Hide and Seek for Love (2 page)

It required intense planning and far more attention than those at home were giving it if India was to be saved.

Now he climbed up to the roof of the cave knowing that if discovered, he would undoubtedly die.

Worse still he could be tortured before his head was finally chopped from his body.  

He knew that the Russians were ruthless and would show no mercy to an enemy.

He had been recruited to watch the Russian Cavalry and was currently concerned with what was happening at Fort Tibbee, a fort on India's North-West Frontier, named after the village that originally stood there before the Frontier became a battleground.

It was during a mission to several small independent States, lying to the North-West collectively known as Sind, that David had become suspicious that something sinister was being planned against Fort Tibbee.  

So instead of moving on to his intended destination, he had hastily doubled back, trusting his intuition.  It had been a very hard and uncomfortable journey and he was dog-tired.

 

Now he was in sight of Tibbee and he could see the British flag flying over the Fort.

He was certain that, as everything seemed quiet, the garrison had not the slightest idea that anything unusual was likely to happen.

There was one lesson that David had learnt in his many years of serving in
The Great Game
, and that was nothing was more dangerous than when the British Army thought themselves safe and were not looking for trouble.

It was then that the Russians would send in a formidable force, usually the Cossacks.  Riding brilliantly, resplendent in their uniforms, the Cossack's even commanded the respect of their enemies.

David recognised that their equipment, training and morale were remarkable.

Even he had been astonished by the hardiness of the Cossacks, who slept out in the snow in midwinter without tents and apparently were not perturbed by any obstacle.

As a Cavalry Officer he was exceedingly impressed by the feat of one particular Regiment of Cossacks, who had captured an enemy fortress by galloping into it before the defenders could close the gates.

That was sheer drama and the Russians were also clever enough to recruit their spies and their agents from amongst the Indians themselves, particularly among the tribesmen.

The fierce tribesmen could be incited into making trouble and bribed to harass the British forces, whom they believed had no right to be in their country.

So the British always had to be on their guard as small uprisings amongst the people could take place at any time and on any pretext.

The Russians exploited every situation and sent in, as they had in the Balkans, men to stir up trouble and foster revolution where it was least expected.

David had overheard a whispered sentence he was not supposed to hear and it had made him alert.

The North-West Frontier had always been a bone of contention between the tribesmen and the British Army.

The tribesmen resented any Fort built on land they considered theirs and hated being ordered about by British Officers.

And the Fort was now in sight and it was his duty to convince those inside to be more on their guard.

He realised that it was always difficult in the heat of India and when there was nothing very much happening to keep men alert and ready to fight at a moment's notice.

Having spent several days in a large Fort soon after arriving in India, he had learnt how very difficult it was for every man from the Commanding Officer down to the most recent recruit.

Suddenly the word ‘cave' snapped him out of his thoughts and he knew instinctively that those he could hear were referring to the cave where he was hiding.

Casting a glance around he could see it was a large cave, probably appreciated by anyone sleeping out on the mountain, as it was a protection against the hot sun in summer and the winds and snows of winter.

As he climbed as high as he could in the cave and realised that he could go no further, he was hoping that he would not fall asleep.

It was certainly a danger, since he had walked all through the night and had only come within sight of Fort Tibbee as dawn was breaking.

Disguised as a Muslim Holy man, he knew that he would be safe amongst the tribesmen.

At the same time to be among them was to waste a great deal of time as they would ask him for his blessing, kneeling down in front of him to receive it and if he was not careful, they would tell him all their personal troubles.

It was therefore only by running for the last mile or so before dawn broke that he had been able to reach the cave without being seen and, as he slipped into it, he had said a prayer of thankfulness that it was unoccupied.

He could thus do what he intended and hide among the rocks where he could hear but not be seen and he had achieved this, but not without tearing his already ragged garments.

His notebook, containing all the information he had gleaned with so much difficulty during the past month, was slightly torn.

However, he was now well hidden in the cave and all he had to do was to wait.

Despite his resolution not to fall asleep, his eyelids were drooping and his limbs became relaxed.

Suddenly, he heard two men enter the cave below him and instantly with the acuteness of someone who has faced danger a dozen times, David was instantly vigilant.

Then, as the man below spoke, he drew in his breath, hearing that he was a Russian.

“I suppose they'll turn up,” the Russian grunted in a thick voice.

“You can be sure of that,” the other man answered.

He did not speak again.

But David was aware that they had sat down on one of the flat stones, which provided the only place they could sit on except on the rough floor itself.

Then he heard that they were eating and as his own stomach was empty, he remembered that he had not eaten for a long time.

The Russians ate noisily, belching occasionally, but not speaking.

Then, just like a wave breaking on a stony beach, the cave was suddenly filled with tribesmen.

It seemed as if they all entered in a rush and David guessed that there were twelve or more of them.

For twenty minutes he could hardly breathe as with every nerve in his body he listened to what was being said, thanking God that they were speaking Urdu in a dialect that he was familiar with.

They were taking instructions from the Russians, who, like he, had taken the trouble to learn the language of the tribesmen.

Their orders were quite simple.

They were to attack the Fort at dawn the next day and be very careful meanwhile to keep out of sight so that the British inside would not realise that they were even in the vicinity.

As he listened and continued listening, David could not help but being impressed by the way the Russians gave their orders.

They had clearly thought out every detail and made it absolutely clear to the tribesmen what they were to do and how they were to do it.

They were planning to overpower the Garrison of Fort Tibbee by sheer weight of numbers.

“You must kill every man before they kill you,” the Russian was saying.  “And if you're lucky, which I believe you will be, most of the men in the Fort will be asleep.”

He looked round him before continuing,

“Those on guard must be overpowered before they can shoot and raise the alarm.  Kill every man and when you've succeeded, clear out of the Fort and go back to your villages before reinforcements can arrive.  Then they will not know who has attacked the Fort or on whom they can avenge themselves.”

The tribesmen clearly understood.

One or two asked questions, but on the whole they seemed happy with the Russian plan and were prepared to carry it out without seeing any particular difficulties.

David knew that they had used just the same tactics many times before.

As in the case of Forts that were overrun before the gates could be closed, there had been many cruel murders and assassinations for which no one had an explanation.

As swiftly and stealthily as they had appeared, the tribesmen left, leaving a trail of destruction behind them.

They were never very talkative, as David knew, and the two Russians were clever enough not to overload their minds.

They had been given their orders and simply told when and how to attack the Fort and to lie low until the very last moment.

When the tribesmen had gone, one of the Russians enquired to the other in his own language,

“Do you think they understood?”

“I'll answer that question tomorrow evening,” the other Russian responded, “but we've been quite successful with these tribesmen in the past.”

“That's true and the Czar's been saying, I believe, that while we have done well in Southern Asia, we've not made much impact on India so far.”

The other man gave a laugh.

“I thought that he was keeping that one for the end, when he adds India to the Russian Empire!”

Listening to every word, David clenched his fists.

For a good long time the Russian Empire had been steadily expanding at the rate of fifty-five square miles a day and he reckoned that this made over twenty thousand square miles a year.

He remembered a statement he had heard at one of many meetings at Government House in Calcutta.

A Senior Officer had said that at the beginning of the nineteenth century over two thousand miles separated the Russian Empire from the British in Asia.

Yet now he knew – although few liked to think of it – it had shrunk to just a few hundred miles.

David drew in his breath.

He knew, as did so many in
The
Great Game
, that the aggressive Cossack's would only rein in their mounts and when India was theirs.

At present he did not even want to think about it.

What he had to do now was to sneak into the Fort without being suspected by the tribesmen.

It was still some way away and he was well aware that there were tribesmen lying hidden amongst the rocks and the shrubs, preparing themselves for the onslaught just before dawn the next day.

He waited for twenty minutes after the Russians left the cave, as he knew only too well that he had to be quite certain they were well out of sight before he appeared.

Men had too often lost their lives for coming out of hiding too early – someone could come back for something he had left behind.

The sun had risen while David was still in the cave and it almost blinded him as he climbed slowly down.

He pulled his tattered garment into place – it had served its purpose well and he would need no excuse for buying a new one.  Then, adjusting his headgear, he brushed a hand over his beard, which made him seem far older than he was.

He moved out of the cave and into the open.

There was no sign of anyone and yet he knew they were undoubtedly out there amongst the rocks in the high grass or sleeping peacefully without worrying themselves about what lay ahead.

Slowly, very slowly, as it was always a mistake to seem to be in a hurry, he moved in the direction of the Fort.

He opened the Holy Book he carried in his pocket.

Anyone who saw him would think that he was engaged in prayer, compulsory for Muslims.

If he thought anyone was suspicious of him, he was ready to go down on his knees and pray.

There had been many occasions when this had not been a pretence.  He had been praying desperately that he would not be discovered and that he would survive.

His prayers had always been answered, but today he recognised that it had never been more important that he should reach Fort Tibbee in time.

It would be a bad mistake to appear to be heading directly to the Fort, so he therefore made a detour passing some men lying beneath some bushes.

They raised themselves to ask for his blessing and David gave it to them.

He was word perfect in what he was supposed to say having been taught by a Muslim Imam and he had also listened to a genuine Holy man addressing his flock.

He was fully aware of what he should say in answer to their requests.

During the many journeys he had undertaken in this particular disguise no one had ever been suspicious of him.

He had acquired a large amount of information that was desperately needed by those in command of the Army in India.

He was now moving nearer and nearer to the Fort.

As he did so, David was aware that in every small place of cover tribesmen were arriving in order to conceal themselves.

They were coming in twos and threes and he began to think that however many men there were to defend the Fort they would be outnumbered by the enemy outside.

He was desperately hungry and exceedingly thirsty in the heat of the sun, but he thought it would be a mistake to stop for any length of time or linger for too long to talk to the tribesmen who spoke to him.

As he had learnt in his many years of service, just one faulty word or one uneasy movement could make the enemy suspicious.

If he was on edge, the tribesmen were too, thinking about what they had to do before dawn the next day.

On and on he shuffled, walking in the almost limp manner of a tired elderly man.

As he grew nearer and nearer to the Fort, he could see there were just a few soldiers moving about with most of them obviously following the Indian habit of enjoying a long siesta at midday.

There were a number of bushy shrubs growing not far from the main gate and David sat down in their shade, crossing his legs Indian style and bending his head as if he was concerned only with his prayers.

The gates of the Fort were closed and he could only wait and hope that they would soon be opened to receive a visitor or one of their own Officers.

It was over two hours later when he could see two horsemen followed by a detachment of soldiers coming up the side of an adjacent hill.

They were, he thought, some Officers calling on the Colonel or perhaps they were carrying a message from the powers that be.