seen them horribly wounded. I don’t mean to be insubordinate, sir, but you have no grounds and no right to assume that all I do is defend soldiers in a back room in some military post. I’m doing this because I was ordered to, not because I chose it.”
“I know that, Narraway, damn it!” Strafford said angrily. “Who the hell do you think chose you? Latimerdoesn’t know you from the clerk who writes up the dispatches home.”
“Then he should bloody well look at the pips on my shoulders!” Narraway snapped.
Strafford almost smiled but stopped himself. “Would you prefer it if I said he doesn’t know you from any other newly commissioned young officer fresh off the boat? I do, however, at least by repute.”
Narraway’s heart sank. Here was the issue of Strafford’s brother again, the whole school record, the teasing, some of it less than good-natured, the inner contempt from the “swot” who preferred classics to sports—except cricket.
“Is that why you suggested to Colonel Latimer that he have me defend Tallis?” Narraway asked bitterly.
Strafford’s eyebrows rose. “Did you think I picked your name out of a hat? Of course it is. You’re a stubborn bastard, and you won’t be beaten until you can see it so close in front of you you’ll hit your nose if you take another step. Every man, no matter what he’s accused of, deserves someone to speak for him. And right here and now, in this gutted town with its ground still reeking of blood, we need to be sure we’re hanging the rightman, and then we need to do it quickly. Fight, by all means, but when you’re beaten, which will be tomorrow, give up. Don’t give Tallis false hope. That’s like a cat playing with a mouse. Let the end be quick and clean.”
Narraway looked at Strafford, searching his face. He saw dislike in it, but not deceit.
“Are you absolutely certain Tallis is guilty?” he asked.
“Yes, I am,” Strafford replied without hesitation. “I’ve looked into every other possibility, and it could have been no one else. Damn it, Narraway, the man may be an insubordinate clown, but he’s one of the best medical orderlies I’ve ever seen. Men respect him. He’s probably saved as many lives over the last couple of years as Rawlins himself. Do you think I’d pin this on him if there were any other man it could have been? I want the truth—and I wish this weren’t it, but it is.”
“Why?” Narraway asked stubbornly. “Why would Tallis rescue Dhuleep Singh? They didn’t even know each other. If they did, you’d have produced a witness to say so.”
“I don’t know,” Strafford admitted, miserable but not disconcerted. “Why do people do half the desperate oridiotic things they do? When you’ve been here another year or two, you won’t ask questions like that. Where were you during the summer? Not here! Not watching men you know dying of heatstroke or cholera, getting weaker day by day, sharing what food and water there was, protecting the women, desperate to save them. You weren’t here crouching behind that pathetic wall of earth, with nothing to shield you but a few bits of wood planking and some boxes, knowing that devil Nana Sahib was massing his hordes around you, growing closer every hour.”
Narraway wanted to interrupt him, but he dared not.
“Some of these men have seen hell in a way few people ever do,” Strafford went on. “Look in their faces sometime, Lieutenant. Look in their eyes, then come back and ask me why they do crazy things, or forget who they are or why they’re here. Imagine what Tallis has seen, and ask me if he could have gone mad and acted in a way that makes no sense. Maybe he thought Chuttur Singh was Nana Sahib, or some other monster who cut up women and children. Maybe he simply lost his mind for a moment. I don’t know. I just know that no one elsecould have done it. Believe me, I wish they could have. I tried to find any other answer.”
Narraway felt as if he had suddenly
“I know that, Narraway, damn it!” Strafford said angrily. “Who the hell do you think chose you? Latimerdoesn’t know you from the clerk who writes up the dispatches home.”
“Then he should bloody well look at the pips on my shoulders!” Narraway snapped.
Strafford almost smiled but stopped himself. “Would you prefer it if I said he doesn’t know you from any other newly commissioned young officer fresh off the boat? I do, however, at least by repute.”
Narraway’s heart sank. Here was the issue of Strafford’s brother again, the whole school record, the teasing, some of it less than good-natured, the inner contempt from the “swot” who preferred classics to sports—except cricket.
“Is that why you suggested to Colonel Latimer that he have me defend Tallis?” Narraway asked bitterly.
Strafford’s eyebrows rose. “Did you think I picked your name out of a hat? Of course it is. You’re a stubborn bastard, and you won’t be beaten until you can see it so close in front of you you’ll hit your nose if you take another step. Every man, no matter what he’s accused of, deserves someone to speak for him. And right here and now, in this gutted town with its ground still reeking of blood, we need to be sure we’re hanging the rightman, and then we need to do it quickly. Fight, by all means, but when you’re beaten, which will be tomorrow, give up. Don’t give Tallis false hope. That’s like a cat playing with a mouse. Let the end be quick and clean.”
Narraway looked at Strafford, searching his face. He saw dislike in it, but not deceit.
“Are you absolutely certain Tallis is guilty?” he asked.
“Yes, I am,” Strafford replied without hesitation. “I’ve looked into every other possibility, and it could have been no one else. Damn it, Narraway, the man may be an insubordinate clown, but he’s one of the best medical orderlies I’ve ever seen. Men respect him. He’s probably saved as many lives over the last couple of years as Rawlins himself. Do you think I’d pin this on him if there were any other man it could have been? I want the truth—and I wish this weren’t it, but it is.”
“Why?” Narraway asked stubbornly. “Why would Tallis rescue Dhuleep Singh? They didn’t even know each other. If they did, you’d have produced a witness to say so.”
“I don’t know,” Strafford admitted, miserable but not disconcerted. “Why do people do half the desperate oridiotic things they do? When you’ve been here another year or two, you won’t ask questions like that. Where were you during the summer? Not here! Not watching men you know dying of heatstroke or cholera, getting weaker day by day, sharing what food and water there was, protecting the women, desperate to save them. You weren’t here crouching behind that pathetic wall of earth, with nothing to shield you but a few bits of wood planking and some boxes, knowing that devil Nana Sahib was massing his hordes around you, growing closer every hour.”
Narraway wanted to interrupt him, but he dared not.
“Some of these men have seen hell in a way few people ever do,” Strafford went on. “Look in their faces sometime, Lieutenant. Look in their eyes, then come back and ask me why they do crazy things, or forget who they are or why they’re here. Imagine what Tallis has seen, and ask me if he could have gone mad and acted in a way that makes no sense. Maybe he thought Chuttur Singh was Nana Sahib, or some other monster who cut up women and children. Maybe he simply lost his mind for a moment. I don’t know. I just know that no one elsecould have done it. Believe me, I wish they could have. I tried to find any other answer.”
Narraway felt as if he had suddenly
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