rse was at the
general's door. Stanley hastily put on his jacket and cloak, and
sallied out. The general came down in a few minutes, followed by
Tollemache and, mounting, they rode to the pagoda.

Here Sir Archibald had a talk with the colonel of the 89th, and the
officer commanding the battery of the Madras Artillery. Both were
of opinion that their force was amply sufficient to resist any
attack. The only approach to it from the forest was a long road
between two swamps which, a short distance away, had become lakes
since the wet weather set in.

"Had they taken us by surprise," the colonel said, "some of them
might have got across, before we were quite ready for them, and
might have given us some trouble but, as we shall be prepared, I
don't think that any of them will reach the foot of this hill and,
if they did, none of them would reach this terrace. If an attack
were made from the other side, it would of course be a good deal
more serious, as the ground is firm and they could attack all along
the foot of the hill; but as they cannot get there, until they have
defeated the rest of the army, I consider that, even without the
assistance of the guns, we could hold the hill with musket and
bayonet against any force that they are likely to bring against
us."

"Very well, then; I shall not reinforce you, Colonel. Of course, we
shall keep a considerable number of troops under arms, in case they
should attack all along the line, at the same time that they make
their principal effort here.

"I rather hope that the rain will keep on, until this affair is
over."

The colonel looked surprised.

"I am much more afraid," the general went on, "of fire in the town,
than I am of an attack without. The number of natives there is
constantly increasing. No doubt the greater number of those who
come in are natives of the place, who have managed, since we
cleared out their war galleys from some of the creeks and channels,
to escape from the authorities and to make their way in, either on
foot or in fishermen's boats; but some of them may be sent in as
spies, or to do us harm. I have been having a long talk over it
with Colonel Adair, this afternoon, and he quite agrees with me
that we must reckon on the probability of an attempt to fire the
town. It would be a terrible blow to us if they succeeded, for the
loss of our stores would completely cripple us. They would
naturally choose the occasion of an attack upon our lines for t