'Tween Snow and Fire by Bertram Mitford (world best books to read txt) đ
- Author: Bertram Mitford
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They were joined by the few men who had remained behind to guard the corpse of their slain comrade. This was conveyed in a sort of litter, improvised of blankets and slung between two quiet horses; and now to the dash and excitement of the conflict and pursuit, there succeeded a subdued quiet, almost a gloom, by reason of the presence of the dead man in their midst. Stillâit was the fortune of war.
The Kaffrarian Rangers were ordered home.
To be strictly accurate, that redoubtable corps had applied to be withdrawn. There was not enough to do to render it worth the while of the men who composed itâmen mostly with a substantial stake in the countryâto remain any longer wasting their time in a series of fruitless patrols on the off-chance of an occasional very long distance shot at a stray GcalĂ©ka scout or two; for the enemy no longer attempted to meet them in battle. He had suffered severely, both in men and possessions, and there were those who declared that he had had nearly enough of it. The Frontier Armed and Mounted Police and, if necessary, the regular troops now stationed along the border, would be sufficient to cope with any further disturbance; so most of the volunteer forces applied to be withdrawn.
They had been several weeks in the veldtâseveral weeks absent from their farms and businesses. They had rendered excellent service; had, in fact, constituted the very backbone of the offensive operations. It was only fair, now that there remained no more to be done, to allow them to return. Brathwaiteâs Horse had already withdrawn, so had most of the mounted corps. The Kaffrarian Rangers were nearly the last.
The men were in excellent health and spirits. They had lost one of their numberâthe poor young fellow who had met his fate with the patrol under Shelton, and had been buried near where he fellâa few had received wounds, none of these being, however, of a very serious nature. But they had left their mark upon the enemy, and were returning, withal, in possession of a large number of the latterâs cattle. Yet they had a grievance, or fancied they had.
They had not nearly enough fighting. The combined plan of the campaign had not been carried out according to their liking. The enemy had been suffered to escape just at the very moment when it was within their power to inflict upon him a decisive and crushing blow. There had been too much of the old womanly element among those intrusted with the conduct of affairs. In a word, the whole business had been bungled. And in this thoroughly characteristic and British growl none joined more heartily than Tom Carhayes.
There was one, however, who in no wise joined in it at all, and that one was Eustace Milne. He had had enough of campaigning to last him for the present, and for every reason mightily welcomed the news that they were ordered home. Of late an intense longing had corrie upon him to return, but now that that ardently desired consummation had been attained he realised that it was dashed with the sickening and desolating consciousness of hopes shattered. The campaign, so far as he was concerned, had been barren of result.
But for himâbut for his interventionâTom Carhayes would have been a dead man, and Eanswyth would be free. The Kafir could not have missed at that distance. But for his interference the bullet of the savage would have sped true, and happiness for himâfor herâwould have become the blissful, golden, reality of a lifetime. Even now he would be hurrying back to claim herâthat is, allowing for a reasonable period exacted by decorum. But no, the cup was shattered in his grasp, and his own was the hand that had shattered it. âA man who interferes in what doesnât concern him deserves all he gets,â was the grimly disgusted reflection which lashed his mind again and again.
Why had he intervened to save his cousinâs life? When Fortune was playing directly into his hands he, yielding to an idiotic scruple, had deliberately flung back into her face the chance she had held out. She would not proffer it again. His opportunity had occurred and he had let it go by.
Yet he could not have acted otherwise. Could he not? he thought savagely, as at that moment his cousinâs voice struck upon his ear. Not that its utterances contained anything objectionable, but to the listenerâs then frame of mind, there was something insufferably self-assertive in their very tone. Could he not? Let him only get the chance again. But this he never would. It was thought by many that the war was practically at an end.
If his cousin had been a different stamp of man and one built of finer clay, it is more than probable that Eustace would have acted differentlyâwould have conquered that overmastering and unlawful love which he had so long and so successfully concealed, or at any rate would have fled from temptation. But it was far otherwise. The fellow was such a rough, assertive, thick-headed, inconsiderate boor, utterly unable to appreciate his own splendid good fortune. He deserved no mercy. Yet this was the being to whom Eanswyth was boundâwhom, moreover, she had managed to tolerate with every semblance of, at any rate, contentment, until he himself had laid siege to the castle of her outwardly calm, but glowingly passionate nature, and had carried it by storm, by a single coup de main.
And now? How could she ever resume that old contented toleration, how relegate himself to an outside place. Every lookâevery word of hersâduring that last walk, when he had come upon her so unexpectedlyâevery sweet and clinging caress during that last parting, was burnt into his memory as with red-hot irons. And now it seemed that the curtain must be rung down on everything. Tom Carhayes was returning in rude health; louder, more boastful, a more aggressive personality than ever. Let the very heavens fall!
A change had come over Eustace. He became moody and taciturn, at times strangely irritable for one of his equable temperament. This was noticed by many; wondered at by some.
âWhy, whatâs the row with you, old chap!â said Carhayes one day in his bluff, off-hand manner. âSick and sorry that we canât scare up another fight, eh?â
âMilneâs conscience is hitting him hard over the number of his âblanket friendsâ he has shot already. Ha, ha!â cut in another man, with an asinine guffaw.
The Kaffrarian Rangers were ordered home. The order reached them in their camp on the Bashi, and forthwith they acted upon it. No preparations delayed the setting out of such a light-marching-order corps. Accordingly the breakfasts were cooked and eaten, the camp was struck, and the whole troop started upon its homeward way.
âI say, Hoste!â said Carhayes, while they were breakfasting on boiled mealies and ration beef. âWhat do you say to a shoot before we leave this? We are bound to get a bushbuck ram or two in some of these kloofs.â
âHavenât you shot away enough cartridges yet, Tom?â laughed Hoste. âStill I think we might try for a buck if only for a change after the niggers; besides, we can eat the buck, which is part of the change. Iâm on. What do you say, Payne? Will you cut in?â
âWhat do I say? I say itâs the most damn idiotic idea I ever heard mooted,â answered Payne sententiously. âStillâIâll cut in.â
âAll right. Weâll have some sport then!â said Carhayes. âYouâll come, too, Eustace? Thatâs right,â as Eustace nodded assent. âThatâll make four of usâwe donât want any more,â he went on. âWe can just hunt down the river bank for two or three hours, and catch up the troop in camp to-night. We are bound to get some sport.â
âLikely so are the niggers,â murmured the more prudent Payne.
The commander of the troop, when applied to, made no decided objection to the above scheme. There was, as we have said, no discipline in the ordinary sense of the word, the offices of command being elective. Besides, they were under orders to return straight home, which was practically disbandment. So, while not forbidding the undertaking, he pointed out to those concerned that it might involve serious risk to themselves; in a word, was rather a crack-brained idea.
âJust what I said,â remarked Payne laconically, lighting his pipe.
âThen why do you go, old chap?â asked one of the bystanders with a laugh.
âThatâs just what I donât know myself,â was the reply, delivered so tranquilly and deliberately as to evoke a general roar.
The camp had been pitched upon high ground overlooking the valley of the Bashi, which ran beneath between rugged bush-clad banks. So the troop set forth on its homeward way, while our four friends, turning their horsesâ heads in the opposite direction, struck downward into the thick bush along the river bank.
For upwards of two hours they forced their way through the thick scrub, but success did not crown their effortsâdid not even wait upon the same. Once or twice a rustle and a scamper in front announced that something had got up and broken away, but whatever it was, owing to the thickness of the bush and the celerity with which it made itself scarce, not one of the hunters could determineâbeing unable so much as to catch a glimpse of the quarry. At length, wearied with their failure to obtain sport under abnormal difficulties, they gained the edge of the river, and there, upon a patch of smooth greensward beneath the cool shade of a cliff, they decided to off-saddle and have a snack.
âBy Jove!â exclaimed Hoste, looking complacently around. âThis is a lovely spot for a picnic. But wouldnât John Kafir have us in a hole just, if he were to come upon us now?â
âWe are four fools,â said Payne sententiously.
âWe are,â growled Carhayes. âYou never said a truer word than that. Four damned fools to think weâd get a shot at anything in a strip of cursed country weâve been chevying niggers up and down for the last six weeks. And as the idea was mine, I suppose Iâm the champion fool of the lot,â he added with a savage laugh. âWe havenât fired a shot this blessed morning, and have had all our trouble for nothing.â
This was not precisely the reflection that Payneâs words were intended to convey. But he said nothing.
âIâm not sure we have had our trouble for nothing,â put in Eustace. âItâs grand country, anyhow.â
It was. Magnificent and romantic scenery surrounded them; huge perpendicular krantzes towering up many hundreds of feet; piles upon piles of broken rocks and boulders, wherein the luxuriant and tangled vegetation had profusely taken root; great rifts and ravines, covered with dense black forest, and the swift murmuring current of the river joining its music with the piping of birds from rock and brake.
But the remark was productive of a growl only from Carhayes. He had not come out to look at scenery. They had had enough and to spare of that during the campaign. He had come out to get a shot at a buck, and hadnât got it.
Pipes were lighted, and the quartette lounged luxuriously upon the sward. The frowning grandeur of the towering heights, the golden glow of the sunlight upon the tree-tops, the soft, sensuous warmth of the summer air, the hum of insects, and the plashing murmur of the river, unconsciously affected all fourâeven grumbling, dissatisfied Tom Carhayes.
âWhisht!â said Payne suddenly, holding up his hand to enjoin silence, and starting from his lounging attitude. The others were prompt to follow his example.
âWhatâs the row, George?â whispered Hoste below his breath. âHear anything?â
For answer Payne waved his hand again
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