no prospect of his 
 attaining any high position in the service, 
 determined not to brood over his disappoint- 
 ment, but to make the best of life. He con- 
 tinued to do his duty as keenly as when first 
 appointed an ensign, and many of the men who 
 were promoted over him declared that it was 
 
 13 
 
13 
 
 shameful that his good services should be 
 overlooked. 
 
 Everybody who came into contact with 
 Major Taddy liked him. He was always in 
 good spirits, and never spoke an ill-word con- 
 cerning the men who had so unjustly been 
 placed above him. 
 
 Guy was assured, before he had been in his 
 company half-an-hour, that he had made a 
 real friend. Major Taddy, remembering how, 
 twenty years previously, he had quitted 
 Southampton with the hope of winning fame, 
 felt a kindly interest for the young fellow who 
 was just beginning his career. He told him 
 many interesting things concerning life in 
 Bengal, and when he discovered that he had 
 no influential friends in Leadenhall Street, he 
 did not damp his spirits by telling him that he 
 was starting life heavily handicapped. 
 
 Early the following morning they went 
 aboard the Lord Clive, and Guy at once 
 reported himself to Colonel Herbert, a tall, 
 thin and particularly stern-looking man, who, 
 after glancing at his letter of introduction, 
 
14 ON BOARD THE "LORD CLIVE." 
 
 instructed a steward to show him to his 
 berth. 
 
 On the first day out the Lord Olive met 
 with dirty weather, and Guy, who had never 
 before been to sea, suffered badly from sick- 
 ness. Fortunately Major Taddy was a good 
 sailor, and frequently looked in to speak a 
 few cheerful words to Guy or to tempt him 
 to eat. 
 
 "You must come on deck now," he said to 
 Guy on the following morning. " The sea is 
 beautifully smooth, and you will soon get your 
 sea-legs." 
 
 Guy dressed, and before he had been ten 
 minutes on deck his spirits revived. About 
 an hour later the thought of food became no 
 longer distasteful, and in another thirty 
 minutes he was eating his breakfast on the 
 poop, and enjoying it. Before nightfall he felt 
 as well as ever he had been in his life, and on 
 the following day he went down to meals in 
 the saloon. The sea being now very smooth, 
 nearly the whole of the passengers appeared, 
 and Guy got his first glimpse of Anglo-Indian 
 
6n board the "lord olive." 15 
 
 society. Some of the people, and their 
 manners, struck him as being decidedly- 
 snobbish. Money was the standard by which 
 everyone was judged. The man with the 
 largest salary — Colonel Herbert — sat at the 
 top of the table, and Guy, having the smallest, 
 sat at the bottom. Between them the others 
 sat in order of salary; the man with 800 
 rupees a month taking precedence of one with 
 780, and nearly every one seemed anxious to 
 talk to those above and not below them. As 
 the man next to Guy had 600 rupees a month 
 more than the cadet, he ignored him entirely. 
 
 The only man present who did not let the 
 question of salary interfere with his conver- 
 sation was Major Taddy. His position was 
 four seats below Colonel Herbert, but he 
 talked as freely with men of small salaries as 
 he did with those above him. 
 
 " He is worth the whole lot put together," 
 Guy said to himself, adding, however, " except 
 one." That one was Colonel Herbert's 
 daughter, a fair-haired pretty girl of about 
 Guy's age. She was sitting next to her 
 
 B 
 
16 ON BOA&D THE "lOED CLIVE." 
 
 father, but several times, when she glanced 
 down the table, her eyes met Guy's. And he, 
 never having had sisters or been brought into 
 contact with girls, fancied that she pitied him 
 for having such a small salary. A few days 
 later he was able to form a better opinion of 
 her. He was standing on deck, studying a 
 Persian grammar, when he heard Major Taddy 
 call him ; and, looking up, beheld his friend 
 sitting opposite to Miss Herbert, with a skein 
 of wool around his hands. " You have studied 
 quite enough for to-day," he declared as Guy 
 approached. "Hold this wool for Miss 
 Herbert ; I'm tired." 
 
 "How ungallant of you to say that. 
 Major Taddy," the young girl answered, 
 reproachfully. 
 
 Major Taddy laughed merrily. 
 
 "I'll wager," he said, "that Mr. Clifford 
 will not say he is tired if you keep him at 
 work all day." 
 
 Then he slipped the wool on to Guy's hands 
 and began to take his morning's half-hour 
 walk up and down the deck. 
 
Oif BOARD THE " LORD CLIVE.'' 17 
 
 " Do you like Major Taddy ? " Miss Herbert 
 asked, when their friend had left them. 
 
 "Very much, indeed," Guy answered, em- 
 phatically. 
 
 "So do I. 'Tis a wicked shame that such 
 a brave man — he has distinguished himself 
 in several battles — should not have had pro- 
 motion. I have told my father, that now 
 he is a very important man, he must see 
 that justice is done to Major Taddy." 
 
 " I hope sincerely that he will." 
 
 "I am certain of it. Major Taddy will 
 be stationed at Calcutta, so that we shall 
 probably see him every day, and I shall 
 bother my father continually until he is pro- 
 moted. But you must not breathe a word 
 to Major Taddy of what I have said. If 
 he knew that I was plotting on his behalf, 
 he would very likely tell me not to do so, 
 and if I disobeyed, he would perhaps refuse 
 to hold my wool again." 
 
 "Then I could take his place." 
 
 "But I do not want you to do that. I 
 enjoy talking to Major Taddy immensely, and 
 
18 6N BOARD THE "LORD CLIVB." 
 
 besides, he holds the wool so much better 
 than you do. You have only been holding 
 it for five minutes, and twice you have let it 
 slip off your hands ! " 
 
 " I am very sorry. I have never had any 
 practice." 
 
 " That does not sound as if you were very 
 attentive to your mother and sisters." 
 
 " I have neither mother nor sisters. An 
 uncle is the only relation I have in the 
 world." 
 
 "What a lonely life you must have led! 
 Was your father in the service ? " 
 
 "He was an officer in the King's service, 
 and died at Waterloo." 
 
 "How very proud you must be of him. 
 Please tell me all that you know about the 
 battle. 'Tis a subject I never tire of hearing." 
 
 Now, Guy had met in London several 
 officers who had^ fought at Waterloo, and 
 they, knowing him to be the son of a fallen 
 comrade, had told him many interesting 
 incidents of the glorious fight. These Guy 
 related to his companion. 
 
19 
 
 "It is a grand thing to be a man and an 
 Englishman," Welcome — for such was her 
 name — declared with heightened colour, when 
 Guy had finished speaking. "Women can 
 do so very little in stirring times." 
 
 " They can incite men to be brave, as they 
 did in bygone days." 
 
 "Men should be brave without their aid." 
 
 "That is true." 
 
 At that moment Guy again let the skein 
 of wool slip off his hands. He apologised 
 profusely for his clumsiness, but Welcome 
 laughed merrily at his mishap. 
 
 " Where are you to be stationed ? " she 
 asked, a few minutes later, "Bombay or 
 Bengal?" 
 
 " Bengal . " 
 
 " Then we shall see each other often in 
 Calcutta." 
 
 "I am afraid not. Major Taddy says 
 that I shall be sent up country to learn my 
 drill and languages. I am like Major Taddy 
 — without any influential friends. If I had 
 some, I should probably be permitted to 
 
20 
 
 remain in Calcutta, However, I shall have 
 more chances of active service up country. 
 I almost wish that Clive had not so com- 
 pletely smashed the French in India. He 
 has left very little for this generation to do." 
 
 A sharp shower of rain caused Welcome 
 to hurry below, leaving Guy to join Major 
 Taddy. 
 
 " Well, sir," the latter said to Guy, " have 
 you handled the wool to Miss Welcome's 
 satisfaction ? " 
 
 "I am afraid not, sir. Three times I let 
 it slip off my fingers." 
 
 "While you were talking, I suppose." 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Was she very severe with you?" 
 
 " Oh, no. She told me, sir, that she liked 
 you to hold her wool because she enjoys 
 your conversation. Therefore, I did my best 
 to make my conversation interesting." 
 
 "And I'll wager that you succeeded in 
 doing so. Miss Welcome is a thoroughly 
 good little girl, and it makes me sad to think 
 how quickly the climate of Ipdia will driv§ 
 
ON BOARD THE "LORD CLIVB." 21 
 
 those English roses from her cheeks. India 
 is a fine place for ambitious boys such as you, 
 but our English girls are much better in 
 their native land. 
 
 Later in the day Colonel Herbert came 
 on deck, and to Guy's surprise conversed 
 with him for about a quarter of an hour. 
 Welcome had told her father what she had 
 heard of Guy's history, and had so interested 
 him in the youth that he spoke to him at 
 the first opportunity, much to the astonish- 
 ment of many of the other passengers. The 
 latter, however, soon made themselves gracious 
 to Guy, and even the clerk who sat next to 
 him at meals forgot the smallness of his 
 neighbour's salary, and conversed with him 
 as freely as if he had been, from a monetary 
 point of view, his equal. 
 
 Guy knew quite well that Welcome had 
 been the cause of the removal of the barrier 
 which separated him from his seniors, and 
 felt very grateful to her. In a few days 
 he and she had become fast friends, and spent 
 with Major Taddy many pleasant hours. In 
 
22 ON BOARD THE "LORD CLIVB." 
 
 fact, all three enjoyed themselves so thoroughly, 
 that the three months which their voyage 
 from Southampton to Madras occupied did 
 not seem particularly long. Nevertheless, 
 they were well pleased when the time to go 
 ashore arrived, although Welcome was some- 
 what nervous about the way in which the 
 landing was to be made. That is scarcely 
 to be wondered at, for, between the land and 
 the spot where the Lord Clive lay, were three 
 distinct ridges of lashing surf, which they 
 would have to cross, and the boats in which 
 they were to make the journey were, in 
 appearance, very fragile. As a matter of fact, 
 the massoolahs were dangerous boats, but to 
 have attempted to land by any other means 
 would have been attended with infinitely more 
 danger. The massoolahs were large, flat- 
 bottomed, and utterly devoid of iron, the 
 planks being sewn together with a thin rope 
 made from cocoa-nut fibre. The natives who 
 paddled these boats wore no clothing beyond 
 a loin cloth and a turban, so that when, 
 ^s frequently happened, they were washed 
 
23 
 
 overboard, they had little to spoil or to 
 impede their swimming. 
 
 "But what are those small rafts hovering 
 round the massoolahs ? " Guy asked, when 
 Major Taddy had explained the construction 
 of the larger beach-boats. 
 
 "Catamarans," the major replied. "It is 
 their duty to follow the massoolahs, and, in 
 the event of the latter being capsized, to 
 rescue the passengers from drowning, or the 
 ground sharks." 
 
 Welcome and her father, together with 
 several other passengers, went off in the first 
 massoolah, Guy and Major Taddy following 
 in the second one. No sooner had the latter 
 craft pushed off from the Lord Clive, than 
 the chief boatman started a weird-sounding 
 chant, the others keeping time to his song 
 with their paddles. When he sang slowly, 
 they paddled slowly ; when he sang quickly, 
 they too increased their pace. On they went 
 until within a few yards of the first breaker, 
 and then the singer ceased from singing. But, 
 as the surf rolled over, the boatmen burst forth 
 
24 ON BOARD THE "LORD OLIYE." 
 
 into loud cries and paddled forward to meet 
 the second breaker. The boat which bore 
 Welcome and her father was already close to 
 it, and Guy and Major Taddy watched it 
 anxiously as it whirled along. A moment 
 later they were horrified to see it capsize, and 
 the passengers struggling for life in the 
 lashing surf. 
 
 "The catamarans will save them," Major 
 Taddy declared, and already the quaint little 
 rafts were hurrying to the rescue. 
 
 " But look, none of them is going to Miss 
 Welcome. They do not notice her." 
 
 What Guy said was correct. Welcome had 
 been carried by the whirling water apart from 
 her unfortunate fellow passengers, and her 
 danger was unnoticed by the catamarans. 
 
 Without a moment's hesitation Guy plunged 
 into the sea, and swam towards his girl friend. 
 He was a good swimmer, but he had no 
 experience of such waters as he was now in, 
 and the buffetings and whirls which he re- 
 ceived in the course of one minute were 
 inore exhausting than an ordinary swirn of 
 
25 
 
 an hour's duration. Nevertheless, he kept 
 Welcome in sight, and slowly but surely 
 drew closer to her. He called to her, but 
 received no reply. With dread least she 
 should be already unconscious, he put forth 
 all his strength and reached her. As he 
 seized her he heard the shouts of the cata- 
 maran men, who were now paddling quickly 
 to their assistance. He prayed that they 
 would not be too late. Welcome was un- 
 conscious, and he himself was almost ex- 
 hausted. And he remembered with dismay 
 that ground-sharks were numerous, lurking 
 about in anticipation of the capsizing of a 
 massoolah. The catamarans were close at 
 hand, when suddenly the water carried Guy 
 and Welcome forward over the foamy ridge. 
 In spite of the buffetings which they re- 
 ceived, Guy managed to keep a tight hold 
 of his companion in danger, and retained it 
 until the catamarans arrived alongside them. 
 Welcome was dragged on to one raft, and 
 Guy on to another. Then the boatmen 
 paddled quickly shorewards, crossing the last 
 
26 ON BOARD THE "LORD OLIVE. 
 
 breaker with ease, and reaching the beach 
 in safety. 
 
 Welcome was still unconscious, but very 
 fortunately there happened to be three 
 medical men in the crowd which had come 
 down to witness the landing of the new 
 arrivals from England. Two of these at 
 once hurried to Welcome, while the third 
 turned his attention to Guy. 
 
 "There is nothing the matter with you," 
 the latter declared, after examining him. 
 "It was a brave act you performed. You 
 have started your career well, and I con- 
 gratulate you. But you must get a change 
 of clothing immediately " 
 
 "How is she?" Guy asked, eagerly, as 
 Major Taddy approached. 
 
 "Conscious," the major answered, "and 
 the doctors say that she will be as well as 
 ever in a few hours. And now, my young 
 hero, you must come with me. Wet clothes 
 breed fever in this country." 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 OFF TO THE FRONT. 
 
 " I SHALL soon have you jumping over my 
 head," Major Taddy said to Guy, early the 
 following morning. " Colonel Herbert is brim- 
 ming over with gratitude to you, and " 
 
 "But how is Miss Herbert?" Guy 
 interrupted, 
 
 " Somewhat bruised, I believe ; but, in 
 other respects, none the worse for her adven- 
 ture. She enquired after you, and sent her 
 heartfelt thanks to you for saving her life." 
 
 Guy's face flushed with pleasure. 
 
 " And as I was saying," the Major con- 
 tinued, " Colonel Herbert is bubbling over 
 with admiration for you, and I verily believe 
 that if it were in his power to do so, he would 
 make us change ranks — ^you becoming a major, 
 I becoming a cadet ! By the bye, do not 
 
 27 
 
28 Off To TAB fRONT. 
 
 forget that you have two visits to make this 
 morning — one to the Town-major of Fort St. 
 George, the other to the adjutant. They are 
 very important individuals, and it would be 
 extremely unwise for a cadet to run the risk 
 of offending them." 
 
 "I'll go at once," Guy declared; and he 
 went straightway to Fort St. George. 
 
 Both the Town-major and the adjutant had 
 settled down to their after-breakfast nap when 
 he was shown in, and, being sleepy, their 
 questions and remarks were brief and few. 
 After five minutes conversation they handed 
 him over to a fat English sergeant, whose duty 
 it was to keep an eye on the cadets who called 
 at Madras on their way to Calcutta. This 
 fellow called at Guy's hotel at least three 
 times every day, ostensibly to see that he had 
 not deserted, but really to ask for, and obtain, 
 a drink. In those days no soldier was ever 
 punished for being drunk, unless, of course, 
 he was intoxicated while on duty; and the 
 Duke of Wellington declared that after 
 
Ofp TO THE JRONT. 29 
 
 eight o'clock in the evening it was the usual 
 thing for nearly all sergeants off duty to be 
 intoxicated. Fortunately times have changed. 
 
 On quitting Fort St. George, Guy found 
 Major Taddy awaiting him. 
 
 "A few minutes after you had departed," 
 the Major said, " Colonel Herbert's ' boy ' 
 arrived with a note for you. I have brought 
 it on." 
 
 Guy took the note, broke open the seal, and 
 found a few lines from Colonel Herbert asking 
 him to call on them as soon as possible. 
 
 "His hotel is quite near," Major Taddy 
 said, when he had read the invitation. "I'll 
 take you to it." 
 
 Colonel Herbert greeted Guy warmly, and 
 Welcome, who was reclining on a long chair 
 in the verandah, added her expressions of 
 gratitude. 
 
 "You saved my life," she said, "and it is 
 utterly impossible for me to adequately thank 
 you. It was very noble of you to risk your 
 life to save mine. 
 
30 OFF TO THE FRONT, 
 
 " I should have been a miserable coward 
 if I had not made the attempt," Guy declared. 
 "Any able-bodied man would have done 
 what I did." 
 
 "If that is the case, how is it that you 
 are the only man who came to my assistance ? 
 There were many able-bodied men on the 
 massoolahs." 
 
 "Perhaps they could not swim.* 
 
 "Two of them were telling me of their 
 swimming powers, a few weeks ago." 
 
 " But even a good swimmer might fear " 
 
 Guy stopped short, somewhat confused. 
 
 "In your desire to make light of your 
 own bravery, you have unintentionally 
 made me think more highly of it. You 
 did what other good swimmers feared to 
 attempt." 
 
 " Have you seen anything of the city yet ? " 
 Colonel Herbert enquired of Guy, seeing 
 that he was embarrassed by the praise be- 
 stowed upon him. 
 
 "Very little, sir," Guy answered. 
 
OFF TO THE FRONT, Si 
 
 "Then you must come for a drive with 
 us this evening. I pride myself on knowing 
 Madras thoroughly, and will promise to show 
 you at anyrate the outside of every place of 
 interest." 
 
 "It is exceedingly good of you, sir. I 
 shall be delighted to avail myself of your 
 kind offer." 
 
 So that evening he had a very enjoyable 
 drive, and learnt more of the history "bf the 
 city in two hours than he would otherwise 
 have done in several weeks. After the drive 
 he dined with the Herberts, and met two or 
 three Madras oflScials, who, having heard of 
 his bravery, were exceedingly cordial to him. 
 
 Major Taddy was unfeignedly delighted 
 with the good start which his young friend 
 had made, and urged him to accept every 
 invitation which he received. But Guy 
 did not take his advice. The major had 
 been his first Anglo-Indian friend, and he 
 was more grateful to him than to the rich 
 " nabobs " who invited him to their sumptuous 
 
32 OFF TO THE FRONT. 
 
 banquets. He knew very well that, but for 
 his saving Welcome's life, not one of these 
 haughty people would have deigned to notice 
 him. But Major Taddy had been friendly 
 to him when others ignored him, and he was 
 determined to show that he did not forget 
 his kindness. Twice he declined invitations, 
 because he found that Major Taddy had not 
 received a card, and spent the evenings in 
 his friend's company. 
 
 On the eighth day after their arrival, the 
 Herberts, Major Taddy, Guy, and other 
 servants of the East India Company returned 
 to the Lord Clive to continue their journey 
 to Calcutta. Fortunately the sea was not 
 so rough as when they landed, and the 
 massoolahs crossed the breakers without 
 mishap. Nine days later the Lord CUve 
 arrived at Calcutta, and within the following 
 week Guy, according to the custom of the 
 service, was promoted to the rank of ensign, 
 with £20 a month pay. 
 
 The native regiment to which he was posted 
 
OFF TO THE FRONT, 33 
 
 happened to be stationed at Calcutta, and 
 therefore he was not severed from all the 
 friends he had made on the voyage out. 
 Major Tdddy, much to Guy's regret, had to 
 proceed up country at once, but the Herberts 
 remained in the City of Palaces, and fre- 
 quently invited him to their house. Guy 
 never refused these invitations unless his 
 military duties made it imperative to do so. 
 He did not, however, avail himself of one 
 quarter of the opportunities which were 
 offered him of going into society, for he dis- 
 covered quickly, that only by exercising great 
 care would he be able to live on his pay. On 
 joining his regiment, he had to give the usual 
 donations to the regimental funds, which 
 absorbed £S7 of the £50 presented to him 
 by his uncle. Then there were monthly sub- 
 scriptions to the same funds, and, somewhat 
 to his dismay, he found at the end of the 
 first month that his expediture had exceeded 
 his income by nearly ten shillings. Native 
 moneylenders, who knew how exceedingly 
 
34 OFF TO THE FRONT. 
 
 difficult it was for an ensign to live on his 
 pay, urged him to borrow from them, assuring 
 him, in very flowery but imperfect English, 
 that they did not desire payment for many 
 years. But Guy, possessed of more wisdom 
 than some of his brother officers, unhesitatingly 
 refused to run into debt. He determined to 
 reduce his expenses, and when off duty 
 devoted the greater portion of his time to 
 the study of native languages. It was a 
 peaceful life, but it was not of long duration. 
 Three months after his arrival, the 
 Indian Government declared war against 
 Burma. 
 
 The British had entered upon this war 
 after long and grievous provocation. In 1756, 
 Alompra, the warrior king of Burma, having 
 had his mind poisoned against the English 
 by French and Portuguese traders jealous of 
 Britain's growing power in the East, vowed 
 to drive them out of the country. The 
 British trading settlement at Negrais, founded 
 with his consent, was attacked by his orders, 
 
OFF TO THE FRONT, 35 
 
 and nearly every man of the staff foully 
 murdered. 
 
 This dastardly action was not promptly 
 punished, for the reason that events in India 
 did not permit the Governor-General to send 
 troops to Burma. And as the remonstrance 
 sent to the Burmese Government was not 
 backed up by troops, the Burmans were 
 convinced that the British were frightened of 
 them. They bragged continuously of their 
 intention of driving us out of India, and 
 probably, they would have made the attempt 
 had they not been for many years at 
 war with Siam. But when that war was 
 finished to their satisfaction, their unfriendly 
 attitude to the Indian Government was 
 renewed. 
 
 In 1823, they surprised some peaceful British 
 boats in the Naaf River, and slaughtered 
 every man aboard them. This act was 
 followed, some months later, by an attack 
 on the island of Shapuree, which was British 
 territory. The spaall guard stationed therQ 
 
36 OFF TO THE FRONT. 
 
 was driven out by six hundred of the King 
 of Burma's soldiers, but the victors were not 
 permitted to remain for long in possession 
 of the place. Two companies of the 20th 
 Regiment landed there, drove out the 
 Burmans, and held the island. 
 
 The Government of India sent a remon- 
 strance to the King of Burma with regard 
 to the above mentioned, and other outrages, 
 the haughty Lord of Many White Elephants 
 did not deign to answer it. Therefore on 
 March 5th, 1824, the Government of India 
 declared war against Burma. 
 
 Guy was delighted at the prospect of so 
 soon seeing active service, but a bitter 
 disappointment was in store for him — his 
 regiment was not one of those ordered to 
 the front. 
 
 The Burmese received the news of the 
 declaration of war with wild enthusiasm, and 
 Bandoola, their general, announced his in- 
 tention of capturing Calcutta on his ma/rch 
 to England. So confident was he of being 
 
OFF TO THE FRONT. 37 
 
 able to execute his threats, that he carried 
 with him gold fetters to bind the Governor- 
 General of India. 
 
 Bandoola's intentions caused much merri- 
 ment in Calcutta, but, before many weeks 
 had elapsed, the British were forced to 
 acknowledge that the Burmese were a far 
 more formidable enemy than they had 
 imagined. Some small British successes 
 were followed by the battle of Doodpatlee, 
 where two thousand of the enemy held a 
 stockade from early morn until night. Both 
 sides fought with the utmost bravery, but the 
 British suffered so severely that they were 
 compelled to retire to await reinforcements. 
 The Burmese, who had also met with heavy 
 losses, did not wait for the attack to be 
 renewed, but evacuated the stockade and re- 
 treated towards Assam. In Chittagong, the 
 British suffered a still more serious reverse. 
 A small body of men were attacked by a 
 strong Burmese force, and although they 
 fought most valiantly, they were compelled 
 
38 OFF TO THE FRONT. 
 
 to retire, leaving nearly every one of their 
 officers dead on the field of battle. 
 
 The news of this disaster caused the greatest 
 consternation in Calcutta, for there was now 
 no force between the city and the victorious 
 Burmans. Prompt measures were immediately 
 taken to protect the city. The crews of the 
 Company's warships and merchantmen were 
 landed, and every able-bodied European was 
 called upon to join in the defence. Men of 
 all European nationalities responded eagerly, 
 knowing full well that if the Burmese cap- 
 tured the city, all white men found within 
 it would be treated as Englishmen, And 
 the Burmese General's inhumanity towards 
 his prisoners of war was so well known., 
 that European women extorted promises 
 from their husbands and fathers to shoot 
 them, rather than let them fall alive into 
 the hands of the barbarous enemy. 
 
 But the days of Calcutta's anxiety were 
 not many, for the welcome news was soon 
 yeceived that thr^e regiments,, two belonging 
 
OFF TO THE FEONT. 39 
 
 to His Majesty King George, and the third 
 to the Honourable East India Company, 
 were advancing by forced marches to its 
 aid. And no sooner had the people 
 received this cheering intelligence, than trust- 
 worthy natives arrived with the news that 
 the Burmese army had halted, and showed 
 signs of having given up its intention of 
 attacking Calcutta. 
 
 This alteration in the enemy's, plans was 
 attributed to his having heard of the troops 
 hurrying to the defence ^of Calcutta, and 
 consequently, when these three regiments 
 entered the city, they were received with as 
 much enthusiasm as if they had won a glorious 
 victory. But soon it became evident -to the 
 people of Calcutta, that the Governor-General 
 of India had something more than the defence 
 of the city in view. Other regiments arrived, 
 and- in the cool of the evenings the dirty, 
 perfume - laden streets were crowded with 
 British and native soldiers. 
 
 Major Taddy had returned with his 
 
40 OFF TO THE FRONT. 
 
 regiment, and Guy called on him at the 
 first opportunity. 
 
 "What, sir," Guy asked, after they had 
 been talking for some minutes, " is the 
 meaning of so many troops being sent 
 here?" 
 
 " No one knows but the authorities," Major 
 Taddy replied, "but I will tell you what I 
 imagine is going to be done — a surprise 
 attack made on Rangoon. We could do much 
 more there towards humbling the King of 
 Burma than in the neighbourhood of Chitta- 
 gong and Assam." 
 
 " It will be a great surprise for Bandoola." 
 
 " He will have many great surprises before 
 we have finished with him, I fancy." 
 
 " If he has to hurry down to Rangoon to 
 fight us there, I am afraid that he will be 
 in a very bad temper at having to postpone 
 his march to England ! But I must leave 
 you now, sir. I go on duty in half-an- 
 hour." 
 
 Guy departed, and an hour or two later 
 
OFF TO THE FEONT. 41 
 
 found that Major Taddy had correctly divined 
 the intentions of the Indian Government. 
 Five 'regiments received orders to embark 
 on the following morning, and Guy's was 
 one of them. 
 
CHAPTEK IV. 
 
 A FIGHT IN THE ANDAMAN ISLANDS. 
 
 The Government of India had been considered 
 slow in arriving at a proper estimation of the 
 power of the Burmese ; but now, as news of 
 the projected campaign leaked out, the people 
 of Calcutta were loud in their praise of its 
 spirited action. The Presidencies of Bengal 
 and Madras were supplying troops, and 
 Brigadier-General Sir Archibald Campbell, 
 who had fought at Albuera and Vittoria, was 
 appointed to the command of the combined 
 forces. Great confidence was placed in Sir 
 Archibald's ability to bring the war to a satis- 
 factory end, and Guy was only one of many 
 officers who were delighted to hear that the 
 general had chosen Colonel Herbert as a mem- 
 ber of his staff, Guy would have liked to 
 have called on the Herberts to congratulate 
 
A FIGHT IN THE ANDAMAN ISLANDS. 43 
 
 the colonel and bid farewell to Welcome, but 
 there were so many preparations for embark- 
 ation to be made that he was unable to do so. 
 But the following morning, as he marched 
 with his regiment down to the river, he saw 
 Welcome standing on the verandah of her 
 house, and evidently looking for him. On 
 seeing him, she waved her fan and smiled. It 
 was not, however, the same happy smile to 
 which he was accustomed, and her pale face 
 and red eyes proved clearly that her parting 
 with her father had been a very sorrowful one. 
 Guy smiled up to her as he marched by, but 
 his heart was sad to think that she was 
 doomed to spend many anxious weeks waiting 
 for news of her father. A little further on he 
 looked back, and she, seeing him do so, waved 
 a last farewell. Perhaps he would never again 
 see her. It was a saddening thought, but he 
 remembered what she had said, when thanking 
 him for having saved her life, that she would 
 never forget him. She had also said, on the 
 same occasion, that she was confident he would 
 
44 A riGflT m THE ANDAMAN ISLANDS. 
 
 distinguish himself in the army, and he felt 
 now, more than ever, that he would like to 
 achieve that success which she in her girlish 
 enthusiasm had predicted. 
 
 The troops embarked quickly, and soon the 
 big ships were being towed slowly down the 
 dangerous, winding, Hooghly. 
 
 Major Taddy and Guy were aboard the 
 same ship, and when she had cleared the river, 
 and was sailing majestically before the breeze, 
 the friends had a long chat. 
 
 " When shall we arrive at Burma ? " Guy 
 asked. 
 
 "Not for some days," the major answered. 
 '"We are now making for the Andaman Islands, 
 where we are to meet the ships bringing 
 troops from Madras." 
 
 " Do you think we shall have an opportunity 
 for going ashore there?" Guy enquired, 
 eagerly, being anxious not to miss seeing a 
 new country. 
 
 " I do not. The natives are cannibals, and 
 use poisoned arrows. They are more like 
 
A FiGfiT IN THE ANDAMAN ISLANDS. 45 
 
 animals in their customs than any other race 
 on the face of the earth, and all attempts 
 that have been made by Europeans to enter 
 into friendly relations with them have ended 
 in disaster. They are regular little demons. 
 Some years ago, three of them were captured 
 and brought to Calcutta. I saw them. They 
 were tiny little fellows, with black, curly hair 
 like African negroes. Certainly, they were 
 not like any other Oriental race that I have 
 ever seen. It is said that, many generations 
 ago, a big ship with a cargo of Africau slaves 
 was wrecked on one of the Andamans, and 
 that when the survivors reached land, the 
 blacks, finding themselves in a large majority, 
 murdered the white men and hid in the 
 interior of the island. They lived like wild 
 beasts, and the present inhabitants of the 
 islands are believed to be their descendants." 
 
 "But how do you account for their being 
 so much shorter than Africans ? " Guy asked. 
 
 " It is attributed to generations of depraved 
 living." 
 
46 A FIGHT IN THE ANDAMAN ISLANDS. 
 
 "Well, I hope that we shall go near enough 
 to land to catch sight of some of the strange 
 people." 
 
 "I do not think that we shall do that." 
 
 However, Guy did see the Andamanese. 
 His ship was the first to arrive at the 
 rendezvous, and while anchored off a beauti- 
 fully wooded island, a high oJ0S.cial of the 
 company, well versed in forestry, decided to 
 go ashore to examine the trees. Gruyj in 
 command of twelve men of the Bengal Native 
 Infantry, was told off to accompany the oflicial. 
 Three boats were lowered and the seamen, 
 pulling with their customary energy, soon 
 reached the shore. Not a sign of the in- 
 habitants was seen as they approached, or 
 even when they landed. 
 
 " It is my opinion," the Civil Service man 
 said to Guy, " that this island is uninhabited. 
 It is scarcely likely that if there were any 
 people here they would leave this wreckage 
 lying on the beach. They would surely 
 utilise it for some purpose." 
 
A FIGHT IN THE ANDAMAN ISLANDS. 47 
 
 " I have heard, sir," Guy said, respectfully, 
 "that the natives are so uncivilised that they 
 do not build houses, but live in holes made 
 in the ground. If that be true, this timber 
 would be of little use to them." 
 
 " Never believe sailors' yarns," the high 
 official answered, somewhat sternly. " I 
 myself have heard strange stories concerning 
 the animal-like nature of the Andamanese, 
 but I do not place the slightest reliance on 
 them. Let us advance to those trees on the 
 left." 
 
 " Very good, sir," Guy replied, and leaving 
 four sailors in charge of the boats, he gave 
 the command for the remainder of the party 
 to advance. They proceeded cautiously, ex- 
 tending over about a hundred yards, the 
 sailors grasping their cutlasses, and the native 
 soldiers with their hands upon their musket 
 locks. The forest was reached, but still there 
 were no signs of the inhabitants. Now and 
 again they heard a rustling in the under- 
 growth, but in each case the disturber 
 
48 A FIGHT IN THE ANDAMAN ISLANDS. 
 
 proved to be some small animal seeking 
 cover. 
 
 The civilian now began to examine the 
 trees, and to make notes concerning them in 
 a small pocket-book After a time, he desired 
 to proceed further into the forest, and when 
 they had advanced about fifty yards, he dis- 
 covered some trees which interested him 
 deeply. He took copious notes of these, 
 and while busy at the task, an arrow whizzed 
 through the air and stuck in his left arm. 
 
 "Pull it out, sir, and suck the wound," 
 Guy exclaimed, anxiously, remembering that 
 Major Taddy had said that the Andamanese 
 used poisoned arrows. The wounded man, 
 guessing what Guy's advice meant, tugged 
 out the arrow and sucked vigorously at 
 his arm. 
 
 Arrows were now whizzing in all directions, 
 and for a few moments Guy was at a loss 
 to know whence they came, for no signs of 
 the attackers could be seen anywhere. One 
 of his own men was shot in the eye, and 
 
A FIGHT IN THE ANDAMAN ISLANDS. 49 
 
 killed instantly, and two sailors had the brims 
 of their broad hats pierced with arrows, 
 
 " The niggers are up the trees, sir," a sailor 
 sang out, and such proved to be the case, 
 although they had concealed themselves so 
 cleverly among the branches that it was some 
 minutes before they were discovered. Then 
 one of Guy's own men espied one of them, 
 and, raising his musket to his shoulder, fired. 
 It was a good shot. The wounded man 
 fell from his seat, and clutched convulsively 
 at another bfanch, which snapped beneath 
 his weight. With a cry of mingled pain and 
 terror the man grabbed at other branches, 
 but not one was stout enough to bear him, 
 and at last he fell, with a sickening thud, on 
 the ground, dead. His features were those 
 of the African negro. He had the same tight 
 curly hair, but in size he was very unlike an 
 African, being some inches under five feet, 
 and slightly built. 
 
 His death roused his comrades to reckless- 
 ness, and, seeking no longer to conceal 
 
50 A FIGHT IN THE ANDAMAN ISLANDS, 
 
 themselves, they poured arrows innumerable 
 upon the British force. The native soldiers 
 now fired up into the trees, but the sailors, 
 being armed only with cutlasses, found to their 
 disgust that they were not taking part in 
 the fight. But being British sailors they 
 were determined to have their full share of 
 fighting, and when one of their number placed 
 his cutlass in his mouth and began to climb 
 a tree, his comrades burst into a loud cheer 
 and ran to follow his example. In a few 
 minutes, every sailor, including the little 
 midshipman who had to command one of 
 his men to give him a " bunk up " so that 
 he might catch hold of the lowest bough, 
 was climbing nimbly from branch to branch 
 after the enemy. 
 
 Guy, fearing that the plucky sailors might 
 be accidentally hit, commanded his own men 
 to cease fire, an order which was far from 
 pleasing to them. Soon, however, they 
 became quite interested in watching the 
 sailors, and every time one of the enemy 
 
A FIGHT IN THE ANDAMAN ISLANDS. 51 
 
 fell dead or wounded to the ground, they 
 burst into cries of delight. Many of the 
 Andamanese escaped the sailors by jumping 
 from one tree to another. When that 
 happened, the sailor would descend rapidly 
 and climb another tree. It was work for 
 which they were admirably fitted, and which 
 they thoroughly enjoyed. They had been 
 fighting in the trees for nearly a quarter of 
 an hour, when Guy espied one of the sailors 
 who had been left in charge of the boats, 
 running towards him. He was deadly pale, 
 and embedded in his back were two arrows, 
 which he had been unable to withdraw. 
 
 " They have attacked the boats, sir," he 
 exclaimed, as Guy hurried to meet him, and 
 then, staggering forward, fell dead. It was 
 found afterwards, that the poor fellow had 
 been wounded in eight places. 
 
 " Back to the boats ! " Guy shouted. " The 
 enemy has attacked them." 
 
 Then he marched his own men back at 
 the double, and as they emerged from the 
 
52 A FIGHT IN THE ANDAMAN ISLANDS. 
 
 forest, they found about a hundred and fifty 
 Andamanese within forty yards of the boats, 
 which already bristled with arrows. Instantly, 
 he gave the command to fire, and six of the 
 enemy fell dead or wounded. For a moment 
 there was a panic among the Andamanese, 
 but, finding that their assailants were few 
 in number, they regained confidence and 
 advanced slowly towards them, shooting at 
 every step. 
 
 Guy now withdrew his men into the forest, 
 so that they might have cover, and the 
 Andamanese, imagining that they were 
 frightened, broke into a run. The sailors 
 had by now joined Guy's force. 
 
 "We will charge when they get closer," 
 Guy told the midshipman. 
 
 "Very good, sir," the boy answered, and 
 turned to see that his men were ready. 
 
 "Put that poor fellow down," he said to 
 two who were carrying a dead comrade. 
 " We will come back for him after the 
 charge." 
 
A MGHT IN THE ANDAMAN ISLANDS. 53 
 
 Guy had told his men to withold their 
 fire until the enemy was within twenty yards 
 of them, and the Andamanese, finding that 
 they were not opposed, approached at a quicker 
 speed, and with great confidence. 
 
 " Fire 1 " The muskets rang out, and eleven 
 of the enemy fell. 
 
 " Charge ! " Guy shouted, and rushed at 
 the black, naked horde, followed closely by 
 sailors and soldiers. Some of the Andamanese 
 fled at once, but the majority fought desper- 
 ately, shooting when they managed to get 
 a yard or two away from the attackers, and 
 stabbing them with their arrows when at 
 close quarters. One soldier, separated from 
 his comrades, fell to the ground, and instantly 
 half a dozen of the savages sprang upon him, 
 and with teeth and hands tore him as if 
 they were carrion birds. Others feigned 
 death until they saw an opportunity for 
 attacking a sailor or soldier in the rear. 
 One sprang at Guy's back, and fixing his 
 teeth in his neck bit viciously. Guy struck 
 
54 A FIGHT IN THE ANDAMAN ISLANDS. 
 
 him in the face with his fist, but, naturally, 
 could not put much strength into his blows, 
 and the man hung on with the tenacity of a 
 bull-dog, until a sailor with a well-judged 
 stroke with his cutlass almost severed hi^ 
 head from his body. It was a fierce fight, 
 but before long the Andamanese saw that 
 to continue it would mean death to many 
 more of them, and turning, fled in all directions. 
 The majority sought shelter in the forest, 
 but some rushed to the beach, apparently 
 with the intention of hiding among the rocks. 
 These the sailors who had been left in charge 
 of the boats, and who had lain in the bottom 
 of them while the arrows were pouring on 
 them, attacked, and coming fresh to the 
 fight did great execution. 
 
 By this time another boat, which had been 
 dispatched on the sound of firing being heard, 
 arrived. The soldiers and sailors who came in 
 it were very disappointed to find that they had 
 arrived too late to take any part in the battle, 
 but as those who had been fighting hard were 
 
A BTGHT IN THE ANDAMAN ISLANDS. 55 
 
 somewhat exhausted, the newcomers carried 
 their dead and wounded into the boats, and 
 relieved them of any further necessity for 
 exertion. Considering the number of the 
 enemy, the British losses — four killed and 
 seven wounded — were not large. At first it 
 was feared that every man who had been shot 
 by an arrow would die ; but, possibly because 
 the surgeon was a clever man, not one of them 
 succumbed. 
 
 Guy's report of what had occurred was a 
 plain statement of facts ; but the civilian, in 
 his account of the fight, declared to the senior 
 military officer that Guy had handled his men 
 with surprising coolness, and that but for his 
 skill and gallantry their losses would have been 
 far greater. As this civilian had been present 
 at many battles in India, his opinion was a 
 reliable one ; and so impressed was the oflScer 
 by what he said, that Guy was called before 
 liim and commended for his services. 
 
 " Miss Welcome prophecied that you would 
 become a famous man," Major Taddy said 
 
56 A FIGHT IN THE ANDAMAN ISLANDS. 
 
 when he congratulated him upon his success. 
 "When I write to her, as I have promised to 
 do, I must let her know what a good beginning 
 you have made." ' 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE CAPTURE OF KANGOON. 
 
 A FEW hours after the fight with the Anda- 
 manese the look-out men espied the Madras 
 ships, for which the Bengal force was waiting. 
 The fleets met at the Northern Andaman, and, 
 on May 5th, sailed for Burma. One portion 
 of his force. Sir Archibald Campbell sent to 
 attack Cheduba Island, another to capture the 
 island of Negrais, and with the remainder 
 sailed for the Rangoon River, where the fleet 
 anchored on May 10th. The following morn- 
 ing the ships proceeded up the river in order 
 of attack. No signs of the enemy were seen ; 
 but, Burma being an almost unknown country 
 to Englishmen, there were plenty of sights to 
 interest the soldiers and sailors. Strange, gay- 
 plumaged birds flew across the river, and now 
 and again settled on the ships. Thousands of 
 
 57 
 
58 THE CAP-rTTEBl Of RANGOOl?. 
 
 monkeys played in the trees which overhung 
 the banks, unheeding the crocodiles, who lay 
 motionless in expectation of one of them falling 
 from the branches. Riverside villages were 
 few, but pagodas, with spires rising above the 
 jungle, were numerous, causing the men, who 
 believed them to be the Burmese equivalent of 
 churches, to wonder where the worshippers 
 came from. They did not know that every 
 Burman, who is rich enough to do so, builds a 
 pagoda in the hope that, having performed 
 such a meritorious action, he will be born again 
 in better worldly circumstances. The great 
 Shway Dagon Pagoda, which was built many 
 hundreds of years ago, on the spot where, it is 
 said, some Buddhist relics were buried, is the 
 most magnificent pagoda in the land, and 
 everyone who contributes to its adornment is 
 supposed to obtain merit. The British troops 
 caught sight of the great pagoda some time 
 before they reached Rangoon. It was two or 
 three miles distant from the town, and rose 
 over 300 feet from the top of the hill on which 
 
THE CAPTURE OF RANGOON. 59 
 
 it stood. Its spire was covered with gold leaf, 
 and, in the sunshine, was so dazzling that many 
 of the men could not look at it for any length 
 of time. 
 
 At last, the ships arrived off Rangoon, and 
 prepared for action. The sails were furled ; 
 drums beat to quarters, and the crews hurried 
 to their guns. 
 
 Then followed a period of waiting, Sir 
 Archibald Campbell wishing to give the 
 Burmese an opportunity for capitulating. 
 Soon they showed that they had no intention 
 of taking that step, by a sixteen-gun battery 
 opening fire on the ships. The latter replied 
 promptly, and in a short time completely 
 silenced the enemy's fire 
 
 The troops were now ordered to the boats, 
 and, undeterred by the colossal and ferocious 
 looking statues of demons which were erected 
 on the foreshore, landed in Rangoon without 
 a single shot being fired at them. But fear- 
 ing a surprise, the troops proceeded cautiously 
 through the evil-smelling town of bamboo-and- 
 
60 THE CAPTURE OF RANGOON. 
 
 mat huts. Some hurried to the fort, but it 
 was deserted. In fact, it soon became evident 
 to the British that not only had the Burmese 
 soldiers evacuated the town, but had taken 
 with them the whole of the inhabitants. 
 
 "The flight of the inhabitants is a great 
 disappointment to Sir Archibald," Major 
 Taddy said to Guy, a few minutes after the 
 British flag had been hoisted. " He expected 
 that some of them would side with us." 
 
 "What made him think that they would 
 be likely to do so?" 
 
 "The fact of many of them not being 
 Burmans but Peguans. Pegu was once a 
 mightier nation than Burma, but the latter, 
 under Alompra, the great warrior king, 
 eventually conquered the Peguans and an- 
 nexed their country. It is my opinion that 
 the Burmese feared that the Peguans might 
 join us, and therefore removed them." 
 
 Sir Archibald Campbell had not expected 
 the Peguans to assist him in defeating the 
 Burmese, but he had hoped that they would 
 
THE CAPTURE OF RANGOON. 61 
 
 sell provisions to his troops and supply him 
 with information concerning the country. 
 He dispatched a strong force in pursuit of 
 the fugitives, but the jungle was almost 
 impenetrable, and after a few hours absence, 
 it returned without having seen anything of 
 the enemy. 
 
 On the following morning, reconnoitring 
 parties were sent out in all directions. Guy 
 was in charge of one. He had proceeded 
 cautiously about a mile through the jungle 
 when he heard someone advancing towards 
 them. Instantly, he signed to his men to 
 conceal themselves. They obeyed, but 
 scarcely had they done so, when Guy and 
 his men were surprised to see that the man 
 hastening towards them was a white man. 
 Guy, sword in hand, stepped out to bar 
 his way. 
 
 "Thank God," the man exclaimed with 
 fervour, on seeing the young ensign. 
 
 " Who are you, and where are you going ? " 
 Guy asked, sharply. 
 
62 THE CAPTURE OF EANaOON. 
 
 "A British trader on the look out for my 
 countrymen." 
 
 " Have you seen anything of the enemy ? " 
 
 "More than ever I wish to see again." 
 
 "To-day?" 
 
 " Yesterday. But let me tell my story. 
 As soon as the news was received that the 
 Kalas — foreigners that means — were coming 
 up the river, every ^ white man in the town 
 was seized, bound with ropes, and dragged 
 before the authorities. We knew that we 
 were doomed to be tortured and killed, but 
 while they were endeavouring to arrange 
 some extra-diabolical way of murdering us, 
 your ships opened fire on the town, and 
 frightened^ them so thoroughly that they fled 
 into the jungle, commanding the 'spotted 
 faces' to bring us after them. We did all 
 that we possibly could to delay our departure, 
 in the hope that you would land and rescue 
 us, but the rascally ' spotted faces ' belaboured 
 us so unmercifully with their bamboos that 
 we were forced to proceed. When we had 
 
THE CAPTTTEE OF RANGOON. 63 
 
 travelled about two miles the Burmese soldiers 
 overtook us. They were panic stricken, but 
 some, as they rushed by us, endeavoured to 
 kill us with their dahs* and spears. From 
 these the ' spotted faces ' protected us, knowing 
 that if their masters were robbed of the 
 pleasure of seeing us tortured, they would 
 receive the punishment intended for us. But 
 when all the soldiers had passed the 
 * spotted faces ' became terrified. ' The white 
 Kala dogs have landed,' they said to 
 each other, 'and if they catch us they will 
 pour boiling oil into our eyes and ears.' 
 One of our countrymen then said to them, 
 'If you will let us return to Rangoon we 
 will ask our soldiers not to injure you. 
 They will kill the soldiers of the Lord of 
 Many White Elephants, but no harm shall be 
 done to you.' The 'spotted faces' made no 
 reply but continued talking among them- 
 selves. ' Let us bind the Kalas,' one of them 
 suggested, ' and leave them until the Golden 
 
 * Swords. J. 
 
64 THE CAPTURE OF RANGOON. 
 
 Soldiers* have driven the presumptuous dogs 
 back into the river. To-morrow we will return 
 and fetch these loathsome swine.' 
 
 "Well, the 'spotted faces' acted on that 
 advice. They hurried us to a jungle hut, and 
 binding our legs — our arms were already bound 
 to our sides — left us. Fortunately, I espied a 
 rough stone lying on the floor, and rolling over 
 to it I rubbed the rope which bound my arms 
 against it until it was severed. Then, after 
 much difficulty, I untied the rope which was 
 round my legs. As soon as I was free I began 
 to liberate my companions, but they urged me 
 to leave them as they were and hurry towards 
 you for assistance. They said, truly, that as 
 many of them were too weak to walk, it would 
 save time if I went for assistance. If I had 
 possessed a knife I would have cut their ropes 
 before I left them, but to untie even one would 
 have taken me a considerable time. Look, 
 my hands are torn with my efforts to set 
 myself free." 
 
 * Everytbiug possessed by the King of Burma was designated as golden. 
 
tSB CAPTURE Oi' RANGOON. 65 
 
 " In the circumstances I think you did right 
 in coming to us immediately," Guy declared. 
 " How far away are your friends ? " 
 
 " About half a mile." 
 
 " Then lead the way. Did you see anything 
 of the enemy as you came to us ? " 
 
 "I did not. My impression is that they 
 have gone a few miles further into the jungle, 
 where they will wait until reinforced." 
 
 "Then you think that they will fight 
 us?" 
 
 "I am certain of it. For nearly half a 
 century the Burmese army has been victorious 
 in its wars, and believes itself to be 
 unconquerable." 
 
 Guy now hurried his men forward, and in 
 about twenty minutes time found the captive 
 Europeans. There were eight of them. Five 
 were too exhausted to rise when the ropes 
 which bound them were cut, and all bore 
 wounds — evidence of the " spotted faces' " 
 brutality. Moreover, they had been driven 
 almost frantic during the night by the 
 
66 THE CAPTTTill! 0# RANQ661t. 
 
 thousands of insects which crawled over them 
 and irritated their wounds, 
 
 "Sahib, they are very ill," the havildar 
 said to Guy. "Shall we carry them on our 
 muskets ? " 
 
 "Yes. Let it be done quickly." 
 
 In a very short time the sepoys had made 
 fairly comfortable stretchers by fixing, from 
 one musket to another, mats which they had 
 torn from the sides of the hut. On these, 
 five of the released prisoners were carried, 
 the others walking. 
 
 The British soldiers boiled with indignation 
 when they saw their ill-used countrymen 
 brought in, vand vowed that, when they got 
 to close quarters with the enemy, they would 
 avenge them. When the released prisoners 
 had been fed, and their wounds attended to, 
 they were visited by Sir Archibald Campbell 
 and his staff, who, after condoling with them 
 on their sufferings, and congratulating them 
 on their release, plied them with questions 
 concerning the enemy. The information thus 
 
THE CAPTURE OF RANGOON. 67 
 
 obtained was very valuable to Sir Archibald, 
 and finding that three of the traders could 
 speak Burmese, he at once made arrangements 
 with them to act as his interpreters. But 
 a long period elapsed before any use could 
 be made of their services, as neither on land 
 nor on the river could the British find any 
 of the Burmese people. This was a serious 
 thing for Sir Archibald Campbell, who had 
 relied upon being able to purchase provisions 
 from the natives. Nor could he send out 
 foraging parties, for the dense jungle around 
 Rangoon was now filled with vigilant Burmese 
 troops, eager to attack the British , as soon 
 as they quitted the captured town. The 
 Burmese were accustomed to desultory jungle 
 fighting, and, having been successful when 
 engaged in such warfare with neighbouring 
 nations, were confident of further victories. 
 But Sir Archibald Campbell was not yet 
 disposed to send his army along narrow jungle 
 paths, where the men would be compelled 
 to walk in single file, 
 
68 THE CAPTTTRB OF RANGOON. 
 
 After waiting for some days in the hope 
 that the enemy would attack Rangoon, Sir 
 Archibald decided to send a portion of his 
 force a few miles up the river, and endeavour 
 to surround the enemy, but want of suitable 
 boats prevented this plan from being carried 
 out. The native war boats, each capable of 
 carrying from forty to fifty people, had 
 hastened up the river before the British could 
 capture them. 
 
 The armed cruiser Diana, the first steamer 
 to ascend the Irrawaddy, searched, but in 
 vain, for some of these war boats. Had she 
 captured a few, the British force would have 
 been sent up the river in them. 
 
 The British troops now began to sufier 
 terribly. The south-west monsoon had burst, 
 and hour after hour, day after day, the rain 
 fell in torrents. Rangoon became a swamp, 
 and only in the dirty huts — built on piles so 
 that they should not be flooded — were dry 
 places to be found. In spite of the rain the 
 heat w£!.s intense, and the poor half-starved 
 
THE CAPTURE OF RANGOON. 69 
 
 soldiers were drenched with rain while on 
 duty, and bathed in perspiration when their 
 turn came to take shelter. Cholera and 
 dysentery soon broke out, and the men died 
 by hundreds. The hospital arrangements were 
 infamous, and many of the doctors were utterly 
 incompetent. Going into hospital was con- 
 sidered by a large majority of the men as a 
 mere preparation for the grave, and hundreds 
 of them attempted to conceal their illness so 
 that they might not be sent to the dreaded 
 encampment. 
 
 Guy was one of the fortunate men who 
 remained in good health, and it was with 
 feelings of thankfulness that, in the third 
 week of May, he received an order to join 
 the 13th Regiment as ensign. Since he had 
 been in the Company's service, he had many 
 a time wished that his men had been English- 
 men. He did not despise the Sepoys, but 
 he knew but little of their language and still 
 less of their feelings. He had done his 
 utmost to understand them but had never quite 
 
70 THE OAPTUEE OF EANGOON. 
 
 succeeded in liking them. The English soldiers 
 in Rangoon had, however, won his admiration, 
 and made him wish that he had the good 
 fortune to be one of their officers. . 
 
 " I am perfectly happy now," he declared 
 to Major Taddy. "The 13th are splendid 
 fellows." 
 
 "But they are not the only ones who 
 deserve that praise," the Major answered. 
 "All the poor fellows are behaving nobly. I 
 have seen plenty of service, Guy, but never 
 have I experienced such an awful time as this. 
 Here is our army dwindling away before we 
 have scarcely fired a shot. It is heart- 
 breaking." 
 
 "It is indeed. I wonder when we shall 
 advance. The enemy cannot be far away, 
 for this morning two of our sentries were 
 found dead at their posts." 
 
 " That has become an every-day occurrence. 
 The Burmans crawl along the jungle as 
 quietly as snakes, and lie watching a sentry 
 until they see an opportunity to spring upon 
 
THE CAJTURE OP EANGOON. 71 
 
 him unawares. It must be a terribly trying 
 time for a fellow on sentry-go. What with 
 the rain descending in torrents, the frogs 
 croaking around him, and the knowledge that 
 an assassin may be hiding within a few feet 
 of him, it is a wonder that he does not get 
 scared and bolt. A young soldier would, 
 perhaps, be tempted to do so, but fortunately 
 nearly all the regiments here have seen plenty 
 of active service. By the bye, have you 
 spoken to Colonel Herbert since we have been 
 here?" 
 
 "Yes. It was he who first told me that 
 I was to join the 13th." 
 
 " Ah ! I knew that he would not forget 
 his indebtedness to you. If you do your 
 duty, your promotion will be rapid. I shall 
 soon have you jumping over my head." 
 
 "I hope not, Major." 
 
 "My dear lad, you must not talk in that 
 fashion. I am so accustomed to young fellows 
 being promoted over me that I have grown 
 hardened, and do not worry myself about 
 
72 THE CAPTTIBB OF RANGOON. 
 
 it. My sole desire now is to take life as 
 comfortably as possible." 
 
 Guy laugbed. 
 
 "Your actions contradict your words, sir," 
 he said. "You are one of the most hard- 
 working officers in Rangoon." 
 
 "Hard work is my idea of comfort. That 
 is a good thing for me, for, unless I am very 
 much mistaken, we shall have plenty of it 
 before we get out of this stewing country. 
 It is the hottest place that ever I have 
 visited. Ah, my boy, we ought to be very 
 thankful that we were not bom Burmans 
 instead of Englishmen." 
 
 "If we had been, we should now be 
 enjoying the climate instead of execrating it." 
 
 "Yes, and we should soon be having the 
 King's and the Company's soldiers bowling 
 us over like rabbits, or prodding us as if we 
 were wild pigs." 
 
 "Well, the sooner the real thing begins 
 the better I shall be pleased." 
 
 It began on the 28 th of May, Early in 
 
THE CAPTURE OP RANGOON. 73 
 
 the morning, Sir Archibald Campbell led a 
 small force of British and native infantry 
 against a formidable stockade, which was 
 being erected a short distance from Rangoon. 
 Two companies of the 13th Regiment were 
 included in the force, and Guy's was one of 
 them. Major Taddy was with the native 
 infantry, and Colonel Herbert accompanied 
 the General. 
 
 Quickly, but quietly, the attacking troops 
 marched through the sloshy jungle, and it 
 was not until they got close to the stockade 
 that the Burmese became aware of their 
 approach. The stockade being unfinished, 
 they promptly evacuated it, and fled still 
 further into the jungle. 
 
 The British pursued them as quickly as 
 possible, but their progress was tantalizingly 
 slow. The jungle path along which they 
 marched was so narrow, that not more than 
 two men could walk abreast. Frequently, 
 the gun wheels sank in the mud, and much 
 time was spent in extricating them. The rain 
 
74: THE CAPTURE OP RANGOON. 
 
 was, as usual, falling in torrents, and the 
 men's uniforms were heavy with water. 
 
 After marching nearly five miles the troops 
 arrived at an expanse of rice fields, covered 
 by a foot or two of water. Cheerfully the 
 men stepped into it for the open country was 
 delightful after the close, gloomy jungle. But 
 the moment they began to cross the fields the 
 Burmese opened fire on them, and two or 
 three wounded men were drowned in a foot of 
 water. 
 
 The British guns were now brought into 
 action and quickly dispersed the enemy. This 
 success was followed, however, by a dis- 
 heartening incident — it was found impossible 
 to drag the guns through the swampy rice 
 fields. 
 
 The native infantry was left to guard them, 
 much to Major Taddy's secret disgust, while 
 the 13th and 38th Regiments hurried on to 
 attack two villages which had been strongly 
 stockaded. As they approached, the Burmese 
 greeted them with loud shouts, 
 
tHE CAPTtEE OF RANGOON. 75 
 
 " What are they saying ? " Sir Archibald 
 enquired of one of the British traders, who 
 accompanied him as interpreter. 
 
 " They are shouting ' Come on ! '" 
 
 "We do not need the invitation," Sir 
 Archibald remarked, with a smile. 
 
 As he spoke the Burmese opened fire, and 
 the British regiments at once replied, but so 
 ineflFectively that the General sent Colonel 
 Herbert to discover the cause of the bad 
 shooting. 
 
 Soon he came galloping back. 
 
 "The rain has affected the muskets, sir," 
 he said. 
 
 " Then we must get at close quarters with 
 the enemy at once," Sir Archibald replied, 
 and a few minutes later the troops, cheering, 
 wildly rushed forward to attack the stockade, 
 and reached it with very little loss, considering 
 the hot fire through which they had passed. 
 The stockade was not more than eight feet 
 high, and therefore the British soldiers had 
 little difficulty in surmounting it. Guy, being 
 
76 THE CAPTURE Of EAJfGOOM. 
 
 young and active, was one of the first to jump 
 down among the enemy, and immediately he 
 was very hard pressed by three infuriated 
 Burmans. He killed one, and two of his own 
 men quickly engaged the others. 
 
 In a few minutes, a fierce and sanguinary 
 fight was raging. The Burmese fought 
 desperately on discovering that their retreat 
 had been cut ofi". Again and again the 
 British officers called upon them to surrender, 
 having learnt the word from the ex-traders. 
 The Burmese understood what they said, but, 
 believing that if they did surrender they 
 would be tortured, they refused to do so. 
 In their wars with Siam and other Eastern 
 countries, the idea of giving or receiving 
 quarter had never occurred to them. It was 
 an understood thing that the proper way to 
 deal with prisoners of war was to torture them, 
 or make them slaves for life. Naturally, not 
 being aware that the British were more 
 humane than themselves, they preferred to 
 die rather than be captured alive. Therefore, 
 
THE CAPTUBE OF RANGOON. 77 
 
 they fought desperately, cursing the hda 
 dogs, and vowing, even when they saw that 
 they were fighting a losing battle, to drive 
 them back into the sea. 
 
 The battle did not end until every Burman 
 had been Mlled. After the fight, over four 
 hundred of their dead were counted. 
 
 Having captured the stockade, it was an 
 easy matter for Sir Archibald Campbell to 
 take possession of the two villages, where he 
 procured a large stock of rice, some native 
 ponies, and a few cows. 
 
 After a short rest in the captured villages, 
 the troops fell in, to march back to Rangoon. 
 The rain was still falling heavily, but the 
 men were in high spirits as they splashed 
 along the swampy land, for they had, at last, 
 met and defeated the enemy. 
 
CHAPTER YI. 
 
 THEOUQH THE JUNGLE. 
 
 Fob two days after their victory the British 
 saw nothing of the Burmese, although several 
 reconnoitring parties had been sent out. On 
 the third day, Guy, in command of a few men, 
 was dispatched on a similar errand, but he 
 had scarcely penetrated half a mile of the 
 jungle when he was surprised to see a short, 
 somewhat stout, and jovial-looking Burman 
 walking calmly along the track towards 
 Rangoon. His clothing was brilliant, but 
 there was not very much of it — simply a 
 short pink lungyi, or skirt, and a yellow turban. 
 When he found himself surrounded by white 
 men he did not exhibit any sign of terror, 
 but simply held up his hands to show 
 that he was not carrying any weapons. 
 Then, seeing that Guy was in command 
 
 78 
 
THROUGH THE JUNGLE. 79 
 
 of his captors he prostrated himself at his 
 feet. 
 
 "Tell him to get up," Guy said to the 
 trader, who accompanied the Tp&rty to act 
 as interpreter in the event of their meeting 
 any peaceful natives. The Burman rose 
 immediately he was commanded to do so, 
 
 "Ask him who he is and where he was 
 going," Guy suggested. 
 
 After a few minutes conversation with the 
 Burman, the trader gave the following account 
 of him : — 
 
 " He says that his name is Bah Too, and 
 that he is a wizard. He is proceeding to 
 Rangoon to sell to our troops charms which 
 will make them invulnerable to bullets, spears, 
 and dahs." 
 
 "That is very thoughtful of him," Guy 
 declared with a smile. "Let me see the 
 wonderful charms." 
 
 On being informed of Guy's request, the 
 Burman at once produced from under his 
 lungyi a bundle which contained a number 
 
80 THEOUGH THE JUNGLE. 
 
 of small pieces of stone cut in fantastic 
 shapes. 
 
 " Have you ever seen this kind of thing 
 before ? " Guy asked his interpreter. 
 
 " Frequently," was the reply. " Every 
 Burmese soldier wears a charm, and would 
 not think of going into battle without one." 
 
 "But why does this fellow want to sell 
 them to us ? Why does he not offer them to 
 his own countrymen?" 
 
 "Tell the white lord," Bah Too said, in 
 answer to the interpreter's question, "that 
 there are many wizards selling charms to my 
 countrymen." 
 
 " Evidently he thinks that he will find no 
 competition among our troops !" Guy remarked. 
 " Ask him how it was that, if his countrymen 
 wear charms, we managed to kill four hundred 
 of them a few days ago." 
 
 Bah Too was not in the least disconcerted. 
 
 "My lord," he said, "they bought their 
 charms from ignorant men who, with great 
 presumption, pretended that they were wizards. 
 
THROUGH THE JUNGLE. 81 
 
 If they had purchased their charms from me 
 they would still be living." 
 
 "We will test the efficacy of his charms. 
 Tell him that I intend to cut at him with 
 my sword." 
 
 When Bah Too heard of Guy's threat, he 
 squatted down in front of the ensign, with 
 his hands raised in supplication. 
 
 " My lord ! " he exclaimed, wildly, " listen 
 to the words of your servant. The charms 
 which I have brought with me, I made to 
 ward off the buUets, spears, and dahs of my 
 countrymen; they do not afford protection 
 against the white lord's weapons. 
 
 "But he said just now," Guy reminded 
 the interpreter, " that if his countrymen had 
 purchased his charms we should have been 
 unable to kill them." 
 
 " Tell the white lord," Bah Too answered, 
 " that I am able to make two kinds of charms. 
 Some will ward off my countrymen's weapons, 
 and others wiU ward off the white lord's 
 weapons. But, as I came to sell charms to 
 
82 THROUaH THE JUNGLE. 
 
 the white lords, I did not think that it would 
 be necessary to bring those which would ward 
 off their bullets and swords." 
 
 " A very clever explanation ! " Guy declared, 
 much amused. "We must take him back to 
 Rangoon at once. If he attempts to escape, 
 shoot him." 
 
 It was Guy's impression that Bah Too 
 was a spy, and Sir Archibald Campbell, 
 after subjecting the Burman to a severe 
 examination, was of the same opinion. Bah 
 Too was detained a prisoner, but a happier 
 one never lived. Many of the officers bought 
 charms from him to take home as mementoes, 
 while the rank and file, being somewhat 
 superstitious, purchased and wore. them. 
 
 The interpreters spent many hours in 
 friendly conversation with the Burman, and 
 obtained from him a considerable amount of 
 useful information concerning the strength 
 and movements of the Burmese army. He 
 declared, however, that it was very foolish of 
 the white lords to fancy that it was possible 
 
THROUGH THE JUNGLE. 83 
 
 for them to defeat the Burmese. Other 
 nations had endeavoured to do so, but had 
 been swept away like leaves before the wind. 
 ^ The Peguans, for daring to fight the Burmese, 
 had lost the whole of their territory, and 
 the Siamese had been forced to surrender 
 Tenasserim. Even the Chinese had been 
 defeated by the unconquerable Burmese. 
 
 The British soldiers were highly amused 
 when they heard from the interpreters that 
 Bah Too was confident that they would be 
 defeated. 
 
 " Tell him how we whacked old Boney and 
 his mounseers," a Waterloo veteran suggested, 
 and the interpreter did so, but without 
 impressing the Burman with any idea of 
 Britain's greatness. 
 
 "But Bandoola has defeated the white 
 lords," Bah Too declared, having heard a very 
 exaggerated account of the Burmese general's 
 victories in the neighbourhood of Chittagong. 
 " Soon he will capture the white lords' 
 country, and return to Ava with their king 
 
THROUGH THE JUNGLE. 85 
 
 a breach in the stockade. With a mighty 
 cheer the British soldiers and Sepoys rushed 
 forward. Some entered by the breach, but 
 others, making use of their scaling ladders, 
 gained entrance at other points. Guy was 
 not among the first to enter the stronghold, 
 but he and a handful of his men happened 
 to jump down just where assistance was badly 
 needed. The enemy had got twenty Sepoys, 
 under Major Taddy, in a corner, and although 
 the little band was fighting with great 
 determination, in a few minutes it would have 
 been annihilated by the overwhelming force 
 opposed to it. 
 
 "At them, my men!" Guy shouted; and, 
 with uplifted sword, rushed at the Burmese. 
 So intent were the enemy on massacring the 
 little force in their power, that they did not 
 notice Guy and his men until they were close 
 upon them. Then they turned to escape, but 
 it was too late. The British soldiers, delighted 
 at getting to close quarters with the boastful 
 enemy, used their bayonets with terrible 
 
86 THROUGH THE JtTNGLE. 
 
 results, and the Sepoys, released from their 
 unpleasant position, fell upon the Burmese 
 with fiendish shouts. 
 
 Guy and Major Taddy were in the thick 
 of the fight, setting their men a splendid 
 example of bravery. Whenever the enemy 
 made a stand the two friends rushed at him, 
 and although they had numerous narrow 
 escapes they were unhurt when, at last, those 
 of the enemy who were able to do so, made 
 for the rear of the stockade and fled to the 
 jungle. 
 
 In all parts of the stronghold the fight had 
 been fierce, but loud British cheers soon told 
 that the enemy had been driven out. Two 
 hundred dead Burmans were counted within 
 the stockade, and probably as many more 
 were shot down as they fled. 
 
 When the wounded had been attended to, 
 and sent back to Rangoon under an escort, 
 the British troops resumed their march on 
 Kemmendine. Sir Archibald Campbell dis- 
 covered, however, that the Burmese position 
 
THROUGH THE JUNGLE. 87 
 
 was far stronger than he had been led to 
 believe, and decided not to attack it until 
 the British ships had arrived to assist in 
 the bombardment. The troops* bivouacked 
 in the jungle, and a terrible night they spent. 
 The rain fell incessantly, and the enemy's 
 skirmishers worried them with their fire. 
 
 " It is terrible," Guy said to Major Taddy, 
 as they stood, their clothes streaming with 
 water, talking for a few minutes. " Our poor 
 fellows are being picked off right and left. 
 It would have been better to have attacked 
 the enemy than to be penned in here without 
 a chance of retaliating." 
 
 " It is trying, I admit," Major Taddy replied, 
 " but Sir Archibald knows what he is about. 
 By the bye, I must thank you for your timely 
 assistance in the stockade. If you had not 
 arrived just when you did, I should have 
 been underground now." 
 
 "And I should have lost my best friend." 
 
 As Guy spoke a bullet whizzed between him 
 and the Major, and killed a man a few yards 
 
88 THROUGH THE JUNGLE. 
 
 distant from them. They moved away, and 
 sat at the foot of a tree until it was time 
 for them to go on duty. 
 
 At daybreak, on the following morning, the 
 British ships began to shell the stronghold, 
 and, after two hours firing, made a big breach 
 in the fortifications. The troops at once 
 marched forward to attack the place, but to 
 their astonishment met with no opposition. 
 The Burmese, terrified by the shells bursting 
 among them, had evacuated their stronghold, 
 and sought shelter in another stockade. 
 
 After the capture of Kemmendine, and the 
 neighbouring Burmese posts, there was a 
 cessation of hostilities, which did not, however, 
 portend peace. The Burmese were as arrogant 
 as if they had never been defeated, and still 
 threatened to drive the British into the sea. 
 Towards the end of June, both armies received 
 large reinforcements. The detachments which 
 Sir Archibald had sent against Cheduba and 
 Negrais, having driven the enemy from those 
 islands, rejoined the main army. The 89th 
 
THKOUGH THE JUNGLE. 89 
 
 Regiment also arrived. These reinforcements 
 were badly needed, for cholera and dysentery 
 had made fearful ravages among the troops. 
 In fact, the reinforcements did not make the 
 British force numerically stronger than when 
 it arrived in Rangoon. 
 
 With the Burmese reinforcements came a 
 new general ; his predecessor having aroused 
 his king's displeasure by his inability to drive 
 the British out of the land. The new general 
 acted cautiously ; and, by confining his oper- 
 ations to desultory firing, considerably harassed 
 the British. Elated with his success, he 
 attempted to surround the invaders, who, 
 however, broke through the cordon, and 
 inflicted a severe defeat upon the Burmese. 
 The new general and several of his chief 
 officers were killed in this battle. 
 
 As the rainy season was now at its height, 
 and a greater portion of the country flooded, 
 Sir Archibald Campbell decided to remain at 
 Rangoon until the weather should be 
 more favourable for an advance. In the 
 
90 THROUGH THE JUNGLE. 
 
 meanwhile, he was not idle. He despatched 
 a force against the South of Burma, which 
 captured Tenasserim, Mergui, and Tavoy ; and 
 there were also successful operations on the 
 Irrawaddy above Kennnendine. 
 
 In August, the news reached the British 
 that the King of Burma's two brothers had 
 been appointed to the command of the army. 
 So confident of success were these royal 
 generals, that they named their force the 
 " Invulnerables." And, to prevent any possi- 
 bility of a mistake being made, a posse of 
 astrologers accompanied the princes to fix the 
 proper hour for giving battle. These much- 
 trusted men declared that the night of the 
 30th August would be a favourable time for 
 driving the Kalas out of the Shway Dagon 
 Pagoda, and promised their countrymen a 
 glorious victory. Assured of success, the 
 Burmese marched boldly from the jungle; 
 and, arriving at the hill on which the pagoda 
 stands, burst into threatening yells, and scam- 
 pered up in crowds. Until now the British 
 
THROUGH THE JUNGLE. 91 
 
 had not fired a shot; but, as the "Invulner- 
 ables" came up the hill, they greeted them 
 with a withering fire, which killed and 
 wounded scores of them, and sent the others 
 hurrying back to the jungle for shelter. The 
 exceedingly hot reception which the British 
 accorded the " Invulnerables " awakened in 
 the king's brothers a dislike for war so 
 strong, that they resigned their positions in 
 the army. The astrologers who had predicted 
 a glorious victory for the " Invulnerables " did 
 not go through the formality of resigning 
 their court appointments. The very minute 
 that they heard the foreign Kalas had 
 been victorious, they fled into the jungle, 
 travelled some hundreds of miles on foot, and 
 started business afresh in a part of the country 
 where they were unknown. 
 
 The king of Burma had, at first, treated 
 the invasion of his territory by the British 
 as a piece of impudence for which the invaders 
 would have to be punished severely. That 
 they would be speedily driven back to their 
 
92 THROUGH THE JUNGLE, 
 
 ships he was quite confident, and, therefore, 
 the defeat of one after another of his generals 
 was a great surprise to him. His brothers, 
 anxious to explain how it was that they were 
 defeated, declared that the white Kalas had 
 twenty men to each of their one, and that 
 Nats, or evil spirits, were fighting for the 
 invaders. 
 
 Whether or not the Lord of Many White 
 Elephants believed his brothers' explanation, 
 it is impossible to say. As he did not have 
 them executed, the public opinion was that 
 it was not due to any fault of theirs that they 
 were defeated. Now that the king of Burma 
 was aware of the seriousness of the British 
 invasion, he sent messengers to Bandoola, 
 commanding him to return with all the troops 
 in Assam and Aracan, and proceed to 
 Rangoon. 
 
 When the royal messengers reached Ban- 
 doola, he was in the same spot as when the 
 British sailed from Calcutta to the Andaman 
 Islands, and was still making preparations 
 
THROUGH THE JUNGLE. 93 
 
 for his tremendous march to England. On 
 receiving his king's command, he collected 
 his army and marched back to Ava, where 
 he was received with the wildest enthusiasm 
 by the people, who hailed him as the greatest 
 warrior since Alompra the mighty. The king 
 showered honours upon him, and Bandoola, 
 puffed up with pride, declared that his 
 victories over the British in the neighbour- 
 hood of Chittagong were trivial compared 
 v/ith those which he would achieve near 
 Rangoon, 
 
 After some days of feasting and boasting, 
 Bandoola set out for Donabew, accompanied 
 by hundreds of war-boats, conveying large 
 reinforcements for the army awaiting him. 
 
 " In eight days, I shall have driven the 
 white Kolas into the sea," he said to the kinor, 
 on taking leave of him. " Then I will give 
 a public dinner in Rangoon in honour 
 of my victory, and afterwards, I will go in 
 state to the Shway Dagon Pagoda, and lay 
 offerings on the altars." 
 
CHAPTER YII. 
 
 FIGHTINa ON LAND AND WATER. 
 
 The news of Bandoola's approach was received 
 by the British soldiers with enthusiasm, for 
 not only were they anxious to avenge the 
 defeats which their comrades had suffered in 
 the north-west, but they were overjoyed at 
 the prospect of quitting the neighbourhood 
 of pestilential Rangoon. The loss which 
 the army had suffered through cholera and 
 dysentery was appalling. Never, perhaps, in 
 the history of the British army has disease 
 worked such havoc as it did during the four 
 months our troops were at Rangoon and 
 Kemmendine. But in spite of the terrible 
 difficulties with which Sir Archibald Campbell 
 had to contend, he had made every possible 
 preparation for meeting the great Burmese 
 army. Boats for taking the troops up the 
 
 94 
 
PtG&TING ON LAND AND WATBE. 95 
 
 river had been built by some five hundred 
 natives of Chittagong, whom he had caused 
 to be brought to Rangoon, as it was his 
 intention, in the event of his defeating Ban- 
 doola, to follow the enemy up the mighty 
 Irrawaddy." 
 
 The British scouts caught sight of the 
 advancing army towards the end of November, 
 and reported that it was well supplied with 
 artillery and cavalry. 
 
 On the 1st of December, the two armies 
 came face to face. The first assault made by 
 the enemy was against a post, garrisoned by 
 the 26th Madras Native Infantry, and a 
 detachment of the Madras European army. 
 The defenders fought gallantly; and, ably 
 supported by a naval force on the river, beat 
 off the attackers. 
 
 In the meanwhile the enemy, advancing 
 from all directions, practically surrounded the 
 British army. The river, certainly, was in 
 rear of the British position, but the Burmese 
 had a strong force on the opposite bank, which. 
 
96 FIGHTING ON LAND AND WATER. 
 
 from the cover of the jungle, harrassed the 
 flotilla. On taking up its position, the Burmese 
 army did not at once attack the British, but 
 began building stockades and digging en- 
 trenchments. Sir Archibald Campbell did 
 not prevent their preparations, being desirous 
 of seeing the disposition of the enemy before 
 attacking him in force. Being in doubt, 
 however, as to the exact position of the 
 Burmese at one point, he ordered the 13th 
 Light Infantry and the 18th Madras Native 
 Infantry to attack. The 13th led the 
 way through the jungle, and arriving at 
 the entrenchments carried them with a 
 rush. 
 
 Guy ran forward on the charge being 
 sounded, and was one of the first to get among 
 the enemy, who did not, Tiowever, remain to 
 fight. As soon as they saw that the white 
 men had gained the entrenchments they turned 
 and fled. Some, however, found their retreat 
 cut ofi", and were compelled to make a stand. 
 When that occurred, they fought with fury. 
 
flGHTllTG ON LAND AND WATER. 9f 
 
 cursing the Kola dogs, and refusing to 
 surrender. 
 
 Guy had two desperate hand-to-hand fights, 
 and in each he was the victor. He was on 
 the extreme left of the attacking force, and 
 was starting at the head of about a dozen 
 men, in pursuit of a body of Burmans, when a 
 sergeant, pointing to the left of them, exclaimed. 
 " Yonder is a gun, sir ! " 
 
 The Burmese had just got it into position, 
 and believing that their presence had not been 
 discovered, hoped to fire on the Madras Native 
 Infantry, and inflict severe loss on them before 
 they gained the entrenchments. 
 
 " At 'em, my men ! " Guy exclaimed gaily, 
 and as they dashed after him they answered 
 with a cheer. The fifty yards were soon 
 covered, and so eager were the Burmese to 
 inflict punishment upon the Sepoys, that they 
 did not notice Guy's approach until it was 
 too late to escape. Then they left their gun 
 and turned to fight. 
 
 Guy called on them to surrender — all the 
 
98 S^IQUTIIJG on LANt) AND WAfEft. 
 
 British officers had been taught the necessary 
 Burmese words — but they answered with a 
 volley that killed one private and wounded 
 two more. 
 
 The next minute, the handful of the 
 gallant 13th were among the Burmans, 
 and the clash of dahs and bayonets was 
 mingled with yells of execration and cries 
 of pain. 
 
 Fearful that the enemy mighF make off 
 with the gun, Guy cut his way to it, and, 
 with the aid of a corporal, spiked it. When 
 he had accomplished this, he found that the 
 fight was finished. Six perspiring Somerset- 
 shire men were all that remained of the little 
 force which had followed Guy to the capture 
 of the gun. Their comrades lay dead amidst 
 the heap of slain Burmans. 
 
 "'Tis our gun, sir," the sergaant reminded 
 Guy, as a score of the 13th came to render 
 assistance. 
 
 " Certainly it is," Guy replied, understanding 
 that the sergeant was anxious that they who 
 
FIGHTING ON LAND AND WATER. 99 
 
 had captured it should have the credit of the 
 achievement. " Drag it away." 
 
 So the seven survivors dragged their trophy 
 to where the two regiments were falling in. 
 Major Sale, who was in command of the 
 attack, congratulated Guy on his success, and 
 declared that Sir Archibald should hear of it. 
 The gallant Major did not forget his promise, 
 for when the General complimented him before 
 his regiment on the highly satisfactory way 
 in which he had carried out his instructions, 
 he mentioned to him Ensign Clifford's 
 services. 
 
 " Ensign Clifford ! " Sir Archibald repeated, 
 turning round in his saddle and looking at 
 Colonel Herbert. "Is he the youth who 
 rescued your daughter in the Madras surf?" 
 
 " He is, sir," Colonel Herbert replied. 
 
 " And he rendered excellent service, sir, in 
 repelling the Andamanese," another staff- 
 officer remarked. 
 
 " Call him forward," Sir Archibald said to 
 Major Sale, 
 
100 FIGHTING ON LAND AND WATER. 
 
 On hearing himself called, Guy walked 
 briskly forward and saluted the major. 
 
 "The General wants you," the major said, 
 with a kindly smile. 
 
 Guy stepped forward, halted at the regula- 
 tion distance, and saluted the General, 
 who, for a few moments, looked at him in 
 silence. 
 
 " You have distinguished yourself very early 
 in life, my lad," Sir Archibald said, "and 
 if you continue to do your duty as fearlessly 
 and intelligently as you have done it in the 
 past, you wilLrise to a high position in His 
 Majesty's service." 
 
 As the General finished speaking, he bent 
 down and shook hands with Guy. 
 
 It was a very proud moment for the 
 young ensign. He saluted, turned about, and 
 marched back to his regiment with flushed 
 face, and heart beating quickly with excite- 
 ment. But the thought of the pleasure with 
 which his uncle would hear the news of the 
 General's words, delighted him more than 
 
FIGHTING ON LAND AND WATER, 101 
 
 the knowledge that he had been ex- 
 ceedingly fortunate in having had his services 
 acknowledged. 
 
 Major Taddy soon heard of Guy's good 
 fortune, and was delighted thereat. He had 
 feared, in the early days of their friendship, 
 that Guy, having no influential friends in 
 the East India Company, would have the 
 mortification, which he had experienced, of 
 seeing less capable men promoted over him. 
 To find that his fears were not realised, 
 afforded him intense satisfaction. He did 
 not, however, have an opportunity for con- 
 gratulating Guy, for, on the following day, 
 the Burmese became aggressive, and the two 
 friends* regiments were fighting in different 
 parts of the field. 
 
 During the night of the 1st of December, 
 the Burmese crept towards the Shway Dagon 
 Pagoda, and entrenched themselves on a hill 
 facing the north gate. Two companies of the 
 38th Regiment and one hundred Sepoys were 
 dispatched to drive them from their position, 
 
102 PiaHTlNG ON LAND AND WATEK. 
 
 a task which they accomplished after a fierce 
 fight. 
 
 The Burmese were, however, by no means 
 cowed by the defeats they suffered. They 
 renewed their attack on the 3rd and 4th, 
 and were only kept in cheek by the splendid 
 practice of our artillery. In the meanwhile, 
 they had made desperate efforts to capture 
 the British post at Kemmendine, which was 
 defended chiefly by Sepoys. Throughout the 
 war, the Burmese engaged our native troops 
 whenever it was possible, but they found that, 
 led by Englishmen, they were far superior to 
 the Siamese and other dark-skinned races 
 whom they had defeated. At Kemmendine, 
 the Sepoys fought with admirable coolness 
 and courage, but the Burmese attributed 
 their repulses, not to the black Kalas, but to 
 the fire from the white men's ships. They 
 determined to destroy those ships by fire 
 rafts. 
 
 Down the river were despatched huge and 
 cleverly constructed fire rafts, each with a 
 
TIQHTING ON LAND AND WATER. 103 
 
 bamboo scaffolding on it, rising high a? the 
 topmasts of the British ships. From these 
 poles were strung lines of jars, containing gun- 
 powder, petroleum, and other inflammable and 
 explosive matter. The Rangoon River flows 
 swiftly, and the Burmese hoped that, as the 
 fire-rafts crashed against the British ships, the 
 flaming bamboos would catch the masts, and 
 the jars of inflammable material would fall on 
 the decks. It was well planned ; but the 
 British sailors were ready for the emergency. 
 As the fire-rafts came gliding down the river, 
 followed by scores of war-boats — which hoped 
 to annihilate the ships as soon as they were 
 thrown into confusion — the British boats were 
 lowered and filled with jovial Jack Tars, who 
 pulled up stream to meet the enemy. The 
 Burmese, seeing them approach, fired their 
 rafts, and waited with confidence the des- 
 truction of the foreign ships. They were not, 
 however, acquainted with the resourcefulness 
 of the British sailors, and their amazement was 
 great when they saw them, with the aid of 
 
104 FIGHTING ON LAND AND WATER. 
 
 long poles, skilfully divert the course of the 
 flaming rafts, and guide them through the 
 little fleet. Not one of the ships was damaged 
 by the fire-rafts, which continued their course 
 down the river, a splendid spectacle, and, as 
 far as the British were concerned, a harmless 
 one. Some of the rafts floated for miles, and 
 burnt themselves out ; others ran ashore, and 
 set light to the jungle. 
 
 As soon as it was seen that the fire-rafts had 
 done no damage, H.M.S. Diana and the 
 H.B.I.C. cruiser Teignmouth, accompanied by 
 the small boats which had diverted the rafts, 
 attacked the Burmese war-boats. Some th6y 
 sank, others they captured, but the majority 
 escaped up the river. 
 
 Sir Archibald Campbell now decided to 
 attack Poozendoung, a village close to Ran- 
 goon, where the Burmese had taken up a 
 strong position. On the 4th of December, 
 he ordered the gun-boats to proceed by night 
 up a creek, to open fire on the rear of 
 the enemy, and on the following morning 
 
FIGHTING ON LAND AND WATER. 105 
 
 despatched two columns, one under Major Sale 
 and the other under Major Walker. The 
 former had 1100 men, the later 600. They 
 advanced shortly after daybreak, and when 
 the Burmese saw them approaching, they 
 indulged in loud shouts of derision, asking 
 why more Kalas had not come to be killed. 
 The smallness of the attacking force was 
 evidently regarded as an insult to them. As 
 the two columns advanced, the naval force 
 opened fire on the enemy, who, however, did 
 not take much notice of it, being bent on 
 annihilating the two columns before attacking 
 the boats. On these the Burmese fired 
 furiously, but the British troops answered 
 with a cheer, and rushed forward to the 
 entrenchments. The 13th Regiment attacked 
 the centre of the enemy's line and, although 
 many were killed or wounded as they dashed 
 across the open space, Guy was fortunately 
 untouched. The 13th and 89th got among 
 the enemy almost simultaneously, and the 
 fierceness of their assult so terrified the 
 
106 FIGHTING ON LAND AND WATER. 
 
 Burmans that they turned, and rushed to- 
 wards the jungle. Few, however, reached 
 it, for a troop of the Governor-General's body- 
 guard, which had arrived fropa India on the 
 previous evening, and had hurried to the front, 
 fell upon the fugitives and cut them down as 
 if they were mere jungle plants. The enemy 
 was also supplied with cavalry, ^having the 
 Cassay Horse, a body which enjoyed the 
 reputation of being the finest mounted men 
 in that part of the East. At first they fought 
 splendidly, but the panic of the foot soldiers 
 spread to them, and, wheeling round, they 
 spurred their horses and galloped away. Some 
 of the Governor-General's body-guard started 
 in pursuit, but failed to overtake them. 
 
 Major Walker, who commanded the second 
 column, was killed; but, on the whole, the 
 British loss was slight. Several guns, hun- 
 dreds of muskets, and a quantity of stores 
 were captured. 
 
 Guy had obtained his full share of fighting, 
 E^nd was w^U satisfied with it. He did not 
 
FIGHTING ON LAND AND WATER. 107 
 
 expect that the opportunity for distinguishing 
 himself would occur in every battle. He knew 
 that there were many officers who had fought 
 in numerous battles without receiving an 
 opportunity such as had already been given 
 him. He might never have another one. 
 But he possessed a trophy of the last battle — 
 a gold chain, studded with rubies, which he 
 had picked up after the enemy had been put to 
 flight. It was evidently the chain of office of 
 some high Burmese official who had lost it in 
 his hurry to escape from the British bayonets. 
 " I will keep this," he said to himself; " and if 
 I live to return to Calcutta, I will give it to 
 Welcome Herbert." 
 
 He knew, however, that the. chances were 
 against his ever seeing again his girl-friend, for 
 disease was carrying oflF his countrymen daily, 
 and there would be many more battles fought 
 before Bandoola would recognise the superiority 
 of his enemy. Bandoola was, indeed, indefatig- 
 able. He rallied the troops which the two 
 columns had defeated, and brought them to the 
 
108 TIQHTINQ ON LAND AND "VTATER. 
 
 support of his centre and right wing, which 
 were now so close to the front of the Shway 
 Dagon Pagoda, that the British soldiers could 
 plainly hear the boastful threats which the 
 Burmese hurled at them. 
 
 On the 6th of December, Sir Archibald 
 Campbell, by keeping his infantry out of 
 sight, and slackening the fire of his artillery, 
 led the Burmese General to believe that his 
 force was much smaller than in reality it 
 was. Bandoola now imagined that the time 
 had arrived for carrying out his threat of 
 driving the British from the land; and to 
 do this, he did just what Sir Archibald desired 
 — brought his entire force to the front. 
 
 The Burmese were confident of an easy 
 victory; but, when the time came, they did 
 nothing to justify their having held such a 
 belief in their own strength. 
 
 At about a quarter to twelve, on the 
 morning of the 7th of December, the British 
 guns opened a fierce fire on the enemy. At 
 twelve o'clock the cannonade ceased, and the 
 
MGHTINQ ON LAND AND WATEK. 109 
 
 four columns advanced to attack the trenches. 
 Undeterred by the enemy's fire, which was 
 the heaviest they had experienced, they ran 
 forward , and, with loud cheers, sprang upon 
 the enemy. The daring of the British soldiers 
 filled the Burmese with terror, and they fled 
 instantly, flinging away their dahs, spears, 
 and muskets, which, together with over two 
 hundred cannon, fell into the hands of the 
 victors. 
 
 In spite of this disastrous defeat, Bandoola 
 was not disheartened. Gathering together 
 some 25,000 men, he retraced his steps, and 
 proceeded to entrench himself a few miles 
 distant from the British position. But Sir 
 Archibald Campbell, with only 1300 men, 
 attacked the Burmese, and in fifteen minutes 
 the great Burmese leader and his army were 
 once more flying for their lives. So un- 
 expected had been the British attack, that 
 the enemy leffa behind the whole of their 
 baggage, and an enormous amount of arms 
 and ammunition. 
 
110 FIGHTING ON LAND AND WATER. 
 
 On the same day the British naval force 
 won a splendid victory, capturing thirty 
 war-boats — only two of the Burmese flotilla 
 escaping. 
 
 Bandoola retired with his defeated and 
 dispirited array to Donabew, where for two 
 months they were left in peace. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 gut's mistake. 
 
 When Bandoola retired to Donabew, many 
 of the former residents of Rangoon came, 
 unarmed, into the British camp, to ask to be 
 allowed to return to their homes. Their 
 request was granted at once, and the kind 
 treatment which they received at the hands 
 of the white men, whom they had been led 
 to believe were more inhuman than any dark- 
 skinned race, filled them with surprise. The 
 news of the kind reception accorded them, 
 soon reached the people who had been too 
 timid to accompany them on their supposed 
 desperate mission to the Kolas, and, in a few 
 days, they returned to the town from which 
 they had been hurriedly driven by the 
 Burmese governor on the approach of the 
 British ships. The British soldiers and sailors 
 
 ui 
 
112 guy's mistake, 
 
 were enclianted with these Burmese people who 
 came to them as friends, and Rangoon became 
 much more attractive than heretofore. The 
 Burmese are one of the jolliest races on the 
 . face of the earth, and our soldiers and sailors 
 enjo3''ed hours of harmless delight in watching 
 them. Every evening, towards sunset, the 
 Burmans would box, wrestle, and play football 
 among themselves, and as they kicked when 
 they boxed, pulled each others' hair down 
 when they wrestled, and shot their little 
 football into the air with blows from knees, 
 elbows, shoulders, heads, and feet, they were 
 invariably surrounded by a group of highly- 
 amused soldiers. 
 
 Then there were the women — pretty little 
 things, attired in pink or yellow, and smoking 
 cheroots a foot long. Some of them made 
 cheroots and gave them to the soldiers, who 
 received them with smiles of thanks and felt 
 very ill after smoking them. It astonished 
 our soldiers greatly to find that the cheroots 
 which made them sick were smoked with 
 
guy's mistake. 113 
 
 enjoyment, and no unpleasaqt results, by every 
 Burmese child over four years of age. The 
 tiny little Burmese boys, with only a small 
 patch unshaven on the top of their heads, 
 walking along the streets, innocent of any 
 clothing, and smoking a foot long, green 
 cheroot, afforded our soldiers much amusement. 
 Bah Too, having now been several weeks 
 with the English, had an idea that he was 
 fully competent to act as an interpreter. The 
 Burmese had faith in him, but the British 
 soldiers had come to the conclusion that he 
 was too artful to be trusted. The reason of 
 their forming that opinion was this. He sold 
 to many of them charms against Burmese 
 dahs, spears, and musket shots, and some of 
 the purchasers, having had hairbreadth escapes 
 from being killed, attributed their preservation 
 to them. Bah Too thereupon offered for 
 sale charms which would protect the wearers 
 from dysentery and cholera. In less than an 
 hour he had sold the whole of his stock 
 and it was only by working harder than ever 
 
114 gut's mistake. 
 
 , he had done before, that he managed to meet 
 the demand. Now, it happened that a few 
 days after Bah Too had supplied the whole 
 of one regiment -with charms, cholera broke 
 out among the men, and many died. It w/&,s 
 known that these poor fellows had possessed 
 charms, and their deaths proved unmistakably 
 to their comrades that they had been gulled 
 by Bah Too. No more charms -of any de- 
 scription were purchased from the Burman, 
 whose only explanation of the failure of his 
 disease preventatives, was that white men's 
 insides must be arranged differently from 
 those of yellow, brown, and black people. 
 He declared emphatically that no Burman, 
 possessed of one of his charms, would have 
 died from -cholera. He was wearing one 
 himself, and was not he alive ? 
 
 But this remarkable explanation simply 
 convinced the British soldiers that Bah Too 
 was a very amusing rascal, 
 
 Guy, however, took a great interest in the 
 Burman, who rendered him, voluntarily, many 
 
guy's mistake. 115 
 
 little services which added to his comfort. On 
 one occasion an army of white ants invaded the 
 British quarters. It was a remarkable sight — 
 millions of ants, marching six abreast, devour- 
 ing all vegetable and animal matter that they 
 met. At intervals of about eight inches, 
 marched several big, black, fighting ants; 
 who, in the event of meeting a rival army, 
 would at once attack its warriors. Through 
 huts and tents marched the tremendous army 
 of little insects, eating every atom of food that 
 could be found. Rats, lizards, and even pariah 
 dogs, fled in terror at the approach of the 
 all-devouring army. Bah Too heard of their 
 approach, and at once took steps to prevent 
 them from entering the hut occupied by Guy 
 and a brother officer. Obtaining some petro- 
 leum, of which there was abundance in the 
 camp, he smeared it over the wooden piles on 
 which the hut stood. On arriving at the 
 building, the ants detected the petroleum, 
 and, turning aside, passed on to the next one, 
 Guy was delighted with Bah Too's smartness, 
 
116 gut's mistake. 
 
 especially as it gave him an idea how to 
 get the ants out of the camp before they 
 could do further damage. 
 
 " Fill as many jugs as possible with 
 petroleum," he said to the soldiers standing 
 round, " and bring them quickly." 
 
 The command was executed as speedily as 
 possible. 
 
 "Now, smear the ground as I direct," he 
 said, when the men returned. 
 
 As the ants advanced, the ground on either 
 side of them was smeared with petroleum. 
 By so doing, the insects were kept under 
 control, and away from the huts. They 
 hurried on, anxious to escape from the 
 objectionable oil, but a channel had now been 
 prepared for them, and it was not until they 
 reached the jungle that they were able to turn 
 to the right or the left at their pleasure. For 
 a considerable time, Guy and his "painters," 
 as the soldiers called themselves, watched the 
 army to see that it did not countermarch and 
 make another attack on the town. But the 
 
guy's MISTAKE. 117 
 
 millions of ants marched onwards through the 
 jungle, no doubt pleased to get away from 
 the petroleum. 
 
 Guy was warmly congratulated by his 
 brother oflficers on having so ingeniously 
 ridded them of the pests. 
 
 "You must not give me the credit of 
 getting them away," he replied. " It was 
 Bah Too who made it known to me that 
 they hated petroleum." 
 
 Nevertheless, Guy was given credit for 
 having saved the provisions from the white 
 ant raid, and certainly he deserved it. 
 
 " The boy has brains as well as courage," 
 
 Sir Archibald Campbell declared, when told 
 
 of the service rendered by Guy. " I think, 
 
 gentlemen, that Ensign Clifford would be a 
 
 ^useful addition to my staff." 
 
 The following morning, Guy was informed 
 that he had been placed on the General's 
 staff. Unfortunately, he was ill when the 
 news reached him, and it was many days 
 before he could take up his new duties. The 
 
118 gut's mistake. 
 
 strongest and healthiest men are not proof 
 against tropical diseases, and Guy, who, in 
 England, had suffered scarcely a day's illness, 
 was struck down with dysentery. 
 
 Major Taddy was continually with him, 
 when off duty, and attended to him more 
 carefully than the overworked doctor could 
 have done. Knowing the rascality of native 
 servants, he examined the milk which the 
 Bengali "boy" had been instructed to give 
 the patient at intervals, and found that it 
 had been watered until there was scarcely 
 any nourishment in it. He led that "boy," 
 a middle-aged man and taller than himself, 
 outside and thrashed him with his cane, until 
 the rascal filled the air with his shrieks. Had 
 not Major Taddy discovered that the milk 
 was adulterated, Guy would certainly have 
 died. 
 
 Bah Too, having heard the reason of the 
 native of India being thrashed, offered to 
 take his place as Guy's nurse. Major Taddy 
 knew that Guy liked the Burman, and, 
 
gut's mistake. 119 
 
 believing that Bah Too, in spite of his weak- 
 ness for selling worthless charms — which, he 
 imagined, was solely due to a desire to be 
 considered a really important wizard — was a 
 reliable man, he installed him in the position 
 from which he had removed the Bengali, 
 
 Bah Too proved to be a most attentive 
 nurse. He did not restrict himself to giving 
 the patient food and medicine at the times 
 stated by the doctor, but, on his own account, 
 did many little things to lessen his discomfort. 
 There were no punkahs and mosquito nets in 
 Rangoon at that time, but Bah Too freshened 
 the air by waving a big palm-leaf fan over 
 the sleeping man, and, with a very soft feather, 
 flicked away the mosquitoes which settled on 
 his face. 
 
 At the end of three weeks Guy was out of 
 doors, although not fit to return to duty. It 
 worried him to be idle, while his fellow-men 
 were so busy in making preparations for the 
 advance up country, which was soon to begin ; 
 and, but for Bah Too's constant companionship, 
 
120 gut's mistake. 
 
 he would have been in very low spirits. 
 Bah Too was teaching him Burmese, and, in 
 return, he was giving Bah Too instruction in 
 English. They had fallen into that arrange- 
 ment during the first week of Guy's illness, 
 Guy would point to some article in the room, 
 and mention the English name of it. Bah 
 Too would pronounce it, and afterwards give 
 the object its Burmese name. In this way, 
 each of them soon knew the English and 
 Burmese names of everything in the hut. 
 Both being anxious tp learn, they made rapid 
 progress, and were eager to test their skill by 
 talking with other people. Bah Too spoke to 
 the British soldiers in English, and Guy 
 addressed the Burmese in their own language. 
 They were not always understood ; but they 
 persevered, and, during the week of leisure 
 granted to Guy at the end of his illness, they 
 improved considerably. 
 
 "When Guy entered upon his new duties, he 
 found that a staff appointment had plenty of 
 work attached to it. He was pleased to find that 
 
gut's mistake. 121 
 
 such was the case, for Major Taddy had said 
 that experience had taught him that in tropical 
 climates there was nothing like work for keep- 
 ing a man in good health. " It is the men 
 who have plenty of leisure who become ruined, 
 morally and physically," he declared, and his 
 words are true to-day' as when they were 
 uttered. 
 
 Guy had several novel experiences, in carry- 
 ing Sir Archibald Campbell's orders to the 
 officers in command of the various outposts. 
 One morning, as he was riding quickly along a 
 path which had been cut through the jungle 
 by the British soldiers, a startled tiger dashed 
 across the track, about a yard in front of him. 
 The horse, terrified, reared and pawed the air. 
 For some minutes, Guy tried to get him to 
 proceed, but the animal was silly with terror, 
 and would not proceed until Guy dismounted 
 and led him. Guy himself was nervous, for 
 the path was only about six feet wide, and he 
 thought it very probable that the tiger might 
 at any moment spring upon him. However, 
 
122 out's mistake. 
 
 he saw nothing more of the dreaded animal, 
 and congratulated himself on having had a 
 narrow escape. 
 
 A few days later, Guy was sent across to 
 Dalla, which is on the opposite side of the 
 river to Rangoon, with a despatch for the 
 oflScer in command of the troops stationed 
 there. It had been discovered by the General 
 that the phoongyees, or priests, residing at 
 Dalla, had been sending messages over to the 
 natives at Rangoon, telling them that it was 
 their duty to quit the city and join their 
 country's army at Ava. The despatch which 
 Guy conveyed instructed the commanding- 
 oflScer at Dalla to make the phoongyees prison- 
 ers, and send them across to Rangoon. Guy 
 was to be in command of the prisoners' guard 
 while crossing the river. 
 
 Guy arrived at Dalla about midnight, and 
 before daybreak, the phoongyee-Jcyoung, or 
 monastery, was surrounded by British troops, 
 who crept silently through the jungle. Every 
 phoongyee is supposed to be within his 
 
gut's mistake. 123 
 
 monastery from sunset to daybreak, and the 
 colonel commanding the small force at Dalla 
 knew that by surrounding the building during 
 the night he would be able to capture the 
 whole of its inhabitants. He kept his men 
 under cover, and not until the faint morning 
 light roused the jungle birds did he advance 
 close up to the monastery fence. 
 
 Half an hour later, two phoongyees, shaven- 
 headed, bare-footed, and yellow-robed, came 
 out of the monastery, and walked in single 
 file towards the enclosure gate. Each had a 
 begging bowl hanging around his neck. The 
 Burmese priests live entirely on charity, 
 and their meals consist, solely of the food 
 which is placed in their begging bowls during 
 their morning perambulation of the town. 
 The two phoongyees were walking with their 
 eyes fixed on the ground, in accordance with 
 the laws of their order, and it was not until 
 they were about ten yards off the enclosure 
 gate, that they noticed through the cracks 
 of the palings the red-coats of the soldiers. 
 
124 OUTS MISTAKE. 
 
 They halted, spoke a word or two to each 
 other, and then turning about, ran at full 
 speed to the shelter of the monastery. 
 
 The British officer now showed the phoong- 
 yees the strength of his force. There was a 
 rattle of. muskets as the men sprang to 
 attention, and, peering out from the monastery, 
 the pKoongyees saw above the hyoung fence 
 a row of clean-shaven, white faces, surmounted 
 by imposing shakoes. 
 
 For ten minutes the British troops stood 
 at attention around the monastery, waiting 
 for the phoongyees to come out and surrender. 
 
 " I will not wait any longer for them," the 
 colonel remarked to Guy. " They may have a 
 subterranean passage to some other monastery. 
 I will walk into the building to see why they 
 have kept us waiting." 
 
 " May I accompany you, sir ? " Guy asked. 
 " I know a little Burmese." 
 
 "Certainly!" 
 
 The two officers entered the enclosure, and 
 walked towards the monastery ; but, before 
 
GtJy's MISTAKE, 125 
 
 they had proceeded many yards, the phoongyees 
 hurried out to meet them. An elderly man, 
 the head phoongyee, enquired in Burmese, 
 " Why have you come here ? " 
 
 Guy did not understand what he said, but 
 guessing that he was anxious to know the 
 reason of their visit, he uttered a sentence 
 which he had learned from Bah Too, 
 
 "You are our prisoners," he declared, a 
 statement which caused the yellow-robed 
 priests to throw off their airs of meekness and 
 glare at him. The chief phoongyee answered 
 excitedly, but he spoke with a rapidity which 
 made it impossible for the ensign to understand 
 a word of what he was saying. 
 
 " We will not kill you. We will not torture 
 you," Guy declared. These were sentences he 
 had been careful to learn, so that he might be 
 able to reassure any Burmans whom he might 
 capture. 
 
 The head priest now addressed his subordin- 
 ates, but Guy could not discover the purport 
 of his speech. 
 
126 GUTS MISTAKE. 
 
 "We are going to Rangoon. You must 
 come," Guy declared, slowly and distinctly. 
 
 " We will not," the ckiQ^ phoongyee answered, 
 and his fellow priests repeated his reply. 
 
 " Too much time has already been wasted," 
 the colonel declared, on hearing from Guy that 
 the phoongyees refused to accompany them. 
 " I must use force now." He called to one of 
 his captains to march his company into the 
 enclosure, and the appearance of the soldiers, 
 as they tramped towards the monastery, 
 completely cowed the priests. 
 
 •* March those men down to the river," the 
 colonel said to the captain. " They are priests, 
 so treat them with as much consideration as 
 possible." 
 
 But he soon saw that the phoongyees had no 
 intention' of quitting their monastery unless 
 compelled. The captain made a sign to the 
 chief priest to march out of the enclosure, but 
 his intimation was ignored. Three times he 
 repeated it, but without the desired result. 
 
 " Use force," the oolonel commanded, and 
 
'He slashed at Guy, who calmly turned aside the blow." — p. 127. 
 
gut's mistake. 127 
 
 a sergeant and a corporal were called forward 
 to remove the obstinate jphoongyee. They 
 seized him, and ran him down the path 
 towards the gate. It was an indignity that 
 horrified the other priests. With one accord 
 they burst into loud shouts of execration, and 
 the youngest of them, drawing a dah from 
 beneath his yellow robes, rushed forward with 
 the intention of rescuing his superior. But 
 Guy barred his way. For a moment the 
 young priest hesitated. Then, with a loud 
 shout of defiance, he slashed at Guy, who 
 calmly turned aside the blow. He could have 
 killed the man on the spot, but refrained from 
 doing so, knowing that such an action would 
 cause indignation among the friendly Burmese 
 at Rangoon. He waited the priest's second 
 assault, but, at that moment, the captain 
 seized the phoongyee from behind, and threw 
 him to the ground. As the priest touched 
 the ground, his dah fell from his hand. Guy 
 picked it up instantly. 
 
 Two privates now raised the bellicose priest 
 
128 aUY's MISTAKE. 
 
 to his feet and marched him off. The other 
 priests, thirteen in number, were also seized 
 and searched. Seven of them were found to 
 have dahs concealed beneath their robes. 
 
 Having satisfied himself that there were 
 no phoongyees inside the hyoung, the colonel 
 followed his prisoners to the river side, where 
 a big barge, built by the men from Chitta- 
 gong, was awaiting them. The prisoners were 
 got aboard without any difficulty, but the 
 H. E. I. C steamer had not tugged the barge 
 more than a dozen yards, when they again 
 became obstreperous. 
 
 Guy, fearing that some of them might jump 
 overboard and escape, had signed to them to 
 go below. 
 
 "Vile Kala dog!" was their reply, and Guy 
 understood it. He was, however, determined 
 to be obeyed, and finding that they did not 
 move, he ordered his men to bundle them 
 below. But the soldiers quickly found that 
 their task was not an easy one, for the priests, 
 yelling frantically, struggled with all their 
 
gut's mistake. 12^ 
 
 strength to remain on deck. Their resistance 
 convinced Guy that they had hoped to escape, 
 and therefore, he was more determined than 
 ever to get them below. They struck the 
 soldiers with their fists, kicked them with their 
 hard-skinned feet, and bit viciously the arms 
 which held them. But their resistance was in 
 vain ; they were carried below and left there. 
 Their frenzied shouts did not, however, cease 
 for one minute, and Guy was half-inclined to 
 believe that he had made a mistake, and 
 brought away the inmates of a lunatic asylum, 
 instead of the staid occupants of a monastery. 
 
 When the barge had been brought alongside 
 the Rangoon landing stage, Guy beckoned to 
 the phoongyees to come on deck. They obeyed 
 this order without a moment's hesitation, but 
 their hatred for Guy and his men had not 
 abated in the slightest degree. They glared 
 at the Englishmen, and shouted in their faces : 
 " Dogs ! Vile dogs ! " 
 
 Guy hurried his prisoners ashore, and 
 marched them off to the General's quarters. 
 
130 gut's mistake. 
 
 On the way through the town, the phoongyees 
 frequently spoke excitedly to their lay country- 
 men, who prostrated themselves as they 
 approached. And the people, as they rose to 
 their feet, hurled execrations after the English- 
 men. These demonstrations of indignation 
 puzzled Guy, and it was not until the prisoners 
 had been examined by Sir Archibald Campbell 
 that he knew the cause of them. 
 
 Sir Archibald told him : 
 
 " These prisoners accuse you of having sub- 
 jected them to the grossest indignitj'-," he said 
 to the ensign. 
 
 "'Tis untrue, sir," Guy declared, emphati- 
 cally, but not without alarm. "For fear they 
 might jump overboard and escape, I ordered 
 them to go below. When they refused to 
 obey me, I had them put down. Is that what 
 they complain of, sir ? 
 
 " It is. These yellow-robed gentlemen con- 
 sider it one of the greatest insults imaginable 
 to have anyone's feet above the level of their 
 heads. By sending them below deck, you 
 
gut's mistake. 131 
 
 subjected them to the indignity of having some 
 forty men tramping over their heads. It was 
 a terrible disgrace to these gentlemen." 
 
 " I am very sorry, sir. I did not know of 
 their of " 
 
 "Nor did I until a minute ago. We must 
 learn from this incident to study the manners 
 of the people, so that we do not unintentionally 
 offend." 
 
 Guy retired, well pleased to find that the 
 general was not really annoyed at his treat- 
 ment of the phoongyees. The latter were 
 forbidden to quit Rangoon, and a close watch 
 was kept upon their movements. 
 
 Nothing to their discredit was discovered ; 
 but whenever one of them met Guy, he forgot 
 that it was his duty to preserve a meek appear- 
 ance, and glared at him in a way that proved 
 he had not forgotten, or forgiven, the indignity 
 to which the ensign had subjected him. 
 
OHAPTEE IX. 
 
 THE PAGODA GHOST. 
 
 Gut was one of the few officers who, acting 
 on the general's suggestion, endeavoured to 
 make themselves acquainted with the manners 
 and customs of the natives. For him the 
 task was comparatively an easy one ; his 
 knowledge of Burmese, which he continued 
 to study daily, helping him to understand 
 the native ceremonies which were constantly 
 performed. Having an aptitude for languages, 
 he was able, by the end of January, to con- 
 verse with the Burmese, and to read, though 
 with difficulty, their palm-leaf books. 
 
 Major Taddy was delighted at the progress 
 which Guy made, for it convinced him that 
 his young friend was destined to rise to a high 
 position. 
 
 " I have received a letter from our friend 
 
 132 
 
THE PAGODA GHOST. 133 
 
 Welcome," the major said to Guy one evening, 
 " and it contains a passage which will interest 
 you. You can read it." 
 
 Guy took the letter and read : — " I am truly 
 pleased to hear that Ensign Clifford has borne 
 himself so gallantly in action. Nevertheless, 
 I was not surprised when I read your account 
 of his gallantry, for had I not good reason 
 for knowing that he was a brave young 
 gentleman? My father, also, has mentioned 
 his services in words of high praise. 'Tis 
 pleasant to read of the success of our brave 
 soldiers and sailors ; but, oh ! I long for the 
 war to end. I try to be brave, as a soldier's 
 daughter should be, but 'tis not always that I 
 succeed. Soon you will be marching up 
 country towards Ava. I shudder to think of 
 the dangers that you will have to surmount, 
 but that you will overcome them I am con- 
 fident. Bandoola is truly a great general, but 
 Napoleon was a greater, and the destroyers of 
 his infamous power will know how to deal with 
 the boastful Burman. And now I must 
 
134 THE PAGODA GHOST. 
 
 conclude my letter. Do you remember -when 
 I was a tiny little girl, and you were going 
 away on active service, that I said I would 
 pray for you while you were at the war? 
 You replied, ' My child, pray for me in peace, 
 as well as during war.' Well, I have done so 
 from that day to this. Every night I pray 
 for three people in Burma — my dear father, 
 you, and Ensign Clifford. If you see Ensign 
 Clifford, I shall be pleased if you will tell him 
 that I am glad to hear he has done his duty 
 well and is in good health." 
 
 Welcome Herbert's message filled Guy with 
 pleasure, and also caused him to blush, but 
 Major Taddy pretended that he did not notice 
 his young friend's scarlet cheeks. 
 
 "I have sent her a valentine for the last 
 ten years," the major said, "but I fear that 
 I shall be unable to do so this year. I have 
 enquired of the merchants, but they assure 
 me that there is not a valentine in the land. 
 That is bad news for you, I fear." 
 
 " I had no intention of sending any," Guy 
 
THE PAGODA GHOST. 135 
 
 declared, but when the major had left him, 
 he determined that he would send one. It 
 would not, however, be a dainty, flowery, 
 scented article, such as was the fashion for 
 the youths of that period to send to their 
 girl friends. He decided to send to Welcome 
 the gold Burmese chain of office, which he 
 had picked up on the field of battle early in the 
 campaign. It was an unusual thing in those 
 days for presents to be sent as valentines, 
 but Guy hoped that his friend at Calcutta 
 would not be displeased with it. He placed 
 the chain in a discarded medicine box ; but 
 as soon as he had tied it securely, it occurred 
 to him that, unless he sent a note with it. 
 Welcome would probably imagine that it 
 came from her father or Major Taddy. He 
 did not like the idea of her making that 
 mistake; therefore he untied the parcel. 
 Then he took a sheet of paper and wrote 
 on it : — 
 
 "to miss welcome HERBERT. 
 
 "This valentine (a more suitable one not 
 
136 THE PAGODA GHOST. 
 
 being procurable) is sent by a friend in 
 
 Burma." 
 
 When Guy finished, he was by no means 
 
 pleased with the appearance of what he had 
 
 written. He had commenced writing at the 
 
 top of the sheet, and quite a third of it was 
 
 vacant. It looked absurd to see the writing 
 
 cramped up in a small space. He would have 
 
 destroyed it had not paper been exceedingly 
 
 scarce. It was the only sheet which he 
 
 possessed. In the circumstances the best 
 
 thing to do was to write something more, 
 
 and this he did. It was not original. 
 
 "The rose is red, the violet's blue, 
 The carnation's sweet, and so are you." 
 
 "That looks better," he said to himself; 
 placed the note in the box, and again tied 
 it up. 
 
 The following day it was on its way to 
 Calcutta in one of the Company's ships ; but, 
 before Welcome received it, Guy had quitted 
 Rangoon. On the 13th of February, the 
 advance on Ava was begun. Two nionths had 
 
THE PAGODA GHOST. 137 
 
 been spent in making preparations for the 
 expedition into the entirely unknown country, 
 which lay between Rangoon and the capital of 
 the Burmese Empire. The men who had to 
 remain in Rangoon, to defend the city and 
 build fortifications, were very jealous of their 
 comrades who were going to the front ; but, 
 nevertheless, they gave them hearty cheers 
 on their departure. 
 
 The main column, under Sir Archibald 
 Campbell, proceeded by land ; another column, 
 under Brigadier-General Cotton, embarked in 
 a flotilla of sixty boats. The river column was 
 to capture Donabew as speedily as possible, 
 and join Sir Archibald Campbell's force some 
 few miles north of that village. Then, the 
 combined columns were to push on towards 
 Ava, where they expected to find Bandoola 
 waiting to give battle to them. The British 
 had no idea of the strength of the Burmese 
 army ; but they anticipated that every avail- 
 able Burman would be compelled to fight in 
 defence of the royal city. 
 
138 THE PAGODA GHOST. 
 
 Guy and Major Taddy were with the land 
 force, and when they had been marching for 
 four days they met, by chance, and had a 
 friendly chat. 
 
 "We are not proceeding very rapidly," Guy 
 remarked. 
 
 " I do not think we have much to complain 
 of, considering the nature of the country," the 
 major replied. " Eight miles a day is not bad, 
 seeing that there are no roads, and that we 
 have to cut our way through the jungle. I 
 can assure you that I have never marched 
 through a country which presented so many 
 natural obstructions." 
 
 "Colonel Herbert made a similar remark. 
 But what I fear, major, is that our brave 
 fellows will be worn out before we meet 
 Bandoola's army. They have been working 
 harder than slaves, and scores of them are 
 completely tired out." 
 
 " It is not the hard work that knocks them 
 up, Guy. It is the unsuitable clothing that 
 they are compelled to wear. The authorities 
 
THE PAGODA GHOST. 139 
 
 should have provided them with lighter things. 
 The shakoes, the stocks, and the thick red 
 tunics, are very out of place in a sweltering 
 country such as this. Of course, the expense 
 of providing a suitable campaigning outfit 
 would have been great, but we should not 
 have lost nearly so many men had it not 
 been for the absurd uniforms in use." 
 
 Major Taddy had good reason for denouncing 
 the want of thought which the military 
 authorities had shown in sending British 
 soldiers to Burma clad in the same uniforms 
 which they would have worn had they been 
 fighting in France or Spain. The fact that 
 the troops were to fight in one of the hottest 
 countries in the world had not been taken 
 into consideration, and, consequently, the 
 soldiers were tortured with the heat. To 
 march through the stifling jungle, where the 
 trees keep off the light breezes which some- 
 times spring up, was a terrible ordeal ; for, 
 in addition to their unsuitable clothing, every 
 man had to carry his knapsack, sixty rounds 
 
140 TfiE PAGODA GfiOSt. 
 
 of ammunition, a blanket, three days' provisions, 
 and, of course, his arms and accoutrements. 
 Is it therefore a matter for surprise that in 
 this, the first Burmese war, 68 per cent of 
 our men died from disease ? Only five per cent 
 were killed, or died from wounds received in 
 action. This appalling mortality was attributed 
 to the unhealthiness of the climate, but there 
 is no doubt whatever, that it was due largely 
 to the unsuitable clothing which the British 
 soldiers were compelled to wear. As Major 
 Taddy said, in the circumstances, eight miles 
 a day was not a rate of progress of which 
 they could complain. 
 
 On some days the jungle was so dense 
 that not more than three miles were covered. 
 In fact, in ten days the land column had only 
 travelled fifty miles. It arrived at Laing on 
 the 23rd of February, but to the great dis- 
 appointment of the troops, the village was 
 deserted, the Burmese soldiers having evacu- 
 ated it, taking with them the inhabitants. 
 Sir Archibald Campbell had fully expected 
 
THE PAGODA GHOST. 141 
 
 that the capture of Laicg would be the work 
 of several days, but the flight of the Burmese 
 would result in his arrival at the rendezvous 
 north of Donabew, some days before the 
 time contemplated in his arrangements with 
 General Cotton. 
 
 "If we wait at Donabew," he said to his 
 staff, " the enemy will have time to strengthen 
 Prome. The best thing to be done is to 
 push on to Prome, and if we find it too strong 
 for us to capture, we can wait there until the 
 river column arrives. In the meanwhile, I 
 must send a message to General Cotton, telling 
 him of the alteration in my plans. I should 
 think that Ensign Clifford would be a good 
 man to send." 
 
 " It was my intention to suggest him, sir," 
 Colonel Herbert remarked. 
 
 " Then tell him to prepare to start at day- 
 break." Colonel Herbert found Guy busily 
 writing official reports in the staff tent. He 
 was alone, and looked up from his work on 
 hearing someone approach. 
 
142 THE PAGODA GHOST. 
 
 "I have some work for you that you will 
 like better than writing reports," the colonel 
 said. "The general has decided to send you 
 with a message to the river column. You 
 must start at daybreak." 
 
 "Very good, sir," Guy replied, his face 
 brightening with joy. "I shall have finished 
 these in the course of an hour." 
 
 "Leave them. I will put someone else to 
 work on them. You must make your arrange- 
 ments at once. The river is about twenty 
 miles from here, and you will have to go on 
 foot. Take two men with you ; any two you 
 like." 
 
 "Then I will have Private White of the 
 13th, and Bah Too." 
 
 " Why the latter ? He is an artful 
 rogue." 
 
 " Apart from his wishing to be considered 
 a wizard, he is perfectly reliable, sir. He 
 took an oath — and the interpreters declare 
 that it was one which no Burman would dare 
 to break — ^to serve us honourably, and during 
 
THE PAGODA GHOST. 143 
 
 the march he has been of great service to 
 the column." 
 
 "Well, take him if you wish, but mind that 
 you do not trust him too implicitly. Make 
 your arrangements at once, and then lie down 
 and have a few hours rest." 
 
 Private White and Bah Too were overjoyed 
 at being chosen to accompany Guy on his 
 twenty-mile trudge through the jungle. For 
 nearly an hour the three men worked hard, 
 preparing provisions and seeing to their 
 weapons. Having finished, they turned in and 
 slept soundly till three in the morning, when 
 the sentry, acting on instructions, aroused them. 
 Breakfast had been prepared for them, and 
 they made a hearty meal, knowing that their 
 next one, and several more, would probably 
 be eaten under less comfortable circumstances. 
 
 At half past three Colonel Herbert brought 
 to Guy the despatch which he was to deliver 
 into General Cotton's hand. A quarter of 
 an hour later, the three men walked quietly 
 out of the village and entered the jungle. 
 
144 THE PAOODA GHOST. 
 
 The first mile was traversed in fairly good 
 time ; but, further on, the jungle grew so dense 
 that at times it was almost impenetrable. 
 Bah Too now proved that he was a valuable 
 acquisition, as frequently he discovered open- 
 ings which Guy and Private White failed to 
 notice. Many a time these openings were low 
 down, and the men had to crawl along on 
 hands and knees. These little passages were 
 caused by wild animals, a fact which Guy 
 suspected. He earnestly hoped that he would 
 not, while he was on all-fours, come face to 
 face with a tiger, cheetah, or any other 
 objectionable inhabitant of the jungle. But 
 the jungle was oppressively silent, and seemed 
 utterly devoid of life. Now and again a gay- 
 plumaged bird would be seen, but never a note 
 of song was heard. It was a monotonous 
 journey; and Private White, who had dis- 
 tinguished himself by his bravery in several 
 engagements at Rangoon and Kemmendine, 
 was somewhat depressed by the awful silence 
 of the jungle. 
 
THE PAGODA GHOST. 145 
 
 Guy felt, once or twice, that he must shout, 
 and see whether the animals and birds could 
 not be roused to give some sound of their 
 presence. About mid-day they halted at an 
 open space, and ate their dinner. 
 
 " How many miles have we come, sir ? " 
 Private White enquired of Guy. 
 
 "About four, I imagine," Guy answered. 
 "1 hope that this afternoon we shall make 
 more rapid progress." 
 
 Bah Too, however, held out no hopes of 
 such being the case. 
 
 " My lord, he said, " the jungle is like this 
 everywhere." 
 
 Private White, remembering that the jungle 
 which the column had passed through was at 
 times sparse, shook his head. 
 
 Bah Too was offended at his word being 
 doubted, but he made no attempt to force his 
 opinion upon the British soldier. It was 
 fortunate for him that he refrained from say- 
 ing anything further on the subject, for the 
 jungle, which they traversed in the latter part 
 
146 THE PAGODA GHOST. 
 
 of the afternoon, was far less dense than they 
 had experienced in the morning. 
 
 Shortly after sunset, they espied a pagoda, 
 built on raised ground, and making their way 
 to it, found that it stood in the middle of 
 a clearing. Bah Too at once suggested to 
 Guy that they should remain at the pagoda 
 until the following morning. 
 
 " To get to the Irrawaddy to-night is im- 
 possible," the Burman declared, " In the dark 
 men have no eyes ; but tigers have, and catch 
 men." 
 
 Guy decided to act on Bah Too's advice. 
 They had travelled thirteen miles during the 
 day, and were more fatigued than if they had 
 walked forty under ordinary conditions. More- 
 over, there was considerable risk to be run by 
 travelling in the jungle at night. Tigers, 
 cheetahs, and elephants, were known to be 
 plentiful in the neighbourhood. 
 
 Private White would have preferred to 
 have kept moving onwards. 
 
 "Beg pardon, sir," he said to Guy, "but 
 
THE PAGODA GHOST. 147 
 
 I suppose there must be a lot of natives 
 living about here, or else there would not be 
 
 " That is a very natural thing to imagine," 
 Guy declared. "I thought so when we first 
 arrived in Burma, but it has been explained 
 to me that my supposition was quite wrong. 
 A pagoda may be built many miles away from 
 any residence, as this one no doubt is. If a 
 man builds a pagoda in a spot where it is 
 difiicult to erect one, he gets more credit for 
 his work than if he had put it up in his 
 village. Think of the labour that must have 
 been spent in erecting this pagoda. In the 
 first place, the jungle had to be cleared, but 
 that must have been easy work compared with 
 the task of conveying here the stones of which 
 the pagoda is built. I have no doubt that the 
 man who built this pagoda lives many miles 
 away, so that he may have a long and tiring 
 walk whenever he comes here to worship. 
 But no doubt he is a very happy man, and 
 is confident that he will be rewarded for all 
 
148 THE PAGODA GHOST. 
 
 his trouble by being, in tbe next existence, 
 a more important person than he is now." 
 
 "What a strange religion, sirl" Private 
 White exclaimed. 
 
 "It is," Guy agreed. 
 
 In a few minutes they arrived at the pagoda. 
 Some pariah dogs, prowling about the shrines, 
 in search of food-offerings to Buddha, snarled 
 at their approach, and took to flight. The 
 pagoda had evidently not been many years 
 in existence. The shrines were clean, the 
 tinkling bells unbroken, and the images of 
 Gautama Buddha were quite new. 
 
 "To-morrow morning we must start off 
 early," Guy said, thinking it very probable 
 that the builder of the pagoda would come 
 at sunrise to worship. 
 
 Bah Too nodded his head approvingly, and 
 then busied himself in unpacking their supper. 
 They lingered over this meal, talking quietly 
 of many things. 
 
 " Now we must get some rest," Guy 
 declared, about eight o'clock. "You two 
 
THE PAGODA GHOST. 149 
 
 lie down and sleep. I will keep watch until 
 ten. " 
 
 In a few minutes Private White and Bah 
 Too were asleep. It was a dark night, and 
 silent but for the pleasant tinkling of the little 
 bells hanging from the pagoda spire. The 
 time did not, however, pass slowly, for while 
 Guy kept a sharp look-out, he thought of the 
 many strange things that had occurred to him 
 since he left his home in London. He knew 
 that he had been exceptionally fortunate, and 
 wondered whether he would attain to high 
 rank, or, like his ancestors, be killed while 
 comparatively young. He had, however, the 
 consolation of knowing that whatever happened 
 he had done something to maintain the 
 military reputation of his family. 
 
 At ten o'clock he aroused Private White. 
 "Wake me at twelve," he said, and gave him 
 his big, much prized watch, to use during 
 his period of sentry-go. 
 
 "Am I not to wake the Burmese chap, 
 sir?" White enquired. 
 
150 THE PAGODA GHOST. 
 
 " No," Guy answered in an undertone. " I 
 believe Bah Too to be an honourable man, but 
 still he is a Burman, and it would be unwise 
 to place ourselves in his power." 
 
 " Well, sir, that is what I thought. If he 
 went on sentry-go I should not have closed 
 my eyes." 
 
 Guy lay down, but it seemed to him that he 
 had scarcely been asleep five minutes, when he 
 was aroused by Private White shaking his arm. 
 
 "Is it twelve?" Guy asked, springing to 
 his feet. 
 
 " N — o, sir," White stammered. 
 
 " Anybody about, then ? " 
 
 " Ye^-es, sir." 
 
 "How many?" he asked, at the same time 
 stirring Bah Too with his foot. 
 
 « One, sir ! " 
 
 " Did he see you ? " 
 
 "Yes, sir!" 
 
 "Then we must capture him before he can 
 tell his countrymen of our presence. Which 
 way did he go ? " 
 
THE PAGODA GHOST. 151 
 
 " It disappeared over there, sir. It was a 
 ghost." 
 
 Guy did not laugh. British soldiers, at that 
 period, were very superstitious, and Guy could 
 see that the man fully believed that he had 
 seen a ghost. He made a thorough search of 
 the pagoda platform, but found no one. 
 
 " What was it like ? " Guy asked, when he 
 had given up the search. 
 
 " It was dressed all in white, sir ; and its 
 head was a skull." 
 
 " Did you speak to it ? " 
 
 " No, sir. I raised my musket, and then it 
 disappeared." 
 
 " That is proof that it was not a ghost. A 
 ghost would not fear a musket." 
 
 Private White was unconvinced. He was 
 confident that he had seen a ghost, and would 
 maintain that assertion in spite of what anyone 
 might say. And when Bah Too discovered 
 what a ghost was supposed to be, he declared 
 that Private White had seen a nat, or evil 
 spirit. White asserted that he had seen a 
 
152 THE PAGODA GHOST. 
 
 ghost ; Bah Too was equally confident that 
 he had seen a nat, and started arguing with 
 White in broken English. Guy cut short 
 their argument. 
 
 " A ghost and a nat are the same thing 
 under different names," he declared, adding 
 to himself, "they are both the creations of 
 imagination." .He came to the conclusion 
 that the strange and somewhat mysterious 
 surroundings had made White nervous, and 
 caused him to imagine a form which he had 
 not seen. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 PURSUED. 
 
 No one slept after the ghost incident. All 
 three sat on the edge of the shrine, waiting 
 for daybreak. At length they began to feel 
 chilly, and, at Guy's suggestion, strolled round 
 the pagoda platform. The moon was shining, 
 and the scene was a beautiful one, but Guy 
 alone appreciated it. Bah Too had been 
 accustomed to such scenes from his childhood, 
 and Private White was still thinking of the 
 ghost. 
 
 They had been strolling round the pagoda 
 for nearly an hour, when White suddenly 
 seized Guy's arm, and pointing to the jungle ex- 
 claimed, in an awed whisper. "There it is sir ! " 
 
 Guy looked in the direction indicated, and, 
 to his surprise, saw a figure clothed in white, 
 walking towards the pagoda. 
 
 153 
 
154 PtTRSUKD. 
 
 For a moment or two he felt somewhat 
 scared, but soon grew calm. 
 
 "That is not a ghost!" he declared. "If 
 it were, it would not take the trouble to walk 
 so carefully over those stones. It looks to 
 me uncommonly like a woman." 
 
 " My lord, a woman it is," Bah Too joined 
 in. " The hair of her head is cut off; she is 
 a pagoda woman." 
 
 Guy at once remembered that he had heard 
 of these women from one of the Rangoon 
 merchants. They are poor creatures, who, 
 in the hope of earning merit, devote their 
 lives to keeping clean the altars of the 
 pagodas, clearing away the offerings which 
 the worshippers deposit on them. They shave 
 their heads, go about barefooted, and wear 
 creamy white clothes. 
 
 " Your ghost is a pagoda attendant," Guy 
 said to White, who was by no means pleased 
 to find that he had been scared by a woman. 
 Moreover, it was annoying to be robbed of 
 the pleasure of being able to say that he had 
 
PURSUED. 155 
 
 seen a ghost. The man who could declare 
 that he had seen one, was always sure of his 
 story being accorded a respectful hearing. 
 
 " Look ! " Guy exclaimed, " she has brought 
 some men to capture us." 
 
 Some thirty Burmans had just emerged 
 from the jungle, and were walking quietly 
 but quickly towards the pagoda. 
 
 Private White raised his loaded musket, 
 and waited for Guy to give him the word to 
 fire. Bah Too did likewise. 
 
 " Do not fire," Guy exclaimed. " We must 
 quit the pagoda before they see us. It is 
 our duty to deliver our despatch as quickly 
 as possible, and not to court a fight." 
 
 White lowered his rifle, keenly disappointed, 
 but Bah Too, who was by no means courageous, 
 was well pleased with Guy's decision. 
 
 "My lord, follow me," he said, eagerly. 
 
 Guy gave one look at the Burmans. The 
 woman was about five yards from the pagoda 
 steps ; the men some twenty yards behind her. 
 
 " Come on, White," he whispered, and they 
 
156 PURSUED. 
 
 hurried after Bah. Too. There was only one 
 entrance to the pagoda, and to that the woman 
 was approaching. But the wall around the 
 platform on which the pagoda was built was 
 but four feet high, and Bah Too scrambled 
 over it on the opposite side to the entrance. 
 Guy and Private White followed him instantly. 
 The hill was rather steep, but they descended 
 without any mishap, and ran towards the 
 jungle. The nearest point was barely thirty 
 yards distant, but before they reached it, a 
 loud shout from the Burmans told them that 
 their flight was discovered. They quickened 
 their speed, and arrived at the jungle un- 
 injured. Fortunately, the Burmese were 
 armed only with dahs and spears, having, 
 no doubt, imagined that they would surprise 
 the Kalas as they lay asleep. Finding that 
 the fugitives did not fire, the Burmese became 
 exceedingly valorous, and started in pursuit. 
 One man, a fast runner, was nearly twenty 
 yards ahead of his comrades. 
 
 "Stop that fellow," Guy said, as he and 
 
PURSUED. 157 
 
 his companions, having reached the jungle, 
 looked back to see how near their pursuers 
 were. 
 
 Private White took aim and fired. 
 
 "Very good," Guy muttered, as the 
 Burman fell. 
 
 Then he fired at the second man, and 
 evidently wounded him in the right arm, for 
 he supported it with his left hand, and ran 
 back to his comrades howling with fright and 
 pain. 
 
 "Now we must run," Guy declared, and 
 led the way through the jungle. He knew 
 exactly in which direction the Irrawaddy lay, 
 and worked round to get into a straight line 
 with it. Much to his surprise they arrived, 
 in a few minutes, at a river about twenty 
 yards wide. The country was unknown to 
 the British, and Guy had, of course, received 
 no intimation from Colonel Herbert that he 
 would have to cross any river. 
 
 "Can you swim," Guy enquired of his 
 companions. 
 
158 PURSUED. 
 
 "Yes, sir," Private White answered. 
 
 "My lord, I cannot swim in the water," 
 Bah Too declared, anxiously. 
 
 "'Tis not much good being able to swim 
 on land ! " Private White muttered. 
 
 "We must tow him across," Guy said. 
 
 "Yery good, sir. Come along, Bah Too; 
 a wash will do you good." 
 
 "My lord, I cannot," the Burman whined, 
 holding back, 
 
 "If you will not let us help you across, 
 you must stay here and be captured," Guy 
 declared. 
 
 At that moment the shouts of the pursuing 
 Burmans could be heard. 
 
 "Ah!" Guy exclaimed, "they think that 
 the river will stop us. Come along ! " 
 
 " Right, sir," Private White replied ; and, 
 seizing Bah Too by the neck, pushed him into 
 the river. For a few yards they waded 
 through the water. Then the river became 
 deep, and Bah Too groaned when the water 
 covered his shoulders. 
 
WRSTJEi). i5d 
 
 " Better not waste your breath in groaning," 
 Private White suggested. " You will want it 
 before you get to the other side." 
 
 In spite of this admonition, Bah Too shouted 
 in terror when Private White, without any 
 warning, pushed him forward out of his depth. 
 He struggled violently to keep himself above 
 water, and took no notice whatever of Guy's 
 advice to lie still and trust himself to them. 
 It was a trying time for the two Englishmen, 
 for not only were they wearing their uniforms, 
 but their muskets were slung across their 
 backs. 
 
 " We shall all be drowned, if he keeps on 
 struggling," Private White declared; and, 
 without giving Guy warning of what he 
 intended to do, struck the Burman a heavy 
 blow with his fist between the eyes. 
 
 " Now he will keep quiet, sir," he continued, 
 as Bah Too lost consciousness. " We can get 
 him across before he wakes up." 
 
 White had not released his hold on the 
 Burman, and, swimming powerfully, dragged 
 
l6d tURStJBt). 
 
 him half-way across the river. Then Guy 
 relieved him, and towed the unconscious man 
 for the remainder of the distance. 
 
 The moment that they reached the shore, 
 Bah Too revived, and, finding himself out of 
 danger, smiled pleasantly. He did not thank 
 the Englishmen for having saved his life, nor 
 did he reproach Private White with having 
 raised a big bump on his forehead. He was 
 aware that he had shown a deplorable want of 
 courage in the water, and was, therefore, ex- 
 tremely anxious that the matter should be 
 forgotten. 
 
 The pursuers had now arrived at the river 
 side, and, seeing the fugitives on the opposite 
 bank, jeered at them for running away. 
 
 " It is precious little credit to them that we 
 are running away," Private White declared ; 
 "but I suppose, they will boast of this as long 
 as they live." 
 
 The fugitives stood for a few minutes in the 
 shadow of the jungle, wringing the water Jrom 
 their clothes, and watching the movements of 
 
PURSUED. 161 
 
 their baffled pursuers. Soon they saw them 
 break into two parties, one proceeding up and 
 the other down the river. 
 
 "They are searching for a boat," Guy 
 remarked. "We must be on the run again 
 in case they find one." 
 
 They started off at once, but the jungle 
 was particularly dense, and consequently their 
 progress was slow. When day broke they 
 were still struggling onward. They knew 
 that they were travelling in the right 
 direction, but they could form no opinion as 
 to how far they were from the river which 
 they had crossed. 
 
 "There is one thing to be said in favour 
 of this baking country," Guy observed, "and 
 that is, that one's clothes soon dry. Mine 
 are as dry as a bone." 
 
 "And so are mine, sir," Private White 
 replied. "And so would Bah Too's be if he 
 had worked a little harder, but he likes to 
 creep through the holes which we make, 
 instead of breaking through the undergrowth." 
 
162 ttJRSUED. 
 
 Guy smiled. He had noticed the Barman's 
 tendency to get behind them on every 
 opportunity, and thus be spared the exertion 
 of forcing his way through the tangled jungle 
 plants. 
 
 Bah Too understood what White had said, 
 and endeavoured to account for his action. 
 
 " Englishmen are very strong," he explained, 
 "and break the jungle down fast. Me not 
 strong, and cannot break down jungle. 
 Englishmen go first, all go quick; if me go 
 first, all go slow." 
 
 Private White laughed sarcastically. It 
 was his private opinion that it would have 
 been better for them if Bah Too had been left 
 behind with the column. 
 
 Finding that his shirking of hard work had 
 been noticed, Bah Too became energetic, and 
 for a time led the way. But it was only while 
 they were traversing a stretch of weedy grass 
 that he acted as pioneer. When they arrived 
 at more obstructive undergrowth he affected 
 exhaustion, and fell to the rear. Bah Too 
 
PURSUED. 163 
 
 was, however, an extremely useful fellow when 
 they halted for a meal. He had the knack of 
 kindling a fire in surprisingly quick time, and 
 could cook rice with a skill that won the 
 Englishmen's praise. 
 
 "You take my advice, Bah Too," Private 
 White said, when he had finished a hearty 
 meal of rice which the Burman had cooked. 
 " Give up being a wizard, and start business as 
 a cook. It wiir pay you better, if you live 
 among Englishmen. ' 
 
 " "Women cook," Bah Too replied, somewhat 
 offended, " but a wizard is a great man. The 
 Lord of Many White Elephants consulted me 
 at Ava." 
 
 "What about?" 
 
 " The government of his country ! " 
 
 " No wonder we are giving him a thrashing ! " 
 
 " If the Lord of Many White Elephants had 
 done the things I advised " 
 
 "He would have given us a drubbing, I 
 suppose ? Bosh ! " 
 
 "Now then," Guy joined in, "we must 
 
164 PURSUED. 
 
 be off. I want to reach the river before 
 mid-day." 
 
 In half an hour they arrived at a river, but 
 it was not the Irrawaddy. Bah Too's courage 
 -oozed away at the sight of the water. He 
 stood still for a moment, and then turned to 
 run away ; but Private White seized him. 
 
 "I will soon teach you how to swim," 
 White declared, as he marched the trembling 
 Burman towards the river. '"I am surprised 
 that a wizard cannot swim without being 
 taught." 
 
 "I will look to see if I can find a boat," 
 Bah Too declared. 
 
 " Will you ? Just wait till somebody gives 
 you permission, and before you get it, you 
 won't have no more teeth than my old 
 grandmother." 
 
 While White was addressing Bah Too, 
 Guy was examining his despatch to see that 
 it was secure. He was carrying it rolled up 
 in a piece of bamboo, the ends of which were 
 sealed. Around the bamboo he wrapped a 
 
PURSUED. 165 
 
 piece of cloth, as he had done before crossing 
 the first river. Satisfied that he had taken 
 the best possible precaution for keeping the 
 despatch dry, he replaced it in the inside 
 pocket of his tunic. 
 
 "Do not be frightened, Bah Too," Guy 
 said to the Burman. " This river is not so 
 wide as the other one, and we will get you 
 across in safety." 
 
 " My lord, permit me to find a boat. Then 
 I will row across the river and follow 
 
 you." 
 
 Guy shook his head. 
 
 " Forward," he said to Private White, who 
 immediately stepped into the river, taking 
 Bah Too with him. 
 
 "Lie still when I tell you to," Private 
 White advised the Burman. " If you kick 
 about like you did last time I will make 
 that bump on your forehead twice as big 
 as it is." 
 
 Bah Too groaned. 
 
 "Now then, lay on your back," White 
 
166 PtJRSTJKD. 
 
 commanded, when they had waded about five 
 yards. 
 
 Bah Too obeyed instantly ; but, finding that 
 he was sinking, he kicked and splashed in a 
 most frantic manner. 
 
 " That's not lying still,"' White said fiercely, 
 as he grabbed hold of the terrified Burman; 
 but he" did not strike him. In fact, neither he 
 nor Guy had any further trouble with him, 
 and they reached the opposite bank in 
 safety. 
 
 Bah Too was wonderfully proud of the self- 
 command which he had shown, and was in 
 high spirits as they wrung the water from 
 their clothes, preparatory to continuing their 
 journey. 
 
 Two hours after their second swim they 
 arrived at the IrraWaddy, but they struck it 
 at a point where there were no signs of 
 civilization. 
 
 Guy, standing on a hillock, surveyed the 
 country. As far as he could see, there was 
 nothing but tall, weedy grass lining each bank 
 
PTTRSTJED. 167 
 
 of the river, and, behind that, the far stretch- 
 ing jungle. There was not even a pagoda 
 spire to be seen. 
 
 "Do you know where we are?" Guy 
 enquired of Bah Too. 
 
 "Donabew that way is," the Burman re- 
 plied, pointing down the river. 
 
 "Then we are ahead of the river column," 
 Guy remarked to Private White. " The 
 General said that we should find it waiting for 
 him a mile or two above Donabew. We must 
 hurry down the river, keeping close to the 
 bank." 
 
 " Yes, sir," White replied ; and ihej started 
 off at once. 
 
 The tall grass which grew beside the river 
 was scanty, compared with the jungle under- 
 growth, and the progress of the party was 
 rapid. When they had been walking for 
 nearly half an hou^r, Bah Too espied a fishing 
 village ahead of them. 
 
 " We must go into the jungle and avoid it," 
 Guy declared, 
 
168 PURSUED. 
 
 " My lord," Bah Too said, quickly, " let me 
 go to the village. I will sell charms to the 
 people, and discover where the English ships 
 are. You hide just there, and I will soon 
 come back to you." 
 
 " Very well ; come back as quickly as you 
 can." 
 
 The Burman started off at once, polishing 
 up his charms as he went. 
 
 "Where is he going, sir?" Private White 
 enquired, for Guy and Bah Too had, as usual, 
 been speaking in a mixture of English and 
 Burmese. 
 
 "To the village. I believe that we can 
 trust him not to betray us, because he under- 
 stands that ours is the winning side, and that 
 it will be more profitable for him to assist us 
 than to help his countrymen. However, we 
 will take precautions, in case he should prove 
 to be a double traitor. I told him that we 
 would hide here until he returns, but we will 
 walk on closer to the village, and if we see him 
 coming out of it, accompanied by any of his 
 
PURSUED. 169 
 
 countrymen, we will creep into the jungle and 
 continue our journey. By the time they 
 discover we have left our hiding-place, we 
 shall have had a good start. 
 
 Private White smiled his approval of his 
 officer's plan. Personally, he placed very little 
 confidence in Bah Too, and considered it 
 highly probable that he would betray them 
 in revenge for the blow which he, White, 
 had given him. 
 
 Advancing cautiously, they kept sight 
 of Bah Too until he entered the village. 
 Then they hurried forward, and hid in the 
 jungle, about three hundred yards from the 
 nearest hut. From their place of concealment, 
 they could see if anyone quitted the village, 
 which was simply a row of huts built by the 
 river side. 
 
 ^ Their period of waiting was not long. Ten 
 minutes had just elapsed when they saw Bah 
 Too running from the village. At first they 
 imagined that he was pursued, but finding 
 that such was not the case, they quitted their 
 
170 PURSUED. 
 
 place of concealment and advanced to meet 
 him. 
 
 That he was surprised at finding them so 
 far away from where he had left them was 
 evident, but he made no remark, for he had 
 important news to communicate. 
 
 " The village is deserted," he declared, in a 
 mixture of English and Burmese. " Bandoola 
 has sent all the people "^ up the river. Only- 
 two old women are left in the village. They 
 are very old, and will soon die, therefore they 
 were not sent away. These old women say 
 that the English ships have not yet arrived 
 at Donabew, and will never pass it, for 
 Bandoola will sink them." 
 
 "Is Bandoola at Donabew?" Guy asked, 
 anxiously. 
 
 "My lord, he is." 
 
 This was indeed serious news. Guy was 
 well aware that Sir Archibald Campbell 
 believed the famous Burmese general to be 
 somewhere between Prome and Ava, and that 
 it was his intention of joining the two columng 
 
PTTRSUBD. 171 
 
 before giving battle to him. But if Eandoola 
 was at Donabew, the greater portion of the 
 Burmese army would be with him, and the 
 river column would have a task far greater 
 than had been anticipated. 
 
 For a few minutes Guy was undecided 
 whether to push on and meet the river 
 force, or to retrace his steps and inform Sir 
 Archibald Campbell of Bandoola's being at 
 Donabew. He remembered, however, that 
 his instructions were to deliver the despatch 
 to General Cotton, at any cost, and he 
 recognised that he would look very foolish 
 if he caused the land column to march back 
 several miles, only to find that the river force 
 had not required assistance. 
 
 "We must hurry forward quicker tban 
 ever," he declared. 
 
 "My lord, come through the village. It 
 will be the nearest way," Bah Too suggested, 
 but Guy was too cautious to take this advice. 
 Bah Too might have been deceived by the 
 two old women. Some of the Burmans who 
 
172 PURSUED. 
 
 had pursued them to the first river which 
 they crossed had, perhaps, made their way 
 to the village, and, in the hope of capturing 
 them, had arranged with the inhabitants to 
 pretend that the place was deserted. 
 
 " We will avoid the village," Gruy declared 
 firmly, and led the way into the jungle. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 A BRITISH REVERSE. 
 
 Having passed the village without seeing any 
 signs of the enemy, Guy and his companions 
 quitted the jungle, and made their way to 
 the tall grass by the river side. A well-worn 
 path traversed it, and along this Guy, Private 
 White, and Bah Too ran quickly, concealed 
 from anyone who might be on the opposite 
 bank, but able themselves to get a good view 
 of the river. In twenty minutes they caught 
 sight of Donabew. It was on the other side 
 of the river, and presented a truly formidable 
 appearance. 
 
 " It will be a tougher job, sir, to take that 
 place than it was to take Kemmendine," 
 Private White declared. 
 
 "It will," Guy assented, and when they 
 
 were opposite to the stronghold, and had a 
 
 m 
 
174 A BRITISH REVERSE. 
 
 better view of it, he saw, with indignation, 
 that the British general had been deceived. 
 It had been reported to him that Donabew 
 was a small stockaded village, which could 
 offer little resistance to a British attack ; but, 
 as a matter of fact, the palisaded earth fort 
 was one of great strength. Its river face was 
 quite a mile long, and protected by a stretch of 
 felled trees, whose branches pointed outwards. 
 
 Guy took mental notes of everything which 
 he saw, as they passed before the flag-decked 
 fort. He counted the cannon, and when they 
 had got below the fort, studied as carefully 
 as possible the side of it. 
 
 "'Tis almost as deep as it is wide, sir," 
 Private White declared. 
 
 "I should say that the flanks extend for 
 half a mile, and the river front twice that 
 distance," Guy replied. 
 
 " Well, sir, I think that's about it. Do you 
 see the wide ditch, sir ? " 
 
 " I do. No doubt it runs round three sides 
 of the fort." 
 
A BRITISH REVERSE. 175 
 
 The two Englishmen noticed also that a 
 chain of small forts connected the stronghold 
 with a group of eight or nine stockaded 
 pagodas. 
 
 " Begging your pardon, sir," Private White 
 said, "but I think there will be some fierce 
 fighting before the river column takes that 
 place. " 
 
 " There is no doubt about it. Those forti- 
 fications would be creditable to a European 
 army, and it is my opinion that the most 
 important battle of the campaign will be 
 fought here." 
 
 " Well, sir, when we have driven the enemy 
 out of that place, we shall have something to 
 boast about." 
 
 Bah Too had been listening to the conver- 
 sation, but he had not understood the whole 
 of it. 
 
 "My lords," he said, "will the English 
 soldiers try to capture Donabew?" 
 
 " They will do it ; they won't try to," White 
 declared emphatically, but inconsistently. 
 
176 A BRITISH REVERSE. 
 
 "The English lords are very brave," Bah 
 Too declared, admiringly. 
 
 " Come on," Guy said. " The flotilla cannot 
 be very far away, and we must have no more 
 halts until we sight it. Double ! " 
 
 For a quarter of a mile they went along at 
 a steady double. They were in single file, and 
 Guy, who was leading, did not break into a 
 walk until Bah Too declared, in gasps, that 
 he could not run any further. The Burman 
 desired to sit down and rest for a time, but 
 Guy would not agree to this. 
 
 "You shall have a good rest when we 
 get aboard one of the ships," he declared, 
 and with that promise Bah Too had to be 
 satisfied. Every two or three hundred yards, 
 he peered through the long grass, in the 
 hope of catching sight of the flotilla. At 
 length, just as he was about to declare that 
 he was completely exhausted, and that the 
 Englishmen would have to leave him behind, 
 he saw something that gladdened his heart 
 and renewed his strength. "My lord!" he 
 
A BRITISH REVERSE. 177 
 
 exclaimed excitedly, "there is the fire- 
 boat." ■ 
 
 The " fire-boat " was Bah Too's name for the 
 steamer Diand, which he had seen off Ran- 
 goon. On hearing the Burman's words, Guy 
 and Private White battled through the long 
 grass to the brink of the river, and saw to 
 their joy that Bah Too had not made a 
 mistake. The Diana was steaming slowly 
 up the river. No other ships were in sight, 
 and it was evident that the steamer was on 
 a reconnoitring trip. A sharp look-out was 
 being kept, and Guy and his companions were 
 seen the moment they appeared at the river 
 side. The British uniforms were recognised 
 at once, and a cheer from the sailors greeted 
 the soldiers, Guy and Private White gave 
 an answering cheer. 
 
 "They think the Burmese are after us? 
 sir," White said. "Look how quickly they 
 are lowering the boat." 
 
 Truly the British sailors wasted no time. 
 The boat was lowered, and in less that two 
 
178 A BRITISH REVERSE. 
 
 minutes pushed off from the steamer. The 
 sailors, as usual, rowed splendidly, and quickly 
 brought the boat to the spot where Guy, 
 White, and Bah Too, were standing. 
 
 "Jump in," Guy commanded, and, when 
 his men had taken their seats, he stepped 
 into the boat. 
 
 "Is General Cotton aboard the Diana V 
 Guy enquired of the petty officer in 
 command, 
 
 "No, sir. He is with the flotilla." 
 
 " Have you had much fighting coming up ? " 
 
 "Yes, sir. Lots of it." 
 
 "Have your losses been heavy?" 
 
 "No, sir!" 
 
 Guy was well pleased to hear that the river 
 column had not sustained heavy losses, for he 
 knew that if it had there would be little 
 chance of its capturing Donabew. 
 
 "I have an urgent despatch for General 
 Cotton," Guy said to the captain of the Diana, 
 the moment he got aboard her. 
 
 "Then I will steam back to the flotilla at 
 
A BRITISH RBVBBSB. 179 
 
 once. You come from Sir Archibald Campbell, 
 I presume?" 
 
 " I do, sir." 
 
 The Diana took some time in turning, but 
 once her prow was pointing down the river, 
 she travelled at a speed which delighted Guy, 
 who was experiencing his first trip aboard a 
 steamer. 
 
 Private White looked serious. 
 
 " We are getting too clever," he declared to 
 a sturdy old sailor, who was leaning against 
 the gunwale. 
 
 The sailor spat his quid of tobacco overboard, 
 and looked at White approvingly. 
 
 "You are right, lobster," he declared 
 solemnly. "I call it right-down wicked to 
 send British sailors to sea in a tea-kettle like 
 this. What was the wind made for but to 
 blow ships across the ocean ? And now these 
 puffing steamers are going to take the work 
 out of its hands. But t\iej will come to a bad 
 end. 'Taint likely that Providence will allow 
 these steamers to go just where they like, 
 
180 A BRITISH REVBESB. 
 
 a- taking no -more notice of the wind than if it 
 wasn't there. These steamers will go to the 
 bottom, and that's all we shall get by being so 
 clever. The wind was good enough for Drake 
 and Nelson, and it ought to be good enough 
 for us. That's what I say." 
 
 Bah Too was not troubled about the pres- 
 umption of man in building a ship which could 
 •plough the ocean without any assistance from 
 the winds. His diflficulty was to understand 
 the connection between the paddles and the 
 funnel. He had not succeeded in solving the 
 mystery when the Diana reached the flotilla- 
 and Guy went aboard General Cotton's ship, 
 and delivered his despatch. 
 
 The* general read Sir Archibald Campbell's 
 communication without exhibiting any signs 
 of the disappointment which he must have felt, 
 at finding that the land column- would be un- 
 able to assist him in the attack on Donabew. 
 It was Guy's belief that he would be sent 
 back to Sir Archibald Campbell at once, 
 with a request that the land force should 
 
A BRITISH REVERSE. 181 
 
 retrace its steps to assist in the attack on 
 the stronghold. 
 
 " You will remain aboard this ship," General 
 Cotton said to Guy. " I shall have no message 
 for Sir Archibald Campbell until we have 
 attacked Donabew." 
 
 "Very good, sir," Guy replied, and, having 
 saluted, retired. It seemed to him that 
 General Cotton was not very hopeful of being 
 able to capture Donabew, or he would have 
 said "until we have captured" instead of 
 "until we have attacked." 
 
 Several days passed, and Guy found life 
 aboard ship somewhat dull, after his lively 
 experiences ashore, but he consoled himself 
 with the thought that he was extremely lucky 
 in having reached the flotilla in time to take 
 part in the assault on the most formidable 
 stronghold which the British had encountered 
 in Burma. 
 
 On the 7th of March the fighting began. 
 Seven hundred men were landed to attack a 
 stronghold, defended, it was discovered some 
 
182 A BRITISH REVEKSB. 
 
 weeks later, by 15,000 Burmans.' Guy and 
 Private White were permitted to accompany 
 the 89th Regiment. The little force advanced 
 to the group of pagodas which have already 
 been mentioned, but soon found that the 
 enemy had made even greater preparations 
 than had been expected. Large pits had 
 been dug, and covered so artfully with earth 
 and jungle plants that the British suspected 
 nothing until fully fifty of their number fell 
 through. Guy and Private White, together 
 with three other men, fell into one pit, but 
 none were seriously hurt, and all scrambled out 
 quickly. These pits had served the purpose 
 intended by the enemy — they had caused 
 confusion among the attackers, and had 
 delayed their advance. They now opened a 
 galling fire on the British, who answered with 
 a cheer, and, rushing forward, placed their 
 bamboo ladders against the stockade, and ran 
 up them. Once inside, the British had an 
 easy task, for the defenders, after making a 
 brief stand, fled towards the next stockade. 
 
A BRITISH REVERSE. 183 
 
 But the precautions which had been taken 
 to prevent the British reaching it, made it 
 difficult for the Burmese to obtain the refuge 
 they desired. A few escaped; some were 
 impaled on the spears and spikes which they 
 themselves had concealed amidst the long 
 grass, but the majority were slain. 
 
 The pagodas had been captured, but every 
 man knew that the hardest fighting was yet 
 to come. They'could see the second stockade ; 
 it was a mile long, and composed of huge logs 
 of teak, about seventeen feet high. But, before 
 reaching it, there was a wide expanse of felled 
 trees to struggle through, and the soldiers 
 knew, from experience, that it would be a 
 trying task. Nevertheless, they cheered 
 wildly when the order to advance was given. 
 They sprang among the trees, and dashing 
 aside or trampling down the obstructing 
 branches, endeavoured to get as quickly as 
 possible to the stockade itself. But soon, 
 exclamations of pain and cries of warning 
 broke from the front line of attackers. The 
 
184 A BRITISH REVERSE. 
 
 Burmese had concealed among the branches 
 spears and knives sharp as razors. Some of 
 the VFounds thus inflicted were mortal, and 
 scarcely any of the men in the front rank 
 escaped without hurt. 
 
 At the moment the discovery was made, 
 the Burmese opened a raking fire on the 
 British. Wounded men fell, and were trans- 
 fixed by the spears and knives. But still the 
 gallant 89th struggled on. Now and again 
 a man would succeed in clambering over the 
 trees and getting many yards ahead of his 
 comrades, only, however, to become a special 
 mark for the defenders, and to fall riddled 
 with bullets. The further the British soldiers 
 went, the more desperate became their 
 position — the trees were more dense, the 
 spears and knives more numerous. It was 
 a terrible time, and it is scarcely to be 
 wondered at that many of the men, seeing 
 they had not yet penetrated ' half- way 
 through the abattis, lost heart. The officers 
 endeavoured, by words and actions, to give 
 
A BRITISH REVERSE. 185 
 
 the men confidence in their ultimate success. 
 They exposed themselves fearlessly, recklessly, 
 and died urging their men to press onward. 
 
 Guy and Private White had been fighting 
 side by side, and were fortunate in escaping 
 injury. The company to which they had 
 been attached had, so far, shown no signs of 
 wavering, but soon the hopelessness of getting 
 to close quarters with the enemy was apparent. 
 They struggled on, with grim faces, knowing 
 well that they were going to their death. 
 While their oflBcers led them, they had no 
 thought of turning back, but when their 
 captain and a lieutenant were killed, in one 
 minute, they lost heart. 
 
 "Forward, men," Guy shouted, struggling 
 to the front ; and his cheerful manner gave the 
 soldiers fresh courage. They followed without 
 hesitation, but every minute their number 
 decreased. 
 
 Guy knew perfectly well that they would 
 never get through this artfully made trap, 
 but unless the order to retire were given, it 
 
186 A BRITISH EEVEESB. 
 
 was his duty to keep the men moving for- 
 ward. And in the midst of this awful scene, 
 he remembered, that it was said to be the 
 lot of the soldiers of his family to be killed 
 before reaching high rank. He felt confident 
 that this was his last battle, and was pleased 
 to think that he should end his career in a 
 hard-fought fight, and not fall in some insigni- 
 ficant skirmish. The blood was running down 
 his left arm, and trickling over his fingers. 
 Until he noticed this, he was unaware that 
 he had been wounded. 
 
 For another five minutes the remnant of 
 the British force struggled on. Then along 
 the line from ofiicer to sergeant, from sergeant 
 to oflScer, came the command. " Retire ! " 
 
 It was a welcome order to many, but there 
 were some, and Guy was one of them, who 
 heard and repeated the command with dismay. 
 "Better to be killed than retire before the 
 enemy," they, thought. The conquerors of 
 Napoleon retiring before a Burmese army ! 
 It was unpleasant, certainly, but there was 
 
A BRITISH REVERSE. 187 
 
 no disgrace in 700 Britons being driven back 
 by 15,000 Burmans. 
 
 Retiring was almost as difficult as advancing, 
 and the Burmans did not slacken their fire 
 for a minute. But at length, the decimated 
 89th succeeded in getting clear of the abattis, 
 and, carrying their wounded, were marched 
 back to the boats, and taken aboard the 
 ships. 
 
 On examination, the doctor found that Guy 
 had received a cut, from a spear, on the left 
 forearm. He bandaged it, and predicted that 
 it would give no trouble. 
 
 "Well, White," Guy said, on seeing 
 the companion of his jungle adventures, 
 "unhurt?" 
 
 "Yes, sir; but you have had some lucky 
 escapes, sir." 
 
 " In what way ? " 
 
 " Look at your shako, sir." 
 
 Guy removed the shako from his head, and 
 found that three bullets had passed through it. 
 He felt, as he saw the holes, that he, after all. 
 
188 A BRITISH REVERSE. 
 
 had not inherited the bad luck of his ancestors. 
 However, he had but little opportunity of 
 thinking of himself, for every officer found 
 plenty of work to be done in looking after the 
 dispirited men. The repulse had cast a gloom 
 over them, and their dejection was intensified 
 by the knowledge that, until reinforced, they 
 would be unable to avenge the defeat which 
 they had suffered. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE DEATH OP BANDOOLA. 
 
 "While the British ships were dropping down 
 the river to an anchorage, some few miles 
 below Donabew, Guy received a command to 
 appear immediately before General Cotton. 
 
 On seeing that Guy was wounded, the 
 General was somewhat annoyed. 
 
 " I wish," he said sternly, " that you had not 
 taken part in the engagement. I wanted you 
 to carry this despatch to Sir Archibald 
 Campbell, but I shall have to send someone 
 else." 
 
 " I can take it, sir," Guy declared instantly. 
 " My wound is not a severe one, although the 
 surgeon insisted upon putting my arm in a 
 sling." 
 
 The General surveyed Guy with interest. 
 "Very well, then," he said, after a few 
 
 X89 
 
190 THE DEATH OF BANDOOLA. 
 
 moment's silence, "here it is. Are the two 
 
 men, who came here with you, alive and not 
 
 wounded ? 
 
 "Yes, sir; but with your permission, I will 
 
 leave the Burman behind. I shall get to the 
 land column much quicker if I have only 
 Private White with me." 
 
 " Then by all means leave the Burman 
 here." 
 
 Guy saluted, retired from the cabin, and 
 went in search of Private White. 
 
 "We must start at once," he said, as soon 
 as he found him. 
 
 "Very good, sir. Shall I tell Bah Too?" 
 
 " No. He is to remain here. Take off 
 your tunic and put on a Burmese jacket, and 
 exchange your shako for a sailor's hat. I am 
 going to do likewise." 
 
 The exchange of clothes was soon 
 arranged. 
 
 "Now we must go to the cook, and fill 
 our pockets with dry biscuits." 
 
 The biscuits having been obtained, Guy and 
 
TfiB DEATH 0^ BANtOOtA. 191 
 
 Private White took their seats in the ship's 
 boat and were soon rowed ashore. 
 
 The Burmese jackets and sailor hats were 
 much cooler, and more comfortable than the 
 tight tunics and heavy shakoes which they 
 had discarded, and therefore, they were able 
 to proceed at a smart trot along the riverside 
 path, which, as already stated, was hidden 
 from the river by tall, weedy grass. As they 
 passed Donabew, they could hear the Burmese 
 celebrating their victory. Thousands of noisy 
 musical instruments were being played, which, 
 mingled with the songs and shouts of the 
 people, created an uproar such as neither Guy 
 nor Private White had ever heard. Flags 
 innumerable were flying from the stronghold, 
 and hundreds of Burmans, laden with fruit, 
 flowers, and rice, were marching in procession 
 to the cluster of pagodas, to deposit thank- 
 offerings on the altars. 
 
 "I should think, sir," Private White 
 said, "that they fancy we have scuttled out 
 of the country. They surely would not 
 
19^ THE DEATH Ol' BANDOOLA. 
 
 kick up such a fuss just because they beat 
 us off." 
 
 "Well, even that is something to be proud 
 of,"Guy replied. 
 
 " So it is, sir. But they will get a surprise 
 when Sir Archibald arrives on the spot." 
 
 Guy made no reply, for he was not in the 
 humour for talking. The repulse which the 
 river column had received, would, he knew, 
 upset the plan of campaign, and possibly cause 
 the British army to remain in the country a 
 year longer than had been anticipated. The 
 retrograde movement of the land column 
 would give the King of Burma ample time 
 to collect another army to meet the invaders ; 
 for the siege of Donabew would, in all 
 probability, be a protracted one. The im- 
 portance of reaching the land column before 
 it had proceeded very far was always in Guy's 
 mind, and night and day he and White pushed 
 onwards. Occasionally, they would have a 
 two-hours' rest — one watching for an hour 
 while the other slept. Fortunately, they 
 
THE DEATH OF BANDOOLA. 193 
 
 encountered neither Burmans nor wild beasts ; 
 but the jungle at times was almost im- 
 penetrable, and on four occasions they had 
 to swim rivers. Guy swam on his back, his 
 wounded arm resting on his chest. 
 
 On the 10th of March they struck the track 
 of the land column, and the way now being 
 clear they pushed on with renewed vigour, 
 and, on the following morning, overtook Sir 
 Archibald Campbell's force. 
 
 " What has delayed the river column ? " 
 Sir Archibald asked Guy, as he approached. 
 "The attack on Donabew has failed, sir," 
 Guy replied. " The place is strongly fortified, 
 and Bandoola is in command." 
 
 The news that Bandoola was at Donabew, 
 and not, as had been imagined, at Prome, 
 was a great surprise for the general's staff. 
 Sir Archibald opened the dispatch, and read 
 it eagerly. 
 
 " Did you witness the attack ? " he asked 
 Guy, a few minutes later. 
 
 "Yes, sir," Guy replied. 
 
194 THE DBATE OF BANDOOLA. 
 
 "Was that where you received your 
 wound ? " 
 
 "It was, sir." 
 
 The general then asked Guy several 
 questions concerning the Burmese defences 
 at Donabew, all of which the ensign answered 
 promptly and lucidly. Guy was, however, 
 somewhat disappointed when Sir Archibald, 
 having obtained all the information which 
 he required, dismissed him without a word 
 of commendation for his arduous double 
 journey. As he retired, he came face to face 
 with Major Taddy. 
 
 "Hallo, Major!" he exclaimed. 
 
 "Colonel, please, my boy," was the jovial 
 reply. 
 
 "Really?" 
 
 "Yes, really. I am a colonel of two days' 
 standing. I was never more surprised in my 
 life than when I heard of my promotion. 
 Colonel Herbert has had something to do with 
 it, I fancy." 
 
 " Very likely. He always did say that it 
 
THE DEATH OP BANDOOLA. 195 
 
 was an infamous shame that you were not 
 promoted. By the bye, how is Colonel 
 Herbert ? " 
 
 " Not very well. He is just getting over a 
 bad attack of fever. But what is the matter 
 with your arm ? " 
 
 Guy then told Colonel Taddy of the repulse 
 at Donabew. 
 
 " I wondered why the column was halting," 
 the colonel remarked, when Guy had finished 
 his narrative. " We shall hurry back to 
 Donabew at once, I suppose. In the mean- 
 time, you go to the doctor. You are com- 
 pletely done up." 
 
 Guy could not deny that he was done up. 
 For four days he had been able to get but 
 little rest, and moreover, he had lost a con- 
 siderable quantity of blood. He went to the 
 doctor, who dressed his wound, and ordered 
 him to lie down on a blanket and have a good 
 sleep. 
 
 When he awoke, several hours later, he 
 found, to his surprise, that he was being carried 
 
196 THE DEATH OF BANDOOLA. 
 
 on a stretcher. Private White was walking 
 by the side of it. 
 
 " How did I get here ? " Guy asked. 
 
 "We lifted you in the blanket, sir, 
 White answered. "Do you feel better now, 
 sir?" 
 
 " Much better. I will get out and walk." 
 
 " The doctor says that you are not to get up 
 until he gives you permission, sir." 
 
 " If that is the case, I will have another 
 sleep." 
 
 He awoke, shortly after sunset, with a 
 healthy appetite ; and White, who had antici- 
 pated that he would be hungry, immediately 
 supplied him with food. 
 
 "Now I feel in splendid health," Guy 
 declared, when he had finished his meal. " I 
 really cannot lie here any longer." 
 
 " You had better not get out until the 
 doctor has seen you," White replied. " He is 
 only a little way ahead, sir. I will tell him 
 that you are awake. " 
 
 The doctor came promptly to the stretcher, 
 
THE DEATH OF BANDOOLA. 197 
 
 and, after a rapid examination of the patient, 
 gave him permission to get up. 
 
 " And now let me congratulate you on your 
 promotion," the doctor added, as Guy, once 
 more on his feet, braced himself together. 
 
 "Promotion?" Guy replied, looking eagerly 
 at the doctor. 
 
 " The news has not yet reached you then. 
 You have been promoted to lieutenant," 
 
 Guy flushed with pleasure. 
 
 " The promotion is a reward for the prompti- 
 tude with which you delivered General Cotton's 
 dispatch," the doctor continued. 
 
 Guy looked sharply at Private White, for it 
 seemed to him that justice demanded that, if 
 he were promoted, his late companion in 
 danger should be rewarded also. 
 
 Private White smiled proudly, 
 
 " I have found a fresh tunic to fit me, sir," 
 he said, " and the tailor is sewing my corporal's 
 stripes on it." 
 
 " I congratulate you. Corporal White, 
 
 " Thank you, sir," 
 
198 THE DEATH OP BANDOOLA. 
 
 Colonel Herbert and Colonel Taddy were 
 among the many officers who congratulated 
 Guy on his rapid promotion. Some of the 
 senior officers declared that his success would 
 make him an objectionable young prig, but 
 they had very little knowledge of his nature. 
 He kne^i? that he had been exceedingly fortun- 
 ate in having had opportunities to distinguish 
 himself, which had not been accorded to other 
 young officers, and did not hesitate to declare 
 that any other ensign could do what he had 
 dope. But the fact that he was chosen to 
 carry the dispatches, proved that he was 
 regarded by his superiors as a youth of ex- 
 ceptional bravery and resource. 
 
 The following morning Guy resumed his 
 staflf duties. There was plenty of work for 
 him to do, and he did it with his customary 
 thoroughness, in spite of his left arm being 
 in a sling. 
 
 On the 14th of March, the land column 
 arrived at the Irrawaddy, and the work of 
 getting the troops across was at once begun, 
 
THE DEATH OP BANDOOLA. 199 
 
 This very difficult task occupied five days, 
 but as soon as it was accomplished, the 
 army began its march down to Donabew. It 
 proceeded cautiously, but every village which 
 it passed through was deserted, and it was 
 evident that the Burmese did not intend to 
 give battle to them until they arrived at 
 Donabew. On the 25th of March, the British 
 pitched their camp within gunshot of the 
 stronghold. Scarcely had this been done, 
 when the Burmese made a sortie, and the 
 British moved forward to give battle to 
 them. 
 
 The fight was, however, of brief duration, 
 the Burmese returning hurriedly to their 
 stockade after a few shots had been fired. 
 
 Sir Archibald Campbell determined not to 
 sacrifice the lives of his men by an immediate 
 attack upon Donabew, but to shell the town 
 and destroy the outer fortifications. He 
 caused batteries to be erected on an island a 
 few hundred yards from the stronghold, and 
 sent small bodies of men, under the cover of 
 
200 THE DEATH OF BANDOOLA. 
 
 darkness, to set light to the expanse of felled 
 trees, which had proved so disastrous to the 
 river column. Skirmishes were of daily 
 occurrence, but with little loss to either 
 side. 
 
 On the 31st of March the newly erected 
 batteries tested the range of their mortars, 
 and throughout the following day the strong- 
 hold was bombarded by the whole of the 
 British guns. But, to the surprise of the 
 general, the enemy did not return the fire. 
 Hitherto, the Burmese guns had been well 
 worked, and their silence on this occasion 
 was inexplicable. Night came, but the sounds 
 of music, which were generally wafted from 
 the stronghold after dark, were not heard. 
 Nor were any lights to be seen in Donabew. 
 
 The general opinion was that the Burmese, 
 by pretending that they had evacuated the 
 place, hoped to destroy the British force as 
 it advanced through spear-studded ditches 
 and pits, to occupy the stronghold. 
 
 At day-brep.k, certain regiments were ordered 
 
THE DEATH OF BANDOOLA. 201 
 
 to the attack. They advanced cautiously 
 through the terrible pitfalls, but not a shot 
 was fired at them. The first stockade was 
 surmounted, but not a living Burman was to 
 be seen. The second stockade was reached, 
 a deep pit-studded ditch crossed, and the brick 
 ramparts gained, but still only dead men were 
 seen. Now the troops ran forward with their 
 scaling ladders, and in a few minutes Donabew 
 was in their hands. 
 
 Guy, who was one of the first in the strong- 
 hold, saw at a glance that the place had 
 been deserted hurriedly. For some unknown 
 reason, the enemy had evacuated an almost 
 impregnable position, and had thrown away 
 the best chance that ever he had of inflicting 
 heavy losses on the British. 
 
 Several wounded Burmans were lying in 
 the shade smoking cheroots, and waiting with 
 philosophical calmness for the British to 
 slay them. 
 
 " Where is Bandoola ? " Gruy enquired in 
 their own language. 
 
202 THE DEATH OF BANDOOLA. 
 
 " My lord, he is dead," one of them replied 
 instantly. " Yesterday, a shell from the white 
 Kalas' guns killed him as he lay on his couch. 
 
 Guy and one of the Rangoon merchants 
 questioned the Burmese closely, and soon 
 discovered the reason of the abandonment of 
 Donabew. On the 1st of April, Bandoola, 
 after making his daily round of inspection, lay 
 down on a couch to rest, just as the British 
 mortars opened fire on the fort. The first 
 bomb burst near to his couch, and killed him 
 on the spot. The death of the famous Burman 
 general — the conqueror of Assam, and the man 
 who had defeated our Sepoys on the Arakan 
 frontier — filled the defenders of Donabew with 
 terror. Some of the oflBcers, believing them- 
 selves to be in an impregnable position, 
 remained calm, and ofi'ered the chief command to 
 Bandoola's brother, who unhesitatingly refused 
 the honour, and agreed with those who urged 
 that they should flee from the place while 
 there was time to escape. The evacuation of 
 Dojaabew was begun on the day of Bandoola's 
 
THE DEATH OP BANDOOLA. 203 
 
 death, and the rear-guard of the Burmese had 
 barely quitted it when the British troops 
 arrived and took possession. An enormous 
 store of guns, ammunition, and grain, fell into 
 the hands of the British, who considered them- 
 selves exceedingly fortunate in having won a 
 bloodless victory. Every man knew that, if 
 the Burmese had defended the place, the 
 British losses would necessarily have been ex- 
 ceedingly heavy. Nevertheless, they were 
 sorry that Bandoola was dead, for his deter- 
 mined opposition to the invaders had made 
 them respect him. His brother they regarded 
 as beneath contempt, and when the news 
 reached them that he had been executed on 
 his arrival at Ava, they declared that he 
 fully deserved his fate. 
 
CHAPTEE XIII. 
 
 BAH TOO'S CHARMS. 
 
 " I SHOULD think that the war is as good as 
 finished," Guy remarked to Colonel Taddy, a 
 few hours after the occupation of Donabew. 
 "The Burmese must be very cowed not to 
 have the courage to defend a strong position 
 such as this is." 
 
 " The Burman is a strange creature," Colonel 
 Taddy replied. " It does not follow that 
 because the Burmese have abandoned this 
 place, that they will not make a stubborn 
 fight at another position where they have 
 no chance of victory. Some silly rascal 
 of a wizard, soothsayer, or astrologer, may 
 proclaim that at such a spot the Burmese 
 will gain a victory ; and they will believe him 
 in preference to profiting by the lessons 
 we have given them. In my opinion, we 
 
 204 
 
BAH TOO'S CHARMS. 205 
 
 are still a long way from the end of the 
 war." 
 
 "Then it will be a much longer campaign 
 than was anticipated when we quitted India, 
 nearly a year ago." 
 
 " The nature of the country was not known. 
 In another year's time, those of us who 
 survive, will, no doubt, be back in India, and 
 you will be a veteran before you are out of 
 your teens. When I write to my young 
 friend, Welcome, I must tell her of your 
 promotion." 
 
 "And of your own. Colonel. She will be 
 truly pleased to hear of that." 
 
 " I know she will. I will tell her of both 
 promotions. By the bye, have you any 
 message for her ? " 
 
 "Yes, Colonel. Please say that — that — I 
 hope she is in good health, and — er — 
 and " 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 " Oh, that is all ! " 
 
 " It is not a very long message, but I will 
 
206 BAH TOO's CHARMS. 
 
 send it. If my regiment is not left behind 
 to hold this place, I shall see you on the 
 way to Prome." 
 
 Colonel Taddy's regiment was not the 
 one selected to guard Donabew, against a 
 possible attempt of the enemy to recapture 
 it. The regiment chosen for this necessary, 
 but not popular duty, having taken up its 
 position, the remainder of the British force 
 withdrew, and in a few hours the two columns 
 were on their way to Prome, 
 
 Shortly before the river column started, 
 Guy was sent aboard one of the ships with 
 a message to General Cotton. He had de- 
 livered it, and was returning to land when 
 he heard Bah Too's voice. 
 
 " My lord ! " the Burman cried, " your 
 honourable countrymen will not believe that 
 I am a friend of the white Kalas." 
 
 Guy looked up and saw his friend among 
 a group of Burmese prisoners, standing on 
 the deck of the vessel which he was passing, 
 "My lord," Bah Too continued, "tell your 
 
BAH TOO'S CHARMS. 207 
 
 honourable countrymen that I am your dog 
 of a friend, and they will set me free." 
 
 "Why is he a prisoner, sergeant?" Guy 
 called out to the non-commissioned officer in 
 charge of the Burmese captives. 
 "For a-inciting and assisting some of the 
 other prisoners to escape, sir," the sergeant 
 answered. 
 
 " My lord, the white KalaJs honourable 
 words are not true," Bah Too declared, 
 indignantly, whereupon the sergeant scowled 
 at him. 
 
 Thinking it highly probable that Bah Too 
 had got himself into trouble, without any 
 wrong intention, he went aboard the vessel, 
 and soon heard from an officer the nature of 
 the Burman's oflfence. He had been selling 
 charms against drowning. That in itself was 
 not punishable, but the means by which he 
 sold them, and the results of his selling them, 
 were decidedly reprehensible. On being left 
 behind with the river column, Bah Too had 
 given to his fellow countrymen, who were 
 
208 BAH TOO'S CHARMS. 
 
 prisoners, a highly exaggerated account of 
 the adventures which he and the two white 
 Kalas had experienced in passing from the 
 land to the river column. He declared, that 
 although none of them could swim, they 
 jumped into three deep and wide rivers, and 
 crossed them in safety, because each wore a 
 charm which he had made. This story made 
 a great impression on the Burmese prisoners, 
 and, finding that he had similar charms for 
 sale, they purchased them at high prices. 
 The same day, after dark, eight Burmans 
 jumped overboard ; but on finding that, in 
 spite of Bah Too's charms, they were sinking, 
 they shouted for help. Every one was 
 rescued, and two of them, annoyed at having 
 been swindled, explained to the interpreter 
 the trick which had caused them to jump into 
 the river. On hearing their explanation. Bah 
 Too was at once made a prisoner. 
 
 " But was he aware that the men to whom 
 he sold the charms intended to attempt to 
 escape ? " Guy asked. " Did he tell them that 
 
BAH TOO'S CHARMS. 209 
 
 if they wore his charms they would be able 
 to jump overboard and regain their freedom ? " 
 
 "'Tis more than I can say," the officer 
 answered, so Guy put the same question 
 to the prisoners, who admitted, somewhat 
 reluctantly, that Bah Too had not incited 
 them to attempt to escape, and knew nothing 
 of their determination to jump overboard. 
 
 Guy at once went to the officer in command 
 of the troops on this vessel, and asked for Bah 
 Too's release, telling him what the other 
 prisoners had admitted, and adding that the 
 Burman was his servant, and had been exceed- 
 ingly useful to the land column during its 
 march from Rangoon. His request was 
 granted. Bah Too was liberated, but as he 
 went ashore with Guy, he had a very uncom- 
 fortable time. 
 
 "Bah Too, you are a thief," Guy said, 
 sternly. 
 
 " My lord," the Burman replied, in astonish- 
 ment, " your honourable words are not true." 
 
 " They are perfectly true. You sold to your 
 
210 BAH TOO'S CHARMS. 
 
 countrymen pieces of wood and stone, knowing 
 that they were worthless. You declared that, 
 by wearing one of those pieces of rubbish, 
 which you call charms, you managed to cross 
 three rivers in safety. I have not forgotten 
 that you shouted with terror when you were 
 compelled to enter the water, and that you 
 would have been drowned but for the assistance 
 of the white men who were with you. Yes, 
 you are a thief You robbed your countrymen 
 of their money ; you are as much a thief as if 
 you had stolen their bracelets and anklets." 
 
 " My lord, all the wizards sell charms." 
 
 "Because there are many thieves among 
 your countrymen is no reason why you should 
 be one. If the men who jumped from that 
 ship into the river had been drowned, you 
 would have been a murderer as well as a thief" 
 
 "My lord, when I have built a pagoda, I 
 will sell no more charms. Soon I shall have 
 all the money that I desire." 
 
 " Then you think it is honourable to steal, 
 so that you may build a pagoda ? " 
 
BAH TOO'S CHARMS. 211 
 
 "My lord, the man who builds a pagoda has 
 all his sins forgiven." 
 
 " Then, if I were to murder you, and, with 
 the money you have stolen, build a pagoda, I 
 should be considered a good man ? " 
 
 Bah Too shuffled uneasily on his seat. 
 
 " To build a pagoda is a meritorious act," he 
 declared, and that was all that he would 
 admit. 
 
 " If you are very anxious to build a pagoda," 
 Guy said, "wait until the war is finished, and 
 earn money in an honourable fashion. But if 
 you cheat the British soldiers, by selling them 
 your worthless charms, you will be flogged." 
 
 Bah Too trembled. He had witnessed, at 
 Rangoon, the flogging of a British soldier for 
 a breach of duty, and the degrading sight had 
 filled him with horror. The possibility of such 
 punishment being meted out to him terrified 
 him. 
 
 " My lord," he said, " I will sell no more 
 charms." 
 
 " That is a wise decision," Guj^ declared ; 
 
212 BAH TOO's CHARMS. 
 
 but he wa3 by no means convinced that the 
 Burman would not break his promise. He 
 kept a watch on him for some days after the 
 column quitted Donabew, but the Burman had 
 apparently discarded his pretensions to the 
 dignity of wizard and astrologer. The march 
 from Donabew to Prome was uneventful, the 
 villages being deserted, and no signs of the 
 enemy being seen. It was at Prome that Sir 
 Archibald Campbell had expected that the 
 great battle of the campaign would be fought, 
 and he was still of an opinion that Bandoola's 
 successor, whoever he might be, would make a 
 determined stand there. This did not, how- 
 ever, prove to be the case ; for the Burmese 
 had not yet recovered from the panic caused 
 by the death of the great Bandoola and the 
 capture of Donabew. Prome was deserted, and 
 the British occupied it without firing a shot. 
 
 " If the Burmese continue evacuating every 
 place as we approach, we shall soon arrive at 
 Ava," Guy said to Colonel Taddy, on the 
 evening of their arrival at Prome. 
 
BAH TOo'a CHARMS. 213 
 
 "But they will not do that," the colonel 
 replied. " There will be plenty more fighting 
 before we reach Ava. I imagine that we shall 
 arrive there about this time next year. The 
 rainy season is close upon us, and we shall 
 probably remain here until November." 
 
 Colonel Taddy prophesied correctly. Sir 
 Archibald decided to halt at Prome until the 
 rainy season should end. The Burmese 
 fortifications were strengthened, and in a short 
 time the city was made impregnable. 
 
 The general made earnest efforts to enter 
 into friendly relations with the inhabitants of 
 Prome, who had fled into the jungle. Small 
 parties were sent in all directions, to invite 
 them to return and pursue their ordinary 
 avocations ; but the proposal struck the people 
 as being simply a trick of the British general 
 to get them into his power. 
 
 Sir Archibald Campbell was, naturally, 
 disappointed at the failure of his plan, and, 
 while he was discussing the matter with his 
 staff, Guy ventured to offer a suggestion. 
 
214 BAH TOo's CHARMS. 
 
 " I think, sir," he said, " that if your offer of 
 protection were made to the Burmese by one 
 of their countrymen, they would accept it. 
 The proposal has, hitherto, been made to them 
 by European interpreters, whom they are, 
 naturally perhaps, inclined to mistrust. If 
 Bah Too^I think you remember the man, 
 sir " 
 
 The general nodded his head. 
 
 " If Bah Too were to announce your offer to 
 them, they would probably avail themselves of 
 it. They would trust him, and, moreover, he 
 could impress upon them that the inhabitants 
 of Rangoon have returned to their city, and 
 are being well treated." 
 
 "Your suggestion is an excellent one, my 
 lad," Sir Archibald Campbell declared, "and 
 you shall carry it out. Take Bah Too 
 and a half-company of men, and start at 
 once." 
 
 Guy saluted, and retired. Bah Too received 
 with pleasure the news of what was required 
 of him. Speaking on behalf of the white 
 
BAF TOO'S CHARMS. 215 
 
 Kolas would make his countrymen imagine 
 him to be a very important person. 
 
 The lieutenant in command of the half- 
 company, which was told off to accompany 
 Guy, had escorted the European interpreters 
 on a similar mission a few days previously, 
 and consequently, knew where to find the 
 fugitives. 
 
 "Tell them," Guy said to Bah Too, "that 
 the English general is very sorry that they 
 were persuaded to leave their homes, as he 
 has no quarrel with them. Tell them that 
 their houses remain just as they left them, 
 and that if they return to Prome, they will 
 be allowed to transact their ordinary business 
 as freely as if they were white people. You 
 saw how your countrymen were treated in 
 Rangoon ; tell the Prome people how happy 
 they are." 
 
 " My lord, to speak the things which you 
 have said will fill my heart with joy," Bah 
 Too declared, and, when the encampment was 
 reached, he made an eloquent speech to the 
 
216 BAH TOO'S CHAEMS. 
 
 three hundred people assembled there. In 
 his desire to be of service to his English 
 friends, he exaggerated, rather than under- 
 stated, the advantages which the inhabitants 
 of Prome would derive from returning to 
 their homes. Fortunately, Guy was able to 
 understand nearly everything that he said, 
 and on two occasions warned him against 
 exaggeration. 
 
 Bah Too's speech had made a very favourable 
 impression upon the Burmese, but it was 
 the soldiers who, unintentionally, caused the 
 fugitives to return to their homes. Bah Too's 
 speech, being unintelligible to the British 
 soldiers, proved very wearisome to them, so 
 they amused themselves by playing with the 
 little Burmese children who, attracted by 
 their white faces and red tunics, had stood 
 staring at them from the time they arrived. 
 Some of the soldiers tossed the brown, naked, 
 mites in the air; others hoisted them on to 
 their shoulders. The children shouted with 
 delight, and their mothers smiled approvingly. 
 
BAH TOO'S CHARMS. 217 
 
 "The white Kola soldiers are very kind," 
 the women said to each other. 
 
 " Our children have not been so happy 
 since we left Prome," one of them declared. 
 
 "Her words are true," another answered. 
 " Let us return to Prome with the white 
 Kalas." 
 
 " Yes, let us return," others exclaimed, and 
 the matter was settled. 
 
 The Burmese woman is not an inferior 
 person, who dare not utter an opinion of her 
 own, as is the case with the majority of 
 Eastern women. She considers herself her 
 husband's equal, and frequently proves that 
 she is his superior. The Prome women, having 
 decided to return to their homes, the men 
 did not question the wisdom of their deter- 
 mination, but, acquiescing, busied themselves 
 in getting together the few personal belongings 
 which they had brought with them from the 
 city. This task, which occupied but a few 
 minutes, being finished, the return to Prome 
 was begun. 
 
218 BAH TOO'S CHARMS. 
 
 As the number of women was largely in 
 excess of that of the men — many of the 
 husbands and eons being with the Burmese 
 army — progress was slow, every woman having 
 a child, or some household utensils, to carry. 
 A dainty little woman carrying a plump three- 
 year-old boy, was marching a few yards ahead 
 of Guy. 
 
 " Let me carry him," Guy suggested, seeing 
 that the woman's burden was too heavy 
 for her. 
 
 "My lord, my heart is full of gratitude," 
 the woman replied, and placed her child in 
 Guy's arms. 
 
 "You shall not out-do me in gallantry," 
 the other lieutenant said to Guy, and im- 
 mediately took up a little girl who was crying, 
 because her mother, already burdened with a 
 baby, could not carry her. 
 
 The example of the two lieutenants was at 
 once followed by their men, and every woman 
 was relieved of her load. There was not one 
 soldier who did not take a child into his arms. 
 
BAH TOO'S CHARMS. 219 
 
 It was a comical sight to see these rough 
 fellows tenderly holding their little brown 
 charges, and doing their utmost to amuse 
 them. Their arrival at Prome gave rise to 
 considerable merriment among their comrades, 
 but the General was highly pleased to find 
 that Guy's mission had been successful. He 
 despatched Guy on many similar expeditions 
 in the course of the following week, and on 
 every occasion a bevy of former inhabitants 
 was brought in. 
 
 The news of the kind treatment accorded 
 to those who had returned to Prome soon 
 reached the fugitives who were hiding in 
 places unknown to the British, and, in the 
 course of a few days, hundreds of them came 
 back to the city of their own accord. Business 
 was resumed, and the Burmese declared that 
 never, under their own Government, had they 
 been as happy as they were under British 
 rule. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 AN AMBUSH. 
 
 Although the inhabitants of Prome had re- 
 turned to their homes, the riverside towns and 
 villages below the city were still deserted. 
 The general now made an effort to prevail 
 upon the fugitives to return. He despatched 
 tactful officers, each accompanied by an inter- 
 preter and a detachment of soldiers, to the 
 various places to find out the fugitives, and 
 explain to them that they had no reason to 
 fear that the British would interfere with them, 
 if they returned to their homes. 
 
 Gruy, with Bah Too for his interpreter, 
 was sent to a village, half-way between 
 Donabew and Prome. The whereabouts of 
 the fugitives having been discovered, Guy 
 marched off into the jungle to make friends 
 with the people. His little force had, 
 
AN AMBUSH. 221 
 
 however, scarcely proceeded a mile when its 
 progress was barred by the density of the 
 jungle. To cut through it would have been 
 a long and exhausting task, and therefore, 
 it was decided to turn back and seek for 
 another and less dense way. But, as the 
 men turned about, a fierce fire was opened on 
 them. Corporal White and two privates were 
 shot dead ; five more privates were wounded. 
 Confusion ensued, for the soldiers were in 
 single file, and only one, the rear man, could 
 safely fire in the direction from which the 
 bullets came. It seemed as if the enemy 
 had caught them in a trap. But Guy and 
 his brother officers soon rallied the men, so 
 that they might at least make a good fight 
 before they fell. The two rear men — one 
 kneeling, the other standing — fired in the 
 bushes, where the enemy was believed to be 
 concealed. The others fired two volleys. 
 The first, into the jungle on the right of them ; 
 the second, in the tangled undergrowth on 
 the left. But there was no reply from 
 
222 AN AMBUSH. 
 
 the enemy. Why did they withold their 
 fire ? 
 
 "My lord," Bah Too said to Guy, "they 
 have run away. My words are full of truth. 
 I know the things which my countrymen do. 
 They fired their muskets, and then ran away 
 quickly, for fear that you might pursue them. 
 Now they are far away. " 
 
 Bah Too's explanation struck the officers 
 as being a very likely one, for the Burmese 
 had, on several previous occasions, acted 
 in the manner mentioned. It was the 
 kind of warfare in which they delighted. 
 Nevertheless, as the little force, carrying its 
 dead and wounded, made its way back to the 
 village, a sharp look-out was kept, but nothing 
 was seen of the enemy. 
 
 Corporal White and the two privates were 
 buried in the village, their graves being marked 
 by wooden crosses, on which their comrades 
 carved their names and the date of their death. 
 Guy was deeply grieved at the loss of White, 
 who was a steady, manly, young fellow, and 
 
AN AMBUSHE. 2^3 
 
 far superior in education and intelligence to 
 the majority of men serving in the ranks. 
 However, Guy knevr that in time of war it is 
 foolish to be depressed by the death of a friend, 
 and, therefore, he strove to be cheerful. For- 
 tunately, he soon had plenty of work to occupy 
 his attention. 
 
 The dead soldiers had not been buried half 
 an hour, when the sentries announced the 
 approach of a crowd of men, women, and 
 children. Guy and Bah Too went to the eiid 
 of the village to receive them. 
 
 When the foremost of the crowd were 
 within a few yards of Guy and Bah Too, 
 they made obeisance, and those behind them 
 followed their example. 
 
 "Rise," Guy commanded, for he was not 
 pleased at their prostrating themselves before 
 him. They obeyed, and Bah Too at once 
 uttered a flowery speech of welcome on behalf 
 of the British. 
 
 Any doubts which the people may have 
 had concerning their being welcome, were 
 
224 An ambush. 
 
 dispelled by Bali Too's speech, and they 
 entered the "village in high spirits. An old 
 man, surprised at Guy being able to speak 
 Burmese, did not huyry off to see if his home 
 were intact. 
 
 "My lord," he said, "the news of how 
 your honourable countrymen have treated 
 our people at Prome, reached us many days 
 ago, and our hearts were filled with joy. We 
 said, ' the white Kolas are not'cruel dogs, such 
 as Bandoola declared that they were. There- 
 fore, when they arrive at our village, we will go 
 to them, and live at peace under their pro- 
 tection.' My lord, it was our desire to come 
 to you this morning, but twenty men from 
 Ava declared that if we did so, they would tell 
 the Lord of Many White Elephants that we 
 were traitors, and that we should then be 
 tortured and killed. These men declared also 
 that they were going at once to fight the 
 white Kalas. At mid-day, seventeen of them, 
 some with wounds, returned to us. The other 
 three had been killed by the white Kalas. 
 
AN AMBUSH. 225 
 
 They did not remain among us, and, when 
 they had departed, we gathered together our 
 belongings and came here." 
 
 Guy was satisfied that the old man's story 
 was true, and was well pleased to know that 
 the men who had trapped them in the jungle 
 had not themselves escaped unhurt. 
 
 In a few days, the people having settled 
 down to their usual life, Guy departed from 
 the village. At the next one which he visited, 
 he found that the inhabitants had already 
 returned to their homes. This was his ex- 
 perience at all the other villages, and, finding 
 that there was nothing more for him to do, he 
 went back to Prome. 
 
 For some days he feared that he might be 
 sent back to one of the riverside villages, to 
 take up a civil appointment under the govern- 
 ment which had been established for the 
 maintenance of order and administration of 
 justice. But, much to his delight, other work 
 was found for him. Sir Archibald Campbell, 
 seeing that the peasantry were completely 
 
226 AN AMBUSH. 
 
 tired of the war, and being anxious to prevent 
 further loss of life, decided to send a letter to 
 the Burmese leaders, pointing out the use- 
 lessness of continuing the campaign, and 
 advising them to urge their King to consider 
 peace. 
 
 • This letter was conveyed to the nearest 
 force by two prisoners, whom the British had 
 captured on their way up the river. Ten days 
 after the letter was dispatched, a small party 
 of Burmese, carrying a flag of truce, was seen 
 approaching the city. One man was carrying 
 on his head a gilded box, which, Bah Too 
 explained, contained a letter. It was carried 
 in that fashion, 'to show that the sender of it 
 was an important person. 
 
 Guy and Bah Too, accompanied by half-a- 
 dozen soldiers, were sent out to meet the 
 Burmese, and take charge of the letter which 
 they had brought. 
 
 Bah Too made obeisance when the two 
 parties met; and, having indulged in this 
 piece of necessary politeness, exclaimed, "The 
 
AN AMBUSH. 227 
 
 English lords will accept the honourable letter 
 which you have brought ! " 
 
 But the Burmese ignored Bah Too com- 
 pletely. They did not look at him, and 
 appeared as if they had not heard him 
 speak. 
 
 " Cannot the white lords speak the Burmese 
 language ? " one of them asked. 
 
 " I can speak it a little," Guy replied. 
 
 " It is good. Have you authority to take 
 this letter to your general?" 
 
 "I have." 
 
 The Burman then commanded the man who 
 had the letter-casket to advance, and deliver it 
 to the young white lord. The man marched 
 up to Guy, and, removing the casket from his 
 own head, held it up for the white man to 
 place on his. 
 
 " That is not British custom," Guy declared, 
 and, taking the casket, handed it over to a 
 private, who unceremoniously tucked it under 
 his arm. 
 
 *' My lord," the Burman who had previously 
 
228 AN AMBUSH. 
 
 spoken exclaimed, " the honourable letter 
 should be carried on a man's head ! " 
 
 "Bah Too," Guy said, take that box and 
 carry it on your head." 
 
 The Burmans did not, however, express 
 satisfaction when Bah Too relieved the soldier 
 of the casket and placed it on his own turban. 
 They were, in fact, displeased. They desired 
 to see it on a white man's head — a sign that 
 the writer of the letter was more important 
 than the bearer of it. But Guy, knowing 
 that they were hoping he would treat it as 
 if it came from a superior, determined to 
 regard it as coming from an equal. 
 
 Nevertheless, the representatives of the 
 opposing armies parted on good terms. 
 
 The casket was taken at once to Sir 
 Archibald Campbell, and opened. Inside was 
 a palm leaf on which a letter was written. 
 One of the Rangoon merchants removed it, 
 and,- having read it, informed . the General 
 that the Burmese chiefs declared that they, 
 too, were anxious for peace, and would discuss 
 
AN AMBUSH. 229 
 
 the matter with the English leaders, if they 
 would meet them in seven days' time at a 
 point some five miles from Prome. 
 
 " Do they explain why they delay the meet- 
 ting for seven days," Sir Archibald asked. 
 
 " No, sir," the merchant-interpreter replied. 
 
 " It looks as if they were anxious to waste 
 time." 
 
 "That, sir, is very likely. It has always 
 been the habit of Burmese oflBcials to 
 delay negotiations which are not pleasing to 
 them." 
 
 Sir Archibald Campbell made no reply, 
 but he did not forget what the merchant had 
 said. 
 
 On the appointed day, Colonel Herbert, 
 Guy, a Rangoon merchant, and a score of 
 British soldiers quitted the fort, and marched 
 under a flag of truce to the rendezvous. On 
 arriving at the spot, they found the Burmese 
 chiefs awaiting them, attired in robes and 
 chains of office. Evidently, they had deter- 
 mined to make as imposing an appearance as 
 
230 AN AMBUSH. 
 
 possible. Each was seated on a chair, standing 
 on a platform, and before each of them lay, 
 at full length on the ground, a menial who 
 held over his head a gilded and jewel-studded 
 spittoon. If one of these spittoon-bearers had 
 dared to raise his eyes from the ground, he 
 would have been executed instantly. Behind 
 the chiefs were a hundred picked soldiers, 
 armed with brightly -polished spears and dahs. 
 
 When Colonel Herbert, Guy, and the 
 interpreter had arrived within a few yards 
 of the chiefs they were desired by the senior 
 Burman to sit down. 
 
 In Burma an inferior does not. stand in the 
 presence of a superior, but squats down, and 
 the chiefs had hoped to impress their own 
 soldiers with the idea that the white Kalas 
 considered themselves inferiors. But Colonel 
 Herbert, Guy, and the interpreter, understood 
 the chiefs intention. 
 
 " We will stand," Colonel Herbert declared. 
 " If the Burmese chiefs are anxious that we 
 should sit down, let them give instruetiong 
 
AN AMBUSH. 231 
 
 that chairs be brought for us, and placed on 
 a platform, as high, as the one on which they 
 are seated." 
 
 This suggestion was not at all pleasing to 
 the chiefs. Sitting where they were, their 
 heads were much higher than those of the 
 Englishmen — a very important matter, accord- 
 ing to their ideas. If, however, the English- 
 men were to be seated on a level with them, 
 it would be a sign that they were their 
 equals. 
 
 " We have no more chairs," the senior chief 
 declared. "We thought that if the white 
 lords wished to sit, they would have made 
 their servants bring chairs with them. That 
 is Burmese custom." 
 
 Colonel Herbert was quite certain that the 
 chiefs had not anticipated that they would do 
 anything of the kind, but it would have been 
 unwise to say so. 
 
 For a few moments there was silence. 
 Then the senior Burman spoke. 
 
 "The white lords desire peace," he began. 
 
232 AN AMBUSH. 
 
 pompously, as if the British were getting the 
 worst of the war, and were therefore anxious 
 for a cessation of hostilities. Colonel Herbert 
 quickly put the matter in the proper light. 
 
 " It is the desire of the British general that 
 no blood should be shed unnecessarily," he 
 declared, "and therefore, he wishes you to 
 urge your king to consider terms of peace." 
 
 " If you leave the country, we will beseech 
 the Lord of Many White Elephants to do as 
 you desire." 
 
 " Until he has agreed to our terms, we will 
 not leave the country. We do not desire to 
 slay any more of your countrymen, but if the 
 King of Burma does not agree to our terms, 
 we will march to Ava." 
 
 "But if you did not wish to slay our 
 countrymen, why did you come to Burma ? " 
 
 " That has been known to you for two years. 
 It is useless now to discuss that question^" 
 
 " If you return to Rangoon at on<;e, we will 
 implore the Lord of Many White Elephants to 
 cease fighting you," 
 
AN AMBUSH, 233 
 
 " We will not retire, even one mile, until the 
 king has agreed to our demands." 
 
 For a few minutes the chiefs talked together 
 in an undertone. 
 
 "If the white lords will meet us Here in 
 seven days' time, we will tell them whether we 
 are able to do what they desire. Until then, 
 we cannot declare if it is possible for us to 
 beseech the Lord of Many White Elephants to 
 agree to peace." 
 
 This was the unalterable decision of the 
 Burmese chiefs ; and, after some flowery com- 
 pliments had been exchanged, the British 
 party retraced its steps to Prome. 
 
 This meeting was the first of many which 
 took place, but the Burmese, whUe professing 
 to be anxious to arrange peace, were simply 
 prolonging negotiations to give their king 
 ample time for raising a new army. This, at 
 length, became so clear to the British general 
 that he brought the negotiations to an end, 
 and prepared to resume the advance on 
 Ava. 
 
234 AN AMBtrSH. 
 
 In the meanwhile, the Burmese had collected 
 a force of 70,000 men, to give battle to the 
 British at Prome. It arrived near the city, 
 towards the end of November, with the 
 intention of surrounding the town, and starving 
 out the defenders. As the British force was 
 only 5000 strong, and nearly a half of these 
 were Sepoys, the Burmese had reasonable 
 hopes of being at last victorious. Before 
 arriving at Prome, the Burmese general sent a 
 messenger to Sir Archibald Campbell with a 
 letter which stated : "If you desire peace, go 
 away. If you demand money, or territory, no 
 friendship can exist between us. This is 
 Burmese custom." 
 
 By the end of November, the Burmese had 
 taken up their position around Prome, and 
 settled down to wait for the surrender of 
 the city. But there were some surprises in 
 store for them. 
 
 On the 1st of December, General Cotton 
 ascended a river near Prome, and landing a 
 gniall force, attacked a forrnid3,ble stockade. 
 
AN AMBUSH. 235 
 
 The Burmese fired rapidly upon the assailants, 
 as they ran, cheering loudly, to the stronghold'; 
 but as soon, as they saw the sealing ladders 
 placed against it, they turned to escape by the 
 back of the stockade into the jungle. But 
 the British were now well acquainted with 
 Burmese tactics, and a body of men had been 
 told off to work round to the rear of the 
 stockade, and cut off the fugitives. So, when 
 the Burmans rushed from their stronghold, 
 they found the enemy waiting for them. 
 Seeing themselves hemmed in, they fought 
 desperately, but the British bayonets proved 
 irresistible, and two hundred of the enemy 
 were killed. 
 
 This was a notable victory, as the defenders 
 of this stronghold were considered the best 
 of the Burmese troops, and some weeks 
 previously had defeated four battalions of 
 Sepoys. The Burmese were amazed at their 
 defeat, for the following reason. 
 
 With the army sent to recapture Prome 
 were several poor girls, who, had they been 
 
236 AS AMBTTSa. 
 
 living in a civilized country, would have been 
 confined in an asylum for lunatics or idiots. 
 But these unhappy, half-witted, creatures were 
 regarded by the Burmese as female Nats, and 
 were supposed to possess not only the power 
 of turning aside bullets and bayonets, but 
 the ability to put a spell on the British and 
 deprive them of their courage. These girls 
 were distributed among the army and one, 
 about sixteen years of age, was in the stockade 
 which the British captured on the 1st of 
 December. Being attired as a man, her sex 
 was not suspected, and unfortunately, she 
 was mortally wounded, dying half an hour 
 after falling into the hands of the British. 
 The sailors and soldiers were full of pity when 
 they knew that the dying person was a girl ; 
 and the Burmese prisoners were astounded 
 that their female Nat had received a death 
 wound. 
 
 "Truly," one of them said to his country- 
 men, " the white Kalas must be very wonder- 
 ful men to be able to kill a female Nat." 
 
AN AMBtJSH. 237 
 
 "If they can kill Nats," another prisoner 
 answered, " it is foolishness for us to fight 
 them. It is good for us that we shall not 
 have any more chances to do so." 
 
 On the following day, the British attacked 
 another stockade. Guy was with the attack- 
 ing party, but he had little fighting, as the 
 defenders abandoned their position as soon as . 
 the British drew near to it. However, on the 
 5th of the same month, he took part in a 
 desperate fight. On the 3rd and 4th, the 
 British had driven the enemy from various 
 stockades, and on the 5th they attacked a very 
 strong position. As was usual now, the 
 Burmese fired as the British approached, but 
 sought safety in flight as soon as they arrived 
 at the stockade. But once more they found a 
 British force waiting for them at the rear of 
 their position. For a minute they hesitated, 
 and then, with a shout of defiance, charged the 
 British, wielding their dahs and spears with a 
 vigour born of despair. They outnumbered 
 the British, and for a time the fight was 
 
238 AN AMBUSH. 
 
 fiercely contested. Colonel Herbert, severely 
 wounded in the left leg, fell to the ground, and 
 the same dah that laid him low would have 
 ended his life, had not Guy warded off the 
 blow with his sword. The next moment he 
 killed the Burman, and stood alert before the 
 Colonel to protect him from any other assaults. 
 The Burmese were not chivalrous foes, and 
 considered it the proper thing to kill any 
 enemy whom they might find lying wounded. 
 Therefore, Guy remained by Welcome's 
 father, untit the last Burman was dead or a 
 prisoner. 
 
 Three hundred of the enemy lay dead in 
 the stockade. It was a splendid victory, but 
 Guy's delight was clouded by the knowledge 
 that Colonel Herbert's wound was very 
 serious. 
 
' Stood alert before the Colonel to protect him." — p. 238. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 NBAKING AVA. 
 
 Colonel Herbert's wound was serious enough 
 to render him incapable of taking any further 
 part in the campaign. The surgeon hoped, 
 however, that after a few weeks' careful 
 nursing at Rangoon, he would be in a fit state 
 to cross to India, and proceed to the hills to 
 recuperate. 
 
 Colonel Taddj^ and Guy went aboard the 
 hospital boat, an hour or two before its de- 
 parture down river, to bid adieu to their 
 friend. 
 
 " You must not stay with him more than . 
 two minutes," the doctor said, before permit- 
 ting them to enter the officers' ward. "He 
 is very weak, and must not be excited." 
 
 That Colonel Herbert was pleased to see 
 his friends was evident from the smile 
 
240 NEARING AVA. 
 
 which, lit up his pale, thin face when they 
 approached him. 
 
 " 'Tis very good of you both," he murmured, 
 " and I thank you, my lad," he said to Guy, 
 "for saving my life." 
 
 Guy could make no reply. The sight of 
 the Colonel — who had been one of the hardest 
 worked men from the day the army quitted 
 Calcutta — lying helpless, made him feel nearer 
 bursting into tears, than ever he had been 
 since bidding ' farewell to his uncle in 
 London. 
 
 Colonel Taddy assured the wounded man, 
 that before he had been a month in India, he 
 would be in his usual ^ood health, and that 
 he would live to take part in many more 
 campaigns. 
 
 ' "That may be," Colonel Herbert replied 
 with a smile, "but, nevertheless, 'tis a great 
 disappointment not to be able to go to Ava 
 with you." 
 
 "I know that it is, but many of our old 
 friends did not get beyond Rangoon." 
 
NEARING AVA. 241 
 
 "That is true, Taddy, I am foolish to 
 grumble." 
 
 " We all do that when we are ill, There 
 is the doctor signalling to us that our time 
 is up, so good-bye, and a quick recovery. 
 Remember me to "Welcome," 
 
 " And me too, sir," Guy said. 
 
 " Certainly, my lad. It will surprise her, 
 when I tell her you have saved my life as well 
 as hers." 
 
 " I have been very fortunate, sir." 
 
 "And very brave. Good-bye, and God 
 bless you." 
 
 Colonel Taddy and Guy were very silent as 
 they went ashore, for in spite of the doctor's 
 opinion that their friend would recover, they 
 could not feel hopeful. Disease was still wide- 
 spread, and they knew that Colonel Herbert, 
 in his present weak state, could not survive 
 another attack of dysentery. 
 
 "We must hope for the best," Colonel 
 Taddy remarked. " It is some consolation 
 to know that twice previously he has 
 
242 NEARING AVA. 
 
 been severely wounded, and recovered 
 quickly." 
 
 Colonel Taddy and Guy did not, however, 
 have much time for thinking about their invalid 
 friend. The huge Burmese army having been 
 driven back, the little British force at once resu- 
 med its march to Ava, and in ten days, arrived 
 within gunshot of Meeaday, where the enemy 
 had taken up a position after their crushing de- 
 feats around Prome. Like most of the other 
 towns which the British had encountered, it was 
 strongly fortified, and needed but determined 
 defenders to make its capture a matter of the 
 greatest difficulty. But the Burmese had by 
 this time acquired an unconquerable dread of 
 British bayonets, and as the plucky little force 
 advanced on Meeaday, they evacuated it with- 
 out firing a shot. Unintentionally, however, 
 they did more damage to the British by 
 quitting the stronghold, than they would have 
 done had they stuck to their guns, and driven 
 them back. For, when the British entered 
 the town, they found themselves in a hotbed 
 
NEARING AVA. 243 
 
 of pestilence. The men who had been wounded 
 in the battles at Prome had been brought to 
 Meeaday, but so numerous were they, that it 
 had been impossible to give them the attention 
 necessary. Cholera, dysentery, and fever, had 
 broken out among them. Hundreds of dead 
 men lay, in every stage of decomposition, 
 among the helpless living. Even in the 
 street, corpses, and men writhing with cholera, 
 w^ere to be seen everywhere. To describe even 
 one quarter of the gruesome sights, which the 
 British soldiers witnessed, would be a terrible 
 record of horrors. It is sufficient to say that 
 the condition of the town filled the British 
 with horror and loathing. Before they had 
 arrived at Meeaday, there had been several 
 cases of cholera, but the short time spent in 
 the pestilential town caused the scourge to 
 burst forth with terrible virulence. Every 
 precaution was taken to check the epidemic, 
 but with little success. Englishmen and 
 Sepoys died by scores, and in a few days the 
 British force had been reduced to 2000 men. 
 
244 NEARING AVA. 
 
 Colonel Taddy was stricken down, but Guy 
 heard, with great joy, that there was every 
 prospect of his recovering. Many valuable 
 lives were lost, and, in the circumstances, it can 
 be understood that Guy did not feel very 
 elated when he found himself, at the age of 
 twenty, promoted to the rank of captain. 
 
 The cholera patients having been placed on 
 certain vessels which had been converted into 
 floating hospitals, the remnant of the army 
 resumed its march to Ava. Two thousand 
 men were marching through a practically 
 unknown country, bent on capturing the 
 capital of a kingdom, which, for a century or 
 more, had held a foremost place among military 
 nations of the East. It was an audacious 
 enterprise, but it is such deeds of indomitable 
 daring that have made Great Britain what 
 she is. 
 
 After evacuating Meeaday, the Burmese 
 had retired to Melloon, a large village on the 
 west bank of the river. In accordance with 
 the precedent, formed after the death of 
 
NEARING AVA. 245 
 
 Bandoola, of appointing a new general after 
 every defeat, the King's half-brother was given 
 the command. He was a mere youth, and 
 possessed of no war experience. 
 
 From information supplied by Burmese 
 prisoners, the British were aware that Melloon 
 was not so strongly fortified as the other 
 towns and villages which they had captured. 
 Therefore, they had good reason for anticipating 
 an easy, if hot a bloodless victory. But when 
 they arrived almost opposite the enemy's 
 position they were met by a high Burmese 
 official, who declared that he was sent by 
 the King to arrange terms of peace. An 
 armistice was agreed upon, and the British 
 army settled down on the east bank of the 
 river facing the Burmese stronghold. - It 
 was anticipated that the negotiations would 
 spread over some days, so the British officers 
 at once took steps to keep their men in good 
 health during the period of inactivity. 
 
 Guy and a young lieutenant were appointed 
 to arrange amusements for the men, and they 
 
246 NEARING AVA. 
 
 performed their duty in a manner that was 
 highly satisfactory. " Rounders " was played 
 from morning until sunset by such men as 
 were off duty ; but knowing, that in all pro- 
 bability they would tire of the game before 
 many days had elapsed, Guy and the young 
 lieutenant prepared other amusements. Near 
 to the camp was a large lake, and while the 
 "rounders", rage was at its height, the young 
 officers had told off some men to build rafts. 
 Haft-racing soon became the popular sport. 
 Prizes were offered, and the excitement over 
 the heats and finals was great. 
 
 An officers' race was announced, and 'the 
 bank was lined with soldiers to witness the 
 event. 
 
 Guy led from the start, and, being ex- 
 ceedingly popular with the men, he was 
 cheered loudly. But he did not win the race. 
 When he had paddled about three quarters of. 
 the course, his raft suddenly came to pieces, 
 and caused him to fall into the water. 
 Instantly, nearly a dozen men, unaware that 
 
NEARma AVA. 247 
 
 he was a good swimmer, plunged into the lake 
 to assist him. One man, who possessed more 
 pluck than skill in natation, soon found him- 
 self in difficulties, and his comrades roared 
 with laughter when Guy seized hold of him 
 and brought him ashore. 
 
 The collapse of Guy's raft afforded Bah Too 
 an opportunity for earning money. Taking 
 aside four men, who had entered for certain 
 races, he assured them that he could have 
 prevented Captain Clifford from losing the race. 
 
 " Then you are a scoundrel for not doing 
 so," one man declared, emphatically. 
 
 "The honourable captain does not believe 
 that I am a wise man," Bah Too replied, " and 
 therefore, he will not take my advice." 
 
 The idea of Captain Clifford accepting 
 advice from Bah Too struck the British 
 soldiers as being the height of absurdity. 
 They laughed heartily, but Bah Too was not 
 offended, and a few minutes later intimated 
 to them that if they paid him a small sum 
 he would tell how they might be certain of 
 
248 NEAKING AVA. 
 
 ■winning their races. He knew that these 
 men had each entered for a different race, and, 
 as he anticipated, they speedily agreed to 
 purchase his secret. 
 
 " You must make an offering to the Nat 
 who guards the lake," Bah Too declared, as 
 he pocketed his fees. 
 
 " Pay more money ? " one man asked, 
 suspiciously. 
 
 " No ; listen to my words. Every river 
 and lake in this country is guarded by a Nat 
 who insists that offerings of rice and fruit 
 should be made to him before a race is rowed 
 on his water. It was because Captain 
 Clifford had not made an offering that he 
 pulled his raft to pieces." 
 
 "'Twas the nails gave way," a private 
 declared. 
 
 " The iVadoosened them." 
 
 " I wish Captain Clifford caught him doing 
 it. He'd have taught him not -to meddle 
 with Englishmen's rafts." 
 
 " The iVai5s fear no one." 
 
NBARINO AVA. 249 
 
 " So you say. Your countrymen brag that 
 the Nats are fighting for them ; if they are, 
 
 ■ 
 
 and they do not fear anybody, it is strange that 
 they cannot do more for your side. Anyhow, 
 we have paid you to bribe the lake Nat and 
 we expect you to see that he does his work 
 properly." 
 
 "He will give you his protection and his 
 help," Bah Too declared haughtily, and then 
 walked^ away to examine the coins which he 
 had received from the soldiers. The Burmese 
 were very fond of making counterfeit coin, and 
 suspected every other nation of a similar failing. 
 
 Haying satisfied himself that the money was 
 genuine. Bah Too returned to the four soldiers, 
 and remained in their company until the hour 
 arrived for the raft races to begin. Then he 
 placed at the fore of each raft a little heap of 
 rice and a bunch of plantains — offerings to the 
 Nat of the lake. 
 
 When the first race began, the onlookers 
 were surprised to see that one man had a 
 supply of food on his raft. 
 
250 NEARING AVA. 
 
 "Off to England?" a sergeant enquired, 
 whereupon, the competitor was bombarded 
 with verbal messages, which he was requested 
 to deliver at various places, between Land's 
 End and John o' Groats. Some of the soldiers 
 preferred, however, to suggest that he was 
 taking his wares to town for sale, and these 
 amused themselves by shouting, " Rice ! rice ! 
 a penny a pound ! " " Who'll buy my fine 
 plantains ? " 
 
 But the raft that was the centre of attraction 
 did not win the race-^it was sixth out of seven 
 competitors. The second raft, which bore an 
 offering to the Nat had the misfortune to run 
 into a miniature creek, and found a difficulty 
 in getting out. When it did succeed in doing 
 so, the race was finished. The third raft sank, 
 and the fourth fouled another competitor, and 
 was put out of the race. 
 
 The Nat having failed to do what Bah Too 
 had promised, the four soldiers demanded the 
 return of their money, but the Burman declined , 
 to refund it. 
 
NEABINQ ATA. 251 
 
 " Then we will duck you in the lake," one 
 of them declared, and they were about to 
 carry out their threat, when Guy, who had 
 heard of Bah Too's latest method of obtaining 
 money, appeared on the scene and prevented 
 them from doing so. 
 
 "You deserve to lose your money," he 
 declared to the four soldiers, " Common- 
 sense should have told you that the Burman's 
 story was a pack of nonsense." 
 
 Then Guy turned to Bah Too. 
 
 "You promised me that you would not 
 cheat again," he declared, severely. 
 
 "My lord," Bah Too answered, "I said 
 that I would not sell any more charms to the 
 white soldiers, and I. have not done so." 
 
 "But you have swindled those four 
 men." 
 
 "My lord, my heart is sad to hear your 
 words. It is well known that every river 
 and lake has a guardian Nat to whom offerings 
 must be made before a race is rowed on his 
 water." 
 
252 NEARING AVA. 
 
 " You told those men that they would win 
 their races." 
 
 " They would have won them, had not the 
 soldiers on the bank made such disrespectful 
 remarks about the offerings. The Nat was 
 annoyed, andj therefore, would not take any 
 notice of the race. If his offerings had not 
 been insulted, he would have sunk all the 
 other boats, and those four men would have 
 won their races." 
 
 "Then it is a good thing that he was 
 affronted. Bah Too you are a fearful rogue. 
 If I hear of you again obtaining money under 
 false pretences, I will' ask the general to 
 inflict a heavy fine upon you." 
 
 This threat made a deep impression upon 
 Bah Too, and even the rumour that a gigatntic 
 snake had been seen in the neighbourhood of 
 the camp, did not tempt him to announce that 
 he had for sale charms against snake-bites ; in 
 fact, in the course of a few days, he succeeded 
 in regaining the good opinion of the soldiers, 
 by giving, with the assistance of some Burmese 
 
NEABING AVA. 253 
 
 prisoners, a series of free dramatic perform- 
 ances. The soldiers could only occasionally 
 understand a word of what the actors said, 
 but, nevertheless, they were highly amused at 
 their antics. 
 
 For nearly three weeks, the British soldiers 
 revelled in a holiday ; but they were mistaken 
 in thinking that the war was ended. 
 
 On the 3rd of January, Sir Archibald 
 Campbell had agreed to an armistice, extend- 
 ing to the 18 th, in order to give the Burmese 
 leaders another opportunity of communicating' 
 with their king, who had long since been in 
 possession of the terftis on which the British 
 would make peace. On the 17th of January, 
 the Burmese sent a message to Sir Archibald 
 Campbell, asking for an extension of time ; 
 but the British general, divining that the 
 delay was sought to give the King of Burma 
 an opportunity to raise another army, replied 
 that, unless Melloon was evacuated by sunrise 
 on the 20th, he would attack it. 
 
 At daybreak, on the 20th, the Burmese 
 
254 NEARING AVA. 
 
 were still in possession of Melloon, and shouted 
 defiance to the men aboard the flotilla. 
 
 Soon the British artillery opened fire on the 
 town, and continued the cannonade for two 
 hours, during which they destroyed many of 
 of the fortifications. 
 
 A small storming party now entered the 
 boats to cross the river. Thousands of the 
 Burmese had taken shelter from the artillery 
 fire, in pits made for that purpose ; but, as 
 soon as they became aware that small boats 
 were crossing the river, they came out of their 
 places and fired on them. Had the Burmese 
 been better marksmen,* the storming party 
 would have suffered severely while in the 
 boats ; but, as it was, their loss was slight. 
 Once ashore, the British made for the stockade 
 at the foot of a hill on which the stronghold 
 was built, but no sooner had they reached it 
 than the king's half-brother took to flight, his 
 example being followed by his force of 15,000 
 men, who left behind them guns, ammunition, 
 and 40,000 rupees. 
 
CHAPTER XYI. 
 
 THE PRINCE OF THE SETTING SUN. 
 
 After the Burmese defeat at Melloon, the 
 Lord of Many White Elephants lost heart, 
 and consulted his state officers as to the 
 advisability of accepting the terms of peace 
 offered by the British. Hitherto, he had 
 promptly put to death anyone who was bold 
 enough to hint that it was useless to prolong 
 the war, 
 
 " The white Kolas are approaching our 
 city," he said to his officers. "What shall 
 we do?" 
 
 No one ventured to suggest making peace 
 for fear, that by doing so, he might lose his 
 head. 
 
 "Speak, dogs," he shouted, angry at their 
 silence. 
 
 " Owner of our lives and property," a man 
 
 255 »■ 
 
256 THE PEINCE Of THE SETTING StTN. 
 
 of high rank began, "To drive the white 
 Kalas out of our country is a difficult task. 
 No one can frighten the dogs. If their arms 
 and legs are cut off, they fight without them. 
 All men who have fought against the white 
 Kalas know that my words are true." 
 
 A murmur of assent broke from the 
 assembly, for the bravery of the British had 
 given rise to numerous wonderful stories 
 concerning the white men. Not only was 
 it believed in Ava that the loss of ail four 
 limbs did not prevent an Englishman from 
 scaling a stockade and attacking the defenders, 
 but it was averred that the British doctors 
 picked up all the arms and legs that were 
 struck off during a battle, and when the fight 
 was over, skilfully rejoined them to the bodies 
 from which they had been severed. 
 
 " Let us make peace with the white Kalas," 
 another officer of state suggested, " and when 
 our doctors have discovered how to replace 
 arms and legs we will again fight the white 
 dogs." 
 
THE PRINCE OF THE SETTING STTN, 257 
 
 " That is good ; his words are full of 
 wisdom," several of the courtiers declared, on 
 noticing that the suggestion pleased the king. 
 
 " It is not good," another courtier declared 
 loudly. He was a man who enjoyed the title 
 of " J*rince of the Setting Sun," and was by 
 no means popular with his fellow officials. 
 " If the Lord of Many White Elephants will 
 place me in command of the army, I will 
 promise to drive the white Kolas out of the 
 country." 
 
 "Bandoola promised that he would do so, 
 but he did not," the King remarked. 
 
 "If I had been in command at Donabew, 
 the white Kalas would never have captured 
 it," the Prince of the Setting Sun declared, 
 emphatically. 
 
 The King of Burma was favourably im- 
 pressed by his courtier's earnestness, and once 
 more he became hopeful that he might escape 
 the degradation of submitting to the demands 
 of the British. 
 
 "Your desire is granted," he declared. 
 
258 THE PEINOB OF THE SETTING SUN. 
 
 " Go at once and drive back the presumptuous 
 Kalas." 
 
 " The Lord of Many "White Elephants may 
 rest assured that his servant will utterly 
 destroy the white Kolas." 
 
 The Prince of the Setting Sun was not a 
 rogue. He believed that he was capable of 
 defeating the British, and hoped to prove that 
 he was a greater general than Bandoola. By 
 making patriotic speeches, and promising 
 revenge for the defeats which they had 
 suffered at the hands of the British, he 
 collected an army of about 30,000 men, whom 
 he named "Retrievers of the King's Glory." 
 The title aroused the people's confidence in 
 the new army, and the "Retrievers of the 
 King's Glory " marched out of the city, amidst 
 a scene of wild enthusiasm, to meet the enemy. 
 
 In the meanwhile, the British force, now 
 numbering only 1,300 men, had quitted 
 Melloon, and was pushing on towards Ava, 
 in the hope of arriving at the capital before 
 the enemy could collect a new army. 
 
THE PRINCE OP THE SETTING SUN. 259 
 
 During the first week in February, Sir 
 Archibald Campbell received news of the 
 advance of the " Retrievers of the King's 
 Glory." They were marching to Pagan — a 
 ruined city noted for containing some 10,000 
 pagodas, all in various stages of decay. 
 
 In the hope of reaching Pagan before the 
 Burmese could erect stockades, Sir Archibald 
 Campbell pushed on his men. Throughout 
 the night of the 7th of February, the gallant 
 little force traversed the jungle, knowing that 
 in the morning they would be face to face with 
 the enemy. It was a tiring march, for the 
 track was narrow, and the night was warm. 
 When the sun rose the heat was intense, and 
 the soldiers streamed with perspiration, and 
 panted for breath, as they trudged onwards. 
 
 It was the general's desire to get his men 
 out of the narrow track as soon as possible, 
 but it seemed as if the path were interminable. 
 
 At last, the advance guard saw open country 
 ahead, and passed the good news to the men 
 in rear of them, But a few minutes later, the 
 
260 THE PEINCE OF THE SETTING StJN. 
 
 British made a discovery which surprised them 
 greatly — the " Retrievers of the King's Glory " 
 were awaiting them, in battle array, on the 
 open ground. Their front extended for fully 
 half a mile, and truly formidable it appeared. 
 Never had the British seen so imposing a 
 Burmese force. Evidently the Burmese were 
 confident of victory, for they had neither 
 erected stockades nor dug trenches. They 
 hoped to win an easy victory by overwhelming 
 numbers. The Cassay Horse stood in readi- 
 ness to start in pursuit of the British, as soon 
 as they took to flight. Flags of defiance were 
 held aloft, and, at one spot, there was a heap 
 of chains, with which they intended to bind 
 their prisoners. Sir Archibald Campbell saw 
 at a glance that the new Burmese leader was 
 a man of greater daring and intelligence than 
 any other he had met. The Prince of the 
 Setting Sun had chosen his ground with the 
 idea of cutting the British force to pieces as it 
 emerged from the narrow track. 
 
 The British were indeed in a serious 
 
THE PRINCE OF THE SETTING SUN. 261 
 
 position, but they did not hesitate. The 
 desire of every man was to get into the open 
 as quickly as possible. 
 
 As the head of the column emerged from 
 the jungle, a body of Burmans, who had been, 
 concealed behind a range of hillocks, sprang 
 up and delivered a fussilade. In their eager- 
 ness, tliey fired erratically, and did but little 
 damage. The men whom they had hoped to 
 annihilate at once replied, and quickly drove 
 them back to the main body. 
 
 By this time, the 13th Light Infantry had 
 reached the open ground, and were at once 
 thrown forward in skirmishing order. The 
 gallant Somersetshiremen did not waste a shot, 
 as they crept nearer and nearer to the enemy. 
 Many of them fell dead or wounded, but those 
 who survived the terrible shower of bullets, 
 arrived at last within a hundred yards of the 
 centre of the enemy's line. 
 
 "Charge!" 
 
 With a cheer that rang above the noise of 
 the muskets, the plucky 13th dashed forward 
 
262 THE PRINCE OP THE SETTING SUN. 
 
 and brought their bayonets into play. The 
 fury of their onslaught terrified the Burmans 
 — they turned and fled in all directions. But 
 few of them escaped. The Somersetshiremen 
 pursued them hotly, and bayonetted dozens 
 as they ran. Others were cut down by the 
 sowars of the Governor-General's body-guard, 
 who had joined in the pursuit. 
 
 The 13th had begun the battle brilliantly, 
 but it soon appeared as if their gallantry 
 would result in disaster. They had charged, 
 and put to flight, a large body of the enemy 
 before the whole of their comrades had de- 
 bouched from the narrow path, and the little 
 British force was thus divided into two parts, 
 widely separated from each other. Sir 
 Archibald Campbell saw that it was im- 
 perative that the 13th should be supported, 
 and looked anxiously towards the jungle 
 path. 
 
 " See what is delaying them," he said to 
 Guy, who galloped ofi" instantly. In a few 
 minutes he returned. 
 
THE PKINCE OV THE SETTING SUN. 263 
 
 " A gun has stuck in the mud, sir," he 
 explained, " and blocks the way." 
 
 " The infantry must debouch at once, and go 
 to the support of the 13th." 
 
 Guy spurred his horse, and galloped back 
 with the command. 
 
 The Prince of the Setting Sun had, how- 
 ever, seen the difficulty in which the British 
 found themselves, and promptly took advantage 
 of it. He despatched a strong body of horse 
 and foot to cut off the 13th, and another force 
 to engage the troops wedged in the jungle, 
 
 Guy, returning to the general, saw a body 
 of Burmans running forward to intercept him. 
 He urged his horse to his utmost speed, but 
 ten men, faster runners than their comrades, 
 barred his way. He did not hesitate for a 
 moment, but rode straight at them. One he 
 cut down with his sword. The next moment 
 his way was clear, but his horse was wounded 
 on the flank, and the reins had been severed 
 by a dah cut. He leant forward to grasp the 
 portions of the reins which hung from the 
 
264^ THE PRINCE OF THE SETTING SUN. 
 
 curb, but the horse, terrified by the wound he 
 had received, became unmanageable. In 'an 
 instant Guj'' dismounted, and, deserting his 
 horse, ran in the direction of the spot where 
 the general stood. But he had barely gone 
 twenty yards, when he heard a wild shout 
 behind him, and glancing round beheld six men 
 of the Cassay Horse in pursuit of him. Guy 
 was a good runner, but the horsemen gained 
 on him rapidly. Although all hope of escape 
 seemed to have passed away, he ran at full 
 speed. 
 
 Suddenly the taunting cries of his pursuers 
 changed to a howl of rage, and Guy, at the 
 same moment, saw the reason of their anger. 
 Four men of the Governor-General's Native 
 Body-Guard were galloping to his assistance. 
 He sprinted, and even at this, the most ex- 
 citing moment of his life, he found himself 
 admiring the splendid horsemanship of the 
 sowars. On they came at a tremendous pace ; 
 jumping the hillocks and bushes which dotted 
 the plain, But the Cassay horsemen still 
 
THE PRINCE OF THE SETTING SUN. 265 
 
 hoped to kill Guy. They spurred their horses 
 viciously, and broke into a yell of triumph, as 
 the animals bounded forward. The sowars, 
 grim and silent, noted the enemy's effort, and 
 responded with a better one. Their well- 
 trained animals needed no spurring ; one quiet 
 word was sufficient to call forth their utmost 
 speed. 
 
 Twenty yards in front of Guy, were the 
 friendly sowars ; twenty yards behind him, the 
 Cassay horsemen. He made a last effort to 
 run faster, but his foot caught in an earth 
 heap, and he fell heavily on his face. As he 
 rose to his feet, the sowars shot by him, and 
 met the far-famed Cassay Horse. The fight 
 was brief, however; two of the Cassay men 
 were killed instantly ; the others, seeing their 
 comrades' fate, wheeled round and galloped 
 away for their lives. 
 
 The sowars did not pursue the enemy. 
 Their orders were to protect Captain Clifford. 
 One of them caught a riderless Cassay horse 
 and brought it to Guy. 
 
266 THE PRINCE OF THE SETTING SUN. 
 
 "Sahib," lie said, "will you mount?" 
 
 In a moment Guy was in the roomy, 
 comfortable saddle. 
 
 "You have saved my life," he said to the 
 gallant sowars. "I am more grateful to you 
 than I can express." 
 
 The dusky warriors' eyes glistened with 
 delight. 
 
 " Sahib," one of them exclaimed, " we must 
 ride quickly ! The brown-skinned dogs are 
 closing round the General sahib ! " 
 
 Guy saw to his dismay that what the sowar 
 said was true. The Prince of the Setting Sun 
 was making full use of his large force. The 
 gallant 13th were surrounded. A large force 
 was attacking the British rear-guard, as it 
 struggled to emerge from the narrow jungle 
 path, and now men were advancing from all 
 directions to surround the British general and 
 his staif. 
 
 Guy and his four companions urged on their 
 horses, and rejoined the General, who was 
 fully aware of his critical situation, Never, 
 
THE PRINCE OP THE SETTING SUN. 267 
 
 perhaps, had a British general found himself 
 in a position more desperate. Thousands of 
 the enemy were approaching Sir Archibald 
 Campbell from all sides, and to meet their 
 attack he had only fourteen men of the 
 13th Light Infantry, sixteen sowars of the 
 Governor-General's Body - Guard, and two 
 guns of the Horse Artillery. 
 
 The guns were quickly brought into action, 
 but, in spite of heavy losses, the enemy 
 advanced bravely, and on one side arrived 
 within fifty yards of the general. They knew 
 who he was, and from the fact that they did 
 not fire their matchlocks it was evident that 
 they hoped to capture him and his stafiT, and 
 carry them in chains to Ava. Captivity in 
 the hands of the -Burmese would have been 
 worse than death, and the little, isolated body 
 of men, were determined not to be taken alive. 
 Officers and men stood, side by side, firing as 
 rapidly as possible on the hordes of the 
 exulting enemy, who however, continued to 
 advance. 
 
268 THE PEINOE OP THE SETTING SUN. 
 
 The position of the general and his staff 
 was now almost hopeless, and it seemed as if 
 the campaign was doomed to end in a disaster 
 to the British arms. 
 
 Suddenly Guy noticed a stir among the 
 •enemy. He rose in his stirrups, and glancing 
 across the heads of the Burmese, saw what 
 had happened. 
 
 "The 13th have broken through the enemy, 
 sir, and are hurrying to our support," Guy 
 declared, and the welcome news was received 
 with a hearty cheer. The 13th heard and 
 answered it. The next minute they rushed 
 at the enemy menacing the general and his 
 staff, and fought their way through. 
 
 Sir Archibald "Campbell, greatly relieved 
 by the arrival of the 13th, quickly took up 
 his position on a hill some fifty yards away, 
 but no sooner had he made the change than 
 he found himself again surrounded by the 
 enemy. His new position was, however, a 
 strong one, the ruins of a once large pagoda 
 affording excellent cover for his men. But 
 
THE PRINCE OF THE SETTING- StTN. 269 
 
 now the whole of the " Retrievers of the 
 King's Glory," with the exception of those 
 who Avere engaging the British rearguard, 
 had gathered round the hill, enraged at the 
 escape of the British general, but vowing 
 loudly that they would yet take him in 
 chains to Ava. 
 
 Sir Archibald smiled when he heard the 
 Burmese threats. 
 
 "I have here the 13th and the Body- 
 Guard," he remarked to his staff, "so they 
 will find it a difficult matter to move me. 
 The whole Burmese army shall not drive me 
 from this hill." 
 
 Nevertheless, Sir Archibald could not be 
 otherwise than anxious, when he saw the 
 force, which surrounded him and his gallant 
 band, growing larger every minute. Men who 
 had fled at the first charge of the 13th, came 
 hurrying back to participate in the glory of 
 capturing the great Kala chief. 
 
 The Prince of the Setting Sun, riding to 
 and fro in rear of his men, exhibited the 
 
270 THE PRINCE OF THE SETTING SUN. 
 
 chains, with which he was to bind Sir Archi- 
 bald. The Burmese bands burst into hideous 
 music, in celebration of the coming victory, 
 and even the deadly fire of the British artillery 
 and infantry, did not cause the "Retrievers 
 of the King's Glory " to doubt that the Kalas 
 were in their power. Firing furiously, they 
 closed on the hill, but the Britons, at bay, 
 took full advantage of the cover which the 
 pagoda ruins afforded, and scarcely a man 
 was hit. 
 
 One body of Burmese charged up the hill, 
 but was driven back with terrible loss of life. 
 At that moment Sir Archibald, who was 
 calmly surveying the field through his teles- 
 cope, saw that the 89th had debouched from 
 the jungle path, and, driving the enemy before 
 them, were advancing to his support. 
 
 This news filled the defenders of the hill 
 with delight. 
 
 " The battle is as good as won," Guy re- 
 marked to a brother officer. " It will be the 
 best victory of the campaign." 
 
THE PRINCE OF THE SETTINa SUN. 271 
 
 " That is true," was the reply. " But after 
 to-day's experience, no one can accuse the 
 Burmese of being cowards. Look at them 
 retiring before the 89th — they are fighting 
 all the while." 
 
 But when the 89th charged, the " Retrievers 
 of the King's Glory " turned and fled to the 
 main body. Sir Archibald Campbell gave the 
 order to advance as soon as the reinforcements 
 reached him, and, with loud cheers, the 13th 
 and 89th moved forward. At the same time 
 another regiment, having got clear of the 
 jungle, was approaching the enemy's right 
 flank. 
 
 The 13th were the first to reach the enemy. 
 For the space of a minute, the Burmese stood 
 their ground; then the British bayonets' 
 deadly work filled them with terror, and they 
 fled. The sight of their comrades in flight 
 was one that the other Burmese could not 
 resist, especially as the British were approach- 
 ing. They, too, turned and fled. 
 
 In a few minutes the Burmese were in full 
 
272 THE PRINCE OF THE SETTING STTN. 
 
 flight, scattering in all directions. The Cassay 
 Horse were among the first to flee, but the 
 Governor-General's Body -Guard started in 
 hot pursuit, and emptied many a saddle before 
 they found shelter in the jungle. The sowars, 
 well pleased at having inflicted heavy loss on 
 the men, who, although enjoying a high 
 reputation, had, on nearly every occasion, 
 avoided meeting them, hurried back to assist 
 the infantry. It was an exciting pursuit. 
 The majority of the Burmans had fled to the 
 ten thousand pagodas, in the hope of finding 
 hiding places among their ruins. In this 
 labyrinth of pagodas, Britons and Burmans 
 frequently came unexpectedly face to face. 
 Usually, the latter turned and fled instantly, 
 but on a few occasions, when the British were 
 in the minority, they stood and fought until 
 they fell. 
 
 For several miles, the British troops har- 
 assed the enemy with bullets and bayonets, 
 and it was only when the general was 
 convinced that the " Retrievers of the 
 
THE PRINCE OF THE SETTING SUN. 273 
 
 King's Glory" were utterly demoralised, and 
 incapable of being rallied, that he ordered 
 the recall to be sounded. 
 
 As the troops marched back, they carried 
 aloft in triumph gorgeous banners and flags 
 which they had captured. There was, more- 
 over, scarcely a man who had not picked up, 
 as a memento of the fight, a bracelet, 
 anklet, ear-tube, or chain of oflSce. Discarded 
 matchlocks, spears, and dahs, were strewn 
 everywhere. Here and there, a dead Burmese 
 oflScial, attired in gorgeous, glittering apparel, 
 lay amidst a heap of the semi-naked bodies 
 of his poorer countrymen. In short, on 
 every side there were evidences of the 
 crushing defeat which the Burmese army 
 had received. 
 
 Sir Archibald Campbell was naturally well 
 pleased at a battle, which threatened to be a 
 disaster, having resulted in a notable victory. 
 In the General Orders, issued immediately 
 after the battle, he said : " Providence has 
 once more blessed with success the British 
 
274 THE PRINCE OF THE SETTING SUN. 
 
 arms in this country, and in the decisive 
 defeat of the imposing force, posted under 
 and within the walls of Pagan, the Major- 
 General recognises a fresh display of the 
 military virtues which have characterised his 
 troops from the commencement of the war." 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE END OF THE WAR. 
 
 When the Prince of the Setting Sun saw 
 that the battle was lost, and that there was no 
 possibility of rallying his men, he decided to 
 hurry back to Ava, to endeavour to raise a 
 new army. He knew that the little British 
 force had suffered heavy losses, and was con- 
 fident that it could not defeat another army 
 of the strength of the "Retrievers of the 
 King's Glory." 
 
 In due course, he arrived at Ava, and 
 proceeded at once to the palace, where 
 the king was holding an audience. No 
 news of the battle of Pagan had as 
 yet reached Ava, but as the Prince of the 
 Setting Sun entered the hall, the king saw 
 at a glance that he had not been victorious. 
 
 No Burmese general, who had won a victory, 
 
 sirs 
 
276 THE END OP THE WAE. 
 
 would return to his king in travel-stained 
 garments. 
 
 " Have you destroyed the Kalas 1 " the 
 king asked, fiercely. 
 
 " Some are still living," the prince declared. 
 " If the Lord of Many White Elephants will 
 give me another army, not one white Kala 
 shall be left alive in the land." 
 
 " Kill the dog ! " the king shouted, furiously, 
 and instantly two " spotted faces," or execu- 
 tioners, rushed forward, and, seizing the Prince 
 of the Setting Sun by his hair, they dragged 
 him from the Hall of Audience. Outside the 
 palace gate, the " spotted faces " stripped their 
 prisoner of his garments, which, although 
 travel-stained, were valuable, and divided them 
 between themselves. Then, as they hurried 
 him through the streets, they proclaimed aloud 
 his name, and the people, delighted to see a 
 tyrant in disgrace — for the Prince of the 
 Setting Sun had abused his power — jeered, and 
 threw stones and filth at him. Bleeding, and 
 fatigued by the long ride from Pagan, the 
 
THE END OP THE WAR. 277 
 
 unfortunate General was scarcely able to walk ; 
 but whenever he hesitated, the brutal " spotted 
 faces" prodded him with their spears. At 
 length, when he fell exhausted to the ground, 
 they struck off his head, and mutilated his 
 body. Thus died the man who had fought 
 bravely for his king and country, and had 
 nearly succeeded in inflicting a crushing defeat 
 on the British. 
 
 The King of Burma was at last convinced 
 that the longer the war was continiied, the 
 more disastrous it would be to him. 
 
 " Why did I listen to the boastful words of 
 the vile dog!" he exclaimed. "The Kalas 
 will, perhaps, not offer me again the terms I 
 refused. Speak ! Tell me what I shall do to 
 save Ava ! " 
 
 The courtiers, seeing that their sovereign 
 was at last anxious for peace, recommended 
 that he should send word to the British that 
 their terms were accepted. 
 
 In the meanwhile. Sir Archibald Campbell 
 was hurrying his force towards Ava, and in 
 
278 THE END OF THE 'WAR. 
 
 the third week of February, arrived at 
 Yandabo, some forty-six miles from the capital. 
 The little army was in excellent spirits, and 
 looking forward with pleasure to seeing the 
 famous city of Ava ; but that they never saw. 
 Two Burmese officials, of high rank, arrived at 
 Yandabo, with authority to make peace with 
 the British. They desired that the conference 
 should take place on a boat, in mid-stream ; 
 but to this Sir Archibald would not asrree. 
 
 " If they desire peace," he said, " they must 
 come ashore to my tent. If they decline to do 
 so, I will advance on Ava at once." 
 
 The Burmese officials, on hearing the British 
 general's reply, consented to land, and the 
 negotiations were carried out in Sir Archi- 
 bald's tent, which stood under a large, spread- 
 ing tree. To act as interpreters, the Burmese 
 brought with them two American missionaries, 
 whom they had placed in prison on the arrival 
 of the British at Rangoon. The European 
 merchants interpreted for the British. 
 
 It soon became evident to Sir Archibald 
 
THE END OP THE WAR. 279 
 
 Campbell that the Burmese desired tb put 
 off, as long as possible, the day of their 
 degradation. Excuses of all descriptions were 
 made to delay signing the treaty, and it was 
 not until Sir Archibald declared that he would 
 break off the negotiations and proceed to Ava, 
 that the Burmese yielded. 
 
 On the 24th of February, 1826, the treaty 
 of peace was signed at Yandabo. By it, the 
 Burmese ceded to the Honourable East India 
 Company, the provinces of Aracan, Yeh, 
 Tavoy, Mergui, and Tenasserim — in all, 
 nearly 50,000 square miles, and agreed to pay 
 for the expenses of the war, an indemnity of 
 £1,000,000. The British, on their part, 
 promised, on receipt of £250,000, to retire to 
 Rangoon, and remain there until the second 
 instalment was paid. If that were received 
 within one hundred days of the signing of 
 the treaty, the British would quit the King 
 of Burma's territory, leaving the remaining 
 £500,000 to be paid within two years. 
 
 In the course of a few days, the first 
 
280 THE END OP THE WAR. 
 
 instalment of the indemnity was brought down 
 to Yandabo by boat. At the same time, the 
 prisoners captured by the Burmese were 
 surrendered. Both Europeans and Sepoys 
 had been treated with great severity, and were 
 wild with joy, on finding themselves once more 
 among friends. From the released prisoners, 
 the British learned that the King of Burma 
 was exceedingly anxious to prevent his 
 subjects from knowing that he had made 
 terms with the invaders. On the day that 
 the prisoners, and the men carrying the first 
 instalment of the indemnity, marched through 
 the city to the river, there was an order 
 issued, forbidding the people, on pain of death, 
 from quitting their homes. 
 
 The first portion of the indemnity having 
 been received, the British began their return 
 to Rangoon. The greater portion of the force 
 was taken down in boats, and for those who, 
 like Guy, were in good health, the journey 
 was a most enjoyable one. At every village 
 which they passed, the natives were friendly, 
 
THE END OF THE WAR. 281 
 
 and declared that they were glad that the war 
 was finished. Many of them expressed their 
 regret that the British were leaving the 
 country, having found that, under the brief 
 rule of the conquerors, they had been treated 
 with more consideration than they had ever 
 received from their own officials. 
 
 On several occasions when, for some reason 
 or other, the flotilla had to remain stationary 
 for a few hours, some of the officers would 
 go ashore to buy curiosities to take home as 
 mementoes of the war. 
 
 Bah Too no sooner found that there was 
 a demand for Burmese curiosities, than he 
 began to supply them. Whenever a party 
 of Englishmen went ashore, he accompanied 
 them to act as interpreter and point out the 
 interesting sights. But, on every occasion, 
 when they returned to the flotilla and dis- 
 played their purchases to their comrades, 
 Bah Too would produce some article — usually 
 an image of Buddha, or a small gong of 
 quaint design — and offer it for sale. The 
 
282 THE END OF THE WAR. 
 
 price which he demanded and obtained for 
 these things was invariably a high one, 
 although he declared that he made little 
 profit on the transactions. No one believed 
 him, but as it was well-known that he was 
 saving money to build a pagoda, his business 
 smartness was regarded with indulgence. 
 
 At a village near Donabew, Guy and two 
 brother officers went ashore, accompanied by 
 Bah Too and three men of the 13th. They 
 wandered through the collection of huts, 
 purchasing any little curiosities which the 
 people offered to sell them. After a time, 
 they sat down beneath two palm trees to 
 watch some Burmese lads play football. The 
 time passed quickly, and when they rose to 
 return to their boat, they found that Bah 
 Too was missing. 
 
 "He is buying something to sell at a 
 profit," Guy remarked. " He will take good 
 care to rejoin us before we reach the boat.'' 
 
 They strolled towards the river, but before 
 they had gone far, they heard behind them 
 
THE END OF THE WAR. 283 
 
 loud, angry shouts, and turning round, beheld 
 Bah Too running towards them, pursued by 
 an infuriated mob, 
 
 "My lord!" the Burman cried, running 
 straight to Guy, " they will kill me ! " 
 
 "Why?" Guy asked. 
 
 "Because they know that I am a friend 
 of the English lords." 
 
 " This is a serious matter," Guy remarked 
 to his companions. " We must protect him 
 at all costs." 
 
 The officers drew their swords, and, seeing 
 their action, the pursuers halted. But one of 
 them bravely advanced, unarmed, to within a 
 few feet of the Englishmen. 
 
 " My lords," he exclaimed in anger, " he is a 
 vile dog ! He is a pagoda thief ! He has 
 stolen an image of Buddha from our pagoda ! 
 He has hidden it in his lungyi ! " 
 
 Guy turned sharply to Bah Too, and saw at 
 a glance that the accusation was not a false 
 one. The Burman trembled, and hung his 
 head in shame. 
 
284 THE END OF THE WAR. 
 
 " You scoundrel ! " Guy exclaimed. " Give 
 me the image this instant ! " 
 
 Without a word, Bah Too took from the 
 folds of his skirt an exquisite little idol, 
 beautifully carved, and set with rubies. 
 
 " Return it to them at once ! " Guy 
 commanded. 
 
 "My lord, they will kill me," Bah Too 
 whined. "I will give it to you." 
 
 Guy took the image, and, advancing towards 
 the Burman who had accused Bah Too, 
 handed it to him, expressing at the same 
 time his regret at what had happened, 
 and assuring him that the thief would be 
 punished. 
 
 "The white lords are just," the Burman 
 declared, and, having made obeisance, returned 
 with the idol to his fellow-villagers. 
 
 "So, all the idols and gongs that you sold 
 to us, you stole," Guy exclaimed, con- 
 temptuously, as he surveyed the shame-faced 
 Burman. "You shall be punished for these 
 thefts!" 
 
THE END OF THE WAR. 285 
 
 Then, turning to the privates, Guy said, 
 "Arrest that man." 
 
 The sight of Bah Too, being brought aboard 
 under arrest, created some excitement among 
 the soldiers and sailors, with whom he was 
 very popular, and they were glad when, 
 having heard his offence, they found that 
 his sentence was simply to be kept in close 
 confinement until Rangoon was reached. 
 
 Bah Too was delighted at escaping with 
 so light a punishment. If he had fallen into 
 the hands of his countrymen, he would 
 certainly have been killed. 
 
 In due course the British force arrived at 
 Rangoon, and received a hearty welcome from 
 the regiments, which for two years had been 
 garrisoning it. 
 
 The prospect of returning to India, in the 
 course of a few weeks, filled every man in the 
 force with delight. Unfortunately, they were 
 doomed to spend a far longer time in Rangoon 
 than had been anticipated. The King of 
 Burma, finding that the British had, according 
 
286 THE END OF THE WAR. 
 
 to their promise, retired to Rangoon, did not 
 pay the second instalment of the indemnity at 
 the appointed time. The excuse he made 
 was that it was impossible to count 25 lacs 
 of rupees in one hundred days. As his 
 officials had managed to count a similar sum — 
 the first instalment — in two or three days, 
 his excuse was not considered a satisfactory 
 one. Two hundred days passed, and still the 
 money was unpaid. 
 
 "I am afraid we shall have to go to Ava 
 and fetch it," Guy remarked to a brother 
 officer. 
 
 " I hope not," the other man replied. " The 
 Burmese have no more fighting in them, and 
 it would be a tremendous expense to send us 
 up country again. It would be cheaper to 
 forego the indemnity." 
 
 " That would never do. We must make 
 them abide by the treaty, whatever the cost." 
 
 This was also the opinion of the Governor- 
 General of India, and in September, some 
 civil officials started up the Irrawaddy, in the 
 
THE END Off THE WAR. 287 
 
 Diana, to threaten the King with a resumption 
 of hostilities if he did not fulfil his obligations. 
 Everything possible, except force, was resorted 
 to by the Burmese chiefs to prevent the 
 British Embasssy reaching Ava, but the 
 envoys were determined men, and their 
 journey was crowned with success. 
 
 The second instalment having been paid, the 
 British now began to embark for India. Bah 
 Too, who had outlived his disgrace, at once 
 offered for sale charms against sea-sickness. 
 He had never been on the sea, but having 
 heard that the British soldiers had suffered 
 from sickness, he concluded that they would 
 be anxious to take precautions against a re- 
 petition of their unpleasant experience. He 
 was not mistaken ; his sea-sickness charms 
 sold better than any others he had ever 
 made. 
 
 A few hours before Guy left Rangoon, he 
 caught Bah Too vending his charms among 
 the departing soldiers. 
 
 " You rascal ! " Guy exclaimed, " at your 
 
288 TBB END Ot THE WAR. 
 
 old trioks again, I see ! Your countrymen 
 will certainly kill you, when we have left 
 Rangoon." 
 
 " My lord," Bah Too replied, cheerfully, " I 
 will not stay in the Lord of Many White 
 Elephants' land after the English have left it, - 
 This afternoon, I sail for Tenasserim, The 
 English soldiers who stay there will protect 
 me." 
 
 "You are an artful scoundrel," Guy declared, 
 amused at the man's smartness. 
 
 " My lord, I shall soon be a very good man. 
 When I arrive at Tenasserim, I shall build 
 my pagoda. Good-bye, my lord," 
 
 " Good-bye, Bah Too," 
 
 "My lord, will you deign to shake hands 
 with me?" 
 
 Guy did as the Burman desired, for he had 
 not forgotten that he was indebted to the man 
 for many kindnesses, 
 
 "My lord, I will never forget you," Bah 
 Too declared, and then hurried away. That 
 was the last time that Guy saw Bah 
 
THE END OF THE WAR. 289 
 
 Too, but he heard, many years later, that 
 he had built a pagoda in Tenasserim, 
 and had settled down to an honourable 
 life. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 BACK TO CALCUTTA. 
 
 No sooner had the British quitted Rangoon, 
 than the King of Burma became anxious about 
 his own dignity. The idea of its becoming 
 known, throughout Burma, Siam, and China, 
 that he had been defeated by the English, and 
 compelled to pay an indemnity, filled him with 
 dismay, and caused him to issue the following 
 brief, but delightful, account of the war : 
 
 "The white Kalas from the West fastened 
 a quarrel upon the Lord of the Golden Palace. 
 They landed at Rangoon, took that place and 
 Prome, and were permitted to advance as far 
 as Yand&ibo, for the King, from motives of 
 piety and regard to life, made no effort what- 
 ever to oppose them. The Kalas had spent 
 vast sums of money on the enterprise, and, by 
 the time they reached Yandabo, their resources 
 
 290 
 
BACK TO CALCUTTA. 291 
 
 were exhausted, and they were in great 
 distress. They petitioned the King, who, in 
 his clemency and generosity, sent them large 
 sums of money to pay their expenses back, and 
 ordered them out of the country." 
 
 There is no doubt that many thousands of 
 the King of Burma's subjects believed the 
 rojal proclamation ; for, in a very short time, 
 the Burmese treated the British with the same 
 contempt and cruelty that they had exhibited 
 prior to 1824. At length, their proceedings 
 became unendurable, and, expostulations being 
 useless, the British were compelled, in 1852, 
 to again make war on Burma. At the con- 
 clusion of this war, fully half of the land was 
 made British territory. For some years 
 friendly relations were maintained between the 
 two countries, but King Theebaw, although 
 partly educated by an Englishman, became a 
 perfect fiend soon after ascending the throne, 
 and his atrocities and defiance of England re- 
 sulted, in 1887, in the third Burmese war. 
 There was less fighting in this than in either 
 
292 BACK TO CALCUTTA. 
 
 of the preceeding campaigns, but the result, 
 nevertheless, was the annexation of the re- 
 maining portion of Burmese territory. 
 
 The men of the gallant little army, which 
 was the first to teach the haughty Burmans 
 that England could not be defied with impunity, 
 would have been highly amused had they 
 known, as their ships sailed slowly down the 
 Rangoon River, of the proclamation issued by 
 the King of Burma. But they knew nothing 
 of the defeated king's attempt to belittle their 
 triumphs, and were in high spirits at the pro- 
 spect of soon reaching India. 
 
 Guy was one of the many Englishmen who 
 stood on deck, taking a last look at the Shway 
 Dagon Pagoda, and, as he watched it slowly 
 fading from sight, he thought of many things 
 that had happened since the day — more than 
 two years ago — when he saw for the first time 
 its glittering spire. Then, he was a young 
 ensign, unacquainted with the glories and 
 horrors of war ; now, he was a captain, who 
 had emerged with credit frpm the trials ^.nd 
 
BACK TO CALCUTTA. 293 
 
 dangers of a hard-fought campaign. He 
 thought, too, of the many brave comrades 
 whom he had left behind in their hastily made 
 jungle graves. The losses had, indeed, been 
 terrible, and his heart was full of gratitude to 
 God, for having brought him safely through 
 the dangers of disease and battle. 
 
 The voyage was a quick and uneventful 
 one. It was, however, a great disappointment 
 to Guy to find, when the ships arrived off 
 Calcutta, that neither Qolonel Taddy nor the 
 Herberts were among the hundreds of people 
 who had gathered to see the troops land. 
 Nearly every officer had friends or relations 
 waving a welcome to him, and Guy, for a 
 few minutes, felt somewhat depressed. How- 
 ever, he had plenty of work to do in connection 
 with the disembarking, and quickly forgot his 
 disappointment. 
 
 " Guy ! " he heard someone call, as he 
 stepped ashore, and looking up, he beheld 
 the last person he expected to see at 
 Calcutta. 
 
294 BACK TO CALCUTTA. 
 
 " Uncle ! " he exclaimed in astonishment, 
 and ran forward and seized Mr. Clifford's 
 hand. " This is a grand surprise, uncle," he 
 declared. "What caused you to come to 
 Calcutta?" 
 
 " I will tell you later, my boy," Mr. Clifford 
 answered. "I want to hear about you first. 
 Are you all right?" 
 
 " I'm in splendid health." 
 
 " And yet you have had a very rough time, 
 I understand." 
 
 "That is so, uncle. Cholera and dysentery 
 did more damage to our force than the 
 Burmans did." 
 
 Mr. Clifford was now looking at his 
 nephew's uniform. 
 
 "I suppose you had to wear any clothes 
 you could get," he remarked, 
 
 " That was the case, very often." 
 
 " Dead men's things sometimes, I suppose ? " 
 
 " I was never driven to that extremity." 
 
 "Borrowed, or bought things, I suppose. 
 You borrowed that tunic, I suppose ? " 
 
BACK TO CALCUTTA. 295 
 
 "Oh, no!" 
 
 " Guy ! " Mr. Clifford exclaimed, eagerly, 
 "is it possible that you are " 
 
 " Yes, uncle," Guy interrupted gaily. " I 
 am a Captain already. I have been ex- 
 ceedingly fortunate." 
 
 " Not a bit of it, my boy. You have won 
 your promotion by pure merit. I have heard 
 of your doings from Colonel Taddy." 
 
 "Is he in Calcutta?" 
 
 " No, unfortunately. He and I were fast 
 friends, and I can tell you that I was not 
 at all pleased when he was ordered to some 
 other station. I will write and tell him that 
 you have returned. He will be delighted to 
 hear that you are a Captain. Guy, my boy, 
 I am very proud of you." 
 
 " Well, uncle, I am glad that I have pleased 
 you, for any success that I have in life will 
 be due entirely to the training you gave me." 
 
 " I did my best, my boy, but I am not 
 conceited enough to claim the credit of having 
 made you a smart officer," 
 
296 BACK TO CALCUTTA. 
 
 " Whether you claim it or not, you deserve 
 it. And now, uncle, I must attend to my 
 duties." 
 
 " Certainly. I am staying at the Hanover 
 Hotel. Come round to me, as soon as you 
 are off duty." 
 
 "I will. Your being in Calcutta is a 
 pleasure I never dreamed of." 
 
 They shook hands, and parted, Mr. Clifford 
 returning at once to his hotel to write some 
 letters to friends in England, informing them 
 of his nephew's rapid promotion. 
 
 Several times, as Guy stood superintending 
 the landing of the men and baggage, he 
 glanced along the line of spectators to see 
 if Welcome Herbert were there. Many 
 European ladies were present, but Welcome 
 was not among them. Gruy was very dis- 
 appointed, but consoled himself with the belief 
 that he would hear of her, even if he did not 
 see her, that evenirjg. 
 
 But another surprise was in store for Guy. 
 He had not been ashore one hour, when he 
 
BACK TO CALCUTTA. 297 
 
 received instructions that he was to return to 
 Rangoon, in charge of the Burmese prisoners, 
 who Avere being sent back to their country 
 in accordance with the terms of the treaty. 
 The ship was to sail in three hours' time. 
 
 Guy had been selected for this duty because 
 of his knowledge of the Burmese language, 
 but it cannot be said that he was pleased at 
 the prospect of leaving Calcutta so quickly. 
 It would be a great disappointment to his 
 uncle. Having received full instructions 
 concerning the prisoners, he hurried to the 
 Hanover Hotel. 
 
 "Well," Mr. Clifford said, when he had 
 heard the news, "it is no good my saying 
 that I am not sorry you are off again so soon. 
 It is a great disappointment for me. I had 
 hoped to have a few months with you." 
 
 " I shall be back again in about a month," 
 Guy assured him. " Stay here until I return." 
 
 " Certainly, I will. I have not come all 
 this way to be satisfied with seeing you for 
 an hour or so," 
 
298 BACK TO CALCUTTA. 
 
 " When I leave here, I am going straight 
 to the ship, but I will come back in about two 
 hours' time to say good-bye. I popped in 
 now, simply to tell you the news." 
 
 "I am glad you did. Hurry away, Guy, 
 and return as soon as you can." 
 
 Immediately after Guy had quitted the 
 hotel, his uncle went out. He was absent 
 for about three quarters of an hour, and 
 returned to the hotel in high spirits. Guy, 
 coming in half an hour later, found him pacing 
 the verandah. 
 
 " We are not going to be separated, after 
 all," he exclaimed, joyfully, as soon as he saw 
 Guy. " I have settled it with the authorities." 
 
 "Surely, uncle, you have not asked for me 
 to be relieved of my duty? " Guy said, anxiously. 
 
 "I thought you knew me better, than to 
 imagine that. I have obtained permission to 
 accompany you to Rangoon and back." 
 
 " That is splendid, uncle," Guy declared, 
 greatly delighted. " How did you manage 
 to get permission?" 
 
BACK TO CALCUTTA. 299 
 
 " My friend, who obtained for you your cadet- 
 ship in the East India Company's service, is 
 in Calcutta at the present time. He is 
 delighted at your success, and when I asked 
 permission to accompany you, he obtained it 
 at once. Here it is in writing. It is 
 addressed to Captain Clifford, so you may as 
 well read it at once." 
 
 Guy did so, and was highly amused, when 
 he saw that his instructions were to treat 
 Mr. Clifford with every consideration — he 
 being a respected guest of the Honourable 
 East India Company. 
 
 " I am ready to go aboard at once, if you 
 wish it," Mr. Clifford declared. "I have 
 packed my trunk, and settled my bill." 
 
 "Then let us walk quietly to the river." 
 Guy replied. 
 
 Now that his uncle was to accompany him, 
 he had no desire to remain in Calcutta, for 
 he had discovered that Colonel Herbert and 
 Welcome were on a visit to another station. 
 So they quitted the hotel, and strolled 
 
300 BACK TO CALCUTTA. 
 
 riverwards, through the baking, evil-smelling 
 streets. An almost naked coolie walked ahead 
 of them, carrying Mr. Clifford's trunk on his 
 head, and singing monotonously 
 
 When they got aboard, Guy took full ad- 
 vantage of the instructions concerning his 
 uncle, which he had received from the Com- 
 pany, and insisted upon his having the best 
 berth, and every comfort procurable. 
 
 "You forget that I am an old campaigner, 
 my boy," Mr. Clifford said to him. " I do not 
 want luxuries aboard ship." 
 
 "My dear uncle," Guy replied, "'Mr. 
 Clifford is a respected guest of the Honourable 
 East India Company,' and ' Captain Clifford is 
 instructed to see that he is treated with every 
 consideration.' I am doing my duty." 
 
 "Very well," Mr. Clifford said, with a hearty 
 laugh ; " but I hope that you will not treat me 
 as if I were quite an old man. I do not feel 
 like one, I can assure you." 
 
 " And you do not look like one." 
 
 Mr. Clifford was, in fact, only fifty-two years 
 
BACK TO CALCUTTA, 301 
 
 of age. When Guy was a small boy, he had 
 regarded his uncle as an elderly man. Now 
 he seemed simply middle-aged, 
 
 Mr, Clifford was a good sailor, and enjoyed 
 life aboard ship. On the second day out, Guy 
 found him on the poop, fencing with a young 
 lieutenant, whom he outmatched in spite of his 
 lameness. 
 
 Now, uncle," Guy said, when the bout was 
 finished, and Mr, Clifford was busily mopping 
 his forehead with a large handkerchief, "are 
 you ready for a chat ? " 
 
 " Quite, my boy." 
 
 They sat down, 
 
 " You have not yet told me why you came 
 to Calcutta," Guy reminded his uncle, 
 
 "I came, of course, in the hope of seeing 
 you. No doubt you are wondering how I 
 could afford to make such an expensive 
 journey. When you left home, I had no idea 
 that I should ever be in a position to do so, 
 but you had not been gone six months, when a 
 man, who had made a fortune in Jamaica, 
 
302 BACK TO CALCUTTA. 
 
 offered to buy my fields in the Harrow Road. 
 He had taken a fancy to the spot, and wanted 
 to build a house there. The price he offered 
 was more than I had ever expected to receive ; 
 so, of course, I parted with the land. Then, 
 having more money than I could spend in my 
 usual quiet way of living, I determined to 
 make a journey to India. I had received 
 your letter, written on your arrival at 
 Rangoon, and I thought that if I went to 
 Calcutta, I should be handy in case you were 
 unfortunate enough to be rendered unfit for 
 further service. I did not, however, leave 
 England until nearly six months after having 
 decided to make the journey, but when I 
 did start, I took with me a good stock of 
 letters of introduction. They were very 
 useful. One of the first which I presented 
 was to your friend Colonel Plerbert, who had 
 just returned from Burma. He told me that 
 you were a lieutenant, and mighty proud I 
 was to hear of your rapid promotion. But 
 I had further cause to be proud of you before 
 
BACK TO CALCUTTA. 303 
 
 the evening was out. Colonel Herbert told 
 me of your doings, but at dinner, his daughter 
 related many things which he had omitted. 
 She told me of your saving her life in the 
 Madras surf, and of your gallant fight with 
 the Andaraanese. I do not want to make 
 you conceited, my boy, but I must declare 
 that you were the chief topic of conversation 
 throughout dinner." 
 
 " Then I am afraid, uncle, that your appetite 
 must have been spoiled," Guy remarked, very 
 happy at what he had heard, but feeling that 
 the occasion required some depreciatory remark. 
 
 Mr. Clifford smiled. 
 
 " I remember," he said, " Colonel Herbert 
 remarking to his daughter that she was 
 scarcely eating anything." 
 
 " Has the climate affected her health ? " 
 Guy asked, anxiously. 
 
 " Not that I am aware of. She had English 
 roses on her cheeks — an unusual sight in 
 Calcutta. In 'fact, she is the prettiest girl I 
 have seen in India. " 
 
304 BACK TO CALCUTTA. 
 
 " She is the prettiest I have seen anywhere," 
 Guy blurted out, whereupon his uncle laughed 
 heartily. 
 
 Feeling his face growing hot, Guy hurried 
 away, so that his uncle should not see his 
 blushes. 
 
 " Are you going to inspect the prisoners ? " 
 Mr. Clifford called after him. 
 
 " Yes," Guy replied, without looking round, 
 and went to them at once. Pie enquired in 
 Burmese whether they had any complaints to 
 make, but the answer was, as usual, " My 
 lord, we have not." 
 
 The prisoners were, in fact, very happy. 
 On their voyage to India they were depressed 
 by the suspicion that they were being taken 
 to torture and execution. Their stay in 
 Calcutta had, however, much to their surprise, 
 been a period of happiness, and they departed 
 from the city with kindly feelings for their 
 generous enemy. At the same time, they 
 were delighted at the prospect of being, in 
 the course of a few days, once more in their 
 
BACK TO CALCUTTA. 305 
 
 native land. They were a very merry, 
 contented set of prisoners, and gave their 
 guardians no trouble until the Rangoon River 
 was entered, and an accident occurred. 
 
 The transport ran aground a few miles up 
 the river, and in spite of the efforts of the 
 crew and the soldiers, she could not be got 
 off the sandbank. 
 
 " The only thing to be done," the Captain 
 of the ship said to Guy, "is to wait 
 until high tide. We shall easily get off 
 then." 
 
 When Mr. Clifford heard that they would 
 have to remain for an hour or two in their 
 present position, he asked Guy's permission 
 to go ashore. 
 
 " The scenery is delightful," he added, 
 "and I should like to have a closer view 
 of it." 
 
 " Go, by all means, uncle, if you wish it," 
 Guy replied, "but promise me that you will 
 not wander into the jungle, or' go out of our 
 sight." 
 
306 BACK TO CALCUTTA. 
 
 " Certainly, my boy." 
 
 Guy ordered a boat to be lowered, and in a 
 few minutes Mr. Clifford, accompanied by an 
 ensign and four men, was ashore. He wan- 
 dered up and down the foreshore, examining 
 the trees and plants, and collecting a few 
 specimens. The ensign captured a magnificent 
 butterfly, and was showing it to Mr. Clifford, 
 when some sixty armed Burmans rushed from 
 the jungle, and cut off their retreat. 
 
 " Get under cover, men ! " Mr. Clifford 
 exclaimed, seeing that the ensign was flurried, 
 and undecided as to what should be done. 
 The men obeyed instantly, and lay behind a 
 natural earth ridge, with their fingers on their 
 musket locks. 
 
 Greatly to the surprise of Mr. Clifford, the 
 Burmese did not at once attack them. Their 
 leader, confident that the men ashore were in 
 his power, was ambitious to capture the ship. 
 The prisoners were on deck, and, as they out- 
 numbered the Englishmen, he urged them to 
 revolt. 
 
BACK TO CALCUTTA. 307 
 
 " Kill the vile Kala dogs ! " he shouted. 
 
 Guy heard him, and, pistol in hand, he faced 
 the prisoners. One had seized a handspike. 
 
 "Drop it!" Guy commanded, pointing his 
 pistol at the prisoner. 
 
 " Death to the Kala dogs ! " the Burman 
 shouted, and, raising the handspike, rushed 
 at him. 
 
 Guy fired, and the man fell dead with a 
 bullet through his brain. 
 
 The soldiers rushed on deck, and stood, with 
 loaded muskets, facing the prisoners. 
 
 " Go below ! " Guy commanded ; and the 
 Burmans, completely cowed, marched quickly 
 and silently to their quarters in the hold. 
 
 " Batten down the hatches ! " Guy sang out, 
 anxious to prevent the prisoners from rushing 
 on deck at a critical moment. 
 
 The Burmans ashore saw clearly what had 
 occurred on the ship, and immediately fired at 
 her. One sailor was killed, and two soldiers 
 wounded. 
 
 " Give it them, my men ! " Guy commanded, 
 
308 BACK TO CALCUTTA. 
 
 and soldiers and sailors opened fire on the 
 enemy. Fully twenty men fell at the first 
 discharge. 
 
 A shout of rage burst from the Burmans. 
 They fired again, but their shots went wide of 
 the ship. 
 
 " Lower a boat ! " Guy shouted to the 
 captain, and his order was obeyed promptly. 
 
 " One more volley before we go ashore." 
 
 Again the Burmese ranks were thinned, 
 
 " Death to the Kala dogs ! " their leader 
 shouted, and now advanced towards Mr. 
 Clifford and his five companions. 
 
 Accompanied by as many men as the boat 
 would hold, Guy put off. The distance was 
 short, and in two or three minutes they were 
 advancing to the assistance of their countrymen. 
 
 In the meanwhile, Mr. Clifford had moved 
 his men to fresh cover, taking up their position 
 so that their fire would not harass the party 
 coming to their aid. 
 
 The Burmans were now between two fires, 
 but in their eagerness to kiH the five men, 
 
BACK TO CALCUTTA. 309 
 
 whom they imagined to be in their power, 
 they rushed on, unheeding the comrades who 
 fell right and left of them. 
 
 " Charge ! " Guy cried, when he was about 
 fifty yards from the enemy, and with a loud 
 cheer his men followed. 
 
 Guy never ran faster than he did on that 
 occasion, for he knew that the safety of his 
 uncle and his companions depended on his 
 party overtaking the Burmans before they 
 fell on the five men. Some of the enemy, 
 seeing Guy's force almost upon them, turned 
 to the right, and fled into the jungle. They 
 were not pursued. 
 
 A moment later, Guy caught sight of his 
 uncle and his companions, standing with 
 their backs to the river, and fighting 
 desperately. 
 
 With a few strides Guy covered the in- 
 tervening space, and was among the enemy. 
 His men were close behind him, and swords 
 and bayonets were used with terrible results, 
 for the Englishmen, fresh from their sea 
 
310 BACK TO CALCUTTA. 
 
 voyage, were ia splendid health. The fight 
 was fierce while it lasted, but the Burmans 
 soon discovered that, although they were 
 numerically three times stronger than the 
 English, they were no match for them in a 
 hand-to-hand combat. And having become 
 convinced of their inferiority, they fled to the 
 jungle. 
 
 While his men were firing on the fleeing 
 foe, Guy looked around for his uncle, and with 
 great joy saw that he was alive. A Burman 
 lay face downwards on the ground, and Mr. 
 Clifford was kneeling on his back, keeping 
 him quiet by placing the muzzle of his pistol 
 behind his right ear. 
 
 " This fellow is their leader ! " he exclaimed, 
 when Guy reached him. " We must not allow 
 him to escape ! " 
 
 The prisoner was handed over to the 
 custody of a corporal and two privates, who 
 promptly marched him off to the boat. 
 
 " How did you manage to catch him, 
 uncle," Guy asked. 
 
BACK TO CALCUTTA. 311 
 
 " Luck was on my side," Mr. Clifford 
 replied. " The rascal killed the ensign, poor 
 boy, and then turned on me. He made a 
 terrific slash at my head with his dah, but 
 I jumped back, and escaped it by about half 
 an inch. Evidently, the fellow was not firm 
 on his feet, for his cut, meeting with no 
 resistance, overbalanced him, and he fell for- 
 ward on his face. I pounced on him, and put 
 my pistol muzzle behind his ear." 
 
 It would have served him right if you had 
 fired it." 
 
 " No doubt, but it was not loaded." 
 
 Guy laughed heartily at his uncle's presence 
 of mind, and congratulated him on his narrow 
 escape. 
 
 Then Mr. Clifford pointed to his companions, 
 who were lying dead. 
 
 " Poor lads ! " he exclaimed sadly. " They 
 fought splendidly. The ensign was a bit 
 fl.urried when the enemy first appeared, but 
 he killed four men before our prisoner mortally 
 wounded him. He was a brave boy." 
 
312 BACK TO CALCUTTA, 
 
 The dead men, six in number, were buried 
 reverently by the river side, and a wooden 
 cross erected over their graves. 
 
 The sad duty finished, the gallant little 
 force returned to the ship, which, two hours 
 later, got clear of the sandbank. In due 
 course, she arrived at Rangoon, but before 
 Guy delivered up his prisoners, he went ashore 
 and reported to the Burmese Viceroy the 
 attack which had been made upon his ship. 
 The Viceroy expressed great surprise and 
 indignation, on hearing of the outrage, and 
 assured Guy that it was not perpetrated with 
 the sanction of the King or his officers. 
 Whether he spoke the truth or not it is 
 impossible to say, but as soon as the leader, 
 captured by Mr. Clifford, was surrendered to 
 hiiii, he caused him to be beheaded in public. 
 
 Two days after the Burmese prisoners had 
 been set ashore, the transport started on her 
 return voyage to Calcutta, Twice, as she 
 sailed down the Rangoon River, shots were 
 fired at her from the jungle, but no damage 
 
BACK TO CALCUTTA. 313 
 
 was done, and the incidents were ignored. 
 The remainder of the voyage was devoid of 
 any incident of interest, and the weather 
 being fine, Mr. Clifford expressed sorrow when 
 the Hooghly was entered. Guy did not share 
 his regret. He was very anxious to arrive 
 at Calcutta. 
 
 " There is Colonel Herbert ! " Mr. Clifford 
 exclaimed, as he and Guy were being rowed 
 to land. 
 
 " I see him," Guy replied, but he did not 
 express the disappointment which he felt at 
 finding that the Colonel was not accompanied 
 by his daughter. 
 
 Colonel Herbert greeted him warmly, and 
 after a short talk with uncle and nephew, 
 invited them to dine with him that day. 
 
 Guy was delighted with the invitation, and 
 had he not had some reports to make to the 
 military authorities, the hours preceding his 
 visit would have appeared twice their real 
 length. 
 
 Colonel Herbert and Welcome were in 
 
314 BACK TO CALCUTTA. 
 
 the verandah when Guy and his uncle 
 arrived. 
 
 Three years had made but little change in 
 Welcome Herbert ; the slight change was for 
 the better. When Guy had last seen her she 
 was pretty ; now she was beautiful. 
 
 " Captain Clifford ! " she exclaimed, as she 
 shook hands with Guy, "you have changed. 
 You loo)£ quite 1- " 
 
 She was about to add " a man," but remem- 
 bered that to make that remark to a Captain 
 would sound rather absurd. 
 
 " In what way have I changed ? " Guy 
 asked, speaking with an ease that surprised 
 himself. 
 
 " You look older than when I last saw you." 
 
 " From this verandah, nearly three years 
 ago? I remember that day quite well. Of 
 course, I am older than I was then ; but you 
 do not look a day older." 
 
 Then they went in to dinner, and Guy sat 
 next to Welcome. 
 
 "Are you not very proud of your rapid 
 
BACK TO CALCUTTA. 315 
 
 promotion ? " Welcome asked Guj, while her 
 father and Mr. Clifford were talking earnestly 
 of the East India Company's aifairs. 
 
 " I hope that I am not proud, but I am 
 glad of it for one reason. Would you like 
 to hear it ? " 
 
 "Certainly, I should." 
 
 " Well, Colonel Taddy told me that you , 
 were confident that I would get on in the 
 army. I am glad that I have not disappointed 
 you." 
 
 " My father told me that you had thoroughly 
 earned your promotion. You should be proud 
 of having done so. I know all about the war, 
 until the time when my father was invalided 
 home ; you must tell me the remainder." 
 
 Guy enjoyed the prospect, and described the 
 war so minutely that his account occupied 
 several hours every day. In fact, Guy and 
 Welcome became very fast friends. Some- 
 times Guy would be smitten with remorse for 
 not spending more time with his uncle, but 
 Mr. Clifford, somehow or other, always 
 
316 BACK TO CALCUTTA. 
 
 appeared to have an engagement when invited 
 by his nephew to go for a ride or a row. Guy 
 was somewhat puzzled about the nature of 
 these engagements, for it appeared to him that 
 his uncle passed nearly the whole of the day 
 sitting in the verandah smoking his pipe. It 
 was there that Guy found him one evening on 
 returning from the Herberts. 
 
 " I am so glad you are alone," Guy declared. 
 " I have something to tell you." 
 
 Mr. Clifford looked up, enquiringly. 
 
 " I am engaged to be married to Welcome 
 Herbert." 
 
 "My boy, I congratulate you," Mr. Clifford 
 declared, standing up and grasping his nephew's 
 hand. " I have been waiting anxiously for 
 this news." 
 
 " Did you expect it ? " Guy asked in surprise. 
 
 " Certainly, I did. Two or three days after 
 I made Welcome's acquaintance, she showed 
 me the Burmese chain, which you sent to her 
 from Rangoon. It was a valentine, I dis- 
 covered, and I found out, also, that the 
 
BACK TO CALCUTTA. 317 
 
 receiver was in love with the sender. Yes, 
 my boy, I have been expecting the news. 
 That is what has kept me in Calcutta. I 
 should have started for England some weeks 
 ago, had I not known that, by remaining a few 
 months longer, I should be able to be present 
 at your wedding. You must get the young 
 lady to consent to be married within three 
 months." 
 
 " I will try," Guy declared, and Welcome, 
 on hearing that it was Mr. Clifford's earnest 
 desire that they should be married soon, 
 agreed to the ceremony taking place in ten 
 weeks' time. 
 
 Colonel Taddy came down to Calcutta for 
 the occasion, and, by his presence, added con- 
 siderably to the gaiety of the wedding party. 
 
 A few days after the young couple had been 
 married, Mr. Clifford started for England, and 
 Colonel Taddy returned to his up-country 
 statioji, which, six months later, was attacked 
 by a' native tribe. The natives were driven 
 off after a sharp fight, but one of the last shots 
 
318 BA'CK to CALCUTTA. 
 
 which they fired, as they decamped, struck 
 Colonel Taddy in the right arm, arid inflicted 
 a wound so complicated that the limb had to 
 be amputated. ' 
 
 Guy fulfilled the prophecies of the many 
 military men who said that he would attain 
 high rank and fame. He saw a considerable 
 amount of active service, after the first 
 Burmese war, and, for his services as a General, 
 was awarded a knighthood. He retired from 
 the army while still in the prime of life, and 
 settled down in England. The estate which 
 he purchased, was within a mile of tlie place 
 where Colonel Herbert, Colonel Taddy and 
 Mr. CliflFord lived, and it is almost unnecessary 
 to say that the three old gentlemen were 
 delighted at having Welcome and Guy for 
 near neighbours. 
 
 THE ESD.