Tara: A Mahratta Tale

by Meadows Taylor

  CHAPTER LXXXII.

  Fazil Khan had followed the progress of his father up the mountain-sidewith intense interest. The little pavilion on the knoll, the groupof Brahmuns already there, and the open and nearly level spotwhich had been selected as the place of meeting, were distinctlyvisible from where he stood with Bulwunt Rao, and a few other of histrusty associates and retainers. Around, the horsemen--now mostlydismounted--were dispersed in picturesque groups, talking together orlying lazily upon the soft sward holding their horses' bridles, andshading their eyes from the sun.

  In the town through which his father had gone, there appeared no stir.A few men were lounging about the gate, and upon the bastion near it,and thus were looking out upon the Moslem horsemen apparently in idlecuriosity. The gate was open, and the townspeople, and women with jarsof water on their heads, were passing to and fro unconcernedly asusual. There was nothing to excite suspicion or apprehension, exceptin the mode of reception of his father, and the strange, unusualproposition, that the first interview should be on the mountain-side,and alone; but Bulwunt Rao had explained this characteristically, andwith a fair show of reason, and Fazil, though uneasy, was obliged to becontent: there was no remedy now.

  So the Khan's progress in his palankeen had been watched with intenseanxiety as he ascended the rugged pathway. At times the bearers couldbe seen, and the priest holding the side of the litter to help himselfalong: again the thick foliage, and turns in the road, hid them fromview. At length Fazil saw the Brahmuns on the knoll rise and advance afew steps, and the palankeen emerge upon the open space, where it wasset down; and his father got out, adjusted his turban and shawl, andstood with the rest. Then the bearers and the priest moved a littleaside; and as the two men from above appeared, his father advanced tomeet them, and embraced one.

  It was but for a moment, and the fatal result was at once apparent.With a cry of horror, which aroused many around him who had not beenwatching the proceedings above, Fazil saw his father reel and fall,rise again, as his sword flashed in the air, and with the Peer maintainthe unequal combat we have already described. No sound reached thosebelow; they could only see the flashing of the weapons in the sun,and the struggle of the combatants. Involuntarily, Fazil urged on hishorse. Alas! of what avail now? Others had been watching as well as he;and the blast of the horn, which rose shrill and quivering as the Khanfell, was answered by volleys of matchlock shots from the woods around.The gates of the town were shut, and the walls and bastions manned asthickly as men could stand on then, whose fire on the horsemen belowwas hot and deadly.

  The effect of the surprise upon the helpless cavaliers need not bedetailed. Panic-stricken, and hemmed in on every side, they rode hitherand thither, vainly seeking places of egress through the woods, orby the way they came, and were shot down in scores either where theystood, or as they gathered in groups and charged hither and thitherin the vain attempt to reach a foe. Among these, Fazil Khan, withBulwunt Rao and some others, had kept together; and, in the emergency,Bulwunt's clear perception, not only of the danger, but the best meansof extrication from it, saved his young master. On the first perceptionof his father's fate, Fazil had seen that it was impossible to givehelp. The town and its walls stood between him and the ascent to thefort, and were utterly impassable. His next idea, in his grief anddesperation, was to die with his men as martyrs to the faith; andhe was about to dismount, and take his chance on foot, when Bulwuntstopped him.

  "No, Meah," he cried, "not while there is hope. They who will behelpless indeed without you, will need you yonder in camp. If it mustbe, I will die with you, but not now. Follow me, and we will soon jointhem."

  Well was it for Fazil Khan that in his retainer he possessed equally,a devoted friend and one who had known the country as a youth. Inhis recent visit to the fort, Bulwunt Rao had explored some of hisold haunts. One pathway, lying near that by which they had come, washardly visible from the plain, but if it could be gained, it openedout afterwards into a long glade, which joined the main-road below.It might be guarded, and they could but fight their way through it orfall. Certainly it was better than the way they had come, before which,from the deadly fire maintained there, the horsemen had already fallenin a heap.

  "Look," continued Bulwunt Rao, pointing to the entrance to themain-road, "there is no hope there. They have been at their old trickof felling trees across it, and no horse can pass. The Abyssinianshave fallen in a heap, and if we try, we shall but follow them. We neednot be martyrs yet, Meah," he laughed cheerfully. "Now, set your teeth,my sons," he continued to the men around, "and follow me. We may notall get through; but, Bismilla! come, and let God take whom he pleases."

  There might have been fifty men; and others, as many moreperhaps,--as they saw these ride together in a desperate race in onedirection,--joined them. Bulwunt Rao and Fazil were leading; and asthey approached what seemed a portion of impervious wood, Fazil's heartfailed him for a moment. "You are wrong, Bulwunt Rao," he cried. "Wecannot get through this--let us turn."

  "Madman!" exclaimed the other, seizing the bridle of his horse. "Byyour mother and sister, I swear I am right! Follow me, my children,"he shouted, looking back, while he again urged his horse to its utmostspeed; "we are near now."

  He was right. A portion of the jungle jutted out beyond the rest, andmade a slight shoulder, as it were, behind which was the path. Asthey turned round the corner, they saw a body of foot-soldiers drawnup across it; but ere these could raise their matchlocks to fire, theimpetuous horsemen were among them, trampling some down, and hewingfiercely at others with their long Spanish swords.[19] The attack wasirresistible, and, the first line of men forced, they encountered noothers. Straggling shots were fired at them from the sides of themountain, but without effect; and after riding nearly a mile down theglade at the same speed, the pathway turned into the main-road, andthey heard the din of the fight die away behind them. Of the fifteenhundred gallant cavaliers who had ridden that morning from the camp atJowly, they were the only survivors.

  While Nettajee Palkur was finishing his bloody work on those whoremained after Fazil Khan's escape, by closing up the pathway, andattacking from all sides at once, such of the horsemen as remainedin the field,--Moro Trimmul was busy with his part of the generalslaughter; and as the fugitives rode on, the din of the fight behindgrowing fainter as they proceeded, they were met by that of the greaterwork in front,--more furious, and more terrible.

  Yet they pressed on, until, reaching a rising-ground which overlookedthe field, they could see it all in its hideous reality. The Mahrattashad seized the Beejapoor guns, and that point of defence no longerremained to the Mahomedans. Thousands of the enemy's footmen, incompact masses, were charging disordered groups of men huddledtogether, who made a vain resistance. Great numbers of horses werecareering madly about, but, for the most part, the troop-horses werestill at their pickets, and were now protected by the Mahrattas. It wasevident that the surprise had been as complete and irretrievable as atthe fort.

  Casting his eyes round this field, in sickening apprehension--indeed,in almost hopeless despair--the young Khan looked towards the tentswhere he had left his sister and Lurlee. The tents were standing, butthe outer enclosure walls were thrown down, and a crowd of followersand soldiers were apparently struggling together in the plunder of whatthey contained. The place was apart from the field itself, and Fazilpointed to it; he could not speak.

  The men with him had had no time for thought. From the moment the Khanhad died at Pertabgurh till they drew rein on the eminence over thecamp, they had ridden for life. But the worst was now evident; andwhat they had hoped to find, was gone. The conviction that all theircompanions,--those whom they had loved in life, were dead, at once fellupon their hearts; and Bulwunt Rao, and many another rough veteran,burst into passionate weeping.

  Fazil appeared calm, but it was the calm of desperation and of misery."Why do you weep, friends?" he said. "They are all dead; why should welive? Death is better than dishonour! Come and see--Bismilla!"--and
heturned his horse's head in the direction of the tents.

  None thought of the risk. "Bismilla!" shouted the men, as, with teethhard set for a last struggle in life, they rode a mad race to their oldcamp. Near it they passed many a familiar face lying upturned to thesun; and, hewing their way through a crowd of plunderers which wereupon the area that had been covered by the Khan's tents, Fazil saw thattheir walls were torn down, and that no one remained; and in the bed ofthe rivulet which, lying low, screened them from observation, they drewrein. In his misery Fazil would have dismounted, and again sought deathon foot, but Bulwunt Rao saw the intention, and prevented it, as he haddone before.

  "No, no, Meah," he said roughly; "you are our master now; and as thegods have enabled me to save you once to-day, so we will all try again.If they you sought have been taken, they are in honourable safety withthe Rajah: if they are dead, there is no help but in submission toGod's will."

  A shout from several of the men caused Fazil to look round. He sawsome persons running towards the party who had emerged from the thickjungle on the other side of the stream. They were grooms who had hiddenthemselves.

  One of them clasped Fazil's knees. "They are safe," he cried; "Meah,they are gone this way with the hunchback and Ashruf, who would not letus follow lest we should be seen. They went down the river; and see!here are their tracks. Come!"

  What need to speak more now? The new interest absorbed all otherconsiderations. Several of the grooms were good trackers, and thehoof-marks of the two ponies could not be mistaken. They knew them well.

  Late in the afternoon--often bewildered in deep silent forests, oftenthrown out, often despairing of success, often passing hard rockyground where Fazil could see no tracks whatever, but where BulwuntRao and the trackers held their way with confidence, a small groupof people were discovered, from a knoll where the trackers stood fora time uncertain, sitting near a large banian tree, on the bank of amountain stream.

  At a little distance, too, from them, sat a few men armed withmatchlocks, who were apparently guarding the rest.

  Fazil and the scouts approached, cautiously leading his horse; and thefirst greeting was a rough one from the guards, who raised their gunsto fire; but the next, a frantic cry of welcome from the hunchback andAshruf, who ran forward and prostrated themselves before him.

  "O Meah, they are safe--they are safe!" cried Lukshmun, rising first."Come and see," he cried, bursting into tears; "and the gods have sentthee."

  Hearing his cry, Goolab rushed forward, clasping his knees, and, unableto speak, was sobbing passionately.

  Yes, they were safe--Lurlee and Zyna. A rude bower of leafy brancheshad been hastily made, with a screen of boughs twisted into stakes infront; and so concealed were they by the thick brushwood, apart fromthe grassy glade, that the little commotion which Fazil's coming hadcaused, had not been heard by them. Having dismounted, and preceded byold Goolab, who, in her uncontrollable joy, now ran before, screamingthe news of his arrival, he entered the enclosure--and the two desolatewomen, whose utter despair nothing as yet had soothed or alleviated,fell upon his neck and wept aloud.

  How long they sat into the night they could not tell. Kakrey, theMahratta officer who had followed the party by Moro Trimmul's order,had overtaken them; and, touched by the beauty and sorrow of the women,had not molested them. The nearest Mahomedan garrison was Kurrar, atown at some distance; but he had engaged to guide and protect themthither, and the reward promised by Lurlee was at once confirmed, andeven enhanced by Fazil. Kakrey had already told them that the Khan'sescape was impossible; and they were thus prepared for the sad newswhich Fazil brought.

  Kakrey decidedly objected, however, to Fazil's horsemen, and even toLukshmun and Ashruf; they were strangers, and would be inevitablysuspected. Fazil and his men must take another road, he said; andthe ladies must submit to hardships among mountain villages andrough tracks for some days. They had no other chance of escape but indisguise, and alone with him. He had already procured rough food andcoarse clothes, and there was little time for rest; ere the morning hemust take them away.

  Poor Lurlee! All night while Fazil sat there, she had pored over thebook of astrological diagrams in a hopeless puzzle of mind. Why shouldshe have been mistaken? Why should her husband have died who had lefther so hopeful in the morning? Were they all wrong? was all this, thefaith of her life, false?

  It seemed so; but one thing was at least certain, that Tara's natureand Fazil's were alike; and she appeared, in spite of her grief, toreturn to this discovery with a peculiar zest. "I am not wrong," shesaid, "in this; look!"--but we will spare the detail. She was too muchbewildered by far, to understand as yet the loss that had befallen her,nor was she at all convinced that she was a widow. No, the stars couldnot be wrong; and for all they could say, she only believed the morethat the Khan would return. "Who had seen him die?"

  Fazil was convinced of Kakrey's good faith. Bulwunt Rao unhesitatinglyanswered for him. They were neighbours, and had been boys together.Fazil's promises of reward were too profuse to have aught incompetition with them. It was hard to persuade Zyna that he mustleave her again; but as they were situated, they could not remaintogether, and must separate. For Fazil would not leave his men, andhe determined, with Bulwunt and the hunchback, to hover as long aspossible about the vicinity of Wye. He might be joined by otherfugitives, he might rescue many of his people, and even make headagainst the enemy; above all, perhaps he might get news of Tara, andassist her. He should avoid the Mahratta horse, and with a guidelike Bulwunt Rao, and one of Kakrey's followers, who volunteered toaccompany him, he could either conceal himself or advance as needful.

  So, with many tears, and almost despairing, Lurlee and Zyna, dressedas peasant women in the coarsest clothes, left him ere morning dawned.Lurlee was not remarkable; but the fair skin and beautiful features ofZyna were often objects of wondering interest and admiration among themountain peasantry, as they journeyed on.

  * * * * *

  Three days afterwards, Fazil and his men, who had been joined by otherstragglers on foot and on horseback, were lying during the day inthe place of concealment which had been chosen by Kakrey's follower,and approved of by Bulwunt Rao and the hunchback. In the depth ofthe jungle near Wye, there was a large banian tree, planted by asmall temple now deserted, because of some evil repute. The tree hadflourished while the temple had decayed, and was large enough, withits offsets, to have sheltered thousands. The outside boughs trailedon the ground, screening everything within, where the bare, gauntbranches, and the naked roots falling from them, rose high into theair, covered above with a thick foliage. A bright rill sparkled pastthe tree; grass was abundant on the hill-sides, and a liberal price forgrain had induced some villagers near, to supply the men's wants fora few days. Every day, the hunchback and the boy Ashruf, disguisingthemselves as mendicants, had sung ballads in the town of Wye, in orderto gain information of passing events.

  They were lying concealed in this hiding-place when, in the afternoonof the third day, the hunchback broke in upon Fazil and some otherssitting together. "Bid them all go away," he cried excitedly; "I havestrange news, Meah, for thee,--for thine ear only."

  The men rose and went to a distance. "Can it be of his father?" theysaid.

  No, it was not of him; he was beyond all hope now, and his bloody headfestering in the sun above the gate of Pertabgurh.

  "Meah," said the man, in a low voice, "Tara the Moorlee is alive, butthey are going to burn her to-morrow; and I saw them taking wood tothe river-side to make the pile. They say the goddess came to her atPertabgurh, and told her, before the Rajah, to be a Sutee, and he isgoing to make a great show of her to the people. I waited till I sawher come into Wye in a palankeen, and I would have told her you werehere, but I could not get near her for the crowd--they were throwingflowers upon her. The people do not know her name, but I knew her: itis Tara. O Meah, you will not let the Brahmuns do this!"

  "By Alla and the Prophet, no!" cried the young
man, starting to hisfeet. "Dost thou know the place?"

  "I--I can lead a Durora on the house," said Lukshmun hesitatingly."God forgive me, it is not the first I have led, and I observed it allbefore I left."

  "Where is Bulwunt Rao? Call him."

  "He is asleep," replied Lukshmun; "I will go and bring him."

  "Meah wants you; come," he said to Bulwunt Rao, after waking him; andwhen he joined Fazil, all was told him; and the three men consultedlong and earnestly as to how the girl might be rescued.

  "O, were but Rama and a score of Pahar Singh's Ramoosees here," saidLukshmun, "we could go and bring her to you to-night, without wakingher; but your Mussulmans would make but a poor hand of that work."

  So, after discussing the subject in every way, there seemed no chanceof success but in an effort to carry her off from the pile itself.The attempt might succeed or fail; but the men who would undertake itwere at least desperate, and to abandon the girl to her fate withoutendeavouring to rescue her, was not to be thought of. In any case, theymust leave their hiding-place on the morrow, or starve. A long marchmight take them at once beyond the disturbed country; and they werenot, in their present mood, likely to falter in their project.

  Tara! Her name aroused a thousand sweet memories. The day after theinterview with the Rajah, she was to have been demanded as a subject oftheir King; and, in the Rajah's apparently submissive mood, Fazil hadanticipated no refusal. What had happened to place her in the situationin which she was, he could not conjecture; but Bulwunt Rao and Lukshmununderstood at once that she was the victim of Brahmun intrigues excitedby Moro Trimmul, and rejoiced in the prospect of frustrating hisintentions. Finally, the whole project was explained to the men; and intheir hearty acquiescence, and in the excitement of a new and desperateaction, the young Khan lay down that night, and, for the first timesince the slaughter, slept soundly.

  FOOTNOTE:

  [19] The Portuguese of Goa used to import large quantities of Spanishand Genoa, sword-blades. They were held in high estimation atBeejapoor, and they are still often to be met with in the country. TheRajah Sivaji's famous sword Bhowani, with which he killed Afzool Khan,is a Genoa blade of the first water.