United States or Barbados ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !


Every possible consideration, therefore, urged him to hold out at Kardi at all costs, but when on this particular evening he wrote his notes to Gerrard, of whose whereabouts and approach he had for several days received only vague rumours, he was face to face with the necessity of retiring unless relieved.

But the march from the Habshiabad frontier to Kardi was a matter of seven days in favourable circumstances, and this was the hot weather, and the partially trained troops disgraced their leader by straggling, making unauthorised expeditions for the sake of plunder, demanding longer halts and more frequent opportunities of meeting the foe, and all manner of other military crimes.

Moreover, at the same time, Chand Singh, the Agpur general, after some painful vacillation as to whether he should annihilate the western or the southern intruder first, made up his mind suddenly, and marched with quite unexpected speed upon Kardi, driving in the Darwani raiding-parties before him.

It was not at all the fulfilment of the ideal he had set before himself, the reformation of the army through and with the help of its leaders, but time was pressing, and far ahead, at Kardi, Bob Charteris was looking out for him and wondering why he did not come. The elements seemed to combine with troublesome humanity against Charteris at this moment.

The confused rumours which came through of the skirmishes preceding the battle near Kardi created an atmosphere highly unfavourable to a cool consideration of his reports when they arrived.

We will keep open communications by means of kasids if we can, but it is quite possible we may have to act independently. At any rate, I will not leave Kardi alive without letting you know, and you won't let anything short of a signed message from me persuade you that I have abandoned it?" "Trust me.

Even if you don't agree, you'll obey orders, I know. Just a minute or two to worry out our immediate moves, then back I go. Got a light? Take a squint at this map of mine. I propose to cross the Tindar about Kardi, so as to threaten Agpur from the south-west, throw up such entrenchments as time allows, and wait there for you.

With his untrustworthy Granthis and his half-trained auxiliaries he crossed the Tindar at Kardi, as he had intended, and employed the former, to their intense disgust, in throwing up rough entrenchments round the camp. These tactics had the result he anticipated.

One day Honour broke into a deep discussion of the social and educational topics touched on in the Princess with a question which had no relation to them whatever. It was clear that her thoughts were far from Gerrard's exposition of his views, or why should she suddenly have asked how long it took him to reach Charteris at Kardi with the guns after receiving his note entreating him to hasten?