The Rajah's Fortress — page 197: what you’re looking at

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

186 THE RAJAH’S FORTRESS. cut off there too. Several of the savages made a rush for the stockade and clambered over in fran- tic haste. The others would perhaps have imitated them, but a couple of agonizing cries, followed by dead silence, told their fate only too plainly. “ Why did they not fire and put an end to this suspense ?”’ Forbes wondered, and then he remem- bered that he was destined to death by torture. | By the flickering gleams from poor Mombagolo’s lantern that lay burning dimly on the ground, the angry faces were seen closing in around them. One big, burly fellow, the leader apparently, stepped ahead of the rest and cried out in a loud voice in perfect English, “ Sahib Bolton, lay down your arms. You shall not be harmed.” ‘ Do what you will,” said Bolton bitterly, * we are defenseless. But bearthisin mind. You shall pay dearly for this outrage.” The dacoit made no reply. It was impossible to see his features in the dim light, but something about his general outlines gave Forbes a thrill. “We want the Englishman,” the fellow added finally, and this time Forbes thought the voice was familiar. Bolton made no reply, and as the dacoit turned to give some order to his men, the black panther, who had lain concealed all this time in the shadow of the house, pounced with an ugly snarl on the unfortunate man’s breast, bearing him heavily to the ground. The brute hesitated in the very act COLUM 1OOO SS co