"I agree with you that it would be a disadvantage to go as a soldier,"
Dick said, after a pause; "but what disguise would you recommend us to
choose?"
"That I must think over. You both look too straight and active to be
employed as the assistants of a trader, or I could have got some of my
friends to take you in that capacity. The best disguise will be a
gayer attire, such as would be worn by the retainers of some of the
chiefs; and were it not that, if questioned, you could not say who was
your employer, that is what I should recommend."
"I saw a number of men working at a battery they are erecting by the
river side. Could we not take service there until something better
presents itself?"
"I should not advise that," the native replied, "for the work is very
hard, and the pay poor. Indeed, most of those employed on it are men
driven in from the country round and forced to labour, getting only
enough pay to furnish them with the poorest food. There would also be
the disadvantage that, if you were so employed, you would have no
opportunity of seeing any English captives who may have been brought
here of late.
"All that I can at present do, myself, is to speak to some of my
friends who have been here for a long time, and ask them whether they
can remember an English captive being sent up here from Coorg, some
eight years ago, and whether they ever heard what was his fate. I
should say, of course, that I have received a message from friends at
Conjeveram; that some of the man's relations have sent out to make
inquiries concerning him, and asking me if I can find any news as to
his fate. My friends may not know themselves, but they may be able to
find out from others. Very many of our people were forced into the
ranks of the army, and there is not a regiment which has not some men
who, although regarded as Mohammedans, are still at heart, as we all
are, as true to our faith as ever.
"It is from these that we are more likely to obtain information than
in any other way. You will not be very long before you will be able to
satisfy yourself as to whether or not he whom you seek is in this
city; and if he should not be here, there remain but the two towns
that I have named, and the hill forts. As to these, it will be
well-nigh impossible to obtain an entrance, so jealously are they all
guarded. None save the garrisons are allowed to enter. The paths,
which are often so steep and difficult that men and provisions have to
be slung up in baskets, are guarded night and day, and none are
allowed to approach the foot of the rocks within musket shot--lest, I
suppose, they might find some spot where an ascent could be made. The
garrisons are seldom changed. The soldiers are allowed to take their
wives and families up with them, but once there, they are as much
prisoners as those in the dungeons. That is one reason why captives
once sent up there never come down again, for were they to do so they
might, if by chance they escaped, be able to give information as to
the approaches that would assist an assailing force.
"I do not say that all are killed, though undoubtedly most of them are
put to death soon after they arrive; but it may be that some are
retained in confinement, either from no orders being sent for their
execution, or from their very existence being, in time, forgotten by
the tyrant here. Some of these may languish in dungeons, others may
have gained the goodwill of the commanders of the fort--for even among
the Mohammedans there are doubtless many good and merciful men.
"Now for the present. This house has but one storey in front, but
there is a room over this, and that is at your service. Furniture it
has none, but I will, this evening, get a couple of trusses of straw.
It is but a loft, but you will not want to use it, save to sleep in.
You need not fear interruption in this house. There is scarce a man
here that is not, like myself, a Hindoo, for when we were brought here
from Mysore, the piece of ground on which the street stands was
assigned to us, and we were directed to build houses here. Few besides
ourselves ever enter it, for those who still carry on trade have
booths in the marketplace.
"There is one thing I will tell you at once. We, the persecuted, have
means of recognising each other. Outward signs there are none, neither
caste mark nor peculiarity of dress; but we know each other by signs.
When we salute, we turn in the thumbs as we raise our hands to our
turbans--so. If we have no occasion to salute, as we move our hands,
either to stroke our faces, or to touch the handles of our daggers, or
in other way, we keep the thumb turned in. If the man be one of
ourselves, he replies in the same way. Then, to prevent the
possibility of error, the one asks the other a question--on what
subject it matters not, providing that before he speaks, he coughs
slightly.
"You must remember that such communication is not made lightly. Were
it to be so, it would soon attract notice. It is used when you want to
know whether you can trust a man. It is as much as to say, 'Are you a
friend? Can I have confidence in you? Will you help me?'--and you can
see that there are many occasions on which such knowledge may be most
useful, even to the saving of life."
"I do indeed see it," Dick said, "and greatly are we indebted to you
for telling us of it."
They remained talking with their host, whose name was, he told them,
Pertaub, until darkness came on. They had shared his rice with him,
and had requested him to lay in such provision as was necessary for
them; and as soon as it became dark they went out, leaving their guns
behind them.
Busy as the main streets were when they had before passed through
them, they were very much more so now. The shops were all lighted up
by lanterns or small lamps, and the streets were filled with troops,
now dismissed from duty, and bent, some on amusement, some in
purchasing small additions to their rations with the scanty pay
allowed to them. In the open spaces, the soldiers were crowded round
performers of various kinds. Here was a juggler throwing balls and
knives into the air. There was a snake charmer--a Hindoo, doubtless,
but too old and too poor to be worth persecuting. A short distance off
was an acrobat turning and twisting himself into strange postures.
Two sword players, with bucklers and blunted tulwars, played
occasionally against each other, and offered to engage any of the
bystanders. Occasionally the invitation would be accepted, but the
sword players always proved too skilful for the rough soldiers, who
retired discomfited, amid the jeers of their comrades.
More than one party of musicians played what seemed to Dick most
discordant music, but which was appreciated by the soldiers, as was
evident from the plaudits and the number of small coins thrown to the
players. In the great open space, by the side of the market, the crowd
was thickest. Here were large numbers of booths, gay with lamps. In
one were arranged, on tables, trays of cheap trinkets, calicoes,
cloths, blankets, shoes, and other articles of dress. In another were
arms, matchlocks, pistols, tulwars, and daggers. On the ground were
lines of baskets, filled with grain of many kinds, the vendors
squatting patiently behind them. Some of the traders volubly accosted
passers by. Others maintained a dignified silence, as if they
considered the excellence of their wares needed no advertisement.
It was not new, but it was very amusing to Dick, and it was late
before they returned to their lodging.
"I wish," he said, as they strolled back, "that I were a good juggler
or musician. It seems to me that it would be an excellent disguise,
and we could go everywhere without question, and get admittance into
all sorts of places we could not get a chance of entering into in any
other way."
"Yes, that would be a good thing," Surajah agreed; "but I am sure that
I could not do anything, even if you could."
"No, I quite see that, and I am not thinking of trying; but it would
have been a first-rate plan."
"You are very good at sword play," Surajah suggested, although
somewhat doubtfully.
Dick laughed.
"The first really good swordsman that came along would make an
exhibition of me. No; one would have to do something really well."
The subject was renewed, after they had seated themselves with
Pertaub.
"It would be an excellent disguise," he agreed. "A good juggler could
gain admission to the Palace, and might even enter forts where no
others could set foot; for life there is dull, indeed, and anyone who
could amuse the soldiers would be certain of a welcome, and even a
governor might be willing to see his feats."
"Could one bribe a conjurer to let one pass as his assistant?"
"That would be impossible," the Hindoo said, "for an assistant would
have opportunities for learning the tricks, and no money would induce
a really good juggler to divulge his secrets, which have been passed
down from father to son for centuries."
"If one had thought of it," Dick said, "one could have bought, in
London, very many things which would have seemed almost magical to the
people here. I am afraid that we must go on, on our old line. It is a
pity, for the other would have been first rate."
"I have obtained for you, this evening, two suits of clothes such as
we spoke of. In them you can pass as followers of some petty rajah,
and are not likely to attract attention. I have inquired among some of
my friends, and hear that the Rajah of Bohr left here today with his
following. He is but a petty chief, and Bohr lies up north, close to
the Nizam's frontier. Thus, if you should be asked in whose service
you are, you will have a name to give, and there will be no fear of
your being contradicted.
"If you are still further questioned by anyone with a right to ask,
you can say that you were told to remain here, in order to see how
fast the drilling of the troops went on, and to send the Rajah a
report when it is time for him to return here to accompany Tippoo on
his march. You will, of course, account for your dialect by keeping to
your present story, that you came from a village on the ghauts, in
order to enter the service of one of our rajahs; and that your father
having, years ago, been a soldier in the pay of the Rajah of Bohr, you
made your way there direct, instead of coming to the capital."
"That will do excellently, Pertaub. It was a fortunate moment, indeed,
that brought us to your door."
"I have done nothing as yet, Sahib; but I hope that, in time, I may be
able to be of use to you. It was fortunate for me as well as for you,
perhaps, that you stopped at my door. Of late I have had nothing to
think of, save my own grief and troubles, but now I have something to
give an interest to my life, and already I feel that I need not merely
drag it on, until I am relieved of its burden.
"And now, Sahibs, I am sure that rest must be needful for you, and
would recommend that you seek your beds at once."
On the following morning, Pertaub brought up the garments that he had
bought for them. Nothing could be more irregular than the dress of the
armed retainers of an Indian rajah. All attire themselves according to
their fancy. Some carry spears and shields, others matchlocks. Some
wear turbans, others iron caps. The cut and colour of their garments
are also varied in the extreme.
Dick's dress consisted of a steel cap, with a drooping plume of red
horsehair, and a red tunic with a blue sash. Over it was worn a skirt
of linked mail which, with leggings fitting tightly, completed the
costume. Surajah had a red turban, a jerkin of quilted leather, with
iron scales fastened on to protect the shoulders and chest. A scarlet
kilt hung to his knees, and his legs were enclosed in putties, or
swathes, of coarse cloth, wound round and round them. He wore a blue
and gold girdle.
Dick laughed as he surveyed the appearance of himself and Surajah.
"We are a rum-looking couple," he said, "but I have seen plenty of
men, just as gaudy, in the train of some of the rajahs who visited the
camp when we were up here. I think that it is a much better disguise
than the one we wore yesterday. I sha'n't be afraid that the first
officer we meet will ask us to what regiment we belong. There were
scores of fellows lounging about in the streets last night, dressed as
we are."
Sticking their swords and pistols into their girdles, they sallied
out, and were pleased to find that no one paid the slightest attention
to them. They remained in the town until some battalions of recruits
poured out from the fort, to drill on the grounds between it and the
town. The first four that passed were, as Dick learnt from the remarks
of some of the bystanders, composed entirely of boys--some of them
Christians, thirty thousand of whom had been carried off by Tippoo, in
his raid on Travancore; and the young men were compelled to serve,
after being obliged to become, nominally, Mohammedans. After the
Chelah battalions came those of Tippoo's army.
"These fellows look as if they could fight," Dick said. "They are an
irregular lot, and don't seem to have an idea of keeping line, or
marching in step, but they are an active-looking set of fellows, and
carry themselves well. As to the Chelahs, I should say they would be
no good whatever, even if they could be relied on, which we know they
cannot be. They look dejected and miserable, and I suppose hate it all
as much as their officers do. I should back half a regiment of English
to lick the twelve battalions. I wonder Tippoo, himself, does not see
that troops like these must be utterly useless."
"I don't expect he thinks they would be of much use," Surajah agreed.
"He only turned them into soldiers to gratify his hatred of them."
Leaving the troops, they walked on and entered the great fort, which
enclosed an area of nearly two square miles. In this were Tippoo's
palace, his storehouses--containing grain sufficient for the garrison,
for a siege of many months--mosques, the residences of Tippoo's
officials and officers, the arsenals, and the huts for the troops.
There was also a street of shops, similar to those in the town.
Wandering about, unquestioned, they came presently upon a scene that
filled Dick with indignation and fury. Two white officers, heavily
ironed, were seated on the ground. Another, similarly ironed, lay
stretched beside them. He was naked from the waist up. His back was
covered with blood, and he had evidently been recently flogged, until
he fell insensible. Half a dozen savage-looking men, evidently
executioners of Tippoo's orders, were standing round, jeering at the
prisoners and refusing their entreaties to bring some water for their
comrade.
"You brutes!" one of the captives exclaimed, in English. "I would give
all my hopes of liberty, for ten minutes face to face with you, with
swords in our hands."
"They would not be of much use to us," the other said quietly. "It is
four days since we had a mouthful of food, and they would make very
short work of us."
"All the better," the other exclaimed. "Death would be a thousand-fold
preferable to this misery."
Dick felt that, if he remained longer, he would be unable to contain
himself; and turning hastily away, walked off, accompanied by Surajah.
"It is awful!" he exclaimed, with tears running down his cheeks; "and
to be able to do nothing! What must Father have gone through! I think,
Surajah, that if we were to come upon Tippoo I should go for him, even
if he were surrounded by guards. Of course it would cost me my life.
If I could kill him, I think I should not mind it. Such a villain is
not fit to live; and at any rate, whoever came after him, the
prisoners could not be worse off than they are now.
"Let us go back. I have had enough for this morning."
When they returned, Dick told Pertaub of the scene that he had
witnessed.
"Many of them have been starved to death," the old man said. "Possibly
one of their companions may have tried to escape. It is to prevent
this that Tippoo's greatest cruelties are perpetrated. It is not so
very difficult to get away, and take to the jungle. Some have
succeeded, but most of them are retaken, for a watch is vigilantly
kept up, at every village and every road leading on to the frontier;
and if caught, they are hung or forced to take poison. But whether
they are caught or not, Tippoo's vengeance falls upon their
companions. These are flogged, ironed, and kept without rations for
weeks--living, if they do live, upon the charity of their guards.
"This is why there are so few attempts at escape. A man knows that,
whether he himself gets off or not, he dooms his companions to
torture, perhaps death. One case I remember, in which an English
sailor, one out of nine, attempted to get away. He was captured and
killed at once, and his eight companions were all hung. So you see,
even if one of the captives sees a chance of escape, he does not take
it, because of the consequences that would fall upon his companions."
"It is horrible," Dick said, "and I can quite understand why so few
escape. The question for me, now, is whether there are any prisoners
kept in dungeons here."
"Not here, I think. Tippoo's policy is to make all his captives
useful, and though one might be ironed and confined for a time, I do
not think that any are so kept, permanently, here. There were, of
course, some confined to the fort by illness, and some in irons. It
may need some little search, before you are quite sure that you have
seen every one. However, I will try to find out how many there are
there, and to get as many of the names as possible. Some of my
friends, who keep shops in the fort, may be able to do this for me.
This would shorten your task.
"But I cannot hold out any hopes that you will find him whom you seek
in the city. It is among the hill forts you will find him, if he be
alive. I have been turning the matter over, since you spoke to me last
night, and the best plan I can think of is, that you should go as a
travelling merchant, with Surajah as your assistant. You would want a
good assortment of goods; fine muslins and silks, and a good selection
of silver jewellery, from different parts of India. All these I could
purchase for you here. If, by good luck, you could obtain a sight of
the commander of one of these forts, you might possibly obtain
permission from him to go up, and show your wares to the ladies of his
establishment, and to those of other officers. The present of a
handsome waist sash, or a silver-mounted dagger, might incline him
favourably to your petition."
"I think that the idea is an excellent one," Dick said warmly. "If we
cannot get in in that way, there seems to me to be no chance, save by
taking a careful survey of the fortress, to discover where the rocks
can be most easily climbed. There must surely be some spots, even
among the steepest crags, where active fellows like Surajah and myself
would be able to scale them. Of course, we should have to do it after
dark; but once up there, one ought to be able to move about in the
fort without difficulty, as we should, of course, be dressed as
soldiers, and could take dark blankets to wrap round us. We ought then
to be able to find where any prisoners who may be there are confined.
There might be a sentry at the door, or, if there were no other way,
one might pounce upon someone, force him by threats to tell us what
prisoners there are, and where they are confined; and then bind and
gag him, and stow him away where there would be no chance of his being
discovered before daylight."
"There would be a terrible risk in such a matter," Pertaub said,
shaking his head gravely.
"No doubt there would be risk, but we came here prepared to encounter
danger, and if it were well managed, I don't see why we should be
found out. Even if we were, we ought to be able to slip away, in the
darkness, and make our way to the point where we went up. Once down on
the plain, we could renew our disguise as traders, and, however hotly
they scoured the country, pass without suspicion through them.
"I think that there will be more chance, in that way, than in going in
as traders; for we should, in that case, have little chance of walking
about, still less of questioning anyone. However, it is worth trying
that first. We can always fall back upon the other, if it fails. We
might, on our first visit, obtain indications that would be very
useful to us on our second."