Chapter 18: A Narrow Escape.
Mrs. Holland undertook to write the letter to Annie's father, and didso at very much greater length than Dick would have done, giving himthe story of the girl's life at Seringapatam, the circumstances of hermeeting Dick, and the story of her escape. She assured him that hisdaughter 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 shehas passed as a slave in the harem. Now that she has been with us fora fortnight, and has recovered from the fatigue of her flight, and isbeginning to feel at home, she has regained her natural spirits, aftertheir long repression.
"Personally, she is of about the average height, and of a moregraceful figure than is usual with girls of her age. The stain has nowworn off her face, and I should say she will, as she grows up, bepretty. She is fair rather than dark, has expressive eyes, and a nicemouth. Altogether, had I a daughter, I should be well content if sheresembled your Annie. I shall, I can assure you, do my best to supplythe place of a mother to her, until I receive a letter from you, andshall part from her with regret. She is, of course, at presententirely uneducated, but she has already begun to learn with me, andas she is quick and intelligent I hope that, before I resign mycharge, her deficiencies will be so far repaired that she will be ableto pass muster, in all ordinary matters."
"You will be back before I go, won't you, Dick?" Annie said, as shesat by his side on a seat in the garden, on the evening before he wasto start.
"I think so," he said. "We can calculate on your being here tenmonths, anyhow. I have been talking it over with my mother. If it hadnot been for those jewels, I should have given up the search for myfather after another six months, because it would have been high timefor me to get to work in some profession. I had, indeed, made up mymind to enter the Company's service, for Lord Cornwallis promised me acommission, and my uncle received a letter some time ago, from thegovernor of Madras, saying that, on the very strong recommendation ofLord Cornwallis, and his report of my services, he was authorised togrant me one. It was to be dated back to the time I joined LordCornwallis, more than two years ago. However, now that I am reallymade independent of a profession, I shall probably continue my searchfor a somewhat longer time. But at any rate, I will promise to comeback, at the end of ten months from the present time, so as to saygoodbye to you, before you start."
The girl's face brightened.
"Thank you, Dick. I don't think I should go, anyhow, until I saw youagain--not even if I got a letter saying that I was to sail by thenext ship."
"My uncle would take you down bodily, and put you on board," Dicklaughed. "Mind, Annie, when I come back, at the end of ten months, Ishall expect to find you quite an educated young lady. I shall thinkof all sorts of hard questions, in geography and history, to put toyou."
"I will try hard, Dick, really hard, to please you. I have had threelessons, and I have learnt all the letters quite well."
"That is a good beginning, Annie. It took me a lot longer than that, Iknow."
The next morning, Dick and Surajah started. They were to ride up theghauts, to the frontier line at Amboor, two troopers accompanying themto bring back their horses. There they were to disguise themselves astraders, and make their way direct to Bangalore. Dick said goodbye tohis mother, up in her own room.
"You must not be down-hearted, Mother," he said, as she tried in vainto keep back her tears. "You see, I have come back to you twice,safely, and after passing unsuspected in Tippoo's palace, there is nofear of my being detected elsewhere. Besides, of course, every month Iam there I become better acquainted with the people, and can pass as anative more easily."
"I am not really afraid, my boy. You have got on so well that, itseems to me, God will surely protect you and bring you back safely.And I can't help thinking that this time your search may besuccessful. You know why I feel convinced that your father is stillalive, and, in spite of past disappointments, I still cling to thebelief."
"Well, Mother, if he is to be found I will find him. There are stillmany hill forts where he may be living, and his very existenceforgotten, and until I have visited every one of them, I don't mean togive up the search. Anyhow, I shall come back at the end of tenmonths, whether I have heard of him or not. I have promised Annie thatI will be back before she sails. It is not a very long journey downhere, and I shall drop in for a fortnight's stay with you, as I havedone this time."
"She is in the next room, crying her eyes out, Dick. You had betterlook in there, and say goodbye to her. She is not fit to go down tothe 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 veryhappy 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 regularways. Besides, you know, you have got to comfort my mother, and keepup 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, andkissed him.
"You have never kissed me, not once," she said reproachfully, "and youwere going away without it, now. Your mother kisses me, and theEnglish girls in the harem always used to do so."
"But that is different, Annie. Girls and women do kiss each other, butboys and girls do not kiss, unless they are brothers and sisters, orare 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 harmin kissing, when one is saying goodbye, so there.
"Now be a good girl, and don't fret;" and he ran downstairs to thedoor, where his uncle and the two boys were standing.
"Take care of yourself, lad," the Rajah said, as, after bidding themgoodbye, Dick sprang upon his horse. "Whenever you get a chance, senddown a letter as we arranged last night, to the care of Azol Afool,trader, Tripataly. That will seem natural enough, whoever you send itby, while a letter directed to me might excite suspicion.
"Goodbye."
"Goodbye, Uncle;" and, with a wave of his hand, Dick rode off andjoined Surajah, who was waiting for him a short distance off. Andthen, followed by Ibrahim--who had begged so earnestly to be allowedto accompany them that Dick had consented to take him, feeling indeedthat 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 theystarted up the pass on foot. They passed the frontier line without anyinterruption, 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, asthey reached the ruined village. "Though there is peace now, I fancywe should not get much farther than that fort ahead, if they guessedthat we were the fellows who gave them such trouble, two years and ahalf ago."
"There is no fear of our being recognised," Surajah said. "The guardhas probably been changed, long ago. Besides, they never once caughtsight of our faces."
"Oh, no; we are safe enough," Dick agreed. "If I had not been sure ofthat, we would have gone up one of the passes to the south, that hasbeen ceded to us, though it would have been a great deal longer roundto Bangalore--unless, indeed, we had gone by Kistnagherry, and thatwould have been too dangerous to attempt, for the officers on thefrontier would probably have recognised us."
It was late in the afternoon before they arrived at the gate. It stoodopen, 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 warwas over and everything finally settled, it was considered that alloccasion for vigilance was at an end
.
Upon making inquiries, they soon found a house where they could put upfor the night. They had, as is the custom in India, brought theirprovisions with them, and after leaving their goods in the house, andseeing 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 asthey had established themselves at one of the caravansaries fortravellers, Dick and Surajah went to the house of the trader to whomPertaub had promised to consign their goods.
"We have come for some packs, that have been sent by friends of oursat Seringapatam to your care," Dick said, making as he spoke the signthat Pertaub had taught him, as enabling those who were Hindoos torecognise each other, at once. "We were to use the word 'Madras' as asign that we were the parties to whom they were consigned."
"The goods arrived a week ago," the trader said, "and are lying foryou 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 packhorses to carry them, and three tats for ourselves and our man. Thismay take us some time, and it will be, perhaps, better for us to cometo you early the next morning, and we can then start away direct."
This was arranged, and on the following day, two strong animals werebought 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 agood price, and had also been supplied with funds by his mother,although, as he said, the contents of their packs ought to suffice topay all their expenses, for a long time.
Then they purchased some provisions for the journey. The pack horsethey had brought with them was laden with these, and the goods broughtup from Amboor. The new pack horses were taken round to the trader's,and the goods sent from Seringapatam packed on them. Then they mountedand 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 finallydecided that they would, in the first place, again visit Savandroog;for the conviction Dick had entertained, that there was at least onewhite captive there, had increased rather than diminished.
"I can't give any good reason for it, Surajah," he had admitted, whenthey talked it over before starting, "but it is just because I have nogood reason to give, that I want to go there again. Why should I havesuch a strong conviction without a good cause? One has heard of apresentiment of evil--I can't help feeling that this is a presentimentof good. The question is, how can we best go there again? I don'tthink it is in the least likely that the governor will have heard ofour flight, as this would be the last direction anyone would think ofour taking, for had we done so, we might have met the Sultan on hisway back from Bangalore. It will naturally be supposed that we havemade for the frontier, and have descended the Western or SouthernGhauts. The affair will, of course, seem a mystery to them altogether;for why should two young fellows, so recently promoted, and in suchhigh favour, desert Tippoo's service? If they do not associate Annie'sdisappearance with our flight--and there is no reason on earth whythey should do so, as no one ever saw us speaking to her--they willmost likely think that we have fallen into the hands of the Dacoits,or Thugs, and have been murdered. Numbers of people do disappear everyyear, 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 Itravelled with strangers, for that these men travel in all sorts ofdisguises.
"So I think that, as far as that goes, we could boldly put on ouruniforms and badges again, and ride into Savandroog. The disadvantageof doing so is, however, plain. The commander would remain with us allthe time. We should get no opportunity of speaking privately with anyof the soldiers, and, taking us to be in Tippoo's confidence, hewould, as before, shirk the question of prisoners. On the other hand,if we can get in as traders we shall be able to move aboutunwatched--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 thegovernor wished to keep his existence a secret, he would have shut himup when he heard that two of Tippoo's officers were coming, he wouldnot trouble about it, one way or the other, in the case of a couple oftraders.
"The only objection to that course is that we were here but two orthree months since, and he and his servants, and that artilleryofficer we went round with, would know us at once. If we go, we shallhave to alter our appearance completely. At any rate, we had betterprovide means for disguise, and we can use them, or not, as weplease."
While they were at Tripataly, therefore, they had two false beardsmade for themselves, and tried many experiments in the way of paintingtheir faces; and found that by tracing light lines on their foreheads,and at the corners of their eyes, they were able, by the help ofbeards, to counterfeit the appearance of old age, so well that itcould only be detected on close observation. Dick, too, had purchaseda pair of native spectacles, with large round glasses and broadblack-horn rims, that made him look, as he said, like an astonishedowl. It was agreed that Surajah should wear, under his dress, a verythickly 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 whenthe heat of the day rendered it necessary for them to stop, turnedinto a grove by the roadside, as they had no intention of going on toSavandroog that day, intending to halt some miles short of it, and topresent themselves there the next afternoon. They therefore preparedfor a stay of some hours. The pack horses were unloaded, and thesaddles taken off the other animals.
Half an hour later a party of twelve men, travelling in the samedirection as themselves, also halted and turned in among the trees.The man who was apparently the leader of the party came across towhere they were sitting.
"We do not disturb you, I hope, brothers?" he said. "The grove islarge enough for us all. I see that you are traders, like myself."
"By no means," Surajah replied. "The wood is open to all, and evenwere it not, we should be discourteous, indeed, did we refuse to shareour shade with others. Sit down by us, I beg of you, while your peopleare unloading your animals."
"I marked you as you left Bangalore," the trader said, as he seatedhimself beside them, "and when I saw that you were taking the sameroute that we should follow, I wondered how far our roads might lietogether."
"We are travelling west," Surajah replied. "It may be that we shallstop at Magree, and there, or at Outradroog, stop for a day or two totrade. Thence we may go north."
"Then as far as Outradroog our paths will lie together," the merchantsaid. "There we shall strike the river, and turn south toSeringapatam. I am sorry that you will not be going farther in ourdirection, for the roads are far from safe. Since the war with theFeringhees ended, there are many disbanded soldiers who have taken todacoity, and it is always better to travel with a strong band. Iwonder that you venture with three loaded animals, and only one manbeside 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 thanthere is with a large one," the latter said. "There is less to temptanyone to interfere with us. Moreover, we could not travel with acaravan, because the greater part of our goods are such as would temptthe 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 hisparty.
"I don't much like that fellow's looks," Dick said, when they werealone.
"Why? He looks a very respectable man."
"Oh, yes, he looks respectable enough, but for all that I don't fancyhim. It may be that he regards us as rivals, and was only trying tofind out where we intended to stop, and whether we were likely tospoil his trade. That was why I said what I d
id, so that he mightperceive that we were not likely to interfere with him.
"Then again, Surajah, I remembered my uncle's warning against joiningother travellers, as these Thugs, who, they say, commit so manymurders, 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 ofdouble-barrelled pistols in our girdles, in addition to these oldsingle-barrelled Indian ones that we carry for show, and our swordsare leaning against the tree behind us, so we can get hold of them ina moment. I know, of course, that the betting is all in favour ofthese people being peaceful traders, but I don't want to leaveanything to chance, and there is nothing like being prepared forwhatever may happen."
Presently Dick got up and sauntered across to Ibrahim, who was engagedin cooking.
"Ibrahim," he said, "don't look round while I speak to you, but go onwith 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 wantyou to keep a sharp lookout, without seeming to do so. See that yourpistols will come out of your girdle easily. Keep your sword handy foruse. If you see anything suspicious, come over and tell me, and ifthere is not time for that, shout."
"I will watch, Sahib," Ibrahim said. "But they seem to me peaceablemen like ourselves. Of course they carry weapons. No one would travelabout, with merchandise, without doing so."
"They may be all right, Ibrahim, but I have a sort of feeling thatthey 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 someprovisions they carried with them. When Surajah and Dick had finishedtheir meal, the leader again strolled over to them. He asked whetherthey intended to sleep, and on hearing that they did not, he again satdown with them. He proceeded to discuss trading matters, to describethe goods he carried, the places where he had purchased them, and theprices he had given.
As he talked, Dick noticed that three or four of the others cameacross. They did not sit down, but stood round listening to theconversation, and sometimes joining in. Dick's feeling of uneasinessincreased, and thrusting one hand carelessly into his girdle, hegrasped the butt of one of his hidden pistols.
Suddenly a loud cry came from Ibrahim. At the same moment somethingpassed before Dick's face. He threw himself backwards, drawing hispistol as he did so, and fired into the body of the man behind him. Asecond later he shot another, who was in the act of throwing a twistedhandkerchief 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 andSurajah.
It had all passed in a few seconds, and the other men started back, intheir surprise at this unexpected failure of their plan.
Surajah was on his feet almost as quickly as Dick. Even yet, he didnot understand what had happened. At this moment there was the crackof another pistol, and then Ibrahim came running towards them, havingshot a man who had suddenly drawn his sword, and tried to cut himdown. At his heels came the six men who had, up to this point, beenstanding in a group near their horses.
Without hesitation, Dick drew out one of his single-barrelled pistolsand shot the pretended trader, whose turban had saved him from theeffect of the blow, and who, shouting loudly to his companions, wasstruggling to his feet. The remaining eight men had all drawn theirswords, 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 thefray, and was still doubtful whether Dick had not made an entirelyunprovoked attack upon the strangers. However, he perceived that itwas now too late to discuss that point, and was a question of fightingfor his life. Accordingly, he fired both barrels of one of hispistols. One of the men dropped.
"Your sword, Surajah!" Dick exclaimed, as he grasped the scabbard ofhis own weapon in his left hand, while in his right he held his otherdouble-barrelled pistol.
Their antagonists, with yells of fury, were now upon them. Dick shotone, 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 intime to ward off a blow aimed at his head. Blow after blow wasshowered upon him, so quickly that he could do no more than ward themoff and wait his opportunity. He heard Surajah fire two more shots inquick succession; then Ibrahim suddenly dashed forward and cut downhis opponent, and then furiously engaged another, who was on the pointof attacking him from behind. Dick drew his remaining pistol, and shotthe man through the head.
He had then time to look round.
Both Surajah's shots had told, and he was now defending himselfagainst the assaults of two others, who were pressing him hard, whilea third stood irresolute a short distance away. Dick rushed toSurajah'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, buttheir opponents were far better swordsmen, and, fighting coolly, werenot long before they cut them both down.
"What on earth is it all about, Dick?" Surajah asked, as, panting withhis exertions, he looked round after cutting down his opponent.
"Thugs," Dick said briefly.
"Are you sure, Dick?" Surajah asked presently. "It may be a terriblebusiness for us, if there is any mistake."
For answer, Dick pointed to the bodies of the two men he had firstshot. One still grasped the roomal, or twisted silk sash, while a likedeadly implement lay by the side of the other.
"Thank Heaven!" Surajah ejaculated. "I was afraid there might havebeen a mistake, Dick, but I see that you were right, and that it was aparty of Thugs. If it had not been that you were on the watch forthem, and had your pistol ready, we should have lost our lives."
"It was a close shave as it was, Surajah. One second later, and youand I should both have been strangled. I had my hand on my pistol, andfelt so sure that an attack was intended that, the moment somethingpassed before my face, although I had no idea what it was, I threwmyself back and fired at the man behind me, with an instinctivefeeling that my life depended on my speed. But it was only when, onlooking at you, I saw a man in the act of throwing a noose round yourneck, that I knew exactly what I had escaped."
"It was fortunate that they had not pistols," Surajah said. "We shouldhave 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 theStranglers did not carry firearms, because the reports might attractattention; and that it was a matter of religion, with them, to killtheir victims by strangling; but that if the Strangler failed, whichhe very seldom did, the other men would then despatch the victims withtheir swords and knives.
"Ah! here comes Ibrahim."
"I caught him just outside the trees, Sahib. He will strangle no moretravellers."
"Well, what had we better do?" asked Surajah.
"I should say we had better make off, as fast as we can. Of course, ifwe were really traders, able to prove who we are, we should go back tothe town and report the affair; but as we can't do that, we had betterbe 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 thatnone should get away, for they might have gone and accused us ofslaughtering their companions."
"That would be too unlikely a story to be believed. No one wouldcredit that three men would attack twelve."
"But there would be no one to prove that there were only three. Thefellows 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 isnow getting on for the afternoon. It is likely enough that no othertravellers
will enter the grove today. By tomorrow, at the latest,someone will come in, and will of course go and report at once, inBangalore, what he has found; and they will send out here to examineinto it. When they find that the men have all fallen, sword in hand,that two of them are evidently Stranglers, and that their girdles havenot been searched, nor the packs on their horses opened, it will beseen that it was not the work of robbers. I don't suppose they willknow what to make of it, but I should think they would most likelyconclude that these men have been attacked by some other party, andthat it is a matter of some feud or private revenge--though, eventhen, 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 lookingup 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 bythe first country road on the left-hand side, and made for Savandroog,which they could see towering up above the plain. When within threemiles of it, they halted in a large wood. Here, as soon as the horseshad been unsaddled, and the fire lighted, their talk naturally turnedto 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 notlike the look of that man, and I had an uneasy sort of feeling, whichI 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 talkabout them, but never anything for certain."
"The Rajah told me, when he was warning me against joining parties oftravellers, that although very little was known about theorganisation, it was certain that there was a sect who strangled androbbed travellers in great numbers. He said that he was aware thatcomplaints had been made, to princes all over India, of numbers ofpersons being missing; and that it was certain that these murders werenot the work of ordinary dacoits, but of some secret association; andthat even powerful princes were afraid to take any steps against it,as one or two, who had made efforts to investigate the affair, hadbeen found strangled in their beds. Therefore, no one cared to takeany steps to search into the matter. It was not known whether theseStranglers, scattered as they were very widely, obeyed one commonchief, or whether they acted separately; but all were glad to leavethis mysterious organisation alone, especially as they preyed only ontravellers, and in no case meddled in any way with rajahs, orofficials, who did not interfere with them. Consequently, the ideaoccurred to me, directly, that these men who seemed like traders mightbe a party of these Stranglers; and when the others came up, while theleader was sitting talking to us, I felt as if cold water was runningdown my back, and that someone was whispering to me, 'Be on yourguard, be on your guard!' Therefore, the moment something passedbefore 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, hewould 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 weredangerous. Do you know, Surajah, it seems to me that it was just thesame sort of feeling that my mother tells me she has, whenever myfather 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 shewould have certainly known if any evil had happened to my father."