Look how we thrashed the French here, and they were just as well drilled as our soldiers, and there were twice as many of them." The Rajah nodded.
"One secret of our success, Dick, is that the English get on better with the natives here than the French do--I don't know why, except what I have heard from people who went through the war.

They say that the French always seemed to look down on the natives, and treated even powerful allies with a sort of haughtiness that irritated them, and made them ready to change sides at the first opportunity; while the British treated them pleasantly, so that there was a real friendship between them." Dick, finding that the conversation now turned to the time when his mother and uncle were girl and boy together, left them and went downstairs.

He found some twenty horses ranged in the courtyard, while their riders were sitting in the shade, several of them being engaged in cooking.

These were the escort who had ridden with the Rajah from Tripataly--for no Indian prince would think of making a journey, unless accompanied by a numerous retinue.
Scarcely had he entered the yard than Rajbullub came up, with the officer in command of the escort, a fine-looking specimen of a Hindoo soldier.

He salaamed, as Rajbullub presented him to Dick.