In Times of Peril: A Tale of India

  CHAPTER VI.

  A DASHING EXPEDITION.

  On arriving at the cantonments, the party were soon surrounded by thetroops, who had been called under arms at the sound of distant firing,but had been dismissed again on the arrival of a message to the effectthat the enemy had fled. The news had spread rapidly that somefugitives had escaped from Sandynugghur, where it was supposed that themassacre had been general; and officers pressed forward to shake theirhands, and the men uttered words of kindly congratulation and welcome.The greeting swelled into a cheer as the detachment fell out, and,scattering among their comrades, told of the desperate defense, and ofthe slaughter inflicted upon the enemy by this handful of men. Thefugitives were, of course, taken first to the messroom, Captain Dunlopbeing, however, carried off by the surgeon to his quarters, to have hiswound examined and attended to.

  It seemed almost like a dream to the worn and weary party, as they satdown again to a table laid with all the brightness and comfort ofcivilization, and felt that they were indeed safe among friends. Manywere the questions asked them by officers who had friends andacquaintances among the military and civilians at Sandynugghur; and thefugitives learned that they were, so far as was known, the onlysurvivors from the massacre. The story of their escape, and the safetyof the girls, was told briefly, and listened to with eager interest;and very deep and hearty were the congratulations which the boysreceived for their share in the history. In return, Major Warrenerlearned what had taken place in the last ten days.

  The story was not reassuring; tidings of evil were coming from allparts. As yet the number of stations where risings had taken place wascomparatively small; but the position was everywhere critical. In Agra,Allahabad, and Benares, the attitude of the native troops andpopulation was more than doubtful. At Lucknow and Cawnpore everyprecaution was being taken, but a rising was regarded as inevitable. Infact everywhere, save in the Punjab, trouble had either come or wascoming. General Anson was collecting in all haste a force at Umballah,which was intended to advance upon Delhi--where the ex-king had beenproclaimed Emperor of India--but his force would necessarily be anextremely small one; and no help could possibly arrive up country formany weeks. There was therefore only the Punjab to look to for aid.Happily, the troops of the Madras and Bombay presidencies had so farremained faithful.

  "I suppose you have a good many men from Delhi, civilians and military,as well as from other places?"

  "Oh, yes, we are crowded; every bungalow has been given up to theladies, and we all sleep under canvas."

  "I intend to ask leave to get up a troop of volunteers," Major Warrenersaid; "in the first place to go out and bring in my daughter and niece,and afterward to do any scouting or other duty that may be required."

  "There has already been a talk of forming the unattached officers andcivilians into a sort of irregular cavalry, so I should think that youwill get leave; but it will be a hazardous business to make your wayeighty miles through the country, especially as the mutineers aremarching in all directions toward Delhi."

  The next morning Major Warrener obtained permission, withoutdifficulty, to carry out his scheme; and the news no sooner was knownthrough the cantonments that a body of irregular horse was to be formedfor scouting and general purposes, and that unattached officers might,until they received further orders, join it, than the tent which hadbeen assigned to Major Warrener was besieged by men anxious to join acorps which seemed likely to afford them a chance of striking an earlyblow at the mutineers.

  Hitherto, the officers who had escaped from Delhi and other stations,those who had come in from police duties in isolated districts, andcivilians, both merchants and government officials, had been frettingthat they could not be doing something to aid the great work of holdingIndia, and punishing those who had murdered their friends andrelations. Major Warrener's Light Horse, as it was to be called,afforded the opportunity desired, and by the next morning eighty-fivevolunteers had enrolled themselves. Some thirty-five of these wereofficers, the rest civilians. Many of them had ridden in, others haddriven, so that most of them were already provided with horses. Anappeal was made to the officers of the Meerut garrison, and to thecivilians resident there, to give up any horses they might be able tospare for the public service, while others were bought from friendlyzemindars. In a week the troop were all mounted, and during this timethey had worked hard to acquire a sufficient amount of cavalry drill toenable them to perform such simple evolutions as might be necessary.Major Warrener divided the squadron into two troops, each with acaptain and subaltern; all these officers being cavalrymen, as were theofficers who did duty as sergeants. Thus Major Warrener had the generalcommand, each troop being maneuvered by its own officers. In the ranksas simple privates were two majors and a dozen captains--among theselatter, Captain Manners. Captain Dunlop was for the present in thesurgeon's hands; but he was resolved that when the time came for astart for the rescue of the girls he would take his place in the ranks.The boys of course formed part of the troop. The uniform was simple,consisting simply of a sort of Norfolk jacket made of karkee, a kind ofcoarse brown holland of native make. Each man carried a revolver, andsword belt of brown leather. Their headgear was a cap of any kind,wrapped round and round with the thick folds of a brown puggaree.Beyond the Norfolk jacket and puggaree there was no actual uniform.Most of the men had hunting breeches, many had high boots, others hadgaiters; but these were minor points, as were the horses' equipments.

  Nothing had been said as to the intended expedition to bring in thefugitives, as native spies might have carried the news to the rebels,and so caused a renewed search to be made for their hiding-place. Therewas, therefore, a deep feeling of satisfaction, as well as of surprise,when, on the tenth day after the formation of the corps, the men weretold, on being dismissed from morning parade, that the squadron wouldparade for duty at evening gunfire; that each man was to be providedwith a blanket and a haversack, with cooked food sufficient for fourdays, and a bag with twenty pounds of forage for his horse, each horseto be well fed before coming on parade.

  Had the route been free from enemies, the distance might have been donein two long night marches; but it would be necessary to make a detouron starting, so as to avoid striking the main road, as on the way outit was all-important to avoid detection, as the enemy might muster insuch strength that their return would be difficult and dangerous in theextreme. The girls once in their hands, the return journey would beeasy, as they could avoid any infantry, and had no fear of being ableto cut their way through any body of cavalry whom they mightaccidentally come across, especially as they would have all theadvantage of a surprise. Half an hour after sunset the squadron rodeout from the lines at Meerut, amid a hearty cheer from the many troopsat the station, who, hearing that Warrener's Light Horse were off on anexpedition against the mutineers, had assembled to see the start. MajorWarrener rode at the head of the squadron, with Captain Kent, whocommanded the first troop, by his side, and behind them came two nativeguides well acquainted with the country. These had been dressed in theuniform of a native cavalry regiment, in order that if they passed anyvillage and were challenged, they could ride forward and represent thetroop as a body of native cavalry sent out from Delhi on a mission to afriendly rajah. The precaution was unnecessary. During two long nightmarches, with occasional halts to rest the horses, they rode withoutinterruption. They passed through several villages; but although thetramp of the horses and the rattle of sabers must have been heard bythe inhabitants, none stirred, for the mutineers took what they wantedwithout paying, and were already behaving as masters of the country;and even thus early the country people were beginning to doubt whetherthe fall of the English Raj, and the substitution of the old nativerule, with its war, its bloodshed, and its exactions, was by any meansa benefit, so far as the tillers of the soil were concerned. Justbefore morning, on the third day, the troop halted in a thick grove,having watered their horses at a tank a half-hour before. They hadridden some seventy miles, and were, they calculated, ab
out fifteenmiles from the place where they had left the girls. It might have beenpossible to push on at once, but the day was breaking, and it wouldhave been inexpedient to tire out the horses when they might want alltheir speed and strength on the return journey. Very slowly passed theday. Most of the men, after seeing to their horses and eating somefood, threw themselves down and slept soundly. But Major Warrener, hissons, and Captains Dunlop and Manners were far too anxious to followtheir example, for some time. It was more than a fortnight since theboys had left the ladies, and so many things, of which they hardly darethink, might have happened since.

  "Don't let us talk about it any more," Major Warrener said at last; "weonly add to each other's anxiety. Now, Dunlop, you must positively liedown; you know Johnson said it was mad in you to get on horseback tillyour bone had set firmly, and that it was ten to one in favor ofinflammation coming on again. You have much to go through yet."

  AFTER FIVE MINUTES' RIDING, THEY DREW UP THEIR HORSESWITH A CRY OF DISMAY.]

  Gradually sleepiness overcame excitement, and with the exception of tenmen told off as sentries and to look after the horses, the whole partyslept quietly for some hours. It had been determined to start in timeto arrive at the farmhouse before it was dark, as the boys requireddaylight to enable them to recognize the locality; besides which it wasadvisable to get as far back upon the return journey as possible beforedaybreak. The boys were now riding in front with their father.

  "That is the wood," Ned said presently. "I know by those three palmtrees growing together in a clump, at a short distance in advance. Inoticed them particularly."

  "Where is the house?" Major Warrener asked.

  "We ought to see the house," Dick said, and he looked at his brotherapprehensively.

  "Yes," Ned said; "we certainly ought to see it."

  "You are sure you are not mistaken in the locality?" their father asked.

  "Quite sure," the boys answered together; "but the house----"

  "Let us gallop on," Major Warrener said, catching the fear which wasexpressed in each of his sons' faces.

  Five minutes' riding, and they drew up their horses with a cry ofdismay. A large patch of wood ashes marked the spot where the house hadstood. No words were needed; the truth was apparent; the fugitives hadbeen discovered, and the abode of their protectors destroyed. Their twofriends joined the little group, and the rest of the troop dismountedat a short distance, respecting the deep pain which the discovery hadcaused to their leader.

  "What is to be done?" Major Warrener asked, breaking the deep silence.

  For a moment no one answered; and then Dick said:

  "Perhaps we may find some of the farmer's people in the hut where weslept, and we may get news from them."

  "A capital thought, Dick," said Major Warrener. "We must not give uphope; there are no bodies lying about, so the farm people are probablyalive. As to the girls, if they are carried off we must rescue them.Where is the hut?"

  A few minutes' walking brought them to it. Even before they reached itit was evident that it was inhabited, for two or three peons weresquatted near the door. These rose on seeing the group of Englishmen,but made no attempt at flight. They entered the hut without ceremony,and Ned and Dick hurried to the side of an old man lying on a heap ofstraw, while some females standing near hastily veiled themselves atthe entrance of the strangers.

  "Where are the girls? what has happened? are you hurt?" were the threequestions poured out rapidly by Ned, as the boy seized the old man'shands.

  "Is it you, sahibs? I am glad, indeed. I did not break my promise tocome and tell you; but as you see," and he pointed to the bandage whichenveloped his head, "I was wounded, and am still ill."

  "But the girls?" asked Ned.

  "They have been carried off by the troops of the Rajah of Nahdoor."

  "How long since?"

  "Thursday, sahib."

  "How far off is Nahdoor?"

  "Ten miles, sahib."

  Major Warrener now took up the interrogation.

  "How is the one who was ill?"

  "She was better, and was getting stronger again when they carried heroff."

  "Do you think they are still at Nahdoor? or that they have been sentinto Delhi?"

  "They are still there," the Hindoo said. "I have sent a man each day towatch, so that directly I got better I might be able to tell you thetruth of the matter. My servant has just returned; they had not left atthree o'clock, and they would be sure not to start after that hour. Therajah will go with his troops in a few days to pay his respects to theemperor; he will probably take the _mem_ sahibs with him."

  "Thank God for that," Major Warrener said. "If they have not yet beentaken to that horrible den of murder we will save them. I am the fatherof one, and the other is my niece," he said to the zemindar; "and I owetheir lives so far to you. The debt of gratitude I can never pay toyou--or to your wife and daughter," he added, turning to the women,who, their first impulse of alarm over, had now, in the presence offriends, uncovered their faces, for it is only the higher class ofHindoo women who closely veil--"for your care in nursing my niece, andfor giving them shelter, when to do so was to risk your lives. Thisdebt I can never pay; but the losses you have sustained in thedestruction of your house, and the loss of animals, I can happily morethan replace. And now tell me how it happened."

  "It was late in the afternoon," the Hindoo said, "when a body of horsegalloped across the field to my door. Their captain rode up to me. 'Arethere any Feringhees hid here, old man?' he asked. 'I have seen no manof the white race since the troubles began,' I said; and you know Ispoke not falsely. 'I must search the house,' he said; 'there are aparty of fugitives hiding somewhere in this district, and the ordersfrom Delhi are strict that every Feringhee is to be hunted down andsent there.' 'You will find no one here,' I said, 'but my women, one ofwhom is sick.' 'I must see them,' he said; and he knocked loudly at thedoor of the women's room, and ordered them to come out. My wife anddaughter came to the door. 'Where is the one who is said to be sick?'he said; 'I must see her too.' Then, seeing that he was determined toenter, the young _mem_ sahib came to the door. The captain gave a shoutof pleasure; calling in his men, he entered the room, and, in spite ofthe entreaties of her sister, brought the one who was sick out also.She was able to walk, but, as we had agreed between us should be doneif discovery was made, she pretended that she was almost at the pointof death. Some poles were got; a hammock was made; and borne by fourbearers, she was carried away, her sister being placed on a horseclosely guarded. As he turned to ride off the captain's eye fell uponme. 'Ah! old traitor!' he said; 'I had forgotten you!' and he drew apistol and fired at me. I know no more; his men put fire to the barnand granaries, and drove off our cattle and horses. When he had riddenoff my servants--who thought I was dead--by order of my sorrowing wifecarried me here. Happily, however, by the will of Brahma, the bullet,instead of going through my skull, glanced off, and I was only stunned.I had lost much blood, but I determined to set out as soon as I couldwalk to bring you the news, and in the meantime have had a watch keptupon Nahdoor."

  Major Warrener and his sons thanked the old peasant and his family inthe warmest terms for what they had done, and the former pressed uponthe farmer a sum of money which would cover all the losses he hadsustained.

  "Your conduct," he said, "will be reported to the government, and youwill find when these troubles are over that England knows how to rewardthose who proved faithful when so many were faithless. Now we will sayadieu. When the war is over the ladies you have so kindly treated willthemselves return to thank you."

  In a few minutes the troop was in the saddle again, and directed itsmarch toward Nahdoor.

  On the way Major Warrener questioned his guide as to the strength andposition of the fortress, which lay away from the main road, and hadnot been visited by any of the troop--as the major had ascertainedbefore starting. The account was not reassuring. The guide reportedthat it stood on a rock, which rose perpendicularly some eighty or ahund
red feet from the plain; the only access being by a zigzag road cutin the face of the cliff, with a gateway defended by a gun, andloopholed walls at each turn, and with a very strong wall all round theedge of the rock. The garrison, they had learned from the persons atthe farm, was some three hundred strong, the ordinary number ofretainers being at present increased by many fighting men, who hadwithin the last few days joined the rajah, on hearing that he was goingto march to Delhi to fight under the emperor against the Feringhees.

  The troop halted in a wood three miles from Nahdoor; as the guide saidthat there was no place nearer where they could be concealed without acertainty of discovery.

  Before morning Major Warrener and his second in command put on nativeclothes, which the former bad brought with him, in case it should benecessary to open communication with the girls, and left the wood withone of the native guides. The disguises were not meant to deceive closeinvestigation, and no attempt was made to change the color of the skin,but they were sufficient to enable the wearers to pass without excitingsuspicion by any one who only saw them at a distance.

  When morning broke they stood within half a mile of the fortress, whichanswered exactly to the description they had received of it.Gradually--keeping always at a distance, and availing themselves as faras possible of cover--they made a circuit of the place, and thenreturned to the troop, who were anxiously awaiting their report.

  "It is a very hard nut to crack," Major Warrener said to his sons."There is no possibility of climbing the rock anywhere, or of attackingin any way except by the regular ascent. There are eight gateways to beforced before arriving at the main entrance through the walls. Weshould require petards to blow in gates, and ought to have field gunsto drive them out of the gate-houses. I do not say it would beabsolutely impossible, because before now British troops have done whatseemed impossible in India; but the difficulties would be so enormous,the risk of failure so great, and the loss certainly so crushing, thatI should not be justified in undertaking such a desperate adventure onmy own responsibility, and for my own private ends. We have no right,boys, to cause the loss of some thirty or forty of these fine youngfellows, even to rescue the girls. An attack by surprise is the onlypossibility. At present we don't see the way, but something may turn upto help us. Failing that, our only plan is to wait till the rajahstarts with his following and the girls for Delhi, and then to attackthem on their way. The drawback to this is that he may not leave fordays, and that at any moment we may be discovered. Besides, there isthe difficulty of feeding the horses and ourselves. Now, boys, you knowas much as I do. Think it over while I have a talk with Dunlop andManners."

  "Manners is at the other end of the wood, father, half a mile away. Wefound, after you had gone, that the main Delhi road ran through thefurther skirts of the wood, so Manners suggested to Lieutenant Simmonsthat he should go with ten men and hide there, so that they could seewho went along the road and perhaps intercept some messenger betweenDelhi and Nahdoor."

  "A capital idea," Major Warrener said.

  Two hours later Captain Manners returned with his party, bringing intwo prisoners.

  "Who have you there, Manners?" Major Warrener asked.

  "Two of the rascally Third Cavalry, who mutinied at Meerut. Thisfellow, as you see, is a native officer; there were two of them and twosowars, but they showed fight when we surrounded them, and tried toride through us, so we had to shoot two of them. They are bearers of aletter from the Delhi prince to the rajah. Here it is."

  Major Warrener looked sternly at the prisoners, who were still wearingtheir British uniform, and then ordered them to be taken away and hungat once.

  "What did you do with the others, Manners?"

  "We hid their bodies under some bushes at a distance from the road."

  "You must go back," the major said, "with another; take Larkin withyou. You must strip off the uniforms and bring them here."

  Half an hour later Major Warrener summoned the captains of his twotroops, and took them into council.

  "Nothing could be more fortunate than this capture," he said; "it seemsto clear the way for us altogether. What I propose to do is this: thattwo of the best linguists of the troop, with the two native guides,should dress in the uniforms of these scoundrels. They can then goboldly in with the letter from the prince. They will of course be wellreceived, and will stay for the night. The two who go as officers willbe entertained by the rajah, and will learn the plan of the stateapartments; the other two will be made welcome by the retainers. Whenall is quiet at night they must steal out and wait on the wall. Thatprojecting watch-tower that overhangs the cliff on the other side wouldbe the best. We will be below. Then a rope must be lowered. We have twolong picketing ropes, either of which would be long enough, but theywould be too bulky to carry in without suspicion. Our native guides,however, will soon tear up some cloth, and twist a rope not muchthicker than string, but strong enough to hold the rope. Then thestring can be twisted round the body without fear of detection, andwhen the time comes lowered, with a stone at the end. We shall be belowwith a strong rope ladder, made with the picket-ropes and bamboostaves; and once fixed, we shall be up in no time. I leave it to you todecide who are the best linguists. They must of course be asked if theyare willing to undertake it. I will speak to the guides. What do youthink of the general plan?"

  "Excellent," the officers said. "It might be as well," one suggested,"that each of the party should have a light rope wound round him, sothat if one, two, or even three could not slip away, the fourth couldstill carry out the plan."

  Some other details were arranged, and then the officers went to pickout the two men who could best pass as natives. There was no difficultyupon this score, for two of the troop, who had for years commandedlarge police districts, spoke the language as perfectly as natives, andthese, upon being asked, readily accepted the duty. The work of makingthe rope ladders, and the light ropes for hauling them up, was enteredupon, and by sunset all were ready for the expedition.

  It was fortunate that they had no longer to stay in the wood, forduring the day five or six natives who came in to gather wood had to beseized and bound, and it was certain that a search would be set on footthere next morning. Fortunately a large field of Indian corn borderedone side of the wood, and from this both man and horse had satisfiedtheir hunger.

  Every detail of the plan was carefully considered and discussed, sothat no mistake could occur; and each of the principal actors in thepiece had his part assigned to him. The two native guides, who hadthemselves served as soldiers in native regiments, consented willinglyto perform their parts, and just at sunset the two officers and menrode off to Nahdoor, bearing the letter from the prince of Delhi to therajah.

  There was high feasting in Nahdoor that night. The rajah had receivedwith all honor the officers from Delhi. The letter from the prince hadpromised him a high command in the army which was to exterminate thelast infidel from the land. It had thanked him for the capture of thewhite women, and had begged him to bring them on with him to Delhi, andto come at once with his own force. From the officers the rajah hadheard how the mutiny was everywhere a success, and that at Lucknow andCawnpore the troops would rise in a day or two and massacre all thewhites. The evening ended early, for the officers from Delhi werefatigued with their long ride, and being shown into a little squaremarble-lined room off the great hall where they had supped, were soonapparently asleep on the cushions and shawls spread for them. The rajahretired to his apartments, and his officers to their quarters; andalthough for another hour talking and laughing went on round the littlefires in the courtyard, presently these too were hushed, and a profoundstillness fell upon Nahdoor. Then, barefooted, the officers from Delhistole out of their apartment and made for the outer wall. As they hadanticipated, they found no one about; beyond a sentry at the lower gatethere would be no watch kept, and they reached the watch-tower on thewall without the slightest interruption. Here two other figures hadalready arrived, and after throwing down some small stones as
a signal,which was answered by a faint whistle, the ropes were lowered withoutdelay. One of them was soon seized from below, and the others beingalso found and fastened to the rope ladder, the weight of which wasconsiderable, those above began to draw up. Everything succeededadmirably. One by one fifty men appeared at the top of the wall.Quietly they made their way down to the courtyard, and broke up intoparties, taking their places at the entrance to the various buildings;then, all further need for concealment being at an end, a bugle callsounded loud in the air. It was answered by another down upon the plainnear the gate. The rajah himself was one of the first to rash out. Hewas seized and disarmed before he was aware of what had happened.

  "Tell your men to throw down their arms and surrender," Major Warrenersaid to him, "or we will put you and every soul here to the sword. Theplace is surrounded, and there is no escape. Do you not hear our bugleson the plain?"

  It needed not the rajah's order; the garrison, taken utterly bysurprise, and finding the castle captured by an enemy of unknownstrength, threw down their arms as they came out of their quarters.Orders were sent by the rajah to the men at the various gates on thehill to come up and lay down their arms, and the sentry at the lowestof all was to open it to the troops there. A bugler and ten men wereleft below, and the rest joined the party in the castle.

  Long ere they had arrived, the joyful meeting of the captives and theirfriends had taken place. Rose and Kate had awoke at the sound of thebugle, but had heeded it little, believing that it was only a Sepoycall. Even the stir and commotion outside had not disturbed them, andthey had lain quiet until they heard a loud knocking at the door of thewomen's apartments, followed by screams from the women, and then--theycould scarcely believe their ears--their names shouted in MajorWarrener's voice. With a cry of delight both sprang up, and seizingshawls, rushed to the door, and in another moment Kate was in the armsof her father.

  "We are all here, dear," he said, after the first wild greeting--"theboys, and Dunlop, and Manners. Hurry on your clothes, darlings; theyare longing to see you."

  The garrison of the castle were all collected in one of the smallercourts, where twenty troopers, revolver in hand, kept guard over them.The whole of the arms found in the castle were broken to pieces andthrown over the walls, and the cannon planted there were first spikedand then pitched over. The guns on the gates were similarly rendereduseless, and the stores of gunpowder all wetted. The rajah and his twosons, boys of six and eight, were then told to prepare to accompany thetroops, and warning was given that they would be shot in case an attackwas made upon the force as it returned to Meerut.

  "Tell your followers this," Major Warrener said, "and order them togive no alarm, or to spread the news; for if we are caught your lifeand that of your sons will pay forfeit. As it is, you may hope forclemency. You have as yet taken no part in the insurrection; andalthough there is no doubt of your intention, your good conduct in thefuture may, perhaps, wipe out the memory of your faults."

  It needs not to say anything of the rapturous greeting of the girls andtheir brothers and lovers, or the happy half-hour which was spenttogether in the great hall while the preparations for the departurewere being made outside. Captain Kent saw to all that there was to bedone, leaving the major free to join the happy party within.

  "Are you strong enough to ride, Rose?"

  "Oh, I think so, uncle; I have been shamming ill, and they thought Icould not walk; but I am pretty strong, and if I can't ride by myself Imust be tied on to some one else."

  "I dare say my horse will carry double," Captain Manners said, laughing.

  "Have the women here been kind?" Major Warrener asked.

  The girls shook their heads:

  "Not very, papa; they have been talking of Delhi;" and Kate shuddered.

  The major frowned; he could guess what they must have suffered. He wentto the door.

  "Kent, order the women out of the _zenana_ into one of the other rooms.Tell them that they will all be searched as they come out, and that ifone brings out an ornament or a jewel with her she will be put todeath. Of course you will not search them; but the threat will do. Letno insult be offered them. Then let Rivers take four men, and go in,and take all the loot you can find. The jewels we will divide among themen when at Meerut. Tell off another party to loot the rest of therooms, but only take what is really valuable and portable. We cannotcumber ourselves with baggage. It would serve the rajah right if I wereto burn his castle down; he may think himself lucky to get off with hislife."

  The girls pleaded for the women. "We bear them no ill-feeling," theysaid. "They are very ignorant; they only acted as they were taught."

  "Well, well," said the major, "we will take the jewels alone; they area fair loot."

  Another hour and the troops were already well on their way on the Delhiroad. The good luck which had attended them so far followed them to theend. Anxious to avoid an encounter with the enemy, they took an evenmore circuitous route than that by which they had come, and on thefourth afternoon after leaving rode into Meerut, where their arrivalafter the long and successful expedition created quite an excitement. Acomfortable house was found for the girls, with some old friends of themajor, who resided permanently at Meerut; as for the major and histroops, they prepared to accompany the column which was on the point ofmarching against Delhi.