He has
imprisoned one of his rivals, his aunt, and is marching against another,
his cousin Shaukat Jung; and 'tis the common talk that our turn will come
next."
"But why should he be at odds with us?"
"Why, to begin with, he's a native and hates us; thinks we're too rich,
and though he's rich enough he would like to get what we have and turn us
out. Then our president Mr. Drake has acted in the weakest possible way;
the very way to encourage the Subah. Instead of siding with Sirajuddaula
from the first, as he might well have done, because the rivals never had
the ghost of a chance, he shilly shallied. Then he offended him by giving
shelter to a fellow named Krishna Das, who came in a month ago with fifty
sacks of treasure from Murshidabad; it really belonged to the Subah's
aunt, but the Subah had an eye on it and he's furious at losing it. That
wasn't enough. Mr. Watts at Cossimbazar had warned the Council here of
the new Subah's unfriendliness; they talk at Murshidabad of our weak
defenses and how easy it would be to overcome us. He advised Mr. Drake to
keep on good terms with the Subah; but what must he do but turn out of
the place a man named Narayan Das, the brother of the new Nawab's chief
spy."
"Sure you don't allow the enemy's spies to live in Calcutta?"
"Sure we can't help ourselves. The place is full of them--spies of the
Subah, and of the French too. We can't do anything. We may suspect, but
if we raised a hand we should stir up a hornets' nest, as indeed Mr.
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