A Scion of the Kumpani Bahadur

Hastings Standard, Issue 227, 22 January 1897, Page 4

A Scion of the Kumpani Bahadur

A TALE OF INDIAN SPORT. rtjPECIALJjY WKITTBN FOli TIIE HASTINGS Standard. : By F. D A. C. De Lisle. ' All rii/hts n-si■)■>•<•<} /#// the author./ Chapter II. —The Grand Military Cup < < '"utiniuil/. " Singular thing to see a trooper handling the bayonet" said Jones to Captain Pol hill Carew. "Oh ! Brown has only been a trooper for a few years. He was the finest non-com. in the Blankshire before that But under the territorial service conditions his time expired, and sick of being a swagger with a lot of dirty mud crushers, he listed as a trooper with the K.D.Gs. and has risen rapidly. He'll give you a lot of trouble, but take my advice, go in at him and cut him to pieces. Ho can't stand being bustled. But if you give him time to get in any scientific w T ork we may lose this point." " Thanks," said Jones, and following Captain Carew's advice to the letter, on the call of time he rode into the ring and almost before his ' opponent could get into position, he charged down upon him, cut like lighting, wheeled and sent in a backstroke of sledge hammer force, then almost slipping from the saddle again, he drove in a thrust, caught the dazzled Y.S.M. in the ribs and hurled him to the ground in a crumpled heap. "One point to sword." cried the judge. Again on the call of time Jones ploughed in and rained a shower of cuts upon the devoted head of the P.S.M. of the Iv.D.G.S. The Native troopers and " Noncoms " of the 28th B.L. looked on in dignified silence, for they never yelled when they were -'on top." The 2nd Iv.D.G.S. shouted and yelled at their champion and encouraged him mightly with voice and hand. But he had met his match. Not in weapons, for T. S. M. Brown was really a demon with the ' prickingfork,' but in spirit. For there was something electrifying in the hurricane chargp and attack of the Bengal Lancer. He never for one moment lost the attack, and with a fury not to bo checked, he thundered away, until a second smashing cut disabled the left arm of his adversary. First three cuts home was the rule for a win in these contests, and Jones had now scored two to nothing. " Stick to him Brown, 'e's played out," said the Lance-Corporal of his regiment. " Give 'im 'ell this round. Don't wait for the bleater, go in an' punch 'is bloomin' ribs to jelly ! Don't let a low Native regiment beat us ! " "At him, Jones, he's done for," said Lieutenant Princep in a low voice. " He's lost his head completely." To the utter astonishment of all the onlookers the two combatants flew at each other on entering the ring, and each got in a stroke. Then Jones feinted and like a flash sent in " three." The crack could be heard all over the ground. " Sword wins, three to nothing," cried the judge, find amid a deafening cheer Jones saluted his opponent and left the ring. " Well done, laddie," said Colonel Cleeve. " You've brought us luck. Now then Lai Sing it's you're turn to score." Lai Singh rode into the ring for the first round of the sword and lance contest. Tn the draw for competitors he got a lance-corporal of the 10th Hussars for his opponent. " Confound it," growled Major Concannon, " What's come to the fellows. Here are Lancers wielding swords and Hussars fighting with their lances, Avhat on earth does it all mean, I'd like to know." "Oh ! I suppose they want to get a point in somewhere for their regiments," replied Lieutenant Somerset. " This fellow won't have a show against Lai Singh." The Hussar made a good Lancer, but not good enough for such an expert as Lai Singh, and, after a merry tussle-, the 2Hth B.L. scored another point for the- Cup, for Lai Singh carried all before him, beating Rajpub, Malirattu, Punjabi, and Sikh with ease. The Kuru 111 Bux won the. Lance v. Bayonet, and Futteh Din the lemon cuttiug. The lead and sheep cutting were both won by an English regiment, the 10th Hussars ; and a Frenchman, who was serving in the Maharajah of Bythal's Independent Force, scored in cutting the silk handkerchief. The largest entries were in the Lanee v. Lance, and Sword v. Sword. Fur in these contests the Lancer regiments juid the 11 nssar regiments met each other with their own weapons. There w ere some sixty-eight nntries for the Lance v. Lanee, and Ma! Bux had to tight through six rounds before he was declared the winner. The 2Htli Bengal had scored five out lit the twelve events on the programme and the Cup looked a certainty for them, until the following two events - ( uttirig the Turk's Head an-1 - cleaving the deepest f. II to the eh •it. pickers ; then the championship became more open, for if the 10th Hussars could win the remaining contest, Sword v. Sword, the championship would result in a tie. A round fifty turned out for the Sword v. Sword. Every Native regiment in the Bengal and Punjab Continfont» had a representative, some two or three; and English soldiers turned up from all parts of the Punjab, Kajputana. Central Asia, Chubia, Nagpore, Bengal, and thu North west provinces to iltswls of dareing do, for the honour and glory of Old England. The MHHfixl evening of the tournament saw Lieutenant Carr Jones and Li«iU>oaiit Viv&ah of the Cavalry of the Guides open the ball in the sword "Old E«cl ladit Company.

v. sword contest. It was an unequal match, and after five minutes' play Carr-Jones was declared the winner. Lai Singh, in the first round, defeated Captain Blakeney, of the 24th Bengal Cavalry, and in the second round he defeated a " Non-com " of the Pioneers easily. In the second round Jones met old C'clonel Brabaaon, of the 14th Dragoons, and a desperate tussle ended in the younger man winning by three points to two. Both the representatives of the 28th B.L. got through the third and fourth rounds easily enough, but in the fifth round Lai Siugh had a terrific and prolonged battle with a sergeant major of the 27th Royal Lancers. "Two all " was called, and then for fourteen minutes they fought without a stroke. At last the English Lancer lost his wind and the grand physique of the Punjabi pulled him through. Lai Singh won by 3 points to 2. " Sarve yer righ-t," growled the bosom friend of the Royal Lancer. " Yer wouldn't keep away from the canteen, an' see wot the blarsted canteen's done far yer. Yer comes out to Injer an' I gives yer yer points. Yer the best swordsman we've 'ad in the regiment since Gawd knows 'how long. I tells yer these 'ere 'eathens is 'ell itself at the game, an' I warns yer to keep yer condition. What does you do ? Why blarst yer! it' soak, soak, soak. ' 'itlu r cm, brand;/ pani lav, i/uhli jao xoiir' (come here ; bring brandy and water; look sharp you pig) all the blazin' blarsted day long. Why, what 'ud yer mother say if she could see yer now, Bertie ? An' yer sisters, too —Gawd ! Oh, I loves her, yes, I does ; I could kiss the ground 'er bloomin' feet 'as trod on. An' ere's 'er brother been an' gone an' disgraced the bloomin' regiment, an' I feel ashamed of yer that's all!" And cursing and swearing he staggers oil' to the nearest toddy shop with his defeated friend. Thus far in the sword v. sword Lai Singh was a certainty for the final bout, and the 28th gleefully recognised the possibility of having both representatives in the set for the championship, as Lieutenant Carr-Jones' chance looked rosy too in the fifth round. Major Bruce had looked with bitterness upon the successes of the " sub " he had styled a "puny waster," and the recollection of his ruined Lall Bazaar tops was as gall and wormwood to his heart. Standiug by the ringside during the bout between Lai Siugh and the 27th Royal Lancer, Major Bruce had been chewing the cud of reflection, and as a result he looked round him, turned silently from the crowd and walked away by himself. "Lai Singh must win the final, for I see that Lieutenant Holderness, of the Hussars, is to be Mr Jones' new opponent. Lai Singh has licked the swell before and he must lick him again. The regiment will lose nothing by it, by Gad ! I'll try it if only to get even with that conceited young devil! " So communed Major Bruce with himself. " I'll find Hurrum Ram he'll do the trirk if any one can," and looking round the Major spotted the man he wanted, a low, blackguardly native farrier, who had been dismissed from the service for petty larceny and drunkenness. " Hi Hurrum ! Ithcrdo," he called, and the Native came up cringing with many a low salaam, this was not the first time he had done queer business for Major Bruce. A short whispered conversation followed ; a few plaintive appeals from the Native of " Gureeb ad mi Iluz■toor ! " " A'hoda ka hat liahudur! " " Sub ti'Uc hin/a Khodauand " (Poor man, 0 Prince ! Iswear, it your Majesty, everything will be right elect of God!) and with a tea rupee note in his clawlike hand, the Native shuffled guiltily away. Major Bruce returned to the ringside and Hurrum Ram found his way to the xi/rr who was holding Lieut. Carr-Jones' magnificent chestnut charger, Monarch. With low cunning the farrier entered into conversation with the unsuspecting si/ir, and, working on the feelings of the unfortunate man he showed him the ten rupee note and asked him to go and get himself a drink at the native toddy stall, offering th« while to hold the charger for him. Alas, the army

hid not improved the morals of the thirsty stfcc who jumped at the generous offer and was off to the toddy shop in io time, leaving Hurrum Ram to work his villiany on the charger. Carefully leading the horse behind a clump of bamboos the farrier removed the saddle, and after introducing two or three large prickly bamboo seeds into the stuffing and lining of the saddle, point downwards, he girthed the saddle on again as tightly as he possibly could. Next he tightened the curb chain by fully three links, and with a fiendish grin returned to the place he had left and waited for the errant «//<•<■. When Lai Singh had won his bout and vanquished the short - winded Royal Lancer, the Master-at-Arms called loudly for " Lieutenant Holderness 10th Hussars and Lieutenant Can- - Jones, 28th Bengal Lancers. Semi-final. The Cherrypicker rode into the ring faultlessly dressed and faultlessly got up. He had " run up" in the final last year, and had been the only white man left in so far, and he was, with his regiment, naturally rather sanguine of success. Lieutenant Jones vaulted lightly into the saddle, and was surprised by a snort of pain and a vicious kick from Monarch, a performance which was repeated two or three times in the ring. The charger would not go kindly at all, but kept on tossing his head in the air and lashing all round him. " What the devil's wrong with Monarch ? " cried Lieutenant Prinsep, looking anxiously at the pranks played by Carr-Jones' charger. " Hang it that curb chain is too tight by a bally long way —I say ! Jones ! " But it was too late, " Time ! " cried the Judge and the two competitors faced the music. [To be continued.]