they only had ten rounds of ball cartridge, and that must be
nearly used up by this time. They will have to make up their cartridges
in future, and cast their bullets, unless they can get a supply from
some of the other mutineers."

"Well, you will send for us in four hours, Major?"

"You need not be afraid of my forgetting."

Dawn was just breaking when the relief were called up; the firing had
died away, and all was quiet.

"You will take command here, Rintoul," the Major said. "I should keep
Farquharson up here, if I were you, and leave the Doctor and Bathurst to
look after things in general. I think, Doctor, it would be as well if we
appointed Bathurst in charge of the general arrangements of the house.
We have a good amount of stores, but the servants will waste them if
they are not looked after. I should put them on rations, Bathurst; and
there might be regular rations of things served out for us too; then
it would fall in your province to see that the syces water and feed the
horses. You will examine the well regularly, and note whether there is
any change in the look of the water. I think you will find plenty to
do."

"Thank you, Major," Bathurst said. "I appreciate your kindness, and
for the present, at any rate, will gladly undertake the work of looking
after the stores and servants; but there is one thing I have been
thinking of, and which I should like to speak to you about at once, if
you could spare a minute or two before you turn in."

"What is that, Bathurst?"

"I think that we are agreed, Major, that though we may hold this place
for a time, sooner or later we must either surrender or the place be
carried by storm."

Major Hannay nodded.

"That is what it must come to, Bathurst. If they will at last grant
us terms, well and good; if not, we must either try to escape or die
fighting."

"It is about the escape I have been thinking, Major; as our position
grows more and more desperate they will close round us, and although we
might have possibly got through last night, our chances of doing so when
they have once broken into the inclosure and begin to attack the house
itself are very slight. A few of us who can speak the language well
might possibly in disguise get away, but it would be impossible for the
bulk of us to do so."

"I quite see that, Bathurst."

"My proposal is, Major, that we should begin at once to mine; that is,
to drive a gallery from the cellar, and to carry it on steadily