from the nabob,
they did not doubt for a moment. But nothing was more likely than
that, at the news of the first disaster which befell his troops, the
nabob would order his captives to be put to death.

Upon the march up the country Charlie had, by his cheerfulness and
good temper, gained the goodwill of the officer commanding the guard;
and upon arriving at their destination, he recommended him so strongly
to the commander of the prison that the latter, instead of placing him
in the apartment allotted to the remainder of the prisoners, assigned
a separate room to him; permitting Tim, at his request, to occupy it
with him. It was a room of fair size, in a tower on one of the angles
of the walls. It had bars, but these did not prevent those behind them
looking out at the country which stretched around. The governor of the
prison, finding that Charlie spoke the language fluently, often came
up to sit with him, conversing with him on the affairs of that unknown
country, England.

Altogether, they were fairly treated. Their food was plentiful and,
beyond their captivity, they had little to complain of. Over and over
again, they talked about the possibilities of effecting an escape;
but, on entering the prison, they had noticed how good was the watch,
how many and strong the doors through which they had passed. They had
meditated upon making a rope and escaping from the window; but they
slept on the divan, each with a rug to cover them; and these, torn
into strips and twisted, would not reach a quarter of the way from
their window to the ground; and there was no other material of which a
rope could possibly have been formed.

"Our only hope," Charlie said one day, "is in Hossein. I am sure he
will follow us to the death; and if he did but know where we are
confined, he would not, I am certain, rest day or night, till he had
opened a communication with us.

"See, Tim, there is my regimental cap, with its gold lace. Let us
fasten it outside the bars, with a thread from that rug. Of course, we
must remove it when we hear anyone coming."

This was speedily done and, for the next few days, one or other
remained constantly at the window.

"Mr. Charles!" Tim exclaimed in great excitement, one day; "there is a
man I've been watching, for the last half hour. He seems to be picking
up sticks, but all the while he keeps getting nearer and nearer, and
two or three times it seems to me that he has looked up in this
direction."