“You are quite right, Mr. Hammond, but, you see, I don’t want any of the natives about the camp to guess where we are going.  None of these Oude fellows bears us any goodwill, and one of them might hurry off, and carry information as to the line we were following.

“We will march four miles along this road, and then strike off by another leading north.  We must surprise them if we can.  We don’t really know much about their force, and even if we did, they may be joined by some other body before we get there—­there are numerous bands of them all over the country.  And in the next place, if they knew that we were coming, they might bolt before we got there.

“Besides, some of these villages are very strong, and we might suffer a good deal before we could carry it if they had notice of our coming.  However, you were quite right to point out to me that we were not going in what seemed the right direction.”

The column started at four o’clock in the afternoon.  It had been intended that it should move off at daybreak on the following morning, but Frank had suggested to the Colonel that it would be advantageous to march half the distance that night.

“Of course, we could do the twenty miles tomorrow, Colonel,” he said, “but the men would hardly be in the best fighting trim when they got there.  Moreover, by starting in the afternoon, the natives here would imagine that we were going to pounce upon some fugitives at a village not far away.”

The permission was readily granted, and accordingly, after marching until nine o’clock in the evening, the column halted in a grove of trees to which their guide led them, half a mile from the road.  Each man carried four days’ cooked provisions in his haversack.  There was therefore no occasion for fires to be lighted, and after seeing that sentries were placed round the edge of the grove, Frank Mallett joined the officers who were gathered in the centre.

“What time shall we march tomorrow?” the officer in command of the native infantry asked.

“Not until the heat of the day is over.  We have come about twelve miles, and have as much more to do; and if we start at the same hour as we did today we shall get there about nine.  I shall halt half a mile away, reconnoitre the place at night, and if the ground is open enough to move without making a noise, we will post the troops in the positions they are to occupy, and attack as soon as day breaks.

“In that way we shall get the benefit of surprise, and at the same time have daylight to prevent their escaping.  Besides, if we attacked at night a good many of the villagers, and perhaps women, might be killed in the confusion.

“Tomorrow morning we will cut down some young saplings and make a dozen scaling ladders.  We have brought a bag of gunpowder to blow open the gate, and if the main body enter there while two parties scale the walls at other points we shall get them in a trap.”