As Percy went to the door of his tent he saw the Sikhs moving off in solid bodies.

"Those are the Bunnoo regiments," the officer of his guard said, "they are our best. Some of Sher Singh's regiments are good, but they are not equal to those from Bunnoo. They have been drilled by Van Cortlandt, and march as truly and well as the best regiments of the Feringhees. They are going to take their revenge to-day. Every man of them fought at Ferozeshah or Sobraon, many at both, and they will wipe out those defeats to-day. A very strong force is going, nearly the whole indeed. What do we want men here for? They will never venture to cross from the opposite side while our guns sweep the ford. Besides, there is a regiment left to guard it, and the Feringhees cannot tell that Sher Singh has marched with his whole force to exterminate their comrades on this bank. You will not be lonely any more, for to-night there will be many prisoners here, for those who throw down their arms may be spared; I know not the orders Sher Singh has issued, still mercy is sure to be shown to a few. By the way, I have just seen a man who has come from the river bank, and he says that during the night your people have thrown up two batteries about mid-way between their bank and the river, so as to command the ford. Doubtless they feared that, knowing they would be so weakened, we should march across and destroy them. That was indeed the plan advocated by many of our leaders, but it was thought best to destroy this army first; for you see we can fall upon them when entangled in rice-fields and jungle, whereas here we should suffer from the batteries on their bank before we came to close quarters."

As the officer had been very civil to him throughout the march, Percy abstained from dashing his confidence by the expression of a doubt.

"You are going to fall upon them during the march?"

"Yes, and all the regular horse are to ride round and capture their baggage and then charge down on their rear. The river is on their right, and not a man ought to escape if the affair is well managed."

Throughout the day the guns of the British batteries across the river again maintained their fire, the Sikhs making no reply. Percy from time to time listened attentively, hoping to hear the rattle of musketry that would tell him that Lord Gough was making a vigorous attempt to cross the river in order to give aid to the little column that was cut off from him. He heard that the British were constructing two batteries close to the river, and was astonished that they should be permitted to do this without interruption.

"I was mistaken," the officer said to him at eight o'clock. "I thought that the batteries were still manned, and that a regiment was there. I find that the guns have been withdrawn, and that every man has gone to the fight. It is very strange that, seeing everything is silent, the English do not send a party across the river to reconnoitre. Their commander must be asleep," the Sikh said contemptuously.

"But why has the passage been left open to them?"

"What do we care if they do cross? Your tent is almost the only one left standing. If we saw them appear on the river bank we should mount and ride at once; there are the horses all standing ready. Almost all the baggage is moved away. I think Sher Singh would be glad if they did cross to-day, then we should come back and attack them in the morning. With the river in their rear, how many would escape?"

It was past mid-day when an exclamation broke from Percy's guard, as the boom of a gun some six or seven miles away was heard.

"The battle has begun," the Sikhs exclaimed.

There was an animated discussion among them as to the distance, but it was agreed at last that it must be somewhere in the neighbourhood of the village of Sadoolapore, which was situated close to a ford, and the British had probably halted there in order to have a loophole for retreat. The halt had indeed been made at this point in order that the infantry brigade of General Godby, which the commander-in-chief had sent to reinforce them, might cross the ford; they had not, however, as yet arrived. The column having halted, prepared to take their breakfast. While so engaged a cannon-shot fell close by, and Nicholson's irregular Pathan horse at once went out in the direction from which the shot was fired, and were soon in contact with the enemy, whose artillery opened a heavy fire.

The troops at once formed up for battle. In front of them were three small villages surrounded by plantations, which afforded an admirable cover for the enemy, and would have enabled them to mass unperceived and to pour down upon our line. Seeing the disadvantage of the position, General Thackwell, who was in command of the force, ordered them to fall back so as to have clear ground in front of them. The movement caused shouts of exultation among the unseen enemy, who construed it into a movement of retreat. Some time, however, elapsed before the Sikh forces had all assembled, but as soon as they had done so their batteries opened fire, while yells of defiance, mingled with the blowing of horns and the beating of drums, added to the tumult of cannon and musketry.

The British infantry lay down on the ground, and the storm of iron and lead swept over them almost harmlessly. Great bodies of the Sikh cavalry now showed on both flanks, with the evident intention of penetrating to the rear, but the cavalry, aided by the horse-artillery, met and checked them on both flanks; while three other batteries, placed in the intervals of the infantry regiments, replied to those of the enemy, and their accurate fire caused considerable confusion among the Sikh gunners, whose fire gradually slackened and at last ceased, though the infantry still maintained their position in front.

The extreme rapidity with which for two hours the British artillery worked their guns had almost exhausted the supply of ammunition they had brought with them, and when General Thackwell consulted his officers whether he should now take the offensive and attack the Sikhs, the reply was an almost unanimous negative. It was about four o'clock in the afternoon, and there were but two hours' daylight left. The enemy's infantry were intact, and were in full force to the front. The three villages constituted a very strong position. The nature of the ground beyond was altogether unknown, but it was believed that sugar-cane fields extended to the Sikh intrenchments; the troops were already exhausted with the long day's exposure to the sun. Godby's brigade had not yet crossed, and with but two white regiments it would have been perilous indeed to engage in a conflict on unknown ground against an enemy of vastly superior strength, and containing the Bunnoo regiments, the flower of the Sikh army. The force, too, was already weakened by the strong detachment covering the head of the ford, and by a larger body detached to guard the baggage in the rear. It was therefore determined to rest for the night in the position occupied, and to renew the engagement in the morning, when it was hoped that Godby's brigade would have joined. The loss had been but small, twenty-one men killed and fifty-one wounded, most of whom belonged to the artillery, against which arm the Sikh fire had been mainly directed.

To the surprise and disappointment of the British it was discovered in the morning that the Sikhs had evacuated their position in front of them. Godby's brigade had been all night crossing the river in three or four little boats, and joined the force at nine o'clock. Upon advancing into the villages it was found that the Sikh loss had been very large, great numbers of dead being discovered here and among the sugar-canes behind. The cavalry were at once sent ahead to endeavour to discover the course taken by the Sikhs, and learned from villagers that they had passed during the night along the roads leading towards the Jhelum river; but though the cavalry pressed far in pursuit they did not succeed in coming up with them. The infantry marched twelve miles in the direction they had taken, and then halted for the night. It was not until that morning that Lord Gough sent a small force across the river and discovered that the Sikhs had left thirty-six hours before.

For four hours Percy had listened anxiously to the continuous roll of artillery. When it ceased at four o'clock the men round him shouted triumphantly that all was over, and the Feringhees annihilated; but no news had been received, when Percy, feeling worn out with the excitement and the worry of the day, threw himself down on his bed. At ten o'clock he heard a horse approaching at a gallop. A few words were said, of which he could not gather the import, but as they were followed by a volley of execrations his heart gave a bound of delight, for he felt that the Sikhs had failed in their attack.

Two minutes later the officer entered his tent. "You are to mount and ride with us at once, sahib," he said shortly.

Percy asked no questions, feeling that silence was at present the safest policy. His first thought was for his men, who always slept in the camp of the sowars, where his horse was picketed. He had not seen them all day, and had no doubt that they had been obliged to accompany the cavalry when they moved off at daybreak. He mounted his horse, which was as usual linked to those of the troopers on either side of it, and the party moved off silently, leaving the tent standing. For an hour but few words were spoken beyond occasional muttered execrations among the Sikhs. Then the officer rode up beside him, taking the chain from the trooper on his right-hand side.

"I was wrong, sahib; we have not eaten up the Feringhees as I expected. It has been a drawn battle. Your guns fired at us, and we fired at them; many were killed on both sides. Our infantry never attacked, nor did yours; but we suffered most, for your infantry lay down on the ground like cowards, while ours stood up like men; still they could not advance under the terrible fire of your guns. So the combat ceased, and we march to-night to take up a new position on the Jhelum, where it is all bush and jungle."

"But why should you fall back if the battle is an indecisive one?"

"Because, sahib, we felt too sure of victory. We left the ford open here, thinking, as I told you, that after we had crushed the troops we went out to fight we should march back here and destroy the force from across the river. Our calculations have been wrong; we have not won the battle; and the blind people on the other side have not crossed, though they must have seen that there was neither a man nor a gun to resist them. To-morrow they must surely discover it, and then when they cross we should find ourselves between two fires; so there was nothing to do but to fall back. The next time we will fight on our ground, in thick jungle, where the white cavalry cannot act nor the gunners discover our position; then you will see."

For three hours longer they rode on. The officer had ceased to talk, the men were all silent, and were, Percy guessed, half asleep on their horses. The night was so dark that he could scarce make out the figures riding beside him. It went to his heart to leave Sheik, and he wondered whether he could lean forward and unbuckle the chains. However, he abandoned the idea, for even could he do so the rattle of the ends of the falling chains would at once rouse the men. He knew nothing of the country on either side of the road they were following, and would assuredly come to grief did he attempt to gallop over it, therefore he fell back upon his original plan.

Taking his feet from the stirrups and letting go the reins he quietly lifted himself back out of the saddle, and then holding on by it let himself slip off noiselessly over the crupper. As he did so he stooped low on the ground. The troopers behind were riding two and two, with an interval of some feet between them. They passed along on either side of him, but the horses of the two last troopers, who were riding closer together than the others, swerved suddenly, nearly unseating their riders, and causing them to burst into angry exclamations.

"What can the brutes have shied at?" one asked the other.

"It might be anything," was the reply. "Lots of carts have been passing down the road, and I suppose something has dropped off one of them."

As soon as they had passed, Percy left the road. He found that the ground on either side was covered with low scrub bushes. Among these he made his way cautiously, and had gone but fifty yards when he heard a sudden shout, followed by a string of furious exclamations, and a minute later the troopers came galloping back along the road. He stooped among the bushes as they passed, although confident that he could not be seen. He had almost expected they would rein in their horses as they came to the point where he had left the road, and indeed they would certainly have done so if the troopers had told the officer of the sudden start their horses had given them. As they rode on without a check he concluded that the men had said nothing of the incident, thinking that if they did so they would certainly incur blame, and probably severe punishment, for not ascertaining what it was that the animals had shied at.

As soon as they had passed he returned to the road, for although he could have kept the general direction by means of the stars, he might have got far away from the direct track, and, moreover, might in the dark have come upon broken ground and fallen down some hole or nullah, and this possibility would necessitate very slow and careful walking. He therefore kept along the road, but was so frequently obliged to leave it, owing to the number of carts, horsemen, and peasants all flying before the expected advance of the British, that he made but slow progress. This, however, did not trouble him. The Sikh army had fallen back, and the British cavalry would soon be scouring the country. His principal reason for wishing to be back before the evening was his arrangement with his two men. It was, of course, uncertain that they would, any more than himself, return to the tent that night. Having been with the cavalry during the battle they would know nothing of what had taken place in the camp they had left, and could not have been certain that he and his guard had not started for the rear early in the day, in which case he would not have attempted to escape. However, if they reached the tent before morning they would be sure to wait unless they saw the British troops crossing the river, in which case they would probably make off, as they might be cut down before they could make it understood that they were the servants of an English officer.

As soon, therefore, as the first dawn of light appeared he moved farther away from the road and entered a patch of low trees and brushwood, and there sat watching the road. From time to time bullock-carts and pack-animals came along, generally in parties under the escort of small bodies of sowars, who were evidently urging them to push forward with all haste, sometimes the bullock-carts were provided with curtains, and no doubt contained the ladies of the zenana of some zemindar of the district, who with his retainers was with the army. The spot where Percy was hidden was at the very edge of the cultivated ground, and beyond wide fields stretched away as far as he could see. Here and there peasants were at work as usual, heeding very little the events passing round them, and confident they would suffer no molestation at the hands of the British, and that any change would be likely to benefit rather than to harm them.

As the sun gained power Percy began to feel the torture of thirst, but he well knew that there was no hope of obtaining water, as he could not quit his place of concealment until night again fell, for his dress would betray him even at a considerable distance. He had intended to watch until he saw English troops coming along, but he had been walking all night, and as the heat increased found it impossible to keep his eyes open. Besides, as he told himself, there was no certainty whatever that the British cavalry would come along that day. After having allowed themselves to be checked for a day and a half by deserted earthworks there might be still farther delay, and even after crossing a day might elapse before any farther advance was made. He was turning this over in his mind when his thoughts gradually became confused, and he was soon sound asleep.

The sun was setting when he awoke. On looking round he saw that the road was entirely deserted, and determined therefore to push forward through the fields at once in hope of discovering water, for he woke with a raging thirst. He had walked for half an hour when he saw a cloud of dust on the road, and at once leapt down into a small nullah, and there, concealed from sight, ran towards the road. When he heard the tramping of horses and the rumbling of wheels he took off his white helmet and raised his head sufficiently high to look through a tuft of grass at the ............