ajah, and will be able to pay it all off at once."

"I will if I can, Mallett, though I think that it will be much more
satisfactory to do it out of my savings, except that I shall have
the pleasure of knowing that if I were wiped out afterwards you
would not be a loser."

A few days later Frank Mallett was sent with his company to rout
out a party of rebels reported to be in possession of a large
village twenty miles away. Armstrong was laid up by a slight attack
of fever, and he asked that Marshall should be appointed in his
place on this occasion.

"One wants two subalterns, Colonel," he said, "for a business like
this. I may have to detach a party to the back of the village to
cut off the rebels' retreat, and it may be necessary to assault in
two places."

"Certainly. Take Marshall if you wish it, Captain Mallett. The
young fellow has been behaving excellently, and has gone far to
retrieve his character. Captain Johnson has reported to me that he
is exemplary in his duties, and has shown much gallantry under
fire, especially in that affair near Neemuch, in which he rushed
forward and carried off a wounded man who would otherwise have
certainly been killed. I reported the case to the Brigadier, who
said that at any other time the young fellow would probably have
been recommended for a V.C., but that there were so many cases of
individual gallantry that there was no chance of his getting that;
but Marshall was specially mentioned in orders four days ago, and
this will, of course, count in his favour.

"Take him with you by all means; your ensign only joined with the
last draft, and you will certainly want someone with you of greater
experience than he has."

Marshall was delighted when he heard that he was to accompany
Captain Mallett. In addition to his own company, a hundred men of
the Punjaub infantry and fifty Sikh horse were under Captain
Mallett's command, the native troops being added at the last
moment, as a report of another body of mutineers marching in the
same direction had just come in.

Frank spent a quarter of an hour in inspecting some maps of the
country, and had a talk with the native who was to act as guide.
When the little force was drawn up, he marched off in quite another
direction from that in which the village lay. Being in command, he
was mounted for the first time during the campaign. The lieutenant
in command of the Sikhs presently rode up to him.

"I beg your pardon, Captain Mal