December 12th, 1879: low grey clouds pressed down on the Sherpur cantonment, preventing any use of the heliograph. The telegraph was down, and all around the cantonment, Mohammed Jan"s standards flew. Studying the banners through his binoculars, Jack saw Batoor"s red-and-green among them, limp in the chill air.
The British waited within the cantonment, with Roberts sending out strong patrols to gather intelligence. The news was uniformly bad, with Mohammed Jan"s army growing in numbers every day after tribe after tribe, lashkar after lashkar joined him.
“Do we just wait here?” Major Burridge asked. “We could sortie out, diminish their numbers.”
“We"re waiting for reinforcements,” Jack said. “The general telegraphed Simla before the Afghans cut the wire. General Charles Gough should be o
