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Computer Networking
A Top-Down Approach
Seventh Edition
James F. Kurose
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Keith W. Ross
NYU and NYU Shanghai
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Kurose, James F. | Ross, Keith W., 1956-
Title: Computer networking: a top-down approach / James F. Kurose, University of Massachusetts, Amherst,
Keith W. Ross, NYU and NYU Shanghai.
Description: Seventh edition. | Hoboken, New Jersey: Pearson, [2017] | Includes bibliographical references
and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016004976 | ISBN 9780133594140 | ISBN 0133594149
Subjects: LCSH: Internet. | Computer networks.
Classification: LCC TK5105.875.I57 K88 2017 | DDC 004.6-dc23

LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016004976
ISBN-10:ௐௐௐௐ 0-13-359414-9
ISBN-13: 978-0-13-359414-0
About the Authors
Jim Kurose
Jim Kurose is a Distinguished University Professor of Computer Science at the University of Massachusetts,
Amherst. He is currently on leave from the University of Massachusetts, serving as an Assistant Director at the
US National Science Foundation, where he leads the Directorate of Computer and Information Science and
Engineering.
Dr. Kurose has received a number of recognitions for his educational activities including Outstanding Teacher
Awards from the National Technological University (eight times), the University of Massachusetts, and the
Northeast Association of Graduate Schools. He received the IEEE Taylor Booth Education Medal and was
recognized for his leadership of Massachusetts’ Commonwealth Information Technology Initiative. He has won
several conference best paper awards and received the IEEE Infocom Achievement Award and the ACM
Sigcomm Test of Time Award.
Dr. Kurose is a former Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Transactions on Communications and of IEEE/ACM
Transactions on Networking. He has served as Technical Program co-Chair for IEEE Infocom, ACM
SIGCOMM, ACM Internet Measurement Conference, and ACM SIGMETRICS. He is a Fellow of the IEEE and
the ACM. His research interests include network protocols and architecture, network measurement,
multimedia communication, and modeling and performance evaluation. He holds a PhD in Computer Science
from Columbia University.
Keith Ross

Keith Ross is the Dean of Engineering and Computer Science at NYU Shanghai and the Leonard J. Shustek
Chair Professor in the Computer Science and Engineering Department at NYU. Previously he was at
University of Pennsylvania (13 years), Eurecom Institute (5 years) and Polytechnic University (10 years). He
received a B.S.E.E from Tufts University, a M.S.E.E. from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in Computer and
Control Engineering from The University of Michigan. Keith Ross is also the co-founder and original CEO of
Wimba, which develops online multimedia applications for e-learning and was acquired by Blackboard in 2010.
Professor Ross’s research interests are in privacy, social networks, peer-to-peer networking, Internet
measurement, content distribution networks, and stochastic modeling. He is an ACM Fellow, an IEEE Fellow,
recipient of the Infocom 2009 Best Paper Award, and recipient of 2011 and 2008 Best Paper Awards for
Multimedia Communications (awarded by IEEE Communications Society). He has served on numerous journal
editorial boards and conference program committees, including IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking, ACM
SIGCOMM, ACM CoNext, and ACM Internet Measurement Conference. He also has served as an advisor to
the Federal Trade Commission on P2P file sharing.
To Julie and our three precious ones—Chris, Charlie, and Nina
JFK
A big THANKS to my professors, colleagues, and students all over the world.
KWR
Preface
Welcome to the seventh edition of Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach. Since the publication of the
first edition 16 years ago, our book has been adopted for use at many hundreds of colleges and universities,
translated into 14 languages, and used by over one hundred thousand students and practitioners worldwide.
We’ve heard from many of these readers and have been overwhelmed by the positive response.

What’s New in the Seventh Edition?
We think one important reason for this success has been that our book continues to offer a fresh and timely
approach to computer networking instruction. We’ve made changes in this seventh edition, but we’ve also kept
unchanged what we believe (and the instructors and students who have used our book have confirmed) to be
the most important aspects of this book: its top-down approach, its focus on the Internet and a modern
treatment of computer networking, its attention to both principles and practice, and its accessible style and
approach toward learning about computer networking. Nevertheless, the seventh edition has been revised and
updated substantially.
Long-time readers of our book will notice that for the first time since this text was published, we’ve changed the
organization of the chapters themselves. The network layer, which had been previously covered in a single
chapter, is now covered in Chapter 4 (which focuses on the so-called “data plane” component of the network
layer) and Chapter 5 (which focuses on the network layer’s “control plane”). This expanded coverage of the
network layer reflects the swift rise in importance of software-defined networking (SDN), arguably the most
important and exciting advance in networking in decades. Although a relatively recent innovation, SDN has
been rapidly adopted in practice—so much so that it’s already hard to imagine an introduction to modern
computer networking that doesn’t cover SDN. The topic of network management, previously covered in
Chapter 9, has now been folded into the new Chapter 5. As always, we’ve also updated many other sections
of the text to reflect recent changes in the dynamic field of networking since the sixth edition. As always,
material that has been retired from the printed text can always be found on this book’s Companion Website.
The most important updates are the following:
Chapter 1 has been updated to reflect the ever-growing reach and use of the Internet.
Chapter 2, which covers the application layer, has been significantly updated. We’ve removed the material
on the FTP protocol and distributed hash tables to make room for a new section on application-level video
streaming and content distribution networks, together with Netflix and YouTube case studies. The
socket programming sections have been updated from Python 2 to Python 3.
Chapter 3, which covers the transport layer, has been modestly updated. The material on asynchronous
transport mode (ATM) networks has been replaced by more modern material on the Internet’s explicit
congestion notification (ECN), which teaches the same principles.
Chapter 4 covers the “data plane” component of the network layer—the per-router forwarding function that
determine how a packet arriving on one of a router’s input links is forwarded to one of that router’s output
links. We updated the material on traditional Internet forwarding found in all previous editions, and added
material on packet scheduling. We’ve also added a new section on generalized forwarding, as practiced in
SDN. There are also numerous updates throughout the chapter. Material on multicast and broadcast
communication has been removed to make way for the new material.
In Chapter 5, we cover the control plane functions of the network layer—the network-wide logic that
controls how a datagram is routed along an end-to-end path of routers from the source host to the
destination host. As in previous editions, we cover routing algorithms, as well as routing protocols (with an
updated treatment of BGP) used in today’s Internet. We’ve added a significant new section on the SDN
control plane, where routing and other functions are implemented in so-called SDN controllers.
Chapter 6, which now covers the link layer, has an updated treatment of Ethernet, and of data center
networking.
Chapter 7, which covers wireless and mobile networking, contains updated material on 802.11 (so-called
“WiFi) networks and cellular networks, including 4G and LTE.
Chapter 8, which covers network security and was extensively updated in the sixth edition, has only

modest updates in this seventh edition.
Chapter 9, on multimedia networking, is now slightly “thinner” than in the sixth edition, as material on video
streaming and content distribution networks has been moved to Chapter 2, and material on packet
scheduling has been incorporated into Chapter 4.
Significant new material involving end-of-chapter problems has been added. As with all previous editions,
homework problems have been revised, added, and removed.
As always, our aim in creating this new edition of our book is to continue to provide a focused and modern
treatment of computer networking, emphasizing both principles and practice.
Audience
This textbook is for a first course on computer networking. It can be used in both computer science and
electrical engineering departments. In terms of programming languages, the book assumes only that the
student has experience with C, C++, Java, or Python (and even then only in a few places). Although this book
is more precise and analytical than many other introductory computer networking texts, it rarely uses any
mathematical concepts that are not taught in high school. We have made a deliberate effort to avoid using any
advanced calculus, probability, or stochastic process concepts (although we’ve included some homework
problems for students with this advanced background). The book is therefore appropriate for undergraduate
courses and for first-year graduate courses. It should also be useful to practitioners in the telecommunications
industry.
What Is Unique About This Textbook?
The subject of computer networking is enormously complex, involving many concepts, protocols, and
technologies that are woven together in an intricate manner. To cope with this scope and complexity, many
computer networking texts are often organized around the “layers” of a network architecture. With a layered
organization, students can see through the complexity of computer networking—they learn about the distinct
concepts and protocols in one part of the architecture while seeing the big picture of how all parts fit together.
From a pedagogical perspective, our personal experience has been that such a layered approach indeed
works well. Nevertheless, we have found that the traditional approach of teaching—bottom up; that is, from the
physical layer towards the application layer—is not the best approach for a modern course on computer
networking.
A Top-Down Approach
Our book broke new ground 16 years ago by treating networking in a top-down manner—that is, by
beginning at the application layer and working its way down toward the physical layer. The feedback we
received from teachers and students alike have confirmed that this top-down approach has many advantages
and does indeed work well pedagogically. First, it places emphasis on the application layer (a “high growth
area” in networking). Indeed, many of the recent revolutions in computer networking—including the Web,
peer-to-peer file sharing, and media streaming—have taken place at the application layer. An early emphasis
on application-layer issues differs from the approaches taken in most other texts, which have only a small
amount of material on network applications, their requirements, application-layer paradigms (e.g., client-server
and peer-to-peer), and application programming interfaces. Second, our experience as instructors (and that
of many instructors who have used this text) has been that teaching networking applications near the
beginning of the course is a powerful motivational tool. Students are thrilled to learn about how networking

applications work—applications such as e-mail and the Web, which most students use on a daily basis. Once
a student understands the applications, the student can then understand the network services needed to
support these applications. The student can then, in turn, examine the various ways in which such services
might be provided and implemented in the lower layers. Covering applications early thus provides motivation
for the remainder of the text.
Third, a top-down approach enables instructors to introduce network application development at an early
stage. Students not only see how popular applications and protocols work, but also learn how easy it is to
create their own network applications and application-level protocols. With the top-down approach, students
get early exposure to the notions of socket programming, service models, and protocols—important
concepts that resurface in all subsequent layers. By providing socket programming examples in Python, we
highlight the central ideas without confusing students with complex code. Undergraduates in electrical
engineering and computer science should not have difficulty following the Python code.
An Internet Focus
Although we dropped the phrase “Featuring the Internet” from the title of this book with the fourth edition, this
doesn’t mean that we dropped our focus on the Internet. Indeed, nothing could be further from the case!
Instead, since the Internet has become so pervasive, we felt that any networking textbook must have a
significant focus on the Internet, and thus this phrase was somewhat unnecessary. We continue to use the
Internet’s architecture and protocols as primary vehicles for studying fundamental computer networking
concepts. Of course, we also include concepts and protocols from other network architectures. But the
spotlight is clearly on the Internet, a fact reflected in our organizing the book around the Internet’s five-layer
architecture: the application, transport, network, link, and physical layers.
Another benefit of spotlighting the Internet is that most computer science and electrical engineering students
are eager to learn about the Internet and its protocols. They know that the Internet has been a revolutionary
and disruptive technology and can see that it is profoundly changing our world. Given the enormous relevance
of the Internet, students are naturally curious about what is “under the hood.” Thus, it is easy for an instructor
to get students excited about basic principles when using the Internet as the guiding focus.
Teaching Networking Principles
Two of the unique features of the book—its top-down approach and its focus on the Internet—have appeared
in the titles of our book. If we could have squeezed a third phrase into the subtitle, it would have contained the
word principles. The field of networking is now mature enough that a number of fundamentally important issues
can be identified. For example, in the transport layer, the fundamental issues include reliable communication
over an unreliable network layer, connection establishment/ teardown and handshaking, congestion and flow
control, and multiplexing. Three fundamentally important network-layer issues are determining “good” paths
between two routers, interconnecting a large number of heterogeneous networks, and managing the
complexity of a modern network. In the link layer, a fundamental problem is sharing a multiple access channel.
In network security, techniques for providing confidentiality, authentication, and message integrity are all based
on cryptographic fundamentals. This text identifies fundamental networking issues and studies approaches
towards addressing these issues. The student learning these principles will gain knowledge with a long “shelf
life”—long after today’s network standards and protocols have become obsolete, the principles they embody
will remain important and relevant. We believe that the combination of using the Internet to get the student’s
foot in the door and then emphasizing fundamental issues and solution approaches will allow the student to

quickly understand just about any networking technology.
The Website
Each new copy of this textbook includes twelve months of access to a Companion Website for all book
readers at http://www.pearsonhighered.com/cs-resources/, which includes:
Interactive learning material. The book’s Companion Website contains VideoNotes—video
presentations of important topics throughout the book done by the authors, as well as walkthroughs of
solutions to problems similar to those at the end of the chapter. We’ve seeded the Web site with
VideoNotes and online problems for Chapters 1 through 5 and will continue to actively add and update
this material over time. As in earlier editions, the Web site contains the interactive Java applets that
animate many key networking concepts. The site also has interactive quizzes that permit students to check
their basic understanding of the subject matter. Professors can integrate these interactive features into their
lectures or use them as mini labs.
Additional technical material. As we have added new material in each edition of our book, we’ve had to
remove coverage of some existing topics to keep the book at manageable length. For example, to make
room for the new material in this edition, we’ve removed material on FTP, distributed hash tables, and
multicasting, Material that appeared in earlier editions of the text is still of interest, and thus can be found
on the book’s Web site.
Programming assignments. The Web site also provides a number of detailed programming assignments,
which include building a multithreaded Web server, building an e-mail client with a GUI interface,
programming the sender and receiver sides of a reliable data transport protocol, programming a
distributed routing algorithm, and more.
Wireshark labs. One’s understanding of network protocols can be greatly deepened by seeing them in
action. The Web site provides numerous Wireshark assignments that enable students to actually observe
the sequence of messages exchanged between two protocol entities. The Web site includes separate
Wireshark labs on HTTP, DNS, TCP, UDP, IP, ICMP, Ethernet, ARP, WiFi, SSL, and on tracing all
protocols involved in satisfying a request to fetch a Web page. We’ll continue to add new labs over time.
In addition to the Companion Website, the authors maintain a public Web site,
http://gaia.cs.umass.edu/kurose_ross/interactive, containing interactive exercises that create (and present
solutions for) problems similar to selected end-of-chapter problems. Since students can generate (and view
solutions for) an unlimited number of similar problem instances, they can work until the material is truly
mastered.
Pedagogical Features
We have each been teaching computer networking for more than 30 years. Together, we bring more than 60
years of teaching experience to this text, during which time we have taught many thousands of students. We
have also been active researchers in computer networking during this time. (In fact, Jim and Keith first met
each other as master’s students in a computer networking course taught by Mischa Schwartz in 1979 at
Columbia University.) We think all this gives us a good perspective on where networking has been and where
it is likely to go in the future. Nevertheless, we have resisted temptations to bias the material in this book
towards our own pet research projects. We figure you can visit our personal Web sites if you are interested in
our research. Thus, this book is about modern computer networking—it is about contemporary protocols and
technologies as well as the underlying principles behind these protocols and technologies. We also believe

that learning (and teaching!) about networking can be fun. A sense of humor, use of analogies, and real-world
examples in this book will hopefully make this material more fun.
Supplements for Instructors
We provide a complete supplements package to aid instructors in teaching this course. This material can be
accessed from Pearson’s Instructor Resource Center (http://www.pearsonhighered.com/irc). Visit the
Instructor Resource Center for information about accessing these instructor’s supplements.
PowerPoint slides. We provide PowerPoint slides for all nine chapters. The slides have been completely
updated with this seventh edition. The slides cover each chapter in detail. They use graphics and
animations (rather than relying only on monotonous text bullets) to make the slides interesting and visually
appealing. We provide the original PowerPoint slides so you can customize them to best suit your own
teaching needs. Some of these slides have been contributed by other instructors who have taught from our
book.
Homework solutions. We provide a solutions manual for the homework problems in the text, programming
assignments, and Wireshark labs. As noted earlier, we’ve introduced many new homework problems in
the first six chapters of the book.
Chapter Dependencies
The first chapter of this text presents a self-contained overview of computer networking. Introducing many key
concepts and terminology, this chapter sets the stage for the rest of the book. All of the other chapters directly
depend on this first chapter. After completing Chapter 1, we recommend instructors cover Chapters 2 through
6 in sequence, following our top-down philosophy. Each of these five chapters leverages material from the
preceding chapters. After completing the first six chapters, the instructor has quite a bit of flexibility. There are
no interdependencies among the last three chapters, so they can be taught in any order. However, each of the
last three chapters depends on the material in the first six chapters. Many instructors first teach the first six
chapters and then teach one of the last three chapters for “dessert.”
One Final Note: We’d Love to Hear from You
We encourage students and instructors to e-mail us with any comments they might have about our book. It’s
been wonderful for us to hear from so many instructors and students from around the world about our first five
editions. We’ve incorporated many of these suggestions into later editions of the book. We also encourage
instructors to send us new homework problems (and solutions) that would complement the current homework
problems. We’ll post these on the instructor-only portion of the Web site. We also encourage instructors and
students to create new Java applets that illustrate the concepts and protocols in this book. If you have an
applet that you think would be appropriate for this text, please submit it to us. If the applet (including notation
and terminology) is appropriate, we’ll be happy to include it on the text’s Web site, with an appropriate
reference to the applet’s authors.
So, as the saying goes, “Keep those cards and letters coming!” Seriously, please do continue to send us
interesting URLs, point out typos, disagree with any of our claims, and tell us what works and what doesn’t
work. Tell us what you think should or shouldn’t be included in the next edition. Send your e-mail to
kurose@cs.umass.edu and keithwross@nyu.edu.
®

Acknowledgments
Since we began writing this book in 1996, many people have given us invaluable help and have been
influential in shaping our thoughts on how to best organize and teach a networking course. We want to say A
BIG THANKS to everyone who has helped us from the earliest first drafts of this book, up to this seventh
edition. We are also very thankful to the many hundreds of readers from around the world—students, faculty,
practitioners—who have sent us thoughts and comments on earlier editions of the book and suggestions for
future editions of the book. Special thanks go out to:
Al Aho (Columbia University)
Hisham Al-Mubaid (University of Houston-Clear Lake)
Pratima Akkunoor (Arizona State University)
Paul Amer (University of Delaware)
Shamiul Azom (Arizona State University)
Lichun Bao (University of California at Irvine)
Paul Barford (University of Wisconsin)
Bobby Bhattacharjee (University of Maryland)
Steven Bellovin (Columbia University)
Pravin Bhagwat (Wibhu)
Supratik Bhattacharyya (previously at Sprint)
Ernst Biersack (Eurécom Institute)
Shahid Bokhari (University of Engineering & Technology, Lahore)
Jean Bolot (Technicolor Research)
Daniel Brushteyn (former University of Pennsylvania student)
Ken Calvert (University of Kentucky)
Evandro Cantu (Federal University of Santa Catarina)
Jeff Case (SNMP Research International)
Jeff Chaltas (Sprint)
Vinton Cerf (Google)
Byung Kyu Choi (Michigan Technological University)
Bram Cohen (BitTorrent, Inc.)
Constantine Coutras (Pace University)
John Daigle (University of Mississippi)
Edmundo A. de Souza e Silva (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro)

Philippe Decuetos (Eurécom Institute)
Christophe Diot (Technicolor Research)
Prithula Dhunghel (Akamai)
Deborah Estrin (University of California, Los Angeles)
Michalis Faloutsos (University of California at Riverside)
Wu-chi Feng (Oregon Graduate Institute)
Sally Floyd (ICIR, University of California at Berkeley)
Paul Francis (Max Planck Institute)
David Fullager (Netflix)
Lixin Gao (University of Massachusetts)
JJ Garcia-Luna-Aceves (University of California at Santa Cruz)
Mario Gerla (University of California at Los Angeles)
David Goodman (NYU-Poly)
Yang Guo (Alcatel/Lucent Bell Labs)
Tim Griffin (Cambridge University)
Max Hailperin (Gustavus Adolphus College)
Bruce Harvey (Florida A&M University, Florida State University)
Carl Hauser (Washington State University)
Rachelle Heller (George Washington University)
Phillipp Hoschka (INRIA/W3C)
Wen Hsin (Park University)
Albert Huang (former University of Pennsylvania student)
Cheng Huang (Microsoft Research)
Esther A. Hughes (Virginia Commonwealth University)
Van Jacobson (Xerox PARC)
Pinak Jain (former NYU-Poly student)
Jobin James (University of California at Riverside)
Sugih Jamin (University of Michigan)
Shivkumar Kalyanaraman (IBM Research, India)
Jussi Kangasharju (University of Helsinki)
Sneha Kasera (University of Utah)

Parviz Kermani (formerly of IBM Research)
Hyojin Kim (former University of Pennsylvania student)
Leonard Kleinrock (University of California at Los Angeles)
David Kotz (Dartmouth College)
Beshan Kulapala (Arizona State University)
Rakesh Kumar (Bloomberg)
Miguel A. Labrador (University of South Florida)
Simon Lam (University of Texas)
Steve Lai (Ohio State University)
Tom LaPorta (Penn State University)
Tim-Berners Lee (World Wide Web Consortium)
Arnaud Legout (INRIA)
Lee Leitner (Drexel University)
Brian Levine (University of Massachusetts)
Chunchun Li (former NYU-Poly student)
Yong Liu (NYU-Poly)
William Liang (former University of Pennsylvania student)
Willis Marti (Texas A&M University)
Nick McKeown (Stanford University)
Josh McKinzie (Park University)
Deep Medhi (University of Missouri, Kansas City)
Bob Metcalfe (International Data Group)
Sue Moon (KAIST)
Jenni Moyer (Comcast)
Erich Nahum (IBM Research)
Christos Papadopoulos (Colorado Sate University)
Craig Partridge (BBN Technologies)
Radia Perlman (Intel)
Jitendra Padhye (Microsoft Research)
Vern Paxson (University of California at Berkeley)
Kevin Phillips (Sprint)

George Polyzos (Athens University of Economics and Business)
Sriram Rajagopalan (Arizona State University)
Ramachandran Ramjee (Microsoft Research)
Ken Reek (Rochester Institute of Technology)
Martin Reisslein (Arizona State University)
Jennifer Rexford (Princeton University)
Leon Reznik (Rochester Institute of Technology)
Pablo Rodrigez (Telefonica)
Sumit Roy (University of Washington)
Dan Rubenstein (Columbia University)
Avi Rubin (Johns Hopkins University)
Douglas Salane (John Jay College)
Despina Saparilla (Cisco Systems)
John Schanz (Comcast)
Henning Schulzrinne (Columbia University)
Mischa Schwartz (Columbia University)
Ardash Sethi (University of Delaware)
Harish Sethu (Drexel University)
K. Sam Shanmugan (University of Kansas)
Prashant Shenoy (University of Massachusetts)
Clay Shields (Georgetown University)
Subin Shrestra (University of Pennsylvania)
Bojie Shu (former NYU-Poly student)
Mihail L. Sichitiu (NC State University)
Peter Steenkiste (Carnegie Mellon University)
Tatsuya Suda (University of California at Irvine)
Kin Sun Tam (State University of New York at Albany)
Don Towsley (University of Massachusetts)
David Turner (California State University, San Bernardino)
Nitin Vaidya (University of Illinois)
Michele Weigle (Clemson University)

David Wetherall (University of Washington)
Ira Winston (University of Pennsylvania)
Di Wu (Sun Yat-sen University)
Shirley Wynn (NYU-Poly)
Raj Yavatkar (Intel)
Yechiam Yemini (Columbia University)
Dian Yu (NYU Shanghai)
Ming Yu (State University of New York at Binghamton)
Ellen Zegura (Georgia Institute of Technology)
Honggang Zhang (Suffolk University)
Hui Zhang (Carnegie Mellon University)
Lixia Zhang (University of California at Los Angeles)
Meng Zhang (former NYU-Poly student)
Shuchun Zhang (former University of Pennsylvania student)
Xiaodong Zhang (Ohio State University)
ZhiLi Zhang (University of Minnesota)
Phil Zimmermann (independent consultant)
Mike Zink (University of Massachusetts)
Cliff C. Zou (University of Central Florida)
We also want to thank the entire Pearson team—in particular, Matt Goldstein and Joanne Manning—who have
done an absolutely outstanding job on this seventh edition (and who have put up with two very finicky authors
who seem congenitally unable to meet deadlines!). Thanks also to our artists, Janet Theurer and Patrice
Rossi Calkin, for their work on the beautiful figures in this and earlier editions of our book, and to Katie Ostler
and her team at Cenveo for their wonderful production work on this edition. Finally, a most special thanks go to
our previous two editors at Addison-Wesley—Michael Hirsch and Susan Hartman. This book would not be
what it is (and may well not have been at all) without their graceful management, constant encouragement,
nearly infinite patience, good humor, and perseverance.

Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Computer Networks and the Internet 1
1.1 What Is the Internet? 2
1.1.1 A Nuts-and-Bolts Description 2
1.1.2 A Services Description 5
1.1.3 What Is a Protocol? 7
1.2 The Network Edge 9
1.2.1 Access Networks 12
1.2.2 Physical Media 18
1.3 The Network Core 21
1.3.1 Packet Switching 23
1.3.2 Circuit Switching 27
1.3.3 A Network of Networks 31
1.4 Delay, Loss, and Throughput in Packet-Switched Networks 35
1.4.1 Overview of Delay in Packet-Switched Networks 35
1.4.2 Queuing Delay and Packet Loss 39
1.4.3 End-to-End Delay 41
1.4.4 Throughput in Computer Networks 43
1.5 Protocol Layers and Their Service Models 47
1.5.1 Layered Architecture 47
1.5.2 Encapsulation 53
1.6 Networks Under Attack 55
1.7 History of Computer Networking and the Internet 59
1.7.1 The Development of Packet Switching: 1961–1972 59
1.7.2 Proprietary Networks and Internetworking: 1972–1980 60
1.7.3 A Proliferation of Networks: 1980–1990 62
1.7.4 The Internet Explosion: The 1990s 63
1.7.5 The New Millennium 64
1.8 Summary 65

Homework Problems and Questions 67
Wireshark Lab 77
Interview: Leonard Kleinrock 79
Chapter 2 Application Layer 83
2.1 Principles of Network Applications 84
2.1.1 Network Application Architectures 86
2.1.2 Processes Communicating 88
2.1.3 Transport Services Available to Applications 90
2.1.4 Transport Services Provided by the Internet 93
2.1.5 Application-Layer Protocols 96
2.1.6 Network Applications Covered in This Book 97
2.2 The Web and HTTP 98
2.2.1 Overview of HTTP 98
2.2.2 Non-Persistent and Persistent Connections 100
2.2.3 HTTP Message Format 103
2.2.4 User-Server Interaction: Cookies 108
2.2.5 Web Caching 110
2.3 Electronic Mail in the Internet 116
2.3.1 SMTP 118
2.3.2 Comparison with HTTP 121
2.3.3 Mail Message Formats 121
2.3.4 Mail Access Protocols 122
2.4 DNS—The Internet’s Directory Service 126
2.4.1 Services Provided by DNS 127
2.4.2 Overview of How DNS Works 129
2.4.3 DNS Records and Messages 135
2.5 Peer-to-Peer Applications 140
2.5.1 P2P File Distribution 140
2.6 Video Streaming and Content Distribution Networks 147
2.6.1 Internet Video 148
2.6.2 HTTP Streaming and DASH 148

2.6.3 Content Distribution Networks 149
2.6.4 Case Studies: Netflix, YouTube, and Kankan 153
2.7 Socket Programming: Creating Network Applications 157
2.7.1 Socket Programming with UDP 159
2.7.2 Socket Programming with TCP 164
2.8 Summary 170
Socket Programming Assignments 180
Wireshark Labs: HTTP, DNS 182
Interview: Marc Andreessen 184
Chapter 3 Transport Layer 187
3.1 Introduction and Transport-Layer Services 188
3.1.1 Relationship Between Transport and Network Layers 188
3.1.2 Overview of the Transport Layer in the Internet 191
3.2 Multiplexing and Demultiplexing 193
3.3 Connectionless Transport: UDP 200
3.3.1 UDP Segment Structure 204
3.3.2 UDP Checksum 204
3.4 Principles of Reliable Data Transfer 206
3.4.1 Building a Reliable Data Transfer Protocol 208
3.4.2 Pipelined Reliable Data Transfer Protocols 217
3.4.3 Go-Back-N (GBN) 221
3.4.4 Selective Repeat (SR) 226
3.5 Connection-Oriented Transport: TCP 233
3.5.1 The TCP Connection 233
3.5.2 TCP Segment Structure 236
3.5.3 Round-Trip Time Estimation and Timeout 241
3.5.4 Reliable Data Transfer 244
3.5.5 Flow Control 252
3.5.6 TCP Connection Management 255
3.6 Principles of Congestion Control 261

3.6.1 The Causes and the Costs of Congestion 261
3.6.2 Approaches to Congestion Control 268
3.7 TCP Congestion Control 269
3.7.1 Fairness 279
3.7.2 Explicit Congestion Notification (ECN): Network-assisted Congestion Control 282
3.8 Summary 284
Programming Assignments 301
Wireshark Labs: Exploring TCP, UDP 302
Interview: Van Jacobson 303
Chapter 4 The Network Layer: Data Plane 305
4.1 Overview of Network Layer 306
4.1.1 Forwarding and Routing: The Network Data and Control Planes 306
4.1.2 Network Service Models 311
4.2 What’s Inside a Router? 313
4.2.1 Input Port Processing and Destination-Based Forwarding 316
4.2.2 Switching 319
4.2.3 Output Port Processing 321
4.2.4 Where Does Queuing Occur? 321
4.2.5 Packet Scheduling 325
4.3 The Internet Protocol (IP): IPv4, Addressing, IPv6, and More 329
4.3.1 IPv4 Datagram Format 330
4.3.2 IPv4 Datagram Fragmentation 332
4.3.3 IPv4 Addressing 334
4.3.4 Network Address Translation (NAT) 345
4.3.5 IPv6 348
4.4 Generalized Forwarding and SDN 354
4.4.1 Match 356
4.4.2 Action 358
4.4.3 OpenFlow Examples of Match-plus-action in Action 358
4.5 Summary 361

Wireshark Lab 370
Interview: Vinton G. Cerf 371
Chapter 5 The Network Layer: Control Plane 373
5.1 Introduction 374
5.2 Routing Algorithms 376
5.2.1 The Link-State (LS) Routing Algorithm 379
5.2.2 The Distance-Vector (DV) Routing Algorithm 384
5.3 Intra-AS Routing in the Internet: OSPF 391
5.4 Routing Among the ISPs: BGP 395
5.4.1 The Role of BGP 395
5.4.2 Advertising BGP Route Information 396
5.4.3 Determining the Best Routes 398
5.4.4 IP-Anycast 402
5.4.5 Routing Policy 403
5.4.6 Putting the Pieces Together: Obtaining Internet Presence 406
5.5 The SDN Control Plane 407
5.5.1 The SDN Control Plane: SDN Controller and SDN Control Applications 410
5.5.2 OpenFlow Protocol 412
5.5.3 Data and Control Plane Interaction: An Example 414
5.5.4 SDN: Past and Future 415
5.6 ICMP: The Internet Control Message Protocol 419
5.7 Network Management and SNMP 421
5.7.1 The Network Management Framework 422
5.7.2 The Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) 424
5.8 Summary 426
Socket Programming Assignment 433
Programming Assignment 434
Wireshark Lab 435
Interview: Jennifer Rexford 436

Chapter 6 The Link Layer and LANs 439
6.1 Introduction to the Link Layer 440
6.1.1 The Services Provided by the Link Layer 442
6.1.2 Where Is the Link Layer Implemented? 443
6.2 Error-Detection and -Correction Techniques 444
6.2.1 Parity Checks 446
6.2.2 Checksumming Methods 448
6.2.3 Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) 449
6.3 Multiple Access Links and Protocols 451
6.3.1 Channel Partitioning Protocols 453
6.3.2 Random Access Protocols 455
6.3.3 Taking-Turns Protocols 464
6.3.4 DOCSIS: The Link-Layer Protocol for Cable Internet Access 465
6.4 Switched Local Area Networks 467
6.4.1 Link-Layer Addressing and ARP 468
6.4.2 Ethernet 474
6.4.3 Link-Layer Switches 481
6.4.4 Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs) 487
6.5 Link Virtualization: A Network as a Link Layer 491
6.5.1 Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) 492
6.6 Data Center Networking 495
6.7 Retrospective: A Day in the Life of a Web Page Request 500
6.7.1 Getting Started: DHCP, UDP, IP, and Ethernet 500
6.7.2 Still Getting Started: DNS and ARP 502
6.7.3 Still Getting Started: Intra-Domain Routing to the DNS Server 503
6.7.4 Web Client-Server Interaction: TCP and HTTP 504
6.8 Summary 506
Wireshark Lab 515
Interview: Simon S. Lam 516

Chapter 7 Wireless and Mobile Networks 519
7.1 Introduction 520
7.2 Wireless Links and Network Characteristics 525
7.2.1 CDMA 528
7.3 WiFi: 802.11 Wireless LANs 532
7.3.1 The 802.11 Architecture 533
7.3.2 The 802.11 MAC Protocol 537
7.3.3 The IEEE 802.11 Frame 542
7.3.4 Mobility in the Same IP Subnet 546
7.3.5 Advanced Features in 802.11 547
7.3.6 Personal Area Networks: Bluetooth and Zigbee 548
7.4 Cellular Internet Access 551
7.4.1 An Overview of Cellular Network Architecture 551
7.4.2 3G Cellular Data Networks: Extending the Internet to Cellular Subscribers 554
7.4.3 On to 4G: LTE 557
7.5 Mobility Management: Principles 560
7.5.1 Addressing 562
7.5.2 Routing to a Mobile Node 564
7.6 Mobile IP 570
7.7 Managing Mobility in Cellular Networks 574
7.7.1 Routing Calls to a Mobile User 576
7.7.2 Handoffs in GSM 577
7.8 Wireless and Mobility: Impact on Higher-Layer Protocols 580
7.9 Summary 582
Wireshark Lab 588
Interview: Deborah Estrin 589
Chapter 8 Security in Computer Networks 593
8.1 What Is Network Security? 594
8.2 Principles of Cryptography 596
8.2.1 Symmetric Key Cryptography 598
8.2.2 Public Key Encryption 604

8.3 Message Integrity and Digital Signatures 610
8.3.1 Cryptographic Hash Functions 611
8.3.2 Message Authentication Code 613
8.3.3 Digital Signatures 614
8.4 End-Point Authentication 621
8.4.1 Authentication Protocol ap1.0 622
8.5 Securing E-Mail 626
8.5.1 Secure E-Mail 627
8.5.2 PGP 630
8.6 Securing TCP Connections: SSL 631
8.6.1 The Big Picture 632
8.6.2 A More Complete Picture 635
8.7 Network-Layer Security: IPsec and Virtual Private Networks 637
8.7.1 IPsec and Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) 638
8.7.2 The AH and ESP Protocols 640
8.7.3 Security Associations 640
8.7.4 The IPsec Datagram 641
8.7.5 IKE: Key Management in IPsec 645
8.8 Securing Wireless LANs 646
8.8.1 Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) 646
8.8.2 IEEE 802.11i 648
8.9 Operational Security: Firewalls and Intrusion Detection Systems 651
8.9.1 Firewalls 651
8.9.2 Intrusion Detection Systems 659
8.10 Summary 662
Wireshark Lab 672

IPsec Lab 672
Interview: Steven M. Bellovin 673
Chapter 9 Multimedia Networking 675
9.1 Multimedia Networking Applications 676
9.1.1 Properties of Video 676
9.1.2 Properties of Audio 677
9.1.3 Types of Multimedia Network Applications 679
9.2 Streaming Stored Video 681
9.2.1 UDP Streaming 683
9.2.2 HTTP Streaming 684
9.3 Voice-over-IP 688
9.3.1 Limitations of the Best-Effort IP Service 688
9.3.2 Removing Jitter at the Receiver for Audio 691
9.3.3 Recovering from Packet Loss 694
9.3.4 Case Study: VoIP with Skype 697
9.4 Protocols for Real-Time Conversational Applications 700
9.4.1 RTP 700
9.4.2 SIP 703
9.5 Network Support for Multimedia 709
9.5.1 Dimensioning Best-Effort Networks 711
9.5.2 Providing Multiple Classes of Service 712
9.5.3 Diffserv 719
9.5.4 Per-Connection Quality-of-Service (QoS) Guarantees: Resource Reservation and Call
Admission 723
9.6 Summary 726
Programming Assignment 735
Interview: Henning Schulzrinne 736
References 741
Index 783

Chapter 1 Computer Networks and the Internet
Today’s Internet is arguably the largest engineered system ever created by mankind, with hundreds of
millions of connected computers, communication links, and switches; with billions of users who connect
via laptops, tablets, and smartphones; and with an array of new Internet-connected “things” including
game consoles, surveillance systems, watches, eye glasses, thermostats, body scales, and cars. Given
that the Internet is so large and has so many diverse components and uses, is there any hope of
understanding how it works? Are there guiding principles and structure that can provide a foundation for
understanding such an amazingly large and complex system? And if so, is it possible that it actually
could be both interesting and fun to learn about computer networks? Fortunately, the answer to all of
these questions is a resounding YES! Indeed, it’s our aim in this book to provide you with a modern
introduction to the dynamic field of computer networking, giving you the principles and practical insights
you’ll need to understand not only today’s networks, but tomorrow’s as well.
This first chapter presents a broad overview of computer networking and the Internet. Our goal here is to
paint a broad picture and set the context for the rest of this book, to see the forest through the trees.
We’ll cover a lot of ground in this introductory chapter and discuss a lot of the pieces of a computer
network, without losing sight of the big picture.
We’ll structure our overview of computer networks in this chapter as follows. After introducing some
basic terminology and concepts, we’ll first examine the basic hardware and software components that
make up a network. We’ll begin at the network’s edge and look at the end systems and network
applications running in the network. We’ll then explore the core of a computer network, examining the
links and the switches that transport data, as well as the access networks and physical media that
connect end systems to the network core. We’ll learn that the Internet is a network of networks, and we’ll
learn how these networks connect with each other.
After having completed this overview of the edge and core of a computer network, we’ll take the broader
and more abstract view in the second half of this chapter. We’ll examine delay, loss, and throughput of
data in a computer network and provide simple quantitative models for end-to-end throughput and delay:
models that take into account transmission, propagation, and queuing delays. We’ll then introduce some
of the key architectural principles in computer networking, namely, protocol layering and service models.
We’ll also learn that computer networks are vulnerable to many different types of attacks; we’ll survey

some of these attacks and consider how computer networks can be made more secure. Finally, we’ll
close this chapter with a brief history of computer networking.

1.1 What Is the Internet?
In this book, we’ll use the public Internet, a specific computer network, as our principal vehicle for
discussing computer networks and their protocols. But what is the Internet? There are a couple of ways
to answer this question. First, we can describe the nuts and bolts of the Internet, that is, the basic
hardware and software components that make up the Internet. Second, we can describe the Internet in
terms of a networking infrastructure that provides services to distributed applications. Let’s begin with
the nuts-and-bolts description, using Figure 1.1 to illustrate our discussion.
1.1.1 A Nuts-and-Bolts Description
The Internet is a computer network that interconnects billions of computing devices throughout the
world. Not too long ago, these computing devices were primarily traditional desktop PCs, Linux
workstations, and so-called servers that store and transmit information such as Web pages and e-mail
messages. Increasingly, however, nontraditional Internet “things” such as laptops, smartphones, tablets,
TVs, gaming consoles, thermostats, home security systems, home appliances, watches, eye glasses,
cars, traffic control systems and more are being connected to the Internet. Indeed, the term computer
network is beginning to sound a bit dated, given the many nontraditional devices that are being hooked
up to the Internet. In Internet jargon, all of these devices are called hosts or end systems. By some
estimates, in 2015 there were about 5 billion devices connected to the Internet, and the number will
reach 25 billion by 2020 [Gartner 2014]. It is estimated that in 2015 there were over 3.2 billion Internet
users worldwide, approximately 40% of the world population [ITU 2015].

Figure 1.1 Some pieces of the Internet
End systems are connected together by a network of communication links and packet switches.
We’ll see in Section 1.2 that there are many types of communication links, which are made up of

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CHAPTER XXIII.
Seated with the old Moola I have before mentioned, the Nuwab
Subzee Khan Buhadoor (for by that name alone I knew him) was
quaffing his bitter and intoxicating draught. Around him stood some
of his retainers, fierce-looking fellows, one or two of them with deep
scars on their rough visages, which showed they had bravely
followed their noble master through many a hard-fought field.
Behind him sat the slave I have mentioned, a slender fair girl, who
was busily employed in making a fresh bowl of the infusion the
Nuwab was so fond of.
The Moola introduced me. "This," said he, "my lord, is the young
man I spoke of. I need repeat no praises of him, for no doubt your
discerning eyes will at once observe that he is a person of
respectability and good breeding, and a fit companion for one of my
lord's exalted rank."
I presented the hilt of my sword as a nuzzur, and after touching it
with his hand, he bid me be seated near him on the carpet. This I
was too polite to do; so, excusing myself on the ground of
unworthiness of such honour, I seated myself on my heels on the
edge of the carpet, and placed my sword and shield before me. The
sword immediately attracted his attention. "That is a noble weapon,
Meer Sahib," said he; "may I be allowed to look at it?"
"Certainly," said I, presenting the hilt; "the sword is at my lord's
service."
"Nay, Meer Sahib, I want it not; but I am curious in these matters,
and have a choice collection, which I will one day show you."
He drew it carefully from the scabbard, and as the brightly-polished
blade gleamed in the sunlight, he looked on it with a smile of
delight, such as one would greet an intimate friend with after a long

absence. I must however describe him. In person he was tall and
strongly made; his arms in particular, which were distinctly seen
through his thin muslin dress, were remarkably muscular, and very
long; his figure was slightly inclined to corpulency, perhaps the effect
of age, which had also sprinkled his curling beard and mustachios
with gray hairs; or it might be that these had been increased in
number by the dangerous use of the drug he drank in such
quantities. His face was strikingly handsome, and at once bespoke
his high birth. A noble forehead, which was but little concealed by
his turban, was covered with veins which rose above its surface, as
though the proud blood which flowed in them almost scorned
confinement. His eyes were large and piercing like an eagle's, and,
but that they were swollen and reddened by habitual intemperance,
would have been pronounced beautiful. He had a prominent thin
nose, large nostrils, almost transparent, and a mouth small and
curved like a bow, which, when the features were at rest, wore an
habitual expression of scorn. His flowing and graceful beard and
mustachios, which I have already mentioned, completed a
countenance such as I had never seen the like of before, and have
not met with since. The whole was inexpressibly striking, and in the
meanest apparel the Nuwab would at once have been pronounced
by any one to be a man of high family and a gallant soldier.
A rosary of large pearls was about his neck, and with this exception
he wore no ornaments. His dress was studiously plain, while it was
neat in the extreme. I remarked two deep scars, one on the back of
his head where it joined the neck, the other on his broad chest, and
its deep seam was not concealed by the thin dress he wore. Such
was Subzee Khan, who had won his renown in many a hard fight,
and whom I was determined to destroy on the very first opportunity.
He continued looking at the blade so earnestly and so long, that I
began to think that it had possibly belonged to some victim of my
father's, who might have been known to the Nuwab, and I was
mentally framing a reply in case he should ask me where I got it,
when he suddenly said, as he passed his finger along the edge, "So,
you too have seen battles, my friend; there are some slight dents in

this good sword which have not escaped the touch of an old soldier.
How did it come by them?"
"Oh, a trifling skirmish with robbers as I came down from
Hindostan," said I; and I related to him our affair with the thieves in
the Nirmul road.
"It was well done," said he, when I ended my account; "but
methinks you might have followed up your success and sliced some
more of the rogues a little. This weapon would not have failed you if
your heart had not."
"My heart never failed me yet, Nuwab," I replied; "those who know
me well, also know that I burn for an opportunity to prove that I am
a man and no coward; but what could I do in that instance? there
were but few of us, and the jungle was terribly thick—we could not
have followed them in the dark."
"You are right," he replied; "and what say you, my young friend, to
following the fortunes of Subzee Khan? He has at present naught to
give thee; but, Inshalla! the time is fast approaching when men of
tried valour may win something. My friend, Dost Mahomed, writes to
me to come quickly, for he has need of leaders in his new
enterprises; and methinks your figure and address would find favour
with him. What say you? You are not fit to sell horses all the days of
your life; and if you have turned any money in your present
expedition, you cannot expend it in a manner more befitting your
appearance than in getting a few men together, and offering your
service. Dost Mahomed has need of such youths as you, and,
Inshalla! we will yet do something to win us fame."
"May your favour increase, Bundé Nuwaz!" cried I; "it is the very
thing my soul longs for; with your introduction I cannot fail of
obtaining service: and if once we have anything to do, you will find I
shall not be backward."
"Then you will accompany me?" said he; "I am glad of it. You have
some men with you I perceive, and some travellers; what say you to
taking the direct road to Jubbulpoor? it is a rough one, but I am

pressed for time; and that by Nagpoor, though free from interruption
or danger of robbers, is much longer."
"I had determined on taking it, Nuwab Sahib," I replied, "even
before I saw you, for we are a strong party and well armed; but now
I can have no hesitation. As for thieves or robbers, I have no dread
of them, and my lord assuredly can have none?"
"None, since you have joined me," he said; "but with the few fellows
I have, I confess I hardly liked to brave the jungle; for the bands
who roam through it are strong and merciless, and it would be a
sorry fate for Subzee Khan to fall in an unknown spot, after a life
spent in battle-fields."
And yet you will do so, Nuwab Sahib, said I internally; your death-
blow will reach you in that jungle you dread, and no monument will
mark the spot where the remains of Subzee Khan will lie.
"And when shall you be ready to move, Meer Sahib?" continued he;
"have you aught to delay you here?"
"Nothing," I replied. "I had purposed marching to-morrow morning,
but if my lord wishes I can wait a few days."
"Ah no—to-morrow morning I cannot move conveniently, but the
day after I will join you here by daylight, and we will travel
together."
"Jo Hookum!" I replied; "I shall be ready; and now have I permission
to depart?"
"Certainly," he said; "I will no longer detain you, for I must be off
myself. My friend Sulabut Khan has an entertainment of some kind
to-night, and I have promised to attend it."
I returned to my tent, and though I longed to break the matter to
my father, yet I refrained from doing so until the Nuwab had fairly
joined us, when I would introduce him properly. As we were
preparing to start the third morning before daylight, the Nuwab rode
into our camp and inquired for me. I was speedily with him, and my
father coming up to us, I introduced them to each other. After the

usual compliments had passed, my father, unobserved by the
Nuwab, threw me a significant glance, I returned it, and he
understood me; a look of triumph passed across his features, which
gratified me, because to me alone was the band indebted for the
adventure which was to follow.
Our party was soon in motion, and as the light increased with the
dawning day, it revealed to me the person and dress of the Nuwab,
who now rode by my side. He was mounted on a splendid bay
horse, which moved proudly and spiritedly beneath his noble master:
the trappings of the animal were of crimson velvet, somewhat soiled,
but still exceedingly handsome, for the saddlecloth and headstall
were embroidered with gold thread in a rich pattern.
But the rider chiefly attracted my observation: he wore a shirt of
mail, composed of the finest steel links, exquisitely polished, over his
ordinary clothes: at his waist it was confined by a handsome green
shawl, which he had tied round him, and in which were stuck two or
three daggers, mounted in gold and silver. His arms were cased in
steel gauntlets, as far as the elbows, and greaves of steel protected
his thighs. On his head was a bright steel cap, from the top of which
a crimson silk tassel depended, and a shawl handkerchief was folded
round it to protect his head from the heat of the sun. At his back
hung a shield of rhinoceros hide, richly painted and gilt; a long
sword hung at his side from an embroidered velvet belt which
passed over his shoulder; and at his saddle-bow was fastened a
small battle-axe with a long and brightly polished steel handle.
Well did his appearance accord with his fame as a warrior. I had
seen hundreds of soldiers at Hyderabad, but I had never yet looked
on one so perfectly equipped as he who now rode beside me—nor
one, could I but have attached myself to him, in whom I should have
placed such confidence and followed readily into the deadliest strife.
But what was the use of his weapons or his armour? They would not
avail him,—his hours were numbered, and his breath already in his
nostrils.
"You observe me intently," said he.

"I do," I replied; "for I have never yet seen so perfect a cavalier:
horse, arms, and accoutrements all agree in setting off their noble
owner. Do you always travel thus?"
"Always, Meer Sahib; a soldier should never be out of his harness.
The short time I have spent in idleness with that luxurious dog
Sulabut Khan has softened my body, and even now I feel my armour
chafe me. But the time comes when I shall need it, and I had as well
accustom myself to it."
We continued the whole of the march together, and he beguiled the
way with relations of his adventures, battles and escapes. I was as
much fascinated by them as by his powers of conversation, which
were remarkable; and I often wished that I had met him as a friend,
or enrolled myself under him, when I might have followed his
banner and endeavoured to equal his deeds of valour. But he was
marked: in our emphatic language he was become a "bunij," and he
was doomed to die by every rule and sacred obligation of our
profession. We reached our first stage without any adventure.
Beyond it the villagers told us that the jungle grew thicker and
thicker, that the road was very bad and stony, and above all, that the
Gonds were in arms, and plundered all whom they met with.
"Let them try us," said the Nuwab, as he listened to the relations,
"let them try us! Inshalla! they will do us no harm, and it may be
some of them will get broken crowns for their pains."
But the next morning we moved with more caution; our men were
desired to keep well together, and I picked out a trusty few to
surround the cart, which moved on with difficulty over the rough and
stony roads; the Nuwab and myself rode at the head of the party. As
we advanced, the road grew wilder and wilder; in many places it
was narrowed almost to a footpath, and the men were obliged to cut
away the branches, which often nearly met across the road, so as to
allow the cart to proceed. At other times it ran between high banks,
which almost overhung us, and from which missiles might have been
showered on our heads, without a possibility of our being able to
strike a blow in self-defence.

"That was an ugly place, Nuwab Sahib," said I, as we emerged from
one of these narrow passes into a more open country, though still
covered with jungle; "had we been attacked there we should
assuredly have fallen victims."
"It was indeed," said he; "and I am thankful we have got out of it; if
I remember aright it has a bad name. From hence however I think
there are no more; the jungle becomes a forest, and there is not so
much underwood. But look," cried he, "what is that? By Alla! the
Gonds are upon us. Shumshere Alum!" cried he, in a voice which
rang like the sound of a trumpet, "Sumshere bu dust!" and his
glittering blade flashed from the scabbard. Checking his horse, and
at the same time touching its flanks with his heels, the animal made
two or three bounds, after which the Nuwab fixed himself firmly in
his seat, pressed down his cap upon his head, and cried to me to be
ready.
I was not behindhand; my sword was drawn and my shield
disengaged, which I placed before me to guard me from the arrows.
A few bounds of my horse, which was scarcely second to the
Nuwab's, brought me to his side, and we were followed by
Bhudrinath and a few others mounted on ponies, and some men on
foot with their matchlocks. "Come on, ye sons of defiled mothers,"
cried the Nuwab; "come on, and prove yourselves true men; come
on, and try your cowardly arrows against stout hearts and ready
weapons! Base-born kafirs are ye, and cowards; Inshalla! your
sisters are vile, and asses have loved your mothers."
I could not help laughing at the Nuwab's gesticulations and abuse,
as he poured it upon the Gonds and shook his sword at them. They
would not move, and perched up as they were on the side of a hill,
they prepared their bows to give us a volley—and down it came
certainly; the arrows whistled past us, and one wounded the
Nuwab's horse slightly in the neck, at which the Gonds set up a
shout of triumph.
"Ah, my poor Motee, thou art wounded," cried he, drawing the
arrow from the wound. "Meer Sahib, those rogues will never come

down; you had better give them a volley and disperse them."
"Now, my sons," cried I to my followers, "whenever a fellow raises
his body to fire, do you mark him."
They did so. One Gond in particular, who was sitting on a rock
drawing a large bow, which he placed against his feet, was a
conspicuous object, and apparently careless of his safety. Surfuraz
Khan aimed at him—fired—and in an instant he rolled over and over,
almost to our feet; the ball had hit him in the throat, and he was
quite dead. The rest seeing his fate, set up loud yells, and for a
moment we thought they would have charged us; however, another
of their number fell badly wounded, and carrying him off, they
rapidly retreated to their mountain fastnesses. Pursuit would have
been vain as it was impracticable.
We met with no further adventure during our march, and duly
arrived at our stage by the usual hour. "Ameer Ali," said my father,
coming to me shortly afterwards, "is the Nuwab to be ours or not? If
you have invited him as a guest, say so? if not, you had better
arrange something."
"A guest!" cried I; "oh no: he must be disposed of; there can be no
difficulty where there so many good places to destroy him."
"Impossible!" said my father; "on horseback it would be madness.
He is a beautiful rider, and his horse is too spirited; the least
confusion would make him bound, and who could hold him? We
must devise some other plan."
"Leave all to me," said I; "if there is no absolute necessity for
selecting a place, I will watch my opportunity."

CHAPTER XXIV.
"I suppose you have long ere this guessed, my friends," said I to
Bhudrinath and Surfuraz Khan next day, "why the Nuwab is in our
company."
"We can have little doubt," replied the former, "since you have
brought him so far; but tell us, what are your wishes,—how is it to
be managed? It will be impossible to attack him on the road; he
would cut down some of us to a certainty, and I for one have no
ambition to be made an end of just at present."
"You are right," said I; "we must not risk anything; still I think an
opportunity will not long be wanting."
"How?" cried both at the same moment.
"Listen," said I, "and tell me whether my plan meets with your
approval. During the march yesterday the Nuwab was regretting that
we did not fall in with a good stream of clear water, that he might
take his usual sherbet; you know that the slave girl he has with him
always prepares it. Now I am in hopes that we may meet one in to-
morrow's march, and I will try all I can to persuade him to alight and
refresh himself; while he is engaged in conversation with me, if we
find him off his guard, we can fall on him."
"Nothing is easier," replied Surfuraz Khan; "we cannot fail if he once
sits down: his weapons will not then serve him."
"I do not half like the job," said Bhudrinath. "Suppose he were to be
on his guard, he would assuredly escape; and though both myself
and the Khan here fear neither man nor devil, yet it is something out
of the way to kill a Nuwab; he is not a regular bunij, and I think
ought to be allowed to pass free of harm."

"Nonsense!" cried I. "This from you, Bhudrinath? I am astonished.
What, if he be a Nuwab, is he not a man? and have I not fairly
enticed him according to every rule of our vocation? It may be
something new to kill a Nuwab, but think, man, think on the glory of
being able to say we had killed Subzee Khan, that valiant among the
valiant; why, our fathers and grandfathers never did such an act
before."
"That is the very reason why I raise my voice against it," said he;
"anything unusual is improper, and is often offensive to Bhowanee."
"Then take the omens upon it," said I, "and see what she says.
Inshalla! we shall have the Nuwab yet."
"Ay," replied he, "now you speak like a Thug, and a proper one: I
will take the omens this evening and report the result; should they
be favourable, you will find Bhudrinath the last man to desert you."
In the evening the omens were duly taken, and proved to be
favourable. Bhudrinath came to tell me the news with great delight.
"I said how it would be," I cried; "you were owls to doubt our
patroness after the luck she has given us hitherto; and now listen, I
have not been idle. I have found out from the villagers that about
four coss hence there is a small stream with plenty of water; the
banks are covered with jungle, as thick as we could desire, and I
have fixed on that as the place. Shall we send on the Lughaees?"
"Certainly," said Bhudrinath: "we may as well be prepared:—but no,"
continued he, "what would be the use of it? If the jungle is as thick
as you say it is, we can easily conceal the bodies; and at any rate, as
there is a river, a grave can soon be made in the sand or gravel. But
the Nuwab is a powerful man, Meer Sahib; you had better not risk
yourself alone with him; as for the rest, the men have secured them,
—that is, they have arranged already who are to do their business."
"So much the better," said I, "for there is little time now to think
about it."
"I have selected one," continued Bhudrinath, "the fellow who calls
himself the Nuwab's jemadar; I have scraped an intimacy with him,

and am sure of him; the others have done the same; but we left the
Nuwab to you."
"He is mine," cried I; "I did not wish to be interfered with. If
Surfuraz Khan has not selected any one, I will get him to help me."
"He has not, Meer Sahib, that I know of, and he is as strong a man
as any we have with us; with him and another of his men you
cannot fail; but let Surfuraz Khan be the Shumshea, he is a good
one."
"I scarcely need one if the Nuwab is sitting," said I; "though perhaps
it is better to have one in case of any difficulty."
We made all our arrangements that night, and next morning started
on our journey in high spirits. The Nuwab and I, as usual, rode
together at the head of the party. "This is an unblest country, Meer
Sahib," said he, as we rode along. "Didst thou ever see so dreary a
jungle, and not a drop of water to moisten the lips of a true believer
from one end of the stage to the other? It is well the weather is
cool, or we should be sorely tired in our long stages; and here have
I, Subzee Khan, gone without my usual sherbet for three days on
this very account. By Alla! I am now as thirsty as a crow in the hot
weather, and my mouth opens in spite of me. Oh, that we could light
on a river or a well in this parched desert! I would have a glorious
draught."
"Patience, Khodawund!" cried I, "who knows but we may be near a
stream? and then we will make a halt, and refresh ourselves: I am
hungry myself and should not care for an hour's delay to break my
fast with some dates I have with me."
"Ha, dates! I will have some too; my fellows may find something to
eat in my wallets, and thou sayest truly the cold wind of these
mountains makes one hungry indeed." But coss after coss was left
behind, and as yet no river appeared. I was beginning to think I had
received false information, and was in no very good humour at my
disappointment, when, to my joy, on passing over the brow of a hill,
I saw the small river the villagers had spoken of below me.

"There," said I. "Khodawund! there at last is a river, and the
sparkling of the water promises it to be good. Will you now halt for
an hour? we can have a pipe all round, and your slave can prepare
your sherbet."
"Surely," cried he; "we may not meet with another, and this is just
the time when I like my sherbet best; send some one to the rear for
my slave, and bid her come on quickly."
I dispatched a man for her, and reaching the stream, we chose a
smooth grassy spot, and spreading the covers of our saddles, sat
down. One by one, as the men arrived, they also rested, or wading
into the water refreshed themselves by washing their hands and
faces in the pure stream, which glided sparkling over its pebbly bed;
the beasts too were allowed to drink; and all the men sitting down in
groups, the rude hooka passed round among them, while they
cheerfully discussed the merits of the road they had passed, and
what was likely to be before them. Casting a hasty glance around, I
saw that all the men were at their posts, three Thugs to each of the
Nuwab's servants and retainers. They were therefore sure. Azima's
cart was standing in the road, and in order to get her away I went to
her.
"Beloved," said I, "we have halted here for a short time to allow of
the people taking some refreshment, but you had better proceed;
the road appears smooth, and we shall travel the faster to overtake
you."
"Certainly," she replied; "bid them drive on, for I long to be at the
end of the journey. Poor Nurgiz and myself are well nigh jolted to
death."
"Ah well," I said, "bear up against it for another stage or two. I
promise you to get a dooly, if I can, at the first large village or town
we come to, and then you will be comfortable."
"Now proceed," said I to the Thug who acted as driver (for I had
purchased a cart on the road, soon after we left Beeder, and he had
driven it ever since); "proceed, but do not go too fast."

She left me, and I returned to the Nuwab. He was sitting in
conversation with my father, and even now was evidently partially
intoxicated with his detestable beverage. "Ho! Meer Sahib," cried he,
"what dost thou think? Here have I been endeavouring to persuade
this worthy father of thine to take some of my sherbet. By Alla, 'tis a
drink worthy of paradise, and yet he swears it is bitter and does not
agree with his stomach. Wilt thou take a drink?" and he tendered me
the cup. "Drink, man, 'twill do thee good, and keep the cold wind
out of thee; and as to the preparation, I'll warrant it good, for there
breathes not in the ten kingdoms of Hind a slave so skilled in the art
of preparing subzee as Kureena yonder. Is it not so, girl?"
"My lord's favour is great toward his slave," said the maiden; "and if
he is pleased, 'tis all she cares for."
"Then bring another cup," cried the Nuwab. "Now, with a few fair
girls to sing a ghuzul or two to us, methinks a heaven might be
made out of this wild spot."
"It is a good thought, Nuwab," cried I, chiming in with his humour;
"we will get a set of Tuwaifs from the next village we come to; I
dare say they will accompany us for a march or two."
"You say well, Meer Sahib; yours are good words, very good words;
and, Inshalla! we will have the women," said the Nuwab, slowly and
indistinctly, for he had now swallowed a large quantity of the
infusion, which had affected his head. "By Alla! they should dance,
too; like this—" continued he, with energy, and he got up and
twirled himself round once or twice, with his arms extended,
throwing leering glances around upon us all.
It was irresistibly ludicrous to behold him. His splendid armour and
dress but ill assorted with the mincing gait and absurd motions he
was going through, and we all laughed heartily. But the farce was
proceeding too long, and we had sterner matter in hand than to
waste our time and opportunity in such fooleries. So I begged him
again to be seated, and motioned to Surfuraz Khan to be ready the
instant he should see me go round to his back.

"Ho, Kureena!" cried he, when he had again seated himself, "bring
more subzee, my girl. By Alla! this thirst is unquenchable,—and thou
art excelling thyself to-day in preparing it. I must have more, or I
shall never get to the end of this vile stage. I feel now as if I could
sleep, and some more will revive me."
"Fazil Khan, bring my hooka," cried I, as loud as I could. It was the
signal we had agreed on.
"Ay," cried the Nuwab, "I will beg a whiff or two, 'twill be agreeable
with my sherbet."
I had now moved round behind him; my roomal was in my hand,
and I signalled to Surfuraz Khan to seize him.
"Look, Nuwab!" cried he: and he laid hold on his right arm with a
firm grasp.
"How dare you touch me, slave!" ejaculated Subzee Khan; "how
dare you touch a Nuwab——"
He did not finish the sentence: I had thrown the cloth about his
neck; Surfuraz Khan still held his hand, and my father pulled at his
legs with all his force. The Nuwab snored several times like a man in
a deep sleep, but my grip was firm and did not relax—a horse would
have died under it. Suddenly, as he writhed under me, every muscle
in his body quivered; he snored again still louder, and the now
yielding form offered no resistance. I gazed upon his features, and
saw that the breath of life had passed from the body it had but now
animated. Subzee Khan was dead—I had destroyed the slayer of
hundreds!
But no one had thought of his poor slave girl, who, at some
distance, and with her back turned to us, had been busily engaged
in preparing another rich draught for her now unconscious master.
She had not heard the noise of our scuffle, nor the deep groans
which had escaped from some of the Nuwab's people, and she
approached the spot where Surfuraz Khan was now employed in
stripping the armour and dress from the dead body. Ya Alla! Sahib,
what a piercing shriek escaped her when she saw what had been

done! I shall never forget it, nor her look of horror and misery as she
rushed forward and threw herself on the body. Although master and
slave, Sahib, they had loved.
Her lips were glued to those of the unconscious corpse, which had
so often returned her warm caresses, and she murmured in her
agony all the endearing terms by which she had used in their private
hours to call him, and implored him to awake. "He cannot be dead!
he cannot be dead!" cried the fair girl,—for she was beautiful to look
on, Sahib, as she partly rose and brushed back her dishevelled hair
from her eyes. "And yet he moves not—he speaks not;" and she
gazed on his features for a moment. "Ah!" she screamed, "look at
his eyes, look at them—they will fall out of his head! And his
countenance—'tis not my own lord's; those are not the lips which
have often spoken kind words to his poor Kureena! Oh, my heart,
what a pain is there!"
"This will never do," cried I; "some of you put her out of her misery;
for my part, I war not with women."
"The girl is fair," said Surfuraz Khan; "I will give her a last chance for
life."
"Hark you!" cried he to her, "this is no time for fooling;" and as he
rudely shook her by the arm, she looked up in his face with a
piteous expression, and pointed to the body by which she was
kneeling and mourning as she rocked herself to and fro. "Hear me,"
cried the Khan, "those who have done that work will end thy
miserable life unless thou hearkenest to reason. I have no wife, no
child: thou shalt be both to me, if thou wilt rise and follow me. Why
waste further thought on the dead? And thou wast his slave too!
Rise, I say again, and thy life is spared: thou shalt be free."
"Who spoke to me?" said she, in tones scarcely audible, "Ah, do not
take me from him; my heart is broken! I am dying, and you would
not part us?"
"Listen, fool!" exclaimed the Khan; "before this assembly I promise
thee life and a happy home, yet thou hearkenest not: tempt not thy

fate; a word from me and thou diest. Wilt thou then follow me? my
horse is ready, we will leave the dead, and think no more on the fate
of him who lies there."
"Think no more on him! forget him—my own, my noble lover! Oh,
no, no, no! Is he not dead? and I too am dying."
"Again I warn thee, miserable girl," cried Surfuraz Khan; "urge me
not to use force; I would that you followed me willingly—as yet I
have not laid hands on thee." A low moan was her only reply, as she
turned again to the dead, and caressed the distorted and now
stiffening features.
"Away with the body!" cried I to some of the Lughaees, who were
waiting to do their office; "one would think ye were all a parcel of
love-sick girls, like that mourning wretch there. Are we to stay
loitering here because of her fooling? Away with it!"
My order was obeyed; four of them seized the body, and bore it off
in spite of the now frantic exertions of the slave; they were of no
avail; she was held by two men, and her struggles to free herself
gradually exhausted her. "Now is your time," cried I to Surfuraz
Khan; "lay hold of her in the name of the thousand Shitans, since
you must have her, and put her on your horse: you can hold her on,
and it will be your own fault if you cannot keep her quiet."
Surfuraz Khan raised her in his arms as if she had been a child; and
though now restored to consciousness, as she by turns reviled us,
denounced us as murderers, and implored us to kill her, he bore her
off and placed her on his horse. But it was of no use; her screams
were terrific, and her struggles to be free almost defied the efforts of
Surfuraz Khan on one side and one of his men on the other to hold
her on.
We proceeded about half a coss in this manner, when my father, who
had hitherto been a silent spectator, rode up, as I was again vainly
endeavouring to persuade the slave to be quiet and to bear with her
fate. "This is worse than folly," cried he, "it is madness; and you,
above all, Surfuraz Khan, to be enamoured of a smooth-faced girl in

such a hurry! What could we do were we to meet travellers? She
would denounce us to them, and then a fine piece of business we
should have made of it. Shame on you! do you not know your duty
better?"
"I'll have no more to say to the devil," said the man on the left of
the horse, doggedly; "you may even get her on the best way you
can; what with her and the horse, a pretty time I am likely to have
of it to the end of the journey;" and he quitted his hold.
"Ay," said I, "and think you that tongue of hers will be silent when
we reach our stage? what will you do with her then?"
"Devil;" cried the Khan, striking her violently on the face with his
sheathed sword, "will you not sit quiet, and let me lead the horse?"
The violence with which he had struck, caused the sword to cut
through its wooden scabbard, and it had inflicted a severe wound on
her face.
"There," cried my father, "you have spoilt her beauty at any rate by
your violence; what do you now want with her?"
"She is quiet at all events," said the Khan, and he led the horse a
short distance. But the blow had only partly stunned her, and she
recovered to a fresh consciousness of her situation; the blood
trickled down her face, and she wiped it away with her hand; she
looked piteously at it for an instant, and the next dashed herself
violently to the earth.
"One of you hold the animal," cried the Khan, "till I put her up
again." But she struggled more than ever, and rent the air with her
screams: he drew his sword and raised it over her.
"Strike!" she cried, "murderer and villain as you are, strike! and end
the wretched life of the poor slave; you have already wounded me,
and another blow will free me from my misery; I thought I could
have died then, but death will not come to me. Will you not kill
me?"—and she spat on him.

"This is not to be borne; fool that I was to take so much trouble to
preserve a worthless life," cried the Khan, sheathing his sword;
"thou shalt die, and that quickly." He threw his roomal about her
neck, and she writhed in her death agonies under his fatal grasp.
"There!" cried he, quitting his hold, "I would it had been otherwise;
but it was her fate, and I have accomplished it!" and he left the
body and strode on in moody silence.
Some of the Lughaees coming up, the body was hastily interred
among the bushes which skirted the road, and nothing now
preventing us, we pursued our journey with all the speed we could.
Thankful was I that I had sent on Azima in her cart; she was far
beyond the scene of violence which had happened, and of which she
must have guessed the cause had she been within hearing; but the
driver of her cart had hurried on, and we had travelled some coss
ere we overtook her. Strange, Sahib, that after that day Surfuraz
Khan was no longer the light-hearted, merry being he had used to
be. He was no novice at his work; hundreds of human beings, both
male and female, had died under his hand; but from the hour he
killed the slave he was an altered being: he used to sit in silent,
moody abstraction, his eyes gazing on vacancy, and when we rallied
him upon it, his only reply was a melancholy smile, as he shook his
head, and declared that his spirit was gone: his eyes too would on
these occasions sometimes fill with tears, and sighs enough to break
his heart would escape from him.
He accompanied us to our home, got his share of the booty, which
he immediately distributed among the poorer members of the band,
and after bidding us a melancholy farewell, stripped himself of all his
clothes, covered his body with ashes, and went forth into the rude
world, to bear its buffets and scorn, in the guise of a Fakeer. I heard,
years afterwards, that he returned to the spot where he had killed
the girl, constructed a hut by the road-side, and ministered to the
wants of travellers in that wild region, where his only companions
must have been the bear, the tiger, and the wolf. I never saw him
again after he parted from us, and many among us regretted his

absence, and his daring skill and bravery, in the expeditions in which
we afterwards engaged: his place was never filled among us.
I have no more adventures of this expedition to relate to you: we
reached our home in due course without any accident or
interruption; and who will not say that we enjoyed its quiet sweets,
and appreciated them the more after our long absence and the
excitement and perils of our journey? I was completely happy,
secure in the increasing love and affection of Azima, whose sweet
disposition developed itself more and more every day. I was raised
to a high rank among my associates, for what I had achieved was
duly related to those who had stayed in our village, and to others
who had been out on small expeditions about the country; and the
immense booty we had acquired, and my father's well-known
determination to retire from active life, pointed me out as a leader of
great fortune, and one to whom many would be glad to entrust
themselves in any subsequent expedition, as I appeared to be an
especial favourite of our patroness.
The return of Hoosein's party, about two months after we had
arrived, was an event of great rejoicing to us all when they reached
our village. As we had agreed beforehand, at our separation, the
whole of the proceeds of the expeditions of both parties were put
into one, for general distribution, and on a day appointed it took
place. Sahib, you will hardly believe it when I tell you, that the whole
amounted to very nearly a lakh of rupees. It was carried by general
acclamation that I should share as a jemadar, and according to the
rules of our band I received one-eighth of the whole. Bhudrinath and
Surfuraz Khan received what I did, but the latter only of such portion
as we had won since he had joined us. I forget how much it was,
but, as I have told you, he divided it among the poorer members of
the band; and having apparently stayed with us only for this
purpose, he left us immediately, as I have before mentioned. Upon
the sum I had thus acquired I lived peacefully two years. I longed
often to go out on small expeditions about the country, but my
father would not hear of it.

"What is the use?" he would say. "You have ample means of
subsistence for two years to come; my wealth you know is also
large, and until we find the supply running short, why should you
risk life in an attempt to gain more riches, which you do not need?"
But my spirit sorely rebelled against leading such an inactive and
inglorious life, and every deed I heard of only made me more
impatient to cast off the sloth which I feared would gain hold on me,
and to mingle once more in the exciting and daring exploits of my
profession. Still I was fond of my home. Azima had presented me
with a lovely boy, who was the pride of my existence, and about the
time I am speaking of I expected another addition to my family. I
had already seen two seasons for departure pass, and a third was
close at hand, but I suffered this also to elapse in inactivity, although
I was repeatedly and strongly urged by Bhudrinath and others to try
my fortune and head another band to penetrate into Bengal, where
we were assured of ample employment and success.
But much as I wished to accompany them, my father still objected;
something had impressed him with an idea that the expedition
would be unfortunate; and so in truth it turned out. A large gang
under several leaders set out from our village at the usual time; but
the omens, although not absolutely bad, were not very encouraging,
and this had a dire effect on the whole. They had not proceeded far
when jealousies and quarrels sprang up among the several leaders;
they separated from each other and pursued different ways. One by
one they returned disappointed with their expedition, having gained
very little booty, scarcely sufficient to support them for the
remainder of the year. But one party was never heard of more; it
consisted of my poor friend Bhudrinath and six noble fellows he had
taken with him. Years afterwards we heard his fate: he had gone
down into Bengal, had visited Calcutta, and up to that period had
been most successful; but there his men dissipated their gains in
debauchery, and they set out on their return with barely sufficient to
carry them a few marches. They had nearly reached Benares, when,
absolute starvation staring them in the face, they attacked some
travellers, and, as they thought, killed them. They neglected,

however, to bury their victims, and one, who was not dead, revived:
he gave information to the inhabitants of the nearest village. My
poor friends were overtaken, seized, the property they had about
them immediately recognized, and the evidence given by the
survivor of the party they had attacked was convincing. What could
oppose this? The law had its course, and they were tried and
hanged.
Ameer Ali here stopped in his narrative, and promising to resume it
in a few days, he requested permission to withdraw, and making his
usual salam departed. A strange page in the book of human life is
this! thought I, as he left the room. That man, the perpetrator of so
many hundred murders, thinks on the past with satisfaction and
pleasure; nay he takes a pride in recalling the events of his life,
almost every one of which is a murder, and glories in describing the
minutest particulars of his victims, and the share he had in their
destruction, with scarcely a symptom of remorse! Once or twice only
has he winced while telling his fearful story, and what agitated him
most at the commencement of his tale I have yet to hear.
With almost only that exception, his spirit has seemed to rise with
the relation of the past; and his own native eloquence at times,
when warmed with his tale and under the influence of his vivid
imagination and faithful memory, has been worthy of a better pen
and a more able translator than I am; but let this pass; I repeat, it is
a strange and horrible page in the varied record of humanity.
Murderers there have been in every country under heaven, from the
time of Cain to the present—murderers from hate, from revenge,
from jealousy, from fear, from the instigation of any and every evil
passion of our nature; but a murderer's life has ever been depicted
as one of constant misery,—the worm that dieth not, the agony and
reproach of a guilty conscience, gnawing at the heart, corroding and
blasting every enjoyment of life, and either causing its wretched
victim to end his existence by suicide, to deliver himself up to

justice, or to be worn down by mental suffering—a more dreadful
fate perhaps than the others. Such are the descriptions we have
heard and read of murderers, but these Thugs are unlike any others.
No remorse seems to possess their souls. In the weariness of
perpetual imprisonment one would think their imaginations and
recollections of the past would be insupportable to them; but no,—
they eat, drink, and sleep like others, are solicitous about their
dress, ever ready to talk over the past, and would if released to-
morrow, again follow their dreadful profession with a fresh zest after
their temporary preclusion from it. Strange too that Hindoo and
Moslem, of every sect and denomination, should join with one
accord in the superstition from which this horrible trade has arisen.
In the Hindoo perhaps it is not to be wondered at, as the goddess
who protects him is one whom all castes regard with reverence and
hold in the utmost dread; but as for the Moslem, unless his conduct
springs from that terrible doctrine of Fatalism, with which every true
believer is thoroughly imbued from the first dawn of his reason, it is
difficult to assign a reason for the horrible pursuit he has engaged
in. His Koran denounces murderers. Blood for blood, an eye for an
eye, and a tooth for a tooth, is the doctrine of his Prophet, which he
trembles at while he believes.—And Ameer Ali is a Bhula Admee
even in the eyes of his jailers; a respectable man, a religious man,
one who from his youth up has said his Namaz five times a day, is
most devout in his life and conduct, is most particular in his
ablutions, keeps the fast of the Ramzan and every saint's day in his
calendar, dresses in green clothes in the Mohorum, and beats his
breast and tears his hair as a good Syud of Hindostan ought to do;
in short, he performs the thousand and one ceremonies of his
religion, and believes himself as sure of heaven and all the houris
promised there as he now is of a good dinner.
And yet Ameer Ali is a murderer, one before whom every murderer
of the known world, in times past or present,—except perhaps some
of his own profession, the free bands of Germany, the Lanzknechts,
the Banditti, Condottieri, of Italy, the Buccaneers and Pirates, and in
our own time the fraternity of Burkes and Hares (a degenerate

system of Thuggee, by the bye, at which Ameer Ali, when I told him
of them, laughed heartily, and said they were sad bunglers)—must
be counted men of small account. Reader, these thoughts were
passing in my mind, when at last I cried aloud, "Pshaw! 'tis vain to
attempt to account for it, but Thuggee seems to be the offspring of
fatalism and superstition, cherished and perfected by the wildest
excitement that ever urged human beings to deeds at which
humanity shudders."
"Did Khodawund call?" said a bearer, who had gradually nodded to
sleep as he was pulling the punkah above my head, and who was
roused by my exclamation. "Did the Sahib call?"
"No, Boodun, I did not; but since you are awake, bid some one bring
me a chilum. My nerves require to be composed."

CHAPTER XXV.
At the expiration of a week Ameer Ali sent word to me that he was
ready to resume his narrative, and I lost no time in requesting him
to repair to my residence. He arrived, and making his usual graceful
obeisance, I desired him to be seated.
The reader will perhaps like to know something of the appearance of
the man with whom he and I have had these long conversations;
and no longer to keep him in the dark on so important a subject, I
will describe Ameer Ali to him. He is what would be called a short
man, about five feet seven inches in height: his figure is now
slender, which may be the effect of his long imprisonment,—
imprisonment it can hardly be called, except that to one of his
formerly free and unrestrained habits and pursuits the smallest
restraint must, of course, be irksome in the highest degree, and
painful to bear. His age may be about thirty-five or forty years; but it
sits lightly on him for a native of India; and it has not in the least
whitened a beard and mustachios on which he evidently expends
great care and pains, and which are always trimmed and curled with
the greatest neatness. His figure, as I have said, is slight: but it is in
the highest degree compact, agile, and muscular; and his arms are
remarkable for the latter quality, combined with unusual length and
sinewiness. His dress is always scrupulously neat and clean, and put
on with more attention to effect than is usual with his brother
approvers, his turban being always tied with a smart cock, and his
waist tightly girded with an English shawl or a gaily-dyed
handkerchief, where once a shawl of Cashmere or a handkerchief of
brocade was better suited to his pretensions. In complexion he is fair
for a native; his face is even now strikingly handsome, and leads me
to believe that the accounts of his youthful appearance have not
been exaggerated. His forehead is high and broad; his eyes large,

sparkling, and very expressive, especially when his eloquence kindles
and bursts forth in a torrent of figurative language, which it would
be impossible to render into English, or, if it were rendered, would
appear to the English reader, unused to such forms of speech, highly
exaggerated and absurd. His cheeks are somewhat sunken, but his
nose is aquiline and elegantly formed, and his mouth small and
beautifully chiselled, and his teeth are exquisitely white and even.
His upper lip is graced with a pair of small mustachios, which would
be the envy of many a gay lieutenant of hussars; while a beard close
and wavy, from which a straggling hair is never suffered to escape,
descends nearly to his breast, and hides a throat and neck which
would be a study for a painter or a sculptor. To complete all, his
chest is very broad and prominent, and well contrasts with the effect
of his small waist.
His manner is graceful, bland, and polite—it is, indeed, more than
gentleman-like—it is courtly; and I have not seen it equalled even by
the Mahomedan noblemen, with many of whom I have associated.
Any of my readers who may have been in India, and become
acquainted with its nobles and men of rank, will estimate at once
how high is the meed of praise on this score which I give to Ameer
Ali. His language is pure and fluent, perhaps a little affected from his
knowledge of Persian, which, though slight, is sufficient to enable
him to introduce words and expressions in that language, often
when they are not needed; but still it is pure Oordoo; he prides
himself upon it, and holds in supreme contempt those who speak
the corrupt patois of the Dukhun, or the still worse one of
Hindostan. Altogether Ameer Ali is a character, and a man of
immense importance in his own opinion, and that of every one else;
and the swagger which he has now adopted in his gait, but which is
evidently foreign to him, does not sit amiss on his now reduced
condition.
Reader, if you can embody these descriptions, you have Ameer Ali
before you; and while you gaze on the picture in your imagination,
and look on the mild and expressive face you may have fancied, you,
as I was, would be the last person to think that he was a professed

murderer, and one who in the course of his life has committed
upwards of seven hundred murders. I mean by this, that he has
been actively and personally engaged in the destruction of that
number of human beings.
Now, Ameer Ali, said I, since I have finished describing your
appearance, I hope you are ready to contribute more to the stock of
adventures you have already related.
Your slave is ready, Sahib, he replied, and Inshalla Ta-alla! he will
not disappoint you. But why has my lord described my poor
appearance, which is now miserable enough? But might your slave
ask what you have written?—and the tone of his voice implied that
he had concluded it could not be favourable.
Listen, said I, and I will read it to you. At every sentence the
expression of his face brightened. When I had concluded, he said:—
It is a faithful picture, such as I behold myself when I look in a glass.
You have omitted nothing, even to the most trifling particulars; nay,
I may even say my lord has flattered me.—And he arose and made a
profound salam.
No, said I, I have not flattered your external appearance, which is
prepossessing; but of your heart I fear those who read will judge for
themselves; and their opinions will not be such as you could wish,
but such as you deserve.
You think my heart bad then, Sahib?
Certainly I do.
But it is not so, he continued. Have I not ever been a kind husband
and a faithful friend? Did I not love my children and wife while He
who is above spared them to me? and do I not even now bitterly
mourn their deaths? Where is the man existing who can say a word
against Ameer Ali's honour, which ever has been, and ever will

remain, pure and unsullied? Have I ever broken a social tie? ever
been unfaithful or unkind to a comrade? ever failed in my duty or in
my trust? ever neglected a rite or ceremony of my religion? I tell
you, Sahib, the man breathes not who could point his finger at me
on any one of these points. And, if you think on them they are those
which, if rigidly kept, gain for a man esteem and honour in the
world.
But the seven hundred murders, Ameer Ali,—what can you say to
them? They make a fearful balance against you in the other scale.
Ah! those are a different matter, said the Thug, laughing—quite a
different matter. I can never persuade you that I was fully authorized
to commit them, and only a humble instrument in the hands of Alla.
Did I kill one of those persons? No! it was He. Had my roomal been
a thousand times thrown about their necks and the strength of an
elephant in my arms, could I have done aught—would they have
died—without it was His will? I tell you, Sahib, they would not—they
could not; but as I shall never be able to persuade you to think
otherwise, and as it is not respectful in me to bandy words with my
lord, I think it is time for me to recommence my tale, if he is ready
to listen, for I have still much to relate. I have been so minute in the
particulars of my first expedition, that perhaps I need not make the
narrative of the other events of my life so prolix; indeed, were I to
do so, you, Sahib, would be tired of writing and your countrymen of
reading, for it would be an almost endless task to follow me in every
expedition I undertook. I shall, therefore, with your permission,
confine myself to the narration of those which I think will most
interest you, and which I remember to possess remarkable incidents.
Go on, said I; I listen.
Well then, said the Thug, Khodawund must remember that I told
him I passed over three expeditions, and that I had partly
determined to go on the third. It is of that expedition I would now
speak, as it was marked by an extraordinary circumstance, which will
show you at once that it is impossible for any one to avoid his fate if
it be the will of Alla that he should die.

At the time I speak of I had been obliged to form another set of
intimates in consequence of the loss of Bhudrinath and Surfuraz
Khan, for both of whom I had the sincerest regard. Hoosein, though
I loved and revered him as my father's dearest friend, was now too
old and grave to participate in all my thoughts and perhaps wild
aspirations for distinction. So as Peer Khan and Motee-ram, with
whose names you are familiar, had now risen to my own rank, and
proved themselves to be "good men and true" in various
expeditions, I took them into my confidence, and we planned an
enterprise, of which I was to be the leader and they my
subordinates. Fifty of the youngest, stoutest, and most active and
enterprising of our acquaintance were fixed on as the band; and all
having been previously warned, we met a few days before the
Dussera of the year 18—, in a grove near our village, which was
shady and well adapted for large assemblies, and was always used
as a place of meeting and deliberation: it was considered a lucky
spot, no unfortunate expedition ever having set out from it.
We were all assembled. It was a lovely morning, and the grass, as
yet not even browned by the sun and drought, was as if a soft and
beautiful carpet had been spread on purpose for us. The
surrounding fields—many of them tilled by our own hands—waved in
green luxuriance, and the wind, as it passed over them in gentle
gusts, caused each stalk of tall jowaree to be agitated, while the sun
shining brightly, made the whole glitter so that it was almost painful
to look on for a continuance. Birds sang in the lofty banian trees
which overshadowed us; hundreds of green parroquets sported and
screamed in their branches, as they flew from bough to bough,
some in apparent sport, others to feed on the now ripening berries
of the trees; and the whole grove resounded with the cooing of
innumerable turtle-doves, whose gentle and loving murmurs soothed
the turbulence of the heart, and bade it be at peace and rest and as
happy as they were.
My father and Hoosein were present to guide us by their counsels
and experience, and the matter in hand was commenced by a
sacrifice and invocation to Bhowanee; but as I have before described

these ceremonies, it is needless to repeat them; suffice it to say that
the omens were taken and were favourable in the highest degree;
they assured us, and though I had little faith in them
notwithstanding all I had heard to convince me of their necessity,
they inspirited the whole band, and I partook of the general hilarity
consequent upon them. My father opened the object of the meeting
in a short address. He said he was old and no longer fitted for the
fatigues and privations of a journey; he recapitulated all I had done
on the former expedition, pointed out the various instances in which
I had displayed activity, daring, and prudence beyond my years, and
concluded by imploring the men to place implicit confidence in me,
to obey me in all things as though he himself were present, and
above all not to give way to any disposition to quarrel among
themselves, which would infallibly lead to the same disastrous
results as had overtaken the expedition which had gone out the
previous year.
They one and all rose after this address, and by mutual consent
swore on the sacred pickaxe to obey me—the most impressive oath
they could take, and any deviation from which they all firmly
believed would draw down the vengeance of our Protectress upon
them and lead to their destruction. I will not occupy your time,
Sahib, by a narration of what I myself said; suffice it to say, I
proposed that the band should take the high road to the Dukhun,
and penetrate as far as Jubbulpoor or Nagpoor; from thence we
would take a direction eastward or westward, as hope of booty
offered, and so return to our home. Khândésh I mentioned as being
but little known to us Thugs, and where I thought it likely we might
meet with good booty, as I had heard that the traders of Bombay
were in the habit of sending large quantities of treasure to their
correspondents in Malwa for the purchase of opium and other
products of that district. I concluded by assuring them that I had a
strong presentiment of great success, that I felt confidence in
myself, and that, if they would only follow me faithfully and truly, we
might return in a few months as well laden with spoil as we had on
the former occasion.

Again they rose and pledged their faith; and truly it was a solemn
sight to see those determined men nerve themselves for an
enterprise which might end happily, but which exposed them to
fearful risk of detection, dishonour, and death.

CHAPTER XXVI.
Our meeting broke up, and I returned to prepare Azima for my
departure. I had invented a tale to excuse my absence. I told her
that the money which I had gained on my mercantile expedition to
the Dukhun was now nearly expended; and although, in her society,
and in the enjoyment of happiness such as I had never hoped for, I
had been hitherto unwilling to leave my home, yet I could delay to
do so no longer without absolute ruin staring us in the face. I added,
that my father had placed a sum of money at my disposal for the
purposes of trade; with which, if I met with the success I had
reasonable ground to hope for, from the letters of my
correspondents at Nagpoor and other places, I could not fail of
realizing a handsome profit—enough to allow us another continued
enjoyment of peace and affluence.
Long and vainly she strove to overrule my determination, pointed
out the dangers of the road, the risks to which I should be
necessarily exposed, the pain my absence would cause to her; but
finding these were of no avail, as I told her my plans had been long
laid, and that I was even now expected at Saugor, where my agents
had collected the horses I was to take for sale, she implored me to
take her and our children with me, adding that travelling was a
matter of no difficulty to her, and that the children would enjoy the
change of scene and the bustle and novelty of the camp. But this
also I overruled. It would have been impossible to take her, not to
mention the expense of her travelling-carriage; and at last, after
much pleading and objections of the description I have mentioned,
she consented to remain; and placing her under my father's care on
the morning we were to depart, I took an affectionate farewell of
her. Many were the charms and amulets she bound about my arms
and hung round my neck, which she had purchased from various

wandering Fakeers and holy moolas; and with streaming eyes she
placed my hands upon the heads of my children and bade me bless
them. I did so fervently and truly, for I loved them, Sahib, with a
love as intense as were the other passions of my nature.
At last I left her. Leaving one's home is never agreeable, often
painful; for the mind is oppressed with indistinct visions of distress
to those one leaves behind, and is too prone to imagine sources
from which it might spring, though in reality they exist not. It was
thus with me; but the appearance of my gallant band, as they
greeted my arrival among them with a hearty shout, soon dispelled
my vague apprehensions, and my spirit rose when I found myself in
the condition which had been the object of many a fervent
aspiration. I was my own master, with men willing to obey me, and
—Inshalla! I exclaimed to myself, now Ameer Ali's star is in the
ascendant, and long will it gleam in brightness!
I have told you of the ceremonies which immediately preceded our
departure on a former occasion; of course they were repeated on
this; the omens were again declared to be favourable by Motee-ram,
who was our standard-bearer and director of all our ceremonies, as
Bhudrinath had been; and we proceeded, accompanied for some
coss by my father and Hoosein, who stored my mind with the results
of their long experience. Among other things both particularly urged
me to avoid the destruction of women. "In olden times," said my
father, "they were always spared; even parties in which there might
by chance be any, although in other respects good bunij, were
abandoned on their account, as, our patroness being a female, the
destruction of her sex was considered obnoxious to her, and avoided
on every occasion. Moreover, men are the only fit prey for men; no
soldier wars with women, no man of honour would lift a finger
against them; and you of all, my son, who have a beauteous wife of
your own, will be the last to offer violence to any of her sex."
"Rely upon me that I will not," said I; "I was, as you know, strongly
against the fate of the unhappy women who died on my first
expedition, and, you will remember, I had no hand in their deaths;

but I was overruled in my objections, first by Bhudrinath and
afterwards by Surfuraz Khan, and what could I do? And it would be
terrible indeed to think that the distresses of their party and the
unknown fate of poor Bhudrinath were owing to the tardy, but too
sure vengeance of our patroness."
"It may be so," said my father; "but let not that prey on your mind;
both myself and Hoosein have killed many a woman in our time,
and, as you know, no ill effects have resulted from it. But bear in
mind what I have said, act with wisdom and discretion, and above
all pay implicit attention to the omens, and your success and
protection are sure."
We rode on, conversing thus, and when we arrived at the boundary-
stone of our village, we dismounted and embraced each other, and I
left them and rode on with my men. According to our rules, no one
was to shave or eat pan until our first victim fell; and as this was a
matter of inconvenience to many of the men, you may be sure we
had our eyes in all directions, and our scouts well occupied in every
village we passed through or halted at. But it was not till the fifth
day that we met with any one who offered a secure, and in every
way eligible, sacrifice; we had fallen in with bands of travellers,
some going to, and others departing from, their homes; but they
had invariably women in their company, and them I was determined
to spare, as well for my wife's sake as from the injunctions of my
father.
However, as I have said, on the fifth day, early in the morning, we
came to a cross-road, and were glad to see a party of nine
travellers, three upon ponies, having the appearance of respectable
men, and the rest on foot, coming up the road a short distance from
us. To our great joy they struck into the road we were about to take.
We had halted in pretended indecision as to the road, and when
they came up we asked it of them. They readily pointed to the one
before us, and although expressing themselves astonished at our
numbers, they agreed to accompany us to the village where we
proposed to halt, and the road to which we had inquired of them. I

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