"
He opened a box that stood on the divan beside him.
"I have copies here," he said, taking some papers out, "of the
memorials that I have sent in to the sultan, as to the guns. This is
the last. It was sent in two months ago. You see I asked for
forty-nine heavy pieces. Of these, thirty are to replace guns that are
honeycombed, or split. The other eleven are for new works. I asked for
thirty-two lighter ones, or howitzers, and a hundred wall guns. Of
course I could do with less; but to place the fort in a perfect state
of defence, that is the number that I and my artillery officer think
are requisite.
"Of powder, we have not more than a ton and a half, and if the siege
were to be a long one we might require ten times as much. We have not
more than eight rounds of shot for each gun, and we ought to have at
least fifty for the heavy pieces, and twenty for those defending the
path up the hill."
Dick made a note of the figures, in a pocket book he had bought for
the purpose.
"As for provisions," the governor went on, "we ought to have large
stores of rice and grain. The magazines are nearly empty, and as we
have eight hundred men in garrison, and perhaps twice as many women
and children, we should require a large store were we blockaded for
any time.
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