Onward the mob swept through the city, again and again vociferously proclaiming Ahmad Khan, Raja of Jhansi. The joy of the Hindus over their deliverance from Foreign rule gave place to alarm. They watched with misgiving a second _coup d' etat_ on the part of their hereditary enemies, and began to wonder whether they would not fare worse under the rule of a follower of Mohammed, than they had done under that of the Foreigner. In her palace the Rani anxiously awaited news of the surrender. Through Ahmad she had given the assurance that the Foreigners' lives would be spared. This course she had strenuously urged upon her lieutenant. Apart from her womanly repugnance to ruthless slaughter, she clearly perceived the advantage she would gain by holding them as prisoners to exchange for the recognition of her right to the throne of Jhansi. To kill the innocent, the already defeated, did not occupy a thought in her mind. The news came swift and ominous. Not only had a tragedy taken place, but her own authority was in danger of usurpation. The exultant Mohammedan cry rolled forward to the walls of the palace. It penetrated to the Rani's ears at first as a welcome sound; but as it rose in the courtyard bearing aloft the name of Ahmad Khan, a disquieting thought flashed into her brain. She hurried to the _Darbar_ hall, entering at one end, as Ahmad, surrounded by his officers, crossed the threshold at the other. The Rani halted and waited. Intuitively she gleaned confirmation of her sudden alarm from their faces. Ahmad advanced and saluted her with pointed courtesy. He was a tall, powerfully built man, whose swarthy irregular features indicated a mingling of low caste blood. As a whole his face was not unhandsome, though the expression of his mouth and chin denoted cruelty and treachery--the latter, perhaps, an accomplishment rather than a failing to the Oriental mind. "Greeting, fair Lady," he exclaimed. "Jhansi is won. The Foreigners have surrendered." She directed a searching glance to read the veiled meaning expressed in his intonation as well as in his manner. "They have surrendered. Then where are they"? she asked. "Hast thou not brought any of them hither"? A cruel smile broke upon Ahmad's face as he turned and pointed with the blade of his sword to the open doorway, through which could be caught a glimpse of the surging mob without, uplifting their bloody trophies. "Aye," he explained, "I have brought some of them here. The rest I have sent to a secure prison." His gesture was observed by his followers. The shout rose with greater volume than before-- "_Deen! Deen! Futteh. Mohammed._" "Success to the Faith of Mohammed." For a moment the Rani covered her eyes with her hands, as if to blot out the gruesome spectacle. Then she demanded sternly-- "Why hast thou done this, my Lord? Surely thou hast not killed them all"? "Aye, all, fair Lady. And why not"? he returned, in plausible accents.