by G. A. Henty
Chapter 3: A Change In Affairs.
Harry Lindsay's duties were little more than nominal. The reportssent in to him, by those in charge of the royal preserves, couldscarcely be considered as satisfactory; as they stated that, owingto the fact that for years there had been no hunting there, thetigers had greatly increased in number, and had thinned down thestags and, indeed, in some cases had so destroyed other game thatthey were driven to escape from the enclosures, and to ravage thevillages. But beyond receiving these reports, and riding overoccasionally to the preserves, Harry had little to do save to takepart in any court ceremonies and, when called upon to do so, toaccompany the Peishwa in his walks in the palace garden. Hetherefore determined to learn to read and write in Mahratta and,for two or three hours a day, a man of the weynsh, or mercantileclass, came in to teach him. So careful was Nana Furnuwees, inpreventing Scindia's adherents from approaching the prince, thatHarry had nothing whatever to report on this head.
One day, when Mahdoo Rao, who had taken a great liking to him, waswalking in the garden, chatting familiarly to him of his life inthe country, and his adventures with tigers and other wild beasts,he said:
"Have you seen my cousin, Bajee Rao?"
"No, Your Highness, I have never seen him."
"You have heard of him, of course, and nothing but good."
"That is so, Prince. It seems that, both in sports and learning, heis wonderfully well instructed."
"I should like to see him," the prince said. "I admire what I haveheard of him, greatly, and it is hard that he should be shut up inprison; and yet he is scarcely more a prisoner than I am."
Harry was struck with dismay.
"But Your Highness is in no way a prisoner!"
"I am not shut up in a fortress," the young prince said, "but I amno more my own master than Bajee Rao is. Nana Furnuwees treats meas if I were a child. He is, I know, devoted to me; but that makesit no more pleasant. I can go where I like, but it is always withmy retinue. I cannot choose my own friends."
"Your Highness will forgive me, if I say that it is for your ownsafety, and for the peace of the country that your minister watchesover you so jealously; and doubtless he thinks that, having beenthe chief adviser to your family, for so many years, having guardedit so successfully from those who would have lessened yourauthority, for the present it is of the greatest importance that heshould continue to guide the state."
"I am, at least, very glad that he allows me a companion of my ownage, to whom I can talk freely."
"On all subjects, Your Highness, excepting state matters. Nanapresented me because I was ignorant of the court, and knew nothingwhatever of intrigues, and was not likely to take any part in them.Therefore, Your Highness, I pray you but to speak upon ordinarymatters; be assured I am your devoted servant, but the courtierswould grow suspicious, were you to talk of state matters with me.These things speedily become known, and I should fall under Nana'sdispleasure."
"Perhaps you are right," the Peishwa admitted, in a tone ofmelancholy. "No doubt, whatever passes in this house is known to myminister; and indeed, it is his duty to make himself so acquainted.Still, I feel it hard that I should not have one friend to whom Ican speak."
"The time will come, Prince, when you will be able to do so and,doubtless, there will be at hand those who will dare to have yourconfidence."
The prince was silent but, after this, he abstained from anyremarks to Harry concerning the state. He had, indeed, for sometime been in correspondence with Bajee Rao, who had gained theconfidence of one of those appointed to look after him and, thoughthere was nothing save expressions of friendship on the part ofboth princes, Nana was furious when he found out, from his spies,what was going on.
The news came as a shock to the minister. Nana had been thegreatest enemy of the house of Rugoba; and the discovery of thiscorrespondence, and the friendship between the two young men, sothreatened his authority that, after ordering that Bajee Rao andhis brothers should be more strictly confined than before, hevisited the Peishwa and upbraided him bitterly for having enteredupon a friendship with the head of a party which had harassed hisfamily, and had brought innumerable troubles on the state. Then hesent a message to Harry, bidding him to come, at once.
"How is it, Puntojee," he said sternly, "that you have altogetherfailed to justify the faith I put in you, and have already assistedMahdoo Rao to enter into relations with my enemy, Bajee Rao?"
Harry was thunderstruck at this sudden attack.
"My lord, you must have been misinformed. I know nothing of anysuch correspondence and, if it really went on, I think the Peishwawould have taken me into his confidence."
"Do you mean to say that Mahdoo has not spoken to you about hiscousin?"
"No, sir, I do not say so for, some four months ago, he spoke interms of admiration for Bajee Rao; but he did not pursue thesubject, and never afterwards alluded to it."
The minister looked at him fixedly.
"I believe you," he said. "You do not look like a double-faced man,but as one who would tell the truth, whatever were the consequences.Moreover, I felt that if you had known of Mahdoo Rao's intentions,and had not reported them to me, you would, on receiving my message,have endeavoured to make your escape. I have of course enquired, andfound that you spent your afternoon, as usual, with your scribe; andthat you afterwards rode out to Sufder's camp, and there talked forhalf an hour, sitting outside the tent and conversing on ordinarymatters; and then you returned here to the palace. These proceedingsgo far to assure me that you were ignorant of the discovery that hadbeen made, that a correspondence had been going on between Mahdoo andBajee. Still, I thought you might have known of the correspondence,though not of the discovery; but now I am quite convinced that youwere altogether ignorant of what was going on."
The scene with Nana, and the knowledge that he had brought upon hiscousins even stricter confinement than before, acted most painfullyupon the mind of the young Peishwa, already embittered by therestraint in which he was being held. He now shut himself up in hisroom, and absolutely refused to leave it. His absence from thedurbars was put down to illness. Nana paid no great attention tohim, believing that the young prince would speedily recoverhimself.
This, however, was not the case, for settled melancholy tookpossession of him. On the 22nd of October he appeared at theDuddera, a high ceremonial, went among his troops and, in theevening, received his chiefs and the representatives from the greatrajahs but, three days later, he threw himself from a terrace infront of his palace, broke two of his limbs, and so seriouslyinjured himself that he died, two days afterwards; having, almostin his last breath, expressed to Nana his strong desire that BajeeRao should succeed him on the musnud.
The consternation of the minister was unbounded. It seemed that, bythis sudden and unexpected blow, the whole of his plans wereoverthrown; and that not only his position, but his very life, wasin danger.
He sent for Harry, two hours after the Peishwa's death.
"Answer me frankly," he said. "Can I depend upon you, absolutely?And have you had no communication of any kind from my enemies?"
"You can depend upon me, my lord. Everyone knows that you havesaved the state, a score of times; and will, I doubt not, do thesame again."
"I have the will," the minister said, gravely, "but whether I havethe power is another thing. I sent off a messenger to the general,Purseram Bhow, bidding him gather as many troops as possible andmarch hither; and I shall send letters to the Rajah of Nagpore, andScindia. Holkar, being in Poona, I have already seen and, as he hasalways supported me against Rugoba, he is as anxious as I am as tothe succession.
"I shall now send you with a duplicate letter to Purseram Bhow for,since the terrible accident to Mahdoo Rao, whom I loved dearly forhis amiable character, it is probable that the adherents of BajeeRao have been active; and that my every movement is watched, andattempts may be made to stop any messengers that I may send out.Take Sufder's troop with you. If you are stopped, fight your waythrough, wha
tever their force. It is a matter of supreme importancethat this letter should reach the general."
"It shall reach him, my lord," Harry said, as he took it; "in fiveminutes I shall be on my way."
Going to his room he changed his attire, mounted his horse, androde to Sufder's camp. The men were all ready, as Nana had sent anorder to Sufder to prepare instantly for a journey.
"So it is you, Puntojee!" the captain said, as he rode up; "theorderly did not tell me whom I was to escort, nor our destination.In which direction do we ride?"
"I am bearer of a letter to Purseram Bhow."
"Then I know the direction;" and, giving orders to his men, he rodeoff at once by the side of Harry.
"This is a terrible business, Puntojee."
"I am greatly grieved, indeed, for no one could have been kinder tome than Mahdoo Rao."
"Yes, yes," Sufder said; "that is all very well, but the seriousside of the matter is that, just as everything seemed settled, wemay be entering upon another civil war, more terrible than thelast. Of course, I am sorry for the young Peishwa; but I doubtwhether he was in any way fit to rule over the Mahrattas. Kindnessof heart goes for nothing with a people like ours; split up intomany factions, led by many chiefs, and ever ready for war. It needsa strong, as well as an able man to hold in check all the partiesin the state.
"Scindia was the sort of man to rule us. He was strong in everyway, was troubled with no scruples, would strike down without mercyany who opposed him. He took great care of his troops, and theywere always ready to follow him. That is the man we want on themusnud; not a young prince, of whom we can only say that he waskindly.
"And why did Nana choose you?"
"I am a second string to his bow. He sent off a messenger as soonas he heard of Mahdoo Rao's accident but, fearing he might beintercepted on the way, he has chosen me as being a person no onewould be likely to suspect of being his messenger, on so importanta matter."
"It is important, indeed, Puntojee. There is no saying what may bethe result of the Peishwa's death. There is no doubt that Scindiaand Holkar will, for once, be in complete accord with NanaFurnuwees, and will combine in any plan to keep Rugoba's son fromsucceeding; still, there are many of the friends of Rugoba who willbe ready to declare for his son and, moreover, there are thestories that have been so widely circulated as to Bajee's personalappearance, and his many accomplishments--these will gain for him agreat number of partisans."
The journey was performed without interruption. At one time, a bodyof some fifty horsemen made their appearance on rising ground nearthe road, but drew off when they saw how strong was the party and,after a ride of sixty miles, they arrived at Purseram Bhow's camp.Harry dismounted in front of the general's tent and, entering,handed him the letter.
"What is your news?" the latter asked, before opening it.
"There is none, General, beyond what the letter, sent to you threehours before I left, will have prepared you to hear. I only bear acopy of that letter, in case the first should not have reachedyou."
"It is well that the precaution was taken for, in truth, themessenger has not arrived."
"It is possible that he may have been murdered on the way, sir; forwe saw a party of fifty horsemen on the road, whose intentionsseemed to be hostile, but as I had Sufder's troop of a hundred menwith me, they drew off."
"But what is the news, then, that is so important that steps aretaken to stop messengers that bear it?"
Harry related what had taken place, the old officer giving manyejaculations of regret, and horror, at the news of Mahdoo Rao'sdeath.
"'Tis a terrible misfortune, indeed," he said, "and is like tothrow the whole country into disorder again."
He opened the despatch now, and glanced through it. He called someof his officers, who were gathered near the tent, and ordered themto cause the trumpets to be sounded for all the troops to be inreadiness to march, at once; leaving only a small body of infantryto pack up the tents, and follow at a more leisurely pace with thebaggage.
An hour later two regiments of cavalry started, infantry men beingtaken up behind the troopers and, late the next day, they arrivedat Poona. Scindia and the Rajah of Berar had also been sent for, inhaste and, as soon as they arrived, a council was held as to thechoice that should be made of a successor.
All were opposed to the selection of Bajee Rao; for he would havebeen brought up by his mother, with the deepest enmity towardsthose who had successfully combined against his father. It wastherefore proposed that the widow of Mahdoo Rao should adopt a son,in whose name the government should be carried on.
It was not until two months had been spent in negotiations that thematter was finally settled. One of Scindia's ministers, namedBalloba, alone opposed the course decided upon; and Bajee Raoopened communications with him, and succeeded in winning him overto his cause. Having done this he addressed Scindia; offering him avery large addition to his territory, and payment of all hisexpenses, if he would assist him to gain his rightful position. AsBalloba had great influence over the young Scindia, the offer wasaccepted.
The arrangement was made so secretly that Nana Furnuwees hadreceived no intimation, whatever, of what was going on, until theagreement had been concluded. Purseram Bhow was again summoned toPoona and, with his usual energy, made a march of one hundred andtwenty miles in forty-eight hours.
The position was a difficult one, indeed. At one blow, the plansthat had been so carefully laid by Nana were shattered. Scindia,who had but a month or two before formed one of the confederacy,had now gone round to the side of Bajee Rao, who regarded theminister as his greatest enemy. Holkar was not to be depended uponand, in Poona, there were many adherents of the son of Rugoba. Thecouncil held by Nana, Purseram, and two or three other greatofficers was long and, at times, stormy; but it was finally agreedthat the sole way out of the perilous position, caused by Scindia'sdesertion, was to anticipate him and to release Bajee Rao, anddeclare him Peishwa.
Purseram started, at once, to the fort where the brothers wereconfined. Harry, who was now deeply interested in the course ofevents, was one of Nana's officers who accompanied Purseram. Onhearing the general's errand, the officer in command of the fort atonce sent for Bajee, his brother Chimnajee, and Amrud--who was theadopted son of Rugoba, and who stood on an equal footing withregard to the succession. Bajee Rao listened calmly to theproposals made to him in Nana's name, asked several questions, anddemanded guarantees; but was evidently disposed to accept theproposals, if assured that they were made in good faith.
Amrud strongly urged him to decline the offer; but Bajee, uponPurseram taking the most solemn oath known to the Hindoos, in proofof his sincerity, accepted the offer and, with his brotherChimnajee, rode with Purseram to Poona; Amrud being left behind inthe fort, as Purseram considered that he would continue to exercisehis influence over Bajee in a direction hostile to Nana's interest.
As soon as the party arrived at the capital, an interview tookplace between Bajee and Nana when, in the presence of many of thegreat officers, both swore to forget all enmities and injuries, andBajee promised to retain Nana at the head of his administration.
That same evening, the minister sent for Harry.
"Puntojee," he said, "I have a commission for you. I know that youare loyal to me, and that I can depend upon you. I wish you to goat once to Scindia's camp, which is now on the bank of theGodavery, and ascertain how he takes the news. Doubtless Balloba,his prime minister, will be furious at finding that, instead ofBajee becoming a mere creature of Scindia's, I have placed him onthe musnud, and retain my place as his chief minister. I can employyou for this business better than most others, for the greater partof my officers are personally known to those of Scindia, while youhave scarce been seen by them. I have also a high idea of yourshrewdness; and I have no doubt that you will, in some way, be ableto gain the information that I require--indeed, it will probably bethe public talk of the camp. If you should find an opportunity ofentering into negotiations, with any influential person in
Scindia's court, I authorize you to do so in my name; and to agreeto any reasonable demands that he may make, either for a payment inmoney or in estates. Scindia's character is wholly unformed and,though today he may be guided by Balloba, tomorrow he may lean onsomeone else.
"You can go in any guise you think fit, either as a trooper or as acamp follower. In either case, you had better take Sufder andtwenty men with you; and leave them in concealment within a fewmiles of the camp so that, in case of necessity, you can join them;and his men can act as messengers, and bring your reports to me."
As it was now a year since Harry had first gone to Poona, and hehad during that time worked diligently, he could now both read andwrite the Mahratta language, and was thus able to send in writtenreports; instead of being obliged to rely upon oral messages, whichmight be misdelivered by those who carried them, or possiblyreported to others instead of to the minister; whereas reading andwriting were known to but few of the Mahrattas, outside the Brahminclass.
Sufder expressed himself much pleased, when he heard that he was toaccompany Harry.
"I am sick of this life of inactivity," he said. "Why, we have hadno fighting for the past five years; and we shall forget how to useour arms, unless there is something doing. I would willinglyaccompany you into Scindia's camp, but I am far too well knownthere to hope to escape observation. However, I will pick outtwenty of my best men so that, if there should be a skirmish, weshall be able to hold our own. Of course, I shall choose men whohave good horses, for we may have to ride for it."
Harry himself was very well mounted, for Mahdoo Rao had given himtwo excellent horses; and as he had, when out with Sufder's troop,tried them against the best of those of the sowars, he felt surethat he could trust to them, in case of having to ride for hislife. The trooper who looked after them had become much attached tohim, and he determined to take him with him into Scindia's camp,one of Sufder's other men looking after the horses.
After a consultation with Sufder, he decided on adopting thecostume of a petty trader or pedlar carrying garments, scarfs, andother articles used by soldiers. Of these he laid in a store and,three hours after his interview with Nana, started with his escort;the trooper leading his spare horse, on which his packs werefastened, and his own man riding a country pony. The distance toScindia's camp was under a hundred miles, and they took three daysin accomplishing it. It was important that the horses should not beknocked up, as their lives might depend upon their speed.
When within ten miles of their destination, they halted in a grovenear the Moola river. Here Harry changed his clothes, and assumedthose of a small merchant. Then he mounted the pony; a portion ofthe packs was fastened behind him, and the rest carried by hisservant.
Scindia's camp lay around Toka, a town on the Godavery at the footof a range of hills. On arriving there he went to the field bazaar,where a large number of booths, occupied by traders and countrypeasants, were erected. The former principally sold arms, saddlery,and garments; the latter, the produce of their own villages.Choosing an unoccupied piece of ground, Harry erected a littleshelter tent; composed of a dark blanket thrown over a ridge pole,supported by two others, giving a height of some four feet, in thecentre. The pony was picketed just behind this. In front of it aportion of the wares was spread out, and Harry began the usual loudexhortations, to passers by, to inspect them.
Having thus established himself, he left Wasil in charge,explaining to him the prices that he was to ask for each of thearticles sold, and then started on a tour through the camp. Hereand there pausing to listen to the soldiers, he picked up scraps ofnews; and learned that there was a general expectation that thearmy would march, in a day or two, towards Poona--it being rumouredthat Scindia and his minister, Balloba, had been outwitted by NanaFurnuwees; and that Balloba had made no secret of his anger, butvowed vengeance against the man who had overthrown plans which, ithad been surely believed, would have resulted in Scindia'sobtaining supreme control over the Deccan.
Returning to his little tent, he wrote a letter to Nana, tellinghim what he had gathered, and giving approximately the strength ofScindia's force; adding that, from what he heard, the whole wereanimated with the desire to avenge what they considered an insultto their prince. This note he gave to Wasil, who at once started onfoot to join Sufder; who would forward it, by four troopers, toPoona.
The next morning he returned and, after purchasing provisions fromthe countrymen, and lighting a fire for cooking them, he assistedHarry at his stall. The latter was standing up, exhibiting agarment to a soldier, who was haggling with him over the price,when a party of officers rode by. At their head was one whose dressshowed him to be a person of importance; and whom Harry at oncerecognized as Balloba, having often noticed him during thenegotiations at Poona. As his eye fell upon Harry he checked hishorse for a moment, and beckoned to him to come to him.
"Come here, weynsh," he said, using the term generally applied tothe commercial caste.
Harry went up to him, and salaamed.]
Harry went up to him, and salaamed.
"How comes it," the minister asked, "that so fine a young fellow asyou are is content to be peddling goods through the country, whenso well fitted by nature for better things? You should be asoldier, and a good one. For so young a man, I have never seen agreater promise of strength.
"It seems to me that your face is not unknown to me. Where do youcome from?"
"From Jooneer, your excellency, where my people are cultivatorsbut, having no liking for that life, I learned the trade of ashopkeeper, and obtained permission to travel to your camp, and totry my fortune in disposing of some of my master's goods."
As Jooneer was but some sixty miles from Toka, the explanation wasnatural enough and, as the former town lay near to the main roadfrom Scindia's dominions in Candeish, it afforded an explanation ofBalloba's partial recognition of his face.
"And as a merchant, you can read and write, I suppose?" the latterwent on.
"Yes, your highness, sufficiently well for my business."
"Well, think it over. You can scarcely find your present life moresuitable to your taste than that of a cultivator, and the army isthe proper place for a young fellow with spirit, and with strengthand muscles such as you have. If you like to enlist in my ownbodyguard, and your conduct be good, I will see that you have suchpromotion as you deserve."
"Your excellency is kind, indeed," Harry said, humbly. "Before Iaccept your kind offer, will you permit me to return to Jooneer toaccount for my sales to my employer, and to obtain permission of myfather to accept your offer; which would indeed be greatly more tomy taste than the selling of goods."
"It is well," Balloba said, and then broke off:
"Ah! I know now why I remember your face. 'Tis the lightness ofyour eyes, which are of a colour rarely seen; but somehow or other,it appears to me that it was not at Jooneer, but at Poona, that Inoticed your face."
"I was at Poona, with my master, when your highness was there,"Harry said.
"That accounts for it."
The minister touched his horse's flanks with his heel and rode on,with a thoughtful look on his face. Harry at once joined Wasil.
"Quick, Wasil! There is no time to be lost. Throw the saddle on tothe pony, and make your way out of the camp, at once. Pitch all theother things into the tent, and close it. If you leave them here,it will seem strange. Balloba has seen me at Poona, and it islikely enough that, as he thinks it over, he will remember that itwas in a dress altogether different from this. Go at once toSufder. If you get there before me, tell him to mount at once, andride fast to meet me."
Two minutes later, everything was prepared; and Wasil, mounting thepony, rode off, while Harry moved away among the tents. In a quietspot, behind one of these, he threw off his upper garments andstood in the ordinary undress of a Hindoo peasant, having nothingon but a scanty loincloth. He had scarcely accomplished this whenhe heard the trampling of horses; and saw, past the tent, fourtroopers ride up to the spot he had just left.
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"Where is the trader who keeps this tent?" one of them shouted. "Heis a spy, and we have orders to arrest him."
Harry waited to hear no more, but walked in the opposite direction;taking care to maintain a leisurely stride, and to avoid allappearance of haste. Then, going down to the road by the side ofwhich the bazaar was encamped, he mingled with the crowd there.Presently, one of the troopers dashed up.
"Has anyone seen a man in the dress of a trader?" and he roughlydescribed the attire of which Harry had rid himself.
There was a general chorus of denial, from those standing round,and the trooper again galloped on.
Harry continued his walk at a leisurely pace, stopping occasionallyto look at articles exposed for sale, until he reached the end ofthe bazaar. Then he made across the country. Trumpets were blowingnow in the camp, and he had no doubt that Balloba had ordered athorough search to be made for him. He did not quicken his pace,however, until well out of sight; but then he broke into a swingingtrot, for he guessed that, when he was not found in the camp,parties of cavalry would start to scour the country. He had gonesome four miles when, looking behind him, he saw about twentyhorsemen, far back along the road.
The country here was flat and open, with fields irrigated by canalsrunning from the Moola, and affording no opportunity forconcealment. Hitherto he had been running well within his powers;but he now quickened his pace, and ran at full speed. He calculatedthat Wasil would have at least half an hour's start of him; andthat, as he would urge the pony to the top of his speed, he wouldby this time have joined Sufder; and he was sure that the latterwould not lose an instant before starting to meet him. He hadhesitated, for a moment, whether he should break into a quiet walkand allow the troopers to overtake him, relying upon the alterationof his costume; but he reflected that Balloba might have foreseenthat he would change his disguise, and have ordered the arrest of ayoung man with curiously light eyes.
Harry had always attempted to conceal this feature, as far aspossible, by staining his eyelashes a deep black; but when helooked up, the colour of his eyes could hardly fail to strikeanyone specially noticing them.
His constant exercise as a boy had given him great swiftness offoot, and the year passed as a shikaree had added to his enduranceand speed and, divested of clothing as he was, he felt sure thatthe horsemen, who were more than a mile in his rear when he firstcaught sight of them, would not overtake him for some time. He wasrunning, as he knew, for life; for he was certain that, if caught,Balloba would have him at once put to death as a spy. Althoughhardy and of great endurance, the Mahratta horses, which were smallin size, were not accustomed to being put to the top of their speedexcept for a short charge; and the five miles that they hadgalloped already must have, to some extent, fatigued them.
After running at the top of his speed for about a mile, he lookedback. The party was still a long distance in his rear. Again hepressed forward, but his exertions were telling upon him and,before he had gone another half mile, the Mahrattas had approachedwithin little more than half that distance.
Far ahead he thought he could perceive a body of horsemen, butthese were nearly two miles away, and he would be overtaken beforethey could reach him; therefore he turned suddenly off, and took toone of the little banks dividing one irrigated field from another.As soon as the horsemen reached the spot where he had left theroad, they too turned off; but Harry, who was now husbanding hisstrength, saw a sudden confusion among them.
The little bank of earth on which he was running was but a footwide, and was softened by the water which soaked in from bothsides. It could bear his weight, well enough; but not that of amounted man. Only one or two had attempted to follow it, the othershad plunged into the field. Here their horses at once sank up tothe knees. Some endeavoured to force the animals on, others toregain the road they had quitted. The two horsemen on the bank weremaking better progress, but their horses' hoofs sank deeply in thesoft earth; and their pace, in spite of the exertions of theriders, was but a slow one.
Harry turned when he came to the end of the field, and followedanother bank at right angles, and was therefore now running in theright direction. He was more than keeping his lead from theforemost of his pursuers Some of the others galloped along theroad, parallel to him, but ahead.
The horsemen he had first seen were now within a mile. On theycame, at the top of their speed; and the troopers on the roadhalted, not knowing whether this body were friends or foes, whilethose on the bank reined in their horses, and rode back to jointheir comrades. Harry continued to run till he came to another bankleading to the road and, following this, he arrived there just asSufder galloped up with his party, one of the troopers leading hishorse. They gave a shout of welcome, as he came up.
"I thought it must be you," Sufder said, "from the way you ran,rather than from your attire. Shall we charge those fellows?"
"I think not," Harry said. "In the first place Scindia has not, asyet, declared war against Nana and Bajee; in the second, there maybe more men coming on behind; therefore it will be best to leavethem alone though, if they attack us, we shall, of course, defendourselves."
"I think that is their intention, Puntojee. See, they have gatheredtogether! I suppose they daren't go back, and say that you haveescaped."
"Give me either your sword or spear."
The latter was part of the regular equipment of the Mahrattahorsemen. Sufder handed him his sword and, as the pursuers advancedtowards them at a canter which speedily became a gallop, he tookhis place by the side of Sufder and, the latter giving the word,the band dashed forward to meet their opponents.
The combat was a short one. Sufder's followers were all picked men,and were better mounted than Scindia's troopers. These made specialefforts to get at Harry, but the latter's skill with the swordenabled him to free himself from his most pressing opponents.Sufder laid about him stoutly and, his men seconding him well, halftheir opponents were speedily struck to the ground; and the rest,turning their horses, fled at full speed. Sufder's men would havefollowed, but he shouted to them to draw rein.
"Enough has been done, and well done," he said. "If Scindia meanswar, nothing will be said about this fight; but if he does not,complaints will doubtless be laid against us, and it is better thatwe should be able to say that we fought only in self defence; andthat, when the attack ceased, we allowed them to ride offunmolested, though we might easily enough have slain the whole ofthem."
On arriving at the grove where the troop had halted, Harry at onceresumed his own clothes; for although in his early days he had beenaccustomed to be slightly clad, he felt ill at ease riding almostnaked. Here, too, he found Wasil, who had ridden with such speedthat his pony was too much exhausted for him to ride back with therest. He received his master with the greatest joy, for he hadfeared he would be captured before leaving the camp.
They continued their journey to Jooneer, where they halted for thenight. Sufder went to his house, and Harry rode out to the farm.