"Is my brother within? has he returned from the temple?" asked Radha of
a man sitting in the porch of the house in which Moro Trimmul resided,
and, though in another street, was only a few steps distant. "Is he
come, Chimna?"
"Yes, lady, he is come," returned the man, who was an old retainer of
the family, and had known her from infancy; "but if you take my advice,
you will not go to him now: he has eaten nothing, and is in one of his
rough angry moods. I did but speak to him as he entered, and got as
many curses as will serve me for a month. Why not come another time?"
"Nay, Chimna, but it is an urgent matter, and I must now have speech
of him," she replied. "Go, say I am come, and that he must admit me.
Begone at once," she continued, seeing him hesitate, "else it will be
worse for you."
"I had rather you went yourself," returned the man, "what if he should
beat me? But no matter, I will go; perhaps I may not do you much more
service, for he speaks of departing."
"Ah, indeed! When?" exclaimed Radha. "He is not ill?"
"Soon, perhaps," replied the man, putting his finger to the side of his
nose, as a caution to secrecy, while he stepped across the court to
the verandah, "very soon, I think. No, he is not ill, only vexed with
something."
Radha's heart beat fast in her bosom. O, if it were but true; and
that her brother, alarmed or repentant, no matter which, were about
to depart, it would solve all difficulties at once. That very
day--to-morrow! It seemed hard to wish him gone; yet there would be
peace to Tara and to her mother, which was endangered by his presence.
Surely he would see her. Yes; Chimna was now descending the steps of
the house, and beckoned to her with a smiling face. She crossed the
court at once, followed by the servant.
"He is in the upper room," he said, "and bid thee come alone: perhaps
he is not well, for he is lying down, and seems weary. No wonder he
was in ill-humour with me, after that long disputation with the Nassuk
Brahmun to-day in the temple,--some relation of the Shastree's, I
believe, lady."
"Enough, Chimna; take care of my servant till I return," said Radha.
"You can sit here; if I want you I will call;" and so saying she passed
through a door into the inner court, and up the steps which led to the
apartments above, which were steep and narrow. The door was closed at
the top of them, and she knocked before she opened it. Her brother
unfastened it inside. "Enter," he said quickly; "it is well thou art
come, I was thinking how I could see thee, Radha. Sit down there," and
he hastily arranged a few pillows and a travelling mattress for her,
"and speak to me;" and at the same time threw himself heavily upon a
low bed which was close to the seat he had contrived.
"O, I am weary, Radha," he continued, "very weary. I have no sleep, no
rest; I cannot eat, and there is a burning thirst ever with me. I shall
die if this lasts long."
"Brother, you are ill," she replied; "this place does not agree with
you? Why not go away for a time and change the air? Chimna says you
have eaten nothing; why is this? With all there is to do for the
master, this is no time to be ill. Is there nothing better for him than
lingering here? Surely Tannajee brought news of him?"
"Ay, sister, and there is more," and he pointed to a heap of letters
on the floor; "enough to make one tremble for the result of years
of toil and strife with the men of Islam. Listen: Maloosray brought
word of their preparations at Beejapoor, and they write that to-day
or to-morrow Afzool Khan and his son Fazil, with all the forces at
Nuldroog and Sholapoor, and many others, will begin a march upon Wye
and Purtâbgurh. What can we do?"
"Is this Moro Trimmul, my brother, who is speaking?" said the girl,
with some scorn in her tone, and drawing herself up. "I thought he,
like Tannajee and the master, could see no hindrance to the cause of
the Holy Mother but death. He used to say so in--in--the old times,"
she added tenderly.
"The old times?" he echoed. "Yes, the old times, when thou hadst a
royal lover, girl; not a drivelling book-worm!"
"Hush, Moro," returned Radha sharply; "no more of that. Thou hast
buried it in the marriage, and he is kind to me. Why remember it?"
"Is it to be forgotten? Dost thou forget it, Radha?--then, when we
brought thee back from him?"
"He never loved me," she returned; "he could not love a mad child; he
told me so when he gently put me away."
"Not for the mad child, but for the beautiful girl, would he care; he
does care, Radha. O sister, why was this hateful marriage done, so far
away from us?"
"Nay, brother, thou knowest best; but I am content--he is very kind to
me; and they all love Radha now, even Anunda."
"Radha," said her brother, raising himself on his arms and looking at
her intently, and till his eyes seemed to flash with a light glowing
beneath them. "Radha, do not lie. If thou art my sister, thy heart is
far away among the blue mountains and their deep forests, and with our
Prince. If it be not so, the witchcraft of that house hath compassed
thee with a spell, as it has me."
"Witchcraft, brother? they do no witchcraft," she replied simply.
"By the Mother, they do," he cried; "feel my hands, feel my head, they
are burning, and Tara has set me on fire."
"Moro, thou art ill; this is fever," returned his sister anxiously. "I
was like this yesterday, and Anunda gave me some medicine, and I slept,
and it passed away. Let me fetch some, or send the woman for it."
"No, no, Radha," he said hoarsely, "this is no fever; this is a spell
on me, and I cannot break it. This is the spell Tara wears round her
neck, Gunga told me of it. It would not let her speak; it draws me to
her, and then puts me away till I burn. O sister, I burn all over, and
at night when there is no one with me--O, it is terrible, terrible;
and she comes and mocks me, and holds out water and flowers, and then
snatches them away. I tell thee she is a witch, a devil, and she has
set me on fire. Bring her to me and I will tell her so."
"Brother, dear brother," said the girl, "you are ill, and there is no
one to tend you. I will stay; why did you not send for me? why not tell
me of this sooner? Now, I will not leave you, you must not be alone."
"Radha, I am not ill," he replied; "I need no tending. Was I ill
yesterday, when I overcame the Brahmuns from Punderpoor in the
discussion at night, and when I could have said the Ramayun by heart?
Was I ill to-day when I strove with the Nassuk Brahmuns in logic? No,
girl, I am not ill in body, only at heart. And when she comes to the
temple, and goes round the shrine crowned with flowers, clashing the
cymbals and singing hymns with the priests, then I see the charm on her
bosom, and it sparkles; and I hear her ringing voice, and I grow mad,
Radha--mad ... and this fever comes on me, and I burn as they do in
hell--as I do now. Look!" he cried in a shrill cry of pain, "look, she
is there, mocking me now, and pushing me in.... O Tara!" he continued
in a plaintive voice, after a pause, stretching out his hands and
shutting his eyes, as he turned away, "do not kill me, do not burn me;
I kiss your feet, I worship you, beloved! do not harm me!"
"What can I do? what can I do?" cried Radha, wringing her hands. "He
will die. Ho, Chimna!"
"Silence, Radha; for your life call no one. I will strike you if
you do," he said, raising his arm. "Look, she is gone! she was
there--there, even now. I turned away, for her eyes burned me; there
was no love in them--none. She came and mocked me, and you are witness
of it. Why did she come in the air? She is a spirit--a witch--and it is
always thus. There--look----"
Radha looked tremblingly where he pointed. It was impossible not to be
infected with the terror and misery of his face and voice. The room
had open arches of wood on one side, across which heavy curtains were
drawn; but they were partially open, and, looking through them, all she
saw was the terraces of the houses of the town gradually descending
into the great ravine: the crags and precipices of its further side:
with the trees, and gilded spires and pinnacles of the temple between.
Beyond these, the rugged mountain and the plain below, hazy with
quivering light, and melting into the sky.
"You see nothing, sister?" he said. "No, she is gone now."
"No, Moro, there is nothing there but the town and the temple. O Holy
Mother!" continued Radha, stretching out her hands to it, "save him;
save my brother! I vow to thee----"
"Make no vows for me, Radha," he said to her, sharply catching her arm;
"she is my enemy; I know it. She loves Tara better than me; she will
not give her to me. I asked her for Tara long ago; see what has come of
it. I have done all the secret rites that her worship enjoins, but she
is not content; she mocks me, and when I look at her eyes they glitter
with malice. To-day she seemed to glower at me from among the smoke,
and Tara was there offering flowers. They both mocked me. Yes, they are
devils; but I fear them no more, Radha. May her house be desolate, and
her shrine desecrated."
"Hush, brother!" cried the girl, putting her hand before his mouth, to
stop what she believed to be horrible and deadly blasphemy. "Hush! what
if she heard you? O Mother, gentle Mother, forgive him this madness. I
vow to thee----"
"You will make me curse you, Radha," he said, again grasping her arm
violently. "Did I not tell you I would have no vows to her, liar and
murderess as she is? Yes, I see it now. You, too, are one with them,
and are come to mock me; and yet, Radha," he continued, looking at
her tenderly, "was this good of you after all I have done for you? O,
faithless!"
"Moro," returned Radha, weeping sorely, and sobbing so that she could
hardly speak, "I am not faithless. I am true to you, even to death, my
brother."
"Good," he said gravely; but again fixing his eyes upon her, so that
she could hardly bear his intense gaze. "True? Ah, yes, if all are
false, Radha should be true--true to him and to me. Now, listen," he
continued, slowly and impressively, "if thou art true, tell Tara I am
in fear of her charm; bid her look kindly on me--bid her put it away
from her breast. I will kiss her feet; I will daily measure with my
body every step she takes round the shrine, so that she give me one
kind look,--so that I see that love in her eyes which is burning in me
day and night--day and night.
"But that is not all," he resumed, after a pause. "Am I mad? Dost thou
think me so for this raving? By the gods, no! Only for her. Let her
look to herself. And I say to thee calmly, sister, thou must say all
this to-night, else beware! Listen, I have but one desire in life, that
is Tara--one object only to live for, that is Tara. I plead nothing, I
say nothing, only that I am not mad.
"Now, listen again. You have much to live for--the pleasures
of life, the enjoyments of wealth--honour as the wife of Vyas
Shastree,--children to come, and your husband's love, with your
children's; but remember, Radha, they are all in my hand. A word from
me to him, and you are sunk lower than the Moorlees. All this joy will
pass from you. He will cast you out, and I will not shelter you. You
shall be worse than the vilest, and men shall mock you. By ----" and he
swore a horrible curse, "I will do this and more, Radha, if you refuse.
Answer me, girl," and he shook her violently and painfully in his
passion.
"Moro!" cried his sister, gasping for breath, "listen. I said once
before you might kill me if it pleased you, and I bared my breast to
you. Now again, if you dare to look at it without shame, it is before
you. But, listen to my words, I will do no treachery; no, brother, no
treachery. I am of the same blood and the same spirit as yourself, and
you well know I could be true and fearless once, and so may God and the
Mother help me, I will be fearless now in a better cause. Yes, strike,"
she continued, as, without speaking, he hastily raised himself, seized
a naked dagger that was concealed under his pillow, and brandished it
with one hand, while he pressed her down with his knee, and held her
forcibly against the wall with the other. "Strike! your blow will be
more merciful than your words," and she shut her eyes, expecting the
stroke, yet not flinching from it.
"Stay--hold!" cried a shrill woman's voice, as a hasty rustling of
silken garments was heard for an instant between the door and the bed,
and Moro Trimmul's hand was seized in a powerful grasp; "wouldst thou
do murder? Shame on thee, and she thy sister!"
"She is a devil, too, and mocked me," exclaimed the man moodily, but
dashing the knife to the ground. "Who let thee in, Gunga? Go, I want
thee not--away! tempt me no more, else I will strike!"
"Fear him not, lady," cried the girl, picking up the dagger hastily;
"he dare not strike you now, else,"--and her eyes flashed--"else, Moro
Trimmul, thou shalt do no more evil: none to me, none to her. Beware!
I have no fear, and no scruple; let her go safely, and I will stay with
thee."
"Go, Radha," he said. "Go, sister----"
"I will not go, Moro Trimmul," cried his sister excitedly. "I was not
afraid of you when that dagger's point was at my heart. For myself I
am not afraid of your threats, or your words. What you can do to me,
what you can say of me, I know not. Whatever it be, and this girl is
witness, I fear it not. What men would say of the Pundit who wronged
his sister--you know; and how they would revile and spit at you. Say
it, sir, and I follow you through Dekhan, through Hind, till I die by
your hand. If you make me shameless you shall be shameless with me; but
this remember, I warn them all in the house of you,--I warn Tara of
you,--and no harm shall come to her, for your honour is dearer to me,
than mine to you."
"If thou hast any influence over him," she continued to Gunga; "lead
him aright. Thou mayst have saved him a great crime to-day, for there
was blood in his eyes when he kneeled over me with the knife; but
better I should have died than harm should have come to them through
me. Lead him away from those evil thoughts, and Radha will be grateful
to thee all her life, and may often help thee."
"I love you, lady, and honour you," said the girl, reverently touching
Radha's feet; "but in this matter I have no power, much as I desire to
help you and him; nor, indeed, in any other now,--yet I will do what
I can. He loved me once," said the girl, bursting into tears, "before
he knew Tara; but that is gone, for she has his love and cares not for
it. Now he only curses me and beats me, yet I will not, I cannot leave
him, lady. Forgive the poor Moorlee; but it is better for me to bear
his wrath than for him to be left alone. Last night he was fearfully
excited, and threatened my life, but I escaped. He grows worse towards
evening; but fear not, I will not leave him."
"I will come and watch with thee," said Radha, in a whisper, for her
brother had again thrown himself on the bed, and covered himself with a
sheet, and she feared to excite him; "let me come?"
"It may not be, lady," replied the girl. "If he kill me, what matter?
who would miss the Moorlee, or grieve for her? But you, his sister,
must not meet this peril; the Holy Mother has already saved you from
one terrible danger, and fate is never to be dared twice. Only believe
that one as devoted as yourself watches him, and one to whom life is of
no account. Go, do not speak to him now. This madness will pass away,
and I will come and tell you of him."
* * * * *
"Is she gone, Gunga?" said Moro Trimmul to the girl, who, after Radha's
departure, had sat down by the bed and was fanning him. "I hear no one
speaking to you."
"Yes, I sent her away. I feared for her," she replied.
"It was well done, Gunga, else--else I might have killed her----Ay,
girl," he resumed, after a pause, "I had killed her but for Tara. Why
did she come and not stay? Why did she take the knife from me?"
"Thou art always raving of that girl like a fool, Moro Trimmul," said
Gunga impatiently. "It was I that saved thy sister, else there was
blood in thine eyes, and a devil at thy heart; what if thou hadst
struck her?"
"She and Tara are one," he said gloomily; "yes, they are one, and thou,
too, wilt go to them. Go, Gunga, they will give thee money."
"May dirt fall on their money, and thine too," she replied sulkily. "I
want none of it."
"Thou art insolent, girl."
"I am a fool, Moro Trimmul, to bear with thee," she retorted, without
moving. The girl's quick perception showed her that any toleration of
his bad humour would only increase it, and of life she was utterly
reckless. What tie held her to the man who now seemed almost to loathe
her, she knew not: a fascination, perhaps, which she could not resist.
He was long silent, again drew the sheet over him, and lay quietly; at
length he removed it and sat up.
"Thou art not gone, Gunga?" he said; "why art thou here?"
"I know not," she returned, "except that I am a fool."
"Go," he continued, "they will be wanting thee in the temple."
"I am not going," she replied; "another will take my work. I will not
leave thee now."
"Gunga," he resumed, after a moody silence, "is there peace between us?"
"Such peace as thou wilt have," she replied.
"And if I love thee again?"
"Pah!" she cried; "love!--it is a thing to spit upon now. Can love go
from one to another, and return as it went? Can a garland of Champa
flowers be worn all night, and keep their freshness and fragrance till
the morning? Do not men fling them away as refuse?"
"Then, why come to me, girl? why follow me?"
"Thy heart tells thee already," she said, fixing her eyes full on him,
"we have one thing only in common now. That girl--I told thee so at the
Pâp-nâs that day, and I tell thee so again--when I trample that charm
of hers under my feet, and her throat with it, I shall be content,
and thou art safe. Yes, Moro Trimmul, but for hope of revenge on her,
I would have killed thee when thy love went to her. But thou art a
coward; I know it; thou wilt do nothing."
"Thou wilt not say so if I carry her off and put her to shame."
"Ah!" cried the girl, rising and standing over him, "is it so? I tell
thee, Moro Trimmul, I will follow her and fawn on her like a dog--I
will abase myself before her--I will lick the dust from her feet, if
that will help thee to do this."
"Listen to what I say," he continued, raising himself on his arm. "I
am calm now--quite calm--I burn no longer. I was mad when she--when
Radha--came. I thought I had a chance through her; but she defied me,
and there is none."
"Women know women best," said the girl. "I told thee so long ago, but I
was not believed."
"I believe thee now," he replied; "and we have only ourselves to rely
upon. Ah, surely this is a strange calmness which has come over me. It
is not before death, Gunga?"
"No, fear not," returned Gunga. "Love is passing into revenge; I know
what it is. Yes, thou wilt act now, Moro. Take her hence but for a day,
and she is thine for ever, and will become a Moorlee like me--like the
rest of us. Enough, Moro Trimmul. No other harm shalt thou do to her
than this? Hast thou the spirit--the courage?"
"I will do it," he said gloomily. "That is what I had determined on
myself. When can it be done?"
"On the last night of the ceremonies," she said; "I can get the key of
the postern, and keep it open unobserved; and as Maloosray and others
went that night, so canst thou take Tara; and I have friends among the
Ramoosees, who will help us. I am their priestess, and they dare not
refuse me. Take us both; I must see her humiliation. O Shakti powers!"
she cried, stretching out her arms, "aid me in this. Ye are more
powerful than the Mother, and ye hate her. Art thou determined, Moro
Trimmul?"
"I will not change," he said; "the illusion is past."
"Swear on my throat and feet, and I will believe thee."
"I swear," he replied, touching her neck.
"Now I will leave thee, Moro," said the girl. "I have no fear for thee;
there will be no more delirium with new thoughts."
"I will follow thee to the temple," he replied; "go on before. I dare
not stay here alone; she would come to me----"