ences."

"Explain yourself," I said, as I felt as if I were listening to him with
one ear, and for the return of our absent men with the other.

"Well," he said, "I feel as if I should like to give the scoundrels a
lesson. The magazine is half full of powder, and to-morrow the wretches
will be up here plundering and destroying."

"Well, what then?"

"It would be so easy to lay a trap for them. Plant all the powder
behind the gates, after carefully barricading them; lay a train; wait
till they were all crowded together, and trying to get in, and then fire
the train and blow them all to destruction."

"And who would fire the train, Haynes?" said Brace, who, unnoticed by
us, had heard every word.

"I feel as if I could enjoy staying behind on purpose," said Haynes.

"Hah! I've better work on hand for you," said Brace, quietly. "It
would do no good, and only be destroying a mob of the greatest ruffians
in Rajgunge. Hah, there is the challenge at last."

In effect the doctor and the men with the dhooly came back just then.

"Where's Dost--staying with the major?" cried Brace.

"No, sahib, I am here," came from the interior of the dhooly, out of
which Dost stepped as the men set it down.

"What does this mean?" said Brace, angrily.

"His ruse to save us," said the doctor. "We got poor Lacey safe into
comfortable quarters at the house of two of the women who washed for the
men, and they are to be trusted, I think. I can do no more for him, but
see to his wounds to-morrow. As soon as I had seen him right, we were
coming back, when, as luck had it, we got into a narrow lane, and
half-way along it, heard a noisy party coming shouting along from some
festivity. Retreat was impossible, and I gave the orders to the men to
draw and cut our way through, but Dost here stopped us by proposing to
get in the dhooly."

"Why?" said Brace, angrily.

"I'll tell you. It was a last resource; and though the men grumbled,
they lifted the dhooly, and I marched by the side. The next minute we
were stopped."

"Well?"

"Hang him!" cried the doctor; "he began to curse them in Hindustani for
stopping his gharry, ordered them to let his servants go by, and the
idiots took it that a complete change had come over the state of
affairs; that Dost must have turned rajah, and was using the English as
his slaves. So they all shouted with delight, let us pass, and here we
are, thanks to Rajah Dost."

"Then, now for our start,"