I allowed Ghorumsaug to divest me
of the heathenish armor and habiliments which I wore; and having, with
a world of scrubbing and trouble, divested my face and beard of their
black tinge, I put on my own becoming uniform, and hastened to wait
on the ladies; hastened, I say,--although delayed would have been the
better word, for the operation of bleaching lasted at least two hours.
"How is the prisoner, Ghorumsaug?" said I, before leaving my apartment.
"He has recovered from the blow which the Lion dealt him; two men and
myself watch over him; and Macgillicuddy Sahib (the second in command)
has just been the rounds, and has seen that all was secure."
I bade Ghorumsaug help me to put away my chest of treasure (my
exultation in taking it was so great that I could not help informing him
of its contents); and this done, I despatched him to his post near the
prisoner, while I prepared to sally forth and pay my respects to the
fair creatures under my protection. "What good after all have I
done," thought I to myself, "in this expedition which I had so rashly
undertaken?" I had seen the renowned Holkar, I had been in the heart of
his camp; I knew the disposition of his troops, that there were eleven
thousand of them, and that he only waited for his guns to make a regular
attack on the fort.
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