With Clive in India; Or, The Beginnings of an EmpireHenty, G. A. (George Alfred)
History
With Clive in India; Or, The Beginnings of an Empire
Henty, G. A. (George Alfred)
India -- History -- British occupation, 1765-1947 -- Fiction
Looking the other way, he saw at once why no boat had been lowered.
The Dover Castle was but a quarter of a mile astern. Carrying less
sail than her consort, she had been better prepared for the squall,
and was running down upon him at a great rate.
A moment later a boat was swung out on davits, and several men climbed
into it. The vessel kept on her course, until scarcely more than her
own length away. Then she suddenly rounded up into the wind, and the
boat was let fall, and rowed rapidly towards him.
All this time, Charlie had made no effort beyond what was necessary to
keep his own head, and his companion's face, above the water. He now
lifted the soldier's head up, and shouted to him that aid was at hand.
In another minute they were dragged into the boat. This was soon
alongside the ship, and three minutes later the Dover Castle was
pursuing her course, in the track of the Lizzie Anderson, having
signalled that the pair had been rescued.
Charlie found that the soldier was an Irish lad, of some nineteen
years old. His name, he said, was Tim Kelly, and as soon as he had
recovered himself sufficiently to speak, he was profuse in his
professions of gratitude to his preserver. Tim, like the majority of
the recruits in the Company's service, had been enlisted while in a
state of drunkenness; had been hurried on board a guard ship, where,
when he recovered, he found a number of other unfortunates like
himself. He had not been permitted to communicate with his friends on
shore, but had been kept in close confinement, until he had been put
in uniform and conveyed on board the Lizzie Anderson, half an hour
before she sailed.
The Company's service was not a popular one. There was no fighting in
India, and neither honor, glory, nor promotion to be won. The climate
was unsuited to Europeans, and few, indeed, of those who sailed from
England as soldiers in the Company's service ever returned. The
Company, then, were driven to all sorts of straits to keep up even the
small force which they then maintained in India, and their recruiting
agents were, by no means, particular as to the means they employed to
make up the tale of recruits.
The vessels did not again communicate until they came to anchor in
Madras roads, as the wind was fair and Captain Thompson anxious to
arrive at his destination. During these few days, Tim Kelly had
followed Charlie about like a shadow. Having no duties to perform on
board, he asked leave to act as Charlie's servant; and Charlie was
touched by the efforts which the grateful fellow made to be of service
to him.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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