Jack inspected the three best of the barrels; the British government markings stamped on the outside suggested that they had been stolen from some garrison, possibly during the Mutiny. Jack remembered his mission to search for stolen Enfields, briefly wondered if there was a connection, and dismissed the thought. His priority now was to get his men to safety. All other considerations were secondary.
He started as something crashed against the wall, realised that it was only a jezzail bullet, and rolled the powder kegs immediately beneath the hatch.
"Sawan! Drop me your bayonet!"
Using the tip of the blade, Jack made a hole in each of the barrels. The coarse-grained powder inside was dry but probably more volatile than he would have liked. Casting around for a fuse, he grabbed at the bun
