eir gun. Owing to the
casualties among the defenders, only ten men were now available, and the
division of forces necessary to cope with simultaneous attacks in both
front and rear laid a heavy handicap upon them. Half ran to the back to
repel the assault. The furniture had already been massed against the
door, and Ahmed saw with relief that by firing through the loopholes in
the shutters the attackers could for the present be held off. It was
otherwise in front. Several of the men carrying the log were shot down,
but others took their places before the defenders could reload, and the
ram was launched against the timber. The whole building trembled under
the impact, and though the door for the moment held fast, it was plain
that it could not long withstand such a battery.

The doctor was alive to the situation. He called to the men to prepare
for a rush up the staircase, bidding one of them get ready the
nail-studded plank for laying lengthwise on the stairs. While the men
were still holding their position at the loopholes, they heard the sound
of wrenching woodwork above, and in a few minutes there was a large gap
in the ceiling of the hall. Immediately afterwards there came from above
the sharp sound of hammers on metal. Ahmed could not guess what the
doctor and the khansaman were doing, but felt sure that whatever it was
the defence would gain by it.

Meanwhile the battering on the front door had at last loosened the
hinges; it was time to retire. Ahmed and the five men with him went a
few steps up the staircase. Then he laid the plank on the treads, so
that none of the enemy could mount without crossing five feet of sharp
iron points. The massive timber withstood several more assaults before
there was a final crash, and it hung half open, disclosing a part of the
yelling crowd outside. Ahmed and his comrades were only dimly visible to
the besiegers, while the latter in the open courtyard were in full view
of the besieged. A second after the door burst open the six men on the
stairs fired together. There was no chance of missing the densely packed
throng--every shot claimed its victim. For a second or two the crowd
recoiled. The little firing party ran up to the landing. Then the
doctor, limping to the top of the stairs, gave directions to the
khansaman to pour down the plank the contents of a huge blue bottle.
Shots were whistling round them from the muskets of the rebels who had
swarmed into the hall, but neither