“You believe there’s a prospect of something of the kind now?” said Dick quickly.
“I think there’s always a chance of it, sir; and it makes me venture to say that if I was in command here, shut up in what is half an enemy’s city, I wouldn’t trust to a couple of sentries at the gate. You see, if we were rushed the enemy’d do a lot of mischief before we could rally and hold part of the place.”
“You’d double the sentries again, then, Stubbs?” said Dick quickly.
“No, sir. I wouldn’t wish to be with braver chaps than ours are, but the sort of thing I want to guard against would take place before you could say ‘Jack Robinson.’ And what could four of ours do against a mob of men armed with knives, who think nothing of being killed, because their priests teach that if they’ve only killed a few infidels—meaning us—they’ll be as right as a trivet?”
“You’d double them again?” said Dick.
“No, sir, I wouldn’t. I’d do something much easier, and then have one sentry so as to spare the men.”
“What do you mean?”
“Simplest thing in the world, sir,” said Stubbs—“I’d shut the big gates.”
“Of course. How stupid! Go and give orders for them to be closed at once.”
Stubbs tightened his lips and shook his head. “Not now? Look suspicious?”