pleased until the siege operations began in earnest. The next few days
were accordingly spent, as Dick said, in eating and talking.

Every regiment in camp was anxious to hear the tale of the siege of
Lucknow, and of the Warreners' personal experience in entering and leaving
the besieged Residency; and accordingly they dined, lunched, or
breakfasted by turns with every mess in camp. They were indeed the heroes
of the day; and the officers were much pleased at the simplicity with
which these gallant lads told their adventures, and at the entire absence
of any consciousness that they had done anything out of the way. In fact,
they rather regarded the whole business as two schoolboys might regard
some adventure in which they had been engaged, Dick, in particular,
regarding all their adventures, with the exception only of the sufferings
of the garrison of Lucknow, in the light of an "immense lark."

In the meantime, the troops were working day and night in the trenches and
batteries, under the directions of the engineer officers; and every heart
beat high with satisfaction that, after standing for months on the
defensive, repelling continual attacks of enormously superior numbers, at
last their turn had arrived, and that the day was at hand when the long-
deferred vengeance was to fall upon the bloodstained city.




CHAPTER XVIII.

THE STORMING OF DELHI.