Thanks to this precaution the garrison of the outpost was not taken by surprise when one morning the hills around Ranga Duar were seen to be covered with masses of armed men, and long lines of troops wound down the mountain paths.  For from the peaks above the pass through which he had once gone to the Death Place of the elephants, Dermot had looked down upon an invading force of Chinese regulars supported by levies of Bhutanese from the interior and a wild mob of masterless Bhuttias from both sides of the border.  He had flashed a warning to Parker in ample time, returned to the peelkhana and bidden Ramnath hide with Badshah in a concealed spot in the foothills where he could easily find them, sent the other mahouts and elephants out of reach of the invaders, and climbed up to the Fort to watch with his late subaltern the arrival of the enemy.

“Well, Major, it’s come our way at last,” said Parker as they greeted each other.  “Thanks to your warning we’re ready for them.  But we are not the only people who’ve been expecting them.  The wires are cut, the road blocked, and we are isolated.”

“Yes, I know.  Many messengers have got through from the enemy; for my cordon of faithful Bhuttias has disappeared.  The members of it have joined the invaders in the hope of loot.”  Parker looked up at the hills, black with descending forms.

“There’s a mighty lot of the beggars,” he said simply.  “Do you remember our discussing this very happening once and your saying that we weren’t equal to stopping a whole army?  What’s your advice now?”

“See it out.  We’re bound to go under in the end, but we’ll be able, I hope, to keep them off for a few days.  And every hour we hold them up will be worth a lot to those below.  We shan’t be relieved, for there aren’t any men to spare in India.  But we’ll have done our part.”

“I say, Major, wasn’t it lucky we got those machine guns in time?  I’ve plenty of ammunition, so we ought to be able to put up a good fight.  What’ll they do first?”

“Try to rush the defences at once.  They have a lot of irregulars whom the Chinese General won’t be able to keep in hand.  He won’t mind their being wiped out either.  I see you’ve made a good job of clearing the foreground.  You haven’t left them much cover.  So you blew up our poor old Mess and the bungalows?”

“Yes.  The rubble came in handy for filling in that nullah.  Hullo!” Parker’s glasses went to his eyes.  “You’re right, by Jingo!  They’re gathering for an assault.  Gad! what a beautiful mark for shrapnel.  I wish we’d a gun or two.”

A storm of shells from the mountain batteries, the only artillery that the enemy had been able to bring with them through the Himalayas, fell on the Fort and its defences.  Then masses of men rushed down the hills to the attack.  Not a shot was fired at them.  Encouraged by the garrison’s silence and carried away by the prospect of an easy victory, they lost all formation and crowded together in dense swarms.