CHAP. XVII. 
THE BOOM AH PASS. 
155 
Fraser heard what he thought a sort of rattle in my 
throat, and started up. I appeared more to feel than 
see all this. He rushed to my bed, felt my pulse, and 
looked scared, ran to his little kit, and brought back a 
small round looking-glass and held it to my mouth, 
dropped it, and rushed for a little vial, from which he 
poured drops down my throat, and I soon became more 
conscious. 
He then threw open my blanket and found me 
saturated in blood. He told me afterwards that I was 
in too weak a state for him to cut down and re-tie the 
artery, and that he was obliged to keep me suspended 
between life and death until coagulation had stopped 
the bleeding. The course of the bullet had cut the 
sciatic nerve in two; during this period my leg be¬ 
came doubled up; and as I could not be moved it 
became fixed in that contracted position; ultimately 
I had to be sent home by a medical board to have an 
operation performed. 
We were shut up at Fort White for about six 
weeks. Occasionally we received the smallest of small 
despatches from Sir Harry Smith, urging us to hold 
out until he could raise the siege and relieve us. These 
despatches were brought by naked renegade Kafir 
messengers. They were rolled up about the size of a 
quill, for these messengers were repeatedly waylaid, 
caught, and searched; but they were always clever 
