THE STORMING OF DELHI. 267 



yield a grudging consent. "But don't let me be 

 bothered with them," he grumbled forth. " I assured 

 him," says Hodson, " that it was nothing but his 

 own order which ' bothered ' him with the king, as I 

 would much rather have brought him into Delhi 

 dead than living." 



Early on the morning of the 22nd Hodson, with 

 his subaltern M'Dowell and a hundred picked horse- 

 men, started upon his second visit to Humayun's 

 tomb. " I laid my plans," writes Hodson, " so as to 

 cut off access to the tomb or escape from it, and then 

 sent in one of the inferior scions of the royal family 

 (purchased for the purpose by the promise of his 

 life) and my one-eyed mmdvi, Rajab Ali, to say that 

 I had come to seize the Shahzadas for punishment, 

 and intended to do so dead or alive. After two 

 hours of wordy strife and very anxious suspense they 

 appeared and asked if their lives had been promised 

 by the Government, to which I answered, ' Most 

 certainly not,' and sent them away from the tomb 

 towards the city under a guard." 



Hodson then proceeded to the tomb, which was 

 crowded with several thousands of the "servants, 

 hangers-on, and scum of the palace and city." With 

 characteristic boldness he ordered them at once to 

 surrender their arms and baggage. " In less than 

 two hours they brought forth from innumerable 

 hiding-places some 500 swords and more than that 

 number of firearms, besides horses, bullocks, and 

 covered carts called ' ruths,' used by the women and 

 eunuchs of the palace." 



Leaving the arms and animals in charge of a small 

 guard, Hodson hastened to rejoin his prisoners on 

 their way back to Delhi. 



