ofession, and thoroughly gloried in keeping those with whom I had to
do perfect in every evolution they had to perform.

And as I lay there--a mere boy, suddenly called upon to undertake such a
tremendous task, I calmly said to myself--

"Yes; I suppose I could drill up a lot of his men, who can ride, into
decent gunners in time; and it would be very pleasant to be a great man,
and the rajah's favourite; but it is impossible. I could not undertake
it. I should deserve to have the lace stripped from my uniform before
all the men, and then to be kicked out of the service.

"What shall I do?" I said, as I lay there. "He will try first to
persuade me; then he will threaten, in spite of his smooth way, for he
can be fierce enough, that's plain. If he does, shall I have strength
enough to hold out, and refuse to promise; or shall I, at last, quite in
despair, give way and act as he wishes?"

I lay, going over it all, for a long while, and at last came to the
despairing conclusion that there was only one way out of the difficulty,
for, in my position, I doubted my powers of holding out--only one way,
and that was to escape.

This idea roused me for a few minutes, but I felt despondent again very
soon, as I recalled all that he had said about the white man being
driven from the land; and I asked myself, as I thought of escaping,
"Where to?"

Hope came directly after, and I knew enough of the eastern character to
say that these people exaggerated and talked in flowery language; and
why should not the rajah, Ny Deen, be acting in the same way?

"It isn't true," I said half aloud. "He thinks it is, or wishes it may
be; but England will not give up like that. She is too strong, and has
too much at stake. He cannot tell. For aught he knows, poor Brace may
be a few miles away with our brave lads ready to knock his palace about
his ears, and make him prisoner in turn."

I was just thinking that I should not like him to be made prisoner in
turn, for I knew that it meant death, and I was beginning to plan how I
should set about making my escape as soon as I felt sufficiently strong,
when the heat and my weakness combined to send me off into a heavy
sleep, one of the many that I indulged in during those days, not from
idleness, for I suppose it was natural while my nerves and muscles were
slowly building themselves up once more.

CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE.

I worried and fretted a great deal about that proposal of the r