by David O'Neil
“I still do not understand why you think my men would attack you? We are not at war, sir.” Robert began to rise.
“Do not force me to have you publicly restrained, Captain.” The Rajah motioned him to be seated once more. “I will send your servant to inform the ship that you will be my guest tonight at least.” He indicated Alan sitting between two other guests lower down the table, and snapped his fingers.
A man appeared by his side and on instruction fetched Alan to the top table.
“If you wish, I will have him killed and send my own man to the ship.” The cold eyes of the Rajah left no doubt in Robert’s mind that he meant exactly what he said. He turned to Alan.
“Mr. Dawson, please inform Mr. Ullyet that I will be staying here as a guest of the Rajah tonight, and that I will be in touch in the morning.”
Without batting an eye, Alan took the message and saluted his captain, “Excuse me, sir.”
He left the room, collecting his hat from the servant at the entry and making his way down to the quay where the captain’s barge waited.
Amin Raj followed the boy down to the boat. When Alan reached the boat he carefully told the Cox’on that he had been ordered to return to the ship to tell Mr. Ullyet that the Captain would be staying as a guest at the palace tonight and that he would be in touch in the morning.
Amin Raj, hearing the message, slipped away and made his way back to the forest and passed the message to Captain Ullyet exactly as it was given.
Ullyet nodded thoughtfully and asked, “Can you get us into the grounds of the Palace quietly?”
Amin Raj nodded “Oh yes, Sahib, it is easy to get in. Getting out is not so good unless you use the gate. There is a trench around the inside of the walls that they flood at night. They release crocodiles to swim in the water; the inner rim is raised to prevent the crocodiles roaming the lawns.”
Having confirmed that the Captain had been detained as expected, Captain Ullyet was now free to assault the Palace with cause.
Patrick Carter smiled happily when he heard the message from the returned Midshipman. “We can act legally now.” He rubbed his hands together delightedly. “When do you think we will attack the French ship, now or in the morning?”
Billy Beaufort looked at him curiously, “When I am sure that the Captain is safe and the agent recovered.”
Carter looked uncomfortable. “But we may not have a chance if we don’t act quickly.”
“A chance for what? My orders are to rescue the agent and if possible quell any insurrection in this area if necessary, not to have my Captain killed so that you can justify a little war of your own. Do you even know who the agent is in this area?”
“It’s Charles Kay, and he is probably dead.” Carter answered sulkily. “Your Captain is probably already marked for death anyway, and he was aware that he could be killed when he volunteered to act as our stalking horse in this manner. It is a small price to pay when you consider the benefits to be gained.”
“Enough of this, we act as we have been ordered to act. When we receive the signal from the shore company, we will take the Frenchman, not before. Is that quite clear?” He glared at the Irishman, who shrugged sullenly.
“On your own head be it.” He left the cabin in a huff.
The Palace was quiet with all the guests gone and Robert was standing beside the window, looking out at the moonlit anchorage. The ships were sitting still on the smooth water when the guards came for him. He turned and there they were. The grabbed his arms and bundled him through the doorway, down the corridor and through a dark arch into the prison behind the Palace. Passing several barred cells he was pushed into a cell next to the end wall. The next cell contained two men, both were looking the worse for wear but they were able to talk.
As soon as the guards left, Robert spoke to them. “Who are you?” he asked.
“We are buying agents for the British East India Company, sent here to purchase cotton from the local growers. We have been here many times with no problems. Yesterday we were arrested and thrown in here and questioned about some person we have never heard of, Carter?”
“Is there any other European here?” Robert asked.
“Only Wild Willie” came the reply. “He is in and out of the prison all the time. Somehow he keeps getting drunk and fighting the soldiers. They throw him in here for a week or two, beat him up a bit then throw him out again. There are no others.”
Interesting, Robert thought. Where then, could the agent be? Unless he was the regular drunk he was obviously not in the prison.
“Do you know of any other Europeans in this area?”
“Only that bastard Frenchie, Chavez; but steer clear of him, he’s a pal of the Rajah and a real evil bastard. I saw him gut a man in the market because he said he cheated him.”
“What happened?”
“Nothing; as I said, he’s a friend of the Rajah.”
“Do you know where he is now?”
“He went north with the General, I don’t know where but they had a lot of men with them.”
Robert sat back against the wall of the cell and thought over what he had been told.
He was roused by a scratching sound from the wall beside him. He scratched back, and then moved over to the window. A dark figure rose and looked through the bars.
“Hullo, Sahib, I am here as promised. Would the Sahib please to stay in this corner of the cell for just a minute?” The figure waved to someone and ducked to one side. The crash of the field gun shattered the quiet night, followed by the almighty smash as the ball crashed through the prison wall of the cell, the mud wall shattering into a thousand pieces. Robert shook himself and stepped through the gap, brushing the dust from his coat.
Amin Raj grinned his teeth showing white against his dark skin. “Makes a pretty good doorway, I think. eh.”
Ullyet appeared as a wave of riflemen with fixed bayonets swept into the prison and through to the back door of the Palace. From the anchorage came the boom of cannon fire as the two British ships attacked the Frenchman, the screams of the boarders could be heard from the Palace as they took over the frigate at sword point. In the Palace the green-jacketed riflemen gathered all the occupants into the reception room. Robert walked through and inspected them. The Rajah was standing in bitter silence on his own. Seated beside him the woman he had been with.
Elsewhere the tousled head of Wild Willie could be seen. The two buyers from the East India Company were together by the doorway.
The group assembled in the reception room at the Palace. Robert was concerned that the crew of the Rivage had been reduced to less than half strength. They now knew why.
The other members under the leadership of the Rajah’s General and Captain Chavez had made a forced march to the town of Ahmedabad at the head of the Gulf. The taking of the family of the Rajah of Kutch had been planned and with the ransom obtained it was expected that an uprising of the entire northwest could be funded.
The Rajah was ambitious to say the least. Ullyet was even now laying an ambush for the returning party. Wild Willie it turned out was exactly what he seemed; the two buyers were also spying for the Company, but then all Company buyers were expected to spy anyway. There was no sign nor was there any record of Charles Kay.
Carter sat to one side, listening to the discussions taking place and saying nothing. Robert, having sorted the immediate problems out and given his orders, turned to Patrick Carter and fixed him with a steady look. “What have you to say for yourself?”
Carter looked startled. “What do you mean?”
“Why did you lie about an agent here in trouble? Why have we travelled several thousand miles to attack this Palace and take a French ship? What’s behind it all, some devious plan of your own?”
Robert reached into the satchel on the table and retrieved the envelope marked, to be opened only at the discretion of Captain Robert Graham.
Within the packet were a chart and a number of written pages. Robert began to read. Carter stood as if to
leave. “Stay!” The order was not negotionaable. Carter sat once more.
When he had read all of the orders Robert opened the chart and studied the area covered. The South China Sea covered a huge area of the world; the chart had a track marked from Ceylon through the Nicobar Islands onward through the Malacca straits between Java and Malaya then northward to Macao; the East India Company had an agent there trading with the port of Canton up river from the coast.
‘ The reason these orders have been issued is because someone, probably Carter has disobeyed orders and used you for his own ends. I trust your good judgement in dealing with this, hang him if you will, or not. Whatever else ensure that he does not profit from his misdeeds!
Now the purpose of your voyage was to collect, rescue if necessary the Ambassador at Large, Sir Marcus Stephen and his family, from Ceylon, where he is in residence, and transport him to Macao.
At Macao you should report to Commodore Britten, who has been instructed to assist in any way needed to refit your ships for the voyage home via Cape Horn. This return should be undertaken with all despatch. You will be required to carry such goods and personnel as may be detailed by Commodore Britten at the time’.
Robert passed the documents to Carter who sat and read them without comment.
“Wellm do I hang?” he asked.
“I’ll consider it; first I would like to know why we came on this wild goose chase to Northern India. What did you expect to gain by it?”
Carter thought for a moment, then “Sir Marcus Stephen and family are in no danger whatsoever. Their transfer to Macao is a political expediency that has no serious timescale. The journey was a way of keeping your services for the department. Essentially this task was devised to keep you out of sight of the Admiralty on an apparently vital mission across the world. I became aware of this through my own contacts close to Lord Mills, and it was then that I decided to use you for an important task that I considered more urgent. Now it seems that this project had even more significance than I thought. The recovery of the family of the Rajah of Kutch will be an enormous political coup if it goes as planned. I do urge you to ensure they are promptly returned with due ceremony, always presuming they are recovered safely, that is. I think the High Commissioner in Bombay will be delighted with what has happened and I have no doubt the French frigate will be bought in by the Admiralty or indeed the Company. In the circumstances the small delay in returning the kidnapped family will pay for itself tenfold.”
“Why did you not tell me in the first place?”
“Would you have believed me? I think not, and like the shadowing by the Rivage, it was good fortune that they were where they were, in the right place at the right time. Nothing to do with us, but it conspired in convincing you of the importance of our mission.”
The silence that followed this disclosure lengthened as Robert thought about it. Eventually he decided to wait until the return of the ambushers. Meanwhile he rang his bell. When Mathews his servant answered he instructed him call the marine guard to escort Mr. Carter to the cells in the bowels of the ship. As Carter left, protesting vehemently, he chuckled quietly to himself. Perhaps it would teach a lesson to the arrogant little man.
The return of the ambush party was marked by celebration from the ship’s crew. The sight of the column of green jackets, closely followed by the three carriages and a long file of prisoners was the excuse for a celebration. Robert received the family of the Rajah of Kutch in the Palace, where accommodation was already prepared. The prisoners went directly to the prison, the wall now rebuilt ready for new occupants.
The General of the defeated army was a beaten man and the French Captain Chavez, wounded in the skirmish, was going to be bedridden for some time. His wounds included a broken leg and a chest wound that the surgeon John Sweet was unhappy with.
Lieutenant Ogilvie had his arm in a sling, after being cut in the muscle of his shoulder. Six of the men had been wounded and three killed. The enemy had suffered much greater losses, they were unknown because the force had been assembled without particular care taken to list the men involved.
Robert released Carter in time to allow him to enjoy the hospitality of the Rajah of Kutch with the others involved. He arranged for a prize crew for the Rivage and sailed north to Karachi, where he delivered the Rajah’s family to the Palace of the Rajah.
It was impossible to escape the hospitality of the Rajah. The grateful ruler detained the rescuers for three days before it became possible for Robert to extract them from the round of entertainment and ceremony that engulfed them. When finally came the time for their departure, the entire ship’s company benefitted from his generosity. Each was given a ruby in appreciation of their part in the rescue of the kidnapped family. For Captain Ullyet, the ivory and jewelled sword was a tribute to his leadership in the rescue and the order placed round his neck assured him of a welcome in Kutch as long as the family survived.
To Robert, the casket presented to him was a thing of beauty to behold, the carved and inlaid box set with ivory and ebony in rosewood appeared to be inlaid with the history of the Raja’s family. The intricate puzzle lock fitted would occupy him for many days to come.
When he finally opened the 2x1 foot box it was to discover five large diamonds laid on a velvet cloth on a bed of rubies. The blaze of light and colour in the light of the sun’s rays through the cabin window took his breath away. To Robert the enormity of the gift was unbelievable.
The voyage south was a relief for the entire crew. There was a limit to the amount of hot steamy air and hospitality that they could endure.
The voyage took them first to Bombay. Here, having discussed the matter with Carter; Robert decided to pay a call on Ram Das. He wanted to discuss the orders to attack Alan and Adam when they were in Bombay last.
The visit to Ram Das was enlightening as the gates were closed when the party arrived. The small keg of gunpowder opened the gates in a hurry and threat of the party’s rifles opened the way to the house.
Ram Das was upset by the approach taken, “How dare you break into my home in this way, the High Commissioner will hear of this. The Governor will be informed and I will have you all flogged and imprisoned.”
“Shut him up,” Robert stood facing the irate Indian as Carter deliberately pushed him into a chair.
“Why did you send your thieves to attack my men?”
“I did not arrange any such thing, I know no thieves!” His reply was in a tone of injured innocence. Amin Raj stepped into the room and Ram Das paled.
“You are the son of a pig and a lying thief.” The words were quietly spoken and they had an effect on the agitated Ram Das.
“I protest I am innocent, who is this man? I don’t know him.”
The other men sent through the house to search came in with goods of all sorts. Apart from room furniture of serious value, there were store goods obviously stolen in transit, cloth of all types and as Robert observed, the sort of booty found in a thieves’ kitchen.
At this point a procession of people came through the open door and began helping themselves to the piles of goods. Ram Das screamed and cried as the booty disappeared before his eyes. Then the searchers carried in a very heavy box that brought a horrified cry from Ram Das. “No, you can’t, you mustn’t!” he jerked forward and grabbed the box, putting his arms round it and lifting it up as if he could carry it off. The men looked on in astonishment. It had taken two big men to carry the box in, how could this soft man pick it up and carry it?
The answer was he could not. With the box held high Ram Das cried out, his face went pale. The box dropped on the corner and the wood split. From it gushed coins of gold and silver. Ram Das fell to the floor and gasped, clutching his chest. He took two shuddering breaths and lay still. His wealth no good to him anymore.
Robert visited the High Commissioner and had a quiet word on the subject of Ram Das, who was well known in Bombay. The money was handed over to be used for helping people in trouble in the city.
In general there was no sympathy for the passing of Ram Das, he would be replaced by another to be sure, but for the present it was relief. The visit allowed the collecting of documents and packages for onwards transmission to Canton and Macao. The families of two officers on transfer were also able to be given passage to Macao in the prize, which had the space to accommodate them. The crew of the prize was made up to strength with men from Bombay who had been rescued and landed for various reasons from other ships.
It was at Bombay that Patrick Carter left the ship and disappeared into the hinterland of India on some other mission of high importance, or at least that is what he told Robert as he departed.
The voyage to Macao was an interesting one to those who had never ventured to the far eastern world. Transiting the Laccadive Islands lying like green jewels on the sunlit sea, the weather was endlessly sunny with sudden rain showers that stopped as suddenly as they began; leaving the decks steaming. The monsoon winds from the South West allowed good progress and the landfall on Ceylon was made. The three ships anchored in Colombo harbour on the west side of the island, where they were received courteously by the British authorities in the recently acquired territory.
Chapter twenty three
Sir Marcus Stephen was an uncommonly cold fish of a man with an unusually beautiful wife with a matching coolness of manner. Their daughter and son, twins, seemed to have missed the austerity of their parents and were enthusiastically exploring the ship from end to end within minutes of boarding.
At eleven years old, they became immediate favourites of the crew; their nanny was a youthful Goanese woman named Maria who appeared to have a good relationship with Jason and Jenny, the two youngsters in her charge.
Relations with the Diplomat and his wife were distant; Robert entertained them at his table for meals. Without the children to liven things up it would have been boring in the extreme. As the onward voyage progressed the Diplomat retreated more and more into the privacy of the cabin. The children were soon completely at ease throughout the ship. Their education in things nautical progressed with the assistance of the Sam Callow, the Master; they learned mathematics as seen through the eyes of the navigator. They now took most of their meals either in the Gunroom with the Midshipmen or in the cabin with Maria, the nanny. This left Robert to entertain Sir Marcus and Lady Stephen on his own.