"How long have you been marching?" asked Bob.

"Three days, sahib."

"And how far have you come?"

"Thirty kos,[#] sahib. It was bad marching, but I came as fast as I could."

[#] About forty-five miles.

"It was good of Endicott Sahib to send you, but why? We are far away from the disturbances on the Afghan border."

"Ah yes, sahib, but there is talk of great doings towards the north-west. They say in the bazaars that the Mongols have made friends with the Afghans, and offered to share the plunder with them when they make their raid into the Punjab. It is foolishness, as Endicott Sahib said: but the badmashes will do much evil, and the sahib said that Appleton Sahib ought to know, so that he might escape to India while there is yet time."

"And what about the sahib himself? He will break through, of course?"

"Hai! The sahib will not leave the wounded."

"He can hold out?"

"Who shall say? The sahib has little food, and the water of the well in the tower is foul. The sahib will a.s.suredly fight as long as he has one cartridge left in his revolver; then.... It is written, sahib; but the huzurs know how to die."

"Good heavens!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Lawrence. "Can't he send for help?"

"The nearest post is a hundred miles away, sahib. There would not be time. In one day more, or perhaps two, all the food will be gone. No help could come to him for a week--no force strong enough to drive away the dogs that beset him."

"Why did he think we could escape, then?"

"Because the road is still open, sahib. The tribes are not yet moving towards the frontier, and the hill-tower is far to the west of the road.

If the sahibs start at once there is just a chance that they may save themselves--as one leaves a house before the flood comes up and washes it away."

The boys felt overwhelmed by this climax to their embarra.s.sments. There was no certainty that they could reach the nearest British post before the tide of invasion had begun to flow. The way might already be blocked by hordes of tribesmen gathering strength for their swoop upon the Punjab--an adventure which, utterly absurd as it seemed, and foredoomed to disaster, would work havoc on the frontier until it was crushed by the might of the Imperial power. They saw themselves shut up as in a trap between the 20,000 men on the north, and the innumerable host which the scent of plunder would attract to the Afghans' banner.

"We shall have to stick it now, in any case," said Bob to Lawrence.

"Khansaman, take Ganda Singh to Gur Buksh: he will find him quarters.

Then go to bed. I will ring for you if I want you."

When the two men were gone, Bob threw himself into a chair.

"Light up," he said. "There'll be no more sleep for us to-night."

"What a brick the Major is!" said Lawrence. "Poor old chap! He won't cave in without giving those blackguards something to remember, but if things are as bad as Ganda Singh says it's all up with him. Nothing on earth will induce him to leave his men, or he might make a bolt for it.

I wonder if it was too late for him to send for help?"

"There's not much doubt of it. A man couldn't get away quietly enough on horseback with the tower surrounded, and it would take him four or five days to foot it. Then they'd have to get together an expeditionary force, and if they've got wind of what's on, they would hesitate to send out a small light-marching force that might be smothered. These political officers are always taking their lives in their hands. The Major's a good sort. I wish to goodness something could be done for him."

"I say! I've a notion. What about the aeroplane?"

"How do you mean?"

"Fly to help him. A few of those bombs of yours would work wonders."

"That's all very well, I dare say a little dynamite would set the besiegers flying in panic; but to bring the Major away is quite another matter. He's in a hill-tower, and if it's like those we saw occasionally as we came north it'll be perched in the worst possible place for the machine to alight."

"We can find that out from Ganda Singh."

"But there's another thing. Suppose it is possible to come down, will there be time to get the Major out and take him on board before the enemy come back? Their panic won't last long when they find they can only be hit from the air."

"It will take some time to discover that, but I foresee the worst difficulty. That's the sowars. As I said, he won't leave them, especially as some are wounded. And the biggest cowards in creation--and the Afghans are not cowards--would recover their courage and their wits long before you could fly to and fro with the sowars as pa.s.sengers."

"And they'd smash the machine too. It would be an easy target most of the time. I'm afraid it's no go."

They smoked on in silence, gloomily watching the rings and clouds eddying out into the dark through the open window.

"Look here!" exclaimed Bob suddenly.

"I say!" cried Lawrence at the same moment.

"I'm going to try it," Bob continued.

"That's what I was going to say."

"But----"

"Hold hard! Just listen while I put the case with my usual sweet reasonableness. You're about fed up with patrolling the valley, I should think."

"But----"

"Let me have my say out: your turn by and by. You're a soldier; I'm not. You're the chap to defend this place, and, as you said, we've got to defend it now. You've a head for strategy and all that sort of thing: I'm a fool at it. If one of us has got to go, I can be best spared."

"You're talking perfect----"

"I know, but I haven't done yet. I haven't had quite as much practice in the aeroplane as you, but I've had quite enough for this job. And as for shying dynamite bombs, any a.s.s could do that."

"I back you wouldn't find it easy to hit a mark," Bob got in.

"Perhaps not, but when the mark is a crowd of three or four hundred Afghans I ought to be kicked if I couldn't score at least an outer.

Seriously, old man, this is my job. I'm not such a fool as to think it'll be pure fun; it's a desperately tough proposition, as the Yanks say; and of course you'd do it better than I could; but we can't both go, and I'm sure you're the right man to stay here. Now have your fling."

"Well, you've put me in a hole with your beastly logic," grumbled Bob.

"I can't admit you're right without sort of making myself out to be a sprouting commander-in-chief! My word! It would be a fine thing to get the Major here! He'd take command, and I'd play second fiddle with the greatest pleasure in life. All right: you go, then."

"Thanks, old man. Just ring for Chunda, will you? I must have a talk with Ganda Singh."

"You'll do nothing of the sort. You'll go straight back to bed. You'll want all your nerve to-morrow, and after what you've gone through you'll be a limp rag in the morning unless you sleep. Go to bed. I'll arrange everything. You'll find everything ready for you in the morning. I think you had better take Fazl with you: in fact, you must, for you'll have quite enough to do with managing the machine without dropping bombs. Cut off!"

"All right. There's only one thing."