Handsome rooms, with a suite of attendants, were assigned to Charlie
in the rajah's palace; and he was formally appointed commander of his
forces. The four Sepoys were appointed to junior ranks, as was also
Tim Kelly; who, however, insisted on remaining in the position of
chief attendant upon his master; being, in fact, a sort of majordomo
and valet in one, looking after his comforts when in the palace, and
accompanying him as personal guard whenever he rode out.
"You niver know, yer honor, what these natives may be up to. They'll
smile with you one day, and stab ye the next. They're treacherous
varmint, yer honor, if you do but give 'em the chance."
At first, Charlie perceived that his position excited some jealousy in
the minds of those surrounding the rajah. He therefore did all in his
power to show to them that he, in no way, aspired to interfere in the
internal politics or affairs of the little state--that he was a
soldier and nothing more. He urged upon the rajah, who wished to have
him always by him, that it was far better that he should appear to
hold aloof, and to avoid all appearance of favouritism, or of a desire
to obtain dominance in the counsels of the rajah. He wished that the
appointments to the posts of officers in the new force should be made
by the rajah, who should lend an ear to the advice of his usual
councillors; but that, once appointed, they should be under his
absolute command and control, and that he should have power to dismiss
those who proved themselves indolent and incapable, to promote active
and energetic men, wholly regardless of influence or position.
The next morning, Charlie and his four assistants set to work to drill
the three hundred men of the garrison, taking them in parties of
twenty. They were thus able, in the course of a few days, to pick out
the most active and intelligent for the sub-officers; and these, with
the existing officers of the body, and the new ones appointed by the
rajah, were at once taken in hand to be taught their duty.
For a month, the work went on steadily and without interruption, and
from morn till night the courtyard echoed with the words of command.
At the end of that time, the twenty officers and forty sub-officers
had fairly learned their duty. The natives of India are very quick in
learning drill, and a regiment of newly-raised Sepoys will perform
manoeuvres and answer to words of command, in the course of a
fortnight, as promptly and regularly as would one of English recruits
in three months.
A good many changes had taken place during the month's work. Many of
the officers became disgusted with hard and continuous work, to which
they were unaccustomed, while some of the sub-officers showed a
deficiency of the quickness and intelligence needed for the work.
Their places, however, were easily filled, and as the days went on,
all took an increasing degree of interest, as they acquired facility
of movement, and saw how quickly, according to the European methods,
manoeuvres were gone through. At the end of a month, then, the sixty
men were able in turn to instruct others; and, a body of five hundred
men being called out, the work of drilling on a large scale began.
The drill ground now was a level space in the valley below the town,
and the whole population assembled, day after day, to look on with
astonishment at the exercises. The four great companies, or
battalions, as Charlie called them, were kept entirely separate, each
under the command of one of the Sepoys, under whom were a proportion
of the officers and sub-officers. Every evening, Charlie came down for
an hour, and put each body through its drill, distributing blame or
praise as it was deserved, thus keeping up a spirit of emulation
between the battalions. At the end of a fortnight, when the simpler
manoeuvres had been learned, Charlie, for two hours each day, worked
the whole together as one regiment; and was surprised, himself, to
find how rapid was the progress which each day effected.
The rajah himself often came down to the drill ground, and took the
highest interest in the work. He himself would fain have had regular
uniforms, similar to those worn by the Sepoys in the service of the
European powers, provided for the men; but Charlie strongly urged him
not to do so. He admitted that the troops would look immensely better,
if clad in regular uniform; than as a motley band, each dressed
according to his own fancy. He pointed out, however, that while the
news that the rajah was having some of his men drilled by European
deserters would attract but little attention among his neighbours, the
report that he was raising Sepoy battalions would certainly be
received by them in a hostile spirit.
"By all means," Charlie said, "get the uniforms made for the whole
force, and keep them by you in store. They can be at once served out
in case of war, and the sight of a number of Sepoy battalions, where
they expected only to meet an irregular force, will have an immense
effect upon any force opposed to you."
The rajah saw the force of this argument, and at once ordered five
thousand suits of white uniforms, similar to those worn by the Sepoys
in the English and French service, to be made and stored up in the
magazines.
While his lieutenants were drilling the main body, Charlie himself
took in hand a party of forty picked men, and instructed them in the
use of field guns. The superiority of Europeans in artillery was one
of the reasons which gave to them such easy victory, in their early
battles with the native forces in India. The latter possessed a very
powerful artillery, in point of numbers, but there was no regular
drill nor manner of loading. They were in the habit, too, of allowing
each gun to cool after it was fired, before being loaded again. It was
thought, therefore, good practice if a gun were discharged once in a
quarter of an hour. They were, then, utterly astounded and dismayed at
the effects of the European guns, each of which could be loaded and
fired twice, or even three times, a minute.
So month passed after month, until Rajah Boorhau was in a position to
put, if necessary, five battalions of Sepoys, each seven hundred
strong, into the field; with thirty guns, served by trained
artillerymen. So quietly had the work gone on, that it attracted no
attention among his neighbours. The mere rumour that the rajah had
some European deserters in his service, and that these were drilling
four or five hundred men, was considered of so little moment that it
passed altogether unheeded.
The accounts of the state of affairs in the Carnatic, which reached
Charlie, were not satisfactory--Dupleix, with his usual energy, was
aiding the son of Chunda Sahib, with men and money, in his combat with
the British protege; and most of the native allies of the latter had
fallen away from him. Trichinopoli was again besieged, and the
fortunes of England, lately so flourishing, were waning again. In the
Deccan, French influence was supreme. Bussy, with a strong and
well-disciplined French force, maintained Salabut Jung, whom the
French had placed on the throne, against all opponents. At one time it
was the Peishwar, at another the Mahrattas against whom Bussy turned
his arms; and always with success, and the French had acquired the
four districts on the coast, known as the Northern Sircas.
It was in vain that Charlie endeavoured to gain an accurate knowledge
of the political position, so quickly and continually did this change.
At one time the Peishwar and the Nizam, as the Subadar of the Deccan
was now called, would be fighting in alliance against one or other of
the Mahratta chiefs. At another time they would be in conflict with
each other, while the Rajah of Mysore, Murari Reo, and other chiefs
were sometimes fighting on one side, sometimes on another.
Proud of his rapidly increasing force, Boorhau Reo would, more than
once in the course of the year, have joined in the warfare going on
around. Charlie, however, succeeded in restraining him from doing so;
pointing out that the victor of one day was the vanquished of the
next, and that it was worse than useless to join in a struggle of
which the conditions were so uncertain, and the changes of fortune so
rapid, that none could count upon others for aid, however great the
assistance they might have rendered only a short time before.
"Were you to gain territory, Rajah, which you might, perhaps, largely
do, from the efficient aid which you might render to one party or the
other, you would be the object of a hostile combination against which
you could not hope to struggle."
The rajah yielded at once to Charlie's arguments; but the influence of
the latter added to the hostility, which the favour shown him by the
rajah had provoked, among many of the leading men of the state. Where
the sides were often so closely balanced as was the case in these
intestine struggles, the aid of every rajah, however small his
following, was sought by one or other of the combatants; and the
counsellors of those able to place a respectable force in the field
were heavily bribed, by one side or the other. Those around Rajah
Boorhau found their efforts completely baffled by the influence of the
English commander of his forces, and a faction of increasing strength
and power was formed to overthrow him. The rajah himself had kept his
secret well, and one or two, only, of his advisers knew that the
Englishman was a trusted agent of the Company.
The soldiers were much attached to their English leader. They found
him always just and firm. Complaints were always listened to, tyranny
or ill treatment by the officers suppressed and punished, merit
rewarded. Among the officers the strictness of the discipline
alienated many, who contrasted the easy life which they had led before
the introduction of the European system, with that which they now
endured. So long as they were engaged in mastering the rudiments of
drill they felt their disadvantage; but when this was acquired, each
thought himself capable of taking the place of the English adventurer,
and of leading the troops he had organized to victory. Already,
Charlie had received several anonymous warnings that danger threatened
him. The rajah was, he knew, his warm friend; and he, in his delight
at seeing the formidable force which had been formed from his
irregular levies, had presented him, as a token of his gratitude, with
large sums of money.
In those days, this was the method by which Indian princes rewarded
European officers who rendered them service, and it was considered by
no means derogatory to the latter to accept the money. This was,
indeed, the universal custom, and Charlie, knowing that Captain Clive
had received large presents of this kind, had no hesitation in
following his example. The treasures stored up by many of these Indian
princes were immense, and a lac of rupees, equivalent to ten thousand
pounds, was considered by no means a large present. Charlie,
foreseeing that, sooner or later, the little state would become
involved in hostilities, took the precaution of forwarding the money
he had received down to Madras; sending it piecemeal, in charge of
native merchants and traders. It was, by these, paid into the Madras
treasury, where a large rate of interest, for all monies lent by its
employees, was given by the Company.
For those at home he felt no uneasiness. It was very seldom that their
letters reached him; but he learned that they were still in high
favour with his uncle, that his mother continued installed at the head
of the house, and that the girls were both at excellent schools.
Charlie mentioned, to the rajah, the rumours which had reached him of
a plot against him. The rajah assured him of his own support, under
all circumstances, and offered that a strong guard should be placed,
night and day, over the apartments he occupied.
This Charlie declined.
"A guard can always be corrupted," he said. "My Irish servant sleeps
in my anteroom, my four lieutenants are close at hand, and knowing
that the soldiers are, for the most part, attached to me, I do not
think that open force will be used. I will, however, cause a large
bell to be suspended above my quarters. Its ringing will be a signal
that I am attacked, in which case I rely upon your highness putting
yourself at the head of the guard, and coming to my assistance."
Tim Kelly was at once furious and alarmed, at the news that danger
threatened his master, and took every precaution that he could imagine
to ensure his safety. He took to going down to the town, himself, to
purchase provisions; and, so far as possible, prepared these himself.
He procured two or three monkeys, animals which he held in horror, and
offered them a portion of everything that came on the table, before he
placed it before his master.
Charlie at first protested against this, as his dinner became cold by
waiting; but Tim had an oven prepared, and ordered dinner half an hour
before the time fixed by his master. Each dish as brought in was,
after a portion had been given to a monkey, placed in the oven, and
thus half an hour was given to allow the poison to work. This was done
without Charlie's knowledge, the oven being placed in the anteroom,
and the dishes thence brought in, in regular order, by the body
servant, whom even Tim allowed to be devoted to his master.
One day, Charlie was just sitting down to his soup, when Tim ran in.
"For the love of Heaven, Mr. Charles, don't put that stuff to your
mouth. It's pisoned, or, at any rate, if it isn't, one of the other
dishes is."
"Poisoned, Tim! Nonsense, man. You are always thinking of poisonings
and plots."
"And it's lucky for your honor that I am," Tim said. "Jist come into
the next room, and look at the monkeys."
Charlie went in. One of the little creatures was lying upon the
ground, evidently in a state of great agony. The other was sitting up,
rocking itself backwards and forwards, like a human being in pain.
"They look bad, poor little beasts," Charlie said; "but what has that
got to do with my soup?"
"Shure, yer honor, isn't that jist what I keep the cratures for, just
to give them a taste of everything yer honor has, and I claps it into
the oven there to kape it warm till I've had time to see, by the
monkeys, whether it's good."
"It looks very serious," Charlie said, gravely. "Do you go quietly
out, Tim, call two men from the guardhouse, and seize the cook; and
place one or two men as sentries over the other servants. I will go
across to the rajah."
The latter, on hearing what had happened, ordered the cook to be
brought before him, together with the various dishes prepared for the
dinner. The man, upon being interrogated, vehemently denied all
knowledge of the affair.
"We shall see," the rajah said. "Eat up that plate of soup."
The man turned pale.
"Your highness will observe," he stammered, "that you have already
told me that one of these dishes is poisoned. I cannot say which, and
whichever I eat may be the fatal one."
The rajah made a signal to him to obey his orders, but Charlie
interposed.
"There is something in what he says, your highness. Whether the man is
innocent or guilty, he would shrink equally from eating any of them.
It is really possible that he may know nothing of it. The poison may
have been introduced into the materials beforehand. If the man is
taken to a dungeon, I think I could suggest a plan by which we could
test him.
"I believe him to be guilty," he said, when the prisoner had been
removed.
"Then why not let him be beheaded at once?" the rajah asked.
"I would rather let ten guilty men escape," Charlie replied, "than run
the risk of putting one innocent one to death. I propose, sir, that
you order the eight dishes of food, which have been prepared for my
dinner, to be carefully weighed. Let these be all placed in the cell
of the prisoner, and there let him be left. In the course of two or
three days he will, if guilty, endeavour to assuage his hunger by
eating little bits of food, from every dish except that which he knows
to be poisoned, but will take such a small portion from each that he
will think it will not be detected. If he is innocent, and is really
ignorant which dish is poisoned, he will not touch any of them, until
driven to desperation by hunger. Then he will seize on one or more,
and devour them to the end, running the chance of death by poison,
rather than endure the pangs of hunger longer."
"Your plan is a wise one," the rajah said. "It shall be tried. Let the
dishes be taken to him, every morning, and removed every evening. Each
evening they shall be weighed."
These orders were carried out, and on the following morning the dishes
were placed in the cell of the prisoner. When removed at night, they
were found to be untouched. The next evening several of the dishes
were found to have lost some ounces in weight. The third evening all
but one had been tasted.
"Let the prisoner be brought in again," the rajah ordered, when
informed of this.
"Dog," he said, "you have betrayed yourself. Had you been innocent,
you could not have known in which of the dishes the poison had been
placed. You have eaten of all but one. If that one contains poison,
you are guilty."
Then, turning to an attendant, he ordered him to take a portion of the
untouched food, and to throw it to a dog. Pending the experiment, the
prisoner was removed. Half an hour later, the attendant returned with
the news that the dog was dead.
"The guilt of the man is confirmed," the rajah said. "Let him be
executed."
"Will you give him to me, your highness?" Charlie asked. "His death
would not benefit me now, and to save his life, he may tell me who is
my enemy. It is of no use punishing the instrument, and letting the
instigator go free."
"You are right," the rajah agreed. "If you can find out who bribed
him, justice shall be done, though it were the highest in the state."
Charlie returned to his own quarters, assembled his lieutenants and
several other of his officers, and had the man brought before him.
"Hossein," he said, "you have taken money to take my life. I looked
upon you as my faithful servant. I had done you no wrong. It has been
proved that you attempted to poison me. You, when driven by hunger,
ate small quantities, which you thought would pass unobserved, of all
the dishes but one. That dish has been given to a dog, and he has
died. You knew, then, which was the poisoned dish. The rajah has
ordered your execution. I offer you life, if you will tell me who it
was that tempted you."
The prisoner preserved a stolid silence.
"We had better proceed to torture him, at once," one of the rajah's
officers said.
The man turned a little paler. He knew well the horrible tortures
which would, in such an instance, be inflicted to extort the names of
those who had bribed him.
"I will say nothing," he said, firmly, "though you tear me limb from
limb."
"I have no intention of torturing you," Charlie said. "A confession
extorted by pain is as likely to be false as true, and even did you
tell me one name, there might still be a dozen engaged in it who would
remain unknown. No, Hossein, you have failed in your duty, you have
tried to slay a master who was kind to you, and trusted you."
"No, sahib," the man exclaimed, passionately. "You did not trust me.
The food I sent you was tested and tried. I knew it; but I thought
that the poison would not have acted on the monkeys, until you had
eaten the dish. The fool who sold it me deceived me. Had you trusted
me, I would never have done it. It was only when I saw that I was
suspected and doubted, without cause, that my heart turned against
you, and I took the gold which was offered to me to kill you. I swear
it by the Prophet."
Charlie looked at him steadily.
"I believe you," he said. "You were mistaken. I had no suspicions. My
servant feared for me, and took these precautions without telling me.
However, Hossein, I pardon you, and if you will swear to me to be
faithful, in future, I will trust you. You shall again be my cook, and
I will eat the food as you prepare it for me."
"I am my lord's slave," the man said in a low tone. "My life is his."
Charlie nodded, and the guard standing on either side of the prisoner
stepped back, and without another word he left the room, a free man.
Charlie's officers remonstrated with him upon having not only pardoned
the man, but restored him to his position of cook.
"I think I have done wisely," Charlie said. "I must have a cook, for
Tim Kelly here is not famous that way; and although he might manage
for me, when alone, he certainly could not turn out a dinner which
would be suitable, when I have some of the rajah's kinsmen and
officers dining with me. Did I get another cook, he might be just as
open to the offers of my enemies as Hossein has been; and do you not
think that, after what has passed, Hossein will be less likely to take
bribes than any other man?"
Henceforth the oven was removed from the antechamber, and Charlie took
his meals as Hossein prepared them for him. The man said little, but
Charlie felt sure, from the glances that he cast at him, that he could
rely upon Hossein now to the death.
Tim Kelly, who felt the strongest doubts as to the prudence of the
proceeding, observed that Hossein no longer bought articles from men
who brought them up to sell to the soldiers, but that every morning he
went out early, and purchased all the supplies he desired from the
shopkeepers in the town. Tim mentioned the fact to his master, who
said:
"You see, Tim, Hossein has determined that I shall not be poisoned
without his knowing it. The little peddlers who come up here with
herbs, and spices, and the ingredients for curry, might be bribed to
sell Hossein poisoned goods. By going down into the town, and buying
in the open market, it is barely possible that the goods could be
poisoned. You need have no more anxiety whatever, Tim, as to poison.
If the attempt is made again, it will probably be by sword or dagger."
"Well, yer honor," said Tim, "anything's better than pison. I've got
to sleep almost with one eye open. And you've got sentries outside
your windows. What a pity it is that we ain't in a climate where one
can fasten the windows, and boult the shutters! But now the wet season
is over again, ye might have yer bed put, as ye did last year, on the
roof of your room, with a canopy over it to keep off the dew. Ye would
be safe then, except from anyone coming through the room where I
sleeps."
Charlie's bedroom was at the angle of a wall, and on two sides he
could look down from his windows, two hundred feet, sheer into the
valley below. The view from the flat terraced roof was a charming one,
and, as Tim said, Charlie had, in the fine weather, converted the
terrace into a sleeping room. A broad canopy, supported by poles at
the corner, stretched over it, and even in the hottest weather the
nights were not unpleasant here.