1 102 SECRET HISTORY OF THE LAHORE DURBAR.
2 Goolaub Sing, accompanied by his brother Suchet Sing, and
3 about two thousand of his troops marched for Jummoo. The
4 procession resembled, however, rather that of a caravan of
5 merchants richly laden with goods and treasure than that of
6 a body of soldiers. On arriving' at Jummoo, Goolaub's first
7 care was to attend to all the wants and wishes of his brother,
8 and having conciliated him by all possible kindness, he pro-
9 posed, that Suchet Sing, being without issue, while he Goolaub
10 Sing had three or four sons (three legitimate and one otherwise)
11 should adopt one of his sons and make him his heir. To this
12 proposition Suchet Sing agreed, and thence forward Meean
13 Runbeer Sing, commonly called Meean Peenoo, Rajah Goolaub
14 Sing's youngest son, was publicly acknowledged as the adopted
15 son of Suchet Sing-, and heir to all his lands, jaghires, and
16 property.
17 Having secured this long cherished object, Goolaub Sing turned
18 his attention to the furtherance of his party's interests at Lahore.
19 He caused a forged letter to be exhibited in durbar there
20 purporting to be from Cashmeera Sing and Peshora Sing, by
21 which these two reputed sons of Runjeet Sing were represented
22 as deeply implicated in the Scindawalla plot, and consequently as
23 accessories to the death of the late king and his minister. The
24 effect of this forgery was strengthened and seconded by the
25 villainous conduct of Kupoor Sing, one of the oldest and
26 most favoured of Cashmeera Sing's own retainers. He was
27 then kardar or governor of Seealkote, which had been given
28 as his patrimony by Runjeet Sing to Cashmeera Sing : — Gur-
29 riawalla, a small fort to the west of the Chenab, being at
30 the same time given to Peshora Sing.* On the evidence
31 of these forged letters, and the testimony of this faithless
32 servant, Goolaub Sing received orders from Lahore to take
33 both the brothers as prisoners and to confiscate their lands
34 * The united revenue of both jaghires did not amount to a lakh of rupees.