Page:A history of the military transactions of the British nation in Indostan.djvu/217

Book VIII. part where the fausse-bray was clear of the thick thorny bushes, which had not injudiciously been suffered to over-run it in every other; but the garrison, trusting to this defence, had entirely neglected the ditch, which, by continual drifts after rain, was almost choked up to the level of the plain. The party allotted to the attack were 100 Europeans, and 200 Sepoys; the rest of the troops remained in the watercourse, ready to support the event. Calliaud led the party himself, to whom the method of attack was carefully explained, and strict silence enjoined. The foremost men carried the six shorter ladders intended for the outward wall; the next, the six longer, for the inward; as soon as twenty of the party had got into the fausse-bray, it was intended that they should immediately take over the longer ladders, which they were to plant, as received, against the tower, but not a man was to mount, until all the six ladders were fixed, and then no more than three at a time on each ladder.

The first ladders were planted, and Calliaud, with the first 20 men, had got into the fausse-bray, had taken over one of the longer ladders, and had planted it against the tower, when their hopes were interrupted by one of those accidents which from their triviality escape the most attentive precaution. A dog, accustomed to get his meals at the messes of some of the soldiers, had accompanied them all the way from Secundermally into the ditch, and probably from anxiety, at not being able to follow his masters into the fausse-bray, began to bark; which was soon answered by the barking of another dog on the rampart, and the yelps of both awakened the nearest centinel, who, crying out "The enemy," raised the guard at the gateway, which repaired immediately to the tower. The soldiers in the fausse-bray, finding the alarm taken, instead of continuing to get over the rest of the ladders, endeavoured to mount on that already planted, but crowded on it so many together, that it crushed under them. This communicated the confusion to those in the ditch, and no one any longer did what he ought. In the mean time, the garrison increasing on the rampart hung out blue lights of sulphur, and discovering the whole party