plot, but not as to his instrument. I found, as soon as I had
recovered, that the cook and other servants had all been seized and
caged up. Had I died, no doubt they would all have been tortured and
put to death; but the officers knew me well enough to feel sure that I
should be angry at it did I recover. I had no ground for suspicion
against one more than another. I cross-questioned the cook closely, but
beyond protesting his innocence I could get nothing out of him. He had
cooked the dinner as usual, but was not, as he said, all the time
standing over his pots. Any of the other servants might while his back
was turned, or while bringing things up from the cool cellar as he
required them, have dropped poison into the cooking pot. There was no
denying this. The other servants with equal vehemence protested their
innocence. The officers wanted me to use torture, but this I would not
hear of. I might have tortured half a dozen innocent men before I came
to the guilty one. Besides having an Englishman's abhorrence of such
means, I could not rely on anything wrung from a man. A weak man while
he is in his agony will acknowledge anything required of him, will
confess any crime, will accuse anyone; while a guilty one of stronger
nerve will die protesting his innocence. They were all examined
closely, but none could say that he saw any stranger, that is, anyone
outside the household, enter the kitchen; but as at times the room seems
to have been entirely empty, anyone might have slipped in unperceived."
"And since then you have suspected no one, uncle?"
"No one, Percy. None of the servants have left, all are still with me."
"What! have you kept them still about you?"
"Yes. All appeared so utterly distressed and broken-down at the death
of their mistress, and at the suspicion that rested upon them, that I
could not bring myself to discharge them. Indeed, so great was the fury
of the people throughout the whole district, that I believe had I turned
them out through the gates, their lives would have been sacrificed.
Besides, how could I rely upon a fresh set of servants more than upon
those who have been with us long, and who apparently cared for us?
Moreover, there was a certainty that every one of them would suspect the
others, and that each would make every effort to find out the one by
whose deed suspicion and disgrace had fallen upon them. They would
naturally watch each other as a cat watches mice. The kitchen would
never be left empty again. There would be at least two in it, and it
would be next to impossible for the attempt to be repeated unseen. The
cook himself might indeed have slipped poison into the curry or other
dish before compounding it, but I was convinced that whoever was the
assassin it was not the cook himself, for he must have known that
suspicion would fall upon him, and that had I died his torture and death
were certain."
"Then you think that it was someone outside your house, uncle?"
"I do not say that, Percy. I only say that I suspect no one. After the
discovery that the rascally steward you shot was a traitor, I can never
feel sure of anyone, therefore it may have been one of the servants, it
may have been one of the soldiers, it may have been a stranger inside
the gates. At any rate no fresh attempt has been made, but it was some
time, Percy, before I got to enjoy my food again."
*CHAPTER XXI.*
*RETIRED.*
Percy had felt hungry when he rode into the fortress, but although he
saw his uncle eat as heartily as usual, his appetite seemed to desert
him, and he ate very sparingly of each dish placed before him. His
uncle smiled.
"You are not such a good trencher-man as you were, Percy."
"Oh, I am all right, uncle; but just at first the thought that any of
these dishes may be poisoned is an unpleasant one."
"You will get over it in time. Frankly, I do not think that there is
any ground for uneasiness. From the day Gough crossed the Sutlej I felt
safe; from the day Gujerat was won I have felt absolutely at my ease. I
have no longer the slightest fear of Ghoolab. This district is part of
the Punjaub, and the Punjaub will assuredly be annexed to British
India."
"Yes, uncle, they say the proclamation will be out in another fortnight
or so."
"That being so, lad, Ghoolab's game is finally up. Did I die to-morrow,
surely no nominee of his would obtain the appointment of governor, or
whatever your people call him, of a district adjoining Cashmere. He may
not like me, he may owe me a grudge for thwarting him so long, but he
has no longer the slightest interest in my death; and although Ghoolab
would without scruple remove a hundred men who stood in his way, he
would not run the slightest risk--and there is always a certain risk of
a tool turning traitor--when there was nothing whatever to be gained by
it."
"I hear that you rode into Rawal-Pindee to meet General Gilbert's
column, as it came through."
"Yes, I took all my cavalry over, but by the time we got there all
opposition had ceased, and the sirdars were pouring in to make their
submission, and beg for forgiveness. So there was no occasion for their
services. Of course he thanked me, and said that he would report my
offer."
"I almost thought you might come down and join us, uncle."
"I thought it over, lad, but there might have been trouble here in my
absence; but I thought I would keep my force together, so that if there
should be any tough fighting in the north, I should be able to march
away horse and foot to join our men. I did not calculate upon so
complete and sudden a collapse of the Sikhs. Now we have talked enough
about myself; it is time that you tell me the story of your adventures,
of which as yet I know nothing, and how you came by that desperately
ugly wound on your head."
It was late before Percy finished the story of his adventures.
"You have had great luck, lad, to have got so well out of your scrapes,"
the colonel said. "Well, it is late now, and we must be off to bed; we
shall have plenty of time to talk matters over in the morning."
"I should think, uncle," Percy said, when they had lighted their cigars
after breakfast, "that the government will recognize your position, and
either grant you the same power over your district that the sirdars have
over their estates, or else that they will appoint you as their official
over the district."
"I have no doubt they would do so, Percy, were I willing to accept it;
but I have quite made up my mind to give it all up and go home."
"You have, uncle!" Percy exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes, I have stuck here all these years for three reasons: first,
because I am an obstinate beggar, and would not be turned out; secondly,
because my wife would not have liked to leave her native land, and would
never have been happy in England; thirdly, because the people of my
district have been rich and prosperous under me, and I was not going to
hand them over to be pillaged and robbed by one of these Sikh harpies.
Now, however, the case is altogether changed. If I go, I go of my own
free will and choosing. Mahtab has gone, and there is no longer
anything to tie me to India. Lastly, I can with confidence hand over
the district to English administrators, secure that the people will not
be taxed unfairly, and will be safe from all oppression and extortion.
During the last two years I have reduced my force here considerably. I
was certain that after the lesson we gave them, there was no fear of
their ever again making an open assault on the place. I began by not
filling up vacancies caused by death or from men being superannuated.
Fortunately, there is a good deal of cultivable land down this valley,
and, indeed, in other parts of the district, and I have given grants of
small holdings to all who were willing to take their discharge."
"I noticed that there was a great change in the valley below, since I
went away, uncle, that fields have been marked out, and that there was
quite a village down where the Sikhs were encamped when they besieged
us."
"Yes, over two hundred holdings have been taken up there. I granted them
free of all taxes for the first three years, gave those men who had no
savings a little assistance in the way of a loan, and in time there will
be a large and, I hope, thriving village there. I have urged the men to
keep up a certain organization among themselves,--to form, in fact, a
kind of military colony, so as to be in a position to resist dacoits or
attacks by the marauding hill tribes. I have similarly settled that
other valley three miles to the north; altogether I have given a start
to nearly a thousand of the men. They have served me faithfully, and
nothing would induce me to go away and abandon them. I think that it is
very likely a force may be formed by our people for the protection of
the frontier; and, as you and Mr. Fullarton, with whom I have had a good
deal of correspondence, and the Lawrences, are all aware that the men
have behaved most faithfully and can be trusted, I hope I shall be able
to get all those who wish to continue soldiering to be mustered into the
service."
"I should think you might manage that, uncle; one or other of the
Lawrences, perhaps both, are certain to be appointed commissioners of
the Punjaub. Of course, I am not in a position to speak to them on such
a subject, but I am sure Mr. Fullarton would do so. I did not see him
after I was wounded, as before I was about he had been taken down to
Lahore. I heard that he was recovering fast, and was expected to rejoin
the head-quarters camp in a short time. Having been so long on the
frontier, I should think probably he will get a large district here, but
at any rate he would, I am sure, bring your matter before the
Lawrences."
"I should think it by no means improbable, Percy, that they may appoint
you district magistrate, or collector, or whatever they call it, of this
district; that is, if they keep it as a district."
"I should think they are not likely to do that, uncle. Rawal-Pindee will
be made, I should say, the centre of a district of which this will form
part. Still, possibly I may be appointed an assistant in this district,
as I know the country and the people so well; and if so, I will follow
up the methods that have made it in your hands the most flourishing
little corner of the Punjaub, in spite of the greater part of it being
merely hill country."
"Well, Percy, I don't think you can do better than stick to it. You
have got a splendid start in the service, and have every chance of
rising in it rapidly. It is good for you to work, and the exciting
scenes you have passed through during the last four years have been a
good preparation for making you an active and efficient officer. But
what I want to say is this: if your health fails, or if, sooner or
later, you marry and would like to settle down at home, or if from any
other cause you want to leave the service, remember there is no occasion
for you to work for your living. I am a rich man, and, thank God, I do
not owe my wealth to grinding the last penny out of the natives. I
could have retired and lived more than comfortably in England had I
chosen to do so when Runjeet Singh died, for the Old Lion, with all his
faults, was the most liberal of masters to those who served him well.
Since then I have, of course, largely increased my means. I had but to
pay a fixed sum annually to Lahore, and the revenue of the district has
multiplied itself by ten since I took charge of it. I could, therefore,
give you an income sufficient to keep you comfortably at home during my
lifetime, and it will, of course, all come to you at my death. Still,
much as I should like to have you with me, I think that, at any rate, it
would be better for you to remain in the service of the Company for some
years. It is a bad thing for any man to have nothing to do, and there
is no better training than that afforded by the civil service of the
Company."
"Thank you very much, uncle. I like the service greatly, so far as I
have seen of it; and I should certainly wish to remain in it. Even if I
did not like India, I should do so. I think that a man with health and
strength ought to have a career, and not to owe everything to another,
however close a relation he may be. I certainly hope to be appointed to
the Punjaub, and I should think there would always be a spice of
excitement here. There are sure to be constant troubles with the
Afghans and hill tribes all round it. I have been awfully lucky in
getting noticed so young, and so gaining at least eight or ten years'
start of fresh comers of my own age from England; and I feel, above all
things, how indebted to you I am for this."
"You are indebted to me that you came out to India, Percy, but almost
everything else is due to yourself. The turning-point in your career
was when you sat down on board ship to take your first lesson in
Punjaubi. It was the steadfastness with which you stuck to your studies
during your voyage which won for you the liking and patronage of Mr.
Fullarton, and so enabled you to take part in the Sutlej campaign.
There you showed pluck and presence of mind, and so gained the attention
of Sir Henry Hardinge and of the commander-in-chief. After that it was
the fact that you had got up Pathan, which procured for you your early
appointment and your nomination to accompany Agnew. Had it not been for
that you would have been out of all this last business. I have done
what little I could in the way of teaching you to ride well and use your
weapons, and have given you the best advice I could; but beyond that
everything has depended on yourself. I feel proud of you, lad, very
proud of you, and I only wish Mahtab had been here to share my
satisfaction. She was as fond of you, lad, as if she had been your
mother. Life here has been altogether different since I lost her; and
the sorest point of all is the thought that the blow that struck her was
aimed at me."
"I know that you must feel that, uncle. I can quite understand your
wanting to get away from here now."
Percy did not take the whole of his leave. His uncle was restless and
unsettled, and when, a week later, the news came of the annexation of
the Punjaub, Percy said:
"Why should you stop, uncle? The sooner you are away the better, and I
do not care to stay here longer. The place is not the same as it was;
besides, I cannot help feeling that just at the present time it would be
better for me to be at head-quarters. There is nothing like being on
the spot when changes are being made."
"I think you are right there, lad. I have been telling my officers what
you said about trying to get them into the Company's employment, and all
have expressed their willingness to remain in the district and hold
themselves in readiness to join should they receive a message from you.
I have but eight hundred men left now, and have given it to be
understood that I shall give them fifty rupees each when they are
disbanded, and a grant of land large enough to keep them. I have no
doubt the grant will be confirmed, as the authorities will be glad
enough to see a body of men, who might be troublesome if turned adrift,
settle down as cultivators, so adding to the revenue. Well, there is
nothing to stay for. I will put it in orders this evening, that as the
whole country has now been taken over by the British government, the
force will be disbanded to-morrow."
The next day the troops paraded for the last time. The colonel made
them a little speech, thanking them for the fidelity they had shown, and
expressing his deep regret at leaving them. He told them that if a
force should be raised by the British for service on the frontier, his
nephew would endeavour to procure enrolment in its ranks for such of
them as desired it; that he had set aside a tract of land for them, and
that Nand Chund had his authority to divide it fairly among them; and
that he himself, as a token of his appreciation of their faithful
services, had directed fifty rupees to be given to each man in addition
to the pay due to him, and that his vakeel was writing for each a paper
testifying to his services, which he himself would sign, and which they
would find useful in their dealings with British officials.
When he had finished the men broke their ranks and crowded round him,
tears flowing down most of their faces, calling down blessings upon him,
and pouring out their regret at leaving the service of so good and kind
a master. It was with some difficulty that the colonel, who was himself
deeply affected, extricated himself from them and returned to his
residence. The next morning he and Percy started. The colonel had made
a very handsome present to Bhop Lal and Akram Chunder, and they of
course accompanied them; but in addition the whole of the cavalry
mounted and formed a voluntary escort to them as far as Rawal-Pindee.
Travelling quietly they reached head-quarters on the day when the
proclamation was read to the troops, amid the booming of cannon,
announcing to the Punjaub that it was now an integral portion of British
India. Percy introduced his uncle to Mr. Fullarton, and the latter took
him to Sir Henry Lawrence, with whom, during a stay of a week in the
British camp, he had several long conversations, the chief-commissioner
being desirous of ascertaining the views of one of such long experience
in the country.
Colonel Groves was strongly of opinion that henceforth there would be no
more trouble in the Punjaub. "The Sikh power is altogether broken," he
said; "the former danger to India existed in the fact that hitherto they
had been so successful in war that they had come to consider themselves
almost invincible, and that the great army Runjeet had got together was
demoralized by inactivity, and each man thirsted for an opportunity to
distinguish himself, and dreamt of a share in the plunder of India. The
population in general were, in his opinion, peace-loving and
industrious; they had suffered terribly under the exactions of the
grasping sirdars, who amassed fortunes out of their toil, and of the
tax-gatherers, who had to collect vast sums for the maintenance of the
army. That army had ceased to exist--Gujerat and Chillianwalla had
accounted for the greater part of those who had escaped Ferozeshah and
Sobraon. I believe," he said, "that in the course of a generation there
will be no more orderly or loyal province than the Punjaub. There will
be always a certain number of restless and adventurous spirits, but for
these there will in time, I presume, be an opening in the regiments
which, when you feel that you can trust them, will be raised here as in
other parts of India. There is no finer fighting material to be found
than among the Sikhs, and the fidelity with which they have fought to
the last for their country is an earnest of that which they will show to
our colours when they once take a pride in them."
He then instanced the conduct of his own men, who had proved faithful to
him throughout, and had fought as bravely against the Sikh forces as
they had formerly done under the Sikh flag. "They were for the most
part," he said, "men of hill tribes, and Pathan rather than Sikh by
blood, and should you be raising a force for the defence of the frontier
against Afghans or hill men, you would find them admirably suited to the
service. They are already well drilled and accustomed to discipline, and
I promised them, when I disbanded them the other day, that I would speak
to you in their favour, and would guarantee their fidelity should they
be admitted into the Company's service."
"I will think the matter over," Sir Henry Lawrence said; "a force of
that kind, if it could be relied upon, would be of immense service."
"Well, Sir Henry, there is one ready at hand. If I might venture to
suggest, I should say, if my nephew happens to have an appointment in
the Punjaub, it would be useful he should go for a week or two to the
district with the officer charged to raise the force; in a few days he
would produce a squadron two hundred strong of well-drilled cavalry, and
four or five hundred infantry, with a complement of native officers
thoroughly up to their work."
"Your nephew will certainly have an appointment in the Punjaub, Colonel
Groves. He has proved himself a most efficient and zealous officer, and
his knowledge of Punjaubi and Pathan, and of the country, would be
thrown away in any other province. I had his early record in my hands
when I was Resident at Lahore. Major Edwardes has written very strongly
of the valuable assistance Mr. Groves rendered him, and he has been very
useful during the late campaign. I can promise you that his appointment
will show that his services have been thoroughly appreciated. I
consider him an exceedingly promising young officer, and shall be glad
to have an assistant on whom I can so thoroughly rely in any emergency."
"There is one thing I want to say to you, sir, and that is, that, when I
disbanded my regiments, I gave to each man a grant of an acre or two of
land in a valley so far untilled, but good land, and capable of
irrigation. I had previously planted a thousand of them in two similar
colonies, both of which are doing well. I hope that the grants may be
confirmed."
"That they certainly would in any case, Colonel Groves; it is a great
thing to have so many men, who might otherwise be troublesome, settled
on the land; but, indeed, as your grants were made previous to the
formal annexation, they would in any case remain good."
At the end of the week Colonel Groves left the camp and took a boat to
go down the Indus. The short stay among his countrymen, from whom he
had been for many years separated, had done him good, and dispelled the
melancholy thoughts with which he had ridden down from the fortress,
which had been for some twelve years his home. He had met with great
hospitality during his stay in camp, for all were interested in the talk
and adventures of one who had been among the best known of Runjeet
Singh's officers, and his hearty and genial manner had won for him the
liking of all who met him.
Ten days later Percy, who was getting somewhat tired of idleness,
received a message saying that he was to appear before the commissioners
on the following day. Sir Henry, as president, addressed him when he
appeared.
"Mr. Groves, I am happy to say that my brother and Mr. Mansell
thoroughly agree with me that at the present moment experience rather
than age must guide us in the distribution of our appointments.
Although you have been but a short time in the Company's service, you
have a wide experience in the country, and your knowledge of its
languages is invaluable at the present juncture. We feel that you are
naturally specially acquainted with the wants and necessities of that
portion of the country in which you have lived for upwards of two years,
and have therefore determined to appoint you to the charge of the strip
of country lying north of Dhangah and running along by the side of the
Jhelum. It will be about twenty miles wide, and will extend to the end
of the narrow projection of country running up into Cashmere. The line
will run to the east of Rawal-Pindee, and will include all the hill
country, and will touch Torbeylah on the eastern branch of the Indus.
It will therefore be about a hundred and twenty miles long, and will of
course include your uncle's former district. Your appointment will be
that of a deputy-commissioner. It will be a sub-district, either of the
district of Rawal-Pindee or of Peshawar; that is not settled yet, but at
any rate you will communicate direct with me. It is an important
appointment for so young a civil servant, but I am sure that you will
justify our choice. I congratulate you, Mr. Groves, upon having worthily
earned an appointment such as this. You will start within two days for
your post, and we think that it will be advantageous for you to make
Djarma your head-quarters; there are, of course, several much more
important places in the district; but in the first place it is, I
believe, strongly fortified, it is distant about midway between the
northern and southern points, and it possesses the advantage that in
case of need you might collect a force from among the men who served
under your uncle, and who are personally known to you. Lieutenant
Purchas will accompany you; he is commissioned to raise a police force
of a hundred mounted men; he will be stationed at Djarma, and will, of
course, be subject to your orders, and responsible for the maintenance
of order in the district. We have also decided upon raising a frontier
force, and shall, as a beginning, raise two troops of cavalry and six
companies of infantry. Major Mellish, who will have the command, will
follow you to Djarma in a few days, and I shall be obliged if you will
assist him in raising half that number in your neighbourhood. No doubt
the force will be considerably increased later; at present it is but an
experiment, and while it is desirable that the corps should start with a
number of trained men, we have decided that it would be better to have
an admixture of recruits from Pathan tribes on the other side of the
Indus, both because they will know the country there, and because it is
undesirable that the whole force should be composed of men acquainted
with each other."
Percy expressed his thanks to the commissioners for the honour they had
done him in the appointment, and especially for having selected him to
the post he should have preferred to all others. "I can answer, sir,"
he said, "that should any emergency ever occur, I could in the course of
a couple of days raise a thousand men for any service required."