Deliverance.
As we have already stated, there was no alarm at the gate of the
village when the Syud was struck down. Of the two watchmen, one was
dead, the other senseless from loss of blood. Ahmed and old Mamoolla
were, however, now anxious about their master and Zóra, and Ahmed went
to the village Chaoree to ask if they had passed that way. "Yes," said
the watchmen on duty for the night; "we heard them singing a long
time ago, and supposed they had gone home, as the singing ceased all
at once; but we will come and look--some one has doubtless asked them
to remain." But they could not be found or heard of, and all were in
much fear and perplexity. Could Zóra have stepped incautiously into a
well, and drawn her grandfather after her? But no, there were only two
wells in the village, and though lights were lowered into them nothing
was seen. At last a cry was heard near the gate, and then someone,
who had wished to go out to his field, gave the alarm that murder had
been done; and Ahmed and the rest ran with lighted torches, saw the
two bodies of the watchers, and looking about, found the old Syud,
lying where they supposed he had fallen, near the wall. At first,
as blood had issued from his head, they all thought he had died, and
they took him up reverently and carried him to his lodgings, where
they discovered signs of life; still he had no perception of anything,
and was not able to speak. The barber, who had been summoned, said
the wound was slight, but that the blow had caused insensibility, and
fomentation must be continued.
So the night passed, and the whole of the village was disquieted and
alarmed. The idea of so holy a person as Luteef Shah Wallee, the
new saint, being killed in the place, and his granddaughter carried
off, was almost beyond belief. Several parties of the villagers,
accompanied by the Gulburgah escort, went out to search in the fields,
but returned. What could be done in the darkness and rain among the
tall heavy crops? They must wait till morning; and in the morning
consciousness came to the old man, though it seemed to those around him
that it would have been more merciful if he had died. Who could console
him? Who could satisfy him about Zóra? Who had taken her, and why? Not
for her ornaments, for she had put on only those she usually wore, of
small value, all the rest were packed up. When the day dawned some
light was thrown on the affair by the tracks of a number of men in the
corn-fields, and by broken stems of the corn, and they continued as far
as the boundary of the next village, through which they evidently went;
but it was no concern of the watchmen of that village to trace the
thieves unless they were well rewarded; and who was to pay them?
Meanwhile the old man raved, and called on Zóra without intermission.
At times he even became frantic, and with difficulty could be
restrained from attempting to proceed on foot. "Take me to Zóra! Take
me to the child! Take me to Almella! Lay me at the feet of Chand
Beebee, she will give me justice for my child. Oh, Abbas Khan! she
watched by thy side; go to her, save her, and give her into my arms. Am
I not Luteef Shah Wallee now? and my blessing or my curse are at least
powerful. Yea, I will bless thee!"
"It is no use keeping him here," said the barber; "his case is beyond
my skill. They have a surgeon and a doctor with the soldiers at
Almella, take him thither;" and the litter was soon made ready, and the
sad procession departed. It was nearly evening when it reached Almella,
where it was met by a crowd of people who had heard of the outrage;
and a comfortable lodging had been prepared, where the old man was
reverently deposited. He was now calmer, but grief lay heavy on him,
very heavy; and what could console him? When he could think coherently,
he accused himself of neglect of his vows; he accused himself of
incautiousness; and if she returned not, he prayed for death, Here,
whence the Lord had taken him in his prosperity to blindness and
poverty, would be the fitting place for him to die. Towards evening he
became calmer, and asked if any of the people of Almella were present,
and the Patell, and the Putwari, and the Moolla of the mosque came to
him.
"Are any of ye old?" he asked; "as old as I am?"
"No!" replied the Moolla; "but my grandfather, who is very old, can be
sent for."
"Ay, that will be Sheykh Oomur, perhaps; yes, send for him." They
wondered why the name should be remembered, but sent for him. When he
arrived, the Syud, taking his hand, said, "If thou art Sheyhk Oomur,
thou wilt not have forgotten Syud Ahmed Ali."
"Syud Ahmed Ali, the physician!" cried the Moolla, peering into the
other's face, for he was nearly blind himself. "Yes, it is he! it is
he! Oh, master! I, thy pupil, have not forgotten; and to see thee here,
and in this sore plight. Ah! it is the Lord's will."
"Tell them all--all," cried the old Syud, with fresh vigour, "that I am
here once more. God, the Highest, hath brought me to recover my child
and my honour. Go! arouse all to bring Zóra back to me or I shall die."
"It is the Syud, surely," said many old people who looked on the aged
features with compassion, and well remembered them; and the authorities
of the little town and of the detachment of soldiers sent out parties
in search, one of which found the track, many hours old, as they
knew from the state of the broken herbage and corn, and returned
unsuccessful. And the old Syud, becoming hopeless in his grief, though
relieved of much of his pain by the doctor who had been summoned, was,
they thought, going to turn his face to the wall and die. But still
he had not asked for the prayers for the dying to be recited, and was
constantly crying out, "He will not take her to shame or death; he will
restore her to me. Zóra! Zóra! come soon, else I die; and I have told
thee nothing." Once he said to the Moolla and others who sat nigh him,
"Oh, friends, if I die, bury me here; but take my child to the Court,
lay her at the feet of Queen Chand, and say I, Luteef Shah Wallee, sent
her for justice." Then, as if he had no more to say, he turned on his
side and appeared to sleep.
Just as day was breaking he sat up suddenly, but with vigour, and
putting his hands to his ear, said, in a strong voice, "I hear a
Beydur's horn; I hear the Beydurs' drums; and they bring me my Zóra!
Oh, my child, come quickly, lest I die of joy!" At first those who
heard him--the kind doctor, Ahmed, old Mamoolla, and others--thought
what he had said was part of his delirium; but Ahmed rushed out, ran to
the top of the house, and looking southwards, saw the blaze of torches
and about fifty dusky forms approaching at a rapid pace, while the
creaking of the gate of the town showed that it was being opened. As
the procession approached nearer, the sonorous drums of the Beydurs
beat a joyful march, their horns blew a victorious blast; and Ahmed
ran down again to the apartment, and cried out, "It is true! it is
true! Rejoice!" and fled forth to meet the lost girl, weeping like a
child. And onwards came the body of men encircling a good palanquin,
and the town musicians had mingled with the Beydurs, and the din and
clamour were deafening. Then, as they put down the litter at the steps
of the house, Zóra stepped from it, and standing erect on the highest,
cried out, "The Lord bless ye all, friends, for I am safe. By your aid
ye have saved me from dishonour and from death." But she could hardly
speak, and her cheeks were wet with tears, which glistened in the
torchlight. In an instant more she had crossed the little courtyard,
reached her grandfather's bed, and exclaiming, "Abba! Abba! God has
saved me, and brought me to you again when I had no hope left!" But the
old man could not speak coherently; indeed, the revulsion from a dim
hope to a blessed reality had almost cost him his life.
They sat together the whole day, Zóra scarcely stirring from his side,
and only urged by pressing hunger to leave him at all; for Mamoolla had
said, "Poor dove, they only fed it with green corn and milk, and that
was not food fitted for her; and the best I can cook shall be hers and
the master's, who, after all, has only a broken head; but then he is
not a wrestler or a sword-player." Zóra's story was not a long one.
When she was put into the hut with only two men to guard her, the rest
of the gang dispersed into the corn-fields to hide themselves, as the
husbandmen would soon be abroad. Now the hut was nearer to Kokutnoor
than Hippurgah, and a shepherd boy who had been watching sheep all
night had seen the procession, and saw where something, he could not
tell what, had been deposited. Over night a large body of Beydurs, on
their road from the King's camp by Sholapoor to their homes, had put
up at Kokutnoor; and the lad, well knowing their habits, went to the
leader and told him that Dacoits had halted in the fields and hidden
their booty in a solitary hut. "They are Káikarees and Jutts," said the
lad, "and the brother of Kulloo Naik, who was killed at Kukeyra, is
their leader."
The Beydur chief who was in command of the party was soon aroused, and
among his men were some of Runga's and some of Burma Naik's people;
and it was at once determined that the Dacoits should be surprised and
their booty captured. So, through the cover of the tall grain fields,
they were guided by the lad until they came close to the hut. The two
men who guarded it were speared without mercy, and, said Zóra, "I
expected no less than death, when several of the men who had served at
Juldroog found me, bound as I was, and were distraught with joy. They
took me into the air, unbound me, and chafed my arms and my legs. They
carried me into Kokutnoor; then bearers were sent for from Hippurgah,
and I was fed, and had milk to drink, and I am quite well, and it is
like a new birth to see your dear face once more."
What could he reply? What more could Zóra say? And so they sat without
speaking much till the day waned, and the fatehas they had ordered
were ready, when Zóra arose to distribute the money offerings to the
poor, and the alms that had been in the wallet were part of her liberal
donation.
The next day, the Beydurs having remained as their guests, and enjoyed
a great feast, all those that belonged to Runga and Burma's divisions
declared they would attend the Syud to Beejapoor. Runga would never
forgive them if they did not; and there was no hurry about moving, as
the King was yet detained north of the river. In the evenings, then, as
the old Syud sat in the porch of the house, under pretence of begging,
for he was weak still, and could not walk, the Beydurs came and told
him tales of the war, and how Abbas Khan, Runga Naik, and his men had
carried by storm the great battery of Ahmednugger guns, and Runga had
been made a noble on the spot, while the blood was yet wet upon his
sword. Poor Zóra! how her heart swelled at the narration, and how hope
was revived, which for a time had appeared dead.
When the time came they moved from Almella, and reached Allapoor the
day before the King was to enter the city. Thousands were passing on
horseback, thousands were going to meet friends long absent, and no one
noticed the blind old man and a girl, dressed in pilgrims' clothes,
who, as they entered the gate of the great city, kneeled down, and
gave thanks to God. The old Syud's face beamed with gratitude and joy.
As to Zóra, the splendour of what she saw almost overpowered her; but
she led her grandfather forward in the direction of the citadel, and
on a piece of close green sward, near the open road by which the King
would pass, they spread their sheet, and began at intervals to sing the
best of their holy chants; and passers-by threw alms to them liberally
and freely, begging the old man's blessing. Gradually the booming sound
of the King's kettledrums, and the huge pair which were carried by the
standard elephant, were heard, and the old man remembered them, and
said to Zóra, "They are near now; let Ahmed keep the sheet, dear, and
you will see the King." Not long afterwards the people on the towers
of the gates, the bastions, and in every available place they could
get to, began to shout and wave scarves; and every house within sight
hung out costly shawls, cloth of gold, and rich garments out of windows
and over the parapets of their houses, till the city was like a garden
of tulips. Following the procession were hundreds of war elephants,
dressed in their richest caparisons, their bells jangling with a
strange clamour, and the music of the nobat playing a march of victory.
These, however, were of little interest in comparison with the King's
own circle, which occupied nearly the centre of the procession, and
having entered the gate, advanced more slowly. In the midst rode the
young King, wearing, like the Queen, a tunic of dazzling white cloth
of gold, and a morion with a crown of flashing jewels. He was smiling,
as he greeted the people with constant waves of his hand, while his
beautiful horse caracoled beneath him. Near him rode Abbas Khan, and
other officers of rank; and Zóra could see Runga Naik in his new
uniform of cloth of gold. The horses pranced and curvetted, tossing
their heads and neighing; and the King, drawing rein for a moment,
pointed out the Syud and Zóra, asking apparently who they were, when
Abbas Khan, who now saw them also, dashed up to the King, and said, "It
is Syud Ahmed Ali, of whom I spoke." At the same moment the old man,
who had been standing, rushed forward over the sheet, and with a loud
cry of "Daad! Daad!" tottered and fell on his face, nearly across the
Royal path.
"Bring him on with you, Abbas," cried the King; and the young man
turned at once to his old friend, throwing a glance at Zóra, which
rested on flashing eyes bedewed with tears of joy, and cheeks burning
with excitement, as he cried to her, "Zóra! is it thus we meet? Fear
not now, for all will be well!"
End of the Second Volume.
_Spottiswoode & Co., Printers, New-street Square, London._
Transcriber's Notes
Obvious errors of punctuation and diacritics repaired.
Hyphen removed: waist-band (p. 14), waist-belt (p. 231), white-washed
(p. 226).
Hyphen added: horn-blower (p. 72).
P. 7: "chesnut" changed to "chestnut" (a big chestnut horse).
P. 28: "obesiance" changed to "obeisance" (making an obeisance to the
Queen).
P. 47: "to" changed "too" (that she had done too herself).
P. 69: "irrruption" changed to "irruption" (resist any irruption of
marauders).
Pp. 75-76: "Shekh" changed to "Skeykh" three times.
P. 139: "a" added (might have been a matter of accident).
P. 160: "seiges" changed to "sieges" (through several separate sieges).
P. 186: "villany" changed to "villainy" (undertake any villainy).