CHAPTER VII.
ON GUARD.
A haunting, half-superstitious dread beset Gerrard as he dressed thenext morning, the presentiment that he would hear that Partab Singh haddied in the night. After the determination the old man had shown inlaying his plans, and the earnestness with which he had impressed themupon the Englishman, it would be eminently suitable dramatically, ifabsolutely fatal practically, that he should die before the steps couldbe taken to carry them out. But the foreboding proved to be baseless,and during the next few days Gerrard spent a good deal of time in closeconverse with the Rajah. The first step to be taken was undoubtedly tosecure the approval of Colonel Antony, without whose active sympathythe great scheme would not have a chance of success. In his anxiety toassure the succession to his favourite child, Partab Singh hadseriously compromised the jealously guarded independence of his stateby his advances to the English as represented by Gerrard, and therecould be no doubt that Granthis and Mohammedans would unite inresenting this betrayal. Hence, when the day of reckoning came, it wasall-important to have not only the moral, but the physical support ofthe British secured, and it would be all the better if the agreementcould be announced as an accomplished fact before the need arose to putit in practice. The Rajah had indeed confided his wishes to his mosttrusted councillors, but it was highly probable that in case of apopular rising these worthy gentlemen would find it more convenient, asit would certainly be safer, to forget the exact nature of the chargecommitted to them.
Adhering to his opinion that a personal interview between the Rajah andthe Resident would be the surest way of enlisting Colonel Antony'ssympathy for Kharrak Singh and his future, Gerrard now bent his effortstowards bringing this about. The disputed boundary between Agpur andDarwan afforded an excellent excuse for the Rajah to journey to hisfrontier and meet Charteris, who would hold the brief for Darwan, andif it could be so arranged that Colonel Antony should accidentally bein the neighbourhood, the thing would be done. Gerrard wrote urginghis chief's presence with all the earnestness he could command,suggesting that if he could not come himself, he should depute hisbrother James to represent him. He then turned to the task of inducingPartab Singh to undertake the journey--a difficult endeavour, since hecould not promise the desired interview at the end of it. A change hadcome over the Rajah since the evening when he had bestowed hisconfidence, and there was no doubt that he was failing. It seemed asthough his vigour of body and mind had given way when he had onceentrusted the care of his son to other hands, for Gerrard coulddistinctly trace the progress of decay in the short time he had knownhim, and the exertion of planning a move on such a large scale appearedto be too much for his strength. Since it was not to be supposed thatthis was a mere flying visit to the frontier, undertaken for a purpose,it must have all the characteristics of a royal progress, court,zenana, troops, elephants and guns, all accompanying their lord. Thetrusted councillors looked unutterable things at all Gerrard'ssuggestions, and military and civil officials combined to defeat allhis arrangements by means of the dead weight of their inertia. TheRajah was willing to go, provided he had not to take any trouble, buthe criticised freely all the points submitted to him, indicating howmuch simpler and less laborious it would have been if Gerrard hadaccepted his offers without insisting on referring things to hissuperiors. However, by dint of patience and resolution, the long trainof men and baggage-animals was got under way at last, and withthankfulness Gerrard left the minarets of Agpur behind him. It wasarranged that during the first day's journey, which was a very shortone, he and his men should march with the Rajah's cavalcade, that hemight notice anything neglected or forgotten and set it right, but thatafterwards he should press on by forced marches, so as to meet ColonelAntony's returning couriers on the Darwan frontier, and if the tenor ofthe letters they bore should be disappointing, make a flying journey toRanjitgarh itself, and urge his views upon the Resident. That thismight be necessary he gathered from the latest instructions he hadreceived--written, as he guessed, just before the arrival of hisdetailed report, and containing stringent warnings against committingthe British Government on his own responsibility to any particular planin dealing with Agpur.
The evening of the first day's march Gerrard spent with Partab Singh inhis private audience-tent, laying plans which were to provide againstthe occurrence of all possible contingencies during his absence. Atthe close of the interview he took leave of the Rajah, whom he wouldonly see from a distance as he rode away on the morrow, and receivedhis urgent injunctions to let nothing delay his return, whether hismission was successful or not.
"For there is no one I can trust save you, O my friend," said the oldman. "All these men, who flew to do my bidding when my eye was clearand my sword keen, are beginning to make plans for their own advantage,thinking that I cannot detect their guile. In your hands I can leavemy son in confidence, but as for them, they would follow the banner ofthat other to-morrow if he offered them larger bribes."
Gerrard assured him that he would return as soon as he was allowed, andwent back to his own tents, wondering whether he was doing well inleaving things to take care of themselves, even for so important anerrand. Orders for an early start had already been issued, and when hewished to note down one or two things that had occurred during the day,his canteen served for a seat and a camel-trunk set on end for a table,Munshi Somwar Mal lending ink and a reed pen. Sleep seemed inclined toforsake the young man that night when at length he lay on his bedbefore the tent-door, the quarrelling round the camp-fires and thefidgeting of the horses waking him whenever he dropped into a doze. Atlast he succeeded in falling asleep, only to wake in a coldperspiration, and to find himself standing up and hastily girding onsword and revolver. What had awakened him he could not imagine, but hehad a vague impression of a cry or wail of some sort. It was notrepeated, and he unbuckled his belts and lay down again, mentallyanathematizing the perfume mingled with the Rajah's tobacco, which musthave given him nightmare. But when he woke again, in the grey light ofearly dawn, the air was full of the sound of wailing, and his Granthiofficers and chief servants were gathered round his bed, respectfullywaiting for his eyes to open.
"Hillo, I must have overslept!" he cried. "Get the men into order ofmarch, Badan Hazari. I shall be dressed in no time."
"Do the orders of the Presence for the early start hold good?" askedthe Granthi officer significantly.
"Why not? What in the world is that noise?"
"It is the wailing of the women in the Rajah's camp, sahib. HisHighness was found dead by his attendants in the night."
"What! murdered?"
"They say there are no marks of violence, sahib. Hearing no sound fromthe tent of audience after your honour had left, the servants venturedto peep in, and found his Highness stretched upon the cushions, dead."
"The Protector of the Poor is earnestly entreated to shed the light ofhis countenance upon the all-prevailing darkness in the camp," said awhite-bearded old man, whom Gerrard knew to be the Rani's scribe. Herose hastily.
"I will be there immediately. The start is postponed for the present,Badan Hazari, but strike the tents ready for marching, and get ready amessenger at once to go to Darwan."
In the intervals of dressing he scribbled a hasty note to Charteris,telling him what had happened, and that he should probably return tothe city at once, urging him also to forward the news immediately toRanjitgarh, and ask for definite instructions. Having seen thisdespatched, he mounted and rode over to the Rajah's camp, which was ina state of the wildest confusion. The bodyguard, the only portion ofthe troops that could be trusted, were mounting guard round the zenanaenclosure, into which the corpse of the Rajah had been carried, theRani having, as Gerrard learned, at once sent out her jewellery to bedivided among them, and thus secured their fidelity for the time. Therest of the soldiers, with the servants and transport-drivers, hadevidently been holding high carnival outside the ring of steel. In thefew hours which had elapsed since the ghastly discove
ry, the brocadesand kincob of the audience-tents had been torn down and distributed,the cushions deprived of their rich covers, and the very _gaddi_ onwhich the Rajah's body had been found stripped of its damask. Even thecarpets were gone from the floors, and the cotton ground-cloths torn inevery direction. Gerrard's first task was the restoration of somemeasure of order. His boldness in taking command of the situationattracted the soldiers towards him, and he made a definite bid fortheir allegiance by the promise of large rewards to be distributed byRajah Kharrak Singh at Agpur. Strict orders were issued againstfurther plundering, and every man who had obtained nothing, or lessthan he expected, became a detective ready to hunt down his morefortunate comrade and secure the return of the spoils. Partab Singh'scouncillors and courtiers began to appear out of various hiding-places,and all expressed a most touching anxiety to be honoured with anycommands from Gerrard. But before he had time to listen to them, thecircle of soldiers round the zenana tents opened, and a littleprocession came out. Between the Rani's scribe and her spiritualadviser, a large Brahmin, came Kharrak Singh, with the royal umbrellaheld over his head, and a guard of the Rani's own Rajput servantsfollowing him. Marching up to Gerrard as he stood among the crowd ofeager suitors in the devastated audience-tent, the boy took off histurban and laid it at his feet.
"The widow of Rajah Partab Singh kisses the footprints of Jirad Sahib,and entreats that she and her son may sit down under his shadow," hesaid perfunctorily, evidently repeating what had been taught him."Jirad Sahib knows that I am Rajah now? He will make them give me areal sword, will he not?"
"Presently. At Agpur," said Gerrard hastily. Stooping, he took thechild into his arms, and a gasp of satisfaction broke from theonlookers. Kharrak Singh's cause was to have the support of theEnglish, as represented by this agent of Colonel Antony's.
Still holding the boy by the hand, Gerrard gave orders for an immediatereturn to Agpur, where the body of the Rajah might be burnt with duesolemnity. Colonel Antony's warning against involving the BritishGovernment in responsibility came back to him with a touch of irony.This responsibility had thrust itself upon him, and the return to Agpurwould involve further responsibility, in that he must proceed to securethe allegiance of the troops by the means prescribed by Partab Singh,and they would place themselves at the command of the man who paidthem. Whether he was allowed to continue in the position or not, hewas undoubtedly acting as Regent of Agpur for the present.
One man after another was dismissed to his duties, and retired withsalaams, until practically only the old councillors were left. Therewas a guilty and subdued air of expectancy about some of them, atendency to start at any sudden sound and look round suspiciously,which made Gerrard wonder what they were waiting for. But when thelast soldier had stridden clanking out of the tent, a distant thuddingbecame audible, like the approach of a body of horse. Significantglances passed between the men Gerrard had noticed, to be succeeded byan expression of utter guilelessness when they saw that they wereobserved, while those who were not in the secret began to show signs offear. In the general disorder no guards had been posted on theoutskirts of the camp, and the approaching cavalcade swept gorgeouslyup the broad avenue leading to the Rajah's tent, riding down the fewwho sought to challenge their passage. Gerrard turned hastily to thescribe and the Brahmin.
"Take the boy back to the zenana at once, and see that no one passesthe guards, either going in or coming out, save by orders from me. Whois this that comes?" he demanded, facing round upon the councillors, asKharrak Singh was hurried away.
"Who should it be but the eldest son of our lord, sahib?" was theanswer, and as the old men spoke, Sher Singh flung himself from hisreeking horse at the door of the tent and entered.
"Where is my lord and father?" he cried. "Bring me to him, that I mayembrace his feet, and receive the forgiveness and the favour he hasgraciously promised me."
"Alas, Kunwar-ji!" chorused the councillors, all trying to push oneanother forward to tell the news. Sher Singh glanced at themcontemptuously.
"Fools, will you try to keep me from my father now that he has sent forme? Because he has not made his beneficent intentions known to you,will you deny them? Let him be told that I am here, and you will learnwhat is his will."
"Prince, your venerable father passed away in the night," said Gerrardlaconically. The exact bearing of this new arrival upon the situationhe could not determine, but he was very certain that it behoved him towalk warily. Sher Singh turned upon him a magnificent glance of angerand disdain.
"This is well done--very well done!" he exclaimed, while thecouncillors cowered before the meaning accents like reeds before ablast. "My lord and father proclaims his gracious willingness to laythe hand of forgiveness upon the brow of penitence, and in the fewshort hours before the feet of haste can carry me to the spot, he dies,and his intentions are unfulfilled."
"Were his intentions known to any besides yourself, Prince?" askedGerrard, and noted that the eyes of the councillors sought Sher Singh'sface, as though to inquire what he wished them to say. But hedisregarded them.
"I understand that Jirad Sahib has enjoyed the honour of the Rajah'sconfidence of late, to the neglect of his tried and trustedcouncillors. Is it possible that nothing was said to him of myfather's wishes?"
"They were communicated to me in great detail, but you, Prince, bore nopart in them whatever." Gerrard weighed his words carefully, feelingthat the time had come to throw down the gauntlet.
Sher Singh turned slowly to the councillors, and Gerrard noticed forthe first time that the armed men who had accompanied him were crowdingat the entrance of the tent. "I call you all to witness," said thePrince deliberately, "that this stranger, this encroaching Feringhee,who has supplanted my father's natural councillors in his confidence,desires now to supplant me also in my rights. Brothers, friends, whenhe thought he had attained the height of his evil desires, and learnedtoo late that he had only opened the path for me, what did he do? Myfather made his final decision last night, when he despatched to mewith a gracious message of favour the runner who had carried my humblepetition. Before I can arrive, before he can announce hisdetermination to the world, he dies. Who stands to profit by hisdeath?"
Before the last words were out of Sher Singh's mouth, the tent wasfilled with the clash of weapons. The armed men in the entrance sprangforward at Gerrard, who believed that his last moment had come. But tohis amazement a ring of bucklers encompassed him. The six Rajputs hadremained when Kharrak Singh was taken away, and they stepped before himwith ready swords. Baulked of the easy prey they had expected, SherSingh's men hesitated, and the councillors flung themselves into thebreach, weeping, clutching at the Prince's coat, urging in tremulousvoices the impolicy of slaying a British envoy and thus bringingdestruction upon Agpur. Sher Singh allowed himself to be turned fromhis immediate purpose.
"Let the Feringhee live for the present," he said, waving his followersback. "Speak, O Jirad Sahib, you who hide behind the servants of awoman, and tell me who stood to profit by my father's death?"
"You!" returned Gerrard promptly. "You, who have trumped up this storyof a reconciliation, and come here to assert it now that he cannotcontradict you. You, of whom your father spoke to me with aversion andabsolute lack of forgiveness only last night. Tell me," he turned tothe councillors, "when did this messenger of Kunwar Sher Singh'sarrive--before my visit to his Highness, or after I had left him? You,O Sarfaraz Khan, as keeper of his Highness's head, must know all whoentered or left his presence. When was it?"
The old Mohammedan captain of the guard gazed miserably from Gerrard toSher Singh and back again, and finally faltered out that to the best ofhis recollection it was before the Sahib's visit.
"Then the petition had been rejected before I arrived, and themessenger despatched bearing the Rajah's refusal to see his son'sface," said Gerrard.
"The man lies. It was after," burst forth Sher Singh. "Here is SadaSukhi, the king's friend, who can testify it.
"
"Then," said Gerrard calmly, "the messenger murdered the Rajah, sinceboth my guards and his own can testify that he bade me farewell in goodhealth at the door of this very tent, and did me the honour to admiremy horse."
"Fool! does a man murder the one who has just promised to give him allhe desires?" cried Sher Singh.
"No, but he does sometimes murder the one who has refused it. And soPrince Sher Singh was his own messenger?"
"It is a lie--I swear it!" He appealed frantically to the bystanders."I was at Adamkot, the fortress of my father-in-law, and rode forth onthe very heels of my messenger, so eager was I to receive my father'sanswer. Then when the gracious response arrived--the messenger meetingme on the way--as I could set no bounds to my joy, even so was it withmy speed, and I rode hither at a pace that was like to kill my horseand the horses of those that were with me."
Gerrard dismissed the explanation with a wave of the hand, but old SadaSukhi, who had succeeded Dwarika Nath as Diwan, and was by commonconsent the wiliest man in Agpur, cringed humbly forward.
"I will take it upon me to speak, worthless as I am, in the presence ofthese great ones," he murmured. "Surely there is wrong in speaking ofmurder, since no sign of any such horror has been found. But if ourlord Partab Singh Rajah died in the course of nature, then Kunwar SherSingh has been unjustly accused by Jirad Sahib, and Jirad Sahib by SherSingh. Is this a moment to bandy accusations that cannot bemaintained, when our lord's body lies unburnt, and all our minds shouldbe devoted to mourning him and paying fitting reverence to hisobsequies?"
"Truly do they call thee wise, old man!" said Sher Singh heartily. "Mysorrow comes upon me as a flood at thy words, and I desire only tomourn my beloved father."
"But wait," said Gerrard. "The Prince knows as well as I do, and youalso, Diwan-ji, how much depends upon the funeral ceremony. It was thewill of Partab Singh Rajah that his son Kharrak Singh should set lightto the pyre as chief mourner, and as his successor on the _gaddi_."
Sher Singh covered his face. "Dust is on my head, that an evil chancehas come between me and my desire!" he said in a broken voice. "Whatis the _gaddi_ to me, if I am deprived of my father's forgiveness? Theright of deciding upon his successor was his, and he has exercised itin favour of Kharrak Singh. The child's mother is of royal blood, minewas not, and I bow to the decree. But I will not consent to be robbedof my right to walk beside my brother in the procession, and to guidehis hand when he fires the pile. The pyre of Partab Singh Rajah andhis Rani shall not be left to the care of a Feringhee and a Christian."
"There will be no suttee," said Gerrard decisively.
"The matter is not in your hands, Jirad Sahib," said Sher Singh, as amurmur broke from the councillors. "When the meanest of the RanjitgarhMaharajas died, two Ranis and eleven women-slaves bore him company tothe tomb, and shall Partab Singh lack the tribute of respect? I thinkmore highly of the dwellers behind the curtain than you do, if youdream that they will permit themselves to be prevented from performingthis glorious duty."
"Not the meanest slave-girl shall ascend the pyre," repeated Gerrard."The Rani Gulab Kur is bound by an oath imposed upon her by your fatherto live and watch over her son, and I shall prevent the sacrifice ofany other woman."
"You! and by what authority?"
"By the authority of the Rani, who is regent of Agpur by the will ofRajah Partab Singh."
Sher Singh turned to the rest, his face convulsed with fury. "You hearthis low-born one, how he denies me my natural rights, and woulddeprive my father of the customary honours? Am not I rightfully regentduring my brother's minority? If I advance no claim to the _gaddi_, doyou think that I am to be set aside altogether? Let this man Jiradknow that I have the promise of Antni Sahib's support."
"When Colonel Antony's instructions reach me, I will hasten toacknowledge you as co-regent," said Gerrard. "Until then, I take myorders from the Rani alone, and exercise the powers she has conferredupon me."
"Come aside with me and let us speak together," said Sher Singhimperiously. "See, I am unarmed," casting sword and dagger on theground. Gerrard laid aside his sword and revolver, and walked with himto the back of the tent.
"I do not desire your death, sahib," said Sher Singh eagerly. "You cansee for yourself that it would prejudice me with Antni Sahib, whosefavour I desire to retain. But the army is with me, and will acclaimme as regent, and that place I will not give up. It might be verygreatly to your advantage if you could make it convenient to recollectmy father's desiring you to admit me to a third share of power withyourself and the Rani Gulab Kur."
"It is impossible for me to recollect what did not happen," saidGerrard, turning away coldly. Sher Singh's voice pursued him.
"Then until we start the way will be open for you to return to Darwanwith your own troops if you desire it. After that, if you still insiston accompanying me to the city--by the Guru, you shall see more of itthan you care for!"
Gerrard beckoned to his Granthi orderly, who came up quickly. "BidBadan Hazari parade the troop in mourning order, ready to ride to Agpurat the appointed time," he said.
"In an evil day for yourself were you born, O youth of little wisdom!"said Sher Singh, and withdrew. The Rajputs followed Gerrard closely ashe also left the tent, and approached the zenana enclosure, where theless important tents were already being struck in preparation for thereturn march. The scribe was looking out for him, and the guardsallowed the old man to pass.
"Sahib," he whispered fearfully, "it was murder. Our lord Partab Singhwas stabbed with a needle dagger above the heart, so that he would notbleed, and the weapon was broken in the wound. Only a scratch isvisible, and her Highness has bound all who saw it to silence, thatthat other may not learn that his wickedness has been discovered. Butshe desires me to say to your honour that evil is certainly determined,and to bid you depart in safety while you may, that you share not thefate of her son and herself."
"I go to Agpur to set Kharrak Singh on the _gaddi_," said Gerrarddoggedly. "Bid the Rani beware of poison, and eat and drink nothingthat has not been prepared by one she trusts."
"The Cherisher of the Poor forgets that her Highness is fasting," saidthe scribe, scandalized.
"So much the better. But look after the boy, and see that he acceptsfood from no one outside. And tell the Rani to permit no one,freewoman or slave, to quit the zenana without an order from me. Thereis to be no suttee."
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