CHAPTER THE TWENTIETH
*In which there are recognitions and explanations; and our hero meetsone Coja Solomon, of Cossimbazar*
At sunrise next morning Desmond found his party awaiting him at theCauseway beyond the Maratha ditch. The natives salaamed when he came upin company with Mr. Merriman, and Bulger pulled his forelock.
"Mornin,' sir; mornin'; I may be wrong, but 'tis my belief we're goin'to have a bilin' hot day, and I've come accordin'."
He was clad in nothing but shirt and breeches, with his coat strapped tohis back, and a hat apparently improvised out of cabbage leaves. Thenatives were all in white, with their employer's pink ribands. Somewere armed with matchlocks and pikes; others carried light cookingutensils; others groceries for the Englishmen's use; for their own foodthey depended on the villages through which they would pass.
"Well, I wish you a good journey," said Mr. Merriman, who appeared to bein better spirits than for many a day. "I'm glad to tell you, Burke,that I got a letter from Mr. Watts this morning, saying that my wife anddaughter are on their way down the river with Mrs. Watts and herchildren. They've got Mr. Warren Hastings to escort them; trust 'em tofind a handsome man! The road follows the river, and if you look out Idare say you will see them. You'll recognize our livery. Introduceyourself if you meet 'em. You have your letter for Mr. Watts? That'sall right. Good-bye, and good luck to you."
The party set off. The old road by which they were to travel ran at ashort distance from the left bank of the Hugli, passing through anundulating country, interspersed with patches of low wood and scatteredtrees. The scenery was full of charm for Desmond: the rich vegetation;antelopes darting among the trees; flamingoes and pelicans standingmotionless at the edge of the slow-gliding stream; white-clad figurescoming down the broad steps of the riverside ghats to bathe;occasionally the dusky corpse of some devotee consigned by his relationsto the bosom of the holy river.
The first halt was called at Barrakpur, where, amid a luxuriant grove ofpalms and bamboos, stood some beautiful pagodas, built of the unburntbrick of the country, and faced with a fine stucco that gleamed in thesunlight like polished marble. Here, under the shade of the palms,Desmond lay through the hot afternoon, watching the boats of all shapesand sizes that floated lazily down the broad-bosomed stream. In theevening the march was resumed, the party crossed the river by a ford atPulta Ghat, and following the road on the other bank came at sundown tothe outskirts of the French settlement at Chandernagore. There theycamped for the night. Desmond was for some time tormented by thedoleful yells of packs of jackals roaming abroad in search of food.Their cries so much resembled those of human beings in dire agony thathe shivered on his mattress; but falling asleep at length, he sleptsoundly and woke with the dawn.
He started again soon after sunrise. Just beyond Chandernagore Bulgerpointed out the stripped spars of the _Good Intent_, lying far up anarrow creek.
"Wouldn't I just like to cut her out?" said Bulger. "But 'spose we can'tstop for that, sir?"
"Certainly not. And you'd have the French about our ears."
Passing the Dutch settlement at Chinsura, he came into a country ofpaddy fields, now bare, broken by numerous nullahs worn by the torrentsin the rainy season, but now nearly dry. Here and there the party hadto ford a jhil,--an extensive shallow lake formed by the rains. Desmondtried a shot or two at the flights of teal that floated on these ponds;but they were so wild that he could never approach within range.Towards evening, after passing the little village of Amboa, they came toa grove of peepuls filled with green parrots and monkeys screaming andjabbering as though engaged in a competition. A few miles farther onthey arrived at the larger village of Khulna, where they tied up for thenight.
Next morning Desmond was wakened by Surendra Nath.
"Sahib," he said, "the bibi and the chota bibi are here."
"Mrs. Merriman?"
"Yes. They arrived last night by boat, and are pursuing their journeyto-day."
"I should like to see them before they go. But I'm afraid I am hardlypresentable."
"Believe me, sahib, you will not offend the bibi's punctilio."
"Well, send one of the peons to say that I shall have the pleasure ofwaiting on Mrs. Merriman in half an hour, if she will permit me."
Having shaved and bathed, and donned a change of clothes, Desmond setoff accompanied by Surendra Nath to visit the ladies. He found them ona long shallow boat, in a cabin constructed of laths and mats fillingone end of the light craft. The Babu made the introduction, theneffaced himself. A lady, whose voice seemed to waken an echo inDesmond's memory, said:
"How do you do, Mr. Burke? I have heard of you in my husband's letters.Is the dear man well?"
"He is in good health, ma'am, but somewhat anxious to have you backagain."
"Dear man! What is he anxious about? Mr. Watts seemed anxious also toget rid of us. He was vexed that Mrs. Watts is too much indisposed toaccompany us. And Mr. Warren Hastings, who was to escort us, was quiteangry because he had to go to one of the out-factories instead. I donot understand why these gentlemen are so much disturbed."
Desmond saw that Mrs. Merriman had been deliberately kept in ignoranceof the grounds of the Englishmen's anxiety, and was seeking on the spurof the moment for a means to divert her from the subject, when he wasspared the necessity. Miss Merriman had been looking at him curiously,and she now turned to her mother and said something in a tone inaudibleto Desmond.
"La! you don't say so, my dear," exclaimed the lady. "Why, Mr. Burke, mydaughter tells me that we have met you before."
His vague recollection of Mrs. Merriman's voice being thus so suddenlyconfirmed, he recalled, as from a far distant past, a scene uponHounslow Heath; a coach that stood perilously near the ditch, a girl atthe horses' heads, a lady stamping her foot at two servants wrestling indrunken stupidity on the ground.
"You never gave us an opportunity of thanking you," continued Mrs.Merriman. "'Twas not kind of you, Mr. Burke, to slip away thus withouta word after doing two poor lone women such a service."
"Indeed, ma'am, 'twas with no discourteous intention, but seeing youwere safe with your friends I--I--in short, ma'am----"
Desmond stopped in confusion, at a loss for a satisfactory explanation.The ladies were smiling.
"You thought to flee our acknowledgments," said Mrs. Merriman. "La, la,I know; I have a young brother of my own. But you shall not escape themnow, and what is more, I shall see that Merriman, poor man, adds his,for I am sure he has forgiven you your exploit."
The younger lady laughed outright, while Desmond looked from one to theother. What did they mean?
"Indeed, ma'am," he said, "I had no idea----"
"That there was need for forgiveness?" said the lady, taking him up."But indeed there was--eh, Phyllis? Mr. Burke," she added, with a suddensolemnity, "a few minutes after you left us at Soho Square Merriman rodeup, and I assure you I nearly swooned, poor man! and hardly had strengthto send for the surgeon. It needed three stitches--and he such ahandsome man, too."
A horrid suspicion flashed through Desmond's mind. He remembered thescar on Mr. Merriman's brow, and that it was a scarcely healed woundwhen he met him with Clive on that unfortunate occasion in BilliterStreet.
"Surely, ma'am, you don't mean--the highwayman?"
"Indeed I do. That is just it. Your highwayman was--Mr. Merriman.Fancy the hurt to his feelings, to say nothing of his good looks. Fie,fie, Mr. Burke!"
For a moment Desmond did not know whether embarrassment or amazement wasuppermost with him. It was bad enough to have tripped Mr. Merriman upin the muddy street; but to have also dealt him a blow of which he wouldretain the mark to his dying day--"This is terrible!" he thought. Stillthere was an element of absurdity in the adventure that appealed to hissense of the ridiculous. But he felt the propriety of being apologetic,and was about to express his regret for his mistake when Mrs. Merrimaninterrupted him with a smile:
"But there, Mr. Burke, he bears you no grudge, I am sure. He is theessence of good temper. It was a mistake; he saw that when I explained;and when he had vented his spleen on the coachman next day he owned thatit was a plucky deed in you to take charge of us, and indeed he saidthat you was a mighty good whip; although," she added laughing, "you wasa trifle heavy in hand."
Desmond felt bound to make a full confession. He related the incidentof his encounter with Merriman in London--how he had toppled him over inthe mud--wondering how the ladies would take it. He was relieved whenthey received his story with a peal of laughter.
"Oh, mamma; and it was his new frock!" said Phyllis.
"La, so it was, just fresh from Mr. Small's in Wigmore Street--fortyguineas and no less!"
"Well ma'am, I'm already forgiven for that; I trust that with your goodfavour my earlier indiscretion will be forgiven."
"Indeed it shall be, Mr. Burke, I promise you. Now tell me: what bringsyou here?"
Desmond explained his errand in a few words. The ladies wished him aprosperous journey, and said they would hope to see him in a few days onhis return. He left them, feeling that he had gained friends, and witha new motive, of which he was only vaguely conscious, to a speedyaccomplishment of his business.
On the evening of the sixth day after leaving Calcutta there came intosight a church of considerable size, which Surendra Nath explained wasthe temple of the Armenian colony of Cossimbazar. Passing this, andleaving a maze of native dwellings and the French factory on the left,the travellers reached the Dutch factory, and beyond this the Englishsettlement and fort. Leaving the Babu to arrange quarters for the peonsin the native part of the town, Desmond hastened on past the stables andthe hospital to the factory. It was a rough oblong in shape, defendedat each corner by a bastion mounted with ten guns, the bastions beingconnected by massive curtains. In the south curtain, windowed for thegreater part of its length, was the gateway. Desmond was admitted by anative servant, and in a few minutes found himself in the presence ofthe chief, Mr. William Watts.
Mr. Watts was a tall man of near forty years--of striking presence, withfirm chin, pleasant mouth, and eyes of peculiar depth and brilliance.He was clad in a long purple laced coat, with ruffles at the wrists anda high stock, and wore the short curled wig of the period. He welcomedDesmond with great cordiality, and, glancing over Mr. Merriman's letter,said:
"My friend Mr. Merriman needlessly disturbs himself, I think. Iapprehend no immediate difficulty with the new Subah, although 'tis truethere have been little vexations. As to the goods, they are in CojaSolomon's godown; they were delivered some time ago and paid for; whatthe reason of the delay is I cannot tell. One thing I may mention--itappears that Mr. Merriman is ignorant of it: Coja Solomon has latelybecome the agent of Omichand, whose peons have been seen to visit him,then passing on to Murshidabad. I happen to know also that he hascommunicated with Coja Wajid: do you know anything of him?"
"No, sir, I have never heard his name."
"He's a rich Armenian trader in Hugli, and acts as agent between theNawab and the French and Dutch. We suspect him of encouragingSiraj-uddaula against us; but of course we can't prove anything. Myadvice to you is, be wary and be quick; don't trust any of these fellowsfurther than you can see them. But you can't do anything to-night. Youwill allow me to give you a bed: in the morning you can make a call onCoja Solomon. What has become of your peons?"
"A Babu I brought with me is looking after them. But I have an Englishseaman also: can you tell me what to do with him?"
"Sure he can lodge with Sergeant Bowler close by--near the south-eastbastion. The sergeant will be glad of the company of afellow-countryman; your man will be a change after the Dutchmen andtopasses he has to do with."
Early next morning Desmond, accompanied by Surendra Nath, went to findCoja Solomon. He lived in a house not far from the Armenian Church,between it and the river. The Armenian was at home. He received Desmondwith great politeness, assuring him with much volubility that he had butone interest in life, and that was the business of his honourableemployer Mr. Merriman. He invited Desmond to accompany him to thegodown near the river where the goods were stored--muslins of Dacca,both plain and flowered, Bengal raw silk, and taffeties manufactured inCossimbazar.
"You have not been long in the country, sir," said Coja Solomon, with ashrewd look at Desmond, "and therefore you will find it hard to believe,perhaps, that these goods, so insignificant in bulk, are worth over twolakhs of rupees. A precious load indeed, sir. This delay is naturallya cause of vexation to my distinguished superior, but it is not due toany idleness or inattention on my part. It is caused by the surprisingdifficulty of getting the dastaks countersigned by the Faujdar.[#]Without his signature, as you know, the goods cannot be removed. I darenot venture."
[#] Officer in command of troops, and also a magistrate.
"But why didn't the Faujdar sign the papers?"
"That I cannot tell. I send messengers to him: they come back: theFaujdar is much occupied with the Nawab's business, but he will attendto this little matter as soon as he has leisure. He calls it a littlematter; and so it is, perhaps, if we remember that the Nawab's wealth isreckoned by millions; but it is not a little matter to Mr. Merriman, andI deeply deplore the unfortunate delay."
"Well, be good enough to send another message at once. Represent to theFaujdar that Mr. Merriman's ship is prevented from sailing until thegoods reach Calcutta, and that this causes great inconvenience andloss." Here the Babu whispered in his ear. "Yes, and add--you willknow how to put it--that if the dastaks are sent off immediately, theFaujdar will receive from Mr. Merriman a suitable gratification."
The Armenian rubbed his hands and smilingly assented; but Desmond, whohad had some practice in reading faces since he left Market Draytoneighteen months before, felt an uneasy suspicion that Coja Solomon was ascamp. Returning to the factory he acquainted Mr. Watts with the resultof his interview and his opinion of the agent. The chief's eye twinkled.
"You haven't been long reckoning him up, Mr. Burke. I'm afraid you'reright. I'll see what I can do for you."
Calling "Qui hai!"[#] he ordered the peon who appeared in answer to hissummons to go to the black merchants' houses, a row of two-storeybuildings some forty yards from the south-west bastion, and bring backwith him Babu Joti Lai Chatterji.
[#] "Is there any one?"--used as a summons.
In less than ten minutes the man returned with an intelligent-lookingyoung Bengali. Mr. Watts addressed the latter in Hindustani, biddinghim hasten to Murshidabad and find out quietly what the Faujdar wasdoing with the dastaks. When he had gone, Mr. Watts showed Desmond overthe fort, introduced him to his wife, and then took him round theEnglish settlement.
Next day Joti Lai Chatterji returned from Murshidabad with the news thatthe dastaks, duly signed by the Faujdar, had been delivered to CojaSolomon a fortnight before.
"'Tis rather worse than I expected," said Mr. Watts gravely. "There issomething in this that I do not understand. We will send for CojaSolomon."
No one could have seemed more genuinely surprised than the Armenian wheninformed of what had been learnt. He had received no dastaks, hedeclared; either a mistake had been made, or the papers had beenintercepted, possibly by some enemy who had a grudge against him andwished to embroil him with his employer. It was annoying, he agreed;and he offered to go to Murshidabad himself and, if necessary, get otherdastaks signed.
"Very well," said Mr. Watts, from whose manner no one could have guessedthat he suspected his visitor. "We will look for you to-morrow."
The man departed. Nothing was heard of him for two days. Then a letterarrived, saying that he remained in Murshidabad, awaiting the return ofthe Faujdar, who had been summoned to Rajmahal by the NawabSiraj-uddaula. Three more days slipped by, and nothing further was heardfrom Coja Solomon. Desmond became more and more impatient. Bulgersuggested that they should break into the godown and remove the goodswithout any ceremony--a course that D
esmond himself was not disinclinedto adopt; but when he hinted at it to Mr. Watts that gentleman's look ofhorror could not have been more expressive if his consent had been askedto a crime.
"Why, Mr. Burke, if we acted in that impetuous way we'd have all Bengalat our throats. Trade must pass through the usual channels; to conveygoods from here to Calcutta without a dastak would be a gravemisdemeanour, if not high treason; and it would get us into very hotwater with the Nawab. I can only advise patience."
One morning, Desmond had just finished breakfast with Mr. Watts and hiswife, when Lieutenant Elliott, in command of the garrison, cameunceremoniously into the room.
"Mr. Watts," he said, "the fat's in the fire. A lot of the Nawab'sPersian cavalry have come into the town during the night. They havesurrounded the French and Dutch factories and are coming on here."
"Don't be alarmed, my dear," said the chief, as his wife started up in astate of panic; "'tis only one of the Nawab's tricks. He has used thatmeans of extorting money before. We'll buy them off, never fear."
But it was soon seen that the troops had come with a more seriouspurpose. They completely invested the factory, and next day withdrewthe guards that had been placed around the French and Dutch forts, andconfined their whole attention to the British. Mr. Watts withdrew allthe garrison and officials behind the bastioned walls of the fort, andfearing that an attack in force would be made upon him, despatched akasid[#] to Calcutta with an urgent request for reinforcements. Whilewaiting anxiously for the reply, he took stock of his position. Hisgarrison numbered only fifty men all told, half of them being Dutchdeserters and the remainder half-caste topasses, with only two Englishofficers, Lieutenant Elliott and Sergeant Bowler. The guns of the fortwere old; and within a few yards of the walls were houses that wouldafford excellent cover to the enemy. Without help resistance for anylength of time was impossible, and to resist at all meant a declarationof war against the Nawab, and would entail seriousconsequences--possibly involve the total ruin of the Company in Bengal.In this difficult position Mr. Watts hoped that an opportunity of makingan arrangement with the besiegers would offer itself. Meanwhile,pending the arrival of instructions from Calcutta, he gave orders thatany attempt to force an entrance to the fort was to be repelled.
[#] Courier.
But no letters came from Calcutta. Though several were despatched, noneof them reached Cossimbazar. On June 1 Rai Durlabh, in command of thebesiegers, received orders from the Nawab, now at Murshidabad, to takethe fort. He came to the gate and tried to force an entrance, buthurriedly withdrew when he met Sergeant Bowler's gleaming bayonet andsaw the gunners standing by with lighted matches in their hands. By andby he sent a messenger asking Mr. Watts to come out and parley, andoffering a betel, the usual native pledge of safe-conduct. Against theadvice of Lieutenant Elliott, Mr. Watts decided to leave the fort andvisit the Nawab himself. Next day, therefore, with Mr. Forth thesurgeon and two servants, he departed, cheerfully declaring that hewould make all right with Siraj-uddaula. Mr. Forth returned a day laterwith the news that on reaching the Nawab's tent both he and Mr. Wattshad had their arms bound behind their backs and been led as prisonersinto Siraj-uddaula's presence. The Nawab had demanded their signaturesto a document binding the English at Calcutta to demolish theirfortifications. Mr. Watts explained that the signatures of two othermembers of his Council were required, hoping that the delay would allowtime for help to reach him from Calcutta. After some hesitation twogentlemen left the fort with the surgeon. The same evening Mr. Forthonce more returned to inform the garrison that the members of Councilhad likewise been imprisoned, and that Mr. Watts recommended LieutenantElliott to deliver up the fort and ammunition.
The merchants in the factory were aghast; Lieutenant Elliott fumed withindignation; but they saw that they had no alternative. Their chief hadbeen removed by treachery; to resist was hopeless; and though suchsubmission to a native was galling they could but recognize theirhelplessness and make the best of a bad situation. Desmond, besidessharing in their anger, had a further cause for concern in the almostcertain loss of Mr. Merriman's goods. But the fort would not be givenup till next day, and before he retired to rest he received a messagethat turned his thoughts into another channel and made him set his witsto work.
During the siege natives had been allowed to go freely in and outbetween the fort and the settlement; Rai Durlabh was confident in hissuperior numbers and could afford to regard with indifference thedespatch of messages to Calcutta. A messenger came to Desmond in theevening from Surendra Nath, to say that Coja Solomon had returned toCossimbazar, and was now loading up Mr. Merriman's goods in petalas,[#]their destination being Murshidabad. Desmond saw at once that theArmenian was taking advantage of the disturbance to make away with thegoods for his own behoof. He could always pretend afterwards that hisgodown had been plundered. It was pretty clear, too, that his longdetention of the goods must be due to his having had a hint of theNawab's plans.
[#] Cargo boats.
This news reached Desmond just after Mr. Forth had brought orders forthe surrender of the fort. He kept his own counsel. After hisexperience at Gheria he was resolved not to be made a prisoner again;but he would not be content with merely saving his own skin. Mr.Merriman's goods were valuable; it touched Desmond's self-esteem tothink he should be bested by a rascally Armenian. If there had been anyprospect of a fight in defence of the fort he would have stayed to takehis part in it; but as the factory was to be given up without a strugglehe saw no reason for considering anything except the interests of Mr.Merriman and himself.
Only one thing gave him a slight qualm. The equities of the case wereperfectly clear; but he had some doubt as to the issue if it shouldbecome known that he had forcibly made off with the goods. Therelations between the Nawab and the Company were so strained, and thecircumstances of the moment so dangerous, that such action on his partmight prove the spark to a train of gunpowder. But he could not helpthinking that the Nawab was in any case bent on picking a quarrel withthe Company; anything that Desmond might do would be but one pettyincident in a possible campaign; meanwhile the goods were worth twolakhs of rupees, a serious loss to Mr. Merriman if Coja Solomon's planssucceeded; an effort to save them was surely worth the risk, and theycould only be saved if he could secure them before the Armenian's boatshad started for Murshidabad.
He did not take long to decide upon a plan. Calling the native who hadattended him in the fort, he sent him out to Surendra Nath withinstructions to prepare his peons for instant action. Bulger was withthem; he had been absent from Bowler's house when the order came toretire to the fort, and only just succeeded in joining Surendra Nathbefore the investment began. From Joti Lai Chatterji, the man whom Mr.Watts had employed to make inquiries in Murshidabad, the servant was toget a dress such as would be worn by a khitmatgar,[#] and some materialfor staining the skin. In the darkness Desmond hoped that he might passwithout question for a native so long as disguise was necessary.
[#] Table servant.
Within an hour the man returned, bringing the articles required.