His omission proved as fatal as it has done on sub-
sequent occasions. They had i;pached the narrowest
gorge of the ravine without interruption, when on a
sadden a shout was heard from the precipice above
them ; and the next moment a huge mass of earth,
minted with stone and timber, fell directly in the

L



1



146 ^HS WHITE BBUKSWICKEBS.
path, which it blocked up so as to present for the
moment an impassable obstacle. At the same instant
a soldier came galloping up to announce that a strong
body of Mahrattas were attacking them in the rear«
It was evident that they were caught in a trap ; and
the next minute the fact was still more clearly
evidenced hj the appearance of sharpshooters, half
concealed in the crevices of the rocks above, whose
fire emptied saddle after saddle without the least pos-
sibility of retaliation. It was impracticable alike to
advance or retreat ; and the cry for quarter, which
was raised as soon as the hopelessness of the situation
became apparent, was sternly disregarded. At length
the few who still survived unhurt, among whom Trevor
and the two officers were included, succeeded in sur-
mounting, by desperate efforts, the mass of ruin by
which the road had been barricaded, and galloped in
safety through the remainder of the defile.
