and so was old Runjeet Singh. These fellows have plenty of courage and
plenty of dash, but though a good many thousand have been drilled in our
fashion they cannot be called soldiers. They have no generals and no
officers to speak of, and when it came to fighting they would be nothing
better than a mob. Still our fellows must have fought well to turn them
out of their strong intrenchments. In the open field I had no doubt
whatever as to the result, but behind earthworks discipline does not go
for much, and a brave fellow who is a good shot counts for nearly as
much as a trained soldier. Now you may as well get yourself into decent
clothes again, Percy, and while you are doing that I will go out and see
your man, and tell him that I am well pleased with his conduct, and that
he and his comrade shall both be well rewarded for the dangers they have
passed through."
In the evening Percy went more into details, and the colonel was highly
pleased to hear that he had attracted the attention of the heads of the
army, and that the governor-general himself had promised to apply at
once for a civil appointment for him.
"What are you thinking of doing, uncle?"
"I shall hold on, Percy. You say there is to be a British Resident at
Lahore, and that probably troops will remain there permanently, in which
I agree with you, for it is morally certain that if the maharanee and
her son are making peace with us and surrendering the Jalindar Doab,
they would be turned out and probably massacred the moment the troops
retired. Well, with an English Resident there, and being to a great
extent under British protection, and having besides no regular army,
Lahore will be glad enough to let me alone. So there is only Ghoolab.
He is not very certain of his position yet, and I have no doubt he knows
as well as we do that before long there will be another war, which will
end in our people annexing the whole of the Punjaub. I think,
therefore, that there is no chance of his trying again to take this
place by force. He may, of course, and I daresay he will, try
assassination again, but I shall be on my guard."
"I think, uncle, there ought to be more care at the gate. We came in
without being questioned, and we might, for aught the guard knew, have
been two men sent by Ghoolab to assassinate you. I think that every man
coming into the place ought to be questioned as to his business."
"But they would lie, my boy. What is the use of questioning?"
"Ah! but I would not let them in, uncle, unless they could prove that
they had business with some person living in the fort. You are not
recruiting now, and if you were you could get plenty of men well known
in the district. I don't say that you could keep assassins out,
whatever the means you adopt; but I do think that if it were known in
the district that no one is admitted within the walls until after he has
given a satisfactory account of himself, Ghoolab would find it more
difficult to get men to undertake so hazardous a business."
As the Ranee thoroughly agreed with Percy the colonel consented to make
more rigid rules, although still maintaining his opinion that no
precautions of the sort would be of the slightest avail in keeping a
determined man from entering the place.
The next morning another horseman came in from Ghoolab.
The colonel laughed as he read the letter he had brought.
"The old fox still hopes to catch you again, Percy; he simply continues
negotiations, and asks what guarantee I can offer on my part that I will
retire from the fortress if you are, as I demand, given up to me before
I surrender. I will put him out of his agony."
So the colonel wrote a short note to the effect that his nephew had
returned, and having informed him who was the brigand into whose hands
he had fallen, there was no longer any need for any further negotiations
on the subject.
"You must be doubly careful now, Roland," the Ranee said when her
husband told her what lie had written to Ghoolab. "He has always been
your bitter enemy, but he will be more so than ever now. I do beg that
you will again have that guard you had during the siege, and that you
will have the two men who have proved so faithful to Percy to sleep
always at the entrance to our apartments."
"I hate being guarded," the colonel said; "still, if it will make you
more comfortable, of course it shall be as you wish."
When the officers of the garrison understood that Ghoolab had again been
foiled, there was a general opinion that too great precautions for the
colonel's safety could hardly be taken.
The watch at the gate was carried out most vigilantly, for the colonel
was so much beloved by his men that each considered himself personally
responsible for his safety, and whatever might be the story told by
strangers arriving at the gate, they were not allowed to pass until the
trader or other person they wished to see was brought down to the gate
to vouch for the truth of the statement.
During the next three months seven or eight men whose story proved to be
false were seized and imprisoned. The officers were all in favour of
applying torture to them to extract the truth, but the colonel would not
hear of it.
"I will have no one tortured in my district. Such a thing has never
been done to my knowledge since I was appointed governor ten years ago,
and I won't have it begun now. In the second place, you cannot depend
in the slightest upon anything that may be told under torture. And
lastly, if I knew it for certain, as I think it probable, that they were
agents of Ghoolab, I should really be none the wiser. They came here
with a false story, and, therefore, for no good purpose. Consequently
they should be punished. Therefore, let each man who is convicted of
lying be kept for a week in the cells; then give him a sound flogging,
shave off his hair, moustache, and beard, and turn him out. That will
be quite enough to deter other people from following his example."
This decision met with general approval, and was in each case carried
into effect, the shaven men being turned out from the gates amid the
gibes and jeers of the soldiers, with many threats of what would happen
if they were again found in the neighbourhood.
Six months after his return to the fortress Percy received a letter
(forwarded to him by Mr. Henry Lawrence, the Resident at Lahore, from
the Court of Directors), saying that in accordance with the very strong
recommendation of the governor-general he had been appointed to the
Civil Service of the Company on the date of his attaining his nineteenth
birthday, that a note had also been made of his willingness to serve at
an earlier period if required, and that instructions had been given to
that effect to the Resident at Lahore, who was authorized to employ him
if required, in which case his appointment would date from the day of
his commencing service.
The time passed pleasantly to Percy. He rode, practised shooting and
sword exercise, and worked for several hours a day at the Pathan
language, in which, by the end of eighteen months, he had become almost
as efficient as in Punjaubi, for, there being several Afghans among the
officers, he was enabled to learn it colloquially. At the end of that
time he wrote to the Resident at Lahore saying that he was now well up
in Pathan, and thought it right to inform him of this in case any
occasion should arise for the use of his services on the northern
frontier.
Six months later he received a letter from Sir Philip Currie, who had
just succeeded Mr. Lawrence as Resident, stating that he had been
requested by Mr. Agnew, who was going as political officer to Mooltan,
to furnish him with an assistant capable of speaking both Punjaubi and
Pathan fluently. The Resident added that from what he had heard of Mr.
Groves' conduct during the campaign, and from the strong manner in which
the governor-general had personally recommended him to the Court of
Directors, and the very favourable terms in which his friend Mr.
Fullarton had more than once spoken of him, he would be well fitted to
undertake the duties of assistant to Mr. Agnew. Having been authorized
by the Court of Directors to appoint him at any time to a post where his
services might be useful, he had therefore much pleasure in now
nominating him Mr. Agnew's assistant.
*CHAPTER XIV.*
*TREACHERY.*
Bhop Lal and his comrade were delighted when they heard that Percy was
again going off, and that, as before, they were to accompany him as his
servants.
"There will be no fighting or adventures this time," Percy said. "I
expect your life will be just as quiet there as it is here. Still it
will be a change, and I suppose that sometimes I shall have to ride out
from Mooltan to see people in the district. Your being a Pathan will be
a great advantage, Bhop Lal, on this occasion, just as Akram Chunder's
being a native of Cashmere got me out of a bad scrape last time. As a
Pathan you will be able to gather intelligence, as the population is
largely composed of your countrymen. Of course, on your journey you
will take your arms with you, but you will have no occasion for them
there as the followers of a peaceable civil servant."
"Arms are always useful," Akram Chunder said. "The Pathans are
quarrelsome fellows, though Bhop Lal is an exception. The population of
Mooltan are said to be the most turbulent of those of any town in the
Punjaub. You will miss your horse, sahib. I suppose it is in Ghoolab
Singh's stables. The one you ride now is a good one, but not so good as
Sultan."
"My uncle has just given me Sheik. He says it will be more useful to me
than to him."
"Then, sahib, you need never fear being caught when you are once on his
back. Even with the colonel's weight there is not a horse in the
district can touch him, and with you in the saddle he will go like the
wind."
Before starting Colonel Groves presented the two men with horses of his
own breeding.
"Without being comparable with Sheik, they are powerful and well-bred
horses, fast, and capable of accomplishing long journeys. As I know you
will serve my nephew as well and faithfully as you did last time, I
shall never regret having parted with the horses," he said to them.
"One or other of you will always be with him, and it is useless for a
master to be well mounted if his followers cannot keep pace with him. I
do not say that either of these horses could keep up with Sheik if he
were pressed, but at least you will find few that can go faster."
The men were overjoyed with the present. The Sikhs, like the Indian
irregular cavalry, provided their own horses and equipments, and it was
a matter of personal pride to be well mounted. To be the possessors of
animals like these, uniting the hardiness of the native horse with the
power and speed of their English sire, was an unhoped-for pleasure, and
they expressed their thanks in the warmest terms.
As it was evident that Mr. Agnew would very shortly be leaving for
Mooltan, and that therefore speed was necessary, Percy and his two men
started at daylight next morning and rode by long stages down to Lahore.
Until the last halt before reaching the city Percy had ridden in native
dress, as, although things had now settled down a good deal, the feeling
was as strong as ever against the British, who still, at the earnest
request of the maharanee and the durbar, maintained a force at Lahore to
support the young maharajah's authority. It was, therefore, advisable
to avoid attention until they reached the capital. As soon as they
arrived there Percy rode to the Residency.
"I am glad you have come, Mr. Groves," the Resident said as he was
ushered into the study. "You must have come down fast indeed. I told
my messenger to carry my note as quickly as he could, but I hardly
fancied that you could have been down for another three days; and Mr.
Agnew starts to-morrow, so you are just in time."
"You did not mention in your letter, sir, the day on which he would set
out; but I came down as rapidly as I could in order to catch him here if
possible." At this moment a gentleman in civilian dress, with a young
officer, entered the room. They hesitated on seeing that the Resident
was engaged.
"Come in, Mr. Agnew," Sir Frederick Currie said. "This is Mr. Groves.
He has come down post-haste to take up his appointment as your
assistant."
"I am very glad that you have arrived in time, Mr. Groves. I have
learnt a good deal about you from the memorandum handed over to Sir
Frederick by his predecessor, and shall be very glad to have your
assistance. This is Lieutenant Anderson of the 1st Bombay Fusiliers,
who also accompanies me. We will leave Sir Frederick to his work at
present and talk over matters. I need not ask if you are well mounted,"
he went on when they were seated in another room; "the speed with which
you have come down shows that. Are there any preparations you want to
make in the way of hiring servants?"
"I have two excellent men, sir. They were with my uncle for many years,
and accompanied me through the last campaign. They are thoroughly
trustworthy, are up to their work in every way, and have plenty of
courage."
"You are fortunate, Mr. Groves, in getting two such men. Sikh servants
as a rule are not to be depended upon, especially in any trouble with
their countrymen; while servants from other parts of India are of little
use here from their ignorance of the language. Do you know anything in
reference to the situation at Mooltan?"
"Nothing, sir. I know, of course, that Moolraj's conduct was very
doubtful during the last campaign, and that it was considered probable
he would have attacked General Napier's force coming from Scinde had it
not been too strong to be meddled with. I do not know anything more
than that."
"As you know he succeeded his father as Dewan of Mooltan, and in fact of
all the country beyond the Jhelum, in 1844. He nominally remained
neutral, but there was very little doubt that he would have taken part
in the war had he seen his opportunity, and would have joined the Sikhs
with every man he could put in the field on the condition that when we
were crushed his government should be altogether independent of that of
Lahore. The passage of General Napier's army overawed him at that time.
He had promised to pay to Lahore a large sum of money in return for the
confirmation by the durbar of his succession to his father's office; but
when once firmly established in it he declined to pay the stipulated
amount, and with the army in a state of mutiny the durbar was unable to
compel him to do so; nor had he paid the regular revenue of the
province.
"Accordingly one of the first measures of the durbar after things had
settled down at the end of our campaign was to send a force against him.
Moolraj, however, completely defeated it. Henry Lawrence then acted as
mediator, and matters were arranged on the basis that Moolraj should pay
up a considerable amount of arrears, and should, for three years from
last autumn, pay a fixed sum annually. Last November he paid a visit
here, and expressed to John Lawrence, who had succeeded his brother
Henry as Resident, that he wished to give up his position as Dewan of
Mooltan and its province, his reason being that by the new arrangement
the people under his government had the right of appeal to Lahore, which
interfered greatly with his power of taxation.
"Lawrence recommended him not to carry out his determination; but he
insisted on sending in his resignation to the durbar. They at first
refused it, but after some negotiations it was accepted on the
understanding that it should, for a time, remain secret. When, six
months later, in the beginning of March, 1848, Mr. Lawrence was about to
give up his post to Sir Frederick Currie, the former wrote to Moolraj
saying that if he wished to reconsider his resignation he had now the
opportunity of withdrawing it. Upon his reply that he had not changed
his mind, Sir Frederick took the matter up and laid it before the
durbar, who had hitherto, in accordance with the agreement between
Lawrence and Moolraj, remained in ignorance that the latter had
persisted in giving in his resignation. The durbar, who I have no doubt
were glad enough to be rid of a governor whose power and ambition
rendered him very formidable, accepted the resignation, and have
appointed Khan Singh in his place. He sets out to-morrow with us for
his new government. We take with us as our escort a regiment composed of
Ghoorkas in the Sikh pay six hundred strong, about the same number of
Lahore Sikh cavalry, and a battery of native artillery.
"Such a force as this is not, of course, required for our protection on
the road, but is intended as a garrison for Mooltan, where, for aught we
know, the people may view the change of governors with disapprobation.
You know yourself, Mr. Groves," he added with a smile, "that governors
are not always amenable to orders from Lahore."
Percy laughed. "That is true, sir; I believe it is often the case. My
uncle often said he would give up the governorship as soon as a
maharajah with power to keep order was firmly seated on the throne; but
to have given it over when there was neither law nor order would have
been to have given up his life as well as the fortress. He has always
recognized the authority of the durbar in all other matters, and has
sent the revenues in regularly, deducting only the actual amount of pay
given to his troops and his own pay as governor, according to the terms
of his appointment by Runjeet Singh."
"Yes; I am aware that he has done so," Mr. Agnew said. "The matter was
brought up at the first durbar I attended, by one of Ghoolab Singh's
party, and I was asked whether I would give my approval to a force being
sent against your uncle; but as both the Lawrences strongly protested
against civil war when the matter was brought before them one after the
other, I threw my weight altogether against such a project, especially
at the present time when there will be trouble at Mooltan. But, indeed,
the majority of the durbar were equally opposed to any action being
taken, first upon the ground that the revenue was punctually paid by
Colonel Groves, which was much more than could be said for most of the
other sirdars; and in the second place, because the fort had already
repulsed an attack by fifteen thousand of the regulars, or as they call
them Khalsa troops, with great loss, and that another attempt might
prove equally disastrous. But at bottom I think the real reason for the
opposition to the proposal was that, were your uncle to be succeeded by
Ghoolab Singh's son, the district would virtually become part of
Cashmere, and Ghoolab's power is already much too great and threatening.
From the instructions left by the two Lawrences for the guidance of
their successors, I know that upon this ground alone, if upon no other,
they opposed any operation that would tend to increase Ghoolab Singh's
dangerous authority."
"At what time do we mount to-morrow, Mr. Agnew?"
"We do not mount at all. Our party, with our servants and baggage, will
go down the river in boats. The troops will march, and we shall join
each other at the Eedgah, a mile or so from the fort of Mooltan. There
will be a boat for ourselves, one for our servants and baggage, and a
flat for our horses."
"That will be much more pleasant, sir, than a march through the heat. I
enjoyed my journey up from Calcutta by water very much indeed."
The journey was performed by easy stages, as the rate of travel by the
boats had to be timed by that of the troops; but on the 18th of April
they arrived at the Eedgah, a spacious Mohammedan building, round which
the troops had already pitched their camp. Upon the journey Percy had
been able to be of considerable service to the party in their
communications with the natives at the various points at which they
stopped. Mr. Agnew and Lieutenant Anderson had both some knowledge of
the language, but were unable to converse with anything like the
facility that he had attained. Mr. Agnew had with him several
_moonshis_ to translate for him and to act as clerks. The conversation
in the boat had naturally turned upon the subject of Moolraj's probable
course.
"I am wholly unable to understand," Mr. Agnew said, the first time the
matter was discussed, "what the man's object is in resigning the
governorship. It is, of course, less profitable than it was, owing in
the first place to certain districts being taken from his jurisdiction,
and in the second, because the right of appeal to Lahore by persons who
consider themselves oppressed renders it impossible for him to carry his
exactions to so great an extent as before. Had Moolraj been a
peace-loving man I should understand his resigning an office he
considered no longer profitable; but he is an ambitious one, and has
always been credited with the desire and intention of one day making
himself independent of Lahore, just as Ghoolab has done. His natural
course would have been to announce that he could not afford to pay so
heavy a sum annually, and to declare that if pressed he should defend
himself; especially as, on the last occasion, he defeated the troops
sent from Lahore. Resignation means the annihilation of his hopes, and
a descent from the rank of dewan to that of a sirdar of no great
consideration. His conduct is an entire mystery to me. It is the very
last thing one would have expected from a man of his character. If it
had only been decided in a moment of irritation I could have understood
it; but it is six months since he first sent in his resignation; he has
again and again had opportunities of withdrawing, but has persisted in
resigning. What do you think, Khan Singh?"
"I can understand it no more than you can, sahib," the new dewan
replied. "I do not see what design he could have in thus maintaining
his resignation if he did not intend to carry it out."
"That is the point," Mr. Agnew said thoughtfully. "If he wanted to
raise the flag of rebellion he could have done so at any time, for they
say that his troops are well paid and devoted to him."
"If he never meant all along to resign," Lieutenant Anderson remarked,
"it seems to me that he could only have pretended to do so in the hope
that the durbar would send a considerable force with his successor, and
yet something less than an army, in which case he might have surprised
and destroyed it, and thus have scored a material and moral success to
begin with. He would scarcely have calculated upon his successor being
accompanied by three British officers."
"That does seem a feasible explanation, Anderson. No doubt in that case
our coming up with twelve hundred troops and a battery will have
altogether destroyed his calculations, for although he might feel
himself strong enough to defy Lahore, now that the resources of the
government are so diminished, he would never be mad enough to think that
he could oppose with the remotest hope of success the power of England."
Upon the morning after their arrival at Eedgah, Moolraj rode in with a
small party of his officers and had an interview with Mr. Agnew. He
expressed his satisfaction that his successor had arrived, and that he
should now be relieved of a government that was burdensome to him. He
said that he would return in the afternoon, when he would inform them of
the arrangements he had made for handing over the fort on the following
morning. This promise he fulfilled, and the arrangements were then
completed for the fort to be transferred to Khan Singh early the next
morning, Moolraj saying that he himself would be present to see that
matters went off smoothly.
That evening when Percy went to his room he found his two men waiting
for him there.
"What are you sitting up for?" he asked. "You know I never want you
after dinner."
"We wanted to speak to you, sahib," Bhop Lal said. "Is it true that the
fort is to be handed over to-morrow morning to Khan Singh?"
"It is quite true, Bhop Lal; the arrangements have all been made with
Moolraj this afternoon."
"And will you go into the fort with Khan Singh, sahib?"
"No. Mr. Agnew and Lieutenant Anderson are going with him; and as there
are arrangements to be made for the purchase of provisions for the
troops, and other matters, Mr. Agnew asked me to remain here."
"That is a comfort indeed, sahib."
"Why so? Do you think there is going to be trouble?"
"I don't know that there will be trouble to-morrow, sahib; I cannot say
what the plans of Moolraj are; but there is going to be trouble. You
told me this morning to try and find out the sentiments of the people,
so I dressed myself as a peasant and went boldly into the town.
Everyone there thinks there will be fighting. They say the troops will
never accept Khan Singh as their dewan instead of Moolraj, and the
_budmashes_ of the city all seem to be of the same opinion.