The house, of which the bedroom occupied by Charlie formed part, was
elsewhere two stories higher; this room jutting out, alone, into the
angle of the wall. The rest of the suite of rooms were in the house
itself, but access could be obtained to this room through the window,
which looked on to the terrace of the wall. Charlie's lieutenants
always took pains to place men upon whom they could thoroughly rely as
sentries, on this terrace.
One night, a fortnight after the events which have been described,
Charlie was asleep on his bed, on the flats above his room. On one
side the house rose straight beside it. On two others was the fall to
the valley, on the fourth side was the wall, along which two sentries
were pacing to and fro. From time to time, from a door some distance
along the side of the house, opening on to the wall, a white figure
came out, stretched himself as if unable to sleep, looked for a while
over the parapet down into the valley, appeared to listen intently,
and then sauntered into the house again.
It was the cook, Hossein. It was his custom. Successive sentries had,
for many nights past, seen him do the same; but in a country where the
nights are hot, a sleepless servant attracts but little attention.
Upon the occasion of one of these visits to the parapet, he stood in
an attitude of deep attention, longer than usual. Then he carelessly
sauntered back. It was but a moment later that his face appeared at
the window next to that of Charlie's bedroom. He stretched his head
out, and again listened intently. Then he went to Tim, who was
sleeping heavily on a couch placed there, and touched him. He put his
hand on his lips, as Tim sprang up.
"Take arm," he said, in Hindostanee. "Bad man coming."
Tim understood the words and, seizing a sword and pistol which lay
close to the bedside, followed Hossein, who had glided up the stairs,
with a drawn tulwar in his hand. At the moment he did so, there was a
noise of heavy bodies dropping, followed by a sudden shout from
Charlie. There was a sound of clashing of arms, and the report of a
pistol.
As Tim's eyes came on a level with the terrace, he saw Hossein bound
with uplifted blade into the midst of a group of men in the corner.
Three times the blade rose and fell, and each time a loud shriek
followed. Then he disappeared in the midst.
Tim was but a few seconds behind him. Discharging his pistol into the
body of one of the men, and running his sword into another, he, too,
stood by the side of his master. Charlie, streaming with blood, was
half sitting, half lying in the angle of the parapet. Hossein, his
turban off, his long hair streaming down his back, was standing over
him, fighting furiously against some ten men, who still pressed
forward, while several others lay upon the ground.
In spite of the arrival of Charlie's two allies, they still pressed
forward, but the shots of the pistols had been echoed by the muskets
of the sentries. Loud shouts were heard, showing that the alarm was
sounding through the palace.
One more desperate effort the assailants made, to beat the two men who
opposed them over the parapet, but Hossein and the Irishman stood
firm. The weight and numbers of their opponents, however, told upon
them; when the first of the sentries appeared upon the platform,
followed closely by his comrade; and both, with levelled bayonets,
charged into the fray.
The assailants now thought only of escape, but their position was a
desperate one. Some rushed to the end of the terrace, and tried to
climb the ropes by which they had slid down from the upper roof of the
house. Others endeavoured to rush down the staircase; but Tim, with
one of the sentries, guarded this point, until a rush of feet below
told that the guard were coming to their assistance.
It was well that help was at hand, for the conspirators, desperate at
finding themselves in a trap, gathering themselves together, rushed
with the fury of wild beasts upon Tim and the sentry. One was impaled
upon a bayonet, another cut down by Tim, and then, borne back by the
weight of their opponents, they were hurled backwards down the stairs.
As the assailants followed them with a rush, the guard sprang through
the open window, from the terrace below, into the room.
There was a short and desperate conflict. Then two of the conspirators
bounded up the staircase on to the roof, ran to the parapet and leaped
over into the valley, two hundred feet below. They were the last of
the eighteen men who had lowered themselves, from the roof above, to
attack Charlie.
As soon as Tim picked himself up, he hastened to ascend the stairs
again, and to run to the side of his master. Charlie was insensible.
Leaning against the parapet, too weak to stand, but still holding his
sword, and ready to throw himself once more before him, stood Hossein;
who now, seeing Tim approach, and that all danger was over, dropped
his sword and sank upon the ground.
A minute or two later the rajah himself, sword in hand, hurried up. He
was greatly concerned, and excited, at the sight which met his eyes.
Charlie was at once lifted, and carried down to one of the rajah's own
rooms, where he was instantly attended to.
A hasty examination showed that only two of the attacking party still
breathed. None of those who had fallen above survived, so fiercely and
deadly had been the blows struck by Hossein and Tim. Charlie himself
had cut down one and shot another, before he fell, slashed in many
places, just as Hossein bounded through his assailants.
The bodies of the dead were, by the rajah's orders, laid together for
identification in the morning. The two who still lived were carried to
the guardroom, and their wounds dressed, in order that the names of
their employers might be obtained from them.
In the meantime, Charlie's lieutenants had hastily formed a body of
their soldiers together, and these at once fell upon a number of men
who were crowding up the steps to the palace, with shouts of "Death to
the Englishman." A few volleys poured among these effectually
scattered them, and they broke and hurried down the steep road,
through the gates to the town, the sentries on the way offering no
opposition, but many falling under the fire from the parapet of the
fort.
In ten minutes, all was over. The gates were again closed, and a
strong guard placed over them, and the attempted insurrection was at
an end.
The native surgeon, who attended Charlie, pronounced that none of the
five wounds he had received, although for the most part severe, were
necessarily fatal; and that there was every chance of his recovery.
Hossein's wounds, three in number, were pronounced to be more
dangerous, one being a deep stab in the body, given by a man who had
rushed at him, as he was guarding the blow of another. Tim's wounds
were comparatively slight, and he suffered more from the bruises he
had received, when hurled backwards down the stone staircase. However,
with one arm in a sling, and his head bandaged, he was able to take
his place by his master's bedside.
Having heard, from him, that it was entirely due to Hossein that
Charlie's life had been saved, the rajah directed that every attention
should be paid to him; and several times, during the night, Tim stole
away to his bedside to press his hand, and call down blessings upon
him.
The stanching of his wounds, and the application of strong
restoratives, presently caused Charlie to open his eyes.
"The Lord be praised, Mr. Charles," Tim said, "that you're coming to
yourself again. Don't you trouble, sir. We've done for the murdhering
rascals; and, plase God, you'll soon be about again. Jist drink this
draught, yer honor, and go off to sleep, if you can. In the morning
I'll tell you all about it.
"You're in the rajah's own room," he continued, seeing Charlie's eyes
wander wonderingly around him, "and all you've got to do is just to
lie still, and get well as soon as you can."
It was a fortnight before Charlie, still very weak and feeble, was
able to totter from his room to that in which Hossein was lying. He
himself knew nothing of what had passed after he fell. The conflict
had, to him, been little more than a dream. Awakened from sleep by the
sound of his assailants, as they dropped from the ropes, he had leaped
up as a rush of figures came towards him, catching up his sword and
pistol as he did so. He had shot the first, and cut down the next who
rushed at him, but at the same moment he had felt a sharp pain, and
remembered no more.
Tim heard from Hossein, when the latter, two days after the fight, was
able to speak, that he had suspected that some renewed attempt might
be made upon his master's life; and that for many nights he had not
slept, contenting himself with such repose as he could snatch in the
daytime, between the intervals of preparing meals. A few minutes
before the attack, he fancied he heard a movement on the roof of the
house; and running to Charlie's room he had, from the window, seen
some dark figures sliding down the wall. Then he roused Tim, and
rushed up to the rescue.
Tim eloquently described to his master the manner in which Hossein
sprung upon his foes, and cut his way through, in time to drive back
those who were hacking at him as he lay prostrate; and how he found
him standing over him, keeping at bay the whole of his assailants.
Charlie, with difficulty, made his way to the bedside of the brave
Mohammedan. The latter, however, did not know him. He was in the
delirium of fever. He was talking rapidly to himself.
"He trusted me," he said. "He gave me my life. Should I not give mine
for him? Anyone else would have had me hung as a dog. I will watch. I
will watch. He shall see that Hossein is not ungrateful."
Charlie's eyes filled with tears, as he looked at the wasted form of
his follower.
"Is there any hope for him?" he asked the doctor.
"It is possible, just possible that he may live," the latter said.
"Allah only knows."
"Do all you can to save him," Charlie said. "I shall be ever grateful
to you, if you do."
Tim, now that his master could dispense with his services, transferred
his attentions to the bedside of Hossein, and was unremitting in the
care and attention with which he kept the bandages on his head cool
with fresh water, and wetted his hot lips with refreshing drinks. It
was another week before his illness took a turn. Then the fever left
him, and he lay weak and helpless as an infant. Strong soups now took
the place of the cooling drinks, and in a few days the native doctor
was able to say, confidently, that the danger was passed, and that
Hossein would recover.
In the meantime, the investigations of the rajah had brought to light
the details of the conspiracy. The wounded men had confessed that they
were employed by three of the principal persons at the rajah's court,
one of them being the rajah's brother. The information, however, was
scarcely needed; as it was found, in the morning, that their
apartments were empty; they having fled with the men who had attacked
the gates of the palace. These consisted partly of soldiers whom they
had bribed, and of desperadoes from the town, who had singly entered
the fort during the day, and had been concealed in the apartments of
the conspirators, until the signal for attack was given.
The intention of the conspirators was not only to kill the Englishman,
but to dethrone the rajah, and install his brother in his place. The
attack had commenced with the attempt upon Charlie's life, because it
was believed that his death would paralyse the troops who were
faithful to the rajah.
At the end of six weeks, Charlie was able to resume his duties, and
his appearance at the parade ground was hailed with enthusiastic
shouts by the soldiers. The rajah was more attached to him than ever,
and had again made him large presents, in token of the regret he felt
at the sufferings he had endured in his cause.
Drilling was now carried on with redoubled energy, and large numbers
of new levies had been summoned to the standard. A storm was gathering
over Ambur. The rajah's brother was raising a force to attack him, and
had, by means of large promises in case of success, persuaded Murari
Reo to take up his cause; and he had, it was said, also sent messages
to the nizam, pointing out that, in case of war with the English, the
Rajah of Ambur would be a thorn in his side. He told of the numbers of
troops who had been drilled, and how formidable such a force would be,
if opposed to him at a critical moment; while if he, the claimant,
gained power, the army of Ambur would be at the disposal of the nizam.
The rajah, on his side, had also sent messengers to Hyderabad, with
assurances to the nizam of his fidelity and friendship. He urged that
the preparations he had made were intended solely for the defence of
his state, against marauding bands of Mahrattas, and especially
against those of Murari Reo, who was a scourge to all his neighbours.
In the meantime, every effort was made to strengthen the defences of
Ambur. The walls surrounding the town were repaired, and although
these, in themselves, could have offered but a slight defence to a
determined assault, the approaches to the town were all covered by the
guns of the fort above.
The weak point of the defence was the hill behind the town. This
sloped up, gradually, to a point higher than the level of the
projecting rock upon which the castle stood. It then rose, in rugged
cliffs, some two hundred feet higher; and then fell away again,
steeply, to its summit. This was too far back for the fire of guns
placed upon it to injure the castle or town. Guns placed, however, at
the foot of the rocky wall, would dominate the castle and render it,
at last, untenable.
Charlie had often looked, with an anxious eye, at this point; and one
morning, accompanied by the rajah, he rode up to examine the position.
The highest point of the slope, at the foot of the crag, was nearly
opposite the castle; and it was here that an active enemy, making his
way along the slope, would place his guns. Here, Charlie determined to
establish a battery.
News had arrived that the rajah's brother had raised a force of three
thousand men; and that, with seven thousand Mahrattas, he was about to
march. This force, Charlie felt certain that he could meet and defeat,
in the open. But more disquieting news was that Bussy, hearing that
the rajah's troops had been trained by an Englishman, had advised the
nizam to declare for his rival, and to send a considerable force to
his assistance, if necessary. Fresh messengers were sent off, with new
assurances of the rajah's loyalty to the nizam.
"It may not do much good," Charlie said, "but if we can induce him to
remain quiet, until we have defeated Murari Reo, it will be so much
gained."
Charlie himself despatched a messenger to Mr. Saunders, begging that
assistance might be sent to the rajah.
Having decided upon the position for a battery, energetic steps were
taken to form it. A space large enough for the construction of the
battery, and for the tents and stores of the artillerymen and two
hundred infantry, was marked out; and the rajah ordered the whole
population of Ambur, men, women, and children, to assist at the work.
The troops, too, were all employed; and under Charlie's
superintendence, a wondrous change was soon effected. The spot chosen
was levelled, a strong earthwork was erected round it, and then the
surrounding ground was removed. This was a work of immense labour, the
ground consisting first of a layer of soil, then of debris which had
fallen from the face of the rock above, stones and boulders, to the
depth of some fifteen feet, under which was the solid earth.
The slope resembled an anthill. The soldiers and able-bodied men broke
up the boulders and rock with sledgehammers; or, when necessary, with
powder, and blasted the rock, when needed. The women and children
carried away the fragments in baskets. The work lasted for a
fortnight, at the end of which a position of an almost impregnable
nature was formed. At the foot of the earthworks protecting the guns,
both at the face and sides, the ground, composed of great boulders and
stones, sloped steeply out, forming a bank fifteen feet deep. At its
foot, again, the solid rock was blasted away, so as to form a deep
chasm, thirty feet wide and ten feet high, round the foot of the fort.
For a hundred yards on each side, the earth and stones had been
entirely removed down to the solid rock.
Ten guns were placed in the battery, and the fire of these swept the
slopes behind the town and castle, rendering it impossible, until the
fort was carried, for an enemy to attack the town on that side; or to
operate, in any way, against the only point at which an attack could
be made upon the castle.
The rajah was delighted at this most formidable accession to the
defensive power of his fortress, which was now in a position to defy
any attack which could be made against it. A store of provisions and
ammunition was collected there, and the command given to one of
Charlie's Sepoy lieutenants, with a hundred trained artillerymen, and
two hundred infantry. Numbers of cattle had been driven into the town
and castle, and stores of provisions collected.
It was but two days after the battery was complete that the news
arrived that the rajah's brother, with Murari Reo, had entered the
rajah's dominions, and was marching up the valley to the assault. The
rajah had, in the first place, wished to defend a strong gorge through
which the enemy would have to pass; this having hitherto been
considered the defensible point of his capital, against an invasion.
Charlie pointed out, however, that although no doubt a successful
defence might be made here, it would only be a repulse, which would
leave the enemy but little weakened for further operations. He argued
that it was better to allow them to advance to the point where the
valley opened out into a plain, some two miles wide. He had no doubt
whatever that the rajah's troops would be able to inflict a crushing
defeat upon the invaders, who would be so disheartened, thereby, that
they would be little likely to renew the attack.
Two bodies of troops, each three hundred strong, were sent down to the
gorge, with orders to remain in hiding among the heights, to allow the
invading army to pass unmolested, and then to inflict the greatest
possible loss upon them, as they returned. These were under the
command of another of Charlie's lieutenants, who received orders from
him to erect breastworks of rock on the slopes above the entrance to
the gorge, after the enemy had passed on; and to line these with a
portion of his men, who should pour a heavy fire into the enemy as
they came down the valley; while the rest were to line the heights
above the gorge, and to roll down rocks upon those who passed through
the fire of their comrades.
The uniforms were served out to the soldiers, and Charlie surveyed,
with pride, the five battalions of trained troops which, with twelve
guns, marched down into the valley and took up their post beyond it,
at a point which he had carefully chosen, where the guns of the castle
would be able to play upon an advancing body of troops. A body of
trained artillerymen were told off for this service, and the
last-raised levies were posted in the castle and on the walls of the
town.
The position was so chosen that the flanks of the line rested on the
slopes on either side. These were broken by inclosures and gardens;
into which, on either side, half a battalion was thrown forward, so as
to deliver a flanking fire upon an enemy advancing against the centre.
Across the valley, two hundred yards in front of the position, the
stream which watered it made a sharp turn, running for some distance
directly across it, and several small canals for the irrigation of the
fields rendered the ground wet and swampy. Across the line occupied by
his troops, a breastwork had been thrown up, and in front of this rows
of sharp-pointed stakes had been stuck in the ground. Altogether, the
position was a formidable one.
An hour or two after the position so carefully prepared had been taken
up, large bodies of Mahratta horse were seen dashing up the valley,
and smoke rising from several points showed that they had begun their
usual work, of plundering and destroying the villages on their way. A
few discharges from the field pieces--those in the castle had been
ordered to be silent until the raising of a white flag gave them the
signal to open fire--checked the advance of the horsemen, and these
waited until their infantry should arrive.
The force of Murari Reo was, at that time, the most formidable of any
purely native army of Southern India. Recruited from desperadoes from
all the Mahratta tribes, well disciplined by its leader, it had more
than once fought, without defeat, against bodies of Europeans; while
it had, in all cases, obtained easy victories over other native
armies.
Presently the horsemen opened, and a compact body of three thousand
Mahratta infantry, accompanied by an equal number of the irregulars of
the rajah's brother, advanced to the attack; while the cavalry at
their sides swept down upon the flanks of the rajah's position, and
thirty pieces of artillery opened fire.
Not a shot was fired in return, Charlie ordering his men to lie down
behind the breastworks, until they received the word of command to
show themselves. The Mahratta horsemen, compelled by the bends of the
stream to keep near the foot of the slopes, came forward in gallant
style; until suddenly, from every wall and every clump of bushes on
the slopes above them, a tremendous fire of musketry broke out, while
the twelve field guns, six of which were posted on either side of
Charlie's centre, poured a destructive fire into them. So deadly was
the rain of iron and lead that the Mahratta horsemen instantly drew
bridle and, leaving the ground strewn with their dead, galloped back.
By this time the infantry, covered by the fire of their artillery, had
reached the stream. This was waist deep, and the banks were some two
feet above its level. As they scrambled up after crossing it, from the
line of embankment in front of them a tremendous fire was opened.
Although mowed down in scores, the seasoned warriors of the Mahratta
chief, cheered on by his voice as, recklessly exposing himself, he
rode among them, pressed forward. Ever increasing numbers gained a
footing across the stream, those in front keeping up a heavy fire at
the breastwork, whose face was ploughed by their cannon shot.
As they advanced the guns of the castle opened fire, not upon those in
front, for these were too near the line of entrenchment, but upon the
struggling mass still crossing the stream, into which a ceaseless fire
of musketry was poured from the slopes on their flanks. Still the
Mahratta infantry struggled bravely on, until within a few yards of
the entrenchments. Then, suddenly, with a mighty shout, the rajah's
troops leaped to their feet, poured a volley from the crest of the
breastwork into the enemy; and then, with fixed bayonets, flung
themselves upon them.
The effect was decisive. The Mahrattas had, at the commencement of the
fight, scarcely outnumbered the troops of the rajah in front of them,
and had derived but little assistance from the levies of their ally;
who, indeed, had contented themselves with keeping up a fire upon the
defenders of the slopes. They had already suffered very severely, and
the charge made upon them, along the whole line, was irresistible.
Before the bayonets crossed they broke and fled, hotly pursued by the
troops of the rajah. These, in accordance with Charlie's orders, did
not scatter, but kept in a close line, four deep, which advanced,
pouring tremendous volleys into their foe.
In vain did Murari Reo endeavour to rally his men. His infantry, all
order lost, fled at the top of their speed, their flight covered by
their cavalry, who sacrificed themselves in two or three brilliant
charges, right up to the line of pursuers, although suffering terribly
from the withering volleys poured into their ranks.
The troops were now formed into heavy columns, and these rapidly
marched down the valley, after their flying enemy. An hour later, the
sound of heavy firing was heard in front, and at redoubled speed the
troops pressed onward. When they arrived, however, at the gorge, they
found that the last of the fugitives had passed through. The ground in
front was strewn with dead and dying, for as the mass of fugitives had
arrived at the gorge, the infantry from above had opened fire upon
them. Several times the frightened throng had recoiled, but at last,
impelled by the greater fear of their pursuers behind, they had dashed
forward through the fire, only to fall in hundreds in the gorge,
crushed beneath the rain of rocks showered down upon them from above.