The Rajah's Fortress — page 178: what you’re looking at

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

THE RAJAH’S FORTRESS. 167 sound repeated several times, came from down to- ward the end of the lake. It was no delusion, for all heard it distinctly. ‘The divils have come,” cried McGore. “Just like the sneakin’ cowards to hunt in the darkness.” ‘ Hush,” commanded Bolton, holding up his hand, and as the Irishman ceased speaking, another sound came faintly to their ears, a low, hissing mur- mur that seemed to be all around them, and yet no place in particular. They listened with growing wonder, and a chill- ing sense of indefinable fear. The sound grew louder and louder, swelling in volume till it seemed like the roar of a fast approaching storm, and then like a flash Forbes realized the cause of it. The water was running out of the lake / Bolton groaned, and McGore, only half con- vinced, tossed a paling from the palisade into the lake. Itstruck the water and was instantly whirled from sight. ‘There was no room for doubt. The dacoits had broken a corner of the dam, and in half an hour the lake would be dry. McGore was terribly angry, and running to the nearest loophole he turned the cannon down the lake, aiming as well as he could guess in the di- rection of the dam. He touched a match to the fuse, and as the heavy report thundered over the lake and died away in long repeated echoes, a cry of pain followed by a defiant shout told that the shot had not been thrown away. COLUM 1OOO SS co