1821 - The Battle for Palembang

24: Fire on the Horizon

Simpson woke up from his timely nap with the sky turning into a streak of orange and dark blue. The day had turned to dusk now. The first thing that came to his sight was Captain Ghijsels, who appeared upon a horse, a local-breed pony. His hands brought the reins of another one, a similarly-sized pony.

"Captain Simpson," said Ghijsels. "We must be off now."

Simpson nodded; he went straight to the horse and vaulted over it, taking its reins. It was a tame and easy horse, though he doubted how much it could bring in a gallop. Obviously, Simpson was not used to his feet dangling so far away from the horse's flanks, being so short.

They headed off then, and at the outskirts of the village, a group of men–about thirty or forty in number–were assembled in column, ready for a march. At the head of it was a young ensign who carried no flag with him, and a great bearded corporal. The corporal yelled for a general present-arms, and the ensign gave the two of them a salute with his sword, of which the two captains returned with pride.

"You must be Captain Simpson, sir. I am Ensign Kepler, of the Twenty-Fourth. I heard you were coming with us to Gombora, sir."

"Indeed, ensign. I believe we should not delay any longer." Said Simpson

The Ensign nodde, then turned to the bearded corporal. "Korporaal, sound the advance."

"Ja, meneer," said the bearded corporal. He raised his voice. "Detachment! By the leeeeeft, forward, march!" and they set off, left foot first, in a quickly unison. Packs on their backs and muskets unloaded, they headed off, and headed away.

"I am sorry I will not be joining you, James." Said Ghijsels. "I have business by the main landing site; de Kock's orders."

The two shook hands. "Best of luck to you, Christiaan."

"To you, James. You need it more than me. Gombora... it's taken too much from the men." He looked away, as if he had seen a horrible thing. "So, good luck, friend."

Simpson nodded; and handing a salute over to Captain Christiaan Ghijsels, he spurred the horse to a gallop, following the column which had taken some distance away. They followed the dirt trail that made its way to the bridge, which crossed the River Komering, where they would later then reach the gun pits. Beyond that, the boats that would bring them across the river, and onto Gombora. And there, there, they would fight.

About twenty minutes passed when the group of twenty to thirty men reached the bridge over the River Komering. They were an odd bunch; an assortment of soldiers from different regiments though all being part of Brabant's Brigade. A group of hussars in light blue guarded the crossing. With their larger horses and dashing build, Simpson saw a familiar face amongst them.

"Van den Bergh! Johannes van den Bergh!"

A man turned his face; and Lieutenant Johannes van den Bergh, who had shared the sick room with him during his internment in the field hospital, came about. He rode to the captain, who felt embarrassed of his small horse. It would surely garner some comments from the hussar officer, that and their unbearable arrogance and short-temper.

"Simpson, Lieutenant James Simpson, was it? You are out of the sickbed now, gave you a bad shoulder, did they?"

"It is Captain Simpson, now."

"Sure sounds better on you. And congratulations. How do you do, sir?" asked van den Bergh, happily.

"First of all, I owe you one. You saved my backside that day, surely–I'll have to repay it one day." Said Simpson

"Think of it not, captain."

The hussar lieutenant then explained why he was indeed there, when he was hospitalised not some time ago. The Royal Batavian Hussars detachment that was attached to the expedition did not, by the most part, operate on the popular role of cavalry, that being to break and charge enemy formations. They were now scouts and runners, tasked with guarding important boundaries and bridges while also being the main method of communication between the major outposts. Van den Bergh's troop were assigned with the vital task of guarding the pontoon bridges over the River Komering, and hence, why he was there now.