Charlie determined to attempt, in the first place, to carry Guzarow; as in this, which was considered the most inaccessible, the rajah himself had taken up his position, having with him all his treasure. Charlie saw that it would be next to impossible, with so small a force, to carry it by a direct attack, by the road which led to it, as this was completely covered by its guns. It appeared to him, however, that the rocks upon which it stood were, by no means, inaccessible. He left twenty men to guard his guns, placed a guard of ten upon the road leading up to the fort, to prevent the inhabitants from sending up news of his intentions to the garrison, who had, with that of Suzarow, kept up a fire from their guns upon the town, since his arrival there. The moon was not to rise until eleven o'clock, and at nine Charlie marched, with a hundred and seventy men, from the town. Making a considerable detour, he found himself, at half past ten, at the foot of the rocks, rising almost sheer from the upper part of the hill. He was well provided with ropes and ladders. The most perfect silence had been enjoined upon the men and, in the darkness, the march had been unseen by the enemy. While waiting for the moon to rise, the troopers all wound pieces of cloth, with which they had come provided, round their boots, to prevent these from making a noise, by slipping or stumbling on the rocks. When the moon rose, the ascent of the rocks began at the point which Charlie had, after a close inspection through a telescope, judged to be most accessible. The toil was very severe. One by one, the men climbed from ledge to ledge, some of the most active hill men, from northern India, leading the way, and aiding their comrades to follow them, by lowering ropes, and placing ladders at the most inaccessible spots. All this time, they were completely hidden from the observation of the garrison, above. At last, the leaders of the party stood at the foot of the walls, which rose a few feet from the edge of the cliff. The operation had been performed almost noiselessly. The ammunition pouches had been left behind, each man carrying ten rounds in his belt. Every piece of metal had been carefully removed from their uniforms, the very buttons having been cut off, lest these should strike against the rocks; and the muskets had been swathed up in thick coverings. The men, as they gained the upper ridge, spread along at the foot of the walls, until the whole body had gathered there. They could hear the voices of the sentries, thirty feet above them; but these, having no idea of the vicinity of an enemy, did not look over the edge of the wall. Indeed, the parapets of the Indian fortifications were always so high, that it was only from projecting towers that the foot of the wall could be seen.