ot unlike that
of one engaged in some dejecting reflection.

"By a singular nervous caprice he had raised his hands to his face,
which he had clutched in his agony, and his elbows rested upon the table
in grewsome support of his head.

"This ghastly calm, however, of which he was the center, was to be
interrupted.

"A trumpet blast sounded without the gate; a clamor of voices filled the
air.

"The bagpipes, in anticipation of some show of resistance, had ceased
their stirring strains; within, the silence of an ambuscade prevailed.

"Suddenly, through the unguarded entrance rushed a body of red-coated
soldiers; but their advance was unopposed; the courtyard was abandoned.

"One danger alone remained--an attack from within. But there was none to
receive the detested intruders but the pulseless master, from whom all
majesty had departed.

"Over the grounds they swarmed, through the doors, along the
passageways.

"Abreast of the leading officer appeared the turbaned head and
white-robed figure of Ram Lal.

"As the two entered the apartment and gazed upon its silent occupant,
with the same impulse both came to a standstill, impressed by the
unnatural attitude and the chill undemonstration of the richly-clad
figure.

"'It is the prince!' cried Ram Lal.

"At once the officer turned to command the curious detachment which had
followed them to remain without, and placing a sergeant on guard in the
ante-room, he resumed his investigation of the dead man.

"He had not seen the quick approach of Ram Lal, nor the rapid movement
of his searching hand.

"It was over in an instant, but in that instant Ram Lal had assured
himself of the presence of the precious jacket beneath the cambric
folds.

"'He is dead!' he cried to the officer, as the latter approached to
discover some reason for this shocking sight.

"'He is still warm,' exclaimed the other, as he placed his hand, with
careless familiarity, upon the cheek of the prince.

"'Let us see,' he continued, 'if his heart still beats.'

"As the officer knelt in order to accommodate his head to the leaning
position of the body, Ram Lal stood as one transfixed.

"His hand crept slowly to the dagger upon the table, which he grasped
with an expression of desperate determination as the officer placed his
ear close to the riches concealed beneath the tunic of the prince.

"Kneeling thus, with scarcely a hand-breadth between him and wealth such
as he had never dared to