The Rajah's Fortress — page 66: what you’re looking at

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

THE RAJAH’S FORTRESS. 57 The drifting smoke now hid everything, the pres- ence of the fue being made visible to those above only by a dull, reddish glare. But still without cessation the rifles thundered and the bullets rattled down the steps like hail- stones in a storm. Accurate aim was out of the question, and under cover of the smoke the foe had not been idle, for swarming over the piles of dead they came up right in the teeth of that terrible fire, and it was a startling surprise to Chutney when the swarthy faces loomed up in front of him, more like demons than men, in the weird glare. It came so suddenly that no time was given to sweep them down witharifle fire. The shock struck the whole line simultaneously, and in an instant the fearful hand to hand struggle had begun. Fire flashed from blade to blade; all clash of steel and rattling of sabers, flashing of spear points, and the crash of rifle butts, while above the din rang out the reports of revolvers. But the dead were dragged away, and fresh de mons poured into their places. With a sickening heart Guy saw man after man disabled or taken from his side. In vengeful wrath he flashed his saber as he cleared the space in front of him. A powerful fellow in a green turban suddenly made a spring forward, and grabbed a man from the young captain’s very side. He pulled him to the step below, and then a stroke from Guy’s sabe- COLUM 1OOO SS co