up wounds, till they had scarcely a rag to cover them.
One, the gallant wife of a private of the 32nd, Bridget Widdowson,
stood, sword in hand, over a number of prisoners tied together by a
rope. Not one of their movements passed unnoticed by her; her gun was
instantly levelled at the hand which was trying to untie the rope, and
not a man of them escaped while in her charge. By-and-by she was
relieved by a soldier, and in his care many of them got away.

[Illustration: Not one of their movements passed unnoticed by her.]

At length hope sprung up in their hearts, for Nana offered a
safe-conduct for the garrison down the Ganges to Allahabad, if only sir
Hugh Wheeler would surrender the city. It was a hard blow to the old
general, and but for the women and children he and his men would gladly
have died at their posts. But for their sakes he accepted the terms,
first making Nana swear to keep them by the waters of the Ganges, the
most sacred of all oaths to a Hindoo.

The following morning a train of elephants, litters and carts was
waiting to carry the sick, the women, and children down to the river, a
mile away, for after their terrible imprisonment they were all too weak
to walk; and behind them marched the soldiers, each with his rifle.
Crowds lined the banks and watched them as they got into the boats, and
pushed off with thankful hearts into the middle of the stream, leaving
behind them, as they thought, the place where they had undergone such
awful suffering. Suddenly those looking towards the shore saw a blinding
flash and heard a loud report. Nana had broken his oath and ordered them
to be fired on.

One boat alone out of the whole thirty-nine managed to float down the
stream, and the men in it landed and took refuge in a little temple, the
maddened sepoys at their heels. But the fourteen Englishmen were
desperate, and drove back their enemies again and again, till the sepoys
heaped wood outside the walls and set it on fire. It was blowing hard,
and the wind instead of fanning the flames put them out, and the
defenders breathed once more. But their hopes were dashed again as they
saw the besiegers set fire to the logs a second time, and, retiring to a
safe distance, lay a trail of powder to blow up the temple. Then the men
knew they had but one chance, and fixing their bayonets they charged
into the crowd towards the river.

When they reached the banks, seven had got through, and flung themselves
into the st