closely followed by Bikoo. As he did so, he found himself face to face
with a powerful-looking black slave conducting an elephant across the
yard. The slave looked at him for an instant, and, pronouncing his
name, asked him where he was going. Instead of replying, he pointed his
pistol at the black's head, expecting to intimidate him. The next
instant his weapon was knocked out of his hand; and the slave, seizing
him by the throat, exclaimed, "You are the traitor who carried off the
young ranee. You must come with me to the rajah, and tell him what you
have been doing here."

"I'll come, my friend, willingly," exclaimed Cochut; "only take me out
of the fort. You don't know what is going to happen. You and I and the
elephant may be blown into atoms in a few minutes. Take me out of the
fort,--take me out of the fort! Quick! Quick!"

"That's where I am going to take you," answered Sambro; for he was the
black slave. "Come along, my friend; come along."

At that moment casting his eyes on Bikoo, who stood trembling near by,
he made a sign to the elephant, which immediately wound its trunk round
the slave's body, and walked behind Sambro and the khan. To the
surprise of the latter, he found the gates open, and saw a number of
elephants and a large party of foot and horse winding along the road.
He and his fellow-conspirator, not being aware of the custom of English
troops to perform their marches during the cooler hours of the day--that
is to say, in the latter part of the day and early in the morning--had
not calculated on the possibility of their prey escaping them. Still,
apparently, some of the troops had not left the fort; and he could only
hope that those he wished to destroy were still there. He therefore
turned many an anxious glance back at the fort, and kept urging Sambro
to move faster.

Meanwhile, Balkishen having waited till he thought his accomplice would
have been able to secure the horses, set fire to the train, and then
hurried away to join him. On ascending the steps, however, his foot
slipped and down he fell. In vain he shouted to Khan Cochut and Bikoo
to come and help him. The slave was too far off to hear his master's
voice. The match went on burning, approaching the fatal barrel with
fearful rapidity. In vain Balkishen endeavoured to rise. He had
dislocated his ankle, or otherwise injured it. Again and again he
shrieked out. Though unable to stand, he crawled up the steps. T