"Where would you have gone to-night," he said, "supposing that you had
not fallen and killed yourself, or been cut down by my guards?"
"To my friends."
"You have no friends," he said sternly. "You would have escaped,
perhaps, to the wild country or the forest to starve, or to be killed by
the wild beasts. No one would give you food, and you would scarcely
have found one who would not have sought to slay you as an enemy. You
say you would, have fled to your friends. Where are they?"
"You should know best," I said sullenly. "You have been fighting with
them."
"Yes," he cried, with his eyes flashing. "I have been fighting with
enemies of my country. I have nothing to hide from you. I will tell
you all, so that you may know, and see how mad it is for you to fight
against the decrees of fate. Yes, I fought with those you call your
friends to-day, and drove them before me till after sundown. My men are
following them now to complete the pursuit, scattering them like dead
leaves before the blast which heralds the monsoon. You heard the
firing?"
"Yes," I said sadly.
"And know that it grew more distant as they were beaten off, till they
turned and fled. I came back then. I cannot fight with flying foes.
It was a mad attempt, a last desperate struggle, just a little flashing
up of an expiring fire. By now it is dead, and you will hear of them no
more."
We both sprang to our feet, for, as he spoke, there was a crashing
volley not far away--a volley such as would be fired only by
well-drilled troops--and directly after there was another, followed by a
scattered firing, and shouts rising up to a perfect roar.
Ny Deen, who looked astounded, made for the door, and in my excitement I
followed him; but he thrust me back, and turned to the guard standing
beyond the hangings.
"Your lives for his!" he thundered to them. "He does not leave this
place."
The curtain was thrown between us, and I ran to the open window, to find
the court full of troops hurrying here and there, while lights were
flashing, and in the midst of the excitement the rattle of distant
musketry was on the increase.
"Crushed--scattered--where are my friends?" I said aloud. "Why, they
are here. It is an attack upon the town!"
I felt a little doubt as soon as I had uttered these words; but the
longer I listened the more convinced I felt that this must be a
surprise, and by degrees matters took their shape in my mind, thus
accounting for the apparent ease with which the rajah had scattered his
enemies.
"It has all been a ruse--a piece of strategy," I thought. "They have
retreated, and drawn Ny Deen's men right away, so as to weaken him, and
now they have got back first, or this is another force."
As I stood at that window, I, for the moment, thought of throwing myself
down, but the attempt would have been madness, for the moon was now up
nearly full, and helping the torches to flood the place with light which
flashed from the tank, and made the fountain resemble molten silver.
I gave up the thought at once, for I could see a strong guard were
watching my windows, and that I was carefully observed as I sat down and
listened to the increasing roar away to my right, where the shouting,
cheering, and yelling were mingled strangely with the bursts of firing
which grew nearer.
I seemed to see the fight going on, and grew more excited moment by
moment, as I knew by the sounds exactly how matters progressed. For, as
I judged, a body of infantry was fighting its way along a street, and
every now and then a sharp volley was heard, followed by a tremendous
cheer, which suggested to me that the men fired, and then made a rush
forward, driving their enemies back; and then after a short space
another volley was fired, followed by a fresh rush, and so on, the
fusillade sounding each time nearer.
"They are carrying everything before them," I thought; for though there
was plenty of firing in return, it was scattered and desultory, and,
even if I could see nothing, I was perfectly sure that the defenders of
the town were giving way, though perhaps only to make a more desperate
stand as they were driven together.
Then all at once my heart leaped, for there was the sound of a gun to my
left, in the direction where I believed the great gate stood through
which we had entered the town that night.
Then another heavy thud came, and another as the guns were brought into
action, and their point must be, I felt sure, to batter down the gate,
to admit a fresh attacking force, whose duty would be to take the
defenders in the rear.
The effect on the guards in the court was startling. Several ran to the
gateway to question the sentry there eagerly, and then return to their
companions.
Then came the rattle of musketry from the left, evidently in answer to
the firing of the heavy guns which were battering the gates; but it had
no effect, for the pieces were being served with the greatest
regularity, and I listened eagerly, wondering whether it could be
Brace's troop, and how soon they would open a way for the infantry which
I felt sure would be in support.
At last I went away from the window, and began to walk excitedly about
the room, but only to rush back again, as I heard a fresh volley of
musketry in the distance, and on looking out saw a dull glow out over
the walls of the palace, a light which grew brighter, and, as it
increased, I knew that attackers or defenders had fired some house, the
beginning of a work whose end it was impossible to foretell.