CHAPTER VIII
The City of Palaces
Three uneventful weeks passed after Owen and his two companions madetheir escape from Sumatra and rejoined the ship ere the pilot boat,cruising off the sand-heads of Saugar, was sighted. And during thosedays the two friends had been the heroes of the ship. Not that Owencould enjoy much of the congratulation which was due to him, for thewound he had received kept him in the sick-berth for a week. It was anasty flesh wound, and to add to the trouble the bullet had remained inthe limb.
"A fellow who can stand his ground and shoot a rhino will laugh at thislittle task," said the surgeon who was aboard, when he came into the bayon the following morning, a servant carrying a large case of instrumentsfor him. "There's a bullet still in that thigh, and as I imagine you arenot very anxious to keep it there, I will remove it. Now the water, someclean basins, and--ah, here are the things."
He chatted and laughed pleasantly as he made his preparations, and stillsmiling exposed the wound and probed for the bullet. Owen found it anordeal, but bore it manfully. He clenched his teeth firmly, and smiledback at the surgeon whenever the latter looked at him. And finally, whenthe bullet was extracted, he fell back on his pillow thoroughlyexhausted.
"Just a little troublesome to get hold of, I admit," said the surgeon,"but you will thank me later. There was a piece of cloth too, carried inby the bullet, and that alone would certainly have delayed healing. Now,with a healthy, powerful young fellow, such as you are, the wound willclose so quickly that you will be surprised."
He gave Owen a restorative, and dressed the wound, and at the end of theweek our hero was on deck, lounging in a chair, his leg and thighelevated, and a company of admiring civilians and soldiers about him.
"I'd rather have the task of shooting another rhino any day," headmitted, "than have a bullet probed for. It's worse than beingwounded."
"As many a soldier has found before," exclaimed one of the passengers,Major Alexander by name. "I have been hit half a dozen times, and I knowa little about it. But it's a fine training, Jones--a good beginning.Now you can say, when you land, that you have indeed smelt powder andmet with a bullet. But seriously, I feel that, as the senior officeraboard, it will be my duty to make a report of all that has occurred,and of your behaviour, your gallant behaviour, Mr. Jones. I considerthat the way in which you brought off the party was skilful, anddisplayed sagacity and courage. Not a word! I say it, and I mean itthoroughly. These gentlemen here approve of my words."
"Hear, hear! A regular young fire-eater. He will make a good soldier,"exclaimed the passenger who had once before interfered on the eve of thefight. "Jones has pluck, Major, and he deserves some commendation fromthose into whose command he is going."
"He will have it," was the answer. "I will make it my business toreport, as I have already said, and if Jones will allow me I will see tohis comfort when we get ashore. No! Again, not a word, my lad. I am anold soldier, and you have a few years' service. We are of the samecloth, and if we cannot help one another, why----"
"Bravo, Major! There is nothing like being clannish. Besides, he'll wanthelp. The surgeon says he will not have the full use of his leg for amonth at least, and in a fortnight or less we should be at Calcutta."
Owen was not allowed even to whisper his thanks, for his gallant conducthad won him friends throughout the vessel. Jack had not been slow totell of his pluck, of his strange determination and skill, while Mulha,now a person of some importance, made the lower deck and fo'castle ringwith his name. Jones, late corporal of the 64th, was a hero aboard theIndiaman.
"I could not have believed it. Honestly, it never occurred to my thickhead that you had it all in you," said Hargreaves one day, very quietly,taking a seat beside him. "I now see why it was that you put up with ourvulgar abuse and sneers, and why you thrashed me so soundly. It hasdone me a world of good, for now I think a little more of others. I usedto imagine that because a fellow was quiet and studious, and somewhatretiring, he had little spirit, but, my word, Jones, you have opened myeyes!"
Perched high up in his chair, and now, though strictly against thesurgeon's orders, able to hop on one leg with some nimbleness, Owenwatched the pilot drop a boat and send aboard. Then his eager gazesought for the town of Calcutta. But it was some time before it cameinto sight. They steered their way up the wide Hooghly against apowerful stream, and, once they had passed Fultah, feasted their eyes onthe delightful views on either hand. Then they rounded the projectingspit of land, with its beautiful botanical gardens, and caught theirfirst glimpse of Fort William. A little later the shipping of Calcuttawas in sight, a vista of masts which seemed to pierce the sky. Therewere short and stout vessels with slanting yards covered with brownnative canvas, rakish-looking native vessels, ships of war, andmerchantmen with tall spars and square yards, and in between themnumbers of rowing craft busily plying to and fro. And there wasCalcutta, the city of palaces, radiant beneath the sun. No wonder thatall crowded to the rails, that Owen staggered from his chair and,conscious that the surgeon was right for'ard, hopped to the bulwarks.And what a cheer they all gave as the uniforms of soldiers were seenover the battlements of the fort and a welcoming shout reached them.They had been more than three months at sea, but for their break atSumatra, and what wonder that all aboard, from the youngest upward, feltgay at heart and jolly!
Late that afternoon Owen took up his quarters in one of the houses onthe outskirts of the city, having been carried there in a litterprovided by the Major. Jack was with him too, and very thoroughly hadthe two enjoyed themselves.
"It is very strange and queer," said Owen, as he sat back in his chair."It is so new, and yet so very familiar. I could lay a wager that I havelived here before. I seemed to know the Esplanade Ghaut where wedisembarked, and I am sure I have time and again watched these busyfellows one passes hurrying through the streets. Then there were thosein the bazaar, the women and children, all strangely old and familiar tome, and yet so new."
He looked through the wide window with a puzzled expression on his face,and fell to thinking deeply. Indeed, he might have remained in thisbrown study for a long while had not Jack interrupted him.
"Then you may take it for certain that a portion of your history isconnected with Calcutta or some other Indian port," he said. "You'vetold me a good deal, and you said that it was certain that you couldspeak a few words of the language. A chap couldn't imagine all this. Tome it is utterly strange. The bright streets, the dust, thewater-carriers, the stall-holders in the bazaar, elephants and horseswith their bright saddlery. It is totally different from England. To mymind it is certain that you were born out here. It was natural for youto forget a great deal when you were absent from the country, but thefirst sight of old familiar scenes brings back recollections."
Could it be so? Did he really and truly remember Calcutta in some vagueuncertain way? Owen asked himself that question again and again. He shuthis eyes and let his mind carry him back to the days, not so very longago, when he was a child of four or five.
"I can see a big house, something like this," he said to himself, "withnative servants all about, and a white lady. There was a black womantoo, an ayah or nurse, I suppose, and an officer who was very tall. Theyran to me and lifted me in their arms. Then there was a ship--yes, yes,I can see it here. It tossed up and down and I was ill. Then--I can onlyrecall the postchaise galloping along the road, and old Mrs. Jones'shonest face."
He gave vent to a sigh, a somewhat unusual thing with Owen, and openedhis eyes to find the Major standing over him.
"In pain?" he asked curtly.
"No, sir. Thinking only."
"What! Tired of India already? Wanting to get home again?"
He smiled in a bantering manner as he stared at our hero.
"No, sir. But--well, I was thinking of the time when I was ayoungster--I mean when I was about five years of age. You may have heardmy story, sir?"
The Major nodded sympathetically.
"We all knew it," he said gravely.
"We believe that you were sent home,and that some rascal had a reason for disposing of you. Some day, neverfear, the mystery will be cleared up. Wicked tricks like that fail veryoften."
"Then I was thinking of that time, and I swear that this town, or a verysimilar one, is familiar to me. I think I can, very vaguely, remember mymother and father, and certainly I can recollect the house. When I amable to walk I shall search for it."
"Then you will have little time," came the prompt answer, "for soldiershave to put their private business aside, my boy, and you will be noexception. His Majesty and the Honourable Company, otherwise JohnCompany, will require your services. In fact they need them now. Youmust get well as rapidly as possible."
Owen and Jack both expressed astonishment, for they had heard no rumourof expected or impending trouble. But then they had only been ashore avery few hours.
"The news is old here," said the Major, as he lit a cheroot. "There'swar before us, boys, and a fine thing it will be too. It will give youboth an insight into Indian character, and will make men and soldiers ofyou far sooner than would the peace regime, with its drills andmanoeuvres, its dances and its picnics."
Owen looked somewhat disconsolately down at his leg, and then up at theMajor.
"The sergeant told me that war brought a soldier's chance," he said."Whom are we to fight, Major, and when and where?"
"Steady. Three questions all in one, when you don't even know what corpsyou are to belong to! Now I will tell you. I have been to see theGovernor, who tells me that he will be riding round here to-morrow, andwill make a point of calling. It seems that he has had some intimationof your coming. I fancy you will both go to the native cavalry, butcannot say at present. How long will it be before you are fit to ride?"
"I could almost manage now, sir," responded Owen eagerly, so eagerlyindeed that his words brought a hearty laugh from Jack and hisquestioner.
"A regular young fire-eater!" exclaimed the Major. "But you know verywell that that would be out of the question. If you mounted now thewound would open at once, and then your condition would be a sad one.But can you ride at all?"
Owen was bound to confess, very ruefully, that he was no great artistwhen mounted on a horse.
"Of course I have ridden a little, sir," he said. "I had a chance nowand again when at the poorhouse, and when I was employed on the farm Ioften had a ride, sometimes as far as the town. But I cannot honestlysay that I am a horseman."
"Still you have ridden, and that is everything, and when you were youngtoo, which is a great advantage. I should say that you would pick up theart very quickly. It may be, then, that you will be able to come upcountry in a cart, and have your schooling when you reach your corps.Yes, that would be a way out of the difficulty. And now to answer yourquestions. The war is to be with the Mahrattas, old enemies of ours,who have threatened British power in India for many a year. They arefreebooters for the most part, who have been a thorn in our flesh, andwho must be exterminated some day or other if we are to enjoy ourpossessions tranquilly. I will tell you something about them soon. As towhen, why, there have been skirmishes already, they tell me, so that theactual war will commence at once, hostilities being begun as soon as ourarmies collect. As to where, that is asking a lot. The rendezvous may beat Agra for all I know. But we were speaking of your joining the army. Ishall be going, and Jack also. Troops will be marching from here verysoon, and we shall ride with them. You will both want servants on theroad, and of course can have a native soldier detailed to you from theranks. When you join your respective corps you will draw a man fromthem, and will pay off those who have been with you on the journey. Andspeaking of servants, Jones, reminds me. There is a man outside, aMahratta, I believe, who was aboard the ship. He called here someminutes ago and is waiting. Do you wish to see him?"
Our hero signified his desire to do so, and smiled as Mulha entered, forhe had grown very fond of the native, while Mulha had become a mostfaithful follower. He entered, dressed in native costume on thisoccasion, and salaamed to the Major, and then to the two younger men.
"What is it, Mulha?" asked Owen, as the native salaamed again to him."Speak in English so that we can all understand."
"You are to join the army, sahib, and they say in the bazaar that thereis to be war against the Mahrattas. I am one, but I am not a robber,like those in arms now. My family is a peaceful one, and we have longwished for the security given by British rule, and the enjoyment andpeace which the natives have here and in other British settlements. I amreturning home. It is some time since I left, and the anger of thepeople will have died down. Besides, I have saved money, and can pay forwhat I did. In a country inhabited by such freebooters money will settleany matter, and there will be peace between me and my enemies. Thatbeing so I shall want employment, and I have come to ask the sahib if heis looking for a servant?"
Once more the fellow salaamed, putting his forehead to his hands, andthen stood erect, looking at Owen calmly, with the complacency of theEast, and yet showing by the faint twitching of his beard that theanswer would mean much to him.
"I will take you, and be glad to be able to do so," answered Owenreadily. "It is a load off my mind. When will you be free of the ship?"
"I was paid off this afternoon. I am my own master now, sahib."
"Then I will engage you, and we will settle your wages."
It took only a couple of minutes to do that, for the Major was well usedto Indian matters, and Mulha seemed to be careless as to what hereceived, so long as he could be with Owen. He salaamed gravely again,and departed to the servants' quarters, where he settled down at once,as if he had been used to the work all his days.
"You are in luck," said the Major, when he had gone, "for there is nodoubt that the fellow is attached to you. You speak his tongue, too, andthere again you are fortunate, though you owe it entirely to your ownenergy. There are billets--special billets, mind you--for the fellow whocan speak the tongue of the men we are about to fight."
At this moment servants brought in tea and cakes, and served them to allthree, passing from one to another in that silence which is such afeature of Indian waiting. There were no clattering dishes, no clinkingspoons and cups, and no creaking boots or heavy footfalls. They passedsilently behind the chairs of the sahibs, and disappeared as quickly asthey had come.
"What about the war, Major?" asked Jack suddenly, as he lit a cheroot,and sat up choking and spluttering, for he was as yet a novice, andcheroots were not always of the mildest.
"Try another, my lad," laughed the Major. "That is too strong, perhaps.No? Very well. Stick to it. You'll really enjoy it before very long. Ahyes, this war! Well, I happen to have a few minutes, and I know thecountry. I'll tell you. We fight the Mahrattas, and will give them ahiding if we can, for they deserve it. They are cantankerous beggars,and are always causing trouble. We've had rows with them before, andjust now their power has become very dangerous. You see, it isn'taltogether the Mahrattas. There are the French, with their eternalschemes against British power in this country. We are as fearful oftheir growing power as we are of that of the Mahrattas. In fact, it hasbeen a race between us and the French for a long while, and it is stilla toss up as to who will hold India in the end. John Company has hadmany ups and downs, and has been very near to extinction. But Clive gavethe company a splendid fillip, and now, thanks to him and to otherheroes, we are very strong and able to make a big effort. But, mind you,it isn't at all certain who will succeed."
"I confess that the Company and its affairs is a mystery to me," burstin Jack, endeavouring to look at ease as he puffed smoke from his lips."As soon as one lands in India--indeed, as soon as one embarks upon anIndiaman and gets free of the London docks, one hears of nothing but theCompany. We know that it exists. But how and why? Half, and more thanhalf, the fellows have not more than a vague notion."
There was no doubt that Jack Simpson was perfectly right. A great numberof the young fellows who went out at this period to join the Company'sservice knew very litt
le of its history and its origin. And to-day thereare many who have heard little more than its name, while numbers whoknow of events which have passed in America, in Africa, in Spain andother countries, where British forces have fought, are somewhat hazy asto events which have passed in India since England first sent her sonsthere. To them India is a British possession, teeming with millions ofdark-skinned subjects, and for ever attracting some slight attentionbecause of oft-recurring frontier wars. They know little of the earlystruggles, of the days when British, Dutch, and French strove forsupremacy, and of the endless fighting and sacrifice by which ourcountry finally gained the proud title of conqueror of India, and wonfor its ruler the title of Emperor of this huge country across the seas.
"Come, come," laughed the friendly Major. "You should have learned thatat school. Every young fellow should know of it, and be proud to thinkthat he is a descendant of the fine men who fought here before us. Butif you really wish it I will outline the life of the old Company, thoughI must trust to my memory for dates. Still, you know, when an officerhas been a servant of the Company for twenty years, as I have, henaturally knows a little about his employers. Let me see. We'll start atthe beginning."
"The very beginning, Major, please," said Jack.
"Which would take us back to the days of Alexander, if you ask me togive a history of India. No! You must get a book and look that up. I amgoing to tell you of the Company, and in doing so I must naturally speakof India. Still, I'll say as much more as I can. To begin with, thisIndia is even vaster than many of us imagine. Roughly, it extends forsome nineteen hundred miles from north to south, that is from theHimalayas to Cape Comorin, and is inhabited by a good many more than ahundred million souls, natives I mean, and exclusive of Europeans, whoare a mere drop in that vast human ocean. Just think of that. Here arewe, a mere handful, attempting to impose our will upon a vast people,and doing it successfully too. The audacity of such a venture is reallyastounding!"
"Then how is it that we succeed, Major?" Owen ventured to ask. "If weare so few, why don't they come down upon us and exterminate us?"
"Precisely! Why don't they? Why haven't they in the past? Because thereis no combined movement amongst them. Because the country is for everdisturbed by jealousies and strife between the various races inhabitingit. That is one of the reasons, and the greatest. England, representedby the Company, has taken advantage of this condition of affairs, andwhile these struggles have gone on she has slowly and steadily increasedher power and standing. Not that she was always prosperous. There havebeen times when the Company has been in very low water. But I will tellyou how British pluck and determination, aided by jealousies of thenatives, have succeeded, and how the Company which was formed in Englandon the 31st of December 1599 finally arrived at its present opulence.
"That Company was sanctioned by Queen Elizabeth, and it owed its originto many facts which are of interest. We hear that India was but a wordto the West; that few had ideas of the enormous wealth of the East, andstill vaguer knowledge of the vast countries there, with their teemingworkers. It was never even suspected that in this India, of which taleshad reached our country, there were riches beyond the dreams ofwesterners, that there were gorgeous courts and palaces beside which thepalace of Queen Bess was little better than a hovel. And that ignorancemight have persisted had it not been for the energy and enterprise of afew, and those not always of our blood.
"That brings me to deal with the men who first invaded this land, and mymemory has to carry me back to my school days for that. Very many yearsbefore Alexander made his famous invasion the Greeks knew India, andtravelled here in search of knowledge. Then came Alexander, with hishordes, marching through the passes in the north (Candahar Route),across the Punjaub as far as the Hydaspes, a tributary of the Indus.That was in B.C. 327. He retired to Persia, and doubtless after he hadgone the peoples in the north enjoyed some tranquillity.
"That the East was not entirely severed from the West in the earlieryears of the Christian era is evident, for spices were to be had even inEngland, while it is said that missionaries went out to the East. Butthis India was but a vague name till Vasco Da Gama made his wonderfulvoyage round the Cape in 1498, and found his way to India. After thattrade developed to a huge degree, and the Portuguese enjoyed its fullbenefits during the sixteenth century. And now we come, I think, to thatperiod when England can be said to have taken some interest in the East,an interest, I fear, which was supported more by the hope of gain thanby any other reason. In 1588 Cavendish discovered that the natives inthe East would as willingly trade with us as with the Portuguese, whileSir Francis Drake, that fine old sea-wolf, captured five largePortuguese caravels, all laden with rich eastern stuffs. One had aboardalso documents showing what immense trading possibilities there were inthis country, and in addition the manner in which that trade could becarried on. Well, England is not always the first in an enterprise. Sheoften waits till other nations have obtained a foothold, and then shestirs, and the history of her conquests and of her increasingpossessions shows that she has done more than well. She waited till theDutch, stirred by tales of wealth, despatched an expedition to India.Then certain gentlemen in England put their heads and their moneytogether and created a Company. There, young fellows, you have thecommencement of the Company."
"And did they start trade in India at once?" asked Jack. "I suppose theyhad rows with the Portuguese and Dutch from the very commencement."
"You seem to think that I am a mine of information," grumbled the Majorpleasantly. "I think that the first expedition left Woolwich in 1601,and touched the island of Sumatra, where we have so recently been. Inthe neighbourhood a Portuguese ship was captured, filled with easterngoods which were sufficient to load all the ships of the expedition,which numbered four. Thus the success of the venture was assured, andafter sailing for Java--where agents were left, the very first tradingrepresentatives of the Company--the expedition returned home.
"That was the beginning, and for many years the progress of the affairwas but small. Certain privileges were obtained for trade from the MogulEmperor, and before 1612 the ships of the Company had each made eightvoyages to the East, realising fine profits. Still, their possessionswere nil. See what they are now! Compare the condition of the Companythen with its opulence at this moment. However, to continue, a factorywas built at Surat, while an ambassador was sent to the court of thepowerful Mogul Emperor of India at Delhi. At this period the Portugueseand Dutch were very prosperous, and exceedingly antagonistic to Englandand to each other. But a fortunate chance increased the holding of theCompany. A certain Dr. Boughton had performed a service for some nativeruler, who as a reward gave permission for a settlement on the Hooghly,while a fort was built at Madras, named Fort St. George, the land beingobtained from some native prince. Thus you will see that the Company wasmaking headway. But during the great Civil War in England its fortunesdeclined, till Cromwell reconfirmed its privileges. An agreement wascome to with Bengal for the purposes of trade, and finally the island ofBombay was acquired, and thither the Company removed its quarters fromSurat. And about these trading posts, for they were little else in thosedays, the natives gathered with their merchandise, making trading aneasy matter.
"But circumstances occurred from time to time to disorganise the affairsof the Company, for there were always native wars, very often fomentedby the scheming of the Portuguese and Dutch. In fact, the Company was sooften in danger that at length, from being a purely trading concern, itbecame a body with some military power, and its peaceful policy waschanged. It began to look for more land and more factories from which toconduct its business. And it was well that it did make preparations, forthe Mogul Emperor was on a tottering throne, and the French were soon tocome into the field. But steady, my lads. A cup of tea, if you please.Much talking makes one thirsty."
Jones of the 64th: A Tale of the Battles of Assaye and Laswaree Page 9