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Chapter Sixteen. Into the Blue |
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memories of ambush of earlier punitive expeditions |
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Involuntarily the fate of that other punitive expedition against the Konyak village of Chinglong creeps into my mind, when the Chinglong warriors broke through the thicket along the whole length of the column, cutting off the heads of the porters and sepoys before they had time to defend themselves, and then disappeared into the jungle on the other side. The tension grows with every slowly passing minute. Still I can see nothing but the brown, crackling bush and the deep blue of the sky overhead. Any moment a spear may whistle out of the thicket. Action would be a relief -- even a clash. But no, this is against all better judgement. Noklak had no hand in the slave raids of the last months, and it would be awkward to leave a hostile village in our rear while we marched against Pangsha. |
