THE SEVEN LEOPARDS
Crouched in the palanquin Kathlyn waited for the onslaught of the
leopards. Once she heard a tremendous scratching at the rear of her
hiding-place; the palanquin tottered. But the animal was not trying to
get inside; he was merely sharpening his claws after the manner of his
kind, claws which were sharp enough, heaven knew, since, regularly,
once a month the keepers filed them to needle-points.
An elephant trumpeted near by, and Kathlyn could have wept in despair.
Outside the wall were friends, doubtless by this time joined by her
father and Ramabai, and all wondering where she was. She dared not
call out for fear of attracting the leopards, whose movements she could
hear constantly: the jar of their padded feet as they trotted under and
about the palanquin, the sniff-sniff of their wet noses, an occasional
yawning.
By and by her curiosity could not be withstood, even though she might
be courting death. Cautiously and soundlessly she moved the curtain
which faced the wall. A mass of heavy vines ran from the ground to the
top of this wall. If only she could reach it; if only she dared try!
Presently the keepers, armed with goads and ropes, would be
forthcoming, and all hope of flight banished. Umballa, upon close
inspection, would recognize her despite her darkened skin and Indian
dress.
From the other window she peered. There, in the path, were two
leopards, boxing and frolicking in play. As she watched, always
interested in the gambols of such animals, she noticed that two other
leopards left off prowling, approached, sat upon their haunches, and
critically followed the friendly set-to. Then the other three, seeking
diversity, sauntered into view. Kathlyn quickened with life and hope.
The seven leopards were at least half a dozen yards away. It was but a
step to the vines sprawling over the wall.
To think that all depended upon the handle of the palanquin door! If
it opened without noise there was a chance. If it creaked she was
lost; for she would fall into the hands of the keepers if not under the
merciless paws of the cats.
But the longer she hesitated the less time she would have. Bravely,
then, she tried her hand upon the door handle and slowly but firmly
turned it. There was no sound that she could hear. She pressed it
outward with a slow steady movement. Fortunately the dress of the
Hindu was short, somewhat above the ankles, and within her strong young
body was free of those modern contrivances known as corsets and stays.
She sprang out, dashed for the vines and drew herself up rapidly. In
unison the seven leopards whirled and flew at her. But the half a
dozen yards which they had first to cover to reach the wall saved her.
Up, up, desperately, wildly, with a nervous energy which did far more
for her than her natural strength. The cats leaped and snarled at her
heels. She went on. Beneath her the leopards tore at the vines and
tried to follow, one succeeding in tearing her skirt with a desperate
slash of his paw. He lost his hold and tumbled back among his mates.
But every minute the vines, sturdy as they were, threatened to come
tumbling to the ground.
Her long and lonely experiences in the jungle had taught her the need
of climbing quickly yet lightly. She flung herself across the top of
the wall, exhausted. For the time being, at least, she was safe. She
hung there for a few minutes till she had fully recovered her breath.
Below the leopards were still leaping and striking futilely! and even
in her terror she could not but admire their grace and beauty. And,
oddly, she recalled the pet at home. Doubtless by this time he had
fallen back into his savage state.
When she dared risk it she gained a securer position on the wall and
sat up, flinging her legs over the side of it. She saw things in a bit
of blur at first, her heart had been called upon so strenuously; but
after a little objects resumed their real shapes, and she espied the
two elephants. She called, waving her hands.
"It is Kathlyn!" cried Bruce.
"Kit!" shouted the colonel, who shared the howdah with Bruce. "Kit,
hang on for a moment longer! Ahmed, to the wall!"
The colonel and Ramabai had left the zenana by one of the windows
overlooking the passage which ran past the garden of brides. They had
had no trouble whatever in reaching the elephants. But the subsequent
waiting for Kathlyn had keyed them all up to the breaking point. The
pity of it was, they dared not stir, dared not start in search of her.
Had it been leopards only, Bruce would have made short work of it; but
it would have been rank folly to have gone in search of the girl. If
she had been made captive, she needed their freedom to gain her own.
Besides, the council of both Ahmed and Lal Singh was for patience.
Ahmed had the greatest faith in the world in Kathlyn's ability to take
care of herself. Think of what she had already gone through unscathed!
Kathlyn Mem-sahib bore a charmed life, and all the wild beasts of the
jungles of Hind could not harm her. It was written.
And then Bruce discovered her upon the wall. It took but a moment to
bring the elephant alongside; and Kathlyn dropped down into the howdah.
"A narrow squeak, dad," was all she said.
"Let us get on our way," said the colonel hoarsely. "And remember,
shoot to kill any man who attempts to stop us. My Kit!" embracing
Kathlyn. "Perhaps the escape of the leopards is the luckiest thing
that could have happened. It will keep them all busy for an hour or
more. Since Umballa believes you to be dead, he will be concerned
about my disappearance only. And it will be some time ere they learn
of my escape. Forward, Ahmed! This time . . ."
"Don't, father!" interrupted Kathlyn. "Perhaps we shall escape, but
none of us is sure. Let us merely hope. I'm so tired!"
Bruce reached over and pressed her hand reassuringly; and the colonel
eyed him as from a new angle.
"Good!" he murmured under his breath; "nothing better could happen. He
is a man, and a tried one, I know. Good! If once we get clear of this
hell, I shall not stand in their way. But Winnie, Winnie; what in
God's name will that kitten be doing all these terrible weeks? Will
she try to find us? The first telegraph office we reach I must cable
her under no circumstances to stir from home. Ahmed," he said aloud,
"how far are we from the nearest telegraph station?"
"Three days, Sahib."
"Shall we be obliged to stop at the gate to change our mounts?"
"No, Sahib; only to take supplies enough to last us."
"Lose as little time as you can. Now drop the curtains, Bruce."
So through the streets they hurried, unmolested. Those who saw the
curtained howdah took it for granted that some unsuccessful candidate
was returning to her home.
It was well for Kathlyn that she had made up her mind to leap for the
vines at the moment she did. For the elephants had not left the first
turn in the street when keepers and soldiers came running pell-mell
into the street with ropes and ladders, prepared for the recapture of
the treasury leopards, which, of course, were looked upon as sacred.
At the ancient gate the fugitives paused for the supplies awaiting
them. Ahmed was not known to the guards there; that was good fortune.
In the dialect he jested with them, winked and nodded toward the
curtained howdah. The guards laughed; they understood. Some
disappointed houri was returning whence she had come. Ahmed took his
time; he had no reason to hurry. Nothing must pass which would arouse
the suspicions of the guards; and haste always alarmed the Oriental.
To the colonel, however, things appeared to lag unnecessarily. He
finally lost patience and swept back the curtain despite Bruce's
restraining hand. A native mahout, who had been loitering in town that
day, recognized at once the royal turban which the colonel still wore.
The colonel's face meant nothing; the turban, everything. The mahout
stood stock-still for a moment, not quite believing his eyes. By this
time, however, Ahmed was comfortably straddled back of his elephant's
ears and was jogging along the road.
"The king!" shouted the surprised mahout to the guards, who had not
seen the man or the turban.
"What king, fool?" returned the guards.
"The white king who was betrothed this day! Ai, ai! I have seen the
royal turban. It is he!"
The guards derided him. So, finding no hope in them, he ran to his
elephant, mounted and rode back into town. Durga Ram would pay well
for this news.
"Father," said Kathlyn reproachfully, "that mahout recognized you. I
warned you not to move the curtain."
Bruce shrugged.
"But, Kit," returned her father, "Ahmed was so infernally slow! He
could spend time in chattering to the guards."
Ahmed heard, but said nothing.
"Never mind," interposed Bruce pacifically. "At any rate we shall have
the advantage of a couple of hours, and Umballa will not catch us with
the elephants he has at hand. By the time he starts his expedition we
shall be thirty miles away. Let us be cheerful!"
"Kit," said her father, "I couldn't help it. I can't think quickly any
more. I am like a man in a nightmare. I've been down to hell, and I
can't just yet realize that I am out of it. I'm sorry!"
"Poor dad!" Kathlyn pressed him in her arms, while Bruce nodded
enviously but approvingly.
By and by they drew aside the curtains. Kathlyn saw here and there
objects which recalled her first journey along this highway. If only
she had known!
"One thing is forecast," said Bruce. "When Ramabai returns it will be
to fight. He will not be able to avoid it now. I shouldn't mind going
back with him. Ahmed, what is this strange hold Umballa has over the
actions of the Council of Three? They always appear to be afraid of
him."
"Ah, Sahib," said Ahmed, resting his ankus or goad on the skull of his
mount, "there is said to be another prisoner in the palace prison. Lal
Singh knows, I believe."
"What's your idea?"
"Sahib, when I put you all safe over the frontier I am coming back to
Allaha to find out." And that was all Ahmed would say regarding the
subject.
"I'll wager he knows," whispered Bruce.
"But who can it be? Another poor devil of a white man? Yet how could
a white man influence the actions of the council?" The colonel spoke
irritably.
"Look!"--from Kathlyn; "there is one of those wonderful trees they call
the flame of the jungle." She called their attention to the tree
merely to cause a diversion. She wanted to keep her father's thoughts
away from Allaha.
So they journeyed on into the sunset, into twilight, into the bright
starry night.
Back in the city the panic was already being forgot as a thing of the
past. The leopards were back at their patrolling; the high officials
and dignitaries, together with the unsuccessful candidates, had gone
their several ways. Umballa alone paced the halls, well satisfied with
the events of the day, barring the disturbance caused by the escape of
the leopards.
His captain entered and saluted.
"Highness, a mahout has news."
"News? Of what?"
"He claims that he saw the king's turban in a howdah which passed the
ancient gate about an hour gone."
"That is not possible," replied Umballa.
"I told him that the king was in his chamber."
"So he is. Wait! I will go myself and see," all at once vaguely
perturbed. He was back in a very short time, furious.
"It is true! Woe to those who permitted him to escape!"
"Highness, the escape of the leopards and the confusion which followed
. . ."
"By all the gods of Hind, and 'twas you who left the door open! You
opened it for me to pass out first. Summon the council. Off with you,
and give this handful of silver to the only man who has sense enough to
believe his eyes. Hare Sahib is mine, and I will follow him into the
very house of the British Raj! Guards and elephants! And the bride to
be, what of her? Look and see. Nay, I will go with you."
Umballa found an empty chamber; the future queen was gone. More, he
found one of the women of the zenana--his favorite--bound and gagged
with handkerchiefs. Quickly he freed her.
"Highness, the bride's face was dark like my own, but her arms were as
light as clotted cream! And she spake the tongue of the white people."
Kathlyn Hare! She lived; she had escaped the brigands; she had fooled
him! And Ramabai had played with him as a cat plays with a wounded
mouse. Oh, they should see this time!
Suddenly he laughed. It echoed down the corridor, and one of the
treasury leopards roared back at the sinister sound.
"Highness!" timidly.
"Enough! I hold you blameless." He rushed from the palace.
Poor fools! Let them believe that they had escaped. There was still
the little sister; in a short time now she would be inside the city
walls. The Colonel Sahib would return; indeed, yes. There would be no
further difficulty regarding the filigree basket of gold and gems.
Still, he would pursue them, if only for the mere sport of it. If he
failed to catch them all he had to do was to sit down and wait for them
to return of their own volition.
Ramabai, however, was a menace; and Umballa wondered how he was going
to lay hold of him. While waiting for his elephants to be harnessed he
summoned the council. Ramabai's property must be confiscated and
Ramabai put to death. Here for the first time the council flatly
refused to fall in with Umballa's plans. And they gave very good
reasons. Yes, Ramabai was a menace, but till the soldiery was fully
paid, to touch Ramabai would mean the bursting forth of the hidden fire
and they would all be consumed.
"Open the treasury door for me, then!"
"We dare not. The keepers understand. They would loose the leopards,
which we dare not shoot. The law . . ."
"What is the law to us?" demanded Umballa frankly. "Let us make laws
to suit our needs. The white man does. And we need money; we need one
another," pointing a finger suggestively toward the floor.
"Only when we have the troops," replied the council firmly. "We have
bent our heads to your will so far in everything, but we refuse to
sacrifice these heads because of a personal spite against Ramabai, whom
we frankly and wisely fear. We dare not break into the treasury. The
keepers are unbribable; the priests are with them, and the people are
with the priests. Bring back the white man and his daughter. If that
is impossible, marry this second daughter and we will crown her; and
then you may work your will upon Ramabai. You have failed in all
directions so far. Succeed but once and we are ready to follow you."
Umballa choked back the hot imperious words that crowded to his lips.
These were plain unvarnished facts, and he must bow to the inevitable,
however distasteful it might be. For the present then, Ramabai should
be permitted to go unharmed. But Ramabai might die suddenly and
accidentally in the recapture of the Colonel Sahib. An accidental
death would certainly extinguish any volcanic fires that smoldered
under Allaha. So, with this secret determination in mind, Umballa set
forth.
Ahmed, his mind busy with a thousand things, forgot the thousand and
first, at that stage most important of all; and this was the short cut,
a mere pathway through the jungle, but which lessened the journey by
some thirty miles. And this pathway Umballa chose. The three hours'
headway was thus pared down to minutes, and at the proper time Umballa
would appear, not behind the pursued, but in the road in front of them.
There was, to be sure, a bare possibility of the colonel and his party
getting beyond the meeting of the path and the road, that is, if he
kept going forward all through the night, which, by the way, was
exactly what the astute Ahmed did. But Kathlyn's curiosity the next
morning neutralized the advantage gained.
A group of masked dancers, peripatetic, was the cause. Confident that
they had outstripped pursuit, she saw no reason why she should not
witness the dancing.
How Umballa came upon them suddenly, like a thunderbolt, confiscating
the elephants; how they fled to a near-by temple, bribed the dancers
for masks and garments, fled still farther into the wooded hills, and
hid there with small arms ready, needs but little telling. Umballa
returned to the city satisfied. He had at least deprived them of their
means of travel. Sooner or later they would founder in the jungle,
hear of the arrival of the younger daughter and return.
Ahmed was grave. Lal Singh had gone. Now that the expedition had
practically failed, his place was back in the shoe shop in the bazaars.
Yes, Ahmed was grave. He was also a trifle disheartened. The fakir
had said that there would be many disappointments, but that in the end
. . . He might be a liar like all the other Hindus. Yet one part of
his foretelling was correct: many disappointments.
"Kit," said her father, "Ahmed warned you not to stop."
"I am sorry."
It was on the tip of her tongue to retort that his own carelessness was
the basic cause of the pursuit; but she remembered in time what her
father had been through.
"There is a village not far," reminded Ahmed. "They are a friendly
people. It is quite possible, with the money we have, to buy some
horses, small but sturdy. But there is one thing I do not understand,
Sahib."
"And what is that?" asked the colonel.
"The readiness with which Umballa gave up the pursuit. It's a long
walk; let us be getting forward."
Late that afternoon they were all mounted once more, on strong
tractable ponies, with water and provisions. And the spirits of all
rose accordingly. Even Ahmed became cheerful.
"We'll make it, please God!" said the colonel. "Give me a telegraph
office. That's all I need just now."
"Two days, Sahib," said Ahmed, "we will reach the sea."
They rode all through the night, stopping only at dawn for breakfast
and a cat nap after. Then forward again till they came upon a hunter's
rest house, deserted. Here they agreed to spend the night. Beyond the
rest house were half a dozen scattered mud huts, occupied by natives
who pretended friendliness, lulling even the keen Ahmed into a sense of
security. But at dawn, when they awoke cheerfully to pick up the
trail, they found their horses and provisions gone.
The colonel, Bruce and Ahmed, still armed, never having permitted the
rifles out of their keeping, set out grimly in pursuit of the thieves,
while Kathlyn proceeded to forage on her own initiative.
She came presently upon a magnificent ravine, half a mile in depth.
There was a broad ledge some fifteen feet below. It was evidently used
as a goat path, for near at hand stood a shepherd's hut. Stirred by
the spirit of investigation, she made preparations for descent by
attaching the rope she had brought along to a stout boulder.
Panthers!
They were coming up the pathway behind her. It would be simple enough
to descend; but how to get back to the rest house? There was no time
to plan; she must act at once. She must drop down to the ledge and
trust to her star.
She called out loudly as she swung downward. The shepherd came running
out of his hut, dumfounded at what he saw.