would remove even half the
prisoners to another room, he shrugged his shoulders, muttered that he
would see what could be done, and walked off.

During the few minutes which had already elapsed since our coming into
the cell, the heat had increased to that degree as to be no longer
tolerable. My skin and throat felt as though scorched by fire, and the
atmosphere was so noxious that it became painful to breathe. I looked
at Marian. She was very white, and stood moving her lips silently as
though praying. Being the only female among us, those immediately
round the window showed some desire to respect her weakness, but the
pressure from behind was such that they were driven against her, in
spite of themselves, and I had hard work to defend her from being
crushed against the wall.

But when I glanced back into the room the sights revealed by the
flickering torchlight convinced me that our sufferings were almost
light in comparison with those of others. I saw one man, a few paces
behind me, turn purple in the face, as if some one were strangling
him. Two or three others had already fainted from the heat, and I
heard some one whisper that they had fallen to the ground.

The Jemautdar presently returned, shaking his head, and said to Mr.
Holwell--

"I can do nothing. It is by the Nabob's orders that you are locked up,
and I dare not interfere."

"But we are dying, man!" cried Mr. Holwell. "The Nabob swore that he
would spare our lives. Listen! I will give you two thousand
rupees--anything--if you will procure us some relief!"

The old man went off once more, and hope revived for a moment. While
we were thus waiting some one at the back of the room suddenly said
aloud--

"Let us take off our clothes!"

Hardly were the words out of his mouth than in an instant, as it
seemed, nearly every one was stark naked. They tore their things off
furiously and cast them to the ground. I resisted the contagion as
long as I could, but when I saw even Mr. Holwell, though nearer the
air than myself, stripped to his shirt, I could not resist following
his example; and in our dreadful extremity my unhappy companion was
presently forced to do the same, hiding her face with her hands and
choking down great sobs.

When the Jemautdar returned for the second time he made it appear that
our case was hopeless.

"No one dares help you," he said, speaking with evident compunction.
"Surajah Dowlah is asleep, and it is as much as any man's lif