The Rajah's Fortress — page 85: what you’re looking at

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

78 THE RAJAH’S FORTRESS. tling musketry fire, showers of spears, stones actually torn up from the ground, and from roofs, doorways and windows, descended weapons and missiles of every description. Every man seemed doomed, and as the dacoits realized the vengeance that was about to fall into their hands they raised their voices in one howl of barbarous triumph that fell like a death-knell on the ears of the despairing Englishmen. The colonel, however, seemed to bear a charmed life. Around him men were falling thickly, but still he fought on, a fearful sight to see. A spear entered his thigh, a bullet broke his sword wrist, but he changed his weapon to the other hand, paying no attention to the sword thrust at all. Then a musket ball struck him on the head and he fell into the arms of those behind and was drag- ged out of reach of further harm. The last minute had come. The sun, when it rose half an hour later, would fall only on dead _ Englishmen, for every man resolved to sell his life dearly and fight to the last. Lieutenant Sherston took the colonel’s place, and as the last remaining cartridges had been fired, a cloud of smoke settled down over the horizon. If they had only been able to get clear of the street, for, at intervals, over the heads of the foe, they could see the bamboo bridge that crossed the creek, and the slope of the mountain beyond. Two thousand dacoits were pressing around COLUM 1OOO SS co