NothingsoveryremarkablehappenedtoGodfreyduringthosetenyearsofhislifeinIndia,oratleastonlyoneortwothings。Thusoncehegotintoascrapeforwhichhewasnotreallyresponsible,andgotoutofitagain,asheimagined,withoutremark,untilIsobelshowedhercommonandratherpainfulintimacywithitsdetails,ofwhichsheappearedtotakeasomewhatuncharitableview,atanyratesofarastheladywasconcerned。
Theothermatterwasmoreserious,sinceitinvolvedthelossofhisgreatestfriend,ArthurThorburn。Briefly,whathappenedwasthis。
Therewasafrontierdisturbance。Godfrey,whobynowwasastaffofficer,hadbeensenttoafaroutpostheldbyThorburnwithacertainnumberofmen,andtheretookcommand。Areconnaissancewasnecessary,andThorburnwentoutforthatpurposewithoverhalfoftheavailablegarrisonofthepost,havingreceivedwrittenordersthathewasnottoengagetheenemyunlesshefoundhimselfabsolutelysurrounded。IntheendThorburndidengagetheenemywiththeresultthatpracticallyheandhisforcewereexterminated,butnotbeforetheyhadinflictedsuchalessononthesaidenemythatitsuedforpeaceandhasbeengreatfriendswiththeBritishpowereversince。
FirsthoweverafeebleattackwasmadeonGodfrey’scampthathebeatoffwithoutthelossofasingleman,exaggeratedaccountsofwhichweretelegraphedhomerepresentingitasa“Rorke’sDriftdefence。“
Godfreywasheartbroken;hehadlovedthismanasabrother,moreindeedthanbrothersoftenlove。AndnowThorburn,hisonlyfriend,wasdead。TheDarknesshadtakenhim,thatimpenetrable,devouringdarknessoutofwhichwecomeandintowhichwego。Religiontoldhimheshouldnotgrieve,thatThorburndoubtlesswasmuchbetteroffwhitherhehadgonethanhecouldeverhavebeenonearth,althoughitwastruethesamereligionsaidthathemightbemuchworseoff,sincethitherhisfailingswouldhavefollowedhim。Dismissingthelatterpossibility,howcouldhebehappyinanewworld,Godfreywondered,havingleftallhecaredforbehindhimandwithoutpossibilityofcommunicationwiththem?
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