Our meeting broke up, and I returned to prepare Azima for my departure. I had invented a tale to excuse my absence. I told her that the money which I had gained on my mercantile expedition to the Dukhun was now nearly expended; and although, in her society, and in the enjoyment of happiness such as I had never hoped for, I had been hitherto unwilling to leave my home, yet I could delay to do so no longer without absolute ruin staring us in the face. I added, that my father had placed a sum of money at my disposal for the purposes of trade; with which, if I met with the success I had reasonable ground to hope for, from the letters of my correspondents at Nagpoor and other places, I could not fail of realizing a handsome profit—enough to allow us another continued enjoyment of peace and affluence.

Long and vainly she strove to overrule my determination, pointed out the dangers of the road, the risks to which I should be necessarily exposed, the pain my absence would cause to her; but finding these were of no avail, as I told her my plans had been long laid, and that I was even now expected at Saugor, where my agents had collected the horses I was to take for sale, she implored me to take her and our children with me, adding that travelling was a matter of no difficulty to her, and that the children would enjoy the change of scene and the bustle and novelty of the camp. But this also I overruled. It would have been impossible to take her, not to mention the expense of her travelling-carriage; and at last, after much pleading and objections of the description I have mentioned, she consented to remain; and placing her under my father's care on the morning we were to depart, I took an affectionate farewell of her. Many were the charms and amulets she bound about my arms and hung round my neck, which she had purchased from various wandering Fakeers and holy moolas; and with streaming eyes she placed my hands upon the heads of my children and bade me bless them. I did so fervently and truly, for I loved them, Sahib, with a love as intense as were the other passions of my nature.

At last I left her. Leaving one's home is never agreeable, often painful; for the mind is oppressed with indistinct visions of distress to those one leaves behind, and is too prone to imagine sources from which it might spring, though in reality they exist not. It was thus with me; but the appearance of my gallant band, as they greeted my arrival among them with a hearty shout, soon dispelled my vague apprehensions, and my spirit rose when I found myself in the condition which had been the object of many a fervent aspiration. I was my own master, with men willing to obey me, and—Inshalla! I exclaimed to myself, now Ameer Ali's star is in the ascendant, and long will it gleam in brightness!

I have told you of the ceremonies which immediately preceded our departure on a former occasion; of course they were repeated on this; the omens were again declared to be favourable by Motee-ram, who was our standard-bearer and director of all our ceremonies, as Bhudrinath had been; and we proceeded, accompanied for some coss by my father and Hoosein, who stored my mind with the results of their long experience. Among other things both particularly urged me to avoid the destruction of women. "In olden times," said my father, "they were always spared; even parties in which there might by chance be any, although in other respects good bunij, were abandoned on their account, as, our patroness being a female, the destruction of her sex was considered obnoxious to her, and avoided on every occasion. Moreover, men are the only fit prey for men; no soldier wars with women, no man of honour would lift a finger against them; and you of all, my son, who have a beauteous wife of your own, will be the last to offer violence to any of her sex."

"Rely upon me that I will not," said I; "I was, as you know, strongly against the fate of the unhappy women who died on my first expedition, and, you will remember, I had no hand in their deaths; but I was overruled in my objections, first by Bhudrinath and afterwards by Surfuraz Khan, and what could I do? And it would be terrible indeed to think that the distresses of their party and the unknown fate of poor Bhudrinath were owing to the tardy, but too sure vengeance of our patroness."

"It may be so," said my father; "but let not that prey on your mind; both myself and Hoosein have killed many a woman in our time, and, as you know, no ill effects have resulted from it. But bear in mind what I have said, act with wisdom and discretion, and above all pay implicit attention to the omens, and your success and protection are sure."

We rode on, conversing thus, and when we arrived at the boundary-stone of our village, we dismounted and embraced each other, and I left them and rode on with my men. According to our rules, no one was to shave or eat pan until our first victim fell; and as this was a matter of inconvenience to many of the men, you may be sure we had our eyes in all directions, and our scouts well occupied in every village we passed through or halted at. But it was not till the fifth day that we met with any one who offered a secure, and in every way eligible, sacrifice; we had fallen in with bands of travellers, some going to, and others departing from, their homes; but they had invariably women in their company, and them I was determined to spare, as well for my wife's sake as from the injunctions of my father.

However, as I have said, on the fifth day, early in the morning, we came to a cross-road, and were glad to see a party of nine travellers, three upon ponies, having the appearance of respectable men, and the rest on foot, coming up the road a short distance from us. To our great joy they struck into the road we were about to take. We had halted in pretended indecision as to the road, and when they came up we asked it of them. They readily pointed to the one before us, and although expressing themselves astonished at our numbers, they agreed to accompany us to the village where we proposed to halt, and the road to which we had inquired of them. I soon entered into conversation with the most respectable of their party; and I replied, in answer to his inquiries, that we were soldiers proceeding, after our leave to Hindostan, to Nagpoor, where we were in service. He told me in return, that he and his brother, one of the two others mounted, with a friend and some attendants, were on a travelling expedition; that they had come from Indoor, and were going to Benares, as well for the purchase of cloths and brocades, as to visit that sacred place of Hindoo pilgrimage.

Ho, ho! thought I, these are assuredly men of consequence going in disguise, and I have no doubt are well furnished with ready cash. No time must be lost, as they have come by a cross-road, and have not been seen in our company; there can consequently be no trace by which we could possibly be suspected on their disappearance; so the sooner they are dealt with the better. To this end I lagged behind a little, and imparted my determination to Peer Khan, who rode in the rear of all; by him it was told to another, and thus it circulated throughout the band before we had gone far. I was gratified and delighted to see how, as they became aware of what was to be done, each took his station, three Thugs to each traveller, and the rest disposed themselves around the whole, so as to prevent any possibility of escape. I remembered the road well, for it was that upon which we had travelled before; and what Thug ever forgets a road? I knew also that, although the country around us was open and bare, there was a river not far off, the sandy bed of which was full of the wild cypress, and the bodies could be easily disposed of in the brushwood.

When we arrived at the brink of the river, the man I had continued to converse with begged for a short halt. "We have been travelling since midnight," said he, "and I for one am well tired, and should be glad of rest."

I made no objection of course, for it was the very thing I wished; and dismounting, and leading my horse to the water, I allowed him to drink, and then joined the party, which had all collected, and were now seated; the travellers discussing a hasty meal they had brought with them, and the Thugs sitting or standing around them, but all in their proper places. I was on the point of giving the jhirnee, and I saw the Bhuttotes handling their roomals in a significant manner, when, thanks to my quick sense of hearing, I distinguished voices at a distance. It was well for us that I had not given the signal; we should have been busily engaged in stripping the bodies when the party I had heard would have come upon us. Of course they would have seen at a glance what we were about, and have taken the alarm. But our good destiny saved us. I hesitated, as I have said, and in a few minutes fourteen travellers made their appearance, and came directly up to where we were sitting. They were persons of all descriptions, who had associated for mutual protection, and I had half determined to destroy them also, which I think we could have done, when they relieved me greatly by taking their departure, wishing us success and a pleasant and safe journey.

On one pretence or another I delayed our associates until the other party had proceeded far beyond the risk of hearing any noise, should there be any; and now, seeing everything ripe for the purpose, I called out for some tobacco, the word we had agreed to use, as being least likely to attract attention or inspire suspicion. I had planted myself behind the man I had been speaking to, and as I spoke my handkerchief was thrown! Three years' rest had not affected the sureness of my hold, and he lay a corpse at my feet in an instant. My work was done, and I looked around to see the fate of the rest; one poor wretch alone struggled, but his sufferings were quickly ended, and the party was no more! "Quick, my lads!" cried I to the Lughaees, "quick about your work!" One of them grinned.

"Why," said he, "did you not observe Doolum and four others go away to yon brushwood when we reached this spot? Depend upon it they have the grave ready, or they have been idle dogs."

And it was even so; the grave had been dug while the unsuspecting travellers sat and conversed with us. We were so busily engaged in stripping the dead, that no one observed the approach of two travellers, who had come upon us unawares. Never shall I forget their horror when they saw our occupation; they were rooted to the spot from extreme terror: they spoke not, but their eyes glared wildly as they gazed, now at us and now at the dead. "Miserable men," said I, approaching them, "prepare for death! you have been witnesses of our work, and we have no resource but your destruction for our own preservation."

"Sahib," said one of them, collecting his energies, "we are men, and fear not to die, since our hour is come;" and he drew himself up proudly and gazed at me. He was a tall, powerful man, well armed, and I hesitated to attack him.

"I give you one alternative," said I; "become a Thug, and join our band—you shall be well cared for, and you will prosper."

"Never!" he exclaimed; "never shall it be said that Tilluk Sing, the descendant of a noble race of Rajpoots, herded with murderers, and lived on their unblessed gains. No! if I am to die, let it be now. Ye are many; but if one among you is a man, let him step forward, and here on this even sand I will strike one blow for my deliverance;" and he drew his sword, and stood on the defensive.

"I am that man," cried I, though the band with one voice earnestly dissuaded me from the encounter, and declared that he was more than a match for me: "I am that man; now take your last look on the heavens and the earth, for by Alla you never quit this spot!"

"Come on, boasting boy!" he exclaimed; "give me but fair play, and bid none of your people interfere, and it may not be as you say."

"Hear, all of you," cried I to them; "meddle not in this matter—'tis mine, and mine only. As for the other, deal with him as ye list;" and in an instant more he was numbered with the dead.

"These are your cowardly tricks," cried the Rajpoot, now advancing on me, for he had stood contemplating the fate of his companion; "my end may follow his, but I shall die the death of a soldier, and not that of a mangy dog as he has done."

I have before told you, Sahib, that my skill in the use of every weapon was perfect, thanks to my good instructor; and I had never relaxed in those manly exercises which fit a man for active combat whenever he shall be called into it. My sword was the one Nuwab Subzee Khan had so much admired, and I felt the confidence of a man when he has a trusty weapon in his hand and knows how to wield it. I have said that the Rajpoot advanced on me; he had no shield, which gave me an immense advantage, but the odds were in his favour from his height and strength, yet these are a poor defence against skill and temper.

He assailed me with all his force and fury; blow after blow I caught on my sword and shield, without striking one myself; he danced round me after the fashion of his people, and now on one leg now on the other, he made wild gyrations, and at intervals rushed upon me, and literally rained his blows at my person; but I stood fixed to the spot, for I knew how soon this mode of attack must exhaust him, and the loose sand of the river added to his fatigue. At length he stood still and glared on me, panting for breath. "Dog of a Kafir!" cried he, "son of an unchaste mother, will nothing provoke thee to quit that spot?"

"Kafir!" I exclaimed, "and son of a Kafir, thy base words have sealed thy fate;" and I rushed on him. He was unprepared for my attack, made a feeble and uncertain blow at me, which I caught on my shield, and the next instant my sword had buried itself deep in his neck. He fell, and the blood gushed from the wound and from his mouth.

"Shookur Khoda!" exclaimed Peer Khan, "you have settled his business nobly; let me embrace thee;" and he folded me in his arms.

The Rajpoot was not dead; he had sufficient strength remaining to raise himself up on his arm, and he looked at me like a devil; he made many attempts to speak; his lips moved but no sound followed, as the blood prevented utterance, "Some of you put him out of his pain," said I; "the man behaved well, and ought not to suffer."

Peer Khan took my sword and passed it through his heart; he writhed for an instant, and the breath left his body. "Away with him!" cried I, "we have loitered too long already."

The Lughaees took him by his legs and arms, to avoid his blood, and carried him away; others strewed a quantity of dry sand over the spot where he had fallen, and in a few minutes more we were pursuing our way as if nothing had happened. After this proof of my personal courage and skill, I may safely say I was almost adored by the whole band. They all assured me that a Thug having killed a traveller and a soldier in fair open combat was an unprecedented circumstance, and only required to be known to make me the envy of old and young, and I gloried in what I had done; their praise was sweet incense to my vanity.

The booty we got from the merchant and his brother was rich, and was of itself a fair amount of booty for any expedition. Some were even for turning back, but they were only two or three voices, and were easily overruled. "It would be a shame," I said, "if, while fortune favoured us, we did not take advantage of our good luck." Sahib, we continued our march, and when we had reached Saugor we had killed nineteen other travellers, without, however, having obtained much plunder; ten, fifteen, and, on one occasion only, nearly a hundred rupees, were as much as any of them afforded us.

The town of Saugor was, and is now, a large and busy place, built on the edge of an immense lake, nearly as large as that of the Hoosein Sagor; the cooling breezes which travel over it make it a delightful spot. We encamped on the border of the lake near the town. For the four days we remained there, we daily perambulated the bazars, and frequented the shops of Bhuttearas, one of whom was well known to Peer Khan, and whom we paid handsomely for information. He promised to be on the look-out for us, and on the third day after our arrival, Peer Khan came to me in the evening, as I sat before the entrance of my little tent, smoking and enjoying the delightful breeze which came over the vast sheet of water spread before me.

"Meer Sahib," said he, "the Bhutteara is faithful; he has got news of a Sahoukar going our road, who is to leave this place in about a week; he says we are certain of him, but that we must quit this spot, and march about within a few coss of the town, leaving two or three men with him to carry information."

"Ul-humd-ul-illa!" cried I, "he is a worthy man; we will listen to his advice, and be off to-morrow early. Three of the best runners shall stay here as he counsels to bring us the news."

"But he stipulates for a large reward in case we are successful."

"I see nothing against it," said I; "he will be worthy of it if he is true to his word."

"Oh, for that you need not fear; he is faithful so long as you pay him."

"Then he shall have it. How much does he want?"

"Two hundred rupees if we get five thousand," he replied; "double, if we get ten; and in proportion if between one and the other."

"If the Sahoukar is rich, Khan," said I, "we can well spare what he asks; so go and tell him he shall have it."

"I go," he said: "should I not return, conclude that I have stayed with him." He sought out the men he required to accompany him, and taking them and a small bundle of clothes with him, I watched him far beyond the precincts of our camp on his way to the town.