an opportunity for meeting the fresh odds with which they have to
contend."

"Of course it was," said Colonel Graves firmly.

"Well, there is nothing to be alarmed about; they will do nothing till
they have waited to see whether we accept the offer of admitting as
friends a couple of hundred Ghazees within the gates.--Thank you,
gentlemen, for your information. There is no cause for alarm."

The young officers left their two seniors together, and as soon as they
were alone Drummond frowned.

"Poor old Colonel!" he said sadly; "he has been getting weaker for days
past, and your coming has finished him up. Don't you see?"

"No," said Bracy sharply. "What do you mean?"

"He has Colonel Graves to lean on now, and trust to save the ladies and
the place. I shouldn't be surprised to see him give up altogether and
put himself in the doctor's hands. Well, you fellows will help us to do
the work?"

"Yes," said Bracy quickly, "come what may."

"We're going to learn the art of war in earnest now, old chap," said
Roberts as soon as they were alone again.

"Seems like it."

"Yes. I wonder whether we shall take it as coolly as this young
Drummond."

"I wonder," said Bracy; "he's an odd fish."

"But I think I like him," said Roberts.

"Like him?" replied Bracy. "I'm sure I do."

CHAPTER NINE.

WARM CORNERS AND COLD.

It was a glorious day, with the air so bright, elastic, and inspiriting
that the young officers of the garrison felt their position irksome in
the extreme. For the Colonel's orders were stringent. The limits
allowed to officer or man outside the walls were very narrow, and all
the time hill, mountain, forest, and valley were wooing them to come and
investigate their depths.

It was afternoon when Roberts, Bracy, and Drummond, being off duty, had
strolled for a short distance along the farther side of the main stream,
and paused at last in a lovely spot where a side gorge came down from
the hills, to end suddenly some hundred feet above their heads; and from
the scarped rock the stream it brought down made a sudden leap, spread
out at first into drops, which broke again into fine ruin, and reached
the bottom like a thick veil of mist spanned by a lovely rainbow. The
walls of rock, bedewed by the ever-falling water, were a series of the
most brilliant greens supplied by the luxuriant ferns and mosses, while
here and there, where their seeds had found nourishment in cleft and
chasm, huge c