by G. A. Henty
CHAPTER VI.
The clubhouse at Cawnpore was crowded on the evening before the races.Up to eleven o'clock it had been comparatively deserted, for there wasscarcely a bungalow in the station at which dinner parties were notgoing on; but, after eleven, the gentlemen for the most part adjournedto the club for a smoke, a rubber, or a game of billiards, or to chatover the racing events of the next day.
Loud greetings were exchanged as each fresh contingent arrived, for manynewcomers had come into the station only that afternoon. Every table inthe whist room was occupied, black pool was being played in the billiardroom upstairs, where most of the younger men were gathered, while theelders smoked and talked in the rooms below.
"What will you do, Bathurst?" the Doctor asked his guest, afterthe party from the Major's had been chatting for some little timedownstairs. "Would you like to cut in at a rubber or take a ball atpool?"
"Neither, Doctor; they are both accomplishments beyond me; I have notpatience for whist, and I can't play billiards in the least. I havetried over and over again, but I am too nervous, I fancy; I break downover the easiest stroke--in fact, an easy stroke is harder for me thana difficult one. I know I ought to make it, and just for that reason, Isuppose, I don't."
"You don't give one the idea of a nervous man, either, Bathurst."
"Well, I am, Doctor, constitutionally, indeed terribly so."
"Not in business matters, anyhow," the Doctor said, with a smile. "Youhave the reputation of not minding in the slightest what responsibilityyou take upon yourself, and of carrying out what you undertake in themost resolute, I won't say high handed, manner."
"No, it doesn't come in there," Bathurst laughed. "Morally I am notnervous so far as I know, physically I am. I would give a great deal ifI could get over it, but, as I have said, it is constitutional."
"Not on your father's side, Bathurst. I knew him well, and he was a verygallant officer."
"No, it was the other side," Bathurst said; "I will tell you about itsome day."
At this moment another friend of Bathurst's came up and entered intoconversation with him.
"Well, I will go upstairs to the billiard room," the Doctor said; "andyou will find me there, Bathurst, whenever you feel disposed to go."
A pool had just finished when the Doctor entered the billiard room.
"That is right, Doctor, you are just in time," Prothero said, as heentered. "Sinclair has given up his cue; he is going to ride tomorrow,and is afraid of shaking his nerves; you must come and play for thehonor of the corps. I am being ruined altogether, and Doolan has retireddiscomfited."
"I have not touched a cue since I went away," the Doctor said, "but Idon't mind adding to the list of victims. Who are the winners?"
"Messenger and Jarvis have been carrying all before them; there is areport they have just sent off two club waiters, with loads of rupees,to their quarters. Scarsdale has been pretty well holding his own, butthe rest of us are nowhere."
A year's want of practice, however, told, and the Doctor was added tothe list of victims: he had no difficulty in getting someone else totake his cue after playing for half an hour.
"It shows that practice is required for everything," he said; "beforeI went away I could have given each of those men a life, now they couldgive me two; I must devote half an hour a day to it till I get it backagain."
"And you shall give me a lesson, Doctor," Captain Doolan, who had alsoretired, said.
"It would be time thrown away by both of us, Doolan. You would nevermake a pool player if you were to practice all your life. It is not theeye that is wrong, but the temperament. You can make a very good shotnow and then, but you are too harum scarum and slap dash altogether.The art of playing pool is the art of placing yourself; while, when youstrike, you have not the faintest idea where your ball is going to,and you are just as likely to run in yourself as you are to pot youradversary. I should abjure it if I were you, Doolan; it is too expensivea luxury for you to indulge in."
"You are right there, Doctor; only what is a man to do when fellows say,'We want you to make up a pool, Doolan'?"
"I should say the reply would be quite simple. I should answer, 'I amready enough to play if any of you are ready to pay my losses and takemy winnings; I am tired of being as good as an annuity to you all,'for that is what you have been for the last ten years. Why, it would becheaper for you to send home to England for skittles, and get a groundup here."
"But I don't play so very badly, Doctor."
"If you play badly enough always to lose, it doesn't matter as to theprecise degree of badness," the Doctor retorted. "It is not surprising.When you came out here, fourteen or fifteen years ago, boys did nottake to playing billiards, but they do now. Look at that little villain,Richards. He has just cleared the table, and done it with all thecoolness of a professional marker. The young scoundrel ought to havebeen in bed two hours ago, for I hear that tat of his is really a goodone. Not that it will make any difference to him. That sort of boy wouldplay billiards till the first bugle sounds in the morning, and have awash and turn out as fresh as paint, but it won't last, Doolan, not inthis climate; his cheeks will have fallen in and he will have crow'sfeet at the corners of his eyes before another year has gone over. Ilike that other boy, Wilson, better. Of course he is a cub as yet, butI should say there is good in him. Just at present I can see he isbeginning to fancy himself in love with Miss Hannay. That will do himgood; it is always an advantage to a lad like that to have a good honestliking for a nice girl. Of course it comes to nothing, and for a time heimagines himself the most unhappy of mortals, but it does him good forall that; fellows are far less likely to get into mischief and go to thebad after an affair of that sort. It gives him a high ideal, and if heis worth anything he will try to make himself worthy of her, and thegood it does him will continue even after the charm is broken."
"What a fellow you are, Doctor," Captain Doolan said, looking down uponhis companion, "talking away like that in the middle of this racket,which would be enough to bother Saint Patrick himself!"
"Well, come along downstairs, Doolan; we will have a final peg and thenbe off; I expect Bathurst is beginning to fidget before now."
"It will do him good," Captain Doolan said disdainfully. "I have nopatience with a man who is forever working himself to death, ridingabout the country as if Old Nick were behind him, and never givinghimself a minute for diversion of any kind. Faith, I would rather throwmyself down a well and have done with it, than work ten times as hard asa black nigger."
"Well, I don't think, Doolan," the Doctor said dryly, "you are everlikely to be driven to suicide by any such cause."
"You are right there, Doctor," the other said contentedly. "No man canthrow it in my teeth that I ever worked when I had no occasion to work.If there were a campaign, I expect I could do my share with the best ofthem, but in quiet times I just do what I have to do, and if anyone hasan anxiety to take my place in the rota for duty, he is as welcome toit as the flowers of May. I had my share of it when I was a subaltern;there is no better fellow living than the Major, but when he was Captainof my company he used to keep me on the run by the hour together, till Iwished myself back in Connaught, and anyone who liked it might have hadthe whole of India for anything I cared; he was one of the most uneasycreatures I ever came across."
"The Major is a good officer, Doolan, and you were as lazy a youngster,and as hard a bargain, as the Company ever got. You ought to thankyour stars that you had the good luck in having a Captain who knewhis business, and made you learn yours. Why, if you had had a man likeRintoul as your Captain, you would never have been worth your salt."
"You are not complimentary, Doctor; but then nobody looks forcompliments from you."
"I can pay compliments if I have a chance," the Doctor retorted, "butit is very seldom I get one of doing so--at least, without lying. Well,Bathurst, are you ready to turn in?"
"Quite ready, Doctor; that is one of the advantages of not caring forraces; the merits a
nd demerits of the horses that run tomorrow do not inthe slightest degree affect me, and even the news that all the favoriteshad gone wrong would not deprive me of an hour's sleep."
"I think it a good thing to take an interest in racing, Bathurst. Takemen as a whole: out here they work hard--some of them work tremendouslyhard--and unless they get some change to their thoughts, some sort ofrecreation, nineteen out of twenty will break down sooner or later. Ifthey don't they become mere machines. Every man ought to have some sortof hobby; he need not ride it to death, but he wants to take some sortof interest in it. I don't care whether he takes to pig sticking, orracing, or shooting, or whether he goes in for what I may call themilder kinds of relaxation, such as dining out, billiards, whist, oreven general philandering. Anything is better than nothing--anythingthat will take his mind off his work. As far as I can see, you don't doanything."
"Therefore I shall either break down or become a machine, Doctor?"
"One or the other certainly, Bathurst. You may smile, but I mean what Isay. I have seen other young fellows just as full of work and enthusiasmas you are, but I have never seen an exception to the rule, unless, ofcourse, they took up something so as to give their minds a rest."
"The Doctor has just been scolding me because I am not fond enough ofwork," Captain Doolan laughed.
"You are differently placed, Doolan," the Doctor said. "You have gotplenty of enthusiasm in your nature--most Irishmen have--but you havehad nothing to stir it. Life in a native regiment in India is an easyone. Your duties are over in two or three hours out of the twenty-four,whereas the work of a civilian in a large district literally neverends, unless he puts a resolute stop to it. What with seeing people frommorning until night, and riding about and listening to complaints, everyhour of the day is occupied, and then at night there are reports towrite and documents of all sorts to go through. It is a great pity thatthere cannot be a better division of work, though I own I don't see howit is to be managed."
By this time they were walking towards the lines.
"I should not mind taking a share of the civil work at the station,"Captain Doolan said, "if they would make our pay a little more like thatof the civilians."
"There is something in that, Doolan," the Doctor agreed; "it is justas hard work having nothing to do as it is having too much; and I havealways been of opinion that the tremendous disproportion between the payof a military man and of a civilian of the same age is simply monstrous.Well, goodnight, Doolan; I hope you will tell Mrs. Doolan that thecredit is entirely due to me that you are home at the reasonable hour ofone o'clock, instead of dropping in just in time to change for parade."
"A good fellow," the Doctor said, as he walked on with Bathurst; "hewould never set the Thames on fire; but he is an honest, kindly fellow.He would make a capital officer if he were on service. His marriage hasbeen an excellent thing for him. He had nothing to do before but to passaway his time in the club or mess house, and drink more than was goodfor him. But he has pulled himself round altogether since he married.His wife is a bright, clever little woman, and knows how to make thehouse happy for him; if he had married a lackadaisical sort of a woman,the betting is he would have gone to the bad altogether."
"I only met him once or twice before," Bathurst said. "You see I am nothere very often, and when I am it is only on business, so I know a veryfew people here except those I have to deal with, and by the time I havegot through my business I am generally so thoroughly out of temper withthe pig headed stupidity and obstinacy of people in general, that I getinto my buggy and drive straight away."
"I fancy you irritate them as much as they irritate you, Bathurst. Well,here we are; now we will have a quiet cheroot and a peg, to quiet ournerves after all that din, before we turn in. Let us get off our coatsand collars, and make ourselves comfortable; it is a proof of thebestial stupidity of mankind that they should wear such abominations asdress clothes in a climate like this. Here, boy, light the candles andbring two sodas and brandies."
"Well, Bathurst," he went on, when they had made themselves comfortablein two lounging chairs, "what do you thing of Miss Hannay?"
"I was prepared to admire her, Doctor, from what you said; it is notvery often that you overpraise things; but she is a charming girl, verypretty and bright, frank and natural."
"She is all that," the Doctor said. "We were four months on thevoyage out, and I saw enough of her in that time to know her prettythoroughly."
"What puzzles me about her," Bathurst said, "is that I seemed to knowher face. Where I saw her, and under what circumstances, I have beenpuzzling myself half the evening to recall, but I have the strongestconviction that I have met her."
"You are dreaming, man. You have been out here eight years; she was achild of ten when you left England! You certainly have not seen her, andas I know pretty well every woman who has been in this station forthe last five or six years, I can answer for it that you have not seenanyone in the slightest degree resembling her."
"That is what I have been saying to myself, Doctor, but that does not inthe slightest degree shake my conviction about it."
"Then you must have dreamt it," the Doctor said decidedly. "Some foolof a poet has said, 'Visions of love cast their shadows before,' orsomething of that sort, which of course is a lie; still, that is theonly way that I can account for it."
Bathurst smiled faintly. "I don't think the quotation is quite right,Doctor; anyhow, I am convinced that the impression is far too vivid tohave been the result of a dream."
"By the way, Bathurst," the Doctor said, suddenly changing hisconversation, "what do you think of this talk we hear about chupatiesbeing sent round among the native troops, and the talk about greasedcartridges. You see more of the natives than anyone I know; do you thinkthere is anything brewing in the air?"
"If there is, Doctor, I am certain it is not known to the natives ingeneral. I see no change whatever in their manner, and I am sure I knowthem well enough to notice any change if it existed. I know nothingabout the Sepoys, but Garnet tells me that the Company at Deennugghurgive him nothing to complain of, though they don't obey orders assmartly as usual, and they have a. sullen air as they go about theirwork."
"I don't like it, Bathurst. I do not understand what the chupaties mean,but I know that there is a sort of tradition that the sending ofthem round has always preceded trouble. The Sepoys have no reason fordiscontent, but there has been no active service lately, and idlenessis always bad for men. I can't believe there is any widespreaddissatisfaction among them, but there is no doubt whatever that if thereis, and it breaks out, the position will be a very serious one. Thereare not half enough white troops in India, and the Sepoys may well thinkthat they are masters of the situation. It would be a terrible time foreveryone in India if they did take it into their heads to rise."
"I can't believe they would be mad enough to do that, Doctor; they haveeverything to lose by it, and nothing to gain, that is, individually;and we should be sure to win in the long run, even if we had to conquerback India foot by foot."
"That is all very well, Bathurst; we may know that we could do it, butthey don't know it. They are ignorant altogether of the forces we couldput into the field were there a necessity to make the effort. Theynaturally suppose that we can have but a few soldiers, for in allthe battles we have fought there have always been two or three Sepoyregiments to one English. Besides, they consider themselves fully amatch for us. They have fought by us side by side in every battlefieldin India, and have done as well as we have. I don't see what they shouldrise for. I don't even see whose interest it is to bring a rising about,but I do know that if they rise we shall have a terrible time of it.Now I think we may as well turn in. You won't take another peg? Well,I shall see you in the morning. I shall be at the hospital by half pastsix, and shall be in at half past eight to breakfast. You have only gotto shout for my man, and tell him whether you will have tea, coffee, orchocolate, any time you wake."
"I shall be about by six, Doctor; five is
my general hour, but as it ispast one now I dare say I shall be able to sleep on for an hour later,especially as there is nothing to do."
"You can go round the hospital with me, if you like," the Doctor said,"if you will promise not to make a dozen suggestions for the improvementof things in general."
Isobel Hannay came down to breakfast in high spirits upon the morning ofthe races. The dinner had gone off excellently. The dinner table, withits softly shaded lamps, and the Doctor's arrangements of the flowers,had been, she thought, perfection, and everything had passed off withouta hitch. Her duties as a hostess had been much lighter than she hadanticipated. Mrs. Hunter was a very pleasant, motherly woman, and thegirls, who had only come out from England four months before, were freshand unaffected, and the other people had all been pleasant and chatty.
Altogether, she felt that her first dinner party had been a greatsuccess.
She was looking forward now with pleasant anticipation to the day. Shehad seen but little of the natives so far, and she was now to see themat their best. Then she had never been present at a race, and everythingwould be new and exciting.
"Well, uncle, what time did you get in?" she asked, as she stepped outinto the veranda to meet him on his return from early parade. "It wastoo bad of you and Mr. Hunter running off instead of waiting to chatthings over."
"I have no doubt you ladies did plenty of that, my dear."
"Indeed, we didn't, uncle; you see they had had a very long drive, andMrs. Hunter insisted on the girls going to bed directly you all wentout, and as I could not sit up by myself, I had to go too."
"We were in at half past twelve," the Major said. "I can stand a gooddeal of smoke, but the club atmosphere was too thick for me."
"Everything went off very well yesterday, didn't it?" she asked.
"Very well, I thought, my dear, thanks to you and the Doctor andRumzan."
"I had very little to do with it," she laughed.
"Well, I don't think you had much to do with the absolute arrangements,Isobel, but I thought you did very well as hostess; it seemed to me thatthere was a good deal of laughing and fun at your end of the table."
"Yes; you see we had the two Miss Hunters and the Doctor there, and Mr.Gregson, who took me in, turned out a very merry old gentleman."
"He would not be pleased if he heard you call him old, Isobel."
"Well, of course he is not absolutely old, but being a commissioner, andall that sort of thing, gives one the idea of being old; but there arethe others."
And they went into the breakfast room.
The first race was set for two o'clock, and at half past one Mrs.Hunter's carriage, with the four ladies, arrived at the inclosure. Thehorses were taken out, and the carriage wheeled into its place, and thenIsobel and the two Miss Hunters prepared to enjoy the scene.
It was a very gay one. The course was at present covered with a throngof natives in their bright colored garments, and mixed with them werethe scarlet uniforms of the Sepoys of the 103d and other regiments.On the opposite side were a number of native vehicles of variousdescriptions, and some elephants with painted faces and gorgeoustrappings, and with howdahs shaded by pavilions glittering with gilt andsilver.
On either side of their vehicle a long line of carriages was soon formedup, and among these were several occupied by gayly dressed natives,whose rank gave them an entrance to the privileged inclosure. Thecarriages were placed three or four yards back from the rail, and theintervening space was filled with civilian and military officers, inwhite or light attire, and with pith helmet or puggaree; many otherswere on horseback behind the carriages.
"It is a bright scene, Miss Hannay," the Doctor said, coming up to thecarriage.
"Wonderfully pretty, Doctor!"
"An English race course doesn't do after this, I can tell you. I wentdown to the Derby when I was at home, and such an assembly of riff raffI never saw before and never wish to see again."
"These people are more picturesque, Dr. Wade," Mrs. Hunter said, "butthat is merely a question of garment; these people perhaps are no moretrustworthy than those you met on the racecourse at home."
"I was speaking of them purely as a spectacle; individually I have nodoubt one would be safer among the English roughs and betting men thanamong these placid looking natives. The one would pick your pockets ofevery penny you have got if they had the chance, the other would cutyour throat with just as little compunction."
"You don't really mean that, Dr. Wade?" Isobel said.
"I do indeed, Miss Hannay; the Oude men are notorious brawlers andfighters, and I should say that the roughs of Cawnpore and Lucknow couldgive long odds to those of any European city, and three out of four ofthose men you see walking about there would not only cut the throat of aEuropean to obtain what money he had about him, but would do so withoutthat incentive, upon the simple ground that he hated us."
"But why should he hate us, Doctor? he is none the worse off now than hewas before we annexed the country."
"Well, yes, that class of man is worse off. In the old days every nobleand Zemindar kept up a little army for the purpose of fighting hisneighbors, just as our Barons used to do in the happy olden times peopletalk of. We have put down private fighting, and the consequence is thesemen's occupations are gone, and they flock to great towns and there liveas best they can, ready to commit any crime whatever for the sum of afew rupees.
"There is Nana Sahib."
Isobel looked round and saw a carriage with a magnificent pair ofhorses, in harness almost covered with silver ornaments, drive up to aplace that had been kept vacant for it. Four natives were sitting in it.
"That is the Rajah," the Doctor said, "the farther man, with thataigrette of diamonds in his turban. He is Oriental today, but sometimeshe affects English fashions. He is a very cheery fellow, he keeps prettywell open house at Bithoor, has a billiard table, and a first ratecellar of wine, carriages for the use of guests--in fact, he does thething really handsomely."
"Here is my opera glass," Mrs. Hunter said. Isobel looked long andfixedly at the Rajah.
"Well, what do you think of him?" the Doctor asked as she lowered it.
"I do not know what to think of him," she said; "his face does nottell me anything, it is like looking at a mask; but you see I am notaccustomed to read brown men's characters, they are so different fromEuropeans, their faces all seem so impassive. I suppose it is the way inwhich they are brought up and trained."
"Ages of tyranny have made them supple and deceitful," the Doctorsaid, "but of course less so here than among the Bengallies, who, beingnaturally unwarlike and cowardly, have always been the slaves of somemaster or other.
"You evidently don't like the Nana, Miss Hannay. I am rather glad youdon't, for he is no great favorite of mine, though he is so generallypopular in the station here. I don't like him because it is not naturalthat he should be so friendly with us. We undoubtedly, according tonative notions, robbed him of one of the finest positions in Indiaby refusing to acknowledge his adoption. We have given him a princelyrevenue, but that, after all, is a mere trifle to what he would have hadas Peishwa. Whatever virtues the natives of this country possess, theforgiving of injuries is not among them, and therefore I consider itto be altogether unnatural that he, having been, as he at any rate andeveryone round him must consider, foully wronged, should go out of hisway to affect our society and declare the warmest friendship for us."
The Rajah was laughing and talking with General Wheeler and the group ofofficers round his carriage.
Again Isobel raised the glasses. "You are right, Doctor," she said, "Idon't like him."
"Well, there is one comfort, it doesn't matter whether he is sincereor not, he is powerless to hurt us. I don't see any motive for hispretending to be friendly if he is not, but I own that I should like himbetter if he sulked and would have nothing to say to us, as would be thenatural course."
The bell now began to ring, and the native police cleared the course.Major Hannay and Mr. Hunter,
who had driven over in the buggy, came upand took their places on the box of the carriage.
"Here are cards of the races," he said. "Now is the time, young ladies,to make your bets."
"I don't know even the name of anyone in this first race," Isobel said,looking at the card.
"That doesn't matter in the least, Miss Hannay," Wilson, who had justcome up to the side of the carriage, said. "There are six horses in; youpick out any one you like, and I will lay you five pairs of gloves toone against him."
"But how am I to pick out when I don't know anything about them, Mr.Wilson? I might pick out one that had no chance at all."
"Yes; but you might pick out the favorite, Miss Hannay, so that it isquite fair."
"Don't you bet, Isobel," her uncle said. "Let us have a sweepstakeinstead."
"What is a sweepstake, uncle?"
There was a general laugh.
"Well, my dear, we each put in a rupee. There are six of us, and thereare Wilson and the Doctor. You will go in, Doctor, won't you?"
"Yes; I don't mind throwing away a rupee, Major."
"Very well, that makes eight. We put eight pieces of paper in the hat.Six of them have got the names of the horses on, the other two areblank. Then we each pull out one. Whoever draws the name of the horsethat wins takes five rupees, the holder of the second two, and the thirdsaves his stake. You shall hold the stakes, Mrs. Hunter. We have allconfidence in you."
The slips were drawn.
"My horse is Bruce," Isobel said.
"There he is, Miss Hannay," Wilson, who had drawn a blank, said, asa horse whose rider had a straw colored jacket and cap came canteringalong the course. "This is a race for country horses--owners up.That means ridden by their owners. That is Pearson of the 13th NativeCavalry. He brought the horse over from Lucknow."
"What chance has he?"
"I have not the least idea, Miss Hannay. I did not hear any betting onthis race at all."
"That is a nice horse, uncle," Isobel said, as one with a rider in blackjacket, with red cap, came past.
"That is Delhi. Yes, it has good action."
"That is mine," the eldest Miss Hunter said.
"The rider is a good looking young fellow," the Doctor said, "and isperfectly conscious of it himself. Who is he, Wilson? I don't know him."
"He is a civilian. Belongs to the public works, I think."
The other horses now came along, and after short preliminary canters thestart was made. To Isobel's disappointment her horse was never in therace, which Delhi looked like winning until near the post, when a rathercommon looking horse, which had been lying a short distance behind him,came up with a rush and won by a length.
"I don't call that fair," Miss Hunter said, "when the other was firstall along. I call that a mean way of winning, don't you, father?"
"Well, no, my dear. It was easy to see for the last quarter of a milethat the other was making what is called 'a waiting race' of it, andwas only biding his time. There is nothing unfair in that, I fancy Delhimight have won if he had had a better jockey. His rider never reallycalled upon him till it was too late. He was so thoroughly satisfiedwith himself and his position in the race that he was taken completelyby surprise when Moonshee came suddenly up to him."
"Well, I think it is very hard upon Delhi, father, after keeping aheadall the way and going so nicely. I think everyone ought to do their bestfrom the first."
"I fancy you are thinking, Miss Hunter," the Doctor said, "quite as muchthat it is hard on you being beaten after your hopes had been raised, asit is upon the horse."
"Perhaps I am, Doctor," she admitted.
"I think it is much harder on me," Isobel said. "You have had thesatisfaction of thinking all along that your horse was going to win,while mine never gave me the least bit of hope."
"The proper expression, Miss Hannay, is, your horse never flatteredyou."
"Then I think it is a very silly expression, Mr. Wilson, because I don'tsee that flattery has anything to do with it."
"Ah, here is Bathurst," the Doctor said. "Where have you been, Bathurst?You slipped away from me just now."
"I've just been talking to the Commissioner, Doctor. I have been tryingto get him to see--"
"Why, you don't mean to say," the Doctor broke in, "that you have beentrying to cram your theories down his throat on a racecourse?"
"It was before the race began," Bathurst said, "and I don't think theCommissioner has any more interest in racing than I have."
"Not in racing," the Doctor agreed, "but I expect he has an interest inenjoying himself generally, which is a thing you don't seem to have themost remote idea of. Here we are just getting up a sweepstake for thenext race; hand over a rupee and try to get up an interest in it. Do tryand forget your work till the race is over. I have brought you hereto do you good. I regard you as my patient, and I give you my medicalorders that you are to enjoy yourself."
Bathurst laughed.
"I am enjoying myself in my way, Doctor."
"Who is that very pretty woman standing up in the next carriage butone?" Isobel asked.
"She comes from an out station," the Doctor repeated; "she is the wifeof the Collector there, but I think she likes Cawnpore better thanBoorgum; her name is Rose."
"Is that her husband talking to her?"
"No; that is a man in the Artillery here, I think."
"Yes," the Major said, "that is Harrowby, a good looking fellow, andquite a ladies' man."
"Do you mean a man ladies like, uncle, or who likes the society ofladies?"
"Both in his case, I should fancy," the Major said; "I believe he isconsidered one of the best looking men in the service."
"I don't see why he should be liked for that," Isobel said. "As far as Ihave seen, good looking men are not so pleasant as others. I suppose itis because they are conscious of their own good looks, and therefore donot take the trouble of being amusing. We had one very good lookingman on board ship, and he was the dullest man to talk to on board. No,Doctor, I won't have any names mentioned, but I am right, am I not?"
"He was a dull specimen, certainly," the Doctor said, "but I think youare a little too sweeping."
"I don't mean all good looking men, of course, but men who what I callgo in for being good looking. I don't know whether you know what I mean.What are you smiling at, Mr. Wilson?"
"I was thinking of two or three men I know to whom your descriptionapplies, Miss Hannay; but I must be going--they are just going to startthe next race, and mine is the one after, so I must go and get ready.You wish me success, don't you?"
"I wish you all the success you deserve. I can't say more than that, canI?"
"I am afraid that is saying very little," he laughed. "I don't expect towin, but I do hope I shall beat Richards, because he is so cock sure hewill beat me."
This wish was not gratified. The first and second horses made a closerace of it; behind them by ten or twelve lengths came the other horsesin a clump, Wilson and Richards singling themselves out in the lasthundred yards and making a desperate race for the third place, for whichthey made a dead heat, amid great laughter from their comrades.
"That is excellent," Major Hannay said; "you won't see anything moreamusing than that today, girls. The third horse simply saved his stake,so that as they will of course divide, they will have paid twenty-fiverupees each for the pleasure of riding, and the point which of theirtats is the fastest remains unsettled."
"Well, they beat a good many of them, Major Hannay," Miss Hunter said;"so they did not do so badly after all."
"Oh, no, they did not do so badly; but it will be a long time beforethey get over the chaff about their desperate struggle for the thirdplace."
The next two races attracted but slight attention from the occupantsof the carriage. Most of their acquaintances in the station came up oneafter the other for a chat. There were many fresh introductions, andthere was so much conversation and laughter that the girls had littletime to attend to what was going on around them. W
ilson and Richardsboth sauntered up after changing, and were the subject of much chaff asto their brilliant riding at the finish. Both were firm in the beliefthat the judge's finding was wrong, and each maintained stoutly he hadbeaten the other by a good head.
The race for Arabs turned out a very exciting one; the Rajah ofBithoor's horse was the favorite, on the strength of its performanceselsewhere; but Prothero's horse was also well supported, especially inthe regiment, for the Adjutant was a first class rider, and was ingreat request at all the principal meetings in Oude and the NorthwestProvinces, while it was known that the Rajah's horse would be ridden bya native. The latter was dressed in strict racing costume, and had atthe last races at Cawnpore won two or three cups for the Rajah.
But the general opinion among the officers of the station was thatProthero's coolness and nerve would tell. His Arab was certainly a fastone, and had won the previous year, both at Cawnpore and Lucknow; butthe Rajah's new purchase had gained so high a reputation in the WesternPresidency as fully to justify the odds of two to one laid on it, whilefour to one were offered against Prothero, and from eight to twenty toone against any other competitor.
Prothero had stopped to have a chat at the Hunters' carriage as hewalked towards the dressing tent.
"Our hopes are all centered in you, Mr. Prothero," Mr. Hunter said."Miss Hannay has been wagering gloves in a frightfully reckless way."
"I should advise you to hedge if you can, Miss Hannay," he said. "Ithink there is no doubt that Mameluke is a good deal faster than Seila.I fancy he is pounds better. I only beat Vincent's horse by a head lastyear, and Mameluke gave him seven pounds, and beat him by three lengthsat Poona. So I should strongly advise you to hedge your bets if youcan."
"What does he mean by hedge, uncle?"
"To hedge is to bet the other way, so that one bet cancels the other."
"Oh, I shan't do that," she said; "I have enough money to pay my bets ifI lose."
"Do you mean to say you mean to pay your bets if you lose, Miss Hannay?"the Doctor asked incredulously.
"Of course I do," she said indignantly. "You don't suppose I intend totake the gloves if I win, and not to pay if I lose?"
"It is not altogether an uncommon practice among ladies," the Doctorsaid, "when they bet against gentlemen. I believe that when they wageragainst each other, which they do not often do, they are strictlyhonest, but that otherwise their memories are apt to fail themaltogether."
"That is a libel, Mrs. Hunter, is it not?"
"Not altogether, I think. Of course many ladies do pay their bets whenthey lose, but others certainly do not."
"Then I call it very mean," Isobel said earnestly. "Why, it is as bad asasking anyone to make you a present of so many pairs of gloves in case acertain horse wins."
"It comes a good deal to the same thing," Mrs. Hunter admitted, "but toa certain extent it is a recognized custom; it is a sort of tribute thatis exacted at race time, just as in France every lady expects a presentfrom every gentleman of her acquaintance on New Year's Day."
"I wouldn't bet if I didn't mean to pay honestly," Isobel said. "And ifMr. Prothero doesn't win, my debts will all be honorably discharged."
There was a hush of expectation in the crowd when the ten horses whosenumbers were up went down to the starting point, a quarter of a milefrom the stand. They were to pass it, make the circuit, and finishthere, the race being two miles. The interest of the natives wasenlisted by the fact that Nana Sahib was running a horse, while thehopes of the occupants of the inclosure rested principally on Seila.
The flag fell to a good start; but when the horses came along Isobel sawwith surprise that the dark blue of the Rajah and the Adjutant's scarletand white were both in the rear of the group. Soon afterwards thescarlet seemed to be making its way through the horses, and was speedilyleading them.
"Prothero is making the running with a vengeance," the Major said. "Thatis not like his usual tactics, Doctor."
"I fancy he knows what he is doing," the Doctor replied. "He saw thatMameluke's rider was going to make a waiting race of it, and as thehorse has certainly the turn of speed on him, he is trying othertactics. They are passing the mile post now, and Prothero is twelve orfourteen lengths ahead. There, Mameluke is going through his horses; hisrider is beginning to get nervous at the lead Prothero has got, andhe can't stand it any longer. He ought to have waited for another halfmile. You will see, Prothero will win after all. Seila can stay, thereis no doubt about that."
A roar of satisfaction rose from the mass of natives on the other sideof the inclosure as Mameluke was seen to leave the group of horses andgradually to gain upon Seila.
"Oh, he will catch him, uncle!" Isobel said, tearing her handkerchief inher excitement.
The Major was watching the horses through his field glass.
"Never mind his catching him," he said; "Prothero is riding quietly andsteadily. Seila is doing nearly her best, but he is not hurrying her,while the fool on Mameluke is bustling the horse as if he had only ahundred yards further to go."
The horses were nearing the point at which they had started, when ashout from the crowd proclaimed that the blue jacket had come up to andpassed the scarlet. Slowly it forged ahead until it was two lengths inadvance, for a few strides their relative positions remained unaltered,then there was a shout from the carriages; scarlet was coming up again.Mameluke's rider glanced over his shoulder, and began to use the whip.For a few strides the horse widened the gap again, but Prothero stillsat quiet and unmoved. Just as they reached the end of the line ofcarriages, Seila again began to close up.
"Seila wins! Seila wins!" the officers shouted.
But it seemed to Isobel that this was well nigh impossible, but foot byfoot the mare came up, and as they passed the Hunters' carriage her headwas in advance.
In spite of the desperate efforts of the rider of Mameluke, anotherhundred yards and they passed the winning post, Seila a length ahead.