e immense city in which, as he supposed, his lot was
for some time to be cast.

He made his way first to the Chandni Chauk, and was amazed at the shops
which lined that thoroughfare. He had seen shops in Peshawar, but none
like these. The street was thronged, and the people were talking
excitedly in groups. Hovering on the outskirts of one of these he heard
the name of Bakht Khan frequently mentioned, and by and by made out that
this rebel artillery officer was expected to arrive shortly with a vast
host which would sweep all the Feringhis before it. He went on until he
reached the palace, and stood for some time watching the streams of
people coming and going--officers, court officials, scribes,
bankers--all showing signs of the same excitement. Then he passed on by
the palace wall until he reached the Calcutta gate, and saw the fort of
Selimgarh stretching out into the river, and learnt from a bystander
whom he ventured to address that it was by this very route that the
first mutineers had ridden in from Meerut; and there, a little to the
left, was the Magazine, the scene of Lieutenant Willoughby's great
exploit, when, after defending his post with nine companions against a
horde of assailants, he at last blew it up rather than let it fall into
the hands of the rebels.

When midday came he was tired and hungry, and returned to the serai for
a meal. Later in the day, when the heat was past, he unloaded his bales,
hired a coolie, and set forth to offer his wares to the Prince Mirza
Mogul, subahdar of the volunteer regiment of native infantry, who seemed
to be one of the most important persons in the city. But on arriving at
the head-quarters of the regiment he found that the prince had gone to
attend a darbar at the palace. Some of the subordinate officers,
however, were curious to see the contents of the bale he had brought,
and he displayed before them the fabrics he had purchased in Karnal with
money given him by Hodson Sahib. Many of the officers, in spite of their
having received little or no pay from the King of Delhi, were rich with
the spoils of looted provincial treasuries, and were quite ready to
bargain for the many-coloured shawls whose merits Ahmed extolled with
oriental extravagance.

It takes a long time to conclude a bargain in the East, and Ahmed knew
enough of the part he was to play to make no attempt to shorten the
business. After haggling for an hour or two he allowed the purchasers to
buy some o