In Times of Peril: A Tale of IndiaHenty, G. A. (George Alfred)
History
In Times of Peril: A Tale of India
Henty, G. A. (George Alfred)
India -- History -- Sepoy Rebellion, 1857-1858 -- Juvenile fiction
The raising of that flag, the booming of those guns, were the signal of
the deathblow of the Indian mutiny. Over one hundred thousand rebels
were still in arms against the British government, but the heart of the
insurrection was gone. It was no longer a war, it was a rebellion.
There was no longer a head, a center, or a common aim. Each body of
mutineers fought for themselves--for life rather than for victory. The
final issue of the struggle was now certain; and all the native princes
who had hitherto held aloof, watching the issue of the fight at Delhi,
and remaining neutral until it was decided whether the Sepoys could
pluck up the British flag from the Ridge, or the British tear down the
emblem of rebellion from above the palace of Delhi, hesitated no
longer, but hastened to give in their allegiance to the victorious
power.
Nothing has been said as to the part the Warreners bore in that fierce
six days' fighting. They did their duty, as did every other man in the
British army, but they had no opportunity for specially distinguishing
themselves. As staff officers, they had often to carry messages to
troops engaged in stubborn fight, and in doing so to dash across open
spaces, and run the gantlet of a score of musket balls; both, however,
escaped without a scratch. They had not been present on the occasion of
the taking of the palace, for they had been at early morning on the
point of going in to the headquarters for orders, when Captain Hodgson
came out. They had dined with him on the day previous to the assault,
and he came up them now.
"Now," he said, "I am just going on an expedition after your own
hearts, lads. We have news that the king and queen have stolen away,
and have gone to the palace at the Kotub Minar. I am going with my
troops to bring them in. Would you like to go?"
"Oh, yes, of all things," the Warreners exclaimed. "But we have no
horses."
"Oh, I can mount you," he said. "Several of my fellows slipped into the
town in hopes of getting some loot, and three or four were shot; so if
the general will give you leave, I will take you."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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