n. They had shared his rice with him,
and had requested him to lay in such provision as was necessary for
them; and as soon as it became dark they went out, leaving their guns
behind them.

Busy as the main streets were when they had before passed through
them, they were very much more so now. The shops were all lighted up
by lanterns or small lamps, and the streets were filled with troops,
now dismissed from duty, and bent, some on amusement, some in
purchasing small additions to their rations with the scanty pay
allowed to them. In the open spaces, the soldiers were crowded round
performers of various kinds. Here was a juggler throwing balls and
knives into the air. There was a snake charmer--a Hindoo, doubtless,
but too old and too poor to be worth persecuting. A short distance off
was an acrobat turning and twisting himself into strange postures.

Two sword players, with bucklers and blunted tulwars, played
occasionally against each other, and offered to engage any of the
bystanders. Occasionally the invitation would be accepted, but the
sword players always proved too skilful for the rough soldiers, who
retired discomfited, amid the jeers of their comrades.

More than one party of musicians played what seemed to Dick most
discordant music, but which was appreciated by the soldiers, as was
evident from the plaudits and the number of small coins thrown to the
players. In the great open space, by the side of the market, the crowd
was thickest. Here were large numbers of booths, gay with lamps. In
one were arranged, on tables, trays of cheap trinkets, calicoes,
cloths, blankets, shoes, and other articles of dress. In another were
arms, matchlocks, pistols, tulwars, and daggers. On the ground were
lines of baskets, filled with grain of many kinds, the vendors
squatting patiently behind them. Some of the traders volubly accosted
passers by. Others maintained a dignified silence, as if they
considered the excellence of their wares needed no advertisement.

It was not new, but it was very amusing to Dick, and it was late
before they returned to their lodging.

"I wish," he said, as they strolled back, "that I were a good juggler
or musician. It seems to me that it would be an excellent disguise,
and we could go everywhere without question, and get admittance into
all sorts of places we could not get a chance of entering into in any
other way."

"Yes, that would be a good thing," Surajah agreed; "but I am sure that