It was not until the 4th of April that the force began to march for Lawksawk. It moved by very easy stages. The various bands of marauders posted along the route to harass the march fled as the expedition advanced. These ruffians had been working in concert with dacoit gangs in the districts below the hills, who had thus been able to resist the British troops; but now, finding themselves liable to be taken in the rear, very soon surrendered to the military post at Wundwin, an unexpected but very useful result of Mr. Hildebrand's action. Before the column reached Lawksawk the Sawbwa Saw Waing fled. The town was occupied on the 11th of April. Temporary arrangements were made for administering the State by putting in charge a Burman, Bo Saing, who had held office under the King's Government and was acceptable to the people, and the force turned its face towards Hopong. Meanwhile fighting had been renewed in the south-east. Möngnai returned from Karenni with some men lent to him by Sawlapaw and drove Twet Nga Lu out of Kengtawng. Laikha, Möngkung, and Kehsi Mansam, who had been invited by Mr. Hildebrand to come to Hoypong to meet Möngnai and Möngpawn with a view to their reconciliations, put their own interpretation on this invitation and attacked Möngpawn in force. Peremptory orders were sent to them to withdraw. When the force entered Hopong on the 17th of April, the day appointed for meeting Möngpawn and the Limbin Prince, the town was found in ruins and all but deserted. The Limbin had not come, and Möngpawn was occupied in defending himself against his enemies. The intelligence received showed that Laikha and his allies had not obeyed the order to withdraw their men. Finding that an engagement was in progress a few miles off, Mr. Hildebrand and Mr. Scott with forty Mounted Infantry and fifty Punjabis under Major Swetenham rode for the scene of the fight, which went on for a short time unchecked by the arrival of the British party. The opposing forces had stockaded positions on the opposite slopes of a small valley, and were firing briskly on each other. Möngpawn was induced to cease firing. The Assistant Superintendent, Mr. Scott, went up to the stockade of the attacking party, and the leaders were soon persuaded to withdraw their men, who for their part were only too glad to go to their homes. When the British retired to Möngpawn in the evening, they left the opposing leaders mingled together in good-humoured talk, bragging of the desperate deeds of valour performed in the combat. [Illustration: PADAUNG LADIES--SHAN STATES.]