CHAPTER XXIV.
"I suppose you have long ere this guessed, my friends," said I toBhudrinath and Surfuraz Khan next day, "why the Nuwab is in ourcompany."
"We can have little doubt," replied the former, "since you have broughthim so far; but tell us, what are your wishes,--how is it to bemanaged? It will be impossible to attack him on the road; he would cutdown some of us to a certainty, and I for one have no ambition to bemade an end of just at present."
"You are right," said I; "we must not risk anything; still I think anopportunity will not long be wanting."
"How?" cried both at the same moment.
"Listen," said I, "and tell me whether my plan meets with yourapproval. During the march yesterday the Nuwab was regretting that wedid not fall in with a good stream of clear water, that he might takehis usual sherbet; you know that the slave girl he has with him alwaysprepares it. Now I am in hopes that we may meet one in to-morrow'smarch, and I will try all I can to persuade him to alight and refreshhimself; while he is engaged in conversation with me, if we find himoff his guard, we can fall on him."
"Nothing is easier," replied Surfuraz Khan; "we cannot fail if he oncesits down: his weapons will not then serve him."
"I do not half like the job," said Bhudrinath. "Suppose he were to beon his guard, he would assuredly escape; and though both myself and theKhan here fear neither man nor devil, yet it is something out of theway to kill a Nuwab; he is not a regular bunij, and I think ought to beallowed 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 himaccording to every rule of our vocation? It may be something new tokill a Nuwab, but think, man, think on the glory of being able to saywe had killed Subzee Khan, that valiant among the valiant; why, ourfathers 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 willtake the omens this evening and report the result; should they befavourable, 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 itwould be," I cried; "you were owls to doubt our patroness after theluck she has given us hitherto; and now listen, I have not been idle. Ihave found out from the villagers that about four coss hence there is asmall 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 asthick as you say it is, we can easily conceal the bodies; and at anyrate, as there is a river, a grave can soon be made in the sand orgravel. But the Nuwab is a powerful man, Meer Sahib; you had betternot risk yourself alone with him; as for the rest, the men havesecured them,--that is, they have arranged already who are to do theirbusiness."
"So much the better," said I, "for there is little time now to thinkabout it."
"I have selected one," continued Bhudrinath, "the fellow who callshimself the Nuwab's jemadar; I have scraped an intimacy with him, andam sure of him; the others have done the same; but we left the Nuwab toyou."
"He is mine," cried I; "I did not wish to be interfered with. IfSurfuraz 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 asany 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 perhapsit is better to have one in case of any difficulty."
We made all our arrangements that night, and next morning started onour journey in high spirits. The Nuwab and I, as usual, rode togetherat 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, andnot a drop of water to moisten the lips of a true believer from one endof the stage to the other? It is well the weather is cool, or we shouldbe sorely tired in our long stages; and here have I, Subzee Khan, gonewithout 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 opensin spite of me. Oh, that we could light on a river or a well in thisparched 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 myselfand should not care for an hour's delay to break my fast with somedates I have with me."
"Ha, dates! I will have some too; my fellows may find something to eatin my wallets, and thou sayest truly the cold wind of these mountainsmakes one hungry indeed." But coss after coss was left behind, and asyet no river appeared. I was beginning to think I had received falseinformation, 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 riverthe villagers had spoken of below me.
"There," said I. "Khodawund! there at last is a river, and thesparkling of the water promises it to be good. Will you now halt foran hour? we can have a pipe all round, and your slave can prepare yoursherbet."
"Surely," cried he; "we may not meet with another, and this is justthe time when I like my sherbet best; send some one to the rear for myslave, and bid her come on quickly."
I dispatched a man for her, and reaching the stream, we chose a smoothgrassy spot, and spreading the covers of our saddles, sat down. One byone, as the men arrived, they also rested, or wading into the waterrefreshed themselves by washing their hands and faces in the purestream, which glided sparkling over its pebbly bed; the beasts too wereallowed to drink; and all the men sitting down in groups, the rudehooka passed round among them, while they cheerfully discussed themerits of the road they had passed, and what was likely to be beforethem. Casting a hasty glance around, I saw that all the men were attheir 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 inorder to get her away I went to her.
"Beloved," said I, "we have halted here for a short time to allow ofthe people taking some refreshment, but you had better proceed; theroad appears smooth, and we shall travel the faster to overtake you."
"Certainly," she replied; "bid them drive on, for I long to be at theend of the journey. Poor Nurgiz and myself are well nigh jolted todeath."
"Ah well," I said, "bear up against it for another stage or two. Ipromise you to get a dooly, if I can, at the first large village ortown we come to, and then you will be comfortable."
"Now proceed," said I to the Thug who acted as driver (for I hadpurchased a cart on the road, soon after we left Beeder, and he haddriven it ever since); "proceed, but do not go too fast."
She left me, and I returned to the Nuwab. He was sitting inconversation with my father, and even now was evidently partiallyintoxicated with his detestable beverage. "Ho! Meer Sahib," cried he,"what dost _thou_ think? Here have I been endeavouring to persuadethis worthy father of thine to take some of my sherbet. By Alla, 'tisa drink worthy of paradise, and yet he swears it is bitter and doesnot agree with his stomach. Wilt thou take a drink?" and he tenderedme the cup. "Drink, man, 'twill do thee good, and keep the cold windout of thee; and as to the preparation, I'll warrant it good, for therebreathes not in the ten kingdoms of Hind a slave so skilled in the artof preparing subzee as Kureena yonder. Is it not so, girl?"
"My lord's favour is great toward his slave," said the maiden; "and ifhe is pleased, 'tis all she cares for."
"Then bring another cup," cried the Nuwab. "Now, with a few fair girlsto sing a ghuzul or two to us, methinks a hea
ven might be made out ofthis wild spot."
"It is a good thought, Nuwab," cried I, chiming in with his humour; "wewill get a set of Tuwaifs from the next village we come to; I dare saythey 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 andindistinctly, for he had now swallowed a large quantity of theinfusion, which had affected his head. "By Alla! they should dance,too; like this--" continued he, with energy, and he got up and twirledhimself round once or twice, with his arms extended, throwing leeringglances around upon us all.
It was irresistibly ludicrous to behold him. His splendid armour anddress but ill assorted with the mincing gait and absurd motions hewas going through, and we all laughed heartily. But the farce wasproceeding too long, and we had sterner matter in hand than to wasteour time and opportunity in such fooleries. So I begged him again to beseated, and motioned to Surfuraz Khan to be ready the instant he shouldsee me go round to his back.
"Ho, Kureena!" cried he, when he had again seated himself, "bring moresubzee, my girl. By Alla! this thirst is unquenchable,--and thou artexcelling thyself to-day in preparing it. I must have more, or I shallnever get to the end of this vile stage. I feel now as if I couldsleep, and some more will revive me."
"Fazil Khan, bring my hooka," cried I, as loud as I could. It was thesignal we had agreed on.
"Ay," cried the Nuwab, "I will beg a whiff or two, 'twill be agreeablewith my sherbet."
I had now moved round behind him; my roomal was in my hand, and Isignalled to Surfuraz Khan to seize him.
"Look, Nuwab!" cried he: and he laid hold on his right arm with a firmgrasp.
"How dare you touch me, slave!" ejaculated Subzee Khan; "how dare youtouch 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 legswith all his force. The Nuwab snored several times like a man in adeep sleep, but my grip was firm and did not relax--a horse would havedied under it. Suddenly, as he writhed under me, every muscle in hisbody quivered; he snored again still louder, and the now yielding formoffered no resistance. I gazed upon his features, and saw that thebreath of life had passed from the body it had but now animated. SubzeeKhan 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 preparinganother rich draught for her now unconscious master. She had not heardthe noise of our scuffle, nor the deep groans which had escaped fromsome of the Nuwab's people, and she approached the spot where SurfurazKhan was now employed in stripping the armour and dress from the deadbody. Ya Alla! Sahib, what a piercing shriek escaped her when she sawwhat had been done! I shall never forget it, nor her look of horror andmisery as she rushed forward and threw herself on the body. Althoughmaster and slave, Sahib, they had loved.
Her lips were glued to those of the unconscious corpse, which had sooften returned her warm caresses, and she murmured in her agony all theendearing terms by which she had used in their private hours to callhim, 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 shepartly rose and brushed back her dishevelled hair from her eyes. "Andyet he moves not--he speaks not;" and she gazed on his features for amoment. "Ah!" she screamed, "look at his eyes, look at them--they willfall 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 poorKureena! 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 chancefor life."
"Hark you!" cried he to her, "this is no time for fooling;" and as herudely shook her by the arm, she looked up in his face with a piteousexpression, and pointed to the body by which she was kneeling andmourning as she rocked herself to and fro. "Hear me," cried the Khan,"those who have done that work will end thy miserable life unless thouhearkenest to reason. I have no wife, no child: thou shalt be both tome, if thou wilt rise and follow me. Why waste further thought on thedead? And thou wast his slave too! Rise, I say again, and thy life isspared: thou shalt be free."
"Who spoke to me?" said she, in tones scarcely audible, "Ah, do nottake me from him; my heart is broken! I am dying, and you would notpart us?"
"Listen, fool!" exclaimed the Khan; "before this assembly I promisethee life and a happy home, yet thou hearkenest not: tempt not thyfate; a word from me and thou diest. Wilt thou then follow me? my horseis ready, we will leave the dead, and think no more on the fate of himwho 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 notto use force; I would that you followed me willingly--as yet I have notlaid hands on thee." A low moan was her only reply, as she turned againto the dead, and caressed the distorted and now stiffening features.
"Away with the body!" cried I to some of the Lughaees, who were waitingto do their office; "one would think ye were all a parcel of love-sickgirls, like that mourning wretch there. Are we to stay loitering herebecause of her fooling? Away with it!"
My order was obeyed; four of them seized the body, and bore it off inspite 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 graduallyexhausted her. "Now is your time," cried I to Surfuraz Khan; "lay holdof 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 ownfault if you cannot keep her quiet."
Surfuraz Khan raised her in his arms as if she had been a child; andthough now restored to consciousness, as she by turns reviled us,denounced us as murderers, and implored us to kill her, he bore her offand placed her on his horse. But it was of no use; her screams wereterrific, and her struggles to be free almost defied the efforts ofSurfuraz Khan on one side and one of his men on the other to hold heron.
We proceeded about half a coss in this manner, when my father, whohad hitherto been a silent spectator, rode up, as I was again vainlyendeavouring to persuade the slave to be quiet and to bear with herfate. "This is worse than folly," cried he, "it is madness; and you,above all, Surfuraz Khan, to be enamoured of a smooth-faced girl insuch a hurry! What could we do were we to meet travellers? She woulddenounce us to them, and then a fine piece of business we should havemade 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 ofthe 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 tothe end of the journey;" and he quitted his hold.
"Ay," said I, "and think you that tongue of hers will be silent when wereach our stage? what will you do with her then?"
"Devil;" cried the Khan, striking her violently on the face with hissheathed sword, "will you not sit quiet, and let me lead the horse?"The violence with which he had struck, caused the sword to cut throughits wooden scabbard, and it had inflicted a severe wound on her face.
"There," cried my father, "you have spoilt her beauty at any rate byyour violence; what do you now want with her?"
"She is quiet at all events," said the Khan, and he led the horsea short distance. But the blow had only partly stunned her, andshe recovered to a fresh consciousness of her situation; the bloodtrickled down her face, and she wiped it away with her hand; she lookedpiteously at it for an instant, and the next dashed herself violentlyto the earth.
"One of you hold the animal," cried the Khan, "till I put her upagain." But she struggled more than ever, and rent the air with herscreams: he drew his sword and raised it over her.
"Strike!" she cried, "murderer and
villain as you are, strike! and endthe wretched life of the poor slave; you have already wounded me, andanother blow will free me from my misery; I thought I could have diedthen, but death will not come to me. Will you not kill me?"--and shespat on him.
"This is not to be borne; fool that I was to take so much trouble topreserve a worthless life," cried the Khan, sheathing his sword; "thoushalt die, and that quickly." He threw his roomal about her neck, andshe 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 bodyand strode on in moody silence.
Some of the Lughaees coming up, the body was hastily interred amongthe bushes which skirted the road, and nothing now preventing us, wepursued our journey with all the speed we could. Thankful was I that Ihad sent on Azima in her cart; she was far beyond the scene of violencewhich had happened, and of which she must have guessed the cause hadshe been within hearing; but the driver of her cart had hurried on, andwe had travelled some coss ere we overtook her. Strange, Sahib, thatafter that day Surfuraz Khan was no longer the light-hearted, merrybeing he had used to be. He was no novice at his work; hundreds ofhuman beings, both male and female, had died under his hand; but fromthe hour he killed the slave he was an altered being: he used to sitin silent, moody abstraction, his eyes gazing on vacancy, and when werallied him upon it, his only reply was a melancholy smile, as he shookhis head, and declared that his spirit was gone: his eyes too would onthese occasions sometimes fill with tears, and sighs enough to breakhis heart would escape from him.
He accompanied us to our home, got his share of the booty, which heimmediately distributed among the poorer members of the band, and afterbidding us a melancholy farewell, stripped himself of all his clothes,covered his body with ashes, and went forth into the rude world, tobear its buffets and scorn, in the guise of a Fakeer. I heard, yearsafterwards, that he returned to the spot where he had killed the girl,constructed a hut by the road-side, and ministered to the wants oftravellers in that wild region, where his only companions must havebeen the bear, the tiger, and the wolf. I never saw him again after heparted from us, and many among us regretted his absence, and his daringskill 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: wereached our home in due course without any accident or interruption;and who will not say that we enjoyed its quiet sweets, and appreciatedthem the more after our long absence and the excitement and perils ofour journey? I was completely happy, secure in the increasing love andaffection of Azima, whose sweet disposition developed itself more andmore every day. I was raised to a high rank among my associates, forwhat I had achieved was duly related to those who had stayed in ourvillage, and to others who had been out on small expeditions aboutthe country; and the immense booty we had acquired, and my father'swell-known determination to retire from active life, pointed me outas a leader of great fortune, and one to whom many would be glad toentrust themselves in any subsequent expedition, as I appeared to be anespecial 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 ourvillage. As we had agreed beforehand, at our separation, the whole ofthe proceeds of the expeditions of both parties were put into one, forgeneral distribution, and on a day appointed it took place. Sahib, youwill hardly believe it when I tell you, that the whole amounted to verynearly a lakh of rupees. It was carried by general acclamation that Ishould share as a jemadar, and according to the rules of our band Ireceived one-eighth of the whole. Bhudrinath and Surfuraz Khan receivedwhat I did, but the latter only of such portion as we had won since hehad joined us. I forget how much it was, but, as I have told you, hedivided it among the poorer members of the band; and having apparentlystayed with us only for this purpose, he left us immediately, as I havebefore mentioned. Upon the sum I had thus acquired I lived peacefullytwo years. I longed often to go out on small expeditions about thecountry, but my father would not hear of it.
"What is the use?" he would say. "You have ample means of subsistencefor two years to come; my wealth you know is also large, and until wefind the supply running short, why should you risk life in an attemptto gain more riches, which you do not need?"
But my spirit sorely rebelled against leading such an inactive andinglorious life, and every deed I heard of only made me more impatientto cast off the sloth which I feared would gain hold on me, and tomingle 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 speakingof I expected another addition to my family. I had already seen twoseasons for departure pass, and a third was close at hand, but Isuffered this also to elapse in inactivity, although I was repeatedlyand strongly urged by Bhudrinath and others to try my fortune and headanother band to penetrate into Bengal, where we were assured of ampleemployment and success.
But much as I wished to accompany them, my father still objected;something had impressed him with an idea that the expedition wouldbe unfortunate; and so in truth it turned out. A large gang underseveral leaders set out from our village at the usual time; but theomens, although not absolutely bad, were not very encouraging, andthis had a dire effect on the whole. They had not proceeded far whenjealousies and quarrels sprang up among the several leaders; theyseparated from each other and pursued different ways. One by one theyreturned disappointed with their expedition, having gained very littlebooty, scarcely sufficient to support them for the remainder of theyear. But one party was never heard of more; it consisted of my poorfriend Bhudrinath and six noble fellows he had taken with him. Yearsafterwards we heard his fate: he had gone down into Bengal, had visitedCalcutta, and up to that period had been most successful; but therehis men dissipated their gains in debauchery, and they set out ontheir return with barely sufficient to carry them a few marches. Theyhad nearly reached Benares, when, absolute starvation staring them inthe face, they attacked some travellers, and, as they thought, killedthem. They neglected, however, to bury their victims, and one, whowas not dead, revived: he gave information to the inhabitants of thenearest village. My poor friends were overtaken, seized, the propertythey had about them immediately recognized, and the evidence given bythe survivor of the party they had attacked was convincing. What couldoppose this? The law had its course, and they were tried and hanged.
* * * * *
Ameer Ali here stopped in his narrative, and promising to resume it ina few days, he requested permission to withdraw, and making his usualsalam 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 manyhundred murders, thinks on the past with satisfaction and pleasure;nay he takes a pride in recalling the events of his life, almost everyone of which is a murder, and glories in describing the minutestparticulars of his victims, and the share he had in their destruction,with scarcely a symptom of remorse! Once or twice only has he wincedwhile telling his fearful story, and what agitated him most at thecommencement of his tale I have yet to hear.
With almost only that exception, his spirit has seemed to rise withthe relation of the past; and his own native eloquence at times, whenwarmed with his tale and under the influence of his vivid imaginationand faithful memory, has been worthy of a better pen and a more abletranslator than I am; but let this pass; I repeat, it is a strangeand horrible page in the varied record of humanity. Murderers therehave been in every country under heaven, from the time of Cain to thepresent--murderers from hate, from revenge, from jealousy, from fear,from the instigation of any and every evil passion of our nature; but amurderer's life has ever been depicted as one of constant misery,--theworm 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 bysuicide, to deliver himself up to justice, or to be worn down by mentalsuffering--a more dreadful fate perhaps than the others. Such are thedescriptions we have heard and read of murderers, but these Thugs areunlike any others. No remorse seems to possess their souls. In theweariness of perpetual imprisonment one would think their imaginationsand recollections of the past would be insupportable to them; butno,--they eat, drink, and sleep like others, are solicitous abouttheir dress, ever ready to talk over the past, and would if releasedto-morrow, again follow their dreadful profession with a fresh zestafter their temporary preclusion from it. Strange too that Hindoo andMoslem, of every sect and denomination, should join with one accordin the superstition from which this horrible trade has arisen. In theHindoo perhaps it is not to be wondered at, as the goddess who protectshim is one whom all castes regard with reverence and hold in theutmost dread; but as for the Moslem, unless his conduct springs fromthat terrible doctrine of Fatalism, with which every true believer isthoroughly imbued from the first dawn of his reason, it is difficult toassign a reason for the horrible pursuit he has engaged in. His Korandenounces murderers. Blood for blood, an eye for an eye, and a toothfor a tooth, is the doctrine of his Prophet, which he trembles at whilehe believes.--And Ameer Ali is a Bhula Admee even in the eyes of hisjailers; a respectable man, a religious man, one who from his youth uphas said his Namaz five times a day, is most devout in his life andconduct, is most particular in his ablutions, keeps the fast of theRamzan and every saint's day in his calendar, dresses in green clothesin the Mohorum, and beats his breast and tears his hair as a good Syudof Hindostan ought to do; in short, he performs the thousand and oneceremonies of his religion, and believes himself as sure of heaven andall 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 theknown world, in times past or present,--except perhaps some of his ownprofession, the free bands of Germany, the Lanzknechts, the Banditti,Condottieri, of Italy, the Buccaneers and Pirates, and in our own timethe fraternity of Burkes and Hares (a degenerate system of Thuggee, bythe 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 criedaloud, "Pshaw! 'tis vain to attempt to account for it, but Thuggeeseems to be the offspring of fatalism and superstition, cherished andperfected by the wildest excitement that ever urged human beings todeeds at which humanity shudders."
"Did Khodawund call?" said a bearer, who had gradually nodded to sleepas he was pulling the punkah above my head, and who was roused by myexclamation. "Did the Sahib call?"
"No, Boodun, I did not; but since you are awake, bid some one bring mea chilum. My nerves require to be composed."
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