robable effects of a cyclone, had already
closed the outside Venetian shutters and barred all the doors. In vain I
banged at the door and called at the top of my voice--they heard nothing."

In desperation he had to make his way as best he could back to his own
bungalow, about half a mile away, only to find that also barred against
him. "I had to continue hammering for a long time before they heard and
admitted me, thankful to be comparatively safe inside a house."

Another disappointment to Roberts lay in the fact that he was still away
from his father, who seemed destined all his life to remain a stranger to
him. The junior officer was stationed at Dum Dum, famous as the
birthplace of the soft-nosed bullets, now proscribed in civilized
warfare. His father had been appointed to the command of the troops at
Peshawar, and now wrote him a welcome note bidding him come to join him.

This was easier said than done, but was finally accomplished after three
months of toilsome and dangerous travel. He used every sort of native
conveyance--barge, post-chaise, palanquin, pony, and "shank's mares"--but
it was interesting and full of novelty to the barracks-bound soldier. He
went by way of Benares, Allahabad, Cawnpore, and Meerut--places destined
to win unpleasant fame in the Mutiny.

Peshawar, his destination, proved no less fascinating than the way
stations. It commanded the caravan route between India and Afghanistan,
and guarded the entrance to Khyber Pass. Lord Dalhousie described it as
"the outpost of the Indian Empire"--a very accurate title.

At Peshawar at last Frederick Roberts became acquainted with his father,
who proved a good comrade. The junior officer served as aide-de-camp on
the general's staff, and went with him on several expeditions, outwardly
peaceful, but inwardly full of danger. India then was a seething caldron
of trouble.

Nevertheless, this period with his father is described by Frederick
Roberts as "one of the brightest and happiest of my early life."
Unfortunately the senior officer's health showed signs of breaking--and
again father and son had to part. General Roberts resigned his command
and returned to England, at the end of the year 1853.

Peshawar was a notoriously unhealthy station, and young Roberts also soon
began to feel the effects of the climate. He was still far from robust,
and traded continually on his will and nerve. The native fever sapped
his energy, and he was sent