Mission To A Distant Land

It was not until the fourth night that our precautions were proved necessary. It was just after midnight and I was on watch with Mina. As well as his phenomenal vision, he had exceptional powers of hearing and smell. Suddenly he touched my arm; “I hear something.” He said softly. I could hear nothing at first and then I made out a faint rustling in the bamboos and the soft squelch of careful footsteps in the swamp mud. I whispered that it might be a tiger or a leopard, but Mina replied in a very low voice, “Big cats are quieter, besides they don’t eat curry. I can smell the cumin and onions that the Sikhs always use in their food.” I sent Mina to wake the camp as quietly as possible, while I readied myself to pile dry wood on the fire. Then I heard cries of pain and what sounded like curses in Punjabi; the Akalis had met the pointed bamboos. I hesitated no longer and piled the wood high on the fire. The light seemed almost as bright as day and I could clearly make out figures struggling to get through the fence. Then there was a volley of fire from our weapons, followed by screams and more curses; I made a mental note that I must learn some as it seemed a good language for swearing. While we were hastily reloading, the enemy had penetrated the fence and had gained access to the centre of the camp. I was preparing for a hand-to-hand struggle, when there was an explosion like a clap of thunder, closely followed by another. Captain Abu kept two short arquebuses under his cot. These had short , wide, brass barrels, which were flared at the muzzle; they were similar to what the Dutch call blunderbusses These guns were kept primed and fully loaded with large shot, topped up with pebbles and fragments of metal, pottery, glass and anything that he had to hand. The missiles scattered widely, inflicting severe injuries, often on several people at the same time.