The Tiger of Mysore Part 17

Very carefully, they picked their way among the rocks, until close to the wall; then d.i.c.k gave a low exclamation of disappointment. The stream ran through a culvert, some twelve feet wide and ten feet high, but this was closed by iron bars, crossing each other at intervals of only five or six inches, the lower ends of the perpendicular bars being fixed in a stone dam, extending across the bed of the stream.

d.i.c.k waded across the pool formed by the dam, and felt the bars, but found them perfectly solid and strong.

"It is no good, Surajah," he said, when he returned. "There is no getting through there. There is nothing for it but the gate, unless we can find the steps up to the top of the wall, and get up unnoticed.

Then we might tear up our sashes longways, knot them together, and slip down.

"The first thing to do is to have a look round. I will get up close to the wall. It is in shadow there."

Entering the pool again, he climbed up the steep bank, which was here faced with stones. He stopped when his eyes were above the level, and looked round. There was the gate, twelve feet away, and to his delight no sentry was to be seen. He was about to whisper Surajah to join him, when he heard voices. They came from above, and he at once understood that, instead of a man being posted behind the gate, two were on guard on the wall above it. He beckoned to Surajah to join him, and when he did so, whispered what he had discovered.

"If the gate is only barred, we are all right now, Surajah; except that we shall have to run the risk of being shot by those fellows on the wall. We shall be a pretty easy mark, on that white road by moonlight. Our only plan will be to keep close to the wall, when we are through the gate, get down into the bed of the stream again, and then crawl along among the rocks. The bottom will be in shadow, and we may get off without being noticed. The only fear is that we shall make a noise in opening the gate.

"Now, let us try it."

Keeping close to the wall, they crept to the gateway. This projected two feet beyond the gate itself, and standing against the latter they could not be seen, even in the unlikely event of one of the sentries looking down. The only risk was of anyone in the guard house coming out. This, however, could not be avoided, and they at once began to examine the fastenings of the gate, which consisted of two ma.s.sive bars of wood, running across it. These, by their united strength, they removed one after another. But when they tried it, they found the gate still immovable.

"The beastly thing is locked," d.i.c.k said. "There is nothing to do, but to blow it open."

He broke off the ends of three cartridges, poured the powder in at the keyhole, and then inserted the slow match.

"Stand in the corner there, Surajah. I will go down to the stream again, to light the tinder. The noise is less likely to be heard there."

He stole back again, sat down at the edge of the water, placed his tinder box in his lap, took his turban off and put it over his hands, so as to deaden the sound, and then struck the steel sharply against the flint. The first blow was successful. The spark fell on the tinder, and at once began to extend.

He listened intently. The men on the wall were still talking, and the sound had evidently not reached their ears.

Chapter 7: Besieged.

d.i.c.k hastily clambered up the wall, ran to the gate, blew the tinder, and then applied it to the slow match. A moment later, this began to fizz.

"Round the corner of the wall, Surajah!" he exclaimed, running back himself.

A few anxious seconds pa.s.sed, then came a sharp explosion. In an instant they ran up. The gate stood two or three inches open. It yielded to a push, and they ran out.

Loud shouts were heard from the men above, and a hubbub of cries from the guard house.

"Run, Surajah! We must risk it. Keep on the edge of the road, and dodge as you go. The chances are they will run down below, to see what has happened."

At the top of their speed, they dashed down the road. No shot was fired from the wall, d.i.c.k's conjecture that the first impulse of the sentries would be to run down below having been justified. They were a couple of hundred yards away, before two shots were fired from the gate. The bullets whistled by harmlessly.

"We are all right now," d.i.c.k cried. "They can scarcely see us, and we shall soon be out of sight altogether."

Five or six more shots were fired a few seconds later, as the men from the guard house reached the gate. On looking back, when they had gone another hundred yards, they saw a number of figures on the road.

"Not quite so fast, Surajah," d.i.c.k said. "It is going to be a long chase, now. We have got three hundred yards start, and they won't be able to load again, running at full speed."

For a time, their pursuers gained somewhat upon them; then, gradually, they began to straggle, as the effect of the speed at which they were running told upon them. When they reached the ruined village, there were four men running together, some three hundred yards behind. The rest were a considerable distance in the rear.

"Another mile or two, and they will all give up the chase except these four, Surajah, and if they turn out better runners than we do, we can make a stand. There are some more huts another two miles farther, and we will fight them there."

They were going slower now, for although the downward course of the road helped them a good deal, the run was telling on them. Not a word was spoken, until they reached the second village. When they came to the first house, they stopped simultaneously, and looked round. Their pursuers were not more than two hundred yards behind them.

"In here, Surajah," d.i.c.k said, as he ran into the ruined hut.

Its roof was gone, its door hung loose on its hinges. It had but one window, a small one, looking up the valley. d.i.c.k laid his gun on the sill, which was nearly level with his shoulder.

"I must wait until they get pretty close," he said, "for I am panting so that I can't keep the barrel steady, even with this rest."

"I will kneel down outside," Surajah said.

"Mind, I will fire first, Surajah. Don't you fire until they are within twenty yards of you. By that time I shall have loaded again."

d.i.c.k had more time than he had expected, for as soon as their pursuers saw them enter the hut, they slackened their pace considerably. They were within about eighty yards, when d.i.c.k held his breath and standing, for a moment, immovable, took a steady aim and fired.

One of the men stumbled in his run, took a step or two forward, and then fell on his face. The others paused for a moment, and then, with a fierce yell, ran forward.

The moment he had fired, d.i.c.k dropped the stock of his gun on to the ground, s.n.a.t.c.hed a cartridge from the bandolier, bit off the end, and emptied the powder into the barrel, gave the gun a shake, so as to be sure that it ran into the touch hole, and then rammed down the bullet.

As he was in the act of doing so, Surajah fired, and a loud yell told that his shot had been successful.

d.i.c.k sprang to the door as Surajah entered. Two shots at the same instant rang out; but, at even so short a distance, the bullets went wide. d.i.c.k stepped out, and in turn fired. One of the two men fell; the other threw down his musket, and fled up the road.

"Thank goodness that is over," d.i.c.k exclaimed. "I thought they had no chance with us, here. Now the first thing is to get our wind again."

They stood for two or three minutes, breathing heavily; then, as their breath came again, they prepared to move, when d.i.c.k exclaimed suddenly, "What is that noise?"

There was a dull, confused sound in the air, and then Surajah, pointing up the road, exclaimed, "Cavalry!"

Far away on the white road, a dark ma.s.s could be seen. At first, d.i.c.k instinctively turned to resume their flight, but then he said:

"It is of no use, Surajah. The sides of the valley are too steep to climb, and they will be up in five or six minutes. We must fight it out here. Run out to that man I shot, and bring in his gun, bandolier, pistols if he has any, and sword. I will take them from these two. It will make all the difference, having spare weapons."

Surajah, without a word, hurried up the road, while d.i.c.k ran over to the house opposite, which seemed to be larger than the one they had first entered. He looked round. It contained only one room, but this was twenty feet square. There were three small windows, one looking into the street, one looking up the valley, and one behind. The floor was littered with the beams of the roof. The door was still in its place. Having ascertained this, he ran back to the bodies of the two men, picked up the three guns, took off their bandoliers, and removed the pistols from their sashes; and with these, and one of their swords, returned to the house, just as Surajah came back.

"This is the best house to defend, Surajah. There are some beams with which we can block up the door."

Laying down the arms inside, they set to work with the beams, and barricaded the door so firmly that, short of its being splintered to pieces, no entry could be effected. This done, they re-charged the six guns, examined the pistols, and finding that they were loaded, placed three of them in each of their sashes, and hung the swords by their sides. Then they went to the window looking up the valley. The hors.e.m.e.n, some twenty in number, were but a short quarter of a mile away, and were coming along at a gallop.

"Don't fire, Surajah," d.i.c.k said. "They will have heard, from the man who has got away, that we are in the house opposite, and if they don't find us there, they will think that we have gone on, and will ride down the valley till they are sure they must be ahead of us. Then they will search the ground carefully, as they come back, and altogether we may gain an hour; and every moment is of use. It must be two o'clock now, and our troop generally gets here soon after seven."

As he spoke, the hors.e.m.e.n drew up in front of the opposite hut. There was a momentary pause, and then a voice said:

"It is empty."

Then followed the command:

"Ride on, men. They can't have got very far. We shall overtake them in ten minutes."