Through the Sikh war Author:George Alfred Henty Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II THE SHADOW OF WAR LEAVING the cart with his luggage a short distance away, Percy entered the office of the Residency, and giving his name t... more »o a clerk said that he was desirous of speaking to the Resident. The clerk on his return from the inner room requested Percy to follow him. An officer was sitting at a desk. He looked up with a smile as the lad entered, and Percy was astonished to see Mr. Fullarton, to whom he had said goodbye on board the Deccan. "You did not expect to see me here, Groves? " he said as he shook him cordially by the hand. "No indeed, sir, I had not the slightest idea that you had left Calcutta. I am glad indeed to see you." "I only stopped there a few hours," the officer said. "As soon as I got to Government House I was told that Macpher- son was ill, and that I must travel up at full speed to relieve him, so I started next morning and travelled as fast as horses could take me up the country. I have been here for more than three weeks. I have not forgotten you, and as soon as I arrived here I sent off a chit to your uncle to tell him that you had landed at Calcutta, and would probably be here in the course of a fortnight or three weeks. Two days ago one of his native officers with an escort of sixteen men turned uphere. They are encamped on the plain over there. You will know the tent by a blue flag flying before it. "I told your uncle that I had made your acquaintance on board the ship, and that I thought he would be very well pleased with you. I did not tell him anything about your having picked up so much Punjaubi, but left it for you to give him a pleasant surprise. Of course you will put up here for to-night." I shall be knocking off work in a quarter of an hour, and in the meantime you may as well go and have your bath...« less