Athelstane Ford BY ALLEN UPWARD AUTHOR OF "THE PRINCE OF BALKISTAN, " "A CROWN OF STRAW, " "SECRETS OF THE COURTS OF EUROPE, " ETC London C. ARTHUR PEARSON LIMITED HENRIETTA STREET W. C. 1899 CONTENTS CHAP. PAGE I. COUSIN RUPERT GAINS A RECRUIT 1 II. THE TAVERN OF THE "THREE-DECKER" 14 III. THE BEGINNING OF THE RIVALRY 27 IV. "À LA MORT" 41 V. ON BOARD THE KING'S SHIP 55 VI. IN THE POWER OF THE ENEMY 69 VII. THE SIEGE OF GHERIAH 83 VIII. IN THE COMPANY'S SERVICE 96 IX. THE SPY 112 X. TAKEN CAPTIVE 128 XI. THE BLACK HOLE 152 XII. RUPERT IN A NEW LIGHT 163 XIII. A NIGHT ADVENTURE 180 XIV. IN A STRANGE LAND 197 XV. THE COMING OF SABAT JUNG 212 XVI. A BATTLE IN THE DARK 227 XVII. A MISSION OF DANGER 244 XVIII. MEER JAFFIER'S OATH 260 XIX. PLASSY 276 XX. RETRIBUTION 288 XXI. COLONEL OLIVE'S MESSAGE 302 XXII. AFTER MANY DAYS 312 ATHELSTANE FORD CHAPTER I _COUSIN RUPERT GAINS A RECRUIT_ It has not happened to many men, as I think, to have fallen into thehands of as cruel and bloodthirsty a monster as ever defiled God'searth, and to have escaped to tell the tale. Yet it is of this that Ihave come to write; and of all the hardships and perils which I wentthrough from the time I fled from my father's house to seek fortreasure in the East Indies; and of the battles in which I fought; andof the madness of love and jealousy which I knew; and of how the man Itrusted became my enemy, and pursued me with his vengeance; and of thetreasure which I found in the palace of the Hindoo king; and of how Ireturned at last to my own home. Nor do I greatly expect that the hearing of these things will beeffectual to hinder those who come after me from adventuring in theirturn, for young blood will have its way, like sap in the veins of agrowing tree. But there are times when I think that if I could havelooked forward and seen what was to come, and all the dire straitsthrough which I was to pass--both among my own countrymen and in thosedistant lands--I might have given a different welcome to my cousinRupert when he came riding into Brandon, on the evening of that daywhich was to be the last of my boyhood. I had come out of the house before supper was laid, as I often used, and had made my way along the edge of the dyke which runs through ourmeadows into the broad, which we call Breydon Water; and there by themargin of the broad I stood, while the sun was setting behind me, andwatched the light flush and fade over the grey spire and high redroofs of Yarmouth town. Many a night I had come there to the same spotand gazed with wistful eyes at that prospect; for though I was, in amanner, familiar with the old town, and had gone in there on marketdays many a time since I was a boy, yet, at this hour, and seen acrossthe water in the bright blaze of the sunset, it seemed to be strangelyremoved and glorified--like that city which Christian had a prospectof from the Delectable Mountains--and I could never think of it asother than an enchanted region, the gate of the great world, wherethe hours throbbed with action, and life was more full and splendidthan in our lonely grange among the broads; and my heart was frettedwithin me, and day by day the longing grew upon me to break out of thenarrow limits in which my life was bound, and take my way thither intothe glamour and the mystery of the world. Then all at once, as I stood there and gazed, I was aware of the soundof a horse's hoofs coming over the wet grass, and turned and saw mycousin riding towards me on his black mare and waving his whip to meas he came. I had a great affection for my cousin in those days, mingled with asort of dreadful admiration for the character he bore. He was my elderby nearly ten years, and had been, in my eyes, a man ever since I wasa child, so that I looked up to him with reverence, and thoughtnothing so delightful as to have him come down, bringing the air andrumour of the outside world into our quiet homestead. Indeed, heseemed to be of a superior order to us, and might almost be reckonedas one of the gentry, for his father came of the Gurneys of Lynn, andhad set up a great brewery of ale there, by which he enriched himselfpast all counting. How such a man had come to marry my aunt I neverknew, for my father kept silence on the subject, and Rupert himselfcould tell me nothing of his mother, who had died when he was but aninfant. Nor was there much intercourse between our families, exceptthat twice a year, at Lady-day and Christmas, Mr. Gurney would sendus a barrel of his best brewing; and once a year, on the 1st ofJanuary--for he would give no countenance to the feasts of theChurch--my father despatched a pair of fine turkeys to Lynn. Cousin Rupert always showed a friendship for us, and I believe wouldhave given us his company more often but for my father's disapprovalof his manner of life; for he was already known as a wild companion, and one who set little store by religion and respectability. There waseven a scandalous report that he had been fined by the Aldermen ofYarmouth under the new statute made against profane swearing. They hadfixed his fine, so it was said, at two shillings, being the penaltyfor common persons above the degree of a day labourer; but my cousinRupert, taking out his purse with a great air, demanded to have hisoath assessed like a gentleman's, and paid down a silver crown uponthe table. Since then he had been away beyond seas, nor had I set eyes on him forthe best part of three years. It was thought that he had been takingsome part in the wars which then raged all over Europe; and difficultenough it was to understand what they were all about, and whom we werefighting; for at one time we were on the side of the great EmpressMaria Theresa, and against the young King of Prussia, who was dubbedan infidel; and then later on we were fighting against the Empress--itis true she was a Papist--and King Frederic was in all men's mouthsas the Protestant hero: I remember myself seeing his portrait paintedup on the sign-board of the inn at Blundell. However, we were alwaysagainst the French, whatever happened. But, as it turned out, all this had no concern with my cousin. Icannot tell how glad I was to see him back again, and I think he wasnot ill-pleased at seeing me. "Hallo, is that young Athelstane!" he called out as soon as he wasnear enough. "Come on with me, cousin, and help me to put up my horse. I have ridden out from Yarmouth, and I mean to sleep here to-night. " He sounded his words in the mincing, London fashion, which was thenbeginning to spread among the better class in Norfolk; but I cannotimitate his speech, and so write it down as if it were plain English. Quick as my feet could carry me I ran forward in front of the horse, and was there with the gate of the yard open before my cousin came up. My father turned out of doors at the clatter, and looked not overpleased when he caught sight of Rupert's dark face. However, he was aman who would never shut the door against his own blood, and he gavehim some sort of a friendly greeting. "Well, Nephew Rupert, how long have you been back in England?" heasked him, as soon as the horse had been taken in and given its feed. "It is scarce a month since I landed, " my cousin answered; "but beingin Yarmouth, and you so near, I could not forbear riding over to spenda night with you. " By this time we were come into the house, and my mother was in thehall to welcome him, which she did with great kindness; for though hewas not of her kin, I believe she loved him better than my father did. But that is saying little, for who was there about her that she didnot love? Even those who held aloof from my father as a stubbornIndependent had a kindness for my mother, who seemed to understandnought of differences in religion, except between Christian andheathen. My father was of a different stamp. It was his boast that he wasrelated to the family of the famous John Bradshaw, the judge whopronounced sentence on King Charles I, and whose house stands onYarmouth quay to this day. My father has many a time pointed it out tome, and told me of the secret conclave held there of the Independentleaders, when it was resolved to bring the unfortunate king to theblock. I have often thought that it was well for us that my father wasa freeholder, owning the fee simple of Brandon Farm; for the gentryaround were now all become staunch Churchmen, though loyal to KingGeorge II, and showing no favour to the young Pretender in his latedesperate rebellion. Of that, however, I remember little, being scarcetwelve years old when it occurred. With the Rector of Brandon parish we held scant intercourse, except attithing time, when my father always received him with grim civilityand bade him take what the law gave him, since title from the Gospelhe had none. Our only friend in the neighbourhood was one AbnerThurstan, a farmer who lived over the border in Blundell parish; butas he was an Anabaptist--or Baptist as they were then beginning tocall themselves--and my father had a great contempt and dislike forthe visionary ideas of that sect, even he came but seldom to ourhouse. His daughter Patience was a great favourite with my mother; andfor that matter I did not dislike the child, and would oftentimespluck her an apple from our trees or cut a whistle for her out of atwig of elder wood. The man whom my father most held in esteem was Mr. Peter Walpole, awool factor of Norwich, and a very religious man. He had a great giftin the expounding of Scripture and in prayer, and it was his customonce in every month to ride over to our house from Norwich of aSaturday and hold a service on the next day for such as chose to come. This was before the Methodists had arisen in our parts, and there wasno other means of hearing the Gospel in country places, the Churchclergy being for the most part men of the world. Lest I seem to be wandering from my story, let me say here that myfather had been in treaty with this Mr. Peter Walpole concerning myapprenticeship to him in Norwich. After moping a long time at thedullness of my life in Brandon I had plucked up courage to tell myfather that I would fain be abroad. He heard me less unkindly than Ihad feared, and contrived this plan for settling me away from home fora few years, after which, he was pleased to say, I might have senseenough to wish to come back. Good Mr. Walpole came into the schemevery readily, and I believe it was only a matter of fifty poundsbetween them before the thing could be carried out; but each heldfirmly to his own view of the bargain, and though there was the samefriendship between them as ever, and Mr. Walpole prayed over thebusiness in our house, they could by no means come to terms. Things stood at this pass, and I was sorely impatient with it all, when, as I have said, my cousin Rupert arrived, and, for good or evil, gave my life a far different turn. As soon as my father had seen to it that the cloth was laid for four, and sent down the maid with orders to fill a jug from the barrel onthe right-hand side of the cellar door, he turned to Rupert. "You shall taste your father's brewing, " he said. "I trust all is wellwith him?" "I have no doubt it is, and I am much obliged to you, sir, " answeredhe carelessly. "To tell you the truth, I have not yet found my way toLynn. " "What, nephew! Have you come here before paying your respects to yourown father?" "I am afraid it is even so; and I will not pay you so poor acompliment as to remark that Brandon Grange lies forty miles nearer toYarmouth than King's Lynn. " "Fie, young man, I am ashamed to hear you! I doubt whether I ought tohave let you cross my threshold if I had known of this. Jessica, " headded, turning to my mother, "here is a youth who comes to pay you avisit before he has so much as set eyes on Lynn brewery, after threeyears!" And thrice during the evening he returned to the same subject, eachtime rating master Rupert soundly for his filial neglect, and pointingout the many advantages which his father's rich house at Lynn had overwhat it pleased him to call the homely grange of Brandon. He questioned Rupert while we supped concerning his adventures, andwhat quarter of the world he had been in. But as to this my cousinmaintained a singular reserve, merely stating that he had spent mostof the time on a voyage round the Cape of Good Hope to the factoriesof the great East India Company, of Leadenhall Street in the City ofLondon. All this time I listened, saying nothing, for it was not my father'scustom to permit me to speak in his presence, unless I was firstquestioned. I cared for this the less because I knew that as soon aswe were upstairs together my cousin would unburden himself to mefreely. And already I scented some mystery under his guarded speech, which made me impatient for the time when we should be alone. Ilistened with an ill grace to the chapter which my father read to thehousehold after supper, and it seemed to me that he had never prayedat such length and to so little purpose. I thought it especiallyneedless that he should petition, for the space of full five minutes, for the fruitfulness of our flocks, for by this time the ewes had alldropped their lambs, and not one of them was a weakling. Nevertheless it was over at last, and I quickly lighted the candle andconducted my cousin upstairs. He was always my bedfellow on theoccasions of his visits to Brandon, and never spared to keep me awakeas long as it pleased him to talk to me. As soon as we were snugly settled in bed, Rupert, as I had expected, laid aside his reserve. "Now, Cousin Athelstane, what do you suppose it is that has brought mehere?" I could only shake my head in sign of pure ignorance. "I will tell you. I have come here to offer you a berth on board myship, the _Fair Maid_, now lying in Yarmouth river. " My breath was fairly taken away by this announcement. All the dreams Ihad cherished for so long seemed suddenly to have put on substance, and what was yesterday a thousand miles away had come at one wordwithin my reach. Yet I could only stammer out-- "The _Fair Maid_? Is that the ship in which you went to the EastIndies? And is she bound thither again?" Rupert nodded his head. "She sails as soon as ever she can be fitted out, and we are shippingthe bravest fellows in all Norfolk for our crew. A word in your ear, cousin: we sail with letters of marque against the Frenchmen, and itwill go hard if you or I come back with less than a thousand pounds toour share. " "What! Is the _Fair Maid_ a privateer?" I spoke in some dismay, for in those days privateers bore a bad name. They were commissioned only to prey upon the commerce of suchcountries as we were at war with, but it was currently believed thatthey did not always look too closely at the flag of a vessel whichfell in their way, and that if peace was proclaimed while they wereabroad on a cruise they took care not to hear of it till such time assuited their convenience. Among good men, therefore, they wereesteemed little better than pirates, and I could understand why mycousin had been so chary in speaking about his voyage to my father. "You needn't look so scared, youngster, " he said, noting my behaviour. "Our commission was signed by his Majesty King George himself; andeven the Frenchmen we took had nothing to complain of beyond the lossof their property, and occasionally their lives when we found thatnecessary to our own safety. " I felt my flesh creep, and yet the fascination of it was stronger thanthe dread. "You mean you killed them?" I asked, gazing into his face as if I hadnever seen it before. "We had to, sometimes, lest they should tell tales against us. OffMauritius we were chased more than once by a sloop of war, and itwould have gone hard with us if we had been captured. The French therehave got a devil of a governor, La Bourdonnais, and he has vesselsperpetually prowling up and down in those seas, and as far asPondicherry and Chandernagore. But what do you say, cousin? Are youman enough to join us? You have the right stuff in you, I warrant--allthe Fords have. Our great-grandfather fought at Naseby, and though hewas a scurvy Roundhead, I'll swear he gave a good account of himself. " I hesitated, my whole heart on fire to accept, and yet held back by asubtle distrust for which I could in no way account. "Come, boy, you have only to slip away to-morrow night, after I havegone, and join me privately in Yarmouth, at the sign of the'Three-decker. ' I will tell my worthy uncle in the morning that I amon my way to East Dereham and Lynn, so it will be long enough beforethey suspect where you are gone. And by the time the hue and cryreaches Yarmouth you shall be safely stowed in the hold of the _FairMaid_, or maybe in a snug attic of the tavern, where only a bird couldfind you out. " I made little more ado, but gave my consent, whereupon my cousin, reaching down to the pocket of his breeches which he had cast on thefoot of the bed, drew out a golden guinea, which he pressed into myhand. "Here is handsel for your engagement, " he said. And that settled, heturned over and betook himself to sleep, leaving me to get out of bedand extinguish the light. But I could not sleep so easily, and lay there tossing and turning farinto the night, while I speculated on the new life that lay before meand all the great deeds I would do. CHAPTER II _THE TAVERN OF THE "THREE-DECKER"_ Early in the morning after breakfast Cousin Rupert left us, givingout, as he had promised, that he was on the way to see his father atLynn. And as he told me afterwards, he kept his horse on that roadtill he had passed through the village, when he turned, and skirtingthe river as far as Raynham ferry, crossed it there, and so rode intoYarmouth. All that day I went about with a strange lightness in my breast, so that I could scarce keep from laughing out. And when my fatheradmonished me, pretty roughly, for not having mended the fence of thefowl walk to his liking, I minded it no more than if it had been oldSugden the rat-catcher. Once or twice during the dinner I caught mymother looking at me with a certain apprehension, as if she observedsomewhat unusual in my behaviour. I fancy she thought I might besickening for the ague, which was very rife in those parts. My motherwas a great physician, and always kept ready a store of the Jesuits'bark--the only good thing, my father was accustomed to say, that hadever come out of Rome. In the afternoon I walked into Blundell to bid a sort of farewell tolittle Patience Thurstan. I found her set on a stool in the porch, threading beads, for she was but a child; and to see her jump up whenI drew nigh, and run to meet me, was a pleasant sight to carry away inmy memory through the stormy days which were to follow. Knowing her to be faithful, from her behaviour in many a childishconfidence we had had together, I made no scruple to tell her I wasleaving Brandon; though I forbore to say whither I was bound, lestthey should torment the girl with questions afterwards. And I knewthat Patience would not tell a lie, and deny the knowledge if shepossessed it. But I half repented what I had done when the poor littlething fell a-crying, and besought me not to go away. I had nothingelse to bestow upon her, so I was forced to give her my cousinRupert's guinea for a keepsake, telling her to buy a doll or a ribbonwith it next time she went into Norwich fair. With that I came away, beginning for the first time to feel howserious was the step I contemplated. But I had given my word, and Icould not now draw back even if I had felt inclined. The chapter my father read to us that night, I remember well, was outof the book of Ezekiel, in which the prophet dealt with the city ofTyrus, and denounced the judgments of the Lord on her pride andluxury, on her ships of fir and cedar with sails of purple embroidery, on her mariners and men of war, on her merchandise of silver andbrass, of horses and mules, of ebony and precious stones, and of honeyand oil and wine and spices and white wool. And the words sounded inmy ear like a denunciation of the places I had chosen to go among; andI was glad when it was all over; and I went upstairs to my bedroom, hearing my father shoot the great bolts of the house door for the lasttime. I made shift to take off my coat and shoes, and got into the bed, lestmy mother should come in to bid me good-night, as she sometimes did. And well it was that I had thought of this, for in her anxiety aboutme she followed me up soon after with a dose of the Jesuits' bark, which she compelled me to swallow, though sorely against my will. Thenshe sat down by the bedside for the space of, I daresay, fifteenminutes, or longer as it seemed to me then, and fell to stroking myhair, which I wore without a queue, my father setting his face againstthat French fashion. I fidgetted so much that at length my mother perceived that I would bealone. I heard her draw a sigh as she rose to go away, and then, tucking the bedclothes round me with great care, she gave me a kissand left me. I waited as long as I could contain my impatience, for my parents tofall asleep. Then I arose softly, without rekindling the light, whichmy mother had blown out, completed my dress, and filled a smallknapsack with such few things as I had immediate need for. Iremembered also to put in my pocket a bright guinea which good Mr. Walpole had presented me with in my twelfth year as a reward forhaving repeated the 119th Psalm, and which my father had strictlyforbidden me to spend. Thus provided, I opened the door of my bedroom and crept out, carryingmy shoes in my hand. I crossed the landing, treading like a thief, tothe door of the room where my parents slept, and laid my lips againstthe panel that was nearest to my mother's side. And with that I foundmy eyes were smarting, and a lump rose in my throat, so that I turnedaway hastily, and made the best of my way down the stairs, and byunbarring the kitchen door, out into the open air. Then I turned myback on the house where I was born, and set out to walk through thenight to Yarmouth. Lest my father should surmise where I was, I had got ready a feignedletter in which I pretended--I am ashamed to say so--that seeing nolikelihood of Mr. Walpole's receiving me without that extra fiftypounds which stuck so in my father's gizzard, I had taken theresolution of going up to London to seek my fortune; and I promised tosend him news as soon as I should arrive there; which promise, as itturned out, I had no opportunity of keeping or breaking, for I did notset foot in that great city until years had passed, and I had gonethrough the wonderful adventures which were to make a man of me, andhad come thither as the messenger of the second greatest Englishman, as I think, who has lived in my time; aye, and had speech of him whowas the greatest of all. But of this hereafter. The clammy air of the marshes clung about me and chilled my spirits, as I proceeded through the desolate region which lay between me andthe town. The road hereabouts runs straight along for miles, withouthedge or fence, save for a couple of upright posts, with three or fourcrossbars, rising up here and there at the corners of the fields wherethe dykes run into one another. A hundred years before all this partof Norfolk had been little better than a fen, which the Brandon Wateroverflowed at spring tides, till engineers had come over to us fromHolland, who taught us to make these dykes and embankments after thefashion of their country. And, indeed, the people of Bury have atradition that the ocean itself once came up over these parts, andthat their hamlet, however since decayed, was then a flourishing townand seaport; but I could never find that any one outside of Burybelieved in this legend. Be that as it may, I had but a doleful walk of it; moreover, I wasfain to button up my coat and pull my collar close about my neck, byreason of the cutting wind which blew across from the German seas. Nordid I meet any adventure on the way, but in avoiding the turnpike atBroxall I was forced to leap a dyke in the dark, and missing thefurther bank by about a foot, I fell into the water knee-deep. I got asound drenching, but no other damage except for the mud bespatteringmy clothes, which must have presented a sorry spectacle had there beenany there to observe me. The noise of my splash brought out the pike-man, uttering many oaths, to see who it was that had been defrauding his gate. But I got nimblyon to my legs and ran past, and though he made a show of chasing mefor a short space, he soon thought better of it, and went back to hisbed. It must have been, I suppose, half-way between midnight and dawn whenI arrived in Yarmouth. And well pleased I was when I had safelycrossed the bridge across the Bure river and felt the pavement of thetown underneath my feet. For though there was not another soul abroadin the streets at that hour, that I could perceive, yet the knowledgethat the houses on either hand were full of sleeping folks seemed tobe some company after the desolateness I had just come through. I had never before been in a great town at night, and I was muchamazed by the splendour of the illumination from the lamps which hungacross the high streets, and made almost as much brightness as ifthere had been a moon. Being somewhat afraid of meeting with thewatch, for I did not then know the habits of these gentry as well as Idid afterwards, I soon left the region of the lights, and turned downinto the lanes, which the men of Yarmouth call rows, and of which theyare not a little proud, and to my mind with some warrant, for, thoughstrait, these passages are very regularly built, and beautifully pavedwith cobblestones, and are besides so numerous that I have never seenthe like in any city I have visited, neither in Europe nor in theIndies. In the end I got out from among the houses, and arrived upon thesea-beach, where I discovered a sheltered pit among the sand hillocks, which they call denes, and there I lay down and slept off myweariness. When I awoke the sun was so far up that I judged it to be nearly nineo'clock. Taking shame that I had proved such a sluggard, I rose upquickly, and brushed away the sand, which I was rejoiced to perceivehad finely cleansed away the mud from the dyke at Broxall. This done Imade the best of my way into the town to keep my rendezvous withCousin Rupert, for I was sharply beset by hunger. I had to ask my way more than once before I could find out the tavern, which lay down on the quay, over against the river Yare. By this Isoon saw that the "Three-decker" had a reputation not over and abovesavoury among the townsfolk, for the more respectable of those Iaddressed myself to gave me harsh looks before answering my question. And no doubt the soberness of my dress and carriage must have made itseem strange that I should be seeking the whereabouts of such a haunt. I will not deny that this observation a little daunted me when I foundmyself at the door of the house. The tavern was by way of being anancient one, for the oak props were blackened with age and the upperstoreys jutted out one above the other, in the way our forefatherswere used to build in walled towns, where every foot of space was ofaccount. Nor did the place look to be ill-kept, though situated in amean part of the town beside the fish market. However, it was no timefor me to make reflections, having come so far, wherefore I quicklydrew the latch and stepped inside. I had no need of a guide to conduct me to the parlour, for I caught ahubbub of voices coming from my right hand, above which rose a roaringstave in chorus, interspersed with a clapping of hands and a rappingof mugs upon the table. I undid the door, meaning to slip in quietly, but no sooner did I pass my head into the room than the entertainmentsuddenly ceased, and the whole crew turned to observe my entrance. Truly it was easier for them to discern me than for me to do the sameby them, for besides the dismay of meeting so many faces at once, thewhole room was filled with the smoke of tobacco, a thing which wasstrange to me, and which caused my eyes to tingle, besides tempting meto cough. I made out, however, that there was at least a score of menpresent, the most part of them seated round a table in the middle ofthe room, at the head of which table stood a high arm-chair, and init, as I believe, the biggest man I had ever seen. The looks of thecompany are past my power to describe, being such as to make me feelas if I had broke into Bedlam. Their faces were all red and blotchedwith drink, and their heads covered with extravagant ringlets, whichmight never have seen a comb, while their dress was disordered toindecency, and the whole table was covered with a confusion oftankards and bottles and tobacco-pipes, not to mention playing-cardsand dice. The huge man at their head bore a most terrifying aspect. Hehad an immense head set on a neck so short and thick that it seemed asif he must infallibly choke at every morsel he swallowed, and a bellycapacious enough to have held a firkin of liquor. He had made himselfeasy by unbuttoning his waistcoat and the upper part of his breeches, and lolled back in his seat as if he had no mind to stir for the restof the morning. One of his eyes was closed up, and had a Frenchplaister across it, but the other stared and rolled enough for two. On a bench in the window there were two other men withdrawn bythemselves; but these I did not at first notice, being taken up withattending to this one-eyed ruffian. "Who in the foul fiend's name have we here?" he called out as soon asI was come in, using many other oaths beside, which I have no need toset forth. "Is this some sprouting soul-catcher come to bestow upon usa word in season? Speak, boy, your name and business? Show yourcolours, d'ye hear! Or will you mount the table and pitch up a godlypsalm for our sinful ears? A blister on the brat's tongue; why don'the answer?" I stood aghast at this scurrilous address, the like of which I hadnever yet heard. The others followed it up with shouts of applause, and one of those at my end of the table rose and came towards me, making as if he would catch me by the shoulder to drag me forward. But this I was not inclined to suffer. "My name need not concern you, " I said, replying to their chairman. "As for my business here, I have come to inquire after a kinsman ofmine who uses this house. Stand back, sir, I am not to be mauled byyou!" I spoke these last words sharply to the fellow who had tried tolay hold of me. Though some years my senior he was but a lean, spindle-shanked creature, whom I felt better able to give a buffet tothan to take one from him. The big man let loose a round dozen of oaths. "Here's a fine cockerel come into our own house of call to beard us!"he exclaimed between his profanities. "I should like to know who usesthe 'Three-decker, ' when the crew of the _Fair Maid_ are here, withoutour licence? What is the matter with you, Trickster Tim? Are youafraid to handle the yokel?" Thus egged on, the man, who had given way under my angry looks, madeat me again. But my blood was now up, and I dealt him a blow on thejaw which sent him down fairly to the floor. He got up, splutteringblood, his clothes all smeared with the sawdust and the stains ofliquor, and the whole party leaped to their feet at the same time, asif they would set upon me. I doubt but I should have fared roughly at their hands if I had notbeen delivered by a most unexpected diversion. "Stand clear, you cowards, and leave Tim Watts to fight his owncorner, if he can!" I turned round to the window at these words and beheld to my joy mycousin Rupert, who had been one of the two sitting there apart, andwho had now risen, pale and very angry, with his hand on the basket ofa cutlass which he wore at his belt. Though I should have thought it kinder if he had come to my assistanceearlier, instead of leaving me to show what I was made of first, Ihailed his interference with much relief, and stepped quickly to hisside. But the fellows he had rebuked looked sourly in our direction andbegan to grumble to each other. "No orders here!" came from one man. "No lieutenants over us ashore!"said another. "We're all equal in the 'Three-decker. '" "Silence, Jim Palmer!" cried Rupert sternly. "And you too, Andrews; Ithought you had more manhood in you! What reason had you for baitingthis young man when he came in civilly? Do you know who he is, youfools? This is my own cousin, who has just given the slip to his sourold Puritan of a father, and come here to join our jolly fellowship!" I felt some pricks of shame at this lewd reference to my father. ButRupert's words completely turned the tide in my favour; and when hewent on to call for the potman and order a quart of ale and a nogginof gin all round the table, I became the most popular man in theassembly for at least half an hour. My health was called for by theman in the chair who had so abused me, and who, as I now found out, was the boatswain, or foreman of the crew. They even would haveTrickster Tim to apologise and shake me by the hand. He tried to gothrough this performance with an air of cordiality, but succeeded veryill. After this my cousin drew me aside and presented me to his companion, whom he named to me as Mr. Sims, the captain of the _Fair Maid_. However, it did not take me long to see that though Mr. Sims commandedthe vessel, by reason of his skill in navigation, yet my cousin wasthe real moving spirit of the entire ship's company, and could turnthe captain round his little finger, if he had a mind. Pens and ink were then sent for, and a sheet of parchment, on whichCaptain Sims, who was an old hand at this work, himself drew up thearticles of my apprenticeship. It was necessary that I should shipbefore the mast, he explained, in order to avoid provoking thejealousy of the crew; but they both promised me that I should be ratedas an officer as soon as a fair excuse offered itself for mypromotion. The others present were all called round to witness me signthe indenture, after which, like a vain young fool, I must needsproduce Mr. Walpole's guinea and order a fresh supply of liquor as faras it would go. This display of spirit, as they esteemed it, did mybusiness with the crew, who having now been ashore for four weeks hadspent most of their money, without in any degree lessening theirthirst. But I fear good Mr. Walpole would have been but ill-satisfiedif he could have known how his money was spent. This business disposed of, Rupert thought it prudent to take me insideand have me bestowed in some safe corner of the house till the searchafter me should have blown over. And the first person whose help hemust needs obtain in this was the tavern keeper's niece, Marian, whomI thought then, and think to this day, the most handsome creature thatthere was in the world, and whom I loved desperately from that hour. CHAPTER III _THE BEGINNING OF THE RIVALRY_ And now, lest it be wondered what was done by them at home in thematter of my flight, I will tell here so much as I afterwards came toknow. When the letter which I had left behind me was put into my father'shands, it appears, he read it once through, and delivered it to mymother. Next, without saying one word, he went out by himself into thestable, saddled his great horse, Gustavus, which stood seventeen handshigh, presently mounted it, and rode off at a strong gallop, settinghis face towards the London road. It was not till the end of the second day that he came back, the horsecovered with dirt to the shoulders. He said nothing of where he hadbeen, but walked into the house with a stern face, and called for thefamily Bible, which had belonged to his grandfather in the time of theCommonwealth. This book was bound in parchment and fastened with ironclasps, and lay always on the top shelf of the old oak press, whenceit had not been taken down once in a dozen years. My mother brought it to him trembling, and when she saw him open it atthe blank page within the cover, whereon were written the names of allthe Fords for four generations, she fell upon her knees and imploredhim not to carry out what he had in his mind. But he heeded her nomore than if he had been stone deaf, and taking a pen in his righthand drew it through my name and the date of my birth and baptism, making a line right across the page, which looks as if it had beendrawn with a ruler to this day. Then he threw the sand upon it, and assoon as it was dry closed the book and handed it back to my mother, who was fain to restore it to its place. All this time not a word had passed his lips. At supper my father atebut little, and drank still less. When it was time for prayers he bademy mother read the chapter instead of him, as was his wont whengreatly fatigued. Whereupon that sweet saint, as I must ever haveleave to call her, turned, not to the prophecy of Ezekiel, but to thegospel of Saint Luke, and read out from that chapter which containsthe parable of the Prodigal Son. And when she came to the words, "Forthis my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and isfound"--when she had come to this place, my father, who had sat andlistened hitherto, cried out in a harsh voice-- "Stop, woman!" And he took the Bible from her and turned over the leaves till he wasat the book of Ezekiel, and read the chapter in order as usual. Nevertheless in the night my mother, who lay awake weeping, heard himgive more than one sigh; and presently, while it was still dark, herose up and went out of the room and downstairs, and stayed away abovean hour; after which he came back and lay down again. And he strictlyforbade her ever to utter my name in his hearing from that time. * * * * * I lay in hiding above a week before I durst venture abroad except atnight. And very soothing to my spirit those night rambles were, thoughmelancholy; for the look of all things was so changed and solemn underthe black sky, or in the silent radiance of the moon, the houses wereso oppressively still, and the masts of the ships so spectral upon thewater, that it seemed to me by the end of those few days, that I hadbeen exploring another world, and had got at last to be familiar withits ways. In the daytime I was safe enough in my snug quarters in the tavern, for not a soul knew I was there save the privateer's crew. And to dothose ruffians justice, though there were few other crimes they stuckat, I believe that a thousand pounds would not have tempted one ofthem to give me up after I had been duly embodied in their company. Indeed, I found some of them to be good fellows enough, and grew notto dislike old Muzzy, the boatswain--for so he was called, though Iknow not if it was his proper name or one bestowed upon him by hismates. He was, if I mistake not, a foundling. He had conceived a hugefriendship for me, and would come upstairs to the garret where I wassecluded, and give me lessons in the broadsword exercise by the hour, the knowledge of which stood me in good stead in not very long. But practise how I might, I never reached that perfection which theboatswain had attained, who was, I do think, the most complete masterof his weapon then alive. I have heard, not from his mouth only, butfrom others of the crew, of the duel which he fought with threeFrenchmen together, at a time of peace between the countries, inCivita Vecchia, and how he left them all dead upon the ground. Forsuch were English tars in those days, a manly race of whom we have butfew left now. The rest of the crew I pass over as being of a class common enough inall our seaports. The profane language they constantly employed grew, by dint of repetition, to have no meaning in my ears, as I am sure ithad none, for the most part, in theirs. The thing which I found ithardest to accustom myself to was the smoking of tobacco. Indeed, after I had lit my first pipe I fell so ill that I looked upon it as ajudgment of Providence, and vowed I would never light another. Butseeing all the rest at it day by day, I soon ventured again, and cameat last to enjoy it no less than they did. And no doubt if there wereanything mischievous in this habit when pursued in moderation, itwould have been denounced by the sacred writers, who would, by meansof their inspiration, have foreseen its introduction into theseregions, though not then known. But what will for ever make memorable to me the days which I spent inYarmouth, waiting for the _Fair Maid_ to be equipped for sea, was thedeep joy of my first love for the woman whose lot was to be sostrangely cast in with mine. I do not know whether she at first failedto perceive this passion, or whether she slighted it as the heedlessfancy of a lad, for she behaved towards me as if there could be nosuch thoughts between us, caressing me openly before company, andthereby causing me the keenest joy and anguish at the same time. Mistress Marian Rising, to give her her full description, was, as Ihave said, the niece of my host. Her own parents were settled in theEast India Company's factory at Fort William, on the river Hooghley, where her father did business in drugs and was amassing, according toreport, a considerable fortune. She told me that her people hadrefused to carry her out with them to the East, on account of theunhealthiness of that climate, but being now grown of age she wasresolved to take the first occasion of going out there to join them. She spoke much of the marvels of that great region which we now callIndostan, and of which little then was known in my part of Norfolk, describing the vast wealth and luxury of its people, the power andsplendour of the nabobs and princes, and the curiosity of theirbuildings and manufactures. Of all these she spoke as familiarly as ifshe had dwelt among them, deeming, I suppose, that the connectionbetween her and that region invested her with authority on thesubject. I need scarce say that I drank in every word with greedyears, and was become daily more inflamed with desire to voyagethither. My cousin Rupert was frequently a third party in our conversations. Heused a tone of familiarity with Marian which I was inclined to resent, though she took it in good part. But he deeply offended me one daythat we were together by referring openly to what I thought my secretpassion for the girl. We had been discussing the question of how far it was safe for me toventure abroad into the streets, and he wound up by saying-- "To speak my mind plainly, Mistress Marian, I think it is high time mycousin got further out of reach of your fascination. You and he havebeen too much together of late; and if I mistake not Master Athelstanewould not object to prolong his captivity for ever on such terms. " "What do you mean?" I cried angrily. But the girl only laughed. "Be quiet, sir!" she said. "You ought to be ashamed of yourself forshowing jealousy of a mere boy like this! Why, he is scarce old enoughto notice whether I have brown eyes or black. " This made me still more angry with Rupert. "Mere boy as I am, I will thank you not to meddle between me and anylady who may choose to favour me with her goodwill!" I told him. "I crave your pardon, my venerable cousin, " sneered Rupert. "I was notaware that matters between Mrs. Rising and you had made such progress. I would offer to go to Saint Nicholas, and bid them put up the bannsnext Sunday, if I were not afraid it might bring my worthy uncle overfrom Brandon with a whip and a dog-collar. " I sprang to my feet as red as fire, and was as likely to have answeredhim with a blow as a word, if Marian had not come between us. "Sit down, you foolish boy, " she said, giving me a look that turned mywrath into secret exultation. "As for you, Rupert Gurney, I have toldyou before that I will not endure your hectoring temper. If you cannotbehave more civilly, there are plenty of other inns in Great Yarmouth, and you had better betake yourself to one of them. " Rupert now saw he had gone too far, and passed off the thing as apleasantry. After that he became as friendly to me as ever; but Icould not so soon get over his ungenerous words, and I think I neverfelt quite the same love and admiration for him afterwards. About this time I overheard a conversation between Mr. Sims and mycousin which I by no means liked. They were seated in the parlour ofthe inn by themselves, overhauling the ship's papers, which they tookout of a tin case, such as is used by mariners to guard against thechances of a wetting. I had come in to join them, for they sometimesused me as a clerk in the business of the ship, and found them toobusy to heed my presence. "I tell you, Gurney, I mislike it, " Captain Sims was saying. "Here isthe date of our commission, by which, as you may see, it has run outsince the conclusion of the peace. The _Fair Maid_ cannot sail underthat. " Rupert cursed the commission, and cursed the date upon it, with muchheartiness. "We must sail without it, then, that's all!" he said, as soon as hehad finished cursing. "It will be all one by the time we make Gheriah. Thanks to this cursed peace we might as well whistle for another asapply to the Admiralty Commissioners. " "Nay, not so fast!" exclaimed the other, drawing back in his chair. "That were to proclaim ourselves pirates at once. " "Well, and pray what else have we been till now?" returned my cousin, giving him a nasty look. Mr. Sims shook his head gravely. "No; I have been a privateersman all my life, barring a few smugglingventures in the late peace, but I have never put to sea without myletters of marque and reprisal, duly signed and sealed. " Rupert curled his lip as he looked at the other. "And what did your letters of marque say as to the Portuguese slaverwe sank in the Gaboons?" he demanded scornfully. "And what of thatBristol schooner we mistook for a Frenchman off Finisterre, and had athousand pounds of coffee out of, before we discovered the error?" "No matter, " said Sims, setting his fist upon the table with an angrythump; "I don't profess to be more particular than other men when Iget on the high seas; but I've always got my letters of marque onboard, and as long as I have them, d'ye see, they can't hang me. " Rupert seemed to be casting about for some way to satisfy hisscruples. Presently he said-- "There's no other way for it, then--we must alter the date. " Mr. Sims gave a start, and let drop an oath. "You're a strange man, Gurney, " he said; "I can't make you out thismorning. You talk of forging the king's commission as if it were nomore than altering the log. Why, man, that's a worse hanging matterthan sailing with no papers at all!" My cousin fairly lost his temper at this, and cursed the other for athin-skinned numbskull. "Either we sail or we don't, " he concluded by saying, "and either wesail with a commission or without it. I am ready here to alter thedate with my own hand--it is but turning a IV into a VI--to give ustwo years more, and you need know nothing of the matter. " The captain came into this with surprising readiness thinking, nodoubt, that he had sufficiently guarded his own neck in the business. Then for the first time they perceived me; and Sims was for making metake an oath on the gospels not to betray what I had heard. But Rupertrebuked him sharply, bidding him to know that no Ford had evercommitted treachery or dishonour within the memory of man, any more, he was good enough to say, than the Gurneys themselves. And this testimony of his so soothed me that I allowed my conscienceto slumber in the matter of the forged commission. Yet it was plainenough to me by this time that my cousin was a desperate scoundrel, and that the company I had enlisted among were little better than agang of pirates, if better they could be called. I daresay it was not to be expected that I should associate for longwith such men without falling into their ways. But what prevailed mostto change me from my former character, and wrought on me for evil was, I verily believe, the frenzy of the passion which possessed me forMarian. By this time I had gathered courage to let her know how she stood inmy regard, and with the worst result for me that could have happened. For she would listen well-pleased to all the desperate love I pouredinto her ear, and then the next day I would find her closeted with mycousin Rupert, who was become her bold and notorious wooer, or elsewith one of the flash young gentlemen of the town, who frequented thetavern for no other purpose but to make love to her, and brought herpresents of rings and lockets and suchlike matters, which she neverscrupled to accept. And when I upbraided her for this wantonness, shegave me cruel words. "I would have you to know that I am not your mistress, pert young sir, any more than I am your cousin's! And I suppose I am free to do as Iplease, without your leave first had! If it likes me to entertain thesociety of other young gentlemen, be sure I shall do so; and as forthe trinkets you are pleased to be jealous of, it will be time enoughto cast them in my teeth when you have better to bestow on meyourself. " With that she flung away, leaving me sore distressed and amazed. Butthough this speech removed somewhat of my blindness, yet the love Ihad for her was no whit lessened, but rather increased in vehemence. And seeing that I had but little money of my own to procure her suchtoys as she spoke of, I forthwith betook me to dicing and gambling, which hitherto I had refrained from, in the hopes of bettering myestate. The luck I had in this was very various, so that at one time guineasseemed to be dropping out of my pockets, whereas at others I mightransack them through without finding so much as a silver penny. Andaccording to the state of my fortunes, so did I prosper in Marian'sregard; and in this ill-state of my affairs I grew reckless, and drankto drive away better thoughts, and so came on rapidly to the evil hourwhich was to end it all. For, as it happened, I was one night throwing the dice with my cousinRupert, and he had won of me, and as I went on, drinking in betweenwhiles, I lost what little coolness I had started with, and finallystaked my last penny on the last throw, and lost that too. Then Iflung myself back from the table with an oath. "Fair and softly, cousin, " said Rupert, picking up the money I hadthrown before him. "It does not much matter who wins, seeing that itall goes into the same pocket afterwards. " "What do you mean?" I cried sharply. For nothing angered me more thanto have him say anything which glanced at our rivalry for Marian, inwhich business I had too much reason to suspect he was more fortunatethan myself. That very day, moreover, I had found them together, andthey had looked ill-pleased at being disturbed. "Faith, I think you must know my meaning well enough by this time, "answered Rupert, with an insulting smile. "Before you try to play thegallant you must line your pocket better. " "Hold your tongue!" I said fiercely. "I am not used to buy favours, like some who have nothing but their purse to commend them. " "Then you should go where favours are not sold, " he sneered, with anevil smile. "Those words in your teeth!" I shouted, starting up and clapping myhand on my sword, which I had bought two days before of a Jew. By this time the noise of our quarrel had aroused the whole room, andthe company were crowding round us, the men of the _Fair Maid_ in thefront. Rupert bit his lip as he saw where he stood. "Peace, youngster, " he said, with a threatening look which belied hiswords. "I will not be forced into a quarrel here. " "Here or outside, I care not, " says I, "but I swear you shall takeback the slander you have cast upon a woman you are not fit to speakwith!" "D--n you!" says Rupert, "do you want me to fight for a----" He got no farther, for with that I caught up the dice-box and dashedit between his eyes, so that he fairly staggered back, and the bloodstarted from his nostrils. And then, almost before I knew what washappening, his sword was out, and mine was clashing against it, andthe table was overturned on the floor, and then there was a rush and ashout, and some one was holding me back from behind, while Mr. Simsand the boatswain stood between us, and Rupert, with a look on hisface which I had never seen there before, was saying in a very steadyvoice-- "Gentlemen, you may arrange it as you please, but take notice that itmust be _à la mort_. " CHAPTER IV "_À LA MORT_" So it had come to this, that before the dust of my father's fields waswell off my shoes I was committed to a duel to the death with adesperate, vindictive man, who had been steeped in bloodshed before Ihad ever handled a sword, and that man my own near kinsman. At the time I was less frightened than I have often been since inthinking over it. The others were more alarmed for me than I was formyself, and I heard Mr. Sims and old Muzzy urging upon Rupert to letthe matter go no further. But this he would not now hear of, and inthe state of mind I was then in I should have been little bettersatisfied than he to have had the affair patched up. At last they saw it was of no use to seek an accommodation between us, and they withdrew together to settle how we were to fight, CaptainSims, as I understood, acting in my cousin's interest, while theboatswain did the same office for me. While they were discussing it, which it took them some time to do, Rupert and I sat on opposite sides of the room. He put on a great airof indifference, talking familiarly with those of his friends whostood about him, while I could do nothing but stare across at him witha horrible fascination, as the man by whose hand, in all likelihood, Iwas to die within the next half-hour. I remember noting for the firsttime what a finely formed person he had, tall and supple as a lath ofsteel. As far as that went I was no weakling, and I have been toldthat at that time we greatly resembled each other, though I do notthink I can ever have shared my cousin's good looks. I was becoming feverish over the delay of our seconds, if such theycan be called, when they rose from their corner, and the boatswaincame across to me with a very grave air, Mr. Sims at the same timegoing over to Rupert. "We have arranged, " the boatswain said to me, in a serious voice, "that you are to fight out at sea. A boat is to be moored to the buoyoff the mouth of the river, and you will be rowed out and put into ittogether, one at each end. You are to be armed with cutlasses and leftthere together. There will be a pair of sculls on board, and the onewho kills the other will throw his body overboard, so as to leave notrace, and then row ashore. If the boat does not return at the end ofan hour, we shall come out to her to see what has happened. Do youagree to this?" He spoke these words in a distinct, loud voice, so as to be overheardby those who stood next. Then, before I could answer, he bent overquickly and laid his lips to my ear, whispering-- "Refuse it, boy, refuse it! It will be a narrow match enough betweenyou with the cutlass, which was the weapon I stuck out for for yoursake. But out in a trumpery rocking boat, with you a landlubberagainst a man that has been at sea these ten years, I would not give afarden for your life. " He said this with many strong oaths, for I honestly believe the oldpirate had got an affection for me. But he wasted his breath as far asI was concerned, my pride being then too fierce to admit of myshrinking from any terms that might be offered by the other side. "Tell them I accept, " I said sullenly, "and make no more ado about it. How soon can we reach this place?" The old fellow cursed me roundly for an obstinate, bloody-minded youngfool. "Give me a hug, " he wound up by saying, "for blast me if you ain't ayoungster after my own heart!" And he fell to and embraced meheartily, kissing me on both cheeks, and shedding tears plentifully;for he was three-parts drunk, and clearly looked upon me as a deadman. And in that light I saw that the company present regarded me, mycousin's prowess being well known by many duels which he had fought inthe past; and though I had pretty well made up my mind that I was todie, I suffered no small discouragement and chagrin from thecompassionate looks which were cast upon me. My old enemy, TricksterTim, also thought this a safe occasion to insult me, coming up closebefore me and peering into my face, as if I were already so muchcarrion. Nor had I the spirit to resent his insolence. Captain Sims now led the way out of the house, holding Rupert by thearm, while I followed with my friend. The rest of the crew swarmed outafter us, but old Muzzy sharply ordered them back, taking only two mento pull the oars, for we had a long way to row before the buoy couldbe reached. It was a miserable voyage for me, sitting there in the stern, notthree paces from Rupert, shivering in the cold night air, and perhapsfrom fear as well, as we dropped slowly down the river, past the blackpiles of the landing jetties and the sleeping ships. Our course waslit only by the stars, save where a ship's light cast a sickly gleamupon the water as we approached it, and faded away as we rowed on. Thewhole way I never once opened my lips, but the others talked togetherin low voices, turning themselves away from me in the same manner asif I were a convict being led to execution. And as for my ownthoughts, they were distracted enough, especially when I called tomind my dear mother and my good and upright father, and how littlethey imagined the business in which I was now engaged. Thesereflections so softened me that I believe if my cousin had made theleast move towards a reconcilement my whole wrath would have meltedaway. But no doubt he had made up his mind that only my death couldrestore his authority amongst the ruffians whom he led. At last our dreary passage was ended, and we were arrived at the placeagreed on for the encounter. We had towed down a smaller boat in ourwake, and this they now fastened to the buoy, and we stepped into it, Rupert at the bows and I at the stern. Then the boatswain gripped myhand for the last time, whispering to me to beware of Gurney'supper-cut, and so they bade us farewell and rowed off quickly in thedarkness, like men who would avoid the sight of a murder. So there were we, left alone in that frail compartment, out there uponthe heaving water, with nothing but death in our hearts. I had buttime to breathe a prayer, which I did with some misgiving as to how itwould be received, when my cousin drew his cutlass and stepped intothe centre of the boat. I rose to meet him with my weapon in my hand, and we stood there facing one another, with only the width of the seatbetween us. "Are you ready?" says Rupert quickly. And before I had time to answerhe brought down his cutlass with such force that unless I had guardedit the blade would have split open my head. It was now that I had reason to be thankful for the lessons I hadreceived at the hands of the boatswain, for Rupert's blows came sothick and fast that I had all I could do to parry them. I bore hislast caution to me in mind, and soon found the importance of it, forthough my cousin made many feints at my shoulder and other parts of mybody, yet the only blow into which he put his real force was theupper-cut at my head. I kept my eyes fixed upon his, as I had been taught, and soon saw asavage light arising therein when he found he made so littleimpression on me. Indeed, if we had fought on firm ground I believethat, as the boatswain said, I should have been his match, but therocking of the boat gave him an advantage, and presently he pursued afeint further than I expected, and gave me a gash of about threeinches long in my left thigh. The first smart of the wound made me gasp for breath, but the nextmoment it had so raised my fury that I left off the defensive and fellupon my enemy with all my might, hitting and slashing so desperatelythat, do what he would, I broke down his guard and laid open hisforehead over his right eye, and the blood began to trickle down hisface. This transformed his own anger into a tempest, and now, indeed, wewent at it more like two savages than Christian men. For the cutlass, by the very reason that it is not so deadly an instrument as thesmall-sword, is capable of inflicting a very great many wounds beforeany fatal effect takes place. And so, becoming less heedful of ourguard as we warmed to it, we wounded each other all over the body in amost desperate manner, till my cousin seemed to me to be covered withblood from head to foot, and I can have been little better, for I feltthe blood running from me at above a dozen places. My enemy was the first to see the folly of this, for he began tochange his tactics, drawing back from my assault and keeping on thedefensive till he should lure me on to give him an advantage. And inthis at length he had nearly succeeded, but happening to forget theseat which lay behind him in the bows of the boat, he overbalancedhimself against it and fell backwards, still gripping his weapon inhis hand. I scorned to take advantage of this accident, but stayed where I wasto give him time to get up. He lay upon his back for a minute, glaringsullenly at me to see if I would kill him. But finding that I had nosuch mind he recovered himself nimbly enough. And being, no doubt, still further enraged at this accident having put him, as it were, into my power, he now made at me with the most terrible vehemence, raining down blows upon me sufficient to have felled an ox. And thenin the midst of it all, while I was warding off his fury, and thesparks flew from our weapons every instant, I suddenly felt my handjarred as though I had touched a conger, and the blade of my cutlasssnapped off at the hilt with a crash, and I stood there at his mercy. He stopped short, as much astonished as I was, while I sank down onthe seat next the stern, ready to sob, and put up my hands before myface. "That cursed Jew has cheated me of my life!" I groaned between my setteeth. Rupert rested the point of his cutlass upon the seat in front of himand looked over at me curiously. "Young man, " he said, "your life is forfeit to me, and it hath neverbeen said that Rupert Gurney spared an enemy. Yet, inasmuch as you areof my blood and but raw in the world, I have half a mind to make termswith you. Will you make your apology for the violence you put upon mein the tavern, and swear to repeat its terms before all those who werewitnesses of our dispute?" I looked up at him and smiled bitterly in his face. "Do you understand me so little, and you a Ford by the mother's side?"I answered him. "Now that I have no weapon you may murder me if youwill, but apology you shall have none from me--unless, " I added, "youtake back your insult to the woman I love. " "You young fool!" he ground out savagely. "That drab you make such ato-do about has been mine this two months past. " I leave it unsaid how these words affected me, both then and for longafterwards. For up to that moment I had looked upon the girl with aspure a reverence as any boy ever cherished for a maid, and my cousin'svile boast, cast it back to him as I might, sank into my mind andworked there like a poison. "I believe you lie, " I said to him with marvellous coldness. For whatwith the loss of blood, and the despair which had seized upon me atthe breaking of my weapon, and the news I had just received, I wasbecome quite dispirited, and was indifferent to what he might do withme. "Die, then, since you will have me kill you!" he exclaimed, and beganadvancing down the boat towards me. But as he stepped over the middle seat it chanced that he struck hisfoot against one of the oars which lay along the boat's bottom; andthe rattling of this oar put a new thought into my mind. It so happened that I had been used to play with the quarterstaff athome, and old Sugden, the rat-catcher, who was esteemed the greatestproficient in this sort of exercise in our part of the country, hadhad many a bout with me, in which, before I ran away, he had beenforced to confess that I was very well able to cope with him. Now, therefore, in my extremity, seeing death so near at hand--for up tothis moment I had hardly believed that my cousin would kill me--I madeshift to snatch at an oar, and drawing it to me just in time putmyself in a posture of defence before he could strike me. He drew back, greatly astounded, and swore beneath his breath. "What fool's game is this, boy? Would you break honour with me? Wewere agreed to fight with cutlasses. " "And now that my cutlass is broke foully you would take and murderme!" I retorted, and being now incensed at his bloodthirstiness, afterI had once spared his life, I cursed him in the face for a coward. This was more than he could bear. He leaped across the seat, with hishead stooped, to come inside the sweep of my weapon, but this was atrick I had had experience of, and though I found my oar very heavyand cumbrous I yet managed to repulse him with a crack on the head. And immediately he raised his cutlass to strike back I caught him avery smart blow on the knuckles, and sent his weapon flying over theside of the boat into the water, where it instantly sank. By this time I think we were both too furious to be willing to end thecombat without one or the other's death. Rupert, as soon as he knewwhat had happened, fairly sprang upon me, and clutched my throat, bearing me down with him into the boat. Here he knelt above me, squeezing my windpipe, and emitting horrid snarls like a wild beast. My senses began to forsake me, and I was as good as lost, when, by thedirect mercy of Providence, my right hand encountered the blade of myown cutlass, lying close beside us, which I instantly snatched at, and plunged as hard as I could thrust into Rupert's side. And withthat, feeling his fingers relax themselves as he tottered sidewaysfrom off me, I raised myself half up, lifted him by the thighs, andcast him clean over the side of the boat into the sea. And that done Isank down again in a bloody swoon, and perceived nothing more. * * * * * It was, as I learned, above a week afterwards when I fully came tomyself, and discovered that I was lying in my former garret at the"Three-decker. " There was an old woman coming into the room to waitupon me, who told me that I had been brought ashore on the night ofthe duel by men wearing masks; and one of them, whom she knew by hisvoice and carriage to be the boatswain of the _Fair Maid_, had givenmoney out of his pocket for me to be taken care of till such time as Ishould recover. In the state of weakness to which I was reduced I shed tears athearing of this kindness on the part of that rough man, who was, Isadly feared, a great scoundrel, of most villainous evil life. My nextbusiness was to ask what had become of him and the rest of the _FairMaid's_ crew. "The _Fair Maid_ sailed yesterday, " the crone answered. "They warpedher out on the afternoon ebb. 'Tis said she sails under a privateer'scommission against the French. " I scarce knew whether to be glad of this news, or sorry. I toldmyself that I could hardly have looked for a welcome among those menafter being the means of their lieutenant's death; and, moreover, Ihad learnt enough of their character to feel strongly averse to acruise in such company. Yet they were the only friends I had, and Iwas grown used to them; and the thought that I was left there, as itwere, alone, with nothing to turn to, made me very dismal after all. It seemed somewhat strange to me, during the rest of that day, thatMarian had never once come to inquire for me; but I put off speakingabout it to the morrow. In the morning I awoke greatly refreshed, andfeeling well enough to leave my bed, which I did, and came down intothe bar of the house to look for her. I found only her uncle, a weazened, peevish man, who had showedhimself very little while the privateersmen were about his house. Ibade him a courteous good morrow. "Good morrow t'ye, " he snapped out churlishly. "I'm glad to see you'reabout again, as I daresay you know your reckoning has run out. " This I did not believe, but thought it beneath me to pick a quarrelwith such a man. Besides, he was Marian's uncle. "Any charges you may have against me shall be fairly met, " I answeredproudly. "But where is Mistress Marian? I have not seen her these twodays. " "And you're not like to see her again, I take it, " he returneddisagreeably. "At least, not in my house; I've had enough of theimpudent baggage. " "What are you saying, man?" I demanded, much dismayed. "You need notmiscall your own niece, I should think. But what of her? Do you meanshe has left you?" "Aye, what else should I mean? And right glad I am to be rid of such atrollop, drawing all the rapscallions of the port in here, andbringing my tavern into disrepute. " He spoke so bitterly that I believe he was trying to talk himself intothinking he had profited by her departure. For in reality she hadbrought him the chief part of his custom, and there was at thatmoment, as I could perceive, not a soul in the tavern besideourselves. But I did not stop to reflect on this. "Where has she gone? What has happened?" I questioned breathlessly, with a terrible fear in my heart. "Nay, whither she has gone is more than I can tell you, for as likelyas not the jade has lied to me. But she left this place two days ago, in the afternoon, and all the account she gave me was that she hadtaken her passage in the _Fair Maid_ for her father's house inCalcutta. " I fell down on a bench, like a man stunned, and groaned aloud. Then Isprang to my feet again and made for the door. "I will follow her!" I cried out madly. "If she has gone to the end ofthe world I will go after her, and all the devils in hell shall nothold me back!" And leaving the man there, staring at me as if he thought I wascrazed, I ran out of the house, and so stumbled right into the arms ofa pressgang come ashore off a king's ship which had that morningdropped anchor in Yarmouth Roads. CHAPTER V _ON BOARD THE KING'S SHIP_ The license of these pressgangs was so well known, and had been madefamiliar to me by so many tales, that I had little hope from the firstof escaping their clutches. It is true they were only authorised toimpress seamen and fishermen, and that after proving their commissionbefore justices of the peace. But if report did not belie them, theylooked not too closely into a man's seamanship; but, if they found alikely fellow, regarded all as fish which came into their net. There was a lieutenant set above the fellows into whose hands I hadfallen, a tall, lantern-jawed, middle-aged man, with a most abominablesquint, and to him I addressed myself: "Sir, I am not in a condition to be pressed by you, I am not a marinerby calling; and, moreover, I am but just risen from a bed ofsickness. " He glanced over my dress before he answered, with something of asmile. And, indeed, for a landsman, my costume was something out ofthe way, for during the time since I had signed articles to CaptainSims I had done my best to equip myself in true sea-dog fashion. "You surprise me, young sir, " the lieutenant said presently, when hehad surveyed me. "Your dress tallies but ill with your professions. Ifyou wore but a cutlass, and had a pistol to your belt, I could havesworn you to be a smuggler at the least. " I hung my head at this, for it was my own vanity that had led me intothe mess. I could only fall back on my second excuse. "Nevertheless, you are mistaken, sir, " I said. "But however that maybe, be pleased to believe me when I tell you that I am scarce yetrecovered from several severe wounds. " "Indeed! I thought I had seen you coming out of yonder tavern at amarvellous nimble gait. But my eyes are indifferent bad. Here, MasterVeale, what say you, does this young man look too sick for ourpurpose? He says he is not recovered of his wounds. " The man he applied to, who was master of the ship's cutter, answeredhim in the same jesting manner. "I see nothing the matter with un, your honour. But perhaps we hadbest carry un aboard and let the ship's doctor feel his pulse. " "I protest against this treatment, " I said angrily. "In the name ofhis Majesty, I say, unhandle me. " "Nay, " quoth the lieutenant, "my hearing is as indifferent as myeyesight, and I follow you not. Master Veale, if this youngster usesany blasphemy or indecency let him be gagged till we come aboardagain. " This threat was enough to silence me, if I had not been otherwiseafraid to make a stir. For though I might have got some of thepassers-by to succour me, it being broad daylight, and theseimpressments most unpopular among seafaring men, yet I foresaw that itwould quickly come to a question of who I was, and if my name oncebecame bruited abroad there were friends of my father's in the townwho would have made short work of sending me back to him. And soonerthan face the disgrace of this, as I considered it, I was willing totry my luck with King George. I therefore walked along with the pressgang, by the side of MasterVeale, who used me civilly enough when he found I had given up thethoughts of resisting. I was not a little amazed and delighted when we came out upon theshore, and I caught sight of the _Talisman_, as she was called, ridingat her anchor. For she was a great line-of-battle ship, such as I hadnever yet seen, carrying seventy-four guns upon her three decks, whichrose above the water like a huge wall, with the muzzles of the cannonplainly visible through the opening of her portholes. This majesticmass lay like a floating fortress upon the waves, and overhead herthree masts towered up into the very clouds, with their yards set inorder, and the ropes crossing from one to the other as intricate as aspider's web. Last of all, from a flagstaff on the stern, brandishedthe ensign of Great Britain, in defiance of her enemies. And my heartswelled as I gazed upon it, and remembered how that banner had struckterror into the Frenchmen, and Dutch, and Spaniards, in so many greatand memorable fights. Perhaps in that moment I had a foretaste ofthose glorious triumphs of the British arms in which I was hereafterto take a part. As soon as we were brought on board this fine vessel--and by this timewe had pressed two or three others of the Yarmouth men--we werepresented to the captain for his inspection. The captain, it was easy to perceive, was a man of great quality, being, as I learned before long, a nephew of Lord Saxmundham, inSuffolk, who at that time sat upon the Board of Admiralty. He had themost elegant hands and feet of any man I ever saw, and was dressedwith great care, having long ruffles of the finest lace to his neckand wrists, and a gold-hilted small-sword by his side. Even my cousinRupert beside him would have looked but a country boor. He spoke to the lieutenant who had headed our party, drawling out hiswords in a fashion absurd in a London fop, but disgusting in thecommander of a man-o'-war. "Well, Mr. Griffiths, what sort of scum have you got hold of thistime? Faugh!" he continued, taking out a pocket napkin to wipe hisnose, "I declare the fellows all stink of herrings!" This last was a downright lie, for I had never so much as stepped intoa fishing smack. And besides, the herring fishery was not yet begun. "Sir, that is a fault which can soon be amended, " returned thelieutenant, biting his lip at the other's insolence. "For the rest, they looked to me to be sturdy rascals enough, and, I doubt, will makegood seamen. " "Yes, looked to you, my good sir; but then, you know, your sight isnone of the best, " sneered the captain, between whom and his officerthere appeared to be some jealousy. Mr. Griffiths, though he had jested at his infirmity in speaking tome, writhed under this allusion to it from another. He gave his answerwith spirit. "Captain Wilding, I have done what you ordered me in impressing thesemen. If you don't think them serviceable I shall be happy to set themashore again. " The other waved his napkin between them as if he would have brushedaway a fly. "There, there, my worthy man, that is quite enough! I have seen thetarry scoundrels, and as long as they have not the smallpox, I amcontent. Bestow them as you please. " Thereupon we were led into the fore part of the ship, to be ratedaccording to our several abilities. And it fell out luckily for me, for the lieutenant, when he discovered that I had had some education, and could cast accounts--a business of which he plainly knewnothing--informed me that he believed the purser stood in need of anassistant, and offered to recommend me to him. This kindness on hispart I gladly closed with, not that I liked the duty better than thecommon service of a ship, but because I guessed that I should therebybe delivered from the molestations of the crew, there being no greaterpleasure to the vulgar of every profession than to rough-handle andabuse those who come newly amongst them. And herein, as it turned out, I had judged rightly, and for so long as I remained upon that ship Isuffered no ill-usage, except at the hands of my superiors. But before this was settled I had a favour to ask of the worthylieutenant. "One thing I must bargain for, with your leave, Lieutenant Griffiths, "I said to him, speaking boldly, as I discerned him to be favourable tome, "and that is, that if we should come to fighting with the enemy Iam to take part with the rest. " Mr. Griffiths laughed when he heard this demand. "Why, there now, " he cried, slapping his thigh, "if I couldn't havesworn that you were one of the sort we wanted directly I clapped eyeson you! Never fear, lad, you shall have your fill of fighting beforewe go into dock again; for--I will tell you so much--we are underorders to join Admiral Watson's fleet at the Nore, and a man with ahealthier stomach for such work never hoisted pennant on athree-decker. " "I am glad, at all events, that we shall sail under a fightingadmiral, " I responded saucily, "for, as for our captain----" He stopped me at this point in a manner which terrified me, hurling astring of curses at my head sufficient to have sunk me through thedeck. "Hold your impertinent tongue!" he said in conclusion. "I would haveyou know better than to pass remarks on your officers in my hearing. Ihave had men put in irons for less. Follow me this minute to thepurser, and remember you are on board of one of his Majesty's ships, and not a dirty herring smack. " By which I saw that, however this gentleman secretly despised hiscommanding officer, he was too honourable to encourage the tattle ofhis inferiors. In this no doubt he showed his breeding; for it was hisboast that he was sprung from one of the most ancient families inWales, where the gentry, he was wont to say, are of older lineage thanthose of any other country in the world. The purser proved to be a Scotchman, against which nation I had takena strong prejudice, on account of the wicked and unnatural supportgiven by them to the Chevalier in his bloody invasion of this kingdom, and which prejudice has since been further confirmed in me by the latemean and notorious conduct of Lord Bute. However, I found Mr. Sanders, the purser, to be a respectable, religious man, having aslittle love for Papists and Jacobites as I had myself. He received mewithout much civility, but if he showed me no great favour neither didhe do me any injury, and in his accounts he cheated the crew as littleas any purser I ever heard of. But not to linger over these matters, the only thing that befell meduring our voyage to the Nore was an extraordinary painful sicknessand retching, the anguish of which I could not have believed possibleto be borne, and which many times made me wish I had never quitted myfather's house. During the continuance of this malady I was renderedquite unable to do my duty, to Mr. Sanders's no small discontent, andwas left to the sole companionship of an Irishman, one MichaelSullivan, who became much attached to me, and soothed my sufferings byevery means in his power. He was a corporal of the Marines, and hadbeen three times promoted to be sergeant for his bravery in action, and three times degraded again for drunkenness. Among his comrades hewas known as Irish Mick: and here I observed a peculiarity which Ihave found amongst others of that nation; for though he wouldcontinually be boasting of his country, and exalting the Irish raceabove every other on the face of the earth, yet no sooner did any ofus remark on it to him that he was an Irishman than he straightwayfell into a violent passion, as if we had laid some insult upon him. While I lay thus ill, as I have said, I lost all thoughts of the questI had meant to undertake for Marian, and would not have cared if theship had been bound for the infernal regions. But as soon as I wasrecovered sufficiently to come on deck, whither I was very kindlyassisted by the Irishman, I grew exceedingly curious as to ourdestination. "Does any one know whither we are bound when we have joined theAdmiral's fleet?" I asked of Sullivan. "Faith, and it's that same question I'm just after putting to theboatswain's mate, " he answered, "and the sorrow a soul on board thatknows any better than myself and yourself. " He pronounced his speech with a very rich brogue, which I shall nomore attempt to imitate than Captain Wilding's affectation. For indeedthere seem to be as many ways of pronouncing English as there arepeople that speak it, and even in Norfolk itself I have met withpeople who were not free from something like the Suffolk twang. Seeing, I suppose, that I was disappointed by this answer, he leantover and whispered in my ear-- "But it's my belief that King George is tired of the peace with theFrench, and that he's sending us out to sink a few of their ships andmaybe bombard a town or two, just by way of letting them know thatwe're ready to begin again. " I answered him impatiently, for my sickness had made me fretful. "I believe you are a fool, Mick! It is well known that we never go towar with the French unless they have first provoked us. " "Well, and sure haven't they provoked us enough by all their doings inAmerica and the Indies, not to mention the battle of Fontenoy, whichmy own cousin Dennis helped them to win, more by token; though he gota bullet in his left arm before the fighting begun, and had to contenthimself with cheering while the others were at it. " "That will do, " I said crossly, for I had heard of the battle ofFontenoy and his cousin Dennis before, and it was a sore point betweenus. Nor could I understand how a man who had the privilege of beingborn a British subject, though liable to the proper severities of thepenal code against Papists, could traitorously desert his allegianceand take service with our natural enemies. However, I learned nothing further of our destination till we reachedthe Nore, which we did about the end of the third day. Here we foundthe rest of the squadron a-waiting us, and, the _Talisman_ being thebiggest ship in company, Admiral Watson immediately hauled down hispennant off the _Victory_, of fifty guns, and came aboard of us. I was leaning over the chains with Sullivan when the barge camealongside, and could see a gentleman in the stern, sitting beside theAdmiral, in a military uniform, and having a very resolute andcommanding countenance. "Who is that?" I asked. "That? Why that's Charlie Watson, " he replied, mistaking my meaning. "It's myself that ought to know, for I sailed under him against theSpaniards in '44, and a devil of a beating we gave them. Hooray!" The cheer was taken up by the rest of the crew as they caught sight ofthis gallant seaman, who had been made Rear-Admiral of the Blue in histhirty-fifth year, and that without any influence at his back, butsolely on account of his splendid services in the Spanish wars. Mr. Wilding, who had come up on deck to receive the Admiral, looked roundvery sourly when he heard the cheer, but was ashamed to openly rebukeus. "Nay, but who is the other beside him, " I went on to ask, beingstrongly moved to interest by the sight of this gentleman. He appearedto be by some years junior to Mr. Watson, who was now somewhat overforty, but in spite of that, and of his treating the Admiral with muchceremony, there was that in the air of this officer which made animpression of authority, and which drew all eyes towards him as soonas they were arrived upon the quarterdeck. Sullivan professed himself as ignorant as to the stranger's identityas I was myself, nor was I near enough to hear what passed whenAdmiral Watson presented him to Mr. Wilding and the other officers. Nevertheless, I could see that they received him with extraordinaryrespect, even the captain seeming to brisk up and to put on a moremanly carriage under this gentleman's eye. After giving one or two keen glances round the deck, which set us allon the alert, the officer walked quickly forward, and the whole partyfollowing him, they went below, immediately after which the signal forweighing anchor was made to the squadron, and the crew was set to workputting on all sail. In the midst of which business the report ranround the ship, and reached me I know not from what lips, that thepassenger we had received on board was no other than the famous Mr. Robert Clive, who had just been created a lieutenant-colonel by theking, and whom we were carrying out to India to take up his governmentof Fort St. David in the Carnatic. At this time, though Mr. Clive had not yet reached to that height ofeminence which he afterwards attained, he was already known as one ofthe bravest Englishmen of his time, and I had heard from many quartersof his glorious exploits in the Indies. Although a civilian byprofession, when the settlements of the East India Company in Madraswere threatened with destruction by the French, he had exchanged hispen for a sword, and, with a mere handful of English and Sepoys, hadcaptured and maintained the town of Arcot against a great army of theFrench and their allies, after which he had beaten them in manyengagements, and in the end wrested the entire province of theCarnatic from their hands. Since then he had been in England, where hehad stood for the Parliament, and, as it was thought, had given up allintentions of returning to Indostan. Now the news that we had him onboard with us, and that he was on his way out, no doubt to drive thelast remains of the French power from that quarter of the world, cameon my ears like the summons of a trumpet, and went far to make mecontent with the accident that had thrown me in the way of thepressgang. Mr. Griffiths, the lieutenant, who had continued to take some noticeof me, for which I was not ungrateful, chanced to come by while I wasfull of these thoughts, and after confirming the news which I hadheard, fell to talking with me about our cruise. "You see I did you a good turn by bringing you off from that muddyfishing-hole, " he was pleased to observe presently. "Now you arelikely to see some service, and, if luck serves, to bring home a goodshare of prize-money. " By this time I had called to mind the sailing of the _Fair Maid_, andthe destination of that passenger of hers, to see whom once more Iwould have given all the prize-money in the world. "Are we like to make the Hooghley river, do you think, sir, when weget out to the Indies?" I ventured to ask. "That's as it may be, " he answered, friendly enough. "All I can tellyou--for I believe this to be no secret--is that our first port inthose seas is Bombay. And further, since we cannot attack the Frenchtill war breaks out, I may give you to know that our first business isto root out certain pirates that infest that coast, and who have theirheadquarters at the citadel of Gheriah, in the Morattoes' country. " I turned silent at this, remembering how I had heard the name ofGheriah pronounced between my cousin and Mr. Sims in the parlour ofthe "Three-decker", and feeling a dreadful apprehension that I was tomeet with the privateers (as they called themselves) in circumstanceswhich I had little desired. * * * * * Eleven months later--for we were beset by contrary winds all round thecontinent of Africa, and put in at divers places on the way--we cameto an anchor in the harbour of Bombay. And there, riding at a mooringunder the very walls of the fort, the first vessel that I saw was the_Fair Maid_ herself, looking as peaceful as if she had never fired agun. CHAPTER VI _IN THE POWER OF THE ENEMY_ On our voyage outward one thing had occurred to me which, as it turnedout afterwards, was to prove of very great consequence; this was mylearning of the native Indian language. Colonel Clive, who had never been at the pains to acquire it himself, had brought out in his train as secretary a Mr. Scrafton, who was wellversed in the Indostanee, and who was obliging enough to offer toimpart it to me, I having rendered him some services in thetranscribing of his papers and accounts. Having much time on my handson so long a voyage, I very thankfully accepted his proposal, thoughlittle then foreseeing the benefit I was to derive from it. This connection between us brought me a good deal under the notice ofMr. Clive, who was several times pleased to address his conversationto me, and to inquire my name and what had brought me into thatservice. When I told him I had run away from home he seemed not a littleamused, though he affected to rebuke me. "I perceive you are a young man of a reckless spirit, " he observed, but whether in irony or not I could not tell. "And pray what do youintend to do when we get to the Indies?" "Why, sir, " I answered hardily, "as soon as war breaks out I mean torun away from the ship and enlist under your honour. " "The devil you do!" he cried, a smile showing itself on his sternface. "Mr. Scrafton, do you hear my little purser here? I have a mindto report your speech to Mr. Sanders. " But though he said this, I could see that he was not ill-pleased. Andwhether from that occasion or another, by the time our voyage wasended I was known all over the ship as Colonel Clive's purser. And howproud the title made me I forbear to say, but I know that if Mr. Clivehad ordered me to march into Delhi, and pluck the Great Mogul by thebeard, I should have thought it a little thing to do. The first thing I did after we had dropped our anchor was to beg forleave to go ashore, which Mr. Sanders granted with some difficulty. Mr. Griffiths was good enough to give me a place in the cutter, and assoon as we were landed I separated myself from the rest, and withoutstaying to examine the curiosities of Bombay, which is a fine greatcity, built on an island, I procured a boatman to take me offprivately to the _Fair Maid_. The boatman I applied to was an Indian. He used me with wondrouscivility, calling me Sahib, which is an oriental term of respect, andbowing before me to the very ground. When we were got into the boat, however, he proved but a poor oarsman, and indeed all the natives ofthat country seem but a feeble race, owing, no doubt, to theiridolatrous religion, which forbids them to eat flesh. We arrived at the stern of the _Fair Maid_ without accident, but to mysurprise I could see nobody on the deck. Bidding the Indian wait forme I scrambled on board without hailing, and proceeded to examine thecabin. I found this likewise to be deserted, and was beginning tothink the vessel was empty when, on turning to come out, I foundmyself face to face with a dark man in a turban, bearing a nakedscymetar in his hand, who had crept in behind me. "Who are you?" I demanded, addressing him in Indostanee. But he shook his head, for, as I was to find out, the Morattoes, towhich nation he belonged, speak a different dialect of their own. While I was considering what to do with him, since his behaviour wasvery threatening, I was greatly relieved by seeing an Englishman comein after him, who proved, indeed, to be no other than my oldacquaintance, Trickster Tim. The sight of me gave him a great shock, and at first I believe hemistook me for a spirit from the other world, which perhaps was notstrange, considering that he had last seen me on the other side of theglobe, and lying very near to death's door. I spoke him friendly, nothing doubting that he would be pleased towelcome a fellow-countryman. "Well, Tim, how d'ye do, and how are all aboard the _Fair Maid_?" As soon as he had heard my voice his apprehensions vanished. He gazedat me for a minute, as if undecided what to do, and then, putting on asmile, stepped forward and shook me by the hand. "And how did you get here?" he asked. "We thought we had left you inYarmouth. " Not thinking any concealment needful, I told him my story, which helistened to very attentively. At the end he spoke some words to theMorattoe, who went out of the cabin. "Sit down and make yourself comfortable, " he said to me. "Our men areall gone ashore, but the captain will come off presently and be rightglad to see you safe again. " "I can't stay long, " I told him, "because I have only got leave for acouple of hours. " At this he smiled a little queerly, but pulled out a bottle of rum andsome glasses, and prevailed on me to take a drink with him. We satthus for some time, talking, and he told me that the ship had been outthere for more than a month, having escaped some of the headwinds wehad had to contend with. "And what of Mrs. Rising?" I said at last, for I had been shy ofputting this question to such a man. "I understand she took passagewith you. " He grinned at this, rather maliciously. "I thought you'd come to that, " he said. "I didn't suppose it was forlove of your comrades that you had come on board so quickly. As forMistress Marian, she's ashore, and for her address I may refer you tothe captain when he finds you here. " "The captain is rather slow in coming, " I observed, getting on to myfeet. "I think I must be going ashore. " With that I walked out of the cabin, Trickster Tim following at myheels. When I got on to the deck, I stared about me in dismay. Not asign could I see of my boatman. "What's become of that fellow who brought me out?" I cried, turning tomy companion. The scoundrel laughed in my face. "I sent word to him not to wait for you, " he coolly replied, "as Ithought maybe you'd rather stay with us. " "Rascal!" I shouted, taking him roughly by the arm. "What is themeaning of this villainy?" "There's the captain; you'd better ask him, " he answered. And turning round as the sound of oars smote on my ears, I perceived aboat coming alongside, and seated upright in the stern the very man ofall others whom I had never thought or wished to see again. It was mycousin Rupert. He caught sight of me at the same moment, and a fierce scowl passedacross his brow. "Whom have you got there, Tim?" he called out, standing up in the boatto get a view of me. "Mr. Ford, sir, purser's assistant of his Majesty's ship _Talisman_. " At that moment the boat came alongside and my cousin leaped on to thedeck, followed by four or five of the crew. He surveyed me with aglance of bitter hatred, mingled with triumph. "So, cousin, I did not kill you after all! Never mind, I am glad youhave remembered your old articles and are come to join us once more. We have lacked a cabin-boy since your desertion, and if his Majestycan spare you, we shall be glad of your services. " I was too confounded to reply, or to take much heed of this mockingharangue. I had as firmly believed Rupert to be dead as, it seems, hehad believed me. The truth, as I gathered it by degrees afterwards, seemed to be this: At the moment of my casting him out of the boat inwhich we had fought, the other boat was returning to find out what hadbeen the result of the battle. They had first picked up Rupert out ofthe water, when he was on the point of death, and had then found mesenseless, and to all appearance mortally wounded, where I had fallen. They carried us both back with them, and finding Rupert revived, hadconcealed him on the _Fair Maid_ till she should sail. The boatswain, out of a kindness for me, and knowing the other's vindictive nature, had persuaded him that it was impossible for me to recover, and sothey had left me. As soon as I was able to collect myself I demanded to have speech withMr. Sims, the captain. "You will meet with Mr. Sims where you are going, " retorted Rupert. "In the meantime any business you have with the captain of this vesselmay be transacted with me. " "Then I insist that you put me ashore instantly, " I said, withresolution. "Would you kidnap me under the very guns of his Majesty'sfleet?" "Not so fast, " returned Rupert, keeping his temper, as he could affordto do, having the upper hand. "You have forgot your indentures, bywhich you are bound apprentice to the good ship _Fair Maid_, sailingunder his Majesty's letters of marque and commission. " "Under a forged commission, " I retorted hotly. "I refuse to be boundby indentures to a pirate!" This outburst was, no doubt, what my cousin had been waiting for, toset the opinion of the crew against me. He now turned to hisfollowers, very stern. "Take this youth down to the forecastle and put him in irons. If herepeats his scandalous aspersions, I will bring him to trial as adeserter and mutineer. " I had no means of resistance, and his orders were carried out, thescoundrel who had tricked me into waiting for Rupert's return, takingespecial pleasure to see that my irons were made secure. I scorned toquestion the dirty rascals further as to how my cousin came to be incommand, but I guessed there had been some foul work on board sincethe vessel had left Yarmouth; and the next morning I learnt the wholestory. Old Muzzy, my firm friend, had been ashore all that night, very drunk, but soon after dawn he came off to the ship, and hearing of my plight, at once betook himself to where I was imprisoned. He embraced me veryheartily, and as soon as I had satisfied him as to my recovery andsubsequent adventures, he disclosed to me the situation of the _FairMaid_. "You see it's like this, my boy. Mr. Sims is a good seaman, no onecan't say he's not, but he's too much of a lawyer to handle a craftlike this. Now that cousin of yours, though he be a bloodthirsty, revengeful beast, as you should know by this time, yet he's no lawyer. Captain Sims, there, he was all for letters of marque and such, butthen, once a peace breaks out, where's your letters of marque? Theyain't no more use than so much ballast. Now when we came out here, thelieutenant he says, 'Let's go into Gheriah, and join the piratesthere'--though according to him they aren't what you may call pirates, being under a king of their own, who has as much right to give themcommissions as King George himself. But Captain Sims he wouldn't hearof it, the more so as there was a British squadron under CommodorePorter had been out from Bombay in the spring, and knocked some oftheir forts about their ears for them. But, you see, unless we joinedthem, we had nothing to do till such time as the war began again, unless we chose to take the risk of standing up and down the coast, asyou may say, on our own hook. So the crew they sided with thelieutenant, that's your cousin, and the end of it was there was a sortof a mutiny, and Captain Sims he was carried ashore at Gheriah andgiven up to the pirates, leastways to their king, and the lieutenanttook his place. " "Then the long and short of it is that this is a pirate ship, " was allI could say. "Well, we are, and, in a manner of speaking, we aren't. When we wantto come into Bombay here we sail under King George's flag, and whenwe're in company with the pirates we fly theirs. Any way, we've takentwo Dutch ships and an English one since we got out here, and that'sput money in our pockets, which is more than Captain Sims would havedone with his lawyering. " "And I suppose I am to be carried to Gheriah and given up to thepirates, like Mr. Sims, " I said bitterly. But this the boatswain swore with many oaths he would not permit. Nevertheless I could see that he was strongly attached to my cousin'sinterest, and not disposed to venture anything openly against him. Indeed, he tried very hard to persuade me to come into their plans, offering to reconcile me with Rupert if I would consent to do this. Tothese proposals, however, I would by no means consent, being moreexperienced by this time than when I had joined them at Yarmouth, andhaving a pretty shrewd notion of how Mr. Clive would regard my formercomrades if they should fall into his hands. Finally, I besought theboatswain for news of Marian. He drew a grave face at this name. "Athelstane, lad, I would rather you'd ask me any other question thanthat. Plague take the girl, she was the cause of all the mischiefbetween you and the lieutenant! Forget her, lad, forget her, she's notworth your troubling after. " But he might as well have pressed me to forget who I was, and thesituation into which my eagerness to hear of Marian had brought me. Finding me resolute to know about her, he told me this much:-- "She came aboard while the _Fair Maid_ was in the river, to nurse yourcousin as he lay ill of his wounds. But I believe he had been temptingher before that to come out to the Indies with him, and she held backfor him to go to church with her first, and this he didn't care enoughfor her to do. Anyhow, it ended in his getting round her to trustherself with him, and he swore he would carry her straight to Calcuttaand hand her over to her people there. When we got out here, and shefound he had no such purpose, but meant to keep her in the fortress aslong as it suited his pleasure, there was a terrible business betwixtthem. But you know what the lieutenant is, and that it ain't a fewtears from a woman that'll turn him from anything he has a mind to do. So he just set her ashore by force, and there she is, as much aprisoner as Mr. Sims himself. " I was overcome with the horror of this news, though I suppose it waswhat I should have expected from my cousin's character. "Good heavens!" I cried out in my distraction. "Do you mean that sheis in the hands of the pirates at Gheriah?" "That's about what it comes to. And the sooner you give up allthoughts of her the better for you, says I. " Before I could frame any answer--and, indeed, I know not what answer Icould have made--there was a great noise and trampling upon deck, anda man came down to tell us that the vessel was about to weigh anchor, and that the boatswain was wanted to attend to the service of theship. Whereupon he left me, in the company of bitterer thoughts than aman can have more than once in his life. I pass over the dreary time spent by me in that dismal confinementduring our voyage. Old Muzzy visited me pretty often, and once Ruperthimself came down and made offers towards a reconcilement. "Say that you will join us honestly, and I will take off the irons, and rate you as one of the crew. And when occasion serves, I willcause you to be made lieutenant under me, " he promised, "for after allyou are my own kinsman, and blood is thicker than water. " Whether he was sincere in this, or was compelled to it by my friendthe boatswain, I do not know. But I had only one reply to give him. "And Marian, what of her?" I said indignantly. A dark look came on his brow. "Leave that business alone, " he said. "It were better for you, I warnyou fairly. That woman is mine, and I will not suffer the AlmightyHimself to come between us. " At this blasphemous avowal I turned my back on him, and wouldentertain no further proposals. However, I knew from the boatswainthat Rupert was first for throwing me overboard; and when Muzzy, whohad much authority with the crew, would not consent to that, he wasfor putting me into the castle at Gheriah, along with the latecaptain. But this my sturdy champion also opposed, and the end of itwas that I was left in my present quarters when the _Fair Maid_arrived in the pirates' harbour, and brought them the news that aBritish squadron was on its way to besiege the place. This intelligence Rupert had acquired before leaving Bombay, and itwas this which had caused him to set sail with so much haste. Becomingvery busied in preparations for the defence, I luckily slippedsomewhat out of his mind, and the boatswain took advantage of this tosoften the rigour of my imprisonment, allowing me to take the air ondeck, and even going so far as to release me from my irons. I was thus enabled to gain some idea of the place I had been broughtto. When I first came up from below, after so long a time passed inobscurity, the daylight proved too much for my eyes, and I was obligedto close them, and accustom myself to the glare by degrees. As soon asI was able to look about me, however, I perceived that the _Fair Maid_was lying in a very spacious river, not far from the mouth, and overagainst a sort of rocky islet or peninsula, joined to the left bank ofthe river by a strip of sand. On the rock there was built a verystrong castle, having a double wall and towers to protect it, but thecannons of rather poor calibre. Alongside of us lay the fleet of thepirates, composed of strange-looking vessels, having for the most parttwo masts, one very much in the stern, and rigged with a huge sail, the peak of which came much above the top of the mast. The prows ofthese vessels stretched a great way forward out of the water havingthe appearance of a bird's beak. The larger of these vessels, of whichthere were about ten, are called grabs, and the smaller, of which Icounted upwards of sixty, gallivats. These latter are managed withoars as well as sails, and when there is no wind they are employed totow the grabs behind them, so that in light weather it is easy forthem to overtake the ship of which they are in pursuit. They were allarmed with cannon, the grabs carrying as many as twenty or thirty12-pounders, and the gallivats swivel-guns of 6 or 9 pounds. We had lain in this position for more than a month, and I wasbeginning to be afraid that Admiral Watson had altered his intentionof coming to reduce the pirates' stronghold, when one evening, as Isat on the deck, just at the time that the wind changed and began toblow in from the sea, I discerned a great commotion on shore in thefortress, and turning my eyes towards the river's mouth I beheld amost welcome sight, namely, a fleet of no less than fourteen ships, arranged in two lines, with the _Talisman_ at their head, sailingproudly in, with the British flag flying at their peaks, and theirtops all full of men, their guns run out through their portholes, andtheir decks cleared for action. As silently and as orderly as if they were in mid-ocean without a foein sight, they came sweeping up the river, doubled the rocky point, and anchored one after the other, within two hundred yards of thenorth wall of the fort. CHAPTER VII _THE SIEGE OF GHERIAH_ Hardly had the fleet taken up its position, when I saw on the landside a great army of Indians march down to the edge of the river andpitch their camp at the end of the sandy neck, so as to cut off allchance of escape from the defenders of the fort. These, as I found out, were Morattoes, the king of that country, though not friendly to the English, having agreed to join them in thisenterprise. Indeed, it appeared that the pirates themselves wererevolted subjects of this king, having their origin in the treacheryof one Angria, the Morattoe admiral, who cast off his allegiance andseized and fortified divers strong places along the coast, where heset up an independent power. For this reason the Morattoes haddespatched an army under their principal general, Ramagee Punt, toassist in extirpating the pirates and regaining their formerdominions. As soon as the ships had swung to their anchors I saw a boat put off, bearing a flag of truce, to summon the pirates to yield up theirfastness. But this proposal evidently miscarried, for the boatreturned shortly, without any motions being made towards a surrender. At the same time I saw the gate on the landward side of the fortressopened and a chieftain wearing a rich dress come forth, accompanied bya train of attendants, and cross over the sand spit into theMorattoes' camp, from which he did not return that night. This looked to me like a piece of treachery, as though the pirateswere seeking to make terms with their fellow-countrymen behind thebacks of the English. No doubt this transaction bore the same look tothose on board the fleet, for when I came up on deck in the morning tosee if any change had taken place during the night, I was astonishedto see the space between the Morattoes' camp and the sand spit coveredwith tents, in which were about two thousand troops newly landed fromthe fleet, the last of the boats that had put them ashore being thenhalf-way back, and rowing right round the grabs and gallivats, whichwere moored altogether close in under the walls of the fortress. Itwas not difficult for me to guess that this bold exploit was the workof Colonel Clive, who had thus placed himself between his treacherousallies and the enemy, effectually putting a stop to all underhandcommunications between them. And I learned afterwards that but forthis determined action on his part, the fortress would have beendelivered up to Ramagee Punt that very morning, and the Englishexcluded from all share of the prize. I saw some messengers pass to and fro between the ships and the land, but nothing seemed to come of it, and finally, about ten o'clock I sawa signal run up on the _Talisman_, and immediately the side of everyship drove forth a vast cloud of smoke across the water, and the airwas shaken by the discharge of at least three hundred guns. Now the cowardice of the pirates was made manifest, for instead ofmanning their own fleet, which might have given much trouble if wellhandled, they left it exposed to the British fire, and withdrew behindthe walls of their fort, from which they made a feeble reply to thebroadsides of the squadron. The consequence was that before long oneof the shells from the fleet set fire to a large grab, and the wholeof the pirates' vessels, being made fast side by side, caught firetogether, and were burnt to the water's edge, amid a continual noiseof explosions every time the flames reached a loaded cannon or apowder barrel. Thus was destroyed in a few hours a navy which had forfifty years been the terror of the Malabar coast, and had preyed uponthe commerce of every nation trading in those seas. So taken up was I in watching this scene of destruction that I did notat first notice what was happening to the _Fair Maid_. Being anchoredsome way off the other vessels, and further up towards the sand spit, we escaped the damage that had been done to them, but now we attractedthe attention of the British Fleet, and those on board naturallyconsidering us as a prize captured by the pirates, one of the shipsbegan to open fire on us, and sent a ball clean through the deck. Up to this time the crew had lain inactive, taking no part in thefight. My cousin had gone ashore into the fort the night before, taking a part of the ship's company with him, and had not returned. The boatswain was left in command, with about twenty men under him, and these now began to see that they were in a trap, being too few tofight the ship to any purpose, while any attempt to land would exposethem to a destructive fire either from the fleet or from Mr. Clive'stroops, which would come along the sand spit to cut them off. In this extremity old Muzzy took what was perhaps the boldestresolution any man could have come to. He decided to set sail, andpass right between the fort and the ships, running the gauntlet of thewhole squadron, and thus escape down the river and out to the opensea. The breeze blowing out to sea, as it always does for the firsthalf of the day on this coast, the plan seemed a good one, if oncethey could pass through the fire of the squadron. This course commending itself to the crew, the sails were hoistedaccordingly, I lending a hand, for I had no desire either to takerefuge with the pirates or to be sunk where we were; and havingslipped our cable the _Fair Maid_ got under weigh. This proceedingmust have struck surprise into those who were watching us, for thefrigate which had commenced to bombard us at once stopped fire, andwaited to see what we would do. As we had no colours flying, it wasdifficult for them to know what we would be at, or whether we did notmean to surrender. Had we been only concerned with the fleet, our bestcourse might have been to hoist the Union Jack; but in that case wehad to fear the guns of the fort, close under which we meant to pass. In this way we got along till we were right in the range of firebetween the ships and the fort, and here for a minute all seemed overwith us and I had fairly given myself up for lost. A whole broadsideof thirty guns was fired right across us, and the only thing thatsaved us from being sunk instantly was our lying so low on the waterthat the bullets, being aimed at the walls of the fort, passed overour heads. As it was they did great damage to the rigging. The maintopmast was shot away, the shrouds were torn to threads, and the gaffof the fore-topsail was badly wounded. Luckily for us the next vesselof the squadron had discharged its broadside just before we came intothe line of fire, and the third merely signalled to know if we wouldsurrender. Old Muzzy refused to answer the signal, and his conduct inthis, and in not using the _Fair Maid's_ own guns, clearly puzzledthose on board the fleet. By this time we had begun to round the corner of the rock, and payingaway before the wind to go down the river, presented our stern to theremaining ships of the squadron. One of them gave us a broadside, butit was ill-directed, and only three balls took effect. They had aimedthis time at the hull, luckily for the _Fair Maid_, as she could illhave stood another discharge at her rigging, and though the tiller wasshot away, and some damage was done to the stern, it was not seriousenough to cripple her. But just as we were beginning to breathe we were dismayed at suddenlyreceiving a bullet from one of the guns of the fort, which ploughedright into the deck within two feet of where I stood. I looked upastonished, and beheld my cousin Rupert, with the match still in hishand, looking over to watch the effect of his shot. The other men onboard caught sight of him at the same moment, and a howl went up atthis act of cold-blooded treachery. One of the fellows snatched up aloaded musket which lay on the deck, and discharged it at him, and Ihad the satisfaction to see him fall back swiftly, but whetheractually struck by the bullet or no I could not tell. Distracted by this unlooked-for attack, we had not noticed a freshdanger from the fleet. But now we perceived that the launch of theAdmiral's own ship, the _Talisman_, had been manned, and was bearingright down on us, the men on board coming with great coolness anddaring right past the guns of the fort. In this they were fortunatelyprotected by the fact that the gunners were all engaged in replying tothe fire of the fleet, which lay anchored above, and we being now pastthe direct line of fire, and out on the middle of the river, thegarrison paid no attention to us. However, the launch would have hadno chance of overtaking us but for the unlucky accident to the tiller, which had made the _Fair Maid_ unmanageable for the moment, and causedher to come up to the wind. They were thus able to draw very near usbefore the man at the helm had contrived to rig up a makeshift tillerout of a splinter off the gunwale. Just as he began to get the ship'shead round again the launch approached within hailing distance, andbade us surrender. Old Muzzy strictly forbidding any reply, they fired a bullet at usfrom a small swivel gun in the bows. Thereupon one of the crew--thesame man who had fired at Rupert--wanted to discharge the _FairMaid's_ stern gun at them; but this the boatswain would not permit. "If we're caught running away, they may let us off, " he saidprudently; "but if we're caught after firing on the king's uniform, it's hanging for every mother's son of us. " The men saw the wisdom of this, and now the sails began to drawagain, and give a fair chance of leaving the launch behind. No soonerdid this happen, than I experienced a keen feeling of regret. I hadaided heartily in our escape so far, believing it to be the only thingI could do, but now I thought I saw a chance of being restored to myship I could not resist the temptation. I measured the distancebetween the _Fair Maid_ and the launch with my eye, and, though a poorswimmer, considered I might manage to keep afloat till the launchshould pick me up. I turned round, shook hands with old Muzzy, andbefore he knew what I had in mind, plunged over the side into thewater. I heard a cry go up from the crew, who at first thought it was anaccident, my zeal in helping to work the ship having put it out oftheir minds that I was merely a prisoner. However, they had too muchto do in looking after their own escape to give much thought to me;and in the end they got very fairly away, and disappeared outside theriver's mouth. In the meantime the launch came on towards me, and then a thinghappened which I may truly say brought my heart into my mouth. For oneof the marines in her, looking on me no doubt as one of the pirates, raised his musket and aimed it directly at my head. The sun was behindme, but fell full upon his face, and I could see the narrowing of hiseye as he took aim, also the flash of the sunlight along the barrel. Ihad made up my mind that I was a dead man, and was even hoping thatmy death would be too swift for me to feel the pain of the wound, whenI saw the gun struck up and heard the voice of Irish Mick crying outin a mixture of terror and laughter-- "Sure, don't you know him? It's the little purser!" The recognition came almost as near killing as saving me, for in theiramazement the men of the launch ceased rowing, and as in my expectancyof death I had lost all power of motion I was like to have beendrowned. However, they rescued me just in time, and welcomed me onboard with a heartiness which did much to make amends for thesuffering I had gone through since I had left their company. I told them my story, and had to tell it again to Mr. Griffiths andthe purser when I reached the ship. Mr. Sanders received me coldly, and pronounced that I had been rightly served for hankering after myformer evil companions, but the lieutenant spoke to me more kindly, and praised me for my refusal to join myself to the privateers, orrather pirates, for such they were now openly become. I claimed his promise to let me take part in the fighting, to which hewillingly consented; though, indeed, there was but little glory to begained, as the pirates were now so cowed as to have pretty well ceasedto return our fire, and before night they had made some fresh attemptstowards a capitulation. It fell through, however, and our bombardment was renewed thefollowing day. The castle was so strong, the walls being hewn in manyplaces out of the solid rock that we were unable to make muchimpression, but luckily if their walls were strong, the hearts of thepirates were too weak to prolong the defence, and it became merely aquestion of whether they should surrender to us or to Ramagee Punt. The Morattoes struggled hard, but Colonel Clive stood at his post likea wall between them and the fort, and after two days the pirates sawthat they had met their master, and opened the gates to him. As soon as I knew that Mr. Clive's force would be the first to enter, I took Mr. Griffiths aside, and explained to him that there was anEnglishwoman, in whom I was interested, inside the fortress, and afterI had related the whole story to him he sent me ashore to the camp tolay the case before Mr. Clive. That brave man--who was good enough to express his pleasure at seeingme safe again--heard me with great attention. As soon as I had told mystory he turned to his secretary. "Mr. Scrafton, you have heard what this young man says. I desire youwill send at once for Angria's envoy, and tell him that if I find onehair of this girl's head has been injured I will hang him from his ownwalls. " He spoke this in a stern and terrible manner, which imparted some feareven to me. Within an hour the message came back from the pirates'chief that the Colonel's orders should be strictly obeyed. This was while the negotiations for the surrender were still inprogress. By the end of the second day's bombardment all was over, andColonel Clive marched into the place at the head of 800 English and1, 000 Indian soldiers, who formed his whole army. I was allowed toenter at the same time. We found the pirates drawn up inside to the number of severalthousands. In so vast a crowd I could not distinguish the faces of anyof the _Fair Maid_ men, nor was there a sign to be seen of my cousinRupert. Out of a feeling of shame I had concealed from Colonel Clivethat this villain was among the pirates, but I made a strict searchfor him presently all through the place, without any result. I couldonly conclude that he must have been killed during the siege, unlesshe had made his escape in some way not easy to guess. As soon as we had passed through the ranks of the pirates, whom Mr. Clive ordered to be disarmed and handed over to their Morattoecountrymen, we came into the inner court of the place, where we foundAngria himself, surrounded by his chief men. He was a tall, handsomeIndian, with a fierce, threatening countenance, surmounted by acrimson turban, which blazed with rich gems. His whole treasure laybeside him, and amounted, when it came to be reckoned up, to £120, 000, which was divided among the fleet and army, I getting £6 for my ownshare. It was considered a paltry booty by the men, and some hintedthat the officers had taken more than their portion. There was also adispute between the two services as to the amount of Mr. Clive'sshare, which the army insisted should be equal to a rear-admiral's, while the navy would not allow it to be more than a post-captain's. Inorder to settle the matter Admiral Watson very handsomely offered tomake up the difference out of his own share, which the Colonel withequal handsomeness declined; and so the affair passed off. But the greatest prize we gained in that action, to my thinking, wasthe woman whom I found crouched in terror upon the floor of a dark, stifling hut, built against one of the walls of the castle, andexpecting every moment to find herself in the clutches of some savageenemy. For Rupert had cruelly forborne to tell her that the fortresswas besieged by an English fleet, and when I entered the place whereshe was confined, she no doubt believed me to be some marauder of thesame stamp as those among whom she had been kept a prisoner. I stepped up beside her with a bursting heart, and laid a hand uponher shoulder. "Marian, " I said, "I am Athelstane Ford, who has come to set youfree. " She trembled all over as she gave a quick look up at me, and then rosetottering on to her feet. And when I saw her face, how it was allshrunken from its former roundness, and the colour had gone from hercheeks, and the brightness from her eyes, as she stood there beforeme, with her dress all dishevelled, and her beautiful long hair raggedand wild, the tears started to my eyes, and I swore a deep oath thatif my cousin Rupert ever met me face to face again he should notdepart alive. "Athelstane, " she said presently, when we had stood gazing at eachother like that for above a minute, "that detestable villain who isyour kinsman has cruelly used me and betrayed me; but I believe youare a true man. Take me to my father, and I will bless the day that Iever saw you first. " And before I knew what she would be at, she hadknelt down and kissed my hand, with a passion of weeping, that proud, beautiful creature whom I had last seen in all the glory of her youthand loveliness, the jewel of her native town. I raised her up tenderly, and drew her forth out of that vile place. Aweek later the Admiral carried his fleet back to Bombay; but I had gotmy discharge, and was with Marian on board the sloop _Thetis_, oftwenty-six guns, bound for the river Hooghley with despatches. CHAPTER VIII _IN THE COMPANY'S SERVICE_ And now I must pass quickly over that time of my life on which Ishould most love to linger, those halcyon hours when, with Marian bymy side and the prospect bright before us, we voyaged through thoseIndian seas, down the long coast of Malabar and up the long coast ofCoromandel, past the Isle of Serendib, and the reefs and foaming seas, to where the tangled banyan roots overgrow the muddy mouth of theHooghley. Being, as we were, the only two idle persons on board that ship, wewere thrown upon each other's company day after day, and in the longtalks we had together she gave me her account of the injuries whichshe had suffered at the hands of my cousin Gurney. And what pleased memost in these conversations was not to hear her kind and lovingprofessions towards myself, so much as that bitterness which she nowmanifested against Rupert, for whom, she told me, she cherished ahatred as strong as her former liking and attachment. "You are not to think, " she said, "that I ever held your cousin inthat regard which he was vain enough to believe and boast of. It istrue we were good friends, and had been such before I had yet madeyour acquaintance. But he was a man for whom I had a strong distrust, and that in spite of his swaggering airs and gallant speeches, fit toturn the head of some silly, vain girl who knew nothing of the world. " "How came you to put yourself in that villain's hands, " I asked, withsome reproachfulness, "by venturing on board the _Fair Maid_?" "I own that was a wrong, foolish act, " she answered, "of which thewrongs I have suffered in consequence are sufficient proof. But when Ifirst yielded to Rupert Gurney's solicitations to take my passage inthat ship, I looked to the fact that Captain Sims was her commander, and it was him I relied on to afford me protection. Can you notunderstand how tired I was of my life in Yarmouth, in that old, drearyinn; and how I wished to be abroad and see the great world, and alsoto embrace my own parents, from whom I have been separated thesetwelve years?" Thus she made her defence. Nor was I like to gainsay it, loving her asI did, with the same folly and blindness as of old, and ready to seeand to hear just as she bade me, so that I might only be let hugmyself in the belief that I had her affection in return. "For the first part of our voyage, " she told me further, "all wentwell enough, until your cousin recovered of those wounds you had givenhim. Then he began to take a tone with me which I could ill brook; andyou may imagine my uneasiness when I perceived that he had greaterinterest with the men than Mr. Sims, and that I was fairly in hispower. As soon as we had got out in these seas he threw off allpretence of taking me to Fort William; and when I implored him atleast to set me ashore in Bombay, where I might find another ship, heflatly refused, and told me plainly that I was nothing more than hisprisoner. I applied to Mr. Sims for protection, but he answered thatit was none of his business, and since I had come aboard freely therewas nothing penal in detaining me. This man, I could see, was afraidof Gurney, who shortly after raised a mutiny against him, put him inirons, and carried him into Gheriah. " I had forgotten to say that when we took the pirates' castle, CaptainSims was found among the prisoners, who, producing his papers, andmaking out a long tale about his being an innocent merchant skipper, fallen into the hands of the Moors, not only got his freedom, but ahandsome compensation out of the plunder of the place, with which hetook passage home to England. Marian told me that her complaints and anger at last drove Rupert toput her ashore, where he gave her, like Sims, into Angria's custody. "And the horrors of that prison, " she said, "are not to be described, nor even conceived by one who has not had experience of it. I waslocked into a small cell, with scarce room to move or breathe, and theinsufferable heat was such that I was forced to strip naked and lie onthe floor, with scarce a rag to cover me. What would have happened tome if the fort had not been taken I dare not think. I must have gonemad or died. " "Do not let us speak of it, " I said, soothing her. "All those horrorsare passed, and not likely to return. Where we are going, in Calcutta, you will find friends and English customs; and your faithful servant, if you will have him as such, Athelstane Ford, will stand guard overyou with his life. " This was the nearest approach which I made to a declaration of mylove, choosing rather to drift by force of circumstances into theposition of Marian's accepted lover than hazard all I had gained byseeking to pluck the fruit before it was ripe. It was sufficient forme in the meantime to elicit from her those expressions of abhorrencetowards my cousin (and late rival), which assured me that she waseffectually cured of her unhappy tenderness for that villain. "Thank heaven, you are not likely to be troubled with any furthersight of him, " I said, to clinch the matter. "After these eventsMaster Rupert will be no such fool as to endanger his neck bytrespassing on the Company's territories. " "I wish never to see him, nor so much as to hear of him again, " Mariananswered warmly. With such assurances she satisfied me. Perhaps my hopes played mefalse, and made me take gratitude for something dearer; or it may bethat Marian, who knew well enough what were my feelings towards her, did return me some fondness at this time, and was resigned to acceptmy suit. Even if I deceived myself, I will not repent it. For I knowthat this life of ours is but a series of illusions, where we standlike children at a peepshow in a fair, beholding pictures which wemistake for real things. So that I say that he who falsely thinkshimself beloved is just as well off for that time as he who really isbeloved. Yet so far as I was concerned, if any man had said to me thenthat Marian did not love me, I should have scorned him. Of my love for her I must not speak at all, or I shall never havedone. Long before we reached the Hooghley she had recovered from theill effects of her imprisonment, and moved about the ship with thatcommand which her beauty gave to her. Her charm was such as I havenever seen in any other woman: compared with them she seemed like abright child among old, sleeping men, almost like a living body amongthe withered tenants of the tombs. And before we had been upon ourvoyage above a fortnight the commander and both lieutenants of the_Thetis_ were at her beck and call, while as for the littlemidshipmen, down to one youngster of twelve, they swore by her as ifshe were a goddess, and fought duels about her in the cockpit withtheir dirks. Before we arrived in Bengal she talked to me much about her parents, who had been settled at Fort William for nearly twenty years. It was along time since she had had news of them, she told me, but when shelast heard her father was prospering in his business, which was thatof a drug factor, not in the civil service of the East Indian Company, but trading under their licence, and shipping his merchandise in theirbottoms. So much she knew, but nothing besides, and it was with asmuch curiosity as myself that she saw the Sunderbunds drawing near, and our sloop anchoring off Falta to wait for a pilot up the river. The Hooghley, famous as it is, is only one of the mouths of that greatriver the Ganges, sacred and renowned throughout Indostan. Yet it isupwards of forty miles long, for so great was the distance whichseparated us from our destination. By means of a fair wind weaccomplished this difficult navigation, dangerous on account of thenumerous shoals, in a very few hours, passing on our way the fort ofBudge-Budge, where the Company kept a small garrison. The scene along the banks of the river was most strange to me at thistime, and made an impression not easy to be effaced. The trees whichoverhung the most part of the banks, of a character quite unlikethose we have in Norfolk, were gloomy and forbidding in the extreme;but when we came to one of the people of the country's villages, andsaw the men dressed in gay turbans, the women walking about withcurious earthen vessels on their heads, and the stark naked blackchildren playing in the water, I was altogether bewildered, and couldscarcely credit that I, who saw these things and had come to dwellamongst them, was the same boy who had been bred up so peacefully inthat English village among the flat meadows bordered by the shallowbroad. However, we came at last to that place since so celebrated, thoughthen considered only as the third among the Company's settlements inthe East; I mean Fort William. The fort itself was at this date of nogreat size or consequence; but in the neighbourhood along the riverbank were many fine warehouses erected by the English. In the rear ofthese was built the native town, which the Moors call Calcutta. Herethe houses are generally mean and dirty; but some of the rich Indianslived in very noble style, having fine gardens round their houses, ornamented with fountains and groves of tulip trees and mangoes. Marian and I were put ashore in the ship's gig, having first bid adieuto the officers, and set about inquiring the way to Mr. Rising'shouse. In this at first we were unsuccessful, but at last I found anobliging person on the quay who directed his native servant to guideus to it. This man, to whom I gave a handful of pice, conducted us through somenarrow streets of the town, very ill-paved, and full of a most evilsmell, to a lonely neighbourhood on the side of the river further up, where there was a house built in the Moorish fashion, and enclosed ina wild garden much overrun with weeds. All round this garden was ahigh wall, conformable to the jealous disposition of these people. Theentrance was by a narrow gate, and there was a miserable dwellingcrouched against the wall inside, the door of which stood open. Someblack children were playing in front of this hovel, who cried out whenthey saw us, and ran indoors. An Indian came out, very gaunt andfierce, who demanded in English what we did there. "We are come to see Mr. Rising, " I told him, using his own languagewhich Mr. Scrafton had taught me. "Is this his house?" "It is, my lord, " says the fellow, much surprised, and giving a lowbow, which they call a salawm. With that I dismissed our conductor, and Mr. Rising's gardener--forsuch he was--brought us to the house. We now saw that thoughoriginally a fine mansion it was sadly decayed. The walls should havebeen white, but excessive heat had cracked and blistered them, andturned everything to a yellowish hue. The Indian brought us inside, and into a long, low-ceilinged room with a great window opening on tothe river. This room had no furniture except two small tables; but allround the walls was a covered settee, very broad, such as the Moorsare used to sit on with their legs tucked up beneath them. To aEuropean it is uncomfortable at first, but by degrees I grewaccustomed to it. In this room presently Marian's father came to us. The first sight of Mr. Rising gave me a shock, and must, I think, havegiven a worse one to my companion. He was, as I knew, a man of middleage, yet he looked very, very old, being bent down and much wrinkled, with his hair nearly white. Moreover, his eyes wandered as if he wereuncertain which way to look, and while he spoke his fingers workedstrangely up and down his bosom, as if groping over the strings ofsome musical instrument. "Well, sir, " he said in a thin, halting voice, seeming to find eachword an effort, "what is your pleasure with me?" "I have come here, sir, " I said, "with one whom you will rejoice tosee. This is Mistress Marian Rising, your daughter, who has come outfrom England in my company. " For at Marian's prayer I had strictly promised to say nothing aboutthe manner of her voyage, which might have done her some discreditwith the Calcutta folk. As I pronounced the above words the girl herself sprang forward andcast her arms about her father's neck. "Father!" she said. "Don't you know me--your little Marian, who hascome home!" And she wept on his bosom. Then it was a pity to see that ancient, stricken man wakening, as itseemed, out of his trance, and gradually making sure who it was thatembraced him. "My child! My child! Why have you come here?" he said presently. Andthen shed some tears himself, and clasped her to him, and kissed her. "Where is my mother?" asked Marian, as soon as she had raised herhead. "Poor child! Your mother has been dead these eighteen months, " heanswered sadly. "I should have written to tell you of it, but I waspreparing for my passage home--indeed, I don't know why I have notstarted before this. " He gazed round him as he spoke, so as to convince me that indeed hedid not know, and had lost the power--poor man!--to understand hiscircumstances or to take any resolution whatsoever. I came away from that strange scene terrified, not so much by what Isaw, as by an instinct I had that this man's dreadful wreck was only asign of that great and abiding horror which lay like a shadow all overthe land; just as in the fable the glimpse of one monstrous foot wassufficient to warn the spectator that a giant came along. Whichfeeling in my mind was rather confirmed than dispelled when I came tolearn, as I soon did, that Mr. Rising's sad condition was broughtabout by the drug called opium, a staple of this country, the magicalproperties of which herb seemed to me then of a piece with thefrightful sorceries and dark secret practices of the people, as Iafterwards came to know them, and which, with their abominableidolatrous superstitions, used often to make me wonder that theAlmighty did not destroy them with His plagues of fire and brimstone, like those wicked Cities of the Plain. Yet one good result of myobservance of these people's horrid customs was to inspire me with abecoming and devout gratitude that I had been born a citizen ofChristian England, a blessing which we should the more prize sinceProvidence has seen fit to deny it to so many millions of Hiscreatures, and to bestow it upon a few. Sad it is that even amongthose few there should be found multitudes unmindful of theiropportunities, who give themselves up to dissolute lives, or who turnaway from the blessed truths of Scripture to hanker after liturgiesand Romish inventions. * * * * * And now, having arrived safe in Calcutta, I looked forward to a periodof rest and security not only for Marian, but myself, after the roughtaste we had both had of fortune in her cantankerous mood. As soon asI had seen Marian lodged in her father's house, I sought out Mr. Holwell, one of the principal Company's servants in Calcutta, andcommissioner over the police of the town. To this gentleman I broughta letter from Mr. Scrafton, to recommend me to his good offices, andhaving read it he at once received me very civilly and promised me hisfriendship. He asked me many questions about the taking of Gheriah, and also aboutMr Robert Clive, whose character stood high in the estimation of everyone in Bengal, even the Moors having bestowed on him the name of SabatJung, signifying the daring in war. "We had heard of this affair before you came, " Mr. Holwell told me. "The man Angria was famous in these parts, and supposed to beinvincible, so that his sudden destruction by our armament has giventhe natives here an altogether new idea of the English power. It willbe well if this doesn't do us more harm than good, for the Moors are ajealous, suspicious race. Our agent in the neighbourhood ofMoorshedabad, the Nabob's capital, has warned us that the English havemany enemies at the Court, who seek to poison the Nabob's mind againstus. I believe there are some spies come down here to examine ourdefences and the strength of our garrison. " "What!" I said. "Do you think the Nabob intends anything against us?" "No, I don't say that, " Mr. Holwell answered. "The present Nabob, Allaverdy Khan, has always been our good friend. But he is old andsick, and his nephew, who is likely to succeed him, is a dangerousyoung man, puffed up with pride and conceit. If he should come to thethrone he is only too likely to find some pretext for harassing theCompany. " To these forebodings I paid but little attention at the time, though Iwas soon to learn that they were not idle fears. Mr. Holwell, afterhaving ascertained that I was acquainted with the Gentoo language, offered to procure me employment under the Company in one of theircounting-houses, as interpreter, which offer I gladly accepted for thetime. I was to receive a salary of 200 rupees by the month, inaddition to which Mr. Holwell undertook to procure me a dustuck fromthe Governor, enabling any merchandise I chose to trade in to passthrough the province of Bengal free of taxes or duties to the Nabob'sgovernment. I soon found out that this privilege of trading on their own accountproved, together with the presents they received from native merchantswho did business with the Company, the most valuable part of thelivelihood of the Company's servants. Their salaries were sowretchedly small as to be insufficient for the necessities of life inthis climate, where the poorest European is obliged to keep half adozen black servants in his pay. For my part, I did not embark intrade myself, having no capital, but I accepted the offer of a Gentoomerchant to lend him the use of my dustuck to cover his goods, forwhich he paid me handsomely. These Gentoos, as they are called in that part of India, are theoriginal natives of the country, who follow the idolatrous religiontaught by their Bramins, practising human sacrifices and other ritestoo vile for description. Over them the Moors have established theirempire by force, but being a military race, incapable of business, they commit the details of their government to certain of the Gentoos, who collect their revenues, and amass great fortunes. They are verydishonest scoundrels, as I discovered, and at first, finding me new tothe Company's business, I have no doubt they overreached me. At thesame time I received many handsome gratifications from them, so that Icame to consider myself ill-used when I did not pocket a hundred ortwo rupees over a transaction involving some thousands. But in thecourse of a few weeks, as I began to understand the trade better, andto cut down their exorbitant demands, these men marvellously abatedtheir complaisance. Some of them, even, who had professed to know noEnglish, suddenly showed themselves to be conversant with it, andchose to conduct their negotiations with some other servant of theCompany. During this time I was lodged, upon Mr. Holwell's recommendation, inthe house of a respectable, God-fearing widow, Mrs. Bligh, whose sonhad recently gone up country to our factory at Cossimbuzar. Every dayI attended at the counting-house, where I was placed under the ordersof the Honourable Robert Byng, brother of the ill-fated admiral of thesame name, and who managed the business of the Company's investment inrice, one of the principal branches of their trade. The Gentoomerchants came to us there to make contracts for the provision of suchquantities as we required, after which they travelled about Bengal, purchasing the crops, and sending the grain down the river in barges, to be shipped at Calcutta for England. Another staple of the Company's commerce, and the most valuable ofall, is silk. The Bengalee Indians are renowned for this manufacture, yet they have no regular places set apart for it, but in theirvillages scattered up and down the country, every man works forhimself in his own hut, doing no more--such is the natural laziness ofthis people--than just sufficient to support him. The merchants areconsequently obliged to travel about from place to place, collectingthe stuff, which they do chiefly at the country fairs, where thepeasantry assemble once a year, bringing their work to be disposed of. It is these customs of the people which have made it necessary for usto set up an establishment in their country, like the Dutch atChinsurah and the French at Chander Nugger; for unless there were someEnglish on the spot to collect this merchandise and have it readyagainst the arrival of the Company's fleet, the ships would oftenreturn empty, or be obliged to pay extravagant prices to the nativemonopolists of the trade. While I was thus employed in the daytime, I seldom allowed an eveningto pass without visiting Marian at her father's house. Here I was mostkindly received, and for a time my hopes ran high. But, I cannot tellhow it was, I began presently to discover a change in Marian for whichI could not account. While her friendship towards me was in no waylessened, but if possible increased, I gradually became aware that Idid not possess her entire confidence. She would sometimes look updisturbed, I had nearly said frightened, at my entrance. At othertimes when we were in the midst of conversation her attention seemedto wander, and her expression became troubled, as if she had somesecret anxiety preying on her mind. I cannot say how unhappy I wasmade by these symptoms, though I was far indeed from guessing at theircause. Suddenly, in the midst of these private disquietudes, an eventhappened which cast a shadow over the whole community of Calcutta. Intelligence arrived that Allaverdy Khan was dead, and his nephewSurajah Dowlah proclaimed Nabob of Bengal. CHAPTER IX _THE SPY_ So many accounts have been written of the events which took place inBengal about this time, that I shall omit as much as possible of thepublic transactions in which I was concerned, dealing rather with myown particular adventures in the midst of them. Of Surajah Dowlah, at the time of his accession, I knew only what wasreported about him by common rumour in the settlement, which was thathe was a young man of cruel and vicious propensities, ill-disposedtowards the English in his country, and greedy for plunder. This wasenough to make me share the uneasiness about his intentions towardsus, which I found to prevail in the minds of Mr. Holwell, Mr. Byng, and other prudent persons. On the evening of the day on which I heardthis news, therefore, I went round to Mr. Rising's house, to speakwith Marian about her situation. It was not quite dusk when I arrived, being the month of April. To mysurprise I found the outer gate leading into the garden close shut, and it was not till after knocking and shouting for many minutes thatthe Indian porter condescended to come and open it. Being angry withthe man for this unreasonable delay, I cuffed him as I passed in--forwithout some severities of this kind there is nothing to be done withthe natives of Bengal. The fellow, instead of cringing before me as isthe wont of these people, gave me a black look, and mutteredsullenly-- "The lord is harsh to his servant, but another may be harsher to thelord. " Not knowing at this time the wonderful intelligence which prevailsamong the Indians, so that news of all kinds travels about among themby underground channels of which Europeans are not permitted to know, I did not sufficiently understand the gravity of this threat. Dismissing it as a mere piece of insolence, however unusual, I walkedup to the house and opening the door for myself, came into the roomwhere Marian usually received me and which was the same I have alreadydescribed. I found her sitting alone by the open window, in the dusk, looking outinto the river. As I walked in she turned with the uneasy start I hadremarked on former occasions, and rising hurriedly, came to meet me. "Good evening, Marian, " I said, taking her by the hand. "I should havebeen here sooner but for that surly gardener of yours, who kept mewaiting at the gate. " "I will speak to him about it, " she answered. It was not light enough for me to see her face, but I observed thatshe spoke in a tone of indifference, as if scarcely heeding what shesaid. At the same time she took her seat on the divan, and asked me tosit by her. "Is your father well?" I asked, putting the question out of courtesy, for by this time we both knew that the poor man was ruined by hisdreadful habit, from which it was impossible he should ever bereleased. "Yes, I think so. I have not seen him lately, " she said, still withthe same distracted air. I will confess, plainly, that I had begun to have fears for her, lesteither the ravages of the climate, or the sufferings she hadundergone, had wrought upon her mind. "I come to bring you bad news, " I went on. "The Nabob has died. " "So I have understood, " Marian replied in the same listless way. Then, seeming to recollect herself, she added quickly--"I learnt the newsthis afternoon from a friend. " Since her arrival I knew that some of the ladies of the settlement hadshown Marian some kindness, inviting her to their houses occasionally. One of these ladies, I concluded, had been beforehand with me in myintelligence. "I am glad to see you so easy under the circumstances, " I said, feeling perhaps a little jealous. "I suppose you know that the newNabob is no friend to the Company, and that we may have trouble withhim before many months are past. " "I suppose it may be so. But though Surajah Dowlah may have groundsfor complaint against the Council here, I can't think he will carryhis resentment so far as to injure the peaceable inhabitants ofCalcutta. " I turned towards her, amazed. "What do you say?" I cried. "You speak as though you were in theNabob's interests! Have you been listening to the talk of some Moor orother? If so, let me tell you that they are nothing but liars andtraitors, every mother's son of them!" "You needn't be so fierce!" she returned, more warmly than she had yetspoken. "I have had no conversation with any Moor, or Gentoo either, upon the subject. Surely I may have leave to think as I choose, without being bound to take my opinions from Mr. Athelstane Ford!" "Oh Marian, Marian!" I exclaimed bitterly, wounded by these unkindwords. "What have I done to forfeit your confidence? Have I not beenfaithful and true to you from the first hour of our acquaintance tillnow? You know that I am the best friend you have, and one who woulddie to serve you. Yet these several days past you have behaved to meas if you had plans which you wished to keep from me. Do you doubt ofmy being ready to do anything you should bid me, even if it were to goto Moorshedabad and enlist with Surajah Dowlah himself? Why are we notto be open with each other? You know I love you; I have told you sooften enough before we ever came out to this dreadful land; and Ithink I have shown myself ready to prove it as well. Even now I havecome here simply to provide for your safety. In a few days theunfavourable monsoon will set in, after which no ship can leave thecoast, but this week there is a vessel sailing for Madras, on which Iam able to secure a passage for you, and for Mr. Rising as well, if hewill go. I have come to offer you this opportunity, and entreat you toaccept of it. And if there are any who would persuade you to remain, depend upon it, they are your enemies and not your friends. " She heard me out, sitting quite still and showing no sign ofimpatience. But when I had finished she said-- "I thank you, Athelstane, for your kind intentions, and for yourgoodness in the past, of which I do not need to be reminded. As forwhat you say about your love for me, since you have spoken so plainly, I must needs tell you that I am not able to return it. I have tried, both on the voyage hither and since; and I have failed. Your lovingfriend I am, and hope to remain always, no matter what may happen topart us for a time. Nevertheless, I don't share your fears of whatthe Moors may do against us, and I will not leave Calcutta, though Ithank you for your offers. " She seemed as if about to say more, but stopped abruptly. Of the deepdistress which I felt to hear her declare that my love for her washopeless, I say nothing, for what can be said? There are some to whomthat great prize, the chief that life affords, namely the love of thewoman they have chosen, is granted, but to most men, I suppose, it isdenied; and I but shared the common lot. These things are the mostimportant in our lives, they leave bruises whose marks are never quiteeffaced; yet all passes secretly; the business of life goes on, theworld sees our actions, our outward triumphs and losses, and knows ofnothing else. There was not a soul in Calcutta who ever knew what hadpassed between Marian and me on this occasion, and yet those few wordswere a worse grief to me than all the other sufferings I had toendure; and in that single hour I was changed from a boy into a man. After this I dared not press her again on the subject of leavingCalcutta. With a heavy heart I watched the last ship go down theHooghley on the way to England, and the very day after it had gone Ireceived a message in writing from Mr. Holwell, in these words-- "Haste to the Council meeting, and ask for me. We are in receipt of threatening letters from Moorshedabad, and need your services. " Not a little agitated, I thrust the letter into my pocket, andhastened round to Mr. Drake's, the Governor's house, where the Councilwas assembled, he being confined indoors by an illness. I sent in myname to Mr. Holwell, who immediately came out and fetched me into theroom where they were met. Mr. Drake lay on a couch against one of the windows, while the othergentlemen were seated around in a circle, facing him. He was a stoutman with a red face, who had spent many years in the East Indies, andby dint of an important manner and never having been placed in anysituation of real difficulty, had passed down to this time for a veryprudent and capable person. On my entrance he spoke to me ratherperemptorily-- "You are Mr. Ford, are you not?" I nodded. "I am told that you speak the Indostanee language. Is that so?" "Yes, sir, " I said. "Mr. Holwell and Mr. Byng are aware of it. " "Very good. " He nodded his head once or twice. "Those gentlemen haverecommended you to the Council as a discreet, intelligent young man, which I do not doubt you are. There is an employment which I have topropose to you, one which calls for those qualities, and also forcourage. The question is, young man"--he fixed his eyes on me verysternly--"do you think you possess courage?" "I don't know, " I answered bluntly, not much liking his manner ofquestioning me. "Ha!" He gave a sort of sniff, and looked about him scornfully. "But I have fought one duel, and am ready to fight another with anyone who doubts me, " I said, speaking in a modest voice. And some ofthe gentlemen laughed and clapped their hands. The Governor frowned severely. "I believe, Mr. Ford, that you intend no disrespect to this Council byyour answer?" To this challenge I made no response. "Very good, Idaresay you may be equal to the commission we have to offer you. Youmust know that we have received letters from the newly proclaimedNabob of Bengal, complaining of certain improvements we have made inour defences. Those improvements were made in the prospect of theFrench war, but the Nabob chooses to regard them as directed againsthim. Now the point is this, that we believe information has beensupplied to Surajah Dowlah by some person in this town, not one of theIndians, but a European, who must have some means unknown to us ofcoming to and fro. We have set a watch, but are unable to detect him. Mr. Holwell has suggested that you might undertake this task, and byreason of your ability to communicate with the Gentoos in their ownlanguage, succeed in discovering this person; in which case we areprepared to pay you a very handsome reward. " I did not feel much inclined to this proposal at the first blush, considering that it carried little honour with it. But Mr. Holwell, who no doubt divined my objections, set himself to remove them. "You will render the Company and the whole settlement a great serviceif you are able to effect this, Ford, " he said. "The fact is that thepresence of a European spy, most probably a Frenchman, is a source ofvery great danger. There are many weak points in the fort, forinstance, which would be overlooked by a Moor, but of which fataladvantage may be taken if they are communicated to an enemy by anintelligent observer. I think it is your plain duty to assist theCouncil if you can. " "That is enough, sir; I will do my best, " I replied. The Governor then dismissed me, and the Council broke up. I believeletters were sent to Surajah Dowlah, to explain the circumstanceswhich had awaked his suspicions, but without any good effect. Meanwhile Mr. Holwell carried me to his house, where we laid our plansfor the detection of the spy. It was settled that I should assume the dress of a Moor, and in thatcharacter should pass my time about the fort and adjacent grounds, that being the place to which a person seeking information would bemost likely to repair. Mr. Holwell provided me with a turban, jacket, and blue trousers, and I stained my face with a pigment which heassured me would not easily come off. At the same time I wore ascymetar in my belt, and put a pair of pistols in my bosom. Thusdisguised I went out for a walk through the bazaars, and had thesatisfaction to observe that I was everywhere taken for a Moor. Butwhen I spoke I was not so successful, my practise in the language notbeing sufficient to impose upon the Indians. As soon as I had satisfied myself by this experiment that my disguisewas accurate, I returned towards the fort, and commenced walking aboutit, observing the persons who came in and out on their business. Butthough my suspicions were once or twice attracted to different ones, yet I found nothing to go upon. In this way not only one day passed, but several others, and I began to despair of success. On the fourth day of my watch, however, about seven o'clock in theevening, as I happened to be looking abroad of the river, which ishere pretty wide, and contained a good deal of small shipping, Inoticed a man in a boat, which he rowed himself, who appeared to belurking about for no very honest purpose. Instead of either landing orgoing off in some fixed direction, this man plied to and fro, closeunder the wall of the fort, which he seemed to examine very closelyfrom time to time. As well as I could make out he was a Moor, and myinstructions were to watch for a Frenchman, yet I was rendered souneasy by the movements of this individual that I resolved to go outon the water, and examine him more closely. Accordingly I left theplace where I was, near the north gate of the fort, and strolled downto a small flight of stairs on the river bank, where some boats layfor hire. Stepping into one of these, I cast off, and taking the oars, which I had learned to handle during my term of service on board the_Talisman_, rowed slowly out towards the spy, as I believed him to be. When he saw me coming towards him, he at first pulled a few strokes asif to make away, but being, as I suppose, reassured by the sight of mycostume, he ceased rowing and waited for me to come up alongside. Glancing round from time to time as I drew near, I soon perceived thatI had no Frenchman to deal with, or at least that, if I had, he hadtaken the same precaution as myself in assuming the dress of thecountry. Feeling desirous to test him, I hailed as soon as I came up, in the native tongue. "Does my lord seek for anything that his servant may procure him?" Isaid, using their fulsome style. He at once replied, in what was evidently a phrase learnt by rote-- "I cannot speak your language, but I am a friend of Omichund. " Now this Omichund was a great, rich Gentoo, a banker and merchant who, having made huge profits as a broker in the matter of the Company'sinvestment for many years, had recently had his services dispensedwith, and was believed to be disaffected on that account, and incorrespondence with the Moorish Court. I needed no more to convince methat this was most likely the man whom I had been employed toapprehend. Not daring to speak English, and it being useless toaddress him in the Indostanee, I made signs that he should follow me, and commenced to row to the shore. But here I was disappointed, for the fellow, instead of following me, at once began to move off in the opposite direction. Seeing this I atonce turned, shouting after him, and pointing where I would have himgo. He merely grinned and rowed further off, nor was it any betterwhen I showed him one of my pistols, for he then merely increased hisspeed, so that I was obliged to pick up my oars again pretty quicklyin order to pursue him. Seeing that it was become a race between us, he bent to his oars, andI did the same, so that the two boats flew down the river, one abouttwelve lengths behind the other. But taking advantage of a string ofbarges which lay anchored out in the stream, he presently dodged me, running in round the tail of the line, and so altering his course upthe stream. If I had not turned my head constantly to watch him, Ishould soon have lost him among the shipping, and these frequentturnings hindered my rowing, so that I could not gain on the otherboat so fast as I should otherwise have done. For I soon perceivedthat I was the better rower of the two, or else had the quicker boat;and the spy seemed to perceive it too, for after taking me somedistance up the middle of the river, he suddenly struck off towardsthe bank, rowing hard for a house which had come in sight, standing onthe river's edge. As we approached this house I could just see (for it was growing dark)a large window standing open, not above a man's height from the water. To this my fellow rowed, and having brought his boat beneath it, threwdown his oars, stood up on the gunwale, and with a desperate leapwhich nearly sunk the boat, gained the sill of the window anddisappeared inside. But I was close behind, running up against the side of his boat at themoment when he passed in at the window, so that by imitating histactics I was able to leap through immediately after him. I stumbledin alighting, picked myself up, and glanced round, to perceive the manI had been pursuing standing over against me with a pistol in hishand. The next moment I had recognised the room, and there was Marianstanding up with a distressed face, one hand on her bosom and theother stretched out between us. "Stand back!" shouted the spy to her in English, in a voice that Icould have recognised anywhere in the world. "This is a damned Indianspy, whom I will kill as soon as I have questioned him. " "You lie, Rupert Gurney, " says I, quite calm and cold, as I drew outmy own pistols and stood facing him. "'Tis you are the spy, in theservice of a vile, treacherous, Moorish tyrant, to whom you wouldbetray your countrymen. " I do not think I have ever seen a man so overwhelmed as was Rupert bythose words, though the surprise of this encounter must in realityhave been less to him than it was to me, since Marian had of coursetold him of my being in Calcutta. His jaw dropped, and he ceased topresent his pistol at me, no doubt being well aware that I would nottake him at a disadvantage. "Yes, " I continued, "not satisfied with your piracies and murders, forwhich you are justly afraid to show your face in any Englishcommunity, you are now become a traitor and a public enemy. You havehired yourself out to that bad man, Surajah Dowlah, and go about todeliver your fellow Christians into the hands of Mussalmans andheathen. " "Not so fast, young man, " says Rupert, resuming his natural insolence. "Your reproaches are unfair in one particular at least. I am no longera Christian, having exchanged that religion for the more convenientand profitable one of the Alcoran. " He added a coarse jest which I am ashamed to write down, and which ayear or two before I believe he would have been ashamed to utter. Ihave heard that residence in the East Indies has this effect upon somemen, to change their characters to evil, so that when they return toEurope they are no longer fit for the decent society of their owncountry. And though my cousin Gurney was an unscrupulous and daringyoung man before ever he left Norfolk, yet I believe he was alteredfor the worse after his visiting those parts. Marian, standing terrified between us, now interfered to say-- "Be silent, Rupert, if you please. And you, Athelstane, since youperceive your cousin is here under my father's roof, I entreat you toretire as you came. " "I cannot, Marian, " says I, very firm. "I am charged to take thattraitor and villain, and I will do it, dead or alive. " In spite of his bravado I could see Gurney wince under these words, though he affected to make light of them. "Leave us together, girl, " he said to Marian. "I will tame this youngcockerel, as I would have done before if he had fought me fairly, withthe weapons agreed to be used by us. " My blood boiled to hear this shameful taunt. "You coward!" I cried, "I spared your life once, as you well know, andthen you would have murdered me in cold blood because the cutlassbroke that I had of a Jew! But I will fight you now with sword, pistol, or both, and this time I swear that you shall not escape withyour life. " But Marian would not consent to this. "You are not to fight, " she exclaimed. "Do you hear me, AthelstaneFord? Your cousin wants nothing but to be allowed to go away insafety; and would you be the one to deliver your own blood up tojustice? For shame!" "Shame, indeed!" I retorted bitterly, all the anguish that was pent upin my heart breaking out. "Shame that I who have loved and served you, and delivered you out of the prison where this very man had put you, should be asked to spare him now by you, whom he has never trulyloved, whom he has betrayed and slighted, and is ready to betrayagain. I know not, though I can guess, by what wheedling tale he hascozened you to forgive him, and to lend him shelter and protection inhis base designs; but do you think, Marian, that that villain standingthere will care for you one moment longer than you can be of use tohim, and that he will not leave you to a worse fate than before whenhe has done with you, and that without the least compunction? I haveloved you a long time, Marian, but I have never understood you, and ifthis is your intention then I think you cannot be in your true mind. " I looked to see her break out and weep, but she did not. She cast hereyes to the ground, and said, when I had finished, speaking low-- "I think you are right, and that perhaps I am not in my true mind. Forthere are times when I know and see all the falsehood and wickednessof this man's heart as well as ever you can tell it me, and yet I tellyou, to my own bitter shame, that I love him so that if he bids mefollow him into any disgrace or crime, God help me, I cannot refuse!" CHAPTER X _TAKEN CAPTIVE_ Rupert, when he heard those words of Marian, gave a laugh, andadvanced a step towards me. "There now, you see how it is, " he said, "as I told you long ago inYarmouth; but you wouldn't believe me. Come, why need we keep up ourquarrel any longer, when the girl tells you to your face that sheprefers me? After all, we are of the same blood, good Norfolkdumplings both; and if I have done you any injury in the past, I amhere ready to tender my best amends for it. " He spoke this with a brave air, and I believe was going to offer mehis hand. I must confess that I was a little touched with compunctionat that mention of Norfolk, where I was born. Something, too, of thatold superiority and fascination which this man had exercised over mein my boyhood revived as he spoke. But the memory of his subsequenttreacheries and crimes was too strong for me to feel more than amomentary inclination towards yielding. I drew back from him, therefore, and shook my head. "If we are related, it is a thing I cannot help, though it is to myshame, " I answered him. "But I will have no more part nor lot withyou, were you the last of my kin left on earth. Do not suppose that, because Marian is so far bewitched that she has forgiven you yourwicked treatment of her, I shall do the same. What are you now but atraitor to your countrymen, and a spy in the service of a bloodyIndian tyrant? Rupert Gurney, I must tell you that I hold you for adetestable villain and a coward, and I will pursue you without truceand without rest till I have rid the earth of such a wretch. And I amhere now ready to begin. " My anger against him gathered and swelled as I spoke, recalling hisbase actions, so different from his words. He immediately let me seethat his behaviour was not changed, for before I had well donespeaking he suddenly raised his pistol and discharged it in my face;after which he turned and ran out through the doorway, without waitingto see the result of his shot. To do my cousin justice, I believe hehad plenty of natural courage, being of the right Ford strain, as hesaid. But after that great combat which we had in the boat offYarmouth river, he never faced me again without a certain reluctanceand blenching, as though his conscience misgave him. I was very little hurt on this occasion, for the ball entered mymouth sideways, merely depriving me of two teeth, and issuing againthrough the left cheek. But the sudden pain and bleeding incommoded meso far as to hinder my pursuit of Rupert, so that he got clear awayand left the town that night, it seems, for Moorshedabad. I reported the affair to Mr. Drake, merely concealing some details, asthat this was my kinsman; and he was so well satisfied to have got ridof him that he promised me I should receive half the reward offeredfor his capture. But the subsequent events doubtless put it out of hismind, for I never received anything. And on the whole I was satisfiedwith this, not wishing to make a profit, as it were, out of thetreachery of one of my own family, however unworthy. Even had I succeeded in taking Gurney, and had he been executed, itwas now too late to have altered the course of events. Every daybrought fresh intelligence confirming the hostility of the Nabobtowards the English. One day he sent to demand the levelling of FortWilliam to the ground, the next he threatened the withdrawal of theCompany's privileges, and in particular the dustucks, which he saidwere abused by being lent to Gentoos, his own subjects. Finally wordcame that Surajah Dowlah had marched out of Moorshedabad with hisarmy, and had sat down before Cossimbuzar, where we had a factory anda small fort. All this time the Governor and others of the Council had refused tobelieve that anything was intended beyond extorting a sum of moneyfrom the Company. But the wiser and more prudent ones, among whom wereMessrs. Byng and Holwell, took a different view, which they made meshare. Now at last Mr. Drake seemed to rouse from his supineness, andgave orders for the town and fort to be prepared against attack. Before these orders could be carried out, however, arrived the newsthat Mr. Watts, chief of the Cossimbuzar party, was a prisoner in theNabob's hands, that the place was surrendered, and plundered by theMoors, and that our garrison, though promised security, had been sobarbarously used by them that Mr. Elliott, the commanding officer, hadtaken his own life. And now men began to tell each other fearful stories of Surajah Dowlahand his career. It was said that when he was a child his favouritepastime had been the torturing of birds and animals, from which, whilestill in his boyhood, he had passed to mutilating slaves; that notonly had he given himself from his earliest years to every species oforiental lust--some too vile to be named--but he was even a drunkard, a vice forbidden by the Alcoran and foreign to the manners ofIndostan. To his great-uncle, the late Nabob, who doted on him todistraction, he had shown, it was said, the basest ingratitude, insolently taking advantage of the old man's affection to accomplishhis crimes and murders with impunity, and, if restrained in any ofhis desires, to withdraw from the Court and threaten rebellion, knowing that his uncle would yield anything rather than endure theabsence of his darling. At the present moment, it was affirmed, he hadquarrelled with and set aside all the wisest and principal men in hisdominions, and was governed by minions of his own, buffoons and suchcreatures, sprung from the lowest class and promoted to high stationsas a reward for their participation in his guilty orgies. Such was theyoung man, incapable of reason or mercy, and passing from onetransport of passion to another, who was now in full march with allhis force against Calcutta, having sworn to exterminate the Englishfrom Bengal. Immediately I found there was talk of resistance and fighting, I wentto Mr. Byng and begged to be allowed to serve with the garrison. Thisoffer he thankfully accepted, and in the course of a day or two everyother Englishman in the town either volunteered or was pressed intothe same service. Our regular garrison consisted of only two hundredEuropean troops, to which were added some Topasses, a mixed breed ofIndians and Portuguese, very suitable to be used as mercenaries, andabout a thousand of the black natives armed as buxerries, or matchlockmen. Out of regard to my having been the first to volunteer and to myformer service on board a man-of-war, I was presently appointed asergeant, and put in charge of a party of twelve men, assigned to thedefence of the rope-walk which joins the main east road from the fortto the Morattoe ditch. Besides this ditch, begun to be dug many years before at a time whenthe Morattoe armies were invading Bengal, and never finished, therewas no fortification of any kind round the town; so that barricadeshad now to be thrown up, and guns planted in the streets at whateverpoints seemed most favourable for intercepting the advance of theenemy. The plan of defence, so far as any plan was adhered to in theconfusion and panic which prevailed, was to defend these outposts aslong as possible, then to retire into Fort William itself and stand asiege, and when the fort could be maintained no longer to take to theships which lay in the river, and drop down the stream out of reach ofthe enemy. My own post was, as I have said, at the rope-walk. At one end of thisplace, on the main road into the town, was a battery under the commandof a captain, so disposed as to check any advance. But in case theenemy should try to creep round through some side streets and take thebattery in flank, our little party of twelve was stationed at theother end of the rope-walk, ready to detect and resist any suchattempt. The first notice we had of the arrival of the Moors' army was by acannon fired on the north side of the town, at a place where theMorattoe ditch joined the river Hooghley. This being the direct wayfor an army coming from Moorshedabad to enter Calcutta, the Moors heremade their first attack, and all that day the sound of cannon andmusketry came to us on the breeze, without our seeing the enemy orknowing how the fortune of the day was turning. But with evening camethe good news that the enemy had been repulsed and had drawn off tothe other side of the ditch. That night we did not dare to retire to rest indoors, but slept at ourpost, under a shed put up over some wheels on which the twine waswound. At four in the morning we were up and eating some bread andcold meat sent to us from the fort for our breakfast, when suddenly weheard a fearful rattle and crash of musketry close at hand. The enemyhad been informed of the gap in the Morattoe ditch further south, hadswarmed across it, and were now attacking our outposts all along theline. Leaving our meal half-eaten, we sprang to our feet and took ourweapons. I ordered the men not to expose themselves more than wasneeded, an order which one or two of them obeyed so zealously as toplace themselves where they could neither see nor be seen by theenemy, and where all they did was to load their muskets and dischargethem into the air in the direction from which the attack seemed tocome. However, I found some braver than that, and as the Moors seemedmuch afraid of our fire we held them at bay well enough. Their ownfire was more frightening than dangerous, the noise being out of allproportion to the number of persons hit. So much was this the casethat after some hours had gone by without a single ball taking effecton any member of our party, their first fears wore off and all beganto expose themselves in a very reckless manner. There was a wall forming the side of the rope-walk, about four feethigh, and behind this wall we stood and fired at the Moors as theyshowed themselves in any of the streets commanded by our position. Icannot describe how interested and excited I got in this cruel sport, for such it resembled. I chose for myself a long, narrow streetleading to the southward, with about a dozen lanes crossing it fromeast to west. Loading my gun and resting it on the coping of the wallwith the muzzle pointed down this street, I kept my eyes on thevarious openings. Every quarter of an hour, perhaps, a small party ofsoldiers in bright silk turbans, with glittering arms and armour, would pass out from one of the lanes into this street, either crossingit or moving up or down. Each time I would wait till a whole groupemerged, so as to have a bigger target, and then discharge my piece. Almost invariably a man would fall, and the whole party, terrified andnot understanding the smallness of our force, would run into one ofthe lanes adjoining, leaving a wounded or dead man lying in thedeserted street. This went on till, I think, fifteen or twenty bodieslay at different points along the roadway, besides those who, beingslightly hurt, had crawled away into shelter. In the end I suppose the Moorish leader in this part of the attackmust have had notice of our proceedings; for presently a force of somethirty or forty Indians emerged suddenly from a corner very near therope-walk and advanced towards us at a run, firing freely as theycame. Now it was that one of our men was hit for the first time, aCompany's servant named Parkes, a young lad who had arrived in Bengalonly six weeks before from England. A ball struck him under the righteye, and he died in a few minutes. This accident caused the rest of us to take more care. Nevertheless, we managed to get off a good volley before the enemy could arrive asfar as the wall, wounding several. The rest wavered, and would, perhaps, have fled but for the action of their leader, a tall, fineman, having a great scymetar in his hand, with which he struck his menviolently on the shoulders to urge them forward. Seeing them resumetheir rush at our position, I looked round at my own men, and to mydisgust found several preparing to desert their places and retirefurther back. "Stop!" I shouted angrily. "Let us show these black villains we arenot afraid of them! Fix bayonets! Forward! Charge!" With these words I leaped over the wall and ran at the enemy, followedby my whole party, except one man, who actually threw down his pieceand fled, not stopping till he reached the fort. But he need not havedone this, for had he stood a moment he would have seen the wholeparty of Moors break and fly without waiting to close with us, so muchwere they terrified by the way in which we sprang over the wall tocome at them. And this is, indeed, the nature of all the natives ofIndostan--to give way instantly that they meet an enemy who is morebent on fighting than they are themselves. The only person to stand his ground was the leader of the party, whowaited for us to come up, and then, singling me out, aimed a blow atme with his scymetar. Up to this moment I had been too busy to observehis face, and my rage knew no bounds when I discovered that I had todo with my renegade kinsman himself, who, it appears, had beensearching for me from the very beginning of the battle. How it wouldnow have gone between us I cannot say, for several of my men closingin round us almost immediately, Rupert saw his danger and ran off, andmy duty to defend the rope-walk forbade me from following. For the rest of that day we were not much disturbed, except by thecontinual pattering of bullets, which seemed to come from all quartersof the compass. When night came, being anxious to learn how the siegehad progressed in other quarters, I sent a messenger to the fort, whobrought back word that the enemy had made no very great impression sofar, but that everything was in such a state of confusion and dismayat the headquarters that it was impossible we could hold out muchlonger. Not to dwell on these particulars, the next day saw the end of thisunhappy affair. Early in the forenoon the Moors made a very hot attackon the battery at the far end of our rope-walk, and at the same time afresh party, headed by my wicked cousin, assailed our position. Irestrained my men from discharging their muskets till the Indians werewithin a few paces of us, with the result that we did great execution, nearly a dozen of them falling. The rest fell back for a moment, butGurney urging them on, they rushed up and made a desperate attempt toclamber over the wall. While we were hard at work keeping them off with our bayonets, I hearda tremendous crash and shouting in the rear, from the point where thebattery was placed. This noise seemed greatly to encourage ourassailants, several of whom managed to get over the wall and engage inhand to hand conflicts with the men under me. Nevertheless, I stirredup my fellows to continue their resistance, and myself beat back twoMoors, one of whom I ran through the body with my bayonet. So absorbedwas I that I did not observe the approach of a young ensign from thebattery, who came running along the rope-walk, shouting out-- "Fall back! fall back! The battery is abandoned to the enemy, and theywill cut off your retreat. " At this the men with me began to slacken their exertions, and somefairly took to their heels. However, I had just caught sight of Rupertadvancing towards me and did not feel inclined to budge. "Come back, you fool!" shouted the little ensign, pale and breathless. "We are beaten, don't you hear?" I turned my head and scowled at him. "You seem to be beaten, sir, " I said. "For my part, I am verycomfortable where I am, and intend to go on fighting. " With these words I turned to defend myself from Rupert, who was comingat me eagerly enough, as it seemed. The ensign fled without furtherparley, and I believe saved his life. So also did most of mycompanions, though two others were badly wounded, and unable to stir. For my part I was resolved to sell my life dearly, but this privilegewas denied me. For Gurney, as soon as he saw how the land lay, andthat I was left there alone, instantly drew back and ordered his mento take me a prisoner, which, being by this time about thirty or fortyagainst one, they effected, whether I would or not. My cousin's exultation was very great when he thus had me for thesecond time in his power. "Now, Master Athelstane, " he cried, "we shall see whether you get offas lightly as you did at Gheriah. You are not likely, I think, to berescued by a fleet this time. But perhaps you will be glad that Ishould take you without more ado before the Nabob. He has a highopinion of the English, and no doubt will be glad to take you into hisservice and give you many handsome rewards. " "Rupert Gurney, " I answered, "in mocking at one who is your prisoner, owing to no valour of yours, you merely show yourself to be a cowardas well as a traitor. I care nothing for what the Nabob may do to me;and this I know, that I would rather he put me to death outright thanenjoy his favour by such services as yours. " "Thank you, cousin, " says Rupert, who was able to keep his temper nowthat he had the better of me. "I am glad to learn that you will notseek to undermine my credit with his Highness. But now, if you aresufficiently rested, let us proceed. " Speaking these mocking words, he made his men bind my wrists togetherwith a cord, and conducted me out of the streets of the town towardsSurajah Dowlah's camp. The tent of the Nabob was a fine great pavilion of yellow and crimsoncloth. All about the entrance stood his guards, very handsomelydressed, with silver and gold ornaments, and armed with all sorts ofcurious weapons, some of which I had not seen before. Inside, when wewere presently admitted, the spectacle was still more striking. TheNabob sat on a high cushion, called the musnud, placed on a daïswhich was raised several feet above the ground. On the daïs beside himstood three of his principal courtiers, in silk robes and turbansincrusted with gems, while others of inferior rank stood below thesteps of the daïs. A slave beat the air with a fan of peacock'sfeathers over the Nabob's head. I gazed with great curiosity and awe upon this young prince, who wasnow making his name terrible through Bengal. I was amazed to see thathe was extremely young, scarce older than myself, with a face, Ithink, the handsomest of any Indian's I ever saw: yet his face wasmarred, and his youthfulness made unnatural by the ugly traces of hispassions. His skin appeared coarse and blotched, his lips were thickand purple-coloured, and his teeth--an unusual thing among Moors--veryblack and dirty, when he spoke. He lay back somewhat on his throne, with his chin leaning on his breast and his heavy eyes turned to theground. In spite of the waving of the fan, the heat seemed to oppresshim; or else it was the weight of his turban, for he passed his handover his brow every now and then as if he would have lifted it off. His fingers, I noticed, were much encumbered with rings, besides whichhe wore bracelets, and ear-rings in his ears. But when he lifted hiseyes from the floor and looked at me, I was appalled by the expressionin them, which was not that of common ferocity, but rather dreadfuldespair, like a lost soul that is goaded on to assuage its own pangsby the torture of others. "Who is this dog?" he asked in a husky, soddened tone, as I wasbrought up to the foot of his daïs. "It is one of the ungrateful wretches who have dared to resist theslaves of your sublime Highness, " was the answer. Rupert had come inwith me, so as to take the credit of my capture, but the conversationwith the Nabob was carried on by one of the Indians, who seemed to bethe lieutenant of the party. "Is he one of the English?" demanded Surajah, casting an angry glanceat me. "Your exalted wisdom has said the word. Undoubtedly he belongs to thatvile nation, whom the breath of your anger has even now destroyed. " "Ask him why his people have dared to resist my commands. Who is he?Is he one of their principal men? Ask him where is their treasure?" Before the Indian could translate these questions I answered them inthe same language. "I am an interpreter in the service of the Company, may it please yourHighness. I am but newly arrived in your country, and know nothing ofthe other matters you have asked about. " The Nabob gave a sullen frown. "Take the wretch away out of my sight. He is a worthless capture, " hesaid. But one of the three men on the daïs, a young, handsome Gentoo, with acruel, cunning face--I afterwards heard he was Lal Moon, the Nabob'schief favourite--bent over his master and whispered something in hisear. Instantly Surajah Dowlah sat up, furious. "You have lied to me!" he screamed. "You speak our language, and yetyou say you are but newly arrived. That must be a lie!" He looked round at his courtiers, and there was a murmur of admirationat his sagacity. "Your Highness is mistaken, " I said, keeping cool. "I learned theIndostanee language on my way out to the East Indies, from thesecretary of Colonel Clive. " As I pronounced this name I saw a movement among those present. TheNabob stared, not understanding to whom I referred; but an older man, with a proud, discontented, and yet apprehensive air, who also stoodon the daïs, and was, I found out, Meer Jaffier, Surajah Dowlah'suncle, and commander of his armies, this man, I say, spoke inexplanation-- "The youth means that he came on the ship with Sabat Jung. " No sooner did the Nabob hear this than he changed colour. "Are you a friend of Sabat Jung's? Is he coming to Bengal?" he asked, with scarcely concealed anxiety. "Sabat Jung is my protector, " I replied, putting on a bolder air. "Ifhe hears that any wrong has been done to the English in Calcutta, hewill surely come here and avenge them. " The courtiers exchanged looks of amazement at these words of defiance, doubtless expecting to see me led to instant execution. But I have aninstinct which tells me when a man is afraid of me, and I could seethat, for the time, Surajah Dowlah was cowed. My cousin Gurney seized this opportunity to attract the Nabob'sattention, and take credit for his exploit. He stepped towards me andsaid, in such Indostanee as he could command-- "Silence, wretch! Sabat Jung is in the Carnatic, nor would he dare tocome into Bengal without the permission of the Lord of the English, Surajah Dowlah. When he hears of the conquest of Cossimbuzar and FortWilliam the heart of Sabat Jung will become as water. " I gave him a scornful look. "If his Highness judges of the English by you he will be deceived, " Isaid. "If you were ever to show your face in any place where SabatJung was he would have you hanged, as you very well know. " I kept my eyes fixed on the young Nabob's face as I spoke, and waspleased to see that I had made an impression. He looked uneasily fromone to the other of us, and then, before Rupert could reply, orderedus both from his presence. I found myself kept a close prisoner for that night and a part of thenext day in the house of a rich Indian, which stood beside theMorattoe ditch. From this place I could hear some noise of gunsoccasionally, and was obliged to conjecture how the fight was goingon. There was something very trying and painful in being near enoughto a battle-field to share its anxieties without being allowed to joinin the work. But I had a pretty sure presentiment that the affairwould end badly for us, and so indeed it proved; for about four in theafternoon there was a great commotion outside the place where I wasconfined, and my guards came in to fetch me, telling me with cruelpleasure that Fort William had surrendered, and I was to be broughtthere to join the other prisoners. I will not stay to describe the confused spectacle of the streetsthrough which we passed on our way to the fort. What struck me most, and put a deep depression upon my spirits, was to see the fierceexultation of the native Indians in our discomfiture. In this hour ofour overthrow these men, who had lived unmolested beneath ourgovernment, and thriven by means of our commerce, openly revealed allthat vehement malice and hatred toward us which is, I suppose, part oftheir nature, and not to be eradicated by any fairness of dealing. Ishould be ashamed to relate the vile things they said, and their grossbehaviour, as I was led along a prisoner. I thank God I have sincewalked through those same streets in a different trim, and had thosesame wretches bowing and grovelling on the earth as I passed. When I arrived at the fort I was horrified to find gathered there alarge company of other English prisoners, to the number of about ahundred and fifty. Among them were both the Honourable Robert Byng andMr. Holwell, who received me with surprise, having been assured bythose men who had fought under me that they had seen me slain. Immediately after my joining them Mr. Holwell, who had become thechief of the party, was sent for by the Nabob to be examined. While hewas away Mr. Byng told me the miserable circumstances of the captureof the fort, and how the Governor, Mr. Drake, had shamefully fled awayovernight in a boat to the ships on the first alarm of the enemy'sapproach. Not content with this, he had carried off the whole of theshipping down the river to Govindpore, thus rendering hopeless thecase of the English who had not escaped along with him, and thatalthough it would have been easy to rescue them by sending a few boatsto the shore. Of this, which I believe to be the most signal act ofcowardice ever heard of, I forbear to write, lest I should fall intothe use of opprobrious language. Yet I have often marvelled that thosewho had poor Mr. Byng--I mean the Admiral--shot on his own quarterdeckfor his failure at Minorca, should have refused a gallows and a hempennoose to one who so richly deserved it as Governor Drake. While Mr. Holwell was with the Nabob the rest of us stood under astrong guard in the courtyard of the fort, where we began to find theheat very burdensome, the more so as it was difficult to get anythingto eat or drink. While we were thus situated I saw my cousin Rupert goby, wearing a rich new turban, to wait upon the Nabob. At this periodhe appeared to be in high favour at the Court. No doubt he hadacquired influence with Surajah Dowlah by flattering his superiorityto the English. Mr. Holwell presently returned with the news that Surajah Dowlahwas very much incensed against him, on account of the small sum foundin the treasury of the fort, which amounted only to 54, 000 Rs. Theprince was firmly persuaded that the Company had somewhere concealeda vast treasure, which had been his principal motive to push theattack of the place. He had threatened Mr. Holwell very severelyunless this treasure were found, and dismissed him to consult with hisfellow-prisoners. This was bad news, for it was evidently impossibleto persuade Surajah Dowlah that there was no such treasure, and hewould therefore be inclined to look upon Mr. Holwell's failure todiscover it as mere obstinacy. We were discussing our prospects very gloomily when a party of Moorsarrived, bringing two fresh prisoners. I felt a sudden sickness when Irecognised that these were none other than Marian herself with herfather. Old Mr. Rising seemed to be dazed, and unconscious of what washappening to him, but Marian was suffering from visible terror. Ihastened to her side, exclaiming-- "Marian, what do you do here? Why are you not gone with the otherwomen?"--for all the Englishwomen and children had been put aboard theships as soon as the Moors arrived outside the town. Marian looked surprised and a little comforted to meet me in the samesituation as herself. "So you are a prisoner too!" she cried. "I confess I do not understandwhat has happened to my father and me, for Rupert especially enjoinedand urged us to remain in our house, assuring us that his credit withthe Nabob would serve not merely to protect us, but to secure highplaces and rewards for himself, which he intended I should share. " She said this with a certain shame, but I was too anxious for hersafety to retain my feelings of jealousy at such a moment. "I will send for Gurney to come here, " I said. "I have just seen himgo into the Nabob's presence. " I called one of the men who kept guard over us, and bade him goinstantly and fetch my cousin. The Moor showed some disinclination toobey me, but I repeated my command in a tone so firm that he gave way, and sullenly complied. In a minute or two Rupert came out, looking bewildered, and, Ithought, somewhat alarmed. As soon as he saw who it was that had sentfor him, however, his assurance returned, and he came to us with ajaunty air. "Ha! Marian, " he said, taking no notice of me, "so you have found yourway here, have you? I am pleased to greet you; but if you have sentfor me to ask me to procure the release of your other admirer, whom Itook prisoner yesterday, I must tell you fairly that I am not theleast inclined to do it. " "Nay, Rupert, " she answered, "I am ashamed to say that I had notthought of asking you anything on your cousin Athelstane's behalf. 'Tis I and my father who are now prisoners, in spite of your pledgesto us. Surely you will not suffer this!" Thus she spoke to him, but, ah! not in the old self-confident strain, but with a certain mournful submission which wrung my veryheartstrings. "What do you say? You amaze me, Marian! This is a gross breach of theSerdar's own promise to me, but I doubt not that it will at once berighted. As for your father, I do not say; it may be that the old manwould be better off in captivity. But I take it on myself that youshall be released without delay. I will go straight and speak aboutit. " He said all this so readily that I could not feel sure he was notsincere. Marian, poor girl, gladly believed him, and gave me a lookwhich was plainly meant to protest against my entertaining evilthoughts of Rupert. He hurried away, as he had said, and at the sametime Mr. Holwell was sent for again to the Nabob. By this time it was getting to be near evening. The sun was droppingdown on the other side of the river, and the long shadows of the palmtrees rocked on the water. From where we stood we could see thesoldiers going to and fro getting ready their evening meal, and hearan occasional shot in the town, where some Indian was letting off hismusket by way of triumph for the victory. It was still hot, but alittle breeze began to move up the river and flutter some pieces oflinen that hung out drying in the lower courtyard, yesterday havingbeen washing day in the fort. Mr. Holwell and Rupert returned together, the former more cheerful, but Gurney very sulky, and making a show of being much annoyed. "I have spoken to the Serdar, Marian, and could do nothing forto-night. He says that you are to remain with the other English tillhe can take the Nabob's pleasure, who is now getting drunk, anddifficult to deal with. " Mr. Holwell confirmed the story, adding-- "Surajah Dowlah may scarce be spoken to. His looks are dreadful. Yethe has sworn to me on the faith of a soldier that no hair of any ofour heads shall be injured. " "That is right, " quoth Rupert. "So you see, Marian, it is but stayinghere with your other friends"--he gave me a jeering smile as he saidthis--"till to-morrow morning, when I will speak to the Nabob myself, at all hazards, and have you released. " Poor Marian glanced at him in despair. "Rupert, you won't desert me!" she cried. "You don't mean to leave meas you did in Gheriah in that horrid cell, from which I scarcelyescaped alive?" "Pooh, pooh, girl! No, " he answered lightly, "I shall be at hand. Itis nothing. What is one night's captivity? The soldiers will haveorders to find you some comfortable room in the fort. I will see aboutyour accommodation myself. " With this promise on his lips he disappeared, and returned no more. CHAPTER XI _THE BLACK HOLE_ I have now to tell how we passed through that night, the memory ofwhich to this day moves me to tremble and sicken like a man in strongfear. At sunset the Moorish soldiers who had charge of the prisoners marchedus all together into a covered gallery or verandah that ran along oneside of the courtyard, from which it was screened off by a row ofarches. While we waited here a part of the soldiers ran to and fro, as if looking for accommodation for us. Surajah Dowlah's promises, reported to us by Mr. Holwell, had so far raised our spirits that someof the prisoners made merry at the difficulty the guard seemed to bein. One man asked if we were to pass the night in that gallery. Another, who stood near me, observed in jest-- "They don't seem to know of the Black Hole. " "I'm afraid we shouldn't all go into that, " replied another, laughing. "What place do you mean?" I asked out of curiosity. "It is the cell where they confine the soldiers of the garrison, "explained the person next me. "It won't hold more than one or twopersons. " Hardly had he given me this information before the officer in chargeof our guard came hurrying up. He gave some directions to his men, whocommenced pushing and urging us along the gallery to a small door inthe wall at our back. This they threw open, and beckoned to theprisoners to enter. "By heaven, it is the Black Hole!" exclaimed some one in the throng. There was a murmur of disbelief, followed by one of indignation, asthose who were in front looked in. The room was barely seven pacesacross each way, and very low. The only openings it contained, besidethe doorway, were two small windows giving, not on to the open air, but merely on to the covered passage in which we had been standing. "But this is absurd!" cried Mr. Holwell, remonstrating with thesoldiers. "There is not even standing-room for a hundred and fiftypersons in there. " "They cannot intend that we are all to go in. We should besuffocated, " said another. The soldiers beginning to show anger, some of the company walked in todemonstrate how restricted the space was. Nevertheless the Moorscontinued to press us towards the doorway, and seeing that they werein earnest, I whispered to Marian to give me her arm, and went in withthe first. By this means I was just in time to secure Marian a placeat the corner of one of the windows, where she would have a chanceto breathe. I took up my position next to her, and we were quicklysurrounded and closely pressed on by those who followed. Before we hadwell realised what was happening to us, the whole of the prisoners hadbeen thrust into the cell, and the door, which opened inwards, pulledto with a slam and locked. The moment this happened I found myself bursting out into a mostprodigious sweat--the water running out of my skin as though squeezedfrom a sponge--by the mere press of people in that confined space; andnear as I stood to the window I soon began to experience a difficultyin breathing, so foul did the air immediately become. The sufferingsof those further back in the apartment must of course have been muchworse. The door was no sooner closed than those next to it began tomake frantic efforts to open it again; but we were so closely packedthat, even if the door had not been locked, it would have beenscarcely possible to open it wide enough to allow of any persons goingthrough. Every mind seemed to become at once possessed with a sense ofour desperate situation, and the groans and cries for mercy becameheartrending. Mr. Holwell, having been the first to enter, had been fortunate enoughto secure a place at the other window. He now exerted himself, as theleader of the party, to calm the tumult. "Gentlemen, " he said earnestly, "let me urge you to keep still. Theonly hope for us in this emergency is to behave quietly, and do whatwe can to relieve each other's sufferings. I will use my endeavourswith the guard to procure our release, and in the meantime do yourefrain from giving way to despair. " It was now dark within the room, but outside some of the guards hadlit torches, by whose light I distinguished one old man, a Jemautdar, who appeared a little touched with pity for our distress. To this manMr. Holwell appealed, through the window, offering him large rewardsif he would have us transferred to some more tolerable prison. Atfirst the old Moor merely shook his head, but finally, when Mr. Holwell offered him a thousand rupees if he would remove even half theprisoners to another room, he shrugged his shoulders, muttered that hewould see what could be done, and walked off. During the few minutes which had already elapsed since our coming intothe cell, the heat had increased to that degree as to be no longertolerable. My skin and throat felt as though scorched by fire, and theatmosphere was so noxious that it became painful to breathe. I lookedat Marian. She was very white, and stood moving her lips silently asthough praying. Being the only female among us, those immediatelyround the window showed some desire to respect her weakness, but thepressure from behind was such that they were driven against her, inspite of themselves, and I had hard work to defend her from beingcrushed against the wall. But when I glanced back into the room the sights revealed by theflickering torchlight convinced me that our sufferings were almostlight in comparison with those of others. I saw one man, a few pacesbehind me, turn purple in the face, as if some one were stranglinghim. Two or three others had already fainted from the heat, and Iheard some one whisper that they had fallen to the ground. The Jemautdar presently returned, shaking his head, and said to Mr. Holwell-- "I can do nothing. It is by the Nabob's orders that you are locked up, and I dare not interfere. " "But we are dying, man!" cried Mr. Holwell. "The Nabob swore that hewould spare our lives. Listen! I will give you two thousandrupees--anything--if you will procure us some relief!" The old man went off once more, and hope revived for a moment. Whilewe were thus waiting some one at the back of the room suddenly saidaloud-- "Let us take off our clothes!" Hardly were the words out of his mouth than in an instant, as itseemed, nearly every one was stark naked. They tore their things offfuriously and cast them to the ground. I resisted the contagion aslong as I could, but when I saw even Mr. Holwell, though nearer theair than myself, stripped to his shirt, I could not resist followinghis example; and in our dreadful extremity my unhappy companion waspresently forced to do the same, hiding her face with her hands andchoking down great sobs. When the Jemautdar returned for the second time he made it appear thatour case was hopeless. "No one dares help you, " he said, speaking with evident compunction. "Surajah Dowlah is asleep, and it is as much as any man's life isworth to awake him. " As soon as the meaning of these words was understood by the hundredand fifty miserable wretches inside, a pitiful, low wail went up. Thencommenced that long, dreadful agony which so few were to survive, andwhich I only remember in successive glimpses of horror spread overhours that were like years. One of the last things we did, before all self-control was lost, wasto try and make a current of air by all sitting down together, andthen suddenly rising; but unhappily by this time several had grown soweak that, having once gone down, they proved unequal to the effort ofgetting up again, and fell under the feet of their companions. Amongthese unfortunates was Marian's father, Mr. Rising, who had come inwith us, and stood a little way off in the press. Although preservinghis dazed, unconscious air in the midst of these calamities, he hadexhibited many symptoms of physical distress. He now remained sittinghelpless on the floor, and while I was trying to contrive some meansof assisting him, I saw the next man behind him very coolly step overhis body, spurning it with his foot. Poor Mr. Rising fell on his back, groaning, and was instantly trodden out of sight. My first impulse was to spare Marian the knowledge of her father'sshocking fate. Turning round hastily, I whispered-- "Don't look behind you, for God's sake!" The words came too late. She turned her head, saw what had happened, and shrieked aloud. That shriek was the signal for fifty others, like wild beastsanswering each other in a wood, as the manhood of that tortured mobsuddenly forsook it, to be succeeded by brute despair. Some began tohurl themselves against the door, others broke into frantic prayersand imprecations. The clamour died down, rose again, and finallysettled into a monotonous, incessant cry for water. All this time I had preserved my self-control very well, but when thiscry for water was raised, either the excessive pain I endured, or elsethe mere example of so many persons around me, so shook me that Icould no longer command my motions, and I found myself screaming thewords in Indostanee at the old Jemautdar as though I would have tornhim in pieces. The old man seemed to be really moved by our sufferings. He sent twoor three of the soldiers to fetch water, and they presently came tothe windows bearing it in skins. It was a fatal act of mercy. The mere sight of the water instantlyoverthrew the reason of half the unhappy wretches behind us. A wildhowl went up, and a frantic struggle commenced to get to the windows. Those who a few minutes before had been rational Christian beings werenow to be seen fighting and striking each other as they leaped andplunged to climb over those in front. Marian, terror-stricken by theoutburst, put her hands before her eyes, and would have been sweptaway from her place like a leaf if I had not set my back to hers andfought furiously against the lunatics behind. I can see now the dark, flushed face of one man, his parched tongue dropping out of his mouth, and his eyes rolling horribly, quite mad, as he flung himself upon meand tried to tear me down. To add to the horror, the Indian soldiersbrought their torches to the windows in order to gloat on this scene. I heard them laugh like devils as the red light flashed on the nakedheap of infuriated Englishmen writhing and fighting in that narrowhell. After ten minutes the struggles began to die down through sheerexhaustion, and then those of us who stood next the windows wereallowed to drink from the skins; after which we filled hats with thewater and passed them into the back of the apartment. In this wayevery one obtained some, but no good effect was wrought thereby. Sofar as I was concerned, the heat and drought were so fearful that nosooner had I swallowed my share of the fluid than my throat became asdry as it had been before--the momentary relief served only toaggravate my torments. Then as the fever gained upon me, my thoughts broke bounds, and theredanced confusedly through my brain odd scraps of memories and picturesof other scenes. For whole moments together I lost the knowledge ofwhere I was; those dark walls and haggard faces passed, and in theirstead came visions of the pleasant places I used to know, the rufflingof the wind upon the Breydon Water and the dykes, the stir among thereeds and rushes, and the cattle browsing in the Norfolk fields. Instead of the swarthy Indian soldiers with their torches I saw thefriendly, homely figures of the carters as they rode their horses tothe pool at sundown after the day's work was over, and the familiargroups of villagers, and the face of little Patience Thurstan as shelooked up at me, ready to weep, that time I said goodbye to her on mylast day at home; and there rose before me the likeness of the dearold homestead, the gables and the crooked chimney, and the porch withjasmine growing over one side and boys' love on the other; and I sawmy father and my mother where they sat and faced each other across thehearthplace, and thought, maybe, of their son, so that there came overme a great and miserable longing to return to them; and, like theprodigal son when he ate husks among the swine, I repented of myrebellion and running away, and in that hour I took a resolution thatif I ever outlived the night I would leave the wicked land of Indiafor ever, and go back to my own country, and ask my father to forgiveme, as I knew my mother had forgiven me long ago. Such were the thoughts that, by fits and starts, passed through meduring the first hours of the death struggle; but the worst horror ofthat awful night came presently. In the recesses of the chamber, furthest from the windows, a harder evil than the heat was theintolerable foulness of the air. Even where I was standing it hadbecome an excruciating pain to breathe, and my breast felt as thoughlaced about with iron bands. In the interior many had by this timedropped down, not so much suffocated as poisoned by the fetid gas theywere compelled to inhale. And now at length I detected a new, indescribably nauseous odour, added to the acrid smell of the place. At first I tried to conceal even from my own mind what this was. Butnot for long. In a very few minutes the secret was known to all there. The unhappy man I had seen trodden down had been dead for about halfan hour, and his body was already corrupt. Then that whole den of madmen broke loose, raving and cursing; someimploring God to strike them dead, others casting the most foul andsavage insults at the guards without, if by that means they mighttempt them to fire in through the windows and put an end to what theyendured. They struck at one another, they clutched each other's hair, surging and trampling one another down to gain an inch nearer themiserable air-holes which afforded the only chance of life. The floorwas choked with corpses, among which the survivors were entangled inone seething mass. As for me, I became light-headed, and had only oneblind instinct left, to strike down any man who attempted to thrustMarian from her breathing ground. I was aware that she had lost hersenses and sunk down between me and the wall; yet I went on battling, as in some dreadful nightmare, with the furious forms that rose up andloomed out of the darkness. When I could no longer make out theirfaces I still struck out blindly, and heard them go down heavily uponthe pile of bodies behind which I stood entrenched. Hour after hourthat ghastly combat raged, till the corpses were thrice and four timesmore numerous than those who still breathed; and at last an awfullethargy settled down over the scene, broken only when one of thesurvivors roused himself for an expiring effort that sent a quiverthrough the dead and dying heap. After that I know no more, for when the morning broke, and theofficers came to release the handful left alive, the energy that hadheld me up so long forsook me, and I sank down unconscious. CHAPTER XII _RUPERT IN A NEW LIGHT_ When I came to my senses again I was lying on the ground under thegallery. The door of that Gehenna was standing open, twenty paces fromme, and the stench from the corpses piled within tainted the air ofthe whole court. My first thought was of Marian. I looked round as well as I was able, but could see no signs of her. The great weakness in which I foundmyself was such as to prevent me from standing on my feet, but Ilifted myself up so far as to lean on one elbow, and in that postureglanced round over the little group of those who survived. I counted twenty-two in all, less than one-sixth of the number ofthose who had been promised the mercy of Surajah Dowlah on the eveningof yesterday. Close beside me lay Mr. Holwell, seeming to breathepainfully, as he laboured to gain his self-command. I heard afterwardsthat this worthy gentleman had been found unconscious and almostlifeless, on the floor; and that a lane had had to be cleared throughthe dead to bring out the twenty-three of us that remained alive. But, look where I would, Marian was not there, and my heart misgave methat that beautiful form was lying in the loathsome charnel-housewhence I had so hardly come out. A man near me, who appeared to havepreserved his strength better than most of us, presently observing mytrouble, and guessing its cause, undertook to enlighten me. "You look for Mistress Rising?" he said. "She was among the survivors;I saw her brought out immediately before you. But she is not here; oneof the Moors' officers led her away out of the fort, no doubt tobestow her in safe keeping somewhere in the town. " This intelligence served to remove my worst apprehensions, yet it leftme not a little uneasy as to what next might befall Marian among thosein whose hands we were still captives. At the moment of which I speak, however, I was too ill to pursue the inquiry as to what had become ofher. The fever I had taken during the night was still strong upon me, indeed we were all in a very pitiful state, scarce able to move orspeak, and looking more like ghosts than men. It was not till above aweek had passed that I began to shake off the effects of those fewhours' torture; and I sometimes think that I have never yet whollyrecovered from them. Nor must I spare to mention those other changes which were wrought inme by that night, passed, I may say, in the Valley of the Shadow ofDeath. Up to this time, I perceived on looking back over my previousadventures, I had been no better than a mad young fool, followingafter a will-o'-the-wisp to my own hurt and destruction. And though Icannot say that that ill-starred and calamitous love of mine forMarian, which had haunted me since I first saw her in the tavern ofthe "Three-decker" at Yarmouth, was abated at this time, yet I think Idid now begin to perceive how evil an influence it had exerted over mylife, and to gradually bring myself to a manlier frame of mind. Sothat I no longer hugged myself with false and pernicious hopes of whatcould never be brought to pass, but set myself resolutely to uprootthis my besetting weakness, and thus to transfer Marian, as it mightbe, from the place of a mistress to that of an old and dear friend. In all which resolves and efforts at amendments I found myself greatlyhelped and encouraged by the recollection of those better thoughtswhich had come to me in my distress, when my eyes were opened to thewickedness of which I had been guilty towards my parents. And fromthis time on, through all the vicissitudes I was yet to encounter, Ilooked forward steadily to the day when I should turn my feet oncemore towards home, and behold my father and my mother, and the simple, loving face of little Patience Thurstan. But before that day came there were many things to be done, nor wouldI have willingly left the land of Indostan till I had seen the bloodof the English he had so barbarously murdered revenged upon SurajahDowlah's head. How this was to be brought about I did not then know, yet I had a confidence that it would be so, which sustained me. For Ifelt that I had witnessed, and been partly victim of, a most heinousand devilish crime, scarcely to be matched in the annals of mankind, and such as scarce any punishment within the power of man to inflictcould wholly purge. It was as if there had been revealed to me, in thelight of those flaring torches thrust in mockery between the bars ofour prison windows, a whole secret hell of cruelty and darkness, suchas our Christian land knows nothing of, which we can never understand, but which for ever lies waiting for the moment to burst forth, underthe obsequious and servile behaviour of the natives of India. Sincethat time, I confess, I have never regarded, nor can regard, them asmy fellow-beings; I look upon all faith or mercy shown to them aswasted, and were it possible for the English to overthrow every one oftheir governments, and to reduce the whole peninsula into slavery, Ishould not think enough had been done to extinguish the memory of thatone misdeed. The cup of the Nabob's cruelty was even yet not full. In the morning, as soon as we had partaken of a little food and wine, merely enough togive us strength to stand up, our miserable remnant was ordered tocome before him, to be questioned again. We found Surajah Dowlah enthroned in the principal apartment of thefort, in even greater state than I had before seen him in, flushedwith all the triumph of a conqueror. He looked to have just awakenedfrom sleeping off a debauch, and glanced at us, as we came in, with aheavy, lowering eye. The supple, handsome Lal Moon was standing besidehis master as usual, and close behind the favourite I saw my kinsman, with a countenance somewhat discomposed. He turned a very scrutinisinglook on our party, frowned when he caught sight of me, and wasevidently disturbed at not perceiving Marian amongst the rest. The Nabob, instead of displaying any interest in our condition, orpretending any regret for the massacre of our fellow prisoners, atonce addressed Mr. Holwell in a very peremptory manner. "Now, English dog, you have had a night to consider, " he saidinsolently, "are you disposed to behave more civilly to me in thematter of the treasure?" Poor Mr. Holwell had scarce strength enough to answer him. He saidfeebly-- "I can only repeat what I told you last night. Your Highness has beendeceived. There is no treasure here of the Company. " "You are a liar, and the son of a liar!" returned Surajah fiercely. "Do you think I am a fool to believe that the English come all the wayfrom your country here to amass a paltry sum of fifty thousandrupees? Such a sum would not pay the expense of your establishmenthere. I know well that you have a treasure somewhere hidden; but youare resolved to keep it from me, the rightful master of this country. I swear I will teach you that it is safer to stand in the path of amad elephant than to disobey the least command of Surajah Dowlah!" He rolled his eyes savagely as he made these threats, which struckdismay into the stoutest of us. Mr. Holwell attempted no furtheranswer, and presently the Nabob rose in a fury and marched out of thehall, giving no orders concerning our disposal. As soon as he was gone the general of his army, Meer Jaffier, camedown off the daïs and approached us. He began offering someexpressions of sympathy to Mr. Holwell, and assured him that he woulduse his influence with his nephew to procure our release. While Meer Jaffier was talking to Mr. Holwell, I saw my cousin slowlyapproaching me. I turned my back, so loth was I to hold intercoursewith him, but he came up, and persisted in addressing me. "Athelstane, what has become of Marian Rising?" he asked abruptly. "Nay, I leave that to you to find out, who delivered her to SurajahDowlah to be tortured and killed, " I answered bitterly. "See here, cousin, " he said, infusing a touch of natural feeling intohis voice, "I swear to you, on the faith of a Ford, that I had not somuch as the least suspicion of the horrid treachery about to bepractised on you last night by these damned black devils. If I couldhave had any notice of what was going forward, I would have returnedlast night at all hazards, and delivered you. As regards Marian, I hadthe most sacred pledges from both Meer Jaffier and Lal Moon that notone hair of her head should be injured. I swear it. " "You swear very plentifully, it appears to me, " I returned, preservinga tone of mere contempt and hatred; "but I know not how your oaths canserve you at the present time. Thanks to your evil persuasions, thewoman for whom you have many times pretended affection was last nightbrought to the very door of death, and is now ill and captive amongthe Moors. Me, your cousin, whom you first tempted to leave his homeand friends, and have since betrayed and misused and many timesattempted to slay, you see before you, in the power of those blackfiends, as you call them, who appear to be your good friends. Had younot better prevail with them to put us both to death, and thus make anend of it?" "No, by G----, Athelstane, you are wrong!" he exclaimed veryearnestly. "I bear you no malice, nor ever should have done, hadyou not set yourself up as my rival and thwarted me on severaloccasions--and I am a man that will not brook opposition. As it is, ifI have ever attempted anything against you, it was in hot blood, andhad I hated you ten times worse than I did, yet last night's businesswould have been too much for me to stomach. " I gazed at him, doubtful whether to believe in his sincerity or no. Itwas difficult for me to refrain from some softening towards him as hethus spoke, and yet I asked myself whether these fair words were notthe prelude to some new piece of knavery or treachery, for which hestood in need of my assistance. He continued urging me. "Have you forgot all those ties that are between us--our blood, andbringing-up in the same country, and the pleasant times we have hadtogether when you were a youngster, and I was used to ride over toyour house from Lynn, for my holidays? You were then content enough tocall yourself your cousin Rupert's little squire, and if it were aquestion of robbing orchards or taking bird's-nests, you grudged to beleft out. Can you not overlook the differences that have since arisenbetween us, and let us return to our former good comradeship andaffection?" Now I well knew that this man was a most accomplished villain, and anhour before I should have no more thought of sparing or making termswith him than with a speckled snake. Yet no sooner did he thus beginto wheedle me, than I found my just anger and hatred against himinsensibly desert me. "Why do you hold this language to me?" I said, as sullen as I could, so as to hide my secret relenting. "What need have you of me now?What fellowship can there be between a miserable prisoner in theIndians' power, and you, their trusted friend and servant?" He gave me a significant glance, and then stooped towards me, whispering-- "No, cousin, you are mistaken there, I tell you again. Either theseMoors have all along meant to play me false, or else they considerthemselves betrayed by me in the matter of the treasure which theyexpected to find. Instead of now enjoying their confidence, I find Iam looked upon with distrust. They tell me nothing, and no longerconsult with me about their dealings with the English. I tell youfairly, I am uneasy to find myself so much in their power as I am, andif I could I would gladly make my peace with my fellow-countrymen, andenter the service of the Company. " This confession sounded to me sufficiently probable to be believed. Icould now see plainly enough what was Rupert's object in thus seekingto be reconciled with me. It was because I was the only witnessagainst him in the English camp, able to denounce the crimes andtreasons which he had committed, to the governor and his council. Itwas evidently necessary for him to have some person to answer for him, in case he should seek service with the Company, and for this reason, I concluded, he had decided that it would be of more profit to him tohave my friendship than to get rid of me altogether. With these thoughts I suffered myself to entertain his proposals. Butthere was another question of more importance to me than RupertGurney's friendship or enmity. "What of Marian?" I demanded. "Were you not the person who came forher this morning, and led her out of the fort?" "No!" he cried, much disturbed. "Do you know what has happened to her?I have inquired everywhere, and been unable to gather the smallestinformation. It is this which has convinced me that I no longerpossess the confidence of those about the Nabob. And I fear----" He stopped, biting his lips, and looked at me, as if he would knowwhat I suspected. I returned his look with interest. "And I, too, fear, " I answered solemnly. "And pray heaven that my fearis unfounded, for if it should turn out otherwise, after yourpersuading her to trust in your protection, I tell you plainly, RupertGurney, that I will never rest till I see you dead at my feet. " Though I thus threatened him, nevertheless I believed that he wasreally at a loss and anxious to find out what had become of Marian. Hepresently said to me-- "I will go now and make a further search, and if I hear any news, willlet you know. And do you, on your part, trust me. If in the meantimeI can do anything to effect your release, I will. " With that he went off. About the same time an order arrived for ourremoval, and we were carried away to another part of the fort. Whether in consequence of my cousin's representations or of MeerJaffier's, as is more probable, Surajah Dowlah suddenly decided torelease all his English prisoners, except three or four of theprincipal ones, including Mr. Holwell. This intelligence was broughtus about supper time, and an officer shortly after attended, to makethe selection of those who were to be continued in captivity. Not apprehending that any importance could be attached to me, I rosejoyfully to go out with those who were being dismissed, when, to mysurprise, the officer told me in their language, very sharply, to keepmy place. "But why do you seek to detain this young man?" inquired Mr. Holwell. "He is not a person of any consequence among us. " The Moor shook his head. "This youth is to be kept in the Nabob's hands because he is a friendof Sabat Jung's, " he answered. It may be imagined how mortified I was to find my boasting of thefriendship of Colonel Clive thus turned against me. There was no helpfor it, however. With a heavy heart we saw our fellow-prisonersdepart, some of them to examine their houses in Calcutta, others totake refuge with the English fleet, which about this time droppeddown the river to Fulta, where it lay. I heard afterwards that when the refugees arrived on board, and toldthe woeful tale of what had followed on the capture of Fort William, Mr. Drake and those with him bitterly repented of their cowardice anddesertion. Messengers, that is to say, Indian spies, had already beendespatched by land to Madras, the voyage thither being impossible atthis time on account of the prevalent monsoon. Others were now sentafter them, with letters recounting the whole of these transactions, and urgently entreating the Madras council to despatch succour at theearliest possible moment. In the meanwhile, to pass over the next few days, Surajah Dowlah, finding no further mischief to execute in Calcutta, after he hadplundered all the principal merchants, placed a force there underthe command of an officer named Monichund, and marched back toMoorshedabad, carrying me in his train. My fellow prisoners, consisting of Mr. Holwell and two other gentlemen, named Walcot andCourt (for poor Mr. Byng had been among those who perished in thatcell of death), were despatched separately in irons, by a boat up theriver. If I had been traversing this strange, and in many parts beautiful, country under other circumstances I might have found much to interestme. But being, as I was, still weak and wretched from the effects ofthe night passed in the Black Hole, and, moreover, very anxious andtroubled in mind about the fate of Marian (besides my own), I heededlittle of it. The country was extremely flat, and much overgrown withtrees, particularly mangoes, which tree hath a most delicious fruit, very grateful after toiling along the barren roads in the intolerableheat of this climate. Travelling in company with an army, we were notable to see much of the country people, who feared the Nabob'scharacter, and for the most part deserted their villages and retiredinto the woods while we passed. One day we lay without the walls ofChander Nugger, the French settlement in Bengal. These Frenchmenhad managed to propitiate Surajah by aiding him with a supply ofammunition when he was on his march against Calcutta. To this they nowadded a large sum of money, and by this means prevailed on him to passon without entering their town. They no doubt rejoiced, like trueFrenchmen, at the misfortunes which had overtaken the English, notforeseeing at this time the happy revolution in our affairs which wasto make them sing to another tune. Our progress through the country was so gradual that it was aboutthree weeks before we at last reached the Nabob's capital. During ourlong march I had not once seen my cousin, nor did I know what hadbecome of him, nor whether he had stayed behind in Calcutta orattached himself to the Moors' army. Moorshedabad is a great, rich place, very oriental in character, therebeing no foreigners resident in it, except a few Armenians, a race ofthieves and pedlars, worse than Jews, who also infested Calcutta. ButI had little opportunity of exploring its bazaars and palaces at thistime, being conveyed straight to a filthy hut, formerly used as acowshed, standing outside the Nabob's palace, where I found mycompanions already arrived, and where I was forced to lie on straw, and not allowed to move abroad. In this miserable place, guarded by sentries, we lay for some days, being all of us too feeble to contrive any plan of escape. Eachmorning Surajah Dowlah sent a messenger to us, to ask if we were yetprepared to disclose the truth about the treasure. We were informedthat he was deeply incensed at the failure of his raid on FortWilliam, to which it seems he had looked to bring enormous sums intohis treasury. On the third or fourth night, just as I was settling myself to sleepon a rude heap of straw which I had gathered together against the wallof the shed, the door softly opened and a man entered. As soon as hespoke I knew him at once to be my cousin Rupert. "Which of you is named Ford?" he asked, speaking in the Indianlanguage; for it was too dark for him to see my face. "I am, " I answered in English, sitting up. He placed his finger to his lips, and stepped across the hut to whereI was, while my three companions raised themselves eagerly on theirelbows, to know what passed. Rupert, who still wore his Moor's dress, kneeled down on the strawbeside me, and whispered in my ear-- "Hist! I am come to arrange for your escape, but you must say no wordto these others, lest they should want to join you, which would onlyserve to ruin our chance. " "In that case, " said I, answering him aloud in English, for Imistrusted him, "it is useless to proceed. I will entertain no projectto escape which does not include these gentlemen here with me. " Rupert ground his teeth, cursing me beneath his breath for a fool. ButMr. Holwell promptly rebuked me. "You are not to act like that, Ford, " he said. "Neither I, nor, I amsure, either of these other gentlemen would consent that you shouldrefuse any offer of escape merely because it is not extended to usalso. " My cousin, seeing that I was resolved not to have the conversationprivate between us two, now addressed himself to the others. "I heartily wish it were in my power to deliver you all, gentlemen, but unfortunately that is what I can't do. I have secured a means bywhich I may carry off my young kinsman here, though at great dangerto myself. But if it comes to the four of you, then I confess I mustabandon the scheme. " On this Mr. Holwell renewed his protestations, urging me by no meansto neglect Rupert's offer. "But how is it, sir, " he added, speaking not unkindly, "that I findyou, an Englishman, and a relation of young Mr. Ford, in these parts, and apparently in a position of influence with the natives?" "Oh, as to that, it is an old story, " replied my cousin, coolly. "I came to Bengal first by land from the Malabar coast, in the timeof the late Nabob, and for that reason I was not at first includedin the hatred which Surajah Dowlah bore to the English on theHooghley. However, the efforts which I made to restrain the Nabob'svindictive proceedings, and the disgust which I showed at his latebarbarities, have greatly weakened my credit with him. I believe heknows or suspects that I am merely casting about for an opportunityto quit his service, and has set spies on me accordingly. I have atlast devised measures for making my way down to the coast, to ourfellow-countrymen, and have bribed your gaolers to allow my cousinFord to escape with me to-night, if he will. " So earnestly did Gurney tell this tale that I could see Mr. Holwelland the others were very favourably impressed, and took him for anhonourably behaved man. As for me, I felt my cheeks burn with shameas I sat and listened, yet I neither felt inclined to admit to thesegentlemen that I was cousin to a villain and a traitor, nor did Iconsider it to be my duty to denounce my own blood. I therefore held my peace, while the conversation went on between theothers. Mr. Holwell insisted that I should take Rupert's offer, and bethe means of conveying news to our friends of where the other threelay. I demurred, and should perhaps have rejected the invitation inthe end, had not my cousin taken advantage to slyly whisper in myear-- "Don't you understand, fool? I have news of Marian, and want your aidto carry her off from Surajah Dowlah's harem!" CHAPTER XIII _A NIGHT ADVENTURE_ As soon as I had heard that name from Rupert's lips, all my hesitationwas at once overcome, as he no doubt foresaw would be the case. "Come, " I said, springing upon my feet with an energy I had not feltfor some time, "let us be going, then. " My fellow prisoners looked not a little astonished at this suddenchange in my resolution. However, they offered me their good wishesfor the journey, and Mr. Holwell in particular entrusted me with somemessages to Mr. Drake, in case I should succeed in penetrating to him. We had no certain information at this time as to the whereabouts ofthe English ships, but supposed them to be lying somewhere about themouth of the Hooghley. It was judged best that I should carry nowriting. We two then crept softly out of the hut, my cousin going first, and Ifollowing. There was no moon abroad, but a sufficiency of light wasafforded us by the extraordinary brilliancy of the stars, whichappear much bigger, as well as thicker in the sky, in these latitudesthan in England. At a short distance from the door of the shed I couldperceive the sentinel, seated with his back towards us, his handsresting on his matchlock. "This way, " whispered Rupert in my ear. And turning in the oppositedirection from the sentry, he stooped down and ran along under theshadow of a high wall which bordered a winding road. The wall was about eight feet high, and enclosed a garden. Here andthere it was overhung by branches of trees, whose foliage I failed todistinguish in the darkness, but I once or twice thought I smelt thefragrance of lemons. Within the garden behind the wall we could hearthe tinkle of a fountain and a noise like the singing of some bird. "What is this place?" I asked in a whisper, as I ran along by Rupert'sside. "Hush!" he answered crossly. "We shall be overheard. This is theNabob's garden, where are the pavilions of his women. " We ran on in silence for some little time longer, when we arrived atthe end of the garden, and plunged into a narrow and dark lane thatled out of the town. This passage we followed till we came out upon adeserted nook immediately under the walls of Moorshedabad, which werehere much damaged, and matted with ivy and other weeds. "Now, " said Rupert, as he flung himself panting on the ground, in alittle grassy place, "we can talk over our plans without fear of beingdisturbed. " I sat down beside him, inly marvelling at that great transformationwhich had so quickly converted us from deadly enemies seeking eachother's lives, into allies, if not friends. After all our hostilitiesagainst each other in Great Yarmouth, at Gheriah, and in Calcutta, wewere now in Moorshedabad, bound together by a common purpose, and thatpurpose concerned with her who had originally been the cause of ourenmity. I have often thought since that the change which took place in mycousin's behaviour about this time was due, not so much to any tardypricks of conscience, as to a sort of dizziness of mind, brought aboutby the spectacle of the prodigious crimes of Surajah Dowlah. His ownspirit, however bold and wicked, was daunted in the presence of thisbeing who, though so much younger in years, was so greatly superior inevil; so that he shrank back, like one brought suddenly to the edge ofa precipice. Perhaps he had a secret apprehension of his coming fate;at all events, it is certain that for a short time he manifested ahearty longing to return to the society of honest men. As soon as we were seated his first act was to pluck off the turban hewore on his head, and cast it to the ground. "Faugh!" he exclaimed. "What an intolerable thing to wear! If it werenot for their turbans and their abstinence, I declare Mahometanismwould suit me well enough. " I gazed at him in horror. "Do you mean, Rupert, that you have really embraced that idolatroussect?" I demanded. "You need not look so scandalised, cousin, " he retorted. "In the firstplace you are quite wrong to call it idolatrous, images of every kindbeing strictly forbidden by the Alcoran. In the second place it is avery decent, respectable religion, as religions go, and extremelyconvenient for seafaring men who sometimes need an excuse foroverhauling a Christian cargo. " "Rupert Gurney, " I replied sternly, "you have within the hour broughtme away out of prison, and for that I thank you. But I will neitherlisten to your blasphemous talk, nor suffer it, and rather thanconsent to do so I will go back to the place from which you took mebut now. " "Fair and softly, young Athelstane, " he answered grinning. "I see youare as fierce a Puritan as ever, and as I have lost the wish toquarrel with you I will endeavour to refrain from saying anythingoffensive to your delicacy. But do you, on your part, abstain fromflying into a passion at every word that does not happen to sound toyour liking; for patience is a virtue recommended, as I believe, byyour religion as well as mine, and it seems to me that your stock ofit is rather scant. " I cannot say how deeply mortified I was by this rebuke, which, comingfrom one whose evil life I held in just detestation, wrought moreconviction in me than all the sermons I had heard from good Mr. PeterWalpole of Norwich, when I was a boy. I discovered, as though by aflash of light, how unchristian was the temper I had too often shownin my dealings, not only with my cousin, but with other persons, andfrom that moment I set an earnest watch on myself in this respect. Forcing myself to acknowledge my error at once, though much againstthe grain, I said-- "I ask your pardon, Rupert, if I spoke harshly. But let us leave thesequestions, and come to the business in hand. What of Marian, and howdo you propose that we should effect her escape?" He looked at me surprised. "Why, Athelstane, my boy, give me your hand!" he exclaimed, in a morecordial tone than I had ever heard him use before. "Curse me if Idon't heartily wish we had never quarrelled!" I gave him my hand withsome reluctance, and he proceeded. "You saw that garden which wepassed on our way to this spot? The girl is detained a prisoner in oneof the Nabob's summer-houses which stand within it. I have found meansto corrupt one of the eunuchs who is a friend of mine, and anxious tostand well with the English. For I must tell you, Athelstane, that allis not working smoothly in the government here. Surajah Dowlah, by hisarrogance and violence, has made many enemies, among whom are his ownuncle, Meer Jaffier, and Roy Dullub, the most important of theGentoos. These men have a just apprehension of the vengeance which theEnglish may take for the late invasion of their settlements, andmoreover they stand in dread of the young Nabob's reckless temper, sometimes bordering on insanity. So that we have more friends than weknow of in the Court. This eunuch, then, as I was going to say, hasagreed to introduce me into the garden to-night, in about an hour'stime through a small postern in the wall of which he has the key. Heis going to conduct me to the summer-house where Marian is. There itmay be necessary to use force to overpower the eunuchs in charge ofthe place, but if we succeed in doing that, as I think there is littledoubt we shall, we have nothing to do but to carry her off and retireby the way we came. I have provided a safe retreat afterwards to thecoast. " I fell in heartily with this scheme, which seemed to present atolerable chance of success. Rupert went on to explain to me the meansby which he hoped that we might afterwards be able to pass through thecountry without being stopped. He proposed that we should give it outthat we were a party of Mahometan pilgrims bound for the mouth of theriver, to take ship for Mecca; and he told me he had three horsesalready hired, with a driver, waiting for us in a certain place. Inorder that this scheme might be carried through it was necessary thatI should be disguised to pass for a Moor, like himself. He nowproduced from his bosom a brown pigment, such as he had already usedwith good enough success on his own complexion, and carefully stainedthe skin of my face, also my feet and hands. "Remember, above all, " he said, while he was thus engaged, "if youwould be taken for a Mahometan, never to wash your hands withoutwashing your feet at the same time, for this custom is inveterate withthem, and is, I think, the principal point of difference between thetwo religions. " When he had finished, I asked-- "And now what shall I do for a suitable dress?" For I was still clad in the garments of rough canvas which the Moorshad given to us on the morning after our release from the Black Hole. "By the Lord Harry, I don't know what you can do!" cried Rupert. "Ihad overlooked that part of it. Unless you were to cut down one ofthese black rascals in the dark, and exchange suits with him?" I declined to do what I thought would amount to committing a murder, although it were to be done upon an Indian; whereupon my cousinoffered to kill the man, if I would wear the clothes. At last weagreed to procure the dress by peaceful means, if that should bepossible, and set out on our return to the centre of the town. Sure enough we had not gone a great way when we met a man of the city, a Gentoo, wearing a loose woollen robe and white turban, which wethought would pass, and which he agreed very easily to part with forfive rupees. I offered him my canvas suit into the bargain, but thishe rejected with disdain, on account of his religion, and walked offfrom us stark naked, but for a loin-cloth. It was now time that we should repair to the meeting appointed by theeunuch. We found the postern without any difficulty, and as soon as mycousin had knocked twice in a peculiar manner the eunuch came andadmitted us. This eunuch appeared to be a very civil, worthy person, very different to most of his kind, whom I have found to be full ofspite and malice, and untrustworthy in all their dealings. As soon as we were entered in the garden the eunuch conducted usthrough an orchard and down a grove of persimmons, to where there wasa fountain, and close by it a square marble tank bordered by roses inwhite marble boxes. Here he left us for a moment, while he wentforward to examine the summer-house, if there were any one stirringwithin. While we were waiting I took an interest in gazing at theclear water of the tank, and picturing the scene when the Nabob'swomen came thither to bathe, as I heard was their daily custom. Presently the eunuch returned, and beckoned to us. "The Sahibs may go forward now, " he said. "The cage is shut and thebirds are asleep. " We followed him, and he brought us out upon an open space, and in themidst of it a small pavilion, like a temple, built in white stone ormarble, in two storeys, very elegantly, with small pillars before itand a dome above, the whole covered over with fantastical designs oftrees and flowers, curiously wrought in the stone. The door of the pavilion was closed. In the upper storey I saw severallattices open, but no lights. "What are we to do in the next place?" I asked of the eunuch. He gave me an expressive look out of his black eyes, and silentlydelivered to me a scymetar which he carried. "Let the Sahib knock, and when they who keep the door put forth theirheads, let the Sahib strike them off, " he said, seeing me hesitate. It had been well for us, as it turned out, if I had done as he bid me, for the squeamishness which we feel about shedding blood is notunderstood amongst Indians, and they despise us for it. However, before I could say anything further, my cousin stepped up to the doorand knocked boldly. There was a commotion inside. I drew my scymetar, and Rupert did thesame. As soon as the door was unfastened from within, without waitingto parley, we flung ourselves through the opening, striking outblindly in the dark. Instantly there went up a howl for mercy, and the eunuchs inside--forthere were two of them, both well-armed--cast themselves down writhingon the floor, evidently in the expectation that they were immediatelyto be put to death. Rupert aimed a deadly blow at one of them, but I, like a fool, struck up his weapon. "Stay, " I said, using the Gentoo language purposely that they mightunderstand, "it may save us trouble to spare their lives, on conditionthat they strictly obey our instructions. " The wretches hearing this, instantly broke into all sorts ofgrovelling entreaties and oaths of fidelity. Quite disgusted by theirslavish cowardice, I said to them-- "Hold your tongues! You have in this house a prisoner, anEnglishwoman, whom we have come to carry away. Let one of you go atonce and bring her here. " The eunuch furthest in from the door immediately leaped to his feetand made off down the passage. But Rupert, who knew more about thesesort of creatures than I did at this time, strode after him, callingout-- "Stay! I will go with you!" But the fellow, without turning his head, sprang up a narrow staircaseat the end, and darting into the first room he came to above, slammedthe door to, and had it fastened before Rupert could catch him up. Inanother moment we heard him yelling and squalling out of the windowfor assistance to come and take the murderers and ravishers that werebroken into the garden. My cousin came jumping down the stairs three steps at a time. "This comes of your cursed softness!" he growled out savagely. "Asthough it were not a Christian act to cut the throats of as many ofthese hell-hounds as possible!" He fetched a slash at the man who lay whining at our feet that nearlysevered his head from his trunk. "Now we must save ourselves if we can!" he muttered. And indeed it wastime. The screams of the eunuch overhead had brought the whole placeabout our ears. As we stepped out of the pavilion again, we saw lightsglittering through the trees all round us, and heard shouting and therunning of feet. Our friendly eunuch had taken to flight, and we wereleft to extricate ourselves as best we could. "We must not stay here or we shall be surrounded, " cried Rupert. "Which way is the gate?" I strove to recollect, and then, taking what I thought to be thedirection, we started off at a run. Instantly that fiend who had betrayed us, leaning further out of thewindow to discover which way we fled, redoubled his cries. Lookingback for a moment as we ran, I saw him pointing, and at the same timethere was a movement of one of the other lattices, and I caught aglimpse of a white face and two hands thrust out with a despairinggesture, and knew that Marian was aware of our enterprise and that wehad failed. Then the clamour on all sides grew louder, and men bearinglanterns and armed with swords and matchlocks burst out from the treesaround the pavilion, and ran hither and thither, some towards thebuilding, others searching for our track. We ran like deer, bending down so as not to be seen, and dodging inamong the trees and bushes. By this means we preserved ourselves fromimmediate capture, but soon missed our way, and found ourselveswandering about in the garden, stealing from one patch of cover toanother; while every now and then a party of our pursuers would gopast, so close that we could hear them speak, and see the sparks oflantern-light drip off the naked blades of their weapons as theythrust them into the bushes. After several close escapes of this kind, when we at last stumbled onthe postern, more by luck than skill, we found it barred and locked, and the key removed. Before we could decide what next to do, on asudden a party of four gigantic blacks burst out upon us, brandishingtheir weapons at our heads and calling on us, by all manner of filthynames, to surrender. I believe they expected us to prove an easy prey, but I was now grown desperate, and rushed so fiercely on him that camefirst and carried a lantern, that I fairly bore him to earth at thefirst shock. And when I looked round for another I found all three infull flight, one of them leaving his right hand behind, which Ruperthad managed to slice off at the wrist with the first blow. They ranfor their lives, shouting out that they had to do with two demons fromthe pit. Rupert, seeing the man I had struck down move, stepped overto him, quite cool, drew his blade across the poor wretch's throat, and wiped it on his turban. After this we lost no time in shifting ourground before the rest of the pursuers came up. With the chase so hot after us, it had become plain that we must betaken before long, unless we could hit upon some means of escapingfrom the garden. In this strait I bethought myself of the trees whoseboughs I had noticed from outside overhanging the wall, when we passedit earlier that night. I reminded Rupert of this, who exclaimedjoyfully-- "Well done, cousin, I declare you have saved us now! I believe I canfind that part of the garden easily enough, when it will be a simplematter to climb the trees and drop down on the other side of thewall. " We set out at once, Rupert leading the way, and turning from side toside as we heard the Moors shouting after us. They now felt prettysure of our whereabouts, and began discharging their pieces where wewent, so that the balls tore the leaves off the trees all round us, but luckily without doing us any damage. We arrived at the wall, andseeing a tree suitable for our purpose, made for it, but just as wereached it one of those black rascals we had put to flight espied us. He raised the cry, and instantly we found ourselves surrounded by thewhole band, at least twenty of them rushing at us out of the dark, andall with the most murderous looks I have ever seen. I now gave up all for lost, and planting myself with my back againstthe tree prepared to sell my life dear. Not so Rupert, who was alreadyoff the ground, climbing like a cat up the smooth trunk. He was out ofsight among the branches directly, and in another minute would havebeen safely over the wall, when at a signal from their leader, about adozen of the Moors who had firearms discharged them all together intothe tree. I heard a groan and a sound of scrambling above, andpresently Rupert dropped, falling heavily straight on to the ground, where he lay quite still. When I saw what had happened, I abandoned all further thoughts ofresistance, and throwing away my weapon bade them do what they wouldwith me. Even then, so great was the awe we had struck into them, thatthey advanced slowly, narrowing their circle all round, till at lengththe foremost took courage to lay his hand on my shoulder. They thenled me away, jabbering the most horrid threats in my ear, while otherspicked up my unfortunate cousin, and carried him after, groaningmiserably. We were brought into a sort of guard-house, situated, as well as Icould judge, in the centre of the garden, and there kept till morning, to await the Nabob's pleasure. Poor Rupert, who had broken his leg, tossed and moaned till daybreak, but I was so much exhausted that Icould not keep awake, and fell into a sleep on the floor. In themorning, to my astonishment, I was offered some food, after which mycaptors dragged me pretty roughly into the palace. I said farewell tomy cousin, doubting greatly whether I should ever see him again. Surajah Dowlah, contrary to his custom, had me brought into him in hisprivate apartments, there being present besides only some of theminions and low buffoons he kept by him to amuse him. He rolled hisbloodshot eyes on me, as I was led in, looking as though he could havebit me, and played with a sharp, crooked knife which he had in hishand. After overwhelming me with a torrent of imprecations which I should beashamed to write down, he ordered me to tell him how I had got intohis garden. Being well assured that nothing could make my positionworse than it already was, and having some experience of the Nabob'scharacter by this time, I resolved on defying him. I thereforeanswered boldly-- "I got into the garden by means which I have, and which I shall notdisclose. Your Highness may rest assured that you cannot keep me outof any place into which I choose to penetrate. Nevertheless Iintended no outrage on you. You hold prisoner a countrywoman of mine, whom I intended to deliver out of your hands; and let me warn yourHighness that whatever you may order to be done with me, the Englishwill never leave you in peace till you have set that woman free. " I was scarce prepared for the effect which these words produced on theintoxicated youth. He rose half way from his seat, raging like afiend, then fell back again white and crouching, as if I had beenabout to deal him a blow, then passed into a fresh paroxysm of rage, and so from one state of mind to another in a way at once alarming andpitiful to behold. "Do you know in whose presence you stand, infidel?" he shrieked. "Doyou know that I am lord and Subhadar of Bengal, of Behar, and Orissa;and that I have a million men who would die at my bidding? I will haveyou torn piecemeal, I will have your eyes picked out with knives andyour flesh torn by hot pincers! I will plunge this knife into you, Iwill rip you up as I would a wild boar, I will strew your entrails onthe earth, I will give your heart to dogs to devour!" He went on in this terrifying manner till he was out of breath. Duringthe whole time I stood regarding him with a cool, undismayedexpression which, I believe, disconcerted him more than any words Icould have used. Then I said-- "Surajah Dowlah, your words are the words of a boaster, who is boldonly when he sees his enemy before him disarmed. Beware of what youdo; you are walking in the dark! Do you believe the paltry handful ofEnglish whom you drove out of Calcutta count for anything in thestrength of our nation? If so, let me tell you there are men aboutyou, men who have your trust, who could teach you otherwise. You arebeing deceived if your spies have not already told you of the armamentwhich he whom you call Sabat Jung is already preparing to invade yourdominions, when every hair of an Englishman's head that you haveinjured will have to be reckoned for. And it will be well for you if, among all those who crouch before you, you find any to fight for youin that day. " The servile crew that stood round the tyrant here began to cry out atme, and drown my voice. But I was satisfied with the impression I hadmade on the mind of their master. He listened, hanging his head, andcasting meaning glances at me, as if doubtful how far I had authorityfor what I said. Finally he ordered me to be kept under a strongguard, and I was conveyed back to the same prison I had escaped fromovernight. CHAPTER XIV _IN A STRANGE LAND_ I have now come to a period which was in many respects the strangestof my whole life, so that I often look back on it with wonder; andsitting here at the open window, framed in honeysuckle and sweetbriar, with the sounds of the farm in my ears and the prospect of thepeaceful broad in front of me, I ask myself if I be truly thatadventurous youth who once dwelt in captivity for many months in thecourt of an Indian prince, half victim and half plaything, one daycaressed and loaded with rich gifts, the next threatened with deathand torture. Yet so it was. After the attempt whose miscarriage I have justrelated, the demeanour of the Nabob underwent a singular change. Herelented from his severity towards us, and in fact a few days after, riding past our place of imprisonment one morning, he stopped at thedoor and calling Mr. Holwell out to him, bade him and his twocompanions betake themselves where they would, since he desired neverto hear of them again. However, in this dismissal he did not include me, choosing to put meon a different footing from the other prisoners he had taken at FortWilliam, and to hold me as a hostage--for so I am sure he consideredme--for the friendship of Colonel Clive. He offered me the choicebetween being kept in chains or giving him my parole not to leaveMoorshedabad without his consent. The Moors do not accept each other'sparole, but they trust that of a European, than which there can be nostronger proof of the dishonesty of their whole nation. I chose tocomply with the Nabob's condition, as I considered that I ought not toquit the place without having effected something for Marian. And bygiving my parole I trusted to obtain opportunities for communicatingwith her, as well as with my luckless cousin Gurney, whom I had notseen since the morning after our adventure. Whether Surajah Dowlah suspected my designs, and took particularmeasures for baffling them, I cannot say. But during the time that nowfollowed, try as I would, I never succeeded in so much as hearing thesmallest news of either of the two persons whom I knew to be inMoorshedabad. So close is the secrecy maintained by Orientals thatthey might have both been carried off into the recesses of Tartary, and yet not been more utterly out of my reach than they were, abidingin the same city. Neither was I able to gain any certain tidings of my fellowcountrymen. I only knew that the Nabob, intoxicated with the pride ofhis victory at Fort William, had neglected to take measures forpursuing the refugees and driving them from his country. So that theylay all together at Fulta, very miserably, wishing for succour toarrive from Madras, and passed the time, as I have since understood, in recriminations upon each other, for the misconduct and weaknesswhich had brought about the fall of Calcutta. What were the realfeelings of Surajah Dowlah towards myself I found it then, and find itstill, very difficult to estimate. On many occasions he behavedtowards me with the greatest kindness, and as though he had a realaffection for me. He would send for me sometimes, when he was sober, and question me about the various kingdoms of Europe, particularly theFrench, English, and Dutch, those being the three nations which hadfactories in his dominions. It was plain that he did not believe verymuch of what I told him, supposing no doubt that I exaggerated inorder to astonish him. I told him that the French were the mostpowerful military nation on the continent of Europe, but that we weretheir masters, having several times invaded and conquered theircountry. And I said that at sea the English had ever been reckoned thefirst of all nations, so much so that no foreign warship was allowedto pass through our seas without striking her topsails to any Britishvessel she might meet. When I spoke in this manner he would mock, andask whether I supposed that a Frenchman would confirm these accounts, to which I made answer that such was scarcely to be expected, theFrench being a vain people, and given to boasting of their greatness. When the Nabob had exhausted his questions--and he seldom asked meabout any but military affairs--he would bestow on me a jewel, or arich dress, and dismiss me with every mark of kindness. But on thevery next day, perhaps, being sent for again, I found him in a drunkenrage, ready to curse my nation and myself, and threatening to have mytongue pulled out for having abused him with lies and inventions aboutmy miserable country. On these occasions I often heard him declarethat the whole of Europe did not contain ten thousand men, and that asfor King George, he was only fit to be a dewan or zamindar underhimself. It did not take me long to discover that the Nabob was entirelygoverned by those about him. When he could be prevailed on to listento his uncle, Meer Jaffier, or to his aunt, the widow of AllaverdyKhan, his behaviour was rational enough; but more often he fell underthe influence of his detestable Gentoo favourite Lal Moon, and otherscoundrels of that stamp, when he became little more than a drunkensot. I felt during this period as though I was shut in the same cagewith a capricious tiger, who one moment purred and fawned on me andthe next showed his teeth with horrid snarls, nor was there ever aday on which I could feel secure that I should not be delivered to theexecutioner before the sun set. Through all these changes of demeanour I adhered to the firm conduct Ihad at first taken up, and by never permitting the tyrant to see thatI feared him, succeeded time after time in damping his frenzy. At thesame time I acquired the friendship and esteem of some of the mostconsiderable persons of his Court, particularly Roy Dullub, the dewanalready mentioned, and the famous Meer Jaffier. My hold on thefriendship of this distinguished Moor was strengthened by an incidentwhich I am about to relate. As soon as the rainy season was over, which lasted till the month ofOctober, Surajah Dowlah marched out with his army into the country ofPurneah, for the purpose of attacking his cousin, who was Phouzdar ofthat territory. The young Nabob bore a great hatred to this relationof his, and had frequently announced his intention of destroying himas soon as the weather should permit of his moving against him. At thehead of the army, as usual, was the general, Meer Jaffier, and at myearnest request I was allowed to accompany him as one of his train. We arrived at length, after a tedious march, at the foot of somehills, on the slope of which the Phouzdar's army lay encamped. Our ownforce was much more numerous, but the Phouzdar's position being avery strong one the Meer judged it not prudent to make an attack tillhe had had an opportunity of thoroughly examining the ground. Withthis view he chose out a small party, of whom I was one, and departedsecretly from the camp at sunset, to explore the enemy'sneighbourhood. The distance between the two armies was not very great; as near as Icould judge it was about three miles. But we had no guide to directus, and lost our way in the darkness, getting entangled first in thewood, and afterwards among a network of small, deep streams, too broadto jump, and dangerous to wade on account of the steepness of theirbanks and the slippery boulders with which their beds were strewn. Solong did it take us to extricate ourselves out of these difficultiesthat when the sun rose we found ourselves close to the Phouzdar'scamp, and within full view of his army. We turned to retreat, but atthe same time a loud halloo was raised behind us, and a troop ofhorsemen, with waving ensigns and steel accoutrements shining in thesun, dashed out from the enemy's ranks and rode down upon us. Meer Jaffier at once gave the order to face round, and form into asolid body to receive their onset. As they approached there was atall young man in a high turban that blazed with diamonds, mounted ona noble white horse, who spurred swiftly in front, and rode straightfor where our commander was posted, with me beside him. The Meer, whodid not want courage, perceiving that this young man sought him out, instantly galloped forward to meet him, and cast his javelin. Thejavelin passed by the young man's ear; he pulled up his horse, andthrew his own in return with such good aim that he struck MeerJaffier on the shoulder, who reeled and fell off his horse on to theground. The other instantly rode up and leaped off his white horse todespatch his enemy, but I was on the spot just in time, and withoutdismounting, succeeded in striking the young man on the neck with myscymetar with such force that he fell down dead. No sooner did they see him fall than the whole troop of the enemy'shorse turned round and went off, casting away their banners as theyrode. Meer Jaffier, who had merely been stunned for the moment, cameto himself directly afterwards, and on looking at the dead man's facerecognised him to be no other than the Phouzdar of Purneah himself. Wewere informed afterwards that he had mistaken us for the Nabob's ownbodyguard, and had come out to attack the Nabob himself. This lucky accident put an end to the campaign, the whole country atonce submitting to Surajah Dowlah. The ungrateful young tyrant choseto resent my action, declaring that it was his design to have put hiscousin to death with his own hand, but Meer Jaffier expressed himselfvery handsomely about the service I had rendered him, and presentedme with the white horse which the Phouzdar had ridden. As soon as we were returned to Moorshedabad Surajah Dowlah marked hissense of resentment against me by withdrawing my liberty on parole, and ordering me into close confinement again. I thus learnt howdangerous is the path of those who would advance themselves at courtswhere everything depends on the personal favour of the monarch, andnot, as in our own happy country, where the power is distributed amongthe Houses of Parliament and great Ministers, so that no man hath itin his power unduly to depress another. However, I had not lain in mynew prison very long before I had reason to rejoice at the Nabob'scaprice, which had restored to me the right of plotting my escape fromhim. For one evening, when it began to be dusk, the door of my cellwas suddenly opened, and the gaolers ushered in a person closelyveiled and disguised, who, as soon as we were left alone, removed thewrappings from his face and showed himself to be none other than theMeer Jaffier in person. "My son, " he said to me, regarding me with a look of some concern, "there has this day arrived at the palace a messenger from Monichund, who brings tidings that Sabat Jung, with a great armament of ships andmen, has arrived in the mouth of the Hooghley, breathing vengeanceagainst our lord Surajah Dowlah. And this news has so infuriated himagainst the whole English nation that, unless you can contrive to getaway from Moorshedabad to-night you are like to forfeit your life onthe morrow. " Now whether this distinguished Moor was moved to this action bygratitude for my former service to him, or whether, as some of myfriends think, he was already aiming at the treaty into which heafterwards entered with the English, and therefore wished to show hisgood will to us; yet of this I am sure, that he preserved my life onthis night, an action for which I must always hold him in gratefulremembrance. Under his directions I collected together my property, consisting chiefly of the gems which the Nabob had given me, and whichI secreted on my person. He then brought me out of the prison, pastthe gaolers, whom he had bribed and dismissed, and took me by a backway to his own house. Here I found the beautiful white horse he hadgiven me, which was named Ali, ready saddled and bridled for ajourney. I had for some months been accustomed to wear the Moorishdress, so that I wanted nothing in the shape of disguise, save anotherapplication of my cousin Rupert's paint, which was not to be had. "Mount, " said the Meer, "and I will myself ride with you as far as thegate of the city and see you safely on your way. " Accordingly he had his own horse made ready, a small, powerful, blackmare, like a jennet, and on this led the way through the streets ofthe city, now nearly empty, to the southern gate. As we rode alongtogether he gave me advice as to how I should proceed. "You may now pass well enough among the Mahometans, " he said, "for youhave learned a good deal of our manners, and if you had been willingto forsake your degrading idolatry, and embrace the true worship ofAllah, you might have attained to a high position among us. But nowyou are to pass through the country parts of Bengal, in which thereare few or no Moors, but only Gentoos, of whom I would have youbeware. For the secret hatred of these people for us, their rulers andgovernors, is very great, so that though you should pass among themfor a Moor, you would fare little better than if they knew you to be aChristian and a foreigner. Above all, beware of their Bramins, afaithless, perjured race, given over to all kinds of vile, heathenpractices, such as you have no notion of. Let a Bramin once raise hisfinger against you among these people and you are lost, for by meansof their manifold sorceries they have reduced the whole Gentoopopulation to be their slaves. " He gave me some directions as to the road I was to travel, telling meI should have to make a circuit so as not to pass through Calcutta, which lay directly in the way to Fulta. The whole distance heestimated as a little more than two hundred miles, and he advised meto ride only at night, and conceal myself in the jungle during theday. I asked him what I should do to procure food. "That will require some address, " he answered, "but you must avoidentering a village. You will have to keep your eyes open as you ridealong, and when you come to some hut standing by itself with no othersnear, enter boldly and demand provisions for yourself and your horse. Beware of offering any money in payment, or they will suspect you tobe a fugitive and fall upon you; but if you hold yourself towards themwith pride and sternness, giving them only curses and blows, they willrespect and grovel before you, for such is the nature of theBengalese. " As soon as we were arrived at the gate of the town Meer Jaffier bademe farewell. "When you come before Sabat Jung you may salute him privately fromme, " he said at parting. "Tell him that my nephew's violence towardsthe English is far from commanding the approval of the elder and moreprudent among us, and that we earnestly desire to see your factoriesrestored and trade once more flourishing. " In these last expressions I knew him to be sincere. For since thedestruction of the English factories there had been a great fallingoff in the revenues of Bengal, so much so that even the Nabob himselfwas now inclined to repent of his action. I thanked and saluted my protector, and giving the rein to my willingsteed, galloped forth into the night. And now it would be easy for meto make a long story of those four days and nights which I spent intravelling through the unknown parts of Bengal, riding along darkforest paths with nothing to guide me but the stars, under mightytrees whose boughs arched overhead like caverns and grew downwardsinto the earth again, past sleeping Indian villages, where the dogsbayed behind prickly fences, swimming dark rivers on whose surface thereflections of strange idol temples rose and fell, and creepingthrough thick jungles where my ears were stunned by the screams oftrooping jackals, and where my heart would sometimes come into mymouth as I saw the brown grass bend and shake with the passage of somegreat beast, and caught a glimpse of dark red stripes moving behindthe reeds, and heard the heavy padding of its paws. But only onceduring this journey did I come into real danger, and that through aneglect of the wise advice given to me by my good friend at starting. For though Meer Jaffier had so strictly warned me against the Indians, and particularly the Bramins, yet on the third night after my flight, beginning to feel somewhat confident by having got so far in safety, nothing would do but I must thrust my head into the lion's den, bywhich I mean venture into one of their temples, at the very time theywere busy about a great religious ceremony. I had been on my way sincesundown, and had made very good progress, so that I supposed myself tohave got over the greater part of my journey, when towards the middleof the night I came unexpectedly upon a great building, standing byitself on the edge of a stream, which building I at once knew to be atemple of the Gentoo religion. Having passed several places of the same kind already I should nothave taken much notice of this one, perhaps, if my attention had notbeen attracted by a peculiar drumming noise which seemed to proceedfrom the inside, and sounded very strange and awful in the darkness. Irode up as near as I dared, and then stopped, listening. The drumminggrew louder and louder, and I presently began to distinguish a purposein it. The sounds rose and fell in a certain regular order, veryunlike the melody of our musical instruments, but yet very impressiveto the ear. I found myself affected by a feeling of suspense as Ilistened, which quickly passed into one of fear, and at the same timeI noticed that my horse had begun to shiver and sweat violently. Theonly effect of this was to fill me with a burning curiosity to knowwhat this music was for. I tethered poor Ali to a tree, and though heseemed to be greatly distressed at being left alone, plunged into theundergrowth that surrounded the sides of the temple. The whole place appeared to be in darkness. I groped my way at last tothe foot of a flight of steps leading up to the front, and findingnobody on guard climbed up softly on all fours, only staying now andthen to breathe deeply, and to try and still the excessive beating ofmy heart. The drums continued to sound, the notes becoming harsher andmore distinct as I approached. At the top of the steps I found myselfbefore a little stone doorway, through which a very faint duskyglimmer emerged. I passed in, treading on tiptoe, and came along anarrow stone passage, down which the sound of the drumming made adismal echo. At the further end of the passage the way was closed by athick curtain made of a substance that felt like stiff leather, andwas, I believe, the hide of an elephant. I pushed this back far enoughto let me through, and passed straight into the midst of the place. As I did so the beating of the tom-toms broke on my ears with suchvehemence that I was well-nigh stunned, and a waving dance of torchesand cressets bewildered my eyes. I stood on the edge of a range ofsteps looking down upon an amphitheatre crowded with men. On the otherside, over against me, rose a hideous idol, as high as the roof, withmany heads, each grinning horribly, whilst from its body thereprotruded a monstrous array of clutching arms and hands, with otherdisfigurements too loathsome to be set down. The persons underneath mewere all leaping and whirling round, with many gestures of homage tothe idol, and they uttered cries and screams which were drowned by thenoise of the drums. In the midst of their frenzy I saw a man dart out stark naked, prostrate himself for a moment at the idol's feet, and then inflict aterrible gash on himself with a knife which he had in his hand. Instantly the yellings and drummings were redoubled, the mass ofworshippers whirled themselves round more furiously than ever, andthen another and another man leaped forward and cut himself, each onemore savagely than his fellow. Though I have never known what it is tobe faint or sick in battle at the sight of wounds, nor even in ahospital, the spectacle of these ghastly mutilations offered up bythese Indians in their madness to the idol turned me cold. I stoodthere watching them, and saw the stones of the temple all bloody likea shambles, and the dark faces of the worshippers distorted likemaniacs, amid the smoke and flare of the torches, and a din like thatof the pit; and remembering the different worship in which I had beenbrought up, and the pious services conducted by good Mr. Walpole, Ithanked the Almighty who had granted me the blessed privilege of beingborn in a Christian land. And with this prayer in my heart I was turning to go when all at onceI was aware that I had been spied; the noise of the tom-toms and thescreaming dropped as if by magic, the torches were extinguished asthough a wind had suddenly passed through the place, and as I turnedand fled I heard the pattering of innumerable naked feet behind me onthe stones. CHAPTER XV _THE COMING OF SABAT JUNG_ If ever I felt afraid in my life it was when I fled out of the Indiantemple with the whole swarm of devil-worshippers in full pursuit. Inever thought I should have escaped alive, yet by the aid ofProvidence I did so, leaping down the steps by great bounds, findingmy horse and unloosing him in the nick of time, and galloping off outof their reach. They kept up the pursuit for at least a mile, runningwith extraordinary swiftness, and tracking me like wolves;nevertheless in the end I got clean away. This adventure served as a wholesome lesson to me to beware ofmeddling with the ways of strange peoples in a strange land. By dintof following Meer Jaffier's wise and prudent directions I got over therest of my journey without hindrance, and as day was breaking at theend of the following night I rode down on to the shore of theHooghley. There the first thing that met my eyes was the pennant of my oldcommander, Admiral Watson, flying from the main truck of hisMajesty's ship _Kent_, where she lay in the river, surrounded by afleet, comprising the _Tyger_, _Salisbury_, _Bridgewater_, and anumber of merchantmen. I gloated over this welcome sight almost withtears, as I realised that I was restored to my countrymen once more, after all my perils and wanderings. It did not take me long to reachthe English camp on the edge of the river, where the spectacle of aturbaned Moor riding in on a white horse excited no small commotion. I inquired for Colonel Clive, and was quickly brought to the door ofhis tent, where my kind friend Mr. Scrafton came out to speak to me. Iwas on the point of offering him my hand, but observing that he had nosuspicions as to who it was I merely told him in Indostanee that Icame from Moorshedabad, with a message from the Meer Jaffier, andsuffered him to bring me in to Mr. Clive. The famous Sabat Jung sat writing at a small table, from which helooked up as we entered, and cast a sharp glance over me. Mr. Scraftonspoke in English. "Colonel, here is a Moor from the Nabob's capital, with a message fromhis general to you. " Mr. Clive laid down his pen. "Tell him to deliver it, " he said. Before Mr. Scrafton could interpret this command, which he was aboutto do, I interposed, addressing Mr. Clive in English. "The Meer Jaffier bade me salute you privately, sir. Is it yourpleasure that Mr. Scrafton should be present?" The Colonel and his secretary stared at each other, as they wellmight. "Who are you, man?" demanded Mr. Clive. "And how do you know thisgentleman's name?" "I know his name very well, sir, " said I, "and I think he knows mine, unless by this time he has forgot his former pupil, Athelstane Ford. " "By the Lord, if it isn't my little purser!" exclaimed Colonel Clive. And this great man was pleased to rise from his chair and shake mevery warmly by the hand, declaring himself pleased to see me safe andsound again. Mr. Scrafton did the same, after which they made me sitdown and tell the history of my adventures. They questioned me veryclosely about the character of Surajah Dowlah and the strength of hisgovernment, and after I had expressed my opinions, Mr. Clive told methat he believed he understood the Nabob's character, and had writtenhim a letter such as would send his heart into his boots. "And that the whole of Indostan may know what I think of the youngmonster, I mean to send the letter open to his lieutenant, Monichund, "he said. "These barbarous nations shall be made to learn the Englishare their masters, and that every outrage upon an Englishman shallcost them dear. " So at last there had come a man able to deal with the bloodthirstysavage Moors and their prince as they deserved; and a new page wasturned over in the history of Bengal. And but for the anxiety thatcontinually harassed my mind as to the fate of those two whom I hadleft in Moorshedabad, I mean Marian and my cousin, who, in spite ofmany crimes, had at last done something to atone for his pastmisconduct; but for this, the time which followed would have been fullof satisfaction. For I was now to witness the closing acts of thatgreat historic drama of which I have already chronicled thecommencement. I was to assist at the execution of justice on a greatmalefactor, and to see his victims repaid a hundredfold for theinjuries they had suffered at his hands. I had arrived in the English camp just in time to take part in thefirst of those celebrated operations by which the disgracefulsurrender of Fort William was to be redeemed, and the English name wasto be so signally advanced throughout the East Indies. Colonel Clivehad despatched the letter he spoke of, to demand redress from theNabob, but its language was so high and peremptory that Monichund, theNabob's governor in Fort William, returned it, saying that he darednot transmit it to his master. Thereupon Mr. Clive, not sorry to havean excuse for hostilities, ordered an immediate advance on Calcutta. The total number of troops employed on this memorable expedition wasa little more than two thousand, of whom the most part were Telingies, or Sepoys, the English troops being between six and seven hundred. Most of these were Company's soldiers, though we had about one hundredmen of Adlercron's regiment from Madras. We had also two field-pieces;the rest had been lost through the unfortunate grounding of the_Cumberland_ outside the river. To this force was afterwards added abody of three hundred seamen from the ships, as I shall presentlyrelate. This little army under Colonel Clive marched slowly up thebank of the Hooghley, while Admiral Watson followed and escorted uswith his fleet. On the second afternoon we lay at a place called Mayapore, betweenwhich and Calcutta, on the river's edge, stood the strong place ofBudge-Budge, or Buz-Buzia as it is written by the learned. The Admiralhad announced his intention of sailing up to attack this fort on thenext day with the guns of the ships, and in order to prevent thegarrison escaping Mr. Clive decided to march round during the night, and lay an ambush in the rear of the fort. Accordingly we marched out of Mayapore about sunset, and wereconducted by some Indian guides inland through a part of the countrymuch broken up by swamps and watercourses, which made our progress soexcessively tedious that it was not till the following sunrise that wearrived at the place appointed for the ambush. This was a hollow inthe plain, where there was a deserted village, the hollow beingsurrounded by banks covered with thickets which, it was supposed, would conceal our presence from the enemy. The troops by this timebeing quite worn out, Colonel Clive gave them leave to lay down theirarms and repose themselves, and so eagerly was the permission availedof that not a single sentinel was posted to give notice of the enemy'sapproach. I was with Mr. Clive himself, who had allowed me to accompany him as asort of military secretary, Mr. Scrafton not being a soldier. We laydown side by side, and I for one had no sooner closed my eyes than Ifell asleep. But the very next moment, as it seemed to me, I awokewith a start, to the sound of a battle going on around me. I sprang to my feet and took in the whole scene. A whole Indian armyappeared to have surrounded the sleeping camp. The banks of the hollowwere lined with swarthy troops, armed with matchlocks, from which theypoured a steady fire upon our bewildered men, just roused fromslumber, and groping in confusion after their arms. On an eminence ashort way behind I espied an officer, whom I took to be Monichundhimself, seated on an elephant, issuing orders to his troops. Our twofield-pieces stood deserted in the way of the enemy, who advanced totake them, while the terrified artillerymen ran for shelter among thetroops of the line. Our position looked desperate, and I turnedanxiously to Colonel Clive to see what he would do. Mr. Clive had sprung to his feet at the same moment with myself. For amoment he stood in an attitude of stern attention, his hands clenched, his lips compressed, and his eyes darting from point to point over thefield. The next instant his voice rang out like the sound of atrumpet. "Steady! Form in line! Face this way! Captain Campbell, form your menon the right. Captain Coote, take yours to the left. Where isKilpatrick?" He sprang forward among the disordered troops, rattling out commandsand words of encouragement, and infusing a new spirit into them by hisvery presence and the air of cool resolution with which he moved andspoke. Like magic the little force disposed itself under his orders, and began to return the enemy's fire. Astonished by this suddentransformation, the Moors halted in their attack, and seemed contentedto hold the rest of the ridge. Colonel Clive instantly detected theirhesitation, drew up two small detachments opposite the points wherethe enemy seemed to be in the greatest numbers and ordered them tocharge. They dashed forward with a ringing cheer, gained the bank, anddrove the enemy back into the village. Taking advantage of this success, Mr. Clive turned his attention tothe two field-pieces, which had been surrounded by a party ofMonichund's force. "Go, " he said to me, "order up the volunteers, and rescue those guns. " Elated by this commission I darted towards a little squad composed ofsome fifty of the Company's civil servants who had volunteered beforewe left Fulta. "Come on, " I shouted, "and take the guns!" They responded with an answering shout, we charged on the Indians atthe double and drove them off. The artillerymen came up, turned theguns on the village, and began to shell out the enemy. A minuteafterwards a loud cheer announced a general advance of our wholeforce, and Monichund, turning his elephant, fled, followed by all hismen. While this was taking place the thunder of guns from the direction ofthe river told us that the fleet had come up, and was already at worksilencing the artillery of the fort. Colonel Clive called back his menfrom the pursuit, and then, finding them utterly exhausted, hedeferred the assault on the fort till the next day, and we againbetook ourselves to repose. The result of this affair was greatly to encourage us, while weafterwards learned that it had as much disheartened the Moors. Thatpresumption which they had felt ever since the fall of Calcutta wasnow exchanged for a different feeling, so much so that it may not betoo much to say that the fate of Bengal was decided by that morning'swork. The admiration which I felt for Mr. Clive's conduct on thisoccasion emboldened me to offer him my congratulations on his victory, but he rebuked me for doing do. "I will tell you what it is, young gentleman, " he said to me, "Ideserved to have been defeated for my carelessness in letting thebeggars surprise me. It is true we beat them off, but that is nodefence. A general should not allow himself to be caught napping inthat fashion, and you may depend on it I shall say as little aspossible about this day's work in my despatches to the Directors. " In this confidential way he was pleased to talk with me, a freedomwhich it was his habit to indulge in with all those of hissubordinates whom he really liked. For this hero, as I must haveleave to call him, was not one of those little great men who findit necessary to keep up their authority by a show of reserve andpompousness, but feeling that confidence in himself which wouldenable him to rely upon his actions as the proofs of his greatness, he despised the arts of inferior minds. And now there happened an event, not only singular in itself, butinteresting to me as bringing me back the company of an old friendwhom I had never looked to see again. In the evening of this same day, while the soldiers were at supper, a party of sailors were landed fromthe ships, being the force I have already mentioned, to be ready totake part in the assault the next day. Thinking it possible that someof my old comrades from the _Talisman_ might be among them, abouteight o'clock I strolled down to their quarters, where I found themall drinking together, without much appearance of discipline. I walked past several groups without recognising any face that I knew, and was about to give up the quest, when I noticed a group of half adozen who were straying in the direction of the silent fort. Thisseemed to me a very dangerous proceeding, and as I could see none oftheir officers near, I determined to follow and remonstrate with them. Accordingly I hastened after them as fast as I could go. By the way inwhich they walked, or rather staggered along, I saw they had beendrinking pretty freely. Presently they set off at a run, paying noheed to my shouts, and I was obliged to follow till they stopped onthe very edge of the ditch which went round the fort. Here I caught upwith them, greatly surprised that the garrison had shown no signs oflife. But before I could speak, or even distinctly see their faces, the tallest of the party, a man of great frame, began rolling downinto the ditch, which was nearly dry. I dared not call out for fear of drawing the attention of those in thefort, and watched him breathlessly as he plunged through the mud atthe bottom of the ditch and scrambled up the opposite side. "What is he doing?" I demanded in a whisper of the man who appearedto be the most sober of the group. "It's a bet, " he answered; "we bet him a quart of rum he wouldn't getto the top of the wall. " I stared at the fellow, hardly able to believe in such recklessness. Then I turned my eyes to the huge seaman on the opposite side of theditch. He had just made good his footing on the top of the bank, andnow he began climbing up the masonry like a cat, till at last hisherculean figure stood out clear on the summit. The next moment we saw him draw his cutlass and brandish it over hishead, and a loud shout came across to us in a voice I knew full well. "Come on, you beggars, I've taken the ---- fort!" It was old Muzzy, the boatswain of the _Fair Maid_. Not for long did we hesitate, but rushing down into the ditch afterhim we were speedily in the fort. There our shouts roused first acompany of Sepoys, and finally the whole force, who came trooping in, to find the place deserted, and the garrison fled secretly under coverof the darkness to Calcutta. While this was going on I had approached my old friend, for so Icannot but call him. Indeed, in spite of his evil character andmanifold breaches of the laws of God and man, the old fellow had shownme much kindness, for which I was not ungrateful, and this perhapsinclined me to look with an unduly lenient eye on his misdeeds. Goingup to him, I clapped him on the back, and cried out-- "How goes it, old Muzzy? and what of the _Fair Maid_ and the rest ofher crew?" The boatswain gave a great start, and turned round to me with a lookof astonishment which quickly passed into one of delight. "Why, drown me, if it ain't that young cockerel again!" he exclaimed. And before I knew what he would be at, he cast his arms around me, andgave me a most evil-smelling kiss, fragrant of rum and tobacco. Then, still holding me firmly with his great hairy hands, as though hefeared I should vanish into air, he put me back far enough for him togaze at my face. "Stab my vitals if I didn't think as you was suffocated in that thereBlack Hole!" He garnished his speech with many other expressions whichI am ashamed to remember, far less to write here. "So we all heardaboard the ship. But you're alive, ain't ye now?" he added. "It's notthe rum as makes me think I sees you?" "I am Athelstane Ford, " I answered, trying to shake myself free fromhis grasp, "and not a little glad to meet you again. But how did youcome to be on a King's ship? Is the _Fair Maid_----" "Hist!" He interrupted me with a warning frown, and cast anapprehensive glance behind him. "Not a word about her! It might be ahanging matter if it was known I had been in the boat that escapedfrom Gheriah. I'll tell you all about it by our two selves. " I took advantage of this offer to lead the way out of the fort. Wewalked back to the British lines together, old Muzzy still clutchingme with one hand, and as soon as we had reached a quiet spot out ofearshot we sat down and he commenced his tale. "You see, it's this way. Arter what happened when we was coming out ofthe river, where we lost you overboard, I come to the conclusion thatthat cousin o' yours warn't what I calls a honest man. Nobody can'tsay as how I'm one of your squeamish sort, 'cause I ain't. As fur as abit o' smuggling goes, or a bit of privateering, or even a bit o'piracy, in a general way, I don't say nothin', but when it comes totaking and firing a culverin at your own ship, with your own matesaboard of her, why, d'ye see, I don't call that honest. And when Ifind out as a man ain't what I calls honest, I don't sail in hiscompany. Mind you, I'm not the man to deny that Captain Gurney has hisgood points; he ain't no lawyer, that I'll admit, and he's as freewith his rum-cask as any man I ever wish to sail under. But arter thatbusiness what I've mentioned, me and my mates swore we wouldn't havenothing more to do with him. "Well, when we got outside the river, we pointed her head for thenor'ard, and by keeping pretty close along the shore, though wehadn't a soul on board that could navigate, we managed to bring theold _Fair Maid_ safe into port--that's Bombay. You may strike me blindas I set here, when I tells you that no sooner did we bring up in theharbour than who should we see carmly settin' on the quay a-waitingfor us but that eternal cousin of yourn! How on earth he got there's amystery, but there he was; and as soon as he sights the _Fair Maid_ hecomes off in a boat as cool as you please and takes the commandagain. " "Why did you let him?" I asked, with a touch of my old resentmentagainst Rupert. "Why didn't you refuse to take him on board?" Old Muzzy gave me a reproachful look and shook his head gravely. "No, no, boy, we couldn't go for to do that. That would ha' been flatmutiny; and remember his name was on the ship's books as firstofficer, and he might have pistolled us every one and had the law onhis side. We didn't dare leave him neither, 'cause that would ha' beendesertion, d'ye see, and he might have got out a warrant and had usbrought on board again in irons. " "What did you do, then?" I demanded as he paused, and a smile of deepcunning slowly overspread his face. "I'll tell you what we did, Athelstane, my hearty. We got ourselvespressed!" "Pressed?" "Took by the crimps, you understand, and pressed to serve King George. Oh, but it was a rare spree to see them crimps a-laying in wait forus, and enticing us into their dens, and filling us up with rum tillwe nearly bust where we sat, so that they could go and bring thepressgang down upon us. And us all the time asking nothing better, andready to serve of our own accord, only it might ha' looked suspicious, d'ye see, it being agin natur for a honest seaman to want to go onboard a man-o'-war. " The boatswain began to quiver and roll to and fro with spasms ofinward laughter at the recollection of his strategy. "And you should ha' seen your cousin's face when he stood all alone onthe deck of the _Fair Maid_, and saw a boatload of us being rowed pasthim to the _Tyger_, every man jack of us in irons, and laughing in hisface as we went by! And so that's how it is as I'm in King George'suniform, and right glad I am to find you in company again. For if everI took a fancy to a young feller, I took one to you from the moment Ifirst clapped eyes on you, and says I to myself, 'I'll make that lad atight sailor yet, ' I says, and I'd ha' done it, my boy, but for thatscrub of a cousin of yours. And I've taken a blessed fort to-night forKing George; and I'll tell 'em you was with me, and in command of theparty, and they'll put your name in the despatches, and make you anadmiral yet, or my name ain't Muzzy!" CHAPTER XVI _A BATTLE IN THE DARK_ With some difficulty I persuaded my zealous friend to change hisintention of ascribing to me the capture of Budge-Budge. It was well Idid so, for Mr. Clive, when he heard the particulars of the affair, chose to resent the breach of discipline on the part of the sailorsmore than he approved of their reckless enterprise. So that old Muzzy, to his surprise, instead of being rewarded for his achievement, foundhimself lucky to get off with nothing worse than a reprimand for hisdrunkenness and disobedience to orders. * * * * * The next day we marched upon Calcutta. The ships went before us to clear the way, but they met with noresistance, all the Indian forces retiring before our advance. In theaffair before Budge-Budge it seems that one of the shots from the gunshad passed close to the turban of Monichund, and this had so terrifiedhim that he never halted in his retreat till he came to Moorshedabad, all the way communicating his own fears to the garrisons he passed. When we entered the town of Calcutta, therefore, we saw the Englishcolours already flying again from the fort, Admiral Watson having senta party ashore to take possession. I am sorry to say that some bad blood arose between the gallantAdmiral and Mr. Clive over this incident. In fact there had beenalready several jealousies between the two services, the Admiral andhis officers affecting to regard the Company's forces as on aninferior footing to themselves. This feeling was heightened by thefact that Mr. Watson's rank in the navy was higher than that ofColonel Clive in the army, which gave him the precedence, thougheverybody knew that the real leader and director of the campaign wasthe Colonel. I was with Mr. Clive when he came up to the entrance to the fort, andcan still see the stern look on his face when the sentinel stationedthere by Captain Coote refused him admission. "Do you know who I am, fellow?" he cried. "I bid you let me pass thisinstant, or I will have you court-martialled as sure as my name isRobert Clive!" The sentinel drew back, and we passed in, but were immediately met inthe courtyard by Mr. Coote himself. "What is the meaning of this performance, sir?" the Colonel asked himsternly. "Are you aware that I hold his Majesty's commission aslieutenant-colonel, and that you and all your men are therefore undermy commands?" "I am very sorry sir, " replied the other, beginning to blench alittle, "but I was put into possession of this place by AdmiralWatson, who has given me his commission as governor, and bid me holdit on his behalf till the arrival of Mr. Drake. " "Then, Captain Coote, " retorted Mr. Clive, turning pale, "I order youto give up this fort to me, as your superior officer on land, failingwhich I shall order you to be arrested. " The Captain gave way at this threat, but contrived to despatch amessage to Mr. Watson of what had occurred. The Admiral, whose spiritwas as high as Mr. Clive's, at once sent on shore to say that unlessMr. Clive instantly quitted the fort, leaving Captain Coote inpossession, he should open fire on it from the _Kent_. In the end, however, a compromise was effected, by virtue of which theAdmiral was to hold the fort for the remainder of that day, incompliment to his services in having taken it, but at the end of thatperiod he was to deliver it up to Mr. Clive as the militaryrepresentative of the Company. Such were some of the difficulties with which this distinguished manhad to contend. He would sometimes say to me, in his moments ofconfidence-- "I declare to you, Ford, that if I had known how I was to be vexedand thwarted by those whose duty it is to assist me, I would neverhave undertaken this command. After ruining their own affairs theseBengal gentlemen criticise and hamper every step I take to restorethem; and Admiral Watson is more zealous in maintaining what heconsiders the honours due to his profession, than he is in beating theMoors. " But in spite of this occasional bitterness, the Colonel entertained agreat respect for Mr. Watson's courage and abilities as a seaman, moreespecially after the celebrated affair of Chander Nugger. Whilst Mr. Clive, with the other members of the committee, was engaged insettling the affairs of Calcutta, some spies came in with the newsthat the town of Hooghley lay very open to attack, the garrison beinggreatly dismayed and ready to give up the place on very slightprovocation. Accordingly the Admiral sailed up the river against itwith his fleet, and some troops under Major Kilpatrick and CaptainCoote, attacking it on the land side, it was taken with very littleloss on our side, and destroyed. But as I was not present on thisoccasion, so I shall say little about it, except to remark that itserved to yet further impress the Indians with a sense of our power, and put Surajah Dowlah on marching from Moorshedabad to crush us withall his force. The state in which we found Calcutta was indeed pitiable. The nativequarter, especially that inhabited by the meaner sort of people, wasnot much injured, but all the English mansions and factories lay inruins. The unfortunate servants of the Company, although thus restoredto their former home, found themselves without shelter or money, thetraffic having, of course, entirely ceased. It was fortunate for methat I had been able to bring away the jewels which Surajah Dowlah hadgiven me in his fits of maudlin friendship, for these fetched a goodprice among the Gentoo merchants, and procured me as much money as Ihad occasion for. But with most of the others, from Mr. Drakedownwards, it was different; and if the plunder of Hooghley had notbrought in about a lac and a half of rupees, about this time, into theCompany's coffers, I scarce know what they would have done. News arrived from Aleppo, shortly after these transactions, that warhad again broken out in Europe between us and the French. This raisedthe prospect of a fresh peril for us, it being feared that the Frenchin Chander Nugger would join forces with the Nabob. So seriously didColonel Clive regard this outlook, that he consented to send proposalsfor an accommodation to Surajah, who was now in full march to thesouthward. To these proposals the Nabob pretended to return afavourable answer, nevertheless he continued advancing, and in orderto be prepared against him Mr. Clive fortified an entrenched camp justoutside the Morattoe ditch, to the northward, by which the Moorswould have to pass before they could attack the town. Things were in this position when one morning about the beginning ofFebruary, rising at daybreak, and strolling outside the camp, I sawthe whole horizon to the northward lit with the flames of burningvillages. I hastened to rouse Mr. Clive, and he came out and stoodbeside me, watching, while from a cloud of dust along the road the vanof the approaching army emerged, one blaze of gorgeous uniforms andtossing spears, marching towards the Morattoe ditch. For some time we stood in silence, as troop after troop came on, crowding along the high road, and casting fierce looks towards ourencampment as they passed. A frown gathered on the Colonel's brow, andhe began to think aloud, as was his custom sometimes, when we werealone. "Shall I attack them now? I might cut off their vanguard, and again Imight be caught between two fires. The rest of the army cannot be farbehind--better wait and ascertain their numbers. Besides, it is toosoon to say whether or no the Nabob means to play me false. An attacknow would hazard everything; I am bound to wait and give them time toshow their true inclinations. " He raised his head, and looked at me. "Go round the town, Ford, rouse the outposts everywhere, and bid themstand on the defensive. If the Moors attempt to cross the ditch andenter the town, they are to beat them back, and send me word, but notto follow them. Then return to me. " I hastened away to execute these orders, which were duly carried out. In one or two places the Moors attempted incursions, but were speedilychecked. This contented them for that day. On the following morningthe main army, accompanied by Surajah Dowlah in person, debouched onthe plains, and proceeded to spread itself round the threatened town. In the afternoon Mr. Clive summoned me to him. I found him in the tentwith Mr. Scrafton, and he held a letter in his hand. "The Nabob has sent to me, " he said, "desiring me to appoint somepersons to treat with him of the peace, and I have chosen Mr. Scraftonand you as my deputies. What do you say, Ford? Are you ready to trustyour head in the tiger's jaws again, after your late adventures?" "If you think fit to send me, sir, I am ready at all times to obey anyorders I may receive from Colonel Clive. " He smiled, well pleased. "Well said, my lad. I knew you were something better than a purser, and as soon as this business is over I will see to it that you get acommission in the Company's forces, if that will serve your turn. " I thanked him, and Mr. Scrafton and I at once set out for Surajah'squarters, which we were informed were at a place called Nabob-gunge. But on arriving there we found that the treacherous Moor had pursuedhis march towards the town and when we at last overtook him, late inthe evening, we found him with his headquarters established in a housebelonging to the Gentoo merchant Omichund, which house lay actuallywithin the Morattoe ditch, and was therefore included in theterritories of Calcutta. We were here received by Roy Dullub, the Dewan, who instantlyrecognised me, and manifested some alarm at my thus appearing in thecharacter of Colonel Clive's emissary. He glanced over us both with anair of suspicion, and desired to know whether we had pistols concealedin our dress. Mr. Scrafton laughed in his face. "We are not assassins, " he said severely. "We do not deal with ourenemies in that way. If our employer, Mr. Clive, desires to kill theNabob, rest assured he will come in broad daylight, at the head of hisarmy, and do it that way. " Roy Dullub gave way after this rebuke, and led us into the presence ofhis master. The Nabob was seated in full durbar, with all his officersround him and the evil Lal Moon crouched like a snake beside his ear. All the way round the walls of the apartment was placed a row of hugeguards, men of formidable size and ferocious countenances, who, toappear still more dreadful, had their dresses stuffed out and theirturbans of twice the common size. Throughout the audience they kepttheir eyes fixed on us with a most bloodthirsty expression, as thoughexpecting the signal to fall upon and slay us. Surajah Dowlah was little changed from when I had last seen him. Hisfeatures still preserved that aspect of ruined handsomeness and marredand minished glory, which is ascribed to the fallen archangel by ourgreat poet Milton--whom I, for one, will never stoop to compare withyour writer of lascivious stage-plays and sonnets, after whom all theworld is now running frantic. Roy Dullub handed the paper which we hadbrought containing our proposals to the Nabob, who read it over beforehe condescended to glance at us. No sooner did he see me, however, than his face changed. He turned hishead, and whispered something to his favourite, pointing to me at thesame time. Then he addressed us, with smooth civility, pretending toignore our previous acquaintance. "I will desire my ministers to consider your proposals, " he said. "TheDewan shall confer with you, and let you know my pleasure. " "That is not enough for us, " replied Mr. Scrafton. He naturally tookit on himself to speak, as my elder and superior. "Your Highness hascommitted a breach of good faith in crossing the English boundarywhile negotiations are in progress. " "You need have no fear about that, " the Nabob responded. "Myintentions towards the English are friendly. I come among you simplyas a guest. Tell Sabat Jung that he may lay down his sword and confidein my goodwill. " To this Mr. Scrafton replied by a fresh remonstrance, but he soon sawthat nothing was to be got from Surajah, whose answers were evidentlybeing inspired by his secret adviser, Lal Moon. At length the Nabobdismissed us, and we retired from the durbar. As we were passing out we saw, standing in the doorway, the GentooOmichund, whose house we were in. This man, well known in Bengal, possessed large interests in Calcutta, as well as in other parts ofthe Nabob's territories. For this reason he had long played a doublegame between the Moors and English, seeking to keep in with bothsides. Now, as we came past, he fixed a significant look upon us, andwhispered in English in my ear-- "Take care of yourself!" Then, as I stood still for an instant headded in the same sly tone, "Does your commander know that the Nabob'scannon are not yet come up?" Before I could answer he slipped away in the crowd. I followed onafter Mr. Scrafton, and whispered to him what I had heard, as we wereon our way to the Dewan's tent. "It is my opinion, " I added, "that we are to be detained as prisoners. The Nabob is merely amusing Mr. Clive till his batteries havearrived. " Mr. Scrafton was alarmed. We looked round, and finding nobody near usordered our attendants to put out their torches. We then turned asideamong the other tents, threaded our way through them in the darknesstill we came out on to the road running towards the English lines, andin this way contrived to escape and get back to camp. In order to the better understanding of what now took place, indefault of a chart, I must explain how the two armies were situated. The river Hooghley, which here runs pretty straight north and south, forms, as it were, the string of a bent bow, the bow itself beingrepresented by the Morattoe ditch of which I have so often hadoccasion to speak. The whole of the territory thus enclosed belongedto the Company, and measured about five miles in length, and one and ahalf miles in breadth at its widest part. The fort and town ofCalcutta occupied only a small space in the centre, the rest of theground being broken up into gardens with a few country residencesscattered about. Of these Omichund's house, now occupied by the Nabob, lay about a quarter of the way along the ditch, from the point whereit joins the river Hooghley at the north end of the enclosure. Theremainder of their army lay in tents along a space of three miles, buton the outside of the ditch. Colonel Clive, as I have beforeexplained, had entrenched his camp also on the further side, next tothe river, lying between that and the Moors' encampment. The moment we had made our report to Colonel Clive his mind was madeup. Springing on to his feet, and striding up and down in the tent, heexclaimed-- "That settles it, if we are to strike a blow at all it must be now! Ihave done my best to procure a peace, knowing the risk I run byundertaking the attack of an army of forty thousand men with thelittle handful I have here under my command. But it is plain that Ihave to choose between that and yielding everything to the Nabob. Mr. Scrafton, write a letter in my name to the Admiral, asking him for asmany seamen as he can spare; and do you, Ford, go and summon theofficers here to receive their orders. " The news that an attack was intended spread like wild-fire through thelittle camp, and caused the greatest excitement, many regarding it asa desperate venture from which we should never return alive. Our totalforce was 650 Englishmen, with 800 Sepoys, and another 100 to servethe artillery. These were reinforced by 600 men from the ships, armedwith matchlocks, who were put ashore secretly at midnight. Our gunswere six-pounders, and as we had no horses, except one which had comewith the expedition from Madras, the cannon had to be drawn by seamen. Old Muzzy was among the party, and was given charge of one of theguns, of which there were six altogether. I went up to speak to himbefore he set out, and found him much discontented with the service. "It's this way, my lad, " he said, addressing me with a freedom which Icould not resent, considering what he had done for me in the past, "Iunderstand sailing on salt water, and I understand fighting, but whenthey puts me in charge of this here craft on wheels, with neitherspars nor yet oars to work it, and tells me to navigate it, I ain'texactly sure of my soundings. It seems to me that there ought to be awindlass to draw her up. Bust my stays if I can make out how I'm tomake her answer her helm!" With these grumblings he entertained me till the signal was given tostart, when I repaired to the side of Mr. Clive, who took his stationin the centre of the column. We marched three abreast, four hundred ofthe Sepoys going in front, then the European troops, then the secondhalf of the Sepoys, and last of all the guns escorted by the sailors. Mr. Clive's plan, so far as he permitted it to be known, was to strikeright through the Nabob's army, before they were prepared to receiveus, and attack the Nabob himself in Omichund's enclosure. It was just before daybreak when the head of our little column cameupon the advance guard of the enemy. These at once fled, afterdischarging their pieces, but one of their shots, striking a Sepoy'scartouch box, caused a slight explosion, which threw our advance intosome confusion for a moment. We pressed forward, picking our way aswe best could in the obscurity; for no sooner was it day than a thickfog, such as is common in this season of the year in Bengal, descendedupon us, wrapping everything in darkness. We had gone perhaps half amile without molestation, dispersing the scattered parties of theIndians as we advanced, when there broke upon our ears the sound ofheavy galloping from the quarter where we supposed Omichund's house tolie. Colonel Clive at once ordered a halt; we faced to the right, whence the sound proceeded, and as soon as the dim forms of theapproaching squadron loomed upon us out of the mist, the word wasgiven to fire. The whole line delivered a volley at a distance ofabout thirty paces, whereupon the phantom horsemen at once turned andfled back, uttering loud cries as they were swallowed up again in thedarkness. By this time it was evident that our position had become extremelyperilous. We resumed our march, as nearly as we could keep it in theformer direction, and continued groping our way in the mist throughthe heart of the enemy's camp, firing volleys by platoons to right andleft, but without knowing where our bullets went, while the men withthe guns discharged single shots from time to time along the sides ofthe column into the darkness ahead. After we had gone on in this fashion for some time, not receiving muchinterruption from the enemy, but greatly troubled by the increasingobscurity, which rendered it difficult to see so much as a yard infront, there suddenly arose a murmur from amongst the Sepoys at thehead of the column. Colonel Clive sent to demand the meaning of this, and the messenger returned with the intelligence that the men hadstumbled upon a causeway, crossing our line of march, and leading tothe Morattoe ditch on our right. He at once gave the order that thetroops should mount upon this causeway and march towards the ditch. Unfortunately, however, no notice of this change in the direction wasgiven to the artillerymen in the rear, who continued to fire, as theysupposed, to the side of the column. A cannon ball came among theSepoys on the causeway, killing several of them. Thereupon the restsought shelter by leaping down on the other side of the causeway, andthe whole forward part of the troops was huddled together inconfusion. The darkness made it difficult to ascertain at first what hadhappened, but as soon as Mr. Clive understood he gave the order tocease firing, and brought the whole force across the causeway, wherehe strove to restore their formation. It was his intention to haveadvanced along the causeway, driven away the Moors stationed to defendit, and forced his way through to the English side of the ditch. Butwhile he was engaged in restoring order among the troops, the enemy, no doubt overhearing our movements, commenced a discharge on us fromsome cannon loaded with langrain, which they seemed to have broughtup within a few hundred yards of us. The shot striking the troopswhile still bundled together, did us the most damage we received thatday; indeed it was a very terrifying thing to suddenly hear the roarof artillery so close at hand, and see men falling right and left fromshots fired by an invisible foe. Under these circumstances it was wonderful to see the coolness ofColonel Clive, who continued to give his orders without appearing theleast dismayed, and deployed the men into line again as steadily asthough we were in our own camp, and not in the midst of the Moors. Abandoning all thoughts of the causeway, he ordered the column toresume its course to the southward, so as to reach the main road intoCalcutta, by which we might cross the ditch and return in safety. Thisnecessitated our leaving the wounded, about twenty in number, whobroke into grievous cries at the prospect of being deserted to thecruelty of the Moors. Among the voices raised in complaint I heard one which I believed Iknew. I hastened to look among the figures on the ground, andpresently made out the form of old Muzzy himself, who lay with hisright leg doubled up under him. "Is that you?" I exclaimed, bending over him. "Where have you beenhurt? Is it serious?" "Athelstane!" He looked up, turning his eyes on me with an appealwhich went to my heart. "They've riddled my leg with their cursedheathenish small shot, curse them! If it had been a Christian bullet, now, I shouldn't ha' minded so much. Give me a hand, my boy, and I'llsee if I can stand up. " I put my arms round him and lifted him partly from the ground, whilehe clutched at me with both hands. The next instant a groan broke fromhis clenched teeth. "It's no good, lad, I can't do it. Go, and save yourself if you can;and leave old Muzzy to take his rating below decks at last!" CHAPTER XVII _A MISSION OF DANGER_ I got up and called to some sailors who were falling into the rear ofthe now departing column. "Here, my men, here's a comrade wounded and unable to walk. Will youleave him to be butchered by the Indians?" They stopped, and cast hesitating looks at the old boatswain, where helay groaning. "There's a-many of 'em about, " observed one man. "We can't save themall, sir. " "But this is an old friend of mine, who has saved my life before now, "I pleaded. And seeing them undecided, I went on, "What do you say; Iwill give you a hundred rupees--two hundred--apiece if you carry himsafe into Calcutta?" They brisked up when they heard this offer. A small tree with darkgreen leaves stood close by, from which they tore some branches, andquickly made out a rude litter. On to this they lifted my poor oldfriend, and so carried him off, renewing his groans at every step. I marched alongside till we caught up with the rear of the column. Luckily we were not molested, for which I blessed the fog, though itwas now showing signs of lifting away. Our progress was here extremelyslow, the ground being broken up into a number of small rice-fields, separated by mud walls or mounds of earth, over which the field-pieceshad to be lifted with infinite trouble, and in fact two of them wereabandoned altogether, the sailors being too exhausted to draw themfurther. During this time I forbore to rejoin Colonel Clive, but usedmy freedom as a volunteer to remain with the sailors bearing oldMuzzy, where I found my presence and encouragement very necessary toinduce them to persevere in their task. As it was I was obliged toraise my offer to three hundred rupees before we had got to the highroad. The fog gradually clearing, we beheld parties of the enemy's horsefrom time to time, threatening us, but they were easily dispersed by afew discharges of musketry, and gave us far less annoyance than theimpediments of the ground. At the end of another hour of this toilsomework we at length arrived at the road, where we found a considerablebody of horse and foot posted in front of the bridge across theMorattoe ditch into the Company's territories, to prevent our passing. At the same time the fog finally broke, and disclosed anothernumerous squadron coming down against our rear. The sailors at oncefaced about to defend the artillery, and I took my place among them, bidding the men with the litter press on towards the centre of thecolumn. The Moors rode up with great determination, notwithstandingour fire, and one of them got near enough to me to aim a cut at myhelmet, which I only avoided by bending my head to one side. At thesame time I thrust my bayonet into his groin, and had the satisfactionof seeing him reel and fall from his horse as it turned and gallopedoff. This charge being repulsed, we turned about again and rejoined ourcomrades, who had quickly dislodged the force opposed to them infront. The whole column then crossed the ditch, in broad daylight, andmarched without further mishap into the town, where we arrived aboutmidday, having been on the march for more than six hours, through themidst of a great army. Such was this extraordinary exploit, to which, as I am assured, aparallel is scarcely to be found in the history of any age or nation. Nevertheless, at the moment its effect was to cast a gloom over thespirits of the troops. The officers, who could never forgive ColonelClive for not having been, like themselves, regularly bred to themilitary profession, grumbled at and criticised his action, which theydescribed as that of a mere braggadocio, who knew nothing of war. Thefact was that the rules of war contained no prescription for theconquest of an army of forty thousand men by one of barely twothousand; and though the hero who led us was ever ready to attemptimpossibilities, he could not always perform them. As soon as I had seen old Muzzy safely bestowed in the hospital, wherethe surgeons declared that it would be necessary to amputate his leg, I hastened to report myself to my commander. He received me withkindness and no little surprise, having fully believed that I waskilled. Indeed he told me that a soldier of Adlercron's regiment hadassured him he had seen me fall. However, he fully approved of what Ihad done in rescuing my old comrade, only regretting it had not beenin his power to save the rest of the wounded. I found him much dispirited with the result of the morning's work. "I have done nothing, Ford, " he declared, "nothing. I have marchedinto the Nabob's camp, and marched out again, like the King of Francein the nursery rhyme. And here are these gentlemen of the committeeclamouring for peace, that they may get their revenues back again, andtheir dustucks, and I know not what else, with the Nabob and his armyat their gates. You see what it is to be a commander--would to God Iwere back in England, enjoying my rest!" The next day put a different complexion on our affairs. Secretmessages arrived from Omichund to say that the Nabob had beenterrified out of his wits, that he no longer considered himself safeeven in the midst of his troops, and that we might depend on a peacebeing speedily concluded. Shortly afterwards a letter arrived, writtenby Surajah Dowlah's instructions to Colonel Clive, in which hereferred to the treaty on foot between them, and complained bitterlyof the attack upon his camp. "Now, Ford, " said the Colonel to me, when he had shown me this letter, "I feel a different man to what I did yesterday. Sit down and write myanswer to this insolent Moor. " I took the pen, and he dictated the following letter, of which I havethe draft still in my possession:-- "_To his Highness Surajah Dowlah, Nabob of Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa. _ "SIR, --I have received your letter, and am unable to understand what it is that you complain of. I merely marched with a few of my troops through your camp to show you of what Englishmen are capable, but I had no hostile intentions, and was careful to refrain from hurting any of your soldiers, except such as imprudently opposed me. I have been, and still am, perfectly willing to make peace with you upon proper conditions. --I have the honour to remain your Highness's obedient servant, "ROBERT CLIVE. " This bitter jest completed the effect produced by the previous day'swork. That very evening we heard that the Nabob had broken up hisquarters, and withdrawn to a distance of several miles from theCompany's territories; and a few days later he signed a treatygranting full restitution to the Company of all that they had lost bythe sack of Calcutta. This was just six weeks from the time we hadstarted from Fulta. During the period that followed I spent much of my time in thehospital, sitting by old Muzzy's bedside. He had borne the removal ofhis leg with great courage, but now that he began to mend I found himmuch depressed in his spirits. "My day is over, boy, " he would say, "I shall never sail salt watermore. Old Muzzy is a dismasted hulk, only fit to be hauled up on themud, and broken up for tinder. Drown me if I don't a'most wish thedogs had put a ball through my hull while they were about it, so thatI could ha' gone down in deep water, with colours flying and all handson deck, and heard the broadsides roaring over me to the last! That'sthe death for a British tar, my fine fellow, in action gallantly, andnot to lie on the mud and rot away by inches like I'm fair to do. " I tried to cheer him up as best I could, though indeed I felt sorryenough myself to see that strong man laid helpless as a child. Ithought it my duty to try and rouse him to some interest in betterthings, and brought a Bible to read to him. In this I succeeded after a fashion. He listened very readily to thehistory of the Israelites, and expressed a huge admiration for Joshuaand some of the Judges. But when I tried to pass on to the NewTestament I must confess I met with more difficulties. "No, no, don't read me that; it's too good for an old rakehelly tarlike me, " he persisted in saying. "Them apostles was fishermen, d'yesee, and the fishermen and longshore folk always was more peaceableand quieter-like than us deep-sea bilboes. You read me about thatthere fellow as slaughtered the Camelites; I understands him better. By Gosh, he gave 'em a warm time of it, on my swow, didn't he! Notmuch use them Camelites showing their heads when Joshua was in theoffing! He swept their decks for 'em, clean, every time. " He meant the Amalekites. I could not quite approve of the spirit inwhich he took the sacred history, but still I felt that to get him tolisten to the Scriptures at all was something, and the good seed mightcome up later on. I pleased myself with these efforts to reform my poor old friend, andyet perhaps I should have been better employed in seeking to amend myown life. For though I can truly say that I lived honestly andsoberly, yet all this time my heart was given up to thoughts ofambition and revenge, and the desire of riches; and the goodimpressions wrought upon me by my sufferings in the Black Hole hadalmost faded clean out of my mind. I was not present at the taking of Chander Nugger, which was the nextgreat event in the East Indies, and therefore forbear from describingit. But this affair served to display yet further the duplicity andshifting policy of Surajah Dowlah, whose conduct evidently changedfrom day to day as the passion of hatred of the English, or fear ofColonel Clive, obtained the mastery in his bosom. On one day he sentpermission for us to attack the French, on the next he wrote strictlyforbidding it. Colonel Clive would have gone against them withoutwaiting for the Nabob's leave, but Admiral Watson was more scrupulous, considering that to do so would be a violation of our recent treaty. Yet he did not shrink from upbraiding the Nabob in round terms, andsent him one letter in which he threatened, with the bluntness of aseaman, to kindle such a fire in his country as all the water in theGanges should not be able to extinguish. Finally the Nabob gave way, induced partly by his fears of the Pitans, a savage predatory tribe on the borders of Afghanistan, who from timeto time broke into the Great Mogul's dominions, and were nowthreatening to march as far as Behar. Accordingly a joint expeditionwas made, and Chander Nugger taken after a brilliant action, in which, as Colonel Clive fully acknowledged, the Admiral signalised himselfby conspicuous courage and seamanship. All this time I lay ill in Calcutta of a low fever, which I hadcontracted in the hospital while attending on old Muzzy. It was nowhis turn to nurse me, which he did most assiduously, being nowrecovered, and able to get about well enough by means of a wooden leg. As I lay there sick day after day I began once more to see things in atruer light. I longed most painfully to be at home among the scenesand friends of my youth, and I resolved, once I had risen from my sickbed, to let no motives of ambition or interest detain me any furtherin Indostan. I communicated these sensible resolutions to old Muzzy, who thoroughlyapproved of them. "And I tell you what, Athelstane, lad, we'll make our passage home incompany, " he said. "I've got a tidy bit o' prize-money left somewhere, enough to take me back to England, and mayhap a bit over, to keep meout of the workhouse when I gets there. " He put his hands into his hairy bosom and drew out a small canvas bag, which he shook out upon the coverlid of the bed. The contents made asmall heap of gold and silver, amounting, as near as I could judge, toabout £100 or £150 in English money, though the coins were of allcountries--rupees, French crowns, moidores, and many others. The old boatswain put his head on one side, casting looks ofaffectionate pride on his treasure. "There, my lad, that's my little fortin', enough to pay my freightthrough to Davy Jones's locker, I daresay. And if there's any of itleft over, by Gosh! you shall have it, for I've neither parent norfriend in the world, nor I don't so much as know the place where I wasborn. And drown me if I don't love you, my young matey!" I was so weak at the time that these hearty expressions of the oldfellow fairly melted me, though I could scarce refrain from smiling atthe thoughts of the legacy which I was like to inherit. "You shall come with me and welcome, " I told him. "We will starttogether as soon as ever I can get off this bed; and when we get toEngland I will bring you to my own home, and ask my parents to provideyou with a shelter for my sake. " "That's right enough, " he answered, "and very kind of you. But, mind, old Muzzy ain't looking for no charity. Where I goes, I takes mylittle fortin', and them as takes care of me will get the benefit ofit, d'ye see. " He swept up the money into his bag again, and had just restored it tohis bosom when there came a sound outside the door, and who shouldwalk in but Colonel Clive! I strove to raise myself in the bed as he entered, but this he at onceprevented. "Lie still, youngster!" he exclaimed, walking up to the bedside, followed by Mr. Scrafton. "Why, how's this; they never told me youwere ill till I was on the point of starting for Chander Nugger, whenI had no time to come and see you? But you are on the high road torecovery by this time, surely?" "Thank you, sir, I am much improved, " I managed to stammer out, overwhelmed by this condescension on the part of so great a man. "Andare the French beaten?" I asked anxiously, for I had not heard thenews. The Colonel turned to Mr. Scrafton and laughed. "There's my little purser all over!" he exclaimed, with evidentgoodwill. "The French are beaten, and driven out of Bengal, I trustfor ever, and their factories are become ours. And since you wereunable to be present at the action, and to share in the spoil, I haveremembered my promise to you, and brought you a sword instead. " He took the weapon from the hands of Mr. Scrafton, who was carryingit, and laid it on the bed beside me. At the same time Mr. Scraftonhanded me a paper, duly signed, containing my commission as an ensignin the service of the East India Company. I could only murmur out my gratitude for these marks of consideration;while Mr. Clive went on to say-- "And now you must make haste and get about again, for as soon as youare able to travel I have an important mission for you to discharge. " "And what is that, sir?" I asked, not very heartily. The Colonel noticed my diffidence, and gave me a searching look. "I ought to have said it is a very dangerous mission, " he observed. I felt my cheeks turn red. "Then sir, I think I am well enough to undertake it, " I replied, withsome little temper. And I sat up in the bed. Colonel Clive burst out laughing, and seizing me by the shouldersthrust me down again. "There, that is right; there is not so much hurry about it as to dragyou out of bed just yet. But as soon as you are well enough I mean youto go to Moorshedabad. " I uttered a cry of surprise. "I have some messages to send to Mr. Watts, who is acting there on ourbehalf, " Mr. Clive explained. "The affair is too risky for me to trustthe ordinary service, and besides, from all I hear, you have made agreat impression on the Nabob, and may serve a useful purpose byremaining in Moorshedabad for awhile. But I will tell you no more tillyou are better able to hear it. " And with this, and many kind expressions about my health, he withdrew. It did not take long for me to shake off the remains of my feverunder these circumstances, and the moment I was able to go out of thehouse where I lay, I went to wait on my patron. Colonel Clive received me in his private room in the fort, anddismissing everybody else, opened to me the nature of the missionentrusted to me. The late proceedings of his enemies against him inParliament have made this business so notorious to the world that Ishall be excused for expressing it very shortly in this place. To be brief, the Colonel informed me that the moment for ourlong-delayed vengeance upon the wicked and bloodthirsty Surajah Dowlahwas at length arrived. Tired with his cruelties, his own subjects hadcast about for a means of getting rid of him, and overtures had beenreceived from the principal men of the Nabob's Court inviting ColonelClive to take part in a concerted scheme for his overthrow. A treatyhad been drawn up between the parties, whereby it was provided thatColonel Clive should march against the Nabob's army with his wholeforce, now increased by the arrival of other ships from the Coromandelcoast, and should be joined on the battle-field by Meer Jaffier, whoundertook to desert from his nephew and bring over the part of thearmy under his command to the English side. In return for theseservices, supposing the victory should be obtained, the Company was toreceive a crore of rupees in compensation for the injuries inflictedby the Nabob, while many millions were to be divided among ColonelClive, the gentlemen of the Council and the officers and men of bothservices. Surajah Dowlah was to be deposed from the musnud, and hisuncle, Meer Jaffier, elevated in his stead, the Meer binding himselfto pay these sums out of the Nabob's treasure, and the payment beingfurther guaranteed by Jugget Seet, the great banker of Moorshedabad, whose connexions extended over all parts of Indostan. This treaty having been signed and executed by Colonel Clive and theother gentlemen of the Company, he now required me to carry it toMoorshedabad, were it was to be sworn to by Jugget Seet, the MeerJaffier, and the other high officers of the Court who were parties tothe design. At the same time he enjoined on me to observe the utmostsecrecy. "Remember, " he said, "that if once Surajah Dowlah or his minion LalMoon should get an inkling of this plot, his rage would break looseagainst every one concerned in it. As it is Mr. Watts has had greatdifficulty in lulling his suspicions, and has several times been ingreat peril. But I suppose you are not the man to shrink back on thataccount. " "Give me the treaty, sir, " I replied, "and I undertake to carry it toMoorshedabad. Am I to deliver it into Mr. Watts's hands?" "Why, yes; that is, if you find him still there when you arrive. Butyou must use the greatest caution in communicating with him. Aboveall, beware of the Gentoo Omichund, who has already once threatened tobetray us. We have been obliged to provide a duplicate treaty tosatisfy him, in which is included a stipulation for three millions ofrupees to be paid to him on our success. But you will explain to MeerJaffier that this is merely a trick to which we have been obliged byOmichund's knavery. He shall not have a farthing. " Mr. Clive spoke these words very sternly. At the same time he handedme the two treaties, one drawn up upon white paper and the other onred. "The red treaty is the one to be shown to Omichund, " he explained. "Both must be executed by the parties to the conspiracy inMoorshedabad, but only the white one is to be sworn to. Do youunderstand?" "Perfectly, sir. " I rolled up the two papers and put them into my pocket. I did not thenfeel, nor have I since been able to understand, all the indignationwhich has been poured on Lord Clive's head for this artifice, by whicha treacherous, overreaching scoundrel was robbed of the blackmail hehad tried to extort. As to the charge which has been made against thatgreat man of having caused Admiral Watson's name to be forged to thesecond treaty, I can only say that it was the general opinion at thetime that the gallant Admiral was fully aware of what was being done, and, since he took no steps to restrain the use of his name, itappears to be all the same as though he had affixed it with his ownhand. However, it is not my intention to dwell upon these disputes, to whichI am only induced to refer by a spirit of loyalty to my old commanderand friend, for such he permitted me to call him. "Remember, " the Colonel said to me at parting, "above all, to show nofear of Surajah Dowlah. Mr. Watts is too modest in his behaviour, andfor that reason the young tyrant despises and ill-uses him. But Ithink that is not a fault you are likely to fall into; indeed, I haveheard that during your former residence there you fairly awed theNabob; so I have good hope that you will do the same again. The momentyou have secured the execution of the treaties it will be time to fly, and as soon as I hear you are safe I shall put my troops on the marchto Plassy. " CHAPTER XVIII _MEER JAFFIER'S OATH_ I arrived in Moorshedabad without accident, and at once repaired tothe house of the Company's agent, Mr. Watts. I found this gentleman in a state of the utmost apprehension. The airwas full of suspicion. Moorshedabad swarmed with the Nabob's spies, who watched the going in and coming out of every person whom theirmaster had reason to distrust, and carried their reports to hisinfamous minion, Lal Moon. Mr. Watts assured me that he did notconsider his own life to be worth a day's purchase, and the Nabob haduttered such threats against him on the last occasion of his going tothe palace that he dared not present himself there again. Fortunately for me Colonel Clive had provided me with an excuse for myjourney in the shape of a letter to Surajah Dowlah, in which theColonel renewed his expressions of friendship, but demanded thewithdrawal of the Nabob's army from Plassy. This was a step which theconspirators considered indispensable to their design, as they had noexpectation that Colonel Clive could overcome this force of fortythousand men as long as it kept the field. Armed with the Colonel's letter I went to wait upon the Nabob, leavingMr. Watts to exert his utmost diligence in procuring the necessarysignatures to the treaties, which I delivered to him for the purpose. Nothing could exceed the astonishment of the Nabob's officers when I, who had fled secretly from the city six months before, presentedmyself before them in the character of an ambassador from Sabat Jungand boldly demanded an audience. They hastened to carry the news tothe Nabob, and after a short time they returned and conducted me intohis presence. Although scarcely three months had elapsed since I had last seenSurajah Dowlah, I observed a change for the worse in his appearance. He sat on the royal musnud with the same state as formerly, clad inhis gold-embroidered robes and turban sparkling with the light of manygems, surrounded by the same obsequious throng of courtiers andattended by his ferocious guards ready to take the life of any manpresent, at a nod from their despotic lord. Yet I discovered somethingin his countenance which I had not seen there before. His head hungdown with an air of weariness, and his gaze, instead of dartingfiercely to and fro, seemed to shift and hesitate as if with alurking distrust of those about him. He appeared to be in ill-health, and shifted fretfully about in his seat as he talked. On my part, Iregarded him with different eyes from the time when I had come beforehim as a captive in his hands, when I had viewed him as a powerfultyrant, invested with all the horror of his recent crimes, andespecially of that never-to-be-forgotten atrocity of the Black Hole ofCalcutta. Now, on the last occasion on which I was ever to confronthim, I did so as the emissary of one whose power was yet greater thanhis own, as the agent of an intrigue that menaced his throne andperhaps his life. And beneath the surface of pomp and power and theoutward show of sovereignty, I looked deeper, and beheld merely ayoung man, scarce older than myself--in his nineteenth year--thevictim of an evil education, corrupted by the possession of despoticpower, rent and exhausted by his own evil passions, and surrounded bytraitors secretly scheming for his downfall. Some of the dread andhatred which I had formerly felt for him was replaced by mildersentiments, and I could have found it in my heart to pity SurajahDowlah. As if to strengthen these impressions in my mind, the young Nabob wasin a singularly amiable mood, and appeared glad to see me. "So it is you again!" he was pleased to say when I was introduced. "Isee that you have told me the truth, and that you are a friend ofSabat Jung's. But why did you flee from me before? I regarded you withfavour, and would not have put you to death. " "Sir, " I answered, "I am obliged by your kind expressions, but I am anEnglishman, and in my country there is no man who can put me to deathunless I commit some crime against the laws; nor do I choose to livein any place where I hold my life by the favour of a prince. " A murmur ran through the throng of courtiers at this reply, some ofthe high officers whom I knew to be concerned in the plot pretendingto be especially shocked. Surajah Dowlah raised his head and looked at me in some surprise. "I should not care to be king of your country if I could not put a manto death when I wished to. Allah has created kings, and has put men'slives into our hands. It is destiny. Those who fall by my hands wouldperish instead by pestilence or famine or wild beasts if I forbore toslay them. They die because it is the will of Allah. " I listened in consternation to this frightful profession of fatalismby which Surajah Dowlah sought to decline the responsibility of hiswicked acts. In the meantime he read the letter which I had broughtfrom Colonel Clive. "Why does Sabat Jung so earnestly desire me to disband my troops?" heasked presently. "Your Highness's own conscience must tell you that, " I returned. "Solong as you keep your army in the field, threatening Calcutta, it isimpossible to believe that you are in earnest in your professions offriendship towards the English. The present state of things keeps theminds of the merchants unsettled and prevents the resumption of trade, without which our factories cannot subsist in Bengal. " "No, no, " the Nabob broke out, speaking very earnestly, "I designnothing against you. But I am in fear of the Morattoes, who meditateanother invasion. " "Have no fear of that, sir. Colonel Clive will protect you, ifnecessary, against the Morattoes. But you may depend upon it he willnever believe in your friendship till your troops are withdrawn fromPlassy. " The Nabob seemed to meditate upon these words for a few minutes, during which nobody ventured to speak to him. Then he looked at meagain, seeming as if he would search my heart. "And suppose I comply with this demand, what security have I that theColonel will not advance against this city? How do I know that he isnot deceiving me? There are plots--yes, there are plots in the air!" I felt a touch of contempt for him as I answered-- "That is a matter which I must take leave not to discuss. It is foryour Highness to consider whether your conduct has been such as toconciliate the affections of your subjects, or whether it has notrather been calculated to make every man your secret enemy. " Surajah Dowlah started, and sank back on his seat, terrified by thisunexpected plainness, which caused little less alarm among his suite. But I soon saw that my words had been rightly judged. Being anOriental, the Nabob could not believe that I should have spoken likethat if I had really been privy to any intrigues against him. Hetherefore dismissed his fears, and finally promised to issue ordersfor his whole army to retire to Moorshedabad. Satisfied with this success, I took my leave of him, his last words tome as I withdrew being-- "Tell the Colonel I trust him; I look upon him as my friend. " Moved by these words more than I cared to admit even to myself, Ireturned to Mr. Watts, and, all being now in train, we pushed forwardthe affair of the signatures as rapidly as we dared. During these few eventful days I neglected no means of inquiring afterthe fate of those whom I had left in the Nabob's hands on my formerflight from Moorshedabad. But though I questioned not merely the greatofficers of the Court, but also many of the eunuchs and inferiorservants about the palace, I could learn nothing definite either ofMarian or of Rupert. That they had not succeeded in recovering theirfreedom I was pretty well assured, but what had become of them, andwhether they were alive or dead, was more than I could learn. Theshadow and the secrecy of the East had closed like a curtain overtheir fates, and I was left to torment myself with miserable guessesin the darkness. The business of signing the treaty went on as rapidly as it could bepushed. But the greed of the Gentoos at every step of the transactionwas most disgusting, and the cowardice and treachery of the Moorsscarcely less so. The Dewan, Roy Dullub, at first objected that allthe Nabob's treasure was not enough to satisfy the gratuities providedfor in the treaty, but no sooner did Mr. Watts offer to make him agentfor the distribution, with a commission of five in the hundred on allsums passing through his hands, than his scruples instantly vanished. But at last everything was settled except the swearing of the treatyby Meer Jaffier, on which the whole affair turned. The Meer was justnow arrived in Moorshedabad from Plassy, where he had been in commandof one division of the Nabob's army, the remainder having before beentaken from him and given to Roy Dullub. It was reported that SurajahDowlah had received his uncle very scurvily, and spoken to him with somuch harshness that Meer Jaffier had at once retired to his palace, atthe other end of the city, and surrounded himself with his guards. This palace resembled a fortress, having regular walls and towers, andbeing provided with cannons and other munitions for a siege. Thither, on the following day, Mr. Watts went to visit him, butreturned in much alarm to say that the Meer had received him inpublic, in the hall of audience, surrounded by his officers, and hadgiven him no chance to refer to the subject of the treaty. While we were discussing what this could mean an Indian arrived, whoproved to be a private messenger from Meer Jaffier himself. This man informed us that Meer Jaffier had been obliged to receive Mr. Watts as he had done to deceive Lal Moon's spies, the Nabob'ssuspicions causing him to watch very strictly all intercourse betweenhis great men and the English agents. What he now proposed was thatMr. Watts should come to his palace in the evening in a curtainedlitter, by which means he might be introduced unsuspected into thewomen's apartments, and there have a private conference with the Meer. I could see that Mr. Watts regarded this invitation with very littleconfidence, his experiences in the Nabob's Court having rendered himcautious to an extreme. I therefore undertook to go in his place, anoffer which he gladly accepted. As there was nothing to detain either of us in Moorshedabad after thetreaty had been confirmed, and every hour that passed rendered oursituation more precarious, it was further arranged that Mr. Wattsshould take his departure at once, leaving me to follow during thenight. Accordingly he gave out that he was going on a visit toCossimbuzar on business connected with the Company's investment, andset out the same afternoon. I waited till it was quite dark before I got into the litter, whichhad been prepared for me by two Indian servants on whose fidelity Idepended. They bore me through the streets on their shoulders at agreat pace, and, thanks to the respect which these people have fortheir women, I passed undiscovered. Once, indeed, we were stopped fora moment, and there was a short discussion, in which I heard thevoices of my attendants, though I could not distinguish what was said. It terminated in a laugh, and they were suffered to proceed withoutthe curtains having been withdrawn. But it may be imagined how myheart came into my mouth during the brief halt, and what relief Iexperienced when the palanquin was set down within the gates of MeerJaffier's palace and I was able to step out. The Meer received me in the presence of his son Meeram, a youth ofsixteen, who bore a strong resemblance to his cousin the Nabob, aresemblance, as I was afterwards to learn, not confined to mere looks. He sat apart, staring at me with a sullen air of dislike, while hisfather perused the treaty. Its terms appeared to give Meer Jaffier perfect satisfaction. As soonas he had read it, he asked-- "How soon will Colonel Clive be ready to take the field?" "He is ready now, " I answered. "All he is waiting for is informationfrom you as to the steps which you propose to take to support him. " Meer Jaffier looked a little uneasy. "You are my friend, I know, " he said. "You must speak good words on mybehalf to Sabat Jung. Everything depends on him. Let him strike thefirst blow, and he will find every one prepared to join him. " I shook my head. "I am your friend, it is true, " I responded, "but I am still more thefriend of Sabat Jung, and I must know the grounds on which he is toproceed. What force have you ready to bring to his assistance?" "Do you mean what is the number of my division?" "I mean the number on whom you can rely. " "Three thousand horsemen. " He glanced at me in some doubt as he spoke. I heard this number withdismay. "Only three thousand! What succour is that?" "But those are only my own men. There are several commanders who havebeen affronted by Surajah Dowlah, and are ready to turn their swordsagainst him at the first opportunity. On the day of battle these willcome over to us with their troops. " "What assurance have you of that?" I asked. "I know my countrymen. They judge a man by his deeds, and there isnothing that commands their respect like daring and success. Alreadythey fear the Colonel; let them see him boldly attacking the Nabob, with me by his side, and they will quickly join us. Tell Sabat Jung mywords. " "And when do you intend to join the Colonel?" I inquired, beginning tofear that Meer Jaffier was likely to prove a broken reed to lean upon. "I will join him as soon as the English troops come in sight of thecity. Or if the Nabob keeps his army at Plassy, then I will join youas soon as the signal for battle is given. I will march over to youwith a great part of the army, as many as I can persuade to join me, and the others will then take to flight. If I see an opportunity Iwill seize my nephew in his tent. " With these promises he beguiled me into some confidence in him. Thenplacing a copy of the Alcoran upon his head, and resting one hand uponthe head of his son Meeram, he solemnly swore to perform all that hehad undertaken. He also signed the treaty, writing these words upon itin Persian--"In the name of Allah, and of the Prophet of Allah, Iswear to abide by the terms of this treaty while I have life. " As soon as this business was completed, the Meer said to me-- "And now, before you go, tell me what reward I may give you for yourservices in this affair?" I hesitated. He evidently expected that I should name some large sumin rupees, such as was promised by the terms of the treaty to Mr. Watts and others of those privy to it. "What I ask for is neither money nor jewels, " I said, "but the livesof the two persons who, I believe, are now kept somewhere concealed inthe palace of the Nabob. " Meer Jaffier understood me. "You mean the Englishwoman who was brought here from Calcutta, and theEnglishman who was formerly a spy in Surajah Dowlah's service?" I nodded my head. "It may be that the woman is, as you say, still in the Nabob's harem. But I cannot think that the man is alive. He has most probably beensecretly put to death for his offence in breaking into the garden ofthe seraglio. " "I took part in that offence, and yet I am alive still, " I answered. "Well, what is it you ask of me?" "I ask your promise that the moment Surajah Dowlah is overthrown, andthe power has passed into your hands, you will aid me to ransack thepalace of Moorshedabad in search of that woman and that man. " Meer Jaffier bowed his head. "You shall do so. Nay, more, to convince you that I am in earnest Iwill write you an authority now, before you leave me, which willbecome of effect as soon as Colonel Clive has driven my nephew fromthe musnud. " A few minutes afterwards I had re-entered the palanquin, and was beingconveyed back to Mr. Watts's house. The next day, rising early, I pretended some business with Mr. Watts, and followed after him on horseback to Cossimbuzar. Here I was met bysome of his native servants, who told me that he had gone hunting theevening before, and had not returned. Desiring them to show me the wayhe had gone, I went on till I was out of sight, and then, strikinginto a gallop, rode southward for my life towards the English lines. The sun was low down in the western sky, as, riding slowly on myexhausted beast, I drew near the village of Cutwah, and espied theuniforms of the English sentries gleaming through the trees. The firstmen who I came up to stood in a little group together, their musketsresting on the ground, while they talked together in low tones. Theylooked up as I approached, and seeing the Company's uniform, salutedme, while I stopped to show them the pass which I carried. But theysaid nothing, and as I passed on further into the camp I was struck bythe silence that prevailed. All round me I saw the men cooking theirsuppers, or passing to and fro with water vessels, but their headshung down, and I heard none of the cheering and singing whichgenerally prevailed when Colonel Clive had his troops upon the marchagainst an enemy. Pressing forward to the headquarters, I found the same evidences ofdejection increased on all sides, till at last I met Major Cootewalking with two other officers away from the commander's tent. TheMajor at once stopped me, and asked me how I did, but in so dull afashion that I could see he was as dispirited as the rest. "I am quite well, I thank you, sir, " I answered him, "but a littlesurprised at the state of the camp. I am but this moment arrived fromMoorshedabad. Can you tell me if anything untoward has taken place?" Major Coote turned to the two young officers, and signed to them towithdraw. As soon as they were out of earshot he stepped up to theside of my horse, and laying his hand on the saddle addressed me in alow tone-- "Harkye, Ford, I know you to be a discreet youngster, and so I'll tellyou my mind plainly. I don't know what news you bring fromMoorshedabad, and I don't ask, but we've had such accounts from thatcursed place lately that Colonel Clive has begun to believe that not asingle man of them all is to be trusted, from Meer Jaffier down. Hedoesn't think them worth fighting for, and what's more, he doesn'tthink they mean to join him as they have promised. The long and shortof it is, he has just called a council of war of all his officers--youwould have been there if you had arrived an hour sooner, and thereforeit's no breach of confidence to tell you--he called the council todecide whether we should go forward and fight, or give it up and goback. And he gave his own voice for going back, and the d--d council, two-thirds of 'em, followed suit; and the upshot of it is we're to putour tails between our legs and _go_ back--and that's why you see thewhole army ready to throw down their arms like so many children!" I was aghast at this intelligence, hardly believing it possible thatthe courage of Colonel Clive should have failed him, though I wasbetter able than most to estimate the worries and cares thrust uponhis shoulders by the mingled folly and malice of those who should havegiven him their best support. "Where is the Colonel?" I exclaimed. "I must see him at once! I havenews that may induce him to change his mind. At all events, I'll takethe liberty to persuade him. " "He wandered off by himself, " Major Coote answered, brisking up alittle. "He went into that grove of trees across there, as soon as thecouncil was dismissed, and he has been there ever since. " I turned and looked at the grove. As I did so I saw some bushesparted, and the figure of my beloved chief emerged, walking with aswift, firm tread. Instantly I flung myself from my horse, and rushed towards him. But headvanced of his own accord to where Major Coote stood watching us. "I have altered my mind, " he said briefly, with the martial ring inhis voice that I had heard first on the morning of Monichund'sattempted surprise before Budge-Budge. "I have come round to youropinion, Coote. To-morrow morning we march forward, and engage theenemy wherever we find him. " CHAPTER XIX _PLASSY_ And now it befalls to me to relate what I saw of that famous day whichchanged the relations between the English and Moors throughout thewhole empire of Indostan. And I think that never before nor since wassuch a singular engagement fought, and so little really done to effectso tremendous a result. After I had communicated to Colonel Clive what had passed between MeerJaffier and myself at our secret interview, he believed less than everin the Meer's promises of assistance. "I do not think the man means to betray me, but like all the Bengalesehe is a coward, and dares not carry out his promises when the momentcomes. " Such was his judgment, in which I was obliged to agree; though Iconfess I had a liking for Meer Jaffier, and felt much pity for him inhis subsequent misfortunes. It was one o'clock, an hour after midnight, when our little army ofthree thousand men arrived and took up their quarters in the grove ofPlassy. Of these, two thousand were Sepoys, the remainder beingEuropean troops, with some sailors from the fleet and about onehundred Topasses: we had also eight field-pieces and two howitzers. The grove in which we encamped was enclosed in a bank and ditch, within which were mango trees, very regularly planted in straightrows, the whole place being about half a mile in length, and less thana quarter in breadth. It stood near the edge of the river, whichdefended it from approach on the left, where there was a small houseor hunting lodge, which Colonel Clive chose as his headquarters. Facing the grove to the north was the entrenched camp where theNabob's army had lain ever since their retreat from Calcutta. Thetroops had been partly withdrawn a few days before, but they were nowreturned; and we heard their drums and cymbals beating all night long. Colonel Clive, who had restored me to my former position as hissecretary, and kept me near him, bade me lie down and sleep in thelodge. But though I lay down, I was too excited to do more than dozeoff for a minute at a time, and every time that I opened my eyes I sawthe Colonel either walking to and fro, as if impatient for the day tobreak, or sitting at a table with maps spread out before him, studyingthem by the light of a torch. Sometimes he went out of the lodge for afew minutes to see that all was quiet, but soon returned and resumedhis meditations. As soon as it was light enough to see, I got up, unable to lie stillany longer, and joined Mr. Clive. "Ah, Ford, so you are awake, eh!" he observed smiling. "You don't lookas though you had slept very soundly. Let us get on to the roof, andperhaps we may see what those fellows are about. " We mounted together by a narrow stair leading on to a flat roof, andlooked about us. On the left the mist was slowly rising from theriver, on the right the foliage of the trees hid our own troops fromview. But in front of us to the north we beheld spread out a scene ofsuch magnificence that I confess I trembled, and even Colonel Cliveuttered an exclamation of surprise. The Nabob's army lay in their entrenched camp, one angle of therampart, that nearest to us, being strengthened with a small redoubtarmed with cannon. Behind and away almost as far as we could see, stretched the tents and lines of armed men, the whole just beginningto stir with the first movements of the day. In the midst rose asplendid pavilion, adorned by flags, before the door of which stood atrain of horses and attendants, while lesser tents were pitched allround it, each one displaying the ensign of some great officer. Crowdsof men could be seen pushing to and fro, catching up their weapons andfalling into some sort of military order, while others brought uphorses and elephants, the caparisons of which shone gaily with silk ofmany colours. So great was the throng, and so confused were theirmotions, that I could not even guess their numbers, but Colonel Clive, glancing over them with the eye of a veteran, declared that there mustbe at least fifty thousand men, of whom upwards of fifteen thousandwere cavalry. Their guns I counted myself up to forty-three, and theyhad others which they left in the camp. As we stood and watched, this great host began to slowly pour out fromdifferent openings in the rampart and advance on the plain, forming asort of bow round the front and right flank of our position. Theriver, as I have said, protected the left, and they made no attempt toclose round the rear. "I wonder which is Meer Jaffier's division?" muttered Colonel Cliveanxiously, as the array extended itself. The infantry remained for themost part between the camp and our front, while the masses of cavalryspread away to our right, forming their left wing. The army was not inone line, but seemed to advance in a number of detached bodies, theintervals between them being filled up with the guns. This artillery was a truly formidable spectacle. Our own few guns weremerely six-pounders, nor had we the means of transport for largerpieces. But many of the Nabob's cannon were of immense calibre, 24 andeven 32-pounders, more suitable for siege guns than to be brought intoaction. They were mounted on high wooden stages, which bore notmerely the cannon but the artillerymen and ammunition as well, andeach of these carriages was drawn along by as many as eighty or ahundred huge white oxen, of the famous Purneah breed. Moreover, incase the oxen should not prove sufficient, an elephant walked behindeach of these moving platforms, and butted it with his forehead frombehind whenever it stuck from any difficulty of the ground. Between the grove where we lay and the enemy's camp there were acouple of tanks, such as the Indians build to contain rain water. These tanks, being protected by banks of earth, served the purpose ofredoubts, and we saw a small body of men, about forty or fifty, advance to the tank nearest us, dragging two light guns, with whichthey at once began playing on the grove. "Those are white men!" exclaimed Colonel Clive, who had been watchingthis movement. "They must be Frenchmen sent from Brassy--unless theyare some of those that escaped from Chander Nugger. " While he was speaking the fire from the tank was taken up by the restof the Nabob's artillery, and a roar arose from the whole face of theadvancing army. Colonel Clive watched the result closely for a fewminutes. "They are doing very little harm, " he observed. "They fire too high. Most of the balls are passing over the heads of our men. But it willnot do for us to stay in the shelter of the grove; they may think weare afraid of them. " He hurried down to the ground, bidding me keep near him, and went towhere our men were waiting, just within the ditch which enclosed thegrove. One Sepoy had been killed by the discharge from the tank, andthree or four wounded, but otherwise we had not suffered. The Colonel quickly made his dispositions, and the little forcemarched boldly out from its shelter and faced the enemy. At this thewhole Moorish army halted, still out of point-blank range, andcontented themselves with continuing their artillery fire, which wereturned as best we could with our few guns. Colonel Clive passed toand fro along the line several times, noting everything that happened, and anxiously watching for some symptom of the promised desertion byMeer Jaffier. But nothing happened, the Moor's infantry remainedsteady in our front, and the dark masses of cavalry continued to hangthreateningly on our flank. "I have brought my men out to give Meer Jaffier his chance, " saidColonel Clive to me in a low tone, "but if he is afraid to move, weare done. It is impossible to order an advance in face of that army. " He walked down the line once again, and counted our casualties. Bythis time we had lost ten Europeans, and about twice as many Sepoys. "That is enough, " the Colonel exclaimed sharply. "It is useless toexpose the men for nothing. Retire into the grove again. " This order was executed, and the enemy, appearing to gather couragefrom our retreat, advanced their artillery nearer, and quickened theirfire. However, their aim continued very bad, most of the shot merelystruck the branches of the trees, and the men were ordered to lie downfor the sake of greater safety. I was pleased to observe that all, even the Sepoys and Topasses, displayed the utmost coolness andconfidence. Several powder explosions happened about this time indifferent places in the enemy's ranks, and this served to increase thecontempt of our own men for the Nabob's forces. About eleven o'clock Colonel Clive called some of the officerstogether, and communicated his plans to them. "It is quite clear that the Nabob is afraid to attack us at closequarters, " he said, "or he would have ordered a further advance beforethis. Still I do not consider we are justified in quitting our shelterfor the present, in the absence of any demonstration from MeerJaffier. It will be better to let the cannonade go on for the rest ofthe day, and then try a night attack on their camp. " Most of the officers concurred in this opinion. As the Colonel and Iwere walking back to the lodge he turned to me suddenly, and asked mewhat I thought. "Why, sir, to be plain with you, I think the only men we have toregard are those forty Frenchmen in the tank, " I answered. "As far asthe rest are concerned, I very much doubt if they would stand fiveminutes against a charge. " The Colonel nodded. "I shouldn't be surprised if you were right. But remember, Ford, thatthose nine hundred men are the only European troops in Bengal, and ifI lose even two hundred of them this will be an expensive victory forme. What I want is to hold on till Surajah Dowlah's own troops deserthim, and then I may win everything without loss of life. " I was much impressed by this glimpse into Mr. Clive's mind, whichshowed him as something very different from the reckless, hot-headedsoldier some of his enemies have called him. Just at this time a shower of rain fell, and soon after the fire ofthe enemy sensibly slackened, some of their powder evidently havingbeen spoiled. Towards two o'clock a stranger thing took place, for thefiring ceased altogether, and the Moors were perceived yoking theirwhite oxen to the gun-stages again; and immediately after the wholearmy commenced to fall back slowly and re-enter the camp. I was standing by myself outside the door of the lodge when thissingular movement commenced, and I at once stepped inside to informColonel Clive. To my astonishment I found him asleep. The exhaustingwork of the last few days, followed by the total absence of rest onthe previous night, had proved too much for him. He had fallen on toa chair, and dropped asleep unawares. While I was hesitating whether to awaken him I heard some oneapproaching without. I went out softly, and found a sergeant of MajorKilpatrick's company, with a message for the Colonel. "I will take your message, sergeant, " I said, not wishing him to knowof Mr. Clive's slumber. "Faith, then, sir, it's just this, " said the fellow, who was anIrishman, "that the enemy's beat, and runnin' away entirely, and MajorKilpathrick's just after starting to take the tank from thosemurderin' Frenchies, so as to annoy the Nabob's retreat. " I turned red at this insolent message, which did not even requestColonel Clive's permission for the movement. Dismissing the sergeant, I darted in and woke up my commander. The Colonel was broad awake in an instant. When he heard what hadhappened he compressed his lips, without making any remark, and ranout of the lodge, and across the ground to where Kilpatrick wasleading his company towards the tank. "Halt!" shouted Colonel Clive, as he approached. The Major stopped, and looked confused. "I thought, sir, as every moment was precious----" he began, when Mr. Clive sharply cut him short. "I will receive your apologies this evening, sir. At present my ordersto you are to return and order up the whole force to support thismovement which you have so rashly begun. " He waited till the discomfited officer had retired, and then turningto me, he added with a touch of glee-- "Now, Ford, you and I will take the tank!" The word was given to double, and we advanced at a run, whereupon theFrenchmen, after one discharge, evacuated their position, and retiredupon the camp. The rest of the English force now marched out from the grove, andadvanced in line, pursuing the retreating enemy. But there was onepart of the Nabob's army which did not join in the movement of therest. A large division of cavalry, one of those which had formed thethreatening left wing, drew off from the rest and advanced towards ourright rear. Colonel Clive watched their movements with suspicion. "Are these fellows trying to take our baggage?" he murmured. "CaptainGrant, take three platoons and a field-piece, and see if you can fightoff those horse. " The order as given was obeyed, the slight demonstration provedsufficient, and the mysterious division drew away again out of range. In the meantime our main body advanced steadily, and kept up a briskfire on the Nabob's camp with our artillery. On this some of theretiring troops showed a disposition to come out again and renew theattack, encouraged by the example of the Frenchmen, who had gotpossession of the redoubt in the angle of the rampart, and were plyingus well with their guns. Seeing this disposition on the part of theenemy, Colonel Clive ordered some shot to be thrown among theircumbrous artillery trains. This was done with such effect that, numbers of the oxen being killed, the trains were thrown intoconfusion. At the same time some of the Moorish horse made a fewineffectual offers to charge, but were easily driven off, without evercoming to close quarters. Whatever cause had prompted the strange retreat of the enemy, it wasevident that the same cause was now operating to take all heart out oftheir defence. The only thing that gave us pause was the attitude ofthe Frenchmen in the redoubt, whose spirit communicated itself to thetroops in their immediate neighbourhood. While things were in thisdoubtful posture, I happened to glance round to see what had become ofthe cavalry division repulsed by Captain Grant. To my surprise I sawthem retiring slowly in an opposite direction to the Nabob's camp. Instantly I grasped the situation. "Colonel, " I whispered hurriedly, "don't you see that that must beMeer Jaffier's division!" Mr. Clive turned and stared for a moment in the direction I pointedin. "You are right, " he responded. "Meer Jaffier, of course! Well, sincehe has put off his assistance so long, he shall see how little weneeded it!" A thrill of fresh energy seemed to sweep through him as he beganissuing his orders for the final charge. Two columns were told off, one to clear a small eminence to the right, the other to attack theFrench in their redoubt, while the main body was directed to follow upin a grand attack on the whole camp. By my special request I wasallowed to join the column marching against the Frenchmen. We made adash forward--once, twice, thrice the Frenchmen fired at us as we cameon, then we saw them drop their linstocks and run, and in another fiveminutes it was all over. The entire English force was over theramparts together, the army which had marched out so gallantly againstus that morning was suddenly become a mere herd, a wretched mob offugitives crushing one another in their eagerness to escape from us, and we picked our way amid the plunder of Surajah Dowlah's richpavilion, victors of Plassy, masters and law-givers of Indostan! CHAPTER XX _RETRIBUTION_ Although, judged by the standard of such great battles as the King ofPrussia's, or the famous victories won by Marlborough over the French, this affair of Plassy may seem to be but a trifling skirmish, yet thecountry whose fate was decided upon that field, namely theSubahdarship of Bengal, Orissa, and Behar, is equal in magnitude tothe whole of King Frederic's dominions. In fact the blow struck thatday resounded throughout the entire East Indies, procuring for theEnglish an authority in every Court of Indostan, and for Mr. Clive therank of Omrah, with many rich presents, from the Great Mogul himself. For eight miles we kept up the pursuit of the flying Moors, and onlyrested from sheer weariness. The next morning Meer Jaffier rode intoour camp at Daudpore, ill at ease. But Colonel Clive received him withfriendship, and caused him to be saluted as the Nabob of Bengal. Fromhim we learned the particulars of what had taken place on the previousday in Surajah Dowlah's camp. The night before the battle the young Nabob had some suspicions thatthere was treachery going on round him. When the next morning he sawhis army halting at a distance from the English lines, and refusing tocome to close quarters, his suspicions were confirmed. One of hisgenerals on whom he most relied was slain soon after the artillerycombat commenced, and this further terrified him. Without quitting histent he sent for Meer Jaffier, whose division was posted on theextreme right, and implored him to save the day. He even took off histurban, than which there can be no greater humiliation for anOriental, and cast it at his uncle's feet, bidding him defend it. MeerJaffier left the tent, and at once despatched a message ofencouragement to Colonel Clive, which, however, never reached him. Shortly afterwards the unhappy Surajah Dowlah, vanquished by his ownfears, or, it may be, by the stings of his remorseful conscience, mounted a swift camel and fled, and this was the signal for thatgeneral movement of retreat which had given us the victory. After Colonel Clive and the new Nabob had discussed the situation fora short time, it was agreed between them that Meer Jaffier shouldproceed at once with his force to the capital to check any attempt atrallying on the part of Surajah Dowlah. Colonel Clive, with theEnglish army, was to follow more slowly. The moment I heard of these arrangements, I asked the Colonel forpermission to go forward in advance. "Why, what do you desire to do?" he asked. I showed him the written authority I had received from Meer Jaffier, and then, in as few words as possible, told him the story of Rupertand Marian, and of my resolution to deliver or avenge them. "Go, my boy, " he said when I had finished. "I will give you an orderin my own name, as well as that you have from the Meer Jaffier; andGod grant you may be in time to save your cousin and your sweetheartfrom the fury of that young tiger we have driven into his lair. " It was late at night that I came for the last time, riding on anelephant, into the city of Moorshedabad. Through the crowded streets Iurged my way, escorted by a handful of Meer Jaffier's horsemen, andseeing on every hand the tokens of the anarchy which had followed uponthe news of Plassy. The people were abroad, lights gleamed in everydirection, men ran hither and thither, and doors stood open with noone to guard the entrance. As we drew near to the palace of the Nabob the confusion increased. From the shouts of the crowd in answer to our questions we gatheredthat Surajah Dowlah had entered the city secretly after his flightfrom the field of battle, that he had called his parasites around him, that there had been rumours of another levy and another battle, thathis heart had again failed him, that he was expected to fly oncemore, that he might at that very moment be making his escape beforethe approach of his successor. As the palace came into view it was evident that if Surajah Dowlahwere not already gone, his presence had ceased to act as a restrainton his former servants. The courtyard was crammed with a strugglingthrong of palace menials and robbers out of the streets, all engagedin the work of plunder. Some were staggering down the steps, entangledin the folds of brocades and sumptuous shawls, others bore tulwars andscymetars encrusted with gems, some were stripping the gold off robes, others picking rubies and sapphires out of their sockets with thepoints of daggers, and secreting them about their persons. The groundwas strewn with plunder thrown away in favour of something morevaluable, rich vessels of green jade lay broken in one place, andsilken garments were trodden underfoot in another. And all this wasmerely the loot of the outer rooms of the palace, for the treasury wasnot yet touched. At our approach the work ceased. The rioters began to escape, and theeunuchs and soldiers belonging to the palace shrank back to theirquarters. Leaving Meer Jaffier's officer to deal with them, Idismounted from my elephant and pressed my way through into thedeserted palace, taking with me only two men as a protection. I didnot stay to explore the empty halls and dismantled chambers, buthurried as fast as I could go into the garden, and on to thewell-remembered summer-house where I had caught my last glimpse ofMarian on that night a year ago. I ran up to the door at which we hadknocked the same night. It was standing open. I darted through, raninto each room, climbed the stair, and searched every nook and crannyabove. Not a trace of her I sought was there. Without lingering a moment I went on and explored the other buildingsin the garden. In some of them I found frightened women, left alone, and expecting that I had come to slay them. But from none could I hearanything of the English captive. Here and there a frightened eunuch, dragged cowering from his hiding-place, recalled Marian's presence ayear before, but could or would tell me nothing of her fate. I ravedand stormed through the seraglio like one possessed, but it was all invain. I turned back to the main building, by this time in the hands of thenew Nabob's servants, who were restoring it to some sort of order. They told me that Surajah Dowlah had got away an hour previously, having let himself down by a rope from a lattice into a boat on theriver, with only two attendants. When I showed them the papers I hadreceived from their master and also from Colonel Clive, they offeredme every assistance, and even joined in the search. During severalhours we ransacked every part of the palace, but found no signs ofeither of the English prisoners. The principal eunuchs were called andquestioned. At first they declined to speak, but when one of the Moorswith me threatened them with torture they became more communicative, and finally one of them asked if we had gone down into the secretdungeons. This hint sent a cold shiver through my veins. I bade the eunuch leadthe way, and he conducted us through a secret door, down a narrowwinding stair into a horrible basement, constructed under the bed ofthe Ganges, where no light could come by day or night, except thatbrought by the torches of the gaolers. The place was like a maze, withbranching passages and cells, almost every one of which held somevictim of Oriental tyranny. But I had neither eyes nor thoughts forwhat was around me, as we hurried down passage after passage andopened door after door in the search for those two whom I had come tosave. Finally the eunuch stopped at a certain door at the very end ofthe darkest passage we had yet traversed. It was opened, and I lookedin. I could not at first believe that what I beheld was a human being. Stretched out on the damp soil of the den lay a miserable, shrunkenobject, a thing like a skeleton wrapped in parchment, with the faintoutlines of a man. On our entrance it moved and just raised its head. "What do you want?" it asked in Indostanee. And then in English itbreathed, "Is this the end?" It was the voice of my cousin Rupert! With a cry, I was on my knees by his side, lifting his woeful head inmy arms. "Rupert! Look! It is your cousin Athelstane!" He moved slowly and sat up. Then a shudder went through his attenuatedframe. "Don't you see what they have done to me?" he groaned. "The devilshave put out my eyes!" And the devils had. Rupert Gurney, the bold, handsome, careless, wicked, swaggering Rupert, whom I had loved and feared and hated allmy life, would never be bold nor handsome nor swaggering any more, andI should never need to fear or hate him again. His wickedness had beenrewarded; his crimes had met a heavier retribution than any I had everthought to inflict. He had fallen into the hands of one compared towhom he had been but a beginner in iniquity; one fit of SurajahDowlah's cruel frenzy had struck upon him, and had left him brandedfor life. Of Marian's fate he knew nothing. As soon as I had given directions tohave him carried up out of the dungeon I renewed my search for herwith a heart ready to burst at the thought of what I might find. When we did find her I was almost relieved. After the frightfulapprehensions I had entertained, it seemed to be good fortune thatshe should be merely wasted away, without any outward disfigurement ofthat face that had been my beacon in dreams and raptures for thosevain years. In my own arms I bore her out of that doleful place and upinto the open air, through the palace now swarming with the stir andbustle of the newly arrived Nabob's Court, into the garden where theday was breaking and the birds were beginning to sing, and laid herdown, at her own desire, on a bed in that very summer-house where Ihad tried--ah, why had I failed?--to rescue her on the night thatseemed so long ago. There for two days I never left her. Some of the eunuchs first, andafterwards some Indian women, came and waited on us, and brought usall the food we needed--and that was not much for either of us. Shelay still, saying little, and sometimes holding my hand while sheslept, and then waking up to shed tears upon it, and to murmur thegratitude which I had done so little to deserve. On the second day Ihad Rupert brought to her. He was better by this time, though stillvery weak, and just able to walk across the room with his arm restingin mine. I guided him to a seat beside her, and placed their hands inone another's, and then I came out quickly. I left them together; forif I had loved Marian, he had loved her too, and if my love for herhad been the stronger, so had been hers for him. And I could not feeljealousy any longer now that Marian was dying. For this was the end of it all, the end of my stormy love and rivalryand my adventures in the Indian realms. Marian, the beautiful Marian, the woman whose fascination had led me so far, and involved me amongsuch strange events in such unwonted scenes, was dying. I had come toolate to save her, and all I had done or attempted for her sake hadbeen in vain. And when I knew this, when I looked back over thosethree troubled years and saw the outcome, there came borne in upon mymind a great resignation; I beheld myself as if I had been anotherperson, and the folly and wickedness that was in my heart stoodrevealed to me as they had never been even in those dreadful hours inthe Calcutta dungeon, when I sank down, as I believed, to die. Standing beside that bedside of the woman I had loved and sinned for, watching the grey stain of mortality creep out upon those gloriousfeatures, the world and all its prizes and possessions became to me amockery, and all that remained to comfort me was the memory of words Ihad read in that old Book at home: there, in that heathen palace, surrounded by the temples and trophies of false gods, was vouchsafedto me the light which I had refused to receive when I dwelt amongChristians in a Christian land, and the Divine mercy which hadfollowed me through so many wanderings overtook me at the last. On the morning of the third day one of the Indian servants who waitedupon us took me aside and whispered something in my ear--somethingwhich made my heart beat fiercely and sent a tingle through my veins. I left the summer-house and took my way into the palace. Through thestately halls and along the marble pavements, amid the servile crowdthat swarmed to pay homage to Meer Jaffier, I passed, and on till Icame to that hideous stair up which I had brought two of SurajahDowlah's victims such a short time before. On the way I gatheredsomething of what had taken place. One of Surajah Dowlah's former subjects, a man whose ears the youngNabob had barbarously cut off for some offence, had recognised him inhis flight, and had betrayed him to the agents of his successor. Hewas brought back in chains to Moorshedabad and carried before MeerJaffier, at whose feet he flung himself, sobbing, and beseeching thathis miserable life might be spared. Meer Jaffier, partly moved by hisentreaties, partly restrained by regard for Colonel Clive, had shown awish to spare him. But in Meer Jaffier's son, young Meeram, the fallentyrant had found a spirit as ferocious and ungovernable as his own. This boy--for he was scarcely sixteen--thirsted for his cousin'sblood, and even attempted to stab him in Meer Jaffier's presence. MeerJaffier, afraid of his son, had ordered the prisoner to be removedinto the dungeons under a guard, and this was done. But the fury ofMeeram was not to be appeased. In the dark hours of the night, unknownto his father, he had descended into the dungeon, bribed or overawedthe guards, and---- They threw open the door. They held up their torches over a darkobject lying on the ground. There, with a dozen red rents in the bosomof his tunic, with blood thickly soaked into the dye of his silk robe, with blood caked upon the rubies and emeralds in his turban, I sawSurajah Dowlah, dead! For some minutes I stood still in the presence of this impressiveretribution, recalling the brief but terrible career which had thustragically ended. There lay the cruellest despot of his age, thepractitioner of horrible debaucheries, the sworn enemy of the Englishname, who had driven us out of Bengal, and perpetrated thenever-to-be-forgotten massacre in which I had been so nearly included. I was but newly come out of the presence of two of his victims, andhere I beheld him cut off from light more surely than the man he hadblinded, dead while the woman he had murdered still breathed. I gazed, and was satisfied. The evil desires of vengeance which had tormentedme for so long were utterly extinguished. I beheld before me thejustice of high Heaven, and I came away, not exulting, but awed andsubdued. I returned to Marian's bedside, and from that time I did not leaveher till the end. Occasionally she would talk to me in a low, sweetvoice, calling back memories of the old town of Yarmouth and thepleasant scenes of her youth. Once she spoke to me of myself. "I have treated you very ill, Athelstane. I knew that I could neverrepay you for your love, but it made me proud to have it; I liked tocount upon your devotion to me, and I deceived and tempted you. " I tried to protest, but she would have it so. "I have been wrong in everything I did to you, " she said. "I oughtnever to have treated you as a friend, but as a stranger. Then youwould have grown out of your foolish passion, and have forgotten me;for, believe me, Athelstane, I was not fit for you, nor you for me. Beneath your hot temper and adventurous spirit, in which you resembleyour cousin, you are a very different nature. You are a Puritan atbottom, and your conscience will not let you rest except in sober, honest ways of life. It is better that you should take a wife fromamong your own people, one whose nature is in accord with what isdeepest and best in you, and not with what is worst. Forgive me, Athelstane, and forget me, as one that crossed your life by an evilchance and wrought you only harm. " But that, as I told her with tears, I never could do, nor wouldbelieve. And even now, when I look back across the years with calmervision and a wiser judgment, I am still glad that I knew and lovedMarian Rising, and never wish to root the memory of that wild romanceout of my heart. She spoke to me also of my cousin Rupert, saying that she had long agoforgiven--indeed, I think she never was really able to resent--hiswrongs done towards her, and asking me to do the same. I assured herthat I had long ago buried all remains of ill-will between us, and Ipromised her that I would take him back to England with me, andendeavour to make his peace with his father at Lynn. Soon afterwards she became very weak, and, seeing that the last momentwas approaching, I fetched Rupert in to her. He stood with his headbowed above the bed, his hair streaked with grey and the marks of theagony he had suffered on his face, while Marian caught hold of hishand, and, with the feeble remains of her strength, carried it to herlips and kissed it. In the doorway stood an Indian, gazing at thesight with solemn, unmoved visage. Outside we could hear the distantclash of the temple gongs in honour of some sacrifice, and through thelattices there was a glimpse of high white walls, with narrow slits ofwindows, shaded over by the dark-green foliage of a teak tree. Was itall real? I asked myself, or some vision which had come to me in thenight, and from which I should awake to find myself abed in my ownlittle room at home in Brandon? So the hour passed, and the last minute came. "Pray for me, Athelstane, " Marian whispered to me, "for I have been agreat sinner, and for myself I hardly dare to pray. " So I knelt down upon the floor, and the blind man opposite me did thesame; and as I used the familiar phrases which I had learnedunconsciously in my youth from many repetitions, a peace stole overthe room, and Rupert's great sobs ceased to shake him, and the hand Iheld in my own grew very still and cold. And presently I looked up, and saw that Marian was dead. CHAPTER XXI _COLONEL CLIVE'S MESSAGE_ So now my career in the East Indies was over, and I set my face toreturn home. The first person to whom I communicated my intention was ColonelClive. He was at first astonished, and told me so. "Why do you mean to leave me now, when all our affairs are prospering, and you have nothing to do but to stay on and enrich yourself? I havehad it in my mind to promote you; indeed, I think you know that I amyour good friend. " "I do, indeed, sir, " I answered, "and I am most grateful for all yourkindness to me. But it is right that I should tell you I am here inconsequence of wrong-doing, which has, as I can now see, pursued mysteps and caused me to be harassed with troubles and misfortunes fromthe very beginning to this hour. " "Why, what wrong have you been guilty of?" asked the Colonel, muchinterested. "I could have sworn you were the most honest young man inmy company. " "I have run away from my home, sir. I have deceived and disobeyed myfather and, I fear, caused great sorrow to my loving mother. I allowedmyself to be tempted to leave them secretly, under cover of afalsehood, and to join a crew of privateers, who turned out to bepirates, the comrades of those whom you destroyed at Gheriah. In theircompany I fell into evil courses, and finally plunged into a murderouscontest with one of my own flesh and blood. These things have long satheavy on my mind. I have perceived their evil consequences, I havebeen visited with a bitter punishment, and I am now determined to goback to my parents and to obtain their forgiveness before it is toolate. " Colonel Clive looked at me with some sympathy, mingled with wonder. "I believe you have decided rightly, " he said at last, when I hadfinished. "God forbid that I should keep you from making your peacewith those who love you. " His tone softened as he added: "My story isdifferent to yours. I didn't run away; I was driven, pitchforked outof doors, and stuck into a miserable billet at Madras, where I nearlyate my heart out with loneliness and repining. When I returned toEngland it was not to ask forgiveness, but to give it, if a son cantake it upon himself to forgive his parent. No matter, all that ispast now, and I believe my family have found out that I am worth thelove they have to give me. Look here, my boy, I have no business totalk like this to you; but, after all, we can't be always thinking ofrupees and Moorish tricks. Since you are bent on going to England, youshall start in the ship which I am sending from Calcutta with the newsof our late proceedings, and I will give you a letter, which you areto deliver privately into the hands of Mr. Pitt. " At this name I looked up with flushing cheeks. "The great Mr. Pitt?" I exclaimed. "Yes, the great Mr. Pitt, " returned Colonel Clive, with a slightinflection of bitterness in his tone. "But you are right, Ford, he isa very great man, and though his battles have been won within the fourwalls of St. Stephen's Chapel, while we lesser men have to fight invery different scenes, far be it from me to grudge all honour to theman who was the first to do honour to me. He is fortunate in havingfor his theatre the senate of a great kingdom of Europe, I unfortunatein having for mine a remote country of which half Europe has neverheard. Still, I recognise his merits, and it is for that reason I amaddressing myself to him on a subject which is near to my heart. " The Colonel paused for a few moments. "But I cannot have you return to England empty-handed, " he resumed. "What is your share of the gratuity promised to the army I do not yetknow, but I tell you what you shall do: go into the treasury, andhelp yourself while there is time. " I stared at this permission, but Colonel Clive merely nodded his head, and turned to write the letter he had spoken of. Perceiving that hewas in earnest, I went off to the Nabob's palace, and made my way tothe treasury, where I found Mr. Watts and some others busily engagedin taking an inventory of everything it contained, which was to beshipped down the river in boats to Calcutta. I walked through the rooms looking about me. Never in my life have Iseen, nor am I like to see such a sight again. So much treasure wasthere scattered around me, that I could scarce believe it when Mr. Watts told me that the whole was insufficient to meet the sums pledgedby Meer Jaffier. In every room I feasted my eyes upon the light ofcountless jewels. Silver was heaped on every floor, and gold on everyshelf. Great green jade jars contained nothing but uncut gems. Allkinds of weapons were there, their very shapes disguised under thegold and jewel-work which loaded them. There were chairs of ivory, anda table of solid agate-stone. Massy chains of gold trailed fromdrawers, and bricks of silver were built up into banks along thewalls. It was a confusion of magnificence, a very litter of preciousthings. I informed Mr. Watts of the permission which Colonel Clive had givenme to help myself, and he confirmed it. "Take what you please, " he said carelessly. "You will find theemeralds run larger than any other stone, but some of them are flawed. There is a pretty string of rubies somewhere that it might be worthwhile to choose. The biggest diamond is already promised, but thereare several lesser ones, uncut, which I should judge to be worth fromtwenty to forty thousand rupees each. " He returned to his catalogue, and I to my exploration. After rejectingmany necklaces and crowns that I did not deem to be of sufficientsplendour, I finally fixed upon a tulwar, which I found in a box ofmother-of-pearl by itself. The handle was set with an enormoussapphire, and the hilt incrusted with diamonds, some of them as big asmy thumbnail. I was afterwards offered three thousand pounds for it bya Gentoo merchant in Calcutta, but preferred to bring it home with me, where it afterwards fetched more than double that sum at a goldsmith'sin Covent Garden. Nor was this all that I brought away with me, for when I went to takeleave of Meer Jaffier, he presented me, as a mark of his esteem, witha very handsome dress of gold cloth, and a string of pearls, valuedafterwards at a thousand pounds. So that I was now become a rich man. We buried Marian at night, by the Nabob's permission, in a corner ofthe garden of the seraglio. The chaplain of the thirty-ninth regimentconducted the service, and I caused a slab of marble to be set up tomark the grave, inscribed simply with her name and the date of herdeath. This tomb, I have been told, still stands, and is pointed outto English visitors to Moorshedabad as the grave of the Englishwomanwho was imprisoned in the Black Hole. The following day, having received Colonel Clive's letter, and biddenhim an affectionate farewell, I embarked with Rupert upon one of thebarges which were carrying the treasure down to Calcutta. The fleetstarted in procession, and went down the river, with music playing ondeck, flying flags by day, and coloured lanterns by night, till wereached the English settlement. There I found old Muzzy, patientlywaiting for me, and full of pride in the victory, in which he wasprone to attribute a great share to me. Five months later we sailed up the Thames, and set foot once more onEnglish soil. One thing only detained me in London. This was the delivery of theletter which Colonel Clive had entrusted to me for Mr. Pitt. It was a privilege which I could not rate too highly to be thus madethe intermediary between the two greatest Englishmen of my time, menof a type that seems now to be lost among us. Since Colonel Clive wehave had no victorious captain, and since Mr. Pitt, no mightyminister, and hence it is that our country, which under the rule of aCromwell or a Pitt, hath risen to be the arbiter of Europe, and heldall nations in awe, is now sunk, under the sway of feeble intellects, to a precarious position, the mock of every power, and saved only byher fleets from absolute destruction. I do not find it easy to describe my sensations when I was usheredinto the presence of the Great Commoner, and saw before me thatmajestic figure, with the profile of a Roman conqueror, and a glancehardly less terrible to encounter than the full blaze of the sun. WhenI have stood before the Nabob of Bengal, throned in the midst of hisCourt, I have seen in front of me nothing but a peevish, debauchedyoung man, but when I came into the room where Mr. Pitt was I feltthat I was in the presence of a ruler of men. His attitude, hiscommanding gestures, and the stately manner he had of slowly movinghis head round upon his neck to look at you, made a most tremendousimpression; and I found it easy to believe the stories of men havingrisen to speak against him in the House of Commons, and then shrunkback miserably into their seats at a mere look from this extraordinaryperson. Mr. Pitt's manner of reading Colonel Clive's despatch furtherimpressed me. He broke the seals, seemed to do no more than give it afew devouring glances, and then laid it aside as though he werealready master of its contents. "You are Ensign Ford?" he demanded abruptly, fixing his eye upon me. "I am, sir. " "Colonel Clive tells me in this letter that you possess hisconfidence. Do you think, if I were to tell you my sentimentsverbally, you could transmit them faithfully to your employer?" "I will do my best, sir, " I replied, not a little astonished at thisproposal. But I have considered the matter since, and I can see thatthere were many things which Mr. Pitt might not wish to write with hisown hand, though he had no objection to their being repeated by me. "In this letter, " he proceeded, "Colonel Clive makes a very startlingproposal, which is no less than that English troops should be sent outsufficient to conquer the whole of Bengal, and that thereafter theadministration of all the Indian territories should be taken out ofthe hands of the Company and brought immediately under the Crown. Nowwhat I wish you to tell him from me in reply is this, that I am boundto consider his proposal not merely as it affects our situationabroad, but also as it bears upon our government at home. I am theminister, not of a despotic empire like France or Spain, but of a freepeople, and I must not suffer anything which may assist the Crown toencroach upon our liberties. Those liberties rest upon the necessitywhich our kings are under of asking us to tax ourselves for theirsupport. Give them a foreign empire like that of Spain in theAmericas, and you run a danger of rendering them independent. Thewealth arising from the revenues of Indostan would enable the Crown tokeep up a standing army in time of peace, without the consent ofParliament. Moreover, the administration of these territories wouldgive occasion for the creation of great numbers of offices andpensions, by means of which our people might be fatally corrupted. "I would have you further point out to Colonel Clive on my behalf, "continued Mr. Pitt, "that those Indians, whom he proposes to make ourfellow subjects, are accustomed to be the slaves of a despot, andbeing such, they may become dangerous instruments to make slaves ofus. I should dread to see the sovereigns of this country callingthemselves emperors in the Indies, and valuing that character abovethat of kings of Great Britain. Believe me, young man, it is not easyfor a nation to play the despot abroad without losing its freedom athome; as I have frequently observed that those who had returned tothis country after holding great places in the East, have shownthemselves indifferent to the rights of the subject here. " All this, and much more, did Mr. Pitt say to me, of which I havepreserved only these meagre recollections. But how feeble an image dothe written words preserve of the eloquence with which he spoke, theenthusiasm which kindled in his eye when he touched upon ourliberties, and the warning emphasis he laid upon his expressions aboutthe power of the Crown! I felt almost as though I had been the bearerof propositions for some unnatural treason, and I was not a littlerelieved when Mr. Pitt finally concluded by bidding me thank ColonelClive very heartily for his civility in writing to him, and promisedto carefully consider of his suggestions. To this he added some very high compliments to the Colonel's greatabilities and military glory, all of which I transmitted in a letterto Mr. Clive shortly afterwards. And I have set down the above warningof the great patriot minister in this place, for the instruction ofposterity, in case a time should ever arrive when the people of thiscountry, in their too eager grasping after foreign conquests contraryto the nature of an island, which is to rest content within theborders of its own seas, shall find they have bartered away thepriceless heritage of their own freedom, and sunk into a mere unheededfraction of a dominion which they no longer wield. CHAPTER XXII _AFTER MANY DAYS_ It was about the hour of five o'clock in the afternoon, and beingwinter it was already dusk, when I came at last to my native place, and rode up to the gate of my father's house. I had journeyed down as far as Norwich in company with my cousinRupert, who was on his way to Lynn, and with my faithful friend, oldMuzzy, who had sworn never to leave me, and whom I was not less lothto part with. And finding myself, as I came back into that countrywhere I was born, utterly overmastered by a strong passion ofhome-sickness, I had no sooner procured comfortable lodgings for mycompanions in the Maid's Head Inn, of Norwich, than I got uponhorseback and rode over by myself to look upon my father and motheragain. But as I came towards the house, the greater my longing was to enterit again, so much the more was I daunted by a fearful apprehension ofthe reception I should meet with, as well as of the changes whichmight have been wrought during my absence. So that at the last I darednot ride up boldly to the door, but came along softly, and dismountedand tied my horse to the outer gate. After which I slipped insidequietly, and round the side of the house to the window of the greatparlour, through which I could see the warm glow of a fire illuminatethe wintry mist without. When I had come to the window I raised myself up till my head was on alevel with the bottom panes, and looked within. The room held four persons. On one side of the fire sat my father, seeming to be much older than I remembered him, in his greatarm-chair, with pillows at the back. Standing up on the opposite sideof the hearth was a figure which I quickly recognised for Mr. PeterWalpole, though his back was towards me. It was Saturday night, and hehad plainly arrived a short time before me, from Norwich. Between thetwo was my mother, sitting placidly as of old, and unchanged exceptfor a wistful sadness in her eyes, which it smote me to the heart tonotice, and beside her a young woman, scarce more than a girl, with asingular sweet expression on her face, who was at first strange to me. Mr. Walpole was speaking when I first looked in upon them. "We are like to have more news from the East Indies. The _NorwichJournal_ announces that a Company's ship has entered the Thames, bringing news of a great victory over the Moors of Bengal. " My mother looked round sharply, and cried out-- "Tell me at once, Mr. Walpole, if you have heard anything of our boy?" The good old man shook his head. "No, no, ma'am, there is no news of that sort. I fear it will be longbefore we hear of him. Indeed, it is but a chance that he is out inthe East Indies at all. We did but hear a rumour that he had been seenin Calcutta. " My mother let her head droop upon her breast. The girl bent over toher and laid her hand upon my mother's shoulder. "Don't let yourself think that Athelstane has come to harm, " she saidin a sweet, clear voice. (And if I had not recognised the face Irecognised the voice. It was my little playmate, Patience Thurstan. )"I have a faith which makes me sure that he is still alive, and willsome day come back to us again. " "No!" It was my father's voice I heard, coming sternly from where hesat upright in his chair. "He will not come back here. He left thishouse of his own free will, left it in treachery and deceit. He hascast its dust from off his feet, and this is his home no more. " My heart sank within me at these bitter words. But Patience pleadedfor me still. "Ah, but he will return, I know he will, and if he does you willforgive him, won't you, Mr. Ford? After all he was but a boy when heran away, too young to know what he was doing. How can we tell whatsuffering he has gone through since, how often he has repented of whathe did, and longed to come back and be forgiven. " Mr. Peter Walpole gave a groan. "It is I was to blame, as much as the boy, come, brother Ford. Remember how I held out for that premium with him. Not but what thesum I named was just, mind you; but I loved the lad and would havetaken him without a premium at all, rather than he should have gonewandering about the world, to be murdered by heathen men andcannibals. " I cannot express how surprised and touched I was to hear Mr. Walpolespeak thus of me. For I had ever regarded him as a cold, hard man, with no affections beyond money and religion. I looked anxiously formy father's reply. "Nay, you were in no wise to blame, if you considered that what youasked was your right, though to my mind it savoured of extortion. Itis my unhappy son whom I cannot excuse. Had he but come to me, andtold me what was in his heart, it would have gone hard but I wouldhave provided for him in some honest career. But to let himself beenticed away by pirates, as there is little doubt they were, and todissemble his flight with falsehood, that was unworthy of a son ofmine, and cannot be atoned for. " He gave a glance, half angry, half questioning, at my mother, as heconcluded. I did the same, but was surprised to observe that her facewas returned to its former placid composure, and she seemed not toheed my father's stern expressions. Poor little Patience took them more to heart, and the tears shone inher eyes. "Don't say you won't forgive him!" she implored. "Think, for aught weknow he may now be pining in a Moorish dungeon, or lying wounded onthe battle-field. Oh, Mr. Ford, he was your only son, and you lovedhim--you must love him still!" "Silence, girl!" cried my father, very fierce. "How dare you tell me Ilove a rebellious child! I should wrong my conscience, and be false tomy profession as a Christian man, if I were weak enough to do what yousay. " Patience turned and appealed to my mother. "Won't you speak to him, mother? Why do you sit there so quietly? Youlove Athelstane as much as--as much as any one. " My mother cast a tender glance at my father. "Hush, child! There is no need to speak. Athelstane's father forgavehim long ago. " I saw my father start and tremble. "Woman! What is it you say? What do you know?" he exclaimed. "You sawme cross his name out of the Bible with my own hand!" "Yes, dear, " my mother answered very softly, "but you wrote it inagain that very night, when you thought I was asleep. " And rising out of her chair she crossed over and took down the bookfrom where it had lain those three years and more, and opened the pagewhere, as I have often seen it since, my name was written in again inlarge letters, and underneath in a shaken hand, the words, "Oh, Athelstane, my son, my son!" Then, whether because of the flickering of the firelight, or the steamof my breath upon the pane, I ceased to see very distinctly, and cameaway from the window, and went round to the door, where I gave a loudknock. The door was opened by Patience, and seeing before her, as shethought, a stranger in a uniform coat, she uttered a cry of surprise. "Who are you, sir?" "I am an ensign in the East India Company's service, as you see, " Ianswered, jesting to conceal the fullness of my heart. But I suppose there was that within her which told her more quicklythan her eyes who it was, for before I had spoken two words the littlesilly thing fell a-sobbing and crying, and I had to take her in myarms, without more ado, and bring her in with me. My mother has always affirmed that she knew I was to return thatnight, even when I was outside by the window, and that the first stepI made across the threshold told her all. But instead of running outto meet me, in her beautiful wisdom she went over to where my fathersat still, and leant against his chair and put her arm round his neck. So I found them when I came in alone, leaving Patience in the hall, and walked straight over, and would have knelt down before my father. But he prevented me, and rose out of his chair with a great cry, anddrew me to him, and so stood holding me in silence, while my motherwept; and presently I saw his lips moving, and found that he waswhispering to himself, "This my son was dead, and is alive again; hewas lost, and is found. " Afterwards we all knelt down together, while Mr. Walpole offered up aprayer; and then I sat in the midst and told them the whole story ofmy wanderings and perils as I have written it here. And later on, noting that Patience was dressed in black, I inquired, and found thatshe had lost her father nearly a year before, and was become myfather's ward till she should attain the age of twenty-one, or marrywith his consent. It was not for a long time after that I surprised her little secret, and discovered that depth of true affection which had been waiting forme all those years beside my own hearth, while I was pursuing phantomsfar away. But being alone with her one day, and our talk turning onthe riches I had brought back with me, and how I was to bestow them, Isaid to her-- "For one thing, I must buy you a fairing, Patience, like I used to dowhen we were children together. Have you forgotten, I wonder, theguinea which I gave you to spend, on the last day I ever spent athome?" "No, indeed, I have not. I remember it very well, " she answered, blushing. "Why, is that so? And pray what did you buy with it?" I asked smiling. "Nothing at all, " said Patience shortly. "Nothing! What then----" "I have it by me, somewhere. " She pretended to speak carelessly, butmy suspicions were aroused. "I insist on knowing where, Patience, " I said in a tone of command, such as I have never known her to resist. "You must find out for yourself, then, " says she, trying to defy me. (For the first and last time, God bless her!) I took her by the arms and held her firmly. "Now, Patience, tell me what you have done with my guinea, " Idemanded, quite stern. "I kept it--for a keepsake. Oh, Athelstane, don't laugh at me, I haveit on the ribbon round my neck!" I didn't laugh at her. But I kissed her, and--well, well!--she kissedme back. And I was surprised to find how little anybody else wassurprised when they heard of it, and how they all seemed to take it asa matter of course, and my father told me quite coolly that heintended me to marry as soon as Patience should be eighteen, and tolive on Abner Thurstan's farm, which she had inherited by his will. * * * * * Of Rupert, as well as of old Muzzy, I must briefly speak. I conductedmy cousin to his father, as I had promised, and sought to reconcilethem. But I found my uncle to be harsher than I had expected. He had, besides, married again, and his wife looked sourly on the blind manshe was asked to entertain in her house. The upshot of it was that Itold her if she would take care of Rupert till I was married I wouldthen have him to live with me. And in our house he still abides, amuch altered man, given to the hearing of sermons, and never so happyas when Patience sits down to read him a piece from the Bible or the_Norwich Journal_; though sometimes a flash of his old spirit returnswhen I sit beside him after supper and talk over our old adventures inthe East. I found it more difficult at first to befriend old Muzzy. For thoughthe old man professed to be, and I am sure really was, anxious toreform and lead a better life, he made but a poor business of it, andhis constant profane oaths and habits of rum-drinking proved a severetrial to my mother and Patience. I had told them of his many servicesto me, including his having saved my life, and therefore they made ita duty to show kindness to the old man, and endeavour to bear withhis ways. But I think they would have failed, and I should have beenobliged to find a home for him elsewhere, but for his havingaccidentally told them of the affair outside Calcutta. No sooner didthese tender-hearted women learn that I had saved old Muzzy's life (asthey chose to consider it) than they instantly conceived a strongaffection for the old man, and instead of finding him a burden nothingpleased them better than to sit in his company while the boatswainrelated the story of my prowess, interrupting it at every minute toexcuse himself for some dreadful expression which had brought thetears into their eyes. The tale lost nothing in the telling, and I amashamed to say that he so improved upon it in course of time as tomake it appear that I had marched single-handed through the Nabob'sentire army, severely wounded the Nabob himself, and slain many of hisprincipal generals, and finally emerged, carrying old Muzzy himselfacross my shoulders like a suckling lamb. Peace to old Muzzy! His heart was as innocent as his life andconversation were depraved. I believe my mother used to buy tobaccofor him; and I am certain I once detected my wife secretly giving himrum. In this peaceful manner my adventures ended, and I found myself, farbeyond my deserts, settled at last in the land where I was born, amongthose who loved me and whom I loved. And we are so made, and this life of ours is so strange a thing, thatsometimes, when I walk abroad in the evening, as I was wont to do inmy boyhood, and stand beside the lonely, rippling water of the broad, and watch the reflection of the sunset upon the distant walls ofYarmouth town; sometimes, I say, I ask myself whether all this hasreally been as I have thus written it, or whether all these eventsfrom my first running away from my father's roof; and those nights anddays in the streets of yonder town and beneath the roof of the old"Three-decker"; and the woman I loved and fought for; and my cousinRupert's enmity; and the voyage which I took to the East Indies, andthe battles and perils which I passed through; and last of all thatwhite tomb in the seraglio garden in far-off Moorshedabad; whetherthey are not dreams and visions which have come to me while I haveslept. UNWIN BROTHERS, THE GRESHAM PRESS, WOKING AND LONDON. =A SELECTION FROM= =Messrs. C. 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