Harry, on arriving at the palace, at once went to the rajah's room.
"Well, sahib, what terms does your general offer me?"
"Terms which I think, sir, you will have no hesitation in
accepting. Here is a draft of the treaty that he proposes."
The rajah glanced at the document, which was written in English and
in Mahratti, for none of the general's staff understood the Jat
language. Harry saw, at once, that the terms were far less onerous
than the rajah had expected; for his face brightened, and the air
of despondency that it had for some days expressed passed away.
"It is better than I had looked for," he said. "As a rule, the
English have not been merciful to those they have subdued. That the
territory they gave me would be taken away was a matter of course.
The sum to be paid is heavy but, as they have given me time, I can
manage to collect it without much difficulty. This is all that is
demanded; and that they should hold Deeg and my son as a hostage,
until the money is paid, is fair and just."
"I thought that the conditions would meet with your acceptance,
Rajah; and I may say that your kindly treatment of myself and my
escort has gone some way in mitigating the terms that would
otherwise have been demanded. But the general said that you must
understand that he can make no further diminution of his demands;
and that tomorrow he expects an answer, yes or no."
"I reply yes, at once, Major Lindsay. A load has been lifted from
my mind. I shall still have my liberty, my capital, and my people;
and am grateful, indeed, for the clemency that has been shown me. I
had relied somewhat upon your good offices; but had small hopes
that, after what has taken place, I should be offered such terms."
The rajah at once sent for his sons--of whom Harry had seen but
little, for they were always on the walls, encouraging the troops
and seeing that the breaches were repaired, as soon as made. The
rajah read to them the draft of the treaty. They too were visibly
relieved; for they had talked the matter over with their father, on
the evening before, and had agreed that, probably, he and his
family would be kept as prisoners in a fortress, that the
fortifications of the town would be destroyed, and some nominee of
the British Government created rajah.
"The general has not said which of my sons is to be hostage?"
"No, Rajah, he left that to you. I may say that he took the same
view of your position as that which you, yourself, explained to me;
namely, that you joined Holkar simply from the apprehension that,
if the English were defeated by him, he would next turn his arms
against you."
"Which of you will go?" the rajah asked his sons.
All expressed their willingness.
"Then I will choose my third son," he said to Harry; "the others
will be more useful here."
Harry rode out, early in the morning, with the news that the rajah
accepted the terms offered to him. In an hour the treaty was
written out formally, the general affixing his signature. Harry
returned to the city, this time accompanied by a general officer,
and both signed their names as witnesses to the rajah's signature.
Some bullock carts, with chests containing the three lakhs of
rupees, were already in the courtyard; and with these and the
rajah's third son, Harry returned to camp.
The army afterwards started to meet Scindia, who had advanced with
his army, with the intention of joining Holkar and assisting the
Rajah of Bhurtpoor. He had, for some time, been almost openly
hostile; had sent his relation, Bapeejee Scindia, with a strong
body of horse, to act in concert with the cavalry of Ameer Khan and
Holkar; and had sent letters to the Government which amounted to a
declaration of war. But when Holkar reached his camp a fugitive,
and he heard that Bhurtpoor had surrendered, he at once fell back;
and endeavoured to make excuses for his conduct, alleging that
Bapeejee Scindia has acted entirely without orders, and that he had
himself advanced only with the intention of mediating between the
Rajah of Bhurtpoor and the English.
No one was deceived by his assurances, but it was thought politic
to pretend to believe them. The Marquis of Wellesley's term of
office had expired, and a successor had come out, with orders to
carry out a policy differing widely from that which he had
followed. The latter had enormously extended the area of the
British possessions in India, the British troops had won a
marvellous series of victories; but this had been effected at an
immense cost and, so far, the revenue drawn from the conquered
provinces barely sufficed to pay the expenses of occupation and
management.
The treaties, too, that had been entered into with various rajahs
and chiefs might, at any moment, plunge the Government into war in
support of our allies and, accordingly, Lord Cornwallis was again
sent out, to carry out the policy of maintaining friendly relations
with the native powers, and of abstaining from interference in
their quarrels with each other. Indeed, a breathing time was
urgently needed. The rapid progress of the British arms had aroused
a feeling of distrust and hostility among all the native princes;
and it was necessary to carry out a strong but peaceful
administration in the conquered provinces, to give confidence to
their populations, to appoint civil officers of all sorts; and so
to divide the troops that, while they ceased to threaten any of the
native powers, they should maintain order in the new dependencies
not yet reconciled to the change of masters, or capable of
appreciating the benefits arising from orderly rule.
Accordingly, Scindia's excuses were accepted. A considerable
portion of the dominions that had been wrested from him were
restored; and even Holkar, whose atrocious cruelties to all the
British soldiers and officers who fell into his hands should have
placed him beyond the pale of pardon, was again invested with most
of his former possessions--with the object, no doubt, of
counterbalancing Scindia's power as, had Holkar been driven to take
refuge in the north, as a fugitive, Scindia would have become
paramount among the Mahrattas.
One of the last acts of the Marquis of Wellesley was to offer Harry
a high civil appointment, in one of the new provinces; but he
declined it, upon the ground that he was about to apply for leave
to go to England. He had, indeed, already formed the idea of
quitting the service altogether. The presents he had received from
Bajee Rao, on his first arrival at Poona, and on being invested as
Peishwa; and the still larger one that Nana Furnuwees had given
him; had been, for the most part, invested in the purchase of land
at Bombay. In the eight years that has elapsed, the town had
greatly increased in size; and the land had been gradually sold, at
four or five times the sum that it had cost, and the proceeds sent
to England. Harry was, therefore, a rich man.
He had been constantly engaged in service for nearly nine years
and, as he had never been settled long enough to have an
establishment of his own, his military pay had much more than
sufficed for his wants; and the large increase which he had
obtained, when engaged in civil or special duty, had been entirely
laid by. There was, then, no further occasion whatever for him to
remain in the service. At any rate, he determined to obtain a three
years' leave; and before the end of that time, he could finally
make up his mind on the subject.
A month, therefore, after the siege of Bhurtpoor was concluded,
Harry had an interview with Lord Lake, and requested three years'
leave to go to England.
"You have well earned it, Major Lindsay. Your services have been
very great and, if the war was likely to continue, I should have
asked you to reconsider your request; but as, from what I hear, a
complete change of policy has been determined upon, and it has been
decided that there shall be no further extension of our territory,
there is likely--at any rate for a time--to be a period of peace.
The board of directors desire to consolidate the territory that we
have gained, and wish to abstain from all embarrassing alliances,
or from any meddling in the affairs of the native princes.
"You, who have been so long at Poona, and understand the shifty
nature of Scindia, Holkar, and indeed of all the native princes,
must know well that these orders are much more easily given than
carried out. If our restraining hand is removed, we shall have
Scindia, and Holkar, the Peishwa, the Rajahs of Berar, Kolapoore,
and Bhurtpoor at each other's throats again. They will treat our
declarations, that we desire peace, only as a proof of weakness;
and may, at any moment, lay aside their private quarrels to unite
against us; and, unlikely as it may seem at present, my conviction
is that there will never be permanent peace in India until we are
masters from Cape Comorin to the borders of Afghanistan. It may be
another half century, and will certainly only be after hard
fighting; but I believe that, until all India acknowledges our
rule, there will not be anything like permanent peace within its
borders."
"I am afraid that that is so, sir. The only really sincere and
honest man that I have met, bent upon serving his country, was Nana
Furnuwees and, in consequence, he was equally hated by the Peishwa,
Scindia, and Holkar. I was certainly extremely well treated by the
Rajah of Bhurtpoor; but this was, no doubt, largely due to the fact
that he thought that, if matters went against him, his courtesy to
me would tell in his favour, while ill treatment or murder would
have put him beyond the pale of forgiveness."
"Your application comes at a fortunate moment, for I am sending a
regiment of Bombay cavalry back to their presidency, and it will be
well that you should travel with it through Jaipore and Ajmeer to Surat,
and so on to Bombay, which will save you a long journey--unless, indeed,
you wish to travel by way of the Ganges."
"I would much rather go to Bombay, sir. I wish to visit the good
people who brought me up. I will ask you to allow Havildar Abdool
to go with me. I don't know whether he will wish to take his
discharge, but I should think he would do so and, as he belongs
properly to the Bombay army, and is indeed a Mahratta, I am sure
that he would prefer to settle there."
"I will certainly do that, and will see that the services he has
rendered are mentioned in his discharge; and I will, myself, write
to the Government of Bombay, saying that I had intended to grant
him a small holding, as a reward for his fidelity; and asking that
this may be bestowed upon him, either in the Concan, or in some of
the territory that we have become possessed of above the Ghauts."
Abdool was greatly moved, when Harry told him that he had applied
for and obtained leave.
"You will take me with you, master, I hope?"
"I think, Abdool, that you would do better to remain in your own
country. You would feel very strange in England, among people none
of whom speak your language. You would also feel the cold,
greatly."
"I would rather go with you, sahib. Were I to go back to my native
village, I should find myself among strangers, for I have now been
nearly fifteen years away; and what should I do without
employment?"
"Well, we will think it over, Abdool. Lord Lake kindly offered to
write a letter in your favour to the Government of Bombay, asking
them to give you the charge of a village district, which would keep
you in comfort."
"I should not be comfortable if I were not with you, sahib."
"Well, Abdool, we are going with the Bombay regiment which starts
tomorrow, and shall travel through Central India to Surat. There I
shall leave them in the Concan, and cross the Ghauts to Jooneer,
and pay a visit to Soyera, Ramdass, and Sufder, and see them all
comfortably settled; and then go down to Bombay. So we shall both
have plenty of time to think it over."
Accordingly the next morning Harry, after saying goodbye to all his
friends, started. The journey to Surat was nearly seven hundred
miles, and was accomplished without incident. On their arrival at
Jowaur, they ascended the Ghaut to Trimbuck, and then rode to
Jooneer, and another half hour took them to the farm.
Harry was received with delight by its occupants. It was six years
since he had parted from his old nurse at Bombay, and he had
greatly changed since then. He was now a tall and powerfully-built
man.
"And so you are already a major, as was your dear father!" she
said, after the first greetings were over. "It seems to me but a
short time since you were an infant in my arms. But what brings you
here?"
"There is going to be a general peace for some time, Soyera; and I
have had enough of fighting, and am on my way home to England,
where I hope to learn something about my father's and mother's
families. I have three years' leave, and as I am as rich as I could
desire to be, possibly I may return here no more."
"I shall grieve, Harry; but it is natural for you to do so, and I
shall feel happy in the thought that you have become all your
parents could have wished, and that I have been the means, in some
way, of bringing this about."
"In all ways, Soyera. I owe not only my life, but all that I am, to
you. Had you been without friends, I would have taken you to
England. But happily you are among your own people, and have now
been living with your good brother and his wife for four-and-twenty
years; and I can leave you, knowing that you are perfectly
comfortable and happy.
"Have you any desire to better your condition, Ramdass? I owe you,
too, so much that it would greatly please me to be able, in some
way, to show that I am grateful for the shelter you gave me for so
many years."
"There is nothing," Ramdass said. "I have all that I can desire.
Had I more, I should have greater cares. Those who are rich here
are not the best off, for it is they who are squeezed when our
lords have need of money. My sons will divide my land when I die,
and my daughter is already married and provided for. Had I a larger
farm, I should need more hands and have more cares. The bounty
which you before gave me has gratified my utmost desires."
A messenger had already been sent off to Sufder, who rode in the
next day. He, too, was well and comfortable, and was viewed as a
man of importance by the villagers.
Harry remained there four days longer, then bade farewell to those
who had proved themselves his true friends, and rode down to
Bombay. On the road he had a long talk with Abdool, who remained
fixed in his determination to accompany him to England, if he would
take him.
"Very well, Abdool, so it shall be. But if, at any time, you have a
longing to come back to your own country, I will pay your passage,
and give you enough to make you comfortable for life."
Harry remained but a few days in Bombay, wound up his affairs with
his agents there and, being fortunate in finding a vessel that was
on the point of sailing, took passage in her for England. The
voyage was an uneventful one. They experienced bad weather off the
Cape but, with that exception, carried all canvas till they entered
the Channel. Here they encountered another gale, but arrived safely
in the Thames, four months after leaving Calcutta.
It was now January, 1806, and after going with Abdool to an hotel,
Harry's first step was to procure warm clothing for himself and his
follower. The weather was exceedingly cold, and although Abdool
had, as he considered, wrapped himself up in an extraordinary way,
he was unable to keep warm, except when sitting in front of a huge
fire.
"Is it always like this, sahib?" he asked, in a tone of great
anxiety.
"Oh no, Abdool, only for perhaps two months out of the twelve. You
will find it pleasant enough in summer and, after two or three
winters, will get accustomed to the cold. You had better not think
of going out, till you get your clothes. I will have a tailor in to
measure you. I should say that it would be more convenient for you
to take to European clothes. You will not find them uncomfortable,
as you have for so many years been accustomed to uniform. They are
much more convenient for getting about in, and you will not be
stared at in the streets; as you would be if you went about in
native costume. However, you can wear your own turban, if you
like."
Abdool willingly consented to this proposal. A tailor was
consulted, and suggested loosely-cut trousers and a short jacket,
similar to that now worn by the French zouaves, and differing but
little from that of the Indian cavalry. In this, with the addition
of a long and warmly-lined cloak, Abdool professed his readiness to
encounter any degree of cold.
As soon as his own clothes had arrived, Harry went to Leadenhall
Street and, sending in his card, was shown into a large room, where
two or three of the governors of the Company were seated,
considering the reports that had been brought from India in the
ship in which Harry had arrived.
"Your name is familiar to us, Major Lindsay," the gentleman at the
head of the table said cordially. "You have been mentioned in
numerous despatches, and always in terms of the highest
commendation. First, by the Governor of Bombay; then by the Marquis
of Wellesley, for the manner in which you secured the neutrality of
Berar, during the Mysore war; then again, if I remember rightly,
for obtaining concessions for our occupation of the island of
Singapore, when we are in a position to undertake it. He also sent
us your report of that business, by which it appeared that you had
some extremely perilous adventures, entailed by your zeal to obtain
the Rajah of Johore's consent to the cession. Sir Arthur Wellesley
mentioned your name in his despatch after Assaye, and Lord Lake's
despatches make numerous mention of your service with him.
Altogether, I do not think that any officer has received such warm
and general commendation as you have done."
"Thank you, sir. I have always done my best, and been exceptionally
fortunate in being engaged in services that gave me an opportunity
of, in some degree, distinguishing myself."
"Pray sit down, Major. My colleagues and myself will be glad to
know a little more about you. When the Governor of Bombay informed
us that he most strongly recommended you for a commission, he
mentioned that you were a son of Major Lindsay who, with his wife,
was killed in the Concan, at the time of that most unfortunate and
ill-managed expedition to Poona. We had never heard of your
existence before. Had it been brought before our notice we should,
of course, have assigned a pension for your bringing up and
education."
Harry, at his request, gave a very brief outline of the manner in
which he had been saved by his nurse, who had taught him English,
and prepared him for entering the service when he came of age.
"I have returned to England," he said, "partly to find out, if
possible, any of my relatives who may exist on my father's or
mother's side."
"I have no doubt that we shall be able to put you in the way of
doing so. Doubtless, at the time of your father's and mother's
death, we notified the fact--at any rate to your father's
family--and received communications from them. We will cause a
search to be made. Where are you staying?"
Harry gave the name of the hotel.
"We will send you word there, as soon as the records have been
searched. At any rate, it is certain that the birthplace of your
father and the residence of his father will be found, at the time
he obtained his appointment as cadet. I have no doubt that the
letter communicating his death was directed to that address."
The next day a messenger brought a note to Harry's hotel:
"Dear Major Lindsay:
"We find that your grandfather was a landowner in Norfolk. His
address was Parley House, Merdford. The letter sent to him with the
account of your father's death was answered by a son of his; who
stated that his father had died, two months before, and enquired if
any news had been obtained of an infant who, they had learned, had
been born some months before the murder of its parents. We replied
that the report to us had stated, 'body of infant not found.' We,
at his request, wrote to Bombay on the subject.
"The answer was as before that, although the body of the child was
not found with those of its father and mother, no doubt whatever
was entertained that it had been killed. It was some days after the
catastrophe happened before any report of it reached the
authorities, when a party of cavalry were at once sent out. Many of
the bodies had been mutilated, and some almost devoured by jackals.
No doubts were entertained that the infant had been altogether
devoured."
"The remains were all buried at the spot where they were found; and
a stone was erected, some months afterwards, by the officers of his
regiment; recording the deaths of Major Lindsay, his wife and
child, at that spot."
Two days later Harry took his place with Abdool on the north coach
and, after spending a day at Norwich, drove in a post chaise to
Merdford. Here he heard that Parley House was two miles distant
and, without alighting, drove on there. It was a fine house,
standing in a well-wooded park. On a footman answering the bell,
Harry handed him his card, "Major H. Lindsay."
He was shown into a library and, a minute later, a gentleman
entered. He was about sixty years of age, of the best type of
English squire; tall, inclined to be portly, with genial face and
hearty voice.
"We are of the same name, I see, Major Lindsay."
"We are, sir; and, strange as it may appear to you, of the same
blood."
"Indeed!" he said, shaking hands with his visitor. "What is the
relationship? It must be a distant one, for I was not aware that I
had any connection of your rank in the army.
"By the way, now that I think of it, I have seen, in the reports of
our campaigns in India, the name of a Captain Lindsay frequently
mentioned."
"I am the man, sir."
"I am glad to know that one who has so distinguished himself is a
relation of mine, however distant."
"It is not so very distant, sir. In point of fact, I am your
nephew."
The squire looked at him in bewilderment.
"My nephew!" he repeated.
"Yes, Mr. Lindsay. I am the son of your brother, also Major
Lindsay, of the Bombay Army. I returned from India but ten days
ago; and learned for the first time, from the governors of the
Company, the family to which my father belonged. Had it been
otherwise, I should have written to you, years ago, to inform you
that I was the infant who was supposed to have perished, when its
father and mother were killed."
Harry thought that the colour paled a little in his uncle's face.
"You have, of course, proofs of your identity?" the latter said,
gravely.
"Certainly. I have the evidence of the Indian nurse who saved my
life, and brought me up; that of a cousin of hers, who was an
officer of the band that attacked my father; and that of her
brother, with whom I resided from the time she brought me
there--three days after the death of my parents--until I was twelve
years old, when she placed me with a lady in Bombay, for two years
and a half, to be taught to speak English perfectly. After that, I
was some three years in the service of the Peishwa.
"These depositions were, by the order of the Governor of Bombay,
sworn to by them before the chief justice there. My identity was
fully recognized by the Governor of Bombay, who at once recommended
me for a commission, in consequence of some service that I had
rendered to the Government; and the recommendation was accepted by
the court at home, and my commission dated from the time of my
appointment by the Governor."
"I see a likeness in you to my brother who, when I last saw him,
was about your age. I do not say that you are exactly like him, but
your expression and voice both recall him to me. As a matter of
form, of course, I should like to see these depositions. I am
curious to know the details of your adventures.
"But that will keep. I will at once introduce you to my wife and
daughter. Like your father, I was unfortunate in my children. I
know that you had several brothers and sisters born before you, all
of whom died in their infancy. I did not marry until some years
later than he did. I had two boys, who were both drowned when out
in a fishing boat at Yarmouth. My daughter was the youngest."
He rose from his seat and led the way to the drawing room, where a
lady some fifteen years younger than himself was seated at work,
with a girl of nineteen or twenty.
"My dear," he said, "I have a surprise for you. This gentleman,
Major Lindsay, who has distinguished himself greatly in India, is
our nephew. He claims, and I may say at once that I see no reasons
whatever to doubt it, that he is the child of my brother Harry who,
as you may remember, was, with his wife, killed in India a few
months after we were married. My enquiries resulted in leaving, as
it seemed, no room for doubt that the infant had perished with his
parents, and that its body had been devoured by wild beasts.
"But it now appears that he was saved by his nurse, who happened to
have a relation who was an officer in the party that attacked
Harry's camp. She took him to the house of a brother, and there he
was brought up; and he afterwards went down to Bombay, where he
satisfied the Governor as to his identity, and received a
commission. I have not heard further particulars yet, but Major
Lindsay--
"I suppose I shall come to call you Harry, in time, nephew--
"Will tell us all about it, himself. I am sure that you will join
with me in welcoming Harry's boy heartily, and in my satisfaction
that he has proved himself well worthy of his race."
Harry was a little surprised at detecting a tone of warning, in the
manner in which the last words were spoken; and at the agitation
with which Mrs. Lindsay had listened to her husband. This
disappeared, however, as she held out her hand to him.
"I welcome you back to England, nephew. Yours is indeed a strange
story. I know that my husband was greatly attached to your father."
"Yes, I loved him dearly," Mr. Lindsay said, "and can see a
resemblance to him in his son. He is taller and more strongly built
than Harry was. I do not say that the features are very like, but
there is something in the expression of his face, and tone of his
voice, that recalls him to me strongly.
"This is my daughter Mary. We called her so after your mother. It
was a fancy of mine, for I knew her well before she married your
father. The two families were on terms of great friendship, and for
her sake, as well as for my brother's, I gave her the name."
"I am glad to meet you, cousin," the girl said, holding out her
hand frankly to him. "It is, of course, a great surprise to us, and
I can hardly realize yet that you are really my cousin."
"Now, Harry," his uncle said briskly, "I will give orders to have
your things taken out of the post chaise, and carried up to your
room. We shall be having lunch directly and, after that, you shall
tell us your story at full length."
Ten minutes later they sat down to lunch. When Harry rejoined the
others, he fancied he saw traces of tears in the eyes of Mrs.
Lindsay and her daughter; and he thought that perhaps they had been
thinking that, if their own boys had lived, they also would be
young men now.
After the meal was over, the squire said:
"Now, wife, we will all adjourn to the library. It is the most
comfortable room in the house, and the cosiest--just the place for
listening to a long story. I have told William to get two more
armchairs there, so that we can sit round the fire--which is quite
the proper thing to do when a story has to be told."
The light had faded out of the sky, and the curtains were drawn;
but the squire would not have candles lighted, saying that the
blaze of the fire was the proper thing to listen by. Harry related
fully the manner in which he had been brought up and trained, by
his nurse, for the time when he could present himself at Bombay;
and also his adventures in the Deccan, which had paved the way for
his obtaining a commission. He told the rest more briefly, though
he was obliged, in answer to the questions of the others, to go
somewhat further into his personal adventures.
"It is a wonderful story," the squire said, when he at last
finished. "There are many things that you have cut very short; and
which you must, some other time, tell us fully. Your poor father
would have reason to be proud of you, indeed, had he lived to see
you now. He thought that he was wonderfully fortunate, in obtaining
a majority at the age of thirty-five; but you have got it ten years
younger.
"Well, we have not spared you, for we have kept you talking over
four hours."
Dinner passed off quickly, and when wine had been placed on the
table, and the servants retired, Mr. Lindsay said:
"You will understand, Harry, that although absolutely certain that
you are my nephew, I do not resign, and offer you my seat at the
head of the table, until the documents that you have brought are
formally examined."
"What do you mean, uncle?" Harry asked, in surprise.
"I mean, of course, that as your father's son, this estate is
yours, and not mine."
Harry rose to his feet.
"I don't understand you, uncle. I never dreamt for a moment--" and
he stopped.
"That your father was my eldest brother. Yes, he was a year older
than myself; and at his father's death would, of course, have
succeeded to the estate. But he died before him; and you, as his
son, will of course succeed."
"But I could not dream of such a thing, uncle. Do you think that I
have come down here with the idea of turning you and my aunt and
cousin out, and taking your place? If I had known it, I should not
have come down at all. It would be monstrous if, after you have
been master here for twenty-five years, I should come down to claim
the estate from you."
"I am glad to hear you say so, Harry," his uncle said, gravely.
"Naturally, it did not occur to us that you were ignorant that your
father was the eldest son. We thought, from your manner, that you
would be willing to arrange everything on amicable terms; for of
course, legally, you are entitled to all the back rents, which I
honestly say I could not pay. Your aunt's little fortune, and my
portion as younger brother, will be amply sufficient to keep us
three comfortably; but as to paying the arrears, it would be
impossible."
"My dear uncle, the whole thing is impossible. I have returned home
with an ample amount of money to live in luxury. I did not think it
necessary to mention, in my story, that Nana Furnuwees presented me
with a considerable sum of money; and Bajee Rao did the same. This
I invested in land close to Bombay, which is now covered with
houses, and fetched five times the price I gave for it. In addition
to this, I have been in civil employment for the past six years
and, as I have always been on the move, I have never had the
expense of an establishment, and have thus saved some five thousand
pounds.
"Therefore I am master of something over ninety thousand pounds;
and can, if I do not return to India--which I have, I may say,
already made up my mind not to do, buy an estate. I have had very
much more than my share of adventures, and have marvellously
escaped. If I return, my luck might change.
"At any rate, I have had enough of it. I have made a very handsome
fortune and, even putting everything else aside, would rather know
that I owed all I possessed to my own good luck and exertions, than
to an accident of birth."
"But that cannot be, lad."
"Well, uncle," Harry said obstinately, "if you choose to see things
in that light, all I can say is, that I shall at once throw up my
leave and return to India; and if you choose to leave this house
and estate, it may go to wreck and ruin for anything I care."
"Well, well, my boy, we won't say anything more about it, now, but
will leave it to the lawyers to settle."
"I shall certainly employ no lawyers in the matter, uncle. By all
means, obtain your solicitor's opinion as to whether the proofs I
have put in your hands are sufficient to establish, beyond all fear
of doubt, the fact that I am the son of Major Harry Lindsay. It
matters not whether my father was your elder brother or not, to
anyone except ourselves. I am perfectly satisfied with having
proved, to the satisfaction of all in India, that I am the son of a
brave officer. My object in coming to England was not to see
whether I was entitled to money, but simply to find friends among
the families of my father and mother; and if it were to end in my
turning you, my aunt, and cousin out of the place you have believed
to be your own, for so many years, my visit here would be a dismal
failure, and I should bitterly regret having set foot in England.
"Please do not let us say anything more about it. The matter, so
far as I am concerned, is concluded; and nothing that can possibly
be said will shake my determination, in any way."
In order to break the silence, for Mrs. Lindsay and Mary were both
wiping their eyes, Harry went on:
"Now that we have finished this question, uncle, I will tell you
how I got the ratification of the treaty, that will some day be
made for our occupation of Singapore, from the Rajah of Johore. As
far as the excitement went, it certainly was the most stirring
business that I was ever employed in;" and he at once launched into
the narrative of his capture, the escape, the adventure with the
tiger, and the defence of Johore.
"It seems to me, Harry," his uncle said, when he had finished,
"that you not only have as many lives as a cat, but as a whole
posse of cats. I cannot but think that it was a wild business,
altogether; and that, having got the assent of the gentleman with
the very hard name, there was no occasion to bother about the
rajah, who seemed to have no authority whatever."
"But he might have got it, you see, uncle. It may be ten years or
more before a governor general will be able to attend to the
business, and it was as well to get it settled, once for all."
"What did the rajah present you with for saving his capital?"
"He offered me a number of weapons and things but, as I had no
place to put them in, I could not be bothered with them. I do not
think that cash was at all a strong point with him, and I don't
suppose he had a thousand dollars in his treasury. I was a little
surprised that he did not offer me half a dozen young ladies as
wives; but had he done so, I should have resisted the temptation,
as they would have been even more trouble than the weapons."
"You never fell in love with any of the Indian beauties, cousin
Harry?"
"I have never seen any to fall in love with. The ladies of the
upper class in India, whether Hindus or Mussulmans, always go
closely veiled; and as to the English ladies, in the first place
they were nearly all married, and in the second place I went as
little into society as I could help, being on the Governor
General's staff, and nearly always away on duty. Certainly I never
saw anyone who caused my pulse to beat faster; which I believe,
from what I have read, is one of the many symptoms of being in
love."
Harry then enquired about his mother's relations.
"I, unfortunately, can tell you nothing about them. She was an only
daughter when she married your father. Both her parents died, years
ago. They only had a lease of the place they lived in, and I really
cannot tell you anything whatever about them. There was a son, who
would, I suppose, succeed to any property his father left; but he
was a ne'er-do-well, and was seldom at home, and I have never seen
or heard of him, since."
"Well, I am quite content with the relations that I have found, and
shall not trouble myself to seek further."
Four days passed. At the end of that time, Mr. Lindsay received a
letter from his lawyer and, after breakfast, asked Harry to go into
the library with him.
"About that business that we were talking about, I have today
received an answer to my letter. My lawyer is of opinion, from what
I told him of these papers, that your case is a strong one; and
that though, if I chose, I might give you a great deal of trouble,
he thinks that in the long run you would succeed. As I don't want
to give you trouble; and as I am, myself, as completely convinced
that you are my brother Harry's son as that I am his brother, the
matter may now be considered as finally settled."
"Quite so, uncle. I don't want to hear anything more about it. If
you choose to be obstinate, and turn out, I can only say that I
shall be sorry that the old house, where my father and you were
both born, should go to wreck and ruin. At any rate, let the matter
rest, for the present. Possibly it may yet be arranged to the
satisfaction of all parties."
"It will certainly not be arranged to my satisfaction," the squire
grumbled, "unless you become master here."
"We will talk it over, in six months' time."
He related the conversation to his wife who, to his surprise,
looked pleased.
"Nothing could be better," she said; "it would be an excellent
plan."
"What on earth do you mean, Louisa?"
"You are as blind as an owl, Peter. There can be only one meaning
in what he has said, only one arrangement that could be
satisfactory to all parties."
"And what is that, my dear?" the squire said, a little testily.
"I mean, of course, that he should marry Mary."
The squire sat down suddenly, in his surprise.
"Such an idea never entered my head," he said. "But why should you
think of it? Why, the young fellow has only been here four or five
days!"
"That is quite long enough for him to see that Mary is a charming
girl," Mrs. Lindsay said. "He has seen very little of ladies; and
he is, no doubt, struck with the idea that she is an extremely nice
girl. I don't say that he is in love with her, yet; but quite
enough, perhaps, to foresee that, ere long, he will feel more
ardent than he does at present; and that it is the only arrangement
possible, since we are determined to turn out for him.
"Now mind, Peter, you do not throw out the slightest hint, either
to him or to her, that such a solution has ever occurred to us. It
might spoil everything. It would make Mary shy with him, and might
cause him to be awkward. You give your consent to remain here, for
six months. By that time the question will have solved itself. If I
am wrong, no harm will have been done. If I am right, the
arrangement will be, as he says, a satisfactory one to us all."
"I was always against cousins marrying," Mr. Lindsay said,
doubtfully.
"Don't be absurd, Peter. I don't say that, in some cases, there is
not a good deal to be said against it; but where both the man and
the woman are healthy, and come of healthy families, no union can
be more likely to be happy."
"But I think I have heard you speak--"
"Never mind what you have heard me speak, sir; circumstances alter
cases, and this case is altogether an exceptional one.
"We certainly could not wish for a finer young fellow as Mary's
husband. He is a desirable partner, in every respect. He is himself
well off and, although I quite agree with you that, whatever it
costs, we must give the dear old place up, I grant that it would be
very pleasant to avoid so terrible a wrench.
"The one thing I don't like is that man of his. He moves about so
noiselessly that it is like having a ghost in the room."
"It is you who are absurd, now, Louisa," the squire said. "The man
has, over and over again, proved himself to be a most faithful
friend to him. I own that it is a little trying to see him standing
behind Harry's chair, without moving, except when his master wants
something; but after all, that is less fidgety than having footmen
dodging about you.
"Well, Louisa, I will take particular heed of what you have said,
and will be mum as a mouse, until we see how the cat jumps."
Mrs. Lindsay's prevision turned out correct. Harry remained a week
longer at Parley House. Then he heard that an estate was for sale,
two miles away, and drove over quietly to inspect it. Ten days
later he wrote from London, and said that he had bought the place.
"He is the most obstinate fellow that I ever knew!" Mr. Lindsay
exclaimed, as he read the letter.
"What is it, dear?"
"He has bought Hungerford's place, and never gave me the slightest
hint of his intentions."
"Well, I think it will be very nice to have him so near us," Mrs.
Lindsay said, decidedly.
"Oh, of course, and it will be so handy for--"
"Peter, will you take another cup of tea?" his wife said, sharply;
and Mr. Lindsay knew that he had nearly put his foot in it.
A week later Harry came down again--to see, as he said, what
required to be done to the house; and he needed no persuasion to
stay at Parley Hall. To decide upon matters, he needed a great deal
of advice, both from Mrs. Lindsay and Mary; and then, having put
the house into the hands of the builders and decorators, he went up
to town again. However, he frequently ran down to see how things
were getting on and, before the alterations were all finished, Mary
had consented to become its mistress.
Abdool preferred to remain as his master's body servant, as before.
He had even, before leaving India, picked up a certain amount of
English; and had improved considerably his knowledge of the
language during the long voyage. Mary, fortunately, had not shared
in her mother's feelings about him but, on learning that he had,
several times, saved Harry's life, had taken to him greatly. He
never returned to his native land.
And although Harry and his wife talked, sometimes, of making the
voyage to India, they were never enabled to accomplish it for, as
children grew up around them, Mary was no longer free to travel.
Abdool's devotion was now divided between his master and mistress
and the little ones, who were never tired of listening to his
stories of their father's adventures.
Mr. and Mrs. Lindsay lived to an advanced age, and died within a
few weeks of each other. Harry then moved to Parley Hall, and sold
the estate he had bought; as the management of one estate, and his
duties as county magistrate, occupied as much time as he cared to
give. The only complaint made against him, by his neighbours, was
that he did not care for field sports. But, as he said, he had seen
enough bloodshed to last him his lifetime; and would neither shed
the blood of bird nor beast, though he had no quarrel with those
who liked that sort of thing.
He kept up a regular correspondence, to the end of her life, with
his old nurse; and his interest in his Indian friends never abated.
He was an old man when the Indian mutiny broke out, and two of his
grandsons took their share in the long siege of Delhi, and served
with both the forces which, under Sir Colin Campbell, fought their
way into Lucknow, and finally broke the neck of the Sepoy mutiny.