‘Yes, sir.’ Stevenson nodded in satisfaction. ‘I had hoped for your involvement.’

‘Oh?’

‘Well, sir, I doubt that there are more than a handful of officers in India who fully appreciate the difficulties of campaigning here. You’re one of them. If anyone can put an end to Dhoondiah Waugh, it is you, sir.’

Arthur felt the pride swell in his breast, and indulged the sensation for a moment - after all, it was his due after the success of the campaign against Tipoo. Then he fought down the emotion and hardened his expression. It would not do to let others see him respond to praise, let alone flattery. That would surely lead to his undoing. He needed honesty and objectivity from his subordinates. Anything else was superfluous. He cleared his throat and addressed Stevenson. ‘Yes, well, I shall do my best. But before we can be sure of defeating him, we need permission to pursue him across the border. Until then, the initiative is his, and there is nothing we can do to stop his raids on Mysore.’

Chapter 57

Chapter 57

‘At last,’ Arthur muttered as he finished reading the dispatch from Richard. He laid it down and looked up at the small team of officials he had gathered in his office to discuss the coming campaign. In addition to Fitzroy, there was Stevenson, Close and Purneah. ‘The Governor General has concluded a treaty with Goklah, the Mahratta warlord whose territory borders Mysore. It seems that Dhoondiah Waugh has been carelessly indiscriminate about whose lands he preys on. Now he has another enemy, and we shall crush him between our forces and those of Goklah.The Governor General’s final instruction is that when we take Dhoondiah Waugh he is to be hanged from the nearest tree.’

‘Good!’ Stevenson exclaimed heartily. ‘Now we surely have the man caught between the beaters and the hunters. All that remains is to stick him.’

‘Quite,’ Arthur responded with an amused smile. ‘Now then, gentlemen, let’s turn our minds to the plan. We’ve seen that Dhoondiah Waugh cannot be stopped by defending the trade routes that pass through Mysore.We simply have not got enough men for that. So what I propose is the offensive control of those routes.We’ll send a strong column against him, consolidating our gains as we push on, driving him up towards Goklah.We’ll do all we can to deny him access to men, arms and supplies. My hircarrah scouts report that Dhoondiah Waugh has a number of strong forts in the border areas. To start with we will ignore his raiding columns and concentrate on reducing those forts. Without them, he’ll be forced to keep on the move. Without supplies, I suspect that his followers will begin to melt away. Eventually, he will be cornered and finished off. And then we’ll have peace in Mysore.’