Chapter 12: A Tiger In A Zenana.
Another week passed, and by the end of that time, Dick was perfectlyassured that his father was not at Seringapatam. It was then aquestion which of the hill forts to try first. Pertaub had alreadyprocured for them an assortment of goods and dresses, suitable fortravelling merchants, and the purchase of these things had drawnheavily on their stock of money; although several of the traders, onreceiving a hint from Pertaub of the purpose for which the goods wererequired, had given many articles without charge; while for themajority of the goods Dick gave an order on his mother, who had toldhim that he could draw up to five hundred pounds.
On the day before they were about to start, their plans wereinterrupted by the issue of a proclamation, saying that sports withwild beasts would take place on the following day; and they agreedthat, as one day would make no difference, they would stop to seethem, especially as Tippoo himself would be present. Hitherto,although they had several times seen him being carried in hispalanquin, they had had no opportunity of observing him closely, as hewas always surrounded by his guards.
The sports were held in a great square in the fort. A strong networkwas erected in a semicircle, of which the Palace formed the base.Behind the network, the spectators ranged themselves. Tippoo occupieda window in the Palace, looking down into the square. There werealways a number of wild beasts in Seringapatam, available for thesepurposes, as a regular supply of tigers, leopards, and wild elephantswas caught and sent in every month. Six of the largest tigers werealways kept, in cages, in the courtyard in front of the Palace; and tothese were thrown state criminals, or officials who had offended thetyrant, and were devoured by them.
In his younger days, Tippoo had been very fond of the chase, but hewas now too fat and heavy, and seldom ventured on horseback.
Dick and Surajah, who had arrived early, had placed themselves at thecorner, where the network touched the Palace. Some thirty yards infront of them, a balcony projected. It was enclosed by a thick latticework. From behind this, the ladies of Tippoo's harem viewed thesports.
These began with a contest of fighting rams. The animals were placedsome fifty yards apart. As soon as they saw each other, both showedextreme anger, uttering notes of defiance. Then they began to movetowards each other, at first slowly, but increasing in speed until,when within a few yards of one another, each took a spring, meeting inmid air, forehead to forehead, with a crash that could be heard faraway. Both fell back, and stood for a moment shaking their heads, asif half stupefied with the blow. Then they backed two steps, andhurled themselves at each other again. After this had been repeatedonce or twice, they locked forehead to forehead, and each strove topush the other back.
For some time the struggle continued on equal terms. Then the weakerbegan to give way, and was pushed back, step by step, until itsstrength 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, extremelymonotonous. The natives, however, took great interest in the contests,wagering freely on the issues, shouting loudly to the combatants, andraising triumphant cries when one was adjudged victor.
Then elephants were brought in; but the struggle between these waseven tamer than between the rams. They pushed each other with theirforeheads until one gave way, when the other would follow it, beatingit with its trunk, and occasionally shoving it.
When this sport was over, two parties of men entered the arena, amid ashout of satisfaction from the crowd. After prostrating themselvesbefore Tippoo, they took up their ground facing each other. Each manhad, 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 oftheir opponents, trying to take advantage of the moment to strike ablow, or to obtain a grip. Each blow laid open the flesh as by atiger's claws. The great object was to gain a grip, no matter where,which would completely disable the opponent, and render him incapableof defending himself. When this was done, the combat between that paircame to an end.
After the ghetties, as these men were named, had retired, a buffalowas matched against a tiger. The latter was averse to the contest, butupon some firecrackers being thrown close behind him, he sprang at thebuffalo, who had been watching him warily. As the tiger launcheditself into the air, the buffalo lowered its head, received it on itssharp horns, and threw it a distance of ten yards away. No effortscould goad the wounded tiger to continue the fray, so it and thebuffalo 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. Itwalked round the buffalo three or four times, and then, with the speedof lightning, sprang upon it, breaking its neck with a single blowfrom its powerful forepaw. Six buffaloes in succession were broughtin, and were killed, one after the other, by the tiger.
Satisfied with what it had done, the tiger paid no attention to theseventh animal, but walked round and round the arena, looking for ameans of escape. Then, drawing back, it made a short rush and sprangat the net, which was fourteen feet high. Strong as were the polesthat supported the net, it nearly gave way under the impact. The tigerhung, ten feet above the ground, until some of the guards outside ranup, discharging their muskets into the air, when it recommenced itspromenade round the foot of the net, roaring and snarling with anger.
As it neared the Palace, it stopped and uttered a roar of defiance atthose at the windows. Then, apparently, something moving behind thelattice 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 tookit clear of this. The woodwork gave way like paper, and the tigerburst through. A shout of dismay arose from the multitude, but highabove this sounded the screams of the women.
"Quick, Surajah!" Dick cried, and, drawing his keen dagger, he cutthrough 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 otherin 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 thebalcony, and raised himself by it, until his arms were above itslevel. The tiger was standing with its paw upon a prostrate figure,growling savagely, but evidently confused and somewhat dismayed at thepiercing screams from the women, most of whom had thrown themselvesdown on the cushions of the divan.
Dick stretched his right hand forward, took a steady aim, and fired. Asharp snarl showed that the shot had taken effect. He dropped thepistol, snatched the other from his mouth, waited for a moment untilhe could make out the tiger, fired again, and at once dropped to theground, just as a great body flashed from the window above him.
He and Surajah had both had their matchlocks slung over theirshoulders, and before the tiger could recover from its spring, theylevelled and fired. The tiger rolled over, but regained its feet andmade towards them. One of the bullets had, however, struck it on theshoulder and disabled the leg. Its movements were thereforecomparatively slow, and they had time to leap aside. Surajahdischarged his pistol into its ear, while Dick brought down his keensword, with all his strength, upon its neck; and the tiger rolledover, dead.
A mighty shout rose from the crowd.
"We had better be off," Dick said, "or we shall have all sorts ofquestions to answer."
They slipped through the hole in the net again, but were so surroundedby people, cheering and applauding them, that they could not extricatethemselves; and a minute later some soldiers ran up, pushed throughthe crowd to them, and surrounded them.
> "The sultan requires your presence," they said; and as resistance wasout of the question, Dick and Surajah at once accompanied them to theentrance of the Palace.
They were led through several large halls, until they entered the roomwhere Tippoo was standing. He had just left the women's apartment,where he had hurried to ascertain what damage had been done by thetiger. Dick and his companion salaamed to the ground, in accordancewith the custom of the country.
"You are brave fellows," the sultan said graciously, "and all thebraver that you risked death, not only from the tiger, but for daringto 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 eyefell on him I fired at once, and the second time as soon as the smokecleared so that I could catch a glimpse of him."
"I pardon you that," Tippoo said; "and in faith you have rendered megood service, for had it not been for your interference, he might haveworked havoc in my harem, and that before a single one of my officersor men had recovered his senses;" and he looked angrily round at theofficers standing near him.
"How comes it that you were so quick in thought and execution?" heasked Surajah, as the elder of the two.
"My brother and myself have done much hunting among the hills, yourHighness, and have learned that, in fighting a tiger, one needs to bequick 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 theirbirthplace, but he was quick-witted enough to see that it would not besafe to say they were in the service of the Rajah of Bhor, asinquiries might be made; and he therefore said:
"We came hither to take service either with your Royal Highness, orwith one of your rajahs, but have as yet found no opportunity of doingso."
"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 heavypurse from his girdle, and handed it to Surajah. "You are free to gonow. I will, later on, consider what duties shall be assigned to you.When you return, report yourselves to Fazli Ali, my chamberlain;" andhe indicated a white-bearded official, among the group standing besidehim.
Salaaming deeply again, they left the apartments. Not a word wasspoken, until they were outside the precincts of the Palace.
"This makes a sudden change in our plans," Dick said. "Whether forbetter or worse, I cannot say yet."
"I was right in not saying we were in the service of the Rajah ofBhor, was I not? I thought that Tippoo would offer to take us into hisservice, 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, andwas on thorns when you were telling your story, and felt not a littlerelieved when you changed the tale. I think that it has turned out forthe best. As officers of the Palace, we may be able to obtain someinformation as to what Christian captives there are, and the prisonswhere they are confined."
"Still more," Surajah said; "when we get to be known as being hisofficers, we might present ourselves boldly at any of the hillfortresses, as sent there with some orders."
"You are right," Dick said. "I had not thought of that. Indeed, wemight even produce orders to inspect the prisoners, in order to renderan account to Tippoo of their state and fitness for service; and mighteven show an order for my father to be handed over to us, if we shouldfind him. This is splendid, and I am sure I cannot be too grateful tothat tiger, for popping into the harem. He has done more for us, in afew minutes, than we could have achieved in a year.
"Well, Surajah, if my father is alive, I think now that we have everychance of rescuing him."
As they walked through the streets, many of those who had been presentat the sports recognised them as the heroes in the stirring episodethere, and, judging they would gain a high place in Tippoo's favour,came up to them and congratulated them on their bravery, and madeoffers of service. They replied civilly to all who accosted them, butwere glad when they turned off to the quiet quarter where Pertaublived. The Hindoo was surprised, indeed, when they told him what hadhappened, and that they were already officers in the Palace, and mightconsider themselves as standing high in Tippoo's favour.
"It is wonderful," he said, when they brought their story to aconclusion. "Surely Providence must have favoured your pious object.Such good fortune would never have occurred to you, had it not beenthat it was destined you should find your father still alive. But ifgood fortune befalls you, it is because you deserve it. That youshould face a great tiger without hesitation, and slay him, shows howfirm 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 thesultan, would have risked their lives; but you alone of them werequick enough to carry it out."
"We were nearest to the spot, Pertaub. Had we been among the crowdfarther back, we could have done nothing."
"Let praise be given where it is due," Surajah said. "I had nothing todo with the affair. I saw the tiger bound through the window, andheard screams, and stood frozen with horror. I did not even see mylord cut through the net. I knew nothing, until he seized me by thearm and pulled me after him; and it was not until he sprang upon myback, 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, downinto the courtyard."
"And yet you are a hunter and a soldier," Pertaub said. "This is howit is that the English have become lords of so wide a territory. Theyare quick. While we hesitate, and spend great time in making up ourminds to do anything, they decide and act in a moment. They are alwaysready, we are always slow. They see the point where a blow has to bestruck, 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 thedanger. While all others stand in consternation, he acts, and slaysthe 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 notonly from the tiger. The tyrant must, indeed, have been alarmed forthe safety of his harem, when he forgave you what, in the eyes of aMohammedan, 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 shallstill find occasion for our disguises, as possibly we may fall intodisfavour, and have to assume them to make our escape. We may, asTippoo's officers, manage to obtain entrance into one or two of thehill fortresses, but unless absolutely sent by him, that is the utmostwe could hope for; for were we missing, messengers would be sent allover the country to order our arrest, and in that case we should haveto take to some disguise.
"The first thing, now, is to procure our dresses. How much is there inthat 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 youhandsomely," the Hindoo said.
"Much more than enough, I should think, Pertaub."
"Tippoo likes those round him to be well dressed. It is not only aproof of his generosity, but he likes to make a brave show on greatoccasions, and nothing pleases him more than to be told that neitherthe Nizam, nor any other Indian prince, can surpass him in themagnificence of his Court. Therefore, the better dressed you are, themore he will be satisfied, for it will seem to him that you appreciatethe honour of being officers of the Palace, and that you have laid outhis present to the best advantage, and have not a mind to hoard any ofit.
"I will take the matter in hand for you. You will need two suits; onefor Court ceremonies, and the other for ordinary wear in the Palace."
"I shall be very much obliged to you, Pertaub, for indeed I have noidea what ought to be got. Had we better present oursel
ves at thePalace this evening, or tomorrow morning?"
"This evening, certainly. Did he take it into his head to inquirewhether you were in the Palace, and found that you were not, it mightalter his humour towards you altogether. He is changeable in hismoods. The favourite of one day may be in disgrace, and ordered toexecution, the next. You will soon feel that it is as if you were in areal tiger's den, and that the animal may at any moment spring uponyou.
"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 adisguise, 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 toso many in the Palace that they would be recognised, whatever ourdress."
"A little paint, and some false hair, and a somewhat darker stain toyour skin, would alter you so that those who know you best would passyou 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 hadpurchased; and in a few minutes, Dick and his companion were arrayedin Court dresses. The turbans were pure white, and the tunic was ofdark, rich stuff, thickly woven with gold thread. A short cloak ormantle, secured at the neck by a gold chain, three or four inches inlength, hung from the back; but could, if necessary, be drawn roundthe 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 inthat of Surajah. Silver-mounted pistols and daggers were stuck intothe sashes. The dresses were precisely alike, except that theydiffered 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 Iwere dressed up for a masquerade."
The other suits were similar in style, but the tunics were ofrichly-figured damask, instead of cloth of gold.
Half an hour later they started for the Palace, a coolie carrying abox containing their second suits, and the simple dresses they hadworn on their arrival. Dick could not help smiling, at the manner inwhich the people in the streets obsequiously made way for them.
"I shall be very glad," he said, as they traversed the space thatdivided the town from the fort, "when we have got over the next day ortwo, and have settled down a bit. It all seems so uncertain, and Ihave not the most remote idea of what our duties are likely to be.Hitherto, we have always had some definite plan of action, and hadonly ourselves to depend upon. Now, everything seems doubtful anduncertain. However, I suppose we shall soon settle down; and we havethe satisfaction of knowing that, if things do not turn out well, wecan go off to our good friend Pertaub, and get out of the placealtogether."
On arriving at the Palace, they inquired for the chamberlain.
"He is expecting you, my lord," one of the attendants said, comingforward. "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 thedivan, and the handsome rugs spread on the floor, were satisfactorysigns that the chamberlain considered them prime favourites of thesultan. Having seen the box placed in a corner, and paid the coolie,they followed the attendant along some spacious corridors andpassages, until they entered a room where Fazli Ali was seated on adivan. The attendant let the curtains that covered the door dropbehind them, as they entered.
They salaamed to the chamberlain, who looked at them approvingly, andmotioned to them to take their seats on the divan beside him.
"I see," he said kindly, "that you possess good judgment, as well ascourage and quickness. The former qualities have won you a place here,but judgment will be needed to keep it. You have laid out your moneywell, as the sultan loves to see all in the Palace well attired; andquiet also, and discreet in behaviour."
"Can you give us any idea what our duties will be?" Surajah asked, asDick 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 givespublic audiences. You will, doubtless, occasionally carry his ordersto officers in command of troops, at distant places, and will formpart of his retinue when he goes beyond the Palace. When he sees thatyou are worthy of his favour, prompt in carrying out his orders, andin all respects trustworthy, he will in time assign special duties toyou; 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 thesultan has had matters to trouble him, and may blame somewhatunjustly, 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, whenthe storm has blown over, to represent the matter to him in afavourable light. The sultan desires to be just, and in his calmmoments 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 intodisgrace, for he is greatly impressed with the service you haverendered him, and especially by the promptness with which you carriedit out. After you had gone he spoke very strongly about it, and saidthat he would he were possessed of a hundred officers, capable of sucha deed. He would, in that case, have little fear of any of the foes ofhis kingdom.
"It is fortunate that you came here this afternoon. It is well-nighcertain that he will ask for you presently, and though he could hardlyblame you, had you required until tomorrow to complete yourpreparations, your promptitude will gratify him; and he will, I amsure, be still more pleased at seeing that you have so well laid outhis gift. He gave you no orders on the subject, and had you appearedin the dresses you wore this morning, he would, doubtless, haveinstructed me to provide you with more suitable attire. The fact thatyou have so laid out the money will show that you have anunderstanding of the honour of being appointed to the Palace, and aproper sense of fitness. The sultan himself dresses plainly and, savefor 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 hisrank. But while he does this himself, he expects that all others inthe Palace should do justice to his generosity.
"And now, you had best return to your room, and remain there untilsent for. If he does not think of it himself, I shall, if opportunityoccurs, inform him that you have already arrived."
They had some difficulty in finding their way back to their room, andhad, indeed, to ask directions of attendants they met before theydiscovered it. A native was squatting at the door. He rose andsalaamed 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 arealtogether ignorant. In the first place, about food. Do we provideourselves, 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 varyfrom three to twelve. In the early morning, I shall bring you breadand fruit and sherbet; at ten o'clock is the first meal; and at seventhere is supper. At one o'clock the kitchens are open, and I can fetchyou a dish of pillau, kabobs, a chicken, or any other refreshment thatyou may desire. At present, I have no orders as to how many dishesyour Excellencies will receive, at the two meals."
"We shall not be particular about that," Surajah said. "It is evidentwe shall fare well, at any rate."
"I am told to inform you, my lords, that the sultan has ordered twohorses to be placed at your service. A ghorrawalla has been
appointedto take charge of them. His name is Serfojee. If you ask for him atthe stable, you will be directed to him, and he will show you thehorses.
"In an hour supper will be served, but this evening I shall only beable to bring you three dishes each. Such is always the rule, untilthe 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 nofurther need of his services, he retired.
"So far, so good, Surajah. We are certainly in clover, as far ascomfort is concerned, and the only drawback to the situation isTippoo's uncertain temper. However, we must try our best to satisfyhim. We have every reason to stand well with him, and if he sees thatwe are really anxious to please him, we ought to be able to avoidfalling into disgrace, even when he is in his worst moods."
Their attendant presently brought up the six portions of food, andthey enjoyed their meal heartily. Each had an ample portion of apillau of rice and chicken, a plate of stew, which Dick thought wascomposed of game of some kind, and a confection in which honey was thepredominating flavour. With this they drank water, deliciously cooledby being hung up in porous jars.
Surajah ate his food with the dexterity of long habit, but Dick hadnot yet learned to make his bread fulfil the functions of spoon andfork, for at his uncle's table European methods of eating wereadopted.
Half an hour after they had finished, an officer presented himself atthe 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 aroom of no great size, but richly hung with heavy silken curtains, andcarpeted with the richest rugs. Two or three of his chief officerswere seated beside him. Seven or eight others were standing on eitherside of the room. A heavy glass chandelier, of European manufacture,hung from the richly carved ceiling, and the fifty candles in itlighted up the room.
The chamberlain met them at the door, and advanced with them towardsTippoo.
"Great Sultan," he said, "these are the young men whom it has pleasedyour 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 scarcelydeem them capable of performing such a feat as that they accomplishedthis morning.
"Well, my slayers of tigers, you have found everything fitlyprovided?"
"Far more so than our deeds merit, your Highness," Surajah replied."We have found everything that heart could desire, and only hope foran opportunity to show ourselves worthy of your favours."
"You have done that beforehand," Tippoo said graciously, "and I amglad to see, by your attire, that you are conscious that, as myofficers, it is fitting you should make a worthy appearance. It showsthat you have been well brought up, and are not ignorant of what isright and proper.
"At present, you will receive orders from Fazli Ali, and will act asassistant chamberlains, until I decide in what way your services canbe 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 aroom considerably larger than that which they had just left. Thechandeliers, at the end of the room where they stood, were alllighted, while the other end was in comparative darkness.
Leaving them standing alone, Tippoo walked towards the other end, andclapped his hands. Immediately, a number of closely veiled figuresentered, completely filling the end of the room.
"These are the young men," Tippoo said to them. "It is the one on theright to whom it is chiefly due that the tiger did not commit havocamong you. It was he who climbed up the balcony, and fired twice atthe beast. You owe your lives to him and his companion, for among allmy officers and guards there was not one who was quick-witted enoughto move as much as a finger."
There was a faint murmur of surprise, among the veiled figures, at theyouth of their preserver.
"Hold your heads fully up," Tippoo went on, for Dick and hiscompanion, after making a deep salaam, had stood with bent heads andwith 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 whoselives you saved," Tippoo said; "and should you at any time have afavour to ask, or even should you fall under my displeasure, you canrely upon their good offices in your behalf."
There was another low murmur from the other end of the hall. ThenTippoo clapped his hands, and the women moved out, as noiselessly asthey had entered.
"You can retire now," Tippoo said, as he moved towards the door intothe other room. "Be faithful, be discreet, and your fortune isassured."
He pointed to another door, and then rejoined his councillors.
Dick and his companion stood in an attitude of deep respect, until thehanging had fallen behind the sultan, and then went out by the door hehad pointed to, and made their way back to their own room.
"Truly, Surajah, fortune is favouring us mightily. This morning, wewalked the streets in fear of being questioned and arrested. Thisevening we are officers of the Palace, favoured by Tippoo, and underthe protection of the harem.
"I wonder what the ladies have given us."
They opened the caskets, which were of considerable size. As theyexamined the contents, exclamations of surprise broke from them. Eachcontained some thirty or forty little parcels, done up in paper; andon these being opened, they were found to contain trinkets and jewelsof 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 theirsettings, as if the donors did not care that jewels they had wornshould be exposed to view. One parcel contained twenty superb pearls,another a magnificent diamond and ten rubies, and so on, down to themore humble gifts--although these were valuable--of those of lowerrank.
Dick's presents were much more costly than those of his companion, andas soon as this was seen to be the case, Dick proposed that theyshould 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 haveoccurred 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 havedone, many times, among our hills, and thought nothing of. Thesejewels are vastly more than I deserve, for my share in the affair. Ido not know much about the value of gems, but they must be worth alarge sum, and nothing will induce me to take any of those that youhave 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. "Nodoubt 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 lastfifteen years, Tippoo has been gathering spoil from all southernIndia, having swept the land right up to the gates of Madras. They saythat his treasures are fabulous, and no doubt the ladies of his haremhave shared largely in the spoils. The question is, what had we bestdo with these caskets? We know that, in the course of our adventures,it may very well happen that we shall be closely searched, and itwould never do to risk having such valuables found upon us."
"No; I should say that we had best bury them somewhere. Some of thesemerchants here may be honest enough for us to leave the jewels intheir care, without anxiety; but as they themselves may, at anymoment, be seized and compelled to give up their last penny, thesethings would be no safer with them than with us.
"As to Pertaub, I have absolute faith in him, but he himself is liableto be seized at any moment. However, I should say we had betterconsult him. If we were to bury them, say, under the floor of hishouse, we might leave them ther
e for a time. If we saw any chance ofthis place being, someday, captured by our people, we could wait tillthen for their recovery. But the war may not be renewed for years.Possibly Pertaub may be able to arrange to send them down, onlyentrusting a portion at a time to a messenger, so that, if he got intotrouble, 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. Itwill be as well to get them off our minds, as soon as possible, foralthough just at present we are in high favour, there is no saying howlong it may last, or when it may be necessary for us to move."