They are not ordinary folk!"
There were other factions that maintained that General Baines was
strong enough, with his three thousand, to hold Bholat, unless the
men of Jailpore marched, to join hands with the Bholatis--who were
surely in revolt by this time. There were others who declared that
he would leave Bholat and Jailpore to their fates without any doubt
at all, and would march to join hands with the nearest contingent,
at Harumpore.
The bolder spirits of this latter faction were for setting off at
once to prevent this combination. For a little while their arguments
almost prevailed.
But another faction yet, and an even more numerous one, insisted
it were best to wait for news from other centers.
Why march, they argued, why strike, why run unnecessary risks, before
they knew what was happening elsewhere?
"Surely," these argued, "the English will hear that four here are
still unaccounted for. Some attempt will be made to find and rescue
them. But if we find and slay them, and send their heads to Bholat,
then will the English know that they are indeed dead.
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