But whether
they are caught or not, Tippoo's vengeance falls upon their
companions. These are flogged, ironed, and kept without rations for
weeks--living, if they do live, upon the charity of their guards.
"This is why there are so few attempts at escape. A man knows that,
whether he himself gets off or not, he dooms his companions to
torture, perhaps death. One case I remember, in which an English
sailor, one out of nine, attempted to get away. He was captured and
killed at once, and his eight companions were all hung. So you see,
even if one of the captives sees a chance of escape, he does not take
it, because of the consequences that would fall upon his companions."
"It is horrible," Dick said, "and I can quite understand why so few
escape. The question for me, now, is whether there are any prisoners
kept in dungeons here."
"Not here, I think. Tippoo's policy is to make all his captives
useful, and though one might be ironed and confined for a time, I do
not think that any are so kept, permanently, here. There were, of
course, some confined to the fort by illness, and some in irons. It
may need some little search, before you are quite sure that you have
seen every one. However, I will try to find out how many there are
there, and to get as many of the names as possible.
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