CHAPTER XXI.
RETIRED.
Percy had felt hungry when he rode into the fortress, but although he saw his uncle eat as heartily as usual, his appetite seemed to desert him, and he ate very sparingly of each dish placed before him. His uncle smiled.
"You are not such a good trencher-man as you were, Percy."
"Oh, I am all right, uncle; but just at first the thought that any of these dishes may be poisoned is an unpleasant one."
"You will get over it in time. Frankly, I do not think that there is any ground for uneasiness. From the day Gough crossed the Sutlej I felt safe; from the day Gujerat was won I have felt absolutely at my ease. I have no longer the slightest fear of Ghoolab. This district is part of the Punjaub, and the Punjaub will assuredly be annexed to British India."
"Yes, uncle, they say the proclamation will be out in another fortnight or so."
"That being so, lad, Ghoolab's game is finally up. Did I die to-morrow, surely no nominee of his would obtain the appointment of governor, or whatever your people call him, of a district adjoining Cashmere. He may not like me, he may owe me a grudge for thwarting him so long, but he has no longer the slightest interest in my death; and although Ghoolab would without scruple remove a hundred men who stood in his way, he would not run the slightest risk—and there is always a certain risk of a tool turning traitor—when there was nothing whatever to be gained by it."
"I hear that you rode into Rawal-Pindee to meet General Gilbert's column, as it came through."
"Yes, I took all my cavalry over, but by the time we got there all opposition had ceased, and the sirdars were pouring in to make their submission, and beg for forgiveness. So there was no occasion for their services. Of course he thanked me, and said that he would report my offer."