Then he heard a cheer from the Rajputs and turned in time to see the Bundella spin in a half circle. Hawksworth realized one musket ball had caught him directly in the face, the other in the groin. He vainly reached to seize the side of Jadar's howdah to regain his balance, but his foot skidded and he slipped backward . . . into a forest of Rajput spears. The flash of a sword took his head. Jadar had never seen him.
That settles one debt, you cocky bastard.
There were shouts from the other attackers still outside the defense perimeter and two horsemen reined their mounts and charged toward Hawksworth and Shirin. As they approached, the elephant began revolving to meet them.
Hawksworth reached down and grabbed the last remaining musket and rose to fire.
As he looked up, he stopped in astonishment, for a second refusing to believe what he saw.
Both Bundelkhand horses were advancing on their hind legs, rearing and bounding toward them in high leaps. He watched transfixed as one of the Bundellas discharged his bow past the neck of his horse, directly at the howdah. The arrow missed Shirin's dust-covered hair by only inches.
Hawksworth lifted his matchlock and leveled it against the rim, wondering for an instant whether to aim for the man or the horse. Then the matchlock blazed and he watched the horseman buckle backward in the saddle, toppling into a circle of waiting Rajput swords.
Suddenly the howdah shuddered, throwing him sprawling against the side. As he pulled himself up, he realized the other horse had secured its front feet against the side of their elephant. The Bundella was staring directly in his face, pulling an arrow from his saddle quiver.
The horseman's bow was already half drawn when Hawksworth heard the sing of a bowstring beside him. As he watched, the end of a shaft suddenly appeared in the right
cheek of the Bundella, buried to the feathers. The horseman's own arrow slammed into the side of the howdah, and he reached to claw at his face with his saddle hand, forfeiting his grip. As he slipped backward off the rearing horse, the Rajput infantrymen beheaded him in midair.