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Rh that the Sikhs drew back and opened fire on the little party with their matchlocks. 'Come on like men,' shouted the Afgháns, 'and let us fall in fair fight.' But this was an invitation which the Sikhs did not care to accept. There died the white-bearded Muzaffar Khán, scorning to accept quarter, and five of his sons. A sixth was wounded severely in the face, and two accepted quarter and were saved. Few of the garrison escaped with their lives, and the whole city was given up to plunder. The fort of Shujáhábád was also reduced and five guns taken from it. After this the walls of Múltán were repaired, a garrison of six hundred men was placed in the fort, and the Sikh army returned to Lahore. Múltán was known to be very wealthy, and the share of the Mahárájá amounting to only two lakhs of rupees he issued an order that all officers and soldiers should restore their plunder, and that if any was found with them after a certain date the penalty would be certain death. This order brought in some five lakhs to the State treasury, but the plunder of Múltán was estimated at two millions sterling. It was supposed, in popular belief, to bring no luck to its possessors, most of whom died in poverty or were killed in battle.

In the spring of the following year, 1819, the Mahárájá annexed to his dominions the province of