by G. A. Henty
“When I got up, one of the other slave girls, who had been brave enough to look out of the window, told me that it had been killed by two young men, one of whom must have been the one who had fired the shot in at the window. I went and looked out, and saw it lying there. After that every one talked, and laughed, and cried, and then the sultan’s chief wife said that everyone must make a present to the young men who had saved us, and that each one ought to give one of her best jewels. Of course, everyone did. I had nothing to give, except a little cross of gold filigree work, that hung round my neck when I was carried off. It had been hidden by my dress. The men had not noticed it, and they had not taken it away when I was brought here. It was such a poor little gift, but it was all I had.”
“I noticed it, Annie,” Dick said; “there was a little flat plate behind it, with the letters ‘A. M.’ and I thought, then, that it must be some little ornament taken from one of the Englishwomen Hyder’s troops killed. It is fortunate you kept it, for it may be useful, someday, in proving that you are Annie Mansfield.”
“Now I must be going,” she said. “I was slapped and pinched, last time, for being so long, but I have several things to get today, so that if I hurry I can be back again as soon as they expect me. You have not settled when you are going, yet?”
“No; but we rather think of going the day after tomorrow. It will be better to do so before Tippoo comes back, for we might be ordered away so quickly as to have no time to make arrangements. Besides, there will be ten times as many people about, in the Palace, and more guards at the entrances when he returns. So, altogether, it will be better to go before he does so. If we settle it so, I will come along past your door, tomorrow evening; and if I say, ‘Tomorrow morning,’ get here as soon as you can in the morning, and directly you have stained your skin and put on your disguise, we will start. My servant, who is going with us, will act as your guide, and will take you to the place where the horses are, and where we shall join you, almost as soon as you get there.”
At the appointed time, next evening, Dick told Annie that they should start in the morning. He and Surajah then went down and said goodbye to Pertaub, and Dick gave him a letter to his aunt, to give to her should he ever go to Tripataly with his daughter.
“It may be,” he said, “that neither Surajah nor I may be there, but I shall speak to her about you, and of course tell her how much you have done for us; so you may be sure of the heartiest welcome from her.”
“And you will also find a hearty friend in my father, Rajbullub,” Surajah said. “He is principal officer in the Rajah’s household, and will treat you as a brother, and your daughter as if she were my sister.”
Then they returned to the Palace, where they had a final talk over the route that it would be best to pursue. The nearest point to the new frontier was the territory ceded to the English on the Malabar coast. But this would entail a long sea voyage, and they therefore determined to make for Caveripatam, going by the road that led through Anicull, and then through Ryacotta, which stood just outside the line of territory ceded to England, and from whence a road led direct down the passes. Anicull lay nearly due south of Bangalore, but the road they would follow would not be the one by which Tippoo would return, as he would come by the main road, which ran in a direct line between the two cities.
Ibrahim was informed of their plans, and was told to warn the syce to get their horses saddled and in readiness at eight o’clock, and that, as they were going for a long day’s ride, he would not be required to accompany them—as he always did when they rode only into the town, for then he might be wanted to hold the horses, if they dismounted and went into a shop.
He was also to give notice, in the kitchen, that they would not return to the midday meal, and that dishes for them would therefore not be required. Thus it would be unlikely that any suspicion would be aroused by their absence until they had been gone twenty-four hours, by which time they would be more than halfway to the frontier.
They went to bed at their usual time, and slept soundly, for it seemed to them both that there was practically no risk whatever to be run, and that they would be across the frontier before any active search was made for them. Even when it was discovered that they had left the Palace, it would be thought that they had received some order from Bangalore, either to join the sultan, or to go on some mission for him that had occupied more time than they had anticipated on starting. The idea that two officers, who were considered to stand high in Tippoo’s favour, should desert, would scarcely occur to anyone.
In the morning they were up early, completed their slight preparations, and took their early breakfast, reserving a portion for Annie, who, they thought, would not improbably have eaten nothing before coming to them.
She was a quarter of an hour late in arriving, and looked somewhat pale and flurried.
“They did not send me out this morning,” she said, “and so I had to stay, until I could slip out without being noticed; but they may miss me at any moment.”
“That will be all right,” Dick said confidently. “They will search all the rooms in the harem for you, first, and certainly won’t look for you outside, until there has been a lot of talk over your absence. But even if they do search, you will be able, in a few minutes, to walk through the middle of them without being suspected.
“However, we will lose no time; and to begin with, I will cut off what hair is necessary. I shall do it a good deal quicker than you would. Then we will leave you to yourself, to stain your skin and put on your disguise. When you have finished, clap your hands. Ibrahim will come in and see that your disguise is all right, and that your turban covers your hair. Then he will go with you. We shall be waiting near the gate. There is practically no chance of your being asked any questions, but if you are, and there is any difficulty, we will pass you through all right. Having seen you on your way, we shall mount and follow you.”
The operation of cutting off Annie’s hair, to the line of her ears, was speedily done; then, with a few reassuring words, Dick joined Surajah in the corridor. As they walked down it he said:
“I don’t like leaving them to themselves. Look here, Surajah, you go down to the stable, and mount at once. Tell the syce I shall come for my horse in a few minutes. Then ride out, and take your post where you can see them come out of the gate, and then follow them closely. I will stay here, and see them safely through the gate, and then mount and follow you. I shall overtake you before you get to the ford.”
“That will perhaps be safest,” Surajah agreed, “though I should think there is no chance of her being suspected, seeing that she will be with Ibrahim. Even if they met one of the Palace officers, and he asked Ibrahim who he had with him, he could say it was a lad who had come to you respecting some horses you had bought.”
“Yes, that would do very well.”
Dick returned to Ibrahim, who was squatting down in the corridor near the door.
“I am going to follow you, until you are through the gate, and shall keep a short distance behind you. If you should meet any officer on your way out, who may ask you who you have with you, say he has come with a message to me from a trader in the town. By the time you have told him that, I shall be up.”
“There is no chance of being questioned, my lord. People come and go all day.”
“That is so, Ibrahim, but one cannot be too careful.”
They stood, talking together, until they heard Annie clap her hands within. Ibrahim entered at once, and in two or three minutes came out again with the girl. Ibrahim carried a bundle.
“You will do very well,” Dick said to Annie. “I should not know you, in the least. You make a capital boy.
“What bundle is that, Ibrahim? I thought you took our other disguises on, yesterday, to the stable where the horses are.”
“Yes, my lord, I took them on. These are the things she has taken off. I thought, perhaps, it would be better not to leave them here, as, if they were found, it would be known that she had gone with
you.”
“I don’t think it makes much difference, Ibrahim, but perhaps it is as well to bring them away. We can leave the bundle in the wood.
“Now, go along. I will follow. Perhaps I had better go first. Keep a few paces behind me.”
They passed through the long passages of the Palace, without attracting the slightest attention. Once or twice, Dick paused to speak to some officials of his acquaintance, the others stopping respectfully a few paces away. Then he went out into the courtyard, and across to the gate, and as the sentries saluted he stopped, and asked them a few questions as to the regiment they belonged to, until Ibrahim and his companion, who had passed straight through, were well away. He saw Surajah sitting upon his horse, a couple of hundred yards away, and then went to the stables.
CHAPTER 16
The Journey
The syce brought out his horse, as soon as he saw Dick approaching.
“You need not wait up for us, after nine o’clock,” Dick said, as he mounted. “It is possible that we may be detained, and shall not return until tomorrow evening. If we come, we shall certainly be back by nine at the latest, and we shall not be back before seven, at any rate, so that until then you are free to do as you like.”
He rode quietly off, and did not quicken his pace until he had got beyond the fort. Then he touched the horse with his heel, and cantered down to the ford. Surajah was halfway across the river, when he reached it. The other two figures were just ascending the road up the other bank.
Surajah checked his horse, when he got across, and waited till Dick joined him.
“Shall we go on with them to the farmhouse?” he asked.
“We may as well do so as halt in the road. Besides, there are the things Ibrahim took over yesterday, to put into our saddlebags. There is another thing that I never thought of. Of course, the girl has never been on a horse, and that may give us a good deal of trouble. I wonder I did not think of it, though if I had, I don’t see that anything else could have been done. We must see how she gets on, and if she cannot manage I must take her before me, whenever we see that the road is clear for a good distance ahead. Of course, it does not matter about country people, but if we see a body of troops coming in the distance, she must mount her own horse again, and follow us at a walk. If we find that things don’t go well, we must halt in a wood somewhere, and ride only by night.”
They cantered on now, and overtook the others just as they reached the farmhouse. The farmer was at his door, and looked a little surprised at seeing two of the officers of the Palace come up. He salaamed deeply.
“We have not come to requisition anything,” Dick said, with a smile, as he saw that the farmer looked alarmed as well as surprised. “We have only come for the two horses that we have bought, for our servants, as we are going on a journey.”
“Can I assist you in any way, my lords?”
“No, our men will saddle the horses,” Dick said, and, dismounting, went into the stable with Ibrahim and Annie.
“You are not afraid of riding, I hope, Annie?” he said.
“I am not afraid of anything, Dick, so that I can but get away.”
“We will go quietly at first, anyhow. Mind, as you mount, put your left foot in the stirrup. When you are seated, carry yourself as easily as you can. The pony looks quiet enough, but if, when we get fairly off, you find that you cannot sit comfortably, you must get up before me, and Ibrahim must lead your pony. When we are fairly on the road, I will fasten a bit of rope to your bridle to act as a leading rein, and you can ride by my side, unless we see people coming along; then you must drop behind, with Ibrahim.”
“I won’t give more trouble than I can help,” she said.
Ibrahim had taken some rugs over with him, on the previous afternoon, which had been bought in case they should sleep out at night. When the horses were saddled, Dick rolled two of these up, strapped one on the high peak, and the other on the cantle of the saddle upon which the girl was to ride.
“That will wedge you in pretty tightly,” he said.
“Now, Ibrahim, put the things into the saddlebag, and then we shall be ready.”
When this was done, the two horses were led outside. The farmer had gone back into the house, and Dick, helping the girl into her seat, arranged the stirrups the right length for her.
“Now,” he said, “you must keep your knees pressed against the roll of blankets in front, and hold on as well as you can with them; but the principal thing is for you to balance yourself with your body. Don’t sit up stiffly, but as if you were in a chair.
“Now, we will start at a walk. Ibrahim will keep quite close to you, so as to be able to catch hold of your rein, should there be any occasion for him to do so.”
Then, mounting, he and Surajah rode off at a walk, the others following a length or two behind them. Dick looked round, from time to time, and saw that Annie exhibited no signs of nervousness.
“I am quite comfortable,” she said, in reply to one of his glances.
When they got into the road again, Dick said:
“We will go at an easy canter now, Annie. If you feel as if you could not keep on, call out, and we will stop directly; but first come up between Surajah and myself, and we will take the leading reins, so that you will have nothing to attend to but holding on.”
Two cords had been attached to the bridle, before setting out, and Surajah and Dick each taking one, they started again, the horses instinctively breaking into a canter, which was their usual pace. Annie at first grasped the strap of the rug in front of her, but as soon as she became accustomed to the motion, she let go. A small rug had been strapped over the saddle, before she mounted, and this afforded her a much better hold than she would have had of the leather; and as the pace of the horse was a gentle one, she found it much more easy to keep her seat than she had expected. Moreover, the fact that Dick and Surajah rode close by her side, and would be able to catch her, at once, if she swayed in the saddle, gave her confidence.
“It is much better than I thought it would be,” she said. “It is quite a pleasant motion. I will go faster, if you like.”
“No, there is no occasion for that,” Dick replied. “This is the pace the horses are most accustomed to, and they will go on longer, at it, than at any other. There is no fear of pursuit, and we have all day before us.”
After a quarter of a mile’s riding, they came to a wood.
“We must turn in here,” Dick said. “We are going treasure hunting. We hid those caskets, that were given us by the ladies, directly after we got them; and we are going to dig them up now, and take them with us.”
They rode at a walk, now, till they came to a very large baobab tree, growing by the path they were following.
“Here we turn off.”
“There is a man there,” Surajah exclaimed, when they had ridden a few yards farther.
Dick checked his horse.
“It is Pertaub,” he said, a moment later, and in a minute they were beside the Hindoo.
“I could not sleep, thinking of you, Sahib,” the latter said, as they came up. “So I came across here, partly to help you dig up the caskets, and partly that I might see you, and assure myself that, so far, all had gone well.”
“Thank you, Pertaub. You have, I see, brought a pickaxe. It will save us half an hour’s work; and besides, I am glad to say goodbye again.
“All has gone well. This is the young lady.”
“She is well disguised,” Pertaub said, bowing his head to Annie. “She looks so like a boy that, even now you tell me, I can scarce believe she is a white girl. Truly you can go on without fear that anyone will suspect her.”
Leading the way to the spot where the caskets had been buried, Dick looked on while Surajah and Ibrahim dug them up. They were then wrapped up in rugs, and strapped securely behind their owners’ saddles. Then, after a warm adieu to the kind old man, they turned their horses’ heads, and rode back out of the woods.
After riding for three hours
at a canter, Dick saw that, although Annie still spoke cheerfully, her strength was failing her, and on arriving at a wood, he said:
“We will wait here till the heat of the sun has abated. We have done very well, and the horses, as well as ourselves, will be glad of a few hours’ rest.”
He alighted from the saddle, gave his horse to Ibrahim, and then lifted Annie from her seat. As he set her down on her feet, and loosed his hold of her, she slipped down on to the ground. Dick and Surajah at once raised her, and placed her so that, as she sat, she could lean against a tree.
Here Dick supported her, while Surajah ran and fetched his water bottle. Annie drank a little, and then said, with a nervous laugh:
“It is very silly of me. But I feel better now. My legs seemed to give way, altogether.”
“It was not silly at all,” Dick said. “You have held on most bravely. I can tell you there are not many girls who would have ridden four or five and twenty miles, the first time they sat on a horse. Why, I can tell you the first time I mounted, I did not do a quarter as much, and I was so stiff I could hardly walk, when I got down. I should have stopped before, but you kept talking so cheerfully that, it seemed to me, you could not be anything like as tired as I was, then. I was a brute not to have known that you must be thoroughly done up, although you did not say so.
“We have got some food with us. Do you think you could eat, a little?”
She shook her head.
“Not just yet.”
“All right. I have brought a couple of bottles of wine I got at one of the traders’ stores, yesterday. You must take a sip of that, and then we will leave you to yourself for a bit, and you must lie down and have a good nap.”
Dick took a bottle from his holster, opened it, and gave her some in a tin cup. Then one of the rugs was spread on the ground, with another one rolled up as a pillow, and then they led the horses farther into the wood, leaving Annie to herself.