The Half-Hearted
Page 24
CHAPTER XXIV
THE TACTICS OF A CHIEF
There is another quarter in Bardur besides the English one. Down by thestream side there are narrow streets built on the scarp of the rock,hovels with deep rock cellars, and a wonderful amount of cubic spacebeneath the brushwood thatch. There the trader from Yarkand who hascontraband wares to dispose of may hold a safe market. And if you wereto go at nightfall into this quarter, where the foot of the Kashmirpoliceman rarely penetrates, you might find shaggy tribesmen who havebeen all their lives outlaws, walking unmolested to visit their friends,and certain Jewish gentlemen, members of the great family who haveconquered the world, engaged in the pursuit of their unlawful calling.
Marker speedily left the broader streets of the European quarter, andplunged down a steep alley which led to the stream. Half way down therewas a lane to the left in the line of hovels, and, after stopping amoment to consider, he entered this. It was narrow and dark, but smeltcleanly enough of the dry granite sand. There were little darkapertures in the huts, which might have been either doors or windows,and at one of these he stopped, lit a match, and examined it closely.The result was satisfactory; for the man, who had hitherto beencrouching, straightened himself up and knocked. The door openedinstantaneously, and he bowed his tall head to enter a narrow passage.This brought him into a miniature courtyard, about thirty feet across,above which gleamed a patch of violet sky, sown with stars. Below adoor on the right a light shone, and this he pushed open, and entered alittle room.
The place was richly furnished, with low couches and Persian tables, andon the floor a bright matting. The short, square-set man sittingsmoking on the divan we have already met at a certain village in themountains. Fazir Khan, descendant of Abraham, and father and chief ofthe Bada-Mawidi, has a nervous eye and an uneasy face to-night, for itis a hard thing for a mountaineer, an inhabitant of great spaces, to sitwith composure in a trap-like room in the citadel of a foe who has manyacts of rape and murder to avenge on his body. To do Fazir Khan justicehe strove to conceal his restlessness under the usual impassive calm ofhis race. He turned his head slightly as Marker entered, nodded gravelyover the bowl of his pipe, and pointed to the seat at the far end of thedivan.
"It is a dark night," he said. "I heard you stumbling on the causewaybefore you entered. And I have many miles to cover before dawn."
Marker nodded. "Then you must make haste, my friend. You must be inthe hills by daybreak, for I have some errands I want you to do for me.I have to-night been dining with two strangers, who have come up fromthe south."
The chief's eyes sparkled. "Do they suspect?"
"Nothing in particular, everything in general. They are English. Onewas here before and got far up into your mountains. He wrote a cleverbook when he returned, which made people think. They say their errandis sport, and it may be. On the other hand I have a doubt. One has notthe air of the common sportsman. He thinks too much, and his eyes havea haggard look. It is possible that they are in their Government'sservices and have come to reconnoitre."
"Then we are lost," said Fazir Khan sourly. "It was always a fool'splan, at the mercy of any wandering Englishman."
"Not so," said Marker. "Nothing is lost, and nothing will be lost. ButI fear these two men. They do not bluster and talk at random like theothers. They are so very quiet that they may mean danger."
"They must remain here," said the chief. "Give me the word, and I willsend one of my men to hough their horses and, if need be, cripplethemselves."
Marker laughed. "You are an honest fool, Fazir Khan. That sort ofthing is past now. We live in the wrong times and places for it. Wecannot keep them here, but we must send them on a goose-chase. Do youunderstand?"
"I understand nothing. I am a simple man and my ways are simple, andnot as yours."
"Then attend to my words, my friend. Our expedition must be changed andmade two days sooner. That will give these two Englishmen three daysonly to checkmate it. Besides, they are ignorant, and to-morrow is lostto them, for they go to a ball at the Logan woman's. Still, I fear themwith two days to work in. If they go north, they are clever andsuspicious, and they may see or fancy enough to wreck our plans. Theymay have the way barred, and we know how little would bar the way."
"Ten resolute men," said the chief. "Nay, I myself, with my two sons,would hold a force at bay there."
"If that is true, how much need is there to be wary beforehand! Sincewe cannot prevent these men from meddling, we can give them rope tomeddle in small matters. Let us assume that they have been sent out bytheir Government. They are the common make of Englishmen, worshipping agod which they call their honour. They will do their duty if they canfind it out. Now there is but one plan, to create a duty for them whichwill take them out of the way."
The chief was listening with half-closed eyes. He saw new trouble forhimself and was not cheerful.
"Do you know how many men Holm has with him at the Forza camp?"
"A score and a half. Some of my people passed that way yesterday, whenthe soldiers were parading."
"And there are two more camps?
"There are two beyond the Nazri Pass, on the fringe of the Doorab hills.We call the places Khautmi-sa and Khautmi-bana, but the English havetheir own names for them."
Marker nodded.
"I know the places. They are Gurkha camps. The officers are calledMitchinson and St. John. They will give us little trouble. But theForza garrison is too near the pass for safety, and yet far enough awayfor my plans." And for a moment the man's eyes were abstracted, as if indeep thought.
"I have another thing to tell of the Forza camp," the chief interrupted."The captain, the man whom they call Holm, is sick, so sick that hecannot remain there. He went out shooting and came too near todangerous places, so a bullet of one of my people's guns found his leg.He will be coming to Bardur to-morrow. Is it your wish that he beprevented?
"Let him come," said Marker. "He will suit my purpose. Now I will tellyou your task, Fazir Khan, for it is time that you took the road. Youwill take a hundred of the Bada-Mawidi and put them in the rocks roundthe Forza camp. Let them fire a few shots but do no great damage, lestthis man Holm dare not leave. If I know the man at all, he will onlyhurry the quicker when he hears word of trouble, for he has no stomachfor danger, if he can get out of it creditably. So he will come downhere to-morrow with a tale of the Bada-Mawidi in arms, and find no menin the place to speak of, except these two strangers. I will havealready warned them of this intended rising, and if, as I believe, theyserve the Government, they will let no grass grow below their feet tillthey get to Forza. Then on the day after let your tribesmen attack theplace, not so as to take it, but so as to make a good show of fight andkeep the garrison employed. This will keep these young men quiet; theywill think that all rumours they may have heard culminate in this risingof yours, and they will be content, and satisfied that they have donetheir duty. Then, the day after, while they are idling at Forza, wewill slip through the passes, and after that there will be no need forruses."
The chief rose and pulled himself up to his full height. "After that,"he said, "there will be work for men. God! We shall harry the valleysas our forefathers harried them, and we shall suck the juicy plains dry.You will give us a free hand, my lord?"
"Your hand shall be free enough," said Marker. "But see that every wordof my bidding is done. We fail utterly unless all is secret and swift.It is the lion attacking the village. If he crosses the trap gate safelyhe may ravage at his pleasure, but there is first the trap to cross. Andnow it is your time to leave."
The mountaineer tightened his girdle, and exchanged his slippers fordeer-hide boots. He bowed gravely to the other and slipped out into thedarkness of the court. Marker drew forth some plans and writingmaterials from his great-coat pocket and spread them before him on thetable. It was a thing he had done a hundred times within the last week,and as he made his calculations again and traced his route anew, hisaction showed the tinge of nervousness to which the stronge
st natures attimes must yield. Then he wrote a letter, and, yawning deeply, he shutup the place and returned to Galetti's.