an
tigers, as I told myself. But all was silent and deserted, and as I
looked toward the major's quarters and thought of the pleasant English
lady who had so often made me welcome in the little drawing-room she
fitted up so charmingly wherever we stayed, and whose soft carpets,
purdahs, and screens came back to my memory in the soft light of the
shaded lamps, I shivered, and wondered what had been her fate.

"I could not find the lieutenant, sahib," said Dost, as he threw open
the door.

"Be on your guard, Gil," whispered Brace to me in French; "it may be a
trap after all. Hush! Look out. I thought so," he cried; and I swung
round the muzzle of my rifle, as four figures suddenly came upon us from
out of the darkness at our back.

The alarm was momentary, for a familiar voice said, as the point of a
sword gritted in the sand at the speaker's feet--

"All right. I was growing uneasy about you, and brought three of the
boys in case of accident."

"Thank you, doctor," said Brace. "We are going in here. The major--"

"Hush!" said the doctor, drawing in a hissing breath. "Stand fast, my
lads."

"If you hear anything wrong," said Brace to the three men who stood
sword in hand, "you know what to do."

There was a low hiss, more than a murmur, and then we were in the
darkness of the mess-room.

"I'll shut the door," said Dost, softly.

"Why?" said the doctor, quickly.

"The sahib doctor can trust me," said the man, quietly. "It is dark. I
am going to light a candle. I think the barracks are quite empty, but
some of the budmashes might be about seeking to rob, and they would see
the light."

He closed the door, and the darkness for the moment was intense, while
my heart beat with a heavy throb as I wondered whether, after all, there
was treachery intended, and Brace's words rang in my ears--"Who can ever
trust a Hindu again?"

The silence was awful in the moments which followed the closing of the
door. There was a faint rustling sound followed by a sharp click click,
which I knew was the cocking of a rifle or pistol; then came a scraping
sound as of a sword-edge touching the wall--sounds which told me that my
suspicions were shared; but, directly after, they were dispelled, for
there was a crackling noise and a faint line of light; a repetition of
the scratching, accompanied by a few sparks, and, at the third
repetition, there was a flash which lit up the dark face of Dost and his
white turban; then