fort. He had, however, little fear
that his position would be taken at the first assault.

Upon the evening of the third day, the besiegers' fire had done its
work, and a gap in the wall some eighty yards wide was formed. The
garrison were ordered to hold themselves in readiness, and a strict
watch was set.

Towards morning, a distant hum in the nizam's camp proclaimed that the
troops were mustering for the assault. The besiegers' guns had
continued their fire all night, to prevent working parties from
placing obstacles in the breach. As the first shades of daylight
appeared the fire ceased, and a great column of men poured forward to
the assault.

The few remaining guns upon the end wall opened upon them, as did the
infantry who lined the parapet, while the guns in the castle at once
joined in. The mighty column, however, composed of the troops of the
nizam, pressed forward, poured over the fragments of the wall, and
entered the clear space behind it.

Then, from housetop and loophole, and from the walls on either side, a
concentrated fire of musketry was poured upon them, while twelve guns,
four on each barricade, swept them with grape. The head of the column
withered away under the fire, long lines were swept through the
crowded mass; and, after a minute or two's wild firing at their
concealed foes, the troops of the nizam, appalled and shattered by the
tremendous fire, broke and fled.

The instant they had cleared the breach, the guns of the besiegers
again opened furiously upon it, to check any sortie which the besieged
might attempt.

An hour later, the besiegers hoisted a white flag, and requested to be
allowed to bury their dead, and remove their wounded. This Charlie
agreed to, with the proviso that these should be carried by his own
men beyond the breach, as he did not wish that the enemy should have
an opportunity of examining the internal defences. The task occupied
some time, as more than five hundred dead and dying lay scattered in
the open space.

During the rest of the day, the enemy showed no signs of resuming the
assault. During the night they could be heard hard at work, and
although a brisk fire was kept up to hinder them, Charlie found that
they had pushed trenches, from the batteries, a considerable distance
round each corner of the town.

For four days the besiegers worked vigorously, harassed as they were
by the guns of the fort, and by those of the battery high up on the
hillside, wh