He returned after some time, bringing with him a small casket, and
leading by the hand a noble-looking boy, whom he presented to me as his
son, his firstborn. He was about twelve years of age, intelligent in
feature, and withal handsome, and possessing a confidence of manner I
had never seen surpassed. "Alla has been merciful to you, my friend,"
said I; "and the Sahib Zadah is worthy of his sire. I had a son too
once, who promised to be such a one as the boy before me; but it was
His will! and I have now a lonely house. Yet why obtrude my griefs upon
a stranger? You have doubtless other flowers of the same tree."
"There are three of them," said the merchant, "and they are the pride
of my existence; for, after all, what is wealth? what is honour? what
is well-doing or respect in the world, without some one to inherit it,
and to tell of his father to yet unborn generations? And you are yet
young. Why be without hope? Alla will not fail to listen to the prayers
of a devout Syud."
"Alas!" said I, "I think not of it. A girl remains to me, who is
contracted in marriage to the son of a worthy neighbour, and upon her
rest my hopes at present. It is on her account that I seek a few pearls
for the marriage ceremonies."
"And they are here, Meer Sahib; pearls from Surat and from
Serendeeb,--jewels that a monarch might be proud to wear." And he
opened the casket, and displayed its beautiful contents to my admiring
eyes.
"They are indeed beautiful," said I; "but a poor soldier like myself
has little to do with such costly ornaments. Show me, I pray you, a
few of a lower price, such as will suit my present wants, which do not
reach further than three hundred rupees' worth."
He selected a string, and held them out to me; they were what I really
required, and the purchase was quickly concluded. Still, however, the
glittering strings lay before me; and as I took up one in particular of
great beauty, from the evenness of the pearls and their bright water, I
said, as if involuntarily, "Would that my patron could see these!"
"Eh! what?" cried the merchant. "Do you think he would purchase them?"
"Assuredly," said I; "for shortly before I left Jhalone the Rajah was
in the greatest need of pearls, and sent hither and thither for them,
but without success; none were to be procured; and he was even talking
of sending to Surat for some; but the length of the journey, and the
risk, put the matter out of his head."
The merchant mused for awhile. At last he said, "And you really think
he would purchase them?"
"I do. His daughter will be married next year, and he is collecting
jewels for the ceremony."
"They are very beautiful," said the merchant, taking up the string,
"are they not? I have had them now for two years, and no one here is
rich enough to purchase them; yet they are cheap, I swear by your beard
they are, and I look for but little profit upon them."
"The price?" I asked.
"From a poor man, like you, Meer Sahib, a Syud and a soldier, I would
take six thousand rupees, but from a Rajah and an infidel I would ask
eight."
"Good," said I. "Now listen to me. I am, as you say, poor; and I have
the heavy expense of this marriage coming upon me. What say you to
accepting my aid, and taking the pearls to Jhalone and selling them
there? The Rajah is much guided by me; and if I get him to pay eight
thousand rupees, you will pay me back the three hundred I now owe you
for those I have purchased? Turn it over in your mind, and tell me your
determination."
"Jhalone is a long way," said the merchant; "and if I sell my pearls,
how am I to get back with the money? Thieves will hear of the
transaction, and I may be waylaid and murdered."
"Fear not," replied I; "be at rest on that score. To one who has come
so far from his home to oblige him, the Rajah will give an escort to
return. Of this I am confident; and if this is all that prevents your
making the determination to accompany me, you had better dismiss it
from your mind at once."
"I will consult the astrologer," said he.
"Nay, Shekhjee," I replied, "this is too ridiculous. What have we
true believers to do with astrologers? The man you would consult is a
Hindoo, and there is abomination in the very word. Besides, what danger
is there? I have some fifty men with me, my own attendants, and the
Rajah's sepoys, therefore no harm can come to you; as for your return,
you will have a few horsemen, who will afford you ample protection.
Again, you said you have had the necklace for two years, and never had
an offer for it; why, therefore, keep your money unemployed? Be wise,
man, and come with me."
"Yes, father," said the lad, "listen to what the brave Meer Sahib says;
and I will accompany you, and see the world beyond our town. You know
you have promised to take me with you the first journey you make."
"Well, it is very tempting, certainly," said the merchant. "Eight
thousand rupees, you said, Meer Sahib? That is worth going for, and
these baubles are useless to me here. To tell you the truth," continued
he, "I got them from a Pindharee, who served with Cheetoo, or Dost
Mahomed, I know not which; he kept them as long as he could, but the
Lubhurs were broken up by the Feringhees (a sad blow to our free
trade), and though a few horsemen, his own followers, stuck to him, yet
he had nothing to give them; at last, when they became mutinous, and
threatened his life for their pay, he was obliged to sell these, and I
was the purchaser."
"And you got them cheap?" said I.
"Yes, they were not dear, Meer Sahib; a man in necessity rarely drives
a hard bargain. I got them cheap; and yet I swear to you that they are
cheap at eight thousand rupees. I say this from experience: for I have
sold worse to Mahdajee Sindia himself for ten thousand: but he will not
purchase now, and they lie heavy on my hands."
"All, therefore, considered, Shekhjee," said I, "you had by far better
accompany me to Jhalone. As to the journey, a month will see you back
again; the season is favourable for travel; and as we are a strong
party, and march by night, you will never be incommoded by the sun."
"Well, Meer Sahib, I have almost determined; but it will be necessary
to tell those inside," and he pointed with his thumb to the zenana;
"and as you said you had to go to the kotwal on some business, if you
could look in here after it is all over, about the time of evening
prayer, I shall be able to give you a decisive answer. Much as we
affect to despise women, you know, I dare say, Meer Sahib, that it
makes one uncomfortable to undertake anything, more especially a
journey, without consulting them."
"As you will," said I; "I am indifferent about the matter; it is for
your good alone that I have offered this counsel; and in this world
of infidelity and selfishness it is refreshing to the heart either
to assist a brother Moslem, or to be assisted by one without selfish
motives. Alla Hafiz! I take my leave, and I will return by the Moghreb,
and bring the money for my pearls." I left him.
"Is he to be bunij?" again asked the Thug.
"Peace, fool!" said I, laughing; "he has gorged the bait, but the hook
is not yet struck. Wait. Inshalla! Ameer Ali is not the son of an owl
or a jackass; and, Inshalla! we will yet throw dirt on his beard, for
all he is so cautious."
I had no business with the kotwal, as you may have imagined. I rode to
my tent, and assembling the leaders of the band, developed to them my
plans, and gave them instructions as to their demeanour and conduct
before our new guest in prospect: this done, I was easy about the rest.
If he came!--It was almost too much to hope for; yet I had confidence
in myself and in my fate. And the boy! that beautiful boy!--I had (for
once) no heart to be a participator in his death. "I must not allow
him to accompany us," I said to myself; "enough that the house is made
desolate by the death of the father." I was thus musing when Laloo came
to me.
"You are mad, Meer Sahib," said he; "this plan is not feasible. Bunij
met with on the road is well enough; but to drag a man out of his
house, as I may say, to destroy him, is too bad; and I do not think it
is justifiable."
"Ha!" cried I; "so you are turned against me. How is this?"
"God forbid that you should say so, Meer Sahib; but look at the matter.
You are known in the town, people have seen you enter the house of the
merchant, and they will know that he accompanies you. Will they not
hunt us out?"
"You are an owl," said I, laughing: "trust me, there is no fear; and
as for taking the man out of his house, I tell thee I see no more
difference in it than in having met him on the road in a regular way.
Let me alone, I know my work, and when we have got him, you shall
yourself applaud what I have done."
"Nay, it was but a friendly remonstrance," said he; "and as you feel
confident, go on with the matter. He will be good bunij?"
"Assuredly, to the tune of some thousand rupees. By Alla! I was tired
of the humdrum work we have been at lately, and my blood stagnated in
my veins. This has stirred it, and I have set myself to the work. You
know I seldom fail."
"Seldom, indeed, Meer Sahib; but can I do aught?"
"Yes, you can," said I: "follow me at a little distance, and note the
house. The fool I am after will depend on his astrologer for a good day
to quit his home. I am sure of this, for he said he would; and he took
my bantering against it with an ill grace. Find out his servants, and
from them the Brahmin; take money with you and pay him. There is enough
of daylight yet, and remember to-morrow morning is to be a lucky one,
and the next a bad one. Mind this, and do your best, for much depends
upon it--nay, everything."
"On my head and eyes be it!" said he; "and therefore, Meer Sahib, I
pray you accompany me even now, better in disguise perhaps, and show me
the house. Leave the rest to me, and I will not fail."
"A good thought," said I. "The sun will not set for the next four
hours; I can easily return and equip myself afresh." So saying, I
stripped myself of my fine clothes, put on others which were soiled and
dirty, tied up my face, except my eyes, and tucking my sword under my
arm, looked as disreputable a brawler or smoker of ganja as any in the
good town of Tearee.
"Come," said I, "our errand is soon done;" and so it was. We walked
past the house, and I left my ally at the corner of the street, with a
hundred rupees in his waistband, and a cunning heart in his breast.
I returned, and re-dressing myself, I mounted my horse, and took my way
to the merchant's, with the money I owed him. I found him in the same
spot; but as the evening was sultry, he led me to the terrace of his
house, where carpets had been spread for our convenience. I paid my
money, and received the pearls, and then entered upon the main object
of my visit.
"You will go then, Shekhjee?" said I; "or is your mind against it?"
"Not at all, not at all," replied he. "It is my wish to go,--my great
wish, Meer Sahib; but when I mentioned it in my zenana, though the
proposition met with no opposing words or tears, they one and all
declared that a lucky day must be fixed, without which it would be
clearly of no use my going at all. You know what women are, Meer
Sahib; suffice it to say, that I could not overcome their scruples;
for the more I argued and persuaded, the more strongly they opposed;
and in fact, the matter became so serious, that to pacify them--mind
you--to pacify them--I sent ten rupees to a Brahmin who lives hard
by, who is a noted astrologer, and the only one here in whom any
confidence is placed. Alla is my witness, I cared not what he said;
but when a message came back to say that to-morrow was an unlucky
day, the whole Zenan-khana, wives, slaves, and asseels, set up such
a howl of lamentation at what might have happened, and afterwards of
congratulation at my having escaped the threatened evil, that I was
fairly stunned, and have given up the idea of the journey for to-morrow
at any rate. But you know, Meer Sahib, to-morrow's conjunction of
planets may have a different effect, and as you will stay"----
"Indeed, Shekhjee," said I, "I cannot stay. Here have I idled away
three whole days, and I can remain no longer, for time is precious to
me. My patron will even now wonder what has delayed me; and to lose
his favour will be the loss of my means of maintenance. So to-morrow
I start, most assuredly, whether you come or not. And as to your
accompanying me, that is your matter; I am perfectly indifferent to it,
except that I shall lose your pleasant society on the road."
He was fairly perplexed. He had evidently reckoned on my stay; but my
careless yet determined manner of speaking left him no hope of a change
in my opinions; and, as a Persian would have said, he held "the finger
of deliberation between the teeth of impatient desire." There he sat
for a long time, looking on the ground in silence. It was a struggle
between the love of gain and superstition; for though he had wished
me to believe the contrary, he was as fully imbued with the belief of
lucky and unlucky days as any of his wives, slaves, or asseels. At
length he said:
"Meer Sahib, you remember our agreement--the two hundred rupees? I
will make it another hundred if you stay one more day. You are a poor
man, and a hundred rupees will buy many clothes for your daughter's
marriage."
Here was a direct attempt to cheat me out of a hundred rupees; and, for
the latter part of his speech, I could have strangled him on the spot.
Yet I kept my temper: I was playing too deep a game to lose it, and for
a trifle too.
"No, Shekh," said I, "it cannot be; I would not for a thousand rupees
stay an hour after daylight to-morrow: you cannot tempt me. But have
you ever thought that your Nujoomee may have played you false, and that
it requires a few more rupees than ten to make the heavens propitious?
I have heard of such things, ay, and proved them too, or perhaps I
might believe in the aspect of the stars as you do."
"Ay! say you so, my friend?" cried he. "By Alla I would beat the rogue
with a shoe in his own temple, with a shoe of cow's leather too, if
I could think he was trying to cheat me; but that is impossible. How
can he help the position of the stars? And yet say, shall I send more
money?"
"No," said I, "surely not; if he is honest, he will fling it in your
servant's face; if he is a rogue, he will keep it, and send word that
the stars have changed; in the first case you will eat dirt, in the
second you will be cheated, and he will laugh at your beard. No, I see
no help for you, but to go in defiance of him, the zenana, and the
stars; and this will prove you to be a man."
"Impossible, Meer Sahib," said he, despondingly. "Putting the Nujoomee
out of the question, I have four wives, Alla help me!--the lawful
number, you know; but oh! my friend, their wrath is dreadful, and I
dare not provoke it."
"It is enough," said I; "you will not go, because you dare not,--not
because you do not wish it."
"Exactly, Meer Sahib: you have hit upon the very cause. My own heart is
willing, and the prospect of gain leads me; but those women"--
It was prayer time, and the Muezzin's sonorous voice proclaimed
the hour from the roof of a neighbouring mosque. We performed our
ablutions, and, as good Mussulmans, we spread our carpets, and turning
to the still glowing west, poured forth our evening praise and
thanksgiving. I was determined to stay till the last moment I could,
to give my emissary time for his proceedings, and, if no message came
from the astrologer, to try some other plan, or even to agree to stay
another day. Ah, gold! thought I, if thou desertest me now at my best
need, I will forswear thy worship.
Our prayers were ended, and still we sat and conversed, but no message
came to suit my purpose. I had gradually led the merchant back to the
subject of the journey, and was picturing to him, in terms suited to
his avaricious soul, the reception he would assuredly meet with at
Jhalone; and I was preparing my words to introduce a change in my
opinions as to staying another day, when a servant came up the steps,
and whispered something in his ear, at which he started, yet at the
same time his face put on a joyous appearance.
"Excuse me for an instant, my friend," said he; "I am wanted
below--some one awaits me in the Dewan Khana. Wait here, and I will
rejoin you instantly."
My heart beat loud and quick in my bosom as I watched him down the
steps. Could it be that I had succeeded? or was there any fear of
danger to my own person? I looked over the terrace; it was far too
high to leap from; escape, if there was danger, was impracticable. But
a moment's thought rallied me; and as I disengaged my trusty sword,
and held it ready for action, I laughed at my own fears, for I knew
that I could defend that narrow stair against a host. I looked over
into the court-yard of the Dewan Khana, but saw no one: I could hear
two loud voices in low and earnest conversation; and as I stretched
forth my neck, and bent over the parapet of the terrace, in the vain
endeavour to catch a syllable, I was suddenly gratified by seeing the
merchant and a figure robed in white, which I knew at once to be that
of a Hindoo, while his bare and shaven head proved him to be a priest,
emerge from the Dewan Khana; and now their words came clearly to me.
"Then there is no obstacle?" said the merchant.
"None," said the Brahmin (for so he was); "as I have said, there was a
mistake in the tables and calculations which I have just discovered. My
art also told me that thou wert anxious to go; am I right?"
"Right, ah, virtuous Brahmin, assuredly thou art. I am promised
gain--nay, wealth."
"And thou wilt be successful," said the other. "May Narayun grant it! I
will pray for thy good fortune."
"Do so, do so, good Brahmin: good Seonath, I will not forget thee on my
return. Inshalla! I can be grateful: I will make a nuzzur through thee
to the temple."
"You will not fail to do so, I think, Shekhjee, for Ballajee hath been
propitious to thee ever since thy nuzzurs have been offered up at his
shrine. But I go to present thy gift, though it is a small one. Narayun
keep thee!"
"It shall be doubled--trebled, Seonath. I swear to thee by Alla I will
not forget when I return. Thou goest! Well, Alla Hafiz, my friend
awaits me."
He returned to me. "Rejoice with me, my friend," cried he, "my kind
Meer Sahib! After all, to-morrow is the lucky day. My friend the
Brahmin sent one of his disciples to say there was a mistake in the
calculations upon his tablets, and that the aspect of the heavens was
favourable to me for an unlimited period. Ah, how wise he is, Meer
Sabib, and how honest!--you called him a rogue: but see, he might have
kept me in suspense for a month, and refused to consult the stars at
all until he had been well paid. Well, after all, it is the power of
Alla, and doubtless these infidels hold some communion with him which
is denied to those of the true faith."
"So it would seem, Shekhjee," said I, humouring him; "it is no doubt
wonderful that your friend, for an astrologer, is for once honest. Of
course, you paid him liberally for his new discovery?"
The merchant winced. "A trifle, Meer Sahib; a few pice to purchase oil
for the temple was all he wanted."
"Oh, rare disinterestedness!" cried I; "truly it is grateful to the
heart to see such conduct in this selfish world, where every one
appears to strive how he can overreach his neighbour. Of course, he has
no prospective advantage?"
"None, Meer Sahib, none! How could a true believer have dealings or
connection with an infidel? Do I not take advantage of his learning for
my own convenience, and then laugh at his beard?" And he chuckled.
Liar! said I to myself, as I clenched my hand and ground my teeth,
thou shalt answer to Alla for this perjury before thou art many days
older. Verily this is a meritorious deed, and therefore hast thou been
delivered into my hands. A Hajji too! Oh, shame, shame! Yet then I
remembered the Arab verse which saith, "If thy neighbour hath performed
the Haj, trust him not; and if he hath done it twice, haste thee to
remove thine abode from his vicinity."
"Good, O Hajji," said I, "and you do right. But the night wanes, you
had better make preparations for the journey; and let me offer you
counsel; bring no one with you but a servant or two; my company is
ample for your protection. I have a small pal which will hold us both;
and, above all, bring not your son,--he will but fatigue himself for no
good purpose, and be a clog on our rapid movements, for rapid they must
be."
"I will follow your advice in all things, Meer Sahib. I shall bring no
servants; the man who will drive my spare tattoo can attend me when I
require it; and the less show I make, the less I shall be suspected of
carrying money with me."
"Remember then," said I, "you come to my camp by the time the
morning-star rises; we shall all be ready for you, and the sun will not
be powerful ere we reach our stage."
He promised to be there by the appointed time, and I left him. I found
my trusty emissary waiting for me in my tent. He burst into a loud
laugh when he saw me. "Is he safe?" he asked at length. "Ah, Meer
Sahib, I have had great amusement, as no doubt you have also."
"He is, he is fairly caught. The net is around him; one pull and he is
a lost man. And you, my faithful friend, you have succeeded so that I
marvel at your success."
"Marvel not," he replied; "the task was easier than I thought. But hear
my adventures."
"Surely," said I; and I called for a chilum, while he proceeded.
"You remember when you left me?"--I nodded,--"Well, it was a long time
ere I could find a servant; and in despair I lay down in the shade
of the wall, but kept awake; at last a fellow came out, a Hindoo, as
luck would have it, and I followed him: 'Canst thou direct me to a
kulal's shop?' said I; 'I have travelled far, and my throat is dry.'
I saw that the fellow himself drank, from the colour of his eyes, and
they sparkled at the mention of the kulal's shop. 'There is one close
by,' he replied; 'I will show it.' 'Good,' said I, 'thou shalt share
my potations.' Well, we entered the shop, and went into the inner
room. I called for a bottle of liquor, and paid for it; the place was
somewhat dark, and I poured what I took on the ground, but he drank
every drop; he finished the bottle as though it had been water, and I
sent for more. At last I began by asking him who his master was, and
what service he did, and, Mashalla! I heard in a wonderfully short time
all about him; and, lastly, that he was going on a journey, but had
been prevented by an astrologer's having declared the morrow to be an
unlucky day. In fine, my friend Sumbhoo (for such was his name) got
very drunk, and having told me much of his master's private history,
which did not redound to his credit, he fell senseless on the ground,
and there I left him; but not before I had ascertained that the
astrologer resided at a temple in the next street, and that his name
was Seonath."
"I have seen him," said I; "a tall, fair man, a good-looking priest,
and stout enough for a Thug."
"You saw him! How and where?" I told him, and we had a hearty laugh
as I described the scene in the court-yard, and mimicked the cringing
tones of the merchant, and the haughty ones of the Brahmin.
"But listen," said Laloo, "and wonder as I did. I soon found the temple
and the Brahmin, and accosting him, I begged for a charm against the
evil eye for my child. He looked at me--ya Alla, how he looked! I
quailed under his gaze, and my flesh crept as if I were in an ague fit;
for once I was afraid, for I knew not the man, and yet he seemed as if
he could read my heart. 'Follow me,' said he, 'I would speak with thee
apart from these prying people.' He spoke kindly, and I followed him,
though almost mechanically. He went before me. 'Leave your shoes,' said
he; 'this place must not be polluted: it is sacred.' At last we were
alone, in a small court, where there was a shrine of the god. Again he
turned on me, and looked into my face. I really knew not what to think;
and oh, how glad I was when he put an end to my suspense by repeating
our signal words!"
"Our signal?"----"Yes, Meer Sahib, even so; I was as much astounded
as you are, but the mystery was soon solved; he proved to be a priest
of our holiest of temples, Bindachul, who had travelled into these
parts, and having picked up some astronomical lore at Benares, set up
here for an astrologer, and found the trade so profitable, that he has
not returned to Bindachul. Of course, I had no reservation with him;
I developed our plan, from which he at first drew back; but I opened
my purse, and five ashruffees worked such a change in his sentiments,
that he listened to my words with complacency, altered the face of the
heavens as far as they concerned your friend, and, in fine, offered
there and then to go and say that his calculations were wrong, and that
everything boded prosperity to the poor Shekh."
"He has not failed us," said I.
"No," replied Laloo, "I know that; but we have to pay handsomely.
He wanted a hundred rupees more; but I represented that we were a
large band, and there would not be much to divide, and I obliged him
to be content with a Bhuttote's share, added to whatever a general
subscription might amount to when the band should be informed of the
part he had played."
"And he is content?"
"You have had the best proof, Meer Sahib; has he not done the errand
he promised? And when did a Brahmin of Bindachul ever break his faith?
He dare not: Bhowanee would smite him on the spot, or kill him by
lingering torments."
"And how," I asked, "are we to convey this share to him, whatever it
may turn out to be?"
"Easily enough; we can get a hoondee on this place, and send it to him
in a letter, or we can despatch a man with it."
"True, we can," said I; "and so now go; repeat to the men the lesson I
taught them, and enjoin them to be circumspect and wary. We have good
bunij in prospect, and, Inshalla! we will get it, too. But I wish I
could see the Brahmin, who has done us so good a turn in this matter."
"Let him alone," said he; "he told me, that although he wished much to
see you, having often heard of your conduct, it was better to avoid
suspicion, and that any open intercourse between him and you would
expose him to the inquiries of those with whom he was associated, and
had better be avoided. And he is right, Meer Sahib; it would do no
good."