With Clive in India Part 33

They had been ordered, in the first place, to move to Arcot, which was held by a garrison of Muhammud Ali. The whole of the country around was greatly disturbed. French intrigues, and the sight of the diminished power of the English, had caused most of the minor chiefs in that neighbourhood to throw off their allegiance. A body of Mahratta horse were ravaging the country districts; and it was against these that Charlie determined, in the first place, to act.

He had been permitted to have his own way in the clothing and arming of his force. Each man carried a musket, which had been shortened some six inches, and hung in slings from the saddle, the muzzle resting in a piece of leather, technically termed a bucket. The ammunition pouch was slung on the other side of the saddle, and could be fastened in an instant, by two straps, to the belts which the troopers wore round their waists. The men were dressed in brown, thick cotton cloth, called karkee. Round their black forage caps was wound a long length of blue and white cotton cloth, forming a turban, with the ends hanging down to protect the back of the neck and spine from the sun.

Having obtained news that the Mahratta horse, two thousand strong, were pillaging at a distance of six miles from the town, Charlie set off the day following his arrival to meet them. The Mahrattas had notice of his coming; but hearing that the force consisted only of two hundred horse, they regarded it with contempt.

When Charlie first came upon them they were in the open country; and, seeing that they were prepared to attack him, he drew up his little force in two lines. The second line he ordered to dismount, to act as infantry. The two guns were loaded with grape, and the men of the first line were drawn up at sufficient intervals to allow an infantryman to pa.s.s between each horse.

With shouts of antic.i.p.ated triumph, the Mahratta horse swept down. The front line of English hors.e.m.e.n had screened the movements of those behind, and when the enemy were within fifty yards, Charlie gave the word. The troopers already sat, musket in hand, and between each horse an infantry soldier now stepped forward; while towards each end, the line opened and the two field pieces were advanced.

The Mahratta hors.e.m.e.n were astonished at this sudden manoeuvre; but, pressed by the ma.s.s from behind, they still continued their charge. When but fifteen yards from the English line, a stream of fire ran along this, from end to end. Every musket was emptied into the advancing force, while the guns on either flank swept them with grape.

The effect was tremendous. Scarcely a man of the front line survived the fire, and the whole ma.s.s halted, and recoiled in confusion. Before they could recover themselves, another volley of shot and grape was fired into them. Then Charlie's infantry ran back; and the cavalry, closing up, dashed upon the foe, followed half a minute afterwards by the lately dismounted men of the other two troops; ten white soldiers, alone, remaining to work and guard the guns.

The effect of the charge of these two hundred disciplined horse, upon the already disorganized mob of Mahratta hors.e.m.e.n, was irresistible; and in a few minutes the Mahrattas were scattered, and in full flight over the plain, pursued by the British cavalry, now broken up into eight half troops. The rout was complete, and in a very short time the last Mahratta had fled, leaving behind them three hundred dead upon the plain.

Greatly gratified with their success; and feeling confident, now, in their own powers, the British force returned to Arcot.

Charlie now determined to attack the fort of Vellore, which was regarded as impregnable. The town lay at the foot of some very steep and rugged hills, which were surmounted by three detached forts. The rajah, encouraged by the French, had renounced his allegiance to Muhammud Ali, and had declared himself independent. As, however, it was certain that he was prepared to give a.s.sistance to the French, when they took the field against the English, Charlie determined to attack the place.

The French had received large reinforcements, and had already captured many forts and strong places, around Pondicherry. They were, however, awaiting the arrival of still larger forces, known to be on the way, before they made a decisive and, as they hoped, final attack upon the English.

The rajah's army consisted of some fifteen hundred infantry, and as many cavalry. These advanced to meet the English force. Charlie feigned a retreat, as they came on; and retired to a village, some thirty miles distant. The cavalry pursued at full speed, leaving the infantry behind.

Upon reaching the village, Charlie at once dismounted all his men, lined the inclosures, and received the enemy's cavalry, as they galloped up, with so heavy a fire that they speedily drew rein. After trying for some time to force the position, they began to fall back; and the English force again mounted, dashed upon them, and completed their defeat. The broken hors.e.m.e.n, as they rode across the plain, met their infantry advancing; and these, disheartened at the defeat of the cavalry, fell back in great haste; and, abandoning the town, which was without fortification, retired at once to the forts commanding it.

Charlie took possession of the town, and spent the next two days in reconnoitering the forts. The largest, and nearest, of these faced the right of the town. It was called Suzarow. The second, on an even steeper hill, was called Guzarow. The third, which lay some distance behind this, and was much smaller, was called Mortz Azur.

Charlie determined to attempt, in the first place, to carry Guzarow; as in this, which was considered the most inaccessible, the rajah himself had taken up his position, having with him all his treasure. Charlie saw that it would be next to impossible, with so small a force, to carry it by a direct attack, by the road which led to it, as this was completely covered by its guns. It appeared to him, however, that the rocks upon which it stood were, by no means, inaccessible.

He left twenty men to guard his guns, placed a guard of ten upon the road leading up to the fort, to prevent the inhabitants from sending up news of his intentions to the garrison, who had, with that of Suzarow, kept up a fire from their guns upon the town, since his arrival there. The moon was not to rise until eleven o'clock, and at nine Charlie marched, with a hundred and seventy men, from the town. Making a considerable detour, he found himself, at half past ten, at the foot of the rocks, rising almost sheer from the upper part of the hill.

He was well provided with ropes and ladders. The most perfect silence had been enjoined upon the men and, in the darkness, the march had been unseen by the enemy. While waiting for the moon to rise, the troopers all wound pieces of cloth, with which they had come provided, round their boots, to prevent these from making a noise, by slipping or stumbling on the rocks.

When the moon rose, the ascent of the rocks began at the point which Charlie had, after a close inspection through a telescope, judged to be most accessible. The toil was very severe. One by one, the men climbed from ledge to ledge, some of the most active hill men, from northern India, leading the way, and aiding their comrades to follow them, by lowering ropes, and placing ladders at the most inaccessible spots. All this time, they were completely hidden from the observation of the garrison, above.

At last, the leaders of the party stood at the foot of the walls, which rose a few feet from the edge of the cliff. The operation had been performed almost noiselessly. The ammunition pouches had been left behind, each man carrying ten rounds in his belt. Every piece of metal had been carefully removed from their uniforms, the very b.u.t.tons having been cut off, lest these should strike against the rocks; and the muskets had been swathed up in thick coverings.

The men, as they gained the upper ridge, spread along at the foot of the walls, until the whole body had gathered there. They could hear the voices of the sentries, thirty feet above them; but these, having no idea of the vicinity of an enemy, did not look over the edge of the wall. Indeed, the parapets of the Indian fortifications were always so high, that it was only from projecting towers that the foot of the wall could be seen.

When the English force were a.s.sembled, the ladders, which, like everything else, had been m.u.f.fled, were placed against the walls; and, headed by their officers, the troops ascended. The surprise was complete. Not until the leaders of the storming party stood upon the parapet was their presence perceived. The guards discharged their firelocks, and fled hastily.

As soon as twenty men were collected on the wall, Charlie took the command of these, and hurried forward towards the gate. Hallowes was to lead the next party along the opposite direction. Peters was to form the rest up, as they gained the wall, and to follow Charlie with fifty more; while Anstey was to hold the remainder in reserve, to be used as circ.u.mstances might demand.

The resistance, however, was slight. Taken absolutely by surprise, the enemy rushed out from their sleeping places. They were immediately fired upon from the walls. The greater part ran back into shelter, while some of the more determined, gathering together, made for the gate. But of this Charlie had already taken possession, and received them with so vigorous a fire that they speedily fell back.

When the whole circuit of the walls was in his possession, Charlie took a hundred of his men, and descended into the fort. Each building, as he reached it, was searched; and the garrison it contained made to come out, and lay down their arms, and were then allowed to depart through the gate.

Upon reaching the rajah's quarters, he at once came out and surrendered himself. Two guns were discharged, to inform the little body in the town of the complete success of the movement; and the guard on the road then fell back, and joined the party with the guns.

Thus, without losing a man, the fort of Guzarow, regarded by the natives as being impregnable, was carried. Fifteen lacs of rupees were found in the treasury. Of these, in accordance with the rules of the service, half was set aside for the Company, the remainder became the property of the force. Of this half fell to the officers, in proportion to their rank, and the rest was divided among the men. The share of each trooper amounted to nearly two hundred pounds.

Knowing how demoralizing the possession of such a sum would be, Charlie a.s.sembled his force next morning. He pointed out to them that, as the greater part of the plunder was in silver, it would be impossible for them to carry it on their persons. He advised them, then, to allow the whole sum to remain in the treasury, to be forwarded under an escort to Madras; each soldier to receive an order, for the amount of his share, upon the treasury there. This was agreed to, unanimously, and Charlie then turned his attention to the other forts.

The guns of Guzarow were turned against these, and a bombardment commenced. Suzarow, which extended partly down the slope, was much exposed to the fire from Guzarow; and although no damage could be done to the walls at so great a distance, the garrison, suffering from the fire, and intimidated by the fall of Guzarow, lost heart. Large numbers deserted, and the governor, in the course of two days, thought it prudent to obey the orders which the rajah had, upon being made captive, sent to him to surrender. The next day the governor of Mortz Azur followed his example; and Vellore, and its three strong forts, were thus in the possession of the English.

At Vellore, Charlie nearly lost one of his faithful followers. Early in the morning, Hossein came into Charlie's room.

"Sahib," he said, "something is the matter with Tim."

"What is the matter?" Charlie said, sitting up in his bed.

"I do not know, sahib. When I went to him, he did not move. He was wide awake, and his eyes are staring. When I went beside him, he shook his head a little, and said, 'S-s-s-h.' He seems quite rigid, and is as pale as death."

Charlie leaped out, and hurried to Tim. The latter was lying on the ground, in the next room. He had carried off three or four cus.h.i.+ons, from the rajah's divan, and had thrown these down, and had spread a rug over him. He lay on his back, exactly as Hossein had described.

As Charlie hurried up, Tim again gave vent to the warning "S-s-s-h."

"What is the matter, Tim? What is the matter, my poor fellow?"

Tim made a slight motion, with his head, for his master to bend towards him. Charlie leant over him, and he whispered:

"There is a sarpent in bed with me."

"Are you quite sure, Tim?"

"He woke me with his cold touch," Tim whispered. "I felt him crawling against my foot, and now he is laying against my leg."

Charlie drew back for a minute, and consulted with Hossein.

"Lie quite still, Tim," he said, "and don't be afraid. We will try to kill him, without his touching you; but even if he should bite you, with help ready at hand, there will be no danger."

Charlie now procured two knives; the one a sharp surgical knife, from a case which he had brought; the other he placed in a charcoal fire, which one of the men speedily fanned, until the blade had attained a white heat. Charlie had decided that, if the snake bit Tim, he would instantly make a deep cut through the line of the puncture of the fangs, cutting down as low as these could penetrate, and immediately cauterize it, by placing the hot knife in the gash so made. Six men were called in, with orders to seize Tim on the instant, and hold his leg firm, to enable the operation to be performed. Two others were to occupy themselves with the snake. These were armed with sticks.

Hossein now approached the bed, from which, hitherto, they had all kept well aloof. The snake, Tim said, lay against his leg, between the knee and the ankle, and the spot was marked by a slight elevation of the rug.

Hossein drew his tulwar, examined the edge to see that nothing had blunted its razor-like keenness, and then took his stand at the foot of the bed. Twice he raised his weapon; and then let it fall, with a drawing motion. The keen blade cut through the rug, as if it had been pasteboard; and, at the same instant, Tim sprang from the other side of the bed, and fainted in the arms of the men. Hossein threw off the rug, and there, severed in pieces, lay the writhing body of a huge cobra.

Tim soon recovered, under the administration of water sprinkled in his face, and brandy poured down his throat. But he was some time, ere he thoroughly recovered from the effects of the trying ordeal through which he had pa.s.sed. Many of the buildings in the fort were in a very bad condition, and Charlie had several of the most dilapidated destroyed, finding in their walls several colonies of cobras, which were all killed by the troops.

Chapter 25: Besieged In A PaG.o.da.

A few days later Charlie received a message from the Rajah of Permacoil, saying that he was besieged by a strong native force, aided by the French. He at once moved his force to his a.s.sistance. He found that the besiegers, among whom were two hundred French troops, were too strong to be attacked. He therefore established himself in their rear, attacked and captured convoys, and prevented the country people from bringing in provisions. Several times the besieging infantry advanced against him, but before these he at once fell back, only to return as soon as they retired to their camp. Whenever their horse ventured out against him, he beat them back, with considerable loss.

Ten days after his arrival, the enemy, finding it impossible to maintain themselves in the face of so active an enemy, and suffering greatly from want of provisions, raised the siege and fell back.