The Tiger of Mysore: A Story of the War with Tippoo Saib by G. A. Henty (parable of the sower read online .txt) 📖

road. There is a little water in it now. You know we used to meet with it, down below, and water our horses at a pool close to that ruined village. When we start, we can follow the road until we get close to the fort, and then crawl along in the water course, and take our chances. If we should find it so blocked up that we can't get through, we must then see how we can get past the place in some other way. If the gate is only barred, no doubt we should be able to overpower the sentry, and get the gate open before any alarm is given. If it is locked, we must do the best we can. We may calculate upon taking the sentry by surprise, as we did in the prison, and on silencing him at once; then we should have time to break up some cartridges, and pour the powder into the keyhole, which is sure to be a big one, make a slow match, and blow the lock open. We could make the slow match before we start, if we had some water."

"Shall I go down to the stream, and get some?"

"You have nothing to carry it up in, Surajah; and besides, someone might come along the valley."

"We shall only want a little water. I will take off my sash, and dip it in the stream; that will give us plenty, when it is wrung out."

"At any rate, Surajah, we will do nothing until it is getting dusk. See! There are some peasants, with three bullocks, coming down the valley, and there are four armed horsemen riding behind them. We will go back to those bushes, a hundred yards behind us, and sleep there until sunset; then we will make our way down to that heap of boulders close to the stream, manufacture our slow match, and hide up there until it is time to start. We want a rest, badly. We did not sleep last night, and if we get through, we must push on tonight without a stop, so we must have a good sleep, now."

The sun was low when they woke. They watched it dip below the hills, and then, after waiting until it began to get dusk, started for the valley. No one was to be seen on the road, and they ran rapidly down the slope, until they reached the heap of boulders. Surajah tore off a strip of cotton, six inches long by an inch wide, from the bottom of his dress, went forward to the stream, and wetted it. When he came back, they squeezed the moisture from it, broke up a cartridge, rubbed the powder into the cotton, and then rolled it up longways.

"That will be dry enough, by the time we want to start," Dick said. "I hope we sha'n't have to use it, but if there is no other way, we must do so."

They remained where they were, until they thought that the garrison of the fort would be, for the most part, asleep. Then they crossed the stream, and walked along by the side of the road, taking care not to show themselves upon it, as their figures would be seen for a long distance, on its white, dusty surface. Presently, the sides of the valley approached more closely to each other; and, just where they narrowed, they could make out a number of dark objects, which were, they doubted not, the houses occupied by the garrison. They at once took to the bed of the stream, stooping low as they went, so that their bodies would be indistinguishable among the rocks.

They could hear the murmur of voices, as they passed through the village. Once beyond it, they entered the gorge. Here there was but room enough for the road and the stream, whose bed was several feet below the causeway. A few hundred yards farther, the gorge widened out a bit, and in the moonlight they could see the wall of the fort stretching before them, and a square building standing close to it.

"That is the guard house, no doubt," Dick said, in low tones. "It is too close to be pleasant, if we have to attack the sentry."

Very carefully, they picked their way among the rocks, until close to the wall; then Dick gave a low exclamation of disappointment. The stream ran through a culvert, some twelve feet wide and ten feet high, but this was closed by iron bars, crossing each other at intervals of only five or six inches, the lower ends of the perpendicular bars being fixed in a stone dam, extending across the bed of the stream. Dick waded across the pool formed by the dam, and felt the bars, but found them perfectly solid and strong.

"It is no good, Surajah," he said, when he returned. "There is no getting through there. There is nothing for it but the gate, unless we can find the steps up to the top of the wall, and get up unnoticed. Then we might tear up our sashes longways, knot them together, and slip down.

"The first thing to do is to have a look round. I will get up close to the wall. It is in shadow there."

Entering the pool again, he climbed up the steep bank, which was here faced with stones. He stopped when his eyes were above the level, and looked round. There was the gate, twelve feet away, and to his delight no sentry was to be seen. He was about to whisper Surajah to join him, when he heard voices. They came from above, and he at once understood that, instead of a man being posted behind the gate, two were on guard on the wall above it. He beckoned to Surajah to join him, and when he did so, whispered what he had discovered.

"If the gate is only barred, we are all right now, Surajah; except that we shall have to run the risk of being shot by those fellows on the wall. We shall be a pretty easy mark, on that white road by moonlight. Our only plan will be to keep close to the wall, when we are through the gate, get down into the bed of the stream again, and then crawl along among the rocks. The bottom will be in shadow, and we may get off without being noticed. The only fear is that we shall make a noise in opening the gate.

"Now, let us try it."

Keeping close to the wall, they crept to the gateway. This projected two feet beyond the gate itself, and standing against the latter they could not be seen, even in the unlikely event of one of the sentries looking down. The only risk was of anyone in the guard house coming out. This, however, could not be avoided, and they at once began to examine the fastenings of the gate, which consisted of two massive bars of wood, running across it. These, by their united strength, they removed one after another. But when they tried it, they found the gate still immovable.

"The beastly thing is locked," Dick said. "There is nothing to do, but to blow it open."

He broke off the ends of three cartridges, poured the powder in at the keyhole, and then inserted the slow match.

"Stand in the corner there, Surajah. I will go down to the stream again, to light the tinder. The noise is less likely to be heard there."

He stole back again, sat down at the edge of the water, placed his tinder box in his lap, took his turban off and put it over his hands, so as to deaden the sound, and then struck the steel sharply against the flint. The first blow was successful. The spark fell on the tinder, and at once began to extend.

He listened intently. The men on the wall were still talking, and the sound had evidently not reached their ears.

Chapter 7: Besieged.

Dick hastily clambered up the wall, ran to the gate, blew the tinder, and then applied it to the slow match. A moment later, this began to fizz.

"Round the corner of the wall, Surajah!" he exclaimed, running back himself.

A few anxious seconds passed, then came a sharp explosion. In an instant they ran up. The gate stood two or three inches open. It yielded to a push, and they ran out.

Loud shouts were heard from the men above, and a hubbub of cries from the guard house.

"Run, Surajah! We must risk it. Keep on the edge of the road, and dodge as you go. The chances are they will run down below, to see what has happened."

At the top of their speed, they dashed down the road. No shot was fired from the wall, Dick's conjecture that the first impulse of the sentries would be to run down below having been justified. They were a couple of hundred yards away, before two shots were fired from the gate. The bullets whistled by harmlessly.

"We are all right now," Dick cried. "They can scarcely see us, and we shall soon be out of sight altogether."

Five or six more shots were fired a few seconds later, as the men from the guard house reached the gate. On looking back, when they had gone another hundred yards, they saw a number of figures on the road.

"Not quite so fast, Surajah," Dick said. "It is going to be a long chase, now. We have got three hundred yards start, and they won't be able to load again, running at full speed."

For a time, their pursuers gained somewhat upon them; then, gradually, they began to straggle, as the effect of the speed at which they were running told upon them. When they reached the ruined village, there were four men running together, some three hundred yards behind. The rest were a considerable distance in the rear.

"Another mile or two, and they will all give up the chase except these four, Surajah, and if they turn out better runners than we do, we can make a stand. There are some more huts another two miles farther, and we will fight them there."

They were going slower now, for although the downward course of the road helped them a good deal, the run was telling on them. Not a word was spoken, until they reached the second village. When they came to the first house, they stopped simultaneously, and looked round. Their pursuers were not more than two hundred yards behind them.

"In here, Surajah," Dick said, as he ran into the ruined hut.

Its roof was gone, its door hung loose on its hinges. It had but one window, a small one, looking up the valley. Dick laid his gun on the sill, which was nearly level with his shoulder.

"I must wait until they get pretty close," he said, "for I am panting so that I can't keep the barrel steady, even with this rest."

"I will kneel down outside," Surajah said.

"Mind, I will fire first, Surajah. Don't you fire until they are within twenty yards of you. By that time I shall have loaded again."

Dick had more time than he had expected, for as soon as their pursuers saw them enter the hut, they slackened their pace considerably. They were within about eighty yards, when Dick held his breath and standing, for a moment, immovable, took a steady aim and fired.

One of the men stumbled in his run, took a step or two forward, and then fell on his face. The others paused for a moment, and then, with a fierce yell, ran forward.

The moment he had fired, Dick dropped the stock of his gun on to the ground, snatched a cartridge from the bandolier, bit off the end, and emptied the powder into the barrel, gave the gun a shake, so as to be sure that it ran into the touch hole, and then rammed down the bullet. As he was in the act of doing so, Surajah fired, and a loud yell told that his shot had been successful.

Dick sprang to the door as Surajah entered. Two shots at the same instant rang out; but, at even so short a distance, the bullets went wide. Dick stepped out, and in turn fired. One of the two men fell; the other threw down his musket, and fled up the road.

"Thank goodness that is over," Dick exclaimed. "I thought they had no chance with us, here. Now the first thing is to get our wind again."

They stood for two or three minutes, breathing heavily; then, as their breath came again, they prepared to move, when Dick exclaimed suddenly, "What is that noise?"

There was a dull, confused sound in the air, and then Surajah, pointing up the road, exclaimed, "Cavalry!"

Far away on the white road, a dark mass could be seen. At first, Dick instinctively turned to resume their flight, but then he said:

"It is of