"
"But in that case he would have made his escape," the Major said.
That is just why he won't go, Major; he says that come what will
he will share the fate of the rest, and that he will not live to
be pointed to as the one man who made his escape of the garrison
of Deennugghur."
"Whom can we send?" the Major said. "You are the only other man
who speaks the language well enough to pass as a native, Doctor."
"I speak it fairly, but not well enough for that; besides, I am too
old to bear the fatigue of riding night and day; and, moreover, my
services are wanted here both as a doctor and as a rifle shot."
"I will go, if you will send me, Major," Captain Forster said
suddenly; "not in disguise, but in uniform, and on my horse's
back. Of course I should run the gauntlet of their sentries. Once
through, I doubt if they have a horse that could overtake mine."
There was a general silence of surprise. Forster's reckless courage
was notorious, and he had been conspicuous for the manner in which
he had chosen the most dangerous points during the siege; and this
offer to undertake what, although a dangerous enterprise in itself,
still offered a far better chance of life than that of remaining
behind, surprised everyone. It had been noticed that, since the
rejection of his plan to sally out in a body and cut their way
through the enemy, he had been moody and silent, except only when
the fire was heavy and the danger considerable; then he laughed
and joked and seemed absolutely to enjoy the excitement; but he
was the last man whom any of them would have expected to volunteer
for a service that, dangerous as it might be, had just been refused
by Bathurst on the ground that it offered a chance of escape from
the common lot.
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