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Title: The Young Rajah

Author: William Henry Giles Kingston

Illustrator: W. G. C. Gruine

Release date: May 15, 2007 [eBook #21485]

Language: English

Credits: Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England


*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE YOUNG RAJAH ***




Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England




The Young Rajah, by W.H.G. Kingston.

________________________________________________________________________

The time is just before the Indian Mutiny.  A young man returns to India
in search of important papers of his father's.  He arrives within the
territory of the Rajah with whom his father had been associated.
Various unrests and disturbances occur, during which it turns out that
the young man is in fact the grandson of the ruling Rajah, and his heir.
This is not very agreeable to the young man, as he does not like to be
venerated.

There is a lot of good action in the book, and it would have been an
easy read for the nineteenth century teenager.

________________________________________________________________________

THE YOUNG RAJAH, BY W.H.G. KINGSTON.


CHAPTER ONE.

THE "GLAMORGAN CASTLE" ON HER VOYAGE TO INDIA--HER PASSENGERS--OUR
HERO--COMBINED EFFECTS OF A KICK AND A ROLL--VIOLET ROSS--CUPID AT
WORK--OUR HERO'S GALLANT EXPLOIT--THE SHIP REACHES THE HOOGHLY--PARTING
OF REGINALD AND VIOLET.

The stout old _Glamorgan Castle_, with studding-sails on either side,
was running before the trade-wind on her course to India.  The
passengers were lounging about on the poop, sheltered by an awning from
the burning rays of the sun, which struck down with no inconsiderable
force, making even the well-seasoned Indians grumble and incline to be
quarrelsome.  Of passengers the ship had her full complement, for all
the cabins were full.  There were among them generals, and judges, and
officers of all ranks; as well as married dames returning to their
husbands, and young ladies committed to their care; but few of them need
be noticed.  There were Colonel Ross, with his sweet, blooming daughter
Violet; and Major Molony and his pretty little round wife, to whom he
had lately been married; and Captain Hawkesford, going out to rejoin his
regiment,--a handsome-looking man, but with a countenance not altogether
prepossessing, for it betokened selfishness and want of feeling, or the
lines about his firm set mouth, and large grey eyes, belied him.

The commander, Captain Lyford, was a fine specimen of a sailor.  He made
himself agreeable to his passengers, and kept his ship's company in good
order.  When nothing occurred to excite him, his face was calm and
unimpassioned; but it lighted up in a moment, and his clear, ringing
voice when issuing an order to the crew showed that there was no lack of
courage and determination in his composition.

There were the usual disputes and misunderstandings on board, which gave
the good skipper, who always acted as peacemaker, no little trouble to
settle.  The ladies not infrequently fell out; and their quarrels, he
confessed, were the hardest matters to put to rights, especially when
jealousy set them by the ears.  Mrs Brigadier Bomanjoy considered that
she did not receive the same attention which was paid to Mrs Lexicon,
the wife of the judge; and Miss Martha Pelican, who was making her
second expedition to the East, complained that the officers neglected
her, while they devoted themselves to silly Miss Prettyman, who had no
other qualifications than her pink cheeks and blue eyes to recommend
her.  The "griffins" not infrequently had warm disputes; but the captain
quickly managed to settle their more noisy quarrels, and restore them to
good-humour.

"Come, come, lads," he used to say, "let's hear what it's all about, and
then we will get the whole matter into a nut-shell.  It can be stowed
away in less space than that, I've no doubt; and when it's there, we'll
heave it overboard.  Now then, shake hands, and forget all about it."

He did not, however, venture to interfere when husband and wife fell
out, considering that a third person would only make matters worse; and
more especially did he avoid interfering in the everlasting squabbles of
Major and Mrs Molony--which were indeed rather amusing than otherwise,
the object of the little lady being apparently to bring her lord and
master under the complete subjection of her imperious will, to which he,
good-tempered as he was, had no intention of yielding.

There were several very nice girls, of whom Miss Violet Ross was
universally considered the most charming.  She was young, and very
pretty; fair as a lily, with blue eyes and rich auburn hair.  But she
had a good deal more than her beauty to recommend her.  She was
sweet-tempered, gentle, and high principled.  Mrs Brigadier Bomanjoy
declared that she was puritanical and prudish; but she was in reality
truly religious and modest, without a particle of nonsense in her
composition.  Captain Hawkesford, generally supposed to be indifferent
to female charms,--at least, to those of his own countrywomen,--paid her
more attention than he did to any one else, although she evidently
offered him no encouragement.

There was another person on board who must now be mentioned.  Many
inquiries had been made of the captain who he was, but no satisfactory
answer had been given.  His costume was that of a seaman, but no one
could suppose that he was a common sailor.  His manner was
distinguished, his good looks remarkable, and the tone of his voice and
language refined.  He was still very young, being scarcely more than
eighteen or nineteen years of age.  He was on familiar terms with the
officers of the ship, and mingled with the passengers without any
objection being made by the captain.  He spoke Hindostanee fluently, and
addressed the Lascars in their own tongue; while he showed an intimate
acquaintance with Indian manners and customs, as well as with those of
China and the East generally.  The hot suns of Eastern seas had tanned
his cheeks and given him almost the appearance of an Oriental.  The only
account the captain gave of him was that his name was Reginald Hamerton,
and that he had come home with him from India on his last voyage, and
had, during a heavy gale, exhibited much courage and nautical knowledge.
Many thought, from his dark skin, classical features, and flashing eye,
that there was Indian blood in his veins; and it was whispered that he
was the son of a resident at the court of some native prince, and that
his mother was the rajah's daughter: but of this the captain said he
knew nothing.  He spoke English perfectly, was well educated, and had
the manners of a young man accustomed to the best society.  He conversed
freely with every one, but it was observed that he was extremely
reticent about himself, never alluding to his past life or his future
prospects.  Still he seemed perfectly at his ease about them; nor did he
speak like a person who had any doubts as to what he should do on his
arrival in India.

Altogether, there was a perfect mystery about him, which increased the
interest his personal appearance was calculated to excite,--at all
events, among the fairer portion of the passengers.  He was courteous
and attentive to all the ladies; but it was remarked at length that he
was more frequently seen in conversation with Violet Ross than with any
one else.  If her eye brightened when he came near, that was but
natural; as also that she should prefer talking to him to listening to
the remarks made to her by the cynical Captain Hawkesford,--who
evidently regarded young Hamerton with a feeling of dislike, which he
exhibited whenever he had an opportunity by a haughty and contemptuous
manner towards him.  Colonel Ross, on the contrary, treated Reginald in
a kind and friendly way, and appeared to have no objection to his
conversing with Violet on deck, or to any of the attentions he paid her.
The third officer being ill, young Hamerton, as he was generally
called, took his place; and few could have failed to remark the
officer-like style in which he carried on duty, or the clear, ringing
voice in which he issued his orders,--displaying to advantage his
well-knit figure as he walked the deck with telescope under his arm, or
with his hand to his mouth, his fine head thrown back, shouting to the
crew.  Violet's eye was wont to watch him as he moved about the deck,
and a gentle flush mounted on her cheek whenever he came near and bent
down to speak to her.

Captain Hawkesford scarcely concealed his jealousy, and expressed it in
remarks which he seemed to wish should reach Reginald's ear.  "As the
young sailor was to all appearance working his passage, he should not
venture to make himself so familiar with those who were above him in
rank and position.  For his part, he was surprised that Captain Lyford
allowed him to dine in the cabin, when he ought to mess with the other
junior officers."

If Reginald did hear what was said, he took no notice of Captain
Hawkesford's remarks, but appeared to be quite as much at his ease as at
first.

One day while he was attending to some duty forward, Captain Hawkesford
took a seat near Violet, and endeavoured to make himself agreeable to
the best of his power.  She listened, for without rudeness she could not
avoid doing so; but no smile played around her mouth, while her answers
were mostly in monosyllables.  Colonel Ross at length coming near, she
jumped up and took his arm, saying that she should like to enjoy a walk
for a few minutes.  Captain Hawkesford looked excessively annoyed, but
did not attempt to accompany her.  After a short time Reginald came aft,
when the gong sounded for dinner.  She said a few words to him as she
went below; upon which he followed with a haste he seldom exhibited,
and, as the passengers took their seats, slipped into a chair on one
side of Violet, while her father sat on the other.  Captain Hawkesford,
on returning from his cabin, found the place he had intended to occupy
already filled, and with an angry frown on his brow he went to the
further end of the table.  Most of the passengers had collected, when
some one remarked that the chairs of Major and Mrs Molony were vacant.

"Why did they not come down?" asked Mrs Brigadier Bomanjoy.

"The little lady is in one of her tantrums," answered Miss Pelican.
"The gallant major is endeavouring to bring her round, but she won't
because she won't."

Just then the voice of the little lady was heard, mingled with the
expostulations of her liege lord, coming down the open skylight, on the
coamings of which she was seated, directly over the head of the table.

"Come, ladies and gentlemen, we must commence operations or the meat
will get cold," observed the captain; and having said grace, he was
about to begin carving a leg of mutton swimming in gravy placed before
him, when there came a wild scream and a shout from the major,--"Arrah,
my darling, where are you after going to?" though, before the words were
well out of the speaker's mouth, down came flop on the top of the leg of
mutton the rotund form of Mrs Major Molony, fortunately head uppermost,
in a semi-sitting posture,--the joint of meat serving as a cushion to
that part of her body which is usually thus accommodated, while one of
her feet stuck into a dish of potatoes and the other into one of curry
and rice, the gravy flying on all sides like the contents of a bursting
bomb.

"Oh, where have I got to?" cried the little lady, panting and screaming
with terror, though she was sufficiently aware of what had happened to
make an endeavour to cover up her little round legs, which were more
exposed than her modesty would have allowed.

Captain Lyford, with all the delicacy imaginable, though his sides were
splitting with laughter, placed his arms under the little lady, and
lifted her up ready to present to the major, who came rushing down wild
with alarm, under the belief that she must have either broken her neck,
or have been spitted on the carving knife and fork.

"Arrah now, my darling, is it killed you are entirely?" he exclaimed, as
he caught sight of her.

The shouts of laughter proceeding from all sides, and in which even
Violet and Reginald could not help joining, prevented her answer from
being heard, as the major, taking her in his arms, bore her off to her
cabin, that she might put a fresh skirt on in lieu of her
gravy-bespattered dress.

The steward had in the meantime picked up the leg of mutton, which had
been sent spinning out of the dish; and its tenderness was accounted for
by the unusual pressure to which it had been subjected by the fair
little dame.

It appeared, from the conversation of the major, who soon returned to
the table, that at the moment his wife was kicking at him pettishly with
her foot the ship gave a roll, and she, losing her balance, the
catastrophe lately witnessed had occurred; a lesson, as he observed with
a wink, by which he piously hoped she would in future profit.

"I congratulate you, my dear, that it did not happen to you," observed
the brigadier to his better half.

"I never kick at my husband," answered the lady.

For the sake of the feelings of Mrs Molony the conversation was
changed, when she at length appeared, considerably crestfallen, and took
her seat meekly by her husband's side.  Dinner was proceeded with; but
every now and then some of the young ensigns burst out into
uncontrollable fits of laughter, joined in by the rest like the fire of
skirmishers, as one of them happened to recall the incident to mind,--
the only one hitherto worth noting during the voyage, which promised to
terminate without the occurrence of any of greater importance.

Some days had passed after this event, when, as the ship was still
running before the wind, making eight or nine knots an hour, with a
somewhat heavy sea on, a fine young lad--going out to join his father
and mother, who had obtained some employment for him in the uncovenanted
service--was skylarking aloft with some other youngsters, when, losing
his hold, he fell into the foaming sea.

"Man overboard!" was the cry.

Captain Lyford was on deck in a moment, issuing orders to shorten sail
and bring the ship to, that a boat might be lowered.  The lad could
swim, but suddenly finding himself plunged amid the foaming seas, he
lost his presence of mind, and it appeared doubtful whether he would
keep afloat.  A couple of chairs and a hen-coop had been hove to him,
but not till he had been left some way astern.  Reginald, on hearing the
cry, ran aft, and without waiting to take off even his hat, lowered
himself into the water and struck out towards the wellnigh drowning lad.
It was evening, and darkness was rapidly coming on.  Intense was the
excitement of all on board.  Violet Ross did not exhibit her feelings,
as some of the other ladies did, by shrieking and crying out, but she
was seen standing on the poop, her gaze fixed on the two young swimmers.

Running at the rate the ship was going, they were soon lost to sight;
for though the crew were under good discipline, it was not to be
expected that sail could be shortened as rapidly as on board a
man-of-war.

Opinions of all sorts were being hazarded.  Some gave them up for lost,
declaring that the best of swimmers could not keep afloat in such a sea.

"The young fellow may drown, for what I care," muttered Captain
Hawkesford, as he turned forward, away from the rest of the lookers-on.
The captain and officers were too busy to answer the questions put to
them on the subject.

At length the ship was hove-to, and a boat with the first mate and a
crew of volunteers was lowered.  Away she pulled in the direction in
which the swimmers had been last seen, the thick gathering gloom and the
foaming seas surrounding her, and quickly hiding her from sight.  The
excitement on board was intense, even the captain could scarcely retain
his composure.  It would have been great had Jack Andrews, the lad who
had fallen overboard, been alone; but young Hamerton had excited the
interest of all, and even the stern old brigadier declared that he would
be ready to give up all the loot he had bagged at the taking of Mooltan
for the sake of recovering the lad; and those who knew the old soldier
best, were aware that his feelings must have been highly excited to
induce him to say so.  Poor little Violet!  Her father could not fail to
remark her agitation, but believed that she would have felt the same if
any other among her fellow-creatures had been placed in the fearful
peril to which young Hamerton was exposed.

The moments seemed minutes, the minutes hours, as those on board watched
anxiously for the return of the boat.  At length the captain began to
fear for her safety, as well as for that of the swimmers.

"Silence on deck," he cried.  "Does any one see her?"

No reply was made.  The ship had for some time been hove-to.  The wind
whistled through her rigging, and the seas washed up her sides as she
surged slowly forward.

"Burn a blue light, Mr Timmins," he shouted to the boatswain, who had
got one all ready; and as the bright fire burst forth it cast a lurid
glare on the masts and rigging, and the countenances of the lookers-on,
giving them the hue of death.

Colonel Ross, forgetting for a moment the effect always produced by the
light, thought that his daughter was going off into a swoon.  But her
trembling voice reassured him.

"I am thankful to see that signal," she observed.  "It will surely
enable them to find their way to the ship."

"I hope that they will bring back our young friend, and the lad he has
so gallantly hazarded his own life to save," said the colonel; "but the
difficulty of finding them in the dark must be very great, unless they
retain strength sufficient to make their position known by their
voices."

"They will come!  They will come!" exclaimed Violet.  "Oh, father, it is
very dreadful!"  She could say no more.

The time went on.  More blue lights were burned.  Again and again the
captain shouted, "Does any one see the boat?"

At length a seaman exclaimed, "There she is!  There she is!" and others
declared that they saw her.  A cheer arose, joined in by most on board,
but it was silenced by the captain.  He now himself observed the boat
approaching slowly, tossing up and down on the heaving seas.  Oh, the
horrible suspense to be endured till it could be got alongside, for it
was impossible to see who was in her!

"Have you got them safe?" asked the captain, unable longer to restrain
his anxiety.  No answer came.  Possibly the dashing of the seas drowned
his voice.  The boat came nearer and nearer, and willing hands stood
ready to lift on board those she brought back.  On she came.  The oars
were thrown in.  The bowman caught the rope hove to him.  Eager faces
peered down into her to ascertain if the lads had been saved.

"All right; we have them safe!" at length cried a voice from the boat.

"They are saved!  They are saved!" was echoed along the deck; and even
the most phlegmatic of the passengers shook each other's hands, and
expressed their satisfaction; while several of the ladies burst into
tears,--as did one of the officers, as gallant a young fellow as ever
lived.  Violet darted forward, followed by the colonel, as Reginald was
hoisted on deck.  Though evidently exhausted, he was able to stand
leaning on the shoulder of honest Dick Thuddichum, a seaman who had gone
off in the boat, and had assisted him up the side.  (Dick ought before
to have been introduced.  He was a fine specimen of a sailor, with his
broad shoulders and big bushy beard and whiskers.  He had come on board
with the young officer, and, judging by the eager way in which he had
leaped into the boat going off to his rescue, was attached to him with
no ordinary attachment.)  Violet stopped short as she got close to
Reginald, for already he was surrounded by most of the officers and
passengers, eager to shake him by the hand and compliment him on his
intrepidity.  Reginald saw her, and would have sprung forward, when,
just as she had faintly murmured an expression of thankfulness, her
father came up in time to save her, overcome by her feelings, from
sinking on the deck.  He then, after heartily congratulating Reginald,
led his daughter into the cabin.

"Though I am thankful that the young man has been saved, I may have
cause to regret that we have met him, if you allow too great an
admiration of his gallantry and personal qualities to take possession of
your heart," remarked the colonel.  "Be cautious in future.  We know
nothing of his birth or position; and, attractive as are his manners, he
may be merely an unprincipled adventurer--though I hope I should wrong
him by thinking so.  Now lie down and rest, for it may be better not to
appear at the tea-table."

Violet promised to do as her father advised; but before throwing herself
on her bed, she knelt down and poured out her grateful thanks to Heaven
for Reginald's preservation.

The latter, meanwhile, nearly overwhelmed with compliments and
congratulations, had been led by the doctor to his berth.

"Come, come, Mr Hamerton," said the medico; "I have looked after young
Andrews, and I must now see to you.  You may think yourself made of
iron, but the human frame cannot endure the strain you have put on it
without reaction; and we shall have you on the sick-list to-morrow,
unless you take due precautions."

An unwonted sensation of weakness warned Reginald that the doctor was
right; and following his advice, he turned in--inclined to be obedient
also for the sake of avoiding the further compliments he felt sure the
ladies would be disposed to pay him.  The only gentleman who had not
spoken to him was Captain Hawkesford, who had turned away when he saw
that he was safe, uttering an expression of bitter ill-feeling.

"She will think more of the fellow than ever," he muttered.  "Would that
he were fathoms deep beneath the water!"

Thanks to the doctor's care, Reginald by the next morning was quite
himself again; and as soon as he appeared on deck, young Andrews, who
had also recovered, came to him and thanked him with hearty expressions
of gratitude for saving his life.

"If it had not been for you, I should very soon have gone down.  My
great wish now is to serve you as long as I live; and I only hope that I
may have the opportunity of doing so," he exclaimed.

"I only did for you what I would have done for any other man or boy,"
said Reginald; "but at the same time I shall be glad of your friendship,
for, whatever our respective positions, we may be able to help each
other."

Reginald, it must be confessed, looked with more than usual eagerness
for the appearance of Violet, who had not yet come on deck--scarcely
heeding the compliments he received from the other ladies, or being able
to give any very clear answers to the numerous questions put to him
about his gallant exploit, as they were pleased to call it.  He did his
best, however, to explain how, after having succeeded in reaching young
Andrews, he had towed him to the hen-coop, to which he held him fast
till the arrival of the boat.

"Yes, it _was_ trying," he added; "but I never lost hope.  My great fear
was that the lad would sink from exhaustion, though I felt capable of
holding on till the morning.  I was sure, too, that the captain would
not leave the spot till he had searched for us by daylight."

Violet at length came on deck.  A blush rose to her cheek as she put out
her hand to welcome Reginald.  She said but little, however, her eyes
speaking more eloquently than words.  Her father remained by her side,
and took an opportunity, as soon as he could do so without making his
object too evident, of leading her to the other side among the ladies on
deck.  The gallant young officer was naturally the subject of
conversation, and she heard with inward satisfaction his praises
repeated by all around her.  Much as Colonel Ross liked Reginald, he
could not help regretting that Violet had ever met him.  He could not be
blind to his personal appearance and manners, but he naturally disliked
the thought of his daughter marrying a man of whose birth and fortune he
knew nothing; and he resolved to break off all connection with the young
stranger as soon as they landed at Calcutta.  Reginald, he supposed, was
not likely to remain long in that city, and would be either again going
to sea, or proceeding up the country; at least he fancied, from some
remarks the young man let drop, such would be the case.  Violet, too,
was not likely to remain long without receiving an eligible offer, which
he trusted she would have the sense to accept--although he was not the
man to force her to do so against her inclination.

During the remainder of the voyage Reginald enjoyed frequent
opportunities of conversing with Violet, though, by the colonel's
management, they were but seldom left alone.  They perfectly understood
each other, however; and the day before the ship was off the
Sunderbunds, Reginald told Violet that he loved her better than life;
and although he confessed there was a mystery about his birth, he said
he hoped ere long to clear it up, and to be in a position to offer her
his hand.

"If I succeed, as I have every reason to hope I may, your father will
have no cause to refuse me on account of my birth and fortune.  More I
may not tell you; but you will confide in my honour, dearest Violet: I
know you will!"  He took her hand, which she did not withdraw.

"I trust you implicitly.  I know my kind father has a sincere regard for
you, and he is only at present unwilling to sanction our engagement
because he believes that it would not conduce to my happiness," she
answered.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following day the _Glamorgan Castle_ dropped her anchor in the
Hooghly.  Shortly afterwards a man-of-war steamer hove in sight, and
brought-to at a short distance from the ship.  A boat from her came
alongside, when Reginald came up to Colonel and Miss Ross.

"I must bid you farewell; but I hope that I may be allowed to call on
you in Calcutta," he said with tolerable calmness.

The colonel hesitated in his reply.

"I cannot say where my duty will call me; but you may be assured, Mr
Hamerton, that I shall not forget you," he at length answered evasively.
"Farewell!  I see your attendant at the gangway waiting for you."

Violet, pained at her father's manner, said but little.  Reginald,
however, understood her look and manner; and paying a hurried adieu to
the rest of the passengers, he went towards the gangway, passing, as he
did so, Captain Hawkesford, who cast at him a supercilious and angry
glance, without returning his salute.  Followed by Dick Thuddichum, he
descended to the boat, which pulled towards the steamer.

Violet watched the vessel as she glided up the river, and observed
Reginald, after shaking hands with the officers, standing on the
paddle-box, with his eyes fixed on the _Glamorgan Castle_.  She little
thought at the time how long it would be before they would again meet!



CHAPTER TWO.

REGINALD MEETS BURNETT--A BITTER DISAPPOINTMENT--VOYAGE UP THE GANGES--
TIGER-SHOOTING AT NIGHT--TIGER ANECDOTES--TIGER-SHOOTING FROM THE BACK
OF AN ELEPHANT--REGINALD SAVES FAITHFUL FROM A CROCODILE--HER
GRATITUDE--JOURNEY TO ALLAHAPOOR--RECEPTION BY THE RAJAH--THE BEAUTIFUL
NUNA--A BANQUET, AND BARBARIC ENTERTAINMENTS--COCHUT KHAN'S JEALOUSY--
FAITHFUL WATCHES OVER REGINALD.

Reginald having ascertained where Colonel and Miss Ross were living, was
making his way through the broad streets of the "city of palaces,"
intending to pay his respects to them, when he met a military-looking
man in an undress suit, who, regarding him earnestly, advanced towards
him with his hand extended.

"My dear boy, I am delighted to see you!" exclaimed the stranger.  "Have
you been successful?  I long to hear."

"I am in a fair way, I trust, of succeeding, although there may be not a
few difficulties in my path," answered Reginald.  "I am truly thankful,
however, to find you here, as I thought that you were far away--either
in Pegu or at Delhi.  Are you at liberty, my dear Burnett, or can you
get leave of absence?  If you could accompany me, you would be of the
greatest possible assistance."

"Most fortunately, I obtained leave of absence for six months, only
yesterday, and was contemplating making a shooting excursion with Knox
and Jones; but they must excuse me, and I will devote myself to your
service," answered Captain Burnett.

"Thank you, my dear fellow; thank you," exclaimed Reginald.  "Your
experience and knowledge of the people will smooth away many
difficulties which beset my path, and I gladly accept your kind offer.
I feel somewhat selfish, as I know you sacrifice your own convenience
for my sake."

"Don't talk about that, Reginald," said Captain Burnett.  "If you have
nothing better to do, come to my quarters and inspect my sporting gear.
We may get some shooting on the way; I always try to combine amusement
with business."

"I will join you before long; but I have a visit to pay first to some
friends who came out in the ship with me, and unless they detain me I
shall soon be at liberty."

"You can easily excuse yourself; and I shall expect you at dinner, at
all events," said Captain Burnett.

"But I would, I confess, rather dine with them, if they ask me,"
answered Reginald.  "You would excuse me if you knew how I am
circumstanced."

"Is a fair lady in the case?" asked Captain Burnett.  "You need not say
so; I am sure of it.  Take care, Reginald; don't get entangled.  Young
fellows are apt to do so, and to be sorry for it afterwards.  Come, let
me advise you to leave your card at your friends, with a message that
you are bound up country; and that will settle the matter.  The lady
will be married by the time you come back again."

"That I am sure she will not," exclaimed Reginald.  "She is totally
unlike the ordinary run of girls."

"Well, well!  Take my advice in this matter, as you are ready to do in
others, and retain your freedom of action," said Captain Burnett, in a
serious tone.

Reginald, parting from his friend, hurried on, hoping to find Violet
alone.  A dark-skinned porter, in white dress and with turban on head,
opened the door, and inquired his name.  The sahib was not at home, and
Miss Ross could receive no visitors, said the servant.

"Take up my card, and say that I am waiting," replied Reginald.

The porter, after carefully examining the card, gave it to another
servant.  The man gave a peculiar look as he obeyed the order.  He was
some time absent, and when he returned he delivered a note addressed to
Reginald in Violet's handwriting.  He did not venture to open it in the
presence of the servants; but as soon as he got outside the house he
eagerly scanned the few lines it contained.

"My father has positively forbidden me to see you," she wrote.  "He
hopes that time will obliterate your image; but that is impossible.
Trust to me, as I do to you.--Yours, Violet."

Reginald was naturally bitterly disappointed; but yet he had faith in
woman's constancy, and he went his way with hopes unabated, feeling
sure, from what he knew of Colonel Ross, that he would use no harsh
measures to compel his daughter to act contrary to her own inclinations.
Still, he could not feel otherwise than pained and anxious.  By the
time, however, that he reached his friend's quarters, he had somewhat
recovered his serenity of mind.  He kept his own counsel, simply
observing that Colonel Ross, on whom he had called, was not at home; and
Captain Burnett forbore to ask further questions.

He had plenty of amusement in examining the rifles and various articles
which Captain Burnett had prepared for his intended shooting expedition.

"You must accept this rifle from me, Reginald," he said, presenting a
first-rate weapon; "and this brace of pistols.  You may depend on their
never missing fire, if properly attended to.  And let me advise you
always to load them yourself; never trust to a servant.  I always do as
I advise; one's life may be sacrificed from carelessness."

The following day the friends, attended by Dick Thuddichum and four
native servants, were on their road to the north-west.

They had to proceed, for a considerable distance, up the river Ganges,
in a budgerow.  Though rudely built, she skimmed merrily over the water
when the breeze was favourable.  She was decked all over with bamboo;
and on the after-part was erected a cottage of bamboo, which served as a
cabin and baggage-room.  In the fore-part were two small ranges of
brick-work, raised a few inches above the deck, with small round holes,
shaped like a lime-kiln, for holding charcoal, on which provisions were
dressed.  Above the cabin, and supported on upright bamboos, was a
grating, on which the crew sat or stood to work the vessel.  A long
bamboo, with a circular board at the end fixed astern, served as a
rudder; the oars also being long bamboos of the same description.  The
mast was a stout bamboo, carrying a squaresail and topsail of a coarse
and flimsy canvas.

In this clumsy-looking craft the travellers made themselves comfortable,
however.  They had also a small canoe towing astern, in which, when the
wind was contrary, and the budgerow had to bring up alongside the bank,
they made excursions to the other side of the river or up one of its
affluents.

Burnett, who was really a keen sportsman, never failed to take his gun,
and generally came back with a good supply of game.  One day, however,
he was unwell, and Reginald started by himself to visit some interesting
ruins a short distance ahead, the canoe being paddled by two of the
crew.  They had got some distance when he found that he had brought
neither his rifle nor pistols: however, he did not think it worth while
to return for them.  They were at some little distance from the bank,
when one of the crew cried out--

"See, sahib, see!  Here comes a tiger!"

On looking in the direction in which the man pointed, he caught sight,
not of a tiger, but of a huge panther, and a native about a hundred
yards before him rushing at headlong speed, bounding and springing
towards the river, while the panther with rapid leaps pursued its
hoped-for prey.  Reginald ordered the men to paddle in towards the
shore, in the hope of rescuing the panting wretch from the jaws of the
panther.  Just before they reached the bank, the native bounded into the
water, which rose up to his neck; but he was apparently too exhausted to
swim towards the canoe, though with imploring accents he entreated the
sahib to come to his rescue.

At that instant the dark snout of an enormous crocodile rose above the
surface--the saurian, to Reginald's horror, making its way towards the
struggling native.

"Crocodile!  Crocodile!" shouted Reginald to the native; who, hearing
him, after a moment's hesitation rushed back towards the bank, thus
again facing the panther.  The creature for a moment appeared
disconcerted at the sudden movement of its expected victim and the
approach of the canoe, towards which the man made a desperate spring;
but the savage panther, eager for its prey, at the same moment leaped
forward and seized the unhappy man by the leg, while Reginald grasped
his arm.  At that instant the crocodile, which had retreated a short
distance, dashed up, and catching the miserable being--who gave vent to
the most fearful shrieks--by the other leg, with one snap of its jaws
bit it off.

In vain Reginald shouted to the crew to attack the creatures with their
oars.  The cowardly wretches, instead of moving, shrank down at the
further end of the canoe; while the panther, peeling off the flesh of
the leg, reached at length the ankle, where with a horrid crunch it
severed the bone, and galloped away with the fearful mouthful.

Reginald drew the poor man--now quite senseless--into the canoe, and
endeavoured to stanch the blood flowing from his wounds by tourniquets,
formed of pieces of wood, round the upper parts of his legs; but his
efforts were in vain, and before the canoe reached the budgerow the man
was dead.

Continuing their course up the Ganges, visiting on their way several of
the numerous towns, temples, and ruins of various sorts which adorn its
banks, they at length landed, and continued their route by land.  They
were now in a woody district, bordering the banks of a river, when
Captain Burnett's "shikaree wallah," or huntsman, informed them that it
abounded in tigers, and that if they wished to kill a few they would
have an opportunity of doing so.  Although Reginald would gladly have
pushed on, he sacrificed his own wishes for the sake of allowing his
friend to enjoy a few days' sport.

Burnett had a friend (Major Sandford) living at a village not far off,
who, hearing of their arrival, invited them to take up their abode at
his bungalow.  He confirmed the report of the abundance of tigers, which
the superstitious Hindoos took no pains to destroy; observing--

"They believe that the souls of men pass after their death into the
bodies of animals, and that it must be the soul of some great personage
alone which is allowed to inhabit the ferocious tiger.  They therefore
allow the creatures to range about as they please; and when any poor
fellow is seized by one of the brutes--as is frequently the case--he
will humbly beg the tiger sahib to set him free, or to finish him
mercifully.  The natives, however, have no objection to my killing any
of their lordships; and we will this evening go to a fort on the banks
of the Ganges near which they are wont to pass on their way to drink at
the river.  We will carry provisions and liquor, so that we may pass our
time agreeably till one of the brutes appears."

The party accordingly, accompanied by several natives of rank, with
their servants, set out, and were not long in reaching their
destination.  The top of the fort offered a safe spot whence any number
of wild beasts could be shot down without the slightest risk to the
sportsmen of being attacked in return.  A table and chairs were placed
on the roof of the fort, and the English gentlemen and Hindoos sat in
the cool of the evening quaffing their claret and conversing on various
topics, with their rifles ready loaded placed against the parapet, while
a lookout kept watch for the approach of a tiger, panther, or any other
denizen of the forest.

"Few men have more narrowly escaped becoming tiger's meat than I have,"
said Major Sandford.  "I carry some ugly marks about me to bear witness
to the fact; besides having the slight `halt' in my walk which you may
have observed.  I was, some eight years ago, out shooting with several
companions, and being somewhat tired, I sat down on the side of the
bank, having left my gun a few feet from me.  The rest of the party had
gone to a little distance, when, suddenly looking up, I saw a huge tiger
spring out of the jungle, and before I had time to reach my gun the
brute had seized me by the leg,--which I thought, by the fearful way he
held it, he would have bitten off.  The rest of the party, seeing my
fearful condition, began to shout at the top of their voices, hoping to
drive off the beast.  They were afraid to fire, for fear of killing me.
But the tiger was not to be disappointed of his expected dinner; so,
throwing me over his back with one jerk, off he trotted.  I did not,
however, lose my presence of mind; but recollecting that I had a brace
of pistols in my belt, I drew one and pulled the trigger.  To my horror,
it missed fire!  I had still another.  I managed to get hold of it, well
knowing that if that missed my fate was sealed.  Pointing the muzzle at
the brute's head, I fired.  The tiger gave a leap, and opening its
mouth, let me drop, while it fell down dead by my side.  I scrambled
away as fast as I could, scarcely believing that I was safe, till my
friends coming up assured me of the fact, and congratulated me on my
merciful escape."

The subject of the "power of the human eye?" over the most savage
animals was touched on.

"There can be no doubt about it," observed Captain Burnett.  "I was once
a short distance from a village, accompanied by my shikaree wallah, when
we heard the cry of `Help!  Help!--a tiger!  A tiger!' resounding
through the forest.  Having loaded our guns with bullets, and seen that
our pistols were primed, we hurried towards the spot, when we came in
sight of a native who stood facing a huge tiger.  From our relative
positions, it was somewhat difficult to shoot without running the risk
of hitting the man; we therefore shouted together, to try and make the
tiger move.  He did so, and I at length got a shot at him; but though he
was hit, off he went without his expected meal.  The native then told us
that while in the jungle he had suddenly caught sight of a beast about
to spring on him, when, with admirable presence of mind, instead of
running, he stood with his eye steadily fixed on the savage monster.
The tiger, wavering before the human eye, slunk behind a bush; but every
now and then he peered forth to see whether the man's glance was still
fixed on him.  The brute continued moving from bush to bush, as if
endeavouring to avoid the undaunted gaze of his adversary, that he might
have an opportunity of springing out and seizing him.  Each time the
tiger moved, the native turned facing his cunning foe, and shouting at
the top of his voice, in the hope that assistance might come to him."

"I can narrate a still more wonderful instance of the same power,"
observed one of the native gentlemen.

But as he spoke the lookout, turning round, said in a low whisper--

"Here comes the tiger, sahib!" and the sportsmen, springing from their
seats, seized their guns, ready to fire at the monster as soon as it
should come within range.  At a leisurely pace the tiger trotted on, the
outline of its form seen clearly in the moonlight.  It had just got
close to the water, when, Burnett firing, the monstrous brute rolled
over, casting a glance of defiance at the foe it had only then
discovered.  A second shot laid it lifeless on the ground.  Both
gentlemen reloaded; and Reginald proposed hurrying down to secure the
skin.

"We may very likely, if we do so, lose our own," observed the major.
"Let us wait, and before long we may add a few more tigers to our bag."

They were not disappointed.  Another tiger and two panthers were shot.
This being the most accessible part of the bank for some distance, it
was evidently the watering-place of numerous wild animals.  They had
just killed their third tiger, and were agreeing that it was time to
secure the skins and return home, when a fourth tiger appeared, stalking
leisurely out of the jungle towards the water, coming much nearer the
fort than any of the others had done.  It stopped for a moment and
looked up at its foes, without exhibiting the alarm which the others had
displayed.  Reginald declared that he caught the gleam of gold on its
neck.

"It may be an enchanted prince, then," said Burnett; "or, as our friends
here believe, the habitat of the soul of some great maharajah, who has
not laid aside all the trappings of royalty;--but we shall soon learn."

As he spoke, he raised his rifle to fire.  The tiger at that moment,
however, gave a sudden bound and escaped the ball, and turning round,
frightened by the noise, sprang back quick as lightning into the jungle,
before any of the rest of the party could take steady aim.

No other wild beast appearing, the party descended; and while some kept
watch to shoot any which might come out of the jungle, the others
secured the skins of the beasts which had been slain.  Packing them up
on the backs of the elephants, they returned to Major Sandford's
bungalow, well satisfied with their night's sport.

The next day they set out to visit the more distant part of the forest.
The party had four elephants.  Reginald and Burnett, with their friend,
and several native gentlemen, were seated in howdahs on the backs of the
elephants.  The howdah is something like the body of a carriage, with an
awning to shield the occupants from the heat of the sun.
Gorgeously-ornamented cloths covered the backs of the huge animals,
while the mahouts sat on their necks, to direct them where to go and
what to do.  Reginald, not accustomed to that style of shooting, thought
it very dull work, and longed to be on foot, where he could encounter
the savage monsters face to face.

On reaching the jungle, the elephants moved along the borders to some
distance, while beaters, with loud shouts, endeavoured to dislodge any
tiger which might be lurking there.  At length up went the trunks of the
elephants,--a sure sign that they had discovered a tiger at no great
distance.  The brute, seeing so many enemies, had apparently no stomach
for the fight, and was observed stealing off amid the jungle.  Three or
four shots were fired at it, but so rapid and eccentric were its
movements that it escaped them all.  As no other tiger appeared,
Reginald at last proposed to Burnett that they should seek the savage
brutes in their lairs.  Burnett agreed, but cautioned him to be on the
alert, and to keep his attendants close to him, with their rifles
loaded, that he might have another weapon at hand should he fail to kill
the animal at the first shot.

"Remember, your life may depend on it; for, believe me, a wounded tiger
is the most dangerous of antagonists."

Dismounting from the elephants which had carried them to the borders of
the jungle, each gentleman, attended by a native carrying an additional
gun, approached the jungle, into which the beaters fearlessly threw
themselves.  The forest was tolerably thick, so that they soon by some
chance became separated.  Reginald, hearing the beaters, and believing
that they were driving a tiger towards him, made his way onward to a
spot from whence he believed that he should have an opportunity of
firing to advantage.  It was near the river, with a small open space in
front of him, through which there was every probability that the tiger
would make its way.  He took his post behind a thick tree, which would
afford him shelter should he fail to bring down the animal at the first
shot; while he charged his attendants to keep a watchful eye around,
lest the creature might come out behind him.  Scarcely had he taken up
his post, when he heard a loud chattering, and looking up, saw that the
trees were alive with monkeys, which were peering down upon him,
wondering what had brought so strange-looking an animal into their
domain.  As he did not move, they grew bolder, and began frolicking
about, swinging backwards and forwards, some with both paws, others with
one, turning somersaults, and performing all sorts of strange antics.

"See, sahib!  What is that?" said the shikaree wallah in a low voice,
pointing to a sunny spot at no great distance off, where Reginald caught
sight of the huge head of a crocodile, with its jaws open.  The creature
was apparently fast asleep, basking in the sun.  Reginald raised his
rifle, intending to shoot the saurian, when at that moment there was a
rustling in the bush, and a magnificent young tigress walked out on her
way to drink at the river.  The creature had not advanced far when her
eye fell on the crocodile, towards which she stealthily crept, her soft
padded feet making not the slightest noise as they trod the ground.
Reginald was thankful that he had not fired at the crocodile, as it
probably would have brought the tigress upon himself at the very moment
that he was unarmed.  He considered whether he should shoot the
magnificent creature, but he was curious to see what she would do with
the crocodile.  On she went, till she got within a little distance of
the saurian, when, making a spring, she seized the creature's tongue,
evidently with the intention of dragging it out.  The attempt was a
dangerous one.  The instant the crocodile felt her paw in its mouth, it
closed its huge jaws, and holding her foot fast, began to crawl towards
the water.  So great was the agony she suffered that she was unable to
make any resistance, or to seize the head of the crocodile in her mouth.
While she shrieked with pain, the crocodile slowly drew her on towards
the river, into which, her instinct told her, should the saurian once
dive, her fate would be sealed.  In vain the tigress struggled to free
herself, and drag back the crocodile.  The monkeys, meantime, seemed to
think the affair great fun; and seeing their two enemies engaged, began
to descend the branches close to the ground; and one of them, more
daring than the rest, actually tried to get hold of the ear of the
tigress.  She, however, lifting up her paw, was about to give it a blow
which would have finished its existence, when, nimbly climbing up again,
it got out of her way.  Meanwhile, the crocodile was dragging the
unfortunate tigress still nearer and nearer the river.  She turned her
eyes round, as if to look for some branch which she might grasp, and
save herself from her impending fate.  At that moment they fell on
Reginald, when she gave him a look which seemed to implore his pity, as
he thought.  In a few seconds the crocodile would have reached the
water; but just then the tigress caught a firm hold of the trunk of a
tree projecting into the river, to which she held on, at the risk of
having her paw bitten off.  Possibly the saurian might, at the same
time, have seen its human foes, or it might have been that the sudden
jerk it received in consequence of the powerful resistance put forth by
its captive, made it open its mouth.  The tigress on this quickly drew
out her fearfully-mangled paw, leaving the crocodile to plunge with a
loud flop into the water, deprived of its expected prey; while she,
fearing perhaps that it might again return to seize her, crawled back
howling with pain towards the thicket.

"Shoot, sahib!  Shoot!" exclaimed the shikaree wallah; but Reginald had
not the heart to do so.  Slowly the tigress crawled on, probably fearing
him more than she had her late enemy, and turning a glance towards him,
in which defiance was mingled with dread.  Feeling herself unable to
fight, it was evidently her intention to escape if she could; but
overcome at length with the fearful pain she was suffering, she sank
down exhausted on the ground.  The native huntsman seemed to think it a
piece of folly on the part of Reginald not at once to despatch her.

"No, I will not do that," said Reginald in answer to his expostulations.
"It is not the custom of white men to slaughter a fallen foe.  See!
The poor tigress looks up as if imploring my assistance."

"As you think fit, sahib," answered the huntsman; "but if she recovers
she will become the mother of numberless tigers and tigresses; and who
can tell how many people they will destroy?"

This argument would have prevailed with Reginald, and he would, at all
events, have allowed the huntsman to kill the tigress, had she not at
that moment cast at him a look, which he seemed to fancy implored his
mercy.  As he approached, however, while she lay on the ground unable to
move, she uttered a loud snarl of anger, and ground her teeth, and
opened out the claws of her uninjured feet, as the feline race are wont
to do, as if about to seize him.  Still he persevered, wishing, if
possible, to capture the animal alive.  Speaking to her in a soothing
voice, he got near her head, holding his rifle in such a position that
he might fire in a moment, should she turn round and attempt to seize
him; she was, however, too much hurt to move.  Gradually he got close to
her head, when, stooping down, he first patted it gently, still uttering
the same soothing words.  At first, while he continued to stroke it, she
looked up suspiciously at him, as if to ask what he wanted; but soon
understanding that his motives were friendly, she ceased her cries.  At
length she put out her lacerated limb, and seemed to ask him to do what
he could to relieve her pain.  He fortunately had a flask of spirits in
his pocket, with which he bathed her foot; and then, taking out a
handkerchief, he carefully bound it up.  It seemed at once to relieve
the animal of pain; and all the natural ferocity of her countenance
disappearing, she cast at him a look full of gratitude, while she
attempted to lick his hand.

Nothing could exceed the astonishment of the shikaree wallah and his
companion,--who had during the time retired to a respectful distance,--
when they saw the tigress get up and slowly follow Reginald, as a dog
does its master.  She, however, would not allow them to approach her,
but snarled in a way which made them immediately take to flight.
Reginald on this called them back, and stroking the head of the tigress,
tried to make her understand that she was to treat them as friends.  She
understood him; and when they came near she no longer showed any signs
of wishing to hurt them.

"Why, sahib," exclaimed the shikaree wallah, "see!  She is not a wild
tigress after all.  There is a golden collar round her neck.  She must
have belonged to some great rajah, and made her escape from his palace."

On a closer examination, Reginald discovered what the quick eye of the
native had detected, a band of gold, partly hidden by the creature's
hair.

"There cannot be a doubt, then, that she is the very animal we saw last
night," observed Reginald.  "She is my property now, at all events; and
I feel very sure that she will follow no one else."

By this time the shouts and cries of the beaters ceased to reach their
ears, and Reginald knew that they must have gone in a different
direction to that which he had followed.  Several shots, however, the
sound of which came from a distance, showed him that Burnett and his
party had met with game; but as he found no real pleasure in
tiger-shooting, he was anxious to get back to the bungalow, where they
intended to stop till the next evening before resuming their journey.
He wished, indeed, to astonish his friend, by exhibiting his prize, when
Burnett was boasting, as he probably would, of the number of tigers he
had killed.  Leaving word with the elephant drivers that he had returned
on foot, and bidding them say nothing about his captive, he hastened
homeward, followed by his two astonished attendants.

"He is indeed a wonderful young man," observed the shikaree wallah.
"How courageously he walked up to the tiger; it makes my knees even now
tremble to think of it.  Wallah, he is a brave youth."

As Reginald walked on, with his hand on the tigress's head, he
considered what name he should give the animal.  "She has evidently
become attached to me, and will follow me about like a dog," he said to
himself.  "Very likely she may be of use, too, for I suspect that no
robbers, nor even Thugs, would dare attack a man with a tigress as his
protector.  What shall I call her?  Violet?  Violet?  No, certainly not.
There is nothing in common, except I may say affection for me.
Faithful?  Yes, Faithful.  That, I am sure, will prove the chief
characteristic of the creature.  Faithful shall be her name!"

By the time he had arrived at this decision he reached Major Sandford's
bungalow.  The sitting-room was of large extent, ornamented with the
skins of antelopes, bison, and stag horns of various kinds, and with
native swords, bows, arrows, spears, and battle-axes; while the floor
was covered with the hides of bears, leopards, tigers, and deer; and a
number of tables, sofas, and chairs of all shapes were scattered about
on it.  Placing three of the chairs in a row, Reginald covered them with
skins, so as to form a screen; and calling to Faithful, he bade her lie
down behind them.  He threw himself on a sofa in front to await the
arrival of his friends.  Before long he caught sight of Burnett's
elephant approaching.

"How comes it, you lazy fellow, that you return home without a single
skin to show?" asked Captain Burnett, as he entered.

"Pardon me, but I have not returned without a skin," said Reginald.
"Here, Faithful, show yourself."

As he spoke the tigress raised her head above the screen with a menacing
expression in her countenance which made Burnett start back and draw one
of his pistols.

"Don't fire!" exclaimed Reginald.  "The brute is tame, though I only
captured her this morning.  See!  I became her surgeon, and she is
grateful for the service I rendered her."

Burnett could scarcely believe his senses, till the secret of her
apparent sudden tameness was disclosed.

At dinner Faithful crouched down at her new master's feet, and
gratefully accepted the small morsels thrown to her; though Burnett
advised that she should have a more substantial meal, or she might take
to helping herself, if pressed by hunger, to a human creature, if not to
some of the tame animals they might meet with on the road.  In the
evening Reginald again dressed the tigress's foot, when she exhibited
the same marks of gratitude as before.

Though the tigress was much better the next morning, she was still too
lame to walk, and accordingly Reginald had a large wooden cage made for
her, with a bed in it of dry grass, on which she might repose with
perfect comfort.  This cage was slung on the back of an elephant,
counterbalanced by several heavy articles.  It was some time, however,
before the sagacious elephant, which knew perfectly well the contents of
the cage, would allow it to be lifted up on its back.  Faithful also
felt very uneasy when brought near the elephant; and not till the cage
had been completely covered up, so that the two animals could not see
each other, were the drivers able to secure it.

The journey was resumed; and occasionally stopping to have a day's
sport,--to which Reginald consented more for his friend's sake than his
own,--greatly to his satisfaction, they at length arrived in sight of
the domes and minarets of Allahapoor, the city in the far interior to
which they were bound.  They encamped outside, that they might get into
order and present themselves in a becoming manner to the rajah, Meer Ali
Singh, the despotic governor of the province.  Captain Burnett put on
his uniform, and all the attendants dressed themselves in their best
costumes.

"I have made up my mind to appear in my seaman's dress," said Reginald;
"from what I have heard of Meer Ali, he is more likely to give me a
favourable reception should I present myself in an unpretending manner
than with all the pomp I could assume.  It will also have the effect of
making his favourites less jealous of me, and unsuspicious of my object.
I do not allude so much to the natives as to a European who is about
the rajah, a certain Andre Cochut by name, originally a barber, who was
my father's great enemy, and is now in high favour at court.  I must be
prepared for every obstruction he can throw in my way; but as he is not
acquainted with the name I bear, he will not suspect who I am.  You must
appear as the person of chief importance, while you represent me as a
friend whom you have brought for the sake of companionship.  This will
throw Cochut off his guard.  And if we manage to play our cards well, we
may gain the confidence of the rajah; when I hope that he may then be
induced to deliver up my father's property, and the casket containing
the valuable deeds I am in search of."

Captain Burnett agreed to the wisdom of Reginald's plan, and, in order
to assume as much importance as possible, sent in to the rajah to
announce their arrival, and to request that they might be permitted to
pay their respects.  The plan succeeded even better than they had
expected.  The next morning, as they were preparing to move, a suwarree,
or retinue of elephants and horses, was seen approaching, headed by one
of the rajah's principal officers.  The train of elephants was
splendidly equipped with silver howdahs, and accompanied by suwarrs, or
horsemen, in red and yellow, followed by an irregular though picturesque
body of infantry, armed with swords, long matchlock guns, and shields.
Some had enormously long spears covered over with silver; while amid
them were carried large triangular green banners.  The silver howdahs,
the flowing dresses, the glowing colours, and the majestic size of the
animals which formed the most prominent part of the group, had
altogether a wonderfully picturesque and scenic appearance.  The
strangers were invited to mount the elephants, and in a few minutes they
found themselves forming part of the curious procession they had before
been admiring.  Thus they entered the gates of the ancient city.  The
houses they passed were closely packed and built of clay, the lanes
dirty in the extreme, and so narrow that they frequently had to proceed
in single file.  Beggars swarmed at every angle, and on the steps of
every door, while the whole population appeared armed either with
matchlock gun or pistols.  Some carried a short bent sword called a
tulwar, with shield on shoulder.  The traders walked about with tulwars
by their sides, while the idlers carried both the pistol and the shield.
The latter is of buffalo-hide, generally covered with brass knobs, and
is worn on the left shoulder.  The fierce-looking moustaches of the
Rajpoots and Patans, and the black beards of the Mussulmans, with their
tulwars and shields, as they swaggered about, gave them a particularly
warlike air.  Even grave-looking men, carried about in palanquins, and
counting their beads, had several sword and buckler attendants.  Some of
the more consequential rode on elephants, also accompanied by a retinue
of armed men.  Even the people lounging at the shop doors were armed
with swords, and had their shields over their shoulders.  After passing
through a number of these narrow and dirty streets, redeemed here and
there by pretty mosques, well-filled bazaars, and a few large houses,
the party entered a wide and handsome street,--bordered by colonnades of
a highly ornamental style of architecture,--along which they proceeded,
till they reached the house appointed by the rajah for their residence.
It belonged to one of the European officers at the court, who was now
absent, and possessed ample accommodation for a much larger party than
theirs.

Reginald had kept Faithful secured in her cage.  He was curious to know
how she would behave in a city, and he waited anxiously for the arrival
of their own elephants and baggage.  They came at last.  On the cage
being placed on the ground, he took off the covering.  Faithful was
lying crouched down.  She was evidently much put out at the way she had
been treated, and the fierce expression of her eye made him doubt at
first whether it would be wise to set her free.  After speaking in
soothing tones, and stroking her head for a short time, the expression
changed, when opening the side of the cage so as to enable him to reach
her paw, he stooped down and dressed it carefully.  She looked up with
an expression of gratitude in her countenance; and now telling her to
follow him, he conducted her into the sitting-room, where he had left
his friend.  As Reginald took his seat at the dinner-table, Faithful lay
down by his side, and thankfully ate the bits of food thrown to her.
When afterwards visitors were announced, she remained perfectly quiet,
eyeing them, however, narrowly.  Next day an officer--no less a man than
Andre Cochut, who had now become a khan or noble--arrived to summon them
to his master the rajah, "the Refuge of the World," who was ready to
allow them the honour of an audience.

"We will obey the summons, khan," said Captain Burnett; and he and
Reginald immediately got ready.

The captain had prepared the presents which, according to Oriental
etiquette, it is usual to offer to a ruling prince on being first
introduced, and he had given the necessary instructions to Reginald.
They each took four gold mohurs, which they placed on fine muslin
handkerchiefs to be held in the palm of their hands.

"There, that will do," said Captain Burnett; "we must offer them in this
style; and if the rajah is inclined to be gracious, we shall not be the
losers by the transaction."

Putting the money and handkerchiefs in their pockets, they went out into
the courtyard of their house, where they found richly-caparisoned steeds
awaiting them.  They mounted, Burnett accompanying the khan, and
Reginald following in his usual nautical costume, attended by Dick
Thuddichum, who sat his steed much in the style of sailors in general.
His appearance contrasted greatly with that of the richly habited
natives who rode on either side of him; and his attempts at conversation
caused them a good deal of amusement, though none of those he addressed
could understand a word he said, nor could he understand their remarks.
The crowds in the streets made way for the khan, who was known to be in
high favour at court, and was treated accordingly with every mark of
respect.

The palace, which was at no great distance, was soon reached, when the
ex-barber threw his reins with an air of importance to the syce, or
groom, in attendance, telling the Englishmen to follow him.  Entering
the gates of the palace, they passed through several apartments adorned
with beautiful chandeliers, and cabinets of rare woods and of silver or
lacquered ware.  Richly-decorated shields, arms, and suits of armour
covered the walls, not always arranged in good taste, but offering a
fair specimen of Oriental magnificence.

"You two come with me," said the ex-barber, addressing Burnett and
Reginald.

As he led the way, they emerged into a small garden or courtyard with a
fountain playing in the centre, beyond which was seen a pavilion.
Crossing the garden, they approached the pavilion.

Neither Reginald nor Burnett were prepared for the scene which met their
view.  In a richly-ornamented alcove, seated on a pile of cushions, were
two persons; one of whom they immediately knew must be the rajah.  He
was magnificently attired in Oriental costume, covered with gold
ornaments; a turban covering his head, surmounted by a plume of bird of
paradise feathers, with a sparkling aigrette in front.  He had large
moustaches, and an enormous white beard flowing over his breast.  By his
side reclined a lady, also handsomely dressed, her features of rare
beauty, and her complexion scarcely darker than that of an Italian.  The
rajah was smoking a hookah of elegant workmanship.  He took it from his
lips when the strangers advanced, and expressed his satisfaction at
receiving them.

"My grandchild, Nuna, desired to see you, as Englishmen at present
rarely visit my court," he said, after the usual complimentary speeches
had been exchanged; "except my worthy friend there, the khan, she has
never set eyes on a white man."

While the rajah was speaking, Captain Burnett could with difficulty
avoid fixing his gaze on the lovely features of the young girl, though
he felt it would be contrary to court etiquette to do so.

"And what brought you to my city?" asked the rajah.

"We had heard of your highness's wisdom and renown, and as we desired to
visit the chief objects of interest in this part of the world, we came
to see your city, in the hope of enjoying the happiness of an interview
with your highness," answered Burnett, who had considerable experience
in the proper style of addressing Oriental potentates.  The rajah looked
pleased.

"And whence do you come?  Do you belong to the Company?" he asked,
turning to Reginald.

"Most of my days have been spent on the salt ocean, your highness,"
answered Reginald; "and my desire is to see the wonders of the interior
part of the country."

"An extraordinary life yours must have been," observed the rajah.  "They
tell me that ships are tossed about on the waves like balls in the hands
of jugglers, and sometimes are thrown on the rocks, and at others go
down to the bottom.  Extraordinary that men should be found to hazard
their lives on so treacherous an element!"

"An existence on the ocean has its advantages as well as its dangers,"
answered Reginald.  "Without ships men cannot visit other lands, or
carry the produce of this magnificent country to England, and bring back
her manufactures in return."

"You speak the truth, young sir," said the rajah, evidently pleased with
Reginald's manner.  "You and your friend are welcome to remain in
Allahapoor as long as you please; and I shall be glad to see you again."

Captain Burnett, knowing that this was a signal for their departure,
offered the presents which he and Reginald had brought.  They were
graciously accepted, the rajah placing them on a cushion by his side.
Bowing low they withdrew, the captain taking another glance at the
rajah's grand-daughter as he did so.

Andre Cochut accompanied them home, and by the questions he put it was
evident that he wished to ascertain their real object in coming to
Allahapoor.  Captain Burnett replied cautiously, and took an opportunity
of whispering to Reginald to be on his guard as to what he said.  "I do
not trust that individual," he observed as soon as the khan had taken
his departure.  "He fears that we may remain and supplant him in the
good graces of the old rajah.  If we can win him over, he may assist us;
but the attempt to do so would excite his suspicion."  Reginald promised
to follow his friend's advice, and they agreed that they would simply be
civil to Cochut, and appear to be only desirous of visiting the scenes
of interest in the neighbourhood.

The following day they received another summons to visit the rajah in
his usual hall of audience in the palace.  He had a few guards and
courtiers in attendance.  Burnett looked round in vain in the hope of
catching a glimpse of the beautiful Nuna, but she was nowhere to be
seen; indeed, her appearance on the previous occasion had been contrary
to the usual custom, as no Mohammedan or Hindoo women of high rank ever
exhibit themselves in public.  The rajah appeared more than ever pleased
with them, and asked numerous questions, which they answered apparently
to his satisfaction.

"I must not let you Englishmen live so far off," he said at length.  "I
should like to see you at all times of the day.  You must come and live
in the palace, where rooms shall be prepared for you.  I must have no
refusal.  The matter is settled."

Burnett and Reginald expressed their gratitude at the favour shown them,
and said they gladly accepted his highness's offer.  Before they left,
Khan Cochut overtook them; and though he contrived to conceal his
feelings, it was clear that he was more than ever jealous and annoyed at
the thought of their being about the person of his master.  On returning
with their attendants and luggage, they found, as had been promised, a
handsome suite of rooms prepared for their reception.  They quickly made
themselves at home, Burnett observing that they had fallen into pleasant
quarters.  Before long, Khan Cochut came with a message from the rajah,
inviting them to dinner.  He again endeavoured to discover their object
in visiting Allahapoor.  Reginald, warned by his friend, answered very
cautiously, and so the ex-barber had to take his departure without being
wiser than he came.  At the dinner-hour an attendant of the rajah came
to summon them.  They found the great man seated at table, in a hall
furnished in a strangely-mixed Oriental and English fashion.  The rajah
sat on one side of the table, on a gilt armchair raised a few inches
above the floor; the opposite side being left unoccupied, that whatever
took place at the other end of the hall might be seen by the guests,
while the servants could thus remove the dishes without difficulty.  He
beckoned to Burnett and Reginald to take their seats one on either side
of him,--greatly to the disgust of Khan Cochut, who had to move further
down the table.  Several nobles and other courtiers were present.  As
soon as the party had taken their places, a curtain behind them was
drawn on one side, when half-a-dozen young females issued forth, each
carrying large fans of peacock's feathers, and noiselessly placed
themselves behind the rajah's chair.  The hue of their skins was
scarcely darker than that of the women of Southern Europe; their hair,
black as jet, drawn over the forehead, was twisted in rolls behind, and
ornamented with pearls and silver pins, over which hung a muslin robe
covering their shoulders--of a texture so fine, however, that their
forms could be clearly seen through it.  Gold-embroidered zones
surrounded their waists and supported their Turkish trousers of bright
crimson satin, which were also secured round their ankles by
gold-embroidered belts.  Two of them at a time advanced--their arms bare
almost to the shoulder--and silently waved their fans in the most
graceful manner above the head of the rajah.  Here they remained the
whole evening, relieving each other by turns, and attending to his
hookah, supplying it with tobacco as might be required.

The first courses being removed, a group of nautch-girls, attended by
musicians, entered the hall, and commenced their performances,--now
advancing in graceful attitudes, now retiring; now with one hand held
over the head, now with the other; the musicians during the time playing
on lutes and tambourines behind them, and accompanying the instruments
with their voices.  While this was going on a puppet-show was
introduced, in which the figures acted a play and danced almost in as
lifelike a manner as performers on a stage.  The nautch-girls continued
their performances throughout the whole evening, but the other
entertainments were varied.  The puppet-show was succeeded by a band of
tumblers, who tied themselves into knots, walked on their hands and
heads, and twisted and turned about more actively than the most nimble
of monkeys--their bodies apparently being destitute of bones, or
possessing ten times the number of joints usually found in the human
frame.  They all received a reward--more or less, as the rajah was
pleased with their performances.

Burnett, it must be confessed, looked in vain for the appearance of
Nuna, who, it was possible, might have been among the audience behind
the gauze curtain at the further end of the hall.

"And how have you enjoyed our evening's entertainment?" asked the rajah,
turning to Reginald.

"The performances are very wonderful," he answered.  Of course he could
not say that he thought them very barbarous, and that they had afforded
him anything but pleasure.

"Ah, we will show you things far more wonderful than these," observed
the rajah.  "You must accompany us out hunting.  You Englishmen, I
understand, are all huntsmen, and delight in the chase, and are not
afraid to encounter tigers and wild boars, and even elephants."

Reginald confessed that sporting was much more in accordance with his
taste, and that he should be glad to have an opportunity afforded him of
seeing how the Orientals followed the chase.

At length the rajah, accompanied by the damsels, who continued fanning
him, took his departure, and the banquet was at an end; but Reginald did
not forget a scowl he had observed on the countenance of Khan Cochut as
he and Burnett quitted the hall.

He had left Faithful the sole occupant of a stall in one of the stables.
Before lying down at night, he went to pay his favourite a visit.  The
animal fawned on him, and seemed so unwilling to be left alone, that he
led her out, intending to allow her to share his sleeping-room.  She
seemed highly pleased; and no sooner had Reginald thrown himself on the
pile of cushions arranged on the floor for his couch, than she laid
herself down, evidently prepared to keep watch during the night by his
side.  "Perhaps the creature's instinct tells her that some danger
threatens me," he said to himself.  "I am very sure that I may trust to
her vigilance, and sleep soundly, without the risk of being attacked
unawares."  Thoughts of various sorts pressed on his mind, and before he
fell asleep he saw Faithful get up several times and walk slowly round
the room, sniffing in all the corners.



CHAPTER THREE.

A MIDNIGHT INTRUDER--A HUNTING PARTY--CHEETAHS AND TRAINED DEER--A
WARLIKE EXPEDITION--THE MARCH--THE WOMEN LEFT ENCAMPED--SURPRISED BY THE
MOUNTAINEERS--ATTACK ON THE MOUNTAIN FORT--FAITHFUL SAVES THE RAJAH'S
LIFE--THE CAVALRY TAKE TO FLIGHT--SURROUNDED BY FOES--RESCUED BY
BURNETT.

Reginald had thrown himself on his couch without undressing, no
bedclothes having been provided; his baggage, not very extensive, was
placed in one corner of the room.  His portmanteau contained some
important documents, which he wished no eye but his own to scan till the
time for producing them had arrived.  Faithful lay down before him much
like a dog, with her eyes half open.  He had been for some time asleep
when he was awakened by a low growl, and on looking up he saw Faithful
on the point of rising, her eyes glaring towards the further end of the
room.  A curtain which served instead of a door was drawn aside, and by
the faint light of a lamp, almost burned out, he observed a person steal
into the room with a dagger in his hand.  The intruder crept along close
to the wall, apparently not observing the tigress; when she rose to her
feet, and would in another instant have sprung upon him, had not he, on
seeing her, bounded back through the doorway far more quickly than he
had entered.

Reginald, unwilling to create a disturbance, called Faithful back.  She
obeyed instantly, and again lay down by his side.  The intention of the
midnight intruder was apparently either to murder him or to pilfer his
baggage, though the dagger looked very suspicious.

"Good Faithful, you behaved admirably," said Reginald, patting his
favourite's head.  "I feel very sure that you will watch over me, so I
will once more try to sleep."

Saying this, he again lay down, confident that, whatever had been the
stranger's intention, he was not likely to repeat the attempt.

Captain Burnett, to whom he narrated the next morning what had occurred,
declared that no one had entered his room.  They agreed, however, to
keep watch the next night, in order to try and catch the intruder.

"If we can catch the fellow, whoever he is, we must carry him before the
rajah," observed Burnett.  "And I must warn you also, Reginald, that we
must be careful what we eat; these natives are adepts in poisoning, and
would not scruple to exert that talent if they considered it
convenient."

A handsome breakfast was served them, with all sorts of Oriental
delicacies; and during the repast, at which several slaves attended,
Captain Burnett described in Hindostanee, as if speaking to Reginald, a
wonderful rod he possessed, which had the property of discovering
poison--as also the poisoner, by whirling itself about as soon as he
appeared, and pointing towards him.  He spoke in a natural, offhand
manner, as if there was nothing unusual in what he was saying.

Soon after the repast they were summoned into the presence of the rajah,
who told them that one of his principal officers would take them on a
hunting expedition, if they wished to see the style of sporting
generally followed in his province.  They of course expressed their
gratitude, and at once accepted the offer.

"You may go this very day, as the khan is about to set out," said the
rajah.  "For myself, I am getting too old to engage in such sports for
amusement.  I may have ere long to lead my troops to battle; but that is
a very different affair.  Horses are already prepared for you."

In a few minutes Reginald and his friend found themselves in the midst
of a large party of Oriental cavaliers in gay costumes, mounted on
richly-caparisoned steeds, headed by the Khan Mukund Bhim, who was a
remarkably good horseman.  Off they set at a rate which, in little more
than an hour, carried them to a distance of twelve miles or more from
the city.  They now entered a wild part of the country, on the borders
of a forest, where a band of huntsmen, with several cheetahs and eight
or ten trained stags, had been appointed to meet them.

"We will show you some fine sport presently," said the khan; and after
allowing their horses a little rest, they again set forward.  A party of
bearers followed, carrying in a cage a cheetah or hunting leopard, an
animal which may be described as in size and shape between the hound and
the leopard.  Its body is slenderer and more elevated than that of the
latter animal, while it does not possess the graceful form of the common
leopard; and its head, which is smaller, is peculiarly ugly; its tail is
like that of a cat; and its body seems formed more for strong muscular
exertion than for active and long-continued speed.  Though possessing
the sagacity and fidelity of the dog, it is undoubtedly feline in its
habits.  Its general colour is a bright yellowish-brown, lighter on the
sides, and nearly white beneath, marked with numerous small black spots
all over, which are continued along the tail so as to appear like rings;
its ears are short and rounded, while from each eye a blackish mark runs
down to the corners of the mouth, the extremity of the nose being black.
The fur, instead of possessing that sleekness which distinguishes the
feline race, is peculiarly crisp.

As the party neared the spot where it was expected that the deer would
be found, the cheetah was taken out of its cage and led forward by a
keeper with a chain, just as a large dog would be led--its head, of
course, being covered.  When led without any such protection, it is very
difficult to manage.  Should it scent a trail upon the ground, it begins
to throw its head aloft and peer about.  To restore its tranquillity,
the keeper places a cocoanut shell sprinkled on the inside with salt to
the animal's nose.  The cheetah licks the salt, and losing the scent
forgets the object which attracted its attention.  As soon as it again
exhibits signs of excitement, the cocoanut shell is applied to its nose,
and it again becomes manageable.

At length several deer appeared at a short distance, on some marshy
ground, with bushes intervening.  The khan gave a signal to the keeper,
who slipped the leash, and the cheetah began to steal cautiously towards
the herd, taking advantage of the bushes and high grass to conceal
itself.  On it went like a cat, till it got within a short distance of
the deer.  They at length discovered its approach, and went bounding
forward over everything that impeded their progress, jumping, running,
and wading through the marsh with frantic energy.  The cheetah's blood
was up.  It singled out one of the animals, and away it went, bounding
catlike over the bushes; plunging into the morass, though hating water,
rather than allow its prey to escape.  Off started the hunting party,
now keeping their eyes on the flying deer, now upon the persevering
cheetah.  It was no easy task, however, to keep the chase in sight, as
they scampered over the marsh and thick grass.  Indeed, they put the
horsemanship of all the party to the test.  While the rest of the deer
escaped on either side, the one the cheetah had fixed on had kept a
straight course, now by the side of a nullah, now over the wiry grass,
now through thick bushes.  The cheetah meanwhile skimmed over the
surface of the ground, as if requiring no rest for its feet.  The forest
appeared ahead.  Should the deer once reach it and force its way
through, even the persevering cheetah would have a difficulty in
following.  The poor deer, however, worn out with the long chase, and
overcome with fear at the indefatigable pursuit of its bloodthirsty foe,
leaped headforemost into a thicket, under the belief that it was the
commencement of the forest.  Its branching horns were caught for a
moment, and before it could extricate them, the ferocious cheetah,
bounding forward, was upon it, and instantly seizing its neck, pulled it
to the ground.

The khan and his companions arrived just as the poor creature was at its
last gasp, turning up its beautiful eyes as if imploring mercy from its
persecutors.  The huntsmen soon put it out of its agony, and it was
carried off by the bearers; while the panting cheetah allowed its keeper
quietly to slip the chain over its head and lead it away to its cage.

"Come, we must now show you the way we hunt with our stags," said the
khan.

Galloping on, they reached the spot where the trained stags, with their
keepers, had been waiting for them.  Proceeding to another part of the
open forest, the party arrived at a spot towards which a band of beaters
had driven a herd of deer.  Here the animals stood grazing, protected by
their watchful guardians, the most warlike and powerful of their males.
They could be seen in the far distance.  The tame deer were now set at
liberty, and advanced at a gentle trot.  The males in charge of the herd
immediately advanced to meet them.  At first they seemed to doubt
whether the strange ones came as friends or foes.  But the matter was
soon settled.  The two parties were quickly engaged in a fierce contest,
the wild animals rushing forward with great fury, meeting the tame
ones--antlers to antlers, and heads to heads.  The latter,
formidable-looking animals, stood generally on the defensive, each being
engaged with a wild adversary, not mimicking war, but fighting
desperately.  As the hunting party advanced, the herd, catching sight of
them, took to flight, but the combatants were too furiously engaged to
observe the spectators of the fight.  They saw before them only their
adversaries, and did not even remark the party of native huntsmen on
foot, who, stealing round to their rear, got between them and the
forest.  Concealing themselves, they advanced stealthily towards the
combatants, with long knives gleaming in their hands.  Had any one of
the wild stags retreated and observed them, they would have been in
imminent danger, but there was little fear of that.  Getting up close
behind the still fighting wild deer, with one stroke of their weapons
they hamstrung the brave creatures.  Having performed this deed, they
hurried away; and the latter, pressed by their adversaries, fell to the
ground, unable to move.

The keepers now called off the tame deer, who immediately obeyed,
without attempting to follow up their victory.  Many of them bore
evidence of the severity of the contest by their gored chests, from
which the blood was streaming.  They seemed to disregard their wounds,
however, as if proud of their success, and capered about joyously,
tossing their antlers.  Meanwhile the huntsmen approached and finished
the butchery they had commenced, by cutting the throats of the noble
stags, as they helplessly lay in various attitudes on the sward, looking
up at their conquerors with those large black eyes of theirs in a way
which seemed to ask how human beings could be guilty of such cruelty.

"But how do your people manage to catch and tame the deer which have
just so well played their part?" asked Captain Burnett of the khan.

"I will show you," he answered.  "We have still time, for this forest
abounds in deer, and the hunters are ready."

Riding along the edge of the forest, they came to another open space,
followed by the least injured tame deer, led by their keepers, who had
been joined by a party of men carrying some large nets.  Before long
they came in sight of another herd; when the same scene as before was
enacted.  The tame deer advanced, and were met by an equal number of
wild animals, with whom they were soon engaged in a desperate combat,--
the well-trained and sagacious decoys slowly retreating, facing their
foes, and keeping them engaged, as a skilful swordsman does his
adversary, while he endeavours to make him lose his temper.  The clash
of their branching antlers was clearly heard as the animals fenced
furiously at each other.  While they were thus hotly engaged, the
net-bearers crept round--each net borne by two men--till they got in the
rear of the wild stags.  They then cautiously approached; and their
object was now evident.  It was to throw the nets over the heads of the
wild deer.  This was no easy task.  They might either catch the antlers
of the tame animals, or might fail to cast the nets over those of the
wild ones; in which case they ran the risk of being gored by the latter
turning on them.

The first two men succeeded in throwing their net over one of the stags;
its tame opponent, at a signal which it understood, springing back at
the proper moment, when the men, dragging with all their might, brought
their captive to the ground.

The next two men were not so fortunate.  The wild stag, seeing what was
taking place, wheeled suddenly round, and catching sight of its
treacherous foes, rushed at them, with its antlers as sharp as lance
points, and literally pinned one of them to the ground, his companion
narrowly escaping his fate; then, fleet as the wind, off scampered the
deer, and was far away before a shot could be fired at it.  Before the
hunters could reach the poor man who had been overthrown, he had
breathed his last; his death, however, exciting no more sympathy than if
a dog had been killed.

Four more deer were eventually captured and dragged off by the huntsmen,
their limbs and heads completely enveloped in the nets.  Then the hunt
for the day being over, the party encamped, tents having been brought
from Allahapoor for their convenience; and the next day they returned to
the city.

"And how did you enjoy the sport?" asked the rajah, when Reginald and
his friend again had the honour of an audience.

"Very well indeed," was the answer.

"Then I will enable you to have some more," said the rajah.  "I intend
to lead an expedition that will shortly set out from hence.  It will
afford you better sport, for we shall have two-footed instead of
four-footed beasts to contend with.  Some hill tribes to the north have
dared to come down and plunder and kill my people in the plain, and they
must be punished at all hazards.  I shall be glad of your advice and
assistance, for you Englishmen take naturally to fighting, whether you
have been bred to it or not."

Reginald and Burnett thanked the rajah for the compliment he had paid
them, but gave no promise.  However, they discussed the subject
afterwards in their own room, Dick Thuddichum being present.

"I think it will be wise to go," observed Captain Burnett.  "We shall
thus have an opportunity of becoming better acquainted with the rajah,
and ingratiating ourselves, than we can here; and you will thus, on our
return, more easily obtain the secret the rajah possesses."

"Dick, are you inclined to come and help the rajah to fight these savage
mountaineers?" asked Reginald.

"I should think so!  Wherever your honour goes, I am ready to follow,"
answered Dick.

"Well, then, Burnett, let us settle it.  We will tell the rajah at once
that we are ready to help him to bring his rebellious subjects into
order."

The rajah was highly pleased.  "If we succeed, you shall both be made
great khans, and become the possessors of untold wealth; that I promise
you!" he exclaimed.

The next day the army was on its march, the fighting-men scarcely so
numerous as the camp-followers.  The first were fierce-looking
fellows,--partly cavalry and partly infantry.  The cavalry were richly
accoutred; the officers in gorgeous uniforms, with spears, carbines, and
curved swords with jewelled hilts rattling by their sides.  The
foot-soldiers had more of a fighting look, with their shields and
matchlocks.  Then came elephants, carrying gaily-ornamented howdahs;
camels--some for riding and others employed as beasts of burden--and
horses innumerable; palanquins, conveying some of the female members of
the rajah's family, without whom the old chief never moved from home,--
the whole train forming an immense line of a mile or more in length.
Burnett and Reginald, as they surveyed it, could not help thinking that
an active foe might manage to get in the rear and plunder them before
the fighting-men could arrive for their defence.

The villagers, as the troops marched through the country, were thrown
into the greatest consternation; the soldiers, without ceremony, taking
whatever they wanted, and maltreating those who resisted them.  The
villagers were also compelled to turn out and make the roads
practicable, or to cut new ones, to enable the army to advance.  Men and
women were all set to work; the only pay they received being abuse and
punishment when they were unable to accomplish their tasks as rapidly as
the rajah desired.

The camp at night occupied a considerable extent of country; and as the
act of encamping occupied some time, a halt was called an hour or more
before sunset.  The rajah's tent was pitched in the neighbourhood of an
immense banyan-tree; those of his chief officers and attendants being
placed, without much order, around it.  Among these, one was
appropriated for the use of Reginald and his friend.  As they lay
stretched at their length in the tent, smoking their hookahs, they could
not fail to be struck by the picturesqueness of the curious scene.  Near
them lay the camels, chewing the cud in silence, and gracefully moving
their bending necks as they brought up the balls of food into their
mouths.  The horses, picketed here and there, cropped their evening
meal; while the elephants stood silently at a distance, occasionally
moving their long trunks, or flapping their ears.  The cries of the
birds and the screams of the monkeys, as they composed themselves for
the night, came forth from the neighbouring forest; while, at a
distance, the devout Mussulmans were engaged in the muggreet, or evening
prayer, as they knelt on their little mats, and bowed their heads to
kiss the ground.  Richly-dressed officers moved about amid the tents,
and scantily-clothed warriors reclined in groups in all directions.  The
most actively engaged persons were the cooks, who were preparing the
evening meal for their masters; the attendants standing ready to convey
it to them as soon as it should be prepared.  The setting sun, casting
his lurid beams across the landscape, lighted up the figures of men and
animals, and the tents and trees, with a golden hue.

Reginald had brought Faithful; who, indeed, would not have consented to
have been left behind, and who now kept so strict a watch in his tent,
that neither robber nor assassin would have ventured to enter it.

The only person of any consequence in the rajah's household who had not
come was Khan Cochut.  He had no fancy for encountering the dangers of
war; and though the rajah had commanded his attendance, he excused
himself on the plea of severe illness.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Again the troops moved on, and constant scenes of violence and cruelty
were practised.  The country became wilder as they advanced towards the
mountains.  There was no lack of inhabitants, and they were everywhere
summoned from their homes to labour in the rajah's service.  The rajah
during part of the day rode on an elephant; but he generally mounted his
horse after midday, and desired the two Englishmen to ride by his side.
They had thus many opportunities of conversing with him.  Captain
Burnett endeavoured to draw from him his plan of the campaign.  It was a
very simple one.  He intended to march on till he reached the territory
of the rebels; and his purpose then was to burn the villages, and to cut
off the heads of any of the rebels he could catch.

"It will frighten the rest, who will soon come to terms, and agree to
pay any tribute I may demand," observed the rajah.

"But suppose, your highness, that the enemy were to evade us till they
can gather in sufficient force to afford them good hopes of success, how
do you then propose dealing with them?" asked Burnett.

"They will not dare to attack us," answered the rajah, stroking his
beard.  "They are sure to run away as we advance."

Of this, however, Burnett, who had been making inquiries about the
character of the rebels from those who had been among them, was not so
certain.  It seemed to him much more likely that, though armed only with
bows, arrows, swords, and spears, they would lie in ambush on the sides
of several narrow gorges through which the army had to pass, whence they
could take good aim with their unerring bows, and also send down large
fragments of rock on the heads of their invaders.  He accordingly urged
the rajah to leave the women and baggage encamped in a secure position
outside the mountains, while the troops made their way through the more
difficult country.

"You Englishmen are always wise," observed the rajah, "and I will
seriously consider your advice."

The troops advanced, plundering their friends as if they had been
enemies, in their line of march.  The fields were trodden down and their
produce carried off.  The sugar-canes were looted by elephants and
camp-followers; the well-ropes stolen to serve as drag-ropes; and if any
of the country-people attempted to defend their property, they were
cruelly ill-treated.  The force increased, too, as they advanced.  The
horse-keepers' wives with their children joined them, not knowing where
else to go.  Numbers of milk-women came in carrying the milk on their
heads to supply the men, and after the camp was pitched their voices
were heard crying out in all directions, "_doodh_."  Dogs in vast
numbers, with or without owners, joined the camp, snarling and barking
all night long; while packs of jackals and hyaenas followed in their
track, commencing their hideous concert soon after sunset, and never
ceasing till near daylight, while they stole round the confines of the
camp to pick up any garbage they could find.

Frequently in the daytime an antelope or a hare would be started, when
horse and foot-soldiers and camp-followers would give chase, with the
pariah dogs of all sizes and colours dodging amid the carts, elephants,
and camels, frequently joined by some horses which would break loose,--
creating a hubbub and confusion during which an enemy would have had a
fine opportunity of surprising the camp before the fighting-men could
fall in to repel him.

At length the mountains appeared in sight, and the rajah, following
Captain Burnett's advice, pitched his camp, which was surrounded by a
stockade.  Here the women and children, and most of the camp-followers,
were left, with a small body of troops to guard them.  The fighting
forces, marshalled in somewhat better order than before, now advanced
among the hills.  The mountaineers, probably having notice of their
approach, kept out of the way, and not an enemy was to be seen.  A few
villages, scattered here and there on the heights, were apparently
deserted.  Those which could be easily reached were burned, but no
prisoners were taken.

Burnett again warned the old rajah that he was very likely to be led
into an ambush, and urged him to send out scouts on either flank to
examine the country.  They went, but did not return, and it was doubtful
whether they had deserted or had been cut to pieces by the mountaineers;
the latter being most probably the case.

The army encamped at night in the most open spot they could find, where
they were less likely to be surprised than in the valleys, several of
which they had passed through.  At length, as day was declining, and
just as the van of the army was passing over an extremely rocky country,
with rugged hills and masses of brushwood growing on them, suddenly the
bare spots on every height around were seen covered with warriors armed
with bows, javelins, and spears.

The next instant showers of arrows came flying into the midst of the
troops, and javelins were darted by the enemy at those nearest them.
Calling a halt, the Khan Mukund Bhim, who had been galloping on in
advance, turned back, and ordered his men to open fire on their
assailants.  But no sooner did the nimble-footed enemy find the bullets
reaching them than they vanished behind cover, and in another minute the
whole valley in which the contest was lately raging appeared open to the
advance of the invading forces.

The rajah, however, by the advice of Captain Burnett, halted his army in
the valley they now occupied.  Retreat was not to be thought of; while
to advance, with an active enemy on either side, was dangerous in the
extreme.  A vigilant watch was therefore kept during the night, and the
mountaineers, finding their invaders on the alert, did not venture to
attack them.

Next morning the march was resumed.  The country ahead, however, soon
became more difficult than any they had yet passed through.  Orders were
therefore given to scale the heights, and the lightly-clad sepoys
quickly scrambled up them; but when they reached the summits, no enemies
were to be seen.  The heights being occupied, the cavalry once more
advanced; the foot-soldiers, as they dashed forward, taking possession
of each commanding height.  A large force was now seen ahead, perched on
an apparently inaccessible hill, with a village on the summit, and
perpendicular cliffs from eighty to a hundred feet in height surrounding
it.  The only practicable path passed below this height; while posted on
the top and on every projecting crag were the native warriors, prepared
to dispute the advance of their invaders.

The rajah's rage at the audacity of the rebels, as he called them, was
excessive.  He insisted that the heights should be stormed, and the
village and all the inhabitants destroyed.  Captain Burnett advised him
not to make the attempt, but rather to starve out the garrison, or to
try and bring them to terms by other means.  He would not listen to
reason, however, but insisted that the place should be taken as he
proposed.  As the cavalry could be of no service, the fighting fell upon
the foot-soldiers,--who, in a very dashing way, attempted to climb up
the heights, but were hurled down again by the enemy from above with
arrows, javelins, and huge stones.  Again and again they made the
attempt,--each time the greater number who were climbing up being
destroyed, till the foot of the hill and every ledge wide enough to form
a resting-place were strewn with the dead and the dying.  The old rajah
stormed and swore, and ordered some of the cavalry to dismount and try
if they could not do better.  Burnett, on hearing the command, assured
the rajah that they would certainly be destroyed as easily as the
infantry, and suggested that a party should be sent round to take the
fort in the rear.

"If you will lead it, I will consent," said the rajah; and Burnett
consented on the condition that the lives of the brave villagers might
be spared should they yield.

Reginald wished to accompany his friend, but the rajah begged him to
remain by his side.  "I want your advice and assistance.  I much suspect
the faithfulness of some of my officers; for they, finding things going
against us, may kill me: they have attempted it once before."

Reginald accordingly agreed to remain; while Burnett, at the head of
three hundred horsemen, set off to make a wide circuit round the hills,
in the hope of reaching the rear of the fort.  In the meantime the
attack in front was carried on with the same want of success as before,
resulting only in the destruction of still more of the rajah's troops.

Night was approaching, and at length the attempt was abandoned.  The
order was given to encamp in the only spot where this could be done with
any degree of safety.  A small tent had been brought for the rajah, who
invited Reginald, attended by Faithful and Dick Thuddichum, to remain
with him.  The rest of the force, officers as well as men, lay down with
their horses picketed near them.  But the night air in that elevated
region was very cold, and all complained greatly.  The rajah's tent had
been fixed amid the ruins of a small temple, built by the former
possessors of the country, as the present inhabitants had neither
temples nor priests.  Sentinels were posted round the camp; but they
were ill-fitted for the duty, having been engaged during the whole day
in attempting to storm the fort, while they were suffering, moreover,
from the cold.  The rest of the army lay down to sleep.  Reginald, with
Faithful, occupied the further end of the tent.

It wanted an hour or two to dawn, when Reginald, he knew not from what
cause, awoke.  As he looked up, for a moment forgetting where he was, he
saw, by the light of a lamp burning in the centre of the tent, the
curtain at the entrance noiselessly drawn aside, and three men appear,
who, by their dresses, he knew were persons of rank, each holding a
drawn sword in his hand.  What their intention was, he had no doubt; and
shouting to awake the rajah, he sprang to his feet, grasping his own
sword and pistols.  His shouts awakened Dick Thuddichum, who,
sailor-like, was asleep with one eye open just outside the tent.
Faithful, at the same time, started to her feet, and at a glance took in
the situation of affairs.  The assassins, if such they were, seemed not
to have known of her presence.  Before the rajah could rise and grasp
his scimitar, however, the leading assassin was close upon him, about to
plunge his weapon in his breast,--when Faithful, bounding across the
tent, grasped the traitor in her huge jaws.  Reginald attacked the
second man, who was advancing towards him; while Dick Thuddichum, with a
heavy sword which he called his "cutlash," set upon the third.  So
staggered were the assassins by the unexpected resistance they met with,
and so horrified at the fate of their companion, that they were quite
unable, though redoubtable swordsmen, effectually to defend themselves.
Faithful sprang by them, carrying the body of their leader in her huge
jaws up the steps of the temple; while Reginald shot his opponent, and
Dick brought the man with whom he was engaged to the ground with a blow
of his weapon.  At the same moment a loud uproar was heard from the side
of the camp nearest the heights.  Shouts and shrieks, the rattle of
firearms and the clash of steel, reached their ears; while the cry
arose, "The enemy are upon us!  The enemy are coming down in countless
numbers!--to horse!  To horse!"  A sudden panic seized the troops.  The
foot-soldiers, who were bivouacked, suddenly set upon before they could
fall into order to repel the attack, were overpowered by the hardy
mountaineers, who rushed in among them with their long daggers, and
killed all they encountered.  The rajah's bodyguard, who had been won
over by the traitors, finding those who had seduced them killed, took to
flight; while most of the remainder, not understanding what had
happened, followed their example.

Fortunately, the rajah's horse was picketed near at hand.  Reginald
advised him to mount, and offered to try and rally the fugitives.  He
and Dick threw themselves on their horses; but he shouted in vain to the
horsemen to wheel round and attack the foe.  He could dimly distinguish
the forms of the combatants in the valley below, where it was evident
that a desperate struggle was going on.  Reginald now called Faithful to
his side to assist him in case of emergency.  Though she seemed very
unwilling to quit her victim, she obeyed him, and came bounding along,
still carrying in her jaws the body of the khan.  She dropped it,
however, at his command, and trotted on in her usual place by his side.
By this time some twenty or thirty troopers had collected around their
chief; but the rest, as soon as they could find their steeds and mount,
galloped off up the valley.  Reginald, burning with indignation at the
cowardly way in which the troops had deserted the rajah, offered to lead
the small body which remained, feeling confident that by charging
suddenly into the midst of the mountaineers he could put them to flight.

"They will believe, as they see us coming, that the rest of the cavalry
are following, and will not dare to stand the charge," he exclaimed.

The rajah, however, hesitated.  "It would be useless," he answered.  "At
the return of day they would discover our scanty forces and hem us in.
The only chance we have to save our lives is to retreat; and we can
return again before long and avenge our defeat."

Reginald did his best to restrain his feelings, but he was confident
that, had his plan been followed, it would have been successful.  While
they were yet speaking, a sepoy without his musket came rushing up the
hill, shouting out--

"All have been cut to pieces!"

Two or three others were behind him, hotly pursued by a band of the
mountaineers, who were quickly upon them, when they were cut down
without mercy.

Without attempting to rescue the poor fellow who first escaped, the
rajah wheeled round his horse, and ordering his troopers to follow,
galloped off along the side of the hill in the direction the rest of the
cavalry had taken.  The ground, however, was rough in the extreme, and
in the darkness of night they could with difficulty guide their horses
amid the rocks.  Reginald, though feeling no small amount of indignation
at the cowardly conduct of the troops, saw that at present it would be
useless to urge the rajah to turn and attack the enemy.  He hoped,
however, that they should soon overtake the rest of the cavalry, who
would probably, he thought, halt when they found that they were not
pursued, and, it might be, feeling ashamed of their cowardice, return to
ascertain what had become of their chief.

Just as the grey light of morning began to penetrate the valley,
Reginald, who was riding by the side of the rajah, caught sight of the
rear of the fugitives at some distance ahead.  The cowardly troopers
were soon overtaken, for their horses were blown from their rapid gallop
over the rough and hilly ground.

The rajah, concealing his rage, inquired why they had deserted him.

"We believed that you and all who remained behind were destroyed, and
that our only chance of saving our lives and revenging your death was to
fly," answered several officers whom the rajah addressed, speaking all
together that they might support each other.

The rajah well knew that their object in going off was to leave him and
his faithful guards to be cut to pieces; but still concealing his real
feelings, he observed with perfect calmness--

"You might have ascertained the fact before deserting me; but now you
see that I have escaped, we will go back and punish the rebels.  The
brave sepoys have undoubtedly been destroyed to a man; but that should
make us still more eager to avenge their death.  And what are you worth,
if you cannot do so with your carbines and sharp tulwars?  Come on,
then, at once!  We may take the foe by surprise while engaged in
plundering the dead."

The rajah's address seemed to be producing some effect.  Those who had
not joined the traitor khans flourished their swords aloft, and swore
that they would follow the rajah to death or victory; while the
mutineers, unwilling to venture through the defiles alone, saw that
their wisest course was to assume a willingness to obey, and wait for
another opportunity of escaping.  The horses of all the party were,
however, too much fatigued to attempt moving without some rest and food,
while they themselves were also in want of refreshment.  A stream near
at hand enabled them to obtain water, while each trooper carried
provisions for himself and horse.  They accordingly dismounted, and
having watered their horses at the stream, sat down on the ground to
discuss their rice and ghee,--the rajah and his chief officers partaking
of the same simple fare as the men.  They were thus employed--some lying
at their length on the sward, others sitting cross-legged, others
warming their food over numerous little fires which they had kindled
from the dried branches cut from the brushwood around, the horses
picketed on the spots where grass was most abundant--when Reginald, who
was endeavouring to swallow the unpalatable mess presented to him by the
rajah, caught sight of a figure on one of the neighbouring heights.  It
was but for a moment, as the man again concealed himself behind a rock.
He mentioned the circumstance to the rajah, but that personage seemed to
think he must have been mistaken.

"I strongly advise, however, that the men should be ordered to mount
forthwith," said Reginald.  "Should the mountaineers have followed our
track, they may be in our midst before the men have time to stand to
their arms or reach their horses; and we may be cut to pieces as the
infantry have been."

But the rajah was still unconvinced.  "Let the men finish their meal,"
he said; "and then, if the rebels come on, we will treat them as they
have treated our foot-soldiers."

A few minutes more passed by, during which Reginald had been watching
the heights, feeling certain that he had not been mistaken.  Suddenly he
exclaimed, "See, Rajah!--I warned you."

"To horse!  To horse!" shouted the rajah, springing on his steed, which
his syce had brought him.

Reginald followed his example,--as, of course, did Dick.  He was not a
moment too soon, for, the instant he had spoken, from behind every bush,
tree, and rock on the surrounding heights appeared the dark forms of a
host of warriors.  Showers of arrows now began to fly into the midst of
the camp; while through the ravine which led directly down towards the
plateau on which they had halted came a compact body armed with tulwars
and shields.  The troopers rushed to their steeds, mounting in hot
haste, for in another minute the furious savages would be among them.
The rajah and his guards, who gathered round him as they could throw
themselves on their horses, dashed on; while the remainder followed,
galloping helter-skelter, the officers and men mingled together, each
eager to get ahead.  Some of the horses getting loose, they were left to
the mercy of the enemy; as were also the troopers who were unable to
mount before the enemy were upon them.  Reginald, his cheek burning with
shame at the disgraceful panic which had seized his companions, galloped
on by the side of the rajah, who refused to halt and attempt to beat
back the foe, in spite of all that he could urge.  Dick and Faithful
kept close by him.  "Bless my heart!" exclaimed the former, "I don't
like this sort of fun.  Why, if we were just to turn round and bear down
on the enemy, we might scatter them like the wind!  The faster we run,
the faster they will come after us."

The flight continued; but so active were the mountaineers, that they
kept close to the heels of the fugitives, piercing many a warrior
through the back with their far-flying arrows.  Reginald mentally
resolved never again to accompany an Eastern prince in an attempt to
punish his rebellious subjects.

At length more level ground appeared ahead, and the horsemen began to
distance their pursuers.  But there were still some dangerous defiles to
be passed; and Reginald remembered that the path by which they had come
had many twists and turns, and that too probably the mountaineers would
make their way by short cuts through the hills, and again present
themselves on the inaccessible heights on either side of the passes.

The rajah and his horsemen at length of necessity pulled rein, to
breathe their panting steeds; and information having been passed along
from the rear that the enemy were no longer in pursuit, they now rode on
more leisurely, talking loudly of coming back with an overwhelming force
to annihilate the audacious rebels.  Ere long, however, Reginald's worst
apprehensions were realised.  Before them appeared a narrow valley, with
gorges running into it on either side.  The rajah, who had recovered his
presence of mind, here ordered a halt, and directed his men to see that
their saddle-girths were tight and their arms loaded.

"We must pass through yonder valley as fast as our horses' feet can
touch the ground," he exclaimed.  "Forward!"

Scarcely had he spoken, and made his horse bound onward, when the
hilltops were seen bristling with spears, and hundreds of dark warriors,
with bows and arrows or javelins in hand, appeared ready to rush down
upon the invaders of their territory.  The rajah now hesitated.
Reginald advised him to dash on at once; to remain where they were would
only encourage the foe, and the troopers with their firearms might clear
the heights, and most, if not all, of their party might escape.  But the
rajah did not follow his advice.  Then the mountaineers, instead of
wisely remaining in an impregnable position, were seen descending the
heights, believing from their previous success that they might destroy
the rajah and his whole force.  A few only remained on the summit of the
precipice.  Down came from either side a thick stream of savage
warriors, throwing themselves upon the horsemen; and again and again
they were driven back.  The old rajah showed himself brave enough now,
fighting as fiercely as any of his guard.  Reginald and Dick did their
best, too; while Faithful sprang from side to side, bringing many a
mountaineer to the ground.  Still, several horsemen had fallen; and
numbers coming on, the party were completely hemmed in, a dense mass
collected in front precluding all possibility of escape, unless a way
could be cut through them; while the troopers who fell were immediately
hacked to pieces by their enraged foes.

It was now too late for Reginald to mourn his folly in having
accompanied the old chief.  Brave as he was, he could not help believing
that he and all with him would be cut to pieces.  Still, a way might be
forced through the foe; so, shouting to those in the rear, he ordered
them to close up.  "Now, Rajah," he exclaimed, "we must let nothing stop
us.  Shout to your people to follow, and dash on!"

The word was given, but so dense was the mass in front that success
appeared hopeless.  Just then a shout was heard from several of the
troopers, "See!  See!  Our friends are coming!"  At the same moment
Reginald caught sight of a large body of horsemen, whom he at once
recognised as those who had accompanied Captain Burnett, galloping down
the ravine on the left.  From the heights above, they had apparently
observed the perilous position of their friends; and on they came like
an avalanche, at headlong speed, throwing themselves impetuously on the
mountaineers, who gave way as the surface of the ocean recedes before
the bows of a gallant ship impelled by the gale.  Before they could
regain the heights, both parties of cavalry had united and cut their way
through them, leaving, however, many of their number dead on the field.
There was no thought of pulling rein now.  Captain Burnett reported that
nearly a third of his men had separated in one of the defiles, with two
or three officers; but whether they had escaped from among the mountains
by a different route to that which he had taken, or been cut off by the
foe, he was unable to ascertain.  He hoped, however, that they had
escaped, and would before long rejoin the main body.

On galloped the horsemen, without even casting a look behind, till, as
the shades of evening were gathering amid the mountains, they caught
sight of the still sunny plain ahead.  Onward they dashed; and at
length, men and horses almost exhausted, they halted, as darkness came
on, by the side of a calm lake, where they could bivouac without fear of
being attacked by the mountaineers,--who would, they were very sure, not
venture to follow them into the plain.



CHAPTER FOUR.

DESERTION OF CHIEFS--THE CAMP REACHED--MOURNING FOR THE SLAIN--THE RAJAH
TAKES IT COOLLY--A HUNTING EXPEDITION--REGINALD'S NARROW ESCAPE--SAVED
BY FAITHFUL--BAD NEWS FROM THE CITY--THE RAJAH AND HORSEMEN SET OUT--
REPORT OF REBELLION CONFIRMED--THE RAJAH AND REGINALD ASSUME DISGUISES.

Reginald and Burnett, with Dick Thuddichum and Faithful, kept watch by
the side of the rajah, who was greatly cast down, not only at his
defeat, but on account of the dissatisfaction exhibited by so many of
his influential followers.  During the night, while the old chief was
asleep, they heard some slight stir in the camp; but as the sentinels
gave no alarm, they did not consider it necessary to go and ascertain
the cause.

Next morning, when the rajah came to muster his men, he discovered that
several of those who had been seen after they had escaped from the
mountaineer, were missing, among them being two or three chiefs of rank.
On making inquiries, he ascertained that they had moved off,--for the
purpose, as they said, or obtaining better fodder for their horses, and
provisions for themselves.

"Whatever their intention was, they went without my permission!"
exclaimed the rajah in an angry tone.  "They have gone to rob and murder
the people, as is their wont.  No wonder my subjects are ever ready to
rebel--I must get you, my friends, to assist in reforming the abuses of
my government," he continued, turning to Reginald and Burnett, "I have
written to the Company, begging them to send me a resident and a
regiment or two of sepoys, to help me to keep order among all ranks.
Let the princes and nobles grumble as they will, all those cities are
the most prosperous which are under the protection of the English."

"Your words are full of wisdom," answered Captain Burnett.  "I will,
with your permission, report the state of affairs at Allahapoor; when
the Company, I have no doubt, will attend to your wishes."

The shattered remnant of the gallant force which had marched to the
mountains was now in motion, and dashed on.  Before evening they reached
the fortified camp, where, as soon as the loss they had suffered was
made known, they were received with loud wailings and lamentations,--
wives mourning for their husbands, and children for their parents.  The
missing cavalry had not yet appeared, and Burnett began to entertain
serious apprehensions that they had been cut off.

A couple of days were spent at the camp, which was then broken up, and
the march was continued for Allahapoor.  At the end of three days they
reached an ancient palace, with a temple near it, belonging to the
rajah.  It was in a somewhat ruinous condition; but still it afforded
accommodation for him and his suite.  His attendants quickly cleaned out
some of the rooms, and fitted them up with tent-hangings and carpets,
while a foraging party was sent through the surrounding country to
collect provisions.

The rajah seemed in no hurry to return to Allahapoor, and to all the
trouble and cares of government; and Burnett suggested that things might
be getting worse at his capital.

"Oh, no!" he replied; "they are as bad as they can be; and the resident
will put them all to rights when he arrives, and save me a vast amount
of trouble.  In the meantime you may amuse yourselves with hunting.
There must be an abundance of game in the neighbourhood, as the tigers
alone, I am told, carry off at least a dozen peasants a week; and there
are deer, bears, and wild boars without number.  You will find it a
perfect huntsman's paradise."

"Not at all a paradise for the unfortunate peasants," observed Burnett.
"However, we will take advantage of your highness's permission, and try
to rid the country of some of the savage brutes."

Several elephants were immediately got ready, and a party of horsemen
ordered out to attend on Reginald and his friend.  They preferred being
together on one howdah, into which they mounted by a ladder.  The
weather was pleasant, and a breeze from the mountains gave a freshness
to the air not to be found in the lower plains.

They had gone some distance, passing through a magnificently wooded
country, when, as they approached a village which was said to have
suffered greatly by the depredations of tigers, they were met by the
chief man and two of his principal officers, who, with humble bows, gave
them welcome.  They had heard, they said, of the prowess of the two
sahibs, and begged that they would exert their skill and destroy all the
tigers which infested the neighbourhood.  Burnett was highly amused; but
promised that he and his companion would do all they could, if the
people would undertake to drive the animals towards them.  The answer
appeared to be satisfactory, and Reginald and Burnett entered the
village mounted on their elephants, and accompanied by a noisy
multitude, some on camels, others on horseback, and a number on foot,
shouting their praise, and threatening death and destruction to the
formidable man-eaters which had long been the terror of the
neighbourhood.

"We must perform wonders, to retain our reputation," said Burnett,
laughing; "though I doubt if our friends will do much to help us.  They
stand too much in awe of the tigers to venture near their lairs; and it
will only be by great good fortune that we shall fall in with any of the
brutes to kill."

As they were anxious not to be long absent from the camp, they
immediately started towards the jungle in which the tigers were said to
take refuge.

As we have more exciting matter to narrate, we must not dwell long on
the day's adventures.  The beaters had for some time been hallooing and
shouting on either side, when, just as the Englishmen's elephant was
twenty yards or so from the edge of the jungle, a huge tiger made its
appearance.  With one bound, before they had time to take aim, it fixed
its powerful claws in the creature's neck, barely missing the mahout.
The elephant, with a roar, turned round and dashed off, holding his
trunk in the air.  The tiger was now preparing to make a spring into the
howdah, when Reginald and Burnett both firing, it dropped wounded on the
ground, the elephant putting its huge foot upon it to squeeze out any
remnant of life it might retain.  Two more tigers were killed, one of
which sprang out in the same way as the first; while a third, though
wounded, stole off through the jungle.

"Tiger-shooting from the back of an elephant is but slow work, after
all," exclaimed Burnett the next morning, as they were breakfasting in
the house of the chief man of the village, where they had slept.  "I
propose that we try what we can do on foot.  The shikaree wallah we
spoke to last night seems a bold fellow, and will show us some sport.
What do you say?"

"With all my heart," answered Reginald.  "Our host has some good-looking
horses, and as he will be proud of mounting us, I would rather ride to
the jungle than have to sit on the back of a lumbering elephant."

Their host at once expressed his readiness to furnish the sportsmen with
steeds; and in a short time they set forth towards a part of the jungle
in which the shikaree assured them that numberless tigers were to be
found.

Reginald was in better spirits than he had been since the disastrous
affair with the mountaineers, and laughed and talked in his usual style
with his friend as they rode along.  Suddenly they came upon a huge
animal lying down in the shade of a wide-spreading tree.  As the
creature, disturbed by their approach, rose and faced them, it was seen
to be not less than seven feet in height at the shoulder, with a vast
head, and horns of a formidable character.  It was a gyal, a description
of wild cattle found in the hilly parts of the plains of Hindustan.  The
savage animal, shaking his head and stamping on the ground, prepared to
charge.

"I'll fire first," cried Burnett.  "If he does not fall, do you try to
hit him; and should you also fail to bring him to the ground, gallop off
on one side till you can get behind a tree to reload, while I take the
opposite direction, so as to distract his attention.  We shall thus
master him, depend on it."

As Burnett finished speaking he fired.  The dull thud as the bullet
entered the body of the gyal could be heard; but the creature,
apparently not feeling his wound, came rushing with a loud bellow at the
horsemen.  Reginald delivered his fire, as he had been advised, but
without stopping the bull; and then he and Burnett galloped off in
opposite directions.  The gyal followed the latter, making the very
ground shake as he rushed bellowing along in chase of the huntsman, whom
he might have tossed, with his steed, into the air, had he overtaken
them.  Burnett, however, was too practised a sportsman to be thus
caught, and, dodging behind the trees till he could reload, was soon
again ready to face his foe.  Reginald, meanwhile, having discovered
that the gyal was not following him, pulled up under a tree to reload.
As he was ramming down the charge, his horse started, and the next
moment a huge tiger, springing out of the jungle, fixed its jaws on the
flank of the poor steed, which it brought to the ground, providentially
failing to strike Reginald with its claws.  His first impulse was to try
and extricate himself from beneath his fallen horse, so that he might
have a chance of defending himself; but as he was endeavouring to do so,
the tiger, loosening its hold of the horse, sprang open-mouthed at him.
At that moment he heard a shot, and the next the sound of a horse's
hoofs approaching him; but though help was coming, it would have been
too late had he not, with wonderful presence of mind, rammed the butt of
his rifle down the throat of his savage assailant.  It merely served to
check the brute for an instant; still, that instant was of the greatest
value.  Though Burnett came galloping up, he was afraid of firing lest
he should hit his friend instead of the tiger; but unexpected assistance
now arrived.  A loud roar sounded through the forest, and another tiger,
springing on the neck of the one attacking Reginald, dragged it away
from him, and pinned it to the ground.  The newcomer was Faithful.
Nobly she fought for her master, and victory soon declared in her
favour.

Reginald, getting on his feet, held the horse of his friend, who, taking
a steady aim, sent a shot through the brains of Faithful's antagonist.
Reginald patted his pet on the head, and tried to make her understand
how grateful he felt to her for her timely aid; and she in return gave
him that peculiar look which, in the feline tribe, exhibits pleasure and
satisfaction.  The natives soon afterwards coming up, looked with wonder
at the tigress, and congratulated the sahibs on their victory, for
Burnett had killed the gyal as well as the tiger.

Burnett was eager to go in chase of more game; but Reginald had had
hunting enough for one day, for though he had escaped without any actual
wound, his legs were bruised from being crushed under his horse.  The
poor animal was so much injured, that its owner shot it to put it out of
its agony.  Another steed was forthwith provided for Reginald, who rode
back to the village attended by a number of the astonished inhabitants,
and accompanied by Faithful, whose opportune appearance he was at a loss
to account for.

"We must wait till we get back to camp to hear more about the matter,"
observed Reginald, patting his favourite's head.  "Dick will be very
unhappy at missing you.  He little thinks what good service you have
rendered me."

Burnett, who had remained behind, arrived towards the evening, having
shot two more tigers, thus greatly increasing the fame of the
Englishmen.

"No wonder that their countrymen are the conquerors of the world, when
these two sahibs make nothing of killing half-a-dozen man-eaters," was
the remark made on all sides.

After receiving the thanks of the villagers, who petitioned that they
would come again to shoot more of their foes, Reginald and Burnett
returned to the headquarters of the rajah.  As they arrived, they saw an
extraordinary personage standing in the hall waiting to be admitted.  He
had almost the appearance of a bronze statue, so motionless did he
stand, and his rigid features being apparently incapable of expressing
any sentiment, either of pleasure or pain.  His dress consisted of a
cloth wrapped round his waist, a scarf over his shoulder, and a turban
on his head--the upper part of his body and his legs being completely
exposed.  The man was a fakir, one of a class of religious fanatics,
who, ignorant of a God of love and mercy, believe that holiness can be
obtained by practising the most rigid self-denial and the infliction of
every variety of torture on themselves.

Burnett inquired whence he had come.

"From Allahapoor," he answered.  "Night and day I have travelled, to see
the rajah on a matter of importance.  Tell him, sahib, that it admits of
no delay, and that I must forthwith be admitted to an audience."

Burnett, believing that the fakir had really some matter of consequence
to communicate, hastened to the rajah, who desired that he should at
once be admitted.  In spite of his mean attire, the rajah received the
fakir with the same respect he would have bestowed on the proudest
noble.

"Whence do you come, and what tidings do you bring?" he asked.

"O Refuge of the World, I come from the well-beloved, the Princess of
the Universe, your grandchild the Ranee.  She sent for me, knowing that
I could be trusted, and bade me hasten to your highness with some
information she had obtained, I know not how.  My only desire was to
obey her orders.  During your absence treachery has been at work in the
city; and even now, unless some fortunate chance has prevented them,
your enemies are in possession of your palace and riches.  Khan Mukund
arrived some days ago with a party of horsemen, who spread the report
that your highness was dead, and that he intended to get himself
proclaimed rajah in your stead."

The rajah started up and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, as if
he would rush off at once to recover his possessions; then recollecting
that he was at a distance from Allahapoor, he made further inquiries of
the fakir, whose answers confirmed him in the belief that the man spoke
the truth.

"I now see why those traitors galloped off in order to reach the city
before us.  What do you advise, my friends?" he asked, turning to
Burnett and Reginald.

"That we act with judgment and caution, and we may yet win back your
city and restore you to power," answered Burnett.  "You have still a
faithful band remaining with you; and the traitors cannot possibly be
aware that you have requested the presence of an English resident, and a
regiment of sepoys.  Their arrival will of necessity disconcert the
plans of the rebels.  When it is known, the usurper will probably take
to flight, and you will quickly have your own again."

"But, in the meantime, what will the wretches have done with my family,
and my grand-daughter Nuna, and the rest of those I hold dear?"

This remark made Burnett feel very anxious, for he could not give a
satisfactory reply.  "They will scarcely venture to ill-treat the
defenceless, well knowing that vengeance will speedily overtake them,"
he answered at length.  "Besides, remember, O Rajah, that this holy man
has only told us what he fears may possibly take place.  The events he
speaks of have not actually occurred, and we may hope that something may
have prevented the expected outbreak.  If we hasten back to Allahapoor,
we may arrive in time to frustrate the plans of the conspirators.  With
the body of trusty followers you have with you, and those who still
remain faithful in the city, we shall be able to overcome your foes,
even should the rebellion have begun."

Burnett's remarks had the effect of reviving the spirits of the rajah,
and he immediately issued orders for a picked body of his cavalry to get
ready for a move that very night, a small number only being left to
guard the women and camp-followers.  Adopting Captain Burnett's advice,
he purposed pushing on towards the city as fast as their steeds could
carry them; while the rest of the party were to move forward at their
usual slow rate, beyond which it was impossible to advance.  Even the
rajah and his party could not perform more than thirty or forty miles
each day, as their horses required food and rest; and they had fully
three days' march before them.

The rajah could only talk of the vengeance he would take should the
rebels have succeeded; and he vowed that the streets of the city should
run with the blood of his foes as soon as he had succeeded in
overpowering them.  Burnett, who knew very well that he would carry out
his threats, and anxious to prevent the hideous cruelties which would be
committed, endeavoured to pacify the old chief, and reminded him that
possibly the expected resident might have arrived with the British
sepoys, whose presence would disconcert the plans of the rebels, and
probably induce them to abandon their design.

Reginald was anxious on his own account.  The services he had rendered
the rajah merited the best return which could be made, and he had had
great hopes that his wish would be complied with; but should the rajah
be hurled from power, he would be unable to grant him his request.  As
far as he could ascertain, the rajah was the only man possessed of the
important secret he wished to obtain, so that should the old chief lose
his life Reginald would be deprived of the only clue which might lead to
its elucidation.  He determined, therefore, to take the first favourable
opportunity of telling the rajah who he was, and entreating him to give
him the information that was of such vital importance to his future
interests.  Reginald had been led to believe that the rajah would be
very unwilling to enter on the subject, and he had therefore hesitated
to introduce it, till he felt more sure than he had hitherto done, of
the footing on which he stood with the old man.

For two days the party had ridden on, stopping only a sufficient time to
rest their steeds, and to recruit themselves by sleep and food.  They
had taken a different route to that by which they had come, avoiding all
populous villages, in order that information of their approach might not
be carried to the city.  One day's march only remained to be performed;
and the party bivouacked by the side of a wood, which concealed them and
the fires they lighted to cook their food from the high road, which ran
at some distance.  The rajah was sitting on his carpet near the
campfire, with Reginald and Burnett by his side, Dick Thuddichum and
Faithful being close at hand, serving as efficient guards.  The men lay
about, their horses feeding close to them; while scouts watched on the
outskirts of the camp, as if they were in an enemy's country--for it was
thought possible, should the rebels discover that the rajah was
approaching, that they would send out a strong force to attack him.
These measures were taken by the advice of Captain Burnett, who had also
recommended that they should take the unfrequented road they had
followed, so that they might have a good chance of surprising the
rebels.

The rajah showed himself sensible of the important aid he had received
from his English attendants, and on this evening he seemed more inclined
to open his heart to them than heretofore.

"Had it not been for you, my young friend, I should be even now a clod
of the earth, my body left to be devoured by the fowls of the air and
the wild beasts of the forest.  You and your faithful tigress saved me
from the daggers of my traitorous officers.  And your opportune arrival
prevented our being cut off by the mountaineers, as would otherwise have
been our fate," he added, turning to Burnett.

The two young men, in the usual Oriental phrases, expressed their
satisfaction at having rendered any service to his highness.

"And now tell me how I can reward you," exclaimed the rajah.  "Only let
me know; though, alas!  Should I lose my power, how can I fulfil any
promises?"

Reginald saw that now the favourable opportunity he had wished for, of
speaking to the rajah of himself, had arrived.

"Your highness can render me a greater service than you may suppose," he
said, speaking slowly, for he knew that he was treading on delicate
ground.  "My friend and I are not the first Englishmen who have resided
at your court.  There was one who served you faithfully, and whose sword
preserved your life when surrounded by foes in battle; but traitors, who
were jealous of the favour you bestowed on him, conspired to take his
life; and they would have succeeded, had he not, leaving all he held
dear, together with his worldly wealth, and undergoing great hardships,
been successful in making his way to Calcutta with his young son.  When
there, important information he received compelled him to return to his
native land.  Once more he came back to India, with his son, intending
at all hazards to revisit you; but the trials he had gone through had
shattered his health, and when just about to set out on his journey he
died, leaving to his only son the duty of vindicating his fair fame, and
regaining the property of which he had been deprived."

"Who told you all this?" exclaimed the rajah in an agitated voice.
"Where is the son of whom you speak?  I would greatly rejoice to see the
boy.  I would not only restore him his father's property, but raise him
to a rank next to myself in my government."

Just at that moment an officer hurried up to the rajah, and after making
the usual salutation, informed him that the scouts had fallen in with a
messenger from the city who was on his way to try and find their party.
"The information he has to give will not allow of an instant's delay, he
says," added the officer.

The rajah ordered that the man should be immediately admitted to his
presence.

"What news do you bring?  Speak at once," exclaimed the rajah.

"Unhappy I am to bring it, for it is bad news," answered the man.  "The
whole city is in a tumult.  Mukund Bhim has been proclaimed rajah, and
already more than half the people have sided with him; still there are
some who remain faithful, and if your highness were to appear among them
at once, the rebellion might be quelled, and your power restored.  Your
servant ventures to advise that you should gallop on during the night,
so as to enter the city by daybreak--though the distance is great, your
steeds may get over the ground in time--and by taking the rebels by
surprise you may overcome them before they can offer resistance; when
the loyal people will gather around you, and you may once more find
yourself the undisputed ruler of Allahapoor."

"Your advice sounds full of wisdom," answered the rajah.  "To horse, my
friends!  And we will not pull rein till the walls of my rebellious city
appear in sight."

The whole camp was immediately astir.  The horses, unfortunately, in
consequence of the rapid march of the two previous days, were ill able
to gallop on for thirty miles without stopping, with the prospect of
some hot fighting at the end of it.  Still, march they must at all
hazards.

Each horseman, before mounting, tightened up the girths of his saddle;
and all having fallen into their ranks, the order to move forward was
given.  A strong advance-guard led the way, with their arms ready for
instant use, as they knew that at any moment they might be attacked by
the rebels,--who, should they by any means get tidings of their
approach, would assuredly send out a numerous force against them.  The
rajah, attended by Reginald and Burnett, rode with the main body.  There
was no time for conversation, and Reginald had still to wait for the
important information he was so anxious to obtain.  A few words only
could be occasionally exchanged.  On they rode, keeping a tight rein, to
prevent their horses from stumbling.  Now and then a poor beast came
down; and the rider, if he escaped a broken limb, had to make his way on
foot, with the risk of either being set upon by a tiger, or murdered by
the villagers whose property he and his comrades had plundered.  The
rajah hoped that he should either be able to force the gates, or that
the guards would open them at his summons, and that he might thus be
able to catch Mukund Bhim and the rest of the rebel chiefs while they
were still locked in slumber.

They were now rapidly approaching the city.  Already, in the far
distance, the outlines of the domes and minarets of the temples and
mosques could be seen defined against the clear sky.  No rebels had
appeared to dispute their progress, and the rajah began to hope that the
rebellion had not yet fully broken out, and that he might still have
time to crush it.  He and the main body moving on, came up with the
advance-guard, which had halted.  The rajah inquired the cause.  The
officer in command answered that they had met a person who had brought
tidings from the city.  "Let me hear his report," said the rajah; and a
man, looking more like a wild beast than a human being, advanced from
among the horsemen.  He was a byraghee, or religious mendicant.  His
body was naked, with the exception of a narrow piece of cloth passed
between the legs, and fastened before and behind to a string tied round
the waist.  His hair was long and matted, its bulk increased by plaits
of other hair mixed with it.  His body was smeared with the ashes of
cowdung, giving it a most unearthly hue; while his inflamed and bleared
eyes could scarcely be perceived amidst the mass of dirt which clung
around them.  Anything less human could scarcely be imagined than the
appearance of the miserable being.

"What tidings do you bring from the city?" asked the rajah anxiously.

"Bad--very bad, O Refuge of the World," answered the mendicant.  "Last
night, ere I passed through the gates, I saw your foes shouting forth
the name of Mukund Bhim, their new rajah.  It was reported that you had
perished, and all your followers had been slain amid the mountains; and
no one I met discredited the tale.  Thus your friends are disheartened;
but if you were to appear among them, to show that you are still alive,
they would regain their courage and fight bravely in your cause."

"But how to get among them, is the difficulty," observed the rajah.
"Tell me, byraghee, are the gates closed?"

"Not only closed, but strongly guarded," answered the mendicant.  "It
would be vain to attempt to force them; your only way of entering will
be in disguise.  I passed, encamped at a short distance from the gates,
a caravan of merchants with their camels, who had arrived too late to
find admittance last night.  If your highness would condescend to
disguise yourself as one of them, they would consent to your entering
among them,--trusting to your generosity for the reward you would bestow
should you succeed."

The rajah, after considering the matter, agreed to the proposal of the
byraghee.  He then invited Reginald to accompany him, while he begged
Burnett to take the command of the horsemen, and to remain concealed in
the wood in which they were drawn up till he could send word to them
that a favourable opportunity had arrived for making a dash into the
city.  "The risk, I know, is great," he added; "but I am ready to hazard
my own life for the sake of recovering what I have lost."

"The commands of your highness shall be obeyed," said Burnett; "and may
you and my young friend be preserved in your undertaking!  Unless
treachery is at work,--as no one will suspect that you are among the
merchants,--the hazard is not so great as it may appear."

All necessary arrangements being made, the rajah, accompanied by
Reginald, proceeded on foot to the merchants' camp; while Faithful,
whose appearance might have betrayed them, remained behind in the care
of Dick Thuddichum.

To the rajah's satisfaction, he found that the merchant to whom the
caravan belonged was a Parsee with whom he had formerly had satisfactory
dealings, and who might be thoroughly trusted.  The required dress was
produced--the rajah's rich costume being packed up among the bales--and
he appeared in the guise of one of the merchant's clerks; while Reginald
assumed the costume and arms of a common sowar employed in guarding the
merchandise.



CHAPTER FIVE.

THE CARAVAN ENTERS THE CITY--REGINALD MEETS THE BYRAGHEE--SENDS A
MESSAGE TO BURNETT--THE RAJAH AND REGINALD FIND THE GUARDS MURDERED AT
THE PALACE, AND NUNA CARRIED OFF--REGINALD PRESERVES THE LIFE OF A
WOUNDED SEPOY--HE AND THE RAJAH TAKE REFUGE IN THE HOUSE OF A CHRISTIAN
NATIVE--ESCAPE FROM THE CITY--PURSUED--VICTORY--THE RAJAH ENTERS THE
CITY IN TRIUMPH--NO TIDINGS OF NUNA--REGINALD MAKES AN IMPORTANT
DISCOVERY.

Immediately on the appearance of the first streaks of daylight in the
sky, the merchant, Hurdeo Buksh, aroused the caravan, which, as soon as
the camels were loaded, moved forward to the gate of the city.  As he
was well known, he had no difficulty in gaining admittance, and they
were soon threading the narrow lanes which led to the chief bazaar.  The
rajah, seated on a camel, with a hood over his head which completely
concealed his features, rode next to the merchant; while Reginald,
assuming a jaunty air, and armed with a spear and shield, marched by his
side.  They soon reached the bazaar, where they saw a crowd assembled,
reading a huge placard announcing that Mukund Bhim, in consequence of
the death of the old rajah, had assumed the reins of government, and
ordering all the people, under pain of death and confiscation of their
property, to obey his edicts.  The crowd impeding the progress of the
caravan, the rajah as well as Reginald had time to read the whole of the
placard, which also went on to announce the various persons who had been
appointed to offices under the new rajah.  Among others appeared that of
Khan Cochut, as also of several of the chiefs who had deserted Meer Ali
Singh among the mountains.  "The villains," muttered the rajah, "I will
punish their treachery; as for that rascally Cochut, his head shall part
company from his body before many days are over."

But people continued eagerly to press forward to read the placard,--
traders in long coats and turbans, sowars with shields and spears, women
and children,--people in every costume, and people in no costume at all
except the dirty cloths around their loins or over their shoulders, and
the ever-present turban on their heads.  Reginald, knowing the agitation
into which the announcement would throw the rajah, was afraid that he
would betray himself, so, swaggering on according to the character he
had assumed, he forced the crowd to make way for the caravan; which at
length got clear, and was able to proceed onward to the house which the
merchant was wont to occupy during his stay in Allahapoor.

So far the adventure had been successful, and the rajah took up his
lodgings in a room where he was not likely to be discovered.  The
difficulty, however, was to gain information.  The next morning Hurdeo
Buksh was obliged to appear in public to make arrangements for the sale
of his goods, and was afraid of exciting suspicion should he be seen
visiting the rajah's hiding-place.  Reginald was willing enough to try
and pick up information, but the rajah charged him on no account to do
so: his manners and mode of speaking would be sure to betray him.  The
rajah had ordered his own dress to be brought to him, and he now put it
on, telling Reginald that he had come to the resolution of visiting his
palace as soon as darkness would allow of his passing through the
streets unobserved, and appealing to the loyalty of his guards,--who
would, he supposed, be found at their old quarters, the usurper, Mukund
Bhim, he had learned from the byraghee, still residing at his own
palace.

Reginald thought the attempt a hazardous one, but yet, as it was the
only scheme likely to succeed, he consented.  After the rajah had told
him this, he was sauntering about in the gateway of the house, imitating
the manners of a sowar, when he caught sight of the mendicant slowly
approaching, asking alms of all he met.  The man's little bleared eyes
twinkled as he came up to Reginald, whom he appeared at once to
recognise.

"You can be trusted, I see," said Reginald.  "You will receive a
handsome reward if you faithfully perform the service I require of you."

"Say what it is, sahib, and you shall be obeyed," responded the
byraghee.

"To hasten forthwith to the spot where our friends lie concealed, and to
direct them, as soon as the shades of evening appear, to push forward at
hot speed towards the northern gate, which they may reach before they
are challenged.  Should they succeed in passing through, they are to
gallop on to the palace, where they will find the rajah and such friends
as he may be able to rally round him.  If they fail in the attempt, they
are to retire till they hear from his highness or me."  Reginald, as he
spoke, put a piece of money into the mendicant's hand, to deceive any
who might have observed them speaking together.

"You shall be obeyed, sahib," said the mendicant, moving on, and
continuing as before to beg of all he met.  Instead of going in the
direction he had been following, however, he contrived to turn round;
and Reginald saw him making his way in the direction of the northern
gate, as if bent on carrying out the orders he had received.

"So far our scheme prospers," thought Reginald; "but I wish that I had
the means of ascertaining where the rajah's grand-daughter has taken
refuge.  Should the traitor Mukund Bhim have got her into his power, he
would have as little scruple in putting her to death as he would in
killing any of the rajah's sons.  Poor young creature!  I don't like to
increase the old man's anxieties by alluding to her, but he must tremble
at the thought of what may have become of her."

Notwithstanding the rajah's caution to Reginald, he could scarcely
refrain from going out and mixing with the crowd, to obtain information
of what was going on.  Prudence, however, restrained him.  He walked up
and down impatiently at his post, in the hope of seeing some one among
them who had frequented the court, and who he thought might be trusted;
but of the thousands who continued to hurry by he did not recognise a
single person.  He forgot that all the time he was running a great risk
of being recognised himself; for although he had done his utmost, aided
by the worthy merchant, to change his appearance, he might easily have
been detected by any one who had before known him.

Thus the hours passed slowly away, and at length the shades of evening
began to steal over the city.  On going up into the rajah's room,
Reginald found him habited in his usual costume, with a large robe ready
to throw over his shoulders, which, with the aid of the darkness of
night, would conceal his figure from those he might meet.  His scimitar
was by his side, and a brace of pistols in his belt.

"The time for action has arrived," he said in a firm voice.  "We will go
forth, my young friend, and succeed, or perish in the attempt.  Our
first care, as soon as we have gathered my faithful guards about us,
must be to secure the safety of my grandchild, Nuna; and we may then,
should we be attacked, defend the palace till the arrival of your
English friend with my brave horsemen.  Come, we will set out.  I do not
fear discovery, as no one will suppose that I am in the city; and people
will take me for a foreign merchant on his way to transact business with
some khan or other wealthy person."

"Should any one venture to interfere with you, I shall be ready to
sacrifice my life in your defence," answered Reginald.

"I fully confide in you, my brave young friend," exclaimed the rajah;
"and I would rather have you by my side than a hundred of my native
sowars."

They then set out, Reginald having ascertained that no one was near.  As
they left the gates of the house the rajah walked rapidly along,
concealing his face in his robe, while Reginald swaggered on by his side
with a martial strut assumed generally by the sowars.  A large number of
people were still abroad; and as they passed on they caught some of the
expressions which were being uttered.  It was very evident that a
rebellion had taken place, and that the star of Mukund Bhim was in the
ascendency.

At length, as they approached the palace, the crowd grew thinner.  When
they got close to it no one was seen standing about the gates,--the
usual guards wore not there,--nor were they challenged as they entered.
The silence which reigned everywhere was ominous.  After passing across
the outer courtyard, the rajah was about to enter the vestibule of the
hall of audience, when, drawing aside a curtain which hung across it, he
started back with an exclamation of horror and dismay.  The whole
passage, as well as the flight of steps leading to the upper storey, was
strewn with corpses.

"Alas, alas!  My faithful guards!  On your courage I depended to regain
my power!" exclaimed the rajah.  "You have died bravely fighting at your
posts."  Ali Singh stood for some seconds contemplating the scene with a
look of despair.  "On whom have I now to depend!" he exclaimed; "and my
child, what can have become of her!"

"Your highness has your faithful troopers and many friends who are ready
to fight for you," said Reginald, advancing.  "Some of your guard may be
still alive, and concealed in the palace; and they may be able to inform
us what has become of your grand-daughter."

Reginald's words seemed to restore the rajah's courage.  His first care
was to examine the bodies which filled the passage, in the hope that
some might be found breathing; but in all life was extinct Reginald
urged the rajah to hurry forward, in case the rebels should return
before they had time to search the palace.  They walked on through the
deserted corridors and passages, looking into the rooms as they passed,
but not a living being was to be seen.  At length, as they were passing
a room the door of which was partly ajar, a groan reached Reginald's
ear; and calling to the rajah, who was going on, he entered.  By the
light of the pale moon which streamed through a window, he discovered in
the further corner the form of a sepoy stretched on a mat.  The blood
which had flowed from several wounds on his head and body had trickled
over the ground.  The man had been apparently endeavouring to stanch
them, but had fainted before he had done so effectually.  Reginald knelt
down by his side, and did his best, by means of a handkerchief which he
tore into bandages, to stop the further flow of blood.  In a short time
the man returned to consciousness; and as his eye fell on the rajah his
countenance brightened up.

"Have the rebels been defeated?" he exclaimed.  "I thought all was
lost."

"We wish to learn from you what has happened," said Reginald.  "Numbers
of your comrades lie dead at the entrance, and the palace appears to be
deserted.  We know no more."

"All that I can tell you is that we were attacked last night by Mukund
Bhim with a large band of followers; we fought desperately to defend our
post, till numbers fell killed or wounded, when the rest were carried
off as prisoners.  I then, in spite of my wounds, managed to escape, the
rebels having left me for dead.  They had begun to pillage the palace,
when they were summoned away to defeat an attempt of the loyal
inhabitants to keep possession of the city till the return of the rajah,
the report of whose death they refused to credit."

"And can you give me no account of my child, the Ranee Nuna?" asked the
rajah.  "Have the rebels carried her off, or is she still in the
palace?"

"I know not, O Rajah," answered the wounded man.  "While I lay here,
expecting every instant to be put to death, I heard the tramp of feet
through the passages, and cries and shrieks from female voices."

"The villainous traitors have deprived me, then, of my child," exclaimed
the rajah.  "Come, my friend, we must ascertain the worst," he said,
addressing Reginald.  "You must not waste any more time on this man: if
it is his fate to live, he will live; if not, he will have the
satisfaction of dying in my cause."

Reginald, although as anxious as the rajah to ascertain what had
happened, was unwilling to leave the brave sepoy, who was still in much
need of aid; but the rajah's impatience would brook no delay, so telling
the poor man that he would return as soon as possible, Reginald followed
the rajah, who was hurrying from the room.

They made their way towards the women's apartments, observing on either
side signs of the fearful struggle which had taken place, though it was
still evident that the rajah's own guard had remained faithful.  The
doors of the women's apartments were open--those sacred chambers into
which, hitherto, no man had dared to enter.  Female ornaments and
dresses were strewn on the ground, articles of all sorts were broken,
and the marks of violence were visible even on the walls.  The worst
anticipations of the rajah were realised: Nuna had undoubtedly been
carried off by the rebels.  Reginald had difficulty in quieting the old
man's agitation.  He seemed incapable of deciding what course to pursue.
Reginald himself felt deeply grieved at the loss of the young girl,
whose possession, he foresaw, would add greatly to the power of the
rebels, as, even should they be ultimately defeated, it would enable
them to treat on favourable terms with the rajah; and he endeavoured in
vain to tranquillise the mind of the old man, by reminding him that it
would be to the interest of Mukund Bhim to behave courteously to her.

As it would be dangerous to remain long in the palace, to which the
rebels might at any moment return, Reginald endeavoured to persuade the
rajah to go back to the merchant's house, where he might remain till the
arrival of their friends, should the mendicant have succeeded in
reaching them, and should they be able to enter the city.  No other
course seemed practicable, unless, abandoning all effort to recover his
power, the rajah should resume his disguise and attempt to make his
escape from the city.  Reginald suggested this course, and offered to
protect him with his life; the rajah, however, would not hear of it.

Darkness had now set in, and, wrapped in his mantle, the rajah could
walk abroad without hazard of being recognised.  They first, however,
made a circuit of the whole palace; but not a human being was found
alive.  Before quitting it altogether, Reginald hurried back to the
wounded sepoy, whom he was unwilling to leave to perish, as he
undoubtedly would if deserted.  The man had somewhat recovered his
strength, and thought that, with Reginald's assistance, he might be able
to walk a short distance.

"You need not do that," said Reginald; "your weight is not great, and I
will carry you on my shoulders."

"No, no, sahib," said the sepoy, who had from the first recognised
Reginald in spite of his disguise; "should we encounter any of the
rajah's enemies, they would kill you as well as me; but if you will take
me to the stables--should the rebels not have carried off the horses, I
might contrive to sit one, and either make my escape out of the city, or
reach the house of some friends near this who will give me shelter."

"I will gladly carry you to the stables," said Reginald; and it at once
occurred to him that if he and the rajah could obtain steeds for
themselves they might make a dash through the gates, or, should their
friends arrive, they would be able to join them and encounter Mukund
Bhim and his followers, who were certain not to be far off.  Taking the
wounded man up on his shoulder, therefore, he staggered with him along
the passages, and down the steps in the rear of the palace which led to
the courtyard, in the further part of which the stables were situated.
The rajah went ahead with his sword drawn, thinking it probable that
plunderers might be lurking about; but no one was met with.  The whole
palace, for some unaccountable reason, was entirely deserted.  The sepoy
had expressed a hope that the horses had been left in the stables, or
Reginald would not have expected to find any there.  It seemed more
probable that the rebels would have carried them off.  Should such be
found to be the case, he scarcely knew what he should do with the
wounded sepoy.  It was with no little difficulty that he managed to
convey him even the comparatively short distance he had gone, and he
felt that it would be impossible to carry him beyond the palace to the
house of the friends he spoke of; he should therefore be compelled to
leave him in the stables, where he might die of starvation, unless
discovered by any compassionate person who could bring him food.

The man seemed to divine his thoughts.  "Care not for me, sahib," he
whispered in a low voice, that the rajah might not hear.  "The One, I
trust, whom you worship, will preserve me.  Inquire for the house of
Dhunna Singh; tell him where you have left Wuzeer Singh, and he will
find the means of coming to my assistance.  You may trust him, for he is
one who worships the true God, and, if you require aid, will risk his
life in your service."

Reginald, greatly surprised at the way in which the man spoke, for he
had supposed him to be an ordinary sepoy, promised to follow his
directions.  But on reaching the stables they found that, though most of
the horses had been carried off, four or five had been left in the
further wing of the building.  Their harness was hung up on the walls,
and the rajah and Reginald, well accustomed to the task, quickly saddled
and bridled three of the best.

"You seem to take great interest in my follower," said the rajah,
observing the assistance Reginald was affording the wounded man.

"He has fought bravely for your highness, and is wounded and suffering,"
answered Reginald.  "I am simply doing my duty."

"May you be rewarded for your charity," answered the rajah.  "And now
let us mount and sally forth into the streets.  The gates will be closed
ere long, and should my followers not have entered the city, my only
safe course will be to try and join them, and wait for a favourable
opportunity of regaining what I have lost."

Reginald having assisted the rajah to mount, next helped Wuzeer Singh to
get on horseback, though it was with difficulty the poor man could keep
his seat; he himself then vaulted into the saddle, and the rajah, with
the mantle which had before served to disguise him over his head, rode
forth from the palace, followed closely by Reginald and the sepoy.  The
darkness which now reigned over the city favoured their proceedings.  At
the same time, it was but too likely that the gates would be closed; and
if so, their friends would be prevented from entering.  Already the
streets were deserted, and no one appeared from whom, directly or
indirectly, they could obtain information.  The more peaceable
inhabitants had, it was clear, wisely retired to their houses; while the
fighting-men and rabble were evidently collected in a distant part of
the city, bent on some mischief or other.

Reginald kept close alongside Wuzeer Singh, to assist him in sitting his
horse, for so great was his weakness that every moment it appeared that
he would fall off.

The soldier expressed his thankfulness.  "If the sahib will but take my
advice," he added, "he will persuade the rajah to come to the house of
Dhunna Singh, who will protect him at all hazards.  He has a stable in
which the horses can be put up, and an upper room where his highness can
remain concealed without risk of discovery when day returns.  Dhunna
Singh may be able also to inform him of what has happened, and he can
act accordingly."

Reginald thought the advice so good that he at once suggested the plan
to the rajah, who agreed to it after some hesitation.  They at once,
therefore, turned their horses along a street Wuzeer Singh pointed out.
The few people who passed them probably took the rajah to be some
merchant returning home attended by his guards, and did not stop to
examine them closely.  In a short time they arrived before the gates of
a house of the style occupied by the more wealthy class of citizens.
Here Reginald, throwing himself from his horse, assisted Wuzeer Singh to
reach the small loophole, through which he could communicate with those
within.  After a few words had been exchanged, the gates were opened and
the party entered.  A staid-looking citizen, with several younger men,
received them; and though they treated the rajah with marked respect,
they did not otherwise show that they knew who he was.  The old man only
addressed him as sahib, and begged leave to show the way into the
interior of the house; and while two of the younger men gently lifted up
Wuzeer Singh and carried him indoors, the rest led off the horses to the
stable.  The rajah was at once conducted to the upper room Wuzeer Singh
had spoken of, where his host paid him every possible attention.  Wuzeer
Singh, meantime, was gently cared for; and an ample repast was placed
before Reginald.  Their host, it appeared, was a Hindoo, who, with all
his family, had been converted to Christianity; and, desirous of
following the precepts of his faith, he was anxious to afford assistance
to those in distress.  He showed by his manner that he well knew who the
rajah was; and he must have been aware of the great risk he ran in
affording him shelter, should his concealment be discovered by Mukund
Bhim or any of his party.  Since the commencement of the disturbances he
and his sons had wisely kept to the house, and so he could only surmise,
from the reports brought by two or three people who had visited at his
house, what was taking place.  He believed, he said, that another khan
of influence residing on the other side of the city had risen, either
with the intention of supporting the rajah or of endeavouring to obtain
the power for himself.  Mukund Bhim having marched with all his forces
to attack him, a desperate fight had taken place.  The khan had been
defeated, and Mukund Bhim's followers, with the rabble of the city, had
for some hours been engaged in plundering his house and those of his
relatives,--he and all of them having been put to death.  Reginald's
anxiety regarding Nuna was in no way relieved, as his host could not
tell what had become of her.  Several elephants carrying closed howdahs,
accompanied by a strong party of armed men, had been seen leaving the
southern gate of the city; but where they had gone, he had been unable
to learn.

The first part of the night had passed quietly away, and the old rajah,
after the fatigue and excitement he had gone through, slept soundly.
Before morning, however, he awoke; and calling to Reginald, who occupied
a small room adjoining his, he expressed his wish that when it was
daylight he would go out and ascertain what was taking place.

As soon as their host was on foot, Reginald told him of the rajah's
wish.

"I will send one of my sons instead," he answered.  "He will run no
risk; while you, notwithstanding your disguise, may be easily
discovered."

The rajah consented; but some time passing by, and the young man not
returning, he grew impatient, and desired that his horse might be
prepared.

"Your highness will not surely venture to ride forth during daylight,"
said Reginald.  "You would certainly be recognised; and though many
citizens might rally round you, Mukund Bhim's party by this time must be
sufficiently strong to cut them to pieces, and you would fall into the
hands of the rebels."

"I wish to be in readiness to join our friends, who, if they come at
all, will ere long be within the city walls; and I even now fancy that I
can hear the tramp of their horses' hoofs," was the answer.  "Come, my
friend, let us be prepared to sally forth."

Reginald, though he believed that the rajah was mistaken, nevertheless
obeyed; and having mounted, they sat in the courtyard ready to sally
forth at a moment's notice.

They had not long to wait before their host's son returned with the
announcement that Mukund Bhim, with a large force, was advancing towards
that part of the city, breaking open the houses, and capturing all those
who were suspected of being favourable to the rajah.  "There is still
time to escape by the northern gate; and though there may be great risk
of falling into the hands of the rebels, it may be the safest course to
pursue," he observed.

Reginald was of the same opinion, and urged the rajah to adopt it.  By
the advice of their host, the rajah wound a common turban round his
head, the ends of which hung down so as to conceal his features; and as
there was not a moment to be lost, the gates were thrown open, and Ali
Singh, followed by Reginald, dashed out and made his way through some
narrow lanes, now entirely deserted, towards the northern gate.  As they
came in sight of it they saw a number of people--some on horseback, and
others on camels or on foot--hastening out to escape from the
barbarities of Mukund Bhim and his fierce soldiery.  They made their way
amid the frightened multitude, and had already got outside the walls
when they heard loud shouts raised behind them, when Reginald, looking
back, saw a party of horsemen issuing from the gate, and trampling under
foot or cutting down all who impeded their progress.  He at once
suspected that their flight had by some means or other been discovered,
and that the horsemen were in pursuit of them.

"We must ride for our lives," he exclaimed, telling the rajah what he
had seen.

Fortunately the road in front was tolerably open, and putting their
horses into a gallop they dashed forward.  Mukund Bhim's horsemen had by
this time discovered them, and now came on in hot pursuit.  Their
chances of escape appeared small indeed.  They were well mounted,
however, and their good steeds behaved faithfully, straining every
muscle as if aware of the importance of exerting themselves.  Their
pursuers, fully aware of the prize in view, galloped on even faster, and
were evidently gaining on them,--firing as they did so, regardless of
those they might kill or wound.  More than once Reginald turned his
head, and at length saw a further party of horsemen and numerous
elephants issuing from the gate.  His own horse kept up well, but the
rajah's at length stumbled and nearly came to the ground; and Reginald
feared that in a few minutes more they would be overtaken by their
merciless foes.  Still, there was a possibility of escaping, if they
could gain the wood which they were now fast approaching.  Just as they
reached a turn of the road, however, they saw a large party of horsemen
galloping towards them; and all hope of escape was cut off.

"We will sell our lives dearly," said the rajah.  "Let us turn round and
face our pursuers."

"No, no; gallop on," cried Reginald.  "See!  They are our friends.  They
have arrived at a happy moment, and the victory will be ours."

Throwing off his cloak, the rajah waved his sword, and was at once
recognised by his troopers, at the head of whom rode Captain Burnett.
In another instant the rajah and Reginald, wheeling round their horses,
joined their ranks, and, without pulling rein, dashed with headlong
speed at the rebels.  The first charge was terrific, horses and riders
on both sides going down; but Burnett's followers, having only just
emerged from the wood, were fresh, while their opponents, panting from
their rapid gallop, were taken at a disadvantage.  The old rajah fought
fiercely, few daring to encounter his sharp scimitar.  Onward he and his
party fought their way, till nearly every one of the advance-guard of
the foe were cut to pieces or had galloped off on either side.  At
length Reginald caught sight of Mukund Bhim, the leader of the rebels,
who, avoiding the rajah, rode forward to meet him.  Reginald, warding
off a blow aimed at his head, thrust his sword into the traitor's breast
and bore him to the ground.  The rebels, seeing their leader slain, made
but a faint resistance.  The mahouts turned their elephants off on
either side, the huge animals rushing across the country; and the
foot-soldiers fled back into the city, where many were cut down, others
escaping in the track of the elephants.  The victory was complete; and
the rajah, at the head of his horsemen, re-entered the city in triumph.

The rajah's power was speedily re-established, those who might have been
inclined to side with the rebel Mukund Bhim at once returning to their
allegiance, and being the loudest in proclaiming their satisfaction at
the rajah's success.  His first proceeding was to institute inquiries
for his grand-daughter, the young Ranee Nuna, who had so mysteriously
disappeared; but no one could give him any information.  Emissaries were
despatched in all directions to endeavour to discover where she had been
concealed; and the rajah proved the love he bore her by the anxiety he
exhibited.  Several of his chief officers and many other persons had
disappeared; and as they did not make their appearance, it was naturally
supposed that they had either been put to death by Mukund Bhim, or,
through having joined him, were afraid of returning.  Among the missing
ones was Khan Cochut.  A search was made for him high and low throughout
the palace, but his dead body was not to be found, nor were there any
traces of him to be discovered.  The rooms he usually occupied had been
stripped of everything of value, and Reginald, who had no great
confidence in the ex-barber, could not help suspecting that he had made
his escape from the city with all the wealth he could collect, and would
probably next be heard of at Calcutta.

The rajah had vowed to take vengeance on all who had sided with the
rebels, and his officers were now visiting every part of the city in
search of suspected persons.  Many hundreds were captured, and the
streets of the city, according to Indian custom, would soon have been
running with blood, had not Reginald and Burnett entreated the rajah to
show clemency towards his foes.  They pointed out to him that it was far
more noble to save life than to take it; that the people were his
subjects, whom he was bound to protect; and that the larger number had
joined Mukund Bhim under the idea that he himself was dead.  As he
acknowledged that Reginald had been the means of saving his life, and
that Burnett had also rendered him essential service, he was willing to
listen to their counsel,--though nothing would induce him to spare the
lives of the treacherous chiefs, several of whom were captured, and
compelled to pay the penalty of their crimes with their heads.

Tranquillity was now apparently perfectly restored in the city; but it
was reported that in the country large parties of the rebels were still
in arms, wandering about in various directions, and plundering the
defenceless.  A near relative of Mukund Bhim was said to be at their
head, but his whereabouts could not be discovered.  Whether or not all
the reports were true, they proved the disorganised state of the
country, and made Reginald and Burnett wish heartily for the arrival of
the expected resident and the British troops.

Still no information had been received regarding the Ranee Nuna, and the
rajah continued plunged in the greatest grief and anxiety about her.
Both Burnett and Reginald shared his feelings, and offered to set off in
search of her.  Burnett was most anxious to go.  He had been struck by
her beauty and captivated by her manner, so unlike that of Oriental
females, and all the romance of his ardent nature had been aroused,
though he might possibly not have been actually in love with her.  They
at length offered to go in company, but of this the rajah would not
hear.  "I must have one of you remain with me, as I need your counsel
and assistance, seeing I have no friend in whom I can trust," he
answered; "but if tidings do not arrive to-morrow, I will give
permission to one or the other to set out.  I am grateful to you both,
but the one I appoint must abide by my decision."

Reginald and Burnett of course expressed themselves ready to obey the
rajah, and they were too firm friends to feel jealous of each other.

Reginald had not forgotten the wounded sepoy whose life he had been the
means of saving, and the first time he could leave the palace he made
his way to the house of Dhunna Singh, who had afforded him shelter.  He
received a warm welcome from the good man; and he was glad to find that
Wuzeer Singh was already in a fair way of recovery from the wounds he
had received.  The man was most grateful to him for saving his life.

"May the God we both worship preserve you, sahib," he said; "and
thankful shall I be, if I can ever have the means of showing my
gratitude to you."

Reginald had a good deal of conversation with him, and learned that he
had been converted to Christianity by Protestant missionaries at some
place where he had been stationed.  He had, however, obtained his
discharge, and had taken service with the rajah, for the sake of being
near his Christian friend Dhunna Singh.  He was evidently a most
intelligent man, and all his spare moments were devoted to the study of
the Scriptures and such other works as he could obtain to enlarge his
mind.  His great delight was to join his friends where, with closed
doors, they could worship God in freedom.  They none of them neglected
the duty of endeavouring to spread the gospel among their countrymen,
though they did so with the necessary caution, and had hitherto escaped
the persecution to which they would have been subjected had their object
been discovered by the priests.

Reginald promised to pay them another visit; and he confessed to Burnett
that he had learned many important truths from these men, whom, had he
met casually, he should have looked upon as ignorant heathens.  He was
also much struck by their firm confidence in the goodness and love of
God to fallen man, and the desire of that Great Being to reconcile
sinners to himself by the all-sufficient and complete atonement wrought
out by his well-beloved Son on Calvary.

"Ah, sahib," exclaimed Wuzeer Singh, "how merciful God is to demand from
us a simple, loving faith alone as the condition on which we are saved.
Were he to insist on our good works and pure and holy lives, who could
ever hope to merit heaven?  For sinners we were, and sinners we remain;
but, praised be his name, `the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all
sin.'"

Such was the faith of these men, and it supported them, isolated as they
were in the midst of a heathen population, who would have torn them to
pieces had they suspected the creed they held.

On Reginald's return to the palace, he found the rajah alone.  He had
anxiously wished for an opportunity of renewing the conversation so
suddenly broken off, and of obtaining information regarding his father's
property, and the important documents which he supposed the rajah had in
his possession.  He again tried to get him to lead to the subject; but
finding this in vain, he remarked, "Your highness appeared anxious some
time ago to know what had become of the son of the Englishman who was
once in your service, and who had the happiness of saving your life in
battle."

"You speak of Rinaldo Khan," said the rajah, fixing his eye on Reginald.

"That was the name by which my father was known," was the answer; "for I
am the boy whose fate you desired to learn."

"You the son of Rinaldo Khan!" exclaimed the rajah.  "Come nearer, my
son, and let me see your features.  Yes, yes, I believe you; these are
the lineaments of my beloved daughter.  Did your father ever tell you
who was your mother?"

"I know only that she was a native lady of high rank, and that it cost
my father much pain to be compelled to leave her."

"Did he tell you that you were his only child?" inquired the rajah,
still keeping his gaze fixed on Reginald's countenance.  "But why do I
ask?  Your sister Nuna was born after he, as you say, was compelled to
fly from the country in order to save his life.  The English in those
days had not the power they now possess, or he would have quickly
returned and taken vengeance on the traitors who deprived me of his
services; for a truer and a better friend I have never possessed."

"I feel almost overwhelmed at what your highness has told me," exclaimed
Reginald.  "Am I then your daughter's son, and the brother of the Ranee
Nuna?"

"You are truly, I believe, my grandson.  My heart felt drawn towards you
from the first; and as I am now childless, I would desire to place you
in the position your father would have enjoyed had he remained with me."

Reginald could scarcely speak for astonishment.  He had expected to gain
important information from the rajah, but what he now heard was of a
totally different character to that which he was seeking.  Though his
mother was an Oriental, his heart was English, and he had no wish to
spend his days in India, however high the rank he might enjoy.

The extraordinary information he had received made him still more
anxious to recover Nuna, who, if she was really his sister, had a right
to claim all the assistance he could afford her; and he at once,
therefore, begged the rajah to allow him to set forth on his expedition
without delay.  Before going, however, it was of the greatest importance
to know what had become of the documents which the rajah was supposed to
possess.

He had learned from his father that his mother was a Christian, but he
found a difficulty in reconciling this with the communication the rajah
had just made him.  He was afraid, however, of putting the question
abruptly.  "Your highness tells me that my mother was your daughter," he
said at length.  "I have long earnestly wished to know more about her
than my father told me.  I was young when he died, and though his words
were fixed on my memory, I might not probably have comprehended the
meaning of all he said."

"My daughter was one of those beings who are seldom found on earth,"
answered the rajah; "and so was she who gave her birth.  Her mother was
fair as the houris in Paradise; the daughter of an English officer sent
here on a mission by that great man Lord Clive.  Her parents died, and
she was left under the protection of my father.  I saw and loved her,
and she consented to become my wife; but nothing would induce her to
change the faith she held.  I respected her opinions, the more so as
they made her that which I esteem most excellent; and she taught me to
regard women in a very different light to that in which I had formerly
held them.  Her only child she brought up in the same faith; and when
that child--your mother--grew to womanhood, she was married to your
father, according to the rites of your religion, by an English minister,
who was travelling through the country."

"That fact my father impressed on me; and, as far as my interests are
concerned, much depends on it," said Reginald, who had been listening
eagerly to the account the rajah had been giving him.  "There were
certain papers signed on the occasion, which, with other documents, my
father left behind in the country, and which to me are of the greatest
importance.  Has your highness possession of them, or can you inform me
where they are to be found?"

"Papers!  Documents!  Of what do you speak?  I remember that some time
back Khan Cochut, in whom I then placed unlimited confidence, at my
order examined into the state of my treasures, and found some papers
which I was unable to decipher.  He informed me that they were of no
value; but I directed him to allow them to remain in the casket in which
they were placed.  Some time afterwards, on visiting my treasury with
the intention of placing the documents in the hands of some person
understanding English, to be certain that Khan Cochut had not deceived
me, I found that the casket had disappeared.  Cochut protested that he
knew nothing about the casket, and pretended to make diligent search
after it."

"If they were the papers which my father directed me to recover, they
are, as I before told your highness, of the very greatest consequence,
and I entreat you to assist me in recovering them."

While Reginald was engaged in this exciting conversation with his
supposed grandfather, an attendant entered the room, announcing that an
officer who had just arrived, bringing important information, requested
an audience immediately; and Reginald was compelled to wait till he
could again speak in private to the rajah.



CHAPTER SIX.

REGINALDS'S EXPEDITION IN SEARCH OF NUNA--BURNETT SETS OFF FOR THE SAME
PURPOSE--ADVENTURES IN A TEMPLE--DISAPPEARANCE OF FAITHFUL--THE
BRAHMIN'S TREACHERY--BUXSOO GAINS IMPORTANT INFORMATION--PLANS FOR
LIBERATING NUNA--FAITHFUL ESCAPES FROM HER PRISON, AND TURNS THE TABLES
ON THE TRAITORS.

The important information which had arrived was to the effect that the
expected English resident, with two regiments of sepoys and a company of
English troops, was on his way to Allahapoor, and would in the course of
a few days reach the city.

The preparations for their reception now gave ample occupation to the
rajah and his nobles.

As soon as Reginald had an opportunity, he told Burnett of the
unexpected information the rajah had communicated regarding his birth.

"I have no reason to doubt it, yet it seems so strange, that I can
scarcely believe the fact that I am the grandson of the old man, and
that the beautiful girl of whom we caught a glimpse is my sister."

"I can believe it very readily," answered Burnett.  "To tell you the
truth, I fancied that I saw a likeness, and it struck me that she was
far more like a European than an Oriental; besides which, no Indian
woman of high rank would have been allowed to be present at the
introduction of strangers.  It was very evident that the rajah had
broken through the usual customs of the country when he permitted us to
see his grand-daughter.  The more I think of it, the more anxious I am
to try and recover her, as it seems strange that she should have been
spirited away without any clue to the place in which she is concealed.
You must get the rajah's leave to set off at once; and beg him to allow
us to go together.  My plan will be to scour the country with two or
three hundred horsemen; and if she is concealed, as I suspect is the
case, by some fugitive rebels, we are certain to come upon them, and
shall be able to compel them to surrender her."

"You may command the horsemen, if the rajah will give them, and I will
try a plan I have thought of.  My idea is to set out with Dick
Thuddichum and Faithful, and one native as a guide.  I have fixed upon
one of the sons of Dhunna Singh,--a fine, intelligent young fellow, who
will, as we travel through the country, pick up information from the
natives, and thus we shall be more likely to find out where Nuna is
concealed than will be any number of armed men."

Burnett confessed that Reginald's plan might be more successful than
his; but they had to wait till the next morning for the rajah to decide.

The morning came at length, and as soon as the rajah was on foot they
hurried into his presence.  He received Reginald with marked affection,
and was most gracious to Burnett.  Reginald having described his plan,
pointed out the advantages of having two expeditions; and although the
rajah continued very unwilling to let both of them go together, he at
length consented to Burnett's proposal, and issued an order for two
hundred horsemen to accompany him,--a sufficient number to overawe any
rebels who might still be in arms.

Having paid their farewells to the rajah, the friends hastened away to
make preparations; Reginald at once repairing to the house of Dhunna
Singh, to explain his intended plan.  He did not hesitate to tell him
also of the discovery which he had made, that he was the rajah's
grandson.

"Praise be to Him who governs the world that you are so, for we may then
hope to have a Christian prince to reign over us who will help the
oppressed and suffering, and will see justice done to all men," was the
answer.  "I do not so much congratulate you, khan, as I do myself and
all those beneath you, for your post will be one of difficulty and
danger.  You little think of the dark deeds often done in the palaces of
our nobles and rulers.  I would not throw a shade over your path, yet I
warn you to beware of secret as well as of open foes, for many of the
former will surround your throne and smile most blandly when they are
most actively plotting to destroy you."

"I will remember your warning, should I ever become Rajah of Allahapoor;
but I hope the day may be far distant when my grandfather shall cease to
rule the country.  But of the matter on which I came to see you: I have
to ask that one of your sons will accompany me, for I know that I can
trust them all.  Had Wuzeer Singh been sufficiently recovered, I would
have engaged his services; but as he is not yet able to travel, I must
depend on the assistance of one of them."

"They are all at your service, sahib; but I would recommend Buxsoo, my
second son, as he has travelled much about the country, and has
intelligence and ready wit."

The old man forthwith summoned the son he named, and he, without
hesitation, agreed to accompany Reginald.  He begged, however, that he
might take a faithful servant--Sambro, a black slave, who was powerful
and brave, and thoroughly to be depended on.  Reginald accepted his
offer; and in a few minutes both were ready to accompany him to the
palace, where Dick Thuddichum and Faithful were waiting for them.
Buxsoo and Sambro were there introduced to Faithful, who showed at once
that she understood she was to treat them as friends.

They waited till the shades of evening settled down over the city, that
they might take their departure without exciting observation, when they
quickly traversed the numerous deserted streets till they reached the
northern gate.  It was instantly opened on Reginald's showing an order
from the rajah.  No one recognised them, or inquired where they were
going; indeed, the inhabitants of Allahapoor were not addicted to
troubling themselves about affairs that did not concern them.

The travellers had got a mile or two from the city when the moon arose
and enabled them to continue their journey during the greater part of
the night.  There was no lack of ruins of mosques and pagodas, of forts
and once gorgeous tombs, in which they could find lodging when they
needed rest; so at length Buxsoo proposed that they should stop at a
pagoda which, though deserted by the priests, was almost entire.  To
this Reginald at once agreed, for, unaccustomed to walking such long
distances, he felt very tired.  A quantity of dried wood having been
found, Sambro, assisted by Dick, soon had a fire lighted in the
courtyard, on which they cooked their provisions--Buxsoo, having become
a Christian, had thrown aside all prejudice of caste; and Reginald
always made a practice, when on expeditions on shore, of messing with
his men.  They therefore seated themselves together around their frugal
fare, under the shelter of an arcade, with a fire burning brightly in
front of them.  Faithful had had her usual supper before starting, but
her long march had perhaps given her an appetite, and seeing her master
thus employed, she stole away, forgetful of her duty, to forage for
herself.

A curious spectacle the scene would have presented to the eye of a
native: Reginald, though in his nautical costume, looking, as he was, a
high-born gentleman; Dick had the cut of a thorough British tar; Buxsoo
could not be distinguished from an ordinary high-caste Hindoo; while
Sambro's black skin and scanty garments clearly showed the class to
which he belonged.

The repast was nearly over, when Dick looking up, his keen eyes
discovered a figure stealing along under the shadow of the arcade on the
opposite side of the court.

"Hallo!  There's an eavesdropper of some sort.  We must capture him, and
ask him what he wants," he exclaimed, starting up.

Reginald and the rest of the party followed; but when they reached the
spot where the figure had been seen no one was visible.  They hunted
about in every direction, aided by such light as the moon afforded, but
without success; and at length returned to the spot where they had left
their supper.  Buxsoo was inclined to believe that Dick had been
deceived by the shadow of a column falling against the wall.

"No, no, I tell you.  My sight never plays me false," answered Dick.  "I
set eyes on a fellow in the long petticoat sort of robes the natives
wear, as sure as I have seen salt water; and how he got away from me,
unless he darted through the wall, is more than I can tell."

"I don't think you are likely to have been deceived," said Reginald.
"But what can have become of Faithful?  Had she not gone off her post,
she would have caught the fellow."

No one had remarked when the tigress stole away, and her disappearance
was another mystery to be solved.

Fatigued with their long march, rest was absolutely necessary; they
therefore determined to sleep where they were, one at a time keeping
watch.

"Please your honour, I will keep the first watch," said Dick; "and if
you will lend me one of your pistols, I will send a bullet through the
body of the first petticoated gentleman who heaves in sight, whether he
is a ghost or not.  If so be I starts off, just be good enough to follow
me when I make chase, and we will have him in limbo before many minutes
are over."

Reginald now lay down, feeling perfectly confident that Dick would keep
wideawake; and recommending his companions to follow his example, they
were all in a few seconds fast asleep.

We must now follow Faithful, who maybe was in search of a lamb or goat
from some flocks feeding at no great distance from the temple.  She had
not left the precincts of the place when a person in the robes of a
Brahmin fearlessly approached her, and patting her head, offered her
something which he held in his hand.  She took it, and fawning on him,
followed as he led the way to a distant part of the ruin.  Here was a
high tower with some winding steps leading to the summit.  The Brahmin,
for such he was, began to ascend, the tigress still following.  When on
the summit, the stranger opened a door and proceeded along a narrow
gallery, scarcely affording room for the shoulders of the animal to
pass.  Suddenly he slipped through another small door.  The poor
tigress, missing him or the tempting bait he held, advanced stealthily,
when there came a crash, and down she fell head foremost; her betrayer
looking over the parapet, exulting in the success of his treachery.

"Aha!  I have often tried to poison you, but you were too sagacious to
be taken in," he said.  "Now I have succeeded in finishing you, your
master the young rajah will easily become my prey.  He expects to rule
this country, does he, and reform abuses and destroy our ancient
religion!  Clever as he thinks himself, he will find that he is
mistaken, and that there are those who can outwit him.  It has been
prophesied that when the Feringhees rule the land the ancient
institutions of the country will be destroyed and caste abolished.  What
will then become of us Brahmins?  We must put off that evil day, if it
is ever to arrive, as long as possible."

Thus the Brahmin Balkishen continued muttering.  He was an ally of Khan
Cochut, and had been a chief agent in the late rebellion, as, through
having been the rajah's principal secretary, he was fully informed of
all that took place at the palace.  But though an ally of the ex-barber,
he hated him cordially, both on account of his religion--or rather his
utter want of it--and the familiar and somewhat coarse way in which Khan
Cochut treated him.  He had also assisted in carrying off Nuna, and was
afraid that Reginald, though the instrumentality of Buxsoo and Sambro,
would discover her place of concealment.

Notwithstanding his boasted enlightenment, he had a superstitious dread
of the tigress, whom he fully believed to be a "familiar" of the young
Englishman, and that while she was his protectress it would be useless
to make any attempt against his life.  He had often tried to ingratiate
himself with Faithful for the purpose of destroying her; but being
unable to succeed, he bethought him of making use of a secret he
possessed, by means of which he believed that even the most savage wild
beast could be tamed.  He had ordered one of his slaves--whom he had
left in the city--to keep a watch on the Englishmen, to follow them
wherever they went, and to bring him information of their movements.
Fortune, as he thought, had favoured him more than he could have
expected, and they had actually taken shelter in the very temple in
which he was lying concealed.

Having disposed of Faithful, as he hoped, he must next attempt to get
hold of the sturdy sailor--a more difficult task, as he rightly judged.
He was afraid to proceed by force, and he trusted that stratagem would
prove more successful.  He felt an eager desire to carry his plan into
execution at once, but the watchful vigilance of Dick Thuddichum foiled
him.  He had, indeed, been nearly captured by the sailor, and saw that
he must be more prudent in future.  Little did honest Dick suppose that
a pair of keen eyes were fixed on him as he paced up and down on his
watch, and that had he gone a few yards further he might have found a
rope thrown round his neck, which would have prevented him from crying
out, and rendered his strength of no avail.

Sambro succeeded Dick, and was equally vigilant; Buxsoo kept the morning
watch; while Reginald, who was the most fatigued of the party, slept
till daylight.

Faithful's disappearance caused considerable anxiety.  In vain they
searched about in all directions--no trace of the tigress could be
found; and at length, as it was important to take advantage of the cool
morning air, they started, hoping that her sagacity would enable her
quickly to follow them.  Often and often Reginald looked back, hoping to
see his pet.  They overtook numerous country-people,--some on foot,
others on asses or on horseback,--nearly all the men being armed.  They
regarded the two Englishmen with suspicious eyes; but Buxsoo mingled
among them, inquiring what news was stirring.  All had something to
tell, and he thus picked up a good deal of information.  People were
generally full of the expected arrival of the English troops, wondering
what they were coming for.  Their suspicions were generally aroused; and
some even declared that the rajah had sold his country to the English.
Buxsoo did not think it worth while to contradict this, as it would have
excited their enmity against him, and they might believe that he was in
favour of the transaction.  This, however, was not the information he
was anxious to obtain.

Two more days passed by.  Reginald began to despair of recovering
Faithful; and he had, as yet, received no tidings from Burnett.  They
were resting during the heat of the day in the shade of a banyan-tree,
at a little distance from which was a well.  They had not been seated
long, when several natives, with a couple of laden camels, drew near to
the well to quench their thirst.  Buxsoo, begging his companions to
remain quiet, went forward to meet the strangers.  After the usual
salutations, he inquired the price of ghee, corn, and lentils; and they,
believing him to be a trader like themselves, willingly imparted the
information he requested.  His first questions led to others, and they
soon got into familiar conversation.  He asked if they had heard
anything of the late rebellion, or of the audacious way in which the
ranee had been carried off.  They knew very little about the matter; but
rumours had reached them that there had been disturbances in the
country.  At length one of the party informed him that, on the previous
day, he had gone to a village at some distance from the high road to
sell his goods, and that on his return he passed near a deserted temple
on the summit of a hill, the doors of which were all closed; but that on
looking up he was greatly surprised to see a female at the top of one of
the towers, waving to him, apparently to attract his attention.
Wondering what was wanted, he was approaching, when two armed men rushed
out of the building with threatening gestures.  To escape them, he ran
off at full speed; but after pursuing him for some distance the armed
men turned back, and he reached his friends in safety.  Buxsoo also
inquired whether the merchants had heard anything of the movements of a
body of the rajah's cavalry; but they could give him no information on
the subject.

He waited till they and their camels, having quenched their thirst, had
moved forward on their journey, and then he hurried back to his friends
with the important information he had obtained.

Reginald was, of course, eager to move on at once to the place where the
female had been seen, feeling almost sure that it could be no other than
Nuna.

"That may be the case," observed Buxsoo; "but, supposing that the temple
is guarded by a strong garrison, how are we to get in and rescue her?
Would it not be wiser to try and fall in with the cavalry, who may take
the place by storm should the rebels refuse to deliver up their
prisoner?"

"The cavalry would have less chance than we should have, my friend,"
answered Reginald.  "If the place is fortified, we must trust to
stratagem rather than to an open attack.  A handful of men, well
provided with ammunition, may keep at bay the whole of Captain Burnett's
cavalry.  I would rather attempt to scale the walls; and I feel sure
that Dick and I might accomplish the feat.  We sailors are as active as
goats; and as no one within would suspect our intentions, we might get
to the top of the tower, and perhaps liberate the ranee, before any of
the garrison could discover what we are about.  It is very evident that
she must be confined in the tower, where her guards think that she is
perfectly safe; while they probably keep in the large hall in the lower
part of the building.  However, we must get there first and survey the
place before we can decide what is to be done."

Reginald then explained his plan to Dick Thuddichum, who replied--

"Of course, of course.  It would be a rum sort of a tower that we
couldn't get to the top of, provided there are but a few holes and
crannies into which we can stick our toes and fingers.  But, to my mind,
it will be as well to secure a few coils of rope, as it may be an easier
task to get up than to come down again--especially if we have got a
young lady with us."

"But if we were to be seen carrying the rope, suspicion of our intention
would be excited, and the rebels would take measures to counteract it,"
observed Reginald.

"Then we must not let them see it," answered Dick.  "I would not mind
carrying a coil covered up in a piece of muslin, to look like a turban,
on the top of my head; and I dare say Mister Buxsoo and the nigger here
would do the same.  And though I am pretty stout already, I would coil a
few more lengths round my waist; and if the natives were to find out by
chance what I had got about my body, they would only fancy that I was
doing a bit of penance like themselves.  Keep up your heart, sir; and if
the young lady is shut up in the old tower, as you suppose, we'll
manage, by hook or by crook, to get her out."

We must now return to the temple in which Reginald and his party had
taken shelter a few nights before.  The Brahmin Balkishen and his slave
were not the only occupants; and as soon as the travellers had gone,
another personage crept out of a small chamber in which he had been
hidden during the time of their stay, an interested spectator of their
proceedings.  He was no other than Khan Cochut.  Hearing of the rajah's
restoration to power, he was on his way back to Allahapoor with a
cunningly-devised tale, by means of which he hoped to be restored to
power.  The astounding information, however, that he received from
Balkishen made him change his plans, and he resolved, at all events, to
defer his visit till a more convenient opportunity.  The two worthies
were actually holding a discussion together, when they were interrupted
by the arrival of Reginald's party.  Khan Cochut, though not very
scrupulous, hesitated about firing, although he might have done so from
his place of concealment, and have killed Reginald and Buxsoo, whom he
himself feared; but, on the other hand, he might have missed, and have
been caught and killed himself.  Altogether, he came to the conclusion
that it would be more prudent to try and ingratiate himself with the
young rajah, till he could safely retire with the wealth he had
accumulated.

His plan had been to go boldly to the court, to assert that he had been
carried off by the orders of the rebel Mukund Bhim, and pretending to be
greatly surprised on hearing of the abduction of the ranee, to offer to
go in search of her.  It was a hazardous scheme; but Khan Cochut was a
daring man, and had convinced himself that timid measures rarely meet
with success.

As soon as he had seen Reginald's party to a safe distance, he sat down
to a breakfast which Bikoo, Balkishen's slave, had prepared for him;
while the Brahmin, who would have considered himself defiled by eating
in company with his friend, sat down to a more frugal meal by himself.
After having washed his hands and said his prayers, the Brahmin rejoined
the khan,--who considered neither of such ceremonies necessary,--and the
two then discussed their plans for the future.  Balkishen undertook to
follow Reginald's party, accompanied by Bikoo, and to prevent them by
every means in his power from reaching the place of Nuna's concealment,
should they by any wonderful chance discover it; while Khan Cochut came
to the final resolution of returning to Allahapoor, and carrying out his
original plan.

They were about to part, when they were startled by a loud roar, such as
had never before echoed amid the walls of the temple.  The Brahmin
trembled and looked very yellow, for he could not be said to turn pale.

"It must be that abominable tigress which I thought had been killed," he
exclaimed.  "No mortal beast could have escaped being dashed to pieces
from the height she fell.  I always said she was a djinn; and this
convinces me of the fact."

"She must have a hard head and strong bones, at all events," observed
Khan Cochut.  "For my part, I don't believe either in good or evil
spirits; and the simplest way of stopping her roaring will be to put a
bullet through her head."

"Not unless you wish to bring curses on your own head and on mine,"
exclaimed the Brahmin, becoming still more yellow.

Meanwhile the roars continued.

"The brute will attract the attention of the whole neighbourhood,"
exclaimed Khan Cochut.  "As for bringing a curse on my head, I am very
ready to run that risk.  Only let me get a fair shot and I will quickly
silence her."

"There must be some opening at the foot of the tower, or we should not
hear the sounds so plainly," observed the Brahmin, "I will send Bikoo to
try and find out.  It would be more satisfactory to have him torn to
pieces than ourselves."

"There is wisdom in that remark," coolly observed Khan Cochut; and Bikoo
was forthwith despatched by his master to explore the place into which
the tigress had tumbled.

He went--though with no great alacrity--to obey the order he had
received, taking with him a long stick; not that it would have served
him much against the enraged tigress, but it was the only weapon he
possessed.  The roars grew louder and louder as he advanced, till after
mounting a flight of steps he started back on finding himself face to
face with the tigress,--some iron bars, however, intervening.  Faithful
was evidently in a furious rage.  As she saw him she seized one of the
bars in her mouth, while she grasped the two next to it with her
powerful claws, working away to wrench them asunder.  Bikoo attempted to
drive her back with his stick, but she utterly disregarded the blows
aimed at her, only stopping a moment to roar and snarl, her loud cries
drowning his voice as he shouted to Khan Cochut to come and shoot her--
which he might very easily have done.  Already the bars were seen to
bend, the upper ends coming out of their sockets.  Bikoo saw that in
another instant the tigress would be at liberty; so springing down the
steps with a very natural rapidity, fully expecting to be torn to pieces
should he not make haste, and shouting, "The tigress!  The tigress is at
my heels!" he rushed into the presence of his master and Khan Cochut.
They, hearing his cries, judged that their safest course would be to
betake themselves to the upper chamber in which they had before been
concealed,--Bikoo following them without asking leave, and only wishing
that they would move somewhat faster.  They had just climbed up by means
of some winding steps in the wall, when the tigress, with her mouth and
paws bloody from the exertions she had made, sprang into the courtyard
and looked around, with the apparent intention of taking vengeance on
the person who had so treacherously endeavoured to destroy her.  As she
was gazing about, her eye fell on the long nose and sallow visage of
Khan Cochut, who was peering from his hiding-place through a slit in the
wall.  She sprang up at him with a suddenness which made him draw back
with considerable rapidity, knocking over the grave Brahmin as he did
so, and sending him sprawling prostrate on the ground.  Poor Faithful,
however, missed her aim, and fell backwards in a manner which did not at
all improve her already irritated temper.  Up and down the courtyard she
rushed, looking out for an opening; and had not an iron-clamped door
stopped her she would probably have torn the whole party to pieces,
unless Khan Cochut had contrived to shoot her.  Several times he poked
one of his pistols through the slit, but the Brahmin entreated him not
to fire.  Whether or not Faithful suspected what he intended, she kept
at such a distance that he would, in all probability, have missed her
had he fired.  At length, wearied with her exertions, she retired to the
end of the court, where she lay down in the shade, keeping her eye fixed
alternately on the slit in the wall and the door through which her enemy
had passed.

She had now completely turned the tables on them, for, as they had no
provisions, they must either die of starvation or surrender at
discretion.  At length the Brahmin proposed sending Bikoo down, that,
while the tigress was tearing him to pieces, they might make their
escape.  To this inhuman proposal the slave very naturally objected,
observing that the tigress must before long fall asleep, when they might
slip out, favoured by the darkness, and so make their escape,--he, as
being the most active, hoping, should the tigress awake, to get ahead of
them, and leave them to the fate his master so generously proposed for
him.  Had Faithful suspected their intentions, she would probably have
allowed her captives to have made the attempt to carry them out, and
would have caught them all in succession.

As she lay in the shade, she began to meditate after her own fashion on
what had occurred; and suddenly recollecting her beloved master, she got
up and bounded towards the spot where she had last seen him.  As she did
so she passed within range of Cochut's pistol.  Notwithstanding the
Brahmin's prohibition, he fired.  Though the ball missed her, she was
somewhat frightened by the report; and her mind being set on discovering
Reginald, she sprang through the gateway, and trotted off in the
direction her instinct told her he had taken, as she certainly did not
follow him either by sight or scent.



CHAPTER SEVEN.

THE TEMPLE IN WHICH NUNA IS A PRISONER REACHED--DICK'S PLAN FOR RESCUING
HER--THE TOP OF THE TOWER GAINED--ESCAPE--PURSUED--FAITHFUL APPEARS AT
THE PROPER JUNCTURE--ANOTHER TEMPLE REACHED--AN UNEXPECTED ATTACK--
FAITHFUL PLAYS HER PART--BURNETT ARRIVES--CAPTAIN HAWKESFORD FINDS THAT
HE HAS MADE A MISTAKE--THE JOURNEY TO THE CAPITAL--A DAY'S SPORT--
REGINALD AGAIN ESCAPES FROM A TIGER--THE JOURNEY CONTINUED--THREATENED
BY THE REBELS--TAKE REFUGE IN A FORT--THE MAJOR'S ASTONISHMENT.

Reginald and his party continued their journey, but they had
considerable difficulty in discovering the temple of which the trader
had told Buxsoo.  At length, as evening was drawing on, they caught
sight of a tall tower rising above the trees on the top of the hill.  It
being of the greatest importance not to be discovered by any of the
rebel garrison, they waited till dark to approach the building, as they
could not take that careful survey of it at a distance which was so
necessary before commencing operations.  They had provided themselves
with a supply of rope at a distant village, where their object was not
likely to be suspected, and had carried it as Dick had suggested.
Reginald and Dick were well armed, and felt themselves able to engage a
dozen natives; but Buxsoo and Sambro carried no weapons,--for the former
professed not to be a fighter, though the slave was active and powerful,
and would not have feared a combat on equal terms with two or even three
brown-skinned natives.

Concealed among the trees, they got close enough to the temple to
ascertain whether any person entered or left it, as also to see the top
of the tower.  With anxious eyes Reginald looked out for the appearance
of Nuna, convinced as he was that she must have been the female seen by
the trader.  He watched, however, in vain, and darkness came on without
any human being having been seen, or any sign being discernible that the
building was inhabited.  Reginald, in his eagerness, would at once have
approached the walls; but Buxsoo advised him to wait, in the hope that
those within might have a lamp burning, the light from which, streaming
through any window or crevice, might betray the part of the building
they were occupying.

"Depend upon it, also, that some cunning officer commands the party, and
he will be on the watch for the approach of enemies," observed Buxsoo.
"My advice is that we wait till later in the night, when the sentries
are likely to be drowsy, and we may then make our survey with less risk
of being discovered."

Reginald agreeing to this proposal, the party lay down to rest,--he and
Dick with their arms ready for instant use,--while they kept their eyes
turned towards the building.  Before long a ray of light shone forth
from the dark walls.  It proceeded, judging from its height, from a
small window in an upper storey, and in a part of the edifice at a
considerable distance from the tower.  Though they watched carefully, no
light appeared from the tower itself; but that might have been accounted
for by the supposition that there were no windows in the sides towards
them, and did not prove that the tower was uninhabited.  The appearance
of the light, moreover, made it probable that the persons seen by the
trader were still there.

An hour or more passed, when Dick suggested that, as it was important to
make their survey before the moon rose, it was time to get to the foot
of the tower, and there judge what was to be done.  So, still keeping
under the shelter of the trees, they crept round to the further side of
the building, on which the tower was situated, in order that they might
get up to it without being seen by any one on the watch in the temple
itself.  A sentry posted on the top of the tower might have discovered
them if he was awake and on the lookout; but they must of necessity run
the risk of that--hoping, should one be there, to take him by surprise,
and gag him before he could give the alarm.  In the manner described
they reached the foot of the tower,--as they hoped, without being
observed by any one.  They examined it as far as the darkness would
allow; but neither a door nor a window was to be discovered.  The
stucco, however, with which it had formerly been covered, had in many
places fallen out.  Accustomed to climbing as Dick was, he confessed
that even a cat would have a difficulty in reaching the top without
other means than her claws.  However, of this they felt sure--that _no_
sentry was posted on the top of the tower; and that the chambers inside
must either be lighted from the top or by very narrow loopholes.

"I have it, though," whispered Dick.  "Just let me get a score or two of
pegs: I will fix them one above another in those holes in the wall
without making any noise; and then, by giving a turn with a rope round
each of them, they will be kept all together--so that we may get to the
top without the risk of breaking our necks."

Reginald at once agreed to Dick's proposal.  It was the only way,
indeed, by which they could hope to succeed.  Next they all crept
silently round the building, examining every portion in the hope of
finding some loophole or aperture into which one of them might climb if
such a place existed, and, if possible, to draw off the attention of the
garrison while Reginald and Dick were lowering the ranee from the tower.
There were apparently doors, but they were firmly closed; and the
windows, and the other apertures which time had made in the walls, were
too high up to be reached.  It was evident that the building had lately
been put into a state of defence, and that all openings by which an
enemy could enter had been barricaded.  This confirmed them in the
belief that the ranee was imprisoned within, and that only by the plan
they proposed could her liberation be effected.

As some time would be occupied in making the pegs as proposed by Dick,
considering they had only their knives for cutting them, they had to
defer the execution of their plan till the next night.  They therefore
stole back into the forest, in the far recesses of which they formed
their camp.  As, however, it was possible that the garrison might leave
their fortress and carry the ranee with them, just before daylight,
Sambro, who undertook to keep watch, stole back to the border of the
wood,--where, concealed among the thick trees, he had a perfect view of
the building, and could see if anybody went in or came out of it.

As they calculated that the tower was sixty feet in height, it was
considered that thirty pegs, at least, would be required to reach the
top.  As soon as it was daylight they searched about for some hard wood,
which, on being found, they set to work diligently to form into pegs.
Its hardness made the operation a slow one, and they had to use great
care for fear of turning the edges of their tools.  Buxsoo was totally
unaccustomed to the sort of work.  Dick, indeed, had cut three pegs
before either of the rest of the party had completed one.  Reginald
constantly looked out in the direction Sambro had taken, in the
expectation of seeing him return with some tidings or other from the
fort.  But the day wore on and he did not appear.  As he had taken
provisions with him, they knew that he could remain at his post without
any necessity for coming back for food, and they concluded, therefore,
that nothing had occurred worth communicating.

Eager to carry their plan into execution, Reginald proposed returning to
the tower without further delay, when a rustle was heard in the bushes,
and Sambro crept up to the camp.  He had seen, he said, several lights
streaming from the upper part of the building, which made him suppose
that there must be a good many people within.  Still, as they could have
no suspicion of the attempt about to be made, they would probably not
interfere with their proceedings, and he thought that they might at all
events commence operations without delay.  Each of them, therefore,
carrying a bundle of pegs, they crept back to the foot of the tower.
Dick wisely selected the dark side, looking the same way as the back of
the temple, on which the moon, when she got up, would not shine, and at
once began fixing in the pegs.  He soon found that he could not place
them one above another, but had to choose the spots from which the
plaster had fallen out; so that the pegs were sometimes on one side and
sometimes on another.  He could have proceeded much faster had he been
able to use a stone for driving them in; but, of course, the noise that
would have made would have led to the discovery of their proceedings.
Up and up Dick climbed, fastening the rope securely to the pegs, so that
did one come out he might save himself by the rope fixed to the others.
Perseverance overcomes all difficulties.  The end of the rope which hung
down enabled him to haul up the other pegs as they were required.

At length he reached the parapet, and, climbing over, found himself
standing on a flat roof.  Reginald climbed up next, carrying the rope by
which it was proposed to lower Nuna down.  Sambro followed them, though,
less accustomed to climbing than Reginald and Dick, he had much more
difficulty than they had in getting up.  Buxsoo remained below to keep
watch, and to receive Nuna on her arrival at the bottom.

On searching about, a trap-door was found in the roof.  It was easily
lifted.  Reginald stationed Sambro at the top, whilst he, revolver in
hand, and followed by Dick, descended a flight of stone steps, carefully
feeling his way, and not knowing what was at the bottom.  By this time
the moon was up, and her light streaming through the open trap enabled
him to ascertain that he was in a large unfurnished chamber.  Carefully
groping his way round, he discovered another flight of steps, leading to
the lower storey.  He and Dick cautiously descended, feeling the wall
with their hands, on the chance of discovering the door of a lower
chamber, which they guessed must exist.  They were right in their
conjectures.  Not only was a door found, but through the chinks
proceeded the light of a lamp burning within.  Could Nuna be there?
That such was the case was probable; but the room, on the other hand,
might be tenanted by a party of armed men, and should they open the
door, there would be no little danger in finding themselves among them.
The steps, it was evident, continued on to the lower part of the
building.  There might be other chambers, one of which might be that
occupied by Nuna.  Should they enter, or descend to the bottom of the
tower?  They listened at the door, but no sound came forth.  This made
Reginald believe that Nuna must be its occupant.  Still, he thought it
prudent to explore the lower part of the building before attempting to
gain an entrance.  He and Dick therefore descended, till he calculated
that they were close at the bottom; and here they were stopped by a
door.  They remained perfectly quiet, when the sound of loud snoring
reached their ears.  Listening, they were convinced that it came from
the other side of the door; and probably was produced by a sentry,
either leaning against it or sitting on the ground.  This convinced
Reginald that the upper chamber was not occupied by armed men, and he
therefore made a signal to Dick to reascend the steps.  They crept
carefully up, so as to avoid creating any noise which might awake the
slumbering sentry.

On reaching the door, through which the light could still be discerned,
he knocked gently, and putting his mouth to one of the crevices, he
uttered Nuna's name in a low tone.

"Who is there?" was asked in a voice which he felt sure was his
sister's.

He told her who he was, and that he had come to rescue her; when, a bolt
being withdrawn, the door was opened, and there stood Nuna, pale and
trembling with agitation.  As there was no time to be lost, Reginald
briefly told her that he had, with the rajah's permission, set out on an
expedition to find her, and had been happily directed to the right spot.

"I have much more to tell you," he added, "but only understand that I
have every right to protect you, and will do so with my life.  Trust to
me, and I hope to carry you back safely to your grandfather."

"I place perfect confidence in you," she answered.

He took her hand and led her up the steps to the top of the tower,
preceded by Dick Thuddichum; and as soon as they had passed though the
trap, Sambro gently closed it.  Dick now lost no time in uncoiling the
lengths of rope he had brought to the top for the purpose they had in
view.  To one end was attached a sort of cradle which he had
thoughtfully constructed.

"If the young lady won't mind getting into this, we will lower her
handsomely," he observed; "and she shall be safe at the bottom in less
than no time."

Reginald explained to Nuna what was necessary, and she at once consented
to be placed in the cradle, into which she was carefully fastened with
Reginald and Dick's handkerchiefs.

"I hear some one moving below," whispered Sambro.  "No time to lose;"
and Reginald and Dick carefully lowered Nuna over the wall, and let her
slowly descend, while Sambro kept watch on the trap.  The end of the
rope had been secured to some ironwork on the roof, and it was an
immense relief when Reginald felt that Nuna had safely reached the
ground.

"Now, sir, you go down by the rope, and take care of the young lady,"
said Dick, "and I will make the black find his way down by the ladder."

Before Reginald had reached the bottom, Buxsoo had released Nuna, who
expressed her thankfulness at finding Reginald by her side.

"We must wait for our two followers before we take to flight," he said.
"We will then endeavour to get to a distance from the place.  Here comes
one of them."

As he spoke, Sambro was seen descending the ladder.  Before he reached
the bottom, however, the sound of men struggling was heard, with the
loud cries of a native, responded to by Dick Thuddichum's gruff voice.

"I must go and assist my faithful follower," exclaimed Reginald,
preparing to ascend the ladder.

"Oh, do not leave me," cried Nuna.

The sound of the struggling now became more distinct.  For a moment it
ceased, and then a noise followed, as if a heavy body had fallen to the
ground, apparently on the other side of the tower.  Reginald sprang to
the spot, dreading to find that it was that of honest Dick; but the
white dress which covered the mangled heap of humanity showed him that
it was a native who had been thrown down from that fearful height.
Hurrying back, he caught sight of Dick rapidly descending the rope.

"We must be away from this pretty sharp, sir," he exclaimed; "for if we
are not, we shall have a whole tribe of the ugly blackamoors after us.
I pitched half-a-dozen of them down the steps, and then had to run for
it.  However, all is right at present, and it may be some time before
they find their way out of the front door."

On receiving this startling intelligence, Reginald seized Nuna in his
arms and bore her down the hill, Buxsoo keeping by his side, while Dick
and Sambro brought up the rear to cover their retreat.

"I wish, Sambro, that you had had a musket or a brace of pistols, and we
would have kept the enemy at bay till our masters had carried off the
young lady out of danger," exclaimed Dick.  "But, as it is, I must fight
alone.  Only let them come near enough; I'll plant my fist in the faces
of some of them, and make their noses flatter than they have ever been
before."

In a couple of minutes the fugitives had got to the bottom of the hill,
and were making their way along the high road by which they had come,
when Dick, turning round, discovered a number of men rushing out of the
building, who had evidently caught sight of them.  On they came, yelling
like fiends; but they did not fire, apparently for fear of wounding the
ranee.  It seemed but too likely that the whole party would be taken
prisoners, for what could two men do against the vastly superior number
pursuing them!

"On, sir!  On, sir!" cried Dick; "we will tackle the fellows, and Sambro
will soon get hold of a musket or cutlass for himself.  You meanwhile
push ahead to the nearest village with the young lady, and Mr Buxsoo
will tell the people who she is."

Dick, however, was calculating too much on his own powers, though he
truly felt ready to do battle with the infuriated rebels coming up to
him.  They were not many paces off, when at that instant a tigress was
seen bounding along towards them.  Nuna, who caught sight of the
savage-looking animal, uttered a scream.  "There it comes!  Oh, it will
kill us!" she exclaimed.  Reginald immediately called out, "Faithful!
Faithful!" and the seemingly savage tigress came fawning up to him.
Then turning round, he pointed at the pursuing foes, and a pat on
Faithful's head made her leap on towards them.  The moment they caught
sight of her, as she flew at them snarling fiercely, they turned round
and scampered up the hill faster than they had descended.  Reginald
hereupon--fearing that some of them, regaining their courage, might fire
at her--called her off; upon which she came trotting back and took up a
position immediately behind the party.

Once more they moved on; Dick and the tigress every now and then looking
back to ascertain whether or not the enemy were following.  The fright
given them by the sudden appearance of the tigress prevented the rebels
from again issuing out of their fortification, and Reginald and his
friends were able to get some distance before daylight.

Nuna had repeatedly asked Reginald to set her down, but to this he would
not consent, as she was not accustomed to walk over a rough road, and
her delicate feet, shod only with embroidered slippers, were ill-fitted
to support her.  At length, however, he began to feel fatigued, and
anxiously looked out for a place of safety, where they might rest till
an elephant could be found to convey them to the city.  They had
observed on their way a temple in a very similar situation to the one
from which they had just escaped.  Buxsoo believed that that also was
deserted, although it was not in a very ruinous condition.  Being not
far off, they made their way to it.  A place of shelter was soon found
within it, and Reginald placing his jacket and Buxsoo his outer robe on
the ground, entreated Nuna to rest while they watched at a little
distance.  Faithful, who came in last, lay down in the gateway;
evidently considering that it was her duty to keep a guard over the
premises while her master and his friends occupied them.

Their chief inconvenience arose from want of food; for the provisions
they had brought with them had been exhausted on the previous day, and
Reginald felt that it would be impossible to proceed without some
refreshment.  Nuna assured him that she herself was not hungry, as she
had had some supper brought to her soon after nightfall.  She had been
treated, she told him, with perfect respect.

They were still apprehensive of being pursued by the mutineers, so as
soon as there was sufficient light they set to work to fortify the
temple, and to close all the openings in the lower part of the building.
This done, Buxsoo and Sambro hastened away to obtain provisions at the
nearest village they could find; intending also to try and procure an
elephant for the convenience of Nuna and Reginald, and, if possible, one
for themselves and Dick.

After his companions had gone, Reginald seated himself by Nuna, and took
the opportunity of recounting his history, and explaining to her who he
was.  She listened to him with great astonishment.  At length she
answered--

"I now understand why I have been brought up in a manner so different
from the other women of rank in this country.  My mother taught me her
own religion, which she was allowed to enjoy; and she charged me, with
her dying breath, should I ever marry, to teach my children the same.
But I fear I really know little of its truths.  I must get you, my
brother, to instruct me, and tell me all about the country of our
mother's ancestors."

While they were speaking Dick hurried up, exclaiming--

"Hurrah, sir!  I see a body of sepoys with some English redcoats among
them coming this way.  We need no longer have any fear of the rebels."

"Are you certain that there are English soldiers among them?  For if
not, the men you take for sepoys may be the rebels themselves," observed
Reginald.  "It may be safer for you, my sister, to take shelter in the
tower till we ascertain the truth; and we shall be able to defend you,
as only one man at a time can force his way up."

Scarcely had Nuna ascended a few steps when half a company of sepoys,
with a corporal and five English soldiers, and led by a British officer,
appeared in front of the building.

Reginald shouted out to them that he was an Englishman, and that having
rescued the rajah's daughter from a band of rebels, he was returning
with her to her father.

"I don't believe you," answered the officer.  "On, my lads, and capture
the young fellow!  From the information I have received, he is himself a
rebel."

A second glance at the speaker showed Reginald that it was his
acquaintance, Captain Hawkesford; but in another instant the gates were
burst open, and the soldiers, rushing in, captured Dick, who was making
his way to the foot of the steps on which Reginald stood with Nuna
behind him, while Faithful crouched by his side glaring at the
assailants.

"Back, I say--back; you are mistaken, my men," cried Reginald, drawing
his revolvers.  "Your lives be on your own heads, if you advance.--Fly
up the steps, Nuna.  Fly under shelter: in case they should dare to
fire, the bullets may strike you."

Still the English soldiers advanced,--though the sepoys hung back,
afraid of facing the tigress, and awed by Reginald's daring attitude.
Unhappily the corporal, a brave fellow, believing that it was his duty
to seize the supposed rebel, rushed forward, and began to mount the
steps, presenting the point of his bayonet at Faithful; on which, no
longer able to restrain herself, she sprang at his throat and gave him a
death-gripe, hurling him down backwards a lifeless corpse, while his
musket fell from his band.

"Fire!" cried Captain Hawkesford.

"If you do, I must fire in return," shouted Reginald.

As he spoke the bullets rattled thickly around his head; so he
discharged both his pistols, and again urging Nuna to escape, he with a
bound sprang after her, before another musket could be aimed at him;
while Faithful, who had wonderfully escaped, kept the soldiers at bay,
notwithstanding their commander's urgent orders to them to advance.

At that moment there was a cry raised by the sepoys--

"We are betrayed!  We are betrayed!  The rebel cavalry are upon us.  We
shall be cut to pieces."

On hearing this Captain Hawkesford turned round, and saw a large body of
horse advancing, with an Englishman at their head.  From their
appointments and general appearance, he at once knew that they were a
well-organised body of troops, and not like a rebel band; and as they
advanced he recognised Captain Burnett, with whom he was personally
acquainted.  Even had they been rebels, they so far outnumbered his own
company of sepoys and his small party of Englishmen that he would have
had very little hope of contending with them successfully,--especially
as the sepoys showed no inclination to fight.  He had indeed from the
first suspected that he had been misled by the information he had
received.  It had been given by the traitor Balkishen, in the hope that
it would lead to the destruction of Reginald and the young ranee.  He
therefore considered that it would be wise to assume a pacific attitude;
so as Burnett and his troopers advanced towards the gate he ordered his
own men to ground their arms, and going forward, he shouted out--

"Glad to see you, Burnett!  We have made a terrible mistake, misled by a
rascally Brahmin; but, except that one poor fellow has lost his life, no
great harm has been done."

"Who is it?" asked Burnett anxiously, fearing that he might allude to
Reginald, of whom he had gained information from Buxsoo and Sambro at
the village where he had met them as they were purchasing provisions.

Captain Hawkesford's answer relieved his anxiety; and he soon had
evidence that Reginald was unhurt, by seeing him descend the steps,
accompanied by Nuna; while Faithful stood at the foot glaring round at
the strangers, of whose intentions she was not yet fully satisfied.

Reginald, from the place in which he had taken shelter, had observed
Burnett's approach; and overhearing the conversation which had ensued,
he knew that the tables were turned, and that his sister was at length
in safety.  Captain Hawkesford, who feared that very awkward
consequences might ensue from his conduct, apologised to Reginald, and
made all the excuses he could think of.

Reginald, however, received these somewhat stiffly.  "Had the ranee,
whom I had undertaken to conduct to her grandfather, been injured, the
case would have been very different," he observed.  "As it is, although
you refused to believe my word when I assured you I was not a rebel, and
that you had been deceived, I am ready to receive your apologies; and I
must now request you to assist in making immediate arrangements for the
conveyance of the young lady to Allahapoor, where her grandfather is
anxiously awaiting her return."

Burnett, however, undertook that task, and despatched a party of his
horsemen to the nearest place where elephants were to be found, to bring
one with a proper howdah for the conveyance of the young ranee; while he
also sent off another party to Allahapoor, to announce her recovery to
the rajah.

Captain Hawkesford volunteered to remain in the meantime, with his men,
for her protection.  But Burnett politely declined his offer; observing,
in a somewhat sarcastic tone, which he could not restrain, that she was
as perfectly safe, guarded by his troopers, as she would be with the
sepoys and the corporal's guard he had brought with him.

"Well, then," said Captain Hawkesford, "if my services are declined, it
is my duty, I conceive, to rejoin the main body of the force sent to the
assistance of the rajah.  I will inform Colonel Ross that we were
deceived by the information given us by the Brahmin, and that the
supposed rebel was no other than Mr Hamerton, who was escorting the
young lady home whom he had so gallantly rescued from imprisonment."

"Colonel Ross, did you say?" asked Reginald.

"Yes, sir.  He is in command of the troops marching to Allahapoor; and
he and his daughter--who accompanies him--will be much interested on
hearing of your gallant exploit."

Reginald hesitated what remark to make.  The news he had just heard gave
him great pleasure, as he hoped that he might soon again meet Violet.
At the same time, he felt sure that Captain Hawkesford would give a
false colouring to what had occurred, and would try to make her jealous
of the ranee and suspicious of his conduct.  He was much inclined to
explain the true state of affairs to Captain Hawkesford, so that he
might be prevented from making out a story to his prejudice.  Captain
Hawkesford, however, saw very clearly that Burnett did not wish for his
presence; so desiring his syce to bring up his horse, he hastily
mounted, and ordering his men to march, rode off--the dead body of the
unfortunate corporal being carried by some of the sepoys, whose low
caste allowed them thus to employ themselves.

Dick Thuddichum, who had been liberated, watched them with no very
friendly eye.  "The next time you manhandle a fellow, just be good
enough to ask whether he is a friend or an enemy," he shouted out.  "If
it had not been for the sharp points of your bayonets, I should have
laid not a few of you sprawling on the ground before you had got me
down, I can tell you."

Reginald, however, soon pacified his follower, and told him to look
after Faithful, who seemed disposed to chase the sepoys, and might
possibly have laid her paws upon some of them, or have fought to recover
her victim, whom she probably considered her lawful prey.

"I am glad that the fellow has gone," exclaimed Burnett, who had heard
from Reginald of Captain Hawkesford's manner towards him on board the
_Glamorgan Castle_.  "I never liked him; and his conduct in this affair
has not favourably impressed me.  You, at all events, will soon have an
opportunity of seeing Miss Ross, and explaining matters to her."

While waiting the arrival of the expected elephants, Nuna was resting
beneath the shade of some wide-spreading trees, close to the walls of
the temple.  Reginald seated himself by her side, and invited Burnett to
join them.  Nuna seemed in no way displeased, and listened with
eagerness to the conversation which ensued between the two; though
unable, from her imperfect knowledge of English, to understand more than
a few words.  Reginald told Burnett more of her history than he was yet
acquainted with--that she not only had English blood in her veins, but
had been instructed in her mother's faith; and the more, indeed, Burnett
saw of the young creature, the more he admired her, and a warmer feeling
than he had yet allowed himself to entertain took possession of his
breast.  He could not believe that she would willingly consent to become
the wife of a native prince; so he resolved to devote his life to her
service, hoping to be the means of preserving her from the dangers to
which, from the unsettled state of the country, she must be exposed, and
to win her some day as his bride.  That he was her brother's friend, he
naturally felt was much in his favour; and he believed he was not too
presumptuous in thinking she would regard him with interest.  He was
able to converse with her in her native tongue; and for the next few
days, till their arrival at Allahapoor, he would enjoy her society far
more easily than he could expect to do when she had returned to the
rajah's court.

The troopers meantime were resting beneath the trees scattered around,
while their horses were picketed near.  They probably looked on with
astonishment at the familiar way their leader and the young stranger
were conversing with the ranee, so contrary to the customs of the
country.

Some time had passed, when two elephants were seen approaching, with
several men on foot.  On the back of one was a handsome howdah without
occupants; on the other rode Buxsoo, with Sambro, who had engaged the
animals, and made all arrangements for the journey.  He had also brought
some provisions, which were very welcome both to the ranee and her
brother.  They spent but a short time in discussing these; after which,
the elephant kneeling down, the ranee took her seat in the howdah,
urgently begging Reginald to accompany her.

"The sooner our relationship is known the better," she observed.  "Our
grandfather can have no objection.  A few words to Buxsoo will be quite
sufficient; and if you tell him that the fact need not be kept secret,
it will soon be known among all our followers."

Reginald saw no objection to this; and scarcely had the elephants begun
to move on when loud shouts rent the air, issuing from the throats of
the troopers, and the peasantry who had accompanied the elephants,
expressive of wishes for the happiness and prosperity of the young rajah
and his sister the ranee.  Thus they moved on, the news preceding them,
spread by the advance-guard of cavalry.

As the roads were far from good, the elephants travelled at a slow pace.
Having no tents, they were compelled to deviate from the high road in
order to remain during the night at the house of a wealthy khan; who, of
course, was highly honoured in receiving the grandchildren of the rajah,
though he looked askance at Reginald, as if he doubted whether the
account he had heard was true.  He received them, however, with every
outward mark of respect.  As the elephant knelt down, they dismounted
from the howdah, and Nuna was conducted to the apartments of the females
of the family.  An entertainment was afterwards prepared for Reginald
and Burnett; but at this it was contrary to the custom of the country
for Nuna to be present.  She, indeed, was far too much fatigued and
agitated to leave her couch; and the next morning she appeared to be
worse, and unable to proceed on the journey.  Reginald and Burnett were
anxious to place her in safety with the rajah, and were much
disappointed, besides being grieved at hearing of her illness.  She sent
them word, however, that she hoped, after another night's rest, to be so
far restored as to be able to proceed without further delay.

To pass the time away, their host proposed a hunt in the forest.  While
Reginald was getting ready, Dick Thuddichum presented himself, and asked
whether he was to go also.

"No, Dick; I wish you to remain with Faithful, and act as a guard to my
sister.  Our host may be a very honest gentleman, but I don't like to
leave her without protection; and had it not been for the sake of
Captain Burnett, I would myself have remained behind."

As Reginald was going through the courtyard to mount his horse he met
his friend Buxsoo, who, in a low voice, said--

"Be on your guard.  I would that you had refused the invitation of the
khan.  There are foes on the watch to injure you; and if you can,
unobserved, get the ear of your friend, I would urge you to tell him
what I say, and to make an excuse for returning speedily without
exciting suspicion.  I have told Sambro to accompany you.  Trust to
him."

From the experience Reginald had already had of the natives, he fully
believed that Buxsoo had good reason for warning him, and he promised to
follow the advice he had received.

As they rode along he took the opportunity of telling Burnett what he
had heard.

"It may be the case; but I should like to stick a few pigs first," was
his friend's answer.

The khan had ordered some tents to be pitched, in which, before
returning, they could take refreshment.  The distance was greater than
Reginald had expected; but they were rewarded for their long ride by
finding ample sport, and soon, excited in the chase, he forgot all about
the warning he had received.  At length, by some chance, he was
separated from his companions.  When quite alone he encountered a wild
boar, which the low underwood prevented him from assailing to advantage,
while the savage beast with its sharp tusks severely injured his steed
before he could plunge his spear into its side.  In doing so his weapon
broke.  The animal again attacked him, and he was compelled to draw his
pistol and shoot it dead, to save his horse from further injury.
Unwilling to lose the spear, however, he dismounted to draw it out; and
while thus engaged he inadvertently let slip his rein.  For a few
moments the horse stood quietly by his side; but, suddenly seized with a
panic, off it started at full speed before he could catch hold of the
rein.  Having recovered the spearhead, he sprang after the animal,
hoping to catch it before it had got far.  He continued on for several
minutes, keeping the steed in view, in spite of the obstructions in his
way, when he caught sight of the tents, near which he had no doubt he
should find the rest of the party; and thinking it probable the instinct
of his horse would lead it towards its companions.  Considering,
therefore, that it was useless to exert himself further, he was walking
leisurely on, when, to his horror, he saw a huge tiger in the act of
springing at him from the jungle.  He had just time to shout at the top
of his voice, in the hope of attracting the attention of any of his
companions who might be near, and to grasp the broken end of his spear,
when, as he instinctively leaped on one side to avoid the first spring
of the tiger, his foot slipped and he fell on his back, holding the
spear in a perpendicular position, with the point upwards.  The savage
animal came directly down upon him, with its huge jaws open to seize him
by the neck; but as it did so, the point of the spear entering at its
chest made it again attempt to bound backwards.  Still one blow of its
mighty paw, in its death-struggle, might, Reginald knew, break a limb or
inflict a mortal injury; so again he shouted out, while he endeavoured
to drag himself from under the savage animal, which still retained life
sufficient to destroy him.  He had now cause to regret that he had not
brought Faithful, who would undoubtedly have fought bravely in his
defence, and might have prevented the tiger from springing on him.
Retaining his presence of mind, he kept the spear in a perpendicular
position, hoping that it would soon find its way to the heart of his
assailant.  Still the tiger struggled more to escape than to attack him,
when suddenly there came the sound of a shot, and the creature rolled
over dead with a rifle-ball in its head.  On looking up, he saw Burnett
hurrying towards him.

His friend now assisted him to rise; and though his clothes were torn
and his flesh deeply scarred with the claws of the animal, he found that
he had received no material injury.  He and Burnett soon reached the
camp, where the khan and their other companions, with apparent
cordiality, congratulated him on his escape.

"Knowing the courage of you Englishmen, I am sure that your adventure
will not induce you to abandon the sport for the day," observed the
khan, in a tone which at once raised Reginald's suspicions, and
instantly the warning he had received from Buxsoo flashed into his mind.

The same thought occurred to Burnett, who replied:

"I cannot allow my friend to exert himself further, as, slight as his
injuries may appear, a fever might be brought on; so I must insist on
his returning to the house."

"As the sahibs think fit; but they will take some refreshment before
they start," observed the khan.

Rich viands were placed in the centre of the tent, around which the
party seated themselves.  Sambro appeared among the attendants.  As he
passed behind Reginald and Burnett he whispered, "Take only what I give
you."  Neither of them had any great appetite.  Reginald, indeed, even
without Sambro's warning, had no inclination to eat, and after partaking
of a dish the faithful slave placed before him, declined all other food.
He likewise simply drank a glass of sherbet which Sambro poured out for
him.

Immediately the repast was over, Burnett desired that the horses might
be brought up, and declining the pressing request of their entertainer
that he would hunt for a short time while his friend rested in a tent,
he rode off with Reginald, the natives being compelled to follow.  Well
accustomed to traversing a wild country, even without a guide, Reginald
had taken careful note of the way they had come, and was thus able to go
ahead without waiting for the rest of the party.  They reached the
khan's house in safety, where they found a party of horsemen arrived
from the city, with a despatch from the rajah to Reginald, highly
praising him for his conduct, and expressing a desire that he would at
once assume the costume becoming his rank, with which he had sent an
officer of state to invest him.  Though Reginald, whose notions were
very far from Oriental, would much rather have retained his unassuming
dress, he felt that it was right to obey his grandfather.  Burnett being
of the same opinion, he therefore submitted to being rigged out, as he
called it, in the jewelled turban and rich robes which had been prepared
for him.

"I hope, sir, as how they don't want me to dress up in petticoats?"
observed Dick, with a comical twist of his features.  "I'd rather be as
I am, unless you order me."

"No, Dick; I think that will not be necessary except on state occasions,
when, if I want a henchman, I would rather have you than any native."

Dick was satisfied, and agreed to rig himself out like a Turk, or in any
other strange fashion, whenever his master required him to do so.

Next morning, Nuna had sufficiently recovered to continue the journey;
and for the first time Reginald sat by her side on the back of the
elephant, and appeared in public as an Indian prince.  As they moved
through the villages crowds assembled to do them honour, though Reginald
felt more pain than pleasure as he witnessed the abject way in which the
natives bowed down, touching the ground with their foreheads on either
side of the elephant as they moved along.

Having started at an early hour, they made good progress, but they were
still several days' journey from the capital.  Burnett, who rode at the
head of his troopers, was some little way in advance of the elephants,
when, towards evening, a horseman came galloping up.  He brought
unsatisfactory intelligence.  The rebels having reunited, were in great
force not far off, and with so valuable a prize in view as the ranee and
the young rajah, as Reginald was already called, they might be tempted
to make an attack on the party.  They had some light field-pieces, as
well as horse and foot, against whom Burnett's troopers would find it
difficult to contend.  Had he been called on to meet them without having
the ranee to defend, he would not have hesitated; but the risk was too
great to run if it could be avoided.  Not far off was a strong fort,
however, and he judged it wise to throw himself into it till he could
obtain reinforcements, either from Allahapoor or from the troops under
Colonel Ross.

Reginald of course agreed to his proposal, and before nightfall the
party was safe within the fort.  It had, it appeared, been occupied a
short time before by the rebels, but had been again abandoned by them.
An apartment was quickly made ready for the ranee.  The night passed
away without the appearance of the insurgents; indeed, they were not
likely to attack the fort with the garrison it now contained.

The next morning, as Reginald and Burnett were walking on the
battlements, they caught sight of a body of men approaching the fort, so
the garrison were immediately called to arms.  As the advancing forces
drew nearer, however, Burnett and Reginald discovered, to their great
satisfaction, the English flag; and in a little time they could
distinguish a body of sepoys and a small party of Europeans.  They
immediately ordered their horses out to meet the officer in command, who
was some way ahead of his men.

"Faith, I am glad to see you all alive!" exclaimed the officer, as he
and Captain Burnett shook hands.  "We were given to believe that you
were surrounded by a whole host of rebels, and I expected by this time
to be engaged in cutting them to pieces like mincemeat."

"We have not so much as seen an enemy," answered Burnett; "but
understanding that they were likely to attack us on the road to
Allahapoor, I thought it prudent to halt here, in order to wait till we
could obtain reinforcements from the capital, as we have the young ranee
in our charge."

"So Colonel Ross understood," observed the officer "And now have the
goodness to introduce me to this young prince, sultan, or rajah, or
whatever he is; and just interpret what I say, for I am no great hand at
talking their lingo."

"With all my heart," answered Burnett.

"Then just tell him that Major Molony, of Her Britannic Majesty's 990th
Regiment of Foot, desires to express his delight and satisfaction at
having arrived with a force under his command to defend him against all
the foes, past, present, and future, who may venture to interfere with
him in the execution of the humane and beneficent laws which he has
established for the peace and prosperity of his people.  I conclude he
does not cut off more than half-a-dozen heads a day, and only
confiscates the property of those of his nobles who are unable to defend
themselves."

Burnett began to translate what the major had said.  Unfortunately
Reginald could not command his countenance, so putting out his hand, he
exclaimed, laughing heartily--

"I assure you, my dear major, you scarcely do me justice.  Half-a-dozen
heads a day!  That's nothing.  How do you think I could keep the country
in order by such simple means?  People would look upon me as a mere
milksop.  Put it down as a hundred, and you would be quite as near the
mark."

Burnett now joined in the laugh at the major's astonishment and
confusion.

"I beg your highness's pardon," he exclaimed.  "I had no idea you could
speak English.  Faith, you speak it remarkably well too, I assure you,
on my honour; and I hope your highness is not offended at the remark I
made."

"Not at all," said Reginald, still laughing.  "May I ask after Mrs
Molony, and whether she has recovered from her voyage in the _Glamorgan
Castle_?"

"Why, as I am alive," exclaimed the major, "I do believe that you are
Mr Reginald Hamerton!  And your highness will pardon me if I make a
mistake."

Reginald at once acknowledged who he was, and the major, greatly
relieved, rode on with him and Burnett to the fort.  Scouts were at once
sent out to ascertain, if possible, the position and strength of the
enemy.  Major Molony said that he had received orders to assist in
escorting the ranee to Allahapoor; and it was agreed that, as soon as
they received intelligence that a force was marching out of that city to
assist them, they should proceed,--the major feeling confident that his
sepoys would be able to keep in check any number of the rebel forces.



CHAPTER EIGHT.

A GUNPOWDER PLOT--COCHUT CAUGHT--BALKISHEN HOISTED WITH HIS OWN PETARD--
THE MAJOR'S NARROW ESCAPE--COCHUT GIVES IMPORTANT INFORMATION--DICK
DESPATCHED WITH IT TO CALCUTTA--REGINALD ENTERS THE CITY--THE RAJAH'S
ILLNESS--TIDINGS OF THE CASKET--VISIT TO THE TEMPLE--THE CASKET
RECOVERED--DEATH OF THE RAJAH.

The traitor Balkishen had not been idle.  He had managed to collect the
rebel forces, and had been with them in the very fort that Reginald and
his party now occupied.  When they evacuated it, he with his slave Bikoo
had remained behind, intending to proceed from thence secretly to
Allahapoor, according to the information he might receive from his ally,
Khan Cochut.  Below the fort were some vaults in which, some time
before, the rebels had stowed a large supply of powder and other
munitions of war, concealed in huge oil-casks.  Just as he was about to
set out, he was joined by Cochut, who brought intelligence which seemed
to afford the two conspirators immense satisfaction.

"The fatal draught has been taken,--there can be no doubt of it.  The
whole city will soon be in a tumult!" whispered the khan, as if afraid
the very walls would hear him.  "Our friends will take possession of the
city, and the young rajah will be disappointed of his hopes.  When you
arrive, they will receive you with shouts of joy, as they know you will
restore the good old ways, and have nothing to do with the infidel
Feringhees.  For myself, I detest the English, and should delight in
seeing them driven out of the whole of India."

Balkishen assured Khan Cochut that his services should be amply
rewarded; and they agreed to remain a day or two longer in the fort, and
then to proceed leisurely to Allahapoor, calculating that they should
receive the expected intelligence of the rajah's death just before they
reached the city.  The sudden arrival of Burnett's advance-guard,
however, prevented them from escaping, and they found themselves shut up
like rats in a hole, with a scanty supply of food, and afraid to strike
a light lest a spark should set fire to the combustible materials around
them.

A day and a night passed away.  Unless they could make their escape, all
their plans would be defeated; for if Balkishen could not make his
appearance in the city at the right moment, a rival might gain the
power, from which it would be difficult to displace him.

They were neither of them very conscientious persons.  A bright idea
struck Balkishen.  "We may blow up the fort," he whispered to his
friend, "destroy the ranee and her brother, and make our escape in the
confusion.  You are a brave man, Khan Cochut, and shall have the post of
honour.  While Bikoo and I seize three horses, you shall have the
privilege of lighting the slow match; and we shall have time to reach
our steeds and gallop off before the stones come rattling about our
heads."

"I am much obliged to you for the compliment," answered Cochut; "but I
must leave that honour to you.  I am unable to run fast, and should
prefer securing the horses."

Cochut was so positive, that at length Balkishen, who calculated that
the task of setting fire to the slow match might be the least dangerous,
undertook it.  Afraid of creeping out by daylight, they were unable to
ascertain what was taking place in the fort above them; but they
calculated that the most propitious time for putting their nefarious
project into execution would be just before daybreak.

At length the time arrived.  Balkishen had prepared a long slow match.

"Now, my friend," he said, "do you and Bikoo creep out and secure three
horses, and I will light the slow match."

Khan Cochut, who was unusually brave when any wicked deed was to be
done, silently made his way out of the vault through a door which led
into a narrow passage, and from this into an open court.  Knowing that
he might meet with opposition from some of the syces in charge of the
horses, he held a pistol in his hand.  A few threatening words, he
thought, would induce them to keep silence.  He was surprised to find
that the dawn had already broken.  He hesitated a minute; but
recollecting that Balkishen would by this time have set fire to the slow
match, he boldly stepped out from behind the wall which concealed him,
closely followed by Bikoo.  As he did so, he found himself face to face
with a powerful-looking black slave conducting an elephant across the
yard.  The slave looked at him for an instant, and, pronouncing his
name, asked him where he was going.  Instead of replying, he pointed his
pistol at the black's head, expecting to intimidate him.  The next
instant his weapon was knocked out of his hand; and the slave, seizing
him by the throat, exclaimed, "You are the traitor who carried off the
young ranee.  You must come with me to the rajah, and tell him what you
have been doing here."

"I'll come, my friend, willingly," exclaimed Cochut; "only take me out
of the fort.  You don't know what is going to happen.  You and I and the
elephant may be blown into atoms in a few minutes.  Take me out of the
fort,--take me out of the fort!  Quick!  Quick!"

"That's where I am going to take you," answered Sambro; for he was the
black slave.  "Come along, my friend; come along."

At that moment casting his eyes on Bikoo, who stood trembling near by,
he made a sign to the elephant, which immediately wound its trunk round
the slave's body, and walked behind Sambro and the khan.  To the
surprise of the latter, he found the gates open, and saw a number of
elephants and a large party of foot and horse winding along the road.
He and his fellow-conspirator, not being aware of the custom of English
troops to perform their marches during the cooler hours of the day--that
is to say, in the latter part of the day and early in the morning--had
not calculated on the possibility of their prey escaping them.  Still,
apparently, some of the troops had not left the fort; and he could only
hope that those he wished to destroy were still there.  He therefore
turned many an anxious glance back at the fort, and kept urging Sambro
to move faster.

Meanwhile, Balkishen having waited till he thought his accomplice would
have been able to secure the horses, set fire to the train, and then
hurried away to join him.  On ascending the steps, however, his foot
slipped and down he fell.  In vain he shouted to Khan Cochut and Bikoo
to come and help him.  The slave was too far off to hear his master's
voice.  The match went on burning, approaching the fatal barrel with
fearful rapidity.  In vain Balkishen endeavoured to rise.  He had
dislocated his ankle, or otherwise injured it.  Again and again he
shrieked out.  Though unable to stand, he crawled up the steps.  To save
his life, he must have run faster than he had ever before done.  In his
imagination he pictured the match not an inch from the barrel.  In a few
seconds the fire would touch the powder, and all would be over.

Major Molony had mounted his horse, and the sepoys having moved on, the
European troop had just fallen in outside the fort, and were beginning
to march, when suddenly an awful roar was heard, and a vast sheet of
flame ascended from the middle of the fort.  The major, clapping spurs
into his horse's flanks and dashing forward, ordered his men to run for
their lives.  But the warning came too late, for many of the poor
fellows were struck down.  Though pieces of stone and huge masses of
timber fell around on every side, the gallant major escaped uninjured,
as did happily the larger portion of his men; and, as he rode forward to
meet Burnett, who came galloping up, he passed Sambro, dragging on Khan
Cochut, and the elephant carrying the slave Bikoo.  Sambro explained the
way in which he had captured the khan and his companion, and described
their suspicious conduct.  Burnett ordered him to give them in charge of
a party of sepoys, who were directed on no account to let them escape.

A short halt was called, for the purpose of burying the dead.  During
the time, Burnett and the major examined the fort, but made no discovery
which enabled them to fathom the mysterious circumstance.  Not a living
being remained within it.  Should any unfortunate persons have been left
behind, they must have been blown to pieces.  Burnett then rode forward
to explain what had happened to Reginald; but as a long delay was
unadvisable, he deferred the examination of Khan Cochut and his
companion till their noonday halt.

Though Reginald was very happy to devote himself to his young sister,
and to go through any amount of ceremony which his new position demanded
of him, he soon got tired of sitting in a howdah; so ordering a horse to
be prepared, he mounted, and took his place with Burnett at the head of
his troops.

The scouts sent out returned with the report that the enemy had
retreated--probably overawed by the imposing force protecting the
ranee--and the intelligence that other troops were advancing from the
capital.  A strong body of these troops were met at the spot fixed on
for the noonday halt, and handsomely-furnished tents were already
pitched.

That there had been a nefarious plot to destroy the lives of himself and
his sister, Reginald felt convinced; therefore, as soon as the necessary
ceremonies had been gone through in receiving the officers of the
newly-arrived troops, Reginald ordered that Khan Cochut and the slave
should be brought before him.  The only person present besides Burnett
was Buxsoo, on whose judgment and acuteness Reginald knew that he could
rely to elicit the truth from the slave, if not from Cochut, who was not
at all likely to confess it unless from dire necessity.  Both were
subjected to a close cross-examination; and Buxsoo also examined them,
in a way worthy of an English lawyer.  Reginald, indeed, felt convinced
that they had been instrumental in blowing up the fort.  The slave
pleaded that he had to obey the commands of his master, who was probably
destroyed; while Cochut, who had no such excuse to offer, exhibited the
most abject fear, and offered to give information of the greatest
importance, provided his life was spared and his property secured to
him.  He declined, however, doing so in the presence of Buxsoo.

"You may say anything before him without fear of being betrayed,"
answered Reginald; "I am responsible for his fidelity.  And if I find
that the information you give is not perfectly correct, I shall leave
you to the fate you deserve; but if, on the contrary, it is of the
consequence you state, I will undertake that you shall be allowed to go,
with all your wealth, ill-gotten as I am afraid it has been."

After much hesitation, Cochut declared that the natives throughout the
greater part of the country were ripe for rebellion against the English,
and all who favoured their rule; that the rajah had been especially
marked out for destruction, because he was evidently attached to the
Feringhees; and that before long it was hoped that they might be driven
out of the country.

Again and again Cochut protested that what he said was correct.
Reginald appealed to Buxsoo, who acknowledged that the statement made by
Cochut was probably too true.  He himself had had his suspicions aroused
for some time, but he had not as yet gained sufficient information to
enable him to warn the authorities.

Reginald consulted with Burnett, and they agreed that they were bound at
all events to warn the authorities at Calcutta as soon as possible, and
also to let Colonel Ross know what they had heard.  The difficulty was,
to find a messenger who could be trusted.  Burnett was unwilling to go,
for he felt that his presence was necessary for the protection, not only
of the ranee, but of Reginald, as he fancied that he could at all events
trust his troopers while he continued in command of them.  If Buxsoo
were sent, he might be suspected and stopped, and too probably murdered
on the road.

"Then I will send Dick Thuddichum," said Reginald.  "No one will suspect
him; and any message I give he will deliver to the letter.  He is well
known in Calcutta by persons who can vouch for him, and who will
immediately enable him to obtain an interview with the Government
gentlemen or members of Council; and he will explain why I considered it
prudent not to send any written despatch."

Burnett agreed to Reginald's proposal; and Cochut and Bikoo having been
given into safe keeping, Dick was summoned and received the necessary
directions.  In a few minutes he was ready for his departure, with his
master's verbal despatches carefully stowed away in his capacious head,
out of which no one but those to whom they were to be delivered were
likely to draw them.

"You'll look after Faithful, sir!" exclaimed Dick, giving a hitch to his
trousers.  "I don't much like leaving the poor beast to the mercy of
these nigger fellows, lest they should play her any tricks.  Though with
me she's as gentle as a lamb, she don't much fancy them.  But you'll not
forget her, sir, I know.  Just let her have half a sheep a day, at
least.  It will keep her in condition, and prevent her from doing any
mischief or helping herself to a blackamoor baby, which she might be apt
to do if she didn't get her proper food; and small blame to her, seeing,
so to speak, it's her nature."

Reginald assured Dick, that notwithstanding the affairs of state which
would occupy his attention, he would take good care that the faithful
tigress was not neglected.

"I'm sure as how it wouldn't be your fault if she was, sir," answered
Dick.  "But it's them niggers I'm mistrustful of; though, I think, if
you was to let 'em know that you'll hang half-a-dozen of them if any
harm comes to her, they'll be inclined to treat her properly."

The mind of the honest sailor being at length set at rest on that score,
he took leave of his master and Burnett Dick made his way without
interruption to the Ganges, where he found a boat descending the river,
and in due course reached Calcutta.  Following Reginald's directions, he
soon got himself conducted before the members of Council--the Board
fortunately sitting at the time.  He entered with his usual undaunted
air, not at all abashed by finding himself in the presence of so august
an assembly.

On being asked what information he brought, he doffed his hat, and
replied--

"Please your worships, I am sent by my master, the young Rajah of
Allahapoor--as he now is, seeing that his grandfather, the old rajah,
has ordered him to tack that title to his name--to tell your worships
that the rascally natives have determined, if they can get the chance,
to cut the throats of every mother's son among the English, on the first
opportunity.  It may be soon or it may be some time hence, but he thinks
it as well that you should be warned, and be prepared for whatever may
happen."

Dick then gave verbatim Reginald's message; after which he was directed
to retire, while the members held a consultation on the extraordinary
information they had received.

The next day Dick was ordered to return, and to inform his master that
the Council would pay due attention to the warning he had been good
enough to send them.

We must now go back to Reginald.  While encamped next day at noon, the
expected reinforcements from the city arrived, with a despatch from the
rajah telling him that he was very ill, and urging him to advance
without delay.  It was his wish that his grandson should enter the city
in due state, to produce an impression on the population.  Reginald had
therefore, against his own inclination, to don a still richer costume
than he had yet appeared in; and with a body of officers and guards
walking on either side of him, and Burnett's troopers following on
horseback, he prepared to enter the city.  The ranee, no longer looked
upon as a chief personage, sat concealed in a howdah on the back of an
elephant towards the rear of the procession.  The vast crowd assembled
filled the air with their acclamations; and had not Reginald been well
acquainted with the state of affairs, he might have supposed himself the
popular ruler of a happy and loyal people.  He very well knew, however,
that any one of the nobles and guards surrounding him would be ready, at
a convenient opportunity, to send a bullet through his head, or give him
a cup of poison; and that the populace, now shouting his praises, would
with equal delight drag his mangled body through the streets, should a
rival succeed in deposing him.  His satisfaction at the exalted position
he had so unexpectedly obtained was, therefore, not without alloy.  His
thoughts, however, flew away to Violet Ross, and he could not help
hoping that her father would no longer object to him as a son-in-law.
That she had remained faithful, he had no doubt; and he should soon have
the happiness, he hoped, of again seeing her.  Should she object to live
surrounded by the splendour of an Oriental court, he was ready, could he
do so with honour, by placing the country under the English Government,
to give up India, and assume that position in England to which he hoped
to prove himself entitled, should he recover the missing documents of
which he was in search.

Such were the thoughts which occupied his mind as he rode through the
streets, amid the obsequious and bowing multitude who thronged around.
As he approached the palace, rich carpets covered the road; and the
rajah's bodyguard, with their officers in gorgeous costumes, stood drawn
up to receive him.  He felt considerable anxiety at not seeing the rajah
himself, and it was increased on being informed that he lay too ill to
rise, but that he waited the arrival of his grandson on his couch in his
private apartment.  Saluting the officials of the palace as he passed
along, he hurried to the old man's side.

"I am thankful that you have come, my son, for I am sick unto death,"
said the rajah.  "My own physicians know not what is the matter with me,
and I have sent to beg that the English doctor who has accompanied the
resident may forthwith come and prescribe for me."

Reginald, of course, expressed a hope that the doctor would soon arrive,
and have the happiness of restoring him to health.

"And now let me hear an account of your adventures," said the rajah.

Reginald briefly gave it; not forgetting to speak in the highest terms
of Burnett, in the hope that the rajah would be induced to sanction his
marriage with Nuna.  He then thought it right to tell his grandfather of
the information he had received from Khan Cochut.

"He is a cunning fellow, and may have wormed it out of some of the
natives, though I doubt whether many would trust him," observed the
rajah.  "But you tell me that a slave of that traitor Balkishen has been
captured; let him be brought to me.  He knows more about his master's
affairs than any one else, and for the sake of saving his life will
willingly give all the information he possesses."

Reginald was still with the rajah when Nuna arrived.  She was
overwhelmed with grief at seeing him so ill.  He spoke to her kindly,
but it was evident that he had transferred his affections to his
grandson, whom he looked upon as his successor.  Reginald did his best
to make amends to her for the change in their grandfather's manner; but
she seemed rather pleased than otherwise, having had no ambition to
occupy the exalted position to which she had been destined.  Perhaps she
reflected that it might remove all objections the rajah would have
entertained with regard to bestowing her hand on her brother's friend.

Soon after she had retired, the slave Bikoo, for whom Reginald had sent,
was brought, heavily chained, into the presence of the rajah, who at
once promised him his life on condition that he would afford all the
information he possessed regarding the proceedings of his late master
Balkishen.

"You have described him certainly as a great villain," observed the
rajah, when the slave had apparently finished his account; "but is there
nothing else you can add?  I was already aware of most of the
circumstances you have told me."

"I will confess to another crime, if I may be pardoned for taking part
in it; for consider, O Rajah!  In your benignity, that I am but a slave,
and my master compelled me to act the part I did," answered Bikoo,
trembling all over.

"You have my promise, wretched slave, that no punishment shall overtake
you on account of anything you may confess," said the rajah.  "Say on,
slave."

Bikoo, recovering himself, continued--

"I managed to steal into your highness's treasury, from whence I carried
off a casket full of papers, of which my master desired to possess
himself."

"What has become of them?" asked Reginald eagerly.

"Remember that if you speak not the truth you will immediately be put to
death," added the rajah.

"O Refuge of the World, far be it from me to deceive you," answered the
slave.  "The casket was placed by my master, with other treasures,
within the tomb of the learned saint Danee Domanuck, in the temple of
the great god Doorga, before which the pious priests of our faith, at
morn, noonday, and eventide, are wont to stand reciting the prayers and
the wise sayings he composed; but so absorbed are they in their
devotions that they will not discover who enters the temple, and the
casket may without difficulty be recovered.  If my pardon is granted, I
will undertake to carry it off from the spot in which I before placed
it."

"Pardon or no pardon, the casket must be brought here before sunset,"
exclaimed the rajah.  "But what assurance have I that you speak the
truth, and will not endeavour to make your escape should I order your
chains to be knocked off, and allow you to go free?"

"Refuge of the World, I am incapable of such treachery," said Bikoo,
putting his hand to his heart.

"With your highness's leave, I will accompany the slave," said Reginald.
"If I assume my European costume I shall not be recognised, and the
priests will suppose me a stranger led by curiosity to visit their
temple.  If the slave speaks the truth, the casket may then be obtained
without difficulty; and as I will go well armed, I will protect him
should the priests attempt to take it from him."

"You may go, my son," said the rajah; "but, as a protection, take fifty
of my guards and station them outside the temple, with directions to be
ready to rush in at a signal from you, and to capture the priests,
should they attempt to stop you.  That will be a shorter way of
proceeding than the slave proposes; and those priests are all great
rascals, to my certain knowledge."

Reginald had grave doubts whether, after all, the slave was not
deceiving him.  He could scarcely believe that the object for which he
had been so long in search was almost within his grasp.  The rajah urged
him to return as soon as possible, and was evidently unwilling to have
him long out of his sight.

After giving orders to the chief officer of the guards to select a band
of fifty trustworthy men, he changed his Oriental costume for his
seaman's dress, taking care to stick a brace of pistols and a dagger in
his belt.  Then ordering Bikoo to accompany him, he set out for the
temple, which was in a remote part of the city.

Quaint and monstrous designs ornamented all parts of the building.
Leaving the guard outside, Reginald passed under a low archway, when he
found himself in a hall, on each side of which he could distinguish,
through the dim obscurity, the hideous forms of the presiding divinities
of the temple.

"I see no priests or worshippers in the place," he whispered to Bikoo.

"The holy men are engaged in their devotions in the lower hall, where
the tomb of the saint is situated," answered Bikoo, leading the way.

Reginald followed, holding a pistol ready for use, should his guide
prove treacherous, or the priests appear inclined to oppose his
entrance.  At the further end of the upper hall was a flight of steps
leading downwards.  The slave descended them, and Reginald boldly made
his way after him.  His ear then caught the sound of persons uttering
prayers in low monotonous tones; and on reaching the bottom of the steps
he saw, by the light of a lamp which burned on an altar on one aide of
the vault, a number of strange-looking beings.  Some had long matted
hair hanging over their faces, and heavy iron hoops round their necks;
most of them with garments scarcely sufficient for decency.  Some were
standing upright, beating their breasts; others were kneeling or
extending themselves flat on the ground, against which they were
striking their heads.

Before a tomb of richly-carved stone stood an aged man, with a long
white beard, but with scarcely more clothing on him than his companions
had.  In his arms he held a large open volume, and though he could not,
from the position in which he held it, have read its pages, he was
apparently repeating the contents.  Reginald doubted whether he was
sufficiently absorbed in his task not to observe him as he approached.
Bikoo glided noiselessly behind the tomb, while Reginald stood ready to
assist him, watching the countenances of the degraded beings engaged in
this strange mode of worship.  Most of them stood as motionless as
statues, with their eyes seemingly fixed on vacancy their lips only
moving as they uttered their meaningless prayers.  For a moment it
struck Reginald as a clever trick of the slave to effect his escape.
But at length he saw him emerge from the darkness, carrying something
wrapped in a cloth, which he held close to his side to prevent the
priests from seeing it.  He hoped in another moment to have the
long-wished-for treasure in his hand, when the seemingly unconscious
beings before him dashed forward to seize Bikoo, who, springing for
protection to the young rajah, gave him the casket.  The priests on this
turned on the white stranger, whom they now apparently perceived for the
first time.

"Sacrilege!  Sacrilege!" they cried out.  "You are robbing us of our
treasures.  The curses of the gods will fall on you."

"My friends," exclaimed Reginald, presenting his pistol, "stand back,
and I will explain myself.  This casket belongs to me, and was stolen by
one of your fraternity, so that I am but recovering my own.  If I am
rightly informed, a considerable amount of property stolen from other
persons lies concealed in this vault.  My guards are without, and,
summoned by me, they will enter, and, taking possession of all the
treasures they can find, will deliver them to their proper owners.  If
you refrain from interfering with my proceedings, I will allow you to
continue your devotions, and to remain at present as guardians of the
treasures concealed in this place."

The priests, considering that "discretion was the better part of
valour," and seeing the bold bearing of the young stranger, allowed him
and Bikoo to mount the steps; when, traversing the hall, they quickly
made their way into the open air, glad to escape from the mephitic
atmosphere of the vault and the fury of the priests--who, as soon as
they had recovered from their astonishment, broke forth in loud cries
and threats of vengeance.  They grew cooler, however, on discovering the
rajah's troops at the entrance of the temple, and hurried back to their
devotions with the advice they had received from the stranger strongly
impressed on their minds.  Many a prayer was offered up that Doorga
would protect their ill-gotten wealth from the grasp of the infidels.

Followed closely by his guards, Reginald, who had a horse in waiting,
rode back to the palace, carrying the precious casket, which he was
unwilling to trust to other hands.  On his arrival an officer met him at
the gate with a message from the rajah, who was anxiously waiting his
return.  Reginald found him, to his surprise, on foot, pacing slowly up
and down a broad verandah overlooking the city, to which he had caused
his divan to be carried, that he might enjoy the fresh air.

"Have you been successful, my son?" exclaimed the old man eagerly, as
Reginald approached.  "Tell me quickly; for a dimness has come over my
eyes, and I feel a strange sinking of the heart, which forebodes I know
not what."

Reginald exhibited the wished-for casket.

"It is the same, my son," he exclaimed; "and contains, I trust, the
valuable documents your father committed to my care.  Let me see them; I
shall know them at once."

Reginald was about to try and open the casket, when he saw a peculiar
expression pass over the countenance of the rajah, who staggered and
sank back on the divan near which he was standing.  The old man gazed at
him with a look of affection, and tried to speak; but in vain.  He drew
his breath every instant with more and more labour; and then came one
more sigh, and he seemed to be sleeping calmly.  Reginald threw himself
by his side and took his hand.  It failed to return his grasp.  He gazed
at the old man's countenance, unable to persuade himself that he was
really dead; but he became aware of the fact by the loud cries of the
women, who, with fans in their hands, had been in readiness to cool his
fevered brow as he lay on the couch.

"Oh, I wish that the English doctor had arrived before," thought
Reginald.  "He might have saved his life."

At that moment he was aroused by the voice of Burnett, who, approaching,
exclaimed, "I trust the rajah is not worse.  Dr Graham has ridden hard
to come to him."

"I have arrived too late," said the doctor, as he took the old man's
hand, and looked into his countenance.  "But not too late to form an
opinion of the disease which has carried him off.  He has been poisoned;
and a further examination will confirm what I say."

Reginald was horrified; but the doctor asserted that he was right.

"Let me advise your highness to be careful of what food you partake and
what beverages you drink.  The same hand which mixed the potion for your
grandfather may be ready to administer a similar one to you," added the
doctor.



CHAPTER NINE.

REGINALD RAJAH OF ALLAHAPOOR--ARRIVAL OF CAPTAIN HAWKESFORD--VISIT TO
BUXSOO'S FAMILY--THE CAPTAIN TAKEN BY SURPRISE--A BANQUET--REGINALD
ESCORTS NUNA TO THE RESIDENCY--MEETING OF NUNA AND VIOLET.

The late rajah had been carried to the tomb of his ancestors in state,
and Reginald had been duly installed as his successor amid the
acclamations of the people.  But remembering the warning he had
received, he was very far from enjoying his new position.  Willingly
would he have left the country, and the Oriental magnificence in which
he lived, had he not felt that it was his duty to remain and endeavour
to ameliorate the condition of his subjects.

Nuna had been much grieved at the loss of her grandfather, and had
hitherto been unwilling to appear in public; though she could not help
looking forward with satisfaction to the greater liberty she would be
able to enjoy.  Reginald had had a long conversation with her about his
friend Burnett; and she had confessed that she would rather become his
wife than that of the most wealthy and powerful prince in the country.
So Reginald, knowing his friend's sentiments, considered the matter
settled.

He took an early opportunity of telling Burnett, who thanked him
heartily for having undertaken his cause with the ranee.

"You will ever find me, I trust, my dear Reginald, faithful and devoted
to your interests," he added.

"That I am very sure you will be," said Reginald.  "But, charming as my
sister is, I suspect her education is not quite up to what a young
English lady's should be.  We must get her better instructed in certain
female accomplishments.  I contemplate asking Colonel Ross to allow her
to reside with his daughter in the cantonments, where she cannot fail to
benefit by Violet's example, and such instruction as she is able to
impart.  I wish that the colonel would get over his visit of state, that
I might return it, and have the opportunity of seeing Violet, when I
would broach the subject.  It is tantalising to have her so near, and
yet not to be able to go and see her."

Burnett thought Reginald's plan a very good one, and was sure that Nuna
would be delighted with it.

So occupied had Reginald been since the death of the rajah, that he had
been unable to write to Colonel Ross, who might possibly be still
ignorant of who he was.  For the same reason he had not as yet written
to Violet.  Managing at length to withdraw himself for a short interval
from the crowd of courtiers and nobles who had arrived to pay their
respects--of suppliants who came with petitions or complaints--and of
officers of various grades who waited to receive orders--he had retired
to the only room in which he could enjoy that privacy which he so much
required.  Near it was one occupied by Burnett; and on the other side
was a chamber which he intended for the use of any European guest who
might visit the palace.

He quickly wrote the letter to Colonel Ross, telling him of the
wonderful change in his circumstances.  He assured him that he now
possessed the documents of which he had been in search, and which
enabled him to claim a handsome estate and title in England; and he
expressed a hope that Colonel Ross would not refuse to allow him to look
forward to the possession of his daughter's hand.  It was, it must be
stated, a very humble and moderate letter, considering the position the
writer enjoyed.

He then began one to Violet, giving a brief account of all his
adventures; assuring her that his love was unaltered, that the splendour
of his court had no attractions for him, and that he would abandon it as
soon as he had performed his duty to the people by placing them under
the English Government, and return with her to her native land.  He had
still much more to say--indeed, he was not altogether satisfied with
what he had said--when an attendant entered and informed him that an
English officer had arrived with despatches from the cantonments, and
desired to deliver them in person.

Reginald, with somewhat of a sailor's carelessness, left his papers on
the table at which he had been writing, with the casket and the precious
document it contained.  Remembering that he ought to assume the state
and dignity in which his grandfather always appeared in public, he
habited himself in his rajah's costume, and, with the chief officers of
his household, entered the reception-hall; at one end of which he took
his seat on a raised ottoman, which served as a throne, his grim
bodyguard in full armour lining either side of the hall, while the late
rajah's scimitar and shield hung above his head.  All being arranged, he
directed that the officer should be admitted.

On the curtain being drawn aside for the entrance of his visitor,
Reginald's eyes fell on Captain Hawkesford, who was advancing towards
him.  He kept his countenance, wondering whether he should be
recognised; but it was evident from the captain's manner that he did not
suspect into whose presence he had been admitted.  Speaking Hindostanee
with tolerable fluency, he did not require an interpreter; and having
gone through the usual ceremony, he delivered his dispatches, which
Reginald eagerly read.  The captain then gave a verbal message he had
been directed to deliver.  It was to the effect that the resident hoped
to be allowed, in the course of a day or two, to pay his respects to his
highness, to congratulate him on his accession to the dignity of Rajah
of Allahapoor, and to express his sympathy at the loss he had sustained
by the death of his father, of which he had only just heard.  The
resident had been led to suppose that the ranee would have succeeded;
and he was rejoiced at the thought that the government of the country
was in the hands of one who, he doubted not, would be well able to rule
the people, while he begged to assure him of the cordial support of the
British Government.

Reginald--who had his reasons for not wishing Captain Hawkesford to
discover who he was--naturally fearing that his pronunciation might
betray him, answered with due caution, and kept his eyes fixed on the
captain's countenance.  The result of his scrutiny convinced him that
his guest was still under the impression that he was in the presence of
a native prince.  He was still further assured of this when Captain
Hawkesford asked if his highness could inform him what had become of the
young Englishman who was said to have been at the court of the rajah,
and to have accompanied him in his disastrous expedition against the
hill tribes.  It was his duty, he observed, to warn his highness against
that young man, whose objects were open to suspicion; for although he
was accompanied by an English officer, he had come up the country
without any authority from the Government at Calcutta.  It was
considered more than probable that he was a Russian spy, whose aim was
to create a disturbance, and either to set the people against their
rulers, or, by instigating the rulers to conspire against the English,
to allow the easy access of a Russian army into the country.

"Does the British resident send this as a message to me?" asked
Reginald, restraining his indignation.

"I was not directed to deliver it," answered Captain Hawkesford; "but I
considered that it would be advisable to warn your highness,--and I
mentioned the subject merely, as it were, in the course of
conversation."

"I will follow your advice, and watch the proceedings of the young man--
who is, I have every reason to believe, still in the city," answered
Reginald.  "The late rajah held him in high esteem, and from what I know
of him I should not have supposed that he was a Russian spy, or a person
likely to be engaged in plots against the English Government."

"Your highness should be aware that conspirators find it necessary to
assume all sorts of characters and disguises, and that, plausible as the
person in question may have appeared, he is not the less likely to be an
arrant rogue."

"We will suppose him, then, to be a rogue, till he has been proved to be
an honest man, and narrowly watch his proceedings," said Reginald in a
tone which made Captain Hawkesford start, and look earnestly at
Reginald.  The latter, however, kept his countenance, and after some
further conversation directed that the English officer should be
conducted to the guest-room, where he might rest till the time appointed
for a banquet, at which several nobles, as well as Captain Burnett, were
to be present.  Reginald, after having received a few petitions, and
transacted some other public business, retired to his room, where he
threw off his robes of state, and assumed his light seaman's dress,
which he infinitely preferred to wear.  He had an object, however, on
this occasion, in doing so.  He wished to visit his Christian friend
Dhunna Singh privately, whose sons, including Buxsoo, were busily
employed in gaining information for him; for he was well aware that he
could not trust any of his nobles, or any other person about the court.
There might be honest men among them, but he had as yet been unable to
discover them.  The intelligence he had received from Dhunna Singh was
unsatisfactory.  There could be no doubt that the plot of which he had
before heard for his destruction, and for the overthrow of the British
rule, was fast ripening, and he could not but regret that the old rajah
had petitioned for the English forces,--which, though they might, under
ordinary circumstances, have materially assisted in keeping his own
subjects in check, were utterly inadequate for the purpose should the
whole country rise in arms, as he was led to fear would be the case.  He
resolved, in consequence of the information he had lately received, to
send Captain Hawkesford back with a despatch to Colonel Ross, warning
him of the danger, and urging him to be on his guard.

After waiting for some time to see Buxsoo, who had been out in the city
picking up fresh information, Reginald returned to the palace
accompanied by Faithful, who usually attended him when he went out
without a guard.  Entering by the rear of the palace, he made his way,
as was his custom, up the back steps to his private room.  A curtain
hung before the doorway, and what was his astonishment and indignation,
on drawing it slightly aside, to see Captain Hawkesford seated at the
table, pen in hand, and busily employed in making notes from the
documents which he had taken out of the casket!  He hesitated for some
moments as to how he should act towards the captain.  He could, however,
scarcely restrain his anger when he saw him, after reading the despatch
to Colonel Ross, deliberately glance his eye over the letter to Violet.
Boiling with rage, he drew from his belt a revolver, without which he
never went abroad, and silently walked up to the table, which he reached
without being perceived by the intruder.  Faithful, entering at his
heels, sprang forward and raised her head above the table, on which she
placed one of her huge paws, directly facing the captain, who threw
himself back in his chair with a look of horror and despair in his
countenance.

"What treatment do you expect from the man whom you have maligned, whose
private letters you have, contrary to all the laws of honour, ventured
to peruse?" exclaimed Reginald.  "I am not going to imbrue my hands in
your blood; but this tigress would, at a word from me, tear you limb
from limb.  You have broken through all the laws of hospitality, and in
consequence of my carelessness obtained a secret with which I wished no
one to be acquainted till the proper time arrived for making it known."

"I--I--I--I humbly beg your pardon," exclaimed the captain, his voice
trembling with terror.  "I had no idea that you and the young rajah of
Allahapoor were one and the same person.  When I spoke as I did, I
merely repeated the reports I had heard.  I entreat you to forgive me,
and I faithfully promise to keep your secret."

"I have no choice but to trust you," answered Reginald sternly.  "You
see that your father, who would have deprived me of my property and
title, has no prospect of success if I live and can produce these
documents.  What you would have done with them had I not opportunely
arrived, I cannot pretend to say.  But I am not anxious for further
conversation.  Retire, sir, to your room.  It is my desire that you
appear at the public banquet as if nothing had happened, and after that
return as soon as you can to the cantonments with the despatches which I
will deliver to you for Colonel Ross.  The private letter you have had
the audacity to read, I will send by another messenger.  And now, sir, I
say again, go, and meditate on what has happened.  That I have spared
your life, may induce you to act with some degree of gratitude."

Hawkesford, obeying the order he had received, rose from his seat.  A
loud growl uttered by the tigress made him spring rapidly towards the
door.  She would probably have followed and caught him, had she not been
restrained by the voice of her master.

Reginald having closed the door behind the retreating officer, sat down,
and thought over the position of affairs and the numerous important
matters which pressed on his mind.  That he was surrounded by dangers of
all sorts, he felt convinced.  He knew full well that he had traitors
within the walls of his palace; and that his subjects, who had lately
received him with shouts of exuberant joy, might at any moment turn
again and shout loudly for his destruction; while his troops could not
be depended on.  He had his stanch friend Burnett by his side, and he
could rely on Dhunna Singh and his sons; while Faithful, he felt sure,
would defend him with her life.  He was not, however, so much concerned
about his own personal safety as he was for that of Nuna; and as every
supporter was of consequence, he could not help wishing for the return
of Dick Thuddichum.

So absorbed was he in his thoughts that he did not calculate how the
time went by, and he was still sitting at his desk when an attendant
appeared to announce that the banquet was prepared.  Not forgetting this
time to lock up his documents, and to stow away the casket in a place of
safety, he hastily donned his Oriental costume, and entered the grand
hall, where the guests were already assembled, with as serene a
countenance as he could command.  Taking the seat hitherto occupied by
the old rajah, he summoned Burnett to a place by his side; requesting
Captain Hawkesford, who stood with a somewhat downcast look, to take one
on the other hand; the nobles and other guests dropping into their
places according to their rank, leaving one side of the table, as was
usual, unoccupied.  Reginald had left the whole arrangements to the
"master of the ceremonies," having forgotten to express any wish on the
subject; the customs which had been in vogue during the old rajah's time
were consequently adhered to.

As soon as the more substantial part of the feast had been concluded, a
band of dancing-girls and musicians made their appearance; followed by a
puppet-show, which might have afforded amusement to a party of children,
but which to Reginald's taste appeared absurd in the extreme.  He felt
far more disgusted with the performances of the nautch-girls, and he
resolved to prohibit their introduction in future.

He expressed his intention to Burnett.  "I agree with you," was the
answer; "but I am afraid that your plans, if carried out, will make you
unpopular with your courtiers."

"I would rather be unpopular than sanction so barbarous a custom."

"There are not a few barbarous customs which you will have to get rid of
before you will be satisfied," said Burnett.

"No English lady would like to see her sex so degraded by being
compelled to exhibit themselves as these poor girls are," said Reginald,
thinking of Violet.

"I suspect that the performances at an English opera-house can scarcely
claim a higher position than the exhibitions of these nautch-girls,"
observed Burnett.

"I never went to an opera in England, but I should not have supposed
that a scene like this would have been tolerated in a civilised
country," said Reginald.

"Your highness is very particular," observed Captain Hawkesford with a
scarcely suppressed sneer.

"No man can be too particular in doing what is right," said Reginald,
turning away from his guest, to whom he had hitherto paid just as much
attention as etiquette required.

He was glad, however, when the banquet came to a conclusion; when,
issuing an order that Captain Hawkesford's escort should be in readiness
to start, he, with studied formality, wished him goodbye; and telling
Burnett that he desired his company, he retired to his private
apartment.

Burnett in a short time made his appearance.

"I cannot stand this sort of thing much longer," Reginald exclaimed, as
he paced up and down the room.  "I will try to carry out the necessary
reforms, and I will then beg the British Government to take possession
of the country, and to preserve order as best they can.  I am sure
Violet will never be happy here; and I intend proposing a return to
England as soon as her father will consent to our marriage."

"There is not much probability that the colonel will refuse his
permission," observed Burnett, laughing; "and I trust that you will
allow me, at the same time, to become the husband of your sister."

The next day, Colonel Ross arrived to pay his state visit.  Reginald
received him with a full display of Oriental magnificence.  As soon as
etiquette would allow, he begged his presence in his private apartments,
where, having briefly narrated his adventures, he gave an account of his
birth and prospects.  He declared that his sole ambition was to become
the husband of Violet, and to devote himself to the delightful task of
making her happy.

"You have hitherto known me only as Reginald Hamerton, and such I might
have remained had I not visited Allahapoor, where, in an unexpected
manner, I was acknowledged by the rajah as the son of his daughter, and
by his means succeeded in obtaining possession of certain documents
which I had been charged by my father if possible to obtain.  Some were
title-deeds of large estates in England: the most important, however,
being the marriage certificate of my father and mother; the existence of
which was denied by those who disputed my claim to the title of Lord
Hamerton and the possession of the estates."

Colonel Ross, as Burnett had shrewdly suspected, did not hesitate to
afford Reginald his hearty sanction to his marriage with his daughter.
"Indeed," he added, "after having discovered that my daughter's heart
was truly yours, I had determined to waive any objections I entertained,
should I, on further inquiries, have found you as worthy of her as she
believed you to be."

Reginald was warm in his expressions of gratitude.  He felt infinitely
happier than he had been for many a long day.  Indeed, all the
difficulties with which he was surrounded appeared to have vanished.
Colonel Ross willingly agreed to his proposal that Nuna should take up
her residence in the cantonments with Violet, and it was arranged that
Reginald should escort his sister there the following day.  The colonel
was residing in a bungalow which had been repaired for his reception,
and which would afford sufficient accommodation for Nuna and the few
attendants she wished to accompany her.  Reginald would gladly have set
off with the colonel, but he was unwilling to leave Nuna in the palace
alone; he was compelled, therefore, to restrain his impatience until the
following day.

He wisely kept his plan a secret; and when the richly-caparisoned
elephants, escorted by a body of horse, were seen moving through the
city, it was supposed that the ranee was simply going to pay a visit of
state to the daughter of the English resident.

Reginald rode on horseback, with Burnett by his side, and attended by a
party of his trusty guards; and he arrived some time before his sister.
It need not be said that he was fully satisfied with the way in which
Violet received him.  When Nuna arrived and dismounted from her
elephant, Violet was also ready to give her an affectionate greeting.

As Violet led her to a seat, Nuna gazed round the neat and nicely
furnished room.  "Oh, this is what I shall enjoy far more than the
gorgeous magnificence of a palace, with the pomp and ceremony I have had
to undergo," she exclaimed.  "You must teach me English ways and
manners, for I want to become quite an English girl, like you."

Violet promised to do her best; and she and Nuna, greatly to Reginald's
satisfaction, were soon as intimate as if they had been acquainted all
their lives.



CHAPTER TEN.

CHUPATTIES--UNSATISFACTORY INTELLIGENCE--REGINALD, ON HIS WAY TO THE
RESIDENCY, HEARS THE SOUND OF FIRING--A MUTINY IN THE CANTONMENTS--
COLONEL ROSS AND HIS PARTY RESCUED--ESCAPE TO A VILLAGE AMONG THE
HILLS--THE CAMP FORTIFIED--CAPTAIN HAWKESFORD'S ENMITY CONTINUES--
REAPPEARANCE OF FAITHFUL--IMPORTANT INTELLIGENCE BROUGHT BY HER--
PREPARATIONS FOR DEFENCE.

For several weeks matters went on quietly at Allahapoor.  Aided by
Burnett, Reginald was able to carry out many of his projected reforms,
though not without opposition from some of the chief men, and often from
those who were likely to benefit by them.  The indefatigable Buxsoo
brought him information of what was going on beneath the seemingly quiet
surface of society.  It was far from satisfactory.  He reported that
persons were moving from district to district, distributing
"chupatties",--sacred cakes, which answered the purpose of the "fiery
cross" of Scotland.  With amazing rapidity these cakes were passed over
the length and breadth of the land.  It was supposed that they came
originally from Barrackpore.  The watchman of one village gave the
watchman of the next village two cakes, with an injunction to make six
fresh ones, and retaining two, to pass the others on in the same way.
What the object of the cakes was, most of those who received them were
in ignorance; but they fully understood that some matter of importance
was to be carried out, and they were bound to obey the orders they might
receive from the centre of operations.  Reginald charged Buxsoo to
ascertain, if possible, the secret object of this distribution of the
chupatties.  That they meant mischief of some sort or other, there could
be no doubt.

Burnett, in the meantime, improved the discipline of his horsemen, and
endeavoured to ingratiate himself with them.  Reginald also increased
the number of his guards, selecting those men most likely to prove
faithful.  Wuzeer Singh had by this time recovered from his wounds, and
had resumed his duties.  Reginald offered to promote him; but he begged
to remain in the ranks, assuring his master that he could there render
better service than he could were he made an officer.

Reginald and Burnett, as may be supposed, paid frequent visits to the
cantonments; and they were eagerly looking forward to the arrival of a
chaplain, who would unite them to the ladies to whom they were engaged.
Reginald, of course, kept Colonel Ross fully informed of all the
intelligence he obtained.  The colonel, however, was convinced that the
British rule was so firmly established in India that nothing could shake
it; that whatever the meaning of the chupatties might be, they could not
possibly be intended to instigate the people to rebellion.  His own
regiment, he declared, was stanch to the backbone, and nothing would
make them swerve from their duty.  Burnett said the same of his cavalry;
and declared that to a man they were ready to follow him to the death.
Reginald, however, was not convinced; and the very next day Buxsoo
brought him intelligence which confirmed his suspicions.  The sepoy
regiments in the British service had lately been armed with Enfield
rifles, and a report had been spread that the cartridges to be used in
them--and the ends of which had to be bitten off--had been greased with
the fat of pigs and bullocks.  This was done, it was said, that every
Hindoo soldier might thus become unclean and lose caste, and have no
other resource but to turn Christian; the British Government having
determined, it was affirmed, to compel all its subjects to embrace
Christianity.

"Very miserable Christians they would be, if such were the case,"
observed Buxsoo; "but my poor Hindoo countrymen, brought up in gross
ignorance, are ready to believe the most childish reports."

Information arrived, some few days after this, that at Lucknow and other
places the sepoy troops had mutinied, but that the mutiny had been put
down by a strong hand, and it was believed that order had been restored.
Day after day, however, unsatisfactory intelligence came in from all
quarters; and even in the British provinces bands of the marauders
suddenly sprang up, and commenced plundering and burning villages.
Burnett was accordingly directed to scour the country round Allahapoor,
in order to put a stop to such proceedings.

Buxsoo having informed Reginald that the Mohammedan part of the
population were about to rise and create a riot, the result of which
might probably be the plundering and burning of the city, he immediately
summoned the most influential Mohammedan nobles and others to meet him
in council.  They arrived fully armed, many of them assuming a bold and
insolent air, and evidently ready to dispute his authority.  As soon as
they were seated, he addressed them in gracious tones; reminding them
that he had not sought the position he now held, and that his sole aim
since assuming the reins of government had been to promote the welfare
of all classes, and to advance the happiness and prosperity of the
country.  While he was speaking, he observed Wuzeer Singh glide in and
place himself, with a revolver in each hand, behind his chair of state,
but so excited were the persons assembled that his entrance was not
remarked.  Reginald continued his address, inviting one after another to
speak in return.  His determined demeanour had its due effect, and he
managed to keep the attention of his assembly till the day was nearly
ended, and the time fixed upon for the outbreak had passed.

The following morning, at an early hour, Reginald, full of anxiety as to
what might next occur, rode out to the cantonments, accompanied by a few
of his officers and a small company of his guards--some being on
horseback, but most of them on foot.  He had expected the return of
Burnett with his cavalry that very morning, but he had not yet appeared.
As Reginald approached the cantonments, he was startled by the sound of
continued and rapid firing.  Ordering the foot-guards to follow as fast
as they could, he dashed forward with his horsemen, among whom was
Wuzeer Singh, towards the scene of action.  He saw clouds of smoke and
flames ascending in several places, evidently from buildings on fire;
while the sound of musketry, though more desultory than at first, was
still heard.  He urged on his horse to its utmost speed, feeling
painfully anxious for the safety of Colonel Ross and those dear to him;
and in another minute he beheld a spectacle which filled him with dismay
and alarm.  A small body of English troops who had their quarters in the
part of the cantonments nearest the city, had, it was evident, been
attacked, and after bravely defending themselves, had been cut down or
put to flight; for he now met several men endeavouring to make their
escape from an overwhelming body of cavalry, who were savagely sabring
all who attempted to withstand them, while numbers lay on the ground,
brought down by the bullets of their foes.  As he called on them to
rally, they obeyed him, thinking that they were about to be supported,
and presented a bold face to the advance of the horsemen.  The latter on
this--observing, as they must have done, Reginald's guards rapidly
advancing to meet them--wheeled round and galloped off to a distance.
He, to his dismay, remarked that the horsemen had the appearance of
Burnett's troopers, and he could not help dreading that the men had
mutinied and murdered their commander.  He asked Wuzeer Singh his
opinion.  "It is too likely to be the case," was the answer.  "Captain
Burnett placed more confidence in them than they deserved; for though
some were faithful, there were many traitors among them."

Reginald's chief anxiety at present, however, was about the safety of
Violet and Nuna, and the other ladies, as well as that of Colonel Ross
and the officers under him.  He learned from a British soldier that the
sepoy regiment had mutinied, and having killed several of their officers
who had remained with them and attempted to bring them back to their
duty, had marched off with their arms, after setting fire to several
bungalows; that the Europeans had been surprised when on the point of
pursuing them by the rebel cavalry, who had dashed suddenly into the
cantonments, cutting off all connection with their officers and any of
the natives who might have remained faithful.  Having for some time
gallantly defended themselves, they had been compelled to retreat, and
would undoubtedly have been destroyed had it not been for the arrival of
Reginald and his party.

No one could inform him whether the house occupied by Colonel Ross had
been attacked; therefore, anxious to ascertain the truth, he ordered his
men to advance.  He was about to push forward with his small body of
horsemen, when Wuzeer Singh pointed out the rebel cavalry in
considerable force in the distance, ready to pounce down upon him.  He
had therefore to restrain his eagerness, in order to allow his guards on
foot to come up with him.  At length he came in sight of the building
which contained those so dear to him; and on seeing how totally unfitted
it was to offer any effectual resistance, he trusted that the mutineers
had not attempted to attack it.  He hastened on, his heart beating with
anxiety.  As he and his party were seen from the windows, Colonel Ross,
and several officers who had taken refuge there, came out to meet him.
They greeted him warmly, and expressed their thankfulness that he had
come so opportunely to their rescue, as every minute they were expecting
to be attacked by the rebels; while they were convinced that they had
but little chance of successfully defending the house.  When they first
saw the rebel cavalry, they supposed that they were coming to their
assistance; but this hope vanished when they saw the horsemen dashing
forward towards that part of the cantonments where the company of
British soldiers was quartered.  Their fear was that the latter would be
surprised before they could have time to make any preparations for
defence.  Their hopes had risen and fallen as the sound of musketry
continued; but they at length began to fear, when the firing ceased,
that the party had been cut to pieces.  Their satisfaction therefore was
great, when they found so considerable a number of English soldiers with
Reginald.  But even counting the force he had brought with him, they
could not hope to defend the residency should any regular attack be made
by the rebels, who had carried off several guns, which many of them were
well able to serve.

"Your only resource then, Colonel Ross, is to allow me to escort you to
the city; within the walls of which you and your party will, I trust,
find protection," said Reginald.

Colonel Ross, after a short consultation with his officers, accepted the
offer, and preparations were at once made for moving.  Reginald enjoyed
a few minutes' conversation with Violet and Nuna.  The latter, poor
girl, was in a state of great anxiety at not hearing from Captain
Burnett.  The horsemen had been recognised from the residency as
belonging to his regiment, and fears had been expressed in her presence
that he had fallen.  Violet did her best to console her, by suggesting
that they had been detached for some separate duty, when they might have
been tempted to join the mutineers; or perhaps that they had deserted
while encamped, without injuring him or those who remained faithful to
their colours.

Some elephants had been procured to carry the ladies and the articles of
chief value; and most of the officers had their horses, though some had
been carried off by the rebels.  Scouts had been sent out in all
directions to ascertain the movements of the mutineers; and two of them
now came back with the intelligence that the men of the sepoy regiment
having been joined by another which had marched across the border, as
well as by the cavalry and native gunners with their guns, they were
advancing on the cantonments.  No time, therefore, was to be lost.  The
ladies, including Mrs Molony, were immediately placed on the
elephants--two of which animals were also employed in dragging the
remaining field-guns; the baggage was secured, and the order to advance
was given.

Just at that moment a sowar was seen rapidly coming up from the
direction of the city; whom, as he approached, Reginald recognised as
his faithful ally, Buxsoo.

"Alas, O Rajah!  Alas!" he exclaimed, "I bring sad tidings.  Scarcely
had you left the gates of the city when a tumult arose, and the houses
of many persons supposed to be favourable to you were attacked.  Several
people were killed, and others narrowly escaped with their lives.  The
whole population are up in arms.  Loud cries are raised against the
English and those who support them.  `Down with the foreign rajah!' is
the cry of every one; while they swear that should you return they will
destroy you and all your friends.  The armed men broke into the prison,
and liberated all the prisoners.  Among these were Khan Cochut and the
slave Bikoo, who did their utmost to increase the tumult.  The khan
declared that the old rajah had made him his successor; and he began to
address the people, promising them freedom from all taxes, and universal
liberty.  A considerable number sided with him, and he was marching in
triumph to take possession of the palace, when a strong party of chiefs
and others who knew he spoke falsely attacked him, whereupon his
followers were put to flight, and he himself cut to pieces.  Seeing how
things were going on, and fearing that you might return unprepared, I
disguised myself as you see me, and galloped off to bring you the
intelligence."

After Reginald had held a consultation with Colonel Ross, it was agreed
that any attempt to enter the city would be madness; while it would be
impossible to defend themselves in the residency, or in any part of the
cantonments.  The colonel inquired whether there was not some strong
building in the neighbourhood, of which they might take possession and
fortify it; where, if provisions could be obtained, they might hold out
till relieved by a British force.

"There are several towards the south," replied Buxsoo; "but the rebels
swarm in that direction, the whole population being up in arms."

There was, however, a hilly district a few miles to the north, he said,
inhabited by a tribe who were neither Mohammedans nor Hindoos, and to
whom consequently the chupatties had not been sent.  They had always
remained faithful to the rajah of Allahapoor, and would certainly
receive the young rajah with open arms.  If they could reach that
district, they would there be able to throw up fortifications, and
defend themselves for any length of time against such a force as the
enemy were likely to assemble in that quarter.

The plan proposed was their only alternative, and Colonel Ross at once
agreed to it.

Guided by Buxsoo, the party immediately directed their course northward.
Burnett's insurgent cavalry had disappeared, and none of the mutinous
sepoys were in sight, so they advanced as rapidly as the slow-stepping
elephants could move.  The native troops were in the van, the few
horsemen on either flank, while the British brought up the rear.  They
were thus prepared, as well as circumstances would allow, for any attack
which might be made upon them.  They were not, however, unobserved.  The
officers, through their field-glasses, made out in the far distance a
number of armed men on foot, evidently watching their movements; and
directly afterwards these were joined by a body of horse, which advanced
much nearer.  Colonel Ross on this immediately called a halt, and
ordered the guns to be prepared for action; while Reginald, drawing up
his small body of cavalry, made ready to charge directly the guns had
delivered their fire.  The bold front thus shown by the little party
awed the mutineers, however, who wheeled round and galloped off to a
safe distance.  So again the party advanced, and made such progress that
before evening the hills they hoped to reach appeared in sight.

Buxsoo now dashed forward to prepare the natives for the arrival of the
young rajah.  He went with every hope of success, but Reginald had his
doubts on the subject; indeed, he had seldom before felt so cast down.
He had contemplated giving up his government with becoming dignity, amid
the tears and regrets of a faithful people; but now he found himself
suddenly discarded by those he was so anxious to serve.  He recollected
too that he had left the precious documents which, after so much labour,
he had succeeded in obtaining in the rebel city.  Should the palace be
burned, as was but too likely to be the case, they would be
irretrievably lost.  All his bright hopes might thus vanish; for
although Colonel Ross would be convinced that they had existed, and
would not suppose that he had deceived him, yet, after all, he might be
unable without them to prove his claim to his title and estates, and
would be reduced again to the position of a needy adventurer.  Thus the
colonel might be unwilling to trust his daughter's happiness to his
keeping.  Inclined to look at everything from a gloomy point of view,
then, he was prepared for a cold, if not for a hostile, reception from
the villagers.

He was anxious too, though certainly in a much less degree, about
Faithful.  He had left the tigress shut up in her usual abode in the
palace, under charge of her keeper; but the man might be killed, or he
might neglect her, and she would be starved to death; or should the
rebels break into the palace, they would undoubtedly kill her.  He had
therefore little hope of again seeing his favourite.

The day was now drawing to a close, and Buxsoo had not returned.
Perhaps the people had fled; and if so, they must just pitch their camp
in the strongest position to be found, and make such preparations for
defence as time would allow.  His spirits, however, revived when he saw
a large concourse of somewhat savage-looking fellows come rushing
forward, with Buxsoo at their head.  As soon as they caught sight of the
young rajah, they began leaping, and shouting, and firing off their
matchlocks; and as he rode up to them they uttered their hearty
welcomes, kissing his hands, and exhibiting every mark of affection.  As
no time was to be lost, at his desire they led the way back to their
village; near which Colonel Ross, with a soldier's eye, quickly selected
a spot for the encampment.  By throwing up entrenchments round it, he
considered that they might fortify themselves sufficiently to offer an
effectual resistance to an enemy.  It contained also a spring of water,
an important consideration.  The villagers, besides, were charged to
collect all the provisions possible from far and near for the use of the
garrison.

Colonel Ross and his officers, before lying down, designed a plan of the
fortifications, which Buxsoo and Wuzeer Singh undertook, with the aid of
the natives, to commence immediately.  The latter showed themselves
willing labourers, and immediately assembled with their muskets slung
over their shoulders and pickaxes in their belts.  All night long they
were heard working away, one party relieving the other; Colonel Ross and
his officers taking it in turns to superintend them.  Before daylight
the two guns were in position, and considerable progress had been made
in the work.  While some of the villagers were labouring on the
entrenchments, others were employed in collecting provisions; and thus
the hopes of the party that they should be able to make an effectual
resistance rose considerably.

Major Molony and Captain Hawkesford now undertook to drill a number of
the people, who would, it was believed, make very efficient soldiers,
although their firearms were mostly of a wretched description.  Colonel
Ross and Reginald, however, were both excessively anxious, as they
knew--what others did not--that they had but a limited amount of
ammunition, and should they be subjected to a prolonged attack the whole
might be exhausted; and the powder possessed by the natives was of too
coarse a description to be employed in their firearms.

Still no tidings had come of Burnett, and Reginald's fears for his
friend's safety increased.  The fate of the casket, too, was continually
in his mind.  He blamed himself for not having either sent it to Colonel
Ross for safe keeping, or despatched it by a trusty messenger to
Calcutta.  But the risk of the latter proceeding was, he had considered,
too great in the present disturbed state of the country.  Had it been
left with Colonel Ross, he would now have had it.  He told Violet of his
anxiety, and she endeavoured to console him with the hope that the
papers might escape destruction.

"If they are lost, my dear Reginald, and you are deprived of your
rightful inheritance, it will be my pride and joy to try and make amends
to you for your loss of fortune; and I am very sure that my father would
not retract his promise under any circumstances which may occur."  What
lover could desire more?

Reginald--as well as every man in the camp--being fully employed during
the day, he had but few opportunities of seeing Violet.  She, on her
part, had the task of endeavouring to comfort poor Nuna, who was almost
in despair about Burnett.

Reginald endeavoured to obtain information of what was going forward by
means of sending out scouts in all directions.  The intelligence they
brought back was more and more alarming.  Every day the news was that
the sepoys had risen in fresh directions.  Fearful massacres had taken
place at Cawnpore, Delhi, and numerous other cities.  A small body of
Europeans was closely beset at Lucknow; and the generally expressed
opinion was that British rule in India was for ever at an end.

"The natives have yet to learn of what stuff the English are made,"
observed Colonel Ross.  "When the European regiments advance to the
rescue, they will form a different opinion."

His calm temper and the good spirits he maintained encouraged his
countrymen, and contributed much towards inducing the natives to remain
faithful.  At present they had but little fear of being attacked, as the
scouts reported that the larger number of the rebels either occupied
Delhi, or were concentrating round Cawnpore and Lucknow.  Still there
were sufficient numbers in other places to prove formidable, should they
design to attack the fort.

In the meantime, all was not peace within the small circle of their
community.  Reginald had told no one of Captain Hawkesford's conduct,
but that officer scarcely attempted to conceal his hatred of him, and
took every opportunity of making unpleasant remarks, especially in the
presence of Violet and Colonel Ross,--though they were of such a
character that Reginald could not well notice them.  He knew Violet's
opinion of Captain Hawkesford, however; and he believed that her father
did not hold him in much higher estimation.

The fact was that Captain Hawkesford felt almost confident that Reginald
had left the casket, with its valuable contents, behind at Allahapoor;
and he calculated, not without reason, that they would never be
recovered.  He scarcely concealed his satisfaction, therefore, when
intelligence was brought that the palace, after being ransacked by the
populace, had been completely burned to the ground.  Reginald heard the
news with a quivering lip, though he endeavoured to hide his feelings.

"It is as I feared," he said to Violet.  "My only hope now is that I may
have an opportunity of winning fame and fortune by my sword; and for
your sake I will strive to do so, or perish in the attempt.  For myself,
I confess that, after the brief experience I have had of the little
satisfaction wealth and splendour can afford, I would rather live in a
quiet home in England, devoting myself to doing all the good in my power
to my humbler neighbours, than be compelled again to play the part of an
Oriental ruler."

"Believe me, Reginald, I would far rather share that humble home with
you than become the bride of the most wealthy noble in the land," said
Violet, gazing affectionately at him.

What more could Reginald wish?

"I trust, dearest, that our wishes may be accomplished, and that it may
be the will of Heaven that we shall return in safety to Old England," he
replied.

The thought of poor Faithful came into Reginald's mind.  That
unfortunate animal, confined in her den, must have perished miserably in
the flames.  He truly grieved less for the loss of all his treasures
than he did for his strange pet--so gentle with him in spite of her
savage nature, so attached, and who had rendered him such essential
service.  "Her sad fate will go wellnigh to break honest Dick's tender
heart, when he hears of it," he said to himself.  "I wish, too, that I
had Dick back.  I fear, however, that he will find great difficulty in
getting up the country; and I almost hope that he will not make the
attempt."

Captain Hawkesford after this became still more overbearing, and almost
insulting in his conduct, yet he so far kept within bounds that Reginald
could not, even had he wished it, under the circumstances in which they
were placed, have found a valid reason for quarrelling with him.

Though Reginald, of necessity, assumed the character of a chief among
the natives, he did duty with the English officers,--visiting the
outposts and sentries whenever his turn came.  The strictest watch was
kept, for their position was well known at Allahapoor, and it was more
than probable that an expedition from that city would set out to attack
them.

Reginald was one night going his rounds, the moon shining brightly, when
he approached one of the English sentries at an outpost.  He stopped for
a moment to observe the soldierlike appearance of the man, who stood,
musket in hand, silent and rigid as a statue.  He was about to speak,
when his eye fell on a crouching form stealing along amid the tall
grass, which completely concealed it from the soldier.  It was a tiger;
and the creature seemed about to spring on the sentinel.  Reginald drew
a pistol from his belt, and was on the point of cocking it, at the same
time shouting out to the sentry to be on his guard,--when the animal,
instead of springing at the man, came bounding towards himself, uttering
a purring sound very unlike the usual roar of a tiger.  The next instant
he recognised Faithful, who had only just then discovered him.  He had
just time to shout to the sentry--who was bringing his piece to his
shoulder--to stop him from firing, or in another instant Faithful would
probably have been shot through the body.  She purred and fawned on her
master, and took every means of showing her delight at having again met
him, though he could not help suspecting that she had approached the
sentry with no very peaceful intentions.  As he stroked her head and
neck, his hand came in contact with a thin chain, and, to his surprise
and infinite satisfaction, he found secured to it the casket he had
given up as lost.

Having finished his rounds, accompanied by Faithful, he returned to the
fort to examine his prize, and to ascertain that all was safe within.
By the light of a lamp which burned in his hut he now perceived that
poor Faithful looked very thin and wretched; and knowing that, pressed
by hunger, she might prove dangerous to some of his companions, he
immediately despatched a native to bring in a portion of a sheep to
satisfy her craving appetite.  In the meantime he eagerly opened the
casket, the key of which he had about his person.  The papers were safe;
and he found another document secured to the bottom of the case.  It was
in Hindostanee, and charged any one who found it to carry the casket to
Reginald, with the promise of a handsome reward for doing so.

Besides this, there was a long account of the way in which the casket
had been rescued by the writer at the burning of the palace.  He
expressed an evident regard for him, and assured him that there were
many who entertained the same feeling; warning him, at the same time,
that it would be dangerous for him to return to the city.  Though the
paper was not signed, Reginald at once knew that it must have come from
his Christian friend, Dhunna Singh.  In smaller characters--so as, if
possible, to escape the observation of an ordinary reader--was a further
piece of intelligence.  The writer had also rescued Faithful from the
palace, and had kept her, he said, at his house, till it was important
to send her off.  He had great difficulty, however, in feeding her;
notwithstanding which she had remained as gentle as usual, apparently
understanding the object he had in view.  "And now the time has
arrived," he added.  "It is well known where you are; and an expedition,
consisting of horse and foot, with several guns, is about to set out to
attack you.  Knowing the bravery of your companions, however, I do not
despair of your being able to defend yourselves; and if I can hear of
any of your friends in the neighbourhood, I will send them word of your
situation, and urge them to come to your relief."

Although Reginald would have waited till the next morning to announce to
Colonel Ross his extraordinary recovery of the casket, the warning he
had received of the intended attack he considered to be too important to
be neglected for a moment.  Leaving the casket in the hut, therefore,
under the charge of Faithful, being very sure that no one would enter to
carry it off,--he hastened to Colonel Ross's quarters.  In a few words
he narrated what had occurred, and gave the important information he had
received.  The colonel having congratulated him warmly on the recovery
of his papers, next turned to the consideration of the best mode of
receiving the expected attack.

"Did we but possess an ample supply of powder, we might hold out as long
as the enemy are likely to besiege the fort: and, depend on it, if they
meet with a stout resistance, they will soon lose patience, and move off
to attack some other less well defended place.  But if they persevere
for any length of time, our want of ammunition may prove fatal to us.
Our only resource then will be to make a desperate sally, and to capture
their guns and tumbrils."

At any moment the fort might be attacked, for as the paper brought by
Faithful was not dated, it was difficult to say how long it had been on
its journey.  From the tigress' starved appearance, Reginald thought it
likely that she might have been delayed; and that, to a certainty, she
must have come by the cantonments, where, after escaping from the city,
she would search for him.  It was therefore settled that a strong force
should at once be stationed on the lines, and the advance-guard pushed
still more forward.

The necessary orders having been given, and Reginald being relieved, he
returned to his hut to sleep, with a lighter heart than he had possessed
for many a day.



CHAPTER ELEVEN.

DESPERATE STATE OF AFFAIRS--THE FORT ATTACKED--NEWS OF BURNETT--THE
SORTIE--CAPTAIN HAWKESFORD'S TREACHERY--FAITHFUL DEFENDS HER MASTER--
BURNETT AND HIS TROOPERS COME TO THE RESCUE--GUNS CAPTURED--THE FOE PUT
TO FLIGHT--FATE OF CAPTAIN HAWKESFORD--A LULL--BETTER NEWS--THE FORT
AGAIN ATTACKED--AWFUL SUSPENSE--ENEMY TAKE TO FLIGHT--FORT EVACUATED--
THE MARCH--PURSUED--A FIERCE ENGAGEMENT--REGINALD LEFT WOUNDED ON THE
BATTLE-FIELD--RELIEVING FORCE APPEARS--FAITHFUL AGAIN PROTECTS HER
MASTER--DICK DISCOVERS HER--BRITISH VICTORIOUS--REGINALD RECOVERED--
RETURN TO CALCUTTA--DEATH OF FAITHFUL--VOYAGE HOME--CONCLUSION.

The colonel's bungalow, though rudely constructed, had been made as
comfortable as circumstances would allow.  Reginald, as may be supposed,
proceeded to it at an early hour, and was welcomed by Violet in the
breakfast-room.  Her father had not told her of what had occurred, and
Reginald was thus the first to give her the satisfactory intelligence.

"I am indeed thankful, for your sake," she answered, as she took his
hand; "and the recovery of the casket will encourage us to trust that we
may yet be carried through all the dangers and difficulties which
surround us.  I have never despaired, and have placed full confidence in
the love and mercy of God.  Whatever he orders is for the best, I know,
though I cannot tell why he has allowed so many of our unfortunate
countrymen and countrywomen to perish miserably.  It may be that he
intends to give an important lesson to the survivors, and to remind us
that our Government has not ruled this country as a Christian people
ought to have done, or taken effectual means to spread his Word among
the benighted inhabitants."

"That idea has occurred to me more than once," said Reginald.  "I have
been ready enough to support and trust to the Christians, but I have
done nothing to spread the gospel among them; but if I ever again have
the power, I will try to do so."

"We may have the power some day," exclaimed Violet.  "If we cannot do so
in person, we may afford support to the missionaries who are ready to
venture their lives among the heathen for the sake of carrying to them
the blessed gospel.  I am sure that we shall be bound to do our utmost
with the means which may be placed at our disposal."

Neither Reginald nor Violet forgot this conversation.

Day after day went by without any news of the approach of the rebels.
At length many in the fort began to hope that the enemy would not
appear.  Some even proposed that they should abandon the fort, and,
making their way to the Ganges, descend the river to the nearest post
occupied by the British.  To this, however, Colonel Ross was strongly
opposed.  From the information he received, he knew that the whole
country swarmed with rebels; and these would certainly attack them in
the open country, even if they were not followed by the insurgents in
boats from the city.  The idea, therefore, was abandoned, and every
effort was made to strengthen the fortifications.

Captain Hawkesford still exhibited his ill-feeling towards Reginald.
Whether or not he knew anything of the recovery of the casket, it was
impossible to say; but, unabashed by Violet's indifference, if not
disgust, he continued to pay her attention whenever he got an
opportunity, as if he still entertained some hope of displacing Reginald
in her affections.  She could not feel otherwise than offended; but she
knew it was important, at that time, not to create any ill-feeling among
the few officers who surrounded her father, and she therefore did not
complain to him, as she might otherwise have done.

At length, one day one of the scouts, who had gone out in disguise in
the direction of the city, came hurrying in with the intelligence that a
large force was marching northward, probably with the intention of
attacking the fort.  They might be expected to appear before noon on the
following day.  The loyal natives, who had by this time been organised
and well drilled, were therefore summoned in, with their wives and
children, as were also all the people whose dwellings were situated in
exposed situations, and were likely to be destroyed by the enemy.  An
ample supply of provisions had been stored for such an emergency, so
that there was no fear of starvation.  The scarcity of ammunition was
their chief cause of anxiety, and orders were issued not to throw a shot
away.

The day passed away without the appearance of the enemy.  At night,
however, every one was on the alert, as it was thought probable that the
rebels, unaware that their approach was known, might attempt to surprise
them.

Dawn broke, and still all was quiet; but as the sun rose, an officer,
who had climbed to a lookout station on a neighbouring height, with his
field-glass observed the glittering weapons of a large body in the far
distance.  He hurried down with the intelligence; and in a short time
the advancing host, composed of a body of cavalry, several pieces of
artillery, and a large number of foot, could be seen from the fort
itself.  It was evident that the enemy were aware of the strength of the
place, but expected quickly to capture it with this overwhelming force.
The garrison, however, undaunted, prepared for its defence.  The ladies
were placed in the rear of the fort, situated behind some rocks, where
they would be protected from the shot.  The horses were also picketed in
a situation as much as possible out of harm's way.

The enemy, trusting to their numbers, came on boldly, halting at a
little distance to reform their ranks, and immediately opened a hot fire
on the fort.  The garrison replied to it with spirit, the two guns being
worked by the artillerymen with great rapidity.  It appeared as if the
enemy were about to take the place by storm, when the hot reception they
met with induced them to abandon their design; and so great was the
execution made by the two guns of the fort, that they at length
retreated beyond their range, and firing on both sides ceased.

Gladly would Colonel Ross have husbanded his ammunition, but had a
feeble fire been kept up at first, it would have encouraged the enemy to
come on with greater determination.  Several of the garrison had been
killed or wounded, but none of the officers had fallen.  As soon as
possible, therefore, Reginald hastened to assure Violet of his own and
her father's safety.  On hearing that several men had been wounded,
however, she and two or three other ladies entreated to be allowed to
assist Dr Graham in attending to them; but he replied that as yet he
could do without their assistance.  He was glad, however, ere long to
accept their offer, when he and his assistant-surgeon found their
strength almost exhausted by the number of wounded brought to them.

The following day the enemy recommenced firing as before, and again
retreated towards evening.  This sort of work continued for many days in
succession, every day unhappily increasing the number of the killed and
wounded in the garrison.  Colonel Ross and Reginald happily remained
unhurt, as did Major Molony and Captain Hawkesford.  Several officers,
however, had been more or less hurt; and two had been shot dead, as had
been three European soldiers, while working the guns.  The natives
behaved with courage and fidelity, notwithstanding the many among them
who fell.  Still every day was reducing their store of ammunition; and
the colonel knew that ere long, if the same fire as heretofore was kept
up, it must altogether fail.  The Allahapoor gunners could be seen
working their guns,--tall fellows with bare shoulders and arms, and
richly-ornamented turbans on their heads; wearing loose trousers, and
with long tulwars hanging at their sides.  Their shot, however, made but
little impression on the well-constructed earthworks.  Their fire was
returned by the guns from the fort; while the Enfield rifles, never
silent, seldom failed to bring down a foe.  Several gallant sorties were
made; one of the enemy's guns was spiked, and another nearly brought in,
when it stuck fast in the rough ground, and had to be abandoned.  Their
own two guns, however, from being so constantly fired, had become almost
worn out, and would no longer carry shot or ordinary canister.  The
contents of the canisters were therefore emptied into stockings, which
were rammed home with greater ease, and fired with much effect.

The enemy had come on one day even more determined than before, it
seemed, to succeed, when a report louder than usual was heard.  One of
the two guns in the fort had burst, killing three artillerymen and
wounding others.

"We must get possession of their guns and ammunition instead," exclaimed
Colonel Ross, on hearing of it.

"I will attempt to do so," said Reginald.  "Are any ready to follow me?"

There was no lack of volunteers.

"Stay," said the colonel; "we must consider the plan of operation most
likely to succeed."

Notwithstanding the presence of the enemy before the fort, the scouts
were still able to make, during the dark hours of night, and sometimes
even in the day, their way in with intelligence.  During the discussion
a faithful sowar approached, holding a small strip of paper in his hand,
which he had brought carefully concealed about his person.  It contained
but a few words:--

"I am at hand, and know how you are situated.  I purpose making a dash
at the foe at sunrise on the 5th of July.  Do you be prepared to
cooperate; and if you have a sufficient force, make a bold sortie, and
the day will be ours.  Delhi is invested.  Lucknow still holds out--
Burnett."

The news thus unexpectedly received inspired fresh courage into the
hearts of all those to whom it was thought wise to communicate it.  Of
course Burnett's projected attack and the sortie were kept profoundly
secret.  The news that his friend was alive and well, and still at the
head of a faithful band, afforded unmitigated joy and satisfaction to
Reginald, giving him fresh hope.  He longed to communicate the welcome
information to Nuna and Violet; but no time could be spared, and he
could only send a line on a slip of paper to bid them be of good cheer,
and to tell them that Burnett was safe.

A brief time only was required to settle what was best to be done.
Reginald undertook to lead the whole force of cavalry, which was to make
a circuit from the rear of the fort, so that they might be concealed
till they were ready to dash at the guns.  A party of infantry were at
the same time to be prepared to rush forward to spike some of the guns,
and to drag the others within the lines.  A dozen Europeans, with two of
their officers, were to lead the party of infantry, composed of the most
determined and best disciplined natives.  These were to follow when the
cavalry, having accomplished their first task,--united, as they hoped
would be the case, with Burnett's force,--were to cover the foot as they
returned to the fort with the captured guns, or pursue the enemy should
they be put to flight.  The undertaking was a hazardous one, considering
the large force to be attacked; but all knew that daring deeds generally
succeed when timid proceedings fail.

Reginald hurried off with his gallant companions, to prepare their
horses for the meditated sortie.  On passing the women's quarters on his
way to the rear of the fort, as it wanted but a short time to sunrise,
he saw Violet, with Nuna and Mrs Molony, who had already risen and were
on their way to the hospital huts, and he could not resist stopping for
one moment to bid her and his young sister farewell,--it might be for
ever.  Should he and his brave followers perish, what a terrible fate
might be theirs!  He instantly, however, banished the thought.

"Heaven will preserve us, dear ones," he said, as he embraced his sister
and Violet.  "I have good news for all of us.  He on whose account your
heart has long been cast down has escaped all dangers, and is near at
hand, and I hope ere long to see him and to return with him in triumph
to the fort.  The cowardly rebels will not dare to face us.  When we
attack them in the open ground, they will fly like chaff before the
wind.  Though Burnett does not tell us the amount of the force with him,
I trust that it will be sufficient to enable us to follow up our victory
and prevent the enemy from rallying."

A few more words only were spoken, and Reginald hurried on to the spot
where the horses were picketed.  The men were busily engaged in saddling
their steeds; which done, every one carefully examined his arms, and
felt that his sabre was loose in its scabbard.

Among the officers who had volunteered to accompany him, Reginald was
surprised to find Captain Hawkesford.

"I was not aware that you were to accompany us," Reginald could not help
observing.

"I have the colonel's leave; and I wish to have an opportunity this
morning of proving which of us is the best swordsman," answered Captain
Hawkesford in a peculiar tone.  "We have long been rivals, and I intend
to settle the matter one way or another before the close of day," he
muttered.

"I have confidence in your gallantry, and believe you to be a good
swordsman," answered Reginald, not hearing his latter remark.

In a few minutes all were ready; and the order to march being given,
each man sprang into his saddle and fixed himself firmly in his seat.
In perfect silence the gallant troop of horse rode out of the fort, led
by Reginald; while the infantry, who were destined to attack the guns,
stood ready for the signal he was to give,--a wave of his sabre,--when
they were to jump from the entrenchments and rush onward to attack the
foe.  The enemy's guns had already been fired, and were replied to as
usual by the fort, though many well knew that but a few rounds of
ammunition remained.

Many an anxious eye watched the progress of the cavalry.  They halted
behind the last point by which they were concealed from the enemy.  From
this Reginald could glance over the plain.  He waited till, a ruddy glow
appearing in the east, the upper limb of the sun was seen slowly
ascending above the horizon.  Passing the word to the rear, he struck
his spurs into his horse's flanks.  Then turning his face to the fort,
he waved his bright scimitar in the air and dashed forward, his
followers pressing close behind him,--while, at the signal, the infantry
marched from the fort in compact order.  Dashing rapidly forward for a
few seconds, they halted to deliver their fire at the gunners, who were
already dispirited by the appearance of Reginald's horsemen close upon
them.  He did not fail, as he urged forward his steed, to cast a look
over the plain--where, to his intense satisfaction, he saw a body of
cavalry galloping out from behind a wood, with an officer at their head,
whom he at once recognised as Burnett.  On they came, fleet as the wind,
towards the foe.  Shouting to his men that reinforcements were at hand,
Reginald dashed forward.  Numbers of the native artillerymen were cut
down at their guns, others fled towards the infantry, who were hastening
to their rescue.  So unexpected had been the sortie, that the enemy were
completely taken by surprise; the arms of the infantry being piled and
the horses of the cavalry picketed, while the men were at some distance
from them.  The time occupied in the attack on the guns enabled them to
mount; by which time Reginald and Burnett's troops having united, they
found a strong force drawn up to encounter them.

"We must go at them, notwithstanding their numbers," cried Burnett; and
he and Reginald leading, and leaving the guns to be carried into the
fort by the infantry, they and their horsemen galloped forward to
encounter the rebel cavalry, who, having made a circuit, were
endeavouring to recapture the guns.  The party who had been first in the
saddle succeeded in cutting down some brave fellows who were spiking the
guns, when they were met by Reginald and Burnett's horse.  Fierce was
the conflict; sabres were clashing, the men on both sides shrieking like
demons.  It seemed as if neither party would give way.  Still by slow
degrees the rebel horsemen were driven back.  Reginald had seen Captain
Hawkesford fiercely engaged with a native officer, as he himself dashed
on to attack another whom he had just cut down, when he heard a loud cry
behind him: turning his head, he caught sight of his rival with his
sword uplifted, to all appearance about to cut him down.  To defend
himself was impossible, as another foe was advancing towards him.  The
next moment he saw Faithful--who, unknown to him, had been following at
his heels--spring at Captain Hawkesford's throat.  It was but a glance,
for the next minute he was compelled to engage in mortal combat with a
powerful chief whom he well knew, and who was noted as being one of the
best swordsmen in the country.  In the heat of the fight he had got
somewhat separated from his men, and he had to depend on his own skill
and courage.  Neither failed him; and for several seconds he kept his
enemy at bay.  Still, an imperfect guard would prove fatal; when again
Faithful came to his assistance, and springing on the chief dragged him
to the ground.

The fall of one of their principal leaders disheartened those who
witnessed it; and hard pressed by Burnett's well-disciplined horsemen,
the whole of the rebel cavalry at length wheeled round and galloped off,
hotly pursued by the former.  It would have been prudent had Burnett and
Reginald not pursued the flying enemy so far, for in the meantime the
infantry, rallying, made a furious attack on the party which had
captured their guns; and, although repulsed, they succeeded in carrying
off two of them, besides those which had been spiked.  Their ammunition
and tumbrils were, however, captured by the British.

At length Burnett and Reginald, desisting from the pursuit, turned their
horses' heads towards the fort, when, succeeding in getting between it
and the foe, they captured another gun.  The infantry, though rapidly
retreating, presented too formidable a front to allow them the hope of
successfully breaking through their ranks and putting them completely to
the rout; they therefore contented themselves by hovering round the
retreating force, and keeping them in check till the guns and ammunition
were secure within the fort.

Some time had been occupied by the events which have been described, and
the pursuit had carried Reginald and Burnett to a considerable distance
from the fort.  Several of their men had fallen, and others had been so
badly wounded as to be scarcely able to sit their horses.  The leaders
were therefore compelled to restrain their eagerness, to assure those
who, they knew, were anxiously waiting for them of their safety; and
they returned at a slow pace, having to keep watch on the movements of
the enemy, in case, regaining their courage, they might again advance to
the attack.  The beaten foe, however, showed no inclination to do this,
and were seen continuing their retreat to Allahapoor.  Probably the news
of the successes already achieved by the British forces had reached
them, and they had by this time abandoned the high hopes they had
entertained of driving the Feringhees from the country.

As Reginald and Burnett arrived at the spot where the hardest fighting
had taken place, they were grieved to see that so many of their party
had fallen.  Reginald dismounted from his horse, for the purpose of
ascertaining whether any of those who lay scattered about on the field
still breathed.  At that moment Faithful came trotting up to him, and
looked up in his face, as if to receive his approval of her conduct
during the day.  Not till then did he recollect the momentary glimpse he
had obtained of Captain Hawkesford's uplifted sword and the tigress
flying at his throat.  Could the unhappy man, influenced by
disappointment and rage, have really intended to take his life?  If so,
he had paid dearly.  Advancing a few steps, Reginald caught sight of his
body.  Near it lay his head, severed by a sharp tulwar.  Several other
bodies lay about treated in the same manner, so that it was impossible
to say whether the tigress had killed him.  Probably some of the enemy,
who had passed backwards and forwards over the spot, had committed the
act of barbarity.  Of all those who had fallen, none were found alive.

Again mounting, Reginald rejoined Burnett, who had been similarly
engaged, and together they rode back to the fort.

It is scarcely necessary to describe the joyful welcome they met with.
Poor Nuna quickly recovered her spirits; and their success gave new life
to all in the fort.  A strong party of natives was sent out to bury the
dead, and foes as well as friends were placed in one common grave.

The garrison had still many weeks of anxiety to endure.  The only roads
by which they could hope to reach either of the English provinces were
blocked up by the enemy; who also occupied numerous posts on the Ganges,
which would effectually prevent them from descending that river.
Sometimes they were without information for many days together.  Then
news would come of fresh disasters; the truthfulness of which, however,
they had reason to doubt.  Soon a too authentic account of the frightful
massacre at Cawnpore, like all other bad news, which flies apace,
reached them.  Then came the succour of Lucknow by Sir Henry Havelock
and Sir James Outram.  Still week after week went by, and they remained
shut up in the fort.  Some time in November they heard of the storming
of Delhi, and the rescue of the women and children from Lucknow.
Notwithstanding these successes of the British, the rebels still
continued in arms.  Again the fort was besieged; the enemy being
instigated, it was understood, by one of the chiefs at Allahapoor, whose
object was to destroy the young rajah; but the garrison were as ready as
before to defend it stoutly, notwithstanding the threats of the enemy to
put them all to the sword should they offer any resistance.

With so many mouths to feed, provisions were, however, growing scarce,
and it was only with the greatest difficulty that their stores could be
replenished.  The small quantity of gunpowder captured from the foe
would enable them to hold out for some time yet; but should the enemy
persevere, they would be reduced to the greatest straits, and be
compelled either to cut their way through the enemy or capitulate--which
last alternative was not for a moment to be entertained.  News of
varying import reached them, brought in by the scouts.  One thing was
certain, that although great success had been achieved by the British,
the enemy still held together in large numbers.  Consequently,
encumbered as they would be with sick and wounded, it would be hazardous
in the extreme were they to attempt to make their way through the
country towards any of the cities already in the power of the English.
Another consideration weighed greatly with Reginald: he would not desert
the villagers who had remained so faithful to him,--knowing as he did,
that the rebels of Allahapoor would certainly wreak vengeance on their
heads.

For several days the garrison had enjoyed perfect tranquillity.  The
colonel kept up the spirits of all the party by assuring them that
relief would come, and urging them to bear patiently the hardships they
were now called on to endure.  Violet showed herself a true heroine, by
ever wearing a cheerful countenance, by her constant attention to the
sick and wounded, and by trying to keep up the spirits of the other
ladies.  Nuna imitated her example.

Their trials, however, were not over.  Intelligence sufficient to alarm
the most stout-hearted came in: that a force of upwards of twenty
thousand men was marching on Allahapoor, with the intention of occupying
that city, and that they threatened to take the fort and destroy its
garrison before doing so.

Colonel Ross did not conceal the information he had received.  "We must
hold out, as before, as long as our ammunition lasts; and that failing,
we must place the ladies and wounded in our midst, and cut our way
through the foe."

All swore to fight as long as they had arms to wield their swords.

Two days passed away, when about noon, as the hot air quivered over the
plain, the blue and red uniforms of the enemy's cavalry appeared in
sight.  They approached, a vast horde thronging up in the distance.
Column after column of infantry appeared following the cavalry, with
numerous pieces of artillery.  The rebels were evidently intent on the
utter destruction of the fort.  The lesson given by the mutineers at
Delhi, Cawnpore, and many other places, warned the English and their
allies against any attempt at negotiation.  As the fort had before
resisted with so small a garrison as it then possessed, now, when they
had several pieces of artillery and were reinforced with Burnett's
horse, they had good reason to hope that they should be able to resist
the fiercest attack the mutineers were likely to make.  At length came
the awful question, Will the powder hold out?  Colonel Ross had
calculated the hours it would do so.  It would encourage the enemy were
he not to return their fire with vigour, and dishearten the natives of
his own party should they discover the short time they would have the
means of resisting their sanguinary foes.

The enemy's guns at length drawing near, opened fire, without any
attempt at throwing up breastworks, their only shelter being such as the
ground afforded.  Had they not been supported by so large a body of
cavalry and foot, Burnett declared that nothing would have been easier
than to capture them; as it was, he waited for an opportunity which he
thought might occur.  Most of the shot, as before, struck the
earthworks; for the Enfield rifles prevented the guns from being brought
near enough to do much damage.  The rear of the fort, it must be
remembered, was protected by rugged heights, to the summit of which no
native engineers were capable of carrying up even the smallest guns;
indeed, they were inaccessible to the most nimble mountaineers.  Thus
there were only two sides of the fort to be protected; the valley which
ran down on the left being so completely commanded by the fort, that a
hostile party attempting to enter it would have been instantly
destroyed.

Night on this occasion brought no cessation of firing, and it soon
became apparent that the enemy intended to storm the fort.  Two guns
were moved so as to command the valley, up which, during the darkness of
night, they might possibly attempt to steal.  Every man was at his post.
After the firing had continued for some time it suddenly ceased.  Many
thought the enemy were retiring; but it was like the lull before the
storm.  A few seconds only had passed away, when three dark columns were
discerned by the garrison creeping up towards them.  On they came in
overwhelming numbers, the artillerymen in the plain firing over their
heads, while the British guns began blazing away with canister, sending
destruction amid their ranks.  Column after column had advanced, but
were driven back in confusion; not a man ever reached the lines.
Sometimes the cavalry galloped up, but they were quickly forced to
retire.

All night long the battle raged, but the dauntless courage of Colonel
Ross and his band of heroes prevailed, and when morning dawned the enemy
were seen retiring with their guns.  Had they gone altogether, or would
they return? was the question.  It was too probable that, instigated by
the mutineers in Allahapoor, they would renew the attack.

Two more days passed by, allowing the garrison to repair their
fortifications.  Once more, as day was declining, the enemy was seen
approaching; with the intention, probably, of making an assault during
the night.  Still hour after hour went by; every man remained at his
post, and yet no enemy came near them.  The campfires, however, burning
in the distance, showed that they were still there; and as morning
approached, Colonel Ross, who was ever on his guard, warned the officers
to be as watchful as at first, and ready at any moment to repel an
attack.

He was right.  It was still dark when the heads of several columns were
seen emerging from the gloom, and already close upon the fort.  On came
the rebels, as soon as they were aware that they must be seen, giving
utterance to the most savage shouts and cries.  At the same moment they
opened a heavy fire.  They were met, as before, with showers of grape
and well-directed volleys of musketry, which quickly drove back those
who had not fallen,--with the exception of a party of desperate
fanatics, who attempted to force their way over the entrenchments.  Some
succeeded and were cut down, others were shot in the ditch, and not one
escaped.  The garrison had scarcely breathing time before another
similar attack was made, which was repulsed in the same way.

"How much longer can we stand out?" asked Reginald of Colonel Ross.

"Another attack like the last will exhaust the whole of our powder, when
our only resource will be to abandon the fort--for to hold it will then
be impossible," was the answer.

The day passed by.  Anxiously was the arrival of the scouts who came
over the hills looked for with the expected intelligence of the
movements of the British.  Flying columns of the avenging army were
sweeping the enemy before them; but they were, it was supposed, yet a
long way off.  Still the colonel endeavoured to keep up the courage of
those he commanded; and the officers, following his example, did their
utmost to encourage the men to prepare for another assault.  The
strictest watch was kept, for it was thought that should the enemy again
venture to attack the fort, it would be by night.

The garrison were not mistaken.  Two days more had passed, when again
the columns were espied by the watchful sentinels.  The troops flew to
their arms, the artillerymen to their guns.

Reginald and Burnett, when relieved from their duty in the evening, had
snatched a few minutes from the rest they so much required to pay a
visit to Violet and Nuna.  They talked hopefully of the future, and both
expressed a wish, as soon as the rebellion was quelled, to leave India
and reside in England.

"Oh, that must be a happy country," cried Nuna, "where there are no wars
or disputes, where the rich do not oppress the poor, and the latter are
happy and contented, and everybody lives in friendship with each other!"

Burnett smiled.  "I am afraid only a part of your picture is true.
England has numberless advantages over this country, and I hope ere long
to take you there; but I am sorry to say that the English people quarrel
and dispute with each other as much as the natives of other lands,
though they do not fly to arms on all occasions.  You must not expect to
find a paradise in England, or in any other part of the world."

Unwillingly, the two friends had at length to bid the ladies goodnight
and return to their posts at the batteries.  Just as they reached them,
the signal was made that the enemy was approaching, and the silence
which had hitherto reigned in the fort was suddenly broken by the loud
report of the guns as they sent forth their doses of canister,
scattering death amid the advancing columns.  The musketry opened at the
same time; and now the rebels, finding that they were again disappointed
in their expectation of surprising the fort, began firing away in
return.  As gun after gun was discharged, Colonel Ross knew that their
slender store of powder was becoming more nearly exhausted.  It might
hold out till the enemy took to flight; but they might persevere longer
than usual--and if so, finding that the guns no longer thundered forth,
they would in all probability storm the fort.

He at length sent for Burnett and Reginald.  "My friends," he said,
speaking quite calmly, "if in half an hour more the enemy are not
beaten, we must fight our way out through their midst, unless we can
hope to defend our position with our swords and bayonets."

Burnett proposed making a sortie with his cavalry, in the hope of
creating a panic by the suddenness of his attack.  But from this Colonel
Ross dissuaded him.  He could scarcely hope to produce any material
effect, and would only weaken his strength by the loss of several of his
men.

Rapidly that half-hour went by; when, just as it was found that the last
charge of powder had been expended, the cry arose, "They run!  They
run!"  On this Burnett ordered his bugler to sound the call "to horse;"
and in less than two minutes every man of his troop was mounted, and,
following their leader, had dashed out in pursuit of the retreating foe.
Immediately he had gone, Colonel Ross ordered every animal in the camp
to be prepared for carrying the sick and wounded.  Horses had been kept
for the use of the ladies,--who, having been warned of the possible
emergency, were quickly ready.  Not a word of alarm or anxiety was
expressed.  The whole force was quickly drawn up in close column:
Reginald's cavalry, with the ladies in the centre, leading; the trained
villagers following, guarding the wounded; the British soldiers and
Reginald's guards on either flank; while the other native troops brought
up the rear.

The instant the scouts returned with the satisfactory report that they
had seen the enemy moving off, the order was given to advance, and the
little army, after spiking all the guns in the fort, commenced their
perilous march.  Silently they moved, to avoid being discovered by any
of the enemy's scouts, or the report of their march being carried to the
rebels by the inhabitants of the villages near which they might pass.
Happily the enemy had made their attack early in the night, and the
retreating party had thus an advantage of several hours, which would
enable them to get to a considerable distance before they were likely to
be discovered.  For the remainder of the night, therefore, they moved
on; and not till the sun had already risen was a halt called, that they
might take that rest which was absolutely necessary to enable them to
continue their flight.  The scouts sent out now reported that no enemy
was near, and they were thus able to remain encamped for several hours;
after which, greatly refreshed, they again moved on.  Colonel Ross was
sensible that his force could not successfully engage with any large
body, but he hoped that, by avoiding all places where any rebels were
likely to be collected, and by advancing chiefly at night, to prevent
any information of his movements from reaching the enemy.

Violet, who was a good horsewoman, bore the fatigue of the march well,
and even Nuna and the other ladies kept up their spirits and did not
complain.  The poor wounded men were the greatest sufferers; though they
preferred the shaking to which they were exposed, to being left behind
to the tender mercies of the natives.

Before another night's march had been accomplished, a sowar who had been
sent out as a scout overtook them with the intelligence that the enemy
had heard of their retreat, and were following with a large force,
threatening their complete destruction.  Colonel Ross, on hearing this,
resolved--as there was no place at hand into which they could throw
themselves and defend it against the enemy--to continue the march, for
the purpose of keeping ahead of their pursuers as much as possible, and
only to halt and fight where a strong position could be taken up with
some hope of offering an effectual resistance.  On they marched; but in
vain did the colonel look out for ground of the kind he desired.  Their
scouts came hurrying in from the rear with the announcement that the
enemy were close upon them.  There could be little doubt that the
rebels, burning with revenge at the defeats they had suffered, would
immediately commence an attack.  The country was level for miles on
every side; the colonel was therefore glad to find a spot where he could
halt, with a deep and broad stream on one side, and a thick jungle in
the rear, which neither the enemy's infantry nor artillery could
penetrate.  He accordingly halted here: the infantry drawn up in the
centre, and the cavalry on either flank, ready to charge the guns of the
enemy, should they have brought any with them.

In silence the little force waited the expected attack.  The rebels at
length appeared.  Colonel Ross ordered the infantry to fire as they came
within range; and then, at a preconcerted signal, Reginald and Burnett,
leading on their troopers, desperately charged the rebel forces.  Many
on both sides went down, but the rebels, relying on their numbers, and
knowing the weakness of the force opposed to them, refused to give way.
The moon afforded sufficient light to enable the combatants to continue
the fight, and Reginald could not help fearing that, after all the
efforts of his party, they might be defeated.  Again and again he led
his men to the charge--when the sound of English bugles reached his
ears.  Just at that moment a bullet struck him and he fell to the
ground, his steed galloping off unperceived by his followers.  He lay
amid a heap of slain, unable to move, while his horsemen followed up the
charge.  The fight continued raging around him for some time.  Then he
heard the heavy tramp of cavalry, and the rattling sound of artillery,
followed closely by the roar of the guns as they opened fire.  Lifting
up his head, he saw a dark red line, with bayonets glittering in the
moonlight, emerging from behind the wood.  The enemy also saw them, and
poured in on them as they approached a round of musketry; but not a
moment did they stop to receive the charge made by the British regiment,
which, advancing at the double, drove them like chaff before the wind.
Reginald saw no more; his head sank back, and he lay like the clods of
the earth around him.

The British troops had had a hard day's march, for, receiving
intelligence of the near vicinity of a large rebel force, they had
pushed on to attack them before they could escape.  The remainder of the
English column coming up, tents were pitched, while the cavalry pursued
the flying foe, cutting down all they overtook, no quarter being asked
or offered.

Dawn was breaking, when a sentinel at his post caught sight, at some
distance, of a large animal lying on the ground, which after some little
scrutiny he discovered to be a tiger.  "The horrid brute is feeding on
the dead," he exclaimed.  "If it was not against orders to fire, I'd
quickly teach it better manners."  Just then a man, who, from his
nautical appearance, might have been called a "horse-marine," rode up on
a small country pony.  He had a long sabre by his side, a haversack on
his back, and a brace of pistols in his belt; and while huge boots
encased his legs, he wore a seaman's broad-brimmed hat and loose
jacket,--making him look altogether not a little peculiar.

"What's that you say, mate?" he asked.

The sentry pointed to the animal he had seen.  "Though I mayn't fire, do
you put a bullet though that brute's head."

"That's more than I'll do," answered the seaman, who was no other than
our friend Dick Thuddichum.  "That animal has more sense than many a
human being; and it's my belief that my honoured master, whom she's
followed faithfully for many a day, and whose life she has saved more
than once, is not far off.  Just you hold my horse, while I go ahead and
have a look round.  If I'm right, I'll shout to some one to come and
help me."

Saying this, Dick tumbled off his steed, and hastily stalked over the
ground, carefully avoiding the corpses with which it was strewed.  He
was right Faithful, in spite of his strange costume, uttered a cry of
welcome, and sprang forward to meet him.  There, as he expected, lay his
beloved master.  "O Master Reginald!  O my lord, do speak to me, and
tell me if you are alive!" exclaimed Dick, as he threw himself on the
ground by Reginald's side.  "Yes, yes; he's still got life in him!" he
cried out; and shouting to the sentinel to send help, he lifted his
master in his arms and bore him towards the tents.  Reginald was
speedily carried into one of the nearest, set aside as an hospital,
where his wound was examined by a surgeon,--Dick standing anxiously by
to hear his opinion.

"It's pretty severe, but is not likely to prove fatal," said the
surgeon.  "He has fainted from loss of blood, but a stimulant will soon
restore him."

"Thank Heaven!" exclaimed Dick.  "I should have wellnigh died, and so,
to my mind, would Faithful, and another person I know of, if he'd been
killed.  But do your best to bring him about, sir, and I will bless you
all the days of my life."

Reginald, as the doctor had hoped, soon recovered sufficiently to speak.
He warmly greeted Dick, and expressed his delight at seeing him--having
greatly feared that he had been murdered by the rebels.  He then
immediately ordered a messenger to go to Colonel Ross and inform him and
Miss Ross of his safety.  And before long Burnett, whose horsemen were
bivouacked not far off, made his appearance.  Happy indeed was the
meeting between the two friends.  A palanquin was quickly procured for
Reginald's conveyance, as his wound was not so severe as to prevent his
being moved.  It was arranged that he, with the ladies of Colonel Ross's
party, should be escorted to the banks of the Ganges, from whence they
could proceed down the river to Calcutta.  Dick having had enough of
campaigning, begged that he might accompany his master, and look after
Faithful, who was not likely to obey any one else.  Reginald, with much
regret, bade farewell to his faithful Indian friends, whom he strongly
recommended to the authorities for the fidelity they had shown to the
English; but he intended to reward them still further as soon as he had
the power.

Colonel Ross, whose health was giving way, owing to the anxiety he had
so long endured, accompanied his daughter and Nuna to Calcutta, where
they remained till the mutiny was effectually quelled, and Burnett was
able to join them.  The two marriages shortly afterwards took place, and
the young couple at once carried out their intention of leaving for
England.  Of course Dick Thuddichum embarked with them, with Faithful in
charge.

Violet, before leaving Calcutta, begged to have a portrait of the noble
creature which had so often saved her husband's life, and persuaded
Reginald to have his own likeness taken at the same time in the nautical
costume which he wore on being first introduced to her; he himself
confessing that he infinitely preferred it to the magnificent dresses he
had been compelled to wear during his short reign in Allahapoor.  That
city had been quickly captured by the English, and, much to Reginald's
satisfaction, had become, with its surrounding territory, an integral
part of British India.

It is sad to have to relate that poor Faithful never reached the free
shores of Old England.  Whether it was, as Dick Thuddichum thought, that
the sea-air did not agree with her constitution, or that she was
deprived of her usual allowance of half a sheep a day, she sickened, and
gradually grew worse and worse; her last fond gaze being at the face of
her beloved master.  She attempted to lick his hand, but the effort was
vain.  Her head sank on the deck--the tigress was dead.

Her skin was preserved; and Faithful, with an almost lifelike look,
ornaments the entrance hall in Hamerton Castle.

Reginald had no difficulty, with the documents he had recovered, in
obtaining possession of his hereditary title and estates.  While
attending to his English tenantry he did not forget his faithful Indian
friends, or the benighted inhabitants of that country, and has ever been
among the most zealous and munificent supporters of those true soldiers
of Christ who go forth to spread the Gospel of Peace in the dark places
of the world.

THE END.








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