"Among the nobles there had hitherto been the silence of stupefaction. But at last, one of their number, an elderly man, advanced, and prostrated himself on the rich carpet spread in front of the dais, thus rendering public homage to his rightful king. 'Jai, jai, jai!' shouted the mob, and soon a dozen others among the nobles had given the pledge of fealty.
"Meanwhile the kinglet on the throne of gold had been forgotten. He had made no move, but had contented himself with staring around in confused and helpless surprise. But now Todar Rao, the sirdar, had sprung to his side and dragged the youth to his feet.
"'O princes and people, this is your rightful king,' cried the soldier in stentorian tones, 'crowned and proclaimed and accepted by your pledges of loyalty. My orders to the troops are death to those who now betray him.'
"But the words had hardly passed his lips, when two score of the mountaineers, shouting 'Deen, deen,—Kill, kill,' had swarmed over the silver railings surrounding the throne. There was the momentary clash of steel on steel, the impotent curse of an angry man, a shrill pitiful cry of anguish from the youth who in his terror had crouched behind the awnings descending from the canopy. And when the tribesmen again faced the multitude, the soldierly figure of Todar Rao had disappeared, and the throne was vacant for the reception of its rightful occupant.
"Amidst a wild tumult of joy the young prince ascended from the dais and took the royal seat, showing in his every movement the natural grace and dignity that might almost in themselves have proved his right of heritage, and that certainly won to his cause the last waverers among the onlooking multitude. Even the bodyguard of the slain sirdar were now joining in the universal acclaim.
"The first to bend a knee to the rightful king enthroned was the royal queen, his mother. And then the lady stepped back, a little to the rear and to the side of the throne, drawing her silken sari over the lovely countenance that would never again be beholden by the people.
"'Never again!' The thought had scarce passed through my mind, as I watched the scene from the fringe of the crowd, when a more grim and terrible reality was given to the unspoken words than I had ever intended. Close to the spot where the maharanee had halted were some hangings of brocade arranged, as we understood later, so that the seated and veiled figure of a woman might observe the brilliant pageantry of the day from the privacy of this purdah.
"And from out these hangings there now stretched, stealthily but swiftly, a bejewelled hand, which plunged a long dagger between the shoulders of the queen mother.
"Without a cry she fell. I was quickly by her side, and the young maharajah and myself, as we bent over her, caught her dying words.
"'All is well, my beloved son,' she murmured. 'I have accomplished that which I was sent into the world to perform. In peace I yield my soul to God.'