This is a factual story, but not a history. Please do not pounce on me with scorn if it turns out there were seven, not eight, platoons of Tochi Scouts on the Iblanke that night of May 11^th – 12^th, 1937. For the purpose of this book, it does not matter. That purpose is to tell the story of how a schoolboy became a professional soldier of the old Indian Army. This is also the tale of a race against time, for the Second World War is beginning as this story ends.