A Christmas Garland Read Online Free Page A

them, especially the wives of those killed on the patrol, to see this trial to a swift end.” He glanced at Narraway and then back at the rutted road they were walking along. “I hope you can see that.” He said it with a lift in his voice, as if it were, at least in part, a question.
    He outranked Narraway, but in the matter of the trial of John Tallis, rank should mean nothing.
    “As rapidly as justice allows, sir,” Narraway agreed.
    “What witnesses do you propose to call?” Busby asked rather briskly.
    “I don’t know,” Narraway admitted. “I only got the case yesterday evening, and I’ve never represented anyone on trial before.”
    “For heaven’s sake, you’re an officer, man!” Busby said dismissively. “I’m not a lawyer either. We’re after the truth, not tricks of the law. A loyal Sikh officer has been cut to pieces, and ten of our own men were ambushed out there.” He waved his arm in a general southerly direction. “Nine of them are dead. We’ve got widows,at least half a dozen more fatherless children. Tallis is responsible for that. The legality of it is just for the record’s sake; don’t harrow up everyone’s emotions and open old wounds by asking a lot of unnecessary questions.”
    Narraway did not answer. There was no point in telling Busby that the colonel had asked him to do more than just tidy it away. Latimer wanted answers, wanted to understand what had gone so terribly wrong.
    They walked a few paces in silence. A man pushing a cart of vegetables veered and jolted over a hole ahead of them. Two women—probably officers’ wives, from the cut of their clothes—passed on the opposite side, inclining their heads slightly.
    “I’m not sure if you are the right man for this,” Busby went on, now staring straight ahead. “We might have been better off with someone who’d actually been through the siege and understood the suffering, the deeper issues.”
    “I think Colonel Latimer chose me precisely because I hadn’t been through it,” Narraway answered. “He wants this to be fair. If I’d been here through the siege, I’d have loyalties to certain men more than others, perhapsmen to whom I owed my life. I might not favor them in any way, but people couldn’t be sure of it, of my motivations.”
    Busby was quiet. They passed a small nondenominational church on the other side of the street. The post office was just ahead of them. They both looked battered, scarred by shells that had exploded too close. A shop nearby was darkened by the stains of an old fire, spreading out like the shadow of a hand.
    “I don’t know who you’re going to call,” Busby said suddenly. “No one else could have done it, you know. Don’t go trying to raise doubt as to the honor of decent men. Apart from the fact that you won’t get Tallis off—and by God, neither should you—you certainly won’t do yourself any favors. If you want to make a career in the army, you’ll understand loyalty.” His voice took on a sudden, intense emotion. “That’s what it’s all about—courage under fire, steadfastness, and loyalty. You’re no damn use to man or beast if your own men don’t know that, come hell or high water, they can trust you.”
    He glanced sideways at Narraway, his eyes sharp. Then, after a moment’s penetrating stare, he looked ahead again. “I assume you know that already, and Idon’t have to tell you? Make a good job of this and the whole regiment will respect you. Filthy responsibility, I know.”
    “Yes, sir,” Narraway agreed, trying to put his words carefully. “My aim is to defend Tallis so that no one afterward—history, if you like—can say he wasn’t dealt with fairly. I hope that won’t take time, and I sincerely hope it won’t necessitate my calling anyone as witness to an event that distresses them more than is unavoidable. But haste now may lead to grief; to dishonor that will later damage the regiment, and even the reputation of the Indian army in