India -- History -- Sepoy Rebellion, 1857-1858 -- Fiction
They at once moved forward to the wall of the house. Bathurst threw up
a knotted rope, to which was attached a large hook, carefully wrapped in
flannel to prevent noise. After three or four attempts it caught on the
parapet. Bathurst at once climbed up. As soon as he had gained the flat
terrace, Rujub followed him; they then pulled up the rope, to the lower
end of which a rope ladder was attached, and fastened this securely;
then they went to the inner side of the terrace and looked down onto
the courtyard. Two men were standing at one of the grated windows of the
prison room, apparently looking in; six others were seated round a fire
in the center of the court.
Bathurst was about to turn away when Rujub touched him and pointed to
the two men at the window, and then stretched out his arms towards them.
Presently they turned and left the window, and in a leisurely way walked
across the court and entered a room where a light was burning close to
the grate. For two or three minutes Rujub stood in the same position,
then his arms dropped.
“They have gone into the guard room to sleep,” he said; “there are two
less to trouble you.”
Then he turned towards the group of men by the fire and fixed his gaze
upon them. In a short time one of them wrapped himself in his cloth and
lay down. In five minutes two others had followed his example. Another
ten minutes passed, and then Rujub turned to Bathurst and said, “I
cannot affect the other three; we cannot influence everyone.”
“That will do, Rujub, it is my turn now.”
After a short search they found stairs leading down from the terrace,
and after passing through some empty rooms reached a door opening into
the courtyard.
“Do you stay here, Rujub,” Bathurst said. “They will take me for one of
themselves. If I succeed without noise, I shall come this way; if not,
we will go out through the gate, and you had best leave by the way we
came.”
The door was standing open, and Bathurst, grasping a heavy tulwar, went
out into the courtyard. Keeping close to the house, he sauntered along
until he reached the grated windows of the prison room. Three lamps were
burning within, to enable the guard outside to watch the prisoners. He
passed the two first windows; at the third a figure was standing. She
shrank back as Bathurst stopped before it.
“It is I, Miss Hannay--Bathurst. Danger threatens you, and you must
escape at once. Rabda is waiting for you outside. Please go to the door
and stand there until I open it. I have no doubt that I shall succeed,
but if anything should go wrong, go and lie down again at once.”
Without waiting for an answer, he moved towards the fire.
“Is that you, Ahmed?” one of the warders said. “We all seem sleepy this
evening, there is something in the air; I felt half inclined to go off
myself.”
“It is very hot tonight,” Bathurst replied.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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