"They are thought to belong to different centuries," replied the Doctor, "as some of them are of Braminical character, while others were made by the Buddhists. It is believed that the most modern were made about 900 years ago, and possibly the oldest were excavated 1000 years earlier. Every Hindoo divinity has a shrine there, and it is strange that there is nothing certain about their history. The natives say they were the work of the gods, and are at least 9000 years old; another tradition says they were all made by one man, and that he would have excavated more caves if he had not cut his hand so severely one day that he was disabled from further work." [Illustration: MURAL SCULPTURES AT ELLORA.] CHAPTER XXXVI. A SHORT HISTORY OF INDIA.--THE SEPOY MUTINY.--PRESENT CONDITION OF THE ARMY IN INDIA. At six o'clock in the morning after the departure from Allahabad the train brought the three travellers to Jubbulpoor, 229 miles from the junction of the Ganges and Jumna rivers. Here the East Indian Railway terminates, and the rest of the journey was made over the Great Indian Peninsula Railway. The appearance of the country told very plainly that they were no longer in the valley of the Ganges; the broad plain disappeared, and in its place there were wooded hills and mountains which afforded many picturesque views. A few miles from Jubbulpoor the train entered the valley of the Nerbudda River, which was followed for a long distance; then it ascended a steep incline to cross a chain of mountains, and afterward descended to the valley of the Godavery. The Ghaut Mountains of Central India were seen in all their magnificence, and the boys frequently compared the views from the car windows to those that greet the traveller over the Alleghanies, on the great routes westward from the seaboard cities of the United States. [Illustration: RAILWAY VIADUCT IN THE MOUNTAINS.] The mountain passes on this route are the Thull Ghaut and the Bhore Ghaut, which are respectively 1912 and 2027 feet above the level of the sea. The steepest inclines are one in thirty-seven, or about 143 feet to the mile, and there are many tunnels, viaducts, and bridges, as might be expected in a railway through the mountains. Doctor Bronson said the engineering work was excellent, and very creditable to the builders of the road, though it was not equal to what had been accomplished in America--perhaps for the reason that there were not so many difficulties to encounter and surmount. The boys had devoted their spare moments to the preparation of their accounts of India, previously promised, and during some of the long rides in the railway train they read aloud the results of their work. Frank had taken the general history of India for his share of the work, while Fred had prepared a short account of the sepoy rebellion; consequently Frank's composition was the first to be read. We are permitted to examine that valuable document. A SHORT HISTORY OF INDIA. By FRANK BASSETT.