w even this minor exploit
to fall to the share of his allies.

The Rani's contingent needed no words to induce them to get the utmost
out of their horses in order if possible to reach the fugitives first,
but the pursuers gained upon them steadily, and when the two parties
were actually riding level, and an orderly appeared at his elbow,
Gerrard was reluctantly forced to turn and accept a written order
desiring him to give up the pursuit into the hands of the officer
commanding the troops. To share the honour would have been bad enough,
to lose it altogether was monstrous, and his men eyed the Bombay
troopers with such disfavour as made it evident that little was wanting
to bring about a fratricidal fight. Gerrard was obliged to fling
himself into the breach, and argue and persuade his sullen sowars into
allowing themselves to be drawn off. The incident had caused a slight
loss of time, and it was some consolation to the disappointed ones that
the fugitives had contrived to increase their distance before the
Bombay troop were in motion again. Pride forbade Gerrard and his
followers to wait and see the result of the chase, and they turned
their horses' heads towards Agpur, disdaining to seek more definite
information than could be obtained by furtive glances backwards on the
part of the rear-rank men, whose observations percolated from one to
another until they reached their commander. In this way Gerrard
learned that the fugitives had been caught up on, or at any rate near,
the very brink of the river, and that a brisk fight was proceeding. He
had a resentful impulse to take his troop on at full speed, that they
might not behold the triumph of the interlopers, but the horses were
tired, and there was no sense in riding them hard now. Without the
excitement of the chase to stimulate them, the men flagged after their
long night's work, and it was a dispirited and sulky-looking band that
watched the victorious Bombay troop ride proudly by, escorting their
captives. The conquerors expressed their feelings by gestures of
derision, which Gerrard's men were too much crushed to return, and
vanished ahead in a cloud of dust. But when the vanquished tailed
dolefully into camp some hours later, they were met by their
Habshiabadi comrades, eager to inform them that the triumph had not
been so complete after all. The majority of the fugitives had been
captured, including Sher Singh's favourite wife and her attendants, but