ens had
streamed out of their sungars above the gorge to chastise the Malo'ts,
and Stalky--I was watching him through my glasses--had slipped in behind
'em. Very good. The Khye-Kheens had to leg it along the hillside up to
where the gorge got shallow and they could cross over to the Malo'ts,
who were awfully cheered to see the Khye-Kheens taken in the rear.

"Then it occurred to me to comfort the Khye-Kheens. So I turned out the
whole command, and we advanced _a' la pas de charge_, doublin' up what,
for the sake of argument, we'll call the Malo'ts' left flank. Even then,
if they'd sunk their differences, they could have eaten us alive;
but they'd been firin' at each other half the night, and they went on
firin'. Queerest thing you ever saw in your born days! As soon as our
men doubled up to the Malo'ts, they'd blaze at the Khye-Kheens more
zealously than ever, to show they were on our side, run up the valley
a few hundred yards, and halt to fire again. The moment Stalky saw our
game he duplicated it his side the gorge; and, by Jove! the Khye-Kheens
did just the same thing."

"Yes, but," said Tertius, "you've forgot him playin' 'Arrah, Patsy, mind
the baby' on the bugle to hurry us up."

"Did he?" roared McTurk. Somehow we all began to sing it, and there was
an interruption.

"Rather," said Tertius, when we were quiet. No one of the Aladdin
company could forget that tune. "Yes, he played 'Patsy.' Go on, Dick."

"Finally," said Dick Four, "we drove both mobs into each other's arms on
a bit of level ground at the head of the valley, and saw the whole crew
whirl off, fightin' and stabbin' and swearin' in a blindin' snow-storm.
They were a heavy, hairy lot, and we didn't follow 'em.

"Stalky had captured one prisoner--an old pensioned Sepoy of twenty-five
years' service, who produced his discharge--an awf'ly sportin' old card.
He had been tryin' to make his men rush us early in the day. He was
sulky--angry with his own side for their cowardice, and Rutton Singh
wanted to bayonet him--Sikhs don't understand fightin' against the
Government after you've served it honestly--but Stalky rescued him, and
froze on to him tight--with ulterior motives, I believe. When we got
back to the fort, we buried young Everett--Stalky wouldn't hear of
blowin' up the place--and bunked. We'd only lost ten men, all told."

"Only ten, out of seventy. How did you lose 'em?" I asked.

"Oh, there was a rush on the fort early in the night, and a