Bayonets Along the Border by John Wilcox

Author:John Wilcox
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9780749014063
Publisher: Allison & Busby
Published: 2014-03-04T06:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

Kabul was about an hour behind them, and they had been riding through pleasing country, much of it orchards, that was now beginning to rise into foothills. It had not been easy to regroup the column ready to ride out and Fonthill had become restive at the delay. He had used the time to send Inderjit Singh into the bazaars again to see if he could pick up news about the Pathans’ attack on the Khyber forts but the Sikh had been unable to gather anything more than that the mullah had raised a vast army and was descending on the Pass.

It was enough to fuel Simon’s anxiety about Alice and he had urged the column into a trot as it pulled out of Kabul, accompanied now by taunts from the citizens lining the narrow streets. The pace, however, had had to be slowed for the sake of the horses and he now sat the saddle in some disquiet.

It was not just the inevitable adjustment to the pace of the advance that disconcerted him but the fact that, for the last minute or so, he had sensed instinctively that something was wrong. Nothing seemed to have changed: the sun beat down from the bluest of skies and the landscape seemed empty of people, but something had alerted him to danger. So what the hell was it?

He stood tall in the stirrups and looked ahead again to where the ground began to fold into valleys and dark rises. Ah yes! There it was. A sudden flash of the sun reflecting from bright metal, just where the road began to wind between outcrops of rock. A likely place for ambush, of course.

It could perhaps be that the sun had caught some bright part of a farm implement, or was even reflecting from a sheet of water. But farm implements in Afghanistan were invariably made of wood and they had long since left the river behind and pools were rare in this barren country.

He called to Appleby-Smith. ‘Clarence. Use your field glasses and scan ahead where the road starts to climb and disappear. See anything?’

The captain focused the glasses and then lowered them. ‘No,’ he said. ‘Nothing at all. Why?’

‘I thought I saw the sun reflecting from some bright piece of metal. Could be a sword or a spear.’

The captain immediately showed concern. ‘Ah. I suggest we halt here and send a scouting party on ahead.’

‘No. We can’t spare the time. And, anyway, that would show them that they had been seen and they would either wait and ambush the scouts or simply retire and try to attack us at another place later. No, let us keep advancing as though we have seen nothing.’

Simon regarded the officer closely. ‘May I suggest you study the terrain? There may be a way around what looks like that defile.’

Appleby-Smith nodded and pulled out of the column to gain a better view.

‘No,’ shouted Fonthill. ‘Come back. Look from here. We don’t want them to think that we have seen them.

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