Narraway replied. “The facts say he must have, and yet I find myself hard put not to believe him. Or at least not to think that he believes himself. Why would he do it?”
Rawlins shrugged. “God knows. Why would anyone, unless they sided with the mutineers? But if you were on their side, why the hell would you stay here insteadof slipping off to join them? Staying here, he had a good chance of being killed anyway. What a bloody mess. The last thing we need is to lose a really good medical orderly. Ask your questions. It’s a waste of time, but I assume you have to go through the motions.”
“I don’t know what else to do,” Narraway admitted. “There isn’t any defense for such a thing.” He wanted to tell Rawlins how helpless he felt and how totally confused he was by Tallis, but he despised complainers. “Busby’s bound to ask you about Chuttur Singh. The way Grant describes it, Chuttur was struck on the head, probably dazed. Tallis let Dhuleep out of his cell. One of them took Chuttur’s sword and hacked him to death, to try to prevent him from raising the alarm. Does that fit in with what you observed once Chuttur’s body was brought to you?”
“Seems to,” Rawlins replied, his face puckered with regret. “Based on the medical evidence, I can’t see anything else possible, honestly. Chuttur had the exact injuries you describe. The Court will draw the obvious conclusion: Dhuleep was locked in his cell, so there had to be a third man, someone who got in from the outside. That person struck Chuttur, taking him by surprise orhe’d have defended himself, and unlocked the cell so Dhuleep could escape.”
“Any idea if Dhuleep was injured as well?” Narraway asked.
“Not a clue. I was told he left blood here and there, but not much,” Rawlins answered. “Smudges, smears on a wall, a couple of footprints edged with blood. If he was hurt, if it wasn’t just poor Chuttur’s blood from his clothes, then he wasn’t hurt badly. I’d like to think he was dead, lying out there in the scrub somewhere, or on one of those stony riverbeds, being picked apart by the carrion birds. But he was well enough to get as far as the rebels, because he told them where to ambush the patrol.”
His face was tight with a sudden wave of emotion. If someone had brought the bodies back, Rawlins would have seen them, perhaps identified them before burial. And he would have treated the one man who came in alive but later died from his injuries—and also Tierney, the lone survivor. Being a soldier was easier, Narraway thought, than being an army surgeon. Even trying to defend Tallis was better than Rawlins’s job.
“I don’t suppose it matters anyway,” he agreed. “Asyou say, the facts allow for only one explanation. How is Tierney doing? Will he make it?”
“Could do,” Rawlins replied. “Lost a leg. Wish I could have saved it, but it was shattered. You can see him if you want, but I doubt he can tell you anything. No question they were betrayed by Dhuleep, not that it makes any difference to your case either way. I wouldn’t waste your time, and the Court’s, even raising that question.”
“I’d like to see him, if he’s up to it.” Narraway rose. “But I don’t want to … upset him …”
Rawlins also stood. “He might be glad of someone to talk to. He’s still in a bad way, just lying there alone most of the time. We do what we can for the pain, but he’s not a fool. He knows everyone’s clinging by our fingernails, as it were. We could all be dead in a few months if we don’t turn this tide. The news is bad, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” Narraway confessed. “Far as I know. But we’ve got Campbell. He could turn the tide, by Christmas. Remember the Crimea, Balaklava?”
Rawlins grinned lopsidedly. “The Heavy Brigade: ‘Here we stand, here we die.’ ” He paraphrased Campbell’s famous exhortation to his men. “Not exactly what I had in mind.”
“He won,” Narraway pointed
Rawlins shrugged. “God knows. Why would anyone, unless they sided with the mutineers? But if you were on their side, why the hell would you stay here insteadof slipping off to join them? Staying here, he had a good chance of being killed anyway. What a bloody mess. The last thing we need is to lose a really good medical orderly. Ask your questions. It’s a waste of time, but I assume you have to go through the motions.”
“I don’t know what else to do,” Narraway admitted. “There isn’t any defense for such a thing.” He wanted to tell Rawlins how helpless he felt and how totally confused he was by Tallis, but he despised complainers. “Busby’s bound to ask you about Chuttur Singh. The way Grant describes it, Chuttur was struck on the head, probably dazed. Tallis let Dhuleep out of his cell. One of them took Chuttur’s sword and hacked him to death, to try to prevent him from raising the alarm. Does that fit in with what you observed once Chuttur’s body was brought to you?”
“Seems to,” Rawlins replied, his face puckered with regret. “Based on the medical evidence, I can’t see anything else possible, honestly. Chuttur had the exact injuries you describe. The Court will draw the obvious conclusion: Dhuleep was locked in his cell, so there had to be a third man, someone who got in from the outside. That person struck Chuttur, taking him by surprise orhe’d have defended himself, and unlocked the cell so Dhuleep could escape.”
“Any idea if Dhuleep was injured as well?” Narraway asked.
“Not a clue. I was told he left blood here and there, but not much,” Rawlins answered. “Smudges, smears on a wall, a couple of footprints edged with blood. If he was hurt, if it wasn’t just poor Chuttur’s blood from his clothes, then he wasn’t hurt badly. I’d like to think he was dead, lying out there in the scrub somewhere, or on one of those stony riverbeds, being picked apart by the carrion birds. But he was well enough to get as far as the rebels, because he told them where to ambush the patrol.”
His face was tight with a sudden wave of emotion. If someone had brought the bodies back, Rawlins would have seen them, perhaps identified them before burial. And he would have treated the one man who came in alive but later died from his injuries—and also Tierney, the lone survivor. Being a soldier was easier, Narraway thought, than being an army surgeon. Even trying to defend Tallis was better than Rawlins’s job.
“I don’t suppose it matters anyway,” he agreed. “Asyou say, the facts allow for only one explanation. How is Tierney doing? Will he make it?”
“Could do,” Rawlins replied. “Lost a leg. Wish I could have saved it, but it was shattered. You can see him if you want, but I doubt he can tell you anything. No question they were betrayed by Dhuleep, not that it makes any difference to your case either way. I wouldn’t waste your time, and the Court’s, even raising that question.”
“I’d like to see him, if he’s up to it.” Narraway rose. “But I don’t want to … upset him …”
Rawlins also stood. “He might be glad of someone to talk to. He’s still in a bad way, just lying there alone most of the time. We do what we can for the pain, but he’s not a fool. He knows everyone’s clinging by our fingernails, as it were. We could all be dead in a few months if we don’t turn this tide. The news is bad, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” Narraway confessed. “Far as I know. But we’ve got Campbell. He could turn the tide, by Christmas. Remember the Crimea, Balaklava?”
Rawlins grinned lopsidedly. “The Heavy Brigade: ‘Here we stand, here we die.’ ” He paraphrased Campbell’s famous exhortation to his men. “Not exactly what I had in mind.”
“He won,” Narraway pointed
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