The Rajah's Fortress — page 176: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE RAJAH’S FORTRESS. 165 the valley, the advance guard of the natives, pre- mising Bolton’s precaution, had circled round and caught the two spies in their own ambuscade, and now stark and cold they lay in the jungle, power- less to bring the news to Bolton that the foe had arrived. Sunset came on grandly, and then faded away only a dull glow was left visible over the mountains, and still in the gloom Bolton and Forbes paced the stockade, unwilling to go inside. McGore, unper- ceived by the rest, was busy with a little scheme of his own. He had akeener sense of their peril than Bolton, and realized that the chances were decidedly against them. He worked on for an hour or more fumbling about the doors of the cages, and finally with a last inspection that was evidently highly satisfactory, he walked over to the house, entering by the rear gate and climbing in the back window, a strange proceeding that was unobserved by Bolton and Forbes. Then coming out by the front door, he joined them on the stockade. The valley remained in deep silence, and for a wonder the beasts in the forest were all still, a fact which Bolton did not fail to observe. McGore took up his position at the upper end of the stockade and refused to leave. The other points were guarded or were supposed to be guard- ed by the remaining five savages, who, being un- accustomed to this kind of warfare, walked awk: wardly up and down the stockade platform. COLUM 1OOO SS co