But Dick, of course, heard nothing of this, or he would have called
himself, in his straightforward, honest way, a jackdaw in borrowed
plumes.
It might have meant nothing, but the sentry on duty at the closed gates
noticed that the street in front was twice over filled with armed men,
who hung about for some time; but he attributed it to the changing
position of some of the Rajah's forces, and when guard was relieved he
had nothing to report. Neither was his successor disturbed till about
nine o'clock, when there was the jingle of accoutrements, trampling of
horses, and the soft, shuffling sound of an elephant's feet.
Wyatt had returned, and upon finding the gates closed he dismounted
outside, and was admitted as his escort rode away.
"Why, Dick," he said when they met, "have you been besieged?"
Explanations followed.
"Quite right. Old Stubbs is a fine, sterling fellow--a man to be
trusted. I'm glad it was done, for things are very bad here--worse than
I should have imagined; and if something pretty firm is not done the
Rajah will lose his throne, and then, if we're not cut up first, we
shall have to fight our way back to cantonments."
"What ought to be done?"
"The safest thing would be to take off the heads of the principal
conspirators; only that is impossible."
"Why?"
"Because one is the Rajah's mother, and the other the chief Brahmin.
But I'm too tired to talk. Let's visit the posts and then try and get a
sleep."