Kirkpatrick nodded, then turned to his men and whispered the order to move.They rose up like ghosts and advanced a little further down the street before turning into a narrow alley. Arthur marked the spot carefully and then went back to the rest of the men and waved them on. The alley wound down a small slope and the hot night air became even more humid as the rank smell of dung fires and sewage filled Arthur’s nostrils. They had nearly reached the small crossroads at the bottom of the slope when a door opened just ahead of Arthur and a man stepped into the street, shouting angrily as he spied the men moving through the shadows towards him. At that moment the moon cleared a thicker cloud and the alley was bathed in moonlight, revealing not only the number of men moving down the alley, but also their uniforms, and Arthur’s white skin.The man’s tirade was cut off abruptly, then he muttered some curse and dived back through the doorway.

‘Damn!’ Arthur growled and jumped after him, thrusting his weight against the door closing in his face. The door crashed inwards and he heard a grunt as the man inside fell back against the wall. Arthur drew out one of his pistols, holding it tightly by the muzzle. The man stumbled out from behind the door, clutching his hand to his nose, and Arthur swung the butt of his pistol down hard on his head. It connected with a soft thud and the man grunted with pain and then collapsed, out cold. There was a shrill call of panic from further within the house and Arthur glanced up and saw the dim shape of a woman watching him from an interior doorway. A child was clutching her leg.

‘Shhhh!’ Arthur raised the pistol and reversed the grip so the barrel was now pointed at the ceiling. He whispered to them in Hindoostani. ‘Not a word, or I’ll shoot. Understand?’

The woman nodded vigorously and backed away into the darkness, drawing her child after her. Arthur looked down for a moment at the man he had felled, then leaned over and shifted him into a more comfortable position on the floor. He closed the door as he stepped back into the alley. His heart was beating fast, the pounding in his ears making it hard to listen to the streets around him. There was no sound of any disturbance, no cry of alarm or challenge from the direction of the camp.