The Rajah's Fortress — page 180: what you’re looking at

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

THE RAJAH’S FORTRESS. 169 dry bed of the lake the foe could swarm around the Castle on all sides. Some action must be taken at once. McGore promised to keep a lookout at the lower end. Mombagolo and his five savages were posted at different points along the stockade, and Bolton, at Forbes’s suggestion, went off to put the house in fitting order for a siege in case they should be driven indoors. It was a critical situation, and Forbes saw plain- ly that if the enemy had any kind of a force at all they would experience little trouble in taking the Castle. During the next half hour all was quiet, and Forbes paced the circuit of the stockade, trying to peer into the gloom. The silence was suspicious. The rascals were not idle all this time. Bolton returned presently and announced that the house was ready. ‘The shutters were closed and barred and a large supply of ammunition was inside. They made a round of the stockade to- gether, and at the lower end they found McGore pacing up and down in great wrath. This crafty style of warfare maddened him. “Tf Oi could only git wan shot,” he said. “ Here Oi’ve been waitin’ all this time and not a sign of the enemy yet.” “You'll see signs enough presently,” said Forbes, 99 “and when the storm does burst—— COLUM 1OOO SS co