examination satisfied the sentry that the man was dead. It
followed, therefore, that he himself must have been labouring under an
illusion as to the distance. He almost gave way to an impulse to thrust
his bayonet through the corpse; but a dead body, seen under the shadows
of night, inspires a certain air of imposing solemnity, which repels
profanation; and this, acting upon the spirit of the sentinel, hindered
him from yielding to the temptation.

"If it were possible for dead men to get upon their legs and walk, I
should say these fellows could do so. I am almost sure I counted only
nine at first. Now there are ten; and devil take me if that fellow,
whom I have examined, does not look as if he wished to have a chat with
me, for the fun of the thing. _Carrambo_! the voices of those rebels in
the town are not very gay at the best; but for all that, they are
pleasanter to bear than the silence of these companions here. There
goes the sing-song again!"

The chaunt continued--

"Lift your hands through the night, and bless the Lord. His truth shall
be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid of the terror by
night!"

Although to the ears of the sentry the chaunting of the besieged was
merry as a drinking song compared with the melancholy silence of the
dead bodies, yet the time seemed long enough to him; and every now and
then he looked towards the camp, in hopes of hearing some sound that
would indicate the approach of the relief guard.

None was heard; and he continued to walk his round, as before measuring
the ground with exact steps.

The dead body which was nearest appeared to remain in the same place;
and the mind of the soldier was becoming gradually tranquillised, when
all at once, on turning sharply round, he perceived that this corpse was
no longer where he had last seen it. At the same instant his eye caught
the shadow of an upright figure gliding rapidly off, in the direction of
the town!

Terror at the unexpected resurrection hindered him for a while from
making any movement; and when this had passed, and he was able to
reflect more calmly, he comprehended all. He had simply been duped by
an Indian ruse; which explained the mysterious addition to the number of
the corpses, and the lessened distance between himself and that which
had been lying nearest.

It was now too late to arrest the progress of the Indian by firing after
him; and, as the giving an alarm would only be to disclose