In the Heart of Darkness(94)

"What are you talking about?" he asked.



"This—idiocy." Sanga glared. "No, I take that back. This is not idiocy. Not at all. This is pure deception."



His lieutenant frowned. "I don't understand—"



"It's obvious, Jaimal! The whole point of this massacre—like the first two, and the attack on the army camp—is simply to lead us in pursuit."



Seeing the lack of comprehension on Jaimal's face, Sanga reined in his temper. He did not, however, manage to refrain from sighing with exasperation.



"Jaimal, ask yourself some simple questions. Why did the Romans kill these men? Why are they going out of their way to take roads which lead past guardhouses? Why, having done so, do they take the time to attack the guardhouses instead of sneaking around them? You know as well as I do that these"—he jabbed a finger at the corpses—"sorry sons-of-bitches wouldn't move out of their guardhouses unless they were forced to. Finally, why did they attack the army camp in Kausambi on the night they fled?"



Silence. Frown of incomprehension. Sanga finally exploded.



"You idiot! The Romans are doing everything possible to lead us in this direction? Why, damn you—why?"



Jaimal's gape would have been comical, if Sanga had been in a humorous mood.



"Belisarius—isn't—isn't with them," he stammered. "He fled a different way."



"Congratulations," growled Sanga. He reined his horse around.



"Gather up the men. We're going back."



Jaimal frowned. "But it's a three-day ride back to Kausambi. And we were ordered—"



"Damn the orders! I'll deal with Tathagata. And what if it is a three day ride? We've already lost four days on this fool's errand. By the time we get back—assuming I can talk sense into the Malwa—Belisarius will have at least a week's lead on us. Would you rather extend it further?"



He jabbed an angry finger to the south. "How many more days do you want to chase after the Roman general's underlings? I doubt if we can catch them anyway. The Pathans say they've already gained a day on us. They're covering as much distance in three days as we can in four. And even have time for this"—another angry finger jabbed at the corpses—"along the way."



Jaimal nodded. Large Rajput cavalry units such as their own always kept a handful of Pathan irregulars with them. The barbarians were an indisciplined nuisance, most of the time, but they were unexcelled trackers.



"How are they traveling so fast?" wondered Jaimal.



Sanga shrugged. "They've got remounts, for one thing, which we don't. And they must have the best horses in creation. We may never know, but I'd be willing to wager a year's income that Belisarius managed to buy the best horses he could find, in the months he's been in India. And hide them away somewhere."



Then, with a tone like steel:



"And now, Jaimal, do as I command. Gather up the men. We're heading back."



Beyond a point, none of Sanga's subordinates would argue with him. That point had been reached, Jaimal knew, and he immediately obeyed his instructions.



His chief subordinates, Udai and Pratap, privately expressed their reservations to him. Those reservations, in the main, centered around their fear of the Malwa reaction when they returned to Kausambi. But, now that their course was set, Jaimal would no more tolerate dissent than would Sanga himself.



"And besides," he growled, "no one will miss us here anyway. There must be forty thousand troops beating these plains. A third of them Rajput cavalry, and another third Ye-tai horsemen. Five hundred of us will make no difference."



"True enough," grunted Udai. "As good as the Roman horses are—and with remounts—only royal couriers could move faster."



"They've been sent, haven't they?" asked Pratap.



Jaimal shrugged irritably. "Do I know? Since when does Emperor Skandagupta take me into his confidence? But I assume so. By now, I imagine, couriers have been dispatched to every port on the Erythrean Sea, alerting the garrisons."



His own tone of voice, now, was a duplicate of Sanga's:



"And that's enough. Do as you've been told."





Couriers had been sent, in point of fact. Just as Jaimal expected—to every port on the Erythrean Sea. The couriers were expert horsemen, riding the very finest steeds. They did not bring remounts with them, however. Instead, they changed horses at the relay stations which the Malwa maintained at regular intervals along all of the principal roads in the Empire. These relay stations were small affairs, in the Gangetic plain, not much more than a barn or corral attached to a small barracks housing a squad of four soldiers.