The Rajah's Fortress — page 278: what you’re looking at

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

THE RAJAH’S FORTRESS. 265 ridor was tightly fastened. Together they went over every inch of the inner room, but without SUCCESS. The walls and the floor were of solid stone, and if a secret passage existed, as must be the case, it was beyond their ingenuity to find it. They gave up the search, and going back to the robber’s apartments, held a council to determine what had best be done. It was pitiful to see how tney tried to hope against hope and cheerfully proposed impossible plans. Guy wanted to sally out at once and either gain the open air or die fighting to the last in the corridor. Loyd and Carew were of the same opinion, only they were notin such a hurry to throw away their lives. “It would do as well to-morrow,” said Loyd, coolly. ‘Suppose we take a night’s rest on this Hindoo’s soft rugs.” But it remained for Forbes to infuse fresh hope into their hearts. He related his adventures from the time he started on that perilous journey down the Chindwin to the capture of the castle by the | dacoits. He held out the encouragement that Bolton might come to their aid with as many of the hill tribes as he could gather at short notice; and he proposed that they should stand a siege for a few COLUM 1OOO SS co