rupees.

It struck me that this duty might very well have been performed many
hours before. Why had not a company been detailed to patrol the
cantonment the previous evening, or, at any rate, at the first sign of
incendiarism?

However, I started without delay with ninety Grenadiers, and marched
over a great part of the station, extending the company in skirmishing
order whenever we passed through the numerous large gardens, orchards,
and enclosures.

Not a soul was to be seen, and the place seemed entirely deserted. The
sepoys, after their work of destruction, must have left during the
night, and were now probably well on their way to Delhi, while the
_badmashes_ who had assisted them had returned quietly to their
occupations in the bazaars of the city.

The cantonment presented a complete scene of desolation. The church and
chapel were a heap of burnt-up and smouldering ruins, our mess-house the
same, and numerous bungalows--former residences of the officers--were
still on fire. The heat from the burning embers was intense, and as we
passed slowly by we viewed, with anger in our hearts, the lamentable
results of the timidity and vacillation, the irresolution and culpable
neglect, of one man.

Lastly, we visited the commissariat quarters at the far side of the
station. Here there was no guard, not even a native in charge. Strange
inconsistency! It turned out that, some hours before our arrival, the
sepoy guard, true in this respect to their trust, had procured a cart,