Half the fellows were shot down at once; the rest of us made a rush to our swords just as the niggers came swarming into the room.

There was a desperate fight for a moment.

I remember that Subadar Piran--one of the best native officers in the regiment, by the way--made a rush at me, and I shot him through the head with a revolver.

At the same moment a ball hit me, and down I went.

At the moment a Sepoy fell dead across me, hiding me partly from sight.