r way of escape. It would be a thousand times better to die,
than be taken captive and tortured to death."

"Good, sahib! I will use my bayonet, myself; but I don't think
there will be any occasion for that."

"I shall certainly die fighting. I would rather not be taken alive,
Pertab; and shall certainly fight till I am killed, or can take my
own life."

"Do you think that the troops will be marched away, sahib?"

"I feel sure that they will. They have only got provisions enough
to take them back to camp; and as, when they pull the wire in, they
will find that we have gone, they will feel quite sure that we have
been drowned.

"No; we must quite make up our minds that we have got to look after
ourselves. Fortunately, the Ashantis will not be able to cross the
river to harass them in their retreat; unless, indeed, they know of
some ford by which they can get over."

As soon as daylight began, the Sikh went down into the water and
washed the mud from himself, and Lisle cleaned and loaded his
pistol. Then they waited until it was broad daylight and, as they
heard no sounds to indicate that any Ashantis were near, Lisle
climbed up as noiselessly as he could to the bushes, and looked
cautiously round. There were none of the enemy in sight. He
therefore called to the Sikh to join him and, together, they made
their way into the forest behind.

"The first thing to ascertain," Lisle said, "is whether the enemy
are still here, and to find out for certain whether our friends
have left. If they stay where they were, we can swim the river and
join them; if they have retreated, and the Ashantis are still here,
we shall know that there is no ford. If, however, we find that the
Ashantis have gone, we shall be sure that they crossed at some
ford, and will be swarming round our men; in which case it will be
impossible for us to join them, and we must make our way as best we
can."

They kept close to the edge of the forest, the soldier occasionally
using his bayonet to cut away the thorny creepers that blocked
their course. After an hour's walking, Lisle said:

"That is the spot where the troops were, last night. I can see no
signs of them now.

"Now for the Ashantis."

They took the greatest pains to avoid making a noise, until they
stepped out opposite the point from which they had started, the
evening before. They saw no signs of the enemy.

"This is bad," Lisle said. "I can have no doubt that they have
crossed the ri