eathered their nests with
much larger amounts, defying those in authority to take the plunder from
them. However, such a course could not be entertained for one moment,
and, moreover, were we to possess ourselves of all the contents of
the jar, there was no secure place of concealment to be found, and
unpleasant inquiries and prying eyes would soon have revealed to the
world our abduction of the booty.

It is impossible to do more than guess at the value of the plunder
acquired on this day. My friend received a reward for the find; as for
myself, I will leave it to my readers whether it was possible for weak
human nature to resist the temptation of carrying away some few mementos
from this miscellaneous collection of treasure-trove. To tell the
truth, I must confess that in after times my only regret was that I had
foolishly let slip an opportunity of enriching myself which could never
recur. We agreed--and in this we were borne out by the prize agent--that
L7,000 was the lowest sum at which to compute the loot we had found.

It was my invariable custom to wear as a kammerband or girdle folds of
muslin round my waist for the protection of the liver and spleen, and in
this I placed the articles I carried away. My friend procured a small
cart, in which he deposited the loot and drove to the house of one of
the agents, while I, encumbered as I was, with difficulty mounted my
horse and rode towards the magazine. I could not but feel nervous and
abashed when thinking of the riches concealed about my person, at last
working myself up to such a pitch of excitement that I imagined all I
met were cognizant of my good fortune; and on entering the gates of the
magazine, I fancied I heard one of our men say to his comrade, "Well!
that fellow, at any rate, has plenty of loot about him."

Our next great find, though by no means so lucrative as the first,
brought a large accession to the prize fund. It occurred to me, through
calling to recollection the story of the treasures concealed in the
Hindoo idol at Somnath which was broken open by Sultan Mahmoud in the
eleventh century, that possibly the same kind of receptacle might
disclose a like prize, though on a smaller scale, among the numerous
temples scattered through the city of Delhi.

Acting on this idea, we one day entered a small Hindoo temple situated
not far from the Chandni Chauk. The shrine was gaudily decorated; but
after a prolonged search, we found nothing of any value