, 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:--

"What was my surprise, at the end of an hour and a
half, to see that we were followed by a body of four or five
hundred men, with two guns drawn by oxen. I pretended
not to notice, and continued my march, but at 3 o'clock
in the afternoon, seeing this troop approach, within range of
my pieces, I po