The Rajah's Fortress — page 253: what you’re looking at

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

240 THE RAJAH’S FORTRESS. CHAPTER XXVII,. “1 KNOW YOU NOW, NANA SAHIB.” WE must now take the reader back to Melton Forbes, whom we left at the entrance to the tunnel. It was with feelings of mingled fear and wonder that he passed through this natural gateway in the mountain and entered the crescent-shaped valley, He had barely time to observe the bamboo habita- tions scattered about and the few dacoits that turned out to meet the procession, when he was brought to a halt before the fortress. On three sides this great mass of rocks remained in its primitive steep and barbaric condition, but the front entrance had with wonderful skill been rendered massive and imposing. A flight of steps in the granite rock led up to a platform that rose fifteen feet above the ground and stretched along the entire front. Four bronze cannon of antique Indian design stood grim guard, two on each side of the steps. A high gateway of polished brass barred access to a deep, gloomy ves- tibule, carved from the solid rock, beyond which the dim outlines of a pair of massive doors reared COLUM 1OOO co