been apparently hastily folded
into a bandage, and tied round some one's head, the knots being still
there, and the kerchief lying on the floor, forming a rough circle.
Close by were pieces of a woman's dress, one fragment being a sleeve,
evidently torn off in a desperate struggle. But the most horrible
traces were those which told in simple language the result of the
desperate defence that must have taken place; for, at the far end of the
piano, where it stood about three feet from the wall, there lay a double
rifle, broken off at the stock, a bayonet snapped at the socket, and
between them, marks which showed only too plainly that the defenders of
that corner of the room had been dragged out by the feet, and out
through a farther door.

"Come away, Gil," said Brace, hoarsely; "it only makes me feel mad
against these wretches; and at a time when, with the work I have in
hand, I want to be calm and cool as a judge."

At that moment there was a furious roar from somewhere at the back of
the house, and Brace's hand went to his sword on the instant, mine
naturally following suit.

"Draw, lad!" he cried. "We had no business to come without an escort.
Keep close to me."

But a second burst of shouting reassured us. No one but Englishmen
could raise an indignant cry such as we heard.

"What does it mean?" I said, as we hurried out through the door, out of
which the poor creatures who had defended themselves had been dragged,
and we came directly upon about a dozen of our men, with some of the
foot regiment.

"This way, sir--this way!" cried one of the men, who was in a terrible
state of excitement; and unable to grasp more than that the men had been
foraging about, and had made some discovery, they hurried us on to what
must have been a kind of summer-house in a pleasant garden with a
goldfish tank, and various other proofs of the taste of the late
occupants of the place.

In this tank were various objects, apparently thrown in by the fierce
mob which had plundered the house; while, as we drew near, there was
just before us a heap of furniture and household goods, which had been
piled up in front of the summer-house entrance, and fired, evidently to
blaze furiously for a time, and with the object of burning down the
summer-house as well.

A number of the half-burnt and charred things had been dragged away by
the soldiers so as to clear the doorway, prompted, no doubt, by
curiosity to see what was in the place