A Bottle in the Smoke: A Tale of Anglo-Indian Life

by Janet Milne Rae

  CHAPTER XVI.

  On the same afternoon as Hester was enjoying the many-sided pleasures ofher day at Ennore, Alfred Rayner was stepping from the train at the trimlittle railway station of Puranapore. He looked less brisk thanordinarily, and did not seem disposed to claim the simultaneousattentions of all the native officials in his usual self-assertivemanner, but stood glancing up and down the platform with an undecidedair. In fact the green flag had been waved, and the train by which hehad arrived had started on its onward way, but still he seemed in nohurry to proceed. Presently the station-master approached him, andsalaaming, inquired which Dorai he was on his way to visit, no carriagehaving appeared from the English cantonment.

  Mr. Rayner was in a very uncommunicative mood. He did not disclaim anypurpose of visiting one of the English residents, nor did he indicatewhither he was bound. Suddenly he picked up his bag, for on secondthoughts he had dismissed his dressing-boy at the Madras station, andstrode off on foot, much to the surprise of the station-master, who wasa comparative stranger and did not even know him by sight. The scowlingHindu ticket-collector quickly enlightened him.

  "That's La'yer Rayner that done bobbery about that mosque," he remarked,and proceeded to denounce the barrister in no flattering terms,prophesying that he had reappeared to hatch fresh mischief with theplotting Zynool.

  The object of these unfavourable comments was meanwhile making his wayamong the narrow crowded streets of the old town, and in one of theunloveliest of these he stood glancing up at a house, the front aspectof which was little more than a blank wall, its peeling chunam givingit a dreary, weather-stained appearance. Its few slits of windows lookeddown on the street like pairs of suspicious eyes, and its low doorseemed as if it could not admit anyone of even average stature, thoughit gave daily ingress and egress to the ponderous figure of ZynoolSahib. At this low portal Mr. Rayner stood, tentatively looking up atthe narrow windows.

  "Perhaps I should have wired to announce my coming! One never knowswhether an impromptu descent or not is best with these beggars. If I hadwarned Zynool, it would only have given him a loophole for escape if hehad a mind for any reason to dodge me. His letter showed he was mad overhis failure to annex that idiot, Cheveril, and he seemed actually toblame me for it!"

  He had ample time for his soliloquy while he waited for a response tohis knock. At length he heard the withdrawing of heavy bolts within andthe door was opened. On his inquiry if Zynool Sahib was at home, asuspicious-looking servant led him along a dark, narrow passage fromwhich he passed into a courtyard ablaze with sunshine and gay withflowering shrubs. In the centre a fountain played and goldfish disportedthemselves in its sparkling basin. Rows of windows with leaded panes ofglass looked into the court, some of these were being hurriedly closednow, though the visitor was able to catch a glimpse of moving formswithin and even of faces peering furtively down upon him.

  "The harem, of course," muttered Mr. Rayner, with a scornful smile. "No,ladies, you need not fear, I'll not peep, I've no wish to anger yourlord and master!"

  After a little pause another servant appeared; he was evidently of ahigher grade, for he pushed the other aside rudely, saying:

  "Your honour will follow me! The Sahib will see!"

  The visitor was led along more passages and finally shown into a largeroom furnished entirely after English fashions of an unrefined sort. Thebadly stuffed sofa and chairs covered with crimson plush looked mostuninviting. On the floor was spread a crude coloured Brussels carpet,while lovely Persian rugs lay huddled on the verandah outside. The onlyornament in the room was a huge musical box.

  "So this is Zynool's idea of comfort! I wonder what Hester would thinkof this," muttered Mr. Rayner, flinging his sun-topee on the garishplush table-cloth, its neutral colour giving a relieving touch which henoted almost with comfort as he seated himself on the hard sofa. He hadnever before penetrated into Zynool's home, having most frequentlyarranged meetings with him in Madras, or, when business necessitated avisit to Puranapore, Zynool had always directed him to a room near therailway station which seemed at his disposal.

  Presently the heavy curtain at the other end of the room from which hehad entered was pushed aside by a fat brown hand bedecked with sparklingrings, and the master of the house stood before him, making lessdeferential salaam than usual, and with a frown on his face. Rayner alsodiscerned from a certain flicker of his eyelids which half covered hisbeady eyes that Zynool was not in the best of tempers.

  "Worse luck for me," he groaned inwardly.

  "You give your humble slave one surprise, La'yer Rayner," said Zynool,licking his coarse red lips, as he disposed his heavy person on the edgeof one of the plush-covered chairs. "No chit, no wire, no nossing!" hejerked, looking querulously at his visitor as he spoke.

  "Upon my word, Zynool, I ought to apologise for my coming upon you inthis unceremonious manner," returned Mr. Rayner, assuming his mostconciliatory tone, "but we're such friends, you and I, I thought I mightrisk an impromptu visit. What a beautiful room you have here--quiteEnglish, I declare!"

  "Ha, it pleases your Honour then!" said Zynool, visibly brightening."This apartment has just been lately furnished all from Oakes & Company,Madras,--all perfect English--Oakes' man done assure. The carpet too,is it not a beautee?" he added, casting an admiring glance on thehideous tints.

  "Perfectly lovely--such good taste! A lucky man you are, Sahib, to beable to order all these things--and to pay for them too!"

  Here Mr. Rayner gave an ostentatious sigh which, however, was lost onhis host, who seized the opportunity of giving vent to a ranklinggrievance.

  "Yes, it was in your humble slave's heart to invite your friend, the newAssistant-Collector, to come and have coffee in this lovelee Englishroom, and also to bestow many favours on that young man till he scornedme in such wise as I made known to your Honour in my chit. I expressedto your ear how his treatment was like hot charcoal thrown in my face."

  "Yes, very ungrateful on Cheveril's part! But you must bear in mind,Sahib, that he's only a griffin, not an old diplomat like you. You mayfind him more promising next time. You and he and I will be drinkingcoffee together in this beautiful room, yet--take my word for it," saidMr. Rayner, in an encouraging tone as he eyed the Mahomedan closely.

  "Nevere," replied Zynool, with a groan. "That one is not like DoraiPrinter. I take measure of that young man, veree quick. No favour foryour humble slave in that compound."

  "Oh, you never can tell! And now I'll make a confidant of you, Zynool.That young man is a very particular friend of my lady. He will be comingto see us in Madras very soon. I shall not fail to tell him what asplendid fellow you are, and what a loyal servant of the Empire, and ofthe lovely English room you have here," Rayner continued, keeping hiseye on the heavy face to watch the effect of his words, for he had amatter important to transact which had brought him to Puranapore, thoughit was not pressing legal business as he had indicated to his wife.

  "The young man is a friend of your lady, say you? That is good! Then,La'yer Rayner, the road is straight. Your mem-sahib must doubtless doyour Honour's will?" suggested Zynool, with an ugly leer.

  Not having an evasive reply ready on the tip of his tongue, Rayner againapplied himself to admiring his gaudy surroundings, though he almostregretted his recurring to the topic, when Zynool began to rub his fathands gleefully, saying:

  "But this is not the only English room I have on my premises. Come andsee!" and drawing aside the portiere he disclosed a bedroom, where ashiny new brass bedstead of the commonest order stood, surrounded by theregulation furnishings. "This, too, all from Oakes & Company, Madras,quite English and veree costlee"; and he rubbed his hands in childishglee as he gazed about on his possessions.

  "By Jove, what a grand bed, I've a mind to repose on it," exclaimedRayner, with well-simulated admiration.

  "And would your Honour realee do your humble slave the joy of takingrepose on thatt bed this veree night? If so, all can be arranged andquicklee too," cried Zynool with enthu
siasm.

  Mr. Rayner was considerably taken aback by the proposal to sleep in anative house. He had intended to travel a station or two down the linewhen he had finished his business with the Mussulman, and put up at thebungalow of a bachelor friend. But this eager offer of hospitality wasnot to be lightly refused, following as it did Zynool's irate mood, andhe decided that prudence demanded a gracious compliance with therequest.

  Zynool, obviously delighted with the success of his suggestion, hurriedoff, all importance, to make arrangements for the entertainment of theEnglish guest. The news instantly circulated from basement to house-topthat the English sahib was to honour the house of his client, thoughhalf-an-hour previously his arrival had seemed to incense its master,and make confusion throughout the household.

  Mr. Rayner's relations with the Mussulman had been of more than twoyears' standing. In fact Zynool Sahib had been one of the youngbarrister's earliest clients, and owing to Rayner's astuteness anddaring he had been piloted round at least one ugly corner. If the truthmust be told, since then the lawyer had more than once thrust his clientinto hot water. The pair had taken shares together in various doubtfulventures, at Rayner's instigation, encouraged by high interest, and hadbeen markedly unsuccessful, so that when Zynool informed him that areally good investment was going a-begging in the shape of a piece ofland in Puranapore, Rayner lent a ready ear. The land being the propertyof a Hindu, Zynool explained that he must keep entirely in thebackground, but was eager, for reasons of his own, to aid the purchaseby underhand methods. The result was that the land in question becamethe property of Alfred Rayner, to pass shortly after into the hands ofthe Moslem community for double the price which the lawyer gave for it.Thus the mosque which was now such a bone of contention came into being,growing with the rapidity of Jack's beanstalk. Before the Hindus beganto realise what a perpetual source of annoyance it was likely to prove,the Mahomedans were shouting their morning and evening prayer-calls fromits jerry-built minaret. Zynool rubbed his fat hands with joy at thesuccess of his plot to snub the Hindus, while Rayner's bag of rupees forthe price of the site was a godsend to him, and had tided him throughmany months. But these ill-gotten gains had all melted away during thepast season's extravagances. More serious still, the shares, which hadseemed so promising, were threatening to pay no further dividends, andcalls were looming in the distance. It was this black outlook which hadbrought the young lawyer to the house of the Mahomedan this afternoon,not indeed to announce to his client the threatened failure of theirjoint investments--that, he decided, must be kept in the dark--but tosee whether he could negotiate a much needed loan on easier terms thanthose of the Madras _soukars_. He considered it therefore worth theodiousness of being condemned to spend an evening in the crimson plushdrawing-room and the discomfort of a night in the shining brassbedstead, if he could work his host up to that pitch of smilingcompliance which would make his request an easier task than it seemedlikely to be during the first few minutes of his call.

  It was, however, with the cheque for five thousand rupees in hispocket-book, albeit with even a greater loss of self-respect than hisdealings with the wily Mussulman had hitherto engendered, that AlfredRayner stepped out at the low doorway in the weather-stained wall nextmorning. His host had ordered his gaudy little chariot to be inreadiness to drive him to the railway station. It waited now as Zynoolstood salaaming on the narrow pavement.

  As Mr. Rayner was stepping into the carriage he caught sight of twoEnglishmen passing along the head of the street. They walked slowly. Onewas a short, broad-shouldered man, who was endeavouring to hold awhite-covered umbrella over the head of his younger and taller companionas they laughed and chatted together.

  "There goes Dr. Campbell, mine enemee," said Zynool, with a fiercescowl, "and the osser is that haughtee young man. What a pity he did notsee your Honour at the house of your humble slave here," he added, withan air of disappointment.

  Rayner had retreated into the depths of the bandy before he ventured tomake any reply.

  "So that's Dr. Campbell, is it? Not a very formidable looking person! Ishould say, Zynool, that you're a match for that little man with thehollow chest," he said, with a careless laugh as he settled himselfamong the cushions, while Zynool's dark face filled the window.

  Rayner was longing to ask him the question which he was anxiouslyasking himself. "Had Mark caught sight of him at the Mussulman's door?"He fervently hoped not, and made an absent, formal salaam as he tookleave of his host.

  He congratulated himself that the two gentlemen, being on foot, wereprobably going to the dispensary while their carriage waited near, andthat there would be no risk of his meeting them. He was therefore not alittle chagrined when the first person he saw standing on the platformwas the Assistant-Collector.

  Perceiving that an encounter was inevitable, Rayner went forward with agracious smile.

  "Who would have thought of seeing you here, Cheveril!"

  "Why, I should rather say, who would have thought of seeing you at ourlittle Puranapore," responded Mark, with that direct look in his eyewhich had already annoyed Rayner more than once.

  "To a dead certainty he saw me at Zynool's door," thought Rayner, whoreplied lightly, "Business, sir, business! Trying to get that fellowZynool to pay up what he owes me. He happened to be one of my Puranaporeclients before my last furlough. We barristers don't always get paid inadvance, I assure you!"

  Mark recalled with discomfort Mr. Worsley's remark as to Zynool havingbeen helped by a "shady pleader," but he was glad to dismiss the topicfor the present by polite enquiries after Mrs. Rayner.

  "Oh, Hester is as fit as a fiddle! Going in for no end of dissipation,and still keeps her English roses," her husband replied briskly. "Comeand see for yourself, Cheveril! My wife was a bit disappointed that youdeclined all our invitations."

  "Please tell Mrs. Rayner that I have not been a day absent since Ijoined, or I should have taken a run to Madras to see my friends there."

  "Yes, I believe the Collector is rather of the slave-driving order.Between touring and office work he grinds his subs. pretty hard--soPrinter used to tell me."

  "That's not a fair representation by any means," said Mark quickly."Touring and office work are both in the day's routine, and I likeboth."

  "Lucky man," said the lawyer, with more honest conviction than his wordsgenerally implied as he glanced half enviously, half admiringly, at thestrong, reliant face of the young civilian which told of faithful daysand peaceful nights.

  "Oh, by the way, Rayner, let me introduce you to our doctor! He istaking a run to Madras to see a case he has in the hospital there.You'll enjoy Campbell's talk. He's an awfully bright fellow," Markadded, thinking that such an acquaintance might be salutary for thisshifty looking man. He was glancing round in search of the doctor whomhe saw talking to a Hindu official.

  "Oh, thanks, no," replied Rayner, with a shrug of his shoulders. "I'vegot a brief to study in the train. I must deny myself the pleasure ofDr. Campbell's acquaintance."

  He was about to hurry off to take his seat when he remembered that hehad made no definite arrangement concerning the suggested visit toClive's Road. "You'll come and put up with us for Christmas, of course,Cheveril? It will be Hester's first Christmas here as well asyours--jolly to spend it together! Shall I tell her of the pleasure instore?"

  "I'm certainly counting on seeing Mrs. Rayner then. Do please say sowith all kind words from me. But I shall be putting up at the Club. Mr.Worsley has asked me to be his guest there, and to help him to entertaina friend he expects to arrive then."

  "Ah, well, one must keep on the right side of one's chief, of course.You're a shrewd man, Cheveril! I'll be able to assure your friend Hesterthat you're shaping-in beautifully. At all events you'll give us oneevening at Clive's Road?"

  Mark cordially assented and turned away to make a parting salute to thedoctor as the train was moving off.