"Shookur Khoda!" cried Peer Khan, as he rushed into my presence on
the fourth day after we had arrived at Nassuk; "Soobhan Khan was
right--they are come!"
"Are you sure, Khan?"
"Certain," he replied; "the description we had of them tallies with
what I have seen in every point. Come and see yourself; there are the
camels and the men disguised. But I could have sworn, had I met them
anywhere, that they were Rokurreas; they have the air and bearing of
the tribe."
"Enough," said I, "_you_ cannot be deceived. They do not know we are
here, and we will do the same as we did at Boorhanpoor. Get the men
ready; we will go round the town, travel a coss or two, and enter by
the same gate they did: we will then put up in the bazar with them."
We were all shortly in motion, and, as I had planned, after going round
the outside of the town, we entered it on the other side, and were soon
in our new quarters in the bazar.
Travellers soon get acquainted. The shop I chose adjoined the one they
occupied, and I had quickly scraped an acquaintance with the Jemadar of
the Rokurreas.
Narrayun Das, for that was his name, was a tall and very powerful
man; he had small twinkling eyes, and long straight eyebrows, which,
by binding his turban tightly over his temples, he had drawn up in
diagonal lines to either side, and this imparted to them a very
peculiar expression: long mustachios, which were twisted out to each
side, and thick bushy whiskers, and his whole appearance proved him to
be an experienced Rokurrea, and one to whom deceit and stratagem were
familiar. I shall have a cunning hand to deal with here, thought I, as
I scanned his features; no common pretences will go down with him; but
have him I must and will, ay, and his two lakhs too. Two lakhs! it is
worth an effort were he Roostum himself. Yet he was not slow in forming
an acquaintance with me. Our salutations passed in due form, and after
we had all cooked our morning meal, and sat on our carpets, we soon
entered into familiar conversation.
"A pretty business Bajee Rao has made of it," said he, as I had asked
him the news from Poona. "The coward! had he but put himself at the
head of his army when the fight took place at Kirkee, he might have
annihilated the Feringhees."
"And do you wish that he had?" said I.
"Certainly; what do we know of them? While they confined themselves to
the fort of Bombay, it was all very well,--and I remember the time when
they had hardly a foot of ground beyond it; but now, little by little
they have advanced, until they have upset the Mahratta empire, and are
in a fair way to take it."
"But," said I, "Bajee Rao has a good army, all the country is his own,
and surely he will do something. The Mahrattas are good soldiers, and
he has leaders of renown with him."
"He will do nothing, Meer Sahib; he will run from place to place, and
his army may fight if they can or will: he will never draw a sword. The
cowardly wretch has not the soul of a flea."
"Well, Jemadar, to me it matters little; I have forsworn soldiering,
and find that I can get a good livelihood by escorting treasure and
goods. I am just come from Benares, and the sahoukar who employed me
has sent for more, which I am to bring down to him."
"Ah!" cried he, "so you are in that line. Well, it is a good one if
you have plenty of men, but a sorely troublesome and difficult one if
you have few. I speak from experience, for I am in the same business
myself. I have been lucky, but my poor brother was otherwise; he fell
by the hands of thieves between here and Indoor; we heard of him from
Boorhanpoor, but beyond that we could get no tidings of him."
"Strange!" said I: "I never heard of thieves on the road, though
my kafila would have been worth plundering. But now I am under the
protection of the Sahib-logue, I care not; they will soon have all the
country, and there will be no danger in another year."
"Under the protection of the Feringhees! how do you mean? I thought you
said you served a sahoukar."
"So I do," I replied; "but to ensure my safe return, his friend Soobhan
Khan got me this pass, which he said would be respected throughout the
country;" and I pulled out the document, which I had carefully folded
up in wax-cloth, and showed it to him.
"You are fortunate, Meer Sahib, and particularly in knowing Soobhan
Khan, who is a worthy man and one deservedly respected; I have known
him for many years; he has always been a good friend to me, and has
got me employment when I most required it, by becoming security for me
to a large amount. But you said that you had given up soldiering; in
this you have been wise; far preferable is it to gain an honourable
livelihood than be marched in all directions, with but little pay, and
hard fighting for that. With whom have you served?"
"You must not tell any one," said I; "for every man who has served the
man I have would desire it to be a secret, and perhaps the knowledge of
my former life might be against my present interests. I served under
Cheetoo Pindharee, and led three thousand of his best horse."
"Under Cheetoo!" cried the Jemadar; "this is most strange; and you are
not joking?"
"I am not, I swear by your head; I dare say I could find some papers to
convince you of the fact if you doubt it. But, as I said, I do not like
to tell any one."
"You need not fear me," said he, "I am as close as a Rokurrea, and
you know the saying is proverbial; but you must have seen strange
adventures and strange lands, for they say he got nearly to Madras, and
left the Feringhees' country a desert behind him."
"I shall be glad to tell you some of my adventures, Jemadar Sahib, and
perhaps they may interest you, though it hardly befits a man to speak
of his own deeds."
"Nay, there is nothing to be ashamed of, Meer Sahib; and as for being a
Pindharee, the best in the land were with him; and a gallant army they
were when the first Lubhur assembled at Nemawur."
"Then you were there?"
"I was. I brought some treasure from Indoor and Oojein to the sahoukars
at Nemawur, and saw the whole of the preparations for the campaign;
and Bhugwan knows I was so taken with the appearance of the whole,
that could I have got a horse, I verily believe I should have turned
Pindharee myself. They say every man filled his saddle with gold and
pearls."
"We were lucky enough," said I, "especially in the first expedition.
Had you come to Nemawur before the second had set out, you would have
heard of me; I had a good name and a high rank. In the first I was
nobody, and gained Cheetoo's favour solely because I was a better
swordsman than any in his camp."
"Then I have heard of you," said the man; "but surely you cannot be
that Syud Ameer Ali who was only second to Ghuffoor Khan?"
"I am the very person, and no other," I replied; "true, my rank
is fallen, but whose has not? Cheetoo is dead; Ghuffoor Khan has
disappeared, and is supposed to have gone to Hyderabad; Syud Bheekoo is
God knows where; and Shekh Dulla still roams about the hills between
Boorhanpoor and Ellichpoor, with a price set on his head. No one knew
much of me, and I suspect, so long as I behave peacefully and follow
my present calling, no one will ask after me. I had enough of being a
Pindharee after the second foray, and got to my home at Jhalone as soon
as I could. If the others had been wise, they would have sought their
safety as I did."
"Yes," said the jemadar, "Cheetoo's was a sad fate--he deserved a
better; but they say the Sahib-logue offered him a Jagheer,--is this
true?"
"So I have heard," said I; "fool that he was, he would not accept it;
but no wonder, his whole soul was bound up in his plans for driving out
the Feringhees. He thought the Mahrattas would beat them; and when they
had gained the first victory, he was to have joined them with fifteen
thousand horse, and become a great commander. I should have followed
him too, had they been successful; but they were not, nor ever will be;
and I am what you see me."
"A strange history," said the man, "and you have told me more than I
ever knew before. Had the Peshwa and the Rajah of Nagpoor played their
parts as well as Cheetoo, all would have gone right; but it is useless
to think of them, and I suppose we must make up our minds to our new
masters. Now, however, you and I, Meer Sahib, must not separate. I am
going to Indoor for some treasure, and your best way lies through it;
I will keep with you, for your party is a large one, and, to tell you
the truth, I don't like passing those jungles by the Sindwah Ghat with
my own. The Bheels are taking advantage of the present disturbances to
be all in arms. Bands of deserters from the Peshwa traverse the country
in all directions, helping themselves to what they can; and they are
not over scrupulous either. So we will keep together, if you like, for
mutual protection."
"I shall be glad to do so," said I; "though I have nothing to lose,
except two or three thousand rupees, and whoever comes to take them
will get more blows than money."
"And I have still less," said he; "I have only enough to pay my
expenses and feed my camels; but I am no great hand at fighting, and
am not mounted as you are, to run from danger." But the heavily-laden
pack-saddles belied his words. I was not to be deceived, and felt as
sure that the coveted treasure was there as that the Rokurrea who
guarded it was before me.
We shortly afterwards separated; and when I was alone with Peer Khan I
told him what I had said, and how I had deceived the Rokurrea. A long
and hearty laugh we had over it. "But I fear for you, Meer Sahib," said
he. "Compare his power and your own slight frame. You must risk nothing
now."
I laughed. "His power, Khan!" I said, "what is it to that of many who
have fallen under my hand before now? Besides, he is the brother of
the Rokurrea we killed beyond Boorhanpoor, and he must be mine at all
hazards. I would not miss this adventure for thousands."
"I will tell you what," said Peer Khan, "it will never do to kill them
so far from Indoor; let us get them as near to the city as possible,
and we shall be the nearer our own home. This matter will cause a stir,
and we had better not risk anything."
"Well, be it as you will. I had intended to have killed them near
Boorhanpoor, and then to have turned off directly into the hills; we
should never be followed."
"Ay, and risk Shekh Dulla and his party, who are out?" said Peer Khan;
"that would never do. He would plunder us; and as he knows us, would
most like serve us as Cheetoo did the poor fellows who were caught."
"Astaffur Alla!" cried I, shuddering. "God forbid! no, your plan is the
best. We will entice them out of the towns before we have gone many
marches, and then they are our own when and wherever we please."
I pass over our journey, Sahib; all journeys are alike devoid of
interest, and only one routine of dusty roads, parching sun (for the
Rokurreas would not travel by night), bad food, and discomfort of
all kinds. We met with no adventure, except being robbed of trifling
articles at different places; and we fully succeeded in persuading
the Rokurreas to encamp with us, as we adhered to our old custom
of preferring the outside of the villages to entering them, where,
besides the additional fear of thieves, there was more dust, more
dirt, more heat, and continual squabbles with the villagers. My men
had behaved admirably. No one could have told, from the broad patois
they spoke, that they were aught but what they represented themselves
to be,--Benares-walas, and Bhojpoorees: they looked as stupid a set of
owls as could well be collected together; but they played their parts,
to a man, with the extreme caution and cunning on which rested the
success of our enterprise.
After all, Sahib, cannot you now understand the excitement which
possesses the soul of a Thug in his pursuit of men? Cannot you feel
with us, as you hear my story, and follow us in my recital? Here had
we kept company with these Rokurreas for twenty days; we had become
intimate; they told their adventures, we told ours; the evenings passed
in singing or telling tales, until one by one we sunk down wearied upon
our carpets. Cannot you appreciate the intense interest with which we
watched their every movement, nay, every word which fell from them, and
our terrible alarms, as sometimes our minds misgave us that we were
suspected? Yet still we stuck to them through everything, they were
never lost sight of for a moment, and, above all, their minds were kept
happy.
As to their leader, he was delighted with me. My accounts of my
adventures as a Pindharee, the plunder we had got, the towns we had
burned and sacked, all were to him interesting, and day by day I told
him of new exploits. He used to sit, and the rest of his men too,
listening with unfeigned pleasure to the accounts which I and Peer Khan
gave. Cunning as they were, at heart they were honest and simple, and
they readily believed all we told them.
But their time had drawn near. Indoor was five marches further, and
delay was now impracticable and useless; besides, to insure their safe
arrival, I knew they had determined on going thirty coss in one march,
and my men could not keep up with these hardy fellows. "Come what
will," said I to Peer Khan, "they die to-morrow night."
The time came. We were sitting, as usual, under the same noble
tamarind-trees; one by one we had sung our song or related our
adventures; and who could have guessed, had he seen us thus engaged,
that a work of death was to ensue? Every tongue was employed, and the
hearty laugh which broke at times from one or other of the assembly,
showed how light and merry were our hearts,--we, at the certainty of
our success, the Rokurreas, at the thought that the peril of the road
was past, and that their large amount of treasure would reach its
destination in safety: there was not a grave face among us.
"There," cried the Jemadar of the Rokurreas, "there is the moon; when
she has risen over the trees yonder, we will bid you farewell, kind
Meer Sahib; we have been happy in your company, and free from alarms
and danger. Bhugwan grant that we may hereafter journey in company, and
as safely as we have done! Thanks to your care in protecting us outside
the villages, we have not lost a cowree; and we have been taught a new
mode of encamping, which we will follow in future. The moon will last
us the whole night, and we shall have twenty coss of ground behind us
by the time you wake from your night's sleep."
The Thugs had taken their places; to each Rokurrea were four stout men
allotted, and I marvelled that they should have thus allowed themselves
to be separated from each other. But they had not suspected; who
_could_ have done so? The moon rose majestically above the distant
trees; her full, round, and yellow orb cast a mellow light upon our
group. The Rokurreas rose with one accord, and each turned to the men
he was near to give them his parting benediction and salutation.
"Nay," said I, "we part not thus, Narrayun Das; let us separate
as friends; receive my embrace; we are friends and brothers by
profession." We embraced, and before the others could press forward to
salute me, I gave the jhirnee: "Pan lao!" I exclaimed. It was enough.
The Jemadar fell beneath my own handkerchief, and a few shrieks and
groans told the rest--all had died.
"Haste ye, my good fellows," cried I to the Lughaees; "the same bright
moon which was to have served these fellows shines brightly upon us;
quick with your work, the camels are ready, and a few hours will see us
safe from pursuit, though indeed none is to be apprehended from this
small place."
The bodies were stripped; every fellow had a heavy humeana, besides
what was laden on the camels. We stopped not to count our money, but
hastened on when the interment was finished; and only tarrying for a
few moments at the next village we came to, to purchase the goor for
the Tupounee, we found ourselves in the morning nearly twenty coss
from the scene of our last night's adventure.
We halted till the evening, and again pushed on, but by a different
road; and leaving Indoor about fifteen coss to the right, we directed
our course to a small village named Dehalpoor. From this, leaving
Oojein also to the right, we hastened on, always travelling by night on
account of the extreme heat of the weather, and by way of Buhadoorgurh
and Aorcha, we reached Jhalone in safety. No alarm had we but one. The
revenue officers on the frontier of Holkar's dominions insisted on
knowing who we were, and what we had with us; and so strict were their
inquiries, that, had it not been for the English pass I had with me,
we must have been suspected and apprehended. But, thanks to Soobhan
Khan, it was not questioned; as Futih Mahomed I passed free. A duty,
or rather an exaction, of fifty rupees was levied on the treasure, and
a fresh pass given to us, by which we escaped further questioning and
detention. Who can describe my father's joy at seeing the treasure!
the old man was in ecstasy: he kissed me, he embraced me, called me
by every endearing name, and extolled my conduct in glowing terms to
Ganesha, who happened to be with him. It was easy to see, however, that
to that worthy they might well have been spared. Jealousy possessed
him, which he could ill disguise, and I verily believe, had he dared,
that he would have informed the Rajah of the treasure we had secured.
In the memory of the oldest Thug, no such booty had ever been gained,
and I was classed by the Thugs with Jhora Naeck and Kuduk Bunwaree,
fabled votaries of Bhowanee, of whom stories were told which, though
implicitly believed by most, nay all of our fraternity, I never
credited. But it was enough for me. I had never met a reverse, and
every Thug of Hindostan, I verily believe, only thought he must join me
to secure to himself a booty which would support him for years.
I have forgotten, however, to mention to you an incident which befell
us at Buhadoorgurh. We were encamped outside the town, and late in the
evening we saw a body of men, whom we at first took to be Thugs, coming
towards our camp.
"Who can they be?" said I to Peer Khan; "they look like Thugs, yet it
is late for any party to be out."
"Some straggling party, I suppose," said he; "I will go and see."
"If they are Thugs and you know them," I added, "bring them, but say
not a word of our booty."
"No, no, I am not such a fool," said he laughing; "but I will bring you
the news."
He went, and returned with the leader of the party. I had purposely
kept in my little tent, in order that my face might not be seen in
case they were strangers; and to conceal it effectually, I tied a
handkerchief over my mouth and chin.
"Salam Aliekoom," said a gruff voice, as a man with Peer Khan entered
the tent.
"You are welcome, friend," said I: "sit down." He was evidently weary
with travel, and seated himself slowly.
"Your name," said I; "and who are you?"
"My name," replied the man, "is well known, I dare say, to most people,
and they are afraid of it. I am called Lall Khan, or familiarly Lalloo."
"I have not heard it before," said I; "but who are you and your men?"
"Oh, we are free traders, who help ourselves to what we can get with a
strong hand." Some wandering Pindharees, thought I; and I asked him if
they were such.
"Not exactly," said he; "we are Dacoos."
"Worse and worse," said I, laughing; "and I suppose you are from Delhi?"
"Ay," replied he, "even so; we know you, though you do not know us. We
know you to be Thugs by your encampment--but never fear us;--brethren
should not interfere with each other; we have different ways of helping
ourselves to spoil, but what matter; we are brothers in a general sense
of the word."
"Good, we are; and if I can help you, say so."
"In no wise," said he, "but to give us room among ye for the night: we
will be off early, if you do not go the same road."
"Room ye shall have, Khan, till the moon rises, and food too; but after
that we are off; we travel northwards."
"Then it cannot be helped," he replied; "we will stay here till you go,
and occupy your ground afterwards; we shall not be suspected."
"And where are you going?" I asked.
"To Hyderabad," said the man. "No one suspects Dacoos to be out at this
time of the year, and we shall have the whole road to ourselves; we
shall return after the rains, about the Dussera, by the Nagpoor road.
Now we are going by Bhopal and Boorhanpoor."
"And your luck?" said I; "have you had good bunij?" (for this word was
understood by them, and is common to all classes of people who do their
work on the roads).
"Middling," said he, "neither good nor bad. We have had a few affairs,
but nothing to boast of."
"Well," said I, "you have taken a good line; the road from Boorhanpoor
to Hyderabad is a good one, and you will be in Sikundur Jah's country,
where no one asks questions about the people who are left on the
highways. I wish you good luck, and my friend will look after your
comforts: you must excuse me, as I am in pain from a swelled face and
toothache."
"Salam!" said he, as he departed: "if you were going instead of
returning, we might get good plunder in company; we Dacoos are rare
hands at rough work."
I had spoken in a disguised voice, and it was impossible he could
recognize me again if he met me. I did this for an object which
occurred to me at the moment, as you shall learn hereafter. I mentioned
this meeting to my father. "What hinders us," said I, "from meeting
them as they come up? they will be laden with spoil, and will be an
easy prey. Brave and reckless as they are, they have no wit, and will
never find us out."
"I don't know that," said my father; "they are not so stupid as you
think; I know much of them, have killed some of them, and they were
cunning enough. Several gangs of them have escaped Thugs by being able
to detect them. However, I see nothing objectionable in your plan; and
at any rate, it will furnish excuse for a new expedition."
"Ay," said Ganesha, who was present, "let us go; I long to see the
Meer Sahib act. We hear so much of him, that, by Bhowanee, perhaps an
unlucky old Thug like myself may pick up something new. Will you let me
come also?"
"Certainly," said I; "but you will see no more than you know already;
lucky I have been, but you know my pretensions to knowledge are very
small, and I have never boasted of them. To my perception, the whole
art consists in having a smooth tongue in one's head; and a man who is
a good Bhuttote rarely makes a good Sotha."
"Yet you are both, Meer Sahib," said Ganesha, with a malicious grin;
"and your men would follow you to the death."
"So they will," said I; "for I am kind and considerate to them, and
reward them handsomely."
This stung him to the quick; for he was a rough bully, and, though
perhaps one of the best Bhuttotes then living, was no hand at
inveigling travellers; and as he always persisted in being a Sotha
himself, he was notoriously unlucky; but few men, too, would serve
under him. He was preparing to retort sharply, when my father stopped
him.
"Let him alone," said he; "he is a proud boy, and bickerings among us
lead to no good: you must not think on what he has said."
"Nay, Ismail," said he, with the air of an offended child, "I care not
what he says; pride will have its fall, and I may live to see it."
I was very angry, but there was no use in saying more. Had we been
alone, he should have answered for it.--So you see, Sahib, out of a
trifling incident a new expedition was determined on. We all prayed it
might be more favourable than the former one which was planned in that
direction, and I confess that my success in the last had strengthened
my faith in the efficacy of the omens, though as yet by no means
established it. Experience, they say, is always bought at a costly
price, and is bitter when you have got it; and I had to buy mine,
though the time was not yet come.
But Soobhan Khan, who was he? said I to Ameer Ali; and did you pay him
his price of blood?
Not a cowree of it, said Ameer Ali; but you shall hear. I asked my
father who he was, and detailed the whole of my adventures with him: he
remembered the man the instant I spoke of him.
"The rascal!" cried my father; "and is he so rich and honoured, the son
of a vile woman? To think that he should be in such a situation, the
scoundrel! But the deeds of Alla are inscrutable. Listen, my son, to
his story, which can be told in a few words.
"He and I were Jemadars together. I never liked him, and he had a bad
reputation; he was never a good Bhuttote, for the fellow was an arrant
coward, but he was a capital Sotha, and his smooth tongue gained him
more bunij than we could gain by straightforward work. Well, many years
ago we joined together, he to be Sotha, and I to manage the other work.
We had killed a large body of travellers near Jeypoor, for we had a
numerous gang. Two were sahoukars, and the booty was large. Among it
were some pearls and precious stones; they were given over to his party
as their share, and he said he would go to Indoor to sell them; but I
had lent him nearly a thousand rupees at different times, when he had
no money to make advances to men to induce them to serve under him, and
I pressed him for some of the pearls, which I wanted for my wife, in
payment of the money. This was late one night, after we had divided the
spoil; he said he would give me them in the morning, when I could pick
out the strings I liked best; and he spoke so winningly, that I, fool
as I was, never doubted him. That night he absconded, and I never heard
of him till this extraordinary account of yours. Pay him!" continued
my father, "not the value of a broken cowree shall he ever get; in
any other man I might have pardoned it, but in him the conduct was
ingratitude in the highest degree; for had I not assisted and upheld
him, he would have been neglected and have starved."
This then was the secret of Soobhan Khan's wealth; he must have sold
his pearls one by one, as he had hinted to me that he had traded in
them, and raised himself by bribery to the state he was in. Of course I
neither sent him his money as I had promised, nor wrote him a line to
say that I had arrived safely at Jhalone. I destroyed his pass too, as
it might have led to detection.