my that in the morning
Mahmud will be obliged to saddle his own horses."

The King smiled at this reply, but it presently rendered him more
thoughtful and he determined to proceed no farther. In the morning some
hundreds of men and horses were found to have perished with the cold.
Mahmud at the same time received advices from India, that Zab Sais, the
renegade Hindu, had thrown off his allegiance, and, returning to his
former religion, expelled all the officers who had been appointed by the
King, from their respective departments. The King immediately determined
to punish this renegade, and with great expedition advanced toward
India. He sent on a part of his cavalry in front, which, coming
unexpectedly upon Zab Sais, defeated him and brought him prisoner to the
King. The rebel was fined four lacs of rupees, of which Mahmud made a
present to his treasurer, and made Zab Sais a prisoner for life.

Mahmud, having thus settled his affairs in India, returned in autumn to
Ghazni, where he remained for the winter in peace. But in the spring of
the year A.H. 399 Annandpal, sovereign of Lahore, began to raise
disturbance in Multan, so that the King was obliged to undertake another
expedition into those parts, with a great army, to correct the Indians.
Annandpal, hearing of his intentions, sent ambassadors everywhere to
request the assistance of the other princes of Hindustan, who considered
the extirpation of the Moslems from India as a meritorious and political
as well as a religious action.

Accordingly the princes of Ugin, Gualier, Callinger, Kannoge, Delhi, and
Ajmere entered into a confederacy, and, collecting their forces,
advanced toward the heads of the Indus, with the greatest army that had
been for some centuries seen upon the field in India. The two armies
came in sight of one another in a great plain near the confines of the
province of Peshawur. They remained there encamped forty days without
action: but the troops of the idolaters daily increased in number. They
were joined by the Gakers, and other tribes with their armies, and
surrounded the Mahometans, who, fearing a general assault, were obliged
to intrench themselves.

The King, having thus secured himself, ordered a thousand archers to the
front, to endeavor to provoke the enemy to advance to the intrenchments.
The archers accordingly were attacked by the Gakers, who,
notwithstanding all the King could do, pursued the retreating bowmen
within the trenches,