arch of five
hundred and eighty miles. At midnight they reached Nowshera, the first
stage of their journey, and were up again at daybreak. It was the
hottest season of the year; the sun beat mercilessly down upon them; and
the burning march to Attock, the next stage, taxed their endurance to
the uttermost. But not a man fell out, and after resting until two
o'clock next morning they were on foot again, springing up with cheerful
alacrity at the sound of the bugle. A dust-storm swept upon them as they
started; they plodded steadily through it, marched for thirty-two miles
with only the briefest halts, rested during the day at Boran, and were
off again soon after midnight on the next stage of thirty-two miles to
Jani-ki-sang.

Another night march brought them to Rawal Pindi. There they heard how
the mutiny was spreading--a terrible tale of rapine, incendiarism and
massacre; and--a little light amid the darkness--how native princes in
various parts were showing a noble loyalty, and placing their swords at
the service of the British. There, too, Sir John Lawrence reviewed the
corps, gave the men unstinted praise for their patience and endurance
under fatigue, and did all he could for their comfort. He spoke to many
men personally as he passed down the lines, and, halting before Ahmed,
said in his gruff voice--

"Where did I see you last, young man?"

"At Peshawar, sahib, when I spoke to your honour about my father, Rahmut
Khan."

"Ah yes, I remember. I am glad to see you in such good company."

And he passed on, leaving Ahmed in a glow of pleasure.

Night after night the march continued. Sometimes the troopers dozed on
their horses and had to dismount and go on foot in order to keep
themselves awake. Even that remedy failed, and once Ahmed slept as he
walked, and still trudged on when the rest halted, until Sherdil took
him by the shoulder and shook him into wakefulness.

Early in the morning of June 6, when the corps had been marching for
more than three weeks, they arrived at Karnal, about three days' march
from Delhi, their goal. They had scarcely halted when Mr. Le Bas, the
magistrate, came to Captain Daly with a request that he would destroy
two or three villages in the neighbourhood whose inhabitants had proved
very troublesome and were threatening the lines of communication. Daly
was loath to delay; there was sterner work before him than the
operations of a police officer; but the magistrate being very pressi