CHAPTER SIXTEEN.
AT SHALALAI.
"By Jove, but it is good to be back again!" said Upward, in tones ofintense satisfaction as he sat down to tiffin in his bungalow atShalalai. "The garden is looking splendid, and then all the greenery inthe different compounds after those beastly stones and junipers--I'msick of the whole circus. Only a year or two more, thank goodness."
"Yes, it is always nice to be at home again," assented his wife. "Nestamust be sick of roughing it, too."
"Well, I won't say that," answered the girl. "I'll only agree that I amrather glad to be back again."
"So they will be at the club this afternoon," laughed Upward. "By theway, why don't those children come in? They are always late. It's aperfect nuisance."
A wrangle of voices, and the children did come in. Racket in hand, theywere disputing vehemently as to the rights and wrongs of a game they hadbeen obliged to break off in the middle of.
"Wonder how long Campian will stick at Jermyn's? I believe the oldchap's getting a bit smashed there."
"Nonsense, Ernest," laughed his wife. "You're always thinking someoneor other must be getting `smashed.'"
"Why shouldn't he? She's a deuced fine girl that niece of Jermyn's--andthen just think what a lot they'll see of each other. What do you thinkabout it, Miss Cheriton?"
"Oh, I don't know. I've never thought about it."
"Too black," put in Lily the irrepressible. "If he could run thegauntlet of Nesta all this time, I don't think he's likely to go smashthere."
"Of course you're an authority on such matters, Lily," laughed hermother. "Ernest, you see now what notions you put into the children'sheads."
"I don't want any tiffin," pronounced Hazel. "I only want to get atthose nectarines. They just are good. Bother camp! I like it muchbetter here."
The large, lofty, cool room in which they were was hung around withtrophies of the chase, all spoils of their owner's unerring rifle. Oneend of the room was hung with the skin of an immense tiger, draped, asit were, from ceiling to floor, the other with that of a somewhatsmaller one, which had clawed a native out of a tree and killed himbefore Upward could get in a shot. Hard by was a finely markedpanther-skin whose erewhile wearer had badly mauled Upward himself!Panther and jungle cat and cheetul and others were all represented, andwith horns of the blackbuck and sambur, tastefully disposed, produced aneffect that was picturesque and unique. It served another purpose, too,as Upward used to say in his dry way. It gave people something to talkabout when they came to tiffin and dinner. It was sure to set themcomparing notes, or swearing they had seen or shot much bigger ones, andso forth. At any rate, it kept them going.
The bungalow was surrounded on three sides by a garden of which Upwardwas justly proud, for it was all of his own making. In front a trimlawn, bright with flower beds, and beyond this a tennis court, of whichhis neighbours did him the favour to make constant use. They likewisedid him the favour to plant their bicycles, dogs, and other impedimenta,about his flower beds, or against the great crimson and purpleconvolvulus blossoms entwining his summer-house, whereat he fumedinwardly, but suffered in silence, from a misplaced good nature; and,after all, it was a little way they had in Shalalai. Peaches andnectarines and plums attained a high degree of excellence in their owndepartment, likewise every kind of green vegetable--and the verandah wasgreen and cool with all sorts of ferns.
"I wonder none of the garrison have been up, Miss Cheriton," he went on."They can't have got wind that you're back. What's that? Some of themalready?" For Tinkles, suddenly leaping from her chair, darted out intothe hall, barking shrilly and making a prodigious fuss. At the sametime steps were heard on the verandah.
"That's Fleming," said Upward, recognising the voice--then going outinto the hall. "Come in here, old chap. Well, what's the news?"
"There is some news, but--Hallo! Excuse me, Mrs Upward. Didn't knowyou were at tiffin."
"It's all right. We're just done. Get into that chair and have a`peg'--and then we can hear the _kubbur_."
"Well, it's not very definite as yet," replied Fleming, subsiding intothe chair indicated. "Thanks, Upward--only a small one, I've just hadone at the club. They say--By the bye, didn't you come in from Mehriabyesterday?"
"Yes, of course. But why?"
"Was it all right?"
"Was what all right?"
"Why, the look of things?"
"We didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Jermyn and his niece andCampian came down with us to see us off. There was nothing wrong then.But why? What do they suspect?"
"Dunlop had occasion to wire officially to the stationmaster at Mehriabyesterday afternoon and could get no reply. He kept on wiring, but itwas no good."
"Maybe some _budmash_ has been playing gooseberry with the wire."
"Cutting it? No. The communication is quite all right with thestations next to Mehriab on either side."
"It was all right yesterday at Mehriab, for I sent a couple of wiresmyself," said Upward. "Perhaps the telegraph clerk is taken ill."
"It might be that of course. But there's a rumour flying around thebazaar this morning that Umar Khan has been raiding up the Kachinvalley. What if he has stuck up Mehriab station to plunder the safe?"
Upward whistled.
"Yes--that might be," he said. "Only I wish he had done it while wewere all there. I had two rifles and a shot gun and a six shooter. Ithink among us all--myself and Campian and old Jermyn and my twoforesters--we'd have given Mr Umar Khan very particular what for. Butwhat should bring him up to those parts? He was supposed to be makingthe other way when he cut up those two `gharri-wallahs.'"
"I don't know. It's only bazaar rumour, mind."
"Now I think of it," went on Upward, "there did seem rather more thanusual of the evil-looking _soors_ hanging about the platform. They'dall got tulwars too. By Jove--what if they were only waiting till thetrain had left to break out, and Ghazi the whole show? Oh, Lord! Thatputs things in a new light. There were enough of them to do it too."
Fleming looked grave. "Then what about your friend and the Jermyns?" hesaid.
"Heavens, yes. Perhaps the _soors_ waited until they had gone. Hallo,Miss Cheriton. What's the matter?"
For Nesta had gone as pale as death--looking as if she would faint deadaway.
"It's nothing. I shall be all right again in a minute. Why do yousuggest such horrible things?" she broke off quite angrily. "It isenough to upset one."
Both men looked foolish--and all stared. The outburst was so unlikeher.
"Let's go and see if we can get at something definite," said Upward,jumping up. "Did you drive here, Fleming?"
"No--biked."
"All right I'll jump on mine and we'll spin round to McIvor's. He mayhave got _kubbur_ of sorts--but these Politicals are so dashed close."
A three minutes' spin along the level military road brought the two mento the Acting Political's. That official looked grave at sight ofUpward. He guessed his errand--and at once handed him a telegram.
"This is the latest," he said.
It was a long message, but the substance of it was that on the arrivalof the train due at Mehriab that morning at eleven, not a living soulwas in sight, nor was any signal down. The engine-driver slowed downand advanced cautiously, when the fact of the massacre became apparent.Then they had been signalled by Colonel Jermyn and his niece, who werein a great state of horror and distress, and reported that their guesthad been taken away as prisoner by the Ghazis. They and the Colonel'sbearer were taken on to the next station beyond Mehriab, whence theywould return to Shalalai by the afternoon train.
"What's going to be done about it?" said Upward.
"We've started a strong body of Police after them, and two troops ofSindh Horse are to follow," said the Political.
"Yes, and then they'll cut Campian's throat. In fact I wonder theydidn't already. It looks as if they wanted him ransomed, and if so--byGeorge--th
e way to do for him is to start dusting a lot of Police afterthem."
The Political was a man of few words. He shrugged his shoulders, andobserved that the matter did not rest with him. He could give them allthe information he had at his disposal, but that was all.
"This wants thinking out, Fleming," said Upward, as they were spinningalong on their bicycles again. "What can be done? What the devil _can_be done? As sure as they run those Ghazis close--then, goodnight toCampian. But Jermyn will be here this evening--then we shall get at thewhole story."
The evening train arrived in due course, bringing with it the threesurvivors of the outbreak. The Ghazis had kept faith with them, and hadretired, leaving them without further molestation. But the whole nighthad to be got through, and a very trying one it was, for they were notwithout fear lest some of the people in the neighbourhood, becomingaffected with the contagion of bloodshedding, should come and completewhat the Ghazis had left undone. Fortunately there was the _dak_bungalow for them to retire to--and they were thus enabled to escapefrom the immediate proximity of the ghastly slaughter-house scenes whichthe platform, and indeed the railway station generally, presented. Nofurther alarm however had come their way, and they had been picked up bythe morning train, as detailed in the telegram.
They had come away, of course, with scarcely any luggage, but Upward'sbungalow was elastic, and therein they were promptly installed. Vivien,now that the tension was relaxed, succumbed to a nervous reaction thatprostrated her for days--and which, indeed, was not entirely due to thehorrors she had gone through. The Colonel was loud on Campian'spraises. But for him they would never have got out of the mess, byJove, he declared. The fellow's coolness in venturing among thosecut-throats was splendid--and so on. When he got back again in a weekor two he would have some experiences, and he seemed the sort of fellowwho was partial to experiences. Thus the Colonel. But Upward,listening, was not so easy in his mind. He hoped Campian would be backamong them in a week or two, but--Heavens! what if he were not? TheMarris were a savage lot, and these particular ones were a combinationof Ghazi and brigand. He felt uneasy--most infernally uneasy--in whichpredicament he did two things--he sent for Bhallu Khan, and consultedlong and oft with the authorities.
The latter were not so eager to fall in with his views as he consideredthey ought to be. It might be true, as he said, that aggressive actionagainst Umar Khan would imperil the life of the hostage, but on theother hand, were they to sit supine for eight days, while that notoriousruffian raided and plundered and murdered at will all over the country.
The knot of the difficulty however was cut, as is frequently the case,by circumstances. Each movement against him, undertaken with greatpromptitude and spirit, resulted in failure, whereat Upward, and othersinterested in the fate of the hostage rejoiced. It was not likely thatsuch a ruthless barbarian as Umar Khan was known to be, would allow hisprisoner to be taken out of his hands alive--no, not for a moment--whereas having kept faith so far he might do so until the end,especially if a handsome _baksheesh_ was added to the stipulated sum.After that, the sooner he was caught and hanged the better.
Meanwhile the affair caused great excitement in the outlying parts, andnot a little scare. Outlying shooting parties deemed it advisable toreturn and some of the railway employes on the lonely stations along theline--natives or Eurasians mostly--resigned their posts in panic,fearing lest a similar fate should overtake themselves. On the arrivalof Bhallu Khan some news was gleaned, but not much. The Ghazis had hungabout the Kachin valley for a day or two, and had looted the forestbungalow--refraining, however, from firing it. Then they seemed to havedisappeared entirely, and if he had any sort of inkling of theirprobable destination, Bhallu Khan, a Baluchi himself, could not or wouldnot reveal it.