The Far Pavilions - Mary Margaret Kaye [513]
In these circumstances it shocked the General to discover how little was known of the country through which his troops might soon have to advance – and this despite the fact that a British Army had marched that way before, and on retreating, suffered one of the most appalling disasters to befall an invading army since Napoleon's Grande Armée melted away on the agonizing retreat from Moscow.
‘This is ridiculous. I must have maps,’ said General Sam. ‘We can't go barging bald-headed into those hills without knowing a damn' thing about them. Do you mean to tell me there are no maps? None at all?’
‘Apparently not, sir; only a few rough sketches, and I understand none of those are very accurate,’ said the Adjutant-General, adding in extenuation: ‘The tribes don't take kindly to strangers wandering around their territories with compasses and theodolites, so you see –’
‘No I don't,’ snapped the one-armed General. ‘But Major Cavagnari tells me that he has already come to an agreement with two of the tribes, and is in hopes of persuading a third – the Mohmands – to allow us free passage through their territory. That being so, it should be possible to send a few men to spy out the land for us. You'd better see to it, will you.’
The Adjutant-General had seen to it, and that same evening two men, Captain Stewart of the Guides and a Mr Scott of the Survey Department, had set out from Peshawar to reconnoitre the Border country and collect what information they could as to the strength and disposition of Faiz Mohammed Khan's forces. They had been absent for the best part of two weeks, and a few days after their return Louis Cavagnari had suggested that it would be a good idea if he were to accompany them on a second reconnaissance to confirm their results: ‘And I think it might be as well, sir, if one or two of the officers who were with me during my interview with the Governor of Ali Masjid went with us. They already know something of the country, and a second visit should help to fix a good many important details in their minds; it seems to me that an accurate knowledge of the terrain may shortly be of incalculable value to us all.’
‘You are right, there,’ agreed the General grimly. ‘The more we know about the place the better. Take whom you like.’
Which explains why a few days later dawn found Colonel Jenkins and Wigram Battye scrambling up a steep and almost invisible goat-track on the wrong side of the Border, in the wake of Captain Stewart, Mr Scott and the Deputy Commissioner of Peshawar…
The five men had left Jamrud in the chill pre-dawn darkness, and as unobtrusively as possible. Their horses and two sowars of the Guides Cavalry had been waiting for them outside the main gate of the fort, and the small party had mounted and ridden quietly away in the darkness. The moon was down and the stars were already fading, but in the east the sky was beginning to pale, and there was just enough light for the riders to be able to take their horses at a cautious trot across the stretch of plain that lay between Jamrud and the hills; though not enough – or so Major Cavagnari hoped – to make them visible to any watcher on those hillsides. Once safely across the open ground and among the foothills they had dismounted, and leaving their horses in charge of the sowars, gone forward on foot.
It had been a long and arduous climb, and the darkness had not helped. But as the sky overhead was beginning to lighten, they reached the summit of a five-hundred-foot ridge where Scott, who had been leading, stopped at last, panting and breathless. When he was able to command his voice he spoke in a whisper, as though he were afraid that even on this remote and silent hilltop there might be other listeners: ‘I think, sir,’ he said addressing Major Cavagnari, ‘that this is the place you meant.’
Cavagnari nodded and said equally softly: ‘Yes. We will wait here,’ and his four companions, who were hot and tired and dripping with sweat, subsided thankfully on the ground and stared about them.
They were