house had as yet
failed: but the outworks had been rendered untenable, and the defence
must now be confined to the house itself. It seemed that Minghal Khan
was satisfied with what he had gained so far; for the firing suddenly
ceased, and as darkness sank down upon the scene it appeared probable
that the final assault was deferred until the morning. The doctor
scarcely expected a night attack. The enemy had already suffered
severely, and, numerous as they were, they were not likely to court the
heavy losses that an assault in the dark upon strong defences must
entail. That he was right was proved as time passed. A close watch was
kept upon the house; fires were lighted both front and back; and men
could be heard talking; but there was no sign of a renewal of the
assault.

The little garrison was glad enough of the respite. They were tired out
after the strain of work and fighting during the hot hours of the day.
The doctor ordered all the men in turn to act as sentries, one at the
back and one at the front, keeping watch while the others slept. It was
only at the entreaty of the khansaman that he went to his own bed, and
he insisted on being awaked at the first sign of movement among the
enemy.

Day had hardly dawned when there came a great yelling from the street,
and the rumble of distant wheels. The rumbling sound came nearer moment
by moment until it suddenly stopped.

"Go to the roof," said the doctor to Ahmed. His face wore an expression
of great anxiety. Ahmed hurried up through the trap-door and crawled to
the parapet. He was at once seen from the roof of the loftiest house,
and bullets pattered round him; but he looked over and saw--what he had
expected to see. A gun had been brought down the street, and stood in
the gateway of the house immediately opposite the gate of the compound.
There were no horses: evidently the gun had been dragged to its position
by men. The gunners were in the act of loading. Ahmed rushed back across
the roof, with less caution than before, and was just descending through
the trap-door when a bullet whizzed past his left ear, carrying away a
lock of his thick hair. He leapt down the steps, and ran to acquaint the
doctor with the new peril in which the house lay.

Dr. Craddock was perturbed. Neither the gate of the compound nor the
door of the house, nor even the walls themselves, could stand a
battering from round shot, and if a breach was once made the house would
swarm with the