Page:A history of the military transactions of the British nation in Indostan, Volume 1.djvu/231

Book III. Sepoys, to attack the few troops he imagined to be remaining there: of these men forty were English deserters. This party arrived near the camp at midnight, when one of their spies informed the commanding officer that the troops which had marched against Mr. D'Auteuil were returned; but he, imputing the information either to cowardice, or treachery, gave no credit to the spy, and proceeded; they were challenged by the advanced guard of English Sepoys, on which the officer of the deserters, an Irishman, stept out and told them, that he was sent by major Lawrence to reinforce captain Clive: and the rest of the deserters speaking English likewise, confirmed the assertion and persuaded the Sepoys so fully, that they omitted the usual precaution of asking the counter word, which would certainly have discovered the stratagem: and sent one of their body to conduct the enemy to the head quarters. They continued their march through a part of the Morattoe camp, without giving or receiving any disturbance until they came to the lesser pagoda. Here they were challenged by the centinels, and by others who were posted in a neighbouring choultry to the north of it; in which captain Clive lay asleep. They returned the challenge by a volley into each place, and immediately entered the pagoda, putting all they met to the sword. Captain Clive starting out of his sleep, and not conceiving it possible that the enemy could have advanced into the center of his camp, imputed the firing to his own Sepoys, alarmed by some attack at the outskirts: he however ran to the upper pagoda, where the greatest part of his Europeans were quartered, who having likewise taken the alarm, were under arms; and he immediately returned with 200 of them to the choultry. Here he now discovered a large body of Sepoys drawn up facing the south, and filing at random. Their position, which looked towards the enemy's encampment, joined to their confusion, confirmed him in his conjecture that they were his own troops, who had taken some unnecessary alert. In this supposition he drew up his Europeans, within 20 yards of their rear, and then going alone amongst them, ordered the firing to cease, upbraiding some with the panic he supposed them to hare taken, and even striking others. At length one of the Sepoys, who understood a little of the French language, discovering that he was an