CHAPTER XV 



After furlough — Posted to Bijapur — A city of the dead — Tomb as official 

 rasidence — Mosque with whispering gallery — A dome larger than St. 

 Paul's — My tomb-house — Its advantages and drawbacks — Plague and 

 famine — My next station — The sacred city of Nasik — On plague duty 

 — High-handedness and extortion — Discontent — Riot and murder — 

 Victims of the plagixe — Dacoities and sedition — Pohce measures — A 

 robber chief — His formidable gang — Baffles the pohce — A Police Post 

 attacked — Pursuit — A havildar and his men killed — Vengeance on a 

 spy — Organize a flying column — The robber stronghold stormed — 

 Desperate resistance — Hea\^ casualties on both sides — Capture of 

 ring-leader and his gang — Treasure recovered — A fine body of men — 

 A wounded robber chief in hospital — Some startling revelations — A 

 sporting ruffian — Sedition in Nasik — Mistaken sympathy from the 

 Press — Trial and conviction of the ring-leaders — Inadequate sentences 

 — Agitation renewed — Manufacture of bombs — Art acquired in Europe 

 by so-called students — Murder of officials — A judge shot in native 

 theatre. 



After fui'lough home and some further service in Khandesh, 

 I found myself posted at that dread city of the dead, 

 Bijapur, where most of the official residences are converted, 

 ancient tombs. This place boasts of a mosque with whisper- 

 ing gallery and dome, the latter said to be larger than St. 

 Paul's, also several other beautiful mosques and tombs. 



My particular residence was believed to have been the 

 tomb of two sisters, both famous in their way, but for what, 

 I cannot say. However, owing to the great thickness of 

 the walls, the house, if I may call it so, was fairly cool 

 during the day if kept carefully closed. 



In the evening, however, it was quite impossible to sit 

 anywhere near the house, the heat the walls threw off 

 being absolutely unbearable. Plague and famine, too, 

 were both rife in the district at the time, so that altogether 

 my lot was not a happy one. 



The only compensation was that black -buck were very 

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