His servants had been accustomed to stand sentry, by turns, at the entrance of the quadrangle, and it was his groom Munsa’s turn to take the first watch that night.  He was to have been relieved by the chowkeedar, Bhowaneedeen; but, in the middle of his watch, he roused the chowkeedar, and told him that he had been taken suddenly ill, and must go to his house for relief.  The chowkeedar told him that he might go at once, and he would get up and take his place immediately; but he lay down and soon fell asleep again.

About eleven o’clock the whole quadrangle was filled by a gang of about sixty dacoits, who set their torches in a blaze, and began to attack Mr. Ravenscroft with their spears.  He sprang up, and called loudly for his sword and shield, but there was no one to bring them.  He received several spears through his body as he made for the door of Mrs. Ravenscroft’s apartment, calling out to her in English to fly and save herself and child, and defending himself as well as he could with his naked arms.  Mosahib, a servant who slept by his cot, got to Mrs. Ravenscroft’s room and assisted her to escape, with her child and two female attendants, through the bathing-room to the outside.  A party had been placed to stab Ensign Platt with their long spears through the sides of his small tent; but they passed through and through the block-tin boxes, and roused without hurting him.  He rushed out and attempted to defend himself by seizing the spears of his assailants; but he received several of them through his arms.  He made for the entrance to the quadrangle, and there, by the blaze of the torches, saw Mr. Ravenscroft still endeavouring to defend himself, but covered with blood, which was streaming from his wounds and mouth.

On seeing Ensign Platt at the entrance, he staggered towards him, but the dacoits made a rush at Ensign Platt with their spears at the same time.  He saved himself by springing over a thick and thorny hedge on one side of the quadrangle, and ran round behind to the small door leading into the bathing-room, which he reached in time to assist Mrs. Ravenscroft to escape, as the dacoits were forcing their way through the screen into her bed-room from the sitting-room.  As soon as he saw her under the shade of the trees, beyond the blaze of the torches, he left her and her child, and the two female attendants, to the care of Mosahib, and went round to the entrance in search of her husband.  He had got to a tree, outside the entrance, into which Deena, Ensign Platt’s servant, had climbed to save himself as soon as he saw his master attacked, and was leaning against it; but, on seeing Ensign Platt, he again staggered towards him, saying faintly bus, bus—­enough, enough.  These were the last words he was heard to utter, and must have referred to the escape of his wife and child, of which he had become conscious.  By this time the gang had made off with the little booty they found.  On attacking Mr. Ravenscroft