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diff --git a/18813.txt b/18813.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8e7a148 --- /dev/null +++ b/18813.txt @@ -0,0 +1,14963 @@ +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 18813-h.htm or 18813-h.zip: + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/8/9/1/18813/18813-h/18813-h.htm) + or + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/8/9/1/18813/18813-h.zip) + + + + + +The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Tiger of Mysore, by G. A. Henty, +Illustrated by W. H. Margetson + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: The Tiger of Mysore + A Story of the War with Tippoo Saib + + +Author: G. A. Henty + + + +Release Date: July 12, 2006 [eBook #18813] +[Most recently updated August 3, 2006] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TIGER OF MYSORE*** + + +E-text prepared by Martin Robb + + + +THE TIGER OF MYSORE: + +A Story of the War with Tippoo Saib + +by + +G. A. HENTY. + +Illustrated by W. H. Margetson + +1895 + + + + + + + + Preface. +Chapter 1: A Lost Father. +Chapter 2: A Brush With Privateers. +Chapter 3: The Rajah. +Chapter 4: First Impressions. +Chapter 5: War Declared. +Chapter 6: A Perilous Adventure. +Chapter 7: Besieged. +Chapter 8: The Invasion Of Mysore. +Chapter 9: News Of The Captive. +Chapter 10: In Disguise. +Chapter 11: A Useful Friend. +Chapter 12: A Tiger In A Zenana. +Chapter 13: Officers Of The Palace. +Chapter 14: A Surprise. +Chapter 15: Escape. +Chapter 16: The Journey. +Chapter 17: Back At Tripataly. +Chapter 18: A Narrow Escape. +Chapter 19: Found At Last. +Chapter 20: The Escape. +Chapter 21: Home. + + + +Preface. + + +While some of our wars in India are open to the charge that they were +undertaken on slight provocation, and were forced on by us in order +that we might have an excuse for annexation, our struggle with Tippoo +Saib was, on the other hand, marked by a long endurance of wrong, and +a toleration of abominable cruelties perpetrated upon Englishmen and +our native allies. Hyder Ali was a conqueror of the true Eastern type. +He was ambitious in the extreme. He dreamed of becoming the Lord of +the whole of Southern India. He was an able leader, and, though +ruthless where it was his policy to strike terror, he was not cruel +from choice. + +His son, Tippoo, on the contrary, revelled in acts of the most +abominable cruelty. It would seem that he massacred for the very +pleasure of massacring, and hundreds of British captives were killed +by famine, poison, or torture, simply to gratify his lust for murder. +Patience was shown towards this monster until patience became a fault, +and our inaction was naturally ascribed by him to fear. Had firmness +been shown by Lord Cornwallis, when Seringapatam was practically in +his power, the second war would have been avoided and thousands of +lives spared. The blunder was a costly one to us, for the work had to +be done all over again, and the fault of Lord Cornwallis retrieved by +the energy and firmness of the Marquis of Wellesley. + +The story of the campaign is taken from various sources, and the +details of the treatment of the prisoners from the published +narratives of two officers who effected their escape from prisons. + +G. A. Henty. + + + +Chapter 1: A Lost Father. + + +"There is no saying, lad, no saying at all. All I know is that your +father, the captain, was washed ashore at the same time as I was. As +you have heard me say, I owed my life to him. I was pretty nigh gone +when I caught sight of him, holding on to a spar. Spent as I was, I +managed to give a shout loud enough to catch his ear. He looked round. +I waved my hand and shouted, 'Goodbye, Captain!' Then I sank lower and +lower, and felt that it was all over, when, half in a dream, I heard +your father's voice shout, 'Hold on, Ben!' I gave one more struggle, +and then I felt him catch me by the arm. I don't remember what +happened, until I found myself lashed to the spar beside him. + +"'That is right, Ben,' he said cheerily, as I held up my head; 'you +will do now. I had a sharp tussle to get you here, but it is all +right. We are setting inshore fast. Pull yourself together, for we +shall have a rough time of it in the surf. Anyhow, we will stick +together, come what may.' + +"As the waves lifted us up, I saw the coast, with its groves of +coconuts almost down to the water's edge, and white sheets of surf +running up high on the sandy beach. It was not more than a hundred +yards away, and the captain sang out, + +"'Hurrah! There are some natives coming down. They will give us a +hand.' + +"Next time we came up on a wave, he said, 'When we get close, Ben, we +must cut ourselves adrift from this spar, or it will crush the life +out of us; but before we do that, I will tie the two of us together.' + +"He cut a bit of rope from the raffle hanging from the spar, and tied +one end round my waist and the other round his own, leaving about five +fathoms loose between us. + +"'There,' he shouted in my ear. 'If either of us gets chucked well up, +and the natives get a hold of him, the other must come up, too. Now +mind, Ben, keep broadside on to the wave if you can, and let it roll +you up as far as it will take you. Then, when you feel that its force +is spent, stick your fingers and toes into the sand, and hold on like +grim death.' + +"Well, we drifted nearer and nearer until, just as we got to the point +where the great waves tumbled over, the captain cut the lashings and +swam a little away, so as to be clear of the spar. Then a big wave +came towering up. I was carried along like a straw in a whirlpool. +Then there was a crash that pretty nigh knocked the senses out of me. +I do not know what happened afterwards. It was a confusion of white +water rushing past and over me. Then for a moment I stopped, and at +once made a clutch at the ground that I had been rolling over. There +was a big strain, and I was hauled backwards as if a team of wild +horses were pulling at me. Then there was a jerk, and I knew nothing +more, till I woke up and found myself on the sands, out of reach of +the surf. + +"Your father did not come to for half an hour. He had been hurt a bit +worse than I had, but at last he came round. + +"Well, we were kept three months in a sort of castle place; and then +one day a party of chaps, with guns and swords, came into the yard +where we were sitting. The man, who seemed the head of the fellows who +had been keeping us prisoners, walked up with one who was evidently an +officer over the chaps as had just arrived. He looked at us both, and +then laid his hand on the captain. Then the others came up. + +"The captain had just time to say, 'We are going to be parted, Ben. +God bless you! If ever you get back, give my love to my wife, and tell +her what has happened to me, and that she must keep up her heart, for +I shall make a bolt of it the first time I get a chance.' + +"The next day, I was taken off to a place they call Calicut. There I +stopped a year, and then the rajah of the place joined the English +against Tippoo, who was lord of all the country, and I was released. I +had got, by that time, to talk their lingo pretty well, though I have +forgotten it all now, and I had found out that the chaps who had taken +your father away were a party sent down by Tippoo, who, having heard +that two Englishmen had been cast on shore, had insisted upon one of +them being handed over to him. + +"It is known that a great many of the prisoners in Tippoo's hands have +been murdered in their dungeons. He has sworn, over and over again, +that he has no European prisoners, but every one knows that he has +numbers of them in his hands. Whether the captain is one of those who +have been murdered, or whether he is still in one of Tippoo's +dungeons, is more than I or any one else can say." + +"Well, as I have told you, Ben, that is what we mean to find out." + +"I know that is what your mother has often said, lad, but it seems to +me that you have more chance of finding the man in the moon than you +have of learning whether your father is alive, or not." + +"Well, we are going to try, anyhow, Ben. I know it's a difficult job, +but Mother and I have talked it over, ever since you came home with +the news, three years ago; so I have made up my mind, and nothing can +change me. You see, I have more chances than most people would have. +Being a boy is all in my favour; and then, you know, I talk the +language just as well as English." + +"Yes, of course that is a pull, and a big one; but it is a desperate +undertaking, lad, and I can't say as I see how it is to be done." + +"I don't see either, Ben, and I don't expect to see until we get out +there; but, desperate or not, Mother and I are going to try." + +Dick Holland, the speaker, was a lad of some fifteen years of age. His +father, who was captain of a fine East Indiaman, had sailed from +London when he was nine, and had never returned. No news had been +received of the ship after she touched at the Cape, and it was +supposed that she had gone down with all hands; until, nearly three +years later, her boatswain, Ben Birket, had entered the East India +Company's office, and reported that he himself, and the captain, had +been cast ashore on the territories of the Rajah of Coorg; the sole +survivors, as far as he knew, of the Hooghley. + +After an interview with the Directors, he had gone straight to the +house at Shadwell inhabited by Mrs. Holland. She had left there, but +had removed to a smaller one a short distance away, where she lived +upon the interest of the sum that her husband had invested from his +savings, and from a small pension granted to her by the Company. + +Mrs. Holland was a half caste, the daughter of an English woman who +had married a young rajah. Her mother's life had been a happy one; but +when her daughter had reached the age of sixteen, she died, obtaining +on her deathbed the rajah's consent that the girl should be sent to +England to be educated, while her son, who was three years younger, +should remain with his father. + +Over him she had exercised but little influence. He had been brought +up like the sons of other native princes, and, save for his somewhat +light complexion, the English blood in his veins would never have been +suspected. + +Margaret, on the other hand, had been under her mother's care, and as +the latter had always hoped that the girl would, at any rate for a +time, go to her family in England, she had always conversed with her +in that language, and had, until her decreasing strength rendered it +no longer possible, given her an English education. + +In complexion and appearance, she took far more after her English +mother than the boy had done; and, save for her soft, dark eyes, and +glossy, jet-black hair, might have passed as of pure English blood. +When she sailed, it was with the intention of returning to India, in +the course of a few years; but this arrangement was overthrown by the +fact that on the voyage, John Holland, the handsome young first mate +of the Indiaman, completely won her heart, and they were married a +fortnight after the vessel came up the Thames. + +The matter would not have been so hurried had not a letter she posted +on landing, to her mother's sister, who had promised her a home, +received an answer written in a strain which determined her to yield, +at once, to John Holland's pressing entreaties that they should be +married without delay. Her aunt had replied that she had consented to +overlook the conduct of her mother, in uniting herself to a native, +and to receive her for a year at the rectory; but that her behaviour, +in so precipitately engaging herself to a rough sailor, rendered it +impossible to countenance her. As she stated that she had come over +with a sum sufficient to pay her expenses, while in England, she +advised her to ask the captain--who, by the way, must have grossly +neglected his duties by allowing an intimacy between her and his +mate--to place her in some school, where she would be well looked +after until her return to India. + +The Indian blood in Margaret's veins boiled fiercely, and she wrote +her aunt a letter which caused that lady to congratulate herself on +the good fortune that had prevented her from having to receive, under +her roof, a girl of so objectionable and violent a character. + +Although the language that John Holland used concerning this letter +was strong, indeed, he was well satisfied, as he had foreseen that it +was not probable Margaret's friends would have allowed her to marry +him, without communicating with her father; and that the rajah might +have projects of his own for her disposal. He laid the case before the +captain, who placed her in charge of his wife, until the marriage took +place. + +Except for the long absences of her husband, Margaret's life had been +a very happy one, and she was looking forward to the time when, after +another voyage, he would be able to give up his profession and settle +down upon his savings. + +When months passed by, and no news came of the Hooghley having reached +port, Mrs. Holland at once gave up her house and moved into a smaller +one; for, although her income would have been sufficient to enable her +to remain where she was, she determined to save every penny she was +able, for the sake of her boy. She was possessed of strong common +sense and firmness of character, and when Ben Birket returned with his +tale, he was surprised at the composure with which she received it. + +"I have always," she said, "had a conviction that John was still +alive, and have not allowed Dick to think of his father as dead; and +now I believe, as firmly as before, that someday John will be restored +to me. I myself can do nothing towards aiding him. A woman can do +little, here. She can do nothing in India, save among her own people. +I shall wait patiently, for a time. It may be that this war will +result in his release. But in the meantime, I shall continue to +prepare Dick to take up the search for him, as soon as he is old +enough. + +"I hear, once a year, from my brother, who is now rajah; and he will +be able to aid my boy, in many ways. However, for a time I must be +patient and wait. I have learnt to wait, during my husband's long +absences; and besides, I think that the women of India are a patient +race. I trust that John will yet come home to me, but if not, when it +is time, we will try to rescue him." + +Ben said nothing, at the time, to damp her courage; but he shook his +head, as he left the cottage. + +"Poor creature," he said. "I would not say anything to discourage her, +but for a woman and boy to try to get a captive out of the claws of +the Tiger of Mysore is just madness." + +Each time he returned from a voyage, Ben called upon Mrs. Holland. He +himself had given up every vestige of hope, when it was known that the +name of her husband was not among the list of those whom Tippoo had +been forced to release. Margaret Holland, however, still clung to +hope. Her face was paler, and there was a set, pathetic expression in +it; so, when she spoke of her husband as being still alive, Ben would +sooner have cut out his tongue than allow the slightest word, +indicative of his own feeling of certainty as to the captain's fate, +to escape him; and he always made a pretence of entering warmly into +her plans. + +The training, as she considered it, of her son went on steadily. She +always conversed with him in her father's language, and he was able to +speak it as well as English. She was ever impressing upon him that he +must be strong and active. When he was twelve, she engaged an old +soldier, who had set up a sort of academy, to instruct him in the use +of the sword; and in such exercises as were calculated to strengthen +his muscles, and to give him strength and agility. + +Unlike most mothers, she had no word of reproach when he returned home +from school with a puffed face, or cut lips; the signs of battle. + +"I do not want you to be quarrelsome," she often said to him, "but I +have heard your father say that a man who can use his fists well is +sure to be cool and quick, in any emergency. You know what is before +you, and these qualities are of far more importance, in your case, +than any book learning. Therefore, Dick, I say, never quarrel on your +own account, but whenever you see a boy bullying a smaller one, take +the opportunity of giving him a lesson while learning one yourself. In +the days of old, you know, the first duty of a true knight was to +succour the oppressed, and I want you to be a true knight. You will +get thrashed sometimes, no doubt, but don't mind that. Perhaps, next +time, you will turn the tables." + +Dick acted upon this advice and, by the time he was fifteen, had +established a reputation among, not only the boys of his own school, +but of the district. In addition to his strength and quickness, he had +a fund of dogged endurance, and imperturbable good temper, that did +not fail him; even on the rare occasions when, in combats with boys +much older than himself, he was forced to admit himself defeated. + +The fact that he fought, not because he was angry, but as if it were a +matter of business, gave him a great advantage; and his readiness to +take up the cause of any boy ill-treated by another was so notorious, +that "I will tell Dick Holland" became a threat that saved many a boy +from being burned. + +Ten days before his conversation with Ben, his mother had said: + +"Dick, I can stand this no longer. I have tried to be patient, for six +years, but I can be patient no longer. I feel that another year of +suspense would kill me. Therefore, I have made up my mind to sail at +once. The voyage will take us five months, and perhaps you may have to +remain some little time, at my brother's, before you can start. + +"Now that the time is come, I think that perhaps I am about to do +wrong, and that it may cost you your life. But I cannot help it, Dick. +I dream of your father almost every night, and I wake up thinking that +I hear him calling upon me to help him. I feel that I should go mad, +if this were to last much longer." + +"I am ready, Mother," the boy said, earnestly. "I have been hoping, +for some time, that you would say you would start soon; and though I +have not, of course, the strength of a man, I think that will be more +than made up by the advantage I should have, as a boy, in looking for +my father; and at any rate, from what you tell me, I should think that +I am quite as strong as an average native of your country. + +"Anyhow, Mother, I am sure that it will be best for us to go now. It +must have been awful for you, waiting all this time; and though you +have never said anything about it, I have noticed for a long time that +you were looking ill, and was sure that you were worrying terribly. +What would be the use of staying any longer? I should not be very much +stronger in another year than I am now, and a year would seem an age, +to Father." + +And so it was settled, and Mrs. Holland at once began to make +preparations for their departure. She had already, without saying +anything to Dick, given notice that she should give up the house. She +had, during the six years, saved a sum of money amply sufficient for +the expenses of the journey and outfit, and she had now only to order +clothes for herself and Dick, and to part with her furniture. + +Ben, on his return, had heard with grave apprehension that she was +about to carry out her intention; but, as he saw that any remonstrance +on his part would be worse than useless, he abstained from offering +any, and warmly entered into her plans. After an hour's talk, he had +proposed to Dick to go out for a stroll with him. + +"I am glad to have a talk with you, Ben," Dick said. "Of course, I +have heard, from Mother, what you told her when you came home; but I +shall be glad to hear it from you, so as to know exactly how it all +was. You know she feels sure that Father is still alive. I should like +to know what your opinion really is about it. Of course, it will make +no difference, as I should never say anything to her; but I should +like to know whether you think there is any possibility of his being +alive." + +To this Ben had replied as already related. He was silent when Dick +asserted that, desperate or not, he intended to carry out his mother's +plan. + +"I would not say as I think it altogether desperate, as far as you are +concerned," he said thoughtfully. "It don't seem to me as there is +much chance of your ever getting news of your father, lad; and as to +getting him out of prison, if you do come to hear of him; why, honest, +I would not give a quid of 'baccy for your chance; but I don't say as +I think that it is an altogether desperate job, as far as you are +concerned, yourself. Talking their lingo as you do, it's just possible +as you might be able to travel about, in disguise, without anyone +finding you out; especially as the Rajah, your uncle, ought to be able +to help you a bit, and put you in the way of things, and perhaps send +some trusty chap along with you. There is no doubt you are strong for +your age, and being thin, and nothing but muscle, you would pass +better as a native than if you had been thick and chunky. My old woman +tells me as you have a regular name as a fighter, and that you have +given a lesson to many a bully in the neighbourhood. Altogether, there +is a lot in your favour, and I don't see why you should not pull +through all right; at any rate, even should the worst come to the +worst, and you do get news, somehow, that your poor father has gone +down, I am sure it will be better for your mother than going on as she +has done for the last six years, just wearing herself out with +anxiety." + +"I am sure it will, Ben. I can tell you that it is as much as I can +do, sometimes, not to burst out crying when I see her sitting, by the +hour, with her eyes open, but not seeing anything, or moving as much +as a finger--just thinking, and thinking, and thinking. + +"I wish we were going out in your ship, Ben." + +"I wish you was, lad; but it will be five or six weeks before we are +off again. Anyhow, the ship you are going in--the Madras--is a fine +craft, and the captain bears as high a character as anyone in the +Company's fleet. + +"Well, lad, I hope that it will all turn out well. If I could have +talked the lingo like a native, I would have been glad to have gone +with you, and taken my chances. The captain saved my life in that +wreck, and it would only have been right that I should risk mine for +him, if there was but a shadow of chance of its being of use. But I +know that, in a job of this sort, I could be of no good whatsomever, +and should be getting you into trouble before we had gone a mile +together." + +"I am sure that you would help, if you could, Ben; but, of course, you +could be of no use." + +"And when do you think of being home again, lad?" + +"There is no saying, Ben--it may be years. But, however long it takes, +I sha'n't give it up until I find out, for certain, what has become of +my father." + +"And ain't there a chance of hearing how you are getting on, Dick? I +shall think of you and your mother, often and often, when I am on deck +keeping my watch at night; and it will seem hard that I mayn't be able +to hear, for years, as to what you are doing." + +"The only thing that I can do, Ben, will be to write if I get a chance +of sending a messenger, or for my mother to write to you, to the +office." + +"That is it. You send a letter to Ben Birket, boatswain of the +Madeira, care of East India Company, Leadenhall Street; and I shall +get it, sooner or later. Of course, I shall not expect a long yarn, +but just two or three words to tell me how you are getting on, and +whether you have got any news of your father. And if you come back to +England, leave your address at the Company's office for me; for it +ain't an easy matter to find anyone out, in London, unless you have +got their bearings right." + +Ten days later, Mrs. Holland and Dick embarked on the Madras. Dick had +been warned, by his mother, to say nothing to anyone on board as to +the object of their voyage. + +"I shall mention," she said, "that I am going out to make some +inquiries respecting the truth of a report that has reached me, that +some of those on board the Hooghley, of which my husband was captain, +survived the wreck, and were taken up the country. That will be quite +sufficient. Say nothing about my having been born in India, or that my +father was a native rajah. Some of these officials--and still more, +their wives--are very prejudiced, and consider themselves to be quite +different beings to the natives of the country. I found it so on my +voyage to England. + +"At any rate, we don't want our affairs talked about. It will be quite +sufficient for people to know that we are, as I said, going out to +make some inquiries about the truth of this rumour." + +"All right, Mother. At any rate, the captain has told you that he will +look after you, and make things comfortable for you, so we need not +care about anything else." + +"We certainly need not care, Dick; but it is much more agreeable to +get on nicely with everyone. I was very pleased when Captain Barstow +called yesterday and said that, having heard at the office that the +Mrs. Holland on the passenger list was the widow of his old shipmate, +John Holland, he had come round to see if there was anything that he +could do for her, and he promised to do all in his power to make us +comfortable. Of course, I told him that I did not regard myself as +Captain Holland's widow--that all we knew was that he had got safely +ashore, and had been taken up to Mysore; and, as I had a strong +conviction he was still alive, I was going out to endeavour to +ascertain, from native sources, whether he was still living. + +"'Well, ma'am, I hope that you will succeed,' he said. 'All this is +new to me. I thought he was drowned, when the Hooghley went ashore. +Anyhow, Mrs. Holland, I honour you for making this journey, just on +the off chance of hearing something of your husband, and you may be +sure I will do all I can to make the voyage a pleasant one for you.' + +"So you see, we shall start favourably, Dick; for the captain can do a +great deal towards adding to the comfort of a passenger. When it is +known, by the purser and steward, that a lady is under the special +care of the captain, it ensures her a larger share of civility, and +special attentions, than she might otherwise obtain." + +As soon as they went on board, indeed, the captain came up to them. + +"Good morning, Mrs. Holland," he said. "You have done quite right to +come on board early. It gives you a chance of being attended to, +before the stewards are being called for by twenty people at once." + +He beckoned to a midshipman. + +"Mr. Hart, please tell the purser I wish to speak to him. + +"So this is your son, Mrs. Holland? A fine, straight-looking young +fellow. Are you going to put him in the Service? You have a strong +claim, you know, which I am sure the Board would acknowledge." + +"Do you know, Captain, it is a matter that I have hardly thought +of--in fact, I have, for years, been so determined to go out and try +and obtain some news of my husband, as soon as Dick was old enough to +journey about as my protector, that I have not thought, as I ought to +have done, what profession he should follow. However, he is only +fifteen yet, and there will be time enough when he gets back." + +"If he is to go into the service, the sooner the better, ma'am--one +can hardly begin too young. However, I don't say there are not plenty +of good sailors, afloat, who did not enter until a couple of years +older than he is--there is no strict rule as to age. + +"Only fifteen, is he? I should have taken him for at least a year +older. However, if you like, Mrs. Holland, I will put him in the way +of learning a good deal, during the voyage. He might as well be doing +that as loafing about the deck all day." + +"Much better, Captain. I am very much obliged to you, and I am sure +that he will be, too." + +"I should like it immensely, Captain," Dick exclaimed. + +At this moment, the purser came up. + +"Mr. Stevenson," the captain said, "this is Mrs. Holland. She is the +wife of my old friend, John Holland--we were midshipmen together on +board the Ganges. He commanded the Hooghley, which was lost, you know, +five or six years ago, somewhere near Calicut. There were two or three +survivors, and he was one of them, and it seems that he was taken up +the country; so Mrs. Holland is going out to endeavour to ascertain +whether he may not be still alive, though perhaps detained by one of +those native princes. + +"Please do everything you can to make her comfortable, and tell the +head steward that it is my particular wish she shall be well attended +to. Who is she berthed with?" + +The purser took the passenger list from his pocket. + +"She is with Mrs. Colonel Williamson, and the wife of Commissioner +Larkins." + +The captain gave a grunt of dissatisfaction. The purser went on. + +"There is a small cabin vacant, Captain. Two ladies who were to have +it--a mother and daughter--have, I hear this morning, been +unexpectedly detained, owing to the sudden illness of one of them. +Their heavy baggage is all in the hold, and must go on, and they will +follow in the next ship. Shall I put Mrs. Holland in there?" + +"Certainly. This is most fortunate. + +"I don't think that you would have been comfortable, with the other +two, Mrs. Holland. I don't know the colonel's wife, but Mrs. Larkins +has travelled with us before, and I had quite enough of her on that +voyage." + +"Thank you very much, Captain. It will indeed be a comfort to have a +cabin to myself." + +Dick found that he was berthed with two young cadets, whose names, he +learned from the cards fastened over the bunks, were Latham and +Fellows. + +Half an hour after the arrival of the Hollands on board, the +passengers began to pour in rapidly, and the deck of the Madras was +soon crowded with them, their friends, and their luggage. Below, all +was bustle and confusion. Men shouted angrily to stewards; women, +laden with parcels, blocked the gangway, and appealed helplessly to +every one for information and aid; sailors carried down trunks and +portmanteaus; and Mrs. Holland, when she emerged from her cabin, +having stowed away her belongings and made things tidy, congratulated +herself on having been the first on board, and so had not only avoided +all this confusion, but obtained a separate cabin, which she might not +otherwise have been able to do, as the captain would have been too +busy to devote any special attention to her. + +After having handed her over to the care of the purser, Captain +Barstow had spoken to the second officer, who happened to be passing. + +"Mr. Rawlinson," he said, "this is the son of my old friend, Captain +Holland. He is going out with his mother. I wish you would keep your +eye upon him, and let him join the midshipmen in their studies with +you, in the morning. Possibly he may enter the Service, and it will be +a great advantage to him to have got up navigation, a bit, before he +does so. At any rate, it will occupy his mind and keep him out of +mischief. A lad of his age would be like a fish out of water, among +the passengers on the quarterdeck." + +"Ay, ay, sir. I will do what I can for him." + +And he hurried away. + +Dick saw that, for the present, there was nothing to be done but to +look on, and it was not until the next morning, when the Madras was +making her way south, outside the Goodwins, that the second officer +spoke to him. + +"Ah, there you are, lad! I have been too busy to think of you, and it +will be another day or two before we settle down to regular work. +However, I will introduce you to one or two of the midshipmen, and +they will make you free of the ship." + +Dick was, indeed, already beginning to feel at home. The long table, +full from end to end, had presented such a contrast to his quiet +dinner with his mother, that, as he sat down beside her and looked +round, he thought he should never get to speak to anyone throughout +the voyage. However, he had scarcely settled himself when a gentleman +in a naval uniform, next to him, made the remark: + +"Well, youngster, what do you think of all this? I suppose it is all +new to you?" + +"It is, sir. It seems very strange, at first, but I suppose I shall +get accustomed to it." + +"Oh, yes. You will find it pleasant enough, by and bye. I am the +ship's doctor. The purser has been telling me about you and your +mother. + +"I made one voyage with your father. It was my first, and a kinder +captain I never sailed with. I heard, from the purser, that there +seems to be a chance of his being still alive, and that your mother is +going out to try and find out something about him. I hope, most +sincerely, that she may succeed in doing so; but he has been missing a +long time now. Still, that is no reason why she should not find him. +There have been instances where men have been kept for years by some +of these rascally natives--why, goodness only knows, except, I +suppose, because they fear and hate us; and think that, some time or +other, an English prisoner may be useful to them. + +"Your mother looks far from strong," he went on, as he glanced across +Dick to Mrs. Holland, who was talking to a lady on the other side of +her. "Has she been ill?" + +"No, sir. I have never known her ill, yet. She has been worrying +herself a great deal. She has waited so long, because she did not like +to go out until she could take me with her. She has no friends in +England with whom she could leave me. She looks a good deal better, +now, than she did a month ago. I think, directly she settled to come +out, and had something to do, she became better." + +"That is quite natural," the doctor said. "There is nothing so trying +as inactivity. I have no doubt that the sea air will quite set her up +again. It performs almost miracles on the homeward-bound passengers. +They come on board looking pale, and listless, and washed out; at the +end of a month at sea, they are different creatures altogether." + +The purser had taken pains to seat Mrs. Holland, at table, next to a +person who would be a pleasant companion for her; and the lady she was +now talking to was the wife of a chaplain in the army. She had, a year +before, returned from India in the Madras, and he knew her to be a +kind and pleasant woman. + +Dick did not care for his cabin mates. They were young fellows of +about eighteen years of age. One was a nephew of a Director of the +Company, the other the son of a high Indian official. They paid but +little attention to him, generally ignoring him altogether, and +conversing about things and people in India, in the tone of men to +whom such matters were quite familiar. + +In three or four days, Dick became on good terms with the six +midshipmen the Madras carried. Two of them were younger than himself, +two somewhat older, while the others were nearly out of their time, +and hoped that this would be their last trip in the midshipmen's +berth. The four younger lads studied, two hours every morning, under +the second officer's instruction; and Dick took his place at the table +regularly with them. + +Mathematics had been the only subject in which he had at all +distinguished himself at school, and he found himself able to give +satisfaction to Mr. Rawlinson, in his studies of navigation. After +this work was over, they had an hour's practical instruction by the +boatswain's mate, in knotting and splicing ropes, and in other similar +matters. + +In a fortnight, he had learned the names and uses of what had, at +first, seemed to him the innumerable ropes; and long before that, had +accompanied one of the midshipmen aloft. On the first occasion that he +did so, two of the topmen followed him, with the intention of carrying +out the usual custom of lashing him to the ratlines, until he paid his +footing. Seeing them coming up, the midshipman laughed, and told Dick +what was in store for him. + +The boy had been as awkward as most beginners in climbing the shrouds, +the looseness and give of the ratlines puzzling him; but he had, for +years, practised climbing ropes in the gymnasium at Shadwell, and was +confident in his power to do anything in that way. The consequence was +that, as soon as the sailors gained the top, where he and the +midshipman were standing, Dick seized one of the halliards and, with a +merry laugh, came down hand over hand. A minute later, he stood on the +deck. + +"Well done, youngster," said the boatswain's mate, who happened to be +standing by, as Dick's feet touched the deck. "This may be the first +time you have been on board a ship, but it is easy to see that it +isn't the first, by a long way, that you have been on a rope. Could +you go up again?" + +"Yes, I should think so," Dick said. "I have never climbed so high as +that, because I have never had the chance; but it ought to be easy +enough." + +The man laughed. + +"There are not many sailors who can do it," he said. "Well, let us see +how high you will get." + +As Dick was accustomed to go up a rope thirty feet high, hand over +hand, without using his legs, he was confident that, with their +assistance, he could get up to the main top, lofty as it was, and he +at once threw off his jacket and started. He found the task harder +than he had anticipated, but he did it without a pause. He was glad, +however, when the two sailors above grasped him by the arms, and +placed him beside them on the main top. + +"Well, sir," one said, admiringly, "we thought you was a Johnny +Newcome, by the way you went up the ratlines, but you came up that +rope like a monkey. + +"Well, sir, you are free up here, and if you weren't it would not make +much odds to you, for it would take half the ship's company to capture +you." + +"I don't want to get off paying my footing," Dick said, pulling five +shillings from his pocket and handing them to the sailors; for his +mother had told him that it was the custom, on first going aloft, to +make a present to them, and had given him the money for the purpose. +"I can climb, but I don't know anything about ropes, and I shall be +very much obliged if you will teach me all you can." + + + +Chapter 2: A Brush With Privateers. + + +Dick was surprised when, on descending to the deck, he found that what +seemed to him a by no means very difficult feat had attracted general +attention. Not only did half a dozen of the sailors pat him on the +back, with exclamations expressive of their surprise and admiration, +but the other midshipmen spoke quite as warmly, the eldest saying: + +"I could have got up the rope, Holland, but I could not have gone up +straight, as you did, without stopping for a bit to take breath. You +don't look so very strong, either." + +"I think that it is knack more than strength," Dick replied. "I have +done a lot of practice at climbing, for I have always wanted to get +strong, and I heard that there was no better exercise." + +When, presently, Dick went aft to the quarterdeck, Captain Barstow +said to him: + +"You have astonished us all, lad. I could hardly believe my eyes, when +I saw you going up that rope. I first caught sight of you when you had +climbed but twenty feet, and wondered how far you would get, at that +pace. I would have wagered a hundred guineas to one that you would not +have kept it up to the top. + +"Well, lad, whatever profession you take to, it is certain that you +will be a good sailor spoilt." + +They had now been three weeks out, but had made slow progress, for the +winds had been light, and mostly from the southwest. + +"This is very dull work," the doctor said to Dick one day, at dinner. +"Here we are, three weeks out, and still hardly beyond the Channel. +There is one consolation. It is not the fault of the ship. She has +been doing well, under the circumstances, but the fates have been +against her, thus far. I have no doubt there are a score of ships +still lying in the Downs, that were there when we passed; and, tedious +as it has been beating down the Channel, with scarce wind enough most +of the time to keep our sails full, it would have been worse lying +there, all the time." + +"Still, we have gained a good bit on them, sir." + +"If the wind were to change round, say to the northeast, and they +brought it along with them, they would soon make up for lost time, for +it would not take them three days to run here. However, we shall begin +to do better, soon. I heard the captain say that he should change his +course tomorrow. We are somewhere off Cork, and when he makes a few +miles more westing, he will bear away south. If we had had a +favourable wind, we should have taken our departure from the Start, +but with it in this quarter we are obliged to make more westing, +before we lay her head on her course, or we should risk getting in too +close to the French coast; and their privateers are as thick as peas, +there." + +"But we should not be afraid of a French privateer, doctor?" + +"Well, not altogether afraid of one, but they very often go in +couples; and sometimes three of them will work together. I don't think +one privateer alone would venture to attack us, though she might +harass us a bit, and keep up a distant fire, in hopes that another +might hear it and bear down to her aid. But it is always as well to +keep free of them, if one can. You see, an unlucky shot might knock +one of our sticks out of us, which would mean delay and trouble, if no +worse. + +"We had a sharp brush with two of them, on the last voyage, but we +beat them off. We were stronger then than we are now, for we had two +hundred troops on board, and should have astonished them if they had +come close enough to try boarding--in fact, we were slackening our +fire, to tempt them to do so, when they made out that a large craft +coming up astern was an English frigate, and sheered off. + +"I don't know what the end of it was, but I rather fancy they were +taken. The frigate followed them, gaining fast; and, later on, we +could hear guns in the distance." + +"You did not join in the chase then, doctor?" + +"Oh, no. Our business is not fighting. If we are attacked, of course +we defend ourselves; but we don't go a foot out of our way, if we can +help it." + +Three weeks at sea had done wonders for Mrs. Holland. Now that she was +fairly embarked upon her quest, the expression of anxiety gradually +died out. The sea air braced up her nerves, and, what was of still +greater benefit to her, she was able to sleep soundly and dreamlessly, +a thing she had not done for years. Dick was delighted at the change +in her. + +"You look quite a different woman, Mother," he said. "I don't think +your friends at Shadwell would know you, if they were to see you now." + +"I feel a different woman, Dick. I have not felt so well and so bright +since your father sailed on his last voyage. I am more convinced than +ever that we shall succeed. I have been trying very hard, for years, +to be hopeful, but now I feel so without trying. Of course, it is +partly this lovely weather and the sea air, and sleeping so well; and +partly because everyone is so kind and pleasant." + +As soon as the Madras had been headed for the south, she began to make +better way. The wind freshened somewhat, but continued in the same +quarter. Grumbling ceased over the bad luck they were having, and +hopeful anticipations that, after all, they would make a quick passage +were freely indulged in. + +On the fourth day after changing her course, she was off the coast of +Spain, which was but a hundred and fifty miles distant. At noon that +day the wind dropped suddenly, and, an hour later, it was a dead calm. + +"We are going to have a change, Dick," the doctor said, as he stopped +by the lad, who was leaning against the bulwark watching a flock of +seabirds that were following a shoal of fish, dashing down among them +with loud cries, and too intent upon their work to notice the ship, +lying motionless a hundred yards away. + +"What sort of a change, doctor?" + +"Most likely a strong blow, though from what quarter it is too soon to +say. However, we have no reason to grumble. After nearly a month of +light winds, we must expect a turn of bad weather. I hope it will come +from the north. That will take us down to the latitude of Madeira, and +beyond that we may calculate upon another spell of fine weather, until +we cross the Line." + +As the afternoon wore on, the weather became more dull. There were no +clouds in the sky, but the deep blue was dimmed by a sort of haze. +Presently, after a talk between the captain and the first officer, the +latter gave the order, "All hands take in sail." + +The order had been expected, and the men at once swarmed up the +rigging. In a quarter of an hour all the upper sails were furled. The +light spars were then sent down to the deck. + +"You may as well get the top-gallant sails off her, too, Mr. Green," +the captain said to the first officer. "It is as well to be prepared +for the worst. It is sure to blow pretty hard, when the change comes." + +The top-gallant sails were got in, and when the courses had been +brailed up and secured, the hands were called down. Presently the +captain, after going to his cabin, rejoined Mr. Green. + +"The glass has gone up again," Dick heard him say. + +"That looks as if it were coming from the north, sir." + +"Yes, with some east in it. It could not come from a better quarter." + +He turned and gazed steadily in that direction. + +"Yes, there is dark water over there." + +"So there is, sir. That is all right. I don't mind how hard it blows, +so that it does but come on gradually." + +"I agree with you. These hurricane bursts, when one is becalmed, are +always dangerous, even when one is under bare poles." + +Gradually the dark line on the horizon crept up towards the ship. As +it reached her the sails bellied out, and she began to move through +the water. The wind increased in strength rapidly, and in half an hour +she was running south at ten or eleven knots an hour. The thermometer +had fallen many degrees, and as the sun set, the passengers were glad +to go below for shelter. + +Before going to bed, Dick went up on deck for a few minutes. The +topsails had been reefed down, but the Madras was rushing through the +water at a high rate of speed. The sea was getting up, and the waves +were crested with foam. Above, the stars were shining brilliantly. + +"Well, lad, this is a change, is it not?" the captain said, as he came +along in a pea jacket. + +"We seem to be going splendidly, Captain." + +"Yes, we are walking along grandly, and making up for lost time." + +"It is blowing hard, sir." + +"It will blow a good deal harder before morning, lad, but I do not +think it will be anything very severe. Things won't be so comfortable +downstairs, for the next day or two, but that is likely to be the +worst of it." + +The motion of the ship kept Dick awake for some time, but, wedging +himself tightly in his berth, he presently fell off to sleep, and did +not wake again until morning. His two cabin mates were suffering +terribly from seasickness, but he felt perfectly well, although it +took him a long time to dress, so great was the motion of the ship. + +On making his way on deck, he found that overhead the sky was blue and +bright, and the sun shining brilliantly. The wind was blowing much +harder than on the previous evening, and a heavy sea was running; but +as the sun sparkled on the white crests of the waves, the scene was +far less awe inspiring than it had been when he looked out before +retiring to his berth. The ship, under closely-reefed main and +fore-top sails, was tearing through the water at a high rate of speed, +throwing clouds of spray from her bows, and occasionally taking a wave +over them that sent a deluge of water along the deck. + +"What do you think of this, lad?" Mr. Rawlinson, who was in charge of +the watch, asked him; as, after watching his opportunity, he made a +rush to the side and caught a firm hold of a shroud. + +"It is splendid, sir," he said. "Has she been going like this all +night?" + +The officer nodded. + +"How long do you think it will last, sir?" + +"Two or three days." + +"Will it be any worse, sir?" + +"Not likely to be. It is taking us along rarely, and it is doing us +good in more ways than one. + +"Look there;" and as they rose on a wave, he pointed across the water, +behind Dick. + +The lad turned, and saw a brig running parallel to their course, half +a mile distant. + +"What of her, sir?" + +"That is a French privateer, unless I am greatly mistaken." + +"But she has the British ensign flying, sir." + +"Ay, but that goes for nothing. She may possibly be a trader, on her +way down to the Guinea coast, but by the cut of her sails and the look +of her hull, I have no doubt that she is a Frenchman." + +"We are passing her, sir." + +"Oh, yes. In a gale and a heavy sea, weight tells, and we shall soon +leave her astern; but in fine weather, I expect she could sail round +and round us. If the French could fight their ships as well as they +can build them, we should not be in it with them." + +"Why don't we fire at her, Mr. Rawlinson?" + +The officer laughed. + +"How are you going to work your guns, with the ship rolling like this? +No, lad, we are like two muzzled dogs at present--we can do nothing +but watch each other. I am sorry to say that I don't think the fellow +is alone. Two or three times I have fancied that I caught a glimpse of +a sail on our starboard quarter. I could not swear to it, but I don't +think I was mistaken, and I called the captain's attention that way, +just before he went down ten minutes ago, and he thought he saw it, +too. However, as there was nothing to be done, he went down for a +caulk. He had not left the deck since noon, yesterday." + +"But if she is no bigger than the other, I suppose we shall leave her +behind, too, Mr. Rawlinson?" + +"Ay, lad, we shall leave them both behind presently; but if they are +what I think, we are likely to hear more of them, later on. They would +not be so far offshore as this, unless they were on the lookout for +Indiamen, which of course keep much farther out than ships bound up +the Mediterranean; and, having once spotted us, they will follow us +like hounds on a deer's trail. However, I think they are likely to +find that they have caught a tartar, when they come up to us. + +"Ah! Here is the doctor. + +"Well, doctor, what is the report below?" + +"Only the usual number of casualties--a sprained wrist, a few +contusions, and three or four cases of hysterics." + +"Is Mother all right, doctor?" Dick asked. + +"As I have heard nothing of her, I have no doubt she is. I am quite +sure that she will not trouble me with hysterics. Women who have had +real trouble to bear, Dick, can be trusted to keep their nerves steady +in a gale." + +"I suppose you call this a gale, doctor?" + +"Certainly. It is a stiff north-easterly gale, and if we were facing +it, instead of running before it, you would not want to ask the +question. + +"That is a suspicious-looking craft, Rawlinson," he broke off, +catching sight of the brig, now on their port quarter. + +"Yes, she is a privateer I have no doubt, and, unless I am mistaken, +she has a consort somewhere out there to starboard. However, we need +not trouble about them. Travelling as we are, we are going two knots +an hour faster than the brig." + +"So much the better," the doctor said, shortly. "We can laugh at one +of these fellows, but when it comes to two of them, I own that I don't +care for their company. So the longer this gale holds on, the better." + +The mate nodded. + +"Well, Dick," the doctor went on, "do you feel as if you will be able +to eat your breakfast?" + +"I shall be ready enough for it, doctor, but I don't see how it will +be possible to eat it, with the vessel rolling like this." + +"You certainly will not be able to sit down to it--nothing would stay +on the table a minute. There will be no regular breakfast today. You +must get the steward to cut you a chunk of cold meat, put it between +two slices of bread, and make a sandwich of it. As to tea, ask him to +give you a bottle and to pour your tea into that; then, if you wedge +yourself into a corner, you will find that you are able to manage your +breakfast comfortably, and can amuse yourself watching people trying +to balance a cup of tea in their hand." + +Not more than half a dozen passengers ventured on deck, for the next +two days, but at the end of that time the force of the wind gradually +abated, and on the following morning the Madras had all her sails set, +to a light but still favourable breeze. Madeira had been passed, to +Dick's disappointment; but, except for a fresh supply of vegetables, +there was no occasion to put in there, and the captain grudged the +loss of a day, while so favourable a wind was taking them along. + +"Do you think we shall see anything of that brig again, doctor?" Dick +asked, as, for the first time since the wind sprang up, the passengers +sat down to a comfortable breakfast. + +"There is no saying, Dick. If we gained two knots an hour during the +blow (and I don't suppose we gained more than one and a half), they +must be a hundred and twenty miles or so astern of us; after all, that +is only half a day's run. I think they are pretty sure to follow us +for a bit, for they will know that, in light winds, they travel faster +than we do; and if we get becalmed, while they still hold the breeze, +they will come up hand over hand. It is likely enough that, in another +three days or so, we may get a sight of them behind us." + +This was evidently the captain's opinion also, for during the day the +guns were overhauled, and their carriages examined, and the muskets +brought up on deck and cleaned. On the following day the men were +practised at the guns, and then had pike and cutlass exercise. + +None of the passengers particularly noticed these proceedings, for +Dick had been warned by the captain to say nothing about the brig; and +as he was the only passenger on deck at the time, no whisper of the +privateers had come to the ears of the others. + +The party were just going down to lunch, on the third day, when a +lookout in the maintop hailed the deck: + +"A sail astern." + +"How does she bear?" + +"She is dead astern of us, sir, and I can only make out her upper +sails. I should say that they are her royals." + +Mr. Green ran up, with his telescope slung over his shoulder. + +"I cannot make much out of her, sir," he shouted to the captain. "She +may be anything. She must be nearly thirty miles astern. I think, with +Pearson, that it is her royals we see." + +"Take a look round, Mr. Green." + +The mate did so, and presently called down: + +"I can make out something else away on the starboard quarter, but so +far astern that I can scarce swear to her. Still, it can be nothing +but a sail." + +"Thank you, Mr. Green. I daresay that we shall know more about her, +later on." + +When the captain joined the passengers at table, one of the ladies +said: + +"You seem interested in that ship astern of us, captain." + +"Yes, Mrs. Seaforth. One is always interested in a ship, when one gets +down as far as this. She may be another Indiaman, and although the +Madras has no claim to any great speed in a light breeze like this, +one never likes being passed." + +The explanation was considered as sufficient, and nothing more was +said on the subject. By sunset, the upper sails of the stranger could +be made out from the deck of the Madras. Mr. Green again went up, and +had a look at her. + +"She is coming up fast," he said, when he rejoined the captain. "She +keeps so dead in our wake that I can't make out whether she is a brig +or a three master; but I fancy that she is a brig, by the size and cut +of her sails. I can see the other craft plainly enough now; she is +eight or ten miles west of the other, and has closed in towards her +since I made her out before. I have no doubt that she is a large +schooner." + +"Well, it is a comfort that they are not a few miles nearer, Mr. +Green. There is no chance of their overtaking us before morning, so we +shall be able to keep our watches as usual, and shall have time to get +ready for a fight, if there is to be one." + +"The sooner the better sir, so that it is daylight. It is quite +certain that they have the legs of us." + +In the morning, when Dick came up, he found that the wind had quite +died away, and the sails hung loosely from the yards. Looking astern, +he saw two vessels. They were some six miles away, and perhaps two +miles apart. As they lay without steerage way, they had swung partly +round, and he saw that they were a brig and a schooner. The former he +had no doubt, from her lofty masts and general appearance, was the +same the Madras had passed six days before. As the passengers came up, +they were full of curiosity as to the vessels. + +"Of course, we know no more actually than you do yourselves," the +captain said, as some of them gathered round and questioned him, "but +I may as well tell you, frankly, that we have very little doubt about +their being two French privateers. We passed them during the gale, and +had some hopes that we should not see them again; but, in the light +breeze we have been having during the last few days, they have made up +lost ground, and I am afraid we shall have to fight them." + +Exclamations of alarm broke from some of the ladies who heard his +words. + +"You need not be alarmed, ladies," he went on. "We carry twelve guns, +you know, and I expect that all of them are of heavier metal than +theirs. The Madras is a strongly-built ship, and will stand a good +deal more hammering than those light craft will, so that I have no +doubt we shall give a good account of ourselves." + +After breakfast, the hatches were opened and the gun cases belonging +to the passengers brought on deck. Scarce one of them but had a rifle, +and many had, in addition, a shotgun. The day passed without any +change in the positions of the vessels, for they still lay becalmed. + +"Why don't they get out their boats, and tow their vessels up?" Dick +asked the doctor. + +"Because they would be throwing away their chances, if they did so. +They know that we cannot get away from them, and we might smash up +their boats as soon as they came within range. Besides, their speed +and superior handiness give them a pull over us, when fighting under +sail. They may try to tow up during the night, if they think they are +strong enough to take us by boarding, but I hardly think they will do +so." + +The night, however, passed off quietly. But in the morning a light +breeze sprang up from the east, the sails were trimmed, and the Madras +again began to move through the water. By breakfast time, the craft +behind had visibly decreased their distance. + +The meal was a silent one. When it was over, the captain said: + +"As soon as those fellows open fire, ladies, I must ask you all to go +down into the hold. The sailors have already cleared a space, below +the waterline, large enough for you; and they will take down some +cushions, and so on, to make you as comfortable as possible, under the +circumstances. Pray do not be alarmed at any noises you may hear. You +will be below the waterline, and perfectly safe from their shot; and +you may be sure that we shall do our best to keep the scoundrels from +boarding us; and I will let you know, from time to time, how matters +are going." + +The unmarried men at once went up on deck. The others lingered for a +short time behind, talking to their wives and daughters, and then +followed. + +"The wind has strengthened a bit, Mr. Green," the captain said, "and I +fancy we shall get more." + +"I think so, too, Captain." + +"Then you may as well get off the upper sails, and make her snug. Get +off everything above the top gallant. Then, if the wind increases, we +shall not want to call the men away from the guns." + +The crew had, without orders, already mustered at quarters. The +lashings had been cast off the guns, the boatswain had opened the +magazines, and a pile of shot stood by each gun, together with cases +of canister and grapeshot for close work. Boarding pikes and cutlasses +were ranged along by the bulwarks. The men had thrown aside their +jackets, and many of those at the guns were stripped to the waist. +Some of them were laughing and talking, and Dick saw, by their air of +confidence, that they had no doubt of their ability to beat off the +assault of the privateers. + +The latter were the first to open the ball. A puff of smoke burst out +from the brig's bows, followed almost instantly by one from the +schooner. Both shots fell short, and, for a quarter of an hour, the +three vessels kept on their way. + +"We have heavier metal than that," the captain said, cheerfully, "and +I have no doubt we could reach them. But it is not our game to play at +long bowls, for it is probable that both of them carry a long pivot +gun, and if they were to draw off a bit, they could annoy us +amazingly, while we could not reach them." + +Presently the privateers opened fire again. They were now about a mile +away, and the same distance from each other. Their shot fell close to +the Indiaman, and two or three passed through her sails. + +Still no reply was made. The men at the guns fidgeted, and kept +casting glances towards the poop, in expectation of an order. It came +at last, but was not what they had expected. + +"Double shot your guns, men," the captain said. + +Scarcely was the order obeyed when the brig, which was now on the port +quarter, luffed up a little into the wind, and fired a broadside of +eight guns. There was a crashing of wood. The Madras was hulled in +three places; two more holes appeared in her sails; while the other +shot passed harmlessly just astern of her. + +There was an angry growl among the sailors, as the schooner bore away +a little, and also fired her broadside. Except that a man was struck +down by a splinter from the bulwarks, no damage was done. + +"Bear up a little," the captain said to the second officer, who was +standing by the helmsman. "I want to edge in a little towards the +brig, but not enough for them to notice it. + +"Now, gentlemen," he went on, to the passengers, "I have no doubt that +most of you are good shots, and I want you, after we have fired our +broadside, to direct your attention to the brig's helmsmen. If you can +render it impossible for the men to stand at the wheel, we will make +mincemeat of this fellow in no time. Directly I have fired our port +broadside, I am going to bring her up into the wind on the opposite +tack, and give him the starboard broadside at close quarters. Don't +fire until we have gone about, and then pick off the helmsmen, if you +can. + +"Get ready, men." + +The brig was now but a little more than a quarter of a mile distant. + +"Aim at the foot of his mainmast," he went on. "Let each man fire as +he gets the mast on his sight." + +A moment later the first gun fired, and the whole broadside followed +in quick succession. + +"Down with the helm! Hard down, sheets and tacks!" + +The men whose duty it was to trim the sails ran to the sheets and +braces. The Madras swept up into the wind, and, as her sails drew on +the other tack, she came along on a course that would take her within +a hundred yards of the brig. + +As she approached, three rifles cracked out on her poop. One of the +men at the helm of the brig fell, and as he did so, half a dozen more +shots were fired; and as his companion dropped beside him, the brig, +deprived of her helm, flew up into the wind. + +Three men ran aft to the wheel, but the deadly rifles spoke out again. +Two of them fell. The third dived under the bulwark, for shelter. + +"Steady, men!" the captain shouted. "Fetch her mainmast out of her!" + +As they swept along under the stern of the brig, each gun of their +other broadside poured in its fire in succession, raking the crowded +deck from end to end. A moment later, the mainmast was seen to sway, +and a tremendous cheer broke from the Madras as it went over the side, +dragging with it the foretopmast, with all its gear. + +"Down with the helm again!" the captain shouted. "Bring her head to +wind, and keep her there!" + +The first officer sprang forward, to see that the order was carried +into effect, and a minute later the Indiaman lay, with her sails +aback, at a distance of a hundred yards, on the quarter of the brig. + +"Grape and canister!" the captain shouted, and broadside after +broadside swept the decks of the brig, which, hampered by her +wreckage, was lying almost motionless in the water. So terrible was +the fire, that the privateer's men threw down the axes with which they +were striving to cut away the floating spars, and ran below. + +"Double shot your guns, and give her one broadside between wind and +water!" the captain ordered. + +"Haul on the sheets and braces, Mr. Green, and get her on her course +again--the schooner won't trouble us, now." + +That craft had indeed, at first, luffed up, to come to the assistance +of her consort; but on seeing the fall of the latter's mast, and that +she was incapable of rendering any assistance, had again altered her +course, feeling her incapacity to engage so redoubtable an opponent, +single handed. Three hearty cheers broke from all on board the Madras +as, after pouring in a broadside at a distance of fifty yards, she +left the brig behind her, and proceeded on her way. + +"Then you don't care about taking prizes, captain?" one of the +passengers said, as they crowded round to congratulate him upon his +easy, and almost bloodless, victory. + +"No, taking prizes is not my business; and were I to weaken my crew, +by sending some of them off in a prize, I might find myself +short-handed if we met another of these gentlemen, or fell in with bad +weather. Besides, she would not be worth sending home." + +"The brig is signalling to her consort, sir," Mr. Green said, coming +up. + +"Ay, ay. I expect she wants help badly enough. I saw the chips fly +close to her waterline, as we gave her that last broadside." + +"They are lowering a boat," one of the passengers said. + +"So they are. I expect they haven't got more than one that can swim. + +"I think she is settling down," the captain said, as he looked +earnestly at the wreck astern. "See how they are crowding into that +boat, and how some of the others are cutting and slashing, to get the +wreckage clear of her." + +"She is certainly a good bit lower in the water than she was," the +first officer agreed. "The schooner has come round, and won't be long +before she is alongside of her." + +There was no doubt that the brig was settling down fast. Men stood on +the bulwarks, and waved their caps frantically to the schooner. Others +could be seen, by the aid of a glass, casting spars, hen coops, and +other articles overboard, and jumping into the water after them; and +soon the sea around the wreck was dotted with heads and floating +fragments, while the wreckage of the mainmast was clustered with men. + +When the Madras was a mile away, the schooner was lying, thrown up +head to wind, fifty yards from the brig; and her boats were already +engaged in picking up the swimmers. Suddenly the brig gave a heavy +lurch. + +"There she goes!" the captain exclaimed. + +A moment later the hull had disappeared, and the schooner remained +alone. + +By this time, the whole of the ladies had ascended from their place of +safety to the poop, and a general exclamation broke from the +passengers, as the brig disappeared. + +"The schooner will pick them all up," the captain said. "They must +have suffered heavily from our fire, but I don't think any will have +gone down with her. The boat, which has already reached the schooner, +must have taken a good many, and the mainmast and foretopmast and +spars would support the rest, to say nothing of the things they have +thrown overboard. There is one wasp the less afloat." + +No further adventure was met with, throughout the voyage. They had a +spell of bad weather off the Cape, but the captain said it was nothing +to the gales they often encountered there, and that the voyage, as a +whole, was an exceptionally good one; for, even after the delays they +had encountered at the start, the passage had lasted but four months +and a half. + +They touched at Point de Galle for news, and to ascertain whether any +French warships had been seen, of late, along the coast. A supply of +fresh vegetables and fruit was taken on board, as the vessel, after +touching at Madras, was to go on to Calcutta. A few of the passengers +landed at Point de Galle, but neither Dick nor his mother went ashore. + +"You will have plenty of opportunities of seeing Indians, later on, +Dick," Mrs. Holland had said; "and, as the gigs will not take all +ashore, we may as well stop quietly here. I heard the captain say that +he would weigh anchor again, in four hours." + +Dick was rather disappointed, but, as they would be at Madras before +long, he did not much mind. + +Ten days later, they anchored off that town. Little was to be seen +except the fort, a number of warehouses, and the native town, while +the scenery contrasted strongly with that of Ceylon, with its masses +of green foliage, with hills rising behind. + +For the last fortnight, Mrs. Holland had been somewhat depressed. Now +that the voyage was nearly over, the difficulties of the task before +her seemed greater than they had done when viewed from a distance, and +she asked herself whether, after all, it would not have been wiser to +have waited another two or three years, until Dick had attained +greater strength and manhood. The boy, however, when she confided her +doubts to him, laughed at the idea. + +"Why, you know, Mother," he said, "we agreed that I had a much greater +chance, as a boy, of going about unsuspected, than I should have as a +man. Besides, we could never have let Father remain any longer, +without trying to get him out. + +"No, no, Mother, you know we have gone through it over and over again, +and talked about every chance. We have had a first-rate voyage, and +everything is going on just as we could have wished, and it would +never do to begin to have doubts now. We have both felt confident, all +along. It seems to me that, of all things, we must keep on being +confident, at any rate until there is something to give us cause to +doubt." + +On the following morning, they landed in a surf boat, and were +fortunate in getting ashore without being drenched. There was a rush +of wild looking and half-naked natives to seize their baggage; but +upon Mrs. Holland, with quiet decision, accosting the men in their own +language, and picking out four of them to carry the baggage up, to one +of the vehicles standing on the road that ran along the top of the +high beach, the rest fell back, and the matter was arranged without +difficulty. + +After a drive of twenty minutes, they stopped at a hotel. + +"It is not like a hotel, Mother," Dick remarked, as they drew up. "It +is more like a gentleman's house, standing in its own park." + +"Almost all the European houses are built so, here, Dick, and it is +much more pleasant than when they are packed together." + +"Much nicer," Dick agreed. "If each house has a lot of ground like +this, the place must cover a tremendous extent of country." + +"It does, Dick; but, as every one keeps horses and carriages, that +does not matter much. Blacktown, as they call the native town, stands +quite apart from the European quarter." + +As soon as they were settled in their rooms, which seemed to Dick +singularly bare and unfurnished, mother and son went out for a drive, +in one of the carriages belonging to the hotel. Dick had learned so +much about India from her that, although extremely interested, he was +scarcely surprised at the various scenes that met his eye, or at the +bright and varied costumes of the natives. + +Many changes had taken place, during the seventeen years that had +elapsed since Mrs. Holland had left India. The town had increased +greatly in size. All signs of the effects of the siege by the French, +thirty years before, had been long since obliterated. Large and +handsome government buildings had been erected, and evidences of +wealth and prosperity were everywhere present. + + + +Chapter 3: The Rajah. + + +"Now, Mother, let us talk over our plans," Dick said as, after dinner, +they seated themselves in two chairs in the veranda, at some little +distance from the other guests at the hotel. "How are we going to +begin?" + +"In the first place, Dick, we shall tomorrow send out a messenger to +Tripataly, to tell my brother of our arrival here." + +"How far is it, Mother?" + +"It is about a hundred and twenty miles, in a straight line, I think; +but a good bit farther than that, by the way we shall go." + +"How shall we travel, Mother?" + +"I will make some inquiries tomorrow, but I think that the pleasantest +way will be to drive from here to Conjeveram. I think that is about +forty miles. There we can take a native boat, and go up the river +Palar, past Arcot and Vellore, to Vaniambaddy. From there it is only +about fifteen miles to Tripataly. + +"I shall tell my brother the way I propose going. Of course, if he +thinks any other way will be better, we shall go by that." + +"Are we going to travel as we are, Mother, or in native dress?" + +"That is a point that I have been thinking over, Dick. I will wait, +and ask my brother which he thinks will be the best. When out there I +always dressed as a native, and never put on English clothes, except +at Madras. I used to come down here two or three times every year, +with my mother, and generally stayed for a fortnight or three weeks. +During that time, we always dressed in English fashion, as by so doing +we could live at the hotel, and take our meals at public tables +without exciting comment. My mother knew several families here, and +liked getting back to English ways, occasionally. + +"Of course, I shall dress in Indian fashion while I stay at my +brother's, so it is only the question of how we shall journey there, +and I think I should prefer going as we are. We shall excite no +special observation, travelling as English, as it will only be +supposed that we are on our way to pay a visit to some of our +officers, at Arcot. At Conjeveram, which is a large place, there is +sure to be a hotel of some sort or other, for it is on the main road +from Madras south. On the way up, by water, we shall of course sleep +on board, and we shall go direct from the boat to Tripataly. + +"However, we need not decide until we get an answer to my letter, for +it will take a very short time to get the necessary dresses for us +both. I think it most likely that my brother will send down one of his +officers to meet us, or possibly may come down himself. + +"You heard what they were all talking about, at dinner, Dick?" + +"Yes, Mother, it was something about Tippoo attacking the Rajah of +Travancore, but I did not pay much attention to it. I was looking at +the servants, in their curious dresses." + +"It is very important, Dick, and will probably change all our plans. +Travancore is in alliance with us, and every one thinks that Tippoo's +attack on it will end in our being engaged in war with him. I was +talking to the officer who sat next to me, and he told me that, if +there had been a capable man at the head of government here, war would +have been declared as soon as the Sultan moved against Travancore. Now +that General Meadows had been appointed governor and commander-in-chief, +there was no doubt, he said, that an army would move against Tippoo in a +very short time--that it was already being collected, and that a force +was marching down here from Bengal. + +"So you see, my boy, if this war really breaks out, the English may +march to Seringapatam, and compel Tippoo to give up all the captives +he has in his hands." + +"That would be splendid, Mother." + +"At any rate, Dick, as long as there is a hope of your father being +rescued, in that way, our plans must be put aside." + +"Well, Mother, that will be better, in some respects; for of course, +if Father is not rescued by our army, I can try afterwards as we +arranged. It would be an advantage, in one way, as I should then be +quite accustomed to the country, and more fit to make my way about." + +A week later, an old officer arrived from Tripataly. + +"Ah, Rajbullub," Mrs. Holland exclaimed, as he came up with a deep +salaam; "I am, indeed, glad to see you again. I knew you were alive, +for my brother mentioned you when he wrote last year." + +Rajbullub was evidently greatly pleased at the recognition. + +"I think I should have known you, lady," he said; "but eighteen years +makes more changes in the young than in the old. Truly I am glad to +see you again. There was great joy among us, who knew you as a child, +when the Rajah told us that you were here. He has sent me on to say +that he will arrive, tomorrow. I am to see to his apartments, and to +have all in readiness. He intends to stay here, some days, before +returning to Tripataly." + +"Will he come to this hotel?" + +"No, lady, he will take the house he always has, when he is here. It +is kept for the use of our princes, when they come down to Madras. He +bade me say that he hopes you will remain here, for that none of the +rooms could be got ready, at such a short notice. + +"He has not written, for he hates writing, which is a thing that he +has small occasion for. I was to tell you that his heart rejoiced, at +the thought of seeing you again, and that his love for you is as warm +as it was when you were a boy and girl together." + +"This is my son, Rajbullub. He has often heard me speak of you." + +"Yes, indeed," Dick said, warmly. "I heard how you saved her from +being bitten by a cobra, when she was a little girl." + +"Ah! The young lord speaks our tongue," Rajbullub said, with great +pleasure. "We wondered whether you would have taught it to him. If it +had not been that you always wrote to my lord in our language, we +should have thought that you, yourself, would surely have forgotten +it, after dwelling so long among the white sahibs." + +"No, we always speak it when together, Rajbullub. I thought that he +might, some day, come out here, and that he would find it very useful; +and I, too, have been looking forward to returning, for a time, to the +home where I was born." + +There were many questions to ask about her brother, his wife and two +sons. They were younger than Dick, for Mrs. Holland was three years +senior to the Rajah. + +At last, she said, "I will not detain you longer, Rajbullub. I know +that you will have a great deal to do, to get ready for my brother's +coming. At what time will he arrive?" + +"He hopes to be here by ten in the morning, before the heat of the day +sets in." + +"I shall, of course, be there to meet him." + +"So he hoped, lady. He said that he would have come straight here, +first, but he thought it would be more pleasant for you to meet him in +privacy." + +"Assuredly it would," she agreed. + +"I will bring a carriage for you, here, at nine o'clock; and take you +and my young lord to the Rajah's house." + +At the appointed time, a handsome carriage and pair drove up to the +door of the hotel, and in ten minutes Mrs. Holland and Dick alighted +in the courtyard of a large house. Four native servants were at the +door, and the old officer led the way to a spacious room. This was +carpeted with handsome rugs. Soft cushions were piled on the divan, +running round the room, the divan itself being covered with velvet and +silk rugs. Looking glasses were ranged upon the walls; a handsome +chandelier hung from the roof; draperies of gauze, lightly embroidered +with gold, hung across the windows. + +"Why, Rajbullub, you have done wonders--that is, if the house was +unfurnished, yesterday." + +"It is simple," the Hindoo said. "My lord your brother, like other +rajahs who use the house when they come down here, has a room +upstairs; in which are kept, locked up, everything required for +furnishing the rooms he uses. Four of his servants came down here, +with me. We had but to call in sweepers, to clear the house from dust +and wash down the marble floors, and then everything was put into its +place. The cook, who also came down, has hired assistants, and all +will be ready for my lord, when he arrives." + +In half an hour, one of the servants ran in, and announced that the +Rajah was in the courtyard. There was a great trampling of hoofs, and +a minute later he ascended the stairs, and was met by his sister and +Dick at the door of the room. + +Mrs. Holland had attired herself handsomely, not so much for the sake +of her brother, but that, as his sister, those with him would expect +to see in her an English lady of position; and Dick thought that he +had never seen her looking so well as when, in a dress of rich +brocade, and with a flush of pleasure and expectation on her cheeks, +she advanced to the door. She was still but a little over thirty-three +years old, and although the long years of anxiety and sorrow had left +their traces on her face, the rest and quiet of the sea voyage had +done much to restore the fulness of her cheeks, and to soften the +outline of her figure. + +The Rajah, a young and handsome-looking man of thirty, ascended the +stairs with an eagerness and speed that were somewhat at variance with +Dick's preconceived ideas of the stateliness of an Eastern prince. + +"My sister Margaret!" he exclaimed, in English, and embraced her with +a warmth that showed that his affection for her was unimpaired by the +years that had passed since he last saw her. + +Then he stood with his hands on her shoulders, looking earnestly at +her. + +"I know you again," he said. "You are changed, but I can recall your +face well. You are welcome, Margaret, most welcome. + +"And this is my nephew?" he went on, turning to Dick, and holding out +both his hands to him. "You are taller than I expected--well nigh as +tall as I am. You are like your mother and my mother; and you are bold +and active and strong, she writes me. My boys are longing to see you, +and you will be most welcome at Tripataly. + +"I have almost forgotten my English, Margaret "--and, indeed, he spoke +with some difficulty, evidently choosing his words--"I should quite +have forgotten it, had not I often had occasion to speak it with +English officers. I see, by your letters, that you have not forgotten +our tongue." + +"Not in the least, Mortiz. I have, for years, spoken nothing else with +Dick, and he speaks it as well as I do." + +"That is good," the Rajah replied, in his own tongue, and in a tone of +relief. "I was wondering how he would get on with us. + +"Now, let us sit down. We have so much to tell each other, and, +moreover, I am ravenous for breakfast, as I have ridden forty miles +since sunrise." + +Breakfast was speedily served, the Rajah eating in English fashion. + +"I cling to some of our mother's ways, you see, Margaret. As I have +grown older, I have become more English than I was. Naturally, as a +boy of thirteen, as I was when you last saw me, I listened to the talk +of those around me, and was guided by their opinions a good deal. +Among them, there was a feeling of regret that our father had married +an English woman; and I, of course, was ever trying my hardest to show +that in riding, or the chase, or in exercises of any kind, I was as +worthy to be the son of an Indian rajah as if I had no white blood in +my veins. + +"As I grew up, I became wiser. I saw how great the English were, how +steadily they extended their dominions, and how vastly better off were +our people, under their sway, than they were in the days when every +rajah made war against his neighbour, and the land never had rest. +Then I grew proud of my English blood, and although I am, to my +people, Rajah of Tripataly, a native prince and lord of their +destinies, keeping up the same state as my father, and ruling them in +native fashion, in my inner house I have adopted many English ways. + +"My wife has no rival in the zenana. I encourage her to go about, as +our mother did, to look after the affairs of the house, to sit at +table with me, and to be my companion, and not a mere plaything. I am +sure, Margaret, your stay with us will do her much good, and she will +learn a great deal from you." + +"You have heard no news since you last wrote, Mortiz?" + +A slight cloud passed across the Rajah's animated face. + +"None, Margaret. We have little news from beyond the mountains. Tippoo +hates us, who are the friends of the English, as much as he hates the +English themselves, so there is little communication between Mysore +and the possessions of the Nabob of Arcot. We will talk, later on, of +the plans you wrote of in your last letter to me." + +"You do not think that they are hopeless, Mortiz?" Mrs. Holland asked, +anxiously. + +"I would not say that they are hopeless," he said gently, "although it +seems to me that, after all these years, the chances are slight, +indeed, that your husband can be alive; and the peril and danger of +the enterprise that, so far as I understood you, you intend your son +to undertake, would be terrible, indeed." + +"We see that, Mortiz. Dick and I have talked it over, a thousand +times. But so long as there is but a shadow of a chance of his finding +his father, he is ready to undertake the search. He is a boy in years, +but he has been trained for the undertaking, and will, when the trial +comes, bear himself as well as a man." + +"Well, Margaret, I shall have plenty of opportunities for forming my +own judgment; because, of course, he will stay with us a long time +before he starts on the quest, and it will be better to say no more of +this, now. + +"Now, tell me about London. Is it so much a greater city than Madras?" + +Mrs. Holland sighed. She saw, by his manner, that he was wholly +opposed to her plan, and although she was quite prepared for +opposition, she could not help feeling disappointed. However, she +perceived that, as he said, it would be better to drop the subject for +a time; and she accordingly put it aside, and answered his questions. + +"Madras is large--that is, it spreads over a wide extent; but if it +were packed with houses, as closely as they could stand, it would not +approach London in the number of its population." + +"How is it that the English do not send more troops out here, +Margaret?" + +"Because they can raise troops here, and English soldiers cannot stand +the heat as well as those born to it. Moreover, you must remember +that, at present, England is at war, not only with France and half +Europe, but also with America. She is also obliged to keep an army in +Ireland, which is greatly disaffected. With all this on her hands, she +cannot send a large army so far across the seas, especially when her +force here is sufficient for all that can be required of it." + +"That is true," he said. "It is wonderful what they have done out +here, with such small forces. But they will have harder work, before +they conquer all India--as I believe they will do--than they have yet +encountered. In spite of Tippoo's vauntings, they will have Mysore +before many years are over. The Sultan seems to have forgotten the +lesson they taught him, six or seven years back. But the next time +will be the last, and Tippoo, tiger as he is, will meet the fate he +seems bent on provoking. + +"But beyond Mysore lies the Mahratta country, and the Mahrattis alone +can put thirty thousand horsemen into the field. They are not like the +people of Bengal, who have ever fallen, with scarce an attempt at +resistance, under the yoke of one tyrant after another. The Mahrattis +are a nation of warriors. They are plunderers, if you will, but they +are brave and fearless soldiers, and might, had they been united, have +had all India under their feet before the coming of the English. That +chance has slipped from them. But when we--I say 'we' you see, +Margaret--meet them, it will be a desperate struggle, indeed." + +"We shall thrash them, Uncle," Dick broke in. "You will see that we +shall beat them thoroughly." + +The Rajah smiled at Dick's impetuosity. + +"So you think English soldiers cannot be beaten, eh?" + +"Well, Uncle, somehow they never do get beaten. I don't know how it +is. I suppose that it is just obstinacy. Look how we thrashed the +French here, and they were just as well drilled as our soldiers, and +there were twice as many of them." + +The Rajah nodded. + +"One secret of our success, Dick, is that the English get on better +with the natives here than the French do--I don't know why, except +what I have heard from people who went through the war. They say that +the French always seemed to look down on the natives, and treated even +powerful allies with a sort of haughtiness that irritated them, and +made them ready to change sides at the first opportunity; while the +British treated them pleasantly, so that there was a real friendship +between them." + +Dick, finding that the conversation now turned to the time when his +mother and uncle were girl and boy together, left them and went +downstairs. He found some twenty horses ranged in the courtyard, while +their riders were sitting in the shade, several of them being engaged +in cooking. These were the escort who had ridden with the Rajah from +Tripataly--for no Indian prince would think of making a journey, +unless accompanied by a numerous retinue. + +Scarcely had he entered the yard than Rajbullub came up, with the +officer in command of the escort, a fine-looking specimen of a Hindoo +soldier. He salaamed, as Rajbullub presented him to Dick. The lad +addressed him at once in his own tongue, and they were soon talking +freely together. The officer was surprised at finding that his lord's +nephew, from beyond the sea, was able to speak the language like a +native. + +First, Dick asked the nature of the country, and the places at which +they would halt on their way. Then he inquired what force the Rajah +could put into the field, and was somewhat disappointed to hear that +he kept up but a hundred horsemen, including those who served as an +escort. + +"You see, Sahib, there is no occasion for soldiers. Now that the +whites are the masters, they do the fighting for us. When the Rajah's +father was a young man, he could put two thousand men under arms, and +he joined at the siege of Trichinopoly with twelve hundred. But now +there is no longer need for an army. There is no one to fight. Some of +the young men grumble, but the old ones rejoice at the change. +Formerly, they had to go to the plough with their spears and their +swords beside them, because they never knew when marauders from the +hills might sweep down; besides, when there was war, they might be +called away for weeks, while the crops were wasting upon the ground. + +"As to the younger men who grumble, I say to them, 'If you are tired +of a peaceful life, go and enlist in a Company's regiment;' and every +year some of them do so. + +"In other ways, the change is good. Now that the Rajah has no longer +to keep up an army, he is not obliged to squeeze the cultivators. +Therefore, they pay but a light rent for their lands, and the Rajah is +far better off than his father was; so that, on all sides, there is +content and prosperity. But, even now, the fear of Mysore has not +quite died out." + +"My position, Margaret," the Rajah said, after Dick had left the room, +"is a very precarious one. When Hyder Ali marched down here, eight +years ago, he swept the whole country, from the foot of the hills to +the sea coast. My father would have been glad to stand neutral, but +was, of course, bound to go with the English, as the Nabob of Arcot, +his nominal sovereign, went with them. His sympathies were, of course, +with your people; but most of the chiefs were, at heart, in favour of +Hyder. It was not that they loved him, or preferred the rule of Mysore +to that of Madras. But at that time Madras was governed by imbeciles. +Its Council was composed entirely of timid and irresolute men. It was +clear to all that, before any force capable of withstanding him could +be put in the field, the whole country, beyond reach of the guns of +the forts at Madras, would be at the mercy of Hyder. + +"What that mercy was, had been shown elsewhere. Whole populations had +been either massacred, or carried off as slaves. Therefore, when the +storm was clearly about to burst, almost all of them sent secret +messages to Hyder, to assure him that their sympathies were with him, +and that they would gladly hail him as ruler of the Carnatic. + +"My father was in no way inclined to take such a step. His marriage +with an English woman, the white blood in my veins, and his long-known +partiality for the English, would have marked him for certain +destruction; and, as soon as he received news that Hyder's troops were +in movement, he rode with me to Madras. At that time, his force was +comparatively large, and he took three hundred men down with us. He +had allowed all who preferred it to remain behind; and some four +hundred stayed to look after their families. Most of the population +took to the hills and, as Hyder's forces were too much occupied to +spend time in scouring the ghauts in search of fugitives, when there +was so much loot and so many captives ready to their hands on the +plains, the fugitives for the most part remained there in safety. The +palace was burnt, the town sacked and partly destroyed, and some +fifteen hundred of our people, who had remained in their homes, killed +or carried off. + +"My father did some service with our horse, and I fought by his side. +We were with Colonel Baillie's force when it was destroyed, after for +two days resisting the whole of Hyder All's army. Being mounted, we +escaped, and reached Madras in safety, after losing half our number. +But all that I can tell you about, some other day. + +"When peace was made and Hyder retired, we returned home, rebuilt the +palace, and restored the town. But if Tippoo follows his father's +example, and sweeps down from the hills, there will be nothing for it +but to fly again. Tippoo commanded one of the divisions of Hyder's +army, last time, and showed much skill and energy; and has, since he +came to the throne, been a scourge to his neighbours in the north. So +far as I can see, Madras will be found as unprepared as it was last +time; and although the chiefs of Vellore, Arcot, Conjeveram, and other +places may be better disposed towards the English than they were +before--for the Carnatic had a terrible lesson last time--they will +not dare to lift a finger against him, until they see a large British +force assembled. + +"So you see, sister, your position will be a very precarious one at +Tripataly; and it is likely that, at any time, we may be obliged to +seek refuge here. The trouble may come soon, or it may not come for a +year; but, sooner or later, I regard it as certain that Tippoo will +strive to obtain what his father failed to gain--the mastership of the +Carnatic. Indeed, he makes no secret of his intention to become lord +of the whole of southern India. The Nizam, his neighbour in the north, +fears his power, and could offer but a feeble resistance, were Tippoo +once master of the south and west coast. The Mahrattis can always be +bought over, especially if there is a prospect of plunder. He relies, +too, upon aid from France; for although the French, since the capture +of Pondicherry, have themselves lost all chance of obtaining India, +they would gladly aid in any enterprise that would bring about the +fall of English predominance here. + +"There are, too, considerable bodies of French troops in the pay of +the Nizam, and these would, at any rate, force their master to remain +neutral in a struggle between the English and Tippoo. + +"However, it will be quite unnecessary that you should resume our +garb, or that Dick should dress in the same fashion. Did I intend to +remain at Tripataly, I should not wish to draw the attention of my +neighbours to the fact that I had English relations resident with me. +Of course, every one knows that I am half English myself, but that is +an old story now. They would, however, be reminded of it, and Tippoo +would hear of it, and would use it as a pretext for attacking and +plundering us. But, as I have decided to come down here, there is no +reason why you should not dress in European fashion." + +"We would remain here, brother," Mrs. Holland said, "rather than bring +danger upon you. Dick could learn the ways of the country here, as +well as with you, and could start on his search without going to +Tripataly." + +"Not at all, Margaret. Whether you are with me or not, I shall have to +leave Tripataly when Tippoo advances, and your presence will not in +any way affect my plans. My wife and sons must travel with me, and one +woman and boy, more or less, will make no difference. At present, this +scheme of yours seems to me to border on madness. But we need not +discuss that now. I shall, at any rate, be very glad to have you both +with me. The English side of me has been altogether in the background, +since you went away; and though I keep up many of the customs our +mother introduced, I have almost forgotten the tongue, though I force +myself to speak it, sometimes, with my boys, as I am sure that, in the +long run, the English will become the sole masters of southern India, +and it will be a great advantage to them to speak the language. + +"However, I have many other things to see about, and the companionship +of Dick will benefit them greatly. You know what it always is out +here. The sons of a rajah are spoilt, early, by every one giving way +to them, and their being allowed to do just as they like. Naturally, +they get into habits of indolence and self indulgence, and never have +occasion to exert themselves, or to obtain the strength and activity +that make our mother's countrymen irresistible in battle. They have +been taught to shoot and to ride, but they know little else, and I am +sure it will do them an immense deal of good to have Dick with them, +for a time. + +"If nothing comes of this search for your husband, I hope you will +take up your residence, permanently, at Tripataly. You have nothing to +go back to England for, and Dick, with his knowledge of both +languages, should be able to find good employment in the Company's +service." + +"Thank you greatly, brother. If, as you say, my quest should come to +nothing, I would gladly settle down in my old home. Dick's +inclinations, at present, turn to the sea, but I have no doubt that +what you say is true, and that there may be far more advantageous +openings for him out here. However, that is a matter for us to talk +over, in the future." + +The Rajah stayed four days at Madras. Every morning the carriage came +at nine o'clock to fetch Mrs. Holland, who spent several hours with +her brother, and was then driven back to the hotel, while Dick +wandered about with Rajbullub through the native town, asking +questions innumerable, observing closely the different costumes and +turbans, and learning to know, at once, the district, trade, or caste, +from the colour or fashion of the turban, and other little signs. + +The shops were an endless source of amusement to him, and he somewhat +surprised his companion by his desire to learn the names of all the +little articles and trinkets, even of the various kinds of grain. +Dick, in fact, was continuing his preparations for his work. He knew +that ignorance of any trifling detail which would, as a matter of +course, be known to every native, would excite more surprise and +suspicion than would be caused by a serious blunder in other matters; +and he wrote down, in a notebook, every scrap of information he +obtained, so as to learn it by heart at his leisure. + +Rajbullub was much surprised at the lad's interest in all these little +matters, which, as it seemed to him, were not worth a thought on the +part of his lord's nephew. + +"You will never have to buy these things, Sahib," he said. "Why should +you trouble about them?" + +"I am going to be over here some time, Rajbullub, and it is just as +well to learn as much as one can. If I were to stroll into the market +in Tripataly, and had a fancy to buy any trifle, the country people +would laugh in my face, were I ignorant of its name." + +His companion shook his head. + +"They would not expect any white sahib to know such things," he said. +"If he wants to buy anything, the white sahib points to it and asks, +'How much?' Then, whether it is a brass iota, or a silver trinket, or +a file, or a bunch of fruit, the native says a price four times as +much as he would ask anyone else. Then the sahib offers him half, and +after protesting many times that the sum is impossible, the dealer +accepts it, and both parties are well satisfied. + +"If you have seen anything that you want to buy, sahib, tell me, and I +will go and get it for you. Then you will not be cheated." + +The start for Tripataly was made at daybreak. Dick and his mother +drove, in an open carriage that had been hired for the journey. The +Rajah rode beside it, or cantered on ahead. His escort followed the +vehicle. The luggage had been sent off, two days before, by cart. + +The country as far as Arcot was flat, but everything was interesting +to Dick; and when they arrived at the city, where they were to stop +for the night at the house the Rajah had occupied on his way down, he +sallied out, as soon as their meal was over, to inspect the fort and +walls. He had, during his outward voyage, eagerly studied the history +of Clive's military exploits, and the campaigns by which that portion +of India had been wrested from the French; and he was eager to visit +the fort, whose memorable defence, by Clive, had first turned the +scale in favour of the British. These had previously been regarded, by +the natives, as a far less warlike people than the French, who were +expected to drive them, in a very short time, out of the country. + +Rajbullub was able to point out to him every spot associated with the +stirring events of that time. + +"'Tis forty-six years back, and I was but a boy of twelve; but six +years later I was here, for our rajah was on the side of the English, +although Tripataly was, and is now, under the Nabob of Arcot. But my +lord had many causes of complaint against him, and when he declared +for the French, our lord, who was not then a rajah, although chief of +a considerable district, threw in his lot with the English; and, when +they triumphed, was appointed rajah by them, and Tripataly was made +almost wholly independent of the Nabob of Arcot. At one time a force +of our men was here, with four companies of white troops, when it was +thought that Dupleix was likely to march against us; and I was with +that force, and so learned all about the fighting here." + +The next day the party arrived, late in the evening, at Tripataly. A +large number of men, with torches, received them in front of the +palace; and, on entering, Mrs. Holland was warmly received by the +Rajah's wife, who carried her off at once to her apartments, which she +did not leave afterwards, as she was greatly fatigued by the two long +days of travel. + +Dick, on the contrary, although he had dozed in the carriage for the +last two or three hours of the journey, woke up thoroughly as they +neared Tripataly. As soon as they entered the house, the Rajah called +his two sons, handsome, dark-faced lads of twelve and thirteen. + +"This is your cousin, boys," he said. "You must look after him, and +see that he has everything he wants, and make his stay as pleasant as +you can." + +Although a little awed by the, to them, tall figure, they evinced +neither shyness or awkwardness, but, advancing to Dick, held out their +hands one after the other, with grave courtesy. Their faces both +brightened, as he said in their own language: + +"I hope we shall be great friends, cousins. I am older and bigger than +you are, but everything is new and strange to me, and I shall have to +depend upon you to teach me everything." + +"We did not think that you would be able to talk to us," the elder, +whose name was Doast Assud, said, smiling. "We have been wondering how +we should make you understand. Many of the white officers, who come +here sometimes, speak our language, but none of them as well as you +do." + +"You see, they only learn it after they come out here, while I learnt +it from my mother, who has talked to me in it since I was quite a +little boy; so it comes as naturally to me as to you." + +In a few minutes, supper was announced. The two boys sat down with +their father and Dick, and the meal was served in English fashion. +Dick had already become accustomed to the white-robed servants, at the +hotel at Madras, and everything seemed to him pleasant and home-like. + +"Tomorrow, Dick," his uncle said, "you must have your first lesson in +riding." + +The two boys looked up in surprise. They had been accustomed to horses +from their earliest remembrance, and it seemed to them incredible that +their tall cousin should require to be taught. Dick smiled at their +look of astonishment. + +"It is not, with us in England, as it is here," he said. "Boys who +live in the country learn to ride, but in London, which is a very +great town, with nothing but houses for miles and miles everywhere, +few people keep horses to ride. The streets are so crowded, with +vehicles of all sorts, and with people on foot, that it is no pleasure +to ride in them, and everyone who can afford it goes about in a +carriage. Those who cannot, go in hired vehicles, or on foot. You +would hardly see a person on horseback once in a week." + +"I do not like walking," Doast said gravely. + +"Well, you see, you have no occasion to walk, as you always have your +horses. Besides, the weather here is very hot. But in England it is +colder, and walking is a pleasure. I have walked over twenty miles a +day, many times, not because I had to do it, but as a day's pleasure +with a friend." + +"Can you shoot, cousin?" + +"No," Dick laughed. "There is nothing to shoot at. There are no wild +beasts in England, and no game birds anywhere near London." + +Dick saw, at once, that he had descended many steps in his cousins' +estimation. + +"Then what can you find to do?" the younger boy asked. + +"Oh, there is plenty to do," Dick said. "In the first place, there is +school. That takes the best part of the day. Then there are all sorts +of games. Then I used to take lessons in sword exercise, and did all +sorts of things to improve my muscles, and to make me strong. Then, on +holidays, three or four of us would go for a long walk, and sometimes +we went out on the river in a boat; and every morning, early, we used +to go for a swim. Oh, I can tell you, there was plenty to do, and I +was busy from morning till night. But I want very much to learn to +shoot, both with gun and pistol, as well as to ride." + +"We have got English guns and pistols," Doast said. "We will lend them +to you. We have a place where we practise. + +"Our father says everyone ought to be able to shoot--don't you, +Father?" + +The Rajah nodded. + +"Everyone out here ought to, Doast, because, you see, every man here +may be called upon to fight, and everyone carries arms. But it is +different in England. Nobody fights there, except those who go into +the army, and nobody carries weapons." + +"What! Not swords, pistols, and daggers, Father?" Doast exclaimed, in +surprise; for to him it seemed that arms were as necessary a part of +attire as a turban, and much more necessary than shoes. "But, when +people are attacked by marauders, or two chiefs quarrel with each +other, what can they do if they have no arms?" + +"There are no marauders, and no chiefs," Dick laughed. "In the old +times, hundreds of years ago, there were nobles who could call out all +their tenants and retainers to fight their battles, and in those days +people carried swords, as they do here. There are nobles still, but +they have no longer any power to call out anyone, and if they quarrel +they have to go before a court for the matter to be decided, just as +everyone else does." + +This seemed, to Doast, a very unsatisfactory state of things, and he +looked to his father for an explanation. + +"It is as your cousin says, Doast. You have been down with me to +Madras, and you have seen that, except the officers in the army, none +of the Europeans carry arms. It is the same in England. England is a +great island, and as they have many ships of war, no enemy can land +there. There is one king over the whole country, and there are written +laws by which everyone, high and low alike, are governed. So you see, +no one has to carry arms. All disputes are settled by the law, and +there is peace everywhere; for as nothing would be settled by +fighting, and the law would punish any one, however much in the right +he might be, who fought, there is no occasion at all for weapons. It +is a good plan, for you see no one, however rich, can tyrannise over +others; and were the greatest noble to kill the poorest peasant, the +law would hang him, just the same as it would hang a peasant who +killed a lord. + +"And now, boys, you had better be off to bed. Your cousin has had a +long day of it, and I have no doubt he will be glad to do so. Tomorrow +we will begin to teach him to ride and to shoot, and I have no doubt +that he will be ready, in return, to teach you a great deal about his +country." + +The boys got up. But Doast paused to ask his father one last question. + +"But how is it, Father, if the English never carry weapons, and never +fight, that they are such brave soldiers? For have they not conquered +all our princes and rajahs, and have even beaten Tippoo Sahib, and +made him give them much of his country?" + +"The answer would be a great deal too long to be given tonight, Doast. +You had better ask your cousin about it, in the morning." + + + +Chapter 4: First Impressions. + + +The next morning Dick was up early, eager to investigate the palace, +of which he had seen little the night before. The house was large and +handsome, the Rajah having added to it gradually, every year. On +passing the doors, the great hall was at once entered. Its roof, of +elaborately carved stones, was supported by two rows of pillars with +sculptured capitals. The floor was made of inlaid marble, and at one +end was raised a foot above the general level. Here stood a stone +chair, on which the Rajah sat when he adjudicated upon disputes among +his people, heard petitions, and gave audiences; while a massive door +on the left-hand side gave entrance to the private apartments. These +were all small, in comparison with the entrance hall. The walls were +lined with marble slabs, richly carved, and were dimly lighted by +windows, generally high up in the walls, which were of great +thickness. The marble floors were covered with thick rugs, and each +room had its divan, with soft cushions and rich shawls and covers. + +The room in which they had supped the night before was the only +exception. This had been specially furnished and decorated, in English +fashion. The windows here were low, and afforded a view over the +garden. Next to it were several apartments, all fitted with divans, +but with low windows and a bright outlook. They could be darkened, +during the heat of the day, by shutters. With the exception of these +windows, the others throughout the house contained no glass, the light +entering through innumerable holes that formed a filigree work in the +thin slabs of stone that filled the orifices. + +The grounds round the palace were thickly planted with trees, which +constituted a grove rather than a garden, according to Dick's English +notions. This was, indeed, the great object of the planter, and +numerous fountains added to the effect of the overhanging foliage. + +Dick wandered about, delighted. Early as it was, men with water skins +were at work among the clumps of flowers and shrubs, that covered the +ground wherever there was a break among the trees. Here and there were +small pavilions, whose roofs of sculptured stone were supported by +shafts of marble. The foliage of shrubs and trees alike was new to +Dick, and the whole scene delighted him. Half an hour later, his two +cousins joined him. + +"We wondered what had become of you," Doast said, "and should not have +found you, if Rajbullub had not told us that he saw you come out here. + +"Come in, now. Coffee is ready. We always have coffee the first thing, +except in very hot weather, when we have fruit sherbet. After that we +ride or shoot till the sun gets hot, and then come in to the morning +meal, at ten." + +On going in, Dick found that his mother and the ranee were both up, +and they all sat down to what Dick considered a breakfast, consisting +of coffee and a variety of fruit and bread. One or two dishes of meat +were also handed round, but were taken away untouched. + +"Now come out to the stables, Dick," the Rajah said. "Anwar, the +officer who commanded the escort, will meet us there. He will be your +instructor." + +The stables were large. The horses were fastened to rings along each +side, and were not, as in England, separated from each other by +stalls. A small stone trough, with running water, was fixed against +each wall at a convenient height, and beneath this was a pile of +fodder before each horse. + +"This is the one that I have chosen for you," the Rajah said, stopping +before a pretty creature, that possessed a considerable proportion of +Arab blood, as was shown by its small head. "It is very gentle and +well trained, and is very fast. When you have got perfectly at ease +upon it, you shall have something more difficult to sit, until you are +able to ride any horse in the stable, bare backed. Murad is to be your +own property, as long as you are out here." + +A syce led the horse out. It was bridled but unsaddled, and Anwar gave +a few instructions to Dick, and then said: + +"I will help you up, but in a short time you will learn to vault on to +his back, without any assistance. See! you gather your reins so, in +your left hand, place your right hand on its shoulder, and then spring +up." + +"I can do that now," Dick laughed, and, placing his hand on the +horse's shoulder, he lightly vaulted into his seat. + +"Well done, Dick," the Rajah said, while the two boys, who had been +looking on with amused faces, clapped their hands. + +"Now, Sahib," Anwar went on, "you must let your legs hang easily. +Press with your knees, and let your body sway slightly with the +movement of the horse. Balance yourself, rather than try to hold on." + +"I understand," Dick said. "It is just as you do on board ship, when +she is rolling a bit. Let go the reins." + +For half an hour the horse proceeded, at a walk, along the road that +wound in and out through the park-like grounds. + +"I begin to feel quite at home," Dick said, at the end of that time. +"I should like to go a bit faster now. It is no odds if I do tumble +off." + +"Shake your rein a little. The horse will understand it," Anwar said. + +Dick did so, and Murad at once started at a gentle canter. Easy as it +was, Dick thought several times that he would be off. However, he +gripped as tightly as he could with his knees, and as he became +accustomed to the motion, and learned to give to it, acquired ease and +confidence. He was not, however, sorry when, at the end of another +half hour, Anwar held up his hand as he approached him, and the horse +stopped at the slightest touch of the rein. + +As he slid off, his legs felt as if they did not belong to him, and +his back ached so that he could scarce straighten it. The Rajah and +his sons had returned to the palace, and the boys were there waiting +for him. + +"You have done very well, cousin," Doast said, with grave approval. +"You will not be long before you can ride as well as we can. Now you +had better go up at once and have a bath, and put on fresh clothes." + +Dick felt that the advice was good, as, bathed in perspiration, and +stiff and sore in every limb, he slowly made his way to his room. + +For the next month, he spent the greater part of his time on +horseback. For the first week he rode only in the grounds of the +palace; then he ventured beyond, accompanied by Anwar on horseback; +then his two cousins joined the party; and, by the end of the month, +he was perfectly at home on Murad's back. + +So far, he had not begun to practise shooting. + +"It would be of no use," the Rajah said, when he one day spoke of it. +"You want your nerves in good order for that, and it requires an old +horseman to have his hand steady enough for shooting straight, after a +hard ride. Your rides are not severe for a horseman, but they are +trying for you. Leave the shooting alone, lad. There is no hurry for +it." + +By this time, the Rajah had become convinced that it was useless to +try and dissuade either his sister or Dick from attempting the +enterprise for which they had come over. Possibly, the earnest +conviction of the former that her husband was still alive influenced +him to some extent, and the strength and activity of Dick showed him +that he was able to play the part of a man. He said little, but +watched the boy closely, made him go through trials of strength with +some of his troopers, and saw him practise with blunted swords with +others. Dick did well in both trials, and the Rajah then requested +Anwar, who was celebrated for his skill with the tulwar, to give him, +daily, half-an-hour's sword play, after his riding lesson. He himself +undertook to teach him to use the rifle and pistol. + +Dick threw himself into his work with great ardour, and in a very +short time could sit any horse in the stable, and came to use a rifle +and pistol with an amount of accuracy that surprised his young +cousins. + +"The boy is getting on wonderfully well," the Rajah said one day to +his sister. "His exercises have given him so much nerve, and so steady +a hand, that he already shoots very fairly. I should expect him to +grow up into a fine man, Margaret, were it not that I have the gravest +fears as to this mad enterprise, which I cannot help telling you, both +for your good and his, is, in my opinion, absolutely hopeless." + +"I know, Mortiz," she said, "that you think it is folly, on my part, +to cling to hope; and while I do not disguise from myself that there +would seem but small chance that my husband has survived, and that I +can give no reason for my faith in his still being alive, and my +confidence that he will be restored to me some day, I have so firm a +conviction that nothing will shake it. Why should I have such a +confidence, if it were not well founded? In my dreams, I always see +him alive, and I believe firmly that I dream of him so often, because +he is thinking of me. + +"When he was at sea, several times I felt disturbed and anxious, +though without any reason for doing so; and each time, on his return, +I found, when we compared dates, that his ship was battling with a +tempest at the time I was so troubled about him. I remember that, the +first time this happened, he laughed at me; but when, upon two other +occasions, it turned out so, he said: + +"'There are things we do not understand, Margaret. You know that, in +Scotland, there are many who believe in second sight, as it is called; +and that there are families there, and they say in Ireland, also, +where a sort of warning is given of the death of a member of the +family. We sailors are a superstitious people, and believe in things +that landsmen laugh at. It does not seem to me impossible that, when +two people love each other dearly, as we do, one may feel when the +other is in danger, or may be conscious of his death. It may be said +that such things seldom happen; but that is no proof that they never +do so, for some people may be more sensitive to such feelings or +impressions than others, and you may be one of them. + +"'There is one thing, Margaret. The fact that you have somehow felt +when I was in trouble should cheer you, when I am away, for if mere +danger should so affect you, surely you will know should death befall +me; and as long as you do not feel that, you may be sure that I shall +return safe and sound to you.' + +"Now, I believe that firmly. I was once troubled--so troubled, that, +for two or three days, I was ill--and so convinced was I that +something had happened to Jack, and yet that he was not dead, that +when, nigh two years afterwards, Ben came home, and I learned that it +was on the day of the wreck of his ship that I had so suffered, I was +not in the least surprised. Since then, I have more than once had the +same feelings, and have always been sure that, at the time, Jack was +in special danger; but I have never once felt that he was dead, never +once thought so, and am as certain that he is still alive as if I saw +him sitting in the chair opposite to me, for I firmly believe that, +did he die, I should see his spirit, or that, at any rate, I should +know for certain that he had gone. + +"So whatever you say, though reason may be altogether on your side, it +will not shake my confidence, one bit. I know that Jack is alive, and +I believe firmly, although of this I am not absolutely sure, that he +will, someday, be restored to me." + +"You did not tell me this before, Margaret," the Rajah said, "and what +you say goes for much, with me. Here in India there are many who, as +is said, possess this power that you call second sight. Certainly, +some of the Fakirs do. I have heard many tales of warnings they have +given, and these have always come true. I will not try, in future, to +damp your confidence; and will hope, with you, that your husband may +yet be restored to you." + +One evening, Dick remarked: + +"You said down at Madras, Uncle, that you would, someday, tell me +about the invasion by Hyder Ali. Will you tell me about it, now?" + +The Rajah nodded. His sons took their seats at his feet, and Dick +curled himself up on the divan, by his side. + +"You must know," the Rajah began, "that the war was really the result +of the intrigues of Sir Thomas Rumbold, the governor of Madras, and +his council. In the first place, they had seriously angered the Nizam. +The latter had taken a French force into his service, which the +English had compelled Basult Jung to dismiss; and Madras sent an +officer to his court, with instructions to remonstrate with him for so +doing. At the same time, they gave him notice that they should no +longer pay to him the tribute they had agreed upon, for the territory +called the Northern Circars. This would have led to war, but the +Bengal government promptly interfered, cancelled altogether the +demands made by the Madras government, and for the time patched up the +quarrel. The Nizam professed to be satisfied, but he saw that trouble +might arise when the English were more prepared to enforce their +demands. He therefore entered into negotiations with Hyder Ali and the +Mahrattis for an alliance, whose object was the entire expulsion of +the British from India. + +"The Mahrattis from Poonah were to operate against Bombay; those in +Central India and the north were to make incursions into Bengal; the +Nizam was to invade the Northern Circars; and Hyder was to direct his +force against Madras. Hyder at once began to collect military stores, +and obtained large quantities from the French at Mahe, a town they +still retain, on the Malabar coast. + +"The Madras government prepared to attack Mahe, when Hyder informed +them that the settlements of the Dutch, French, and English on the +Malabar coast, being situated within his territory, were equally +entitled to his protection; and that, if Mahe were attacked, he should +retaliate by an incursion into the province of Arcot. In spite of this +threat, Mahe was captured. Hyder for a time remained quiet, but the +Madras government gave him fresh cause for offence by sending a force, +in August, 1779, to the assistance of Basult Jung at Adoni. + +"To get there, this detachment had to pursue a route which led, for +two hundred miles, through the most difficult passes, and through the +territories both of the Nizam and Hyder. The Council altogether +ignored the expressed determination, of both these princes, to oppose +the march, and did not even observe the civility of informing them +that they were going to send troops through their territory. + +"I do not say, Dick, that this made any real difference, in the end. +The alliance between the three native Powers being made, it was +certain that war would break out shortly. Still, had it not been for +their folly, in giving Hyder and the Nizam a reasonable excuse for +entering upon hostilities, it might have been deferred until the +Madras government was better prepared to meet the storm. + +"The Bengal government, fortunately, again stepped in and undid at +least a part of the evil. It took the entire management of affairs out +of the hands of Rumbold's council; and its action was confirmed by the +Board of Directors, who censured all the proceedings, dismissed Sir +Thomas Rumbold and his two chief associates from the Council, and +suspended other members. + +"The prompt and conciliatory measures, taken by the Bengal government, +appeased the resentment felt by the Nizam, and induced him to withdraw +from the Confederacy. Hyder, however, was bent upon war, and the +imbecile government here took no steps, whatever, to meet the storm. +The commissariat was entirely neglected, they had no transport train +whatever, and the most important posts were left without a garrison. + +"It was towards the end of June that we received the news that Hyder +had left his capital at the head of an army of ninety thousand men, of +whom twenty-eight thousand were cavalry. He attempted no disguise as +to his object, and moved, confident in his power, to conquer the +Carnatic and drive the English into the sea. + +"My father had already made his preparations. Everything was in +readiness, and as soon as the news reached him, he started for Madras, +under the guard of his escort, with my mother and myself, most of the +traders of the town, and the landowners, who had gathered here in fear +and trembling. + +"It was a painful scene, as you may imagine, and I shall never forget +the terrified crowds in the streets, and the wailing of the women. +Many families who then left reached Madras in safety, but of those who +remained in the town, all are dead, or prisoners beyond the hills. +Hyder descended through the pass of Changama on the 20th of July, and +his horsemen spread out like a cloud over the country, burning, +devastating, and slaughtering. Hyder moved with the main army slowly, +occupying town after town, and placing garrisons in them. + +"You must not suppose that he devastated the whole country. He was too +wise for that. He anticipated reigning over it as its sovereign, and +had no wish to injure its prosperity. It was only over tracts where he +considered that devastation would hamper the movements of an English +army, that everything was laid waste. + +"On the 21st of August he invested Arcot, and a week later, hearing +that the British army had moved out from Madras, he broke up the siege +and advanced to meet them. Sir Hector Munro, the British general, was +no doubt brave, but he committed a terrible blunder. Instead of +marching to combine his force with that of Colonel Baillie, who was +coming down from Guntoor, he marched in the opposite direction to +Conjeveram, sending word to Colonel Baillie to follow him. Baillie's +force amounted to over two thousand eight hundred men, Munro's to five +thousand two hundred. Had they united, the force would have exceeded +eight thousand, and could have given battle to Hyder's immense army +with fair hope of success. The English have won, before now, with +greater odds against them. + +"My father had marched out with his cavalry, one hundred and fifty +strong, with Munro. Of course, I was with him, and it was to him that +the English general gave the despatch to carry to Colonel Baillie. We +rode hard, for at any moment Hyder's cavalry might swoop down and bar +the road; but we got through safely, and the next morning, the 24th, +Baillie started. + +"The encampment was within twenty-five miles of Madras, and with one +long forced march, we could have effected a junction with Munro. The +heat was tremendous, and Baillie halted that night on the bank of the +River Cortelour. The bed was dry, and my father urged him to cross +before halting. The colonel replied that the men were too exhausted to +move farther, and that, as he would the next day be able to join +Munro, it mattered not on which side of the river he encamped. + +"That night the river rose, and for ten days we were unable to cross. +On the 4th of September we got over; but by that time Tippoo, with +five thousand picked infantry, six thousand horse, six heavy guns, and +a large body of irregulars, detached by Hyder to watch us, barred the +way. + +"Colonel Baillie, finding that there was no possibility of reaching +Conjeveram without fighting, took up a position at a village, and on +the 6th was attacked by Tippoo. The action lasted three hours, and +although the enemy were four times more numerous than we were, the +English beat off the attacks. We were not engaged, for against +Tippoo's large cavalry force our few horsemen could do nothing, and +were therefore forced to remain in the rear of the British line. But +though Colonel Baillie had beaten off the attacks made on him, he felt +that he was not strong enough to fight his way to Conjeveram, which +was but fourteen miles distant; and he therefore wrote to Sir Hector +Munro, to come to his assistance. + +"For three days Sir Hector did nothing, but on the evening of the 8th +he sent off a force, composed of the flank companies of the regiments +with him. These managed to make their way past the forces both of +Hyder and Tippoo, and reached us without having to fire a shot. + +"Their arrival brought our force up to over three thousand seven +hundred men. Had Munro made a feigned attack upon Hyder, and so +prevented him from moving to reinforce Tippoo, we could have got +through without much difficulty. But he did nothing; and Hyder, seeing +the utter incapacity of the man opposed to him, moved off with his +whole army and guns to join his son. + +"Our force set out as soon as it was dark, on the evening of the 9th; +but the moment we started, we were harassed by the enemy's irregulars. +The march was continued for five or six miles, our position becoming +more and more serious, and at last Colonel Baillie took the fatal +resolution of halting till morning, instead of taking advantage of the +darkness to press forward. At daybreak, fifty guns opened on us. Our +ten field pieces returned the fire, until our ammunition was +exhausted. No orders were issued by the colonel, who had completely +lost his head; so that our men were mowed down by hundreds, until at +last the enemy poured down and slaughtered them relentlessly. + +"We did not see the end of the conflict. When the colonel gave the +orders to halt, my father said to me: + +"'This foolish officer will sacrifice all our lives. Does he think +that three thousand men can withstand one hundred thousand, with a +great number of guns? We will go while we can. We can do no good +here.' + +"We mounted our horses and rode off. In the darkness, we came suddenly +upon a body of Tippoo's horsemen, but dashed straight at them and cut +our way through, but with the loss of half our force, and did not draw +rein until we reached Madras. + +"The roar of battle had been heard at Conjeveram, and the fury and +indignation in the camp, at the desertion of Colonel Baillie's +detachment, was so great that the general at last gave orders to march +to their assistance. When his force arrived within two miles of the +scene of conflict, the cessation of fire showed that it was too late, +and that Baillie's force was well-nigh annihilated. Munro retired to +Conjeveram, and at three o'clock the next morning retreated, with the +loss of all his heavy guns and stores, to Madras. + +"The campaign only lasted twenty-one days, and was marked by almost +incredible stupidity and incapacity on the part of the two English +commanders. We remained at Madras. My father determined that he would +take no more share in the fighting until some English general, +possessing the courage and ability that had always before +distinguished them, took the command. In the meantime, Hyder +surrounded and captured Arcot, after six weeks' delay, and then laid +siege to Amboor, Chingleput, and Wandiwash. + +"In November Sir Eyre Coote arrived from England and took the command. +Confidence was at once restored, for he was a fine old soldier, and +had been engaged in every struggle in India from the time of Clive; +but with the whole country in the hands of Hyder, it was impossible to +obtain draft animals or carts, and it was not until the middle of +January that he was able to move. On the 19th he reached Chingleput, +and on the 20th sent off a thousand men to obtain possession of the +fort of Carangooly. It was a strong place, and the works had been +added to by Hyder, who had placed there a garrison of seven hundred +men. The detachment would not have been sent against it, had not news +been obtained, on the way, that the garrison had fallen back to +Chingleput. + +"Our troop of cavalry went with the detachment, as my father knew the +country well. To the surprise of Captain Davis, who was in command, we +found the garrison on the walls. + +"'What do you think, Rajah?' Captain Davis, who was riding by his +side, asked. 'My orders were that I was to take possession of the +place, but it was supposed that I should find it empty.' + +"'I should say that you had better try, with or without orders,' my +father replied. 'The annihilation of Baillie's force, and the +miserable retreat of Munro, have made a terribly bad impression +through the country, and a success is sorely needed to raise the +spirits of our friends.' + +"'We will do it,' Captain Davis said, and called up a few English +engineers, and a company of white troops he had with him, and ordered +them to blow in the gate. + +"My father volunteered to follow close behind them, with his +dismounted cavalry, and, when the word was given, forward we went. It +was hot work, I can tell you. The enemy's guns swept the road, and +their musketry kept up an incessant roar. Many fell, but we kept on +until close to the gate, and then the white troops opened fire upon +Hyder's men on the walls, so as to cover the sappers, who were fixing +the powder bags. + +"They soon ran back to us. There was a great explosion, and the gates +fell. With loud shouts we rushed forward into the fort; and close +behind us came the Sepoys, led by Captain Davis. + +"It took some sharp fighting before we overcame the resistance of the +garrison, who fought desperately, knowing well enough that, after the +massacre of Baillie's force, little quarter would be given them. The +British loss was considerable, and twenty of my father's little +company were among the killed. Great stores of provisions were found +here, and proved most useful to the army. + +"The news, of the capture of Carangooly, so alarmed the besiegers of +Wandiwash that they at once raised the siege, and retreated; and, on +the following day, Sir Eyre Coote and his force arrived there. It was +a curious thing that, on the same day of the same month, Sir Eyre +Coote had, twenty-one years before, raised the siege of Wandiwash by a +victory over the army that was covering the operation. Wandiwash had +been nobly defended by a young lieutenant named Flint, who had made +his way in through the enemy's lines, a few hours before the +treacherous native officer in command had arranged with Hyder to +surrender it, and, taking command, had repulsed every attack, and had +even made a sortie. + +"There was now a long pause. Having no commissariat train, Sir Eyre +Coote was forced to make for the seashore, and, though hotly followed +by Hyder, reached Cuddalore. A French fleet off the coast, however, +prevented provisions being sent to him, and, even after the French had +retired, the Madras government were so dilatory in forwarding supplies +that the army was reduced to the verge of starvation. + +"It was not until the middle of June that a movement was possible, +owing to the want of carriage. The country inland had been swept bare +by Hyder, and, on leaving Cuddalore, Sir Eyre Coote was obliged to +follow the seacoast. When he arrived at Porto Novo, the army was +delighted to find a British fleet there, and scarcely less pleased to +hear that Lord Macartney had arrived as governor of Madras. + +"Hyder's army had taken up a strong position, between the camp and +Cuddalore, and Sir Eyre Coote determined to give him battle. Four +days' rice was landed from the fleet, and with this scanty supply in +their knapsacks, the troops marched out to attack Hyder. We formed +part of the baggage guard and had, therefore, an excellent opportunity +of seeing the fight. The march was by the sea. The infantry moved in +order of battle, in two lines. After going for some distance, we could +see the enemy's position plainly. It was a very strong one. On its +right was high ground, on which were numerous batteries, which would +take us in flank as we advanced, and their line extended from these +heights to the sand hills by the shore. + +"They had thrown up several batteries, and might, for aught we knew, +have many guns hidden on the high ground on either flank. An hour was +spent in reconnoitring the enemy's position, during which they kept up +an incessant cannonade, to which the English field guns attempted no +reply. To me, and the officers of this troop, it seemed impossible +that any force could advance to the attack of Hyder's position without +being literally swept away by the crossfire that would be opened upon +it; but when I expressed my fears, my father said: + +"'No; you will see no repetition of that terrible affair with +Baillie's column. The English have now got a commander who knows his +business, and when that is the case, there is never any fear as to +what the result will be. I grant that the lookout seems desperate. +Hyder has all the advantage of a very strong position, a very powerful +artillery, and has six or seven to one in point of numbers; but for +all that, I firmly believe that, before night, you will see us in +possession of those hills, and Hyder's army in full flight.' + +"Presently, we saw a movement. The two lines of infantry formed into +columns, and instead of advancing towards Hyder's position, turned +down towards the sea, and marched along between it and the sand hills. +We were at the same time set in motion, and kept along between the +infantry and the sea, so as to be under their protection, if Hyder's +cavalry should sweep down. All his preparations had been made under +the supposition that we should advance by the main road to Cuddalore, +and this movement entirely disconcerted his plans. The sand hills +completely protected our advancing columns, and when they had reached +a point almost in line with Hyder's centre, the artillery dashed up to +the crest of the hills, and the first column passed through a break in +them, and moved forward against the enemy, the guns above clearing a +way for them. + +"A short halt was made, until the artillery of the second line came +up, and also took their position on the hill. Then the first column, +with its guns, moved forward again. + +"Hyder had, in the meantime, moved back his line and batteries into a +position at right angles to that they had before occupied, and facing +the passage through the sand hills by which the English were +advancing. As soon as the column issued from the valley, a tremendous +fire was poured upon it, but it again formed into line of battle, and, +covered by the fire of the artillery, moved forward. + +"It was a grand sight. My father and I had left the baggage, which +remained by the sea, and had ridden up on to a sand hill, from which +we had a view of the whole of the battleground. It was astonishing to +see the line of English infantry advancing, under that tremendous +fire, against the rising ground occupied by the dense masses of the +enemy. + +"Presently there was a movement opposite, and a vast body of cavalry +moved down the slope. As they came the red English line suddenly broke +up, and, as if by magic, a number of small squares, surrounded by +glistening bayonets, appeared where it had stood. + +"Down rode Hyder's cavalry. Every gun on our side was turned upon +them. But though we could see the confusion in the ranks, caused by +the shot that swept them, they kept on. It seemed that the little red +patches must be altogether overwhelmed by the advancing wave. But as +it came closer, flashes of fire spurted out from the faces of the +squares. We could see the horses recoil when close to the bayonets, +and then the stream poured through the intervals between the squares. +As they did so, crackling volleys broke out, while from the batteries +on the sand hills an incessant fire was kept up upon them. Then, +following the volleys, came the incessant rattle of musketry. The +confusion among the cavalry grew greater and greater. Regiments were +mixed up together, and their very numbers impeded their action. Many +gallant fellows, detaching themselves from the mass, rode bravely at +the squares, and died on the bayonets; others huddled together, +confused and helpless against the storm of bullets and shot; and at +last, as if with a sudden impulse, they rode off in all directions, +and, sweeping round, regained their position in the rear of their +infantry, while loud cheers broke from our side. + +"The squares again fell into line, which, advancing steadily, drove +Hyder's infantry before it. As this was going on, a strong force of +infantry and cavalry, with guns, was moved round by Hyder to fall on +the British rear. These, however, were met by the second line, which +had hitherto remained in reserve, and after fierce fighting were +driven back along the sand hills. But, as they were retiring, the main +body of Hyder's cavalry moved round to support the attack. Fortunately +a British schooner, which had sailed from Porto Novo when the troops +started, had anchored near the shore to give what protection she could +to the baggage, and now opened fire with her guns upon the cavalry, as +they rode along between the sand hills and the sea; and with such +effect that they halted and wavered; and when two of the batteries on +the sand hills also opened fire upon them, they fell back in haste. + +"This was Hyder's last effort. The British line continued to advance, +until it had gained all the positions occupied by the enemy, and these +were soon in headlong flight; Hyder himself, who had been almost +forced by his attendants to leave the ground, being with them. It was +a wonderful victory. The English numbered but 8,476 men, of whom 306 +were killed or wounded. Hyder's force was about 65,000, and his loss +was not less than 10,000. + +"The victory had an immense effect in restoring the confidence of the +English troops, which had been greatly shaken by the misfortunes +caused by the incapacity of Munro and Baillie. But it had no other +consequences, for want of carriage, and a deficiency of provisions and +equipment, prevented Sir Eyre Coote from taking the offensive, and he +was obliged to confine himself to capturing a few forts near the +coast. + +"On the 27th of August the armies met again, Hyder having chosen the +scene of his victory over Baillie's force to give battle, believing +the position to be a fortunate one for himself. Hyder had now been +joined by Tippoo, who had not been present at the last battle, and his +force numbered 80,000 men, while the English were 11,000 strong. + +"I did not see the battle, as we were, at the time, occupied in +escorting a convoy of provisions from Madras. The fight was much +better contested than the previous battle had been. Hyder was well +acquainted with the ground, and made skilful use of his opportunities, +by fortifying all the points at which he could be attacked. The fight +lasted eight hours. At last Sir Eyre Coote's first division turned the +enemy's left flank, by the capture of the village of Pillalore; while +his second turned their right, and Hyder was obliged to fall back. But +this was done in good order, and the enemy claimed that it was a drawn +battle. This, however, was not the case, as the English, at night, +encamped on the position occupied by Hyder in the morning. + +"Still, the scandalous mismanagement at Madras continued to cripple +us. But, learning from the commandant at Vellore that, unless he were +relieved, he would be driven to surrender for want of provisions, Sir +Eyre Coote marched to his help. He met the enemy on the way. Hyder was +taken by surprise, and was moving off when the English arrived. In +order to give his infantry time to march away, he hurled the whole of +his cavalry against the English. Again and again they charged down, +with the greatest bravery, and although the batteries swept their +ranks with grape, and the squares received them with deadly volleys, +they persevered until Tippoo had carried off his infantry and guns; +and then, having lost five thousand men, followed him. The English +then moved on towards Vellore. Hyder avoided another encounter, and +Vellore was relieved. Sir Eyre Coote handed over, to its commandant, +almost the whole of the provisions carried by the army, and, having +thus supplied the garrison with sufficient food for six weeks, marched +back to Madras, his troops suffering greatly from famine on the way. + +"Nothing took place during the winter, except that Sir Eyre Coote +again advanced and revictualled Vellore. In March a French fleet +arrived off the coast, landed a force of three thousand men to assist +Hyder, and informed him that a much larger division was on its way. +Fortunately, this did not arrive, many of the ships being captured by +the English on their way out. In the course of the year there were +several fights, but none of any consequence, and things remained in +the same state until the end of the year, when, on the 7th of +December, Hyder died, and Tippoo was proclaimed his successor. + +"Bussy arrived with fresh reinforcements from France in April, and +took the command of Hyder's French contingent, and in June there was a +battle between him and a force commanded by General Stuart, the +successor to Sir Eyre Coote, who had been obliged to resign from ill +health, and who had died in the spring. + +"The French position was a very strong one, and was protected by +numerous field works. The battle was the most sanguinary fought during +the war, considering the numbers engaged. The English carried a +portion of the works, and captured fourteen guns, and, as the French +retired during the night, were able to claim a victory. Their loss, +however, was over a thousand, while that of the French was not more +than a third of that number. + +"During that year there was little fighting down here. A Bombay force, +however, under the command of General Matthews, captured Bednore; but +Tippoo hastened against him with a great force, besieged Bednore, and +forced it to surrender, after a desperate defence. Tippoo violated the +terms of capitulation, and made the defenders prisoners. Bangalore was +next besieged by him, but resisted for nearly nine months, and only +surrendered in January, 1784. + +"Tippoo had, by this time, lost the services of his French +auxiliaries, as England and France had made peace at home. +Negotiations between Tippoo and the English went on till March, when a +treaty was signed. By its provisions, Tippoo should have handed back +all his prisoners. He murdered large numbers of them, but 1000 British +soldiers, and 1600 Sepoys obtained their liberty. No one knows how +many were retained of the number, calculated at 200,000, of natives +carried off from the countries overrun by Hyder's troops. Only 2000 +were released. + +"More British would doubtless have been freed, had it not been for the +scandalous cowardice of the three men sent up, as British +commissioners, to Tippoo. They were treated with the greatest insult +and contempt by him, and, in fear of their lives, were too glad to +accept the prisoners he chose to hand over, without troubling +themselves in the slightest about the rest, whom they basely deserted +and left to their fate." + + + +Chapter 5: War Declared. + + +"That gives you a general idea, Dick, of the war with Tippoo. I saw +little of the events after the battle of Porto Novo, as my father was +taken ill soon after, and died at Madras. Seeing that there was no +probability, whatever, of the English driving Hyder back, until they +had much larger forces and a much better system of management, I +remained in Madras until peace was made; then I came back here, +rebuilt the palace, and have since been occupied in trying to restore +the prosperity of my poor people. + +"It is, I feel, a useless task, for it is certain that, ere long, the +English will again be engaged with Mysore; and if they are, it is +well-nigh certain that Tippoo's hordes will again sweep down from the +hills, and carry ruin and desolation everywhere. + +"He would, as Hyder had, have the advantage on his side at the +beginning of the war. He has a score of passes to choose from, and can +descend on to the plain by any one he may select. And, even were there +a force here capable of giving battle to the whole Mysorean army, it +could not watch all the passes, as to do so the army would have to be +broken up into a dozen commands. Tippoo will therefore again be able +to ravage the plains, for weeks, perhaps, before the English can force +him to give battle. + +"But there is no army, at present, in existence of sufficient strength +to meet him. The Madras force would have to wait until reinforcements +arrived from Calcutta. It was bad before, but it will be worse, now. +Hyder, no doubt, slaughtered many, but he was not cruel by nature. He +carried off enormous quantities of people, with their flocks and +herds, but he did this to enrich Mysore with their labour, and did not +treat them with unnecessary cruelty. + +"Tippoo, on the other hand, is a human tiger. He delights in torturing +his victims, and slays his prisoners from pure love of bloodshed. He +is proud of the title of 'Tiger.' His footstool is a tiger's head, and +the uniforms of his infantry are a sort of imitation of a tiger's +stripes. He has military talent, and showed great judgment in command +of his division--indeed, most of the successes gained during the last +war were his work. Since then, he has laboured incessantly to improve +his army. Numbers of regiments have been raised, composed of the +captives carried off from here and from the west coast. They are +drilled, in European fashion, by the English captives he still holds +in his hands." + +"But why, Uncle, instead of giving time to Tippoo to come down here, +should we not march up the passes, and compel him to keep his army up +there to defend Seringapatam?" + +"Because, Dick, in the first place, there is not an army strong enough +to do so; but even were there a force of fifty thousand men at Madras, +they could not take the offensive in time. An English army cannot move +without a great train to carry ammunition, stores and provisions; and +to get such a train together would be the work of months. As I have +been telling you, during the three years the last war lasted, the +Madras authorities were never able to collect such a train, and the +consequence was that their army was unable to go more than two or +three days' march from the city. + +"On the other hand, Tippoo could, any day, order that three days' +supply of rice or grain should be served out to each soldier, and +could set out on his march the following morning; as, from the moment +he reached the plains, his cavalry would have the whole of the +resources of the country at their mercy." + +"I see, Uncle. Then, if war broke out, you would at once go to Madras +again?" + +"There would be nothing else to do, Dick. I should send everything of +value down there, as soon as I saw that war was inevitable. The +traders here have already begun to prepare. The shops are half empty, +for they have not replaced goods they have sold, and a very few hours +would suffice for everything worth taking to be cleared out of the +town. The country round here is comparatively uninhabited, and but a +small portion of it tilled, so great was the number carried off by +Hyder. Next time they will take to the hills at once, and I believe +that many have already stored up grain in hiding places there. This +time it may be hoped that a few weeks, or months at most, may see +Tippoo driven back, and for that time the peasants can manage to exist +in the hills. No doubt the richer sort, who have large flocks of +goats, and many cattle, will, as soon as danger threatens, drive them +down to Madras, where they are sure to fetch good prices for the use +of the army. + +"I have already told all men who have bullock carts and teams, that +they can, if forced to leave home, earn a good living by taking +service in the English transport train. I hope, therefore, that the +results will not be so disastrous as before. The town may be burnt +down again, but unless they blow up my palace, they can do little harm +to it. When I rebuilt it, seeing the possibility of another war, I +would not have any wood whatever used in its construction. Therefore, +when the hangings are taken down, and the furniture from these rooms +cleared out, there will be nothing to burn, and they are not likely to +waste powder in blowing it up. + +"As to the town, I warned the people who returned that it might be +again destroyed before long, and therefore there has been no solid +building. The houses have all been lightly run up with wood, which is +plentiful enough in the hills, and no great harm, therefore, will be +done if it is again burnt down. The pagoda and palace are the only +stone buildings in it. They did some harm to the former, last time, by +firing shot at it for a day or two; and, as you can see for yourself, +no attempt has since been made to repair it, and I do not suppose they +will trouble to damage it further. + +"So you see, Dick, we are prepared for the worst." + +"Will you fight again, as you did last time, Uncle?" + +"I do not know, Dick. I show my loyalty to the English rule by +repairing to the capital; but my force is too small to render much +service. You see, my revenues have greatly diminished, and I cannot +afford to keep up so large a force as my father could. Fortunately, +his savings had been considerable, and from these I was able to build +this palace, and to succour my people, and have still enough to keep +up my establishment here, without pressing the cultivators of the soil +for taxes. This year is the first that I have drawn any revenue from +that source; but, at any rate, I am not disposed to keep up a force +which, while it would be insufficient to be of any great value in a +war like this, would be a heavy tax on my purse." + +"Even the force you have must be that, Uncle." + +"Not so much as you would think, Dick, with your English notions. The +pay here is very small--so small that it would seem to you impossible +for a man to live on it; and yet, many of these men have wives and +families. All of them have patches of land that they cultivate; only +twenty, who are changed once a month, being kept on duty. They are +necessary; for I should have but little respect from my people, and +less still from other rajahs, did I not have sentries at the gates, +and a guard ready to turn out in honour of any visitor who might +arrive; to say nothing of an escort, of half a dozen men, when I ride +through the country. Of course, all can be called out whenever I want +them, as, for example, when I rode to Madras to meet you. The men +think themselves well off upon the pay of three rupees a month, as +they are practically only on duty two months each year, and have the +rest of the time to cultivate their fields. Therefore, with the pay of +the officers, my troop only costs me about four hundred rupees a +month, which is, you know, equivalent to forty English pounds; so that +you cannot call it an expensive army, even if it is kept for show +rather than use." + +"No, indeed, Uncle! It seems ridiculous that a troop of a hundred men +can be kept up, for five hundred pounds a year." + +"Of course, the men have some little privileges, Dick. They pay no +rent or taxes for their lands. This is a great thing for them, and +really costs me nothing, as there is so much land lying uncultivated. +Then, when too old for service, they have a pension of two rupees a +month for life, and on that, and what little land they can cultivate, +they are comparatively comfortable." + +"Well, it does not seem to me, Uncle, that soldiering is a good trade +in this country." + +"I don't know that it is a good trade, in the money way, anywhere. +After all, the pay out here is quite as high, in comparison with the +ordinary rate of earning of a peasant, as it is in England. It is +never the pay that tempts soldiers. Among young men there are always +great numbers who prefer the life to that of a peasant, working +steadily from daylight to dark, and I don't know that I altogether +blame them." + +"Then you think, Uncle, there is no doubt whatever that there will be +war?" + +"Not a shadow of doubt, Dick--indeed, it may be said to have begun +already; and, like the last, it is largely due to the incapacity of +the government of Madras." + +"I have just received a message from Arcot," the Rajah said, two +months later, "and I must go over and see the Nabob." + +"I thought," Mrs. Holland said, "that Tripataly was no longer subject +to him. I understood that our father was made independent of Arcot?" + +"No, Margaret, not exactly that. The Nabob had involved himself in +very heavy debts, during the great struggle. The Company had done +something to help him, but were unable to take all his debts on their +shoulders; and indeed, there was no reason why they should have done +so, for although during most of the war he was their ally, he was +fighting on his own behalf, and not on theirs. + +"In the war with Hyder it was different. He was then quite under +English influence, and, indeed, could scarcely be termed independent. +And as he suffered terribly--his lands were wasted, his towns +besieged, and his people driven off into slavery--the Company are at +present engaged in negotiations for assisting him to pay his debts, +which are very heavy. + +"It was before you left, when the Nabob was much pressed for money, +and had at that time no claim on the Company, that our father bought +of him a perpetual commutation of tribute, taxes, and other monies and +subsidies payable by Tripataly; thus I am no longer tributary to +Arcot. Nevertheless, this forms a portion of the Nabob's territories, +and I cannot act as if I were an independent prince. + +"I could not make a treaty with Mysore on my own account, and it is +clear that neither Arcot nor the English could allow me to do so, for +in that case Mysore could erect fortresses here, and could use +Tripataly as an advanced post on the plain. Therefore, I am still +subject to the Nabob, and could be called upon for military service by +him. Indeed, that is one of the reasons why, even if I could afford +it, I should not care to keep up a force of any strength. As it is, my +troop is too small to be worth summoning. The Nabob has remonstrated +with me more than once, but since the war with Hyder I have had a good +excuse, namely, that the population has so decreased that my lands lie +untilled, and it would be impossible for me to raise a larger force. I +have, however, agreed that, in case of a fresh war, I will raise an +additional hundred cavalry. + +"I expect it is in relation to this that he has sent for me to Arcot. +We know that the English are bound, by their treaty with Travancore, +to declare war. They ought, in honour, to have done it long ago, but +they were unprepared. Now that they are nearly ready, they may do so +at any time, and indeed the Nabob may have learned that fighting has +begun. + +"The lookout is bad. The government of Madras is just as weak and as +short sighted as it was during Hyder's war. There is but one comfort, +and that is that Lord Cornwallis, at Calcutta, has far greater power +than his predecessors; and as he is an experienced soldier, and is +said to be an energetic man, he may bring up reinforcements from +Calcutta without loss of time, and also set the troops of Bombay in +motion. I expect that, as before, things will go badly at first; but +hope that, this time, we shall end by giving Mysore so heavy a lesson +that she will be powerless for mischief, in future." + +"And release all the captives," Mrs. Holland exclaimed, clasping her +hands. + +"I sincerely trust so, Margaret," her brother said gravely; "but, +after what happened last time, we must not be sanguine. Scattered +about as they may be, in the scores of little hill forts that dot the +whole country, we can, unhappily, never be sure that all are +delivered, when we have only the word of a treacherous tyrant like +Tippoo. We know that, last time, he kept back hundreds of prisoners, +among whom, as we may hope, was your husband; and it may be that, +however completely he may be defeated, he may yet retain some of them, +knowing full well it is impossible that all these hill forts and their +dungeons can be searched. However, doubtless if an English army +marches to Seringapatam, many will be recovered, though we have reason +to fear that many will, as before, be murdered before our arrival." + +When the Rajah returned from Arcot, on the following day, he brought +back the news that General Meadows had moved to the frontier at +Caroor, fifty miles beyond Trichinopoly, and that the war was really +about to begin. + +"You know," he said, "how matters stand, up to now. Tippoo, after +making peace with the Nizam and the Mahrattis, with whom he had been +engaged in hostilities for some time, turned his attention to the +western coast, where Coorg and Malabar had risen in rebellion. After, +as usual, perpetrating horrible atrocities, and after sending a large +proportion of the population as slaves to Mysore, he marched against +Travancore. Now, Travancore was specially mentioned, in the treaty of +Mangalore, as one of the allies of the English, with whom Tippoo bound +himself not to make war; and had he not been prepared to fight the +English, he would not have attacked their ally. The excuse for +attacking Travancore was that some of the fugitives, from Coorg and +Malabar, had taken refuge there. + +"Seeing that Tippoo was bent upon hostilities, Lord Cornwallis and his +council at Calcutta directed, as I learnt from an official at Madras, +the authorities there to begin at once to make preparations for war. +Instead of doing so, Mr. Holland, the governor, gave the Rajah the +shameful and cowardly advice to withdraw his protection from the +fugitives. The Rajah refused to comply with such counsel, and after +some months spent in negotiations, Tippoo attacked the wall that runs +along the northern frontier of Travancore. + +"That was about six months ago. Yes, it was on the 28th of +December--so it is just six months. His troops, fourteen thousand +strong, made their way without difficulty through a breach, but they +were suddenly attacked by a small body of Travancore men. A panic +seized them. They rushed back to the breach, and in the wild struggle +to pass through it, no less than two thousand were either killed or +crushed to death. + +"It was nearly three months before Tippoo renewed his attack. The +lines were weak, and his army so strong that resistance was +impossible. A breach, three-quarters of a mile in length, was made in +the wall, and marching through this, he devastated Travancore from end +to end. + +"His unaccountable delay, before assaulting the position, has been of +great advantage to us. Had he attacked us at once, instead of wasting +his time before Travancore, he would have found the Carnatic as +defenceless and as completely at his mercy as Hyder did. He would +still have done so, had it depended upon Madras, but as the +authorities here did nothing, Lord Cornwallis took the matter into his +own hands. He was about to come here himself, when General Meadows, +formerly Governor of Bombay, arrived, invested by the Company with the +offices of both governor and of commander-in-chief. + +"He landed here late in February, and at once set to work to prepare +for war. Lord Cornwallis sent, from Calcutta, a large amount of money, +stores, and ammunition, and a battalion of artillerymen. The Sepoys +objected to travel by sea, as their caste rules forbade them to do so, +and he therefore sent off six battalions of infantry by land, and the +Nabob tells me they are expected to arrive in four or five weeks' +time. The Nabob of Arcot and the Rajah of Tanjore, both of whom are +very heavily in debt to the government, are ordered, during the +continuance of the war, to place their revenues at its disposal, a +liberal allowance being made to them both for their personal expenses. + +"Tippoo is still in Travancore--at least, he was there ten days ago, +and has been endeavouring to negotiate. The Nabob tells me he believes +that the object of General Meadows, in advancing from Trichinopoly to +Caroor, is to push on to Coimbatoor, where he will, if he arrives +before Tippoo, cut him off from his return to his capital; and as +Meadows has a force of fifteen thousand men, he ought to be able to +crush the tyrant at a blow. + +"I fear, however, there is little chance of this. The Mysore troops +move with great rapidity, and as soon as Tippoo hears that the English +army is marching towards Caroor, he is sure to take the alarm, and by +this time has probably passed Coimbatoor on his way back. With all his +faults, Tippoo is a good general, and the Nabob's opinion--and I quite +agree with him--is that, as soon as he regains the table land of +Mysore, he will take advantage of the English army being far away to +the south, and will pour down through the passes into this part of the +Carnatic, which is at present absolutely defenceless. This being the +case, I shall at once get ready to leave for Madras, and shall move as +soon as I learn, for certain, that Tippoo has slipped past the +English. + +"The Nabob has called upon me to join him with my little body of +cavalry, and as soon as the news comes that Tippoo is descending the +passes, I shall either join him or the English army. That will be a +matter to decide afterwards." + +"You will take me with you, of course, Uncle?" Dick asked eagerly. + +"Certainly, Dick. If you are old enough to undertake the really +perilous adventure of going up in disguise to Mysore, you are +certainly old enough to ride with me. Besides, we may hope that, this +time, the war is not going to be as one-sided as it was the last time, +and that we may end by reaching Seringapatam; in which case we may +rescue your father, if he is still alive, very much more easily than +it could be managed in the way you propose." + +The news that the English army had marched to Caroor, and that there +was no force left to prevent the Mysoreans from pouring down from the +hills, spread quickly; and when Dick went out with the two boys into +the town, groups of people were talking earnestly in the streets. Some +of them came up, and asked respectfully if there was any later news. + +"Nothing later than you have heard," Dick said. + +"The Rajah is not going away yet, Sahib?" + +"No; he will not leave unless he hears that Tippoo has returned, with +his army, to Seringapatam. Then he will go at once, for the sultan +might come down through the passes at any moment, and can get here a +fortnight before the English army can return from Caroor." + +"Yes; it will be no use waiting here to be eaten up, Sahib. Do you +think Conjeveram would be safe? Because it is easy to go down there by +boat." + +"I should think so. Hyder could not take it last time, and the English +army is much stronger than it was then. Besides, there will be six +thousand men arriving from Bengal, in a month's time, so I should +think there is no fear of Conjeveram being taken." + +"It is little trouble getting there," the trader said, "but it is a +long journey to Madras. We could go down with our families and goods +in two days, in a boat; but there would not be boats enough for all, +and it will be best, therefore, that some should go at once, for if +all wait until there is news that Tippoo is coming, many will not be +able to get away in time." + +"No, not in boats," Dick agreed; "but in three days a bullock cart +would get you there." + +Next day, several of the shops containing the most valuable goods were +shut up; and, day by day, the number remaining open grew smaller. + +"It is as I expected," the Rajah said, one morning, as he came into +the room where the family was sitting. "A messenger has just come in +from the Nabob, with the news that sickness broke out among the army, +as soon as they arrived at Caroor, and in twenty-four hours a thousand +men were in hospital. This delayed the movement, and when they arrived +at Coimbatoor they were too late. Tippoo and his army had already +passed, moving by forced marches back to Mysore. + +"Finish your packing, ladies. We will start at daybreak tomorrow +morning. I secured three boats, four days ago, and have been holding +them in readiness. Rajbullub will go in charge of you. There is not +the least fear of Tippoo being here for another fortnight, at the +earliest. + +"I shall ride with the troop. Dick and the boys will go with me. We +shall meet you at Conjeveram. I have already arranged with some of our +people, who have gone on in their bullock carts, with their +belongings, and will unload them there, to be in readiness to take our +goods on to Madras, so there will be no delay in getting forward." + +By nightfall, the apartments were completely dismantled. The furniture +was all stowed away, in a vault which the Rajah had had constructed +for the purpose, when the palace was rebuilt. Access was obtained to +it through the floor in one of the private apartments. The floor was +of tessellated marble, but some ten squares of it lifted up in a mass, +forming together a trapdoor, from which steps led down into the vault. +When the block was lowered again, the fit was so accurate that, after +sweeping a little dust over the joint, the opening was quite +imperceptible to any one not aware of the hiding place. The cushions +of the divans were taken down here, as well as the furniture, and all +the less valuable carpets, rugs and hangings, while the costlier +articles were rolled up into bales, for transport. + +The silver cups and other valuables were packed in boxes, and were, +during the night, carried by coolies down to the boats, over which a +guard was placed until morning. Provisions for the journey down the +river were also placed on board. The palace was astir long before +daybreak. The cushions that had been slept on during the night were +carried down to the boats, the boxes of wearing apparel closed and +fastened, and a hasty meal was taken. + +The sun was just rising when they started. One boat had been fitted up +with a bower of green boughs, for the use of the two ladies and their +four attendants. The other two carried the baggage. + +After seeing them push off, the Rajah, his sons, and Dick returned to +the palace. Here for a couple of hours he held a sort of audience, and +gave his advice to the townspeople and others who came, in +considerable numbers, to consult with him. When this was done they +went into the courtyard, where all was ready for their departure. + +The troop had, during the past week, been raised to two hundred men, +many of the young cultivators coming eagerly forward, as soon as they +heard that the Rajah was going to increase his troop, being anxious to +take a share in the adventures that might be looked for, and to avenge +the sufferings that had been inflicted on their friends by Hyder's +marauders. They were a somewhat motley troop, but this mattered +little, as uniformity was unknown among the forces of the native +princes. + +The majority were stout young fellows. All provided their own horses +and arms, and although the former lacked the weight and bone of +English cavalry horses, they were capable of performing long journeys, +and of existing on rations on which an English horse would starve. + +All were well armed, for any deficiency had been made up from the +Rajah's store, and from this a large number of guns had, three days +before, been distributed among such of the ryots as intended to take +to the hills on the approach of the enemy. Ammunition had also been +distributed among them. Every man in the troop carried a shield and +tulwar, and on his back was slung a musket or spear; and there were +few without pistols in their girdles. + +They rode halfway to Conjeveram, and stopped for the night at a +village--the men sleeping in the open air, while the Rajah, his sons, +and Dick, were entertained by the chief man of the place. The next +afternoon they rode into Conjeveram, where, just at sunset, the boats +also arrived. + +The troop encamped outside the town, while the Rajah and his party +occupied some rooms that had been secured beforehand for them. In the +morning, the ladies proceeded in a native carriage; with the troop, an +officer and ten men following, in charge of the bullock carts +containing the baggage. + +On reaching Madras, they encamped on the Maidan--a large, open space +used as a drill ground for the troops garrisoned there--and the Rajah +and his party established themselves in the house occupied by him on +the occasion of his last visit. The next day, the Rajah went to the +Government House, and had an interview with the deputy governor. + +"I think," the latter said, after some conversation, "that your troop +of cavalry will be of little use to the Nabob. If Tippoo comes down +from the hills, he will not be able to take the field against him, and +will need all his forces to defend Arcot, Vellore, and his smaller +forts, and cavalry would be of no real use to him. Your troop would be +of much greater utility to the battalions from Bengal, when they +arrive. They will be here in three weeks or so, and as soon as they +come, I will attach you to them. I will write to the Nabob, saying +that you were about to join him, but that, in the interest of the +general defence, I have thought it better, at present, to attach you +to the Bengal contingent. You see, they will be entirely new to the +country, and it will be a great advantage to them to have a troop like +yours, many of whom are well acquainted with the roads and general +geography of the country. Your speaking English, too, will add to your +usefulness." + +"I have a nephew with me who speaks English perfectly, and also +Hindustani," the Rajah said. "He is a smart young fellow, and I have +no doubt that the officer in command would be able to make him very +useful. He is eager to be of service. His father, who was an +Englishman, was wrecked some years ago on the west coast, and sent up +a prisoner to Mysore. He was not one of those handed over at the time +of the peace, but whether he has been murdered, or is still a prisoner +in Tippoo's hands, we do not know. My sister came out with the boy, +three or four months ago, to endeavour to obtain some news of him." + +"I will make a note of it, Rajah. I have no doubt that he will be of +great use to Colonel Cockerell." + +In the last week in July, the Rajah moved with his troop to +Conjeveram, and on the 1st of August the Bengal forces arrived there. +They were joined, at once, by three regiments of Europeans, one of +native cavalry, and a strong force of artillery, raising their numbers +to nine thousand, five hundred men. + +Colonel Kelly took command of the force, and begged the Rajah to +advance with his horsemen, at once, to the foot of the ghauts, to +break it up into half troops, and to capture or destroy any small +parties of horse Tippoo might send down, by any of the passes, to +reconnoitre the country and ascertain the movements and strength of +the British forces. He was also to endeavour to obtain as much +information as he could of what was going on in Mysore, and to +ascertain whether Tippoo was still with his army, watching General +Meadows in the west; or was moving, as if with the intention of taking +advantage of the main force of the English being away south, to +descend into the Carnatic. + +The order was a very acceptable one to the Rajah. His troop made a +good appearance enough, when in company with those of the Nabob of +Arcot, but he could not but feel that they looked a motley body by the +side of the trained native and European troops; and he was frequently +angered by hearing the jeering comments of English soldiers to each +other, when he rode past them with his troop; and had not a little +astonished the speakers, more than once, by turning round on his +horse, and abusing them hotly in their own language. + +He was, therefore, glad to be off. For such work, his men were far +better fitted than were even the native cavalry in the Company's +service. They were stout, active fellows, accustomed to the hills, and +speaking the dialect used by the shepherds and villagers among the +ghauts. + +Proceeding northward through Vellore, he there divided his force into +four bodies. He himself, with fifty men, took up a position at the +mouth of the pass of Amboor. Another fifty were sent to the pass of +Moognee, to the west of Chittoor, under the command of Anwar, the +captain of the troop. The rest were distributed among the minor +passes. + +Dick remained with his uncle, who established himself in a village, +seven miles up the pass. He was well satisfied with the arrangement, +for he was anxious to learn to go about among the hills as a spy, and +was much more likely to get leave from his uncle to do so, than he +would have been from any of the officers of the troop, who would not +have ventured to allow the Rajah's nephew to run into danger. + +In the second place, his especial friend among the officers, a youth +named Surajah, son of Rajbullub, was with the detachment. Surajah had +been especially picked out, by the Rajah, as Dick's companion. He +generally joined him in his rides, and they had often gone on shooting +excursions among the hills. He was about three years Dick's senior, +but in point of height there was but little difference between them. + +Every day half the troop, under an officer, rode up the pass until +within a mile of the fort near the summit, garrisoned by Mysorean +troops. They were able to obtain but little information, for the +villages towards the upper end of the pass were all deserted and in +ruins, the inhabitants never having ventured back since Hyder's +invasion. + +The Rajah was vexed at being able to learn nothing of what was passing +on the plateau, and was therefore more disposed than he might +otherwise have been to listen to Dick's proposal. + +"Don't you think, Uncle," the latter said one evening, "that I might +try to learn something by going up with Surajah alone? We could strike +off into the hills, as if on a shooting expedition, just as we used to +do from Tripataly, except that I should stain my face and hands. The +people in the villages on the top of the ghauts are, every one says, +simple and quiet. They have no love for Tippoo or Mysore, but are +content to pay their taxes, and to work quietly in their fields. There +will be little fear of our being interfered with by them." + +"You might find a party of Tippoo's troops in one of the villages, +Dick, and get into trouble." + +"I don't see why we should, Uncle. Of course, we should not go up +dressed as we are, but as shikarees, and when we went into a village, +should begin by asking whether the people are troubled with any tigers +in the neighbourhood. You see, I specially came out here to go into +Mysore in disguise, and I should be getting a little practice in this +way, besides obtaining news for you." + +"I am certainly anxious to get news, Dick. So far, I have had nothing +to send down, except that the reports, from all the passes, agree in +saying that they have learned nothing of any movement on the part of +Tippoo, and that no spies have come down the passes, or any armed +party whatever. This is good, so far as it goes, but it only shows +that the other passes are, like this, entirely deserted. Therefore, we +really know nothing whatever. Even at this moment, Tippoo may have +fifty thousand men gathered on the crest of the hills, ready to pour +down tomorrow through one of the passes; and therefore, as I do not +think you would be running any great danger, I consent to your going +with Surajah on a scouting expedition, on foot, among the hills. As +you say, you must, of course, disguise yourselves as peasants. You had +better, in addition to your guns, each take a brace of pistols, and so +armed, even if any of the villagers were inclined to be hostile, they +would not care about interfering with you." + +"Thank you, Uncle. When would you expect us back, if we start tomorrow +morning?" + +"That must be entirely in your hands, Dick. You would hardly climb the +ghauts and light upon a village in one day, and it might be necessary +to go farther, before you could obtain any news. It is a broken +country, with much jungle for some distance beyond the hills, and the +villages lying off the roads will have but little communication with +each other, and might know nothing, whatever, of what was happening in +the cultivated plains beyond. At any rate, you must not go into any +villages on the roads leading to the heads of the passes; for there +are forts everywhere, and you would be certain to find parties of +troops stationed in them. + +"Even before war broke out, I know that this was the case, as they +were stationed there to prevent any captives, native or European, +escaping from Mysore. You must, therefore, strictly avoid all the main +roads, even though it may be necessary to proceed much farther before +you can get news. I should think, if we say three days going and as +many returning, it will be as little as we can count upon; and I shall +not begin to feel at all uneasy, if you do not reappear for a week. It +is of no use your returning without some information as to what is +going on in Mysore; and it would be folly to throw away your work and +trouble, when, in another day or two, you might get the news you want. +I shall, therefore, leave it entirely to your discretion." + +Greatly pleased at having succeeded beyond his expectations, Dick at +once sought out Surajah. The latter was very gratified, when he heard +that he was to accompany the young Sahib on such an expedition, and at +once set about the necessary preparations. There was no difficulty in +obtaining, in the village, the clothes required for their disguises; +and one of the sheep intended for the following day's rations was +killed, and a leg boiled. + +"If we take, in addition to this, ten pounds of flour, a gourd of +ghee, and a little pan for frying the cakes in, we shall be able to +get on, without having to buy food, for four or five days; and of +course, when we are once among the villages, we shall have no +difficulty in getting more. You had better cut the meat off the bone, +and divide it in two portions; and divide the flour, too; then we can +each carry our share." + +"I will willingly carry it all, Sahib." + +"Not at all, Surajah. We will each take our fair share. You see, we +shall have a gun, pistols, ammunition, and a tulwar; and that, with +seven or eight pounds of food each, and our water bottles, will be +quite enough to carry up the ghauts. The only thing we want now is +some stain." + +"I will get something that will do, and bring it with me in the +morning, Sahib. It won't take you a minute to put on. I will come for +you at the first gleam of daylight." + +Dick returned to the cottage he occupied with his uncle, and told him +what preparations they had made for their journey; and they sat +talking over the details for another hour. The Rajah's last words, as +they lay down for the night, were: + +"Don't forget to take a blanket, each. You will want it for sleeping +in the open, which you will probably have to do several times, +although you may occasionally be able to find shelter in a village." + +By the time the sun rose, the next morning, they were well upon their +way. They had a good deal of toilsome climbing, but by nightfall had +surmounted the most difficult portions of the ascent, and encamped, +when it became dark, in a small wood. Here they lighted a fire, cooked +some cakes of flour, and, with these and the cold meat, made a hearty +meal. They had, during the day, halted twice; and had breakfasted and +lunched off some bread, of which they had brought sufficient for the +day's journey. + +"I suppose there is no occasion to watch, Surajah?" + +"I don't know, Sahib. I do not think it will be safe for us both to +sleep. There are, as you know, many tigers among these hills; and +though they would not approach us, as long as the fire is burning +brightly, they might steal up and carry one of us off, when the fire +gets low. I will, therefore, watch." + +"I certainly should not let you do that, without taking my turn," Dick +said; "and I feel so tired with the day's work, that I do not think I +could keep awake for ten minutes. It would be better to sleep in a +tree than that." + +"You would not get much sleep in a tree, Sahib. I have done it once or +twice, when I have been hunting in a tiger-infested neighbourhood; but +I got scarcely any sleep, and was so stiff, in the morning, that I +could hardly walk. I would rather sit up all night, and keep up a good +fire, than do that." + +Dick thought for a minute or two, and then got up and walked about +under the trees, keeping his eyes fixed upon the branches overhead. + +"This will do," he said at last. "Come here, Surajah. There! Do you +see those two branches, coming out in the same direction? At one +point, they are but five or six feet apart. We might fasten our +blankets side by side, with the help of the straps of our water +bottles and the slings of the guns; so as to make what are called, on +board a ship, hammocks, and lie there perfectly safe and comfortable." + +Surajah nodded. + +"I have a coil of leather thong, Sahib. I thought that it might be +useful, if we wanted to bind a prisoner, or for any other purpose, so +I stuffed it into my waist sash." + +"That is good. Let us lose no time, for I am quite ready for sleep. I +will climb up first." + +In ten minutes, the blankets were securely fastened side by side, +between the branches. Surajah descended, threw another armful of wood +on to the fire, placed their meat in the crutch of a bough, six feet +above the ground, and then climbed the tree again. Thus, they were +soon lying, side by side, in their blankets. These bagged rather +inconveniently under their weight, but they were too tired to mind +trifles, and were very soon fast asleep. + +Dick did not wake until Surajah called him. It was already broad +daylight. His companion had slipped down quietly, stirred up the +embers of the fire, thrown on more wood, and cooked some chupatties +before waking him. + +"It is too bad, Surajah," Dick said, as he looked down; "you ought to +have woke me. I will unfasten these blankets before I get down. It +will save time after breakfast." + +Half an hour later, they were again on their way, and shortly came +upon a boy herding some goats. He looked doubtfully at them, but, +seeing that they were not Mysorean soldiers, he did not attempt to +fly. + +"How far is it to the next village, lad?" Surajah asked; "and which is +the way? We are shikarees. Are there any tigers about?" + +"Plenty of them," the boy said. "I drive the goats to a strong, high +stockade every evening; and would not come out, before the sun rose, +for all the money they say the sultan has. + +"Make for that tree, and close to it you will see a spring. Follow +that down. It will take you to the village." + +After walking for six hours, they came to the village. It was a place +of some little size, but there were few people about. Women came to +the doors to look at Surajah and Dick as they came along. + +"Where are you from?" an old man asked, as he came out from his +cottage. + +"From down the mountain side. Tigers are getting scarce there, and we +thought we would come over and see what we could do, here." + +"Here there are many tigers," the old man said. "For the last twenty +years, the wars have taken most of our young men away. Some are forced +to go against their will; for when the order comes, to the head man of +the village, that the sultan requires so many soldiers, he is forced +to pick out those best fitted for service. Others go of their own free +will, thinking soldiering easier work than tilling the fields, besides +the chance of getting rich booty. So there are but few shikarees, and +the tigers multiply and are a curse to us. + +"We are but poor people, but if you choose to stay here for a time, we +will pay something for every tiger you kill; and we will send round to +the other villages, within ten miles, and doubtless every one of them +will contribute, so that you might get enough to pay you for your +exertions." + +"We will think of it," Surajah replied. "We did not intend to stop in +one village, but proposed to travel about in the jungle-covered +district; and wherever we hear complaints of a tiger committing +depredations, we will stop and do our best to kill the evil beast. We +mean, first, to find out where they are most troublesome, and then we +shall work back again. We hear that the sultan gives good prices, for +those taken alive." + +"I have heard so," the old man said, "but none have been caught alive +here, or by anyone in the villages round. The sultan generally gets +them from the royal forests, where none are allowed to shoot, save +with his permission. Sometimes, when there is a lack of them there, +his hunters come into these districts, and catch them in pitfalls, and +have nets and ropes with which the tigers are bound and taken away." + +A little crowd had, by this time, collected round them; and the women, +when they heard that the strangers were shikarees, who had come up +with the intention of killing tigers, brought them bowls of milk, +cakes and other presents. + +"I suppose, now that the sultan is away at war," Dick said, "his +hunters do not come here for tigers?" + +"We know nothing of his wars," a woman said. "They take our sons from +us, and we do not see them again. We did hear a report that he had +gone, with an army, to conquer Travancore. But why he should want to +do it, none of us can make out. His dominions are as wide as the heart +of man can require. It is strange that he cannot rest contented, but, +like his father, should be always taking our sons away to fight. +However, these things are beyond the understanding of poor people like +us; but we can't help thinking that it would be better if he were to +send his armies to destroy all the tigers. If he would do that, we +should not grudge the sums we have to pay, when the tax gatherers come +round." + +After pausing for an hour in the village, they continued on their way. +Two or three other small collections of huts were passed, but it was +not until the evening of the next day that they issued from the +jungle-covered country, onto the cultivated plain. At none of the +places they had passed was there anything known, as to Tippoo or his +army, but they were told that there were parties of troops, in all the +villages along the edge of the plain, as well as in the passes. + +"We must be careful now, Surajah," Dick said, as, after a long day's +march, they sat down to rest, at a distance of half a mile from a +large village. "Our tale, that we are shikarees, will not do here. Had +that really been our object, we should have stopped at the first place +we came to, and, at any rate, we should not have come beyond the +jungle. We might still say that we are shikarees, but that tigers had +become scarce on the other side of the hills, and, hearing a talk that +Tippoo and the English are going to war with each other, we made up +our minds to go to Seringapatam, and enlist in his army." + +"That would do very well," Surajah agreed. "They would have no reason +for doubting us, and even if the officer here were to suggest that we +should enlist under him, we could do so, as there would be no +difficulty in slipping away, and making off into the jungle again." + +They waited until the sun set, and then walked on into the village. +They had scarcely entered, when two armed men stopped them, and +questioned them whence they came. + +Surajah repeated the story they had agreed upon, and the men appeared +quite satisfied. + +"You will be just in time," one said. "We have news that the sultan +has just moved, with his army, to Seringapatam. Officers came here, +only yesterday, to buy up cattle and grain. These are to be retained +here, until orders are received where they are to be sent, so I should +say that he is coming this way, and will be going down the passes, as +Hyder did. + +"We shall be very glad, for I suppose we shall join, as he passes +along. It has been dull work here, and we are looking forward to +gaining our share of the loot. It would be just as well for you to +join us here now, as to go on to Seringapatam." + +"It would save us a long tramp," Surajah agreed. "We will think it +over, and maybe we will have a talk with your officer, tomorrow +morning." + +They sauntered along with the men, talking as they went, and so +escaped being questioned by other soldiers. Presently, they made the +excuse that they wanted, to buy some flour and ghee before the shops +were closed; and, with a friendly nod to the two soldiers, stopped +before the stall of a peasant who had, on a little stand in front of +him, a large jar of ghee. Having purchased some, they went a little +farther, and laid in a fresh supply of flour. + +"Things are very dear," Surajah remarked. + +"There is very little left in the village," the man said. "All the +flour was bought up yesterday, for the sultan's army, which, they say, +is coming in this direction; and I have only got what you see here. It +has been pounded, by my wife and some other women, since morning." + +"That is good enough," Dick said, as they walked away. "Our work is +done, Surajah, and it is not likely that we should learn anything +more, if we were to stop here for a week. Let us turn down between +these houses, and make our way round behind. We might be questioned +again, by a fresh party of soldiers, if we were to go along the +street." + +They kept along on the outskirts of the village, regained the road by +which they had come, and walked on until they reached the edge of the +jungle. Going a short distance among the trees, they collected some +sticks, lit a fire, and sat down to cook their meal. + +At the last village or two, they had heard but little of tigers, and +now agreed that they could safely lie down, and that it would not be +necessary for them to rig up their blankets as hammocks, as they had +done on the first two nights. + + + +Chapter 6: A Perilous Adventure. + + +They retraced their steps, without adventure, until they reached the +village they had first stopped at. + +"There are soldiers here," Surajah exclaimed, as they entered. + +"We can't help it, now," Dick said. "There is nothing for it, but to +go on boldly. I suppose that Tippoo has sent troops into all these +frontier villages, to prevent any chance of news of his movements +being taken to the plains. + +"Ah! There is the old chap who spoke to us last time. Let us stop at +once, and talk with him." + +"So you are back again," the peasant said, as they came up to him. + +"Yes," Surajah replied. "We told you we should come back here, unless +we got news of some tiger being marked down near one of the other +villages. We have been as far as the edge of the jungle, and although +we have heard of several, not one of them seems to be in the habit of +coming back regularly to the same spot; so we thought we could not do +better than return here, at once, and make it our headquarters. + +"I see you have got some soldiers here." + +"Yes," the old man said, discontentedly, "and a rough lot they are. +They demand food, and instead of paying for it in money, their officer +gives us bits of paper with some writing on them. He says that, when +they go, we are to take them to him, and he will give us an order +equal to the whole of them, for which we can receive money from the +treasury at Seringapatam. + +"A nice thing, that! None of us have ever been to Seringapatam, and +should not know what to do when we got there. Moreover, there would be +no saying whether one would ever come back again. It is terrible. +Besides, we have only grain enough for ourselves, and shall have to +send down to the plains to buy more; and where the money is to come +from, nobody can tell." + +"I think I could tell you how you had better proceed, if you will take +us into your house," Surajah said. "This is not a place for talking. +There are four or five soldiers there, watching us." + +The old man entered the house, and closed the door behind them. + +"How would you counsel us to proceed?" he asked, as soon as they had +seated themselves on a divan, formed of a low bank of beaten earth, +with a thick covering of straw. + +"It is simple enough," Surajah said. "One of you would take the order, +on the sultan's treasury, to a large village down in the plain. You +would go to a trader, and say that you wished to purchase so much +grain and other goods, and would pay for them with an order on the +sultan's treasury. It would probably be accepted as readily as cash, +for the trader would send it to a merchant, or banker, at Seringapatam +to get it cashed for him, to pay for goods he had obtained there; and +either to send him any balance there might be, or to retain it for +further purchases. An order of that kind is better than money, for +trading purposes, for there would be no fear of its being stolen on +the way, as it could be hidden in the hair, or shoe, or anywhere among +the clothes of the messenger." + +"Wonderful!" the old peasant said. "Your words are a relief, indeed, +to me, and will be to all the village, when they hear them." + +"And now," Dick broke in, "let us talk about tigers. While you have +been speaking, those soldiers have passed the door twice, and have +been looking suspiciously at the house. If they take it into their +heads to come here, and to ask who we are and what is our business, it +would not do to tell them that we have been discussing the value of +the orders on the sultan's treasury. + +"Now, if our advice has been of any assistance to you in this matter, +you, in turn, can render us aid in our business of killing tigers. We +want you to find out, for us, when a tiger was last seen near the +village; where its lair is supposed to be; and whether, according to +its situation, we should have the best chance of killing it by digging +a pitfall, on the path by which it usually comes from the jungle; or +by getting a kid and tying it up, to attract the tiger to a spot where +we shall be stationed in a tree." + +"I will assuredly do that, and every one here will be glad to assist, +when I tell them the advice I have received from you--and would, +indeed, do so in any case, for it will be a blessing to the village, +if you can kill the tiger that so often carries off some of our sheep +and goats." + +At this moment, there was a loud knocking at the door. On the peasant +opening it, a group of soldiers demanded to see the men who had +entered. + +"We are here," Surajah said, coming forward. "What do you want?" + +"We want to know who you are, and where you come from." + +"Any one in the village could have told you that," Surajah said. "We +are shikarees, and have come here to destroy tigers. We were +arranging, with this old man, to find us guides who can point out the +tracks of the one which has, for some time, been preying on their +animals." + +"Yes, and our children," the old man put in; "for three of them were +carried off, from the street here, within the last month." + +The soldiers looked doubtful, but one of them said: + +"This is for our officer to inquire about. The men are strangers to +the village, and he will want to question them." + +"We are quite ready to be questioned," Surajah said. "Our host, here, +will bear me out in what I say, and there are others in the village +who will tell you that we have been arranging, with them, to kill +tigers in this neighbourhood; though as yet we have not settled what +they will pay us for each beast we destroy." + +Accompanied by the peasant, they went with the soldiers to the guard +house, with which each of the frontier villages was provided. It +consisted of a group of huts, surrounded by a thick wall of sunburnt +bricks. They were taken into the largest hut, where the officer of the +party was seated on a rough divan. + +"Who have you here?" he asked irritably, for he had been awakened from +a doze by their entry. + +"They are two young fellows, who are strangers here. They say they are +shikarees, who have come into the village to gain a reward for killing +a tiger that has been troublesome." + +"They were here three days ago, Sahib," the villager said, "and asked +us many questions about the tigers, and were, when the soldiers came +to the door, questioning me as to the tiger's place of retreat, and +whether a pitfall, or a kid as a decoy, would be most suitable." + +"Where do you come from?" the officer asked Surajah. + +"We live in a little village, some distance down the ghauts. We heard +that tigers were more abundant, in the jungle country up here, than +they are below; and thought that we would, for a time, follow our +calling here. We can get good prices for the skins, down below; and +with that, and what we get from the villages for freeing them from the +tigers, we hope, in a few months, to take back a good store of money." + +"Your story is a doubtful one," the officer said, harshly. "You may be +what you say, and you may be spies." + +"If we had been spies," Surajah said, "we should not be here, but at +Bangalore or Seringapatam. These villages are not the places where +news is to be gained." + +This was so self evident that the officer had nothing to say against +it. + +"At any rate," he said, after a pause, "there is no confirmation to +your story, and, as I have orders to put all suspicious persons under +arrest, I shall detain you." + +"It is very hard--" Surajah began; but the officer made an impatient +gesture, while two of the soldiers put their hands on the shoulders of +the prisoners, and led them from the hut. + +"You need not look so downcast," one of them said good naturedly. "I +don't suppose you will be kept here long; and will, no doubt, be +released when the sultan has gone down the passes, with his army. A +week or two here will do you no harm--the tigers can wait for a bit. + +"There, give us your weapons. I daresay you will get them back again, +when we go on; as I hope we shall do, for there is nothing to eat and +nothing to do in this miserable place." + +The arms were taken into the officer's hut, and as there was a sentry +at the gate, no further attention was paid to them. + +"I will get you some provisions, and bring them in," the old man said. +"It is hard, indeed, that men cannot go about their business without +being interfered with." + +"Thank you, but we have enough for two or three days. When that is +gone, we will give you some money to buy more; for we have a few +rupees with us, as we knew it might be some time before we should be +able to kill a tiger." + +As soon as the old man had left them, they seated themselves on a +large faggot of wood that had been brought in by the villagers, for +fuel. + +"We cannot stay here, Surajah. It is most important that we should get +back with the news, and I have no doubt that pig-headed brute in there +will do as he says, and will hold us prisoners until Tippoo has gone +down the passes. We must get off tonight, if possible. We are not +likely to be looked after very sharply. I don't think that fellow +really suspects us, but is simply keeping us to show his authority. +There ought to be no difficulty in getting out. I suppose we shall be +put into one of the soldiers' huts tonight, and if we crawl out when +they are asleep, we have only to make our way up those narrow steps to +the top of the wall, and then let ourselves down the other side. It is +not above fifteen feet high, and even if we dropped, we should not be +likely to hurt ourselves." + +"There will, most likely, be a sentry at the gate," Surajah observed, +"and there is a moon tonight." + +"There ought to be no difficulty in pouncing on him suddenly, gagging +him before he can give the alarm, and then tying him. We will walk +round and see if there is any rope lying about. If not, I will tear my +sash into strips. We can use yours to lower ourselves over the wall. I +should like to get our weapons, if we could. The guns do not matter, +but the pistols are good ones. And, if there is an alarm given, we may +have to fight. Besides, it is not impossible that we may come across a +tiger, as we go along. I vote that, when we have secured the sentry, +we pay the officer a visit." + +Surajah nodded. He was quite ready to agree to anything that Dick +might suggest, and felt a strong desire to repossess himself of his +arms, for it seemed to him that it would be a humiliation to go back +without them. + +"Of course," Dick went on, "if the sentry gives the alarm, before we +can secure him, we must give up part of our plan; for, in that case, +we should have to bolt. Once over the wall, we should be all right. +They may fire away at us as we run, but there is no fear of their +hitting us, half asleep as they will be, and not quite sure what it is +all about. If we get a fair start of them, we need not have much fear +of their catching us." + +"Not as long as it is straight running, Sahib; but if they follow us +far, they may come up within range of us as we are making our way down +some of those nasty places, where we came up the face of the ghaut." + +"If we once get well away from them, we will hide up somewhere, and +then strike off on another line." + +"We might do that," Surajah agreed; "but you know, the place where we +came up was the only one that seemed to us climbable, and it would be +certainly better to make for it again, if we can find our way." + +"I quite agree with you there, Surajah. It would never do to go and +find ourselves on the edge of a precipice that we could not get down, +with the soldiers anywhere near us. Besides, it is of the greatest +importance that we should take the news back as soon as possible, as +every hour may be of importance. I only wish we could find out which +pass Tippoo means to go by, but I don't suppose that will be known +until he starts for it. Anyhow, our news will be very valuable, for at +present he is supposed to be over on the other side, and he would have +taken our troops entirely by surprise, if he had suddenly poured out +onto the plain. So we must give up my idea of hiding up, for if we did +so we should have to lie there all day, and it would mean the loss of +twenty-four hours; for I would not go down those ghauts for any money, +except in daylight. It is a very different thing going downhill to +going up, and if we were to attempt it in the dark, we should break +our necks for a certainty. If we can get away early, tonight, we shall +be at the edge of that steep place by nine o'clock in the morning, and +if we strike the right point, we might be back to the Rajah by +nightfall." + +"It will be difficult to find our way back in the dark," Surajah said. + +"No doubt. Still, we can keep in the general direction, and even if we +do not hit upon the stream tonight, we shall find it in the morning." + +It was late in the afternoon when they reached the village, and it was +now growing dark. Two soldiers came up to them, and bade them follow +them into one of the huts, and there pointed to the farther corner as +their place. They wrapped themselves in their blankets, and at once +lay down. + +"If they take it into their heads," Dick whispered to Surajah, "to put +a sentry on guard at the door, it will upset all our plans. It would +not be very difficult to cut our way through the mud wall behind us, +but in the first place they have taken away our knives; and, even if +we had them, it would be risky work trying it. + +"The chances are that they will sit and talk all night. Of course, we +might surprise the sentry, but it would be a great risk with those +fellows close at hand, and we should have to run straight for the +steps, and might get a dozen balls after us, before we were over the +wall." + +"I don't think there would be much chance of their hitting us," +Surajah said. "Jumping up from their sleep in confusion, they would be +a minute or so before they could find out what had happened, and we +should be at the foot of the steps before they saw us, and then they +would fire almost at random. + +"But, in that case, we should lose our weapons," he added regretfully. + +"We cannot help that. The arms are of no consequence at all, compared +to our getting away--unless, of course, any of them happen to overtake +us." + +For three or four hours, the soldiers, of whom there were ten in the +hut, sat eating, talking, and smoking round the fire, which they kept +burning on the earthen floor. One by one, however, they left it and +lay down. When but three remained, one of them got up, with a grumble +of discontent, took his musket, which was leaning against the wall, +and went out of the hut. + +"What a nuisance!" Dick whispered. "He is evidently going on sentry +duty." + +"Perhaps he has gone to the gate?" Surajah suggested. + +"I am afraid not. I expect the other hut is furnishing the sentry +there. Listen!" + +During the pauses of the low conversation of the two men still sitting +by the fire, they could hear a footfall outside. + +"That settles the question," Dick said. "Now, the sooner those fellows +go to sleep, the better." + +"We had better wait for some time, after they do," Surajah replied. +"One or two of the men, who lay down first, are sure to get up and go +to the door and look out. They always do that, once or twice during +the night. The sentry will soon get accustomed to the door being +opened, and won't look round sharp." + +"That is a good idea," Dick agreed. "The moon is at the back of the +hut, so we shall be in the shadow. I will spring upon him, and will +try and grip him by the throat, so that he can't holloa. You wrench +the musket from his hands, and snatch his belt of cartridges. That +will give us a weapon, anyhow. As soon as you have got it, I will give +him one sharp squeeze, and throw him down. It will be some time before +he gets breath enough to holloa." + +In half an hour, the two men by the fire lay down. It was not long +before, as Surajah predicted, one of the sleepers sat up and stretched +himself; then he rose and walked to the door, opened it, and stood at +the entrance; a moment later he was joined by another figure, and for +a few minutes they stood, talking together. Then he came in again, +shut the door, and lay down. + +During the next hour, three of the others followed his example, the +last of them leaving the door ajar behind him, when he came in. + +"Now is our chance, Surajah. We must give him ten minutes to fall +asleep again. Then we will move. Should one of them be lying awake, +and notice us--which is not likely, for it is too dark in here to see +figures distinctly--and ask where we are going, say, 'To the door, to +get cool.' They won't imagine that we are thinking of escape, with one +sentry at the door, and another at the gate." + +"Don't you think, Sahib, that it would be safer to kill the sentries?" + +"Safer or not, Surajah, we will not do it. At present, they have done +us no harm. They are only acting as their officer ordered, and we have +no grudge against them. When they take to shooting at us, we must +shoot at them; but to kill this sentry would be nothing short of +murder." + +After waiting a few minutes longer, Dick said: + +"We had better be off, now. If we were to wait longer, we should have +another fellow getting up." + +They rose quietly to their feet, made their way to the door, and +opened it noiselessly. The sentry was standing, leaning on his long +matchlock, a few feet away. Suddenly a voice behind exclaimed, "Who is +that?" + +The sentry was in the act of turning round, when Dick sprang upon him, +and grasped him by the throat. No cry came from the man's lips, but +the gun fell from his grasp, as he clutched convulsively at Dick's +wrists, and went off as it fell. + +"Pick it up," Dick shouted, "and run." + +He released his grip from the man's throat, snatched the bandolier +from his shoulder, and, tripping his feet from under him, threw him +heavily to the ground, and then turned to run. + +The whole had occupied but a few seconds, but as he started a soldier +ran out from the hut, shouting loudly. He had a gun in his hand. Dick +changed his mind, turned, threw himself upon him, wrenched the gun +from his hold, and, as the man staggered back, struck him with his +right hand under the chin. + +The man fell back through the open door, as if shot. Dick seized the +handle and closed it, and then ran, at full speed, towards the foot of +the steps. They were but some twenty yards away. + +"Up you go, Surajah. We have not a moment to lose!" + +Dick sprang up the steps, Surajah following. As they reached the top +of the wall, a shot was discharged at them by the sentry at the gate, +who, ignorant of the cause of the sudden uproar, had been standing in +readiness to fire. He was, however, too excited to take aim, and the +bullet flew harmlessly over their heads. In another instant, they +sprang over the parapet. + +"Lower yourself by your arms, and then drop." + +The wall, like many others of its sort, was thicker at the base than +on the top, and the foot projected two feet beyond the upper line, so +that it was a sharp slide, rather than an absolute fall. It was well +that it was so, for although only some twelve feet high inside, it was +eight feet higher on its outer face, as a dry ditch encircled it. Both +came down in a heap on the sand that had crumbled from the face of the +wall. + +As soon as they picked themselves up, Dick exclaimed, "Keep along the +foot of the wall, Surajah," and they dashed along until they reached +the angle. As they turned the corner, they heard a burst of voices +from the wall where they had slid down, and several shots were fired. +Dick led the way along the ditch to the next angle, then left it and +entered the village, and dashed along the street. + +The sound of firing had roused many of the peasants. Doors were +opening, and men coming out. Exclamations of surprise were heard, as +the two figures rushed past, but no one thought of interfering with +them. As they left the houses behind them, Surajah said: + +"You are going the wrong way, Sahib. You are going right away from the +ghauts." + +"I know that well enough," Dick panted; "but I did it on purpose. We +will turn and work round again. They will hear, from the villagers, +that we have come this way, and will be following us down the road +while we are making our way back to the ghauts." + +They ran for another hundred yards, then quitted the path, and made +across the fields. From the fort and village they could hear a great +hubbub, and above it could make out the voice of the officer, shouting +orders. They continued to run, for another quarter of a mile, and then +turned. + +"Now we can go quietly," Dick said, breaking into a walk. "This line +will take us clear of the fort and village, and we have only to make +straight for the ghauts. I think we have thrown them well off the +scent, and unless the officer suspects that we have only gone the +other way to deceive him, and that we are really making for the +ghauts, we shall hear nothing more of them." + +"It is capital," Surajah said. "I could not think what you were doing, +when you turned round the corner of the fort and made for the village, +instead of going the other way. But where did you get that gun from?" + +Dick told him how it had come into his possession. + +"It was not so much that I cared for the gun," he said, "as that I +wanted to prevent the man from using it. If he had followed me +closely, he could hardly have helped hitting one of us, as we went up +the steps. By shutting the door, we gained a few moments, for they +were all in confusion in the dim light inside, and would certainly not +learn anything, either from the man I pitched in among them, or from +the sentry outside. + +"I don't suppose any of them had an idea of what had happened, until +the sentry shouted to them that we had got over the wall. Then they +rushed up, and fired at random from the top, thinking that we should +be running straight from it." + +They walked along for a short distance, and then Dick said: + +"I have got my wind again, now. We will go on at a jog trot. I +mistrust that officer. He had a crafty face, and as we said we +belonged to a village down the ghauts, he may have a suspicion that we +have been trying to throw him off our scent, and think we should be +sure to double back and make for home." + +They kept on their way, sometimes dropping into a walk, but generally +going at an easy trot, until day broke. + +"As soon as it gets a little lighter, Surajah, we will go up on to one +of these rises, so as to have a good look down over the line we have +come. If they are following us, we must go on at the top of our speed. +If we see nothing of them, we can take it quietly. Of course, they +can't have been following our steps, but it is quite likely that some +of the villagers may know that the ghauts can be climbed at the point +where we came up. You know we noticed signs of a path, two or three +times, on the way up. In that case, if the officer really did think of +pursuing us, he would take one of the villagers as guide." + +Half an hour later, they ascended a sharp rise, and threw themselves +down on its crest. + +"I don't think that there is the least chance of their coming," +Surajah said, carelessly. "When they had gone some distance, without +overtaking us on the road, they may possibly have suspected that we +had turned and made this way; but by the time they got back to the +village, they would know, well enough, that there was no chance of +overtaking us." + +Dick made no answer. He had a sort of uneasy conviction that the +officer would at once suspect their plan, and that pursuit would have +commenced very shortly after they had re-passed the fort. For some +minutes, no words were spoken. No sign of life was to be seen; but in +so broken a country, covered in many places with jungle or wood, a +considerable body of men might be coming up, unperceived. + +Suddenly, Dick grasped Surajah's arm. + +"There they are. You see that I was right. Look at that clump of bush, +half a mile away, well to the left of the line we came by. They have +just come out from there. There are ten or twelve of them." + +"I see them," Surajah said. "They are running, too, but not very +fast." + +"We will crawl back, till we are out of their sight, and then make a +run for it. They must have got a guide, and are, no doubt, taking a +more direct line than we are, for we may be a good bit off the stream +we followed as we came along. I have not seen anything I recognise, +since it got light, though I am sure we have been going somewhere near +the right direction. Now, we have got to run for it." + +They dashed off, at a rate of speed much higher than that at which +they had before been travelling; keeping, as much as possible, in +ground covered from the sight of their pursuers; and bearing somewhat +to the left, so as to place the latter directly behind them, and to +strike the path Dick had no doubt their pursuers were keeping. + +"It is no use running too fast," he said, a few minutes later. "There +is a good long way to go yet--another ten miles, I should think; and +anyhow, I don't think we can get down that steep place, before they +come to the edge of the cliff above. You see, we are not certain as to +where it is. We might strike the cliffs a mile or two on either side +of it, and I have no doubt they will go straight to the spot. I expect +the man they have got as a guide has been in the habit of going down +the ghauts, and knows his way. + +"If it were not that we are in such a hurry to get to Uncle with the +news about Tippoo, it would be much better to turn off, altogether, +and stay in a wood for a day or two. They would not stop very long at +the top of the ghauts, for they cannot be sure that we are going that +way, at all, and when a few hours passed, and we didn't come, the +officer would suppose that he was mistaken, and that we really kept on +in the line on which we started." + +They trotted along for some time in silence, and then Surajah said: + +"Do you not think that it would be better for us to make for the pass +to the left? It is twenty miles off, but we should be there by the +evening, and we should surely find some way of getting into it, below +where the fort stands." + +Dick stopped running. + +"Why not go the other way, and make for the pass we know?" he said. +"It can't be more than fifteen miles, at the outside, and once below +the fort we know our way, and should get down to the village twelve +hours sooner than if we went round by the other pass." + +"It would be the right plan, if we could do it," Surajah agreed; "but +you know the rocks rise straight up on both sides of the fort, and the +road passes up through a narrow cleft, with the fort standing at its +mouth. That is why I proposed the other pass." + +"I think we had better try it, nevertheless, Surajah. We should not be +more than three hours in going straight there, and shall have ample +time to follow the edge of the precipice for the last five miles. We +may discover some break, where we can get down. If we should find it +impossible to descend anywhere, we must sleep till sunset, then strike +the road above the fort, go down at night, and manage to slip past the +sentry." + +"The only thing is, Sahib, that it seemed as if the fort lay right +across the entrance to the gorge, and the road went through it." + +"It did look like that, Surajah. Certainly the road went through a +gateway. But there must be a break somewhere. We could see that, in +the wet season, a lot of water comes down there, so there must be some +sort of passage for it; and if the passage is big enough for the storm +water to go through, it must be big enough for us." + +Surajah agreed, and they turned off from the line that they had before +been following; no longer hurrying, but walking at a leisurely pace. +They were not pressed for time. There was no chance, whatever, of +pursuit; and as they had been going, for some six hours, at the top of +their speed, they were both feeling exhausted. + +After proceeding for two miles, they came upon a small stream. Here +they sat down, lighted a fire, mixed some flour and water--for +although the ghee had been taken from them, when they were disarmed, +they had been allowed to retain their supply of flour, for their +sustenance in prison--and made some small cakes. These they cooked in +the glowing embers. They could not be termed a success, for the +outside was burned black, while the centre was a pasty mass. However, +they sufficed to satisfy their hunger, and after an hour's rest, they +again went forward. + +It was not very long before they stood on the edge of the rock wall. +They followed this along, but could nowhere find a spot where a +descent seemed at all possible. After walking for an hour, they saw a +road winding up a long valley below them. + +"That is our road," Dick exclaimed. "That clump of houses, Surajah, +must be the one where we generally turned. I know that, from below, +these rocks looked as steep as walls, so there is no chance of our +finding a way down anywhere, between this and the fort." + +Surajah nodded. To him, also, the ascent of the ghauts had seemed +impracticable. + +"It is no use following this line any more," Dick went on. "We may as +well strike across, until we come onto the edge of the pass, somewhere +above the fort; find a place where we can descend easily, and then lie +down and sleep, till it is time to make our attempt." + +In another hour, they were looking down on the road, a mile or so +above the fort. The slopes here were gradual, and could be descended +without the least difficulty, even in the dark. + +"There! Do you see, Surajah? The water course runs along by the side +of the road. There is a little water in it now. You know we used to +meet with it, down below, and water our horses at a pool close to that +ruined village. When we start, we can follow the road until we get +close to the fort, and then crawl along in the water course, and take +our chances. If we should find it so blocked up that we can't get +through, we must then see how we can get past the place in some other +way. If the gate is only barred, no doubt we should be able to +overpower the sentry, and get the gate open before any alarm is given. +If it is locked, we must do the best we can. We may calculate upon +taking the sentry by surprise, as we did in the prison, and on +silencing him at once; then we should have time to break up some +cartridges, and pour the powder into the keyhole, which is sure to be +a big one, make a slow match, and blow the lock open. We could make +the slow match before we start, if we had some water." + +"Shall I go down to the stream, and get some?" + +"You have nothing to carry it up in, Surajah; and besides, someone +might come along the valley." + +"We shall only want a little water. I will take off my sash, and dip +it in the stream; that will give us plenty, when it is wrung out." + +"At any rate, Surajah, we will do nothing until it is getting dusk. +See! There are some peasants, with three bullocks, coming down the +valley, and there are four armed horsemen riding behind them. We will +go back to those bushes, a hundred yards behind us, and sleep there +until sunset; then we will make our way down to that heap of boulders +close to the stream, manufacture our slow match, and hide up there +until it is time to start. We want a rest, badly. We did not sleep +last night, and if we get through, we must push on tonight without a +stop, so we must have a good sleep, now." + +The sun was low when they woke. They watched it dip below the hills, +and then, after waiting until it began to get dusk, started for the +valley. No one was to be seen on the road, and they ran rapidly down +the slope, until they reached the heap of boulders. Surajah tore off a +strip of cotton, six inches long by an inch wide, from the bottom of +his dress, went forward to the stream, and wetted it. When he came +back, they squeezed the moisture from it, broke up a cartridge, rubbed +the powder into the cotton, and then rolled it up longways. + +"That will be dry enough, by the time we want to start," Dick said. "I +hope we sha'n't have to use it, but if there is no other way, we must +do so." + +They remained where they were, until they thought that the garrison of +the fort would be, for the most part, asleep. Then they crossed the +stream, and walked along by the side of the road, taking care not to +show themselves upon it, as their figures would be seen for a long +distance, on its white, dusty surface. Presently, the sides of the +valley approached more closely to each other; and, just where they +narrowed, they could make out a number of dark objects, which were, +they doubted not, the houses occupied by the garrison. They at once +took to the bed of the stream, stooping low as they went, so that +their bodies would be indistinguishable among the rocks. + +They could hear the murmur of voices, as they passed through the +village. Once beyond it, they entered the gorge. Here there was but +room enough for the road and the stream, whose bed was several feet +below the causeway. A few hundred yards farther, the gorge widened out +a bit, and in the moonlight they could see the wall of the fort +stretching before them, and a square building standing close to it. + +"That is the guard house, no doubt," Dick said, in low tones. "It is +too close to be pleasant, if we have to attack the sentry." + +Very carefully, they picked their way among the rocks, until close to +the wall; then Dick gave a low exclamation of disappointment. The +stream ran through a culvert, some twelve feet wide and ten feet high, +but this was closed by iron bars, crossing each other at intervals of +only five or six inches, the lower ends of the perpendicular bars +being fixed in a stone dam, extending across the bed of the stream. +Dick waded across the pool formed by the dam, and felt the bars, but +found them perfectly solid and strong. + +"It is no good, Surajah," he said, when he returned. "There is no +getting through there. There is nothing for it but the gate, unless we +can find the steps up to the top of the wall, and get up unnoticed. +Then we might tear up our sashes longways, knot them together, and +slip down. + +"The first thing to do is to have a look round. I will get up close to +the wall. It is in shadow there." + +Entering the pool again, he climbed up the steep bank, which was here +faced with stones. He stopped when his eyes were above the level, and +looked round. There was the gate, twelve feet away, and to his delight +no sentry was to be seen. He was about to whisper Surajah to join him, +when he heard voices. They came from above, and he at once understood +that, instead of a man being posted behind the gate, two were on guard +on the wall above it. He beckoned to Surajah to join him, and when he +did so, whispered what he had discovered. + +"If the gate is only barred, we are all right now, Surajah; except +that we shall have to run the risk of being shot by those fellows on +the wall. We shall be a pretty easy mark, on that white road by +moonlight. Our only plan will be to keep close to the wall, when we +are through the gate, get down into the bed of the stream again, and +then crawl along among the rocks. The bottom will be in shadow, and we +may get off without being noticed. The only fear is that we shall make +a noise in opening the gate. + +"Now, let us try it." + +Keeping close to the wall, they crept to the gateway. This projected +two feet beyond the gate itself, and standing against the latter they +could not be seen, even in the unlikely event of one of the sentries +looking down. The only risk was of anyone in the guard house coming +out. This, however, could not be avoided, and they at once began to +examine the fastenings of the gate, which consisted of two massive +bars of wood, running across it. These, by their united strength, they +removed one after another. But when they tried it, they found the gate +still immovable. + +"The beastly thing is locked," Dick said. "There is nothing to do, but +to blow it open." + +He broke off the ends of three cartridges, poured the powder in at the +keyhole, and then inserted the slow match. + +"Stand in the corner there, Surajah. I will go down to the stream +again, to light the tinder. The noise is less likely to be heard +there." + +He stole back again, sat down at the edge of the water, placed his +tinder box in his lap, took his turban off and put it over his hands, +so as to deaden the sound, and then struck the steel sharply against +the flint. The first blow was successful. The spark fell on the +tinder, and at once began to extend. + +He listened intently. The men on the wall were still talking, and the +sound had evidently not reached their ears. + + + +Chapter 7: Besieged. + + +Dick hastily clambered up the wall, ran to the gate, blew the tinder, +and then applied it to the slow match. A moment later, this began to +fizz. + +"Round the corner of the wall, Surajah!" he exclaimed, running back +himself. + +A few anxious seconds passed, then came a sharp explosion. In an +instant they ran up. The gate stood two or three inches open. It +yielded to a push, and they ran out. + +Loud shouts were heard from the men above, and a hubbub of cries from +the guard house. + +"Run, Surajah! We must risk it. Keep on the edge of the road, and +dodge as you go. The chances are they will run down below, to see what +has happened." + +At the top of their speed, they dashed down the road. No shot was +fired from the wall, Dick's conjecture that the first impulse of the +sentries would be to run down below having been justified. They were a +couple of hundred yards away, before two shots were fired from the +gate. The bullets whistled by harmlessly. + +"We are all right now," Dick cried. "They can scarcely see us, and we +shall soon be out of sight altogether." + +Five or six more shots were fired a few seconds later, as the men from +the guard house reached the gate. On looking back, when they had gone +another hundred yards, they saw a number of figures on the road. + +"Not quite so fast, Surajah," Dick said. "It is going to be a long +chase, now. We have got three hundred yards start, and they won't be +able to load again, running at full speed." + +For a time, their pursuers gained somewhat upon them; then, gradually, +they began to straggle, as the effect of the speed at which they were +running told upon them. When they reached the ruined village, there +were four men running together, some three hundred yards behind. The +rest were a considerable distance in the rear. + +"Another mile or two, and they will all give up the chase except these +four, Surajah, and if they turn out better runners than we do, we can +make a stand. There are some more huts another two miles farther, and +we will fight them there." + +They were going slower now, for although the downward course of the +road helped them a good deal, the run was telling on them. Not a word +was spoken, until they reached the second village. When they came to +the first house, they stopped simultaneously, and looked round. Their +pursuers were not more than two hundred yards behind them. + +"In here, Surajah," Dick said, as he ran into the ruined hut. + +Its roof was gone, its door hung loose on its hinges. It had but one +window, a small one, looking up the valley. Dick laid his gun on the +sill, which was nearly level with his shoulder. + +"I must wait until they get pretty close," he said, "for I am panting +so that I can't keep the barrel steady, even with this rest." + +"I will kneel down outside," Surajah said. + +"Mind, I will fire first, Surajah. Don't you fire until they are +within twenty yards of you. By that time I shall have loaded again." + +Dick had more time than he had expected, for as soon as their pursuers +saw them enter the hut, they slackened their pace considerably. They +were within about eighty yards, when Dick held his breath and +standing, for a moment, immovable, took a steady aim and fired. + +One of the men stumbled in his run, took a step or two forward, and +then fell on his face. The others paused for a moment, and then, with +a fierce yell, ran forward. + +The moment he had fired, Dick dropped the stock of his gun on to the +ground, snatched a cartridge from the bandolier, bit off the end, and +emptied the powder into the barrel, gave the gun a shake, so as to be +sure that it ran into the touch hole, and then rammed down the bullet. +As he was in the act of doing so, Surajah fired, and a loud yell told +that his shot had been successful. + +Dick sprang to the door as Surajah entered. Two shots at the same +instant rang out; but, at even so short a distance, the bullets went +wide. Dick stepped out, and in turn fired. One of the two men fell; +the other threw down his musket, and fled up the road. + +"Thank goodness that is over," Dick exclaimed. "I thought they had no +chance with us, here. Now the first thing is to get our wind again." + +They stood for two or three minutes, breathing heavily; then, as their +breath came again, they prepared to move, when Dick exclaimed +suddenly, "What is that noise?" + +There was a dull, confused sound in the air, and then Surajah, +pointing up the road, exclaimed, "Cavalry!" + +Far away on the white road, a dark mass could be seen. At first, Dick +instinctively turned to resume their flight, but then he said: + +"It is of no use, Surajah. The sides of the valley are too steep to +climb, and they will be up in five or six minutes. We must fight it +out here. Run out to that man I shot, and bring in his gun, bandolier, +pistols if he has any, and sword. I will take them from these two. It +will make all the difference, having spare weapons." + +Surajah, without a word, hurried up the road, while Dick ran over to +the house opposite, which seemed to be larger than the one they had +first entered. He looked round. It contained only one room, but this +was twenty feet square. There were three small windows, one looking +into the street, one looking up the valley, and one behind. The floor +was littered with the beams of the roof. The door was still in its +place. Having ascertained this, he ran back to the bodies of the two +men, picked up the three guns, took off their bandoliers, and removed +the pistols from their sashes; and with these, and one of their +swords, returned to the house, just as Surajah came back. + +"This is the best house to defend, Surajah. There are some beams with +which we can block up the door." + +Laying down the arms inside, they set to work with the beams, and +barricaded the door so firmly that, short of its being splintered to +pieces, no entry could be effected. This done, they re-charged the six +guns, examined the pistols, and finding that they were loaded, placed +three of them in each of their sashes, and hung the swords by their +sides. Then they went to the window looking up the valley. The +horsemen, some twenty in number, were but a short quarter of a mile +away, and were coming along at a gallop. + +"Don't fire, Surajah," Dick said. "They will have heard, from the man +who has got away, that we are in the house opposite, and if they don't +find us there, they will think that we have gone on, and will ride +down the valley till they are sure they must be ahead of us. Then they +will search the ground carefully, as they come back, and altogether we +may gain an hour; and every moment is of use. It must be two o'clock +now, and our troop generally gets here soon after seven." + +As he spoke, the horsemen drew up in front of the opposite hut. There +was a momentary pause, and then a voice said: + +"It is empty." + +Then followed the command: + +"Ride on, men. They can't have got very far. We shall overtake them in +ten minutes." + +As soon as they started, Dick said: + +"Take a ramrod, Surajah, and make some holes through the walls, to +fire through. If we were to show ourselves at the windows, we might +get shot." + +The walls were built of mud and clay, and with the iron ramrods they +had no difficulty in making four holes, an inch wide and two inches +high, on each side of the house. + +"Now we are ready for them," Dick said, when they had finished. "They +have been gone half an hour, and it won't be long before they are +back." + +In a few minutes, they heard the clatter of horses' hoofs. It ceased +some forty or fifty yards away, and by the sound of voices and orders, +it was evident that the other houses were being searched. Voices were +also heard at the back of the house, and they guessed that the ground +was being closely examined, up to the foot of the rock walls which +enclosed the valley. + +"Now, Surajah, you can take a shot from the window of that side. The +others will be here in a minute, and it is just as well to let them +know where we are, before they get close up to our door." + +Surajah went to the window at the back. Four horsemen were making +their way, at a walk, along the level ground between the rocks and the +huts. The nearest was but some forty yards away. Surajah fired, and +the man at once fell from his horse. The others instantly galloped on +at full speed up the valley, and from the window at the end, Surajah +saw them gather on the road three or four hundred yards away; and +then, after a short consultation, cross to the other side of the +valley, with the intention, he had no doubt, of rejoining their +comrades. + +The sound of the gun had been followed by shouts and exclamations from +the party in the village. Dick could hear a conference in low tones; +then all was silent. He went to the loophole at the corner, laid his +rifle in it, and waited, looking along the barrel. Two or three +minutes later the hole was darkened, and he fired at once. There was a +sound of a heavy fall, followed by cries of rage, and a moment later +there was a rush of men against the door. + +Surajah ran across. Two spare guns were pushed through the loopholes, +one on each side of it. These had not been bored straight through the +wall, but at angles that would enable them to fire at anyone attacking +it. Looking along the barrels, each could see one of the group in +front, and fired at the same moment. With a yell of rage and surprise, +the assailants of the door sprang back and ran down the street. + +"There are four less, anyhow," Dick said, as he and Surajah reloaded +the empty guns. "Those loopholes will puzzle them, and I don't think +they will care to come on again, for a bit." + +There was a pause for some minutes, and then, from the huts opposite, +and from various points higher up the valley and behind, a dropping +fire was opened. + +"Keep out of the line of the windows, whatever you do, Surajah; and it +will be just as well to lie down for a bit, until we see whether any +of their shots come through the wall. I think we are quite safe from +the distant fire, but from the house opposite it is possible they may +penetrate it. Anyhow, don't stand in the line of a loophole. A stray +ball might find its way in." + +For a few minutes, the enemy fired away unanswered, and then Dick, who +had been seated on the ground with his back against the end wall, got +up and went along that facing the street, carefully examining it. + +"I don't think any of their balls have come through, Surajah. I should +be able to see out into the moonlight, if they had done so. Now it is +time for us to be doing something. I expect they are getting a little +bolder, and will perhaps give us a chance. + +"You take this loophole. It is exactly in a line with the opposite +hut, and the fellows in there must come to their door to fire. I will +take this slanting hole by the doorpost. I can see one of the windows +of the next hut to that we were in. I have no doubt that they are +firing from there also. Don't wait for them to shoot, but fire +directly a figure shows itself." + +In a very short time Surajah fired. Dick heard the clatter of a gun, +as it fell to the ground. + +"You have hit him, Surajah." + +"Yes, but only wounded him. I think I hit him on the shoulder. He let +his gun drop, and ran into the house." + +"Take a spare gun at once. If there are others there, they will think +that you are loading, and may show themselves again." + +A moment later, Dick saw a gun thrust out through the window he was +watching. Then the head and shoulders of a man appeared behind it. He +fired, and the figure disappeared. Almost at the same instant, Surajah +fired again. + +"I had one that time, Sahib!" + +It was now quiet for some little time. Then a horseman dashed suddenly +past, and galloped up the valley at full speed. + +"The end window, Surajah! Bring him down, if you can." + +Surajah ran there and fired. + +"I have missed him!" he said, in a tone of deep disappointment. + +"It does not make much difference. If you had hit him, they could have +sent another off close to the opposite side of the valley. There is no +doubt as to what he has gone for. You see, they have lost six killed +and one wounded, and they must know that they have not the slightest +chance of taking this hut. I have no doubt that he has ridden back to +bring down the infantry from the fort. From the number of huts round +the gate, and the sound of talking, I should think there were fifty or +sixty at least--perhaps a hundred. + +"If they send down fifty, we shall have sharp work. Our difficulty +will be to prevent them from making a rush at all the windows +together. If they were to get there, they could riddle us with balls." + +"Could we block them up, Sahib?" + +"That is just what I was thinking," Dick replied. "We might try, +anyhow. It will be an hour and a half before they are down here. It +must be past four now, and in another hour daylight will begin to +break. + +"There is any amount of the old thatch down on the floor. The best way +would be to fill up the window holes with it first, then to put two or +three bits of wood across, and a strong piece down behind it, and to +keep that in its place by wedging one of the long beams against it. If +they came up and tried to pull the thatch out, we could fire through +it with our pistols; and we will make a loophole below each when we +have got the work done." + +It was not so difficult a business as they thought it would be. The +windows were little more than a foot across and two feet high. It was +but the work of a few minutes to fill these up with the masses of +thatch. When this was done, they picked out thick pieces of wood for +crossbars. Then they took a beam, eight feet long, made a hole with +their tulwars in the clay floor close to the wall, put one end of the +beam into it, and reared it upright against the window. Dick held it +in its place, while Surajah hacked a deep notch in it--a by no means +difficult matter, for it was half rotten with exposure. + +The notch was cut just opposite the middle of the window. The three +crosspieces were then put into their place, and the upright pressed +firmly against them. One end of a long beam was placed in the notch, +the other in a slight hole made in the ground, thus forming a strut, +which held the rest firmly in their positions. + +"That is a good job done," Dick said, "but a very hot one. Now, +Surajah, sharpen three or four pieces of wood, and drive them down +into the ground at the foot of that strut; then it will be as firm as +a rock." + +They then proceeded, in the same way, with the other two windows. + +"It is getting light fast," Dick said, as he wiped the perspiration +from his face. "Take a look out up the valley. They ought to be coming +by this time." + +Surajah applied his eye to one of the loopholes. + +"I can see them," he said. "They are half a mile away. There are two +mounted men. I expect one is their officer, and the other the man who +rode back to fetch them." + +"Let us set to work at the loopholes under the windows, Surajah. It is +most important to get them done. You make the one at the end, I will +do that one looking into the street. Put it as close to the beam as +you can." + +They worked hard, and it was not long before the walls were pierced. + +"Now, Surajah, you do the one at the back. The fellows will soon be +within range, and I will give them a lesson to be careful. They will +naturally break up, and go round behind the houses opposite, as they +can find shelter nowhere else; and, for a bit at any rate, we shall +get them all on one side of us, which is what we want." + +Dick carried the six guns to the end of the hut, and then applied his +eye to the loophole there. The enemy were coming along at a run, in a +confused mass. + +"I can't very well miss them," he muttered to himself, as he thrust +his gun through a loophole, and fired. Without waiting to see the +result, he thrust another gun out, aimed, and fired. + +"Never mind the hole, Surajah," he said. "Come here and reload." + +The four other shots were discharged in rapid succession. The +Mysoreans at first opened an irregular fire on the hut. When the sixth +shot was fired, they left the road in a body, and ran across the +valley, leaving four of their number on the ground behind them. + +As soon as the guns were reloaded, Surajah returned to his work. It +was now broad daylight, and the sun was shining upon the hilltops. A +quarter of an hour passed, without a movement from the enemy. Dick and +his companion occupied the time in further strengthening the door with +crossbeams, kept in their place by struts. + +"If they break it to splinters," Dick said, when they had finished, +"they will hardly be able to force their way in, for if they were to +try to crawl in between those crossbeams, they would be completely at +our mercy. + +"Now, we must get ready for a rush. I expect they will come all +together. There are the six guns, and three pistols each. Keep one of +the latter in reserve. We ought not to waste a shot; and if they lose +ten men, I should think they will give up the attack on the door. + +"Stand clear of it, Surajah. They will probably fire into it before +they charge--keep down below the level of the loopholes." + +Presently a volley of musketry was fired, and the door was riddled by +bullets. Then a number of figures sprang from between the two opposite +houses, and rushed at the door. Two of them carried a long, heavy +beam. + +Two shots flashed out in return, from the hut. One of the men carrying +the beam fell, as did an officer who was leading them; but instantly +another caught up the end of the timber, and in a moment a crowd were +clustered round the door. Several caught hold of the beam, and swung +it as though they meant to use it as a battering ram. + +Two more puffs of smoke spurted out from the loopholes, and again two +of the men fell. The others, however, swung it forward with a crash +against the door. The end of the beam went right through the rotten +woodwork. Dick and Surajah fired their last musket shots with as +deadly effect as before. The next blow dashed the door from its +hinges, and, split and shattered by the former shocks, it fell forward +into the road, while a yell of triumph broke from the Mysoreans. + +This died away, however, when they saw the three crossbars blocking +their entrance. Again two pistol shots carried death among them. + +"Load your guns, Surajah." + +But before Surajah had time to do so, the Mysoreans made a rush at the +door. The defenders stepped forward and fired between the crossbars, +and then, drawing their tulwars, ran the two men in front through the +body. As they dropped, those behind them drew back. + +"The last pistols!" Dick shouted, and they fired two shots into the +crowd. + +This completed the consternation of the enemy. It seemed to them that +the defenders possessed an unlimited supply of firearms. Already +twelve shots had been fired, and not one had failed to take effect. +With a cry of consternation they fled down the street, leaving the +ground in front of the fatal door strewn with bodies. + +The defenders instantly set about the work of recharging their +firearms. They were not interrupted, but presently an irregular fire +opened upon them, from the jungle that had taken the place of the +garden between the opposite houses. + +"We may as well lie down at full length," Dick said, setting the +example. "There is no use in running risks. You keep that side, and +listen attentively. It is likely enough that they will work round +behind, next time, and try the windows. By the way they are firing, I +fancy there are not more than five or six of them opposite." + +Another half hour passed. Then Surajah exclaimed, "I can hear them on +this side." + +Dick got up, and crossed at once. + +"I will take the loophole under this window. You go to the one at the +end. I expect they will try both windows at once." + +Dick placed the muzzle of his gun in the loophole, and, glancing +along, saw that something dark barred his view. He fired at once. +There was a loud cry and a fall, then a rush to the window, and a +moment later a hole appeared in the thatch. Dick discharged two +pistols through it, and as he did so Surajah fired. + +The thatch was speedily pulled down, as the enemy had learned to avoid +the loopholes. A yell of rage rose, as the fallen thatch showed them +that the window was defended with crossbars, in the same way as the +door. Immediately afterwards, Dick had a narrow escape from a shot +fired through a loophole close to him. + +"Stoop down," he cried, and, crouching below the level of the +loopholes, made his way to the end of the hut. "Recharge the guns +first, Surajah. They may fire away through the loopholes as long as +they like. It is lucky we made them so high, except the three under +the windows. We must be careful in keeping out of the line of those. + +"You sit down where you can command the end window, and the one +behind--I will watch the front window and door. A bold fellow might +put his musket through, and pick one of us off, and that is what we +have to prevent. So keep your gun in readiness, and if you see a head +appear, don't miss it." + +The enemy now kept up a constant fire through the loopholes at the end +and back of the house; but as these were shoulder high, and there was +no altering the elevation of the guns, the shots flew harmlessly over +the heads of the defenders. Several times, Dick went to one or other +of the loopholes, pistol in hand, and, standing close beside it, +waited until a shot was fired; and then, thrusting the barrel into the +loophole, fired before another gun could be inserted, the discharge +being generally followed by a sharp cry of pain. + +After this had gone on for nearly an hour, the assailants evidently +became discouraged. The shots came from the loopholes less frequently, +and presently ceased altogether. + +"I would give a good deal to know what they are up to," Dick said, +after a long pause. + +"Shall I look through the loophole?" Surajah asked. + +"Certainly not. There will be a man standing at each of them, waiting +in expectation of our taking a look out." + +"But there are none in front," Surajah said. + +"That is more than we can say. They have not been firing on that side, +but they may have men there now. No, we will leave well alone, +Surajah. The longer they delay, the better for us. + +"Keep your eye on the top of the wall, as well as on the window. They +may have made some ladders by this time, and may intend to try a +shot." + +"Perhaps they are gone?" Surajah suggested. + +"It is quite possible. They must know that our troop comes up here +early, and as they have four miles to walk back to the fort, and +several wounded to carry with them, they certainly won't stay much +longer--if, as you say, they have not gone already." + +It was indeed well that Surajah had not attempted to look out at one +of the loopholes; for, at the time he asked the question, a dark +figure was standing at each, looking along the barrel of his gun, in +readiness to fire the moment the light was obscured. + +A few minutes later Dick exclaimed: + +"How stupid! We can easily test whether there is any one there, +Surajah;" and, taking up a piece of thatch he pushed it suddenly +across one of the loopholes. + +No shot followed the action, and he went round the hut, and repeated +the experiment at each of them. + +"They have all gone," he said confidently. "Had they been outside, +they would certainly have fired directly the light was obscured." + +Standing a short distance back from the end window, he looked out +between the crossbeams. + +"Hurrah!" he shouted. "There they go up the road. They are a quarter +of a mile away. They are not more than half as strong as they were +when they came down. They are carrying eight or ten figures on their +shoulders, on litters, or doors." + +"I don't see the cavalry," Surajah said, as he joined him. + +"No. It is likely enough that they may be in hiding among the huts +opposite, and are waiting, in hopes that we may be foolish enough to +take it for granted that they are all gone, and pull down the bars of +the door. I expect they will stay until they see our troop coming up +the valley." + +They continued to look out from the window, from which they had now +removed the bars. Half an hour later, Dick exclaimed: + +"There they go, up that side of the valley. I have no doubt they see +our troop, and that in a few minutes we shall hear them coming." + +It was not long before they heard a trampling of horses, and a moment +later the Rajah's voice exclaimed: + +"Why, what is this? Here are a dozen dead bodies. They are Mysoreans, +by their dress." + +"All right, Uncle," Dick shouted, "we will be out as soon as we get +these bars down. We have been standing a siege." + +It did not take long to remove the bars. The Rajah and his men had +dismounted, as soon as some of the latter had gone round the hut, and +had brought back the report that there were five more dead on that +side. As Dick and his companion stepped out, the Rajah exclaimed: + +"What, are you alone?" + +"Yes; there is no one with us, Uncle." + +"Do you mean to say that you two have defended this place alone, and +killed sixteen of the enemy, besides some I see lying farther up the +road?" + +"Yes, Uncle. You see, it was a pretty strong position, and we had time +to block up the doors and windows, and to make loopholes to fire +through." + +"What think you of that, Anwar?" the Rajah exclaimed to the captain of +the troop. "My nephew and Rajbullub's son have shown themselves brave +fighters, have they not?" + +"It is wonderful," the captain said; and exclamations of admiration +broke from the men standing round. + +"Tell us all about it, Dick," the Rajah went on. + +"It is a long story, Uncle; but the real news is that Tippoo, with his +army, has left the head of the western passes, and has gone to +Seringapatam. He is going to march down one of the passes, this side, +at once. Provisions have been collected for his army to consume on the +march. No one knows yet which pass he will come down by; but it will +not be far from here, for they are buying up cattle in the villages at +the top of the ghauts." + +"That is important, indeed, Dick, and we must ride off without delay; +but first, I must have a look at this fortress of yours." + +He entered the hut, the soldiers crowding in after him, and examined +the defences at the windows, and the loopholes; while Dick explained +how the bars had been arranged to defend the door. + +"We began on the other side, Uncle. We had a fight with four men who +came up with us there. Only one of them got away--and he left his gun +behind. It was lucky, for their guns and pistols were of immense use +to us. We could not have held out with only our own weapons. + +"About twenty of their cavalry came up a few minutes afterwards. We +beat them off, and then they sent up to the fort for infantry, and +about fifty men came down and attacked us, just at sunrise. They kept +it up to within half an hour ago. Then the infantry marched back, +knowing, of course, that your troop generally got here about seven. + +"The horsemen stayed here till within a few minutes of your arrival. +No doubt they thought that we should suppose they had all gone, and +might venture out, and let them get a shot at us." + +"Why, it must have been a veritable battle, Dick." + +"There was a good deal of noise, Uncle, though not much danger. So +long as we kept below the level of the loopholes and windows, and out +of the line of the door, there was no chance of our being hit." + +"They must have made a strong attack on the door," the Rajah said. "I +see that the two lying next to it were both killed by sword thrusts." + +"Yes, that was the most critical moment, Uncle. We had emptied nearly +all our barrels, and if they could have broken down the bars, which I +have no doubt they could have done, if they had stuck to it, they +would have made very short work of us." + +"Now let us be going," the Rajah said. "You can tell me the whole +story, as we go along." + +Two of the sowars were ordered to give up their horses to Dick and +Surajah, and to mount behind comrades. Then they started down the +valley, Dick riding between his uncle and the captain, while Surajah +took his place with the two other officers of the troop. They rode so +rapidly that Dick's story was scarcely concluded by the time they +reached the village where the troops were quartered. + +"Well, you have done marvelously well, Dick," his uncle said. "Surajah +deserves the highest praise, too. Now I will write a note to the +British officer with the Nabob, giving the news of Tippoo's movements, +and will send it off by two of the troopers, at once. Where Colonel +Maxwell's force is, I have no idea. It marched to join General +Meadows, on the day we came up here. + +"In the meantime you can have a wash, while breakfast is being cooked. +I have no doubt that you are ready for it." + +"I am indeed, Uncle. We had nothing, yesterday, but a few cakes made +of flour and water; and have had nothing at all, since." + +"All right, lad. I will be ready almost as soon as breakfast is." + +After the meal was over, the Rajah lit his hookah, and said: + +"You must go through the story again, this evening, Dick. You cut +short some of the details, as you told it to me on the road, and I +want to understand it all thoroughly. You had better turn in now for a +long sleep. You must want it badly enough, lad, after the work of the +two last nights." + +Dick slept until his uncle roused him, at six o'clock. + +"Dinner will be ready in ten minutes. It is just as well that you +should get up, for two or three hours. After that, you will be good +for another sleep till morning. We shall have to look out sharp now, +and keep a couple of vedettes always at that village; as, for all we +know, this may be the pass by which Tippoo is coming down." + +Dick got up rather reluctantly, but he was not long in shaking off his +drowsiness, and after dinner was able to go through the story again, +with full details of his adventures. + +"I don't know what I should have done without Surajah, Uncle. He is a +capital fellow, and if ever I go up by myself, into Mysore, to look +for my father, I hope that you will let me take him." + +"That I will certainly do, Dick. Ever since I first heard of your +plans, I have quite decided that you ought not to go alone. I daresay +I should have chosen an older man to accompany you, but after what you +and the lad have done together, I don't think you could do better than +take him. Of course, such an affair would demand infinitely greater +caution and care, though not greater courage, than you had occasion to +use on this excursion. It is one thing to enter a village, to ask a +few questions, make a purchase or two, and be off again; but it is a +very different thing to be among people for weeks, or perhaps months, +and to live as one of themselves. However, we may hope that this war +will end in our army marching to Seringapatam, when we shall recover +many of the prisoners in Tippoo's hands. + +"I do not say all. We know how many hundreds remained in his power +last time, in spite of his promise to deliver them all up; and maybe +something of the same sort will occur next time. Numbers may be sent +away, by him, to the hill fortresses dotted all over the country; and +we should never be able to obtain news of them. However, we must hope +for the best." + +The next morning, the troopers arrived with a letter from the English +resident at Arcot. The Rajah glanced through it, and handed it to +Dick, with the remark: + +"You will not get the honour you deserve, Dick." + +The letter ran: + +"Dear Rajah: + +"Your news would be extremely valuable, were it correct; but +unfortunately it is not so, and doubtless the reports brought down by +your nephew were spread by Tippoo, for the purpose of deceiving us. +Or, possibly, he may have intended to have come that way, but +afterwards changed his mind. We have news that, just after Colonel +Maxwell effected his junction with General Meadows, near Caveripatam, +and was about to ascend the ghauts by the Tapour pass, Tippoo came +down by that very route, slipped past them, and is marching on to +Trichinopoly. That being the case, I see no further utility in your +remaining with your troop in the passes, but think it were best that +you should re-assemble them at once, and march here. There is no +chance of Tippoo capturing Trichinopoly before Meadows, who is +following him, can come up and force on a battle; so it is likely that +the Mysore army may continue their march in this direction, in which +case every fighting man will be of use, to defend this place until it +is relieved by the general." + +Dick uttered an exclamation of disgust, as he laid the letter down. + +"It does not matter about my news turning out wrong," he said, "but it +is very bad that General Meadows should have allowed Tippoo to pass +him, as he may do frightful damage to the country, before he can be +overtaken." + +"He never can be overtaken, as long as he chooses to keep ahead. He is +hampered with no baggage train. He lives on the plunder of the country +he passes through; and the British army, with all its baggage and +provision train, has no more chance of overtaking him than it has of +flying." + +Messengers were at once sent off, to call in the scattered portions of +the troop. These were assembled in twenty-four hours, and at once +started for Arcot, where they arrived after a two days' march. They +there learned that Tippoo had appeared before Trichinopoly, and after +pillaging and laying waste the sacred island of Seringham, had marched +north. + +Day after day, news arrived of the devastation he was committing on +his march. At Thiagur, however, he met with a serious repulse. Great +numbers of the inhabitants from the surrounding country had crowded +into the town with their valuables, and Tippoo, expecting a rich +booty, attacked the town; but although its fortifications were +insignificant, the little garrison was commanded by Captain Flint, the +officer who had so bravely defended Wandiwash in the previous war, and +two assaults were repulsed with serious loss. + +At Trinalee, thirty-five miles farther north, he was more successful, +capturing the town, and putting the inhabitants to the sword. Here +Tippoo changed his course, and marched for Pondicherry, capturing +Permacoil by the way. + +The news that Tippoo had changed his course, to the southeast, was +received with great joy at Arcot. Although confident that this capital +would be able to resist any sudden attack, the belief had been general +that the whole territory would be laid waste, as it had been by Hyder; +and hopes were now entertained that the British army would arrive in +time to bar Tippoo's further progress. + + + +Chapter 8: The Invasion Of Mysore. + + +For some time, there was a pause in the hostilities. Tippoo remained +with his army near Pondicherry, carrying on negotiations with the +French governor, and arranging for the despatch of an envoy to France, +with a request that the Republic would furnish him with six thousand +French troops. While he was thus wasting his time, General Meadows was +slowly moving, with the army, towards an encampment formed at Vellout, +some eighteen miles west of Madras. + +On the 14th of December, a messenger arrived with the news that Lord +Cornwallis had arrived from Calcutta, two days before, with +considerable reinforcements, and that he was about to assume the +supreme command of the army. The news caused unbounded satisfaction. +By the extreme dilatoriness of his movements, and especially by the +manner in which he had allowed Tippoo to pass him near Caveripatam, +when he might easily have attacked him, while his army was still +struggling through the pass, General Meadows had disgusted his troops. +He had frittered away, without striking a single blow, the finest army +that the British had, up to that time, ever put into the field in +India; and had enabled Tippoo, unmolested, to spread destruction over +a large extent of country. + +The only countervailing success that had been gained, by the British, +was a brilliant victory won by Colonel Hartley, who was in command of +a Bombay force, consisting of a European regiment and two battalions +of Sepoys. With these, he engaged Hossein Ali, who had been left by +Tippoo in Malabar, with a force of 9000 men, when the sultan first +retreated before General Meadows' advance. This force was defeated, +with a loss of 1000 men killed and wounded, 900, including Hossein +himself, taken prisoners on the field, and 1500 in the pursuit; the +total British loss being only 52 men. A few days after this victory, +General Abercrombie arrived from Madras with reinforcements, and the +whole of Tippoo's fortified places in Malabar were captured, one after +another, and the entire province conquered. + +As soon as Lord Cornwallis reached the camp at Vellout, with a large +train of draught animals that had been brought by sea from Calcutta, +the Rajah and his troops received orders to join him. It was on the +29th of January, 1791, that the commander in chief arrived at Vellout, +and the Rajah arrived there on the 4th of February. As he was the +bearer of a letter from the Resident at Arcot, he was at once enabled +to have an interview with Lord Cornwallis. On finding that he could +speak English, the general received him with much courtesy. + +"I am glad, indeed, to have a troop like yours with us, Rajah," he +said. "There are few of my officers who know anything of this part of +the country, and your local knowledge will be invaluable. Moreover, as +I do not speak the language myself, it will be a great advantage to +have someone with me through whom I can communicate freely with the +people of the country. There is no doubt that such communications are +much more effectual, when they come through one of their own princes, +than through English officers. I shall therefore order that, on the +march, a space be allotted for the encampment of your troop by the +side of that occupied by my own escort; and hope that, when not +employed on scouting or other duties, you will ride with my staff. + +"Your mother, Rajah, was an English lady, I am told." + +"She was, sir. My sister, who married an Englishman, is at present in +Madras with my family, and her son is with me. + +"I beg to recommend him to your lordship. He speaks my language +perfectly, and having been brought up in his father's country, +naturally speaks English as well as Hindustani; and will understand, +far better than I can do, any orders that you may give. He has come +out, with his mother, in the hopes of finding his father, who has, if +alive, been a prisoner for several years in the hands of Tippoo. + +"He is a fine young fellow. The other day, he made a most dangerous +reconnaissance into Mysore, in order to ascertain Tippoo's movements. +He had with him a young officer of mine, two or three years older than +himself; and when I tell you that the two young fellows held a ruined +hut, for hours, against the attack of some seventy of Tippoo's troops, +and beat them off with a loss of upwards of twenty killed, I need +hardly say that he has no lack of courage." + +"You are right, indeed, Rajah. Let the lad ride beside you, with my +staff. Some day he will, perhaps, shorten a long day's march by giving +me details of this adventure of his." + +On the 5th of February the army started on its march, and on the 11th +reached Vellore. Tippoo had, for two months, been wasting his time at +Pondicherry; but, upon hearing news that instead of, as he expected, +the English general having marched south from Vellout to meet him, he +had turned westward; and that Mysore, itself, was threatened with +invasion, he hastily broke up his camp, and marched at full speed for +the ghauts; and, reaching the table land, hurried to oppose the +British army, as it endeavoured to ascend the pass going from Vellore +through Amboor, by which he made sure he would come. + +Lord Cornwallis encouraged him in the idea, by sending a battalion a +considerable distance up the pass; while he started north and entered +the easy pass of Mooglee, leading west from Chittoor to Moolwagle. He +pushed rapidly up the pass, and gained the summit before Tippoo could +reach the spot and oppose him. It took four days longer for the +battering train, baggage, and provisions to reach the top of the pass. +After a delay of a day or two, to rest the animals, which included +sixty-seven elephants which had been brought from Bengal, the army set +out for Bangalore, the second largest town in Mysore. + +The Rajah's troops had been busily employed, from the time the army +moved from Vellout. The men, on their tireless little horses, carried +his messages to the various divisions and brigades, brought up news of +the progress of the train, or rode on ahead with the officers of the +quartermaster's department, whose duty it was to precede the army, to +decide on the camping ground, and to mark off the spots to be occupied +by the various corps. In this way, they saved the regular cavalry from +much fatiguing duty. + +Surajah and Dick were generally with the party that went on with the +quartermasters, and, as soon as the camping ground was fixed upon, +aided them in the purchase of forage and food from the natives, as it +was most desirable that the forty days' provisions the army carried +with it should remain intact, until the army had passed up the ghauts. +Beyond that, it was expected that it would be harassed by the Mysore +horse, who would render it impossible for the cavalry to go out to +collect forage, or provisions, from the country through which it +marched. + +So well did the Rajah's troop perform its duties, that Lord Cornwallis +ordered it to be taken on the strength of the army, and to receive the +pay and rations of native cavalry in the service. On the day after +leaving Vellore, the general sent an orderly to request the Rajah and +his nephew to ride with him. + +"I have not had an opportunity of hearing of your scouting +expedition," he said to Dick, "and shall be glad if you will give me +full details of it." + +Dick related the adventure, from the time they had started. + +"You were wonderfully lucky, in getting back safely," the general +said, when he had finished. "At least, luck is not the proper word, +for your safety was due to your quick wittedness and courage; and your +escape with your companion from the guard house, the manner in which +you got through the fort in the pass, and your defence of that hut, +until the Rajah's troop arrived to your rescue, were all of them +admirably managed." + +He then proceeded to inquire further into the object for which Dick +had come out to India. + +"I heartily wish you success in your search," he said, "and sincerely +hope we may obtain news of your father. I do not know what your +intentions may be, afterwards, but should you wish to enter the army, +I will at once nominate you to a commission, in one of our native +cavalry regiments." + +"I am deeply obliged to your Excellency," Dick replied, "but as, if we +learn nothing of my father during the war, I am quite resolved to +spend, if necessary, some years in Mysore in the search for him, I +must therefore be free to devote my time to that." + +"At any rate," the general said, "if at any time you should feel free +to accept my offer, it will be open to you. In the meantime, I will +appoint you one of the interpreters to the army, during the +expedition, and will attach you to my own staff. It will give you a +recognised position, and it is only right that, as you are doing good +service, you should receive pay. You shall be put in orders this +evening. You can, of course, continue to camp and live with the +Rajah." + +The change made very little difference in Dick's duties, and he +continued at his former work, in the quartermasters' department, until +the army was ready for its advance to Bangalore. To the general +surprise, as the army moved forward, nothing was seen of Tippoo's +cavalry, by which they had expected to be continually harassed. The +sultan had, as soon as he perceived that Bangalore was threatened, +hurried the whole army to that city, where he had sent his harem when +he started from Seringapatam to attack Travancore; and instead of +sending off a few hundred horsemen, to escort them to the capital, +while with his army he opposed the advance of the British, he took his +whole force with him, in order to remove his harem with all the pomp +and ceremony with which their passage through the country was +generally accompanied. Consequently, it was not until after taking, +without resistance, the forts of Colar and Ooscotah, and arriving +within ten miles of Bangalore, that the army encountered Tippoo's +cavalry. + +This was on the 4th of March. They made an attempt to reach the +baggage trains, but were sharply repulsed, and on the following day +the army took up its position before Bangalore. As they approached the +town, three horsemen dashed out from a small grove, and rode furiously +towards a little group, consisting of Lord Cornwallis, General +Meadows, and the staff, who were reconnoitring at some little distance +from the head of the column. It was evident that their intention was +to cut down the general. + +The Rajah, who was riding as usual with the staff, dashed forward with +four or five other officers, and encountered the horsemen before they +could reach him. The Rajah cut down one of them, another was killed by +one of the staff, and the third knocked off his horse and captured. + +It was learned that the enterprise was not a planned one, but was the +result of a quarrel between the men, themselves. One had charged the +others with cowardice, and in return they had challenged him to follow +them where they dared go. All had prepared themselves for the +enterprise by half intoxicating themselves with bhang, and thus made +but a poor fight, when they found their object thwarted by the +officers who threw themselves between them and their intended victim. + +Bangalore was a fine town, situated on a plain so elevated that the +climate was temperate, the soil fertile, and vegetation abundant. The +town was of considerable extent, that portion lying within the +fortifications being a mile and a quarter long, by half a mile broad. +It was surrounded by a strong rampart, a thick hedge, and a deep, dry +ditch. The wall, however, did not extend across the side facing the +fort, whose guns were supposed to render it ample protection. + +The fort was oval in shape, and about nine hundred yards across, at +its greatest diameter. It was defended by a broad rampart, +strengthened by thirty semicircular bastions and five outworks. The +two gates, one at each end, were also protected by outworks. In the +fort stood the splendid palace built by Tippoo. Here also were immense +foundries of cannon, factories for muskets, the arsenal, and large +magazines of grain and ammunition. + +The position taken up by the army lay to the northeast of the petah, +or town, and the next morning a reconnoitring party, escorted by +Colonel Floyd, with the whole of the cavalry and a brigade of +infantry, went out to examine the defences of the town and fort. +Seeing a large body of laden elephants and camels, escorted by a +strong body of horsemen, Colonel Floyd rode with the cavalry to attack +them. The movement was a rash one, as the guns on the fort opened +fire, and although at first he defeated the Mysore horse, a heavy fire +was poured upon him, when entangled in broken ground. He himself was +shot by a musket ball which, striking him in the face, passed through +both jaws. It was at first believed that he was dead, but he was +carried back to camp, and ultimately recovered. This rash attack cost +the lives of seventy-one men, and of four times as many horses. + +As Tippoo's army was lying at a distance of only six miles away, the +general determined that it would be best, in the first place, to +capture the town without delay; and to assault the fort on that side, +as he could then do so without any fear of an attack by Tippoo; who +would be able to harass him, constantly, were he to approach the fort +from any other direction. Orders were therefore issued for the 36th +Regiment, supported by the 26th Bengal Sepoys, and a party of +artillery under Colonel Moorhouse, to prepare to storm the north gate +of the town at daybreak the next morning. + +As soon as dawn broke, the troops rushed forward against the gate. The +outside work was speedily stormed, but as they issued from it, towards +the gate itself, they were received with a very heavy fire from the +walls, together with a storm of hand grenades. Colonel Moorhouse +brought forward a six pounder, receiving two wounds as the piece was +run up to the gate. The first time it was fired, it had no effect +beyond making a small hole, and the next shot had no greater success. +Colonel Moorhouse ordered a twelve-pounder to be brought up, but as he +was aiding to put it into position, another ball struck him, and he +fell dead. + +While the artillerymen were pouring shot after shot into the gate, the +roar of musketry was unceasing, the 36th keeping up an incessant fire +upon the enemy upon the wall, in order to cover, as much as possible, +the operations of the gunners. At last, the gate gave way. The troops +poured in, cheering loudly, and the enemy at once fled. + +Many, however, took up their positions in the houses, and kept up a +galling fire, until their places of refuge were stormed by detachments +of troops, scattered through the town. By nine o'clock all was over, +and the town completely in the possession of the British. + +Tippoo, furious at its having been so speedily captured, moved down +early in the afternoon with a strong force of infantry; and, marching +along by the side of the fort, endeavoured to force his way into the +town through the open space at that end. He was aided by the guns of +the fort, while his artillery kept up a heavy cannonade upon the +British encampment. + +When the sultan was seen marching towards the town, with the evident +intention of endeavouring to retake it, the 76th Regiment was sent in +to reinforce the garrison; and the three battalions opposed so steady +a resistance to Tippoo's infantry that the latter were forced to fall +back, after sustaining a loss of five hundred men. The troops began +next morning to erect batteries. + +The position was a singular one. A small army was undertaking the +siege of a strong fortress, while an army vastly outnumbering it was +watching them; and was able, at any moment, to throw large +reinforcements into the fort through the Mysore gate, which was at the +opposite end of the fort to that attacked, the efforts of the British +being directed against the Delhi gate, which faced the town. + +The advantage which had been gained, by the employment of the great +train carrying the provisions for the troops, was now manifest; for, +unless the army had been so provided, it would have been forced to +retreat; as, in the face of Tippoo's army, with its great host of +cavalry, it would have been impossible to gather provisions. + +The first batteries erected by the engineers proved to be too far +distant from the wall of the fort to effect any material damage, and +others were commenced at a much shorter range. The work was performed +with great difficulty, for the guns of the defenders were well served, +and a storm of missiles were poured, night and day, into the town and +against the batteries. The garrison, which consisted of eight thousand +men, were frequently relieved by fresh troops from the sultan's army, +and were thus able to maintain their fire with great vigour. + +On the 17th, Tippoo cannonaded the British camp from a distance, but +without doing great damage. In the meantime, the fire of our siege +guns was steadily doing its work, in spite of the heavy fire kept up +on them. The stone facing of the bastion next to the gateway was soon +knocked away, but the earth banks behind, which were very thick and +constructed of a tough red clay, crumbled but slowly. Still, the +breach was day by day becoming more practicable, and Tippoo, alarmed +at the progress that had been made, moved his army down towards the +east side of the fort, and seemed to meditate an attack upon our +batteries. He placed some heavy guns behind a bank surrounding a large +tank, and opened some embrasures through which their fire would have +taken our trenches, which were now pushed up close to the fort, in +flank. + +Lord Cornwallis at once directed a strong force to advance, as if with +the intention of attacking the new work, and Tippoo ordered his troops +to retire from it. It was evident, however, that he had determined to +give battle in order to save the fort, and the English general +therefore determined to storm the place that very night, the 21st of +March. The preparations were made secretly, lest the news should be +taken to Tippoo by one of the natives in the town, and it was not +until late in the evening that orders were issued to the troops which +were to take part in the assault. + +The column was to be composed of the grenadier and light companies of +all the European regiments, and these were to be followed and +supported by several battalions of Sepoys. The force, commanded by +Colonel Maxwell, at eleven o'clock issued from the town and advanced +through the trenches. The besieged were vigilant, and the instant the +leading company sprang from the trenches and, in the bright moonlight, +ran forward to the breach, a number of blue lights were lighted all +along the ramparts, and a heavy musketry fire was opened. + +The scene was eagerly watched by the troops in the camp, every feature +being distinctly visible. The storming party could be seen, rushing up +the breach and mounting, by ladders, over the gateway, which was the +central object of attack. The enemy gathered in masses at the top of +the breach, but as soon as the stormers collected in sufficient +strength, and charged them with the bayonet, they broke and dispersed. + +The grenadiers moved along the ramparts to the right, clearing it of +its defences as they went along. The light companies did the same +along the ramparts to the left, while the Sepoys descended into the +body of the fort. The whole of the defenders fled towards the Mysore +gate at the other end of the fort, and when the three bodies of troops +met there, they found the gate blocked by the masses of fugitives. + +They charged them on all sides. The governor, a brave old soldier, and +a great favourite of the sultan, died fighting gallantly to the last. +Six hundred of the garrison fell, and three hundred, for the most part +wounded, were taken prisoners. The British loss was only fifty +officers and men, killed and wounded. + +The body of the governor was found, next morning, among the slain; and +Lord Cornwallis sent a message to Tippoo, with an offer to have the +body carried to his camp for burial. Tippoo, however, replied that the +proper place for a soldier to be buried was where he fell, and +accordingly the brave old soldier was laid to rest, in the fort, by +the Mohammedan troops in the Sepoy regiments; with all military +honours. + +While the assault was going on, Tippoo--who, in spite of the +precautions taken, had received news of the intention of the general, +and had warned the garrison of the fort to be prepared--despatched two +heavy columns, as soon as the fire opened, to attack the British camp +on its flank. The movement had been foreseen and prepared against, and +the attacks were both repulsed with heavy loss. + +The capture of the fort was effected but just in time, for the +provisions were almost entirely consumed, and the scanty rations were +eked out by digging up the roots of grasses and vegetables within the +circuit of our pickets. The draught and carriage cattle were dying +daily, by hundreds. The few remaining, intended for food, were in so +emaciated a state that the flesh was scarcely eatable. And, worst of +all, the supply of ammunition was almost exhausted. + +The news of the fall of the fortress, considered by the natives to be +almost impregnable, under the very eyes of the sultan himself and his +great army, produced a widespread effect; greatly depressing the +spirit of Tippoo's adherents, while it proportionately raised those of +the British troops, and excited the hopes of the peoples conquered by +Tippoo and his father. One result was that the polagars, or chiefs, of +a tribe that had but recently fallen under the yoke of Mysore, were at +once emboldened to bring in provisions to the town. As great stores +were found in the magazines in the fort, the starving animals regained +some of their condition during the ten days that the troops were +occupied in repairing the breaches, burying the dead, and placing the +fort in a condition to stand a siege, should Tippoo return during the +absence of the army. + +When this was done, and the stores of ammunition replenished from the +magazines, the army started on its march north to Deonhully, where +they were to effect a junction with the cavalry that the Nizam had +agreed to furnish. As it marched, it passed within three miles of +Tippoo's army, which was proceeding in a westerly direction. Tippoo +could here have brought on a general engagement, had he wished it; but +the capture of Bangalore had for the time cowed his spirit, and he +continued his march, at a rate that soon placed him beyond the reach +of the British. + +At Deonhully a junction was effected with the Nizam's horse, ten +thousand in number. These proved, however, of no real utility, being a +mere undisciplined herd, who displayed no energy whatever, except in +plundering the villagers. The united force now moved southeast, to +guard a great convoy which was advancing up the pass of Amboor; and, +when this had been met, returned to Bangalore. + +During the operations of the siege, the Rajah's troop had remained +inactive, and Dick's duties as interpreter had been nominal. At +Bangalore, no English prisoners had been found, and he was heartily +glad when he heard that it was the intention of Lord Cornwallis to +march directly upon Seringapatam. + +It was, indeed, a necessity for the English general to bring the +campaign to a speedy termination. The war was entailing a tremendous +strain upon the resources of the Company. The Nizam and Mahrattis were +not to be depended upon in the slightest degree, and might at any +moment change sides. The French revolution had broken out, and all +Europe was alarmed, and many of the English regiments might, at any +moment, be ordered to return home. Therefore, anything like a thorough +conquest of Mysore was impossible, and there was only time to march to +Seringapatam, to capture Tippoo's capital, and to dictate terms to +him. + +Immense exertions were made to restore the efficiency of the baggage +train, and on the 3rd of May, the army marched from Bangalore. + +Tippoo, devoured alike by rage and fear, had taken no efficient steps +to meet the coming storm. His first thought was to prevent the English +from discovering the brutal cruelty with which his white captives had +been treated. He had, over and over again, given the most solemn +assurances that he had no white prisoners in his hands; and he now +endeavoured to prevent their obtaining evidence of his falsehood and +cruelty, by murdering the whole of those who remained in his hands at +Seringapatam. Having effected this massacre, he next ordered all the +pictures that he had caused to be painted on the walls of his palace +and other buildings, holding up the English to the contempt and hatred +of his subjects, to be obliterated; and he also ordered the bridge +over the northern loop of the Cauvery to be destroyed. He then set out +with his army to bar the passage of the British to Seringapatam. + +The weather was extremely bad when the British started. Rain storms +had deluged the country, and rendered the roads well nigh impassable, +and the movement was, in consequence, very slow. Tippoo had taken up a +strong position on the direct road and, in order to avoid him, Lord +Cornwallis took a more circuitous route, and Tippoo was obliged to +fall back. + +The whole country through which the English passed had been wasted. +The villages were deserted, and not an inhabitant was to be met with. +Suffering much from wet, and the immense difficulties of bringing on +the transport, the army, on the 13th of May, arrived on the Cauvery, +nine miles east of Seringapatam. Here it had been intended to cross +the river, but the rains had so swollen the stream that it was found +impossible to ford it. It was, therefore, determined to march to a +point on the river, ten miles above Seringapatam, where it was hoped +that a better ford could be found; and where a junction might be +effected with General Abercrombie's Bombay army, which was moving up +from the Malabar coast, and was but thirty or forty miles distant. + +To effect this movement, it was necessary to pass within sight of the +capital. Tippoo came out, and took up a strong position, on a rugged +and almost inaccessible height. In front was a swamp stretching to the +river, while batteries had been thrown up to sweep the approaches. + +By a night march, accomplished in the midst of a tremendous thunder +and rain storm, Lord Cornwallis turned Tippoo's position. The +confusion occasioned by the storm, however, and the fact that several +of the corps lost their way, prevented the full success hoped for from +being attained, and gave Tippoo time to take up a fresh position. + +Colonel Maxwell led five battalions up a rocky ledge, held by a strong +body of the Mysore troops, carried it at the point of the bayonet, and +captured some guns. Tippoo immediately began to fall back, but would +have lost the greater portion of his artillery, had not the Nizam's +horse moved forward across the line by which the British were +advancing. Here they remained in an inert mass, powerless to follow +Tippoo, and a complete barrier to the British advance. So +unaccountable was their conduct, that it was generally believed in the +army that it was the result of treachery; and it was with difficulty +that the British troops could be restrained from firing into the horde +of horsemen, who had, from the time they joined the force, been worse +than useless. + +As soon as the British could make their way through, or round, the +obstacle to their advance, they pursued the retreating force of +Tippoo, until it took refuge under the guns of the works round +Seringapatam. Their loss had been 2000, that of the British 500. + +But the success was of little benefit to the latter. The terrible +state of the roads, and the want of food, had caused the death of +great numbers of draught animals, and the rest were so debilitated as +to be absolutely useless; and during the two days' marches, that were +required to reach the point on the river previously determined upon, +the battering train, and almost the whole of the carts, were dragged +along by the troops. + +The position of the army was bad in the extreme. Neither food nor +forage were to be obtained from the country round. The troops were +almost on famine rations, worn out by fatigue, and by the march +through heavy rains, and nights spent on the sodden ground. Tippoo's +horsemen hovered round them. The cavalry of the Nizam, which had been +specially engaged to keep the foe at a distance, never once ventured +to engage them. It was absolutely impossible to communicate with +General Abercrombie, and after remaining but a couple of days in his +new camp, Lord Cornwallis felt that the army could only be saved from +destruction by immediate retreat. + +No time was lost in carrying out the decision, when once arrived at. +Some natives were paid heavily to endeavour to make their way to +Abercrombie, with orders for him to retire down the ghauts again into +Malabar. Then the whole of the battering train, and the heavy +equipments, were destroyed; and on the 26th of May, the army started +for its long march back to Bangalore. + +It had made but six miles when a body of horsemen, some two thousand +strong, were seen approaching. Preparations were instantly made to +repel an attack, when a soldier rode in, and announced that the +horsemen were the advance party of two Mahratta armies, close at hand. +This was welcome news, indeed, for Lord Cornwallis had no idea that +the Mahrattis were within two hundred miles of him, and had come to +believe that they had no intention, whatever, of carrying out their +engagements. + +They had, it appeared, sent off a messenger, every day, to inform him +of their movements; but so vigilant were Tippoo's cavalry, that not +one of them ever reached the British. In a few hours, the junction was +completed, and the sufferings of the army were at an end. Stores of +every kind were abundant with the Mahrattis, and not only food, but +clothing, and every necessary of life, could be purchased in the great +bazaars, occupied by the Mahratta traders who accompanied the army. + +Had the two Mahratta armies arrived a couple of days earlier, the +destruction of the siege train would have been avoided, Seringapatam +would have been besieged, Abercrombie's army of eight thousand men +have joined, and the war brought at once to a conclusion. It was now, +however, too late. The means for prosecuting the siege of so powerful +a fortress were altogether wanting, and the united armies returned, by +easy marches, to Bangalore. + +On the march, the future plan of operations was decided upon. Lord +Cornwallis sent orders for the sum of 1,500,000 rupees, that had been +intended for China, to be at once despatched to Bangalore for the use +of the army, and the allies. The larger of the Mahratta forces, under +Purseram Bhow, with a detachment of Bombay troops that had accompanied +it, were to march to the northwest, and reduce some of the forts and +towns still held by the troops of Mysore. The other Mahratta force, +consisting chiefly of cavalry, under Hurry Punt, were to remain at +Bangalore. + +The cause of the long delay, on the part of the Nizam and the +Mahrattis, was now explained. The Nizam's troops had spent six months +in the siege of the fortress of Capool, while an equal time had been +occupied, by Purseram Bhow, in the siege of Durwar, a very strong +place, garrisoned by ten thousand men. + +Tippoo began negotiations immediately after his defeat near +Seringapatam, and these were continued until July, when they were +finally broken off. Some months were occupied in reducing a number of +the hill forts, commanding the entrances to the various passes. Among +these, two, deemed absolutely impregnable, Savandroog and Nundidroog, +were captured, but the attack upon Kistnagherry was repulsed with +considerable loss. + +By the capture of these places, Lord Cornwallis obtained access to +supplies from the Malabar and Carnatic coasts, and was thus free from +the risk of any recurrence of the misfortunes that had marred his +previous attempt to lay siege to Seringapatam; and, on the 5th of +February, 1792, he again came within sight of Tippoo's capital. + + + +Chapter 9: News Of The Captive. + + +During the nine months that had elapsed since the retreat from before +Seringapatam, Dick had been occupied in following out the main object +of his presence in Mysore. Finding that Purseram Bhow's army was the +first that would be engaged in active service, he asked permission +from the general to join it. This was at once granted, and Lord +Cornwallis introduced him to the officer in command of the Bombay +troops attached to that army, informing him of the object that he had +in view. + +"He will not be of much use as an interpreter," he said, "for as the +country in which you are going to operate formed, until lately, a part +of the Mahratta dominions, Mahratti will be principally spoken. He +will, therefore, go simply as an officer of my staff, attached for the +present to your command. He has asked me to allow him to take with him +twenty men, belonging to the troop of his uncle, the Rajah of +Tripataly. His object, in doing so, is that he will be able to +traverse the country independently, and can either rejoin me here, or +go to one of the other columns operating against the hill forts, if it +should seem to him expedient to do so. Should you desire to make a +reconnaissance at any time, while he is with you, you will find him +useful as an escort, and will not be obliged to ask Purseram Bhow for +a party of his cavalry." + +Dick was sorry to leave his uncle, whose tent he had now shared for +the last ten months. He found himself, however, very comfortable with +the Bombay troops, being made a member of the mess, consisting of the +officer in command and the four officers of his staff. Wishing to have +some duties with which to occupy himself, he volunteered to act as an +aide-de-camp; and although the work was little more than nominal, it +gave him some employment. When not otherwise engaged, he generally +rode with Surajah, whom his uncle had appointed to command the twenty +troopers. + +In the year that had elapsed since his arrival in India, Dick had +grown considerably, and broadened out greatly, and was now a powerful +young fellow of over seventeen. He had, since the troop joined the +army of Lord Cornwallis, exchanged his civilian dress for the undress +uniform of an officer, which he had purchased at the sale of the +effects of a young lieutenant on the general's staff, who had died +just as the army arrived before Bangalore. It was, indeed, necessary +that he should do this, riding about, as he did, either on the staff +of the general, or with the officers of the quartermasters' +department. There would be no difficulty in renewing his uniform, for +hardship, fever, and war had carried off a large number of officers, +as well as men; and the effects were always sold by auction, on the +day following the funeral. + +Many hill fortresses were captured by the Mahrattis, but few offered +any resistance; as their commanders knew well that there was no chance +of their being relieved, while the men were, in most cases, delighted +at the prospect of an escape from their enforced service, and of +freedom to return to their homes. In a few of these forts, English +captives were found. Some had been there for years, their very +existence being apparently forgotten by the tyrant. Some had been +fairly treated by the Mysore governor, and where this was the case, +the latter was furnished by the British officers with papers, +testifying to the kindness with which they had treated the prisoners, +and recommending them to the officers of any of the allied forces they +might encounter on their way home, or when established there. + +Upon the other hand, some of the prisoners were found to have been all +but starved, and treated with great brutality. In two cases, where the +captives said that some of their companions had died from the effects +of the ill treatment they had received, the governors were tried by +court martial and shot, while some of the others they sentenced to be +severely flogged. + +Every captive released was closely scrutinised by Dick, and eagerly +questioned. From one of them, he obtained news that his father had +certainly been alive four years previously, for they had been in +prison together, in a hill fort near Bangalore. + +"I was a civilian and he a sailor," he said, "consequently neither of +us were of any use in drilling Tippoo's battalions, and had been sent +up there. Your father was well, then. The governor was a good fellow, +and we had nothing much to complain of. Mr. Holland was a favourite of +his, for, being a sailor, he was handy at all sorts of things. He +could mend a piece of broken furniture, repair the lock of a musket, +and make himself generally useful. He left there before I did, as the +governor was transferred to some other fort--I never heard where it +was--and he took your father with him. I don't know whether he had +Tippoo's orders to do so, or whether he took him simply because he +liked him. + +"At any rate, he was the only prisoner who went with him. The rest of +us remained there till a few months back, when the fort was abandoned. +It was just after the capture of Bangalore, and the place could have +offered no resistance, if a body of troops had been sent against it. +At any rate, an order arrived one morning, and a few hours afterwards +the place was entirely abandoned, and we and the garrison marched +here." + +"My father was quite well?" + +"Quite well. He used to talk to me, at times, of trying to make his +escape. Being a sailor, I have no doubt that he could have got down +from the precipice on which the fort stood; but he knew that, if he +did so, we should all suffer for it, and probably be all put to death, +as soon as Tippoo heard that one of us had escaped--for that was +always done, in order to deter prisoners from trying to get away." + +"Do you think that there is any chance of his being still alive?" + +"That is more than I can possibly say. You see, we have not known much +of what is passing outside our prison. Some of the guards were good +natured enough, and would occasionally give us a scrap of news; but we +heard most from the ill-tempered ones, who delighted in telling us +anything they knew that would pain us. + +"Three or four months ago, we heard that every white prisoner in +Seringapatam had been put to death, by Tippoo's orders, and that +doubtless there would be a similar clearance everywhere else. Then, +again, we were told that the English had retreated, beaten, from +before Seringapatam, and that the last of them would soon be down the +ghauts. But whether the prisoners have been killed in other hill forts +like this, I cannot say, although I suppose not, or we should not have +escaped." + +"Certainly no such orders can have been sent to the forts here, for we +have found a few prisoners in several of them. Of course, it may be +otherwise in the forts near the capital, which Tippoo might have +thought were likely to fall into our hands; while he may not have +considered it worth while to send the same orders to places so far +away as this, where no British force was likely to come. Still, at any +rate, it is a great satisfaction that my father was alive four years +ago, and that he was in kind hands. That is all in favour of my +finding him, still alive, in one of the places we shall take, for Lord +Cornwallis intends to besiege some of the fortresses that command the +passes, because he cannot undertake another siege of Seringapatam +until he can obtain supplies, freely and regularly, from beyond the +ghauts; as nothing whatever can be obtained from the country round, so +completely is it wasted by Tippoo's cavalry. I have, therefore, great +hopes that my father may be found in one of these forts." + +"I hope, indeed, that you may find him. I am convinced that the +governor would save his life, if he could do so; though, on the other +hand, he would, I am sure, carry out any order he might receive from +Tippoo. Of course, he may not be in charge of a fort now, and may have +been appointed colonel of one of the regiments. However, it is always +better to hope that things will come as you wish them, however +unlikely it may seem that they will do so. We have been living on hope +here, though the chances of our ever being released were small, +indeed. Of course, we did not even know that Tippoo and the English +were at war, until we heard that an English army was besieging +Bangalore; and even then we all felt that, even if Tippoo were beaten +and forced to make peace, it would make no difference to us. He kept +back hundreds of prisoners when he was defeated before, and would +certainly not surrender any he now holds, unless compelled to do so; +and no one would be able to give information as to the existence of +captives in these distant forts. + +"And yet, in the teeth of all these improbabilities, we continued to +hope, and the hopes have been realised." + +The capture of forts by the Mahratta army was abruptly checked. +Having, so far, met with such slight opposition, Purseram Bhow became +over confident, and scattered his force over a wide extent of country, +in order that they might more easily find food and forage. In this +condition they were suddenly attacked by Tippoo, who took advantage of +the English being detained at Bangalore, while the transport train was +being reorganised, to strike a blow at the Mahrattis. + +The stroke was a heavy one. Many of the detached parties were +completely destroyed; and the Mahratta general, after gathering the +rest to his standard, was forced to retreat, until strong +reinforcements were sent him from Bangalore. + +Learning, from them, that it was probable Lord Cornwallis would +advance as soon as they rejoined him, Dick determined to go back to +Bangalore, as it was unlikely that, after the severe check they had +received, the Mahrattis would resume the offensive for a time. + +Surajah and the men were glad to return to the troop, and as soon as +the Mysorean force returned to Seringapatam, Dick, without waiting for +the infantry to get in motion, rode rapidly across the country with +his little party. + +He accompanied the English army during their operations, obtaining +permission to go with the columns engaged in the siege of the hill +fortresses, and was present at the capture of all the most important +strongholds. To his bitter disappointment, no English prisoners were +found in any of them, and it was but too certain that all who might +have been there had been massacred, by Tippoo's orders, on the first +advance of the British against Seringapatam. + +Great indeed was the satisfaction of the army when they at last came +in sight of the city. The capital of Mysore stood on an island, in the +river Cauvery. This was four miles in length, and two in breadth. The +town stood in its centre, the fort at the northern end. The island was +approached by two bridges, one close to the fort, the other at the +south, both being defended by strong batteries. There were also three +fords, two of these being at the north end of the island, and also +defended by batteries; the third was near the centre of the island, a +mile below the fort, and leading to the native town. + +The fort was separated from the rest of the island by a deep ditch cut +across it. It was defended by numerous batteries. There were two +gardens on the island, full of large trees, one of them being the +burial place of Hyder Ali. This was connected with the fort by two +avenues of trees. The country round was flat, a considerable portion +being almost level with the river, and devoted to the cultivation of +rice, while at other points a forest extended, almost to the bank. + +After obtaining a view, from some high ground, of the city and of +Tippoo's army encamped beyond its walls, the British force took up its +position six miles to the northwest of the city. No sooner had the +army reached their camping ground than Lord Cornwallis, with his +staff, reconnoitred the approaches. + +A thick hedge, formed by a wide belt of thorny shrubs, interlaced and +fastened together by cords, extended from the bank of the river, about +a thousand yards above Seringapatam; and, making a wide sweep, came +down to it again opposite the other end of the island. + +It was within the shelter of this formidable obstacle that Tippoo's +army was encamped. Within the enclosed space were seven or eight +eminences, on which strong redoubts had been erected. Fearing that +Tippoo might, as soon as he saw the position taken up by the +assailants, sally out with his army, take the field, and, as before, +cut all his communications, Lord Cornwallis determined to strike a +blow at once. + +At sunset, orders were accordingly issued for the forces to move, in +three columns, at three o'clock; by which time the moon would be high +enough to light up, thoroughly, the ground to be traversed. The centre +column, consisting of 3,700 men, under Lord Cornwallis himself, was to +burst through the hedge at the centre of the enemy's position, to +drive the enemy before them, and, if possible, to cross the ford to +the island with the fugitives. + +This, however, was not to be done until the centre column was +reinforced by that under General Meadows, which was to avoid a strong +redoubt at the northwest extremity of the hedge, and, entering the +fence at a point between the redoubt and the river, drive the enemy +before it, until it joined the centre column. Colonel Meadows had +3,300 under his command. The left column, consisting of 1,700 men +under Colonel Maxwell, was first to carry a redoubt on Carrygut Hill, +just outside the fence; and, having captured this, to cut its way +through the hedge, and to cross the river at once, with a portion of +the centre column. + +Unfortunately, owing to a misunderstanding as to the order, the +officer guiding General Meadow's column, instead of taking it to a +point between the northwestern redoubt and the river, led it directly +at the fort. This was stoutly defended, and cost the British eighty +men and eleven officers. Leaving a strong garrison here, the column +advanced, but came upon another redoubt, of even greater strength and +magnitude; and the general, fearing that the delay that would take +place in capturing it would entirely disarrange the plan of the +attack, thought he had better make his way out through the hedge, +march round it to the point where the centre column had entered it, +and so give Lord Cornwallis the support he must need, opposed as he +was to the whole army of Tippoo. + +In the meantime, Colonel Maxwell's force had stormed the work on +Carrygut Hill, and had made its way through the hedge; suffering +heavily, as it did so, from the fire of a strong body of the enemy, +concealed in a water course. The head of the centre column, under +General Knox, after cutting its way through the hedge, pushed on with +levelled bayonets, thrust its way through the enemy's infantry, and, +mingling with a mass of fugitives, crossed the main ford close under +the guns of the fort, and took possession of a village, half way +between the town and the fort. + +Unfortunately, in the confusion but three companies had followed him. +The rest of the regiment and three companies of Sepoys crossed lower +down, and gained possession of a palace on the bank of the river. The +officer in command, however, not knowing that any others had crossed, +and receiving no orders, waited until day began to break. He then +recrossed the river and joined Lord Cornwallis, a portion of whose +column, having been reinforced by Maxwell's column, crossed the river +nearly opposite the town. + +As they were crossing, a battery of the enemy's artillery opened a +heavy fire upon them; but Colonel Knox, with his three companies, +charged it in the rear, drove out the defenders, and silenced the +guns. + +All this time Lord Cornwallis was with the reserve of the central +column, eagerly waiting the arrival of General Meadows' division. +This, in some unaccountable way, had missed the gap in the hedge by +which the centre column had entered, and, marching on, halted at last +at Carrygut Hill, where it was not discovered until daylight. + +The Mysore army on its left was still unbroken, and had been joined by +large numbers of troops from the centre. On discovering the smallness +of the force under Lord Cornwallis, they attacked it in overwhelming +numbers, led by Tippoo himself. The British infantry advanced to meet +them with the bayonet, and drove them back with heavy loss. They +rallied, and returned to the attack again and again, but were as often +repulsed; continuing their attacks, however, until daylight, when Lord +Cornwallis, discovering at last the position of General Meadows, +joined him on Carrygut Hill. + +When day broke, the commanders of the two armies were able to estimate +the results of the night's operations. On the English side, the only +positions gained were the works on Carrygut Hill, the redoubt at the +northwest corner of the hedge, another redoubt captured by the centre +column, and the positions occupied by the force under Colonels Stuart +and Knox, at the eastern end of the island. + +The sultan found that his army was much reduced in strength, no less +than twenty-three thousand men being killed, wounded, or missing. Of +these, the missing were vastly the most numerous, for ten thousand +Chelahs, young Hindoos whom Tippoo had carried off in his raids, and +forced to become soldiers, and, nominally, Mohammedans, had taken +advantage of the confusion, and marched away with their arms to the +Forest of Coorg. + +Tippoo made several determined efforts to drive Colonel Stuart's force +off the island, and to recapture the redoubts, but was repulsed with +such heavy loss that he abandoned the attempt altogether, evacuated +the other redoubts, and brought his whole army across on to the +island. + +Tippoo now attempted to negotiate. He had already done so a month +before, but Lord Cornwallis had refused to accept his advances, saying +that negotiation was useless, with one who disregarded treaties and +violated articles of capitulation. + +"Send hither," he wrote, "the garrison of Coimbatoor, and then we will +listen to what you have to say." + +Lord Cornwallis alluded to the small body of troops who, under +Lieutenants Chalmers and Nash, had bravely defended that town when it +had been attacked by one of Tippoo's generals. The gallant little +garrison had surrendered at last, on the condition that they should be +allowed to march freely away. This condition had been violated by +Tippoo, and the garrison had been marched, as prisoners, to +Seringapatam. The two officers had been kept in the fort, but most of +the soldiers, and twenty-seven other European captives who had lately +been brought in from the hill forts, were lodged in the village that +Colonel Knox had first occupied, on crossing the river, and had all +been released by him. Some of these had been in Tippoo's hands for +many years, and their joy at their unexpected release was unspeakable. + +Preparations were now made for the siege. General Abercrombie was +ordered up, with a force of six thousand men, but before his arrival, +Lieutenant Chalmers was sent in with a letter from Tippoo, asking for +terms of capitulation. Negotiations were indeed entered into, but, +doubting Tippoo's good faith, the preparations for the siege were +continued; and upon the arrival of General Abercrombie's force, on the +15th of February, siege operations were commenced at the end of the +island still in British possession. + +A few days afterwards, the army was astounded at hearing that the +conditions had been agreed upon, and that hostilities were to cease at +once. So great was the indignation, indeed, that a spirit of +insubordination, and almost mutiny, was evinced by many of the corps. +They had suffered extreme hardships, had been engaged in most arduous +marches, had been decimated by fever and bad food, and they could +scarce believe their ears when they heard that they were to hold their +hands, now that, after a year's campaigning, Seringapatam was at their +mercy; and that the man who had butchered so many hundred English +captives, who had wasted whole provinces and carried half a million +people into captivity, who had been guilty of the grossest treachery, +and whose word was absolutely worthless, was to escape personal +punishment. + +Still higher did the indignation rise, both among officers and men, +when the conditions of the treaty became known, and it was discovered +that no stipulation whatever had been made for the handing over of the +English prisoners still in Mysore, previous to a cessation of +hostilities. This condition, at least, should have been insisted upon, +and carried out previous to any negotiations being entered upon. + +The reasons that induced Lord Cornwallis to make this treaty, when +Seringapatam lay at his mercy, have ever been a mystery. Tippoo had +proved himself a monster unfitted to live, much less to rule, and the +crimes he had committed against the English should have been punished +by the public trial and execution of their author. To conclude peace +with him, now, was to enable him to make fresh preparations for war, +and to necessitate another expedition at enormous cost and great loss +of life. Tippoo had already proved that he was not to be bound either +by treaties or oaths. And, lastly, it would have been thought that, as +a general, Lord Cornwallis would have wished his name to go down to +posterity in connection with the conquest of Mysore, and the capture +of Seringapatam, rather than with the memorable surrender of York +Town, the greatest disaster that ever befell a British army. + +The conditions were, in themselves, onerous, and had they been imposed +upon any other than a brutal and faithless tyrant, might have been +deemed sufficient. Tippoo was deprived of half his dominions, which +were to be divided among the allies, each taking the portions adjacent +to their territory. A sum of 3,300,000 pounds was to be paid for the +expenses of the war. All prisoners of the allied powers were to be +restored. + +Two of Tippoo's sons were to be given up as hostages. Even after they +had been handed over, there were considerable delays before Tippoo's +signature was obtained, and it was not until Lord Cornwallis +threatened to resume hostilities that, on the 18th of March, a treaty +was finally sealed. Of the ceded territory the Mahrattis and the Nizam +each took a third as their share, although the assistance they had +rendered in the struggle had been but of comparatively slight utility. +It may, indeed, be almost said that it was given to them as a reward +for not accepting the offers Tippoo had made them, of joining with him +against the British. + +The British share included a large part of the Malabar coast, with the +forts of Calicut and Cananore, and the territory of our ally, the +Rajah of Coorg. These cessions gave us the passes leading into Mysore +from the west. On the south we gained possession of the fort of +Dindegul, and the districts surrounding it; while on the east we +acquired the tract from Amboor to Caroor, and so obtained possession +of several important fortresses, together with the chief passes by +which Hyder had made his incursions into the Carnatic. + +Dick felt deeply the absence of any proviso, in the treaty, that all +prisoners should be restored previous to a cessation of hostilities; +at the same time admitting the argument of his uncle that, although +under such an agreement some prisoners might be released, there was no +means of insuring that the stipulation would be faithfully carried +out. + +"You see, Dick, no one knows, or has indeed the faintest idea, what +prisoners Tippoo still has in his hands. We do not know how many have +been murdered during the years Tippoo has reigned. Men who have +escaped have, from time to time, brought down news of murders in the +places where they had been confined, but they have known little of +what has happened elsewhere. Moreover, we have learned that certainly +fifty or sixty were put to death, at Seringapatam, before we advanced +upon it the first time. We know, too, that some were murdered in the +hill forts that we have captured. But how many remain alive, at the +present time, we have not the slightest idea. Tippoo might hand over a +dozen, and take a solemn oath that there was not one remaining; and +though we might feel perfectly certain that he was lying, we should be +in no position to prove it. + +"The stipulation ought to have been made, if only as a matter of +honour, but it would have been of no real efficiency. Of course, if we +had dethroned Tippoo and annexed all his territory, we should +undoubtedly have got at all the prisoners, wherever they were hidden. +But we could hardly have done that. It would have aroused the jealousy +and fear of every native prince in India. It would have united the +Nizam and the Mahrattis against us, and would even have been +disapproved of in England, where public opinion is adverse to further +acquisitions of territory, and where people are, of course, altogether +ignorant of the monstrous cruelties perpetrated by Tippoo, not only +upon English captives, but upon his neighbours everywhere. + +"Naturally, I am prejudiced in favour of this treaty, for the handing +over of the country from Amboor to Caroor, with all the passes and +forts, will set us free at Tripataly from the danger of being again +overrun and devastated by Mysore. My people will be able to go about +their work peacefully and in security, free alike from fear of +wholesale invasion, or incursions of robber bands from the ghauts. All +my waste lands will be taken up. My revenue will be trebled. + +"There is another thing. Now that the English possess territory beyond +that of the Nabob of Arcot, and are gradually spreading their power +north, there can be little doubt that, before long, the whole country +of Arcot, Travancore, Tanjore, and other small native powers will be +incorporated in their dominions. Arcot is powerless for defence, and +while, during the last two wars, it has been nominally an ally of the +English, the Nabob has been able to give them no real assistance +whatever, and the burden of his territory has fallen on them. They +took the first step when, at the beginning of the present war, they +arranged with him to utilise all the resources and collect the +revenues of his possessions, and to allow him an annual income for the +maintenance of his state and family. This is clearly the first step +towards taking the territory into their own hands, and managing its +revenues, and the same will be done in other cases. + +"Lord Cornwallis the other day, in thanking me for the services that +you and I and the troop have rendered, promised me that an early +arrangement should be made, by which I should rule Tripataly under the +government of Madras, instead of under the Nabob. This, you see, will +be virtually a step in rank, and I shall hold my land direct from the +English, instead of from a prince who has become, in fact, a puppet in +their hands." + +A few days later, the army set off on its march from Mysore, and the +same day the Rajah, after making his adieus to Lord Cornwallis, +started with his troop for Tripataly, making his way by long marches, +instead of following the slow progress of the army. After a couple of +days at Tripataly, they went down to Madras, and brought back the +Rajah's household. + +The meeting between Dick and his mother was one of mixed feeling. It +was twenty months since the former had left with his uncle, and he was +now nearly eighteen. He had written whenever there was an opportunity +of sending any letters; and although his position as interpreter on +the staff of the general had relieved her from any great anxiety on +his account, she was glad, indeed, to see him again. + +Upon the other hand, the fact that, as the war went on, and fortress +after fortress had been captured, no news came to her that her hopes +had been realised; and that the war had now come to a termination, +without the mystery that hung over her husband being in any way +cleared up, had profoundly depressed Mrs. Holland, and it was with +mingled tears of pleasure and sorrow that she fell on his neck on his +return to Madras. + +"You must not give way, Mother," Dick said, as she sobbed out her +fears that all hope was at an end. "Remember that you have never +doubted he was alive, and that you have always said you would know if +any evil fate had befallen him; and I have always felt confident that +you were right. There is nothing changed. I certainly have not +succeeded in finding him, but we have found many prisoners in some of +the little out-of-the-way forts. Now, some of them have been captives +quite as long as he has; therefore there is no reason, whatever, why +he should not also be alive. I have no thought of giving up the search +as hopeless. I mean to carry out our old plans; and certainly I am +much better fitted to do so than I was when I first landed here. I +know a great deal about Mysore, and although I don't say I speak the +dialect like a native, I have learnt a good deal of it, and can speak +it quite as well as the natives of the ghauts and outlying provinces. +Surajah, who is a great friend of mine, has told me that if I go he +will go too, and that will be a tremendous help. Anyhow, as long as +you continue to believe firmly that Father is still alive, I mean to +continue the search for him." + +"I do believe that he is alive, Dick, as firmly as ever. I have not +lost hope in that respect. It is only that I doubt now whether he will +ever be found." + +"Well, that is my business, Mother. As long as you continue to believe +that he is still alive, I shall continue to search for him. I have no +other object in life, at present. It will be quite soon enough for me +to think of taking up the commission I have been promised, when you +tell me that your feeling that he is alive has been shaken." + +Mrs. Holland was comforted by Dick's assurance and confident tone, +and, putting the thought aside for a time, gave herself up to the +pleasure of his return. They had found everything at Tripataly as they +had left it, for the Mysore horsemen had not penetrated so far north, +before Tippoo turned his course east to Pondicherry. The people had, +months before, returned to their homes and avocations. + +One evening the Rajah said, as they were all sitting together: + +"I hear from my wife, Dick, that your mother has told her you still +intend to carry out your original project." + +"Yes, Uncle. I have quite made up my mind as to that. There are still +plenty of places where he may be, and certainly I am a good deal more +fitted for travelling about in disguise, in Mysore, than I was +before." + +The Rajah nodded. + +"Yes. I think, Dick, you are as capable of taking care of yourself as +anyone could be. I hear that Surajah is willing to go with you, and +this will certainly be a great advantage. He has proved himself +thoroughly intelligent and trustworthy, and I have promised him that +someday he shall be captain of the troop. You are not thinking of +starting just yet, I suppose?" + +"No, Uncle. I thought of staying another month or two, before I go off +again. Mother says she cannot let me go before that." + +"I fancy it will take you longer than that, Dick, before you can pass +as a native." + +Dick looked surprised. + +"Why, Uncle, I did pass as a native, eighteen months ago." + +"Yes, you did, Dick; but for how long? You went into shops, bought +things, chatted for a short time with natives, and so on; but that is +not like living among them. You would be found out before you had been +a single day in the company of a native." + +Dick looked still more surprised. + +"How, Uncle? What do I do that they would know me by." + +"It is not what you do, Dick, but it is what you don't do. You can't +sit on your heels--squat, as you call it. That is the habitual +attitude of every native. He squats while he cooks. He squats for +hours by the fire, smoking and talking. He never stands for any length +of time and, except upon a divan or something of that sort, he never +sits down. Before you can go and live among the natives, and pass as +one for any length of time, you must learn to squat as they do, for +hours at a stretch; and I can tell you that it is not by any means an +easy accomplishment to learn. I myself have quite lost the power. I +used to be able to do it, as a boy, but from always sitting on divans +or chairs in European fashion, I have got out of the way of it, and I +don't think I could squat for a quarter of an hour, to save my life." + +Dick's mother and cousins laughed heartily, but he said, seriously, +"You are quite right, Uncle. I wonder I never thought of it before. It +was stupid of me not to do so. Of course, when I have been talking +with Surajah or other officers, by a camp fire, I have sat on the +ground; but I see that it would never do, in native dress. I will +begin at once." + +"Wait a moment, Dick," the Rajah said. "There are other things which +you will have to practise. You may have to move in several disguises, +and must learn to comport yourself in accordance with them. You must +remember that your motions are quicker and more energetic than are +those of people here. Your walk is different; the swing of the arms, +your carriage, are all different from theirs. You are unaccustomed to +walk either barefooted or in native shoes. Now, all these things have +to be practised before you can really pass muster. Therefore I propose +that you shall at once accustom yourself to the attire, which you can +do in our apartments of an evening. The ranee and the boys will be +able to correct your first awkwardness, and to teach you much. + +"After a week or two, you must stain your face, arms, and legs, and go +out with Rajbullub in the evening. You must keep your eyes open, and +watch everything that passes, and do as you see others do. When +Rajbullub thinks that you can pass muster, you will take to going out +with him in the daylight, and so you will come, in time, to reach a +point that it will be safe for you to begin your attempt. + +"Do not watch only the peasants. There is no saying that it may not be +necessary to take to other disguises. Observe the traders, the +soldiers, and even the fakirs. You will see that they walk each with a +different mien. The trader is slow and sober. The man who wears a +sword walks with a certain swagger. The fakir is everything by turns; +he whines, and threatens; he sometimes mumbles his prayers, and +sometimes shrieks at the top of his voice. + +"When you are not riding or shooting, lad, do not spend your time in +the garden, or with the women. Go into the town and keep your eyes +open. Bear in mind that you are learning a lesson, and that your life +depends upon your being perfect in every respect. + +"As to your first disguise, I will speak to Rajbullub, and he will get +it ready by tomorrow evening. The dress of the peasant of Mysore +differs little from that here, save that he wears rather more clothing +than is necessary in this warm climate." + + + +Chapter 10: In Disguise. + + +On the following evening, Dick appeared in the room where the others +were sitting, in the dress Rajbullub had got for him, and which was +similar to that of other peasants. The boys had already been told that +he was shortly going on a journey, and that it would be necessary for +him to travel in disguise, but had been warned that it was a matter +that was not to be spoken of, to anyone. The early respect, that +Dick's strength and activity had inspired them with, had been much +shaken when they discovered that he was unable either to ride or +shoot; but their father's narrative of his adventures, when scouting +with Surajah, had completely reinstated him in their high opinion. + +When he entered, however, they burst out laughing. The two ladies +could not help smiling, and Dick was not long before he joined in the +laugh against himself. He had felt uncomfortable enough when he +started, in an almost similar dress, with Surajah, although there was +then no one to criticise his appearance. But now, in the presence of +his mother and aunt, he felt strangely uncomfortable. + +"Never mind, Dick," his uncle said, encouragingly. "The boys would +feel just as uncomfortable as you do now, if they were dressed up in +European fashion. Now, while we are talking, make your first attempt +at sitting on your heels." + +Dick squatted down until his knees nearly touched his chest, and a +moment later lost his balance and toppled over, amid a roar of +laughter. Next time, he balanced himself more carefully. + +"That is right, Dick. You will get accustomed to it, in time. But you +must see, already, that there is a good deal more to be done than you +thought of, before you can pass as a native. Remember, you must not +only be able to balance yourself while sitting still, but must be able +to use your hands--for cooking purposes, for example; for eating; or +for doing anything there may be to do--not only without losing your +balance, but without showing that you are balancing yourself." + +"It is much more difficult than I thought, Uncle. Of course, I have +always seen the natives squatting like this, but it seemed so natural +that it never struck me it was difficult at all. I say, it is +beginning to hurt already. My shin bones are aching horribly." + +"Yes; that is where the strain comes, my boy. But you have got to +stick to it, until your muscles there, which have never been called +into play in this way before, get accustomed to the work." + +"I understand that, Uncle. It was just the same with my arms, when I +began to climb. But I can't stand this any longer. I can no more get +up than I can fly;" and Dick rolled over on to his side. + +Again and again he tried, after a short rest between each trial. As he +gave it up, and limped stiffly to the divan, he said: + +"I feel as if some one had been kicking me on the shins, until he had +nearly broken them, Mother. I have been kicked pretty badly several +times, in fights by rough fellows at home in Shadwell, but it never +hurt like this;" and he rubbed his aching legs ruefully. + +"Well, Uncle, I am very much obliged to you for putting me up to +practising this position. It seemed to me that it would be quite a +simple thing, to walk along quietly, and to move my arms about as they +do; but I never thought of this. + +"I wonder, Mother, you never told me that, above all things, I should +have to learn to squat on my heels for any time. It would not have +been so difficult to learn it, five or six years ago, when I was not +anything like so heavy as I am now." + +"It never once occurred to me, Dick. I wish it had. I thought I had +foreseen every difficulty, but it never once came into my mind that, +in order to pass as a native, you must be able to sit like one." + +"Ah, well, I shall learn in time, Mother," Dick replied cheerfully. +"Every exercise is hard at first, but one soon gets accustomed to it." + +Dick threw himself with his usual energy into his new work. Although +of a morning, when he first woke, his shins caused him the most acute +pain, he always spent half an hour in practice. Afterwards he would +sit for some time, allowing the water from the tap at the side of the +bath to flow upon the aching muscles. Then he would dress and, as soon +as breakfast was over, go for a run in the garden. At first it was but +a shamble, but gradually the terrible stiffness would wear off, and he +would return to the house comparatively well. + +Of an evening the practice was longer, and was kept up until the +aching pain became unendurable. At the end of four or five days, he +was scarcely able to walk at all, but after that time matters +improved, and three weeks later he could preserve the attitude for +half an hour at a time. + +In other respects, his training had gone on uninterruptedly every day. +He went out into the town, accompanied sometimes by Rajbullub, +sometimes by Surajah, in the disguises of either a peasant, a soldier, +or a trader; and learnt to walk, and carry himself, in accordance with +his dress. Before putting on these disguises, he painted himself with +a solution that could easily be washed off, on his return to the +palace, where he now always wore a European dress. + +"You cannot be too careful," the Rajah said. "There are, of course, +Mohammedans here; and, for aught we know, some may act as agents or +spies of Tippoo, just as the English have agents and spies in Mysore. +Were one of them to send word that you had taken to Indian attire, and +that it was believed that you were about to undertake some mission or +other, it would add considerably to your difficulties and dangers. As +it is, no one outside our own circle ever sees you about with me or +the boys, except in your European dress, and Rajbullub tells me that, +in no single instance while you have been in disguise, has any +suspicion been excited, or question asked by the people of various +classes with whom you and he converse in the streets." + +Another month passed, and by this time Dick could, without any great +fatigue, squat on his heels for an hour at a time. As the date for his +departure drew near, his mother became more and more nervous and +anxious. + +"I shall never forgive myself, if you do not come back," she said one +day, when they were alone. "I cannot but feel that I have been +selfish, and that really, on the strength of a conviction which most +people would laugh at as whimsical and absurd, I am risking the +substance for a shadow, and am imperilling the life of my only boy, +upon the faint chance that he may find my husband. I know that even +your uncle, although he has always been most kind about it, and +assisted in every way in his power, has but little belief in the +success of your search; although, as he sees how bent I am upon it, he +says nothing that might dash my hopes. + +"If evil comes of it, Dick, I shall never forgive myself. I shall feel +that I have sacrificed you to a sort of hallucination." + +"I can only say, Mother," Dick replied, "that I came out here, and +entered into your plans, only because I had the most implicit faith +that you were right. I should now continue it on my own account, even +if tomorrow you should be taken from me. Of course, I see plainly +enough that the chances are greatly against my ever hearing anything +of Father; but from what has taken place during the campaign, I have +seen that there must be many British captives still hidden away among +the hill forts, and it is quite possible he may be among them. I do +not even say that it is probable, but the chances are not so very +greatly against it; and even if I thought they were smaller--much +smaller than I believe them to be--I should still consider it my duty +to go up and try and find him. So, even if it should happen that I +never come back again, you will not have yourself to blame, for it is +not you that are sending me, but I who am going of my free will; and +indeed, I feel it so much my duty that, even were you to turn round +now and ask me to stay, I should still think it right to undertake +this mission. + +"But indeed, Mother, I see no great danger in it; in fact, scarcely +any danger at all--at any rate, unless I find Father. If I do so, +there might certainly be risk in attempting to get him away; but this, +if I am lucky enough in discovering him, will not weigh with me for an +instant. If I do not find him, it seems to me that the risk is a mere +nothing. Surajah and I will wander about, enlisting in the garrisons +of forts. Then, if we find there are no prisoners there, we shall take +an early opportunity of getting away. In some places, no doubt, I +shall be able to learn from men of the garrison whether there are +prisoners, without being forced to enter at all; for although in the +great forts, like Savandroog and Outradroog, it is considered so +important the defences should be kept secret, that none of the +garrison are allowed to leave until they are discharged as too old for +service, there is no occasion for the same precaution in the case of +less important places. Thus, you see, we shall simply have to wander +about, keeping our eyes and ears open, and finding out, either from +the peasants or the soldiers themselves, whether there are any +prisoners there." + +"I wish I could go with you, Dick. I used to think that, when the work +of searching for your father had begun, I could wait patiently for the +result; but instead of that, I find myself even more anxious and more +nervous than I was at Shadwell." + +"I can quite understand, Mother, that it is very much more trying +work, sitting here waiting, than it is to be actively engaged. The +only thing is, that you must promise me not to trouble more than you +can help; for if I think of you as sitting here fretting about me, I +shall worry infinitely more than I otherwise should over any +difficulties we may have to encounter. You must remember that I shall +have Surajah with me. He is a capital companion, and will always be +able to advise me upon native business. He is as plucky as a fellow +can be, and I can trust him to do anything, just as I would myself." + +The preparations for departure now began in earnest. There was some +discussion as to the arms that were to be taken, but at last it was +decided that, with safety, they could carry nothing beyond a +matchlock, a pistol, and a sword each. + +Great pains were taken in the selection of the matchlocks. In the +armoury were several weapons of high finish, with silver mountings, +that had belonged to the Rajah's father and grandfather. These were +tried against each other, and the two that were proved to be the most +accurate were chosen. Dick found, indeed, that at distances up to a +hundred yards, they were quite equal to the English rifle he had +brought out. The silver mountings were taken off, and then the pieces +differed in no way, in appearance, from those in general use among the +peasantry. + +The pistols were chosen with equal care. The swords were of finely +tempered steel, the blades being removed from their jewelled handles, +for which were substituted rough handles of ordinary metal. + +Ten gold pieces were sewn up underneath the iron bands encircling the +leathern scabbard, as many under the bosses of their shields, and five +pieces in the soles of each of their shoes. In their waist sashes, the +ordinary receptacle of money, each carried a small bag with native +silver coins. + +At last all was ready and, an hour before daybreak, Dick took a +cheerful farewell of his mother, and a hearty one of his uncle, and, +with Surajah, passed through the town and struck up into the hills. +Each carried a bag slung over his shoulder, well filled with +provisions, a small water bottle, and, hung upon his matchlock, a +change of clothing. In the folds of his turban, Dick had a packet of +the powder used for making dye, so that he could, at any time, renew +the brown shade, when it began to fade out. + +For a time but few words were spoken. Dick knew that, although his +mother had borne up bravely till the last, she would break down as +soon as he left her; and the thought that he might never see her again +weighed heavily upon him. Surajah, on the contrary, was filled with +elation at the prospect of adventures and dangers, and he was silent +simply because he felt that, for the present, his young lord was in no +humour for speech. + +As soon as the sun rose, Dick shook off his depression. They were now +a considerable distance up the hillside. There was no path, for the +people of Tripataly had no occasion to visit Mysore, and still less +desire for a visit from the Mysoreans. Periodically, raids were made +upon the villages and plains by marauders from the hills, but these +were mostly by the passes through the ghauts, thirty or forty miles +left or right from the little state which, nestling at the foot of the +hills, for the most part escaped these visitations--which, now that +the British had become possessed of the territories and the hills, +had, it was hoped, finally ceased. Nevertheless, the people were +always prepared for such visits. Every cultivator had a pit in which +he stored his harvest, except so much as was needed for his immediate +wants. The pit was lined with mats, others were laid over the grain. +Two feet of soil was then placed over the mats and, after the ground +had been ploughed, there was no indication of the existence of the +hiding place. + +The town itself was surrounded by a wall, of sufficient strength to +withstand the attacks of any parties of marauders; and the custom of +keeping a man on a watch tower was still maintained. At the foot of +the tower stood a heavy gun, whose discharge would at once warn the +peasants for miles round of an enemy, calling those near to hasten to +the shelter of the town, while the men of the villages at a distance +could hurry, with their wives and families, to hiding places among the +hills. + +Dick and Surajah had no need of a path, for they were well acquainted +with the ground, and had often wandered up, nearly to the crest of the +hills, in pursuit of game. An hour before noon, they took their seats +under a rock that shaded them from the sun's rays and, sitting down, +partook of a hearty meal. There was no occasion for haste, and they +prepared for rest until the heat of the day was passed. + +"We are fairly off now, Surajah," Dick said, as he stretched himself +out comfortably. "I have been thinking of this almost as long as I can +remember, and can hardly believe that it has come to pass." + +"I have thought of it but a short time, my lord." + +"No, no, Surajah," Dick interrupted. "You know it was arranged that, +from the first, you were to call me Purseram, for unless you get +accustomed to it, you will be calling me 'my lord' in the hearing of +others." + +"I had forgotten," Surajah replied with a smile, and then went on. "It +is but a short time since I was sure I was going with you, but I have +ever hoped that the time would come when, instead of the dull work of +drilling men and placing them on guard, I might have the opportunity +of taking part in war and adventure, and indeed had thought of asking +my lord, your uncle, to permit me to go away for a while in one of the +Company's regiments, and there to learn my business. Since the English +have become masters, and there is no longer war between rajah and +rajah, as there used to be in olden times, this is the only way that a +man of spirit can gain distinction. But this adventure is far better, +for there will be much danger, and need for caution as well as +courage." + +Dick nodded. + +"More for caution and coolness than for courage, I think, Surajah. It +will only be in case we find my father, or if any grave suspicion +falls on us, that there will be need for courage. Once well into +Mysore, I see but little chance of suspicion falling upon us. We have +agreed that we will first make for Seringapatam, avoiding as much as +possible all places on the way where inquiries whence we come may be +made of us. Once in the city, we shall be safe from such questions, +and can travel thence where we will; and it will be hard if we do not, +when there, manage to learn the places at which any prisoners there +may be are most likely to be kept. + +"Besides, my father is as likely to be there as anywhere, for Tippoo +may, since our army marched away, have ordered all prisoners to be +brought down from the hill forts to Seringapatam." + +When the sun had lost its power, they proceeded on their way again. +Their start had been timed so that, for the first week, they would +have moonlight; and would, therefore, be able to travel at night until +they arrived at Seringapatam. It was considered that it was only +necessary to do this for the first two or three nights as, after that, +the tale that they were coming from a village near the frontier, and +were on their way to join Tippoo's army, would seem natural enough to +any villagers who might question them. + +They continued their course until nearly midnight, by which time they +were both completely fatigued, and, choosing a spot sheltered by +bushes, lay down to sleep. It took another two days before they were +clear of the broken country, and the greater portion of this part of +the journey they performed in daylight. Occasionally they saw, in the +distance, the small forts which guarded every road to the plateau. To +these they always gave a very wide berth, as although, according to +the terms of peace, they should all have been evacuated, they might +still be occupied by parties of Tippoo's troops. + +Indeed, all the news that had arrived, since the army left, +represented Tippoo as making every effort to strengthen his army and +fortresses, and to prepare for a renewal of the war. + +Several times they saw bears, which abounded among the ghauts, and +once beheld two tigers crossing a nullah. They had, however, other +matters to think of, and neither the flesh nor the skins of the bears +would have been of any use to them. The work was severe, and they were +glad when at last they reached the level country. In some of the upper +valleys, opening on to this, they had seen small villages. Near one of +these they had slept, and as in the morning they saw that the +inhabitants were Hindoos, they fearlessly went out and talked with +them, in order to gain some information as to the position of the +forts, and to learn whether any bodies of Tippoo's troops were likely +to be met with. + +They found the people altogether ignorant on these matters. They were +simple peasants. Their whole thoughts were given to tilling their +land, and bringing in sufficient to live upon, and to satisfy the +demands of the tax gatherers when they visited them. They had little +communication with other villages, and knew nothing of what was +passing outside their own. They evinced no curiosity whatever +concerning their visitors, who bought from them some cakes of ground +ragee, which formed the chief article of their food. + +The country through which they passed, on emerging from the hills, was +largely covered with bush and jungle, and was very thinly populated. +It was an almost unbroken flat, save that here and there isolated +masses of rock rose above it. These were extremely steep and +inaccessible, and on their summits were the hill forts that formed so +prominent a feature in the warfare of both Mysore and the Nizam's +dominions to the north. These forts were, for the most part, +considered absolutely impregnable, but the last war with the British +had proved that they were not so, as several of the strongest had been +captured, with comparatively slight loss. + +Whenever they passed within a few miles of one of these hill +fortresses, Dick looked at it with anxious eyes; for there, for aught +he knew, his father might be languishing. + +After two days' walking across the plain, they felt that there was no +longer any necessity for concealment, except that it would be as well +to avoid an encounter with any troops. Although, therefore, they +avoided the principal roads, they kept along beaten paths, and did not +hesitate to enter villages to buy food. + +They no longer saw caste marks on the foreheads of the inhabitants. +The Hindoos had been compelled by force to abandon their religion, all +who refused to do so being put to death at once. Dick and Surajah +found that their dialect differed much more from that of the country +below the ghauts than they had expected and, although they had no +difficulty in conversing with the peasants, they found that their idea +that they would be able to pass as natives of one of these villages +was an altogether erroneous one. + +"This will never do, Surajah," Dick said, as they left one of the +villages. "We shall have to alter our story somehow, for the first +person we meet, in Seringapatam, will see that we are not natives of +Mysore. We must give out that we come from some village far down on +the ghauts--one of those which have been handed over to the English by +the new treaty. You know the country well enough there to be able to +answer any questions that may be asked. We must say that, desiring to +be soldiers, and hating the English raj, we have crossed the hills to +take service of some sort in Mysore. This will be natural enough: and +of course there are many Mohammedans down in the plains, especially +among the villages on the ghauts." + +"I think that would be best, Purseram." + +"There is one comfort," Dick went on. "It is evident that Tippoo is +hated by all the Hindoos. He has forced them to change their religion, +and we need have no fear of being betrayed by any of them, except from +pressure, or from a desire to win Tippoo's goodwill." + +"Yes, that might be the case with those who are fairly well off, but +would scarcely be so among the poorer classes. Besides, even they, +were we living among them, would have no reason for suspecting our +story. There seems no doubt, from what they say, that Tippoo is +preparing for war again, and I think that we shall do well, as soon as +we enter the city, to change our attire, or we might be forced into +joining the army, which would be the last thing we want. What I should +desire, above all things, is to get service of some kind in the +Palace." + +After six days' travel, they saw the walls of Seringapatam. Dick had +made many inquiries, at the last halting place, as to the position of +the fords on that side of the town; and learned that only those +leading to the fort were guarded. The ford opposite the town was +freely open to traffic, and could be crossed without question by +country people, although a watch was kept to see that none of the very +numerous prisoners escaped by it. + +It was here, therefore, that they crossed the river, the water being +little more than knee deep. No questions were asked by the guard as +they passed, their appearance differing in no way from that of the +peasants of the neighbourhood. + +After a quarter of a mile's walk they entered the town. It was open, +and undefended by a wall. The streets were wide, and laid out at right +angles. The shops, however, were poor, for the slightest appearance of +wealth sufficed to excite the cupidity of Tippoo or his agents, and +the possessor would be exposed to exorbitant demands, which, if not +complied with, would have entailed first torture and then death. + +The streets, however, presented a busy appearance. They were thronged +with soldiers. Battalions of recruits passed along, and it was evident +that Tippoo was doing all in his power to raise the strength of his +army to its former level. They wandered about for some time, and at +last, in a small street, Dick went up to an old man whose face pleased +him. He was standing at the door of his house. + +"We desire to find a room where we can lodge for a time," he said. +"Can you direct us where we can obtain one?" + +"You are not soldiers?" the old man asked. + +"No. We desire to earn our living, but have not yet decided whether to +join the army." + +"You are from the plains?" the native said sharply, in their own +dialect. + +"That is so," Dick replied. + +"And yet you are Mohammedans?" + +"Every one is Mohammedan here." + +"Ah! Because it is the choice of 'death or Mohammed.' How comes it +that two young men should voluntarily leave their homes to enter this +tiger's den? You look honest youths. How come you here?" + +"I trust that we are honest," Dick said. "We have assuredly not +ventured here without a reason, and that reason is a good one; but +this is not a city where one talks of such matters to a stranger in +the street, even though his face tells one that he can be trusted with +a secret." + +The old man was silent for a minute; then he said: + +"Come in, my sons. You can, as you say, trust me. I have a room that +you can occupy." + +They followed him into the house, and he led them into a small room at +the back. It was poorly furnished, but was scrupulously clean. A pan +of lighted charcoal stood in one corner, and over this a pot of rice +was boiling. + +"I bid you welcome," he said gravely. + +And as the salutation was not one in use by the Mohammedans, Dick saw +that his idea that the old man was a Hindoo, who had been forced to +abjure his religion, was a correct one. The old man motioned to them +to take their seats on the divan. + +"I do not ask for your confidence," he said, "but if you choose to +give it to me, it will be sacred, and it may be that, poor as I am, I +am able to aid you. I will tell you at once that I am a native of +Conjeveram and, of course, a Hindoo. I was settled as a trader at +Mysore, the old capital. But when, four years ago, the tyrant +destroyed that town, I, with over a hundred thousand of our religion, +was forced to adopt Mohammedanism. I was of high caste and, like many +others, would have preferred death to yielding, had it not been that I +had a young daughter; and for her sake I lived, and moved here from +Mysore. + +"I gained nothing by my sin. I was one of the wealthiest traders in +the whole city, and I had been here but a month when Tippoo's soldiers +burst in one day. My daughter was carried off to the Tiger's harem, +and I was threatened with torture, unless I divulged the hiding place +of my money. + +"It was useless to resist. My wealth was now worthless to me, and +without hesitation I complied with their demands; and all I had was +seized, save one small hoard, which was enough to keep me thus to the +end of my days. My wants are few: a handful of rice or grain a day, +and I am satisfied. I should have put an end to my life, were it not +that, according to our religion, the suicide is accursed; and, +moreover, I would fain live to see the vengeance that must some day +fall upon the tyrant. + +"After what I have said, it is for you to decide whether you think I +can be trusted with your secret, for I am sure it is for no slight +reason that you have come to this accursed city." + +Dick felt that he could safely speak, and that he would find in this +native a very valuable ally. He therefore told his story without +concealment. Except that an exclamation of surprise broke from his +lips, when Dick said that he was English, the old man listened without +a remark until he had finished. + +"Your tale is indeed a strange one," he said, when he had heard the +story. "I had looked for something out of the ordinary, but assuredly +for nothing so strange as this. Truly you English are a wonderful +people. It is marvellous that one should come, all the way from beyond +the black water, to seek for a father lost so many years ago. Methinks +that a blessing will surely alight upon such filial piety, and that +you will find your father yet alive. + +"Were it not for that, I should deem your search a useless one. +Thousands of Englishmen have been massacred during the last ten years. +Hundreds have died of disease and suffering. Many have been poisoned. +Many officers have also been murdered, some of them here, but more in +the hill forts; for it was there they were generally sent, when their +deaths were determined upon. + +"Still, he may live. There are men who have been here as many years, +and who yet survive." + +"Then this is where the main body of the prisoners were kept?" Dick +asked. + +"Yes. All were brought here, native and English. Tens of thousands of +boys and youths, swept up by Tippoo's armies from the Malabar coast +and the Carnatic, were brought up here and formed into battalions, and +these English prisoners were forced to drill them. It was but a poor +drill. I have seen them drilling their recruits at Conjeveram, and the +difference between the quick sharp order there, and the listless +command here, was great indeed. Consequently, the Englishmen were +punished by being heavily ironed, and kept at starvation point for the +slackness with which they obeyed the tyrant's orders. Sometimes they +were set to sweep the streets, sometimes they were beaten till they +well nigh expired under the lash. Often would they have died of +hunger, were it not that Tippoo's own troops took pity on them, and +supplied them from their store. + +"Some of the boys, drummer boys, or ship's boys, or little ship's +officers, were kept in the Palace and trained as singers and dancers +for Tippoo's amusement. Very many of the white prisoners were handed +over to Tippoo by Admiral Sufferin. Though how a Christian could have +brought himself to hand over Christians to this tiger, I cannot +imagine. + +"Others were captured in forays, and there were, till lately, many +survivors of the force that surrendered in Hyder's time. There are +certainly some in other towns, for it was the policy of Hyder, as it +is of Tippoo, always to break up parties of prisoners. Many were sent +to Bangalore, some to Burrampore, and very many to the fort of +Chillembroom; but I heard that nearly all these died of famine and +disease very quickly. + +"While Tippoo at times considers himself strong enough to fight the +English, and is said to aim at the conquest of all southern India, he +has yet a fear of Englishmen, and he thus separates his captives, +lest, if they were together, they should plot against him and bring +about a rising. He knows that all the old Hindoo population are +against him, and that even among the Mohammedans he is very unpopular. +The Chelah battalions, who numbered twelve or fourteen thousand, made +up entirely of those he has dragged from their homes in districts +devastated by him, would assuredly have joined against him, were there +a prospect of success, just as they seized the opportunity to desert +six months ago, when the English attacked the camp across the river. + +"Now, if you will tell me in what way I can best serve you, I will do +so. In the first place, sturdy young peasants are wanted for the army, +and assuredly you will not be here many days before you will find +yourselves in the ranks, whether you like it or not; for Tippoo is in +no way particular how he gets recruits." + + + +Chapter 11: A Useful Friend. + + +"I agree with you that it would be a disadvantage to go as a soldier," +Dick said, after a pause; "but what disguise would you recommend us to +choose?" + +"That I must think over. You both look too straight and active to be +employed as the assistants of a trader, or I could have got some of my +friends to take you in that capacity. The best disguise will be a +gayer attire, such as would be worn by the retainers of some of the +chiefs; and were it not that, if questioned, you could not say who was +your employer, that is what I should recommend." + +"I saw a number of men working at a battery they are erecting by the +river side. Could we not take service there until something better +presents itself?" + +"I should not advise that," the native replied, "for the work is very +hard, and the pay poor. Indeed, most of those employed on it are men +driven in from the country round and forced to labour, getting only +enough pay to furnish them with the poorest food. There would also be +the disadvantage that, if you were so employed, you would have no +opportunity of seeing any English captives who may have been brought +here of late. + +"All that I can at present do, myself, is to speak to some of my +friends who have been here for a long time, and ask them whether they +can remember an English captive being sent up here from Coorg, some +eight years ago, and whether they ever heard what was his fate. I +should say, of course, that I have received a message from friends at +Conjeveram; that some of the man's relations have sent out to make +inquiries concerning him, and asking me if I can find any news as to +his fate. My friends may not know themselves, but they may be able to +find out from others. Very many of our people were forced into the +ranks of the army, and there is not a regiment which has not some men +who, although regarded as Mohammedans, are still at heart, as we all +are, as true to our faith as ever. + +"It is from these that we are more likely to obtain information than +in any other way. You will not be very long before you will be able to +satisfy yourself as to whether or not he whom you seek is in this +city; and if he should not be here, there remain but the two towns +that I have named, and the hill forts. As to these, it will be +well-nigh impossible to obtain an entrance, so jealously are they all +guarded. None save the garrisons are allowed to enter. The paths, +which are often so steep and difficult that men and provisions have to +be slung up in baskets, are guarded night and day, and none are +allowed to approach the foot of the rocks within musket shot--lest, I +suppose, they might find some spot where an ascent could be made. The +garrisons are seldom changed. The soldiers are allowed to take their +wives and families up with them, but once there, they are as much +prisoners as those in the dungeons. That is one reason why captives +once sent up there never come down again, for were they to do so they +might, if by chance they escaped, be able to give information as to +the approaches that would assist an assailing force. + +"I do not say that all are killed, though undoubtedly most of them are +put to death soon after they arrive; but it may be that some are +retained in confinement, either from no orders being sent for their +execution, or from their very existence being, in time, forgotten by +the tyrant here. Some of these may languish in dungeons, others may +have gained the goodwill of the commanders of the fort--for even among +the Mohammedans there are doubtless many good and merciful men. + +"Now for the present. This house has but one storey in front, but +there is a room over this, and that is at your service. Furniture it +has none, but I will, this evening, get a couple of trusses of straw. +It is but a loft, but you will not want to use it, save to sleep in. +You need not fear interruption in this house. There is scarce a man +here that is not, like myself, a Hindoo, for when we were brought here +from Mysore, the piece of ground on which the street stands was +assigned to us, and we were directed to build houses here. Few besides +ourselves ever enter it, for those who still carry on trade have +booths in the marketplace. + +"There is one thing I will tell you at once. We, the persecuted, have +means of recognising each other. Outward signs there are none, neither +caste mark nor peculiarity of dress; but we know each other by signs. +When we salute, we turn in the thumbs as we raise our hands to our +turbans--so. If we have no occasion to salute, as we move our hands, +either to stroke our faces, or to touch the handles of our daggers, or +in other way, we keep the thumb turned in. If the man be one of +ourselves, he replies in the same way. Then, to prevent the +possibility of error, the one asks the other a question--on what +subject it matters not, providing that before he speaks, he coughs +slightly. + +"You must remember that such communication is not made lightly. Were +it to be so, it would soon attract notice. It is used when you want to +know whether you can trust a man. It is as much as to say, 'Are you a +friend? Can I have confidence in you? Will you help me?'--and you can +see that there are many occasions on which such knowledge may be most +useful, even to the saving of life." + +"I do indeed see it," Dick said, "and greatly are we indebted to you +for telling us of it." + +They remained talking with their host, whose name was, he told them, +Pertaub, until darkness came on. They had shared his rice with him, +and had requested him to lay in such provision as was necessary for +them; and as soon as it became dark they went out, leaving their guns +behind them. + +Busy as the main streets were when they had before passed through +them, they were very much more so now. The shops were all lighted up +by lanterns or small lamps, and the streets were filled with troops, +now dismissed from duty, and bent, some on amusement, some in +purchasing small additions to their rations with the scanty pay +allowed to them. In the open spaces, the soldiers were crowded round +performers of various kinds. Here was a juggler throwing balls and +knives into the air. There was a snake charmer--a Hindoo, doubtless, +but too old and too poor to be worth persecuting. A short distance off +was an acrobat turning and twisting himself into strange postures. + +Two sword players, with bucklers and blunted tulwars, played +occasionally against each other, and offered to engage any of the +bystanders. Occasionally the invitation would be accepted, but the +sword players always proved too skilful for the rough soldiers, who +retired discomfited, amid the jeers of their comrades. + +More than one party of musicians played what seemed to Dick most +discordant music, but which was appreciated by the soldiers, as was +evident from the plaudits and the number of small coins thrown to the +players. In the great open space, by the side of the market, the crowd +was thickest. Here were large numbers of booths, gay with lamps. In +one were arranged, on tables, trays of cheap trinkets, calicoes, +cloths, blankets, shoes, and other articles of dress. In another were +arms, matchlocks, pistols, tulwars, and daggers. On the ground were +lines of baskets, filled with grain of many kinds, the vendors +squatting patiently behind them. Some of the traders volubly accosted +passers by. Others maintained a dignified silence, as if they +considered the excellence of their wares needed no advertisement. + +It was not new, but it was very amusing to Dick, and it was late +before they returned to their lodging. + +"I wish," he said, as they strolled back, "that I were a good juggler +or musician. It seems to me that it would be an excellent disguise, +and we could go everywhere without question, and get admittance into +all sorts of places we could not get a chance of entering into in any +other way." + +"Yes, that would be a good thing," Surajah agreed; "but I am sure that +I could not do anything, even if you could." + +"No, I quite see that, and I am not thinking of trying; but it would +have been a first-rate plan." + +"You are very good at sword play," Surajah suggested, although +somewhat doubtfully. + +Dick laughed. + +"The first really good swordsman that came along would make an +exhibition of me. No; one would have to do something really well." + +The subject was renewed, after they had seated themselves with +Pertaub. + +"It would be an excellent disguise," he agreed. "A good juggler could +gain admission to the Palace, and might even enter forts where no +others could set foot; for life there is dull, indeed, and anyone who +could amuse the soldiers would be certain of a welcome, and even a +governor might be willing to see his feats." + +"Could one bribe a conjurer to let one pass as his assistant?" + +"That would be impossible," the Hindoo said, "for an assistant would +have opportunities for learning the tricks, and no money would induce +a really good juggler to divulge his secrets, which have been passed +down from father to son for centuries." + +"If one had thought of it," Dick said, "one could have bought, in +London, very many things which would have seemed almost magical to the +people here. I am afraid that we must go on, on our old line. It is a +pity, for the other would have been first rate." + +"I have obtained for you, this evening, two suits of clothes such as +we spoke of. In them you can pass as followers of some petty rajah, +and are not likely to attract attention. I have inquired among some of +my friends, and hear that the Rajah of Bohr left here today with his +following. He is but a petty chief, and Bohr lies up north, close to +the Nizam's frontier. Thus, if you should be asked in whose service +you are, you will have a name to give, and there will be no fear of +your being contradicted. + +"If you are still further questioned by anyone with a right to ask, +you can say that you were told to remain here, in order to see how +fast the drilling of the troops went on, and to send the Rajah a +report when it is time for him to return here to accompany Tippoo on +his march. You will, of course, account for your dialect by keeping to +your present story, that you came from a village on the ghauts, in +order to enter the service of one of our rajahs; and that your father +having, years ago, been a soldier in the pay of the Rajah of Bohr, you +made your way there direct, instead of coming to the capital." + +"That will do excellently, Pertaub. It was a fortunate moment, indeed, +that brought us to your door." + +"I have done nothing as yet, Sahib; but I hope that, in time, I may be +able to be of use to you. It was fortunate for me as well as for you, +perhaps, that you stopped at my door. Of late I have had nothing to +think of, save my own grief and troubles, but now I have something to +give an interest to my life, and already I feel that I need not merely +drag it on, until I am relieved of its burden. + +"And now, Sahibs, I am sure that rest must be needful for you, and +would recommend that you seek your beds at once." + +On the following morning, Pertaub brought up the garments that he had +bought for them. Nothing could be more irregular than the dress of the +armed retainers of an Indian rajah. All attire themselves according to +their fancy. Some carry spears and shields, others matchlocks. Some +wear turbans, others iron caps. The cut and colour of their garments +are also varied in the extreme. + +Dick's dress consisted of a steel cap, with a drooping plume of red +horsehair, and a red tunic with a blue sash. Over it was worn a skirt +of linked mail which, with leggings fitting tightly, completed the +costume. Surajah had a red turban, a jerkin of quilted leather, with +iron scales fastened on to protect the shoulders and chest. A scarlet +kilt hung to his knees, and his legs were enclosed in putties, or +swathes, of coarse cloth, wound round and round them. He wore a blue +and gold girdle. + +Dick laughed as he surveyed the appearance of himself and Surajah. + +"We are a rum-looking couple," he said, "but I have seen plenty of +men, just as gaudy, in the train of some of the rajahs who visited the +camp when we were up here. I think that it is a much better disguise +than the one we wore yesterday. I sha'n't be afraid that the first +officer we meet will ask us to what regiment we belong. There were +scores of fellows lounging about in the streets last night, dressed as +we are." + +Sticking their swords and pistols into their girdles, they sallied +out, and were pleased to find that no one paid the slightest attention +to them. They remained in the town until some battalions of recruits +poured out from the fort, to drill on the grounds between it and the +town. The first four that passed were, as Dick learnt from the remarks +of some of the bystanders, composed entirely of boys--some of them +Christians, thirty thousand of whom had been carried off by Tippoo, in +his raid on Travancore; and the young men were compelled to serve, +after being obliged to become, nominally, Mohammedans. After the +Chelah battalions came those of Tippoo's army. + +"These fellows look as if they could fight," Dick said. "They are an +irregular lot, and don't seem to have an idea of keeping line, or +marching in step, but they are an active-looking set of fellows, and +carry themselves well. As to the Chelahs, I should say they would be +no good whatever, even if they could be relied on, which we know they +cannot be. They look dejected and miserable, and I suppose hate it all +as much as their officers do. I should back half a regiment of English +to lick the twelve battalions. I wonder Tippoo, himself, does not see +that troops like these must be utterly useless." + +"I don't expect he thinks they would be of much use," Surajah agreed. +"He only turned them into soldiers to gratify his hatred of them." + +Leaving the troops, they walked on and entered the great fort, which +enclosed an area of nearly two square miles. In this were Tippoo's +palace, his storehouses--containing grain sufficient for the garrison, +for a siege of many months--mosques, the residences of Tippoo's +officials and officers, the arsenals, and the huts for the troops. +There was also a street of shops, similar to those in the town. + +Wandering about, unquestioned, they came presently upon a scene that +filled Dick with indignation and fury. Two white officers, heavily +ironed, were seated on the ground. Another, similarly ironed, lay +stretched beside them. He was naked from the waist up. His back was +covered with blood, and he had evidently been recently flogged, until +he fell insensible. Half a dozen savage-looking men, evidently +executioners of Tippoo's orders, were standing round, jeering at the +prisoners and refusing their entreaties to bring some water for their +comrade. + +"You brutes!" one of the captives exclaimed, in English. "I would give +all my hopes of liberty, for ten minutes face to face with you, with +swords in our hands." + +"They would not be of much use to us," the other said quietly. "It is +four days since we had a mouthful of food, and they would make very +short work of us." + +"All the better," the other exclaimed. "Death would be a thousand-fold +preferable to this misery." + +Dick felt that, if he remained longer, he would be unable to contain +himself; and turning hastily away, walked off, accompanied by Surajah. + +"It is awful!" he exclaimed, with tears running down his cheeks; "and +to be able to do nothing! What must Father have gone through! I think, +Surajah, that if we were to come upon Tippoo I should go for him, even +if he were surrounded by guards. Of course it would cost me my life. +If I could kill him, I think I should not mind it. Such a villain is +not fit to live; and at any rate, whoever came after him, the +prisoners could not be worse off than they are now. + +"Let us go back. I have had enough for this morning." + +When they returned, Dick told Pertaub of the scene that he had +witnessed. + +"Many of them have been starved to death," the old man said. "Possibly +one of their companions may have tried to escape. It is to prevent +this that Tippoo's greatest cruelties are perpetrated. It is not so +very difficult to get away, and take to the jungle. Some have +succeeded, but most of them are retaken, for a watch is vigilantly +kept up, at every village and every road leading on to the frontier; +and if caught, they are hung or forced to take poison. But whether +they are caught or not, Tippoo's vengeance falls upon their +companions. These are flogged, ironed, and kept without rations for +weeks--living, if they do live, upon the charity of their guards. + +"This is why there are so few attempts at escape. A man knows that, +whether he himself gets off or not, he dooms his companions to +torture, perhaps death. One case I remember, in which an English +sailor, one out of nine, attempted to get away. He was captured and +killed at once, and his eight companions were all hung. So you see, +even if one of the captives sees a chance of escape, he does not take +it, because of the consequences that would fall upon his companions." + +"It is horrible," Dick said, "and I can quite understand why so few +escape. The question for me, now, is whether there are any prisoners +kept in dungeons here." + +"Not here, I think. Tippoo's policy is to make all his captives +useful, and though one might be ironed and confined for a time, I do +not think that any are so kept, permanently, here. There were, of +course, some confined to the fort by illness, and some in irons. It +may need some little search, before you are quite sure that you have +seen every one. However, I will try to find out how many there are +there, and to get as many of the names as possible. Some of my +friends, who keep shops in the fort, may be able to do this for me. +This would shorten your task. + +"But I cannot hold out any hopes that you will find him whom you seek +in the city. It is among the hill forts you will find him, if he be +alive. I have been turning the matter over, since you spoke to me last +night, and the best plan I can think of is, that you should go as a +travelling merchant, with Surajah as your assistant. You would want a +good assortment of goods; fine muslins and silks, and a good selection +of silver jewellery, from different parts of India. All these I could +purchase for you here. If, by good luck, you could obtain a sight of +the commander of one of these forts, you might possibly obtain +permission from him to go up, and show your wares to the ladies of his +establishment, and to those of other officers. The present of a +handsome waist sash, or a silver-mounted dagger, might incline him +favourably to your petition." + +"I think that the idea is an excellent one," Dick said warmly. "If we +cannot get in in that way, there seems to me to be no chance, save by +taking a careful survey of the fortress, to discover where the rocks +can be most easily climbed. There must surely be some spots, even +among the steepest crags, where active fellows like Surajah and myself +would be able to scale them. Of course, we should have to do it after +dark; but once up there, one ought to be able to move about in the +fort without difficulty, as we should, of course, be dressed as +soldiers, and could take dark blankets to wrap round us. We ought then +to be able to find where any prisoners who may be there are confined. +There might be a sentry at the door, or, if there were no other way, +one might pounce upon someone, force him by threats to tell us what +prisoners there are, and where they are confined; and then bind and +gag him, and stow him away where there would be no chance of his being +discovered before daylight." + +"There would be a terrible risk in such a matter," Pertaub said, +shaking his head gravely. + +"No doubt there would be risk, but we came here prepared to encounter +danger, and if it were well managed, I don't see why we should be +found out. Even if we were, we ought to be able to slip away, in the +darkness, and make our way to the point where we went up. Once down on +the plain, we could renew our disguise as traders, and, however hotly +they scoured the country, pass without suspicion through them. + +"I think that there will be more chance, in that way, than in going in +as traders; for we should, in that case, have little chance of walking +about, still less of questioning anyone. However, it is worth trying +that first. We can always fall back upon the other, if it fails. We +might, on our first visit, obtain indications that would be very +useful to us on our second." + + + +Chapter 12: A Tiger In A Zenana. + + +Another week passed, and by the end of that time, Dick was perfectly +assured that his father was not at Seringapatam. It was then a +question which of the hill forts to try first. Pertaub had already +procured for them an assortment of goods and dresses, suitable for +travelling merchants, and the purchase of these things had drawn +heavily on their stock of money; although several of the traders, on +receiving a hint from Pertaub of the purpose for which the goods were +required, had given many articles without charge; while for the +majority of the goods Dick gave an order on his mother, who had told +him that he could draw up to five hundred pounds. + +On the day before they were about to start, their plans were +interrupted by the issue of a proclamation, saying that sports with +wild beasts would take place on the following day; and they agreed +that, as one day would make no difference, they would stop to see +them, especially as Tippoo himself would be present. Hitherto, +although they had several times seen him being carried in his +palanquin, they had had no opportunity of observing him closely, as he +was always surrounded by his guards. + +The sports were held in a great square in the fort. A strong network +was erected in a semicircle, of which the Palace formed the base. +Behind the network, the spectators ranged themselves. Tippoo occupied +a window in the Palace, looking down into the square. There were +always a number of wild beasts in Seringapatam, available for these +purposes, as a regular supply of tigers, leopards, and wild elephants +was caught and sent in every month. Six of the largest tigers were +always kept, in cages, in the courtyard in front of the Palace; and to +these were thrown state criminals, or officials who had offended the +tyrant, and were devoured by them. + +In his younger days, Tippoo had been very fond of the chase, but he +was now too fat and heavy, and seldom ventured on horseback. + +Dick and Surajah, who had arrived early, had placed themselves at the +corner, where the network touched the Palace. Some thirty yards in +front of them, a balcony projected. It was enclosed by a thick lattice +work. From behind this, the ladies of Tippoo's harem viewed the +sports. + +These began with a contest of fighting rams. The animals were placed +some fifty yards apart. As soon as they saw each other, both showed +extreme anger, uttering notes of defiance. Then they began to move +towards each other, at first slowly, but increasing in speed until, +when within a few yards of one another, each took a spring, meeting in +mid air, forehead to forehead, with a crash that could be heard far +away. Both fell back, and stood for a moment shaking their heads, as +if half stupefied with the blow. Then they backed two steps, and +hurled themselves at each other again. After this had been repeated +once or twice, they locked forehead to forehead, and each strove to +push the other back. + +For some time the struggle continued on equal terms. Then the weaker +began to give way, and was pushed back, step by step, until its +strength failed altogether, and it was pushed over on to the ground, +when the attendants at once interfered and separated them. + +Some thirty pairs of rams fought, the affair being, to Dick, extremely +monotonous. The natives, however, took great interest in the contests, +wagering freely on the issues, shouting loudly to the combatants, and +raising triumphant cries when one was adjudged victor. + +Then elephants were brought in; but the struggle between these was +even tamer than between the rams. They pushed each other with their +foreheads until one gave way, when the other would follow it, beating +it with its trunk, and occasionally shoving it. + +When this sport was over, two parties of men entered the arena, amid a +shout of satisfaction from the crowd. After prostrating themselves +before Tippoo, they took up their ground facing each other. Each man +had, on his right hand, four steel claws fixed to the knuckles. +Approaching each other cautiously they threw, with their left hands, +the garlands of flowers they wore round their necks, into the faces of +their opponents, trying to take advantage of the moment to strike a +blow, or to obtain a grip. Each blow laid open the flesh as by a +tiger's claws. The great object was to gain a grip, no matter where, +which would completely disable the opponent, and render him incapable +of defending himself. When this was done, the combat between that pair +came to an end. + +After the ghetties, as these men were named, had retired, a buffalo +was matched against a tiger. The latter was averse to the contest, but +upon some firecrackers being thrown close behind him, he sprang at the +buffalo, who had been watching him warily. As the tiger launched +itself into the air, the buffalo lowered its head, received it on its +sharp horns, and threw it a distance of ten yards away. No efforts +could goad the wounded tiger to continue the fray, so it and the +buffalo were taken out, and two others brought in. + +The second tiger was a much more powerful beast than its predecessor, +and was, indeed, larger than any of those in the cages of the Palace. +It had been captured four days before, and was full of fight. It +walked round the buffalo three or four times, and then, with the speed +of lightning, sprang upon it, breaking its neck with a single blow +from its powerful forepaw. Six buffaloes in succession were brought +in, and were killed, one after the other, by the tiger. + +Satisfied with what it had done, the tiger paid no attention to the +seventh animal, but walked round and round the arena, looking for a +means of escape. Then, drawing back, it made a short rush and sprang +at the net, which was fourteen feet high. Strong as were the poles +that supported the net, it nearly gave way under the impact. The tiger +hung, ten feet above the ground, until some of the guards outside ran +up, discharging their muskets into the air, when it recommenced its +promenade round the foot of the net, roaring and snarling with anger. + +As it neared the Palace, it stopped and uttered a roar of defiance at +those at the windows. Then, apparently, something moving behind the +lattice work caught its eye. It moved towards it, crouching, and then, +with a tremendous spring, launched itself against it. + +The balcony was ten feet from the ground, but the tiger's spring took +it clear of this. The woodwork gave way like paper, and the tiger +burst through. A shout of dismay arose from the multitude, but high +above this sounded the screams of the women. + +"Quick, Surajah!" Dick cried, and, drawing his keen dagger, he cut +through the network and dashed through, followed by his companion. +"Stand here," he cried, as they arrived below the balcony. "Steady! +Put your hands against the wall." + +Then he sprang on to Surajah's back, and thence to his shoulder. +Drawing his pistols, he put one between his teeth, grasping the other +in his right hand. + +"Steady, Surajah," he said. "I am going to stand on your head." + +He stepped on to his companion's turban, put his left arm on the +balcony, and raised himself by it, until his arms were above its +level. The tiger was standing with its paw upon a prostrate figure, +growling savagely, but evidently confused and somewhat dismayed at the +piercing screams from the women, most of whom had thrown themselves +down on the cushions of the divan. + +Dick stretched his right hand forward, took a steady aim, and fired. A +sharp snarl showed that the shot had taken effect. He dropped the +pistol, snatched the other from his mouth, waited for a moment until +he could make out the tiger, fired again, and at once dropped to the +ground, just as a great body flashed from the window above him. + +He and Surajah had both had their matchlocks slung over their +shoulders, and before the tiger could recover from its spring, they +levelled and fired. The tiger rolled over, but regained its feet and +made towards them. One of the bullets had, however, struck it on the +shoulder and disabled the leg. Its movements were therefore +comparatively slow, and they had time to leap aside. Surajah +discharged his pistol into its ear, while Dick brought down his keen +sword, with all his strength, upon its neck; and the tiger rolled +over, dead. + +A mighty shout rose from the crowd. + +"We had better be off," Dick said, "or we shall have all sorts of +questions to answer." + +They slipped through the hole in the net again, but were so surrounded +by people, cheering and applauding them, that they could not extricate +themselves; and a minute later some soldiers ran up, pushed through +the crowd to them, and surrounded them. + +"The sultan requires your presence," they said; and as resistance was +out of the question, Dick and Surajah at once accompanied them to the +entrance of the Palace. + +They were led through several large halls, until they entered the room +where Tippoo was standing. He had just left the women's apartment, +where he had hurried to ascertain what damage had been done by the +tiger. Dick and his companion salaamed to the ground, in accordance +with the custom of the country. + +"You are brave fellows," the sultan said graciously, "and all the +braver that you risked death, not only from the tiger, but for daring +to look upon my women, unveiled." + +"I saw nothing, your Highness," Dick said humbly, "save the tiger. +That he was standing over a fallen figure I noticed. As soon as my eye +fell on him I fired at once, and the second time as soon as the smoke +cleared so that I could catch a glimpse of him." + +"I pardon you that," Tippoo said; "and in faith you have rendered me +good service, for had it not been for your interference, he might have +worked havoc in my harem, and that before a single one of my officers +or men had recovered his senses;" and he looked angrily round at the +officers standing near him. + +"How comes it that you were so quick in thought and execution?" he +asked Surajah, as the elder of the two. + +"My brother and myself have done much hunting among the hills, your +Highness, and have learned that, in fighting a tiger, one needs to be +quick as well as fearless." + +"Whence come you?" Tippoo asked. "By your tongue, you are strangers." + +Surajah gave the account that they had agreed upon, as to their +birthplace, but he was quick-witted enough to see that it would not be +safe to say they were in the service of the Rajah of Bhor, as +inquiries might be made; and he therefore said: + +"We came hither to take service either with your Royal Highness, or +with one of your rajahs, but have as yet found no opportunity of doing +so." + +"It is well," Tippoo said. "Henceforth you are officers in my service. +Apartments shall be assigned to you, in the Palace. + +"Here is the first token of my satisfaction;" and he took out a heavy +purse from his girdle, and handed it to Surajah. "You are free to go +now. I will, later on, consider what duties shall be assigned to you. +When you return, report yourselves to Fazli Ali, my chamberlain;" and +he indicated a white-bearded official, among the group standing beside +him. + +Salaaming deeply again, they left the apartments. Not a word was +spoken, until they were outside the precincts of the Palace. + +"This makes a sudden change in our plans," Dick said. "Whether for +better or worse, I cannot say yet." + +"I was right in not saying we were in the service of the Rajah of +Bhor, was I not? I thought that Tippoo would offer to take us into his +service, and he might have caused a letter to be sent to the Rajah, +saying that he had done so." + +"Yes, you were quite right, Surajah. I had thought of that myself, and +was on thorns when you were telling your story, and felt not a little +relieved when you changed the tale. I think that it has turned out for +the best. As officers of the Palace, we may be able to obtain some +information as to what Christian captives there are, and the prisons +where they are confined." + +"Still more," Surajah said; "when we get to be known as being his +officers, we might present ourselves boldly at any of the hill +fortresses, as sent there with some orders." + +"You are right," Dick said. "I had not thought of that. Indeed, we +might even produce orders to inspect the prisoners, in order to render +an account to Tippoo of their state and fitness for service; and might +even show an order for my father to be handed over to us, if we should +find him. This is splendid, and I am sure I cannot be too grateful to +that tiger, for popping into the harem. He has done more for us, in a +few minutes, than we could have achieved in a year. + +"Well, Surajah, if my father is alive, I think now that we have every +chance of rescuing him." + +As they walked through the streets, many of those who had been present +at the sports recognised them as the heroes in the stirring episode +there, and, judging they would gain a high place in Tippoo's favour, +came up to them and congratulated them on their bravery, and made +offers of service. They replied civilly to all who accosted them, but +were glad when they turned off to the quiet quarter where Pertaub +lived. The Hindoo was surprised, indeed, when they told him what had +happened, and that they were already officers in the Palace, and might +consider themselves as standing high in Tippoo's favour. + +"It is wonderful," he said, when they brought their story to a +conclusion. "Surely Providence must have favoured your pious object. +Such good fortune would never have occurred to you, had it not been +that it was destined you should find your father still alive. But if +good fortune befalls you, it is because you deserve it. That you +should face a great tiger without hesitation, and slay him, shows how +firm your courage is; and the quickness was still more to be admired. +No doubt there are many others there who, to gain the favour of the +sultan, would have risked their lives; but you alone of them were +quick enough to carry it out." + +"We were nearest to the spot, Pertaub. Had we been among the crowd +farther back, we could have done nothing." + +"Let praise be given where it is due," Surajah said. "I had nothing to +do with the affair. I saw the tiger bound through the window, and +heard screams, and stood frozen with horror. I did not even see my +lord cut through the net. I knew nothing, until he seized me by the +arm and pulled me after him; and it was not until he sprang upon my +back, and then upon my shoulders, that I knew what he was going to do. +I simply aided in despatching the tiger when he sprang, wounded, down +into the courtyard." + +"And yet you are a hunter and a soldier," Pertaub said. "This is how +it is that the English have become lords of so wide a territory. They +are quick. While we hesitate, and spend great time in making up our +minds to do anything, they decide and act in a moment. They are always +ready, we are always slow. They see the point where a blow has to be +struck, they make straight to it and strike. + +"The English sahib is very young, and yet to him comes, in a moment, +what is the best thing to be done. He does not stop to think of the +danger. While all others stand in consternation, he acts, and slays +the tiger before one of them has so much as moved from his place. + +"But indeed, as you say Tippoo himself told you, your danger was not +only from the tiger. The tyrant must, indeed, have been alarmed for +the safety of his harem, when he forgave you what, in the eyes of a +Mohammedan, is the greatest offence you can commit. + +"This will, of course, change all of your plans." + +"For the present, at any rate. It may be that, later on, we shall +still find occasion for our disguises, as possibly we may fall into +disfavour, and have to assume them to make our escape. We may, as +Tippoo's officers, manage to obtain entrance into one or two of the +hill fortresses, but unless absolutely sent by him, that is the utmost +we could hope for; for were we missing, messengers would be sent all +over the country to order our arrest, and in that case we should have +to take to some disguise. + +"The first thing, now, is to procure our dresses. How much is there in +that purse, Surajah? It seems pretty heavy." + +Surajah poured the gold out on the table. + +"There are fifty tomauns. That will be more than enough to clothe you +handsomely," the Hindoo said. + +"Much more than enough, I should think, Pertaub." + +"Tippoo likes those round him to be well dressed. It is not only a +proof of his generosity, but he likes to make a brave show on great +occasions, and nothing pleases him more than to be told that neither +the Nizam, nor any other Indian prince, can surpass him in the +magnificence of his Court. Therefore, the better dressed you are, the +more he will be satisfied, for it will seem to him that you appreciate +the honour of being officers of the Palace, and that you have laid out +his present to the best advantage, and have not a mind to hoard any of +it. + +"I will take the matter in hand for you. You will need two suits; one +for Court ceremonies, and the other for ordinary wear in the Palace." + +"I shall be very much obliged to you, Pertaub, for indeed I have no +idea what ought to be got. Had we better present ourselves at the +Palace this evening, or tomorrow morning?" + +"This evening, certainly. Did he take it into his head to inquire +whether you were in the Palace, and found that you were not, it might +alter his humour towards you altogether. He is changeable in his +moods. The favourite of one day may be in disgrace, and ordered to +execution, the next. You will soon feel that it is as if you were in a +real tiger's den, and that the animal may at any moment spring upon +you. + +"Take with you the clothes you now wear, and those in which you came, +so that at any moment, if you see a storm gathering, you can slip on a +disguise, and leave the Palace unobserved. In that case hasten here, +and you can then dress yourselves as merchants." + +"The worst of it is, Pertaub, that our faces will soon become known to +so many in the Palace that they would be recognised, whatever our +dress." + +"A little paint, and some false hair, and a somewhat darker stain to +your skin, would alter you so that those who know you best would pass +you without suspicion. I trust that no such misfortune will befall, +but I will keep everything in readiness to effect a transformation, +should it be required. + +"Now I will go out at once, to get the clothes." + +In two hours he returned, followed by a boy carrying the goods he had +purchased; and in a few minutes, Dick and his companion were arrayed +in Court dresses. The turbans were pure white, and the tunic was of +dark, rich stuff, thickly woven with gold thread. A short cloak or +mantle, secured at the neck by a gold chain, three or four inches in +length, hung from the back; but could, if necessary, be drawn round +the shoulders. A baldric, embroidered with gold, crossed the chest, +and from this hung a sword with an ivory handle. + +The waist sash was of blue and gold in Dick's case, purple and gold in +that of Surajah. Silver-mounted pistols and daggers were stuck into +the sashes. The dresses were precisely alike, except that they +differed in colour. The trousers were white. + +Surajah was greatly delighted with his dress. Dick laughed. + +"Of course, it comes naturally to you," he said, "but I feel as if I +were dressed up for a masquerade." + +The other suits were similar in style, but the tunics were of +richly-figured damask, instead of cloth of gold. + +Half an hour later they started for the Palace, a coolie carrying a +box containing their second suits, and the simple dresses they had +worn on their arrival. Dick could not help smiling, at the manner in +which the people in the streets obsequiously made way for them. + +"I shall be very glad," he said, as they traversed the space that +divided the town from the fort, "when we have got over the next day or +two, and have settled down a bit. It all seems so uncertain, and I +have not the most remote idea of what our duties are likely to be. +Hitherto, we have always had some definite plan of action, and had +only ourselves to depend upon. Now, everything seems doubtful and +uncertain. However, I suppose we shall soon settle down; and we have +the satisfaction of knowing that, if things do not turn out well, we +can go off to our good friend Pertaub, and get out of the place +altogether." + +On arriving at the Palace, they inquired for the chamberlain. + +"He is expecting you, my lord," one of the attendants said, coming +forward. "I will lead you first to the room that is prepared for you, +and then take you to Fazli Ali." + +The room was a commodious one, and the richness of the covering of the +divan, and the handsome rugs spread on the floor, were satisfactory +signs that the chamberlain considered them prime favourites of the +sultan. Having seen the box placed in a corner, and paid the coolie, +they followed the attendant along some spacious corridors and +passages, until they entered a room where Fazli Ali was seated on a +divan. The attendant let the curtains that covered the door drop +behind them, as they entered. + +They salaamed to the chamberlain, who looked at them approvingly, and +motioned to them to take their seats on the divan beside him. + +"I see," he said kindly, "that you possess good judgment, as well as +courage and quickness. The former qualities have won you a place here, +but judgment will be needed to keep it. You have laid out your money +well, as the sultan loves to see all in the Palace well attired; and +quiet also, and discreet in behaviour." + +"Can you give us any idea what our duties will be?" Surajah asked, as +Dick had requested him always to be the spokesman, if possible. + +The chamberlain shook his head. + +"That will be for the sultan himself to decide. For a time, probably, +you will have little to do but to attend at the hours when he gives +public audiences. You will, doubtless, occasionally carry his orders +to officers in command of troops, at distant places, and will form +part of his retinue when he goes beyond the Palace. When he sees that +you are worthy of his favour, prompt in carrying out his orders, and +in all respects trustworthy, he will in time assign special duties to +you; but this will depend upon yourselves. + +"As one who admires the courage and promptness that you showed today, +and who wishes you well, I would warn you that it is best, when the +sultan has had matters to trouble him, and may blame somewhat +unjustly, not to seek to excuse yourselves. It is bad to thwart him, +when he is roused. You can rely upon me to stand your friend and, when +the storm has blown over, to represent the matter to him in a +favourable light. The sultan desires to be just, and in his calm +moments assuredly is so; but when there is a cloud before his eyes, +there is no saying upon whom his displeasure may fall. + +"At present, however, there is little chance of your falling into +disgrace, for he is greatly impressed with the service you have +rendered him, and especially by the promptness with which you carried +it out. After you had gone he spoke very strongly about it, and said +that he would he were possessed of a hundred officers, capable of such +a deed. He would, in that case, have little fear of any of the foes of +his kingdom. + +"It is fortunate that you came here this afternoon. It is well-nigh +certain that he will ask for you presently, and though he could hardly +blame you, had you required until tomorrow to complete your +preparations, your promptitude will gratify him; and he will, I am +sure, be still more pleased at seeing that you have so well laid out +his gift. He gave you no orders on the subject, and had you appeared +in the dresses you wore this morning, he would, doubtless, have +instructed me to provide you with more suitable attire. The fact that +you have so laid out the money will show that you have an +understanding of the honour of being appointed to the Palace, and a +proper sense of fitness. The sultan himself dresses plainly and, save +for a priceless gem in his turban, and another in his sword hilt, +there is nothing in his attire to lead a stranger to guess at his +rank. But while he does this himself, he expects that all others in +the Palace should do justice to his generosity. + +"And now, you had best return to your room, and remain there until +sent for. If he does not think of it himself, I shall, if opportunity +occurs, inform him that you have already arrived." + +They had some difficulty in finding their way back to their room, and +had, indeed, to ask directions of attendants they met before they +discovered it. A native was squatting at the door. He rose and +salaamed deeply, as they came up. + +"Your slave is appointed to be your attendant, my lords," he said. +"Your servant's name is Ibrahim." + +"Good," Surajah said, as he passed him and entered the room. "Now, +Ibrahim, tell us about the ways of the Palace, for of these we are +altogether ignorant. In the first place, about food. Do we provide +ourselves, or how is it?" + +"All in the Palace are fed from the sultan's kitchen. At each meal, +every officer has so many dishes, according to his rank. These vary +from three to twelve. In the early morning, I shall bring you bread +and fruit and sherbet; at ten o'clock is the first meal; and at seven +there is supper. At one o'clock the kitchens are open, and I can fetch +you a dish of pillau, kabobs, a chicken, or any other refreshment that +you may desire. At present, I have no orders as to how many dishes +your Excellencies will receive, at the two meals." + +"We shall not be particular about that," Surajah said. "It is evident +we shall fare well, at any rate." + +"I am told to inform you, my lords, that the sultan has ordered two +horses to be placed at your service. A ghorrawalla has been appointed +to take charge of them. His name is Serfojee. If you ask for him at +the stable, you will be directed to him, and he will show you the +horses. + +"In an hour supper will be served, but this evening I shall only be +able to bring you three dishes each. Such is always the rule, until +the sultan's pleasure has been declared." + +Ibrahim then proceeded to light two lamps, hanging from the ceiling, +for it was now getting dusk; and then, finding that his masters had no +further need of his services, he retired. + +"So far, so good, Surajah. We are certainly in clover, as far as +comfort is concerned, and the only drawback to the situation is +Tippoo's uncertain temper. However, we must try our best to satisfy +him. We have every reason to stand well with him, and if he sees that +we are really anxious to please him, we ought to be able to avoid +falling into disgrace, even when he is in his worst moods." + +Their attendant presently brought up the six portions of food, and +they enjoyed their meal heartily. Each had an ample portion of a +pillau of rice and chicken, a plate of stew, which Dick thought was +composed of game of some kind, and a confection in which honey was the +predominating flavour. With this they drank water, deliciously cooled +by being hung up in porous jars. + +Surajah ate his food with the dexterity of long habit, but Dick had +not yet learned to make his bread fulfil the functions of spoon and +fork, for at his uncle's table European methods of eating were +adopted. + +Half an hour after they had finished, an officer presented himself at +the door, and said that he was ordered to conduct them to the sultan. +Tippoo had supped in the harem, and was now seated on a divan, in a +room of no great size, but richly hung with heavy silken curtains, and +carpeted with the richest rugs. Two or three of his chief officers +were seated beside him. Seven or eight others were standing on either +side of the room. A heavy glass chandelier, of European manufacture, +hung from the richly carved ceiling, and the fifty candles in it +lighted up the room. + +The chamberlain met them at the door, and advanced with them towards +Tippoo. + +"Great Sultan," he said, "these are the young men whom it has pleased +your Highness to appoint officers in the Palace." + +The two lads salaamed until their turbans touched the ground. + +"Truly they are comely youths," Tippoo said, "and one would scarcely +deem them capable of performing such a feat as that they accomplished +this morning. + +"Well, my slayers of tigers, you have found everything fitly +provided?" + +"Far more so than our deeds merit, your Highness," Surajah replied. +"We have found everything that heart could desire, and only hope for +an opportunity to show ourselves worthy of your favours." + +"You have done that beforehand," Tippoo said graciously, "and I am +glad to see, by your attire, that you are conscious that, as my +officers, it is fitting you should make a worthy appearance. It shows +that you have been well brought up, and are not ignorant of what is +right and proper. + +"At present, you will receive orders from Fazli Ali, and will act as +assistant chamberlains, until I decide in what way your services can +be made most useful. + +"Now, follow me. There are others who wish to see you." + +Rising, Tippoo led the way through a door with double hangings, into a +room considerably larger than that which they had just left. The +chandeliers, at the end of the room where they stood, were all +lighted, while the other end was in comparative darkness. + +Leaving them standing alone, Tippoo walked towards the other end, and +clapped his hands. Immediately, a number of closely veiled figures +entered, completely filling the end of the room. + +"These are the young men," Tippoo said to them. "It is the one on the +right to whom it is chiefly due that the tiger did not commit havoc +among you. It was he who climbed up the balcony, and fired twice at +the beast. You owe your lives to him and his companion, for among all +my officers and guards there was not one who was quick-witted enough +to move as much as a finger." + +There was a faint murmur of surprise, among the veiled figures, at the +youth of their preserver. + +"Hold your heads fully up," Tippoo went on, for Dick and his +companion, after making a deep salaam, had stood with bent heads and +with eyes fixed upon the ground. + +Then two of the attendants, girls of thirteen or fourteen years old, +came forward from behind the others, each bearing a casket. + +"These are presented to you, with my permission, by the ladies whose +lives you saved," Tippoo said; "and should you at any time have a +favour to ask, or even should you fall under my displeasure, you can +rely upon their good offices in your behalf." + +There was another low murmur from the other end of the hall. Then +Tippoo clapped his hands, and the women moved out, as noiselessly as +they had entered. + +"You can retire now," Tippoo said, as he moved towards the door into +the other room. "Be faithful, be discreet, and your fortune is +assured." + +He pointed to another door, and then rejoined his councillors. + +Dick and his companion stood in an attitude of deep respect, until the +hanging had fallen behind the sultan, and then went out by the door he +had pointed to, and made their way back to their own room. + +"Truly, Surajah, fortune is favouring us mightily. This morning, we +walked the streets in fear of being questioned and arrested. This +evening we are officers of the Palace, favoured by Tippoo, and under +the protection of the harem. + +"I wonder what the ladies have given us." + +They opened the caskets, which were of considerable size. As they +examined the contents, exclamations of surprise broke from them. Each +contained some thirty or forty little parcels, done up in paper; and +on these being opened, they were found to contain trinkets and jewels +of all kinds. Some were very costly and valuable. All were handsome. + +It was evident that every one of the ladies who had been in the room, +when the tiger burst in, had contributed a token of her gratitude. +Many of the more valuable gems had been evidently taken from their +settings, as if the donors did not care that jewels they had worn +should be exposed to view. One parcel contained twenty superb pearls, +another a magnificent diamond and ten rubies, and so on, down to the +more humble gifts--although these were valuable--of those of lower +rank. + +Dick's presents were much more costly than those of his companion, and +as soon as this was seen to be the case, Dick proposed that they +should all be put together, and divided equally. This, however, +Surajah would not hear of. + +"The whole thing is due to you," he said. "It would never have +occurred to me to interfere at all. I had no part in the matter, +beyond aiding to kill a wounded tiger, and it was no more than I have +done, many times, among our hills, and thought nothing of. These +jewels are vastly more than I deserve, for my share in the affair. I +do not know much about the value of gems, but they must be worth a +large sum, and nothing will induce me to take any of those that you +have so well earned." + +"I wonder whether Tippoo knows what they have given us," Dick said, +after in vain trying to alter his companion's decision. + +"I don't suppose he troubled himself about it," Surajah replied. "No +doubt he was asked for permission for each to make a present to us. +The jewels in the harem must be of enormous value, as, for the last +fifteen years, Tippoo has been gathering spoil from all southern +India, having swept the land right up to the gates of Madras. They say +that his treasures are fabulous, and no doubt the ladies of his harem +have shared largely in the spoils. The question is, what had we best +do with these caskets? We know that, in the course of our adventures, +it may very well happen that we shall be closely searched, and it +would never do to risk having such valuables found upon us." + +"No; I should say that we had best bury them somewhere. Some of these +merchants here may be honest enough for us to leave the jewels in +their care, without anxiety; but as they themselves may, at any +moment, be seized and compelled to give up their last penny, these +things would be no safer with them than with us. + +"As to Pertaub, I have absolute faith in him, but he himself is liable +to be seized at any moment. However, I should say we had better +consult him. If we were to bury them, say, under the floor of his +house, we might leave them there for a time. If we saw any chance of +this place being, someday, captured by our people, we could wait till +then for their recovery. But the war may not be renewed for years. +Possibly Pertaub may be able to arrange to send them down, only +entrusting a portion at a time to a messenger, so that, if he got into +trouble, we should only lose what he had upon him. + +"We will put the caskets into our box, and lock it up for the present, +and take them down to Pertaub tomorrow evening, after it gets dark. It +will be as well to get them off our minds, as soon as possible, for +although just at present we are in high favour, there is no saying how +long it may last, or when it may be necessary for us to move." + + + +Chapter 13: Officers Of The Palace. + + +The next morning, just as they had finished their early breakfast, +they were sent for by Fazli Ali. + +"You had better accompany me on my rounds," he said. "I shall not +commit any special duties to you, until I see whether the sultan +intends that you shall remain with me, or whether, as is far more +likely, he assigns other work to you. Were you placed in separate +charges in the Palace, I should have to fill your places if you left. +Therefore I propose that, at present, you shall assist me in general +supervision. + +"We will first go to the kitchens. These give me more trouble than any +other part of my duties. In the first place, one has to see that the +contractors do their work properly, that the number of carcases sent +in is correct, the flesh of good quality, and that the list of game is +correct. Then one has to check the amount of rice and other grain sent +in from the storehouses, the issue of spices, and other articles of +that kind. These matters do not require doing every day. The kitchen +officers are responsible for them, but once or twice a week I take +care to be present, to see that all is right. Then I ascertain that +everything is in good and proper order in the kitchen, listen to +complaints, and decide disputes. + +"When we have done there, we will see that the requisitions from the +harem are properly complied with, and that the sweetmeats, perfumes, +silks, and muslins, as required, are furnished. + +"The payment of salaries does not come into my department. That is one +of the functions of the treasurer of the Palace, who also discharges +all accounts, upon my signature that they are correct. + +"Then I take a general tour of the Palace, to see that the attendants +have done their duties, and that everything is clean and in order. As +a rule, I have finished everything before the morning meal is served. +The details of making up the accounts are, of course, done by clerks. + +"After that, my duties depend entirely upon the sultan. If there is +any state ceremonial in the Palace, I summon those whose duty it is to +attend, and see that everything is properly arranged and in order. If +not, I am generally at his Highness's disposal. + +"Unless you receive any instructions from me, you will be free to +occupy yourselves as you like. You will, of course, take part in all +public ceremonials. You will be among the officers who accompany the +sultan, when he goes out, and will be liable to be summoned to attend +him at all times. Therefore, although free to go into the town, or +ride beyond the island, it is well that you should never be long +absent; and that, if you wish to be away for more than two hours at a +time, you should first let me know, as I may be able to tell you if +the sultan is likely to require you. He has fixed your pay at four +hundred rupees a month." + +Dick, as he accompanied the chamberlain on his tour through the +Palace, was struck with the order and method that prevailed in every +department, and the chamberlain told him that Tippoo, himself, +inquired closely into details, and that, large as was the daily +expenditure, no waste of any kind was allowed. + +The splendour of some of the apartments was surprising, especially the +throne room. The throne itself was of extraordinary magnificence. It +was of gold, thickly inlaid with gems. On the apex stood a jewelled +peacock, covered entirely with diamonds, emeralds, and rubies, with +pendants of pearls. In front of it stood a golden tiger's head, which +served as a footstool. On either side were standards of purple silk, +having a sun with gold rays in the centre. The spear heads were of +gold, set with jewels. + +When the work of inspection was finished, they went back to their +room, where their attendant soon afterwards, with an air of great +exultation, brought their meal, which consisted of nine dishes each, a +proof of the high favour with which Tippoo regarded them. After this +meal was eaten they went down to the stables, and were pleased, +indeed, with the mounts provided for them. They were fine animals, +with handsome saddles and trappings, and Dick and Surajah at once +mounted, and rode through the town to the other extremity of the +island. As they wore scarves that had been furnished them by Fazli +Ali, showing that they were officers of the Palace, they were +everywhere greeted with deep salaams. + +"I hope," Dick said, as they returned from their ride, "that Tippoo +will not be long before he finds us some other duties. There is +nothing very interesting in counting carcases, or seeing rice +measured." + +"That is true enough," Surajah agreed. "But we must not be impatient. +Fortune has befriended us marvellously, and I have great faith that it +will continue to do so. We must be content to wait." + +"Yes, I know that, Surajah, but I think it is all the more difficult +to do so, because we have done so much in a short time. It seems as if +one ought to go on at the same rate." + +That evening they went down, as they had arranged, with ordinary wraps +round their gay attire, to Pertaub's, taking with them the caskets of +gems. The Hindoo received them warmly. + +"I saw you ride through the streets this morning, although you did not +notice me. Truly, you made a good appearance, and were well mounted. I +have heard from one of our people, who is a servant in the Palace, +that you stand in high favour." + +"We have brought you down these two caskets of gems," Dick said. "They +were given us by the ladies of the harem, and many of the stones, +Surajah thinks, are very valuable. We don't know what to do with them, +and wanted to know whether you could arrange to send them down to +Tripataly for us." + +"I would not undertake to do so, if they are valuable," Pertaub said. +"The prospects of fresh troubles are stronger every day, and the roads +are so closely watched, especially those through the passes, that it +would be running a terrible risk to trust valuables to anyone." + +"In that case, Pertaub, we thought you might bury them in the ground +under your house. But first, look at some of the stones, and tell us +what you think of them." + +The Hindoo opened Surajah's casket, and undid many of the little +parcels. + +"Assuredly they are valuable," he said. "Some of them much more so +than others; but if all are like these that I have opened, they must +be worth at least fifty thousand rupees." + +"Now look at this casket, Pertaub." + +The Hindoo uttered an exclamation of surprise, as he opened some of +the packets, and, taking out some of the larger gems, he examined them +by the light of his lamp. + +"I could not place a value on these," he said at last. "The ladies +must, indeed, have felt that they owed their lives to you. The gems +are a fortune. Doubtless they are the spoils of a score of districts, +and Tippoo must have distributed them lavishly among his wives, or +they could never have made such rich presents. I would bury them, +Sahib, for surely they could not be entrusted even to the most +faithful messengers, in times like these. But though, if you like, I +will hide them here, I think it would be far safer for you to take +them across the river, and bury them in a wood, marking well the +trees, that you may know the place again; for although methinks +Tippoo's agents believe that they have squeezed the last rupee from +me, one can never tell--I might again be tortured, and none can say +that they are brave enough to bear the agonies that Tippoo's +executioners inflict. + +"I will bury them for tonight; but I pray you give me notice the first +time you cross the river. I will be at the other side of the ford, +with the jewels hidden in a sack on an ass. This I will drive forward, +when I see you crossing the ford. You will follow me, till I enter a +wood. I will have the tools, and when you join me, you can go on a +short distance and bury them. I do not wish to see where you hide +them, but will move about, to make sure that none come near you when +so engaged. + +"You had best take out a few small stones, which you will find as good +as money, and much more easily concealed, for in every town or large +village you will find a jeweller, who will give you silver for them." + +"I think that will be a very good plan, Pertaub, and will certainly +carry it out." + +A month passed, without any change in their work. They rode, with +other officers, behind Tippoo's palanquin when he went out, which he +did almost every day, to inspect the progress of the fortifications; +and were among the brilliant circle behind his throne, when he gave +orders. + +By this time, they had come to know most of the other Court officials, +and were able to inquire cautiously about the prisons. They could +learn nothing, however, of any English prisoners in Seringapatam, save +those they had seen in the hut in the fort. + +Six weeks after their appointment as Palace officers, Dick and Surajah +were sent for by Tippoo. + +"I am about to employ you," the sultan said, when they appeared before +him, "on a mission. You are strangers here, and are unconnected with +any of my officers; and I can, therefore, place greater reliance on +your reports, than upon those of men who have other interests than my +own to serve. I desire you to go and inspect the hill forts, to see +how the repairs of the fortifications injured by the English are +progressing, and to make sure that the cannon are in good order, and +the supply of ammunition plentiful. You have shown that you are quick +sighted and sharp. Look round the defences, and if you see aught that +can be done to strengthen them, confer with the governors, learn their +opinions on the subject, and if they agree with you, they will be +authorised to take men from the country round to strengthen the +fortifications, and I will forward, at once, such guns and stores as +may be required. + +"After the inspection of each fort, you will despatch a mounted +messenger to me with your report; and you will state which fort you +will next visit, in order that I may despatch there any order that I +may have to give you. + +"Do your duty well, and I shall know how to reward you. In order that +your authority may be increased, you are both named colonels in the +army. Fazli will furnish you with a written copy of the orders I have +given you, and with authority, under my seal, to enter and inspect all +fortresses, and to consult with the governors as to everything +considered, by them, as necessary for their better defence. + +"The last time the English came, they captured Nundidroog, and other +hill fortresses that we had regarded as impregnable, simply because +the governors were overconfident, and the defences had been neglected. +This must not occur again, and if there is failure in the defences, I +shall hold you responsible. Therefore, take care that you do not +neglect, not only to see that the repairs are being well carried out, +but to recommend additions to the fortifications, wherever it seems to +you that there is even a possibility of an enemy making his way up. + +"You will take with you twenty troopers as an escort, but these are +not to enter any of the fortresses with you, for treachery is always +possible; and no one, save the garrisons, must be acquainted with the +defences of the hill forts." + +Surajah expressed his thanks to the sultan for entrusting them with +the mission, and assured him that their inspection of the forts should +be careful and complete, and that they would start in an hour's time. + +When they reached their own room, Dick threw up his turban in delight. + +"Was there ever such a stroke of good fortune?" he exclaimed. "The +tiger business was as nothing to this. Tippoo has given us the +mission, of all others, that will enable us to carry out our search. +Our work is as good as done. + +"That is to say," he added, more gravely, "we are at least pretty sure +to find my father out, if he is alive. Besides, we may get information +that will be of great use, if the war is renewed. + +"Now we had better, in the first place, go and see Fazli and get our +instructions. We will order our horses to be in readiness to start, as +soon as we have had our meal--we may not get another chance of eating +today. + +"I should like to take Ibrahim with us. He is a capital servant, and a +strong, active fellow. I believe he is fond of us, and we shall want +someone who can cook for us, and buy things, and so on. I will speak +to Fazli about it." + +The chamberlain looked up, as they entered the room where he was +engaged in dictating to a clerk. + +"I congratulate you on your mission," he said. "It will involve a +great deal of hard work, but as you have told me how you longed for +some duty outside the Palace, you will not mind that. Tippoo consulted +me before sending for you. I told him you were diligent in the +service, and I felt sure you would do your best in the present matter; +and that, as you were accustomed, in the pursuit of game, to ascend +mountains and scale precipices, you were far more likely to find the +weak spots in the forts than an old officer, who would be likely to +take everything for granted. + +"There is no doubt that many of the garrisons are very far from being +efficient. They have been stationed in the forts for many years. +Discipline, both among officers and men, is sure to have become lax, +and there will be much that young men, going freshly into the matter, +will see needs amendment. That the walls are often weak, and the +cannon so old as to be almost useless, I am well aware; for sometimes +newly-appointed governors have sent in strong protests, and urgent +requests that they might be furnished with new cannon, and that walls +and defences might be renewed. But what with the wars, the removal of +the capital, and the building and fortification of this place, these +matters have been neglected; and it is only now that the sultan sees +the necessity of putting the fortifications of all these places in +good repair. + +"I have had the papers prepared and signed. Your escort has been +ordered. Is there anything else you can think of?" + +"We should like to take our Palace attendant with us," Surajah said. +"He is a good man and, starting so suddenly, we should have a +difficulty in hiring servants we could rely on." + +"I have thought of that," the chamberlain replied, "and have ordered a +horse to be got in readiness for him, together with a spare animal to +carry food and necessaries for your journey. You will need them on +your marches, and may even be glad of them in some of the smaller +forts, where the fare will be very rough." + +When they returned to their room, they found Ibrahim awaiting them. He +was evidently delighted at the prospect of accompanying them. + +"My lords," he said, "I have the pack horse saddled in the stable, +with two great sacks and ropes. Is it your pleasure that I should go +down, at once, to the market and buy flour and rice, spices, and other +things necessary?" + +"Certainly, Ibrahim. But it will not be necessary to buy much meat. It +will not keep, and we ought always to be able to buy a sheep or a fowl +from villagers. Get some thick, wadded sleeping rugs, some cooking +pots, and whatever you think is necessary. Do not waste any time, for +we shall start immediately after our meal." + +As soon as the man had left, Dick said to Surajah: + +"I will hurry down to the town and see Pertaub. You had best remain +here, in case Tippoo should send for us to give us final instructions. +You can say, should he ask, that I have gone down to the town to get a +supply of powder and ball for our pistols, writing materials, and +other things that we may require; which will be true enough. It is +most lucky that we buried our jewels in the forest, ten days ago, for +we should not have had time to do it, now." + +Dick returned in time for the meal, which was brought up by another +servant. + +"Pertaub was delighted to hear of our good fortune," he said, on his +return. "He will keep our disguises by him, and if we have occasion +for them, will either bring them himself with the merchandise, or will +send them by a trusty messenger, to any place we may mention, directly +he hears from us. I do not think there is any chance of our wanting +them, but it is as well to prepare for any contingency that may +occur." + +Half an hour later they started, at the head of an escort of twenty +troopers; Ibrahim riding in the rear, leading the pack horse, which +carried a change of clothes, and thick cloths to keep out the night +dews, as well as the stock of provisions. Ibrahim had also purchased +two very large, dark blankets, that could be used for a temporary +shelter. Surajah now felt quite at home, for he was engaged in the +same sort of duty he performed at Tripataly; and more than one pair of +dark eyes glanced admiringly at the two young officers, as they rode +down to the ford. + +They had been furnished, by Fazli, with a list of the forts they were +to visit, and the order in which they were to take them; the first on +the list being Savandroog, fifty miles northeast of the city. After a +ride of twenty miles, they halted at a village. To the surprise of the +troopers, Surajah gave orders that nothing was to be taken by force, +as he was prepared to pay for all provisions required. + +As soon as the villagers understood this, ample supplies were brought +in. Rice, grain, and fowls were purchased for the soldiers, and forage +for the horses, and after seeing that all were well provided for, the +two officers went to a room that had been placed at their service, in +the principal house in the village. + +Ibrahim justified his assertion that he was a good cook, by turning +out an excellent curry. By the time they had finished this it was +getting dark, and after again visiting the troopers, and seeing that +their own horses were fed and well groomed, they retired to bed. + +An early start was made, and at ten o'clock they approached +Savandroog. It was one of the most formidable of the hill forts of +Mysore, and stood upon the summit of an enormous mass of granite, +covering a base of eight miles in circuit, and rising in ragged +precipices to the height of 2,500 feet. The summit of the rock was +divided by a deep chasm into two peaks, each of which was crowned with +strong works, and capable of separate defence. The lower part of the +hill was, wherever ascent seemed possible, protected by walls, one +behind the other. The natives had regarded the fort as absolutely +impregnable, until it was stormed by the troops under Lord Cornwallis. + +Dick looked with intense interest at the great rock, with its numerous +fortifications. The damages committed by the British guns could not be +seen at this distance, and it seemed to him well-nigh impossible that +the place could have been captured. They rode on, until they neared an +entrance in the wall that encircled the fort, at the side at which, +alone, access was considered possible. + +They were challenged as they approached. Ordering the troopers to +remain behind, Dick and Surajah rode forward. + +"We are the bearers," Surajah cried out, as they reined in their +horses within twenty yards of the gate, "of an order from the sultan +for our admittance, and of a letter to Mirzah Mohammed Bukshy, the +governor." + +"I will send up word to him," an officer on the wall replied. "I can +admit no one, until I have received his orders to do so." + +"How long will it be before we receive an answer?" + +"An hour and a half, at the earliest. I regret that your Excellencies +will be inconvenienced, but my orders are absolute." + +"I do not blame you," Surajah replied. "It is necessary that you +should always be vigilant;" and they retired under the shade of a +tree, a hundred and fifty yards from the gate. + +Ibrahim spread out the rugs, and then proceeded to light the fire, and +to prepare a pillau of rice and fowl, while Dick and his companion +regarded the rock with fixed attention, and conversed together as to +the possibility of ascending at any of the points so steep as to be +left undefended by walls. They concluded, at last, that it would be +next to impossible to climb the rock anywhere on the side that faced +them, save by scaling several walls. + +They had just finished their luncheon when the gate opened, and an +officer and four soldiers issued out. They at once rose, and went to +meet them. + +"I have the governor's order to admit you, on the production of the +sultan's pass." + +Surajah produced the document. The officer at once recognised the +seal, and carried it to his forehead, salaaming deeply. + +"Your troopers can enter at the gate, but cannot proceed farther than +the second wall." + +"Can we ride up, or must we walk?" Dick asked. + +"You can ride," he replied. "The road is steep, but nowhere so steep +that horses cannot mount it." + +After the party had entered the gate, it was at once closed and +bolted. The troopers dismounted, and were led to a small barrack; +while Surajah and Dick, accompanied by the officer, and four soldiers +on foot, rode on. + +The road was a better one than Dick had expected. It was just wide +enough for a cart to proceed up it, and was cut out of the solid rock. +It turned and zigzagged continually, and at each angle was a small +fort, whose guns swept the approach. They passed under a score of +gateways, each defended by guns; and after upwards of an hour's +climbing, at a quick pace, they approached one of the forts on its +summit. The governor met them at the gate. + +"You will pardon my not descending to meet you below," he said, "but I +am not so young as I used to be, and the journey up and down fatigues +me much." + +Dick and Surajah dismounted, and the former presented the two +documents. The governor, after reading the pass, bowed, and led the +way into the interior of the fort; and they were soon seated on a +divan in his quarters, when he read the circular letter. + +"I am glad indeed," he said, when he had finished, "that the sultan is +pleased to take into consideration the many demands I have made for +cannon and ammunition. A large number of the pieces are past service, +and they would be as dangerous to those who fired them as to those at +whom they were aimed; while I have scarcely powder enough to furnish +three rounds for each. As to the defences, I have done my best to +strengthen them. Idleness is bad for all men, most of all for +soldiers, and I have kept them well employed at repairing the effects +of the English fire. Still, there is much to do yet before they are +finished, and there are points where fortifications might be added +with advantage. These I will gladly point out to you. They have been +beyond our means here, for, as you will perceive, it will need +blasting in many places to scarp the rock, and to render inaccessible +several points at which active men can now climb up. For this work, +powder is required. And I would submit that, for such hard work, it +will be needful to supply extra rations to the troops, for the present +scale scarcely suffices to keep the men efficient, especially as most +of them have their wives and families dependent on them." + +"I have no doubt that the sultan will accede to any reasonable +requests, your Excellency. He is anxious that the walls of the forts +should be placed in the best possible condition for defence. No one +doubts that we shall, ere long, be again at war with England, and +although the sultan relies much upon large reinforcements that have +been promised by France, with whom he has entered into an alliance, +they have not yet arrived, and he may have to bear the brunt of the +attack of the English by himself." + +"I have heard of this," the governor said, "and regret that we shall +again have the Feringhees upon us. As for the Mahrattis or the Nizam, +I heed them not--they are dust, whom the sultan could sweep from his +path; but these English are terrible soldiers. I have fought against +them under Hyder, and in the last war they again showed their valour; +and the strangest thing is that they make the natives under them fight +as bravely as they do themselves. + +"As to forts, nothing is safe from them. Were all the troops of the +Nizam and the Mahrattis combined to besiege us, I should feel +perfectly safe; while were there but five hundred Englishmen, I should +tremble for the safety of the fortress. You have come up the hill, and +have seen for yourselves how strong it is; and yet they took the place +without the loss of a single man. I was not here, for I was in command +of Kistnagherry at that time, and succeeded in holding it against +their assaults. When the war was over, and Kistnagherry was ceded to +them, I was appointed to this fortress, which seems to me to be even +stronger than that was. + +"The commander was a brave man, the garrison was strong, there was no +suspicion of treachery; and though, at last, the troops were seized +with a panic, as they might well be when they saw that they were +unable to arrest the advance of the enemy, the defence up to that time +had been stout. The English brought up guns, where it was thought no +guns could be taken. They knocked the defences to pieces; and, after +winning their way to the top, in one day captured this fort, and that +on the hill yonder. It seems miraculous." + +Coffee was brought in, and pipes, for although Tippoo was violently +opposed to smoking, and no one would venture upon the use of tobacco +in the Palace or fort, old officers like the governor, in distant +commands, did not relinquish tobacco. + +"It is necessary here," the governor said, as he filled his pipe. "The +country round is terribly unhealthy, and the air is full of fever. I +do not discourage its use among the men, for they would die off like +flies, did they not smoke to keep out the bad air. The climate is, +indeed, the best protection to the fort, for an army that sat down for +any length of time before it, would speedily melt away." + +He opened a box that stood on the divan beside him. + +"I have copies here," he said, taking some papers out, "of the +memorials that I have sent in to the sultan, as to the guns. This is +the last. It was sent in two months ago. You see I asked for +forty-nine heavy pieces. Of these, thirty are to replace guns that are +honeycombed, or split. The other eleven are for new works. I asked for +thirty-two lighter ones, or howitzers, and a hundred wall guns. Of +course I could do with less; but to place the fort in a perfect state +of defence, that is the number that I and my artillery officer think +are requisite. + +"Of powder, we have not more than a ton and a half, and if the siege +were to be a long one we might require ten times as much. We have not +more than eight rounds of shot for each gun, and we ought to have at +least fifty for the heavy pieces, and twenty for those defending the +path up the hill." + +Dick made a note of the figures, in a pocket book he had bought for +the purpose. + +"As for provisions," the governor went on, "we ought to have large +stores of rice and grain. The magazines are nearly empty, and as we +have eight hundred men in garrison, and perhaps twice as many women +and children, we should require a large store were we blockaded for +any time." + +"Are the troops in good condition?" Surajah asked. + +The governor shook his head. + +"Many of them are past the term of service; but until I get +reinforcements to supply their places, I shall not venture to +discharge them. Many others are wasted by fever, and, I must say, from +insufficient rations, which not only weakens their bodies, but lowers +their spirits. As long as there was no fear of attack, this mattered +little; but if the English are coming again, we shall want well-fed +and contented men to oppose them. + +"I see, by the stars on your turbans, that you are both colonels as +well as officers of the Palace. You are fortunate in obtaining that +rank so young." + +"It was due to the sultan's favour," Surajah said. "The other day, at +the sports, a tiger burst into the sultan's zenana, and we were lucky +enough to kill it--that is, my friend did most of the killing. I only +gave the brute the final coup." + +"Ah, it was you who performed that deed!" the governor said, warmly. +"I heard the news, from one of my officers who was on leave, and +returned yesterday. Truly it was a gallant action, and one quickly +done. No wonder that you obtained the sultan's favour, and your rank +as colonel. + +"I was a sportsman, in my young days. But I think I should have been +more frightened at the thought of taking a peep into the sultan's +zenana, than I should have been of fighting the tiger." + +"I did not think anything about it," Dick said, "until it was all +over. I heard some women scream, and, being quite close, went to their +assistance, without a thought whether they might be the ladies of the +zenana, or servants of the Palace. But indeed, I saw nothing save the +tiger, and only vaguely observed that there were women there at all." + +"It was well that the sultan took the view he did of the matter," the +governor said. "I have known men put to death, for deeds that were but +trifles in comparison to looking into the zenana. + +"Now, Colonel, I will send for my artillery officer and the horses, +and we will ride round the fortifications on the brow of the hill, +inspect the two forts closely, and will point out to you the spots +where it appears to us the defences ought to be strengthened." + + + +Chapter 14: A Surprise. + + +Dick was much pleased with the governor. He was evidently an outspoken +old soldier and, though rough, his bearded face had an honest and +kindly expression, and he thought to himself, "If my father fell into +his hands, I don't think he would be treated with any unnecessary +hardship, though no doubt the sultan's orders would be obeyed." + +When a soldier came in, to say that the horses were at the door, they +went out. An officer was standing beside them, and the governor +presented him as his chief artillery officer. + +"You have not brought your horse," he said. + +"No, your Excellency. The distance is not great, and we should need to +dismount so many times, to get a view from the walls, that it would +not be worthwhile to ride." + +"In that case, we may as well walk, also," Dick said. + +"I would rather do so, too," the governor said. "I proposed riding, +because I thought you might be tired. As Bakir Meeram says, the +distance is not great. The walls themselves, with the exception of +those of the two forts, are not more than half a mile in extent; for +in most places the rocks go sheer down, and there defences are, of +course, unnecessary. We will inspect this fort, first." + +They went the round of the walls, Dick and his companion listening to +the suggestions of the two officers. The principal one was that a wall +should be raised, inside the gate. + +"The English, last time, got in here by rushing in at the tail of the +fugitives from below. They were in before the gates could be closed, +and took our men so completely by surprise that they were seized with +a panic. Were we to raise a semicircular wall behind the gateway, such +a thing could not occur again," the governor said. "Of course, there +would be a gate in the inner wall, but not immediately behind the +outer gateway as, if so placed, it might be destroyed by the cannon +shots that battered the outer gate in. I should, therefore, put it at +one end of the inner wall. This gate would be generally open, but in +case of a siege I should have it blocked up with stones piled behind +it, placing a number of ladders by which men, running in, could get on +to the walls, and, however closely they were pursued, could make a +stand there until the ladders were pulled up." + +"That would be an excellent idea," Surajah said gravely, "and I will +certainly lay it before the sultan. I suppose you would propose the +same for the other fort?" + +"Just the same." + +"The only thing that I would observe," Dick said, "is that, if an +enemy once got a footing on the top here, you could not hope to make a +long defence of these forts." + +"That is so," the governor agreed. "The strength of the defence is not +here, but on the upward road, and if the English once gained the top +the forts must fall; but at least it shall not be said, as long as I +am governor, that Savandroog fell almost bloodlessly. In these forts +we can at least die bravely, and sell our lives to the last. It is for +that reason I desire that they shall be so defended that they cannot +be carried, as they were before, by a sudden rush." + +The other fort was then visited, and a tour made round the walls. The +suggestions offered by the governor and the officers were all noted +down and approved. + +Then they made what was, to Dick, the most important part of the +inspection; namely, an examination of the undefended portion of the +rock. The result showed him that the builders of the defences had not +acted unwisely in trusting solely to nature. At many points the rock +fell away in precipices, hundreds of feet deep. At other points, +although the descent was less steep, it was, as far as he could see +from above, altogether unclimbable; but this he thought he would be +able to judge better, from below. + +"Do you have sentries round here at night?" he asked the governor. + +"No. It would not be necessary, even if an enemy were encamped below. +If you will ride round the foot of the hill when you leave, you will +see for yourself that, save from the side you came up, the place is +absolutely inaccessible." + +The view from the top of the hill was superb. Away to the northeast, +the governor pointed out the pagodas of Bangalore, twenty-two miles +away; the distance, in the clear air, seeming comparatively trifling. + +"Are there many troops there?" Dick asked. + +"There are about five battalions of the regular troops, and three +Chelah battalions. These can hardly be counted as troops. They have +never been of the slightest use. In the last war they ran like sheep. +It is a fancy of the sultan's. But, indeed, he can hardly expect men +to fight who have been forced into the ranks, and made to accept +Mohammedanism against their will. Naturally they regard an invader, +not as an enemy, but as a deliverer. + +"Of course the sultan's idea was, that since the native troops, +drilled and led by Englishmen, fought so well; the Chelahs, who were +also drilled and led by Englishmen, would do the same. But the +Company's troops are willing soldiers, and it is the English leading, +more than the English drill, that makes them fight. If the Chelahs +were divided among the hill fortresses they might do good service; and +I could, as far as fighting goes, do with a battalion of them here; +for, mixed up with my men, they would have to do their duty. But, of +course, they will never be placed in the hill forts, for one would +never be safe from treachery. Even if all the lower walls were in the +hands of my own men, some of the Chelahs would be sure to manage to +desert, and give information as to all the defences." + +A considerable portion of the upper plateau of the rock was occupied +by the huts of the troops, for the forts were much too small to +contain them and their families. On their way back, they passed +through these. Dick looked anxiously about for white faces, but could +see none, nor any building that seemed to him likely to be used as a +prison. + +When they returned to the governor's quarters, they found that a room +had been placed at their disposal, and they presently sat down to +dinner with him. + +"I suppose you have no English prisoners here?" Dick said carelessly, +when the meal was over. + +The governor paused a moment, before he replied. + +"I don't want any of them here," he said shortly. "Batches are sent +up, sometimes, from Bangalore; but it is only for execution. I am a +loyal subject of the sultan, but I would that this work could be done +elsewhere. Almost all the executions take place in the hill forts; in +order, I suppose, that they may be done secretly. I obey orders, but I +never see them carried out. I never even see the captives. They have +done no harm, or, at most, one of their number has tried to escape, +for which they are not to be blamed. I always have them shot, whether +that is the mode of execution ordered or not. It is a soldier's death, +and the one I should choose myself, and so that they are dead it can +matter little to the sultan how they die. If they were all shot, as +soon as they were taken, I should not think so much of it; but after +being held captive for years, and compelled to work, it seems to me +that their lives should be spared. As far as giving up my own life is +concerned, I would willingly do it at the orders of the sultan, but +these executions make me ill. I lose my appetite for weeks afterwards. +Let us talk of something else." + +And the governor puffed furiously away at the hookah he had just +lighted. Then the conversation turned to the forts again. + +"No, I do not find the life dull," he said, in answer to a remark of +Dick's. "I did so at first, but one soon becomes accustomed to it. I +have my wife and two daughters, and there are ten officers, so that I +can have company when I choose. All the officers are married, and that +gives society. Up here, we do not observe strictly the rules of the +plains, and although the ladies, of course, wear veils when they go +beyond the house, they put them aside indoors, and the families mix +freely with each other, so that we get on very well. You see, there +are very few changes ever made, and as many of the ladies are, like my +wife, no longer young, we treat them as comrades." + +In the morning Dick and Surajah mounted their horses, took a hearty +farewell of the governor, and rode down to the gate. A soldier had +been sent down, half an hour before, and they found their escort in +readiness to move. They had decided that, before going to the next +fort, they would ride round the foot of the hill of Savandroog. This +they did, going at a foot pace, and scanning the cliffs and slopes as +they passed. Sometimes they reined up their horses and rode a little +farther back, so as to have a view to the very summit. + +When they completed the round, they agreed that there were but two +spots where it seemed to them that an ascent was barely possible, and +they were very doubtful whether the difficulties, when examined more +closely, would not prove to be absolutely insurmountable. + +"That is not a satisfactory outlook," Dick said, "but fortunately +there is, now, no motive for climbing the precipice. Certainly those +places would be of no use to a party wanting to make an attack. In the +first place, though you and I might get up, with soft shoes on, I am +sure that English soldiers, with muskets and ammunition pouches, could +never do it, especially at night; and in the daytime, even if a body +of troops strong enough to be of any use could get up, those who first +arrived at the top would be killed before the others could come to +their assistance, and a few stones rolled down would sweep all behind +them to the bottom. + +"I don't like turning my back on the place," he went on, as they +turned their horses' heads to the south; for Savandroog was the +farthest north of the forts they were to visit. "It seems to me that, +even now, my father may be there." + +"How can that be, Dick?" Surajah said in surprise. "Nothing could be +more straightforward than the governor seemed to be. I thought that he +was even rash, in speaking as frankly as he did to us." + +"I think he saw there was no fear of our repeating what he said, +Surajah. He is a frank, outspoken old soldier, and has evidently been +so disgusted at the treatment of the prisoners that he could not mince +his words; and yet, you know, he did not absolutely say that he had no +prisoners." + +"No; I noticed that he did not reply directly to your question." + +"On the contrary, he distinctly hesitated before he spoke. Now, why +should he have done that? He might just as well have said, 'No, I have +no prisoners. They are only sent up here for execution.' That would +have been his natural answer. Instead of that he hesitated, and then +began, 'I don't want any of them here; batches are sent up sometimes +from Bangalore.' Now, why did he shirk the question? If it had been +any other subject, I might not have noticed that he had not really +answered it, but of course, as it was so important a one, I was +listening most anxiously for his reply, and noticed his hesitation at +once, and that he gave no direct answer at all. + +"Now, think it over, Surajah. Why should he have hesitated, and why +should he have turned the question off without answering it, unless +there had been some reason? And if so, what could the reason be?" + +Surajah had no suggestion to make, and they rode on for some distance +in silence. + +"It is quite evident," Dick went on, after a long pause, "that he is a +kind-hearted man, and that he objects altogether to Tippoo's cruelty +to the prisoners. Therefore, if he had any captives, his reason for +not answering was most likely a kindly one." + +"Yes, I should think so." + +"You see, he would consider that we should report, to the sultan, all +particulars we had gathered about the fortress. His remarks about the +execution of the prisoners, and the worthlessness of the Chelah +battalions, and so on, was a private conversation, and was only a +matter of opinion. But, supposing he had had some prisoners, and had +said so, we might, for anything he knew, have had orders to inspect +them, and to report about them, as well as about the garrisons and +defences." + +"Yes, he might have thought that," Surajah agreed; "but after all, why +should he mind that?" + +Dick did not answer for some time. He was trying to think it out. +Presently, he reined in his horse suddenly. + +"This might be the reason," he said, excitedly. This governor may be +the very one who we heard had taken my father with him, when he was +moved from that fort up in the north. He was in command at +Kistnagherry before he came here, after the war, and he may have gone +to Kistnagherry from that fort in the north. You see there have been +executions, but they have been those of fresh batches sent up, and the +governor would not include the captive he had brought with him. In +time, his very existence may have been forgotten, and he may still be +living there. That would account for the governor's objection to +answering the question, as he would be sure that, did Tippoo hear +there was a prisoner there, he would send orders for him to be +executed at once. + +"This may be all fancy, Surajah, but I cannot think of any other +reason why he should have shirked my question." + +He took up the reins again, and the horse at once started forward. +They rode for some little time in silence, Dick thinking the matter +over, again and again, and becoming more and more convinced he was +right; except that, as he admitted to himself, the prisoner whom the +governor wished to shield might not be his father. + +He was roused, at last, by Surajah asking the question, "Is there +anything that you would like us to do?" + +"Not now," Dick replied. "We could not go back again. We must visit +the other forts on our list, and see what we can find out there. When +we have quite assured ourselves that my father is not in any of them, +we can think this over again; but at present we must put it aside. +However, I sha'n't rest until I get to the bottom of it." + +During the next ten days, they inspected the forts of Navandroog, +Sundradroog, Outradroog, and Chitteldroog. Few of these were as +extensive, and none so strong, as Savandroog. They did the official +part of their business, and assured themselves that no English +captives were contained in any of them. The governors all said that +prisoners were never kept there many days, and that it was only when +Tippoo wished to get rid of them that they were sent there. None of +the governors made any objection to answering Dick's questions on the +subject, generally adding an expression of satisfaction that prisoners +were never left long under their charge. + +"It entails a lot of trouble," the governor of Outradroog said. "They +have to be watched incessantly, and one never feels certain they may +not slip away. Look at this place. You would think that no one could +make his escape; and yet, some ten years ago, fourteen of them got +away from here. They slid down a precipice, where no one would have +thought a human being could have got down alive. They were all of them +retaken, except one, and executed the following day; but the sultan +was so furious that, although it was no fault of the governor, who had +sentries placed everywhere, he sent for him to Seringapatam, and threw +him to the tigers, declaring that there must have been treachery at +work. You may be sure that I have no desire to hold English prisoners, +after that; and when they have been sent here have been glad, indeed, +when orders came for their execution. + +"A good many were ordered to be starved to death. But I never waited +for that. It took too long. Do what I could, the guards would smuggle +in pieces of bread, and they lingered on for weeks; so that it was +more merciful to finish with them at once, besides making me feel +comfortable at the knowledge that there was no chance of their making +their escape. There were sentries at their doors, as well as on the +walls, when the fourteen I have told you about escaped; but they dug a +passage out at the back of their hut, chose a very dark night, and it +was only when the sound of some stones, that they dislodged as they +scrambled down the precipice, gave the alarm to the sentries, that +their escape was discovered. + +"No, I do not want any prisoners up here, and when they do come, there +is no sleep for me until I get the order to execute them. But they do +not often come now. Most of the prisoners who were not given up have +been killed since, and there are not many of them left." + +Upon finishing their round, they returned to Seringapatam, where Dick +drew up a full report of the result of their investigations. The +sultan himself went through it with them, questioned them closely, cut +off a good many of the items, and gave orders that the other demands +should be complied with, and the guns and ammunition sent off at once +to the various forts, from the great arsenal at the capital. + +Dick was depressed at the result of their journey. His hopes had +fallen lower and lower, as, at each fort they visited, he heard the +same story--that all prisoners sent up to the mountain fortresses had, +in a short time, been put to death. It was possible, of course, that +his father might still be at one of the towns where new levies had +been drilled; but he had not, from the first, thought it likely that a +merchant sailor would be put to this work; and had it not been that he +clung to the belief that there was a prisoner at Savandroog, and that +that prisoner was his father, he would have begun to despair. + +It was true that there were still many hill forts scattered about the +country, unvisited, but there seemed no reason why any of the +prisoners should have been allowed to survive in these forts, when +they had all been put to death in those they had visited, among which +were the places that had been most used as prisons. + +"I would give it up," he said to Surajah, "were it not that, in the +first place, it would almost break my mother's heart. Her conviction +that my father is still alive has never been shaken. It has supported +her all these years, and I believe that, were I to return and tell her +that it was no longer possible to hope, her faith would still be +unshaken. She would still think of him as pining in some dungeon, and +would consider that I had given up the search from faint heartedness. +That is my chief reason. But I own that I am almost as much influenced +by my own conviction that he is in Savandroog. I quite admit that I +can give no reason whatever why, if there is a prisoner there, it +should be my father, and yet I cannot get it out of my mind that it is +he. I suppose it is because I have the conviction that I believe in +it. Why should I have that impression so strongly, if it were not a +true one? I tell myself that it is absurd, that I have no real grounds +to go upon, and yet that does not shake my faith in the slightest. It +is perhaps because we have been so fortunate. Altogether everything +has turned out so favourably, that I can't help thinking he is alive, +and that I shall find him. + +"What do you think, Surajah? Ought we to give it up?" + +"Why should we?" Surajah replied stoutly. "I think you are right, and +that we are destined to find your father. There is no hurry. We have +not been anything like so long a time as we expected to be, and +Fortune has, as you say, befriended us wonderfully. We are well off +here. We have positions of honour. For myself, I could wish for +nothing better." + +"Well, at any rate we will wait for a time," Dick said. "We may be +sent to Savandroog again, and if so, I will not leave the place until +I find out from the governor whether he has still a prisoner; and if +so, manage to obtain a sight of him." + +The next day, Dick was informed by the chamberlain that the officer +who was in charge of the wild beasts had fallen into disgrace, and +that the sultan had appointed him to the charge. Dick was well +pleased, in some respects. The work would suit him much better than +examining stores, and seeing that the servants of the Palace did their +duty; but, on the other hand, it lessened his chance of being sent to +Savandroog again. However, there was no choice in the matter, and +Surajah cheered him by saying: + +"You must not mind, Dick. Has not everything turned out for the best? +And you may be sure that this will turn out so, also." + +It was, indeed, but two days later that Dick congratulated himself +upon the change, for Surajah was sent by Tippoo with an order for the +execution of four English prisoners. Dick knew nothing of the matter +until Surajah, on his return, told him that he had been obliged to +stop and see the orders carried out, by poison being forced down the +unfortunate officers' throats. + +"It was horrible," he said, with tears in his eyes. + +"Horrible!" Dick repeated. "Thank God I have been put to other work, +for I feel that I could not have done it. And yet, to have refused to +carry out the tyrant's orders would have meant death to us both, while +it would not have saved the lives of these poor fellows. Anyhow, I +would not have done it. As soon as I had received the order I would +have come to you, and we would have mounted and ridden off together, +and taken our chance." + +"Let us talk of something else," Surajah said. "Are the beasts all in +good health?" + +"As well as they can be, when they are fed so badly, and so miserably +cooped up. I made a great row this morning, and have kept the men at +work all day in cleaning out the places. They were all in a horrible +state, and before I could get the work done, I had to threaten to +report the whole of them to Tippoo, and they knew what would come of +that. I told Fazli, last night, that the beasts must have more flesh, +and got an order from him that all the bones from the kitchens should +be given to them." + +That evening when Dick, on his way to the apartments of one of the +officers, was going along a corridor that skirted the portion of the +Palace occupied by the zenana; a figure came out suddenly from behind +the drapery of a door, dropped on her knees beside him, and, seizing +his hand, pressed it to her forehead. It was, to all appearance, an +Indian girl in the dress of one of the attendants of the zenana. + +"What is it, child?" he said. "You must have mistaken me for someone +else." + +"No, Bahador," she said, "it is yourself I wanted to thank. One of the +other attendants saw you go along this corridor, some time ago, and +ever since I have watched here of an evening, whenever I could get +away unobserved, in hopes of seeing you. It was I, my lord, whom the +tiger was standing over when you came to our rescue. I was not greatly +hurt, for I was pushed down when the tiger burst in, and, save that it +seized me with one of its paws, and tore my shoulder, I was unhurt. +Ever since I have been hoping that the time would come when I could +thank you for saving my life." + +"I am glad to have done so, child. But you had best retire into the +zenana. It would not be good for you, or me, were I found talking to +you." + +The girl rose to her feet submissively, and he now saw her face, +which, in the dim light that burnt in the corridor, he had not +hitherto noticed. + +"Why," he exclaimed, with a start, "you are English!" + +"Yes, Sahib. I was brought here eight years ago. I am fourteen now. +There were other English girls here then, but they were all older than +me, and have been given away to officers of the sultan. I am afraid I +shall be, too, ere long. I have dreaded it so much! But oh, Sahib, you +are a favourite of the sultan. If he would but give me to you, I +should not mind so much." + +Dick was about to reply, when he heard a distant footfall. + +"Go in," he exclaimed. "Someone is coming. I will speak to you again, +in a day or two." + +When he returned to his room, he told Surajah what had happened. + +"It will, at any rate, give me a fresh interest here," he said. "It is +terrible to think that a young English girl should be in Tippoo's +power, and that he can give her, whenever he likes, to one of his +creatures. Of course, according to our English notions, she is still +but a young girl, but as your people out here marry when the girls are +but of the age of this child, it is different altogether." + +"She does not suspect that you are English?" + +"No. As I told you, I had only just discovered that she was so, when I +heard a footstep in the distance. But I shall see her again, tomorrow +or next day." + +"You will be running a great risk," Surajah said gravely. + +"Not much risk, I think," Dick replied. "She is only a little slave +girl, and as the tiger was standing over her when I fired, no doubt I +did save her life, and it would be natural enough that she would, on +meeting me, speak to me and express her thanks." + +"That would be a good excuse," Surajah agreed. "But a suspicious +tyrant, like Tippoo, might well insist that this was only a pretence, +and that the girl was really giving you a letter or message from one +of the inmates of the zenana." + +Dick was silent for a time. + +"I will be very careful," he said. "I must certainly see her again, +and it seems to me, at present, that whatever risk there may be, I +must try to save this poor girl from the fate that awaits her. I +cannot conceal from myself that, however much I may refuse to admit +it, the hopes of my finding and saving my father are faint indeed; and +although this girl is nothing to me, I should feel that my mission had +not been an entire failure, if we could take her home with us and +restore her to her friends. + +"No, I don't think," he went on, in answer to a grave shake of +Surajah's head, "that it would add to our danger in getting away. We +know that, if we try to escape and are caught, our lives will be +forfeited in any case; and if she were disguised as a boy, we could +travel with her without attracting any more observation than we should +alone. She would not be missed for hours after she had left, and there +would be no reason, whatever, for connecting her departure with ours. +I don't say, Surajah, that I have made up my mind about it--of course +it has all come fresh to me, and I have not had time to think it over +in any way. Still, it does seem to me that when the time for our +leaving comes, whether we ride off openly as Tippoo's officers, or +whether we go off in disguise, there ought to be no very great +difficulty in taking her away with us. You see that yourself, don't +you?" + +"I can't give any opinion about it, at present," Surajah replied. "I +do think that it will add to our difficulties, however we may go, but +I don't say it cannot be managed." + +"I should think not, Surajah, and it would be worth doing, however +great the difficulties might be. Just think of the grief that her +parents must feel, at her loss, and the joy when she is restored to +them. You see, it would be no great loss of time, if we were obliged +to take her down to Tripataly first, and then come back again to renew +our search. It would take but a week, going and returning, and now +that the passes are all open to us, the difficulties would be nothing +to what they were when we went back after our scouting expedition. +Besides, at that time they were more vigilant, all along the frontier, +than they will be now, because there was war between the two +countries, and Tippoo was anxious that no news of his movements should +be taken down. There is no talk of war now, for though Tippoo makes no +disguise of his fury at his losses, especially at Coorg being taken +from him, and is evidently bent upon fighting again, it will take a +very long time to get his army into an efficient state, to repair his +fortresses, to complete all the new works of defence he is getting up +here, and to restore the confidence of his soldiers. + +"I should think it will be fully four or five years before he is ready +to fight again. At any rate, if we once get well away from here with +the girl, we ought to have no difficulty in getting across the +frontier. It would mean but a fortnight lost in the search for my +father, and, anyhow, we are not making any progress that way as long +as we stop here. The only drawback would be, so far as I can see, that +we should lose the benefit of our official positions, but unless we +happen to be sent off with orders to other hill forts, that position +will only hamper our movements. Besides, we should still have our +badges of office, and Tippoo's official orders to the governors. +Possibly, the news that we had disappeared might reach the governors +of some of the forts in this neighbourhood, but it would not be likely +to travel very far. His officers so frequently fall into disgrace, and +are either killed or thrown to the tigers, that the fact of our being +missing would scarce excite a remark, and those who heard of it would +suppose that we had either been secretly made away with, or that, +having learned that Tippoo was displeased with us, we had fled." + +Surajah nodded. His confidence in his leader was complete, and he was +always ready to follow unquestioningly. + +"There is one thing, Surajah," Dick concluded. "This state of things +cannot last much longer, anyhow, for next time it might be me he +ordered to see to the execution of an English prisoner, and that would +mean that I should, as soon as I received the command, make a bolt for +it. So you see our stay here, in any case, may not last many days. I +would rather run any risks than carry out such an order." + +Two evenings later, Dick went down the corridor at the same hour as +that on which he had before met the English girl. She came out from +behind the hangings at once, when he passed. + +"I knew you would come, Bahador!" she said joyfully. "I could see that +you were as kind as you were brave, and would have pity upon a poor +little white slave!" + +"I have much that I want to say to you, child. This is not a good +place for speaking. Someone might come along at any moment. How long +can you be away, without fear of your absence being noticed?" + +"Not long now," she said. "In the morning I am sent out on messages, +and could meet you anywhere." + +"Very well. I will remain in my room all the morning, tomorrow, and if +you do not come then, I will stay in next day." + +"I will come," the girl said unhesitatingly. + +He then gave her full instructions how to find his room, and made her +repeat them to him, in order to be sure that she had them correctly. + +"Do you know my companion by sight?" he asked. + +"Oh, yes. I have seen him often." + +"Well, either he or I will be standing at my door. It is as well that +you should look carefully round, before you enter, so as to be sure +there is no one in the corridor, and that you can slip in unobserved. +You may be sure that I am asking you to come for no idle freak, but +because I have something very important to say to you. + +"I fancy I hear footsteps. Good night." + +Dick was sure that he and Surajah would both be at liberty next day, +for Tippoo had that morning started for Bangalore, where a large +number of men were at work, repairing the fortifications and removing +all signs of the British occupation from the fort and palace. He was +likely to be away for at least a fortnight. As soon as Ibrahim had +swept the room, after their early breakfast, Dick gave him a number of +small commissions to be executed in the town, and told him that he +should not require him again until it was time to bring up their meal +from the kitchen. Then he and Surajah, by turns, watched at the door. + +An hour later Surajah, who was upon the watch, said: + +"The girl is coming." + +There was no one else in sight, and when Surajah beckoned to her, she +hurried on, and, passing through the curtains at the door, entered the +room. It had been arranged that Surajah should remain on watch, so +that should, by any chance, one of the officials of their acquaintance +come along, he might go out and talk with him in the corridor, and, on +some excuse or other, prevent his entering the room, if he showed any +intention of doing so. + +"Now, in the first place," Dick said, as he led the girl to the divan +and seated her there, "what is your name?" + +"My name is Goorla." + +"No; I mean your proper name?" + +"My name used to be Annie--Annie Mansfield, Bahador." + +"And my name is Dick Holland," he said, in English. + +She gave a start of surprise. + +"Yes, Annie, I am a countryman of yours." + +She looked at him almost incredulously, and then an expression of +aversion succeeded that of confidence in her face. She sprang from the +divan, and drew herself up indignantly. + +"Please let me go," she said haughtily. "You have saved my life, but +if you had saved it twenty times, I could not like a man who is a +deserter!" + +Dick had at first been speechless with astonishment at the girl's +change of manner, and at her reception of the news he had thought +would have been very pleasant to her. As her last words threw a light +upon the matter, he burst into a merry laugh. + +"I am no deserter, Annie. Save my friend at the door and yourself, +there is no one here who knows that I am English. Sit down again, and +I will tell you how I come to be here. + +"My father was the captain of an English ship. She was wrecked on the +west coast, and he was seized and brought up here a prisoner, eight +years ago. My mother, who is a daughter of the late Rajah of +Tripataly, who married an English lady, taught me to speak Hindustani, +so that when I got old enough I could come out here and try to find +out if my father was still alive, and if so, to help him to escape. I +had only just come up here, with my friend, who is an officer of the +Rajah's, when that affair with the tiger took place. Then, as you +know, Tippoo made us both officers in the Palace. Of course, while we +are here we can do nothing towards finding out about my father, and we +should not have remained here much longer anyway, and may have to +leave at any moment. Since you met me, and I found that there was an +English girl captive here, it has of course changed my plans, and I +feel that I could not go away and leave you to the fate you told me +of, and that if possible, I must take you away with me. That is, of +course, if you are willing to go with us, and prepared to run a +certain amount of risk. + +"Do not take on so," he continued, as the girl threw herself on her +knees, and, clinging to him, burst into a passion of tears. "Do not +cry like that;" and, stooping down, he lifted her, and placed her in a +corner of the divan. "There," he said, patting her on the shoulder, as +she sobbed almost convulsively; "try and compose yourself. We may be +disturbed at any moment, and may not have an opportunity of talking +again, so we must make our arrangements, in readiness to leave +suddenly. I may find it necessary to go at an hour's notice. You may, +as you said, be given by Tippoo to one of his favourites at any time. +Fortunately he has gone away for a fortnight, so we have, at any rate, +that time before us to make our plans. Still, it is better that we +should arrange, now, as much as we can." + + + +Chapter 15: Escape. + + +Annie Mansfield was not long before she mastered her emotions. She had +learned to do so in a bitter school. Beaten for the slightest fault, +or at the mere caprice of one of her many mistresses, she had learned +to suffer pain without a tear; to assume a submissive attitude under +the greatest provocation; to receive, without attempting to defend +herself, punishment for faults she had not committed; and to preserve +an appearance of cheerfulness, when her heart seemed breaking at the +hopelessness of any deliverance from her fate. For the last six months +she had been specially unhappy, for when Seringapatam had been +besieged she had hoped that, when it was captured, her countrymen +would search the Palace and see that, this time, no English captive +remained behind. Her disappointment, then, when she heard that peace +had been made, and that the English army was to march away, without +even an attempt to see that the condition for the release of captives +was faithfully carried out, had for a time completely crushed her, and +all hope had forsaken her. + +Thus, then, while she had been, for a moment, overwhelmed at finding +that her preserver from the tiger was a countryman in disguise, and +that he was willing to make an attempt to rescue her; yet in a few +minutes she stifled her sobs, hastily thrust back the hair that had +fallen over her face, uncoiled herself from her crouching position in +the angle of the divan, and rose to her feet. + +"I can hardly believe it to be true," she said, in a low voice. "Oh, +Sahib, do you really mean what you say? And are you willing to run the +risk of taking me away with you?" + +"Of course I am," Dick said heartily. "You don't suppose that an +Englishman would be so base as to leave a young countrywoman in the +hands of these wretches? I do not think that there is much risk in it. +Of course, you will have to disguise yourself, and there may be some +hardships to go through, but once away from here we are not likely to +be interfered with. You see, my friend and I are officers of the +Palace, and no one would venture to question us, as we should be +supposed to be travelling upon the sultan's business. There is peace +at present, and although Tippoo may intend, some day or other, to +fight again, everything is settling down quietly. Traders go about the +country unquestioned. There is plenty of traffic on the roads from one +town to another; and so long as your disguise is good enough to +prevent your being recognised as a white, there is no greater danger +in travelling, in Mysore, than there would be down in the Carnatic." + +Annie stood before him, with her fingers playing nervously with each +other. Long trained in habits of implicit obedience, and to stand in +an attitude of deep respect before her numerous mistresses, she was in +ignorance whether she ought to speak or not. She had been but a child +of six, when she had been carried off. Her remembrance of English +manners had quite died out, and the habit of silent submission had +become habitual to her. Dick was puzzled by her silence. + +"Of course, Annie," he said, at last, "I don't want you to go with me, +if you would rather stay here, or if you are afraid of the risk of +travelling." + +She looked up with frightened eyes. + +"Oh, Sahib, it is not that; I would go, even if I felt sure I should +be found out and cut to pieces. Anything would be better than this. I +am not afraid at all. + +"But forgive me, Sahib. I don't know how to thank you. I don't know +what is proper to say. It is all so strange and so wonderful." + +"Oh, that is all right, Annie," Dick said cheerfully. "Of course, you +will feel it a little strange, just at starting. + +"Well, in the first place, you must call me Dick, instead of calling +me sahib; and in the next place, you must talk to me freely, as a +friend, and not stand as if I were your master. While we are on this +journey together, consider me as a sort of big brother. When we get +down the ghauts I shall hand you over to the care of my mother, who is +living at present at Tripataly with her brother, the Rajah. + +"Now sit down again, and let us make our arrangements. When we have +done that we can talk, if there is time. Now, how am I to let you know +if I have to go away suddenly? Do you always get out at this time of a +morning?" + +"Not always, but very often. I always go down at twelve o'clock, with +some of the other slave girls, to fetch the food and sweetmeats for +the ladies of the harem." + +"Well, you must always manage, even if you are not sent out, to look +out through that doorway where you met me, at eight o'clock in the +morning. If we have anything particular to say to you, Surajah--that +is my friend, you know--will be there. Which way do you go out from +the harem to fetch the food?" + +"Not from that door, but from the one nearest to the kitchen. You go +right down that corridor, and then take the first turning to the +right. There is a flight of stairs at its end. We come out at the door +just at its head. At the foot of the stairs there is a long passage, +and at the end of that is a large room, with tables, on which the +dishes are placed in readiness for us to bring back." + +"Well, if it is necessary to speak to you at once, one of us will meet +you in the passage between the bottom of the stairs and the room where +the food is. If you see one of us, you will know that the matter is +urgent, and as soon as you can possibly slip away, you must come here. +In the evening you had better again look out from the door where you +first met me. + +"Now, as to the disguise, it will be better for you to go as a boy. It +would be strange to see a girl riding behind two of the officers of +the Palace. You won't mind that, will you?" + +"Not at all, Sahib." + +"Not at all, Dick," he corrected. "Well, I will have a dress ready for +you here. You will find it in that corner, and there will be a bottle +of stain on the table. It will be only necessary for you to colour +your neck, hands, and feet, but you must cut off your hair, behind, to +a level with your ears, so that none of it will show below the turban. +You must do that, of course, before you stain your neck, and must +stain the skin where you have cut off your hair, also. I am giving you +these instructions now, because when the time comes there may not be a +minute to spare, though, of course, I hope there will be no desperate +hurry." + +"I understand," she said, "and will look out for you, three times a +day." + +"Of course," he went on, "if you are suddenly told that you are to be +given to any one, you must slip out at once, and come here. You will +find everything ready for you to disguise yourself, and you must do +that at once, and wait here till one of us comes. Even if you are +missed, it will be some time before any search is made, and it would +be thought much more likely that you had gone down into the town, than +that you were hiding in the Palace, so there would be no chance of +their looking for you here before we return. Anyhow, we shall be able +to have another talk before Tippoo comes back. We shall be here every +morning until nine, and if you are able to get away again, come and +see us. + +"It will be better, perhaps, for you not to wait any longer, now. I +suppose you have been charged with some message or other, and it would +not do for you to be too long gone." + +The girl stood up at once. + +"I have to go down to the Pettah, to get some sewing silk to match +this;" and she drew out a small fragment of yellow silk. + +"Very well, then. You had better go and do it, or they may think that +you are too long away. + +"Goodbye, Annie. I hope that in another week, or ten days at the +latest, I shall have you out of this;" and he held out his hand to +her. + +She took it timidly, and would have raised it to her forehead, but +Dick said, laughing: + +"That is not the way, Annie. English girls don't treat their friends +as if they were lords and masters. They just shake hands with them, as +if it were two men, or two girls." + +"I shall know better, in time," she said, with a faint smile, though +her eyes were full of tears. "I want to do something, though I don't +know what. You saved my life from the tiger, and now you are going to +save me again. I should like to throw myself down, and kiss your +feet." + +"You would make me horribly uncomfortable, if you did anything of the +sort, Annie. I can understand that you feel strange and out of your +element, at present, but you will soon get over that, when you come to +know me better. + +"There, goodbye, lassie. I hope to see you again, tomorrow or next +day, and then you will be able to tell me more about yourself. + +"Is the coast clear, Surajah?" + +Surajah looked out through the curtains. + +"There is no one in sight," he said, a moment later. + +The girl passed silently out, and went down the corridor. Surajah +returned from his post by the door. + +"The poor girl is shy and awkward, as yet," Dick said, "but I think +she will be plucky enough, when the time comes. You heard what we +said. The first thing will be to get her disguise ready for her. What +do you think? Had we better take Ibrahim with us? I think he is to be +trusted." + +"I am sure he is," Surajah agreed. "He is a Hindoo of Coorg, and was +carried away as a slave, six years ago. In the first place, he will be +delighted at the prospect of getting away; and in the next, I am sure +that he is very fond of you. But there is no occasion to tell him that +you are English." + +"No, it will be time enough to do that when we get over the ghauts. It +will be better that he should get the disguise. In the first place, he +will know exactly what is wanted; and in the next, it would look rum +for either of us to be buying such a thing. Of course, we could ask +Pertaub to get it for us, but if we take Ibrahim with us he may as +well buy it. + +"We shall want a couple more horses. These, of course, we can buy +ourselves, and saddles and things. When we have got them, we had +better leave them at some place on the other side of the river. +Pertaub would help us, there. He is sure to know someone who will look +after them for a few days. Then Ibrahim and the girl can start +together, go over there and saddle them, so as to be in readiness to +mount, directly we come along. We will stop at the wood and dig up the +caskets. There is nothing like taking them away with us, when there is +a chance, and it is not likely that we shall come back to Seringapatam +again--it would be like putting our heads into a tiger's den." + +When Ibrahim brought in the dishes for their meal, Dick said: + +"Go down and get your own food, Ibrahim, and when you have done come +back here again. I want to have a talk with you." + +They had just finished their meal, when Ibrahim returned. + +"Ibrahim, would you be glad of a chance of getting away from here, and +returning to your own country?" + +"I would have given anything to do so, my lord," Ibrahim said, "before +I was ordered to attend upon you. But I am happy now. You are kind to +me, and I should not like to leave your service." + +"But if I were going too, Ibrahim?" + +"Then, my lord, I would go with you anywhere, if you would take me." + +"Well, Ibrahim, we feel sure that we can trust you, and so I may tell +you that I think it likely we shall, very shortly, go away. You know +what the sultan is. One day he gives you honours and rewards, the next +he disgraces you, and perhaps sends you into the ranks of the army, +perhaps has you thrown to the tigers. We do not care to live under +such conditions, and we mean, in a few days, to slip away and go to +our friends down the ghauts. You can come with us, if you like." + +"I would go with you to the end of the world, my lord," Ibrahim +exclaimed earnestly. "To go with you and be a free man, and not a +slave, would be almost too great happiness." + +"Very well, then, that is settled. Now, Ibrahim, we are not going +alone. We are going to take with us a young white slave in the harem, +and restore her to her friends. I want you to get a disguise for her. +Let it be a dress like your own--long white trousers to the ankle, a +shirt and tunic with waist belt, also the stuff for a turban. That you +must wind in proper folds, as she would not be able to do it herself. +I also want a bottle of stain for the skin." + +"I will get them, my lord. How tall is she?" + +"About half a head shorter than you are. She is about the size of an +average Hindoo woman." + +"Shall I get the things at once, my lord?" + +"Yes, you had better get them today. We may leave at any time, and it +is as well to have them in readiness. We shall buy two horses, one for +each of you, and have them taken across the river. You can ride, I +suppose?" + +"Yes; I used to ride when I was a boy, before Tippoo came down and +killed my father and mother, and brought me up here. Will my lord want +me to take the horses across?" + +"I will tell you that in the morning, Ibrahim. We are going down into +the town, now, to inquire about them, but we shall not buy any until +tomorrow, as we shall have to make arrangements for them to be kept +for us, until we want them." + +They did not go out until it was dark, and then took their way to +Pertaub's house. The old Hindoo was in. + +"I am glad to see you, Sahibs," he said to Dick, as they entered. "I +have always fears that ill may, in some way, befall you." + +"We are going to leave, Pertaub. Surajah had, two days ago, to go up +to see four English prisoners put to death at one of the hill forts. +Next time I may be ordered on such a duty. I could not carry it out, +and you know that refusal would probably mean death. Moreover, we are +convinced that we have no means, here, of finding out what captives +may still be in Tippoo's hands, and have therefore determined to +leave. We are going to take with us our servant, Ibrahim, who is a +slave from Coorg; and will, we know, be faithful to us; and also a +young English girl who has, for eight years, been a slave in Tippoo's +harem. She will go with us in the disguise of a boy. This Ibrahim is +getting for us. We are going to buy a couple of horses for them, and +shall make straight down the ghauts, where I shall leave the girl in +my mother's care." + +"It is a good action," the Hindoo said gravely. + +"Now, in the first place, Pertaub, would you like to go with us? +Riding as we shall do, as two of the officers of the Palace, it is not +likely that any questions whatever will be asked, and certainly we +shall have no difficulty until it comes to crossing the frontier." + +"No, Sahib. I thank you, but I am too old, now, for any fresh change. +I have friends here, and have none below the ghauts. Nothing save the +rescue of my daughter from the harem would induce me to move now, and +of that there is little chance. She will, by this time, have become +reconciled to her fate, and would probably not care to escape, were an +opportunity offered to her. Besides, with only me to protect her, what +would she do elsewhere? A few months, and she might be left alone in +the world." + +"As to that," Dick said, "I could promise her the protection of my +aunt, the wife of the Rajah of Tripataly. After the kindness that you +have shown to us she would, I am sure, gladly take her into her +service. And there would be no difficulty about a dowry for her. I +would see to that." + +The old man shook his head. + +"There could be no question of marriage," he said; "but should I ever +hear from her that she is unhappy, and I can arrange to fly with her, +I will assuredly avail myself of your offer, and take her to +Tripataly; rejoiced indeed that, at my death, there will be a shelter +open to her. + +"And now, can I aid you in any way, Sahib? One of my friends, a +merchant, could get the horses for you without difficulty. He has +often occasion to buy them, for the purposes of his trade." + +"Thank you, Pertaub. I had intended to buy them myself, but doubtless +it will be safer for somebody else to do so. What I was going to ask +you was to let me know of some place, on the other side of the river, +where the horses could be kept until I want them." + +"That I can do, Sahib. I have a friend, a cultivator. His house stands +by itself on this side of the first village--the one half a mile +beyond the ford. It is the only house this side of the village, so you +cannot mistake it. It lies about a hundred yards back from the road. I +will go over and arrange with him that, when two horses arrive, they +shall be placed in his stalls, and remain there until one arrives who +will say to him, after greeting, the word 'Madras'. To him he is to +deliver the horses at once, whether he comes by night or day." + +"That would do admirably, Pertaub. Of course, I shall also want +saddles and bridles. How much do you think it will come to, +altogether? I do not want showy horses, but they must be animals +capable of performing a long journey, and of travelling at a fair rate +of speed--the faster the better. We are likely to get seven or eight +hours start, at least; but must, of course, travel fast. As long as +all goes well, I shall keep the main roads, but if there is a +breakdown, or an unforeseen accident occurs, I may have to leave the +road and take to bypaths." + +"The cost of such horses would be about eighty rupees each; the +saddles and bridles another fifteen or twenty." + +"Then here are two hundred rupees, Pertaub." + +"Have you given up all hope of finding your father, Sahib? I have felt +so sure that you would be successful. It seemed to me that such brave +efforts could not go unrewarded." + +"No, Pertaub, I have not given it up, at all. I intend to stay at +Tripataly for a fortnight, with my mother, and shall then come up the +ghauts again. + +"That is another matter I want to speak to you about. Of course, we +should not dare to return to Seringapatam, and I think that we had +better settle to go to Bangalore. Could you forward our packs, with +the merchandise, to someone in that town?" + +"There will be no difficulty in that, Sahib. There are many Hindoo +merchants there, who have been forced to change their religion, and +who have frequent dealings with traders here. One of my friends will, +I am sure, forward your goods with the next consignment that he sends +to Bangalore. That, also, I will arrange tomorrow, and when you come +in the evening will give you the name of the trader there, together +with a letter from the one here, telling him that you are the person +to whom the goods are to be given up." + +"Thank you, Pertaub. I don't know what we should have done, without +your assistance." + +"It has been a pleasure, to me, to be of use to you, Sahib. I had +thought my time of usefulness was over, and it has given a real +pleasure to my life to have been able to aid you. You will let me +know, Sahib, if ever you find your father?" + +"Certainly, Pertaub. I will, in any case, send word to you, either +that I have found him, or that I have given up all hope and have +abandoned my efforts." + +The next morning a lad brought Dick a message, from Pertaub, that he +had fulfilled all his commissions; and on the following morning, Annie +Mansfield again came to Dick's room. + +"Everything is going on well, Annie," Dick said, as he shook hands +with her. "The horses have been bought. There is your disguise in that +corner, and we can start any moment, at a quarter of an hour's notice. + +"Now, I want you to tell me how you came to be brought up here." + +"I have not much to tell," she said. "You see, I was only six years +old. I can remember there was a great deal of firing of guns, and that +lasted for a long time. Then the firing stopped. I suppose the place +surrendered." + +"Do you know what place it was, Annie?" + +She shook her head. + +"I do not know at all. I suppose I did know, then, but I do not +remember ever to have heard the name. I remember quite well that there +were soldiers, and Father and Mother, and servants, and many other +people, and everyone was very miserable, and we all went together out +of a gate, and on each side there were a great many natives with guns +and swords, some on horse and some on foot; and there were elephants. +I don't think I had ever seen one before, for I noticed them +particularly. We went on and on, and I know one of the soldiers +carried me. + +"At night we stopped somewhere. I think it was in a wood, and there +were fires, and we lay down to sleep on the ground. Then I woke up +suddenly, and there was a great noise and firing of guns, and someone +caught me up and threw something over my head, and I don't remember +anything more, for a long time. I know that presently I was on +horseback, before a fierce-looking man. There were a good many of +them, and when I cried for my father and mother, they said they would +cut off my head if I were not quiet. + +"I do not know how long we were travelling, but after the first day +there was only the man who carried me, and another. I was brought +here, and there were many people, and I was very much frightened. Then +I found myself only among women, and they took off my clothes and +dressed me in their fashion. I think I was very happy, when I once got +accustomed to it. The ladies made a sort of pet of me, and I was +taught to dance and to sing little native songs. There were other +white girls here, and they were all very kind to me, though they +always seemed very sad, and I could not make out why they cried so +often, especially when they were beaten for crying. + +"As I grew bigger, I was not so happy. I had ceased to be a plaything, +and little by little I was set to work to sweep and dust, and then to +sew, and then to do all sorts of work, like the other slave girls. The +other white girls gradually went away, the oldest first. The last two, +who were two or three years older than I was, went about three years +ago. + +"At first, I used to wonder why they cried so when they went, and why +the others all cried, too; but by the time the last two left, I had +come to know all about it, and knew that they had been given by the +sultan to his favourite officers. + +"There were many white men here, when I first came. When I went out +with one of the slaves, into the town, I saw them often. Sometimes +they would burst into tears when they saw me. Then I used to wonder +why, but I know now that I must have reminded them of girls of their +own, whom they would never see again. Then, till three years ago, +there were about twenty white boys who had been taught to dance and +sing, and who used to come sometimes, dressed up like women, to amuse +the ladies of the harem; but I heard that they were all killed, when +the sultan first thought that the English might come here. One of the +slave girls told me that it was done because the sultan had often +sworn, to the English, that there were no white captives here, and so +he did not wish that any should be found, if they came. + +"I don't think that I have anything else to tell you." + +"Well, I hope that what you have told me will be enough to enable us, +some day, to find out who you belong to. Evidently you were in some +place that was besieged, eight years ago, and had to surrender. The +garrison were promised their lives and liberty to depart. They were +attacked at night by an armed party, who may have been Hyder's +horsemen, but who were perhaps merely a party of mounted robbers, who +thought that they might be able to take some loot. Most likely they +were defeated, especially as you saw no other captives in the party, +but in the confusion of the night attack, one of them probably came +upon you, and carried you off, thinking you would be an acceptable +present here, and that he would get a reward for you from the sultan. + +"Are you not noticed, when you go into the streets on errands?" + +"No; I always go veiled. Except the slaves who are old and ugly, all +the others wear veils when they go outside the Palace, and we all wear +a red scarf, which shows we are servants in the harem; and so, even +when the town is full of rough soldiers, no one ventures to speak to +us. + +"Now tell me, Dick--you see I have not forgotten--all about how you +came to be here." + +Dick told her, briefly, how he had come out with his mother; and how, +finding war had broken out, he had joined the army; and how, at the +end of the war, having been able to learn nothing about his father, he +had come up with Surajah to search for him. + +"And then you saw that tiger break in," the girl said, eagerly. "That +was dreadful. I will tell you how it was the tiger came to seize me. I +was standing behind a lady, and could not see anything. Suddenly they +all began screaming, and ran, some to one side, some to the other, of +the window; and I, who could not think what was the matter, remained +where I was, when there was a great cry, and before I had time to +move, or even to wonder, some great thing knocked me down. It was only +from the screams of the ladies, and their cries of 'Tiger!' that I +knew what had happened. I felt something heavy standing on me--so +heavy that I could hardly breathe; and indeed, I did not try to +breathe, for I knew many stories of tigers, and had heard that +sometimes, when a man shams being dead, the tiger will walk away and +kill someone else. + +"The tiger was keeping up an angry growl, and I felt that, unless it +took its paw off me, I should soon die, when I heard a shot, and a +fierce growl from the tiger, and then the weight was gone, and I think +I fainted. When I came round, I was lying where I fell, for many of +the ladies were insensible, and everyone was too busy with them to +think anything of me. + +"When I got up, one of the other slave girls, who had been brave +enough to look out of the window, told me that it had been killed by +two young men, one of whom must have been the one who had fired the +shot in at the window. I went and looked out, and saw it lying there. +After that every one talked, and laughed, and cried, and then the +sultan's chief wife said that everyone must make a present to the +young men who had saved us, and that each one ought to give one of her +best jewels. Of course, everyone did. I had nothing to give, except a +little cross of gold filigree work, that hung round my neck when I was +carried off. It had been hidden by my dress. The men had not noticed +it, and they had not taken it away when I was brought here. It was +such a poor little gift, but it was all I had." + +"I noticed it, Annie," Dick said; "there was a little flat plate +behind it, with the letters 'A. M.' and I thought, then, that it must +be some little ornament taken from one of the Englishwomen Hyder's +troops killed. It is fortunate you kept it, for it may be useful, +someday, in proving that you are Annie Mansfield." + +"Now I must be going," she said. "I was slapped and pinched, last +time, for being so long, but I have several things to get today, so +that if I hurry I can be back again as soon as they expect me. You +have not settled when you are going, yet?" + +"No; but we rather think of going the day after tomorrow. It will be +better to do so before Tippoo comes back, for we might be ordered away +so quickly as to have no time to make arrangements. Besides, there +will be ten times as many people about, in the Palace, and more guards +at the entrances when he returns. So, altogether, it will be better to +go before he does so. If we settle it so, I will come along past your +door, tomorrow evening; and if I say, 'Tomorrow morning,' get here as +soon as you can in the morning, and directly you have stained your +skin and put on your disguise, we will start. My servant, who is going +with us, will act as your guide, and will take you to the place where +the horses are, and where we shall join you, almost as soon as you get +there." + +At the appointed time, next evening, Dick told Annie that they should +start in the morning. He and Surajah then went down and said goodbye +to Pertaub, and Dick gave him a letter to his aunt, to give to her +should he ever go to Tripataly with his daughter. + +"It may be," he said, "that neither Surajah nor I may be there, but I +shall speak to her about you, and of course tell her how much you have +done for us; so you may be sure of the heartiest welcome from her." + +"And you will also find a hearty friend in my father, Rajbullub," +Surajah said. "He is principal officer in the Rajah's household, and +will treat you as a brother, and your daughter as if she were my +sister." + +Then they returned to the Palace, where they had a final talk over the +route that it would be best to pursue. The nearest point to the new +frontier was the territory ceded to the English on the Malabar coast. +But this would entail a long sea voyage, and they therefore determined +to make for Caveripatam, going by the road that led through Anicull, +and then through Ryacotta, which stood just outside the line of +territory ceded to England, and from whence a road led direct down the +passes. Anicull lay nearly due south of Bangalore, but the road they +would follow would not be the one by which Tippoo would return, as he +would come by the main road, which ran in a direct line between the +two cities. + +Ibrahim was informed of their plans, and was told to warn the syce to +get their horses saddled and in readiness at eight o'clock, and that, +as they were going for a long day's ride, he would not be required to +accompany them--as he always did when they rode only into the town, +for then he might be wanted to hold the horses, if they dismounted and +went into a shop. + +He was also to give notice, in the kitchen, that they would not return +to the midday meal, and that dishes for them would therefore not be +required. Thus it would be unlikely that any suspicion would be +aroused by their absence until they had been gone twenty-four hours, +by which time they would be more than halfway to the frontier. + +They went to bed at their usual time, and slept soundly, for it seemed +to them both that there was practically no risk whatever to be run, +and that they would be across the frontier before any active search +was made for them. Even when it was discovered that they had left the +Palace, it would be thought that they had received some order from +Bangalore, either to join the sultan, or to go on some mission for him +that had occupied more time than they had anticipated on starting. The +idea that two officers, who were considered to stand high in Tippoo's +favour, should desert, would scarcely occur to anyone. + +In the morning they were up early, completed their slight +preparations, and took their early breakfast, reserving a portion for +Annie, who, they thought, would not improbably have eaten nothing +before coming to them. + +She was a quarter of an hour late in arriving, and looked somewhat +pale and flurried. + +"They did not send me out this morning," she said, "and so I had to +stay, until I could slip out without being noticed; but they may miss +me at any moment." + +"That will be all right," Dick said confidently. "They will search all +the rooms in the harem for you, first, and certainly won't look for +you outside, until there has been a lot of talk over your absence. But +even if they do search, you will be able, in a few minutes, to walk +through the middle of them without being suspected. + +"However, we will lose no time; and to begin with, I will cut off what +hair is necessary. I shall do it a good deal quicker than you would. +Then we will leave you to yourself, to stain your skin and put on your +disguise. When you have finished, clap your hands. Ibrahim will come +in and see that your disguise is all right, and that your turban +covers your hair. Then he will go with you. We shall be waiting near +the gate. There is practically no chance of your being asked any +questions, but if you are, and there is any difficulty, we will pass +you through all right. Having seen you on your way, we shall mount and +follow you." + +The operation of cutting off Annie's hair, to the line of her ears, +was speedily done; then, with a few reassuring words, Dick joined +Surajah in the corridor. As they walked down it he said: + +"I don't like leaving them to themselves. Look here, Surajah, you go +down to the stable, and mount at once. Tell the syce I shall come for +my horse in a few minutes. Then ride out, and take your post where you +can see them come out of the gate, and then follow them closely. I +will stay here, and see them safely through the gate, and then mount +and follow you. I shall overtake you before you get to the ford." + +"That will perhaps be safest," Surajah agreed, "though I should think +there is no chance of her being suspected, seeing that she will be +with Ibrahim. Even if they met one of the Palace officers, and he +asked Ibrahim who he had with him, he could say it was a lad who had +come to you respecting some horses you had bought." + +"Yes, that would do very well." + +Dick returned to Ibrahim, who was squatting down in the corridor near +the door. + +"I am going to follow you, until you are through the gate, and shall +keep a short distance behind you. If you should meet any officer on +your way out, who may ask you who you have with you, say he has come +with a message to me from a trader in the town. By the time you have +told him that, I shall be up." + +"There is no chance of being questioned, my lord. People come and go +all day." + +"That is so, Ibrahim, but one cannot be too careful." + +They stood, talking together, until they heard Annie clap her hands +within. Ibrahim entered at once, and in two or three minutes came out +again with the girl. Ibrahim carried a bundle. + +"You will do very well," Dick said to Annie. "I should not know you, +in the least. You make a capital boy. + +"What bundle is that, Ibrahim? I thought you took our other disguises +on, yesterday, to the stable where the horses are." + +"Yes, my lord, I took them on. These are the things she has taken off. +I thought, perhaps, it would be better not to leave them here, as, if +they were found, it would be known that she had gone with you." + +"I don't think it makes much difference, Ibrahim, but perhaps it is as +well to bring them away. We can leave the bundle in the wood. + +"Now, go along. I will follow. Perhaps I had better go first. Keep a +few paces behind me." + +They passed through the long passages of the Palace, without +attracting the slightest attention. Once or twice, Dick paused to +speak to some officials of his acquaintance, the others stopping +respectfully a few paces away. Then he went out into the courtyard, +and across to the gate, and as the sentries saluted he stopped, and +asked them a few questions as to the regiment they belonged to, until +Ibrahim and his companion, who had passed straight through, were well +away. He saw Surajah sitting upon his horse, a couple of hundred yards +away, and then went to the stables. + + + +Chapter 16: The Journey. + + +The syce brought out his horse, as soon as he saw Dick approaching. + +"You need not wait up for us, after nine o'clock," Dick said, as he +mounted. "It is possible that we may be detained, and shall not return +until tomorrow evening. If we come, we shall certainly be back by nine +at the latest, and we shall not be back before seven, at any rate, so +that until then you are free to do as you like." + +He rode quietly off, and did not quicken his pace until he had got +beyond the fort. Then he touched the horse with his heel, and cantered +down to the ford. Surajah was halfway across the river, when he +reached it. The other two figures were just ascending the road up the +other bank. + +Surajah checked his horse, when he got across, and waited till Dick +joined him. + +"Shall we go on with them to the farmhouse?" he asked. + +"We may as well do so as halt in the road. Besides, there are the +things Ibrahim took over yesterday, to put into our saddlebags. There +is another thing that I never thought of. Of course, the girl has +never been on a horse, and that may give us a good deal of trouble. I +wonder I did not think of it, though if I had, I don't see that +anything else could have been done. We must see how she gets on, and +if she cannot manage I must take her before me, whenever we see that +the road is clear for a good distance ahead. Of course, it does not +matter about country people, but if we see a body of troops coming in +the distance, she must mount her own horse again, and follow us at a +walk. If we find that things don't go well, we must halt in a wood +somewhere, and ride only by night." + +They cantered on now, and overtook the others just as they reached the +farmhouse. The farmer was at his door, and looked a little surprised +at seeing two of the officers of the Palace come up. He salaamed +deeply. + +"We have not come to requisition anything," Dick said, with a smile, +as he saw that the farmer looked alarmed as well as surprised. "We +have only come for the two horses that we have bought, for our +servants, as we are going on a journey." + +"Can I assist you in any way, my lords?" + +"No, our men will saddle the horses," Dick said, and, dismounting, +went into the stable with Ibrahim and Annie. + +"You are not afraid of riding, I hope, Annie?" he said. + +"I am not afraid of anything, Dick, so that I can but get away." + +"We will go quietly at first, anyhow. Mind, as you mount, put your +left foot in the stirrup. When you are seated, carry yourself as +easily as you can. The pony looks quiet enough, but if, when we get +fairly off, you find that you cannot sit comfortably, you must get up +before me, and Ibrahim must lead your pony. When we are fairly on the +road, I will fasten a bit of rope to your bridle to act as a leading +rein, and you can ride by my side, unless we see people coming along; +then you must drop behind, with Ibrahim." + +"I won't give more trouble than I can help," she said. + +Ibrahim had taken some rugs over with him, on the previous afternoon, +which had been bought in case they should sleep out at night. When the +horses were saddled, Dick rolled two of these up, strapped one on the +high peak, and the other on the cantle of the saddle upon which the +girl was to ride. + +"That will wedge you in pretty tightly," he said. + +"Now, Ibrahim, put the things into the saddlebag, and then we shall be +ready." + +When this was done, the two horses were led outside. The farmer had +gone back into the house, and Dick, helping the girl into her seat, +arranged the stirrups the right length for her. + +"Now," he said, "you must keep your knees pressed against the roll of +blankets in front, and hold on as well as you can with them; but the +principal thing is for you to balance yourself with your body. Don't +sit up stiffly, but as if you were in a chair. + +"Now, we will start at a walk. Ibrahim will keep quite close to you, +so as to be able to catch hold of your rein, should there be any +occasion for him to do so." + +Then, mounting, he and Surajah rode off at a walk, the others +following a length or two behind them. Dick looked round, from time to +time, and saw that Annie exhibited no signs of nervousness. + +"I am quite comfortable," she said, in reply to one of his glances. + +When they got into the road again, Dick said: + +"We will go at an easy canter now, Annie. If you feel as if you could +not keep on, call out, and we will stop directly; but first come up +between Surajah and myself, and we will take the leading reins, so +that you will have nothing to attend to but holding on." + +Two cords had been attached to the bridle, before setting out, and +Surajah and Dick each taking one, they started again, the horses +instinctively breaking into a canter, which was their usual pace. +Annie at first grasped the strap of the rug in front of her, but as +soon as she became accustomed to the motion, she let go. A small rug +had been strapped over the saddle, before she mounted, and this +afforded her a much better hold than she would have had of the +leather; and as the pace of the horse was a gentle one, she found it +much more easy to keep her seat than she had expected. Moreover, the +fact that Dick and Surajah rode close by her side, and would be able +to catch her, at once, if she swayed in the saddle, gave her +confidence. + +"It is much better than I thought it would be," she said. "It is quite +a pleasant motion. I will go faster, if you like." + +"No, there is no occasion for that," Dick replied. "This is the pace +the horses are most accustomed to, and they will go on longer, at it, +than at any other. There is no fear of pursuit, and we have all day +before us." + +After a quarter of a mile's riding, they came to a wood. + +"We must turn in here," Dick said. "We are going treasure hunting. We +hid those caskets, that were given us by the ladies, directly after we +got them; and we are going to dig them up now, and take them with us." + +They rode at a walk, now, till they came to a very large baobab tree, +growing by the path they were following. + +"Here we turn off." + +"There is a man there," Surajah exclaimed, when they had ridden a few +yards farther. + +Dick checked his horse. + +"It is Pertaub," he said, a moment later, and in a minute they were +beside the Hindoo. + +"I could not sleep, thinking of you, Sahib," the latter said, as they +came up. "So I came across here, partly to help you dig up the +caskets, and partly that I might see you, and assure myself that, so +far, all had gone well." + +"Thank you, Pertaub. You have, I see, brought a pickaxe. It will save +us half an hour's work; and besides, I am glad to say goodbye again. + +"All has gone well. This is the young lady." + +"She is well disguised," Pertaub said, bowing his head to Annie. "She +looks so like a boy that, even now you tell me, I can scarce believe +she is a white girl. Truly you can go on without fear that anyone will +suspect her." + +Leading the way to the spot where the caskets had been buried, Dick +looked on while Surajah and Ibrahim dug them up. They were then +wrapped up in rugs, and strapped securely behind their owners' +saddles. Then, after a warm adieu to the kind old man, they turned +their horses' heads, and rode back out of the woods. + +After riding for three hours at a canter, Dick saw that, although +Annie still spoke cheerfully, her strength was failing her, and on +arriving at a wood, he said: + +"We will wait here till the heat of the sun has abated. We have done +very well, and the horses, as well as ourselves, will be glad of a few +hours' rest." + +He alighted from the saddle, gave his horse to Ibrahim, and then +lifted Annie from her seat. As he set her down on her feet, and loosed +his hold of her, she slipped down on to the ground. Dick and Surajah +at once raised her, and placed her so that, as she sat, she could lean +against a tree. + +Here Dick supported her, while Surajah ran and fetched his water +bottle. Annie drank a little, and then said, with a nervous laugh: + +"It is very silly of me. But I feel better now. My legs seemed to give +way, altogether." + +"It was not silly at all," Dick said. "You have held on most bravely. +I can tell you there are not many girls who would have ridden four or +five and twenty miles, the first time they sat on a horse. Why, I can +tell you the first time I mounted, I did not do a quarter as much, and +I was so stiff I could hardly walk, when I got down. I should have +stopped before, but you kept talking so cheerfully that, it seemed to +me, you could not be anything like as tired as I was, then. I was a +brute not to have known that you must be thoroughly done up, although +you did not say so. + +"We have got some food with us. Do you think you could eat, a little?" + +She shook her head. + +"Not just yet." + +"All right. I have brought a couple of bottles of wine I got at one of +the traders' stores, yesterday. You must take a sip of that, and then +we will leave you to yourself for a bit, and you must lie down and +have a good nap." + +Dick took a bottle from his holster, opened it, and gave her some in a +tin cup. Then one of the rugs was spread on the ground, with another +one rolled up as a pillow, and then they led the horses farther into +the wood, leaving Annie to herself. + +"She won't be able to ride again, tonight," Surajah said, as they sat +down, while Ibrahim took out the provisions that he had, on the +previous day, carried across to the farm. + +"No, I must carry her before me. We will shift my saddle a little +farther back, and strap a couple of rugs in front of it, so as to make +a comfortable seat for her. There is no doubt she will not be able to +ride again, by herself. I am sure that, after my first day's riding, I +could not have gone on again for anything. + +"We won't start until it begins to get dusk. Of course, she ought to +have a good twenty-four hours' rest, before she goes on, but we dare +not risk that. I don't think there is any chance of pursuit for days; +or, indeed, of any pursuit at all, for by the time they begin to +suspect that we have really deserted, they will know that we have had +time to get to the frontier. Still, I don't want to run the slightest +risk, and at any rate, if we have to halt, it would be better to do so +fifty miles farther on than here. + +"When we mount again, we will put the saddlebags from my horse on to +hers, and Ibrahim must lead it. Her weight won't make much difference +to my horse, and if I find it tiring, I will change with you. You may +as well put your saddlebags on to her horse, also." + +"It would be better, would it not," Surajah said, "if you change to +her horse, which will have carried nothing?" + +"Yes, of course that would be best, so you had better not shift your +saddlebags." + +After they had had their meal, they stretched themselves out for a +sleep, and when they woke it was already becoming dusk. The horses had +had a good feed, and were now given a drink of water, from the skin. +They were then saddled again, the blankets carefully arranged for +Annie's use, and then they went back to the place where she was lying, +still asleep. + +"Put the provisions into the wallet again, Ibrahim. We will see if we +can get her up without waking her. She is so dead beat that, perhaps, +we may do so. I don't suppose she would be able to eat anything, if we +woke her. + +"I had better mount first. Then you, Surajah, can lift her up to me. I +can stoop down, and take her from your arms, and put her in front of +me. She is no weight to speak of." + +Very gently, Surajah put his arms under the sleeping girl, and lifted +her. + +"That is right," Dick said, as he placed her on the blankets before +him, and held her with his right arm, with her head against his +shoulder. "She is dead asleep." + +The blankets were strapped on to the horses again, the others mounted, +and they started, at a walk, out of the wood. As soon as they were on +the road, the horses broke into a canter again. Annie moaned uneasily, +but did not open her eyes. Dick drew her still more closely to him. + +"She will do now, Surajah," he said, in a low voice. "I hope that she +will sleep till morning." + +Half an hour later, they rode through Sultanpetta. It was quite dark +now, and although there were people in the streets, Dick knew that at +the rate they were riding, in the darkness, the fact that he was +carrying a lad in front of him would scarce be noticed. Nor would it +be of any consequence if it were, as, even if they met any officer who +should stop and question them, it would suffice to say that the lad +had been taken ill; and that, their business being urgent, they were +taking him on with them. + +Four hours later they passed through Conkanelly, and crossed the +bridge over a branch of the Cauvery. Here Dick felt that his horse was +flagging. Halting, he dismounted, and lifted Annie down. This time the +movement woke her; she gave a little cry. + +"Where am I?" she asked. + +"You are quite safe, child," Dick said cheerfully. "Just lie quiet in +my arms. We have come five hours' journey, and as my horse is getting +tired, I am changing to yours. Ibrahim is shifting the rugs that you +have been sitting on." + +"I can go on by myself," she said, making a little struggle to get +down. + +"You must be good, and do what you are told," he said, with a laugh. +"Remember that you are a slave, and I am your master, at present." + +She said nothing more until they were seated afresh, and had got into +motion. + +"Oh, you are good, Dick!" she sighed softly. "Only to think of your +carrying me like this, for five hours, without waking me!" + +"Well, it was much better for us both that you should sleep," he said, +"and it is the horse that is carrying you, not I. I have been very +comfortable, I can assure you. + +"We shall go on for another four hours. After that we shall hide up in +a wood, and sleep till the afternoon. Then it will depend upon you. If +you can sit your horse, we shall ride on through Anicull. If not, we +must wait till it gets dark again, and then go on as we are now. Are +you comfortable, child?" + +"Very comfortable, Dick." + +They were talking in English now, for the first time since they +started. + +"I have almost forgotten how to talk English," she said. "We white +girls always used to talk it, when we were together, so as not to +forget it; and since the last one went, three years ago, I have always +talked it to myself, for a bit, before going to sleep, so as to keep +it up; but it does not come anything like so easy as the other. Still, +I like talking it to you. It almost seems as if I were at home again. +You see, I have never heard a man talk English, since I was carried +away. Even now, I can hardly believe this is not a happy dream, and +that I shall not wake up, presently, and find myself a slave girl in +the harem." + +"It is pleasant to me to talk English, too," Dick said, "though it is +only a few months since I last spoke it. Now, the best thing you can +do is to try and get off to sleep again. When we stop you shall have +breakfast. I am sure you must want something. You have had nothing +since you ate a mouthful or two, in my room, before starting." + +"Oh, I have slept hours and hours!" she said. "I shall not want to +sleep any more." + +However, before long the easy motion lulled her off again, and she did +not wake until, at about four o'clock in the morning, they entered a +wood that was, as Dick supposed, some three or four miles from +Anicull. + +"Well, how do you feel now?" Dick asked, as he set her on her feet. + +"I feel stiff," she said; "but that will soon wear off, when I have +run about a little. Oh, how tired you must be, after carrying me all +these hours!" + +"There has not been much to hold," Dick said with a laugh, "especially +since we started the last time. Before that, you were so dead asleep +that I did have to hold you; but, you see, you nestled up more +comfortably when we changed horses, and needed very little support +since then." + +"Now, what can I do?" she asked, with a little laugh. "Please order me +to do something. I am your slave, you know, and I want to be helping +you." + +"Well, then, I command you to aid me to gather some sticks for a fire. +We have nothing to cook, but it will be cheerful, and the air is +cool." + +They picked up sticks, while Surajah and Ibrahim loosened the girths +of the horses, took off their bridles, and poured out another feed +from the bag of grain they had brought with them. In a few minutes a +fire was blazing, and the wallet of provisions brought out. + +"I wish I had a cup of coffee to offer you, Annie," Dick said, as he +poured her out some wine and water, "but we must wait, for that, until +we get down to Tripataly." + +"I have forgotten all about coffee, Dick, and what it tastes like. The +white girls used to talk about it, and say how they longed for a cup. +It seems, to me, funny to drink anything hot. I have never tasted +anything but water, that I can remember, until you gave me that wine +yesterday." + +"It is very nice, and very refreshing. There is another drink that is +coming into fashion. It is called tea. I have tasted it a few times, +but I don't like it as well as coffee, and it is much more expensive." + +"The sultan says that all the English get drunk, and there used to be +pictures of them on the walls. They used to make me so angry." + +"I don't say that no English get drunk, Annie, because there is no +doubt that some do. But it is very far from being true of the great +proportion of them. Tippoo only says it to excite the people against +us, because, now that he has made them all Mohammedans, they cannot +drink wine--at any rate, openly. When I bought these two bottles, the +trader made a great mystery over it, and if I had not given him a sign +he understood, and which made him believe that I was a Hindoo and not +a Mussulman, he would not have admitted that he kept it at all. He did +say so, at first, for I have no doubt he thought that, as I was an +officer of the Palace, it was a snare, and that if he had admitted he +had wine I should have reported him, and it would have served as an +excuse for his being fined, and perhaps having all his goods +confiscated. When I made the sign that an old Hindoo had taught me, +his manner changed directly, and he took me to the back of his little +shop, and produced the wine. I told him I wanted it for medicine, and +that was quite true, for I thought it was a drug you were very likely +to need, on your journey." + +"How much farther have we to ride?" she asked, after a pause. + +"Only about thirty-five miles--that is to say, it is only that +distance to the frontier. There is a road that is rather more direct, +but it passes through Oussoor, a large town, which we had better +avoid. It is not more than fifty miles from the frontier to Tripataly, +but once across the line we can take matters easily, and stop whenever +you get tired." + +"It will be all very strange to me, Dick. I sha'n't mind it, as long +as you are with me, but it will be dreadful when you go. I am afraid +your mother won't like me. You see, I know nothing of English ways, +and I am oh! so ignorant. I cannot even read--at least, very little. +One of the girls used to teach me, from a book she had when she was +carried off. It was a Bible--she used to tell me stories out of it. +But one day they found it, and she was beaten, very much, for +venturing to have it. I am afraid I have quite forgotten even my +letters; but she and the other girls used to teach me about religion, +and told me I must never forget that I was a Christian, whatever they +might do to me, and I was to say my prayers every night after I lay +down, and every morning before I got up. Of course, I have always done +it." + +"You need not be afraid of my mother, Annie. She is very kind, and I +am sure she will take to you very much, and will be very glad that I +have brought you to Tripataly; for, you see, she has no girls of her +own. She will teach you to read and write, and if we go back to +England, I dare say you will go to school for a time, so as to learn +things like other girls." + +"I can work very nicely," she said. "The ladies of the harem all used +to say that." + +"Well, you will find that very useful, no doubt." + +"And what else is there to learn?" she asked. + +"No end of things, Annie--at least, there are no end of things for +boys to learn. I do not know anything about girls. But, of course, you +will have to get to know something of history and geography." + +"What is geography, Dick?" + +"Well, geography is where countries and places are. For instance, you +know something of the geography of India, without ever having learnt +it. You know that Madras and the Carnatic lie to the east, and +Travancore to the southwest, and Malabar to the west, and the Mahratta +country and the Nizam's dominions to the north. Well, that is the +geography of this part of the country--that and the names of the towns +and rivers. In the same way, there are a lot of nations in Europe, and +you want to know all about them, and where they lie with respect to +each other, and the names of their principal towns. Then there are +America, and Africa, and Asia, and all the countries in them. If you +don't know about these things, you can't follow what people are +talking about." + +"And did you like learning geography, Dick?" she asked, a little +anxiously. + +"Well no, I can't say that I did, Annie. I think I used to hate +geography. It was very hard to remember where all the places were, and +what rivers they stood on. I know very little about it now, except the +principal towns and places. But then, I never was very fond of +learning anything. I was a very stupid boy, at school." + +"Oh, I am sure you could not have been that, Dick," she said +confidently. + +"I was indeed, Annie. I think the only thing I could do well was +fighting. I was a beggar to fight--not because I used to quarrel with +fellows, but because it made me hard and tough, and my mother thought +that it would make me more fit to carry out this search for my +father." + +"What did you fight with--swords?" Annie asked. + +Dick laughed. + +"No, no, Annie, when we quarrel in England we fight with our fists." + +"What is a fist? I never heard of that weapon." + +"That is a fist, Annie. You see, it is hard enough to knock a fellow +down, though it does not very often do that; but it hurts him a bit, +without doing him any harm, except that it may black his eyes or puff +up his face for a day or two--and no boy minds that. It accustoms one +to bear pain, and is a splendid thing for teaching a boy to keep his +temper, and I believe it is one reason why the English make such good +soldiers. It is a sort of science, you see, and one learns it just as +people here learn to be good swordsmen. I had lessons, when I was +twelve years old, from a little man who used to be a champion +lightweight--that is, a man of not more than a certain weight." + +Annie looked doubtful for a minute, and then exclaimed: + +"Ah, yes, I understand now. That is how it is you came to our help so +quickly and bravely, when the tiger burst in." + +"I daresay it had something to do with it," Dick said, with a smile. +"There is no doubt that boxing, as we call it, does make you quick. +There is not much time to waste in thinking how you are to stop a +blow, and to return it at the same moment. One gets into the habit of +deciding at once what is the best thing to be done; and I have no +doubt that I should not have seen, at once, that one must cut through +the netting, run to the window, jump on to Surajah's shoulders, and +fire at the tiger, unless I had been sharpened up by boxing. I only +say I suppose that, because there were, no doubt, hundreds of men +looking on who had pluck enough to face the tiger, and who would have +gladly done the thing that we did, if the idea had occurred to them. +The idea did not occur to them, you see, and I have no doubt that it +was just owing to that boxing that I thought of it. So you see, Annie, +it was, in a way, the fights I had with boys at Shadwell--which is the +part of London where I lived--that saved you, and perhaps half a dozen +ladies of the sultan's harem, from being killed by that tiger. + +"Now, I should advise you to walk about the wood for at least an hour, +to get rid of your stiffness. The longer you walk, the better. When +you have tired yourself, come back here. By that time, I daresay you +will be ready for another sleep. We will start about three o'clock, +and shall cross the frontier before it gets quite dark. Once across, +we can camp comfortably where we like, or put up at a village, if we +should light upon one. + +"I should not go far away from here," he went on, as the girl at once +rose and prepared to start. "Very likely the wood may get thicker, +farther in, and you might lose your way, or come across a snake; so I +should not go far out of sight. The great thing is to keep moving. It +is getting broad daylight, now." + +As soon as Annie had started, Dick lay down. + +"I feel dog tired, Surajah. This right arm of mine is so stiff that I +can hardly lift it. I did not feel it at the time, and her weight was +nothing, but I certainly feel it now." + +"You have a good sleep, Dick. Ibrahim and I will keep watch, by +turns." + +"I don't think there is any occasion for that," Dick said. "No one is +likely to come into the wood." + +"Not very likely," Surajah agreed; "but a body of travellers might +turn in here, for a halt in the middle of the day, and it would look +strange were they to find two of the Palace officers, and their +attendants, all fast asleep." + +"They would only think we came in for a rest, a short time before they +did," Dick said drowsily. "Still, if you don't mind, perhaps it would +be best." + +In two minutes, Dick was sound asleep. + +"'Now, Ibrahim, you lie down," Surajah said. "I will call you in three +hours." + +In half an hour Annie returned. She looked pitifully at Dick, and then +seated herself by Surajah. + +"He must be tired," she said. "It was too bad of me, letting him carry +me like that all night. I thought so, over and over again, when he +believed I was fast asleep, but I knew that it was of no use asking +him to let me ride for a bit. + +"You don't mind my sitting here for a little, do you? I am going away +again, presently. I only came back, so soon, because I thought he +might wonder what had become of me, if I did not. I could have gone on +walking for a long time. It was very hard work at first, for my back +ached dreadfully, and every step hurt me so, it was as much as I could +do to keep on walking; but gradually it got better, and at last I had +a long run, and after that I scarcely felt it. + +"How long have you known him, Surajah?" and she nodded towards Dick. + +"It is about two years and a half since he came to Tripataly, and I +have seen a great deal of him, ever since. I love him very much. He is +always the same. He never seems to get angry, and is kind to +everyone." + +"Did he fight when he was with the army?" + +"Not much. He was one of the general's own officers, and used to ride +with the others behind him. He fought in the battle before +Seringapatam, for the general and every one else had to fight, then." + +"How is it you come to be always with him?" she asked. + +"It first began when we went out on a scouting expedition together, +before the English army went up the ghauts. We volunteered to find +out, if we could, which way the sultan's army was going. We went +through a good deal of danger together, and some hard fighting, and +the Sahib was pleased with me; and since then we have always been +together." + +"Tell me about that, Surajah?" + +Surajah related the story of their capture and escape, of their making +their way through the fort, and the subsequent pursuit, and their +defence of the ruined hut. Annie listened almost breathlessly. + +"How I should like to have been with you," she said, when he finished. +"At least, I think I should have liked it. I should have been +dreadfully in the way, but I could have sat down in the hut and loaded +the guns, while you were both fighting. You could have shown me how to +do it. How brave of you both to have fought fifty or sixty men!" + +"It was not so very brave," Surajah said. "We knew we should be +killed, if they took us. There is nothing brave in doing your best, +when you know that. But it was not so much the fighting as arranging +things, and he did all that, and I only carried out his orders. He +always seemed to know exactly what was best to be done, and it was +entirely his doing, our getting through the fort, and taking to the +hut, and making the loopholes, and blocking up the windows; just as it +was his doing, entirely, that we killed that tiger. Whatever he says +is sure to be right, and when he tells me to do a thing I do it +directly, for I trust him entirely, and there is no need for me to +think at all. If he had told me to go up to the sultan and shoot him, +in the middle of his officers, I should have done it, though they +would have cut me in pieces a minute afterwards." + +"I will go away again, now," Annie said, getting up. "He told me to +keep on walking about, and he would not like it if he were to wake up +and find me sitting here." + +And she got up and strolled away again. By the time she returned, +Surajah had lain down to sleep, and Ibrahim was on watch. Annie was, +by this time, tired enough to be ready for sleep again, and, wrapping +herself in a rug, she lay down at a short distance from the others. + +It was two o'clock when she awoke, and she sprang to her feet as she +saw Dick and Surajah standing by the fire, talking. + +"I was going to wake you soon," Dick said, as she joined them, "for we +must have another meal before we start. I hope you feel all the +better, after your walk and sleep?" + +"Ever so much better. I scarcely feel stiff at all, and shall be ready +to ride, as soon as you like. How do you feel, Dick?" + +"Oh, I am all right, Annie. I was all right before, though I did feel +I wanted a sleep badly; and you see I have been having a long one, for +I only woke up ten minutes ago. I own, though, that I should like a +good wash. I don't suppose I can look dirty through this stain, but I +certainly feel so." + +"There is a pool," she said, "a few hundred yards away there, on the +right. I found it the second time I went away, and I did enjoy a +wash." + +"I thought you were looking wonderfully tidy," Dick said, smiling. +"Well, I will go there at once. I shall feel a new man, after a bath." + +"I will come with you," Surajah said--for he had learned to speak a +good deal of English, during his companionship with Dick. + +They returned in half an hour. Ibrahim had warmed up some of the +chupatties, over the ashes, and they all thoroughly enjoyed their +meal. The horses were saddled, and were taken to the pool for a good +drink. + +Then Annie was helped into her saddle, and they started again. They +rode at a canter to Anicull, their badges of office securing them from +any questioning from the soldiers at the guard houses, when they +entered and left the town. + +"I don't know whether there is any post established at the frontier," +Dick said, as Annie, who had ridden behind with Ibrahim as they passed +through the town, took her place again between him and Surajah. "I +have no fear that they will be erecting a fort, for after our +capturing Bangalore and the hill fortresses, they will know very well +that nothing they could build on the flat would be of the slightest +use in stopping an army advancing by this line. Still, there may be a +guard placed there. + +"How do you think we had better get past, Surajah? We have still got +the order to the governors of forts, and it is likely enough that the +officer in charge may not be able to read. Very few of those we met +before were able to do so. The sight of the sultan's seal at the +bottom was quite enough for them, and I should think it would suffice +to pass us here. Still, it would look suspicious, our leaving the the +country altogether, and we must give some explanation if they ask us." + +"I might say that we are charged with a mission to the English +commander at Kistnagherry." + +"That might do, Surajah. The fort is only eight or ten miles on the +other side of the frontier, and we might very well be sent on some +message. A complaint of some of the villagers, that their rights have +not been respected as agreed by the treaty, or that they have been +robbed by men from this side of the frontier--there are plenty of +things about which Tippoo might be sending a message to Kistnagherry. +The worst of it is that Tippoo has not given us a mission, and I do +hate your having to say what is not true." + +Surajah was not so particular, and he replied: + +"Well, he has given us a mission to visit the hill forts, and as +Kistnagherry is a hill fort, it is not a very great stretch to include +it." + +Dick laughed. + +"That is ingenious, Surajah. Anyhow, I don't see any better excuse for +crossing the frontier, and so we must make the best of it; but I hope +we sha'n't be asked at all." + +"I think, if I say we are going to Kistnagherry, and then show +Tippoo's order and seal, that will be sufficient; and the story will +be quite true, for we shall go by Kistnagherry, as the road passes +close to the fortress." + +"Yes, that will be quite true, Surajah, and the officers are not +likely to ask any further questions. + +"How are you getting on, Annie?" + +"Oh, much better than I did yesterday," she said. "I would much rather +not halt, until we are across the frontier. I am getting accustomed to +the motion now, and am not at all afraid of falling off. I dare say I +shall be rather stiff, when we halt, but that will not matter, then." + +The sun was just setting when they arrived at a newly-erected house, +round which ten or twelve tents were arranged. An officer came out of +the house as they approached. He salaamed on seeing two officials of +the Palace, wearing the emblems of the rank of colonels. Surajah +returned the usual Moslem salutation. + +"We are going to Kistnagherry," he said. "Here is the sultan's order." + +The officer glanced at the seal, placed it to his forehead, and then +stood aside. + +"Will you return tonight, my lord? I ask that I may give orders to the +sentries." + +"No; there is no chance of our being able to be back before morning." + +He touched his horse, and then trotted on again. Not a word was +spoken, until they had gone a few hundred yards, and then Dick checked +his horse, and, as Annie came alongside, held out his hand and said: + +"Thank God, Annie, that we have got you safely back onto English +territory." + + + +Chapter 17: Back At Tripataly. + + +Annie's lips moved, as Dick announced that they had crossed the Mysore +boundary, but no sound came from them. He saw her eyes close, and she +reeled in the saddle. + +"Hold her, Surajah," Dick exclaimed, "or she will fall." + +Leaning over, Surajah caught her by the shoulder; and Dick, leaping to +the ground, stopped her horse, and, lifting her from the saddle, +seated her upon a bank and supported her. + +"Some water, Surajah!" he exclaimed. + +Surajah poured a little water from the skin into the hollow of Dick's +hand, and the latter sprinkled the girl's face with it. + +"I have not fainted," she murmured, opening her eyes, "but I turned +giddy. I shall be better, directly." + +"Drink a little wine," Dick said. + +Surajah poured some into a cup, but with an effort she sat up, and +pushed it from her. + +"There is nothing the matter," she said. "Only, only" and she burst +suddenly into a passion of sobbing. + +The spirit that she had shown, so long as there was danger, had +deserted her now that the peril had passed, and she was safe. + +Dick looked at her, helplessly. A girl in tears was a creature wholly +beyond his experience, and he had no idea what he ought to do in such +an emergency. He therefore adopted what was, doubtless, the best +course, had he but known it, of letting her alone. After a time, the +violence of her crying abated, and only short sobs broke from her, as +she sat with her face hidden in her hands. + +"That is right, Annie," he said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "It +is quite natural for you to cry, after the excitement and fatigue you +have gone through. You have been very brave, and have not said a word +of complaint today about your fatigue, although you must be +desperately tired. Now, try and pull yourself together. It is getting +dark already, and we ought to be moving on to Ryacotta, which cannot +be much more than a mile away. You shall ride in front of me, when we +get there." + +"I would rather not," she said, getting up with a painful effort. "I +am awfully foolish, and I am so sorry that I broke down, but I felt so +delighted that I could not help it. You said we could camp, safely, +when we once got across the frontier. Would you mind doing so? For I +don't think I could go much farther." + +"Certainly we can camp," Dick said cheerfully. "But we must get a +little bit farther from that post we passed. If they were to see a +fire, here, they would be sure to suspect something. I see a clump of +trees a quarter of a mile on. We can make our camp there, and I would +rather do that, myself, than go on to Ryacotta, where our appearance +in the Mysore uniform would excite a stir, and we should have no end +of questions to answer. + +"But I am sure that you are not fit to walk, even that distance. Now, +I will lift you on my saddle, and you can sit sideways. There, I will +walk by your side, and you can put your hand to my shoulder to steady +yourself. Surajah can lead your horse and his own, and Ibrahim can +take mine." + +In this way they performed the journey to the trees, and then halted. +Annie was lifted down, and laid on a rug. Dick insisted on her +drinking some wine, and then, covering her with another rug, they left +her and lighted a fire, fifty yards away. + +"Look here, Ibrahim, put that whole chicken into the pan, cover it +with water, and let it stew. Don't let it boil fast, but just simmer +until it falls all to pieces. Then I will wake her, if she has gone to +sleep, and make her drink the broth. It will do her ever so much more +good than wine, and she will be all right in the morning, though no +doubt she will be desperately stiff again. Still, it has not been a +longer ride than she had yesterday. I expect it is the excitement, +more than the fatigue, that has upset her. Tomorrow she must ride in +front of me, again." + +An hour and a half later, Dick went across with the cup full of strong +broth. + +"Are you asleep, Annie?" he said, when he reached her side. + +"No, I am not asleep. There is so much to think of, and it is such +happiness to know that I am free, that I feel quite wide awake. +Besides, you know, I have been asleep for hours today, and I slept all +night, as I was riding before you." + +"Then sit up, and drink this hot broth. It will do you good. And after +that, I hope you will go off. You won't be fit for anything, tomorrow, +if you don't have a good night. You will have plenty of time to think, +as we ride along." + +The girl did as she was told. + +"It is very nice," she said, as she handed the cup back to him. "Oh, +Dick, I do hope that we shall find my father and mother. I don't want +to, for some things, but I do for others, and most of all that they +may thank you for all your goodness to me, which I shall never be able +to do, myself." + +"Nonsense, child!" he said cheerfully. "I have done what every one +would do, if they found a little countrywoman in distress. I should +have gone away from Seringapatam anyhow, if I had not met you, and +getting you down is a good excuse for me to go back and spend a +fortnight with my mother. + +"Now get off to sleep, as quickly as you can. We will see what we can +do to make things comfortable for your ride, tomorrow." + +It was late when Annie awoke. The sun was some distance above the +horizon, and she saw her companions occupied with the horses. In a few +minutes she joined them. + +"I am ashamed at sleeping so long," she said. + +"We were glad to find that you did," Dick replied. "If you went to +sleep soon after I brought you the broth, you have had ten hours of +it, and ought to feel all the better." + +"I do," she said. "I am very stiff, but not so stiff as I was +yesterday morning. How you are both altered!" + +"Yes. It would never have done to have gone on in our gay dresses, and +Tippoo's badges. These are the clothes we came up in, and we shall +attract no attention whatever. You won't have to ride far, today. It +will be as well for you to keep to your own horse, until we have +passed through Ryacotta, which is not much more than half a mile away. +After that, you must sit on this pad I have fastened behind my saddle. +You can sit sideways, you know, and put your arm around me, just as +ladies used to ride in England, a couple of hundred years ago." + +As soon as they had eaten something they started, and rode at a good +pace to the little town. People looked at them somewhat curiously as +they passed through the street, wondering that they should have come +from Mysore; but as they did not halt, no one asked any questions. The +population were, at present, a good deal divided. The great majority +by no means regretted their change of masters. Some of the Mohammedans +had left, when the place was taken over by the English, and had +crossed into Mysore. Others had remained, and hoped that, ere long, +Tippoo would drive back the British, and regain his former dominions. + +Before mounting, the rich housings and the silver work on the bridles +had been removed, and hidden among the rugs, and there was nothing +beyond the excellence of two of the horses, and the direction from +which they came, to attract attention. + +When well beyond the town, they halted. The saddlebags were all packed +upon Annie's horse. Dick lifted the girl on to the pad behind his +saddle, and then mounted. + +"Now hold tight by me," he said, "and mind, whenever you are tired, we +will halt for an hour's rest. We will not go more than twenty miles +today, and then it will only be as much more down to Tripataly, +tomorrow. We will walk for a bit, until you get quite accustomed to +your seat." + +After a while, the horses broke into a gentle canter. For a time, +Annie felt very doubtful as to whether she could retain her seat, and +so held tight with one arm to Dick, while with the other hand she kept +a firm hold of the crupper. Presently, however, she was able to +release her hold of the latter, and it was not long before she was +able, honestly, to assure Dick that she felt quite comfortable, and +had no fear of falling off. + +In two hours they passed near the hill on which stood the fortress of +Kistnagherry, which had successfully resisted the attack of the +English, but above which now flew the British flag. Skirting round the +foot, they came, in the course of an hour and a half's ride, on to the +direct road which they had left at Anicull, in order to avoid passing +through the town of Oussoor. Here they came upon a large village, and +Dick found no difficulty in hiring a light native cart to take Annie, +who was, as he felt by the relaxation of her hold, unable to proceed +farther on horseback, or continue straight through to Tripataly. + +A thick layer of straw was placed at the bottom of the cart, a couple +of rugs spread over it, and on this Annie was enabled to lie down at +her ease. The horses were fed and watered, and had an hour's rest, and +then they started for the last twenty miles of their journey. + +Annie had, while the horses were resting, a chat with a native woman, +and had gone into her house with her. When they were ready for the +start, she returned, dressed in the costume she had worn in the +Palace. It had originally been intended to get rid of the clothes, +after starting, but Annie had asked for them to be taken on. + +"I can change again, before I get to Tripataly," she said. "I should +not like to appear before your mother, for the first time, dressed as +a boy." + +And Dick had at once fallen in with her wishes. + +The turban was gone, and her head was covered in the fashion of native +women, with a long cotton cloth of a deep red colour. + +Where the road was good, the cart proceeded at a fair pace, but in the +pass down the ghauts they could go only at a walk, and the sun had set +before they reached Tripataly. Dick, seeing that Annie was growing +very nervous, as they neared their destination, had ridden all the way +by the side of the cart, chatting cheerfully with her. + +"Why, Annie," he said, "you look as solemn as if you were just going +into slavery, instead of having escaped from it." + +"It is not that I feel solemn, Dick. It is that everything is so new +and strange. Of course, after your saving my life, I have never felt +that you were a stranger, and as long as there were only you and +Surajah, I did not mind, and I have felt quite at home with you. But +now that I am going to a new place, where I don't know anyone, I can't +help feeling desolate." + +"You will feel quite as much at home with them, in twenty-four hours, +as you have done with me, Annie. You are tired now, and quite worn out +with your journey, and so you take a gloomy view of things. I will +guarantee that, before I go away again, you will be good friends with +everyone, and will wonder how you could have thought it to be anything +dreadful to come among them." + +When they got within a mile of Tripataly, Dick said: + +"Now I will ride on ahead, Annie, and prepare my mother for your +coming. It will be pleasant to have no questions or explanations when +you arrive, and I am sure she will carry you straight off to bed, and +keep you there, until you have quite got over the effects of your +journey." + +He did not wait to hear Annie's faint protest against his leaving her, +but telling Surajah to take his place beside the cart, and to keep +talking to the girl, he galloped on ahead. He sprang from his horse in +the courtyard, threw the reins to a servant, and ran in. The party had +just sat down to their evening meal, and as he entered he was greeted +by exclamations of astonishment and welcome. + +His mother had received two letters, sent through Pertaub by traders +going down from Seringapatam. In these he had told her, first, of his +arrival and of the adventure with the tiger, and of his obtaining the +post in the Palace; and in the second of the non-success that had +attended his visits to the hill forts. He had told her that he should +probably leave Seringapatam shortly, and continue the search, but that +she must not anticipate any result, for a long time. + +"Well, Mother," he said, after the first embrace and greetings were +over, "I have left Tippoo's service, you see, and am no longer a +colonel, or an officer of the Palace. I have come down to spend a +fortnight with you, before I set out again on my travels." + +"Has Surajah come back with you, Dick?" the Rajah asked. + +"Yes. He will be here in a few minutes, with a cart. That is one of +the reasons why I came down here. I found, among the slaves of the +harem, a white girl about fourteen years old. She is the daughter of a +British officer named Mansfield, and was carried away from her +parents, eight years ago. She was the only white captive left in the +Palace. There have been other girls, in a similar position, but they +have all, at about fourteen or fifteen, been given by Tippoo to his +officers; as would have been her fate, before long, so I determined to +carry her off with me, and bring her to you, until we could find her +parents. She is a very plucky girl, and, although she had never been +on a horse before, rode all the way down, until we got this side of +Kistnagherry. But as you may imagine, the poor little thing is +completely knocked up, so we brought her down from there in a cart. + +"It is something, Mother, to have saved one captive from Tippoo's +grasp, even though it is not the dear one that I was looking for; and +I promised that you would be a mother to her, until we could restore +her to her friends." + +"Certainly I will, Dick," Mrs. Holland said warmly. + +"Will you tell the girls, Gholla," she said to her sister-in-law, "to +have a bed made up for her, in my room?" + +"I will do so at once," the ranee said. "Poor little thing, she must +have had a journey, indeed." + +"She will be here directly, Mother," Dick said, as his aunt gave the +necessary directions for the bed to be prepared, and a dish of rice +and strong gravy. "She is very nervous, and I am sure it will be best +if you will meet her, when she arrives, and take her straight to her +room." + +"That is what I was going to do, Dick," his mother said, with a smile. +"Well, I will go down with you, at once." + +Two or three minutes later, the cart entered the courtyard. Mrs. +Holland was on the steps. Dick ran down, and helped Annie from the +cart. The girl was trembling violently. + +"Don't be afraid, Annie," Dick whispered, as he lifted her down. "Here +is my mother, waiting to receive you. + +"This is the young lady," he went on cheerfully, as he turned to his +mother. "I promised her a warm welcome, in your name." + +Mrs. Holland had already come down the steps, and as the girl turned +towards her, she took her in her arms, and kissed her in motherly +fashion. + +"Welcome, indeed," she said. "I will be a mother to you, poor child, +till I can hand you over to your own. I thank God for sending you to +me. It will be a comfort to me to know that, even if my son should +never bring my husband back to me, he has at least succeeded in +rescuing one victim from Tippoo, and in making one family happy." + +The girl clung to her, crying softly. + +"Oh, how good you all are!" she sobbed. "It seems too much happiness +to be true." + +"It is quite true, dear. Come with me. We will go up the private +stairs, and I will put you straight to bed in my room, and no one else +shall see you, or question you, until you are quite recovered from +your fatigue." + +"I am afraid," Annie began faintly. + +She did not need to say more. Mrs. Holland interrupted her. + +"Dick, you must lift her up, and carry her into my room. Poor child, +she is utterly exhausted, and no wonder." + +A couple of minutes later, Dick returned to the dining room. He had +run down, first, to tell Surajah to come up with him, but found that +he had already gone to his father's apartments. + +"Well, Dick," the Rajah said, as he entered, "I was prepared, after +hearing of that tiger adventure, and of you and Surajah being colonels +in Tippoo's household, for almost anything; but I certainly never +dreamt of your returning here with an English girl." + +"I suppose not, Uncle. Such a thing certainly never entered into my +calculations. I did not even know there was a white girl in the +Palace, until one day she stopped me, as I was passing along the +corridor near the harem, to thank me for saving her life--for it was +this girl that the tiger had struck down, and was standing upon, when +I fired at him. Of course, she had no idea that I was English. We only +said a few words then, for if I had been seen talking to a slave girl +belonging to the harem, I might have got into a scrape. However, I saw +her afterwards, and she told me about herself, and how she was afraid +that she would be given away to one of Tippoo's officers. Of course, I +could not leave her to such a fate as that. + +"There was really no difficulty in getting her away. She was dressed +as a boy, and only had to ride, with our servant, after us. We had +arranged so that our absence would not be noticed, until we had been +away for at least twenty-four hours, and of course, as officers of the +Palace, no one questioned us on the journey, so that it is a very +simple affair altogether, and the only difficulty there was, rose from +her being completely tired out and exhausted by the journey, as she +was utterly unaccustomed to travelling. I had to carry her one night, +in front of me on my saddle, for she was scarce able to stand." + +"I am not surprised at that. A journey of a hundred and fifty miles, +to anyone who has never been on horseback, would be a terrible trial, +especially to a young girl. I really wonder that she did not break +down altogether. Why, you can remember how stiff you were, yourself, +the first day or two you were here, and that after riding only an hour +or two." + +"I know, Uncle, and I should not have been in the least surprised, if +she had collapsed. I talked it over with Surajah, and we agreed that, +if she could not go on, we must hire a vehicle of some sort, and let +her travel, every day, in front of us with Ibrahim, and that if it +delayed us so much that there was any possibility of our being +overtaken, we would have put on our peasant's dresses, got rid of our +horses, and have gone forward on foot. + +"However, she kept up wonderfully well, and always made the best of +things." + +"We won't ask you to tell us anything more, Dick, till your mother +joins us, or you will have to go over the story twice." + +"No, Uncle; and I can assure you I don't want to tell the story until +I have had my supper, for our meals have not been very comfortable on +the road, and I have not eaten anything since early this morning." + +"What is Tippoo doing, Dick?" + +"Well, as far as I can see, Uncle, he is preparing for war again. He +is strengthening all his forts, building fresh defences to +Seringapatam, and drilling numbers of fresh troops." + +"The English general made a great mistake, in not finishing with him +when he was there. We ought to have taken the city, sent Tippoo down a +prisoner to Madras, and there tried him for the murder of scores of +Englishmen, and hung him over the ramparts. We shall have all our work +to do over again, in another four or five years. However, it will not +be such a difficult business as it was last time, now that we have the +passes in our hands." + +"There is no doubt, Uncle, that a considerable part of the population +will be heartily glad when Tippoo's power is at an end. You see, he +and Hyder were both usurpers, and had no more right to the throne than +you had." + +"Quite so, Dick, and that makes our letting him off, when we could +have taken the capital easily, all the more foolish. If he had been +the lawful ruler of Mysore, it might not have been good policy to push +him too hard, for he would have had sympathy from all the native +princes of India. But, as being only the son of an adventurer, who had +deposed and ill-treated the lawful ruler of Mysore, it would seem to +them but a mere act of justice, if the English had dethroned him and +punished him--provided, of course, they put a native prince on the +throne, and did not annex all his dominions. + +"It has all got to come some day. I can see that, in time, the English +will be the rulers of all India, but at present they are not strong +enough to face a general coalition of the native states against them; +and any very high-handed action, in Mysore, might well alarm the +native princes, throughout India, into laying aside their quarrels +with each other, and combining in an attempt to drive them out." + +Just as they had finished their meal, Mrs. Holland entered. + +"The poor child is asleep," she said. "She wanted to talk at first, +and to tell me how grateful she was to you, Dick; but of course I +insisted on her being quiet, and said that she should tell me all +about it, in the morning. She ate a few mouthfuls of the rice, and not +long after she lay down, she fell asleep. I have left Sundra sitting +there, in case she should wake up again, but I don't think it is +likely that she will do so. + +"Now, Dick, you must tell us all about it." + +Dick was not a great hand at writing letters, so he had not entered, +with any fullness, into the details of what he was doing, the +principal point being to let his mother know that he was alive and +well. + +"Before he begins," the Rajah said, "I will send for Rajbullub and +Surajah. Master Dick is rather fond of cutting his stories short, and +we must have Surajah here to fill up details." + +Surajah and his father soon appeared. The former was warmly greeted by +the Rajah, and when they had seated themselves on a divan, Dick +proceeded to tell the story. He was not interrupted, until he came to +the incident of the killing of the tiger, and here Surajah was called +upon to supplement the story, which he did, doing full credit to the +quickness with which Dick had, without a moment's loss of time, cut +the netting and ascended to the window. + +When Dick came to the incident of the ladies of the harem presenting +them, in Tippoo's presence, with the two caskets, Mrs. Holland broke +in: + +"You did not say anything about that in your letter, Dick. Let me see +your casket. Where is it?" + +"It is in one of the saddlebags," Dick said. + +"They are in my room," Rajbullub corrected. "Surajah brought them up +at once." + +"Then he had better get them," the Rajah said. + +"What do they contain, Dick?" he asked, as Surajah left the room. + +"All sorts of things--necklaces and rings. Some of them are stones, as +if they had been taken out of their settings. Pertaub said they had +done this because they thought, perhaps, that Tippoo would not allow +the jewels they had worn to be sold, or worn by anyone else." + +"Then I should think that they must be valuable," the ranee said. + +"Pertaub said they were worth a good deal, but I don't know whether he +really knew about the cost of precious stones. Some of the things were +of small value, being, I suppose, the trinkets of the slave girls. All +gave something, and there is a little cross there that belonged to +Annie. It has her initials on it, and she had it on her neck, when she +was captured. It was the thing she valued most, and therefore she gave +it. I don't suppose she had anything else, except the usual trinkets +she would wear, when she went out on special occasions with the ladies +of the harem. I thought it would be useful to us, to prove who she +was." + +Surajah now returned with the casket. + +"You had better look at Surajah's first," Dick said. "I don't know +anything about it, but it looks as if mine were the more valuable. I +wanted Surajah to put them all together, and divide fairly, but he +would not." + +"My son was perfectly right," Rajbullub said. "If it had not been for +the young lord, the deed would never have been done at all. Surajah +aided in killing the tiger, but that was nothing more than he has done +on the hills, here. It is to you the merit is entirely due. The purse +that the Sultan gave my son was, in itself, an ample reward for the +share he took in it. + +"Now, Surajah, open your casket. The ladies are waiting to see the +contents." + +The whole of the little packets, some fifty in number, were opened and +examined; many of them eliciting exclamations of admiration from the +ranee and Mrs. Holland. + +"There is no doubt that many of them are worth a good deal of money," +the Rajah said. "It is certain that Tippoo's treasuries are full of +the spoils he has carried off, from the states he has overrun, and the +ladies of the harem, no doubt, possess a store of the jewels, and +could afford to be liberal to those whom they considered had saved +their lives. Those seven, which you put together as the best, must +alone be worth a large sum. I should think that the total value of the +whole cannot be less than forty or fifty thousand rupees, so that, if +those in your casket are handsomer than these, Dick, they must be +valuable, indeed." + +Dick's casket was next examined. + +"Some of these stones are magnificent, Dick. Those three great +diamonds could only be valued by a jeweller accustomed to such things, +for their value depends upon their being of good lustre, and free from +all flaws; but, according to my judgment, I should say that, at the +very least, they must be worth ten thousand rupees each. That pearl +necklace is worth at least as much. Those rubies are superb. I should +say, lad, that the value of the whole cannot be less than fifteen +thousand pounds. + +"The harem must be rich in jewels, indeed, to be able to make such +gifts. Not that I am surprised at that. Tippoo had all the jewels +belonging to the lawful rulers of Mysore. He has captured all those of +Coorg, Travancore, and the other states on the Malabar coast. He and +his father have looted all the Carnatic, from Cape Comorin to the +north of Madras. He has captured many of the Nizam's cities, and +several Mahratta provinces. + +"In fact, he has accumulated, at Seringapatam, the spoils of the whole +of southern India, and those of the Hindoo portion of his own people. +The value of the jewels, alone, must be millions of pounds; and as he +himself, as they say, dresses simply, and only wears one or two gems, +of immense value, he may well have bestowed large quantities upon his +harem, especially as these would be, in fact, only loans, as at the +death of their wearers they would revert to him, or, indeed, could be +reclaimed at any moment, in a freak of bad temper. + +"I have no doubt they had to ask his permission to give you the +presents, and as you, at the moment, were in high favour with him, I +daresay he suffered them to give what they chose, without inquiring at +all into their value. The gold he gave you was simply to procure your +outfits, and he left it to the harem to reward you, as they chose, for +the service you had rendered. + +"Well, Dick, I congratulate you heartily. It places your future beyond +doubt, and leaves you free to choose any mode of life that you may +prefer. + +"I congratulate you, too, Margaret, on the lad's good fortune; which +he has well deserved by his conduct. + +"See this, my sons. Here you have a proof of the advantages of the +training your cousin has had. The quickness and coolness he has +acquired, by it, enabled him to make his way down through the fort at +the top of the pass, and to defend the ruined hut against fifty +enemies. Now it has enabled him to seize the opportunity, opened by +the attack of the tiger on Tippoo's harem, thereby gaining the +Sultan's favour, his appointment to the rank of colonel in the Mysore +army, a post in his Palace, and this magnificent collection of gems. +Without that quickness and decision, his courage alone would have done +little for him. We in India have courage; but it is because our +princes and nobles are brought up in indolence and luxury that the +English, though but a handful in point of numbers, have become masters +of such wide territories. Surajah is as brave as Dick, but he would be +the first to tell you that it is to Dick he owes it that, on their +first excursion together, he escaped with his life; and that, in this +last adventure, he attained rank and position, and has returned with +these valuable gifts." + +"It is indeed, my lord," Surajah said. "The young lord has been my +leader, and I have tried to carry out his orders. Alone, I could never +have got through the gate in the fort, and should no more have thought +of going to the assistance of the ladies of the Sultan's harem than +did any other of the thousands of men who were there, looking on." + +"So you see, boys," the Rajah went on, "that though, when he came out +here, your cousin was able neither to shoot nor to ride, and can +neither shoot nor ride as well, now, as can tens of thousands of +natives; he has acquired, from his training in rough exercises, +qualities of infinitely greater value than these accomplishments; and +I do hope that his example will stir you up to take much greater +interest than, in spite of my advice, you have hitherto done in active +sports and exercises. Your grandmother was an Englishwoman, and I want +to see that, with the white blood in your veins, you have some of the +vigour and energy of Englishmen." + +It was some days before Annie Mansfield left her room. For the first +two she had been completely prostrated. After that, she rapidly gained +strength; but Mrs. Holland thought it best to insist upon her +remaining perfectly quiet, until she had quite recovered. Either she +or the ranee were constantly with her, so that when, at the end of a +week, she made her first appearance at the breakfast table, she was +already at home with three of the party. + +Before long her shyness completely wore off, and she seemed to have +become really a member of the family. Mrs. Holland had altered two of +her own dresses to fit her, but she preferred, for a time, to dress in +Indian costume, to which she was accustomed; and which was, indeed, +much better suited to the climate than the more closely-fitting +European dress. Mrs. Holland, however, bargained that she should, of +an evening, wear the frocks she had made for her. + +"You must get accustomed to them, my dear, so that when you find your +own people, you will not be stiff and awkward; as you certainly will +be, when you dress in English fashion for the first time." + +The day after his arrival, Dick had written to the military secretary +of the governor of Madras, with whom he was well acquainted, to tell +him that, having gone up in disguise to Seringapatam, to endeavour to +ascertain the fate of his father, he had discovered a young English +girl, detained as a slave in Tippoo's harem, and that he had enabled +her to effect her escape, and had placed her in the charge of his +mother. He then repeated the account Annie had given of her capture, +and asked if the circumstances could be identified, and if the +officer, of the name of Mansfield, concerned in it was still alive; +and if so, was he still in India? + +Annie was secretly dreading the arrival of the answer. After her life +as a slave, her present existence seemed to her so perfectly happy +that she shrank from the idea of any fresh change. She had no memory, +whatever, of her parents, and had already a very strong affection for +Mrs. Holland. She liked the ranee very much also, and the absence of +all state and ceremony, in the household of the Rajah, was to her +delightful. She was already on good terms with the boys; and as to +Dick, she was always ready to go out with him, if he would take her, +to run messages for him, or to do anything in her power; and, indeed, +watched him anxiously, as if she would discover and forestall his +slightest wish. + +"One would think, Annie," he said one day, "that you were still a +slave, and that I was your master. I don't want you to wait on me, +child, as you waited on the ladies of the harem. However, as I shall +be going away in a few days now, it does not matter; but I should grow +as lazy as a young rajah, if this were to go on long." + +"What shall I do when you go away, Dick?" + +"Well, I hope that you will set to work, hard, to learn to read and +write, and other things my mother will teach you. You would not like, +when you find your own people, to be regarded by girls of your own age +as an ignorant little savage; and I want you to set to, and make up +for lost time; so that, if you are still here when I come back, I +shall find you have made wonderful progress." + +"Oh, I do hope I sha'n't be gone before that, Dick!" + +"I am afraid you must make up your mind to it, Annie, for there is no +saying how long I may be away next time. You see, there is not much +chance of my lighting upon another white slave girl, and having to +bring her down here; and I shall go in for a long, steady search for +my father." + +"I don't want you to find another slave girl, Dick," she said +earnestly, "not even if it brought you down here again. I should not +like that at all." + +"Why not, Annie?" + +"Oh, you might like her ever so much better than me. I should like you +to do all sorts of brave things, Dick, and to save people as you have +saved me, but I would rather there was not another girl." + +Dick laughed. + +"Well, I don't suppose that there is much chance of it. Besides, I +can't turn my uncle's palace into a Home for Lost Girls." + +Two days before Dick and Surajah started again, the reply from the +military secretary arrived. It stated that the time and circumstances +pointed out that the place besieged and forced to surrender, eight +years before, was Corsepan; and this was indeed rendered a certainty, +by the fact that the officer in command was Captain Mansfield. He had +with him a half company of Europeans, and three companies of Sepoys. +On looking through the official papers at the time, he had found +Captain Mansfield's report, in which he stated that, on the night +after leaving the fort, the troops, which had been reduced to half +their original strength, had been attacked by a party either of +dacoits or irregular troops. Fearing that some such act of treachery +might be attempted, he had told his men to conceal a few cartridges +under their clothes, when they marched out with empty cartridge +pouches. They had, on arriving at their halting place, loaded; and, +when the dacoits fell upon them, had opened fire. + +The robbers doubtless expected to find them defenceless, and speedily +fled. In the confusion, some of them had penetrated far into the camp, +and had carried off the captain's daughter, a child of six years old. +When peace was signed with Tippoo, three weeks afterwards, the +commissioners were ordered to make special inquiries as to this child, +and to demand her restoration. They reported that Tippoo denied all +knowledge of the affair, and neither she, nor any of the other girls +there, were ever given up. The letter went on: + +"There can be no doubt that the young lady you rescued is the child +who was carried off, and the initials you speak of, on the cross, may +certainly be taken as proof of her identity. Her father retired from +the Service last year, with the rank of colonel. I am, of course, +ignorant of his address. As you say that Mrs. Holland will gladly +continue in charge of her, I would suggest that you should write a +letter to Colonel Mansfield, stating the circumstances of the case, +and saying that, as soon as you are informed of his address, the young +lady will be sent to England. I will enclose the letter in one to the +Board of Directors, briefly stating the circumstances, and requesting +them to forward the enclosure to Colonel Mansfield." + +To Annie, the letter came as a relief. It would be nearly a year +before a letter could be received from her father. Until then she +would be able to remain in her new home. + + + +Chapter 18: A Narrow Escape. + + +Mrs. Holland undertook to write the letter to Annie's father, and did +so at very much greater length than Dick would have done, giving him +the story of the girl's life at Seringapatam, the circumstances of her +meeting Dick, and the story of her escape. She assured him that his +daughter was all that he could wish her to be. + +"She is of a very affectionate disposition. She is frank, outspoken, +and natural--qualities that are wonderful, considering the years she +has passed as a slave in the harem. Now that she has been with us for +a fortnight, and has recovered from the fatigue of her flight, and is +beginning to feel at home, she has regained her natural spirits, after +their long repression. + +"Personally, she is of about the average height, and of a more +graceful figure than is usual with girls of her age. The stain has now +worn off her face, and I should say she will, as she grows up, be +pretty. She is fair rather than dark, has expressive eyes, and a nice +mouth. Altogether, had I a daughter, I should be well content if she +resembled your Annie. I shall, I can assure you, do my best to supply +the place of a mother to her, until I receive a letter from you, and +shall part from her with regret. She is, of course, at present +entirely uneducated, but she has already begun to learn with me, and +as she is quick and intelligent I hope that, before I resign my +charge, her deficiencies will be so far repaired that she will be able +to pass muster, in all ordinary matters." + +"You will be back before I go, won't you, Dick?" Annie said, as she +sat by his side on a seat in the garden, on the evening before he was +to start. + +"I think so," he said. "We can calculate on your being here ten +months, anyhow. I have been talking it over with my mother. If it had +not been for those jewels, I should have given up the search for my +father after another six months, because it would have been high time +for me to get to work in some profession. I had, indeed, made up my +mind to enter the Company's service, for Lord Cornwallis promised me a +commission, and my uncle received a letter some time ago, from the +governor of Madras, saying that, on the very strong recommendation of +Lord Cornwallis, and his report of my services, he was authorised to +grant me one. It was to be dated back to the time I joined Lord +Cornwallis, more than two years ago. However, now that I am really +made independent of a profession, I shall probably continue my search +for a somewhat longer time. But at any rate, I will promise to come +back, at the end of ten months from the present time, so as to say +goodbye to you, before you start." + +The girl's face brightened. + +"Thank you, Dick. I don't think I should go, anyhow, until I saw you +again--not even if I got a letter saying that I was to sail by the +next ship." + +"My uncle would take you down bodily, and put you on board," Dick +laughed. "Mind, Annie, when I come back, at the end of ten months, I +shall expect to find you quite an educated young lady. I shall think +of all sorts of hard questions, in geography and history, to put to +you." + +"I will try hard, Dick, really hard, to please you. I have had three +lessons, and I have learnt all the letters quite well." + +"That is a good beginning, Annie. It took me a lot longer than that, I +know." + +The next morning, Dick and Surajah started. They were to ride up the +ghauts, to the frontier line at Amboor, two troopers accompanying them +to bring back their horses. There they were to disguise themselves as +traders, and make their way direct to Bangalore. Dick said goodbye to +his mother, up in her own room. + +"You must not be down-hearted, Mother," he said, as she tried in vain +to keep back her tears. "You see, I have come back to you twice, +safely, and after passing unsuspected in Tippoo's palace, there is no +fear of my being detected elsewhere. Besides, of course, every month I +am there I become better acquainted with the people, and can pass as a +native more easily." + +"I am not really afraid, my boy. You have got on so well that, it +seems to me, God will surely protect you and bring you back safely. +And I can't help thinking that this time your search may be +successful. You know why I feel convinced that your father is still +alive, and, in spite of past disappointments, I still cling to the +belief." + +"Well, Mother, if he is to be found I will find him. There are still +many hill forts where he may be living, and his very existence +forgotten, and until I have visited every one of them, I don't mean to +give up the search. Anyhow, I shall come back at the end of ten +months, whether I have heard of him or not. I have promised Annie that +I will be back before she sails. It is not a very long journey down +here, and I shall drop in for a fortnight's stay with you, as I have +done this time." + +"She is in the next room, crying her eyes out, Dick. You had better +look in there, and say goodbye to her. She is not fit to go down to +the door." + +After parting with his mother, Dick went in to see Annie. + +"You must not cry so, child," he said, as she rose from the divan, +with her face swollen with crying. "I am sure that you will be very +happy here, until I come back." + +"I know, Dick; but it won't be at all the same, without you." + +"Oh, you will have plenty to do, and you will soon fall into regular +ways. Besides, you know, you have got to comfort my mother, and keep +up her spirits, and I quite rely upon you to do that." + +"I will try, Dick," she said earnestly. + +"Now, goodbye, Annie." + +He held out his hand, but she threw her arms round his neck, and +kissed him. + +"You have never kissed me, not once," she said reproachfully, "and you +were going away without it, now. Your mother kisses me, and the +English girls in the harem always used to do so." + +"But that is different, Annie. Girls and women do kiss each other, but +boys and girls do not kiss, unless they are brothers and sisters, or +are relations, or something of that sort." + +"But you are not a boy. You are a great big man, Dick." + +"I am not much more than a boy yet, Annie. However, there is no harm +in kissing, when one is saying goodbye, so there. + +"Now be a good girl, and don't fret;" and he ran downstairs to the +door, where his uncle and the two boys were standing. + +"Take care of yourself, lad," the Rajah said, as, after bidding them +goodbye, Dick sprang upon his horse. "Whenever you get a chance, send +down a letter as we arranged last night, to the care of Azol Afool, +trader, Tripataly. That will seem natural enough, whoever you send it +by, while a letter directed to me might excite suspicion. + +"Goodbye." + +"Goodbye, Uncle;" and, with a wave of his hand, Dick rode off and +joined Surajah, who was waiting for him a short distance off. And +then, followed by Ibrahim--who had begged so earnestly to be allowed +to accompany them that Dick had consented to take him, feeling indeed +that his services would be most useful to them--and the two troopers, +they rode off at a sharp pace. + +At Amboor they assumed their disguises. Dick purchased a pack pony, +and some goods suitable to their appearance as pedlers, and then they +started up the pass on foot. They passed the frontier line without any +interruption, stopped and chatted for a few minutes with the guard, +and then passed on up the valley. + +"There is the house where we had our fight, Surajah," Dick said, as +they reached the ruined village. "Though there is peace now, I fancy +we should not get much farther than that fort ahead, if they guessed +that we were the fellows who gave them such trouble, two years and a +half ago." + +"There is no fear of our being recognised," Surajah said. "The guard +has probably been changed, long ago. Besides, they never once caught +sight of our faces." + +"Oh, no; we are safe enough," Dick agreed. "If I had not been sure of +that, we would have gone up one of the passes to the south, that has +been ceded to us, though it would have been a great deal longer round +to Bangalore--unless, indeed, we had gone by Kistnagherry, and that +would have been too dangerous to attempt, for the officers on the +frontier would probably have recognised us." + +It was late in the afternoon before they arrived at the gate. It stood +open, and there was no sentry on duty. A few soldiers could be seen, +loitering about in the street; but it was evident that, now the war +was over and everything finally settled, it was considered that all +occasion for vigilance was at an end. + +Upon making inquiries, they soon found a house where they could put up +for the night. They had, as is the custom in India, brought their +provisions with them, and after leaving their goods in the house, and +seeing that the horse was fed, Ibrahim set to work to cook a meal; +while the others opened one of the packs, and went round the village, +where they disposed of a few small articles. + +They arrived, without any adventure, at Bangalore. There, as soon as +they had established themselves at one of the caravansaries for +travellers, Dick and Surajah went to the house of the trader to whom +Pertaub had promised to consign their goods. + +"We have come for some packs, that have been sent by friends of ours +at Seringapatam to your care," Dick said, making as he spoke the sign +that Pertaub had taught him, as enabling those who were Hindoos to +recognise each other, at once. "We were to use the word 'Madras' as a +sign that we were the parties to whom they were consigned." + +"The goods arrived a week ago," the trader said, "and are lying for +you at my warehouse. I will hand them over to you, tomorrow morning." + +"Thank you. We may not come early, for we have to purchase two pack +horses to carry them, and three tats for ourselves and our man. This +may take us some time, and it will be, perhaps, better for us to come +to you early the next morning, and we can then start away direct." + +This was arranged, and on the following day, two strong animals were +bought for the packs; and three tats, or ponies, for their own riding. +Dick had disposed of the horse he had ridden down to Tripataly for a +good price, and had also been supplied with funds by his mother, +although, as he said, the contents of their packs ought to suffice to +pay all their expenses, for a long time. + +Then they purchased some provisions for the journey. The pack horse +they had brought with them was laden with these, and the goods brought +up from Amboor. The new pack horses were taken round to the trader's, +and the goods sent from Seringapatam packed on them. Then they mounted +and rode off at a walk, the pack animals following Ibrahim's horse, +tied one behind the other. + +They had already debated upon the course to pursue, and finally +decided that they would, in the first place, again visit Savandroog; +for the conviction Dick had entertained, that there was at least one +white captive there, had increased rather than diminished. + +"I can't give any good reason for it, Surajah," he had admitted, when +they talked it over before starting, "but it is just because I have no +good reason to give, that I want to go there again. Why should I have +such a strong conviction without a good cause? One has heard of a +presentiment of evil--I can't help feeling that this is a presentiment +of good. The question is, how can we best go there again? I don't +think it is in the least likely that the governor will have heard of +our flight, as this would be the last direction anyone would think of +our taking, for had we done so, we might have met the Sultan on his +way back from Bangalore. It will naturally be supposed that we have +made for the frontier, and have descended the Western or Southern +Ghauts. The affair will, of course, seem a mystery to them altogether; +for why should two young fellows, so recently promoted, and in such +high favour, desert Tippoo's service? If they do not associate Annie's +disappearance with our flight--and there is no reason on earth why +they should do so, as no one ever saw us speaking to her--they will +most likely think that we have fallen into the hands of the Dacoits, +or Thugs, and have been murdered. Numbers of people do disappear every +year, and are, as everyone supposes, victims of that detestable sect. +My uncle has told me of Thugs. He warned me to be very careful, if I +travelled with strangers, for that these men travel in all sorts of +disguises. + +"So I think that, as far as that goes, we could boldly put on our +uniforms and badges again, and ride into Savandroog. The disadvantage +of doing so is, however, plain. The commander would remain with us all +the time. We should get no opportunity of speaking privately with any +of the soldiers, and, taking us to be in Tippoo's confidence, he +would, as before, shirk the question of prisoners. On the other hand, +if we can get in as traders we shall be able to move about +unwatched--to go to the soldiers' huts and offer goods to their wives, +and be able to find out, to a certainty, if there is a prisoner there, +and, if so, where he is kept. We may even see him; for while, if the +governor wished to keep his existence a secret, he would have shut him +up when he heard that two of Tippoo's officers were coming, he would +not trouble about it, one way or the other, in the case of a couple of +traders. + +"The only objection to that course is that we were here but two or +three months since, and he and his servants, and that artillery +officer we went round with, would know us at once. If we go, we shall +have to alter our appearance completely. At any rate, we had better +provide means for disguise, and we can use them, or not, as we +please." + +While they were at Tripataly, therefore, they had two false beards +made for themselves, and tried many experiments in the way of painting +their faces; and found that by tracing light lines on their foreheads, +and at the corners of their eyes, they were able, by the help of +beards, to counterfeit the appearance of old age, so well that it +could only be detected on close observation. Dick, too, had purchased +a pair of native spectacles, with large round glasses and broad +black-horn rims, that made him look, as he said, like an astonished +owl. It was agreed that Surajah should wear, under his dress, a very +thickly padded vest, which would give him the appearance of being fat, +as well as elderly. + +They proceeded for seven or eight miles at a walking pace, and when +the heat of the day rendered it necessary for them to stop, turned +into a grove by the roadside, as they had no intention of going on to +Savandroog that day, intending to halt some miles short of it, and to +present themselves there the next afternoon. They therefore prepared +for a stay of some hours. The pack horses were unloaded, and the +saddles taken off the other animals. + +Half an hour later a party of twelve men, travelling in the same +direction as themselves, also halted and turned in among the trees. +The man who was apparently the leader of the party came across to +where they were sitting. + +"We do not disturb you, I hope, brothers?" he said. "The grove is +large enough for us all. I see that you are traders, like myself." + +"By no means," Surajah replied. "The wood is open to all, and even +were it not, we should be discourteous, indeed, did we refuse to share +our shade with others. Sit down by us, I beg of you, while your people +are unloading your animals." + +"I marked you as you left Bangalore," the trader said, as he seated +himself beside them, "and when I saw that you were taking the same +route that we should follow, I wondered how far our roads might lie +together." + +"We are travelling west," Surajah replied. "It may be that we shall +stop at Magree, and there, or at Outradroog, stop for a day or two to +trade. Thence we may go north." + +"Then as far as Outradroog our paths will lie together," the merchant +said. "There we shall strike the river, and turn south to +Seringapatam. I am sorry that you will not be going farther in our +direction, for the roads are far from safe. Since the war with the +Feringhees ended, there are many disbanded soldiers who have taken to +dacoity, and it is always better to travel with a strong band. I +wonder that you venture with three loaded animals, and only one man +beside yourselves." + +Surajah was about to speak, but a quick glance from Dick stopped him. + +"We think there is less danger in travelling in a small body than +there is with a large one," the latter said. "There is less to tempt +anyone to interfere with us. Moreover, we could not travel with a +caravan, because the greater part of our goods are such as would tempt +the peasantry only. We therefore stop at small villages to trade, +leaving the towns to those who travel with more valuable merchandise." + +After chatting for some minutes, the traveller got up and joined his +party. + +"I don't much like that fellow's looks," Dick said, when they were +alone. + +"Why? He looks a very respectable man." + +"Oh, yes, he looks respectable enough, but for all that I don't fancy +him. It may be that he regards us as rivals, and was only trying to +find out where we intended to stop, and whether we were likely to +spoil his trade. That was why I said what I did, so that he might +perceive that we were not likely to interfere with him. + +"Then again, Surajah, I remembered my uncle's warning against joining +other travellers, as these Thugs, who, they say, commit so many +murders, generally travel in bands, disguised sometimes as traders, +sometimes as men seeking work, sometimes as disbanded soldiers. +Anyhow, it is as well to be careful. We have each got a brace of +double-barrelled pistols in our girdles, in addition to these old +single-barrelled Indian ones that we carry for show, and our swords +are leaning against the tree behind us, so we can get hold of them in +a moment. I know, of course, that the betting is all in favour of +these people being peaceful traders, but I don't want to leave +anything to chance, and there is nothing like being prepared for +whatever may happen." + +Presently Dick got up and sauntered across to Ibrahim, who was engaged +in cooking. + +"Ibrahim," he said, "don't look round while I speak to you, but go on +with your cooking. I don't like the look of the leader of this party. +He may be a respectable trader, he may be a Dacoit or a Thug. I want +you to keep a sharp lookout, without seeming to do so. See that your +pistols will come out of your girdle easily. Keep your sword handy for +use. If you see anything suspicious, come over and tell me, and if +there is not time for that, shout." + +"I will watch, Sahib," Ibrahim said. "But they seem to me peaceable +men like ourselves. Of course they carry weapons. No one would travel +about, with merchandise, without doing so." + +"They may be all right, Ibrahim, but I have a sort of feeling that +they are not, and at any rate, it is best to be cautious." + +The other party did not light a fire, but sat down and ate some +provisions they carried with them. When Surajah and Dick had finished +their meal, the leader again strolled over to them. He asked whether +they intended to sleep, and on hearing that they did not, he again sat +down with them. He proceeded to discuss trading matters, to describe +the goods he carried, the places where he had purchased them, and the +prices he had given. + +As he talked, Dick noticed that three or four of the others came +across. They did not sit down, but stood round listening to the +conversation, and sometimes joining in. Dick's feeling of uneasiness +increased, and thrusting one hand carelessly into his girdle, he +grasped the butt of one of his hidden pistols. + +Suddenly a loud cry came from Ibrahim. At the same moment something +passed before Dick's face. He threw himself backwards, drawing his +pistol as he did so, and fired into the body of the man behind him. A +second later he shot another, who was in the act of throwing a twisted +handkerchief round Surajah's neck. Then he leapt to his feet, +delivering, as he did so, a heavy blow, with the barrel of his pistol, +on the head of the trader who had been sitting between him and +Surajah. + +It had all passed in a few seconds, and the other men started back, in +their surprise at this unexpected failure of their plan. + +Surajah was on his feet almost as quickly as Dick. Even yet, he did +not understand what had happened. At this moment there was the crack +of another pistol, and then Ibrahim came running towards them, having +shot a man who had suddenly drawn his sword, and tried to cut him +down. At his heels came the six men who had, up to this point, been +standing in a group near their horses. + +Without hesitation, Dick drew out one of his single-barrelled pistols +and shot the pretended trader, whose turban had saved him from the +effect of the blow, and who, shouting loudly to his companions, was +struggling to his feet. The remaining eight men had all drawn their +swords, and were rushing upon them. + +"Fire, Surajah!" Dick shouted. "Are you asleep, man?" + +Surajah was not asleep, but he was confused by the suddenness of the +fray, and was still doubtful whether Dick had not made an entirely +unprovoked attack upon the strangers. However, he perceived that it +was now too late to discuss that point, and was a question of fighting +for his life. Accordingly, he fired both barrels of one of his +pistols. One of the men dropped. + +"Your sword, Surajah!" Dick exclaimed, as he grasped the scabbard of +his own weapon in his left hand, while in his right he held his other +double-barrelled pistol. + +Their antagonists, with yells of fury, were now upon them. Dick shot +one, but the next man he aimed at darted suddenly aside when he fired. +Dick dropped his pistol, and grasped the hilt of his sword just in +time to ward off a blow aimed at his head. Blow after blow was +showered upon him, so quickly that he could do no more than ward them +off and wait his opportunity. He heard Surajah fire two more shots in +quick succession; then Ibrahim suddenly dashed forward and cut down +his opponent, and then furiously engaged another, who was on the point +of attacking him from behind. Dick drew his remaining pistol, and shot +the man through the head. + +He had then time to look round. + +Both Surajah's shots had told, and he was now defending himself +against the assaults of two others, who were pressing him hard, while +a third stood irresolute a short distance away. Dick rushed to +Surajah's assistance. As he did so, the third man fled. + +"After him, Ibrahim!" Dick shouted. "Not one of them must get away." + +The two Thugs defended themselves, with cries of fanatical fury, but +their opponents were far better swordsmen, and, fighting coolly, were +not long before they cut them both down. + +"What on earth is it all about, Dick?" Surajah asked, as, panting with +his exertions, he looked round after cutting down his opponent. + +"Thugs," Dick said briefly. + +"Are you sure, Dick?" Surajah asked presently. "It may be a terrible +business for us, if there is any mistake." + +For answer, Dick pointed to the bodies of the two men he had first +shot. One still grasped the roomal, or twisted silk sash, while a like +deadly implement lay by the side of the other. + +"Thank Heaven!" Surajah ejaculated. "I was afraid there might have +been a mistake, Dick, but I see that you were right, and that it was a +party of Thugs. If it had not been that you were on the watch for +them, and had your pistol ready, we should have lost our lives." + +"It was a close shave as it was, Surajah. One second later, and you +and I should both have been strangled. I had my hand on my pistol, and +felt so sure that an attack was intended that, the moment something +passed before my face, although I had no idea what it was, I threw +myself back and fired at the man behind me, with an instinctive +feeling that my life depended on my speed. But it was only when, on +looking at you, I saw a man in the act of throwing a noose round your +neck, that I knew exactly what I had escaped." + +"It was fortunate that they had not pistols," Surajah said. "We should +have had no chance against them, if they had had firearms." + +"No; they could have shot us the moment I first fired. But Uncle said, +when he was talking to me one day, that he had heard that the +Stranglers did not carry firearms, because the reports might attract +attention; and that it was a matter of religion, with them, to kill +their victims by strangling; but that if the Strangler failed, which +he very seldom did, the other men would then despatch the victims with +their swords and knives. + +"Ah! here comes Ibrahim." + +"I caught him just outside the trees, Sahib. He will strangle no more +travellers." + +"Well, what had we better do?" asked Surajah. + +"I should say we had better make off, as fast as we can. Of course, if +we were really traders, able to prove who we are, we should go back to +the town and report the affair; but as we can't do that, we had better +be moving on at once, before any other party of travellers comes up. +That was why, when we had killed several of them, I was anxious that +none should get away, for they might have gone and accused us of +slaughtering their companions." + +"That would be too unlikely a story to be believed. No one would +credit that three men would attack twelve." + +"But there would be no one to prove that there were only three. The +fellows would naturally swear that there were a score of us, and that, +after murdering their companions, the rest made off with the booty. + +"Ibrahim, load the pack animals, at once. We will saddle the horses. + +"I think, Surajah, we had better leave everything just as it is. It is +now getting on for the afternoon. It is likely enough that no other +travellers will enter the grove today. By tomorrow, at the latest, +someone will come in, and will of course go and report at once, in +Bangalore, what he has found; and they will send out here to examine +into it. When they find that the men have all fallen, sword in hand, +that two of them are evidently Stranglers, and that their girdles have +not been searched, nor the packs on their horses opened, it will be +seen that it was not the work of robbers. I don't suppose they will +know what to make of it, but I should think they would most likely +conclude that these men have been attacked by some other party, and +that it is a matter of some feud or private revenge--though, even +then, the fact that the bodies have not been searched for valuables, +or the baggage or animals carried off, will beat them altogether." + +By this time, the horses were ready for the start, and after looking +up and down the long, straight road, to see that no one was in sight, +they issued from the wood and continued their journey. Being anxious, +now, to get away as far as possible from the scene of the struggle, +instead of going on to Magree as they had intended, they turned off by +the first country road on the left-hand side, and made for Savandroog, +which they could see towering up above the plain. When within three +miles of it, they halted in a large wood. Here, as soon as the horses +had been unsaddled, and the fire lighted, their talk naturally turned +to the fight they had gone through. + +"I cannot make out how you came to suspect them, Dick." + +"I can hardly account for it myself, but, as I told you, I did not +like the look of that man, and I had an uneasy sort of feeling, which +I could not explain even to myself, that there was danger in the air." + +"But what made you think of these Stranglers? I had heard some talk +about them, but never anything for certain." + +"The Rajah told me, when he was warning me against joining parties of +travellers, that although very little was known about the +organisation, it was certain that there was a sect who strangled and +robbed travellers in great numbers. He said that he was aware that +complaints had been made, to princes all over India, of numbers of +persons being missing; and that it was certain that these murders were +not the work of ordinary dacoits, but of some secret association; and +that even powerful princes were afraid to take any steps against it, +as one or two, who had made efforts to investigate the affair, had +been found strangled in their beds. Therefore, no one cared to take +any steps to search into the matter. It was not known whether these +Stranglers, scattered as they were very widely, obeyed one common +chief, or whether they acted separately; but all were glad to leave +this mysterious organisation alone, especially as they preyed only on +travellers, and in no case meddled in any way with rajahs, or +officials, who did not interfere with them. Consequently, the idea +occurred to me, directly, that these men who seemed like traders might +be a party of these Stranglers; and when the others came up, while the +leader was sitting talking to us, I felt as if cold water was running +down my back, and that someone was whispering to me, 'Be on your +guard, be on your guard!' Therefore, the moment something passed +before my face, I threw myself back and fired at the man behind me, +without a moment's thought as to what it was." + +"Well, certainly you saved our lives by doing so, Dick; for I suppose, +if that man behind me had once got his silk scarf round my neck, he +would have choked me before I had time to so much as lift my hand." + +"I have not the least doubt that he would, and I feel thankful, +indeed, that I had such a strange feeling that these men were +dangerous. Do you know, Surajah, it seems to me that it was just the +same sort of feeling that my mother tells me she has, whenever my +father is in danger; and I shall be curious to know, when we get back, +whether she had the same feeling about me. Anyhow, I shall, in future, +have even more faith than I had before, in her confidence that she +would have certainly known if any evil had happened to my father." + + + +Chapter 19: Found At Last. + + +The next morning, early, Dick and Surajah set to work to perfect their +disguises. They had, before, appeared simply as two young traders, +well to do, and of a class above the ordinary peddling merchant. They +now fitted on the ample beards that had been made at Tripataly. These +were attached so firmly to their faces, by an adhesive wax, that they +could not be pulled off without the use of a good deal of force. With +the same stuff, small patches of hair were fastened on, so as to hide +the edge of the foundation of the beard. Tufts of short grey hair were +attached to their eyebrows; a few grey lines were carefully drawn at +the corner of the eyes, and across the foreheads; and when this was +done, they felt assured that no one was likely to suspect the +disguise. + +Ibrahim, who had assisted in the operation, declared that he should +take them for men of sixty-five, and as, before beginning it, both of +them had darkened their faces several shades, they felt confident that +no one at the fort was likely to recognise them. When Surajah had put +on the padded undergarment, and converted himself into a +portly-looking old man, and Dick the great horn spectacles, they +indulged in a burst of laughter at their changed appearance, while +Ibrahim fairly shouted with amusement. + +He was to stay behind in the wood, when they went on, for it would but +have added to the risk had he accompanied them, as, unless also +completely disguised, he would have been recognised by the soldiers +with whom he had talked, during his twenty-four hours' stay inside the +Tower walls. He was, in the evening, to proceed along the road, to +encamp in the last grove he came to, at a distance of a quarter of a +mile from the gates, and to remain there until they returned. + +Under his garments Dick had wound a thin, but very strong, silken cord +that he had purchased at Bangalore. It was four hundred feet in +length, and considerably increased his apparent bulk, although he was +still far from emulating the stoutness of Surajah. The halters of the +pack horses were attached to the cruppers of the riding ponies, and +after a final instruction to Ibrahim that if at the end of four days +they had not returned, he was to endeavour to find out what had +happened to them, and was then to carry the news to Tripataly, they +started for the fort. When they approached the gate they were, as +before, hailed by the sentry. + +"We are merchants," Surajah said, "and we have with us a rich +assortment of goods of all descriptions--silks and trinkets for the +ladies of the governor's harem, and handkerchiefs, scarves, silver +ornaments, and things of all kinds suitable for the wives of those of +lower rank. We pray for permission to enter and exhibit our wares, +which have been collected by us in the cities where they were +manufactured, and which we can therefore sell at prices hitherto +unheard of." + +"I will send word up to the governor," the officer said. "It is a long +time since we have been visited by traders, and maybe he will grant +you permission. You had best go back to the shade of those trees. It +will be a good hour before the answer comes." + +"I think it likely they will let us in," Dick said, as they moved away +towards the trees. "It is but a short time since things were +sufficiently settled for traders to venture up here, and as Savandroog +lies altogether off the roads between large towns, it is possible that +none with such goods as we have have come this way, since the garrison +took over Savandroog from the British detachment that occupied it." + +In little over an hour there was a shout from the walls, and on +approaching the gate again, they were told that the governor had given +permission for them to enter. + +"You are to be blindfolded," the officer said, as the gate closed +behind them. "No one may ascend the rock, unless he consents to this. +Your horses will be led, and beware that you do not attempt to remove +the bandages, until you have permission to do so." + +It took nearly an hour to mount the steep road, and when they came to +a standstill, and the sub-officer who had accompanied them told them +they could now remove their bandages, they found themselves in front +of a small building, close to the commander's quarters. The packs +were, by the order of the officer, taken off the horses by the +soldiers who had led them up, and carried into the house. The horses +were fastened in the shade to rings in the wall, and on Surajah +pointing out the packs containing goods he wished to show to the +ladies, two of the soldiers carried them across to the governor's +house. The old officer himself came to the door. + +"Enter, my friends," he said. "You are the first traders who have come +up here since we took over the fort, some six months ago, and methinks +you will do a brisk business if your wares are, as you sent up to say, +good and cheap." + +The bales were taken into a room, the soldiers retired, and in a +minute the commander's wife, accompanied by three or four other +ladies, entered. Dick and Surajah, after salaaming profoundly to the +veiled figures, at once began to unpack their bales. + +The assortment had been very judiciously made, and to women who had, +for more than six months, been deprived of the pleasure of shopping, +the display was irresistible. In their desire to examine the goods, +the ladies speedily lifted their veils, and, seating themselves on +cushions they had brought in with them, chattered unrestrainedly; +examining the quality of the silks which Surajah and Dick, squatting +behind their wares, handed for their inspection; comparing the +colours, asking each other's advice, and endeavouring to beat down the +terms Surajah named. + +In the first place, he asked the prices marked on small labels +attached to each article, but suffered himself, after the proper +amount of reluctance, and protests that he should be a ruined man, to +abate his terms considerably, although the ladies were evidently well +satisfied that the goods were indeed bargains. + +It was a long time before the ladies could make up their minds which +to choose, among the many silks exhibited for their selections. When +this had been settled, the pack containing delicate muslins was +opened, and the same scene gone through. It was, altogether, four +hours before the purchases were all made, and even then the boxes of +trinkets remained unopened, the governor's wife saying: + +"No, we will not look at them. We have ruined ourselves already. +Tomorrow, when our husbands know how much we have spent, you can show +the trinkets to them, and try your best to get them to buy. These +things we have been getting are our own affair. It is for them to make +us presents of ornaments, if they are disposed to. + +"This evening you must come in again. The ladies from the other fort +will be here, then." + +The purchases made were paid for, the bales again fastened up, and +carried across to their room. The governor met them as they went out. + +"I suppose you have been ruining us all?" he said good humouredly. +"Well, it is a dull life up here, and the ladies have but few chances +of spending money." + +"We are to see the ladies from the other fort this evening, my lord," +Surajah said. "Have we your permission, in the meantime, to go and +sell in the soldiers' quarters? We have goods suited to the needs of +their wives also, as well as those for the ladies." + +"Certainly. You can go about as you please up here. It is only as to +the approaches that we have to be careful. But wait in your room for a +short time. I will have food sent over to you." + +In a few minutes a servant brought across a large dish of pillau, and +several cakes of sweetmeats, the latter being, as he informed them, +the special gift of the governor's wife. There was no occasion for +them to start, as they had intended, after their meal, for the news of +their coming had spread, and by the time they had finished, a number +of women were waiting outside. Until sunset they were busily engaged +in selling their goods--for the most part bright cotton cloths, red +silk handkerchiefs, and cheap silver trinkets. Soldiers sauntered in +and out. For these they had provided a store of pipes, tobacco, +tobacco boxes, knives, and muslins for turbans; and as the news spread +that these were to be obtained, the number of soldiers increased, +until the room was quite crowded with them, as well as by many natives +engaged in the work of rebuilding the fortifications. + +Surajah did the selling, while Dick's part of the work was receiving +the money and giving change. As he was stooping over a tray in front +of him, piled with copper, picking up the change for silver coin, he +heard a man ask Surajah for a pound of his best tobacco and a pipe. + +There was something in the accent that caused him to look up sharply. +As he did so, he started. The blood rushed to his head so violently +that a mist seemed to pass across his eyes, and his hand shook so that +he dropped the coins he was counting. Forgetful of the dark stain on +his face, he bent forward over the tray again to conceal his emotion, +forced himself to pick out the right change, and then, handing it to +its owner, again looked up. + +The man who was standing before Surajah was broader and taller than +those around him. The sun had darkened his face, until its shade +approached those of his companions, and yet there was no mistaking the +fact that he was a European. A heavy moustache and beard, streaked +with grey, concealed the lower part of his face. Dick dared not gaze +on the man too earnestly, and could see no likeness to the picture on +the wall at Shadwell; but, allowing for the effects of hardship and +suffering, he judged him to be about the age of his father. + +The man was evidently on good terms with the soldiers, one or two of +whom were chaffing him on his purchase. + +"Will nothing but the best tobacco satisfy you?" one laughed. + +"Nothing; and even that won't really satisfy me. This stuff is good +enough, when rolled up, for cigars, and it does well enough in +hookahs; but I would give all this pound for a couple of pipes of +pigtail, which is the tobacco we smoked at sea." + +Again Dick's heart beat rapidly. This man must have been a sailor. He +could not restrain himself from speaking. + +"Have you been a sailor, then?" he asked. + +"Ay, I was a sailor, though it is many years ago, now, since I saw the +sea." + +"We got some English tobacco at Madras," Dick said, not hesitating for +once at telling an untruth. "We sold most of it to the Feringhee +soldiers, on our way up, but I think I have got a little of it still +left somewhere in the pack. I am too busy to look for it now, and we +shall soon be going to show our goods to the officers' wives; but if +you can come here at nine o'clock, I may have looked it out for you." + +"I can't come at nine," the man said, "for at half-past eight I am +shut up for the night." + +"Come at eight, then," Dick said. "If I am not back, come the first +thing in the morning, before we get busy." + +"I will come, sure enough," the man said. "I would walk a hundred +miles, if they would let me, for half a pound of pigtail." + +"Get rid of them, Surajah," Dick whispered, as the man shouldered his +way through the crowd. "Make some excuse to send them off." + +"Now, my friends," Surajah said, "you see it is getting dusk. It will +soon be too dark to see what you are buying, and we have been selling +for eight hours, and need rest. At eight o'clock tomorrow we will open +our packs again, and everyone shall be served; but I pray you excuse +us going on any longer now. As you see, we are not as young as we once +were, and are both sorely weary." + +As time was no object, and the work of purchasing would relieve the +tedium of the following day, the crowd good humouredly dispersed. +Surajah rose and closed the door after the last of them, and then +turned to Dick. He had, himself, been too busily engaged in satisfying +the demands of the customers to look up, and had not noticed that one +of them was a white man. + +"What is it?" he asked, as he looked round. "Has the heat upset you?" + +Then, as his eye fell on Dick, his voice changed, and he hurried +towards him, exclaiming anxiously: + +"What is it, Dick? What has happened?" + +For Dick was leaning against a bale by the side of him, and had hidden +his face in his arms. Surajah saw that his whole frame was shaking +with emotion. + +"My dear lord," Surajah said, as he knelt beside him and laid his arm +across his shoulder, "you frighten me. Has aught gone wrong? Are you +ill?" + +Dick slightly shook his head, and, lifting one of his hands, made a +sign to Surajah that he could not, at present, speak. A minute or two +later, he raised his head. + +"Did you not see him, Surajah?" + +"See who, Dick?" + +"The white man you last served." + +"I did not notice any white man." + +"It was the one you gave a pound of the best tobacco to. Did you not +hear me speak to him, afterwards?" + +"No. I was so busy, and so fearfully hot with this padded thing, it +was as much as I could do to attend to what they said to me. A white +man, did you say? Oh, Dick!" + +And as the idea struck him, he rose to his feet in his excitement. + +"Do you think--do you really think he can be your father?" + +"I do think so, Surajah. Of course, I did not recognise his face. Nine +years must have changed him greatly, and he has a long beard. But he +is about the right age, and, I should say, about the same figure; and +he has certainly been a sailor, for he said, to one of the soldiers, +that he would give that pound of tobacco for a couple of pipes of +pigtail, which is the tobacco sailors smoke. I told him that, perhaps, +I might be able to find him some in my packs, and asked him to come +here at eight o'clock this evening. If I was not in, then, he was to +come the first thing tomorrow morning; but of course I shall be in at +eight. You must make some excuse to the ladies. Say that there are +some goods you wish to show them, in one of the other packs, and ask +me to go and look for it." + +"Oh, Dick, only to think that, after all our searching, we seem to +have come on him at last! It is almost too good to be true." + +Great as was Surajah's confidence in Dick, he had never quite shared +his faith that he would find his father alive, and his non-success +while with the army, and since, had completely extinguished any hopes +he had entertained. His surprise, therefore, equalled his delight at +finding that, after all, it seemed probable that their search was +likely to be crowned with success. + +"Of course we will manage it," he said. "I will put aside that narrow +Benares cloth-of-gold work for trimmings, and you can be as long as +you like looking for it. They will be too busy examining the other +things to give it a thought, after you have gone out." + +"I can be back at half-past eight," Dick said, "for the man told me he +was locked up at that hour. If it had not been for that, I should have +arranged for him to come a little later. But, of course, I shall have +opportunities for talking to him tomorrow. + +"There is someone at the door." + +Surajah opened it, and a soldier entered with their evening meal, and +a request that they would go across to the governor's as soon as they +had finished it, as the ladies had already assembled there. They +hurried through their food, and then went across. There was quite a +large gathering, for not only had the wives of the officers in the +other fort come over, but all those who had been there in the morning +were again present, several of them prepared to make further +purchases. Trade was as actively carried on as it had been before. + +When he judged it to be nearly eight o'clock, Dick nudged Surajah, who +said, a minute afterwards: + +"We have forgotten the Benares cloth-of-gold. I am sure that will +please the ladies for waist bands, or for trimmings. It must have got +into the other bales, by mistake." + +"I will go and fetch it," Dick said, and, rising, left the room. + +A figure was standing at the door, when he reached the house. + +"I was afraid you had forgotten me," the man said. "It is not quite +eight o'clock yet, but as I found that you were both out, I began to +be afraid that you might be detained until after I had to go; and you +don't know how I long for a pipe of that tobacco. The very thought of +it seems to bring old days back again." + +By this time they had entered the house, and Dick shut the door behind +him. He had left a light burning, when they went out. Dick was so +agitated that he felt unable to speak, but gazed earnestly in the +man's face. + +"What is it, old chap?" the latter said, surprised at the close +scrutiny. "Is anything wrong with you?" + +Dick took off his spectacles, rather to gain time than to see more +clearly, for a plain glass had been substituted for the lenses. + +"I want to ask you a question," he said. "Is your name Holland?" + +The man started. + +"My name is Jack Holland," he said, "sure enough; though how you come +to know it beats me altogether, for I am always called Jack, and +except the governor, I don't think there is a man here knows my other +name." + +"You were captain of the Hooghley, wrecked on the Malabar coast, nine +years ago," Dick said, this time speaking in English. + +After an exclamation of startled surprise, the man stared at him in an +astonishment too great for words. + +"Are you English?" he said slowly, at last. "Yes, I was in command of +the Hooghley. Who, in God's name, are you?" + +Dick took his two hands. + +"Father," he said, "I am your son, Dick." + +The sailor gazed at him with a stupefied air. + +"Are you mad, or am I?" he said hoarsely. + +"Neither of us, Father. I am disguised as an old man, but really I am +little more than eighteen. I have been searching for you for more than +two years, and, thank God, I have found you at last;" and, bursting +into tears, Dick would have thrown his arms round his father's neck, +but the latter pushed him off with one hand, and held him at arm's +distance, while his other hand plucked at his own throat, as if to +loosen something that was choking him. + +"It can't be true," he muttered to himself. "I am dreaming this. I +shall wake presently, and you will be gone." + +"It is quite true, Father. Mother is down at Tripataly, waiting for me +to bring you to her." + +With a hoarse cry the sailor reeled, and would have fallen, had not +Dick caught him and allowed him to sink gradually to the ground; where +he lay, half supported by one of the bales. Dick ran to one of the +saddlebags, where he carried a flask of brandy in case of emergencies, +poured some into a cup, and held it to his father's lips. The sailor +gasped. + +"It is brandy," he said suddenly. "I can't have dreamt that." + +Then he broke into a violent sobbing. Dick knelt by his side, and took +his hand. + +"It is assuredly no dream, Father," he said gently. "I am really your +son, Dick. I am here with a trusty friend, and now we have found you, +you may be sure that we will, in some way, manage your escape. There +is no time, now, to tell you all that has happened. That I can do, +afterwards. All that is important for you to know, is, that Mother is +quite well. She has never given up hope, and has always insisted that +you were alive, for she said that she should surely have known, if you +had died. So she taught me her language, until I could speak like a +native; and two years and a half ago, she came out here with me. + +"I accompanied the army, with my uncle's troop, and searched every +hill fort they took, for you. Since they went back, I have been up in +Mysore with my friend Surajah, and, thank God, at last we have found +you!" + +"Thank God, indeed, my boy. I do thank Him, not only that you have +found me, but that your mother, whom I had never hoped to see again, +is alive and well; and also, that He has given me so good a son." + +"And now, Father, about your escape. In the first place, have you +given your parole not to try to get away?" + +Captain Holland was himself now. + +"No lad, no. At the fort, where I was for six years, there was no +possibility of escape; and as I was a long time, before I began to +speak the language, even if I had got away I could never have made my +way through the country. Then the governor--it was the same we have +here--took me with him to Kistnagherry. I was the only white captive +who went there with him. At Kistnagherry there were five or six +others, but when Tippoo heard that an English army was coming up the +ghauts, an order came that they were to be killed. But the governor is +a kind-hearted old fellow, and as I had become almost a chum of his, +he chose to consider that the order did not apply to me, but only to +those he had found at Kistnagherry--for I fancy my existence had been +forgotten altogether. + +"I had great hopes that the British would take the place. I think that +is the only time I have hoped, since I was made prisoner; but the old +man is a good soldier, and beat them off. + +"When peace was made, Kistnagherry was, as you know, given up, and the +governor was ordered to evacuate the place, and to come here. He +brought me with him, making me dye my face before I started, so that +in my native dress it would not be noticed, in any town we passed +through, that I was a white. For had this been done, the news might +have come to Tippoo's ears, and there would have been an end of me. + +"Except that I am locked up at night, I am not treated as a prisoner; +but the governor, who has a strong sense of duty, has a certain watch +kept over me. He has a real friendship for me, and would do all in his +power to save my life, short of disobedience to an actual order. But +his view is that I have been confided to his care, and that if, at any +moment, the Sultan should write to demand me of him, he would be bound +to produce me." + +"Well, Father, it must be nearly half-past eight. I will go with you, +and see where you are confined--that is the first step. We will both, +tonight, think over the best way of attempting your escape; and in the +morning, when your guard is removed, if you will come straight here we +will talk it over. + +"I am afraid you will have to wait for your pigtail till we get to +Madras." + +Captain Holland laughed. + +"I can afford to wait for that, now. God bless you, my boy! I have +never looked for such happiness as this again. But, as you say, it is +time for me to be off. I have never been late yet, and if it were +reported to the governor that I was so tonight, he might think that +there was something in the wind." + +Dick walked with his father across the fort. + +"That is the house, in the corner," the captain said, pointing to one +before which a group of soldiers were standing. "Don't come any +farther." + +Dick stood looking after him, and heard a voice say: + +"You are late, Jack. I was beginning to wonder what had become of +you." + +"I don't think it is past the hour, yet," Captain Holland replied. "I +have been with those traders. They told me, this afternoon, they might +be able to find me some English tobacco in their pack; but they have +been too busy to look for it. I hope they will light on it, tomorrow. +If they do, I will give you half a pipeful. I won't give you more, for +it is strong enough to blow your head off, after this tasteless stuff +you smoke here." + +Then Dick hurried off to the house, snatched up the stuff he was +supposed to be looking for, and joined Surajah at the governor's. + +It was another hour before the ladies had completed their purchases. +Dick, on entering, had given a little nod to Surajah, to let him know +that it was really his father whom he had discovered, and had then +tried to keep his attention upon his work as a salesman; and Surajah, +as he handed him the goods, had given a furtive squeeze to his hand in +token of his sympathy. + +"So it is really your father?" he said, as, carrying their greatly +diminished pack, they walked across to their house. + +"It is, indeed. You may imagine his surprise and joy, when I told him +who I was. Now we have got to talk over the best plan of getting him +out." + +When the door was shut, and they had seated themselves on two of the +bales, Dick first repeated all that his father had told him, and then, +for a long time, they discussed the best plan of attempting an escape. +Both agreed, at once, that it would be next to impossible to get him +down the road and out of the gate. In the first place, they would have +to leave by daylight; and even could a disguise be contrived that +would deceive the sentries and guard at the gate, all of whom were +well acquainted with Captain Holland's figure and appearance, it was +certain that, as but two had come up the rock, a third would not be +allowed to leave, unless he had a special order from the governor. + +They agreed, therefore, that the escape must be made over the +precipice. That this was a matter of great difficulty was evident from +the fact that the captain had made no attempt to get away in that +manner. Still, there was hope that, with the assistance of the silk +rope Dick had brought with them, it might be managed. + +There was, too, the initial difficulty of getting out from the fort to +be faced. + +"We can do nothing, till we have had a long talk with my father," Dick +said. "I have no doubt that he has thought all these things over, and +has, long before this, made up his mind as to the point at which a +descent would be easiest. As at present we know little, except by the +casual examination we made last time, we can decide on nothing by +ourselves." + +"I hope it won't be a long way to let oneself down," Surajah said, +"for I am quite sure I could not hold on, by that thin rope, for any +distance." + +"Nor could I, Surajah, if I had to trust only to my hands. My father, +as a sailor, will be able to put us up to the best way to do it. But +at any rate, he might let you down first; and I think that by twisting +the rope two or three times round my body, and then holding it between +my knees and feet, I might manage. But I dare say my father will hit +on some better plan than that. + +"And now we will lie down. I am so stiff that I can hardly stand, from +squatting for so many hours behind those things of ours. I thought +that I had got pretty well accustomed to it, but I never calculated on +having to do it from ten in the morning until ten at night, with only +two half-hours off." + +Dick, however, had little sleep that night. He was too excited over +the glorious success he had obtained to be capable of closing an eye, +and it was not until day was breaking that he fell into a doze. + +An hour later, he started to his feet at a knock at the door. He was +wide awake in a moment, and on running to it, his father entered. + +"You look older today than you did yesterday," the latter said, as he +held his hand and gazed into Dick's face. "I fancy that neither of us +has had any sleep to speak of. As for myself, I have not closed an +eye." + +"Nor did I, Father, until day began to break. Now please, let us talk +over our plan of escape first, for we may be interrupted at any +moment." + +"Right you are, lad. Does your friend here speak English? For I have +never got to be a good hand at their lingo. I want to thank him, too, +but as you say, time is precious, and we must postpone that." + +"He understands it, Father, and can talk it pretty fairly. We have +been constantly together for nearly two years. + +"Now, in the first place, is there any place where we can get down +from the top here, with the aid of a rope?" + +"It would be a pretty tough job, anyhow, but at the farthest end of +the rock is a place where it goes sharp down, as if cut with a knife. +That would be the best place to try. I take it to be about two hundred +feet deep. Beyond, the ground seems to slope regularly away. If I +could have got a rope I should have tried it, but they are pretty +scarce commodities up here--in fact, I have never seen a piece twenty +feet long since we came. What sort of rope have you got?" + +Dick opened the front of his garment, and showed the rope round his +body. Captain Holland gave a low whistle of dismay. + +"I should not like to trust a child with that thing, Dick, much less a +grown man. It is no thicker than a flag halliard." + +"It is thin, Father, but there is no fear as to its strength. I tested +every yard of it, and found it would bear six hundred weight." + +"Well, that is ample; but how is one to hold on to a cord like that?" + +"That is just what we want you to tell us, Father. There must be some +way of managing it, if one could but hit upon it." + +"Yes, that is so, lad," the sailor said thoughtfully. "I will think it +over. Anyhow, I think I could lower you both down, and by knotting it +I might get hold enough to come down after you; but even the knots +would be precious small." + +"One might get over that, Father, by fastening a short stick across, +every five or six feet; or every two or three feet, if you like." + +"Good, Dick. That would prevent one's coming down with a run, +certainly, and by keeping it between one's legs, one could always get +a rest. Yes, that will do, lad, if I can think of nothing better. +There are a lot of spears stowed away, in the room adjoining mine. If +we were to cut them up into six-inch lengths, with one of a foot long +to each ten, for sitting on, they would be just the thing." + +"That is capital, Father. I had a lot of practice in rope climbing, +before I came out, and I am sure that I could manage with the help +that would give. I don't think Surajah could, but we could let him +down first, easily. Now, as to your prison." + +"There are bars to the windows," the captain said, "and a sentry is +always on duty outside. The only way would be to escape at the rear. I +have often thought it over, but it was of no use breaking out there, +if I could not get any farther. The wall is built of loose stone, +without mortar. You see, it would have been a big job to bring up +either mortar or bricks from down below, so most of the buildings are +entirely of stone. The wall is two feet thick, but there would be no +great difficulty in getting out the stones, and making a hole big +enough to crawl through. I could not do it in my room, because they +always look round to see that everything is safe before they lock me +up; and it would take so long to do it noiselessly that half the night +would be wasted, before I could get out. But the magazine, where the +spears are kept, communicates with my room, and I could slip in there +in the daytime, when no one was looking, get behind the spears, which +are piled against the wall, and work hidden by them. No one would be +likely to go into my room during the day, and if he did, he would not +expect to find me there, as I am generally about the place. In that +way, I could get out enough stones to render it an easy job to finish +it, after I was locked up. A spear head is as good a thing, to help me +prize them out, as one could wish for." + +"Very well, Father. Then we had better settle that you shall get out +in that way. Now, shall we go round on the outside, and help you?" + +"No; I don't say but that your help would make it easier to get the +stones out, without making a noise. Still, your going round might be +noticed." + +"Well then, Father, shall we seize and gag the sentry? We have done +such a thing before, successfully." + +"No, that wouldn't do, Dick. The guard house is hard by, and the +slightest noise would destroy us all. Besides, as they have not many +sentries posted up here, they relieve guard every hour, so that the +thing would be discovered in no time. + +"No; when I get out I will creep along noiselessly by the wall. There +are houses in the yard almost all along, and though the sentry would +not be likely to see me, in the shade of the wall, I will take care to +cross the open spaces when his back is turned. I will then come +straight here for you, and we will make for the wall behind the +governor's house. There is no sentry on that side, for that steep +ravine covers it from attack there. However, there are six or eight +feet of level ground between the foot of the wall and the edge of the +ravine. The walls are twenty feet in height. With fifty feet of that +rope I will make a ladder, and will get hold of a piece of iron to +make a grapnel of. How much time can you give me?" + +"I should think we could stay here today and tomorrow, without seeming +to be dawdling without reason. Do you think you could get ready by +tomorrow night, Father?" + +"Yes, that will give me plenty of time. Let me see. There is the short +ladder to make. That won't take me over an hour. There are a hundred +bits to cut for the long ladder, putting them about two feet apart. +That will be a longish job, for the spear shafts are of very tough +wood. However, I have a saw, and some oil, which will prevent it +making a noise, and can make fairly quick work of it. I have several +tools, too. I very often do carpentering jobs of all sorts--that is +what first made the governor take to me. I can get all that part of +the work done today. Tonight I will do the knotting. Of course, I +shall make it a goodish bit over two hundred feet long, for it may +turn out that I have not judged the depth right, and that the cliff is +higher than I thought it was. + +"I don't think sawing up the spear shafts will take more than an hour +or two, so I shall be able to show myself about the place as usual. I +will go over and take a good look at the rock again, and stick a spear +head into the ground, at the point where it seems to me that it goes +down straightest, and where there is the least chance of the rope +getting rubbed against a sharp edge. I sha'n't begin at the wall until +tomorrow, for I don't suppose I shall be able to get out the first few +stones without making a bit of a noise, and it would not do to work at +night. + +"Now, lad, I think we can consider that as all settled, and I won't +come near you again, unless there is some change of plan. I shall be +here tomorrow evening, I hope it will be by ten o'clock--that must +depend upon how long it takes me to get down the outside layer of +stone. + +"If you should hear a sudden row, make at once for the wall behind the +governor's house, and wait there for me to join you. You see, some of +the stones may come down with a run, and if they do I shall give the +rest a shove, and be out like a shot. I shall hear which side the +sentry is running round the house, and shall belt the other way. Of +course, he will see the stones and give the alarm; but in the +darkness, I have not much doubt of being able to slip away, and I will +then make my way straight to the wall. Of course, I shall have the +ladders tied up into bundles, and shall take care not to leave them +behind me." + +"All right, Father. We will be ready tomorrow evening. We shall wait +quietly for you until you come, unless we hear a sudden alarm. If we +do, we will go round behind the governor's house, and wait there for +your coming." + +"That is it, my lad. Now I will be going. I am glad that no one has +come in while I have been here." + + + +Chapter 20: The Escape. + + +Soon after eight o'clock customers began to drop in, and throughout +the day a brisk trade was carried on. Surajah was sent for, in the +course of the morning, by the governor; who bought several silver +bracelets, brooches, and earrings for his wife. Most of the other +officers came in during the day, and made similar purchases, and many +trinkets were also sold to the soldiers, who considered them a good +investment for their money. Indeed, no small portion of the earnings +of the natives of India are spent upon silver ornaments for their +women, as they can at any time be converted into cash. + +The commoner cloths, knives, beads, and trinkets were almost all +disposed of, by the end of the day, for as no traders had come up for +six months, and as a long time might elapse before others did so, the +garrison were glad to lay in a store of useful articles for themselves +and families, especially as the prices of all the goods were at least +as low as they could have been bought in a town. + +"We sha'n't leave much behind us," Dick said, as he looked round after +the last customer had left, and they had sat down to their evening +meal. "Almost all the silver work and the better class of goods have +gone, and I should say three-quarters of the rest. I daresay we shall +get rid of the remainder tomorrow. I don't suppose many of the +soldiers stationed down by the gate have come up yet; but when they +hear that we sell cheaply, some of them will be here tomorrow. We have +made no money by the transaction, but at any rate we shall have got +back the outlay. Of course, I should not have cared if we had got +nothing back. Still, it is satisfactory to have cleared oneself. + +"I wonder how Ibrahim is getting on, down in the wood." + +"He won't be expecting us today," Surajah replied, "but I have no +doubt he will begin to feel anxious by tomorrow night. I wish we could +have seen some way of getting the horses down. It will be awkward +doing without them." + +"Yes. I hope we shall get a good start. Of course, we must put on our +peasant's dresses again. I am glad enough to be rid of that rope, +though I have had to put on two or three additional things, to fill me +out to the same size as before. Still, I don't feel so bound in as I +did, though it is horribly hot." + +"I am sure I shall be glad to get rid of all this stuffing," Surajah +said. "I felt ready to faint today, when the room was full." + +"Well, we have only one more day of it," Dick said. "I do hope Father +will be able to get out by ten o'clock. Then, before eleven we shall +be at the edge of the rock. Say we are two hours in getting down, and +walking round to join Ibrahim. That will take us till one, and we +shall have a good five hours before Father's escape will be +discovered. They will know that he can't have gone down the road, and +it will take them fully two hours to search the fort, and all over the +rock. It will be eight o'clock before they set out in pursuit, and by +that time we ought to be well on the road between Cenopatam and +Anicull. + +"If we can manage to buy horses at Cenopatam, of course we will do so. +We shall be there by five o'clock, and ought to be able to get them in +a couple of hours. Once on horseback, we are safe. I don't think they +will pursue very far--perhaps not even so far as Cenopatam; for the +governor will see that he had better not make any fuss about a white +captive having escaped, when it was not known that he had one there at +all. I think it more likely that, when he finds Father has got fairly +away, he will take no steps at all. They have no cavalry here, and he +will know, well enough, that there will be no chance of our being +tracked and overtaken by footmen, if we had but a couple of hours' +start." + +"I think that is so, Dick. He has done his duty in keeping your father +a prisoner, but I don't think he will be, at heart, at all sorry that +he has made his escape." + +"I think, Surajah, I will write a letter to him, and leave it here, to +be found after we have got away, thanking him in Father's name for the +kindness that he has always shown him, saying who I am, why I came +here, and asking his pardon for the deception that I have been obliged +to play upon him. He is a good old fellow, and I should think it would +please him." + +"I should think it would," Surajah agreed. + +"I will do up my brace of pistols in a packet, and put them with the +note," Dick went on, "and will say, in it, that I hope he will accept +them as a token of our esteem and gratitude. They are well-finished +English pistols, and I have no doubt he will prize them. I will +mention, too, that we shall have made our escape at eleven o'clock, +and therefore, by the time he receives my letter, we shall be far +beyond the reach of pursuit. I daresay that will decide him upon +letting the matter pass quietly, and he will see himself that, by +making no fuss over it, no one outside the fortress will ever know +that a prisoner has escaped." + +The next day passed comparatively quietly. A good many soldiers and +women came up from below, and before sunset their goods were +completely cleared out. The governor came over in the afternoon and +had a talk with them. They expressed their satisfaction at the result +of their trading, and said that they should be off before sunrise. + +"I hope you will come again," he said; "but not for another six +months, for assuredly you will take away with you pretty nearly every +rupee in the fortress. My wife and the other ladies are all well +content with their purchases, and agree that they would not have got +them cheaper at Seringapatam, or Bangalore." + +"We try to buy cheaply and sell cheaply," Surajah said modestly. "In +that way we turn over our money quickly. But it is seldom, indeed, +that we find so good a market as we have done here. When we left +Bangalore, we thought that it might be a month before we should have +to go back there to replenish our packs from our magazine; but we +shall only have been away five or six days." + +"I am glad that you are content, for you are honest traders, and not +like some of the rascals that have come up to the forts I have +commanded, and fleeced the soldiers right and left." + +Although not given to blushing, Dick felt that he coloured under his +dye at the praise; for although they had certainly sold cheaply, he +doubted whether the term honest could be fairly applied to the whole +transaction. + +As ten o'clock approached, the two friends sat with open door, +listening intently for every sound. Conversation was still going on in +the houses, and occasionally they could make out a dark figure +crossing the yard. + +It was not yet ten when a light footfall was heard, and a moment later +Captain Holland appeared at the door. + +"It is all right so far," he said, "but wait five minutes, to give me +time to get the ladder fixed. You had better come one by one, and +stroll quietly across the yard. It is too dark for anyone to recognise +you, unless they run right against you; and even if they do so, they +will not think it strange you should be out, after having been cooped +up all the day." + +In another moment he was gone. They had each, during the day, gone out +for a time, and had walked round through the narrow lane behind the +governor's house, to see that there were no obstructions that they +might fall over in the dark. They agreed, on comparing notes, that +Captain Holland had chosen the best possible place for scaling the +wall, for the lane was evidently quite unused, and the house, which +was higher than the wall, would completely screen them from +observation. + +In five minutes Dick followed his father, leaving Surajah to come on +in a minute or two. They had secured about them the gold and silver +they had received for their purchases, but they left behind a large +heap of copper coins, on the top of which Dick had placed his letter +to the governor, and the parcel containing the brace of pistols. He +met no one on his way to the rendezvous, but almost ran against his +father in the dark. + +"Steady, Dick, or you will run me down," Captain Holland said. "I have +got the ladder fixed, so you had better go up at once. Take these +three spears with you. I will bring the long ladder." + +"We sha'n't want the spears, Father. We have a brace of +double-barrelled pistols, and two brace of single barrels." + +"Never mind that, Dick. You will see that they will come in useful." + +Dick took the spears, and mounted the ladder without further question. +His father then came up and placed the long rope, which, with the +pieces of wood, was a bulky bundle, on the wall and then descended +again. It was another five minutes before Surajah came up. + +"I was stopped on the way," he said, "and had to talk with one of the +officers." + +He and the captain were soon by Dick's side. The ladder was then +pulled up, and lowered on the other side of the wall. They were soon +standing at its foot. + +"Shall I jerk the ladder down, Father?" + +"I think not, Dick. It would only make a clatter, and it is no matter +to us whether they find it in the morning or not. You had better +follow me. I know every foot of the ground, and there are some nasty +places, I can tell you." + +They had to make several detours, to avoid ravines running deep into +the plateau, and for a time Captain Holland walked very cautiously. +When he had passed these, he stepped out briskly, and in less than an +hour from starting they were near the edge of the precipice. Their +eyes had, by this time, become accustomed to the darkness. + +"We are just there now," Captain Holland said. "But we must go very +cautiously, for the rock falls sheer away, without warning. Ah! There +is the edge, a few yards ahead of me. + +"Now, do you stay where you are, while I feel about for that spear +head I put in to mark the place. It had about three feet of the staff +on it. If it were not for that, there would be small chance of finding +it. I know it is somewhere close here." + +In a few minutes he returned to them. + +"I have found it," he said. "Keep close behind me." + +After walking for fifty yards, he stopped. + +"Here it is, lads. + +"Now give me those spears, Dick." + +He thrust them firmly into the ground, a few inches apart. + +"Throw your weight on them, too," he said. "That is right. Now they +will stand many times the strain we shall put on them. + +"I have chosen this place, Dick, for two reasons. In the first place, +because it is the most perpendicular, and in the second, because the +soil and grass project slightly over the edge of the rock. There is a +cushion in that bundle, and four spear heads. I will peg it down close +to the edge, and the rope will run easily over it. + +"Now, Surajah, we had better let you down first. You will be tied +quite securely, and there will be no risk whatever, as you know, of +the rope giving way. I should advise you to keep your eyes shut, till +you get to the bottom, for the rope will certainly twist round and +round; but keep your arms well in front of you, and whenever you feel +the rock, open your eyes, and send yourself off with your arms and +legs. I don't think you will touch, for at this point it seemed to me, +as I looked down, that the rock projects farther out than anywhere +else on the face of the precipice, and that a stone dropped straight +down would fall some fourteen or fifteen feet from its foot. Would you +like me to bandage your eyes?" + +"No, thank you. I will keep my eyes closed." + +"That is the best thing you can do," Captain Holland said, "though it +is so dark that you would not be able to see, if you did. When you get +to the bottom, untie the rope, pull it gently down, and call out to me +whether the lowest piece of stick touches the ground. If it does not, +I will pull it up again and fasten on some more. I have got a dozen +spare ones with me." + +Captain Holland then told Surajah and Dick to take off their upper +garments. These he wound round and round the lower four feet of the +rope, increasing its diameter to over two inches. + +"There," he said, as he fastened this round Surajah's body, under the +arms. "It won't hurt you, now. That silk rope would have cut in an +inch deep before you got to the bottom, if it had not been covered." + +Then he took off his own garment, made it up into a roll, lashed one +end to the rope in the centre of Surajah's back, passed it between his +legs and fastened it to the knot at his chest. + +"There," he said; "that will prevent any possibility of the thing +slipping up over your shoulders, and will take a lot of the strain off +your chest." + +Then he lay down and crawled forward to the edge, pegged the cushion +down, and then, turning to Surajah, said: + +"All is ready now." + +Surajah had felt rather ashamed that all these precautions should be +taken for him, while the others would have to rely solely upon their +hands and feet, and, sternly repressing any sign of nervousness, he +stepped forward to the side of Captain Holland. + +"That is right," the captain said approvingly. "Now, lie down by my +side, and work yourself backwards. Go over on one side of the cushion, +for you might otherwise displace it. I will hold your wrists and let +you over. Dick will hold the rope. I will put it fairly on the +cushion. Then I shall take it and stand close to the edge, and pay it +out gradually as you go down. If you should find any projecting piece +of rock, call out 'Stop!' I will hold on at once. We can then talk +over how we can best avoid the difficulty. When you are down, and I +tell you Dick is coming, take hold of one of the steps, and hold the +ladder as firmly as you can, so as to prevent it from swaying about. + +"Now, are you ready?" + +"Quite ready," Surajah said, in a firm voice. + +Dick, who was standing five or six yards back, tightened the rope. +Gradually he saw Surajah's figure disappear over the edge. + +"Slack out a little bit," his father said. "That is right. I have got +it over the cushion. Now hold it firmly until I am on my feet. That is +right. Now pay it out gradually." + +It seemed an endless time, to Dick, before his father exclaimed: + +"The strain is off! Thank God, he has got down all right!" + +A minute later there was a slight pull on the rope, and the captain +paid it out until he heard a call from below. + +"Have you got to the lowest stick?" he asked, leaning over. + +"Yes; it is just touching the ground." + +"Not such a bad guess," the captain said, as he turned to Dick. "There +are about twenty feet left." + +He now fastened the rope round the spears in the ground. + +"I will lower you down, if you like, Dick. You are half as heavy again +as that young native, but I have no doubt that I can manage it." + +"Not at all, Father. I am not a bit nervous about it. If it was light, +I should not feel so sure of myself, for I might turn giddy; but there +is no fear of my doing so now." + +"Well, lad, it is as well to be on the safe side, and I manufactured +this yesterday." + +He put a loop, composed of a rope some four feet long, over Dick's +shoulders and under his arms. To each end was attached a strong double +hook, like two fingers. + +"There, lad! Now, if you feel at all tired or shaky, all you have got +to do is to hook this on to one of the steps. Do you see? One hook on +each side of the cord. That way you can rest as long as you like, and +then go on again. You say you can go down a rope with your hands only. +I should advise you to do that, if you can, and not to use your legs +unless you want to sit down on one of the long steps; for, as you +know, if you use your feet the rope will go in till they are almost +level with your head; while, if you use your arms only, it will hang +straight down." + +"I know, Father. And I don't suppose I shall have to rest at all, for +these cross sticks make it ten times as easy as having to grip the +rope only." + +Dick laid himself down as Surajah had done, and crawled backwards +until he was lying half over the edge. Then he seized the rope and +began to descend, hand over hand. He counted the rungs as he went +down, and half way he sat down on one of the long pieces, hitched the +hooks on to the one above, and rested his arms. After a short pause, +he continued until he reached the bottom. + +The captain, who was stooping with his hand on the rope, felt the +vibration cease, and as he leaned over he heard Dick call out: + +"I am all right, Father. Those bits of wood make easy work of it." + +Then the captain at once began to descend, and was soon standing +beside his son and Surajah. + +"Thank God that job is finished! How do you both feel?" + +"My arms feel as if they had done some work, Father. I have been four +or five months without practice, or I should hardly have felt it." + +"And how are you, Surajah?" + +"I feel ashamed at having been let down like a baby, Captain Holland, +and at being so nervous." + +"There is nothing to be ashamed of," Captain Holland said. "Rope +climbing is a thing that only comes with practice; and as to +nervousness, most landsmen are afraid to trust themselves to a rope at +all. Did you open your eyes?" + +"Not once, Sahib. I kept my arms out, as you told me, but I did not +touch anything. I could feel that I was spinning round and round, and +was horribly frightened just at first. But I went down so smoothly and +quietly that the feeling did not last long; for I knew that the rope +was very strong, and as I did not touch anything, it seemed to me that +there could be no fear of it being cut against the rock." + +The clothes were soon unwound from the rope, and put on again. Captain +Holland cut off all the slack of the rope, and made it into a coil. + +"The slope is all right, as far as I could see from the top," he said; +"but we may come across nasty bits again, and this will stand in +useful, if we do." + +They went down cautiously, but at a fair rate of speed; until, without +meeting with any serious difficulty, they arrived on the plain. Four +miles' brisk walking brought them to the grove where Ibrahim had been +left, and they had scarce entered among the trees when he asked: + +"Who is it that is coming?" + +"It is us, Ibrahim. We have got my father!" + +Ibrahim gave an exclamation of joy, and a minute later they joined +him. + +"You were not asleep, then, Ibrahim?" Dick said. + +"No, my lord. I have slept during the day, and watched at night; but I +did not sleep yesterday, for I was growing sorely anxious, and had +begun to fear that harm had befallen you." + +"Well, let us be off at once. Of course, we have had to leave the +horses behind us, and I want to be at Cenopatam by daybreak. We will +buy horses there." + +They struck across the country to the southwest, until they came on a +road between Magree and Cenopatam, and arrived within sight of the +latter town just at daybreak. As they walked, Dick and Surajah had, +with no small amount of pain, removed their beards and the patches of +hair. + +"You ought both to have shaved before you put those things on," +Captain Holland said, as they muttered exclamations of pain. "You see, +cobbler's wax, or whatever it is, sticks to what little down there is +on your cheeks and chin, and I don't wonder that it hurts horribly, +pulling it off. If you had shaved first, you would not have felt any +of that." + +"I will remember that, Father, if I ever have to disguise myself +again," Dick said. "I feel as if I were pulling the whole skin off my +face." + +The painful task was at last finished. + +"I shall be glad to have a look at you in the morning, Dick," his +father said, "so as to see what you are really like; of which I have +not the least idea, at present. You must feel a deal more comfortable, +now that you have got rid of the rope." + +"I am, indeed. I am sure Surajah must be quite as much pleased at +leaving his padding behind." + +They stopped half a mile from the town, which was a place of +considerable size. Dick took, from the saddlebag of the horse Ibrahim +was leading, the bottle of liquid with which he was in the habit of +renewing his staining every few days, and darkened his father's face +and hands. Then they took off their costumes as merchants, and put on +their peasants' attire. Dick directed Ibrahim to make a detour, so as +to avoid the town and come down on the road half a mile beyond it, and +there wait until they rejoined them--for his father was to accompany +Ibrahim. + +It was growing light as Dick and Surajah entered the town, and in half +an hour the streets became alive with people. After some search, they +found a man who had several horses to sell, and, after the proper +amount of bargaining, they purchased three fairly good animals. +Another half hour was occupied in procuring saddles and bridles, and, +after riding through quiet streets to avoid questioning, they left the +town, and soon rejoined their companions. + +"Now, Surajah," Dick said, "we will be colonels again for a bit." + +The saddlebags were again opened, and in a few minutes they were +transformed. + +"Why, where on earth did you get those uniforms?" Captain Holland +asked, in surprise. "Those sashes are the signs that their wearers are +officers of the Palace, for I have seen them more than once at +Kistnagherry; and the badges are those of colonels. There is nothing +like impudence, Dick, but it seems to me it would have been safer if +you had been contented with sub-officers' uniforms." + +Dick laughed. + +"We are wearing them because we have a right to them," Dick laughed. +"We are both colonels in Tippoo's army, and officers of the +Palace--that is, we were so until a month ago, though I expect since +then our names have been struck off their army list. I will tell you +about it, as we ride." + +"You had better tell me afterwards, Dick. I have never ridden a horse +in my life, except when they were taking me from the coast to Mysore, +and I shall have enough to do to keep my seat and attend to my +steering, without trying to listen to you." + +They rode all day, passed through Anicull and Oussoor, and halted for +the night in a grove two or three miles farther on. They had not been +questioned as, at a walk, they went through the town. Captain Holland +had ridden behind with Ibrahim, and the latter had stopped and laid in +a stock of provisions at Anicull. + +"Thank goodness that is over!" Captain Holland said, as they +dismounted. "I feel as if I had been beaten all over with sticks, and +am as hungry as a hunter." + +"Ibrahim will have some food ready in half an hour, Father, and I +shall be glad of some myself. Though, you know, we all had some +chupatties he bought." + +"They were better than nothing, Dick, but a pancake or two does not go +very far, with men who have been travelling since ten o'clock last +night. Well, lad, I am glad that you have got rid of your beard, and +that, except for that brown skin, I am able to have a look at you as +you are. You will be bigger than I am, Dick--bigger by a good bit, I +should say, and any father might be proud of you, much more so one who +has been fetched out from a captivity from which he had given up all +hope of escaping. As it is, lad, words can't tell how grateful I feel, +to God, for giving me such a son." + +"My dear Father, it is Mother's doing. It has been her plan, ever +since she heard that you were wrecked, that we should come out here to +find you, and she has had me regularly trained for it. I had masters +for fencing and gymnastics, we always talked Hindustani when we were +together, and she has encouraged me to fight with other boys, so that +I should get strong and quick." + +That evening by the fire, Dick told his father the whole story of his +life since he had been in India. + +"Well, my lad, you have done wonders," his father said, when he had +finished; "and if I had as much enterprise and go as you have, I +should have been out of this place years ago. But in the first place, +I was very slow in picking up their lingo. You see, until within the +last three or four years, there have always been other Englishmen with +me. Of course we talked together, and as most of them were able to +speak a little of the lingo, there was no occasion for me to learn it. +Then I was always, from the first, when they saw that I was handy at +all sorts of things, kept at odd jobs, and so got less chance of +picking up the language than those who were employed in drilling, or +who had nothing to do but talk to their guards. But most of all, I did +not try to escape because I found that, if I did so, it would +certainly cost my companions their lives. That was the way that +scoundrel Tippoo kept us from making attempts to get off. + +"Well, soon after the last of the other captives was murdered, we +moved away to Kistnagherry, which was a very difficult place to escape +from; and besides, very soon after we got there, I heard of the war +with our people, and hoped that they would take the place. It was, as +you may suppose, a terrible disappointment to me when they failed in +their attack on it. Still, I hoped that they would finally thrash +Tippoo, and that, somehow, I might get handed over to them. However, +as you know, when peace was made, and Kistnagherry had to be given +over, the governor got orders to evacuate it, without waiting for the +English to come up to take possession. + +"Well, since I have been at Savandroog, I have thought often of trying +to get away. By the time I got there, I had learned to speak the +language fairly enough to make my way across the country, and I have +been living in hopes that, somehow or other, I might get possession of +a rope long enough to let myself down the rocks. But, as I told you, I +have never so much as seen one up there twenty feet long. + +"I did think of gradually buying enough cotton cloth to twist up and +make a rope of; but you see, when one has been years in captivity, one +loses a lot of one's energy. If I had been worse off, I should have +set about the thing in earnest; but you see, I was not badly treated +at all. I was always doing odd carpentering jobs for the colonel and +officers, and armourer's work at the guns. Any odd time I had over, I +did jobs for the soldiers and their wives. I got a good many little +presents, enough to keep me in decent clothes and decent food--if you +can call the food you have up there decent--and to provide me with +tobacco; so that, except that I was a prisoner, and for the thought of +my wife and you, I had really nothing to grumble about, and was indeed +better off than anyone in the fortress, except the officers. So you +see, I just existed, always making up my mind that some day I should +see a good chance of making my escape, but not really making any +preparations towards casting off my moorings. + +"Now, Dick, it must be past twelve o'clock, and I am dog tired. How +far have we to ride tomorrow?" + +"It is thirty-five miles from Oussoor to Kistnagherry, which will be +far enough for us to go tomorrow, and then another five-and-twenty +will take us down to Tripataly. As the horses have gone about forty +miles, it would be a long journey for them to go right through +tomorrow." + +"I don't think I could do it, Dick, if they could. I expect I shall be +stiffer tomorrow than I am now. Eager as I am to see your dear mother, +I don't want to have to be lifted off my horse when I arrive there, +almost speechless with fatigue." + +The next day they rode on to Kistnagherry, passing a small frontier +fort without question. They slept at the post house there, Dick and +Surajah having removed their scarves and emblems of rank, as soon as +they passed the frontier, in order to escape all inquiries. They +started next morning at daybreak, and arrived within sight of +Tripataly at ten o'clock. + +"Now, Father, I will gallop on," Dick said. "I must break the news to +Mother, before you arrive." + +"Certainly, Dick," his father, who had scarcely spoken since they +started, replied. "I have been feeling very anxious about it, all the +morning; for though, as you tell me, she has never lost faith in my +being alive, my return cannot but be a great shock to her." + +Dick rode on, and on arriving at the palace was met in the courtyard +by the Rajah, who was on the point of going out on horseback. He +dismounted at once. + +"I am truly glad to see you back, Dick, for your mother has been in a +sad state of anxiety about you. Eight days ago, she started up from a +nap she was taking, in the middle of the day, and burst out crying, +saying that she was certain you were in some terrible danger, though +whether you were killed or not she could not say. Since then she has +been in a bad state. She has scarcely closed an eye, and has spent her +whole time in walking restlessly up and down." + +"It is quite true that I was in great danger, Uncle, and I am sorry +indeed that she is in this state, for my coming home will be a shock +to her; and she has an even greater one to bear. Surajah and I have +rescued my father, and he will be here in a few minutes." + +"I congratulate you," the Rajah said warmly. "That is news, +indeed--news that I, for one, never expected to hear. It is simply +marvellous, Dick. However, I am sure that your mother is not fit to +bear it, at present. I will go up now, and tell Gholla to break your +return gradually to her. I will say nothing about your father to your +aunt. As soon as the news that you are here is broken, you must go to +your mother. Tell her as little as possible. Pretend that you are +hungry, and have a meal sent up, and persuade her to take some +nourishment; then declare, positively, that you won't tell her +anything about your adventures, until she has had a long sleep. Gholla +will prepare a sleeping draught for her. + +"In the meantime, I will ride off, directly I have seen my wife, to +meet Surajah and your father, and bring him on here. I sha'n't tell +anyone who he is, in case a chance word should come to your mother's +ears. If she wakes up again this evening, and asks for you, you must +judge for yourself whether to tell her anything, or to wait until +morning. You might, perhaps, if she seems calm, gladden her with the +news that, from what you have heard, you have very strong hopes that a +prisoner in keeping at one of the hill forts is your father. Then, +tomorrow morning, you can tell her the whole truth. Now I will run up +to Gholla. There is no time to be lost." + +"I shall be in the dining room, Uncle, when I am wanted." + +A few minutes later, Gholla came in hastily. + +"Your mother has fainted, Dick. I broke the news to her very gently, +but it was too much for her, in her weak state. When she comes round +again, and is able to talk, I will fetch you. In the meantime, I will +send Annie in to you." + +Two minutes later the girl ran in with a flushed face, threw herself +into Dick's arms, and kissed him. + +"I can't help it, Dick," she said, "so it is of no use your scolding +me. This is a surprise. Who would have thought of your coming back so +soon? But it is lucky you did. Your mother has been in a sad way, and +she was so sure that you had been in some terrible danger, that I have +been almost as anxious as she has. And now, it seems that I need not +have frightened myself at all." + +"I was in great danger, Annie. Just at the time my mother dreamt about +me, Surajah, Ibrahim, and I were attacked by a party of Stranglers, +disguised as merchants; and if it had not been that I had some strange +suspicion of them, we should all have been murdered. As it was, we +shot the whole gang, who, fortunately for us, had no firearms." + +"It must have been your mother who warned you," Annie said gravely. +"She told us that she dreamt you were in some terrible danger, though +she could not remember what it was, and she tried with all her might +to warn you." + +"Perhaps it was that, Annie. I don't know why I suspected them so +strongly--Surajah quite laughed at the idea. Anyhow, it saved our +lives. + +"And how are you getting on, Annie? Are you happy?" + +"Oh, so happy!" she exclaimed. "At least, I was until your mother got +ill, and I was working very hard at my lessons; but of course that has +all been stopped, as far as taking them from her is concerned. But I +have gone on working, and the Rajah's sons have been very good, and +helped me sometimes, and I begin to read words of two letters. And +what has brought you back so soon?" + +"That I can't tell you yet, Annie. I will only tell you that it is not +bad news; and no one but my uncle will know more than that, till I +have told my mother--even my aunt won't hear it." + +"Has Surajah come back too, Dick?" + +"Yes; I heard horses in the courtyard just now, and I have no doubt it +was him. I rode on first, being anxious to see my mother." + +They chatted for a few minutes. Then the Rajah came to the door, and +called Dick into the next room. + +"I have settled your father in the room at the other end of the +gallery, Dick. He agreed with me that it was better for him to keep +there, by himself, until you have told your mother that he is here. I +have just ordered a meal to be sent, and after that will send my +barber in to shave him. He says your mother will never recognise him, +with all that hair on his face. I am going to see if something cannot +be done to take the stain off his face, and shall then set half a +dozen tailors to work on some dark blue cloth, to turn him out a suit +before tomorrow morning, in what he calls sailor fashion, so that he +may appear before your mother in something like the style in which she +remembers him." + +A few minutes later Gholla came in, and said that Mrs. Holland was +ready for Dick to go in to her. Dick found his mother looking pale and +weak; but the joy of his coming had already brightened her eyes, and +given a faint flush to her cheeks. + +"I have been so dreadfully anxious, Dick," she said, after the first +embrace. "I was certain you had been in some terrible danger." + +"I have been, but thank God I escaped; owing, I think, to the warning +Annie says you tried to give me. But we must not talk about that now. +I will tell you all the story tomorrow. You are not fit to talk. You +must take some broth, and some wine, and a sleeping draught; and I +hope you will go off, and not wake up till tomorrow morning. + +"Now, you do as I tell you. While you are drinking your broth, I will +go in and take something to eat, for I have had nothing today, and am +as hungry as a hunter. Then I will come back, and sit by you till you +go off to sleep." + +He was not long away, but he was met at the door by his aunt, who +said: + +"She has gone off already, Dick. I have no doubt that she will sleep +many hours, but if she wakes, I will let you know at once." + +"If that is the case, Gholla," the Rajah, who had come in at the same +moment, said, "I can let you into a secret, which no one but myself +knows yet, but which, now that Margaret is asleep, can be told." + +Gholla was very pleased when she heard the news, and Dick went off at +once to his father. It was a great relief, to the latter, to know that +his wife had gone off to sleep, and would probably be well enough to +have the news broken to her in the morning. + +"I hear that you are preparing for the meeting, Father, by getting +yourself shaved, and having a blue cloth suit made?" + +"Yes, Dick. I should like to be as much like my old self as possible." + +"I don't think Mother will care much what you look like, Father. +Still, it is very natural that you should want to get rid of all that +hair." + +"What bothers me, lad," Captain Holland went on, putting his hand to +the back of his neck, "is this shaved spot here. Of course, with the +turban on and the native rig, it was all right, but it will look a rum +affair in English clothes." + +Dick could not help laughing at his father's look of perplexity. + +"Well, Father, it is just the same with myself. I have not changed +yet, but when I do, the hair above, which is now tucked up under the +turban, will be quite long enough to come down to the nape of the +neck, and hide that bare place till the hair grows again." + +"Yes; I did not think of that. My hair is long enough to come down +over my shoulders. I was going to tell the barber to cut it short all +over, but I will see now that he allows for that." + +"Now, Father, do you mind my bringing in Annie Mansfield? I know she +will be wanting to keep close to me all day, and I should never be +able to get rid of her, without telling her about you." + +"Bring her in by all means, Dick. She must be a plucky young girl, by +what you said about her." + +"Where have you been, Dick?" Annie inquired, when Dick went out a few +minutes later. "I have been looking for you everywhere. Nobody had +seen you, unless it was the Rajah. I asked him, and he said that +little girls must not ask questions, and then laughed. + +"You have not brought home another white girl?" she exclaimed +suddenly. + +"Would it not be very nice for you to have a companion, Annie?" + +"No," she said sharply; "I should not like it at all." + +"Well, I will take you in to see her, and I think you will like her. + +"No; I am only joking," he broke off, as he saw tears start into her +eyes. "It is not another girl. But you shall see for yourself." + +He took her hand, and led her to his father's room. + +"There, Annie, this is the gentleman who has come back with me this +time." + +Annie looked at Captain Holland in surprise, and then turned her eyes +to Dick for an explanation. + +"He is a respectable-looking old native, isn't he, Annie?" + +"Yes, he looks respectable," Annie said gravely; "but he doesn't look +very old. Why has he come down with you, Dick? He can't have been a +slave." + +"But I have, lass," the captain said, in English, to Annie's intense +astonishment. "I have been in their hands a year or so longer than you +were." + +Annie turned impulsively to Dick, and grasped his arm. + +"Oh, Dick," she said, in an excited whisper. "Is it--is it your +father, after all?" + +"Ay, lass," the captain answered for him. "I am the boy's father, and +a happy father, too, as you may guess, at finding I have such a son. +And I hear he has been a good friend to you, too." + +"Oh, he has, he has indeed!" Annie cried, running forward and seizing +his hands in both of hers. "I don't think there ever was anyone so +kind and good." + +"What bosh, Annie!" Dick exclaimed, almost crossly. + +"Never mind what he says, my dear. You and I know all about it. Now we +can do very well without him, for a time. He can go and tell his uncle +and cousins all about his adventures, which, I have no doubt, they are +dying to hear; and you and I can sit here, and exchange confidences +until my barber comes. I don't look much like an Englishman now, but I +hope that they will be able to get me something that will take this +stain off my face." + +Mrs. Holland did not wake till evening. She seemed very much better, +and had a short chat with Dick. She would have got up, had he not told +her that he should be going to bed himself, in a short time, and that +all his story would keep very well until the morning, when he hoped to +find her quite herself again. + +By dint of the application of various unguents, and a vast amount of +hard scrubbing, Captain Holland restored his face to its original hue. + +"I look a bit sunburnt," he said, "but I have often come back, browner +than this, from some of my voyages." + +"You look quite like yourself, in your portrait at home, Father," Dick +said. "It is the shaving and cutting your hair, even more than getting +off the dye, that has made the difference. I don't think you look much +older than you did then, except that there are a few grey hairs." + +"I shall look better tomorrow, Dick, when I get these outlandish +things off. I have been trying on my new suit, and I think it will do, +first rate. Those clothes that you wore on board ship, and handed to +them as a model, gave them the idea of what I wanted." + +And indeed, the next morning, when Captain Holland appeared in his new +suit, Dick declared that he looked just as if he had walked down from +his picture. The ranee had agreed to break the news to Mrs. Holland, +as soon as she was dressed. She came into the room where the others +were waiting for breakfast, and said to Captain Holland: + +"Come. She knows all, and has borne it well." + +She led him to the door of Mrs. Holland's room, and opened it. As he +entered there was a cry of: + +"Oh Jack! My Jack!" + +Then she closed it behind him, and left husband and wife together. + +A few days afterwards, there was a family consultation. + +"Now, Dick," his father said, "we must settle about your plans. You +know we have decided upon going home, by the next ship, and taking +Annie with us, without waiting for her father's letter. Of course I +shall have no difficulty in finding out, when I get there, what his +address is. I have promised your mother to give up the sea, and settle +down again at Shadwell, where I can meet old friends and shall feel at +home. We have had a long talk over what you said the other night, +about your insisting that we should take the money those jewels of +yours fetch. Well, we won't do that." + +"Then I will sell them, Father," Dick said positively, "and give the +money to a hospital!" + +"I have not finished yet, Dick. We won't take all the money, but we +have agreed that we will take a quarter of it. Of course, we could +manage on my savings, as your mother did when I was away. We shall +lose the little allowance the Company made her, but I shall buy a +share in a ship with my money, which will bring in a good deal better +rate of interest than she got for it in the funds, so we could still +manage very well. Still, as we feel that it would please you, we agree +to take a quarter of the money the jewels fetch; and that, with what I +have, will give us an income well beyond our wants. So that is +settled. + +"Now, about yourself. I really don't think that you can do better than +what you proposed, when we were talking of it yesterday. You would be +like a fish out of water, in England, if you had nothing to occupy +your time; and therefore can't do better than enter the Service here, +and remain, at any rate, for a few years. + +"As your commission was dated from the time you joined Lord +Cornwallis, two and a half years ago, you won't be at the bottom of +the tree, and while you are serving you will want no money here, and +the interest of your capital will be accumulating. If I invest it in +shipping for you, you will get eight or ten percent for it; and as I +shall pick good ships, commanded by men I know, and will divide the +money up in small shares, among half a dozen of them, there will be +practically no risk--and of course the vessels will be insured. So +that, at the end of ten years, by reinvesting the profits, your money +will be more than doubled, and you will have a nice fortune when you +choose to come home, even if the jewels do not fetch anything like +what you expect." + +A week later the party journeyed down to Madras, where they stayed for +a fortnight. Dick, on his arrival, called upon the governor, who +congratulated him most heartily when he heard that he had succeeded in +finding and releasing his father, and at once appointed him to one of +the native cavalry regiments; and his parents had the satisfaction of +seeing him in uniform before they started. Annie showed but little +interest in the thought of going to England, and being restored to her +parents, being at the time too much distressed at parting from Dick to +give any thought to other matters. But at last the goodbyes were all +said, and, as the anchor was weighed, Dick returned on shore in a surf +boat, and next day joined his regiment. + +Surajah had wanted to accompany him to Madras, and to enlist in any +regiment to which he might be appointed; and the assurance that it +might be a long time before he became a native officer, as these were +always chosen from the ranks, except in the case of raising new +regiments, had little influence with him. The Rajah, however, had +finally persuaded him to stay, by the argument that his father, who +was now getting on in years, would sorely miss him; that the captain +of the troop would also be retiring shortly; and that he should, as a +reward for his faithful services to his nephew, appoint him to the +command as soon as it was vacant. Ibrahim entered the Rajah's service, +preferring that to soldiering. + + + +Chapter 21: Home. + + +It was early in December, 1792, that Dick Holland joined his regiment, +which was stationed at Madras. There were but five other officers, and +Dick found, to his satisfaction, that the junior of them had had four +years' service. Consequently, he did not step over any one's head, +owing to his commission being dated nearly three years previously. As +there were, in the garrison, many officers who had served on the +general staff in the last war, Dick soon found some of his former +acquaintances, and the story of his long search for his father, and +its successful termination, soon spread, and gained for him a place in +civil as well as military society. + +The next year passed peacefully, and was an unusually quiet time in +India. That Tippoo intended to renew the war, as soon as he was able, +was well known to the government, and one of its chief objects of +solicitude was the endeavour to counteract the secret negotiations +that were constantly going on between him, the Nizam, and the +Mahrattis. + +Tippoo was known to have sent confidential messengers to all the great +princes of India--even to the ruler of Afghanistan--inviting them to +join the confederacy of the Mahrattis, the Nizam, and himself, to +drive the English out of India altogether. Still greater cause for +uneasiness was the alliance that Tippoo had endeavoured to make with +the French, who, as he had learned, had gained great successes in +Europe; and, believing from their account that their country was much +stronger than England, he had sent envoys to the Mauritius, to propose +an offensive and defensive alliance against England. The envoys had +been politely received, and some of them had proceeded to France, +where Tippoo's proposal had been accepted. They committed France, +indeed, to nothing, as she was already at war with England; but the +French were extremely glad to embrace the proposal of Tippoo, as they +overrated his power, and believed that he would prove a formidable +opponent to the English, and would necessitate the employment of +additional troops and ships there, and so weaken England's power at +home. To confirm the alliance, some sixty or seventy Frenchmen, mostly +adventurers, were sent from the Mauritius as civil and military +officers. + +Tippoo's council had been strongly opposed to this step on his part. +They had pointed out to him that their alliance, with a power at war +with the English, would render war between the English and him +inevitable; and that France was not in a position to aid them in any +way. The only benefit, indeed, that he could gain, was the possibility +that the fourteen thousand French troops, in the service of the Nizam, +might revolt and come over to him; but even this was doubtful, as +these were not troops belonging to the French government, but an +independent body, raised and officered by adventurers, who might not +be willing to imperil their own position, and interests, by embarking +on a hazardous war at the orders of a far-distant government. + +These events happened soon after Dick's return, but nothing was +generally known of what was passing, although reports of Tippoo's +proceedings had reached the government of India. The party of +Frenchmen arrived at Seringapatam and were, at first, well received by +Tippoo. But they had soon disgusted him by their assumption of +dictatorial powers; while they, on their part, were disappointed at +not receiving the emoluments and salaries they had expected. Most of +them very speedily left his service. Some of the military men were +employed at Bangalore, and other towns, in drilling the troops, and a +few remained at Seringapatam, neglected by Tippoo, whose eyes were now +open to the character of these adventurers. But this in no way shook +his belief that he would obtain great aid from France, as he had +received letters from official personages there, encouraging him to +combine with other native powers, to drive the English out of India, +and promising large aid in troops and ships. + +When the Earl of Mornington--afterwards the Marquis of +Wellesley--arrived at Calcutta as Governor General of India, in May +1798, the situation had become so critical that, although war had not +been absolutely declared on either side, Tippoo's open alliance with +the French rendered it certain that hostilities must commence ere +long; and Lord Mornington lost no time in proceeding to make +preparations for war. As Lord Cornwallis had done, he found the +greatest difficulty in inducing the supine government of Madras to +take any steps. They protested that, were they to make any show of +activity, Tippoo would descend the ghauts, and at once ravage the +whole country; and they declared that they had no force whatever that +could withstand him. They continued in their cowardly inactivity until +the governor general was forced to override their authority +altogether, and take the matter into his own hands. + +The first step was to curb the Nizam's power, for everything pointed +to the probability that he intended to join Mysore, being inclined so +to do by Tippoo's promises, and by the influence of the officers of +the strong body of French troops in his service. Negotiations were +therefore opened by Lord Mornington, who offered to guarantee the +Nizam's dominions if he would join the English against Tippoo, and +promised that after the war he should obtain a large share of the +territory taken from Mysore. + +The Nizam's position was a difficult one. On one side of him lay the +dominions of his warlike and powerful neighbour, Tippoo. On the other +he was exposed to the incursions of the Mahrattis, whose rising power +was a constant threat to his safety. He had, moreover, to cope with a +serious rebellion by his son, Ali Jah. + +He was willing enough to obtain the guarantee of the English against +aggressions by the Mahrattis, but he hesitated in complying with the +preliminary demand that he should dispense with the French. The +fighting powers of this body rendered them valuable auxiliaries, but +he secretly feared them, and resented their pretensions; which pointed +to the fact that, ere long, instead of being his servants, they might +become his masters. When, therefore, the British government offered +him a subsidiary force of six battalions, and to guarantee him against +any further aggression by the Mahrattis, he accepted the proposal; but +in a half-hearted way, that showed he could not be relied upon for any +efficient assistance in disarming his French auxiliaries. + +No time was lost, by the government, in marching the promised force to +Hyderabad. The French, 14,000 strong, refused to disband, and were +joined by the Nizam's household force, which was in the French +interest. The Nizam, terrified at the prospect of a contest, the +success of which was doubtful, abandoned the capital and took refuge +in a fortress, there to await the issue of events; but positively +refused to issue orders to the French to disband. Two of the English +battalions, which were on the other side of the river to that on which +the French were encamped, opened a destructive fire upon them, and +with red-hot shot set fire to their magazines and storehouses, while +the other four battalions moved into position to make a direct attack. + +The Nizam now saw that he had no alternative but to declare openly for +the French, or to dismiss them. He preferred the latter alternative. +Peron, who commanded the French, saw that unless he surrendered, the +position of his force was desperate. Accordingly, on receipt of the +order, he and his officers expressed their readiness to accept their +dismissal. Their men were, however, in a state of mutiny, and the +officers were compelled to make their escape from the camp under cover +of night. The next morning the camp was surrounded by the English and +the troops of the Nizam, and the French then surrendered without a +shot being fired. + +While the Nizam was thus rendered powerless, negotiations had been +going on with the Mahrattis; but owing to the quarrels and jealousies +of their chiefs, nothing could be done with them. It was, however, +apparent that, for the same reason, Tippoo would equally fail in his +attempt to obtain their alliance against us, and that therefore it was +with Mysore alone that we should have to deal. + +In the meantime, though preparing for war, Lord Mornington was most +anxious to avoid it. When Tippoo wrote to complain that some villages +of his had been occupied by people from Coorg, the governor general +ordered their immediate restoration to him. In November he sent the +Sultan a friendly letter, pointing out that he could look for no +efficient aid from France, and that any auxiliaries who might possibly +join him would only introduce the principles of anarchy, and the +hatred of all religion, that animated the whole French nation; that +his alliance with them was really equivalent to a declaration of war +against England; and, as he was unwilling to believe that Tippoo was +actuated by unfriendly feelings, or desired to break the engagements +of the treaty entered into with him, he offered to send an officer to +Mysore to discuss any points upon which variance might have arisen, +and to arrange a scheme that would be satisfactory to them both. + +To this letter no answer was received for five weeks, by which time +Lord Mornington had arrived at Madras. He then received a letter +containing a tissue of the most palpable lies concerning Tippoo's +dealings with the French. Two or three more letters passed, but as +Tippoo's answers were all vague and evasive, the governor general +issued a manifesto, on the 22nd of February, 1799, recapitulating all +the grievances against Mysore, and declaring that, though the allies +were prepared to repel any attack, they were equally anxious to effect +an arrangement with him. + +But Tippoo still believed that a large French army would speedily +arrive. He had received letters from Buonaparte in person, written +from Egypt, and saying that he had arrived on the borders of the Red +Sea, "with an innumerable and invincible army, full of the desire to +deliver you from the iron yoke of England." Tippoo well knew, also, +that although the governor general spoke for himself and his allies, +the Nizam was powerless to render any assistance to the English, and +that the Mahrattis were far more likely to join him than they were to +assist his foes. + +The manifesto of Lord Mornington was speedily followed by action, for +at the end of January an army of nearly 37,000 men had been assembled +at Vellore. Of these some 20,000 were the Madras force. With them were +the Nizam's army, nominally commanded by Meer Alum, but really by +Colonel Wellesley--afterwards Duke of Wellington--who had with him his +own regiment, the 33rd; 6,500 men under Colonel Dalrymple; 3,621 +infantry, for the most part French troops who had re-enlisted under +us; and 6000 regular and irregular horse. + +Dick, who had now attained the rank of captain, had been introduced by +one of Lord Cornwallis's old staff officers to General Harris, who, as +general of the Madras army, was in command of the whole. On hearing of +the services Dick had rendered in the last war, and that his perfect +acquaintance with the language, and with the ground over which the +army would pass, would enable him to be equally efficient on the +present occasion, General Harris at once detached him from service +with the regiment, and appointed him to a post on his own staff. + +Had it not been that Dick had seen, for the last two years, that +hostilities must ere long be commenced with Tippoo; he would, before +this, have left the army and returned home. He was heartily tired of +the long inaction. When the regiment was stationed at Madras, life was +very pleasant; but a considerable portion of his time was spent at out +stations, where the duties were very light, and there was nothing to +break the monotony of camp life. He received letters regularly from +his mother, who gave him full details of their home life. + +The first that he received merely announced their safe arrival in +England. The second was longer and more interesting. They had had no +difficulty in discovering the address of Annie's father, and on +writing to him, he had immediately come up to town. He had lost his +wife, on his voyage home from India, and was overjoyed at the +discovery of his daughter, and at her return to England. + +"He is," Dick's mother wrote, "very much broken in health. Annie +behaved very nicely. Poor child, it was only natural that, after what +you did for her, and our being all that time with her, the thought of +leaving us for her parent, of whom she had no recollection, was a +great grief. However, I talked it over with her, many times, and +pointed out to her that her first duty was to the father who had been +so many years deprived of her, and that, although there was no reason +why she should not manifest affection for us, she must not allow him +to think, for a moment, that she was not as pleased to see him as he +was to welcome her. She behaved beautifully when her father arrived, +and when he had been in the house five minutes, and spoke of the death +of his wife, his bitter regret that she had not lived to see Annie +restored to them, the loneliness of his life and how it would be +brightened now that she was again with him, his words so touched her +that she threw herself into his arms, and sobbed out that she would do +all she could to make his life happy. He had, of course, received the +letter we had written to him from Tripataly, and quite pained me by +the gratitude he showed for what he called my kindness to his +daughter. + +"He said that, by this post, he should write to endeavour to express +some of his feelings to you. Annie went away with him the next day, to +a place he has bought near Plymouth. He has promised to let us have +her for a month, every year, and we have promised to go down for the +same time, every summer, to stay with her. He asks numberless +questions about you, which neither I nor Annie are ever tired of +answering. Even with a mother's natural partiality, I must own that +her descriptions are almost too flattering, and he must think that you +are one of the most admirable of men. + +"Next as to the jewels. Your father took them to be valued by several +diamond merchants, and accepted the highest offer, which was +16,000 pounds, of which he has already invested twelve, in your name, +in shares in six ships. Four of these are Indiamen. The other two are +privateers. He said that he did not think you would object to a +quarter of the money being put into a speculative venture, and that +they were both good craft, well armed and well commanded, with strong +crews; and would, if successful, earn as much in a year as a +merchantman would in ten." + +Since then the letters had been of a uniform character. The shares in +the Indiamen were giving a good and steady return. The privateers had +been very fortunate, and had captured some rich prizes. Annie had been +up, or they had been down at Plymouth. The letters during the last +three years had reported her as having grown into a young woman, and, +as his mother declared, a very pretty one. After that the allusions to +her were less frequent, but it was mentioned that she was as fond of +them as ever, and that she was still unmarried. + +"She always asks when you are coming home, Dick," Mrs. Holland said, +in the last letter he had received before accompanying General Harris +to Vellore. "I told her, of course, that your last letter said that +war was certain with Tippoo; that you hoped, this time, to see +Seringapatam taken and the tyrant's power broken; and that after it +was over you would come home on leave and, perhaps, would not go out +again." + +During the six years that he had been in the army, Dick had very +frequently been at Tripataly, as there was little difficulty in +getting leave for a fortnight. His cousins had now grown up into young +men, Surajah commanded the troop, and his stays there were always +extremely pleasant. The troop now numbered two hundred, for with quiet +times the population of the territory had largely increased, and the +Rajah's income grown in proportion. The troop was now dressed in +uniform, and in arms and discipline resembled the irregular cavalry in +the Company's service, and when Dick arrived at Vellore he found his +uncle and cousins there with their cavalry. + +"I thought, Dick, of only sending the boys," the Rajah said, "but when +the time came for them to start, I felt that I must go myself. We have +suffered enough at the hands of Mysore, and I do hope to see Tippoo's +capital taken, and his power of mischief put an end to, for good and +all." + +"I am glad, indeed, that you are coming, Uncle. You may be sure that, +whenever I can get away from my duties with the general, I shall spend +most of my time in your camp, though I must occasionally drop in on my +own regiment." + +The Rajah had already been down to Madras a month before, and with his +sons had been introduced to General Harris, by the latter's chief of +the staff, as having been always, like his father before him, a +faithful ally of the English, and as having accompanied Lord +Cornwallis on the occasion of the last campaign in Mysore. The general +had thanked him, heartily, for his offer to place his two hundred +cavalry at the disposal of the government, and had expressed a hope +that he, as well as his sons, would accompany it in the field. + +On the 11th of February, 1799, the army moved from Vellore, but +instead of ascending by the pass of Amboor, as had been expected, it +moved southwest, ascended the pass of Paliode, and on the 9th of March +was established, without opposition, in Tippoo's territory, at a +distance of eighty miles east of his capital. They then marched north, +until they reached a village ten miles south of Bangalore. This route, +although circuitous, was chosen, as the roads were better, the country +more level, and cultivation much more general, affording far greater +facilities for the collection of forage for the baggage animals. + +Hitherto, nothing had been seen of the Mysorean army. It had been +confidently expected that Tippoo would fight at least one great +battle, to oppose their advance against his capital, but so far no +signs had been seen of an enemy, and even the Mysore horse, which had +played so conspicuous a part in the last campaign, in no way +interfered with the advance of the army, or even with the foraging +parties. + +A despatch that reached them, by a circuitous route, explained why +Tippoo had suffered them to advance so far unmolested. While the +Madras army had advanced from the southeast, a Bombay force, 6,500 +strong, was ascending the Western Ghauts. As the advance brigade, +consisting of three native battalions, under Colonel Montresor, +reached Sedaseer; Tippoo, with 12,000 of his best troops, fell upon it +suddenly. His force had moved through the jungle, and attacked the +brigade in front and rear. + +Although thus surprised, by an enemy nearly six times their superior +in force, the Sepoys behaved with a calmness and bravery that could +not have been surpassed by veteran troops. Maintaining a steady front, +they repulsed every attack, until a brigade, encamped eight miles in +their rear, came up to their assistance; and Tippoo was then forced to +retreat, having suffered a loss of 1,500 men, including many of his +best officers. + +This proof of the inferiority of his troops, even when enormously +outnumbering the English, and fighting with all the advantages of +surprise, profoundly impressed Tippoo, and from this time he appeared +to regard the struggle as hopeless, and displayed no signs whatever of +the dash and energy that had distinguished him, when leading one of +the divisions of his father's army. He marched with his troops +straight to Seringapatam, and then moved out with his whole force, to +give battle to the main body of the invaders. The antagonists came +within sight of each other at the village of Malavilly, thirty miles +east of the capital. For some time an artillery fire on both sides was +kept up. Gradually the infantry became engaged, and the Mysoreans +showed both courage and steadiness, until a column of two thousand men +moved forward to attack the 33rd Regiment. + +The British troops reserved their fire, until the column was within +fifty yards of them. Then they poured in a withering volley, and +charged. The column fell back in disorder. General Floyd at once +charged them, with five regiments of cavalry, sabred great numbers of +them, and drove the remainder back in headlong rout. The whole British +line then advanced, cheering loudly. The first line of Tippoo's army +fell back upon its second, and the whole then marched away, at a speed +that soon left the British infantry far behind them. + +Instead of continuing his march straight upon the capital, General +Harris, learning from spies that Tippoo had wasted the whole country +along that line, moved southwest; collecting, as he went, great +quantities of cattle, sheep, and goats, and an abundance of grain and +forage; crossed the Cauvery at a ford at Sosilay; and, on the 5th of +April, took up his position at a distance of two miles from the +western face of the fort of Seringapatam. + +This movement completely disconcerted Tippoo. He had imagined that the +attack would, as on the previous occasion, take place on the northern +side of the river, and had covered the approaches there with a series +of additional fortifications, while on the other side he had done but +little. So despondent was he, that he called together his principal +officers, and said to them: + +"We have arrived at our last stage. What is your determination?" + +His advisers took no brighter view of the prospect than he did +himself. They had unanimously opposed the war, had warned Tippoo +against trusting to the French, and had been adverse to measures that +could but result in a fresh trial of strength with the English. The +Sultan, however, while not attempting to combat their opinion, had +gone on his own way, and his officers now saw their worst fears +justified. They replied to his question: + +"Our determination is to die with you." + +On the day after arriving before Seringapatam, the British attacked +the villages and rocky eminences held by the enemy on the south side +of the river, and drove them back under the shelter of their guns. +General Floyd was sent, with the cavalry, to meet the Bombay force and +escort it to Seringapatam. This was accomplished, and although the +whole of the Mysore cavalry, and a strong force of infantry hovered +round the column, they did not venture to engage it, and on the 14th +the whole arrived at the camp before Seringapatam. + +The Bombay force, which was commanded by General Stuart, crossed to +the north bank of the river, and took up a position, there, which +enabled them to take in flank the outlying works and trenches, with +which Tippoo had hoped to prevent any attack upon the western angle of +the fort, where the river was so shallow that it could be easily +forded. + +Tippoo now endeavoured to negotiate, and asked for a conference. +General Harris returned an answer, enclosing the draft of a +preliminary treaty, with which he had been supplied before starting. +It demanded one half of Tippoo's territories, a payment of two +millions sterling, and the delivery of four of his sons as hostages. +Tippoo returned no reply, and on the 22nd the garrison made a vigorous +sortie, and were only repulsed after several hours' fighting. + +For the next five days, the batteries of the besiegers kept up a heavy +fire, silenced every gun in the outlying works, and compelled their +defenders to retire across the river into the fort. Tippoo now sank +into such a state of despondency that he would listen to none of the +proposals of his officers for strengthening the position, and would +not even agree to the construction of a retrenchment, which would cut +off the western angle of the fort, against which it was evident that +the attack would be directed. + +He knew that, if captured, there was little chance of his being +permitted to continue to reign; and had, indeed, made that prospect +more hopeless, by massacring all the English prisoners who had, by his +order, been brought in from the hill forts throughout the country on +his return to Seringapatam, after the repulse he had suffered in his +attack on the Bombay force. + +On the 2nd of May, the batteries opened on the wall of the fort, near +its northwest angle; and so heavy was their fire that, by the evening +of the 3rd, a breach of sixty yards long was effected. General Harris +determined to assault on the following day. General Baird, who had, +for four years, been a prisoner in Seringapatam, volunteered to lead +the assault; and before daybreak 4,376 men took their places in the +advance trenches, where they lay down. + +It was determined that the assault should not be made until one +o'clock, at which time Tippoo's troops, anticipating no attack, would +be taking their food, and resting during the heat of the day. The +troops who were to make the assault were divided into two columns +which, after mounting the breach, were to turn right and left, +fighting their way along the ramparts until they met at the other end. +A powerful reserve, under Colonel Wellesley, was to support them after +they had entered. + +When the signal was given, the troops leapt from the trenches and, +covered by the fire of the artillery, which at the same moment opened +on the ramparts, dashed across the river, scaled the breach, and, in +six minutes from the firing of the signal gun, planted the British +flag on its crest. + +Then the heads of the two columns at once started to fight their way +along the ramparts. At first the resistance was slight. Surprised and +panic stricken, the defenders of the strong works at this point +offered but a feeble resistance. Some fled along the walls. Some ran +down into the fort. Many threw themselves over the wall into the rocky +bed of the river. The right column, in less than an hour, had won its +way along the rampart to the eastern face of the fort; but the left +column met with a desperate resistance, for as each point was carried, +the enemy, constantly reinforced, made a fresh stand. Most of the +officers who led the column were shot down, and so heavy was the fire +that, several times, the advance was brought to a standstill. + +It was not until the right column, making their way along the wall to +the assistance of their comrades, took them in the rear, that the +Mysoreans entirely lost heart. Taken between two fires, they speedily +became a disorganised mass. Many hundreds were shot down, either in +the fort or as, pouring out through the river gate, they endeavoured +to cross the ford and escape to the north. + +As soon as the whole rampart was captured, General Baird sent an +officer with a flag of truce to the Palace, to offer protection to +Tippoo and all its inmates, on condition of immediate surrender. Two +of Tippoo's younger sons assured the officer that the Sultan was not +in the Palace. The assurance was disbelieved, and, the princes being +sent to the camp under a strong escort, the Palace was searched. The +officer in command, on being strictly questioned, declared that +Tippoo, who had in person commanded the defence made against the left +column, had been wounded, and that he had heard he was lying in a +gateway on the north side of the fort. + +A search was immediately made, and the information proved correct. +Tippoo was found lying there, not only wounded, but dead. He had +indeed received several wounds, and was endeavouring to escape in his +palanquin, when this had been upset by the rush of fugitives striving +to make their way through the gate. + +The gateway was, indeed, almost choked up with the bodies of those who +had been either suffocated in the crush, or killed by their pursuers. +On his palanquin being overturned, Tippoo had evidently risen to his +feet, and had at the same moment been shot through the head by an +English soldier, ignorant of his rank. In the evening he was buried +with much state, by the side of his father, in the mausoleum of Lal +Bang, at the eastern extremity of the island. + +It was with great difficulty that, when the British soldiers became +aware of the massacre of their countrymen, a few days before, they +were restrained from taking vengeance upon his sons and the inmates of +the Palace. In the assault, 8000 of the defenders were killed; while +the loss of the British, during the siege and in the assault, amounted +to 825 Europeans and 639 native troops. An enormous quantity of +cannon, arms, and ammunition was captured, and the value of the +treasure and jewels amounted to considerably over a million pounds, +besides the doubtless large amount of jewels that had, in the first +confusion, fallen into the hands of the soldiers. + +As Dick, after the fighting had ceased, went, by order of the General, +to examine the prisoners and ascertain their rank, his eye fell upon +an old officer, whose arm hung useless by his side, broken by a musket +ball. He went up to him, and held out his hand. + +"Mirzah Mahomed Buckshy!" he exclaimed. "I am glad to meet you again, +although sorry to see that you are wounded." + +The officer looked at him, in surprise. + +"You have spoken my name," he said, "but I do not know that we have +ever met before." + +"We have met twice. The first time I was, with a friend, dressed as +one of Tippoo's officers, and came to examine the state of Savandroog. +The second time we were dressed as merchants, and I succeeded in +effecting the liberation of my father. Both times I received much +kindness at your hands. But far more grateful am I to you for your +goodness to my father, whose life you preserved. + +"I see you still carry the pistols I left for you, and doubtless you +also received the letter I placed with them." + +"Thanks be to Allah," the old colonel said, "that we have thus met +again! Truly I rejoiced, when my first anger that I had been fooled +passed away, that your father had escaped, and that without my being +able to blame myself for carelessness. Your letter to me completed my +satisfaction, for I felt that Heaven had rightly rewarded the efforts +of a son who had done so much, and risked his life for a father. + +"Is he alive? Is he here? I should be glad to see him again; and +indeed, I missed him sorely. I have been here for two years, having +been appointed to a command among the troops here." + +"My father is well, and is in England. He will, I know, be glad indeed +to hear that I have met you, for he will ever retain a grateful +remembrance of your kindness. Now I must finish my work here, and will +then go to the general, and beg him to give me an order for your +release." + +An hour later Dick returned with the order, and carried Mahomed +Buckshy off to the Rajah's camp. Here his arm was set by one of the +surgeons, and he was so well cared for by the Rajah, Dick, and +Surajah, that a fortnight later he was convalescent, and was able to +join his wife in the town. + +"I am thankful," he said, on leaving, "that my life as a soldier is +over, and that I shall never more have to fight against the English. +Tippoo was my master, but it is he who, by his cruelty and ambition, +has brought ruin upon Mysore. I have saved enough to live in comfort +for the rest of my life, and to its end I shall rejoice that I have +again met the son of my friend Jack." + +The capture of Seringapatam was followed, at once, by the entire +submission of the whole country. A descendant of the old Rajah of +Mysore was placed upon the throne. His rule was, however, but a +nominal one. A very large amount of territory was annexed. The island +of Seringapatam was permanently occupied as a British possession. The +new rajah was bound to receive, and pay, a large military force for +the defence of his territories; not to admit any European foreigners +into his dominions; to allow the Company to garrison any fort in +Mysore that might seem advisable to them; and to pay, at all times, +attention to such advice as might be given him as to the +administration of his affairs. He was, in fact, to be but a puppet, +the British becoming the absolute rulers of Mysore. + +The family of Tippoo, and the ladies of the harem, were removed to +Vellore, where they were to receive a palace suitable to their former +rank and expectations, and allowances amounting to 160,000 pounds a +year. + +Thus Mysore, one of the most ancient and powerful of the kingdoms of +India, fell into the hands of the English, owing to the ambition, +bigotry, and besotted cruelty of the son of a usurper. + +Dick's part in all these operations had been a busy, although not a +very dangerous one. The only share he had taken in the active fighting +had been in the battle at Malavilly, where, having been sent with a +message to Colonel Floyd, just before he led the cavalry to the +assault of the column that had attacked the 33rd, he took his place by +the side of the Rajah and his cousins, whose troop formed part of +Floyd's command, and joined in the charge on the enemy. He had, +however, rendered great services in the quartermasters' department, +was very highly spoken of in the despatches of General Harris, and his +name appeared, as promoted to the rank of major, in the list of +honours promulgated by Lord Mornington, at the termination of the +campaign. + +His regiment was among those selected for the occupation of Mysore, +and, a month after the capture of the city, he obtained leave to +return to England. He stayed for a week at Tripataly, and then took an +affectionate farewell of his uncle, the ranee, his cousins, and +Surajah, and sailed from Madras a fortnight later. The ship in which +he was a passenger was accompanied by two other Indiamen; and when, a +fortnight out they encountered a French frigate; which, however, they +beat off, and arrived in England without further adventure. + +As soon as he landed, Dick drove to the house where his father and +mother had taken up their residence, on their arrival in England; but +he found to his surprise that, eight months before, they had moved to +another, in the village of Hackney. He proceeded there, and found it +to be a considerably larger one than that they had left, and standing +in its own grounds, which were of some extent. He had written to them +after the fall of Seringapatam, and told them that he should probably +sail for England about six weeks later. As the vehicle drove to the +door, his father and mother ran out. His father grasped his hand, and +his mother threw her aims round his neck, with tears of joy. + +As soon as the first greeting was over, Dick saw a young lady, in deep +mourning, standing on the steps. He looked at her for a moment in +surprise, and then exclaimed: + +"It is Annie Mansfield!" + +Annie held out her hand, and laughed. + +"We are both changed almost beyond recognition, Dick." + +Then she added, demurely, "The last time, I had to ask you--" + +"You sha'n't have to ask me again, Annie," he said, giving her a +hearty kiss. "My first impulse was to do it, but I did not know +whether your sentiments on the subject had changed." + +"I am not given to change," she said. + +"Am I, Mrs. Holland?" + +"I don't think you are, my dear. I think there is a little spice of +obstinacy in your composition. + +"But come in, Dick. Don't let us stand talking here at the door, when +we have so much to say to each other." + +He went into the sitting room with his father and mother, where Annie +presently left them to themselves. + +"Why, Father, the privateers must have done well, indeed!" Dick said, +looking round the handsome room. + +"I have nothing to grumble at, on that score, Dick, though they have +not been so lucky the last two years. But it is not their profits that +induced us to move here. You saw Annie was in mourning. Her father +died, nearly a year ago, and at her earnest request, as he said in his +will, appointed us her guardians until she came of age, which will be +in a few months now. As he had no near relations, he left the whole of +his property to her; and having been in India in the days when, under +Warren Hastings, there were good pickings to be obtained, it amounted +to a handsome fortune. She said that she should come and live with us, +at any rate until she became of age; and as that house of ours, though +a comfortable place, was hardly the sort of house for an heiress, she +herself proposed that we should take a larger house between us. + +"And so, here we are. We shall stay here through the winter, and then +we are going down to her place at Plymouth for the summer. What we +shall do, afterwards, is not settled. That must depend upon a variety +of things." + +"She has grown much prettier than I ever thought she would do," Dick +said. "Of course, I knew she would have grown into a woman, but +somehow I never realised it, until I saw her, and I believe I have +always thought of her as being still the girl I carried off from +Seringapatam." + +In a few minutes Annie joined them, and the talk then turned upon +India, and many questions were asked as to their friends at Tripataly. + +"I suppose by this time, Annie--at least, I hope I may still call you +Annie?" + +"If you call me anything else, I shall not answer," she said +indignantly. + +"Well, I was going to say, I suppose you have got a good deal beyond +words of two letters, now?" + +"I regard the question as an impertinent one. I have even mastered +geography; the meaning of which word you may remember, you explained +to me; and I have a partial knowledge of history." + +The next day Dick met an old friend, Ben Birket. Dick had kept his +promise, and had written to him as soon as he returned to Tripataly +with his father, and a few weeks after Captain Holland's return, his +old shipmate came to see him and his wife. Ben had for some time +thought of retiring, and he now left the sea, and settled down in a +little cottage near. Captain Holland insisted upon settling a small +pension upon him, and he was always a welcome guest at the house. His +delight at Dick's return was extreme. + +"I never thought you would do it, Master Dick, never for a moment, and +when on coming home I got your letter, and found that the Captain and +your mother were in England, it just knocked me foolish for a bit." + +Three weeks later, Dick told Annie that he loved her. He spoke without +any circumlocution, merely taking her hand one evening, when they +happened to be alone together, and telling her so in plain words. + +"I know nothing of women, Annie," he said, "or their ways. I have been +bothering myself how to set about it, but though I don't know how to +put it, I do know that I love you dearly. All these years I have been +thinking about you--not like this, you know, but as the dear, plucky +little girl of the old days." + +"The little girl of old days, Dick," she said quietly, "is in no way +changed. I think you know what I thought of you, then. I have never +for a moment wavered. I gave you all the love of my heart, and you +have had it ever since. + +"Why, you silly boy," she said, with a laugh, a few minutes later, "I +had begun to think that, just as I had to ask you for a kiss in the +old times, and again when you met me, I should have to take this +matter in hand. Why, I never thought of anything else. Directly I got +old enough to look upon myself as a woman, and young men began to come +to the house, I said to my dear father: + +"'It is of no use their coming here, Father. My mind has been made up +for years, and I shall never change.' + +"He knew at once what I meant. + +"'I don't blame you, my dear,' he said. 'Of course, you are young at +present, but he has won you fairly; and if he is at all like what you +make him out to be, I could not leave you in better hands. He will be +home in another three or four years, and I shall have the comfort of +having you with me, until then. But you must not make too sure of it. +He may fall in love out there. You know that there is plenty of +society at Madras.' + +"I laughed at the idea. + +"'All the pretty ones either come out to be married, or get engaged on +the voyage, or before they have been there a fortnight. I have no +fear, Father, of his falling in love out there, though I don't say he +might not when he gets home, for of course he thinks of me only as a +little girl.' + +"'Well, my dear,' he said, 'we will get him, and his father and +mother, to come down as soon as he gets home. As you have made up your +mind about it, it is only right that you should have the first +chance.' + +"It was not to be as he planned, Dick, but you see I have had the +first chance, and it is well it was so, for no one can say how matters +would have turned out, if I had not been on the spot. Do you know, +Dick, I felt that when you rescued me from slavery, you became somehow +straightway my lord and master. As you carried me that night before +you, I said to myself I should always be your little slave; and you +see, it has come quite true." + +"I don't know about that, Annie. We are in England now, and there are +no slaves. You will be the mistress now, and I your devoted servant." + +"It will be as I say, Dick," she said tenderly. "I feel that, to the +end of my life, I shall remain your willing slave." + +There was nothing to prevent an early marriage. It was settled that +Captain and Mrs. Holland should retain the house, which indeed they +could well afford to do, and that Dick and Annie should reside there +whenever they were in town, but that, as a rule, they would live at +the estate her father had purchased, near Plymouth. Their means were +ample, for during the eight years he was in the Service, Dick's 12,000 +pounds had, as his father had predicted, doubled itself; and Annie's +fortune was at least as large as his own. + +Dick had good reason to bless, to the end of his life, his mother's +plan; that had resulted in the double satisfaction of restoring his +father to her, and in winning for himself the woman whom he ever +regarded as the dearest and best wife in the world. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TIGER OF MYSORE*** + + +******* This file should be named 18813.txt or 18813.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/8/8/1/18813 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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