he
Durbar, through the interposition of the Resident, to be made over to
me, and he vows that he will take it back, whatever number of lives
it may cost him to do so."

"And how long may he and his family have held it?"

"Only thirty or thirty-five years, sir."

"And neither you nor your family have ever held possession of it for
that time?"

"Never, sir; but we always hoped that the favour of the British
Government would some day get it for us."

"And in urging your claim to the village, did you ever tell the
Resident that you had been so long out of possession?"

"No, sir, we said nothing about _time_"

"You know, subadar sahib, that in all countries a limit is prescribed
in such cases, and at the Residency that limit is six years; and had
the Resident known that your claim was of so old a date he would
never have interposed in your favour, more especially when his doing
so involved the risk of the loss of so many lives, first in obtaining
possession for you, and then keeping you in it." Cases of this kind
are very numerous.

The estate of Rampoor which we lately passed through belonged to the
grandfather of Rajah Hunmunt Sing. His eldest son, Sungram Sing, died
without issue, and the estate devolved on his second son, Bhow Sing,
the father of Rajah Hunmunt Sing. The third brother separated from
the family stock during the life of his father, and got, as his
share, Sursae, Kuttra Bulleepoor, and other villages. He had five
sons: first, Lokee Sing; second, Dirguj Sing; third, Hul Sing;
fourth, Dill Sing; and fifth, Bul Sing, and the estate was, on his
death, subdivided among them. Kuttra Bulleepoor devolved on Lokee
Sing, the eldest, who died without issue; and the village was
subdivided among his four brothers or their descendants. But Davey
Buksh, the grandson, by adoption of the second brother, Dirguj Sing,
unknown to the others, assigned, in lieu of a debt, the whole village
to a Brahmin named Bhyroo Tewaree, who forthwith got it transferred
to Hozoor Tehseel, through Matadeen, a havildar of the 5th Troop,
7th-Regiment of Cavalry, who, in an application to the Resident,
pretended that the estate was his own. It is now beyond the
jurisdiction of the local authorities, who could ascertain the truth;
and all the rightful co-sharers have been ever since trying in vain
to recover their rights. The Bramin [Brahmin] and the Havildar, with
Sookhal a trooper in the same regiment, now divide the profits
between t