my first contact with the horrors of
war, and the remembrance will remain with me to my dying day.

The other sentinel was then questioned, and from him we learnt that,
peering through the darkness when the challenge was first given, he had
seen figures passing in his front across the plain. Soon they halted and
fired, and then disappeared, probably having lain down to escape being
hit by our men. Hearing this, I sent out a small reconnoitring party,
which patrolled the plain for some distance. They returned with the
news that all was quiet, and no human being was to be seen. Two fresh
sentries were placed in front of the guns, and the men lay down as
before, fully expecting another attack.

_May 15_.--All, however, passed off without further incident, and at
sunrise I marched the picket to barracks and reported myself to the
Brigadier. He made no comment on the events of the night, nor did he
even ask for particulars as to the manner of the soldier's death. The
mutineers, he said, were in scattered detachments still, no doubt
prowling about the outskirts of the cantonment and in the neighbouring
villages, taking advantage of every opportunity to harass and inflict
loss on our soldiers.

From this time forward for nearly a month, with the single exception of
one encounter with a body of mutineers, which I shall relate hereafter,
no event of importance occurred at Ferozepore.

The chief danger had passed from our midst in the flight towards Delhi
of more than half of the two battalions of sepoys, the disarmament of
300 of the 57th, and the imprisonment of those who had been captured
fighting when attempting to take the arsenal.

Everything being thus comparatively peaceful, with no enemy in the
vicinity, the Brigadier at last woke up to a sense of his duty; and
extraordinary measures were taken by his command for the safety of the
cantonments and lines of Ferozepore.

It was ordered that one company should be placed each night on advanced
outlying picket, another on rear picket, and a third to be stationed at
the main guard to furnish sentries as a cordon round the whole extent
of the barracks. Two companies were to remain constantly in the fort in
charge of a senior Captain, so that, out of the ten companies, six were
always on duty.

Under the excitement which first prevailed, and the necessity of being
prepared in case of a night attack from the roving bands of rebellious
soldiery who from all directions were