THE KOH-I-NUR. 127
conditions
not having been fulfilled, the Begum declared that the stone was not
in her keeping, but that it had been pledged to a merchant in Kandahar.
Runjit thereupon returned to the former coercive measures, and the
princess was once more deprived of food, but all to no purpose. At last
Shah Shuja himself volunteered to surrender the stone, and a time was
fixed, on which he promised to produce it.
"On
June 1, 1813, the appointed day, Runjit, accompanied by several
confidential friends, and some experts acquainted with the stone,
proceeded to Shadera, where Shah Shuja was then residing. At the
ensuing interview, after both were seated, a profound silence
prevailed, which neither side seemed disposed to break. An hour was
thus spent, and Runjit, notwithstanding his impatience, still abstained
from interrupting the solemn stillness. He, however, hinted to a
confidant that he might quietly remind Shah Shuja of the object of
their interview. Thereupon the latter nodded to a slave, who withdrew,
and presently returning with a packet, which he placed on the carpet,
at an equal distance from the two princes. Deep silence again ensues;
Runjit's impatience grows to a fever heat ; no longer able to control
his feelings, he directs one of the attendants to take up the packet ;
it is opened, and a glittering gem of unusual size is revealed, and
recognised by the experts as the true 'Koh-i-Nur.' At sight of the
long-coveted prize, Runjit forgets the past, and breaks the silence
with the question 'At what price do you value it ?' To which Shah Shuja
replies 'At good luck, for it has ever been the associate of him who
