"There were only two guards and myself on the rock plateau. I
discussed with myself the chances of my overpowering them and holding
the top of the rock till help came; but I was greatly weakened, and
was not a match for a boy, much less for the two stalwart Mahrattas;
besides, I was by no means sure that the way I had been brought up
was the only possible path to the top. The day passed off quietly.
The heat on the bare rock was frightful, but one of the men,
seeing how weak and ill I really was, fetched a thick rug from
the storehouse, and with the aid of a stick made a sort of lean-to
against the wall, under which I lay sheltered from the sun.
"Once or twice during the day I heard a few distant musket shots,
and once a sharp, heavy outburst of firing. It must have been three
or four miles away, but it was on the side of the Ghaut, and showed
that the troops or police were at work. My guards looked anxiously
in that direction, and uttered sundry curses. When it was dusk,
Sivajee and eight of the Dacoits came up. From what they said, I
gathered that the rest of the band had dispersed, trusting either
to get through the line of their pursuers, or, if caught, to escape
with slight punishment, the men who remained being too deeply
concerned in murderous outrages to hope for mercy.
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