sition close at hand. He was uneasy at the presence of so large a
number of natives in the town, and the precautions that had been
taken against fire, some time before, were now redoubled. Were one
to break out, not only might the whole of the stores collected for
the advance of the army be destroyed but, if Bandoola had his force
gathered in readiness at the edge of the jungle, he might take
advantage of the confusion that would be caused by the fire, and
rush forward to the attack of the town.

Numbers of troops, and of sailors from the fleet, patrolled the
streets in every direction at night but, in spite of their efforts,
a week after the retreat of Bandoola the dreaded cry of fire was
raised. At a dozen points, on the windward side of the town, fires
had been lighted by incendiaries and, as there was a brisk wind
blowing, the danger was extreme. The drums beat to arms along the
whole of the British lines. Orders had already been issued as to
what was to be done in such an emergency and, while a portion of
the troops lined the trenches, the rest were marched at once to the
town, and formed up between it and the jungle, to repel any attack
that might be made there; leaving the troops quartered in the town,
and the sailors of the fleet to battle with the flames.

For a time it seemed as if the whole place would be swept away but,
by levelling lines of huts, and beating out the flames at the
barrier so formed, their progress was at length checked; but not
until more than half the town had been destroyed. Fortunately this
was the half farthest from the river and--with the exception of the
commissariat stores for the supply of the troops of the Madras
Presidency--the buildings containing the food, ammunition, and
necessaries for the army escaped unharmed.

What had happened once might, however, happen again, in spite of
all precautions. The general therefore determined to attack
Bandoola at once as, were his force once scattered, the motive for
these incendiary fires would cease to operate.

The difficulties were formidable. One or two light field pieces
could, at the most, be taken with the column. They would have to
march by a narrow and winding footpath, through a thick forest,
exposed at any moment to a desperate attack by the enemy. Moreover,
it would be necessary to leave a strong force for the defence of
Rangoon, as Bandoola would be sure to learn, from his spies, of the
intended movement and, having with him