ANGUS made every effort to secure the services of a native well acquainted with the passes as guide, but was altogether unsuccessful. The difficulties were, they declared, insurmountable, the danger overwhelming. "I must see what I can do," Sadut Khan said, when Angus informed him that the natives were all of opinion that the snow was too heavy and the danger too great for the pass to be attempted. "We stayed here for some days, when I crossed the hills with Dost Mahomed. There is a petty chief living in a village two miles away; if he is still there,[Pg 181] I think he would accompany you. Whether or not, I am certain he would not divulge the secret of my being here to anyone."
"I will go myself to see him," Angus said. "I hope indeed he will accompany us, for if not, I fear that our journey has come to an end, as the offers I have made would have tempted any of the natives here to go with me if they had thought it possible. Shall I mention your name to him?"
"Say to him only that a chief of the Momunds, whom he knew here three months ago, desires to speak to him."
Angus at once mounted his horse and rode to the foot of the hill upon which the village with the tower of its chief was perched. Then fastening the bridle to a stunted shrub, he made his way up the steep ascent on foot. The place did not contain more than a dozen houses. As he passed through these, natives wrapped in sheep-skin jackets came to the door and gazed at him with angry scowls. As he reached the door of the tower four armed men came out.
"What would you here, stranger?" one of them said.
"I would speak a few words with your chief."
"He does not want either to buy or to sell," the man said shortly.
"I do not seek to sell," Angus said. "I have a message of importance to him."
One of them went into the tower, and returning in a minute, motioned to Angus to follow him. The chief, a tall and powerful man of middle age, was seated on the floor of a room in the upper story of the tower. Near him was a large earthenware pan, in which a charcoal fire was burning.
"Why come you here, Persian?" he said, "and what message can one like you bear to me?"
Angus repeated the message that Sadut Khan had given him. The chief rose to his feet suddenly. "You lie!" he[Pg 182] said fiercely, "he is dead. The news came to us a week since."
"Nevertheless, he gave me that message; and if you will come with me to Bamian you will see for yourself that he is not dead, though it is true that he has been sorely hurt."
"I go not into Bamian," the chief said. "I have not put foot in the town since the accursed infidels came there. They have held no communication with me, nor I with them. This may be a trick to lure me there and make me prisoner."
"If they had desired to do so," Angus said quietly, "they would have sent a hundred men with a gun or two, and not a mere trader. Besides, how could they have told that a Momund chief had been here with Dost Mahomed when he passed through?"
"Many could have told you that," the chief said, "seeing that, next to the Ameer himself, he was the most observed of the party."
"Well, chief, if you will not go, I have nothing to do but to return and inform him that you refuse to come and see him."
"How can he be there, in the midst of the enemy, unless indeed he is a prisoner?"
"He is not a prisoner; he lies in my tent. You can see him without entering Bamian, for my camp is outside the town. What motive, chief, could I have in deceiving you?"
"I will go," the chief said suddenly. "It shall not be said that I refused to answer such a call, however improbable it might seem."
He threw on a cloak lined with sheep-skins, and telling his men that unless something befell him he would be back by noon, he led the way down the hill. Angus mounted his horse when he reached it and rode beside him. For some distance the Afghan did not speak.
[Pg 183]
"Do you know the name of this chief?" he asked abruptly when half the distance had been traversed.
"It is Sadut Khan, the fighting chief of the Momunds, and a nephew by marriage of the Ameer."
The Afghan had not expected this reply.
"You must be in his confidence indeed, Persian, or he would not thus have disclosed himself when in the midst of those who would hail his capture as one of the most valuable prizes."
"He has, as you say, faith in me," Angus said quietly, "and will, doubtless, when you see him, give you his reason for that trust in me."
"Your story must be true, and I believe it; forgive me for at first doubting it. But having heard that the chief had been killed, I thought this was a plot of some kind."
"It was natural that you should not believe me," Angus said. "You could scarce credit that he was alive, and, what was still more strange, that he should be in a town occupied by the English, and yet not be a prisoner."
"This is a fortunate day for me, indeed," the Afghan said. "There is no chief whose name is more honoured in the country than that of Sadut Khan. He is as brave as a lion, good to his people, and faithful to Dost Mahomed, when so many have fallen away from him. The Ameer regards him as if he were a favourite son, and it will gladden his heart indeed, and lessen his troubles, when he learns that he is still alive."
Avoiding the town they went straight to Sadut. Angus dismounted and led the way to his little white tent, and, raising the flap, said to the chief, "He is here; enter."
The Afghan did so; and thinking it best to leave them together for a time, Angus strolled away and saw that his horse was, as usual, well wrapped up in a thick felt blanket.[Pg 184] It was half an hour before the chief made his appearance at the entrance to the tent and looked round.
Angus at once spoke to him.
"My friend," said the chief, "I again ask your pardon for doubting you for a moment. Allah will surely bless you for the good work you have done. Sadut Khan has told me all, and it passes my understanding why a stranger should have cumbered himself with a wounded man of whom he knew nothing."
"Does not the Koran bid us succour the afflicted?"
"That is true, my friend, but there are surely limits. One will do great things for a friend, one may do something for a stranger, but to hinder one's journey and cumber one's self with a wounded stranger is surely more than can be expected of us."
Angus now entered the tent.
"My trust in the chief was not misplaced," Sadut Khan said. "He will act as our guide across the mountains, though he doubts whether it will be possible to cross the passes. If it is the will of Allah, Persian, that we should not, we can but die."
"That is so," Angus said; "but the passes may not be as badly blocked as we expect."
"We can hardly hope that," the chief replied, shaking his head. "The last party that came over reported that they had never known it so bad. This was a week ago, and since then the sky has always been dull to the north, and it has surely been snowing there. However, to-day it is lighter, and maybe no more snow will fall for a time. We had best lose not an hour in starting. I shall take four of my men with me. We have no horses, but that matters not at all, for the passage will have to be made on foot. Let us move to-morrow at daybreak, and travel as far as we can before it is dark."
[Pg 185]
When the arrangements were all settled, Angus went into the village and bought some more grain, cheese, and other food, also a store of extra blankets, and two other native tents; these were to be packed on his horse and Azim's. Among other things he bought two native lamps for each tent, and a good supply of oil, a roll of flannel for tearing into strips for winding round the feet and legs, and he was then satisfied that he had done all in his power to render the enterprise a success. Before daybreak next morning Hassan, the Afghan chief, arrived with four of his followers, all strong and sinewy men. The animals were speedily packed; Sadut's litter was placed between two of the horses which were more lightly loaded than the others, and they set out just as daylight was spreading over the sky.
The speed with which the start was effected was in itself a sign that all felt the gravity of the task before them. Angus had the evening before explained to the two soldiers that the journey before them was one of tremendous difficulty, and offered to leave them in charge of Lieutenant Mackenzie till spring, when they could return to Cabul and rejoin their regiment; but they would not hear of it.
"We are both mountain men," one said, "and if others can get through we can. At any rate, we will risk anything rather than return with blackened faces and say that we had feared to follow our officer."
The morning was bitterly cold, but the sky was clear.
"We shall do well to-day," Hassan said to Angus, "and the horses are fresh. As for to-morrow, who can say?"
The snow was knee-deep when they got beyond the village. The ascent began almost at once and was heavy work both for men and horses.
They continued their journey till it was too dark to go farther, then they halted in a ravine which afforded some shelter from the piercing wind. All set to work to clear[Pg 186] away the snow where the tents were to be pitched, but before raising these the horses were attended to. Blankets were girded round them from the ears to the tail, and they were picketed touching each other for mutual warmth. A supply of corn was then laid down before each on some square pieces of felt placed on the snow. When the tents were pitched the lamps were lighted and the flaps closed, then snow was scraped up outside until the canvas was covered nearly to the top. In spite of the intense cold all were thoroughly warmed by their hard work before they turned in. Angus took Azim into his tent, the rest divided themselves among the other two. At other times it would have been unpleasant to be so closely packed, but in such weather it was an advantage.
Before setting to work to pile the snow against the tents a brass kettle filled with water had been suspended from the ridge-pole over the lamps, and the water was almost boiling by the time the work was finished, and in a few minutes coffee was made. The frozen carcasses of four sheep had been brought, as well as a large quantity of meat that had been cooked on the previous day. Some slices of the latter were thawed over the lamp and eaten with bread that had been purchased at Bamian. But few words were spoken after the meal was finished, their fatigue and the warmth of the tent rendering it difficult for them to keep awake. In a few minutes all were sound asleep. The next day's march was even more arduous. Sadut had given up his litter and again mounted his horse, as it was found impossible for the two animals linked together by the hammock to make their way up the steep place. The work was toilsome in the extreme, but all worked cheerfully.
Hassan and his four men laboured with the greatest vigour, carrying burdens to places which horses when laden could not have climbed, hauling the animals out of deep drifts[Pg 187] into which they frequently fell, carrying Sadut Khan in his litter at points where the ascent was so steep that, crippled as he still was by his injured leg, he could not have retained his seat in the saddle. The party worked in almost complete silence, but with a stern determination and energy which showed their consciousness that every moment was of importance. Twelve miles were the result of as many hours of labour. No signs of a track had been visible since they left Bamian, and Angus felt how absolutely impossible it would have been to cross the pass had it not been for the intimate knowledge of Hassan and his followers; even these were sometimes at fault. None of them had ever passed over the mountains when so deeply covered with snow, and consultations constantly took place between them as to the line to be followed. When they arrived at their halting-place for the night, Hassan told Angus and the Momund chief that they were now within two hundred feet of the top of the pass.
"To-morrow's work will be the most dangerous; the north wind sweeps across the plateau with terrible force. Moreover, I do not like the look of the sky this evening. We have been fortunate so far, but I think that there will be a change."
"It is well, indeed," Sadut said as they ate their supper, "that we crossed the highest pass before the snow began in earnest; we certainly could not have supported that journey had we been ten days later. We have got through the hardest part of the work, and everything now depends upon the weather. May Allah grant that there be no more snow. The pass to-morrow is but twelve miles across, and if all goes well we shall begin to descend on the following morning. If the snow holds off we shall be able to do that distance easily, for it is almost a level plain that we have to traverse. Parts of it will be nearly clear of snow, which[Pg 188] the fierce blasts sweep away as fast as it falls, while in other places the surface will be hard enough to walk on, the snow being pressed firmly together by the weight of the wind."
They were on foot again next morning even earlier than usual. All were aware of the importance of haste. The tents were pulled down and loaded with the greatest rapidity. The cold was intense, and but few words were spoken until they reached the summit of the ascent, by which time the effort of climbing had restored the heat that had been lost as soon as they left their warm tents. The sky was cloudless, and Angus felt hopeful that the day's journey would be accomplished with comparative ease. He noticed, however, that there was an anxious look on the faces of the five tribesmen, who, although they were travelling more rapidly than they had done since they left Bamian, were constantly urging horses and men to press forward at a greater speed. Angus had expected that they would have to face very strong wind, but scarce a breath was blowing.
As Sadut had predicted, the rock was in many places completely bare. The fields of snow were so hard that, instead of struggling knee-deep as before, they now seldom sank over their feet, and sometimes left scarcely a track upon the surface. The hills on either side stood up clear and hard, and the silence was almost oppressive. They were, they calculated, half-way across the pass three hours after leaving their camp, when Hassan, who was walking beside Angus and Sadut, stopped suddenly and pointed to the sky. Looking up Angus saw two or three little wisps of vapour passing overhead with extraordinary speed.
"The storm!" Hassan exclaimed. "See, others are coming; it will soon be upon us. We can go no farther, but must prepare to meet it instantly or we shall be overwhelmed."
[Pg 189]
Knowing that Hassan would not have spoken thus unless from the direst necessity, Angus at once ordered a halt. The plateau was perfectly flat, and nowhere could any shelter be obtained, and they were now on an expanse of hard snow. Urged by the shouts and exclamations of Hassan all hastened to unload the animals. As soon as this was done, Angus ordered the tents to be pitched.
"It is useless," Hassan said, "they would be blown down in an instant. Let them lie open on the snow. Let each man take his two blankets and keep them by him in readiness, and when the storm begins let him wrap himself up in these, and then let those who are tent-fellows lie down together on one side of the tent, pull the other over them, and roll themselves in it. I and my men will be the last to take shelter, and we will pile the sacks and saddles over the ends to keep them down. But first put all the extra blankets over the horses and fasten them over their heads, and let them hang down well behind. They will turn their backs to the wind. Make all those that are accustomed to lie down do so. Range the others close to them."
Ten minutes of hard work and all was ready. Then they had time to look round. The sky was hidden from view by masses of black clouds streaming along. The men took their places on their tents and wrapped their blankets round in readi............