ys; who
formed the advance of the force. Three hundred men preceded the main
body, who were towing the boats, to guard them from any sudden
surprise. Tim marched beside him, occasionally falling back, and
taking a turn at the ropes.

"This is dog's work, Mister Charles," he said. "It's lucky that it's
raining, for the river can't make us wetter than we are. My hands are
fairly sore, with pulling at the ropes."

"Ah, Tim, you're not fond of ropes, you know. You remember that night
at Moorshedabad."

"Faith, yer honor, and I'll not forget it, if I live to be as old as
Methuselah. Well, yer honor, it will be hard on us if we do not thrash
them niggers, tomorrow, after all the trouble we are taking to be at
them."

At one o'clock in the morning, the weary troops reached the village of
Plassey. They marched through it, and halted and bivouacked in a large
mango grove, a short distance beyond.

Chapter 23: Plassey.

Scarcely had the soldiers taken off their packs, when the sound of
martial music was heard. Charlie was speaking, at the time, to Major
Coote.

"There are the enemy, sure enough," the latter said. "That old rascal,
Meer Jaffier, must have been deceiving us when he said that the nabob
had halted at Mankarah. I'm afraid he means to play us false."

"I expect," Charlie remarked, "that he does not know what he means,
himself. These Asiatics are at any time ready to turn traitors, and to
join the strongest. At present, Jaffier does not know what is the
stronger; and I think it likely enough that he will take as little
share as he can in the battle, tomorrow, till he sees which way it is
going. Then, if we are getting the best of it, the rascal will join
us, for the sake of the advantages which he expects to gain. If the
day is going against us, he will do his best to complete his master's
victory; and should proofs of his intended treachery ever come to
light, he will clear himself by saying that he intended to deceive us
all along, and merely pretended to treat with us, in order to throw us
off our guard, and so deliver us into the hands of his master."

"Yes," Major Eyre Coote replied. "These Mohammedan chiefs are indeed
crafty and treacherous rascals. The whole history of India shows that
gratitude is a feeling altogether unknown to them; and that, whatever
favours a master may have lavished upon them, they are always ready to
betray him, if they think that by so doing they will better their
posit