Meanwhile he sent the man back to learn
if anything happened during the day.
In the evening the man returned again. This time he reported that Mir
Jafar had arrived with a large force and taken possession of the Nawab's
palace of Mansurganj. Immediately after the traitor's arrival
Sirajuddaula had collected all the gold and jewels on which he could lay
hands and fled with his women. Suspecting that the luckless Nawab was
making for Rajmahal in the hope of meeting Law there, Desmond made up his
mind to follow. He struck his camp, marched all night, and soon after
daybreak reached a village near the river some miles south of Rajmahal.
He was surprised to find the village deserted. But passing a small house,
he heard cries of distress, and going in he found the place full of smoke
from some straw that had been kindled, and a man tied by his thumbs to a
staple in the wall. He recognized the man in a moment. It was Coja
Solomon, Mr. Merriman's rascally agent of Cossimbazar. He was half dead
with pain and fright. Desmond cut him loose and hurried him out of the
stifling room into the open, where Bulger revived him with copious douses
of water until he was sufficiently recovered to explain his unhappy
plight.
"God be praised!" exclaimed the Armenian fervently. "You were in time,
sir. I was seeking safety. The Faujdar of Murshidabad villainously
ill-used me. He owes me much, but there is no gratitude in him. I saw
that neither my life nor my goods were safe, so I packed up what
valuables I could and left with my servants, intending to go to Patna,
where I have a house.
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