Full of this good and important discovery, I ran to Fanny, whose voice was hoarse, and implored her to go to her sister's assistance. Already I could hear voices of men running up the steep path which led from the bazaar in the valley on the other side of the house, and fearing lest, in their zeal to help, a number might break in and discover the two girls naked as they were, I implored Fanny to put on her petticoats and to go and cover Amy. But Fanny had quite lost all self-possession. She indeed went to Amy's room, but on seeing her naked, bleeding and apparently dead, and the gory carcass of the slain Afghan lying on the floor in a lake of blood, she rushed out again, screaming and crying like one demented.

I ran to the door in time to prevent the kotwal from letting any of his men climb in through the window, and I begged him to set guards round the house, to remain where he was, and to send at once for Dr Lavie and the picket of the regiment. Satisfied that my orders were being carried out, and that though bursting with curiosity neither kotwal nor peons would try to get inside the house, I went to Fanny who was crouched in one corner of the room, and endeavoured to assuage her fears, telling her that Amy was only in a faint, and that it was my blood and not hers which covered her body. The poor girl had received so many shocks to her nerves that at first it was almost impossible to rouse her to her senses, or make her understand that her sister must be attended to. I called her attention to the chattering and hubbub outside, and I really was anxious to get her out of the room, for I could hear the remarks made to each newcomer and the ughs! and ohs! with which each one saluted the dead body of the murdered and unfortunate chokidar.

I wished this piece of news not to get to Fanny's ears yet awhile, and at last I persuaded her to go and look after Amy. I threw a dark blanket over the bloody corpse of the abominable Afghan, and Fanny, with visible shudders, picked her way over the blood-spattered floor. She did not seem to appreciate that she was, to all intents and purposes, naked. The Afghan had not, as the one in Amy's case had done, torn her nightdress completely off her. He had rent it from top to bottom in front, and Fanny still had her sleeves on her arms, short sleeves which permitted her arms to be almost entirely seen.

Perhaps feeling the fluttering remnants of her nightdress made her think that she was covered, but as a matter of fact I saw (and as I saw I admired, and as I admired I desired) the whole of her body in front, and she looked bewitching, with her eyes wildly glancing about and her sweet little bubbies rising and falling rapidly as her bosom expanded and contracted with her quick breathing. Her pretty motte, pushing out a little into a perfect cushion, rapidly narrowed to the point where the plump little gem of a cunt showed its deep and tempting line. Her bush was not thick enough to permit me yet to see that line which is visible when a naked girl stands upright and is not conscious that she is displaying her secret charm of charms to an admiring man, and when she sat down beside her completely naked sister I could compare cunts, and fancy which one would give me the greater pleasure to fuck.

Goodness! what strange thoughts do get in a man's mind at inopportune moments! I was perfectly conscious that what I had to do was to relieve Amy, and further search the house, and yet there I was debating those two lovely girls' cunts in my mind, and comparing their bubbies, their forms and their thighs.

I got Fanny the water and bade her sprinkle Amy, and I begged her again to be quick and put something on, for, 'You are perfectly naked, my dear girl!'

'Oh! What does it matter? What does it matter?' she said, bursting into tears again. 'I feel as if I should die!'

'But look, Fanny darling, you must not give in so! Remember, you are a lady and a soldier's daughter, and be brave! That's right, dry your tears. I have sent for Dr Lavie and expect him here. But quick and bring Amy around. She breathes all right,' I added, laying my two hands on her lovely bubbies. 'Sprinkle her well! That's right! She will soon be all right! Then cover her up in bed and get in with her. You have not been half so badly used as she has!'

'How?' asked Fanny, in a voice of surprise.

'She was gagged by that ruffian,' I said, pointing to the dead Afghan under the blanket, 'and he had tied her arms behind her, and I don't know what else he may have done.'

Fanny had been long enough in India to have learnt all about the theory of fucking, even if she had not been old enough before leaving England to know it in that happy land.

She burst out, 'Oh! poor, poor, Amy! Oh! Captain Devereaux, what shall we do? What shall we do?'

I understood her cry.

'Don't be alarmed, dearest Fanny. I don't think the ruffian did any wicked deed that will leave bad results. But I am sure Amy must have fought, and perhaps got badly bruised and hurt.'

I could not tell her that I had actually seen the Afghan's prick in Amy's bottom up to his beastly balls, and Fanny had run away too soon to have seen it herself, and she knew nothing of sodomy at that time. I persuaded her to be brave whilst I went and visited the rooms, saying that I felt sure no other Afghans were in the house, but I would first make sure. Before going, however, I called in the kotwal, and posted some of his men in the passage, shutting Amy's door so that no curious eye could see the naked girls.

The first room I visited was the colonel's bedroom. There was Mrs Selwyn apparently fast asleep. I tried in vain to rouse her. I opened her eyes and the immensely distended pupils told me the reason for her torpor. Opium! Drugged! There had been premeditation, and there must be a traitor, or a traitress, in the house.

I next went to what was called the nursery. There Mabel, a fine girl about twelve or thirteen, slept with the younger children, and an ayah ought to have been there also. But there was no ayah!

Mabel was awake, crying and sobbing. She gave a little shriek as I came into the room, but the moment she saw me, she sprang out of bed in such a hurry and in such disorder that although there was but the feeble little light, burnt as I have said by everybody at night, I not only saw her sweet little cunt to perfection, but could see that already a downy growth was shading the motte, which promised to be beautiful when the season for collecting the ripe fruit from the garden of Venus duly arrived. Mentally I ejaculated to myself, 'I seem to be destined to see all the fuckable Selwyn cunts tonight.' For Mabel could certainly have taken me then, young as she was. I knew the measure of a cunt which would admit my prick by this time. However, let me proceed.

Mabel, delighted to see me and not, as she feared, an ogre or a robber, flew into my arms and hurt my left one and my chest wounds so much that I could not refrain from calling out. She started back and roared when she saw her nightdress all covered with blood. I had great difficulty in pacifying her, but got her back into bed, where I kissed her and begged her to stay quiet. I told her how the robbers had come, and I had killed one, after being wounded myself, and that everybody was safe and sound, and that I would tell her more in the morning. She was a biddable girl and really was very quiet, lying down and promising to be good. I examined the two other children and found them in the same state of stupor as Mrs Selwyn. Evidently they had been drugged and the whole thing was a plot. The ayah's absence assured me of this. Had she run away to give the alarm, help would have come long before, but the kotwal had told me that it was Fanny's unearthly screams that had aroused the bazaar. It seemed plain to me that the mission of those two Afghans had been to rape, perhaps to bugger also, Fanny, Amy and Mabel, and that Mrs Selwyn and the two younger children had been drugged to prevent their adding any outcry in case of a squalling match on the part of poor Fanny and her sisters whilst they were being raped, etc. The man I had killed had done his work better than the fool who took Fanny, for he had commenced by gagging Amy, who could not utter a sound, even whilst she was being buggered, poor child! Had she not been gagged, I would have heard her when I was trying to bring Fanny around and perhaps poor Amy might have been spared. I went back to Amy's room, but dreadfully sick, ill and in pain. She expressed her gratitude more by her eyes than by her voice and she put up her sweet face so imploringly to be kissed that I bent down, though it hurt me to do so, and gave her some warm kisses on her trembling lips. Then bidding Fanny to remain where she was, in bed with Amy, I went to see whether there was any sign of Lavie and the picket.