"Be on your guard, Gil," whispered Brace to me in French; "it may be a trap after all. Hush! Look out. I thought so," he cried; and I swung round the muzzle of my rifle, as four figures suddenly came upon us from out of the darkness at our back. The alarm was momentary, for a familiar voice said, as the point of a sword gritted in the sand at the speaker's feet-- "All right. I was growing uneasy about you, and brought three of the boys in case of accident." "Thank you, doctor," said Brace. "We are going in here. The major--" "Hush!" said the doctor, drawing in a hissing breath. "Stand fast, my lads." "If you hear anything wrong," said Brace to the three men who stood sword in hand, "you know what to do." There was a low hiss, more than a murmur, and then we were in the darkness of the mess-room. "I'll shut the door," said Dost, softly. "Why?" said the doctor, quickly. "The sahib doctor can trust me," said the man, quietly. "It is dark. I am going to light a candle. I think the barracks are quite empty, but some of the budmashes might be about seeking to rob, and they would see the light." He closed the door, and the darkness for the moment was intense, while my heart beat with a heavy throb as I wondered whether, after all, there was treachery intended, and Brace's words rang in my ears--"Who can ever trust a Hindu again?" The silence was awful in the moments which followed the closing of the door. There was a faint rustling sound followed by a sharp click click, which I knew was the cocking of a rifle or pistol; then came a scraping sound as of a sword-edge touching the wall--sounds which told me that my suspicions were shared; but, directly after, they were dispelled, for there was a crackling noise and a faint line of light; a repetition of the scratching, accompanied by a few sparks, and, at the third repetition, there was a flash which lit up the dark face of Dost and his white turban; then the match began to burn, and we could see his fingers look transparent as he sheltered the flame and held it to a piece of candle, which directly after lit up the mess-room, one wreck now of broken glass, shattered chairs, and ragged curtain and cloth. I saw all that at a glance, but as my eyes wandered about the room, they rested upon a couch at the side, upon which lay something covered completely by a tablecloth, whose whiteness was horribly stained. I shuddered, and tried to turn my eyes away, but I could not, and involuntarily I followed Brace and the doctor, as Dost went to the couch. "Better keep away, Gil, lad," said Brace, in a low voice, full of emotion. "You will have enough horrors forced upon you without seeking them out."