In Times of Peril: A Tale of IndiaHenty, G. A. (George Alfred)
History
In Times of Peril: A Tale of India
Henty, G. A. (George Alfred)
India -- History -- Sepoy Rebellion, 1857-1858 -- Juvenile fiction
Then, as if by magic, from out the thick jungle on both sides of the
path to the ghat, hundreds of Sepoys rushed; while at the same moment
lines of bushes fell to the ground, and showed a number of cannon, all
placed in position. In a moment a tremendous fire was opened upon the
unhappy fugitives. Numbers of them were at once killed in the boats;
some jumped into the water, and, pushing the boats afloat, made for the
opposite shore; while others leaped into the river on the deeper side
and tried to escape by swimming. But upon the other shore were enemies
as bloodthirsty as those they left behind, for there the Sepoys of the
Seventeenth Native Regiment, who had mutinied at Azimghur, were posted,
and these cut off the retreat of the fugitives there. Then all the
boats, with the exception of two or three which had drifted down
stream, followed by bands of Sepoys with cannon on either bank, were
brought back to the starting-place, which is known, and will be known
through all time, as "the slaughter ghat." There all the men still
alive were taken on shore and shot; while the women and children, many
of them bleeding from wounds, were taken off to a house formerly
belonging to the medical department of the European troops, called the
Subada Khotee.
Dick and Ned Warrener were in one of the boats which were still ashore
when the treacherous Sepoys burst from their hiding-place. "The
scoundrels!" burst from Ned indignantly; while Dick, seeing at a glance
the hopelessness of their position, grasped his brother's arm.
"We must swim for it, Ned, Take a long dive, and go under again the
moment you have got breath."
Without an instant's delay the brothers leaped into the water, as
dozens of others were doing; and although each time their heads came up
for an instant the bullets splashed around them, they kept on untouched
until they reached the center of the stream. They were still within
musket range, but the distance was sufficient to render them pretty
safe except against an accidental shot. They looked back and saw the
Sepoys had many of them entered the river up to their shoulders, to
shoot the swimmers: others on horseback had ridden far out, and were
cutting down those who, unable to swim far, made again toward shallow
water; while cannon and muskets still poured in their fire against the
helpless crowds in the boats.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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