"Look here," said I, "here is the roomal, and you know the use of it; say whether you will give the money or not."
"I will give it," said he; "I will swear on the pickaxe to do so, and do you come with me and take it."
"Ay," said I, "and be taken too ourselves! no, no, friend Bhutteara, do not try to throw dust on our beards after that fashion. Inshalla! the people who could catch you have sharper wits than you seemed to give them credit for: no, man, I was but joking with thee—where is all thy wealth concealed?"
"You may kill me if you will," said he, "but I give no answer to that question."
"Ah, well," cried I, "you may think better of it when you are choking; now you two hold him fast, and take the bag off his shoulders." They did so. I threw the roomal about his neck, and tightened it till he was almost choked: he made several attempts to speak, and at last I relaxed my hold a little; but he could not utter a word—fear of death had paralyzed his powers of utterance.
"Give him some water," said I, "it will wash down his fright." He took it, and fell at my feet, and implored me to spare him. I spurned and kicked him. "Where is the treasure?" I said: "you have felt the tightening of the roomal once, beware how you risk it again: where is the treasure?"
"Promise to let me live and I will tell," cried the Bhutteara, trembling in every limb.
"I will promise," said I; "you shall remain here, and I will send people to bring it; you well know we have no time for delay, and if you trifle with us you know the result—you have already half felt it."
"Where is Motee-ram? he knows the spot."
"Liar! I know it not," cried Motee, stepping forward; "do you wish to make me out to be a participator in your base gains?"
"You know the spot," continued the Bhutteara, "but you do not know that there is aught there; you remember the old hollow mango-tree on the other side of the town, where you left the last share I got from Ganesha?"
"I do."——"Well, then, you must dig in the hollow of the trunk; about a cubit deep you will find all I have—gold, silver, and ornaments."
"Now," said I, "villain, I have kept my word, youshallremain here; the grave is dug which shall hold thee, and has been ready for hours: I swore that I would spit on thy beard before morning, and Bhowanee, whose votaries thou hast bullied and threatened, has delivered thee into my hands:" and I spat on him; all the men who were near me did the same. "Again," cried I, "hold him fast, and bring the tobacco." He knew the fatal jhirnee, and struggled to be free; but he was a child in the power of those who held him—in an instant more he was dead!
"Off with you, Motee!" cried I; "take ten men and go to the spot he mentioned; he may have told the truth, and we shall be the richer for it; then will many a man cry 'Wah! Wah!' when he hears of this deed."
The body was taken away and buried, the grave was smoothed over and beaten down, the place plastered over, some fire-places made, and fires lighted to blacken them, and our work was concealed. Now did not that villain deserve his fate, Sahib? To my perception, his cold-blooded work was far worse than our legitimate proceedings; and as for his treachery, he paid the forfeit of it.
It was a fearful revenge, said I; but you spoilt the justice of it by your vile love of plunder. Why should you have promised him his life, and then have murdered him? that was base.
I did not promise it to him; I said he should remain where he was, and he did remain—ay, he is there now.
It was a nice distinction certainly, Ameer Ali, and only shows the more how little you are to be trusted. But how did you get on afterwards,—had he told the truth about his money?
He had, replied the Thug. Long before morning Motee returned, androusing me, poured at my feet a heap of gold and silver coins, necklaces, armlets, bracelets, and anklets. They were worth nearly three thousand rupees, and not one article of them was there but had been given him by Thugs. Motee, Peer Khan, and others recognised most of the property. We melted all the ornaments, and divided the whole at our next stage, and it was a good booty, and enriched us for a long time; indeed I may say it lasted till our return home.
And the Sahoukar, I asked, was the news true about him?
Oh, quite true, said Ameer Ali; I will tell you of him. We left Saugor early, and at a short distance on the road sat down to eat the goor, as is usual with us after any adventure. While we were thus employed, one of the scouts came up, and told us the joyful news that the Sahoukar had left the town, and was close behind us, and that the other, whose name was Bhikaree, had taken service with him as far as Jubbulpoor as an attendant, to watch at night while the Sahoukar slept.
"And how does he travel?" I asked.
"He is on a tattoo, a good strong beast," said the scout, "and has two others laden with him, and there are four men besides himself and Bhikaree."
"Good," said I. "Now, my lads, we must push on; the Sahoukar must see nothing of us for some days, and till then I shall avoid all others."
We hastened on, and got to the end of our stage. Three days we travelled quietly, and from time to time observed the omens; they were all favourable, and cheered us on. On the fourth, as if by accident, we contrived to fall in with the Sahoukar and his people; our faithful Bhikaree we rejoiced to see in his train. It was in the road that we met with him, or rather allowed him to overtake us, and the usual salutations passed. I was well dressed and well mounted, and looked a soldier. He inquired our destination and business, to which the old story was answered, and we proceeded merrily along. The Sahoukar was a fat, jolly fellow, and witty in his way, and stories were interchanged, and we all laughed heartily at his jokes. It is astonishing, Sahib, how soon these trifles engender good will and friendship among travellers: the loneliness of the road and the weariness of the stage are forgotten in such pleasant conversation: and before we had reached the end of the stage we were as great friends as though we had travelled together for months, or known each other for years. A kind farewell was interchanged as we parted at the village; he to put up inside it, in the bazar, and we to our old plan of encampment.
"To-morrow," said I to the assembled men, "is a good day, it is Friday: we must finish this business." All were agreed upon it, and at midnight the Bélhas and Lughaees went on, the former to choose a spot for the affair, and the latter to dig the grave.
At daylight, a man (our Bhikaree it was) came to say the Sahoukar would wait for us at the other side of the village, and begged we would be quick, as he liked our company, and wished for the safety of our escort. "I have been frightening him a little," continued he, "and in truth he has been in alarm ever since he left Saugor, for he had heard of the disappearance of some parties on the road last year; so when we met you yesterday he was highly delighted, and afterwards spoke warmly of you, Jemadar Sahib, and said he could feel no fear in your society."
"Well done," cried I; "thou too hast played thy part well, and it shall not be forgotten; but, my friends, the Sahoukar waits, and we had better be moving; do you all surround his party as you did yesterday; ply them with tales and stories, and keep their minds quiet."
"Jey Bhowanee! Jey Ameer Ali!" was the shout of the party as we quitted the ground and took our way to the spot where the Sahoukar awaited us.
"Ram! Ram! Meer Sahib," was the salutation of the Sahoukar as we met at the spot whither Bhikaree had guided us. "Ram! Ram! I am glad you have condescended to keep company with your poor servant, for truly the sweetsavour of your fluent discourse has left a longing in my heart to hear more of it, and happily I am so far favoured."
I returned the usual compliments, and we set forward on our journey. Gradually my band arranged themselves around their new victims. All were at their places, and I eagerly looked out for the first scout who should give us intelligence that the bhil was ready. A strange feeling it is, Sahib, that comes over us Thugs at such moments: not a feeling of interest or pity for our victims, or compunction for the deed we are about to do, as perhaps you might expect to hear, but an all-absorbing anxiety for the issue of the adventure, an intense longing for its consummation, and a dread of interruption from passing travellers; and though I had become now callous in a great measure, still my heart was throbbing with anxiety and apprehension, and my replies to the Sahoukar's witty and jolly remarks were vague and abstracted: my whole thoughts were concentrated upon the affair in hand, and it was not to be wondered at. He remarked my altered behaviour, and I rallied myself, and was soon able to amuse him as I had done before.
"Ah! that is like yourself, Meer Sahib," said he, as I had just given utterance to a joke which caused his fat sides to shake,—"that is like yourself. Why, man, whose face did your first glance on awaking from sleep rest on? Surely on some melancholy being, and you have partaken of his thoughts ever since."
"I know not, Séthjee," I replied; "but you know that a man cannot always command the same evenness of temper, and I confess that my thoughts were far away, at my home."
"Well," said he, "all I wish for you and myself is a safe return to our homes, for this travelling is poor work, and I have been unlucky enough to start on a very indifferent day after all my waiting. I had determined on leaving Saugor nearly a month ago, but on consulting the astrologer, he delayed me from time to time, declaring this day was bad and that day was worse, until I could stay no longer: and it was all to little purpose, and I pray Naraynu to protect me and you from all Thugs, thieves, and Dacoos."
"Ameen," said I; "I respond to your prayer most fervently, for I am on my way to my service, where we chance often to get harder knocks than we can bear. But do they say there are Thugs on the road, and who or what are they? the term is new to me."
"Why truly I can hardly tell you, Meer Sahib. The Thugs, they say, are people who feign one thing or other, till they get unwary travellers into their power, and then destroy them; I have heard too that they have handsome women with them who pretend distress on the roads, and decoy travellers who may have soft hearts, to help them; then they fasten on them, and they have some charm from the Shitan which enables them to keep their hold till their associates come up, despite of all the efforts of the person so ensnared to gain his liberty. And that either thieves, or Thugs, or rascals of some kind or other do infest the highways is most true, for many travellers disappear in an unaccountable manner. But I do not fear; I am in the company of honest men, and we are a large party, and they must be stout men or devils who would assail us."
I laughed inwardly at the Sahoukar's idea of Thugs, and had no doubt that Ganesha Jemadar was, if the truth were known, at the bottom of the disappearance of the travellers. But I answered gaily, "Ah! no fear, my friend. These Thugs, as you say, may now and then light upon an unsuspecting single traveller and kill him, but no one would dare to touch a party like ours; and, Inshalla! if any appear, we will let daylight into some of their skins; there is nothing I love better than making keema (mincemeat) of these rascals. I have done so once or twice already, and I never found them stand when a sword was drawn. But yonder, I see, is one of my men sitting; I wonder how he got on before us. I will ask him. He must have started early to get a rest on the road;" and as we reached him he slowly raised himself from the ground, and made his salutation to me and the Sahoukar; he appeared tired and acted his part well.
"How is this, Ameer Singh?" said I, "how is it that you are so much in advance of us?"
"Oh," replied he readily, "a thorn ran into my foot yesterday, and as I knew you would not wait for me, I started at midnight with a few others, who said they would be my companions, and we travelled on leisurely; but I could not proceed farther, as my foot was painful, and I determined to wait for the party here to get a lift on a pony."
"You shall have it," said I; "mount the one which carries my baggage, and I will see that a barber examines your foot when we reach the end of the stage. But where are your companions?"
"They said there was a small river in advance, about half a coss off, and they would proceed thither and wash their hands and faces; they bade me tell you that, if I could not follow them, you would find them there."
"Good," said I, "and I am glad to hear there is water near; we can dismount and refresh ourselves, for the stage is a long one: how say you, Séth Sahib? You Hindoos are as particular about your morning ablutions as we Moslems are."
"True, true," he replied; "the news is welcome, for my mouth is dry, and I have not as yet washed it; we will stop for a short time; besides, my stomach is empty, and I have sweetmeats with me which I will share with you, Meer Sahib; it is ill travelling without something in the inside."
"A good thought," I replied, "and I shall be glad of them; I usually bring some myself, but have neglected to do so in this instance."
The scout was right, the rivulet he mentioned was scarcely as far as he had said, and we reached it after a few minutes' riding; and sure enough there were my men sitting unconcernedly by the edge of the water, busily discussing a hasty meal of some cakes they had brought with them. "Bhillmanjeh, have you cleaned the hole?" I eagerly inquired of the Belha.
"Manjeh," he replied.
"What did you ask?" said the Sahoukar; "if they have not a clean vessel for you to drink out of, you can have one of mine."
"Thanks for your kindness," I replied, "but my good fellow here tells me that he has brought one, and cleaned it ready for me."
We all dismounted; the men rushed into the water, and were each and all busily engaged in washing their mouths and teeth, and drinking of the pure element which murmured over its pebbly bed beneath their feet; but none of them quitted their stations, and only awaited the signal to do their work. "Is the bhil far distant?" I asked of the Belha who presented me with a lota of water for the purposes of ablution.
"About an arrow's flight," said he, "down yonder in that thicket; it is a good place, and a well-known one; it was on this spot that Ganesha Jemadar had a rare bunij last year. But do not delay for the sun is high, and travellers may be coming from the stage before us; this is the only running water on the road, and all hasten to it to refresh themselves."
"Then I am ready," said I; "and when you see me close to the Sahoukar, I will give the signal; I see the men are all prepared." And I walked towards him.
"Why don't you give the jhirnee?" said Motee-ram to me as I passed him, "we are all waiting for it."
"Now," said I, "be ready; I go to my station." The fellow near whom he was standing turned round, hearing us converse in a strange language; but he immediately afterwards sat down and resumed the operation of cleaning his teeth with great assiduity: there were two men behind him who would shortly save him the trouble!
"Why, Séthjee," said I, "I wonder you do not go up higher; here you have the water muddied by all the fellows above you. Come with me, and I will show you a deep place where I have just washed, and where the water is clear."
"Ah, I did not think of it," said he; "I will follow you." He had been washing low down, and as I got him into the middle of the party I gave the jhirnee.
Sahib, though I had not killed a man with the roomal for nearly four years, I had not forgotten my old trick: he was dead, I think, ere he reached my feet. Stupid it was in us to delay, and I prevented the like in future. Every manresumed his employment of washing himself as though nothing had happened, and there lay the bodies on the sand. We were once again fated to be interrupted. Two travellers were seen approaching, and the bodies were hastily covered with sheets, as if those who lay beneath them were asleep; and I cried to the men for some of them to sit and others lie down, and all to feign great weariness. They did so, and the men came up; they were poor creatures, hardly worth killing, and I proposed to Peer Khan to let them go, but he would not hear of it.
"Let them go!" he cried; "are you mad? Do you not think that these fellows already suspect who we are? Does a man ever come into the presence of the dead, be they ever so well covered or disguised, without a feeling that they are dead? and see, some of our men are speaking to them; they are true bunij, and Davee has sent them."
"As you will," said I; "but there may be more of them."
"Hardly so soon," replied he; "these fellows must have left in the night to be here so early; but come, let us ask them." And we walked up to them.
"Salam!" said I, "where are you from so early; you have travelled fast if you have come from the stage we hope to reach in the course of the day; how far is it?"
"It is seven long coss," said the man, "and the sun will be high and hot before you reach it; but we are in haste, and must proceed."
"Stay," said I, "dare not move till you are allowed; and tell me, how many travellers put up last night in the village from whence you have come?"
"Two besides ourselves," replied the other of the two, evidently in alarm at my question. "Why do you ask?"
"Are you sure there were no more?"
"Certain," he replied; "we travelled together from Jubbulpoor, and put up in the same house."
"And how far are they behind you?"
"They will be here immediately I should think, for we started at the same time, but have outstripped them."
"Good," said I; "now sit down there, and wait till they come."
"Why is this?" cried both; "by what right do you detain travellers? we will go on."
"Dare to stir at your peril," said I; "you have intruded on us, and must pay the penalty."
"What penalty? Are you thieves? if so, take what you will from us and let us go."
"We are not thieves," said Peer Khan; "but stay quiet, we are worse."
"Worse! then, brother, we are lost," cried one to the other; "these villains are Thugs; it is even as I whispered to you when you must needs stop among them: they have been at their horrid work, and yonder lie those whom they have destroyed."
"Yes," said I, "unhappy men, you have guessed right; yonder lie the dead, and you will soon be numbered with them; it is useless to strive against your destiny."
I turned away, for I felt, Sahib—I felt sick at the thoughts of destroying these inoffensive people. They might have passed on—but Peer Khan was right, they had detected the dead, though the bodies had been laid out and covered as if the senseless forms were sleeping—but they lay like lumps of clay. No measured breathing disturbed the folds of the sheets which covered them, and a glance had been sufficient to tell the tale to the unfortunate people who had seen them. But I shook off the feeling as best I could; had I given way to it, or betrayed its existence to my associates, the power I possessed over them would have been lost—and it was the spirit of my existence.
"They must die," said I to Peer Khan; "you were right, and they had guessed the truth; but I wish it had been otherwise, and the lazy Lughaees had done their work quickly; they might have passed on, and we have had a good morning's work without them; they are not worth having."
"I would not exchange places with them for anything you could name, Meer Sahib, and perhaps it were well to put them out of their suspense."
"Do so, Peer Khan, and get the rest with them removed; I will deal withone of the other two coming up. These fellows are half dead already with fear, and the others I will fall on in my own way; I hate such passive victims as these will be."
Peer Khan and another went to the miserable wretches, who remained sitting on the ground where we had left them. I watched them; they stood up mechanically when they were ordered to do so, and stretched out their necks for the fatal roomal, and were slain as unresistingly as sheep beneath the knife of the butcher. The rest of the travellers were not long coming, and were only two, as the others had said.
"Now," said I to Motee, "these fellows must be dealt with at once: you take one, I will the other; they must not utter a word."
"I am ready," said he; and we arose and lounged about the road. The travellers came up. One was a young and the other an old man. I marked the young one, and as he passed me a Thug laid hold of his arm; he turned round to resent it, and I was ready. These too were carried away, and after collecting our dispersed party, we once more pursued our route without interruption.
It had been a good morning's work. The Sahoukar was as rich as the Bhutteara had said, and four thousand three hundred rupees greeted our expectant eyes as the contents of the laden ponies were examined: besides these there were six handsome shawls, worth better than a thousand more, and a few pieces of cotton cloth, which were torn up and immediately distributed. The other four travellers had upwards of a hundred rupees, a sum not to be despised, and which I divided equally among the band, reserving the large booty, and adding it to the sum we had already gained.
We reached Jubbulpoor without another adventure of any kind, and rested there for two days. Peer Khan, Motee, and myself perambulated the bazars during the whole time, but not a traveller could we meet with, nor could we learn that any were expected; it was therefore of no use to remain, and as we had still plenty of time before us, we could travel as leisurely as we pleased: so on the third morning we again proceeded. The country between Jubbulpoor and Nagpoor is a wild waste. Villages are not met with for miles and miles, the road is stony and uneven, and the jungle thick and dangerous for nearly the whole way. On this account the tract has always been a favourite resort of Thugs, and more affairs have come off in those few marches than perhaps in any other part of the country frequented by us. We were all regretting that we had not met with some bunij at Jubbulpoor, wherewith to beguile the weariness of the road, when, at our second stage, soon after we had arrived, Motee, who had gone to look out for work for us, returned with the glad news that there was a palankeen at the door of a merchant's shop, surrounded by bearers and a few soldiers, which looked very much as if it belonged to a traveller.
"But he must be of rank," said Motee, "therefore I humbly suggest that you, Meer Sahib, should undertake to see who he is, and to secure him, if possible."
I followed his advice, and changing my travelling attire for a dress which would ensure my civil reception, I armed myself, and, attended by a Thug, who carried my hooka, I sauntered into the village. I soon saw the palankeen and men about it; and in order to gain some intelligence to guide me, I went to a Tumbolee's shop directly opposite to it, and sitting down, entered into conversation with the vendor of tobacco and pan.
"This a wild country you live in, my friend," said I.
"Yes, it is, indeed, as you say," he replied; "and were it not for you travellers, a poor man would have little chance of filling his belly by selling pan and tobacco, but, as it is, my trade thrives well."
"There do not seem to be many on the road," said I; "I have come from Jubbulpoor without meeting a soul."
"Why, the roads are hardly much frequented yet," he rejoined, "but in a month more there will be hundreds; and there," he continued, pointing to the house over the way, "there is almost the only one I have seen for some time."
"Who is it?" I asked, "and where has he come from? he was not with us."
"I know not," replied the Tumbolee, "nor do I care; whoever he is, he has bought a quantity of my stuff, and it was the first silver which crossed my hands this morning."
I saw there was nothing to be got out of this man, so I went to a Bunnea, a little further off, and, after a few preparatory and indifferent questions, asked him whether he knew aught of the traveller; but he knew nothing either, except that a slave-girl had bought some flour of him. "They say," said he "that it is a gentleman of rank who is travelling privately, and does not wish to be known; at any rate, Sahib, I know nothing about him; I suppose, however, he will come out in a short time." This is very strange, thought I; here is a gay palankeen, eight bearers and some soldiers with it, come into this wretched place, and yet no one's curiosity is aroused; who can it be? I will return to the Tumbolee, and sit awhile; I may see, though I cannot hear anything of this mysterious person.
I sat down at the shop, and calling to my attendant for my hooka, remained there smoking, in the hope that some one might appear from behind the cloths which were stretched across the verandah; nor did I stay long in vain—I saw them gently move once or twice, and thought I could perceive the sparkle of a brilliant eye directed to me. I riveted my gaze on the envious purdah, and after along interval it was quickly opened, and afforded me a transient momentary view of a face radiant with beauty; but it was as instantly closed again, and I was left in vain conjecture as to the beautiful, but mysterious, person who had thus partially discovered herself to me. It would not have suited my purpose to have personally interrogated any of the bearers, who were lying and sitting about the palankeen, as it would have rendered them suspicious, and would have been impertinent: after all, it was only a woman—what had I to do with women now? And had I not made an inward resolution never to seek them as bunij—nay, even to avoid parties in which there might be any? So I arose, and took my way to our camp, firmly resolving that I would pursue my march the next morning; for, thought I, she must be some lady of rank travelling to her lord, and Alla forbid that I should raise a hand against one so defenceless and unprotected; and I thought of my own lovely Azima, and shuddered at the idea of her ever being placed within reach of other members of my profession, who might not be so scrupulous as I was.
But, Sahib, the resolves of men—what are they?—passing thoughts, which fain would excite the mind to good, only to be driven away by the wild and overpowering influences of passion. Despite of my resolve, my mind was unquiet, and a thousand times fancy brought to my view the look she had cast on me, and whispered that it was one of love. I could not shake it off, and sought in the conversation of my associates wherewith to drive her from my thoughts; but it was in vain—that passionate glance was before me, and the beauteous eyes which threw it seemed to ask for another, a nearer and more loving.
In this state I passed the day, now determining that I would resist the temptation which was gnawing at my heart, and now almost on the point of once more proceeding to the village and seeking out the unknown object of my disquietude; and I was irresolute, when towards evening I saw a slave-girl making towards the camp, and I went to meet her, but not with the intention of speaking to her, should she prove to be only a village girl. We met, and I passed her; but I saw instantly that she was in search of some one, for she turned round hesitatingly and spoke to me. "Forgive my boldness, Sahib," said she, "but I am in search of some one, and your appearance tells me that it must be you."
"Speak," said I; "if I can aid you in anything, command me."
"I know not," she replied, "whether you are he or not; but tell me, did you sit at the Tumbolee's shop this morning for some time, smoking a hooka?"
"I did, my pretty maiden," said I; "and what of that? there is nothing so unusual in it as to attract attention."
"Ah, no!" said the girl archly; "but one saw you who wishes to see you again; and if you will now follow me, I will guide you."
"And who may this person be?" I asked; "and what can be his or her business with a traveller?"
"Your first question I may not answer," said the girl; "and as to the second, I am ignorant; but, by your soul, follow me, for the matter is urgent; and I have most express commands to bring you if I possibly can."
"I follow you," said I; "lead on."
"Then keep behind me at some distance," she said; "and when you see me enter the house, step boldly in after me, as if you were the master."
I followed her. But ah! Sahib, observe the power of destiny. I might have sat in my tent, and denied myself to the girl, who, something told me, had come to seek me when I first saw her approach. I might, when I did advance to meet her, have passed on indifferently; and, even when she spoke to me, I might have denied that I was the person she was sent after, or I might have refused to accompany her; but destiny impelled me on, nay, it led me by the nose after a slave-girl, to plunge into an adventure I fain would have avoided, and which my heart told me must end miserably. Sahib, there is no opposing Fate; by the meanest ends it works out the greatest deeds, and we are its slaves, body and soul, blindly to do as its will works! I say not Thugs only, but the whole human race. Is it not so?
It appears to me, Ameer Ali, said I, that poor Destiny has the blame whenever your own wicked hearts fixed themselves on any object and you followed their suggestions.
Nay, but I would have avoided this, cried the Thug; and have I not told you so? Alla knows I would not have entered into this matter; but what could I do? what were my weak resolves compared with his will! and yet you will not believe me. Sahib, I do not tell a lie.
I dare say not, said I; but the beautiful eyes were too much for you; so go on with your story.
The Thug laughed. They were indeed, said he, and accursed be the hour in which I saw them. But I will proceed.
The slave preceded me; at some distance I followed her through the village and its bazars, and saw her enter the house before which I had sat in the morning. I too entered it, leaving my slippers at the door, and with the confident air of a man who goes into his own house. I had just passed the threshold, when the slave stopped me.
"Wait a moment," said she; "I go to announce you;" and she pulled aside the temporary screen and went in.
In a few moments she returned, and bade me follow her. I obeyed her, and in the next instant was in the presence of the unknown, who was hidden from my sight by an envious sheet, which covered the whole of her person, and her face was turned away from me towards the wall.
"Lady," said I, "your slave is come; and aught that he can do for one so lovely he will perform to the utmost of his power. Speak! your commands are on my head and eyes."
"Byto," she said in a low, timid voice. "I have somewhat to ask thee."
I obeyed, and seated myself at a respectful distance from her on the carpet. "You will think me bold and shameless, I fear, stranger," said she, "for thus admitting you to my presence, nay even to my chamber; but, alas! I am a widow, and need the protection you are able perhaps to afford me. Which way do you travel?"
"Towards Nagpoor," I replied; "I purpose leaving this miserable place early to-morrow, and I have come from Jubbulpoor."
"From whence I have also come," she said, "and I am going too to Nagpoor. Ah, my destiny is good which has sent me one who will protect the lonely and friendless widow!"
"It is strange, lady," said I, "that we did not meet before, having come the same road."
"No," she replied, "it is not, since I was behind you. I heard you were before me, and I travelled fast to overtake you. We have now met, and as I must proceed the remainder of my journey alone, I implore you to allow me for the stage to join your party, with which, as I hear it is a large one, I shall be safe, and free from anxiety."
"Your wish is granted, lady," I said; "and any protection against the dangers of the way which your poor slave can afford shall be cheerfully given. I will send a man early to awaken you, and promise that I will not leave the village without you."
She salamed to me gracefully, and in doing so the sheet, as if by accident, partly fell from her face, and disclosed again to my enraptured view the features I had beheld from a distance. Sahib, the shock was overpowering, and every nerve in my body tingled; only that a sense of decency restrained me, I had risen and thrown myself at her feet; but while a blush, as though of shame, mantled over her countenance, and she hastily withdrew the glance she had for an instant fixed on me, she replaced the sheet and again turned to the wall, bending her head towards the ground. I thought it had been purely accidental, and the action at the time convinced me that she was really what she represented herself to be; and fearing that my longer presence would not be agreeable or decent, I asked her if she had any further commands and for permission to depart.
"No," said she, "I have no further favour to beg, save to know the name of him to whom I am indebted for this act of kindness."
"My name is Ameer Ali," said I; "a poor syud of Hindostan."
"Your fluent speech assured me you were of that noble race; I could not be mistaken,—'tis seldom one hears it. Fazil! bring the pan and utr." She did so, and after taking the complimentary gift of dismissal, and anointing my breast and beard with the fragrant utr, I rose and made my obeisance. She saluted me in return, and again bade me not forget my promise. I assured her that she might depend upon me, and departed.
She must be what she says, thought I; the very act of presenting pan and utr to me proves her rank; no common person, no courtesan would have thought of it. I shall only have to bear a little jeering from Motee and Peer Khan, which I will resist and laugh away; and this poor widow will reach Nagpoor in safety, without knowing that she has been in the hands of murderers. But I said nothing that night to any of them. In reply to their numerous questions as to the fortune I had met with in the village, and whether I had discovered the unknown, I only laughed, and said I believed it was some dancing-girl, for I knew the mention of one would turn their minds from the thoughts of bunij, as it is forbidden to kill those persons by the laws of our profession; and with my supposition they appeared satisfied. Great, however, was their surprise when in the morning, after having delayed our departure longer than usual, I joined the party of the lady outside the village and they understood that we were to travel in company. I was overpowered by jokes and witticisms from Peer Khan and Motee, who declared I was a sly dog thus to secure the lady all to myself; and after protesting vehemently that I cared not about her, which only made them laugh the more, I became half angry.
"Look you, my friends," said I, "this is a matter which has been in a manner forced upon me. Who the lady is I know not. She has begged of me to allow her to accompany us, as she supposes us to be travellers, and I have permitted it; and whether she be old or young, ugly or beautiful, I am alike ignorant. We may hereafter find out her history; but, whoever she be, she has my promise of safe escort, and she is not bunij. You remember my resolution, and you will see I can keep it."
"Nay," said Motee, "be not angry; if a friend is not privileged to crack a joke now and then, who, in Bhugwan's name, is? And as for us, we are your servants, and bound to obey you by our oath; so you may have as many women in your train as you please, and not one shall be bunij."
So we pursued our road. Several times I could not resist riding up to the palankeen and making my noble horse curvet and prance beside it. The doors were at first closely shut, but one was gradually opened, and the same sparklingeyes threw me many a smiling and approving look, though the face was still hidden.
Alas! Sahib, those eyes did me great mischief—I could not withstand them. About noon, when we had rested from our fatigue, and my men were dispersed in various directions, scarcely any of them remaining in the camp, the slave-girl again came for me, and I followed her to her mistress. We sat a long time in silence, and the lady was muffled up as I had before seen her. Despite of all my conflicting feelings, I own, Sahib, that in her presence my home was forgotten, and my burning desire was fixed upon the veiled being before me, of whose countenance I was even still ignorant.
She spake at last, but it was to the slave. "Go," said she, "and wait without, far out of hearing; I have that to say to this gentleman which must not enter even your ears, my Fazil."
She departed, and I was alone with the other, and again there was a long, and to me a painful, silence. "Meer Sahib," she said, at length, "what will you think of me? what will you think of one who thus exposes herself to the gaze of a man and a stranger? But it matters not now: it has been done, and it is idle to think on the past. I am the widow of a nuwab, whose estate is near Agra; he died a short time ago at Nagpoor, on his way from Hyderabad, whither he had gone to see his brother, and I was left friendless, but not destitute. He had abundance of wealth with him, and I was thus enabled to live at Nagpoor, after sending news of his death to my estate, in comfort and affluence. The messengers I sent at length returned, and brought me the welcome news that there was no one to dispute my right to my husband's property; and that my own family, which is as noble and as powerful as his was, had taken possession of the estate and held it on my account; and they wrote to me to return as quickly as I could, and among the respectable men of the land choose a new husband, by whom I might have children to inherit the estate. I immediately set off on my return—ah! Ameer Ali, how can I tell the rest! my tongue from shame cleaves to the roof of my mouth, and my lips refuse utterance to the words which are at my heart."
"Speak, lady," said I; "by your soul, speak! I burn with impatience, and you have excited my curiosity now too powerfully for it to rest unsatisfied."
"Then I must speak," she said, "though I die of shame in the effort. I heard at the last village that you had arrived; I say you, because my faithful slave, who finds out everything, came, shortly after your arrival, and told me that she had seen the most beautiful cavalier her thoughts had ever pictured to her. She recounted your noble air, the beauty of your person, the grace with which you managed your fiery steed, and above all the sweet and amiable expression of your countenance. The account inflamed me. I had married an old man, who was jealous of my person, and who never allowed me to see any one but my poor slave; but I had heard of manly beauty, and I longed for the time when his death should free me from this hated thraldom. Long I deliberated between the uncontrollable desire which possessed me and a sense of shame and womanly dignity; and perhaps the latter might have conquered, but you came and sat opposite to the hovel in which I was resting; my slave told me you were there, and I looked. Alla! Alla! once my eyes had fixed themselves on you, I could not withdraw them; and, as the hole through which I gazed did not afford me a full view of your person, I partially opened the curtain and feasted my soul with your appearance. You went away, and I fell back on my carpet in despair. My slave at last restored me to consciousness, but I raved about you; and fearful that my senses would leave me, she went and brought you. When you entered, how I longed to throw myself at your feet! But shame prevailed, and, after a commonplace conversation, though my soul was on fire and my liver had turned into water, I suffered you to depart. I told my people that I must return to Nagpoor, as I had forgotten to redeem some jewels I had left in pledge, which were valuable; and they believed me. Ameer Ali!" cried she, suddenly throwing off her veil and casting herself at my feet, while she buried her head in my lap; "Ameer Ali! this is my tale of shame—I love you! Alla only knows how my soul burns for you!I will be your slave for ever; whither you go, thither will I follow; whoever you are, and whatever you are, I am yours, and yours only; but I shall die without you. Alas! why did you come to me?"
And where now were all my resolutions? By Alla, Sahib, I had forgotten all—home, wife, children—I thought not of them, but I drank deeply of love, wild, passionate, burning love, from her eyes, and I caressed her as though she were mine own. There we sat, and though guilt was in my soul, and it accused me of infidelity to my oft repeated vows, I could not tear myself away from her, and I suffered her caresses in return, though they often struck to my heart like the blows of a sharp knife. Hours passed thus—I thought not of them; she seated at my feet, and I with my hands entwined in her long silken hair, and gazing at her face of such loveliness, that never had my wildest dreams pictured anything like it. Zora was beautiful, Azima was even more so, but Shurfun surpassed them both in as great a degree as they excelled any of their sex I had ever seen. Fain would she have had me stay with her: fain would she, the temptress, have then and there separated me from my band, and led me with herself, whither she cared not, so I was with her and she with me. Wealth, she said, she had in abundance, and we could fly to some undiscoverable spot, where we should pass years of bliss together, and where she would, by communication with her family, procure such money from time to time as would enable us to live in affluence.
"Ameer Ali," said she, "you are young, you are unknown, you have to fight your way to fame upon a bare pittance, and for this will you risk your precious life, when I offer you everything I possess, and swear that I am your slave? Ah, you will not, you cannot now leave me to perish in despair, and die of unrequited love! Speak, my soul, you will not leave me?"
Wretch and perjured that I was, I swore to obey her wishes. Sahib, it was a sore temptation, and it overcame me. At last I tore myself away from her, but not till I had sworn by her head and eyes to return the following day, when, being more calm, we might arrange our plans for the future.
I returned to my little tent, and there, in the agony of my soul, I rolled on the ground. I raved, I refused to eat, and was as one bereft of sense; I spoke rudely to Peer Khan, who having been called by my attendant came to comfort me; and I was almost on the point of driving my dagger to my heart, to end a life, which, though a splendid prospect was open to it, could never afterwards be aught but one of guilty misery. But the passion reached its height; and as a thunder-cloud, which after a burst of internal commotion, after its deep peal has gone forth and it has ejected the lightning from its bosom, gradually pours its pent-up flood of waters to soothe and refresh the earth, so did mine eyes now rain tears, and they calmed me. I can now ask and take advice, thought I, and Peer Khan, who is fondly attached to me, will give it as he would to a brother.
I sent for him, and after apologizing for my rudeness, said he would find the cause of it in the relation I would give of the last few hours. I told him all, and awaited his answer. My heart was relieved of a load of oppressive thought, and I was the better for it. He pondered long ere he spoke; at last he said,—
"Meer Sahib, this is a difficult business indeed, and I hardly know what to advise; go to her to-morrow; be a man, and give not way to this boyish passion, which ill suits you; try to persuade her that you cannot do as she wishes; speak to her, kindly yet firmly, of her home, of her relatives, and of the guilt which must cleave to you both from the connection she proposes. Tell her you have a wife and two children, and, if she is a true woman she will be fired with jealousy and will quarrel with you; do you then become irritated in your turn, and leave her to go her own way, and find some one who may not be so scrupulous, and may take advantage of her blind passions. And if all thisfail, if no words of yours can drive these foolish ideas from her brain, we have only to make a long march in some unknown direction and at once be quit of her. I know the paths through the jungles, and by them, difficult as they are, we can easily reach Berar, where she will never again hear of us."
I thanked him cordially for his advice; and that part of it which related to Azima and my children struck forcibly on my heart. I was as yet, thanks to the protection of the Prophet, pure, and by his aid I would remain so. I determined I would urge my previous ties to her so forcibly, and I would depict my love for my wife in such colours, that she should at once reject me.
Full of these resolutions I once more obeyed her summons, sent me by her slave, and followed the girl, and as we had made a long march of twelve coss, it was now late in the day. I need not again tell you, Sahib, of all her love for me, which she now poured forth without check or reserve. She had fairly cast away all shame, and would hear of nothing I could represent as to the consequence of our connection with her family. I had only now one resource, and as a man in alarm for his life fires the train of a mine, so did I, hurriedly and perhaps incoherently, mention my wife and children. The effect was as Peer Khan had expected, instantaneous. She had been sitting at my feet, listening to my objections, and playfully reasoning with me against them; but, at these words, she suddenly started to her feet, and drew her noble figure up to its full height, while her eyes flashed as she smoothed back her flowing hair from her brow; the veins of her forehead and neck swelled, and she was terrible to look on. I confess I quailed beneath the glances of scorn she cast on me.
"Man!" she cried at length, "ah, vile and faithless wretch, say, did I hear thee aright? Dare to say again that thou hast a wife and children! What dirt hast thou eaten?"
It was my time, and my good resolutions came to my aid; I rose, and confronted her with a look as proud and unflinching as her own.
"Yes, Shurfun," I said, "I have spoken the truth; one as beautiful as thou art believes me faithful, and faithful I will remain to her; long I reasoned with thee, and hadst thou not been carried away, and thy good feelings deadened, by an idle and sudden passion, thou hadst heard my words, and submitted to them, for the sake of thy family and hitherto untarnished honour. For my unfortunate share in this matter, may Alla forgive me! Lady, it was thy maddening beauty which caused me to err; but he has strengthened my heart, and again I implore thee to hear the words of friendship, and be thyself again."
How can I tell you, Sahib, of her despair, and the bitterness of her expressions, as she upbraided me with my deceit. I deserved them all, and not a word did I answer in return. I could not and I dared not approach her, lest my heart should again yield to her blandishments, for I felt that a kind word or action would renew them, and cause her to forget the past; and it was pitiable to see her as she now sat on the ground, moaning and rocking herself to and fro, while at intervals she tore her hair and beat her breasts in her agony of spirit.
"Leave me!" she said at last. "Ah, Ameer Ali, thou hast broken a heart which could have loved thee for ever! I do not complain: it is the will of Alla that the only man I could ever have loved and honoured should deceive me, and I submit. Shurfun is not yet reduced so low that she could put up with the second place in any man's heart, were he the monarch of Delhi itself. Go, the sight of you is painful to my soul; and may Alla forgive us both!"
I left her. I hastened to Peer Khan and related the whole to him, and he was delighted. "Now," said he, "to make the matter sure, let us retrace our steps; it is not attended with any risk, for we can put up anywhere, and we need not visit the village we before halted at; we have no hope of booty at Nagpoor, and if you like we can penetrate, as I said before, into Berar, and return by Khândésh, which was our original idea."
"I agree," said I; "this woman must be avoided at every risk. To save appearances she must go on to Nagpoor with her people, and we shall, by following your advice, avoid her altogether."
Accordingly the next morning, instead of pursuing the road we had taken, we turned back, and after a few hours' travel halted at a small village a few coss distant from the one we had left. But little had I calculated on that woman's love and wild passions. Before the day was half spent we saw her palankeen, attended by her men, advancing towards the village by the way we had come. What was to be done? I was for instant flight into the wild jungles by which we were surrounded, and where she would soon have lost all traces of us. But Peer Khan and Motee would not hear of it. "It would be cowardly," said they; "there is no occasion thus to run before a woman; and why should we expose ourselves to dangers from wild beasts, and the unhealthiness of the forest, on her account? And," added Motee, "if she follow us now, depend upon it it is not on your account, but because she is now determined to go to her home as quickly as possible."
"It may be so," said I; "whatever her plans may be they will not influence my determinations." Yet my mind misgave me that she would again follow us, and a short time proved that my suspicions were right. The slave came by stealth to my tent, disguised as a seller of milk, and I followed her, for I knew not why her mistress had sent for me, and why she now sought me after our last meeting.
I reached her presence, and again we were alone. I armed myself against her blandishments, and determined to oppose them with scorn, that she might again quarrel with me, and leave me for ever. I cannot relate to you, Sahib, all that passed between us; at one time she was all love, seeking to throw herself into my arms, and beseeching me to have pity on her—for she felt that her reputation was gone—in words that would have moved a heart of stone; at another, violently upbraiding me for my perfidy, and bidding me begone from her sight; yet, each time as I turned to depart, she would prevent me, and again implore me to listen and agree to her proposals. At last I could bear with her no longer. I was provoked with her importunities, and vexed at my own irresolute conduct. I bade her farewell, and was quitting the shed, where she had put up for the day, when she screamed to me to come back. I returned.
"Shurfun," said I, "this is foolishness, and the conduct of children; why should we thus torment each other? You have heard my determination; and could you offer me the throne of Delhi, I might share it with you, but my heart would be hers who now possesses it, and you would live a torment to yourself and me. Jealousy even now possesses your heart, and what would not that passion become when you were in intercourse with the object you even now hate, and whom you could not separate from me?"
"I care not for your words," said she; "I care not for the consequences; I have set my life and my fame on the issue of this,—and refuse me at your peril! As for your wife, I hate her not. Does not our law allow you four wives? Is it not so written in the blessed Koran? You cannot deny it. Even I, who am a woman, know it. I would love Azima as a sister, and your children for your sake; and can you refuse wealth and a future life of distinction for them? Oh, man, are you bereft of sense? See, I speak to you calmly, and reason with you as I would were I your sister."
"I would to Alla thou wert my sister," I said; "I could love thee fondly as a sister, but never, never can I consent to this unhallowed and disgraceful union. Yes, Shurfun, disgraceful! disguise it with all thy flattering and sweet words, yet it is disgraceful. Do you dream for a moment that your proud family would receive as your husband, as the sharer of your property and wealth, a man unknown to them, one who has no family honours, no worldly distinction to boast of, and with whom you have picked up a casual acquaintance on the road? I tell you they would not. Go therefore, I beseech you, to your home, and in after years I will send my Azima to see you, and she shall pray for blessings on the noble woman who preserved her husband to her."
She sat silent for some time; but the fire was not quenched within her; it burst forth with increased violence, when I vainly thought that my temperate words had quenched it for ever. Again she bade me go, but it was sullenly, and I left her.
I had not been an hour in my tent when the slave again came to me.—But perhaps, Sahib, you are tired of my minuteness in describing all my interviews with the Moghulanee?
No, said I, Ameer Ali: I suppose you have some object in it, therefore go on.
Well then, resumed the Thug, the slave came to me and I was alone. "For the love of Alla," said she, "Meer Sahib, do something for my poor mistress! Ever since you left her she has been in a kind of stupor, and has hardly spoken. She just now told me to go and purchase a quantity of opium for her; and when I refused, and fell at her feet, imploring her to recall her words, she spoke angrily to me, and said, if I did not go, she would go herself. So I have purchased it; but alas! I know its fatal use: and you alone can save her. Come quickly then, and speak a kind word to her; I have heard all that has passed, and you have behaved like a man of honour; but since you cannot persuade her to forget you and relinquish her intentions, at least for the time fall in with her humour, and agree to accompany her, on the promise that she will not seek to see you on the road; and say that when you reach her Jagheer you will have your marriage duly solemnized. Oh, do this for her sake! You said you could love her as a sister, and this would be the conduct of a brother."
"Well," said I, "since the matter has come to this issue, that her life or death is in my hands, I consent;" and I arose, and went with her.
Oh, with what joy the unhappy girl received me! long she hung upon my bosom, and blessed me as her preserver, and kissed her slave when she related what she had said to me, and that I had agreed to her wishes. "It is to save your precious life," I cried, "that I thus expose myself to the sneers and taunts of my friends and your own: think on the sacrifice I make in losing their love, and you will behave cautiously and decently on the road; we need not meet—nay we must not, the temptation would be too strong for us both; but I swear by your head and eyes I will not leave you, and you shall travel in our company."
The slave had gone out, and she drew towards me. "Beware," said she, "how you deceive me, for I know your secret, and if you are unfaithful I will expose it; your life is in my hands, and you know it."
"What secret?" cried I in alarm. "What can you mean?"
"I know that you are a Thug," she said, in a low and determined voice; "my slave has discovered you, and a thousand circumstances impress the belief that you are one upon my mind—your men, the way you encamp, the ceremonies my slave has seen your men performing, and the freedom with which you go forward or return at your pleasure. All these are conclusive, and I bid you beware! for nothing that you can say will persuade me to the contrary; you have even now the property of those you have killed in your camp—you cannot deny it, your looks confirm my words."
I inwardly cursed the prying curiosity of the slave, and feared she had discovered us through one of our men with whom I had seen her conversing, and I determined to destroy him. But I had now fairly met my match, and though abashed for a moment, I replied to her: "Then, Shurfun, since you have discovered us, I have no alternative, we must be united, I to save my life and the lives of my men, you to save your own. It is a fearful tie which binds us, but it cannot be broken."
"I thought so," she said; "fool that I was not to have urged this before! I might have saved myself the agony which I have endured. Now, go; I will hear of you from day to day, and it may be that we shall have an opportunity of conversing unobserved. Now I am sure of you, and my mind is at ease."
I left her, but my thoughts were in a whirl; she had discovered us, and by the rules of our profession I could not conceal it from my associates. Alla! Alla! to what would the communication I must make to them lead! Alas, I dreaded to think—yet it must be done. A long time I deliberated with myself whether I should expose the truth to my associates, and fain would I not have done so; but the peril we were in was so imminent, and the lives of my fifty brave fellows were so completely at the mercy of a woman, that I could not overlook the strict rules of my profession. I knew that it could onlylead to one alternative; but it was her fate, and it could not be avoided either by her or me.
As I expected, the fatal mandate went forth among us. My men were astonished and terrified at the information Shurfun possessed, and after a very brief consultation her fate was determined on. Sahib, you will think the worse of me for this, but what could be done? We could not leave her, she would have alarmed the villagers, and they would have pursued us. True, they could have done but little against us there; but they would have dogged us through the jungles, and at last have watched their opportunity and seized us. Our next care was to endeavour to find out the person from whom she had gained the information, and I mentioned the name of him with whom I had seen the slave conversing. Sahib, as I did it, his face bore the evidence of conscious guilt. He was a young man but little known to any of us, and was one of the Lughaees. He had accompanied Peer Khan in his last expedition, and had behaved well, so well as to induce him to allow his accompanying us; but by this act he had forfeited everything, and it was but too plain that he had been seduced by the wiles of that intriguing and artful slave.
Observing his altered looks, I at once accused him of treachery; and my accusation was re-echoed by the voices of the band. "He must die!" cried one and all; "we could never carry on our work with the knowledge that there was one treacherous person with us; and it is the rule of our order too. Who ever spared a traitor?"
"Miserable wretch," said I to him, "why hast thou done this? Why hast thou been unfaithful to thine oath and the salt thou hast eaten? Didst thou not know the penalty? Hast thou not heard of hundreds of instances of treachery, and was ever one pardoned? Unhappy man! thou sayest nothing for thyself, and the sentence must be passed upon thee. Shame! that the wiles of a wretched slave should so far have led thee from thy duty, and exposed us all to peril!"
"Jemadar," said he rising, "I have sinned, and my hour is come. I ask not for mercy, for I know too well that it cannot be shown me; let me die by the hands of my own people, and I am content; and if my fate be a warning to them, I am satisfied. I was pure in my honour till I met that slave; she told me that you were to marry her mistress, and that you had told her who you were. I thought it true, and I conversed with her on the secrets of our band; I boasted to her of the deeds we had done, and she consented to be mine whenever we could meet with a fitting opportunity. Fool that I was, I was deceived; yet I offer this as no palliation for my offence. Let therefore Goordut kill me; his is a sure hand, and he will not fail in his duty."
Goordut, the chief of our Lughaees, stepped forward. "Forgive me your death," said he to the fated wretch; "I have no enmity against you, but this is my duty, and I must do it."
"I forgive you," he replied. "Let your hand be firm; I shall offer no resistance, nor struggle; let my death-pain be short."
Goordut looked to me for the signal,—I gave it, and in another instant his victim had expiated his crime by death; he suffered passively, and Goordut's hand never trembled. The body was taken from among us and interred; and henceforward we had no treachery among us, nor did I ever meet with another instance, save one, and that was successful; you shall hear of it hereafter. There but remained to allot to the different members of the band their separate places in the ensuing catastrophe; and this done, I felt that I had acted as a good Thug, and that a misplaced pity had not influenced me during the transactions of the day.
Strange was it, Sahib, that Shurfun, knowing who we were, should not, when she had discovered it, at once have fled from us! How she, a woman unused to and unacquainted with deeds of blood, could have borne to look on, nay more to have caressed and loved, one a murderer by profession, whose hand was raised against the whole human race, is more than I have ever been able to understand: I can only say it was her fate. She might, she ought to have avoided me; in every principle of human conduct, her love for me was wicked and without shame, and a virtuous woman would have died before she had ever allowed it to possess her bosom. She might have cast me off when she said shewould, and when her resolution was made to see me no more; but her blind passion led her on into the net fate had spread for her, and she was as unable to avoid it, as you or I shall be to die, Sahib, when our hour comes.
We started in company with her the next morning. I was determined I would take no active part in her death, for I could not bear the thought of lifting my hand against one whose caresses I had allowed, and whose kisses were, I may say, still warm upon my lips. Motee and Peer Khan were allotted to her, and one of her attendants was my share. But hers was a large party; she had eight bearers, four sepoys as her guards, and her slave rode on a pony, which was led by another servant. In all, therefore, they were fifteen individuals, and to make sure, thirty-five of my best men were to fall on them whenever we should meet a fitting place. I knew one, a wild spot it was, where the jungle was almost a forest, and where for miles on either side there was no human habitation; and I intended, for greater security, to lead the party by a path which I had discovered on our way down, and which led into the thickest part of the jungle, where I knew our deadly work would be sure of no interruption.
We reached the spot where the road diverged which I intended to take, and after much opposition on the part of her bearers, I succeeded in persuading them to follow me, by telling them both that the road was a short one and that there was a stream of water which crossed it, whereas on the main track there was none. We gained the small rivulet, and I dismounted; my band surrounded their unsuspecting victims, and eagerly awaited the signal; but I wished to spare Shurfun the sight of the dead which she would be exposed to were she not the first to fall. I went to her palankeen, and asked her to get out and partake of some refreshment I had brought with me; she objected at first, as she would have to expose herself to the rash gaze of my men; but I told her I had put up a cloth against a tree, that it was but a few steps off, and that veiled as she was, no one would see her, "Your slave is there already," said I; "so come, she is preparing our meal, the first we have ever eaten together."
She stepped out cautiously, closely muffled in a sheet, so that she saw not those who were with me; the palankeen too concealed her person, and as she arose from her sitting posture, the roomal of Motee was around her, and she died instantly. Peer Khan held her hands, and the moment her breath was gone, he put the body into the palankeen and shut the door. "Now thus much is done," said he, "we must finish the rest, and that quickly; they are all off their guard, and washing and drinking in the stream; the men are at their posts. Bismilla! give the jhirnee!"
I sought my place and gave it: my own share was quickly done, and the rest too; but one or two were unskilful, and the shrieks of the unfortunate but too guilty slave, among the rest, smote on my ear, and caused a pang to shoot to my heart at the thought that they had all died for the wretched caprice of a wicked woman. I could not bear to look at Shurfun,—the sight of her beautiful features would have overpowered me. I saw the Lughaees bear her away, but I followed not. Her palankeen was broken into pieces and buried with her.
Wretch that I am! cried I: ah, Ameer Ali, hadst thou no pity, no remorse, for one so young and so lovely? I might have felt it, Sahib, but the fate of him who had died the day before was too fresh in my mind to allow me to show it: that might have been mine had I done so. Besides, can you deny that it was her fate? and, above all, had I not eaten the goor of the Tupounee?