Only when the camp was secure, with sangars at each corner, a wall between and a trench behind the wall, did Jack begin to patrol the area properly.
* * *
“Over there.” Jemadar Hassan pointed to a group of trees on the horizon.
“I see it.” The standard was to the right of the trees, half-hidden by flurries of snow but undoubtedly red-and-green. Batoor"s colours. Was Batoor taunting them? Or was the banner a symbol of his presence? Or a challenge?
“Take half a dozen men and see what"s happening,” Jack ordered. “Be very careful. Bacha Khan is a dangerous man.”
“Yes, sahib,” Hassan said, and called to a section of his men.
That was the downside of command, Jack thought. He had to send men into dangerous situations while he remained in the background. The Guides spread out as they approa
