"'We will see,' said the vile wretch; and making a sign to the soldiers with him, my poor father was seized; and a horse's nose-bag filled with hot ashes being tied over his head, he was thumped violently on the back till he was forced to inhale the hot dust, which nearly killed him. This was repeated several times, on every refusal to tell to Brij Lall what he desired to know. At last nature could bear no more, and he fainted. The wretch then left the prison, particularly ordering that no water should be given. But in this his vile intentions were frustrated; for fortunately some had remained from our morning's supply, and after sprinkling my father's face, and forcing a draught into his mouth, he recovered sufficiently to sit up and drink some more, which revived him." CHAPTER V. "'I thought I should have died, my son,' said my father, at length; 'and see what a black heart that villain must have to treat an old man after that fashion. My curses on him and his! he will prosper awhile, but judgment for this and all his villanies will at last overtake him.' "'Tell me,' said I, 'what quarrel there is between you, and what cause he has to persecute you in this manner.' "'Listen,' he replied, 'and you shall know. Some years ago, when you were but a boy, Jeysookhdas, who was the principal sahoukar in the village, died. On his death-bed he sent for me, and delivering over his family to my care, entreated me as a Moosulman, and one of the faithful, to protect them against this Brij Lall, whom he had in the public durbar at Nagpoor beaten with a shoe, for slandering him in the vilest manner, with the intent of ruining his reputation. In fact, Brij Lall had accused him of making away with some of the revenue: for Jeysookhdas was the channel of payment not only of the revenue of our village, but of those around us, amounting in the year to nearly a lakh of rupees. Fortunately for him, the character of Jeysookhdas stood too high for the aspersions of a low wretch like this to hurt it, and no notice was taken of what he had said. But the insult he had received never left the mind of Brij Lall. He brooded over it, and made every attempt to ruin my old friend; who, as he had powerful enemies at the court, was ever afterwards kept in continual dread of being plundered under some false accusation, or cast into prison. At length however he died; and in our last interview he implored me to lose no time in sending off his wife and family to their country, Marwar, with their jewels and what money I could collect. I did so as soon as I possibly could, under an escort of our people, in case they should fall in with other Thugs on the road.