A day's march from Lalpore they would be compelled to ford a stream.

There the Maharajah's army would meet them, ready, as Maun Rao said in the council, to play at ball with their outcast heads.

There was a feast afterwards, and everybody had twice as much opium as usual.
In the midst of the revelry they made a great calculation of resources.

The Maharajah smiled again as he thought of the temerity of the English in connection with the ten thousand rounds of ammunition that had just come to him on camel back through Afghanistan from Russia--it was a lucky and timely purchase.

Surji Rao, Minister of the Treasury, when this was mentioned, did not smile.