Tara: A Mahratta Tale

by Meadows Taylor

  CHAPTER XVI.

  Ere he knew what to do or say, the Lalla was a second time bound withhis own shawl; and Lukshmun, tearing a rag into strips, and soakingthem in the oil of the lamp, was tying them coolly upon the ends of hisfingers, one by one. "I told you, Lallajee," he said, "we are roughpeople here, and you should be careful. When I light these you will notlike the pain, and if you bear that, he will do something worse. Whenhe says 'ch-ck, ch-ck,' you know----"

  "Silence, knave! thou art over-familiar," cried Maun Singh; "beware!"

  "Nay, but if I can save him from the torches, uncle," returned thehunchback, with a grotesque grin, "he will perhaps be grateful, andgive his wealth to me."

  "Is it ready?" asked the chief.

  "Quite ready, my lord," answered Lukshmun, taking one of the lightedwicks from the large lamp between his finger and thumb, "For your life,speak, good fellow," he said earnestly and under his breath to theLalla, "and save yourself this torture. One word more from him, and Idare not disobey; few bear it--speak!"

  "O, my lord! my lord!" shrieked the Lalla, now comprehending what wasintended, and throwing himself prostrate on the ground, "do not burn mealive. I will speak the truth. Why should I tell lies?"

  "Very well," returned the chief, on whose lips the ominous foamspeckles were now visible. "Very well, get up; it is thine ownbusiness. Thou hast not heard of our Dekhan customs, perhaps, else Ihad not wasted words on thee. Speak, who sent thee? Alumgeer? He cannothelp thee now."

  "He would have no mercy on me if he knew--if he had me in his power,"murmured the Lalla. "Loose me, my lord, I am faint, and cannot speak;yet I will speak the truth. And should all these hear? My lord knowsbest. Loose me, and have these rags taken from my fingers."

  "When thou hast told the truth, Lalla; not till then," said PaharSingh, slowly. "Dost thou hear? Away, all of ye!" he cried to theattendants, who had crowded round the Lalla. "Keep the torch alight.Now, Lalla," he continued, as the man stood alone below the dais,"speak. Once more, and this is my last warning; if I hear any more liesI will end that coward life of thine."

  "Beware!" added Gopal Singh, "I would not be as thou art with thatlying tongue of thine--ugh! no, not for lakhs. Remember that he, myuncle, never relents."

  "I would rather speak to ye alone," said the Lalla.

  "We three are as one. Yet stay," added the chief. "Go thou, Amrut Rao,let him have his own chance for life--but remain without."

  "Do any of ye know the seal of the Wuzeer of Beejapoor," said theLalla, when they were alone, "or do ye know the writing of Sivaji, theMahratta Rajah?" He spoke with great difficulty, for his mouth wasparched and clammy, and his lips white.

  "Nay, but Sivaji cannot write, Lalla. This is some fool's story.Beware, too, how thou takest the name of my lord the Wuzeer," said thechief sternly.

  "My lord, my lord, with death before me and one chance for life, Icannot lie," returned the Lalla, sadly shaking his head. "My hands aretied; but if one of you will open that bag, there will be truth enoughfound in it to save me. There, Jemadar," he continued, as Gopal Singhopened the bag, "in the side pocket are two Persian letters, fastenedup; look at them first; look at the seals. If I am wrong I am wrong--Iam helpless, do as ye like with me; I am helpless."

  "It is the Wuzeer's seal, his private seal, uncle," said Gopal Singhexcitedly. "Of this there is no doubt; look at it yourself."

  "Ai Ram! Ai Seeta Ram! what have we here? It is the seal truly," saidPahar Singh, looking at the impressions on both letters, and rockinghimself to and fro.

  "Do any of ye read Persian?" asked the Lalla; "if so, read foryourselves. I need not speak; they will speak for me."

  "I will try, uncle," said Gopal Singh; "give me the letters. ByKrishna, father!" he continued, breaking the silence, and after hiseye had glanced over a few lines, "I would rather go into the thickestfight than read treachery like this. Narayun, keep us!"

  "Ay, may the gods be merciful, Gopala! But what is it?--what is it?"said the chief eagerly.

  "He would sell our kingdom of Beejapoor to the Padshah of Delhi,uncle----"

  "People said so--people said so," said Pahar Singh, interrupting; "butI did not believe it. What more, my son?"

  "Nay, the style is too courtly for me to make much of it, but both theletters are to the same effect. Where didst thou get these letters,Lalla?"

  "Noble gentlemen, if ye are true to your King's salt," exclaimed theLalla, seeing that he had made an impression on his hearers, "then Ideserve naught but good at your hands. I am in the royal service; I sawthe papers; I read what danger threatened Ali Adil Shah; I took them; Iescaped from the camp with them, to carry them to him, and I am here.O, noble sirs, put me not to loss and shame!"

  On the next few words hung the Lalla's life. It were easy to kill himand secure the papers. The Wuzeer had sent several urgent messages toPahar Singh lately. He had a matter of moment, attended with greatprofit, to communicate. Was it about these letters? The Wuzeer wouldgive lakhs for them. The very threat of disclosure to the King wouldextort any terms. Again, if he denied them--and what more easy than tocounterfeit his seal, or use it upon forged papers? If he took thiscourse, they would be in a false position: false to the King and to theWuzeer,--and the King's threats had of late been very menacing. So, asthey deliberated, the Lalla's life hung in the balance, now ascending,now descending, in the eager consultation which the three men carriedon in Canarese. The Lalla looked from one to another in piteoussupplication, not daring to speak, his mouth parched, and trembling inevery limb; for he felt this quick discussion, and the increasinglysavage glances of the chief towards him, to be for life or for death.

  "And this from Sivaji?" asked Gopal Singh, at length. "What of it,Lalla?"

  "It was with the others, and there are some more of older date in thebag," he replied, "and of the Wuzeer's also. Sivaji's letters had tobe translated to the Emperor: I had to copy the translations, and thusI came to know their contents. Noble sirs, I am telling no lies; lookat the seal. They said in the Dufter it was Sivaji Bhoslay's. I do notknow it myself."

  "Keep the others close, and show this to Amrut Rao," said the chief."Here," he continued, as the Karkoon, being called, advanced, "look atthis; what dost thou make of it?"

  The Karkoon looked at the seal and started. "May I open it?" he said.

  "Yes, read it to us," said the chief.

  He read it over slowly twice.

  "Well, what is it?" asked his master.

  "What Moro Trimmul wrote from Tooljapoor--what they asked you, my lord,to join in; and here is your name with five thousand men in figuresafter it, and the Wuzeer's with a lakh."

  "Is it genuine, think you? that is what we want to know," said GopalSingh.

  "Certainly," replied the Karkoon; "there is the private mark on theseal, and the signature 'He Venunti'--'this supplication'--is all theMaharaj can write. No one could forge that, it is too crooked. How didthat man get it?"

  "He stole it, Amrut Rao," said the chief; "and we are discussingwhether he ought to live or to die. What dost thou think?"

  "As a traitor to the salt he has eaten, he ought to die, master," saidthe Karkoon, looking at the Lalla, who felt that his fate was in theBrahmun's hands,--"but----"

  "That is just what I said! he is not fit to live," interrupted thechief. "Let him die. Ho!"

  "But"--continued the Karkoon in Canarese, persistently interruptingthe chief, and waving back Lukshmun, Rama, and others, who wereadvancing--"if I may speak. He says he wants to take them to Beejapoor.Let him have his own way. A bargain may be made with Ali Adil Shahthrough his secretary the Meerza--not by him" (and he pointed to theLalla), "but by us. The letters will not alter the matter one jot, andmy lord can act as he pleases afterwards. We can send people with theLalla."

  "Excellently spoken, Amrut Rao; ye have all better brains than I have.Then the papers are valuable?" said Pahar Singh.

  "Yes, my lord, if properly vouched for; and the man who stole them cangive a better account of them than we
can. The King might give anymoney--a lakh of rupees--for them. He already more than suspects theWuzeer and Sivaji Bhoslay of being in league with the Emperor, andwould rejoice to get such proofs of their treachery."

  "Hark ye, Lalla," cried the chief, changing the language to Oordoo,which he spoke well, "what didst thou expect to get for these papers?What is the price of them?"

  "My lord," he replied, simpering and putting up his joined hands,"they may be worth lakhs--so the Gosais at Kullianee told me--anythingI liked to ask. They will negotiate the matter with the secretaryand the King for me; and if my lord would only condescend to assist,I--I--would give--yes, he might be sure of a share."

  "I of a share!--of a bribe! Art _thou_ feeding me with a bribe?O base dog, and son of a dog! Pig! I a share? O Lalla, thouart surely mad, and fated to eat dirt. Enough of this! Ho,without!--Lukshmun!--hunchbacks!--away with him; give him thehandkerchief in the outer court. Quick!" roared Pahar Singh, relapsinginto fury.

  "Uncle! father! not now," cried Gopal Singh, entreatingly, and touchinghis feet; then rising and stepping forward with joined hands, "calmthyself. Not to-day, when I am safe; not to-day, when I promised himlife! Give his life to me for this day; after that, as thou wilt."

  "It is valuable, my lord," added Amrut Rao. "These papers cannot telltheir own story. Where could we say we got them? He must go with themto authenticate them. Gopal Singh and I can go to the city with him,and, after all, he deserves well of Ali Adil Shah, though he has been atraitor to his own King. Give him to us, my lord; we may get good outof him."

  "No," said the chief, after a moment's pause, "no, Rao Sahib, I willgo myself. I will see the end of this matter. Thou shalt come with me,Maun Singh; and we can work through thy brother, Amrut Rao. A lakh,saidst thou, O Lalla? Well, I will give thee a share if thou art true.And now I give thy life to thee--buksheesh!--a free gift--a new life, OLalla. See that thou make good use of it, for what I give I can recall.Go: they will see to thy food and comfort, and thou wilt eat in aRajpoot's house of the race of the Sun."

  The Lalla would have said something about his gold and his horse; thewords were in his mouth, and it was well, perhaps, he could not speak.The revulsion was too great for him, from life to apparently imminentdeath, and again from death to life. Weary with travel and faint withhunger, he had sunk down insensible, and they carried him away into thecourt.

  "The King has been seeking my life, friends, for some time past," saidthe chief musingly. "Perhaps it would be well to use these papers--thatis---- Yes," he continued, "I have eaten his salt--I and my father--andwe eat it now. My heart revolts at this treachery, and we can befaithful with many another. Let us rouse the boy. There should be goodstuff in Mahmood Adil Shah's son, and I will try it. As for the Wuzeer,I know what he would have me do, but I will not say it, else should wehave been left quiet so long, and the army so near us? Stay ye here,Gopal and Amrut Rao. If he send for me, go to him at Nuldroog; 'tis buta ride. Go and take his money, then come to me at the city. I shall bein the old place; and bring the hunchbacks with you, there may be workfor them."

  The Lalla recovered as they carried him gently into the open air, andbathed his face with water.

  "Ah!" said Lukshmun, who was the most active of his attendants, and wasunbinding the shawl, "see what care I take of thee, O Lalla; betteryour fingers are sound than roasted; better your neck straight thantwisted; better have to eat good food here--it is so good--than havethy mouth filled with mud and water in the river yonder----"

  "My gold, my gold!" gasped the Lalla, interrupting him, "who has gotit? at least get that for me."

  "He has got it," replied the hunchback, pointing with his thumbbackwards. "Better he, than I or my brother; we should only spendit--he won't. Thy star is bright to-night, Lallajee. When thou art setfree do not forget us, that's all. Come."

  They conducted him to a small chamber within, where two decently-cladwomen awaited them--slaves or servants--and informed the Lalla that abath had been prepared for him, and food would be served to him in theeating-room.

  We are assured, therefore, that the Lalla was left in good hands. Therewas perhaps a shade too much garlic in the cookery, he thought; but hewas not particular, and appetite returned with absence of fear. Whenhe had finished, he was summoned to the chief, and it was not withoutapprehension that he went; but he was now received kindly, though witha rough sort of civility, and motioned to sit near Gopal Singh. Soassured, the Lalla's habitual confidence soon returned, and he took hispart, with much ability, in the discussion that followed, in which hisinformation in regard to the Emperor's designs was most valuable.

  How the consultation ended will hereafter appear in another locality,to which we must now transport our readers.