Page:Chandra Shekhar.djvu/258

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The Dance


there, retook the fort. Ellis and his men fell into the hands of the Mahamedans, and were brought to Monghyr, as prisoners of war. After that, both sides were preparing for a struggle, in right earnest. Gurgan Khan was conferring with the Jagatsetts on that momentous subject—the dance was merely an excuse for their meeting; neither the Jagatsetts nor Gurgan Khan were enjoying it. Their indifference to music, on such an occasion, was by no means unnatural; for, who organizes such a meeting for the sake of dance and music?

Gurgan Khan arrived at a final decision—he thought that when war would exhaust both the parties, he would defeat both the Nawab and the English, and install himself on the Guddee of Bengal. But the first thing that was required for the accomplishment of such an object, thought Gurgan Khan, was to keep the soldiers of the Nawab absolutely under his own control. The soldiers, however, would not fight for him unless he could win them over by money. But it was impossible for him to have sufficient funds unless the Sett Plutuses would come to his help. It was, therefore, absolutely necessary for Gurgan Khan to take the Jagatsetts into his confidence, and

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