Gil the Gunner: The Youngest Officer in the EastFenn, George Manville
General
Gil the Gunner: The Youngest Officer in the East
Fenn, George Manville
Great Britain. Army -- Colonial forces -- India -- Juvenile fiction; Young men -- Juvenile fiction
For I had a painful recollection of the horrible sensation of sickness
which attacked me sometimes when the doctor was moving me a little in
dressing my wounded arm; and, eager as I was to go out in the open air,
I could not help shrinking at the thought of being moved, so as the four
men stooped I involuntarily set my teeth and shut my eyes, with a
determination not to show the pain I should be in.
To my astonishment and delight, instead of taking hold of me, the four
men at a word softly rolled over the sides of the rug upon which my
couch was made, until it was pretty close to my side, when they seized
the firm roll, lifted together, and I was borne out through the open
side of the tent, so lightly and with such elasticity of arm and hand,
that instead of being a pain it was a pleasure, and I opened my eyes at
once.
I was very eager to see where I was, and what the country was like all
round. In fact, I had a slight hope that I should be able to recognise
some point or another, even if it were only one of the mountains.
But my hopes sank at once, for as we passed from out of the shadow of
the tent and into the beautiful morning sunshine I could see trees, and
trees only, shutting me in on every side, the tents being pitched partly
under a small banyan, or baobab tree, and standing in an irregular
opening of about a couple of acres in extent, while the dense verdure
rose like a wall all around.
I could not help sighing with disappointment; and, at a sign from
Salaman, the bearers stopped while he held the cup he had taken from a
stand to my lips.
"No, no," I said; "not now. Let them go on."
He signed to the bearers, and they stepped off again all together, and
the next moment almost they stopped in a delightful spot beneath the
spreading boughs of a tree, where carpets were spread and pillows
already so arranged that the men had only to lower down the rug they
bore, and I was reclining where the soft wind blew, and flowers and
fresh fruits were waiting ready to my hand.
In spite of my disappointment, there was a delightful feeling of
satisfaction in resting down there on the soft cushions, able to see the
bright sky and drink in the fresh air which seemed a hundred times
better than that which floated in through the side of the tent; and when
Salaman bent over me anxiously with the cup of cool water in his hand,
the smile I gave him quieted his dread lest I should faint.
The four men glided away into the shadow of the trees, but after a
minute I saw them reappear in front and glide silently into a long, low
tent, standing at a little distance from the one I had left, and beyond
which I could see another.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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