"I will do up my brace of pistols in a packet, and put them with the
note," Dick went on, "and will say, in it, that I hope he will accept
them as a token of our esteem and gratitude. They are well-finished
English pistols, and I have no doubt he will prize them. I will
mention, too, that we shall have made our escape at eleven o'clock,
and therefore, by the time he receives my letter, we shall be far
beyond the reach of pursuit. I daresay that will decide him upon
letting the matter pass quietly, and he will see himself that, by
making no fuss over it, no one outside the fortress will ever know
that a prisoner has escaped."
The next day passed comparatively quietly. A good many soldiers and
women came up from below, and before sunset their goods were
completely cleared out. The governor came over in the afternoon and
had a talk with them. They expressed their satisfaction at the result
of their trading, and said that they should be off before sunrise.
"I hope you will come again," he said; "but not for another six
months, for assuredly you will take away with you pretty nearly every
rupee in the fortress. My wife and the other ladies are all well
content with their purchases, and agree that they would not have got
them cheaper at Seringapatam, or Bangalore.
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