The Raja's Lost Treasure

by Garrett Drake

  Richard inspected the saddle blankets one final time to make sure the jewels and gold coins were all sufficiently hidden from plain sight before heading toward the gate. David lugged the rickshaw behind, insisting that he be pulled up the long sloping entrance to the castle by Richard.

  “I think we need a paying customer or two,” Richard said. “We will look far less suspicious if we’re actually carrying people.”

  “It was worth a shot,” David said with a faint smile.

  At the foot of the ramp, Richard asked an elderly couple if they would prefer a ride to the gate rather than trudging up the hill themselves. They both agreed to ride and promptly sat down. Upon reaching the top, the couple thanked Richard for his assistance and charged inside the fort.

  “Now we wait,” Richard said as he peered down the meandering ramp leading to the gates.

  A half hour later, the first Thomas Cook & Son elephant lumbered up the hill with a pair of men onboard. After they dismounted and entered the gates, Richard approached William.

  “Time for us to get to work?” Richard asked.

  William held out a brush. “She’s all yours.”

  Richard signaled for David, and he strolled over pulling the cart. With the elephant positioned next to the wall, Richard led her out a few feet to give them enough room to work. David held up a burlap sack, while Richard cut a slit in the bottom of the saddle blanket, allowing the jewels and coins to pour out. As soon as they were finished, another elephant arrived and they repeated the process over again. Four animals later, Richard and David had transferred all the treasure into two large burlap sacks and were set to enter Fort Jaigahr.

  “Are you ready?” Richard asked.

  David nodded. “I can’t wait for this operation to be over. I’m beginning to develop an even stronger disdain for the Germans, which I didn’t think was possible.”

  “Well, keep your head down then,” Richard said. “I just saw Wilhelm and Reinhard.”

  David cursed and clenched his fists. “I swear if they ruin this whole thing now—”

  “Don’t forget we’re the ones wanted by the authorities here, not them.”

  “Don’t remind me,” David said.

  “Just stay calm,” Richard said. “We’re just two guys giving rides to tourists.”

  Richard and David prepared to enter the fort and return the treasure to a hiding place—albeit a different one. But before they took a step inside, Richard heard an all-too-familiar voice shout from across the courtyards.

  “There are the Americans! Get them!”

  Wincing, Richard didn’t need to turn around to know Wilhelm had spotted him.

  “Time for plan B,” Richard said.

  Chapter 27

  WILHELM WAS CERTAIN that at least one of the veins in his neck had exploded as his pulse surged, incited by both his anger and his passionate quest to capture the treasure his Reichswehr troops had found. Just twenty-four hours earlier, he’d thought his unit of special forces had scored their first big discovery after getting foiled in Egypt. But somehow, Richard Halliburton had managed to thwart a master plan of recovery and escape to the homeland without Indian authorities being the wiser. And Wilhelm had to use every ounce of restraint he possessed to keep from murdering his nemesis in broad daylight.

  Instead of waiting on any of his soldiers to initiate the pursuit, Wilhelm realized he needed to play the Americans’ game if he was going to catch them. Richard and his colleague had wrestled away the reins of a pair of horses from a nearby tour guide. The brief confrontation lasted no more than a few seconds as the man was overpowered by the American agents. Each man secured a burlap sack in his lap before digging his heels into newly acquired steeds and racing down the ramp.

  Wilhelm rushed toward another nearby tour guide who was just cresting the top of the hill with a pair of customers on horseback. Instead of waiting for the people to dismount, Wilhelm yanked the two people off as they tumbled to the ground. He put one foot in the stirrup and hoisted himself into the saddle.

  “Come on,” he shouted. “Let’s go.”

  Wilhelm clutched the reins tightly as his horse reared back before galloping after Richard Halliburton. As Wilhelm expertly guided his horse around the sharp curves of the path filled with a half dozen switchbacks, he dodged oncoming elephants and rickshaw riders clattering along the trail. After a few minutes, he heard thunderous hooves thumping the ground. He looked back and noticed Reinhard was bearing down on his commander along with three other Reichswehr soldiers fanned out and trailing their junior leader.

  “I thought you’d never make it,” Wilhelm said.

  “You need to have more faith in us than that,” Reinhard said. “These men are loyal to you to a fault.”

  “And you?” Wilhelm asked.

  “I think we’re all willing to make the kind of sacrifice necessary to restore Germany to her rightful place in this world,” Reinhard said.

  Instead of taking a moment to be proud of Reinhard’s courage and willingness to sacrifice himself for his country, Wilhelm could only think about the letter in his pocket and how a truly good leader would’ve never withheld the information it contained. He shrugged off the thought in an attempt to stay focused on the most pressing matter facing him and his team: catching Richard Halliburton.

  As they reached the valley floor, Wilhelm directed his men to split up, sending three of them around the outer perimeter of the city, while he and Reinhard charged toward the marketplace.

  “We’ll meet back in half an hour at the police station,” Wilhelm said before the groups parted ways.

  Wilhelm scanned the area for the two Americans, counting on them to try to disappear in a crowded place. With the rest of the city on the lookout for them in hopes of earning a significant reward, their options were extremely limited, especially with the treasure in tow.

  “Look,” Reinhard said as he pointed across the market. “Aren’t those the horses they were using?”

  Wilhelm nodded as he eased toward the two animals tied up outside a restaurant located just off the main street.

  “Stay alert,” Wilhelm said. “They’ve got to be around here somewhere.”

  Wilhelm strode up to the owner and asked if he’d seen the two Americans.

  “If I had, I wouldn’t be standing here,” the man said. “I would’ve taken them to a constable.”

  “You’re sure you haven’t seen them?” Reinhard asked. “These are the horses they were riding a few minutes ago.”

  “Trust me,” the owner said. “For two hundred pounds, I would’ve found the strength to muscle both of them to the ground. There’s not much they could’ve enticed me with to keep me quiet.”

  “Except more money,” Wilhelm said under his breath.

  “If I see them, I’ll let the authorities know.”

  Wilhelm turned and lumbered toward the market. Weaving in and out of the constant foot traffic, he did his best to avoid the onslaught of oncoming shoppers and storekeepers. The clothes that the two U.S. agents were wearing made it difficult to pick them out in a crowd. From behind, the city’s entire male population didn’t look all that different. The backs of turbans and white shirts, jackets, and cloaks didn’t offer any identifying marks. After a few minutes, he finally stopped and strained to see around the crowd, searching for anyone acting out of the ordinary.

  “They’ve got to be around here somewhere,” Wilhelm said.

  “If I wanted to disappear, this is where I’d go,” Reinhard said.

  “They’ll have to leave at some point.”

  “It might be too late by then,” Reinhard said. “We need to find them right now before they figure out a way to get the treasure out of the city. Catching them without the jewels might as well be a failure.”

  “It will be a failure,” Wilhelm said. “We need to stay sharp and continue our search.”

  Wilhelm sauntered over to a vendor and purchased a pair of cloths to make pangris for himself and Reinhard. In a mat
ter of seconds, Wilhelm managed to swirl up the material to create an authentic headpiece. Then he did the same for Reinhard.

  “We’ll be more difficult to see coming,” Wilhelm said. “Now, let’s keep moving.”

  Wilhelm ordered Reinhard to the other side of the market so they could split up and cover more ground. They drifted along and inspected the scene, casting a watchful eye on anything that appeared out of the usual. Several minutes later, Wilhelm stumbled upon a couple men huddled in a tight alley with two woven baskets. He signaled for Reinhard to circle around the outside. After a quick nod, Reinhard rushed across the market and down another connected narrow passageway.

  Wilhelm drew his gun and kept it trained on the ground just in case his hunch was proven wrong. As he neared the two men, he shouted at them.

  “Keep your hands where I can see them,” he said.

  One of the men turned around and stared wide-eyed at Wilhelm. Nearly all the color had vanished from the man’s face, and his lips trembled as he spoke.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “We didn’t mean any harm. We were just—”

  Wilhelm held out his hand, gesturing for the man to stop. “Have you seen two suspicious men run by here recently? Men dressed just like you?”

  They eyed Wilhelm carefully and then glanced at each other. “About five minutes ago, I saw a pair of men run along the alley parallel to this one just west of the main market street.”

  “That has to be them,” Reinhard said.

  Wilhelm wasn’t sure if the men were telling the truth or if they were simply trying to end the surprise encounter. But in the end, it didn’t matter. Richard had vanished into the bustle of Jaipur’s major vein of commerce. Chasing him down was better than standing in front of two quaking thieves who were desperate to get on with their day. If Wilhelm was moving, he figured he exponentially increased his odds of finding Richard and his cohort.

  Signaling for Reinhard to follow, Wilhelm hustled through the marketplace again, searching for the location where he’d been directed.

  “You look south of this intersection,” Wilhelm instructed.

  Reinhard nodded. “We need to get more men in here and expand our search.”

  Wilhelm shook his head. “We don’t need anyone else’s help. If we do a thorough search, we should be able to flush them into the open. They can’t hide here forever.”

  The men rummaged through baskets and peered beneath blanketed items as they circled a small portion of the market. One by one, each promising arrest turned into dead end after dead end. Wherever the American operatives had gone, it was becoming clearer that it wasn’t anywhere near the epicenter of Jaipur.

  Several minutes later, Wilhelm and Reinhard rejoined at the designated spot where they’d started from.

  “No sign of them,” Reinhard said. “I’m beginning to think these two men don’t exist.”

  “But their horses are here,” Wilhelm said. “They couldn’t have gone far.”

  Wilhelm led Reinhard back to the main marketplace as they scanned the crowded spot, now filling rapidly with shop owners returning from lunch. Despite the crush of humanity essentially freezing Wilhelm to his location, he glanced near one of the basket-making businesses several tables down.

  “Come on,” Wilhelm said, motioning for Reinhard to follow.

  The men hustled through the crowd, shifting sideways to avoid smashing into others. After a vigorous dance through the mayhem, they found two men huddled over in the corner, nearly out of sight as they held up a burlap sack and dumped it into one of the baskets.

  “We’ll take it from here,” Wilhelm said, certain that he’d apprehended the right pair of men. When they turned around and looked up at him, he realized he’d done just that. A faint smile crept across his lips.

  “Well, Mr. Halliburton, looks like your luck has run out,” Wilhelm said.

  Richard and his associate dashed down the alley, bumping everyone in their path as they attempted a getaway. However, when they reached the next intersection, three members of the Reichswehr unit blocked their way. They seized the American agents and marched them back toward Wilhelm, who remained standing by the basket.

  “Mr. Halliburton, you are quite the worthy adversary, but your attempts to derail our mission have come to an end,” Wilhelm said.

  “Are you going to kill us right here in the street?” Richard asked. “Because if you aren’t, this is far from over.”

  Wilhelm glanced around and noticed that a sizeable crowd had gathered to watch. Eliminating Richard and his colleague would be preferable for the long term, but in the immediate future such a move could have the kind of repercussions that Wilhelm sought to avoid.

  “There doesn’t need to be any blood shed today,” Wilhelm said. “You tried to steal precious treasures from Fort Jaigahr, historical artifacts that belong to all these wonderful people here in India. And now we’re going to restore it to them.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Richard said with a sneer.

  “Open this basket,” Wilhelm said.

  Richard eyed the German leader closely. “I don’t know if I want to do that.”

  “I’m not going to ask you again,” Wilhelm said as he leaned closer to the straw basket.

  “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Richard ripped the lid off.

  A cobra popped up and hissed at Wilhelm before striking at him. With wide eyes, he jumped back. The snake lunged toward him again.

  “Put it back,” Wilhelm ordered.

  “I warned you,” Richard said while complying with Wilhelm’s command.

  Once the snake was secure, Wilhelm placed his hands on Richard’s shoulders. “Where’s the treasure?”

  Richard shrugged. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “This is your last chance before I turn both of you over to the authorities here to deal with you for your previous theft charges. Now, where is the treasure?”

  Neither man answered as Wilhelm grew more furious by the second. When he realized they weren’t going to say anything, he looked at Reinhard.

  “Let’s not turn these gentlemen over to the authorities just yet,” Wilhelm said. “I have a few more questions for them.”

  Chapter 28

  RICHARD REFUSED TO COOPERATE with the Reichswehr agents who shoved him against the wall as they bound him and David with ropes. Wilhelm had to get involved, putting his shoulder into Richard’s back in order to pin him back. With his face smashed against the wall, he glanced beyond the Germans to notice a sizeable crowd watching the proceedings with keen interest.

  “I’m an innocent man,” Richard said. “Whatever these men are accusing me of is a lie. I’ve done nothing wrong.”

  “I thought we were trying to keep a low profile,” David said.

  “Shut up,” Wilhelm said, switching his pressure from Richard’s back to his head. “You will have your chance to speak your piece. In the meantime, I advise you to stay quiet, if anything for the sake of your health.”

  Wilhelm yanked Richard’s head back a few inches before jamming it against the wall again. Richard grimaced in pain but remained quiet.

  “Seems like you’re a quick learner, Mr. Halliburton,” Wilhelm said. “Let’s go have a chat some place more private.”

  The Reichswehr agents ushered their two prisoners down the alley, pushing through the onlookers clogging the passageway. They reached a wider street and walked for several minutes, weaving back and forth until reaching a house with a freshly painted wooden door. Richard noted that in comparison to the other neighborhood homes, this one appeared far more kempt.

  Once inside, they were greeted by a couple Reichswehr agents. Richard had been taking count of just how many he’d seen in Jaipur—and it seemed they were growing in number. Immediately, a pair of men escorted Richard and David into the basement, which was little more than a bare room with a dirt floor. After their pockets were emptied, the men flung Richard and David forward. They stumbled to t
he ground and came to a stop in a dusty heap.

  “Don’t get any ideas,” one of the men said. “Someone will be along shortly to have a nice little chat with you.”

  Following that terse statement, the men spun and ascended the stairs before disappearing from sight.

  “I’m hoping this wasn’t part of your plan,” David said.

  “Stuffing that snake into the basket didn’t quite workout the way I’d hoped,” Richard said. “We were supposed to use that in an open area, not in closed-off quarters. But I didn’t really have a choice, did I?”

  “What’s done is done,” David said. “I’m not going to joke with you about it too much, especially since I’m not certain we’re going to survive the night.”

  “What’s keeping us alive right now—not to mention out of a British prison—is the fact that Wilhelm doesn’t know where the jewels are.”

  “And neither do we, if we’re being entirely honest.”

  “We’ll be able to retrieve them,” Richard said. “In the meantime, we need to get out of here in a hurry.”

  Before they could plot their escape, Richard heard the hinges squeak on the door at the top of the stairs, followed by heavy footfalls on the steps. The source of the slow and steady thumping eventually came into view—Karl Wilhelm. He wore a sly smile with his hands clasped behind his back. Coming to a stop in front of Richard, Wilhelm ordered his prisoners to stand up, but neither complied.

  “We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Wilhelm said. “It’s your choice.”

  “I prefer you just ignore us since we aren’t going to tell you anything,” Richard said.

  “I’m not so sure I can ignore you,” Wilhelm said. “You have something that belongs to me, and I want it back.”

  “First of all, it’s not yours,” David said. “And secondly, what makes you think we would tell you anything?”

  Wilhelm tilted his head back and looked down his nose at David. “I’m quite confident in my methods of interrogation. Just apply the right amount of pressure to the most tender of spots and you can usually get what you’re after.”