The Press., 1895-06-06

way across, and nipped off my right leg as clean as surgeon could have done it, just above the knee. What with the shock and the loss of blood, 1 tainted and should have heen drowned if Holder had not caught hold of mo and padded for the bank. l was five months in hospital over it, and when at last I was able to limp out Of It. with this timber toe strapped to my stump I found myself invalided out of the army and unfltted for any active occupation.
 'tIwas, as you can imagine, pretty down on my luck at this time, for I was use- less cripple, though not yet in my twen- tieth year. However, my misfortune soon proved to be blessing in disguise. A man named Abelwhite, who had come out there as an indigo planter, wanted an overseer to look after his coOlies and keep them up to their work He happened to be friend of our colonel's, who had taken an interest in me since the accident. To make long story short, the colonel rec commended me strongly for the post, and as the work was mostly to be done on horseback my leg was no great obstacle, for I had enough knee left to keep good grin on the saddle. What I had to do was to ride over the plantation to keep an eye on the men as they worked and to report the idlers. The pay was fair, had con- fortable quarters, and altogether l was content to spend the remainder of my life in indigo planting. MT. Abelwhite was a kind man, and he would often drop into my little shanty and smoke pipe with me- for white folk out there feel theil hearts warm to each other as they never | do here at home.
 Well, was never in luck's way. Sud | denly, without a note of warning, the great mutiny broke upon us. One month India lay as still and peaceful, to all ap- pearance, as Surrey or Kent. The next there were 2OO 900 black devils let loose, | and the country was q perfect hell. Of course you know all about it, gentlemen a deal more than I do, very like, since reading is not in my line. l only know what saw with my own eyes. Our plan | tation was at place called MUttra, near | the border of the northwest provinces. | Night after night the whole sky was alight | with the burning bungalows, and day | after day we had small companies of Euro | peans passing through our estate, with l their wives and children on their way to Agra, where were the nearest troops.
 | ''Mr Abeiwhite was an obstinate man. He had it in his head that the affair had been exaggerated, and that it would blow over as suddenly as it had sprung up. | There he sat on his vcranda, drinking whisky pegs and smoking cheroots, while the country was in blaze about him. Of course we stuck by him, and Dawson, who, with his wife, used to do the book work and the managing Well, one fine day the crash came. 1 had been away on a distant plantation and was riding slowly home in the evening, when my eye fell upon something all huddled together at the bottom of steep nullah. l rode down | to see what it was, and the cold struck through my heart when 1 found it was | Dawson's wife, all cut into ribbons and half eaten by jncknls and native dogs. A little farther up the road Dawson himself was lying on his face, quite dead, with an empty revolver in his hand and four se- DOyS lying across each other in front of him. I refined up my horse wondering which way should turn, but at that mo- ment saw thick smoke curling up from Abelwhite's bungalow and the flames be-
 ginning to burst through the roof l knew then that I could do my employer no good, but would only throw my own life away If meddled in the matter. From where I stood I could see hundreds of the black 1ends, with their red coats still on their backs, dancing and bowling round the burning house. Some of them pointed at me, and a couple of bullets sang past my head, so \ broke away across tho paddy fields and found myself late at night safe within the walls of Agra.
 ''As it proved, however, there was no great safety there either The whole country was up like a swarm of bees
 Wherever the English could collect in lit tie bands they held just the ground that their guns commanded. Everywhere else they were helpless fugitivos. It was a fight of the millions against the hundreds, and the cruelest part of it was that these men that we fought against foot, horse and gunners, were our own picked troops, whom we had taught and trained, han ding our own weapons and blowing our own bugle~calls. At Agra there were the Third Bengal Fusiliers, some Sikhs, two troops of horse and battery of artillery. A volunteer corps of clerks and merchants had been formed, and this joined, wood en leg and all. We went out to meet the rebels at Shahgungc early in July, and we beat them back for a time, but our powder gave out, and we had to fall back upon the city. Nothing but the worse news came to us from every side, which is not to be wondered at for if you look at the map you will see that we were right in the heart of it. Lucknow is rather better . than loo miles to the east and CaWnpur about as far to the south. From every point on the compass there was nothing but torture and murder and outrage.
 ''The city of Agra is a great place, swarming with fanatics and fierce devil worshipers of all sorts. Our handful ot men were lost among the narrow, wind
 ing streets. Our leader moved across the river therefore and took up his position in the old fort of Agra. 1 don't know if any of you gentlemen have ever read or heard , anything of that old fort. It is a very queer place-the queerest that ever l was in, and l have been in some rum corners too First of all, it is enormous in size. should think that the inclOsure must be acres and acres. There is a modern part
 which took all our garrison, women, chil
 dren, stores and everything else, witI plenty of room over. But the modern part is nothing like the size of the old quarter
 where nobody goes and which is giver over to the scorpions and the centipeds. Il
 is all full of great deserted halls and wind
 ing passages and long corridors, twisting in and out, so that it is easy enough fol folks to get lost in it. For this reason il was seldom that any one went into it.
 though now and again a party witt torches might go exploring.
 t%'The river washes along the front of tho old fort, and so protects it, but on the side: and behind there are many doors, ant