Confessions of a Thug

Home > Literature > Confessions of a Thug > Page 38
Confessions of a Thug Page 38

by Meadows Taylor


  CHAPTER XXXVII.

  From that hour I made a determination to destroy him. No sooner had Ireached the camp than I assembled all my Thugs, and laid before thema scheme I had long been revolving in my mind. I spoke to them asfollows: "You have seen, my brethren, that Ghuffoor Khan is a devil;such a person can hardly be called a man: bad as these Pindhareesare, he is the worst among them, and is unfit to live. You, Motee andPeer Khan, remember the fate of the Brahmin girl at Karinjah; you mayremember my ill-suppressed indignation, which then almost impelled meto destroy this fiend; and I would have done it, but that I felt hisfate was not in my hands. I felt that Alla would sooner or later urgeme on to be the humble means of a retributive justice overtaking him. Ihave hitherto refrained, though I have sometimes fancied his hour wascome. I thought that some crime blacker than any previous one would atlast be committed by him, and it has been done. You all saw what itwas. Can he ever do worse?"

  "He cannot!" cried my men with one voice; "he has reached the mark, andhe is ours."

  "He shall be so," said I: "now listen. You know I have still threebottles of the sweet wine of the Feringhees, which I brought with mefrom Guntoor; he is very fond of it, and will easily be persuaded tocome here and drink it with us; I will dose his share with opium, andafter a few cups, he will become stupified, and will fall an easy preyto us."

  "Good!" cried Peer Khan, "it is an excellent plan. What say you toputting it into execution this very night?"

  "Not to-night," I said; "we must be cautious in this immense camp.To-morrow let my tent be pitched on the utmost verge of it; nay, ashort distance beyond it,--and in the dead of the night, when all areoverpowered by sleep, he can be despatched."

  "I beg to represent," said Peer Khan, "that Ghuffoor Khan's saddle iswell lined; could we not get possession of it?"

  "I have been thinking about it," replied I, "but I do not see how weare to get it without much risk and fear of discovery."

  Peer Khan pondered for a moment; he then said, "I have a plan, Jemadar,which you may perhaps be able to improve upon; and, Inshalla! we willhave the saddle. What I say is this: when the Khan is pretty wellintoxicated, do you propose to him to sleep in your tent, and to sendfor his horse and saddle, so as to be near him to mount in the morning.If the saddle is brought, we can empty it of its contents and bury itwith him; if not, we can only rejoice at having done a good action inhaving destroyed him."

  "I am not sure," observed Motee, "that the omens will be good; we hadbetter try them."

  "Do so," said I; "I will think over Peer Khan's plan and see what canbe done." We then separated for the night.

  During the next morning's travel, when we were not separated bythe confusion which ensued on a village or town being plundered, Ipurposely threw myself as much in Ghuffoor Khan's way as I could, andwe conversed on the success of our expedition, and the adventures whichhad befallen us.

  "Do you remember, Khan Sahib," said I, "the attack on the houses atGuntoor, and how we ravaged the Feringhees' store-houses in a vainsearch for valuables? my curses on them! They are as rich as Nuwabs,and yet not one of them has a gold or silver dish in his possession,nor a jewel or valuable of any kind,--nothing but china-ware. And doyou remember how we smashed it all?"

  "Ay, I remember," growled the Khan; "and but for our chief'scowardice,--between you and me I say it,--we might have attacked andcarried the place where the treasure was, and enriched ourselves nota little; whereas, as it was, we got nothing for our trouble. Wedestroyed their houses, however, and that was some satisfaction."

  "True," said I, "it was, Khan; how their hearts must have burned asthey saw the bright flames devouring their abodes! Do you remember toothe precious stuff I got hold of and recommended to your notice,--thewine in the small bottles, with printed papers upon them? It was raregood stuff."

  "Mashalla! it was, indeed," cried the Khan; "the flavour of it did notleave my lips for some days. These infidels know what good wine is,that is certain. Would that I had brought some with me! a few bottleswould have been easily carried, and one would have enjoyed it after aday's toil."

  "I was more careful than you were, Khan; such wine is not always to begot; I brought away some bottles, and I have them still, I believe, ifthey be not broken."

  "Some with you? Nay, then, be not niggardly of your treasure; let metaste it again, for I swear to you I believe there will be no suchnectar in Paradise."

  "It is at your service, Khan; but to escape scandal, what do you say tocoming to my tent to-night when it is dusk?--that is, if any remains,of which I will give you notice. One of my fellows shall cook a goodpilao, and after it we will enjoy the wine quietly."

  "Your words are as sweet as the wine itself, good Meer Sahib; truly Iwill be with thee. I will tell my Saees to bring my horse and pickethim among yours; no one will see me, and I will bring no one with me.I might exceed, you know, and I would not be an open scandal to thefaith."

  My heart leaped to my mouth as he uttered the words. The saddle, then,would be ours, without any trouble or risk of detection: how I blessedhim for acceding so readily to my plans! "True, Khan," said I, "it willnot do to be observed: we must be secret. I will have no one in mytent but Peer Khan, whom you know; he is my foster-brother, and a rarecompanion: we will have a pleasant carouse, I will send him to you whenthe pilao is ready."

  "No, no," cried he, "do not--there is no need of it; I will stroll toyour tent after dusk. And, hark ye!" said he to his Saees, who wastrotting after him, "mind, you are to bring my horse and saddle to theMeer Sahib's tent, as soon as you see me going towards it. Remember,you are to lead it after me, as though I were going to ride; and whenyou arrive there, you are to picket it among his horses."

  "Jo hookum," replied the fellow; "your orders shall be obeyed."

  "And mind," continued the Khan, "you are not to tell any one where I amgoing, nor to answer any questions, if any are put to you, as you leadthe horse along."

  "Certainly not; since such is my lord's pleasure, I dare not disobey."

  "You had better not," cried the Khan, "or I will try and find a korlafor you."

  The fellow dropped behind again, and we resumed our desultoryconversation, chatting as we rode along on the merits of the differentleaders, and how they had behaved. Ghuffoor Khan was a pleasantcompanion, and his remarks were full of wit and satire. I had puthim in good humour by the prospect of a deep carouse, and we rode oncheerfully.

  We reached our halting-place for the day, after a long and intenselyhot march; and glad were we to get under the cover of our tents, toscreen ourselves from the noonday heat. I had several messages from theKhan, in the course of the day, to know whether the repast was ready;but it would not have answered my purpose to have allowed that it was,or to have had it prepared one moment before the time fixed.

  "You have been riding with the Khan, Sahib, all the morning," saidMotee to me, "and have not, I suppose, observed the omens?"

  "I have not," said I, anxiously; "but surely you have done so?" For Iknew how much they would influence my men; nay, that without favourableones they would have absolutely refused any participation in the matter.

  "I have not been negligent," replied Motee. "Last night, after I partedwith you, Peer Khan, myself, and the others, made an offering of goorto the Nishan, and, blessed be Bhowanee, she has vouchsafed us theThibao and Pilhao; you need, therefore, be under no apprehensions, forshe is favourable."

  "I was sure she would be, Motee, for I observe the hand of Alla guidingme; and I verily believe I should have followed the influence of my owndesires in this matter, even had they been unfavourable."

  "Nay, say not so, Jemadar," said he laughing--"you are too good a Thugfor that; but there is now no fear, for the omens were indeed cheering."

  "If we succeed," said I, "I have some thoughts of further work in ourown way; but, of this more hereafter. There will be a stir when hisdisappearance is known, and we must be quiet for a time."

  "Ay, that is like you, Jemadar. We have been consu
lting amongourselves, and had come to the determination of proposing someadventures to you; for here these dogs of Pindharees lie, night afternight, and each fellow is worth some hundreds of rupees. Yet we havebeen content to remain inactive; and I, for one, say shame on us! Weneed not pass a night without some work."

  "Wait, good Motee; let us secure the Khan first. And now to arrangematters; we must be our own Lughaees."

  "For that we are prepared, Meer Sahib; a Thug must do his duty in anygrade when occasion calls for his services. We are all ready for work."

  "Then we must lose no time; you must join your own pall to mine, andput some screen or other between them; in the empty space the gravemust be prepared. It had better be ready before he comes:--but no; hewill, perhaps, suspect us; it can soon be made afterwards."

  "You are right, Jemadar, he would suspect: he need not be buried deep;and there are three of our men who are old Lughaees; they will prepareit in a few minutes."

  "And his Saees--he must die also, Motee."

  "Certainly," he replied. "Do you and Peer Khan deal with the Khan, andleave the Saees to us--we will manage him."

  "Good; our arrangements are then complete. Remember that Peer Khanalone eats with us; you must be all outside, and see that the horsesare kept saddled; for we must fly instantly if we are discovered orsuspected. I have no fears, however, on either score."

  "Nor have I," said Motee; "the matter will create a stir, as he is aleader of note; but it will be supposed, either that he has gone offwith his plunder, or that some one has murdered him. I tell you, MeerSahib, that many a Pindharee has died by the hand of his fellow sincewe left Nemawur."

  "I do not doubt it, Motee. I have heard of many brawls, and men of thiskind have but few scruples. They are a wicked set, and far worse thanthose who formed the first expedition. But now go, get the pall ready,and send Peer Khan to me."

  The evening came; the calls of the faithful to evening prayersresounded through the camp with the last red streak of day. Men wereassembled in knots, kneeling on their carpets, addressing their prayersto Alla,--men whose hands were scarcely cleansed from the blood theyhad that day shed! The ceremony over, each separated from his fellow,to lie beside his faithful horse, and to enjoy a night of repose, tofit him for the toil, the rapine, and plunder, of the ensuing day. Thetime approached; and as I sat in my tent, awaiting the Khan's arrival,my heart exulted within me, that for once in my life I should do a goodaction, in revenging the murdered. Peer Khan was with me; we scarcelyspoke--our minds were too full of what was to follow to speak much.

  "Have you drugged the bottle?" he asked.

  "I have. I have put two tolas of opium into it; I have tasted it, andthe flavour of the drug is perceptible--but it will be the secondbottle, and he will not discover it; and if he does, we cannot help it,we must take our chance. Do you think we can manage him between us,without any noise?"

  "Shame on us if we do not, Meer Sahib; I am as strong a man as he is,and your roomal never fails. But to prevent any noise being heard,suppose we propose to admit Motee and two or three others to sing andplay,--I mean when the Khan has swallowed his first bottle. Motee has asitar and a small drum with him, and its noise will drown all others."

  "No, no!" said I; "others might be attracted by the singing, and cometo hear it; it will not do; we must do our best and leave the rest toAlla. However we will see when the time comes."

  The evening was far advanced, and everything around us was quiet. Afew fires here and there throughout the camp marked where, at each,a solitary Pindharee cooked his last meal of the day; the rest werealready buried in profound slumber, and all nearest to us were still.I stood at the door of my humble tent looking anxiously for the Khan'scoming; and at length I observed a figure stealing along in the dusk,carefully avoiding the prostrate forms which lay in his path. Was itthe Khan? Yes. "By Alla, he comes!" said I to Peer Khan; "I see himnow: and there is his horse behind him, and the Saees leading it."

  "Shookur Khoda!" exclaimed my companion; "he has not deceived us. Ifeared he had, since it is so late."

  "Is that you, Meer Sahib?" cried the voice of Ghuffoor Khan. "I fearedI should have missed your tent in this cursed darkness."

  "Here am I, Khan, and you are welcome to the poor tent of your servant."

  "So you have found the wine, eh?" said the Khan, rubbing his hands inglee. "You have not cheated me?"

  "By your soul, no! Khan, I have not; there it is, you see, and PeerKhan is gone for the pilao."

  "Khoob; by Alla! Meer Sahib, I have fasted all day on purpose to dojustice to it; and I should have been here an hour sooner, but I wassummoned to the durbar about some trifle or other; and I have kept youwaiting."

  "And your horse, Khan?"

  "Oh, he is here; my Saees has picketed him among yours. I have deceivedmy other servants--I swore I had a headache and could not eat, andpretended to lie down to sleep, having given them all strict ordersnot to disturb me. The knaves knew better than to do so; and so, afterlying quiet awhile, I stole out of my tent behind, and have fairlygiven them the slip. I suppose your people can throw some fodder beforethe animal?"

  "Surely; I have cared for that already."

  Peer Khan now entered with the pilao; and seating ourselves, ourfingers were soon buried in the midst of it.

  "Now for the wine, Meer Sahib; the pilao is dry without it, and mythroat lacks moisture."

  "Here it is," said I, pouring it out into a cup; "see how it sparkles,like the fire of a ruby."

  "Ay," said the Khan, after he had drained it to the bottom, "this iswine for the hooris; how one enjoys it! Think, Meer Sahib, how we truebelievers will quaff in Paradise (if what we get there will be asgood), surrounded by twenty hooris, and each vying with the other toplease us! But drink, man,--I would not take the whole."

  "Nay, that bottle is your own share, Khan, and there is besides anotherfor you; Peer Khan and I will divide this one between us. 'Tis a pitythere is not more, or that the bottles were not larger."

  "Ay, it is to be regretted certainly, Meer Sahib, but what there is,we must make the most of;" and he took another draught. "Only think,"continued he, "of those infidels the Feringhees drinking such stuffas this every day. I now scarcely marvel at their doing great deedswhen they are drunk. And is it not the case, Meer Sahib, that they allsit round a table and drink, and roar out songs, till they fall downintoxicated?"

  "So I have been credibly informed, Khan. By Alla! they are jolly dogs."

  "I wish I was in their service," said Ghuffoor Khan, after a shortsilence. "Do you think they would give one wine to drink when onewanted it?"

  "I have not a doubt of it," I replied.

  "Then I will take employ with them, Meer Sahib; this stuff would temptmany a better Moosulman than I am to serve an infidel. But they saySikundar Jah drinks it also."

  "So I heard when I was at Hyderabad," said I; "indeed it was there Ifirst tasted this liquor; and I knew the bottles again when I saw themin the Feringhees' houses at Guntoor."

  "It is fit drink for a prince," sighed the Khan, when he had finishedthe bottle, and looking at it with a most rueful countenance. "That isfinished, Meer Sahib; thou saidst thou hadst another?"

  "Ay, Khan! but only this one," I replied, handing him the other.

  "I feel happy now, Meer Sahib. By Alla! I could sing--I could dance, Ithink, though it would be a scandal to do so. The Prophet, however, hasnot forbidden a Moslem to sing. May his name be honoured! Have any ofyou a sitar? People say that I have a good hand."

  "Go and fetch Motee-ram's," said I to Peer Khan; "it is a good one.Shall the owner of it come also, Khan?"

  "Nay, I care not, Meer Sahib; though the devil came, I would pluck himby the beard; let him come. Can he sing?"

  "Like a bulbul, Khan; I have rarely heard a better voice from a man."

  "Oh, for some women!" sighed the Khan; "one misses the glances oftheir antelope eyes, and the tinkle of their anklets in moments likethese. Ah, Meer Sahib, we were happy dogs when we
were encamped in theKrishna. There was one charmer--but why speak of them, Meer Sahib--whyspeak of them?"

  "We shall enjoy their company the more when we get to Nemawur," said I."But here is Motee with his sitar." Motee made his salam and sat down.

  "Is the instrument tuned, Motee--thou pearl of singers?" cried theKhan, bursting into a laugh at his play upon Motee's name. "Hast thoutuned it?"

  "I have, noble Khan; though it is not worthy the touch of so exalted aperson."

  "Nay, 'tis a good sitar, and a sweet one," said the Khan, as he ranhis fingers over the strings in a manner which showed him to be aproficient.

  "Wah!" cried all of us at once; "play, noble Khan! the hand which couldexecute such a prelude as that can do wonders."

  "Give me some more drink," cried he, "and I will try. Knowest thou anyghuzuls, Motee?"

  "I am indifferently skilled in them, Khan Sahib; nevertheless, if mylord will mention one, I will try. The tuppas of my own country I knowmost of."

  "Pah!" cried the Khan, "who would sing tuppas? I will name a ghuzulwhich is in every one's mouth--sing 'Mahi-Alum, Soz-i-mun;' I warrantme thou knowest it. But the wine, Meer Sahib, pour it out for me; thouart my Saqi, thou knowest. I will sing an ode to thee, as Hafiz haswritten and sung many a one to his; peace be to his memory! Ah! thatwas good; but oh, Meer Sahib, it hath a different flavour from thelast."

  "Very likely," said I; "the bottle, you see, hath a different paper onit; perhaps it is a better kind."

  "It is good, and that is all I care for, Meer Sahib. Now proceed, goodMotee." Motee did as he was ordered, and his voice and the Khan'saccompaniment were worthy of a better audience than that which heardthem.

  "Wah, wah! Shabash!" cried Peer Khan and I, when it was ended; "thisis rare fortune to hear two such skilful musicians in this unsaintedjungle. Now it is your turn, Khan Sahib."

  "More wine, Meer Sahib, 'Saqi mera!' more wine, for the sake of theTwelve Imams. Oh that there were a thousand bottles, that we could meetas we have done now every night! Good wine and good companions--havethey not been ever the burthen of the songs of the poets?"

  "Is there much left?" he continued, when he had drained the cup.

  "About half the bottle," said I.

  "Then give Motee a cup, Meer Sahib: he deserves it."

  "Excuse me," said Motee, "but I am a Hindoo and a Brahmin."

  "Thou shouldst have been a true believer, Motee; Khan would sound aswell after thy name as Ram. Why, man, our blessed Prophet would havehad thee to sing to him when thou hadst reached Paradise!"

  Ghuffoor Khan's voice was now rather thick, and he made but a poor handof the ghuzul he attempted; but it was very laughable to see him rollhis eyes from side to side, like a dancing-girl, and to hear him tryingto imitate their quavers and shakes. "Pah!" cried he, when he had sunga verse, "my throat is dry; I want more wine, I think, Meer Sahib; butthe truth is, I caught a cold some days ago, and am still hoarse."

  He tried again, after a fresh draught, but with no better success. Invain he coughed and hemmed to clear his throat; the wine, and the stillbetter opium, were doing their work as quickly as we could desire.

  "Do you sing again, Motee,--meree Motee! meree Goweya!" said the Khaninsinuatingly. "A curse on the water of this country, which spoils aman's singing. Sing, man, and I will play; it cannot spoil that, at anyrate; and the Meer Sahib hath provided an antidote for this night atleast."

  Motee sang again; but the accompaniment was wild and irregular, and theKhan at last threw down the sitar.

  "It will not do, Meer Sahib, after the fatigue (a hiccup) and thetrouble I have had (hiccup) all day, shouting and bullying theserascally Pindharees (hiccup). How can it be expected, Meer Sahib, thatI, Ghuffoor Khan, the leader of three thousand horse, should play andsing like a Goweya? By Alla! I will not (hiccup). But these hiccups,Meer Sahib, what is to cure them?"

  "Some more wine, Khan Sahib; nothing but liquor can cure them. Andthere is more; there is still another cup."

  "Then give me all!" cried the Khan; "I will drink it standing like akafir Feringhee--may their sisters be defiled, ay, and their motherstoo! Nevertheless, as I said, I will serve them and drink among them,and none shall drink more than Ghuffoor Khan. Thou saidst they drinkstanding; and what do they say?"

  "Hip, hip, hip!" said I; "I learned the words from a vagabond who hadbeen a Khidmutgar among them, and had seen their wild orgies."

  "What, hip, hip, hip! those are the words, eh? I wonder what they mean."

  "They are an invocation to their Prophet, I believe," said I, "much aswe say 'Bismilla ir ruhman ir ruheem!'"

  "I do not doubt it, Meer Sahib. Now help me to rise, for the stuffis in my brain, and the tent goeth round about; help me to rise, Isay, and I will quaff the last drop, both as a true Moslem and as aFeringhee. Ha! said I, not well?"

  "Excellently well, great Khan," said I, as I helped him to his feet."Now, here is the wine."

  "Bismilla!" shouted the Khan, "hip, hip, hip!" and he drained the cupto the bottom; his head sunk on his breast, his eyes rolled wildly; hemade a desperate attempt to rush forward, and fell at his full lengthupon the ground.

  "Bus!" cried Peer Khan, as he got out of the way; "enough, great Khan!noble Khan, thou art a dead man now. Feringhee and Moslem, thou hastmade rare fun for us."

  "Raise him up," said I to them; "seat him on his end. I am ready; anddo one of ye give the jhirnee."

  They raised him up; and, as he was seated, his head again sunk on hisshoulder, and some froth came from his mouth.

  "He is dying," said Motee. "We ought not to touch him; it is forbidden."

  "Not a bit of it," said I; "all drunken men are in this way; I haveseen hundreds in the same state; so hold his head up, and give thejhirnee;" for I had taken my post behind him.

  They did so. Peer Khan uttered the fatal words, and Ghuffoor Khanwrestled out his last agony under my never-failing gripe.

  "Enough, Meer Sahib," said Peer Khan, who was holding hisfeet--"enough, he is dead."

  "Ul-humd-ul-illa!" I exclaimed; "it is finished, blessed be theProphet and Bhowanee! Go for the Lughaees; he must be put under groundimmediately. Now for the Saees."

  We left the Khan's body, and went out; the others were waiting for us."Where does he lie?" I asked.

  "There," said one of the men; "he is fast asleep, and has been so foran hour."

  "So much the better," said Peer Khan; "leave him to me."

  I watched him and Motee as they approached the sleeper. Peer Khantouched him with his foot: he started up to a sitting position, andrubbed his eyes; but Peer Khan threw himself upon him, and he was deadin an instant, ere he had become conscious. Nothing now remained butthe disposal of the bodies and the saddle. The grave, a shallow one,was quickly dug; and while the Lughaees were preparing it, myself,Peer Khan and Motee unripped the lining and pockets of the saddle, andtook out the gold. There was naught else. It was in coin, and in smalllumps, as the jewels he had gotten in plunders had been melted downfrom time to time. We had no leisure then to speculate on its value;but we cut the saddle to pieces with our knives, to make sure that noneremained in it; and the fragments were buried with the bodies.

  "What shall we do with the horse, Meer Sahib?" asked Motee. "We cannottake him with us, for there is not a man in the camp who does not knowGhuffoor Khan's horse; and we have no time to stain him."

  I was puzzled for a while; to have retained the noble animal would haveensured our detection, and I scarcely knew what to do. At last I hitupon an expedient. "He must be destroyed," said I; "'tis a splendidbeast, certainly, yet our lives are worth more than his. Beyond thecamp, about an arrow's flight, is a deep ravine. Do any of you know it?"

  "None of us have seen it," said all at once.

  "Then I must go myself, and do you, Ghous Khan (he was one of my men),accompany me; we will throw him into it. Go and loosen him from hispickets."

  I followed him, and we conducted the animal to the edge of theravine; it was deep, and just suited our p
urpose, as the banks wereprecipitous. "That will do," said I, when he had brought the horse tothe edge; "now rein his head to one side; we must kill him before hefalls in."

  He did so; I had prepared my sword, and drew it sharply across thepoor brute's throat; the blood gushed out, he reeled backwards, fellinto the dark ravine, and we heard his carcase reach the bottom with aheavy fall. I looked over, but all I saw was an indistinct mass at thebottom, while a few groans of its death-agony reached my ears.

  "Enough," said I; "come away; the jackals will have a glorious feastere morning, and no one will ever think of looking here. But it was apity to kill the brute."

  "He was worth a good thousand rupees, and would have fetched that priceat Hyderabad. Why did you not send him there? I would have taken him."

  "I did not think of that," said I; "but no matter now; we will earnmore than that before we reach Nemawur."

  "How, Meer Sahib? We get but little in this poor country."

  "Trust me, Ghous Khan," said I; "we have begun, and, Inshalla! we willgo on with the work." I reached the tent, and the Lughaees had donetheir business well; our carpets had been spread over the spot wherethe Khan lay in his last resting-place, and we all lay down and sleptsoundly.

  Ghuffoor Khan was missed at his accustomed post the next morning; athousand conjectures were hazarded as to his fate, but no one couldaccount for his disappearance. Some said the devil had taken him forhis wickedness; others, that he had amassed an immense plunder, and wasfearful of its being wrested from him, and he had therefore escapedwith it, as it was known to be sewed up in his saddle. When we reachedour next encampment, Cheetoo sent for me. I went, and found him seatedin full durbar, and the Khan's servants as prisoners before him. I mademy usual salam, and he requested me to be seated near him.

  "This is a most mysterious affair, Meer Sahib," said he; "Ghuffoor Khanis gone; and Alla or the Shitan only knows whither! If he has fled,it is as extraordinary a thing as I ever heard of; for he has beenattached to me from his youth, and I have ever been kind to him. Whatthink you?"

  "I am at a loss also," said I; "your servant knows not what to say;there are a thousand conjectures afloat, but no one can give anyprobable solution to the mystery. But have you examined the servants?Surely they must know something."

  "I have not, Meer Sahib, as yet; but here they are, and I want you tohelp me to question them. You may think of some things which may escapeme."

  "I will do my best, Nuwab; but you had better begin--they will beafraid of you and speak the truth."

  "Call one of them," said Cheetoo to an attendant.

  The man came, trembling in every joint, and prostrated himself beforeour leader. "What is thy name?" he asked.

  "Syud Ebrahim," said the fellow.

  "And what service didst thou perform to Ghuffoor Khan?"

  "I am a Khidmutgar, O Asylum of the World!" said the man; "I used tokeep the Khan's clothes, assist him to bathe, and attend him at night.I was always about his person."

  "Now speak the truth, Ebrahim, and fear not. But I swear by the beardof the Prophet, if I detect thee lying, I will have thee cut to piecesbefore my face, as a warning to thy comrades."

  "May I be your sacrifice!" cried the man, "I will not lie. Why shouldI? What I know is easily told, and 'tis but little."

  "Proceed," cried Cheetoo, "and remember what I have said."

  "Alla is my witness," said the man, "I know but little. My noble mastercame from your highness's durbar late in the afternoon. We had prepareddinner for him, but he said he was ill, and would not eat, and thatwe ourselves might eat what we had cooked for him. He then went intohis tent, took off his durbar dress, put away his arms, and then laydown. I was with him till this time, and sat down to shampoo him, buthe bade me begone, and I left him. I was weary with running all day byhis side, and I also lay down, and did not wake till the people rousedme for the march. I went into the tent to arouse him and give him hisclothes, but I found him not. The bedding was just as when he had laindown, but his sword was not there, nor a stick he always walked with.This is all I know, but Shekh Qadir knows something more, if you willcall him; he saw the Khan after I did."

  Shekh Qadir was accordingly sent for, and after being cautioned andthreatened as the other had been, he spoke as follows:

  "I am also a Khidmutgar, but my office was not about the Khan's person;I used to give him his hooka, and prepare the opium he ate. Soon afterdusk I heard him moving in the tent, and I watched him; he lifted upthe back part of it and came out. I saw him walk towards the middle ofthe camp, and followed him; he observed me, and turned round sharp uponme: 'What,' said he, 'cannot I walk out for a few yards, to breathe theair, without some of you rascals following me? Begone!' Nuwab, I wasfrightened lest he should order me the korla, and I went away to thetent of a friend. I heard in the morning that he had not returned."

  "This is very unsatisfactory," said I; "we have as yet no clue to hisdisappearance. If he has gone away, he must have ridden; where is hishorse?"

  "Ay, where is it?" cried Cheetoo. "Who can tell us?"

  "May I be your sacrifice!" said Shekh Qadir; "the horse is not here,nor his Saees. The Khan had two horses, but the saddle of the onemissing is that in which all the gold was sewed up."

  "Ha!" said Cheetoo, "is it so? Where is the other Saees?"

  "Peer-o-Moorshid?" cried an attendant; "he is waiting without."

  "Let him too be called." The man entered.

  "What knowest thou?" asked Cheetoo.

  "I only know," said the fellow, "that the gray horse was kept saddledall the afternoon: this was contrary to custom, for its saddle wasalways placed in the tent, near the Khan's head when he slept. I askedmy fellow Saees the reason of its being so; but he was angry with me,and said it was no business of mine, that the Khan had ordered it, andit was his pleasure. I saw him take the horse from his picket afterdark, but I asked no questions."

  "There remains but one conclusion to be drawn, Nuwab Sahib," said I."Ghuffoor Khan has fled, and made off with the booty he had got. By allaccounts he had been very fortunate; and every one said his saddle wasstuffed with gold."

  "So I have also heard," said Cheetoo; "but yet it is hard to thinkof that man's ingratitude. Here have I been associated with him fromboyhood: I have raised him from obscurity to be a leader of threethousand horse; and this has been a scurvy ending to my kindness. Go,"said he to the servants, "I find no fault with any of you; take thehorse to my pagah, and let him be tied up among my own."

  Thus ended this adventure; no suspicion fell upon us nor on any one.The Khan was known to have friends at Hyderabad, and thither it wassupposed he had fled. We alone knew his fate, and it was one he haddeserved by a thousand crimes too horrible to mention.

  But after this we were not idle; having begun our work, we hadconstant employment; scarcely a night passed that one or twoPindharees did not fall by our hands. They were missed too, as the Khanhad been, but we were favoured by the constant desertions which tookplace from the Lubhur; for as we approached Nemawur, men daily made offin every direction to their houses, little relishing the fatigues ofthe camp and the constant alarms we had from reports of the vicinity ofthe Feringhee troops, by whom we were several times nearly surprised.Yet I was not fated to have the uniform success which had hithertoattended me. Treachery was at work, and the blow we least feared fellwith a heavy hand at last, and dispersed us. I will tell you how ithappened, and what befel us.

 

‹ Prev