In a large house in Calcutta there lived an Englishman, his wife and
her sister. Mrs. C. was of a highly-strung and nervous disposition,
and as her husband's business frequently occasioned his absence from
home, they had persuaded her sister Ethel to come out to India on a
long visit.
Ethel was a bright, lively girl, very practical and quite the opposite
of her sister, whom she often rallied for her timidity. Once when
Alice was more trying than usual, Ethel exclaimed: "Perhaps if I were
a little like you, Alice, delicate, nervous and silly, I might get
a husband who would fuss over me like Charlie does over you."
Alice laughed at her sister's earnestness and said: "If you were not
healthy and strong-minded you would understand me better, Ethel."
Not long afterwards the two ladies were left alone for some days as
Mr. C. was obliged to go upcountry on business. While he was away,
Ethel slept with her sister. It was the cold weather when night closes
in early and the evenings are long. Mrs. C. liked an early dinner,
soon after which she always retired. Ethel liked to spend the long
quiet evenings, reading or writing, and often sat up till midnight.
One afternoon, while they were at lunch, a telegram was brought in,
and on opening it, Alice exclaimed delightedly "Charlie will be back
in time for dinner."
The evening passed away till dinner time but Mr. C. did not arrive
and the ladies waited till nine o'clock. Then they dined, and when
the clock struck ten and still there was no arrival, Alice said she
would go to bed, as Charlie must have missed his train and the next
was not due till near midnight.
Ethel looked up from her book and said: "Well, I am sleeping in my
own room."
"O! you know I hate to be alone," exclaimed Alice; "you might come
and sleep in mine until Charlie comes in."
"Alice, you are selfish," retorted Ethel. "I shall barely be in bed
before he walks in. The only thing for me is to go to bed in your
room in my evening dress."
"How silly you are," said Alice peevishly; "why cannot you undress as
usual? Charlie may not come at all to-night and I dread being alone."
"Oh, very well," said Ethel, "I will come and read in your room till
Charlie does come. I shall never marry a man who is always away on
business," With these words she forsook her easy chair and accompanied
her sister into the large bed-room. She threw herself on the side of
the bed and went on with her book.
Alice undressed, got into bed and was soon asleep. Ethel finished
her book and then lay waiting for her brother-in-law. The lights in
the hall and on the landing were not extinguished, but the house was
still and quiet. It was near twelve and Alice was just wondering if
Mr. C. would really arrive or if it would not be better for her to
undress and get into bed comfortably when she heard gentle footsteps
on the stairs.
"There's Charlie," she said to herself, "and how softly he is coming
upstairs! he is a considerate husband."
She looked at her sister, saw that she was sleeping very soundly. "I
will pretend to be asleep too," said Ethel to herself and she drew
up the bed-clothes to hide her evening dress and put a pillow over
her head.
To her disappointment, Charlie delayed his coming and she was wondering
if he was dining when the door slowly opened, but instead of Mr. C. two
Chinamen entered the room. Ethel stared at them from under her pillow
with amazement. At first they stood motionless beside the door. Then,
closing it noiselessly, they advanced into the room. Their quaint
clothes, long pigtails and red eyes together with their stealthy
movements and the hour of midnight, created an uncanny atmosphere in
the room, and for the first time in her life Ethel began to understand
what nerves mean. Never in her life had her pulses jumped and throbbed
as they were doing now. She controlled her inclination to scream and
from under her pillow watched the men.
They examined the room and one of them approached the toilette table
and began to transfer the jewels and silver ornaments which lay upon it
to a capacious bag. The other took a big cigar out of his pocket and
lit it. Then he stepped to Mrs. C.'s side and began to puff the smoke
into her face. She was sleeping upon her back and though she at first
stirred uneasily she soon seemed to sink into a deeper sleep. After
a few minutes by her side, the Chinaman moved round to Ethel's side
of the bed; but seeing that her head was covered by a pillow and that
she was apparently fast asleep, he turned to help his comrade.
At this moment Mr. C.'s voice sounded in the hall and he came
running upstairs, whistling gaily. The robbers exchanged alarmed
looks and hastily hid themselves and their bag of booty behind a large
almirah. Charlie opened the door and came into the room, saying "Alice,
where are you?" Approaching the bed he said "What, asleep!" and bent
over his wife. But she was in a deep slumber and oblivious of her
husband's presence. He noticed Ethel's form on the opposite side of
the bed and, walking gently round, touched her arm and whispered:
"Are you asleep too?"
She lifted the pillow, stretched her arms, and then sat up on the
bed. He noticed her evening dress and was explaining his late arrival
when she jumped up crossly from the bed and saying, "Look at your wife,
is she not looking ghastly?" went out of the room. Charlie returned to
his wife's side and looked closely at her. Her face seemed strangely
pallid and her hands were cold. He endeavoured to wake her and was
still trying to rouse her when Ethel returned to the room followed
by several of the servants, who looked excited.
In answer to his question, "What is wrong with Alice?" Ethel said
"There are two thieves hidden behind the almirah. Let the servants help
you to secure them and then you will know what is wrong with Alice."
The two Chinamen were soon routed out from behind the almirah,
captured and handed over to the police. A doctor was summoned and
Alice was brought out of the stupor, she had been thrown into by the
fumes of opium smoke.
An Unfaithful Servant.
A rich zemindar named Bose lived in Lucknow, He had emigrated there
from Bengal, acquired land there, and studied the language until
he could speak Urdu like a Hindustanee. He became so much a native
of Lucknow that, when business took him down to Calcutta, he felt
himself a foreigner and stranger in Bengal.
His wife was an invalid and, as the years told on her, he
had frequently to take her to Calcutta for medical advice and
treatment. Their only child was a daughter who was the darling of their
household. The second favourite in the family was a boy called Ram,
who though really a servant was treated like a son of the house and
both Mr. and Mrs. Bose were very fond of him.
When quite a small boy, Ram had been taken into service in the Bose
menagé; and as his parents were both dead and he was remarkably quick
and intelligent, the zemindar took a fatherly interest in the lad and
had him taught to read and write. The teacher thought so highly of
Ram's intellect that he was taught one subject after another by his
indulgent master, and when he grew older, was especially educated
and trained for estate work. When his education was finished he
was appointed to be confidential clerk and cashier, and gradually
grew to know as much of Bose's money affairs as the zemindar did
himself. Whenever the rich man went on his estate, Ram went with
him. At times of collection, Ram had the office of counting the silver
and locking it up in the cash box. Frequently thousands of rupees
passed through his hands in this way, and he alone always knew what
amount of money the cash box contained.
One year, Bose and the faithful Ram had been round the zemindari,
collecting rents; and, as many who had been in arrears paid up, they
returned with a larger sum of money than usual. This was locked up
in the cash box and Bose told his wife in Ram's hearing that next
day he should deposit it in the bank. The cash box was always kept
at night on a table by the zemindar's bed-side.
The Boses had a large house in Lucknow and it was nearly always full,
as Mrs. Bose was fond of company and they invariably had a number
of relatives and friends staying with them. Mr. and Mrs. Bose slept
upstairs in a large south room, which opened into another large room
alongside of it. The only furniture in their room was their two beds
and a table which stood between the beds to hold the cash box and
a lantern.
The night of the zemindar's return, his wife could not sleep. She
had been ill and she counted the hours as the night wore on. The
light of the lantern showed her husband's sleeping form, the naked
sword which always hung at his bedpost, and the bare white-washed
walls of the room. As she lay awake, Mrs. Bose thought she heard a
noise at the door leading into the other room. The noise came again
and she listened intently. Some one opened the door and then shut
it. Mrs. Bose kept still, listened and watched. Some one again opened
and shut the door gently, then again and again. It struck Mrs. Bose
that this was being done to ascertain whether the inmates of the room
were asleep or awake. She continued to keep perfectly still.
Now the door was pushed wide open and Ram entered, and closed the door
softly behind him. When Mrs. Bose saw him enter, her first thought
was that he was the bearer of some bad news, and she very nearly
asked him what was the matter. But his stealthy movements made her
feign sleep and see what he was about; and as he approached her bed
on tiptoe, she closed her eyes and lay as if peacefully sleeping. He
stood beside the bed apparently watching her. Mrs. Bose's nerves were
tingling with fear, and it took all her powers of self-control to keep
her eyes closed and her breath steady. Just as the effort seemed more
than she could keep up, Ram moved away from her bed.
Through her eye-lashes she watched him creep noiselessly to the table
and examine the cash box. Then he returned to the side of her bed
and coughed. Mrs. Bose again succeeded in keeping perfectly still
and he moved round to his master's bedside. Here he stood motionless
for some seconds and then unfastened the sword. The zemindar was
sleeping heavily and as he detached the sword Ram smiled to himself
as if everything was very satisfactory. He grasped the sword in his
right hand and made a trial stroke. Then, smiling again, he lifted
the curtain of the zemindar's bed with his left hand.
Mrs. Bose felt sure that his motive was murder as well as robbery, and
she now shrieked loudly for aid. At the first sound of her voice Ram
dropped the sword and fled from the room. His wife's piercing screams
of "Murder! Help!" woke the zemindar, but by the time he understood
what had taken place Ram had let himself out of the house and was gone.
When morning came the police were informed and the zemindar offered a
handsome reward for the arrest of Ram; but though the police hunted
in Lucknow and elsewhere and also searched the village where Ram's
relatives lived, no one knew anything of him and he was never again
heard of in Lucknow.
Some years after, the old zemindar died and one of the last remarks he
made was: "I should like to know what has happened to poor Ram." He
had never forgotten his affection for his old protege, and had quite
forgiven him for his ungratefulness.