Captain Douglas, who was then the Commandant of the Palace Guard, instantly ordered the Calcutta Gate to be closed.
This was done, and he sought the presence of the King, who, supporting his tottering limbs with a staff, met him in the Hall of Audience.
“Your Majesty,” cried Douglas, in an excited tone, “the Sepoys have revolted!”
“Have they so?” the King answered, with a cunning leer, his palsied limbs shaking with joy that caused his heart to quicken its pulsations.
“Have they so!” Douglas echoed, in astonishment. “Is that the only answer your Majesty has to make?”
“The only answer, Douglas. What can we do?”
“Do!—blow them to pieces with our guns!” was the reply of the brave Englishman.
Through the open windows of the Palace came the cry of the insurgents—
“We have killed the English in Meerut. Long live the King of Delhi. We have come to restore the Dynasty, to raise the House of Timour, to fight for the Faith!”
The King smiled with satisfaction, and Douglas, seeing the treachery of the King, hurried away to join the other Europeans of the guard.