Three years, as I have before told you, Sahib, passed in inactivity.
My father and myself were in high favour, at least so we thought, with
the rajah, who protected us and bestowed flattering marks of kindness
upon us. Our revenue business was increased, we had now the management
of a large tract of country, and I believe we gave satisfaction to the
people as well as to their prince. The revenue was never in arrears; and
many persons from distant parts of the country, hearing of our mild and
equitable mode of government, came and settled with us in our villages.
Our perquisites as revenue collectors yielded a handsome income, and
we lived happy and tranquilly. Still a restless spirit was within
me; I heard of the successes of various bands of Thugs in different
directions: men came and boasted of their exploits, and again I longed
to be at the head of my gallant fellows, and to roam awhile striking
terror into the country.
'Tis true I had gained the highest rank I could; I possessed fame;
not a Jemadar or Soobehdar of Thugs could compare his actions with
mine; but I vainly thought that there was more to be gained, and that
I had only to propose an expedition, to be joined by a larger number
of Thugs than had collected together for many years. In this I was not
disappointed, as you shall hear.
I have before mentioned to you the name of Ganesha Jemadar, he was
always with us when not on the road, envying our quiet and respectable
mode of life, which he could not attain by any means, though he left
none untried. He bribed all the rajah's court, nay the rajah himself,
to procure employment; but there was something so harsh and forbidding
in his aspect, and so uncouth were his manners, that he did not succeed
in what he so much longed for.
He came in despair to us, and after rating in no measured terms the
conduct of the rajah and his officers, said that he was determined
again to take to the road, for there alone he found occupation and
amusement. He pressed me to accompany and join him, pictured in strong
terms the booty we should gain and the glory we should win; and after
many demurs and objections on my part, I finally agreed. Notice was
given out to all the Thugs of that part of the country, that an
expedition of great magnitude would be undertaken after the ensuing
Dussera.
Accustomed as Azima had become to my temporary absences, after the
period of quiet I had passed with her, she now did not oppose my
leaving her, as she had done before. She thought it was some mercantile
speculation which led me from home, and, as you may believe, I did not
undeceive her. Rejoiced at the prospect of again serving under me,
all my own band, and many more, flocked to the place of rendezvous,
which was at some distance from Jhalone. Ganesha had upwards of a
hundred followers; and, finally, on the day of the Dussera, the usual
ceremonies were concluded in the presence of upwards of three hundred
Thugs, than whom a finer or more experienced band were never gathered
under any leader. I was justly proud of my charge; and my father, who
had accompanied me to the rendezvous, felt all his former fire kindle
within him. I pressed him to accompany us, and the old man consented.
Some were for trying a new line of road, and for penetrating into
Guzerat through Rajpootana. This question was fairly discussed in a
general assembly, and opinions being much balanced between that route
and our old one by Saugor and Jubbulpoor to Nagpoor, the matter was
referred to the decision of the omens. They were consulted as I have
before described; and as they decidedly pointed to the south, no
further doubt could be entertained upon the subject, and again we moved
on in our old direction, to us familiar, for there was not a man among
us who did not know every step of the road, and the best places for the
destruction of any persons whom chance might throw in our way.
We had proceeded nearly as far as Saugor, with but indifferent success,
considering our large body, having only killed fourteen travellers, and
got but little booty; when one night, as my father and myself, with a
few others, sat in our little tent, we heard the _ekarea_--that most
dreadful of all omens to a Thug. The ekarea is the short sharp bark
or call of the jackal, uttered in the first watch of the night: in
itself there is something peculiarly melancholy and appalling, but to
a Thug the sound is one of horror. In an instant all conversation was
at an end, and we gazed on each other in consternation and alarm. No
one spoke, we all listened intently; it might be repeated, which would
be worse than ever. It was; the sharp short bark was again heard, and
there was but little time for deliberation: all started to their feet.
"We must return instantly," said my father. "Bhowanee is unpropitious,
or danger threatens; at any rate to go on is impossible, for mark you
not that the sound came from the very direction of to-morrow's march?"
All agreed that it did, and were unanimous in their desire to return.
Still I could not divine why the bark of a jackal should change the
determination of three hundred men, and I ventured to say that I was
sure it was some mistake, and that, even if it were not, we ought to
proceed, since the omens had been so propitious at the commencement.
"Why!" said I to my father, "were they not so? Have we not worshipped
the pickaxe every seventh day according to the law? Have we not
performed all the necessary ceremonies on the death of every traveller?"
"That is all true," said my father; "but it is madness to think of
proceeding. Foolish boy! you have never known a reverse, thanks to
your good fortune, and the excellent advice by which you have been
guided; but beware how you disregard omens--it will one day lead
you to destruction. As to this matter, the designs of Bhowanee are
inscrutable, and she must be obeyed!"
Other Thugs too had heard the ekarea, and many came in a clamorous body
to the tent, begging either to be allowed to disperse, or to be led
back to Jhalone. Any words of mine would have been useless, for the
whole band seemed infected by superstitious fear; I therefore held my
peace. Our encampment was broken up instantly, and, late as it was, we
that night retrograded a few coss on the road by which we had come; no
fresh omen of favour was vouchsafed to us, and we retraced our steps to
Jhalone, disappointed, wearied and dispirited.
A month passed in idleness; but having formed my determination again
to take to the road, I was not to be put off, and again I assembled my
men and sought for omens. They were favourable, and I heartily prayed
to Bhowanee that they might not deceive us again into a fruitless
expedition. They pointed too to a different direction, that of the
west, and we knew that between Bombay and Indoor, and indeed through
all parts of Malwa, large treasures were constantly passing. We had
before, as you have heard, reaped the largest booty I had ever got in
that quarter, and I hoped to secure a like one again. We accordingly
left our home,--one hundred and twenty Thugs under myself and Peer
Khan, who still stuck to me. Ganesha had gone off in a different
direction--whither I knew not; his presence was always hateful to me;
why, I could not tell, and I could but ill disguise the feelings I
entertained towards him.
It was too long an expedition for my father to undertake, and
accordingly he stayed at our village. We met with no adventures worth
recording, Sahib, on our road to Bombay, for thither we were determined
to proceed in quest of plunder; besides, I had heard much of its
importance, and I felt a curiosity to behold the sea and the ships
of the Feringhees, which came over trackless waters from their far
country. But when I say that we met with no particular adventures, or
any worth recording, you must not think that we were idle. Thirty-one
travellers died by our hands; several escaped us, the omens being
against their destruction; and, finally, we reached Bombay, with about
four thousand rupees worth of plunder--enough to enable us to live
respectably. In Bombay we put up in the large bazar which is without
the fort; and although, from the danger of detection, we could not keep
together, yet a constant communication was kept up among us, and every
man held himself in readiness to start in any direction on a moment's
warning. I had appointed too a rendezvous, the town of Tannah, which
being close to the continent is a place where travellers congregate in
large numbers previous to passing over.
I saw the sea! Day after day I went down to its edge, and gazed on its
magnificence. I used to lie on the grass of the plain before the fort,
and pass hours of a sort of dreamy ecstasy, looking on its varying
aspect,--like that of a beautiful woman, now all smiles, and again
agitated by the passions of love,--or listening to its monotonous
and sullen roar, as wave after wave bowed its crest, and broke into
sparkling foam on the white sand.
I was lying thus one day, about the seventh after our arrival,
meditating on our inactive life, and had almost determined to depart
the next day, when a respectable-looking man came up to me. "Salam
Aliekoom!" said he; "you are evidently a stranger, for your dress and
carriage bespeak you to be an inhabitant of Hindostan. I have watched
you for two days coming to this spot and gazing on the sea; have you
never seen it before?"
"Never," replied I; "my home is, as you say, far inland, and in
Hindostan; you have thus guessed rightly: and to me, a stranger, can it
be otherwise than that I should be struck with a sight so novel and so
overpowering as this expanse of water is, which seems to melt into the
sky?"
"The tones of your voice are music in my ears," said the stranger; "I
have heard many from my country (for that is also Hindostan), but never
any which reminded me so strongly of my own home as yours. May I ask
your village?"
"I lived formerly in Murnae, in the Sindousé Pergunna," said I, "but
now reside in Jhalone."
"Murnae!" cried the man in astonishment; but he lowered his voice as he
said, "Ah, I remember now; 'tis on the borders of Sindia's country, and
belongs to him."
"Not now," said I; "the Feringhees have had it ceded to them, and they
possess it."
"But," said the man, changing the topic, "you love to look on the sea;
have you ever been on its surface? have you visited the ships you may
have seen moored before the town?"
"I have not," replied I; "I several times determined to go, but my
heart failed me when I saw the frail boat which should take me.
Besides, I am a stranger; no one would have admitted me, were I to have
gone to them."
"Will you accompany me?" said the man. "I have an idle day before me,
and shall be glad to pass it in your company."
I gladly assented, and we took our way to a stone pier which ran into
the sea on the outside of the fort. I could not divine with whom I had
thus scraped an acquaintance; all the Peons on the Bunder (for so the
pier was called) paid the greatest respect to my new friend; all made
low obeisances to him, and a scramble ensued among the owners of the
small boats which were tied to the landing-place, for the honour of
conveying us to the shipping.
He selected one, however, and pushing off, we were on the bosom of the
ocean. I confess I was afraid: though Jhalone was not far from the
Jumna, I had never seen that river, nor had I ever seen a boat before
my arrival at Bombay. Now each succeeding wave, as we descended from
the top of the last one, appeared as though it would roll over us;
but the men were fearless and experienced, and after a few qualms I
was reconciled to our situation. We rowed, for the wind was against
us, close round several of the ships which lay at anchor; and at last
ascended, with the permission of a Feringhee officer who was on board,
the side of an immense ship, which my friend told me was one of war,
and belonged to the king of England. After looking over the upper part,
a small gratuity of two rupees to a sailor enabled us to proceed below
to see the guns. I was astonished at their size, and at the exactness
with which everything was fitted; the ropes even were twisted down
into coils, like huge snakes sleeping, and the whole was a picture
of neatness and cleanliness which I little expected to have seen.
But these matters, Sahib, are doubtless familiar to you, so I will
pass them over. We returned to the shore with a fair wind, and as the
boatmen spread a small sail, we danced merrily along over the swelling
waters.
I was about to separate from my companion, and again protested my sense
of his kindness, when he stopped me. "No, Meer Sahib," said he, "I must
have further converse with you. I am much mistaken if you are not what
I was once, and am still whenever I can seize an opportunity."
I stared at him. Could he be a Thug? If he was not, he would not
understand our words of recognition; if he was, I should be right. I
did not hesitate. "Ali Khan Bhaee Salam!" said I, gazing intently at
him.
"Salam Aliekoom!" cried he. It was enough--he also was a Thug.
"Those words I have not heard for many a year," said he; "they remind
me of my early days, and the goor of the Tupounee."
"Then you have eaten it?" said I.
"I have," replied the man.
"Enough," cried I; "I have met with a friend; but who you are I am as
yet ignorant."
"Have you not ever heard of Soobhan Khan Jemadar?" he asked. "You say
you came from Murnae: surely I must be remembered there?"
"I have," answered I; "those who knew you have believed you dead. How
is it that you are here, and a person of authority?"
"I will tell you hereafter of my situation, but at present I have many
questions to ask of you--and first, is my good friend Ismail Jemadar
alive?"
"My father!" said I, "surely he is; the good old man has attained a
fine age, and is well."
"Shookur Khoda!" cried he; "but you said he was your father; surely he
had no children--he was not even married when I left."
"Ah," said I, "so it might have been then, but here am I to speak for
myself."
"And Hoosein, his and my friend, does he too live?"
"Alas, no! he died two years ago, full of age and honour." (I have not
mentioned this event to you, Sahib, but it had taken place soon after I
returned from my Pindharee expedition.)
He continued to ask after many of his old friends, and at last inquired
how many men I had with me. I told him, and he was somewhat astonished
at their number.
"Well," said he, "you are here, and it will be hard if I cannot find
some work for you. I have told you I am a Thug, and have been so from
my youth: my father and ancestors were Thugs before me. But, many years
ago, I came here as the servant to a Sahoukar of Indoor. I liked the
place, and not long after got employment as a government Peon, in the
service of the English. They have been kind and generous masters to me;
I have served them well, and have risen by degrees to the rank I now
hold, which is that of Jemadar. Why I left my station as a Jemadar of
Thugs is perhaps unknown to you?"
I replied that I did not know.
"It was in consequence of a foolish quarrel with your father," said
he. "We were on an expedition, and I thought he assumed too much; we
were both young men, of fiery blood,--we had a sharp altercation, and
both drew our swords: he was my superior, and I feared that he would
condemn me to death. I fled, entered the service of the Sahoukar as
one of his escort from Indoor, and you see what I am. Yet I have never
forsaken the Thugs whenever I have met with them. I am too old to seek
adventures myself, but I put the young and active in the way of them,
and thus have kept up my connexion with them; not, it is true, with
those of Hindostan, for a feeling of shame has hitherto prevented my
doing so; but since Bhowanee has thrown you in my way, you shall not
regret it. My acquaintance has been with the Thugs of the Dukhun, and
I have headed one or two expeditions towards Poona, when I could get
leave of absence for a while from my duties. But when I could not do
this, I have secured bands of travellers for my associates, and they
have been successful. I have too, by the share of the booty I was
entitled to, been able to purchase the goodwill of those who could
befriend me; and your servant Soobhan Khan enjoys a high character
among the Sahib-logue for honesty and fidelity."
"I do not doubt it," said I; "your appearance insures respect; your
manners are courtly: and how could it be otherwise?"
Thus conversing, we reached his house; it was not far from where I was
residing; and, as he told me afterwards, he had discovered who we were,
and had followed me from place to place, until he got an opportunity
of speaking with me unobserved. From this time, as you may believe,
Sahib, we were sworn friends. I listened to his details of roguery (for
rogue he was in his heart) with great interest, and I accompanied him
several times to the durbar of the gentleman with whom his duties were
connected. He was evidently a person well thought of, and as far as
his office was concerned--that of keeping the peace, was zealous and
active. Still there was something forbidding to me in the way he now
followed his profession of a Thug; and as we became more intimately
acquainted, he unfolded to me his plans and operations. I cannot tell
you, Sahib, of their extent. He introduced me to the Jemadars of Dukhun
Thugs who scoured the roads to Poona, to Nassuk, to Sholapoor, and
Hyderabad; to others from Guzerat, who were engaged in that part of the
country,--but all under his control, and from all of whom he exacted
a high rate of tribute as the price of the information he was able to
give them, as to the despatch of treasure in various directions by the
sahoukars and merchants of Bombay.
I had remained with him a week, and our stock of money was sensibly
diminishing. What was to be done? He had promised assistance in giving
me information of the despatch of treasure in our direction, and I had
hitherto waited in expectation that he would fulfil his promise. I was
tired too of Bombay; the season was advancing, and I hardly thought we
should reach Jhalone before the setting in of the rains. I therefore
went to him, and frankly told him our money was running short, and
that in a place like Bombay, where my men were exposed to so many
temptations, they could not be expected to keep what they had; I was
therefore anxious to depart, and, if he could give me no hope of any
speedy booty, that I should set off in two days, and take my chance on
the road.
"My plans are not quite matured in your direction," said he. "I have
heard that one of the greatest traders to Indoor and Malwa is about
to send not less than two lakhs of rupees thither. I know that the
Rokurreas are hired; but as yet I cannot say whether they carry
hoondees or money. Three days ought to determine this, and in the mean
time, as you want money, a thousand rupees are at your service, which
you can repay me, with interest at three per cent. per month, on your
arrival at Jhalone. I will trust to your good faith as the son of my
old friend."
"I am obliged to you," replied I; "but the money is not quite so
necessary as I said. I believe every man has some twenty or thirty
rupees in his possession; but it was to prevent their spending this
that I spoke to you as I did. Only say that within a week we may start,
and my men will be careful."
"Certainly," said he, "before a week's time; come to me to-morrow
evening after prayer-time, and you shall have further news about your
bunij."
The interest-eating rascal! said I, as I left him. He a true believer!
Strange I have never heard of him from my father; but I will ask him
about the fellow on my return home, and doubt not I shall hear some
evil or rascality of him. Not a rupee of his money will I touch, the
kafir! A Thug to take interest from a Thug--who ever heard of it? I
dare say he is as bad as the villanous Bhutteara we killed at Saugor.
Nor was I wrong, Sahib. I became intimate with a Dukhun Jemadar who was
waiting for bunij, who told me that he ground the Thugs unmercifully,
threatened to denounce them if they ever demurred, and got from them
double the share he would have been entitled to had he shared the risk
and the danger on the road.
"But," said the Jemadar, "there is no doing without him, much as he
oppresses us; he throws the most valuable booty into our hands, which
we never could get scent of by ourselves; he has a number of Thugs who
are his servants, and whom he pays liberally to get him information;
he possesses the confidence of the sahoukars, as he assists them
to smuggle; they pay him too for a kind word now and then with the
Sahib-logue. In fine, he is paid both by them and us, and he contrives
to sell all our valuable plunder."
"Then his receipts must be enormous," said I.
"They are," said the Jemadar, "and we all grudge them to him; but still
he protects us, and we could not do without him."
"Has he ever been treacherous?" I asked; for, by Alla! I was inclined
to mistrust the rascal.
"There are some stories of the kind," he replied, "but in the main he
is to be trusted. Still, as I said, if he were not, we could do nothing
without him; he knows every Jemadar of the Dukhun, and could if he
chose blow up the whole system to-morrow; but it does not suit his
interest to do so, and we are all his slaves."
"Long may ye continue to be so!" cried I to Peer Khan when he had left
me; "but as for us, brother, 'tis the last time he will catch us here.
What say you?"
"Certainly," said Peer Khan; "these fellows are never to be trusted;
they exist everywhere, in all shapes: they are zemindars and potails
of villages; they are Fakeers and bhuttearas; they are goosaens,
sahoukars, servants, and mutsuddees; nay, the Rajah of Jhalone is one
himself. They are an evil 'tis true, but we could not do without them."
"I have done so as yet," said I, "and, by Alla! I will never trust one
of them."
"May you never have occasion, Meer Sahib." And the conversation dropped.
I went as I had promised, and found Soobhan Khan in high glee. "I have
secured the bunij," said he. "Are you ready?"
"I am. What are your orders?"
"Listen," he replied. "I was right in saying the sum was two lakhs.
Contrary to my expectations, the sum is in gold and silver and jewels;
there are about ten thousand rupees in hoondees (bills), but that is
all. Now before I tell you more, we must make our bargain."
"Speak," cried I; "I am ready to give anything in reason."
"Ay, you are my old friend's son, so I must not treat you as I do the
others I associate with," said he; "from them I get a third of the
whole, but from you I ask only a fifth. A fifth will be twenty thousand
rupees. Will you give it?"
"With pleasure," said I. "You may trust to my word; directly I get the
money, and reach Jhalone, I will purchase a hoondee on Bombay, and send
it you."
"Capital!" cried he; "you are a man I like to deal with: no unnecessary
talk, no haggling like a bunnea, but you speak like a soldier as you
are. Now give me a promise under your seal that I shall have the money,
and I will detail the plan to you. The paper is a mere matter of form,
and I am methodical."
I objected to this, and his brow darkened; I saw it, and instantly
altered what I had expressed: "Get me writing materials, and I will
write it out."
"What! you write? a Thug write? But never mind, since you are able to
do it, so much the better: there will be no need of a third person."
I wrote the paper, and handed it to him, having sealed it with my
seal: he folded it carefully up, and tucked it into a fold of his
turban. "Now we are all right, Meer Sahib. This treasure goes under
the escort of fifteen Rokurreas; they have three camels, and will be
disguised as soldiers, going from Poona to Indoor. They left this
place yesterday, with part of the treasure; the rest is at Poona: from
Poona they will go to Nassuk, where you will fall in with them: trust
me, my information is correct to the minutest particular. I know the
sahoukars who send it; I have spoken with the Rokurreas; and to ensure
your being unsuspected by them, here is a pass written in Persian and
Mahratta, signed and sealed by the English officers of customs here. It
represents you as persons who have come from Benares in charge of goods
for a sahoukar by name Hurree-das, and directs that no one shall molest
you on your return. The men who brought the goods are still here, and
likely to remain till the end of the rains. Their leader's name is
Futih Mahomed, so Futih Mahomed you must be if you please; he, too, is
about your own age and appearance, and thus you will be better able to
personate him. You see I have laid a good plan, and I leave all the
rest to your own judgment. Make the best of your way to Nassuk; wait
there four days, and on the fifth you will see your bunij, if you keep
a proper look out. Now go, make your preparations, and may Bhowanee
send you success. Remember Soobhan Khan, and return as speedily as you
like; I have no doubt I shall have found fresh work for you."
"You may depend on me, Khan Sahib," said I; "I will not be long away
from you. Your plan is an admirable one; and, Inshalla! your twenty
thousand rupees are as safe to you as though you even now had them in
your possession."
"Remember me with many kind words to your father, Ameer Ali," continued
he; "would he come thus far to see an old friend, and forgive him for
the past?"
"Of that I have but little hope," said I; "he is old and infirm, and
never leaves his village: but he shall write to you."
"Enough, enough," said the Khan; "I have much to accuse myself of in
the past; but 'tis a long time ago, and he has most likely forgotten my
foolish conduct."
I left him, but made an inward determination to be guided entirely by
my father's counsel as to whether one cowree of the twenty thousand
rupees should be paid or not. "And," said Peer Khan afterwards, "twenty
thousand rupees--the old villain! _He_ get it! Ah, Meer Sahib, we shall
be the brothers of owls and jackasses if he ever sees one rupee!"
The next morning we were on our return to Jhalone, and we halted
between Bombay and Tannah for the day. Our pass was of much use, for it
was respected and obeyed; and, the day after, we passed Tannah and the
different revenue guard-houses without interruption.