All these precautions were only to assist his rascality, and they appeared to me all the more surprising, as he had already repeatedly informed me that he had his master's permission to give me a passport, and to let me go where I pleased. But of what are these Moors not capable? Without being blind to the continuance of his perfidy, I flattered myself that it might happen that he would not trouble me on my march when he had received my money. "However this might be, my cannon fired from 10 in the morning till 3 in the evening. Our people, perceiving that the enemy were firing in earnest, did not spare them any more than they spared us, and that which was at first, on our side, only a pretence, finally became serious. At 4 o'clock I received an envoy, who brought me the passport, and to whom I paid the money. He assured me that I might embark my artillery the next morning, and set out the day after without the slightest apprehension of being interfered with, I took my precautions, and, in fear of treachery, kept on shore my two Swedish guns. At last, at seven in the morning, my boats started, having on board only the sick and helpless, and I set out by land with my two guns and the rest of my troop, at the head of which I put myself." This triumph of time and treachery was reported by Sheikh Faiz Ulla's master, Kasim Ali, to Clive, on the 14th of February:[149]-- "I before wrote you that I had sent forces to fight the French, that they had a fort and strong intrenchments, and that we had a battle with them.... ever since I wrote you last we have been fighting, my people have behaved well, and I make no doubt but you have heard it from other people. God knows what pains and trouble I have taken in this affair. The French being shut up in their fort and undergoing much fatigue by always fighting, and likewise being in want of provisions were obliged to run away in their boats by night, and went towards the Dinajpur country. My people being always ready to fight followed them.... They can go no other way but through the Dinajpur country. I have therefore wrote expressly to the Rajah to stop the passage." About this time, though Courtin does not mention it till later, he began to see what the inevitable end must be. He could not cut his way through to join Law, and with the whole country in arms against him he was too weak to hold out for any length of time. Accordingly he sent messengers secretly to Mr. Luke Scrafton, at Murshidabad. It was Scrafton, as I have said above, who wrote to Courtin for assistance when the Nawab of Dacca wanted to take their Factory and imprison the English. Courtin now wrote to him to save him from falling into the hands of the natives, and, on the 18th of February, Scrafton wrote to the Select Committee at Calcutta for the necessary permission.[150] We now rejoin Courtin:--