II

THE SACK


18th August, 1900.

* * * * *

After these events and the curious entry of our relieving troops,
nothing came as a surprise to me. I can still remember as if it had
only occurred ten seconds ago how, after witnessing those English
sappers calmly strip that drunken French marauder of his gains, I came
back into the broken Legation Street to find that a whole company of
savage-looking Indian troops--Baluchis they were--had found their way
in the dark into a compound filled with women-converts who had gone
through the siege with us, and that these black soldiery were engaged,
amidst cries and protests, in plucking from their victims' very heads
any small silver hair-pins and ornaments which the women possessed.
Trying to shield them as best she could was a lady missionary. She
wielded at intervals a thick stick, and tried to beat the marauders
away. But these rough Indian soldiers, immense fellows, with great
heads of hair which escaped beneath their turbans, merely laughed, and
carelessly warding off this rain of impotent blows, went calmly on
with their trifling plundering. Some also tried to caress the women
and drag them away.... Then the lady missionary began to weep in a
quiet and hopeless way, because she was really courageous and only
entirely over-strung. At this a curious spasm of rage suddenly seized
me, and taking out my revolver, I pushed it into one fellow's face,
and told him in plain English, which he did not understand, that if he