1 INTRIGUES. 51
2 the territory he had acquired, and which Lad been evacu-
3 ated on the Sliah's approach. Runjeet Singh was
4 one of those who retired before the Shah, and on this
5 last occasion he joined other Sirdars similarly circum-
6 stanced with himself, or otherwise linked to his Misul,
7 and made an expedition across the Sutlej, where he em-
8 ployed the interval of the Shah's stay at Lahor in a tour
9 for the exaction of tribute, and for the reduction to his
10 authority of any towns or villages he could master.
11 Upon the retirement of the Shah, Runjeet Singh
12 began to entertain designs for securing Labor to him-
13 self, and his motber-in-law, Su da Koonwur, encouraged
14 and lent her aid to forward his views. The city was at
15 this time in the joint possession of Chyt Singh, Mo-
16 HUR Singh, and Saheb Singh. Runjeet Singh,
17 however, by an opportune service to ZuMAN Shah, ob-
18 tained from that prince a grant with permission to take
19 possession. Tbe Afghan had been compelled to preci-
20 pitate bis retreat from the Punjab, by intelligence of
21 designs from Persia on the side of Herat, having for their
22 object the support of the claims of Shah Mahmood.
23 On arriving at the Jhilem, that river was found swollen
24 with temporary rain, so that the Afghan artillery could
25 not be crossed. Not thinking it expedient to wait on
26 this account, Shah Zuman wrote to Runjeet Singh,
27 to extricate and forward to him the guns left behind,
28 holding out tbe hope, that his known wishes in respect to
29 Labor might be complied with, if this duty were well
30 performed. The politic Sikh raised eight, out of the
31 twelve guns, from the bed of the river into which they
32 had sunk, and forwarded them to the Shah, from whom he
33 received in return the grant he desired. The remaining
34 G 2