of the approach, and God knows how much smaller metal.
Plenty.”
Wellesley removed the inkwells that had been serving as weights so that
the drawings rolled up with a snap.
“Not much choice, though, is there?” he asked.
“None, sir.”
Wellesley looked up suddenly, his eyes seeming very blue in the tent’s
half light.
“The supply train is twelve hours late, Captain. Why?”
He spoke quietly, but even Sharpe felt a shiver go through him.
Torrance, his cocked hat held beneath his left arm, was sweating.
“I . I.. .” he said, too nervous to speak properly, but then he took
a deep breath.
“I was ill, sir, and unable to supervise properly, and my clerk failed
to issue the chitties It was a most regrettable occurrence, sir, and
I can assure you it will not happen again.”
The General stared at Torrance in silence for a few seconds.
“Colonel Wallace gave you Ensign Sharpe as an assistant? Did Sharpe
also fail to obey your orders?”
“I had sent Mister Sharpe ahead, sir,” Torrance said. The sweat was
now pouring down his face and dripping from his chin.
“So why did the clerk fail in his duties?”
“Treachery, sir,” Torrance said.
The answer surprised Wellesley, as it was meant to. He tapped his
pencil on the table’s edge.
“Treachery?” he asked in a low voice.
“It seemed the clerk was in league with a merchant, sir, and had been
selling him supplies. And this morning, sir, when he should have been
issuing the chitties he was employed on his own business.”
“And you were too ill to detect his treachery?”
“Yes, sir,” Torrance said almost pleadingly.
“At first, sir, yes, sir.”
Wellesley gazed at Torrance for a few silent seconds, and the Captain
had the uncomfortable feeling that the blue eyes saw right into his
soul.
“So where is this treacherous clerk now, Captain?” Wellesley asked at
last.
“We hanged him, sir,” Torrance said and Sharpe, who had not heard of
Dilip’s death, stared at him in astonishment.
The General slapped the table, making Torrance jump in alarm.
“You seem very fond of hanging, Captain Torrance?”
“A necessary remedy for theft, sir, as you have made plain.”
“I, sir? I?” The General’s voice, when he became angry, did not
become louder, but more precise and, therefore, more chilling.
“The general order mandating summary death by hanging for thievery,
Captain, applies to men in uniform. King’s and Company men only. It
does not apply to civilians. Does the dead man have family?”
“No, sir,” Torrance said. He did not really know the answer, but
decided it was better to say no than to prevaricate.
“If he does, Captain,” Wellesley said softly, ‘and if they complain,
then I shall have no choice but to put you on trial, and depend upon
it, sir, that trial will be in the civilian courts.”
“I apologize, sir,” Torrance said stiffly, ‘for my over-zealousness.”
The General stayed silent for a few seconds.
“Supplies were missing,” he said after a while.
“Yes, sir,” Torrance agreed weakly.
“Yet you never reported the thefts?” Wellesley said.
“I did not believe you wished to be troubled by every mishap, sir,”
Torrance said.
“Mishap!” Wellesley snapped.
“Muskets are stolen, and you call that a mishap? Such mishaps, Captain
Torrance, lose wars. In future you will inform my staff when such
depredations are made.” He stared at
Torrance for a few seconds, then looked at Sharpe.
“Colonel Huddlestone tells me it was you, Sharpe, who discovered the
missing supplies?”
“All but the muskets, sir. They’re still missing.”
“How did you know where to look?”
“Captain Torrance’s clerk told me where to buy supplies, sir.” Sharpe
shrugged.
“I guessed they were the missing items, sir.”
Wellesley grunted. Sharpe’s answer appeared to confirm Torrance’s
accusations, and the Captain gave Sharpe a grateful glance. Wellesley
saw the glance and rapped the table, demanding Torrance’s attention.
“It is a pity, Captain, that we could not have questioned the merchant
before you so summarily executed him. May I presume you did
interrogate the clerk?”
“My sergeant did, sir, and the wretch confessed to having sold items to
Naig.” Torrance blushed as he told the lie, but it was so hot in the