"Come in with me," the Major said, and led the way into the tent, where the lamps were still burning on the breakfast table, although the light had broadened out over the sky outside. It was with grave antic.i.p.ation of evil that the Major took the paper from its envelope, but his worst fears were more than verified by the contents.

"My Dear Major: The General has just received a telegram with terrible news from Meerut. 'Native troops mutinied, murdered officers, women, and children, opened jails and burned cantonments, and marched to Delhi.' It is reported that there has been a general rising there and the ma.s.sacre of all Europeans. Although this is not confirmed, the news is considered probable. We hear also that the native cavalry at Lucknow have mutinied.

Lawrence telegraphs that he has suppressed it with the European troops there, and has disarmed the mutineers. I believe that our regiment will be faithful, but none can be trusted now. I should recommend your preparing some fortified house to which all Europeans in station can retreat in case of trouble. Now that they have taken to ma.s.sacre as well as mutiny, G.o.d knows how it will all end."

"Good Heavens! who could have dreamt of this?" the Major groaned.

"Ma.s.sacred their officers, women, and children. All Europeans at Delhi supposed to have been ma.s.sacred, and there must be hundreds of them. Can it be true?"

"The telegram as to Meerut is clearly an official one," Bathurst said.

"Delhi is as yet but a rumor, but it is too probable that if these mutineers and jail birds, flushed with success, reached Delhi before the whites were warned, they would have their own way in the place, as, with the exception of a few artillerymen at the a.r.s.enal, there is not a white soldier in the place."

"But there were white troops at Meerut," the Major said. "What could they have been doing? However, that is not the question now. We must, of course, return instantly. Ask the others to come in here, Bathurst.

Don't tell the girls what has taken place; it will be time enough for that afterwards. All that is necessary to say is that you have brought news of troubles at some stations unaffected before, and that I think it best to return at once."

The men were standing in a group, wondering what the news could be which was deemed of such importance that Bathurst should carry it out in the middle of the night.

"The Major will be glad if you will all go in, gentlemen," Bathurst said, as he joined them.

"Are we to go in, Mr. Bathurst?" Miss Hunter asked.

"No, I think not, Miss Hunter; the fact is there have been some troubles at two or three other places, and the Major is going to hold a sort of council of war as to whether the hunt had not better be given up. I rather fancy that they will decide to go back at once. News flies very fast in India. I think the Major would like that he and his officers should be back before it is whispered among the Sepoys that the discontent has not, as we hoped, everywhere ceased."

"It must be very serious," Isobel said, "or uncle would never decide to go back, when all the preparations are made."

"It would never do, you see, Miss Hannay, for the Commandant and four of the officers to be away, if the Sepoys should take it into their heads to refuse to receive cartridges or anything of that sort."

"You can't give us any particulars, then, Mr. Bathurst?"

"The note was a very short one, and was partly made up of unconfirmed rumors. As I only saw it in my capacity of a messenger, I don't think I am at liberty to say more than that."

"What a trouble the Sepoys are," Mary Hunter said pettishly; "it is too bad our losing a tiger hunt when we may never have another chance to see one!"

"That is a very minor trouble, Mary."

"I don't think so," the girl said; "just at present it seems to me to be very serious."

At this moment the Doctor put his head out of the tent.

"Will you come in, Bathurst?"

"We have settled, Bathurst," the Major said, when he entered, "that we must, of course, go back at once. The Doctor, however, is of opinion that if, after all the preparations were made, we were to put the tiger hunt off altogether, it would set the natives talking, and the report would go through the country like wildfire that some great disaster had happened. We must go back at once, and Mr. Hunter, having a wife and daughter there, is anxious to get back, too; but the Doctor urges that he should go out and kill this tiger. As it is known that you have just arrived, he says that if you are willing to go with him, it will be thought that you had come here to join the hunt, and if that comes off, and the tiger is killed, it does not matter whether two or sixty of us went out."

"I shall be quite willing to do so," said Bathurst, "and I really think that the Doctor's advice is good. If, now that you have all arrived upon the ground, the preparations were canceled, there can be no doubt that the natives would come to the conclusion that something very serious had taken place, and it would be all over the place in no time."

"Thank you, Bathurst. Then we will consider that arranged. Now we will get the horses in as soon as possible, and be off at once."

Ten minutes later the buggies were brought round, and the whole party, with the exception of the Doctor and Bathurst, started for Deennugghur.

CHAPTER XII.

"Let us be off at once," Dr. Wade said to his companion; "we can talk as we go along. I have got two rifles with me; I can lend you one."

"I shall take no rifle," Bathurst said decidedly, "or rather I will take one of the shikaris' guns for the sake of appearance, and for use I will borrow one of their spears."

"Very well; I will do the shooting, then," the Doctor agreed.

The two men then took their places on the elephants most used to the work, and told the mahouts of the others to follow in case the elephants should be required for driving the tiger out of the thick jungle, and they then started side by side for the scene of action.

"This is awful news, Bathurst. I could not have believed it possible that these fellows who have eaten our salt for years, fought our battles, and have seemed the most docile and obedient of soldiers, should have done this. That they should have been goaded into mutiny by lies about their religion being in danger I could have imagined well enough, but that they should go in for wholesale ma.s.sacre, not only of their officers, but of women and children, seems well nigh incredible.

You and I have always agreed that if they were once roused there was no saying what they would do, but I don't think either of us dreamt of anything as bad as this."

"I don't know," Bathurst said quietly; "one has watched this cloud gathering, and felt that if it did break it would be something terrible.

No one can foresee now what it will be. The news that Delhi is in the hands of the mutineers, and that these have ma.s.sacred all Europeans, and so placed themselves beyond all hope of pardon, will fly though India like a flash of lightning, and there is no guessing how far the matter will spread. There is no use disguising it from ourselves, Doctor, before a week is over there may not be a white man left alive in India, save the garrisons of strong places like Agra, and perhaps the presidential towns, where there is always a strong European force."

"I can't deny that it is possible, Bathurst. If this revolt spreads though the three Presidencies the work of conquering India will have to be begun again, and worse than that, for we should have opposed to us a vast army drilled and armed by ourselves, and led by the native officers we have trained. It seems stupefying that an empire won piecemeal, and after as hard fighting as the world has ever seen, should be lost in a week."

The Doctor spoke as if the question was a purely impersonal one.

"Ugly, isn't it?" he went on; "and to think I have been doctoring up these fellows for the last thirty years--saving their lives, sir, by wholesale. If I had known what had been coming I would have dosed them with a.r.s.enic with as little remorse as I should feel in shooting a tiger's whelp. Well, there is one satisfaction, the Major has already done something towards turning the courthouse into a fortress, and I fancy a good many of the scoundrels will go down before they take it, that is, if they don't fall on us unawares. I have been a noncombatant all my life, but if I can shoot a tiger on the spring I fancy I can hit a Sepoy. By Jove, Bathurst, that juggler's picture you told me of is likely to come true after all!"

"I wish to Heaven it was!" Bathurst said gloomily; "I could look without dread at whatever is coming as far as I am concerned, if I could believe it possible that I should be fighting as I saw myself there."

"Pooh, nonsense, lad!" the Doctor said. "Knowing what I know of you, I have no doubt that, though you may feel nervous at first, you will get over it in time."

Bathurst shook his head. "I know myself too well, Doctor, to indulge in any such hopes. Now you see we are going out tiger hunting. At present, now, as far as I am concerned, I should feel much less nervous if I knew I was going to enter the jungle on foot with only this spear, than I do at the thought that you are going to fire that rifle a few paces from me."

"You will scarcely notice it in the excitement," the Doctor said. "In cold blood I admit you might feel it, but I don't think you will when you see the tiger spring out from the jungle at us. But here we are.

That is the nullah in which they say the tiger retires at night. I expect the beaters are lying all round in readiness, and as soon as we have taken up our station at its mouth they will begin."

A shikari came up as they approached the spot.

"The tiger went out last night, sahib, and finished the cow; he came back before daylight, and the beaters are all in readiness to begin."

The elephants were soon in position at the mouth of the ravine, which was some thirty yards across. At about the same distance in front of them the jungle of high, coa.r.s.e gra.s.s and thick bush began.

"If you were going to shoot, Bathurst, we would take post one each side, but as you are not going to I will place myself nearly in the center, and if you are between me and the rocks the tiger is pretty certain to go on the other side, as it will seem the most open to him. Now we are ready," he said to the shikari.

The latter waved a white rag on the top of a long stick, and at the signal a tremendous hubbub of gongs and tom toms, mingled with the shouts of numbers of the men, arose. The Doctor looked across at his companion. His face was white and set, his muscles twitched convulsively; he was looking straight in front of him, his teeth set hard.

"An interesting case," the Doctor muttered to himself, "if it had been anyone else than Bathurst. I expect the tiger will be some little time before it is down. Bathurst," he said, in a quiet voice. Three times he repeated the observation, each time raising his voice higher, before Bathurst heard him.

"The sooner it comes the better," Bathurst said, between his teeth. "I would rather face a hundred tigers than this infernal din."

A quarter of an hour pa.s.sed, and the Doctor, rifle in hand, was watching the bushes in front when he saw a slight movement among the leaves on his right, the side on which Bathurst was stationed.

"That's him, Bathurst; he has headed back; he caught sight of either your elephant or mine; he will make a bolt in another minute now unless he turns back on the beaters."