Chapter 48

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_ CHAPTER FORTY EIGHT.

As soon as I could drag my eyes from Ny Deen's mocking gaze, I looked round sharply for Dost, and a chill ran through me as I failed to see him. For the moment I hesitated to speak, in the hope that he might have escaped, and inquiries might only lead to his pursuit; but it was such a forlorn hope that I gave it up at once, and turned to speak to the rajah.

"Where is my servant?" I said. "Salaman?" he replied. "No, no; my old servant, Dost."

"The man who was with you just now?"

"Yes," I cried.

"I do not know," replied Ny Deen. "I suppose killed, as the result of his rashness."

I gave him a glance full of horror, and then looked round at the crowd of armed men so fiercely, that the rajah spoke.

"Where is the man," he said. There was a dead silence, which I interpreted to mean that he had been killed.

The rajah took a step or two forward, glaring round so savagely that one of the men who had seized us prostrated himself.

"You have killed him?" said Ny Deen, in a low guttural voice, which made me shiver.

"My lord, no. The man was seized, and in the fight he fell, and we thought him dead, for he was bleeding. Then we held the English lord here, and when we went to pick up the man, he was gone."

"Then he has escaped?"

The man remained silent, and Ny Deen turned to me with his eyes full of mockery and a strange light, as they flashed in the glare of the torches.

"Well," he said, "are you satisfied?"

"Yes," I replied, "if it is true."

"It is true enough," he said carelessly. "Come."

He signed to me to approach his side, and to my surprise, instead of my being led off as a prisoner, the rajah laid his hand upon my shoulder, and walked by me as if nothing had happened, right back to my room, when he threw himself upon the cushions and laughed.

"You foolish boy!" he said good-humouredly; "how could you be so weak as to commit such a folly. I am angry with you, not for offending me, for I suppose it was natural, but for lowering yourself so before my people, forcing me to have you--the man I meant to be my chief officer--hunted like an escaping prisoner. You might have been killed in your mad climbing, or by my people by accident in a struggle. That man came and tempted you to go?"

"I wanted no tempting," I replied.

"It is a pity," he said, after a moment's pause. "You degraded yourself, and you lowered me before my people."

"I want my liberty," I cried angrily.

"Well, boy, I offer you liberty," he said quietly; "liberty and honour. I only stand in your way when I see that, in a blind madness, you are going to rush headlong to destruction. You do not know; I do."

I was silent.

"Where would you have gone to-night," he said, "supposing that you had not fallen and killed yourself, or been cut down by my guards?"

"To my friends."

"You have no friends," he said sternly. "You would have escaped, perhaps, to the wild country or the forest to starve, or to be killed by the wild beasts. No one would give you food, and you would scarcely have found one who would not have sought to slay you as an enemy. You say you would, have fled to your friends. Where are they?"

"You should know best," I said sullenly. "You have been fighting with them."

"Yes," he cried, with his eyes flashing. "I have been fighting with enemies of my country. I have nothing to hide from you. I will tell you all, so that you may know, and see how mad it is for you to fight against the decrees of fate. Yes, I fought with those you call your friends to-day, and drove them before me till after sundown. My men are following them now to complete the pursuit, scattering them like dead leaves before the blast which heralds the monsoon. You heard the firing?"

"Yes," I said sadly.

"And know that it grew more distant as they were beaten off, till they turned and fled. I came back then. I cannot fight with flying foes. It was a mad attempt, a last desperate struggle, just a little flashing up of an expiring fire. By now it is dead, and you will hear of them no more."

We both sprang to our feet, for, as he spoke, there was a crashing volley not far away--a volley such as would be fired only by well-drilled troops--and directly after there was another, followed by a scattered firing, and shouts rising up to a perfect roar.

Ny Deen, who looked astounded, made for the door, and in my excitement I followed him; but he thrust me back, and turned to the guard standing beyond the hangings.

"Your lives for his!" he thundered to them. "He does not leave this place."

The curtain was thrown between us, and I ran to the open window, to find the court full of troops hurrying here and there, while lights were flashing, and in the midst of the excitement the rattle of distant musketry was on the increase.

"Crushed--scattered--where are my friends?" I said aloud. "Why, they are here. It is an attack upon the town!"

I felt a little doubt as soon as I had uttered these words; but the longer I listened the more convinced I felt that this must be a surprise, and by degrees matters took their shape in my mind, thus accounting for the apparent ease with which the rajah had scattered his enemies.

"It has all been a ruse--a piece of strategy," I thought. "They have retreated, and drawn Ny Deen's men right away, so as to weaken him, and now they have got back first, or this is another force."

As I stood at that window, I, for the moment, thought of throwing myself down, but the attempt would have been madness, for the moon was now up nearly full, and helping the torches to flood the place with light which flashed from the tank, and made the fountain resemble molten silver.

I gave up the thought at once, for I could see a strong guard were watching my windows, and that I was carefully observed as I sat down and listened to the increasing roar away to my right, where the shouting, cheering, and yelling were mingled strangely with the bursts of firing which grew nearer.

I seemed to see the fight going on, and grew more excited moment by moment, as I knew by the sounds exactly how matters progressed. For, as I judged, a body of infantry was fighting its way along a street, and every now and then a sharp volley was heard, followed by a tremendous cheer, which suggested to me that the men fired, and then made a rush forward, driving their enemies back; and then after a short space another volley was fired, followed by a fresh rush, and so on, the fusillade sounding each time nearer.

"They are carrying everything before them," I thought; for though there was plenty of firing in return, it was scattered and desultory, and, even if I could see nothing, I was perfectly sure that the defenders of the town were giving way, though perhaps only to make a more desperate stand as they were driven together.

Then all at once my heart leaped, for there was the sound of a gun to my left, in the direction where I believed the great gate stood through which we had entered the town that night.

Then another heavy thud came, and another as the guns were brought into action, and their point must be, I felt sure, to batter down the gate, to admit a fresh attacking force, whose duty would be to take the defenders in the rear.

The effect on the guards in the court was startling. Several ran to the gateway to question the sentry there eagerly, and then return to their companions.

Then came the rattle of musketry from the left, evidently in answer to the firing of the heavy guns which were battering the gates; but it had no effect, for the pieces were being served with the greatest regularity, and I listened eagerly, wondering whether it could be Brace's troop, and how soon they would open a way for the infantry which I felt sure would be in support.

At last I went away from the window, and began to walk excitedly about the room, but only to rush back again, as I heard a fresh volley of musketry in the distance, and on looking out saw a dull glow out over the walls of the palace, a light which grew brighter, and, as it increased, I knew that attackers or defenders had fired some house, the beginning of a work whose end it was impossible to foretell.

I shuddered slightly, for I was a prisoner.

"Suppose," I thought, "this place should catch, and I found myself hemmed in!"

I looked down at the depth below, and my eyes once more sought the hangings, as I recalled how I had thought of contriving a rope.

The fire was increasing fast, the dull glow becoming each minute more vivid, till, when I reached out of the window, I could see orange-tinted clouds rolling up from the direction of the volley firing, whilst the shouting was certainly coming nearer.

I felt as if it was impossible to bear this confinement longer, and it was only by forcing myself to dwell upon the varying fortunes of the fight that I was able to contain myself. There, on the one hand, was the attack upon the gate; there, on the other, the advance of the troops through the town, to which they must have obtained entrance by a surprise. And now I longed to be where I could see the varying fortunes of the fight, which at times I thought must be going in another direction.

That was only a passing thought, for all at once the firing of the artillery ceased; so did that of the musketry opposed to it, and I listened breathlessly, wondering what was the cause.

Had they failed to batter down the gate? and had they limbered up and retired?

No; for, as the thought came, there was a sudden crash of musketry, volley after volley, and the incessant scattered firing of the defenders. Then, as I listened, a faint sound of cheering, increasing in loudness, reached my ears, and directly after I felt certain that the gate had been taken.

A minute later there was no doubt about it, for I could hear the fighting right and left, and to my great joy, I knew that it must be going against the rajah's men, who were retiring, and I soon found that the palace was the place for which they were making.

First of all, there was a great deal of excitement in the court. Then a sowar came riding in to give orders to the officer in command, and while it was being executed, a gallantly-dressed chief dashed in, shouted some fresh orders, and directly after, quite in confusion, a regiment of sepoys doubled in through the gateway, and were then hurried in at an open doorway, opposite to where I stood watching.

They had hardly disappeared before another regiment in better order marched in; and they too passed in through the same door, my doubts as to their object being soon at an end, for I heard them doubling along the roof, evidently manning it as a rampart; while, from a glimpse I caught through an open window, it was evident that the floor on a level with mine was also occupied by troops who were stationed at windows looking out upon the road.

Another regiment, and directly after quite a mob of armed men came hurrying through the gateway to occupy every room and window looking outwards, while a strong force partially filled the court, the numbers being rapidly increased as the firing and cheering came nearer.

It was all plain enough now; the rajah's troops were being driven back, and were ordered to make a stand here at the palace, which lent itself well for the purpose, one side being protected by the river, while, as far as I knew, the entrance was only through the gateway, which could easily be blocked and held.

"Till Brace came with the guns," I thought.

I had wished to see something of the fight; now I regretted my desire, for I foresaw that there was going to be a desperate struggle. The light of the fire was rapidly increasing, and a very short time had elapsed before there was a sudden rush, and a disorderly mob of fighting men came tearing through the gateway, wild, excited, torn, and yelling furiously.

Then, as another volley was fired, I knew that the rajah's men had been driven in, for a tremendous fire was opened from the roof away to my right, and I could see the smoke rising in a dense cloud.

As this firing was kept up, the court gradually grew more packed. I could see mounted men come in, and before long I was able to make out the rajah, as he seemed to be giving orders, which resulted in a body of men rushing into the palace and returning bearing loads, which they piled up within the gateway, forming a breastwork, from behind which the men kept up a furious fire.

Outside, the replies had quite ceased, and I found what it meant; the infantry were under cover, and the guns had been ordered up to batter in the gateway, and send its defenders flying before a rush was made.

As I gazed down at the dense crowd of fighting men in the court, I shuddered, for, driven to bay as the sepoys were, and with no means of escape when the attack was made, the carnage would be frightful, and all the worse from the fact that the men would rush in and occupy the windows that looked upon the court from whence a sustained fire could be kept up on our men, one which would be frightful.

All at once it struck me that perhaps now the doors of my apartments would be unguarded, and I ran to look; but, on drawing aside the hangings, there sat Salaman and four attendants, while behind them were at least twenty well-armed men.

I went back, feeling that, whatever happened, these men would be faithful to their duty, though how I was to have got out of the palace and past the crowd of soldiers at every window and door, I had not stopped to think.

I again returned to the window from which I had watched before, and stood gazing out at the crowded court where the men had now been reduced to something more like military order, and it was a wonderful sight to see the swarthy faces with their gleaming eyes, and the flashing weapons the men carried. The moon poured down its silver light to mingle strangely with the glare of the torches many of the men bore; while away to my right the burning houses sent a glow of orange so strong that the broad end of the court opposite to me gleamed as if the fire was there as well.

It was a terrible pause that, and I knew that before long the attack would come, when the place would either be carried at once or its defenders starved into submission; for, though there was water in abundance, I did not believe there could be food to provide for a garrison.

I was thinking all this when a voice behind me made me start, and face round to the speaker.

"It is long hours since my lord has eaten," said Salaman. "Shall I bring in some food?"

"Who can eat at a time like this?" I cried; and I signed to him to go, turning back directly after, for I could hear a peculiar rattling sound in the distance which I knew well enough.

It was what I had anticipated; they were bringing up the guns.

Almost at that moment the firing from the roof recommenced, and was answered from different directions; but it ceased as quickly as it had begun, for all at once there was the dull echoing thud of a six-pounder, and a rush of men from the barricade in the gateway, through which a round shot plunged, striking the edge of the stonework arch, sending down a shower of fragments, in the midst of whose falling the shot struck the wall of the palace on my left, shivering the stonework there.

No one attempted to man the barricades again, the task was too perilous, for gun after gun sent its iron messenger ploughing through the archway.

As I stood there midway between the gateway and the wall on my left, at right angles to my window, I did not stir, for I knew that though the balls came by within ten feet from where I stood, none was likely to injure me. There was a kind of fascination in listening to the heavy report, and then instantly for the whistling of the ball as, after demolishing a portion of the barricade, it struck the wall with a heavy crash, and sent the splinters of stone flying.

Opposite to me were the soldiers, densely packed, forming one side of the lane, down which the balls came plunging. Now and then one was deflected by the part of the barricade it struck, and it flew higher against the wall, or lower so as to touch the paving, and then ricochet; but the work was being thoroughly well done; and as I saw the great gaps made, and the clearance in the gateway, I knew the final attack must come before long.

It was much sooner than I expected, for the firing from the roof suddenly blazed out furiously, and it was as if shots were being poured from every window, as a fierce roar literally followed the next shot--a roar of men's voices, and beating feet, and my heart seemed for a moment to stand still, but then began to bound as I leaned out to watch the struggle, from which I could not have torn myself even to save my life.

I could see nothing outside, only hear the coming of men, whose cheering was mingled with many a shriek and groan, as poor fellows dropped under the terrible fire poured down upon them. Then I saw the men within the court running round to defend the gateway; but ere they could fire a shot, there was the flashing of steel, and a little ridge of bristling bayonets appeared; their banners changed hands; the sepoys broke and rushed for the doorway and windows of the inner court; and in a wonderfully short time, so rapidly flowed in the stream of glittering bayonets through the archway, the court was cleared, and the firing came now, as I had expected, from the inner windows and the roof.

I heard the orders ring out. "No firing! In with you, lads; the bayonet!" and with a rush, our men leaped in at the door, climbed in at the windows, and as the stream still flowed in through the gateway, the fighting was going on in room after room, and our foot regiment chased the flying sepoys from floor to floor, to finish the deadly strife upon the roof.

It was horrible, but through it all there would come the remembrance of the horrors perpetrated by the savage mob and the brutal soldiery. There was a wild fascination about it, too, and I could not turn away, but stood with staring eyes and stunned ears, noting how the fire rapidly ceased, and wild cheering rose as room and roof were cleared.

I was standing by the window full of exultation, triumphing in the bravery and daring of the Englishmen, who must have been outnumbered by six to one, when I heard shots close at hand, yells, shouts, and the rush of feet; and the next minute my attendants and guards came backing in, fighting desperately as much in my defence as for their own lives, for they were driven from room to room by half a dozen men of the foot regiment that had stormed the place, and then for the first time I recalled that I was standing there in turbaned helmet and regular Eastern uniform, girt with jewelled belts, and with a magnificent tulwar at my side.

"They'll take me for a Hindu chief," I thought as, quick as lightning, I snatched out the blade.

I was just in time.

Half my defenders were down, the others had dropped from the windows in spite of the depth, and two men with levelled bayonets dashed at me.

I did not think I could have done it, but I had worked hard at sword practice, and with a parry I turned one bayonet aside, avoided the other with a bound, and sent the man who would have run me through, down on his knees, with a terrible cut across the ear.

The others turned upon me, but I had found my tongue.

"Halt! Back, you idiots!" I roared. "I am a friend."

"Oh, bedad, an' I don't belave ye," cried one of the party, as the others hesitated; and he held his bayonet to my breast. "Give up yez sword, or I'll make a cockchafer of ye."

I turned his point, and cut at another man frantically, for they were too much excited to listen to explanations. But in another instant I believe I should have been bayoneted, if there had not been a wild cry, and a dark figure rushed between me and my dangerous friends.

"Stop, he's a sahib," roared the new-comer, and I saw it was Dost.

"Then he's me prisoner, and that sword's me loot," cried the Irishman.

"Stand back!" I roared. "I am Lieutenant Vincent, of Captain Brace's troop."

I took off my helmet as I spoke, and the men were convinced.

"Look at that now," said the Irishman; "jest, too, when I thought I'd got a bit of lovely shpoil."

At that moment there was a rush of feet, and a tall grey officer hurried in, followed by another, and quite a crowd of men.

"Have you found him?" cried the tall officer.

"Oh, bedad, yis, colonel," cried the Irishman.

"What! the rajah?"

"Yis, sor. There he is, only he shwears he's a liftinant in a troop."

"That!" cried the officer; and then, in a choking voice, "Why, Gil, my boy, is this you?"

I could not speak, only cling to him who had a thousand times nursed me in his arms.

"Hold up, boy, be a man," he whispered; but his arms tightened round me. "I thought you were dead, Gil," he cried excitedly. "But why are you like this?"

"I am a prisoner, father," I said.

"But the rajah?" he said excitedly. "Where is he?"

"He left here an hour ago to head his men," I said. "But, father, if you take him, defend him; he has been very good to me."

"Let's take him first," cried my father. "Now, my lads, forward! He must be somewhere in the place."

"Three cheers for the colonel's boy!" cried the Irishman. "Your hanner should have been here a bit sooner to see him foight. Hi, Sam Raggett, get up and show the colonel your ear. You're not half killed yet."

"Forward!" cried the colonel. Then to the officer with him. "Smith, take charge of my son. A sergeant's guard, Gil," he cried from the door. "Take off some of those things. You look like a sepoy chief. It is not safe with the lads like this."

He hurried after his men, and the young officer held out his hand.

"Tell me," I said quickly; "Captain Brace--my troop?"

"Yonder, not a hundred yards away," he said. "Didn't you hear him speak?"

"Yes," I cried. "Thank Heaven, then, it was he."

"Let's get out of here," said my new friend; "but hadn't you better change your clothes?"

"He cannot, sahib," said a voice behind me. "He has none here."

"Hallo! who are you?" cried the officer.

"My servant," I cried, as I laid my hand on his arm. "Dost, you saved my life."

"And he'll have to save it again," cried my new friend, "if we stay here. Come along, and let's get among our men, for this palace swarms with the enemy yet."

Even as he spoke, a couple of shots rang out, and as they were aimed at us, we rapidly beat a retreat. _

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