The Disputed V.C.: A Tale of the Indian Mutiny

by Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards

  CHAPTER VIII

  The Fight in the Arsenal

  "They are having a hard fight for it," Ted observed to LieutenantLowthian. They stood on the walls that surrounded the courtyard of thefort, watching the progress of their comrades through the crowdedstreets. Lowthian nodded, but, absorbed by the struggle, made no reply.

  "Yes, and they've left us here to be killed like rabbits," mutteredTynan.

  "Shut up! Don't whine!" Lowthian scornfully exhorted him.

  Ted's anxiety had so far been largely centred in the safety of EthelWoodburn, the charge placed under his protection; and having rightlyguessed that the Commissioner's house, surrounded by the clamouring mob,through whose masses Munro was breaking his way, contained the Europeansof Aurungpore, a load was lifted from his mind. The rebels had quittedthe immediate vicinity of the fort, and the comparative tranquillityclose at hand had made him forget his own danger. Tynan's remark andLowthian's curtness startled him.

  "They won't be long in escorting the women here," he cheerfully opined."And a hundred of us ought to hold this place easily."

  "Yes, but twenty cannot," Tynan sneered. "If it's as much as Munro cando to force his way through now, how's he going to manage it with acrowd of women to protect?"

  Tynan had gauged the situation more correctly than Ted. Reckoningovermuch on the prestige of British arms, Munro had calculated that theremoval of the civilians to the fort would be an easy matter. Most ofthe disloyal sepoys had disappeared, having scattered in order to lootthe shops and the European bungalows. They were now returning by twosand threes, some laden with plunder, others savage and sullen throughdisappointment, having found the bungalows deserted and the covetedjewels and money saved from their clutches.

  "Here comes that scoundrel Pir Baksh," said Lowthian as the Moslemsubadar appeared on the scene. He began to shout some commandsunintelligible to the watchers on the walls, and soon succeeded informing the scattered groups into a dense throng.

  "I always detested that fellow," Lowthian continued, "and I believe he'sat the bottom of this dastardly business."

  "He's got Miss Woodburn's horse too!" Ted cried in an excited voice, ashe recognized the bay. "Look! he's pointing towards the fort It's ourturn now!"

  Pir Baksh was haranguing the sepoys, gesticulating wildly, first towardsthe strong white building in which the Europeans had taken shelter, andthen in the direction of the frowning fortress whose guns commandedAurungpore, and the air was filled with shouts of "Din, Din, AllahAkbar!"[5]

  [5] "The Faith," or "For our Faith, God is Great."

  "They're coming at us," Tynan whispered. There was no need to whisper,for the fact was only too evident. The impressive nature of the perilhad made him unconsciously lower his voice.

  "Are the guns loaded?" he added, nodding towards the half-dozen cannon,whose grim black muzzles stared through the embrasures.

  "No, and it would take us an hour to load them," Lowthian replied.

  As a measure of precaution, all munitions for the cannon had been storedwithin the arsenal.

  The Rajputs on the bastions that flanked the main gate began to firewildly as the rebels approached within range.

  "Steady, men, steady!" the commandant ordered. "Each cover his manbefore he fires! That's the way! Well aimed, Ambar Singh!"

  The loyal sepoys had pulled themselves together, and there was nofurther waste of ammunition. Rebel after rebel rolled over in the dustor limped into cover, and the rush was checked. The assailants slowlybacked away from the walls, each man trying to dodge behind hisneighbour to keep a shield before him as he took aim. Ted looked for PirBaksh, but that astute pandy, having no intention of exposing himself soprominently on horseback, had dismounted, and was lost amid the mob.

  At last the ensign marked his quarry. For a second's space theringleader had come into view to urge his reluctant hordes to theassault. Hastily covering him, Ted pulled the trigger. A rebel fell, butit was not Pir Baksh. Like the coward he was, he had skipped into safetybehind a group of sepoys, and now the front ranks of the mutineers hadpressed back upon the rearmost until all were beyond effective range.Brown Bess could not be trusted to carry far.

  "If there is one of the curs I should like to kill it's that traitor PirBaksh!" Tynan declared with an oath. "I hope I'll live to see himhanged! It was he who shot the colonel; I saw him."

  "Are you sure of that?" Lowthian and Ted both asked.

  "As sure as that I am here.----What are they up to now?"

  Baffled for a moment, the subadar had abandoned the idea of a directassault, and was seen to be exhorting the men to some new method ofattack, for the pandies presently dispersed right and left. A hot firewas still kept up through the windows of Fletcher's house. Lowthianquietly gave an order.

  "Tynan, take eight men to the southern bastion, and don't showyourselves until you can strike home. Dal Singh, you keep watch from thenorth-west tower, and give the alarm if they gather in that direction."

  A number of the sepoys were reassembling at the top of the main streetwhere it debouched into the open space facing the main gate. Ted andLowthian exchanged a meaning look as they perceived that some hadbrought short ladders and were busily lashing them together.

  "If they've any grit they'll soon be over the walls," the seniorwhispered. "Ha! they mean to attack Tynan's post first."

  Under the impression that the garrison was too weak to be distributed,some hundred rebels with a ladder made a dash for the southern wall ofthe courtyard, keeping out of range from the main gate as they ran. Theywere within twenty paces when Tynan opened fire. Still they kept on, andplanted the ladder against the wall. A second volley rang out, and thepandies hesitated, for the fire had been concentrated on theladder-bearers, and those who were nearest to them edged farther away,pressing against the walls. They reasoned that it was death to touch theladder, and many of their comrades were already dead. But by now anotherrush had been made for the main gate, and though a dozen fell in theassault, the sepoys were more in earnest and they thirsted for revenge.Two of the Rajputs were knocked over, and Pir Baksh yelled gleefully ashe planted a bullet in Lowthian's shoulder.

  Still the fort was not yet won. Encouraged by the resolute bearing oftheir officers, the loyal men continued to fire coolly and rapidly; andthe mutineers lacked the inspiration of a leader ready to sacrificehimself for their cause. They again retired out of range, and the cheerraised by the Rajputs at the main gate was echoed back by Tynan's men.

  That cheer was ill-timed. Hardly had it died away before an answeringyell from the north, savage as a war-whoop, chilled the blood in theirveins, for it came from inside the courtyard! A scaling-party had madethe circuit, and were already beneath the north-western bastion when DalSingh reached his post. He looked forth, and before he could give thealarm a bullet struck him in the forehead, the single distant reportpassing unnoticed amid the noise of battle.

  "Inside the fort, lads!" Lowthian shouted. "All together!"

  The garrison hastily descended, and, joining forces, charged across thecourtyard to escape being cut off. But the rebels were the nearer, andshould even one or two of them enter first and bar the door, thegarrison was lost. In ten minutes there would be a couple of hundredsepoys inside the courtyard.

  One rebel was almost in. Ted stopped, flung his musket to his shoulder,and the man toppled over. Four more pandies were close upon his heels.As the leader fell, the hindmost of these, dreading the same fate,looked back over his shoulder. A trifling incident, yet that glance costhim dear, and was worth untold gold to the white-faces in Aurungpore.For as the fellow turned he unconsciously checked his pace, and a leanRajput, straining every nerve, closed with the faint-hearted traitorbefore the entrance could be gained. A bayonet-thrust, a scream, and thewretch staggered forward and fell upon his face.

  But the other three were inside, and so was Karan Singh the Rajput,alone with his back to the door, cut off from his comrades. A barrier ofsome thirty exultant rebels had thrust themselves in front,
and ladderswere even now being set up against the walls by the main gate. If thethirty pandies could keep the loyalists at bay for another five minutesthey would all be butchered like goats at the Dashera Festival. Thencame the clang of steel, as bayonet crossed bayonet; the three officersemptied and reloaded their pistols, and a yard or two was gained.

  Suddenly Ted dodged to the right, and darted at full speed round thepack of sepoys, as a three-quarter back, smartly fed by the half who haspicked up the ball from beneath the feet of the scrummagers, circlesround his opponents before they know what has happened. He had caught aglimpse of the plucky Karan Singh maintaining the unequal combat, andthe Rajput was sore wounded though one of the pandies had fallen to hisbayonet.

  While still a few strides from the doorway, Ted Russell witnessed thedeath of the Hindu hero. As one sepoy kept Karan Singh at bay the othermanaged to reload and let fly, the muzzle barely a foot from theRajput's breast. The brave man dropped like a log, and his body fellacross the threshold. Though they hastily thrust the corpse aside, Tedwas upon them before the heavy door could be closed.

  The enemy had not dared to pursue the ensign, fearing to turn theirbacks lest the British should be let in. His pistol was empty and hismusket had been cast aside. One of the sepoys lunged. Ted skipped aside,and, turning on his heel, struck wildly at the other's bayonet that wasdarting towards his chest. The weapon was turned aside, but though histunic alone was ripped and he himself was untouched, his cherished swordhad broken off at the hilt, and he was disarmed.

  For the fraction of a second he stood helpless. So lightning-like isthought, that he had time to long for a kick at the slovenly workman whohad turned out a weapon as untrustworthy as himself.

  "Quick! Close the door, Bakir Khan, while I slay the whelp!"

  Ted swerved, grasped the speaker's musket-barrel with his left, and withhis right hammered the face of the bewildered sepoy, who howled, butheld on to the weapon. The iron-clamped door slammed and the heavy boltsgroaned as Bakir Khan shot them home and turned to assist his comrade.Ted tugged at the musket with all his strength, and suddenly saw at hisfeet the firearm of the dead pandy. He swooped down, seized the weapon,and jumped backwards just in time, as the bayonet-point flashedharmlessly in front.

  A loud pounding of musket-stocks upon the door announced that Lowthian'shandful had broken through, or else had all been slain. For an instantthe sound stayed the fight inside. Was he alone left after all? Or didit mean that, could he open the door before numbers overwhelmed them,they might all be saved? Hope lent him strength. There was no bayonet tohis new weapon, so he gripped it by the muzzle, and, swinging it abovehis head, he knocked the Brown Bess out of Bakir Khan's hand as thatfalse sepoy made a second lunge. Again he brought the butt-end down,this time with a thud upon the head of Bakir Khan. The second pandyrecoiled, still half-dazed by the blows from Ted's sword-hilt. There wasno way of escape for him, however, and he sprang like a tiger-cat at theensign. A third time the musket was swung aloft, and the sepoy reeledand toppled over, stunned.

  Ted sprang to the door, and had drawn one of the bolts when a wild feartook hold of him. Who were on the other side? In all probability theywere rebels thirsting for English blood, and why should he let them in?Through the thick door he seemed to see them, pitiless as famishedwolves. Why not hide in the vast arsenal and slip out at night?

  In less than a second such thoughts had flashed through his mind beforehe recollected that duty bade him take the risk. The last bolt was shotback; he sprang aside, ready for a charge as the door swung back, andgave a gasp of relief as Tynan and his Rajputs dashed inside.

  At their heels came the rebels, and a few got through before Ted andAmbar Singh could close and bar the door. The fight inside the passagewas soon over, and the Rajputs sank upon the floor and gasped forbreath.

  Barely five minutes had sped since Karan Singh's body had fallen acrossthe threshold, yet it seemed many hours. Ted could hardly realize thatthe main body of assailants under Pir Baksh had only just succeeded instorming the walls (for they had hesitated, fearing a trap) as hecracked the skull of Bakir Khan. Had that fourth sepoy not looked backthe arsenal would have been lost.

  "Lowthian's done for, I'm afraid!" panted Tynan.

  Following his gaze, Ted saw that the Rajputs had brought theircommandant in. He knelt down by the side of his friend and found Tynan'ssurmise only too true, for Lieutenant Lowthian had already breathed hislast.

  "Shot just as we reached the doorway," Tynan explained; "and half adozen men killed or badly wounded. What must we do, Russell? They can'tget in except through that door, can they?"

  "It won't take long to batter the door down if they shape," Ted replied."Luckily we've heaps of ammunition here, and any number of muskets.Look, this room off the passage commands the door, so set two or threemen to bring up firearms and we'll load a few dozen."

  Before Ted had finished speaking, the spirited Rajputs were emptyingtheir muskets through the narrow slits that loop-holed the thick walls,and the rebels who had been clustering round the door, vainly attemptingto batter it down, left the spot in a hurry--at least all did who wereable. Ted then posted a couple of men to watch the north-western face ofthe building and give the alarm if necessary. Blood had been flowingfreely down the ensign's face, and he now found time to staunch it. Hewas not sure when he had received the wound, but at some time or otherduring the struggle in the passage a bayonet-point had torn the skinfrom mouth to ear.

  The lull in the storm lasted for nearly an hour. Many of the pandiescontemptuously flouted the commands of their officers, and, giving upthe attack on the fort, began to seek fresh plunder in the town, orjoined in the half-hearted attempts to render the English houseuntenable. The remainder of the force, gathered together by Pir Baksh,kept up a long-range fire through the loopholes, in the hope that somebullets might find their billets.

  "Why don't Munro come to the rescue?" Harry Tynan bitterly demanded."With eighty men he could break through this gang of cowards, if only hehad the pluck to try."

  "He can't," Ted retorted; "they're penned in there like sheep. And howcould he break through with nearly a dozen women and kids to protect?Would you have him leave them to their fate?"

  "Half his men could do it."

  "Not they--nor twice his whole force. It's a soldier's risk that webargained for when we took our commissions. We may win through yet; andif not, we must just stick to it as long as we can. Well, what's thematter now, havildar?"

  Ambar Singh had left his post.

  "The dogs are about to make a rush, Ensign Sahib. They Have brought logsand beams and mean to batter down the door. Listen! They arevolley-firing to keep us from the loopholes."

  The fusillade had suddenly redoubled--steady volleys this time--and ahail of lead pattered against the walls, and a few bullets smackedagainst the sides of the slits and cannoned shapeless into the room.

  "Quick, upstairs, you three!" Ted cried. "Take as many muskets as youcan carry and fire rapidly!"

  Three sepoys nodded significantly and ran up the stairs. In anothermoment a succession of reports from above announced that they understoodtheir business. As our hero had intended, the rebels jumped at theconclusion that their fire having become too hot, the garrison hadshifted, so they changed their aim.

  Instantly the abandoned loopholes were occupied, just as two parties,each of six or eight men bearing improvised battering-rams, charged thedoor at full speed. Crack went eight muskets together, and half a dozenfell. Fresh firearms were handed to the marksmen, and the logs weredropped as the few survivors scuttled away. For a third time the reportsrang out, and only one of the log-carriers rejoined his comrades.

  "Down, men!" Ted gave warning, as the rebels savagely changed their aimonce more and swept the lower embrasures with their fire. One poorfellow was not quite quick enough. Before he could duck a bullet hadentered his forehead. Setting aside the two Rajputs who were dangerouslywounded, there were now twelve sepoys and two English lads to defend thepla
ce, and of these fourteen five were wounded.

  "Curse the bloodthirsty ruffians!" Tynan hissed.

  His blood was up. Springing to a loophole he fired twice, bringing downa man each time.

  "Be careful," Ted cautioned him. "That won't pay."

  "The sooner it's over the better," Tynan replied, but took the adviceall the same.

  The hostile fire gradually slackened, and the garrison were shortlyenabled to watch the proceedings of their adversaries. They could seePir Baksh vainly exhorting the mutineers to make a second attempt. Butthe sepoys shook their heads. The danger was too great, or why did notPir Baksh himself lead them, they asked. Their English officers werewont to share the danger with the sepoys, but he, Pir Baksh, was carefulto keep out of range whenever he sent them forward. No, they preferredto wait for night, when the risk would be small.

  Judging that they would be safe for another hour at least, the twoEnglishmen ordered food to be prepared. They anticipated that the crisiswould come with the sunset, and strength must be kept up.

  "What are you grinning at?" asked Tynan, as they sat cross-legged overthe meal.

  "I was thinking what a rummy go it is," Ted replied, "that we two of allthe officers should be here together. We haven't been friends, Tynan,but if ever we get out of this hole I hope we will be. And if we don'tget out, I trust we can die without any bad feeling between us. Shakehands on it, old chap."

  Tynan leant forward to meet the proffered hand.

  "All right, Russell! I'm agreeable. It ain't my fault that we've notbeen friends."

  This was not a very gracious speech, and Ted's ardour was damped. Heshook hands, however, saying:

  "We must back one another up to-day."

  "Right! But look here, you mustn't forget that I'm senior officer here.You've been giving orders pretty freely."

  "Because you didn't seem ready with any suggestions."

  "It's my turn now, remember," Tynan asserted in an aggrieved tone; andTed felt sorry he had spoken, as the other seemed incapable of sinkinghis personal feelings even at such a time. Unless his senior officershowed more sign of rising to the occasion, he determined to continue toissue orders.

  Though the magazine at Aurungpore was not a large one, its capture wouldprove an enormous boon to the rebel cause, for therein was stored aquantity of ammunition and material of war. Armed therewith, all therabble of the town would soon be equipped as soldiers, and our ensignunderstood what would then become of his friends and comrades, and aboveall of his brother's sweetheart. A shiver ran down his spine as heremembered Jim's parting whisper, and there rose before him the pictureof the girl who had saved his life and whom he secretly adored. He vowedto do his duty manfully, and never to despair while there remained theleast hope of preventing the ravening wolves outside from gaining accessto the stores.

  "What the deuce are you up to now?" Tynan broke in.

  The senior ensign had been regarding the junior's meditations withconsiderable curiosity, wondering how he could become so absorbed at socritical a time. His query had been called forth by a sudden change ofexpression that had overspread his comrade's features. Ted's eyes hadopened wide, and he had given an almost imperceptible gasp, sure signsthat some startling idea had come upon him unawares.

  "What is it, Russell?" Tynan repeated.

  "Oh, nothing, nothing!" Ted hastily assured him. "I was just thinkingwhat an awful business this is."

  "Has that only just occurred to you?" his comrade sullenly inquired,convinced that Ted was keeping something back.

  And so he was. Not that he wished to mislead his brother officer butrather because the idea that had so unceremoniously thrust itself infront of him, suggested an action so appalling as almost to stupefy him.He must think, think, think. Could he bring himself to do it? Ought heto do it?

  Hardly the place or time this for quiet meditation, for the weighing ofpros and cons. One of the watchers signalled that the pandies had againlost patience, and to confirm his words the heavy fusillade recommenced,and the ensign ceased to ponder and began to act. The rebels had now gotthe range with deadly accuracy, and unless he courted death, none of thegarrison dared return the fire.

  Our hero did make one such attempt, and reduced the number of one of thebattering-crews. But before he could get in a second shot the muzzle ofhis musket was struck and dented, and a bullet whistled through hishair, grazing the skin. He crouched down and put his hand to his head,fearing he was done for. A soft thud and rattle beside him announced thefall of a sepoy who had followed the rash example with fatal courage.Forgetting his own wound the ensign knelt beside the Rajput and raisedhis head. The poor fellow still breathed but was going fast, and ashudder ran through the boy as the man died in his arms, true to theend.

  "Are you hurt?" Tynan asked.

  "I'm not quite sure. I don't think so."

  "Let me see. Oh, it's only a scratch."

  The sepoys in the room above, less hampered by the rebel fire, wereanswering back to some purpose until they too were silenced, one oftheir number being mortally wounded. A crash against the stout doorseemed to shake the house, and before the vibration ceased another bangwas heard. Englishmen and Rajputs were firing hastily whenever anopportunity occurred, but the pandies now held the upper hand. Asplintering noise followed the next crash.

  "What can we do, Russell? What can we do?" Tynan cried. "They'll be inin a moment!"

  Backed by the strength of half a dozen men the logs crashed once moreagainst the barrier, and the hearts of the garrison were heavy as lead.

  "We're not done for yet," Ted stoutly replied. "We must wait for them inthe passage. We may yet hold the passage, Ambar Singh; and should wedie, men will speak of your deeds from generation to generation."

  "We can hold them back for a time, sahib. Come, my children, and thou,Bisesar Rai, and thou, Dwarika Rai, load and pass us the muskets as welie in the doorway."

  Of the twenty-two Rajputs ten were still able to fight, and three othersremained alive though sorely wounded. They were now all together, andTed, Ambar Singh the havildar, and as many others as could crowd in,were lying full length before the wide-arched entrance to the room. Fromthe slowly-yielding door the passage ran straight for a few paces beforecurving to the right, and an enemy coming round the bend would be at agreat disadvantage, for the best marksmen of the garrison waited withready muskets, their elbows on the threshold, their bodies within theroom. Behind them two comrades stood, a loaded musket in each hand, toexchange for the emptied weapons, and beside them knelt Bisesar Rai andDwarika Rai busily loading the firearms. The pandies could not take aimwithout coming into full view, but the defenders could fire with aminimum of exposure, and could draw back their heads into safetywhenever they saw a musket-barrel pointing at random towards them.

  A louder crash, a shrill yell, and a mob of maddened sepoys swept insideand round the bend. Six muskets cracked at once, and the yells changedto howls of dismay. A second volley--not in unison this time, but noless effective--and the sepoys turned and fled. The victory was not tobe so easy as they had imagined. Had the garrison been armed as werethey, with one Brown Bess apiece and a limited supply of ammunition, itwould all have been over long ago they told themselves, but when volleyfollowed volley with such rapidity, it was like facing a regiment. Thesepoys were not cowards as a rule, but they knew they were playing atraitor's part. In a good cause, well led, they would have risked thedanger, even as the handful of loyal Rajputs were devoting their livesto their duty.

  A nerve-ruining silence, broken only by the moans of the wounded who layon the floor, followed the shrill outcries. The rebels were baffled butnot defeated. Slowly, painfully the minutes dragged, then two blackheads showed round the bend, and two spurts of flame flashed out. Beforethe reports had reached them, Ted and Ambar Singh had pressed theirfingers, and two sepoys fell forward on their faces. The defenders wereuntouched, the rebels having fired at random, and for a while none daredfollow their example.

  In despair several
of the raging mob pushed their musket-barrels roundthe bend and let fly, in the hope that an occasional bullet out of manymight reduce the number of their dogged antagonists. But Ted drew hismen back from the doorway until the sepoys were tired of this amusement.

  Each rebel urged his neighbour to face the fire of those death-dealingmuskets; each man knew that the end was at hand, and preferred to holdhimself back that he might share in the plunder. Now that they were nolonger a glorious regiment but a mere mob of rebels, none was ready togive his life for the cause. The garrison also knew that the end wasdrawing near, and were in no way deceived by the momentary calm.

  "Hullo!" Ted cried, and stared open-mouthed. "What's that for?"

  A white cloth tied round the barrel of a musket had been poked round thecorner.

  "A truce, sahibs!" a voice called in Urdu. "We wish to treat with youand save your lives. May I step forward in safety?"

  "One man may," Tynan replied, "but he will be a dead man should there beany sign of treachery."

  "Sahib, there will be none; I give my word of honour."

  So saying, Pir Baksh stepped round the bend, armed only with a smilethat he doubtless intended to be ingratiating.

  "Ye are gallant warriors," he began, when Ted, interrupting the flow ofwords, ordered the rascal to speak in English, not Urdu. The subadarshowed the whites of his eyes as he smiled, and grimly shook his head.For the benefit of the Rajputs he resumed in the vernacular:

  "Ye cannot hope to hold out much longer, so let there be no furtherbloodshed. Surrender the fort and we will spare your lives."

  "What do you think, Russell?" Tynan hurriedly whispered. "Do you believethey mean it?"

  "Not they!" was Ted's scornful reply.

  "Perhaps they do, though. I'll ask him what they intend to do with us."

  "Why, you can't mean to give up the magazine under any conditions?" ourastonished ensign demanded, his eyes contracting as he stared at hissenior officer.

  "They'll have it all the same if they kill us, though," Tynan muttered,lowering his eyes, unable to meet his comrade's gaze. "So what's theodds. May as well save our lives while there's a chance."

  He thereupon made answer to the jemadar.

  "If we surrender, what will you do with us?"

  "We will keep you captive, but promise you your lives," came the promptreply.

  "Will you allow us to join our friends over yonder? If not, we shallstill fight, and we are not so helpless as you think." Tynan was notquite a coward, and he used the threat with some show of spirit.

  "I cannot promise that without consulting my friends."

  So saying, the subadar retired for further instructions. Ted had hadtime for reflection.

  "Tynan," he announced, "I sha'n't agree to surrender. We've no right todo it! Look what a lift it would give them if they could get all thesearms and ammunition."

  Our ensign had quite made up his mind what to do. If his death wouldmake more secure the position of his comrades in the town he wasprepared to die. There was satisfaction in the reflection that EthelWoodburn would know that he had been staunch to the last. Poor Tynan hadno friends among the officers of his corps, and consequently there wasnothing to uplift his soul above the fear of death, and he had clutchedeagerly at the straw of hope held out by Pir Baksh.

  "Well, they'll get it all the same after they've done for us," hebitterly replied. "May as well live to fight another day. I was a foolever to come to this accursed land. What right had Munro to leave ushere?"

  Before Ted could reply the white flag was thrust round the corner andthe subadar returned.

  "We agree to what you ask," said he. "We will permit you to rejoin yourfriends in safety."

  "I tell you I shall not agree to surrender," the junior ensign angrilydeclared.

  "You fool! What's the good of holding out any longer? Well, I shallsurrender, and I'm chief here."

  "You're not! You're under Munro's orders, and those were to hold thefort until he sends help. If you attempt to surrender you're atraitor."

  Ted turned to Ambar Singh and the sepoys.

  "Do not listen to the dogs," said he. "Let us fight to the end, as yourforefathers did against the Moguls. They are not to be trusted; theywill assuredly slay us if we yield."

  The sepoys stoutly assented. They had little faith in the Mohammedans,who were seeking their lives,--the men who had murdered Markham Sahib.

  "You are right, sahib," said the havildar, "and we will fight by yourside. That low-caste hound," pointing to Pir Baksh, "is afraid of us,and wishes to disarm us with soft words, but we know him."

  Tynan saw his authority taken from him, the sepoys understanding andlooking to Ted as their leader.

  "How dare you?" he hotly demanded.

  "Oh, go away! You've nothing to do with this business." Ted sneered, nottoo generously, for Tynan had disgusted him. With the same breath heordered Pir Baksh to clear away, and the firing recommenced.

  The time had come for him to act upon the resolve he had made, a resolveto sacrifice himself and his already-doomed handful, rather than allowthe capture of the stores to endanger the safety of his countrymen. Theidea of blowing up the magazine had come upon him suddenly as heremembered the news that had arrived yesterday from Delhi,--howLieutenant Willoughby and his nine heroes had blown up the immensearsenal there and destroyed hundreds of rebels.

  The entrance to the magazine was through the room in which they lay. Therebels were quiet, plotting some new move, no doubt, so, leaving thetrusty Ambar Singh in charge, Ted proceeded to the spot and began to laya train of powder to connect the barrels with their post. Before theothers had guessed his intention he had brought the train within theroom, and the white-faced senior ensign, who had lost by now the lastremnant of his pluck, jabbered incoherently and attempted to interfere,until Ted roughly threatened to blow his brains out. Dazed and tremblingthe wretched boy shifted as far as he could from the black trail. TheRajputs looked on with frightened eyes, half-paralysed by the shock ofthis new terror; and Dwarika Rai fell on his knees and begged the ensignto have mercy, for such a fate meant more than death to these Hindus.

  For a moment the boy's heart failed him; the thought was too awful. Tobe blown into a hundred pieces, how terrible it seemed! And what righthad he to condemn these faithful men to such a death?

  Then out spake the havildar.

  "If we have to die, let us die like men. Fire the train, sahib!"

  "Nay, not yet. Our duty is to stand by our post until the last. No manmust leave the room, though."

  He lighted a candle and placed it within easy reach, that the flamemight be ready on the shortest notice.

  "Ha!" whispered Ambar Singh, and there was a reckless note in his voice."The jackals are cunning. See!"

  Round the bend was pushed forward a large sack full of sand, thenanother; and soon a third filled up the space. As the last was clumsilypoked into its place between the others it tottered and overbalanced,and a couple of pandies leant forward to lift it up. Two muskets spatforth flame and the rebels rolled over in a heap, upsetting anothersack. Quick as thought, as the sepoys were engaged in pulling theirwounded comrades back, Ted ran with light steps down the passage,keeping close to the farther wall, and seizing a sack with either hand,dragged them away before the amazed mutineers had time to fire.

  To make doubly sure of his safety Ambar Singh and his men let fly, andthe bullets, sweeping across the bend, covered the lad's return. Amidthe cheers of the loyalists the bags were propped in the doorway toserve as a rampart for them, and they began to mock the traitors.

  But this triumph could merely put off the evil moment. In anotherhalf-hour fresh sand-bags had been brought in, and before long thepandies were in a position to command the doorway. As the news spreadthat the end was near the mob of sepoys increased, and Ted smiled tohimself. He addressed the Rajputs:

  "You have done your duty in a manner worthy of your ancestors, and I amgoing to do mine. Run for your lives!"

  "No, R
ussell, you sha'n't!" cried Tynan, whose nerve had completelybroken down. "I surrender,--Pir Baksh, I surrender!" He tried to snatchthe light from his comrade's hand. Ted covered him with his pistol, and,pointing across the passage, said simply:

  "Run for your life!"

  Hot all over, his fingers tingling and his head ringing--partly dread ofthe horror and partly a glorious exultation--the boy dropped the lightedcandle on the thin trail of powder, and darted from the room as a hordeof sepoys rushed in.