With Clive in India; Or, The Beginnings of an Empire

by G. A. Henty

  Chapter 11: An Important Mission.

  A few days after the return of the expedition against Covelong andChengalpatt, Charlie received a note from Governor Saunders,requesting him to call upon him at eleven o'clock. Charlie, of course,attended at Government House at the time named, and found CaptainClive with Mr. Saunders.

  "I have sent for you, Mr. Marryat, to ask you if you are ready toundertake a delicate, and somewhat dangerous, mission. Captain Clivetells me that he is convinced that you will be able to discharge theduties satisfactorily. He has been giving me the highest report ofyour conduct and courage, and he tells me that you speak the languagewith some facility."

  "I have been working hard, sir," Charlie said, "and have had amoonshee for the last year; and as, except when on duty, I have spokennothing but the native language with him, I can now speak it almost asfluently as I can English."

  "So Captain Clive has been telling me," Mr. Saunders said; "and it is,indeed, on that ground that I select you for the service. Your friendMr. Peters has equally distinguished himself in the field, CaptainClive tells me, but he is greatly your inferior in his knowledge ofthe vernacular."

  This was indeed the case. Peters had but little natural aptitude forforeign languages; and after working hard, for a time, with themoonshee, he found that he was making so little progress, incomparison with Charlie, that he lost heart; and although he hadcontinued his lessons with the moonshee, he had done so only to theextent of an hour or so a day, whereas Charlie had devoted his wholeleisure time to the work.

  "The facts of the case are these, Mr. Marryat. Owing to the failure,of Muhammud Ali, to fulfil the ridiculously onerous terms extortedfrom him, by some of his native allies, during the siege ofTrichinopoli, several of them are in a state of discontent, which islikely soon to break out into open hostilities. The Rajahs of Mysoreand Tanjore are, I have learned, already in communication withPondicherry; and will, I believe, shortly acknowledge the son ofChunda Sahib, whom Dupleix has declared ruler of the Carnatic. MurariReo has already openly joined the French. Their influence in theDeccan is now so great that Bussy may be said to rule there.

  "Now, there is a chief named Boorhau Reo, whose territory lies amongthe hills, and extends from the plain nearly up to the plateau land ofthe Deccan. His position, like that of many of the other small rajahs,is precarious. In days like the present, when might makes right, andevery petty state tries to make profit out of the constant wars, atthe expense of its neighbour, the position of a chief, surrounded byhalf a dozen others more powerful than himself, is by no meanspleasant. Boorhau Reo feels that he is in danger of being swallowed,by the nizam or by the Mahrattas, and he earnestly desires to allyhimself with us; believing, as he says, that we are destined to bemasters here. I have assured him that, although gratified at hisexpressions of friendship, we can enter into no alliance with him. Theposition of his territory would enable him to be of great assistanceto us, in any war in which the whole force of the Deccan, controlledas it is at present at Bussy, might be utilized against us in theCarnatic. He would be able to harass convoys, cut communications, andotherwise trouble the enemy's movements. But, although we see that hisaid would be very useful to us, in case of such a war; we do not seehow, on our part, we could give him any protection. We have now, withthe greatest difficulty, brought affairs to a successful conclusion inthe Carnatic; but Dupleix is active and energetic, and well supportedat home. Many of the chiefs lately our allies have, as I have justsaid, declared against us, or are about to do so; and it is out of thequestion, for us to think of supporting a chief so far removed from usas Boorhau. I have, therefore, told him that we greatly desire hisfriendship, but are at present powerless to protect him, should he beattacked by his northern neighbours.

  "He is particularly anxious to train his men after the Europeanfashion, as he sees that our Sepoys are a match for five times theirnumber of the untrained troops of the Indian princes.

  "This brings me to the subject before us. I have written to him, tosay that I will send to him an English officer, capable of trainingand leading his troops, and whose advice may be useful to him upon alloccasions; but that as, were it known that he had received a Britishofficer, and was employing him to train his troops, it would excitethe instant animosity of Bussy and of the Peishwar; I should send onefamiliar with the language, and who may pass as a native. CaptainClive has strongly recommended you for this difficult mission."

  "I fear, sir, that I could hardly pass as a native. The moonshee isconstantly correcting mistakes which I make, in speaking."

  "That may be so," Mr. Saunders said; "but there are a score ofdialects in Southern India, and you could be passed upon nineteen ofthe twenty peoples who speak them, as belonging to one of the other."

  "If you think, sir, that I shall do," Charlie said; "I shall be gladto undertake the mission."

  "Very well, Mr. Marryat, that is understood, then. You will receivefull instructions in writing, and will understand that your duty isnot only to drill the troops of this chief; but to give him suchadvice as may suit his and our interests; to strengthen his goodfeeling towards us; and to form, as far as possible, a compact littleforce which might, at a critical moment, be of immense utility. Youwill, of course, master the geography of the country, of which we areall but absolutely ignorant; find out about the passes, the mountainpaths, the defensible positions. All these things may someday be ofthe highest importance.

  "You will have a few days to make your arrangements, and settle as tothe character you will adopt. This you had better do, in consultationwith someone who thoroughly understands the country. It is intendedthat you shall go down to Trichinopoli, with the next convoy; and fromthere make your way to the stronghold of Boorhau."

  "Shall I take any followers with me?"

  "Yes," Mr. Saunders said. "As you will go in the character of amilitary adventurer, who has served among our Sepoys long enough tolearn European drill, you had better take two, three, or four men, asyou like, with you as retainers. You might pick out two or threetrusty men, from the Sepoys you command."

  Charlie left Government House in high spirits. It was certainly anhonor, to have been selected for such a post. It was quite possiblethat it would be a dangerous one. It was sure to be altogetherdifferent from the ordinary life of a subaltern in the Company's army.

  Peters was very sorry when he heard from Charlie that they were, atlast, to be separated. It was now nearly two years since they hadfirst met on board the Lizzie Anderson; and, since that time, they hadbeen constantly together, and were greatly attached to each other.

  Charlie, perhaps, had taken the lead. The fact of his having a stockof firearms, and being able to lend them to Peters, had given him,perhaps, the first slight and almost imperceptible advantage. His featof jumping overboard, to rescue Tim Kelly, had been another step inadvance; and, although Charlie would have denied it himself, there wasno doubt that he generally took the lead, and that his friend wasaccustomed to lean upon him, and to look to him always for theinitiative. It was, therefore, a severe blow to Peters, to find thatCharlie was about to be sent on detached service.

  As for Tim Kelly, he was uproarious in his grief, when he heard thathe was to be separated from his master.

  "Shure, Mr. Charlie, ye'll never have the heart to lave a poor boy,that sarved ye be night and day for eighteen months. Tim Kelly wouldgladly give his life for ye, and ye wouldn't go and lave him behindye, and go all alone among these black thaves of the world."

  "But it is impossible that I can take you, Tim," Charlie said. "Youknow, yourself, that you cannot speak ten words of the language. Howthen could you possibly pass undetected, whatever disguise you puton?"

  "But I'd never open my mouth at all, at all, yer honor, barring formate and drink."

  "It's all very well for you to say so, Tim," Charlie answered; "but Ido not think that anything, short of a miracle, would silence yourtongue. But leave us now, Tim, and I will talk the matter over withMr. Peters. I should be glad enough to h
ave you with me, if we couldarrange it."

  The moonshee was taken into their counsels, and was asked his opinionas to the disguise which Charlie could adopt, with least risk ofdetection. The moonshee replied that he might pass as a Bheel. Thesehill tribes speak a dialect quite distinct from that of the peoplearound them, and the moonshee said that, if properly attired, Charliewould be able to pass anywhere for one of these people; provided,always, that he did not meet with another of the same race.

  "You might assert," he said, "that your father had taken service withsome rajah on the plain, and that you had there learned to speak thelanguage. In this way, you would avoid having to answer any difficultquestions regarding your native place; but as to that, you can get upsomething of the geography before you leave."

  "There are several Bheels among our Sepoys," Charlie said. "I can pickout three or four of them, who would be just the men for me to take. Ibelieve they are generally very faithful, and attached to theirofficers."

  When Tim again entered the room, he inquired anxiously if his masterhit upon any disguise which would suit him.

  "What do you say, Mr. Moonshine?" Tim said.

  The moonshee shook his head. Between these two a perpetual feud hadexisted, ever since the native had arrived at Arcot, to take his placeas a member of Charlie's establishment. In obedience to Charlie'sstringent orders, Tim never was openly rude to him; but he never lostan opportunity of making remarks, of a disparaging nature, as to thevalue of Charlie's studies.

  The moonshee, on his part, generally ignored Tim's existencealtogether; addressing him, when obliged to do so, with a ceremoniouscivility which annoyed Tim more than open abuse would have done.

  "I think," he said gravely, in reply to Tim's demand; "that the veryworshipful one would have most chance of escaping detection if he wentin rags, throwing dust on his hair, and passing for one afflicted."

  "And what does he mean by afflicted, Mr. Charles?" the Irishman saidwrathfully, as the two young officers laughed.

  "He means one who is a born fool, Tim."

  Tim looked furiously at the moonshee.

  "It would," the latter said sententiously, "be the character which theworshipful one would support with the greatest ease."

  "The black thief is making fun of me," Tim muttered; "but I'll be avenwith him one of these days, or my name isn't Tim Kelly.

  "I was thinking, yer honor, that I might represent one deaf and dumb."

  "But you're always talking, Tim, and when you're not talking toothers, you talk to yourself. It's quite impossible you could go as adumb man; but you might go, as the moonshee suggests, as a half-wittedsort of chap; with just sense enough to groom a horse and look afterhim, but with not enough to understand what's said to you, or toanswer any questions."

  "I could do that asy enough, Mr. Charles."

  "And you have to keep from quarrelling, Tim. I hear you quarrelling,on an average, ten times a day; and as, in such a character as we'retalking about, you would, of course, be exposed to all sorts ofslights and unpleasantnesses, you would be in continual hot water."

  "Now, yer honor," Tim said reproachfully, "you're too hard on me,entirely. I like a bit of a row as well as any many, but it's all fordivarsion; and I could go on, for a year, without quarrelling with asoul. Just try me, Mr. Charles. Just try me for a month, and if, atthe end of that time, you find me in your way; or that I don't keep mycharacter, then send me back agin to the regiment."

  It was arranged that the moonshee should remain with Peters, who,seeing that Charlie owed his appointment, to a post which promisedexcitement and adventure, to his skill in the native languages, wasdetermined that he would again set to, in earnest, and try and masterits intricacies. The moonshee went down to the bazaar, and purchasedthe clothes which would be necessary for the disguises; and Charliefound, in his company, four Sepoys who willingly agreed to accompanyhim, in the character of his retainers, upon his expedition. As totheir costume, there was no difficulty. When off duty, the Sepoys inthe Company's service were accustomed to dress in their native attire.Consequently, it needed only the addition of a tulwar, or short curvedsword; a shield, thrown over one shoulder; a long matchlock; and twoor three pistols and daggers, stuck into a girdle, to complete theirequipment.

  Charlie himself was dressed gaily, in the garb of a military officerin the service of an Indian rajah. He was to ride, and a horse,saddle, and gay housings were procured. He had, at last, given in toTim's entreaties; and that worthy was dressed as a syce, or horsekeeper.

  Both Charlie and Tim had had those portions of their skin exposed tothe air darkened, and both would pass muster, at a casual inspection.Charlie, in thus concealing his nationality, desired only to hide thefact that he was an officer in the Company's service. He believed thatit would be impossible for him to continue to pass as a Bheel. This,however, would be of no consequence, after a time. Many of the nativeprinces had Europeans in their service. Runaway sailors, desertersfrom the English, French, and Dutch armed forces in their possessionson the seacoast, adventurers influenced either by a love of a life ofexcitement, or whom a desire to escape the consequences of folly orcrime committed at home had driven to a roving life--such men might befound in many of the native courts.

  Once settled, then, in the service of the rajah, Charlie intended tomake but little farther pretence, or secrecy, as to his nationality.Outwardly, he would still conform to the language and appearance ofthe character he had chosen; but he would allow it to be supposed thathe was an Englishman, a deserter from the Company's service, and thathis comrades were Sepoys in a similar position. His employment, then,at the court of the rajah, would have an effect the exact reverse ofthat which it would have done, had he appeared in his propercharacter.

  Deserters were, of all men, the most opposed to their countrymen, towhom they had proved traitors. In battle they could be relied upon tofight desperately, for they fought with ropes round their necks.Therefore, while the appearance of an English officer, as instructorof the forces of the rajah, would have drawn upon himself the instanthostility of all opposed to the British; the circulation of a reportthat his troops were being disciplined by some English and nativedeserters, from the Company's forces, would excite no suspicionwhatever.

  To avoid attracting attention, Charlie Marryat and his party set outbefore daylight from Madras. Their appearance, indeed, would haveattracted no attention, when they once had passed beyond theboundaries of the portion of the town occupied by the whites. In thenative quarter, the appearance of a small zemindar, or landowner,attended by four or five armed followers on foot, was of such commonoccurrence as to attract no attention whatever; and, indeed, numbersof these come in to take service in the Sepoy regiments, theprofession of arms being always considered honorable, in India.

  For a fortnight they travelled, by easy stages, without question orsuspicion being excited that they were not what they seemed. They werenow among the hills, and soon arrived at Ambur, the seat of the rajah.The town was a small one, and above it rose the fortress, which stoodon a rock rising sheer from the bottom of the valley, and standingboldly out from the hillside. The communication was effected by ashoulder which, starting from a point halfway up the rock, joined thehill behind it. Along this shoulder were walls and gateways. An enemyattacking these would be exposed to the fire from the summit of therock. From the point where the shoulder joined the rock, a zigzag roadhad been cut, with enormous labour, in the face of the rock, to thesummit.

  "It is a strong place," Charlie said to Tim Kelly, who was walking byhis horse's head; "and should be able to hold out against anything butstarvation. That is to say, if properly defended."

  "It's a powerful place, surely," Tim said; "and would puzzle the ouldboy himself to take. Even Captain Clive, who is afeard of nothing,would be bothered by it."

  As they rode up the valley, two horsemen were seen spurring towardsthem, from the town. They drew rein before Charlie; and one, bowing,said:

  "My master, the rajah, sends his gr
eeting to you, and begs to know ifyou are the illustrious soldier, Nadir Ali, for whom his heart hasbeen longing."

  "Will you tell your lord that Nadir Ali is here," Charlie said, "andthat he longs to see the face of the rajah."

  One of the horsemen at once rode off, and the other took his place bythe side of Charlie; and, having introduced himself as captain of therajah's bodyguard, rode with him through the town.

  Had Charlie appeared in his character as English officer, the rajahand all his troops would have turned out to do honor to his arrival.As it was, a portion of the garrison, only, appeared at the gate andlined the walls. Through these the little party passed, and up thesharp zigzags, which were so steep that, had it not been that hisdignity prevented him from dismounting, Charlie would gladly have gotoff and proceeded on foot; for it was as much as the animal could do,to struggle up the steep incline.

  At each turn there was a gateway, with little flanking towers; onwhich jingalls, or small wall pieces, commanded the road.

  "Faith, then, it's no fool that built this place. I shouldn't like tohave to attack it, wid all the soldiers of the King's army, let alonethose of the Company."

  "It is tremendously strong, Tim, but it is astonishing what brave mencan do."

  In the after wars which England waged, in India, the truth of whatCharlie said was over and over again proved. Numerous fortresses,supposed by the natives to be absolutely impregnable, and farexceeding in strength that just described, have been carried byassault, by the dash and daring of English troops.

  They gained, at last, the top of the rock. It was uneven in surface,some portions being considerably more elevated than others. Roughly,its extent was about a hundred yards, either way. The lower level wascovered with buildings, occupied by the garrison, and storehouses. Onthe upper level, some forty feet higher, stood the palace of therajah. It communicated with the courtyard, below, by a broad flight ofsteps. These led to an arched gateway, with a wall and battlements;forming an interior line of defence, should an assailant gain afooting in the lower portion of the stronghold.

  Alighting from his horse at the foot of the steps, Charlie, followedby his five retainers, mounted to the gateway. Here another guard ofhonor was drawn up. Passing through these, they entered a shadycourtyard, on one side of which was a stone pavilion. The flat ceilingwas supported by massive columns, closely covered with intricatesculpture. The roof was arabesqued with deeply cut patterns, pickedout in bright colours. A fountain played in the middle.

  On the farther side the floor, which was of marble, was raised; andtwo steps led to a wide recess, with windows of lattice stonework,giving a view over the town and valley below. In this recess werepiles of cushions and carpets, and here reclined the rajah, a spareand active-looking man, of some forty years old. He rose, as Charlieapproached, the soldiers and Sepoys remaining beyond the limits of thepavilion.

  "Welcome, brave Nadir Ali," he said courteously; "my heart is glad,indeed, at the presence of one whose wisdom is said to be far beyondhis years, and who has learned the arts of war of the infidels frombeyond the seas."

  Then, inviting Charlie to take a seat on the divan with him, hequestioned him as to his journey, and the events which were takingplace in the plains; until the attendants, having handed roundrefreshments, retired at his signal.

  "I am glad to see you, Sahib," he said, when they were alone; "though,in truth, I looked for one older than yourself. The great Englishgovernor of Madras tells me, however, in a letter which I receivedfour days since, that you are skilled in war; that you fought by theside of that great Captain Clive at Arcot, Arni, Kavaripak, and atTrichinopoli; and that the great warrior, himself, chose you to cometo me. Therefore, I doubt neither your valour nor your prudence, andput myself in your hands, wholly.

  "The governor has already told you, doubtless, of the position inwhich I am placed here."

  "Governor Saunders explained the whole position to me," Charlie said."You are, at present, menaced on all sides by powerful neighbours. Youbelieve that the fortunes of the English are on the increase; and asyou think the time may come, ere long, when they will turn the Frenchout of the Deccan, and become masters there, as they have alreadybecome masters in the Carnatic, you wish to fight by their side, andshare their fortunes. In the meantime, you desire to be able to defendyourself against your neighbours; for, at present, the English are toofar away to assist you.

  "To enable you to do this, I have been sent to drill and disciplineyour troops, like our Sepoys; and to give you such advice as may bebest, for the general defence of your country. I have brought with mefive soldiers; four Bheels, and one of my countrymen. The latter willbe of little use in drilling your troops, for he is ignorant of thelanguage, and has come as my personal attendant. The other four willassist me in my work.

  "Your followers here will, no doubt, discover in a very short timethat I am an Englishman. Let it be understood that I am a deserter,that I have been attracted to your court by the promise of high pay,and that I have assumed the character of a Bheel, lest my being heremight put you on bad terms with the English."

  Charlie then asked the rajah as to the strength of his military force.

  "In time of peace," the rajah said, "I keep three hundred men underarms. In case of taking the field, three thousand. To defend Amburagainst an attack of an enemy, I could muster ten thousand men."

  "You could not call out three thousand men, without attracting theattention of your neighbours?" Charlie asked.

  "No," the rajah said; "that would bring my neighbours upon me, atonce."

  "I suppose, however, you might assemble another five hundred men,without attracting attention."

  "Oh, yes," the rajah said; "eight hundred men are not a force whichcould attract any great attention."

  "Then I should propose that we begin with eight hundred," Charliesaid. "For a month, however, I will confine myself to the troops youat present have. We must, in the first place, train some officers. Ifyou will pick out those to whom you intend to give commands, andsubcommands; I will choose from the men, after drilling them for a fewdays, forty of the most intelligent as what we call noncommissionedofficers.

  "For the first month, we will work hard in teaching these officers andsub-officers their duties. Then, when the whole eight hundredassemble, we can divide them into four parties. There will be one ofmy drill instructors to each party, ten under officers, and four orfive of the officers whom you will appoint. Six weeks' hard workshould make these eight hundred men fairly acquainted with drill. TheEnglish Sepoys have often gone out to fight, with less. At the end ofthe six weeks, let the five hundred men you have called out, inaddition to your bodyguard of three hundred, return to their homes;and replace them by an equal number of fresh levies, and so proceeduntil you have your three thousand fighting men, thoroughly trained.In nine months, all will have had their six weeks of exercise, andcould take their places in the ranks again, at a day's notice.

  "Two hundred of your men I will train in artillery; although I do notbelong to that branch of the service, I learned the duties at Arcot."

  The rajah agreed, heartily, to Charlie's proposals; well pleased atthe thought that he should, before the end of a year, be possessed ofa trained force, which would enable him to hold his own against hispowerful neighbours, until an opportunity might occur when, inalliance with the English, he should be able to turn the tables uponthem, and to aggrandize himself at their expense.