Chapter XXXV: The Caves of Inkermann

About a week after the charge, the remnant of the brigade made a rather extended reconnaissance in the direction of Baktchi Serai, with the idea of discovering whether any very large body of troops had been massed in that direction.

The brigade descended from the heights, crossed the swampy ground, and got across the Tchernaya or Black River by the ford. Thence they went on for some distance in the direction of Mackenzie’s Farm; and as Jack recognised the country he and his comrades, then so full of high spirits after the victory of the Alma, had crossed over on the flank march, his heart grew heavy within him. Where were those comrades now? Alas! they were gone to await that final muster at which all must answer to their names and give an account of their lives.

Many Cossack vedettes were seen, but these promptly retired from ridge to ridge before the British cavalry, who, making a detour to their left, skirted the Inkermann ruins, reforded the Tchernaya, and regained their camp, having discovered nothing of any importance.

It was on the Friday following that a whole division of horse, foot, and artillery were seen to be entering Sebastopol, and every one knew a great battle was near at hand.

All day Saturday it poured with rain, and in the evening Jack and Will, after vainly striving to light a fire with damp roots, gave it up, and wrapping themselves in their cloaks retired inside their tent.

‘Do you know, Will,’ said Jack, ‘I can’t rid myself of a sort of feeling of impending disaster.’

‘After Balaclava no disaster can trouble me much,’ said Will gloomily.

‘True; but after all the cavalry were the only sufferers there. If anything happened to the whole army we should be in a hole if you like, and with the reinforcements the Russians have been receiving lately they must outnumber us and the French and Turks by at least two to one.’

‘I dare say.’

‘And tied up as we are, having to find all the pickets and guards, to man the trenches, keep open our road to Balaclava and guard that, why, if the Russians delivered an attack in force we couldn’t put ten thousand men in the field to face them to save our lives.’

‘Cheerful outlook,’ growled Will.

‘And if the Russians should surprise us we shouldn’t stand a chance.’

‘Pile it on, Jack.’

Both lapsed into silence, then Jack started up. ‘Will, I can’t rest,’ he said, ‘I feel something is going to happen. I’m going to creep by our Light Division pickets and try if I can see or hear anything. I noticed out by the Inkermann Heights dozens of places, ruins and caves, where any one could lie safely hidden from sight, but could yet observe all that was going on round them. Are you game to accompany me?’

‘You seem determined to run into unnecessary danger,’ said Will; ‘but if you’re bent on going I’m with you.’

The rain by then had left off, and leaving their cloaks behind, so as to be able to move more freely, Jack and Will left their lines.

They carried only pistols with them, relying upon their agility to keep out of the way of any prowling Russian sentries or patrols. They made their way past the camp of the Light Division, and creeping down a ravine made towards the river. Emerging safely from the ravine, they saw, some couple of miles in front of them, the lighthouse, which they knew stood at the head of the roadstead of Sebastopol.

They then had the Karabel Faubourg of Sebastopol on their left; and though it was too misty to see the lights of the town they heard the church bells ringing. They ascended a slight hill, noticing that several caves opened from it into the side of the hill. They entered one or two of these, disturbing flocks of sea-gulls as they did so.

‘Rummy sort of place this,’ said Will.

‘Yes, tradition says that the original Tartar inhabitants lived in these caves.’

‘Good luck to ’em,’ growled Will. ‘I should think they found it a pretty chilly sort of life.’

It began again to drizzle with rain, and the two lads entered one of the caves to get out of the wet. They remained there some time, Jack being busy thinking, when he suddenly exclaimed, ‘Will, it must be getting on towards morning. Doesn’t it strike you as strange that the church bells in Sebastopol should be kicking up such a row at this time of night?’

‘It is a bit funny; but perhaps, as to-morrow’s Sunday, it’s one of their saints’ days, and they’re sort of ringing him in.’

But presently they heard twelve o’clock chiming from the various churches, and still the bells kept ringing.

‘Well,’ said Jack, ‘I’m going to try and get a bit nearer to the town to see what’s up; the Russians are not ringing those bells for nothing.’

Accordingly, the two lads left the cave and began to descend the somewhat steep sides of the hill. By some mischance they did not descend at the same place they had gone up, getting on a much more steep part.

They found themselves slipping, and they turned sideways, grabbing at the tufts of scrub as they went down. But presently these tufts ceased, the ground was loose and stony, and helter-skelter through the mist Jack and Will descended. They had almost reached the bottom of the hill when Jack thought he heard voices. He called out to Will and tried to stop; but the hill was too steep and he was going too fast.

A gruff challenge rang out; then a dozen flat-capped soldiers in long coats almost to their feet loomed big in the fog, and with a crash Jack and Will dashed into them. Several cries, either of anger or fear, rang out; then _bang! bang!_ went a couple of rifles.

‘Come on,’ cried Jack; ‘let’s dash through them!’

A heavy hand was laid upon him; but he tore himself free. Another man advanced towards him, but Jack’s pistol was in his hand, and he shot the fellow in the leg. He was then free; but, turning, he saw Will in the grasp of two Russians.

The man whom Jack had shot had dropped his rifle, and this Jack instantly picked up. He pointed it at one of Will’s captors and pulled the trigger. The man fell. A crashing blow with the butt-end on the shoulder of the second Russian made him release his hold.

‘Come, Will,’ cried Jack; and before the other astonished Russians could do anything they dashed away up the hill.

They were soon out of sight in the mist; but several shots were fired in their direction, the balls chipping up the rocky ground around them. The heavy, crashing footsteps of the Russians could be heard behind them too, and it was clear they were not going to be allowed to escape with impunity.

Jack and Will struggled and panted up the hillside, and, being lighter, got along quicker than their pursuers.

‘There’s a cave,’ cried Will; ‘into it, Jack.’

The two dashed in; but the pursuing Russians had seen them, and one fellow ran up and fired his rifle into the black opening. The ball whizzed uncomfortably near Jack’s head.

‘Let’s throw ourselves down,’ said Will, and this they did; luckily, indeed, for several other bullets were fired into the cave.

The lads could hear the Russians outside talking and stamping about. Presently there was a glare, and a big Russian, stooping, entered the cave, carrying a lighted lantern. He was followed by several others, all having rifles with fixed bayonets in their hands.

Jack and Will could see the Russians though they themselves remained invisible.

‘If those pasty-faced scoundrels get hold of us,’ said Jack, ‘it’s all over with us. Will, we must put out that light. Load your pistol.’

On hearing Jack’s voice the Russian stopped, and one man, pointing his musket, fired. He imagined the lads were standing though, and again fired too high.

‘Are you loaded?’ whispered Jack.

‘Yes.’

‘Take aim at the man with the lantern, and when I say, “Now!” fire at him.’

‘Now!’

Two reports rang out; there was a groan and a strong smell of gunpowder. The lantern had been dashed to the ground and extinguished, and judging by the sounds, the other Russians were beating a hasty retreat.

All remained silent for some time, then Jack said, ‘We’ve driven them off for the moment; but I should not be surprised if they waited at the mouth of the cave for us. If they do catch us our fate is sealed. After our usage of them they won’t trouble to take us prisoners.’

The lads sat down and waited for what seemed ages, but which was in reality about an hour. Then they crept noiselessly to the mouth of the cave and looked out.

There, sitting round a small fire which they had somehow managed to make, were nine Russian soldiers, one having his hand bound up. Their muskets were all close handy, and they seemed ready to leap to their feet at a moment’s notice.

Jack and Will crawled back again into the cave, and spite of themselves presently fell asleep. How long Jack slept he had not at the moment the faintest idea. He awoke Will softly.

‘Hist,’ he cried, ‘be silent; we’ll go and see if the Russians are still watching.’

They got up and blundered slowly along in the pitchy darkness, but they did not come to the mouth of the cave.

‘Funny,’ said Will; ‘seems we’ve come a tremendous distance, and it’s strange how fresh the air is in here.’

‘I wonder whether there is more than one exit,’ said Jack.

On and on they crept till presently a faint, very faint light, or rather less dense blackness, appeared before them. They hastened, and soon found themselves at a mouth of the cave; but it did not seem the one they had entered by. Anyway, no Russians were in sight.

Jack and Will crept out and looked about them.

There, a good distance away on their right, was the glimmer of a fire, and dim forms could be seen round it.

‘That’s it. This is another exit--hurrah!’ cried Jack. ‘We’ve done them after all.’

Silently the lads stole away, keeping up on the side of the hill. For half-an-hour they kept on; then they began to wonder where they were. The night was so dark and the mist so thick that it was impossible to tell in which direction they ought to go to reach the British camp.

‘Seems we’ve been on a wild-goose chase,’ growled Will.

‘I’m afraid we have,’ said Jack, ‘and the fact that we can’t see the moon prevents my being able to take our bearings.’

They descended the hill, and getting on marshy ground knew they must be near the river.

‘This is lucky,’ said Jack, ‘for we know that if we keep the river on our left we must be going towards our camp. If we keep along the ridge on our right we shall strike the outposts of the Light Division.’

‘And very likely get shot for our trouble,’ said Will, who was wet and tired.

They climbed up the ridge and reached the top, when by a common impulse they stopped. Borne upward faintly on the misty, wet-laden air, was a rumbling, grinding noise, accompanied by a kind of sullen hum like the buzzing of millions of bees.

‘Do you hear that, Will?’ cried Jack, clutching his companion’s arm.

‘Guns,’ said Will.

‘Men,’ said Jack, ‘in thousands too.’

‘Let’s make sure,’ said Will.

They descended the side of the ridge and presently through the mist could make out the ghostly forms of men marching in files closely packed, passing, passing, apparently without end. Then came the grinding of wheels on the gritty ground, accompanied by the jangling of chains and harness, as gun after gun went by.

Jack and Will reascended the ridge, and then far away on their left similar sounds of marching thousands and numberless guns could be heard.

‘The enemy is marching in overwhelming numbers,’ said Jack. ‘Our camp is asleep. In this fog it will be surprised. Will, come on; on our efforts perhaps depend the lives of hundreds of our countrymen.’

‘We must give them warning,’ said Will; and at top speed the intrepid Lancers started off. On and on they went, directed by the sounds of the advancing Russians.

These, to some extent, they were presently enabled to leave behind; but on the right and left ominous rumblings could still be heard.

Blundering, falling, running, Jack and Will tore on, their one idea being to put their countrymen on their guard. Sometimes they were so close to the Russians that they could almost have touched them, but Providence always protected them. Presently they struck a road, and this they raced along till, emerging suddenly from the fog, a quick challenge fell upon their ears.

‘Halt! Who goes there?’

‘Friends,’ panted the lads; ‘two of the 17th Lancers.’

‘Stay where you are,’ returned a stern voice, and in an instant several men belonging to a picket of the 41st Regiment advanced and seized them.

In a few breathless, impassioned words Jack told of the danger.

‘Give the alarm,’ he panted, ‘the Russians in thousands are advancing upon you.’

The curious humming buzz of the advancing hordes could be distinctly heard by all. The sergeant sent for the officer of the picket, which had just been newly posted. He heard what Jack and Will had to say, and asked them how they came to be outside the British lines. Being answered, he said calmly, ‘Return at once, sergeant, and tell the officer in command of the relieved picket what you’ve heard. Then go and alarm the camp.’

He then went up to the brow of the hill in front, Jack and Will with him. Soon, very soon, just as day was breaking, he saw close upon him the leading columns of two Russian battalions. He fell back and gave his men the order to deliver their fire.

Three crashing volleys rang out, and the advancing columns, taken by surprise and thus suddenly greeted, fell back.

The battle of Inkermann, the most sanguinary struggle that has taken place since war cursed the earth, had begun.