CHAPTER XVIII.
When we returned we had a good laugh over our success. The adventurewas novel to us all, and we pictured to ourselves the mortificationand chagrin of the robbers, when they should arrive, at finding theirstronghold plundered of all its valuables, and their friends lying deadat the threshold, instead of being ready to receive them and recounttheir adventures of the evening. As a better place of security, I tookthe jewels and silver vessels I had found to our house, and locked themup in the strong-room, to be disposed of afterwards as best they mightbe. My father, I need not say, was overpowered with joy, and every newfeat that I performed seemed to render me more dear to him. He caressedme as though I had still been a child.
"Wait till these actions are known in Hindostan, my son," said he, withenthusiasm; "I am much mistaken indeed if they do not raise you to arank which has been attained by few, that of Subadar."
I did not reply to him, but I made an inward determination to ventureeverything to attain it. I was aware that nothing but a very successfulexpedition, coupled with large booty and a deed of some notoriety anddaring, could raise me to the rank my father had mentioned; but that itcould be attained I had no doubt, since others had reached it beforeme;--and why should not I, whose whole soul was bent upon winning famethrough deeds which men should tremble to hear. Two days after ouradventure at the robbers' cave, the whole of the Karwan and adjacentneighbourhood were thrown into great excitement from the discoveryof the dead bodies by their smell and the number of vultures theyattracted. Various were the conjectures as to the perpetrators of theviolent deed, and many attributed it to the treachery of some of theband of robbers; however, all agreed that a great benefit had been doneby unknown agents. Much of the stolen property was recovered; among itwas some of great value which had been stolen from a sahoukar a shorttime before, and which in our hurry and confusion had escaped us; but,as it was, we had got a considerable booty. All the gold and silver wassecretly melted into lumps by one of our men who understood how to doit, and it was valued by weight at upwards of seven thousand rupees.
On a general division of the proceeds of the booty being proposed,which amounted in a gross sum, by the sale of the camels, horses,bullocks, carts, and various valuables, to about fifty thousandrupees, all the Thugs agreed that it had better be reserved until thereturn of the expedition to our village; and meanwhile twenty rupeeswere disbursed to each inferior, and fifty to each jemadar, fortheir present wants. My father now talked of leaving the city; but Ientreated a further stay of ten days, as, in concert with Bhudrinathand Surfuraz Khan, I had laid out a plan for dividing our gang intofour portions, one to take post on each side of the city, and toexercise our vocation separately, the proceeds to be deposited ascollected in one place, and to be divided when we could no longer carryon our work.
The plan was favourably received by him, and that day it was put intoexecution. We paid the trifling rent of our house, and on the pretencethat we were about to leave the city and return to Hindostan, quittedthe Karwan and took up our quarters on the other side, in a suburbwhich bordered upon the Meer Joomla tank. Bhudrinath and his partywent into the Chuddar Ghat bazar, near the magnificent mansion of theResident, as, being a grand thoroughfare, it was frequented by numeroustravellers, and from thence branched off many roads, both to the northand east. Surfuraz Khan with eight men continued at the Karwan, as hewas less known than we were. Another larger party took post on thewestern road from the city towards Shumshabad, under Peer Khan andMotee-ram, who were resolved by their exertions to merit the trustwhich had been confided to them.
Our plan succeeded wonderfully; not a day passed in which thedestruction of several parties was not reported, and though the bootygained was inconsiderable, yet it was probably as much as we couldexpect, and it was all collected and deposited in our new abode, fromwhence my father disposed of such as met a ready sale. I pass over myown share in these little affairs. I had thought, when I selected thequarter I did, that there would have been more work than turned out tobe the case; I was disappointed in the small share which fell to mylot, in despite of my utmost exertions to the contrary, and entreatedBhudrinath or Surfuraz Khan to exchange places with me; they howeverwould not; they had laid their own plans, and as I had myself selectedmy station I had no right to any other, nor ought I to have beendissatisfied. It was very early in the morning of the eighth day afterwe had commenced operations, that Bhudrinath came to me in great alarm.
"We must fly," said he; "the city is no longer safe for us."
"How?" I asked in astonishment; "what has happened? Has aught beendiscovered, or have any of the band proved faithless and denounced us?"
"I will tell you," replied Bhudrinath; "it is a sad affair--some of ourbest men are taken and in confinement. You know Surfuraz Khan to bedaring, far beyond the bounds of discretion, and that for this reasonfew hitherto have liked to trust themselves to his guidance; and butfor this fault he would ere now have been one of our leading jemadars,for he is a Thug by descent of many generations, and his family hasalways been powerful."
"But the matter," cried I, impatiently; "what in the name of Shitanhave we to do with his ancestors? By Alla! you are as bad as a----"
"Nay, I was not going to make a story about it," said Bhudrinath,mildly, for nothing could provoke him, "so do not lose your temper;but listen. Surfuraz Khan then yesterday evening had got hold oftwo sahoukars, who were on the eve of departure for Aurungabad; hepersuaded them to put up in the serai with him, and they were to startthe next morning. They were supposed to be rich, as their effects intwo panniers were brought into the serai, and carefully watched bythem. By some unlucky chance, just as the evening set in, they werevisited by two or three other merchants whom they seemed to know, andwho persuaded them to wait for another week, and to join them in theirjourney up the country. To the extreme mortification of Surfuraz Khanthey agreed to the proposal; but as they said there would be danger inremoving their bags from the serai at night, they told their friendsthey would sleep there, and join them in the morning. Surfuraz Khan,I hear, made every exertion by persuasion to induce them to altertheir determination, but in vain. So you know there remained but onealternative, which was to put them to death in the serai, and todispose of the bodies as well as they could; besides, the circumstanceof the men being afraid to risk their bags by removal at night, lookedas though they were of value. I must own, Meer Sahib, it was tempting;it would even have been so for you or me,--how much more for the Khan!Had he even waited till towards morning, done the business, andstarted, leaving the bodies where they were, he could have got cleanoff with the booty, which was large, and he could have come round theback of the city and joined you or me; any one of us could have takenhis post in the Karwan, and no one would have been at all suspicious.But no, he did not reflect; the men were killed almost immediatelyafter their friends left, and their bags plundered: as it is, we havegot some of the spoil in the shape of two strings of pearls, but thebest are gone."
"And how was the matter discovered? you have not said."
"Why," continued Bhudrinath, "one of the sahoukars' friends shortlyafter returned with a message; Surfuraz Khan made some excuse thatthey had gone out, but would soon return. The fellow waited for a longtime; but at last growing suspicious he went away, and returned withthe others, who insisted upon a search for their friends. Surfuraz Khanhad contrived to bury the bodies in the yard, but some articles werefound on his person which the others positively swore to, as also thebags in which they had been; and the upshot of the whole was, that theywere all marched off to the city by a guard which was summoned fromsomewhere or other for the purpose, except one of them, by name HimmatKhan, one of Surfuraz's own people, who happened to be absent."
"It is a sad business truly," said I, "and I do not exactly see what isto be done to extricate them."
"Nor I," replied Bhudrinath; "but this evil comes of not taking theomens, nor attending properly to them when they are taken."
"Nonsense," said I; "you
are always prating about these foolish omens,as if success lay more in them than in stout hearts and cunning plans.I believe them not."
"You will rue it then one day or other," said Bhudrinath; "depend uponit you will rue it; I tell you I could mention a hundred instances ofthe disastrous effects of disregard of omens, and what I say will bereadily confirmed by your father."
"Pooh," said I, "he is as superstitious and absurd as yourself; why doyou not make your lamentations on my want of faith to him, instead oftroubling me with them?"
"I would," he replied, "but that he seems to have given over the chargeof the whole expedition to you, and to have forgotten his station asthe leader and conductor. Did any one ever hear of a whole band beingseparated, and each pursuing a separate course, without the omens beingtaken, or a solemn sacrifice offered to Bhowanee?"
"I thought that you had performed all the rites you seem to think sonecessary," said I, sneeringly; "and if you have not, to whom elsehave we to look but to you, who are the Nishan-burdar? By Alla and hisProphet! Bhudrinath, methinks you have deceived us all; and," said I,my anger rising, "I bid you beware how you speak of my father as youhave done; remember that I am able and willing to avenge any word whichmay be spoken against him, and I will do it."
"Young man," said Bhudrinath, gravely, "you well know me to be one whonever enters into idle brawls or quarrels, and these angry words ofyours are wasted; keep them, I pray you, for those who will gratifyyou by taking offence at them--to me they are trifles. Your placingno dependence upon the omens which have been considered by Thugsboth of your faith and mine to be essential to our success, is onlyattributable to your inexperience; the necessary offerings have beenneglected by us, and behold the punishment. Though at present it hasfallen lightly upon us, there is no saying how soon the whole of us maybe in danger; suppose any of those taken are put to the torture anddenounce us, how could we escape?"
"Then what do you counsel?" said I.
"I would first propose an offering to Bhowanee, and then such measuresfor the deliverance of those who have been seized as may be hereafterdetermined on by us all."
"Perform the ceremonies by all means," said I; "you and my father knowhow to do so; my ignorance might mar your object, so I will keep awayfrom you till they are over."
"You are right, it might--and I am glad to hear you at length speakreasonably; where is your father?"
"You will find him asleep within," said I, "and you had better go tohim."
Sahib, the sacrifices were made, the omens watched, and declared to befavourable. What they were I know not; I cared so little about theseceremonies then, that I did not go near them, or even ask what hadbeen done. It was only in after days that their value and importancewere impressed upon me by a series of misfortunes, which were no doubtsent to check my presumption; since then my faith in them has beensteadfast, as you shall hereafter learn. My father and Bhudrinathreturned to me with joyful countenances. "Bhowanee is propitious," saidthey, "in spite of this little display of her anger: the truth is, wehad in some manner neglected her, but she is now satisfied."
"Since that is the case," said I, "we had better be stirring and doingsomething for the poor fellows; but what to do I know not. When did yousay they were seized, Bhudrinath?"
"About the middle of the night."
"Then they are now in confinement somewhere or other, and it will beimpossible to effect their release by day; a bribe I dare not offer,for they say Hussein Ali Khan, the Kotwal, is an upright man. When isit likely they will be brought before him?"
"I know not," said Bhudrinath, "but it can easily be ascertained,"--andhe went into the street, and soon returned; "I asked an old Bunnea thequestion, or rather at what time the Kotwal held his durbar, and hetold me in the first and second watches of the night."
"Then," said I, "they must be rescued by force, and I will do it."
"Impossible!" cried both at once.
"But I tell you I will do it," said I; "where is Himmat Khan? with himand six of our best men I will do it, if they will stand by me. Do anyof them know the Kotwal's house?"
They were summoned, but none knew it. "Then," said I, "I will go evennow and find it out, and will return when my plan is perfected."
"And I will go and bring some of my men," said Bhudrinath; "I will beback by noon."
"See that they bring their swords and shields, Bhudrinath; some of themmay volunteer to accompany me."
"I will do so for one, Meer Sahib; I have confidence in you in spite ofyour want of faith,"--and he laughed.
"I understand you," said I; "you forgive me?"
"Certainly; did I ever quarrel with you?"
"No, indeed, though you had cause; I was foolish."
"Why, what is all this?" said my father; "you have not surely beenoffended with each other?"
"It is nothing," I replied, "for you see the end of it: but I am losingtime, I must depart."
I went into the city, and easily got a person to show me the Kotwal'shabitation. It was in a long, narrow street, which did not appearmuch of a thoroughfare. This exactly suited my purpose, for we couldhave done little in a crowded place. It seemed very practicable tosurprise the men who should escort our friends, and I had no doubt, ifsuddenly attacked, they would scamper off, and leave their prisoners totheir fate. I returned, and laid the result of my inquiries before myfather. He was not averse to the undertaking, but was in much alarm atthe prominent part I should have to play, and the chance of our beingdefeated.
"But," said he, "my son, these thoughts are the cowardly ones whichaffection often suggests, and Alla forbid they should have any effectwith you; go, in the name of the Prophet, to whose protection I commendyou."
Towards evening, therefore, myself, Bhudrinath, and six others,two of whom were Rajpoots, who swore to die rather than come backunsuccessful, went into the city. We separated, but kept in viewof each other, and they all followed me to the street in which theKotwal resided. There we lounged about for some hours, and I grewvery impatient. Would they ever come? had they even before this beentried, condemned, and cast into prison? were questions I asked myself athousand times. That the durbar was being held I knew by the number ofpersons who went in and came out of the house, but still there was nosign of our brethren.
I was sitting listlessly in the shop of a Tumbolee, almost the onlyone in the street, when Himmat Khan came up to me. I saw by his facethat he had news, and descended from the chubootra, upon which the manexposed his goods, and turned round a dark corner. "They come," saidhe, panting for breath from anxiety; "I have been watching one end ofthe street, and Khoseal Sing the other: they are coming by my end, andwill be now about half-way up."
"And by whom are they guarded?" I asked.
"Oh," said he, "a parcel of Line-wallas--about twenty soldiers with oldmuskets; we could cut through a hundred of them."
"Have they their bayonets fixed?" I inquired.
"They have; but what of that? they are cowardly rascals, and, you willsee, will run away."
"Then," said I, "run and tell Bhudrinath, who is yonder; tell him towalk down that side, I will go down this; when we are near them I willgive the jhirnee."
My four men had now joined me, as I told them to do if they saw mespeak to any one; Bhudrinath was joined by his, and by Khoseal Sing,who had given up his watch at the other end, and arrived at thecritical moment. Our parties proceeded down the street exactly oppositeto each other. I thought not of danger, though it was the first time Ihad ever drawn a sword in anger against a fellow-creature, and I wasabout to precipitate myself into what might be a sudden and desperatecombat. Our shields apparently hung loosely and easily on our arms, butthey were tightly grasped, and our swords were free in their scabbards.I saw the party approach--they marched carelessly; and had not the armsof my companions been tightly bound, and the whole tied together by arope, which the leader of the party held in his hand, they might haveeasily escaped.
Our men joined together in the middle of the street, and when
we wereclose to the coming party, I cried, in a loud tone, "Bahee Pan lao!" Itwas the signal--our swords flashed from their scabbards, and we threwourselves on the sepoys. I cut right and left, and two men fell; theothers were as successful: I rushed to the prisoners, and a few strokesof my sword, and of those who were nearest, cut their bonds, and theywere free. As Himmat Khan had said, the whole of the sepoys fled on theinstant of the attack.
"Fly to the gates, my brothers, or they will be shut!" I cried; "flythrough these narrow, dark streets; no one will know who you are, nortrouble themselves about you."
We all dispersed in an instant. I cast a hurried look around me as Ireturned my bloody sword into its scabbard, and saw five poor wretcheslying on the ground and groaning. It was enough: I, too, fled down thenearest street which offered, reached the gate I had entered by, andwhen I got on the embankment of the Meer Joomla tank, I plunged amongthe gardens and inclosures which are below it, and by the various laneswhich led through them soon reached my father's house. The attack onthe escort of the prisoners, Sahib, was so sudden, and over so quickly,that I can give you but a faint idea how soon it was made and finished:it occupied less time than I have taken to tell it; and I have oftenwondered since, that the noise and confusion, not only caused by us,but by a few passengers who witnessed the fray, did not alarm the wholestreet, and cause the inhabitants to rise on us.
By morning all our companions were present at the different places ofrendezvous; but thinking we were no longer safe about the city, myfather sent them all out of the way to the camp at Hassain Sagor, wherehe bid them wait, for we knew that it would never be searched for us.Nothing now remained to detain us, but to dispose of the plunder we hadgained during the last ten days, and there was none of much value; afew strings of pearls, several shawls, and some unset precious stones,were the best, and they were soon sold: the gold and silver, as before,had been melted down.
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