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84 a follower sought was protection and permission to plunder in the name of God and the Guru under the banner of the chief. There was little question of pay. All Sikhs were theoretically equal, and he who, like Amar Singh Majíthia, could pierce a tree through with an arrow, or like Harí Singh Nalwa, could kill a tiger with a blow of his sword, might soon ride with followers behind him and call himself a Sirdár. The time came when, like the Jews, the Sikhs took a king, and in some degree forgot the dream of equality which had been so dear to them.

But all the great families, north and south of the Sutlej, have the same origin: the law of force, the keen sword and the strong hand were the foundations upon which Sikh society, as indeed every other powerful society in the world, was founded. To attract followers by his power and success was the main desire of every Sikh chief. Who they were, and what were their antecedents, were matters of no consequence if only they could fight and ride, which almost every Sikh could do. In these days every village became a fort, built on a high mound to overlook the plain country, with but one entrance, and narrow lanes in which two men could hardly walk abreast. A neighbour, as with the Jews and Samaritans, was synonymous with an enemy, and husbandmen ploughed the fields with matchlocks by their side. No man could consider his land, his horse, or his wife secure unless he was strong enough to defend them; for although the Sikh leaders were best pleased