by his wounds, kept Gerrard from all
rational conversation for some time, but when he recovered his senses,
he thought that it was still the night of the battle. On the roof of
the tent brooded the gigantic shadow of Charteris in his shirt-sleeves,
writing busily by the usual light of a candle-end stuck into the neck
of a bottle.

"Bob!" said Gerrard weakly. Charteris was at his side in a moment.

"Want anything, old boy? By Jove, I'm uncommon glad to hear your voice
again--talking sensibly, that is.

"But it's only a few hours since you brought me in here."

"A few fiddlesticks! My dear fellow, it's three weeks."

"Bob, have they sent us the siege artillery?"

"No, and they won't. Guns are too precious to move without escort, and
British troops are too expensive to cart about in the rains. So here
we are, twiddling our thumbs till better times come."

"But what about the country--and Sher Singh?"

"Sher Singh is safe in Agpur. We've got him shut up there, at any
rate. But Granthistan is in a blaze, Hal. The Commander-in-Chief is
on his way up-country. It's another Granthi War--thanks to their
delay."

"And our Granthis?"

"Oh, they marched off bag and baggage to join Sher Singh the other
night, when the news came that we were not to be reinforced till the
cold weather. I didn't hear of their going till they had nearly
reached Agpur, and I wasn't particularly anxious to stop them when I
did."

"Better rid of them. You know they fired blank all day--the day of the
battle, I mean?"

"That was the trick, was it? I couldn't get it out of you. Not that
it would have made much difference if I had known, I suppose. I tell
you, Hal, there was a moment when, if only the heavy artillery had come
up, we held Sher Singh in the hollow of our hands. He was in such a
panic when he got back to Agpur that he actually fired on his own
troops when they crowded across the bridge after him. They would have
handed him over to us like lambs if we could have threatened the city
then. But it's no use crying over spilt milk. I'm going to make use
of this interval in hostilities to send you to Ranjitgarh for a bit,
old boy. If they won't use the river to send us our big guns, we may
use it to recruit our invalids a bit. It can't be as hot at Ranjitgarh
as it is here. But I put you on your honour to come back. No one must
lead the Habshiabadis into Agpur but you. You will find me relegated
to my original obs