twitched and his hands contracted as though the tin mug in his
grip were a man's throat. He would be rich.
It took Major William Dodd three days to carry the ammunition back to Pohlmann's
compoo which was camped just outside the Mahratta city of Ahmednuggur. The compoo was an
infantry brigade of eight battalions, each of them recruited from among the finest
mercenary warriors of north India and all trained and commanded by European
officers.
Dowlut Rao Scindia, the Maharajah of Gwalior, whose land stretched from the fortress of
Baroda in the north to the fastness of Gawilghur in the east and down to Ahmednuggur in
the south, boasted that he led a hundred thousand men and that his army could blacken the
land like a plague, yet this compoo, with its seven thousand men, was the hard heart of his
army.
One of the compoo's eight battalions was paraded a mile outside the encampment to
greet Dodd. The cavalry that had accompanied the sepoys to Chasalgaon had ridden ahead
to warn Pohlmann of Dodd's return and Pohlmann had organized a triumphant reception. The
battalion stood in white coats, their black belts and weapons gleaming, but Dodd, riding at
the head of his small column, had eyes only for the tall elephant that stood beside a
yellow-and-white-striped marquee. The huge beast glittered in the sunlight, for its body
and head were armoured with a vast leather cape onto which squares of silver had been sewn
in intricate patterns. The silver covered the elephant's body,
continued across its face and then, all but for two circles that had been cut for its
eyes, cascaded on down the length of its trunk. Gems gleamed between the silver plates
while ribbons of purple silk fluttered from the crown of the animal's head. The last few
inches of the animal's big curved tusks were sheathed in silver, though the actual points
of the tusks were tipped with needle-sharp points of steel. The elephant driver, the
mahout, sweated in a coat of old-fashioned chain mail that had been burnished to the same
gleaming polish as his animal's silver armour, while behind him was a howdah made of
cedar wood on which gold panels had been nailed and above which fluttered a fringed canopy of
yellow silk. Long files of purple-jacketed infantrymen stood to attention on either
flank of the elephant. Some of the men carried muskets, while others had long pikes with
their broad blades polished to resemble silver.
The elephant knelt when Dodd came within twenty paces and the occupant of the howdah
stepped carefully down onto a set of silver-plated steps placed there by one of his
purple-coated bodyguards then strolled into the shade of the striped marquee. He was a
European, a tall man and big, not fat, and though a casual glance might think him
overweight, a second glance would see that most of that weight was solid muscle. He had a
round sun-reddened face, big black moustaches and eyes that seemed to take delight in
everything he saw. His uniform was of his own devising: white silk breeches tucked into
English riding boots, a green coat festooned with gold lace and aiguillettes and, on the
coat's broad shoulders, thick white silk cushions hung with short golden chains. The coat
had scarlet facings and loops of scarlet braid about its turned-back cuffs and gilded
buttons. The big man's hat was a bicorne crested with purple-dyed feathers held in place
by a badge showing the white horse of Hanover; his sword's hilt was made of gold fashioned
into the shape of an elephant's head, and gold rings glinted on his big fingers. Once in
the shade of the open-sided marquee he settled himself on a divan where his aides
gathered about him. This was Colonel Anthony Pohlmann and he commanded the compoo,
together with five hundred cavalry and twenty-six field guns. Ten years before, when
Scindia's army had been nothing but a horde of ragged troopers on half-starved horses,
Anthony Pohlmann had
grip were a man's throat. He would be rich.
It took Major William Dodd three days to carry the ammunition back to Pohlmann's
compoo which was camped just outside the Mahratta city of Ahmednuggur. The compoo was an
infantry brigade of eight battalions, each of them recruited from among the finest
mercenary warriors of north India and all trained and commanded by European
officers.
Dowlut Rao Scindia, the Maharajah of Gwalior, whose land stretched from the fortress of
Baroda in the north to the fastness of Gawilghur in the east and down to Ahmednuggur in
the south, boasted that he led a hundred thousand men and that his army could blacken the
land like a plague, yet this compoo, with its seven thousand men, was the hard heart of his
army.
One of the compoo's eight battalions was paraded a mile outside the encampment to
greet Dodd. The cavalry that had accompanied the sepoys to Chasalgaon had ridden ahead
to warn Pohlmann of Dodd's return and Pohlmann had organized a triumphant reception. The
battalion stood in white coats, their black belts and weapons gleaming, but Dodd, riding at
the head of his small column, had eyes only for the tall elephant that stood beside a
yellow-and-white-striped marquee. The huge beast glittered in the sunlight, for its body
and head were armoured with a vast leather cape onto which squares of silver had been sewn
in intricate patterns. The silver covered the elephant's body,
continued across its face and then, all but for two circles that had been cut for its
eyes, cascaded on down the length of its trunk. Gems gleamed between the silver plates
while ribbons of purple silk fluttered from the crown of the animal's head. The last few
inches of the animal's big curved tusks were sheathed in silver, though the actual points
of the tusks were tipped with needle-sharp points of steel. The elephant driver, the
mahout, sweated in a coat of old-fashioned chain mail that had been burnished to the same
gleaming polish as his animal's silver armour, while behind him was a howdah made of
cedar wood on which gold panels had been nailed and above which fluttered a fringed canopy of
yellow silk. Long files of purple-jacketed infantrymen stood to attention on either
flank of the elephant. Some of the men carried muskets, while others had long pikes with
their broad blades polished to resemble silver.
The elephant knelt when Dodd came within twenty paces and the occupant of the howdah
stepped carefully down onto a set of silver-plated steps placed there by one of his
purple-coated bodyguards then strolled into the shade of the striped marquee. He was a
European, a tall man and big, not fat, and though a casual glance might think him
overweight, a second glance would see that most of that weight was solid muscle. He had a
round sun-reddened face, big black moustaches and eyes that seemed to take delight in
everything he saw. His uniform was of his own devising: white silk breeches tucked into
English riding boots, a green coat festooned with gold lace and aiguillettes and, on the
coat's broad shoulders, thick white silk cushions hung with short golden chains. The coat
had scarlet facings and loops of scarlet braid about its turned-back cuffs and gilded
buttons. The big man's hat was a bicorne crested with purple-dyed feathers held in place
by a badge showing the white horse of Hanover; his sword's hilt was made of gold fashioned
into the shape of an elephant's head, and gold rings glinted on his big fingers. Once in
the shade of the open-sided marquee he settled himself on a divan where his aides
gathered about him. This was Colonel Anthony Pohlmann and he commanded the compoo,
together with five hundred cavalry and twenty-six field guns. Ten years before, when
Scindia's army had been nothing but a horde of ragged troopers on half-starved horses,
Anthony Pohlmann had
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