FROM DARKNESS TO DAWN.
"I see a faint light," said Marian, touching the arm of the doctor
just in front of her.
"It is the starlight at the mouth of the tunnel: this is a good time
to strike another match."
All stood still while their leader rasped the phosphorus against the
dry cement at his side. The tiny light did not give the view they
sought, but it showed there was no need of stopping on the way.
Fifty feet further and the end of the tunnel was reached. They
emerged from the mouth close to the river, wondering why it was they
found no means of closing the entrance. It must have been hidden in
some way, since one of the essentials of underground passages is
secrecy. A moment later it was observed that there was quite a
growth of vegetation around the mouth, which was not likely to be
observed from the river or bank above.
The most natural thing to do first was to learn whether any of their
foes were in sight. So far as they could see none of the Ghoojurs
was within call, and the little company made their way to the water's
edge, where they dipped up enough with their hands to quench their
thirst.
"We have been fortunate beyond our deserts," said Mr. Hildreth, "and
I have an abiding faith that we shall be delivered from all our
perils. Luchman instructed us to approach the river bank a quarter
of a mile above, but we have been unable to follow his directions,
since the tunnel does not trend that way."
"We can soon reach the place which we may consider our starting
point. Let's be off, for this is a chance that will not come a
second time."
The stream upon whose bank they stood was insignificant at that time,
though during the rainy season it was a huge muddy volume rolling
tumultuously over the entire bed. The shore was dry and sandy, with
trees scattered at rare intervals, the river showing the peculiarity
that strikes the traveler in ascending the Ganges for the first time.
The bed over which the water flowed was so soft and free from
obstructions that the current made hardly any sound at all.
Like the Ganges, too, the waters were turbid, but the fugitives
gladly drank from them. Possibly in time they might have acquired a
liking for its roiled current, as do those who voyage up and down our
own Mississippi.
Luchman had told them to lose no time, but to push on without thought
of him. It was important, above everything else, to lessen the
distance between them and Kurnal, and the few hours thus gained more
than likely would be decisive of their fate.
All this time the Ghoojurs were squatted near the entrance to the
temple, awaiting the coming of the fugitives.
The long, enforced rest made the exercise of walking acceptable to
each, even though the night was suffocatingly hot. Mrs. Hildreth
told her friends to feel no anxiety because of her, as she was able
to walk a long way.
They followed the stream rather than any beaten path. Since the
course of that in its upper portion was north and south, any one who
traveled toward its source must draw near Kurnal.
A couple of miles further, they were startled by the appearance of a
small boat, which shot around a curve in the stream above, and was
upon them before they were aware. It contained five or six men, who
were doubtless fully armed.
The fugitives could do nothing except to hide behind a clump of
peepul trees, and hope for the best. The stream was so shallow that
the occupants of the craft seemed to devote their whole efforts to
prevent it from sticking fast on the numerous bars. It was this fact
probably that prevented them catching sight of the figures on shore.
The latter moved on as soon as the danger was past, and kept in the
shelter of trees whenever possible. In this they were favored by the
great number of groves which are scattered all through India, planted
many years before by wealthy men, who thought thus to obtain enough
merit to outweigh just such atrocities as their descendants were then
committing.
The night was a memorable one to the fugitives, pushing steadily
northward, knowing that in front was safety and behind was death.
There had been other nights of more dangerous adventure, but somehow
the feeling was within all that this was the crisis of their long and
trying wanderings.
Directly in the east the glare of some conflagration was thrown
against the sky. It was not far off, and it may have had no special
significance, but to the fleeing fugitives it seemed to be a part of
the lurid drama just opening, before which the whole civilized world
was to stand aghast.
The friends indulged in little conversation, for all were oppressed
with anxious thought. Where the nature of the ground permitted,
Avery drew the arm of Marian within his own, and husband and wife did
the same, for they were an example of beautiful love that grew
brighter with the passage of years.
Eager as they were to push on they could not escape the enervating
effect of the temperature, which at times seemed as if it would
smother them. There are days and nights in the Deccan and other
parts of India when only a salamander can be considered proof against
the extreme heat.
All were moving languidly along, suffering greatly, when the
missionary was overcome by a faintness which plainly was the result
of the high temperature. It was a warning that it was death to
disregard, and he knew it. Without any evidence of alarm he told his
friends that he would have to ask them to allow him to rest for a
brief while.
Fortunately, they were on the edge of a large grove at the time.
Avery thought there was little to be feared from wild beasts, the
monkeys, though in great numbers, being harmless. They sat down near
the margin, where they decided to stay till morning, which could not
be far away.
The elderly gentleman felt very ill, but he did not let the others
know it, and they did not suspect that anything serious was the
matter with him. He parried their inquiries so well that they
concluded he needed nothing but rest. When he lay down on the ground
and sank into slumber no one had a doubt that he would not be fully
recovered in the morning. It may as well be said that they were not
disappointed.
The night was well spent, and Dr. Avery told his friends to make
themselves as comfortable as they could, for he intended to stay
where they were until dawn.
But with such a smothering temperature comfort was out of the
question. The leaves over their heads did not give out the faintest
rustle, and the heat was of that trying nature which causes a person
when sitting still to feel the perspiration trickling down his body,
while the oppressed chest vainly seeks relief by means of deep, long
drawn sighs.
The ladies spread their shawls on the ground, and Marian, resting her
head against the tree behind her, compelled her mother to place hers
in her lap. In this posture they at last fell asleep, and were not
awakened until daylight. It was much the same with the missionary.
It was different, however, with Dr. Avery. He seemed to need little
more sleep than Luchman himself, and he was so wide awake that he
felt slumber was out of the question, no matter how hard he might try
to woo it. So it was unnecessary to walk back and forth as he did
while guarding the temple. With both guns at his side he threw
himself upon the ground at the edge of the grove, while the other
three were sleeping just within it.
"Confound it!" he growled, mopping his forehead; "talk about the
Upper Nile and the Red Sea being hot, they can't beat this, for if
they did no one would ever live to tell of it. If England had to
live in India she would give her up in a jiffy. Now what would I do
without this?"
Drawing a hookah from his pocket, he filled it with the tobacco which
Luchman had procured for him at the same time, and, striking a match,
smoked with the slow, deliberate enjoyment which cannot be
appreciated by one who does not love the weed.
"My supply is rather scant, and this doesn't equal the cheroots I
brought from Calcutta, but it beats nothing by a thousand per cent.
It is such a solace in these horrible nights that I pity those who
don't use it. How nice now it would be if Mr. Hildreth could enjoy a
good pipe, and what a comfort for Mrs. Hildreth and Marian--Ah!" he
exclaimed, "I must draw the line _there_."
He smoked until there were ashes only, when he refilled the cocoanut
bowl.
"Kurnal isn't such a great distance from Delhi," he added, his
thoughts drifting in another direction, "and it seems to me we have
journeyed far enough to reach it, but I suppose our course has not
always been a direct one--I declare!" he muttered, looking around in
the grove, "I've heard that noise a dozen times; what can it mean?"