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Trapped by Malays: A Tale of Bayonet and Kris, a fiction by George Manville Fenn |
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Chapter 32. In The Doctor's Hands |
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_ CHAPTER THIRTY TWO. IN THE DOCTOR'S HANDS "Lie still. What have you got to fidget about? I have done all I can, and made a decent job of your head. It looks quite respectable now, after what I have done with the scissors. That hair ought to have been cut close off first thing, so as to afford a place for decent bandages, and I feel quite astounded to see how kindly Nature has treated you. It must have been an awful blow, my boy, and if you hadn't been of the stupid, thick-headed breed, you would have suffered from a comminuted fracture of the skull. Can't you lie still?" "No, Doctor. I want to get up." "And make yourself worse?" "No; but after what you have done, I feel so much better and more comfortable that I want to be up and doing." "Nonsense! You have been doing ten times too much, and I tell you seriously, sir, that another day or two of what you have gone through in making your escape, and you must have been dangerously ill with fever." "But I feel so much better, Doctor." "Of course you do. I was just able to catch you in the nick of time, and now I have done my part, and you must leave the rest to Nature." "But I want to go out with one of the detachments." "What for? To break down directly, and interfere with the good four or half-a-dozen of the lads would be doing, from their time being taken up in carrying you on a bamboo litter?" "Oh Doctor, I shouldn't break down." "Oh, wouldn't you? Nice piece of impudence! Here am I, who have devoted half my life to the tinkering up of damaged soldiers, and know to a tittle how much a man can bear, all wrong, of course! And you, a young jackanapes of a subaltern, a mere boy, tell me to my face that you know better than I do!" "No, no, Doctor; I beg your pardon!" said Archie. "I don't mean that. It is only because I want to be out with the fellows, trying to run that brutal scoundrel down." "Yes, yes, my boy, I know. But wait. Everything possible is being done, and any hour the news may come in that my poor child has been found and some one has been shot down. Archie, my boy, nothing would afford me greater delight than to see that lurid-looking heathen brought in half-dead, and handed over to my tender mercies." Archie burst out into a mocking laugh. "What do you mean by that, sir?" said Dr Morley. "I was thinking, Doctor, you would set to at once attending to his wounds, and making him well as soon as you possibly could." "What! A treacherous, cunning savage! I'd--Well, I suppose you are right, boy. Habit's habit. But the British lawyers would tackle him afterwards, and he would get his deserts. They'd put a stop to him being Rajah of Dang any more. There, I've no time to stop gossiping with you." "But when may I get up, Doctor? It seems so absurd for me to be lying here." "That's what you think. Well, there, I won't be hard on you. If you keep quiet now, and are as much better to-morrow as I found you to-day, and you will promise to be very careful, I'll let you get up. Now I must go and see to that other ruffian." "Peter Pegg? But you are not keeping him in bed?" "Oh no. He didn't get it so badly as you." "I say, Doctor, he's been hospital orderly before: send him to attend on me." The Doctor frowned, and hesitated. "Oh, very well. He might do that. He was as mad as you are two days ago, and wanted to go off with his company." "Send him in at once, Doctor." "For you two to talk too much? There, I'll see." A couple of hours later Peter Pegg entered Archie's quarters, looking very hollow-cheeked and sallow, and displaying a head that had been operated upon by the regimental barber till there was nothing more left to cut off, and stood holding the door a little way open, and showing his teeth in a happy grin. "Ah, Pete! I wanted you," cried Archie. "Did you, sir? Here I am, then. Doctor says I am to do anything you want, only you are not to talk." "All right, Pete. Then tell me, what's being done?" "Three detachments is out, sir--one under Captain Down, one under Mr Durham, another under old Tipsy." "Yes? Go on." "They're a-scouring the country, sir; and I hope they'll make a clean job of it." "Yes, yes; but tell me everything." "Ain't much to tell, sir; only one party's gone up the river in Sir Charles's boat, and he's with them." "Yes?" "And another party's gone down the river to search Mr Rajah Hamet's place." "But I heard that he came up here and brought in my boat, and spread the news of our being killed." "Yes, sir; and the Major, when we came back, said he'd been gammoning him, and that he must have been in the business." "No, no," said Archie thoughtfully; "I'm sure the Major's wrong. Well, go on. Which way has Captain Down gone?" "He has gone along the road to the Rajah's palace, to take him prisoner and make him give an account of himself." "Right away in the jungle, along that elephant-track? They have taken tents, of course." "I d'know, sir; but they've took possession of Mr Suleiman's two helephants." "Ah, capital!" said Archie. "This is fresh news." "Yes, sir; and I suppose Mr Suleiman will never get them again. They ought to be prize money. We took them, sir. My word, I should just like to have the old Rajah!" "Of course," said Archie contemptuously. "Nice thing for a private soldier! A white elephant, Pete." "Why, he's a blacky-grey 'un, sir. Wish I could be his mahout." "Stuff! Where's Mr Durham gone?" "Don't know, sir. Private instructions. Through the jungle somewhere, I expect, so as to take Mr Suleiman in the rear. But I say, sir, you don't mean to be kept in horspittle, do you?" "No, Pete; I'm to be up to-morrow." "Hooray, sir! I'm all right too--ready for anything. Try and put in a word for me." "Of course, Pete." "Thank you, sir. You and me has had so much to do with this business that they ought to let us go on in front over everything." "We can't help it, Pete. Soldiers must obey orders. Still, there's one thing: they can stick our bodies into hospital, but they can't stick our hearts. They go where we like. Now, is there anything more you can tell me about what's going on?" "Can't recollect anything, sir. But I shall pick up everything I can; you may depend upon that. I suppose you know, sir, that the Major's chucking out the orders right and left, and it's all just as if we were surrounded by the enemy." "No, chuckle-head! How could I know all that? You mean, I suppose, that the garrison is in a regular state of siege?" "Yes, sir, that's it; only I couldn't put it like that. Don't be waxy with a poor private as old Tipsy says is the most wooden-headed chap in the company." "Now go on telling me." "Sentries are doubled, sir, and the chaps says it's precious hard now we are so short of men." "Then they should draw in the lines," said Archie eagerly. "Yes, sir; that's what they have done." "Oh, of all the thick-headed--Here, I won't get cross, Pete. But you do make me wild. Why didn't you tell me all this?" "Too stupid, I suppose, sir. But don't give me up. I will try better next time. Want to ask me anything now, sir?" "No. Be off." "You don't mean you are sacking me, do you, sir?" half-whimpered Peter. "No-o-o-o! Be off. Go amongst the men and pick up every bit of news you can, and don't shrink--" "Not me, sir." "And what you can't get from the men, ask any officer you meet." "I say, Mister Archie, sir!" "Say you are asking it for me." "That's better, sir. Then I'm off." It was quite dark when Peter entered the room again, hurried to Archie's bedside, and then stopped short. "Fast asleep," he said to himself. "Ought I to wake him? Oughtn't I to wake him? Chance it.--Mister Archie, sir! Asleep, sir?" "What? Yes--no! Oh, it's you, Pete!" "Jump up, sir. You won't hurt," said the lad breathlessly. "It's a beautiful, hot night. I've picked something up, and I've run up to tell you. Come to the window, sir, and look out." Archie sprang out and followed Peter to the open window, from which they had a full view of the landing-place, where lights were moving and their bearers could be seen hurrying to and fro. "What boat's that?" "Resident's, sir. I have come up to tell you." "Yes--be smart! Tell me what?" "Sir Charles and his party have come back, sir." "From the up-river expedition?" "Yes, sir. I got hold of one of the chaps who went with him." "Well, go on; I'm burning to hear. What have they found out?" "He says, sir, that the Major did not want Sir Charles to go, and they had words together. He heard Sir Charles say the attack was made on the boat up the river, as well you and me know, sir." "Yes, Pete," said Archie, who was listening and watching the movements of the boat at the same time. "And that he felt sure Miss Heath must have been carried right up-stream, and that they should find her in one of the campongs, or kept shut up in some place belonging to the Rajah." "Well, go on." "And then the Major said, sir, to Sir Charles that they weren't quite sure that the Rajah had done this, and that he should be obliged if Sir Charles would stay, and let one of the officers go instead. Then Sir Charles says that he's morally sure that it was the Rajah's doing, and that he feels he must go. And then they went, and they've been right up the river as far as they could get the big boat; and they landed over and over again and searched the campongs and examined the people, who all said they did not know anything about it, and looked stupid, as these Malay chaps can look when they don't want to tell tales; and at last Sir Charles had to give up, after he had been down with something like sunstroke." "Yes--go on quickly," said Archie. "And he went onsensible like, and there was nothing else they could do but bring him back." "And they brought him back ill?" "Yes, sir; and those chaps you can see there with the lanterns are coming back from carrying him up to the Residency." "Poor chap! Poor fellow!" said Archie. "Well, go on." "That's all, sir. Don't you see they're tying the boat up for the night? I thought you would be satisfied if I picked up something." "Too much this time, Pete," said Archie sadly. "Too much, sir?" "Yes. It's all bad." "But you said I was to bring everything, sir." "Yes, yes; that's quite right. But it is so disheartening. They must have taken her up somewhere; for aught we know, poor girl! she may be a prisoner somewhere in one of the places near that elephant-shed." "Near what elephant-shed, sir?" said Peter rather vacantly. "Why, where we were prisoners." "Oh no, sir. Didn't I get out that night and go and look everywhere?" "No. There might have been scores of other buildings up there. You couldn't have seen much." "No, sir, I didn't. It was so dark, and there was that tiger." "Here, I've got leave to be up to-morrow, and I must see what I can do." "Don't think you could have done any more than I did, sir, that night." "I know that, Pete; but I want to be trying now all the same. Here, I know; I'll get the Major's permission to go up and join Sergeant Ripsy and make a better search up there." "Spite of the tigers, sir?" "In spite of ten tigers, Pete, for I shall have men with me, and rifles." "Think old Tipsy will like it, sir?" "I think Sergeant Ripsy is a stern old British soldier who would do his duty, Pete." "Well, yes, sir. He's a hard nut, but he's all that you say. I'd rather be under anybody else, but you talk about ten tigers: I'd go under ten Sergeant Tipsys if it was to bring Miss Minnie back." "I know you would, Pete. And poor Sir Charles was knocked over by the fever?" "Sunstroke, sir." "Well, sunstroke. He's _hors de combat_, and we want to take his place." The next day Archie signalised his permission to be about by asking for an interview with his commanding officer, who congratulated him warmly, and then replied to his request with an imperative: "No! Quite out of the question, sir. I have weakened my force too much as it is, and I cannot spare another man." "Horribly disappointing," said Archie to himself as he came away--"but he did call me _man_!" _ |
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