CHAPTER XVII.
My father counted out the money and handed it over to the Dullal; hiscountenance brightened as he viewed it, and he made numberless salamsand protestations of thanks. "Now you must write a receipt for themoney," said my father.
"Surely," replied the fellow, taking a pen out of his turban, "if mylord will give me paper and ink."
"Here they are," said I; "write."
He did so, gave me the paper, and tied the money up in a corner ofhis dhotee, which he tucked into his waistband. "Have I permission todepart?" he asked; "my lord knows the poor Dullal, and that he hasbehaved honestly in this transaction. Whenever my lord returns toHyderabad, he can always hear of Mohun Das, if he inquires at the CharMinar, and he will always be ready to exert himself in his patron'sservice."
"Stay," said I; "I have somewhat to say to thee;" and I related to myfather the whole of the conversation I have just described.
"Is it so?" said he to the miserable being before him; "is it so?speak, wretch! let me hear the truth from thy own lips; wouldst thouhave robbed me?"
But the creature he addressed was mute; he stood paralysed by fear andconscious guilt, his eyes starting from his head, his mouth open, andhis blanched lips drawn tightly across his teeth. "Thou hast deservedit," continued my father; "I read in that vile face of thine deeds ofrobbery, of murder, of knavery and villany of every kind; thou mustdie!"
"Ah, no, no! Die?--my lord is pleased to be facetious; what has hispoor slave done?" and he grinned a ghastly smile.
"Thou wouldst have robbed me," said my father, "when I trusted theewith my whole substance; thou wouldst have left me to starve in astrange land without compunction; thou hast robbed others, and cheatedthousands: say, art thou fit to live, to prey longer upon the worldthou hast already despoiled?"
He threw himself at my father's feet; he grasped his knees; he couldscarcely speak, and was fearfully convulsed and agitated by extremeterror. "I am all that you say," he cried, "thief, murderer, andvillain; but oh! do not kill me. My lord's face is kind--I cannotdie--and my lord has no sword, and how will he kill me?" He had onlyjust perceived that we were both unarmed, and he made a sudden rush atthe door. "The Kotwal shall know of this," he cried; "people are notto be terrified with impunity." The door was fastened; he gave severaldesperate pulls and pushes at it; but I was at his back, and the fatalhandkerchief was over his head: he turned round and glared on me--thenext instant he was dead at my feet.
"There," cried my father exultingly, "judgment has overtaken him, andthe memory of his crimes will sleep with him for ever; we have done agood deed."
"Yes," said I, "a good one indeed; he confessed himself to be amurderer, robber, and knave--what more need you? and so young too forthis accumulation of crime!"
"Drag him in here," said my father, "I like not to look on him; and gofor the Luggaees; he must be buried at night in the small yard of thehouse; I dare not have the body carried out in this crowded city."
"It shall be done," I replied; "but think what an escape we have had;had you not told me to go with the wretch, we should have lost ourmoney."
"Yes, my son, and even had we got it, had you not suspected that fiveper cent. was too much, I should certainly have paid the sum; but I sawyour drift, and I think took up the clue admirably. We have cheated theknave both out of his money and his life."
"True," said I, "it has been a good adventure, and amusing withal;besides it promises further advantage."
"From the rock and the Fakeer?"
"Yes; there will be good booty."
"Take care," said my father; "the band may be there, and they will giveyou a warm reception."
"I will go and consult with Bhudrinath," said I; "the adventure willjust suit him and Surfuraz Khan; we will do nothing rashly."
Bhudrinath was at the serai waiting for me. "So, Meer Sahib," said he,"you are still in the humour for a frolic; how many lives will satisfyyour worship to-night there is no lack of men in this abode of villany."
"I am in the humour," said I, "but not for what I intended; I havebetter game in view."
"Ha!" said he, "so _you_ have been acting Sotha; and pray what may thisgame be?"
"One that will require stout hearts, and maybe naked weapons," Ireplied: "are you willing to accompany me?"
"To death," said Bhudrinath; "but I cannot for my life see what you aredriving at."
"Listen," I replied; and I related to him the whole history of theDullal.
"Cleverly done, very cleverly, indeed, my young jemadar," said he, whenmy relation was ended; "no one could have managed it better from firstto last; the rascal deserved his fate; and now I suppose we must searchout these hidden treasures in the rock."
"Exactly," said I; "I would do so this very night if I knew how to goabout it properly."
"Let me see," said Bhudrinath musing; "we shall not want many men, sixor eight resolute fellows will be sufficient. You and I, Peer Khan,Motee-ram, and four others, are ample; there is no use waiting forSurfuraz Khan, he will not now be back before the morning. But how toget intelligence of the place, and whether any of the rascals are thereat night?"
"Can no one personate a Fakeer?" said I; "a kulundur, anything will do.He might go up now, as the spot is close by, and bring us news in anhour or so."
"I have it!" cried Bhudrinath. "Here, some one call Shekhjee to me."
Shekhjee came. He was an old man, with a long beard; but he was anable fellow, and a rare good hand with the handkerchief. "Shekhjee,"said Bhudrinath, "sit down, I have something to say to you. You canpersonate a Fakeer if necessary, can you not?"
"Certainly," replied the old fellow; "Moosulman or Hindoo, all kindsare familiar to me. I know all their forms of speech, and have many oftheir dresses."
"It is well," said Bhudrinath; "now listen. You must go and disguiseyourself this instant; we have an enterprise in view;" and he relatedour proposed scheme and what had preceded it. "And now," continuedBhudrinath, "you must be wary, and by dark you must return, and tell usof the place, and if there are men there."
"Is the Fakeer who lives there a Hindoo or Moosulman?"
"I saw the impression of spread hands in whitewash on the rock, so hemust be a Moosulman," said I.
"Then I know how to act," cried the Thug. "Sahibs, I take my leave, andwill not fail you. I shall be with you by the time I am required."
"Will he manage it?" I asked of Bhudrinath. "Methinks it is a delicatebusiness."
"Never fear him," said Bhudrinath; "he is a most accomplished rogue andis a capital hand at disguise, especially as a Fakeer, and once got usconsiderable booty by enticing five Nanukshaee Fakeers among us who hadpicked up a good deal of money, and were going to build a well with it.Besides, he is as brave as a lion, and you have seen his other work."
As we were talking Surfuraz Khan came in. "Ours has been a goodbusiness," he cried exultingly, "and there is good spoil. We havekilled all the men, and the plunder is coming in charge of ourfellows."
"That is so far good," said I; "but is there any ready money, or is itall goods?"
"Both, Meer Sahib, both; but methinks you need not be so ready to ask,when we have not seen your face ever since we have been in the city. Wemight all have been taken and safely lodged in Puntoo Lall's huweleefor all you knew of the matter. I do not like such conduct."
I was enraged at his speech, and was about making an angry reply whenBhudrinath interfered. "Peace!" said he, "no brawls: it is disgraceful,and only fit for drunkards and smokers of ganja; listen to me. SurfurazKhan, you are no boy, and ought not to let your anger have sway; listenand hear what our young jemadar has been about, and I swear by BhowaneeI think he will yet put us all to shame."
He then related all I had told him, on hearing which Surfuraz Khan'sangry feelings gave way in a moment; he rose and embraced me. "I waswrong," said he, "and you must forgive me; and to prove that I am morethan ever your friend, I beg you to allow me a place in this adventure,for, by Alla! it promises to be a strange one."
"Willingly," said I; "we thought you would not arrive in time, but nowyou are come I would not on any account that you did not accompany us."
"So you have strangled the fellows you took out," said Bhudrinath. "Hadyou any trouble?"
"None whatever," replied the Khan. "We took them out on the Masulipatamroad, and found a spot on the other side of Surroonuggur; we threwthe bodies into a well and returned by another road. Soobhan Alla!this is a rare place, and we might remain here for years and have someamusement every day. I think I shall stay here."
"You may do as you please about that," said I, "when we have shared thespoil we have got. You will then be free, but I should be sorry to loseyou."
In such conversation we continued till it was dusk, and then assemblingthe men we intended to take, eight in all, and seeing that our armswere in good order, we waited in great anxiety for the return of ouremissary. At last he came. "There is no time to be lost," said he. "Iwent up to the place and found the Fakeer. He is a fine sturdy youngfellow, and at first warned me to descend; but when I told him I washungry and weary, that I had just arrived from Hindostan, and did notknow where to lay my head, and begged for a crust of bread and water inthe name of the Twelve Imaums, he was pacified, and admitted me intohis cave, gave me some food and a hookah, and we sat carousing for sometime. I pulled out my opium-box and took a very little; seeing it hebegged for some, and has taken such a dose that he will not wake tillmorning. I left him fast asleep."
"He shall never wake again," said I: "but did you observe the place?Where can the plunder be hidden?"
"He lives in a cave, between two enormous rocks," said Shekhjee. "Itwas nearly all in darkness, but I saw a corner at the back of it builtup with mud and stones, which he said was his sleeping-place, and Isuspect it is there that the plunder is concealed."
"Come then," said I; "there is not a moment to be lost; if we delay wemay chance to find the rest of the gang. This is just the hour at whichthey are all out in the bazars, stealing what they can."
We all sallied out, and conducted by our guide, crept stealthily alongthe foot of the rocks till we gained the narrow pathway by which wewere to ascend. We held a moment's conference in whispers, and biddingfive of the men stay below until we should tell them to ascend,Bhudrinath, myself, and Surfuraz Khan crept up the narrow track to themouth of the cave, whither the old Thug had preceded us.
"He still sleeps," said he in a whisper; "but tread softly, lest youwake him. He lies yonder, close by the lamp."
"Mind, he is mine," said I to Bhudrinath: "do you and Surfuraz Khanhold him;" for as I looked on the powerful form before me, I felt thisprecaution to be necessary. But he slept; how was I to throw the roomalabout his neck? Bhudrinath solved the difficulty; he gave the Fakeer asmart blow with the flat of his sheathed sword upon the stomach, andthe fellow started up to a sitting posture.
"What is this? Thieves!" was all he could say; my handkerchief wasready, and now it never failed me--he was dead in an instant.
"Now trim the lamp," said I to Bhudrinath. "Call up three of the men,and let the others remain below to look out."
Bhudrinath tore a piece of rag off the clothes of the dead Fakeer,which he twisted up into a thick wick and put into the oil vessel; itsstrong glare lighted up the interior of the cave, and we saw everythingdistinctly.
"Here is the wall which I spoke of," said Shekhjee, "and we had bettersearch behind it." We did so. There were piles of earthen jars in onecorner, which we at first supposed to contain grain or flour, andindeed the first two we uncovered had rice and dal in them; the thirdfelt heavy.
"This has something in it beyond rice," said I; "examine it closely."The mouth was stuffed with rags, but when they were removed we beheldit filled with money--rupees and pice mixed together.
"This was not wise," said Bhudrinath; "the Shah Sahib ought not to havemixed his copper and silver, the silver will be tarnished; but we canclean it."
The next pot was the same: the last was the best; it was full of goldand silver ornaments, rings, anklets, and armlets. We shuddered to seethat many of them were stained with blood. "The villains!" I exclaimed;"that wretch then told the truth when he confessed himself to be amurderer; the city is well rid of him. But we must not stand talking.Do one of ye tie these things up and be ready for a start, while welook out for further spoil."
But there was nothing else in this corner, no bales of cloth or otherarticles as we had expected. We were looking about to find any otherplace of concealment, and had nearly given up our search, when SurfurazKhan, who had gone outside, called to us. "Come here," he cried; "thereis a place here which looks suspicious."
We ran to the spot, and found the hole he had discovered to be betweentwo rocks; it was dark within, and a man could but just enter bycrawling upon his hands and knees. "Give me the light," said I; "I willenter it if the devil were inside."
"Better the devil than any of this infernal gang," said Bhudrinath tome as I entered.
I found no one, and the space within, which was so low that I couldscarcely stand upright, was filled with bundles. "Neither the devil norany of the gang are here," cried I to those outside, "so do some of youcome in quickly and see what I have found."
I set myself to work, as did also the others, to untie the differentbundles, and we were all busily employed. I had just opened one whichcontained, as I thought, brass cooking-pots and water-vessels, andwas overjoyed to find some gold and others silver, when the alarm wasgiven from outside. We all got out as quickly as we could and inquiredthe cause. "There are two men," said the scouts, "whom we have watchedcome round the corner of the houses yonder and approach the bottom ofthe rocks; they do not walk fast, and appear to be carrying loads ofsomething."
"Only two," said I, "then they are easily managed. Put out the light,and conceal yourselves at the entrance of the cave; we must fall uponthem as they enter."
We had just taken our posts behind a rock which was close to the mouth,our roomals ready, and two with their swords drawn, when one of thefellows called out, "Ho! Sein! Sein! come down and help us up. Here weare, laden like Pulla-wallas, and thou hast not even a light to show usthe way."
"Not a word," said I, "as you value your lives. Let them come."
"May his mother be defiled!" said the other fellow. "The beast is drunkin his den and does not hear us. I will settle with him for this."
I suppose he stumbled and fell, for there was another series ofexecrations at the Fakeer, the load, and the stones; but in a fewmoments more they both reached the platform and threw down theirbundles, which clanked as they fell. "Where is this drunken rascal!"said one, a tall fellow as big as the one we had killed. "No light forus, and I warrant the brute has either smoked himself dead drunk or isaway at the Bhung-khana just when he is wanted."
The other sat down, apparently fairly tired and out of breath. "Goinside," said he; "you will find the lamp and cruse of oil behind thewall. I will not stir an inch."
The first speaker entered, cursing and abusing the Fakeer. SurfurazKhan and I rushed on him and despatched him; but the other, hearingthe scuffle, cried out and attempted to escape. He was not fated to doso, however; his foot slipped, or he stumbled over one of the bundleshe had brought, and fell, and before he could rise had received hisdeath-wound by a cut in the neck from one of the men behind the rock,who darted out upon him. "Enough of this work," said I; "we had betterbe off; first, however, let us pay one more visit to the hole and getwhat we can, and do one of you see what is in the bundles."
We again entered the hole, and each taking a bundle we got out. Thosethe fellows had brought only contained cooking-pots and a few cloths,so we left them behind, and made the best of our way to the serailaden with our booty. I have forgotten to tell you, Sahib, how manymore proofs we discovered in that cave of the bloody trade of thesevillains. Many of the bundles were of wearing apparel, and most of themcovered with blood; one that I opened was quite saturated, and as thestill wet gore stuck to my fingers, I dropped it w
ith mingled disgustand horror.
Confessions of a Thug Page 18
