"'I thought I should have died, my son,' said my father, at length;
'and see what a black heart that villain must have to treat an old man
after that fashion. My curses on him and his! he will prosper awhile,
but judgment for this and all his villanies will at last overtake him.'
"'Tell me,' said I, 'what quarrel there is between you, and what cause
he has to persecute you in this manner.'
"'Listen,' he replied, 'and you shall know. Some years ago, when you
were but a boy, Jeysookhdas, who was the principal sahoukar in the
village, died. On his death-bed he sent for me, and delivering over
his family to my care, entreated me as a Moosulman, and one of the
faithful, to protect them against this Brij Lall, whom he had in the
public durbar at Nagpoor beaten with a shoe, for slandering him in the
vilest manner, with the intent of ruining his reputation. In fact,
Brij Lall had accused him of making away with some of the revenue: for
Jeysookhdas was the channel of payment not only of the revenue of our
village, but of those around us, amounting in the year to nearly a lakh
of rupees. Fortunately for him, the character of Jeysookhdas stood too
high for the aspersions of a low wretch like this to hurt it, and no
notice was taken of what he had said. But the insult he had received
never left the mind of Brij Lall. He brooded over it, and made every
attempt to ruin my old friend; who, as he had powerful enemies at the
court, was ever afterwards kept in continual dread of being plundered
under some false accusation, or cast into prison. At length however
he died; and in our last interview he implored me to lose no time in
sending off his wife and family to their country, Marwar, with their
jewels and what money I could collect. I did so as soon as I possibly
could, under an escort of our people, in case they should fall in with
other Thugs on the road.
"'They had scarcely been gone a week, when this Brij Lall and another
mootsuddee came with an order from his master, Narayun Pundit, the
Peshkar, to seize Jeysookhdas's family and effects. The order was a
verbal one, and this being a very unusual circumstance, I directly
refused to give any intelligence about the family, or account of the
effects of the deceased. Brij Lall began to threaten, and at last
became grossly abusive to me, on which I beat him with my shoe, had him
turned out of the village, and he was pelted with mud and stones by all
the idle lads, as he was conducted beyond the boundaries.
"'I never heard anything more of Brij Lall; but I knew he was my
enemy at court, as I could get no justice for many complaints I made
against the ill conduct and aggressions of a neighbour, who had not
only encroached on my boundaries, but seized grain which had been cut,
on several occasions. This annoyance at last reached such a height,
that I determined to send a deputation to the court to petition for
redress. It was, however, fruitless; my people were openly opposed by
Brij Lall, who it seemed had risen into great favour and power. I was
openly accused as a usurper of the patelship of our village--a person
was set up by Brij Lall as the descendant of the real patel; and so
much countenance and support were given him, that my people returned to
me in great alarm, and utterly discomfited.
"'Since that time, my son--now about five years ago--I have been
constantly alarmed by reports which have reached me through my friends
at Nagpoor. I have been warned to beware of assassination, to allow
no strange men to come into the village, nor to go anywhere without
a sufficient escort. This, however, has not, as you know, interfered
with our profession, which I have not neglected to follow; but in other
respects I have been careful. In spite of all, however, we are fairly
in his hands; and may Alla deliver us out of them!'
"We remained some days without another visit from our tormentor; but at
last he came again, and my poor father was again tortured in various
ways, but without effect: he would tell nothing.
"'You dare not kill me, cowardly kafir as you are,' cried he to Brij
Lall; 'and, Inshalla! were I once out of this vile prison, you should
see what a true Moosulman could do for himself. And I bid you beware.'
"Brij Lall laughed at my father's impotent threats, and again left us.
"We had remained in confinement for nearly three months, when one day
one of the soldiers of our guard, won over by my father's promises,
and really struck with the injustice of our case, agreed to convey a
petition, which my father had drawn up, to a sahoukar with whom he was
acquainted, who then managed the money affairs of our village, and
resided in the city of Nagpoor.
"He was extremely astonished to hear of our situation, and immediately
set to work to procure our liberation. But this was no easy task; Brij
Lall possessed the ear of the minister of the court, and every attempt
our friend made was frustrated. At last he laid our case before the
chief sahoukar of Nagpoor, a man of great influence, who went to the
minister himself expressly on our behalf. We were told that the next
day we were to appear in the durbar, and answer the accusations which
had been made against us; and at the hour appointed we were taken to
the house where the peshkar resided, and where he heard the various
suits and cases which were brought before him.
"Narayun Pundit was then a young man; but he was looked up to with much
respect by all who had any dealings with him. He was considered just,
and one who patiently listened to both sides of a question before he
gave his decision. But our bitter enemy Brij Lall was his confidential
mootsuddee, and conducted himself in so plausible a manner, that his
tyrannies were never discovered.
"Brij Lall made his accusation against my father. He said that, by the
laws of the kingdom, accounts of the effects of sahoukars and other
wealthy persons ought to be furnished to the government when they died
without male children. That it was well known that Jeysookhdas was
wealthy; that he had two or three daughters, but no sons; and that they
had no right to have touched a rupee of the property until the accounts
of the government had been settled. Again, that my father was not the
rightful patel of Boree, and that the person who was descended from the
original possessors claimed the office and the lands which were then
in my father's possession. Brij Lall concluded his representation by
saying to the Pundit, 'I will refrain from dwelling, oh incarnation of
Brahma! on the usage I have met with at this man's hands. Twice did I
visit his village, and twice was I received with such indignity that
my blood boils at the recollection. My intentions in going there were
solely for the good of the government; and had I but then complained,
the wrath of my lord would have descended on this man's head, and
annihilated him and his family. But I devoured my grief; and it was
not until provoked by his repeated refusals to come to the presence,
and his contempt of the messages sent to him about the effects of
Jeysookhdas, that I became aware that the dignity of the government was
set at nought, and I ordered his arrest and imprisonment.'
"'Ya Alla! Alla!' cried my father; 'my lord, it is all a lie. I call
Alla to witness that I never disobeyed any order of the government
when sent to me in a proper form. Have I not eaten the salt of the
government before that pitiful wretch was born? and who is he that my
lord should suffer him to abuse so old a servant of the state in his
presence? If I have permission I will represent to my lord that I am
not in fault, but that this devil ought to be severely punished for the
treatment he has subjected your slave to.'
"'We will hear you to-morrow,' said the Pundit, 'and in the mean time
it will be proper for you to draw up a statement of what you have to
say in your defence, in order that its relation may be more succinct
and more readily comprehended.'
"My father then begged not to be confined like a thief, and offered
the two sahoukars as his securities to appear whenever he might be
called on. This was admitted, in spite of Brij Lall's protestations
that no securities would bind us, and we walked away in company with
our friends; my father, as he passed him, twirling his mustachios and
looking askance at him, with many a muttered Inshalla and Mashalla, all
of which Brij Lall answered with looks of the most deadly spite and
hatred.
"In the course of the evening an account was drawn up, in Persian,
of the whole of Brij Lall's conduct, from first to last; and we took
it to the durbar in every expectation of seeing him disgraced before
our eyes, for his unwarrantable treatment of us. But we were doomed
to 'eat disappointment.' The petition was read by Narayun Pundit, and
he proceeded to pass judgment in the case, which was, that Brij Lall
had much exceeded his authority in imprisoning my father, that he had
acted wrongly in persecuting Jeysookhdas and his family, for that on
an examination of the accounts there did not appear to be any claim
against him.
"On the other hand, that my father had behaved ill to Brij Lall, in
having had him turned out of the village; disrespectfully to the state,
in not readily giving the accounts demanded to an agent who was known
to have the power to ask for them, and in resisting for so long a time
his repeated orders.
"My father was going to reply, when, his friend the Sahoukar stopped
him. 'Better,' said he, 'is it to come out of a battle with half
your life than with no life at all. Be quiet: consider that you have
escaped, which is what very few do, from the net which was thrown round
you by that low rascal, and be thankful.'
"My father had only to pay a small fine for what he had done to Brij
Lall. He considered that he had obtained a victory, and so the matter
ended.
"I never shall forget the advice which the old Sahoukar gave my father,
when, after some days' sojourn with him, and being entertained at his
expense, we were about to set out for our village.
"'Pateljee!' said he, 'I know that Brij Lall well; he will never give
up his revenge; you have seen that he behaves like a cow before his
patron, but absent from him he is a tiger in heart and in manners; and
such is the influence he has obtained, that no one dares to oppose him.
You have indeed got well out of his clutches; but had not your affairs
been taken up by our Séth, you would have remained in your miserable
prison until his hate had been satisfied by your death, from the
constant torment and ill-usage he would have subjected you to.'
"'Shookur Alla!' said my father, 'I am at least safe now.'
"'Not without great caution,' said the Sahoukar; 'his emissaries will
beset you wherever you go, and it will require your utmost vigilance
and wariness to avoid them. By your soul, O Patel, I beseech you not
to disregard what I say, or you will repent it.'
"'I will not,' said my father; 'your words are friendly, and I drink
them in as grateful sherbet. But this Brij Lall must have long arms and
powerful if he can reach Mahommedjee Patel.'
"In a very few days after, we took our leave and returned home; but,
as had been predicted, in a few months strange men began to be seen
about the village; and my father, strange to say, disregarded all our
prayers to stay at home, especially after dusk; he would not listen to
us, called the men we had seen travellers, and staid from home late
of nights out of bravado. However, my mother grew at last so anxious
and so alarmed about these repeated visits of unknown people, that
she begged of me never to leave my father's side by day, and always
to bring him home with me from the fields in the evening. This I did
for a long time; but one night, one cursed night--would that I had
never seen the dawn of the day preceding it!--having been delayed in a
field of sugar-cane to arrange about the cutting of it the following
day, we were late in returning home: we were accompanied part of the
way by some men of a neighbouring village, but they separated from
us about half a coss from ours; and the remainder of the way (if we
followed the straight road) was one which was not thought safe, and
by which no one went after nightfall if he could help it. I attempted
to take another; but the old man observed it, and said sharply, 'That
is not the way--that road will keep us out an hour longer.' I had no
reason to give to dissuade him from the road I wished to avoid, though
an ill-defined feeling that there was danger in the one before us had
led me to endeavour to take the other. But, my friends, who can avoid
his fate? If it is the will of Alla that one is to die, of what use
is human foresight? We went on, and soon reached the inclosed fields,
between the high milk-bush hedges of which the path wound. It was
scarcely light enough for us to see our way, but we knew every foot
of the road. All at once, as we proceeded, I thought I saw in a hedge
which crossed the road a glimmer, as if of the match of a gun.
"'Look!' said I to my father, 'we are waylaid, there are people behind
the hedge; look, there are three lighted matches!'
"'You are a fool,' cried he, 'they are fire-flies: are you afraid? has
my son become a coward?'
"The words were hardly out of his mouth, when there were three sharp
cracks close to us. My father fell on his face without uttering a
sound, and I felt a coldness and numbness all down my back, with a
sharp pain, and the same feeling in my leg. I became sick, staggered a
few paces, and then fell; but I was not insensible. Three men rushed
out from the hedge, and ran towards us with drawn swords. Seeing that
neither of us moved, one of them turned me over on my back, and looked
into my face. I shut my eyes, for I knew if they were open I should not
live an instant.
"'This is not the man,' said the fellow standing over me; 'we have
missed them.'
"Another came up.
"'It is nearly as good,' said he, 'it is the young devil, the son: the
father, depend upon it, is the other; come and see.' And they left me.
"They went to where my poor father lay, but I could not see what they
did. I suppose they examined him, for one cried, 'Alhumd-ul-illah! we
have been successful; our faces will be bright in our employer's sight
for this. And only think, to have succeeded so easily after this long
watching! The old dog was as wary as a fox.'
"'You may thank me,' said another, who had not as yet spoken: 'if I
had not dogged him to the sugar-cane field, and found out his nearest
way homewards, we might have had a long continuance of our fruitless
watching, of which I was heartily tired. Come,' continued he, 'we must
not stay, the country will be too hot to hold us. Madhoo will help us
on to Nagpoor, and the sooner we get to him the better; the horses I
know are all ready.'
"I heard no more. I was sick and faint, and lay almost insensible for
a long time: the pain of the wounds was horrible, and I writhed in
torment; the night too, was dreadfully cold, and I became so stiff I
could not move. I tried even to get as far as my poor father's body,
which I could just see lying on its back; but motion was denied me.
I lay and moaned bitterly. I heard the voices of persons not far off,
and shouted as loud as I could, but they did not hear me. There were
shots fired, as I afterwards heard, as signals to us; but I could not
answer them: what could I do, lying as I did like a crushed reptile? My
senses went and returned, as though I were dead, and again alive. Oh,
my friends, how can I describe to you the misery of that night! At last
I was roused out of a faint by some persons with a torch standing over
me. I quickly recognized them as some of the labourers of the village;
they had searched every lane, and at length found me. I knew not what
they said or did; but they broke out into lamentations on seeing my
father's body, and taking me up in a blanket they carried me to the
village, and set me down at the door of my father's house: alas! his no
longer.
"My friends, all of you have seen the grief of women when death has
come into the house and struck down a father, a brother, a son; all of
you know how the shrieks and moans of women pierce into the heart, and
turn men's livers into water. Till my father's body arrived there was
no cry--no scream; my mother sat in a corner rocking herself to and
fro, calling on my father's name in a low tone, and every now and then
beating her breast; my sister attended to me, and moistened my mouth
with water, as I still lay unable to speak, but fully aware of all
that was going on around me. Some old women of the village sat near my
mother, shivering in the cold wind which whistled through the house,
and speaking among themselves in whispers. There was but a small lamp
in a niche in the wall, which with its flickering light now revealed
one group now another, causing the shadows of the whole to leap about,
over--around--above me, until my disturbed brain fancied them a legion
of devils sent to torment me before my time.
"'Sister,' said I, 'call our mother to me, I am dying I think;' for at
the moment I felt fainter than ever.
"'No, no! you must not die; you must not leave us now,' said the
affectionate girl; 'it is but a wound; the barber is coming, and will
take out the ball; and a fomentation is being prepared by the hukeem:
you will soon be well.'
"As she spoke this, a sudden gleam of torches lighted up the whole
space outside; and immediately after, four men bearing my poor father's
body, walked slowly towards the house. I summoned energy enough to sit
up, leaning against the wall, and the body was brought, all bloody as
it was, and laid down. I should not say laid down, for as the men who
carried it were preparing to let it down gently, one of the corners of
the blanket slipped, and the corpse fell heavily to the ground, giving
a horrid dull squelch, the sound of which thrilled through every nerve.
"For an instant there was not a word spoken; but when the bloody
features were exposed to view, the uproar was dreadful. Headed by my
mother, all the old women rushed to the side of the body and began
the most heart-rending shrieks; those who had carried it were also
affected, and the cry reached to the outside, where the crowd assembled
took it up, till the heavens were cracked with the noise of the
lamentations. It was in vain that I endeavoured to make myself heard.
But on a sudden the noise ceased, and silence was ordered by the Kazee
of the village who entered. He cast a look on the dead body, and then
asked for me. 'Who has done this?' said he; 'whom do you suspect? Tell
us, by your soul tell us, ere it be too late to overtake them, whoever
they may be.'
"'Mahdoo, patel of Etare,' said I: 'but the villains have horses, they
are gone ere this, there is no use sending.'
"'Who have horses? who have gone, did you say?' cried he with
impatience: 'rally for a time, and strive all you can to let us know
how this was, how it happened.'
"I had barely strength, but I gave a short relation of the whole.
"'By Alla, it is the work of Mahdoo himself,' said one, 'and we will
burn his village before the morning breaks.'
"'It is the doing of Rheim Khan,' cried another.
"Rheim Khan was my father's brother-in-law, and they had been at bitter
enmity.
"'Who takes the name of Rheim Khan?' cried my mother, 'may his tongue
be blistered and rot in his mouth! May his end be like this!' pointing
to the corpse; and again she resumed her howls and lamentations.
"'Did you hear the woman?' said one fellow close to me; 'she would not
curse at that rate if Rheim Khan was free from suspicion.'
"'Silence!" said I, as loud as I could; 'I know who is the author
of this, at least I have a right to have the strongest suspicions.
Mahdoo Patel had no hand in it, he is a coward; Rheim Khan, though he
hated the old man, could never have done or planned this; no, it is
neither; it is one whom we poor people can never reach from his height
of station, one whom the pleasure of Alla alone can bring down to the
condition of him who is there; I mean Brij Lall, the accursed, the
merciless.' I was exhausted with speaking, and sank down.
"'Who spoke?' said my mother raising her head: 'I surely heard the
voice of my son!'
"'I am here, my mother,' said I; and she turned to me.
"'Thou here! thou alive! Coward! hast thou come to me to see thy father
a bloody corpse in his own house? Where wert thou that thou diedst not
with him? Did I not caution thee never to leave the headstrong old man,
who would persist in disregarding all advice, and in exposing himself
at night?'
"'I cannot answer thee now, my mother,' said I, 'but I was with him;
see here, I fell also: though I did not die then, I feel that I shall
do so soon.' I opened my vest and showed her the hole the ball had
made, out of which a drop or two of black blood every now and then
oozed; she looked at it, and threw herself at my feet.
"'Thou art no coward!' she sobbed out, 'thou art no coward! thou hast
bled in thy father's defence, and I can say nothing but that it is the
will of Alla, and his fate. Who can avoid his destiny? But it is hard
to lose both. Husband and son, husband and son, and I an old woman!'
"And she went from me, and resumed her place at the side of the body.
"One by one the neighbours left us; the name of Brij Lall had silenced
every one; and in a very short time there remained only the watchers
by the corpse, my sister, and myself. She was but a girl, my friends,
but she watched by me and fomented my shoulder and leg with warm water,
until the coagulated blood dissolved, and I was easier. How I wished
for the light to be put out! but they would not hear of it. I have
seen death in many, many forms since, but never have I seen anything
that I could compare with my remembrance of my father's appearance.
His features were pinched up, his lips drawn tightly across his mouth,
showing his upper and under teeth; his eyes were wide open, for they
could not be closed; and the flaring light, now rising now sinking, as
it was agitated by the wind, caused an appearance as if of the features
moving and gibbering, with that ghastly expression on them. I could not
take my eyes off them, and lay gazing at them till the day broke.
"The barber, who had been absent at a neighbouring village, soon
afterwards arrived, and examined my wounds. One ball had entered my
shoulder and had passed into my neck. He groped in the wound for some
time with a pair of pincers, and, after putting me to horrible pain,
succeeded in getting hold of it and drawing it out. I was then easier:
the blood flowed copiously; the wound in the leg was only through the
flesh, and having taken some opium I soon fell asleep, and awoke,
though still in pain, yet easier than I had been.
"My father had by this time been buried, and I was left with the
consciousness of having one enemy, and one, too, who would not forego
his revenge even to the son of his victim.
"The old Kazee could recommend nothing, could suggest no measures to be
pursued to bring the murderers to conviction. So, as he said, we sat
down on the carpet of patience, to smoke the pipe of regret, and to
drown our affliction in the best way we could. Matters continued to run
smoothly for the period of a year. I was considered to have succeeded
to my father's rights, when, one day, the man who had been set up by
Brij Lall as the real patel, in opposition to my father, arrived at the
village with a body of armed men, and with orders for his installation.
The villagers were too weak to resist this tyranny, and I was forced to
resign all my claims to the new comer. By this time my sister had gone
to the house of her father-in-law, and I sent my mother after her, for
I had no longer a home. I left the village with an aching heart, to see
if my father's friends, the sahoukars, could do anything for me at the
court. But they, too, had changed, as I might, perhaps, have expected,
and would do nothing.
"Brij Lall, they said, was too powerful to be interfered with; and
they recommended me to give up all hopes of justice, as the attempt
to fix the crime of murder upon him, with the insufficient evidence I
possessed, would be attended with my certain destruction. Nor would
they assist me to regain my lost rights; so that I was friendless, and,
as it were, forsaken in the world. I had but one resource: I joined
the first band of Thugs I could discover, though I had previously not
practised the profession, and I have since lived a lonely and wretched
life in the world. My mother is long since dead. My sister still
lives, and has some children; she is happy, and has no remembrance
of the past. I pay her a visit now and then, and am received with
affection and kindness. She is the only one in this world, except you,
my friends, who cares for me. She believes me to be a soldier in the
service of Holkar, and she will never know to the contrary. Praise be
to Alla! however, my enemy has died by my own hand, and I am content,
for I am revenged. Some of you, my friends, will lay me in my grave
when my time comes, and it will not be long. I have lived hitherto for
the deed I did last night. There is no excitement for me in the future,
and it matters not how soon the old Thug is laid in the earth. This
is my story, such as it is; if I have arrested your attention, and
gratified the Sahib-zada, my intentions have been fulfilled, and I am
content."
* * * * *
The whole assembly was struck and affected by the old man's story, and
all joined in consoling him for his misfortunes. But I was particularly
interested in them, as they went more to convince me that the hand of
Alla was upon all our doings, than even my father's history. Both were
striking instances, but the Thug's particularly so. It really seemed as
though Brij Lall had been given into our hands--nay, to the very hands
of him he had so oppressed, to receive his punishment on earth previous
to the eternal fires of Jehunum. "Henceforward," said I to myself, "no
one shall have it to say of Ameer Ali that he hung back when occasion
required his personal exertions. I will emulate my father, and the
country shall know and feel that I am a scourge on its wickedness. No
one shall escape me; I shall act up to the utmost of the oath I have
taken, wage unrelenting war with the whole human race, and, Inshalla!
they shall see whether Ameer Ali cannot lead his men on to actions
which will by far surpass any of the present times, and equal those the
traditions of which remain among us."
From that day I put myself under the tuition of the Gooroo, or teacher
of the band,--an old Thug who was worn out with age, but had been
considered to be one of the most dexterous Bhuttotes, or stranglers,
who had lived within the memories of any of the men of our company. He
was a Hindoo, a Rajpoot; and though his frame was dry and shrivelled,
yet from his height, breadth of shoulders, and sinews, which were
developed the more by the absence of flesh to cover them, it was
easy to see that he had been a man of immense strength and power;
and, added to this, if his great dexterity in using the handkerchief
was considered, the stories of his superior prowess might easily
be credited. I had hitherto not associated much with him--beyond a
courteous demeanour to each other, we had been but little acquainted;
so I begged my father to take me to him, deliver me over to his care,
and request of him to initiate me thoroughly in the practice of a
bhuttote. He was delighted at this spontaneous offer on my part,
readily acceded to my wishes, and at once put me under the care of
Hoosein and Roop Singh, the old Thug I have mentioned, who belonged to
Hoosein's party.
"For a few days," said my father, "I will not see you; you shall remain
with them; and when you return to me, let me welcome you as ready and
willing to take a part in the next affair we may be engaged in."
The day after we began in earnest. Roop Singh repeated incantations
over me. I ate no meat, indeed tasted nothing but milk for four days.
Numerous sacrifices were made to the sacred pickaxe; every omen was
observed, and as I sat under the trees after our daily march, scarcely
a bird alighted on them but there was some conclusion drawn from it;
and the appearance of different animals and birds as we commenced our
march in the mornings were particularly observed and noted. I was
naturally very inquisitive as to the meaning of all that was done to me
and for me, but the old gooroo would not enlighten me.
"My son," said he, "when I was your age, these ceremonies were
performed over me, to make me fearless and stony-hearted, active and
cunning, so as to ensnare all who came within my reach, and to avoid
my enemies--to make me fortunate, and to cause me to win fame. In all
these I have never failed. Two others upon whom I have performed them
are rising fast to be jemadars, such is their address and courage;
and you, too, will be the same; therefore ask no questions. Content
yourself with knowing that everything is going on properly and to my
complete satisfaction, for I have not observed one unfavourable omen."
On the fifth morning, the handkerchief was put into my hand; and, after
having been bathed, anointed with sweet-smelling oils, and marked on
the forehead with vermilion, as a votary of Bhowanee, I was declared a
Bhuttote.
"One thing I forgot," said the old man, laughing, as he gave me the
cloth, "and that was the principal perhaps. I have not shown you how
to use it, and I have a peculiar knack of my own, which is easily
communicated. You will soon learn it."
He took the cloth, tied a large knot at one end, with a piece of silver
inserted in it; this he held in his left hand, the plain end being in
his right, and about as much space between them as would nearly compass
a man's neck: the closed hands had the palms uppermost.
"Now," said he, "mark this; and when you throw the cloth from behind,
and have got it tight, suddenly turn your knuckles into the neck,
giving a sharp wrench to either side that may be most convenient. If
done in a masterly manner, instant death ensues."
I took the cloth, and held it as he directed, but it did not please
him. "Give it me back, that I may show you more exactly on your own
neck," said he.
"Indeed, no," cried I, laughing; "you might think I was a traveller,
and have me down in an instant, without intending it; but I perfectly
understand the method."
"Then try it on _me_, Ameer Ali; I shall see by the position of your
hands whether you know anything about it."
I obeyed him; the old man shook his head and laughed. "That will never
do; you could not kill a child in that way," he said: "when you feel my
hands round your neck you will understand."
So I submitted with as good a grace as I could, though I did not at all
like the idea. My blood ran cold through me as I felt his chill, clammy
hands about my neck. But he did not hurt me, and I saw where my error
had been. I tried it on him as he had shown me several times, and was
declared at last to be perfect.
"Now you only want practice, Ameer Ali," said he.
"Inshalla! Roop Singh," I replied, "we shall have plenty of it. One
beginning, and I fear not for the rest. Like a tiger, which once having
tasted human blood will if possible take no other, and runs every risk
to get it, so I feel it will be with me." And it was so. Sahib! I knew
myself--I had spoken truly.