Captain Enderis, First West African Regiment. A novel

Chapter I

It was a raw November morning, and a thick fog, fed by the rising smoke from myriads of chimneys, hung over the metropolis, so that the lamps at the bookstall on the main-line departure platform at Euston were lighted, and the platform itself was partially illuminated. Although it wanted only ten minutes to nine — the time for the departure of the Liverpool express — the station was singularly quiet, the occupants of the platform being a couple of guards, the man in charge of the carriage lamps throwing them up to another man on the roof, a porter moving along with a truck-load of foot-warmers, and three or four passengers, all men, wrapped in greatcoats, leisurely selecting their compartments for the journey. Presently a passenger appeared from the direction of the booking office, and stopped at the bookstall.

As he glanced over the papers, the light of the lamp fell full upon his face, and showed him to be a man of seven or eight and twenty, good-looking, with regular features and clear grey eyes, which, however, as he looked over the stall with slightly contracted brows, seemed somewhat hard and cold. There was something in the way he bore himself, and in the cut of his clothes, which would have proved him to be a soldier, even if the military-looking kit on the truck behind him had not been there to attest the fact. He was not long in selecting the papers he required, and, glancing round to see if the porters were following, he walked slowly up the platform in search of a suitable carriage. At length he found an empty smoking compartment ; he had a cigar between his teeth, and was just about to enter it, when he received a hearty slap on the shoulder, and heard a voice he knew exclaim — ' Here I am, Enderis !

Jolly glad to be in time to see you off. "Was afraid I should not be. My confounded driver had three collisions and a couple of falls getting here from Knightsbridge.' The speaker was a tall handsome young man of five or six and twenty, with a clear complexion, fair hair, and bright blue eyes. From his appearance there was no doubt that he too belonged to the military profession. ' It's you, De Chastelain, is it ? ' replied the other, his stern expression relaxing at this unexpected arrival of his friend. ' How did you manage to get up so early ? It is hard enough when you have to catch a train yourself, but when it is simply to see some one else catch it, the effort is almost superhuman.' The new-comer laughed at this hyperbole. ' My servant knows me by this time,' he said. ' When I tell him over night that I positively must be up at a certain time the following morning, he gives me no peace till he has got me out of bed.

But, I say, Enderis,' he continued, with change of tone, as he looked round, ' is not there any one to see you off? None of I mean ? ' A cloud appeared in Enderis' face. ' You did not expect to see the governor, did you ? ' he asked. ' I only told him I was going yesterday, and as I gave him no reasons you may imagine that he is not very pleased with me. As for my brother George, he is too much taken up with his latest scientific hobby to think of any one or anything else.' ' Are none of the other fellows coming ? ' ' I did not tell any of them in what ship or on what day I was going. I should not have told you,' he added, with a faint smile, ' if you had not extorted it from me.' ' Come, you would never have treated your old friend like that ? ' ' When a man exchanges from the Guards to a regiment stationed on the West Coast of Africa,' said Enderis, ' it is not considered to be such a matter of congratulation that all his friends should come and fete him on his departure.' ' I suppose not,' replied De Chastelain sorrowfully. ' How could you ever bring yourself to go out to a coast like that ?

Even if oue survives three or four years' service, there is every chance of one's constitution being ruined for life by it.' ' Beggars cannot be choosers. If I saw a chance of success in any other profession I would go in for it, but I am not good for anything but soldiering, and must join a regiment where promotion is likely to be the quickest.' ' By the death of your superior officers ? But it is generally the tough old boys who last the longest.' ' Then I must hope for a little fighting,' said Enderis, ' where every one stands an equal chance of being removed from competition.' At this moment the guard came up to close the door of the compartment, and Enderis entered the carriage. ' Good-bye, old fellow,' exclaimed De Chastelain. ' I wish you every good luck out there.' ' Thanks very much,' replied Enderis. ' At any rate, it cannot be any worse than what I have had at home.' The guard blew his whistle, and the two friends ex changed a parting grip of the hand as the train began to glide smoothly aud quietly out of the station.

Enderis threw himself back into his seat, and, neglecting the papers which lay beside him, gave himself up to reflection, as he took long-drawn pulls at his cigar and gazed absently at the line of dull-coloured suburban houses — half obscured by the fog — past which the train was moving. He certainly had little cause for pleasure in his meditations. Julian Enderis was the younger son of Sir Peter Enderis, a baronet of considerable influence and property. Julian and his elder brother George, the only two children, were brought up in the midst of every luxury and comfort, accustomed to have every wish gratified by an indulgent mother. Very few characters can escape the harm of such a training, and the two boys grew up with no conception of the value of money, except as a ready means of realising any passing whim that seized them.

As far as George was concerned, the evil was not of long duration. The estates were strictly entailed, and, however reckless he might be, he could not ruin himself beyond recovery. Apart from this fact, George was of a less impetuous nature than his younger brother, and when he experienced, ou growing to manhood, the inconvenience of living beyond the very handsome allowance made him by his father, he found little difficulty in keeping his expenditure within reasonable bounds. Moreover, at the university he had acquired a taste for mental culture, which precluded his following any of the reckless pursuits indulged in by youth less intellectually inclined. With Julian, however, it was different. Possessed of high spirits and the most perfect health, he had no fancy for the dull drudgery of scholarship, and was never happier than when engaged in active competition with others in almost every kind of outdoor sport.

This made him fore most in the hunting-field and at the covert side, as well as the most successful in all those games where it is possible for cleverness to assist luck. He did not stay long at Oxford, — his attendance to college duties was not sufficiently marked to please his dons, — and soon after leaving he passed for the army, and obtained a commission in the Guards. Julian threw himself into the pleasures of his new life with reckless abandonment. On coming of age he inherited from his mother, who had died in his fifteenth year, a comfortable fortune, as he was her favourite son, and she considered George sufficiently provided for by being heir to his father's estates. Julian never once gave a thought to the rate at which he was living. "When he chanced at any time to run short of cash, it was only a case of writing to his solicitor, and the difficulty was soon removed.

For the first three or four years his expenditure, due chiefly to comparatively harmless pursuits, did not materially affect his property. But he found himself gradually drawn more and more into speculation on the turf, aud no income can stand the drain made by an enthusiastic devotee of this popular form of gambling. His losses had to be paid from time to time out of capital, till, after an unlucky week, in which he tried to retrieve them by an unusually heavy plunge, he learnt that when his debts of honour were settled, even this source was at length exhausted, and he still had large tradesmen's bills unsatisfied. Under these circumstances, although he had just got his company, it was plain that he could remain no longer in the Guards. Even if he had sufficient capital left to meet his liabilities, he would not have been able to live on his pay alone.

At another time he might have appealed to Sir Peter Enderis to give him some assistance, but, unfortunately, Sir Peter, who was not much past middle age, had just married a young wife, and, the estates being entailed, he naturally wished to put by some provision for her out of his annual rent-roll. Julian was in a sore difficulty. At first he entertained a reckless plan of going out to the Colonies, and seeking his fortune among the gold mines or on a sheep farm; but a little reflection soon showed him the folly of building any hopes of success on the wild lottery of the former, and the small chance of advancing beyond n mere labourer, unless backed up by capital, in the latter. There was no opening for him in the mother country. All the professions required several years' study before there was the possibility of making the smallest fee, and during this time he would have to support himself.

In other paths of life he must begin at the lowest rung of the ladder, and take a position com bining the greatest amount of drudgery with the smallest amount of pay. He had for a short time dreamt of applying himself to literature, being confident of his powers, and possessing a keen appreciation of the best kind of literary work; but a friend, who had some experi ence of that profession, soon provided him with ample reasons for abandoning the project. No, it was plain that at his age, and unsupported as he was by capital, there was nothing for him but the profession in which he had spent seven or eight years of his life. Being no longer able to remain in the Guards, Julian was anxious to effect an exchange into a regiment which, in addition to being less expensive, would afford him at the same time more opportunities of advancement.

There was no war going on at the time in any portion of Her Majesty's dominions, and the only course open to him was to go to a station where the unhealthiness of the climate rendered promotion more probable. In respect of climate, it did not take him long to discover that the West Coast of Africa enjoyed the worst reputation. He knew very little about the Coast, except, perhaps, hearing of Sierra Leone under its uninviting title of 'The White Man's Grave,' or meeting in society a yellow, prematurely-aged gentleman, who had spent the best years of his life in some official capacity out there, and had retired with a handsome pension and a ruined constitution. But this did not deter Enderis from being willing to go there, and after a little inquiry he heard of a captain in a West African regiment, then stationed at Sierra Leone, who, having come into a considerable property, was anxious to exchange into a regiment iu which he would have more opportunities of enjoying it.

The exchange was soon effected ; and Julian, having briefly announced the fact to his fellow-officers, withdrew on a fortnight's leave preparatory to setting out, in order to avoid their curiosity or ill-timed condolences. He spent the interval in selling his horses and disposing of all the property he still possessed, so as to meet as far as possible the claims of his creditors. The sale realised such a large sum — the property was found to be more valuable than he suspected — that all his debts, with the exception of a few minor ones, were discharged by it. When his possessions were reduced to the simple out fit which he had procured for his new station, and he was to sail on the following day, Enderis set out to take leave of his only two relations, his father and his elder brother. He had not informed either of them of his exchange, so that when he presented himself about noon at the family mansion in Eaton Square, his father, whom he found in his study busy with his letters, — Sir Peter was member for his county and a man of some importance in the political world, — was surprised to see him. ' It is you, Julian, my boy, is it ? ' he said. ' You don't often honour us with a visit this time of the mornins..

Have you come to give me a tip for the next big handicap, or to consult your stepmother about the details of a regimental ball ? ' Julian gave a half-hearted smile. 'No, sir; it is for neither of those reasons. The fact is,' — he hesitated for a moment, not knowing how to frame his news, and then plunged on, — ' I am going out of England. I came to say good-bye.' Sir Peter looked up quickly. ' Have you got leave again so soon ? It was only a short time ago, I thought, that you were away shooting in the north.' ' It is not on leave, but on duty. I have exchanged into a West African regiment, stationed at Sierra Leone, and am sailing to-morrow to join it.' ' Exchanged ? ' cried the baronet, in the completest astonishment. ' Left the Guards for a miserable regiment of coloured soldiers on the West Coast of Africa ?

What can the boy be thinking of ? ' Julian had not come to bewail his misfortunes to his father, and was at a loss how to explain his conduct without revealing the true state of the case. ' I have got thoroughly tired of life in the Guards. It is only a repetition of the same gaieties year after year. It is all very well for a youngster who has just joined the regiment, but it begins to pall on one after seven or eight years of it.' ' In fact,' returned the hearty old baronet, with a shade of contempt in his tone, 'you have exhausted all the pleasures of life, and at the age of twenty-eight have become thoroughly ennuyi ! Cannot you find an interest in any other path ? Why don't you go in for politics ? I daresay I could do a good deal towards helping you to get a seat.' ' Politics are not in my line,' replied the young man briefly. ' Then why not marry, and settle down to some agri cultural interest or hobby ?' Marry ?

Marriage regarded as a career in life, settling down in a country-house without a penny with which to keep it ? If Sir Peter only knew how impossible were his suggestions ! ' No, father ; I don't think even matrimony and short horns would infuse sufficient interest into my faded exist ence. I want something more stirring. I am better suited to the military profession than to any other. As I want to get on, and there is no war at present, all I can do is to exchange into a regiment where promotion is quick and there is a chance of an occasional skirmish with native tribes.' ' With the certainty of being a constant victim to fever, while if you escape with your life it will be at the expense of your liver, and with the prospect of becoming a con firmed invalid for the rest of your days.' ' I must run the risk of that.

I believe the effects of the climate have been greatly exaggerated, and that health out there depends chiefly upon oneself. If one is tolerably careful, one can escape with only occasional attacks of fever, which would not impair the constitution to any serious extent. It is those who live recklessly, aud with as little care as in England, to whom the climate proves fatal.' ' If you are determined to go,' returned Sir Peter, ' nothing I can say will ever stop you. You have always had your own way as far back as I can remember.' When Julian had taken leave of his father and his young stepmother, he bent his steps towards his elder brother's rooms in Pall Mall. They had seen very little of each other within the last few years. George had never cared much for the amusements in which Julian spent nearly all the time not demanded of him by his profession.

Neither the field sports of hunting and shooting, nor the pleasures of the ballroom and the card table, possessed attractions for him. Having continued his classical studies with unabated fervour for two or three years after leaving Oxford, he suddenly became enamoured of modern science, and spent a large portion of his time in a laboratory which he had fitted up at the top of the house in which he lived. When he had pursued this branch of knowledge with the most untiring energy, and had by his application acquired a name among the leading scientists of the day, he abandoned it as rapidly as he had his classical studies, and devoted himself to archæology, and more especially to Egyptology. With such a rapid succession of autocratic mistresses, it is hardly to be wondered at that George Enderis had not provided himself with a wife ; indeed, he hardly ever spoke to women who did not possess interest or information on the subject he happened to be studying at the time, and such women had not appeared to him in any other light than as fellow-disciples in his favoured cult.

Sir Peter had on one or two occasions introduced the subject of marriage to his son and heir as one of some importance, but George had only looked at him with a mild and puzzled look through his spectacles,— his eyesight was considerably impaired uby poring over cramped and faded manuscripts, — and Sir Peter, as George was not his only son, and he was not without hopes of having a second family himself, did not press the matter further. While Julian, pondering over his late interview with his father, was on his way from Eaton Square to Pall Mall, he came into collision with some one who was standing in front of an old bookstall, and had stepped back without looking behind him. The force of the collision had knocked a book out of the stranger's hand, and after picking it up, he turned upon Julian, and, readjusting his spectacles, was about to fix upon him a reproving stare, when Julian recognised his elder brother. ' Hallo, George ! ' he exclaimed, unable to repress a smile at the reproachful look which was being cast upon him. 'I had no idea it was you.

Awfully sorry, but I really could not help it, you know, — you stepped back so unexpectedly. What have you got there ? ' he continued, glancing at the volume his brother was holding in his hand. ' This ? ' inquired George, turning the book over and dusting it carefully with his coat-sleeve. ' Why, this is a book the value of which you have no conception. I have been hunting for it these two years, and had altogether despaired of the existence of a copy of it. There was one, I had heard, in the library of the late Earl of Witham, but when the sale occurred it was nowhere to be found, and must either have been secretly withdrawn beforehand, or lost in some way during the auction. I believe that this is the very copy, although there is no crest on the cover and the flyleaf is torn out. I wonder how it came here ?

Most extraordinary coin cidence ! I hope you have not damaged it.' ' I hope not,' replied Julian lightly. ' What is it ? Early racing calendar, or an ancient treatise on the horse ? ' George looked at his brother with an expression of superior pity shining through his spectacles. ' Racing calendar ? Treatise on the horse? Do you know that this book ' — and he tapped it with solemn importance as he pronounced each word — ' is the celebrated work of Sulpicius Galta, the great archæologist of the fifteenth century, who spent his life among the catacombs of Egypt, and only lived to give this one small volume to the world, a mere fraction of his vast experience ? ' ' Oh ! ' said Julian, without appearing very much im pressed by the information. George gazed at him with mournful pathos for a few seconds, and then said — ■ ' I see you do not realise the immensity of this wonder ful discovery.

There is no reason why you should. You take no interest in the subject of which this book treats, and are consequently unable to appreciate the extent of my good fortune. But I am burning to become the possessor of the volume. I am afraid that the little boy who looks after the stall has witnessed my emotion. I VOL. I must make haste to secure it before he has time to communicate his suspicions to his master. You won't come in, I suppose ? Goodbye ; ' and George made a step in the direction of the shop entrance. ' Stay a minute,' cried Julian. ' You may be a long time coming to terms, and I don't know that I could wait. I was on my way to your rooms to say good-bye to you. I am leaving England to-morrow.' ' Are you ? ' replied George rather absently, his thoughts dwelling on his precious volume. ' Not going to Egypt ? ' he asked, suddenly brightening. ' No ; I am going to the West Coast of Africa.' ' Uninteresting part of the world, isn't it ? — no history, no monuments, no manuscripts, no relics of a bygone civilisation, nothing but a degraded modern barbarism.

I suppose you are going there in search of sport ? ' he added inquiringly. 'No; that is not my reason,' replied Julian. 'I have exchanged into a West African regiment stationed at Sierra Leone, aud am going out to join it.' ' Exchanged into a West African regiment ? What has induced you to do that ? Is it for mere love of change ? ' ' Perhaps so,' returned Julian, with a curious smile. ' It will be a change.' 'It is a very unhealthy climate, I believe,' continued George. ' You will soon get invalided home, and — There goes that boy ! I am afraid I have roused his suspicions. I must be beforehand with him. Good-bye, Julian. I hope you will get on all right out there ; ' and George plunged precipitately into the shop, anxious to make his bargain with the principal before the boy should have time to make his dangerous communication.

Such was the nature of the farewell which Julian obtained from his only brother. It did not betray any anxieties on his behalf, but he was not at all surprised nor even hurt by it. George had not really a bad heart, whenever he allowed that organ an opportunity of thrusting its claims upon his attention. This, however, was not very frequently the case. He was so wrapt up in his archæological researches, so given over to the exercise of his intellectual faculties, that no time was left for the cultivation of the ordinary emotions of the human heart, and it is surprising how rapidly these droop and languish when they are allowed no objects on which they may expand. But George had not learnt the true cause of his brother's exchange. He knew but few of Julian's friends, and although he was not altogether ignorant of his passion for the turf, he had no idea that it had brought him into such difficulties as those in which he was involved.

Julian had not once thought of applying to his brother for help, and the desire for change which he acknowledged to be the reason for his departure seemed to George to be a sufficient one. As, then, Julian was being carried rapidly away from London in the Liverpool express, there was no memory of regretful leave-takings, with the exception of his friend De Chastelain's, to oppress his spirits. Julian's fellow officers were a good set of men, and he was popular in his regiment, but out of a numerous acquaintance a man possesses but few real friends. De Chastelain, however, who was junior to Enderis, had been greatly attached to him ever since he first joined the regiment, when Julian had done him some trifling though welcome service. The two men had many tastes in common, especially those of field sports and a predilection for the turf.

De Chastelain was not so infatuated with the latter as his friend, and had often tried, though ineffectually, to check him in his reckless speculations. But these efforts did not impair the strength of their friendship, and through all the difficulties in which Julian found himself involved, De Chastelain had been his confidant and comforter. It was, accordingly, with a pang of real regret that Enderis had just parted with his friend, and as the train swept smoothly onward through the numerous suburban stations into the open country, away from the fog of town, he dwelt with melancholy pleasure on the good times they had enjoyed together — the fast runs across country, the big days on the moors, and the rivalry at regimental steeplechases. In this retrospect, fortunately for Julian, he experienced no regret at having done with the balls and picnics and other social festivities in which the fair sex took part.

There was no girl who held any sway over his affections. Not that Enderis was naturally proof against the charms of the other sex. But after one love-affair with an un fortunate result, almost before he was out of his teens, he had fought shy of such entanglements, and had, in fact, since then met no one who had caused him fresh misgivings on this score. Consequently, as the sun at length struggled through the mist and shone on the pale grass and black hedges of the winter season, Julian's spirits rose. . Change is a great thing, and even a change for the worse is welcome after a surfeiting monotony of the pleasures of fashionable society. Enderis was soon in a day-dream, picturing to himself the scenes in which his new life would be spent — pleasant anticipations of crocodile shooting and elephant hunting, and perhaps the excitement of a skirmish with some unruly native tribes.

By the time the train glided into the Liverpool terminus he had conjured up a series of the most agreeable pictures of his future station — castles in the air destined to be as rudely demolished as those fanciful structures so invariably are.

Chapter II

The Mayumba, the steamer on which Enderis had taken his passage, did not look particularly inviting, as the tender which was conveying him from the landing-stage drew near to her anchorage in the river. She was of the usual build of West African mail-ships, with saloon astern on the main deck, a short hurricane deck each side of the funnel, and a raised forecastle, the lower level of the rest of the deck giving her an ugly and at the same time a weak appearance. Nor did Enderis find her any more attractive when he got on board. The saloon was a fair size for the tonnage of the vessel, but it was not scru pulously clean, and had the disadvantage of being lined both sides with cabins. Enderis had been fortunate enough to secure a cabin to himself, but, to judge from the number of passengers at that time crowding into the saloon, he concluded that all the others must be full.

Among the gathering, Julian was surprised to see so many native Africans. He wondered if there was a general exodus of them from England at that time of the year, or whether every mail carried as many as were now on board the Mayumba. These gentlemen were for the most part dressed in the best of English fashions — black frock coats, grey trousers, and tall silk hats, to which they added for their personal adornment massive gold chains and a profusion of gaudy rings. All were talking at the top of their voices, laughing loudly, and calling to a pair of dejected, overworked stewards to bring them various forms of liquid refreshments. One of them was very excited about his luggage, a certain package having gone astray, but after accusing the steward of having appro priated it, he found it in his bunk, having placed it there inadvertently himself.

In addition to these natives there were a few Englishmen, whose yellow countenances showed that they were not strangers to the Coast for which the ship was bound. The Mayumba weighed anchor, fortunately, up to time ; for there is nothing more miserable than the hours spent on board previous to departure, amidst all the bustle of final arrangements, when everything is in disorder, and there is nowhere to retire in quiet from the confusion. For the first few days rough weather was encountered, and very little was seen of the coloured gentlemen, though their existence was made evident by the groans which penetrated the saloon from their cabin doors. But when the Bay was once crossed, and the sunny shores of Spain came into sight, they reappeared at table, and duly avenged themselves for their late enforced absence.