Two more weary days passed inside the fortified house. Numerous attacks had been made, and though they had invariably failed, some damage had been inflicted on the besieged. As the assailants were retiring in disorder after one of these futile attempts, a big, light-featured man in scanty costume sidled up to the house, waving a sealed letter.
“Quick! let me in!” he shouted. “I’m a sepoy of the Guide Corps!”
The door was hurriedly thrown open, but not before the besiegers had divined the man’s intentions, and bullets whizzed perilously near his head before he was safe inside. Espying our hero, the Guide handed him the letter, and Ted recognized the fellow as Faiz Talab, his brother’s orderly.
He opened the note, and his face glowed. He whistled, then shouted in great excitement, “Hurrah! the Guides are coming!”
“The Guides!” echoed Sir Arthur, and a joyful light came into Ethel’s eyes. Faiz Talab, the Pathan, grinned gleefully.
The letter, dated from Manghur, thirty-two miles away, ran as follows:—
“We were starting for Delhi when the Aurungpore news arrived, and as we pass so close I obtained permission to detach 120 men to your aid. A greater number cannot be spared, as Delhi is all-important. So, old man, tell Ethel I’ll soon be with her.”
The great news quickly spread from one end of the big house to the other. Food was prepared for the bearer of good tidings, and Faiz Talab, Yusufzai, was fêted as he had never been before. He described the route by which the Guides would come, and stated when they might be expected.
“Russell Sahib will be here to-morrow, and by the beard of the Prophet, we shall teach these curs a lesson!” he concluded.
“You seem to know this district well,” said the Commissioner. “You have been here before,” and the man grinned slyly.