In vain I
banged at the door and called at the top of my voice--they heard nothing."
In desperation he had to make his way as best he could back to his own
bungalow, about half a mile away, only to find that also barred against
him. "I had to continue hammering for a long time before they heard and
admitted me, thankful to be comparatively safe inside a house."
Another disappointment to Roberts lay in the fact that he was still away
from his father, who seemed destined all his life to remain a stranger to
him. The junior officer was stationed at Dum Dum, famous as the
birthplace of the soft-nosed bullets, now proscribed in civilized
warfare. His father had been appointed to the command of the troops at
Peshawar, and now wrote him a welcome note bidding him come to join him.
This was easier said than done, but was finally accomplished after three
months of toilsome and dangerous travel. He used every sort of native
conveyance--barge, post-chaise, palanquin, pony, and "shank's mares"--but
it was interesting and full of novelty to the barracks-bound soldier. He
went by way of Benares, Allahabad, Cawnpore, and Meerut--places destined
to win unpleasant fame in the Mutiny.
Peshawar, his destination, proved no less fascinating than the way
stations. It commanded the caravan route between India and Afghanistan,
and guarded the entrance to Khyber Pass.
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