f
course I could do with less; but to place the fort in a perfect state
of defence, that is the number that I and my artillery officer think
are requisite.

"Of powder, we have not more than a ton and a half, and if the siege
were to be a long one we might require ten times as much. We have not
more than eight rounds of shot for each gun, and we ought to have at
least fifty for the heavy pieces, and twenty for those defending the
path up the hill."

Dick made a note of the figures, in a pocket book he had bought for
the purpose.

"As for provisions," the governor went on, "we ought to have large
stores of rice and grain. The magazines are nearly empty, and as we
have eight hundred men in garrison, and perhaps twice as many women
and children, we should require a large store were we blockaded for
any time."

"Are the troops in good condition?" Surajah asked.

The governor shook his head.

"Many of them are past the term of service; but until I get
reinforcements to supply their places, I shall not venture to
discharge them. Many others are wasted by fever, and, I must say, from
insufficient rations, which not only weakens their bodies, but lowers
their spirits. As long as there was no fear of attack, this mattered
little; but if the English are coming again, we shall want well-fed
and contented men to oppose them.

"I see, by the stars on your turbans, that you are both colonels as
well as officers of the Palace. You are fortunate in obtaining that
rank so young."

"It was due to the sultan's favour," Surajah said. "The other day, at
the sports, a tiger burst into the sultan's zenana, and we were lucky
enough to kill it--that is, my friend did most of the killing. I only
gave the brute the final coup."

"Ah, it was you who performed that deed!" the governor said, warmly.
"I heard the news, from one of my officers who was on leave, and
returned yesterday. Truly it was a gallant action, and one quickly
done. No wonder that you obtained the sultan's favour, and your rank
as colonel.

"I was a sportsman, in my young days. But I think I should have been
more frightened at the thought of taking a peep into the sultan's
zenana, than I should have been of fighting the tiger."

"I did not think anything about it," Dick said, "until it was all
over. I heard some women scream, and, being quite close, went to their
assistance, without a thought whether they might be the ladies of the
zenana, or servants of the Palac