Page:Chandra Shekhar.djvu/242

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
The Fate of Amyatt


man that for reasons of his own, he was unwilling to alight from his boat.

The messenger, thereupon, came away from Amyatt's boat, and after having had gone a little off from it, gave an alarm by a blank fire. With that sound were instantly heard the reports of about a dozen guns. Forthwith, Amyatt found that shots from the enemy's ranks were coming upon his boat like hails, and that through some places, the enemy's bullets were actually making their way within it.

Now, the Sepoys of the English replied to their enemy's guns, and the incessant fires from both sides created a tremendous noise. The Mahamedans lay concealed behind trees and houses on the bank of the river, and the Englishmen with their Sepoys, placed themselves under the cover of their boats. Under such circumstances, no tangible result, except a mere waste of powder, could be expected. The Mahamedans lost their patience and violently rushed towards Amyatt's boat with sabres and spears in their hands, bursting into fearful shouts, as they came. This, however, did not frighten the resolute Englishmen. With a firm and unyielding attitude, Amyatt, Golston and Johnson opened an incessant fire on the Maha-

219