"
It took nearly an hour to mount the steep road, and when they came to
a standstill, and the sub-officer who had accompanied them told them
they could now remove their bandages, they found themselves in front
of a small building, close to the commander's quarters. The packs
were, by the order of the officer, taken off the horses by the
soldiers who had led them up, and carried into the house. The horses
were fastened in the shade to rings in the wall, and on Surajah
pointing out the packs containing goods he wished to show to the
ladies, two of the soldiers carried them across to the governor's
house. The old officer himself came to the door.
"Enter, my friends," he said. "You are the first traders who have come
up here since we took over the fort, some six months ago, and methinks
you will do a brisk business if your wares are, as you sent up to say,
good and cheap."
The bales were taken into a room, the soldiers retired, and in a
minute the commander's wife, accompanied by three or four other
ladies, entered. Dick and Surajah, after salaaming profoundly to the
veiled figures, at once began to unpack their bales.
The assortment had been very judiciously made, and to women who had,
for more than six months, been deprived of the pleasure of shopping,
the display was irresistible.
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