ut, followed by others, and the rajah,
who had had his back to us, reined round, and sat looking at us. There
was a movement, too, all along the troop, as if men were in a disorderly
way drawing their swords without waiting for an order, for there was a
flash here and a flash there, the men evidently expecting an attack.

But, as the rajah realised that we were only three, he turned his horse
and rode along the front of the troop shouting to his men, who all sat
firm, and he turned then, and sat there looking haughty and calm,
waiting evidently for what he must have taken as some envoy from his
enemies.

And all this time we were rapidly lessening the distance; so were the
sepoys, followed by quite a crowd; but they were advancing from the
left, and the rajah had ridden to the extreme right, so that the sepoys
had a greater distance to go; but they were getting excited now, and had
commenced to run.

"You are too late with your news, you black-hearted scoundrels!" cried
Brace, loudly, though his words would be heard only by us; and just then
my Arab burst out with a loud challenge, followed by one from Brace's
horse, and it was loudly answered by first one and then another of their
old friends in the troop, several of which became uneasy and excited.

"Well done, brave lads; neigh again," cried Brace, excitedly, as we were
now not two hundred yards from the row of black faces, while at the end,
and twenty yards away, sat the rajah, with a couple more
gallantly-dressed officers who had ridden out to him.

"They are waiting for our message, Gil," cried Brace, wildly. "They
shall have it directly. Ready, my lad--steady, horses. Right for the
centre; never mind the rajah. Let him wait. Forward!"

We rode right for the centre of the troop drawn up there in the
brilliant sunshine, and there it all is now vividly before my eyes as I
write, and see myself riding on Brace's left, and Dobbs the trumpeter
just behind him on his right, ever growing nearer at our steady trot,
with the opal of the Hindus' eyes plainer each moment and a wondering
expression clearly seen now upon their faces, as if they were asking
what it meant.

There were the sepoys, too, on our right, running fast and shouting, but
we reached the centre long before they, and the mob following, could
attain to the end of the line nearest to them; and just then, as I
glanced to my left, I saw the rajah clap spurs to his horse, as if to
ride up, but he r